There was a pause in the conversation at the Three Broomsticks as Ren's mug broke in his hand. "Sorry about that," He apologized as Minerva repairo'd the cup. "But you mean to tell me that Mr. Potter's parents were betrayed by their best friend?"
The Minister of Magic at one of the other seats nodded severely. "Indeed. It is an unfortunate thing."
Ren, still recovering from yesterday's mourning, ran a hand through his hair to try to ground himself. "How did they find out?" He asked out loud to the table, anything to get the corrupt Minister to stop talking. Why was the Minister even here, anyway?
Flitwick spoke up. "They found him in the middle of a muggle street, with thirteen dead muggles, and the only thing remaining of Peter Pettigrew was one of his fingers. He was laughing."
Ren waited a moment. "Was... was there anything else? How did his trial go?"
There was silence all around.
"Well, I must be off." Fudge declared for making a hasty exit. As he incredulously watched the Minister obviously walk away from the conversation, he saw his student, along with the youngest, Mr. Weasely. Strangely, there were an extra pair of shoes under their table that occasionally appeared and disappeared.
The conversation at his own table was still silent. "Was there not a trial?"
Minerva was the first to speak up. "I don't believe there was."
Ren scoffed. "Of course there wasn't. In a world where people can vanish and reappear at will, turn themselves into animals, or create a truth serum, let's just take the only person there and throw him into a prison with soul suckers! He could have been innocent!" Ren felt his whole body broiling with rage. "But if he was, he's probably not sane anymore! I have read up on Dementors. Any sane person would be lucky to last five minutes with them, let alone TWELVE YEARS!" The Wild Card stood up abruptly, leaving far too many Galleons to pay for just his own butterbeer.
Ren started making his way out of the pub, passing his student's table mumbling about "shitty effin' adults."
Christmas Morning was a strange time for Ren, as when he returned from his late-night patrol, he found a small stack of presents on his table, all carefully wrapped. There were nine presents, all with a letter. The first one he opened happened to be from, surprisingly, the Matriarch of the Weasley Family.
To Ren Amamiya,
My children have informed me that you were introduced to this school to help protect young Harry from Sirius Black. Harry doesn't really have a family that cares for him, so in a way, Arthur (my husband) and I try to make Harry feel like one of our own. And our youngest Ginerva (though if you've met her, she probably told you to call her Ginny) let it slip that the Daily Prophet wasn't lying about you saving his life.
So, as you probably miss your family during this winter season, I whipped you up some traditional meat pies! They are placed under a preserving charm, so they are still freshly baked. The spell will fade once you open the basket up, however, so I recommend you only open it when you're hungry!
I hope that you have a safe rest of the school year and have a wonderful holiday.
Sincerely,
Molly Weasely.
Ren felt incredibly touched by this gift and decided to carefully move the basket to a table to eat after he's slept. Apprehensively, he picked up another present.
Groundskeeper Amamiya,
In regards to your assistance with saving my life, allow me to bestow upon you a gift. This is an Antique, passed down from my mother's family. It is a gauntlet that is Runed to gently squeeze upon the wearer should its magic sense hostility towards the wearer. Hopefully, this will prevent any unpleasant surprises you may receive while patrolling the grounds.
Regards,
Draco Malfoy,
Heir to House Malfoy.
Ren picked up the Gauntlet, which automatically closed and shifted colors to match his coat when put on his right arm. He willed his weapons into his hands and rested his left arm on the bracer, keeping the gun steady. Ren grinned in satisfaction before willing the knife and gun away and picking up the next present.
Groundskeeper Amamiya,
Thank you for the words you spoke to me those months ago. You have opened my eyes to things I have let go unseen. In return, this is an enchanted amulet that will warn you about any common poisons that may be near your person.
Also, because the fact that it happened disgusts me to my core, my sources tell me that the Ravenclaw Student who dosed you is Penelope Clearwater.
Regards
Daphne Greengrass,
Heiress to House Greengrass.
The amulet in question was a beautiful silver, with Pink Zircon as the centerpiece. Once all this was said and done, this would be a fantastic gift for Haru. Being an Owner of Okumura Foods now means that she'll have some unpleasant company eventually, and better to be safe than sorry. The elegance of the amulet just screamed Haru to him. He also filed away the info of who poisoned him, as Christmas wasn't a day to ruin someone's life. Ren also tried to ignore the hypocrisy of his thought and how he destroyed the Thieve's Christmas last year.
He picked up a larger gift this time and read the letter it came with.
Wotcher Ren,
I'm sure with all the Patrolling you do, you sleep at odd times of the day, right? This here is a pillow that's charmed to not get too hot or too cold. Pretty nifty, ain't it? It helped me loads when I was an Auror-in-training, so I figured you could use one too!
Merry Christmas!
Tonks
For some reason, Ren almost started tearing up at this gift and swore that it would definitely get some use soon.
He picked up the next gift.
Ren,
One of the things most people tend to forget about is getting a good night's sleep. Once you're ready to sleep, simply say night-night. The blanket will do the rest.
Merry Christmas
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
Ren touched the blanket and nearly caved right then and there. It was soft, heavy, and oh so magical.
Somehow, he was able to turn away from the blanket and opened the next letter.
Professor
Mister
Joker
Ren,
Sorry, I'm not sure how you want me to address you. Since you use a knife in the forest, I figured you might want to have this. According to the shop owner, it's a potion that you dip the blade into, and it de-rusts the knife. I think he said you can also use the potion to polish the knife, but I'm not sure.
Seeker.
The Wildcard smiled at the present and made sure to place it away from everything else. Ren wasn't sure what he could do if he got potion everywhere should he spill it.
The following package was tiny, along with the note.
Ren,
This is a Bezoar. Should you swallow it whole, you will cure yourself of every poison except basilisk venom. Use it wisely.
Severus.
With a small smile, Ren slid the antidote into his pocket. There was no better place for it, as this was a gift meant to be used and not kept somewhere.
Only two gifts remained, and he picked the smaller one.
To the upcoming owners of a new cafe,
This book was made in the Room of Requirement, like the skill book that was made for me. It has all of the knowledge in the world about how to plant different kinds of coffee beans and vegetables. The downside is, there are a lot of pages in other languages.
I wish you two the absolute best.
Your Student,
Aether.
Ren was actually sobbing now. It took several minutes for him to stop the flow of tears.
Lastly, he opened up the biggest one, covered in deep blue wrapping.
Trickster,
I am sure you miss your romantic love.
Speak "Noir" into the Mirror.
It works only once a month, and time will slow for her while you speak.
You end the communication with "Until I see you again."
With all my heart,
Lavenza.
Ren's heart nearly stopped. He tore the wrapping off, and true to her word, it was a full-body mirror underneath.
"N-noir!" He called out. There was a pause.
And then she was there. "Joker?"
Haru stood in the mirror, with confusion covering her face. Ren placed a hand on the mirror next to her image.
"Haru..."
Haru, in turn, placed her hand on his, and for a brief moment, he felt her warmth.
"Ren, what's going on? Why are you in your Metaverse outfit?" Ren barely heard her, taking in her face, her beauty again. He only noticed when her smile turned scary. "Ren Amamiya, you will tell me what's going on right this second, won't you?"
Even though he knew he was safe in this other dimension, Ren felt a shiver go down his spine. "Uh, yes, sorry, Haru."
Haru's expression lost its scariness and was replaced with genuine warmth.
"So, why are you in my mirror?"
"Alright, it's kind of a long story..."
Haru pressed a hand into her temple as if to soothe a headache. "Let me get this straight. Number one: the world might end in four days. Number two: that all depends on whether you can return to this dimension. Number two and a half: number two is dependent on if you can train up a Wildcard like you. Number three: The dimension you are in is bound by a different time, so while you've been asleep for the past six hours in my time, it's actually been six months for you because it's Christmas day where you are. Number four: You're teaching this WildCard in a magical school. Number five: Someone tried to poison you with a love potion." Haru grit her teeth before sighing. "Number six: The Dimension you're currently in is in the year 1993, where one wrong move would prevent us from ever existing in that universe. Number seven: You can only talk to me once a month through a mirror that Lavenza gave you, where until you hang up on your end, time is stopped for me. Number eight: Right now, there is a 'potential' serial murder on the loose looking for your student's best friend. Number nine: You decided to go on this world quest without telling me. Number ten: You went on this world-saving quest without me." The Empress's tone was as cold as a concentrated Ice-Boosted, Ice-amped Diamond Dust.
"To be fair-" Ren started before getting cut off.
"Don't even start." The Wild Card gulped. "I am upset with you. You will contact Igor, and you will get me over there, if not by today, then by tomorrow. Am I understood?" Ren nodded, causing Haru to glare at him. "I said, am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." Any traces of anger vanished from her face.
"Good. Who knows what wrong impressions you've been giving that student of yours?" She pulled one of the stools she had in her room over before getting comfortable. "Now, tell me all about this Hermione Granger."
Unbeknownst to Ren, the entire time he showed Haru pictures of Hermione that he had taken from the past month, he had a giddy smile on his face. Haru rested her cheek on her hand and watched her love gush over his student's progress.
Joker's Journal
Aether obtained Pixie the other day. It seemed Pixie remembers me, or at least our time together, as Aether's Pixie didn't start with just Zio and Dia like mine did. Speaking of here's Aether's and Pixie's stats
Aether
Level 7
HP 109/109
SP 54/54
Initial Persona: Hypatia
Current Persona: Pixie
Pixie
Persona Level 8
St 3
Ma 8
En 5
Ag 9
Lu 6
Skills:
Zio 4 Sp
Dia 3 Sp
Patra 4 Sp
Tarukaja 8 Sp
Resist Confuse Passive
We are exceedingly lucky that Pixie is only a single level higher than Aether; otherwise, Pixie would show through more and more in her Personality.
If we don't find a Palace soon, Aether may just lose herself to the Personas she's bound to find.
I got to speak to Noir again. Even though for her, it's only been a few days since our Sunday phone calls, it's been almost half a year for me. I've missed her voice—and she's such a sight for sore eyes. Next month I'll have to take Aether with me so she can speak to her.
Once I wake up, I'm going to whip up some Curry for everyone for Christmas Dinner. I'll have to ask Albus how to send some to Mrs. Weasley, but that can wait until later. Right now, I'm gonna try out Tonks' and Albus's presents. Bed, here I come!