Study buddy
The weeks leading up to first of September were anything but quiet.
Every member of the Lee household, including Carina who was still years away from Hogwarts, caught a severe case of what Orion jokingly called Hogwarts Fever. The living room disappeared beneath towering stacks of spellbooks, parchment rolls, and half-organized notes. Someone was always reading, revising, or loudly correcting someone else.
They decided early on that a family crash course would be more fun than studying alone.
Orion took charge of the twins, revisiting older material with the confidence of someone who had survived Hogwarts long enough to know what actually mattered. Lyra and Vela, despite being identical in appearance, taught in completely opposite ways. Lyra explained spells through practice and instinct, while Vela relied on precise theory and meticulous notes.
Leo became the center of it all.
His brand new parchment quickly filled with Vela's old Transfiguration diagrams, Orion's margin warnings, and Lyra's blunt comments like do not hesitate and stop overthinking. Everyone had advice. Everyone had stories.
Whenever Hogwarts came up, Leo and Carina listened with the same wide-eyed excitement, constantly asking for more. Even the smallest details became thrilling. At one point, during the last year Hogwarts when Lyra ran out of interesting news in the letter, she mentioned how Professor Snape had once snorted sharply in irritation, producing a sound that vaguely resembled a pig.
Leo and Carina laughed until they cried.
To them, it was monumental news. The idea that the famously terrifying Potions Master that they always read at the letter could make a ridiculous noise was unbelievable and therefore priceless.
The group study sessions continued almost daily, growing louder and messier as the days passed.
Yet the highlight of the month came just two days before departure, when the Tonks family arrived for dinner.
The fireplace flared to life, green flames roaring as Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora Tonks stepped into the living room. Dora, (who immediately insisted on being called Tonks), wore a mischievous smirk that made every Lee sibling brace themselves.
This was going to be entertaining they all taught.
Greetings were exchanged with warmth and familiarity. Hugs, laughter, and casual updates filled the room. Then Leo and Tonks reached each other.
Without a word, both of them shifted.
In an instant, Leo and Tonks suddenly morph into Vela, complete with exaggerated seriousness and crossed arms. They greeted each other with overly dramatic politeness, mimicking speech patterns so accurately that the room erupted into laughter.
It was an old tradition.
When Leo was younger, Tonks had helped him learn control over his Metamorphmagus abilities. The easiest way, she said, was to change into people he knew well. Faces, habits, posture, tone. At first it was serious training. Over time, it turned into full-blown caricature.
Last year, it had gone too far.
Leo had been spanked by ji ho. Andromeda had nearly done the same to Tonks, despite her being very much a grown teenager. The humiliation still lingered.
So when both Leo and Tonks coincidentally shifted into Vela this time, they exchanged a quick look and silently agreed to keep the impressions minimal. Just enough to be funny, not enough to earn punishment.
Vela noticed immediately.
She crossed her arms, visibly disappointed, clearly ready to throw a book at them or tattle to their father. The lack of chaos was insulting.
After the laughter settled, Cassiopeia gently asked Andromeda to join her in the kitchen.
Andromeda took one look at her expression and understood at once that something was wrong.
She followed without question.
The door closed softly behind them, leaving the rest of the family buzzing with conversation, unaware that something heavier was about to be spoken in the quiet of the kitchen.
The Sisters' Council
In the kitchen, Cassiopeia and Andromeda stood side by side, a pair of dark-haired women who looked far more like the ancient Black portraits than either of them would ever admit.
"Cassi," Andromeda asked gently, her voice carrying the calm authority of someone who knew her sister too well. "What's wrong?"
Cassiopeia hesitated. The words sat heavy in her chest. But then Andromeda raised her wand, murmured a silencing charm, and with a quiet nod watched as Ji-ho and Ted smoothly ushered the children toward the far end of the house. The door closed. The noise faded.
Cassiopeia finally exhaled.
"I ran into her at Malkin's," she said, her voice dropping as she poured Andromeda a glass of wine and kept one for herself. "Narcissa. Wrapped in enough Acromantula silk to fund a small village."
Andromeda's hand froze mid-motion over the salad bowl.
"And?" she asked carefully. "Did she stare through you like you were a Muggle shop window, or did she actually speak?"
"She spoke," Cassiopeia replied. Her jaw tightened. "She called my older son a waste of Black looks. Said my daughters were plain. And she called Leo a confused pedigree."
For a brief moment, Cassiopeia's composure cracked. The memory of Narcissa's voice, sharp and public, resurfaced too vividly. Her eyes burned, though she kept her posture rigid.
Andromeda said nothing at first.
The silence stretched as she processed what she had heard, disbelief flickering across her face. For more than a decade, she had believed Narcissa had severed them both equally, choosing the Malfoys and the Black legacy over her sisters entirely. To learn that Narcissa had broken that silence only to wound children made something in Andromeda harden.
Finally, she sighed.
"She's lost, Cassie," Andromeda said quietly, though there was steel beneath the softness. She drinks her wine an utter "Between Lucius's ego and that house of hers that looks beautiful and hollow, she doesn't know how to live without a mask anymore. She sees us happy and free, and she doesn't know how to survive that truth."
Cassiopeia's shoulders loosened just a fraction.
"In that house," Andromeda continued, "she has to perform perfection every second. While we escaped the shackles of that wretched tradition."
The sisters fell silent, standing together in the warm glow of the kitchen light.
They looked at each other then, really looked. Older now. Changed. Stronger. And both wondered how four Black sisters had ever been so close in the first place. Close enough to fill journals together, page after page of promises written in childish handwriting.
Now there were only two.
Yet the journal still existed.
They remembered the vows they had made as girls. To attend each other's weddings. To be present for the birth of every child. To babysit each other's babies. To never miss the milestones, no matter how far apart their lives might drift.
In the end only both sister kept those promises.
And as Cassiopeia reached out and squeezed Andromeda's hand, they both knew they would continue to do so, for as long as they lived and support each other lives.
The Fathers' Quiet Corner
After the children able to entertained themselves and not bothered the adult ,In the living room, Ji-ho and Ted Tonks sat in the armchairs, looking like the only two islands of calm in a stormy sea. Suddenly tTed loud voice boom in a quiet atmosphere
"I'm telling you, Ji-ho," Ted laughed, leaning back. "The Ministry's filing system is a greater threat to the wizarding world than any Dark Lord. I spent three hours today looking for a Misuse of Muggle Artifacts permit that had been filed under 'P' for 'Plumbing' instead of 'T' for 'Toaster'."
Ji-ho smiled, swirling his tea. "At least your office stays in the same building. I've had three students this week try to argue that their theory of Hamilton is part alien was right, mind you they are adult who currently studying their master" both start to complain about each of their jobs, and started to get firewhiskey at the kitchen to continue their rant. They always get along with any story, they can event talk non stop until morning if they can but was stop by their wife.
The "Hogwarts Vet" Table
Meanwhile, the "kids' table" was a riot of colours and shouting, Tonks was currently showing off for Leo, Orion, and Lyra. Her hair was a neon bubble-gum pink, but with a sudden pop, she turned it into a spiky Mohawk the colour of a Hufflepuff tie. "I thinks this would be my new hairstyle" said Tonks, the kids was laughing about the sudden change overnight, although it was silly as they don't understand why, but they all was astonish and admired how confident Tonks are in everything, she could make mistake but she makes the mistake with style.
Suddenly Tonks tone start to get slightly serious
"Listen, Leo," Tonks said, leaning in. "The most important thing about being a Metamorphmagus at Hogwarts is the distraction potential. Professor Binns is lecturing? Turn your nose into a beak. Peeves being a nuisance? Look like Filch and scare him off. It's a superpower, use it!"
Leo roared with that revelation of new tips and trick," don't worry Tonks I am goona use my power wisely"
They were happily share ideas on what to do with their own ability but then While the older kids swapped stories of the Great Hall and the Forbidden Forest, little Carina sat at the end of the table, her bottom lip pouting so far it almost touched her plate.
"It's not fair," she huffed, stabbing a potato. "First Orion, then Lyra, then Vela, and now Leo. I'm the only one left! I'll be in this house all alone with just the books and the fireplace."
Leo saw her frustration and felt a pang of guilt. Although she can use the twins and Orion owls to send her a letter, all sibling knew it is not the same as meeting and talking face to face, hell even Leo knew about this feeling not to long ago.
"Hey, Cari," Orion said softly, his hair turning a warm, comforting lavender. "You're not alone. You're the Guardian of the Lee House. While I'm away, I need you to make sure Dad doesn't lose his glasses in his books, and you have to send me drawings of everything I'm missing."
"It's not the same," she whispered, but she squeezed his hand back.
"Tell you what," Orion whispered, leaning in so the others couldn't hear. "we all will send you extra letter every Friday. A secret one. Just for us. I'll tell you all the things the teachers do when they think no one is looking."
Carina's eyes brightened. "Deal. But you better not get too distracted at school and forget me." Carina looked at lyra who is a notoriously someone who forgot to send letter.
"Never," lyra laughed, her face shifting with worry that it might gonna happen again, , this make carina burst into giggles, of how uneasy lyra get flustered .
After that, The dinner lasted late into the night, filled with the clinking of forks and the warmth of a family that didn't need a "pure" pedigree to be whole.
A Questionable Dinner
After the sister counsel , Ji-ho and Ted decided to cook.
That was a mistake.
They attempted shepherd's pie and managed to burn the top while leaving the inside suspiciously cold. Andy tried to assist by stirring with magic and accidentally enchanted the gravy to hum softly. Orion and Lyra provided commentary from a safe distance, while Vela quietly fixed what she could when no one was looking.
In the end, they ate it anyway.
The food was uneven. The gravy was singing. Someone's fork kept vibrating.
And yet no one complained.
The dinner stretched late into the night, filled with laughter, clinking cutlery, and warmth. But then
The Unexpected News
The warmth of the evening shattered with a sharp, rhythmic tapping at the window.
A sleek eagle owl sat on the sill, feathers immaculate, eyes sharp and knowing. Tied to its leg was a parchment sealed in silver and green, the unmistakable crest of the Malfoy family gleaming in the candlelight.
The room went cold.
Cassiopeia rose from her chair, every movement stiff with old, ingrained nobility. She untied the letter without a word. As her eyes skimmed the elegant script, the colour drained from her face, not fading but hardening into something frighteningly pale, like carved marble.
Her hands began to shake.
Then, with a sound halfway between a growl and a scream, she slammed the parchment onto the table.
"That vile, hog of a woman," Cassiopeia hissed.
"Cassi. Language," Andromeda snapped automatically, already on her feet. It had been a long time since Cassiopeia had been this furious, and the familiar fury lit something volatile in Andromeda as well.
She grabbed the letter and read.
Her jaw tightened with every line.
My dearest sister,
I saw the boy today. I must admit, the Black genes have fought valiantly against the… confused pedigree you have saddled him with. Leo is quite pretty, painfully so. It is a pity he is a Metamorphmagus. We both know such talents are rarely used for anything beyond cheap entertainment and pleasure in certain circles.
To waste such beauty on a child of no standing is a tragedy.
By the way, Lucius has just concluded a meeting with the Minister. It seems the Senior Auror office is overstaffed. Your shift has been reassigned to the midnight watch, effective tonight, for the coming week. Perhaps in the dark halls of the Ministry, you will have time to reflect on the power you discarded for a life spent parading with an incomplete man.
Andromeda lowered the parchment slowly, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles whitened.
Ted and Ji-ho had already stood, drawn by the sudden shift in the room. Ted read over Andromeda's shoulder and went red with fury.
"How dare she," he started. "Does she realise our Dora is—"
Andromeda clapped a hand over his mouth before the rest of the sentence could escape.
Ji-ho read the letter last.
He did not shout. He did not swear.
But the tension in his shoulders sharpened, and something firm and unyielding settled into his expression. His son had been reduced to an object. His wife had been punished. And he had been dismissed as lesser.
Still, his instinct as a father took over when he noticed the children watching, silent and wide-eyed.
"Alright," Ji-ho said gently, forcing warmth into his voice. "Looks like Mum has work tonight, there is an issue with the ministry today. That means she can't come see you off at the platform."
He lied but all the teenagers knew it.
No one spoke.
Cassiopeia straightened suddenly. "Andy. Ted. Ji-ho." Her voice was clipped, controlled with effort. "Please watch them while I'm gone."
She was already reaching for her cloak.
"Mum," Leo whispered, standing. "Don't go. Just stay."
For a brief moment, her iron composure cracked.
Cassiopeia turned back and pulled Leo into a fierce embrace, holding him as if anchoring herself to the ground. Her voice softened against his hair.
"It's alright," she murmured. "This is nothing for you to carry."
Then, quieter still, almost a promise meant only for him, she added, "I won't be at the platform. But I'll be watching.
Green flames flared.
And she was gone.
Leo remained standing, his face carefully neutral, controlled with effort that hurt. But his ability betrayed him. His eyes flickered between white, red, and black, his hair following suit, colours clashing with emotion he refused to let spill.
Ji-ho cleared his throat.
"So," he said, far too brightly, "who wants ice cream?"
The silence lingered for a moment longer before bowls were passed around. It was awkward. It was hollow.