Chapter 118: Year End, Platform Talk, Servant Meets The Master (2/2)

”Let's go. I hope you have gotten better at apparating. Side-apparating with you isn't comfortable, and that is assuming that apparating is comfortable,” grinned Quinn.

”Shush, I don't apparate that often and even less bring someone with me.”

The West siblings turned to walk to the apparition point. Nonetheless, they stopped, as they heard two voices say in unison.

” ” Quinn. ” ”

Lia and Quinn stopped, and Quinn turned to look back to see who was calling him.

On his left side, Quinn saw the Potter family. Harry Potter, Lily Potter, and James Potter along with Ivy Potter.

On his right side, Quinn turned to see the Greengrass family. Jacob Greengrass and Sophie Greengrass were there with their two daughters, Astoria Greengrass and Daphne Greengrass. There were the others who had called out Quinn.

Lia suddenly looked very interested and excited as she saw two girls call out for Quinn.

”Yes?” asked Quinn. He moved his head side-to-side to look at both parties.

The two parties looked at each other. The fathers were the first to speak to each other.

”Potter,” said Jacob Greengrass with a relaxed smile.

”Greengrass,” returned James Potter with a barely discernible nod.

Then it was time for the mothers to greet each other. Those two were much friendlier to each other than their husbands.

”Lily, it's been a while since we've seen each other,” smiled Sophie as she stepped forward towards Lily Potter. ”You've been so busy with your new job that you seem to have forgotten me. Is this what our friendship has come to?”

Lily also stepped forward and hugged Sophie in greeting.

”Of course not. Don't tease me like that. You haven't written to me either in such a long time,” replied Lily. ”It's summer; I'm free for a while. How about we get together to catch up? Just like the old times.”

Quinn scooted near Lia and asked, ”They've called for me, but then they ignore me. Isn't this a bit rude?” asked Quinn.

But Lia wasn't listening to her brother. She was too busy looking at the two girls who had called for Quinn.

She had seen and met Daphne Greengrass before, though Daphne hadn't talked much during that meeting. Her impression of the girl was that she was the quiet type who didn't speak to people she just met.

Then there was this other girl. And Lia also recognized this girl as the sister to the Boy-Who-Lived. She had never met Ivy Potter, but she could remember her from the pictures in the newspapers.

And now, she was watching the two girls staring at each other. If she read them correctly, they were slightly glaring at each other.

'What's this? This is exciting. So exciting!' thought Lia as she looked at the girls with interest.

Astoria waved at Quinn and smiled. Quinn waved back. Harry Potter nodded and Quinn returned the nod.

After Jacob and James finished staring at each other and the mothers finished making plans, the two families finally turned to Quinn and Lia.

”Quinn, it's been two years since we met. At the ministry ball, remember?” asked Jacob Greengrass, taking the initiative.

”Indeed, Mr. Greengrass. I remember,” nodded Quinn. ”We were briefly introduced at the ball.”

Quinn then turned to Sophie Greengrass. And from the bottom of his heart came the most charming smile he had ever graced his face.

”Mrs. Greengrass. It's a pleasure to see you again after so much time. I can't believe we haven't had the opportunity to meet a second time till now.”

He was about to greet her physically but stopped when he felt a glare from a certain someone and stood in his spot before turning the other side.

”Auror and Professor Potter, I hope you are doing well.”

He didn't say anything more because he didn't want to spread any knowledge about what happened at the Shrieking Shack. Though he understood that the Potter family already knew about it. There was an excellent, close to a hundred percent chance that Jacob Greengrass was aware of the actual events and, thus, the rest of his family.

He gestured to Lia and briefly introduced, ”I believe you are already acquainted with her,” He fixed his eyes on the Greengrass Family. He then turned his head to the Potter Family. ”This is my sister, Lia West.”

Lia nodded gracefully to everybody with a smart and beautiful smile.

”May I inquire what both of you want to talk about?” asked Quinn, cutting straight to the subject.

Lily Potter was the first one to speak and brought up what the Potter family wanted with him.

”Quinn, about the dinner. When are you free for it? We can set it up whenever you want.”

From the corner of his eyes, Quinn saw that neither Jacob nor Sophie looked surprised or curious. Though Daphne and Astoria did have those looks that their parents lacked.

'So the sisters don't know, but the parents do. He does have a high enough position to know about it, I guess' thought Quinn and shrugged.

”It would be prudent for you to write a formal invitation addressed to my grandfather, George West. I'll be the one to reply and decide the date, but it's more convenient if you address the invitation to him,” replied Quinn. ”I advise you to keep the invitation precise and polite. My grandfather will surely appreciate it. If he approves your invitation, I'll be at your house for dinner without any hitches.”

”I understand. We will act as advised,” replied Lily. ”We're looking forward to hosting you and your family.”

”And I'm looking forward to the evening. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, Professor,” nodded Quinn.

He then turned to the Greengrass side, and even though he knew what they wanted, he waited, as waiting was what the social protocol demanded.

”I wanted to talk about the deal and discuss the details,” replied Jacob.

As Daphne had said, Jacob and Sophie Greengrass would agree to whatever was needed as long as Astoria got healthy again.

”I believe you also need to write to my grandfather. This time, it should be a letter to set up a meeting with him to discuss the details. You'll probably have to come to visit us, I'm afraid” stated Quinn.

Lia looked confused, as she didn't know what Jacob was talking about.

”Also, please make sure that the letter doesn't arrive today, tomorrow, or the following day. I haven't talked to him about it yet, so it would be beneficial to everyone if I have the necessary time to catch up with him.”

Jacob nodded. He wanted his daughter to become healthy; following Quinn's instructions would be the best way to achieve that.

”Excellent, now that both of you know what to do, I'm afraid it's time for me to leave. I'm looking forward to your letters and our eventual meetings.”

He turned and walked away without turning his head back. Staying there any longer would attract attention to him and draw questions. Besides, there wasn't anything else to talk about; any further fruitful talk would happen after they wrote to his grandfather.

Lia looked at both families and, after a nod, she too walked away. She followed Quinn.

The two families looked at each other, and its members wondered how and why they were connected to Quinn West.

.

- (Scene Break) -

.

Peter Pettigrew sat in an inn in Albania while enjoying a warm meal after weeks of traveling. He was currently under no guise.

The people here, unlike Britain, didn't know his face. They didn't see his 'wanted' posters daily.

'Not that it matters,' thought Peter as he read a local newspaper. 'I look nothing like in those posters.'

The image for the posters had been taken before he had been brought to Azkaban. The physical appearance of his past self was totally different from the one he had now. The difference was substantial.

But it turned out that Peter was wrong about people not recognizing him in Albania. He hadn't taken into account one type of person.

”Peter? Peter Pettigrew? Is that you?”

Peter froze. One of his hands sneaked into his robes and grasped a compatible wand he had stolen.

He looked up and saw a plump woman standing in front of him. It took him a few moments to recognize her, but he did recognize her.

'Bertha Jorkins. What's she doing here?' he thought, and then it struck him. 'Work? No, she's here for tourism.'

After years in Azkaban, Peter had gotten infinitely better at controlling his emotions and his actions. He was naturally able to control his emotions without the use of magic such as occlumency.

”Sorry, lady, but you've got the wrong chap. I don't know this Peter guy you're talking about.”

He kept a confused and slightly annoyed face as he said that.

”No, no, I know you. You're Peter Pettigrew,” insisted Bertha Jorkins.

Bertha Jorkins was a British witch. A Ministry of Magic employee who worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Bertha Jorkins had been a few years ahead of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew when they studied at Hogwarts.

She had been a gossipy girl and not very bright, which Peter noted to not be a good combination. During her school years, she would regularly complain about the mistreatment other students apparently had. She would even spread rumors. That had pushed Dumbledore to act on one occasion following one incident.

”Nope, not me. How about you sit down and tell me why you think I'm this Peter Pettigrew bloke,” said Peter. He wanted to make sure whether his guess about Bertha's personality had been correct. He had his wand ready just in case.

It turned out he had been right, as Bertha sat down at Peter's table and started to tell him why she thought he was Peter Pettigrew.

'Gossipy and not bright. Not a good combination, I'm afraid,' thought Peter as he continued to listen to her while nodding and humming in response.

After a while, Peter had his fill of food and drinks and was ready to leave. He turned to Bertha.

”Let's go take a walk. I want to talk more but I need to stretch my legs.”

He got up and went to the barkeep to pay for his food. He then walked out of the inn with Bertha following him out.

”Are you sure you aren't Peter Pettigrew? You look like him if he was thin,” asked Bertha.

”I guess I'm Peter Pettigrew, after all,” replied Peter when they were alone.

”So you say, but I think-.” Then Bertha stopped when she heard what Peter said. ”You said it! You said that you're Peter; no takebacks!”

Peter smiled, calmly raised his wand, and pointed it at her.

”Imperio.”

Bertha's eyes glazed over, and she stopped talking and became silent.

”Follow me.”

Peter and the Imperio-ed Bertha Jorkins headed to the Albanian forest for a few hours without stopping.

Peter Pettigrew was also Wormtail, a rat Animagus. And with that transformation came the ability to talk to rats while in his Animagus state.

He had been at a loss as he didn't know how to find the Dark Lord, but then he heard some chatter among the rats. For years, there had been a dark shadow that lived in the Albanian forest. Someone who took over other animals, killed them, and then moved on.

The Albanian forest had become a feared place for these creatures, and no one went there as their instincts screamed at them to run away.

Peter had nothing to go on with, and as such he investigated the only lead he had.

'Where's he? Let him be here,' thought Peter and looked at the sky to see the sun setting. 'I should leave before it gets dark.' He looked to his side and thought. 'I should get rid of her.'

He had only brought Bertha along with him because the rats said that the shadow used bodies of animals. Peter had thought that a human body would be more suitable if the dark shadow was the Dark Lord.

As he raised his wand to kill Bertha Jorkins, but then, Peter heard a loud and deep hissing sound.

He looked around and saw nothing, yet the hissing sound continued to come from all around him.

Then all of a sudden, it stopped, and the area went eerie silent.

What followed put a smile on Peter's face.

”... Wormtail,” came a voice like a whisper, yet it was everywhere.

Peter stood up straight and smiled.

”I'm here, my lord. At your service.”

.

- (End of Volume 5: Year Four) -

.

[

A/N [1] - Same deal as the last time. Will take a small break before returning. Two/three/four days.

.

A/N[2] - I will be floating a poll tomorrow so be sure to vote what you prefer.

]

.

-*-*-*-*-*-

.

Quinn West - MC - This will be a busy summer.

Peter Pettigrew - Wormtail - Determined, tempered, strong.

FictionOnlyReader - Author - See you guys later.

.

-*-*-*-*-*-

.

If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.

The link is in the synopsis!