Fiendfyre roared with a relentless, all-consuming fury, blazing and bellowing.
The explosion rocked the sky, its rumble lingering, the heavens shifting colors as smoke and dust billowed.
Fragments of the moon, wreathed in blue flames, burst outward like fireworks, blooming in dazzling splendor.
The scene was breathtaking, carrying a haunting, otherworldly allure.
Time seemed to slow in that moment.
Half a house, hurled skyward, began its sluggish descent.
Grindelwald, arms raised to cast a Cushioning Charm, veins bulging on his forehead, was furious.
Leon Green!
You're in for it!
If I don't beat the stuffing out of you, consider yourself lucky for being so clean!
Speaking of Leon, there he was.
With a BOOM, the roof split open, a massive hole torn through.
A meter-long olive-green snake shot skyward.
Leon, covered in soot, gripped its tail with bandaged hands, hissing twice before shouting in human speech:
"Engorgio—BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG!"
The slender snake instantly ballooned, swelling several times over into a three-meter beast.
Its massive, heavy body threatened to crush the remaining walls.
Nimble as a monkey, Leon scrambled onto the snake's head, clinging tight.
Hissing rapid commands, he urged it on.
The giant grass snake thrashed its tail, shattering the walls, bricks flying, and used the momentum to launch several meters away.
As it fled, the snake's tail flicked one last time, flinging the huddled Lovegood mother and daughter toward the safety of Grindelwald's position.
Then, the serpent landed perfectly at the edge of the firestorm.
Pedal to the metal, it sped off at breakneck pace.
In a blink, Leon and his snake vanished into the swirling dust.
To save the Lovegoods from plunging into the Fiendfyre, Grindelwald had lost a few precious seconds.
Just those few seconds, and when he looked back, Leon was long gone.
Heh, well played.
Grindelwald decided then and there: he'd beat the stuffing out of Leon and make him eat it back up.
…
The wind howled past Leon's ears, the scenery on both sides blurring as it whipped by.
The harsh wind, laced with rain, slapped his face, mixing the soot into mud.
Mud slid into his grinning mouth, stretched ear to ear.
"Pfft, blech!"
Leon learned his lesson and clamped his mouth shut.
But the wild, reckless joy on his face didn't dim one bit.
No one knew, but the passing wind knew, the falling rain knew, the flattened flowers and grass beneath the snake knew.
He was thrilled.
"Hiss!"
Screeching to a halt at a stream by the mountain's base, Leon commanded the now-smaller snake to dive into the water.
Leon, who swam daily, was right at home in the water.
Under the surface, he moved fast, casting "Scourgify" to clean himself, ditching his clothes and bandages, and shrinking the snake back to normal size to stow in his locket.
Then he swam as far as he could, erasing every trace of his scent.
"Huff… huff…"
Leon clambered out of the stream, collapsing into the grass, exhausted like a dead dog.
Gotta work on stamina—plenty more escaping to do in the future.
After just ten seconds of rest, he forced himself to reboot.
He wasn't out of danger yet. Every next second could be his last.
Opening the locket, he changed clothes, put on shoes, and slipped on a wig.
He erased any trace of his stop by the stream.
Then Leon bolted toward the red-roofed house with four or five chimneys.
…
For the Weasley family, it was an ordinary yet chaotic day.
It was summer break, and all the Weasley kids—except Bill, off digging in Egypt—were home.
Charlie, Hogwarts seventh-year, Gryffindor prefect, and Quidditch captain, had been saddled with babysitting duty by Mrs. Weasley.
So, he reluctantly set aside his beloved Quidditch tactics manual to watch his younger siblings—Fred, George, and Ron—run wild in the yard.
"Charlie, please," one of the twins—Fred or George—begged.
"Just for a bit," the other chimed in.
"Let us fly a couple laps!"
"Mum's cooking."
"Percy's studying."
"Ginny won't snitch if she sees."
"Hey, Ginny won't tell, but she'll steal the broom."
"No worries, we've got three brooms. Me, you, and Ginny."
"Perfect!" Fred and George said in unison, one of them muffling Ron's mouth.
The other added, "Little Ronnie's got something to say. George, it's fine—Ginny can fly with him."
"Why can't I fly with Ginny? I'm her brother!"
Ron, no shorter than his older brothers, broke free quickly, arguing indignantly.
"Because you—"
"—suck."
Fred and George finished each other's sentences.
The three of them tumbled into a heap, rolling in the mud.
Charlie, silent the whole time, gazed wistfully at the sky at a 45-degree angle.
The soft rain dampened his face, weathered by the trials of life.
He, Charlie, the Weasley family's "Edward."
The only Weasley who'd later stay single, no kids.
Another day, another urge to thump his brothers.
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed from afar.
At the mountaintop, eerie blue flames shot skyward, sparks flying, smoke swirling.
The three muddy monkeys in the yard were knocked back into the dirt by the blast.
Charlie reacted instantly, whipping out his wand and hauling his brothers up.
"You three! Inside, now! Move!"
Charlie's voice was sharp, his expression graver than ever.
Old enough to remember the dark days before Voldemort's fall, he was keenly aware of danger.
As the only adult male in the house, he had to keep his family safe, no matter what.
"Charlie? What's happening?"
Mrs. Weasley, short and stout, burst out the door, still clutching a kitchen knife.
"Merlin's beard!"
She spotted the ghostly blue Fiendfyre on the mountaintop, her gentle face twisting with fear.
"Oh no! That's Pandora's place!"
The Lovegoods were an odd bunch, and the Weasleys didn't interact much.
But they were neighbors, and kind-hearted Mrs. Weasley had once tried swapping recipes with Pandora and sharing tips on raising daughters.
It hadn't worked out.
Now, with something clearly wrong at the Lovegoods', Mrs. Weasley couldn't stand by.
"I have to check on them. Merlin, please let Pandora and Luna be okay."
She yanked off her apron, tossed the knife aside, raised her wand, and turned to Charlie: "You stay here, watch your siblings, and send a message to your father. I'll go see what's happening."
Charlie blocked her. "No, Mum, you stay. I'll go."
"No way!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "It's too dangerous. You're still a child!"
Charlie raised his wand. "I'm of age."
He glanced at Percy, who'd just come downstairs. "Let Percy watch them."
He turned back to the fading blue flames on the mountain. "With that kind of commotion, the Ministry will be here soon. No time to waste—saving people comes first."
Mrs. Weasley pressed her lips together, no longer arguing.
She gave one quick order: "Percy, watch your siblings, lock the door, and don't come out, no matter what."
Then she and Charlie hurried toward the fiery mountaintop.
Fred, George, and Ron, who'd witnessed the terrifying explosion, were still shaken and unusually quiet.
Percy, who'd only heard the noise and hadn't seen it, was more curious than scared.
He didn't fully follow his mother's orders, just herding his siblings inside.
He stood in the yard, craning his neck to watch the unfolding scene.
Fred, George, and Ron crowded at the kitchen window, peering out nervously.
The only one completely oblivious was little Ginny, who seized the moment to raid her mother's hidden honey stash.
She scampered to the fireplace, hugging the jar, gleefully scooping spoonfuls.
Thud!
Then she came face-to-face with Leon, who'd climbed down the chimney.
"Wow! (☆o☆) It's a pretty princess!"
Ginny's eyes sparkled at the sight of Leon in his red-haired, princess-dress disguise.
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