Echoes of Stone and Gold… Pt3
"I wonder if the boys are having fun," Daphne said while her feet were being massaged and she calmly sipped a smoothie, enjoying her day without any rush.
Behind her, what looked like several pools could be seen, surrounded by women resting just like her. Beyond that, the large building rose imposingly, resembling a massive five star hotel, though with a clearly magical air that set it apart from any Muggle construction.
Sitting beside her, Hermione was reading a book, also looking quite relaxed.
"I don't know, but I can say they most likely are," she replied calmly. Knowing them, it was almost certain they had found something fun to do.
"And it's not as bad as I thought," she added, genuinely enjoying the massage.
"Next time we should plan an outing with everyone together. Maybe the beach," Susan commented from not too far away, sitting with the other women. Each of them had their own masseur. Susan, in particular, had cucumber slices over her eyes and a facial mask of a truly bright color, one that even seemed to form small bubbles. Even so, she looked completely comfortable.
"Yes, but it would be better if it's a private beach. Last time, Edward really caused some problems," Selene said with amusement, remembering something from the past. She was wearing a full body robe while having her manicure and pedicure done.
"Well, just in case, I'll call to see what they're doing," Narcissa said with a serious expression as she took out a crystal marble. It was an object created with a function similar to two way mirrors, but in a miniaturized version.
"You worry too much," Pandora commented, who was eating a large fruit salad of all kinds together with Astoria and Luna.
The girls were busy sharing the food with Hedwig, Terra, and Dee, their cheeks puffed out like squirrels, unable to speak properly.
"Sirius is in charge of watching them. They'll be fine," Pandora added. However, for a moment, everyone seemed to freeze, as if those words could never truly go together.
"Edward and Wendel are with them too," she added quickly.
Then everyone nodded, now a bit more relaxed.
"It's a shame Xeno couldn't join them. Always so immersed in his work," Pandora said with a light sigh.
"Then it would have just been one more child to look after," Selene added with a laugh. She then looked toward Wanda, who was being rather quiet, and sighed softly.
"Both you and Narcissa really exaggerate. Just call them and make sure everything is fine," she said quickly, sounding a bit tired, as if she already knew both of them worried too much.
Narcissa did not need permission; she was already doing it.
She did not wait long before Draco's face appeared inside the crystal marble, which grew slightly until it reached the size of a fist.
"Hi, Mom. Hi, everyone," Draco said with a calm smile, though it was clear he was moving hurriedly for some reason.
Narcissa was about to reply when she noticed something off. The light behind Draco flickered oddly, broken by moving shadows that were far too large to belong to trees alone. For a brief second, something metallic reflected the light before disappearing from view.
His forehead was covered in sweat and, behind him, for some reason, trees could be seen. Trees?
"Draco, where are you?" Narcissa asked with a frown, observing her son's back, the jungle like trees, and the tall vegetation.
"Oh… uh… we're on an excursion," Draco replied after glancing to the side.
"We're exploring a forest," he added.
"Exploring a forest? Are the others with you?" she asked as Wanda approached.
"Ah, no, we didn't split up. We're in… a race to see who gets to… a tree first," Draco continued, constantly looking to the side, answering in a strangely abrupt way, as if he himself could not believe what he was saying.
"Who's with you?" Narcissa insisted, noticing it.
But she did not need her son's answer, as Sirius took the sphere from the other side and appeared in it.
"How's it going, my adorable cousin? Enjoying your spa day?" Sirius said with a wide grin. For a moment, he suddenly ducked as something flew over his head.
"What was that?" Narcissa asked, staring at him.
"Oh, nothing. Just a small… monkey, I think," Sirius replied as he turned to look behind him.
A sharp, distorted screech echoed from somewhere off screen; metallic and shrill, followed by the sound of something crashing violently through branches. The crystal marble trembled slightly in Narcissa's hand, and a brief flash could be seen, clearly coming from his wand, just off camera.
"Did you just attack a monkey?" Pandora asked, leaning in.
"Attack it? Of course not. Hahaha," Sirius replied lightly.
"Well, it's better if we continue enjoying our fun day, so please don't bother us. Bye, take care," he added before disappearing completely.
Leaving all the women in silence.
"See? They're fine," Pandora said with a smile, nodding.
Earning the stares of everyone present.
"Where are they?" Narcissa asked Wanda quickly, as if she were already preparing to go look for them.
Wanda raised her gaze for a moment, focused, before slightly tilting her head to the side.
"The Potter… mansion," she said with a faint trace of confusion.
That made Narcissa stop.
"See? You worry too much. How could they be in danger in the Potter mansion? They probably caused trouble with the defenses and got trapped," Selene said as she waved her hand calmly, unknowingly coming very close to the truth.
Those words marked a turning point, and both Wanda and Narcissa relaxed a little.
"But… why was there a jungle in the mansion?" Hermione asked suddenly, clearly intrigued by the visual detail.
"Knowing them, Red probably broke something and caused the mansion's plants to grow out of control. Now they must be trying to clean it up, so they'll be busy all day," Daphne said with an amused smile.
None of them could avoid feeling that that was exactly what had happened.
"I don't sense anything external to the mansion affecting them, so I suppose that might be it," Wanda said. Although she perceived the mansion's magic in a very different way, it did not feel problematic to her. Even so, she ended up relaxing. She knew that, as always, everything turned into chaos around Harry. But he could not be in danger inside the mansion itself… right?
…
"You are really bad at coming up with excuses not to alert your mother," Sirius said to Draco as they both kept running without stopping.
Behind them advanced a massive number of deformed animals made of metal. They were grotesque; they looked like works of art created by someone with absolutely no artistic sense… or perhaps with one, but completely misdirected.
There was a monkey with three eyes and two noses, and a small mouth placed completely wrong. Snakes with arms but no legs dragged themselves forward, clumsily pushing with their front limbs. There was also a kind of enormous toad that moved through the branches, using its tongue like a retractable vine.
And a lizard that ran on its hind legs, but whose tail was far too long, completely ruining its mobility and speed.
Worst of all, there was not just one of each kind. There were dozens.
"What did you want me to say? That we're in a bloody forest inside the Potter mansion, being chased by mechanical abominations?" Draco shouted, clearly annoyed with Sirius, who had been making desperate gestures for him to stay quiet during the call.
Sirius did not have time to answer, because another monkey jumped straight toward his head. He ducked instantly and flicked his wand with speed, releasing a barrage of rapid spells that practically erased the mechanical creature's existence. Draco, with a smooth movement of his wand, gathered all the scattered pieces and sent them directly into his bag.
"Can you stop doing that?" Sirius said irritably, as Draco seemed determined to collect souvenirs.
"No," Draco replied seriously, as if no other answer could possibly exist.
Sirius was irritated for a moment, but neither of them stopped. Both had already realized that each of those animals contained poisonous potions inside them, which they expelled through teeth, claws, or hidden mechanisms.
Meanwhile, on Harry's side, Billy and Tommy exited through one of the doors and stopped, completely awestruck by what lay before them.
It looked like an enormous greenhouse, colossal in size. It was filled with plants that had grown to exaggerated proportions. Among them were some that were clearly far from friendly, and others that swayed gently under a bright light that fell from above.
Harry recognized several immediately. Venomous Tentacula, Devil's Snare, Bubotuber, Mimbulus Mimbletonia, and many others he had learned to identify thanks to his grandfather, who had always encouraged him to learn about potions.
The smell of damp earth made the place feel like a perfectly maintained greenhouse; alive, almost breathing on its own.
Harry approached a dittany plant and observed it with a scrutinizing gaze.
Meanwhile, Billy and Tommy walked around, studying the plants with genuine interest. Even though they were already Hogwarts students and had attended Herbology classes with Professor Sprout, comparing the castle's greenhouse to this place was, honestly, sad for Hogwarts.
"Careful with that," Harry said to Billy, who was getting close to a large leaved plant that seemed to be gently calling to him, as if it were harmless.
"It will swallow you in a blink," he added, looking at it seriously.
Billy stepped back immediately and pulled Tommy by the arm so he would not approach any plant without knowing what it was.
Harry plucked a leaf from the dittany plant and lightly bit into it, drawing surprised looks from Billy and Tommy, who stared at him in complete confusion.
"Mmm… it's fake," Harry said before spitting it off to the side.
"It really would be way too amazing to have all these plants for potions. Any Potions master would lose their mind," he added as he looked around. The place was so vast that they could barely make out the walls in the distance.
Harry studied the paths that divided the greenhouse into sections. Some were clearly dangerous, like the one that passed far too close to the Devil's Snare. Others, without knowing how to handle the surrounding plants, seemed practically impossible to cross.
That made Harry stare at the routes for a moment, thinking.
"I see," he finally said, as if he had understood something. Then he looked at the twins.
"You follow me and do exactly what I do. Do not touch any plant unless you know what it is," he ordered seriously before advancing down a specific path.
Billy and Tommy remained silent as they followed closely behind him, trusting him completely.
Another person who seemed to have seen through everything was Edward.
He was in what looked like a boiler room filled with lit cauldrons, where potions of different kinds released thick vapors that covered the entire chamber. Anyone who breathed that air without protection could end up in very bad shape.
However, Edward walked between the cauldrons with absolute calm, tossing in ingredients he took from nearby tables. The smoke reacted almost immediately, changing color and dissipating, clearing the air as he moved forward.
With a calm expression, it was nothing more than a walk for him.
But at one point, he stopped and turned around.
The door he had entered through began to rapidly change into a golden color, spreading across the wall and the floor like a brilliant infection.
The sound of the mansion shifting echoed once again. That section was forcefully separated before another appeared from above. However, Edward remained still, watching as the gold continued to advance, contaminating even the new wall that had just formed.
The noises of mechanisms intensified, becoming faster and more numerous.
That was enough for Edward to narrow his eyes slightly.