The Swindler Got Swindled and Red the Human - Part 1
Harry was sitting in the living room, carefully cleaning his wand and taking his time with it.
It wasn't something he did all the time, but after everything that had happened lately, he felt his poor wand deserved at least a little attention.
Especially since he finally had a bit of peace and quiet today.
Although that didn't last long, because at that very moment the fireplace in front of Harry burst into green flames and a figure stepped out.
"Harry, the best godson in the world. I was just looking for you," Sirius said as he walked in with a smile that was far too friendly.
Harry didn't even look up. He simply kept polishing his wand calmly before immediately answering,
"No."
Flatly.
"...I haven't even said anything yet," Sirius replied, his smile stiffening.
"You don't have to," Harry answered as he inspected his wand to see if there was any tiny detail that still required his full concentration.
Sirius placed a hand over his chest as though he had just been deeply insulted.
His acting was a little over the top.
"I'm your godfather," he added.
"Chosen by my father, yes. I keep that very much in mind," Harry said calmly, as though that fact didn't help Sirius in the slightest when asking for favors.
"Come on. Thanks to my advice, your relationship with the young veela is improving by leaps and bounds, so..."
"And I'm sure that earned you quite a few Galleons, didn't it? Speaking of which, that reminds me I still have a few things to settle about that," Harry said, finally turning toward his godfather with a somewhat cold look that made Sirius's blood freeze for a moment.
"Hey, hey. The bet was Susan's and Selene's idea. I just thought it'd be interesting," Sirius quickly defended himself.
But his words did absolutely nothing to improve his situation.
"I'll wait until Halloween."
That was all Harry said.
But Sirius's face turned pale just imagining what kind of revenge this vindictive villain might have in store for him.
The worst part was that there was no escaping it now.
All he could do was regret his choices and wait to see what cruel form of revenge he would receive.
Which, to be fair, were always rather entertaining.
"Well... um... then, until then, could you do me this favor? I just need you to come with me. There are still some parents who aren't convinced about certain Hogwarts renovations," Sirius said, now almost pleading.
Harry carefully set his wand on the table before turning toward his godfather.
He gave him a friendly smile that looked as though he were about to agree to help with all the ridiculous ideas Sirius had planned for the new Hogwarts.
Sirius smiled, convinced he had won.
Instead, Harry said,
"I'll pass."
Then simply started walking toward the opposite door.
"Where are you going?"
"Anywhere you aren't."
Sirius grabbed him by the arm.
"Come on."
"No."
"Come on."
"I'm not helping you convince my mother and my aunts and uncles about your ridiculous ideas. They'll think I'm just as much of an idiot as you are," Harry said, firmly rejecting any resemblance to his godfather.
"Come on, pup. Maybe the new library, now that it'll be bigger, might need a little assistant. Perhaps a French one who's staying in the country trying to improve her English. Though we'd probably need quite a few books to fill that library if we're going to hire an assistant for Madam Pince, right?" Sirius added immediately.
At the same time, Harry suddenly paused.
Without saying a word.
His eyes remained fixed on his godfather for several long moments.
"Well... ahem," Harry said, clearing his throat as he slipped free from Sirius's grip. "I wouldn't mind if some books from the Potter Library were copied over. And perhaps a bigger library isn't such a bad idea," Harry said, trying to sound mature and composed.
But Sirius's grin now completely reflected the victory he held in his hands.
Before Harry could realize he had been manipulated, just as he usually manipulated everyone else, Sirius grabbed him and dragged him away without hesitation.
A few seconds later, Harry was pulled into the fireplace as it erupted in green flames.
Without noticing that his wand had been left peacefully resting on the table.
For several seconds, the room remained silent, with only the crackling of the recently used fireplace filling the air.
Then hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the second floor, racing toward the living room.
"Damn it, I forgot my summer homework. Harry, you have to help me. Billy won't let me copy his," Tommy said as he entered carrying several rolls of parchment in his arms, piled so high that some of them fell with every step he took.
But when he reached the living room, no one answered.
Tommy looked around, noticing Harry was no longer sitting where he had seen him earlier that morning.
"Just when I need help..." he lamented, getting a headache just looking at the mountain of homework and realizing how little time that left him to have fun.
From inside his pocket, Dee slowly poked her head out, flicking her little forked tongue as she curiously looked around the room.
Tommy sighed in annoyance.
"I don't get why they assign homework when classes are already over! We don't even have a school anymore!" he complained.
Dee looked at him for a moment before slipping back into his pocket, while Tommy placed some of the parchments on a nearby chair.
Then Tommy's eyes stopped on the table.
Noticing what was unmistakably resting there.
Harry's wand.
Red and eye-catching.
And obviously forgotten.
Something that rarely happened with his brother, especially with a wand as special as this one.
Tommy blinked with mild interest and even walked closer to get a better look, since Harry never allowed him to get too close to it.
"Oh..."
He couldn't help but marvel at it, and a slight urge to pick it up welled up inside him.
But before he could even raise his hand, a voice immediately rang out.
"Don't even think about it."
Tommy gave a small jump and turned around.
Billy was standing in the doorway, looking at him with an expression far too serious, as though he could predict exactly what his brother was about to do before Tommy himself had fully decided to do it.
Perched atop Billy's head as always, Terra sat comfortably while eating a grape that was almost as big as her own head.
Her tiny legs dangled on either side of Billy's head as she watched everything with curiosity.
"What?" Tommy asked, trying to look innocent.
"Don't play dumb. I could tell from a mile away you were about to touch it," Billy said disdainfully toward his twin brother.
"That's a very serious accusation," Tommy complained at once, acting deeply wounded.
But Billy didn't answer.
He simply stared at him, making it clear he wasn't going to be fooled by Tommy's performance.
Tommy made a face, realizing that none of his brothers could be tricked in the slightest, so he simply changed tactics.
"It's not fair. Harry and you inherited Mom's Chaos Magic. And I..."
Billy couldn't help breaking his expression for a moment, showing a bit of guilt... or maybe compassion.
But it didn't last long.
"I only inherited being handsome," Tommy declared.
Billy's compassion instantly vanished, replaced by a sigh.
Meanwhile, Terra laughed soundlessly atop his head.
Even Dee poked a little farther out of Tommy's pocket and gave him a fixed stare that, if she had been in her basilisk form right now, might have petrified him.
"Didn't you inherit Uncle Pietro's speed?" Billy finally asked in an even more tired tone than before.
"That doesn't count. I want Chaos Magic."
"What for?"
Tommy looked at him as though the answer were obvious.
"To cause chaos."
Billy fell silent.
Then he sighed again.
"Just don't touch Harry's wand. We don't know how it'll react to you," Billy added seriously while shaking his head.
Tommy made a face and looked at Terra, who was still sitting on Billy's head.
"She got to use it."
Terra immediately puffed out her tiny chest proudly and pointed at herself with an expression that clearly said she was a very important existence.
And remembering her transformation during the Wizard Tournament, that was obviously true.
Queen Titania.
Terra immediately began gesturing with her hands, something that confused Tommy, so Billy acted as her interpreter.
"She says Mom did almost all the work so she wouldn't lose control."
Though Tommy didn't seem very convinced by that explanation.
So Billy added,
"Mom said Harry's Chaos Magic is different from ours. It seems to amplify something that already exists inside a person... too much. And it can be very dangerous," Billy explained seriously.
Tommy fell silent.
Then he looked at Dee, who was still peeking out from his pocket.
Dee looked back at him.
Billy noticed that exchange.
"No."
"I didn't even say anything."
"You thought it."
"You can't prove that."
"Tommy."
"Fine, fine. I won't use Harry's wand to see what Dee turns into. Happy?" Tommy finally said, giving up.
Even so, Billy didn't trust Tommy.
Lately he'd been spending far too much time with the Weasley twins.
But while the two brothers argued...
Neither of them noticed something red slowly moving from a corner of the room.
Red had been sleeping there.
And after waking up, he realized Fleur wasn't anywhere to be seen, making him realize he was about to fail his extremely important mission of protecting his future queen.
Red was just about to dash out at full speed to continue his knightly escort worthy of a queen.
But before he did, his eyes settled on the wand resting on the table.
For a moment, he simply stared at it carefully.
Then, as though an idea for carrying out his mission even better had suddenly occurred to him, something flashed through his mind.
While the twins remained distracted by their argument, they heard a soft thump on the table.
Both of them turned their heads.
Red now had Harry's wand in his mouth and was staring directly at them.
Terra froze completely atop Billy's head.
Dee immediately disappeared back into Tommy's pocket.
Billy's eyes slowly widened.
Tommy's did too.
"Oh?" he let out with interest.
Then the wand glowed.
A tiny red spark shot from its tip, completely enveloping Red in a cocoon of Chaos Magic, while a violent whirlwind shook every object inside the house, sending photographs, vases, and even the sofa flying through the air before crashing into the wall.
Billy and Tommy turned pale at the exact same time.
"RED!!"
Too late.
The evolution of possibly the most terrifying thing to ever exist in this world had begun.