The next day, I worked like a maniac. From early morning, a tough physical training session awaited me, followed immediately by magic drills for the Cruor Flores spell combined with a bit of water magic. When I'd finally had my fill of it all, I took a quick shower and stretched out idly on my bed. Staring blankly at the ceiling, I rested next to Styrax, who was, understandably, asleep again. After lunch, Vespera and I agreed that she would come get me and we would head over to the Malfoys together. I had today's plan perfectly clear in my head.
I turned my head and looked at my cat. I reached out to him and gently grabbed him from both sides. He lazily half-opened his glowing green eyes, fixing them on me, and with a small smile, I lifted him into the air, intending to move him directly onto myself. First, he hissed threateningly with his mouth wide open, resembling a snake for a second, and then meowed in disapproval as I placed him on the border where my chest met my stomach. He immediately began to wriggle wildly, trying to escape, so I pinned him down slightly and started scratching him firmly in his favorite spots.
He hissed again, but since he didn't attack outright, I persistently kept going until, after a moment, he finally started up that deep purr of his. I felt his muscles completely relax under my fingers, so I loosened the pressure of my left hand a bit. The little shit didn't wait even a hundredth of a second, though. He used my chest as a perfect springboard, leapt over me in a flash to the left side of the bed, safely out of my reach, and immediately began to demonstratively groom the side I had just been holding him by.
"You little bastard!" I cursed him with an amused laugh.
Styrax just shot me a look, but seeing that I wasn't approaching him again, he closed his eyes and continued his hygiene with absolute indifference.
He was a terribly anti-social cat. With great difficulty, he tolerated at least the occasional scratch from Vespera, but if I wanted to pick him up or put him on top of me, he absolutely refused. The most he ever did was come close to me with the expression of a king, so that his subject—namely, me—could humbly scratch him. And if he did occasionally feel lonely, he would curl up into a ball right next to my hip... but never directly on me. He used me at most as a launching pad whenever a fly happened to end up in my room. At least it made it crystal clear that no matter how powerful, wealthy, or successful I might be in the wizarding world, to Styrax I would forever be just a common servant with a bowl of fresh salmon. Fortunately, I didn't even have to clean his litter box, since he didn't have one and was smart enough to open the room door completely on his own.
The cat was still grooming himself; this time he switched to the opposite side and turned his back to me. Slowly and quietly, I tried to roll over and reach out to him across the bed. But the moment he heard the slightest rustle of fabric, he opened his eyes in a split second and sized up my hand. His tail began to lazily but rhythmically twitch from side to side, and it was immediately clear to me that my palm had just officially become prey.
I tried to pull my hand back sharply right away, but Styrax had already shot toward it like lightning. I immediately rolled onto my stomach to hide it under me, but it was too late. He clamped his sharp claws into my left forearm so tightly that, under the sharp, stinging pain, I hissed at him for a change. In response, he just bared his fangs in a fighting stance, bit into my wrist in a split second, and began to frantically kick me with his hind paws. With my right hand, I quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and gently tried to pull him off me, careful not to hurt him, while he put his entire hunting prowess on full display.
"You little shit, let go of me!" I commanded with a wide grin.
He completely ignored my command, of course. What he didn't ignore, however, was the sound that followed immediately after: Knock, knock, knock.
At that exact moment, he let go of me instantly. His pupils, which had been narrowed into two thin slits until then, suddenly dilated to the size of ping-pong balls. In a fraction of a second, with utter contempt, he curled into a neat little ball and, like the most innocent creature on earth, began to pretend he was fast asleep.
The door opened without anyone waiting for an official invitation, and Aunt Vespera walked into the room with a soft smile. She paused in the doorway for a moment, her amused gaze sweeping across the entire room.
"I see your day is going as peacefully and civilized as always," she remarked ironically.
"Of course," I replied without hesitation, keeping a deadpan face.
Her gaze slid for a moment to Styrax, who lay perfectly curled up on the bed with an expression of absolute, almost otherworldly innocence.
"Mhm." That single sound she made made it more than clear that she didn't believe me for a second. But the smile didn't fade from her face. "Ready to go?"
I nodded right away and got up from the bed. The little shit didn't even flinch at my movement—a pure angel. I accompanied the smiling Vespera out of the room, and we walked through the castle corridors all the way to the main fireplace.
"The address is Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire," she instructed me briefly.
"Hmm?" My left eyebrow twitched upward, and I looked at her in surprise. "How is it that we can Floo directly into their manor? We aren't Malfoys."
"Unlike Evan, Lucius isn't sitting in Azkaban, so he can adjust and manage their family wards without any issues," Vespera explained matter-of-factly. "While our wards are currently in an active state of war, theirs operate in peacetime mode. Because of that, their specific fireplace is easily accessible even to outsiders."
And what if that outsider has hostile intentions? flashed through my mind. But before I could ask the question aloud, Vespera vanished in the green flames. I had no choice but to follow her immediately.
I stepped into the fireplace, took a handful of powder, and threw it under my feet. "Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire," I spoke loud and clear, with the perfect articulation I had made sure to practice from the start. That very second, I was sucked into a vortex, spinning through the Floo Network at immense speed.
Even though this way of travel was fucking disorienting—at least unless you kept your eyes tightly shut—it definitely suited me better than three hours of dragging along in a car or six hours on a bus. Just as my flight slowed down sharply again, a clear thought sparked in my mind: I need to learn how to Apparate, and the sooner, the better.
I tumbled out of the fireplace and landed firmly on my feet. I found myself in a large, practically gigantic room with white marble walls and tiling, shot through with golden veins that resembled lightning strikes. But instead of being awed by the pure luxury, a cold tactical calculation flashed through my mind. If I flooded this place with water, it would be as slippery as an ice rink. It was grand and prestigious, sure, but absolutely impractical. At least in the event of a magical battle.
At the same time, I immediately felt a draft of magic radiating directly from the walls. It had a neutral quality, with a rather strange flavor that was completely new to me. I also had a strong feeling that this reception room had been artificially enlarged by magic, though I couldn't see any runes—perhaps they were beneath the wall panels or floor tiles. I looked around with keen interest while Vespera, her back turned to me, was already greeting my other aunt. The space was relatively austere, but that magic in the air... It seemed to me that my sensitivity was improving day by day. The broader the magical spectrum I encountered, the more precisely and sensitively I could distinguish the subtle nuances.
"Cissy, this is Patrik Rosier, my nephew," Vespera said, snapping me out of my deep analysis as she gave me a subtle but firm nudge with her elbow. "Patrik, this is my cousin, Narcissa."
"Good day," I greeted politely and immediately took a firm step forward so as not to hide behind Vespera's back.
"Good day," she returned the greeting with a distinguished, pleasant smile, offering her hand to welcome me.
Honestly, I had expected a cold, austere woman and the very embodiment of high aristocracy. I was left surprised, though. There was no coldness in her grey eyes, but genuine kindness instead. What's more, her mental Occlumency wasn't strong at all, so I could clearly feel her genuine excitement about our meeting, and her smile was entirely sincere. In terms of appearance, however, she met the strictest criteria of aristocracy to a T. An attractive blonde with a proud, perfectly straight posture—every movement and blink of an eye carried an innate elegance. Had I been a bit older, and were she not my blood aunt, I would have definitely given her a shot.
After a moment of sizing each other up, however, the smile on her face suddenly froze.
Maybe she expected me to kiss her knuckles? flashed through my mind. But when I looked deeper into her eyes and caught her rapidly dilating pupils and a wave of muffled emotional shock, I was sure my behavior had absolutely nothing to do with it. She was reacting to me as if I were an apparition.
"Is Draco home?" I asked quickly to break the sudden, heavy silence.
She nodded mechanically, still slightly stiff. "Yes... your visit will be a huge surprise for him."
"Would you mind if we went for a walk to Diagon Alley together?"
I could still clearly sense the deep shock in her, which she was only slowly and with great effort trying to bring under control. Again, she just shook her head mechanically. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Vespera smirking beside me—wearing that exact malicious, amused grin that was so characteristic of myself as well. My aunt was thoroughly enjoying her reaction.
"Cissy, will you let him know?" Vespera spoke up after a moment of silence, finally bringing Narcissa back to reality.
"Dobby," Narcissa spoke in a firmer voice into the empty space.
With a loud, sharp crack and a deep bow that nearly scraped his nose against the marble floor, a true legend among house-elves appeared before us.
"Fetch Draco. The Rosiers are here," she commanded him curtly.
The elf gave another lightning-fast bow and vanished with a quiet pop in an instant.
Narcissa elegantly turned aside so we couldn't see her face and raised her left hand. But the quiet, exasperated facepalm was impossible to miss in the dead silence of the hall. The only sound that followed was the muffled, amused snicker of Aunt Vespera.
"Apologies, I must have eaten something strange for lunch," Narcissa spoke after a moment, once she had regained her lost aristocratic composure. "Where exactly do you plan to go, Patrik?"
"Here and there, just wandering around Diagon Alley," I replied with a perfectly practiced, charming smile. "Among other things, I need to pay a visit to Mr. Vane."
"Are you interested in enchanting?"
"Not particularly, more like finished items," I replied honestly. "Maybe he will have something interesting for sale that might come in handy."
Fortunately, our conversation was interrupted by the rapid, muffled patter of footsteps, which suddenly went quiet just around the corner of the hallway. I was a hundred percent sure that Draco had outright sprinted here. Yet, a moment later, he emerged from behind the wall at an extremely casual, slow pace and with a proudly raised chin. However, his theatrical attempt at cool-headedness was utterly ruined by his bright pink face and slightly accelerated breathing.
"Hey, Patrik! Good day, Aunt Vespera!" Draco greeted with a wide smile. "Finally, I'll be able to show you our garden and my own Quidditch pitch!" He was already about to eagerly tug at my sleeve, but I quickly cut him off with a hand gesture.
"Well, Draco, first of all, I urgently need to pop over to Diagon Alley. Coming with?" I threw out directly. "After that, you can show me whatever you want."
He looked at me strangely and a bit uncertainly, but my firm gaze apparently convinced him quickly, as he gave an approving nod a second later.
"May I, Mother?" he turned to Narcissa with an appealing smile, and she simply nodded in agreement with maternal tenderness.
"Come along then, boys," Vespera spoke up, an amused smirk settling on her face. "So that Narcissa and I can have a chat... in private."
"Oh, Vespi, they can simply Floo directly from here." Narcissa returned her smirk, but I knew right then that those two would start whispering and gossiping the moment we left them alone.
"Apparition will be much faster," Vespera replied, throwing her arms out in a flash and grabbing both of us by the forearms without warning.
With a loud, sharp crack, the entire world spun around us. Space squeezed us into a narrow tube, and after a moment of disorientation, we landed firmly on the ground in front of a small, cozy cottage standing completely isolated from civilization. Vespera immediately let go of our hands, threw her head back, and burst into loud laughter.
"Did you see Cissy's face?! She was absolutely losing it!"
While Vespera laughed unrestrainedly, Draco and I took in the dwelling before us in surprise. Nothing stretched around the house but wild green grass, and tall flower beds grew in front of the entrance itself. A narrow stone path led straight to a wooden door, and thin smoke rose from the brick chimney—even though it was a warm summer and the temperature outside was high enough to make any kind of heating absolute nonsense.
"Do you think she knows I'm her nephew yet?" I asked curiously, as soon as my aunt finally caught her breath.
"No," Vespera and Draco replied at the exact same time.
"Definitely not," Vespera repeated with an amused smirk. "But she will figure it out soon enough." She examined both of us with amusement for a few seconds, but then just nonchalantly shrugged. "Right, I'm heading back to Cissy. Andromeda's house is also connected to the Floo Network, so head back after your visit... And Draco? Not a word to your mother."
She spun on her heel and vanished with another loud crack before Draco could even open his mouth. Mechanically, exactly like his mother had done in Malfoy Manor a few minutes ago, he nodded into the empty air, but then the correct circuits in his brain apparently connected, and he spun toward me sharply: "Andromeda?! WHAT?!"
"Do you fancy my aunt, Draco?" I smirked at him, completely ignoring his hysterical tone. The boy was blushing all the way to the tips of his ears, and ever since Vespera had grabbed his arm, he had looked like a well-ripened tomato.
"What?!" he blurted out, offended, turning even redder. "Of course not! Definitely not!"
"So you're saying she's ugly?"
"What? No, I'm not saying that either!" flew out of him instantly in a defensive reaction.
I smirked in amusement, but like a true Slytherin, he didn't let himself remain off-balance for too long. He quickly suppressed his blush, straightened his robes, and grew serious: "What are we actually doing here, Patrik? And that house... does it belong to Andromeda Tonks?"
"I got a personal invitation and figured I shouldn't go on a visit like this all on my own," I shrugged with an amused smirk. "You wouldn't leave your cousin in the lurch... would you, Draco?"
Draco frowned at me for a second, but then just shrugged in resignation, a faint smirk appearing on his face. "If this turns into trouble, I'm blaming it entirely on you... I have absolutely no idea where we are actually going or who even lives in this house."
"Of course you don't," I nodded willingly and dragged him with amusement down the stone path closer to the house.
"Was your father not home?" I asked Draco as we stopped right in front of the door, creating the perfect excuse for why I hadn't knocked yet.
"No, he's had his hands full ever since that incident with the Weasleys," Draco replied, nervously shifting from foot to foot, his eyes fixed on the doorknob. He clearly had no intention of knocking himself. "Aurors and Hit-Wizards are conducting massive inspections of wizarding residences right now, searching for illegal Dark Magic items. They are even vetting pets to make sure a similar situation never happens again..."
Before I could analyze his words and reply, the door in front of us opened quietly. Standing in the doorway was a witch of aristocratic appearance, calmly holding the doorknob as if she had already been expecting us.
***
Author's note:
When I first started writing this chapter, the plan was crystal clear: quickly kidnap Draco, meet Andromeda, and then rush over to Ranrok, all in one go. Naturally, that plan went completely out the window. I put the blame squarely on Styrax's attack on our MC's arm... and from there, of course, the whole thing just kind of snowballed.
Want to read ahead? The next chapter is already out for free on my official website! Grab the direct link on our Discord community: tgdTNZYVKt
***
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
86. The Twin in the Shadows
87. Their Addiction, Our Profit
88. Fake Smiles and Sharp Instincts
89. The Path to Invincibility
90. AD: Piña Coladas and Rainbow Thongs
91. Blood Traitors
92. Before the Storm
93. Arania Exumai
94. Favors and Frustrations
95. Power and Glory
96. Morning Drills and Slytherin Deals
97. Thrill of the Fight
98. Calculated Risk
99. Flight and Fortune
100. Calculated Arrogance
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