Things in the head

When they finished, Sev took a few minutes of solitude to go to the bathroom and recover from the emotions of the intense morning. Boof… and I thought I would be relaxed today… I'm going to take the next few days very calmly, I'm going to cancel everything that isn't essential and use the Time Turner as little as possible. Maybe I'll leave learning to Obliviate for another time. Overall, I don't need it yet, I can do it when I get back in September.

Also tonight I'm going to retire at a reasonable hour, as soon as things start to get too out of hand. The party is going to start at eight, it's enough for me staying until twelve or one, when the third years leave. This way I'll avoid as much as possible what awaits me as Valerie has warned me, and Deborah and Paul also have time ahead of them to continue enjoying themselves.

I don't even feel like going to London with those who Apparate anymore, there are going to be a lot of Raves and no one in the family was planning to go. Let's see if Hippolyta has already decided what she wants to do, and in any case, I can rest or read, maybe for a while with Ariel, and finish the 'Homage to Catalonia' book and thus not have to borrow it all summer.

Very good, I'm much better now. Let's have lunch, I'm starving. He returned to the Great Hall, all the tables except the Sly one, even the teachers', were empty. When he entered they cheered him. Ugh… how irritating… "To lunch!" he shouted at them. "Calm down!"

The entire table laughed. I have lost all authority, what a trashy Head, no one listens to me anymore.

"Have you seen, Prince?" Brad exclaimed. "The Great Hall for us alone!"

"I already see it, also worthy of the front page in The Prophet."

Those who heard him laughed.

"And not only that, the Rave team has sat down with us!"

"That is really worthy of the front page in The Daily Prophet!" exclaimed Sev.

Cheers again. Booff… I'm not going to pay any attention to them, they're all excited. The victory, coming from the field shouting slogans, the reception in the Great Hall, the prospect of the party, too many emotions…

He came to his place and sat between Ariel and Hippolyta. He greeted the first, "Hello, honey, I haven't spoken to you all morning. What did you think of the match?"

"Very short, Sev, I would have liked it to have been longer."

"Yeah, me too. It's Hippolyta, she's too good. She could have caught the Snitch even sooner."

"Yes, she already told us, that she did it so that we could see her from the stands."

"Yes, she told me too," Sev confirmed. "Have you noticed her or the Chasers?"

"Everything, Sev, I have seen the three goals and the three attempts of the Raves."

"Wow… what a machine. I am not able to focus on everything at once."

"Because you haven't gone to a Quidditch match since your first year, you're not used to it."

"Of course, that's why, and also because I'm dumber than you," said the oldest.

"That is not true."

"Yes, yes it is. I haven't even tried."

"Well, you'll do it next year," the boy excused him.

"Sure, I'll do it. You've almost finished the first dish, is it rich today?"

"You know that it almost always seems rich to me."

"Well, I'm going to try it," said Sev. Wow… well, it is delicious. Great.

He spoke to Hippolyta, who was eating with the Cup before her on the table. He laughed. I think she'll sleep with the Cup tonight. "Wow, Hipólita, you've almost finished the first one too. You're liking it today, huh?"

"Yes, a lot," the girl answered.

"Leave room for the second."

"I'm going to eat almost everything too, Prince, I'm really hungry."

Great… She's already overcoming the phase where she couldn't fit enough food in her stomach. "Have you already thought about what you are going to do in the afternoon?"

"Yes, I'm going to be with my friends for a while, as I had told you before."

"Brilliant. And have you already made plans?" he asked.

"Yes, Ariel is going to take us to a place in the Forest that he knows."

Ugh… what a danger… "To what place?"

"I don't know, ask him," she replied. "I only know the pond."

Sev turned to the boy and said, "Ariel, Hippolyta told me that this afternoon you are going to the Forest. Where do you plan to go?"

"To your clearing, Sev," Ariel responded. "I asked Deborah if you adults needed it and she told me you don't."

"And who are you going to go? All third year Slys?"

"Yeah."

"Ariel, it scares me a little. There you are going to get bored, you are going to want to walk through the Forest and you are going to get lost."

"No, Sev, trust me. We're not going to get bored, we're going to play games."

"What games?"

"Games that can be played sitting down and you don't know. And if we get bored we'll fight for a while, there are three who have never fought."

"But the eight of you don't fit there to fight," objected the oldest.

"If we fight four against four, we do."

"Ugh... But if you fight you can get hurt and you still don't know how to heal. I'm going to have to go with you to take care of you."

"No, Sev, we'll only use spells that don't make us fall. Trust me, you taught me very well and I taught Shelley too. Besides, you don't matter there, we want to be alone. I already explained everything to Deborah and Jack and they were fine with it. You worry too much, you were walking around the Forest alone since your first year, that was dangerous."

"But precisely because I know it was dangerous, I don't want you to do it."

"It's okay, Sev."

"And if one escapes you?"

"Sev, no one is going to escape. We are always together, we go to be together, no one wants to go out there alone."

"If you prefer, let's all go to the pond, I'll take you."

"No, Sev. Look how annoying you are, huh?" getting hard. "You worry too much about everything, we're grown up now, huh? Almost all of them are fourteen years old and I have less than two months left." And lowering his voice but without changing his tone, "I could even take them to the Guard clearing, I know the way well with the magic of the Forest and I don't do it so that you adults, don't worry." And returning to the normal tone, "And I tell you for the second time that this afternoon we want to be alone, we have already been with you all week studying for the exams. You too go with your friends and forget about us for a while. Before Christmas you didn't care about any of us."

"Ugh... but because I didn't know you, honey," sad. "Don't tell me that, I feel terrible."

"I didn't know you either and I did care about you," changing his tone to soft.

"I already know. Sorry for being annoying, you're right, I trust you."

"Okay, Sev. Can you promise me you won't worry?"

"Yeah, I promise you."

"Come on, continue having lunch calmly, it's going to get cold."

Sev continued eating. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Ask."

"If Hippolyta gets bored, can you accompany her back to the road so she can return to the castle?"

"Sure, Sev, whatever it takes, but I don't think she's going to get bored. So if you had thought about being with her this afternoon, make other plans, she really wants to go to the Forest with us."

"Then go to the kitchens first to get her snack."

"Yes, Sev, we already know, as we always do and Deborah has reminded me again. Don't be annoying again, please. You don't have to take care of everyone alone, we already take care of each other too."

"Thank you, honey, sorry, you're right."

"Come on, eat calmly."

"One last thing," timidly.

"What, Sev?"

"May you ward the clearing."

"Of course, Sev, I already know that too, so that Hagrid doesn't catch us, like at Christmas."

"Sorry, honey, I'm a bore."

"Come on, eat calmly."

I'm not calm yet. He turned to Hippolyta. "Hippolyta, if you want to spend this entire afternoon with your friends in the Forest, you don't need to come as you had agreed to do with me."

"But I also want to be with you, Prince."

"But if you're having a great time, stay with them, okay?"

"But I also had a great time with you and the last few days we have done nothing but study, I prefer a little time with each one."

"But you won't see most of them on holidays," Sev objected.

"Of course I'm going to see them, what do you think? I already have everyone's addresses. The only one I won't be able to see is Maida, because you know, her family is malefic. The poor girl is very overwhelmed by having to return home and stop seeing us all summer, she is going to be alone."

"Yes... it's true, poor girl."

"Do you know that she also wants to be a warrior?" the girl announced. "For our side. Next year she is going to train with the Army."

Ugh… we'll have to teach her Occlumency first thing. "Have you warned her not to tell her parents anything?"

"She already knows it herself, Prince. She's not stupid at all, huh?"

"Very good very good. Are her parents Death Eaters?"

"Yes, her father."

I already knew. Ugh… if she meets the slut in the summer... We should have thought of this before and taught her Occlumency. Maybe we still have time. He bonded with Deborah. "Deborah, we have a problem."

"Tell me, Prince."

"Maida, the third-grade malefic who is no longer malefic."

"Yes tell me."

"She wants to be a warrior for our side and the kids have told her about the Army," he said.

"Yes, I know, Shelley told me too."

"Her father is a Death Eater."

"I already knew it too, she has told everyone," she confirmed.

"If she meets Lestrange this summer she will read her to find out what is happening at school."

"Prince, don't worry about that. Jack and I have already been taking her to teach Occlumency to your glade. Ninety percent."

"Wow, Deborah… you hadn't told me anything."

"What to worry you for? You have quite a few things on your mind."

"The kids don't know anything about that."

"Of course not," she confirmed. "We have tested how trustworthy she is, checking to see if she told her friends, and she hasn't slipped. In fact, she has reached ninety percent in just two sessions, we explained the danger of Lestrange to her and she took it with great, great interest, she is extremely reliable."

"Wow… what a relief."

"Prince, stop worrying about everything."

"Alright…" He unbonded, spoke to Hippolyta, "Well, then we remain as we had agreed. You when you're bored or you really want to be with me and I when I get back from London. If I'm not in the Common Room, because there's bound to be a lot of noise, you go up to the fifth-grade boys' dormitory and look for me there, okay?"

"Great, Prince," Hippolyta replied.

"If I haven't arrived yet, go down to the Common Room again, or if you prefer to be quieter, you sit and read on a bed, mine is the one next to the window."

"Great, Prince."

Boof… Indeed I have things on my mind. He screamed, "Brad!"

"What?" Brad asked.

"I'm going with you to London!"

Cheers. Booff… I'm already regretting it.

"OK! We have met at the castle door when we are all free!"

"Brilliant!"

Valerie bonded with him and asked, "Am I going with you to get rid of the Rave girls?"

"Do you want to come?"

"Indeed I feel like it… I'm dying, and even more so to pretend to be your lover, pampering you all the time."

"Then come, but let's not go too far, lest we make them even honier," he warned.

"Of course, of course."

"Have you already talked to Deborah and Paul about tonight?"

"Of course," she responded.

"Brilliant. One less worry. We'll stop by the house after lunch, we have to grab our backpacks."

"Yes, we have to take two each. I'll ask Deborah, you ask Anthony or Jack."

"Perfect."

He unbonded from Valerie, bonded with Anthony. "Anthony, can you leave me your backpack so I can bring the drink from London?"

"Sure, Prince, when we stop by the house I'll give it to you."

"Thank you, Anthony."

He unbonded from Anthony, bonded with Paul. "Paul, can you give me a complete copy of everything you already have on Red Magic?"

"Sure, Prince. We already have the Couple part completed, we have already started with the Clanship part."

"Oh…"

"How many do you need?"

"Two," answered Sev.

"Very good. I will give you what you lack of what I already gave you and another complete one."

"Great."

"Do you want them when we return home or when you return from London?" asked Paul.

"Pass them to me when we get back home and then you forget about it."

"Great. Come on, have lunch in peace, we're all going to have to wait for you."

"True."

Sev unbonded and finished his lunch in peace. The whole family had to wait for him, even Hippolyta, who finished her two full plates for the first time since that fateful Thursday when he discovered her problem.