"Hey!"
Percy's face went green with anger.
Fred and George ignored him completely, waving their hands around in front of Sean as they talked.
One moment they were describing all sorts of strange new alchemical devices they'd seen in Egypt, the next they were discussing how they might be sold in Britain, and before long they were begging Sean to work on them together.
Sean was interested.
The others tried to edge closer and listen, but after catching only a sentence or two, they gave up with aching heads and backed away.
"We can talk about it next time, dear,"
Mrs. Weasley said, peeling the twins away from Sean when they were practically hanging off him.
"Mr. Green, it's so lovely to see you here."
"Mum! You too? You're trying to steal the great Green from us—"
Fred said, shooting George a look. George instantly followed up by grabbing her hand dramatically and saying,
"Mum, seeing you fills my heart with joy—"
"You two, enough—"
Mrs. Weasley said, setting down her shopping on an empty chair and giving the twins a look, then the chair a look.
The twins pouted and sat down obediently.
"Come here, dear—look how thin you've gotten—you need to come stay at the Burrow a few more days so I can feed you properly—"
Mrs. Weasley said, pulling Sean straight into a hug. Ginger Crookshanks jumped up onto her shoulder and brushed her face with his tail.
By the time Sean finally managed to escape, he found Mrs. Weasley pulling the younger wizards over one by one, inspecting them closely while talking nonstop.
It wasn't until Mr. Weasley gave a small cough that Molly reluctantly stopped fussing over them.
"Hello, my dear children. I expect you've all heard our big news by now?"
She pointed proudly at the shiny silver badge on Percy's chest.
"Our second Head Boy!"
she announced, radiating pride.
"And the last one,"
Fred muttered quietly to Sean.
The two of them were sitting on either side of Sean like bodyguards, squeezing Justin and Hermione out completely.
Hermione was still glaring at George.
"On that point, I have no doubt at all,"
Mrs. Weasley said, suddenly frowning.
"I noticed neither of you was made prefect."
"What would we want to be prefects for?"
George said, looking as though the very thought made him sick.
"It would ruin life completely."
Ginny burst into giggles.
"You ought to be setting an example for your sister!"
Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"Ginny's got other brothers to set examples for her, Mum,"
Percy said loftily.
"I'm going upstairs to change before lunch…"
Off he went, and George let out a breath of relief.
"We were going to lock him inside a pyramid,"
he told Sean,
"but Mum caught us."
"What a tragic loss,"
said Fred, his brows drooping dramatically.
Lunch was a thoroughly cheerful affair. Tom the barman pushed three tables together in the main room, and the seven Weasleys plus Sean's group of five all tucked happily into ten excellent dishes.
Before leaving, Sean took one last sip of sweet pumpkin juice, set down the cup with satisfaction, and started thinking about what he needed to do in the last phase of summer.
The most urgent matter was Slytherin's locket. He intended to destroy it with the Sword of Gryffindor, which meant going back to Hogwarts.
The timing worked perfectly. His week of leave was just about over.
Second was the reshaping of magic itself. That was extraordinarily difficult. It meant reshaping the wizard's inner Order, then finding the corresponding outer Wisdom that fit it naturally.
But the potential gain was enormous. It was the one way Sean could quickly gain mastery over ancient magic.
Yes—reshaped magic could grant a wizard powerful, flexible, almost effortless force. That power had existed before in wizarding history. It was ancient magic.
Lastly, Fiendfyre had already reached Skilled. Once it reached Master, a new title would unlock.
As for Sirius and Scabbers…
The Leaky Cauldron was full of muted voices from customers now and then, while Sean and the others walked down the corridor past the private rooms.
Suddenly Ron smacked his forehead.
"My potion! The rat tonic! I forgot it!"
"And where's my Head Boy badge?!"
Percy suddenly charged downstairs too. He was sharing a room with Ron.
"How should I know? I haven't even seen it! I was about to ask where my rat tonic went!"
Ron shouted.
The two of them immediately started arguing.
Justin and Hermione hurried over to break it up.
And to put an end to the fight, Sean quietly slipped away.
"I'll go help look."
"I'll come too."
Harry said at once.
They had only gone halfway when voices rose angrily from one of the private rooms. A moment later, both of them realized it was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"…not telling Harry is wrong."
Mr. Weasley was saying intensely.
"Harry has a right to know. I tried to convince Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child.
Harry is thirteen, he—"
Sean saw Harry stop dead.
"Arthur, the truth will frighten him!"
Mrs. Weasley cried.
"That danger is always there. Do you really want Harry going back to school with that hanging over him?
For heaven's sake, he'll be happier if he doesn't know."
"I don't want to upset him. I just want him to be on guard!"
Mr. Weasley shot back.
"You know Harry! He goes wandering off by himself all the time—even into the Forbidden Forest!
Harry absolutely cannot do that this year! I shudder to think what might have happened the night he ran away from home!
If the Knight Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm certain he'd have been dead before the Ministry even found him."
"But he isn't dead, he's perfectly fine, so what's the point of—"
"Molly, they say Sirius Black has gone mad. Maybe he has. But he still managed to escape from Azkaban, and everyone thought that was impossible.
It's been a month now, and not a single person has seen any sign of him.
I don't care what Fudge keeps saying to the Daily Prophet—we've made no progress at all in catching Black. About as much progress as inventing a self-spelling wand.
There's only one thing we do know: Black is after—"
"But Harry is perfectly safe at Hogwarts."
"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe too. If Black can escape Azkaban, then he can break into Hogwarts."
"But no one can be absolutely certain Black is after Harry—"
There was a thump from inside. Sean guessed Mr. Weasley had slammed a fist down on the table.
"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? It's not in the papers because Fudge wants it hushed up, but the night Black escaped, Fudge went to Azkaban himself.
The guards told him that for a long time Black had been talking in his sleep, repeating the same phrase over and over:
'He's at Hogwarts… he's at Hogwarts.'
Black's gone mad, Molly. He wants Harry dead.
If you ask me, he thinks killing Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power.
On the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, Black lost everything. He spent twelve years in Azkaban thinking about nothing else…"
Then the room fell silent.
Beside Sean, Harry stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.
~~~
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