In the deep forest of Sweden laid the manor of Gray. Summer did the place feel like a fairyland, surrounded by tall pine trees and the backyard which held a little lake made the place almost magical.
The fallout of his action against the British had gone as expected and if not even better, letters had kept pouring in for request to buy things for more and so on. Some even tried to give gifts to get access to materials needed for their shops and such.
Meanwhile Linus was focused on training his shoulders in the training chamber underneath the manor. Sweat ran down his forehead as he finished the last rep.
Astrid was standing in the doorway leaning against the doorframe. "You really are going to make them come and beg for it, aren't you?" she asked with a casual tone.
He didn't answer, she already answered the question herself he thought as he lifted more weights. His mind had been clouded ever since returning from Britain, the arrogance of the pure bloods made him feel sick and irritated. He thought about children when he saw their faces, sliver feed babies. He knew well that he himself was a pure blood, but he would never sink down to that level.
Astrid strode in, the boots clicking on the stone floor like she walked on cracking ice. "So what are we waiting for?" she asked as she inspected the training equipment.
"For something that would benefit us." He took a sip of a potion he had made, and then water. "Nothing else really." the potion was a creation from his family book that would help build muscle mass.
Without a word more he kept working out, Astrid took this as her queue to leave.
Astrid left him to his routine, the door closing softly behind her. The chamber settled into a steady rhythm again, the quiet broken only by the scrape of metal and Linus's controlled breathing.
He welcomed the silence.
By the time he finished, his arms burned pleasantly and his thoughts had finally slowed. He wiped his face with a towel and stretched, feeling the potion do its work beneath his skin. Power was useless without control. That was something Britain had forgotten.
Later that evening, Linus found himself walking along the edge of the small lake behind the manor. Summer had claimed the land fully now. Fireflies drifted lazily over the water and the surface reflected the sky like polished glass. Hati padded along beside him, tail swaying, eyes alert.
He threw a big stick and Hati ran after it. Days like these were the best, the whole situation didn't bother the normal life of the young Gray, he was more worried about what the chef would make for dinner later. The peace was short lived as he heard footsteps from behind.
"So, this is your plan, just wait out the shit you created?" a stern but surprisingly calm voice called out.
Linus turned around the meet the familiar voice, it was Monika Winterholm. (From early chapters)
"It's been a while Lady of Winterholm" he said with a smile.
She didn't seem at all angry, she more so looked relieved.
The both sat down at the table of a bungalow near the lake. "I knew you would be as fierce as your mother and as cunning as your father." She took a sip of tea. "But I never expected that them combined would create a wolf that would scare the big lion that is Britain." She said with a smile.
He smiled. "I just told the big babies at the table no and the whole of Britain cries." It was the truth, he did what the pure bloods told him to do, he only added more consequence.
Monika chuckled softly. "Still sharp. That mouth of yours will either save you or get you strangled one day."
"Probably both," Linus said.
Hati returned from the treeline and dropped the stick at Linus's feet, tail wagging once before settling down beside him. Monika glanced at the wolf, her eyes narrowing just a little.
"So it is true," she murmured. "You keep old blood close."
Linus did not answer that. He did not need to.
Monika leaned back, folding her hands in her lap. "The northern families are restless. Some are proud. Others are terrified. You moved too fast for them to prepare."
"That was the point."
"Yes," she agreed. "And now they want to know what comes next."
Linus picked up the stick and tossed it again. Hati vanished into the trees like a shadow. "Nothing," he said. "And everything. I am not building an empire. I am making sure no one can choke us when they feel like it."
Monika studied him for a long moment, really looking at him now. Not as a child. Not as an heir. But as something forming.
"You sound like your father," she said quietly. "He used to say power should be silent until it needs to speak."
"And my mother said winter does not announce itself," Linus replied. "It just arrives."
That earned him a genuine smile.
"There is a gathering," Monika said after a pause. "Old families. Northern ones. They will want you there."
"I know," Linus said. "They already sent letters."
"And you plan to attend."
"Yes."
They sat in silence for a bit, Hati came back with his stick and laid down of the floor. the calm silence of the lake combined with small bird chirps really made the whole area warm.
The speculations grew and the topic which was discussed changed often between the two. As of now Linus had some other things to think about Aswell.
Durmstrang which he attended was not only very much his style, he loved the duels and stricter pace that the school had. From what he learned from Monika, Hogwarts was the opposite and most importantly, no dueling. This had him unsure of his decision to change school after three years.
Linus leaned back slightly, eyes drifting toward the darkening treeline. "Durmstrang sharpens you," he said slowly. "It does not pretend the world is kind."
Monika nodded. "Hogwarts believes kindness can be taught into strength."
"And you disagree."
"I believe," she replied carefully, "that Hogwarts produces brilliant minds and fragile spines. Exceptions exist, of course. Dumbledore has always liked exceptions."
Linus thought of transferring later now then planned, maybe do 4 years at Durmstrang instead. Monika had even recommended to visit the school first and even recommended the French magical school of Beauxbatons. This ide wasn't horrible and if he did, he could spend some school time with maya who attended the school. (maya was close friend since childhood, early).
The time passed and night fell upon the manor, Monika had left shortly after. After coming back into the manor, he instructed Astrid to prepare for the meeting with the Nordic families, he needed to keep them on his side in this, if he could manage this, he would ultimately be the most influential person in the north. He already was plenty important and influential, but this would leave to space for hesitation.
The days after were spent training even more, potion making, spell casting and overseeing his house. It had been around 4 years since he became the head of the house and he finally could understand the whole picture. Money came in and out leaving profit every time it did. Businesses started and ended. The house was doing really well right now, even if the trade with Britain had stopped, we manage to create trades with other parts like southern America, and even manage to create some small connections into the school of Castelobruxo. This school was still a very big mystery to Linus and most people around him but it could be useful one day.
Linus sat in his office and played with lightning between his fingers, he had gotten to like using wandless magic more the with the wand, it was mostly because it looked way cooler but also very affective.
But as he shot a small lightning bolt at the pen on the desk, the door opened and Astrid stepped in.
He looked up in surprise as he didn't expect her right now. "Good news?" he asked while still playing with lightning.
She sat down in one of the chairs, and gave him a letter. He let the letter lay for a bit before picking it up, the seal was Hogwarts emblem. "The old man himself wrote?" he opened the letter and pulled out a parchment and a small piece of candy fell out.
Astrid looked at the candy confused and met Linus's gaze which had the same confused expression.
As he started reading the letter it became clear that Britain had finally buckled. And fore the reason as to why Dumbledore himself wrote instead of the ministry of magic, he honestly didn't care. Linus had always known that Dumbledore held most power both politicly and magical in all of Britain. The letter ensured that trade start and it allowed Swedish owned businesses to open without aggression from the Pure bloods.
Linus gave Astrid a small nod and she stood up and went to work, she knew what his sign meant and it had been rehearsed for a while now. Even trading gods had been prepared for transport for when the signal would be given.
As for the rest of the letter, it was mostly him complaining about how the Purebloods were annoying and complaining about him not doing anything. But the most important part, the old man wanted Linus to visit Hogwarts and he wrote that he would contact the Durmstrang headmaster to make it possible.
Things played along finely as he just a couple hours ago had thought about just this.
He leaned back in his chair and kept playing with lightning.
The weeks flew by, as for the meeting between families it turned into more of a celebration.
"A toast to the house of Gray for managing to make us even richer!" toasted a very drunk Viktor Mörkhed (Sigruns father).
As for Sigrun she was sitting next to Linus and talked about varies spells and exercises she had done during the break.
It was always nice listening to her talk about it, she sounded so happy while talking about the most boring spell, but it still made him happy seeing her like this. her green eyes pieced his sole every time they held eye contact.
"are you really planning to transfer?" the question from Sigrun pulled him back to reality.
He looked at her for a bit. "I don't know, maybe in the last years, but in truth I'm having to much fun." He said calmly while leaning back into the chair.
Sigrun looked worried. He knew she didn't want him to go there, she had even told him herself that he wouldn't like it, which is most likely true.
They both sat and talked for hours while others around them talked about businesses and other political things, Astrid was keeping an eye on it tonight for Linus. He didn't really feel like spending this night talking to some old hag about prices on mandrakes.
After a while he stepped out into the night to get some air, followed behind him was Sigrun. The cold summer night air was something he had always loved, he leaned against the railing and looked out into the forest. Sigrun walked in close to his left and joined him.
"Remember when we looked at the sun during winter at school, after you beat Armin in a duel?" she asked.
Linus remembered it very clearly, the sun was perked over the mountain and gave the valley a very orange glow. He also remembered how Sigruns eyes reflected the glow in the most amazing way.
As he thought about it, he felt Sigruns head lean against his shoulder. It was a warm feeling, he didn't complain and leaned more into the embrace. They stood like that for a while.
And this was the best feeling he had felt.