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"ACCIO!"
The whole Gryffindor house watched with shock as Professor McGonagall entered the common room, and without any further words or actions simply casted the summoning charm, the anger on her face stopping several inquisitive voices before they could even think of asking something. Sounds of crashing and dull thuds reached everyone's ears in the wake of McGonagall's furious shout, and a moment later, a veritable mountain of boxes and other things came flying from every direction imaginable.
'They are buggered' was the thought of every Gryffindor—or something along the same lines—as they saw the boxes, or rather more specifically, the items that were spilling around McGonagall's feet even as the door behind her opened and more stuff came flying in from outside their common room. Percy Weasley, already preparing a letter to be sent to his mother in his head, and simultaneously preparing a long-winded apology on the behalf of his brothers started to move towards the professor. However, without even looking at him, she raised her palm…and he stopped right then and there. Her nostrils flaring in anger, McGonagall turned towards the entrance of the common room, and on some level…Percy knew that his brothers were about to get a scolding of a lifetime.
As expected, the twins came rushing inside, their hair disheveled and their faces covered in soot. Wands already out and tips shining with what was undoubtedly yet another humiliating, childish prank spell, both of them froze in their steps as their eyes landed on the visibly furious McGonagall. After a few seconds of oppressive silence which no one seemed to want to break, George's—or was it Fred's?— eyes dipped down towards their stash, the items they had created and were creating sprawled all around her.
"Pro-"
"SILENCE!" Professor McGonagall barked, and George's mouth snapped shut with an audible click at the anger in that shout, and the scathing glare she was giving them. The sound of both twins gulping a moment later easily reached everyone's ears. However, what followed after that was something no one had ever imagined happening. She didn't even wave her wand, or so much as move her lips…yet the boxes and items around her erupted into brilliant flames. Before anyone could so much as let out a shriek at the sudden fire, the flames disappeared, and not even ash was left behind as the years' worth of the twins' work was destroyed just like that.
"My classroom, immediately" she positively snarled as she started to exit the common room. However, when the twins showed no sign of movement even after she had walked past them, she stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"Now!"
"Did you hear what happened this morning in the Gryffindor House?" Tracey asked, removing her cap and the muffler as she sat down on the seat. "Apparently, Professor McGonagall burnt away the Weasley twin's belongings and then strung them up by their ankles in the common room. Naked."
Daphne rolled her eyes at that, putting down Melinoe's cage beside her. "I sometimes wonder about how you got those outstandings in Charms and Astronomy."
"Hey!" Tracey pouted, "not my fault this is what happens to every bit of news in the castle!"
"Of course it is not," Persephone placated her, tickling Sgàile's neck and chest, the magical bird once again in its miniature, chick-sized form. "However, something must have happened this morning, especially after what happened to that girl yesterday."
"Mmhm, who knew that even Gryffindor's aren't safe from them."
"Gryffindor's aren't safe from who?" Harry asked, looking at Tracey in confusion as he turned and laid his feet on the seat, placing his head in his sister's lap. Removing her hand from Sgàile's feathers to instead pet Harry's head, Persephone chuckled a little as the bird gave a small shriek of annoyance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him give her brother what was no doubt a glare before with a swirl of shadows, it disappeared from the compartment.
"Some girl from the second year," Tracey began, shedding her heavy robe as the temperature inside the train rose to comfortable levels, "I think her name was Edwards or something like that, was given chocolate by the Weasley twins. Except, she was majorly allergic to one of the things inside that, and it was a very serious medical emergency."
"And people call us soon-to-be-killers," Harry snorted, "I wonder if that is the reason Professor McGonagall was absent from the head table today?"
"No." Daphne shook her head with a small smile on her lips, "according to some Ravenclaw girls that passed us by on the way to the carriages, She had called the parents of the Weasley brood to the Castle this morning."
"Brood?" Persephone asked, confused at the term—since four children weren't what she'd call a 'brood'.
"They have seven children," Tracey explained, "their youngest is a daughter, who will join Hogwarts next year, and their eldest two boys have already graduated."
Daphne and Tracey both chuckled the next moment as Persephone's jaw dropped, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. While she wasn't as closed off as Daphne, in all the time they had known the redhead, they hadn't seen her so bewildered and shocked at the same time. "Se-Seven?!" she cried out, and beneath her hand, they could see Harry also looking at them with a doubtful expression, his own eyes perfectly matching Persephone's stunned ones.
"Yes," Daphne nodded, "That is why they are the laughing stock of most of magical Britain. The last Lord Weasley squandered their respectable wealth in gambling and failed businesses. Also, it is no secret that Arthur Weasley, the current patriarch gave large amounts of their remaining gold to Dumbledore in aim to oppose the Dark Lord. and now, despite knowing their perilous financial state, they still never thought about the fact that more children meant more expenditure."
"That is…I don't even have the words for it," Harry murmured, yawning widely a moment later as he turned his face towards Persephone's abdomen, "Anyways, not my problem. I am going back to sleep now, so kindly keep the chatter down."
"Is he so cuddly always?" Tracey asked, she and Daphne both looking at Harry's back and then Persephone's face curiously. Despite being quite affectionate with his sister, and more and more friendly towards them with each passing day…Harry had never seemed like the type to sleep in his sister's lap— and then hug her too for good measure.
"Is that even a word?"
"Don't know," Tracey shrugged and then grinned brightly,, "You understood my meaning right? Then give the answer."
"Why does it matter if he is cuddly or not?" Persephone scrunched her nose, trying to make sense of what the brunette was saying. However, it wasn't Tracey who answered her query, the girl instead clasping her hands together and leaning forwards as if she was about to reveal the secrets of the whole Universe. No, the one who answered her was their blond-haired friend, Daphne sighing deeply as she leaned back into the seat and gave her a sympathetic glance.
"Tracey has a fascination with younger siblings and cuddles," Daphne explained, "When she came to our manor for the first time, Astoria had been about three I think, and being the single child…Tracey thinks that it is a good idea to adopt every cute-looking younger sibling as her younger sibling too."
Considering how upbeat and bright the girl was, Persephone had no trouble imagining Tracey cuddling the hell out of a mini-Daphne. She giggled at the amusing thought, and if the long-suffering sigh Daphne gave once again was any indication, then the perceptive girl had most probably realized what she was thinking about.
"Wait?" Tracey raise her hands, her eyes wide as she stared at Daphne, "Did you just call Harry cute?"
Daphne groaned and shook her head, as Tracey squealed loudly and started to badger her with questions. 'How much cute do you find him?' and 'Will you let him take you to Hogsmeade?' were some of the ones the excited brunette asked, and all the while, Persephone just kept on giggling at the steadily worsening expression on Daphne's face.
After a few minutes, it wasn't the least bit surprising when the blond flicked out her wand and pointed it at Tracey. Her eyes crossed as she tried to focus on the wood that was aimed right between her eyes, she had no idea of what was about to happen.
"Silencio!"
"So," she began with a sly smile aimed at the relived-looking blond, twirling a finger into her crimson locks, "What is this about you finding my brother cute?"
Daphne groaned and gave her such a filthy look that she burst out laughing, making the blond glower even more at her. Somehow, her brother slept through it all…but maybe that was a good thing? Daphne looked like her face was going to be permanently red with the amount of blood that was rushing to it.
Stepping down from the coach onto the Platform, Harry and Persephone both quickly started to move towards the back of the crowd, dragging their trunks behind them. Already, the loud noises had quietened down to whispers as everyone glared at them, curses and derisive words flowing through the air and all aimed at them. Thankfully, receiving and greeting their children evidently outweighed the adults' need to verbally trash down a pair of eleven-year-olds, the wizards and witches quickly turning back to the train as more and more students started to disembark.
"Harry, Persephone," a calm voice spoke up from their right, and both of their heads immediately snapped to Arcturus' direction, the man standing there with his cane in his hands and a small smile on his face. "It is good to see you, now come on. I don't want to spend a single second more in the company of these buffoons than I have to."
With that cheery greeting, he flicked his fingers as if jerking water off them, adn their trunks immediately shrunk down to the size of matchboxes before they floated into his pockets. Harry and Persephone both shared a look at that, the wandless magic taking them by surprise. Though, considering the legend the Lord of the Black had carved for himself over the decades, it shouldn't have been so surprising.
"Can we go to the bank of the Thames first? Near Olivia's Shippings and Trippings?" Persephone suddenly asked, and Arcturus raised an eyebrow at her, the silent question in his eyes easily understood by the twins.
"We have something we need to pick up from there," he explained, looking down at the ground and already half-expecting Arcturus to refuse them, "She should be nearby the rusted containers piled near the port."
"Fine" he nodded in response, and raised his cane so that it was parallel to the ground, "Grab the ends of my cane, and don't loosen your grip at any cost."
Doing as he said, Harry and Persephone felt the familiar sensation of apparating come over them, only, that Arcturus' teleportation seemed to be even smoother and faster than theirs. An eyeblink later, they were standing on the bank of the Thames, the shipping company's office and port just beside them. A little ways away, a dozen or so large containers were sprawled over the grass. Running over to what had been their home for two months, Harry and Persephone came to a stop in front of one of the containers and looked at each other. Silent conversation flowed between the two, as Persephone cocked her head in the direction of their Grand-Uncle, and in response, Harry sighed and shook his head.
"Who is it you wanted to pick up from here?" Arcturus asked as he looked at the giant boxes in front of him, "I can only assume it is an animal of some sort, because if you are here for a muggle, then forget ab-"
"It is Scylla," the redhead interrupted, "She is a magical Burmese Python, or at least that is what the muggles thought she was. We left her here in September because snakes weren't on the list of the pets that Hogwarts allowed."
He raised an eyebrow at that, "So you both know that you are parseltongues?"
Both of them blinked at that, the fact that Arcturus knew they were able to talk to serpents before they even knew it themselves, shutting their minds for a moment. Harry recovered first from the shock and frowned, "How do you know that?"
"That is a long story," came the response as Arcturus sighed and looked down at them with a small, sad smile on his face, "I will tell you all about it, but first you need to find that serpent of yours."
"Scylla is either in the river or she has gone away to hunt," Persephone said, "I think we would just have to wait for her to come here."
"Hmm, we could do that," he nodded, before he smirked at them both as his eyes flicked from one Potter to the other, "Or I can give you the first lesson of the many you are going to get from me."
"Lesson? Many?" Harry and Persephone both echoed.
"Which of you two did this 'Scylla' spend the most time with?" he asked, ignoring their questions.
"Uhh…we never really noticed that thing, she was usually with both of us" Harry answered, and Persephone nodded along with him, "Harry and I sat at one end of the container, and Scylla would drape herself over our laps and talk with us about her hunts and whatever she saw outside that day."
"Hmm…who does that eagle I sent to you both spend the most time with, or towards whom is he more affectionate?"
"Sgàile? I think he likes her more than me. That bird nearly bit my finger off last week." he grumbled the last bit to himself, but Persephone and Arcturus nonetheless caught it, both of them chuckling a bit at his words.
"Very well," the older man nodded, "Now Harry, I want you to picture every single detail about Scylla. How her scales feel beneath your palm, how you felt in her presence and how you feel without her. Focus on Scylla and the need to find her being your only thought, and once you have done all the above, I want you to apparate us to the place your magic leads you to,"
Laying his hand on Harry's shoulder as he closed his eyes, Arcturus looked at Persephone and nodded towards the unoccupied shoulder of her brother. Realizing what he wanted her to do, she too laid her hand upon Harry's shoulder, and after a few moments, and the familiar sensation of apparition enveloped her mind. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in an open meadow, and sprawled on the ground in front of them, in all of her twenty-five feet glory was Scylla. And she was in the middle of eating something. With her lower jaws unhinged and mouth open wide enough to swallow a cow whole, she was busy devouring a horse, her meal already halfway done.
"That is a big snake," Arcturus commented, conjuring three chairs for them to sit upon as the air shimmered around the four of them, "Well, at least you are living upto your heritage Harry."
"Who is this human, Harry?"
"He is a relative of ours," Harry hissed back, petting Scylla's head as waited for the horse inside her to get disgusted, "We are going to live with him from now on."
"He better not harm you or your sister," the giant snake said back, her golden-brown eyes blinking slowly as she turned her head towards the new individual, "I will tear and rip him apart if he does anything."
"You focus on melting that horse inside you first," his sister interjected, rolling her eyes at the threat Scylla posed to Arcturus, or rather, the lack of one, "It is getting colder here, and I don't want freeze to death. Not everyone can resist the changes in temperature like a magical serpent."
"The time spent at Hogwarts has done you both some good, you both aren't as skinny as before." Scylla hissed as the bulge in her body started to decline at an increased pace. She increased the power of her digestive enzymes, the magical nature of her body making the breaking down of the horse inside her exponentially faster than her non-magical brethren could so.
Within moments, she had finished absorbing the horse inside her, Scylla showed them yet another of her abilities as she started t shrink in size. According to her, she could decrease her size to half of what she was, making herself any smaller being beyond her. Now just about eleven to twelve feet long, and her width no longer as gigantic as before, Scylla easily draped herself over the shoulders of the three with the bulk of her body mainly upon Arcturus's shoulders. Grabbing his cane like before, Harry and Persephone once again felt like they were being squeezed for a single moment before their feet once again touched solid ground.
"Welcome, to the Kástro Mávros," Arcturus said, his voice soft and filled with pride, "This is going to be your home until you reach adulthood, or are emancipated."
Home…seemed to be too small of a word for what they were seeing in front of them. Made from a stone as black as the darkest night, the castle in front of them looked imposing and grand in a way that made Buckingham look like it was nothing but a child's attempt at architecture. While it was far from reaching the size of Hogwarts, Harry and Persephone were still left in the awe of the tall towers at each end of the castle, adn the giant door at the entrance.
Like Hogwarts, the grounds continued on for a bit until a forest enveloped them, the woods appearing to teem with even more darkness than the Forbidden Forest. There wasn't any water body or statues or fountains around them, the lands completely bare of anything other than grass and in some places, flowers.
The castle and the land it sat upon portrayed the Blacks perfectly from what they had read about them. Dark. Beautiful. Imposing. And Powerful.
As they started to follow Arcturus up to the entrance, Harry felt Scylla slide off his shoulders, and Persephone grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers. Sharing a look with her, both of them grinned at each other, anticipating all the things they would learn here at the feet of Arcturus Black, the Scourge of Brittany.