Catch-up

On a private island located somewhere in Carrabean, a pale woman wearing a black two-piece swimsuit, small to the point of covering only the essential parts, lay on a blanket of her own straight hair reaching all the way down her heels, completely barring entry of coarse, and rough, and irritating, sand that gets everywhere, to her alabaster skin. On her left, sitting upright on a sunbed stationed next to a plastic round coffee table was a woman in a white cut-out one-piece swimsuit, held together by a golden ring on her midriff, her hair tied back in a short ponytail, a transparent tulle skirt attached to her waist. The woman wrote in a large notebook listening to a report from one of her employees speaking through a Motorola 8500X, a brick-like mobile phone, one of the latest models on the market.

"Third business lost this week, that's around hundred million dollars past month. Volatile Changeling demolishes our hideouts and kills thralls, shouldn't we do something with it?" Isabel Blanco asked her cousin as she finished the call and summed it up with previous news.

"Any that I converted in danger?" Catherine mumbled, too lazy to properly open her mouth.

"No, our people are in absolutely safe locations, none of the normal humans know where." Isabel swore that she improved her already stellar work ethic considering everyone's of their family well-being after the raid that almost killed Pablo.

"Then it doesn't matter, let Luca's teacher vent. At least he cares for the boy." Catherine went silent again, Isabel sighed distressed for losing the property of her mistress as she lay back down and took a half-full wine bottle from a steel cooler filled with ice to drink a sip from, containing blood that took them a year to acquire again. Suddenly, the lady that closed her eyes and remained motionless basking in the sun, opened them to reveal the almond iris and frowned, soon after she lifted her head and looked in a particular direction, gaze attempting to cross the light-blue ocean and reach the land approximately fifteen hundred miles apart.

"Luca is there, I can sense him! Quick, how can we go back to Boston?!" she jumped to her feet frantically and produced a pair of grey membranous wings, reminiscent of a bat, from her back, severing the fabric that covered her upper body in the process of their growth, almost ready to fly back manually before she realized her trusted secretary had to keep a backhand in the city as they evacuated from there according to her personality. "Where's the portkey?!"

"Calm down, isn't that an obvious bait?" Isabel stayed expressionless, she wouldn't be so silly as to run over immediately into a net woven by MACUSA.

"Then what can we do?" Catherine's enthusiasm died down, she concluded the boy had to be teleported by somebody that allowed him out of the Wizarding World.

"Nothing. Drink some." Isabel gave her cousin the bottle, who hid her wings and drank the rest of it with a despondent expression, then sat down next to the sunbed facing the waves, covered in a coat of cascading black hair, the four hundred years old vampire hugged her knees up to her chin in melancholy.

Luca gazed at the familiar surroundings, the last two years since he got kidnapped went by in a flash, changing him in countless ways, in stark contrast to the streets and buildings of his hometown that stayed exactly the same. The four-story red brick St. Joseph's Orphanage in front of them, Mr. Grimsditch gave him an opened sports bag he took out from his pocket, filled with stacks of cash.

"Comes from a den of car thieves, they turned themselves into the nearest police station." he casually remarked, awakening the boy from his stupor. Luca nodded and took a deep breath, going inside the already opened gate, perhaps in an attempt to create a bit of draft in the windless heat. They were greeted by a grey-haired priest in a cassock awaiting them in the passageway leading to the main corridor, observing no adverse reaction as the visitors crossed the doorstep, he accused in a forceful tone.

"It's rude to try enter people's minds." Father Roberts spoke coldly, his cross earrings shining in the dim light, despite the spark of recognition as he looked at the boy, he didn't relax and kept one hand bent, ready to take out weapons.

"Sorry, I can't help it, my surname is Grimsditch." the bald man told, counting on the powerful exorcist that mixed in North America to be informed enough.

"...fine then, no sudden moves." Father Roberts recalled for a second and lowered his guard, sending a signal with his hand to someone behind as he turned to inspect Luca's body with his sight. "Turns out you were a wizard, it did seem like a possibility at first, but the power… You must be outstanding in school, right?" he chatted naturally with Luca as Sister Collins emerged from the corridor and trotted to hug the boy, the brief reunion ending with Luca explaining the dual purpose of his visit, giving money to the orphanage that took him in and his best childhood friend as a college and high-school fund, also to recover lost possessions.

"It's too much, how can we accept it, we only took you in for a year…" Sister Collins didn't want to hold the given bag, in Luca's mind at the bar a month ago, he thought of exchanging his Galleons for at most fifty thousand dollars, but Mr. Grimsditch directly blocked it.

"Consider it a donation from the kid, although I'm sure someone of your ability has no problem with money." Mr. Grimsditch praised the priest smoothly from the side, Father Roberts came and finally took it.

"Oz will use it well. Do you want him to know it's from you or maybe a fund left by his mother? If he learns all these private tutoring hours and a flat comes from you, it might be difficult to face." the priest wanted to hear Luca's opinion, but then continued as he struggled to change his expression. "Sorry that I couldn't find you, but it seems it might have turned in your favour, looking great. Can feel the vigorous energy, right, Sister? Show us some magic trick." Father Roberts patted Luca's shoulder as he smiled awkwardly in apology, ultimately not knowing how to face the boy he failed to protect from right under his nose.

"It would be convenient for Oz not to know. I'm doing fantabulous, thanks, but my tricks are kind of hard to clean up after…" Luca took out his wand and hesitated.

"Don't bother, go to your double room, he should be there. Boy was really depressed since you left, have a chat as we wait in the office. Can I propose a cup of tea or coffee for the gentleman?" Sister Collins took care of exchanging pleasantries with Mr. Grimsditch as Luca thanked the pair repeatedly going inside the building. Reaching in just a few dozen steps under the door of his former room, he entered without knocking to make a surprise for his friend. The still lanky and skinny haggard ginger with curly hair lay on the sofa with his upper body bare to reveal a frame contrasting with Luca's athletically perfect muscles, plump and smooth stomach and arms, rolled into a line t-shirt covering his eyes as he slept peacefully. Luca briefly considered the manner in which to wake him up, came to throw the t-shirt aside.

"Is it dinner already…? Luca?!" the boy put palms of his hands to his eyes at first, but after he managed to adapt to the sunlight, one look was enough to recognize his former classmate. They hugged forcefully and walked in circles around the room as Luca shortened his story to an acceptable level, the reveal of the Wizarding World and dark creatures much to his friend's astonishment, although he wasn't as stupefied as Luca thought he would be.

"I'm half werewolf from mother's side, didn't you witness the change back then? Father Roberts gave me books and explained the circumstances of my birth, it involved some artifacts and help of the Church for her to deliver despite changing shape every month." Oz flaunted himself as a freak too.

"I hoped it to be a hallucination, to be friends with a dog… What does it say about me?" Luca sighed ruefully and dodged the incoming kick. "Don't do that, you will break your toes. Look at this ring…" the boys chatted a while more, Luca eventually took the box that contained his former belongings, including the photo album documenting his childhood and his parents' lives since they got into a relationship, and went out after saying goodbyes, apologizing that he can't stay outside alone and can't hang out because of his guardian's limited time.

"Any suspicious people around?" Luca asked Mr. Grimsditch when they stood again on the street.

"None so far. You don't know the address of that teacher, and it's vacation time, what's the plan?" Mr. Grimsditch went to the park the same way Luca and Oz were going for a year, he acted leisurely, treating it as a rare for him outing.

"Aaa…" the boy scratched his head in distress. "Go to Buffy and Dawn, have them explain to Miss White that I'm fine." he decided to continue through the cemeteries and bushes in silence, wondering if the bank renovated his apartment and managed to sell it. In front of Huntington Avenue number 4, they stopped.

"So, are there people living inside? I see curtains." Luca confirmed that it was occupied, having spotted a new set of drapes in the windows of his former home, but wondered by what sort of people.

"Currently a mother and three kids, middle-class in the world of no-maj, I would say." Mr. Grimsditch delivered the information, the boy didn't even know why he wanted to learn of that, went to ring an intercom outside a staircase in the twin building up the street.

"Hello, who's there?" a crisp voice sounded almost instantly, Dawn must have been near it, Luca thought.

"Hey, it's me, Luca Granger, remember? I went to the same class with your sister, we went to play in a group." he wasn't sure the little girl kept memories of him.

"Luca? Aren't you gone?" a puzzled voice sounded, she seemed to want a full conversation going like that.

"Let me in, please." Luca requested to talk in person.

"Okaaaay." the girl pressed the button opening the door, Luca and Mr. Grimsditch went up to see both parents of Summer's sisters waiting to see the cute boy their daughter brought home many times they believed to be kidnapped, police helpless to find him.

"Buffy got selected by a prestigious private boarding school on her tenth birthday, she will come back for high school three years from now." Buffy's mother divulged after Luca made clear he didn't want to share who captured him and why, to a calm announcement coming from Mr. Grimsditch.

"Their memories got tampered with, your girlfriend can be in trouble." he said.

"Is it reversible?" alarmed Luca didn't waste time, his brain going into overdrive right in front of the couple and their close to ten years old remaining daughter.

"Give me a moment, stun them to make it easier, and go in. It's not a spell or a prop that I know of causing this…" the boy took out his wand and cast a barrel-thick red beam of light on the unsuspecting couple watching dumbly the black tentacle he held pointed at them.

"Stupefy, stupefy." the second beam went to Dawn, the spell in his hands confirmed to be absolutely safe for use, the only augmentation extended length of the induced coma. To both of the wizard's surprise, the beam went right through the little girl and splashed harmlessly on the wall behind her. The frightened girl backed to the depths of the apartment as she saw her parents drop to the floor, Mr. Grimsditch held back Luca's arm as he automatically tried to follow her inside.

"What are you?" the old man looked confused as he frowned looking at Dawn.

"Don't come here, I, I, I will call the cops!" the little girl disappeared behind the door, Mr. Grimsditch after brief contemplation gingerly went in, Luca followed with his wand ready, thinking the situation to be outside his realm of understanding, he let his guardian take charge of it. They found Dawn hidden in a corner behind a fridge, Mr. Grimsditch touched the hair of the shivering with her eyes closed girl.

"She does exist physically…" he whispered to himself. "Calm her down or tie with a dish towel, the conjured stuff most likely will go right through her. I have to think, maybe the mystery is in their blocked memories…" Luca remained as he went back, after a couple of seconds the boy started gently talking to the blonde girl, who eventually came out of the corner and sat down drinking water he poured for her.

"Nothing gained, a suggestion to believe the man that came for Buffy during her birthday party and to not worry about her or attempt contact as she will come back at fourteen or fifteen. No further clues." Mr. Grimsditch entered the kitchen and stared at Dawn again.

"Ekhem…" Luca cleared his throat, eager to be in the know.

"Her mind doesn't exist, like she isn't there. Same for magic, the first time I see such case, didn't realize even looking straight at her. Nothing to be done here, wait for Buffy to either reappear or not. Wake up the parents and go. Little darling, could you keep what happened today secret? Your friend here would never hurt the Summers family." Mr. Grimsditch squatted near the timid-looking girl that pecked her head forward, shaking the double ponytails.

"Is the class of Mattahunt Elementary School or Ilvermorny more special? Merlin knows." Mr. Grimsditch concluded with emotion as they apparated back to Iverstead.