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Sirius and Aletha’s wedding was held on 27 September, in one of the small rooms set aside at the Ministry of Magic for just that purpose.   Albus Dumbledore presided, as he had done for the Potters’ wedding.   James was Sirius’ best man, and Lily Aletha’s matron of honor.   Remus gave the bride away (prompting laughter from the small group gathered to witness the event) and Peri watched everything from inside a temporary shelter which allowed sound to pass in but not out, a necessity since it also contained three small and noisy children.  

"They were actually quite well behaved," she told Alice Longbottom at the reception.   "Your Neville more than the other two.   I think he’s just quieter naturally.   Harry and Ray are both so active — I’m glad I only have to take care of one of them regularly.   Two like that would wear me out."

"Yes, Neville’s a very good boy that way."   Alice kissed her son’s head.   "He hates it when people are angry with each other or unhappy.   He likes his life to run smoothly."

Peri took a sip of her punch and sighed.   "I only hope he has that luxury in these coming years."

"As do I," said Alice, handing Neville a small piece of bread from the buffet table.  

xXxXx

Aletha kept her eyes open as she spun through the Floo.   Catching glimpses of the rooms beyond the passing grates was the only way she’d ever been able to stay comfortable in fireplace travel.   It just felt too cramped for her taste otherwise.  

Suddenly, a small jerk, and she was spinning in place, halfway between one grate and the next — she clamped down on panic, she knew what was going on, someone else was Flooing into the same fireplace at the same time, she’d been shunted into wait mode, it wouldn’t last long —

Another jerk, larger this time, and she spun even faster into her own fireplace, losing her balance as the green flames died around her.  

"Gotcha!"

There was something to be said for having a husband around, Aletha decided.   Especially when he kept you from taking what would otherwise have been a rather painful fall, and then took advantage of your being off-balance and in his arms in a most enjoyable fashion.   "I don’t know why we didn’t do this before," she said when she could speak again.   "No more juggling schedules, no more running back and forth between places."

Sirius set her upright and brushed some ashes off her shoulder.   "Maybe because I was always too scared you’d say no.   How was your day?"

"All right.   I spent most of it getting a pretty nasty curse off a five-year-old — nothing painful, but his head was down here, and down here was up there."   Aletha pointed to the proper portions of Sirius’ anatomy.   "His father claimed he’d done it to himself — got hold of a wand when he shouldn’t’ve..."

"You sound skeptical."

"It didn’t look like an accident.   It looked like something someone would do on purpose.   The magic traces were already faded by the time he got in, and muddled up with the counterspells the family had tried, so I can’t be sure.   Besides, detecting intention is tricky at the best of times."

Sirius nodded.   "Dumbledore can do it without much trouble, but I doubt anyone else could."

"And since I’m no Albus Dumbledore, let us pass from this subject to others.   Specifically, what’s for dinner?"

"Aren’t I supposed to ask you that?"

"Two weeks married and you still don’t know not to trust my cooking?"

"You have a point.   But mine’s no better."

"So I suppose we’re back to the old standby."

"Take-away?"

"That’s right."

xXxXx

Albus Dumbledore sighed deeply, wishing that simply putting away or destroying the message he’d received a few minutes ago would make it no longer true.   But even magic could not do so much.  

I knew this would come.   But I had hoped it would not come so soon.  

He drew parchment, quill, and ink closer and began to compose two notes, very similar in content.   "I will have a duty for you, old friend," he told Fawkes, who was watching him closely.   "If you would be so kind.   You are swifter and safer than any owl."

Fawkes bobbed his head and crooned softly.  

xXxXx

An owl was waiting on the kitchen windowsill when Aletha got home.   She opened the window and let it in, took the letter it was carrying, and stroked its head feathers for a moment before getting it a dish of water and a few Owl Treats.  

The note was from Sirius.   Delayed at work.   Something to do with James and Lily.   Should be home before dinnertime.   Don’t burn house down unless I’m there to watch.

Aletha crumpled the note and tossed it across the room.   "Just for that, I will burn the house down," she said to empty air, and set about making dinner.   A simple roast of beef and jacket potatoes would be hard even for her to ruin, and anyone could rip up lettuce and chop vegetables for a salad.  

She was feeling quite good about everything when she heard the noise of the Floo in the other room.   "Sirius?" she called.  

"Yeah."  

Her husband sounded distracted, Aletha noticed, distracted and worried about something.   "What’s wrong?" she asked as he came into the kitchen.  

"Nothing."   Sirius sat down heavily at the table.  

Aletha gave him a long look.   "No secrets," she said.   "You promised."

Sirius grimaced.   "I did, didn’t I."

"Yes, you did."   Aletha shut the window and placed an Imperturbable Charm on it, did the same with the door, and turned down the oven — the food was mostly done anyway, it could finish a bit more slowly.   "Tell me."

Sirius stared at the table.   "Do you really want to know?"

"If I didn’t, would I be asking?"

"Are you just asking because you want to be in on all my secrets?"

"Aren’t I allowed to care about you when you come home looking depressed?"

"What if this isn’t my secret to tell?"

"Who am I going to tell about it?"

"How should I know?"   Sirius stopped, frowning.   "Say, when did this turn into a game of ‘speak in questions only’?"

Aletha laughed.   "Did you want it to be one?"

Sirius smiled a bit, one-sidedly.   "Well, I could use a bit of humor after today.   Letha, look, this can’t go any farther.   We have no way of telling who the spy is, and if this gets out, there’ll be hell to pay.   You know James and Lily are going into hiding, because the Dork Lord’s after them."

"Of course."

"And you know they’re using the Fidelius Charm to hide."

"Yes."

"And they asked if I’d be Secret-Keeper."

Aletha nodded.   That particular decision had cost her several sleepless nights, but she knew Sirius was the best choice.   He was fiercely loyal to the Potters and unlikely to break, but also, if she looked at things coldly, far more expendable than Dumbledore, who had also volunteered for the post.  

We’ll probably have to go into hiding ourselves once the Charm’s performed.   But that’s still no guarantee of safety.   And it’ll take us away from our work, just when we can’t afford it...

"I was talking to Peter about it today.   And he brought up a good point.   Since I’m known to be the Secret-Keeper, once the Charm goes forward and the Death Snarfers can’t find the Potters anymore, they’ll be after me right away.   And after you."   Sirius pressed Aletha’s hand hard.   "God, I’d break in an instant if they threatened you, I’d tell them anything they wanted to know..."

"Oh, no, you wouldn’t," said Aletha firmly.   "I’d kill you myself if you did anything that stupid."

"That’s good to know.   But I’m not going to be able to in any case."   Sirius looked around, as if someone could have sneaked in while they were talking.   "Peter’s going to be the Secret-Keeper, Letha.   Everyone will still think it’s me, but it’s going to be Peter.   That way, if they do come after me, that’s the only thing I’ll be able to tell them — that I’m not really the Secret-Keeper.   It’s an extra precaution — the perfect bluff — who’d ever think twice about a talentless little rat like Wormtail?"

"He can’t be completely talentless if he managed Animagus while he was still in school," Aletha objected.   "But I do see your point.   No one would expect this.   And let me guess — you haven’t told Remus anything about it."

Sirius winced.   "I wish I could — but you know what I think."

"Yes, and you know what I think."   The Blacks had already had several altercations on this topic, Sirius pointing out that Remus had known about everything that the Death Eaters had got wind of, Aletha countering that so had half the rest of the Order, Sirius bringing up Remus’ lycanthropy and the general proclivities of werewolves for the darker magics, Aletha asking acerbically if he really knew his friend so poorly as all that.   "Honestly, Sirius, Remus would no sooner be the spy than I would."

"Yes, I know.   And that’s what scares me."   Sirius put his head down on the table.   "Any way this turns out, I’m losing someone I care about.   Someone who’s been my friend.   Even if it’s some other member of the Order, we’ve all been friends for years, we’ve saved each other’s lives.   How could one of us just go and sell everyone else out like that?"

"I don’t know."   Aletha stroked her husband’s hair.   "I really don’t know.   I almost wish I did."

"You what?"   Sirius lifted his head to look at her.  

"Not like that — I don’t mean I want to become a spy!"   Aletha shoved his shoulder.   "But I wish I knew what made the spy, whoever it is, turn his coat.   Does he really think Voldemort’s the better bet?   Or is he just scared?   And was it his own decision, or did Death Eaters get at him and turn him?"   Something occurred to her.   "What if they try to turn everyone they catch, and if they can’t manage it, they kill them?   Maybe you should look at anyone who’s faced Death Eaters and got away."

Sirius snorted.   "And that would only make you suspect everyone in the Order."

"No, I mean people who have done it alone.   The Death Eaters might catch someone alone and say ‘spy for us or you die.’   If the person says, ‘go to hell,’ they just kill him.   But if he says, ‘don’t kill me, I’ll do what you say,’ then they have their spy.   See if anyone who’s not known for really excellent spellwork has come out of an encounter like that unhurt."

"But if the Death Eaters had turned someone, he wouldn’t want it known, because then people would be onto him, the way you said.   He’d want to cover up that they’d ever been there."

"It’s hard to disguise a Death Eater attack.   What are you going to say, oh, sorry, Auror Moody, I cast the Dark Mark over my own house by mistake?"

"That’s why they only cast it when they’re leaving."   Sirius stopped, looking thoughtful.   "But you might be onto something there.   I’ll have a look through some of the old records — ask Frank to help me, he knows them inside and out — see if anyone’s had suspicious encounters, time unaccounted for, that sort of thing."   He smiled at her, with a small return of his old spirit.   "I knew there was a reason I married you."

Aletha shook her head.   "The things you learn after the vows are said," she told the refrigerator.

xXxXx

Peri cradled Ray in her arms and walked up and down the room with him, singing softly.   He’d been restless all day, and wasn’t sleeping well tonight.  

Picking up on the mood in the house.   Lucius seemed highly excited about something, but neither she or Narcissa had any idea what.   She’d forwarded the information to the Order, writing it in invisible ink between the lines of a commonplace letter to Alice Longbottom, with whom she maintained a regular correspondence.   The Longbottoms’ blood was quite pure, their only "crime" was fighting on the opposite side of the war from the Malfoys.   Lucius had frowned when he’d seen the superscription on the envelope, but had not forbidden the connection.  

I don’t know what I would have done if he had.   Found some other safe way to pass it along, I’m sure.  

She peered out the window.   A windy, chilly night, this All Hallows Eve.   A night for terrible things to happen.   And happen they would, for her mandate was not to interfere with the great events that made a world what it would be.  

But what if the events interfere with themselves?   What if something I’ve done has changed things, for better or, heaven forbid, for worse?  

She walked, and held Ray close, and worried.  

xXxXx

Peter Pettigrew stood trembling in the center of the street.   A tear rolled down his face.  

Crying for your Master, or for yourself? Sirius wondered.   "Reach for it, rat," he snarled.

"Lily and James, Sirius!" Peter sobbed out.   "How could you?"

That’s it.   I’m going to kill him.   Sirius closed his hand around the back end of his wand and pulled it free of its holster, aiming directly between Peter’s tear-filled eyes, focusing all the hatred he’d felt when he’d seen the house destroyed, the dead bodies of his best friends, his shivering and terrified godson...

"Sirius!"

It was one of two voices in the world that could pull his attention away from anything.   Time sped back up as he spun around.   Aletha was standing behind him, not five feet away, looking at something behind him, her eyes suddenly terrified —

He lunged at her and knocked her to the ground, sheltering her with his own body just as the shockwave from the explosion reached them.   "Shield," she gasped out, and he automatically threw up a spell to deflect the debris that was starting to rain down.   "What was that?"

"Don’t know."   Sirius risked a glance behind him.   A cloud of smoke enveloped the place where Peter had been.   People were screaming.   "Either Wormtail making a bloody big mess to cover his tracks, or Wormtail committing suicide.   How’d you find me?"

"A map and one of your quills.   Dumbledore worked the spell for me, I just had to trigger it.   How long have you been following him?"

"All night.   You’ve heard?"

She nodded, and reached up to hold him, and to be held.   "He was the spy?" she asked.  

"Yes."   Sirius didn’t trust himself to say more.   Instead he sat up, gathering his wife into his arms, and stared at the place where a man he’d once called friend had stood.   The smoke was clearing now, revealing people lying silently on the pavement and the street in unnatural positions, other people screaming as they clutched wounded limbs...

"I have to help them," Aletha said, getting up.   "They’re hurt."

"They’re Muggles."

"So what?   They’ll have to be Obliviated anyway, one more incident won’t hurt.   Come help me."

And so it was that the personnel of the Magical Catastrophes Department found Sirius Black, holding a frightened four-year-old gently in his arms while his wife healed the child’s broken leg.  

xXxXx

At the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, all was chaos.   People were running up and down the halls, screaming and shouting, hugging each other and crying.   Remus Lupin nearly splinched himself when he Apparated on top of Alastor Moody.   "What’s going on?" he shouted over the noise.  

"Haven’t you heard?" Moody bellowed back.   "War’s over.   Voldemort’s gone."

"Gone?   Since when?"  

"Last night sometime."   Moody took another look at Remus.   "Come over here," he said in a more subdued bellow, taking Remus’ arm.   "There’s a lot you don’t know."

Another Apparition crack echoed through the hall.   "Remus!"

"Peri!"   Remus spun in time to catch the woman in his arms.   "What’s going on — won’t you be missed?"

"Not today."   Peri was shaking, smiling broadly even though her eyes were bright with tears.   "Not today, no, I won’t be missed today."

"He hasn’t heard," Moody shouted at her.  

"I know, I can see."   Peri followed the two men into a small room and shut the door behind them.   "Do you want to tell him or should I?"

"Well, how much do you know?" Moody countered.  

"I know about the Potters.   Is there something else to know?"

Remus felt his face blanch.   "The Potters?   Has something happened to them?"

"Haven’t heard about Black and Pettigrew, then?"

It was Peri’s turn to go white.   "No, I haven’t," she said quickly, but Remus got the distinct impression she was lying.   "I haven’t heard anything about them.   You tell, then."   She came over to sit beside Remus on the small sofa.

"There’s no good way to tell you this," said Moody bluntly.   "Potter and his wife are dead."

Peri wrapped her arms around Remus.   He returned the embrace and held on; she seemed to be the only stable thing in a world suddenly wrenched sideways.   James and Lily, dead?   And he said something about Sirius and Peter too...

"What about Harry?" he heard himself ask.  

"The boy’s alive.   But no one knows why.   Dumbledore says it looks as if Voldemort tried to kill him and failed, and the spell rebounded and took him out instead."

"Where..."

"Hagrid’s got him for the time being."

Something finally penetrated Remus’ mind.   "Sirius," he said, a chill penetrating his shoulders and chest.   "Sirius was their Secret-Keeper — what happened to him?   Why did he tell?"

Moody shook his head.   "See, this is where I don’t quite follow.   Seems that for reasons of his own, Black changed his mind about being Secret-Keeper.   Thought he’d bluff it out.   Make them think it was him, when all the time it was Pettigrew.   Though why he wouldn’t at least have told Dumbledore about it..."   He shrugged.   "At least he told his wife.   If he hadn’t, we’d probably have him in Azkaban by now."

"Peter?" Remus repeated numbly.   "Peter was their Secret-Keeper?"

"And traitor," Moody said grimly.   "He’s the one, Lupin.   The one we’ve been looking for this past year and more.   You never knew, did you?" he asked Peri.

She shook her head.   "I don’t think I’d ever even met him.   Which is probably good — he’d have ratted me out to Lucius before you could say wand.   What happened to him?"

"No one’s sure.   He’d finagled Black into a set-up to make it look like Black had blown him away, and killed a bunch of Muggles in the bargain, but he didn’t count on Freeman-Black showing up just in time to pull Black’s attention from the shot.   We’ve got twenty eyewitnesses ready to swear Black’s wand was nowhere near Pettigrew when the street went up.   Twelve confirmed deaths, though."

"Peter?" Remus asked again.  

"Like I said."   Moody scratched his chin.   "His robes were there, with his blood on ‘em, and a finger.   He might’ve blown himself up with the spell, but he might also’ve changed into a rat — they did that for you, did they?" he asked Remus as a side note.   Remus nodded.   "Well, he might’ve changed and run off into the sewers.   No one’s sure.   But they’re looking for him, sending out bulletins.   Human or rat, they’ll find him."

Remus shook his head, and kept shaking it.   "Peter," he said, incredulously.   "Why... why would Peter, of all people..."

"Fear," Moody grunted.   "They probably threatened his life.   That or offered him power, money, prestige.   You know how they work.   Probably tried to corrupt a dozen.   He was just the one that took."

"No."   If he could just say it often enough, it would come true.   "No, no, no.   They’re not dead, they can’t be... not James, not Lily... Peri, please, it isn’t true, it can’t be..."

He was vaguely aware of Moody stumping out, of Peri’s arms around him, of her voice whispering in his ear.   He could feel her shaking against him, hear the catches in her breath as she cried.   But it all seemed secondary to his own mourning for three of the best friends he’d ever had, for he counted Peter, too, as dead, since the man he thought he’d known had died by his own hand more than a year ago.  

Still, he could not be entirely desolate.   I still have Peri.   And Sirius and Aletha.   God, I owe Sirius such an apology.   I was ready to believe that he was the spy — that he would betray, that he would kill... dead, they’re dead, Lily and James, Harry’s an orphan now... Sirius could take him, I suppose, but what if the Death Eaters come after him...

His thoughts ran in circles, always coming back to the pain of his friends’ deaths, but thankful beyond measure for those friends who had been spared to him.   Especially the one in his arms.  

xXxXx

Well, I’ve done it.   For better or for worse, I changed something big.  

Peri’s tears were coming for different reasons than Remus’.   She would miss the Potters — though she hadn’t known them for long, she had quickly come to see why their deaths were so devastating to their friends — but she was also frightened.   She had never meant to change such a large part of the world as Sirius’ false arrest.

I have no idea what this will do... it could change everything, it could make things so much worse...

Then she had to laugh, a weak and watery laugh but a laugh nonetheless.  

Welcome to humanity, girl.   You’ve made your choices, and they’ve had consequences you never expected.   It’s how the rest of the world lives, never knowing what tomorrow will bring.   You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.   Figuratively speaking, of course.    

"I need your help with something," she whispered when she could sense that Remus’ first tide of grief was starting to ebb a bit.  

"What is it?"

"Malfoy’s bound to be arrested.   He’ll probably claim he was under Imperius.   If they ask me to testify, what should I say?"

Remus pushed away from her a little to look her in the eye.   "I don’t know," he admitted.   "What do you think?"

Peri swallowed hard.   "I think... I think that if I displease him, he has ways of hurting me.   Even from prison, he could order me killed.   There are bound to be Death Eaters who get off.   Whereas if I lie for him..."

"He’ll be in your debt."   Even with his mind tangled in sorrow, Remus could understand.   "And as long as you don’t flaunt that, or try to extort money or favors from him, he’ll be just as happy to let it lie."

"The only favor I want is a free hand in the nursery.   And I intend to make sure that Ray is just the kind of son his father wants, when his father’s looking."

Remus gave her a small smile.   "And corrupt the poor child all the rest of the time."

"But of course."   Peri looked up as the door opened.  

Sirius walked in, Aletha behind him.   Peri quickly released Remus and propelled him up and toward his friend.   A moment later, the two men were holding each other, both babbling over the sound of each other’s voices.

"Sirius, I’m so sorry, I never should have suspected—"

"No, it’s my fault, I should have known you’d never—"

"—couldn’t have been you, what would you get—"

"—how we never saw it was Wormtail all along—"

Peri went to Aletha and embraced her, leading her to the couch where she and Remus had just been sitting.  

This is the time for mourning.   The time for saying goodbye.   Tomorrow will be soon enough to discuss saying hello.   Tomorrow, we’ll talk about Harry.  

But it was Aletha who brought it up, only about an hour and a half later.   "What about Harry?" she asked in a husky voice, thickened with her crying.   "Where is he?   Who’s taking care of him?"

"Hagrid came for him last night," Sirius said.   "He said Dumbledore had told him to take Harry to his aunt and uncle’s.   I let him use my motorbike for it, you know he can’t Apparate."

"But he’s yours now," said Remus.   "He belongs to you."

Sirius shook his head.   "So you think I should go take him?"

"I think you should at least ask about it," said Peri.   "It’s your duty."

Sirius took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.   "All right.   I’ll go find Dumbledore."

"We’ll come with you," said Aletha, getting up.  

The Headmaster, when found, proved helpful but obstinate.   "I understand that your claim is perfectly legitimate," he told Sirius.   "But Harry will be safest with his aunt and uncle at the moment."

"But they hate magic!" Aletha protested.   "Lily used to tell me how sad she was that her sister... hated her..."   She choked up for a moment, then got control of herself.   "Harry needs to be with people he knows, people who love him.   Not strangers who just happen to be related to him by blood."

"But it is their blood relation to him that will keep him safe.   Let me explain..."

Peri kept her eyes on the floor through Dumbledore’s careful account of the events of the night just past, and why they would make the house of Petunia Dursley the safest possible place for Harry Potter.   When he had finished, she looked up.   "So no Death Eaters will be able to get at him there?" she asked.  

"Precisely.   He will be as safe there as he was in his own home."   Dumbledore’s eyes were bleak.   "Safer."

"But the Death Eaters won’t be around forever," Remus said.   "Most of them should be rounded up within a few months.   Peri can give us some ideas of who was involved.   Once things get a bit safer, could Sirius go and get Harry?"

"That might work," Aletha said.   "Give us a little while to get over this, and get the house ready to bring him home."   She smiled through her tears.   "Do you think it would be safe to get him before the end of May?"

Dumbledore looked her up and down.   "Is there a reason you ask?" he said, a ghost of the usual twinkle beginning to show in his eyes.  

Aletha nodded.   "Sirius, do you think you can handle one more piece of news?"

Sirius wiped his eyes.   "Good or bad?"

"Good, I think.   Very good."

"Day’s a roller coaster already.   Go ahead."

"I’m pregnant."

Peri broke into half-hysterical giggles as Sirius slid off his chair, unconscious.  

Though it’s not like I’m surprised, when I connived to have this happen...  

It was good to know that her labors with the drops of blood had not been in vain.  

Now I just wait and see if the results are anything like what happened where I came from.  

A saucy little daughter would be good for Sirius.   Of course, so would a handsome, troublemaking son.  

But he has that already in Harry.   God, I hope they can get him soon, he won’t have an easy time of it there...

"Will they be allowed to visit?" Remus asked Dumbledore, watching Aletha minister to Sirius.   "Go and see Harry?"

The Headmaster stroked his beard, considering.   "Aletha is Muggleborn and knows how to act in a Muggle neighborhood, and Sirius will be intelligent enough to follow her directions.   I see no reason why the Dursleys should deny access to Harry’s legal guardian and his wife.   The only problem which might arise is that they might wish to hand Harry over too soon.   I suppose I shall have to go and speak to them."   He rose.   "Remus, can I ask you to handle the arrangements?" he asked sadly.  

"For James and Lily?"   Remus nodded.   "I... think I can."

"I’ll help you," Peri said quietly, putting her hand on his arm.   "I have the whole day free."

"How did you get that, anyway?" Remus asked her as Dumbledore left the room and Sirius sat up, groaning.  

Peri mustered a small smile.   "Narcissa was only too delighted to have the opportunity to take care of her own son for once.   He’s growing very close to her."

"Oh, I’m sorry..."

"Why?   I’m not.   He won’t have less love for me just because he’s learning to love his real mother.   And your position is unimpeachable," she added naughtily.   "His blood father is unlikely to find time for him at any point in the near future."

"Yes, I wanted to ask you about that."   Remus led her out of the room, leaving Sirius and Aletha alone together.   "With the war being over, we won’t have this place to meet anymore.   I can’t exactly come to where you are, and you’ll have a hard time getting to where I am.   And meeting in public is far too risky."

Peri winced.   "Yes.   If we’re seen..."

"It’s a miracle Peter never saw us together, or found you here.   And I know how Malfoy’s mind works.   A hint of trouble, even a sniff of scandal — and a scandal there would be if his son’s nursemaid was found consorting with a werewolf — and you’ll be out on your ear."

Peri bared her teeth.   "I refuse to order my life around his stupid prejudices," she said heatedly.  

"You’re willing to lie under oath to the Ministry for him, but this you can’t handle?"

"That’s about him.   This is about me — about us.   I’ve never met any other man who makes me feel the way you do."   Strict truth.   "And I will not give you up just because my employer might think you’re unsuitable.   What we need is someplace to meet where he would never go, and neither would any of his toadies."

"Muggle places, maybe," said Remus after a moment of consideration.   "Restaurants, shopping malls, that sort of thing.   He’d never go to one of them, and no one he thinks proper would either."

"It could work."   Peri thought it over.   "It would work.   Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there.   Ray and all."

"The only problem is, what if he asks you where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing?"

"I’ll tell him I’ve been exposing Ray to a wide range of cultural diversity."

"And if he forbids you?"

"I almost think you don’t want to see me anymore."

"No!"

"Then why don’t we burn that bridge when we come to it, and not plan too far ahead."

Because my foreknowledge ends here.   From now on, I’m just like everyone else.   Trapped in the present, with no certainties about the future.  

And Merlin up a tree, is it ever scary...

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