Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

Monday Afternoon

"Bit mental isn't it?" Aster asked the group, looking at everyone but Harry. "Here the lot of us are, in Peverell's home, eating snacks and drinking wine as if we're not in a home older than our families… cheers!"

"What a way with words - here's to us!" Reinhard toasted his glass after he made a follow-up remark.

Sarah laughed at the two boys' words and took a small drink of her glass too while Corene shook her head with a glance towards Harry. She wasn't overly impressed, that was easy to see; Corene is the polar opposite of the other three, it made him wonder if he should've invited one of her cousins along with her to set her more at ease.

Then again, that would've been another elf having to watch over a guest instead of taking care of their task at the manor. As tempting as it was to give them time off, he knew they hated not having work assigned to them… he had his hands full telling them to rest when they were finished with their daily tasks!

"Don't drain the bottle before the arrival of our lunch, Aster. You above all should know the importance of having matching drinks to the courses provided," Corene's comment took Harry by surprise as much as it seemed to do the same to Aster.

"That was only one time!" Aster responded, rolling his eyes and nudging Reinhard. "Tell her mate, I only did that once!"

Reinhard looked between Aster and Corene a half-dozen times or more until finally, he begrudgingly sided with the latter.

"I remember four times… there was your birthday, or rather, two of your birthday's, then the Yule Celebration two years back and then the annual get together in recent times - you know, the one we all have to go to until we're married with a child on the way."

Sarah wrinkled her nose.

"Your parents still make you go to that? My family only did it for all of three years before they changed their mind."

"Yes, all old wizarding families in Britain go to it," Corene answered, "Others would often attend from across the channel too, I doubt they will any longer, lest they attract attention or ire from the current rampaging Dark Lord."

"Oh right, he's still about, isn't he?" Sarah looked perplexed when she asked her question, but just as quickly as those emotions arrived they were gone when her eyes lit up in sync with multiple popping sounds. "Food!"

"Merlin Pev, how much did you order for us? Looks like you could feed two doz- you had three platters of Treacle Tart made? I knew coming here was the best idea I've ever had!" Aster was practically wiggling in his seat with anticipation while the bigger boy beside him, Reinhard, was staring down the tray filled with sliced pork.

Harry couldn't for the life of him take credit for the menu or amount of food, he couldn't even tell them where it came from should they ask; really, all he did was give vague 'orders' to the elves! Without them, Laddey especially, Harry knew he'd be lost worse in the place he was meant to call home than he'd been when he first attended Hogwarts under the different atmosphere. Quickly, he shut down that train of thought, as it'd only end up making him worry about Elaine's conversation… the chills he felt from her knowing where he'd been were ever-present.

"Wouldn't that be Harry's idea, Aster?" Sarah questioned teasingly, the girl sticking her tongue out at the Rosier boy who only blew her off as his wiggling worsened thanks to the elves setting the trays closer to the girls than the two boys at the furthest end.

Now that Harry could take responsibility for - he'd told the elves to make sure his two male friends were given enough that they'd not have to move, as the both of them were never idle in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. When he asked why the two always seemed so mobile, Reinhard had responded for both of them 'there's far too many dishes to eat for them all to be placed in front of us, Pev, now hurry up mate'.

Aster's impatience, which had been getting worse with the food placement, was finally relieved when a stacked formation of plates with supports were placed directly in front of him; it had dish after dish of food without the need for the boy to stand, it had to b-

"Harry?" Aster asked abruptly, his gaze, or what little Harry could see of it from between the gaps of the elaborate plate setup, was one that looked half-mad and half-serious.

Cautiously, Harry asked Aster what it was he needed.

Aster's answer? Well, it was something Harry never expected to ever hear so long as he lived.

"Marry my sister?"

Following Aster's moments of madness, one the boy apologised to the group for considering Reinhard's mouthful of food falling into his lap, Sarah's near spewing of her drink across the table and Corene's slightly faster level of blinking, they all separated to visit their quarters and tuck away the few things they'd brought on their person.

Harry hadn't known all that much about customs from Purebloods, but based on all four doing it after the meal, he assumed it was their way of freshening up. It worried him slightly, all four of them being out from his vision and fully entrusted to the elves in ensuring they didn't get going anywhere they weren't supposed to be… but then Harry shrugged, the elves seemed to be all-knowing and all-seeing, so if there was one group of people he trusted most across his life, it was them.

Dobby had been truly remarkable, Laddey wasn't too far off from that mark either.

"Master Peverell sir?"

Harry wasn't thinking when he responded, too deep in his thoughts and slightly buzzed from the three glasses of wine he'd drank during the afternoon lunch with his friends.

"Yeah, Dobby?"

In a moment of déja vous that brought Harry back to the first week of his time in this alternate past, Laddey answered.

"Who is Dobby? I's Laddey sir, remember?" Laddey's head was cocked in a weirdly human way, his ears were lowered to his head too with his large, expressive eyes staring weirdly at Harry. "Is the Master Peverell sir okay?"

Harry nodded his head a few times, "Yeah… Yeah, I'm alright Laddey, sorry for worrying you - what was it you needed? I don't think I called you?"

Laddey shook his head from side to side, signifying that Harry hadn't called him.

"One of Master Peverell's friends wants the Master Peverell to come to them to speak, they be telling Laddey it's important!"

Harry nearly sighed, but he stopped himself short when he realised the elf could misconstrue it.

"Which of my friends was it? Why didn't the elf assigned to them come to me?"

"Because that would leave the Master's friends alone, without the supervision he requested," Laddey's response surprised Harry, he hadn't thought of it like that. He wondered if the person who called for him had; that was assuming they knew they were being watched too… Harry figured he knew who it was now, but he let Laddey continue. "It was the Carrows, sir, she was wanting you to speak with her before she be freshenining up!"

Corene would've been Harry's first guess, as, out of the four he'd invited, she was easily the most observant and intelligent. He wasn't knocking the others when he said that either, Aster could be wicked smart when it came to making his life easier while Sarah was perhaps the best at knowing stuff about anyone you could ask about. Reinhard, well, Harry never forgot that the boy's first introduction had been him offering to duel or be otherwise violent for galleons - anyone that sure of themself to ask for payment was likely wicked dangerous, it was too bad Harry hadn't had the chance to watch his larger friend do anything duelling wise.

That would change, Harry knew, just hopefully not in a way that had him on the receiving end of it.

"Master Peverell Sir?" Laddey asked, tentatively pulling on Harry's sleeve.

Harry blinked a few times and shook the drink from his head as best he could, as that had to be the reason he was getting side-tracked so easily. It wasn't like he was always so easily distracted, no, never him.

"Yeah Zabbe- wait, Laddey, I need you to listen, yeah?" Harry saw the little elf nod his head and as such, he gave an order that he wanted to use going forward, one that he should've given months ago. "Call me Harry, at least when we're alone if it'd be too inappropriate with company present - I'd like to think we're friends, you've been the best mate I could ask for."

Laddey's eyes widened, that was the first sign to Harry that his words had registered. Next, the little guy's body started shaking and his ears joined it with their moving erratically.

"Do-does the Master Peverell mean it? Calling Laddey a friend? Laddey could never dream of being friends with a wizard, no sir!"

Harry felt relief that the elf hadn't reacted quite as strongly as Dobby often did, but still, the shaking and tear-filled eyes were enough to let him know that the occurrence of seeing one another as equals were seldom seen. It was too bad too, he couldn't think of anyone better to have as an ally than those who had magic wizards all too often overlooked or had no idea to the inner workings of it, not to mention a house-elf was loyal to a fault even to those who didn't deserve such feelings.

"Yeah Laddey, I mean it," Harry reached out a hand and affectionately rubbed the elf's head. "Couldn't want a better friend, really, without you, I'd be going mental in this place! That goes for the others too, they're all my friends, but you've got to be my best friend considering everything you've done for me."

Laddey looked like he was nearly crying, but, a few sniffles and a nose blow into a conjured handkerchief later, he regained his composure.

"Thank you, Harry sir," Laddey said, rubbing a small fist below his right eye. "Would you like for Laddey to take you to the Carrows room now sir?"

Harry nodded, smiled and held out his hand for the side-along apparition the elf was capable of - maybe if Laddey didn't mind, that could be how Harry travelled everywhere, he'd have to test the limitations of distance too, or ask if Laddey happened to know how far he could go. He knew Floo's were continental, though it felt like he'd gone from one to the other and it'd definitely taken longer than any in Britain, so it'd be interesting to see how far the apparating could go.

During the time he was thinking, Laddey had apparated the two of them right outside Corene's room that he'd given her for the next two days, should she choose to stay the night, and apparated himself away without saying anything else to Harry. So, alone and late as he was, Harry knocked on the door while calling out for Corene so she knew who it was.

"Come in, Harry," Her voice returned.

It was oddly distorted as if she was calling out from behind an object or from another room, but he shrugged to himself. Laddey had said she was freshening up, which likely meant the girl was applying makeup or she'd just finished dressing. Maybe the extra few minutes he'd taken in arriving hadn't been a bad thing if the latter case was true; it'd be entirely too awkward to look the girl in her face ever again if he'd walked in on her dressing.

He realised he was starting to get lost in his thoughts again, and with a sigh, he pushed open the door.

Corene didn't immediately greet him upon his entering, instead, he waited for a couple of minutes until the girl exited one of the attached rooms in a far less formal outfit than the one she'd previously been wearing.

Harry didn't waste time checking out her new choice of clothing and seized the initiative of their conversation.

"Hey Corene, Laddey told me you needed me, what were you wanting to talk about?"

"This visit," Corene answered, taking a seat in one of the comfortable looking chairs near a window overlooking the grounds.

"What about it?" Harry asked as he joined her, taking the seat opposite to the one she'd sat in.

Corene smiled softly at him, though the rest of her body language was the typically calm, unreadable mask she always wore.

"I understand why you've invited who you have, you've built a strong friendship with all four of us - none are more appreciative of that than me. Yet, during lunch when you had the four of us together, you didn't press whatever it is your goal of having us here is. Pardon my asking if it's too intrusive, twice over if I've read everything wrong, but what were you wanting to talk about with us?"

Harry knew he could lie here. He could tell Corene that she had read everything wrong, that there wasn't any specific reason he'd invited the four of them over other than the friendships they had. For a few seconds, as he contemplated in silence, his body nearly took control of itself to say as much. But, he realised regardless of what he said now, Corene would likely keep her opinion that he'd brought the group of them to his home for a reason rather than believe whatever half-baked excuse he made up on the fly.

Truthfully, he'd hoped to progress through one at a time and let the thoughts linger; Aster and Reinhard would go after the two girls since they'd likely need less time, both boys hadn't shown a knack for thinking before doing all that well.

"I was hoping we could talk about our time in Hogwarts," Harry said, having decided to go with a watered-down version of the truth to start with… flattery being thrown in could help his case too. "You've read the situation well again, you'll have to teach me how to do that as well as you. I don't think it's something I could learn from the other three."

"Certainly not," Corene agreed, her small smile widening ever so slightly.

Harry returned the smile, albeit in a larger, warmer manner before he finally touched down on the first of his goals; one that exclusively applied to Corene considering the amount of time he usually spent with the other three guests he'd invited over.

"I know you're usually busy with Daphne or Elaine during our time at Hogwarts, studying too, but I was hoping going forward we could spend more time together? There's a lot we could learn from each other, I'm sure - I could share a thing or two from the Peverell library so long as you'd be willing to help me out with Runes a bit. We could always go to Hogsmeade some time too."

Corene didn't immediately respond, what she instead did was watch him for nearly ten seconds all the while her face slipped back into a more calm look with indecipherable amounts of thoughts passing behind it.

"If you're doing this for my family's support, I feel obligated to tell you that you don't need to further our bond to accomplish that," Corene didn't let him interrupt her as she continued, "On the off chance you're extending this out of altruism and friendship, I believe I would very much enjoy more time with you throughout the weeks upon our return to Hogwarts. However, you will be the one that'll need to assist me with the few tasks Elaine gives me at the beginning of every month."

"Tasks Elaine gives you? I know she takes up a lot of your time, Daphne's too, but what exactly does she have the two of you doing for her?" Harry's questions were probing and far more neutrally asked than he could've hoped to do earlier in the year; learning anything about Elaine's dealings was always big for him, mundane as they could often be.

Corene frowned, or rather, her lips moved ever so slightly down that he perceived it as such.

"You make it sound as if Daphne and I answer to her."

Don't you? Harry nearly asked, resorting to doing so in his mind. He didn't need to annoy or otherwise alienate Corene with a comment that'd only come across as unnecessary.

"Does she help you the same way the two of you do for her?"

That was what Harry went with instead, changing his tone slightly so it came across as innocently inquisitive rather than obsessively curious.

"How we help her is distinctly different from how she returns the favour," Corene started with, adjusting herself on the seat until her body was facing his more head-on. "I suppose I'll be needing to go back in time a bit for you to understand - Elaine first sought me out at the start of my third year, she claimed it was for my intelligence in addition to other abilities and as such, she offered an agreement to me. I'll not bore you with the details of it, but boiled down, it's an agreement that I'll assist her with looking for specific information on older magics and the like while she repays that in the form of practical spell usage."

"That sounds wicked… do you know what she and Daphne do for one another?" Harry allowed his curious nature to get the better of him this time, he didn't think Corene would mind all that much either considering she'd been relatively open with him thus far; maybe it was his dating Elaine that let the girl speak so freely with him, or as she'd said when he visited her during Yule, Elaine didn't fully control her actions so long as they didn't come back to negatively impact her.

"I don't, Elaine likes to keep all her actions involving others strictly between the groups directly affected and aligned with her, she's not foolish as Walburga is in flaunting her accomplishments," Corene didn't show any outward or vocal signs of disapproval in regards to Walburga, though her less than stellar endorsement of her intelligence was still something of note.

"Smart that," Harry said with a shrug and a smile. "Sure, I'll help you with the tasks so long as they're nothing that'll get us in trouble - that means you'll have to join me for Hogsmeade at some point, I'm far too interested in having you with me for a trip to that chocolate shop."

Corene's lips returned to the earlier small smile she'd given him at the mention of helping with her tasks, that same small smile then transformed into a wide, beaming one when he mentioned her favourite shop.

"La Fudgerie has seating in the back behind the curtains. Should we visit together, we could try the new line of sweet-tasting pastries fresh in the shop," - Corene stood up from her chair and held out one dainty hand to Harry - "I believe Aster and Reinhard were each going to rest for an hour or so, something about having been out in Knockturn Alley late. Goldhorn's likely waiting to be called on in the meantime… would company be agreeable during your visit with her?"

Harry grabbed her offered hand and carefully extracted himself from his seat.

"It would, thank you."

After his relatively successful talk with Corene, one that resulted in him getting to spend more time with her while simultaneously denying extra time she spent with Elaine, the pair of them were on to speak with Sarah - Harry had accepted Corene's presence without any issue, though he wasn't sure why she wanted to go with him considering how different Sarah and she were. He clocked it as a token of friendship she could show him, but other possibilities running rampant in his mind during the walk to the rooms he'd given Sarah had been as tame as Corene disliking alone time to as wild as her wanting to spy on the entirety of the conversation to report it back to Elaine.

As far as he could tell, especially considering she hadn't been the one to tell on him about Walburga's book and she'd been open with him during his conversation with her in that empty classroom as well as her own home, he thought the lattermost idea of his was entirely baseless; that didn't stop the thought running through his mind, though it did severely lessen the impact and suspicions he directed towards Corene.

Far be it from him to be a master of spying or playing people, but there were far better ways she could've gone about doing it if she were trying.

Merlin, Harry thought as the pair of them waited outside Sarah's doors, I've only been in Slytherin four months and here I am talking about better ways to deceive people. Best be spending more time with Marcus, Sarah and Veronica.

"Oh! Sorry Harry, Carrow!" Sarah's voice said so loudly from the now opened door it caused the pair of them to look at her weirdly - she didn't seem to notice, or she wasn't bothered by the looks. "Are we doing something now? I thought we'd wait while the other two boys were asleep, but then again, we might get more accomplished that way, huh?"

Corene nodded her head silently, agreeing with Sarah's remark.

Harry, on the other hand, laughed; Sarah may well have gotten along with the two lovable idiots, but it didn't stop her from telling the truth of things. Aster and Reinhard going on a tour of the grounds would definitely slow down the progress, they'd likely make plans in his backyard about a Quidditch Pitch going up considering the size of it. As brilliant (and expensive) as that'd be, Harry could do without that for the time being.

"We could take a little walk around the place if that interests the both of you, maybe go to the library or take a look at the art room too," Harry had made sure the library was cleansed of anything messy, as well as having all the potential secret or harmful articles hidden; the art room had a similar cleansing, though, for the most part, it was old busts of long-dead 'relatives' of his or inanimate portraits of quality he couldn't appreciate with his lack of artistic muse.

"Could we do both?!" Sarah asked eagerly.

Harry shrugged and looked to Corene for her input too.

"Both would be agreeable, I'm sure either room won't have all that much time dedicated towards it once the other two are back around."

"Wicked, we'll do a quick walk around the manor then go to the art corridor first since it's the smallest of the two."

No arguments arose from either of the two girls and as such, Harry took the two of them on a quick albeit informative tour of Peverell Manor. He showed them the various empty rooms that were scattered throughout the massive estate that once held furniture or other belongings of old, the dozens of mundane rooms that weren't empty, such as guest rooms or the like. Some of the more important ones, such as the private parlour or the old Floo access room were shown off too; he even took them on the second-floor balcony, the one that wrapped nearly all the way around the exterior of the home.

Once that was all finished and the two took closer looks at a few of the many dozens of rooms in his home, he did as he promised - he brought them to the sole room, the one more aptly called a museum if he cared enough for it, containing dozens upon dozens of ancient artworks.

"I thought you said it was a room, Harry?" Sarah asked while the three of them stood outside the twin French doors that signified the entrance.

"It is?" Harry responded in a tone that was far more questioning than he'd have liked.

Sarah snorted and looked to Corene, "Would you call this a room, Carrow? I know I'd call it a hall or something of the like… it's practically half a wing of a building by itself!"

"Perhaps a hall would have sufficed, yes," Corene agreed, looking to Harry next, "Don't worry, your ability to provide descriptions or speak eloquently may be lacking, but your proficiency in Charms, Defence and Transfiguration more than makeup for it."

"Wouldn't you say they balance out his inability to do Arithmancy, Runes and Potions?" Sarah asked teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him when he narrowed his eyes.

"No, his ineptitude in his three poorer subjects are closer to the average than his surprising degree of mastery in his stronger three. Harry's talent in Defence especially is something that still gets spoken about in the common room, though I doubt he's heard as much, isn't that right Harry?" Corene's words shocked him, and based on her lacklustre imitation of Sarah's teasing smile, she knew as much.

He'd really have to work with her on more than just her comedy, especially if that awkward attempt was the best she had, but right this moment, he was far more interested with what she'd just said to care.

"Yeah, that's right… who exactly does the talking about my skills in Defence, Malfoy? I've noticed he hasn't spoken to me a whole lot since he lost, not to mention the invite I received from Cade Avery to join him in duelling lessons - suppose I should ask you if I should go to those, huh?" Harry didn't bother keeping his invite a secret, he didn't see the point of it since word would get out whenever he finally accepted. At least doing it this way, he could get a reading of the older boy from two of his most trusted (though still not completely trusted) friends.

"It's not Abraxas explicitly, though he maintains that it was his victory had the rules been more lenient. Personally, while I'm aware that he's a relatively fine duellist, I would still wager you'd win most every matchup," Corene graced him with a small smile when she said that. "While I would be very interested in seeing your full capabilities in a match without any form of rules other than avoiding outright murder, my hesitance would be with you taking on those above your current level of skill. That isn't to say I doubt you, so please don't assume I do, but Cade is very close to Daphne's skill level."

Sarah nodded along with Corene, surprising Harry far more than her knowledge should've.

"Carrow's right, you know. I saw how good you are, a few people still talk about it considering you're at the top of our year in the subject - some think you studied ahead, considering you always nail the spells perfectly every time. Still, Cade or Daphne would probably beat you without taking too much damage themselves," - Sarah then side-eyed Corene with a sly grin on her face - "I'm sure Carrow here could take you out too if you duelled her."

Corene simply shrugged, giving a response before he had the chance.

"Duelling is something I consider a waste of time while at Hogwarts. Far too many rare books are present in the castle for me to waste my time on shows of strength as the others pride themselves with - if half of them realised who the Professors truly were, they'd be far more studious and inquisitive during the few years we're given the privilege to study at Hogwarts."

"True enough, though books can only get you so far. I much prefer my Head of House and all the ways she helps us in speaking, I've never failed to stop an argument or fight you know," Sarah beamed at that, her smile nearly connecting ear to ear.

"Splendid," Corene said a bit blandly, making Sarah pout at the girl in response rather than take any actual offence to it.

Needless to say, Harry was thankful for that, though he realised the longer they stayed in idol conversation the more likely the chance of disagreement was with the current company he was keeping; he was already incredibly fortunate thus far that there'd been no disagreements between the two totally opposite girls thus far.

"How about we take a little tour then?" Harry asked, nodding his head at the twin doors while looking between the two girls.

Neither objected, thankfully and like that the three of them were off in a ro- hall filled with history specific to his family. Some of the stuff inside was so old that it had to have come from the days of conquests, like a few of the Viking artefacts contained in glass cases with weird runic chains that none of the three of them could identify. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything Roman in the hall that they spotted, so he couldn't allow himself to get intrigued as he'd been when Corene's father had shown off the one vase of his… but, there were still dozens upon dozens of items from across the centuries that'd passed up until a certain point - Harry assumed that had to be when the real Peverell's died, though he was still sorting through the family history in his study; Corene and Sarah were at least helpful in the sense of confirming that time to be around the time his family went into hiding as he'd called it.

All he knew then, was he'd been very smart in locking away his office considering that was the area he'd moved anything risky to… who knew the information he had sitting on his desk or the floor!

"Morgana… the number of historic pieces you have hidden away in here… you could become incredibly wealthy if you sold them all off! You could very well become one of the richest men in all of Britain should you sell every piece!" Sarah hadn't stopped salivating at the collection of items, and while Corene was much better at hiding her expressions, even her face held a touch of awe with all the items the pair of them had gotten to stare at.

Their love for history, or rather, the appreciation they held for the items and the worth of them came at a price, however - they'd spent entirely too much time in the art hall to the point Aster and Reinhard would likely be awake in the next ten to fifteen minutes. Due to that, any current trip to the library as they'd planned on was ruled out in favour of spending time back on that upper balcony that went around nearly the entirety of his home. That'd been Sarah's suggestion too, as the portion of the remaining time was far too small to read or otherwise walk around the sizable library his home had, so her train of thought brought Harry back to his time with her family.

They would sit on a balcony, albeit one without a waterfront view and oceanic breeze, drinking wine and talking.

Corene was equally as fond of the idea as Sarah was, and given what little Harry knew about the French as well as the Greeks, he figured it was par for the course.

"That was so, so cool, Harry! Maybe in the future, you'd not mind if I brought my little brother with me? He loves history far more than I do, my mum does too," Sarah took a long sip from her wine glass when she finished speaking, her eyes firmly locked on him.

Harry didn't reply immediately though, he'd mull the idea over in his head for a few seconds and in the meantime, he'd take a sip from his own glass while looking between the two girls so he didn't seem like he was dodging the question; Corene's eyes had darted to him when Sarah had mentioned inviting some of her family over, it made him wonder if she had a similar hope someday, though she was far less likely to directly ask him such a thing.

That was yet another key difference between the two girls sitting across from him, apart from their incredibly different looks and outward personalities - Corene was so reserved that any question that could be remotely seen as demanding or otherwise would stay tucked away in her mind while Sarah would ask whatever she liked and if it brought offence, she'd apologise it away with her extremely outgoing personality.

Again, maybe he should've brought the two here at different times, but having them over together showed him just how much he needed the both of them on his side as time progressed, especially if he would be going through with his plan of finally countering Elaine in Hogwarts. They were practically perfect opposites, and due to that, every opinion, as well as their approaches to problems, would be completely different. Some may not be able to see how helpful that'd be, Merlin, the version of him a few months ago probably wouldn't have either, but he certainly recognised it now.

"I think we could arrange something like that," Harry finally answered. " Anyone as kind as the two of you have been, your families included, will have the chance to visit my home at one point or another. What sort of friend would I be if I only visited you?"

"You'd be like my cousin Althaia! We never get to visit her home!" Sarah piped up, her voice half pouting, half teasing.

Harry was nearly ready to respond regarding the girl who'd followed him so intently for the two days he'd known her when he caught a look from Corene, once he'd done that, it was entirely too easy to get caught up reading her lips while Sarah droned on about her cousin back in Greece.

' Are you going to bring something up with her?' Corene mouthed in question, one eyebrow raised when she finished.

Harry should've known she was waiting for something along those lines, but truthfully speaking, Sarah didn't need some long-winded conversation or a subtle nudge to work alongside him; the girl seemed entirely too willing to do so already, her family as well. At the most, what he'd bring up is spending a bit more time with her in Hogwarts than he previously had, considering all the new events that'd been continuously popping up.

Considering most of them were of secondary importance and he'd become far more comfortable in the time as well as informed about his family, there'd be no more late nights spent worrying or time playing catch up. For a change, Harry would spend his time far more freely without his earlier worrying around every person wearing green; in hindsight, he'd been a bit too cautious, but he thought he'd been mad during half that time - the other half, he was entirely too wrapped up in the new circumstances to do anything else but try to tread water to stay above the vicious current of Elaine.

"Hey Sarah," He spoke up, cutting the girl off.

"Yeah?" She asked in turn, not looking the least bit offended that he'd ended her spiel.

"Spend more time with me at Hogwarts? Assuming you're not too busy?"

Harry didn't bother beating around the bush with Sarah, he didn't need to be overly formal or mince his words with the girl, he'd learned that after a dozen or so conversations with her.

"Yeah, we could do that - you don't mind if Marcus or Veronica are with us right? or other friends of mine?" Sarah looked to Corene and Harry could tell what the next words out of her smiling mouth would be in a matter of seconds. " You could take Corene with you too, getting to know her more than I currently do would be wonderful!"

Harry looked to Corene, his expression asking for approval while simultaneously conveying that he'd done as she'd wanted.

One small, barely visible nod was given in response to his look and as such, he turned his attention back to Sarah with a smile on his face he knew the girl would receive happily.

"Not at all, Marcus and Veronica were always polite with me, so were the others the few times I'd spoken with them. Oh, about Indigo… is she still wanting to do something together? There's really not all that much time at Hogwarts for Hogsmeade trips - I'm sure we could get Corene too, especially since the two of us are spending more time with one another going forward," He'd tried his best to keep his tone light-sounding and energetic like Sarah's always was, but by the time he'd finished speaking as quickly as she usually did, he was taking deep breaths.

Sarah didn't seem to notice his imitation, or rather, she took it to mean he was so excited at the prospect of spending time with her that her interactions were more energetic than usual; from the way her hands moved as she spoke to the quickness in which words exited her mouth.

"Indigo probably wouldn't care so long as you do something with her, which you have to, by the way, considering you promised me you would," Sarah's voice and eyes went sharper when she reminded him of a past conversation, though as quickly as the sudden shift to seriousness came, it was sent away when she focused on Corene. "I can't wait to get to know you more… We could start tonight too! I brought a few things from home, games mostly, but a few of them only call for two players."

Corene didn't look overly excited at the prospect, if anything, she looked relatively unimpressed with Sarah's personality and level of animation. That being as it was, Harry hadn't a clue why the girl accepted Sarah's offer without any complaint or attempt at excuses. It wasn't until they were ushering him out of the room that he caught sight of what Corene was doing.

She was taking Sarah off his hands so he could speak with the two boys more seriously… he'd thank her with another box of truffles or a piece of jewellery similar to the one he'd given Elaine. Merlin knows the girl would be deserving of it.

"Pev, Pev, give me a bev, I ne-" Aster's chant for drinking, or more aptly, his chant to start drinking, was finally hushed up by Harry's calling of Laddey .

"Laddey, could you have the kitchen bring us a few bottles of wine, some of the better ones I'd think," Harry vaguely clocked Aster's toothy smile at the prospect of finely aged wine. "I'd think a light snack would go well with it too, we don't want Aster here falling asleep or spewing vomit everywhere before the main course."

"Lightweight," Reinhard added, elbowing the smaller boy beside him until Aster was nearly falling out of the old wooden chair he'd chosen for his seat.

"I'm not a lightweight, I'm a mediumweight - there's a fine difference, you big tub of lard!" Aster's words only made Reinhard's jabbing with his elbow all the more forceful, until finally, he was completely pushed from his seat.

Harry watched on, chuckling as it happened until he decided to move the conversation along a more serious note was needed; after all, Corene wouldn't be able to buy him an infinite amount of time, not with someone the likes of Sarah as her companion. He'd be surprised if both of the girls made it out sans any new issues without his presence acting as a mediator. Then again, Corene had shown before just how good she was at keeping herself in check, the lack of emotions she'd initially given him was proof enough.

"What do you say we talk about something a tad bit serious while we wait, boys?" Harry asked, switching his gaze from Aster to Reinhard and repeating those motions.

"More serious or less serious than birds?" Aster asked suspiciously.

"Asking the wrong question, though that isn't too surprising," Reinhard ribbed his friend. "Go on Pev, it can't be too serious if you're asking with Aster here."

Harry shrugged and figured he'd go for it, the two boys before him had been incredibly blunt in the time he'd known them, he assumed asking them something a bit more serious wouldn't discredit that.

"What made the two of you mingle with Elaine? I heard Corene and Daphne's initial meetings as well as how they eventually started spending so much time with her, so what about you lot?"

Maybe that wasn't technically true, considering he knew very little about Daphne's time with Elaine and only slightly more in regards to Corene's, but the two of them wouldn't know he was fibbing, as dirty as it was.

Reinhard answered without issue, while Aster looked to be pondering what he'd say.

"Elaine paid me to turn some older boy that was bothering her into pulp, Merlin knows why considering what she's capable of - seen it, a good portion of us have, but she was happy enough with the job I'd done to offer me more to stay alongside her," Reinhard scratched at the back of his neck, the large boy's looks turning a bit embarrassed. "Not proud to say it, but my family are one of the poorer Purebloods with as high a status as we have. We're not slouches by any means, we're just not the Blacks, Carrows or Malfoys."

"No judgement here mate, I'll bet they're wealthier than my family too," Harry said with a shrug to the larger boy.

"With everything you've got here? Nah mate, I wager you selling half the stuff in here would bring you right to their level. Old things sell for heaps, 'specially around Knockturn if you can find the right buyer!" Reinhard said it so surely that Harry wondered if the boy had done the same sometime before; he wouldn't care all that much if he had, considering the times.

"Wicked… Elaine really brought you on once you beat the numpty bothering her?" Harry made sure to come across a bit more in favour of Elaine than the boy, his dating her made him do as much, but he wondered just where Reinhard fell in terms of loyalty if that was all.

"Yeah, great deal innit? All I need to do is help her a few times a year with the bothersome crowd and she tosses me a few hundred galleons that I put in a savings vault at Gringotts," Reinhard finished right as the refreshments arrived, and the boy immediately dug into some bread with cheese while Aster helped himself to a glass of wine.

He'd been silent since Harry asked the question, and even when it'd come to his time to answer, the boy chose to take long swigs from his glass rather than doing so. But his glass wasn't limitless, and time wouldn't be stopping anytime soon, so Harry waited the boy out until he finally set aside the downed now empty glass.

"Reinhard did," Aster said. "Him, Yaxley and I were best mates going into Hogwarts, then it turned to the two of us when Yaxley's relative passed considering how withdrawn he'd got. Once that happened and Reinhard started spending a good bit of time with Elaine, not to mention the others her small group had been at the time, I knew I had to get involved too or I'd lose my best mate."

"Elaine let you in just like that? She didn't ask for anything?" Harry's question was entirely warranted, or so he thought - Elaine couldn't be that altruistic, not if she were meant to be the future cause of war in Magical Britain.

"All she asked for was some help in buying a few things for her home, which given the allowance I'm given, wasn't all that much to me," Aster said with a shrug, diving back into his wine glass with a now calmed expression on his face.

Harry wasn't sure why the boy had been that nervous about sharing such non-vital information, or rather, he would've been in the past; now? He understood what Elaine was doing with Aster, she was essentially using his friendship with Reinhard to her own advantage, as she knew the larger boy's family needed Galleons while Aster's family couldn't care less about them. Harry could only imagine how much Aster was giving her, and in addition, he wondered how much of the money was passing through Elaine only to end up in Reinhard's hands anyway.

When it finally dawned on Harry, the look made sense in a way; Aster was essentially paying Reinhard to be his friend, but based on the larger boy's happiness with money as well as the few opportunities to fight he'd been given, he'd not realised it yet.

Needless to say, Harry was very happy to have learned what he just did. It meant there was a chance he could pay Reinhard more, which would give him more sway over the larger boy and by means of friendship, Aster as well. It didn't feel all that right doing it, but Harry figured the two of them would be better off alongside him than a potentially mental witch.

He wouldn't propose that now though, not with the both of them together. Reinhard may have gone for it, Aster could too, but he'd rather speak one on one to ensure his chance of success was as high as it could be.

"Alright mate," Harry finally said, having used snacks and the like as a distraction similar to how Aster had done. "How about we go back to something less serious then?"

"Like what?" Reinhard asked, bits of bread flying onto the plate he'd laid across his stomach from his recently prone position.

"Birds," Harry answered, shooting a smirk at Aster which was given back in turn.

Harry's time for the evening as well as the next morning went by quickly and without incident, the four friends he'd invited having all opted to spend the night (unsurprisingly) once the option was presented to them. Following the conversations and initial time spent with them, nothing more serious had come from their time together, as Harry opted to avoid getting greedy in terms of information collecting - he figured building more upon their friendship would be the better bet too.

After all, how many people could say they'd visited Peverell Manor?

Those four being invited as they were had to count for something, and from what he knew of Corene, her parents would surely make a spectacle of it while avoiding betraying the trust he'd placed in them. Corene had told him as much too, and following December, he'd come to trust the girl a great deal more… That wasn't to say completely, not yet.

Still, he felt as if the infrastructure for plans yet to come had been laid that evening, with Corene being in the know. She could betray him to some degree, he knew as much and had planned around it by avoiding including her in his future plans for Aster or Reinhard. Those two would be immensely helpful should he work the angle he'd decided on, Yaxley would be too, once he returned to Hogwarts.

Until then, he'd spend all the time he could working at his home, reading books and using the guide texts Elaine had given him.

Merlin, if only she'd known how helpful she'd be in her own downfall, he figured she'd appreciate the amount of planning he'd be using from Yule on.