Chapter 323: Phineas Returns
"Phineas still isn't back?"
In the Black family's ancestral home at 12 Grimmauld Place, Astoria looked to Sirius with a puzzled expression.
Since returning from the Council of Elders meeting last September, Phineas had been in seclusion. It was now late June. The students had returned from Hogwarts for the summer, yet there had been no word from him—not a single message.
If Puff hadn't continued to collect food from the kitchen at regular intervals, Sirius might have begun to question whether Phineas was even still alive.
Hope, sitting nearby, mirrored Astoria's concern. Despite being slightly older than him, she had always thought fondly of her uncle.
It had been Phineas who found her in France and told her she had a biological father who was still alive. It was he who rescued her after she had been kidnapped—and destroyed the family that had taken her. She hadn't seen or heard from him in over half a year, and the silence was starting to worry her deeply.
Sirius sighed, slumping slightly onto the sofa. "I haven't heard from him either," he admitted.
Then he paused and looked at the three young people before him—Astoria, Hope, and Harry—and added with a calmness he didn't truly feel, "But before he went into seclusion, he promised to take you all to the Quidditch World Cup. It's only a few days away now. I'm sure he'll return soon. You don't need to worry. Phineas can take care of himself—better than most."
Despite his reassurances, Sirius was anxious. Phineas had disappeared before, sometimes for weeks or months. But never this long. Sirius tried to act composed—for the sake of his children and godson—but he didn't truly know whether Phineas would come back in time.
Luckily, three days later, Phineas reappeared on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place.
He stood in front of the house, gazing at the sky as if waiting for someone.
"Phineas!"
A surprised cry rang out from the doorway. A second later, a familiar figure threw her arms around him.
From her scent and voice, Phineas didn't even need to turn—he knew it was his fiancée, Astoria Greengrass.
He turned slightly and greeted her with a gentle smile. "It's been a while. How have you been?"
Phineas's smile was as dazzling as ever. It was hard to believe he was a member of the dark and infamous Black family—one of its heirs, no less.
Astoria's face lit up as she looked up at him. He'd grown taller, even in just half a year.
"I'm doing well. But now that you're back, I'm even better," she said, stepping back with a blush on her cheeks.
Phineas reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "I came back to take you to the World Cup. Just wait a little longer."
"Wait for what?"
Before he could answer, two carriages bearing the Black family crest rolled up the street.
As was customary among pure-blood families, guests were transported in enchanted carriages that concealed the location of the destination. This kept the family's address secret.
The carriages stopped, and two girls stepped out—both familiar faces to Astoria.
Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood—two of Phineas's close friends at Hogwarts.
"Hermione! Luna!"
Astoria beamed as she rushed to greet them. Her delighted voice brought Harry and Hope out of the house.
"Phineas! Hermione, Luna! Why are you here?" Harry asked.
Hermione, a slight blush on her cheeks, answered, "Phineas sent us an invitation yesterday. He's taking us to the Quidditch World Cup."
Hope turned to Phineas, who nodded.
"The Black family has a private box at the World Cup," he explained. "There's no limit on how many guests we can bring."
Sirius emerged from the house, grinning. "That's right. Regulus and I were the only ones in our family who liked Quidditch, so we always used the family box. The Cup starts next Monday. Until then, you're all welcome to stay here. Honestly, this house has never had this many guests before."
Phineas chuckled. "Even at the height of the Blacks' influence, there were never more than seven people living here. Come on, let's go inside. It's strange to keep standing out here."
They filed into the house, chatting and laughing.
For Hermione and Luna, it was their first time in Grimmauld Place, and it didn't match their expectations at all.
Phineas caught Hermione's confused look and asked with a grin, "Were you expecting something more magical?"
Hermione nodded, remembering the whimsical chaos of the Burrow. Thanks to Phineas, she'd ended up in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor and hadn't become close with Ron. But last summer, she'd met Ginny through the twins and been invited to the Weasley home.
The Burrow had felt like a page out of a wizarding fairy tale—magical furniture, enchanted clocks, garden gnomes, and structures that defied the laws of physics.
Grimmauld Place, by contrast, felt strangely… Muggle.
Phineas explained, "Most wizarding families use magical objects in daily life, like the Weasleys. But the Black family employs house-elves to manage everything. You've met Puff—she's just one of many. They handle all the housework and more. Since they're magical beings, they can do it without strain. At Hogwarts, it's the same—house-elves cook and clean. They live in the kitchens near the Hufflepuff common room."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully.
Because of Phineas's influence, Harry never lived with the Dursleys, the Malfoys aligned themselves with the Black family much earlier, and Voldemort's diary was destroyed before it could cause harm. As a result, Hermione never encountered Dobby—the house-elf who played a pivotal role in the original timeline—and thus remained unaware of the harsh realities most house-elves endured.
Moreover, Finny had trained the Black family's house-elves as a combat reserve force from a young age, ensuring they lived in far better conditions than their counterparts across the wizarding world. Even if Hermione had interacted with them, their relatively privileged status would never have inspired her to form something like S.P.E.W. (the House-Elf Welfare Promotion Association).
In the original books, Hermione's rise to Minister of Magic wasn't due to a single act of activism—it was the culmination of her bravery, intellect, and unwavering role in saving the wizarding world alongside Harry. Here, without witnessing the oppression of house-elves firsthand, her path diverges entirely.
The Ministry of Magic, after all, exists to uphold the interests of pure-blood families. House-elves are not just servants; they are pillars of pure-blood supremacy, maintaining both comfort and secrecy. By challenging their subjugation, Hermione wasn't merely advocating for fairness—she was threatening the very foundation of pure-blood power.
Phineas led them to the second-floor drawing room, having long since removed the grotesque display of mounted house-elf heads.
"Phineas, what did you accomplish during your retreat?" Astoria asked once they'd all settled in.
Everyone quieted, curious.
Phineas raised his hand and summoned a sphere of water that floated midair. It shimmered and transformed into a small, delicate fairy-like creature, which flitted around his head in excitement.
"This is the result," he said with a proud smile. "I used to summon creatures with Shaping Magic—elemental constructs with a brief spark of sentience. But this one is different."
"It has a core—a fusion of water element and soul energy. It can divide and replicate itself by gathering moisture from the air. It's an elemental creature that exists independently of my magic. A new species."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Wait… it can live on its own and reproduce? Phineas, you've created a living creature!"
Phineas nodded. "In a way, yes. And it has innate magical abilities—but only within its elemental nature."
Sirius leaned forward. "Just water? Or other elements too?"
Phineas nodded matter-of-factly.
"Of course, that's not all. The forms of elemental creatures vary depending on their nature. Fire takes the shape of serpents and phoenixes, wind manifests as eagles, and earth appears as humanoid beings."
As he spoke, Phineas summoned several elemental creatures, each materializing before the gathered onlookers. Sirius, sharp-eyed as ever, noticed something crucial—the cores of these creatures were shaped differently, each mirroring their elemental form.
The truth was, an elemental creature's appearance shifted with its core. But because fire was volatile, water fluid, wind graceful, and earth unyielding, Phineas had simply chosen the most fitting forms for them to embody.
The fiery serpent and phoenix were striking, but it was the water sprites and wind eagles that enchanted the girls—even Hope, despite having graduated, couldn't resist their allure.
With a resigned smile, Phineas split his summoned creatures, conjuring new ones so each girl could have one to her liking. The result pleased him—this was the very magic he sought to refine.
These elemental guardians weren't mere conjurations. Their cores absorbed elemental energy endlessly, growing in size and strength without limit. One day, they would become formidable protectors for those he cherished.