Little Harry and the Scarlet Witch
"Someone made Aunt Wanda angry," said Hermione, looking seriously at the others.
"We'd better go back the way we came," added Harry, his eyes fixed on his mother, before turning to run off with the rest.
But as soon as he turned, he saw Daphne with a villainous smile, watching him as if she had been waiting for this exact moment. Harry understood instantly what she was plotting.
He felt a push, and immediately saw his three friends running away at full speed, leaving him behind as a sacrifice.
"Sorry, Harry. Only you can calm your mother down," said Daphne, enjoying the scene as if it were a personal masterpiece of revenge. Draco, at her side, merely put his hands together in a solemn gesture, as if praying for his soul while thanking him for saving the world.
Hermione, for her part, didn't even dare meet his eyes before turning around and fleeing with the others. The office door closed slowly, leaving Daphne with that satisfied look of happiness, as if she had finally settled an old score.
"Bloody traitors!" shouted Harry, struggling to open the door without success. At last, he turned around, resigned to face his mother, cursing silently the idiots who had angered her enough to push her into such a state.
…
Meanwhile, in the great main garden, by the side of the fountain, one of the most… complicated conversations was taking place.
"You're really strange," said Luna in her usual calm tone, staring fixedly at the redheaded girl in front of her.
Ginny Weasley froze at the impact of those words. She slowly turned her head toward Luna, first noticing her radish earrings, then the bizarre decorations on her Beauxbatons-style clothes with odd drawings, and finally the handful of strange objects she carried.
Then her gaze shifted to Luna's friend: Astoria. She, in appearance, had nothing odd… except for an '80s detective costume and a fake mustache, which didn't exactly scream normal either.
Ginny didn't know how to react. The strangest part was that this conversation, completely out of nowhere, had begun all of a sudden after months of classes, even though she lived relatively close to Luna and had known her since childhood.
Even so, she took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. She remembered they used to play together in the past, before the Lovegood family started spending time with others the Weasleys didn't get along with. It hadn't been intentional, but it still stung a little.
"And why am I the strange one?" asked Ginny seriously, crossing her arms.
Luna tilted her head, as if the very question was strange. That made Ginny more irritated, though she still managed to hold back.
"You don't have the book," Luna replied naturally.
Ginny blinked, confused.
"What book?"
"The book," Luna repeated, offering no further explanation, before glancing at Astoria as if the answer were there.
Astoria only shrugged, calm, as if the two of them understood each other perfectly.
"But… what book are you talking about?" Ginny insisted, feeling her patience slip away.
"Mm… the book with your friend. Although he's not really your friend, but you think he is. You shouldn't trust him. Well, it doesn't matter, you don't have to distrust him yet," Luna said with the same serenity as always.
Ginny looked back at Astoria, searching for some rational explanation, but all she got was a thumbs up and a big smile.
"Great, thanks for the information… I guess," sighed Ginny, already exhausted and eager to leave.
The three of them were in the same school year, but they hardly ever spoke. It wasn't that they got along badly, it was just that Luna and Astoria seemed to live in their own world: following Professor Maximoff everywhere, amusing themselves with simple things —like the bowtruckle that often perched on a nearby tree—, or tagging along with Astoria's older sister and her friends.
Ginny was just about to leave when Luna's voice stopped her again.
"Ah."
Ginny turned reluctantly and saw Luna pointing toward a spot in the garden.
"There comes Professor Maximoff… with little Harry," she said with a smile.
Ginny's eyes widened, a shiver running down her spine, as Luna and Astoria grabbed her by the arms and dragged her toward the woman.
The Scarlet Witch. The woman everyone feared. Ginny had heard dozens of stories: that she had destroyed Hogwarts, that not even Dumbledore could stop her, that she had blasted apart the mansion of a pure-blood family simply because she disliked their daughter… and that she might even be more dangerous than the Dark Lord himself.
And now, that woman was right there, before her. Beautiful and dazzling, with her brilliant red hair —a shade far more vivid and silky than her own— that seemed to outshine the entire Weasley family's combined. Wanda smiled kindly, and even so, Ginny felt her knees weaken.
In her arms she carried a baby with a scowling face and an expression of pure annoyance. He wore a tiny Beauxbatons uniform, and Ginny felt a strange recognition stir within her. Something about that child seemed oddly familiar.
"Hello, little Harry," Astoria greeted cheerfully, reaching out to poke his tummy.
"Ta," babbled the baby before swatting Astoria's hand away in irritation, showing his complete disdain for the world.
"Hahaha, he looks annoyed," said Astoria, laughing as she pointed at the baby's frown.
"Aunt Wanda, did Harry find bells of childhood? Is that why his inner child awoke?" asked Luna, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Yes," replied Wanda with a gentle smile, looking proudly at her little baby, who at that moment was staring back at her with restrained fury. Harry was convinced she had turned him into a baby just to calm her anger, and that only made him even more upset.
Ginny couldn't believe how adorable he looked, even with that strange mix of bad temper and coldness that made him seem like an old man trapped in a child's body.
Meanwhile, behind a column, Draco, Hermione, and Daphne peeked out cautiously, watching the scene with their hearts in their throats.
"I think this time we're dead," Hermione whispered, eyeing baby-Harry with concern.
"I'm pretty sure he'll want to take revenge on us," Draco added, nodding seriously before turning his gaze toward Daphne.
"It was for the greater good," she said, imitating the solemn tone of an old man, though the mischievous little smile on her face betrayed just how much she was enjoying seeing her friend in this state.
"Still… who could have upset Aunt Wanda so much?" murmured Hermione thoughtfully.
The three froze when a chilling shiver ran down their spines. Slowly, they turned their heads toward the source of that murderous aura… and there he was: little Harry, staring at them from his mother's arms with eyes as cold as ice.
"He found us!" screamed Daphne, bolting away at full speed. Draco and Hermione quickly followed.
Meanwhile, Astoria and Luna remained completely calm, feeding the baby snacks that he accepted with a wrinkled, grumpy face. Not that he could do much else in his tiny form.
They even spread out a blanket on the garden lawn and sat him down to play, while a few passing students glanced at the sight of the baby, the professor, and the girls, only to walk off again in confusion.
Ginny, dragged into the situation, didn't know what to do. She was afraid of Wanda, but at the same time, the woman seemed so kind in person that Ginny didn't dare leave abruptly for fear of being rude.
"Um… is his name Harry too? Like Harry Potter?" she finally asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.
The baby looked up at her and held her gaze for a moment.
"Yes, it's him," answered Luna, while handing him one of her strange objects. Harry took it, stared at it for a second, and then set it aside indifferently.
"What? Is he your little brother?" Ginny pressed, glancing at Wanda. She knew the woman was Harry's adoptive mother. Her own parents had told her part of the story: Harry had lost his real parents, and Wanda had suddenly appeared to take him away. A witch so powerful no one could stop her. Nobody really knew how she had raised him until he reappeared at Hogwarts the previous year.
To be honest, her family had feared Wanda might raise him badly, and they had even asked her brothers to keep an eye on him. But it turned out Harry was polite, intelligent, and surrounded by friends. Keeping watch over him had ended up seeming ridiculous, so they had dropped it.
Well… everyone except Ron, who at the start of the year had acted as if he had the duty to become Harry's friend no matter what. But after meeting him, he realized it wasn't so simple, and little by little he had drifted away, a mix of discomfort and fear in his behavior.
"No, it's Harry. Baby version," Astoria clarified while patting his head, only to get another indignant little smack in return.
Poor Harry didn't even try to speak anymore: his vocal cords were far too small, and all he could do was babble. Out of pure embarrassment, he had decided to remain silent.
Ginny grew even more confused. She looked closely at the baby, and suddenly the familiarity was obvious: yes, it really was Harry Potter, just in miniature.
And then she noticed Wanda happily snapping photos with a camera, like any proud mother.
Harry's eyes met Ginny's. He sighed in exhaustion, grabbed the pacifier hanging from his neck, and popped it into his mouth on reflex. The moment he realized what he had done, he yanked it out indignantly and threw it with all his might… which wasn't much.
"Taa!" he shouted angrily, as the pacifier landed only a short distance away.
Ginny watched and couldn't help smiling. He looked so adorable that she felt an overwhelming urge to pinch those flushed little cheeks full of anger. Harry, as if reading her thoughts, shot her a frosty glare for a second before turning his head away and crossing his tiny arms with dignity.
That only made Ginny find him even cuter.
Meanwhile, Harry was already plotting revenge in his mind against all the traitors who had left him at his mother's mercy. Daphne would be first, but none of them would be spared. Yet when he turned his gaze back to Wanda, he saw her radiant smile and the peaceful warmth in her eyes as she looked at him. His anger deflated with a sigh. Maybe… just maybe… revenge could wait.