Expectations

DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you’ve seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$

A/N: Sorry. Don’t have one. I do thank all of you for reading. On second thought, “Not Normal” will end with the end of Third Year and then another story will take over for Fourth Year (maybe more, we’ll see…) As for when this one will end chapter wise…?

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: EXPECTATIONS

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4 th 1993.

“They wanted what?” Cissy asked incredulously. She was not the only one present. They were seated in a salon in the Black Estate. Connie was the only one present who had heard this before. The others were hearing about his trip into London in detail for the first time. Also present were James and Lily Potter, Arthur Weasley, the Tonks, the elder Greengrasses and the Grangers; in other words most of the adults. Mrs. Weasley was watching little Elizabeth Potter and, most likely, her two twin boys.

“It sounded like a… well, I don’t know really,” Sirius said.

“I believe it’s called a ‘back channel’ communication,” Ted Tonks said. “It’s an unofficial communication that might be used in preparation for official ones or simply to pass information, compare notes, confirm ideas and such.”

“It sounds like spying,” Cissy said.

“Except they say they have those and from what little they did reveal, I have no reason to doubt that at all,” Sirius replied.

“Blackmail of sorts?” James asked.

“Didn’t seem like it to me. What do I really have to lose?”

“You estate,” Cissy said. “The end of House Black.”

“First off, that was never truly at risk,” Sirius said. “Do you really suppose I’m fool enough to put all my eggs in one basket - to use a Muggleism? I went there in the interests of Anna, to do right by her and protect House Black. She shares compatible magic with the boy and from one I’ve been told by Harry and the others he’s not a total berk even taking his youth into account so perhaps it’s worth pursuing. But House Black could be preserved without any such meeting. After all, the bond is not certain to occur, only possible. Naturally, whatever actions I may have taken to preserve House Black, it had to assume first that Anna’s my only child and that the bond is not a certainty nor that some form of Line Continuation is a realistic possibility. Unless Anna can carry forward the line as uncontested Regent, she will be well provided for but the line will pass to House Potter or, I should say, to James here. The law would allow him to claim it such under the circumstances, but my new Will leaves the Black titles and votes to Anna if there is a Line Continuation or its equivalent, to any future born son of Connie and myself and if neither of those conditions can be met, to James Potter and his heirs as he shall so designate.”

“In other words to Harry,” Lily huffed.

“Not necessarily,” Sirius replied. “After Anna, James is next in line, not Harry and as Harry has his Estate it would be up to James to decide what would happen to House Black. Were you to set up a contingent Line Continuation for Beth, it would be to her as Regent. Should you have another son, it would be to him. It only goes to Harry if there is absolutely no other way to preserve the line. And, it might all be moot anyway, right dear?”

Connie blushed.

“You’re not,” Lily began.

“We found out the morning of Siri’s meeting in London,” Connie said.

“You’re expecting?” Mrs. Greengrass asked.

Connie nodded and Sirius beamed.

“That’s wonderful,” Vivian Greengrass exclaimed.

“Oh my,” her husband moaned, “I do hope this sort of thing isn’t contagious.”

“Why do you say that, David?” Robert Granger asked.

“Um…”

“We’re expecting too,” Vivan smiled. “We only found out a couple days ago and haven’t had the chance to tell anyone yet.”

“Don’t you already have five daughters?” Sirius asked.

“Odds are more favorable for a son given that we’ve had daughters,” David replied.

“Um… I don’t think it works that way,” Rose Granger commented. “It’s now known it’s the male's… um… issue that determines the sex of the child and there’s nothing that I’ve read about that anything increases or decreases the odds of a child being a boy or a girl…”

“I did read somewhere of an epidemiological report that showed there was a statistically greater proportion of daughters as compared to the general population where the father works in a highly oxygenated environment,” David noted. “High altitude pilots, professional divers and the like… but it only reported the statistical anomaly and cautioned that it might’ve been as random an occurrence as any other possibility which means it means next to nothing.”

“I meant that five, daughters or sons or whatever, is a large family in our world,” Sirius explained.

“There’s nothing wrong with large families,” Arthur Weasley said. “Then again, I do have a work shed to retreat to when things really get out of control. I always felt the Pure-blood nonsense would truly be that if the majority of them were more prolific. After all, it’s hard to feel elite if you’re one of many rather than one of a few. But the old families tend not to be prolific almost to the point it’s a wonder they have children at all. Molly and I kept trying for a daughter. She wanted one for her reasons, mostly she says ‘cause she can related to a girl more so than the boys. I wanted one as well. After all, there hadn’t been a daughter in House Weasley in generations. We don’t know why. Then again, once you have a son or two there's… The Weasley’s are an old family and seem to have… Well, you all know.”

“We don’t,” Rose said.

“It’s a patriarchal society,” Andi said. “Old family’s tend to focus on preserving their legacy and such and that’s preserved through the male descendants. Girls? It is a society that still tends to arrange marriages among the old families. Girls can be expensive to marry off one way or another. Either it will cost you money, or something else of value such as independence of action or an alliance you may not have entered into but for that arrangement or votes or such. Daughters can lead to undesirable entanglements that way so many families stop once their line is assured.”

“And in your case?” Robert asked David.

“What we have I’ve earned,” he said proudly. “Vi and I come from disinherited lines so there’s no House to preserve save the one we make for ourselves and our children. I have no seat in the Wizengamot nor any desire for political office. My business is largely trade and investment with the Muggle world which does not attract betrothal offers from the Older families for business reasons. That’s not to say our daughters have not attracted that kind of unwanted attention from the wrong sorts as they are Pure-bloods and desirable as wives for that reason. Not much of a reason, if you ask me, but it is one and there have been offers from families I’d rather never deal with for that reason or any other to be honest.”

“It’s why we made the arrangements for our oldest two girls,” Vivian said. “The Potters and Longbottoms offered an option that did not bind us at the time, that tied us quietly to honourable families, and that took Daphne and Astoria out of that market. The other three haven’t attracted attention as it is assumed that whatever there is of value has already been tied up for the first two or that we’ve already made other arrangements.”

“So you were trying for a six-pack?” Sirius asked.

“We weren’t exactly trying,” Vivian said, “then again, we weren’t exactly not trying either.”

“Vivian likes children,” David said, “especially the little ones who have yet to truly learn to talk back. Then again, some of ours began that annoying trait as soon as they articulated their first words. The truth is we both wanted a large family, larger than average. With five girls… well, a son would be nice just for the change of pace I should think.”

“If it’s a girl, it’s a girl,” Vivian said.

“As long as it’s not as mouthy as the younger two and I’d say it’s perfect,” David chuckled. “Truth is we were talking about it, but schedules being what they were and all… And now? I spend more time here just being with my family and friends than I do at work with all this time stuff they have going. Why not try for another?”

“My reasoning was that since we see our girls eight days a week they won’t miss out on being big sisters just ‘cause their off at school.”

“When are you due?” Connie asked.

“I’m due in thirty-two weeks or so,” Vivan said.

“Just under thirty-seven,” Connie said.

“Isn’t it a bit soon for you to know?” Lily asked. “I mean, it seems to me that Vivian had some clue as to what was happening.”

“More than some,” Vivian said. “I went in when I was over a week late and suffering from mild heartburn.”

“She only gets that when she’s expecting,” David said. “So we had a pretty good idea what to expect.”

“We’ve been trying since we reunited,” Connie said. “I took a purgative potion once we set up house again, as it were, and have had weekly appointments ever since. I was a couple of days overdue, no more, when we saw Andi last Sunday for our test. Of course, we’ll need to be taking Time Compression into account and all so it’s thirty-seven weeks of our time regardless of what the calendar says.”

“It affected us as well,” Vivian said. “I admit I hadn’t taken that into account. I was late on outside time forgetting I had an extra two weeks or more inside after it probably happened. So, like Connie, we can’t tell you a firm date since it depends upon how often we’re here and how many days the Estates add to our lives as it were.”

“Twenty-eight weeks,” Rose Granger said.

“Are you sure, dear?” Robert asked.

Rose nodded.

“You too?” Connie asked and Rose nodded again. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Rose sighed. “Hermione was easy, I suppose. I got pregnant easy, the pregnancy was easy, even the delivery was easy. Bob and I always wanted more children and after Hermione we both thought not so much if or when but how many. But I’ve had three miscarriages since and at least three other late, heavy periods which may have also been a failed pregnancy. We gave up.

“I talked about it with Madam Pomfrey and Andi not long after we began visiting these Estates this past summer. Andi suspected a disorder that is not unheard of in witches and she could think of no reason why a muggle woman might not suffer it. That disorder is preceded by what could be called a very easy pregnancy and is followed by extreme difficulties conceiving and carrying a subsequent child to term. It seems the mother can develop a hypersensitivity to magic and will reject another magical child when the child’s magic first manifests or not long thereafter.”

“Is that why you only had one child, Andi?” Cissy asked.

Andi shook her head. “Ted and I were all for another child and this condition if properly diagnosed can be treated easily more or less. No. My pregnancy with Nymphadora was difficult physically.”

“It was a close run thing,” Ted said. “I nearly lost both of them.”

“My condition is also not unheard of in the Muggle world and is still dangerous there as well. It was too much to risk having another child.”

After a pause, Arthur said. “Molly would skin me alive if I didn’t ask. Okay, she wouldn’t but she would be upset. You haven’t told Hermione yet?”

“We didn’t say anything ‘cause I’m still at risk,” Rose replied. “I’m on a couple of potions that can prevent rejection but we can’t be certain they’ve truly worked until I’m over sixteen weeks along. Andi’s said that should we get through this one the problem should resolve itself and we can have more children without risk of magical rejection. We didn’t say anything 'cause we didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up especially Hermione’s.”

“She asked for a baby brother or sister for Christmas practically from when she could talk until she was nine,” Robert said.

“Actually,” Rose corrected, “her… um… obsession with that began just after our memories were erased. I guess deep down she missed Harry and Luna.”

“Memories erased?” Cissy asked.

“Dumbledore placed something called ‘memory caps’ on us - including Hermione apparently - to prevent us from remembering about our prior relationship with Harry. Somehow it seems to me that was not entirely successful with our daughter.”

“Not surprising,” Cissy commented. “To help with my new… um… responsibilities I’ve been reading all I can about psychomagical trauma. One thing is clear and until I began to learn about this I thought the case was different. Memory charms, no matter how powerful or how skillfully applied, cannot truly erase memories. Deep down, they can remain and the more powerful the memory is either because of the emotional impact or… well, it’s easier to forget a brief and uneventful meeting with a stranger than months or years with a close friend or family or months and months of horror, which is what I’m having to deal with both for myself and the young ladies I’m helping (although our specific experiences are very different). Particularly powerful memories will manifest in some way even if magically suppressed. It can be even worse if suppressed as the… um… patient cannot remember after all so the root of their behavior remains a mystery. Where that suppressed memory is about a particularly traumatic event, the manifestations are often harmful. Otherwise, they would seem just as some quirk of personality. It may be part of her obsession - as you call it - could have been a result of the deeply imbedded memory of her friends. How old was she when this happened?”

“A little over two.”

“My guess is the fool would’ve been better advised to do nothing. She probably would’ve forgotten all about him in fairly short order at that age. But then again, she would’ve probably asked about him and you would have no memory. It’s difficult to say how that may have worked which, I’ve been finding, seems to be the case with a lot of this psychomagical stuff. It’s both fascinating and infuriating seeing as it never says anything for certain about anything. So it is possible that her Christmas wish was a manifestation of that sequestered memory. It is also possible it had nothing to do with that at all, just a wish to be a big sister that would’ve developed in any event.”

“Just don’t become a full on psycho-whatsit,” Robert chuckled. “There are a few Rose and I are on social terms with for one reason or another. I always feel like they’re trying to get me onto the couch, as it were.”

“My husband’s proclivities notwithstanding,” Cissy replied indignantly, “I have always respected the state of marriage both my own and that of others!”

“Um, not what I meant,” Robert said apologetically. “In the Muggle world, a psychologist tries to get inside your head to learn what makes you tick and see if anything’s off. In the early days of the practice many would have their patients lie on a couch to help them relax. The expression suggests that a trained psychologist or - in your case - psychomagical healer - cannot help but analyze - that’s the term - just about anyone they interact with. I wasn’t suggesting…”

“Sorry,” Cissy replied. “It’s still… it’s still a sore point is all. You are planning to tell your daughter, of course.”

“In a couple months it should be rather obvious, if we make it that far,” Rose said.

“With the potions, there’s no reason to think you shouldn’t make it that far and through to the end,” Andi said. “At least no magical reason and there’s no reason to suspect a purely physiological impediment.”

“She’ll probably blame herself were she to know…”

“She will definitely blame herself if you keep it secret,” Cissy added. “Sooner or later it will come out for one reason or another. If that should happen she may see your keeping it from her as some proof that she was somehow to blame regardless as to the truth of the matter.”

“Which it is not,” Andi said. “The condition leading to magical rejection is internal, not external. I read an American paper suggesting a similarity between that and rare physical rejections of the embryo caused by the mother’s own immune system. Ordinarily, the developing child is protected from their mother’s immune system. If that protection fails for some reason, well the immune system will respond to the presence of the developing child as if it were an infection or parasite. The paper suggested that the magical situation was at least analogous if not truly similar. It has nothing to do with external forces or events.”

“Rationality and logic can fail under the weight of powerful emotions, however,” Cissy noted. “Speaking for myself alone - goodness knows I was never much of a mother, then again neither was I given the chance - I would say it best to tell her before it becomes obvious but to tell her all the facts as well including how this had nothing to do with her being magical.”

Rose nodded. “We were thinking along similar lines, Bob and I. We were also thinking of holding off until Christmas. After all, by then we should know for certain if we’re out of the woods with this one and it is what she asked for all those years, although unless Harry really lays on the Time Compression in the next four weeks, I doubt the baby can arrive by then.”

“Not even then unless he uses all the trunks,” Sirius said. “With a full charge, he’d be several weeks short. Still, that sounds like an idea - a nice Christmas present for Hermione.”

“That’s our hope,” Rose nodded. “Although…”

“Oh?” a few voices replied.

“I was just wondering whether my condition… I never asked. Does it run in families?”

“You mean is it genetic?” Andi clarified and Rose nodded. “It does not seem to be,” she continued. “It occurs somewhat at random.”

“Somewhat?” Rose asked.

Andi nodded. “It is far more common among Pure-blood witches with Pure-blood spouses than in any other familial context, although it’s fair to say that’s not a hard and fast rule either after all Arthur and his wife and David and Vivian are from old, Pure-blood lines and it’s obvious that neither of the ladies have been so afflicted, unless I’ve missed something?”

“Not on our score,” David said. “It’s harder to keep Vi not pregnant than pregnant.”

“David!” his wife scolded. “You make it sound so… so… I know you’re just trying to be funny but…”

“Sorry dear. Flippant though I was, there was a truth to it. We’ve had no such difficulties nor even a hint of them with the last five and none with this one.”

“Once a witch gets past the second pregnancy without the issue arising, there isn’t one,” Andi nodded. “The truth is many of the Pure-blood ladies with the condition choose to do nothing. I guess they’re embarrassed although I leave that diagnosis to those in the psychomagical field. Long ago House Black had researched related issues, namely whether magic strengthens or weakens over generations and found evidence of gradual weakening. The strongest magic in a line is usually in the first few generations after its first manifestation or where there’s a magical bond between witch and wizard parents which they also called a form of first manifestation. The more generations between the parents and their most recent first manifestation ancestor, the weaker their children seem to be magically. Given enough time, the line will begin to lose its magic entirely. Rose’s condition is somewhat rare and random, but more common in the older lines, those more removed from first manifestation. That being said it does not follow that all ‘Pure-bloods’ are at risk of either situation. It seems to me it’s more a question of an increasing lack of genetic diversity in the line than any other factor as focusing on begetting Pure-bloods necessarily limits one’s potential genetic pool. But should there be adequate diversity - and don’t ask what that means specifically - the risks are reduced it seems. After all, we have two Pure-blood families here who clearly do not suffer from magical rejection and whose children are comfortably above the average in terms of magical potential. The Greengrasses had no difficulties in that regard and neither did the Weasleys apparently.”

“As Molly’s not here, I would be inclined to repeat David’s remark, although she’s managed to remain free of the other affliction since Ginny was born.”

“Other affliction?” voiced asked.

“Well, we don’t have eight children, do we? Actually, we did lose one…”

“You did?”

Arthur nodded. “Between Charlie and Percy there was another. It would’ve been a daughter and had she been born who knows if there would’ve been the others or not. I prefer to think there would’ve been. Molly does like being a Mum even with the challenges of a large family. To be honest, I was surprised at the time. Losing a child like that… well, one could understand if she was reluctant for another.”

“Was it this magical rejection?” Rose asked.

“No. There are other ways to lose a child during pregnancy and being in the middle of a Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley is one way. Molly was there shopping. Not more than an innocent bystander, as it were, not that such things mattered to that lot. She was pretty banged up although the word is the attackers came off far worse for it. She killed at least one of them before they got her. She spent a week in St. Mungo’s. But they couldn’t save the child. Sometimes, I think we’d’ve had our lot regardless. She loves the lot of them, you know. But there are times when I know she had the later ones partly to get back at the bastards who took her daughter away before she could be born.”

“So she was the Red Lady,” Sirius said after a pause. When everyone looked at him he continued. “Mad-eye liked that war story. A mild mannered housewife in the midst of a terror attack blows the head off of a mutt with a blasting hex at close range and drops another. It took four of the bastards to put her down and even then they couldn’t kill her and they were then dropped by Mad-eye and his team who had just arrived. The mutts might’ve gotten clean away had they not been so focused on the Red Lady who had clearly killed one of them, actually killed two - although the second was less by intent than circumstances as he was blasted into a knife display - and seemed intent on taking down the lot of them. Mad-eye said if your average witch or wizard had been like the Red Lady, the Death Eaters would never have had a chance. Odd your never mentioning that even when we were in the Order.”

“It’s not something she’s proud of,” Arthur shrugged. “She doesn’t regret it, but doesn’t think herself better for it either. Add to it the cost… well, she didn’t do it to get recognized. The one who lost his head had just killed a mother and was torturing a young child. Molly saw red, as it were. Caused a scandal at the time. There were some in the Ministry who thought the Red Lady should be up on murder charges and others who thought she should get a medal. Neither happened, of course. We joined the Order not long after she recovered since it seemed they were the only ones who took the situation seriously at the time. It’s not a chapter of our lives we talk about. Bill and Charlie were too young to remember. We don’t go into details about the War. Perhaps that’s been a mistake. In hindsight, it seems to be given that things are moving in that direction again. Our children might not need know the details, but they should know what they may have to face one day.”

“Moving in that direction?” Cissy asked. “What do you mean? The War’s over.”

“If only that were true,” Sirius said, “and I can’t say more, Cissy. Not that I don’t want to, not that you don’t deserve to know what we know, I can’t. It’s not my secret to reveal.”

“Fidelius?” Cissy asked after a pause.

Sirius nodded. “And the identity of the Keeper is also protected.”

“Must be some secret.”

“Some are. Some not so much. Still, when you learn it - and you will - you will understand the concern for security.”

“I will?”

“Those who call the Estates their home are in on such secrets,” Sirius said. “You can’t live here unless you’re trustworthy in that regard and you are deemed as such, Cissy, meaning once the decision was made to allow you to live here that decision necessarily included bringing you in on this in time. We haven’t told you ‘cause there’s not been the need and the opportunity has not yet presented itself. You do have more on your plate than whatever it is I can’t tell you, you know.”

“The rest of you know?”

“We know what we’ve been told,” Rose said. “I’d like to think that’s everything, but I don’t know for certain.”

“Must be some secret, then.”

Several nodded. “Well,” Sirius said, “you can judge for yourself when you’re told which should be soon. I think you’ll find some of it surprising although other bits will make perfect sense in an odd way.”

“And this is what those Muggles wanted, you think?”

“I doubt that very much.”

“Rather sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“First off, one of them for certain was a wizard, just one who lives and works on that side. Secondly, none of this stuff came up even in passing. And third, I seriously doubt they think I know anything which they might deem of current or immediate use.”

“And why not? How many other Ancient and Noble Houses are in their pocket?”

“None, and neither am I, Cissy. But think about it. It’s not like I could be expected to have a trove of useful information. I did spend a dozen years in an informational black hole after all.”

“True,” Cissy began to chuckle.

“Imagine my shock on learning Fudge was Minister,” Sirius continued. “That fool gave me the paper that set me on my way, you know.”

“I dare say a fair few were shocked at his appointment,” Cissy said. “My… Malfoy had a hand in it, I think, but can’t say for certain. He was less surprised than he ought to have been otherwise. Fudge was the least undesirable contender, it seems.”

“Hardly a ringing endorsement of the man,” Robert snorted.

“But surely you did know some things before… ,” Cissy began getting back on the topic of the meeting.

“Which by now is ancient history.”

Cissy nodded. “So that meeting was unnecessary?”

“If my sole purpose was to preserve House Black, it was entirely unnecessary even before we learned this news,” Sirius said indicating Connie. “But I do have an interest in doing right by my daughter given this potential bond so in that vein a meeting to protect her interests was hardly uncalled for. Moreover, there is the matter of the interests of the Finch-Fletchley family, isn’t there? I doubt the nuances of magical inheritance laws were part of the discussions Professor McGonagall had with the lad’s parents and unless things have really changed, I doubt the school discusses those things with its Muggle Born students as a matter of course. As there is a potential that a marriage may develop between the families, I felt obliged to discuss such things with them. Turns out, they knew far more about such things than I had thought.”

“Aside from being polite then,” Cissy continued. “And they wanted you to… to what?”

“Be open to communication, I guess,” Sirius said.

“It sounds like spying.”

“On what?”

“Our world.”

“As I said, I have the impression they have plenty of sources of information on that. That organization’s been around nearly eight hundred years and has kept a close eye on our side from the beginning. I seriously doubt they need me for that. This struck as less underhanded, even if it did sound as if it was meant to be clandestine.”

“And that’s not spying because…?”

“What information do I have access to that they could not get from another source, hmm?”

“My situation, for one.”

“Aside from what’s in our papers, and maybe not even then, what about your situation might be of true interest to their government? They seemed to know a bit about your former….”

“The girls, for one.”

“I honestly doubt the Muggle office in question is overly concerned about that,” Ted Tonks said. “People go missing in their world often enough and most such incidents have no magical connection. Their families are gone. What interest do they have now?”

“They never mentioned that situation,” Sirius said. “It never came up. Their concerns seem to be that no one on this side is willing to work with them when our common interests were or are at risk. That’s big picture stuff.”

“They would write off four lives…?”

“The cases are cold, Cissy,” Ted said. “They can’t spare the resources to solve what is statistically unsolvable when there are cases that can be solved. Such cases lay untouched for years, perhaps forever unless new information surfaces. I doubt that office exists to solve such cases. A better bet is they exist to try and prevent such things from happening in the future but without any cooperation from our side, it would be very difficult to do anything.”

“And that’s what they’re asking for?” Lily asked.

Ted shrugged. “I wasn’t at the meeting.”

“They sound more like MI-5, not the police,” Robert Granger noted.

“What’s that?” the magicals asked.

“I don’t know if your world has an equivalent,” Robert replied. “MI-5 isn’t even their real name any more. It was their first one. ‘MI’ meant military intelligence although the modern organization isn’t part of the military at all. It’s now known as State Security although it’s still called MI-5. Its job is what’s known as counter-intelligence and - more relevant here probably - counter-terrorism and other quasi-law enforcement things all related to protection of national security. Murder and missing persons without more is far outside their purview. But, assuming this lot’s either MI-5 or like MI-5, threats from our world against theirs would be. Most recently, the Muggle MI-5’s big interests had been Russian spies and Irish terrorists and such at least the ones who’re here and operating in Britain. There’s another lot that deals with the ones outside of the country.”

“It struck me that their role is broader than that although it would include that,” Sirius said. “They seemed to emphasize they exist to enforce their side of the Treaty, which arguably gives them authority over Muggle transgressions as well. Moreover, with the migration of magicals to their side over the ages, they… the Earl said they were in effect the government for those witches and wizards. They mentioned they have their own school of magic for the children of such families. And they also had some role during our last war dealing with Death Eaters who crossed the line - at least the ones who lingered long enough to provoke their response. My guess is they could respond ‘cause they had information from our side that made a response possible and the impression I have is it did not go well for the Death Eaters who ran across that lot. They don’t chuck 'em into prison.”

“So what do you think, Harry?” Hermione asked. Sirius had just been around to discuss his meeting with the Muggles. It just so happened that Peter and Mary Parker were there for a visit. The subject of his future child and the others had not come up not that Harry or any of his ladies would have known.

“I guess I should be surprised,” Harry replied. “Then again, maybe not.”

“Why not?” Ginny asked.

“Well, we know there was that Treaty of Separation way back when,” Harry said. “But that Treaty did not make anything secret, did it? It simply divided stuff up for tax and other reasons, right? Three hundred years ago our lot passed the Statute of Secrecy which we supposed to keep. But nothing’s been said about how to make something secret that was known before. I doubt we could’ve completely put magic back in the bottle as it were. Seems too big a thing for the Fidelius Charm or anything like it. And it doesn’t surprise me that the Muggles had some group keeping an eye on things even if it was in the name of Treaty enforcement. I doubt our collective effort to drop out of sight would’ve fooled a group whose job was to keep us in sight.”

“The surprise to me is that they were so open about it,” Hannah said. “I mean they as much said they know what’s going on when most on our side think they’re clueless.”

“Subtle,” Daphne began.

“Strikes me as fairly blatant,” Hannah replied.

“They’ve been at this for centuries and most all of us have no clue. Based upon what Sirius said, the Finch-Fletchley family was not a part of that lot all along but joined up not long after Justin was born when somehow the Muggles in that group learned of the birth. The Earl, it seems, knew of the compatible magic but had forgotten about it for the most part. Then again, we know it’s by no means a certain thing, all evidence here at the Estates to the contrary. Yet the Earl’s been at that office since then and his son’s now involved in some way. That’s their hook, as it were. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lot of them have a magical connection, those who are not witches or wizards being closely related to them and most likely to Muggle Borns like Justin and Hermione.”

“My parents aren’t involved, I’m sure,” Hermione protested. “They’re dentists!”

“And the Earl was Army,” Peter/Nicholas said, “and then in some other government job, or so Sirius seemed to suggest. You’re parents weren’t inside, he was.”

“Inside?” Hannah asked.

“Government,” Peter/Nicholas said. “Or maybe intelligence. Probably intelligence or the like.”

“Intelligence?” a few asked.

“Are they smart or something?” Luna added.

“I’m sure they hope they are,” Peter/Nicholas replied. “Actually, it’s not what they are; it’s what they do. They collect information and manage it, analyze it and try to make sense of it. They try to get intelligent about it.”

“What information?” Ginny asked.

“When we use that term about governments, it means about threats, rivals and the like. Governments don’t like surprises so they try to know things before those things become generally known. They want to know what other countries are up to just in case it’s no good that way they can be prepared to deal with it one way or another. The same’s true with certain groups or organizations that they think might cause problems.”

“You mean spies,” Hermione said.

“For lack of a better word,” Peter/Nicholas nodded. “But the popular notion of spies is far more fantasy than reality. Country A does not send super-secret agent 007 to country B to steal secrets from a heavily guarded vault. If country A needs to do something even remotely like that, invariably country A finds someone from country B with access to the heavily guarded vault to do it for them, assuming they can. Far more often, however, country A simply watches. It has people there, more or less openly, who are trained to watch and hear things but who don’t truly go around seeking things. But yes, they do watch closely when they feel it’s necessary and important to do so. Then again, that is human nature after all.”

“Spying is human nature?”

“In a manner of speaking. Do you know where you stand amongst your classmates academically?”

“Not on a day-to-day basis,” Hermione replied. “But when the marks come out, I do pay attention.”

“Why?”

“Um… I want to know.”

“It’s important to you, yes?”

Hermione nodded.

“If you could find out on a day-to-day basis, would you?”

“Not if it broke any rules!”

“But if you didn’t break any rules to do so, you would?”

Reluctantly, Hermione nodded.

“Even if you were unaware of anyone else doing something similar?”

After a pause, Hermione said primly: “If it wasn’t against the rules, why not? If no one else takes their studies as seriously as I do that’s their problem.”

“And what we’re talking about is not spying because…?”

“I’m not breaking any rules!”

“There are rules in the intelligence game as well,” Peter/Nicholas said. “You might not find them written down or in a library, but they are there and the players know them and follow them for the most part. In that respect, there’s no difference between what you said you would do and what they do.”

“But they do break the rules, don’t they?”

“On rare occasions and then only when the information is far more important than the rules. If you live as long as we have, and even if you don’t, you will come to realize that few rules if any are without exception. I won’t say rules are made to be broken. That attitude leads to anarchy. But the rules are not all encompassing things. Circumstances may arise where to follow the rule is to court suicide and destruction. Few humans will blindly follow a rule to the grave if another less permanent alternative exists and the same is true for human organizations. Again, there are exceptions. People have died for notions such as honour, principal and whatever rules they deem important. But such martyrdom is an individual act. I would say the circumstances would be quite different if standing by the rules or principal would require you to watch your children put to death.”

“That seems to be a leap,” Daphne commented. “We go from grades to life or death.”

“They are analogous in kind if not degree,” Nicholas replied. “Hermione’s not likely to die for poor grades, but good marks are very important to her, important enough that information about them and where she stands is important. Information about threats to your country are even more critical than something as individualistic as grades for to ignore a threat can be fatal; to abide by rules and allow a threat to grow when it could be stopped can also be fatal. So countries are in the business of gathering information about such things and if it is critical enough, the niceties will go by the board.

“That being said, what Sirius revealed was unremarkable for the most part.”

“But it means the Muggles know about us!” Hannah protested.

“And why not? Where in the Statute of Secrecy is such knowledge forbidden without exception? The statute is structured so that the vast majority of the Muggles live in ignorance of magic. But it does not mean that magic is unknown to some. After all, Hermione’s parents know about magic, don’t they?”

“They need to!” Hermione and Hannah replied.

“Indeed. And yet that is a clear exception to the general rule of Secrecy, is it not? How many other Muggles in Britain know of our world because of that exception?”

“Not many?” Ginny offered.

“A question of degree,” Nicholas returned. “It is generally believed - and records support the belief - that about a third of all witches and wizards under the Statute in Britain are Muggle Borns. If only their parents know as a result of that exception, then the number of Muggles knowledge about our world is equal to two thirds of all the witches and wizards, is it not? I dare say this underestimates the true number under the exception as that rule does not preclude the knowledge from other close Muggle family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles although many Muggles avoid expanding it without reason. Giving magic the benefit of the doubt, however, and we’re still talking around forty thousand Muggles who know of our world and that’s hardly ‘not many’ is it?”

“I never thought of it that way,” Hermione concede and the others nodded in agreement.

“Still, a Muggle can’t be a threat to a trained witch or wizard, can they?” Daphne suggested.

“One on one, perhaps not,” Nicholas replied. “But it’s not the thousands who know, but the millions who do not know yet that could be a problem for us were we to forget our weaknesses.”

“Weaknesses?”

“We are few, they are many. One wizard against an unarmed Muggle would not go well for the Muggle. But what about one wizard against a hundred or a thousand unarmed Muggles? Should the wizard stand and fight against such a determined mob, they would not come out of it well. And if the Muggles were serious, one can bet it would not be the mob of unarmed villagers. There are, after all, over sixty million Muggles in the British Isles. Their armed forces - no their army which is but one component of their armed forces - outnumbers all witches and wizards three to one or more. One wizard against an unarmed Muggle is an unfair fight from the Muggle’s perspective. One wizard against a trained soldier with a weapon can be unfair to the wizard as the Muggle can kill at far greater distance than can the best trained wizard. But the odds are the one wizard would face ten, fifty or more armed and trained Muggles if they truly meant us harm and that would suicide for us to stand and fight.”

“That’s what happened in the other timeline, right?” Luna asked.

“Our memories are not clear on the details,” Nicholas said. “It’s fair to say that the Muggle’s as a whole learned of us and in such a way that they saw us as a threat to them. Whether it was but a few of us they saw as a threat or the whole… arguably it became the whole of our world.”

“How did that happen?” Harry asked.

“Without details, all Perenelle and I are left with are educated guesses. Sirius added some details about which we were unaware, namely the existence of an office within the Muggle government that is watching our world discretely as we speak and has been for centuries. Under Treaties and our own laws, we are expected to prevent our people from causing Muggles grief. That office is tasked to do the same, but it’s unsurprising their tasking expanded over time to monitoring us as well.

“Today, the thousands of witches and wizards on our side of the line have been brought up or taught to disregard the Muggles and that they are not accountable to Muggles. For the most part, while somewhat misguided, this attitude is of little concern because the vast majority of our people never do anything for which they could be called to account. But there’ve always been that handful of miscreants who for whatever reason feel that they can do what they please.”

“Lucius Malfoy,” Harry growled.

“Indeed,” Nicholas agreed. “A striking example of the most dangerous sort. He does not see Muggles as being relevant in any way. Arguably, the same can be said about the vast majority if not all of the witches and wizards in the world. He is also unrepentant, as it were and it would be a fair assumption that even today, sitting in his cell in Azkaban, he does not see himself as having done anything wrong. One or two people like him would not be a problem as few who might believe that Muggles are somehow subhuman would act on such belief as he has. But if that were to change…

“Our law enforcement does try to keep that in check and it would seem so long as they are effective in doing so the Muggles are content to let us manage our affairs. But it does not follow that they would sit idly by if our efforts failed. The last war was a close call for us, it would seem. Our memories show that the next war was also a close call. But it was not our last and eventually we crossed a line the Muggles could not ignore. One can only assume that rather than a Malfoy, there were scores or hundreds and we were either unwilling or unable to deal with them. So the Muggles took action to the ultimate ruin of us all, Muggle and magical alike although far more so for our kind.”

“In the end it was a biological or biomagical weapon,” Mary/Perenelle said. “It was supposedly over before the weapon was employed. Our memories suggest it was released anyway by individuals who… well, who were not satisfied with mere victory - for the Muggles had won. We don’t think its release was a matter of some governmental policy, but we can’t say since our memories don’t tell us who released it. As you know, it is this future we seek to avoid.”

“And this might be a chance towards the goal,” Nicholas said.

“Oh?” several voices asked.

“But this group did use biomagical stuff before,” Hermione protested. “It used it to prevent a wizard from becoming king, right?”

“We don’t know which Muggle government did it in that timeline,” Nicholas replied. “I don’t think it truly matters. But if it was the British, then building some bridge now may avert that disaster by making it unthinkable. That future was based upon a total lack of understanding on both sides. There may have been individuals who understood, but the collective sides did not. We know that there is little communication and even less cooperation between the societies which is not a good thing should there ever be a true disagreement or misunderstanding. Building a bridge now, even a small and informal one such as this, might be a small step that can avert a terrible disaster in the future.”

“We could probably use some help,” Ginny said, “and certainly when the time comes.”

“Oh?” a few voices asked.

“We’re not ready for them - the Death Eater types, I mean.”

“We are training,” Hannah reminded.

“We are. House Longbottom is. My brothers and their girls are. That’s not many, is it? Even if we were as good as Aurors, it’s not enough, is it?”

“We’re not going to have to face anything like that soon,” Daphne said.

“But one day,” Ginny said, “and still, it’s not like there’s loads of us preparing! What happens when he returns? How many are ready for that? How many will be? How many can be? I can tell you from what I’ve heard our government isn’t ready at all. Consider my Dad, for example.”

“He was in the Order,” Harry countered.

“I’m not saying he can’t use a wand,” Ginny huffed. “No, look at his job: he’s Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. But the name is misleading. The office is supposed to prevent any enchanted magical items from crossing over into Muggle hands and for recovering any that do and fixing any harm those things might do in Muggle hands. I mean, the name implies that if a wizard used a football as a Quaffle, his office would be interested but it’s not. It’s about keeping magic out of the Muggle world! I’d say that’s fairly important, isn’t it? Muggles would notice such things and wouldn’t think kindly of people who made such things - the harmful ones especially. I mean that’s an office that arguably enforces that Treaty of Separation and the Statute of Secrecy so you’d think it’s important to our government. But aside from my Dad, there’s only one other person who works there - Mr. Perkins - and he’s old and near retirement so it’s mainly my Dad who does most of the outside work. He can ask for help from DMLE, but he really has to work to get any at all. That tells me either our government doesn’t consider keeping magic out of Muggle hands important or isn’t prepared or able to do that. If they can’t do that, how can they stop more direct violations? If we can’t do it and our government can’t or won’t, who will? That’s been bothering me.”

“What are you saying?” Daphne asked.

“We know of a future,” Ginny said, “one where the Muggles learned of us and tried to destroy us. We now know they already know, or at least some do, and have known for a long, long time and have not tried to destroy us. What changed? Something did for why did they go from watching us to hunting us? And if they were to come after us, would we just sit back and let them? Would we really care about the why of it? We know he’s not truly gone and he will come back and it will be the War again, which surely won’t make the Muggles happy about us. If we are not ready, if we try to hide from the problem and hide the problem from the Muggles, it’s hardly likely they’ll respect us for it and right now that’s what’s likely to happen. And if the problems were to continue after we supposedly dealt with it, what then? Is it any wonder they didn’t trust us in that future? Is it any wonder they didn’t see that there were witches and wizards who were not a threat?

“I don’t think we have time to fix our side’s attitudes about things before they go pear-shaped again and I also don’t think enough of us will be ready for what’s coming when it comes that the Muggles will not need to be concerned. We now know they’re watching. What if we can get them to help before it’s too late?”

“How?” Hannah asked.

Ginny snorted. “Well, if I already had that bit figured out I’d be smarter than Hermione.”

There were some chuckles and even Hermione snorted with mild amusement.

“But you have a point, Ginny,” Harry said. “If the Muggles were involved from the off with us - whoever us will be - they might not see our world as a threat, just that element which truly is. I don’t know how to involve them or what they can offer that we can truly use. Guns maybe?”

“They’re illegal, Harry,” Daphne said.

“In the Muggle world as well, mostly,” Hermione added, “at least the kinds that would do any good or be of any use. I doubt fouling pieces would be much good and you can’t just walk into a shop and buy those either, I’ve read.”

“Fowling pieces?” several voices asked.

“Guns used for hunting ducks and pheasants and such,” Hermione said. “Hunting fowl, in other words. They don’t use bullets like other guns and they can’t shoot as many times or as quickly. They also don’t have the range and stuff.”

“They’re still illegal,” Daphne said, “almost as much so as Unforgivables! Even having one, even if you don’t ever use it, can get you in lots of trouble with the Ministry.”

“And the problem is the bad guys have no problem using those Unforgivables,” Harry said. “Nor have they any reason to be concerned. Not nearly enough of them died in that war and far too many of them just went back to their lives as if nothing had happened. They don’t know that they lost in part because they didn’t lose so what’s to stop them from starting out again if he returns or someone like him comes along? They came close to winning and that would’ve been a disaster, the very one we’re trying to avoid. Had that night not happened, had he not been defeated… How can any magical force face them? They have the advantage with those spells, right?”

“They can’t be stopped magically,” Hermione said. “A strong enough physical barrier will work, but you can’t be wearing it since the spell will - I don’t know - conduct through body armor. And we can’t or shouldn’t use them.”

“Those spells require the right mind set to work as intended,” Nicholas said. “I dare say any magic user of moderate ability could cast one, but it would not be nearly as effective and could be blocked and it would be magically draining without the mind set. With the mind set, the spells are unblockable and do not drain the caster. The problem is that mind set would mean you are no better than they are. To do the spells as intended, you cannot have any regard for human life at all. You must be evil to the core. The more you use those spells, the more proficient you become at them, the less human you remain and the more you become that which you’re fighting. But Harry is right. Using those spells gives them an advantage in a fight one which can only be countered by a degree of skill most never attain. We are trying to help you attain that degree of skill and beyond, but that takes time and practice and we do not know if we have enough time before it becomes necessary. So, any edge we can get short of those spells cannot be dismissed out of hand. Guns have the advantage of range. A rifle is lethal at a far greater distance than any wand and pistols can be in skilled hands. They cannot be blocked either.”

“I thought they could be,” Daphne said. “I’ve heard they could be.”

“The best magical shields can deflect a bullet - one shot - most of the time. They don’t always do so and no one knows exactly why, but they usually work once. In the time it takes to recast the shield, however, the second shot will come and finish the job.”

“Still, it takes time to reload those things,” Daphne said. “That’s what we were told in Muggle Studies. That one shot is dangerous, but then they have to reload.”

Nicholas snorted in disgust. “What century are you studying?” he asked sarcastically. “You don’t believe that rubbish,” he added looking at Hermione.

“I know better even if I don’t know much at all about guns,” Hermione said. “I dropped that course ‘cause it’s so out of date it's… Well, the book doesn’t even mention automobiles or a lot of things that Muggles take for granted and practically can’t live without. The guns it mentioned… they haven’t been used in a long, long, long time.”

“The modern Muggle military firearm can fire five, ten, even fifty rounds in the time it takes a skilled wizard to cast a shield charm and can kill at several hundred yards,” Nicholas said. “The soldier doesn’t reload after each shot. The gun does that for him and will keep doing it so long as it has ammunition and those guns all carry far more than one shot. And it takes about as long to reload those guns as it does to cast a shield charm. Unless the wizard drops the soldier before the soldier can start shooting, it’s a fair bet who will win that fight and it’s not the one with the wand.”

“Couldn’t you transfigure the gun?” Ginny asked.

“In theory you could,” Nicholas said. “In the real world? At several feet if not several yards assuming you’re in wand range to begin with? And remember, he can kill you at far greater distances than you can cast a spell. In a second or two at best? If you rely on your skills at transfiguration - skills that are beyond your average NEWT scores - you’ll wind up dead before anything happens.”

“They’re still illegal!” Daphne countered.

“The difference between the criminal and the patriot is often who wins the civil war for that is what we are talking about,” Nicholas said. “If, for argument sake, we resorted to using guns and lost, well it really wouldn’t matter, would it? It never goes well for the losers. If we won, it still wouldn’t matter. I’m not saying we should or should not. I am saying we keep an open mind to such an idea. Such devices would level the playing field if not shift the advantage entirely and they are far easier to learn to use with an adequate degree of proficiency than your wand. But unless the Muggle government supports the idea they would probably take issue with that solution and possibly consider the gun users every bit as threatening as the magic users. Ginny’s basic idea, however, is sound. If there is an opportunity to work with this Muggle group Sirius met to deal with the coming problem, we should give it very serious consideration.”