Chapter 257

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Yeah! Here's the new chapter!

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After Amelia's entry into our small group we began to initiate the other phases of the plan, and one of them was spreading rumors and gossip about Sirius' trial 12 years ago, or more specifically, the fact that he never had one.

We knew that most witches and wizards in Britain lacked common sense, so we knew it would be difficult to convince them that Sirius was innocent so suddenly.

But one thing I did know is that the best way to change someone's opinion is through small rumors, which would eventually pique their curiosity, and curiosity is a dangerous thing.

A curious person will obviously want more knowledge on any subject, and it is in our mindset to always want to be the most informed person, as it is information, discovery, wisdom that puts us on a higher level than the less informed.

Who never liked being the one in your group of friends to have the knowledge about something, where everyone asks you about it? Having knowledge and information in your hands is a very great power in the current age, which is why in the book The Order of the Phoenix the ministry used the Daily Prophet to slander Harry and the Headmaster with false information.

But back to the point.

With little rumors here and there, people will start wanting to know more about the Sirius case, and after that we won't have to do anything but leave some 'secret' informations in places where anyone can find it.

And since Nick and Penny will be pestering and pressuring the Ministry and the Minister, Fudge won't have time to try to remedy the situation.

With the majority of witches and wizards in the country on our side pressing the Ministry for an answer, we will have an easier path to trial.

And this plan is not only to circumvent the Ministry, it is also to prevent the other wizarding families from trying to do something, since the repercussions of the case would be so great that they would not dare to try to go against the people.

And it's amazing to think that all this would happen just because of some gossip and rumors.

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-December 25th – Christmas morning-

"Meow!"

"Yes Nyx, I'm awake" I croaked to Nyx who was sitting on my chest patting my face with her paw to wake me up.

"Meow" Nyx meowed again as she got up from my chest, jumping to the other side of the bed.

"No, I didn't forget your Christmas present" I rolled my eyes as I stood up.

"Meow, Meow" Nyx was now looking at me with narrowed eyes, and I could tell she was a little upset.

"Yeah, sorry I haven't been paying that much attention to you these days" I said with a guilty look, "I've been really busy with some issues and problems"

Upon hearing what I said, Nyx stared at me for a long time before meowing, and I could feel that she had forgiven me.

She then came over to me and put her head in my hand, and I started petting her.

After petting Nyx, I got up and went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.

After I finished washing I took Nyx in my arms and went downstairs, but halfway through I realized something was wrong.

'Hmm, why didn't Cele try to wake me up like the other times?' I wondered, but shrugged. I then reached the last step of the stairs, and as soon as I took the last step I heard some voices coming from the living room, and with a confused look I started to walk towards the sound.

When I arrived in the living room, I saw that my entire large, weird family who now had a new addition in the form of the Tonks were sitting on the sofas and cushions on the floor, with Cele sitting next to the Christmas tree looking excitedly at the presents.

But Cele wasn't the only one looking at the presents, only unlike her the others had shocked or strange looks.

And I, in complete control of my emotions, looked at the 2 meter high pile of presents that was in front of me and a single sentence came out of my mouth

"What the fuck?!"

"""Language""" my mom, Penny and Andromeda said, but I ignored them while still gaping at all the gifts.

"Did you kidnap Santa Claus and threaten him into giving us all the presents he had?" I asked, approaching the pile of gifts and sensing that some of them were magical or enchanted.

"Oh yeah, he's bound and gagged in our basement," my dad said jokingly.

"Santa Claus is here?!" Cele asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling.

And now my mom looked at my dad with a look that made him shudder.

"Err... Sorry Princess, but actually I think Santa Claus has already left to finish delivering presents to the other children." he said, and Cele pouted.

"Awn, I wanted to see Santa Claus," she whimpered sadly, and now even Penny and I were looking at my dad, who had the decency to look away.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many presents in one place," commented Sirius.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many presents in my life!" Tonks exclaimed, having to lift her head from her spot on the floor to see the top of the pile of presents.

Looking closely at the presents, I began to feel the magic of some of them and was surprised to feel that more than most of the presents bore Penny's magical signature.

Realizing this, I quickly turned to her, only to find her smiling at me.

"Well... I think I got a little carried away with the presents" she said with a shy smile.

"""A little?""" Sirius, Tonks and I asked, and she just laughed.

Shaking my head, I looked back at the pile of presents, but then I felt someone tug at my shirt.

"Ethan, can we open presents yet?" Cele asked, looking at me with puppy dog ​​eyes.

"Of course," I said smiling, and a wide smile spread across Cele's face.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, and wasting no time she ran towards those present.

"Yes! Presents!" Tonks exclaimed excitedly, following Cele and ignoring her mother's exasperated sigh and her father's amused look.

"Sometimes I forget she's an adult" said Andromeda.

"Not just her," Ted commented, pointing to the group unwrapping presents that now had the addition of a certain dog man.

"I think black madness works differently on certain types of people" Nick joked, and Andromeda snorted.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm also a little excited to open my presents" Penny said smiling, getting up to join us.

"Ahem, I think maybe your presents are itching to be opened by you too" Nick said, and when Penny looked at him questioningly, he simply pointed above her head.

And looking up, Penny saw that a present box in red and green wrapping paper was floating above her head.

The present then started to come down and she reached out to catch it.

Looking confusedly at the present, Penny saw that it was indeed hers and that the sender was me.

Turning to me, who was sitting next to Sirius at the front of the pile of presents, I just smiled at her.

Penny then sat on the floor, placing the present in front of her and wasting no time starting to open it.

Tearing off the wrapping Penny saw that in front of her was a thin black wooden box, and with a curious look she opened the box and looked inside.

"Ethan… is that it?" she asked me with a stunned look, and I nodded with a smile.

Quickly putting her hands inside the box, Penny took out 4 books, where one had a blue cover, another red, another black and gold, and the last one had a green cover.

And Andromeda who was watching Penny open her present read the title of the blue cover book and her eyes widened.

"Oh my God," she muttered, "Is this the Inheritance Cycle books?!" she asked.

"Huh? But there are 4 books there, and as far as I know this saga only has 3 books currently, and the third one has just been published" Ted said, but then he noticed my amused smile and his jaw dropped, "Oh"

"Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance..." Penny, who was looking at the beautifully designed book covers muttered, running her hand over the titles that glowed faintly thanks to a touch of magic.

Penny then opened the book to the first page, finding a note with a handwritten message for her.

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~To Penny, a strong, beautiful, smart, and kind woman.

You helped me through my bad times and supported me, and I couldn't be happier to have met you.

Stealing that rock was perhaps one of the stupidest and most incredible things I've ever done, and the main reason is why I met you.

Thanks Penny, or maybe I should call her Grandma? Hehe.

From Ethan Night, the most amazing, smartest, and sexiest boy in the world.

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As soon as Penny finished reading the note I had left for her in the book she got up and walked towards me, and without waiting for me to say anything she hugged me.

"Thank you", she said with a sniff, conveying feelings of euphoria, joy, love and many other positive feelings, "This is the best present I could ever receive"

"The complete and autographed Inheritance Cycle Saga?" I asked with a playful smile and Penny snorted.

"No you fool" she said with her muffled voice that took on a more tender tone, "the best present I could get was for you to call me grandma... my grandson"

And as soon as she finished talking she hugged me a little tighter as I blinked, but sensing her happy feelings I could only smile, hugging her back.

"You're welcome... grandma" I said, much to her delight.

And those who were watching this scene could only smile, with Nick looking at us happily, having read my message to Penny, or rather, Grandma Penny, over her shoulder.

"So I guess I should start calling him my little grandson now, right?" Nick asked in amusement.

"Sorry, but I only consider beautiful, smart people as my family," I said, and Nick made a fake pained face.

"Ouch, that was a critical hit," said Sirius, and Tonks beside him nodded.

"Don't be sad darling, I still think you're very handsome" Grandma Penny said to Nick, who smiled at her. But then her smile disappeared with his next sentence.

"Of course, not as handsome as my handsome grandson," she said, winking at me with a playful look.

And with that I looked smugly at Nick, who was looking at me with a frown, but I could feel the amusement coming from him.

"Well, jokes aside, let's open the presents soon, I don't think Cele can wait any longer" my mom said, and turning around, we saw Cele looking at us with her big eyes and with her cheeks puffed up looking like she was about to burst as she held a small present in her small hands..

"Eh... That reminds me of someone with their magic books" my dad said looking at me, and I started whistling innocently.

But jokes aside, we all started opening our presents, and as we did, Andromeda stared at the books in Grandma Penny's hands.

'If I get them to adopt me into their family, do I get those autographed books too?' she wondered.

Andromeda then looked at Tonks and me, rubbing her chin in thought.

'Hmm, Tonks isn't much older than Ethan, and he's very mature for his age... I don't think I ever mentioned marriage to her, right?'

And for some reason, Tonks and I both felt a chill run through our bodies along with a sense of danger.

End.

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(End AN: The weather today is very cloudy with dark clouds in the sky, which apparently means it's going to rain all afternoon.

I really like the rain, it feels good and refreshing.)