Serious topics
Meanwhile, all the girls except Lily, that is, Valerie, Hippolyta, Cecile, Alice, Genevre and Deborah, had gathered around one of the bonfires and were chatting bonded.
Cecile led, "We are going to take advantage now that the boys can't hear us to chat about them. Later Sev and Sirius will come, so let's take the opportunity to say what we don't want them to find out."
They all laughed.
"First of all, Lily is completely stupid," said Deborah. "Prince was very silly waiting for her for six years, he didn't realize that she wasn't worth it at all."
"Well, that wasn't like that either," Cecile nuanced. "Remember their story completely, they had already been friends for two years when they arrived at Hogwarts, she was the only light in the darkness of his life, he clung to her and she gave him much love. If it wasn't for her, his life would have been much worse."
"But when he arrived at Hogwarts, just as he made friends among the malefics, he would also have been able to interact, at least, with other girls from his year, Heather and Fiona, for example, or also with Anthony, so he would have avoided taking the wrong path."
(Or with Lauren,) Hippolyta, Deborah and Valerie thought.
"Well yes, you're right about that," the Gryff admitted. "But you know, at eleven years old you don't realize how much trouble you can get into, and even less so if the older guys start to pay attention to you and make you feel important, as we all know happened with Malfoy."
"You're right," Deborah agreed. "But still, he could have realized it much sooner. He spent four years suffering harassment from the Gryffs for staying with Lily, and without trying to separate himself from the malefics."
"Well, Deborah," Valerie intervened. "You spent even more time hanging on to Jack, having only sporadic relationships until you found Anthony, so you are the least likely to criticize Prince in that regard."
"You're right, I was too stupid for that too. I take back what I said, then."
"Think before you speak, Deborah," Cecile told her.
"Speaking of Jack," said Genevre. "Have you realized? Lily spent the entire dinner chatting with just him, later the walk here with Jack, Anthony, and Ariel, and now she's sitting next to Jack. Which of the three knows what?"
"Jack and the little one don't know anything, Anthony does know," Deborah responded.
"Well, very bad, Deborah, you should have warned Jack about what happened, now maybe he is going to let Lily mess with him."
"You're right. Although hey, let them get involved, they are one for another."
"It doesn't seem right to me, Deborah," said Cecile. "Lily doesn't deserve to find another partner so quickly."
"That's what I think," said Hippolyta.
"I agree with you," said Deborah. "I'm going to chat with him privately, I'll unbond for a while, continue without me."
"Wait, Deborah, I'll do it," Valerie offered. "I'm going to be more tactful than you and lately we have more of a relationship."
"Okay, Valerie, you'll let us know the results later."
Valerie unbond from the others to chat privately with Jack.
"Let's talk then about Anthony and the little one," said Genevre. "First about Anthony. How do you explain that knowing this he can still bond with Lily?"
"Because Anthony appreciates Lily for more than just being Sev's girlfriend," Cecile replied. "He has been our yearmate for five years, we did all the OWL exams bonded and we helped each other a lot. "
"And besides, Anthony is a very good, very good person," Deborah explained. "Incapable of feeling a bad feeling for anyone."
"Sure, I understand it now," said Genevre. "I hope in that case that Lily doesn't mess him up."
"Not a joke. Anthony has just started dating Heather, they have liked each other for a long time and yesterday they finally had their first kiss, he is very excited about her. He would have been very excited for her and Fiona to come."
"And they couldn't because of me, for not being occlumants and because you had to Bond with me," Hippolyta said, sad.
"Don't worry about it, honey, first things first. We will return with them next year, when they have learned," Cecile reassured her, hugging her shoulders.
"But if we hadn't made our Patronus at the party and the next day gone up to sleep together in front of the whole house, if we had kept it a secret like Prince wanted, it wouldn't have been necessary," the girl was still sad.
"Well, it's done now," Deborah told her. "Don't worry. We could have taught Heather and Fiona Occlumency much earlier and we didn't do it due to sloppiness and lack of organization. They are mistakes that are made and from which we learn."
"Are you calmer now, my love?" Cecile asked Hippolyta.
"Yes, but it still makes me sad," the girl responded.
"Don't worry, dear," Deborah said, very sweet. "They're not alone, they're both together, also with George and Angie."
"Okay."
Valerie bonded with them again. "Matter settled," she told them. "Jack warned, but you were completely wrong about Lily, she is not trying to flirt with him at all, but rather talking about Prince and how to face what we have to do when we return home, in which both have a very important role, since they were the ones who planned everything from the beginning. You are very distrustful."
"How do you explain that knowing it they can still bond?" Genevre asked.
"Jack developed a very close relationship with Lily while we were training with the Guard," Deborah explained. "They consider each other like siblings, precisely because of what Valerie just told you, they planned the entire strategy to reveal to Prince the truth about Ariel."
"Okay, I understand. Now let's talk about the little one," said the Rave. "Is there anyone here who doesn't know the truth of the matter?"
"We all know it," said Cecile. "You had not explained anything to Hippolyta, a serious mistake, but she already knew because she has had a relationship with Ariel since their first year and she guessed everything."
"We didn't explain anything to her for a very good reason, in case Prince read it by accident," said Deborah.
"Okay, I understand."
"By now the whole Sly house knows it, Deborah," said Valerie. "They always see them sitting together, how they treat each other, and those black eyes that no one else has. We Slys are not stupid."
"Of course the whole house knows it," said Deborah. "Luckily we are very reliable, it is a real miracle that Prince has not realized it yet, he is the dumbest of all."
They all laughed.
"What plan do you have to tell him?" Genevre asked.
"Evidently, as a result of what happened with Lily, we had to alter it at the last moment," Deborah responded. "In principle she and her parents were going to do it, also in the presence of Remus and Cecile, at Lily's house, and depending on how Prince reacted, he could stay the night there with her or with his brother, or return home to also be with his mother."
"And to tell his mother?"
"Simultaneously, Jack, Valerie and I."
"And the little one?" asked the Rave.
"Waiting at Jack's house to see what would happen, we would have already told him beforehand."
"It was well thought out."
"Mainly conceived by Lily and Jack, that's why they hit it off so well," Deborah explained.
"Sure. And the alternative?"
"In principle it will be on Thursday, because we are counting on solving Hippolyta's situation on Wednesday night. We will let him spend that night and the next day with his mother, she has already asked for permission from work so she can spend time with him and they can chat calmly about the whole mess."
"Very well thought out," said Genevre.
"His mother has also installed a Muggle telephone in her house, in case she has to notify her clients at any time that she can't go to work, and also to be in contact with Lily's parents."
"Great. It must have cost her a fortune."
"Not so much, we have also helped her, my family and Jack's," the Sly explained. "She has also already bought another bed for Prince's room, a little bigger than the one he has, we gave her the excuse that he could sleep there with Lily too."
"Very good."
"Deborah has taken care of all that, huh?" Valerie clarified.
"Deborah, you are great," Hippolyta told her.
"Thank you, dear," she responded. "Well, what I was going for. Cecile has already explained everything to Lily's parents. Cecile, you tell them."
"I have asked them to invite Sev, Remus and me to dinner at their house on Thursday," the Gryff explained. "At home they have a table for six and another daughter, Petunia. If Lily doesn't have space to be there or Sev doesn't feel like having her at the table, she is invited to have dinner at my house, with my family, or have her have dinner in the kitchen."
"Very good," said Genevre.
"I have also asked them if they can afford it, which I suppose they can, since they are both very hard-working and compliant and never ask for permission, Lily's father in the factory where he works in a position of responsibility and her mother in the Cokeworth Town Hall, that they both ask for leave from work for those two days, Thursday to spend with Lily and Friday to spend with Sev. Her sister will also be on holidays from university."
"Wonderful."
"On Thursday after dinner, when we are all relaxed, we will tell him together, comfort him and distract ourselves listening to music from Lily's father's discotheque," Cecile continued.
"Perfect."
"If he wants to return to his house to be with his mother, he will return, alone or with his brother, we will communicate by phone or Floo. Jack, Deborah and Valerie will be waiting at his house, who will have explained everything to his mother and will also have comforted her."
"Very good, very good," opined the Rave.
"If he prefers not to see his mother, he has two alternatives. Staying alone or with his brother at Lily's parents' house, in the guest room, although that doesn't seem like the best to me, he won't be able to vent with his brother, he won't sleep a wink. The first plan was for him to sleep with Lily and she would comfort him."
"Obviously."
"So I thought of another alternative," said the Gryff. "Let him come sleep at my house, alone, with his brother or with me."
"Or with me," said Hippolyta.
"Of course, or with you, honey, if your parents give you permission."
"Come to my house on Thursday and meet them, we tell them everything about music and they will surely give it to me."
"Hippolyta, on Thursday you have a consultation with the Muggle doctor," Deborah objected. "It is better that you spend that night with your parents, let us take care of it, Cecile will know how to take good care of him."
"Yes, she already explained it to me this afternoon."
"You'll see each other on Friday or the weekend if you both feel like it."
"Okay, okay…" the girl agreed.
"Does Black know?" Genevre asked.
"Of course he knows," Cecile replied. "Lily told him."
"Wouldn't it be better if he was also at Lily's house when you tell him? He's the one Prince's been spending the most time with lately."
"Well yes, maybe yes, and where six fit, seven fit, and even maybe, Lily's parents' dining table will get bigger, many Muggle tables are like that. I will talk about it by phone or Floo with them on Wednesday as soon as I get home, and in any case, let him come after dinner."
"Do you expect them to agree to everything you have proposed?" asked the Rave.
"Of course they are going to agree. Lily's parents are people as they should be, and Sev and his mother healed the deep wound that existed in their family at Easter, making Lily and her sister reconcile after ten years of jealousy between them."
"What a mess… And despite that look at what she has done to him just before the most difficult moment of his life."
"Well yes, she has no forgiveness," the Gryff said.
"And with the little one, how do you plan to do it? You should have told him about Lily before she had a chance to explain it her way."
"Prince should have done that," Deborah said. "Surely he has already noticed, on the way he was behind them and saw them holding hands. I'm sure he will do it before returning home, as soon as he has the chance. If he does it his way, like he knows how to do it, Ariel's going to take his side whatever Lily told him. He loves Lily through him, remember that he does know that they are brothers."
"Of course, of course…"
"Is the matter settled?"
"No, Deborah," Hippolyta said. "I have questions."
"Sure, ask whatever you want."
"If I don't see Prince again until Friday or the weekend, what should I do? Should I talk to him about it?"
"No, honey," Cecile replied. "Better not, unless he talks to you. Maybe with you he prefers to distract himself from worries or not give you one more worry. We'll tell him that you already know everything, so he can also vent to you if he wants."
"Okay."
"You have to behave very well, huh, sweetheart?" Valerie told her. "He won't be able to take care of you, it's your turn to take care of him."
"Of course, of course, Valerie, let's see if I know. On Saturday I wanted to do it and it turned out badly."
"It's okay, pretty," Cecile told her. "You're learning and you're doing great."
"And can I talk to Ariel about it?"
"No, Hippolyta, don't tell him anything," Deborah replied. "Wait until Prince tells him about Lily and for us adults to talk to him on Thursday about how he is going to spend the summer, with his brother and his mother in as much as his brother wants."
"And what about St. Mungo's? How are you going to solve it?" Genevre asked.
"In principle I convinced Prince to leave it for Monday of next week, he already wanted to start on Thursday," the Sly responded. "I told him that it was dangerous for him to appear there on the first of July, because he has thought of going alone, and also of taking a few days of rest."
"Very well done."
"Knowing him, I think that from Thursday night until Monday he will have recovered, and not only that, but it will be great for him to work and be distracted, not thinking about it."
"Of course," the Rave agreed.
"If he had not done it yet, as we see, I have the address of Damocles Belby and I myself will write to him explaining everything so that he can excuse himself for a few more days."
"Wonderful."
"And of course, as we had already commented on some occasion, we are not going to let him go to St. Mungo's alone, two of us are always going to accompany him," continued Deborah. "In theory I can't until July 25th, although I suspect I can, because apparently this magic is not detected by the Ministry. Valerie and I will check it at my house, as soon as we get off the Express, making the shield. If I receive the notification letter from the Ministry, I will not be able to take part, but I will be in charge of organizing the calendar for the rest of you, once I know the calendar and times when he is going to attend. You must also make me a calendar of your availability so that I can do it. We have to take him to and from there, not by Floo, but by Apparating to the Apparition Room, and also staying there while he is inside."
"A magnificent designer of strategies," said Genevre, admired.
"I've had help, huh?"
(From Lauren,) Valerie and Hippolyta thought.
"Now we need him to be willing to let us make that sacrifice for him and that he doesn't escape through the Floo without warning," the Sly continued. "You already know that while he needed an escort at school, he didn't leave the house except to classes and to eat so as not to bother us."
"True," Valerie confirmed.
"I'll convince him, Deborah," Hippolyta offered. "I'll take care of that, he'll listen to me."
"Very well, honey," Cecile told her. "You are also going to have an essential job, I will convince him too."
"Does anyone have more doubts about serious topics?" Deborah asked.
"Me, Deborah," said Hippolyta. "The damn old man knows that Prince and Ariel are brothers, right?"
"Of course he knows it, and so does Slughorn, since Ariel entered Hogwarts and his mother started visiting him in his office. Prince and his mother are identical, that's why Ariel found out that they are brothers on the same night of the Sorting."
"Ariel always tells us that she is his aunt."
"Of course, so that Prince doesn't find out," deduced the eldest.
"But since Easter she hasn't come to see him."
"Because Prince told her things about the Ancestral Magic and the old man must not find out that we already knew them by reading her."
"Of course, they already explained that to us on the way," said the girl. "The old man and Slughorn are the worst of the worst, they have been kept them apart for almost three years."
"Well yes. Because if Prince had known that he had a brother he would have separated himself from the malefics much sooner."
"Indeed he would."
"Any other questions?"
Nobody spoke.