Rain

Michael portkeyed Kieran, Khaat and himself to Venice. Kieran arranged to meet them in a couple hours. He headed off his own direction, and Michael offered his arm to Khaat. She took it and they walked across the large square. She took him into a hat shop and talked him into buying a white fedora to wear with his beautiful suit. He looked very elegant. Like he was made of money.

He took her to the magical section of Venice and took her into several magic shops. She felt drawn to one particular shop, and Michael indulged her. She browsed the shop for awhile by herself, and then she felt drawn to an antique pensieve. It was engraved silver and lined entirely by mother of pearl. She laid her hands on the pensieve and could feel as if she were somehow connected with it.

"And here I thought you would be more drawn to the crystal balls," he said to her.

"Where?" she asked.

"Over here," he led her around the corner to a room filled with all sorts of crystal balls and all sizes. She decided to get one for herself and one for Jess. Her mother had one. Michael looked at her as the clerk took the crystal balls and their bases to the counter. "You're still caught up by that pensieve, aren't you?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I am," she said. "Can I look at it again?"

"Of course," he said. They went back and she looked at it again. "If you want it, its yours," MIchael said to her softly.

"I do love it," she said. Michael ordered the clerk to add the pensieve to the order as well.

"Now, will you be alright by yourself for two minutes while I go next door to get what I came here for, my dear?" he asked. She nodded. He disappeared, and the clerk rang up the purchase and packaged them for her. By that time, Michael was back. Khaat didn't see any packages with him.

"Didn't they have it?" she asked. Michael just smiled and patted his jacket pocket. He paid for the packages and picked up the shopping bag.

"Its time to meet Kieran," he told her. "In fact, if we dont' apparate, we'll be late." He took her arm and they apparated out of the shop into an alley near the tobaccco shop. At that point, they both heard the sound of breaking glass not far away. "Stay with me," he ordered, drawing his wand. He led her to the end of the alley and saw Kieran lying on the ground, with a broken bottle in his hand, trying to defend himself against a wizard in long black robes who was pointing a wand at him.

"Expelliarmus!" Michael fired on the wizard, blowing him into a brick wall. The wizard sprang up into the air, levitating himself several feet higher than Michael and saw Khaat behind him. He began to weave an incantation that Michael knew was a very, very dark spell. They were all in very grave danger. And the best he could do without help was to draw the fire to himself and sacrifice himself to protect her.

Robert and Brian just a split second behind Jess and Jack. Robert was firmly in front of Michael and the others with Brian right beside him. "Contego!" Robert and Brian simultaneously wrapped a strong shield around them all. He knew this wizard from years ago. He was on the ministry's most wanted list. The last thing he had expected was a face to face with him tonight in a back alley of Venice. Robert wasn't sure his skills were up to shielding everyone and combat at the same time. And he noticed Brian was wrapping more protective charms around them all. He was hoping Jack was on his game and could respond to his commands instantly. There was no choice. Their survival depended on Jack's skillful use of the killing curse. And Jack would only have one shot.

"Jack! Now!" Robert shouted, hoping Jack would not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

"Allow me," Robert said, walking over towards the dead wizard.

"I think so," Kieran said. "I was leaving the tobacco shop and that idiot went after me."


"Well done, Jack," Robert said, examining the dead wizard. "Your training proved itself well. Thank you. We'd have all probably died if you hadn't fired when you did. You earned a raise. Well done indeed." Robert picked up the fallen wizard's wand and handed it to Jack. The wand had a black and silver handle. It was very elegant. He handed it to Jack. "The wand is yours now," Robert said. "Remember, it is not the wand that is evil. It is only a tool. It can be used for good or for evil either one. Either way, dueling rules say it is now yours." He looked into the wizard's face. "Remember him from our most wanted list? He was a dangerous man. I think this is what he was protecting." He reached down and pulled a large ring with a strange stone off the man's hand. The stone inside was filled with swirling smoke. He looked at it closely. "Kieran," he called. "Get up. Come here." Kieran got up and went over to Robert. Robert put the ring onto Kieran's hand, and Kieran fell to the ground in a limp heap almost instantly.

Robert merely knelt beside him. He watched the energy from the ring transfer into Kieran. When the ring had emptied itself into Kieran, Kieran came around again. "How do you feel?" Robert asked.

"What happened to me?" Kieran asked. Robert handed his own wand to Kieran

"Try a lumos spell. Just try it." Robert said. Kieran frowned and obeyed. Slowly the wand lit to Kieran's command. "Well done, Lad. You are no longer a squib. I think he could only use part of your magic. I think he could not absorb it into himself because, believe it or not, you had too much goodness in you. It would have contaminated his own power. He took it, but it was useless to him. So all he could do was to keep it, like carrying around a horcrux. You will have to re-learn much of what you knew, but you are, officially, a wizard again." Robert laid his hand on Kieran's head. "It will take awhile to recover from. You may well be dizzy for awhile. I suggest you go home and rest. By morning, you will feel like a totally new man."

Khaat realized Michael had positioned himself in front of her in order to let himself be killed instead of her. She fell silent, staring at the ground. She loved him too much to let him die for her. Michael turned and looked at her. He lifted her chin and kissed her forehead softly. She wrapped her arms around him, hiding in his chest, not wanting to cry. "Its alright, Child. We're alright. Robert, can I take her away from this mess?" Michael asked. "I believe she could do with a quiet place to get off her feet and perhaps a rest and a bite to eat?"

"By all means," Robert said. "Take care of her."

"Will you take our package home?"

"Certainly."

Khaat looked at Jess. Jess was either too good as a seer or she knew Khaat too well. But she had tapped right into her fear of losing Michael. Jess had been correct. Khaat watched as Kieran's magic returned to him. Khaat smiled, laying her head on Michael's chest, glad to hear his heartbeat in her ear.

"Help him up, Jack," Robert told Jack in regards to Kieran. "He's going to be woozy for tonight. You will indeed have to make sure he gets home and to bed. Jess, I'm leaving you in charge of taking care of him. Bedrest, some of the rennervating potion. Its in my bag, clearly labelled. A good hot meal, some sleep. I think you can handle it. Watch him for any other symptoms. Change in personality, any medical changes in his vital signs--you know the drill. Keep good documentation until I get back. I need to go to the Italian Ministry of Magic and get this international incident cleaned up. If I need Jack, I'll signal for him with my medallion. Is that clear, you two?"

Brian picked up the corpse of the dead wizard and tossed it over his shoulder like a large grain sack and Robert apparated them both to the Italian magic wizardry in Rome. Michael looked at Khaat. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's get out of here. I know just where we should go for dinner. Water taxi or gondola?"

"Gondola? Please?" she asked, knowing it was expensive.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he smiled, taking her hand. He treated her to a lovely gondola ride as the sun set in the Italian sky. He took her to a trattoria off the main canals, off on a side canal. He chose a table for two for them out front in the sidewalk cafe section, to an outdoor candlelit table. He ordered them a nonalcoholic bottle of prosecco and shared it with her over dinner. He ordered for them both plates of grilled shrimp over angel hair pasta, with a garlic butter sauce and chopped herbs. It was delicious. And Michael got her to laugh and spend the evening talking and laughing. The longer she hung out with him, the better she felt. Her stress melted away. He got her to start enjoying the idea of having more children again and the idea of her friends around her. He refocused her attentions so that she lost the idea of feeling guilty for having her friends around her and them risking themselves for her. He put it back into perspective for her. She was beginning to see the beauty in life again.

She enjoyed having an evening of light talk and laughter, rekindling old ties,and bonding with her godfather. She loved watching the people walk by, and if someone noticed them, they noticed first, by Khaat's observations, her godfather's commanding presence. She felt proud just to be with him. She was at peace. She was pleased that Kieran had his powers back, but she knew it would take them all to retrain him how to use them. And she was endlessly grateful for the devotion of her friends--Jess, Jack, Steven, Angus--all of them.

And then he ordered two tiramisus and two Italian coffees. Khaat's face lit up like Christmas. And he promised her another gondola ride--this time under the lights of Venice.

When they left the sidewalk cafe, they had simply taken a short walk a few blocks down the street. They had found a chocolatier open, and Michael looked at her with a wide smile. "I know how you love chocolate," he said, taking her by the hand. "Its not off your father's list for you, is it?"

"When did I listen to that?" Khaat asked. Michael laughed, delighted, and took her inside. They spent all the time they wanted browsing and tasting things offered to them by the chocolatier. He bought her a huge box of handmade truffles, an assortment they selected themselves. They chose a single truffle apiece to eat on the way out. It was like little nibbles of heaven.

Finally he said to her, "Your feet are swelling a bit, my darling."

"Its normal," she told him. "And the shoes might have just the slightest bit to do with it." He hailed a gondola and when it pulled up, he and the gondolier rushed to help her step into the boat without injury. Khaat did not know Italian, but Michael did. She did detect the gondolier asking Michael a question in Italian, and she thought for sure she detected the word Mamma in the question. Michael smiled and answered the question as he helped her to her seat. He spoke what she interpretted to be directions to the gondolier. Then Michael sat down next to her. "Where's your shawl?" he asked her.

"Here," she said, drawing it out of where it was folding as small as it could get inside her handbag."

"Khaat Karina," he frowned. "Silk deserves better treatment than being rolled into a ball in your bag." He took it from her and draped the shawl around her, the back of his fingers brushing against her upper arm in the process. "Your skin is like ice," he said.

"Not for long," she smiled. He draped his arm around her to warm her and flicked his fingers to the gondolier as a signal that they were ready to go. The delicate boat departed remarkably smoothly from its resting place against the curb. Khaat laid her head on Michael's shoulder, savoring the peace and wanting to etch the sights and the sounds of Venice deep into her memory so that the feeling she had now would never leave her. Not ever.

Meantime, Robert and Brian had gone to Rome, and had spent the rest of the afternoon straightening out the unauthorized use of magic in a muggle neighborhood in a foreign country to kill a man. However, Robert's credentials as the Minister for Britain, along with the fact that they had proof of the identity of the criminal by producing the body, seemed to satisfy the Italian wizarding government. They apparated home around 7 pm. Neither of them were surprised to see that Michael had not brought Khaat back yet.

The first thing they saw was Kate and Angus feeding the babies bottles before bed and the babies almost completely asleep in their arms. Robert could see the remainders of the dinner dishes being cleaned up in the kitchen. "Too late, Mate," Robert said. "We missed dinner."

"That's alright," Brian sighed. Right at the moment, what mattered to him was whether anyone had heard from Michael, and then he wanted to know about his brother. "How is Kieran?" he found he was spitting out the second question first.