The feast
That night was the End of School Year Feast. Just before its beginning, the prizes for all years except fifth and seventh, the OWLs and the NEWTs, were awarded, since the grades were not yet known because they were from external tribunals to the school.
Three Rave kids, as usual, took the first, second and third years. Audrey took the fourth year prize, and Valerie, Deborah, Andrew and Jack shared the sixth year prize. All Slys, thanks to the talents of the Ancestral Magics.
Then it was time to count the points of the House Cup. Narrowly against Ravenclaw, Slytherin won, since points had been added for each person who had won a prize, not for each year. The entire school erupted in cheers.
Sev thought, The old man did it on purpose so that we would win. Until now, when the prize was shared, the points were distributed among all those who did so. He does whatever he wants, he is a despot, although well, this time he has favored us, but I think he has done it precisely to earn the appreciation of the people. I'm going to have an interesting conversation tonight with Lauren.
Then the Headmaster confirmed the open secret that starting next year they would be able to sit together in classes and in the Great Hall, and not only that, that the subject schedules were going to be changed so that Slytherin and Gryffindor would share more.
Both news were received with great joy and excitement, repeating for the third time in a month and a half the tumult of that May 15th. When it stopped, the Heeadmaster announced something else, that both had been initiatives proposed by Prince, like all those that were already being carried out to improve life at the school. Oh… his opinion of me has already changed again. What I'm telling you, the characteristic of him, the uncertainty. There is no where to catch him.
Everyone cheered again and the family forced Sev to get on the bench so he could be seen and say something too. This is what he said, "Thank you, but it is not true that all the ideas have been mine, most have emerged from numerous exchanges with all of you! We are a great team, of which Professor Dumbledore and I are only the most visible part! Without all of you, we wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything!"
He sat back down immediately, while everyone applauded him.
During dinner Hippolyta finalized the details of the plan with Cecile. Sev also spoke bonded with this one, about what had happened the night before.
"I'm very sorry, Sev," she told him. "I'm used to Lily always telling me those kinds of things about you, I didn't realize that they could make you feel bad at that moment, I don't know you as well as I thought. It will not happen again."
"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't you who brought up the topic and I understand that you were curious about your part. It was Deborah and Valerie who slipped since we had already agreed that we wouldn't talk about that specifically, everything else doesn't matter to me."
"Yes, you also cared about everything else, and I know very well why, you cried with Hippolyta before going to bathe. It made you very sad that she found out about all those things so early, without being able to teach them to her."
"You are right, Cecile."
"We screwed up to the bottom."
"A little yes, really."
"I'm so sorry, Sev."
"Don't worry anymore, Cecile, you just didn't think about it at the time."
"Let you know, if it consoles you, from my own experience, that I also knew a lot from hearsay about these topics before experimenting and that does not mean that I have stopped getting surprises. It is one thing to know it from having heard it and quite another to have experienced it."
"She told me the same thing and she comforted me a lot."
"Then think about that, Sev."
"Thank you, Cecile."
"Have you talked to Valerie? At lunch she was devastated."
"Yes, I have already spoken with her."
"Also talk to Alice and Genevre, they also felt very bad when you left, they also realized that you had cried," she recommended.
"I was already thinking of doing it, Cecile, Valerie told me. And Deborah?"
"Deborah nothing, she unbonded and started chatting with Paul, she didn't want to know anything more about it."
"Oh…"
"Forget Deborah, Sev. Before, she idolized you and since you were with her and made her second, she feels at the same level as you, which she will never be at because she doesn't have your sensitivity and your knowledge of how to treat people. She may have had a very good education in many other aspects, but not in that of emotions. I think her parents were too strict with her. Being affectionate and sensitive does not come naturally to her, she has to force herself to do it."
"True."
"We will have to help her get over it, maybe she still has time to change."
"To be honest, I don't feel like making that effort at all," he declared. "I already give her my example day by day, if she doesn't know how to learn from other people's experiences that's her problem, she's already an adult. In September I am going to dismiss her and I will probably make Alice second, who was who I had originally planned. During the summer I am going to dedicate myself to getting to know her in depth to find out if she would be a good second. I had even thought of you for the position."
"Not me, Sev. I don't want to get so involved with the Army, I don't plan to fight in the war. Alice, or even Genevre, are a much better choice."
"Alright. Thank you for telling me in advance, Cecile."
"Frank would also work, huh?"
"I don't doubt it, but I prefer a woman. Balance."
"Of course, and if you don't see them as suitable, also think about Hippolyta," she suggested.
"Too early."
"It doesn't seem like it to me, Hippolyta also has a lot, a lot of brains, much more than many adults, and so she would learn well for two years by the time you leave it."
"Hippolyta doesn't plan to fight in squads either and she's going to be very busy," he objected. "It's still too early for her."
"Yes, maybe you are right. Have you talked to Ariel about Lily?"
"Yes, I have tried to do it and he explained it all, he is extraordinary. I'm worried about Lily again, Ariel told me that she spent the whole way back crying for me."
"Would you like to chat with her?" Cecile asked.
"Not too much yet."
"Then don't do it, Sev, let the scare and the beating she has suffered last a little longer, she deserves it. I'll let you know something now. On Thursday we are invited, you, Remus and I, to dinner at her house, she will not be at the table if you don't feel like it."
"Ugh… that's not even close, of course she should be at her parents' table."
"She will have spent the entire day with them, they are going to ask for permission from their jobs. And she is invited to dinner with mine."
"Well, if so, let her do what she and her parents prefer," he agreed.
"Okay, Sev, we will do it that way. Sirius is also invited to the after-dinner. Bring your sleeping stuff in case you want to spend the night at my house."
"Great, Cecile, although I suppose I will prefer to return early to my Mum, I will barely have had time to spend with her."
"That is not true. She has also asked for leave at work, Lily already arranged that. She's not going to go to work from Wednesday at noon, when you're already home, nor for the entire Thursday, so that you have a lot of time to be together and explain things calmly."
"Oh… so I'm staying at your house on Thursday."
"I like it that way, Sev."
"Wouldn't it be problematic with your parents if I went there directly to sleep, without having met them first?"
"My parents already know you well, Sev, through me. They will meet you at breakfast."
"What an awkward situation."
They laughed.
"Not at all, you'll see how nice and open my parents are," Cecile reassured him. "Remember that my Dad is a wizard married to a Muggle, he is fabulous. And my Mum, a bohemian artist, you will be amazed by her stories about her youth, she was a revolutionary and free woman in her time. They are very, very liberal."
"Great," he approved.
"Talk to Alice and Genevre, go ahead."
"There I go, little witch. If we don't chat again at breakfast tomorrow, I'll see you at Lily's on Thursday."
"Ah! I forgot," she said. "We can chat as soon as I get home on Wednesday and you finish with Hippolyta, we can call each other by Floo. And if you want more privacy, know that you have a Muggle phone at home, your Mum had it installed."
"Oh…"
"Of course, Sev, so we can all be in contact and organize the escort. At home, in a letter Lily sent to your Mum, you already have everyone's phone numbers and Floo addresses, and we all have yours."
"And has my mother had enough money to install it?"
"Deborah and Jack helped her."
"I will return the money as soon as we sell the pile of jewelry that I have Summoned this afternoon, I have lost count of the bags I have," he said. "Thank you for the ideas and for the initiative to have your mother sell them too, I have also already Summoned a very special gift for her."
"Great, she's going to love it, although it wasn't necessary, Sev, it's going to be a gift for her to meet you and forge a special relationship with you through music, since she can't share the magic."
"True. I'll leave you then, I'll go chat with Alice and Genevre."
They unbonded, Sev bonded with Alice. "Alice, it's Prince, were you busy? Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all, I was chatting with the boys, Frank, Remus and Sirius, but I'm leaving now." She paused. "That's it. I can imagine why you want to talk to me and I'm not going to wait for you to start the conversation. I am very, very sorry for what happened yesterday."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Alice, I know you didn't say anything about me."
"But I didn't do my best in order to the others didn't, my curiosity and the amount of things I was learning got the better of me, I already told you that the talk was very revealing for me. And then I laughed at you with everyone while you were getting angry, I shouldn't have done it."
"Well, Alice, it was what came out at the time, it's not good to hold back either."
"But we hurt you and made you have a bad time, Prince, the only one who knew how to live up to it was the little one. And when you came back from bathing, although we had already talked about it, we didn't apologize or say anything to you either."
"It was better that you didn't do it, at that moment I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone."
"That's what Cecile recommended to us, that we not bond with you unless you did," she said. "Have you already talked to her?"
"Yes, yes, everything has already been arranged."
"Has she told you about the phone and the plans for the next few days?"
"Yeah."
"Great," the Gryff approved. "Just know that you can call me at any time of the day or night, my parents already know the whole story and they are not going to be scared, on the contrary, they are delighted to be able to support you at any time you need it. I have a telephone terminal in my room to chat privately, and if I'm not there, I'm at Frank's house, and the same with him."
"I would never do that, Alice, I would never wake you up at dawn just to chat."
"You don't know that, Prince, many things can happen during the summer that make you sleep badly and that you need to talk about. Sleepless nights become very long without someone to support you and listen to you, I know this from my own experience. I have always been able to wake up my parents, and at school, since I date with him, Frank in his bedroom, and they have rescued me many times."
"Then I take you at your word, Alice, I am very prone to insomnia."
"Well, you know it, Prince, whenever you need it, without a moment's hesitation. I will even come to where you are to chat face to face."
"Thank you very much, Alice."
"Have you spoken to Genevre?"
"No, not yet."
"Well, don't hesitate to do it, I have the impression that she is going to tell you the same thing as me," she said.
"There I go then. We'll chat soon, Alice."
"Whenever you want. Can I call you on Thursday to see if you have resolved Hippolyta's thing well and how things are with your mother?"
"Of course you can."
"What time do you wake up?" she asked.
"I don't know, on Thursday I won't be in a hurry and my mother doesn't work, I'm going to take a lot of rest."
"What time do you have lunch?"
"When she works, after one," Sev answered.
"Okay, then I'll call you between twelve and one."
"Great."
"If you need to chat with me before that, let's do one thing, a signal," the Gryff proposed. "You call me, let it ring three times and hang up, so I'll know it's you and we'll call each other by Floo, so they don't get charged the bills, we don't live in the same county."
"Okay, Alice, I'll do it that way. One last question, what is your Patronus?"
"A jaguar."
"What is a jaguar?"
"An American feline, do you know what a leopard is?" she asked.
"Yes, a feline that has spots. With yellowish fur with black spots."
"Well the jaguar is very similar, somewhat smaller."
"Oh… Two of my Patronus are felines," he commented.
"Lily's lioness is one of them, right?"
"Yes that's how it is."
"And the other?" Alice asked.
"A panther."
"Wow… I love panthers. Do you know that they also have spots? But since they are matte black on glossy black, they cannot be distinguished unless you see them up close and in person."
"And how do you know?" Sev asked.
"On TV and the zoo. I love everything about animals."
"What is a zoo?"
"A place where there are many animals from all over the world," she responded. "I do not recommend that you ever go, it is very sad to see them cloistered, without freedom. My parents took me there when I was little, but I haven't been back since before Hogwarts."
"Oh…"
"Come on, talk to Genevre, you're going to skip dinner."
"Okay, Alice, there I go."
He unbonded from Alice, bonded with Genevre. "Genevre, can I chat with you? Am I interrupting something?"
"Nothing nothing. I'm unbonding myself right now from Valerie, who was giving me details about her night, morning and afternoon with Black, bragging. I'm already bored, already. Talk, come on."
"It was to comment on what happened last night and make everything clear before we left."
"True… I'm very sorry, Prince, we shouldn't have laughed like that at your expense, we are unpresentable."
"Not at all, Genevre, don't think that, you were just having fun for a while. Valerie already told me that you barely said anything about me."
"But I should have prevented them from doing it, they are very indiscreet, and Cecile and Alice think the same, with the latter I have also been chatting at midday. We also messed up the little one, she found out too many things ahead of time and when you found out you were upset, we spoiled your surprises for her."
"It's okay, you didn't spoil anything. It is one thing to hear and another to do."
"Sure. She already knew a lot, huh? She wasn't scared of anything, she's very smart," she said.
"Yes, I know, of course she is."
"Has Cecile already told you about the phone?"
"Yes, yes, she has already told me," Sev responded.
"Know that you can call me at any time of the day or night. Lorenz did it, my parents are not going to be scared, they know about you. I'll warn them not to get up and pick it up, like I did when Lorenz called me and it's done."
"But I will feel bad waking up the whole house."
"Not at all, Prince. If Lorenz did it to tell me about his silly worries, you might as well do it. I'll go wherever you are, we'll do it, you'll forget all your worries and sleep like a blessed one. I'm happy to help you like this, you're going to make me happy."
(Boof… Genevre trying to hook me up…) Sev thought. "Great, Genevre, then I'll take you at your word. One question, what is your Patronus?"
"An eagle, of course. But not just any, snake-eater, the kind that devours snakes."
"Oh…"
They laughed.
"I went to hunt you for a reason," she added.
"And boy did you achieve it," sarcastic.
"Do you regret it?"
"No, Genevre, I don't regret it at all."
"Let you know that you changed my life, huh? You did me a lot, a lot of good."
"I already thought about it, and that is precisely why I don't regret it."
"You are unique, Prince. The one who ends up hooking you forever is going to be very, very lucky. Choose well, that she is worthy of you, that she is up to you."
"I think I have already found her."
"Of course, your little one, she is also extraordinary. The only one who was able to react and comfort you last night."
"True."
"A lot to learn from her, it's a shame that she still can't give you what you need," lamented the Rave.
"It doesn't matter, even if she never gave it to me, she makes me happy just by being with me."
"And meanwhile the rest of us give you the rest. How lucky you are, Prince."
"Indeed."
"I repeat that I'm sorry about last night, many details we talked about were unnecessary," she said. "I didn't react because I had never talked like that with so many girls at the same time, and the same Alice. I already told you that I have always kept those topics to myself."
"True, because you are a discreet person. I still haven't thanked you for what you did at the party, leaving the terrace for Hippolyta and me for a whole hour."
"It was the least I could do after the upset you had about the afternoon, since you had fixed my life."
"Well, you know that we had a very happy time thanks to you," he said.
"You do not know how much I rejoice. "
"I'll leave you, I forgot to talk to Alice about something."
"It's fine handsome. I'll call you on Thursday via Floo to find out about the dwarf. What time does it suit you?" asked the Rave.
"At noon, between twelve and one."
"Perfect."
Sev unbonded from Genevre, bonded with Hippolyta and asked her, "Have you finished your arrangements, honey?"
"Yes, I already know the times for Sirius, Remus and Alice, but I'm afraid I'll forget them."
"Then I Summon everything to write down and we write it down."
"Great, so I'm going to the Library directly from here," she approved. "But in the end it's going to take me a long time to consult, I'm going to be very late for Pomfrey's checkup."
"There is plenty of time before the curfew, honey."
"And then I have to prepare my trunk."
"And as soon as you prepare it you go to sleep," he suggested.
"Sure."
Sev Summoned parchment, quill and inkwell and wrote down the details of Valerie, Alice, Sirius and Remus.
"I won't do all the astrological charts with you, huh?" the girl told him. "There are nine, a lot. We'll do some together and you'll do the rest while I study other things."
"Of course my love."