The next few weeks passed quite peacefully. Day after day, Victor taught Adele magic. He was amazed by how capable she was: if he had to evaluate her talent, he would admit that she far surpassed Hermione.
Waking up in the morning, he felt a living warmth beside him. Looking down, Victor saw Adele peacefully snoring on his chest. An involuntary smile appeared on his face. He had already grown used to the girl following him like a tail, and, strangely enough, it didn't irritate him — on the contrary, he was glad. He had gained a cute and beautiful little sister that many could only dream of. He gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Feeling the touch, Adele smiled in her sleep and pressed even closer to him.
After lying like that for a couple more minutes, Victor carefully climbed out from under the blanket, trying not to wake her. He gave a long, satisfying stretch, looked around the room, and his eyebrow slowly crept upward.
— How can such a sweet girl be such a slob? — he sighed.
Since Adele was constantly by his side, she had gradually moved all her things into his bedroom. Victor adored perfect order, but now he stumbled upon scattered books and clothes everywhere. Shaking his head, he simply flicked his hand — and the things began to fly back to their places on their own.
He went to the bathroom, and when he opened the door a while later, Adele was already standing on the threshold. She immediately grabbed his arm and literally pulled him out.
— Why so long?! — she protested, instantly darting inside and clicking the lock.
— Okay, maybe I was a bit hasty about the "sweet" part, — Victor muttered, looking at the closed door.
Stepping into the hallway, Victor came face to face with Misi. The house-elf was trudging across the carpet, her head hanging low and her huge ears drooping sadly.
— Morning, Misi! — he greeted her.
— Good morning, Mr. Victor… — she replied in a toneless voice and, without even looking up, shuffled on.
Victor watched her go in bewilderment. Reaching the kitchen, where Perenelle was already busy with breakfast, he asked:
— Good morning! What happened to Misi? She looks crushed.
— Morning, Victor, — Perenelle sighed, stirring something in a pan. — She's pining for Crookshanks.
Victor froze. Yesterday, he had asked the elf to send the cat back to England: Hermione and her family had long since returned from vacation, and it was time for Crookshanks to go home. He hadn't imagined that Misi had grown so attached to him.
— By the way, your friend sent you a letter, — Perenelle noted without looking away from the stove.
— Oh... — Victor sighed. — I hope she isn't too angry that I left and haven't sent her a single letter all this time.
He walked to the dining table and picked up the envelope. But as soon as he opened it and scanned the first few lines, he frowned. He would recognize Hermione's neat handwriting out of a thousand, but these were completely different letters — sharp and sweeping.
Victor began to read. As he took in the text, his face brightened, and by the end, he couldn't help himself and burst out laughing. At that moment, Perenelle came out of the kitchen with a tray full of food.
— What on earth did your girlfriend write to make you so cheerful? — she asked curiously.
Victor, still chuckling, shook his head:
— It's not from Hermione. It's a letter from an old friend.
— Oh, another girl? — Perenelle squinted playfully. — You're quite popular, I see.
At that moment, Adele approached him and silently held out her hand, demanding with an open palm. Victor looked at her, puzzled:
— What is it?
— Give me the letter, — she snapped shortly.
Perenelle, watching the scene, couldn't hold back and laughed. Victor broke into a smile and, pulling the girl to him, gave her a tight hug.
— Adele, darling, are you jealous? I'm so happy!
Adele instantly turned beet-red and angrily tried to snatch the paper, but Victor held his hand high, keeping it out of her reach.
— No, no, it's too early for children to read things like this. And besides, when I said it was from an old friend, I meant it. His name is Ben. I asked him to do something for me, and here is his report.
At the mention of that name, Perenelle's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, but no one noticed that split-second change — she continued to smile softly as she set the plates.
Adele nodded, taking him at his word.
— What are we going to study today? — she asked enthusiastically.
Victor turned his gaze toward the window, where the bright summer sun was shining.
— Nothing. Today we're going for a walk. Get ready, we're going to Disneyland!
Adele shook her head stubbornly:
— Let's practice magic instead.
— Oh no! I don't need a second Granger, — Victor smirked. — You need to know how to take breaks. While you're young, you should have fun and go out, not sit at home over books. Go on, bring me the brush. Look at the mess on your head; is that how a lady should look?
Adele pouted but still obediently trudged to their room for the brush. Perenelle laughed quietly as she watched them:
— You're so caring.
— I'm shocked myself, — he smiled back at her. — Though, to be honest, I always dreamed of having a younger sister.
After breakfast, Victor brushed a whining Adele's hair and, having dressed, dragged her outside. Perenelle saw them off with a smile, but as soon as the door closed behind them, her gaze became uncharacteristically cold. She went down to her husband's workshop.
— Nick, I'm going out for a bit on business.
Flamel turned around. He looked exhausted, with shadows under his eyes, but a happy smile played on his lips.
— Of course, darling, go.
Perenelle only shook her head; her husband always dove headfirst into work whenever he planned something truly grand. She left the workshop and changed her house dress for a strict travelling outfit.
— Misi! — she called.
— Yes, Mistress, how can Misi help? — the elf appeared instantly.
— Take me to England.
Misi asked no questions. There was a loud crack, and they both vanished.
Ben was focused on tying a fishing line to a hook. Finished, he lifted the rod to check the tension and smiled contentedly. But as soon as he set the gear aside, the door creaked open. Ben looked up at the visitor and froze, unable to move.
— Madame Flamel?..
— Hello, Ben. Long time no see, — she said, smiling. — You know, even with my connections, it wasn't easy to find you.
— Welcome to my humble shop, — Ben waved a hand, and the lock on the door clicked shut. — To what do I owe this visit?
Perenelle slowly looked around.
— I won't waste your time. I came to ask one question.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted. Ben felt such powerful pressure that it became hard to breathe. Looking at Perenelle, it was as if he were staring into the eyes of an ancient, powerful dragon.
— What do you want with Victor?
— What? Victor? — Ben was taken aback. — Nothing! He found me himself. At first, he just seemed like an interesting boy, but now I'm starting to regret I ever met him. I swear, I'm not plotting anything against him! I'm retired!
Perenelle drilled him with an icy stare for a few more seconds, then her face softened, and the suffocating pressure vanished instantly.
— Retired, then... That's good, — she shifted her gaze to the rod. — Into fishing?
— Yes, started recently. It helps me relax, — Ben exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Perenelle nodded.
— Well then, I believe you for now, Ben. For now. But if I find out you're plotting anything against my grandson... you will vanish. Forever. And you know perfectly well that I am capable of that. — She smiled. — And yes, have a good catch.
Leaving those final words, she slowly turned and left the shop.
Ben couldn't pull himself together for a long time. The Flamel family was the most famous in the wizarding world, all thanks to Nicolas, the great alchemist. But Nicolas had only survived to his age because of his wife. Kind and loving to everyone else, in reality, she was a cunning and incredibly dangerous woman, protecting her husband from the shadows. In his youth, Ben had often carried out "special" assignments for her. He knew her influence: compared to her, even Dumbledore seemed like a mere child. And now, after so many years, she had found him just to warn him about some boy.
— Grandson? — Ben slumped heavily into a chair. — Maybe I should just drop everything? Pack my things and move somewhere far away from this Victor?
In the evening, Victor returned home carrying Adele on his back. Both of their faces were amusingly painted with face paint — apparently, the Disneyland trip had been a great success.
— I told you: don't eat so much ice cream at once, — Victor teased her.
Adele winced, her face taking on a look of suffering.
— Don't remind me… I feel sick.
— Hang in there, we're almost there. I have a potion in my stash that will put you back on your feet in no time.
The girl only nodded meekly and pressed closer to his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Victor pushed the front door open and shouted from the threshold:
— We're back!
Perenelle came into the hall to meet them and threw up her hands at the sight of a pale Adele.
— Goodness, what happened to you?
Victor smirked.
— She was tempted by one of the deadly sins. Our girl has fallen victim to gluttony.
Adele offendedly but weakly tapped him on the head with her fist and looked piteously at Perenelle:
— I just ate too much ice cream…
— It's alright, — Victor smiled. — We'll give her a potion now, and she'll be as good as new by dinner.
Victor carried her to the room and carefully laid her on the bed. He took out the bag Snape had given him and extracted a vial with a bright blue liquid. Adele, asking no questions, drank it all in one gulp.
— Be-e-eh, bitter! — she grimaced.
— I know, it tastes like crap, but it works well, — Victor smiled.
After a couple of minutes, Adele felt the heaviness in her stomach vanish.
— Alright, lie down and rest for a bit, — he tucked her in and was about to leave, but Adele caught his hand.
— Thank you… I haven't had this much fun in a long time.
Victor affectionately patted her head:
— You're welcome. I had a great day too.
After dinner, Perenelle stood thoughtfully before the high shelves in the library, her fingers sliding over the leather spines.
— What are you looking for? — Victor asked, entering the room.
— Eh... I'm trying to find at least one book I haven't read yet, — she sighed.
Victor was truly surprised:
— Have you really read everything here?
— Ha-ha-ha, of course not! — she turned to him with a soft smile. — It's just that most of the books here belong to Nick. And I, admittedly, am far from all those scientific treatises.
— I understand. I have a couple of really interesting books with me; I could lend them to you.
— That would be wonderful, — Perenelle nodded.
Victor had already turned to go get the books, but her voice made him stop:
— Wait, Victor. Since we're alone here, there is something I want to discuss with you.