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After pulling Sirius off Remus, preventing him from actually strangling his last Marauder friend to death, we all sat back down.
The atmosphere, which moments ago had felt dense and suffocating, was finally beginning to dissolve.
A light and peaceful silence hovered over the room. Not the uncomfortable kind… but the kind that gives you space to breathe again.
Looking around, I noticed that the faces were now more relaxed, with small smiles appearing here and there.
The jokes between me, Dora, and Sirius — and the extremely unhappy reactions of the poor involuntary victim, Remus — managed to break the heavy atmosphere that had formed.
And seeing that, my own smile surfaced, carrying a sense of satisfaction with it.
Then, glancing lightly at the two Black blood metamorphs, I saw similar smiles on their faces.
Exchanging looks, the three of us subtly nodded to one another, sharing the feeling of a completed mission.
The three of us were playful by nature. We loved adding a joke or two into any conversation or situation — sometimes even without noticing.
But this time, we did it on purpose. Our sincere intention was to cheer everyone up, or at least ease the heaviness in their hearts.
Of course, the satisfaction of annoying and teasing each other was also a major factor… but that part we kept to ourselves.
"Well," I said, stretching my arms lazily, "I think we've already reached our quota of fights and not-so-subtle attempted murders for today."
"Speak for yourself," Remus grumbled, fixing his wrinkled collar, "I still feel deeply wronged."
"Awn, looks like someone had their pride hurt," Dora looked at him with an amused pout.
"Heh, not that Moony had much of that to begin with," Sirius added with a crooked smile — and immediately got a pillow to the face.
With that, cheerful and light laughter echoed through the Room of Requirement — and even Remus let out a small, amused huff.
And for a moment, we didn't look like people who had just gone through a stressful or dangerous situation.
At this moment, we were simply a group of friends and family gathered together, enjoying the moment.
"Okay," I clapped my hands, drawing everyone's attention back to me, "now that everything important has been said, I think it's time for us to relax a little."
After saying that, I focused on the Room of Requirement, and in the next instant the common room we were in began to transform, responding to my thoughts.
The room expanded a bit more, almost doubling in size. On the right side, two large rectangular tables appeared against the wall.
More tables and chairs appeared in the back, made for small groups of three or four to gather.
On top of those tables were some board games and card games — both wizarding and Muggle — and other little things to pass the time.
In the other corner of the room, several musical instruments were summoned and, moments later, began playing on their own — producing a light yet lively melody that instantly lifted the atmosphere around us.
Seeing all that, everyone looked confused, but before they could ask what I was doing, I spoke again:
"Luumy! Dobby!" I called, and immediately two pops echoed.
"Master Ethan called Luumy!?"
"Dobby is here, Sir Ethan Sir!"
In front of me, two house-elves appeared, looking at me with their big, excited eyes.
Luumy was a lilac-eyed elf, small even by house-elf standards. She wore a light-blue dress a bit stained with flour around the edges — showing that she was probably cooking something before being summoned.
As for the other elf… well, he was the little darling of the franchise's fans.
But at the moment, what truly caught the eye was the chaotic disaster that was his outfit.
He was wearing two oversized shirts covered in pins, a striped scarf, and four pairs of mismatched socks in different colors and sizes.
The true enemy of fashion... or perhaps, the creator of a new era.
"Hi," I smiled slightly at them, "Could you two go to the kitchens and prepare some snacks and drinks for us? Please."
Hearing my request, Dobby immediately straightened up.
"Leave it to Dobby, sir! Dobby will bring Sir Ethan sir's snacks and drinks at once!" he said while saluting.
"Sniff… Master Ethan said please to Luumy… sniff!" the little elf cried, overwhelmed.
Luumy then lifted her head, staring at me with teary but determined eyes.
"L-Luumy will make the best snacks for Master Ethan. Luumy won't disappoint you!"
Then, without another word, the two little creatures disappeared with another pop… but not before Dobby threw Harry a wide-eyed, almost reverent look.
Harry just blinked in confusion, feeling that both the name and the appearance of that elf were strangely familiar.
...
...
...
...
"Okay… was it just me, or was that weird?" Sirius asked, looking around.
"Well, Sirius, not all of us have a blood feud with house-elves," I replied, rolling my eyes, "Some of us know how to maintain a friendly relationship with them."
"Friendly relationship? They looked ready to worship you," he made a face.
"What can I say? Being loved by everyone is almost a natural gift of mine." I shrugged.
This time, it was the last true Black who rolled his eyes.
"And people say Gryffindors and Slytherins are the arrogant ones."
Ignoring that comment, I stood up from my armchair. Under everyone's watchful eyes, I approached the two large tables — which had become full of food at some point.
'They really work fast,' I thought, happily grabbing a plate and placing a chicken-and-carrot sandwich on it.
"Huh, Ethan dear… what are all these things for?" my mom asked, curious.
"Isn't it obvious?" I turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
But seeing everyone's still-confused faces, I sighed and explained:
"Guys, all of this…" I gestured around with one hand, "is for us to have fun and spend some good time together."
"And, if you want, we can even call this our little private celebration party."
"Celebration party? And what exactly would we be celebrating?" Ron asked, confused.
The same confusion showed on everyone's faces.
They didn't understand what there was to celebrate… not after the news of the Dark Lord's return.
"Well, my redheaded friend…" I began, taking a bite of my sandwich, "we'd be celebrating Harry's, Fleur's, and my victory in the Triwizard Tournament, obviously."
As soon as I said that, everyone froze for a moment.
It took their minds a moment to process the information, but once they did, they understood.
Ignoring all the disaster of our kidnapping and the dark moment that followed, they remembered that the three of us had indeed reached the cup and touched it… at the same time.
That technically meant we had all won the competition together — a tie between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons.
"Oh…" Harry looked at me, stunned.
Even Fleur seemed a bit surprised.
Just like the others, they had forgotten that the Triwizard Tournament was, in fact, a competition — not just a trap for Harry.
Seeing that everyone had finally understood, I smiled lightly and placed my plate on the table.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" I said, snapping them out of their daze, "Let's celebrate!" I opened my arms invitingly.
With that, everyone exchanged glances, wearing strange or hesitant expressions.
They found the sudden shift a bit unexpected and maybe even out of tone.
However, I could see the excited and relieved spark in their eyes.
Even if it had come out of nowhere, no one could deny that this change was more than welcome.
A change of atmosphere was exactly what we all needed at that moment.
"Well… as a good Hufflepuff, I can't say no to a party," Dora said, being the first to stand up.
She then walked toward the food tables.
"I hope those elf friends of yours made some stuffed potatoes, pigeon boy, because I'm starving for them," she said, winking at me.
"Of course, Rainbow Dash," I smiled softly, knowing she had taken the initiative to encourage the others.
"Wait, stuffed potatoes? The ones with cheese, peppers, and bacon?" Ron asked, his mouth open, almost drooling.
"Uh-hum," Dora answered, already with her mouth full of potato.
Seeing that, the Weasley boy needed no further encouragement.
"Save some for me!" he said, jumping up and heading toward the table.
"Hah! Now things are getting fun!" Sirius stood up as well, bobbing his head to the rhythm of the music.
Seeing that, the others started to perk up too, letting go of any hesitation or exhaustion.
The rest of the group rose from their seats, deciding they would enjoy the moment.
Tonight may have started with a disaster, but we were determined to end it in a much brighter, warmer, and more comforting way.
End.
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