Puberty and Punishment
After the great reunion, so full of happy tears and moments capable of mending Wanda's heart, she finally let go of her children after a long embrace.
Then she looked at Harry seriously.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" she asked softly.
Harry looked at her for a moment, about to say yes; but when he saw his mother's eyes, he closed his mouth. He remained silent for a second or two before shaking his head.
"I don't know… I'm helping a lot," he said while clutching the invisibility cloak to his chest, his father's legacy. "But ever since this year started, I still don't understand these emotions that keep appearing out of nowhere. I… I'm scared, Mom. I'm scared of losing control, of not knowing how to handle what I feel. What if I hurt someone? What if I'm damaged?" Harry said with a genuinely worried expression.
Wanda looked at her two sons for a moment. She let go of their hands, since their brother needed her a bit more right now. Billy and Tommy understood and smiled at her, accepting it; now they had a younger brother who was actually older than them. They tried to act like older siblings… more or less. This was all really confusing.
"Harry," Wanda said while touching her son's cheek, wearing a gentle, soft smile. "What you're feeling is the most normal thing in the world. It means you're growing, that your emotions are growing with you… and well, that you're a teenager," she added with a slightly forced smile. "You're not wrong. You're not broken, and you're not going to hurt anyone. It's just that we, having this magic inside us, are more sensitive to emotions," she explained calmly.
"Our magic is pure chaos. And the day you connected yourself to that energy, I probably should have undone that connection quickly. But I wanted so badly to have a bond with you as my son that I hesitated. And maybe that's why you're struggling a bit to control it now. I'm sorry, baby," she said softly. "But you know I'll always be here to guide you. And about what you're feeling… these new emotions are something you unfortunately can't escape from. Just like everyone else, you'll have to face them. Sadly, it's called puberty," she said with a smile that tried to form.
Harry made a strange face for a moment, as did Draco and the others.
"What?" Harry asked, as if he hadn't heard correctly.
Sirius coughed discreetly to hide an amused smile. Snape had already taken advantage of the perfect moment to escape and was nowhere nearby. Selene, for her part, wore an amused expression, as if watching a show.
Edward had a serious expression, but for an instant his gaze shifted to his daughter; she was also entering that age. As if he feared the arrival of that day, Edward looked up at the sky.
Fleur muttered an "I told you so," which luckily Harry didn't hear. Even so, she had a playful smile at the boy's embarrassing moment.
"Well, puberty is…" Wanda began.
"Wait, Mom, it's okay, you don't need to—" Harry shouted, interrupting whatever she was about to say, especially because it was neither the time nor the place.
"Well, but it's something that maybe—" Wanda tried to continue, now with a slightly amused expression.
"Mom, please," Harry said, embarrassed, while his two new brothers stared at him with too much interest, which only made him feel more uncomfortable.
Luckily for him, a familiar shout interrupted the scene.
"For Merlin's sake!" Professor McGonagall yelled as she ran toward them, while taking in the completely destroyed or burned forest; the surroundings frozen by Selene's magic; and the damaged area near Hagrid's hut, the result of Edward and Sirius fighting Dominic before Red's arrival… though, to be honest, Red was the one who caused most of the destruction.
Who, by the way, was hiding between Harry's legs like an innocent dog upon seeing McGonagall.
"Can someone explain to me what happened here before I lose my mind?" the professor said, looking at the adults present while holding her forehead, as if she were about to faint from shock.
Ginny, realizing something important, ran toward the professor.
"Professor, my brothers!" she shouted, worried.
"Oh, Weasley. Your brothers are fine, they just arrived. It seems they went in to rescue the kidnapped students, the ones they were trying to use as hostages," McGonagall replied softly, placing a hand over her heart.
Ginny sighed in relief. It seemed Fred and George had truly been the heroes today.
"Now, can someone tell me what happened here?" the professor asked again, looking at the adults. Her eyes fell on Selene, who pretended not to notice despite being one of the main culprits of the destruction, since she had frozen the entrance of the castle. She hid behind her husband.
Sirius also tried to sneak away slowly. Apparently, even as adults, they still had a bit of fear and respect for the professor who had once taught them.
"Mr. Greengrass?" McGonagall asked the most serious and respectable of the group.
"Oh… Professor McGonagall. I believe Sirius Black, as the representative of the school board, should answer your questions. But now, with all the problems caused by the attack on the school, I hope you can forgive me; I need to take my family somewhere safe until everything is clarified," Edward said calmly… though he was basically fleeing.
Wanda didn't say anything else; she picked up Harry and her two sons, along with Red, Dee, and Terra, and vanished in an explosion of red particles. After all, they had far too much to catch up on to waste time at school.
Draco and Hermione took the opportunity to escape with the Greengrass family and Luna. Fleur also ran off behind them.
Luciel, as always, was excellent at hiding; no one noticed when he disappeared.
Only Sirius and a trembling Peter Pettigrew remained, still imprisoned.
Sirius truly hated Peter at that moment, and if it were up to him, he would kill him on the spot. But he couldn't deny that this situation felt far too similar to the past while Professor McGonagall stared at both of them.
Those who stayed at the school, upon seeing the number of aurors patrolling the grounds, were much less nervous now. Especially because the well-known Scarlet Witch had taken Selene's place, and who better than the most powerful witch in England to keep the school safe.
Although many first-year students missed Selene, since she had helped them so much and was so kind. Unlike Wanda, who wasn't bad at all; but because of the stories that circulated about her, some were a little scared of her… even though she looked perfectly normal.
Especially when they saw her walking around all the time with two first-years glued to her and what looked like a baby Potter in her arms, like a mother with her children. And well, apparently that was exactly what she was. Three of the students were the children of the most feared witch in England years ago. Meanwhile, Dumbledore had far too many problems of his own to worry about Wanda's family situation.
Sirius took every opportunity to launch political attacks against the old man, trying to get him removed from the position. And now it seemed like a real possibility. Rumor already had it that by next year, Dumbledore might not remain as Headmaster, and that they were already searching for a temporary replacement while the wizard was thoroughly investigated.
Meanwhile, out in the courtyard, Tommy and Billy were sitting on a blanket filled with all sorts of snacks.
"Come on, Harry, come here," Tommy said with a huge smile, trying to get the attention of little Harry, who was sitting in the same spot with a fed-up, annoyed, and very angry expression. He had a pacifier hanging from his neck and a tiny lion outfit.
"Come on, Harry, Mom said we have to bond with each other now that we're your younger brothers," Billy added, trying hard not to laugh. He didn't know his mother had such a funny personality—turning their new brother into a baby as punishment for trying to kill his own teacher.
Well, it was an interesting punishment for something that serious, to be honest. Although it wasn't like Harry was completely at fault. From what they understood, that professor had been responsible for the death of his parents.
Harry looked at Billy for a moment, understanding the idea of bonding with his new brothers, but it was really annoying. So he simply crossed his tiny arms and looked the other way. Although doing so only made him look even cuter.
The nearby students seemed to think the same, as they were squealing with excitement while watching him. A literal crowd of girls had formed just to observe him, fascinated by how adorable he looked.
Even the Slytherins who had attacked him before couldn't deny it.
Draco, Hermione, and Daphne, who were not far away, amused themselves watching little Harry while rolling their eyes at the excited students around them.
"Looking at the bright side… this way Harry won't have to deal with puberty problems," Daphne said with amusement.
Draco and Hermione looked at her with an expression of "are you serious?"
At that moment, Fleur arrived with an amused smile upon seeing the little boy.
"Oh my, well, if it isn't our little villain," she said, taking her turn to tease Harry. And of course, she didn't waste the opportunity. "Pup," she said softly as she tapped the baby's tiny nose, which glared at her coldly.
"You know that when he turns back to normal, it will be his turn to get revenge, right?" Hermione reminded Fleur.
This made Fleur stand up quickly. And seeing Harry's fixed stare directed at her… it was almost certain.
"Well, anyway, it's time to return to Beauxbatons," Fleur said with a light smile.
"What? You're leaving already?" Daphne asked.
"Yes. Well… apparently our headmistress is worried that we're in such an unsafe school," Fleur added quickly. "They already sent someone to pick us up," she added with a bit of sadness.
"Our school is unsafe?" Draco said with sarcasm, remembering that the last time at Beauxbatons they had fought a legendary creature.
"I think it's not the school… it's you lot," Fleur replied with a smile that instantly wiped Draco's sarcastic grin from his face. His expression turned thoughtful, and the more he thought about it, the more his frown deepened.
Hermione and Daphne opened their mouths to say something, but the more they thought about it…
"Well, I only came to say goodbye. Luciel also sends his regards. He would've come himself, but he's processing a lot of things. Especially the ones he doesn't want to show but are obvious anyway. That's why Katerina is supporting him," Fleur said softly.
The witch turned around and bent down to pick up little Harry, who looked annoyed at being lifted.
"So, see you later, little villain. Don't lose control again," Fleur said as she gave him a gentle kiss on his chubby cheek.
Harry opened his eyes slightly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks—something Fleur found absolutely adorable. So she hugged him tightly as well.
Harry, indignant, used all his tiny strength to push her away.
Fleur let him go and set him down on the ground before he began plotting how to get revenge once he returned to normal.
After Fleur left, Wanda approached with a smile upon seeing her three little angels.
"Kids, it's time to eat," she said as she picked Harry up from the ground, giving him a light tickle on his tummy.
Harry, knowing he would remain like that for several days, simply allowed his mother to carry him. Tommy and Billy, happy to be with their mother again, followed her immediately.
Draco and the two girls watched this and smiled before looking at one another.
"Since that woman is probably leaving too… how about we give her a nice farewell present? I'm sure the twins already have something prepared," Daphne said, smiling like a villain.
"Of course. She caused so many problems… we can't let her leave so happily," Draco said with a cold smile.
Even Hermione had a small smile before the three of them ran off.
…
N/A:
Well, this chapter is a bit anticlimactic… although honestly, I think it's pretty much my style, so I'll leave it like this. I changed it three times, but I liked this one the most. The others were too serious.
You already know how I handle season finales: some completely closed, others very open—either comically or structurally. Then comes the next arc; I always do a small chaotic adventure before starting the main arc again.
I wonder what the next adventure will be… especially now that the family of chaos has grown.