Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eleven
Part Two

-o-0-o-

A few hours later, after Rose deemed Harry rested enough from his inheritance that he could safely travel, the six mage students, the four trainers, and Regulus and Asterion arrived on the beach of an island. Harry wasn't exactly sure what he'd been expecting the island to look like, but due to its location several miles northwest of Azkaban in the far northern seas, he had not expected the white sand beach, dense jungle, or tropical temperature. Seeing the look on not only Harry's face but on several of the other's, Asterion grinned and said, "What can I say? Magic can do some truly wonderful things, especially when its mage level. Including making a normally freezing and desolate rock into a tropical paradise."

Ushering everyone to follow his father, who had started walking inland, Asterion brought up the rear as the group left the beach and entered the jungle. The foliage was dense and there was only the narrowest of paths for them to walk on, so they were walking single file, many of them with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them simply because the ground wasn't perfectly flat. Finally, after about five minutes of walking, they reached a small clearing, but there was still no sign of any sort of habitation. Just more plants and a large rock. Thus everyone was more than a little curious when Regulus summoned his staff and drove the bladed end of it into the rock at a forty-five degree angle.

"What's he doing?" Cedric asked.

"You'll see," Asterion said. "Everyone please move as close to the edge of the clearing as you can.

Once everyone had done as the younger Black asked, he nodded to his father and Regulus in turn grasped the center of his staff and much to everyone's shock moved it in the rock as if it was a giant lever. Not long after this, there was a rumble of what sounded like gears turning and finally four small holes opened in the ground, as jets of steam shot upward. Before anyone could comment on that, however, copper-colored metal tracks rose up from the holes the steam had come out of and began moving upwards. Harry and the others tried to track their progress as they moved higher and higher, but soon lost sight of them in the thick jungle canopy.

When the tracks finally stopped moving, Regulus removed his staff from the rock and inserted the blade into a slot on the track nearest the rock and once again moved it like it was a lever. More gears could be heard rumbling to life, as well as the calls of some of the jungle wildlife who had decided to protest the sudden racket with some of their own. Not long after this, everyone heard rustling in the leaves above them and they looked up, shocked when moments later they saw a large copper-colored platform descending from above. As it continued its descent it soon become evident it wasn't a platform, but a box. Harry and Roger, being familiar with the muggle world, recognized its shape immediately. Cedric also recognized it for what it was once it got far enough down for him to see the scrollwork gate.

"A lift?" Harry asked. "Where does it go?"

"To our house, of course," Asterion answered.

"Your house?" Cedric asked. "You mean up there in the trees?"

Regulus nodded, as he opened the scrollwork gate. "Indeed, Cedric. It's a tree house - a very large tree house, as you'll see." Ushering with his hand, he added, "Everyone in please."

Unsurprisingly, the inside of the lift was larger than its outward appearance would suggest and thus the group had no trouble fitting inside of it nor did they feel like they were packed in like sardines. Once everyone was in, Regulus pulled the gate shut and Asterion summoned his staff, placing it in a slot in the floor and moving it like a lever just like his father had.

"Interesting uses of your staffs," Athena commented.

Regulus grinned. "Well, it's our security system. Even though the entire island is under the Fidelius, Unplottable, and just about every other security spell one can think of, we've opted for further security by using these staff slots. They obviously act as levers to activate the gear mechanisms that control the lift and other things on the island. And as further security, the slots will only work for Asterion's and my staffs. So, even those of you who have staffs, unless we keyed you into the security system, your staffs wouldn't even fit in the slots."

As the lift began its ascent, Oliver asked, "So, this entire island is powered by mage-level magic?"

Asterion shook his head. "Actually no, it isn't. There is plenty of magic weaved into the security systems, but the most basic systems like the gears that operate the lift are actually powered by pressurized steam. The muggles would call it steampunk technology. They never seriously used such technology on a wide scale, but it is a fairly popular element in some muggle fiction stories. Steampunk is basically a means of achieving the modern-day technological advances of their world, with steam as the power source and is usually set in the Victorian era."

"The Victorian era?" Gavin asked.

"1837 to 1901," Regulus answered. "Which were the years between which the muggle Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire, which of course includes the muggle sections of Albion. Of course, what the muggles called the British Empire is called the Empire of Camelot in the wizarding world and is actually still intact, unlike its muggle counterpart."

Having attended a muggle primary school until he started at Hogwarts, Harry had done some reading on the British Empire in history class and thus found himself asking, "Still intact?"

Asterion nodded. "Indeed. The muggle British Empire transformed into the British Commonwealth years ago, but that was not repeated in the wizarding world. I suppose one could also consider it further justification for King Edward to have an imperial title, because as King of Albion and Iwernia, he's also the Emperor of the Empire of Camelot. Which includes part of northern France, India, several island chains all over the globe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and even the original thirteen British colonies in America."

"America?" Harry asked. "The United States doesn't have their own magical government?"

Regulus shook his head in a negative gesture. "No, Harry, they don't. The United States is an entirely Muggle creation. The wizarding populace of the continent continue to recognize much older borders, so, it's split up between The Empire of Camelot, the French Empire, the Spanish and Portuguese Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. Camelot is, of course, ruled by the Pendragon Dynasty, where as magical branches of the Bourbon, Hapsburg, and Romanov families rule in France, Spain-Portugal, and Russia."

Nothing more was said as the lift came to a stop and Regulus pulled the gate open. As everyone disembarked from the lift, they found themselves standing on a platform high up in the trees and thus were surrounded on all sides by leaves and branches dense enough that the ground was no longer visible. Straight ahead was a two story Queen Anne Victorian styled building, with a three-story turret in one corner and surrounded by a verandah. The building itself was covered in white clapboard siding, with green scalloped siding in the eaves of the building. The verandah was surrounded by a green and white railing, with numerous burnished copper accents, which were repeated throughout in the house's trim and decorative detailing.

As the group moved closer, it became apparent that there were no traces of the corrosion one might expect to see on copper that had been exposed to the elements for any length of time, particularly this close to the sea. Athena commented on this fact, which prompted Regulus to nod and say, "Yes, the copper is all protected by a stasis field which prevents corrosion and keeps it looking just as pristine and new as it was when I first built this place."

Arriving at the front door, everyone immediately noticed that there were two key holes on the door and Harry couldn't help but think that it reminded him of the door into the dungeons at Seacliff. Thus, he really wasn't surprised when both Regulus and Asterion pulled a key ring out of their pockets and inserted keys into the two locks at the same time. Noticing the confused looks on some faces, but not on Harry's, Asterion grinned and said, "I suppose Harry has seen this type of lock at Seacliff, but for the rest of you who haven't, its charmed so that two keys have to be inserted and turned at the same time in order for the tumblers to move and unlock the door. If only one key is used the lock freezes up and won't open for at least an hour."

Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, that's just one of the many security features that we've employed here. Some of the higher-security doors are operated much the same way as the lift we used to get up here, with only Asterion's and my mage staff being able to open them. The compound is also spread out across ten different platforms, with various rooms contained in separate houses. Some of the platforms are connected via escalators which are charmed so that they won't allow a person who isn't keyed into the wards to even step onto them, while others are connected with lifts similar to the one we just got off of, and still some others are connected via small monorail-style cars. All powered by pressurized steam, of course."

"We also have Anti-Apparition wards surrounding the entire compound," Asterion explained. "Along with Anti-Portkey wards, and Anti-Flashing wards which prevent certain magical creatures, like phoenixes, who have an inborn teleportation ability from entering the warded areas. We've even managed to prevent shadow travel as you will notice that every area is lit in a way that prevents the creation of shadows. That does mean, of course, that one has to wear a blindfold at night in order to sleep, because none of the rooms ever get dark enough to allow shadows to form."

"An ingenious method," Emma said. "I've never thought of preventing shadows from forming in order to block shadow travel. Of course, as a Shadow Mage myself, I'm in tune with the shadows and tend to have enough advance warning of a person attempting to shadow travel near me that I can manipulate the shadows to prevent it."

Asterion nodded and said, "I'm a Shadow Mage too, but I haven't mastered that ability yet."

Emma laughed. "I'm not surprised, young man. It took me fifteen years to successfully do it the first time and then another twenty before I could do it reliably. I'd be quite shocked and jealous if a seventeen-year-old had already mastered it."

The conversation about the compound's security had delayed Regulus from opening the front door, but now he did so, before standing aside and ushering everyone inside. Entering the house, the group found themselves in a large room with rich cherry wood floors, covered in exquisitely detailed Oriental rugs. The walls had cherry wood wainscoting from the floor up to a burnished copper chair rail. Above that were alternating sections containing gleaming copper plate, windows covered in green and silver floral-print draperies, and large painted murals depicting numerous famous landmarks from around the world - the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, the Hanging Gardens, and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few.

The furniture was all in the Victorian style with the sofas and chairs featuring richly detailed green brocade cushions and rich mahogany wood. The coffee table, end tables, and a large desk in one corner were all made of cherry wood, with copper accents, and a pair of rosewood bookcases flanked a large fireplace with a rosewood mantle, with a large mirror above it. Copper lamps with intricate stained glass shades insured that the entire room was bathed in a rich almost golden light which prevented the formation of shadows anywhere in the room. There were also numerous exotic plants in planters throughout the room, along with a rosewood gramophone with a burnished copper horn, a large globe, and a few white marble busts of famous wizards on mahogany pedestals.

Directly across from the fireplace there was also a wall of solid copper which had water cascading down from the ceiling into a basin on the floor, providing a soft, tranquil background noise. Two archways of copper-banded cherry wood led off this main room to other rooms, although only Regulus and Asterion knew where they actually went. All in all, the room was a truly spectacular place that spoke of a level of wealth and privilege comparable to what could be seen at many of the noble estates around Albion and Iwernia. However, the room also had a distinctly homey feeling to it, which suggested people actually lived there - something that some of the noble estates lacked, as they looked more like museums.

Breaking the silence, Cedric said, "This place is amazing."

Several heads nodded in agreement at this, as Regulus and Asterion smiled and the former said, "Thank you. Anyway, I suppose we should be getting to the library where that book is kept as I'm sure you're all quite interested to learn more about soul mate bonds. If you'll just follow me?"

At this, Regulus led the group through one of the archways into a hallway, the floors and walls of which looked much the same as the room they'd just left. Golden wall sconces with stained-glass shades were placed at equal distances down the length of the hallway, with wizard portraits lining the walls between them. There were also a few doors that led off the hallway and a large pair of double doors at the end, which seemed to be where Regulus was leading them. Gesturing towards the portraits, Asterion said, "The ones on the right wall are some of my McKinnon ancestors and the ones on the left are the more tolerable members of the Black family, who were not pureblood fanatics."

Reaching the double doors at the end of the hallway, Asterion joined his father as they once again placed two keys in the dual locks on the door, before pushing the double doors open and ushering everyone into the small square room beyond. This room, while brightly lit, was lacking in the decor of the main room and the hallway, but it quickly became apparent why that was when Regulus summoned his staff and inserted it into a slot on the floor near the doors. Large gears and pistons on the wall opposite the doors came to life at this point and a moment later the other two walls in the room slid open to reveal a view of the outside, as burnished copper tracks rose up out of the floor.

A moment later, a whistle blew and a steam-powered monorail-style train car became visible as it turned a corner outside and entered the room, coming to a stop in the center of the room a few moments later. As the doors slid open with a hiss of steam, Asterion grinned and said, "All aboard. The library is on a different platform than this section of the house. It's one of the highest security rooms we have and thus requires my dad's or my mage staffs be used in order to open the way to it."

Once everyone was on board, Regulus inserted his staff into a slot in the floor of the train car, which caused the doors to slide closed. Pushing a couple of buttons on a console near where his staff was standing upright in the floor, the whistle blew again and everyone spread out a bit, gripping the copper handrails which lined the walls of the car. Assuming correctly that the car would be going outside, however, they faced the walls, which were all made of glass. The car was soon on the move again, exiting the room through the opposite wall it had entered through, the walls sliding closed again once the car had left the room.

Looking out the windows of the car as it moved along the glowing copper tracks, there was quite a bit of green foliage to see and not much else. However, after a few moments, Harry did catch sight of a few brilliantly colored parrots which he pointed out to Cedric. On the other side of the car, Gavin and Oliver spotted some monkeys sitting on a tree limb, as another swung from one tree to another on a large vine. Watching the group watch the animals, Asterion smiled and said, "Some of the species that call this island home don't exist anywhere else in the world, as they've been driven into extinction. Through magic and potions, however, we've managed to bring some of them back. We have a flock of dodo birds for example, which have been extinct since the early 1660's."

"And before anyone asks," Regulus said, "no, we haven't brought any dinosaurs back from extinction, so this island isn't a real-world Jurassic Park. None of the animals here are native to this region of the world, but with magic we have created suitable habitats for them. We chose not to populate the island with dangerous animals that would eat people, however, hence no carnivorous dinosaurs. Asterion and I have considered possibly attempting to bring some of the smaller herbivorous dinosaurs out of extinction, just to see if we could do it, but we haven't gotten around to doing that yet."

"Jurassic Park?" Cedric asked, confusion clear in his voice. "What's that?"

"It's a film that was released last year," Harry answered.

"What's a film?" Gavin asked.

"A form of Muggle entertainment," Roger answered. "Sort of like the moving pictures here in the wizarding world, only they're projected onto a screen and there's music and the people in the pictures can talk. Only with each other, however, as they don't interact with the audience."

"So, like the television box in Athena's living room?" Terence asked.

Athena nodded and said, "Indeed, Mr. Higgs, only the screens that muggle films are shown on are generally much larger than a television screen."

"Maybe we'll do a movie night on the 16th," Pomona said. "It can be part of the festivities when we celebrate your birthdays, Terence and Cedric." After a moment, she added, "And movies are another name for films, if you were wondering."

Regulus smiled and said, "You know it'll probably be nearing dinner time before the explanation of soul mates and bonding is finished. Asterion and I do have a private screening room here, which is where films are shown. So, being Sunday anyway, the boys could see one or two before bed tonight, especially if we spend the night here. There's plenty of bedrooms and we could all go back to Forest Cottage for the boys' classes after breakfast in the morning."

Seeing the hopeful looks on her pupils' faces, Athena sighed and said, "Fine, I'll allow it."

This prompted several cheers from the boys, especially those who were unfamiliar with films, because in their time at Forest Cottage, they'd all become acquainted with television and looked forward to seeing what a film was like.

Looking over at Asterion and Regulus, Athena added, "I will, however, have to let Barin know somehow, so that he doesn't cook dinner or breakfast in the morning."

Asterion nodded and said, "The wards that prevent phoenix flashing also prevent house-elves from being able to get into the warded area, so while you could call for him, he wouldn't be able to get past the wards. I think Dad can handle the explanations on soul mates though, so, once we get to the library platform, I'll go back and handle things with Barin."

"That'll work," Regulus agreed, although after a moment, he said, "Maybe, bring him back here with you, Asterion." Looking at the others, he said, "Asterion and I don't have any house-elves here, so, we take turns cooking, but neither of us is used to cooking for twelve people. So, it would be helpful to set Barin to work in the kitchen here."

"Good point," Asterion agreed. "Barin is also a much better cook than me or Dad. That's not to say we can't cook, because our food is passable, and we're both still alive, so we obviously didn't poison ourselves, but I have to admit that Barin's is much better."

-o-0-o-

When the train car came to a stop, everyone except Asterion got out on the platform. The blond-haired Black waved, before the car departed back the way it came, at which point everyone turned to look at the new building that was before them. This one was built in the Italianate Victorian style with pale blue clapboard siding with copper-banded white trim. Leading the group up to the house, Regulus said, "We don't use a dual-lock on these doors simply because it's impossible to get to them without first passing through the two dual-lock doors on the main house. Not to mention the mage staff controlled monorail car, so, Asterion and I figured that a dual-lock here would be overkill."

"How would you get past the dual-locks if only one of you was on the island?" Harry asked.

"The keys can be used by only one person," Regulus explained. "However, they have to be keyed into the blood wards that surround the compound in order to use both. As of right now, only Asterion and I are keyed into those wards and thus, we're the only ones who can use the keys. Even with both of us here and inserting one key each, the blood wards still factor in. None of you could take Asterion's keys and insert it into a lock with me because you're not keyed into the wards."

"Couldn't someone climb up the tree that this platform is in?" Oliver asked.

Regulus grinned, "Perhaps, if you can first find a way to get to the tree." At the confused looks, he added, "The trunk of this particular tree is situated on a small island in the middle of one of the hot springs which provides the water that we use to make the pressurized steam that many of the mechanical elements of the compound run on. The water in that particular spring is charmed to maintain a constant temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, which would seriously burn flesh with only about one and a half seconds of exposure. The island the trunk is on is surrounded by forty feet of water in every direction and thus it's unlikely you'd be able to jump over it and you certainly can't swim through it, as there's also a charm on the water which will strip away any form of heat protection spell."

“What about flying across the water on a broom?” Harry asked.

“Not advisable,” Regulus answered. “The tree itself is charmed to protect against broom riders and those using Force Mage techniques, as a few of the smaller tree limbs will move to intercept you and swat you away, most likely in a direction that’ll make you fall into the water, so, as I said, not advisable.”

"I take it the Anti-Apparition wards prevent you from Apparating across the water?" Pomona asked.

Regulus nodded. "Indeed they do. The entire island is covered in the Anti-Apparition, Anti-Portkey and Anti-Flashing wards. Only a small ten foot by ten foot opening on the beach isn't covered, so that we can get to the island itself, but that's why we had to walk inland to get to the lift that brought us up to the first platform. We don't keep the entire island illuminated around the clock, so, a Shadow Mage could shadow travel further onto the island, but the entire compound up here in the trees is continuously lit to prevent shadows, so, even if you do shadow travel to the ground below, you'd still have to use the lift to get up here."

"So could I shadow travel across the water to the island this tree is on?" Emma asked.

"No, you couldn't," Regulus said. "We do keep some areas of the ground lit and the ground around the base of the tree is one of them, so there are no shadows to travel to at the base of the tree or anywhere along its length. Anyway, let's get inside, shall we?"

Entering the house, the group found themselves in another large room with maple hardwood floors covered again in intricate Oriental rugs. The walls of the room, however, were painted a pale green above the copper chair rail, with a palm leaf design painted below it. The furniture was also in the Victorian style, but with lighter colored woods and upholstered in shades of light blue and green. Potted ferns and other greenery were spread out through the room, along with brass light fixtures with green silk shades affixed to the walls.

Another gramophone rested in a corner of the room, with a large grandfather clock occupying the opposite corner. Pale blue silk draperies with white sheers covered the windows. A burnished copper spiral staircase led up to an upper floor of the building and there were a few bookcases scattered around the room, but not nearly as many as one might expect to find in a library. This prompted Cedric to comment, "Doesn't really seem to be that many books in here to be called a library."

"That's because this isn't the library," Regulus said. "The actual library is on the second floor. This is the reading room, which is where I'll be explaining things to you. If you'll all just make yourselves comfortable, I'll go upstairs and retrieve that book, which is in the library's vault. The library and the vault are two of the highest security rooms in the compound and thus none of you would be able to enter them without first being keyed into the blood wards." Walking across the room to the stairs, Regulus began walking up, as he said, "I'll only be a few moments."

Doing as they were told, the six boys and their trainers took seats around the room as they awaited Regulus' return. True to his word, he was back quickly, carrying with him a large leather-bound book. It didn't look like it could possibly be over a thousand years old, which it would have to be in order to have been written by Merlin and Arthur, but then it stood to reason that it was protected by preservation charms and thus wouldn't show its true age. Sitting down in an armchair near the black cast-iron wood stove that heated the room, Regulus set the book on his lap and said, "Now, let's begin."

Regulus cleared his throat and said, "First things first, I want to clear up a few common misconceptions. One of the biggest being that soul mates are always in a romantic relationship. This is simply not true, as there are many recorded instances of soul mates who chose to remain only very good friends. More so in the muggle world, but also here in the wizarding world, there are people who refer to the love of their life as their soul mate and I suspect that's where this particular misconception originated from. You must understand, however, that simply calling someone your soul mate doesn't mean that they actually are."

As several heads around the room nodded, Regulus continued. "Now, what does it mean to actually find your soul mate? It depends on who you ask, but the origin that Arthur and Merlin believed and focused on in their book, is that some ancient cultures believed that several millennia ago, all beings were physically and spiritually joined to one another in pairs. However, they angered the gods and were thus split down the middle, both body and soul."

"So, soul mates share half of the same soul?" Roger asked, as he glanced over at Terence.

Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, Roger, they do. So, if you and Terence are, as I suspect, soul mates, your souls originated as a single whole, just as Harry's and Cedric's would have. Now, actually finding your soul mate is rare as it's believed that the ancient gods made sure that most soul pairs were either not alive at the same time or that they were separated by great geographical or socio-economic divides which would prevent them from meeting one another. There are, however, recorded instances of two or more soul pairs knowing each other. For instance, you might not realize this, but King Arthur and Merlin were soul mates. This book they wrote also references the fact that Morgana Le Fey also found her soul mate in a man named Dakota."

"So Merlin and Arthur remained just friends?" Gavin asked. "Were Morgana and Dakota a couple?"

With a smile, because he knew this would cause a stir, Regulus said, "Morgana and Dakota were indeed a married couple. From what the book says, Dakota was a Native Plains Indian of the North American continent that Morgana met while traveling around the globe for some reason that the book doesn't detail. As such, it appears he didn't have a surname and took the Le Fey name when he and Morgana got married. As for Merlin and Arthur, no, they weren't just friends, as they were also a married couple."

"What?" Terence asked. "But I thought that Arthur was married to Guinevere."

"No, he wasn't," Regulus said. "History has become muddled over the years but the truth is that King Arthur and Merlin had five children together, including a pair of fraternal twins named Arthur and Guinevere, which is why the two names were often mentioned together in several sources, which is then what led historians to incorrectly record them as being married. Of course, I imagine in the muggle world, they were also trying to hide the fact that King Arthur was gay."

"They had children together?" Oliver asked. "How? They were both men?"

"There are ways for two wizards in a romantic relationship to have children together, Oliver," Regulus answered. "Obviously they were once used here in Albion, seeing as how the entire Pendragon line all the way up to King Edward can claim direct ancestry from both King Arthur and Merlin. These methods, have for whatever reason, however, fallen out of popularity in this country to a point that they're all but forgotten about. They're still used in other countries around the world, although it's generally only in the more progressive countries. Something which Albion, Iwernia, and the countries that make up the Empire of Camelot can't claim to be, as we're still quite old fashioned in many respects."

Looking over at Athena, Harry said, "I guess that explains why Scarclaw laughed when we were outside my family vault, Athena. After you'd said that Merlin never had children."

Nodding, Athena said, "Yes, that probably is why he laughed. While it seems witches and wizards apparently forgot that Arthur and Merlin were a married couple and had children together, I guess the goblins didn't."

"You will find that there's very little that the goblins ever forget," Regulus said, before he paused and then said, "But, we're here to discuss soul bonds, so let's get to it." Opening the book and reading over a relevant section to refresh his memory, Regulus then said, "Soul mates, at least when they're two wizards or a witch and a wizard, can bond with one another in one of two different magical bonds.

"One is the Friendship Bond, which is for soul pairs who wish to gain some benefit from finding one another, but wish to remain only good friends. The other is, as you might guess, the Love Bond which is for those soul pairs who are in love with each other. As you may have guessed from the fact that they were married couples, both Arthur and Merlin and Morgana and Dakota were joined in Love Bonds."

"Wait, only two wizards or a witch and a wizard?" Athena asked. "What about two witches?"

"A rather unfair element of the soul mate bonds," Regulus said, "is that two women, even if they are soul mates, cannot undergo the magical bond to gain a benefit from having found each other. They can certainly be together and if they so desire marry each other in places where that's legal, but they can't formalize their soul bond in the way that couples consisting of two wizards or a witch and a wizard can."

"Why?"

"Well, Harry, it actually comes down to a matter of plumbing," Regulus said, grinning at the confused looks that this comment had spurred. "You see, it doesn't matter if it's a Friendship Bond or a Love Bond, in order to formalize a soul bond, the soul pair must physically join their bodies together. And by that, I mean that they must engage in sexual intercourse with each other, as contained in separate bodies, it's the only way for the two halves of their shared soul to get close enough to each other to interact and grant the benefits of bonding. For this purpose, only penis to vagina or penis to anus is considered intercourse, so two women can't formalize a soul bond due to the obvious lack of a penis."

A few people around the room felt their faces heat up and knew that they were blushing. Harry, for example, couldn't help but blush not only because he wasn't used to listening to someone talk about sex in such an open and clinical manner, but also because of the thought of possibly having sex with Cedric. Not that Harry thought it would ever actually happen, mind you, because he didn't think he even fancied Cedric in that way, soul mate or not. He'd not really given much thought about it, either way, but he didn't think he was gay, because he'd certainly found girls attractive in the past. Then again, if he was honest with himself, he had noticed, especially recently, that there were a few guys that he thought were quite attractive. Kolin and Erik were just two of them. Cedric was another, but Harry was doing his best to ignore that one, because he figured the draw he felt to Cedric must be because of the possible soul mate thing and not because he was actually attracted to him.

After a few minutes of silence, Roger said, "Well, I can safely guarantee that Liam and I will never be bonding." Looking over at Terence with a grin, he added, "Cause, sorry mate, but you're not my type."

"Why? Because I don't have tits?" Terence asked.

"That's a rather crude way of putting it," Roger said. "But yes. I also doubt that your boyfriend would ever allow it."

Wrapping his arms around Terence in a possessive embrace, Oliver nodded and said, "Your damn right I wouldn't allow it. Liam's ass is mine." After a moment, however, in which he seemed to consider something, he added, "Although, I guess I wouldn't mind if Liam topped a guy other than me - as long as I got to watch, that is."

"Will!" Terence groaned, as he blushed bright red.

"What?" Oliver asked. "I think it would be hot to watch you with another guy. Especially one as hot as Roger."

Clearing his throat, Roger said, "While I appreciate that you think I'm hot, Oliver, I'm sorry to say that you will never get to watch Liam topping me. I'm very happily straight and there's no way I'm bottoming for Liam or any other guy. Ever."

"Never say never, Roger," Regulus said with an amused grin, as he remembered the possible future he'd seen for Roger the previous day. Thinking back to that and then looking at the images drawn in the book, Regulus now knew what he'd seen. He'd thought the images looked familiar but he couldn't place them until now, as he realized that the magical ritual that he’d seen Roger participating in was in fact the Soul Mate Friendship Bond.

After a pause, during which nobody said anything and Regulus debated whether or not he should actually tell Roger what he'd seen in his future, ultimately deciding not to as at this point it would only upset him, Regulus shook his head and said, "The magical rituals involved for formalizing both bonds do, as I previously said, require sexual intercourse. Although the rituals do differ depending on whether it's a Friendship or Love Bond."

"How so?" Emma asked.

"Well, like many bonds, it requires a circle of runes on the floor, surrounded by lit candles," Regulus answered. "Both bonds require the soul pair to be completely naked, as nothing can come between them, including condoms. So, in the case of a male-female pairing, it is entirely possible that a pregnancy could result which Merlin speculated was why he hadn't found many references to male-female pairs entering into a Friendship Bond."

"Yes, I can see how two people who want to remain friends only would be hesitant to do anything that could result in them sharing a child together," Rose said.

"Of course, there is another potential reason why there aren't many male-female Friendship Bonds recorded," Regulus continued, "and that's because for both versions of the bond, if the soul pair has different power levels, then whoever has the higher power level has to top during the ritual. And by top, I mean that their penis has to be the one entering their partner, so if the woman has a stronger core than the man, then obviously the ritual can't go forward because the woman doesn't have a penis."

"What about spells to change one's gender?" Pomona asked. "There are spells and potions which can temporarily change gender."

Shaking his head, Regulus said, "If it were that easy, then a lesbian soul pair could bond, but as I've already said they can't. The reason is because both versions of the bond consider active spell or potions effects to be something that's coming between the soul pair and thus they can't have any active effects on them when they're doing the ritual, because it won't work otherwise."

Oliver grinned and said, "Well, that works out okay then because Liam is two levels stronger than Roger, so Liam would be the one on top, which means I'd be okay with them doing it. So long as I get to watch, otherwise, no way in hell."

"For the last time, Oliver, you're never going to get to see Liam top me," Roger said. "I'm straight so there's no way that I'm ever bending over so that Liam or any other bloke can fuck me."

"Mr. Davies, language!" Athena chastised.

"I'm sorry, Athena," Roger said. "But there's simply no way that I will ever be bonding with Terence if I have to have sex with him to do it. I know you always say that nothing is impossible, just improbable, but in this case it is impossible."

Deciding to ignore Roger for the moment, Regulus said, "Well, there is a possibility that the ritual might require Roger to top Terence, because if it's not done before Roger's seventeenth birthday and he has his inheritance, now that he's gone through with the blood ritual, it is possible that he'll end up stronger than Terence."

"If that happens the bond isn't happening," Oliver said, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest, making it clear that his mind was made up. "Because I'm sorry, but Liam's ass is mine and nobody but me gets to enjoy it."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was head over heels in love with Oliver and wasn't really interested in having sex with anyone other than him, Terence might have been upset about Oliver claiming ownership of any part of his body. But then, he'd done the same for pretty much all of Oliver's body, so he didn't really have much room to get mad.

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door of the house opened, as Asterion walked in, followed by Sirius and Remus. Sirius had been dealing with some Black family business at one of the Black properties during the ritual, and Remus had been helping him organize some paperwork and thus they hadn't realized that everyone had gone to Regulus' and Asterion's Black Island until they'd gotten back to Forest Cottage to find it empty - about a minute before Asterion turned up to talk with Barin. Athena's house-elf was now hard at work in the compound's kitchen on dinner, while Sirius and Remus accompanied Asterion back, during which time he explained what happened during the blood ritual.

"Quite an amazing place you have here, Regulus," Remus said.

Before his father could respond, Asterion said, "Barin is in the kitchen starting on dinner, and Sirius and Remus got back to the cottage about a minute before I got there to find it empty. So, I explained what happened during the ritual and figured I'd bring them here to Black Island."

Sirius nodded and said, "Rion has also been explaining the security measures of this island. So, Regulus, are you going to add me to the blood wards? I am family, after all."

"I don't know, Sirius," Regulus said with a grin. "I'll think about it and get back to you."

"You'll think about it?" Sirius asked, as he quirked an eyebrow at his brother, who simply nodded. "Need I remind you, Reg, that I'm Lord Black? I could order you to do it, you know."

"You could," Regulus said. "But, you see, Siri, this island is outside the borders of Albion and its other imperial holdings, so, your title doesn't really mean much here. So, as the owner and master of Black Island, I'd have to be very cross with you for ordering me around in my own home. In fact, I think I'd be forced to punish you, Siri. Say making you look like our thankfully departed mother again - only I'm thinking I'd refrain from reversing the spell for a month this time."

"You wouldn't!" Sirius exclaimed, prompting his brother to simply give him a look that had Sirius sighing a moment later. "You would and you'd enjoy it."

"Damn right, I would," Regulus said, as Sirius, Remus, and Asterion took seats. "Now, where was I?"

"Regulus, I think perhaps we've heard enough for the moment," Athena said. "I think everyone could use some time to cool down and just relax before dinner. So, maybe you and Asterion could show us all to our rooms? And then after dinner, we can watch a few movies in your screening room."

"Very well," Regulus said, as he closed the book. "I'll just take this back upstairs to the library vault and then we'll head over to the house that contains the guest rooms."

-o-0-o-

An hour later, after another delicious meal, compliments of Barin, Regulus and Asterion took everyone to their private screening room and perhaps unsurprisingly since it had been mentioned earlier in the day, all the teens agreed that they wanted to watch Jurassic Park. Everyone enjoyed the movie, although after watching something so violent, Regulus decided something less graphic was in order. He also thought everyone might enjoy seeing how muggles depicted the characters and thus picked the second movie: Disney's The Sword in the Stone.

After the movie was over, Cedric said, "Muggles certainly have some strange ideas about King Arthur. I don't know where the idea that he was raised by Sir Ector came from, because he was raised at Castle Camelot by his father, King Uther Pendragon. There was a person named Sir Ector, because he's Dominick Burke's ancestor and was created the first Marquis of Grangemore in the year 797, but it was in recognition of his service as a Knight of Camelot during the Unification Wars, not because he'd raised Arthur. I'm pretty sure that Sir Ector was two years younger than Arthur, so it would have been kind of hard for him to raise him."

"The owl was an interesting addition," Terence said, "although making it a talking owl was a bit much. I know some people talk to their owls and they do seem to understand what their owner is saying, but I've never heard of an owl who could actually answer them in English."

"Never mind the fairy tales," Gavin said with a grin. "Where can I get a T-Rex? I'm sure that some of the dragon training techniques will work on a T-Rex. Or maybe some velociraptors... they could make good hunting animals."

"Um, Gavin, dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years," Harry said. "There also is no such place as Isla Nublar or Jurassic Park. The movie is simply a live action version of a fictional book written by a muggle author named Michael Crichton."

"Yes, the muggles haven't actually brought any of those creatures back to life," Roger added. "It was all just movie special effects."

"Special effects?" Oliver asked.

"Kind of like a muggle version of illusionary magic," Athena said. "In movies they can make things appear to be there that actually aren't."

Turning to Regulus and Asterion, Gavin said, "Didn't you say that you'd managed to bring back some extinct species using magic and potions? Couldn't you bring back dinosaurs?"

"We have, yes," Regulus said, "but I'm not about to bring anything out of extinction as dangerous as a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a Velociraptor or any other carnivorous dinosaur that would find humans to be a good meal. Besides, doing such a thing would break the Ban on Experimental Breeding. Even the creatures we did bring back are in a grey area where the ban is concerned, but they're not dangerous, man-eating creatures so it's unlikely that anyone would complain."

Asterion nodded and said, "Yes, but I think it's safe to say that people would complain about bringing back a type of creature who would eat humans. Yes, there's plenty of such creatures already around, but I'm not about to risk spending the rest of my life in Azkaban just to satisfy my curiosity of whether or not I could bring any of them back."

Looking at her watch, Pomona said, "It's getting pretty late, so I think it's time we all retire for the evening." Looking at the mage students, she added, "Tomorrow after breakfast, your training will begin in earnest and trust me when I say you'll need your sleep."

-o-0-o-

Over the course of the next week, the six mage students learned that Pomona had not been kidding about them needing their sleep, because to say that the training was grueling would be an understatement. Of course, it wasn't just the training that was a problem, but also the larger cores that all the students now had as they'd found it very hard to control their magic, as the trainers hadn't been kidding about the greater frequency of accidental magic.

One instance had left Gavin on the roof of Forest Cottage in his skivvies during a rainstorm that his own magic, which resonated with water, had created on an otherwise sunny and cloudless day. Harry, meanwhile, whose magic resonated with fire, had nearly set fire to his bedroom on the Wednesday morning following the blood ritual when he'd made what he thought was a perfectly innocuous gesture towards his fireplace as he was getting dressed. It obviously wasn't, however, when the flames in his bedroom fireplace shot up nearly to the ceiling. Needless to say, none of the fireplaces in the cottage had been lit in the days since.

Of course, the extreme and in some cases potentially lethal instances of accidental magic weren't the only issue, because all six of the mage students had already had to have the cores of their wands replaced at least once, due to them not focusing hard enough to keep too much of their core power from channeling through the wand and burning out the core. The fact that their trainers had limited them to practicing with spells they'd learned in the first month of their first years at Hogwarts made it all the more annoying for the students, as they found it harder to cast such simple spells.

The trainers, of course, assured them that this was all temporary and normal, especially in Harry's case, since he'd ended up with the largest increase in power, after the blood ritual triggered his inheritance early. Athena, Pomona, Rose, and Emma were still at a loss in terms of explaining just how that had happened, as they couldn't find a single instance in any of the records they'd searched of the ritual triggering a student's inheritance.

Regulus was, of course, busy teaching at Hogwarts and thus wasn't around much anymore and Asterion was working hard to try and reverse any cognitive or magical damage that Ernie Macmillan might have suffered as a result of his grandfather's abuse. Asterion felt that he had made some progress, but it would still be a long, drawn-out, and potentially very upsetting process that often left him feeling sick to his stomach.

Speaking of Barnabus, he was still alive at the moment and was due to be moved from the dungeons at Seacliff to Lord Burke's dungeons at Sutton Grange in the next day or so. Every possible precaution was being taken to insure that the transfer went off without a hitch, because nobody wanted anything to go wrong. As for the man himself, it did appear that he'd become at least slightly remorseful after nearly a week of watching his victims' memories, but nobody was sure if he actually was or if it was all an act to try and get out of his punishment. Not that it would happen since Tribunal verdicts were final and couldn't be appealed.

Aaron, Lukas, Jonas, and Kaleb Cuffe all provided Madam Bones with memories of the abuse they'd suffered at their father's and others' hands and she had a team sorting through the memories. Five people, two of them high-ranking Ministry officials, had already been arrested and thrown into holding cells pending trial before the Wizengamot for their involvement.

Of course, everyone involved fully expected there to be more arrests but Madam Bones' team had not had the time to go through every memory yet, as the process was slowed down considerably by the need for those viewing the memories to get the evidence having to take frequent breaks to prevent themselves from getting sick. More than one of them had needed to be Obliviated at the end of their shifts in order for them to be able to go home and have a chance of getting any sleep - just so that they could come back to work and start the horrific process all over again the next day.

Nearly two weeks after the blood ritual, the trainee mages were thrilled when the morning of Friday, the 16th of September dawned, because they knew that they'd have the day off from classes. Terence had been a little down the previous day, working so hard on his 18th birthday, but he knew that he was having a party the following day, since the trainers had opted to combine the celebration of Terence's and Cedric's birthdays into a single day, since Terence's was on the 15th and Cedric's was on the 17th.

The trainers decided to hold the party on Friday instead of Saturday since Cedric was due to be having his inheritance in the mid-morning hours and that was very likely to leave him feeling drained enough for the rest of the day that he wouldn't feel like doing much partying. And the trainers all agreed that you only get one 17th birthday party, so he should get to enjoy it as much as he possibly could without feeling like he was going to drop from exhaustion at any moment.

Rather than having the party at Forest Cottage, however, Sirius had offered up Arlington Grange for the party, as the estate had been shut up for years now and thus wasn't likely to be getting any unexpected visitors the way that Seacliff might, since guests had become more frequent at the Potter family castle since Harry had claimed his birthright. Harry's double was the one who had dealt with most of them before school had started and one would assume people would realize that Harry was at Hogwarts now and thus going to Seacliff to find him would be a waste of time, but Sirius figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

The trainee mages hadn't really understood why the party wasn't being held at the cottage until Athena told them that is was easier to have it someplace else, as it allowed them to have more guests at the party. Of course, that did bring up questions about what they'd tell those who'd expect Harry, Roger, Terence, and Cedric to be in school, but Rose informed them that those who didn't already know about the training would be told on condition that they agreed to be Obliviated before they left the party. If they decided they didn't want to be Obliviated then they would be told to leave before they ever saw Harry or the others that were supposed to be in school.

"It's nice to have a day to relax," Roger said, as he sat down at the kitchen table for lunch, since the party wasn't due to be starting until later that afternoon.

"Yeah, it is," Gavin said. "I guess I expected mage training to be hard, but for some reason I never realized just how hard it would be. Makes sense though, I guess."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, before looking around the table and asking, "Where's Terence and Oliver?"

"Holed up in their room," Gavin answered. "No doubt doing what Liam wished they could have spent all day yesterday doing." Then with a wicked grin, he added, "Maybe you should go join them, Roger."

Roger shook his head and said, "And maybe you should go soak your head."

"I'm surprised that Oliver would be willing to spend the day inside," Cedric said. "Nice day, like today? I'd think he'd want to be out on the pitch."

"That would normally be true," Gavin commented. "However, as much as he loves Quidditch, he loves a naked Liam even more."

"Can we move off of this topic, please?" Roger asked.

"Why?" Harry asked, grinning. "Is hearing us talk about your soulmate having sex with someone else making your jealous?"

"NO!" Roger exclaimed. "Damn it, I'm not jealous, Harry. Now instead of tormenting me, why don't you go back to making googly eyes at Cedric."

"I was not making googly eyes at Cedric!" Harry exclaimed, as he glanced over in Cedric's direction to see what his reaction was and realized that he was steadfastly looking anywhere but at Harry.

Roger shook his head. "Hey, all's fair in love and war. And Harry if you're going to keep needling me about Terence, then we're going to be at war and it'll only be fair for me to needle you and Cedric about your own soulmate status."

"Fine, I won't say another word about it," Harry responded eagerly, as he honestly didn't want to even think about the whole soulmate thing with Cedric right now, because he still wasn't sure how he felt about it. He was still trying to figure out his sexuality at the moment and having a male soulmate, especially one that he honestly liked and thought was attractive, did not help matters.

"That's a promise I will not make, however," Gavin said. "And I don't have a soulmate that I know about so you can't shut me up with that."

"That's true I can't," Roger agreed. "Of course, for you there's always the old standby of questioning your sexuality."

"True," Gavin said, "but you won't do that because it'll just spur me on to question yours even more, Rog."

"There's nothing to question," Roger argued. "I'm straight, end of story."

"Says the guy who has a male soulmate," Gavin said.

Roger sighed. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

-o-0-o-

At about one in the afternoon, everyone at Forest Cottage, minus Athena and Rose, headed out to the Apparition Point and moments later found themselves in the Apparition Chamber of the Black family's ancestral estate, Arlington Grange. Not long after they arrived, Bruce and Caroline McLaggen arrived, accompanied much to everyone's surprise, by Cormac.

"Cormac?" Cedric asked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Cormac nodded and said, "I am, but Dad pulled me out for the weekend. Dumbledore objected right up to the point that Dad played the family business card."

"What kind of family business?" Cedric asked, wondering what could have been so important that his uncle would pull Cormac out of school.

"I think my nephew's 17th birthday counts as family business," Bruce said with a smile, as he patted Cedric on the shoulder. "I know some people might disagree, but that's their problem, not mine."

"Well, let's move to the lounge shall we?" Sirius asked. "There's a few more people coming, but one of the house-elves can bring them over when they arrive."

Everyone nodded as they left the Apparition Chamber and entered the large Grand Foyer of the house. This was the first time that many of them had set foot inside Arlington Grange, so all was quiet for a few moments, as everyone looked around the expansive room. Marble floors and walls, all in blacks and grays, were the first things that most people noticed, followed by the large twin staircases leading up to a landing about ten feet above the ground floor. The most prominent feature of the landing was a huge floor to ceiling arched stained-glass window depicting the Black family's coat of arms and prominently displaying the family motto, 'Toujours Pur'.

The room was lit by a pair of large black crystal chandeliers, each with about fifty candles flickering inside of them, in addition to a pair of black crystal candelabras, each with an additional sixteen candles, which were set into the top of the black and white urn-shaped newel posts of the twin staircases. Various dark tapestries depicting battles fought during the Unification Wars lined the walls, alternating with three-candle wall sconces which provided extra light. Other than the large double doors that served as the main entrance to the house and the smaller door which led back into the Apparition Chamber, there were five pairs of double doors leading off the foyer. Four of them were framed with intricately carved black marble moldings and were made of a rich black ebony wood, while the fifth, under the landing, was made of glass, through which a large fountain could be seen in the courtyard beyond.

Craning his neck to look up at the ceiling, Harry could see that it soared up to a height of what had to be at least thirty feet above the ground, where an impressive fresco depicting another battle could be seen. This one prominently featured several knights with the Black crest emblazoned upon their armor, fighting with both sword and wand drawn against a group of people dressed in rags. He couldn't help but notice that some of the knights' helmets were open and they were all depicted as being very handsome, while the people in rags were all depicted as being quite ugly, almost goblin-like in their appearance. They weren't actual goblins, as they were too tall, but they definitely wouldn't win any beauty contests.

Looking up at the fresco, Sirius said, "That thing used to give me nightmares when I was a kid."

Harry could definitely see why, as there were images of the ugly, goblin-like people being hung, drawn and quartered, impaled upon sharpened spikes and thrown into large vats of boiling oil. Harry could make out that some of them were wearing armor with a coat of arms on them, but he couldn't really tell what family it belonged to, as it was obscured by blood. All of the people facing off against the Black family were covered in dirt, blood, and even bits and pieces of what looked like human entrails, while the Black family's knights, by comparison, were all shown in perfectly clean silver armor which gleamed in the sun.

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "Honestly I'd forgotten how dark and gloomy this place was. My ancestors embraced our surname a bit too readily if you ask me and thus black is a very prominent color throughout the house."

"They had very gruesome tastes in art," Remus commented, as he looked around at the various tapestries and at the fresco on the ceiling. This was the first time he'd ever set foot in Arlington Grange, since Sirius never brought his friends home to his parents' house. Of course, even if he had, it would have been to Grimmauld Place, since for some reason Sirius's father, Orion Black, had opted to live in the family's London townhouse, instead of the estate in the Earldom of Alnwick, which would normally have been where the heir, the courtesy Earl of Alnwick, lived and raised their family.

"Well, thankfully, if memory serves, it's only the art here in the Grand Foyer that's gruesome," Sirius said. "The art in the rest of the house is mostly landscapes or family members. Anyway, follow me."

Leading the group across the expansive foyer and over to one of the black ebony doors, Sirius grabbed the handles and pushed them open to reveal a large room with black ebony wainscoting up to a chair rail and dark green wallpaper above. The floor was an ebony herringbone pattern and covered with large Oriental rugs, which following the theme, were in blacks and dark greens. An intricately carved gothic-styled fireplace dominated one wall and windows draped in dark green draperies were spaced along the two outside walls. A grouping of three large Victorian sofas in dark wood and upholstered in green silk were situated in the center of the room, while two more seating groups, with the one furthest from the fireplace consisting of two black silk upholstered sofas. The other, right in front of the fireplace consisted of a pair of wing-backed chairs in black brocade. Also present in the room was a large roll-top desk in one corner, an intricately carved black ebony harpsichord, and a cart on wheels which held numerous glasses on its bottom shelf and several fancy cut-glass decanters on the top shelf.

Motioning for everyone to have a seat, Sirius said, "This is the lounge. Work on the house started in 800 AD, the year after King Arthur ennobled the family, although it wasn't finished until 807 AD, which is when Lord Pelleas Black, 1st Marquis of Charlton, moved in with his family. As you might guess, it's been redecorated several times over the years, most recently in the 1860's by Lady Ursula Black, wife of former Hogwarts Headmaster, Lord Phineas Nigellus Black."

"Can we play Quidditch here?" Oliver asked.

"Well not in this room," Sirius said with a grin, "but yes there is a regulation pitch out on the grounds that you're welcome to use. You should probably wait for the other guests to arrive first, however, as that should allow you to have two full teams."

Oliver looked torn between being mad about the delay and also being happy that they'd have full teams, because he disliked playing with fewer players than were needed. Standing up and walking over to the cart, Sirius said, "Can I offer anyone some refreshments?"

"I hope you have something non-alcoholic for Gavin, Cormac and Roger," Emma commented.

"Why just us?" Roger asked. "Harry is underage too."

"No, I'm not," Harry said with a grin. "Duke of Granston, remember? So, I'm legally an adult now, with all the rights and privileges of one, including drinking if I so choose."

"Yes, but please exercise some restraint," Emma said. "You really don't want to drink too much."

Emma looked like she was going to say something else, but was interrupted by Terence laughing, as he said, "That's kind of rich coming from you, Emma."

Turning to look at Terence, Emma raised an eyebrow and asked, "Whatever are you talking about, Mr. Higgs?"

"Oh just that I finally figured out who you are," Terence answered, causing several pairs of eyes to land on him.

"What?" Gavin asked, at the same time that Oliver asked, "When? And why you didn't you tell me?"

"It was early this morning before anyone else was awake," Terence supplied. "I'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and then I was a bit hungry, so I went downstairs for a snack. Instead of going upstairs, I decided to watch some TV in the downstairs parlor and that show that Emma always watches was on. It's called The Waltons by the way. Anyway, when I turned it on, the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, was complaining to her grandmother that she couldn't get her sponge cake to taste the same as her grandmother's. Grandma Walton then revealed that she'd failed to mention one ingredient and went over to the cabinet and got out a jar of what looked like water. Elizabeth screwed off the cap, smelled it, and exclaimed, 'The Baldwin ladies' recipe?! You use this in your sponge cake?'"

At the confused looks all around the room, Terence added, "It was then that I remembered that Nick Ollivander had said that the recipe that the two elderly women kept talking about wasn't something you eat and thus I realized that it was actually homemade moonshine whisky, otherwise known as hooch." Turning to Emma, he grinned and said, "Thus, Emma Baldwin, named after Emily Baldwin on the show, is actually Madam Rolanda Hooch."

Harry laughed and said, "So that's why you said it was rich that she would advise against drinking too much, because her name is a slang term for moonshine."

Terence nodded and said, "Indeed."

Emma shook her head and said, "Indeed. You've caught me it seems." Pulling out her wand, Emma cancelled the glamours and said, in her real voice, "I am indeed Rolanda Hooch, Hogwarts Quidditch Referee and Flying Instructor, and former member of the Holyhead Harpies."

Oliver grinned. "I know you'd mentioned playing professionally. So you were a Harpy?"

Rolanda nodded and said, "Yes, Oliver. I was Reserve Chaser from 1919 to 1922, Chaser from 1922 until 1957 and Captain from 1937 to 1957. However, I realized at the end of the 1957 season that my playing days were over and I wanted to retire before my age began to catch up with me and affect my game. I was 56 years old at the time, so it wouldn't have been that long before I wouldn't have been able to play any longer. I relaxed for a couple of years, before joining the Hogwarts staff in 1959."

Shaking her head, Rolanda added, "Anyway, as I was going to say before Terence interrupted, Cedric, starting tomorrow you'll be of age, so I suppose you could drink if you wish, as I don't think anyone would begrudge you starting a day early. However, I would suggest that you not overdo it because you really do not want to have a hangover tomorrow morning when you have your inheritance at... what time were you born?"

"9:23AM on 17th September, 1977," Cedric answered. "And I wasn't really planning on drinking anyway. Maybe one glass of champagne to celebrate, but that would be about it."

"I think everyone can have one glass of champagne," Pomona said. "Once everyone else arrives and it's time to toast the birthday boys."

"That sounds fair," Caroline McLaggen agreed. She wasn't the least bit surprised to find out that Emma Baldwin was Rolanda Hooch or that Eudora Douglas was Pomona Sprout, because with them living and training out of Athena's cottage on the McLaggen lands, she knew who all of them were, as did her husband. They were keeping quiet about it, however, as they didn't want their nephew Cedric, or Cormac for that matter, pestering them about the trainers' true identities.

"So who's all coming to the party anyway?" Harry asked.

"We are for one," a familiar voice said from the doorway, causing Harry and several others to turn towards the entrance to the room, where they saw Nick Ollivander and Dominick Burke standing there.

"Hey guys," Dominick said with a smile. "And you can all pick your jaws up from the floor now. I don't find it odd that you guys aren't at Hogwarts because Athena told me about your training - after she made me promise to let her Obliviate me before I leave the party."

"I already knew about your training, obviously," Nick added. "And even if she wanted to Obliviate me, Athena wouldn't do it since she knows it'd pretty much be a waste of time."

Harry nodded as he looked at Nick and Dominick and noticed that not only were they dressed alike, but looking at the mirror on the wall which gave Harry a view behind them, he could see that Nick's hand was in the back pocket of Dominick's trousers and that Dominick's hand was in Nick's. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Are you two dating now?"

"And what makes you think that?" Nick asked.

"Well, you two do seem to be rather touchy feely with each other," Harry said. "Hell, you kissed each other the first time I met Dominick and now you're dressing alike and walking around with your hands in each other's back pockets. What exactly am I or anyone else supposed to think?"

"That we're just best mates?" Dominick asked.

"Yeah, I've got three best mates," Cormac said. "And I've never kissed Jon, Sage, or Tanner." Glancing at his mother, he added, "Don't start, Mum."

"I didn't say anything," Caroline said.

"I know, but you're still thinking it," Cormac said. "And I'm only friends with Jon, Sage, and Tanner - I'm never going to marry one of them or any other bloke for that matter, so you can wish for it until the end of time but it's never happening."

"Never say never, Cormac," was Caroline's response, which made Cormac let out a frustrated growl.

Pomona shook her head and asked, "Caroline, with all due respect, why are you so certain that your son is gay despite all evidence to the contrary?"

"What evidence to the contrary?" Caroline asked.

Cormac shook his head, "You're wasting your time, Professor. My mum is convinced that I'm gay and she won't accept the fact that I'm not. I swear that I could have sex with a girl right in front of her eyes and she'd still think that I'm gay."

"Cormac, don't be so crude," Bruce chastised.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but you know it's true," Cormac said, before he turned back to Pomona and said, "But to answer your question, Professor, the reason she thinks I'm gay is because every old wives' tale in the book that's said to determine your baby's gender before it’s born pointed towards me being a girl. Obviously I'm not, so she's convinced that I'm gay and that when I eventually marry a guy, I'll be the girl in the relationship."

In what was perhaps an attempt to make up for the Evan debacle, Cedric decided to try and divert the conversation away from his cousin by saying, "So, Nick, Dominick, are you two dating or what?"

Nick and Dominick shared a look, before Nick nodded and said, "Yes, Cedric, we're dating."

"What about your girlfriend?" Roger asked. "Harry and Cedric said you'd told them at the Opening Ball that you had a girlfriend but she couldn't make it to the ball because she was visiting her dying grandmother in Greece."

Dominick sighed. "I lied."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"It's complicated," Dominick answered.

"So uncomplicate it," Regulus said as he walked into the room with Asterion, Kolin, and Athena.

Dominick shook his head and said, "Fine, the truth is that I was afraid to come out to my grandfather because he's never given me any indication that he'd be okay with me liking guys. I am bisexual, but I've had a crush on Nick since our third year at Hogwarts, which is my longest-running crush. So, I only dated girls to avoid any fights with my grandfather. But, it's also complicated because Nick and I are both the heirs to our families and since Nick will be inheriting a Dukedom, he's a higher noble than I am, which means that if we did get married, I'd be expected to take his name and that'll mean that any and all children we have will have the Ollivander name and the Burke name will die out."

"I thought the Last of the Line clause prevents that," Harry said.

"In theory yes," Nick said. "But if Lord Burke dies before Dominick and I get married, if we get married that is, then Dominick would be the last of the Burke line and his sex drive would be increased to try and provide an heir. The problem of course is that I can't get pregnant and while we can use a surrogate to have children together that are biologically ours, by law, any children we have together will have the Ollivander name."

"So in order to provide an heir for the Burke family," Dominick said, "I'd have to cheat on Nick and get a girl a pregnant. Because oddly enough despite the fact that illegitimate heirs can legally inherit, it's actually illegal for me to produce an illegitimate heir with a surrogate via the means normally used for same-sex couples. Even though the method has fallen out of use in Albion, there's still laws on the books dating all the way back to King Arthur that reserve the use of a surrogate for married same-sex partners or married but infertile opposite sex couples."

"Dominick would physically have to have sex with a girl," Nick said. "And further complicating matters is the fact that his grandfather has cheated in the past, which shouldn't be all that surprising since Lady Ophelia Burke is his fifth wife. Not wanting to repeat his grandfather's mistakes, Dominick swore an Unbreakable Vow that he would never cheat on his partner, so in order for him to provide an heir we'd have to break up, because if he tried to provide an heir while we were still together, he'd die painfully."

"You're right it is a complicated situation," Asterion said. "Although isn't your step-grandmother pretty young? She could still have children right?"

Dominick nodded. "She's two years older than me, so she's 26. However, she and my grandfather have been married for seven years now and they haven't had any kids yet, so that leaves me to think that they can't. Now, it could be because grandfather figured he didn't need to have any more children, since he already had an heir in me. I haven't told him about Nick and me yet, so I don't know what's going to happen there."

"Well good luck with that, Dominick," Cedric said. "For your sake I hope that your grandfather reacts better to the news than my father would."

"Thanks Cedric," Dominick said. "On the bright side, grandfather can't disown me so long as I'm the only possible heir, but should he have a son with Ophelia, it would be possible, and so I'm hoping that he's okay with it. I do take great pride in being a Burke and even though I'll be surrendering the name if I marry Nick, I'd still be a Burke - so long as I'm not disowned."

Turning his attention away from Nick and Dominick, Harry looked over at Kolin and smiled. "Didn't expect to see you here, Kol."

"Reg invited me," Kolin said.

"Oh its Reg now is it?" Sirius asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Something you want to tell me, bro?"

"No, Sirius," Regulus said. "Kolin and I are not dating."

"Not yet anyway," Asterion said with a grin. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time though."

"And what makes you think that?" Regulus asked his son.

"Because I know what your tastes in men are, Dad," Asterion said. "And Kolin fits the bill. He is younger than your usual dates, but other than that, he's pretty much perfect. Plus, he likes older guys and you're older."

"That doesn't mean we're going to start dating," Kolin objected, although from the look on his face and the blush creeping up his cheeks, it was pretty obvious that the thought had crossed his mind and he was in favor of it.

"Damn," Cormac said. "Talk about weird. If Kolin and Regulus got married, you'd have a teenage stepfather, Asterion."

"I'll be twenty in May," Kolin put in.

"Still, it'd be weird," Cormac said. "I mean you're only two years older than Asterion."

Dominick grinned. "It's no weirder than me having a step-grandmother whose only two years older than me."

"True, that is pretty weird," Cormac allowed. "But I still think having a stepfather that's only two years older would be weird."

"Okay, yes, it might be a little weird," Regulus said. "But I'd like to point out that Kolin and I aren't even dating, so as of right now, there's very little chance that he will end up being Asterion's stepfather." In an obvious move to change the subject, he said, "So, anyway, Happy Belated Birthday, Terence and Happy Early Birthday, Cedric."

Before they could respond, Rose walked into the room, followed by Charlie and Noah. The sight of them almost caused Cedric to nearly choke on his drink. Recovering he said, "Charlie? Noah? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon? You said in the postcard you sent me that you were enjoying it so much that you were going to stay for a month."

Noah grinned as he came over and pulled his astonished brother into a hug. "Oh come on Ric. Do you honestly think that I'd miss your birthday now that I can actually attend? And yes, Charlie and I did extend our honeymoon, since we both had plenty of vacation time piled up, but we decided to cut it a little shorter than we'd initially planned."

"Not because of me I hope," Cedric said.

Charlie shook his head. "No, not just because of you, Ric, although your milestone seventeenth is quite a good reason just by itself. But, no, as much as we were enjoying New Zealand we decided that we should come back and start house hunting."

"House hunting?" Cedric asked. "Don't you have a cabin at the dragon reserve?"

"We do," Noah confirmed. "But, honestly, we've both been missing our families and our marriage isn't actually legal in Romania. So, we've been looking into being transferred to the dragon reserve in Albion, which of course is on Lord Ollivander's lands so our marriage is legal there. We got word that our transfer was approved. It's a smaller reserve than the one in Romania, though, so it doesn't provide the employees with on-site lodging."

Cedric smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Noah said.

Not long after this, the last of the guests arrived in the form of Robert and Katherine Higgs and Sarah Blanchett, who was Terence's mother. Robert and Sarah divorced when Terence was six months old, with Robert remarrying to Katherine when he was two. Sarah, meanwhile, moved to France to pursue her career and eventually remarried when Terence has five. Unfortunately, Terence's stepfather, Jean-Luc Blanchett, died two years ago, leaving his mother the widowed single-mother of three. Terence's half-siblings, Christophe, Mathieu, and Victoire Blanchett did not accompany their mother because they were at Beauxbatons. Although it was possible that Terence's half-siblings might be in their final year at Beauxbatons, as Sarah had accepted the job of Acting Editor of the Daily Prophet and was one of the frontrunners for the job of Editor-in-Chief once Barnabas was dead and could be replaced. So, it was possible that Terence's half-siblings would end up attending Hogwarts next year.

Now that everyone was present, Sirius called the house-elves and had them give everyone a glass of champagne to toast Terence and Cedric, before taking them on a tour of the public rooms of Arlington Grange. During the tour, Harry couldn't help but think that the layout seemed familiar, which he commented on. It was then that Regulus grinned and revealed that despite the extra rooms at Arlington Grange, like the Portrait Gallery, Smoking Room, and a few others, the house was the basis for the board game Cluedo, which had originally been created by a wizarding company and then licensed to a Muggle company. Even the house's name, Arlington Grange, was used in some editions of the game and of course the Blacks made money on every edition sold that used the name.

"Seems odd that a family that generally looks down on muggles would allow such a thing," Bruce commented.

Sirius nodded. "True, but it was my great-grandfather and namesake, Sirius, who signed the licensing deal and he wasn't as anti-muggle as some of my more recent ancestors. He wasn't pro-muggle enough to get himself blasted off the family tree, although as a past Lord Black that probably wouldn't have happened anyway. More recent generations don't talk about it, usually, but even the most virulent anti-muggle members of my family would have no issues with taking the muggles' money from them, because it’s more money for them."

Regulus nodded, "Which is why grandfather Arcturus signed off on all of the television adaptations, video game adaptations, and the 1985 movie version, because they all use details that were licensed by the Black family. Another popular name for the house in the game is Tudor Close, which happens to be the name of the house in the Earldom of Alnwick, so we make money. The movie used Hill House as the name of the mansion and that is, as you might have guessed, the name of our estate in the Viscounty of Langleeford, so again, we made money."

"The only versions that we don't make money on are the US versions," Asterion added, "where they not only changed the name of the game to Clue, but they had to go and rename the victim Mr. Boddy, instead of Dr. Black, and thus started calling the mansion Boddy Manor."

"Yes, Grandfather was pissed off about that," Sirius said. "But there was nothing in the licensing agreements that said they had to use one of the names licensed by us, so he couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Of course that doesn't mean that he didn't try," Regulus added. "Took the matter all the way up to the Royal Court, but King Charles ruled against him, because as Sirius said, while Great-Grandfather Sirius did license the use of our estate names to be used in exchange for royalties, there was nothing in the agreement that said the makers of the game or other related mediums had to use one of those three names."

-o-0-o-

After the tour of the house, Sirius led them all out to the Quidditch pitch and the group split up into two teams. Oliver, Harry, Terence, Gavin, Charlie, Nick, and Kolin as the red team and Cormac, Cedric, Roger, Asterion, Noah, Dominick, and Regulus on the blue team. Rolanda chose to act as referee, while Athena, Rose, Pomona, Robert, Katherine, Sirius, Remus, Bruce, Caroline, and Sarah opted to watch the game from the stand around the pitch. Two-and-a-half hours later, Cedric caught the Snitch and the blue team won the game. Obviously Oliver wanted an immediate rematch, but as it was starting to get dark and everyone was getting hungry, nobody obliged him.

Heading back into the house, everybody got cleaned up and then headed into the dining room for dinner, which Terence and Cedric were surprised, but very appreciative, to see was made up of all of their favorite foods. After dinner, the group broke up with most of the older adults heading for the Smoking Room, Billiard Room, or Lounge. The birthday boys, younger adults, and underage people among the group ended up in the Conservatory, where there was some debate over what they should do for the next few hours before dessert, meaning birthday cake, was served.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Cedric asked after a while.

"Hmm, that could be fun," Terence answered.

With both of the birthday boys responding favorably to the idea, everyone agreed and then set about putting some ground rules in place. The agreed upon rules were rather simple in that the dares were limited to nothing overly dangerous or embarrassing, with the most sexual dare allowed being kissing, with no tongue action allowed. This was mainly due to the age differences of the players involved with ages ranging from 14 to 24. However, since the age of sexual consent was 14, they did agree that anyone given a dare that they didn't like could choose not to do it, by giving up an article of clothing, although with all the players being male, it was decided that nobody was allowed to take off their underwear. It was further agreed upon that nobody was allowed to take more than two truth questions in a row and that if anyone got down to their underwear, they had to take a dare and couldn't refuse to do it.

They also agreed to the concept of penalties for people who failed to complete a dare they accepted in that the person giving the dare could pick two articles of clothing the person who failed the dare had to remove. Successfully completing a dare, however, allowed the person to put one article of clothing back on, if they'd previously lost any, and to turn the penalty upon the dare giver. If anyone got down to their underwear and then failed the compulsory dare, they'd be eliminated from the game, but were required to stay and watch the rest of the game and were forbidden to put their clothes back on until the game was over.

As for truth questions, it was agreed upon that the Truth Detection Spell would be cast on them to determine if they were telling the truth or lying before they answered. If they told the truth, they got to put back on an article of clothing they previously lost, but if they lied, they lost all of their clothes, except for their underwear and had to submit to the Veritas Charm, the truth spell which gave its name to Veritaserum but only lasted for two minutes instead of an hour. They then had to answer the question again, this time with guaranteed truthfulness.

Cedric looked around the room for a moment, studying his choices, before he grinned and said, "Noah, truth or dare?"

"Picking me first, huh, bro?" Noah asked and Cedric nodded. "Well, I was a Gryffindor in school, so, dare."

"Hmm," Cedric said as he took a moment to think of something. He wanted to give Noah something good, but also potentially hard. "I dare you to let me tie your hands behind your back, blindfold you, and put a Silencing Charm on you so that you can't hear anything going on around you. You'll then kiss three people, one of them being Charlie, on the lips for ten seconds, with no other touching allowed from either party. You win if you can correctly guess which one is Charlie. Oh and you have to sit on the floor to prevent possible height difference from giving you any clues."

"That is so simple that it's painful," Noah said. "I think after spending nearly a month in New Zealand kissing Charlie a hundred or more times a day I can easily tell him from anyone else. So, I'll take your dare, bro. Get ready to lose some clothes."

"Over confident much?" Cedric asked, as Noah moved into position on the floor, at which point Cedric pulled out his wand and cast spells to bind his wrists, blindfold him, and render it impossible for him to hear anything. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Okay, any volunteers? I think we'll put you in the middle of the other two, Charlie."

All was silent for a moment and nobody raised their hands, until finally, Asterion shook his head and said, "Fine, I'm straight, but I'll kiss him. Wouldn't be the first time I've kissed a guy, since I experimented in the red light district of Magical Amsterdam."

"Any other volunteers?" Cedric asked. Nobody volunteered, however, prompting him to add, "Okay then. Charlie, you pick."

"Why me?"

"Better you than me." After a second, he added, "And you can't pick me."

Asterion nodded as he got down on his hands and knees, crawled over to Noah, leaned in, and kissed him on the lips until Cedric called time. Moving away from Noah, Charlie was next, followed by Kolin, at which point Cedric removed the charms from his brother and asked, "Okay, Noah, so which one was Charlie? Kiss #1, #2, or #3?"

Actually experiencing the kisses, much to his surprise, Noah had a harder time than he thought he would in telling the difference, especially in only ten seconds. After a moment, he said, "Well, I think I can eliminate #3, but I'm torn between #1 and #2."

Cedric grinned. "Gotta choose, bro."

"Fine," Noah said, as he reviewed the kisses in his head and then said, "I pick #1."

"WRONG!" Cedric exclaimed happily. "You lose, Mr. Over-Confident."

"What?" Noah asked. "That's impossible."

Cedric shook his head and said, "Sorry, Noah, but #1 was Asterion, while the one you eliminated was Kolin. Obviously that means #2 was Charlie, but you didn't pick him, so take off your shoes."

"We'll be discussing this later, Noah," Charlie said with a huff of frustration, as Noah removed his shoes.

"Well, you pick next, Liam," Cedric said, as he sat back down.

Terence grinned as he said, "Will, truth or dare?"

If anyone thought it was unfair for Terence to pick Oliver, due to their relationship, nobody said anything because they hadn't put it in the agreed upon rules that the couples in the room couldn't pick each other. Oliver was quiet for a moment, before he said, "Well, I was a Gryffindor, too, but after that last display, I think I'll go with truth instead."

"Truth it is then," Terence said, as he pulled out his wand and cast the Truth Detection Spell on Oliver, before asking, "Will, past or present, who is the best lover you've ever had?"

Oliver's eyes widened at that question, as did a few others, although everyone thought it was kind of a stupid truth question, since obviously Oliver would say Terence and the spell would say he was telling the truth. Thus, everybody, including Terence was shocked when Oliver said, "You, Liam, of course," and he was surrounded by a red aura, telling the whole room that he was lying.

"What?!" Terence exclaimed, totally not expecting that answer. "Strip, you lying bastard!"

Oliver sighed, as he pulled off his shoes and socks, before standing up and removing his shirt, undershirt, and trousers, leaving him standing there in nothing but a pair of red boxers with little magically animated quaffles, bludgers, and snitches flying around on them.

"Now, tell the truth, you bloody bastard," Terence said, with tears in his eyes, as he waved his wand at Oliver and said, in a more forceful tone than was strictly necessary, "Veritas!"

Oliver's eyes glazed over, at which point Terence asked, "Now, Oliver, past or present, who is the best lover you ever had?"

"Percival Weasley," Oliver answered in a monotone, causing quite a few shocked looks among those in the room, especially on Charlie's face. "It was the autumn of our 4th year and I'd had a crush on him since the previous year, so when he suggested we hook up, I was thrilled. I lost my virginity to him and wanted to continue things with him afterward, but he refused. He told me he was only experimenting and the experience proved to him that he was straight so it would never be happening again. I was heartbroken and dejected and it's what led me to look outside Gryffindor for a boyfriend, because I didn't trust any of my housemates for a while after that."

Some of the anger and sadness Terence felt abated at this, as he and Oliver hadn't gotten together until the spring of their fourth year and thus Oliver hadn't cheated on him. Although he did still feel a bit angry and sad, because he couldn't help but feel like the consolation prize, since despite the heartbreak, Oliver still saw Percy as being his best lover. Although Terence could understand that your very first time was usually very special, as he still had very fond memories of his own first time with Adrian Pucey, which now that Terence thought about it, probably happened right around the same time that Oliver was with Percy.

Once the spell wore off, Oliver pulled Terence into a hug and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Liam and I wouldn't trade you for anyone."

"Even Percy?" Terence whispered back, even as he put up a Silencing Charm to give them a moment of privacy.

"Percy who?" Oliver asked.

Terence shook his head. "I suggest you prepare yourself, you jackass, because I'm clearly going to have to step up my game and give you a night you'll never forget. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to stop and you'll have trouble walking for a month."

"Bring it on," Oliver grinned.

The rest of the game progressed without any major incidents. There were a few shocking truths revealed, but nothing that compared to the truth about Oliver and Percy Weasley. One of the more shocking tidbits to come out, however, was that two summers prior to Noah coming out to his family, Amos caught him and Cedric skinny-dipping in the swimming pool at Willowglen Manor. Of course, he caught them at the worst time, because as if the whole naked part wasn’t bad enough, they’d been in the midst of some pool horseplay that left them very close together in a way that could have been viewed as sexual to a person who hadn’t seen how it started. There was absolutely nothing sexual about it, but unfortunately to Amos it had looked like there was and thus both Noah’s and Cedric’s backsides had had a very unpleasant meeting with a horsewhip.

As the game progressed it quickly become obvious to Roger and Gavin that it seemed like everybody in the room was conspiring to get them both down to their underwear so that they’d be required to take a dare. It turned out that they were right several turns into the game when Roger found himself in just his boxers, leading Oliver to grin like a madman as he dared Roger to kiss Gavin’s crotch non-stop for a full minute, since he was the only other player who was down to just his underwear. Roger mouthed ‘I hate you’ to Oliver, who just grinned, before he leaned down and kissed Little Gavin through the fabric of the younger Wood’s boxer-briefs. Embarrassingly for Gavin, he popped a boner twenty seconds into the action, which left Roger quite mortified by the fact that he still had forty seconds to go before he could stop kissing.

Everyone else in the room were laughing their heads off at the predicament, while Oliver did his best to comfort Gavin by assuring him that any guy would probably pop a boner if they were kissed there and that it didn’t mean that Gavin wasn’t as straight as he claimed to be. Of course, Oliver rather put a dampener on his comforting by making it clear he didn’t buy that Gavin was straight, although the younger Wood was used to his brother questioning his sexuality by this point. Not long after a dare which had Regulus kissing Kolin on the lips, the game ended, and unfortunately for Gavin and Roger, it was before either of them could get revenge.

After enjoying the triple chocolate fudge mousse cake that Barin had made for the birthday boys, the party broke up as the guests returned to their own residences. It wasn’t long after the group arrived at Forest Cottage that everyone was off to bed as Athena said they’d all need their sleep tonight, especially Cedric, since he was due to have his inheritance the following day.

The next day, right on schedule, at the exact moment of his birth seventeen years earlier, Cedric’s whole body began to shake as he started undergoing his inheritance. Those who’d been through their own had known what to expect and those who hadn’t still had some idea from having seen Harry undergo his early inheritance during the blood ritual. Cedric’s convulsions, however, weren’t quite as powerful as Harry’s had been, as he didn’t have the full inheritance of six power levels, and instead only went up by four from Apprentice Mage to Archmage, ten levels below the ultimate pinnacle.

The experience still left Cedric feeling tired and quite drained, however, so the mage students were given the day off to rest and none of them were about to complain about that.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.