Chapter 2:

Voldemort WAS back, regardless of whatever the fuck the Daily Prophet said. Mr. Vittoria and Dumbledore argued with Fudge for hours on end, but he refused to see reason. The Daily Prophet got a new nickname amongst the family and friends of Lotus Saintcrow: The Daily Schizophrenic.

With that being said, Lotus' mission was now even more important as he looked at the place that was to become his smithy and sighed.

His best friend Reyner Cortez came up next to him and looked at the place, which was old, rusty and falling apart. "Best your godfather could buy?" the tall redheaded Hispanic smirked, leading Lotus to punch him in the arm. He sighed and looked over the small building, saying, "We need to start by clearing up the debris in the smithy area itself so I can see where I'm going to build my Forge."

Reyner nodded and said, "Right."

Four hours later, Eliza found her godbrother and his best friend cleaning the building to near spotlessness. Drinks in her hands, she whistled and asked, "Water?"

"Oh, thank the gods." Lotus put the pile of debris in his arms down in the dumpster and accepted the bottle of water from his godsister graciously, draining the entire thing. He waved his hand over it and it refilled; he drained it again as Reyner drank from his bottle slowly while flicking his wand and throwing the last of the debris around the area into the dumpster.

"You can't be using magic," Eliza stated.

"We have special permission as long as we're in this area," Reyner responded as he holstered his wand and finished the bottle.

Eliza sighed, but relented. It did make sense, after all. She looked at Reyner, who was not sweating while Lotus was drenched in it and covered with dirt and grime as he carted materials for the Forge into the area. "He's been doing the heavy lifting?" Eliza asked, raising an eyebrow at the Hispanic, who shrugged.

"It feels more complete. Why use magic to do what my own arms and legs can complete on their own?" Lotus explained as he hoisted more stone for the Forge into the building with a huff and a grunt of exertion. His muscles rippled with the effort.

Eliza sighed. "Keep that up and it'll kill you."

"Nah I got it." With that, he brought the stones into the smithy area.

Eliza and Reyner looked around the freshly-cleaned area. It was near flawless and cleaning supplies were everywhere as Lotus began to unload the stones into the Forge area. He had spent most of his time on the inside of the smithy/flat, cleaning and using some magic to fix what he couldn't fix by himself. It may not have been much, but it was gonna be something soon.

Eliza sighed, shaking her head. "This is a lot to do in one day; you should've split it up into days."

Lotus didn't hear her, as he was passed out from sheer exhaustion on the pile of stones.

"I'll call your mom so she can pick you up," Eliza said, turning to Reyner, who was already driving away with his uncle.

Eliza looked at Lotus and called Mr. Vittoria. "Dad, can you pick me and Lodie up?"

I hope y'all are enjoying this so far. Eliza Vittoria is based off my best friend and fellow FF author's Harry Potter persona; her name is LittleMiss~RosaAnn so please check her out!

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BO