Andromeda and I appeared at King's Cross Station, on the magical side, of course. I looked like Tenebrius, because I couldn't let anyone see Red; he was supposed to be at Castelobruxo at that moment.
"Are you sure everything will be okay?" Andromeda asked with genuine concern.
"It'll be fine. Even if it doesn't seem like it, Tonks can be very responsible. I know that despite everything, she'll manage… even if it's a bit hard at first," I answered confidently.
"I was talking about Ruby," she clarified, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh… yeah, Ruby will be fine too. Tonks loves me, and even if she's not her biological daughter, she wouldn't reject her. Besides, that girl is practically indestructible," I added with a half-proud, half-resigned smile.
"Good..." Andromeda sighed, then looked at me with a mix of reproach and tenderness before pulling me into her chest in a soft hug. "But you're going to have to let me spend more time with her… or at least start making me one of my own," she added in a low tone, pressing her belly against me in a not-so-innocent way.
At that very moment, Andromeda realized we weren't alone. Several people were watching us in the station, and she quickly let go of me, trying to regain composure and act naturally, despite her blush.
She sometimes forgot there were witnesses. For her, our relationship had become something internalized, natural, almost routine… but that didn't mean the rest of the world accepted it. Exposing it in public would only cause trouble. And although I wasn't using my real body, but Tenebrius', that didn't make it any easier. Tenebrius was moderately well-known, and if anyone found out the widow Tonks was in a relationship with her daughter's former colleague, the gossip would explode.
I chuckled silently at her ability to pretend everything was under control, took her hand calmly, and led her toward the passage to the Muggle world. The stares didn't bother me too much; if necessary, I could always claim I was just taking my mother-in-law out for a stroll.
...
We crossed through the passage and emerged in the Muggle station, much more crowded than its magical counterpart.
Our clothes weren't flashy enough to stand out, though they were a bit old-fashioned. Still, Andromeda's dress drew attention: elegant, understated, and flattering to her figure in an enviable way. The stares were immediate.
We crossed the station looking for an available taxi. Finally, we found one and got in. But as I looked at the driver, I paused for a moment.
"Henry?" I asked, a mix of surprise and doubt in my voice.
The taxi driver looked at me thoughtfully upon hearing his name. He seemed to be trying to remember.
"Oh... the guy with the rebellious girlfriend, right?" (Henry)
Yes, it was him. Henry Alfred Watson. The same taxi driver who had taken me that first time to the station, and who, by some strange coincidence, had ended up being my regular driver the few times I needed one.
"If you keep picking me up like this, I'm going to think you're a taxi driver just to drive me around," I joked.
"I think I've only driven you once or twice," he said, still unsure.
"True..." I admitted, remembering that most of the times I'd been in his taxi, I was using Red's body, not Tenebrius'.
"Grimmauld Place? Do you know where that is?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Hmm… I think so," he replied, thinking for a moment. "I know the general area, but I'll need a bit more direction."
"Andromeda will guide you when we're close," I said, and she nodded with a slight smile
The car started moving and the journey began, while Andromeda's hand rested absentmindedly on mine. She watched the taxi, the ride, and the driver with fascination—he was quite the talker.
"And what happened to your girlfriend?" he asked teasingly, glancing at Andromeda in the rearview mirror. "Didn't think your tastes would change so quickly… though I must admit, your taste is still impeccable."
"She's at home," I replied naturally. "This is my mother-in-law."
"Ah, I see where that young lady got her beauty from," he said, throwing out another compliment. "And… sorry for calling her a rebel. I'm sure she's a wonderful girl."
"It's fine, she is a bit rebellious," Andromeda added with a calm smile.
The conversation continued casually for a while as we moved into less crowded areas, slowly approaching our destination. But something felt off. A gut feeling. My instincts were screaming…
*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH…*
The car swerved suddenly, jerking us violently. Fortunately, Henry had reacted fast: a sharp turn just in time to avoid a head-on collision with a car that had come out of nowhere, driving straight at us on the wrong side of the road.
He didn't brake—that wouldn't have prevented the crash. Instead, he veered sharply into an alley, where the car came to a sudden stop. The jolt was harsh, but clearly better than getting slammed by the other vehicle, which crashed into a post. We didn't know if its driver had survived.
That ominous feeling loomed again, a familiar echo of the strange sensation I'd had in Brazil. I suspect it's the power of prophecy, manifesting as a sharp instinct and precognition.
"Is everyone alright?" Henry asked, still shaken but quickly regaining composure.
"Yes. Stay inside," I said seriously, drawing my wand and stepping out of the car. I had already sensed them.
My eyes moved to the end of the alley, where a sharp crack confirmed someone had just Apparated. Sloppy. They weren't particularly skilled. I also sensed presences on the rooftops.
There were no villainous speeches or warnings. Just green light fired from multiple directions… and worse: explosive and fire spells aimed directly at the taxi. I had to split my focus between protecting myself and shielding the vehicle. Damn it. They were smarter—and more numerous—than I expected.
Andromeda, hearing the explosions, got out of the car with her wand in hand. She was a healer at St. Mungo's, but she was also a Black. She wasn't the kind to look away when death approached.
The moment she peeked her head through the door, a spell flew straight at her. Fortunately, I managed to deflect it just in time. After that initial scare, Andromeda didn't hesitate to step out fully, joining the fight and covering the rear.
A dozen or two enemies. Not countless, but this clone wasn't built to endure long battles. And with combat in full swing, I couldn't use [travel] to leave or arrive here. Reinforcements would take a few minutes… minutes in which anything could happen.
But I was no longer someone a group like this could stop.
My stance shifted—more aggressive. With Andromeda covering one flank, I could focus on the offensive. First, those on the rooftops—they were the hardest to reach and the most dangerous.
I raised my wand. A massive flame burst forth, lighting up the alley in a spectacle that was more flash than substance… but that was the point. The real threat was the barrage of invisible blood shards I fired immediately afterward, at high speed. And behind those, a series of curses and hexes to finish off anyone still moving.
Even so, I had to cast a general shield for those attacking from the ground. Things got worse when they began throwing potions like grenades, which exploded on contact with spells. I had to improvise a wall of invisible blood to stop them—this confused our attackers, who couldn't understand how I was doing it.
Of course, like I said, I only discovered their explosive nature after the first one. I hope Henry has some kind of insurance against magical bandits and volatile potions.
Even though so much happened in such a short time, the battle didn't last more than a few minutes. Still, our attackers—more than twenty—were already realizing they weren't winning. There were only two of us, and not only had they failed to beat us, they were losing men.
Things got worse for them when explosions rang out, and one of the wizards—about to attack me with a wand in one hand and an explosive potion in the other—was riddled with bullets. Several holes appeared in his body before he collapsed, the potion detonating near his allies in a brutal, chaotic blast.
"Henry?! Where did you get that gun?!" I shouted, turning just enough to see the blond man firing from behind the taxi door.
"Where did you get that stick that shoots fire?" he shot back, aiming and firing again. This time his target managed to raise a shield in time, though still ended up wounded.
"Touché," I replied, relaxing a bit knowing that reinforcements had finally arrived.
Invisible clones emerged from the shadows, moving like wraiths behind the enemies, stabbing them with enchanted daggers, silencing them for good. The one who seemed to be the leader finally realized all was lost and ordered a retreat, glaring at us with hatred as he fled with the few who could still run.
Only a few managed to escape… or so they thought. One of my clones would follow them. Thus, the fight ended, and the three of us remained in the middle of a ruined alley, next to a taxi with a scorched side.
Henry let out a long sigh and leaned against the car, grateful for the pause. He wasn't so young anymore and hadn't seen that kind of action in a long time. He checked his gun's magazine, coughed a couple of times from the toxic potion smoke, and closed his eyes for a moment to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?" Andromeda asked, placing her hands on me, checking me with concern and ignoring her own discomfort.
"I'm fine… and you?" I replied, examining her as well. She had a few minor injuries, though adrenaline likely kept her from noticing.
"I'm fine," she said, pulling a few potions from her bag. She offered me one, but when I declined, she took them herself without delay.
"Check on Henry, just in case," I told her. As a healer, she'd do a good job… and it would give her a well-earned sense of usefulness.
Andromeda nodded and approached Henry, who opened his eyes as soon as he saw her raise her wand. But once he recognized her, he relaxed and let her proceed.
I watched as she performed a magical checkup and began healing him: closing wounds, soothing bruises, and carefully extracting shards of glass and metal lodged in his body. Meanwhile, I had already begun moving again, using spells to restore what I could of the alley.
I took the moment to ask some questions.
"So, Henry… where does a taxi driver like you get a weapon like that… and the skill to use it?"
"Served in the army… made contacts… now I'm retired," he replied in three short phrases that sounded like the summary of a whole novel.
"But you can't be more than forty," I said, doubting his retirement age.
"Forty-one," he said, adding nothing more. He didn't seem willing to elaborate.
Then he looked at us with curiosity.
"And you two? You, your mother-in-law, those guys… what was all that? Magic?"
"Literally," I said with a smile, as I finished restoring what was left of the car.
"Pff…" he sighed, giving up on trying to make sense of it. "Statements to the police are going to be hell."
"There won't be any statements," I assured him, restoring the last details of the vehicle.
Henry's eyes widened as he noticed the whole area looked almost as if nothing had happened. Cleaner, even, than when we arrived. He watched me twirl my wand between my fingers and blow on the tip like it was a recently fired gun.
"I need one of those," he said, laughing as the pain faded thanks to Andromeda. And he added, amused: "Or ten… or however many you've got lying around…"