HP: A Magical Journey Chapter 120

[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_L / Alan_Loo]

George West and Elliot Dalton stood near the fireplace of West Manor, which was in an ornate room that was used to greet guests who arrived at the villa via floo travel.

"Are the floo wards adjusted?" asked George, making sure for the last time.

A floo fireplace could be warded to block its connection to the floo-network, and the West Manor floo fireplace had those wards always active until needed. So until the wards were adjusted, no one could enter the West Manor via the fireplace.

Elliot nodded in reply. "Yes, the wards were adjusted half an hour ago."

"Where's my grandson?" asked George, looking at Elliot, who was standing beside him. Ms. Rosey, on the other hand, was behind them, near the door.

"I am afraid I am not sure." Elliot shook his head.

He looked back at Ms. Rosey to see whether she knew Quinn's whereabouts.

"He is in the rehearsal room," replied Ms. Rosey.

George glanced back at Ms. Rosey and asked. "Why isn't he here? Is he not aware of the time of arrival?"

"I don't think he is aware," replied Elliot after thinking if Quinn had been made aware of today's events. "It seems we forgot to tell him."

"They are coming because of him," sighed George and then looked at Ms. Rosey to ask. "Is he presentable?"

Ms. Rosey nodded her head in confidence, as though that wasn't even a question.

"Good," nodded back George, before turning towards the fireplace. At that moment, the fire turned green, which signified the arrival of someone at the West Manor floo-point.

Four figures came out of the fireplace. They gracefully stepped onto the floor of the floo-room of the West Manor. All of them were dressed in smart, semi-casual clothing.

George stepped forward and greeted the new arrivals.

"Welcome to the West Manor." greeted George.

"Mr. West, it has been a while," greeted Jacob Greengrass as he stepped forward to shake hands with George.

"It has been, Jacob. It's good to see you after such a long time."

George turned to the lady beside Jacob and softly smiled.

"Lady Sophie, you're still as beautiful as I saw you the last time," he took the offered hand and kissed it on the knuckles.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. West," smiled Sophie gracefully. "You, too, are as charming as ever."

George turned to the remaining two of the four and greeted them with a friendly and calm smile.

"Daphne and Astoria, right?" greeted George to the two Greengrass sisters. "It's lovely to meet you two. Quinn has told me a lot about you two."

The two girls curtsied as practiced and greeted Quinn's grandfather.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. West."

George looked at the Greengrass parents and said. "How about we adults move to the lounge..." he turned to glance at Daphne and Astoria. "... and leave them alone? Let's not bore you with our talks."

He turned back to face the door and face the door where Ms. Rosey stood.

"Ms. Rosey, would you lead these two ladies to Quinn?" instructed George and then looked at the Greengrass sisters. "If you two would follow Ms. Rosey, she will lead you to Quinn."

Both daughters looked at their mother for permission, who nodded in agreement.

Daphne and Astoria followed after Ms. Rosey. The three left the floo fireplace room.

After the three left, George turned to Jacob and Sophie Greengrass.

"Let's talk."

- (Scene Break) -

"How's Quinn when he is at home?"

Ms. Rosey looked to her left at the younger Greengrass sister, who looked at her with starry curiosity in her eyes as she asked the question.

"Could you elaborate?" returned Ms. Rosey, as the three continued to walk to the rehearsal room.

"I mean, is he different at home than when he is outside, in front of others when he has company," asked Astoria. She wanted to know if Quinn was the same at home as he was at school.

Ms. Rosey briefly glanced at the girl. She thought about the question and how she should answer it before speaking.

"From what I have observed, the young master is the same at home as when he is outside. If there was a difference, then it would be that the young master is much more relaxed at home. He is much more carefree and unrestricted while he is at home."

Astoria felt confused because, from what she had seen, Quinn was always carefree and relaxed. And from what she had heard from Daphne and Tracey, Quinn was pretty much the most unrestricted person in Hogwarts.

"So he isn't sloppy or a slob at home," asked Astoria. She was secretly hoping that Quinn was the total opposite of what he was outside.

Ms. Rosey raised her eyebrow. She had known Quinn since he was born and, from what she remembered, he had never been a slob or sloppy while he was at home.

Astoria seemed to understand the answer from Ms. Rosey's look.

"Has Quinn lived in this manor ever since he was a babe?" This time it was Daphne who asked the question. And while Astoria asked the questions, Daphne looked around. They were walking through the corridors of a really large home.

The mansion at the Greengrass estate was large, but it was way smaller than West Manor.

"Yes, the young master has lived in this villa ever since he was a babe," replied Ms. Rosey with a smile as she recalled the days before Quinn started school.

"How was Quinn when he was a child?" asked Astoria. Even Daphne seemed thoroughly interested in how Quinn was when he was a child.

"The young master was a lively child. When he wasn't staying still, he would be moving all over the manor," smiled Ms. Rosey. "If we didn't keep an eye on him, he would be gone before we knew it. He covered a lot of ground back in those days."

Daphne and Astoria imagined a baby Quinn with a childish grin on his face as he ran away on his chubby feet while laughing with a baby chortle.

"We are here," informed Ms. Rosey. She stopped in front of a large double door. "The young master is inside."

She stepped forward and opened the door and a faint sound of a piano immediately leaked out.

Ms. Rosey placed a finger on her lips before stepping inside. Daphne and Astoria looked at each other and then stepped inside the room. The sound of the piano became louder, more pronounced and clearer than when they were outside of the room.

The rehearsal room was covered in sound charms that provided great acoustics. Originally, the grand piano inside the West Manor wasn't in this room. Quinn had moved it to this room to help him experiment with sound charms. Hence, he had gradually added charms to the room, so he built up and changed the charm scheme there was in the room.

The result was the room achieved the best acoustics Quinn could accomplish with magic, which were much better than the acoustics there were in the original room.

The three entered the rehearsal room, which opened into a corner of the room.

Daphne and Astoria turned to their right and saw Quinn playing the piano. He had his back facing them.

The music was fast and loud. The piece Quinn was playing didn't seem to have slow moments.

Daphne and Astoria could see Quinn's head moving slightly as his fingers glided over the keys. Because of the pace, Quinn's fingers stuck close to the keys, while not getting a second of rest.

Whereas Ms. Rosey listened to the music with her experienced ear and judged Quinn's playing, Daphne and Astoria became wholly entranced by the music that came out of the piano and was flowing around them.

The music made them feel they needed to move around. It became impossible to stand still doing anything. Daphne softly tapped her foot and Astoria swayed her body.

It took two minutes for Quinn to finish his piece. When the music ended, silence gained a hold on the room.

"Young master, you have guests," said Ms. Rosey after Quinn had stopped playing the piano.

Quinn turned back, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Daphne and Astoria standing beside Ms. Rosey.

He looked at Ms. Rosey and asked. "They arrived today? Was I told about this? Did I forget?" He did a shallow and quick dive into his mindscape and sorted memories, but he couldn't recall hearing about the Greengrass Family coming today.

"It seems we forgot to inform you," replied Ms. Rosey. "They've just arrived. Jacob and Sophie Greengrass are with your grandfather." She politely gestured to Daphne and Astoria. "I was asked to escort these two ladies to you."

Quinn stood up from his piano stool and walked towards the girls with a smile on his face. He wore a grey crew neck shirt and white shorts that went a little below his knees. On his feet were a pair of slippers that he wore for comfort while inside the house.

"What has it been, two weeks?" smiled Quinn. "It's good to see you two." He pointed at the piano at his back and continued. "Did you like my playing?"

"It was great. I felt I needed to move the entire time," nodded Astoria enthusiastically.

Quinn looked at the other sister to see whether she had something to say.

"I didn't know that you played the piano," asked Daphne.

"I do," he gestured to Ms. Rosey by their side. "Ms. Rosey has been teaching me since I was young. I can also play the violin."

Quinn then addressed Ms. Rosey, "Where's grandfather and his guests?"

"In the lounge."

"Then we will go to the living room," told Quinn. "Please prepare refreshments for us."

"Yes, young master."

- (Scene Break) -

While the lounge was a sitting area with a more formal vibe, the living room was a sitting area with more of an informal feel. So while the adults did their thing, Quinn brought the Greengrass sisters to unwind in a relaxed setting.

"How are you two?" asked Quinn, as he sat down on the sofa. Daphne and Astoria took a seat on the sofa in front of Quinn. "How's the summer break going?"

"I rode a horse!" exclaimed Astoria. "It was my first time, and even though it was frightening at first, it became so much fun later on."

The Greengrass estate had a working horse stable. The horses there were bred and taken care of by the family. Every member of the Greengrass family learned how to ride a horse. But because of Astoria's health, she hadn't been allowed to learn.

Now, however, as the blood curse had been repressed, Astoria could finally do things she had missed out on. And learning how to ride a horse was one of the things she had on her list. As such, the first thing Astoria asked after she had been 'cured' was to be taught horseback riding.

"Now isn't that great," smiled Quinn. "I have only ridden horses a couple of times. I've ridden a winged horse, though, which is awesome."

"Really! That sounds fun! I want to try it, too," exclaimed Astoria. She mentally added that to her to-do list.

Daphne, on the other hand, softly sighed. She could almost see what Astoria was thinking of. It had been tough for her and their parents to get used to the new hyper-active Astoria, who wanted to do everything she hadn't been able to do previously.

They still had the necessity to treat Astoria as someone who couldn't do strenuous physical activities. Even after Quinn had repressed the curse, they would get urges to stop Astoria from moving around so much. The three had to consciously remind themselves that Astoria's curse was no longer a problem.

Quinn glanced towards Daphne and asked her the same question.

"What about you, Daphne? What have you been doing?"

"I've been busy keeping her company," sighed Daphne as she pointed at Astoria. "She drags me everywhere and makes me do all the things she's doing. Honestly, I don't know how someone can have so much energy. She's been moving all day without taking a break."

Astoria stuck out a tongue and then hugged Daphne's arm. "Yet you still keep my company without complaining."

Daphne shook her head with a sigh. Actually, she had been having fun. Astoria had been all smiles recently, and seeing her like that made Daphne joyous from the bottom of her heart.

"What have you been doing?" asked Daphne as she shifted in her spot to get comfortable (Astoria kept snuggling into her side).

Quinn shrugged in reply. "As of now, nothing new; I'm spending time with my family, relaxing, and doing things I can't do in Hogwarts. I've been going to many markets, too, both magical and non-magical."

That surprised Daphne and Astoria as they didn't have much contact with the non-magical world. But unlike many of their pureblood peers, the Greengrass sisters had a curiosity about the non-magical world.

"How is a muggle market?" asked Daphne, interested. "Is it different from something like... Diagon Alley, for example?"

"Markets are the same everywhere. Shops selling all sorts of items and assortments. The only difference is that the items are non-magicala," answered Quinn. "Well, some items out there might interest you because of their exotic origin. How about I take you out to the non-magical world someday? It will be a fun trip, I'm sure."

Daphne looked at Quinn, who had just offered to take her to the muggle world, and thought. '...Is he talking about a... date? Is he taking me out on a date?'

The mind of the adolescent girl began to whirl. Lots of thoughts began to revolve around her. Daphne ended up thinking that Quinn's offer of escorting her to the non-magical world was him asking out for a date.

"... Daphne... Daphne?.. Daphne..."

Daphne snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Quinn, who was calling her.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright? You seemed to zoom out there," asked Quinn. "Something you'd like to share with us?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about the muggle world," replied Daphne. She then sat up straight. She became attentive. "I will take you on that offer to show me the muggle world."

Quinn nodded with a lop-sided smile. "It would be my honor to escort you, my lady."

Daphne held back the blush that was threatening to break out on her cheeks. It took all her will to not show how she was feeling. In the end, she simply nodded.

- (Scene Break) -

It was after lunchtime, and everyone had gathered in the living room to witness Quinn repressing Astoria's curse.

The trace placed on wands by the ministry to track underage magic didn't work in magical households. The trace functioned by detecting magic when it happened around traced wands. But inside a magical home, the detected magic could be from an adult, so the ministry ignored any magic detections if the marked wands were inside magic-heavy areas.

Not that it mattered because Quinn hadn't touched his wand in a year, and the wand that he was holding while sitting in front of Astoria was the fake that he had crafted before his first year.

"Are you ready, Astoria," asked Quinn as he gazed at the condition of the girl in front of him. The curse was still a week away from resurfacing, but Quinn had decided that he would heal Astoria a week before the due date so she wouldn't ever feel the slightest of the effects.

"Yes, I am ready," answered Astoria, sounding nervous.

The last time she hadn't known what Quinn was doing. It happened so abruptly and swiftly that she didn't have time to comprehend what was happening. But this time, she was aware of what Quinn was doing and, thus, it made her feel a little nervous in case something went wrong.

"It will be alright. You just need to sit back and relax. I will take care of everything," assured Quinn with a smile as if trying to calm a child before they got an injection. "Concentrate on the pretty blue that will appear on your body and enjoy the process. It will be over before you even know it."

Quinn put hands out just ahead of his lap, and Astoria placed her hands into Quinn's, though not before exhaling a deep sigh.

For a few moments, Quinn did nothing but hold hands with Astoria, giving her time to adjust and get ready. After he thought she was ready, Quinn gently released his right from Astoria's left, held the fake wand in his hand, and did a bogus swing to get the wand out of the way.

Red fiery glowing veins appeared on Quinn's forearms, covering his hands in a network of blood that was channeling blood magic.

He gently grasped Astoria's hands and then looked at her to see that Astoria was still a little nervous.

"Astoria, look at me," he called out, causing Astoria to look up from his hands to his face. "Look at my face if you are feeling nervous. Concentrate on my eyes and forget about the magic. It will feel relaxing in a minute."

Astoria nodded and concentrated on Quinn's stone-grey eyes, which were smiling. She tried to ignore the magic in Quinn's arms.

Jacob and Sophie Greengrass watched as the glowing red veins traveled up Astoria's arms and covered her entire body in a network of illuminated veins. They both felt anxious about the treatment that was happening in front of their eyes.

They had had a healer who had been really experienced in curses check on Astoria when she returned home. And the healer confirmed that Astoria's blood curse had been repressed, and that she wasn't in any immediate danger.

But even then, they were nervous about the current treatment. The two parents had no idea what Quinn was doing and only knew that blood magic was dangerous. It caused them to be anxious. As such, they prayed that everything would go smoothly.

George, Elliot, and Ms. Rosey also watched Quinn healing Astoria. Aside from George, who had seen Quinn briefly activate blood magic, for the others it was the first time they had seen blood magic performed.

None in the room knew Quinn's full capabilities in the room, and his family was no exception. His family knew Quinn was advanced for his age, but none of them knew the specifics. Hence, it was their first time seeing Quinn perform blood magic.

They all watched. Then, the flashing veins covering Astoria's body and Quinn's forearms turned a sparkling blue. It was at that moment that the knowledge from healing magic and water magic came into play, as Quinn started to repress the blood curse to sleep for a while.

Daphne sat perpendicular, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the color changed to blue, as she saw Astoria immediately relax and loosen up. It was clear that Astoria was feeling better already.

Her eyes then went to Quinn, who she saw was still smiling, though she could see his eyes were observing Astoria with concentration and focus. It was clear he wanted to make sure nothing went wrong.

As she watched, Daphne got lost watching Quinn, who was different from what she usually saw. She was used to seeing Quinn joking around, laughing, making jokes, joining up with Tracey to act silly.

But she hadn't seen Quinn acting seriously that much. The only time she could recall him being that serious was when he chased away the Dementors. Nonetheless, at that time, she had been scared of the dementor and wasn't paying much attention. By the time she returned to normal, Quinn was grinning and talking about chocolate.

So this was Daphne's first time seeing Quinn really focused on something, and because she was so close to him, she couldn't help but find herself lost at the sight that was in front of her.

It took a few minutes to complete the process. After finishing, Quinn breathed a sigh to release the magic; the blue colored veins retreated from Astoria's body and his forearms. Then, he cut the connection by releasing Astoria's hands.

"How are you feeling?" asked Quinn.

"It felt good while you were doing magic, but right now, I don't feel any different from before," answered Astoria. "Maybe a little skippy, but nothing else."

"Excellent, that means it went fine," nodded Quinn and then turned to the Greengrass parents.

"She'll be quite energetic and active today. It would be something like a child hopped up on sugar, so let her run around and tire herself out, or she won't sleep at night," said Quinn, giving follow-up remarks to the parents of his patients. "She will be fine for the rest of the summer break. I think we should do this once more before going to school. For the rest of the sessions, I will take care of this inside the school itself."

Sophie Greengrass stepped forwards towards and took his hands in hers. "Thank you, Quinn. You've done a great favor to my family. I can't express how grateful we are to you."

It took Quinn a moment before he was able to speak. "... Oh, not a problem at all, Mrs. Greengrass. It was my pleasure to help Astoria out. Astoria is more fun when she's like this."

Jacob Greengrass, too, thanked Quinn for his help and told him that if Quinn ever needed any help, he only needed to ask.

- (Scene Break) -

It was time for the Greengrass to return home. Everyone was standing in the fireplace room.

"Mr. West. Thank you for your hospitality," smiled Jacob Greengrass as he shook hands with George. "It was a pleasure to meet you again, and I look forward to our cooperation in the future."

As Quinn had suggested, George had proposed a business proposition and, as Quinn had thought, Jacob had been open to participating in a profitable venture with the West Family.

"Let's meet soon to talk, Jacob," nodded George.

As the adults talked, Astoria approached Quinn and beckoned him to lean down.

"What is it?" asked Quinn as he leaned down. He wondered why Astoria wanted to whisper something in his ear.

But Astoria had other plans as she placed her hand on Quinn's shoulder and then placed a soft peck on his cheek.

"Astoria!" exclaimed Daphne, who was standing nearby with her mother. She felt a little annoyed at Astoria's actions.

"Oh my~," smiled Sophie with a hand in front of her lips. She had watched with interest when her younger daughter kissed Quinn on his cheek.

The younger Greengrass then shyly giggled and ran towards the fireplace, threw the floo-powder into the fireplace, and then jumped inside after speaking of her destination.

Quinn couldn't help but be stunned. His hand went to his cheek.

He suddenly became conscious of the eyes of others in the room and felt a little shy as everyone stared at him.

Unfortunately for him, unlike Astoria, he couldn't disappear into the floo-fireplace. He could only stand still as the adults chuckled while a blonde girl glared at him from the corner of his eyes.

Quinn West - MC- Don't just leave me alone here!

Astoria Greengrass - Escaped from the scene - Hehe~, I kissed Quinn.

Daphne Greengrass - Stunned - Feeling miffed and another emotion that she can't recognize.

AlanL - Editor - Fufufufu~

Chapter end