Finding a Way Home (Khaat, and other Lupin family members if desired)

Garulia had been training hard for months under the new regime, even though he hadn't been able to find Khaat, and his body was getting leaner. Not necessarily muscled, but what fatty build up he'd had was being worked away. He had all his gear (tent and such) strapped to his back as he walked through the small patch of woods. Suddenly, he saw an owl swooshing towards him, the tell-tale signs of a message from, perhaps, a friend.

Holding out an arm, the owl landed on it and held out it's leg. Tugging the letter loose, he patted the owl and it flew away. Opening it, he looked at the letter as a ring fell out. He read Khaat's familiar handwriting with a smile, which was quickly wiped away as he read about her being exiled.

So the ring's a portkey, he thought with a chuckle to himself. Picking it up, he slipped it on his finger. And immediate tugging sensation whipped him along through what felt like a whirlwind. He crashed to the ground, dazed, having only traveled by portkey once or twice. Looking around, he tried to get his bearings.

"Port!" Khaat heard her father say. He was reading the morning paper and drinking tea. He always knew when the protection spells he laid were tugged on by someone porting in or out. Khaat looked out to the vast snowy yard out front and saw Gar, still dazed from the portkey. From any place he looked he would see almost an endless snowy clearing bordered by evergreens. And behind Khaat, a mammoth log home that dwarfed the large estate they had in England.

"It's Gar," she said. "I'll get it."

"Wear your coat," he said. She summoned her full length deerskin coat with the fringe trim and the Native American beading. She left the large log mansion and walked out through the deep, drifting snow out to Gar. Brian had warned her that the Colorado mountains were brutally cold and snowy. Now she knew it herself. But the sun was rising this morning, and it lit the morning sky with brilliant color.

"Gar!" she called, waving to him. "You made it! Merry Christmas!" She was delighted to see that he had ported successfully. Evidently his training had gone well--and ahead of schedule. She was proud of him, and thrilled to see him.

Shivering, he looked around. For a second there was nothing and then... "Gar!" He turned to his "mom". But that's what she was to him, right? Even though his teeth were chattering, he managed to crack a joke. "Happy B-b-b-birthday!" he said, with a small laugh as he threw himself at her. At first, it was for a hug. Then he managed to mutter, "Waaaaaarm!" Chuckling again, he let her go. "Is that where you're staying? Sorry, didn't know it'd be so damn c-cold!" Looking down at himself, he mentally berated his appearance in a black sleeveless shirt and jeans.

"Is it warm in there? I was just in a forest, and then suddenly I'm freezin to death!"

"Brutal out here, isn't it?" she laughed, hugging him. "Come on in. Its much warmer in there." They walked back to the enormous house and inside. There was staff running everywhere, taking care of daily duties. She stopped one of them. "Owens, this is Gar. My son. Prepare quarters for him at once."

"Yes, Ma'am. Straight away. But first, lets warm him up. Something hot to drink, perhaps?"

"Yes please."

"I'll deliver it to the great hall in a moment." he nodded and disappeared. Khaat looked at Gar.

"My father and Brian have enlarged this place to no end almost," she laughed. "Come on. the fireplace in the Great Hall is huge." She led him through the foyer to the Great Hall with its vaulted ceiling and American southwest decor. She motioned to the gigantic stone fireplace. "Make yourself at home. This is your home now too. Come warm up by the fire." She went over and took a seat in one of the several wing chairs in front of the hearth where one enormous log stil burned. "This is a Yule log. They decided to be very traditional this year," she said. "By the looks of this one, its going to take a month to burn out."

Garulia trudged with Khaat back into the enormous...house? Mansion? Army barracks? He wasn't sure what to call the massive structure. However, it was apparent that there were extension charms all over the place. "I didn't know so many people worked for you," he commented, amazed. "When did that happen?" The thought of something warm to drink made him weak at the knees with longing. Walking with Khaat, he was amazed at how massive the room was. Not only that, but how huge the fire place was, and how much he wanted to go sit as close as possible to it without singing himself.

Running over to it, he began to warm his hands.

"Well, it could be an arm for all I care! Just so long as it's WAAAARM!"

"This was Brian's place before we got married," Khaat said. "When he wasn't in Paris on business. But..it seems that Grindlewald finds my father and I too much of a threat for him and put the both of us at the top of England's wizarding most wanted. Seems odd going from being Chief Warlock to a fugitive. At any rate, I have no intention of spending any time in Azkaban for simply being opposed to the dark arts. So, my father arranged several safe houses with some of the Miniter's of magic or their equivalent across the world. They all know who rightfully belongs as the Minister of Magic back home, and they are willing to provide us the additional security we need." As she spoke, Owens brought to large stoneware mugs of hot spiced cider.

"Angus says Gar's quarters are ready. Two doors down from yours on the same side of the hall."

"Thank you, Owens," Khaat motioned Gar to take one mug and she took the other. "Anyway most of the people you see here are trained as aurors who work for my father. I don't honestly remember if I told you about his Paris company or not. Did I?"

"Well, at least old Grindy got something right, eh? You are a pretty big threat to him," Garulia responded, a smile full of respect on his face. "I don't want you in Askaban. I'm sure no one else here, or most anywhere, do either." When Owens brought the drinks, he drained half of his immediately. "Ah, that was good." He wiped his mouth, tugging his pack off and sitting in a chair with it beside him. Reaching into it, he pulled an apple out of his bag of supplies and bit into it. "I don't think you ever mentioned it, wanna explain?" With an aloof sort of grin, he leaned back in his seat, stretching.

"Years ago, my father and his friends noticed a trend among wizarding crimes--that there were families whose children who were simply disappearing, never to be heard from again. When my father and his friends started to work on finding the children, they found a group of evil wizards who were kidnapping wizarding children and then literally auctioning them off to wealthy muggles. The wizards used a number of charms and bound the powers of the children to only do what the muggles who bought them wanted the kids to be able to do. LIke buying a genie in a lamp. So, we found that the organization based itself in Paris and held its auctions there, even though it has tenticles throughout the world. So, we all teamed together and established an organization to either prevent the kidnappings or to get the children back. We're now getting big enough to win more than we lose, but we still havent' been able to defeat them altogether.

"But as the organization grows, it needs a place to train, to learn to fight, to rehabilitate the taken children and see to their wounds, and we're outgrowing Paris. So, Brian and I decided to use this property because it was so seldom used. We bought the land surrounding it and built several other buildings. We kept the Paris office, but the headquarters will be here from now on. You'll find a large barn with a number of horses and magical creatures, a huge barracks with full facilities to tend to the children down in the furnished basement, and a very large office complex with full training facilities. There are paved trails through the woods, and an obstacle course to help train aurors with. And all along the property line are spaced guardtowers. The property is completely unplottable. If you haven't figured it out, you're about as out in the wilderness of the mountains of Colorado as you can get.

"Some of the aurors here work for the American Department of Magic, under Lee Carson. He's the American equivalent to what my father does..or did. But hes a fine man, and he's pledged to keep us safe, no matter what, and no matter how long it takes.

"But until you get the lay of the land here, do take Archangel with you so you can find your way home, okay? If you get out on the grounds and can't find your way back, it might take us awhile to find you.

"Oh, and incidently, they're still serving the breakfast buffet in the large dining room if you're hungry. You're welcome to go eat if you want. The kitchen is a restaurant sized, professional kitchen, and the food is superb."

"Oh!" Garulia said, remembering. "Yeah! I know what you're talking about. I was just a little confused for a minute. Yeah, you guys were training me to help, remember? But then I sort of...lost contact I guess would be the word. I kept up my training, though! You should see what I can do on the climbing walls now!" There was the usual, slightly mad, gleam in his eyes as he remembered his last trip to a climbing wall. "I went to a fair and made a hundred dollars in muggle money! It was awesome."

"Archangel?" Gar asked, confused. "That would be...? Breakfast? After we're done here I'll go eat."

"Good for you," Khaat smiled, pleased with him. "I know Michael is running about this place somewhere. Not sure where but he's here. Don't let him talk you into mountain climbing in the snow. That nonsense is just bloody brutal. But he'll climb in any weather just for the sport of it, if he can find someone who will go with him. There is a part of him, I think, that loves the challenge of a true survival test. But i did warn you he's a bit quirky."

"Who's quirky?" Michael's voice came from behind her. "Well, well," he smiled at Gar. "Glad you made it, Lad. I was wondering if you'd show up over the holidays."

"Good morning, Michael," Khaat laughed.

"Good morning," he kissed her cheek. "You didn't tell me he was coming."

"I can't tell you everything, can I?" she said.

"Well, its a nice surprise anyway. Where's he staying?"

"The room on the other side of yours."

"Oh! Good." he looked back at Gar. "We'll get you a map. It does take a bit to get the hang of the place. The house is ridiculous and the grounds are even bigger. But you're a quick study so it won't take you long to figure it out. Did you thaw out from the porting?"