Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

December 22, 1943

Thursday Morning

He didn't know how to respond to the woman, especially not when she'd said it so bluntly while making direct eye contact or at a time when it was just the two of them, alone, in a garden on her property.

Saying yes would probably create its own host of problems or conversations that weren't needed in the slightest - if he answered no, however, Sarah's mother could take offence considering how often Sarah apparently goes on about him.

Either way, he was in a winless situation and so, he stayed silent, his interest in the food on his plate now captivating him.

Lady Goldhorn kept her eyes on him in silence for nearly half a minute before she finally allowed out a mixture of laughing and giggling, his attention was immediately drawn towards her again when he heard it.

"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable, Harry, I couldn't avoid asking that question to a boy who's spent so much time with one of my lovely daughters - especially not when he's somebody that they speak so highly of and with a respectable family name to boot," Lady Goldhorn's tone was apologetic, but there were definitely tones of teasing still in it.

"No problem," He answered, inwardly shouting thanks that she hadn't been serious. "For what it's worth, Sarah's wicked even if I haven't said too much about her. She's really helped me out in adjusting to Hogwarts and the new times more than anyone else I can think of… Sammi's great too."

Harry nearly winced when he added in Sammi's name, realising immediately how unconvincing that likely sounded or the way it could come off as if he was trying to pull attention away from his prior words on Sarah. In a way, he was; the last thing he needed while attending Hogwarts was Sarah trying anything romantic towards him with the literal shadow of Elaine one step behind him in person while multiple steps in front of him regarding any other meaning.

He'd feel like absolute rubbish if the Goldhorn girl or any of her sisters were hurt because of him and it wasn't as if Elaine's dislike of the girl or her sisters was subtle based upon their previous meetings.

"All of my girls are good, even if they don't seem like they are," - Lady Goldhorn stood up from her chair, the meal only picked at on her end, and held an arm out for him to escort. - "My apologies for keeping this so short too, my oldest will be returning soon and I've found myself overloaded with work due to the absence of my husband. You have my permission to ask the kitchens for whatever you'd like, they're able to make it too, trust me."

Harry got up after the woman and looped his arm through hers, the pair immediately started moving in the direction of the main Goldhorn home.

"Thank you, L- Allie, the meal was great… The conversation was fun too, for the most part."

He hoped a touch of levity wouldn't come across as too familiar so soon, but he had a good feeling about the woman and her daughters in general like he could trust them to be themselves without the presence of masks that his housemates so usually had. Obviously, he knew he couldn't fully trust the Goldhorns, but short of the Potters or Weasleys (of whom their loyalties could be different in this era), the Goldhorns could be his best friends that weren't working alongside Elaine in some fashion.

"You have to realise Sana and Katie got their teasing nature from somewhere, no?" Lady Goldhorn laughed. "I'll see you at dinner and around the manor, but I find myself fondly looking forward to our official meeting when my son arrives - that's when we'll go a bit more in-depth with what you think and what we think. Don't get worried about it either, I'm sure with the words Sarah's said, you'll fit in just right with our little circle."

Harry smiled in response and continued his escorting of the woman until she was inside, disappearing down one of the various halls of the home that reminded him of Peverell Mansion with the ease somebody could get out of sight. Even with the older woman gone, he was left wondering how that conversation would go, why she'd bothered waiting for her son in the first place and what fitting in 'just right' would mean in a family that seemed to have an inherent dislike of certain groups of people.

His remaining time in the afternoon, as well as the early evening, was spent lounging around with various members of the Goldhorn family; he met a few new members of it too, a majority of whom were staying in other estates in Britain receiving home-schooling while their country was occupied or their homes destroyed. Truthfully and rather embarrassingly, he hadn't realised Greece had been taken over by Grindelwald in addition to a host of other countries, he supposed it made sense when they focused on the countries right across the channel, like the French or Belgian stories he'd read from the Prophet in regards to the crimes of Grindelwald.

Dumbledore needed to do something before more people died, but the man's appearance and the lack of action made Harry wonder if he was meant to give his former instructor a nudge - it hadn't occurred to him initially, but maybe Dumbledore had been guided by a time traveller such as him… no, no that was stupid.

Merlin, did Harry hate the being that'd left him here without any memories of their conversation or something that'd assist him in realising whatever its ambitions were when dropping him off in a time he'd not asked to be left in.

"… everell must be so cool! You'll have to show us you-"

"Althaia, what did I tell you about being overly pushy?"

Harry had zoned out when the girl, Althaia, had started talking nearly ten minutes ago without more than a seconds break for her to catch her breath - she looked just like Sarah if slightly younger with a better tan and more expressive eyes, the one big difference was her ability to speak almost infinitely across a range of topics that weren't related to one another in the slightest.

At least Sarah was with him at the Floo, she was supposed to be, this was her family he was meeting. Throwing him to the wolves was the last thing he'd forgive the girl for doing, especially because he'd never been gifted in conversations or first impressions!

Althaia put out her bottom lip after the scolding from her cousin and turned her attention fully to Harry.

"Sygn- Excuse me, Harry."

Sarah rolled her eyes and poked the girl in the side.

"First, good correction to English from Greek, I thought I'd have to tickle you again if you didn't correct yourself." - Sarah wiggled her fingers at the other girl in an objectively horrifying manner that Harry could only assume meant tickling despite the offensive manner it was done in - "Aside from that, we're all going to dinner in the next few minutes, so there's no need to go off on such a tangent when you'll have his time monopolised for the entire walk to the dining room as well as dinner itself if you grab the seat next to him."

Harry looked wide-eyed at his so-called 'friend', his look begging her that she not do him in as she appeared to be doing. However, Sarah wouldn't have any of his pleadings, she simply shrugged and winked at him while her cousin excitedly bounced around on her feet, saying what Harry could only assume meant 'thank you' in Greek for nearly a dozen times before the two girls forced him between them to start the walk towards the aforementioned room.

While it wasn't amazing being squashed between the two of them while his newest… acquaintance… bombarded him with the maximum number of questions she could squeeze in, the bloke in him would be lying if he said it was wholly unenjoyable on a more physical side of things; that wasn't to say he didn't learn from being with the two of them on the walk either.

He'd learned from Althaia that her school back in Greece predominantly used Classical Latin for a large portion of their spells instead of the Vulgar-like Latin that was used in most spells taught at Hogwarts. In addition to that, their culture, as a whole, seemed more welcoming to the other magical creatures like Werewolves or Goblins. Like the other members of her family though, Magical Greece seemed largely anti-muggle and if he'd heard correctly, the older families still kept to the old Greek gods and goddesses - he'd thought nobody prayed to them, but that shouldn't have been too surprising considering how much the magical world liked holding on to things from the past.

Before too much more time passed, the trio was outside the entrance to the dining room with Harry's head fully throbbing from the amount of information he'd received from Althaia. While it wasn't entirely helpful in learning about the Goldhorns specifically, it was helpful in the sense that he'd learned a great deal about Magical Greece as well as the culture of it.

He couldn't wrap his mind around people still praying to Athena or any of the others that he'd learned little about back in Muggle school, especially considering the family he'd spent so much time with, but he supposed other families still holding to Pagan ideas didn't make it too crazy. It was likely the Classical Latin that spells used would've thrown him for the biggest loop if he ever decided to visit Althaia's branch of the family; thankfully, he probably wouldn't.

"Talking with you is wonderful, Harry!" Althaia told him while Sarah was opening the doors leading into the room. "I admit I don't know much about your family considering the distance, but even in Greece, we know of your Tale of The Three Brothers! Do you think you could sho-"

"Althaia!" Sarah exclaimed loudly, likely drawing the attention of any room that wasn't filled with her family considering the excessive noise the Goldhorns put off while in conversation - they were so loud it was like being back in the Great Hall, only with thirty people inside instead of the hundreds.

"Oh, right, excuse me, Harry," Althaia went from confused, to having a look of recognition flash across her face, to apologetic all in the span of a few seconds; she still shadowed him though, refusing to move to any of the open seats until he did so the chance of joining him at the table wasn't lost.

Thoroughly confused by Althaia's closeness and knowing what they were talking about to some degree on account of the numerous times he'd heard his family's past brought up, Harry looked between the two girls, shrugged, then took the closest empty seat which conveniently had an opening on either side of him.

He'd been in Slytherin long enough to know occurrences like that were anything but random, he just wasn't sure why Althaia would be pushed on him more than any other guests considering the girl didn't seem inherently different from any of the others aside from her love of talking.

Food was already out on the table, the main courses and desserts from what it looked like, but Harry stayed patiently waiting while watching those around the various other tables eat; he wasn't sure if there was some sort of custom to adhere to in a formal setting with a majority of Sarah's family present, and evidently, by the stare he was getting from said girl as well as her cousin, he could probably assume there wasn't.

Still, manners were something he'd rather observe even if it made him look like a fool; better to be cautious and clueless rather than disrespectful.

"Take what you'd like dear, we'll not be eating too formally as other families tend to do so."

Neither Althaia nor Sarah was the one that finally spoke up, instructing him, it was another woman altogether that was seated a few seats to the left of him on the opposite side of the table. She looked like a Goldhorn too, that's to say she wasn't a wife of one of the men based on her similarities with the two girls he was seated between, the only difference from them was her somewhat sterner look with clothes that matched. Well, stern for a Goldhorn family member that was; he doubted anyone in the family had a mean bone in their body based upon what he'd seen from them thus far - even sitting at the table, eating with Sarah's direct family and the cousins that he'd met through her, he still couldn't believe the differences between them and the Carrows.

"Thank you, ma'am," Harry responded to the woman with a dip of his head and a small smile of his own.

"Phylia. Considering my daughter's been following you around since we've arrived I imagine we'll grow closer than titles or respectful terms, the earlier the better so I'd think."

The woman, Phylia, responded, looking between Harry and her daughter as she did.

Harry nodded with the woman who didn't register his motions as she went back to the conversation she'd previously been engrossed in with other family members. He could hear talks of an upcoming spring celebration concerning Demeter and Purse-phone or something of the like, but he didn't pay it that much attention considering the lack of any knowledge he held in relation to the Greek mythology as he'd heard it called.

"Hey, Sarah?" Harry asked, a question now striking him as he noticed the lack of Yule decorations that'd previously been up in the room.

"Yeah Harry?" Sarah answered.

"Where did all the Yule decorations go? I swear I remember there being a decent bit of them in the manor."

Harry finished speaking and looked at the girl, whose eyes darted to an older couple, one that looked even older than her grandparents he'd supped with the previous meal, before returning to him with a semi-nervous smile.

"We took them down for our visiting family, like Althaia." - Sarah nodded towards her cousin who was eating some weird nut-filled pastry with a glaze on it - "Most of our family, and by most I'd say around three-quarters of it, still live in Greece on the islands of Crete or Milos. My branch only moved to England a century or so ago, we're still pretty connected with the language and food too, some of our more private collections are in Classical Latin, like the language Althaia learns her magic from back home. Anyway, without me getting too distracted, we celebrate Yule and other holidays just as we would those of our heritage - our family isn't too fond of it though, so we take them down while they're visiting and then put up the whole collection once they've gone."

"Propapp- Double Grandfather wouldn't like it very much, he still wants Sarah and the others to return," Althaia spoke up, looking at the older man as Sarah's previously done.

"Great Grandfather," Sarah corrected with a smile. "And yes, we've been told to return so many times my parents don't bother responding to it anymore. It's not like there'd be much fun in returning anyhow, not with the current conflict the muggles are inflaming while the Dark Lord goes about doing what he does." - Sarah shook her head remorsefully then, her eyes downcast at the mention of Grindelwald and the blood on the man's hands - "If only peace could be found so the killing would stop, it's a truly terrible thing."

Harry nodded along with her, killing was a terrible thing, and he was happy he'd finally heard her condemn it after so many anti-muggle remarks from her family as well as the girl herself.

When he looked over to Althaia after Sarah's words, he saw the girl openly looking angry, very angry, and that was the only reaction to her cousin's words. She didn't say anything, she didn't attempt to do so, she just stared across the table with a slight incline towards Harry, looking angrily at the wall.

That solemn moment was contrasted with the arrival of Katie and another couple of people her age, one was a boy, the other a girl, both looked at him in open awe just as Althaia had first done and still did.

This was going to be a very long meal if more and more of the family that seemed so very interested in him sat close enough for conversation… at least he had Sarah beside him and Sammi only a half-dozen seats away, they'd help him, he hoped.

His meal with the Goldhorns had gone better than he thought it would, especially when the seating moved around after roughly thirty minutes in such a coordinated fashion that he knew it wasn't a fluke. Their lack of bumping or arguments was impressive, especially considering the still boisterous energy even the adults were bringing to different interactions - it was that slightly older crowd that he next sat with this time, with Sarah and Althaia still staying near him while the others his age had all moved on to sitting with the grandparents or those near that generational age.

He understood why Sarah stayed alongside him for the evening's festivities; she guided him along to the various seats he'd been assigned and did the same with conversations, ensuring the topics didn't involve anything overly political, the differences of Yule versus the Greek Pantheon they followed (he'd learned from her quietly that Mythology wasn't exactly a term they happily heard) or anything of the sort. While that was beneficial to ensure there wasn't any sort of arguments, not that he'd start one, it was annoying in the sense that he felt like every conversation was being held back to some degree; his family was brought up, only partially due to the restraints, by every single person he spoke with, as was a certain tale that he'd still yet to hear considering the quickness it'd get silenced.

Harry didn't know if it was something taboo or a particularly dark moment for his house, nor would he get the chance to with Althaia spouting off things in Greek towards those who didn't speak English or Sarah doing the same in English to those who spoke it well enough.

Either way, his conversations with those that were either the parents of Althaia or the newest generation of Goldhorns had been nearly as excitable as the ones he'd held with people his own age, if only slightly less loud. As for the topics of them, nothing was overly important considering he'd learned the Greek heritage of Sarah's family well enough by now as well as the somewhat strong anti-muggle stance they held. In regards to that latter thing, it was only visible through off-handed remarks or casual motions they'd make when muggles were mentioned - an eye roll here, a shrug there; their stances were seen easily enough and without a second thought on their behalf.

Once he'd finished with the crowd that was filled with those of Sarah's parents' age or close enough to, there wasn't another seating switch for him to speak with the grandparents or great grandparents of the family. Instead, the meal was deemed over with the oldest members leaving first for their rooms while the younger generations went about exiting other doors, ones that led to adjoined spaces filled with alcohol, smoked meats, cheeses and other snacks foods people might want in the early morning hours.

Sarah directed him away from such festivities though, the girl taking him - Althaia, Sammi and a boy named Dorian too - back to the tower where he resided, only simple conversations happening in the process as the group walked onwards at a lavish pace.

Once they arrived after a suitably long time and Harry had gotten to know Dorian a bit better; the boy being a slightly older cousin to Sarah and her sisters that lived on the island of Milos that'd come up earlier, he bid him goodbye in tandem with the other two girls. Sammi was more smiley and outgoing than usual, her face partially flushed with a slight stagger to her steps he'd failed to notice beforehand on account of her walking behind him. Althaia on the other hand seemed as witty and inquisitive since the time he'd met her, it wasn't a shock to him that she seemed reluctant to leave his company for the evening, nor was it all that surprising how quickly she offered to 'break their fasts' together.

Hearing her say that had put a smile on his face considering he'd only heard it in books set in older times, that smile however was misconstrued as affirmative action, and thus, he'd found himself entangled in breakfast with the girl as well as her siblings; Sarah was naturally included as she'd essentially become his translator and 'protector' in one.

Finally, with everyone gone but Sarah, he allowed himself the chance to fully relax. No longer did he need to answer various questions, constantly keep a friendly look on his face as her family did, or do his best in keeping up with three to four conversations within a group of roughly ten or so people - Sarah had been fully wrong in her earlier estimate of only thirty or so being in attendance too, it felt like the number of Goldhorns he'd spoken with was nearly double that amount, with a dozen or so more in attendance that he'd not gotten the chance to interact with at all.

Her family was without a doubt the largest he'd met.

"Crazy day, wasn't it Harry?" Sarah asked with a sigh as she lounged in one of the chaises' tucked away in a cubby towards the entrance of his accommodations.

Harry took in how she stretched out, rolled her neck around and yawned without the slightest care of propriety that she'd observed earlier. In response to seeing her carefree attitude, he did the same when he sat down at the end of the long piece of furniture, fully reclining in it while tilting his head to look at the girl.

"Yeah," he said. "I didn't think your family would be that large… or that energetic. Completely different from the Carrows, that's for sure."

"Oh?" Sarah asked with a teasing tone, propping herself up on her elbows as she swung her now bared feet in his lap. "I've not got to visit them before, I hope it's a good type of different."

It is, Harry nearly said without thinking, but he caught himself right in the nick of time. Saying that probably wouldn't be harmful, not with Sarah, he just didn't want his words being taken out of context or something of the sort. Corene's family had been welcoming enough, the distance they held him at as well as the typically stoic demeanours they had were charming in their own way, just as the French accents most of the family had was.

"You're both grand, really. Hearing and seeing the differences from my own family or the others I've heard stories of was something I'd looked forward to, it didn't disappoint."

He hoped that was diplomatic enough, especially since he wasn't really lying when he said it.

"I'll take that, I suppose," Sarah grumbled. "It would've been nice hearing we're better than those French tarts, obviously, but I'll settle for a draw with them - at least we didn't lose to someone like Canyon or Indigo."

Harry nearly asked what she meant, and in regards to the first name of whom he'd only heard mentioned once before, who she meant, but he stopped himself short, not wanting to be distracted from what he'd ask next.

"Why didn't we have the chance to speak with your grandparents or great grandparents?"

Sarah shrugged lazily from her seat.

"That's how meals usually go. If we - that meaning my siblings or cousins in and around our age group, want to meet with them, we'll do so by visiting them in the morning or afternoon rather than at dinner time. Don't ask me why that's the way it is either, it's been like that since I was old enough to care; I suppose they'd rather have the calmer members of the family joining them for conversations."

Harry nearly snorted when she called her parents and those between their ages 'calmer' than herself or the others of Hogwarts age. Not out of any disrespect mind you, it was more the descriptive word she'd gone with that nearly had him in a fit - 'calm' and the Goldhorn family didn't belong in a sentence together, not even remotely.

"Uh-huh," he finally responded. "What'll tomorrow be like then? Will it be more formal than the meal today? Or less?"

Sarah looked at him, wiggled her feet in his lap, looked at him again, then coughed.

Her message was pretty plain, the question was, did he give the girl what she wanted. Moreover, was that something friends did? He'd not done it for anyone during his time, nor had they asked… then again, Sarah was unique in a similar manner to Luna, that being they both didn't seem to care all that much what others thought, or for the societal norms.

He relented with a mock eye-roll and exaggerated sigh, running one finger along the length of the girl's foot lightly to tickle her before he started; the giggle and jolt in his lap were close enough to what he'd wanted as a reaction.

"Ahh, that's perfect Harry, thank you," Sarah sighed and further melted into the chaise they were seated on. "You've no idea how annoying heels can be, especially ones that are a bit too small for your feet but you're too lazy to get new ones. Anyways, my problems aside, tomorrow will be nearly the same only with my brother in attendance - I say 'nearly' since there's no telling with my family, we're not like most other purebloods in that reg- ah -ard."

Harry must've been doing a pretty bang on job if she'd let out a little groan of satisfaction in her final word, it filled him with an odd sense of pride that he'd found another thing he was good at, even if it was giving foot rubs in a greek-styled home in the early hours of the morning. If only that talent could've been transferred to something beneficial though, as he very much doubted he could stop Elaine with a masterful massage… not one focused on her feet at least, she'd likely figure out some way to make it far more intimate considering her previous aggressive tendencies.

Seeing Sarah staring at him, likely waiting for a response, he chose to nod. There weren't any more words he could add, nor was there anything else crucial that he wanted to extend the conversation with; Merlin, he was so tired that he felt like the only thing keeping him awake was the massage he was giving. Thinking of that being the driving force behind his conscious state was odd, thankfully, he needn't think about Sarah's feet any longer once somebody deigned to join them in the corridor with none too friendly a greeting.

"Drop your hands from her before they're removed."

Sarah squeaked in shock and swung her feet back until she was sitting straight up, Harry's reaction was to instantly do as he was bid at the sound of the deep, masculine voice - the powerful Lumos spell coming from a wand a few meters away was a contributing factor to the quickness in which he'd listened too.

"I w-"

"Desmon!"

Harry wasn't given the chance to complete his sentence when Sarah interrupted him, flinging herself off the piece of furniture the both of them had been seated on in favour of enveloping the much larger man in a hug so tight he could see the man trying to pry her off. Once he'd seen how quick Sarah was to show affection with the new arrival, Harry registered the name she'd called out before launching herself at the man; Desmon.

Her older brother, the next head of her family and the one who'd apparently been fairly eager to meet him had finally arrived.

Hoping to greet the man respectfully, Harry was halfway through a bow when Desmon spoke to him after having succeeded in pulling his younger sister off.

"No need to be so nervous, I've been watching the two of you interact since you started rubbing her feet." - Desmon glanced at his younger sister with a vaguely disapproving look on his face, one that was shared with Harry a few seconds later - "I'd say the two of you were pretty lucky it was me that found you; our mum wouldn't have minded all that much, but our other relatives, especially our grandparents?" Desmon sighed and shook his head, "That wouldn't have been too good for you, Peverell."

Sarah rolled her eyes and flicked her older brother on the chest, motioning with her head to Harry to enter his tower.

"We'll join you in the morning, before your 'breaking of the fast' with Althaia and her siblings - goodnight Harry!"

Harry smiled tiredly while looking at Sarah, his look shifting to one of respect when he looked at Desmon standing beside her.

"Goodnight Sarah, have a good evening Mister Goldhorn."

He hoped his usage of 'Mister' as the other boy had used for him wasn't too presumptuous or otherwise disrespectful, but considering where he was and whose family Desmon belonged to at the end of the day, he wasn't overly worried even if it were.

"I'll see you in the morning," Desmon responded, already turning to walk down the dimly lit corridor with his sister animatedly waving her hands about.

No sooner than the door to his tower shut behind him did Harry sigh and lean against it; Sarah's older brother seemed… different.

December 23, 1943

Friday Morning

Just as he'd done before, Harry found himself waking up on one of the balcony chaises, the breeze and chirping from the birds being the catalyst for his rising more than any sort of alarm that he'd forgotten to set before sleep. Thankfully (or not so much depending on the view he took) the birds were early risers, and as such, so was he.

He swung his feet off the comfortable fabric, went inside, took a shower, dressed in some halfway-decent clothes and then, finally, exited the tower - unsurprisingly upon his exit, he had four people waiting for him, none of which were Althaia or someone from her branch of the family.

"You're earlier than I thought you'd be," Sana all but sneered at him, immediately knocking him for a loop considering the previous terms he thought they'd settled on.

"Don't mind her, Sana's never been one for the morning," Sammi clarified before taking up a spot beside him. "Good morning too."

Harry smiled at Sammi and returned her greeting before extending one of his own towards the other two Goldhorns; Sarah and Desmon.

"I hope you slept well, you'll be needing your rest if you'll not be sleeping at the dinner table!"

"We meet again, Peverell. Join us for a stroll to the vineyard will you?"

Sarah had responded first, followed by Desmon - it was the latter's statement that finally had him doubling down on his earlier thoughts that, wherever they currently were, wasn't in Britain or nearby. His best guess was somewhere in France or Italy, but maybe with them being from Greece originally, it was something similarly Mediterranean… frankly, he didn't have a clue. He wasn't particularly fond of asking either, he'd rather not look stupid, especially not with Desmon finally here after two days without him.

Merlin, he should've asked Sarah previously.

"Yeah, that sounds like it'd be interesting," Harry finally answered, falling in line between Desmon and Sarah with the other two going ahead when they started directing him through one of the nearby exits.

"You've never seen one before, right?" Sarah asked.

"What?" Harry questioned in return, his brows furrowed and his hands coming up to rub at the remnants of sleep that'd somehow escaped his earlier purging of it.

Sarah looked at him peculiarly, laughing lightly before gesturing down a path.

"A Vineyard silly. We didn't go on the walk the other day, we hadn't even given this as an option since we didn't think it'd be all that fun for you, but I guess neither of us thought you'd never seen something like it before considering we see it so often when we come here."

That settled it for Harry; they weren't in Britain anymore. He knew the weather had been too nice, the breeze too different and the birds too pleasant!

"Yeah, I've never seen one before, though I guess that goes for a lot of things considering how different everything is since the last time anyone from my family had seen it."

His response wasn't exactly a lie considering most things were different from the time he'd come from.

There was a war on the continent, Pureblood houses that he'd never heard of before, ancestors of people that were never mentioned in earshot, shops in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley both that weren't around; there were so many differences that he wasn't even sure this was even fifty-per cent of the era he'd come from. It felt like an alternate reality so far detached from his own that any information he'd remembered in a historical sense may very well be wrong partially so if not altogether.

"We'll have to take you with us for every holiday then, you'd truly get to see some wonderful sights! Our family has this huge estate tucked away on the bottom bit of Cyprus, we have another on Crete with a lot of our relatives, one in Sicily that we barely visit and then one near Gibraltar - that one has some weird artefact our dad loves going on about too, I think it's a vase with a marking 'IX Hispana' or something close enough," Sarah rambled on and on, energetically waving her hands around until Desmon finally cut her off.

"Don't tell dad you've mentioned the vase, you know he likes being the one to bring it up as a conversation piece," Desmon turned his attention to Harry. "We're nearly at the vineyard too, once we're there, you'll be able to have your fill of the freshest wine you'll ever taste."

Harry wasn't overly fond of alcohol, but with that sort of endorsement and the trouble they'd gone through in bringing him over to it, he wouldn't decline a glass or two.

What followed their arrival to the vineyard was a long tour of the grounds led by a few of the workers the Goldhorns employed; all of them were squibs or half-breeds so far as he could tell, not a Muggle among them despite the openness with which everything was done. As soon as the tour that'd been held for his sake was finished, wine was brought out in huge pitchers with glasses already being out on a table overlooking the rolling hills and jagged mountains nearby; they'd put up an umbrella for them to shelter under too, the hot sun bearing down on the pale Goldhorn girls would've made for trouble otherwise.

During the whole journey, drinking and a majority of the conversations, Harry took notice that Desmon's eyes seldom strayed from him… again, he felt like the boy was different from his siblings. Harry only hoped it wasn't a bad sort of difference.

Time had passed far faster on his third day with the Goldhorns, so much so that he found himself once more supping with them, only this would be the final time he'd be doing so. At least for a fairly long time when considering how far off the next break was; there was also the minor fact that his future visits depended entirely on how the conversation he'd be having with Desmon as well as Lady Goldhorn went.

He'd dressed in the best set of clothing he'd brought, put on rings he'd found that matched his choice of apparel - ones that he'd checked for any signs of magic prior to donning them thanks to the spellbook Yaxley had given him - and styled his hair to the best of his abilities in a similar fashion as to how he'd seen other 'respectable' boys his age wearing it in Hogwarts.

When he stopped to look at himself in a mirror before descending the huge staircase, his reflection was that of a total git… which meant he absolutely nailed the look he was going for.

As soon as he made his exit from the tower, he was greeted by Sarah and her cousin, Althaia. He'd seen the latter girl earlier in the day on account of having breakfast with her, the former was who often acted the part of a guide or more likely, a supervisor; Althaia's family was very much like Sarah's too, possibly louder if such a thing was possible.

"Look who dressed up for dinner, cousin," Sarah remarked, circling Harry with a wide smile on her face. "Were you saving your maximum effort for your last meal with us, or is this for the last of my family that arrived?"

Althaia had made her way right beside him as soon as Sarah had commented on his style, but with the lattermost remark Sarah made, her face went sour.

"He welcomes me to your home alongside you, spends so much time with me during the meal and yet, I've already been discarded for our little Artemis." - Althaia raised a hand to her head and fell into Sarah, the latter girl having to physically hold her cousin up - "This must be how it feels to be tossed aside as you hear so often in tales."

"Hey! You nearly pulled my dress completely off you brat, these things are annoying enough without having to support all your weight!" Sarah got out between laughs, her grip on Althaia loosening while the girl continued playing dead, her eyes still staying on Harry.

"Betrayed by my own cousin, she calls me fa-"

Harry finally had enough and held out a hand which Althaia grasped without an ounce of hesitation, ending her speech with the same quickness.

"Little Artemis? I don't remember any of your other cousins being named that," Harry directed his statement towards Sarah, though his hand was still being tightly grasped by Althaia. "I dressed this way for your mum and brother too. Can't be looking anything less than my best when we have our only serious discussion, now can I?"

Sarah's smile and shrug weren't much of an answer, the way her eyes pointedly settled on his hand which was still connected to Althaia's was something far more clear; he could practically hear Sarah saying 'drop it' as if he were a dog.

He did so too, once he made sure Althaia wasn't putting all her weight on him.

"Little Artemis is Caleope, her family was the last to arrive - she was my height, one of the few blondes in our family and has a deep fascination with hunting, hence her nickname."

Sarah answered his question and no sooner than the last word had exited her mouth did she direct Harry to follow her, Althaia tagged along on his opposite side.

"So…" Harry said, switching his attention between the girls.

"You're going to ask about our clothing, aren't you?" Sarah answered with a knowing look up at him.

"Yeah. I thought you said there wouldn't be much of a difference from yesterday, yet you're both wearing… that," Harry wasn't sure what the word was to describe the archaic-looking clothing even to wizarding-style, so he settled with a pointed look at their outfits as he said his final word.

"It's a Peplos, we wear them a few times a year for celebrations or feasts," Althaia answered. "Today is the only day the whole family will be together, so we have chosen today to celebrate with a huge feast while wearing the clothing our ancestors would have worn as far back as our history books go - they look great, no?"

Althaia stopped walking and twirled for him, the loose-fitting fabric going all over the place while granting him a relatively unfiltered look at her; Sarah's hand on his head yanked his attention back to looking forward while she said something speedily in Greek to her cousin, the girl stopping her spinning to look weirdly at Sarah before shrugging and returning to his side.

"That's enough of that, let's make haste to the dining room now."

Harry agreed with Sarah, the blush on his face did too.

All of the Goldhorns but a half dozen were dressed just like Althaia and Sarah. Both girls' branches of the family at large were unified with their classical dressing, and from what he knew of the other portions of House Goldhorn, they were all in unity one way or the other. Even the half dozen that were dressed normally as he was were all from the same family, and if he remembered correctly, they were the only portion that'd moved to the United States a few decades ago.

Based on the awkwardness with which they were interacting with their family, they felt just as uncomfortable as he did; once the feast kicked off though, all of that was gone, that branch being just as loud in their speaking as the others were.

There wasn't any switching this mealtime, there also wasn't any sitting for it - everyone moved around the larger-than-he-remembered room openly, their plates trailing after them in the air or held by servants right alongside their drinks.

Harry himself had been approached by nearly three dozen of Sarah's family members, with conversations being as random as one would expect with the company he was in. For the first time he could remember too, he was thankful he didn't speak every language in the world despite having wanted to before… it was easier not speaking with two-thirds of Sarah's family, the portions who only knew Greek and Italian rather than English.

As the hours went on and the conversations got gradually louder as well as looser, Harry found it easier manoeuvring around the room, listening in on the few conversations he could in the process. Nothing particularly interesting came up, it was local politics or the ongoing conflict mostly, with the occasional anti-muggle statement thrown in about how they so rapidly expanded into the land that'd been magical for centuries if not millennia.

Before he could figure out a way to join that particular conversation, he was pulled aside by those who'd promised to speak with him that very evening; Lady Goldhorn and her son, Desmon.

Lady Goldhorn smiled at him, looped her arm through his and escorted him out the door without any words spoken to him or anyone else - her son had already made his exit, evidently, as the man was already in the nearly-silent room when Lady Goldhorn pushed open the doors.

"Ah, here he is. I take it we're fine to start then mum?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at the way Desmon still called his mother 'mum', even in such a formal, potentially political setting as they were currently in.

"Yes," Lady Goldhorn returned simply.

"Wonderful," Desmon turned to Harry from his seat, motioned with his head towards the one opposite of him and started speaking. "I already know about the previous conversation in regards to Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn, I was hoping we could go over a couple of other things, or three really, so long as you've not drunk too much tonight - if you have, all the better for us I suppose!"

Desmon spoke with energy and a certain charm to him, his last sentence was said lightly, though Harry knew the man across from him likely meant exactly what he said.

"I've not had much in the way of alcohol tonight," Harry said, earning a laugh from Desmon.

"Good man," - Desmon clapped his hands together and leaned forward, his mother finally seating herself beside him - "Let's get to it then; we're putting forth a resolution on the Wizengamot in a few months time, it takes very long you see, and once we do so, we'd like your support."

Harry looked between the two confusedly.

"I'm not on the Wizengamot."

"Please, you're as good as - there's been a push for it by the Minister's main advisor himself," Lady Goldhorn waved away his point with a near frown, her face morphing more serious than he'd previously seen it be.

"Suppose I'm on it in time for the resolution… what is it?" Harry wouldn't be offering a blank check to the Goldhorns despite all the kindness they'd shown him; he was aware enough to realise how strong such things were.

"Something that'll ensure our strict neutrality so British magicals don't go dying abroad. There's been too big a push to aid those on the continent and while we feel deeply saddened by the losses they've taken, we're better to avoid turning the sights of Grindelwald on our people… wouldn't you agree with that? Especially considering the man's never been so much as seriously injured by any amount of competition thrown at him?" Desmon leaned further forward when he finished with his questions.

Harry, not wanting to argue, figured he'd go about it as diplomatically as he could while also squeaking something else in, something that's been bugging him for a while based on the various offhanded remarks they'd made.

"I'll think about it… are you quite certain Britain couldn't beat him and his forces though? I've heard Professor Dumbledore is filled with talent."

"Dumbledore wouldn't be a match for Grindelwald, even if he's heralded as an honorary descendent of Merlin - do think about it carefully, Harry, maybe we could discuss this at further length the next time you're visiting my baby sister if you could spare the time," Desmon said it teasingly in the same way Sana would've, the man keeping the tones light despite the words being shared. "We'll move on to the other serious matter at hand; privacy. House Goldhorn has many friends and few enemies, nonetheless, we'd like to ensure your discretion while you were here… we trust from the closeness you share with so many of our family members that this won't be an issue?"

Now that was something Harry could agree with.

"It won't be. Sarah and Sammi have always been great to me, Kathy too. After knowing you all and spending the three days here that I have, it's not very surprising how nice they were to me - you're all incredibly kind."

Lady Goldhorn smiled at his words, her previous look of seriousness melting away to openly show the pride she felt at his words - Desmon didn't look quite as warmed by them, but the nodding from the man was enough for Harry to know he'd done well.

"Splendid. Suppose there's one last thing, isn't there mum?" Desmon said, glancing over his shoulder to Lady Goldhorn.

"That there is," - Lady Goldhorn stood up from her seat and indicated for Harry to do the same, once he did, she pulled one of his hands up with both of hers, encasing it - "Please keep an eye out for my girls while they attend Hogwarts. I've been made privy to certain individuals that are less than savoury, and as all mothers would, I worry for my children with such menaces in attendance - our assistance will be yours so long as they're safe."

Harry politely declined the offer of assistance, and seeing the looks on their faces drop, he amended what he meant.

"You don't need to do anything for me in return, as I said, your family's been great to me, so I'll do the same."

That earned a smile from them both, and Harry figured that would be the perfect end to his time at the Goldhorns.