I truly wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you are spending it, or have spent it, happily and just as it should be. I genuinely appreciate you for being part of the readers and supporters of my novels; that honestly made my Christmas much brighter. So I wish the same happiness to all of you.
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Justice in the Shadows and New Brothers
A dark cell in the deepest part of Hogwarts; that was where Peter Pettigrew was being kept, for now, protected and imprisoned. It was a way to prevent the Ministry from killing him the moment they saw him with a dementor's kiss to try to "clean" their name. Fudge had already tried.
But with Wanda in the castle, and the Black and Greengrass families holding the line, as well as the political battle that was slowly beginning with Dumbledore, Fudge still could not afford to turn completely against them, especially since he was already being blamed for the chaos in Hogwarts. To do anything more, he had to wait for Dumbledore to lose his status as Headmaster; although even then he still held the title of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and of the International Confederation of Wizards.
That was why, even though Fudge arrived with a dementor prepared to administer the kiss instantly, the creature had barely touched the school grounds before it literally turned to dust before everyone's eyes.
In the corridors of the dungeons deep within the castle, which normally made people wonder why there was a prison inside a school, Sirius walked slowly. The dim light made his shadow flicker against the damp walls and, even then, the strangest thing was the expression on his face; serious, hard, almost foreign to the usual mischievous smile that often accompanied him.
He finally reached the only cell that had a prisoner inside.
There, curled up in a ball and trembling with fear, Peter lifted his head when he heard footsteps approaching. A spark of false hope crossed his eyes; after all, he knew that at any moment the Ministry would come to take him to Azkaban or, worse, kill him. But when he saw Sirius, he believed for an instant that maybe... maybe it would not come to that.
"Sirius, please... I told you everything. Don't send me there; it is hell. I... no, I can't endure it. They will kill me if the dementors do not finish devouring me first" Peter said, begging for mercy as he kneeled and grabbed the rusty bars with both hands, as if trying to reach him.
Sirius looked at him coldly for a moment, standing straight, as if what he was seeing in front of him was not human.
"That didn't matter to you when you set that trap for me, did it?" he said seriously, each word spoken slowly so Peter could understand them perfectly. "How many years I couldn't spend with Harry and watch him grow because of you."
Peter's eyes widened with terror at Sirius's face; the face he had seen only once, the day Sirius came looking for him to kill him for the death of James and Lily.
"I... I was scared, Sirius. He was going to kill me. What did you expect me to do? What would you have done?" he answered quickly, trying to justify himself.
"Die!" Sirius yelled, letting out an instant of pure rage. "I would have died before betraying them!" he added with his voice cracking from the rage he tried to contain. Then he took a deep breath and regained control.
"The Fidelius cannot be broken under threats, Veritaserum, not even under torture. Only the secret keeper can reveal the location by their own will" Sirius said with an icy tone. "You took him there, didn't you?" he asked suddenly.
Peter froze completely. He did not answer; but his silence was more than enough.
"You took him. And surely, like the coward you are, you stayed downstairs listening to everything; how your friends were murdered, how the house burned in flames. A week before, you were at Harry's birthday. A week later, you went back there to watch him die" Sirius said, his voice loaded with barely contained anger as he clenched his fist tightly.
"I... I... I..." Peter trembled, unable to find words to justify himself.
"When it failed, you must have rushed inside. You saw them dead. And Harry? When I arrived, nothing was left of the Dark Lord; only Harry crying, not understanding what was happening. He was a baby. Barely a year old. And you had already taken everything from him. That's why you knew. You were there when I arrived, weren't you? When I found you, you already had a trap prepared for me" Sirius added as he stepped closer to the bars, making Peter scramble backward in panic.
Sirius slowly took out his wand.
That terrified Peter even more.
"Wait... wait, you promised. I told Harry everything, the truth. I gave you the list of Death Eaters. I gave you Voldemort's wand. I gave you everything. You promised!" Peter shouted, shaking at the idea of dying. "Harry let me live."
"Don't say his name" Sirius said with a cold, almost inhuman tone.
Meanwhile, Remus Lupin was standing just outside the dungeon, leaning against the wall beside the door. His arms were crossed, and his expression was truly sad; the green light that slipped out from under the door for only an instant confirmed what he feared.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Sirius stepped out with a mixture of discomfort and guilt on his face. After all, Peter had once been his friend; they shared a room, jokes, classes, secrets... years of trust.
"That was your last moment to see him" Sirius said quietly, addressing his childhood friend.
"Mmm... it doesn't matter" Lupin replied, shaking his head. "I'm not that strong; I would have stopped you" he added calmly, before silence filled the hallway.
"Come on; today is the day Harry comes home. Let's have a big dinner" Sirius said, switching to a cheerful tone almost instantly as he patted Remus's back.
"Sirius" Lupin said with a calm smile, just for a moment. "You really are a good godfather to Harry. Out of all of us, you were the best choice."
Those words surprised Sirius, but he understood perfectly why he said it. Among all of them, Sirius was the one who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty so Harry wouldn't have to; even killing someone he shared his childhood with. He would not leave a loose end if it meant his godson would be safe, even if he had to break promises to achieve it.
"Of course" Sirius said, smiling proudly as he began to walk toward the exit. Then his expression turned serious, his gaze hardening. "And there are still a couple more."
Lupin immediately understood who he meant. Two people stood at the top of that list.
Sirius took a deep breath as he thought of Harry. If his godson ever discovered what he had done, he hoped he would at least understand one thing; he would not allow anyone else to hurt him. Not ever again.
That day, when the students returned home, a piece of news began to spread the moment they arrived. Someone had infiltrated Hogwarts once again and had murdered a prisoner who was waiting to be taken to Azkaban.
Apparently, he had been one of those responsible for the spies entering the castle, supposedly. Even though no names were given, many knew exactly who had been locked up there.
Everyone pointed at the Death Eaters, who surely wanted to silence him before Peter gave more names. After all, many were beginning to suspect that the day of the farewell dinner for the Beauxbatons students, when several Death Eaters were exposed in a total attack on Slytherin, it had been Peter Pettigrew who provided that information. Each of those named was exactly one of the Death Eaters who had stood before him the day he delivered information to Voldemort. If he had more details, then it was better to silence him forever.
But the castle was now completely protected; especially with Wanda wandering throughout it. However, the moment everyone returned home, and Wanda did too, the place was obviously left unprotected for a few seconds.
And it was in that instant when, apparently, someone managed to infiltrate.
Only one corpse was found. Nothing more. No one else was harmed, not even the professors who were still patrolling the hallways. That clearly showed they had been looking only for him.
With this, the school board announced that next year Hogwarts would have "the best security possible" to keep the castle protected. Although they did not clarify how. Nor was the name of the new Headmaster mentioned.
The news spread across the wizarding world like gunpowder catching fire. And so, regardless of the political chaos or the rumors, the school year came to an end in the quietest and tensest way Hogwarts had experienced in decades.
…
After returning home, everyone separated to put away their belongings and personal items.
Right now, in the Potter–Maximoff household…
In the middle of the living room, sitting on the sofas, were Harry, Billy, and Tommy. The three of them stared at one another, each sitting on a different corner of the furniture, with expressions surprisingly serious for their age.
Although that did not last very long, especially for one of them.
Tommy showed an intrigued smile as he looked around; the magical objects decorating the room fascinated him. The house felt strangely similar to his own, and that made everything feel familiar.
Billy, meanwhile, was focused on the walls, observing the photos of Wanda and Harry. Each image showed different stages of Harry's growth; and all of them moved. Wanda appeared smiling as she held him in her arms, rocking him, hugging him.
In other photos, Harry and his friends were having fun in parks, excursions, and different places they had visited together.
Meanwhile, Harry continued staring at the two brothers, as if evaluating what kind of magical creatures had suddenly entered his life.
Wanda had supposedly gone shopping to prepare dinner… although, obviously, she had only left them alone so they could talk, since she did not actually need to buy anything with Liz and Gris around. That had been more than half an hour ago.
And now Harry was not in his baby form for the twins to carry him and parade him around the house like they had done in Hogwarts, so the atmosphere had become completely stagnant.
The front door sounded, and Wanda entered carrying a few shopping bags. As soon as she crossed the threshold, Gris and Liz appeared instantly to take the bags from her hands, proving that, as always, they had been watching closely.
"Thank you," Wanda said to the family elves.
Tommy became immediately interested in the creatures; he had never seen house–elves before. Billy was also watching them with evident curiosity.
But very quickly, all three boys turned their gaze to Wanda.
She looked at them for just one second and gave a small smile.
"You're all still sitting there," she said playfully. Apparently leaving them alone to talk had not worked. "I would like you to get along, but I won't force you. For now, I need help preparing dinner; everyone will come later."
Her voice carried a soft, patient tone. She wanted them to talk… but she was not going to push too hard. Well… maybe a little.
"Sure, I'll help you, Mom," Tommy said, jumping to his feet and running toward her. As he followed Wanda, he watched the house–elves carrying the bags with enormous fascination; he began introducing himself and asking them questions nonstop.
Wanda walked with him, smiling.
Billy and Harry remained looking at each other for a few seconds.
"Does it bother you that we arrived and changed your life?" Billy suddenly asked, his expression genuinely serious and a bit worried. After all, they would be family from now on. And judging by the photos around the room, it was obvious their arrival would turn Harry's life with his mother upside down.
Harry looked at him in silence and let out a brief sigh when he saw that hint of concern in Billy's eyes.
It was not easy to suddenly accept two brothers. But if his mother was happy, then he would find a way to make it work.
"Of course not. I just have to get used to it," he answered softly. After all, who wouldn't be happy to see their mother so joyful for having all her children together again? Besides, Harry had grown up hearing some of his mother's stories about Billy, Tommy, and Vision. Harry stood up and positioned himself in front of Billy, extending his hand.
"Let's try to get along. From now on, we will be brothers. I don't know if I can be a good older brother; but I'll try. As long as you don't look down on me for not being a blood son, unlike you two," he said with a serious yet honest tone.
Billy looked at him for a moment before smiling and shaking his hand.
"Just so it's clear, you're the younger brother," he added in a teasing tone that normally would come from Tommy.
Harry released his hand with an annoyed expression. "I take back what I said," he declared while turning around to walk toward the kitchen.
Billy let out a soft laugh. Tommy, from the kitchen, yelled something like "I'm older than you too!" and Harry rolled his eyes patiently, wondering if this was what having siblings felt like.