Note: As much as I wish I owned Harry Potter and all of JK Rowling's creations, I don't, so there's your half-arsed disclaimer.
Chapter 5: United Snakes
He could've cried then and there. The first amazing present his parents got him. The best broom on the market, there was nothing that could out-run it. He didn't care that it was the same as his brother's broom.
He ran to his parents and gave them the most heartfelt hug possible, before he immediately ran outside, mounted his broom, and shot up into the sky like a missile, with his parents running out after him to watch him enjoying his new possession, with the only occupants of the house to follow being Molly, Arthur and the twins.
He could immediately feel the difference between his old broom and his new one. The responsiveness, the level of control, the speed, he couldn't believe that it could've gotten much better than his old Cleansweep.
But above all, he was overjoyed to finally see his parents caring about him as much as Charlie. He also noted that Charlie also got only one present from Lily and James, which was a family heirloom, a wristwatch with intricately carved patterns, which he wore with pride. It was only one present, like Harry's, but it was priceless.
He knew his parents were trying to make up for lost time, and while he knew it would be quite some time before it truly added up, he was so appreciative anyways. There was just something about the attention his parents were giving him that was so genuine, he couldn't describe it.
But the look on Charlie's face when Harry pulled the Nimbus out of the box was absolutely priceless. He could've etched it into the handle it was so perfect. Him, Ronald and surprisingly, Ginevra wore faces of fury.
This was not lost on Lily and James. As the rest of the Weasleys headed inside, they took the opportunity to speak to them semi-privately.
"You both don't need to thank us for what you got this Christmas," began Lily. "But we do need to sit you both down and get a point across to you both."
"We've seen how you both have been acting to each other, we know how you both are, but now it's about time you both stopped being hostile to the other," James continued. "You're twins, for Merlin's sake, it doesn't matter if you're in the polar opposite houses, you both need to learn to get on or at least not act like you're the other's worst enemy."
"But Dad, he always goes after me first," complained Charlie, trying to sell it to his parents that he was the innocent party.
"Charlus Sirius Potter," warned Lily sternly. "I know that you're the one instigating most of the hostility towards Harry. Ourselves, and then Molly and Arthur have been watching you over the past few days, we've all noticed how Harry does his own thing almost all of them time."
"But Mum-" Charlie started to speak again.
"You are not allowed to speak until you get inside," spoke James, calm but cold. "If you aren't going to be nice to your brother, then don't interact with him. It's going to come back to bite you in future if you don't treat him as a brother."
"It would also be great if you could stop shooting spells at me and my friends every time you look at me," added Harry.
"You are also not allowed speak until we get inside," said Lily, as sternly as she did with Charlie, but at the same time, internally she knew he had a point.
"So, you both need to think upon that," James went on again. "Being friends may help you out in more situations than you think."
All Charlie could do was huff and look angry while internally his mind was in overdrive. Should he trust Harry only for him and his snakes to go behind his back? Should he stop using his brother as target practice? Should he be nice to Harry?
No was the immediate answer to all of it, as he couldn't bare the idea of even thinking about his brother in a positive light, since it could be, and already has been, a stain on his relatively clean Gryffindor reputation, but he had to think about it for the sake of his parents.
"Will you please just get along?" Lily pleaded. "And your friends as well. I'm not saying they all must be friends, but they don't have to hold hostilities."
"Alright," was Harry's off-handed reply. He could promise that he'd hold little hostilities against his brother, but that would change if Charlie came at him for whatever reason.
Charlie grunted a response. "What was that Charlie?" encouraged Lily.
"Fine," he said begrudgingly.
"Good, then inside with you both," she dismissed them. "I expect Molly and Arthur will have finished up speaking to everyone about what we just discussed."
Internally Harry groaned, but he knew it meant that his time left at the house would be at least a small bit more pleasant than before, which he welcomed, since he'd have to spend all the way up to dinner that night in the Burrow.
Dinner was as raucous an affair as one could imagine in the Weasley household. Christmas crackers, turkey and vegetables, demonstrations of magic from the patriarchs, there wasn't a dull moment throughout dinner. What surprised Harry the most however was how quickly the Weasley siblings changed as regards their attitude towards Harry. There were of course still hostilities, he was a Slytherin after all, but they didn't openly fire spells at him anymore. Both sets of parents saw this, as surprised as Harry was to see how quickly their children listened to them, even if it was the bare minimum.
Dinner ended with a small Christmas-themed fireworks display for the residents of Ottery St. Catchpole. The only wizarding families Harry could recognise were the Lovegoods and the Petersons, the former he knew because of his run-ins with their daughter while at the Burrow, as she hung around with Ginevra whenever he was over, and the latter was an Auror and a good friend of his father's, they'd often been around to the Manor for dinner, alongside their own children, Oscar and Olivia, who he didn't really get along with since they were a few years older than him.
He did remember a prank that he pulled on them when he was nine years old that left them covered in soot and chicken feathers that the entire household blamed Charlie for, which ended up strengthening the bonds between the two sets of parents, but not so much the children.
It was a noisy occasion, fireworks of Santa and the mythical reindeer, snowmen dancing and throwing snowballs at each other, Flockos flying around with snowflakes trailing behind them, they themselves looking like oversized spiked snowflakes with faces on them, gingerbread men and figurines of elves and nutcrackers dancing around as the snow continued to freely fall onto the bitter iciness of the ground.
It was an unbelievably magical sight in the pitch black of the night sky, as the fireworks and streetlamps lit up the surrounding area, with the Flockos emitting enough light to provide the village with an unmistakable, cyan-coloured light.
But it was as if the minute it started, it was over.
Harry could hear his parents and Arthur discussing staying another night, as Molly was doing her best to keep the gaggle of children from wandering too far as they walked back to the Burrow. Harry hung back slightly to hear the incoming conversation.
"…and I mean, you both know we always love having your company here," he heard Arthur say.
"If we stay, Charlie may end up wanting to stay another night, which we can't exactly do, as we accepted an invitation to dinner with the Greengrass and Davis household tomorrow night," James explained.
"So that's why they approached you lot about on the platform," said Arthur.
"Well, that and because Harry had found them before he found us," corrected James.
"So, Harry being friends with Slytherins, never thought you'd see the day, did ye?" chirped Arthur. "And not just any Slytherins either, the Greengrass and Davis families."
He was still fully convinced that they were as steadfast in their pureblood beliefs as other, darker Slytherin families. However, Lily laughed.
"Them? No chance," she quipped. Arthur looked shocked.
"They're neutrals. They like the lifestyle of being a Slytherin family but have no desire to follow the Dark Lord or his beliefs," James explained. "I don't know if you were with us when we saw them at last year's World Cup, but they ended up getting a bit tipsy and seemed to show their true side when they went to that pub afterwards and started joining in with the festivities."
Harry chose his moment to enter the conversation carefully.
"They also want to learn about the muggle world, but can't fit in enough to be able to," Harry added.
"Harry!" Arthur exclaimed. "You gave me a fright there, I'm surprised you aren't with the others."
Harry simply gave him a look that said, "Really?" and he could hear his parents' chuckles as Arthur's face went from flustered to realisation, then back to embarrassment.
"Tell us about your two friends anyways, they seem like great friends," Lily said, now realising how little Harry talked about himself.
"They're both as moody and grumpy as I am," he paused, giving them time to laugh at his antics, before continuing. "But when they're not grumpy they're great fun, they're both great at Quidditch and are both very smart."
"And they're both girls," James sneered.
"And?" said Harry, completely unabashed. Shocked, James turned to Lily with a look of confusion on his face.
"We'll have to give him the talk soon," she whispered to him as Harry and Arthur shared a few words.
"…because we've been to muggle shopping centres and even some West Ham football matches, so we know how to fit in," Harry was explaining to Arthur. "Dad, you should take Arthur to a football match some time, I reckon he'd love it."
"I mean, you are the walking embodiment of 'I want to be a muggle, but I don't know how,' so we'll go to a few once the kids are back at Hogwarts," replied James, eliciting a glare from Harry. They all laughed once again as they caught up with Molly.
"What will we do about Charlie tomorrow evening?" a worried Lily asked James.
"Worst case scenario he can come with us, but if he doesn't want to, he can stay at the Burrow again, but we'll have to ask both him and Molly and Arthur first," answered James, calming Lily for the moment.
"We can't exactly burden them with so much, we've already spent Christmas Day there," Lily added.
"We'll see what happens, alright?" he comforted her.
That seemed to placate her, as she fell silent, watching how Harry was standing a couple of feet away from the rest of the group, knowing that he'd be looking forward to Boxing Day in earnest.
It was a much-needed peaceful night for Harry since he'd been given, rather forcefully, the title of household guest, instead of the previous moniker of household snake. He didn't care, he was just happy that he didn't have spells pelting at him from all directions.
But at that very moment in time, he was nervously waiting in his room, donning dress robes that exuded I-want-to-act-like-an-upstanding-member-of-wizarding-society-but-cannot-be-arsed-to-do-such-a-thing energy. Charlie was staying another night at the Weasleys', much to the delight of Harry, so even though he was riding on that high, he was still quite a bit nervous.
He'd made his parents take him to the nearest muggle shopping centre to get Daphne and Tracey Christmas presents. Lily had helped him out, as he had absolutely no idea what to buy either of them, but she suggested some muggle clothing. He knew they would appreciate the gesture, as he'd heard them talking about trying to buy some for themselves over the Christmas break before they went back to Hogwarts.
It was the Greengrass residence at which they would be dining on Boxing Day, so they knew they'd have to be formal, obviously up until the adults have had a few drinks, but they weren't too sure if the night would end up that way.
"Nervous, Harry?" asked his mother, snapping him out of his thoughts as she entered his room to signal their time to leave was imminent.
"Sort of, but then again this is my friend we're talking about," he replied. "When I met their parents on the platform, they seemed lovely, so I don't feel stressed at all."
"Speak for yourself," she laughed. "Myself and your father are very nervous, this is the first time we've had to interact with a Slytherin family in a long time, mind you the last time we did was when we met the Malfoys in Diagon Alley, and Charlie nearly swung for young Malfoy before we could intervene." She recalled the memory with a laugh.
"But have you ever sat down to have dinner with a Slytherin family? Well not one, but two of them actually," he added.
"The old Order of The Phoenix surprisingly had a small number of Slytherin members, but they didn't really count since they either aren't interested in politics or aren't high ranking in the Ministry," said James, as he also entered the room.
Harry mocked vomiting. "Politics," he spat.
"You'll know all about it someday," joked James. "Anyways, it's time to get moving."
And they did. It would be the Floo network that they would be using to get to the Greengrass household. Thank God for their spotless fire, or they'd be covered in soot once they arrived.
6pm was their designated time slot for the Floo, and they stepped on through, one by one, to the Greengrass Manor. If the inside was any indicator, it was probably around the same size as Potter Manor, but the interior screamed a rich, influential, and powerful dynasty, which was the Greengrass household in a way, except they used it wisely.
They were already in the Greengrass's living room, whose size could be compared to that of a mansion hallway. It wasn't as dark as the Slytherin common room was, but it had green this and silver that, the primary colours of their family crest.
The three Potters stood face to face with the eight other occupants of the house, a moment of silence between them, before Daphne and Tracey saw Harry, squealed, and ran over to hug their other best friend.
"Calm down you two, don't suffocate the poor lad," the Greengrass patriarch said.
"He's our best friend, leave us alone," Daphne said to her father, sticking her tongue out at him, while they all chuckled at their shenanigans.
They dragged Harry from the living room, bringing him to a room that was more akin to a playroom, but it was clearly kitted out to accommodate not just the children, but the adults as well. They had left their parents to have their own conversations and greetings before they sat down to eat dinner. Astoria and Alastair joined them, not wanting to be left with their parents.
"Oi, he's not some sort of beast, you know he can be friendly," laughed Tracey, as both younger siblings kept to their side of the room.
"What do you mean I can be friendly?" he said, outraged, but the corners of his mouth betrayed him while they both laughed.
"Is he a big friendly giant?" asked Alastair, causing both girls to almost fall on the floor laughing.
"Haha! Even he knows I'm so much taller than both of you," declared Harry. "Even Astoria is catching up to you, Tracey."
Alastair and Astoria were reduced to tears of laughter, as they watched Harry take the piss out of their older sisters, who had previously thought they were both untouchables.
"So how were your Christmases?" he asked them all.
"In all honesty, the highlight for me was watching my parents deny the Malfoys' invitation to dinner at theirs on Christmas Day," said Daphne.
"Ugh, I'm so happy they didn't ask us, I don't want to ever be in that depressive haunted house ever again," sighed Tracey.
"Why, is his house bad?" asked Harry, intrigued.
"Horrible, much darker than this," answered Daphne, repulsed. "Like alright, my parents have been trying to make this Manor less like a dungeon and more like what I think your Manor is like, since my grandparents were more into blending in with the Slytherin families than us, but imagine our living room, get rid of the windows, add the Malfoy crest everywhere and think of candles everywhere instead of the lanterns and torches we have."
"Sounds incredibly pleasant," said Harry, laced in sarcasm.
"Oh, it is, trust me," Tracey laughed. "It's also worse when you're a girl in that household because Draco will try and flirt with you."
"Pathetic," chuckled Harry.
"Instead of gracing the Malfoys with our presence, I went to my grandparents," Daphne continued. "Found a few old books on ancient magic things, like Ancient Runes, constellation and zodiac magic, and some dark magic books."
"You should have nicked them while you could," Tracey complained.
"My parents didn't want me to, even though I begged them," sighed Daphne.
"Maybe next time, sounds very interesting," said Harry. "Also, I have Christmas presents for both of you."
"Oh good, so do we," Daphne said.
Daphne got him a Slytherin necklace, an emerald as the gemstone which coincidentally matched his eye colour, and Tracey got him a top-quality broom service kit, while Harry gave them both muggle jeans, tops, and hoodies, as per his mother's recommendations.
"Now you can both actually go to a shopping centre without looking very questionable," Harry joked, putting the necklace on his neck proudly.
He hugged them both. "Thank you so much, the both of you," he thanked them, trying to hide his emotions, but they heard the strain in his voice.
"You're welcome, and thank you as well, this mustn't have been cheap," Daphne replied, as he pulled away from them both.
"I love muggles' fashion sense already," giggled Tracey.
"I've barely ever worn any sort of wizard clothing, it looks uncomfortable," said Harry. "These robes are the first remotely-magical-looking clothes in a long time."
"And your Hogwarts robes aren't?" jabbed Alastair.
"Oh, hush you," he said, as everyone else laughed.
"Actually, are you finally going to tell me the secret you've been keeping from me?" asked Harry. "Y'know, the one you said you'd tell me around Christmas time?"
Daphne and Tracey quickly looked at each other, before giving each other a quick nod.
"Since it's our house, I'll ask you the question," said Daphne, nervousness clear on her face. "Would you like to come on holidays to France with us? Our families usually go to one of our holiday homes over the summer holidays, and this summer, we're going to our holiday Manor in Nice, so we would love it if you came with us."
Harry looked at them as if next Christmas came early. "You're both being serious, aren't you?" he asked, as they both nodded at him.
"Does the Pope wear a funny hat? Yes, I want to come with you both," he exclaimed. He couldn't believe he had the chance to go on holidays with his best friends that didn't involve Charlie in the slightest.
"Don't mention it to your parents yet, because my father wants to ask them himself if they'll give you the permission to go," cautioned Daphne. "It was Tracey's idea to have you come with us, but since it's our place we're going to this summer, and not Tracey's, he's gonna be the one to ask."
"Wait, so Tracey, do you have a holiday home as well?" Harry asked.
"We do, it's in Tenerife," she explained. "Costa Adeje is the town it's in."
"Wait, I've been there a few times before, it's so nice," recalled Harry.
"Our house is smaller than Daphne's, but it's right next to the beach, some really nice restaurants and a five-star hotel," explained Tracey proudly.
"Wait, is it the big villa on the top of the cliff and it's painted like, completely white?" Harry asked, remembering there being a villa next to the beach and the ultra luxurious hotel that his parents pointed out to them.
"That's the one, it's such a good spot," she confirmed. He was already thinking of asking them if he could go with them to Tracey's villa the summer after this coming one.
"Our house in Nice is in a quiet spot, there's a magical community there that my parents have friends in, we basically have the beach on our doorstep, but we have a pool as well if we aren't bothered walking," Daphne explained.
"I already can't wait," said Harry excitedly. "I'm due a good tan."
"Hah, that makes two of us," laughed Tracey, pointedly sneering at Daphne. "Because this girl here is so pale that she can't tan at all."
The blonde in question glared at Tracey, who laughed harder.
"The real question is can you both swim?" he asked.
"Alastair is like a fish, I'm not even joking either," Tracey said. "And the rest of us aren't bad, but we can't keep up with him."
"Then Alastair, I challenge you to a race at some point," declared Harry, presenting his hand to Alastair.
"We can do it in France," he suggested, excited that he may have just met someone who could swim as good as he could.
"Sounds like a plan," said Harry as they shook hands on it.
"Boys," said Daphne as she and Tracey rolled their eyes at their antics.
"What do you say we dunk them the first time we get to the beach?" he said to Alastair, just loud enough so that the victims of the plan heard it.
"Oi, we can hear you," admonished Tracey.
Harry looked at Alastair for a split second before they both rolled their eyes and said "Girls."
Harry had a two second head-start as Daphne and Tracey started chasing him and Alastair around the room, the latter pair laughing hysterically.
"Don't mind those two, they love protecting their pride," joked Astoria as they settled back down.
They chuckled again as Micheál Greengrass himself opened the door of the room to call them all to dinner.
As they watched Harry get himself dragged from the room by Daphne and Tracey, they were left alone with Lord and Lady Greengrass and Davis.
"Those two have been glued to each other's hips since the dawn of time, I'm surprised they've become such close friends with young Harry," chuckled Celine.
"Find yourselves a seat, I believe we have some important business to discuss," declared Micheál, as Lily and James were momentarily snapped out of their nervous demeanour.
They took their seats on the couch to the right of the blazing hearth, as the adjacent couch was taken up by the hosts.
"First off, I expect you've both been a smidgen on edge since you arrived here, and it's certainly nothing to blame yourselves about, the relationships between Slytherin families and, well, just about everyone else, it isn't exactly the cleanest record, is it?" Micheál started.
"Definitely not, that's for certain," Lily agreed.
"I will admit, the idea of having such a pro-Gryffindor family for dinner in this household has had me on edge for the week or so since I invited ye, but I suspected you were both sensible enough to see past the prejudice views that society holds for use families," he continued.
"It was made easier by the knowledge that neither of your families seem to care about blood purity, even if you're all pureblood," James informed him.
"Well, actually I think you'll come to find that I am a half-blood," Roderick spoke up.
The shock wasn't well hidden on either Lily or James's faces, and the other room occupants couldn't help but laugh.
"As far as I can remember, I wasn't approached by any of the ex-Death Eaters looking for me to join the ranks of the Dark Lord," he continued.
"That's an even bigger shock, I know we were a few years below you, but we heard how fierce you were at duelling," Lily replied.
"Ye were in the same year as Severus Snape, weren't you?" asked Freya.
"Yes, we were," answered James. "He didn't exactly find our company worth his time."
"He was an odd one, for sure," agreed Micheál. "But back on topic, I must ask, what are your views on the Ministry?"
"It reeks of corruption," spat James. "It's been the bane of my existence since Fudge took over."
"Trust us, it is much worse than you could dream up of," sighed Roderick. "Lucius Malfoy, Hayden Parkinson, Sofia Zabini, they're the main three, but they've got Fudge wrapped around their fingers. Why do you think he keeps overturning proposals for research on the Wolfsbane potion? Not only is Fudge dangerously racist to the point where the Goblins are plotting a war in case of a possible law robbing them of their rightful place in the wizarding world, but he's been bribed time and time again by the same offenders to keep it away, and we think it's got something to do with another rising of the Dark Lord."
It was a metric shit-tonne of information to take in and process for both Lily and James. "How do you know all of this?" asked James, a slight tone of suspicion in his voice. "And why are we being told?"
"Because we have come to the agreement that we need to become acquainted with both of you, not just for the sake of the friendship that had blossomed between your son and our daughters, not just because we're sick and tired of forcing ourselves to be friends with pro-pureblood Slytherin families just so we can keep the level of influence we have in the Ministry as regards trying to stop unnecessary and stupid laws be brought into force, but also because we want to strengthen relations between the Slytherins who are neutrals and the side of light, as those other purebloods call it," reasoned Micheál. "Not only do I see a great friendship forming between our families, but I can also see how our daughters and your son will need each other in Slytherin house, especially when looking at which children of which families are in their year group."
"So, who is in that year group that could spell trouble?" asked Lily. "We only know about young Malfoy because of how poorly himself and my other son get along."
"There's himself, Crabbe and Goyle, then there's young Zabini, Parkinson and Bullstrode," Roderick rattled off. "They're the ex-Death Eater children, but I don't think Nott, Ilminster, Hilda Lennox or Laurie Copley and their families are involved in anything the ones I previously mentioned are."
"And what are their families' views?" prodded James.
"They hold similar views to the others, but they don't care enough to follow the Dark Lord or to scouted by one of his minions," reasoned Roderick.
"So, you're unique in your views as Slytherins?" smiled James.
"Precisely," chuckled Micheál, lightly. "I'm calling for alliances between the houses of Greengrass and Davis and the house of Potter. We can discuss it more after dinner, but I'd like the idea to bounce around your heads at least for now."
"That is a very interesting idea you've proposed," mused James. "Definitely give us some time to think on that, it certainly has more advantages than disadvantages, if there are any disadvantages."
"I also have something else to present to you that I'd like you both to think about," continued Micheál. "Don't worry, it's nothing to do with politics before either of ye ask, but I would like to invite your son to join us on holidays in France this summer."
"You're shitting me!" James almost yelled, as the other occupants of the room laughed.
"Not at all, and before you ask, it was actually Tracey who suggested it, and Daphne and all of us liked the idea so much that, well, here we are inquiring if he has permission to travel to our Manor in Nice with us," Micheál continued. "I'm sure herself and Daphne have already broken the news to him, but again, it's something we can further elaborate on after our meal has been finished."
Almost as if on cue, a house elf appeared, which was dressed on a similar uniform to the Potters' own house elf, which again, Lily and James noted, was similar to how families on the side of light treated their house elves, as many of the Slytherin house elves were given rags.
"And there is the cue for dinner," humoured Micheál as they rose from their seats, with Micheál being sent to fetch the children.
They ate in relative silence; comments being made here and there about the quality of the food or other less intense topics. The children of the household were at one end of the grand dining table, as the adults sat at the other.
"So, as we said before our feast, we have matters to discuss, now that all of us are present at the table," announced Micheál. "Getting straight to the point, I'd like to propose a secret alliance between the house of Potter and the houses of Greengrass and Davis. Not only will this better the relationship between three of the most powerful houses in the Wizengamot, but also will provide both sides of the curtain with vital information relating to the running of both the side of light and the side of the pureblood extremists."
"Do they do this all the time?" whispered Harry in the direction of Daphne and Tracey. They both snickered to themselves.
"It's how noble wizarding families do things like this," replied Daphne, her whisper quiet not to interrupt the conversation.
"This seems boring," he mockingly sighed.
"Agreed," they both said, barely holding back their amusement.
"Does this alliance mean that your families are at some point planning a revolution in Slytherin house politics?" James asked incredulously, as it clicked in his head what their exchanging of information would lead to.
"Precisely, as will the information we provide to you about the going on of families like the Malfoys or the Blacks and their extended family," Micheál replied.
"We're also aware that our families have perks and advantages that your family doesn't have, and vice versa," added Roderick. "For example, your friendship with many high-ranking Ministry officials, many influential figures in the magical world, be it in Britain, France, Ireland and wherever else they may be from, and our acquaintance with the families who bribe the Minister himself, and our insider information into those same Slytherin families and their motives."
Lily and James quickly looked at each other, both in consideration of the offer.
"How exactly do we keep this secret?" inquired James. "The alliance is a great idea, and I understand the need for secrecy for now, but how exactly can we keep it secret?"
"How good is your Occlumency?"
"Auror standard."
"How could I forget," chuckled Micheál. "You're certainly a force to be reckoned with."
"Then that's one way we can keep this to ourselves, we certainly must make sure the information doesn't become compromised through the use of Occlumency on our children either, because I think we both know the consequences of the potential discovery of this alliance, even if it probably would tarnish your reputation more than ours," explained James. "We'll just have to make sure we have measures in place to keep it as hushed up as possible."
"So, is that acceptance of this proposed alliance?" beckoned Micheál.
"I would like to formally accept your proposal of a secret alliance between our households," announced James.
"It is a pleasure to have your acquaintance, and wherever it may lead to from here," replied Micheál, as they shook hands, James then turning to shake hands with Roderick.
"Now, onto a matter that concerns your son, as we had previously spoke about, I would like to invite your son to spend two weeks in our Manor in Nice with us," he continued.
This immediately got the attention of Harry, Daphne, and Tracey who up until that point had been daydreaming. This was their turn to join the conversation.
"It was actually my idea," declared Tracey, sighing dramatically.
"Yes, we are aware, but since it's the Greengrass's Manor, they have to invite him," chuckled Celine as they all joined her in voicing their amusement.
Lily could already see the pleading look in her son's eyes, and she pointed it out non-verbally to James.
"I mean we should probably hear Harry's thoughts on this invitation before we go any further with it," reasoned Micheál. "Would you like to join us?"
"Yes!" he blurted out, barely holding in his desire to go and his excitement at the prospect, as giggles and chuckles filled the room once more.
"He needn't say anymore," continued Micheál. "Will you give him permission to holiday with us?"
Both Lily and James had been thinking and subtly chatting throughout dinner about whether or not they should let him go, since they knew they'd more than likely have to make up their minds soon. There was the obvious unease around a Slytherin family whisking their son away to another country for a few weeks that had them on edge, but they knew these sorts of niceties couldn't be faked to the extent that both families were going to, to make the Potters feel welcome in a previously-thought-to-be hostile environment.
"Then we grant him permission to go on holidays with you all," James concluded, followed by a cheer and then raucous laughter from the other end of the table.
"Eventually we'll have to bring you both as well, and young Charlus if he wants," chuckled Celine. "Do you usually go on holidays yourselves?"
"I think Charlie would hate it, just because he doesn't like us Slytherins and our posh, uptight standards," joked Harry, the second half of his statement imbued with a posh London accent, his friends giggling at his antics.
That statement alone set the mood for the rest of the evening, which flowed smoothly.
"Does that mean we'll be seeing more of you over the Christmas break?" Daphne asked him, after they heard his parents speaking about more nights like this over the break as a result of their newfound alliance.
"I really hope so, Charlie has been more insufferable than ever while I've shared a house with him," he scowled. "Arrogant git."
"Harry!" Lily admonished him, despite his efforts to keep that statement to a murmur, but of course knowing his luck, it hadn't worked, leading to giggles and chuckles all around the table.
"Alright, I strongly dislike him, is that better?" Harry wagered.
"I suppose," Lily hesitantly replied. "But try and be nice to him."
"I think I'd rather give Draco Malfoy the biggest smooch of his life," he spat, gagging for effect, which had the desired effect of making the girls gag, Alastair nearly fall out of his chair laughing and each adult look at him in shock before bursting out laughing. "Why are you laughing, for Merlin's sake I'm not actually going to do it."
"Which one?" asked Daphne, continuing the banter.
"Oh, being nice to Charlie," he joked, followed by even more laughter. He felt that unrivalled feeling of being the heart and soul of a dinner for what was possibly the first time in his life. It was a fleeting feeling he couldn't put into words.
"If we want to take the absolute piss out of Charlie, invite us over when you know he's going to be at the Manor with Weasley," suggested Tracey, her face alight with thought.
"Now that will be fun, since Charlie knows he can't win against us," laughed Harry. "But I feel like there's no point in causing trouble between us and them."
"Then how about you both come over this weekend?" he offered, amplifying his voice to ensure his parents heard him.
"I'm down for it if you are," they both accepted.
"Good because I'm probably going to need the mental break after being at the Weasleys tomorrow, again." They laughed at him as he sighed overexaggeratedly.
"I think we've rubbed off on him, making him all dramatic like that," laughed Tracey.
"Oh, the struggles of being wealthy and Slytherin, you get to be dramatic, and everyone will know it's a joke." Daphne threw her hands up into the air and sighed dramatically.
Continuing the banter, Harry started hyperventilating and a look of mock anger appeared on his face. "Don't talk about us like that," he growled, which sent them all into a fit of giggles.
A sudden chime from the hallway brought their attention away from the conversation at hand as Micheál stood up to walk to the front door.
The children hushed themselves as they listened to both what the adults were speaking about, alongside the clearly unexpected guest and Micheál speaking at the front door.
"We weren't expecting others today, I hope it's nothing bad," pondered Freya.
"If it's through the front door, then it'll have to be one of the Slytherin families, they hate travelling the Floo," explained Roderick to a rather uneasy Lily and James.
"I thought they all knew we were busy today," said Celine, receiving nods in response.
"They should know, but then again, something urgent may have happened, who knows with that lot." The Potters laughed at Roderick's jab, most of their unease vanishing on the spot.
There was no way of hearing the conversation happening at the front door, however, as Micheál re-entered the dining area, just one look at his face told a thousand words.
"Bloody Malfoys, Lucius needs us tomorrow in the Ministry," he seethed, emphasis and finger-quotations where necessary.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, what's happened this time?"
"He came to the door himself to tell us he's secured a deal with the Minister to get him to pass an order not only to have Sirius Black kissed immediately upon capture, but also to abandon the research into the potential cure for Lycanthropy."
Shock greeted his words. "You're shitting me," a now irate Lily Potter almost yelled.
"About which order?"
"Both."
"Unfortunately, and it will be presented at the next sitting of the Wizengamot."
If looks could kill, the fury on the face of Lily and James's otherwise composed and calm faces could've killed each occupant of the room then and there.
"I take it you're not a fan of that," commented Micheál again. If the situation wasn't so serious, they could've broken out into laughter, but they tried to contain their fury as they explained their views.
"A very good friend of ours is a sufferer of Lycanthropy and is one of the primary contributors to the cure. For all his work to be just thrown out the window like that is a horrendous error that would be irreversible."
"Remus Lupin?" asked Roderick, with a touch of hesitancy.
"How'd you know?"
He chuckled. "A stag, a dog, and a rat, need I say more?"
"You know?" stuttered Lily, the shock on their faces clear as day.
"Saw it happen in front of my eyes one night, couldn't believe it myself, but wasn't bothered telling anyone else about it."
James grimaced. "I really don't want to know of anyone else has seen us in the act, to be honest."
"Well, you managed to accomplish something while in Hogwarts that all four of us have been trying ourselves for years. Me seeing you four transform the way you did was the inspiration." They all nodded their agreement.
Micheál continued. "And the issue with Black?"
"I'd like to ask what your opinion on the situation surrounding him is first."
"It's a strange one, because we know he wasn't given a trial, and every Slytherin family that we've spoken about the subject with are all under the impression that he was a secret weapon of the Dark Lord, since no ne of the ex-Death Eaters knew of his participation in the objectives of the Dark Lord." Micheál's explanation only served to give Lily and James much more questions than answers.
"Do you believe he is innocent?"
Roderick took over. "He didn't get any sort of trial, but if Slytherin sources are to be believed, and they often times can't be very trustworthy, then Peter Pettigrew is still alive out there."
"Hold it a second, you mean to tell me that there's a possibility Pettigrew is still alive?"
He nodded. "That's what I picked up from our Halloween bash at the Malfoys."
"But you've said they aren't entirely trustworthy, why should any of us believe them?"
"There's absolutely no reason for us to believe their statements regarding Pettigrew, as they themselves are about as deceptive as boggarts and were also only really speculating this possibility."
James began thinking deeply about what he believed and pitting it against what information he was being presented with. "I have no reason not to trust you, but this goes against everything I've come to terms with."
"You're of the belief that Black is a murderer and he murdered Pettigrew then, I assume?"
James nodded. "I can't help but feel like because of him breaking out of Azkaban that I may be wrong to believe that, because surely there must be a reason for the breakout."
"I think I speak for us all here when I say that we are of the same opinion as yourself in that regard, because until proven otherwise, Black was correctly imprisoned, but there are some underlying doubts to that," finished Micheál. "But I think this conversation is better off being postponed for another night since, of course we still have the rest of the night to enjoy ourselves and entertain the children."
That was that conversation put to bed for the night, and with the Malfoys forgotten, their night took a turn for the better. Drinks were provided by the elves, who made an appearance for the first time, and who, Harry noted to himself, also wore suits like the Potter Manor elves, which was a luxury that was apparently not present in many Slytherin households.
But sooner than Harry would've preferred, it was time to leave the grandiose structure that was the Greengrass Manor, contempt at the possibility of seeing his friends over the weekend, potentially having them both visit his house made him excited, as he'd never had any friends that he could've possibly done that with before this moment. The feeling was fleeting, for lack of a better term. The weekend was timed well, since the Wizengamot would hold its session to vote on passing or rescinding the aforementioned orders that the Malfoys, namely Lucius, had bribed the Minister to pass. Of course, they knew that Lucius had more than one brain cell to rub together, despite being as pureblood, or as the adults joked, as inbred as possible.
Malfoy had essentially cemented his place as Fudge's right-hand man with both orders, not only because of how much the capture of Sirius Black affected him personally, as he was supposedly one of the first on the scene, noting how maniacal Black was, laughing as he watched the death and destruction around him, but also because of how much money and time were being spent on, in the eyes of Malfoy, and subsequently Fudge, the useless cure for Lycanthropy.
The Greengrass and Davis families knew that the only reason the Lucius came to their door was to, in essence, warn them not to go against him and the other purebloods. Of course, he wouldn't have any prior knowledge of their switch to a neutral view of politics, but that didn't mean that it was worth risking their involvement in the goings on deep within the Slytherin house families.
Nevertheless, Harry's understanding of the politics of the wizarding world became enriched the more time he spent around his parents and the Greengrasses and Davises, and by that Saturday, when he was prepared to invite them over, he was uncharacteristically nervous. They were arriving after lunch and staying until just after dinner.
He was also relieved that Saturday came so quickly because his time in the Weasleys' the day after Boxing Day was… odd. He expected there to be an onslaught of spells and traps and pranks played on him throughout the day while he kept to himself. Instead, more than likely under the advice of Molly or Arthur, avoided him like the plague. He didn't think that's precisely what they told their children, it was probably something more along the lines of, "If you don't want to be his friend, then just leave him alone."
Harry didn't care, he spent almost all his stay there perfecting a couple of fourth year charms that he asked Flitwick about before the Christmas break started. He knew his ability in Charms was only being held back by the fact that he wasn't learning any new spells, since he'd been able to cast them already by sneaking James's spare wand into his room to use. He had also asked Quirrell for a few recommendations regarding advanced spells for the same year, but he wasn't any help, talking about vampires and ghouls instead of giving Harry any useful information, while also causing Harry's scar to ache impulsively, so Harry had to settle for buying the third year Defence Against the Dark Arts book to at least somewhat keep his promise to himself.
Then there was McGonagall, who had gone beyond all expectations and had commended a Slytherin on their work. She was particularly pleased about how he'd somehow mastered a fourth-year spell to turn a chair into a small animal of choice, and then back again. She rarely showed any sort of emotion, even to her own house, but she was another quarter of an inch of a lip raise away from properly smiling. The other teachers he didn't bother too much with, he knew he could learn more in time, even with how far ahead he was, but he, alongside Daphne and Tracey, were miles ahead still.
Other than him spending all his time outside in the snow, they'd stayed for dinner again, where the Weasley children finally cracked and decided to prank Harry. It was laughable if the Weasleys hadn't tried that hard to successfully prank him, but because they put so much effort into it, it was hilarious. Relegated to the indoors while darkness took over the landscape outside, it was just before they left the Burrow that it was carried out.
They managed to plant a mistletoe over his head without his knowledge, since he was lost in thought reading the DADA book that he bought himself. They were so close to luring him into kissing what looked like a pig horribly transfigured into some sort of pig-human hybrid beast. It didn't end up working because Harry looked up at the right moment and jumped out of his seat, before legging it into the Kitchen where the parents were. He only noticed the mistletoe afterwards and thanked Merlin luck was on his side for once.
It was only Daphne and Tracey who would be staying for the day, however the entirety of both families showed up, because as Celine put it, why not?
They made a grand entrance through the Floo, as elegant as you'd expect from a family of such formality. Then all the formalities dropped as they took in the elegance and architectural marvel that was Potter Manor.
James and Lily had spent a small fortune on renovations that transformed the Manor from the remains of a medieval castle with dark hallways and Victorian décor into a house that was far ahead of its time. Plenty of natural light flooded the house through the many large windows, bouncing off the almost entirely cream and white interior walls, with much of the old paintings' frames alongside the other array of ornaments and furniture that occupied wall space modernised. The furniture, doors, windows, and the electrical appliances all screamed muggle.
This was the type of house the Greengrasses had in mind for their own renovations, and soon the Davises were thinking along the same lines, though their Manor wasn't in much of a need for renovation as the Greengrass Manor was.
"Look at this place, it's like heaven reincarnated I swear," were the first words out of Freya's mouth as she came through the Floo first alongside Daphne, who almost deafened and knocked Harry over with a scream and a rugby tackle of a hug.
"It's been two days, do you both miss me that much?" joked Harry.
"I know I've had Tracey but you're also our best friend, why wouldn't we?"
"You got to have Tracey with you while I got to spend another day at the Weasleys."
Daphne scoffed. "At least you didn't have to entertain the Malfoys. They forced themselves upon us while we were in Tracey's. It was like torture, and I think our parents would agree."
"What did they even want?"
"A dinner to discuss what Lucius called to tell my father about on Boxing Day."
Harry groaned. "Oh, Merlin above, please tell me they were swiftly kicked out."
"You'd wish it were that easy, wouldn't you?"
"Let me guess, they stayed for Merlin knows how long and basically drawled the ears off all of you."
Daphne laughed. "How'd you know?"
"You're excited to be here."
At this, Lily and Freya chuckled to themselves, but Daphne looked aghast.
"You really think I'd pass up an opportunity to be here instead of in a house with the Malfoys?!" she almost yelled.
"No, I was just pulling your leg," he grinned. The laughter that followed alongside the death glare on Daphne's face had the effect of ensuring a jovial mood would remain within the Manor for the evening. Not even Charlie would attempt to bring it down, since he'd decided to not meet the guests of the Manor and was in his room sulking like a brazen child.
Micheál and Astoria were next, admiring the brightness and simplicity of the house as Freya had, while Astoria also gave Harry a hug, and almost immediately after, they were joined by Roderick and Alastair Davis.
Roderick was taken aback as he entered through the Floo. "This place is so simplistic yet so intricate at the same time, this is incredible."
"Good afternoon to you too, Roderick Davis," chuckled James as they shook hands.
"Micheál, you're seeing this right?"
"I know, this place is what I'm imagining ours will be like when it's done."
James was flattered. "A lot of it was Lily's thinking, she's got more muggle experience than I have."
"Ah yes, the good old muggleborns, I will say, muggles definitely do houses better than magical folk," declared Freya. "They're also better than all those pureblood supremacist lot."
"Yes, remember when Lily pummelled Farley Ilminster after he called her a Mudblood?" reminisced Celine, who appeared through the Floo alongside Tracey. "Proof is in the pudding with that one."
"That was so satisfying to watch," agreed James, as Lily almost blushed with praise. They were too busy chatting to notice that almost immediately after Alastair had given Harry a brief hug, Tracey had almost knocked him over with hers.
"I think the fact that you nearly ended up on your arse is enough of an indication to prove how much I missed you yesterday."
Harry laughed. "Yes, Daphne told me of the pleasant experiences you had while entertaining the Malfoys."
"I bet she didn't tell you about how Malfoy himself was flirting with her almost nonstop all night- OW!" she yelled.
Daphne rubbed her the spot on her fist that had connected with Tracey's shoulder. "Bring that up again and I'll personally make sure you and him are alone in a room together."
That statement drew some giggles, but Tracey took it one step further. "Personally, I think I'd rather be in a room alone with Charlus Potter," she said, making a face that resembled someone tasting sour milk.
Daphne then noticed his absence. "Speaking of which, where is he?"
"Up in his room, absolutely horrified that he has to share 'his lovely Manor' with us 'slimy slippery sneaky snakes,'" joked Harry.
"He can actually go stick his slimy, slippery, sneaky snakes shite up his arse for all I care," jabbed Tracey, completely unaware of the other meaning, which the parents caught onto. Her mother was the only one who hadn't been reduced to tears of laughter as she tried to keep herself stern and tell Tracey off for her use of language before she too burst.
Of course, the children had no idea why they were laughing. "What on Merlin's green earth are you all laughing about?"
"Nothing you need to know," came the reply
"They're weird, let's go somewhere else," said Astoria, who, unfortunately for her and Alastair, were swiftly guided by their parents back to the Floo, leaving Daphne and Tracey to have the day of their lives in Potter Manor.
This was when Harry got to show them the benefits of living in a muggle-magical combo of a household. There were many aspects of the house that were held together by magic, such as some of the furniture and decoration, but the appliances and lights were all run on electricity. He almost immediately led them to his second favourite room in the house, the games room, and the reason it was his favourite room was because it was home to two of his favourite things in the entire house, the record player and his dad's enormous collection of vinyls, and the Nintendo Entertainment System nestled on a shelf underneath quite a large TV.
"This room is the perfect place to relax in," noted Daphne.
"This room is where I spent the rest of the time that I wasn't in my room or outside learning how to cast spells from the books I bought using the money I robbed from my brother. That doesn't get repeated to anyone, right?"
Tracey treated them to some humour by using a spell she learned for a moment like this to transfigure her lips into a zip and them zipped them together, to which the other two broke out into laughter as she transfigured her lips back to normal.
"So, what does muggle music sound like compared to our music?"
"Honestly I feel like it's better than our music, since this is my dad's record collection, and he has so much more muggle records."
Tracey stared in awe. "I doubt I'll have heard of any these before, but which artists are in his collection?"
"Queen, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, they're all the main ones, but there's a load of other records in there from other artists, even my mum contributed with some from Madonna, Whitney Houston, and U2, and before either of you speak, if you're over here during the holidays as often as I think you'll be, then you'll end up being familiar with a lot of these."
Daphne grinned. "Can't wait, I've never really been a fan of our type of music."
Tracey noticed the TV in the corner. "Oh, is this one of these Velly-Tision things you've told us about?"
"Television," Harry corrected, laughing at her expense. "Basically, think of it as the pictures in the Daily Prophet except they can speak and everything, and a program or a movie is like the story of a book but on the TV."
Their faces were in awe. "That's unreal. What does this thing do?" asked Tracey, pointing at the box with the two other boxes attached by wires.
"That is a video game console," he explained to their confused faces. "So, it plugs into the TV, and you can play games on the TV using the controllers."
He pointed to the smaller boxes with the buttons on them, and the booted it up. "You play the games that come on these things," he said again as he pointed to the cartridges on the shelf beside the console itself.
The game in there already was Super Mario Bros 3, one of his absolute favourites, so the girls briefly watched him play the game before he taught them both how to play as well, all while the first record Harry grabbed from the shelf was playing on the record player, which was the Queen's Greatest Hits vinyl his dad bought while they were in America on a family holiday.
"Is this the only game you have for this thing?" asked Tracey after a while.
Harry pointed to the many cartridges on the shelf. "That's the entire collection if you want to choose another one, but I want to go outside for a small bit while it's sunny out, because for you both to be over here and not play any Quidditch would be a crime."
They both laughed. "Ooooh, what's this one?" exclaimed Tracey, showing Harry one of the games she found.
"That's the Legend of Zelda, another of my favourites, I'll teach you how to play it."
They spent another hour or so playing games and just being kids before they decided to go outside and play some Quidditch. Then they realised the shortage of brooms for Daphne and Tracey.
"Dad, have we any spare brooms? We want to go for a fly."
He looked thoughtful for a minute. "Give me about five minutes, I want to join you three."
The grin on their faces spoke volumes. "What brooms have you?"
"Well Harry, you use your old Cleansweep, since I know that the three of you are so closely matched that Harry on the Nimbus will give him an advantage. I have some spare Cleansweeps that I used as backup when I briefly tried the professional game, but I'll be using my Nimbus 2000," he declared, laughing at the looks on their faces.
"That just isn't fair," complained Harry, to more laughter from James.
He shrugged. "Well, it's my house so I make the rules."
Lily had joined them at this point, but she wasn't flying because, in her words, she'd make a show of herself, so she was going to watch and attempt to get Charlie out of his room for a while to maybe get him to engage with them all in some sort of positive way.
They headed outside, mounted brooms and took off into the air, with James grinning childishly as he outclimbed the children while they all scowled at him.
"I kept one of the snitches from my time in the professional game, so that I could use it as practice. Yes, I know Daphne and Tracey aren't seekers before you say anything, but I'm willing to bet that they could both replace you as a seeker as much as you could possibly replace then as a chaser. So, on the count of three, I'll release the snitch, and we will all look down at the ground for ten seconds."
Then he released the snitch, and ten seconds later, four pairs of Eagle eyes scanned the area for any sign of the snitch. The grounds at Potter Manor were probably the size of two Quidditch pitches side by side, so they had much ground to cover.
They scanned the air over the Grove, the small lake, the garden that was teeming with endless flowers, a greenhouse full of all sorts of magical plants and fauna, the magnificent three giant sequoia trees that were located around the borders of the property, a couple of hundred feet tall each, and the Manor itself.
Then the fun began. Tracey had spotted it, lingering by the lake, closer to the small forest surrounding one of the sequoia trees. She was the closest to it, so she immediately sped after it. James hadn't noticed, but Harry and Daphne had, pelting after her, matching her speed.
The snitch was on the move however, and James sought the opportunity to swoop in for a steal. The plan didn't work however, as when he came at them laterally, the snitch went into a nosedive, prompting its chasers to do the same, so the three of them dived, but had to pull out as the snitch skimmed the ground and climbed up into the sun and out of their vision.
"That was intense," exclaimed Daphne.
"I'm so annoyed, I was so close to it, then your dad had to fly past me and ruin my chance," complained Tracey.
"All part of the fun I'm afraid," laughed James as he rejoined them, as they flew back to their starting position at the middle of the property to resume their search.
"You're such a huge advantage on that Nimbus, change it for a Cleansweep and be a man," challenged Harry.
"Oi, call me a child again and I'll take away the Nintendo controllers," he threatened lightheartedly.
"All you are is a man-child, even Mum and Uncle Remus would agree with me," jabbed Harry, laughing to himself.
"That's it," he said as he raced after Harry who took off himself, the girls left behind as they roared with laughter as they threw threats and jabs back and forth at eachother as Harry did his best to weave his way away from his father on his Nimbus.
Finally, James caught up to him, grabbing him lightly around the neck and rubbing his knuckles against Harry's head. "You wanna repeat what you said?"
Harry in tears of laughter, decided he'd had enough. "Fine, I won't," he said, catching a glimpse of the snitch out of the corner of his eye. "But I'm gonna catch the snitch before you."
And with that Harry took off into a dive, with James hot on his tail, Daphne and Tracey trailing by about twenty meters. He then saw his opportunity to pull out of the dive without his dad being able to catch up, as he left James in the dust and streaked up high into the air to chase after the snitch. Daphne and Tracey had caught up however, with Tracey getting ahead of him for a split second, before Harry gave her a light shove to knock her off balance and ensure he was able to catch the snitch, which he had to overcome resistance from Daphne to catch.
Then came the jabs and the jokes and the slagging and everything that comes with being a sore loser, but Harry just basked in it.
"We'll give you this win, we beat you in both of our races, we were feeling sorry for you really," joked Daphne.
"I'm sure that's exactly what it was," sneered Harry as he kept hold of the snitch.
Lily seized the opportunity to slag James for a bit. "How did you not catch the snitch ahead of him on your Nimbus, James?"
"It's the glare of my glasses on my eyes in the sun," he grumbled, as the kids all laughed.
"Just admit it, you got outclassed by your son who was on a worse broom," joked Daphne.
"Oh, I like this one," declared Lily, patting Daphne on the back as they laughed. "I'm glad Harry has a wise taste in choosing his friends."
Charlie had been outside watching them as well, he sat at the same table as Lily, and chose that moment to speak up. "Dad, let me take you on."
"What's on the line this time?"
He shrugged. "My dignity in front of three snakes."
He got his Nimbus, and thoroughly wiped the floor with his dad. It was almost as if he did it to make a statement to the three Slytherins not to mess with him on the Quidditch pitch.
It only made them all want to take him on, but they knew it would just stir tensions between them more than what they had been.
Harry did note however that he needed his Nimbus to beat James, while Harry himself didn't. Still, Harry didn't care, he was having one of the best days of his life and he didn't want it to end.
Most of their day was spent lounging about the house and just having the sort of fun you'd expect eleven- and twelve-year-olds to be having. And catching up to Harry in what he's learned ahead of their classes at Hogwarts. The games room and the 'Nintendo' as they nicknamed it got more use than it had in a long time for that whole evening.
Daphne then remembered something midway through playing through a dungeon in The Legend of Zelda. "Then how in the name of Merlin does our magic not interfere with the electricity in your house?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself, my parents somehow found a way to let electricity and magic flow in harmony in this house and for the life of me I can't figure it out."
Daphne facepalmed. "Have you even asked them?"
He shook his head. "I did once before but they told me that it would be too complicated for me to understand, but I have a feeling it's some sort of electrical spell that makes electricity immune to magic, or something like that."
"I wonder would they tell me if I asked," mused Tracey.
"So, you think you're smarter than us?" challenged Daphne.
She laughed. "Of course."
"You wanna take this outside?" wagered Harry.
"Fine with me," she said again, chuckling.
And that was how they figured out that Harry was the best out of the three of them at duelling.
Grimmauld Place had become a lot cleaner and a lot tidier since he returned to his childhood home. Taking away from the fact that he had two months to himself in the house, it looked much, much better. It had been left for around six years since the death of his mother,
He'd managed to remove some of the perpetual darkness the house was shrouded in with a metric tonne of elbow grease. Most of the bedrooms had been taken care of, with the many magical creatures, such as Doxys and Boggarts well and truly exterminated. There was still some work to be done however, the cellar was still as treacherous as ever, there seemed to be an object of sorts drawing darkness into the house and, of course, he couldn't figure out how to rid the house of the presence of the ever-screaming portrait of Walburga Black.
It's a start, he thought to himself, careful not make much noise, since there were many a person who would've suspected he'd reside here after his escape.
He'd had a couple of close calls, being the heir to the house he could bypass the apparating wards placed on the house and apparate to safety, while Kreacher, who was still convinced Sirius was Death Eater, gladly told anyone who entered the house that he'd heard from his master that he was in the forests of Wales.
There was one time, in the middle of November when Amelia Bones and a number of Aurors entered through the Floo while Sirius was upstairs cleaning. He had to apparate and mask it with the sound of something else, so he had to use a Doxy infestation to distract them as he apparated away, only barely covering up the sound. He came back and found the house thoroughly searched, which if he was completely honest, he expected much worse.
He'd been planning his next move carefully. He'd chosen Remus Lupin as his first target, as he knew of a way to prove his story to him more than to anyone else. Anyone else would've immediately given him up to the dementors unfortunately for him.
He'd have to play his cards wisely however, even with Lupin.
Lupin was still incredibly loyal to the Potters, but he knew deep down that there was something about the werewolf that he could use to prove his side of the story to be legit.
For the moment, however, he wanted to finish off cleaning the house and maybe send something to his godson as a sort of a late Christmas present, he just wasn't entirely sure how he'd get it to him. He supposed he could've just used Kreacher to apparate to his godson's room and drop it there, but then Kreacher would be expecting his master to harm the older Potter twin and could possibly plant his own elf magic surprise for Harry.
Maybe next year, he thought again. Or maybe for his birthday.
He hovered on the thought of his godson, since his brother got all the headlines in the prophet, what Hogwarts house he might be in, Gryffindor probably, if he liked Quidditch and pranks like a true marauder, what friends he had, the typical things to be expected.
Boy was he in for a shock.
He kept those thoughts on his mind as night fell over the house, not like it made much of a difference to the level of light entering it, and he made his way to his newly cleaned out bedroom on the fourth and topmost floor.
Then he heard a rattling on the door that stopped his heart for all of a split second, before he dashed to the window in Regulus's room to see if he could spot the potential danger looming at the front door.
His entire body sank. It was Dumbledore.
He knew he'd have to vanish quickly, and to somehow make the place look as rotten and rundown as it did before he moved in, but the glamour charms could've taken enough energy out of him to be able to apparate.
"Kreacher!"
He appeared in front of his master.
He looked the elf straight into his soul. "Get glamour charms going on this place, make it look like it was before I moved back in here, Albus Dumbledore is out the front."
That was all Kreacher needed. In a flash, the entirety of the house became under the illusion that it was rotting, and Sirius Black apparated and vanished into the Pennines, for the second time since his escape.
Note: I see I have a bit of a negative review. I'm not sure if you viewed my bio or not, but I literally do not care in the slightest, it made for some laughing and also some laughing and maybe even more laughing. If that offends you, my brother in Christ go touch grass or smth idk lmao
Auch, Grüße aus Deutschland! Ich bin jetzt für die Hochzeit meiner Cousine in Frankfurt. Für die Deutschen wer diese Fanfic lesen werden, liebe ich so viel dein Land und deine Sprache.
Also I'm getting a lot of reviews about the situation with Sirius, so at this point I may aswell reveal the whole thing in the next chapter. Have fun boios and gorillas.
(Flockos belong to Redigit btw)
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