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  This chapter was edited by Gdiusx. Check his works on HP and ASOIAF, I highly recommend them.

  Harry made his way around the grounds of the Burrow. He had just separated from Bill, who had gone to greet some of his retives after a very enlightening talk. After a few moments, Harry passed under the rge canopy that was erected in the Burrow’s gardens to provide shade from the summer sun. Surprisingly, it didn’t completely block the sun but rather dimmed its light enough to lower its unrelenting heat while still providing light.

  Looking around him, he could see Bill had sat with a young-looking couple and was ughing genially with them, but his attention was grabbed by the sound of Ginny sobbing quietly at a far-off table. He had never checked on the girl he had saved, and his conscience urged him to do so now.

  Decision made, Harry grabbed a pack of what looked like some co from a nearby bench and walked to the table where Ginny, Hermione and that blonde girl were seated.

  “Hello, girls.”

  “Hello, Harry.”

  Hermione gave him a wan smile, while Ginny only managed to make a sound between a sob and a hiccup before gazing down at the table. Harry deposited the pack and distributed the bottles to each one.

  “Hello, Harry Potter. Thank you for the butterbeer.”

  ‘Butterbeer?’ He mouthed to Hermione, who shrugged in return, popping the cork off her bottle and chugging the drink. He turned to the blonde girl, whom Harry could see had taken her own cork and was skewering it in some sort of corded neckce made from other simir corks.

  “Er, Hello. I do not believe we were introduced.”

  The girl appeared a few months younger than him, with pale skin and ash-blonde hair that went down to her waist in straggly locks. She had bright grey eyes that reminded him of the purest silver and an air of innocence reminiscent of a young child, yet he could feel a deep sadness in her.

  “Luna Lovegood, first-year Ravencw. I live in the Rookery just past the hill and have known Ron and Ginny for years.”

  “It's good to meet you, Luna,” he nodded at the girl and turned to Ron’s sister. “Ginny, how are you faring?”

  The red-haired girl wiped her eyes and nose with the sleeve of her robes before she grabbed a butterbeer and held the cool bottle for comfort.

  “…I’m good.”

  Harry stared at her a bit. She was clearly not good, and Luna’s following words confirmed it.

  “She hasn’t stopped crying. I tried telling her that I doubt Ronald would have bmed her for his death – he did go to save her, after all. A Gryffindor through and through.”

  The girl’s serene and calm voice had an ethereal and dreamy quality to it yet betrayed the solemness of her words. Despite her composure, Harry could sense sorrow underneath. Although it wasn’t as deep as the first one he felt, she must have also cared for Ron.

  “You don’t understand! Ron died because of me, not for me. I was a stupid little girl who should have gone to the first teacher I saw once I knew something was wrong. I’ve had that diary for a whole year. I knew something was wrong with it by the first month, and I didn’t try to tell anyone about it because I am a COWARD! I was afraid I would be expelled or other such shite. And n-now, R-R-Ron is dead because of my stupidity!”

  Ginny sunk her head on the table as she wept again, Hermione rubbing soothingly on her back. Luna stared at him with those rge, unblinking eyes of hers. For a childish moment, Harry felt like taking that as a challenge and stared straight back until they saw who would blink first. Thankfully, he could sense her emotions, and she was practically begging him to do something.

  He popped the cork off his bottle and took a sip from the butterbeer, only to grimace. Too sweet, far too sweet. A sigh rolled off his lips.

  “Ginny.” His voice cut short her sobs as she blinked at him through puffy red eyes, “Ron was loved by us all, and he will be sorely missed, but this is his Wake. Do you really think he would like it if his sister cried and mented him instead of celebrating his life? We both knew what we were getting into when we went down that chamber, and it wasn’t the first time we faced perilous odds. I’m not saying that you are innocent of any wrongdoing. On the contrary, you were certainly foolish not to at least trust your brothers in telling them of a magical artefact that could communicate with you. Magic, magic can be a sword without a hilt sometimes, and that is why we use wands to not get hurt.”

  Ginny recoiled at his harsh words, and Hermione threw him a pointed gre, which he promptly ignored. While Luna was seemingly busy staring at the clear sky, Harry could tell she also paid attention.

  “…Bill said something simir. He seemed to have an idea of what that diary was. He said to never trust something that you can’t tell how it can talk, let alone think.”

  “Your eldest brother is a very intelligent man, and he had the right idea. Regardless, what’s done is done. Ron is dead, and it was entirely Riddle’s fault.” She jerked up in surprise, “What? Did you think I was bming you for his death? Don’t be foolish, Ginny. This whole mess was orchestrated by a young shade of Voldemort. You are but one of his many, many, victims. He has both deceived and defeated far older and more experienced wizards and witches than you.”

  Ginny shuddered while Luna’s silvery eyes sharply stabbed at him with interest.

  “The Dark Lord?”

  He nodded to the blonde girl, “The very same. He was the one possessing Ginny through that diary, and no, he was never dead. Only gone for a while. I fought his true shade st year when he possessed the previous Defence professor. Seems like the bastard has a talent for possessing people.”

  Luna nodded serenely, “I believe you.”

  Harry looked at her for a moment before nodding in gratitude. He turned back to Ginny. “Anyway, what’s important now is not what you should have done to prevent this tragedy but what you shall do next. You have a new lease on life, Ginny. Will you waste it away and have Ron’s sacrifice be for nought?”

  The redhead gred at him fiercely, “Never!”

  Harry weathered her gaze with ease as he sensed her emotions. There was still some regret and sadness, as to be expected, but now there was something much stronger that had encompassed her entire being.

  Determination.

  “Good.” He smiled genially at the girl who reminded him so much of his sweet Sansa that he had to fight the urge not to pat her head like he used to when Sansa was just a little girl. He stood up and, after hesitating a moment, grabbed his beer, “Now, I will leave you girls to enjoy the Wake. Don’t get too drunk, Hermione. I wouldn’t want to have to carry you up the girls' dorm.”

  Ginny and Luna giggled at Hermione’s scandalised face, and Harry walked away before she could formute a retort.

  .

  .

  .

  Harry was finishing his bottle of butterbeer as he manoeuvred his way across the grounds. Personally, he did not like the overly sweet taste of the drink. While Jon would never cim that the swill that was served at the Wall was a good ale, he still would rather drink bitter beer over sweet wine.

  He greeted the occasional guest, dodging an old woman with a chip on her shoulder called Muriel, before his eyes found Charlie Weasley sitting alone by a table as he stared at a familiar broken wand in his hands. Before he knew it, he found himself approaching the dragonkeeper.

  “Mind if I join you, Charles?”

  The muscur man looked up at him and smiled pleasantly, “Of course, Harry. Take a seat and please – call me Charlie. You’re practically family.”

  Harry smiled as he sat and gazed at the second-eldest Weasley of Arthur’s brood. Charlie was short and stocky compared to the rest of his brothers, but it was all muscle, like a bull in his prime. He reminded Jon of the younger Mountain Cnsmen with how his body was built for strength and endurance. Charlie’s face was weather-beaten from working outdoors and was so freckled that he looked tanned.

  They exchanged some inane courtesies and small talk before Harry steered the conversation towards the broken wand, “Ron mentioned that his wand originally belonged to you and even compined that it never worked very well for him because of that.”

  “Ron had problems with it, huh? I’m not surprised, as he never got the chance to go to Ollivander’s and pick one that matched him. Dad says they were in a tight spot financially at the time, and when they tested some of our legacy wands, mine presumably worked well enough for Ron.” Charlie sighed sadly. “I guess it was not meant to be.”

  Harry nodded in thought. “I thought wands remained with you forever?”

  “That is often the case, but not always. It is not unheard of for wizards to outgrow their wands. It might have to do with a sudden change in your personality, or maybe you found a goal that did not match your wand’s temperament. In my case, ever since I first saw a dragon, I had wanted to be a dragon tamer. My wand disagreed, and when I asked Ollivander why, he simply said that the unicorn that donated the tail hair in this wand did not like dragons.”

  Harry looked at the wand and noticed that the core itself was intact despite the fissures running along its length. His thoughts went to his own wand. While it had served him well so far, he hadn’t had the chance to explore it fully ever since Jon joined him.

  And Ghost, of course, Harry inwardly chuckled at the direwolf’s huff within his mind.

  Charlie brought out his wand and showed it to Harry, “Same as my old wand; twelve inches and made of ash wood. Its core, however, comes from the heartstring of a particurly vicious Hebridean Bck that had to be put down when it escaped from captivity and attacked several muggle vilges. Legend has it the dragon had offspring somewhere in the Forbidden Forest.”

  Harry looked incredulously at the red-haired man, only to get a full belly ugh in return. “Should have seen the look on your face.”

  “I don’t know, Charlie. Now, you have certainly piqued my interest. Centaurs, acromantus…why should I be surprised with a dragon? The Forbidden Forest seems like a haven for the adventurous sort, with all the harmless big critters in it.”

  The dragonkeeper snorted in amusement.

  That totally had nothing to do with Jon’s childish dreams of sying evil Dragons and rescuing princesses. Gods, Sansa would have loved it here. Or would Arya love it more? What with how women here could be as strong or even stronger than men thanks to magic? He sighed morosely as his thoughts went to his lost family.

  “Are you alright, Harry?”

  The question brought him out of his plummeting mood.

  “I’m fine. Just lost in thought.”

  Charlie smiled sadly, “Understandable. Come, allow me to introduce you to Ron’s favourite cousin.”

  Harry perked up at that as they both left their seats, and Charlie led him to the table he noticed earlier where a couple were speaking with Bill. The man was clean-shaven and had a regal bearing to him with combed brown hair and calcuting blue eyes. He sported a polite but fixed smile, yet Harry could feel he was the cunning type.

  Quite possibly a Slytherin, one of the capable ones, unlike Malfoy.

  The woman, however, nearly gave Harry pause. She was beautiful and looked like a much older version of Ginny with a darker shade of red for hair colour yet grey eyes instead of brown. The same eyes as Cedrel Weasley, in fact. That was the only thing that stopped him from fumbling as she looked like the spitting image of Catelyn Stark bar the eyes, as well as the sheer warmth and friendliness coming from her when she saw them approaching, though her gaze was mostly set on Charlie.

  As Harry and the dragonkeeper neared, the couple rose from their seats while Bill took a swig from a beer bottle and gave a zy wave.

  “Charlie! Come here, love.” She grabbed Charlie in a tight hug that the muscur young man returned before he shook hands with the other man.

  “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Did you find that elusive dragon-loving girl you’ve been looking for? Or was it an actual humanoid dragon?”

  “Rosie, please don’t bring that up again.”

  The brown-haired man smiled while the cursebreaker tutted merrily.

  “Don’t lose hope yet, Charles. The legends speak of the mystical Dragonewt existing somewhere to the east. That’s why he went to Romania, right Bill?”

  “Et tu, Bill?”

  Bill took another swig of his beer, “Don’t look at me. Tonks was the one who compined about you asking her for overly exotic transformations when you brought her home that one time.”

  The red-haired woman guffawed while even the prim-looking man couldn’t hold it and let out a few chuckles.

  “Where are the Tonkses anyway? I would have expected them to be here.”

  “Your ex couldn’t take the day off from Auror school as they are severely short-handed. Her parents had an emergency in St Mungos, and they sent their condolences ahead of time. Ted was the one who examined Ron’s body, so we had already met them while you were still in transit. Now, tell me, are you disappointed that Nymie isn’t here?” Bill wiggled his eyebrows knowingly at his brother.

  Charlie menacingly loomed forward, a hand the size of a ham nding on Bill’s thinner shoulder. For a moment, Harry thought the brothers would come to blows, only for both of them to burst out ughing. It took them a good half a minute to calm down, and for Charlie to remember his existence.

  “I would like to introduce you to someone. He was Ron’s friend from school.”

  Harry nodded to Bill first, having already met and talked with him earlier, before turning to the couple, “A pleasure to meet you, sir, my dy. I am Harry Potter.”

  The woman called Rosie gave him a sly smile, “Oh my, so polite. I like him already. Hello, Mr Potter. I appreciated what you said for Ron earlier.”

  “He was my best friend, and nothing I said was untrue. If anything, it was the tamest of our adventures. And please, call me Harry.”

  The woman smiled sweetly, “Ron spoke very highly of you in his letters, Harry. It’s great to finally put a face to the heroic figure he put you out to be.” Harry blushed in embarrassment; it was surreal to have a Lady Stark lookalike with his father’s eyes speaking so warmly to him, especially with her husky voice. “But where are my manners? I'm Rosalia Carrow. You met my father earlier, Horatio. Please – call me Rosie. Ron was the one who started calling me that.”

  ‘Carrow?’ Harry’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

  The brown-haired man introduced himself next, “An honour to meet you, Mr Potter. Reginald Carrow, at your service.” He had a smooth and cultured voice with a hint of an Irish brogue.

  The man stood up and gave him a formal bow, which Harry returned before offering a handshake that he shook with a firm grip, “Harry Potter. The honour is mine.”

  “Come sit with us. Could we get a butter beer for the d, Bill?”

  Harry grimaced as he sat between Bill and Reginald, “I’m fine, thank you.”

  Bill sent a teasing smirk his way, “Too strong for you, Harry? It barely has any alcohol in it.”

  Harry shrugged, “Too sweet, actually. Never enjoyed sweet drinks.” He paused as he looked at the bottle in Bill’s hands, “I could go for whatever you’re drinking if you’re offering.”

  “This? I’m afraid Rosie here would hex me if I let you drink dragon scale. Quite the strong drink, I don’t think you could handle it.” Bill took another swig as he gave him a wink.

  Harry could hear Reginald stifle a chuckle next to him while Charlie wasn’t so reserved, letting out a hearty ugh. Rosie had a frown on her face as she gred at Bill, “Smart of you. I still remember when you gave firewhiskey to Ron when he was ten. The poor boy set your kitchen curtains on fire, and Molly spanked his bottom red. Right after she hexed yours, in fact. Does it still itch when you sit for too long, love?”

  Bill shifted in his seat as if remembering a painful moment, and it was their turn to ugh at his expense, but they would still not let him try that dragon scale.

  Gods, the things he would do for a good mug of ale!

  Harry fondly watched as the discussion steered towards gossip about distant cousins and sordid affairs.

  “Say Bill, Charlie,” he coughed. “Got any advice for the third-year electives?”

  “Definitely Care of Magical Creatures. Kettleburn might be running out of limbs, but he knows a ton about the stuff. Especially as he usually has Hagrid acting as his assistant. Ron mentioned you were close with Hagrid, right?”

  Harry wasn’t surprised with Charlie’s answer, considering his profession. “I know Hagrid, alright. Pleasant man whom I’d easily call a friend, but he really needs to understand that what he sees as cute, misunderstood creatures are not the same for us regurly sized humans. I mean, did you know he’s friendly with the giant man-eating spiders in the Forbidden Forest?”

  They chuckled at that, although Harry felt a spike of avarice coming out of Reginald. He filed it for ter as he turned to the elder Weasley brother, “What about you, Bill? What csses would you recommend?”

  Bill groaned as Charlie chuckled and spped him in the back, “Of the five electives you could take in the third year, this overachiever decided to take not one, not two, hell, not even three, but all five of them. If there’s anyone who could tell you which csses are worth it, it would certainly be him.”

  Harry was taken aback, “How in seven hells did you even manage that? I highly doubt there’s enough time in the day for that.”

  Everyone sitting at the table looked weirdly at him at the phrase, and Harry cursed inwardly at his slip. Thankfully, they ignored it, probably assuming it was a muggle thing.

  “Can't tell you, I’m afraid.”

  Harry cocked an eyebrow, a habit he inherited from Jon. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  Bill shrugged, refusing to eborate. “Anyway, for your electives, Harry, two csses you must avoid at all costs – Divination and Muggle Studies. There are plenty of useful spells and rituals in the school of Divination, such as Scrying and Augury, but honestly, you don’t need to take the css to learn them. Some of them are covered in Charms with Flitwick, and the rest can be learned from reading or other methods. Not to mention, the teacher was completely bonkers, and I’m pretty sure she couldn’t predict tomorrow’s weather, let alone anyone’s future.”

  Harry frowned, “A teacher worse than Snape? Inconceivable.” That earned him a tableful of chuckles and ughter. “But seriously? A Divination teacher who can’t make predictions?”

  Bill shrugged again, “The thing with true Divination is that it is a gift. It cannot truly be taught. You could learn all you could about reading tea leaves or staring at a crystal ball, but if you don’t have the gift, all you will see is what you want to see. Unless you make a pact with a higher power, but that’s another story. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why you don’t need to take Muggle Studies, right?”

  “I can guess why. It's incredibly outdated?”

  “I wouldn’t know. I don’t exactly interact with muggles a lot. You were raised in the muggle world, and I figured you could easily apply to take the OWL for the css and probably still pass it, as it is all about memorising stuff and putting it on paper. Muggle Studies and Divination are considered the easiest OWLs you could get. As for the three other csses, COMC will be a good css if you are into magical creatures and want to work with them as a profession… or hunt them. Arithmancy is a must if you are into spellcraft and spell modification; It's also vital if you want to take Warding or Alchemy masteries after graduation. Ancient Runes are essential for enchanting but also help in warding. Normally, you are only allowed to take two csses, but you could take three if you prove to your head of house that you could handle it. Runes and Arithmancy complement each other very well, so that’s my recommendation. Bear in mind, though, if you are not good at memorising and learning new nguages, then Ancient Runes will be very difficult. Arithmancy has a lot of maths and calcutions as well.”

  Harry nodded gratefully. That was a lot to take in, and he would certainly explore his options further as there was still over a week until school ended. Meanwhile, Rosie had patiently waited until they finished before leaning forward on the table, making Harry awkwardly look away as it did… things to her ample bust.

  “You still haven’t told us how you took all five electives at the same time, Bill. You know, I do remember Narcissa Bck picking all avaible electives as well. She never mentioned how she managed to do it either, and I know she had conflicting csses. Yet, she still always appeared on time. Almost as if she was in two pces at once. Won’t you sate the curiosity of your favourite cousin, love?”

  Bill chuckled, taking a swig from his drink as he did, and Harry could see Charlie and even Reginald paying attention as this was clearly some sort of secret.

  “Okay, fine. I can technically tell you, as I have long since graduated, and McGonagall can’t bme me for it. Though just to be sure,” He pulled out his wand and waved it around their table. A translucent bubble seemed to form around them, which shimmered for a second before turning invisible. Suddenly, all the surrounding noise was deafened, and no matter how much Harry strained his senses, he couldn’t hear anything outside their table.

  The curse breaker smiled at Harry’s obvious curiosity, “A simple charm to prevent sound from entering or leaving. Now, the simple answer to how I managed to attend all those csses is…”

  He looked amused as everyone on the table unconsciously leaned forward in anticipation, but when he took too long to reply, he got a punch on the shoulder from his brother with a “Just say it already, you git.”

  Bill rubbed his shoulder as he grinned at his brother, “Time travel.”

  They all looked incredulously at him. Bill’s smile widened as he expined about the existence of time-turners and how the Department of Mysteries loaned them out to students with great potential recommended by Hogwarts in the hopes of enticing them to join them once they graduated.

  “Are you sure you could tell us that, William?” Harry could sense the apprehension from Reginald as he seemed quite sceptical that such a secret could so easily be broken.

  “Like I said, I was only asked to keep it secret in school. If they really cared, they would have put me under oath. I ended up rejecting their offer after graduating – working in the DOM just seemed too boring for me. I craved a life of adventure and had had enough of the British weather. It’s why I work for the goblins in Egypt as a curse breaker. Goblins are not native to Egypt, or anywhere outside the British Isles for that matter. They are also not welcome in Egypt due to several instances of unsanctioned tomb raiding and other unscrupulous behaviour in the past, but Gringotts is still allowed to send curse breakers and other professionals there. They just need to not be goblins.”

  Harry scowled inwardly at the mention of those blighters. He still didn’t like them and felt a tinge of glee at their woes.

  “Unsanctioned tomb raiding? Forgive me if I might be wrong, but don’t you also explore and raid tombs and the like for their treasure? At least, that’s what Ron told me.”

  There was an awkward silence at the table before Charlie burst out ughing, followed by Mrs Carrow. Mr Carrow was more in control of himself, but Harry could see his lips twitch. Bill was the only one not ughing, and instead, he sighed audibly while muttering about adorable yet idiotic brothers.

  “Okay, looks like it’s time for an impromptu lesson. Magical Egypt is much more massive than Muggle Egypt as its borders are not constrained by whatever the muggles came up with over the past centuries. It’s not all sand and desert either, as there are many hidden magical valleys and other pces that muggles would never find even before the Statute was implemented. Just like how the Forbidden Forest could not be found by muggles despite it being hundreds of square kilometres. These pces are commonly known as Wildnds. As the name suggests, they are pces where magic exists at its most primal form and creatures of magic flourish in those nds.”

  Harry was confused about the technicalities of how that would work, and it clearly appeared on his face.

  “How does that work? I remember seeing the forest from the castle, and it didn't seem that rge, what with the mountains at its edge.”

  “It's part of the magic of the nd. From the outside, the forest would appear normal, but once you're in the woods, you could walk straight for days and not reach the end. Think of the Forbidden Forest as another world that only those with magic could perceive. Even if muggles take photos of them, they will see nothing special in the pictures. There were instances where muggles crash-nded into them with one of those flying contraptions of theirs, and they would simply find themselves in an illusory pce that would cover the Forest…if they survive more than ten minutes in the first pce.”

  Mr Carrow’s words chilled him a bit, yet it sort of made sense. Bill took a gulp of his beer in thought before noticing the silence and continuing.

  “Where was I? Ah, yes. Egypt. It's one of the oldest settled civilisations. Countless magical families and creatures from all over the pce had called it home and still do to this day. It's one of three regions in the world where phoenixes are native to it. Naturally, discovering tombs, separate dimensions, and lost cities had become an industry to the Egyptian magicals that they could not hoard. Too much work for them alone. Thus, they welcome wizards and witches from all over the world to work as contractors on those tombs and other locations. As I mentioned, I’m not that knowledgeable about muggle stuff, but I’m sure you heard about the curse of the mummies? Particurly, that of King Tut?”

  Harry nodded, “Yes?”

  “Well, that was a cover-up for a raid gone wrong in the worst ways possible. A perfect example of how an unsanctioned expedition could affect even the muggle world. A group of Goblins, along with some hired hands, discovered the tomb and, instead of following procedures, allowed their greed to consume them. They opened the tomb, thinking it was hiding the treasure of a king, only to unleash horrors not seen since the ten pgues. That was back in 1919.”

  Harry gawked at him. “But King Tut was discovered in 1922!” This was one of the few things he remembered from the time he would hide in the library from Dudley’s gang, as reading was his only companion at the time.

  “Exactly. It took three years to clean up that mess. I would rather not go into details on the casualties and destruction that happened, but suffice it to say that it was devastating enough that it was the st time goblins were allowed in Egypt. Also, every Gringotts-sponsored Curse Breaker is now required to attend a six-hour seminar on how we were responsible for that fiasco and how bad we should feel about it. And the dozens of regutions that we are required to follow.”

  A sombre silence followed Bill's sardonic words as Harry digested his words. Magic, while wondrous, was not to be taken lightly. Yet, there was something that intrigued him more than horror stories from some pce thousands of miles away.

  So the Forbidden Forest was that big?

  Now that he thought about it, he and Ron had driven a long while in the Ford Anglia as they escaped the Acromantus. Harry entertained the idea of going back to the forest for some payback before he shook his head inwardly.

  Things like that could wait for when he was stronger.

  “So you’re telling me that Narcissa could have become an Unspeakable? Shame how she got stuck with Lucy as a husband instead.”

  Harry was brought from his thoughts by Rosie’s ughter. This was the second time that name was mentioned, and Harry had no idea who Narcissa was, but it appeared she and Rosie were not exactly friends as he could feel slight… what was it called? Harry thought it was German, but it was that feeling of enjoying other’s misfortune. Ah, schadenfreude.

  “Now, now, dear. I saw Narcissa around earlier with your grandmother. While Lucius is certainly an unpleasant berk, there is no need to disparage your cousin so much, I should think.”

  Rosie gred at her husband, but there was no heat in it, only pyfulness, “What was that, love? Did I just hear you say, ‘I don’t love you anymore, Rosie, because I prefer blondes to redheads?’ Oh, woe is me, whatever should I do? My poor daughters, who would care for them when their father abandons their mother for another woman?”

  Reginald’s polite smile did not waver once, “I shall take them with me, of course. How could I abandon my flower and hearth? Wizards everywhere would duel to death for their hands in marriage.”

  Rosie pouted, and Harry ughed with the rest of the table at what was clearly a recurrent joke between the couple. However, he suddenly processed what the man said.

  “Hang on. Lucius, you say? As in Lucius Malfoy?!” He growled out the name, and everyone on the table suddenly shivered as the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, and even the sunlight appeared to dim.

  Charlie stared at him strangely, “I take it you had a run-in with the pompous git himself?”

  Before anyone else could reply, Harry noticed a minuscule tremor from the ground, and he turned towards the source, causing the rest of the table occupants to do the same. It appeared that the charm Bill pced didn’t block sound from moving through the ground as he noticed two women approach their table, their footsteps outing them. He recognised Cedrel Weasley, née Bck, leading the blonde woman towards them. She stared inquisitively at Bill with a light smile as she stopped right outside the ward, and he hurriedly opened a gap for them to join them before closing the bubble again.

  “Why, this is an interesting group you have here. Would you mind if we joined you?” The older dy didn’t wait for them to reply before she waved her wand and silently enrged the table, smoothly moving their seats a couple of yards. She then conjured two seats for her and her companion, all the while maintaining a pleasant demeanour and courteous smile.

  Bill and Rosie chuckled at their grandmother’s stunt and moved to kiss her cheeks in greeting. Meanwhile, Charlie adopted a neutral expression as he stared for a moment at the blonde woman before greeting his grandmother simirly. Reginald simply summoned a pot of tea and a ptter of biscuits from the buffet and conjured seven cups for them, his polite smile ever present, the pot pouring out a portion for everyone.

  Cedrel took a sip of her tea before she gazed at them all. “A gathering of seven. A good omen, especially after what we have suffered so far. Now,” she gazed directly at him, and Harry matched her gaze with his own. “A pleasure to officially meet you, Mr Potter. I am Cedrel Weasley.”

  “The pleasure is mine, Mrs Weasley, and please call me Harry. Ron would tell me about his grandmother – bragging how he learned chess from the best whenever he beat me, which was essentially every time.”

  The elderly woman, though she hardly looked a day over forty, smiled sadly, “He did, did he? My beautiful Ronald did have a love for games of thought and stratagems.” For just an instant, Harry could feel anguish and grief overcome the woman as her polite mask cracked before she instantly regained her pleasant smile. “Well, we all have our time, and the reaper strikes when we least expect it.” She turned towards her companion, “Are you alright, Cissa dear? You hadn’t even introduced yourself to young Harry here.”

  Harry turned to the blonde woman, and it took some effort from him to keep his gaze neutral. Objectively, she was the epitome of the cssical beauty. Easily one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, with glossy pale-blonde hair, bright blue eyes flecked with grey, a harmonious face with high-cheek bones, a straight nose and full lips, along a symmetrical yet buxom body. She was more beautiful than Cersei Lannister or the Wildling Princess, Val. Harry gnced at the red-haired beauty seated next to her as if comparing them, and he had to confess that they both contrasted well.

  Yet, none of that mattered to him, for she was the wife of the one responsible for Ron’s death.

  Still, he decided it would not do to burn bridges before they even crossed. Not all women get to choose their husbands, and remembering the prior conversation, he had the feeling the woman in front of him also didn’t have a choice in whom she was wed to either.

  Narcissa smothered her skirt and stared at him impassively, the simple act done with the utmost elegance and grace, earning his grudging respect for her calm and perfect demeanour, exactly what would be expected from a demure noble dy. He could feel curiosity and sympathy as she looked at him. Still, Harry wished she was like Lucius, cold and arrogant with no regard for anyone, as it’d be easier to hate her this way.

  Or at least like her son Draco, with how obnoxious and pampered he sounded every time he spoke.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter. I sincerely wished we could have met under better circumstances, but as, fate thought otherwise. I am Narcissa Malfoy, and I have a question for you.”

  Did I just conveniently have a Weasley marry a Carrow? After I had decided that Harry’s grandmother was a Carrow? Not to mention the Carrow couple, who are the parents of the elusive Carrow twins? Apparently, I did. I wonder how that will develop to be?

  As for how a cn of ‘blood traitors’ married a cn of ‘blood supremacist’? Fuck that noise. A pureblood is a pureblood, and we only hear Draco and his goons call the Weasleys like that. What the hell is a blood traitor anyway? Also, just because a family has death eaters in it does not mean that ALL the family is cartoonishly evil. Rowling had really goofed up when she did not give Slytherins or their house any redeeming features.

  The Weasleys aren’t saints, either. Canonically, to them, muggles are a curiosity. Like an exotic animal in the zoo. We already know Auntie Muriel doesn’t think well of Muggle-borns, and Molly pretends her squib cousin doesn’t exist. That sentiment also exists with the rest of the Weasleys, but it's subdued since they personally know a muggle-born. Go, go, Hermione!

  It never made sense to me how a few dozen wizards were responsible for obliviating and securing the Statute of Secrecy in Britain from millions of muggles. While it is possible they are simply that good at giving muggle brain damage, they can't control how the magical creatures behave. And this is the answer I came up with, Wildnds. Magical creatures prefer to stick to them and muggles can't perceive them. Is it zy? Probably, but I have to work with what Rowling gave me.