Smiles, Secrets, and a Mother's Truth
Harry stood still, sadness weighing on him, as he watched the wizard called the Sorcerer Supreme restrain Wanda. She barely managed to escape, and then, resigned, let the castle collapse upon herself, wanting to destroy everything and end her suffering once and for all.
Harry did not look away. Not for a second. He saw, with his own eyes, the end of his mother as the rubble buried her. At his side, Red remained silent, his gaze radiating respect. The last thing Harry managed to see before being expelled from the memory was the body that sorcerer had used to contain her.
Then came the final part. Wanda in a dark place, until a white doe appeared. Harry witnessed the exchange between her and his mother, Lily. And, finally, the memory that changed everything: that day when Wanda appeared at the Dursleys' door. He saw his four-year-old self open the door and take the hand of that stranger who, without knowing it, would become his mother.
Harry smiled tenderly.
"Hahaha… it was the best thing you could have ever done," he told his younger self, almost proudly.
Suddenly, he found himself inside Wanda's mind. She was calm, staring at the horizon while the bubbles that held her memories slowly fell into the river at her feet, creating gentle ripples across the water.
"Our power is dangerous, Harry. The reason I keep teaching you to control it is because I don't want you to go through what I did. And even so, I still don't have total control over it," said Wanda, watching her memories vanish into the current.
"Mom… did you suffer a lot?" Harry asked suddenly.
Wanda looked at him and smiled sweetly.
"Yes… but now I'm fine," she answered, tenderly caressing his head.
Harry held her gaze for a few seconds, and though he nodded in silence, inside he was still processing everything he had just seen.
"Come on, it's time to go out," Wanda said softly. And then, Harry felt something push him. A flash enveloped him.. When he opened his eyes, he realized they had never left the picnic: it had all been an illusion from Wanda's magic.
He stood up abruptly and ran toward the adults, his heart racing. When he arrived, he stopped in surprise: Selene, Pandora, and Susan were hugging Wanda, who looked confused by so much affection.
Harry couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the sight of his mother—normally so firm and unshakable—thrown off balance by those embraces.
"Well, it was interesting to see your weaker side. Little Wanda was almost adorable," Sirius said with a mischievous grin, just as Wanda's magic released its hold on him and he returned to normal.
Wanda fixed her gaze on him, moved her hand ever so slightly, and Sirius went flying into the nearby trees with a loud crash.
Harry watched him fall and thought he deserved it, though he also noticed his mother had held back: she hadn't really hurt him.
Edward, on the other hand, had a thoughtful expression. "Muggle technology can reach those levels… Perhaps we should start preparing, or even consider a different approach," he murmured, stroking his chin.
"Those beings, whether animals, demons, or whatever they were, were magnificent. Truly fascinating," said Xenophilius enthusiastically, pulling out a scrap of paper to jot things down frantically.
Pandora, meanwhile, began pulling objects from a magical bag and handing them to Wanda as if they were little improvised gifts to cheer her up.
"A romance so tragic… and here I thought mine looked like it came straight out of a magical novel," Selene commented, with a hint of nostalgia.
"It all makes sense. Of course our Wanda would win over anyone… We just can't let any idiot approach her unless he's at least a world savior," added Susan, a playful sparkle in her eyes.
"Superheroes… a truly dangerous world," muttered Wendell, still trembling a little.
Wanda listened to it all in silence, surprised. Her memories still weighed heavily, and fear returned: that they might see her as a monster, reject her, not let their children near her out of fear.
But then Narcissa, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward. No one better than her could understand.
"We all make mistakes, some worse than others. I saw my husband kill innocents, even children, just to follow his ideology. And I didn't stop him. I pretended not to see it—until Draco was born. Then I understood how terrible it all was. If I had had your power… maybe I would have done something the same, or even worse. We're mothers, Wanda. There is nothing we wouldn't do for our children."
She approached and looked at her directly, honestly. Then she turned her gaze to Draco, who was joining Harry and the others.
"All I can say is, it's fortunate you didn't arrive during the war," she added with a faint smile.
Pandora kept handing Wanda different items. Suddenly, as she pulled out a telescope, she lifted her eyes and froze for an instant, as if she had just noticed something odd.
"Ah… Narcissa smiled," she said abruptly, loud enough for everyone to turn toward the woman.
They had never seen her smile before. Even back in their Hogwarts days, the closest thing they remembered was that mocking, disdainful smirk she used to throw at others.
"Well… we only ever saw her smile like that, in a cruel way," Pandora commented, still surprised.
"Silence. I have to go," Narcissa replied coldly, her serious expression returning in an instant. Then she turned to Draco. "I'll be waiting for you at home. Let Dobby bring you. Don't stay out too late… and behave yourself."
With that, she walked out of the breakfast room and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"I think your mother just ran away," Daphne said with a grin at Draco.
"Well… that's new," he replied, forcing a smile.
"Harry, that place was another world, wasn't it? Everything there… it couldn't have just been imagination. I mean, aliens, gods, sorcerers…" Hermione said thoughtfully.
"We also have sorcerers here," Daphne remarked with a half-smile.
"Yes, but their magic was different. They didn't use wands," Hermione countered immediately.
"Well, what caught my attention were the superheroes. They were just like Muggle comics… amazing. And there were even female superheroes. I wonder if we could have superpowers with magic," Daphne said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Idiot. Weren't you paying attention? Those metal golems that guy Tony Stark used… that was incredible. Flying without a broom, firing magic from his palms, and even having his own intelligence called Jarvis," Draco said, clearly excited, though trying to keep his composure. "Don't you agree, Harry?" he asked, turning to him.
Harry, however, was watching his mother, making sure she was alright. When he saw that she didn't seem to care that everyone had seen her memories, he calmly turned back to the group.
"Yeah. Although I think the man with the shield was also pretty great. We should learn to fight like him," he said quietly.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Sirius lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the sky with his whole body aching. Even though Wanda had softened some of the impacts with her magic, she couldn't prevent several branches from striking him head-on.
"Redheads are dangerous. Even in those memories there was one that looked like an assassin… the plague woman. Wanda and Lily…" he muttered while still lying down, too weak to get up.
…
This time the picnic really did come to an end, and everyone went back home. Harry remained sitting on the sofa with a pensive look.
"What's wrong, son?" Wanda asked when she noticed.
Harry lifted his gaze, with a question that seemed to weigh painfully on him but that he needed to ask.
"Mom… Did you only become my mother because my mum asked you to?" he asked, his voice filled with doubt.
Wanda's eyes widened and she quickly moved closer to him.
"Your mother asked me to take care of you in exchange for cleansing my corruption. But she never asked me to be your mother. She never asked me to love you the way I love you. And she never asked me to raise you with all my heart. It's true that I'm here thanks to her, and I thank her every single day for that. Because thanks to her, I get to be your mother… and you get to be my son," Wanda said, cupping his face gently with a smile full of maternal love.
"Harry, my baby. I love you so much that I wouldn't care if I had to destroy this world if something ever happened to you," she added firmly.
Harry looked at her and then gave a faint smile. "An apocalyptic mom," he murmured with a touch of tenderness. "Thanks for accepting it. And… I wish I could have met my siblings. And my uncle. Not just in your memories, but for myself," he said softly.
"I'm sure they all would have loved you as part of the family," Wanda answered warmly.
At that moment, Red trotted over to Wanda and rubbed against her leg, clearly waiting for his share of affection too.
"Yes, you too. They would have loved you very much as well," Wanda said, wiping away a tear before bending down to stroke his head. Then she whispered just for him: "Even if sometimes you think overly dramatic things…" she added with a smile.
Red froze completely, his eyes wide open, …as if the deepest secret he had ever kept had just been laid bare..
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Harry asked, a little confused.
"Nothing," Wanda replied with a smile as she glanced at Red. Then she turned back to her son. "It's time for bed. Unless… you'd like me to tell you a bedtime story first," she said softly.
"I'm already too old for that, I don't need it… although, if you want to tell me about the Avengers, I might be interested," Harry answered with a mix of curiosity and embarrassment.