The next day, Aaric woke up to the sensation of weight pressing against both his sides.
Fleur and Daphne were fast asleep, their bare bodies clinging to him as if he were their lifeline. He looked ahead to find Luna staring back at him.
She wore a soft smile as she lay on top of him. Her hair fell in waves that curtained them both from the rest of the room while her skin pressed warmly against his chest.
A mischievous glint entered her eyes as she moved toward him. She leaned down and gently nibbled on his ear.
"It is a Sunday. We have a lot of time on our hands. Let us use it productively," she whispered to him.
Aaric certainly was not going to say no to that.
| Two hours later |
Aaric finally exited his room. He left the three girls resting under the sheets as he had some matters to attend to. He had set things in motion with the file he had given to Sirius and the letter he had helped deliver.
He smiled at Chaya as the little snake poked her head out from his collar. In a blink, he teleported to the front step of Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
He did not have to wait long after knocking. The door creaked open to reveal Dobby, who smiled excitedly the moment he saw who it was.
"Mr. Hawthorne," Dobby greeted him politely. The elf gestured for Aaric to enter.
"How have you been, Dobby? Nice clothes you have there," Aaric commented as he entered the house with a nod.
"Dobby has been fine, sir. No, no silly mistakes," Dobby started.
The elf immediately began chiding himself for referring to himself in the third person. Nibbin had been training him to speak properly, and old habits were clearly hard to break.
"You will learn, Dobby. Do not worry," Aaric assured him with a chuckle. "Can you bring Mr. Black?" He asked the question once the elf had relaxed a little.
"Right away," Dobby nodded.
He popped away instantly. Suddenly, a feminine shriek echoed from the room above. The voice of Sirius followed it a moment later.
"Dobby! How many times have I told you not to enter my room like this?" Sirius asked.
He was not shouting. He just sounded annoyed and spoke in a chiding manner. Aaric chuckled and sat on the sofa to wait.
A few moments later, he sensed Dobby and Sirius moving down the stairs. He shook his head with amusement when he heard the conversation.
Sirius was currently forbidding Dobby from punishing himself for his mistake.
Sirius looked exasperated as they entered the room. He nodded to Aaric before turning back to Dobby, who looked very disappointed with himself.
"Dobby, Caroline does not hate you now. She is not used to house elves as she is a muggle. Make some tea, go to the front of my room, knock on the door, and politely give her a cup. Then you may leave. Do this if you want to improve your impression," Sirius explained gently and clearly.
The drooping ears of the elf shot up again. Dobby straightened his back, gave a sharp salute, and left the room in a hurry. Sirius shook his head with a chuckle before reaching his hand out to shake hands with Aaric.
"Caroline, eh?" Aaric asked.
He smirked at the man. Sirius nodded with a grin of his own.
"She works at a coffee store down the road," he said with a shrug.
He took a seat in the armchair opposite Aaric.
"I assume you are here for an update regarding the Ministry matter?" Sirius asked.
Aaric nodded in confirmation.
"Well, Amelia has been investigating the clues we provided her with and oh boy!" Sirius paused. He shook his head with wide eyes.
"Let me guess. She ran out of fingers while counting the skeletons," Aaric said with a raised eyebrow.
Sirius glanced to the side and noticed Dobby running back up the stairs to his room with a tray in his hands.
"That is the least of it," Sirius said with thinned lips.
"When is she thinking of holding the trials?" Aaric asked.
"She would have started by now if I had not stopped her. I suggested she collect all the evidence she can so they cannot weasel their way out with things like the Imperius defense shit they pulled the last time," Sirius said.
"She agreed but she wants the trial for Umbridge to be as soon as possible," he added with a hand on his chin.
"Tell her to collect the evidence and make a comprehensive case file. Before she makes a move, have her send copies to my Dad, as well as the Heads of House for Greengrass, Longbottom, Ogden, and Marchbanks," Aaric instructed.
Sirius thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. He needed no introduction regarding Simon and Ignatius while he was familiar with Ogden and Marchbanks' reputations.
"Also, Xenophilius Lovegood. A Quibbler article would not hurt," Aaric added as he remembered Luna's dad.
"You still have not told me how you got that file and placed it on the desk of Amelia," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.
"I am sure you have your guesses," Aaric said with a casual shrug.
He let Sirius come to his own conclusions. Sirius knew of the Nightshade Island and had glimpsed a little bit of the true power the Hawthorne family held.
He even visited the island occasionally to be trained by Thimrill. He assumed Thimrill and Aaric had worked together to compile the file and perhaps asked a phoenix to help with the delivery.
"Oh! I will show you something," Sirius said with a grin.
He went over to his study and returned with a bundle of heavy wolf fur in his hands. The fur was of exotic quality. It was mostly black with striking red streaks running through it.
"You killed one of those wolves, huh?" Aaric muttered.
He recognized the fur immediately. It belonged to the wolves native to the dark island.
"Yep. Thimrill had me fight one during our last training session. Let me tell you, that was a hard fight," Sirius said.
He wore a proud smile as he remembered the battle. Aaric nodded in approval. He was genuinely impressed. It was no easy feat for a normal wizard to kill one of those beasts.
The fact that Sirius was able to defeat one meant he had ascended to the upper echelons of wizards in terms of combat skill.
"The bloody things spat fire at me. What kind of a wolf does that?" Sirius mentioned.
He was still recounting his experience when they were interrupted by the sight of a blonde woman walking down the stairs from the room of Sirius.
"Caroline. Sorry I had to leave you like that. I have an important guest. This is Aaric Hawthorne, Simon's son," Sirius said.
He introduced Aaric quickly. Since Sirius and Simon were good friends, it seemed he had already told Caroline about the Hawthorne family and introduced her to Simon at some point.
"It is nice to meet you, Miss Caroline," Aaric greeted her politely.
"Nice to meet you as well, dear. Sirius has told me a lot about you," Caroline said.
She smiled at him kindly before her attention was taken by the exotic fur on the table.
She gave Sirius an exasperated look. The man had been showing off that pelt and telling the story of how he obtained it to anyone who would listen.
"He was not wearing your ears thin with that wolf story, was he?" she asked Aaric.
She gave Sirius a side eye. The man placed a hand on his chest in mock hurt.
"For the past half an hour," Aaric said with a mock sigh. "I was about to run away if you had not arrived at the right time."
Sirius dramatically fell back onto the sofa.
"Yes, the mistake was all mine for trying to ask Aaric here if he could help me turn this fur into a magnificent coat for someone special," Sirius said.
He looked away from Caroline as if he were still angry at her. Caroline seemed touched by the sentiment. She looked hesitant as she eyed the pelt.
The fur in front of her was of incredible quality. A coat made of such material would easily cost four or five thousand pounds in the muggle world.
"You don't have t..." Caroline started with a shake of her head.
"I will see what I can do," Aaric interrupted her.
He placed the massive bundle of fur into the bottomless pouch on his belt. Caroline watched the heavy pelt of a large wolf vanish into the small pouch and sighed at the absurdity of magic.
She envied the wizards for their abilities, even though Sirius had been giving her plenty of magical items she could use. When Sirius saw her reaction, he made a mental note to get her a bottomless pouch of her own.
Sirius gently led Caroline to sit beside him and they chatted for a bit longer before she had to leave for work.
"Thanks for that, Aaric," Sirius said. He placed his hands on Aaric's shoulder after Caroline had left.
Aaric just waved the thanks away. He left the house and teleported directly to the goblin tribe on Nightshade Island.
He had a request for the goblins regarding the construction of a fur coat for Caroline. As he thought of the people in his life, he decided to expand the order.
He provided the goblins with more furs, bones, and parts from exotic magical creatures.
He even included some of the bones from Apophis and Typhon to have several more high-grade cloaks and accessories made for his family.