The Worst Punishment
There were certain things Billy had learned over the last few years.
The first: his brother, who was considered one of the great geniuses of this generation, could sometimes be a threat to national security, truly earning that title of villain Fleur usually gave him.
The second: his brother Tommy, ever since they had found their mother Wanda, tended to get carried away by chaos a little too much, especially since he'd started learning a few things from the Weasley twins.
And from there came the third thing he'd learned: he should never let himself get carried away by either of his brothers, no matter how crazy, bored, or misguided he was.
Unfortunately, he very rarely managed to follow that third one, because whenever his brothers joined forces, they tended to cause waves that ended up dragging him along with them.
And here came what always waited for them whenever they went too far: punishments from their mother, Wanda.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for regrets.
"Who's an adorable little girl?"
Pandora Lovegood smiled happily as she moved one of her fingers over Luna's belly.
The little blonde baby let out a laugh as she waved her arms and legs on a blanket spread across the floor.
Beside her, Astoria was in exactly the same situation.
Turned into a baby only a few months old, the little Greengrass tried to catch Pandora's hand when she started tickling her.
"Got you!"
Astoria let out another little giggle.
Pandora seemed to be enjoying this even more than they were.
"They're so adorable," she said happily.
Selene Greengrass, sitting a short distance away, watched her daughter with a mixture of amusement and resignation.
"I'd like to say this will make Astoria learn her lesson."
Little Astoria looked at her.
Selene looked back.
Astoria smiled innocently.
Selene let out a sigh.
"She'll learn absolutely nothing."
Susan, who was beside her, let out a small laugh.
Astoria started laughing again when Pandora went back to tickling her.
Luna didn't seem particularly affected by her punishment either.
In fact, she was probably the one enjoying the situation the most.
For the two of them, being temporarily turned into babies seemed to have quickly become an opportunity to play.
Not everyone felt the same way.
A small silver flash suddenly crossed the room.
Selene barely managed to turn her head.
Another flash passed beneath a table.
Then behind an armchair.
And finally toward the door.
The dark-haired baby was crawling toward the exit at an absurd speed while small trails of energy appeared behind him.
Apparently, losing several years of age hadn't completely taken away his powers.
Tommy looked at the door, already almost within reach of his freedom, but before he could do anything, a hand grabbed the back of his clothes and lifted him off the floor.
Tommy was left hanging in the air.
He moved his little legs, but didn't manage to go anywhere, so he raised his gaze behind him.
Selene was calmly holding him with one hand.
"Where do you think you're going?" she said with a small smile.
Tommy frowned.
He pointed toward the door.
"Ah! Ah!"
"No," Selene said, walking toward where the little ones were gathered.
Tommy puffed out his cheeks.
Wanda let out a sigh.
"As they grow older, even I'm starting to have trouble blocking their powers. I don't know if I should be proud or worried," she said.
Tommy was placed back down on the blanket.
The moment his hands touched the floor, he looked toward the door again.
Wanda raised an eyebrow.
Seeing her, Tommy slowly lowered his head.
"Good choice," she let out.
But if Tommy was annoyed, Billy looked downright offended by the universe.
Wanda held him comfortably in her arms.
Little Billy had his arms crossed as best he could and an expression of deep grievance on his tiny face.
Wanda looked at him.
Billy turned his face away, earning a smile from his mother, who couldn't help gently poking his puffed-up cheek.
Billy tried to keep ignoring her, but Wanda, as the mother of three boys, already knew each of their personalities perfectly, so she gently stroked his cheek and said:
"You know perfectly well why you ended up like this."
Billy turned his head toward her with a frown, which only made him look even cuter.
"Ba!"
"Yes, yes. Your brothers had the idea."
"Ba!"
"And Harry was the one who organized almost everything."
Billy immediately nodded, not hesitating at all to betray his older brother.
"But that doesn't mean you had to follow them," Wanda continued.
Billy frowned again, since he knew perfectly well that this punishment was just an excuse for his mother to have them like this, so it didn't matter what he said. It wasn't like he could save himself from that punishment.
Wanda gently kissed his forehead.
"My smart little boy should know how to say no once in a while."
Billy's expression became even more aggrieved.
His mom was evil. No wonder they'd given her the title of Scarlet Witch.
Wanda smiled sweetly, as if she knew the little complaints going through her youngest son's mind.
But aside from them, it was quite obvious that Wanda didn't feel sorry for Billy at all. Instead, she seemed to be genuinely enjoying this.
And finally, there was the main culprit.
Harry Potter was sitting on the nearby sofa with a completely cold expression. His little chubby legs and tiny face made him look completely adorable sitting there like a little Demon King.
His black hair was still as messy as ever.
And on his tiny face was an expression that made it perfectly clear he was seriously considering committing another crime.
Daphne was sitting beside him, smiling with obvious mockery without hiding it at all, earning a cold stare from Harry.
As childhood friends, Daphne knew perfectly well that this was Harry's deadly look warning her that if she didn't move away quickly, she'd have to deal with him.
But obviously, as childhood friends, Harry should also know that look had never worked on her.
Daphne extended a finger and poked his little belly, making Harry give a small jolt.
Daphne covered her mouth, trying not to laugh while Harry did everything he could to maintain his pride without saying a single word in his baby form.
Harry looked at her even more dangerously than before.
But Harry was a baby. His round cheeks were slightly flushed from anger, his little hands rested between his legs while clenching his tiny fists, and his threatening expression only managed to make him look even more adorable.
Daphne lasted two seconds before she couldn't take it anymore.
"Hahahaha!"
Harry frowned even harder and opened his little mouth to say something, but immediately closed it again in anger.
"What's wrong?" Daphne said as she poked his belly again, trying to force him to say something like a baby.
But Harry did everything he could to hold it in.
Even when he tried to push her hand away, his tiny arms weren't much help.
Daphne's amused smile remained fixed on Harry before she seemed to think of something that, for a moment, made her smile turn evil.
"Aunt Wanda, can I take him with me for a while? Maybe some fresh air would do him good," Daphne immediately said.
Harry instantly turned toward her, his eyes widening as if he could perfectly read her intentions, and then looked toward his mother while shaking his head.
But Wanda simply gave him a sweet smile.
"Of course. Don't forget to put a coat on him so he doesn't get sick," Wanda said easily.
Harry's eyes opened completely at such maternal betrayal.
"Thanks," Daphne said as she immediately picked him up.
Harry started squirming in her arms, trying to free himself, but didn't accomplish much before Daphne ran off with baby Harry in her arms.
Wanda gave him a motherly smile before Harry disappeared through the door.
"Have fun."
Harry went completely still.
Billy, still sitting on his mother's lap, watched his older brother being kidnapped by Daphne and couldn't help feeling that, well, maybe the baby part he'd gotten wasn't the worst after all.
His mother could be even more evil.
Tommy stopped trying to escape.
Even Astoria and Luna stopped playing.
Everyone looked toward the door Harry had just disappeared through.
There were a few seconds of silence.
Harry was doomed.
Well, maybe behaving like babies in this place, receiving affection from their mothers, wouldn't be so bad after all.
Billy, if he remembered correctly, thought this was called... making an example out of someone.
And it seemed to have worked perfectly.