Back to normal… or something like that.
Harry was sprawled in the middle of his living room, staring at the ceiling with a dull expression. Slowly, he turned his head toward Wanda, who was sitting calmly on the sofa, reading a book at ease.
Wanda felt her son's gaze and lifted her eyes from the book. Their eyes met, and she could see that glimmer of sadness in his, a spark that contrasted with his usual mischief.
"You know it's not going to work, right?" she said with a gentle smile before returning to her reading.
"Tsk… at least I tried," Harry replied, turning his eyes back to the ceiling in boredom.
They had only just returned from a dungeon after an epic battle that had left them with quite a haul. Among the rewards were pieces and samples of the golden golems, along with gold. Although, by now, that didn't mean much anymore. The Gringotts vaults of the four brats' families filled up every single day, to the point that the goblins could barely keep their usual surly, unpleasant expressions when they saw them.
All thanks to the popularity of the new game that had become a trend in the wizarding world: Miniature Golem Battles.
When Wanda had brought them back home, Harry had asked her to store everything they had found in the dungeon. However, since they were all grounded, none of them could go near those items for an entire month.
It might have seemed like a harsh punishment, especially for the little fans of such magical oddities, but they had actually gotten off lightly. Sirius was the one who got the worst of it: he spent hours surrounded by all the parents, being scolded like a mischievous child.
Now he was forced to remain in his Animagus form, living in a kennel with other dogs while Karcher made sure he lacked nothing. Although, for Sirius, having the grumpy house-elf nearby also seemed like a punishment, since he couldn't silence him without a human mouth to speak with.
Red's punishment was no less terrible. His mission was to care for and protect Luna and Astoria every single day. Wanda sent him off in the morning and brought him back at night. Sometimes he returned wearing frilly dresses and ridiculous bows on his head. Harry could swear he had never seen a dragon look exhausted… until now.
"Mummy, please," said Harry in a coquettish tone, his last card to play, even at the expense of his pride.
Wanda lowered the book, holding back a laugh, but then adopted a serious expression.
"What is the job of parents?" she asked, looking at him intently.
Harry stopped fooling around and replied quietly, with a hint of guilt in his eyes.
"To care for and protect their children… to teach, guide, support, and discipline."
"That's right. I'm sure you know that if any of you were ever seriously hurt, any one of us would break inside. We are your parents, and you are the most precious thing we have. Even though it hurts me to punish you, I want you to remember how important it is not to put yourself in danger. Even if that fool Sirius was there, I know it wasn't really your fault, but you chose to share his punishment, and that's what you're doing," Wanda said with a gentle look.
"We wouldn't have helped him share anything," Harry muttered irritably, turning his head to the side.
Wanda smiled at her son's childish stubbornness, then glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Come on, get up, it's time," she said, placing the book on the sofa and standing up.
"Time for what?" asked Harry, confused.
"Family picnic," Wanda replied with a smile.
…
"Harry!" he heard the moment he appeared alongside Wanda in a wide field. He turned just in time for two little girls to crash into him, knocking him to the ground. It was Astoria and Luna, followed by Red, who was walking behind them in a pink fairy dress that sparkled as he ran.
"Ugh," Harry groaned, rubbing his stomach as the girls smiled triumphantly at their mischief.
"Finally, you're here, you took forever," said Astoria with a big grin.
"We've already laid out the blankets," Luna said softly.
Meanwhile, Red had a look full of silent pleas for help and desperation. Harry, seeing him, smiled and decided to help him a bit, adjusting the small tiara on his head.
Wanda looked at Harry and smiled before walking over to the others, who were already gathered in the middle of a field full of flowers of every color, clearly created with magic to make the place look perfect.
To one side of the blankets where Hermione, Daphne, and Draco were playing cards, there was a breakfast pavilion with a white marble roof, quite striking. The chairs and tables were beautifully decorated, while the adults sat drinking tea and chatting calmly. The elves Laki and Gris served tea, while Dobby and Liz stood like royal guards, watching over the children. They had most likely been sent there for being too chaotic and noisy.
In one corner, a large black dog rested quietly. Sirius, to be precise, while Selene watched him with mockery.
"Hello," Wanda said as she approached and sat down calmly. At that moment, Gris appeared at her side to serve her a cup of tea and some cake.
"Wanda, you arrived just in time," Susan said with a smile. "This is incredibly important for our children's education."
Selene, smiling, took a stack of papers and placed them on the table. Edward, sitting next to her, sipped his tea without showing interest, while Wendell seemed to have a headache. Xenophilius, for his part, had seen something in the forest and had run off, followed by Pandora. Narcissa held in her hands an identical paper, looking at it with the seriousness of someone deciding another's life or death.
Wanda picked up one of the papers from the table and saw that it was a photograph of a black uniform. Then she took another and saw that it was a light blue uniform.
She lifted her head, slightly confused.
"We have to decide which uniform will look better on them, and that could affect which school they go to," Susan said seriously, raising a finger to emphasize her point.
"I thought Beauxbatons was the choice because it's closer," Wanda commented calmly, as she looked at the other images.
"Of course not. If anything, Durmstrang is closer… Don't ask how I know," Selene said with a smile. "But there, well… they're much worse than the blood purists at Hogwarts," she added.
"They don't accept Muggle-borns. Hermione told me about that. Their loss," Susan said without offense. "And their clothes are ugly… although I think Draco and Harry might actually look great in them," she added with an amused gesture.
"Of course," Narcissa said suddenly, earning everyone's attention. "Ahem," she cleared her throat as she set the photo of the uniform down on the table. "But dark magic isn't optional at that school, it's mandatory. I've seen what that magic does to a person's mind, and I'd rather Draco not get too close, even if the outfit would suit him," she said seriously.
"Koldovstoretz," Wanda read aloud, looking at the image of a uniform of flowing deep navy-blue robes, with velvet-colored trims and linings matching each house. "It's pretty," she said, smiling as she imagined Harry in that outfit.
"What about Mahoutokoro?" Selene suggested, showing a uniform that was a traditional Japanese magical robe, similar to a kimono, made with enchanted fabrics. It grew with the student from the moment they enrolled until graduation. There were several colors, which changed on their own, starting with a pale pink at entry. As the student progressed in studies and skills, the robe would turn gold. "Pink would suit Daphne," Selene commented.
"Why does it sound like she wouldn't even turn it gold?" Susan asked between laughs.
"I know my daughter. She's smart and could easily reach those levels, but with her personality… causing chaos," Selene replied.
"She's just like you when we went to Hogwarts," Pandora said suddenly, appearing behind Selene.
"Well, you're back," Susan said with a smile, looking at Pandora and Xenophilius, who arrived covered in dirt. Xenophilius was holding a squirrel in his hands, calmly feeding it before walking toward Luna to show her.
"Luna said she wanted to see one," Pandora explained, flicking her wand to clean her clothes before sitting down calmly.
"Wait, let's go back to what you just said," Selene interrupted quickly. "I wasn't like that, obviously I was a model student… wasn't I, dear?" she asked, looking at Edward, who turned his gaze away as if he hadn't heard the question.
Selene frowned and began poking his side, but he didn't even flinch, keeping his stoic expression.
"And you? What do you say?" Selene asked, now pointing at Pandora. The witch smiled without answering. Selene kept her finger aimed for a few seconds, but when nothing came, she lowered it and sat back down. "In reality, I was like a little animal everyone gave snacks to," she muttered, a bit annoyed.
"Now that I think about it, I never asked which school you went to, Wanda. You're a very powerful witch, so it must have been an amazing school," Pandora said softly.
Susan and Selene stayed silent. Neither had ever asked much about Wanda's past before she came to England, because she never seemed to want to talk about it.
"I didn't go to a school," Wanda said calmly.
"You didn't? Why?" Pandora asked innocently.
"When I was a child, I lived in a war zone, a very poor place. When I reached adolescence, my brother and I joined… well, a bad place, a very bad place. We underwent military and experimental training, until we were rescued… yes, rescued," she said, holding the cup in her hands as if its warmth could push those memories back down. "I didn't have a good beginning. Many people lost their lives, far too many. Maybe that's why I lost everything," she added, staring into the black tea, which for a moment seemed darker, denser, as if it wanted to swallow all she was remembering.
The silence at the table grew heavy, broken only by the distant laughter of the children. Wanda raised her head and, among them all, found Harry. He was standing, surrounded by his friends, laughing heartily as he explained something with exaggerated gestures.
In that instant, she smiled softly. "Having lost everything, I'm willing to do anything to keep what I have now," she said, without taking her eyes off him.
Sirius, lying in his dog form, lifted his gaze toward Wanda and then toward Harry, with a calm, happy expression for the mother the boy had found. He was certain James would be happy to know it too.
The others at the table looked at each other for a moment, then turned their eyes to their little ones. All of them were happy.
Without anyone noticing, from Wanda's feet, tendrils of chaos magic slowly spread, gently reaching each member of her family.
…
Oh, I just thought of a nice little arc before the next school year begins. It'll be short, exciting, fun, chaotic, and of course, make your eyes rain. (or maybe not 😉).