Little fight.
"Once again, we've found several dark wizards… but for some reason, they're all Squibs," murmured one of the Aurors, a note of unease in his voice as he glanced at Moody.
Moody said nothing. His brow was furrowed as he reviewed the files of the captives, his gaze sharp and his face even more hardened than usual.
"Same pattern… but different level," he finally commented in a grave tone. "Six months ago, they'd find the dark wizards dead. Only their heads left behind.
Two months later, the method changed. They weren't fully killed anymore. Their bodies were dismembered, yes, but the torsos and heads remained.
And now… now they're alive. Not a single wound."
He looked up, staring at the Auror.
"But they're no longer wizards. They're Squibs. Dark wizards I fought myself in the past… reduced to nothing. As if someone ripped the magic right out of them."
The Auror swallowed hard.
"Is this worse than before?"
"Much worse," Moody nodded seriously, his magical eye spinning constantly. "If it were just deaths"dark wizards, traffickers"the Ministry would let it slide. They wouldn't spend a single Galleon investigating. But someone who can rip magic from a wizard… that's a real threat.
And they know it.
The pure-blood families won't sit still. They'll force the Ministry to find this vigilante. Not for justice… but out of fear. No one wants to be the next one left empty."
The Auror looked tense.
"Why do you think they changed their method, sir?"
Moody gave a slight shrug.
"Could be anything. Maybe they got tired of killing… maybe they realized their path was too brutal and decided to change. Who knows?
But that's not what matters. If they're not killing anymore, it just means we'll need more room in Azkaban for this scum."
And with nothing more, he turned and walked away, his cloak billowing with each step.
...…..
Meanwhile, in the backyard of Wanda and Harry's home…
Harry was practicing with his training wand, focused. In front of him, a ball floated gently in the air, held up by a simple but effective charm.
"Mom Wanda, look!" Harry exclaimed with a proud smile.
"Wow! You're a genius," Wanda said warmly, clapping softly.
The little red dragon, which Harry had named Red, jumped around trying to catch the ball, but its tiny wings flapped uselessly"more decorative than functional.
"HARRY! I came to play!" Hermione yelled as she entered through the garden gate, followed by her mother, Susan.
"Sorry I brought her over for a bit. At home, everything ends up flying while she practices with her wand," Susan said with a laugh as she sat down next to Wanda.
Ever since they learned Wanda was a witch and got introduced to the magical world, they had to fire the nanny. Susan had cut back on her work hours to look after Hermione, not that she minded. Her husband didn't complain either"in fact, he liked the idea of their family being close to someone who could help them understand that new world.
"It's fine," Wanda replied calmly.
"Hey, did you hear about that vigilante in Diagon Alley? Looks like they're hunting him harder than before," Susan said with a gleam of gossip in her eyes.
"Yeah, they've been looking for him for six months and still no leads. Why the sudden extra effort?" Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not exactly sure, but they say he broke a very dangerous rule. The Ministry's throwing all its resources into catching him," Susan explained. Ever since Hermione was nearing eleven and would officially enter the magical world, Susan had subscribed to The Daily Prophet and other magical papers. She wanted to stay informed.
While they talked, a childish argument broke out.
"You're a tattletale!" Harry shouted angrily.
"And you're a dummy!" Hermione snapped back before running home in tears.
Harry watched her go, his wide eyes glistening with regret. He stepped forward as if to stop her, but then froze, crossing his arms and puffing his cheeks in frustration.
"Well, looks like they had their first fight," Susan said with a resigned smile as she stood up. "See you later."
Wanda rose gently and walked over to Harry, her expression firm yet tender. She knelt to his level and touched his cheek.
"What happened, Harry?"
"I… the ball went up into the tree… and I tried to climb up to get it. But Hermione scolded me. She said it was dangerous. But I can do it, Mom. I've done it a bunch of times! And she said it was dumb to risk it for a ball… and… and… waaah!" he broke down crying loudly.
Wanda didn't hesitate. She pulled him into a tight hug, pressing him against her chest.
"It's okay, Harry. Don't cry, my love," she whispered, stroking his head.
"But… but Hermione's a tattletale… waaah!"
"No, Harry. Hermione's not a tattletale. She was worried because she didn't want you to get hurt."
"But I can climb that tree!"
"I know. But that doesn't change the fact that someone who loves you… gets scared.
I would worry too if I saw you climbing such a tall tree. Hermione didn't want anything bad to happen to you. Maybe she didn't use the right words, but she acted out of love.
She didn't want to see you hurt."
Harry looked down, thoughtful.
"So… how do I get the ball down?"
"You just have to ask me. Watch." She snapped her fingers, and the ball gently floated down from the tree. "You don't need to get angry at someone who's just trying to protect you.
And before doing something dangerous, think first.
If something happened to you… both Hermione and I would cry a lot."
Harry looked up at her, surprised.
"No! I don't want you to cry, Mom," he said, hugging her tightly.
"Then promise me you'll think before you act, okay?"
"…Okay," he nodded, while Wanda wiped away his tears with a handkerchief.
"And then… you should apologize to Hermione, don't you think? Don't let a silly fight drive you apart."
"…Okay," he mumbled softly.
"That's my brave little boy," Wanda said sweetly, lifting him in her arms and spinning him gently. Harry, laughing, forgot his anger for a moment.
The apology didn't take long, thanks to Susan managing to convince Hermione to come back. She still had red eyes and a deeply offended look as she stood in front of Harry with her arms crossed.
Harry, on the other hand, had no idea how to begin. He kept shuffling his foot against the ground, awkwardly.
"Hermione… I'm sorry. You're not a busybody," he said softly, lifting his gaze a little.
Hermione looked at him in silence for a second, then turned to look at her mother and Wanda, who were sitting on the couch watching them with warm, maternal smiles. Susan gave her a clear gesture: your turn.
"I… I'm sorry too, Harry. You're not an idiot," Hermione said a bit shyly, pressing her lips together at the end.
Then Harry smiled brightly, as if the sun had come out again in his world.
"Then we're friends again!" he said with a mix of pride and happiness.
"Yes," Hermione replied, now with a slight smile.
And just like that, the little childish fight ended as quickly as it had started, and both of them ran off again after the ball, trying to stop Red from tearing it up with his teeth.
"Ah… when you're a kid, all it takes is a simple apology and everything's fixed," Susan sighed with a hint of melancholy. "Sadly, when you grow up, it's not that easy. If it were, I'd still have all my childhood friends."
She fell silent, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked:
"Has it ever happened to you? You fought with a friend… and then it became so hard to talk to them that you just never did again?"
"Ha, yeah. With almost half of them," Wanda replied with a nostalgic smile.
"And you're laughing? You should be sad about that!" said Susan with a mildly surprised expression.
"It's just… now that I think about it, all those fights were over silly things. Ridiculous, even. Sometimes we saw each other one last time, but it was never the same again. We all went our separate ways."
Wanda looked away, caught in memories that had been asleep for years.
...…
Later that night:
"Harry, what do you want for dinner tonight?" Wanda asked as she peeked into the dining room. She had a cup of water in her hand.
"Mom, look! No wand!" Harry said excitedly.
The living room TV was floating gently above him, wrapped in a vivid red aura.
Wanda froze. The cup slipped from her fingers and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor. Her eyes filled with a mix of awe and alarm.
She ran toward Harry, checking him from head to toe in a rush. Harry didn't understand her reaction.
"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.
Wanda was already casting diagnostic spells one after another, not saying a word.
"Nothing. Nothing at all… I just got a little surprised," she said quickly, forcing a smile so he wouldn't worry.
But inside her, there was no calm.
Because the truth was, Wanda had felt it clearly: inside Harry… there was chaos magic.
It wasn't a dark connection to Chthon or anything like that. No… it was something different. A magical resonance that seemed to come directly from herself.
And then she understood.
An idea as sudden as it was unsettling crossed her mind: she had done it again. Unconsciously.
And most likely, it was all because of one undeniable fact: Harry had started calling her "Mom"… and she had accepted him as her son.
Was that a good thing?
Or something dangerously unstable?
She didn't know.
"It's awesome, right, Mom?!" Harry said, proudly pointing at the floating TV.
Wanda stared at him. That innocent face. That warm energy.
"Yes, sweetheart… it's really awesome," she finally replied softly.
And she repeated, almost to convince herself:
"It's very, very awesome…"