(I just love that show.)
The feast at Crystal Rose was as grand as ever. The entire hall decked out in decorations made by their own magic. And as usual, the food was to die for.
"I have no idea how I manage to live without spanakopita in my life at school," Harry took another bite of the dish.
Spanakopita, meaning spinach pie, is a Greek savory pastry, typically with spinach and feta cheese filling. It is similar to the börek pastry of other eastern Mediterranean cultures. Greeks have been eating these pies since ancient times. One of the earliest references to one comes from the poet Philoxenos in the fifth century B.C. Philoxenos writes that at the end of a banquet the hosts served a cheesecake made with milk and honey that was baked like a pie.
Growing up on traditional Greek food had really driven home on each of the trio's favorite food. Harry, even though he was not a vegetarian in the least, loved vegetable dishes because of how he channels animal abilities. While he eats meat, he likes to think that the animals that died to give them the meat all lived happy and long lives before dying of natural causes. Plus, he was a big fan of cheese, and spanakopita usually has a lot of feta or ricotta in it.
Krinos and Melody were similar to him but technically have lived in Greece for longer than him. Krinos has always had a sweet tooth, so he loved lokma. They were basically Greek donuts but soaked in a sweet syrup or honey and sometimes rolled in cinnamon-sugar. He, of course, would prefer a sweet fruit syrup on his lokma since fresh fruit was one of his favorite things to grow in his garden. Melody might look like all thin and like she only eats salad, but the girl likes her food heavy and filling. Her favorite is a traditional lamb gyro with tzatziki. You'd be surprised how a little lady like her could make an entire gyro disappear in less than five minutes, but she makes it happen. Though, she does like the tomato and onion cooked for her gyros since she does not like raw vegetables in anything other than a salad or slaw.
"What is with you and cheese, anyway," Krinos asked, chuckling at his brother.
"Nothing can beat a good cheese when you need to satisfy your appetite," Harry responded. "Don't believe me, ask anyone here that is from Italy."
"I do love a lot of parmesan when I eat pasta," Melody giggled.
"Or a good cannoli with that sweet ricotta filling," Krinos licked his lips as he thought of the Italian dessert.
"Ask and they shall appear," Sofia giggled as she slid next to the Gardna family with a plate of cannoli.
"Sofia, you are now my favorite person in the whole world," Krinos took the whole plate from her.
"Hey," his siblings protested.
"Bring me a dessert and I might change my mind," Krinos smirked at them.
"You bring any more cheese, Sofia," Harry jokingly asked the shapeshifter.
"Just because I am Italian does not mean that I am a walking cheese factory," Sofia cutely pouted.
"We're just teasing," Harry patted her playfully on the head. "You know we love you."
"You love us too, right," Abby was next to slide next to them along with Hestia.
"We were basically raised around each other until we had to go to Hogwarts," Melody grinned. "It was either love you guys or have a very miserable childhood."
"When you're a mystic soul, you do have to make friends and allies or the future would not be very bright," Olivia says.
All the younger mystic souls nodded in agreement with the time mage. Unlike with wand users that rely a lot on politics to deal with each other and make allies or enemies, mystic soul politics are solely for survival. While not all mystic souls were good, just like every other kind of human-like being on earth, there were those that rely on each other.
If you take those present into account, there were many possibilities for what an alliance between them can do. The Gardna's are a powerful and ancient family. There are less than two dozen families that have the same amount of power and pull they do. Take into account that the four of them separately are also incredibly powerful, then they are a force that many would be lucky to ally themselves with. Abby was also from a powerful family. Her family has been the leading experts in ice magic for hundreds of years with only her family able to use enchanted sapphire magic. Sofia might not be from a very influential family, but there were few that master their powers as quickly as she did. She was able to change into animals since she was very young. Many could not say the same thing as they took years to master their powers. Sofia's only issue was when she was actually in the anima's body and had trouble with her movements. Like when she was difficulties stopping as a cheetah or issues flying when a bird. And Hestia is a healer, one of the most coveted powers in all of magic. Her ability to heal injuries, illnesses, and even brain damage make her a very desired person. Especially with demons around. Her only limitation is that she can not heal things that have to do with emotional things or a state of mind. Like, she can not heal high blood pressure because that has a mental cause instead of a physical one.
"So, are you guys ever going to tell your Hogwarts friends about being mystic souls," Hestia asked.
"It might be useful to have some wizard allies for the future," Abby added.
The siblings shared a look with each other. While they knew that they would eventually tell their friends about their powers, they had never discussed when they would do it or even which ones they would tell first. Those like Fred, George, Percy, and Neville had been their first friends at Hogwarts, so they would be told first. But then you had those like Oliver, Cedric, and maybe even Luna if they got to know her, that would be told later once they could trust them more.
"We actually have not discussed that, yet," Harry admitted.
"We know that we want to, but never really went in-depth on when we would even do it," Melody said.
"You aren't afraid of how they might react, are you," Sofia asked.
"We'd be lying if we said that we weren't," Krinos said. "The teachers know, or most of them do we think. They are not scared or paranoid around us, but students are not the same as adult wand-users."
"They are good friends," Harry says. "I hope that they would be okay with it."
"By that, he means that he hopes that two redhead twins will accept him as he is," Melody gave her brother a smirk.
Harry could not help but feel his cheeks heat up as he blushed.
"Aw, is our baby brother growing up," Krinos teased him. "Does he have his first crush? On a pair of twins, no less."
"You know that I hate both of you right now, right," Harry tried to glare at them even as he was still blushing.
"We're still twelve," Sofia reminded. "We got to remember that."
"We know, Fia," Melody says. "We even made a promise to each other not to date anyone until we are, at least, fourteen. That seems like an appropriate age to date someone."
"Make sure to let me know when you do date someone," Olivia did not even look away from her meal. "As the oldest among us, it is my duty to pull the older siblings act."
"Isn't it like an older brother's job or something," Hestia asked. "I'm guessing, here, because I am pretty sure that I am the only one that this table without siblings."
That seemed to throw a dark aura around the Gardna's. They never shared that secret with anyone that wasn't family. They wanted to, especially when it came to their best friends at Crystal Rose, but some memories are too painful to talk about. Especially for Krinos. His powers always have been the ones that react the most with his emotions. Want proof, then get him angry enough and you will soon be on the bad side of a giant and really hungry venus flytrap.
"Well, they don't have any older siblings," Olivia tried to recover the situation. "So I will gladly take up the role."
"I can picture her making wand-users run for the hills," Abby laughed. "Just because we're also mystic souls does not mean that we don't know that our kind can be scary.
"I can imagine a few of them either screaming or fainting at the sight of Vallia, Buzz, Hawk, or Hailey," Harry changed the subject. "They are, admittedly, not the most human-looking mystic souls around."
"I would pay to see that, actually," Abby giggled.
"What I think the problem is, is not with them but where they were raised," Melody says. "I mean, magical Britain is filled to the brim with people that hate creatures, first-generation mages, mundanes, basically anything that is not 'pureblood."
"I despise their use of blood terms over there," Abby sneered. "And they are probably the only wizarding community left that even cares about their so-called 'blood purity."
"It's very annoying, really," Krinos crossed his arms. "I've dumped mashed potatoes on three 'purebloods' since we started last year, and I have a feeling that I will be doing it again. Especially on that Malfoy idiot."
"And wasn't it his father that bribed or forced the rest of the school board to keep Lockhart as a teacher after he de-boned my arm," Harry remembered. "It seems that stupidity and being a pain in the butt runs in the family. And if he dares to say that disgusting term for first-generation mages again, Krinos dumping potatoes on him will be the least of his worries."
"I have never been more proud of you," Melody jokes, giving him a one-arm hug. "Putting the fear of the animal kingdom into people."
"Well, what is scarier than the thought of being eaten alive by an angry lion," Harry got a wicked smirk on his face.
"Maybe that's why you were sorted into Gryffindor," Krinos chuckled.
"What can I say, nobody wants to be a lion's lunch," Harry's eyes momentarily flashed to looked like a lion's for a second before turning back to normal.
"Gotta love how scary those eyes can be," Sofia copied the cat-eye flash to prove her point. "I do hope that hasn't happened in one of your classes, though."
"I think I might have had a little slip-up every now and again in Potions," Harry admitted. "I make sure that no one can see my face when it happens, but if Snape makes one more comment about my biological father, I might actually eat him."
"You trying to give yourself indigestion, or something," Krinos raised an eyebrow. "Don't punish your stomach just because Snape seems to have a grudge against a dead man. Being completely honest, he needs to grow up and get over it."
"His insults might be more of an older person's vocabulary, but he the way he acts is more like an immature teenager," Melody added.
"Care to remind us why he's a teacher," Abby raised an eyebrow.
"Your guess is as good as ours," Harry shrugged. "From Melody's research, we know that he is the youngest potions master to date, but that does not mean that he is able to teach what he knows about."
"No kidding," Melody agreed. "He doesn't even really teach. Every class he is like 'the potion is on the board, begin.' He gives no demonstration or tips or warnings, just the recipe. All we have are our potions books and the instructions that he puts on the board."
"If we have not already had years of practice brewing vanquishing and other types of potions that we use, we would be in deep trouble," Krinos added. "Poor Hannah Abbott started crying in class last month because he yelled at her. All she asked was why does stirring clockwise or counterclockwise effect the potion. He basically bellowed at her. Yelling 'YOU STIR THIS WAY BECAUSE. I. SAID. SO.' I was ready to vanquish him right then and there."
"That's horrible," Hestia gasped. "Why is he allowed to act like that?"
"To tell the truth, we don't think he is allowed," Harry says. "We just think that all the students are so afraid of him that they don't bother trying to report him. I know I have seen annoyance on Professors Flitwick and Sprout's faces whenever Snape opens his mouth at mealtimes."
"He should do the whole world a favor and stop talking, and I mean like for the rest of his life," Melody said.
"Was this Snape guy the greasy-haired annoyance that I flipped off of that platform," Olivia asked.
"Yep," Harry popped the P.
"You're welcome, then," she smirked as she ate her lamb chops.
"He deserved a lot worse than just judo flipping him and knocking him out," Krinos says. "It's annoying how he seems to take anything that happens and always makes it back to calling Harry arrogant or some other insult."
"And personally, I am going to lose it if he continues to ignore the fact that my name is Potter-Gardna and not simply Potter," Harry crossed his arms. "What is his problem with me? He doesn't even know me."
"You would think that since you no longer look like what those books say you look like, he would not have as much of a problem," Melody said.
"What do you mean, Melody," Sofia asked.
"The only things that those horrible books about Harry got right was how he looked," Melody explains. "Before our parents did the blood adoption, Harry had more raven-colored hair than our signature midnight black. His eyes were also emerald green instead of Gardna silver."
"He probably looked a lot like his biological father," Krinos said. "Snape probably has something against him and for whatever reason still harbors a grudge even though he has been dead for almost twelve years."
"I know I can hold a grudge, but that is seriously stupid," Harry says. "So they probably had a rivalry or something. Maybe during school or whatever. He needs to get over it already."
"I wonder if he also liked your biological mother," Hestia thought out loud, ever being a person that loves love. "Loves makes people do weird things. You would be a living representation that the woman he loved chose another man over him."
"That still does not give him a real reason to target Harry," Krinos said. "The man is in his late thirties. He needs to grow up already."
"Never have I agreed with anything more in my life," Melody says.
"If it wouldn't get us expelled, and start a witch hunt for mystic souls, I would gladly use my powers on him," Harry made 'I am chocking you' motions with his hands. "I wonder how he would deal with being poisoned by a viper, or crushed underneath the weight of an elephant, or maybe even electrocuted by an eel."
"Only you can make something as simple and harmless-looking as an eel sound so dangerous," Abby giggled.
"We're Gardna's," Krinos snickered. "Our family is known for having scary sides to our personalities."
"A calm and then a storm," Hestia grinned. "We all know that."
"Some more than others," Sofia giggled. "Does that guy still run away at the sight of Harry since he threw him through a window?"
"He does," Harry evilly smirked. "As he should. No one insults my family and gets away with it."
"I feel like I would be worried about that Snape guy if I bothered to care about an adult bully," Abby stated.
"If you ever need help getting rid of a body, I know a few time periods where people would simply use it as firewood replacement," Olivia said.
"I always knew you were the scariest out of the four of us," Melody stated, looking at her cousin.
"Something of which I am very proud of," Olivia flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "But I am more to scare humans. If you want to scare demons, send Krinos."
"Turn one demon into a tree and they all run at the sight of me," Krinos rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain.
"Just don't stop doing it," Melody said. "Anything that can keep those pests away for more than a day."
"Don't get your hopes up, I just vanquished a Scavenger demon two hours ago," a male voice said, approaching them.
The group looked up and Harry's best friend was coming over.
He always African with a slight accent to his voice. His hair was a buzzcut length and dark black. His clothing was like night back armor, yet not heavy or metallic. It's more like leather. A black vest, pants, and boots with matching arm gauntlets. On his chest was the symbol was a dark purple symbol of a panther. His eyes were an amazing shade of amethyst with specks of emerald in them if you looked close enough.
"Another scavenger demon, T'challa," Harry asked.
(Yes, he is based on Black Panther, but this is a mystic soul version that is mostly an OC. But I do not own Black Panther.)
"Seems that a Bounty Hunter demon left behind the leftovers of one of his bounties," the newly identified T'challa answered. "At least this time I managed to avoid getting slime all over me."
"That is definitely the worse thing about Scavengers," Krinos says. "I ruined a lot of good clothes because of vanquishing those things."
"I had to throw away a perfectly good pair of boots because of those slimeballs," Abby shook her head.
"I just got a very interesting mirror call from my father," T'challs joined them at the table.
"Really," Krinos took a drink. "And what did your dear ol' dad have to tell you?"
"It seems that there was an opening at his local magic school for a defense magic teacher," T'challa says. "He'll be teaching there for the rest of the year."
"At least they will get a real professor, then," Melody smirked.
"You guys deserve it," T'challa smiled at them.
"Guess we will now be taught by Kingsley Shacklebolt," Harry smiled.
"My father always has been one of the best at defense magic," T'challa says.
The friends all cheered for a better year.