Yule and meeting the luna

With all this worrying and worrying, the children did not see the holidays coming. After saying goodbye to their friends, the twins ran out of the train to look for their great-grandfather. Spotting Arnold, Itachi and Sasuke hurried to him, and Lord Prince moved them to the manor. Once they were home, the children rushed to hug their great-grandfather.

- All right, that's enough," Lord Prince muttered.

Their ostensible dissatisfaction did not deceive the brothers; they could see that their great-grandfather was also pleased to see them.

- So, tell me, how was Hogwarts? Letters are good, but I want to hear everything from you. By the way, your father wrote to me about that thing you set up. Fighting a troll? You decided to make a name for yourself right away?

The children were embarrassed, but they pulled themselves together and started talking. When they got to the broomstick incident, the Lord darkened.

- Severus told me about it. I hope you heard him, that you should cut your communication with this man to a minimum and not be alone with him?

The twins nodded.

- Good. Remember: Quirrell is an adult, an experienced wizard, and you are talented but still children.

The brothers frowned. They didn't like the idea of a school full of children walking around with this dangerous man.

- All right," Arnold said to lighten the mood, "I have faith in your conscience.

The brothers' faces brightened.

They arrived at the dining room and found that the table had been laid, but they did not eat anything. Five minutes later, Severus appeared. Greeting his grandfather, he sat down at the table.

- Why aren't you eating anything?

- Hn. You first," the brothers glared at him.

Severus frowned.

- You're children, and you should be eating properly. Get on with your food now!

- You need to eat too. Unfortunately, the way to feed on the fumes from the potions has not yet been invented! - Sasuke spoke up.

Their intermittent bickering began.

- I am an adult; I can decide for myself when and how much to eat," Severus replied venomously.

- So act like a grown-up and eat like a grown-up, not like a bird," Itachi said.

- I eat enough," Severus snapped back.

- Hmmm..." Sasuke protruded, "It doesn't look like it. Why do you look like a Festral, then? You could be counting bones in a minute. And we don't see much of you at dinner either... Do you eat at all?

- Yes!" growled Severus.

- 'Master Severus often misses dinner. Master says he has a lot on his plate," Tilly said as she appeared.

- Traitor," Severus muttered under his breath.

- Tilly did not betray master! Tilly loves Master Severus! Tilly cooks everything he likes, but the master doesn't eat it! master thinks Tilly is a lousy elf!

The elf girl started twisting her ears and wailing.

- 'I eat, I eat. Look," Severus took a spoon and began to chew, and after swallowing, he continued, "It's all perfect! You're the best elf.

Tilly glowed with happiness. Arnold and the twins, who were watching, giggled to themselves. Even in their first year, the brothers had noticed that their father ate more when Tilly was around and had persuaded their grandfather to call her to set the table. Not wanting to upset the elfish girl, Severus often ate much more than usual. The twins also devised a ritual whereby their father had to start eating first. With all these tricks, they fattened up their father during the holidays. It was true that there were occasional arguments, but this soon became routine, and they stopped paying attention to Severus' displeasure.

After dinner, the twins showed their great-grandfather what they had learned while at Hogwarts and told him what they had managed to read in the books. Arnold listened with interest about their progress in artifacting and described what he had learned from people interested in this science. In the evening, Severus recounted funny incidents since the beginning of the year. The evening passed in a quiet and cosy atmosphere.

Yule was greeted by the children with joyful anticipation. This year they were allowed not only to be present at the ritual but also to take part in it. As soon as the sun had set, the whole family descended into the ritual hall. Severus and Arnold began to chant incantations and draw rune circles. Enjoying the singing, the children helped them by removing the necessary runes. Once everything was finished, Arnold lit a fire in the centre, around which the Princes formed a circle, holding hands. The Lord began to recite a prayer of thanksgiving magic while the children remembered all the good things that had happened during the year. All the family members took turns presenting their gifts when they finished. The first was Arnold, who threw a copy of the family accounts for the past year into the fire; next was Severus, who burned a copy of the recipe for the potion he had invented. Last were the twins, and they presented their essays written for spells and transfiguration classes. Afterwards, the children were sent to bed, and the adults moved into the living room.

Sasuke woke up the following day and jumped on his brother's bed. Awakened by the blow, Itachi drew his wand and grabbed the cat sleeping on his head, ready to kill the suicide bomber who had dared to wake him. Realizing it was Sasuke, the older twin conjured Tempus, sighed, and asked:

- What's the matter, too? It's only six o'clock in the morning.

- Get up, Ni-san! It's morning! Let's go wake up, Daddy! I can't wait to open presents!

Realizing that he wouldn't get much sleep tonight, Itachi went to get dressed. Unhappy with the early rise, Shika's cat reminded him of himself by pawing the arm of his older twin. Itachi loosened his grip, and Shika broke free and lay back on the pillow, glaring at his master in displeasure.

- Sorry to disturb you," Itachi laughed.

- Pfft. That lazy bastard just wants to sleep for a long time," snorted Sasuke.

Apparently hearing the noise, the remaining four furry pets of the brothers entered the room: two cats and two cats. When Lord Arnold had given in to the brothers' entreaties to allow them to get a cat, he had no idea that choosing a pet would turn into a long shopping trip and the picky looks of his great-grandchildren. Ultimately, he said they could buy anything as long as they decided quickly. The brothers took him up on his offer and chose five knizzles, explaining that they couldn't settle for just one. They called the first knizzle Shika, he was black, and although he was brilliant and could penetrate anywhere, he preferred to sleep practically around the clock. The second knizzle was also black but had a streak of white hair on his forehead; because he was always active and never seemed to go to sleep, the twins unanimously nicknamed him Guy. The third was a redheaded glutton, and the Princes nicknamed him Akimichi. The fourth was white and unruffled and was renamed Ino. The fifth was black with white paws and blue eyes. Because of her constant rush to hide when guests came to the manor, Sasuke gave her the name Hina. She became Severus' pet and took up residence in his room.

After stroking the guests who had arrived, the twins hurried to get dressed. Once again, Itachi was glad that his father had a habit of getting up early, so by the time they got down to the dining room Severus was already there, drinking coffee.

- Up already? - He asked, smiling.

- Yes. I was attacked by a hippogriff this morning. Is it just me, or is someone picking up on their pet's habits," Itachi looked expressively at his brother.

- Hey! Don't call Brandon names! - Sasuke pretended to sulk, "He's the best hippogriff in the world!

Itachi and Severus laughed. Ever since they moved into the castle, Sasuke hadn't stopped begging to be allowed to ride the magical beast. When his father finally gave in, the younger Prince stayed outside for a week, playing and riding the hippogriff. To the adults' surprise, Sasuke quickly found common ground with him, and Brandon even began to show signs of longing when the child didn't visit him for a long time.

- Here are your presents," Severus distracted his sons.

The children happily unwrapped them. Itachi received a box of dango and a vial of dragon blood, and Sasuke received a book on the basics of alchemy. The children happily thanked their father and handed him their gifts. They were a robe of acromantula wool and a pint of acromantula venom. When Severus realized what he had been given, he stared at the children, visibly shocked:

- Where did you get this? Acromantula fur and venom are costly. To say nothing of the cloak, the poison alone costs a hundred galleons!

- Don't worry, papa," Itachi smiled reassuringly, "we spent much less money on the whole thing.

- How can that be? You weren't doing anything illegal, were you?

Severus' gaze turned stern.

- No. We just made a deal with the Acromantulas. They give us the poison, wool, and cobwebs, and we give them Dromarog meat," Sasuke replied.

- And where did you find the acromantulas? Not in the forbidden forest?

Severus' anger seemed to be palpable.

- There. Don't worry. We had prepared escape routes in advance. In case of danger, we'd call Tilly, and she'd move us. By the way, Tilly helped us get the meat and pass it to the spiders.

- Well, at least we thought of that.

The tension was starting to subside.

- Do you know how much danger you've put yourself in? I know some students collect ingredients there, but it's only undergraduates.

- But we were careful. And you and Grandpa trained us well, too," Sasuke replied.

Severus sighed, admitting his defeat.

- 'Only next time you'll also take the portkey with you. By the way, what kind of deal did you make?

-For twelve kilos of meat, five spiders, a kilo of wool and five ounces of poison. We can negotiate for more if we have to.

Footsteps were heard, and the Lord Prince entered the room. The children greeted him and presented him with a gift. It turned out to be a robe, this time of acromantula silk, and also a pint of poison. Arnold, too, was amazed by the gift, and the brothers repeated the story. The great-grandfather's reaction matched his father's, and the children had to reassure him. In the end, Lord Prince thanked the children for their gifts, reminding them of safety procedures, and handed them gifts from himself: magic paints for Itachi and a book describing the effects of magical cameras for Sasuke. The children were delighted with the skills, and only Severus' statement that if they didn't eat, he would take them away forced them to sit down at the table.

After breakfast, the Malfoy couple arrived with their son. The twins gave Lucius and Narcissa acromantulus silk robes, and Draco received wool gloves. The Malfoys were amazed at the expensive gifts and tried to find out where the Princes had obtained them, but they referred to closed sources.

After exchanging gifts, the adults began discussing the latest events while the children played quidditch. After two hours, the guests excused themselves; they had a ball to prepare. The Malfoys had invited the Princes, but their grandfather maintained the image of a recluse, and it had been decided not to send the children alone. Of course, the twins were already officially acquainted with Draco, and there would be nothing strange about their appearance. Still, they had been in too much contact with him at school, and their coming to the ball would be taken as a sign that the Lord Prince had decided to remain neutral. The children weren't too upset. Sasuke wasn't into ballroom dancing, and Itachi was still uncomfortable with the crowded society. It wasn't as noticeable at Hogwarts because everyone was preoccupied with their business and needed to pay him more attention. Admittedly the situation had changed recently due to Sasuke's appearances in Potions, but there, they could permanently hide from the admirers in the maze of corridors. At the ball, they would have to answer numerous questions, always keep a polite smile, and watch their every gesture. It was all too reminiscent of the formal meetings Itachi had gone to with his father in his past life, and it didn't bring back the fondest of memories. All in all, both brothers were happy with the situation. Draco was frustrated but found balls dull, so he understood the Princes.

In the evening, the brothers sat by the fireplace and listened to their great-grandfather's story of the magical world. They had heard it many times before but liked how Arnold told it and enjoyed his tuneful voice.

The next day they had guests arriving. Draco arrived first, followed ten minutes later by Theo and Dakota, accompanied by their parents. It had been decided that the Clawtowns should not see Severus, so only the twins and the Lord Prince welcomed the guests. Along with Dakota arrived the girl. She was a skinny blonde with silver-grey eyes. She seemed oblivious to what was happening and was hovering in the clouds. The friends approached the twins while the parents were talking to the Lord.

- Hello! Happy Yule! - The brothers were congratulated by their friends.

- Hello. You too! - the twins answered together.

- And who is this? - Sasuke asked, pointing to the stranger.

- That's Luna Lovegood. She is a year younger than us. Our parents are friends, so they asked us to look after her," Theo said, then, checking to make sure no one was listening, "Her mother died last year. She was in the room when her experiment got out of hand. She's been like that ever since. Staring at nothing and hardly paying attention to those around her. Her father hopes that talking to us will help her to relax.

The brothers' faces turned severe. Thanks to their shinobi training, their faces did not reflect the wave of feelings they had felt. Memories swept over them, but they tried to pull themselves together when they heard their great-grandfather's voice.

- You may go to the Quidditch pitch. We've arranged for your friends to be picked up in four hours.

The children decided to take up the offer and play a game, but when they remembered Luna, they turned around looking for the girl. She was standing in front of one of Lord Prince's paintings and looking at it thoughtfully.

- Don't worry, I'll show the young lady around the gallery for now," Albert smiled as he noticed the hesitantly frozen children.

The boys set off to take their brooms and soon soared into the air.

- How shall we divide the teams? - Theo asked, "There are an odd number of us.

- Pfft. Itachi and I versus the three of you, Sasuke said.

- But you'd be outnumbered! - Eden looked indignant.

- Let's think logically. Dakota, you have practically no experience in the game. I don't know how Theo plays, but he's been interested in quidditch since childhood, so he should have good skills. Sasuke and I play better than Draco," Malfoy said with an exasperated look, and Itachi explained, "You're much better at it than when we first met, but you cannot still analyze things quickly. So Sasuke's version is the best. Let me remind you of the rule that the team gets ten points for every goal. We play to a hundred and fifty. Since we are few, we won't release the snitch and bludgers.

- All right," Wilson agreed, "Dakota, why don't you stand on the gate?

- Okay," the boy shrugged, "I'm not very good at the game, so try to keep the Princes out of the gate.

Draco and Theo nodded, taking note of the information. Sasuke tossed the quaffle into the sky, and the game began. Before Draco and Theo could react, Itachi snatched the ball from under their noses and raced towards the goal. Malfoy and Wilson tried to tackle him, but Prince took advantage of Porskov's feint by soaring into the sky and throwing the quaffle to Sasuke. The younger Prince grabbed the ball, rushed to the ring, and scored before Dakota could react. The following ten points were scored by the brothers flipping the ball to each other before Draco and Theo could respond, and Itachi threw the ball into the goal. Two hours later, the visiting team was smashed to smithereens. They seemed to be dancing in the sky, eluding their opponents.

- You guys are playing great! - Theo congratulated them, "I sometimes thought you could read each other's thoughts! Just as we rushed towards one of you, the other had the ball! You don't even look for each other when you pass! It's like you always know where the other one is.

- Pfft! " Sasuke shook his head, "We're just being considerate, quick at orientation and making decisions. For instance, at first, you rushed Itachi. He saw me flying underneath and, confident in my reflexes, threw the ball away. Also, unlike you, we're a long-played team. If you had practised with each other, you might not have crashed into each other; there wouldn't have been a fifth goal.

The lads had a thought.

- By the way, Theo, who do you want to play for? - Itachi broke the silence.

- Hunter, I guess...

- I'll stand on the goal, and you try to score. There'll be five tries, and then we'll switch places.

- What's that for?

- I want to see how you play.

- All right, well...

The players soared. Despite Theo's best efforts, Itachi won. The disappointed boy sighed and got off his broom.

- And why don't you want to play in the national team?!

- It's just that for us, quidditch is more of an entertainment, a hobby. It helps to get things out of our heads. As for your game, you would be more suited to the goalkeeper position. You always have a good eye on your opponents before you make any manoeuvres. As a hunter or goalkeeper, you should analyze your opponent's actions, but a quick reaction is more important for the hunter. Your body language will help you in defending a goal.

Theo thought about it. Soon the children continued the game, and Itachi announced that he would take a break, so Dakota joined Sasuke's team.

The older Prince decided to walk and clear his head first. When he returned, the game was already in full swing, and he chose not to interrupt it and slowly got into the game. Suddenly there was a voice beside him.

-- Is this seat taken? - Luna asked with a small smile.

The memories strained Itachi's nerves, so he instantly drew his wand and held it to the speaker's throat.

As if not noticing the Prince's tense state, who was trying to pull himself together quickly, Lovegood repeated the question.

- 'So, may I sit down?

- Of course," Itachi replied, embarrassed that he had made the girl stand and wait.

Luna seemed to notice this and smiled at him friendly again, sitting beside him.

- We haven't met yet, but we'll manage to become friends. My name is Luna Lovegood, but many people call me Luna.

- Why is that? - Itachi asked in surprise, slowly relaxing.

- I'm always hovering in the clouds and seeing things others can't, so people around me think I'm crazy. Take brainiacs, for example. I tried to explain to Theo and Dakota that they existed, but they didn't believe me.

- Just because someone can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Magic, too, we can't see, only its effects, but it exists," Itachi tried to encourage her, though he thought the talk about the brainiacs was strange.

- You are very kind," Luna laughed, "not believing they exist but supporting me.

- How did you...?

This was the first time Itachi had found his lies instantly exposed. Even experienced and trained shinobi had fallen into his traps, and this girl knew where he had lied just by looking at him.

- I told you I could see things. It often gets in the way, but it is part of me. Don't be afraid: I promise I'll keep your secret. And you know that they have forgiven you. Stop beating yourself up.

Feeling that he was beginning to lose control, Itachi stood up and walked towards the garden. Luna followed him silently. So they walked for an hour when she broke the silence.

- This is a beautiful place. I'm sure the view from the castle is spectacular in the spring.

- Yes. I've often sketched the garden when the first buds and flowers appear.

- Can you show me the pictures?

- Yes, after they finish the match, there will be a snack, and we will return to the castle for a while.

The children started discussing different things, moving from one subject to another. They did not even notice when it was time to go back. They only woke when the elf told them Luna had to go home.

- Will you promise to show me your paintings next time?

- Of course," Itachi replied.

Once the guests had departed, Sasuke asked Itachi:

- What was that all about? You rarely talk that much to strangers, especially to new people. And you only show drawings to us. Even Draco has seen, at most, a couple of them.

- I've met the Visionary.