Inside The Burrow, the kitchen was alive with magic. Dishes lined up to leap into the sink for a bath, and on the wall, the hands of the Weasley family clock swung from "Lost" to "Home" for Ron, Fred, and George. On the sofa, a pair of knitting needles clicked away, weaving a sweater all by themselves.
"It's not much," Ron said to Harry, "but it's home."
"It's brilliant," Harry replied, his eyes wide with wonder.
Aiden took the suitcase from Harry's hand, then suddenly stiffened. He felt a wave of powerful, angry emotion approaching rapidly. He glanced at the Weasley boys. "Good luck, you three."
They looked at him, confused, but were quickly interrupted by the sound of thunderous footsteps from the stairs. Molly appeared, her face a mask of fury.
"Where have you been?!" she roared. Her eyes landed on Harry, and her expression instantly softened into a warm smile. "Oh, Harry, dear. Welcome." Then, just as quickly, her face hardened again as she turned back to her sons. "No one in their beds, not a single note, the car gone—you could have died! You could have been seen!"
"It's alright, Aunt," Aiden began, stepping forward to smooth things over. "You have to trust my skills."
"And you!" she said, rounding on him. "You reckless boy, messing around with alchemy with their father! Abusing Muggle Artifacts, do you know how serious that is?" She put her hands on her hips, her voice rising. "Do the two of you want to go to Azkaban? I have no desire to take Ginny to visit her father and brother in prison!"
"No need to worry about that," Aiden muttered under his breath. "Uncle already left a backdoor in the law. Worst case, we just pay to lobby the Ministry. With our connections, who could touch us?"
Molly's sharp ears caught his words. A hand shot out and grabbed Aiden's ear, twisting it firmly.
"Aunt, I was wrong! I was really wrong!" he yelped, begging for mercy.
She gave his ear one last tug before letting go, too exasperated to continue. "Oh, Harry, you must be exhausted after being in that car all night. You can go rest in a bit. George, Fred, Ron—after breakfast, you are de-gnoming the garden."
She issued her orders with practiced authority, then turned back to Aiden. "And you can help. The gnomes have been getting bold lately. They're running into the yard carrying weapons. Do you have any idea what that's about?"
"It may be a side effect of the recent experiments Uncle and I have been conducting," Aiden lied smoothly, his face a perfect mask of innocence. "A slight magical mutation, perhaps."
With everyone's chores assigned, Molly ushered them to the dining table for breakfast. Just as they were sitting down, Ginny ran down the stairs in her pajamas.
"Mum," she asked, "have you seen my slippers?"
"Of course, dear," Molly replied from the stove. "They're on top of the cat."
Ginny looked over at the table, saw Harry, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Hello," Harry said with a small wave.
Without a word, Ginny turned and fled back upstairs. The twins shared a knowing smirk.
Aiden glanced at Harry. 'You're done for, kid.'
"Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked, confused.
"It's Ginny," Ron explained. "She hasn't shut up about you all summer."
At that moment, Arthur walked in from outside, looking tired but cheerful. "Good morning, children."
A chorus of greetings answered him.
"Oh, what a night," Arthur sighed, slumping into a chair. "Nine raids. And a fellow named Mundungus Fletcher actually tried to hex me from behind."
Ron quickly introduced his father to Harry.
"So, Uncle," Aiden asked, "any good confiscations?"
"The usual," Arthur said with a hint of regret. "A few Dark items from the same old families. They'll pay a fine and be on their way. A pity I couldn't send any of them to Azkaban." He looked over at the new face at the table. "Oh, hello there. And who might you be?"
"Harry Potter, sir," Harry said, taking the initiative to shake Arthur's hand.
'If Draco could see this,' Aiden thought, 'he'd die of jealousy.'
"Merlin's beard! You really are!" Arthur exclaimed. "Ron's told me all about you. When did you get here?"
"Last night," Molly answered for him, her hands on her hips. "Driving that 'charming baby' you and Aiden built."
"Really?" Arthur's eyes lit up. "Did you activate the runes Aiden carved? He said they could hide the car in a person's conscious blind spot. How did it work?"
"I tested it personally," Aiden chimed in with a raised eyebrow. "The effect is excellent. You could practically park it on a Muggle's face and they wouldn't notice."
Molly swatted Arthur on the arm. He quickly straightened up, adopting a stern expression. "What I mean to say is, your behavior was terrible. Very bad indeed, children."
The family finished breakfast in a cheerful, chaotic atmosphere.
"Harry, dear, you go get some rest," Molly said gently. "You've been up all night."
"It's alright, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied. "I'd like to help them with the chores, if that's okay."
"Well, of course, dear. Go on, have fun," she said with a warm smile.
Out in the garden, the twins were magically yanking vegetables from the soil while Ron skilfully used a Levitation Charm to catch them and guide them into baskets.
"Ron, when did your magic get so good?" Harry asked in amazement. 'Good grief,' he thought. 'While his brothers were slacking off, he's been secretly studying all summer. If we hadn't shown up, he would have stunned everyone when school started.'
Ron's eyes practically rolled into the back of his head. "To put it simply, I was tricked by Aiden," he sighed. "He spent the summer cramming theory into my head while Mum handled the practical combat training. They called it some kind of 'Prewett-style' teaching." He crossed his arms, looking deeply aggrieved. "I'm a Weasley, and I'm being forced to study by two Prewetts. And Aiden gets to go out and have fun all summer while I'm stuck here. He still owes me a duel, you know. I'm telling you, Harry, I'm terribly strong now. I'm going to let him experience a brother's love."
Elsewhere in the yard, Aiden found the gnomes Molly had mentioned. They had indeed changed. They had tied sharp stones to branches to make crude spears and were carrying flat pieces of bark as shields.
"Have they entered the Stone Age?" Aiden wondered, stroking his chin.
He reached out, a faint light glowing at his fingertips. He waved it gently in front of a gnome's eyes and then tapped it between its brows. The gnome's eyes went glassy. It offered no resistance as Aiden delved into its mind.
The clues were there. The exiled Gnome King had fled into the nearby woods and declared himself a savior sent by God. He had established a primitive religion among the mountain gnomes, fabricating a deity named Gnomeregan—the name of their previous kingdom. They had become a bona fide theocracy.
Aiden just stared. "..."
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