Yo! Happy New Year! Thank you to all readers so far!
Note: Chapters 48, 53, and 54 were previously all AN chapters. I've removed those ANs and replaced them with actual content. We have a Mini Sirius chapter, a Mini Crookshanks chapter, and a chapter called Therapy With Dr Greyback. I'm quite fond of the first and third, so I hope you'll give them a read. They're related to things previously mentioned, but are also sort of filler because of them replacing the ANs and all that.
The strange letter from Voldemort wasn't the only one Dumbledore ended up receiving. Not by a long shot. It turned out to be the least weird one, though.
Just two short days later, another letter arrived, this one accompanied by a parcel.
It was dinner time in the Great Hall when the two owls (who looked suspiciously like Hedwig and Errol) flew directly to the Head Table, drawing everyone's attention immediately, since the post wasn't typically delivered in the evening.
More than one person swore they saw resignation cross Dumbledore's face, but it was gone so quickly they weren't sure they'd even seen it at all.
As soon as they were relieved of their burdens, the two owls flew off the way they'd come, not even bothering to wait for any sort of reward, which was certainly rather strange. Regardless, most of the students (and the professors, though they would never admit it) were curious to see what Dumbledore had gotten this time around.
Just as the previous letters Dumbledore had received, this one too read itself out loud, though it was the shortest letter yet.
'Congratulations on becoming a grandfather!'
Students exchanged glances. Was that it? Sure, it was nice and heartwarming and all, but why put that in something everyone had to hear? It didn't involve any of them. But then what was in the parcel?
No doubt aware he was being watched, and looking slightly confused, probably because he'd never had children in general, Dumbledore hesitated only slightly before he reached for the box.
It was a fairly large box, but it couldn't have been particularly heavy if it'd been carried by only two owls. Either that or it had a featherlight charm on it. ...Yeah, that was probably more likely.
The instant the box's flaps opened, several feathery balls shot out of the box and high into the air. The Great Hall was filled with an odd sort of clicking, and then the balls lowered to hover around Dumbledore at the table.
"Grandpa!" "Gramps!" "Grandpapi!" and other such variations of the word were cried out, all at once. There were sudden screams of terror from several Muggleborns who recognized these supposed grandchildren.
"Oh snap! Furbies!?" Harry exclaimed, looking genuinely disconcerted.
Hermione paled. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. I can't stand these things, Harry!"
"Hey, don't look at me! I've got nothing to do with this!" Harry exclaimed as he recoiled.
The students who'd heard him once again traded glances. Harry was the most obvious suspect, but was he really telling the truth when he said it wasn't him? He did look pretty confused. Harry didn't seem like he'd be very good at acting either, they thought.
Of course, Harry was the one behind it, though it'd been Marvolo's idea in the first place. Harry had been the one to acquire the dozen, different coloured furbies, and had paid the Weasley twins a very nice sum to charm them the same way they had the first furby. And now Dumbledore was the proud grandfather of a dozen grandfurbies.
What a miracle!
Dumbledore wasn't going to be able to stop the furbies unless he removed their batteries, which Harry wasn't sure he'd even think to do. Even if he did, he and Marvolo had something else up their sleeves. The furbies were nothing more than a distraction, a bonus, even. Something to add to Dumbledore's annoyance while they finalized everything else.
They had letters to send and receive, articles to have written and published, and people to bribe. The furbies would hopefully be enough to keep Dumbledore nice and busy while they took care of the rest.
Oh, and they couldn't forget the lemon drops. They had to buy those too. They were going to need a lot of them!
As Sirius pointed and laughed at the irritated-looking Dumbledore, Harry allowed himself a moment to smile. This was going to be fun.
That's it for now. I'm so sorry about the, like, two-year wait. I caught the plague a good three times, caught some very nasty colds that left me coughing for two months at a time, and had many doctors appointments, but my older brother passing away extremely suddenly nearly two years ago is the main reason I didn't manage to update this. I honestly just wasn't in the mood for it, and didn't want to force myself to write it when we're already so close to the ending.
Speaking of the ending, I have an idea in mind for it and I like it a lot, so hopefully that'll go well, lol. Anyway, looking forward to reviews! Laterz!