Chapter Text
"Bye, guys!"
"Don't be strangers!"
"Keep in touch!" Dorothy was leaving back for home; the school year had passed and the Tournament ended. Emily and Harry had split the pot evenly and were thankful the madness revolving around them was over. While the Aurors didn't see Voldemort, the giant stone cauldron and (finally) dead body of Peter Pettigrew were sure to have their own stories to tell. Fudge was still denying the "Death Eater resurgence", as Amelia had taken to calling it; the Aurors didn't and couldn't share his naivety.
"This whole mess is getting a hearing stateside, so you might get summoned," Matthews warned. "Be careful!"
"See you!" With that, a small tornado formed and Dorothy was swept away, back into the clear sky just like they had most of a year before but leaving a different Hogwarts behind.
"They've left?"
"Yeah."
"Did you tell Emily?"
"Yeah. Did you tell Angelina?"
"She's on board. Are you ready, Mr. Weasley?"
"Sure, Mr. Weasley. When people look back on this time, they will remember the glory of Magical Mayhem!"
"Let's just thank Harry for giving us his money."
"And Loki for mentoring us in chaos."
"After all, we will be bringing joy and chaos to others for decades to come. They are out first supporters and they will be rewarded in the rapture!"
"Rapture?"
"Oops, shouldn't have said that."
"So."
"So."
"He's back?"
"Probably."
"You do know what you're probably going to need to do?"
"Yes."
"Are you ready to do it?"
"Hell no. I'm not becoming a sheep again. Plus, vows. I don't think I can."
"That's alright. Well, it's not alright but I can respect it."
"You shouldn't; I need to do this. It could be life and death. I won't become Lady McKinnon but I could become Regent McKinnon; when Joanna's 21, she can inherit this mess."
"Joanna's your heir?"
"Yes. I'm not exactly sure how but she can wear McKinnon protective jewelry, which is limited to members of the family. Considering the other two members are me and a nine-year-old, I think it's safe to say that she's the next Lady McKinnon. I need to check with the Ministry and Gringotts on that. When she's of overtaking age, she can become Lady McKinnon if she wants to be and I'll wrangle a few of the other kids into bodyguard duty. Al and Emily could manage it, I think."
"You're willing to be Regent?"
"I'm still thinking about that."
"Good. When you're ready, we can go together. It's time for a Lord Black who isn't a Death Eater."
"Hello, Ms. Matthews. What can I do for you today?"
"Ambassador Jenkins-"
"-oh God, the 'Ambassador Jenkins' is never a good thing. What happened?"
"A dark lord called Voldemort got resurrected about a week ago. Communication to you from me was blocked during that time period. The DoJ Magic Commission probably already knows about it."
"Voldemort? Seriously, 'flight from death'?"
"Did I mention he tried to kill a fourteen-year-old and seventeen-year-old?"
"Ours?"
"The seventeen-year-old was Emily Falk. The fourteen-year-old was falsely entered into the Triwizard Tournament as a secondary Hogwarts champion."
"Why are we so worried?"
"Imagine a magical British KKK. You know we have enough extremists over here as is."
"You're worried about the spread of ideas?"
"And outright attacks on US soil."
"Does Sheri know yet?"
"Macdonald was going to tell her today."
"Good. One of our citizens was put into serious danger-"
"- more than one, if you count the tournament at large. Again, DoJMC."
"-and we can't tolerate that! Wait, which other citizen was in danger?"
"Haven't you been getting my reports?"
"No."
"Well, it's a long story. We were asked by the DoJMC to check in on the tournament, and I thought the best method of doing that would be to enter..."
"Headmistress Macdonald?"
"Ambassador Benson-"
"What happened?"
"Do you remember the Tournament?"
"Yes."
"A fourteen-year-old - not ours - was entered, a five-year-old American was put into grave danger, and our champion, along with the fourteen-year-old, almost died."
"Oh. Does Lynn know?"
"Matthews was going to tell her. Oh, and there's kind of a resurrected Dark Lord."
"Brilliant. Did you think this would happen?"
"No."
"We will be having a talk about accidental endangerment during these trials, Mary."
"I know and accept that."
"Good."
Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek as they left the Hogwarts Express. Harry blushed as they made their way to the barrier. Hermione laughed.
"Now, remember, we'll be coming for you in two weeks," Hermione said nervously as they waited for the signal to leave. "If you feel in danger, any at all-"
"Call your parents," Harry finished. "Yeah, 'Mione, I know. I'll be careful. If your parents or someone else doesn't come before three weeks, I will ditch the Dursleys and go to your parents' clinic, claiming my name as James Johnson for wisdom teeth extraction. If I can't do that, I call Loki for help."
"Good. Just be careful. I've kept you alive far too long for you to die on me now. Do you have your Muggle Studies materials?"
"Yes. I'll work through as far as I can as well as doing the school homework and remedial coursework McGonagall gave me. We'll check answers when we meet again. Love you," Harry said as they were permitted through.
"Love you too! I'll see you soon!"
"Happy summer break, Hermione!"
"Al! I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I missed you, Emmy. Hey, where's that boyfriend of yours?"
"He's in England. You know, with his family. I have him a modded cell for communication."
"Shame. I liked him."
"He'll be over in a few weeks, I think. How was school?"
"Marion is a bitch, Mrs. Bell is even worse, there were tests, Mindy Morrison got pregnant, and Inez almost had a nervous breakdown or three."
"So nothing new."
"Mike got suspended for throwing frog guts into James' hair."
"Good for Mike."
"Not for James. He had inspection after bio."
"Well, James' life is a perennial collection karma interest."
"Well, he got Kate as a girlfriend."
"Finally!"
"Oh, the latest Heroes of Olympus book came out."
"Give."
"Give what?"
"You know what."
"My sweatshirt? This banana?"
"The copy of Blood of Olympus hidden in your bag."
"Oh, that. Here. Avoid Jemma until you finish it; I can't believe you got her hooked on this series."
"Jem loves urban fantasy. And high fantasy. And low fantasy. It wasn't hard."
"Well, sis… welcome home."
"It's not the home I left, for sure."
"You never return to the same place you left; it changes or you change. That's the point of leaving."
"No, it's the point of returning."