Harry Potter, Sovereign - Chapter 31

“Harry!” shouted Hermione as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Harry turned his head toward her, not really surprised to see her there. He though that he would get angry the moment he set his eyes on his friends. Instead, he was calm. And he was pleased to see her. She rushed to him to give him one of her usual tight hug, looking both happy and relieved. He could tell that she had been worried about him.

“Hermione” he calmly replied with a small smile as he took her in his arms.

Behind her, Ron and Ginny appeared and moved toward him at a slower pace.

“Hi, Ron. Hello Ginny” he said as he released Hermione.

Ginny took her place for a lighter and shorter hug.

“Hi Harry. It’s good to see you!”

“Hey, mate” Ron replied while lazily waving his hand at him.

“Harry dear” Molly nearly shouted as she came out of the kitchen.

“Hello mrs Weasley” he greeted her, preparing himself for one of her smothering hugs.

The other teenagers stepped aside to let the mother hen pass and give him said hug. After assuring herself that he was in good health, the other girls were presented to the group. Fred and Georges choose that moment to make their appearance. Via apparition. Unfortunatly for them, it wasn’t the best time to surprise people.

The dual cracking sound made by their arrival made Harry’s ladies react as if they had been ambushed. Xuanzang took a defensive stance in front of Harry, whose rod found itself in his hand in a split second. Vi reacted the same way she always did when something perceived as a threat showed up. She punched it.

Before anyone beside Moody could react, her fist smashed into the closest twin jaw, sending him head first into his identical brother. Their heads loudly smacked against each other and they fell in a heap a meter away from their arrival point. Moody would have cast a spell if he wasn’t held in check by Xuanzang.

Molly shrieked as her sons were struck in front of her by one of the guests. The rest were too shocked to do anything but gawk for a second, except for Harry grabbing Vi’s shoulder and lightly yanking her back.

“Ouch” he said in sympathy. “Gred, Forge. You’re alive?”

And with those words, time restarted for everyone.

Fred had been the one to receive the punch and had been knocked out cold. Georges was dazed and asked what had happened. Molly was fussing around them while berating Vi for attacking her sons. Moody was able to interfer before the dispute got serious, pointing out that they had surprised the people Harry recruited for his protection, and that he would have reacted the same way. Vi gave a half-hearted apology, finding the situation mostly amusing.

A big bruise was growing on Fred’s face, and Molly had to take him away to take care of it. Georges followed them, partly because he got afraid of Vi. Hermione was shocked by what had happened, while Ron and Ginny were glaring at Vi. She just grinned at them. Harry rubbed his jaw, reminded of all the times Vi punched him during their spars. He was brough out of his thoughts by Hermione’s sudden question.

“What is that in your hand? Where is your wand Harry?”

Everyone eyes fell onto his hand, holding his rod. Harry blinked, having completly forgotten about that detail. Moody’s wand was pointed to him in an instant, and Xuanzang hand was holding onto his wrist at the same instant, a warning look in her eyes. Once more, tension rose in the room.

“I was with my cousin when the dementors attacked. The fatass panicked, made us trip and landed on my previous wand. It was desperation that allowed me to cast the patronus despite that. This is its replacement. A custom work by mr Ollivander. The phoenix feather from my previous wand is in there. Among other things.” Then he turned to Moody. “I’m sure mr Ollivander’s word would be more than enough proof of who I am. You can accept it, or go confirm it, but I’m not going to bend backward to please you.”

“Ok, that’s enouh” Sirius said, trying to ease the tension. “With everything that has happened, it’s normal to be a bit stressed. Let’s all calm down, and eat lunch. The house is gloomy enough without you all adding to the negative atmosphere” he finished, visibly uncomfortable.

“Sorry about that, Sirius” Harry replied.

He felt that Sirius saw this house as Harry saw the Dursley house. Even if he inherited it, he wouldn’t want to live in it. If he had to, he would rather avoid anything that would make the living condition worse. Arguments would only bring back unpleasants memories. Xuanzang released Moody’s wrist, and he grunted, while nodding in grundging respect.

They moved to the dinning room. On the way, Hermione and Ginny looked at more carefully. First, he was wearing good quality clothes, properly fitting him. He also seemed to stand taller, and remembering the hug they gave him, they were certain he had filled in as well. They realised that he was looking really good.

Sirius sat at the head of the table, and Harry took a seat next to him. Vi sat on his other side, and Xuanzang next to her. All 3 sat on the side that allowed them to see the entrance of the dining room. Remus sat next to Sirius, followed by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. When Molly, Fred and Georges came, the twins sat next to Xuanzang while Molly sat next to Ron. Moody was at the other end of the table. Fletcher had been discretly sent to Ollivander by Moody.

While eating, Sirius asked Harry what had happened since the attack. He informed him that people were sent to the Dursley to retrieve him, but he was already gone, and the Dursley had left for a trip, probably wanting to get away from the magicals.

Harry said that after the attack, he got suspicious of the ministry and decided to hide. He said he used that time to contact the girls currently with him. He refused to give details on how he accomplished that, simply saying it was magic. He said that he used the time before the trial to secure a place to stay, get a replacement wand, and prepare his legal defense. Even the girls didn’t reveal much about themselves.

Since it was clear they wouldn’t get details about their activities yet, Sirius took charge of the conversation, telling him what he had been doing since the end of the school year, and talking about his cousin Andromeda, and her daughter Tonks. He happily compared her to Vi, who somehow got eager to meet her as well.