A/N This not so little coda just kept insisting it be done. I'll be back at Hermione's story from now on.
All's Fair
The Future
Part 1
"Mum, Mum, you will not believe what just happened!" Mary Wellborn said with wide eyes.
Vixen Wellborn looked at her daughter and her daughter's best friend. They were practically bursting. "Sit, and have your ice cream. You can tell me all about it," she said.
Vixen chuckled to herself, Mary was trembling with excitement. "We just met Katlyn, Elise, Sandra, Jason, and Lavender!" She said and looked her mother with glassy eyes and a smile a mile wide. "Mum, they are so… cool!"
Dame Lavender Finnigan
Whales Dragon Reserve
My dear Dame Lavender
I am Vixen Wellborn.
I would like to thank you and your apprentices for the kind invitation they extended to my daughter, Mary, and her best friend, Hilde Frazen. They are very naturally excited to be included in your pre performance preparations. When they talked of this (nonstop for the last week) it became apparent that I should contact you and seek advice on what they should be looking forward too. Their imaginations have carried them into some quite far reaching speculations, much to my and my husband's amusement.
I cannot thank your apprentices enough for their kindness, and for the grace with which they conducted themselves. You have done very well.
Vixen Wellborn
Seamus looked up from the letter. "Well, they replied. Think they're candidates?"
"Could be the first two," Lavender said, nodded, and took up her quill. "And now we respond."
Vixen Wellborn
29 The Old Mill Road
Seran by the Down
Sussex
Dear Mrs. Wellborn
Thank you for your correspondence and kind words. My fellow Arouk thank you as well. As to your query, we would like to offer Mary and Hilde the opportunity to visit the reserve several times in the up-coming year. This will help prepare them for a more inclusive role in the performance should they wish to participate. If this is amenable to you, your husband, and Hilde's parents we would like to propose the following schedule.
Next weekend, August 8 and 9. We would like to meet Mary and Hilde at Eylop's in Diagon Alley at 9 am. We will Apparate to the reserve from there. We will return them to you at 5 pm Sunday in the same location.
The following weekend plus Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Two weekends during the autumn term; Headmistress McGonagall is my former head of house and very accommodating to my requests.
Two consecutive days during Christmas break depending on family schedules.
Five weekends during the winter term.
June 10 through performance day and the day after.
Thank you for considering this learning opportunity for your children.
Dame Lavender Finnigan
Dame Lavender Finnigan
Whales Dragon Reserve
My dear Dame Lavender,
Did you hear the squeals in Whales? A herd of hippogriff could not keep Mary and Hilde from coming to visit the reserve and experiencing the incredible opportunity you have extended. They will be ready and on their best behavior you can rest assured.
Thank you is not enough, but I suppose it will have to be.
Vixen Wellborn
Seamus was just paying for the charmed teeth cleansing bones when the door chime sounded. The Eylope's clerk, John Fawcette from his nametag, waved to the beautiful dark haired woman and the two girls with her. "I'll be just a moment," he called.
"Aye, John, I believe they're here for me," Seamus said with a laugh. "Seamus Finnigan," he said, and held out his hand to the woman.
"Vixen Wellborn, a very great pleasure, Sir Seamus, very great indeed," she said.
Seamus smiled and nodded. "Hope I don't disappoint. Mary, Hilde, good to see you again." He chuckled to himself. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," they said excitedly.
Seamus laughed and winked at Vixen Wellborn. "No, you're not, but let's go anyway. See you on Sunday, Mrs. Wellborn."
They snapped back into reality on the arrival pad. Seamus smiled at the memory from years past when Charlie had met him and Lavender here. Their lives had changed that day. Mary and Hilde were in for the same day. "Welcome to the Whales Dragon Reserve," he said. "Today 'm handin you off to Elise. She's waiting for you at Gavina's." He started down the gravel path to the common field.
There was a roar and a woman's magically amplified voice boomed, "Heads up, Finnigan!" Seamus and the girls ducked as a large green dragon skimmed fifteen feet over their heads.
He laughed along with the woman as she and the dragon disappeared over a ridge. "Pansy has a twisted sense of humor," he said. "Can't help but love the woman though. You'll see."
"That was Dame Pansy… and Brighid?" Hilde asked.
"Aye, she and Brighid are fast and true these days," he said, and led them on.
The two girls marveled in hushed tones at the dragons in the common field as they approached the dark blue port box. "Step in, close the door, say 'Gavina', and step out. Elise 'll be there." His jovial manner fell away and he looked at them seriously. "Ladies, this will be the defining moment in your lives, it will. What you choose today, what you show Elise, what you show Lavender, will determine the course of the future for you." He smiled to them "That being said, enjoy yourselves, and most importantly, be yourselves. If you are honest and true, if you love fully and stand, you will have a grander adventure than you could imagine." He nodded at the door. "Go on."
Seamus watched them enter the port box. "Good luck, Ni Arouk Ta Lei, Ni Arouk Ta Lau," he whispered, and smiled as the door closed.
Mary opened the port box door and stepped out. She and Hilde found themselves in clearing among a grove of tall trees with a large cave opening in the side of the mountain before them. A young black woman with braided hair and striking features rose from her seat on a fallen log and approached them.
"Bonjor, Marie, Hilde, a pleasure to see you again. We will converse in mostly English today as it will be easier for all, Oui?" she asked.
"Whatever you want, Mademoiselle Monforte," Hilde said.
"Please call me Elise." She smiled. "Excepting when we are in lessons, as we are now, zen you will refer to me as Arouk Ta Nie."
"Certainly, Arouk Ta Nie," Mary said, and Hilde nodded.
"Today we will see if you have what is required, no?" Elise said, and strode away towards the edge of the woods. "Allez," she said, and the two girls followed. Elise stopped about twenty feet from where the grass ended at the undergrowth began. "Malcolm? Malcolm, Mon Amor!" Elise called into the woods. "He is playing," she said in a whisper. "I can feel him. He is just inside zee wood behind us and will jump out to try and frighten us. Pretend to be startled, he will like zat, oui?"
Hilde looked at Mary and nodded, the conversation with Hilde's older cousin, a Gryffindor, playing in both their memories. Don't let fear stop you, that's all you need to know. They're dragons! Of course you will be afraid, but you know you can trust Katlyn and Dame Finnigan not to get you hurt.
In the woods, fifty yards away, Lavender, Katlyn, Sandra and Jason sat with joined hands. I wouldn't count on that, Lavender sent in the link, and Elise sniggered.
With a loud roar, seven and a half tons of playful dragon leapt over the tree tops. Mary and Hilde turned and shrieked. They hid their smiles behind their hands and turned to Elise. She nodded and said, "Tre bien." Then she turned to the dragon. "Malcolm, you rascal," she said and hugged his neck just below his chin. She scratched his throat and he purred loudly. As Hilde and Mary looked on, Elise showed them what it truly was to be Arouk.
They touched, they caressed, all with the greatest care. It was obvious that the dragon and the young woman were deeply bonded partners. Not master and pet, or even simple acceptance, but love and respect shown through in the way she stroked her hand along the underside of his jaw, and in the way he, with the gentlest touch, picked her from the ground and hugged her.
Elise turned to the girls as Malcolm set her down. "As you have seen in zee presentations, Malcolm and I are one soul. To be Arouk requires zee utmost dedication, zee utmost honor, and unconditional love for your friend. It is hard and tiring, and zere is much to learn, but it is zee best of all possible lives." She looked into the two girl's faces and asked, "Is zis a life you would desire?"
Mary and Hilde nodded solemnly.
Elise showed a small grin, bowed slightly, and held out her hand to the girls. "Attend," she said.
The two girls walked to Elise and took her hand. The Arouk Ta Nie stroked Malcolm's cheek and, with the combined power of the Arouk of the Whales Dragon Reserve, submerged the two girls in the thoughts and memories of the Kind and the Arouk.
Vixen Wellborn appraised her daughter and the girl she referred to as 'Mary's sister'. Something was decidedly different about them. They looked out at the world with an air of maturity they didn't even hint at when they had left for the reserve. They smiled and chatted with Katlyn and Elise, but there was no nervous adulation to their conversation, only questions about the dragons and how they would next visit he reserve. It was as if they had aged five years in a weekend. Vixen was impressed.
She looked at the blonde woman next to her. "However it is you do this, you should bottle it. They have… grown. In just two days. What happened to those two giggling girls?"
"The Arouk," Lavender said. "And the Kind." Lavender took Vixen Wellborn's hand. "Your daughter and Hilde passed some very important tests this weekend." She smiled at the dark haired woman. "Exceptionally well I might add, Mrs. Wellborn."
"Vixen, please."
"Lavender, and you should get to know the rest of us. You and Hilde's parents are going to be in rather frequent conversation with us going forward."
Part 2
"Good morning," Seamus said. "Good to see you again Vixen, Daniel." He turned to Hilde's parents. "And good to see you here at the reserve at last, Elias, Martine. Today, apparently, is the day."
They walked away from the arrival pad, the old pewter goblet that was their portkey sitting patiently on one side waiting for their return. Vixen Wellborn still occasionally gaped in wonder at the life her daughter had become so comfortable with. She snickered at her friends Martine and Elias Frazen. This was the first time they had accepted one of the multiple invitations Lavender had extended them. Martine worked for a corporation that dealt with the Spanish Ministry, and her translating services required very frequent trips to the continent. Mr. Frazen had been reluctant to come without her.
"So, Martine, Elias tells me you've got a bit o' the jitters when it comes to the Kind," Seamus said with a snigger.
"Senior Finnigan, I have a fear of snakes, and … the dragons…"
"Are much more like cats than snakes," Seamus said, and then he chuckled. "Smarter though, and by a good deal."
"So Hildegard says," Mrs. Frazen muttered.
"She's bein' true," Seamus told her. "You'll see shortly."
Vixen looked at Seamus. "We're meeting Asgre and Kaddyl today, aren't we?'
"Aye," Seamus said in a serious voice. "The eggs show all the signs, and Big Green and Asgre are very excited. They were fair disappointed that Brighid didn't have siblings, now she will. Asgre called for Lavender this morning, and Hilde and Mary are there now." He chuckled. "Been there for the better part of the past three days, they have. Oh, and don' be worrin about school. Minerva gave them a pass for the next week, and she and Hagrid are giving them special credit for this"
"Hildegard says she can feel the chick in the link, as you call it, even now." Mrs. Frazen said. "What your wife and her apprentices have accomplished is astounding, and that they can teach it is more amazing still."
"Aye, Hilde is very excited to meet Gawain." He turned to the Wellborns. "And Mary is just as excited to meet Owena." He smiled at his charges. "Today your daughters become Arouk Ta, the first of the next." He nodded. "Aye, Lavender and Kat can teach the link, and so can Elise, but both subjects need to be young. We don't know what the upper age limit is, but they have to still be developing mentally, physically, and magically to learn it. We've all tried, and Pan is the only one came close."
"Dame Pansy?" Elias Frazen asked.
"Aye," Seamus said. "She's actually very close with Brighid, almost there. Lavender's looked in on them during their sessions, and she's very proud of Pansy. She and Brighid are as stubborn as they get; if any adult dragon and human can accomplish the link it'll be Pan and Brighid."
They approached the large blue box at the edge of the common field. "Looks like a Tardis," Elias Frazen said, and Seamus laughed.
"Never thought o' that," he said, and laughed again at the puzzled looks from the Wellborns and Mrs. Frazen. He turned back to Elias. "Muggle born?"
"My father was, and he loved Dr. Who."
"Ah, I see." To the others he said, "Dr. Who is a muggle television show. Me brother loves that show more n' he loves me." He opened the door to the port box. "In you go," he said, and he laughed as he followed them in and closed the door. "This one's the same size in and out though. Asgre!"
Hilde and Mary sat on Asgre's paws as the great green dragon slowly puffed hot air on the eggs between her front feet. Large cracks were already showing on the one before Mary and the other had audible tapping coming from it. The two girls were almost in a trance; eye's closed with hands slightly spread with palms toward the egg in front of them.
Kaddyl stood a few yards away. He alternately looked at his mate and then out across the valley of the reserve. Brighid paced back and forth perhaps another hundred feet from Asgre, Pansy stroking her side and speaking calming words. Seamus smiled. Second to Dean, Pansy Parkinson Greymartin was his greatest friend, and he could not be more proud of her. He led the Wellborns and the Frazens to an area about eighty feet from the rookery that he had set up earlier. A table and six chairs sat inside a small circle of boulders. A bottle of wine, a collection of glasses, some cheese, fruit, prosciutto, salami, and a few small loaves of bread sat on wooden platters which in turn sat on a red and white checked table cloth.
"Have a seat," he said. "We'll be a while."
Owena emerged at ten thirty in the evening, Gawain two hours later.
The sight of their children sleeping along with the infant dragons cuddled in their arms, all of them wrapped in the paws and tail of Asgre, was a sight that would never leave Vixen's memory. Mary was now Arouk Ta Lei, and Hilde was Arouk Ta Lau.
"She'll still need this for the next few weeks." Lavender said as she handed Vixen her daughter's tie. "Ravenclaw seems to be where most of the Arouk Ta come from,"
"You and Jason are Gryffindors," Vixen answered.
Lavender chuckled. "And Kat, Sandra, Mary, and Hilde are all Claws. Two to one. We'll have to see how this shakes out in the next few years."
"And Elise?" Vixen asked.
Lavender chuckled. "Pansy insists she'd have been Slytherin, I agree."
They gazed at the sleeping dragons and the new Arouk Ta for a few silent moments. "How did you know?" Vixen asked Lavender softly.
Lavender smiled at her friend. "Kat and the three amigos looked in their minds when they met them in the shop. They saw the depth of their friendship, and that's the most important part of being Arouk, the ability to love another as friend. They pointed it out to me when we got back to the reserve. It was why Jason gave them the scales. We decided then that they would be the first of the new Arouk Ta if they passed the audition."
"If I hadn't written…"
"None of this would have happened," Lavender finished for her. "Vixen," Lavender said, and looked at her friend with the most serious expression. "We didn't do them any favors. This life they are now committed to is a hard one; very, very rewarding, but also quite demanding and arduous. For instance their last two years at Hogwarts will be just like all of Katlyn's. They will be hugely famous after the show, and even though Minerva will admonish the students not to harass them, it will happen. And that's just a small part of it."
"They're already getting some of that. Their dorm mates figured out where they've been sneaking off to a few weeks ago." Vixen looked at Lavender with concern. "Do you intend to train them the way you trained all the others?" she asked.
"Yes."
Vixen nodded. Acceptance she thought. "All's fair in Dragon Land, eh?" she asked to no one.
Part 3
"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the twelfth annual United Charities Special Presentation!" The crowd was the largest ever convened in the history of wizarding England. Thirty-five thousand people filled the enormous stadium set in a valley eighteen miles east of the reserve. As the roar subsided Pansy stepped off the small stage at the center of the pitch. "Every year Lavender has surprised and amazed us. First she showed us what it was to be Arouk, and what it costs to cross her." She smiled as the crowd laughed. "Then she introduced us to Katlyn, who in turn introduced us to Sandra, Jason, and Elise." More applause and cheers sounded from the stands. "In the ensuing ten years they have shown us the love and skill and talent that they all possess. From Katlyn and Jason's musical ability to Sandra and Elise's acrobatic gifts, we have seen and heard amazing and beautiful things in these presentations. This year, this year will be one for the ages." She chuckled to herself. "Ladies and gentlemen, Katlyn Mclellen and the Arouk Ta!"
The stadium was plunged into darkness. In the inky blackness a voice, hoarse and commanding, spoke.
"And in the fullness of time the ranks of the Arouk Ta will grow,
for the earth will require them.
When the comets rise, when the sky glows pink, when the Kind reclaim their rightful place,
then they will be called to defend against the greatest threat.
Nine thousand strong they will be, bearing Muggle and wizard alike.
And this is how the world will be saved."
As professor Trelawney's voice faded the spotlights came up on Katlyn, once more standing in the center of the pitch. Elise, Jason and Sandra stood behind her. The music swelled and they all began to sing, Katlyn in Welsh, and the Arouk Ta echoing her in English.
"Yn y noson diddiwedd oedd yn ei ben ei hun
In the endless night he was alone.
Ac yng ngoleuni hi yn galaru iddo
and she mourned for him in the light.
mae pob byth cyfan, byth yn hapus
Each never whole, never happy,
byth mewn heddwch
never at peace."
Katlyn stepped forward and sang solo.
"Hi y frenhines o fywyd
(She the queen of life),
ac efe y meistr o gariad
(and he the master of love),
yng ngwres y frwydr cawsant eu gwahanu
(In the heat of battle they were parted),
pob un yn credu y colledig eraill
(each believing the other lost)."
The music tempo sped up and then became a driving beat.
"Dewch yn ôl ataf, fy nghariad, fy nghalon
(Come back to me, my love, my heart).
Dewch yn ôl i mi y gall yr ydym byth yn rhan
(Come back to me that we may never part).
Ar gyfer ein plentyn wedi tyfu
(For our child has grown),
ac mae'r hadau yn cael eu hau
(and the seeds are sown).
Dewch yn ôl ataf
(Come back to me).
Dewch ... yn ôl i mi
(Come… back to me)."
The Arouk Ta joined her again
"Ac yn y gwyll clywodd ei chân
And in the gloom he heard her song,
'Rwy'n dod, fy nghariad, i chi a'ch kind
I come, my love, for you and your kind.
I fod yn gyfan, i fod yn hapus
To be whole, to be happy,
i fod mewn heddwch
to be at peace."
Katlyn leapt off the stage and sang with a voice full of emotion and power.
"Hi y frenhines o fywyd
(She the queen of life),
ac efe y meistr o gariad
(and he the master of love),
Yng ngwres y frwydr daethant o hyd gilydd…
(In the heat of the battle they found each other…)
eto.
(again).
Rwyf wedi dod yn ôl i chi, fy nghariad, fy nghalon
(I've come back to you, my love, my heart).
Rwyf wedi dod atoch chi ac ni fyddwn byth yn gwahanu
(I've come to you and we will never part).
Ar gyfer ein plentyn wedi tyfu
(For our child has grown),
ac mae'r hadau yn cael eu hau
(and the seeds are sown).
Rwyf wedi dod yn ôl atoch
(I've come back to you).
Rwyf wedi .. ddod yn ôl atoch
(I've… come back to you)."
The Arouk Ta joined her again.
"Yn y tywyllwch y nos clywsom eu galwad
In the dark of the night we heard their call
'Bydd bywyd newydd yn codi noson hon'
'New life will rise this night'
I fod yn gyfan, i fod yn hapus
To be whole, to be happy,
i fod mewn heddwch
to be at peace."
"Hi y frenhines o fywyd
She the queen of life,
ac efe y meistr o gariad
and he the master of love,
Yn y gwres cariad y maent yn dod o hyd ei gilydd ... eto!
In the heat of love they found each other… again!
Rwyf wedi dod yn ôl i chi, fy nghariad, fy nghalon
I've come back to you, my love, my heart.
Rwyf wedi dod atoch chi ac ni fyddwn byth yn gwahanu
I've come to you and we will never part.
Ar gyfer ein plentyn wedi tyfu
For our child has grown,
ac mae'r hadau yn cael eu hau
and the seeds are sown.
Rwyf wedi dod yn ôl atoch
I've come back to you.
Rydych wedi dod yn ôl i mi.
You've come back to me.
A byddwn yn hedfan mewn buddugoliaeth.
And we will soar in victory.
Ac rydym yn ... byddwn i gyd yn rhad ac am ddim
And we… we shall all be free."
Seamus felt the stands rumble from the applause and cheers. To his left Sandra's parents were smiling and sharing comments with Jason's. On his right Mr. and Mrs. Monforte were watching the show and occasionally chatting with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Queen and Prince Phillip hadn't missed a show since the second one. Her Majesty had become one of the Arouk's greatest admirers, and she insisted on attending every show. He smirked at the Wellborns and the Frazens. They were still a bit dazed at the company they were keeping in the VIP box. The Minister sat beside Martine, and he smiled and joked easily with the newest members of the rather exclusive club that met once a year in the VIP box.
"Well, here we all are again," Katlyn said, and the crowd cheered. "Today we begin a new chapter in the relationship between the Kind and humanity. A prophecy, part of which you heard at the beginning of the show, was given to Lord Potter four years ago."
Jason spoke from the stage. "We have studied the words, and delved into what they could mean, because as we all know, prophecy is ambiguous at best." A murmur of laughter passed through the crowd. "Yes, but one thing was very clear. There will be more Arouk Ta, there must be."
"It is a necessary zing." Elise said. "Zee Arouk may be zee last. As zee loup-garou, zee werewolf, become more rare, as zey decline, zere will be fewer Arouk. Zere may be a day when zere are none."
"And we are preparing for that day," Sandra said. "If Katlyn and Lavender are to be the last Arouk it falls to the Arouk Ta to carry on the work. To do that, we will need more, many more, and our quest, our mission has begun."
"We have found and trained two new Arouk Ta," Katlyn told the audience and they whispered in curiosity. "The Arouk Ta Lei and the Arouk Ta Lau are bound to the newest chicks of the reserve, the children of Asgre and Kaddyl, Gawain and Owena."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Lavender's voice boomed in the public address shells. "Please welcome for the first time, Asgre, Kaddyl, and their children Owena, and Gawian, with the Arouk Ta Lei and the Arouk Ta Lau."
Kaddyl was first through the opening above the pitch, Mary Wellborn astride him holding Owena too her chest. Then Asgre, with Lavender and Hilde, Gawain clinging tightly to Hilde's back, dove into the stadium. The crowd roared at the appearance of the two dragons, and Mary and Hilde waved back. Kaddyl landed, and Mary, with her perfected style, slid down his leg. "Hello everyone," she said to the people in the stands. "I am Mary Wellborn, Arouk Ta Lei." She smiled broadly. "This is Kaddyl!" she said, and caressed the great dragon's cheek as the audience cheered. "And this is my friend, Kaddyl and Asgre's daughter, Owena," she stroked the neck of the chick now wrapped around her shoulders. Mary smiled as she heard their names shouted back from the stands mixed with in with the applause.
On the other side of the pitch Lavender and Hilde had also dismounted. "Hello again everyone," Lavender said, and waved to the crowd. "This is my dearest friend, Asgre!"
As the crowd roared Lavender sent, As I said, my dearest.
YOU SPOKE TRULY, KA AROUK, Asgre sent back.
"Thank you all," Katlyn said as the applause subsided, and then she indicated the great green dragon at her side. "As you may have read, we liberated Kaddyl from his prison two years ago. He and Asgre decided that Brighid deserved siblings, and that they would gift the first of the new Arouk Ta with their own children."
"Owena and Gawain hatched just four and a half months ago," Hilde said. "Hello all, I am Hilde Frazen, Arouk Ta Lau, and this is Gawain."
"Mary and Hilde are the first of the next," Lavender told the audience after the applause quieted. "But they are just the first. Once again we have asked that the children, this time aged twelve, place their names in a bin."
"Our mission, as you heard, will require many Arouk Ta," Elise said. She looked up at the audience, a kind expression on her face. "I have been where you sit now. Do not be afraid."
"We have perfected a charm that will allow us to select the best candidates for Arouk Ta," Jason said. "Not all who are called will pass the test and become what we are, but you will, if you desire, be one of the Dragon Friends."
Sandra stepped forward as Katlyn spun on her heal and Apparated away. "Katlyn has gone to get the Lord of the Kind. We and he have a bargain for you, we have a plan and a purpose, and we need your help." She looked up at the Welsh sky and the silvery shape in the clouds. "Ladies and gentlemen, Horatius, Lord of the Kind."
The murmur of puzzlement turned to gasps of awe as Horatius spiraled down to the pitch. Katlyn was sat on his shoulders, and she addressed the crowd. "Beautiful, isn't he?" she asked quietly as they landed.
"Yes," she heard is hushed and amazed tones.
"Horatius can speak to you through me, and he has a question for you." Still astride him she laid her hand on his neck and closed her eyes. "Humans, we believe your sear is correct. We have met with the centaurs, and they agree. All life on our world, our home, is threatened. From what, we know not, but it is clear that we all must band together or we will all perish."
Horatius strode to the side of the pitch near the VIP box and Katlyn addressed the occupants. "You are the lords of your kin, you are tasked with their protection and preservation, and you are honor bound to do your duty." He stepped back and swept the audience with his gaze. "I, Lord of the Kind, hereby offer this bargain. We will gift our children to you if you gift yours to them. Some will become Arouk Ta. They will be our children's companions, defenders, and partners, and they will live in our memories forever."
Katlyn opened her eyes and addressed the audience in her own voice. "This is no small thing. The Kind value their children as much as we do."
"We, Mary and I, want you to know that your children are being called for a great purpose," Hilde said. "Asgre and Kaddyl have privileged me and Mary with their children so that you can see what the bond is." She smiled at Elise. "To be Arouk is the highest calling. We are their friends, their companions, and so much more."
"The older a person is, the harder it is to achieve the link alone." Mary told the audience. "This is why we are asking only for younger children. Hilde and I are perhaps a bit older than optimum, but with hard work and dedication it can be done. And the same holds for the Kind. The Arouk Ta bond forms easiest if the dragons are infants."
The Arouk gathered around Lavender, and joined hands. Asgre, Kaddyl, and Horatius circled behind them, lay down next to the Arouk, and brushed them with their whiskers. Lavender looked up into the stadium. "The Kind have offered a grand bargain between themselves and humanity," she said, and looked directly at the Minister for Magic, then the Queen, and then the Prime Minister of England. "If the Arouk and the Kind accept you, will you accept us?"
"Yes," the audience cried
"Do you know us for what we are, and do you accept what we will do?" she asked.
Kingsley Shacklebolt gasped. "Finnigan?" he said, as he whipped around and looked at Seamus.
As the audience said "Yes," in hushed tones, Seamus smiled slyly. "Aye, Minister?"
"Is she…"
"Do you seek our aid?" Lavender asked.
"Yes, she is," Seamus said.
"Yes!" the crowd shouted to Lavender.
"And so the bargain is made!" Lavender said, and blue glow of magic flared to life around the Arouk. A wave of golden sparks flowed out from them, across the pitch, and into the stands. In the link Lavender swept the stands with their combined senses. Katlyn silently cast the Arouk Ta finding charm, and they all felt bright sparks stand out among the audience.
A slip of parchment appeared floating in front of Jason. "Astrid Martin," he read. Ten more slips appeared over the ensuing three minutes, and Jason read the names. When the golden, glittering shimmer dissipated, the Arouk woke from their near trance.
Lavender smiled up at the crowd and then looked slyly at Jason and Sandra. She nodded to them, and they Apparated. "Thank you," she said. "To those of you that were called, the work starts now. If you would, please bring your parents to the pavilion. You will find an entrance marked 'Ni Arouk'. Dame Greymartin will meet you and your parents there. To those of you that were not called, don't be sad. There will be more than enough opportunity to work with the Kind if you choose. We will need many Dragon Friends to meet the needs of the prophesy."
"We know zere are many who are disappointed," Elise said. "Truly, to care for zee number of zee Kind zat is called for will require all of you and more." She laughed. "And after you hear from zee candidates what zee Arouk Ta training is like you may feel lucky."
"Aye, I'm too nice so we've decided Elise is lead instructor." Katlyn said and laughed.
Mary Wellborn giggled and stroked Owena's neck. "Hilde and I say she's our 'kind' instructor. She's kind of demanding, she's kind of strict," she said.
"She's kind of a ruddy pain in our…"
Hilde was interrupted by Elise's growl, and the audience roared with laughter.
"Well, that's all the serious stuff," Katlyn said to the audience. "What say we do something fun?"
"Yes!" They cheered back.
Katlyn smiled at them. "The Prophet has sent reporters and gossip writers after us for a good while now, but given Lavender's relationship with Ms. Skeeter…" she was unable to finish the sentence due to the laughter. "Aye, well they know very little about our personal lives, and that's just how we like it. We know you love us, and we love you, but nobody wants their lives in the press."
The crowd chuckled, and the royals in the box laughed and nodded
"That being said, we'd like to invite you all to a wedding."
The noise from the stands doubled.
"I suppose that's our cue," the Minister said as he rose from his chair. "Your Majesty," he said as he bowed to the Queen. "Your Highnesses." He bowed to the rest of the royals in the box as Seamus stood. "Coming Mr. Finnigan?" he asked.
"Aye, Minister" he bowed to the royals "Your Majesty, Highnesses," he said, and followed the Minister out of the box.
Asgre, Kaddyl and Horatius moved away from the center of the pitch. Katlyn stayed next to Horatius as he walked. Mary and Lavender stayed with Asgre, and Hilde walked alongside Kaddyl.
"I shall return shortly," Elise said and Apparated.
Katlyn crawled up Horatius' dropped shoulder and mounted. "And I shall sing," She said as Horatius took flight. The music swelled and Katlyn's voice filled the stadium.
Oh, rowan tree! Oh, rowan tree ! Thou'lt aye be dear tae me
Entwined thou art wi' mony ties o' hame and infancy
Thy leaves were aye the first o' spring, thy flow'rs the summer pride
There wasnae sic a bonny tree in a' the countryside
Oh! rowan tree !
The Minister followed by Seamus appeared from out of a small door onto the pitch near the VIP box. They walked to the stage still sitting in the center of the pitch and joined Lavender, Mary, Hilde, Asgre and Kaddyl. Gawain licked Kingsley's cheek as he took his place next to Hilde, and those in the audience that saw laughed.
How fair wert thou in summer time, wi' a' thy clusters white
How rich and gay thy autumn dress, wi' berries red md bright
W e sat eneath thy spreading shade, the bairnies round thee ran
They pu' d thy bonnie berries red and necklaces they strang
Oh! rowan tree!
Two black shapes appeared in the sky, and as they flew toward the open roof of the stadium Katlyn continued.
On thy fair sterm were mony names, which now nae mair
I see But they're engraven on my heart, forgot they ne'er can be
My mother! Oh! I see her still, she smil'd our sports to see
Wi' little Jemnie on her lap, wi' Jamie at her knee!
Oh! rowan treel
Sandra, in a flowing white dress, sat side saddle on Gavina, and Jason, in a custom tailored set of dress robes, sat astride Morton. The two dragons entered the stadium and followed Horatius as he circled the pitch. There were some cheers, but most opted for polite applause. Katlyn continued.
Oh! there arose my father's prayer, in holy evenings calm
How sweet was then my mother's voice, in the Martyr's psalm
Now a' are gane! W e meet nae mair meath the rowan tree
But hallowed thoughts around thee twine o' hame and infancy
Oh! rowan tree!
As Katlyn finished the song, the three dragons landed, and the three Arouk dismounted. "Welcome to Sandy and Jason's wedding!" Katlyn cried to the crowd. They clapped and cheered. "D'jya all bring gifts?" she asked, and they laughed.
Sandra and Jason's parents appeared out of the same door the Minister and Seamus had come from and strolled to their children's side. Meanwhile Elise and Malcom flew into the upper reaches of the stadium and circled the pitch leaving a constant light shower of white rose petals in their wake.
"I see we're all assembled," The minister said. "Shall we begin?'
"Yes!" the audience shouted.
"Dearly beloved," the Minister began.
Seamus stood next to Jason. He'd been stunned to be offered best man duties. The party the previous week had been a smashing success, and he now had the rings securely in his pocket. As the Minister recited the age old words Seamus took a moment to enjoy where he was.
The green sward spread all around them. Katlyn stood next to her best friend, and held the bouquet when Sandra passed it to her. Lavender, Mary, Hilde, along with the Wormwoods and the Heathmans stood a few yards away from the Minister and their children, the two mothers occasionally dabbing at their eyes. They exchanged their vows, and then Seamus was passing the rings to the Minister. In a few short minutes the crowd was cheering and the newly wedded Heathmans were soaring out of the stadium and on their way to Urbett.
"Thank you," Lavender said to the audience as the concussion from Jason and Sandra's apparition faded. "For the final part of the show this year we thought we'd introduce you to a little thing we like to call 'Dragon Dueling'. Before we start though, we need to send Kaddyl, Mary, Hilde and the chicks home. She extended her hand toward the newest of the Arouk. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Arouk Ta Lei and the Arouk Ta Lau."
Mary and Hilde waved to the crowd as they cheered. Then the two girls and their dragon friends mounted Kaddyl. "See you all next year," Mary said, and waved as Kaddyl took flight.
"Bet on Elise," Hilde shouted as they disappeared over the edge of the stadium.
"We'll see about that," Lavender said with a grin as she walked toward Asgre
"I'd wager on Lavender actually." Katlyn muttered. "Aye, so here's how this goes. When we found that we were to be cavalry we decided to perfect the skills that might be needed. Casting from the back of one of the Kind while their twisting through the sky can be a bit of a challenge, as can a lot of what we do."
She heard agreement from the stands.
"Aye, so we donned our armor and practiced." She turned to the pitch entrance. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Ni Arouk Ta."
Pansy stood at the entrance, and as the shield dissolved she stepped through. She was followed by Astrid Martin. Astrid wore the same jacket and trousers that Katlyn and Lavender were dressed in, and she levitated a score board ten feet on a side in front of her. Behind Astrid were two rows of children also dressed as the rest of the Arouk were, and each one was levitating a bundle of armor in front of them. One row had silver armor, the other black. As the audience applauded Astrid and Pansy strode up to Katlyn and Horatius at the center of the pitch, while the row with silver armor went to Lavender, and the row with black armor carried it to Elise.
Lavender walked down the row of her five thanking them and showing them where to lower the armor to the ground. Elise walked down her row, adjusting the wrist position of one boy, and then tapping one girl's wand hand up so that her bundle stayed level with the rest. "Adequate," she said and the audience chuckled. "Lower zem gently now, we do not wish zem scratched."
Both groups lowered their bundles to the turf. "Iduam Arma," Lavender said, and flicked her wand at the bundles of silver. In moments the plates flew from their resting place on the grass and fitted themselves together on her and Asgre. She adjusted the securing straps as Elsie cast the charm and dressed herself and Malcom.
"We would like to thank our goblin friends for their generous gift of armor for the Dragon Friends and the Kind," Katlyn said. She bent and whispered in Astrid's ear for a few moments and then stood and smiled. "Astrid will perform the score keeping charm," she said, and smiled.
Astrid cleared her throat, pointed her wand at the board, and said loudly, "Scorus Totalus." The score board began to spin rapidly and two zeros appeared, one red and one green. From anywhere in the stadium the score could be seen in the center of the pitch.
"Well done," Katlyn told her and then looked up at the crowd. "We generally play to five. The rules are simple, just like in battle, there aren't any." She and the audience laughed. "They will get one point for each spell hit and five for a capture." She looked across the pitch at Elise. "Good luck, Mon Amor."
Lavender and Asgre took flight, soaring into the sky above the stadium. Then Elise and Malcom flew once around the stadium at seat level before joining Lavender and Asgre. The two dragons flew in a slow circle around the opening above the pitch, dipping and weaving.
"Are you ready?" Katlyn asked.
"Oui," Elise replied
"Yes," Lavender said.
Katlyn smirked at the audience. "Lay on!"
Malcom dove at Asgre immediately, and Elise fired a spell barrage at Lavender. Asgre spun and dove while Lavenders shield held off the unending series of spells Elise was unleashing. The two dragons dipped into the stadium and them powered back out as Asgre flipped over on her back and then twisted in behind Malcom. Elise's shield barely formed in time to deflect Lavender's spell barrage.
The noise from the crowd was intense on the field. Katlyn bent and cast a muting charm on Astrid's ears. She looked up just in time to see Elise and Malcom barrel roll, and from her position upside down, Elise was able to get around Lavender's shield and score a point.
A red one lit up on the scoreboard.
"Success!" Elise nearly shouted.
"Don't get used to it," Lavender's low growl sounded in the public address shells, and the crowd "Oood."
Asgre shot straight up, thrusting them into a cloud. Elise was not foolish, and she didn't follow Asgre and Lavender. She and Malcom circled under the cloud, and Elise cast the Revello charm. At the same instant a bolt of red smashed out of the cloud above her and a loud bell-like sound echoed in the stadium.
A green one joined the red on the scoreboard.
Elise swore quietly and fired spell after spell into the cloud until, with a roar, Asgre dove out of it on the opposite side from where she and Malcom were. They gave chase, Malcom doing his best to follow Asgre while Elise constantly fired at their backs. Lavender's shield held. As they approached the stadium again Asgre cornered in midair and flew straight back at Malcom.
Stunned, Malcom swerved to avoid colliding with her, and Lavender scored again.
"Merde!" echoed in the shells and the audience laughed.
Malcom twisted through the air in a complex inverted spiral, and then he suddenly reversed direction and was above and behind Asgre. Elise leapt from his back and landed on Asgre's just behind her wings. She ran quickly up the green's back and held her wand to Lavender's neck.
"At last, Ka Arouk, I win!" The audience could hear the joy in her voice.
The illusion Lavender vanished, and her voice sounded in the shells. "I taught you everything you know, Arouk Ta Nie" Lavender said. "But I didn't teach you everything I know... yet."
The real Lavender appeared standing just behind Elise with her wand at the young woman's neck. "Alas, Arouk Ta Nie, not today."
Elise slumped and then turned and hugged Lavender. "On day, Ka Arouk, one day." She dove off Asgre's side and landed on Malcom who was just below them.
"Of this I have no doubt," Lavender said. "Elise Monforte everyone!"
Part 4
"Nana Elise?"
"Oui, mon Ni Arouk precious?"
"How ill is the Ma Arouk?"
Elise smiled at her granddaughter. "Lavender is not ill; she is just very, very old, she is ninety-eight you know. Zis is why you were born."
"Oui, I know, but I want her here with us, always," Luna said.
Elise looked into the sky, the moon was passing in front of the swirling clouds of the gas giant, Hawking. "Zat she is here with us still is blessing enough." She looked back at Luna. "My darling one, When we found zat what we had expected was not what zee universe had in store for us, we reconsidered our plans. When Oksana, zee Ma Arouk, passed, zee Arouk and the first of zee Arouk Ta decided we must have children. Lord Finnigan was Selene's father, and Jason fathered your mother, Sandra's son, and my daughter. We desired you all to be related, you see. Your mother, zee Arouk of Earth, was zee first Ni Arouk to be intentionally born. Selene, Lavender's daughter, Arouk of Tyson, was zee second. It was an experiment, but as we suspected, an Arouk will birth an Arouk. We were very pleased to find that my daughter and Sandra's son were natural born Arouk Ta. It was good zat we did zis, it gave us zee Arouk at zee most critical points."
Katlyn appeared behind Elise and kissed the top of her love's grey head, her own fiery hair nearly all silver. I'll tell the story this time, she sent. Katlyn leaned on her cane and sat heavily on the front step of their cabin, the reserve grounds spread before them, with young dragons playing in the common field appearing and disappearing in the morning mist. "Luna, as you have learned, we thought the prophecy meant an attack. When it turned out to be a neutron star ripping through the galaxy at one quarter o' the speed o' light it changed the whole o' our plans, and our relationship with the rest o' humanity." She laughed. "We'd spent all that time preparing for a war with aliens. Never happened, but our apparition skills were honed." She nodded to herself. "Aye, and to the sharpest edge."
"When the first light of the destruction o' Procyon reached us it was like a second sun in the sky for close to three weeks. The muggles were in a panic and we weren't in much better shape. When the shock wave and x-rays began to make the interstellar gas glow we knew this was our time. The first comet was our cue to reveal ourselves."
"Lord Finnigan proposed the solution; he saved the world," Katlyn said with a smile. "Took thirty o' the forty years we had just to raise the numbers of the Kind and Arouk Ta to the nine thousand four hundred we needed, and then five more years to finish training and building the perches and suits for the Kind and riders." She shook her head. "The comets were coming fast by then, every few months. When we saw a big one heading our way we knew it was time to move."
"The Great Apparition," Luna said in an awed voice.
"Oui," Elise said. "Wiz Lavender and Katlyn above zee nors and souts poles, and Selene and your mother, Sorcha, at zee poles of zee moon, zee Arouk Ta took up zeir positions. It was very odd, being perched on a floating platform in space. Zee muggles performed flawlessly zough. Each of zee perches was in zee precise location we needed it to be in, and zee suits zey and zee goblins made allowed us to concentrate our magic on zee apparition."
"Professor Hawking was with me at the south pole perch," Katlyn said. "We had kept him alive for so long, by magic and science and the tears of the Kind." She chuckled. "And shear force of will on his part." She smiled fondly. "Aye, Stephen flatly refused to die afore the move. He was one hundred and thirteen by the time we relocated. We'd wake him from hyper sleep, practice long and then even longer jumps, then back in the chamber he'd go. But we learned together, him and me."
Katlyn looked at the gas giant named for the professor, lightning bolts longer than the earth was wide playing in the swirling purple oval storm that was the Eye of Hawking. "That great mind trapped in the prison of his body was able to map the local stars, and then further and further until he and I came here the first time. He would show us, Horatius and me, in his mind where we were to go. He was our navigator, he and later professor Tyson. When it was time, we apparated the thirteen thousand light years to a spot out there beyond Hawking's orbit. There were seventeen moons then. We apparated here, to the eighteenth orbit, and fixed it in our minds." She looked back into her granddaughter's eyes. "Luna, you have this same power, never forget. " She looked at Elise. "We returned to Earth, and I joined with the Arouk."
"It was our moment, zee Apparition." Elise looked back at the swirling orange and white clouds of Hawking, the ring shadow a dark black stripe on the planets face. "Zee muggles had found zis place long ago with zier telescopes. Zey knew zis system could house us, and Hawking is gas giant wiz many moons, but we could not move humanity one by one. Luckily zat was not an issue, as zee nine thousand apparated zee whole of zee Earth and zee moon into orbit around Hawking."
Katlyn brushed her hand down her granddaughter's hair, so like her own at age five. "And, as you know, we found during the scout missions that Hawking's fifteenth moon, Tyson, was also habitable, so now humanity has two homes. Here," she smiled and looked up into the sky at a pale blue dot just rising over the giant planets edge. "And there, on Tyson."
"Aye, and we're on the move again," Seamus said from the path as he rounded the corner of Katlyn and Elise's cabin.
"Papa Shay!" Luna cried and ran to him.
"How's my little moon goddess today?" he asked as he knelt to hug her, the days of tossing a child over his shoulder long gone.
"I'm learning about the Great Apparition and how you saved us," she answered.
"You do know a fair few people were involved?" he asked, chortling. "It weren't just me. I had the idea, I did, but Hermione, force o' nature that she is, was the one made it work. She got the Wizengamot to agree, she got Hawking and Tyson on board, and she and Pan organized the scout missions. Without her and Pansy workin' together we'd never have made it in time."
Seamus braced himself on his staff and sat on the porch next to Katlyn. He looked sideways at his old friend. "What happened to the little red haired girl I met on the pitch all those years ago?"
Katlyn took his hand and smiled. "She grew up and had a red haired girl o' her own, and that girl had this one." She stroked Luna's hair. "She's worried about Lavender."
Seamus laughed. "Aye, don' be, my little one," he said to Luna, and took her into his lap. "You and Lavender have a lot o' time left. She's a stubborn one, me beautiful Gryffindor lass is, and she don' intend to leave you anytime soon. So, don' be worrin'."
"I know, auntie Nona says the same."
Seamus laughed. "Your auntie Nona's pretty smart, she is."
"What's this about 'on the move again'," Katlyn asked.
"Selene got back from the scouting mission. They've found three other systems with habitable moons," Seamus said with a smile. "NASA wants us to Apparate a research facility to each one next year." He smirked. "But the real excitement is Able Four C, Lyra Three A and Wilson Seven, Clarke, Ellison, and Asimov they want to call them. The terraforming is nearly complete. They want a settlement on each one by November."
"Will they need Arouk for the new worlds?" Luna asked.
"Oui, if we stay zen a family of Arouk will need to be with zem," Elise said.
Luna's eyes lit. "A sister?"
Seamus hugged her. "Your mam has wanted you to have a sister since you were born, that's no secret. Both she and Selene 'll have another I think." He laughed. "They can wrestle for the third, how's that?"
"We'll be supporting Sorcha then," Katlyn said and laughed.
Seamus laughed with her and looked around at his family. Though Selene, his and Lavender's daughter, lived on Tyson, he viewed Katlyn, Sandra, Jason, Elise, and their children as his too. The universe had certainly given him a rollercoaster ride of a life. From being born wizard in a half and half family, to the Battle of Hogwarts, becoming an Auror, re-uniting with Lavender, training the Arouk, putting all the clues together to come up with the idea that saved the human race, to now being Director of Interplanetary Colonization in his dotage, he wouldn't trade away any of it, good or bad. He had been forged in fire, tempered by loss, and saved by love. That they cast statues of him still embarrassed him mightily, and Lavender loved him all the more for the blush he showed when he was called to an unveiling.
He hugged Luna to him thinking of his friend she was named for. The DA was aging, some were already gone. Most of the Weasleys now lived on Tyson, the Potter's still lived in London and its environs, and he and Lavender hadn't left the reserve. They had changed the world, the DA, very much for the better. Seamus Finnigan would be a name in the history books for millennia, but he had insisted that his name was down the list some. He'd made sure that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Pansy, Lavender, and all the heroes that gave their lives on the second of May were listed before him.
Humanity and the Kind were on the move, reaching out across the cosmos, and Seamus would lead, but he would lead from the chair in his study. The Arouk, in partnership with the Arouk Ta and the Kind, could Apparate anywhere within fifteen thousand light years of where the earth now sat, and they could take ships with them. Professor Hawking's and then later Professor Tyson's memories were all given over into the memories of the Kind, and the Kind as well as the Arouk knew the map of their part of the galaxy intimately. Fifty thousand systems lay waiting to explore, and they had only been to a few hundred.
The sky was different, but the reserve was still the same place, his refuge of peace. As he watched Luna scamper off to play with Elise and Malcom he smiled. His life had been dramatic, filled with adventure, and he had been loved, deeply. Yes, he had done a great deal for his fellow humans and the Kind, and, me lad, you're not done yet, he thought to himself.
"Where's Kaddyl? I feel like going for a fly," he told Katlyn as he rose from the porch.
Alls fair time line:
May 2nd 98 BOH; Seamus and Lavender 18
June 2003; The Game to The Wolf
July 03; The Dragon
Sept 03; The Healing
March 04; The Wizengamot
April 04; The Reserve
Aug. 04; The Show, The Doom, The Quibbler; Katlyn 10
Late Aug 04; The Attornment
Nov 04; The Case
May 05; The Muggles
July 05; The Arouk
Sept 05; The Island
May 08; The Training; Katlyn 14
June 2 2012; The Mission; Katlyn 18
Late September 12; Harry gets the prophecy
July 15; Mary and Hilde meet the Arouk
Late July 15; The Future part 1; Katlyn 22
Early March 16; the Future part 2
July 16; The Future part 3
November 2020; The destruction of Procyon; Katlyn 27; Lavender 40
2025 Sorcha Mclellen born
2026 Selene Finnigan born
2050; The 9000 are ready; Katlyn 56; Lavender 70
2055; The Great Apparition; Katlyn 61; Lavender 75
2066 Minerva Finnigan, Ni Arouk of Tyson born
2073 Luna Mclellen, Ni Arouk of Earth born
2078; The Future part 4; Katlyn 84; Lavender 98