The Camelot Seven

By J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.

Summary: Part Two of the Britannic Empire series. Join Harry, Wes, Cedric, Charlie, Jean-Luc, Carter, and Hunter as they begin to navigate married life and the myriad events that happen over the summer and during the 1992-93 school year. An adventure in Egypt, an Azkaban escapee, Dementors, and more. It should definitely be an interesting year.

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Chapter One:

Arrival at King's Cross

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It was late evening when the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station in London, finally coming to a stop next to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. A now awake Dylan headed into the prince's bedroom and found Harry, Wes, Carter, and Hunter cuddling—Dylan grinned as the only way he could describe it was to call it a puppy pile—in the prince's bed. Meanwhile, a second bed had been conjured in one corner of the room, where Cedric, Jean-Luc, and Charlie were spooning one another. The blond Frenchman sleeping peacefully between the other two with Cedric in front of him and Charlie behind him.

A pair of arms snaked around Dylan's waist and he turned his head slightly to see Alex behind him. Leaning back into his second husband's embrace, he whispered, "I almost hate to wake them, but obviously we have to."

"Yes," Alex agreed. "Of course, we've got some time before we have to detrain. Thor is in the nursery. Ridley and Alexandria both woke up a minute ago and decided they needed their dinners right now. So that'll take a little time."

Dylan nodded but made no move to step away from Alex, just enjoying being in the other man's arms. He had never planned on taking another husband other than Thorne. He'd never even met anyone else that he'd had those kinds of feelings for. Even when he first met Alex last year, he'd only seen him as his sons' teacher and nothing more. It wasn't until Alex told them he was pregnant after their drunken one-night stand at the Hog's Head that Dylan began looking at Alex differently.

He would always hate that he got drunk and cheated on his husband, but he didn't feel guilty about it any longer. Especially now, with the knowledge that he'd been with Alex and Thorne in his past lives and that it was the Fates who wanted the three of them together in this life… and had ordered Eros to make sure it happened. Now after nearly eleven months of marriage and the addition of their eight-month-old daughter to his family, Dylan simply couldn't picture his life without Alex in it. And thankfully, Thorne had really turned the corner and not only fully forgiven Dylan, but also made an effort to make Alex feel welcome in their marriage bed.

After a minute or two of enjoying Alex's embrace, Dylan whispered, "Well we should get them woken up. You wake those three and I'll get the other four."

Alex nodded, pausing to kiss Dylan's neck before he let go of him and moved over to where Cedric, Jean-Luc, and Charlie were sound asleep, while Dylan moved over to the other four. As Harry was the closest to the side of the bed that Dylan approached, he reached down and gently shook the brunet's shoulder.

After a moment, Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Dylan who whispered, "Time to get up. We've arrived at King's Cross."

Harry nodded and began untangling himself from the other three, which inevitably woke them up, prompting Dylan to tell them the same thing he'd told Harry. They nodded and began to get up, as the older three did the same. After stretching, the Seven each took a turn in the prince's bathroom, not only to use the facilities but to make sure they looked presentable to leave the train and go out in public after their naps. The last thing any of them wanted was the embarrassment of going out among their friends and family with bad cases of bed hair.

Once everyone was presentable they made their way out of the sleeping car and into the lounge car, as the sleeping car didn't have an exit to the outside for security reasons, and thus you had to go through the lounge car in order to get off the train.

Not that any of them were upset by this, as it gave them a few minutes before they had to go out. Deciding to wait until Thorne was finished feeding Ridley and Alexandria also meant that the throng of students on the platform would be thinner, so there were definitely advantages to waiting.

Looking over at the prince, Hunter asked, "So, Wes, on a scale of one to ten, with ten being wrestling Fluffy with both hands tied behind your back, how hard do you think it'll be to convince your family to let you go to Egypt with us?"

"Hmm," Wes said. "Wrestling a Cerberus or asking my mum for permission to go to Egypt? She's already not happy about me getting married in August, let alone our planned weekend getaway to Paris after the weddings and the eighteen-day tour of Europe over winter break… So, I'm not spending Christmas at Sandringham with her and the family and now I'm going to ask to take another vacation this summer? I don't know, honestly, it's a toss-up which one of those scares me more."

"Totally understandable," Carter said before he turned to look at Dylan and asked, "Hunt and I are going, right?"

Dylan smiled. "That depends."

"On what?" Hunter asked.

"On whether Princess Dawn allows Wes to go," Dylan said. "If not, then your father and I have to remain here to guard him, which means no trip for you."

"Well, unless other arrangements can be made for a suitable chaperone," Thorne said, as he came out of the nursery carrying Ridley and Alexandria. "It's not that I don't trust Hermione's parents, but I don't really know them that well. Certainly not well enough that I'm comfortable sending my children off with them for two weeks."

"Who would be a suitable chaperone then?" Carter asked, choosing not to mention the fact that Wes could surely survive without Dylan and Thorne around to guard him for two weeks, seeing as how he had seven other guards assigned to him, plus back at the palace he'd also be under the protection of the magical division of the Coldstream Guard.

"Well, barring Alex, your dad and I," Dylan answered, "then I guess my sister and her husband, your dad's mother and stepfather, or your great-grandmother. Or Alex's father and stepmother would be acceptable if they're willing."

"I don't know what their schedule looks like," Alex said. "I know they usually take a vacation to Spain every summer to visit Isabella's parents, but they have expressed an interest in spending lots of time with Alexandria and getting to know their new step-grandsons better. Of course, they're both a little miffed with me over Alexandria… and Carter, Hunter, and Ridley, for that matter."

"Why?" Thorne asked.

Shaking his head, Alex said, "They were hoping that I'd hold off on making them grandparents until they were both at least fifty. Dad is forty-five and Isabella is forty-two, though, so that wasn't happening."

"Unless you somehow managed to enter the history books for the world's longest pregnancy," Jean-Luc said with a grin.

"Oh please no," Alex said. "Nine months was plenty. There's no way in hell I'd want to be pregnant for over eight years so that my stepmother can hit fifty."

"Anyway, I suppose Felix or Miles would also work in a pinch," Thorne said, referring to his step-brothers: Felix Prince and Miles Scrimgeour.

"What about Jean-Luc and Charlie?" Carter asked. "Aren't they acceptable chaperones?"

"Considering that Charlie is your fiancé and Jean-Luc is Hunter's?" Dylan asked. "No, sorry."

"You've trusted them to keep an eye on us before," Hunter argued.

"That was only for a few hours or a day at the most," Thorne said. Looking over at Jean-Luc and Charlie, he said, "I don't mean to offend either of you, but there's no way in hell I'm sending my underage sons off with their adult fiancés to a foreign country for two weeks."

Dylan nodded. "Yes, once you're married, that'll be different, but until then, no."

"None taken and we totally understand," Charlie said before they all began getting their things in order to detrain.

-o-0-o-

Wes decided to wait until after dinner to approach his parents about joining his friends in Egypt. Normally he'd be at Kensington Palace, where he lived with his parents and brother, but upon leaving King's Cross Station, the family instead went to Buckingham Palace. Both the Queen and Prince Patrick had minor colds in late June which had forced them to postpone what was known as Holyrood Week, which was the week they spent attending to official duties in Scotland at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Both had recovered now, however, and had been cleared for travel by their doctors, so they would be heading up to Scotland for a week in the morning. Patrick and Evangeline both wanted to see Wesley before they left, however, so arrangements were made so that Clayton, Dawn, Wesley, and Holden would have dinner with them at Buckingham Palace and spend the night. The elder royals would then leave the following morning after breakfast for Scotland, while Clayton, Dawn, and the boys would go over to Kensington Palace for the rest of July until the family made the annual trip up to Balmoral in August.

"So, I have some news," Wesley said, unsure how to start this conversation, but figuring that would at least get everyone's attention.

"What is it, dear?" Evangeline asked with a smile.

"A few of my friends, including my fiancés," Wesley began, "are headed to Egypt in a week. They'll be staying for two weeks."

"No," Dawn said, causing the others in the room to look at her confused because as they could see, no question had been asked. Noticing the looks, she added, "I figured I would save time and preempt Wesley's question before he asked it." Turning to Wesley, she said, "No, you may not go to Egypt."

"But Mum…" Wesley began.

Dawn cut him off. "But nothing, Wesley. I said no. You've already got two vacations planned this year… neither of which you consulted me or your father about before you went ahead and booked them, I might add. So consider yourself lucky that I'm even allowing you to go to Paris the weekend after your weddings or the tour around Europe that means I won't be seeing you at Christmas."

"Not to put too fine a point on it, Dawn," Evangeline said, "but you wouldn't have the authority any longer to say that Wesley can't go on either of those trips. He'll be married by then and while it's true he'll still be underage, the moment he's married, his three spouses become his legal next of kin. If none of them were over the age of seventeen, then you'd retain guardianship, despite his marriage, but that isn't the case, as Jean-Luc is well over the age of seventeen. So as soon as they're married, Jean-Luc assumes all guardianship and decision-making authority over Wesley until he reaches his majority."

Wesley nodded, having already known this. Jean-Luc had already promised not to try to parent him and pretty much agreed to let him do what he wanted to do, provided it wasn't life-threatening. Of course, this also meant that once Wesley was crowned King of Albion and Iwernia that Jean-Luc, as King-Consort, would also be Wesley's regent.

"I know," Dawn said, her tone thinly veiling her annoyance not only with her mother-in-law for pointing it out as if she wasn't already aware of it but also with the whole situation. She was still not in favor of her son getting married at thirteen and she never would be. "Until 7 August, however, I am Wesley's guardian and I said no. Period. End of discussion."

"Well, I guess then I'll just have to tell my friends the bad news," Wesley said. "Let them know that I'll have to pass up the once in a lifetime educational opportunity that was presented to us and let them have it without me."

Rolling her eyes, Dawn said, "Oh don't be so dramatic, Wesley. Egypt isn't going anywhere. So it's hardly once in a lifetime."

"I know the country isn't going anywhere," Wesley said. "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" Clayton asked.

"My friend Hermione's grandfather and great-grandparents are accompanying us on the trip," Wesley explained. "I called it a once in a lifetime opportunity because Hermione's great-grandparents are both muggles and in their nineties, so this will very likely be their final trip to Egypt."

"And why would going on the trip with them be educational?" Patrick asked.

"Because they're two of the world's foremost Egyptologists," Wesley answered. "Hermione's great-grandparents are Rick and Evelyn O'Connell. Both are longtime patrons of both the British Museum and the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. Evelyn is a Bembridge scholar and the former head of both museums at different points in her life. She and her husband donated a large amount of money and exhibits to both museums, as did Evelyn's father, the late Howard Carnahan, who found King Tutankhamen's tomb."

"Well, I can see why you'd call it a once in a lifetime opportunity," Evangeline said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find two better guides on a trip to Egypt then the two people who donated at least a third or more of the British Museum's Egypt collection. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Rick O'Connell is an American, I probably would have knighted him."

Evangeline paused here, as she tilted her head to one side and added, "You know, now that I think about it, I seem to recall seeing the name Evelyn O'Connell on a preliminary list of potential candidates to be named a Dame, several years back. For whatever reason, however, her name wasn't on the final list for the honors that year and it hasn't appeared since."

Clayton sighed. "Fine, Wesley, you can go."

"Clayton!" Dawn nearly shrieked.

"I know you want to spend time with him," Clayton said. "This trip happens to coincide with my scheduled trip down to Highgrove for two weeks, so we don't have any joint engagements booked. And any that you might have alone can either be rescheduled or reassigned to somebody else in the family. So just go with him, Dawn, problem solved."

"Well, then, that's settled," Evangeline said, thankful to have avoided another headache. Turning to Wesley, she smiled and said, "Have fun, dear, and send me some postcards."

-o-0-o-

The following Monday morning, after eating her breakfast, Evangeline made her way into her private study at Holyroodhouse for an important meeting. About a month and a half ago, during their weekly meeting, Prime Minister Jameson Maddox told her of his intentions to ask Parliament for a snap election. While he'd said that he wanted a mandate from the people to strengthen his negotiating position for opting out of a provision in the latest European Union treaty that he and his party didn't agree with, Evangeline suspected that there was more to it than that.

When she'd told him a few months earlier about Wesley's upcoming marriages and her desire to see laws passed in the muggle world legalizing same-sex marriage, among other things, she was savvy enough to tell that while he'd been putting up a mostly agreeable front, he didn't agree with her position or desires. Not that she was all that surprised to be honest, as the Conservatives didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to the topic of homosexuality and same-sex relationships.

It hadn't been all that long ago, after all, that Mr. Maddox had been serving in the Cabinet of his predecessor, Mariah Talbot. Evangeline would be lying if she said that some of the things she'd had to give the Royal Assent on during Talbot's tenure as Prime Minister hadn't made her sick to her stomach. Especially since everything the government did was in her name and whether she agreed with it or not, she was bound by precedent and tradition to stay quiet and sign off on it even if she desperately wanted to do the opposite.

One such instance was when Talbot's government passed the Local Government Act 1988 which included Section 28, which made it illegal for any local authority or teacher to promote homosexuality in any way or teach the acceptability of it, referring to it as a pretended family relationship. This resulted in many teachers being afraid to discuss the subject at all, even if one of their students came out to them, for fear that it could cost them their job if it was discovered that they'd told anyone it was okay to be gay.

In hindsight, Evangeline realized that it was probably asking too much to think that the Conservative government under Jameson Maddox would ever pass the laws that she'd mentioned to him. Now, it would seem, however, that she wouldn't have to deal with either Mr. Maddox or the Conservatives, as in the election on Thursday last week—the day before the Hogwarts term ended—the Conservatives had a terrible upset.

Jameson Maddox had become Prime Minister in 1990 due to a Conservative Party challenge vote, in which Mariah Talbot didn't get a majority, forcing a selection vote for the party head, which she lost. He called for a general election in 1992 and the Conservatives won enough seats to confirm Maddox as Prime Minister. Despite the highest popular vote count in UK history, they did, however, lose forty seats from the previous general election, which placed them only ten seats above the required majority to control the government.

Needless to say, Maddox was hoping to not only stop the bleeding but reverse it and win back some of those forty seats that had been lost. Unfortunately for him, that's not the way it worked out and when the votes were tallied it was discovered that the bleeding had not only continued but gotten worse, as the Conservative Party lost a further 139 seats, giving them only 197 seats total… well below the 326 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.

In a rather stunning and much-unexpected turn of events, however, the Labour party also didn't win a majority in the election, getting only 214 seats. The big shock of the night for many, however, was that the Liberal Democrats who a year earlier in 1992 had only managed to pick up 20 seats total blew all expectations out of the water by picking up 196 more seats to give them a total of 216 seats. With no one party achieving a majority, however, it was necessary for a coalition government to form.

Over the weekend, that was precisely what happened and now the Queen was scheduled to meet with Edmund Prewett, the young and charismatic leader of the Liberal Democrats, who after striking a coalition deal with the Labour Party to combine their blocks to form a majority of 430 seats, was coming to up to Scotland to request formal permission from the Queen to form a government and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

This would definitely be a first, as during the course of her reign starting in 1952 there had never been a Prime Minister who wasn't either a Conservative or Labour MP. While the Liberal Democrats were the third-highest party in terms of seats, she'd never really expected to be meeting with their leader for this type of meeting, as she'd thought that they like many of the other minor parties such as the Ulster Unionist Party, Scottish National Party, and Democratic Unionist Party stood about as much chance of sitting a Prime Minister as the popular protest vote Monster Raving Loony Party had of ever sitting a single MP.

Taking a seat in her usual chair in front of the currently unlit fireplace, Evangeline waited for the meeting to begin. She almost wished that she could have a fire burning, as it was pleasant and kind of relaxing to look at, even if it wasn't needed in July. There were spells that would allow the fire to be lit and emit no heat, but due to the Statute of Secrecy, she couldn't have one of the magical guards use such a spell on her fireplace when meeting with a muggle. Or at least, who she assumed to be a muggle… she wasn't sure honestly. Maybe it was just a coincidence that Edmund Prewett had the same name as one of Albion and Iwernia's noble families.

"Well, time will tell, I suppose," Evangeline muttered to herself since after the formal permission to form a government was dealt with, it was part of her job as the monarch to reveal the existence of magic and the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia to each new Prime Minister. Normally it was the previous monarch who told the next one prior to their death about the magical world, but since her father had died unexpectedly while she was in Kenya, then Prime Minister Wallace Chapman had been the one to tell Evangeline about magic after her return to England.

A minute later, there was a knock on her door before her private secretary came in and said, "Mr. Edmund Prewett to see you, Your Majesty."

Nodding, Evangeline stood and said, "Send him in."

A moment later, Edmund Prewett walked into the room and Evangeline got her first good look at him. She'd seen him briefly a few times at various functions but had never really looked at him, as she'd never really expected to be dealing with him on a one-on-one basis. She had certainly never expected him to be her new Prime Minister. Standing about five-ten, with a muscular build, brown hair and eyes, and looking like he was in his late thirties, Evangeline could see why some people would be attracted to him as a leader.

Edmund bowed to Evangeline, before lightly grasping her outstretched hand, which he let go of a moment later when Evangeline motioned with her free hand to the seat across from her own and said, "Please have a seat."

Once they were both seated, Evangeline was quiet for a moment, before she said, "Edmund Prewett, We would like to formally invite you to form a government on Our behalf and to represent both Our and Our people's best interests, both domestically and abroad. Do you accept this invitation?"

"It would be an honor, Your Majesty," Edmund said. Evangeline could tell he was slightly nervous, as he added, "Yes, I accept."

In an attempt to calm him, she smiled, and dropping the royal we, said, "I expect this was as much of a surprise for you as it was for most other people."

Edmund nodded. "Yes, Ma'am, I definitely was not expecting this at this point in my career."

"Well, if there's one thing I've learned in life," Evangeline said, "it is that life can throw many unexpected twists in your path." After a moment's pause, she added, "Now, Mr. Prime Minister, as Queen, it is my duty to inform you of something which you may be inclined to disbelieve. You wouldn't be the first, but I assure you that every word I'm about to say is true."

She waited for Edmund to nod his head, before she said, "Magic is real and existing concurrently with our own United Kingdom is a second magical kingdom, the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia."

Edmund smiled. "I can understand, Ma'am, why many would find that hard to believe. I, however, am not one of those people, because I already knew about magic and the kingdom of which you speak, for I am a former Hogwarts student, although I didn't finish my education at that illustrious institution."

"Well, that certainly makes things easier," Evangeline said. "May I ask why you didn't finish your education at Hogwarts?"

"A series of unfortunate misunderstandings that I would rather not get into as they're of a rather personal nature, led to my being expelled three months into my seventh year. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore interceded on my behalf with the Ministry to arrange it so that I could keep my wand and take my NEWT exams, however, my family wasn't thrilled with the scandal caused by my expulsion and they disowned me."

Evangeline nodded, thinking to herself that it was rather unfortunate, however, it could be worse. "So, do you have any contact with your family?"

"Some, yes," Edmund answered. "I was pretty much persona non grata for many years. I imagine I didn't help my case by deciding to turn my back on the wizarding world—despite getting my NEWTs—and choosing instead to become an accountant here in the mundane world. My family is thankfully not as supremacist as some of the other old pureblood families, but it was still a blow for one of their own to turn their back on them and their world. However, after they turned their backs on me, in my at the time seventeen-year-old head, I thought it was only fair that I return the favor."

After a moment's pause, he continued. "We remained out of touch for many years and only just recently started to open a dialogue due to my daughter Mafalda showing the early signs of magic. She's due to start Hogwarts next year."

Evangeline smiled. "I don't know if you knew, but my grandson Wesley is a wizard and will be starting his third year at Hogwarts in September. His brother Holden has also proven to be a wizard, although due to his late birthday, will be starting a year late and will thus be in the same year as your daughter."

"I was aware of Wesley, Ma'am. Even with my relations with my family still a bit strained, I did hear about the revival of the Pendragon monarchy. I do have a few friends who kept me up to date with what's happening in the magical world. I was not aware of young Prince Holden being a wizard, though."

Nodding, Evangeline said, "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. While it would have been quite impossible to hide Wesley's status as the future King of Albion and Iwernia from the Daily Prophet and other wizarding publications, it hasn't yet been reported that his younger brother is also a wizard. We in the family all agreed to hold off on that announcement until he had actually started school."

"A good idea, Ma'am."

"Well, I must say that I am rather looking forward to your premiership, Mr. Prewett. It will be a refreshing change of pace to be able to discuss issues of a magical nature with the Prime Minister and not feel like they believe me to be a raving lunatic, even if they would never actually come out and say that."

After a moment's pause, Evangeline said, "So, Mr. Prewett, I'd like to know a little bit more about you, if you don't mind. You've mentioned that you were an accountant and that you had a daughter. Do you and your wife have any other children? Or I suppose, since you're a wizard, it might be a husband?"

"I'm a widower, Ma'am, as my late wife, Teresa—a muggle—died giving me Mafalda, so she is my only child. I haven't really had the time for a personal life since, as I've focused solely on my daughter and my career. I was an accountant until 1986 when I decided to run for Parliament and became the MP for Kingston Upon Thames. I was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats two years ago."

"Ah, my condolences on your loss," Evangeline said. They chatted about a few other topics for a few minutes, before she asked, "I must ask, if you're aware of the revival of the Pendragon monarchy, I trust you are also aware of my grandson's upcoming weddings?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I did see the announcements in the Prophet while visiting with friends a few months ago," Edmund said since he couldn't get a copy of the Prophet delivered to his home in the muggle world, as it was illegal to do so under the Statute of Secrecy.

"Well, in that event, I should warn you of an emerging issue that you will have to deal with. If you know of the weddings, then you know that my grandson will be taking three husbands. He is, in fact, gay and from my conversations with him, has every intention of coming out of the closet publically here in the muggle world sometime next year. His first husband, Hunter Wells, has agreed to be his public boyfriend."

"That's a brave decision for him to make. Is he really sure that he wants to face that level of scrutiny into his private life? The press is sure to jump on it."

Evangeline nodded. "His parents and I had similar worries, although he has assured us that he's ready for it. He knows that public opinion in the muggle world might turn against him, but he's hoping that if there's a public face for the people to look to, they'll realize that there isn't anything wrong with being gay. Hunter feels the same way."

"Well, I applaud them for their bravery. They're not Gryffindors by any chance are they?"

"Wesley is, although Hunter is a Slytherin."

"Well, that's an interesting pairing, as those two houses are not known to get along," Edmund said. Shaking his head, he said, "Well, thank you for informing me in advance, Ma'am. If there's anything that I can do within the bounds of my duties, as your Majesty's Prime Minister, please don't hesitate to let me know."

After a moment's pause, he added, "Just so you know, I have absolutely no problem with Wesley, Hunter, or their sexualities. I would be a hypocrite if I did. What with my not dating, I haven't said anything about it publicly, but I am bisexual."

"That is indeed a relief to hear, Mr. Prewett," Evangeline said. "Though I suspect that Section 28 is something that constrains even you…" Shaking her head, she grimaced and said, "It truly is a vile legislative instrument that I dearly wish I'd been in a position to refuse royal assent for, but then none of us is free to do as our heart guides on official business."

"I quite agree, Ma'am, and if it pleases you, I would be more than happy to add a repeal of it to a list of the government's priorities. From my discussions over the weekend with the Labour leader, I don't think he'll have a problem with it, as we pretty much agree on most of the major social issues. There are a few points where we disagree, but not enough that we weren't able to strike a deal."

"It would please me greatly if you could repeal it as signing my name to that vile trash almost made me lose my lunch if I'm being honest. It might also be a good stepping stone towards other legislation which should be passed. I'm sure you can probably guess where I'm going with this, as once Wesley comes out of the closet, the public will know that the next King of the United Kingdom, after Clayton, of course, will be gay and I would view it as most unsatisfactory for the King to be living in sin with their male lover."

"Not to contradict you, Ma'am, but the Daily Prophet did print a part of the Dragon Concordant and unless I misread it, I was under the impression that upon his coronation, Wesley was required to give up his claim on the muggle throne."

Evangeline smiled. "You didn't misread it. However, the Statute of Secrecy prevents the muggle world from knowing that Wesley will never be King. We're still working out exactly how he and Holden might be removed from the succession and why, but we have time for that, as while he may be required by the treaty to give up his claim upon his coronation in the summer of 1995, that doesn't mean it has to be announced to the muggle public at the same time."

Shaking her head, she added, "Anyway, both Wesley and I agree that it would be nice to use this opportunity. If it allows for an opening to improve the lives of our gay and lesbian subjects by removing vile laws and allowing them to wed who they want, then I see nothing wrong in allowing them to believe that they will have a gay king."

"Constitutional and protocol issues of the succession aside, can I just say, Ma'am, that plan would no doubt do Salazar Slytherin himself proud?"

"Yes, I suppose it is rather sneaky," Evangeline admitted. "You don't have a problem with it, do you?"

"No, I have no problems with it. If I ever do start dating again, I certainly wouldn't complain about the ability to possibly get married again one day, regardless of my partner's gender. Although I feel I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the wider Church of England are no doubt going to throw the mother of all hissy fits."

Evangeline sighed. "Yes, I am not looking forward to that meeting or the possibility of my having to pull rank as Supreme Governor of the Church for the first time in my reign." Shaking her head, she added, "However, I'll deal with that when the time comes. For now, though, if you could add the repeal of Section 28 to my government's agenda, I'd be most appreciative."

Edmund nodded, but remained silent as Evangeline continued, "As for the future, while full and equal marriage rights for all should be the ultimate goal, I'll understand if civil partnerships with all the same rights but not the name must be undertaken as a stepping stone to get us to that point."

"Yes, some progress in the right direction is better than none at all," Edmund said, as Evangeline nodded in agreement.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Ch1 of 'The Camelot Seven'. It's a bit shorter than I'd originally planned, but I'm trying to stockpile chapters right now so that I can still do regular updates. For those who haven't already seen it mentioned in some of my other works, my longtime friend and beta reader, Nigel, who also helps me plan and plot my stories, has been dealing with a serious health condition as of late, which without getting into too much detail could cost him his eyesight.

So, my chapters might be a bit shorter for a while as I try to get as many updates finished and stockpiled as possible while I still have his help. Although I have no idea how long that'll be as his eyesight is, unfortunately, getting worse with each passing day. There is a surgery that might help, but he hasn't been scheduled for it yet. If you could keep him in your thoughts and prayers, I'd appreciate it.

Anyway, this story sets things in motion for the Seven to go off on their adventure in Egypt, which will be when The Mummy crossover comes into play, with Rick, Evie, and Alex O'Connell making an appearance.

As for Edmund Prewett, if you didn't catch the references to his being an accountant before joining Parliament and his daughter Mafalda, yes, he's Molly's second cousin. I realize that the character is usually widely believed to be a squib, but that was never actually stated in canon. He's only ever referenced one time by Ron who when Harry asks if his entire family are wizards, he says that his mother has an accountant second cousin that they don't talk about, but he never says that he's a squib.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (JayColin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .

Also, don't forget to check out my Wiki: .com. Those of your reading this story on FFNet, please note that the wiki only covers the AO3 version of this story, which has the real British royal family, instead of the fictional stand-ins (which is due to it being against FFNet's rules for living real people to appear in stories).