CONFUNDUS; harry potter [UNDER EDITION]

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

"Do you have three galleons?" Milan asks, suddenly. She looks up from her purse, a pout in her lips. "I want a cauldron cake."

Lucca has never seen Milan so anxious before. She sits down, eats another pastry, stands up again and goes to buy more. Lucca is concerned about how many sweets Milan has consumed in such a short time. He knows she is scared. Returning back to their family isn't joyful for them as it is for many other students. Lucca and Milan are terrified of their grandparents. They don't know what to expect from them.

Lucca passes her the gold. Only when Milan closes the compartment door, Padma lowers her magazine.

"You're too quiet, Lu," she says. Terry and Aurora look up from their chess game while Sam and Luna nod along, their hands still holding pieces of the Prophet for their scrapbook. "You good?"

He nods, exchanging a subtle look with Hermione and muttering he is just tired.

Lucca is worried about Harry.

McGonagall informed them about the situation the morning after her lesson. She invited Hermione and Lucca to her office and told them that Harry had a vision about how Arthur Weasley was attacked during an Order duty last night by a snake. Lucca is quite concerned about him having those kinds of visions. Harry is not a Seer. In fact, Lucca reckons it's a connection between him and You-Know-Who: Harry has been marker as the Chosen One the night Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter.

Lucca has been thinking about telling Harry the truth. Lucca feels completely guilty for knowing too much, for knowing Harry's path and how things will end. And Harry has the right to be informed about his destiny. But he can't do that because that would be messing with the timeline and Lucca shouldn't do so.

Milan enters the compartment once again and talks to Hermione about the book she lent to her. Padma and Samuel chat about an article of famous muggles who are suspected wizards while Luna naps on Aurora's shoulder, who is quietly reading Quidditch Today. Terry has dumped them for McCarthy and her friends. Lucca doesn't mind. He feels bad for enjoying a bit of calmness before facing his grandparents again.

When the train arrives in King's Cross, Tonks appears to walk Hermione to Grimmauld Place. She promises Lucca to tell Harry to write as soon as possible; but that is most unlikely seeing that Dumbledore doesn't much like the idea of having Hedwig flying around. Lucca says he will try to visit them but it's an empty promise, Lucca knows he will have to stay in the manor.

Francesca welcomes them with hugs and kisses. And knowing they don't actually want to go to the manor yet, she spends a long minutes chatting with Aurora's Aunt and Terry's mother, then shifting to greet other familiar faces and gossip a bit with Padma's mother and Lavender's father. Lucca is glad Francesca is saving them time.

"Couldn't see Anastasia," Francesca mutters once they are making their way to the manor. "I need to tell her about Barbara getting divorced."

"Cedric took the Knight Bus," Milan says. "He and Pierson were going to spend the first days of the break in Manchester visiting some relatives."

"Oh, why didn't you join?"

"They didn't invite me."

"Why?"

"Because Pierson is Cedric's friend..."

Francesca doesn't seem to catch the idea. Instead of continuing to argue, she gets distracted when the door opens and Suri, the house elf, opens the door for them. She orders to leave the luggage in the entrance and that soon they will send it upstairs to their room. As Milan and Francesca go to the drawing room for tea and keep chatting, Lucca doesn't know what to do. The house doesn't feel like his home, it never felt that way.