XI.

Vanessa made an anonymous phone call to the police station, telling them the location of the bodies. Then, with a heavy heart, she called both Patrick's and Brett's parents and told them the bad news. They were all shocked beyond belief. Apparently they were still holding out hope that they were alive, even after weeks of fruitless searching. When Vanessa finally hung up the telephone after comforting Brett's father extensively, she sighed unhappily and sat down on the couch. "I feel so bad, having to tell them about this…"

"You think you feel bad?" countered Jamie, "we were there; we saw it happen! We had to watch as Voldemort murdered two of our friends!"

"Of course you were there, but does that mean I can't feel bad too?" Vanessa said, slightly defensive, "You didn't hear them on the other line, they didn't believe me at first…"

"Mum, of course they didn't believe you!" Jamie snapped, "Would you believe someone if they told you I was dead?"

"Of course not! I don't want you dead!" Vanessa answered at once.

"Exactly, that's how they feel! They just don't want to accept the fact that their children are dead! Nobody wants to! It's a parent's worst nightmare!"

Vanessa looked about to reply, but Maira stopped her, "There's no point in arguing over this, guys. What's done is done, and we can't do anything about it. Vanessa, did the police go down to the graveyard to get their bodies?"

"They said they would send some officers down to get them, then they would bring them to the hospital for an autopsy," she said.

Ernie snorted, and everyone stared at him. "Ernie, this is no laughing matter…" Maira began.

"Mum, it's just so ridiculous!" Maira glared at him, and he hastened to continue, "Mrs. Stirman said that they were going to do a – whajamacallit – autopsy?" Vanessa nodded and he continued, "Nothing will show up; Avada Kedavra doesn't leave any marks! Just like Frank Bryce and the Riddles! They were killed by…by…" he glanced hopelessly at Vanessa, "well, by…abnormal means,"

"OK you guys, I'm completely lost," said Vanessa angrily, "Who the heck is Voldemort, and Avada Kedavra, and all that? I'm missing out on something, spill it!"

Maira hesitated, and then said, "Well, Voldemort is a mass murderer who everyone thought was dead, but now he's apparently been brought back to life. And Avada Kedavra is his…killing technique."

Vanessa stared daggers at them, and Maira's immediate thought was that she did not believe a word of it. "That's the general idea, anyways. I can't tell you the entire truth."

"And why not?" Vanessa asked waspishly.

"Well, because it's against the law," Maira said patiently.

"No it's not!" Vanessa said angrily.

"Vanessa, look. I can't tell you unless I get permission. As soon as I write a letter and get a reply, I'll tell you everything. I promise – both you and Jamie."

Vanessa thought for a minute, and then finally relented. "You need to tell me everything, though."

"Of course. Ernie, do you think Dumbledore or Fudge would be better?"

"Dumbledore, definitely. Don't you remember that Fudge doesn't believe them at all?"

"Of course. Well, I'll be back. I'll just write real quickly and ask him for permission…" and with that she left, and a few moments later they heard a faint 'pop' as she Disapparated.

"Well, that settles that!" Vanessa said briskly, "You three need to go to bed. Ernie and Erin, you can stay here for the night, Ernie can have the trundle under Jamie's bed and Erin, you can have the guest room like before."

"Oh, c'mon mum!" Jamie argued. "It's only ten pm!"

"Yes, and you've had a long day. Go to bed, or no video games for a month!"

Ernie started to pull out the trundle under Jamie's bed, and Erin left for the guest room. She flopped onto the bed upon arrival, too exhausted to do anything else. So much had happened…she had realized that she didn't know what happened to Brett, but now she did…he was murdered too. That was probably the worst part, knowing that some of her friends were gone forever…she was grateful that she survived.

She heard the door creak open, and she tensed, not knowing who her intruder was. But then she relaxed as she realized that it was only Jamie and Ernie. "What do you reckon?" Jamie asked her quietly, "about your mum and…Dumbledole…or…"

"Dumbledore, and I think he'll let us tell you about magic, if Mum told him we witnessed Voldemort's rebirth."

"Yeah. I mean, you've already told us, so it can't hurt to know a bit more, in case he raids Little Hangleton or something…"

"Jamie, don't be so pessimistic! He won't raid Little Hangleton!" Ernie told him sternly.

"Yeah well…" he trailed off, then changed the subject, "How did you keep it a secret all these years? I've known you for nine years, and I never knew…"

"Mum made us swear not to tell anyone," Erin explained patiently. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you half of what we know."

"Try me," Jamie challenged, "I'm ready for anything."

"Not until Mum gets her letter back from Dumbledore. Until then we can't tell you anything," Ernie explained tiredly, "it's against our law."

"Fine then," Jamie said, defeated, "I guess I can wait a week or two."

Two weeks later, Maira received a response from Dumbledore, saying that he thought that Jamie and Vanessa could learn the basics of the wizarding world. Maira explained to them the basics of magic, about Voldemort, his Death Eaters, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, and the Ministry.

Vanessa and Jamie seemed satisfied with her explanation, and they also seemed to treat the Macmillans with a bit more respect and awe than before. The two families spent most of the summer together, close as peas in a pod. Near the end of the summer, on August twenty-seventh, Ernie had to go into London to get his school supplies. Erin was to stay at Jamie's, for however much she pleaded, her mother's answer was a firm "no".

"With Voldemort back to full power, I don't want too many people going. No! It'll just be Ernie and me. Was there something specific you wanted? I can get it…"

"No, I was just, well…" she blushed slightly, "I was just hoping I'd see Harry Potter there. I just thought that because the Prophet and the Ministry are against him, maybe he'd appreciate some support," she felt stupid even saying it.

Maira smiled sadly at Erin. Her baby – her Erin – had grown up too quickly! "Oh Erin, that's sweet. If we see him there, we'll tell him for you. And if not, I'm sure Ernie will tell him at Hogwarts."

So they parted – Maira to Diagon Alley with Ernie, and Erin to Jamie's house.

Erin and Jamie hung out most of the afternoon – Jamie teaching Erin to play Muggle video games and Erin, in turn, teaching Jamie Exploding Snap. During one of the times they simply sat in silence, Jamie said suddenly, "Is the world going to change? Because of Voldemort? And will it affect us…Muggles?"

Erin was silent for a while, contemplating his question. Finally, she said, "Yes, I think it is going to change. Only a few people believe that Voldemort is back, and Fudge is flat-out refusing to believe it. I'm sure Voldemort will use that to his advantage. I think that it is going to change, a lot. And I'm sure it will affect you – Mum said that last time, before he fell – he kept killing Muggles." Seeing the stricken look on his face, she continued, "But, there's only a small chance he'll come here. I mean, there's a ton of Muggle towns. What's the chance of him coming here?"

"You've got a point. And I suppose that whatever's supposed to happen will happen – we can't change what we don't know. We'll just have to go with the flow and hope we make it."