Making-Moves (VI) [Chapter 175]

~~Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire~~ (A Few Minutes Ago)

Yesterday, after spending almost a whole day with his Godson, who wasn’t hiding behind an act, Sirius realized that he didn’t know his Godson, at least not for real. Harry was still polite and reserved, but there was a certain level of arrogance and assurance in all of his actions. The way he talked, the way he moved, the way he acted… Sirius couldn’t find the exact word to describe Harry, but the word ‘Inevitable’ was somewhat fitting.

That was why Sirius decided to learn all he could about his Godson from the people around him. There were only four people Harry spent his time with, which explained quite a few things about Harry. Having a chat with Jacklyn would have helped him the most as she was quite close to Harry, but unfortunately, Jacklyn was unavailable as she went somewhere with Harry. Then there was Narcissa, but there was no way Sirius was going to give the woman satisfaction by approaching her.

Leaving aside Jacklyn and Narcissa, there were only two more people Harry spent his time with. One of them used to be a notorious Dark Lord while the other one was a creepy and insane Wandmaker. Violetta unnerved him more than Gellert did, which explained several things about the eccentric woman. So, Sirius decided to have a chat with Gellert before meeting Violetta. With the decision made in his mind, Sirius started to look for the man.

It didn’t take him long to find the pale man… “Um, can you spare some time?” Sirius asked nervously. The man was reading some sort of black book, and for whatever reason, he wanted to stay far away from the book. Gellert looked up from the book and stared at the younger man.

“Yes, is there something I can help you with?” Gellert asked politely and Sirius internally shivered in fear. He had heard that Gellert Grindelwald was extremely charismatic and now, he could see that with his own eyes. Though much to his horror, Harry was just as polite and charismatic as Gellert.

“Uhh… I was wondering if you could tell me about Harry since you spend a lot of time with him?” Sirius asked with an unsure look on his face while he internally cursed himself. He never imagined that he would ever need to ask a notorious Dark Lord about his own Godson in a million years, but here he was.

“Sure, I do have time to spare” Gellert agreed happily as he placed the book on the table and stood up. After that, Gellert started to tell him about the time when he first met Harry and how Harry convinced him to join Lost Garden, much to Sirius’ horror. The two of them didn’t even notice that the two of them ended up near the entrance during their talk.

“Tonksie?” Sirius blurted out unconsciously with a gobsmacked look on his face. He was so surprised by her sudden arrival at the Malfoy Manor that he completely forgot about his company. When Tonks didn’t greet him back, that was when he noticed that she wasn’t even looking at him. He finally remembered that he wasn’t alone… He was being accompanied by Gellert Fucking Grindelwald!!

Meanwhile, Tonks barely managed to stay on her feet and then she somehow managed to pull out her Wand with trembling hands… With how afraid she was, it was a surprise that she didn’t end up peeing in her pants. That would have been quite embarrassing for her. Though unfortunately for her, Grindelwald didn’t seem to be bothered by her actions in the slightest.

“Don’t step any closer! Stay right where you are!” Tonks exclaimed while trembling. This was the first time she was facing someone like Gellert Grindelwald, so her fear was pretty understandable.

“Hhm… Why don’t you make me?” Gellert asked in an amused tone and stepped forward without bothering to pull out his Wand and instead of taking action, Tonks simply stepped back on pure instinct.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!!” Before the situation could deteriorate any more, Sirius decided to jump between the two. Sirius knew what Tonks was capable of, but there was no way she would be able to face someone like Gellert and the former Dark Lord was not known for his mercy. “Tonks, this is not what it looks like. Please, listen to me. Don’t do anything stupid!” Sirius hurriedly explained as Tonks was still holding over her Wand, with trembling hands.

Tonks stared at Sirius before staring back at Gellert, but to be honest, she didn’t know what to do… She was running purely on adrenaline and her body was starting to feel somewhat heavy. Sirius slowly approached Tonks with his hands raised in the air, trying his best to look not threatening. Tonks stared at him with dilated eyes, but she didn’t seem to act. Her gaze shifted when Sirius grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

“Tonks, calm down. You will hurt somebody!” Sirius exclaimed and her eyes finally seemed to regain focus. Tonks glanced back at Gellert, who seemed to be standing right there with a relaxed look on his face before her gaze finally focused on Sirius.

She gave him a sharp look. “Explain everything now!” Tonks furiously hissed at Sirius, but she continued to point her Wand at Gellert, just in case.

“Why don’t we go inside instead of making a scene out here?” A feminine voice suggested. Both Sirius and Tonks turned around only to find Narcissa approaching them. The two of them never noticed her arrival. “I have ordered Alef to prepare some refreshments” Narcissa added with a smile, making Sirius and Tonks look at each other uncomfortably.

After some time, the group of four found themselves seated in the drawing room with some tea and snacks spread in front of them. Gellert and Narcissa picked up their tea, completely ignoring the awkward atmosphere in the room. “So Nymphadora, how is your mother?” Narcissa asked smoothly after taking a small sip from her tea cup.

Unable to hold back her frustration, Tonks finally snapped. “He is sitting right there in front of you! Aren’t you afraid?!” Tonks asked hysterically and Gellert gave her an offended look at her rude words.

“Yes, but unlike some people, he is a complete gentleman and I know he won’t do anything to me” Narcissa answered with a smile, and Sirius scowled at her words as he knew that she was taking a jab at him with her words. Though Tonks couldn’t help but give her Aunt a dumbfounded look at that as her hair started to cycle through various colors.

“You are a Metamorphmagus” Gellert stated simply and Tonks stiffened at his words. This wasn’t the first time he saw her changing color. When she went into shock after seeing him, her hair changed into pale mousy brown and stayed like that until she finally regained her bearings. “Fascinating!” Gellert exclaimed excitedly as he continued to stare at her, making Tonks really uncomfortable.

“Gellert, you are making her uncomfortable” Narcissa pointed out primly and Gellert coughed in his hand before giving Tonks an apologetic look.

“Forgive me, it was not my intention to make you uncomfortable” Gellert immediately apologized, creeping out Tonks even more as in her eyes he was nothing but a murderous monster, but he was more than that.

“So, what do you want with Harry? Why are you forcing him to work with you?” Tonks asked suspiciously as she couldn’t think of anything else. After hearing her question, both Gellert and Narcissa looked at her before they burst out laughing. Even Sirius gave her a weird look before he broke out in snickers. Tonks was completely dumbfounded by all three of their reactions. Sirius also stopped snickering and started to laugh outright just like Narcissa and Gellert.

“Why the fuck are you three laughing?!” Tonks exclaimed loudly, looking really creeped out by their actions while internally she started to wonder if she cracked a joke by accident or not…

~~Quidditch Pitch, Ilvermorny~~

“So, what’s up with the sudden visit?” Brittany asked as she finally finished her ice cream. Both Harry and Jacklyn were here to visit and there was no way Carlson wouldn’t allow them to enter the school, and spend some time with their friend. Right now, the three of them were sitting at Quidditch stands while a couple of Quidditch players continued to practice.

“Can’t we visit our best friend?” Harry asked with a hurt look on his face, and Jacklyn snicked at his antics while Brittany simply gave him a dirty look. “Fine! Spoil my fun” Harry huffed before looking at the Quidditch field with a grave look on his face. “Voldemort is back” Harry revealed and Brittany seemed to lose all color from her face.

She already knew quite a few things about him, but not everything. So, Harry quickly started to tell her about Voldemort. At first, he didn’t want to tell her anything about him as he didn’t want to put her at risk, but later, he realized that she was already in danger just because she was his best friend and it would be much better to prepare her for every possible outcome.

“He is going to come after you, isn’t he?” Brittany asked while she bit her lip in worry.

“Yes, I am a black mark on his reputation. Not only did he fail to kill me, but he also lost his body, which led to his supposed defeat back in the 1980s” Harry explained. He didn’t tell her anything about the Prophecy as it was not necessary right now. “But I am not worried for myself. I can handle myself. I am worried for you and your family” Harry added and Brittany seemed to frown for a moment before a look of realization finally dawned on her face.

“He might come after me and my family so that he could hurt you” Brittany muttered with a look of horror on her face.

“Yes, but I won’t let that happen. That is exactly why I am here…” Harry smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer comfortingly…