Chapter 214

At just after 5.00am, normal time, Lord Franklin 'Frank' Longbottom and Lady Alice Longbottom walked out of the time dilation chamber back into the normal world. As expected, they were greeted by Sirius. He was grinning his head off at the two of them.

Both grinned back in pleasure.

As soon as they were both out he embraced the pair of them in a 'group hug'.

"Merlin; but, you two are a sight for sore eyes!" he declared.

The change in the two of them since he saw both was quite startling. Gone, was the frail, elderly-appearing state he last saw of them. Both now appeared on a par with him.

There were still strong hints of the ravages of their time while 'ill'. But, for the most part, it was only a trace; and mainly showed as a somewhat haunted look in their eyes. If anything, they appeared even more healthy than he did himself.

Frank stood at about five foot eleven and roughly on par with Sirius. Due to the training inside the chamber he was quite fit and had what was known as a runner's physique. His hair, which was balding, thin and cropped right back when he went in, was now back to full and healthy, had a healthy shine and was down almost to his shoulders.

Alice, stood proud in her five foot three (and one-quarter inches! Never forget that!) frame. Her hair was oddly streaked blonde and grey; the blonde from before the curse, to the grey from afterwards. She, too, appeared quite fit and toned.

Looking them both over, Sirius asked, "How, in Merlin's name, did you two gain a suntan while in there?"

"Sunlamps," said Frank. "It's supposed to be a muggle concept. You lie on this muggle bed thing for half an hour―"

"Frank," Alice firmly said, cutting him off. "There will be time to discuss everything we went through in there, later."

Eyes twinkling while grinning at Sirius, Frank said, "I felt like a roast being cooked in an oven on a low heat."

Herself looking to Sirius, Alice asked, "Harry's last letter to us arrived four days ago. What's happened since then?"

"Alice, he sent it in only ten hours ago," smiled Sirius. "For the last six, at least, everyone's been sleeping.

"However..." he grinned at them both and pulled from his pocket two wands.

In shocked glee both accepted them. Both immediately felt the warmth as the wands re-bonded with them.

"How?" asked Alice.

"Harry had his house elf sneak into Longbottom Hall about an hour ago and recover them for you," he explained. "Two fakes have been left in their place."

"Time for you to go, wizards," a goblin suddenly said. "Time is money and you're wasting mine." He was offering them a portkey.

Sirius gave a nod back, accepted the portkey and turned back to the Longbottoms. "Right. Take hold."

As they did so, he turned to the medi-staff that had gone into the time dilation with the Longbottoms and gratefully said, "Thank you."

As they nodded and smiled back, with the Longbottoms also holding the portkey, he was about to activate it when the goblin barked, "Activate!"

And they were gone in a flash of goblin portkey magic.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

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In the Tonkses' home, Ted was sitting in his favourite chair while trying to go through his pocket-sized carded prompt notes for the trial, later that morning. They were a matched pair with Harry's.

He had one of the lounge curtains open to watch for the tell-take flash of the goblin portkey, which would arrive just outside the front gate only a hundred feet away.

He wasn't looking out the window when it happened, but the flash of light caught his eye and he immediately looked out.

Seeing the three start to walk up the front path to the front door, he was quickly slipping the cards into the inside breast pocket of his robes as he shot out of his chair to stride quietly to the front door.

Only he and Andi were home, at the time, but he still didn't want her to wake, fearful of any unusual noises coming from the main part of the house.

By the time he opened the front door the three were just walking up the front steps onto the porch.

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