"England trounces Germany by 350-70. Parkin was declared the 'hero' of the match. Potter scores 140!" -Reeta Skeeter.
The 60th match of the QuidditchWorld Cup 1993-1994, was played between England and Germany on 15th of October1993. Once again,the English team showed an all-aroundperformance. Vosper scored 40, Hawksworth 20 and Potter who was in similar form as his firstmatch scored 140. Quidditch lovers all over the world speculate, that if not for Parkin catchingthe snitch comparativelyearly in the match, the German team would have faced a worse loss than their French counterpart.
Let's hearwhat experts have to sa-
--X--
"Ireland defeats England 300-120. Potter faces his first international loss despite best efforts" -ReetaSkeeter.
Even after a tough fight from Potter who scored 120, Ireland proved to be the superior team in battle between Ireland and England on 31st October 1993. Not only English players other than Potter failed to perform, also the Irish Beaters also createdmanytroubles for Potter due to their aggressivegameplay. The English fans are disappointed and asking the same question 'Is the fate of whole English Quidditch team on the shoulders of a 13-year-old?"-
--X--
"240-10! England makes a comeback against strong Japan. Potter sets one more world record." -Reeta Skeeter.
The 89th match of the 422nd QuidditchWorld Cup was played between England and Japan on 13th November 1993. Potter completely dominated the game by keeping Quaffle in his possession for 90 percent of the match and scored back-to-back15 goals, before his streak was broken by his fellow Englishchaser Vosper. Potter set one more world record in doing so. Within 2 minutes, Potter scored 2 more goals and Perkin caught the snitch ending what could have been a humiliatingdefeat for Japan.
--X--
"Luxemburg faces defeat against England. Potter shines!" -Reeta Skeeter.
The 113th match of Quidditch World Cup 1993-1994, was played between Luxemburg and England on 28th November,1993. Chaser Heracles Potter showed his exceptional flying athleticsand scored 160. In a turn of luck, the snitch showed up just next to the Luxemburgseeker, who snatched it' ending the game in favour of England 190-150.
--X--
"Morocco goes down against England in a very exciting match. Potter's streak continues." -Reeta Skeeter.
England took the upper handin a close-call match against Morocco, played on 12th December 1993. The England team was in the lead with 170-20 when the Moroccanseeker advancedtowards the snitch. The English seeker was on the other side of the snitch,and everyone had thought it was going to be a tie when chaser Heracles Serpens-Potter, pulled off a half-field goal against the distracted Moroccan Keeper, just before the Moroccanseeker caught the snitch, tipping the match towards England with 180-170. Potter is proving to be the-
--X--
[25th December 1993]
"Hermione, no need to be in hurry love. Harry's place is not even a 30-minute drive from ours." Emma said trying to calm down her fussy daughter.
Harry had invited the Granger family to his home. Hermione wanted to go there the first day they came home for the Christmas holidays, but Harry had told her that as much as he didn't want Hermione to be away from him, she had to spend time with her parents and then she could come over his place regularly after Christmas, when Dan and Emma also have to be off for their practice, which later changed into plan of Grangers staying there for reminder of Holidays, after finding out he lived in the same building as their practice. The Grangers were happy when they heard about his thoughtfulness.
"I still can't believe he lives in the same apartment where we have our practice. Can there be any bigger coincidences?" Dan expressed his disbelief.
That hasn't been a coincidence. Harry's alternate self had brought the home after finding out about Hermione's parents' practice. He had planned to use it to start a conversation with Hermione and also so that her parents wouldn't have much problem with them spending time together in holidays if they were within reach.
Harry himself had thought it to be a stroke of genius. AU Harry had bought the whole 13th floor of the building. Although regarded as one of the strongest magical numbers in Arithmancy, it was treated as an unlucky number among muggles. So, it was very common for buildings to skip the 13th floor completely. Thus, no one had missed it after Harry had Goblins put wards and a Fidelius charm over the whole floor. Of course, AU Harry had made sure there was no paperwork for the transaction if you could call it so. The builder had just forgotten about the floor existing, and it had been hidden from every paperwork including advertisement pamphlets and architecture maps, and AU Harry had just dumped the suitcase with money in the builder's house, not wanting to swindle him. A strong compulsion had made sure that the builder kept the money.
"Sorry, Dad, Mum. I am just so excited!" Hermione tried to explain herself.
Emma had a teasing grin on her face "Oh don't worry love. I wasn't so different when I was accompanying my parents to go to your father's." Emma had also said that to ease some of Dan's unease, who was still acting like a typical father, who wanted to keep his daughter like a little girl, as long as he could.
"We were 18 though", Dan replied dryly. He liked Harry, really. It was hard not to. The boy was respectful and humble, even after being a celebrity and even he had to concede that Harry was wise above his years and cared for his daughter more than anything. But he still was a father, who wanted to be the only important male in his daughter's life for a very long time.
Hermione gathered all the presents Grangers had wrapped for Harry. They had exchanged gifts among themselves in the morning. Hermione had even got one from Harry, a leather jacket that she suspected was dragonhide, with a letter saying, other gifts would have to wait for later. She was proudly wearing the jacket now, as she was on her way to Harry's. She knew it would make him happy. She knew it from the way Harry's eyes lit up with happiness every time they fell onto the promise band on her finger.
"Alright. We are ready to go to Hermione's boyfriend's home!" Emma cheered teasingly.
"Yay," Dan followed her dryly.
Hermione just shook her head at her parents' antics, but a large smile broke on her face.
--X--
Harry was waiting on the ground floor when the Grangers arrived in their BMW. Hermione quickly got out of the car and with a shout of 'Merry Christmas, Harry!' ran into his arms for a tight hug which was followed by a decent kiss. Emma and Dan joined them after parking in their usual place and taking out gifts they had wrapped for Harry from the car.
"Hello Dan, Emma! Merry Christmas! It's nice to have you here." Harry greeted.
"Merry Christmas Harry!", They both returned the greeting and Emma asked the next question "Which flat do you live in Harry? We were quite surprised after finding out you live in the same building; we have our practice."
"I also never knew until a few days back. My home wasn't finished until late October, so I used to live in one of my mum's old flats. And I used direct portkeys for coming here, so I never saw the insignia of your clinic. As for my flat, well, that will have to wait a moment," Harry then took out a slip of paper and handed it to Grangers, "Memorize it!"
Hermione's eyes widened as she quickly recognized one of the most fabulous charms ever invented. The paper said -
'Potter-Serpens Residence can be found on 13th floor of Heaths gatecomplex.'
"What! B-But there's no 13thfloor in this buil-" Dan was cut off as an odd noise was produced, which interestingly was only heard by them.
The Grangers watched fascinated as the 12th floor and the floor above (14thfloor), separated creating a gap between them and then slowly the 13th floor appeared. Two astonished and One knowledge-hungry eyes met amused emeralds belonging to Harry's as he spoke "Let's go. I will show you around."
"I own the whole 13th floor, as you have guessed and a flat on the 14th floor, so my appearance isn't suspicious." They took the elevator and like the 13th floor, the 13th floor button made its appearance in the space created by shifting of other buttons. Due to being an unlucky number, skipping the 13th floor is not uncommon. So, I took advantage of the fact and exchanged the appropriate amount of cash for it."
Soon they reached the 13th floor and got off the elevator. He showed them 2 flats that were isolated and explained "Those are for temporary guests and are enchanted to remove the 'secret' from the memory of those guests after their business is done."
He then led them to the largest gate and invited them in. They came face to face with a handsomely decorated medium-sized Christmastree in the hall. They could see little fairies tittering all over the tree. They put the gifts on the large table, that was surrounded by couches.
"These are actually 6 flats merged and rearranged to make a 10 Bedroom, 2 kitchens, 10 bathrooms and one large hall home. The hall as you can see is divided into two parts with the eastern side being the dining area andthe western side being the recreational area. " The Grangers looked impressed even though they were probably thinking it to be a bit excessive for a teenager. He addressed them again "Come, I will show you your rooms." He led them to the 3rd bedroom on the northern side and tapped the plate on the door with his wand. Immediately, Dan Emma were engraved on the plate "Dan, Emma, this will be your room," The room was larger than it looked from the outside. A comfortable bed was by the side of the one-way large glass window. An empty closet, A study table capable of accommodating 2 people were also present, "There is the attached bathroom across the foot side of your bed. And the bookshelves. I hope it is alright for you, though you can tell me if there is anything to add."
"No, it's actually great. Honestly, not what I expected from a teenager." Emma commented.
"Oh, I can't the credit for them, Emma. The whole house is looked after by two my house elves- Blu and Dori", Harry's sentence ended with two 'pop' sounds and the arrival of said elves, which startled two adult Grangers due to their bat-like appearance.
Blu was wearing a black leather pant and a white shirt with a black bow on his neck. On the left side of his shirt, the Potter crest wrapped by a cobra was present. Above it a black metal nameplate with 'Blu' engraved in white was present. His outfit was completed by suspenders.
Dori was wearing a skirt instead of pants and there was also a lack of bow and suspenders. Only replaced by a black half-sweater that she wore over her shirt. She also had the crest and plate with 'Dori' engraved on it.
Hermione was shocked when she saw the elves in different attires than tea towels. She was still uncomfortable with elves even after knowing their need for symbiotic relationships with either wizards or magical places.
"Dan, Emma. You could call either of them in case you need help with something," He then addressed the elves, "Organize their things in the room and put Hermione's things in the room across mine," He turned back to the Grangers, "Let's continue the tour."
He then showed them the remaining rooms, which all had the attached Bathrooms, closets and a few furniture, Kitchens and balconies.
"The view here is great, Harry!" Emma complimented and the other Grangers agreed.
Next, they used the internal gateway designed to connect one flat to another. Hermione squealed as she saw the portraits of many famous potioneers, that all belonged to the Potter family.
"This is the part which deals with potion creation and storage. As you can see Hermione, they are the famous potioneers from the Potter family. Unfortunately, I can't activate them until I take the Lordship of the family, i.e., either I have to be 17 or I have to be recognized as an adult by Wizengamot. Currently, I am an emancipated minor, as the last surviving members of two pureblood families."
Hermione was listening to everything carefully. She was a bit sad that she couldn't have conversation with those intellectual portraits, but it was overcome when she saw the high-end potion appliances. With an excited squeal, she rushed off to examine them and other stored ingredients and potions.
The bemused Grangers watched as Harry had to practically peel Hermione off the setup with promises of opportunity to brew at the setup, which earned a squeal and kiss.
The next flat was completely plain, with no rooms or designs. It only had 4 surrounding walls along with a roof and floor.
"This, Dan, Emma, Hermione, is the part where ward stone is present. Basically, it is the centre of all defences I have enacted around the building," Harry explained to the confused dentists before turning towards Hermione, "Love, I have also spent a large number of galleons to engineer the room based on the Room of requirements from Hogwarts. Unfortunately, as smart as those magical engineers were, they were no match for the intelligence of Founder Ravenclaw and neither do we have a nearly infinite number of resources like Hogwarts have in Room of Hidden Things, so it is at most just a cheap imitation of the wonderful chamber of magic created by our most intelligent founder. It still can assume the form of your desired place from the passive legilimency, when you permit the room by stating ''I want' and then your desired place' in your mind."
By the time Harry finished the explanation the parent Grangers were surprised and amazed. Dan had already summoned a golf field through the room which was then changed by Emma's desire of being at the beach. The dentists were amazed at the scope of magic when they felt the warm water touching and wetting their trousers. Hermione was already discussing the things they could do there and enquiring about the names of the engineers who built it and if they may have notes on it.
Harry also had to clear that he could shift the ward stone and thus enchantments for the room if he ever wanted to move out of the building.
--X--
Currently, the Grangers and Harry were in the recreational hall which was decorated in accordance with Christmas and exchanging gifts. Harry had quite liked the wristwatch Emma had gotten him along with a very fashionable tuxedo set that had been gifted from Dan. Hermione had gifted him a journal which held all of the spells they had developed together along with an album, which held many pictures of them, most of them moving and a few normal. She had given the artist, copies of snippets from her memories to do so. Emma started gushing at a picture in which Hermione was pouting because Harry had transfigured a pair of cat ears and tail to her. Harry was touched by the gesture and responded it with a tight hug and chaste kiss to her lips, with promises of more intimate ones in the near future.
Harry had gifted Dan a complete set of golf clubs much to the shock and happiness of the dentist while Emma was gifted with a beautiful set of necklaces, which all contained unique set of birthstones. Emma looked like she was about to protest the expensive gift but a small smile and wandless compulsion from Harry had made her accept it with a grateful smile.
Hermione had received a never-ending writing book that had tons of enchantments like preservation, maintenance, tracking and summoning on it. Harry had explained that it was going to be one of the personal legacies she would one day leave behind for the world and it would make everyone remember what a brilliant witch she had been. Hermione, like Harry had been touched by his strong belief in her and had been crushed in a tight affectionate hug by Hermione, before she proceeded to shove her tongue down his throat much to protest of her father.
After he took a few moments to come out of the daze of the wonderful near-snog, Harry announced that he had one more gift for Hermione.
Harry put his hand in his bottomless pocket and produced an antique-looking case from it. The case was wooden and black in color with golden engravings of dragons over it.
Hermione let out a gasp as her eyes fell onto the beautifully crafted wand inside the case. It was made up of handsome black-coloured wood., with its handle being crafted into a dragon's neck and head, which contained a bit of black. The wand was thrumming with power, so much that Hermione even not being a very magic-sensitive witch could feel it.
"Hermione," Harry started, "This wand belongs to my ancestor, Lolanthe Potter nee Peverell, one of the strongest Potters in the history of the family, her might only matched by her husband Hardwin Potter. It is made up of a Blackthorn, known among wand crafters as Warrior's wood, which was 5 centuries old at the time the wood was taken from the tree. The core is Dragon heartstring that comes from a fierce Ukranian Iron belly, called Monarch, which was also Lolanthe's familiar, which itself had a story behind it. It is said that when Monarch knew that his time had come to an end due to a vicious blow he had taken in the battle, he bestowed the heartstring to Lolanthe while taking his last breaths. The wand was crafted by Hardwin Potter, who was an accomplished wand crafter and Runemaster. When the wand was complete, he presented it to Lolanthe as a courting gift. It is said that she completely annihilated her enemies using the wand in the next battle, taking revenge for the fall of her familiar. Why don't you try it?"
Hermione shakily picked up the wand as she felt a large amount of heat flowing through her body. She felt uncomfortable enough to want to throw the wand away but held it with determination. In a moment the heat subsided, and she felt a subtle warmth, which wasn't comparable to the happiness of bonding with her Vine wand, but still was welcoming. Suddenly the runes engraved on the wand activated and glowed blue before going invisible.
"It certainly won't be suited to you like your own wand, no doubt you would have felt it," Harry continued, "But it had deemed you worthy, so it will be a good backup to have."
He then looked into Hermione's eyes seriously and said "Love, it is one of the strongest artefacts of the wizarding world, in top leagues with the Deathly Hallows, Philosopher's Stone and Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. Lolanthe, who was familiar with the elder wand, the strongest wand said to exist, said that it had the capability to challenge the Wand of Destiny in singular combat. The runes you just saw activate weren't just for show. Other than guaranteeing safety from the destruction of the wand, the runes had the capability of absorbing and storing ambient magic from the environment, which not only prevents the wielder from ever facing magical exhaustion but also heals the wielder almost instantly, whenever he is infected with a wound. Unfortunately, the wand while accepting other wielders, will never accept anyone as its true master, other than Lolanthe herself."
Hermione already looked overwhelmed at the present when Harry added one more thing "And since the concept of 'trace' wasn't even present when the wand was crafted, you could use it to do magic without getting in trouble. I know how much you wanted to show your parents what you have been learning at Hogwarts, so I thought you would like i-"
He was glomped by Hermione and equally ecstatic Emma this time. Dan also had an eager smile on his face as Hermione started showing off Emma and Dan everything she had learned.
Harry warned her to avoid doing magic in her house until she got it warded "The ministry had two ways to track magic being done. First is the trace on the wand which is activated whenever you are out of Hogwarts. And second are sensors placed by ministry all over UK. It is the reason why most students who have adult wizards in their family can do magic on holidays, as while the Ministry might know where the magic is being done and through which wand, they don't know if it is the adult wizard doing it. Similarly, while you can show them your Vine wand to prove that you didn't perform magic, they will still know it had been done around that area. Though if you want to, I can get your home warded. It will come in handy when you being my girlfriend is publicized."
Hermione nodded in acceptance as Harry wrote the letter to Gringotts. Harry later revealed his backup wand to Hermione, who was impressed by it.
"Not as impressive as yours, but this is the wand belonging to Hardwin Potter. Made up of Yew along with the core of Thestral tail hair, it has an affinity towards Transfiguration and martial magic. Like your wand, it has special enchantments that allow it to shift into the form of any weapon as desired by the wielder, like a sword, a spear or even a bow."
--X--