Only Death Can Separate Us

The group arrived at Aslan Road and quickly realized it was indeed very similar to Diagon Alley—except the bustling crowd of Wizards wore long desert robes, with many men sporting traditional headscarves.

The Twins were already darting through the busy street, weaving between stands and stalls. Percy, ever the self-important older brother, scolded them as they ran, but the real older brothers, Bill and Charlie, strolled behind them, chatting and laughing under their breath.

Hermione kept dragging Ginny along at a brisk pace. Ginny occasionally glanced back at Ron and Kai Adler, walking a few paces behind, but she couldn't win against Hermione's determined tugging.

Ron trailed along, holding Scabbers in one hand, watching the two girls drift farther ahead.

"Why's Hermione acting so weird today?" Ron asked, frowning. "Oi, Kai, you got pig's brains or what?"

"It's 'clue,' Ron. 'Clue.'"

Kai pressed his fingers to his temple, exhaling. He thought Hermione's earlier questions at breakfast meant she'd calmed down, but clearly, the situation wasn't that simple.

Ron, meanwhile, was entirely distracted, happily strolling through the street despite the missed pyramid trip.

"Wish Harry was here," Ron muttered, adjusting Scabbers in his grip. "His relatives are awful. Heard his Uncle Vernon locks him up in his room every day, barely lets him out."

Kai tilted his head. "How'd you hear that?"

"Guess what, my brother called him!" Ginny's voice interrupted cheerfully from behind them, Hermione reluctantly beside her.

Ginny's face lit up with amusement. "Yesterday, Ron asked Dad to help him use a Muggle phone."

Ron's cheeks flushed bright red. "Ginny, shut up."

Ignoring him entirely, Ginny smirked. "The second the call connected, Ron shouted into the receiver like he was trying to yell across a Quidditch pitch. Unfortunately for him, Harry's Uncle Vernon answered."

Kai's eyebrows lifted knowingly.

"Harry's Uncle Vernon is notoriously prejudiced against Wizards. So, naturally, when Ron started bellowing, the bloke slammed the phone down in a rage."

Ron threw his hands up. "I didn't know Muggle phones worked that well! You can talk across cities. That's practically magic itself!"

"Dad explained all of this to you, Ronald," Ginny snapped, her tone switching instantly to scolding big sister mode. She even used his full name—a dangerous sign. "You probably got Harry in trouble, yelling like that."

Kai watched the interaction, amused. Ginny's fierce protectiveness over Harry didn't escape him. Looked like the little sister of Harry's best friend had… other feelings toward the Boy Who Lived.

Ginny, catching Kai's teasing glance, flushed slightly, rolled her eyes, and quickly deflected.

"Want to hear the funniest part?" she said, dragging Hermione forward and giving her a playful nudge. "You tell him, Hermione."

"It's nothing—ow!"

Ron, unwilling to be humiliated any further, had stepped on her foot to interrupt.

"What're you doing?!"

"Shut it, Ginny!"

Hermione looked away, mildly annoyed but not entirely unsympathetic. "It's just… Ron came to find me later, told me not to call Harry."

"But he forgot," Ginny added smugly, "our Hermione actually knows how to use a phone properly—and wouldn't go around announcing she's from the Wizarding world."

"Exactly," Kai chimed in, smirking.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at him. "Well, now I can't even call if I want to. Thanks to Ron's little… performance, Uncle Vernon's probably smashing phones left and right."

She suddenly realized she was casually bantering with Kai again—something she swore she wouldn't do today—and awkwardly looked away.

Kai only smiled, affectionate and teasing.

Ron, braced for more ridicule, blinked when the two simply stood facing each other, saying nothing.

"See? Not funny anymore," he muttered, arms crossed.

Ginny watched her brother, exasperated.

If I end up married with Harry's children one day, will Ron still be this clueless?

Wait—children?

Her cheeks flushed bright red, and she ducked her head to hide it.

Ron, noticing his sister's strange expression, tilted his head, utterly lost. He felt like the world was moving on without him.

"Ron, heads up!"

Something flew past his ear, making him flinch. He turned to see the Twins laughing heartily, clearly responsible.

"You two are dead!" Ron shouted, chasing after them. This chaotic world, at least, made sense to him.

Ginny tried to slip away too, but Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Weren't we shopping for Harry's birthday? Together~"

Ginny threw Kai a pleading look, but Kai simply smiled like a gentleman, motioning for her to lead the way.

It had to be said, though Aslan Road looked similar to Diagon Alley, it lacked the same variety of magical goods. Years of instability—much of it lingering from Grindelwald's old terror campaigns—had left the magical economy tense. Several shops were shuttered, others heavily regulated.

Aurors patrolled the streets openly, their sharp eyes scanning every face.

The Weasleys' enthusiasm for shopping dulled quickly, and Kai, Hermione, and the others found little in the way of suitable gifts for Harry.

Still, Ron wasn't deterred.

Later that evening, gathered around the dinner table, Ron proudly presented his chosen gift.

In his hand spun a glowing, glass-like object, resembling a tiny top.

"The bloke who sold this called it a miniature Sneakoscope. It glows and spins when someone nearby has bad intentions."

The little gadget buzzed and spun continuously in Ron's palm.

"Pretty sure it's busted, though."

Bill leaned in, inspecting it with a chuckle.

"You probably got scammed, Ron. They love tricking outsiders with useless junk here."

He took the Sneakoscope—it spun and glowed in his hand too.

"See? No one here means you harm."

"Mm-hmm."

Ron, expression unreadable, casually observed as the Twins sneakily dropped a beetle into Bill's soup.

Taking the Sneakoscope back, Ron exchanged a glance with Kai. Both struggled to suppress their laughter.

"So, who exactly has bad intentions toward you?" Kai asked casually.

"Dunno, probably the Twins again."

Typical Weasleys—always keeping life interesting.

After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had kindly arranged a room for Kai, conveniently right next to Hermione's.

Walking side by side down the hall, Hermione still ignored him entirely. But Kai noticed her door wasn't fully closed after she entered.

He raised an eyebrow.

Inside, Hermione was unpacking bags. She may not have found Harry's gift, but she'd bought plenty of souvenirs for her parents—and even a quirky pair of Egyptian-style socks for Dobby.

Kai leaned against the doorframe, watching her.

"Speaking of birthdays, yours is coming up soon too," he said, voice light. "What do you want this year?"

Hermione froze mid-fold, turning to glare at him with a look that screamed how dare you.

Kai approached, gently pulling her to sit beside him on the bed. She resisted for a moment, then relented.

"I know you're mad," he began, fishing out the pendant hidden under her collar—the Soul Oath pendant.

"I shouldn't have kept things from you… and I shouldn't have taken this back, either."

"I've been trying to apologize all day. But between the Weasleys' excitement and you dragging Ginny everywhere… We couldn't exactly explain this whole mess in front of her, could we?"

Hermione huffed softly—a sound more sulky than angry.

"Not mad anymore?"

She wrinkled her nose.

"What exactly happened?"

Kai settled beside her, recounting the events of the previous night—every grim detail.

By the time he finished explaining how he'd survived the assassination attempt and fought off powerful enemies, Hermione's earlier resentment melted into wide-eyed concern.

"You're sure you're okay? Shouldn't we go back and see Professor Dumbledore?"

Kai caught her wandering hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Don't forget the Soul Oath—we'd know if something was wrong."

"Hmph!" At the mention of the Soul Oath, her temper reignited.

"Can you unilaterally break it?"

Kai hesitated, then shook his head with a small smile.

"No. Soul Oaths bind us completely—shared destiny, connected souls. Life and death… together."

Hermione met his steady, dark gaze, his voice smooth and magnetic in her ears. Her heart thundered against her ribs, her entire chest warming.

"You… even if you say that…"

Words failed her. She turned away, face flushed scarlet, refusing to let him see her expression.

Kai smiled faintly, watching the blush creep down her neck.

"By the way…" Hermione's voice cut through the silence, suspiciously sweet.

"Didn't someone mention a female Vampire last night? Selene, was it?"

Kai's smile froze completely.