I looked down as he bombarded me with questions. Elara came to separate Victor and Kathey held me as I was trembling.
"Should I tell them?" I asked Kathey.
She looked at me for a moment and then nodded.
"Victor. Elara. There are some things you don't know about us."
We walked down and sat by the shores of the Black Lake. The water was calm and the evening air around Hogwarts Castle was quiet except for distant voices from the grounds.
I took a deep breath before speaking.
I told them about my rituals. I explained how my adaptive ability worked and how my body responded to any phenomena. I told them how Kathey and I practiced inside the Room of Requirement and how we constantly pushed ourselves far beyond what normal students did.
I did not tell them about the anonymous businesses or the deeper operations behind everything. But I did tell them about the Peverell businesses and how I had begun setting things up slowly.
After I finished, Kathey continued. She told them about being a Seer and how she had been gifted with a connection to nature since birth. She explained how she sometimes saw visions of people dying and events that had not yet happened.
"That's why we train so hard," she said quietly. "We know things are coming."
As the words settled in the air, I felt my chest tighten.
I started crying.
"I never told anyone about this because I thought they would look at me like I was a monster."
Kathey immediately hugged me tightly, trying to calm me.
Victor slowly stepped forward. For once he was not loud or joking. He hugged both of us.
"Idiot," he said softly. "I'm your friend. And so is Elara."
He looked at me seriously.
"You've done so much for us in these two years. We know what kind of guy you are. Maybe we are not as insanely smart as you two, but we are definitely mature enough to handle this."
He smiled slightly.
"So whatever you are doing, we are in."
Elara suddenly jumped forward and joined the hug too. For a long moment the four of us simply stood there together beside the lake.
Something about that moment made everything feel lighter.
In the span of the next few months I showed them the Room of Requirement. Unlike Kathey and me, who used the Time Turner to extend our training hours, Victor and Elara would come during breaks and train by themselves.
Since they now understood that something big was coming in the future, they took the training very seriously.
I gave them journals with step by step instructions. Each of them received a specialized set.
Victor received journals focused on combat magic, potions, and runes.
Elara received journals focused on the technical side of magic such as Arithmancy and advanced spell modification. Her journals also focused heavily on defensive magic and constructing magical barriers.
The system worked well.
Sometimes late at night Victor or Elara would send questions through the communication boards and I would respond to them whenever I could.
One afternoon during lunch Victor and I spoke at the same exact moment.
"The StormBorns?"
We both paused and stared at each other.
Kathey leaned back in her chair with a mischievous grin.
"Yep. Cool right?"
She shrugged.
"Yes I know it's like the Marauders. I got the idea from them and their maps. But we will be more epic."
Victor looked at me.
I nodded.
The name was approved.
And just like that our group had a name.
The months passed smoothly with training and studies. Eventually the winter break arrived.
This time it felt different.
This time we were preparing for something.
When the Hogwarts Express finally reached the station my friends and I parted ways. The platform was filled with noise as students reunited with their families.
Just as usual, Jack apparated me home.
The moment I arrived I began checking the updates of everything that had happened while I had been at school.
The Verdant was working amazingly. The potions and herbs were booming in the market. Several rare magical diseases were now being treated successfully, and the improved werewolf potions, Dragon Pox and Vanishing Sickness potions were showing remarkable results.
The main reason the business was thriving was simple. My herbs and potions worked faster, were more efficient, required less time to show results, and were sold at a lower price.
That combination made them incredibly attractive to the market.
The magical creatures assisting the seven maintenance members were now fully cooperating with them, which made the farms and forests run far more efficiently. Morlous was extremely happy with his work and even happier with the salary he was receiving.
Elizabeth was doing an incredible job managing the businesses. She had improved my investments into the muggle companies and the returns were coming in very well. Once every month my three main members also took time to provide help and supplies to homeless and rejected magical people so that some kindness could be spread alongside the growth of our enterprises.
The vaults were filling steadily. The Peverell inventions and the Lovegood inventions were both selling very well along with the other businesses.
Kathey messaged me on the board telling me to prepare for a shopping spree. It turned out that a travelling Chinese fair had arrived near her house. It was quite an experience and it was also the first time she truly spent her own earnings freely.
Meanwhile Mackie was doing extremely well with S.P.I.R.E. The organization had expanded its operations into the magical ministries of France, Russia, India, and Germany. After a few financial negotiations we also gained approval from the British magical ministry to operate private protection services. Our agents had been sent to those ministries and the protection services were already bringing in impressive profits. That success allowed us to run an official firm from our base with all the required documentation.Some of the documents required a few clever methods to obtain, but that was exactly where our intelligence members proved useful.
The growth in such a short time had been massive. However I knew that once the canon events truly began I would slow the expansion down. For now preparation was everything.
The W.I.N.T.E.R.S Consortium had built a powerful reputation in the market and so had the Peverell family businesses. Arcturus saw the reports on the buisness.
After reviewing the reports he simply placed a hand on my shoulder and said that my father would have been proud of me if he were still here.
The rest of the winter break I spent inside the office attached to my room reviewing lands that we owned and setting up additional production teams in those areas. I also sent Kathey lists of lands that we could purchase.
She selected several locations but insisted on paying for them herself since she did not like the idea of me giving things away without taking money. After a lot of arguing she finally agreed to take those selected lands under the Lovegood name and start her own production teams.
Her enchanted shoes had become extremely popular. They were not meant for long distance travel like brooms but they were perfect for short distance movement and had become very trendy.
Alongside the business work I also spent time training in the forest. I forged several new tools, improved my wand holster, and sharpened the blades hidden within it. I also practiced using my chain weapon again since I had grown slightly rusty with it. Blackwing was growing bigger every single day.
Soon we returned to Hogwarts. Life became even busier. Kathey and I used the Time Turner to continue improving our subjects toward N.E.W.T level mastery and the Electives to 6th year level.
Soon exams came, my group wasnt much worried, and as usual aced them.
During mornings we used to do our workouts near the lake. During breaks Victor and Elara trained inside the Room of Requirement while Kathey and I either met our favorite teachers or Kathey attended her Quidditch practice.
On weekends Kathey and Elara trained with the Centaurs inside the Forbidden Forest while Victor and I trained with the Merpeople beneath the Black Lake.
One afternoon the Merking Kr'anin floated before us.
"No weapons. Straight hands."
Victor grinned.
"Well this should be interesting."
Kr'anin looked toward one of his warriors.
"As'orin. Continue spear training with Viktor."
Victor swam off with the warrior while Kr'anin turned toward me.
"Kid," he said slowly. "Tomorrow is your last day here before you leave for the year. Before you go I want to see how strong you truly are."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Do not hold back."
The water around us grew still as we faced each other.
Then suddenly he lunged forward.
His fist shot toward me like a cannon through the water. I barely shifted aside as it passed my face. I countered immediately, driving my elbow toward his ribs, but he blocked it and grabbed my arm before spinning his powerful tail and throwing me backward.
I steadied myself and rushed forward again.
This time I caught his wrist and twisted before slamming a knee toward his torso. The strike pushed him back but he quickly retaliated with another punch that struck my shoulder and sent a shock through my arm.
Victor shouted encouragement from the side as we continued exchanging blows.
I ducked beneath another strike, grabbed his arm, and used his momentum to flip him over my shoulder into the lakebed.
The Merking rose from the sand laughing loudly.
"Good."
He stepped forward and slammed his fist into mine.
The impact sent ripples through the water.
"You have grown stronger."
After the final training session we said our goodbyes.
As we got out of the water, my muscles felt tougher. Heh. Density increased. My body went back to human state as the webbed hands, arms and feet went back to normal.
Before leaving I handed a communication board to the Centaurs and another to the Merpeople so that we could stay in contact.
At the end of the school year the final house points were counted. Last year I had not paid attention to who won. But this year I did.
Because of the combined points earned by our group during classes and Kathey's performance in Quidditch, Gryffindor had won.
The Great Hall erupted with cheers.
We celebrated together with laughter and excitement.
And as we sat there watching the red and gold banners hanging proudly from the ceiling of the Great Hall, the four of us exchanged smiles.
The StormBorns had only just begun.
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