{12 Grimmauld Place}
{30th June 1991}
{Rigel's POV}
When I finally stepped into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, rubbing sleep from my eyes, the gentle warmth of the early morning sun had already filled the room. Sunlight slanted softly through the tall, dusty windows, illuminating the aged oak table and polished stone countertops. Sirius was standing near the stove, looking unusually cheerful as he sipped his tea and quietly scanned the Daily Prophet spread out in front of him.
Harry was sitting opposite him, back toward me, shoulders hunched slightly as if he was nursing a headache. As I took a seat next to him, I quickly realized why: his normally dark, perpetually unruly hair was now gleaming a brilliant, shimmering gold, catching the sunlight in waves of sparkling color. I froze for a moment, quietly taking in the sight, before carefully schooling my expression into one of polite neutrality.
Harry glanced at me over his shoulder, clearly bracing for my reaction. "Morning," he muttered, cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. "As you might've noticed—I had a bit of a surprise this morning."
Sirius chuckled warmly, barely bothering to hide his amusement behind the rim of his cup. "A rather dazzling surprise, if I might say."
I raised an eyebrow calmly, settling more comfortably into my chair. "Sirius?"
Harry sighed deeply, but shook his head. " Fred and George. Apparently, they thought I was looking 'a bit gloomy.' Their words, not mine." He pointed to a letter that was also painted gold.
"It's certainly brightened the place up," Sirius noted dryly, setting down his tea with a playful smile. "Though perhaps gold's not entirely your color, Harry."
I studied Harry thoughtfully, quietly amused by the glittering effect. "It could have been worse."
Harry raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Really? Worse than this?"
"Pink, perhaps," I replied calmly. "Or fluorescent green. At least gold looks intentional."
Harry rolled his eyes, but a small smile broke through his embarrassment. "Intentional, Rigel? Maybe I've just been hiding my secret desire to join Celestina Warbeck's backup singers."
Sirius laughed loudly, clearly delighted by Harry's good humor. "I'll be sure to mention that to Molly. She's quite a fan."
Harry groaned dramatically, dropping his forehead to the table. "Merlin, spare me."
I reached for the pot of tea, pouring myself a cup, and took a sip, quietly enjoying the comfortable, easy atmosphere. Compared to the stillness that lingered in Grimmauld Place last summer, these rare moments of levity were especially welcome.
Breakfast soon appeared—thanks, I presumed, to Kreacher, whose resentful muttering I could occasionally hear echoing faintly from the pantry, though he wasn't cursing, so it seemed my order still worked. Sirius chose to ignore it this morning, and I silently agreed with his choice. It wasn't worth spoiling the cheerful mood we'd found.
As we ate, the conversation drifted naturally—Harry's golden hair was still a frequent topic, each new joke brightening his embarrassment but lifting his spirits at the same time. Eventually, however, as we finished eating and Sirius poured us fresh cups of tea, I decided it was finally time to bring up something I'd been contemplating for the last couple.
"I've been thinking," I began quietly, immediately drawing both Harry and Sirius's attention. They knew me well enough now to recognize my serious tone. "We haven't finalized any summer plans yet, and I thought it might be interesting to travel abroad."
Harry leaned forward curiously, his embarrassment forgotten, an eagerness so different burst out from his eyes, "Where were you thinking?"
I hesitated briefly, then spoke calmly, choosing my words carefully. "India."
Sirius raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued. "India's quite a bold choice. Why there?"
I folded my hands thoughtfully, meeting his gaze steadily. "India has one of the most ancient and developed magical communities in the world. Though to be honest, the reason I want to go there is because of some rumors that I have heard, and that they have a complete magical system around Parseltongue."
Harry's expression flickered with interest, his golden hair shimmering faintly as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Yeah, that sounds brilliant. I've never been outside Britain, at least not properly." Though he didn't continue, his eyes flickered to Sirius briefly, but he never brought up the topic like I thought he would.
'Hmm, it seems like he's still not comfortable enough to reveal that he's a parselmouth. Too much influence from Ron?'
"Exactly," I continued calmly. "We've all been raised with British magic. But what about magical cultures we've never encountered? This could be an important opportunity."
Sirius was looking at me thoughtfully, clearly impressed by my reasoning. "It certainly could. I read that you were a Parseltongue in the Daily Prophet, but I never thought you would be interested in exploring it as a magical trait. The experience would be invaluable. But international travel involves Ministry permissions. We might have some trouble with that if we want to travel this summer..." He muttered the last part out loud.
"I know," I replied steadily. "...I know we're a bit late to plan something like this, but we have resources at Hogwarts that might help."
"Resources?" Harry asked curiously.
"The Patil family," I clarified calmly. "Padma and Parvati are friends, and their family has connections within the Indian magical community. If we speak with them, they might help ease the way with the Ministry. International travel regulations are strict, but with a respected family willing to sponsor or guide us, approval could be much simpler."
Sirius nodded slowly, thoughtfully considering my words, and his eyes brightened at the end. "That's a good idea, Rigel. Have you spoken to the Patils yet?"
"Not yet," I admitted, shaking my head slightly. "I thought it best to discuss it first with both of you."
Sirius smiled faintly, clearly pleased by my approach. "Well, I think it's an excellent idea. You should reach out to the Patils today and see how receptive they are. If they agree, the next step will be securing travel permissions."
Harry's eyes were bright with excitement, clearly enthusiastic about the plan. "Honestly, Rigel, it sounds fantastic. I'd love to see a different side of magic—something outside textbooks and classrooms. I heard that they used staff in India instead of wands from the gossip train."
"I agree," Sirius added, his voice a little misty. "It could be incredibly enriching. And frankly, we could all use a change of scenery."
I leaned back slightly in my seat; I had anticipated their enthusiastic response, so all worked out well in the end. I'd carefully considered this idea for weeks, quietly researching and planning, but there had always been some uncertainty about how they would react. Seeing their genuine excitement made it easy to move forward with this.
Sirius rose smoothly from his seat, moving swiftly toward his study. "Give me just a moment—I'll bring some parchment, and we can draft a letter immediately."
As he left, Harry leaned back comfortably in his chair, giving me a thoughtful look. "You think we should invite Hermione and Ron?"
I nodded slightly, meeting his gaze calmly. "Maybe the twins as well, this could then be considered a business expense to 'broaden our horizons'." I air-quoted.
Harry's eyes lit up. "I'm glad you brought it up," Harry admitted sincerely, his golden hair catching sunlight as he shook his head slightly. "I'd never thought about traveling seriously before now. But the way you describe it, I can see how valuable it would be... and can you not tell Sirius about...you know."
"Don't worry about it... Though I don't think he'll ever judge you." I shrugged and got a grateful look from the green-eyed boy.
"I have done some research on it, most of the European-based countries use wands as magical focci. That's why I selected India..." I explained quietly, thoughtfully. "But magic is diverse—it's more than spells and potions. It's how people live, what they believe, and how they interact with the world. India has its own history, traditions, and mysteries that could help us understand magic in a completely new way."
Harry smiled warmly, clearly immersed in my vision. "It's a good reminder—magic is bigger than Hogwarts."
Sirius returned a moment later, placing parchment, quills, and ink before me, clearly expecting me to draft the letter. He smiled encouragingly as I hesitated.
"It's your idea, Rigel," he said warmly. "You write it."
I picked up the quill slowly as Harry discussed with Sirius about inviting both Hermione and Ron onto the trip, while I carefully organized my thoughts before writing. As I began the letter, outlining our proposal clearly but politely, Sirius and Harry watched and murmured amongst themselves about the feasibility of bringing others along.
I wrote steadily, feeling confident that I would get a positive response. After penning the proposal, I stopped and looked at Harry and Sirius, "So, have you thought about it? Ron and the twins?"
"Yeah, we'll go over now and talk with the Weasleys, though I think it might be difficult to take Hermione with us. I think her family had a vacation planned," Harry replied with an embarrassed look, clearly forgetting about her plans.
"Sure, I'll finish this letter in the evening then." I nodded and pushed it aside for now.
Harry glanced over at me, "Golden hair aside, this has turned into a great morning."
I chuckled quietly, smiling faintly. "I suppose it has."
We fell into a comfortable silence as we finished our tea. The morning sunlight continued streaming softly through the windows, illuminating Harry's brilliant hair and highlighting the quiet optimism that had settled among us.
It felt good to plan something meaningful—something bigger than just ourselves. Even the shadows of Grimmauld Place seemed distant now, replaced by hope and excitement for the future.
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AN: Made a slight mistake with the chapter order.