Anthony

Sev entered the class and interrupted it, but the teacher didn't say anything. Another free woman, all good professionals are. I'm going to chat with Anthony before I do with Lauren, I can also talk with her in Runes class, she doesn't have it for OWLs. Also, I see that she is studying without attending class, I leave her alone for a while.

He sat down next to Anthony who asked him softly, "Reconciliation with Jack?

Sev tried to bond with him. He got it instantly. "Anthony, do you hear me?"

"Wow, Prince… without looking at each other."

"Of course, Anthony, we are slobs. Surely we could do it from the first moment, our Bond is strong, we have a lot of trust in each other, for a long time, and it has not been undermined by everything that has happened between us."

"Of course not, Prince. I appreciate you more and more."

"And I you, I love you very much. Do you feel like chatting for a while? That is not due for our OWLs. I'm going to take out the book to pretend." He did, and though he reached down to remove it from his backpack, the Bond didn't break.

His friend continued speaking to him, "And even if it was due, I already have all the theory studied for a long time, and with the ritual of the cave you solve my life. If you also pass me the old man's Transfiguration talent, I'm going to get Outstanding in everything."

"How glad I am, Anthony, because you are the one who deserves it the most."

"One of the best things that have happened to me in life, meeting you. My friend forever, I will never forget that Arithmancy class. What a hard time I gave you mistrusting you, with how lonely you were and the problems you had."

"But since then you have more than compensated me. I can never thank you enough for all you have done for me since then, long before you knew the real benefit you could get from me. You are a very good person, not selfish at all, I have learned a lot from you. And the sacrifice you were willing to make for me, before you knew we'd drive the vipers away."

"Somehow I had to repay you for what you were doing for me," said his friend.

"But that didn't cost me any effort."

"How not? You granted us immense power, and in return you must teach all of us Mind Arts. Of course you made an effort, a lot, and you continue to do so every day. I wish I could help you more."

"You can do it if you want, we have to teach curses to all the summer escort," said Sev. "Deborah and Valerie are going to organize the schedule counting with you."

"Great! I'm going to have a blast. Do we have to go to the nest?"

"No, Anthony, don't even think about it, in summer the acromantulas are very dangerous."

"Oh… what a pity, with what we messed, it was historic."

"In addition, we have to let them reproduce, otherwise, those who have to really learn next year will have nowhere to go."

"Sure…"

"Next time we will have to go in the middle of winter, with the frost, so that few come out and we don't kill so many of them at once, because a lot of people will go, we have to instruct the entire Army," Sev continued.

"Sure…"

"This time you will have to teach them with bugs."

"Great, I like that too," said Anthony. "It reminds me of when we used to go on field trips with my parents when we were little, with my brother we always hunted bugs."

"Do you have a brother?"

"Yes, older, he is eighteen."

"Oh, you never told me. Has he graduated yet?" Sev asked.

"No, Prince, he's not a wizard, he's a Squib. You know, my Dad is a Muggle and my Mum is quite mixed blood. Miraculous that I turned out to be a wizard, for a reason I had so little talent."

"Anthony, that has nothing to do with it. Lily is Muggleborn and she is an extraordinary witch."

"True."

"And the vipers were pure-bloods and they were useless."

They laughed.

"You're right," his friend agreed. "And you are the best sorcerer in the House being a Half-blood."

"Well, now you're as good as me."

"But thanks to you, don't think I'll ever forget it."

"I have the feeling that we Slys are going to recover the points that we lost last week because of the lynchings thanks to the good grades that all of us who are going to perform the rituals are going to get in the exams," Sev said.

"Surely yes, we are going to get all the prizes. Is Jack coming to the cave and the tree?"

"If it's okay with Deborah and he wants to, yes."

"I would like him to come, the truth is, I love him very much," Anthony said. "It is a pity that he has moved away from us like that, I do not understand."

"Don't worry, I've already made him reconcile with everyone."

"Oh really?"

Sev told him, without revealing any secrets.

"You are exceptional, Prince, always fixing the lives of others. I'm very happy, until you showed up I considered him my best friend."

"And now you consider me your best friend?"

"Of course, for a long time, too."

"Oh... you never told me, and I pay very little attention to you," Sev said.

"You paid me the attention that you can, Prince, you have many things to attend to."

"Well, if you consider me your best friend, I would like you to confide in me on certain issues, as long as it doesn't embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable."

"I know what you mean, and of course I'm not embarrassed to talk about it with you. With you less than with anyone, because you know a lot about these things and I know you're going to give me good advice, but I don't want to waste your time with my things or that they cause you any other concern."

"Anthony, talk to me freely, we have more than an hour of class ahead of us and nothing else interesting to do. The rest of the day I'm going to be very busy, so go ahead and talk to me about everything that worries you."

"Okay. I'll start with a question, don't answer it if you don't want to. Has Deborah talked about me with you?"

"Yes, a little, the day after the party. We have a lot to think about and we don't see each other much, and I haven't wanted to ask her or get involved in your affairs either."

"I don't want you to explain to me what she told you either, it's your business," said his friend.

(Discreet to the max.) "Brilliant."

"I know that she is in love with you since the day she met you."

(Sure, she stopped doing it with him,) Sev thought. "Oh... she didn't tell me that," he lied.

"Didn't you realize?"

"No, Anthony, I had a lot on my mind."

"She never took her eyes off you when we were all together, and she always asked me about you, how you were, how you were doing in class, how you are as a person... She didn't talk about anything else."

(Concerned about how I was doing, trying to get to know me as much as possible and letting Anthony know that she liked me. And Anthony doesn't tell me at all about them not doing it, he's very discreet.) "She hasn't explained all that to me either."

"Before we knew about the Magic of the Moon I didn't give it importance, because I knew that you loved Lily and that you would never leave her for Deborah," his friend continued. "In fact, you didn't pay any attention to her."

(He's very short-sighted, she spent a month and a half without doing it with him.) Sev tried not to laugh. "True, I did not pay any attention to her."

"In Easter we didn't meet or write to each other, and that's when I started to worry."

(Trying to break away from him by all means, despite not knowing yet that she could have me.) "And when you returned?"

"On the return I tried to speak clearly about it with her and she went off on a tangent," Anthony replied. "She told me that she wasn't well, that she wanted to take it easy for a while, that we were going to have a lot of trouble, as indeed it has been ever since."

(A good excuse not to offend him.) "And how did you take it?"

"I knew they were her excuses but I didn't want to put her in a bind, I accepted what she was telling me and decided to give her the time she was asking for."

"How respectful, Anthony," Sev appraised him.

"Of course, she is also with me."

"And how long did it take Jack to give you the notes on the Magic of the Moon?"

"That same week, before the next training," his friend answered.

(Jack barely brushed it off, not even thinking of making a copy for him, suspecting Lauren might be with me, too.) "Who did he pass them on to?"

"Both of us together."

"He explained to you what it was about?" Sev asked.

"Yes, the matriarchy and all that."

"And did you read them together?"

"We didn't. Deborah kept them," Anthony replied.

(To have the information before him.) "How long did she take to pass them on?"

"The next day. She didn't tell me, but I'm sure she copied them, because she hasn't asked me to give them back, I have the ones you brought."

(Interested in both of them getting to know it as soon as possible and efficient as hell, and Jack hasn't been interested in the subject at all again,) Sev thought. "Of course she copied them. She hasn't told me either, but she's passing her copy to the new oclumants. I remember passing the notes to Jack on Wednesday when I met him in the small clearing after Arithmancy. Did you have time to talk about it before training that Saturday?"

"Yes, Prince, because she passed them to me on Friday and asked me to read them that same afternoon after school, so we could talk about it at night, after the Library."

(Very interested that they both have all the information and come to an agreement before seeing me again.) "And what did you think?"

"The ideal solution," Anthony answered. "She could be with you if she wanted, for Lily's part as well as for mine, it's women who choose. And so I told her, that I had already realized that she had a crush on you, and I encouraged her to approach you."

"And what did she think?"

"That things weren't so simple, that we boys also had the right to decide, and that, in any case, it wasn't a good time for you at all with all the mess you had. And also, that she did not see herself capable of sharing her partner with anyone."

(Honest in everything except how she felt about him, so as not to hurt him.) "And what did you answer her?" Sev asked.

"That in that case she take it easy, let time go by, wait until you could be with us every day and get to know you better, that perhaps it would be worth sharing you with Lily."

"So things went on as they were."

"That is, with the exception that with my opinion that women were the ones who choose and hers that men also have the right to decide, I allowed myself to begin to pay attention to Heather, because I had already realized for a long time that she liked me," his friend continued.

"And you like her?"

"Of course, Prince, a lot, she's my best friend since first year."

(To subtly encourage him to leave Deborah.) "Well, you did very well, Anthony. I think you're going to get along much better with her than with Deborah."

"Yes, I think so too, because I get along well with Deborah as long as I agree with her about everything, when we disagree on something she never gives her arm to twist. When you were trying to get into the Guard we had some terrible arguments."

"Yeah, I already imagined that."

"However, Heather and Fiona accepted you for the simple fact of seeing that you helped me in class, they are much more tolerant," Anthony added.

"In any case, Deborah has changed a lot."

"Yes, also, since shortly after, since Valerie and Andrew appeared and she told her about anarchism and free love, have they told you that?"

"Yes, Valerie, yesterday," Sev replied.

"You already knew about all those things, right?"

"No, Anthony, I would have told you, just like I did with the Ancestral Magics."

"Sure, we should have guessed," his friend said. "In any case, we've been so busy ever since, there wasn't much time to think about such things. All the time I took with Deborah was spent practicing so that she would learn Legilimency thoroughly."

"Yes, she has told me that. Thank you very much Anthony, it must have been very boring for you."

"Not at all, Prince, delighted to have been able to help you like this. Besides, I didn't waste time, she did it while I was studying."

"You are fantastic, both of you," Sev appraised. "And after the mess?"

"The same, I told her that now that you were more within her reach, she should make an effort to become your friend. I was upset when you couldn't bond and she couldn't bond with me either."

(With me it was my fault, and with Anthony it was hers, because she wasn't being honest with him. He did trust her and accept her as she was.) "Have you tried again?"

"Yes, Prince, the morning after the last party, when she chatted with me in the meeting room and finally opened up."

(He has avoided mentioning that we got involved at the party. How delicate he is, I will not inquire further.) "And with Heather, how about?"

"Wonderfully, delighted with me, excited. Since she doesn't know the Magic of the Moon, she is convinced that I am going to leave Deborah and stay with her."

(Ok, it looks like Anthony wants to keep both of them, but of course, Heather might not have it. To probe him.) "And why don't you do it, Anthony?"

"Because I don't want to hurt Deborah, I want her to leave me."

Sev laughed. (What a couple of two.) "Anthony, leave her, what does that matter? Do you think Deborah is going to feel hurt, with how self-assured she is?"

"But she is also very proud, and I don't want to hurt her pride."

"Anthony, listen to me. I've been with Deborah for a very short time but very intense, I know her well, you're not going to hurt her pride. You're telling me all this so I can advise you, aren't you?"

"Yes of course."

"Well, my advice is this, leave Deborah today, and today, ask Heather out."

"Really, Prince?" excited.

"Yes Anthony, yes. Really."

Sev dedicated the entire class to chatting with Anthony about boys' secrets, advising him discreetly and delicately, talking about himself and his relationships and not forcing him to talk about his.

(I'll talk to Lauren in Runes, which Anthony doesn't have and she doesn't need for the OWLs. Jack already told me about himself, there's no reason to get into too controversial topics, an hour will be enough, and so I won't interrupt her if she is concentrating at ease.)

He also found out about the exam schedule thanks to Anthony.

"Have you paid attention only to the Defense subjects or all of them?" Sev asked.

"All of them, to tell you too. Deborah asked me, in case you hadn't had time to look at it."

"Do you know it by heart?"

"No, Prince, I wrote it down, I have it here and I made a copy of it for her too, for the planning."

"Wow, Anthony… thank you very much, both of you."

"Sure, we are a team, Prince."

Anthony took a scroll from his backpack and showed it to him. They looked at it together, commenting on it.

"Monday the 14th, Charms, practice in the morning and theory in the afternoon," Sev said.

"Yeah, for Outstanding, we're off to a good start," Anthony said.

"Better, so we get rid of one of them as soon as possible, I need six Outstandings and one Acceptable. But it's very badly scheduled, we're going to have to take the practical test in a hurry."

"You are going to get seven Outstandings, but it is true, it is very badly scheduled, you will see the rest."

"Yes I hope so," Sev said. "Tuesday the 15th, electives, Runes in the morning and Muggle Studies in the afternoon. Great, the afternoon off, you the whole day."

"You need Runes for Medimagic, right?"

"Yes, the Acceptable. Wednesday the 16th, Herbology, theory in the morning and practice in the afternoon. This one is good, and you only need an Exceed Expectations."

"But I'm going to get Outstanding with the magic of the Forest," said his friend.

"Of course. Thursday the 17th, History of Magic in the morning and Divination in the afternoon, the whole day off for both of us, wonderful. So far it's going very well, with alternate days with breaks."

"Yes, wait to see the following week."

"Don't scare me, Anthony, let's go in parts. Friday the 18th, Potions, practice in the morning and theory in the afternoon, they could have scheduled it vice versa as well. An Exceed Expectations for you, an Outstanding for me."

"Piece of cake, controlling Arithmancy."

"Of course. Monday the 21st, electives, Care of Magical Criatures in the morning and afternoon. Full day free for both."

"An annoyance, why do we want so many whole days off in a row?" Anthony wondered.

"Well yes, I preferred to have some morning and afternoon that Monday, they could have left it for Tuesday."

"Wait, wait, you'll see the rest of the week."

"Let's see, Anthony, don't be impatient. Tuesday the 22nd, Astronomy theory in the morning, Arithmancy in the afternoon and Astronomy practice at night. Well, the schedule is wrong, I'm already waiting for what's coming. You've already got four days off in a row. Wednesday, day off. Ugh... five days off in a row for you and I only Arithmancy, which I have dominated, on Tuesday, and on top of that in the afternoon."

"It's terrible."

"Indeed. Thursday the 24th, Defense, practice in the morning and theory in the afternoon. All the other way around, there is not going to be time for so many people who are preparing Defense to take a decent practical exam in the morning, they are going to go in a hurry."

"Indeed."

"And not only that, in the afternoon it will be very hot in the Great Hall, the last days of June," Sev added.

"Of course, with the sun coming through the windows."

"I'm not going to wear my uniform, in short sleeves."

"Don't do that, Prince, they can expel you from the exam."

"You're right. What a horror, I have a terrible time with the heat. And they have left the worst of all for last, two subjects for Outstanding for Defense two days in a row. Transfiguration, and again the practice in the morning and the theory in the afternoon, there is no time to take the exam in peace."

"I already told you that it is very bad."

"We are going to pass them, but all the people who are making an effort without enjoying the power of the Ancestral Magics are going to have a hard time," Sev said. "I think the Ministry is doing it on purpose so there will be fewer Defense NEWT students next year."

"I'm telling you, getting their hands on what they can, trying to fuck us."

"They don't want to have an avalanche of Aurors, but they're not going to have it, because when we graduate we're going to be in the middle of the war and well prepared, the vast majority won't go through the Auror Academy."

"And what are we going to live on, Prince, without a salary?"

"Yeah, you're right, we will have to continue living in our parents' house. I, hopefully, if they approve that Dueling Chair, which from what I've seen I highly doubt, I'll be an assistant, I'll live here, and so will Lily, of Potions. And if they don't approve it, I can do a Medimagic degree at St. Mungo's. I have to talk to the old man about this, he has to start getting his hands on the Ministry now, otherwise the war is going to come down on us without them reacting. I'll tell him as soon as I can."