After arriving at The Burrow, Wayne felt considerably more relaxed every day.
How should he put it? The very air here made one unconsciously cheerful, the faintly earthy scent of the countryside pulling people back to the simplest, most peaceful life. This peace only referred to the relaxation of body and mind—not true tranquility in the literal sense.
The Weasleys had only one girl, and with Harry and Wayne recently joining, the boys together were anything but quiet.
Fortunately, Mrs Weasley was a witch. If she'd been an ordinary housewife, tidying up after the children daily would have exhausted her completely.
After a week of research, Wayne finally managed to study the Weasleys' clock thoroughly using his X-ray vision.
He crafted a pocket watch replica himself and had Gardevoir return to London to collect blood, hair, and signatures from Cho and Hermione, which he then used to create special clock hands.
Now, the hands for Hermione and Cho pointed to 'home', while his own pointed to 'travel'.
There were slight differences from the original.
The Weasleys' clock could only display information about its own family members. Through certain rituals forming a contract, the hands would appear on the clock, such as through birth or marriage.
However, Wayne could establish connections with outsiders by utilising the magical power inherent in their blood and names. With enough information, he could even hang a hand representing Voldemort inside.
Each method had its pros and cons, but this suited Wayne better. He quietly named the pocket watch the 'Guardian Watch'—fitting indeed.
"Wayne, come out for Quidditch!"
Fred's voice rang outside again. Wayne sighed, tucked the watch away, and stepped out to join them.
"Though practice makes perfect, that doesn't mean you should practice with me," he said. "Playing Quidditch every day is making me sick."
The expressions of Harry and the others darkened.
Due to insufficient players, they usually had two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Chaser, competing to see who could score the most. But after a week, none of them had managed to beat Wayne even once. Harry and Ron could be excused—neither had trained as Chasers—but even the twins, who'd occasionally played as Chasers, couldn't win.
"Let's try something different today," George said, patting Wayne's shoulder. "Instead of scoring, we'll compete as Keepers."
"Same difference—just another way to lose," Wayne replied, mounting his broom and taking off. "I'll defend first. Who's up?"
George followed. "Ten goals total."
"Stop talking and get on with it."
...
Three minutes later.
George landed with a stony face.
He'd only scored once, and that was because Wayne had tried a flashy move and let it slip through.
Fred went up. Fred came down.
"You little—" He sucked his teeth. "Why don't you join the Gryffindor Quidditch team? We'll kick Wood out. Even Angelina wouldn't score many against you."
"Can't be helped," Wayne shrugged. "Quidditch is too easy for me. If I really played, it'd be unfair to you."
Though it sounded arrogant, none of them could argue. They were all relieved that Wayne hadn't actually joined Hufflepuff's Quidditch team. Otherwise, Wood's dream of winning the Quidditch Cup before graduation would have been nothing more than a pipe dream.
Next, it was Ron's turn. He was a bit nervous and hurled the ball far into the distance, prompting the others to quickly chase after it on their brooms.
Then, they saw the Quaffle fall into the hands of a little girl.
She had dark, golden-brown hair, and her thin frame made her eyes seem slightly bulging, giving her a perpetually surprised expression. She wore carrot-shaped earrings and a necklace strung with corks from butterbeer bottles.
Pale and delicate, the girl was so slender that the veins on her arms were visible to Wayne.
"Oh, it's you, Luna," Fred greeted her casually. "Long time no see. You'll be starting at Hogwarts this year, right?"
"Hello, one of the Weasley twins," the girl replied in a voice as pleasant as a song, ethereal and unhurried.
Fred introduced her to Wayne and Harry, "This is Luna, Luna Lovegood. She's sort of our neighbour."
"Her father is the editor of The Quibbler. Uh... you probably haven't heard of it since most of the stuff in there is just Mr. Lovegood's wild imagination."
"No, it's not imagination. It just hasn't been discovered yet," Luna said firmly, though her tone still carried that dreamy, distracted quality.
Wayne studied her.
The famous Luna Lovegood.
In the works of his past life, she had been mythologised to an almost absurd degree—some claimed she was the reincarnation of Rowena Ravenclaw, others that she was the author's avatar, guiding Harry forward.
Without exception, she was portrayed as extraordinarily clever, able to see things others couldn't.
'I wonder if she can tell I'm a transmigrator? If she can... should I hit her with a Killing Curse, or...?'
Wayne remained silent, watching her intently. Sensing something, Luna shifted her gaze from Harry's scar to the boy.
"Do we know each other?" she asked airily.
"No," Wayne shook his head. "We've never met."
"But I feel like you know me."
"I wish I knew every pretty girl," he replied.
The others listening twitched at his bluntness.
"No..." Luna shook her head. "There were no Wrackspurts around you before, but they appeared when you heard my name."
"Here we go again," Fred muttered under his breath.
Loony Luna—that's what they called her in private. Like her father, she was always talking about magical creatures no one else could see, creatures that didn't exist.
"Oh?" Wayne grew intrigued, studying her while expanding his Dynamic Perception to search for these so-called Wrackspurts.
He found nothing.
"Hmm?" Luna tilted her head, her large eyes bulging even more. "They're gone. All of them. How odd."
"Why is it odd?" Wayne asked, playing along. Fred wanted to warn him not to waste time indulging the loony girl, but Wayne waved him off.
"They all have lots of Wrackspurts around them," Luna said, ignoring their exchange as she pointed at the twins and Harry.
"But you... Now there are none. Not a single one."
"What are Wrackspurts?"
"A tiny, elusive creature that flutters into your ears and makes you feel unsettled."
"Do you have any around you?"
"Yes..." Luna said wistfully. "Quite a few, actually. They often bother me so much I can't focus on reading."
"Is that so?" Wayne glanced at the sky, then at the surrounding rapeseed fields, and chuckled.
"Maybe there's nothing in this world that truly troubles me."
Luna's eyes widened, as if she hadn't expected such a response. She tilted her head and, after a long pause, murmured, "Perhaps you're right."
For the first time, a flicker of something—envy—appeared in her usually vacant gaze.
"Alright," Wayne said, picking up the Bludger. "If you ever manage to catch one of those Wrackspurts, show it to me. I'm quite curious. See you at Hogwarts, little junior."
With that, Wayne mounted his broomstick, waved, and flew off with the twins and the others back to The Burrow.
The girl wasn't as peculiar as the rumours made her out to be, which put his mind at ease. Wizards were, after all, an extraordinary bunch by nature. Luna was just a bit more perceptive than most—nothing too shocking.
The moment he had the thought, he sensed it—this girl was very much like Queenie, a natural Legilimens.
With proper training, she could become a master of the Legilimency Spell.
...
At dinner, the conversation still revolved around Luna.
"I can't believe you actually managed to talk to her. That's impressive," Ron said, looking at Wayne with admiration.
"Honestly, we've all tried chatting with her before, but we never have anything in common. It's just..."
"Ron!" Ginny glared at him angrily. "Luna's only like this because of what happened. Don't you dare speak badly of her!"
"I'm not speaking badly," Ron muttered. "It's just the truth. Besides you, does anyone else in this village even talk to her?"
"Enough," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "Since you know the reason, try to look out for her at school if you can." Then she turned to Wayne, her expression softening into a warm smile.
"Wayne, Luna's mother passed away two years ago in a magical experiment, so... It's wonderful that you can get along with her."
"I wouldn't say we 'get along'," Wayne mused for a moment. "But if I can help her, I will."
"What a good boy," Molly said approvingly before addressing everyone else.
"You've only got a week left before term starts. Since your father's off this weekend, let's go to Diagon Alley for supplies."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and the conversation shifted to this year's textbooks.
"I'm absolutely certain this year's professor has gone mad," Fred complained. "Who needs seven books for one class, and all of them by Lockhart?"
"Could the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor be a witch? Like Mum, a devoted Lockhart fan," George mused.
George nodded in agreement. "Very likely."
Molly glared at the twins disapprovingly, though she was also worrying internally. Seven books, averaging five Galleons each – that's thirty-five Galleons per student. And they had five little money-guzzlers in their family.
"Ginny..." Molly hesitated before continuing, "We'll get your other books second-hand. As for clothes—"
"We'll handle Ginny's clothes," Fred cut in quickly.
Molly knew the two had been running some small business ventures with Wayne and didn't object, simply nodding.
Ginny gave her brothers a beaming smile before saying understandingly to Molly, "Mum, I know. Slightly worn books are fine."
"Er..." Wayne suddenly spoke up. "Actually, I don't think you need to buy five sets of Lockhart's books."
Everyone at the table turned to look at him.
"Use Book-Copying Quills?" Fred frowned. "I doubt the professor would allow that..."
"No, no," Wayne shook his head. "It's better to use books in class, but that professor surely won't be teaching all of you simultaneously. Which means you only need two sets at most – the five of you can take turns using them. For revision, you can use books copied with quills without any issues."
Instantly, everyone's eyes lit up.
"Wayne's right!" Ron clapped enthusiastically. "We just need to get hold of the books before class, right?"
"Then one set would suffice," Harry chimed in happily, wanting to help the Weasleys. "Fred and George can use my book during their lessons."
Having stayed at The Burrow happily, he'd been looking for a chance to assist the Weasley family and finally found one.
"Perfect!" The twins high-fived excitedly.
"Dear, what do you think?" Mr Weasley looked at Molly.
"Of course! Wayne, thank you – this is such a huge help." Molly happily walked over to Wayne and gave him a hug.
This saved them over a hundred Galleons, significantly easing their financial strain. Molly generously doubled all the children's pocket money and promised to buy Ginny new books.
"Mum, I don't need new books," Ginny insisted. "Just give me more pocket money instead."
"Alright, then one more Galleon for you."
"Thanks, Mum!"
...
After dinner, Mr Weasley gave Wayne a meaningful look, which Wayne acknowledged with a subtle nod. The two casually left The Burrow as if nothing was amiss, only to head straight to the shed in the backyard.
Mr Weasley rubbed his hands excitedly. "Wayne, come take a look – what else can we improve?"
During this period, Mr Weasley had shown Wayne his prized possession – a modified Ford Anglia. This car was Mr Weasley's pride and joy, enchanted with every magical feature he could imagine. While it appeared to be an ordinary car from the outside, its interior had undergone a dramatic transformation.
After inspecting it once previously, Wayne had made several suggestions for improvement. This made Mr Weasley even more excited. Taking advantage of his wife's inattention, he stayed up late every night working feverishly until finally completing everything today.
The two climbed into the car, which had an incredibly spacious interior – nearly as large as the sitting room at The Burrow. The seats had been replaced with genuine leather sofas, extremely soft to the touch.
Seizing the moment while Molly was tidying the kitchen, they secretly drove the car out.
"This is the parking assist system you suggested."
Mr Weasley used his wand to draw a grid on the ground, then pressed a button. The car abruptly rose, growing four slender steel legs, and only retracted them after stepping into the grid.
"Well?"
"Extremely convenient," Wayne praised. "Though you should add a synchronised Confundus Charm to prevent any Muggles from seeing it. After all, this method is still far too advanced for them."
"You're absolutely right," Mr Weasley nodded repeatedly.
Next, he demonstrated the variable tailfin technology for flight, allowing the car to consume less magical power mid-air. There was also a racing mode that could burst past speeds of two hundred miles per hour.
"Your engineering is truly impressive," Wayne acknowledged before making his own suggestion. "It's just the safety systems that need work. These shock absorption and cushioning runes could be added here, arranged like this..."
Mr Weasley listened attentively, like a schoolboy being lectured. In truth, Wayne was using this opportunity to familiarise himself with the process, saving considerable trial and error for when he modified his own car later.
...
Half an hour later, the two returned to The Burrow.
"You're truly remarkable – no wonder you're Nicolas Flamel's student." Mr Weasley now held Wayne in particularly high esteem. Many of the runic sequences the young man described were things this middle-aged wizard had never even heard of.
"You flatter me. Just don't let Mrs Weasley find out," Wayne whispered in a reminder.
"Don't worry," Mr Weasley winked. "This stays between us. Even if I'm beaten to death, I won't give you away."
Wayne thought:
'What kind of living hell is this family enduring?!'
"Where did you and Dad go?" Fred asked suspiciously as he watched them enter through the door.
"To the village entrance to chat with the old men," Wayne lied smoothly without batting an eye. Fred didn't question it – this was indeed his father's hobby.
...
Soon, Saturday arrived.
The Weasley household had been chaotic since morning, with Molly rousing each of the boys and girls from bed.
By half past eight, Wayne and Cedric had arrived from the Diggorys' home.
Today, they would all travel to Diagon Alley via The Burrow's fireplace for shopping.
After breakfast, the group gathered before the hearth.