The Brightest Sun

Chapter 38

They had barely reappeared in Potter Hall before he was moving, wand twisting in the air as he summoned their belongings.

Potter Hall was bustling with activity, the children’s belongings gathered in the sitting room as the portraits spoke loudly, Aunt Narcissa handing Teddy the sleeping Maia at the sight of Elia, the woman swiftly making her way over as trunks fell at their feet.

Vaguely, beneath the din of the dragon’s roars, he heard the relieved shouts from Rhaenys and Teddy at the sight of their brother, whole and hale and seemingly none the worse for his experience.

“Harry,” his father called, voice shouting over the barrage of questions from the other portraits.

“What happened?” Rhaenys demanded.

“You’re fine, aren’t you?” Teddy asked, Maia half asleep in his arms as he shifted to keep her from waking. “You aren’t hurt?”

“They saw me,” Aegon said, voice tinged with fear, and Harry once more cursed the bloody damned Department of Mystery and the Ministry for good measure.

His words brought a heavy silence, the air thick with tension as his siblings traded worried glances.

“Egg,” Rhaenys began, voice unsure as the fear in his voice made itself known.

“There was an Unspeakable,” Aegon told them, causing Teddy to suck in a sharp breath as he turned to face Harry.

“We leave tonight,” Harry said, face resolute as he looked at his family. He was no longer taking any chances – had lingered long enough as it is.

“The portraits,” Teddy said, trailing off as his eyes drifted to where Harry’s father had a gentle smile on his face.

“There’s not enough time to take us with you,” he told Teddy, hazel eyes bright.

“Herakles,” Aunt Narcissa said, a saddened look on her face that he couldn’t ignore as he saw her grip tighten on Elia’s.

“Go home, Aunt Cissa,” he said softly. “They’ll come calling on anyone close to us.”

There would be no time for proper goodbyes, something they all realized as a sombre mood settled across them.

He focused on the trunks gathered in the room, giving his aunt and wife a quiet moment to say their farewells as he tallied them. There were sixteen trunks, all of them heavily expanded to take as much as they could, plus the three Rhaenys and Teddy had brought home from Hogwarts. Four trunks for each of them to carry, bar one for the person holding Maia.

Elia had –thankfully – marked the trunks, and Harry took hold of four trunks, each containing books, gold, jewellery and clothing, shrinking them before placing them in his pockets. He repeated the process, making sure each of the kids had a trunk of gold with them in addition to their school trunks and the rest of their things, settling Elia’s trunks close together before he saw golden hair fill his vision.

“Herak—”

Harry cut her off, wrapping his arms around the last of his mother’s family, feeling her arms encircle him as she buried her face in his shoulder.

“You’ll be careful,” he said, unwilling to think of what could happen to them.

“They’ll have a hard time getting through me,” she answered, a hint of dark promise present in her tone.

“Are you…” he trailed off, feeling her arms tighten around him and knowing the answer to his question. He blinked back the tears, voice low as he murmured, “I’m sorry it came to this.”