Elara and Viviane left the next morning.
Elara simply appeared in the entrance hall with her travelling cloak fastened and a heavy leather satchel slung over her shoulder. Viviane came down a minute later, her dark hair pinned up and her green eyes looking tired.
"You are leaving," Morwenna said. she was sitting on the bottom step of the grand staircase, Cinder curled in her lap.
"For a week," Viviane replied. "Maybe ten days."
Elara adjusted her satchel strap. "I need to check the Valcourt library. There are ward structures we encountered that I have only seen referenced but never fully documented. I need the originals to be certain."
"And I have work," Viviane added with a weary smile. "Actual work, not just standing in a suburban street watching Elara trace invisible walls."
Morwenna didn't argue, as she was far too tired to find the energy for it. The past two months had drained something out of her, and she hadn't realised just how much until the routine finally stopped.
"Come back soon," she said.
Viviane leaned down to kiss her forehead while Elara touched her cheek, a brief and cool brush of fingers. Then they stepped into the Floo together, and the green flames swallowed them whole.
Morwenna spent most of the next day sleeping. It wasn't the restless, dream-filled sleep of the weeks before, but a deep and heavy nothingness. She woke only once when the light through her curtains shifted from a dull, colourless hue to gold.
She mumbled something at Cinder, then pulled the blankets back over her head. Jane brought her lunch on a tray and left it on the nightstand, but Morwenna only picked at the rice and ignored the vegetables before falling back into slumber.
Cinder stayed with her the entire time. He didn't try to play or whine for attention, but simply pressed himself against her side and slept when she did, his ears twitching at every muffled sound from the corridor.
Jane checked on her twice. The first time, she found the girl fast asleep. The second time, Morwenna was awake and staring at the ceiling with Vert pressed against her ribs.
"Are you alright?" Jane asked softly.
"Just tired."
Jane sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to check Morwenna's forehead for a fever. Finding none, she sighed. "You have been working very hard."
Morwenna nodded but didn't say anything else. Jane stayed for a while in the room before leaving.
By the next day, Morwenna felt better. She wasn't fully recovered, but she ate her breakfast without needing to be reminded and brushed her own hair. She went to the morning room and found the pile of letters that had accumulated over the past few weeks.
Draco had written twice. The first letter was a long complaint about his father's new peacock, while the second was an even longer complaint that Morwenna hadn't replied to the first. She wrote back a single sentence: "Peacocks are loud, and I was busy."
Daphne had written a short, precise note asking if Morwenna wanted to visit the Greengrass estate before the summer ended. Morwenna wrote back: "Yes. I will send a date."
Neville had sent a much longer letter, mostly about a new plant his grandmother had acquired. Morwenna didn't understand half of the technical terms he used, but she read it twice and replied: "That sounds interesting. I would like to see it."
She spent the afternoon in the garden with Cinder. The roses were blooming in shades of red, pink, and white, their petals heavy and fragrant in the July heat. She sat on the stone wall and watched the bees work while Cinder chased a butterfly for fifteen minutes. He caught nothing, eventually coming back to lie at her feet with his tongue hanging out.
The next day, she went to visit Draco. Malfoy Manor was exactly as it always was, with peacocks strutting across the lawn and fountains spraying cool water into the air. Draco met her at the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You took a week to reply," he noted.
"I was busy."
"Doing what?"
"It's a secret."
He didn't ask again, but they played two rounds of chess. She lost both, and he was predictably insufferable about his victory.
"Do you want to buy a wand together?" Morwenna asked after the second game.
Draco's eyebrows shot up. "I already have mine. My father took me to Ollivander's last week."
"Oh."
The week settled into a comfortable rhythm. She spent her mornings in the garden with Cinder and her afternoons visiting friends or hosting them at the manor. Evenings were spent in the library, where she didn't read so much as sit with Aldric while he worked, watching the dust motes drift through the golden light.
Neville came to visit on Wednesday. They walked through the greenhouses together, and he showed her the new shoots on a plant whose name she forgot as soon as he said it. He was quieter than Draco and much easier to be around, as she didn't feel the need to talk and he didn't seem to mind the silence.
Susan arrived on Friday. They sat in the morning room while she told Morwenna about her aunt's work at the Ministry. Morwenna listened intently and asked questions, trying to remember the names of various departments to memory for later use.
Daphne and Astoria came together on Saturday. Astoria attached herself to Morwenna's side the moment she arrived and didn't let go until her mother came to collect them. Daphne sat on the bench near the fountain and watched them, saying very little. Morwenna caught her staring once, but Daphne quickly looked away.
"Do you want to buy a wand together?" Morwenna asked. "In August."
Daphne considered the question for a moment. "I haven't bought mine yet."
"Then we will go together."
Daphne nodded, the corner of her mouth twitching in what was almost a smile.
On the eighth day, an owl arrived. Morwenna was in the morning room with Cinder while Jane sorted through the morning's correspondence. The owl landed on the windowsill and tapped its beak against the glass until Jane opened it. After shaking its feathers, the bird held out its leg.
Jane untied the parcel and handed it over. "Your commission has arrived."
Morwenna set her toast down. The parcel was wrapped in brown paper and tied with tight, deliberate knots. She pulled the string loose and folded back the paper to reveal a long black cord and a pendant.
The crystal was nearly clear with a faint blue tint, looking like ice seen through shallow water. It was hollow, with a small opening just wide enough to fit something delicate, and a tiny silver stopper sat beside it. Morwenna picked it up, finding the crystal cool and smooth against her fingers. It was much lighter than she had expected.
"Finally," she whispered.
She ran upstairs to her room to retrieve two vials from her nightstand drawer. They were wrapped in soft cloth to keep them from clinking together. She carried them back down to the morning room where Jane was still sitting, having moved her tea aside to make room.
Morwenna set the vials on the wood and picked up the first one. It was Apolline's gift: the Veela hair. Jane had explained the significance months ago. It wasn't just hair, but blessed strands that had undergone months of ritual and incantations in the Veela tongue.
Intent had been woven into the very fibres until they functioned as both a good luck charm and a shield. Three generations of women had poured their magic into those strands for a child they had met only once.
She uncorked the vial and tipped it carefully over the crystal pendant. The hair slid out, looking as pale as moonlight and thin as thread before settling into the hollow interior. It looked like almost nothing, a strand barely visible against the glass.
She set the empty vial aside and picked up the second one, which Jane had given her the week before. She uncorked it to reveal two more strands. One was Jane's, and the other was the colour of honey in sunlight. It belonged to Lucien, her grandfather.
She tipped them into the pendant to join the first. They lay together at the bottom of the crystal, five pale lines against the blue-tinted glass. Morwenna held the crystal up to the light.
Three generations were represented there. Fleur's grandmother had helped bless the first, while her mother and grandfather had given their own. It was more than she had known to ask for.
She stoppered the pendant and held it out to Jane. "Mom, can you close it for me and enchant the cord?"
Jane took the crystal, her fingers curling around it as she murmured in French. "Bénédiction, protection, le sang appelle le sang."
The crystal warmed before cooling again. Jane threaded the cord through the pendant's top loop with slow, deliberate movements. She tied a knot and passed her fingers over the length of the cord, murmuring an enchantment for permanence and loyalty.
"It's done," Jane said. "No one can open it except you, and no one can take it from you without your permission."
Morwenna took the necklace but didn't put it around her neck. Instead, she wrapped the cord around her left wrist three times until the black cord sat layered against her skin.
The pendant rested against the inside of her wrist, sitting just below the silver warding bracelet Elara had given her years ago. The two pieces of jewellery didn't touch, sitting side by side as two distinct layers of protection over the same vein.
She lifted her hand and watched the pendant swing gently, catching the light. In her other life, she had worn a crystal necklace exactly like this. She had done it because she liked the weight and because it felt right.
Jane watched her curiously. "That's not how necklaces are worn."
"I know."
"It won't bother you?"
Morwenna shook her head. "I used to wear one like this before."
Jane nodded and didn't press for more information. Morwenna lowered her hand, feeling the crystal settle against her pulse. It was a small weight, but it felt like a promise. She couldn't help but grin.
. . .
Elara arrived on the eleventh day. Morwenna was in the library with a book open on her lap while Cinder slept at her feet. She heard the rush of the Floo before she saw the green light reflecting off the corridor walls. She found Elara in the entrance hall brushing ash from her cloak, her satchel looking noticeably heavier.
"You found what you needed?" she asked.
"I have found enough," Elara replied, though she didn't elaborate as she walked toward the guest wing.
Viviane returned on the fifteenth day, stepping out of the Floo looking exhausted. Her dark hair was coming loose from its pins and her eyes were shadowed with fatigue.
"I'm sorry," she said as Jane greeted her. "The job became complicated and took much longer than I expected."
Jane kissed her cheek warmly. "You are here now, and that's what matters."
Viviane looked over at Morwenna. "You did not terrorise the household while I was away?"
Morwenna shrugged. "I have been keeping myself out of trouble. The rest of them are on their own."
Viviane laughed, a tired but genuine sound.
They went back to Little Whinging the next morning. Elara, Jane, Morwenna, and Viviane followed the same routine of the Floo, the cab, and the invisibility potion before walking to the edge of the ward boundary.
The progress was much faster than before. Elara moved through the layers with a confidence she hadn't possessed in the early weeks, and Viviane asked fewer questions. Jane watched and learned with her hand on Elara's arm, her brow furrowed in deep concentration.
They worked every day for a week, with Elara pushing further into the ward structure to map the weak points and test the boundaries.
On the eighth day, something shifted. Morwenna felt it when they stepped near the wards.
It was a pull low in her chest, the same tug she felt whenever she thought about Harry. But this time, it was stronger, as if he were reaching out for her from inside the house.
Jane stopped walking and pressed her hand to her chest. "Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice hushed.
"Yes."
Elara turned to look at them. "Feel what?"
"Something is pulling," Jane explained. "It feels like something inside the wards is reaching back."
Morwenna nodded in agreement. Elara remained silent for a long moment, her fingers tapping rhythmically against her thigh.
"Has this happened before?" Elara asked.
Jane shook her head. "No. Only today."
Elara's eyes became distant, focused on something invisible. "How old is he?"
Jane blinked, surprised by the question. "Harry? He is seven."
"And his birthday?"
"July thirty-first."
Elara nodded slowly. "Today is July thirty-first."
"The magical maturity window," Jane whispered.
"The window lasts seven days from the birthday," Elara said. "The core grows fastest during that period, making it malleable and flexible. His magic is reaching out, likely because it's simply the blood relation. Either way, the result is the same."
She looked toward the house, which remained invisible behind the ward boundary.
"His magic is responding, and the wards are responding to that bloodline call. We have a week, maybe less. If we don't locate the weak point and create an opening within that window, we will have to wait until he is eleven."
Jane's jaw tightened. "Then we work."
They threw themselves into the task. Elara took Jane with her, pairing the ward specialist with the woman who shared the boy's blood. Viviane took Morwenna as her battery, and the progress was steady and swift. Elara taught Jane as they worked, explaining how to read wards and trace the places where the magic had worn thin. Jane was a quick study, listening and asking sharp questions.
The days passed and the window of opportunity began to shrink.
On the fifth of August, only half an hour before their potion was set to wear off, Elara stopped. Her hand was raised and her fingers were pressed against something in the air that only she could see. Her whole body went perfectly still.
"I have found it," she said.
Jane's eyes lit up with hope, and her hands shook so much that she had to press them against her thighs to stay still. Morwenna's heart hammered against her ribs, but she didn't say a word as she watched Elara.
Viviane let out a long, slow exhale of relief.
Elara didn't celebrate. She moved with purpose, drawing her wand and tracing quick, precise patterns in the air while murmuring words Morwenna couldn't quite hear. The air shimmered, and the ward boundary flickered twice before going still.
"I have disabled the alarm," Elara announced. "The monitoring and the recording are suppressed. They will stay off for one day, but no more."
Jane stepped forward eagerly. "Can we go inside now?"
"Not today. The potion is almost gone, and we need to reinforce these changes to make them permanent. That takes time."
Jane's voice was rough with emotion. "Then we will do it tomorrow. Tomorrow we go inside and we talk to them."
Elara nodded. "Tomorrow."
They walked back to the main road, and Morwenna looked over her shoulder once at the silent house. She then turned and followed her family away.