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Even after waking up, Fleur remained clinging to me, staring at me with a smile brimming with emotion.
She seemed completely immersed in her own little rose-colored world, focused solely on the two of us while ignoring everything happening around us.
It suited her passionate and determined personality perfectly — but unfortunately, this wasn't the most appropriate moment for it.
"Hm…"
Completely oblivious to my discomfort, Fleur rested her head back on my shoulder, placing the palm of her hand against my chest.
She looked relaxed, with no intention whatsoever of moving from this position.
In fact, she seemed to wish that this moment could last forever.
However, in the very next second, she blinked a few times before looking down at the hand resting on me.
"Oh." She lifted her head, a slightly surprised expression appearing on her beautiful face.
"I never noticed this before, but your body is really warm," she commented, running her hand across my chest with genuine interest.
"Er… Fleur…" I began, feeling a bit shy under her touch.
"Yes?" she tilted her head, looking at me while continuing to touch me, completely at ease.
"Uh, I know it's comfortable here and all… but maybe you should take a look around before you keep talking… or touching me," I said, subtly gesturing forward with my head.
Raising an eyebrow, Fleur looked at me in confusion, not quite understanding what I meant. Still, she decided to follow my suggestion.
As soon as the French witch turned her face, she saw who was standing in front of us.
Her body froze, as if struck by a Petrificus Totalus.
Her breath hitched for a second, and the affectionate atmosphere surrounding her dissipated instantly.
Her heart, which had been beating calmly just moments ago, lurched violently. The loving, gentle emotions evaporated, replaced by panic, nervousness, and crushing embarrassment.
…
…
…
"Oh… Uh… Hi?" the Veela stammered, averting her gaze, unable to look at the people in front of us.
She realized a little too late that everything she had said and done had been seen and heard by this group.
A group which, to her despair and shame, consisted of both my family and hers.
Fleur's cheeks — and practically her entire face — turned completely red. And instead of letting go of me, I felt her grip on my arm tighten.
"Ugh," I groaned, feeling my blood circulation getting cut off once again.
And I couldn't tell whether she was doing this because she was embarrassed and wanted my support… or because she was taking her frustration out on me, blaming me for not warning her about our unwanted audience sooner.
Fortunately — or unfortunately — this strange and awkward atmosphere was broken by movement on my other side.
"Yawn… Good morning, Ethan," Luna, who had woken up some time after Fleur, said through a muffled yawn.
She lifted her head from my chest, rubbing her eyes before stretching.
Then her gaze landed on the people in front of us, immediately realizing that we weren't alone.
"Oh! Good morning to all of you as well," she said, waving cheerfully.
From her light and carefree attitude, it was clear that Luna didn't feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable about being seen in such an intimate position with me.
'Of course… I should've expected that this would be Luna's reaction,' I shook my head with an ironic smile.
Noticing that Luna showed no signs of embarrassment or discomfort, Penny nodded to herself, visibly satisfied.
To her, there was absolutely no reason for Fleur or Luna to feel awkward.
Sleeping in the arms of her dear and extraordinary grandson was, in her view, something every girl should aspire to. And now that both of them had achieved that, they ought to feel proud and honored.
But of course, above all else, Penny also felt pride — and a slight measure of respect — toward me. A feeling that was reflected in the eyes of most of the men present.
Managing to have two girls sleeping while clinging to me — without any sexual connotations or ulterior motives, obviously — was, without a doubt, a remarkable feat.
Even if most of them couldn't say they knew the girls deeply, having spent little time interacting with them, they had already formed an opinion.
From what they could see, Fleur and Luna were beautiful, kind, and intelligent girls. Certainly the kind of girls anyone would love to have around… as friends or even as girlfriends.
In Penny's case, this certainty was even stronger.
She understood far better than the others just how incredible and good-hearted the two of them were. After all, she had spent an entire year teaching both of them, in addition to interacting with them frequently thanks to me.
And knowing that, the calculating gleam in the alchemist witch's eyes grew even sharper.
'Heh, interesting…' she thought.
Then, suppressing these thoughts for the time being, Penny stepped forward, smiling warmly at Luna.
"Good morning, Luna, dear… Did you sleep well?" she asked in a friendly, affectionate tone.
"Mhm," the Ravenclaw blonde nodded immediately. "That might've been the best night of sleep I've had in ages," she replied, a radiant smile on her face.
What Luna failed to notice was that, after these innocent words — which seemed so familiar to us — a peculiar and ambiguous atmosphere settled over the room.
The four older women exchanged knowing, conspiratorial smiles. The men, on the other hand, turned their gazes toward me, eyebrows raised in amusement.
Meanwhile, Fleur turned even redder, sinking into the armchair in a desperate attempt to be swallowed by it.
'Merlin, this is so embarrassing!' she whined internally, wishing she could magically disappear.
"Hehe."
"Hehehe."
Accompanying the moment, two mischievous, teasing laughs rang out — one rough and wild, almost like barking, and the other feminine and youthful.
'I swear I'm going to jinx these pair of brainless blockheads,' I thought, feeling my right eye twitch as I glared at Sirius and Dora.
Apparently, my irritated stare was intense enough to be noticed by the two overgrown children of the Black family, because both of them fell silent almost immediately, averting their gazes 'innocently'.
My mom, noticing Fleur's embarrassment and Luna's confusion, decided that she and her group had already had enough fun at our expense.
Besides, judging by all signs, one of these two girls might very well end up becoming her daughter-in-law someday, and she had no intention of driving them away with jokes like that.
"Alright, everyone, that's enough," my mom said, putting an end to all teasing and chatter. "The kids just woke up and are still a bit groggy, so let's give them some time to wake up properly."
"After that, they can go wash up, and then we'll all have breakfast together… Look, the house-elves have already prepared the table for us."
As she said that, my mom gestured toward the corner of the room.
And just as she had said, on the far end stood a large table with nineteen seats — exactly the number of people present in the Room of Requirement — filled with light, nutritious food, perfect for someone who had just woken up and needed to restore their energy.
Then, turning her gaze to the two troublemakers who had been mocking her son and possible future daughter-in-law, my mom narrowed her eyes.
"Sirius, since you're so energetic this early in the morning, go check if the boys are awake. And Dora, go wake up the girls," she ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Knowing better than to disobey the powerful lady of the House Night, the two quickly nodded before heading up to the second floor.
Satisfied, my mom then looked at the werewolf of the group before adding, "Remus, go with Sirius."
"Wait, what? Why me? I didn't do anything!" he protested, looking at my mom in confusion and disbelief.
"No arguments. Just go," she said, crossing her arms.
"I… But I… He..." he stammered, trying to argue. But seeing my mom's firm stare, he could only let out a defeated sigh.
"Fine," he muttered, accepting his punishment.
Then, with his head lowered, he followed after Sirius, feeling deeply wronged — and above all else, irritated at the dog-man who had dragged him into this.
Seeing this scene, the other adults couldn't help but smile in amusement.
And Andromeda, watching her daughter obediently follow my mom's orders, merely nodded in satisfaction.
She wasn't upset in the slightest about someone else bossing her daughter around. In fact, she was rather pleased, as it meant there was now one more person helping her keep her mischievous, troublesome girl in check.
While all of this was happening, I looked at my mom with shining eyes, feeling that, in some way, I had been avenged.
'Heh, my mom really is the best!' I thought, giving her a mental thumbs-up.
End.
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