Kapitel 118: Year End, Platform Talk, Servant Meets The Master
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The link is also in the synopsis.
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[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_Loo/AlanL]
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Quinn entered the Great Hall with a newspaper tucked under his arms and walked towards the Ravenclaw table to get himself a seat. He found an empty area at the table, so he sat down on the seating bench. He put the newspaper on the table.
"Let's see what does this say," said Quinn and picked up one of the newspapers from the left stack. He started to look for what he was looking for. "As expected, it's on the down-low now. They pushed it down to the sixth page."
Quinn's eyes read the article that interested him. Right after, he reached the end of the page and turned to the instructed page to read the article's continuation.
As Quinn continued to read the newspaper, Ravenclaw students walked by, saw him, and went to sit to another spot on the bench. No one sat near Quinn.
The Hogwarts students sat down at Great Hall thrice a day for meals, and because of that, the students from the same house knew about the groups and cliques that existed. As such, everyone knew not to sit adjacent to Quinn if he was sitting in a certain spot.
"Excellent, there's nothing at all" smiled Quinn as he folded the newspaper and placed it below the plate in front of him.
Both Quinn and George knew that this incident would go viral. The newspapers, magazines, and any other form of media would definitely want to publish that story, so George had to silence any mentions of Quinn's name in any published articles.
Most articles outright omitted there ever being someone else other than the Aurors and Accionites at the scene and only specified that the Aurors freed Harry Potter from the kidnappers. The few that mentioned there being someone else on the scene termed Quinn as an unidentified Hogwarts student, and even then, Quinn's role was disguised as a bystander.
Quinn would check the newspapers daily to see if someone published his name and, in the following weeks, his name didn't come up even once.
The people in Hogwarts who knew about the incident were instructed not to talk about the incident. This essentially placed a gag order in regards to the kidnapping incident.
Thus, the general public ended up without knowing his identity, which ensured Quinn's anonymity. It was something he appreciated. Quinn was glad Hogwarts students who wanted to know what happened hadn't crowded him.
Just when Quinn finished reading through the newspaper, he felt a tap on his shoulder and a soft pat on his head.
He looked to the sides to see Eddie's hand on his shoulder and Luna on his other side, who had patted him on his head.
Quinn looked at his front and smiled at Marcus, who sat down opposite to him. The newspaper stack was in front of him.
"Good morning. Ready to go home?" said Quinn.
Today was their last day at Hogwarts, and after eating breakfast, everyone would head to the Hogsmeade station, board the train, and go home.
"Of course, I can't wait to get home," said Eddie and questioned back. "What about you? Are you happy to be free from the daily detentions?"
Quinn had been serving detentions every day for weeks. Yesterday had been his last detention session.
As the faculty had to mask Quinn's participation, another reason for his detention was required. The faculty and Quinn discussed it and decided to make Snape catch Quinn out of the dorm after hours and because Snape was Snape, he'd dish out severe detention to him.
Snape's bad reputation among the students had finally come to use, as after Quinn told everyone that Snape caught him, everyone instantly accepted he had to serve detention without question.
Quinn had been a little miffed that his perfect record of not being caught while breaking curfew was tainted. To boot, he hadn't even been caught while breaking curfew.
"Come on, my detentions haven't been that bad," smiled Quinn. "I've had a lot of fun hanging out with the Professors. Even Filch is fun to hang out with; that man knows a whole lot about the castle."
Quinn's detentions rotated among the faculty. Within his detention period, he had spent time with all the faculty members, including Poppy and Filch.
"Your standard of fun is weird," said Marcus, shaking his head as he piled up food on his plate.
"Weird, yes." nodded Luna fervently in agreement. She had had several talks with Quinn where he had tried to tell her what he thought of as fun and interesting.
"Well, my definition is wide and refined. It's not my fault you don't understand it," humphed Quinn with a smile.
Quinn looked around the Great Hall and thought about the recent events that happened.
His eyes turned to Draco Malfoy, who was laughing with his friends. He then thought about Buckbeak, and about the Hippogriff case, where Lucius Malfoy had tried to push for Buckbeak to be put down.
But the case had been thrown out of Wizengamot. Unlike the canon, Hagrid and Buckbeak had the full support of the Light faction.
The Light faction, in fact, had used this case to introduce Sirius Black to the Wizengamot as the holder of the Black seat. Sirius Black, and consequently the House of Black, had officially joined the Light faction. To commemorate that moment, they allowed Sirius to lead the opposition. He smoothly handled the case.
It was decided that Buckbeak wouldn't be executed, although the third-year students wouldn't be allowed to interact with the Hippogriff. The only thing that Lucius Malfoy was able to achieve was light-slapping Hagrid and the Hogwarts administration.
'From the looks of it, Draco doesn't seem to be bothered with it,' thought Quinn. 'Well, it wasn't a big deal.'
Quinn then looked at the High Table. He noticed the entire staff was present.
He looked at Remus and thought about the talk he and the Lycanthrope had had during one of his detentions.
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Quinn was seated in Remus Lupin's office as he helped him grade Lupin's students— except the fifth and seventh year for record purposes.
"I'm leaving Hogwarts," said Remus, suddenly.
Quinn stopped writing grades onto the parchment and looked up at Lupin.
"I don't think your identity as a Werewolf ever came up in any of the Accionite trials," stated Quinn. "Those four Accionites did talk about a Werewolf but, well, no one believed them."
The Wizengamot had dismissed the talk about a Werewolf. It was thought the four Accionites were trying to waste time, and the Auror prosecution did a fine job of keeping things on track.
"James and Sirius omitted me being in the Shack in their reports," spoke Remus, looking down. "They had to lie while being on duty because of me. I can't stay here. It might bite them in the future."
Quinn looked at Remus to see if he was making a pun with the 'bite'. But he didn't seem to, so Quinn continued the conversation.
"Well, I also got out of the entire situation without anyone knowing. I don't really blame those two for helping you out," replied Quinn. "But I guess you're right about this backfiring if you stay here. I figured out your identity, and the longer you stay, the greater the chance of someone else finding out."
Both Quinn and Remus knew that the longer he stayed, the more familiar the students would get with him. So it wouldn't be long until someone noticed.
"That's true. I'm sure that if I stay for another year, Severus will get more agitated and angry. I wouldn't be surprised if he directly told the students," spoke Remus.
"I guess you're right," chuckled Quinn. "Given Professor Snape's desire for the Defense of Dark Arts position, his attempts to out you will get more direct."
Remus nodded, and his mind wandered to his school days and the relationship he had had with Severus Snape. Snape had been the first student outside of his friends who had known he was a Werewolf, and he had kept that secret for more than a decade. Remus knew that if he had come to Hogwarts, Snape would have never tried something like this.
Remus Lupin, a Gryffindor, saw himself thinking about his school years, and he realized how much of a coward he had been. The friendship he had with James and Sirius also led him to not stop their bullying of other students. A most notable example being Snape. But Remus had been terrified of losing them, so he didn't do anything to stop them, something that he regretted to this day.
"I only agreed to attend Hogwarts as a Professor for a year," said Remus. "I'll get back my previous job. It's better this way."
"Your previous job? What did you do before this?" asked Quinn. The canon Remus Lupin lived a disorderly life. He could only manage to work for short periods of time, so he was curious about what this version did for a living.
"I'm a woodworker. I make furniture, sculptures, joinery, and cabinetmaking. When you have magic on your side, you can create things quite easily," replied Remus with a wide smile. "I sell to both muggles and wizardkind. I have Squib associates who run shops in the muggle world and sell my creations for me."
Remus used magic to create intricate pieces of woodwork. With the help of James and Sirius, he had figured out a way to build woodworks that would be considered of excellent quality in the muggle world but were within the confines of wizarding laws of secrecy.
Remus liked the job because he felt peaceful, level-headed, and calm while working. He could do it with his condition because it didn't take long to create things with magic, and he could rest for the period after he transformed.
"Oh my, now, that's an excellent job. Great idea, turning the non-magical world into a stable asset. I respect that," nodded Quinn.
...
Remus had revealed what he was about to do next year, which was to return to his previous job.
'Well, at least this will keep the canon timeline more or less the same. At least, I hope so,' hoped Quinn.
It was to his benefit that the timeline had remained more or less the same. As long as the major events were more or less the same, Quinn would continue to have information beneficial to him; he would know the future.
'Next year is where it all starts,' thought Quinn.
The first three canon years had been just the opening act. An innocent world. Just magic and the golden trio, who got up to all sorts of mischief while they tried to solve the mysteries and its surrounding problems.
But then, things changed. As the main characters grew older, the problems got heavier and the world got darker. That world of magical enjoyment became quite different.
The Goblet of Fire had been the turning point. It had been the transition from the magical world of fantasy to a more complex world. And this complex social world came into play, and with that came new dynamics in the relationships between the characters. And because of that, jarring shifts happened as a result of those new relationships.
'Not to mention The Goblet of Fire is the book where Voldemort returns. Not as a specter, parasite or a mind-controlling soul fragment, but a magical entity with a body that had his soul, this leading to him returning to his previous power.'
Quinn knew what that meant. He realized what the return of Voldemort signified and how it would affect the future.
'It will reintroduce a magical powerhouse to the playing field. And not just any powerhouse; a powerhouse with the backing of an entire political faction and the capability of changing political circles and converting others.'
After Voldemort returned in the canon timeline, the Dark Faction acquired the leader the greedy and distrusting Dark Faction members were lacking. They got what they needed to come together under the same banner.
Quinn turned his attention to Albus Dumbledore, who was conversing with other Professors.
'If Albus Dumbledore is the Light Faction's backing, then Voldemort is the Dark Faction's backing,' thought Quinn.
Even though magical power wasn't needed to gain political power, the wizarding community considered magic as might. Lots of magical species considered themselves to be better than the non-magical kin because they had magic. And when one of their kind mastered the magic to a level considered impossible to others, they gained respect and standing.
That was one of the reasons both Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort were at the top of their groups-slash-factions. They had the skills to lead and the magical ability to back it up.
Quinn turned his eye to the Slytherin table and focused his vision on Daphne and Astoria Greengrass.
'I wonder whether Jacob and Sophie Greengrass will manage to keep the Grey Faction together,' sighed Quinn. 'I hope their efforts over this year will allow them to maintain firm control over the Grey Faction.'
The Grey Faction was a cooperative group and, while the Greengrass family acted as the leaders, they weren't leaders like Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort. The Greengrass couple, in fact, were more managers than leaders, and with the times that were ahead, managing the Grey Faction would become harder.
"Hey, why are you brooding? Get some food; we have to leave soon."
Quinn snapped out of his thoughts from Eddie's voice.
"Yeah, let's eat."
He collected himself and left his thoughts for a later time.
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Quinn deboarded the Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross Station and stepped on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
As every year, there were groups of parents and guardians waiting for their children, eager to meet them after months of separation.
"Now, where's my family?" murmured Quinn to himself while looking around.
While looking around, Quinn noticed a familiar figure.
"Oh my, someone's flirting with her," smiled Quinn as he watched a man try to hit on his sister, Lia West.
A man was trying to talk to her but Lia stood there without bothering to show the man any attention. She even looked bored.
"Now, what should I do? Well, let's help her out," sighed Quinn, and as he walked towards her, he called out. "Lia! I'm back!"
Lia West, who was tuning out whatever the man beside her was spewing, turned back when she heard her name and saw her precious baby brother walking towards her.
"Quinn," smiled Lia. She went towards her brother without even bothering to give the man a single glance.
Quinn and Lia hugged for a moment. Then Quinn walked up to the man that had been talking to Lia and was now leering at her.
"Hey," smiled Quinn and beckoned the man to lean down a little. "Do you want to know a secret?" Quinn gave a discreet glance over his shoulder towards Lia.
The man nodded and leaned down to Quinn's height level.
Quinn calmly raised his head. Then, a barely visible mist of pink escaped his fingers and went into the man's forehead. The man's eyes glazed over and he became unaware of the current situation.
"Walk, walk away. Walk, and keep walking," whispered Quinn into the ear of the man before leaning away and walking to Lia.
As Quinn walked towards Lia, the man stood up straight and started to walk away, just as Quinn had told him.
"What did you do?" asked Lia as she watched the man walk away on the Platform.
"A little Confundus charm, nothing major," smiled Quinn.
"And what did you ask him to do?" asked Lia, knowing what the Confundus charm did.
"I simply asked him to walk."
"Mhm, walking is easy enough to accomplish. No wonder he obeyed so easily," nodded Lia.
"I could've asked him to strip, given his mood. It would have taken just a little more magic, but I could have made him do all sorts of things," said Quinn. He then asked, "And why were you standing there without bothering to talk to him?"
"I had him as a white noise machine. Also, it kept others away," shrugged Lia.
"You could have used magic as I did. See how easy it was. He walked away without saying a word," replied Quinn. He especially knew how easy it was to influence people's minds temporarily. "That man will probably wonder what he did after he snaps out, but then, after just a bit, he will continue on with his life, as simple as that."
Lia ruffled Quinn's hair but then lightly gripped his head and rocked his head.
"You got in trouble once again," said Lia in a somewhat strict voice. "This time, it was a kidnapping."
Quinn raised his hand and a finger. "First of all, I wasn't the one being kidnapped. Second, I wasn't planning to be a part of that thing."
"You just stumbled into it," finished Lia. "Still, it was dangerous to confront that Accionite and beat him up. You could've gotten seriously injured."
Quinn wanted to tell her that he was in no danger but didn't say anything, as then, the conversation would ensue and Lia would get angry with him.
He gave her a look of silent apology, and that seemed to do the trick, as she released his head, and she smiled.
"Alright, let's get going. The others are waiting."
"Let's go. I hope you have gotten better at apparating. Side-apparating with you isn't comfortable, and that is assuming that apparating is comfortable," grinned Quinn.
"Shush, I don't apparate that often and even less bring someone with me."
The West siblings turned to walk to the apparition point. Nonetheless, they stopped, as they heard two voices say in unison.
" " Quinn. " "
Lia and Quinn stopped, and Quinn turned to look back to see who was calling him.
On his left side, Quinn saw the Potter family. Harry Potter, Lily Potter, and James Potter along with Ivy Potter.
On his right side, Quinn turned to see the Greengrass family. Jacob Greengrass and Sophie Greengrass were there with their two daughters, Astoria Greengrass and Daphne Greengrass. There were the others who had called out Quinn.
Lia suddenly looked very interested and excited as she saw two girls call out for Quinn.
"Yes?" asked Quinn. He moved his head side-to-side to look at both parties.
The two parties looked at each other. The fathers were the first to speak to each other.
"Potter," said Jacob Greengrass with a relaxed smile.
"Greengrass," returned James Potter with a barely discernible nod.
Then it was time for the mothers to greet each other. Those two were much friendlier to each other than their husbands.
"Lily, it's been a while since we've seen each other," smiled Sophie as she stepped forward towards Lily Potter. "You've been so busy with your new job that you seem to have forgotten me. Is this what our friendship has come to?"
Lily also stepped forward and hugged Sophie in greeting.
"Of course not. Don't tease me like that. You haven't written to me either in such a long time," replied Lily. "It's summer; I'm free for a while. How about we get together to catch up? Just like the old times."
Quinn scooted near Lia and asked, "They've called for me, but then they ignore me. Isn't this a bit rude?" asked Quinn.
But Lia wasn't listening to her brother. She was too busy looking at the two girls who had called for Quinn.
She had seen and met Daphne Greengrass before, though Daphne hadn't talked much during that meeting. Her impression of the girl was that she was the quiet type who didn't speak to people she just met.
Then there was this other girl. And Lia also recognized this girl as the sister to the Boy-Who-Lived. She had never met Ivy Potter, but she could remember her from the pictures in the newspapers.
And now, she was watching the two girls staring at each other. If she read them correctly, they were slightly glaring at each other.
'What's this? This is exciting. So exciting!' thought Lia as she looked at the girls with interest.
Astoria waved at Quinn and smiled. Quinn waved back. Harry Potter nodded and Quinn returned the nod.
After Jacob and James finished staring at each other and the mothers finished making plans, the two families finally turned to Quinn and Lia.
"Quinn, it's been two years since we met. At the ministry ball, remember?" asked Jacob Greengrass, taking the initiative.
"Indeed, Mr. Greengrass. I remember," nodded Quinn. "We were briefly introduced at the ball."
Quinn then turned to Sophie Greengrass. And from the bottom of his heart came the most charming smile he had ever graced his face.
"Mrs. Greengrass. It's a pleasure to see you again after so much time. I can't believe we haven't had the opportunity to meet a second time till now."
He was about to greet her physically but stopped when he felt a glare from a certain someone and stood in his spot before turning the other side.
"Auror and Professor Potter, I hope you are doing well."
He didn't say anything more because he didn't want to spread any knowledge about what happened at the Shrieking Shack. Though he understood that the Potter family already knew about it. There was an excellent, close to a hundred percent chance that Jacob Greengrass was aware of the actual events and, thus, the rest of his family.
He gestured to Lia and briefly introduced, "I believe you are already acquainted with her," He fixed his eyes on the Greengrass Family. He then turned his head to the Potter Family. "This is my sister, Lia West."
Lia nodded gracefully to everybody with a smart and beautiful smile.
"May I inquire what both of you want to talk about?" asked Quinn, cutting straight to the subject.
Lily Potter was the first one to speak and brought up what the Potter family wanted with him.
"Quinn, about the dinner. When are you free for it? We can set it up whenever you want."
From the corner of his eyes, Quinn saw that neither Jacob nor Sophie looked surprised or curious. Though Daphne and Astoria did have those looks that their parents lacked.
'So the sisters don't know, but the parents do. He does have a high enough position to know about it, I guess' thought Quinn and shrugged.
"It would be prudent for you to write a formal invitation addressed to my grandfather, George West. I'll be the one to reply and decide the date, but it's more convenient if you address the invitation to him," replied Quinn. "I advise you to keep the invitation precise and polite. My grandfather will surely appreciate it. If he approves your invitation, I'll be at your house for dinner without any hitches."
"I understand. We will act as advised," replied Lily. "We're looking forward to hosting you and your family."
"And I'm looking forward to the evening. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, Professor," nodded Quinn.
He then turned to the Greengrass side, and even though he knew what they wanted, he waited, as waiting was what the social protocol demanded.
"I wanted to talk about the deal and discuss the details," replied Jacob.
As Daphne had said, Jacob and Sophie Greengrass would agree to whatever was needed as long as Astoria got healthy again.
"I believe you also need to write to my grandfather. This time, it should be a letter to set up a meeting with him to discuss the details. You'll probably have to come to visit us, I'm afraid" stated Quinn.
Lia looked confused, as she didn't know what Jacob was talking about.
"Also, please make sure that the letter doesn't arrive today, tomorrow, or the following day. I haven't talked to him about it yet, so it would be beneficial to everyone if I have the necessary time to catch up with him."
Jacob nodded. He wanted his daughter to become healthy; following Quinn's instructions would be the best way to achieve that.
"Excellent, now that both of you know what to do, I'm afraid it's time for me to leave. I'm looking forward to your letters and our eventual meetings."
He turned and walked away without turning his head back. Staying there any longer would attract attention to him and draw questions. Besides, there wasn't anything else to talk about; any further fruitful talk would happen after they wrote to his grandfather.
Lia looked at both families and, after a nod, she too walked away. She followed Quinn.
The two families looked at each other, and its members wondered how and why they were connected to Quinn West.
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Peter Pettigrew sat in an inn in Albania while enjoying a warm meal after weeks of traveling. He was currently under no guise.
The people here, unlike Britain, didn't know his face. They didn't see his 'wanted' posters daily.
'Not that it matters,' thought Peter as he read a local newspaper. 'I look nothing like in those posters.'
The image for the posters had been taken before he had been brought to Azkaban. The physical appearance of his past self was totally different from the one he had now. The difference was substantial.
But it turned out that Peter was wrong about people not recognizing him in Albania. He hadn't taken into account one type of person.
"Peter? Peter Pettigrew? Is that you?"
Peter froze. One of his hands sneaked into his robes and grasped a compatible wand he had stolen.
He looked up and saw a plump woman standing in front of him. It took him a few moments to recognize her, but he did recognize her.
'Bertha Jorkins. What's she doing here?' he thought, and then it struck him. 'Work? No, she's here for tourism.'
After years in Azkaban, Peter had gotten infinitely better at controlling his emotions and his actions. He was naturally able to control his emotions without the use of magic such as occlumency.
"Sorry, lady, but you've got the wrong chap. I don't know this Peter guy you're talking about."
He kept a confused and slightly annoyed face as he said that.
"No, no, I know you. You're Peter Pettigrew," insisted Bertha Jorkins.
Bertha Jorkins was a British witch. A Ministry of Magic employee who worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
Bertha Jorkins had been a few years ahead of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew when they studied at Hogwarts.
She had been a gossipy girl and not very bright, which Peter noted to not be a good combination. During her school years, she would regularly complain about the mistreatment other students apparently had. She would even spread rumors. That had pushed Dumbledore to act on one occasion following one incident.
"Nope, not me. How about you sit down and tell me why you think I'm this Peter Pettigrew bloke," said Peter. He wanted to make sure whether his guess about Bertha's personality had been correct. He had his wand ready just in case.
It turned out he had been right, as Bertha sat down at Peter's table and started to tell him why she thought he was Peter Pettigrew.
'Gossipy and not bright. Not a good combination, I'm afraid,' thought Peter as he continued to listen to her while nodding and humming in response.
After a while, Peter had his fill of food and drinks and was ready to leave. He turned to Bertha.
"Let's go take a walk. I want to talk more but I need to stretch my legs."
He got up and went to the barkeep to pay for his food. He then walked out of the inn with Bertha following him out.
"Are you sure you aren't Peter Pettigrew? You look like him if he was thin," asked Bertha.
"I guess I'm Peter Pettigrew, after all," replied Peter when they were alone.
"So you say, but I think-." Then Bertha stopped when she heard what Peter said. "You said it! You said that you're Peter; no takebacks!"
Peter smiled, calmly raised his wand, and pointed it at her.
"Imperio."
Bertha's eyes glazed over, and she stopped talking and became silent.
"Follow me."
Peter and the Imperio-ed Bertha Jorkins headed to the Albanian forest for a few hours without stopping.
Peter Pettigrew was also Wormtail, a rat Animagus. And with that transformation came the ability to talk to rats while in his Animagus state.
He had been at a loss as he didn't know how to find the Dark Lord, but then he heard some chatter among the rats. For years, there had been a dark shadow that lived in the Albanian forest. Someone who took over other animals, killed them, and then moved on.
The Albanian forest had become a feared place for these creatures, and no one went there as their instincts screamed at them to run away.
Peter had nothing to go on with, and as such he investigated the only lead he had.
'Where's he? Let him be here,' thought Peter and looked at the sky to see the sun setting. 'I should leave before it gets dark.' He looked to his side and thought. 'I should get rid of her.'
He had only brought Bertha along with him because the rats said that the shadow used bodies of animals. Peter had thought that a human body would be more suitable if the dark shadow was the Dark Lord.
As he raised his wand to kill Bertha Jorkins, but then, Peter heard a loud and deep hissing sound.
He looked around and saw nothing, yet the hissing sound continued to come from all around him.
Then all of a sudden, it stopped, and the area went eerie silent.
What followed put a smile on Peter's face.
"... Wormtail," came a voice like a whisper, yet it was everywhere.
Peter stood up straight and smiled.
"I'm here, my lord. At your service."
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- (End of Volume 5: Year Four) -
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A/N [1] - Same deal as the last time. Will take a small break before returning. Two/three/four days.
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A/N[2] - I will be floating a poll tomorrow so be sure to vote what you prefer.
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Quinn West - MC - This will be a busy summer.
Peter Pettigrew - Wormtail - Determined, tempered, strong.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - See you guys later.
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