I want to thank again my beta Deb, who has made significant improvements in this chapter.

*

Dinner the night the children came home to Malfoy Manor was, as usual, a tense affair. Everyone, except Narcissa, pointedly ignored Cleo, although Great-grandmother Malfoy did look at her often, usually looking as though she was smelling something foul. Great-grandmother Black was obvious in her inability to even look pleasantly at Cleopatra, and Astoria was not much better.

Draco was looking over at Scorpius, and after taking a sip of his wine, slammed his glass down and snapped at his son, "Still not seeker on the Quidditch team? I was when I was at Hogwarts. I brought glory to the Malfoy name by my play."

Scorpius and Cleopatra looked at each other, and both stifled a laugh. James Potter, ever the student of Quidditch, had looked up the records of the school matches when his father was at Hogwarts, and had found out that Draco had only caught the snitch two times in five years of playing seeker. James tried to taunt Scorpius with that information when Scorpius was with Albus, Rose and Cleo, but Scorpius had just grinned at James.

"The team already has two good seekers, Albus Potter and Adel Brandt," Scorpius countered with a sigh, playing with the food on his plate. He knew that bringing up his father's Quidditch record would be a mistake. "I'm using some Saturday mornings to practice fighting with broadswords, with the goblin Thorin Oakenwand."

"What good will that do?" Draco scoffed. "Besides, you should not be friends with a goblin."

"It is good exercise," Scorpius explained. "It can also be handy in real close combat, or in getting through spells that are otherwise hard to counter. You put your wand in the handle of the sword, and the right sword magnifies your wand's power. It is like the staff that grandpa used, and that you now have. It helps make your spell more powerful."

"You will learn to be a true Malfoy yet," Draco threatened with a snarl.

Scorpius sighed. There was no way he wanted to be what his father considered a true Malfoy. The only person in his family who truly loved him without reservations and a whole list of expectations was grandmother Malfoy.

"You are taking lessons from a goblin?" Great-grandmum Malfoy complained, her hand elegantly placed on her chest, obviously mortified, before turning to her granddaughter-in-law. "Astoria, you need to have another child, so we can raise this one to be a true Malfoy."

"Not MY body," Astoria snapped, looking at Draco with daggers in her eyes. "I put up with all that once, and I'm not doing it again."

Draco sighed. Narcissa shook her head, sympathetic to Draco's frustration.

Scorpius had noticed that his parents usually sat at the opposite ends of the table, and avoided being physically close to each other. He thought about how Mr. and Mrs. Potter touched as often as they could. All of the Weasley families were touchers. Even Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey, the most conservative and reserved of the Weasley family, sat next to each other and were affectionate. Rose was rather cautious about touch, although she wanted to be the best of friends with him.

Grandmum Narcissa would hug him, unlike his parents.

Scorpius and Cleo looked at each other when the 'adults' began talking about 'adult things'. They could not wait to escape this unhappy house and spend time with the wild and loving Weasley family.

*

The Potter and Granger-Weasley families ate dinner together that first night the children were home.

Ginny announced, "You all need to put your things away and be ready to go to Potter's New Burrow tomorrow. Rose and Hugo, you too. I am going to be in charge of getting all five of you over. Dad works extra shifts until Christmas Eve, giving some of the Aurors with young families some time off, and Aunt Hermione, is going to do the same for some of her staff."

Harry added, looking at Hermione, "We will be spending as much time as we can with the family between Christmas and New Year." Hermione nodded. They like helping the younger co-workers but missed spending time with their families.

"Dad will work at the Wheezes, and Mum seldom takes time off unless she is forced to," Rose complained, stirring her noodles on her plate with an unhappy pout.

"I am not going to go into the office from Christmas day until the day after New Year's," Hermione promised.

"No, you will work from your office, or read, all week," Rose grumbled with a huff. Hermione did look embarrassed, but did not have a ready retort, mentally vowing to spend time with her daughter who clearly needed her mother for something.

"Are Erica and Bill Lionheart going to come over to fly?" James asked, hoping to break the tension between mother and daughter.

"I have been talking to Mrs. Lionheart, and they will be over next week," Ginny confirmed looking over at Harry with a significate stare. Then turned back to her eldest, "Why? Do you want to practice dancing?" Ginny smirked, teasing James a bit.

"James has figured out that Erica is a girl," Lily snickered, elbowing Hugo who smirked at the squirming boy.

"Oh gross," Rose complained. "I'm not ready to have a boyfriend," she exclaimed loftily.

There was a period of awkward silence.

"When are Cleo and Scorpius coming over," Albus asked, hoping to break the tension a bit.

"We are working on that as well," Ginny informed everybody. "Mrs. Malfoy and I have been talking, but I do not have any firm times yet."

As dinner was finishing, Harry told his oldest, "James, your mother and I want to talk to you alone in the Library after dinner."

"What did you do, James, to get in trouble your first night home," Lily laughed, poking James in the side. James just grinned. He didn't think he was in any great trouble.

Once they were in the Library, Harry closed the door and added a couple of privacy spells as he had seen Lily sneaking towards the room.

"Sit down, James," Harry commanded his voice stern, James' back went straight as he sat down on the couch and looked at his father. "We are pleased with your school work. You have acceptable marks in all your classes, and are excelling in charms."

"Thank you," James cautiously replied. James could sense something was coming.

"Hudson Harrison tells us that you are very interested in the safety charms on the broom and the helmet and uniform you are wearing," Harry continued, Ginny leaned against a book shelf, her arms crossed as she stared worriedly at her son. "Mr. Harrison also says you are modifying the charms."

James nodded yes, worried about where this discussion was headed.

"You understand how dangerous Quidditch can be?" Harry stressed.

"Yes, dad," came the wary answer.

Ginny huffed and stormed up to her son, "I don't think you do understand," Ginny snapped. "See this knee!" Ginny pulled up her skirt, exposing a large nasty looking scar. "I was warned about playing in the game that demolished my knee. I would have lost my leg, but they put in a Muggle metal knee. To do it they had to take some bone out of my left leg, so instead of being five-foot-tall I'm now four-foot ten-inches.

"I played distracted in the game where I hurt my head. You father had just lost an Auror, and almost lost another one. I was busy with things other than Quidditch, and should have sat out that game, but Ginny Potter was too tough, too important a player, to sit out a game, so I played. I have not been able to fly since." She looked at her son and noticed his gaze was not really as intent as she liked and finally snapped at him. "JAMES, I don't think you are taking this seriously."

James Potter looked at the floor, suppressing a sigh. He really didn't want to hear this.

"Do you understand how sick Mr. Lionheart is?" Ginny continued, wanting to shake some sense into her son. "He was working at St. Mungo's when I first met him. He was a little spacy, with a poor memory, but he was functioning. Now he has advance dementia. I don't want you to end up like me, or like him!"

"Yes, mother," James sighed. He made sure that he never ran head first into things, unlike Mr. Lionheart. Close wasn't the same thing as running into things.

Harry continued, his tone growing hard, "I've talked to the matrons at Hogwarts, and you have been in the hospital wing with a couple of close calls, bruises, abrasions, James. Back off! You can be good and not play so close to the edge.

"There is one other issue. I have not told any of you children, but I've had to talk to Dementors over the years. They keep taunting me, telling me that I am going to see a child killed in front of me, and for nothing. Getting yourself killed trying to show off, or to win a Quidditch game, is getting killed for nothing as far as I am concerned. Your mother and I are worried about your safety."

James kept looking at the floor not wanting to meet either of his parent's gazes. They just didn't understand.

Harry yelled, "JAMES, look at me!"

James looked at his father, startled at his father raising his voice.

"Change those safety spells back or I swear I will take your broom away and forbid you from playing Quidditch."

James sighed. "Yes, father," he whispered, his voice toneless.

"Let me know when you have changed the spells back, James," Harry stressed, wanting to shake his son or somehow get their concern across to him.

"Yes, father."

"I am going to have Hudson Harrison check your broom before the next match," Harry warned his son, his eyes narrowing as he took in the blank look of his son.

"Yes, father."

Harry dismissed his son with a sigh, He knew that his son didn't understand the danger because, just like all boys at that age, they believed that they were immortal and nothing bad would happen.

James climbed the stairs up to his bedroom, went in, and slammed the door shut. He sat on his bed sulking. Maybe he had modified the spells, but he had not had a serious injury. Maybe a couple of close calls. He wasn't stupid, he thought. Close was exciting, and gave you the edge you needed. Boggarts.

He was going to have to be careful using the spells. He was going to have to be sneaky like Albus. Boggarts.

*

"I'm going to have Hudson Harrison check James broom before every game," Harry stressed, pulling a worried Ginny to him and kissing the top of her head. "He has been a good child, but I don't trust him when it comes to Quidditch."

"Thank you for talking to him," Ginny muttered, wrapping her arms around him and sighing. "I don't know if it will work, but we need to try."

"Do you think we got through to James?" Harry asked as they heard their son's door slam shut.

"No," Ginny grumbled. "He is as thick headed as his father."

"And as much a thrill seeker as his mother," Harry countered.

"Donna Lionheart told me, after they adopted Tabitha, that no good deed goes unpunished," Ginny sighed. "I am worried that we are going to begin paying for our good fortune."

"I do not want to just hide," Harry confessed.

"You could not live with yourself if you were not out trying to right the world's wrongs," Ginny argued. "You would be so bitchy I could not live with you either. That's just what I get for marrying a big hero with an even bigger target on his back."

"You were never much of a damsel in distress either," Harry laughed as he kissed her on the lips and pulled her down on the sofa next to him. "Your mum and I talked about "Happily Ever After," how you never wanted to be rescued by the handsome prince, but wanted to help the prince kill the dragon.

"Can you imagine, after defeating the wicked wizards, Harry and Ron, the handsome heroes ..."

"Stop right there!" Ginny laughed. "Ron, handsome?"

"Rushed up to rescue their girlfriends, who were lolling on their beds."

"Lounging, Harry, painting our nails and eating chocolate." Ginny made a gagging motion while giggling.

"Ready to kill their boyfriends, who had locked then in the tower," Harry suggested.

"You would not have succeeded without the help of us females," Ginny insisted.

"Hermione still helps me," Harry admitted.

"It is not just fairy tales," Ginny grumbled. "They are still publishing books where the girl is helpless."

"And the hero is tall, dark, and handsome?" Harry asked.

"You are not tall, nor dark, but you are somewhat handsome, so I'll give you one out of three," Ginny smirked, poking him in the side.

"Well, you were never the helpless princess, so that's zero out of one," Harry kidded back. "No, you have always been beautiful, so that's one out of two."

Ginny smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She relished in being competent, and able to keep up with the boys. Harry was right; she never was the helpless princess type.

*

Late Monday afternoon Scorpius sat in his bedroom trying to remember what he had done in the morning. He remembered breakfast, he thought, and then ... He eventually went to Cleopatra's room.

Cleo asked Scorpius, "What were you doing with your father this morning and afternoon?"

Scorpius answered, "I don't remember. What time is it?" Looking over at the clock on her desk and blinking in surprise at how late it truly was. What in Merlin's name had he been doing all day?

"This is NOT good," Cleo exclaimed, looking at her adopted brother worriedly. "Your father told you to accompany him to his office, and no one here has seen either of you since."

Scorpius tried to remember, but even the fact that he had forgotten what had happened to him Monday was fading. By Tuesday he didn't even remember that much of Monday was missing. Cleo remembered, though, and it worried her.

*

Tuesday morning, December eighteenth, the headline in the Prophet read, "A Goblin is Using a Wand at Hogwarts." The article by Rita Skeeter went on to talk about Thorin Oakenwand, his large wand, and the Sword of Gryffindor that he seemed to now own and occasionally wear. The article also went into the wands of the Elves Galadriel and Luthen, paying special attention to the unique wand of Galadriel, the only wand in the world that looked like it was made of metal.

The article concluded, "This writer thinks that the wands should be confiscated and returned to the position of witches and wizards who are authorized to carry them."

That there were two Elves and a goblin attending classes at Hogwarts was not really a secret, but no one had publicized it either. From all the attention the article paid to wands, Harry was reasonably sure Olivia Ollivander was at least partly responsible for the article.

The article was picked up by magical newspapers and news shows around the world. There was an immediate outcry, with many Magi demanding the immediate surrender of the wands. Minerva McGonagall and Hermione were among many deluged with people demanding action.

*

Harry exited the private Floo connection inside his office just after 7:00 AM on Tuesday morning, unlocked his office door, and was immediately handed the Daily Prophet by Carol, one of the newer Aurors. He went back into his office and read the lead article. Then he looked out of his large window overlooking the general office area. Phone lines were starting to ring, and an unusually large number of memos were already flying around. Cho Chang looked in Harry's office window, and he went out his office door to meet her. She had a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hand.

"I'm due to leave at 8:00 AM, but I will stay a little longer, Harry," Cho volunteered. "You may need some extra help."

"It is not really Auror business," Harry protested.

"It is not legal for a goblin to carry a wand, in Britain or anywhere," Cho pointed out. "I do not know of any law about house elves, or Elves, or whatever they are or are becoming, but wands for elves is irregular at least. And you and your family are in as deep as merpeople are wet. The elves and goblin are part of the group that Albus and Rose are part of, the Magical and Elf Language Learners."

Groups of people were starting to converge on Harry's office.

"I will play administrative assistant and door guard until more of your staff shows up," Cho volunteered. "I worked the night shift, and really do need to be in bed before noon, but I will help you right now. You need it."

"Thank you, Cho. I believe you are correct," Harry acknowledged as he retreated into his office to take the first of many phone calls and Floo calls, and visits.

*

Albus wandered into the kitchen of Potter's New Burrow about seven-thirty in the morning. The telly was turned to the Wizard Broadcasting Network, and they were talking about an article in the Daily Prophet about Thorin's wand, and the wands that the Elves Galadriel and Luthen were using. Mabel handed Albus the Daily Prophet. He read Rita Skeeter's article with a scowl. He guessed that Professor Ollivander was behind the article. There was too much focus on wands in the article.

He wished Cleopatra was with him. There was something unique about both of their wands, and he thought the wands of Galadriel and Thorin. Albus thought there were books about wands in his Aunt Hermione's library. When Rose was awake he was going to suggest that they go over to her house at thirteen Grimmauld Place and see what they could find out about wands. That goblins were prohibited from using wands meant that at one time they did use them. What exactly was allowed and prohibited?

*

"What exactly is a wand? Much of the controversy hinges on the definition of a wand," Hermione was explaining to a rather large group of Magi in a large conference room at the Ministry of Magic. "A wand is an artifact usually made of wood with a magical core. It helps focus magic, and is a general purpose aid capable of helping with many different spells. Single purpose magical objects are not wands." She began pacing as pictures appeared on the walls of different types of wands used throughout history.

"All known wands have been turned into magical wands by wandmakers, always a husband and wife pair as far as we know, using two known wands. Wand-making wands can all trace their ancestry back to the first two wands." She looked back at the anxious group of Magi.

"Thorin insists that his wand does not fit our definition of a wand, because it was not made by any wand of the Magi. The wand makers in Switzerland think he may be right. There is evidence that some wand or something made Thorin's wand, but it was not made by any of our wands, so it does not meet the definition of a wand, technically. That is what they are arguing, in any case.

"In Switzerland they are also arguing that Elf wands were not made by the wands of the Magi. I didn't think there were any Elf wands." She continued a bit longer before taking questions.

"Some of the history of wands and wandmaking is in Switzerland," Hermione concluded after having to answer too many questions with "I do not know the answer to that." She tried to reassure the group with, "I will try to find answers to as many of your questions as I can."

Harry thought back to an early visit to Hong Kong and China, when he saw boxes of small Elf wands. He knew that Harriet and Dobedo each possessed