Tom's holiday had been genuinely pleasant. With Pandora joining the project, spell development moved along much faster.
In just half a month they had created a working prototype for a spell that might actually let young wizards control their Obscurus. Because it was an entirely original piece of magic aimed at such a specific and volatile group, there were still plenty of questions left—side effects, whether it could be simplified or improved, and how stable it really was. All of that would require extensive testing.
The spell was also extremely targeted. It only worked on Obscurials. Unfortunately, there weren't many Obscurials left in the wizarding world for them to test on. The few that existed had been quietly rounded up and managed by the Ministry to keep them stable. Newt had influence, but not enough to get access to Ministry-protected Obscurials.
Luckily, Nicolas had also invited Tom over during the break to introduce him to his network. Among those contacts were several high-ranking members of the French Ministry of Magic. Thanks to them, Tom and Newt were finally able to meet a handful of nine-year-old Obscurials for testing.
Using children as test subjects for new magic wasn't exactly ethical, but these kids were Obscurials. Most of them wouldn't live past ten anyway. If the spell worked, they might actually survive. Even if it didn't work perfectly, the data would help refine it for future Obscurials.
The French Ministry agreed to let them try, partly because of Nicolas's connections and partly because Newt's reputation carried serious weight there. The French Minister wasn't nearly as rigid or self-serving as Fudge, so once the proper guarantees were in place, testing began.
The results were everything they had hoped for.
The early version of the spell didn't give the children full control over their Obscurus, but that seemed to be more because they were still so young and hadn't learned to manage power yet rather than any flaw in the magic itself. With time and further development, it could probably be refined into something even better.
Tom, however, had already lost most of his interest. He had only gotten involved because of his agreement with Newt. Back then the promise of a large cash reward from the Ministry for an Order of Merlin had been tempting. He hadn't been as wealthy as Harry at the time. Now, between the Santa golem and his other alchemy projects, he had more than enough gold to last him centuries if he didn't do anything stupid. The Ministry's reward no longer felt urgent.
Newt felt much the same. He had always preferred working with magical creatures over inventing spells. His interest in Obscurials had come from how unusual they were and from a desire to make up for past mistakes. Now that a functional spell existed, he was satisfied. Refining casting difficulty or fixing other issues was St. Mungo's problem, not his. As for honors, Newt had always been relaxed about them—happy to have them, but not heartbroken without them. Without Tina pushing the paperwork, he probably wouldn't even have his current Second Class Order of Merlin.
Pandora, on the other hand, wanted to keep improving the spell. Unlike the other two, she genuinely loved spell research for its own sake. Any recognition or gold that came with it would just be a bonus.
Once they confirmed the spell worked safely, Tom and Newt registered the patent through the French Ministry and asked the French Minister to help submit their names for the Order of Merlin. The man was more than happy to assist. Even though none of them were French, having them file the patent in France was basically free political points. He wasn't about to turn that down.
Tom spent the rest of the holiday at Nicolas's workshop. He had never stopped thinking about Ariana's situation. With Nicolas's equipment and six centuries of alchemy knowledge at his disposal, progress came quickly.
By the time the new term was approaching, they still hadn't created a permanent living body, but they had made significant headway. They could now produce a temporary vessel that could sense its surroundings and taste food. The only real problem was that the body had a major limitation.
"So you're saying the defect is that this body will never grow or change size?"
[Exactly. Normal human cells keep dividing, which lets people grow. The cells in this body don't divide and they don't die. Whatever state it's in now, that's how it stays forever.]
Tom looked at the finished vessel with clear disappointment.
[It works for short-term use, but she'd have to switch bodies every so often. At least being a spirit makes that easy for her.]
Nicolas stayed quiet for a long moment.
He had kept himself and Perenelle alive for centuries using the Philosopher's Stone because he wanted to keep exploring alchemy—and because he didn't want either of them to die. And now this cat was casually saying that once someone inhabited this body, aging would never be a problem again?
If he didn't know the body was meant for Ariana, and if his relationship with Perenelle wasn't so strong, he might have seriously considered asking for one himself.
Of course, Tom wasn't joking about the flaw. The body's biggest issue was that it couldn't grow or change. No matter how much time passed, it would remain exactly as it was now. Exercise wouldn't make it stronger. Eating wouldn't change its weight. Time itself wouldn't leave marks on it.
Tom had pushed every stat as high as possible during creation, but without the ability to grow and adapt, it was still only a half-finished product. The only reason memory and personality could even exist inside it was because souls worked differently in the wizarding world.
Unfortunately, Tom had run out of time to keep refining it. The new school year was about to start.
While Tom and Luna's school supplies had already been prepared in France (normal textbooks this year—no more Lockhart autobiographies, which made Tom curious who would be teaching Defense), the Hogwarts Express could only be boarded at King's Cross. To avoid being late and because the Lovegood house needed a quick tidy after more than a month away, Tom brought Luna and Pandora back home first, then went to collect Xenophilius as well.
He hadn't actually planned to leave the man alone for the entire holiday. After a couple of days he had gone back and fetched him. By then Xenophilius was already falling apart. Without Pandora around, the man who had once raised Luna by himself had become completely helpless. He hadn't eaten a single proper cooked meal since she left.
Tom could only sigh. Pandora had somehow managed to turn a perfectly capable father into someone who couldn't even feed himself. Still, if given the choice again, Tom wouldn't have hesitated to save her. Having that kind of leverage over Xenophilius was far too useful.
—— King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾ ——
"Luna, I'm going to miss you so much!"
Xenophilius looked at his daughter with open reluctance. "You have to write to me once you're at school, alright? Don't be like a certain heartless cat who didn't send a single letter all term."
[I'm standing right here!]
Tom glared at the man blatantly badmouthing him.
[Keep it up and I won't bring Luna home for Christmas this year.]
"You—!"
Xenophilius's eyes widened, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't bear the thought of being separated from his daughter for a full year. Even six months felt unbearable.
Eventually, under Tom's urging, Luna said her goodbyes and followed him onto the train.
"Come on now. The children are just going to school, not disappearing forever."
Pandora shook her head at her still-mournful husband and took his hand. "Let's go home."
"Dad's surrounded by Nargles again."
On the train, Luna spoke quietly once Tom had found them an empty compartment.
(It's fine. Filus will manage.)
Tom waved a paw dismissively. He still didn't understand how Pandora had such a massive effect on the man. Comparing the Xenophilius from the original timeline to the one at home now made it hard to believe they were the same person.
"You're right. I can't stay with Dad forever. He needs to get used to this kind of change."
Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded with sudden determination. "I've decided. Until Christmas break, I won't go home with you!"
[Wait, no—going home is still fine! It's easy anyway!]
Tom hadn't expected his offhand comment to inspire Luna to make her father more independent. He quickly tried to walk it back. After all, he still wanted Pandora's homemade cookies.
"Ah! Tom, it's been two months! Did you miss me? Oh—Luna's here too! Right, you're starting Hogwarts this year."
"By the way, do you want me to tell you what the Sorting ceremony is like? I've got all the inside info!"
Before Luna could answer, the compartment door slid open and Hannah's energetic figure appeared.
Tom blinked at the sudden appearance of their resident Sorting Hat enthusiast.
[How the hell did you find me again?]
This was only his fourth time riding the Hogwarts Express. Excluding the Christmas trip, Hannah had managed to locate him perfectly every single time. How?
"Oh, maybe it's just a feeling? That's the bond between me and Tom~"
Hannah put on her most innocent expression. She definitely wasn't going to admit she had checked every compartment one by one.
"Hello, Hannah. It's been a while."
Luna smiled politely at the older girl. She didn't mind Tom having other friends. If anything, she liked seeing him surrounded by people who cared about him.
"As for the Sorting ceremony, I think I'll pass."
Luna had the vague sense that Hannah's mood had shifted when she mentioned the ceremony. There was no malice, but something about it felt slightly mischievous.
"That's a shame."
Hannah shrugged. She had only wanted to follow Hogwarts tradition and tease the new student a little, but she wasn't going to push. She dropped into the seat beside Tom instead.
"So, Tom, how was your holiday? You stopped writing after the first couple of weeks. What happened?"
"Has anyone seen Harry?"
Before Tom could answer, the door opened again. This time it was Draco, looking unusually anxious.
"The twins said Harry left the platform with their family, but no one's seen him since they went through."