Chapter Ninety-One – Harry Meets With His In-Laws

As we walked back to the Gryffindor common room, it struck me that I was now a married Witch and that Harry and I would have to tackle McGonagall for our own Hogwarts apartment first thing in the morning. Harry would also have to give a push to Dudley to hurry the house hunting along. At least we would have our own Wizard world house and it would be right next door to Ron and Hermione. Construction of this house on our portion of the Hogwarts estate was well under way. Although I was not the sort of young Witch to fantasize about a fancy wedding, with all my friends and family oohing and ahhing over my wedding attire, I had expected a little more than the three minute special that Professor McGonagall had conducted. Draco's rushed and improvised wedding to Pansy had been formal and elaborate by comparison. Mom had been off collecting more antique weaponry from the Hogwarts corridors, and had not arrived back in the Reception Hall until after that brief ceremony had finished. Ron and George were the only members of my family to actually witness my wedding. So, in addition to spending our wedding night in separate dorms, Harry and I would spend our last waking moments together on our wedding night wondering how we would explain all of this to Dad.

{[apologetic and worried] I could pick up those thoughts and I'm sorry for the rushed ceremony. We can do it again, properly, during Christmas break. I think Ron and Hermione want to get married then, also. And, yes, I know we have to figure out what to say to your father. I propose we not worry about that tonight. We'll tackle McGonagall before breakfast and your Dad right after. Don't think me a coward, but I thought we might bring your mother with us to smooth the way and calm your Dad, if that becomes necessary.}

There was some excitement, worry, and expectancy in the Common Room, as we arrived. Word had filtered around the school that something very significant had happened. Harry was mobbed by Gryffindors seeking an official explanation.

"I don't know what I can or should tell you," Harry began. "I'm sure you've all been upset and worried by the failure of magic during the Quidditch match and the worsening of things in the hours following that. I'm also sure that you've heard about the revolt staged by the former leader of the German Goblins, Ruppasta Minta, and his attacks upon the centers of magic in Germany, France, and Britain. I can tell you that calm has been restored, but it will take some time until things return to normal. The ability to use magic is still quite limited in the London and Paris areas. You should find magical powers at Hogwarts back to normal and they will soon be stronger than normal, once we repair the magical circle under London. I can tell you that Ruppasta Minta has been vanquished. His supporters have been killed or captured, and the Goblin King Goblanze, whom some of you met in Hagrid's class, is back in power, although the Goblins will be choosing a new leader within the coming year. Neville and Margaret played big roles in the battle.

"Margaret killed several Goblins, so you'll all have to be very kind and helpful to her over the next weeks. It is very difficult to kill somebody, and it takes a good while to recover your equilibrium. You may also have heard that Bruce Montaigne and his father were broken out of jail by Ruppasta's Goblins. This is also true. Bruce was wounded and exiled. His father was recaptured.

"Professor Firenze has told many of you of a looming imbalance in the universe, which could have destroyed magic. Some of you helped him make a sand drawing of a Yantra to help restore the balance. We are fairly certain that the balance has been restored. Professor Firenze will confirm this at your next class. I am confident that you are completely safe here at Hogwarts and that the worst of the crisis is past. That's all that I can tell you, for now.

"Oh yes, you should also know that Ginny and I are now married, but please don't spread it about, because we haven't had a chance to tell her father yet.

"Now, you should go back to your dorm rooms and get some sleep. I'll tell you more, when the Minister and Headmaster say it is alright to do so. There is nothing alarming, simply some details that I don't know are meant to become public quite yet."

Margaret stated that she felt fine and had done what she did out of necessity. She described the realization that she could respond bravely in the face of a great danger that must be defeated as well as her encounter with the Light Guardian as "two life-shaping events in the course of an hour. I know I'll never be the same person again, but I mean that in a very good way. I don't feel upset at all about what happened." With some pushing, she did agree that she would talk to Mrs. Granger, 'just to make absolutely certain that I stay fine'. She seemed persuaded by Harry's reassurance that "Mrs. Granger was a big help to me, when I was in your position."

In response to a specific question from the Peakes brothers, Harry replied "I don't know anything more about your Quidditch match than you do, but if you forced me to hazard a guess, I'd say the headmaster will insist that Gryffindor lost the match, because the other Seeker caught the snitch, prior to his unfortunate accident. I understand he is recovering nicely, by the way. Now, no more questions! Good night. We have to visit the Headmaster."

As the crowd dispersed, Cissy approached us, wanting to talk. "I feel that I need to speak to my father. Now that Bruce is gone, I don't mind talking to him and I want to either resolve things between us, or at least determine where I stand with him. I just don't feel up to tackling the meeting alone. I was hoping that some of you could come with me. I think definitely not Neville, or it will look too much like the gang that did in Bruce. Perhaps Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione?"

"That would be fine with me, but it will have to be later in the day tomorrow. We have to go to the Ministry to explain to my Dad that Harry and I are married. We planned to do that right after breakfast. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up having lunch at the Ministry, but we could get back in time for a mid-afternoon trip to see your father."

"I don't even know where he is being held," Cissy realized.

"Neither do I," Harry realized, "but I can find out while we're at the Ministry. For the moment, I just want to get some sleep. I'll see you all at breakfast. Now we do briefly have to drop in on the Headmaster."

As we crested the stairs to McGonagall's office she called out, "I was just about to come searching for you. I've been waiting up to find out everything that happened inside the Sacred Cavern."

"I'm sorry," Harry didn't really apologize, "we had to calm the younger Gryffindors. They were very upset by everything that has happened today."

Harry gave her an expurgated bare-bones summary of events, begging off on her requests for details, details, and more details. "We need sleep and, frankly, there are some things that I don't want to mention until I've had a chance to discuss them with the Minister. We can talk more later. For now, know that Hogwarts is safe. Neville will likely return tomorrow. He has gone to St. Mungo's to talk to his parents. I don't know anything about any change in their condition. Good night."

I think it was totally understandable that our entire circle was more than a little late for breakfast. We had all had a very long and stressful prior day and, tired as we all were, sleep had not come easily. Professor McGonagall seemed agitated by our late arrival and soon walked over to the Gryffindor table, to stand between Harry and me. "I think we need to all get together after breakfast for a review of what happened yesterday," she announced, without preamble. "I would have preferred to meet at greater length last night, but accept that you were overly tired."

"Still am," Harry replied. "I'm happy to review events in greater detail, but can't promise any sooner than after dinner. Ginny and I are going to the Ministry right after breakfast to review the events of yesterday with Shacklebolt and the Minister, including explaining to Arthur how I happen to be married to his daughter. We promised to go with Cissy to see her father in mid-afternoon."

"Right after dinner it will be then. We'll meet in our apartment. I thought your circle, Trew, Narcissa, and myself."

"I'm not sure about Narcissa," Harry objected. "I suppose that we could give her a general fill in on what happened and then excuse her, before we get into detail, speculation, or planning. If Narcissa will be there for part of the meeting, then you might as well invite Draco, as well. He was actually present for much of yesterday's events. I also need to borrow Professor Weasley to help explain things to the Minister."

"I'll ask her to reschedule her class, and I'll invite Draco to tonight's meeting." She was smiling as she left to return to the head table. I saw her speaking to Mom, and then Mom walked over to join us.

We had just finished eating, but decided to take a few minutes to scan the morning papers before heading off the for Harry's office at the Ministry. It wasn't that we were trying to postpone what might prove a very contentious meeting, but rather to make sure we were aware of what Dad had learned from the press and what bad publicity might have him on edge. The papers hadn't had time to learn and print much of the story. The Daily Prophet blared:

RUPPASTA ATTACKS LONDON. MAGIC IS DOWN

TOURISTS ENTER DIAGON ALLEY

WHAT WILL THE MINISTER DO TO PROTECT US?

There was not much detail in the story, mostly personal observations and some quotes from Dad. The Prophet did correctly state that Ruppasta and his forces were driven from the 'magical cavern beneath Gringotts Bank', with many rebel Goblins being captured, but that the crystal circle that mediated magic in the south of Britain had been very badly damaged. The article concluded on the ominous note that Ruppasta's current location was unknown and the Ministry and Gringotts officials had no idea where he might strike next. Ernie had a short article under the headline:

Where is the King?

He reported the disquieting news that nobody seemed to know where King Goblanze was and that it was feared that the rebels may have captured or killed him. "Surely he would show himself to his loyal subjects, during this time of crisis, were he able to," was Ernie's conclusion.

Someone, possibly Luna, had given Mr. Lovegood a bit of a heads up, because he had some details on what had happened at Hogwarts, in addition to virtually the same details about the London attack. His top headline ran:

MAGIC FAILS AT HOGWARTS. STUDENT PLUMMETS FROM SKY

FIERCE BATTLE AT HOGWARTS SACRED CAVERN

GOBLIN KING FEARED CAPTURED

Xenophilius's source had wisely not given him any information on our entry into the Sacred Cavern and the appearance of the Light Guardian. He wrote spiritedly of the brave fight put up by the King's Goblins, the Centaurs, and brave Hogwarts students and professors. Neville and Margaret came in for special mention, and Bill and Barb were described in very approving terms. The story ended with the ultimate outcome of the battle and the fate of the Wizarding world in doubt.

"For now, the brave defenders of Hogwarts are alive and well and planning their next action," was the concluding sentence. I think he stopped the story at the point that Luna was unwilling to furnish more detail, but it wasn't a bad approach to selling a lot of papers tomorrow. None of us felt that anything in the papers would put Dad in a particularly bad mood, so we set off for the Ministry with uplifted confidence.

Percy met us in Harry's reception room. Harry apologized for not having communicated the events of the prior day to Percy and offered a quick briefing, before we set off to meet Dad. "No problem," Percy replied "Cotto has given me a fairly complete report. I'm certainly interested in getting the detailed account from you, but the Minister wanted to see you as soon as you arrived. I believe congratulations are in order, and let me say how very happy I am the two of you are still alive."

The three of us headed off to Dad's office. Prudence waved us straight into the office, where Dad and Shacklebolt were chatting. Harry took the lead, saying, "I'm ready to give a detailed report of yesterday's events to you and the Director, but we have a personal matter to discuss and I would appreciate it if the Director could leave us for a short time."

Dad didn't say anything, but Shacklebolt got up and said he would go and get some breakfast. As the door closed, I noticed that Dad had a concerned, puzzled expression as he waited to find out what Harry had to say.

"I'll just say this directly," Harry began. "When it became clear, yesterday, that I needed to go into the Sacred Cavern and allow Ruppasta to capture me, so that I could talk to him and summon help, I realized that there was a very high chance that I would be killed. Ginny and I decided to and did get married, during the hour before I entered the Cavern. We had to do it quickly, so even Molly wasn't able to be in attendance. Professor McGonagall married us and Neville, George, Ron and Hermione were witnesses. We'd like to schedule a more formal wedding ceremony, as soon as is conveniently possible, possibly during Christmas break."

"And you brought Molly to run interference, because you didn't think I would take this news well."

"Yes. I know that was a cowardly approach to take, but it seemed appropriate."

"I'm not upset, but I am amused that you are more frightened of me than you were of Ruppasta and his rebels. Welcome to the family. I suspected that this would happen by summer, but this fast is a surprise. I was a little prepared for this, because Molly keeps reminding me of our courtship and how much faster things move in times of war and crisis. So, I'm happy to welcome you to the family at any time. A more normal repeat ceremony at Christmas break or the start of summer seems fine to me. The only instruction that I'll give you is now that you're married to my daughter, I expect that you will not go on risking your life quite as cavalierly as you have in the past. It is time to learn that you are the Deputy Minister and not a super auror. Let me come around the desk and give you a hug."

He did exactly that, perhaps a little awkwardly, hugging me and Molly as well. "We'll wait for Shacklebolt's return to hear Harry's update and for Shacklebolt to update him on what has been happening here. The two of you are welcome to stay for that meeting. Then I think we'll go off for a family lunch."

"That sounds very good, Arthur," Mom responded. "You should also know that Ron and George may want to hold wedding ceremonies at the same time as Ginny's."

"You surprise me with George. I knew Ron's marriage was coming, in fact I expected it before Ginny's. We'll have to work through the logistics of all of this. Given the way the last wedding ended, I doubt anyone could bear to go through another wedding at the Burrow. The bad memories are far too fresh."

There was a knock on the door and Shacklebolt returned, carrying a half-eaten bagel with what looked like lox cream cheese smeared thickly on its surface. He took his customary seat and merely nodded, when Dad announced "sorry to exclude you. That really was quite personal. It appears as though Harry and Ginny are now married. It was one of those hurried war-time ceremonies, before Harry marched off to die."

Shacklebolt swallowed and wiped his lips with his napkin, before congratulating each of us. "Very brief ceremonies can lead to very long marriages," he observed.

Shacklebolt and Dad indicated that they had thoroughly quizzed Barb for details, and then read her written report and quizzed her again. They knew a lot, but they wanted to know what happened in the Sacred Chamber before our rescue brigade had stormed the tunnel.

"You took an awful risk against very long odds, Harry," Dad said in a chastising but not an angry way. "You had not much of a plan and were quite literally saved by a 'Deux ex Machina' addition to the little script you wrote for this adventure. I'm not at all sure that we wouldn't all be better off with less risk involved, if you had spent fifteen more minutes in planning, instead of getting married."

"As you know," Harry explained, "Neville and Hermione are the thinkers of our group and Dumbledore assigned them the responsibility to slow me down or stop me if I was doing something rash and overly dangerous. We all thought this through: Hermione even wore the Ravenclaw diadem to boost her brain power. We just couldn't come up with any other approach that had a greater likelihood of success. I had just gotten married - believe me, I was not feeling at all suicidal. If there was a safer way, I would have happily walked that other path."

"Well, alright, you were there and I wasn't, and I did give you permission to go ahead. You weren't to take Ginny with you, however. You gave me your promise on that one."

"And I kept it. I convinced Ginny to remain in the Reception Hall and stay in mental contact with me. Everyone thought all the unfriendlies in the Reception Hall had been dealt with. The Deputy Chairman surprised Ginny and everyone else. I guess he actually was a friendly, but he just didn't think the prophecy could be fulfilled unless Ginny and Hermione also entered the Sacred Cavern. He told me that I was destroying the only chance for my plan to succeed, and dooming all magical creatures to extinction, because I was driven by your concern for Ginny's safety. He said he acted as he did because being Deputy Chairman carries certain responsibilities and risks, just as both Ginny and Hermione recognized that being assistant Keepers and the Mother of the Future and her Muse carried responsibilities and risks.

"He said he would never force Ginny to take such a risk, but that he had heard enough of our conversation to know that Ginny was very willing to do so and that you and I were stopping her from doing her duty. The Deputy is not a bad Goblin; he fully expected to die for taking the action he saw as necessary and unavoidable. He caught Ginny totally by surprise. She was prepared to honor our wishes, despite not seeing it as the right thing for her to do. If anything, I should have given more weight to her view and less to yours."

"So I heard from Barb. Neither Shacklebolt nor I view that as the aurors' finest hour, being surprised and defeated by a lone Goblin. But what's done is done, as Molly kicking me under the table is evidently meant to convey. Still, I will not tolerate having my daughter kidnapped and hustled off to her death at sword point. I've asked King Goblanze to come to my office. I shall demand that he arrest his deputy and deal with him in the harshest possible manner."

"No! You can't do that."

This brought a very displeased look from Dad.

"I mean you shouldn't do that. He would never have intentionally harmed me and would willingly have died to protect me. He is a very religious Goblin and he sees me as sacred. If he hadn't done what he did, certainly Harry and Cissy would have been killed, along with King Goblanze and there would have been a big war with the Goblins and magic probably would have been destroyed.

"I learned a lot of history from the Light Guardian. Goblin, and Elf, and Centaur history, as well as our own. There is so much of our past, which we have forgotten, but like the stories of Beedle the Bard, this knowledge is still passed down to Goblin children. The Deputy believed that these ancient legends, at the very heart of Goblin myth and religion, were the only thing which could save us.

"Crisis negotiations among magical peoples are fraught with distrust. To you, Harry, Cissy, Hermione, and me entering the Sacred Cavern was a very foolish thing to do, because you don't understand what is important to Goblins. The rituals of the Covenant, and the Keeper, and the Messenger Elf, and the Keeper of the Universe, who speaks for the Goblin Master are buried deep in Goblin culture. Many Goblins still believe in them.

"The Wizard Minister of Magic may mean very little to them, but the Mother of the Future and her Muse are important. The Goblins still remember tales of the first Mother of the Future, thousands of years ago. Other than the Goblin Master/Light Guardian, that Mother was the only person in history who managed to get the various magical peoples to fully trust each other and to feel truly safe. All the magical beings, including some of our ancient forebears built the Sacred Cavern and it's circle together. That circle was sacred, because it is the Circle of the Covenant. The London circles already existed and were built solely by the Goblins. The Sacred Cavern was built by and belongs to all of the magical peoples - to all beings who thing, although the cetaceans are unable to visit it. The Deputy knew that many of Ruppasta's traditional Goblins would consider it a very great sin to murder the Mother. Far worse than killing the Wizard Keeper. The Goblins have carefully maintained the seats for the Mother of the Future and her Muse for centuries. The Sacred Cavern has few seats and Goblin females have not even been allowed to enter the Cavern for centuries, but no Goblin dared to sit in those seats for all that time. For Ruppasta to have the Mother chained to her seat and slaughtered would be an unspeakable crime in Goblin legend.

"The Deputy counted on that fact to cause dissention in Ruppasta's ranks. The Keepers following the ritual and asking the Goblin King for help also meant something to many of these Goblins. It harkens back to the era of Goblin greatness. Cotto, Baal, and Firenze understood that the full form of the ritual must be followed. That was the only way for the Wizard adversary to show the Goblins proper respect and another way for Ruppasta to reveal himself as a bad Goblin. For species who don't trust each other, following the old ritual is very important. In the end, the Deputy didn't even have to raise his sword to prevent Ruppasta's most fanatical supporter to stop and to delay killing us. That was the power of the ritual and memory of the Mother passed down for centuries by Goblin parents. It really was our best chance. The appearance of the Light Guardian was just an unexpected bonus. The Deputy stood between Ruppasta's executioner and us. He would have willingly died to save us. You should know that he will probably be the next Goblin King."

"Alright, Genevra, I see that there are things about your adventure that I am unable to fully understand. Please tell us your story of what happened and fill in any details that Barb wasn't aware of."

Harry and I took turns filling in the details. Everyone seemed most interested in the appearance of the Light Guardian and the workings of the Covenant, under which Cotto and Bane had appeared.

Dad interrupted our summary to ask Prudence to see whether or not Cotto was still in the building and if he could attend. While we waited, we discussed Firenze in great detail. Dad said that both the political and cultural significance of a Light Guardian appearance and the triggering of the Covenant responsibilities of the various species were bound to be profound. He wanted a list of all who had observed the Light Guardian. "Wizards have all but given up their religion," he told us, "with Christmas trees as common in Wizard homes as Hanukkah bushes in Jewish Muggle homes.

"This will lead to a rebirth of our own religion. There will be new priests and priestesses and also new charlatans. There will be those who weren't present who will claim to have seen the Light Guardian and to be the designated conveyor of his one true message. I'd like to head that off with an official record. Most Wizards have nominally adopted the Christian religion, and from all that I can tell, that is a perfectly solid, positive, faith now that they have outgrown their habit of burning Witches and other opponents and emphasized the gentler loving God approach. This is going to be a great shock to those wizards."

Cotto was in the building and did join us. "I'm glad to see you again," Harry said, rising to shake his little hand. "Ginny and I both had the sense in the Sacred Cavern that you had more important duties and we weren't going to see you again."

"Not at all, Harry Potter - while it is true that I am actually Firenze's Elf as well as Elf King, it is important that I remain with you and help you to understand the other magical creatures. Firenze says this is the most important thing for me to do. I am also to protect you and Ginny. Baal is young, but he is also a very good Elf and can be of much help. I am learning much about Wizard ways during my time with you and Percy. I know that Wizards believed they owned Elfs in a way other creatures do not. Firenze is the only Centaur with an Elf. It is my obligation to the Light Guardian to follow and help Firenze. The prior Keeper of the Universe was an Elf and he was given a Centaur and a Unicorn assistant. She didn't own them. It was their religious duty to follow her."

Dad treated Cotto very respectfully, as one should with a King and Messenger Elf, but also questioned him in great detail, regarding the events of yesterday and the role of the various magical beings in maintaining magic and the Covenant. Cotto explained that Baal had dutifully kept him informed of events during the day and that he was awaiting Harry's entrance into the Sacred Cavern, as were Bane and Firenze. He knew when Harry had entered, and would have arrived within ten minutes, whether summoned or not. While he admitted that he thought Harry had acted well, he dismissed Dad's terms like 'reckless and bravery' and said that Harry was simply doing his duty, no more and no less. He told Dad that since all would collapse if the magic died, that the Covenant was more important than governments and individuals. He, Bane, and Firenze had merely carried out their assigned roles, as had Harry and Cissy, and as King Goblanze had tried to do. He said that neither Firenze nor he had been present during the Light Guardian's appearance, but that even at a distance, he, Firenze, and one of the unicorns could listen in on all that the Light Guardian had said to each of us.

He told Dad that a Keeper's duties were more important than a Deputy Minister's and that Harry had chosen the correct path. He said that I had acted well, with fate and my yearning to fulfill my obligations drawing me close enough to the mouth of the tunnel for the Deputy Chairman to act. "Ginny must follow her own wisdom. The Mother of the Future is more important than a Deputy Minister or even the Minister. It is great honor and big obligation. Hermione did well to protect Ginny. All ended as it was meant to end."

He said he was telling the precise truth, when he conveyed the Light Guardian's commands to Ruppasta and his supporters. When asked when we were likely to see the Light Guardian again, Cotto replied that it was very unlikely that we, or our children, or our children's children would see him. "Yes, we are mostly on our own," Cotto said, "but we, the magical beings, have been given all that we need to coexist in peace and to keep the magic strong. It is up to ourselves what happens."

I thought Hermione was less polite to King Cotto than Dad had been. She basically accused him "You weren't really captured in one of RF's wild Elf raids, were you? You deliberately made yourself available for Harry to discover."

"It was my duty and my instructions from Firenze," Cotto replied. "The Messenger Elf must find a way to meet the Keeper and determine if he is a true Keeper. Harry and Cissy are both true Keepers. Lord Montaigne was not. We deny help to false keepers and do not tell them of the greater mysteries."

When everyone's account was finished, Dad had Prudence read back her transcript and we all said that it was as accurate as we could remember. Dad then summarized "so, those present at any time during the Light Guardians appearance were Harry and Ginny, Cissy Montaigne, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Neville, Luna, Margaret Wright, Bill and Barb, King Goblanze, the Deputy Chairman, about a half dozen of Goblanze's supporters – I'll get the names from the King this afternoon, and almost two dozen of Ruppasta's Goblins – I'll also get those names from King Goblanze."

"And of course Ruppasta, but he's no longer on this world," I corrected, earning myself a glare from Dad.

"That wasn't impertinent, that was important," I corrected Dad. "When the Light Guardian decides that Ruppasta and Bruce have purged their minds of hate, they will be returned to our world. We don't know what they will remember of today's events, but you should be prepared for their return. The other thing which must be said is this: the other magical peoples have been terrified for a very long time that we Wizards were determined to destroy ourselves and feared that we would destroy them in the process. Almost all of their dealings with us have been driven by that fear. They've tried to steer us back on course, but feared that we were just to greedy and perverse to be persuaded. You know as well as I do that the owned Elves could have broken away from their Wizard owners whenever they chose. They hoped that their humility would be a guide for the worst of us. It didn't work. They all really did their best to protect and to save us."

"This is true," Cotto assured my father.

"I think it's time for lunch at a Muggle restaurant," Mom announced. Shacklebolt was invited to join us, but said it seemed like a family affair. We did pick up Percy on the way out of the Ministry.

It was a very mellow and celebratory lunch, with Mom and a couple sherries putting Dad in a very relaxed, welcoming father-in-law mode. I enjoyed my meal, this being the first time in a while that I felt able to relax and savor my food. I had two very nicely spiced crab cakes, beets with an orange glaze, mashed potatoes laced with sour cream and chives, a small salad of spiced and diced cabbage in light cream, and a chocolate raspberry torte for dessert. We had a champagne toast to us as the newly married couple. I was pleased as Harry became progressively more relaxed during lunch, the recognition finally dawning on him that Dad was not going to take our marriage badly and that the working relationship that he had established with Dad would not be impaired. Percy seemed genuinely pleased to have Harry as an official member of our family.

"You have to admit, however," Dad mused, "that these marriages are coming in a strange order. I'm still waiting for two of my older sons to let me know that they've found their future partner."

"I don't want to intrude on Ginny's moment," Percy responded to the goading, "but I may well have something to announce not very long from now. It is hard to find a Witch who doesn't view my obsession with the minutia of the Ministry to be anything other than unbearably dull. Happily, I believe I've found someone who takes as much interest in Ministry affairs as I do."

"Delores Umbridge is dead," I informed Percy, who didn't even rise to the bait.

Harry quickly jumped into the awkward silence. "There is one other thing, Sir. Cissy badly wants to see her father. I agreed to ask your permission. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and I, and of course Bill and Barb would accompany her. She has been very brave and very helpful this past month and she has just about lost her entire family. Participating in her brother's almost death had to be a great shock to her. I think it is important that we grant her wish."

"With reluctance, I agree," Dad replied. "Stay on your guard and keep a couple of the guard aurors with you. Old Montaigne is not to be trusted. I know that all of you trust Cissy, and really I have no reason not to, but it's hard for me to warm to any Montaigne. You'll find him at your parents' house in Godric's Corner. I'll alert the guard to expect you."

"You all must welcome Cissy," I insisted. "Everything we've learned says that the female Montaignes were not bad. Cissy is important. She is more important than Draco, and she needs a family as badly as Harry did."

"I'll do whatever I can to help, and so will your father," Mom promised me. Dad seemed to accept her statement.

I was only moderately tipsy as we took our leave from my family and apparated back to the landing outside the Gryffindor Common Room.

I won't say Cissy was waiting impatiently for us, but she was sitting alone in the Common Room, dressed for departure and not even reading, simply staring at the Fat Lady portal. We surprised her by entering from the pyramid arch. She spun around in her chair, smiled and rose to meet us. "I didn't know when you'd return. I know it's only 2:30, but I guess I was getting a little anxious. I'm sure you want to kick back a little before we depart, but I'd appreciate it if we could leave in about a half hour. I've revved up my courage for this meeting and am afraid that it will just drain away if we delay too long. I know it looks like I've been sitting here bored and overly impatient, but I've been rehearsing in my mind what I want to say to my father and considering alternatives based upon his initial reaction to what I say. I know that is likely wasted effort, but I can't help being an over-planner. So, anyway…"

"Why don't we just leave right now?" Harry suggested. That put a smile back on Cissy's face. I quickly found Hermione in our dorm room and Harry similarly chased down Ron. We went back through the archway by which we had entered the Common Room and apparated to just inside the door of the house. We had our aurors with us.

We were confronted by two of Montaigne's guards pointing their wands at us. They recognized us and lowered them immediately. "Good thing you didn't arrive a few minutes earlier," the taller of the aurors told Harry. "We just barely received the warning from the Minister that you would be visiting us. Two minutes sooner and you'd have caught us totally by surprise. We probably would have cursed you. Things have been tense since the Goblin attack."

"I apologize," Harry replied. "If I'd been thinking straight, I'd have waited a half hour to make sure the Minister had a chance to reach you before we came. Where is your prisoner?"

"He's upstairs. We'll fetch him for you. Good to see you both again, Bill and Barb."

The former Lord Montaigne was scowling when he came downstairs. It was clear that he had been weeping, but he looked quite composed at the moment. "I didn't expect to see you today or, I suppose, ever, Cissy," he greeted his daughter. "Having helped in the death of your brother, I viewed you as having resigned from this family and gone over to the other side."

"Father, you know that I never even pretended to support what Bruce was trying to do. I just couldn't let him kill Hermione or anyone else. He had already been responsible for the deaths of far too many students. If he hadn't become violent, I wouldn't have attacked him. He ordered me to participate in his attack. He left me no choice: either I could become complicit in his evil, or I could oppose him. I chose not to be evil. You should know that Bruce is not dead. He was badly injured, but the Light Guardian healed him and then banished him to another land. If he can rid himself of his hatred, he will be allowed to return. He is with Ruppasta."

"Ruppasta promised to make Bruce the leader of the Wizards, when he defeated King Goblanze and conquered the Ministry. Bruce was so close when you stopped him. Without any magic, unless Ruppasta and Bruce permitted there to be magic, Minister Weasley would have no choice but to capitulate. Our family would be returned to its rightful position. You ruined everything. You knew the prophecy. After all the sacrifices this family made as Keeper to preserve all the magical creatures and protect the Covenant, we were to be stripped of our titles or slaughtered, so that this new golden age could arrive. Bruce and I were imprisoned. We took the only course open to us. The Keeper should be a Montaigne and he should be the leader of the Wizard community. You think you can be the Keeper, but you never can. You're a Montaigne and you're a Witch and neither will be accepted."

"You can use that sacrifice line on those less knowledgeable and more gullible than me, father. I know you haven't sacrificed a thing. You've always lived very well, done exactly what you wanted, and had plenty of influence, especially at the bank. Exactly what have you sacrificed? And for your information, I am already a Keeper. I was approved by the Light Guardian, who didn't seem to care whether or not my name is Montaigne and whether or not I'm female. I'm also accepted by the Goblin King, the Centaurs, and the Elves. I think the golden age has already begun. I intend to be a very good Keeper and to improve the condition of all magical creatures."

"That's silly, the Light Guardian is just an old myth, although it's a myth that served this family well for many generations, but that's past. Now being Keeper is all duty, service and groveling to lesser beings, without any real power. I couldn't even secure a pardon or even banishment for Bruce. Even a generation ago, things would have been different. You may be Keeper, but you've squandered the family power and that's all that matters. At least Bruce appreciated the importance of power. You only want to be of service. The whole purpose of being Keeper is to continue and advance this family's position and wealth. That sometimes requires doing a little bit of what you call evil. If Montaignes hadn't been willing to do what it takes to maintain our position, we long since would have traveled the path of the Parkinsons and Gaunts. That is why a female Montaigne keeper is as bad as no Montaigne at all. It might have been different if you had more ambition or if I had taken the time to train you in the ways of grasping and maintaining power.

"Perhaps I focused too much attention on Bruce and allowed you to go all soft. My excuse is that you reminded me of your mother, who was a fine wife, but too soft for the reins of power. Besides, you'll never marry, so our line ends with you, unless you want to count whatever little bastards your brother has running around in the Muggle world. It is a fitting end for a family that murdered its own eldest son two generations in a row."

"I most certainly did not murder Bruce. I merely prevented him from doing more killing. He may even return, although I doubt there is enough goodness in him for that."

"Cissy is correct," Hermione forcefully declared, disrupting the Montaigne's focus upon each other. "She didn't kill Bruce. Bruce isn't dead. The Light Guardian saved him. But, even if he had died, Bruce killed himself. He was under an Unbreakable Vow not to escape and not to oppose the Ministry. The sham kidnapping was enough of a ruse to allow Bruce to convince himself that he wasn't actually escaping, simply being forced to go where Ruppasta led him. When he pulled a wand on me, he was definitely in charge, definitely trying to escape, and definitely opposing the Ministry. The Unbreakable Vow would have killed him by morning. Cissy just stunned him, there wasn't enough magical strength left for any curse to do more than that. Neville deliberately did not kill him. So, Bruce would actually have killed himself, or you would have killed him by not trying to stop him from joining Ruppasta's rebels. And if you weren't so given to wallowing in self-pity, you would realize that you and Bruce each got a very sweet deal for the extremely serious crimes you committed. Cissy is also correct that she saw the Light Guardian and was approved as keeper. She is most certainly correct that you haven't sacrificed a thing as Keeper."

"It is not true that I haven't sacrificed. I could be living a very satisfactory life as a British Lord. All of my troubles have come from the Wizarding world and my Keeper duties. The normal humans never gave me the problems with Bruce that the Wizarding world did, nor did they hound me about my brother's banishment and death. The Muggle world was an ocean for Bruce to lose himself in and when he committed some transgression or another, the Muggle authorities were easily bought off or deterred with a little magical effort by Bruce. Dumbledore was relentless in hounding me and in persecuting Bruce, just as the current Ministry has been. The Muggles were always satisfied with Bruce simply moving to another country. And then there was the painful necessity of dealings with the Goblin King and Dumbledore. Were it not for my Keeper duties, I could have avoided all of that hectoring and subservient groveling to lesser persons and species. So, don't you dare tell me that I haven't sacrificed to fulfill my Keeper duties and uphold the family traditions."

"If you found your Keeper duties and serving on the Gringotts board with Dumbledore to be so distasteful, you were always free to resign," Hermione sensibly told him. "It's not as if you ever did a whit of good for the Wizarding world by your presence. You even failed at the most basic Keeper duty of protecting your estate from Muggle intrusion. Yes, we know you tried to sell the castle and surrounding lands for development. We've also viewed Dumbledore's memories of his dealing with you and, despite all your whining, we all know that Dumbledore helped you save Bruce more than once."

"Yes Dumbledore helped once or twice, but he never helped enough. Weasley, Potter, and Goblanze never helped at all. I only sold the land when it was clear that Bruce was not going to be treated fairly and gently as a sick noble deserves. Up until that time, I more than upheld my end of the bargain. I know your lot objected to my blocking loans from Gringotts to Wizards, but that was necessary to keep Wizards from venturing out into the Muggle world and getting noticed. I was not about to let them spoil that last bit of my life and not be able to show my face in the House of Lords or go anywhere without having to explain my eccentric brethren, who quite honestly had zero chance of adapting to or fitting into the modern world. The Wizards' time was drawing to a close. I saw no point in prolonging the misery. My family and a few of the Great Houses, like the Malfoys, could simply move into Muggle society and leave all this witchcraft behind. I did my best to preserve a lifestyle that I found deeply repugnant, but if your people were going to persecute my poor sick son, then I had no problem ending the whole mess in this generation. Dumbledore foolishly thought the prophecy gave me no way out, other than total capitulation.

"He should have known that the permanent loss of magic was not something that I feared. I preserved it only for Bruce. My father did not believe in magic. He never let a wand touch his hands after he left Hogwarts and neither did I. If you people choose to live as superstitious, medieval savages, I was certainly not about to grease your way into the larger English society. You don't fit. You never will fit. Potter's uncle is totally correct in his views. Bruce convinced me of the rightness of his views, while we were imprisoned together. The Wizards' only chance was for a strong hand like Bruce's to rule them and mold them gradually, until they were fit to participate in normal society. We did not get to where we have as a family to risk being dragged down by loose Wizards. Cissy thinks she's so smart, but she is too blind or stupid to see this."

"So you had no desire to pass the Keeper post down to me and to allow me to continue the family tradition?" Cissy asked, visibly tearing up.

"The Montaigne legacy is passed through the males. I failed to produce a suitable male heir. Better Potter than you. I knew your mother's health was dicey, when we tried for a more suitable heir than Bruce. I terribly regret her death and miss her every day, but it would almost have been worth it, if you were male."

"Well, at least I needn't grieve the loss of my family," Cissy said, turning to leave. "Goodbye father, I shan't be seeing you again. Contrary to your wishes, I will be completing my education at Hogwarts. I intend to be a very good Keeper and a Priestess of the Light Guardian. I may even marry, but you will never get to contaminate your grandchildren. I've met a very nice, but rather mysterious, boy at Hogwarts.

"Like all Wizards, even wealthy ones, you will die father. Nobody will grieve for your passing. Nobody will remember any selfless good deeds that you've performed, because you've performed none. You will be remembered only as an evil, greedy, schemer, who couldn't be content with all his power and wealth. Even if Bruce returns to this world, he won't grieve your passing. He's hated you for years. He knows that you are convinced that he is crazy and he's convinced that he isn't. He sees you as weak and he thinks that you murdered my mother."

"That's crazy, I loved your mother. I would never have harmed her. I love Bruce. I know that he loves me, in his own way. I have to believe that. You just don't understand."

"Goodbye, father."

{[shock] Just wow! Even knowing the Malfoy family, I can't quite believe what we just witnessed.}