"Kati! Up here!" Katrin squinted up at the figure in the window. She had just arrived on the front steps leading up to the main doors of the castle when the voice hailed her from above. One of her brothers was leaning halfway out and waving frantically. "I'm so glad you're here. They're driving me crazy! You have got to help. What took you so long?"

"Hello to you too."

"Yeah, yeah. Get up here already. Quick, before they see you first."

"Oh, I'm doing alright, thanks for asking."

"Kati... Come ON!"

"You know, if you really want me there so quickly, the least you could do is offer to help carry my things."

"Oh, good idea. That way, I'll look busy. I'll be right down." He disappeared inside. Katrin chuckled and shook her head as she walked up the steps. The guards at the doors jumped to attention and saluted, then moved to open the massive wooden doors for her. Before they could, however, the doors swung open to reveal the Queen of the Goblins. "Good morning, Kati," she said with a smile. "How was your journey?"

"Uneventful, as usual," Katrin replied. She set her things down inside the entry and gave her mother a hug. "So, who is driving Andreas crazy?"

Sarah laughed. "Probably your father and I. I think he thinks he has better things to do than help us prepare for receiving a formal delegation. We keep pulling him in different directions as well, which isn't helping. And to top it all off, we've put off explaining all the details until you arrived. It will be less complicated to tell you all at once, rather than separately."

Katrin nodded. "That makes sense to me. When--" She was cut off by the sound of someone pounding down the stairs and calling her name.

"Hey Kati! Where are your things? I'll help you take them to your room. But we have to be quick or else Mother or Father will see us. They're both in ripe moods and they'll--" he stopped short at the sight of his mother standing next to his older sister.

"And what, exactly, will we do, Andreas?" Katrin stifled her chuckle at the tone of amusement in their mother's voice that would likely be missed by her brother, as well as the sight of their father coming down the steps behind him.

"Uh... hi Mother. I was just going to help Kati take her things upstairs." He dashed forward and picked up one bag. "So... um... I'll just be going now." Andreas backed up two steps before wheeling around and running straight into his father. "Oof."

"Do be careful, Andreas," Jareth said as he grabbed his son to prevent him from falling backwards. "When you're done helping Katrin, come down to the dining room for luncheon and a family meeting. If you see any of your brothers, tell them to come down as well." He clasped Andreas on the shoulder then walked over to Katrin as Andreas scampered up the stairs. "Hello, Kati. Did you have any problems returning Underground?"

She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "None beyond the usual problem I have of getting all of my things here with me. I know I should not bring so much, but I hate being without my instruments." She reached down and picked up the rest of her things. "I'll just dump these in my room then make sure Andreas is not having any difficulties remembering what he is supposed to do next." Her parents laughed at that. "Unless I need to change clothes for this luncheon?"

Sarah shook her head. "It is just family until tomorrow. Wear whatever you want. And there is no hurry. You just got back, you don't need to be rushing all over the place."

"Yet," Jareth added. Sarah smacked him on the arm and Katrin grinned.

"Okie dokie. See you in a bit." With that, Katrin dashed up the stairs after her brother.

"Okie dokie?" Jareth raised an eyebrow at his daughter's retreating form as he offered an arm to his queen. "She does bring home the strangest terms. Whose idea was it that she spend so much time Aboveground?"

Sarah smiled lovingly at her husband as she took his arm. "Yours."

"Really. What was I thinking?"

She grinned. "I really cannot say."

He gave her a sharp look. "Does something amuse you, Sarah?"

"Only you, Goblin King."

"Really. Perhaps it is time for you to visit an Oubliette."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" He flashed her a devastatingly wicked smile. "And what makes you say that?"

She responded with a wicked smile of her own. "Because, dearest, without me around you would have to deal with the boys and the delegation all on your own while I would get a quiet place for a long nap."

His rich laughter echoed through the foyer as he led her towards a doorway on the left. "That is most cruel of you, but well sallied. Come, my love. Let us away to the dining room, lest our sons get there before us and devour everything in sight."

Bill appeared on the porch of his family's home. He had considered going straight inside, but figured he would probably scare his mother if she were in the room. It was early in the evening; the sun was low in the sky though it hadn't quite begun to set yet. I had almost forgotten about the whole time zone difference thing. He went inside to the family room then wandered over to the perch by the fireplace and set the owl on it. "You hang out there for a bit. I'm going to see if anyone is home and say hello, then I'll write a note to Charlie and send you off to him before I leave for Gringotts. That should give you more time before you go to sleep, if you want. I'll tell him to give you a day off or something since you've been travelling so much lately. How does that sound?" The owl fluffed its feathers and blinked at him, so Bill scratched it on the head and went in search of his family. He moved into the dining room to find his father sitting at the table drinking tea and reading The Daily Prophet. Bill sat down next to him. "Hi, Dad."

Arthur Weasley jumped at the sound of his eldest son's voice and spilled his tea. "Bill! What are you doing back so soon? Those goblins didn't find you, did they?" he asked as he mopped up his tea.

"Not exactly. I guess after they talked to you and Mum, they hunted down Charlie and tried to get information from him. Don't worry; they didn't do anything to him. Even if they were planning to, I would think that even Goblins would be hard pressed to try anything what with all those dragons hanging about. He sent me an owl on their behalf. There's some meeting tonight at half nine that they want me to attend. I'm not entirely sure why; I'm not anyone important within the bank."

"Well, I'm sure you're one of their best Curse Breakers."

Bill laughed and shook his head. "Oh, come off it, Dad. You're supposed to say that because you're family."

"Alright, alright, suit yourself. But you didn't come out of Hogwarts top of the class for nothing." He picked the teapot up off the table. "Tea?"

"Please."

Arthur picked up his wand from where it lay on the table. "Accio, teacup!" A spare teacup came flying out of the china cabinet and over Bill's shoulder into his father's hand. He poured them some tea and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"So where is everyone?" Bill asked.

"Your mother is out in the garden with Ginny. Fred, George, and Ron mentioned something about practicing Quidditch in the grove. Percy is upstairs doing... well, whatever it is Percy does these days. I do worry about him sometimes. He's been taking everything that is going on at the Ministry a bit hard. I believe he has been a bit disillusioned."

"I can imagine. What is the status these days?"

"Same as before, really. Everyone is tiptoeing around everyone else but pretending nothing is wrong. I'm doing more weeding out allies to our side than anything else. I managed to get out in time for dinner tonight, which is something of a wonder. Speaking of which, have you eaten?"

"No, but I'm not hungry. I don't have much of an appetite at the moment. I'm more concerned with what is going to happen tonight than anything else."

"Any idea what it is about?"

"No, all I know is that it is 'highly confidential'. But I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with You-Know-Who. I couldn't say for sure, though."

"Hm... You probably shouldn't leave again without telling your mother that you're here. Although, she may fret so much over you that you will end up being late. She's always worrying about something. When that 'representative' from Gringotts showed up, it had her quite concerned." He shook his head.

Bill leaned back in his chair. "I believe it. I'm going to write a quick note to Charlie to let him know I got here, and then I want to get washed up and change clothes before I head out. It shouldn't take too long, so I'll go talk to her when I'm done. Would you mind giving her fair warning for me?"

"Not at all."

"Brilliant." Bill drank the last of his tea and got up. When he got to the doorway, he turned around. "Hey, Dad... There's actually something I want to talk to you about later. I don't want you to have to wait up tonight, but do you think we could sit down for a chat when I get back, or if it is too late tonight then tomorrow when you get off work?"

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

Bill shook his head. "No, not particularly. It's just... well, it's complicated."

"Complicated. Never a good sign." Arthur chuckled. "Just come find me when you get back. If she asks, I'll tell your mother I want to hear all about the American Muggles."

Bill laughed. "You probably want to hear all about them anyway, Dad. I'll talk to you later." He disappeared through the door.

Arthur listened to him run up the stairs then finished the rest of his tea before getting up as well. "I suppose I had best go announce your presence to the rest of the house," he told the ceiling as he left the room. "Complicated... I wonder..."