Chapter 46: Family

July 1, 1943

Wednesday Early Afternoon

"It's too far of a walk, isn't it?" Marcus asked Harry with a light elbowing to his chest in the attempt to inject levity. "Maybe when I get older and have more of a say, we could have the dining room moved - I guess I could add a second floo too, Dorea and Charlus have three in their home."

Dorea made a noise when her name was mentioned, and when Marcus finished speaking she took up the role of conversation steerer. "Why walk the length of a mansion as large as ours when you could use the connection to appear in a more ready position? Granted some may enjoy wandering about a home with as much history and magnificence as ours, but I would much prefer to walk minimally," Dorea looked to Harry, "Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"

He shrugged. "I like seeing the differences in homes, even the Carrows Castle to this estate of the Potters is incredibly unrelated in looks but pieces of decor here and there do seem to connect them. Neither seems too close to my familial home, though… I suppose being so far estranged from the rest of the world would do that," Harry finished with a genuinely curious look to the walls filled with arts or busts, as this home looked so very far removed from the Peverell manor he lived in.

Perhaps his interest was also simply the ground he stood on and the people he stood on it with; Charlus Potter, Fleamont Potter, Dorea Potter formerly of the House Black and Marcus Potter. He didn't recall hearing of them at all back in the time he'd come from, so to be stood in the same building amongst them was a treat. There were other words he could use to emphasize how special the occasion was for him, but with Dorea seemingly able to read minds or otherwise captivate him, he wouldn't risk it.

The last thing he needed was another crazy witch thinking he could tell the future better than Professor Trelawney. If he knew anything too, it was that the House of Black was just that, crazy. Dorea seemed normal on a surface level, but without ever hearing of her previously, there would be no risks taken so long as the world was concerned.

"You struck me not as a man able to enjoy decor and architecture," Dorea said, her look at him turning queer as she roamed his body with her eyes. "There's more to you than Marcus' letters home would tell, it would seem."

Charlus puffed out his chest at Dorea's words, drawing his wife's attention back to him. "Of course there is, Dorea, he's a relative of the Potters!" Charlus' voice boomed, echoing down the halls and off the walls. "All of us are craftier than the rest of the magical community gives us credit for, and I'd bet that's no exception with our Cousin, Harry, here."

Harry snickered and nodded a few times, his reaction to Charlus' words genuine, more genuine than any of them would ever know. There was certainly very much hidden away in his mind and much of it concerned the Potter relation of his. He could only wonder what would happen if they knew the truth…

"Finally," Marcus said, relief palpable as he motioned towards a twin set of French doors. "We're here. Mother and Father should be inside - maybe my aunt and uncle are too, though I'm unsure."

"No," Charlus answered for him, the larger boy's hands on the two doors. "My parents needn't come, and so they didn't. Dorea and I were entrusted to speak with Harry so they could enjoy a relaxing week."

"There you have it then," Marcus said, a small frown on his face given in such a way that only Harry could see it. "If you'd please, Charlus."

With those words, the doors to the dining room were opened and the aforementioned boy led the way with his arm looped through his wife's. Fleamont followed close behind them with his sister, Marcus and Harry were the final two to enter.

"My errant boys return with my favourite nephew, favourite niece and a new friend," The Potter woman's voice said, her tone incredibly sweet and her looks youthful. "Please, take your seats and we'll begin with tea."

Harry took in the appearance of the two adults in the room as he followed the woman's directions; his seat was beside Marcus to the right of the boy's father. Harry was only two seats away from the leader of this branch of the Potter family… that realisation was both worrying and wonderful, for he could very easily see the resemblance he had to the man in his looks.

He hoped that the man before him wasn't as adept at mind magic as Dorea was, he hoped the same for his wife too, for he didn't need the likes of them looking into his mind - he didn't need them to be exceptional at deduction either, lest they notice specific traits only seen in Potters.

Now, speaking of traits, he took in the woman first and very quickly decided she wasn't the Potter side of the family; her hair was a shade of blonde similar to Hannah Abbotts, she had high cheekbones, light blue eyes and an overall appearance that made her seem as if she were barely out of Hogwarts.

Harry knew that couldn't be the case considering how she'd called Marcus and Fleamont as well as others, but even her voice seemed to hide her true age.

Her husband, on the other hand, the very easily recognised Potter portion of the family, was very similar to the picture he had of his own father; the man had dark low-cut hair, a goat-tee and handlebar moustache, slightly tanned skin as opposed to his wife's very pale complexion and a somewhat slim build to him that matched Marcus' perfectly.

To top it all off, he wore glasses that very well could've been passed down to Harry's father James, such was the similarity between the two of them.

"Harry Peverell," Marcus' father said, "Do you have a middle name? Multiple? I would hear of the line that my family spoke of so favourably, as our connection to the memories of it have greatly faded - still, I know enough," Marcus' fathers final word was given as if it were a threat to Harry, and for the life of him, he didn't know why.

Had he done something to offend the Potters of this time? He couldn't recall any wrong-doing or ill-spoken words.

Marcus' mom raised one small, soft-looking hand before Harry could reply. Every motion she made seemed fluid and graceful, it was only the way in which she moved that betrayed her age to Harry, for never had he seen a girl his age move like that. Not even Elaine or Corene was as perfect as the woman before him was in their movements.

"My husband's name is Henry Potter, those close to him call him Harry," The Potter woman said, her tone as sweet as ever and those blue eyes gentle as they gazed at him. "My name is Celia Potter, cousin. Use my first name and my husband's, if it pleases you."

Harry swallowed and dipped his head respectfully to the older woman. Something about her was extremely comforting even if her husband was giving him a very intimidating look, he still didn't know why that was but he could guess easily enough that the duality of the two adults in the room would continue for some time. At least until they got whatever it was that they sought from him, which he didn't know what that was.

"Harry James Peverell, sir," Harry said respectfully to Henry Potter. "What would you have me say about the Peverell family? I could speak about something similar to what you know or I could speak about the times that followed Iolanthe's departure from the family."

He desperately hoped that he said that woman's name right, for the only time he'd seen it had been in ancient books and the one time he'd heard it had come from a Potter currently in the room with him. If that pronunciation was wrong, he feared the meeting would suffer a very premature ending.

Henry's eyes didn't narrow to Harry's words, but he didn't let up from his staring or the otherwise intimidating posture. "Tell me of the Peverell family that still lives, I would hear of them, of all of them and when they make themselves known, I would meet with them. Tales of our mutual relative from so long ago aren't needed."

Harry knew he was at an important junction right then and there.

He could tell the Potters the same thing that he'd told everybody else; other Peverells existed, but they wouldn't come out for some time. At the same time, he could choose to be truthful with them, or rather somewhat truthful, and say that his parents had died recently which left him as the sole survivor of the Peverell family.

Neither option would be pleasant. One could lead to future problems and the other would lead to problems in the here and now. Really, he was given the chance to pick his poison is how he looked at it.

Harry's hesitance was picked up on by Celia and the woman gently asked the other children to vacate the room for a moment. He didn't hear the exact wording thanks to the mumbling of the others, but when even Marcus made his exit with a shrug and slight pout about him, he figured it was very nicely worded by the boy's mother. Celia almost seemed like a siren from those books on magical creatures with how nice her voice sounded to one's ears and how quickly others did her bidding - even Dorea didn't argue the point beyond a few murmurs.

"Is that better, Harry?" Celia gently asked, a motherly look on her face as she looked at him. "Your hesitance amongst others your age gave away your answer, I'm afraid, and Dorea's far from a stupid young woman. I believe my husband and I can guess your answer, but I would prefer to hear you speak it nonetheless."

Unless she was manipulating him masterfully, which could very well be the case, his lack of answer and whatever face he'd pulled had given him away.

"My parents died years ago, first my father, then my mother," Harry said, a slightly-pained expression on his face; he wasn't marred by grief like others would be due to the lack of relationship he had with his parents, it was simply a hurtful thing to put words to. "As you seem to have guessed, I'm the final member of House Peverell… I can prove it too if you don't believe me."

He felt stupid speaking the last few words, and he hadn't even thought or wanted to include them. It was simply looking into Celia's eyes that made him do so.

"There'll be no need for that, Harry Peverell, for I believe every word in which you just spoke. You are a Peverell, and with that, you're a Potter - welcome home," Celia spoke those final two words and got up from her seat to pull him into a hug.

He wasn't sure if the woman knew of their shared relation and that was her way of accepting him. It may very well be the case or it could simply be the way the Potters think of the Peverells, but whatever it was, the hug felt nice.

That calming effect that Marcus' mother had was stronger with physical contact to the point that he felt slightly numb. When she pulled away from him and the connection was broken, he felt a touch of sadness rise up from the depths of his mind that was caused by her welcoming words.

Harry felt at home, even with Henry's still partial look of intimidation as the man watched him, but it'd grown softer.

Following that private conversation with the Potter parents, Celia and Henry, Harry had been told to invite the other Potter 'children' back inside. He did as he was bid, obviously, but the instant he'd opened the door he saw how close the four of them were to it. He wasn't sure if they heard anything based on the speculative glances they shot at him, Harry wanted to assume they didn't.

If they had… Marcus would earn a new sense of respect from Harry considering the boy hadn't seemed a very good liar during the whole of their time at Hogwarts.

"Harry is welcome to stay as long as he'd like," Celia said when the others found their seats again. "As are the rest of you."

Charlus nodded at his aunt's words, Dorea did too though she only dipped her head once. Fleamont and Marcus were more animated in their acceptance, the two of them both spoke with their hands despite the vast differences in opinions as he'd heard.

Food followed Celia's words, appearing much like it did in Hogwarts; that being seemingly from thin air. All of it looked absolutely amazing and the food seemed like the traditional English sort. Harry would definitely tuck in, and seeing how Marcus began preparing his plate, he very nearly did.

That was until Dorea spoke.

"Aunt Celia?" Dorea asked, her voice more respectful to the older woman than it'd been when she spoke with him. "Would you permit questions at the table whilst we eat? I do believe I speak for the others when I say that we're very curious about Harry."

Celia's eyes drifted from Dorea to Harry as seconds began to pass them by in near silence, the only noises coming from the boys putting together their plates while two of the three women in the room looked at him. Eventually, with Harry not minding one way or the other, Celia spoke.

"Ask him what you will, I don't believe I need lecture you in the manner of questions you may ask," Celia said to Dorea, earning another respectful dip of the head from the younger woman.

"Thank you, Aunt Celia, and no, I know which questions would be frowned upon," Dorea said to her aunt before turning her attention to Harry, a smile not unlike the one that he'd seen from Walburga on her face. "Harry, it's very nice to see that Aunt Celia has accepted you so readily, my apologies for a colder initial greeting than may have been necessary."

Harry shrugged, not completely buying into her apology and truthfully, he didn't care much about her attitude in the first place. He was here for his mate Marcus and the boy's parents, not Dorea or other members of his family. If they didn't like him all that much or weren't fond of conversation with him, all the better for Harry - it meant more time for speaking with those that he wanted and needed to.

"Weren't sure if you were a real Peverell," Charlus said, earning a glare from Henry and a tutting sound from Celia.

Ultimately, it was the latter that cut Charlus off.

"You make it sound as if we thought him an imposter or thief," Celia said to her nephew, her voice still angelic despite the disapproving lilt it now had. "Harry Peverell as he was known to us was full of mystery, as we had been told by Iolanthe Peverell that she had been the final living member of House Peverell at the time of her marriage into the Potter family. There are still records written by her hand that say as much too, which is why you can imagine we were sceptical of your first appearance in the Prophet. My husband and I thought 'who is this young man claiming to be our relative', but when we saw you, the similarities were striking."

Celia paused and looked to Henry, the man took that as his cue and picked up where his wife had left off. "We would not have invited Harry to our home if we thought there was a low chance of him being related to us or to the Peverell family as a whole. More likely we would've gone to the Ministry in the hopes of making them prove his relation via blood magic, something that we all know is only used in circumstances such as the one we would've thought ourselves in."

Charlus looked about ready to speak again when his uncle had finished, but Marcus stole the show with a clap of his hands. "Well, now that we know he's a real Peverell and nobody thinks I'm crazy anymore, why don't we tuck in? I'm sure Harry will stay for quite a bit longer, wouldn't do to harass him during a meal, would it?"

Dorea narrowed her eyes at Marcus, and those narrowed eyes of hers darted to Harry. He held eye contact with the older girl until Celia eventually agreed with Marcus; food would come first, then a tasty set of desserts - of which one was his favourite - and finally, they would retire to a secondary parlour room with tea for conversation.

Celia was quick to assure Harry and inform everybody else that those talks wouldn't be too serious, for family only just reunited needed to catch up and strengthen their bonds rather than be overly intrusive with one another. He agreed with her too, Merlin did he, for there were too many instances where he found himself harassed by questions the likes of which he couldn't care about in the slightest.

Really, seeing how Celia, Henry and the others were, he felt at ease in the Potter home.

Perhaps in an alternate time, this would've been his home and they would've known him as family from his being born on up to his death. That brought a smile to Harry's face as he thought of such a life during his eating with those who would never know their relations.

"Finally," Harry heard Dorea say as the woman seated herself directly across from him with her husband to her left and Fleamont to her right.

Harry found two Potters beside himself too, those being Marcus to his right and Cornelia to his left. Maybe three Potters would've been more appropriate considering how heavily pregnant the latter was… Merlin, she looked ready to burst, like a balloon that'd been filled with too much air.

Celia and Henry Potter obviously seated themselves at the two head chairs between the two groups of three.

"Finally is right, my lovely niece," Celia said after she took a small sip of her tea. "If only the rest of our family was here, it would be the first time in far too long that the Potters found themselves together. If only the weather outside was lovelier, we might have enjoyed this time of bonding together in the open air around a cosy fire rather than cramped indoors with thunder rattling the home."

"Another time," Henry said in a softer tone than he'd spoken all night as his hand sought out that of his wife's.

Celia smiled at Henry, and Harry didn't miss how Dorea sought out Charlus' hand across from him.

"Harry," Fleamont said, addressing him for the first time since their initial meeting; his gaze was curious and to Harry, somewhat displeased. "Would you mind telling the rest of us a bit about yourself? Perhaps some things you're fond of and others that you're not? Unlike Marcus, the rest of us are on our off-foot with you."

Harry clocked out of the corner of his vision how Marcus gave the slightest of smug smiles at that - it seemed as if those letters he sent home hadn't been as fully informative as he thought they might've been. Marcus may be able to keep secrets better than Harry first assumed, that or the boy was petty enough to purposefully leave information out to spite the rest of the family.

Considering how close he and Veronica seemed to be, Harry wouldn't put aside the latter option. Veronica was, after all, very petty and troublesome. It was very clear who the twins took after, though the Prewett brothers, who were relatives of theirs, could also be responsible for that.

"I can do that," Harry said as he looked about the room and saw how curious the rest of the Potters seemed to be. "I'm fond of Quidditch, Wizard's Chess, Hogwarts, Treacle Tart and good conversations. I'm not too fond of drama or people who cause it, I can't think of much else that I dislike other than obviously horrible things."

"Politic-" Fleamont began, only for the very firm voice of his mother to butt in.

"No speaking of politics in this home," Celia said in a steely voice, her sweetness now but a secondary trait. "Keep your questions of the non-confrontational sort, my dear, lest we get offensive."

Fleamont didn't seem too pleased by his mother's interjection, but he gave a small bout of nods to her and changed what he was speaking about. "Do you plan on furthering your education as an apprentice when you complete Hogwarts, or are you looking towards a job at the Ministry as speculation has been speaking as of late?"

"I'm curious, who said I was thinking of the Ministry?" Harry asked before he answered the question, curious as to who it was that said he was looking at a Ministry position; he wasn't mad, goodness no, he hadn't exactly been very secretive with his wanting to become an Auror when he completed Hogwarts.

"Senior Auror McMacson, I believe his title is - give him another year or two and he'll likely be the new Head Auror unless he already holds that position. It wouldn't surprise me with how quickly he's climbed the ranks," Fleamont said, his final comment directed towards his parents.

Harry had heard a fair bit about the man, and considering that it'd come from him, he wasn't mad in the slightest. If anything, it was a bit endearing for a man of such renown to constantly be speaking of him; Harry being spoken positively about by a man with the level of influence he wielded was a great thing. Professor Slughorn on his opposite side would only be all the better for Harry when it came time to realise his ambitions.

Maybe he could be a Senior Auror as quickly as McMacson had made the title, and if the man was the Director of Magical Law Enforcement by then, there was a chance he could achieve the title of Head Auror. He very much liked the sound of Head Auror Potter, but that soured when he came to the conclusion that he'd be serving under Elaine by that point so long as the girl didn't drop her lofty goal of becoming the Minister.

She wouldn't, he knew, but he could always hope that Elaine would lose all ambitions that she currently held… Elaine the Baker or Elaine the Auror sounded better to him than Elaine, the Minister of Magic.

"He has friends in the upper echelons," Henry said, the man shrugging at his son and turning his attention to Harry as he gave an explanation. "Many people like him are the same. They have friends or relatives in higher positions and with only an ounce of promise or good deeds, their position is raised incredibly fast. McMacson, for all the skill and talent he shows, would not have achieved that without nepotism being involved."

Dorea snorted. "For all the talk he does of 'cleaning' the Ministry, he's certainly a hypocrite."

Celia coughed, even that sounded girlish and cute to Harry's ears, but the meaning wasn't lost. "That counts as politics, my loves," she said. "Harry, do tell us if you've thought it out - where do you see yourself upon graduating Hogwarts?"

Harry went on to tell his family - not that they knew as much - of his plans to become an Auror in the future. Along with that, he told them there was potential for him to sit on Wizengamot not too long after he graduated from Hogwarts too. There was much and more that he wanted to accomplish, thankfully, Celia promised that she would assist him.

Dorea and the other Potter family members did too, after the Lady of the family did as much, but as would persist for the duration of his stay at the Potter family home, Harry felt as if he could trust Celia more so than anyone else, Marcus included.

When tea time was over and the Potter parents left Harry to the younger generation, he was moved outside by Marcus with the others save for Cornelia tailing them. It was cold outside, with the rain sprinkling down from an overcast day, but the storm had moved on by in large. Enough for them to walk the grounds of the Potter family with minor enchantments for umbrellas to stay above them as they walked without the need to be held.

As would persist for as long as she was present, Dorea opened up their conversation and it was directed right where Celia had opted to avoid.

Politics.

Harry hated the word as much as he hated the game that it was.

"Harry, I hear that you're close with Elaine Riddle at Hogwarts, would you say if your stances align with hers?" Dorea asked, "Beyond that, could you say the same for others that you're close to whilst at the Castle?"

"Dorea, you know we s-" Marcus tried to interject to push the talk of politics away, but Dorea waved his concern off much like Celia had done to them in the dining room.

"Relax, Marcus. I'm sure Harry can speak up for himself if he wishes not to discuss politics," Dorea said with a smile to her cousin before she looked back at Harry, "As for the others who I'm referencing, they would be those who you're often seen with - Aster Rosier, Reinhard Lestrange, Corene Carrow, Sarah Goldhorn, Professor Slughorn's father… you've an interesting batch of friends."

Dorea's observation and the way in which she spoke of his friends, her tone included, made Harry feel concerned. She hadn't let on prior to this moment just how much she'd heard of his friends, and if he remembered correctly from Charlus' earlier speaking, they had claimed to know very little about him. He wondered how Dorea came about knowing who he spent his time with, but the answer was so obvious that all it took was but a few seconds of pondering; Walburga Black, her cousin or sister.

He was stupid to think she wouldn't write home constantly in regards to him.

"That's an awfully personal question for a new friend to ask, isn't it?" Harry said back to her finally, poking at her earlier apology for the coldness.

Dorea smiled genuinely at that, or at least he assumed the look was genuine. "You're more clever than I thought from a friend of Marcus," She said. "We expected somebody more light-hearted and focused on building friendships or creating pranks rather than how you've acted. Even your table manners were as they should be. My question stands, if anything, you've got more of my attention."

Great, Harry thought to himself. He had hoped his remark would be snarky enough to silence the question and move on, but like Elaine as well as other crazy girls, Dorea seemed all the more interested because of it. It was a good thing she was married, at least it made her going after him incredibly unlikely in comparison to the others.

"I dislike Grindelwald, as I imagine all of you do," Harry started, watching Dorea and Charlus closely - Fleamont was more of an afterthought, as Harry had thought with Marcus disliking the Dark Lord meant Fleamont would too even if the two of them were far removed from one another. "As for other laws or rules, I can't say which of my friends I take after. I've not been around long enough to have an opinion on the Ministry as most others seem to, but I can say that those who're considered magical creatures aren't necessarily worse than us. Malfoy, I should think, is less powerful and less smart than your typical Veela."

Dorea's smile grew and Charlus chuckled. Fleamont didn't seem to have much of a response to his words; it made Harry wonder if one of the issues between him and his family were in regards to the magical-creatures law… or he was a friend of Abraxas'. If the latter was true, Harry didn't mind letting Fleamont be the one Potter he wasn't all that fond of or close to.

"Abraxas Malfoy isn't as great as his sire, that much is true," Dorea agreed. "Not many of the older Pureblood families are as great as they once were, nor will they ever be so again, I believe. Too many haven't read the texts of old or witnessed first-hand the problems with breeding too closely. There comes a time where progress must be made, but that mustn't come at the cost of traditions."

"That's why you married Charlus," Marcus said, speaking up and earning a minor glare from Dorea for doing so.

"Charlus and I were closer than the rest of you would think during our school days. However, you're not entirely incorrect that the initial match was for business more so than romance. I'd imagine your goal is much the same as mine initially was with how you chase after Veronica Weasley," Dorea said all that whilst looking at Harry, but it was her next words that were directed at him. "Write to Charlus and me when it pleases you, I've seen enough with this initial meeting to know you're the right sort of wizard that we'd hoped you'd be… before we devolve into games and wandering, I would tell you to be wary around Walburga if you're not already. She speaks far too often about you for it to be something good for you."

With those final words that left Harry wondering, Dorea faced forward with her husband beside her again as the group of them walked on. Nothing more would come from the woman, not anything of note, but with the interactions he'd had with her he figured they were good enough for a first meeting, as she'd said. He would most definitely be writing to her too, there was no doubt about that - he would do the same with Celia and Henry Potter.

Really, Harry was just happy that he hadn't bottled it.

He hoped, he truly hoped, that he'd made a tentative friend of the Potters.

Harry got home late in the evening, but he wasn't done for the day. No, there was much to do, starting with replying to the multitude of letters that were starting to pile up. So that was what he did as soon as he found himself at home and showered for the evening.

Reinhard's letter being the first he read, was the first he responded to.

' Reinhard,

Pulling something over on Aster would definitely be fun, though I'd be careful, he mentioned much the same in his letter to me though obviously regarding you. As for your home invitation, I'd be more than happy to visit. When you respond to this, send a few times and dates that work for you even if they're only approximate, I'll reply back with what I can do! I'll invite you over to my house the same time that I invite Aster too.

See you at Hogwarts, and definitely sooner.

Harry'

There was one response down, and only a few more to go.

' Aster,

As you guessed, he wrote to me when he saw you doing as much. I won't tell you exactly what he said in his letter, there'd be no fun if I did, but be on your guard. Druella's a good friend and a better instructor, tell her thank you for me if you could. I'd love to visit too, tell me when works and I promise I'll come by.

Veronica Weasley, and yes, I was meaning to do business with her. If your father would like a similar discussion, I'm always up for talk of investments and the like. Thank you for the offer mate, and thanks for the advice too. I won't be losing too many galleons trying to do something by my lonesome.

You raise a good point too. We'll be sixth years, and while we should spend a bit of time working like we did this past year, there'll be more free time. It doesn't need to be all pranks though, no, I would think we could build a few new friendships too. Maybe we could pass along our affinity for pranks to a few younger years. As for Druella, I'll leave that to you - Daphne too, if you've got the stones for it.

With an equal amount of respect back,

Harry,

That should do it, Harry thought as he set down his quil and set aside the just-written letter. He accepted Aster's offer of help on behalf of the man's father, promised to meet his friend sometime this summer and ensured their friendship improved with the rest of his words; that final bit about passing their knowledge on wasn't entirely true, but Harry needed something that would distract his two friends whilst he sought time to study in that dank hidden chamber.

How else would he find time to improve himself if the two of them wanted to go about pranking or otherwise causing mischief for the whole year?

Suddenly, a wave of fatigue hit Harry, as if the day's activities had only just caught up with him. He needed to stay up, Slughorn and Slughorn's fathers letters needed a response, Sarah's did too. That wasn't even mentioning Elaine's letter either, Merlin… he still needed to read it in the first place.

For now though, he would settle the evening by writing his reply to Sarah. That much should be as easy as the prior two responses, while the Slughorns and Elaine he would need his full mind about him. He couldn't afford any mistakes with those latter three.

' Sarah,

I didn't see it, but I didn't see the other two that joined yours either. I guess I need to grow more observant with how many letters have snuck their way into my luggage, wouldn't you say? Tell your family I'm glad they still think of me too, if you would, they're definitely very memorable people. I'd love to visit them again sometime this summer too, and if your family offered me access to the library, that'd be amazing. Tell me something your siblings and parents like, I'd like to show up with a gift for each of them, please.

I'm glad your cousin thinks so fondly of me too, and I'm sure I'd enjoy meeting any friend of yours so long as they're as nice as you are. I can't blame him for avoiding the muggle way either, I've seen how unsafe it seems to be - I have another friend who talks all about them. You've certainly got me interested in this mystery Uncle or Grandpa figure. I'll treat him well too, I promise.

I do remember where I met you with Professor Slughorn, there's no way I'd forget the first time I met somebody as sweet as you. Keep an eye out for me in the next week or two, I'll pop in and surprise you. If you do bake something special too, who knows, maybe I'll do the same for you one of these days.

Your friend,

Harry'

Finally, Harry was done with his writing, and within his final paragraph to Sarah he was reminded of something he often sought comfort in; the kitchen. He would need to cook or bake one of these days when the stress got to him, for even as forced of a profession as it'd initially been to him, there was a certain comfort being surrounded by ingredients and freshly made food.

He could be crazy too, but he much preferred something made by himself every now and then. It tastes better when you make it yourself.

July 5, 1943

Sunday Evening

"Harry," Elaine said with a smile on her face. "You arrived early."

"I did," He said back to her, stepping a few feet from her floo.

Harry hadn't planned until the last minute to visit Elaine, and he'd pushed her letter off for another couple of days too. It was simply the way things had turned out that he visited her before the Slughorns or his mates. She was the first to reply and as such, the first to give him her dates and times that worked. It was suspicious how open her week was and how closed off the next few after it were, but he figured that was but another tactic of hers to get him in her house sooner rather than later - he didn't particularly care if that were the case, as Elaine had been given many and more chances to hurt him if that were her desire.

She smiled widely at his response. "Professor Slughorn was so incredibly kind to allow my letter to be sent to you by him. He's such a nice man, one that I'm glad you've made friends with the same as I, for the assistance he can provide is incredible," Elaine took a few steps towards Harry and continued speaking. "Rituals and the potions that accompany them came up last I spoke with him too."

Harry fought the urge to sigh at Elaine's words. Of course the girl before him couldn't let anything he did go without notice or conversation.

"You know a good deal about them if I remember correctly. How'd you come across them? Have you done any?" Harry asked with feigned innocence, hoping with how much Elaine knew of him that she'd buy into it; he wasn't a great liar, he knew that, but he also knew Elaine thought of him as somewhat pure.

"I came across them in the Hogwarts restricted section one evening - there's much you can learn should you know where to look," Elaine smiled with those words and finally looped her arm through his as she began directing him through her home. "Rituals are illegal too, Harry, though I'm sure you didn't know that. Too often they would end poorly for those who did them, not to mention the costs associated with those that are worth doing."

"You didn't answer the question," He pointed out as they came around a corner and that familiar locked door came into sight.

Harry hadn't forgotten it, nor had he forgotten how closely she guarded it. Still he wondered what lay inside, though he knew if it were anything vaguely important she would never let him see it. Equals they may be, and secrets may not be permitted after they'd agreed to tell one another everything, but that wouldn't stop her or him from leaving things out.

"Perhaps I've done a ritual," Elaine said with a shrug as her hand tightened its hold of his. "Perhaps I've done three, seven or even more. There's as good a chance if not greater that I've not done any, wouldn't you think?"

Harry didn't scoff as much as he wanted to, the look he shot at her was enough to show how little faith he put into her words. Her knowing look back at him with that usual dazzling smile told him much the same.

"You mentioned in your letter almost nothing as to why you wanted to get together so soon after Hogwarts," Harry said, changing the subject from Rituals to one that would hopefully go further. "I'm here now, what did you want to discuss?"

"Is it too hard to think I simply missed your company? We used to see one another daily, twice or thrice in each of those days - perhaps I wished to resume such constant meetings so that our relationship didn't drift over the summer," Elaine looked about ready to continue after a pause for breath when something rather weird happened.

Noise. Noise came from behind that great large locked door; it sounded as if an object had fallen from a shelf based on the thud. Whatever it was had been large too, though not fragile based on the lack of glass-shattering that followed.

"My house-elves," Elaine said, her smile still in place and not the slightest hint of worry noticeable within it. "I had been attempting to cook a dish from North America and it ended horribly. Next I try it, I'll do so in the kitchen, but you know how they can be when they see you cooking I'm sure."

"I had seen as much at the Carrows home," Harry agreed, not acting nervous or suspicious at the sound.

He wouldn't forget it, obviously not with the level of weirdness that persisted around it. Still, he wouldn't risk letting Elaine think he was too interested. She already thought him a seer, the last thing he needed was her connecting the dots that she'd missed with that visit inside his mind.

Yes, he was still sore about that - too many people back in this time seemed to have an affinity for the mind arts or other mind-affecting magic. Dorea, Elaine, Celia… there were others too, but he couldn't quite think of them right then.

"They're awfully protective of the spaces they're charged with," Elaine answered, seemingly happy to let the subject drop as she moved on to a more serious one. "Have you heard of the most recent news from the continent?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't get the pr-"

"Wonderful," Elaine said, cutting him off and acquiring a copy of the Prophet from seemingly out of nowhere. "I dared think that the secrecy revolving around your home would mean world affairs wouldn't reach you. I've procured a few copies for exactly that reason, as others generally inform me of news via the post."

Elaine went on to sit them down in the same room on the same couch where she'd so viciously snogged him over the Yule break. He wasn't surprised that she had them assume the same exact seats either, for he knew her mind well enough to know that she wanted a repeat of that day.

"Here we are," She said, drawing his attention back from thoughts and to the present as she pointed out a blurb in the paper. "Allow me to read it aloud for us, would you?"

He dipped his head once to signify yes, but as he did so, Elaine raised hers to plant a kiss on his lips. She grinned at him when he pulled away and with maintained eye contact, she swiped her tongue across her lips as if she were savouring a delectable treat. He supposed that the craziness within her may have made him taste like chocolate cake, but with the taste of coffee still in his mouth…

"The Dark Lord Grindelwald strikes again," Elaine started, her voice deeper and more serious-sounding as she read from the Prophet article. "Grindelwald has struck at a joint invasion of wizards from the United States, Canada and the other Commonwealth Nations along with a half-dozen or so British volunteers in Sicily. These wizards were part of a joint force that worked alongside Muggles to aid in the take-back of Europe. Casualties are unknown, and the Ministry has issued nothing on the British wizards who even now lay dead by the wand of Grindelwald."

Harry tried and failed to remember if that same thing had happened in his time. He cursed himself for it too, for he knew that he should've paid more attention to matters like that - not because he was sent back in time, nobody could plan for that, but because it was important to remember what had happened lest it be repeated in the latter years of his life.

"Your thoughts?" Elaine asked as she glanced down at him with a cocked head and raised brow.

He huffed in response, the air blowing loose strands of Elaine's hair across her face enough to tickle her into sneezing. She narrowed her eyes at him then, but still, she continued waiting expectantly for his answer.

"Grindelwald has to be stopped unless there'll be no more wizards and witches not from Germany, Italy or the other countries working with him," Harry said initially, watching Elaine for any reaction to his words… there was none. "Dumbledore should fight him, I've heard how strong he is and you yourself have witnessed that he stood up to that Dark Lord of the future. You saw it in my mind, after all."

Elaine didn't look sheepish at his words, instead, she shrugged. "I did see Professor Dumbledore fighting that pale, hairless Dark Lord that you had foreseen. I'm sure you're aware with that gift of yours that what is seen doesn't always come to pass too, else you would be rich and powerful beyond measure - any half-decent seer would be."

"Who would beat him then? Who'll help the wizards on the continent if not for us?" Harry wasn't angry with his question, he was genuinely curious to see what she thought.

"We could," Elaine said matter of factly, her nose raised at him despite the height disadvantage he already found himself at. "You saw how I duelled Cade, Harry. There's something between us, our wands agree and our minds do too. Do you not feel the strength when we're as close as we are?"

He shook his head. He didn't feel strength with their closeness, though that wasn't to say he didn't feel how their wands reacted to one another. Harry had certainly felt how enjoyable her wand was whilst it was in his hand.

"Stand up," Elaine told him as she began to do just that, her wand in her hand. "Take out your wand, we're going to try something."

At the same time, Elaine called forth a woman he'd not seen before from a guest room; she was tall, dark-haired and with features similar to Daphne Oleander. Elaine didn't introduce Harry to the woman, nor did the woman introduce herself to Harry. From the look on the woman's face, she wasn't all that pleased for whatever was about to happen, though Elaine's expression was the polar opposite.

"Cast an expelliarmus at her," Elaine said to Harry, motioning with her arm as further emphasis.

Harry shrugged, aimed his wand at the woman who already had her own in hand and did as he was bid. He saw it streak across the room and he saw it splash harmlessly against her shield.

Elaine stepped beside him, waited nearly ten seconds, and did exactly as he did whilst his wand arm lay limply at his side. That woman's shield shimmered from the force of Elaine's spell, but again, there was no effect.

"Together now," Elaine said to Harry, her gaze intense and that unnerving smile on her face. "On your mark."

Harry sighed and raised his wand again, unimpressed with whatever Elaine was trying to show him.

"Expelliarmus!" He shouted, his annoyance creeping into his casting of the spell.

He watched as his spell and Elaine's almost mingled in the air as they beamed towards the woman far faster than they previously had. He watched as her shield was destroyed with a shimmer of light. He watched as the woman staggered and her wand came hurling towards them.

Finally, he watched as Elaine smiled at him more viciously and at the same time, lovingly than ever before.

"Welcome home, Harry James Potter."