Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

July 31, 1944

Sunday Evening

"What's happening mate?" Aster said in place of a usual greeting as he pulled Harry into a half-hug, half-handshake. "I have to say, visiting your place is an absolute treat, means I get to eat whatever I'd like and not have a curfew."

Harry looked at Aster weirdly when he finished, not recalling a curfew or anything else inherently negative about the Rosier's house. He didn't put too much thought into it though, as he had to greet the next boy who was already pushing Aster out of the way - he did it quite easily too.

"Pev, good to see you again," Reinhard said, skipping any form of handshake and going straight into a very tight hug. "Aster's reasons may not be wholly altruistic, but I'll tell you mine are… at least, mostly. Your house-elves can cook better than any aside from the Hogwarts ones, it's just like my grandparents used to say back in their time. You'll have to tell me how you found ones as well trained and mannered as yours."

"Why would I do that when I could keep them all for me?" Harry joked, standing on the tips of his toes to clap the much larger boy on his shoulder. "It's good to have you here too, same for Aster. Couldn't imagine a birthday celebration without the two problem starters, could I?"

"You could," Aster said, butting back into the picture and coming to a stop beside Reinhard. "It'd be dull, dreadful really, without the likes of us. Speaking about your party, where's everybody else? I thought arriving a few minutes late would mean we'd still be early… ish."

Harry scoffed and shook his head. "You thought arriving a few minutes late would have you here anywhere close to the others?" Harry scoffed again and began leading the two boys to the ballroom. "Mate, usually you're pretty bright, but did you really think that'd work with Sarah or Professor Slughorn? Corene? Elaine? Emilene?"

Aster's face fell as Harry listed the names, until finally, when the latter was finished speaking, the former started up again. "You raise a fair point, I'll give you that."

Reinhard slapped Aster upside the head. "We were supposed to arrive early you dolt, how else are we going to get the best pick of food? What about Harry's present and the order we were supposed to place our gifts in so we get opened first?" Reinhard tore his gaze from Aster and set it back on Harry. "Amateurs, I'm working with far too many of them. Figured that all those others would arrive early too, do-gooders and boot-lickers that they are - keep that a secret too."

"Definitely keep that a secret," Aster agreed, nodding emphatically. "So, mate, is nobody else coming? Cade or Abraxas, maybe?"

"I invited Cade and Robin, but they were both busy, wouldn't go into detail with what. Abraxas… Well, I suppose I did tell Elaine she could invite him for me if she pleased, but she ended up assigning him a task to be completed on this very night. Suppose that could be her gift to me," Harry mused before shaking his head and returning to the point. "Most of the others were in similar boats, and besides, I don't want too many people here. My family would kill me, not to mention I'm not close with most of those who'd want to visit."

"Walburga's likely to throw a fit when we get back to Hogwarts and she learns how she wasn't invited," Aster commented, chuckling and shaking his head at Harry. "Suppose that's your issue, really, innit?"

Harry nodded and did so again when he caught Reinhard's eyes.

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Aster was slapped upside the head.

One hour had passed since the last couple of guests had arrived, and by now, the festivities were in full swing. Food was served of the highest quality and in quantities comparable to Hogwarts on a per-person value. Drinks, alcoholic and not, went about freely in the room with no shortage of them.

Harry's gifts had ended up piled up on the sole empty table, and a couple of the guests had gone so far as to bring him multiple presents to celebrate his birthday; Professor Slughorn and Elaine were the two who stuck out most in that particular instance. Each wanted to curry favour with him beyond that in which they already had, and after Elaine had learned that he'd spent a good deal of time with the Goldhorns, that only made her double down on her clingy behaviour.

He knew that soon he would need to do something regarding that. Soon, Harry would have to decide if he'd go all in on Elaine or keep her at arms length in perpetuity. One option was definitely safer, that being the latter… or so he thought.

"Harry my boy, I must say, you're a wonderful organiser of events," Slughorn said, the slightest slurring in his words.

"Thank you, Professor Slughorn," Harry said, dipping his head respectfully as he took a small drink of his water.

There would be no alcohol for Harry until very late into the evening, he wouldn't risk being caught off-guard on anything.

"Of course, of course," Slughorn said with a wave of his hand as he heaved himself into the seat beside Harry's. "I was meaning to speak with you again about a few of my more favoured students, there's a few I'd like for you to meet when you return to Hogwarts, if you would. All of them would be favourable."

"Definitely, Professor. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine," Harry said with a smile and hopefully charming look as he leaned back casually in his chair.

"Wonderful, and exactly right," Slughorn said. "Ashley Hawke, Joseph D'Magi and Marcus Cresswell are highly intelligent, capable young men. There's others too, but I'd suggest starting with them - apologies too, lad, I forgot to mention that my father wished for me to tell you that his suggestion that you avoid Southern England is more firm. I don't quite know why, but he's given me the same advice, if you bel- Merlin's beard! I completely forgot to arrange your gifts in a meaningful manner, excuse me."

As quickly as Slughorn had made his way over to Harry to hold what the latter had thought would be a lengthy conversation, he was off. It left Harry wondering what exactly had happened with how sober-seeming the man was, but that line of thinking was very quickly put to an end when he had another guest take the seat beside him.

"Hello, my love," Elaine said with a smile that showed off how beautiful she could be. "Are you enjoying your birthday thus far?"

Harry nodded with a mixture of caution and curiosity, wondering what it was that Elaine would soon bring up. "Yes, it's been pretty wicked so far. Are you enjoying it too? I figured I'd get food and wine that I know you liked."

He wasn't lying either, he'd very specifically chosen that Greek wine that Elaine liked in addition to a few foods that always seemed on her plate; roasted carrots and twice baked potatoes were most prevalent amongst them all.

"I saw that," Elaine said, her smile widening at him. "I'm very appreciative of such courtesy, and I'd like to offer my thanks for having us all over this evening too. It's a beautiful, historic place, your home. I'm most eager to see my quarters too, twice so if you decide that I'm to stay with you this evening."

"I don't kno-" Harry's attempt to steer her away from that was very promptly ignored as she continued on in a slightly louder tone.

Unless he wanted to get louder still and risk her doing the same, he would have to drop it. It was a tempting thing, but he wouldn't want all the other guests to think they'd be getting up to anything like that. He didn't think he could handle the embarrassment, not with so many other witches in attendance.

"I wouldn't mind if you did that, we're bound to get closer as we progress," Elaine finished by moving her seat closer to his as if to show him what she meant.

It felt… weird.

"Elaine," He said, his tone serious and level as she scooched closer again.

"Hmm?" She responded with a cocked head and teasing lilt.

"I wanted to speak with you about something I've heard warning of, and not whilst others are with us. Would you mind if I asked you now, whilst the others are going around eating or speaking with one another?" Harry asked, himself scooching closer to her this time.

He wasn't using this as an excuse to change their conversation's topic, nor was he hoping to distract her. Harry knew, or rather felt like he knew after hearing it so many times, that he could trust Elaine wouldn't intentionally harm or mislead him. With that as his train of thought alongside his plan to go all in with her come the start of their next Hogwarts term, he decided to speak with her regarding what he'd learned from both Slughorn Senior and Giannis.

"Go on," Elaine said, one of her hands seeking out his under the table until she clutched it tightly.

As always seemed the case, her hands were incredibly cold, almost freezing.

"I was told by two people, one of them being Professor Slughorn's father, that I should stay clear of Southern England. He seems to think that there'll be an attack or invasion led by Grindelwald. Neither went into detail about why they thought that way, and I figured…" - Merlin this would hurt to say considering how smug Elaine could get - "I figured if anybody would know the truth of things, it'd be you."

Elaine's fingers on her hand that was interlocked with one of his began soothingly rubbing him at the same time a new type of smile spread on her face. One that was both vicious and happy, though smugness seemed incorrect to describe, it was a close thing. It was certainly a different reaction than he would've thought she'd have.

"There will be an attack, invasion or something of that ilk, yes," Elaine said, her eyes peering into his enough to make him look for any Occlumency probe she could've sent - he felt none. "I hadn't mentioned it to you out of fear that you'd try to assist the government or others in stopping it. There's no reason to think whatever he's planned will succeed, not with his forces diminished and stretched thin as they are."

"You really think so?" Harry asked, watching her face closely for any signs, any at all, that she was lying to him.

He knew she was a master of facial expressions and deceit, and that his hopes of catching her would be low, but he tried nonetheless. There wasn't any reason not to, especially with the stakes as high as they were. Harry knew with certainty that following the failed invasion earlier on, not one more attempt had been made.

"It wouldn't make sense unless he has a goal that none know save for him and those within his inner circle," Elaine's eyes and gaze turned very serious. "That's why I'll be staying with you from here on out, and furthermore, why we'll be staying very close when time comes for us to return to Hogwarts. There'll be no risks, not when it comes to a man like Grindelwald - his yearning for the Hallows makes him dangerous to you."

Grindelwald has a yearning for the Hallows?

Harry hadn't remembered or ever thought of that. He hadn't thought that anybody beyond Elaine had designs for them, and she'd given one back to him rather than taken it.

Things had gotten weird. Very weird.

"Gifts, Harry," Elaine said, rousing him from the call of sleep as he'd begun to doze off beside her.

He'd been dead tired thanks to all the running around the previous day to ensure there were no doors unlocked for the others to get into; he hid away anything of note too, lest they find something they weren't meant to. The House-elves would be incredibly helpful in ensuring everybody remained where they were needed, and by all accounts, nothing had happened whilst he allowed the evening to pass him by.

Well, aside from the usual drunken festivities one could be expected to get up to on their birthday with bad influences around. Aster and Reinhard had very quickly shut down his attempt at staying sober in a manner of two hours, though Harry hadn't been fully against the idea. He'd earned it, or so he thought, with how well he'd prepared the home for its guests. Everything had gone swimmingly, and not one conversation turned sour nor one person caused too much ruckus.

"Yeah, let's get to opening them before I fall asleep," Harry agreed, getting up from his seat and helping pull Elaine up from hers. "To the parlour room," He declared to the rest of the guests as he led the way.

Elaine had very quickly looped her arm through his once she was standing on her own two feet, and so it was together alongside her that they led the rest of the guests towards where the gifts had been moved. It was all thanks to a drunken game of football too, else they would have remained where everything else was already set-up.

Thanks Aster and Reinhard, Harry thought with a roll of his eyes as he looked over his shoulder at the two drunken louts.

"They can't hold their drink very well," Elaine commented from his side.

He turned back around to fix her with a stare, as she wasn't one to speak all that much on one's inability to hold alcohol. Not with how red her cheeks, neck and a bit further down seemed. Then again, he supposed her ability to form words hadn't been affected nearly as much as her body seemed to be.

"No, they can't," Harry agreed. "So… what'd you get me?"

Elaine fixed him with a look that nearly made him pout, nearly being the key factor as he wasn't quite drunk enough to do that with so many guests nearby.

"I'm not spoiling anything for you, all I'll say is that the few gifts present aren't the entirety of what I decided to get you," Elaine leaned close enough to whisper that her lips moved directly against his ear. "I'm still not spoiling it for you, I just wanted the others to see me close to you," She said, her voice coming out huskier than normal and before she pulled away with a self-satisfied smile that he'd come to expect, she kissed his cheek.

Harry felt his cheeks colour at the rather intimate moment that the rest had seen thanks to how closely they were following, and again, he wondered how much of Elaine's affection was truly… true. He wasn't sure if any of it was real, and at the same time, with how unstable she could seem at times, he wasn't sure if any was faked.

For all he knew, she could well and truly be in love with him, which was a very weird thought to have.

It certainly made her suggestion of sharing a room for the coming night very good, and very, very bad; it depended on which portion of him did the thinking, though he knew with a will as strong as his, it would more than likely be the smarter bit that he listened to.

"Alright, here we a-" Harry began as he moved into the room and motioned for people to sit only to be interrupted by the next two who entered the room.

Aster and Reinhard, it was the former of the two who spoke first and thus interrupted Harry.

"Thanks Pev, I'll take it from here," Aster said, clasping his hands together loud enough to pull everyone's attention to him, and by extension, Reinhard. "It was decided when Reinhard and I arrived, that the two of us would have our gifts opened first and in a specific order. If you could all take your seats like Pev suggested, we'll get our stuff out of the way for yous all."

Reinhard picked up when Aster stopped for a breath. "We won't be long, not with the look we're being given by a few of you, promise. Don't worry either, none of our gifts are pranks… that'll result in any collateral damage as they usually do. Aster and I have very thoroughly planned that usual condition out."

Elaine sighed and looked at Harry, an expression on her face that told him she very badly wished to handle the two far from sober clowns. He shook his head and desperately hoped that she'd listen to him, else there'd likely be two people to pick up off the ground. Well, he supposed worse could happen to them too. It was Elaine they'd be dealing with, after all.

Harry was very surprised when she raised her eyebrows at his response, and he was surprised further when she turned her lips into a thin line and sat down beside where he'd placed himself. He supposed he did have some amount of sway on her actions.

That, or she'd allow him since it was his birthday… he hoped it was the former rather than the latter. Equals and that, as he recalled her saying.

"Here you are Pev, old boy," Aster said, dropping a box with no wrapping or decoration covering it into his lap. "You can open this one close to the missus, promise there isn't anything bad in it."

Elaine seemed appeased more than anything else at being referred to as 'the missus' by Aster. It nearly made Harry snort considering the amount of respect she was usually given, but then again, she'd pretty much made it clear that she wanted to marry him.

"Thanks mate," Harry said when he shook his head to clear himself of the thoughts that marrying Elaine had provided.

Aster smiled toothily at him and grabbed the final of the three gifts, with Reinhard in front of him and off to Harry's right side with the second in the order they'd chosen.

"Am I good to open it then? Everybody can see clearly?" Harry asked, looking about the room to make sure everybody had a clear line of sight on him lest he opened it without them seeing his reaction; he'd learned that from the Weasley's, as that family very much loved to see the reactions of one another upon opening gifts of any kind.

After a circle of different forms of 'yes', Harry nodded and opened the top of the box. At first, he hadn't the faintest idea of what the little object was that'd been held in place by padding, not until he saw the inscription on the bottle. When he saw that, Harry played it off as casually as possible by closing the top of the box and putting it beside him where Reinhard had been standing.

Nobody asked what it was, though it was very clear that all of them were curious - when he risked a glance at Elaine, he could see her smug smile hadn't a hint of embarrassment within it, which only made the gift worse. He figured she would've looked over his shoulders with how close they were seated… that potion would have to be kept hidden for awhile, he hoped they lasted longer than he thought they did.

"Next one mate, and careful, it's a bit heavy," Reinhard said, the larger boy's arms clearly strained by the gift that he too dropped into Harry's lap.

Unlike the previous one, it winded Harry and very nearly had him flung forwards if it weren't for the weight holding him down at lap level. Like the previous one, it lacked any sense of decor or wrapping, and again, was purely a box, albeit one that weighed far too much for Harry to want in his lap.

Again, he opened the top of the box and peered down cautiously into it. Unlike the previous one, it wasn't nearly so embarrassing, though the theme was now made obvious and the gift still contained a degree of embarrassment. Harry was just happy it was very far removed, in a way, from the first small gift.

"Help me out, yeah?" Harry asked Reinhard as he motioned for his mate to hold the box while he withdrew the item from it.

After only a few seconds of struggling and moving about, the two eventually freed the present from the confines of its box and made it possible for all to see.

"That's cute," Sarah commented much to the approval of her sister Sammi, Emilene seemed to agree too based on the face she was making.

As for the blokes, or rather the three other ones aside from Harry, two were grinning and one had a very thoughtful expression on his face. Undoubtedly, Professor Slughorn was taking the large crib kit to mean that Harry and Elaine would be having children before too much longer passed them by. If Harry was a betting man too, it was likely that the Professor would favour those theoretical children more than any others he'd taught before.

With a sigh, Harry set aside the mixture of wooden pieces and the nails that went with them. He then turned to look at Aster, his look knowing and a touch bored now that he knew what the third gift's theme would be. "Final one, yeah?"

"Right you are," Aster said.

A few steps later from the Rosier boy and the final of their trio of gifts were ready to be opened. Like the other gift Aster had given him, the one in his lap was again, light and in a box that hadn't any decorations or effort. Harry supposed the previous Yule gifts had been wrapped by the shopkeeper or their parents.

Let's see what this third one is then, Harry thought to himself as Elaine's presence once more lingered over his left shoulder.

He opened it expecting a third item to add to the set, but what he saw was far from baby-related. Harry had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, especially with how known for pranking those two mates of his were. Sure enough, after numerous blinks, the object in the box remained the same.

"It's a collection from both of our libraries," Reinhard told Harry, a prideful look on the boy's face.

Aster nodded. "We couldn't pick some of the older ones, our parents wouldn't allow us - you know how it is. Still, we picked half a dozen, maybe a dozen… maybe four. I don't spose I remember the number all that much, but there's a few good spells inside of that book for you," Then, Aster narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "That doesn't mean to read that all the time either, you have to rest and relax every now and then. I remember when you didn't study nearly as much as you currently do, you'll become boring to hang out with if it continues."

Reinhard nodded. "Cade, Merlin bless him, used to join us for the occasional prank. Once he founded that little duelling group of his, he was lost to books and bi- other things."

Harry grinned at Reinhard. Very smartly, the boy didn't say birds with Elaine right beside him.

"Thanks guys, really," Harry said, standing up to give a half-hug to the pair of them. "I won't become a bore either, trust me. If anything, I'll probably find myself with a bit more time for pranking."

That seemed to appease the two of them, and following the gifts they'd given him, he opened those from Emilene, then Sarah and Sammi, then Corene. All of those went by quite quickly in comparison to the two who assured that they went last; Elaine and Professor Slughorn. It wasn't all that surprising that it was the two of them who went last, not when they'd practically decided as much. If anything, it was slightly surprising that Elaine went dead last rather than the Professor, who at times seemed a bit… gloryhoundish.

Anyhow, the gifts that he'd been given by those prior to the final two were just as marvellous as the one Aster and Reinhard had gotten for him. In order, they were: a voucher for free potions up to five-hundred galleons from Emilene's family's shop, an assortment of clothing that seemed very comfortable and expensive from the Goldhorns - they said it was in style too, compared to his current clothing - and from Corene, he found himself in possession of a book similar to Aster and Reinhard's.

Unlike theirs, however, Corene's was full of spells she'd put together from dozens of sources rather than her own personal library. He was sure there'd be a couple that he already knew, but if there were even one more learned, it would be well worth it.

"Me, is it?" Professor Slughorn, or Horace as he preferred to be called whilst in a casual setting, asked.

Harry nodded. "It is, Pr- Horace, and thank you."

Merlin, Harry knew Professor Slughorn had told him to use his name a few times in the past, but it hadn't stuck for a reason. That reason, unsurprisingly, was how weird it felt to call your Professor from Hogwarts by their first name. It felt wholly unnatural, and come time for the lot of them to be back, it'd only be weirder.

"Of course, of course, I'd be a horrible guest if I didn't get a few wonderful items for my host," Slughorn said with a minor slur and his best attempt at a bow whilst in his inebriated state.

Harry smiled at the man for his manners and accepted the gifts all at once; Horace didn't want to stand up, it would seem, and thus after he'd handed them all to Harry he was back in his seat.

He couldn't blame him all that much, it was a lot of standing around for an older, heavier, drunken man.

"Please do feel free to open them whenever you'd like," Horace said after he refilled his wine glass, his doing so a sign to Harry that he was ready.

One nod of the head and a quick glance around the room later, Harry dug into the first of his few gifts from the Professor. There wasn't an order to open them in, thankfully, and so Harry found himself looking at what could quite possibly be the most important of his gifts after only having opened one.

"That comes straight from the Wizengamot," Slughorn said pridefully. "It took no small amount of favours, but I'm told the privileges and seat of House Peverell will be restored before too much longer passes. You should thank a good many of your friends too, as it wasn't I who sponsored the motion."

Harry looked around and saw the - mostly - happy faces of his friends looking back at him. Somehow, the lot of them had gotten their parents to agree to sponsoring House Peverells return to the Wizengamot… they'd coordinated it all without so much as a whisper getting back to him. As impressed and thankful as he was, he very carefully took notice of how easy that'd been. Especially since it was something that involved the Ministry, which as he recalled, was anything but secure.

"Thanks," Harry said as he looked around the room. "Really, all of you, it means a lot. Thank you."

Elaine's right arm, the one that was hidden from view of the others save for those that still stood off to the side such as Aster and Reinhard, began rubbing circles on his back.

Just like that, thanks to the help of a few friends and Slughorn, he'd had a new lane opened up for him. He wasn't sure what it would mean, nor he was certain what the cost of a seat on the Wizengamot would mean for him, but he knew it'd be immensely helpful in the days to come. With how often people spoke of it and the attention it'd had as well as the difficulty mentioned, he hadn't thought it'd be his before he graduated. That Slughorn had done it after a relatively boring, albeit cautionary and book-filled year… it wasn't lost on him.

What followed after that gift was an assortment of others that offered no theme or relationship to his soon to be newfound status of Wizengamot member. Well, once he came of age, though that wouldn't be too much longer.

The rest of Horace's gifts had been: a collection of potions books with Slughorn's notes inside them, letters from famous or powerful members of society that wished to meet with the 'spokesperson of House Peverell' and finally, a note that gave Harry unrestricted access to the restricted section of the Hogwarts library when it started up again. Needless to say, all of the gifts that Slughorn had given him were worth their weight in gold and all of them were gifts that he couldn't have been given by anybody save for the one individual who'd given them to him.

Elaine knew as much too based on the happy, yet slightly sour face she was pulling beside him. He didn't think it was necessarily jealousy, though he knew that was likely present too; actually, he did think it was jealousy, only not fully directed at what he'd received. Horace's gifts had been absolutely amazing, and it was likely that she was feeling threatened by them.

"Thank you again, Horace," Harry said when he set down the restricted section pass and the letter it'd come in. "Everything was great, really. Thank you, sir."

"Bah, no sir amongst friends lad," Horace said, waving his hand as he sat comfortably in the recliner chair. "It was my pleasure too - to visit your family home, a place as historic as this, is truly a treat the likes of which I'll never experience again so long as I live. That may end tonight too, once we see that museum portion you told me about!" Slughorn said with a laugh, his large belly rocking at the force of it.

A few others, namely Sarah and Sammi, joined the Professor in his laughter. Aster and Reinhard followed suit, though he was almost completely certain it was Horace's jiggling stomach that did them in rather than the man's joke.

"My turn," Elaine said softly into his ear before she cleared her throat and stood up. "Aster, Reinhard, would you two help in bringing over those larger boxes?"

Though Elaine had worded it like a question, Harry had picked up on the tone she'd used with the pair of them. It wasn't so much like she was asking them, and they understood that just as he did. He wasn't sure if it was her showing that she still told the two of them what to do, if she genuinely needed assistance in bringing everything over or if it was Elaine's weird way of showing respect by not pulling out her wand to levitate the multitude of gifts over to him. Whatever the message was, unless it was a blend of them all, he'd missed it.

He didn't miss the gifts though, that'd be a hard thing to do considering how Elaine piled them at his feet in large part before picking the smallest of the four to drop in his lap.

"Smallest to largest is the order you'll be opening everything in, it's already set up that way too - five's my favourite number too, but as I told you, your final gift is one you'll be getting tonight and well away from the rest of our guests," She whispered into his ear in what likely looked as loving a moment as any had that evening before she pulled back and away from him. "Open them as you'd like, though I would suggest being careful with all of them. You won't know what's inside, after all."

Sarah and Sammi made 'oooh' like sounds, the two light-hearted Goldhorn girls already thinking there was something breakable within. Aster and Reinhard hadn't given him that warning, he realised right then, and so because of that, he gave them a quick narrow-eyed stare. It didn't last long, not with Elaine waiting beside him; patient as she may be, he didn't want her poking or otherwise prompting him considering the means she'd often do so with.

Harry grabbed the package and only barely began unwrapping it before he paused himself, leaned over, and kissed Elaine on the cheek. He did so for numerous reasons, but chief amongst them was that she'd gone out and gotten him gifts; she'd done the same for Yule, sure, but the eagerness she'd mentioned them with and the very minor detail of her wringing her hands meant something to him. Tom or Voldemort, the two versions of the monster he'd known thanks to the diary and later meetings, neither seemed the type to get gifts unless there'd be an immediate or insanely high return for them.

When he mixed that with the eagerness she'd shown throughout the night towards him and the gifts as well as her 'nervous' hand wringing… he thought it as genuine an action as she'd ever shown him before. Who knows, maybe she was playing him and she'd been doing so all this time, but there came a time very recently where he'd finally begun to rid himself of that notion.

The world seemed different, and so, he figured, Elaine could be too.

Elaine raised an eyebrow at him and motioned towards the gift that was now sitting idly in his lap. "Open it, Harry, else I'll be kissing you this time."

With how husky her words were, he didn't hesitate in opening the gift as she'd suggested, nor did he stop all that long to look at it before he moved on to the next, and the next, until finally he was done with the unwrapping portion of the evening. All of her gifts, as expected, had been wonderful - amazing really, and they very easily held up against Slughorn's.

She'd gotten him in no specific order: a couple of books just like most others had, though some of hers went beyond that of spellbooks and instead went into other areas of magic, a necklace that matched the one she currently wore, notes hidden inside of a children's book that she told the others was for their future children… thanks… and to top it all off, a relic of his house that he hadn't even realised had been missing thanks to the still very hidden book that the house-elves couldn't find.

The one that was meant to contain additional information regarding House Peverell and their belongings as a whole. He still needed to deal with that, but he'd come to a dead end thanks to the lack of information available. It was only thanks to quick thinking on his part that he played it off like he knew what it was and what it did, Elaine went along with him too.

That garnered her another point of favour, and only then was he debating allowing her to stay with him a bit past his self-given bedtime - he wanted to be the first up, and he likely still would be, but she more than earned some private time with him on his birthday after her wonderful attitude and thoughtful gifts.

Eventually, the night's festivities came to an end and all those who'd opted to stay had gone off to their bedrooms for the evening. Nearly everybody had decided to stay too, save for Emilene Nott - it had something to do with her parents, if Harry had to guess. They would all be welcome to stay well into the afternoon, with a tour of the museum portion of his home being the final activity before those who remained for it would leave.

Slughorn, Harry was sure, would stay. He couldn't think of anybody else as interested in that portion of his home save for Elaine, as Sarah and Corene had already visited it once during the Yule festivities.

"We're finally alone," Elaine said as she closed the door to his room, bringing his attention to her and away from his thoughts as she started towards him. "I'm surprised you allowed me to enter your room even if we'll not be sleeping together."

"Why's that?" He asked as she finally came to a stop beside his bed were he was currently sprawled out.

Elaine shot him a knowing look. "Come now, Harry, we're past this," She said with a roll of her eyes as she climbed up beside him, her face level with his and her eyes catching Harry's. "You've always been very cautious around me, and don't think I've failed to see how locked up everything is. I'll admit, the care and attention to detail is impressive - I'd rather my boyfriend would be overly careful than careless. Anyhow, I should think that's mostly in the past following how reciprocal you've been tonight."

"I like you, we've been honest with one another and you've kept the largest secret I have stored away," Harry said. "I'm thankful for all of the lessons we've had, the closeness we've cultivated and most of all, the fact that you've not given anything away."

"Any secrets of yours I learn are purely for my sake, nobody else's. In a way, you're an enigma to me. There's much and more to learn about you, especially of your seer capabilities, and I plan to slowly unravel the mystery that you present yourself as," Elaine finished with a smile and wider eyes than she'd had before she started speaking.

Harry was distinctly uncomfortable thanks to the vaguely crazy look she now wore, and so he swallowed nothing, the action a reflex.

"Unravel away," He said to her, going so far as to shrug to relay that he didn't care. "You've already found out nearly everything about me."

"I have," Elaine said seriously, her smile widening.

"Sleep?" He asked, changing the topic and looking away from her.

Elaine cocked her head at him and used one of those cool hands of hers to turn him towards her again. "Sleep? Did you forget about the last present I have left to give you?"

Oh, right.

Harry smiled tiredly, the life of a party host most certainly wasn't meant for him. "I did… sorry about that. Let's see it."

She handed him a slip of parchment, or so he thought that was all it was. It wasn't until he unfurled the thing and a map fell out along with a few pictures from news clippings that he realised it was a sort of… investigative… thing.

"What is it?" He asked after a few moments of looking at it with no comprehension, the pictures of Grindelwald and the map meaning nothing to him.

"Your wand," Elaine said, one dainty finger pointing to the map long enough for him to see it move from there to a picture of Grindelwald. "He has it."

Harry very nearly shook his head and held up the wand that was still down his trousers. When he saw the deadly serious look she was giving him, one that had come to be reserved for very serious happenings between them, her message was made clear.

"The Elder Wand," He said.

"Yes," Elaine confirmed. "We'll have to take it from him."

Harry blinked at her a few times, the surety of her statement and how casually she'd said it, throwing him for a loop. "We'll?"

"Our wand's are stronger together, you've seen as much when we cast jointly at my guest," Elaine's fingers interlocked themselves with his as she pulled him closer to her. "I dare say together, we could best any witch or wizard currently on this planet. Wouldn't you like to have your birthright returned to you?"

"You know I'm a Po-" Harry wasn't allowed to complete that sentence, Elaine's other hand came over to slap itself across his mouth; it was jarring.

"You're whatever you'd like to be, Harry," Elaine said. "Right now, for a reason currently unbeknownst to me, you're of the house that your last name currently says you are. Until that changes by means beyond your control, everything of that house will be yours as it currently is - now, why don't we sleep? We can devise a plan for getting your wand back another time."

Harry felt weird. He couldn't describe it any other way, as he'd never expected to hear Elaine telling him what she just had. Not when she'd shown such clear interest in the Peverell family belongings, the Hallows the most important bit of them.

He still felt weird as he finally began going to bed with Elaine at his side, and finally, he ended the night feeling weird with her cuddled up against him.

It was the first time he'd ever slept with somebody else like he currently was. The first time he was sleeping with a person he fancied, despite that fancying being off in of itself. Beyond all of that, when he woke up, it was the first time he'd slept as well as he had in a long time thanks to the silent companionship that Elaine provided.

Harry wondered if that was a sign from that higher power that he was meant to be trusting and accepting of Elaine as he'd finally begun to be. If it were, then he'd continue down the path of going all in on her… if it wasn't, well, he'd have to fix that when the time came for him to realise he'd made a mistake.

August 27, 1944

Sunday Evening

It'd been nearly a month since Harry's birthday party; a whole month with which he'd done practically nothing save for study and wait, the waiting on behalf of Slughorn thanks to the man telling him that the Ministry would contact the Peverell family formally to confirm them as a Wizengamot family.

He still hadn't heard back from them, though he supposed that meant the Ministry was pretty similar to the one from his time if they were that inept.

Still, in that time that had passed thus far, he'd seldom used it for anything save for bettering himself. Harry was too convinced that an attack would happen thanks to the differences in the timeline, and because of that - as well as the lingering feeling that he would have to fight somebody - he had gone so far as to have the elves work with him in creating a target system in his backyard. It wasn't anything advanced, it didn't come close to the moving targets in the room of requirement, but it worked well enough for him to practise his accuracy and quickness.

Everyday, Harry would go out and practise the new spells he'd learned in addition to the ones that'd begun to be called old thanks to the time that'd passed since he'd learned them. If Laddey and his own estimations were anything to go by, Harry's accuracy was impressive, the same could be said for his quickness in casting and the rate in which he learned spells.

He was better. Far better, at least when compared to himself when first he'd come to this time. Harry knew he was still pretty unlikely to win against Elaine, Grindelwald or the others who were inherently more powerful and extremely bookish.

Thanks to what Elaine had pointed out and said, he may not have to be the most powerful either. If there was a modicum of truth behind her words that their wands together could be used to devastating effect, then together, the pair of them certainly stood a chance against anybody. All that would stop them would be themselves, or in Harry's case, Elaine's ambitions growing too strong.

She hadn't shown any love for violence or the like, so he hoped they were good on that front.

"Is Master Peverell ready for Laddey to be throwing up the rocks?" Laddey asked, a happy, eager smile on his face as he bounced from one foot to the other.

"Almost," Harry assured the anxiously waiting house-elf.

He still couldn't believe how much Laddey loved his tedious task of throwing up stones or other objects. It was meant to be somewhat self-serving, and as a result, Harry felt bad for it… or so he thought. When Laddey came to love throwing up the objects for Harry to practise on, and beyond that, when he began to cheer at the light show he got to witness, the task had become anything but tedious or annoying for Harry's friend.

If anything, Laddey's favourite hobby, or as close as one as Laddey would ever admit to having, was helping his 'Master Peverell' by throwing things in the air and watching them get hit by various spells.

"Alright," Harry said after he finished his thoughts and the adjustment of his clothing - the one time he'd caught his robe sleeves on fire had been one too many, so he'd stuck to wearing the new clothes he'd been given by the Goldhorns. "I'm ready, Laddey. Throw up a few at a time. Have them float and move around like you did last time too, if you could."

"Of course, Master Peverell sir! Laddey can do that!" Laddey answered as he took a few steps away from Harry and began moving his hands around.

In a matter of seconds, various rocks, pots and other pieces of debris were floating in the air a good twenty or so yards from Harry; he could do further too, and occasionally closer, but he found twenty yards was a good distance for warming up. At least for him, it was.

Finally, Harry began waving his wand around and casting - one spell was one that had been made for mining, and as a result, the rock it'd hit had come apart violently. Another was one that caused an intense amount of heat, Harry didn't know how hot it was supposed to get, but the surface of the rock glowing was proof enough for him that hot meant really hot.

On and on he would go, practising the new spells or trying to improve his mastery with the old ones.

As was always the case towards the end of his practise, he simply cast one expelliarmus after the next. It wasn't the quickest spell, the most effective, the most dangerous or debilitating, but it'd remained his signature one thus far. Oftentimes, nearly always, he would simply cast the spell dozens of times for pure target practise alone until he was completely gassed.

Only once that happened would he ever allow himself to stop, and after nearly an hour of inconsistent practise; the breaks thanks to him getting a drink of water or stopping for a few breaths, he was finished.

"Most impressive, Harry," Elaine's voice said from behind him, the closeness startling him less so than her presence in general.

He whipped around quickly then, and sure enough, there she stood in the doorway that led out to the portion of the field he was currently standing in.

"Elaine," He said to her. "What're you doing here?"

Harry hadn't invited her over. Not one day, not for an hour or any other amount of time - not since his birthday. They'd only met a few times between the near month that'd passed!

"I wanted to visit," She said with a cocked head and weird smile. "You'll want me to stay too, as I've found something very odd. "