[Special] A Son's Growth Is Always Worrying
A lightly sunny afternoon fell right on the students' day off, and they naturally took the chance to go to Hogsmeade and do as much shopping as possible, already preparing for the upcoming ball, which, by the way, still had some time left before it arrived. But obviously, everyone wanted to be in their absolute best shape for that day.
Because of that, almost the majority of the students, of course with permission to leave the castle, headed toward the village. And those who couldn't go simply placed their orders with the Weasley twins, who had created a kind of magical delivery service to bring them whatever items they asked for, in exchange for a modest delivery fee.
At this point the twins should already have enough money to open their shop, just as they had planned. After all, their most frequent client when it came to hiring them as mercenaries was Daphne. But it seemed they wanted to gather as much gold as possible so their shop could be truly spectacular.
So during these days it was perfectly normal to see them running from one side of the castle to the other, collecting orders.
Meanwhile, the professors could not have been more at peace. With the students in Hogsmeade, there was far less noise and chaos inside the castle.
Well… except for the professor who had to supervise the students in the village.
That unfortunate duty had fallen upon Snape.
The professor who, according to Sirius, had been absolutely thrilled about accompanying the students on their shopping trips while exchanging meaningless conversations and flowery smiles with them.
At least that was what Sirius claimed when he chose him for the job. A statement that had nearly started a battle inside the staff room itself… although, to be fair, Susan might have exaggerated that part slightly.
Meanwhile, inside the professors' lounge, Wanda, Selene, Susan, and Narcissa were busy correcting their students' assignments.
Well… except for Selene, who technically was not a professor, but was there purely as moral support.
And Pandora… although she was a professor, she never assigned homework. Her classes mainly consisted of watching the stars together with her students. Sometimes even during the day, when the weather was gentle enough for a pleasant nap beneath the sky.
Which was exactly why she was one of the most popular professors.
"Wow… you can practically feel the hormones in the air," Susan said while looking out the window that faced the courtyard.
Down there, the girls could be seen far more carefully prepared than usual, with neatly styled hair and makeup highlighting their features.
Some… perhaps a little too much makeup.
And the boys were doing their best to show off their gallantry.
You could see them posing in corners with their arms crossed, adjusting their clothes slightly to look like rebellious bad boys… and even some who, while speaking, bent their bodies in exaggerated ways to show off their muscles.
Like the one pointing at something in the distance while doing everything he could to make sure the girls noticed his biceps.
Which, by the way… were almost nonexistent among wizards.
"I wonder where they get those ridiculous ideas about courtship," Susan said with amusement, feeling that those methods were honestly rather outdated and clumsy attempts to impress the opposite sex.
Although… in some cases, they actually seemed to work.
"101 Ways to Win a Lady's Heart, by Gilderoy Lockhart," Pandora said with complete seriousness, as if she had studied the book thoroughly.
That earned her several looks from the other women, filled with silent questions.
But considering it was Pandora… asking probably would not make things any clearer.
"Anyway, we all know our boys are not ruled by their hormones like the rest of them," Narcissa said while quickly correcting the stack of assignments in her hands. Which happened to be twice the usual amount, since Professor Binns could not grade them himself, leaving her to do his share as well.
"Oh really?" Susan said, glancing toward a corner of the courtyard.
There, Draco could be seen completely soaked from head to toe. His robes were slightly open, and his shirt loosened just enough to reveal part of his chest while he pushed his hair back with one hand, wearing an expression somewhere between annoyance and cold indifference.
That alone was enough to make at least five out of every ten girls who looked at him seem ready to faint.
Several of them literally had to be held up by their friends.
Narcissa stared through the window carefully…
Then went completely silent.
Selene, who had leaned closer to look as well, noticed her daughter sprinting away at full speed for her life.
Which immediately made her realize that the situation might very well be her fault.
But she did not mention that to Narcissa.
Because it was rather entertaining to see any kind of emotion appear on Narcissa's usually expressionless face.
"Although we all know there is only one person we should really be worried about," Selene said with a playful smile while looking toward Wanda.
All of them instinctively followed her gaze.
Wanda, now the center of attention, remained perfectly calm.
"It is true that Harry has a certain talent for attracting girls," Wanda said with complete confidence. "But that is because I taught him very well how to behave like a gentleman around them. I am very sure he knows what is right and what is not."
At that moment, interrupting the ladies' conversation, the door to the staff room opened slightly.
Billy's head peeked inside.
He looked around until he found his mother and quickly walked toward her with a smile.
"What is it, dear? I thought you would be having a picnic with Astoria and the girls," Wanda said as she gently patted his head when he approached.
"Oh, I was there," Billy replied calmly. "But then they went back to doing their own things and dragged Ginny into some kind of costume party. And before I ended up wearing a princess dress, I decided it was better to escape."
That earned smiles from all the women.
"Well then, that is understandable," Wanda said with a small laugh. "By the way, have you seen your brothers? They have been suspiciously quiet."
"Oh, Tommy is helping the Weasley twins deliver orders in exchange for some of their new prank products. And Harry… I think he said something about being an evil villain and kidnapping a little princess."
Billy paused briefly.
"The usual, really."
He then sat down beside his mother and calmly pulled out a book.
"What?" Wanda said, freezing for a moment.
The women looked at each other, their eyes widening slightly in surprise.
Then all of them slowly turned to look at Wanda.
Before quickly trying to hold back the amused laughter threatening to escape.
After all… motherhood always comes with its problems.
Especially when children grow up.
And even more so when they grow up in the magical world, where they can easily end up tangled in trouble, conspiracies… or even become dark and terrible villains.
And that can happen even if you are the son of the Scarlet Witch.