The King's Cross Station was crowded as expected. Families were waiting for their children, and even extended families had come to receive the recent graduates of Hogwarts.
Hugs all around, kisses, and the excited chatter of youngsters who were happy to see their older siblings.
As soon as Aurelia stepped out of the train, Draco rushed up and hugged her, making her laugh, but then she made him carry her trunks and all his excitement deflated.
Altair was hugged by his aunt, Narcissa, who had come come to receive him as well, and his House Elf, Fruska, was by her side.
Draco hugged him next, and the grin on his face said it all.
"The next time we board this train, you will be with us." He said, and his cousin's grin brightened.
"I sure will." He proudly puffed his chest, and then lifted his robe to show him his wand.
Altair smiled, drew his hand forward, and Drcao placed his wand in his hands.
"My, my, Cherry and the Dragon Heartstring of the Chinese Fireball. How fitting..."
"Oh, come on! It's just as you had said." Draco laughed, and he laughed together with him.
He had told his little cousin which wand would likely choose him. And this one was indeed special. 12 inches, and surprisingly springy.
Altair gently traced the dragon head on hooked pommel and admired the craftsmanship of Ollivander. This truly was one of of his finest works of art and certainly not a standard wand.
"It's a thing of beauty."
"Now that's what I wanted to hear." His cousin puffed up his chest even more in pride, and Altair chuckled some more as he returned the wand to its owner. "Couldn't wait for us to come back, eh?"
"I couldn't. We have to leave for Russia tonight, so I did my shopping on my birthday," Draco informed him.
"Russia?"
"Yes. Altaira and your grandparents are in Bhutan. Would you like to spend the holidays with us?" The Lady Malfoy gently asked.
"No, Aunt Narcissa. I am working on somehting important and I have some commitments for these holidays. I will stay in Buttermere." Altair calmly said and glanced at Cho, who was tightly hugging her mother, and then went down on his knees to hug her little siblings.
"Cho is going to China again." Aurelia reminded him, hoping he would come with them, and was a little sad when he smiled at her.
"I am aware. Do bring me a souvenir from Kosoy Pereulok."
Kosoy Pereulok was like the Diagon Alley of Russia, but even more ancient and arguably way more magical. It was one of places he wanted to visit, but he really did have plans for this summer.
"Fine." She promised.
Altair then glanced in the direction of the Weasley Family, and as he expected, the cute little redhead was watching him, hiding behind her mum, and ignoring her newly graduated brother.
He smiled at her, which prompted her to smile and then hide from his eyes, and he did not linger long.
Altair met Laetitia Rosier's eyes, both smiled, greeted each other with polite bows, and he was ready to leave.
"Fruska. Let's go home." He said, and his House-elf transported everything to Castle Nocturnum, and then grabbed his hand, taking him away with her.
The sudden disappearance of all noise was a relief with he was immensely grateful for.
He really was tired of all the noise and wanted calm and quiet.
The first thing Altair did after arriving home was change his clothes, get into his pyjamas, and simply go to bed, hugging his MoonFox.
He had not slept all night and neither on the train, and he terribly needed some sleep.
It was late in the evening that he woke up, and the soft rustle of a page being flipped made him sit up and turn to look at his study table.
There, under the glowing lamp, sat a young girl with beautiful pale blond hair, who was curiously reading the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Good evening, Luna." He gently said, and she sweetly smiled at him but then focused on the book again. "What are you reading about?"
"Unicorns." Her soft voice entered his ears, and seeing how engrossed she was, he did not disturb her.
Altair freshed up, took a long warm bath, and when he returned, Luna was still lost in the book.
"Have you had dinner yet?"
"No."
"Come." He called out to her as he applied the perfume, and she closed the book and cutely hopped off the chair, joining him at the door.
"Papa and Miss Crouch have gone to Berlin to Vienna to watch the European Duelling Cup. They are also working on their detailed story about Gellert Grindelwald, which will be published on The Quibbler next year."
"Miss Crouch?"
"Lucretia Crouch."
"Ah, the youngest of Old Casper Crouch and late Charis Crouch née Black."
"Yes," Luna nodded her head. "She is Mr. Weasley's aunt."
"Is that so?" He smiled at her and suppressed his chuckles as she cutely nodded her head.
"You already know about her."
"I do." He laced his fingers with hers. "Luna."
"Altair?"
"Would you be sad if one day your Papa married Miss Crouch?"
"Is he going to marry Miss Crouch?" She met his eyes, and he smiled.
"It's being discussed. Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa spoke to Old Casper, and they asked for his daughter's hand in marriage for your father."
"Why?" She cutely tilted her head.
"Your father is still young, and he will be very lonely once you join Hogwarts next year. They say a lone man is prone to madness, and Miss Lucretia loves your father. They were classmates at Hogwarts, and she and your Mama were good friends too."
"I know." She nodded and started skipping again. "Miss Crouch likes me, and she loves wearing Sprctrespecs and watching Wrackspurts with me."
Altair glanced at the smile on her face, and he smiled too.
"I won't mind if Papa wants to marry Miss Crouch. He will be sad if he is alone and I am at Hogwarts."
"You are kind, Luna." He gently squeezed her hand. "Have you met Illya?"
"Yes. She's beautiful and she likes me." She sweetly said and happily told him how his MoonFox allowed her to pet her and even held her wrist in her jaws. "She has very sharp teeth."
Altair glanced at her wrists and was relieved to find them without an scratches.
It was not that Illya would harm her, but he knew that Luna was a little too curious. She certainly tested the sharpness of those fangs, thankfully not against her skin.
The two of them sat down for their meal inside the massive dining hall, which was dark and eerie but not for them. They found it peaceful.
Fruska happily served them their meal, and Altair answered Luna's questions about his last two months at school.
Even though she did not show it much, just smiled and listened, he knew she was truly interested and invested in everything he had to share.
And as expected, she did not eat much. He had to force her a little to finish her meal, which she obediently did, though with a begrudging look.
After their meal, both of them arrived at the Stargazing Paltform and laid down on the benches together, watching the stars in the sky and continuing their chat.
"Would you like to go on a flight?"
"Now?"
"Yes." He smiled when she quickly got up, and then he grabbed her hand and led her to the enclosure where Archion and Aquilla were resting.
The two Hippogriffs were very happy to see him, and after Altair helped Luna climb on Archion's back, he got on top of Aquilla and led them to sky.
Luna was almost a natural on her mount, not in the least shaken as the two Hippogriffs picked up the speed, performed acrobatics, and gave her an entire new experience.
A couple of hours later, when they returned to Castle Nocturnum, she happily jumped off Archion, into Altair's arms, and hugged him.
"Thank you, Altair. I am tired now." She cutely yawned and said, and he laughed and thanked the two magical creatures for the flight.
Even though she said she was tired, she spent several minutes giving love to the two beautiful beasts, and then merrily skipped down the dark corridors, holding his hand.
Altair found it amusing that she had moved her things in his room, and after she changed into her pyjamas, cleaned her mouth, she jumped into the bed with him.
"Is that a snake?" She curiously inquired as she watched Iblis slither away from under his pillow.
"No. He's a serpent. His name is Iblis."
"Why are its eyes closed?" She curiously asked as she watched the serpent slither out of the room, strangely growing bigger in size.
"I forbade him from opening them without my permission. He does not need them to hunt on navigate, so it is fine."
"Fruska says that serpents are dangerous."
"They are." He nodded and then pulled her to him before pinning her under him and tickling her belly, making the room resound with her laughter.
"I am really tired now." She lazily said after they stopped playing, and he gently looked at her.
"Would you hate me if I hurt you?" He asked, and sighed when she unhesitantly shook her head.
Altair steeled his heart and handed her the vial that contained the Serpent's Draught of the Undying Soul.
Luna did not even ask him a question as she drank the contents, bit on the soft rubber guard and buried her face in his chest as the pain assaulted her.
Illya, who was sleeping somewhere else in the castle, blinked to their side, and her presence did ease some of Luna's pain, but it was far from enough.
He felt really bad, but he held her, offered soft words of comfort, and hours later, when she stopped sobbing and groaning, falling peacefully asleep, he planted a kiss on her head and fell asleep as well.
When he opened his eyes at noon, she was curled up like a kitten, still fast asleep, and he knew she would wake up if he tried to sneak away.
Altair just gently sat up against the headboard, and when he saw some new letters at his study table, he wandlessly levitated them over to him and read through them.
The first letter was from Eléonore and Fleur, and he was surprised to read that both the Delacour and Flamel were in Bhutan as well.
They even sent him a picture outside a temple, and the young Black sighed and smiled.
He then opened the other letter and fondly read through it, smiling at a certain someone's claim that she had already read through all the course books of the First Year.
A frown, however, soon marred his face when he read that Hermione was now a fan of Albus Dumbledore, the hero of the wizarding world and that she wanted to be as great as he was.
She even wanted to join Gryffindor, only because Albus Dumbledore was a Gryffindor, but what alarmed Altair was that the Headmaster had personally visited her yesterday and sat down to have a chat with her parents.
Hermione did not tell the old man about him, but the young Black knew that Dumbledore was a fine Legilimens, and he probably already saw him through their memories.
Altair also knew that training Hermione in Occlumency to prevent people from looking into her mind was easier said than done. The training was long and arduous, not somehting he could accompany her in right now.
Even Aurelia had taken a while to learn it under Granduncle Cygnus, Cho had taken even longer, but Draco was a natural. It was also a field of magic that not everyone could master.
But Altair could do somehting else. He needed to fix this weakness in his cousin. And there was a gift he had prepared for her, a beautiful necklace, with a lion's head as its pendant...
He smiled as he finally knew why he wanted to make it a lion's head, and he was sure she would love it. After all, it was the symbol of her mother's family, and also represented the lion of Gryffindor. Even her father was a Gryffindor, the only Black to ever be sorted in Gryffindor.
Perhaps, there was more than just her admiration for Dumbledore that she felt attracted to the gold and red of the House of Lions.
Making up his mind, he wrote down a letter to her, telling her that he would be visiting her tomorrow morning.
Altair softly summoned Fruska, entrusted her with the letter, and she went away to deliver it and also to make sure that the Magical Wards around the Granger House were taken off by Dumbledore.
When she returned a few minutes later, she informed him that the wards were off, which was a relief.
Giving the Department of Magical Law's sudden interest in visiting Muggle Households with Muggle-borns, once they received their Invitations from Schools, Dumbledore was forced to take the wards off unless he wished to attract unnecessary attention to little miss Hermione Granger.
Altair magically placed everything back on the table, and glancing at Luna, he felt sleepy again and spooned her, falling back asleep.