The Burrow

"Of course it's Avada Lightning Chain," Oren said confidently. "I'm already fifty percent done. Once I finish Avada, all that'll be left is the Lightning Chain."

"I'd bet this spell is unbelievably powerful. One cast and the heavens and earth will change color, the sun and moon will lose their light, and devastation will spread for miles."

Dumbledore immediately rose from behind his desk and began gathering the papers on it.

"Headmaster, are you clearing out a space for me?"

"No. I think your education may need a slight adjustment."

"How could I let a young wizard spend an entire holiday alone without any companions? I've been terribly remiss."

Dumbledore's hands never stopped moving as he packed the papers away. "Such a lonely childhood is incomplete. Don't worry, I've already thought of a solution."

Oren???

What the hell was the Headmaster talking about? Childhood? What childhood did a transmigrator have? He had already lived through one in his previous life.

"Go help Mr. Black pack his luggage," Dumbledore instructed the summoned house-elf.

"Never mind, you pack first." Dumbledore hurried over to Oren's side, as though he could not wait another second.

Calling Fawkes over, he grabbed Oren by the back of his fate's collar. With a flash of fire, the two arrived in a forest.

"Headmaster, where are we? Is this still Hogwarts?" Oren asked, dangling in midair in a daze.

"This is near the Weasley home. They have many children, so you certainly won't be bored there. And Mrs. Molly will surely welcome you."

"Headmaster, I understand your reasoning, but could you put me down first?"

Dumbledore chose to go temporarily deaf. At his age, wasn't poor hearing perfectly normal?

Bang! Bang! Bang! Dumbledore began knocking on the door, urgently enough to sound as if a murderer were chasing him.

"Headmaster Dumbledore! What brings you here? I don't have anything to entertain you with," Molly said in surprise.

Dumbledore waved dismissively. "It's like this, Molly. This child can only stay alone in Hogwarts Castle over the holidays. You know, loneliness can be harmful to a young wizard, so I hope you can look after him during the break."

"Of course, no problem." Molly rescued Oren from Dumbledore's grasp and patted his head.

"What an adorable little witch you are."

Oren's blood pressure soared.

"Ahem." Dumbledore handed Molly a purse. Before she could refuse, he quickly stuffed it into her hand. "This child is a bit of a picky eater."

There was no helping it. If he was going to dump this little devil on Molly, he would feel guilty if he did not offer some compensation.

"That's everything, then. I'll leave the child in your care."

Without waiting for Molly to reply, he rushed away as though afraid something unclean might follow him.

Oren...

He suddenly felt a little like a hot potato.

"He certainly left in a hurry. Child, I don't even know your name yet," Molly said, bending down.

"Oren Black."

"Oh, then I can only arrange for you to share a room with Ron," Molly said regretfully.

"Ron! Clean up your room right this instant!"

Molly's lioness roar could be heard through nearly the entire Burrow. As Oren passed door after door, he could hear chaos erupting inside the rooms.

The two arrived outside Ron's room. Molly knocked on the door and said, "Ron, take good care of Oren."

Then she bent down again and said gently, "Child, make yourself at home."

Ron and Oren watched Molly's retreating back, then looked at each other.

After pulling Oren into the room and shutting the door, Ron complained, "Why do I feel like you're the real son and I'm the neighbor next door?"

"Who knows? George and Fred have said you're the neighbor next door too," Oren shot back.

"Well, Molly is such a nice person. The neighbors must get along well—if there were any neighbors."

Ron scratched his head. "The nearest wizarding family is several miles away, I think. But we really haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Yeah. Less than twenty-four hours," Oren said with a sigh.

"So what happened? Weren't you supposed to spend the holidays at Hogwarts?"

"Don't mention it. I think Headmaster Dumbledore exiled me. Tell me, Ron, I was only planning to research some magic. I only made a little too much noise. Was that really necessary?"

Ron looked around his family's small house and hesitated. "Are you still planning to research that stuff now?"

"Forget it. By the way, how did your house manage to look so... on the verge of collapse?" Oren felt it bore a seventy-percent resemblance to an Ork building, with a sort of I reckon it won't fall down beauty.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief and changed the subject. "So what are you planning to do during the holidays?"

"Guess I can only do something quieter." Oren took out the Philosopher's Stone and began fiddling with it.

"Is that the Philosopher's Stone?" Before Ron could even crane his neck for a better look, bang, a house-elf appeared in the room.

"Your luggage, Mr. Black. And of course, your owl."

"If you have no further instructions, Spoon will take his leave." With another bang, he vanished from the spot.

"Don't you put up any restrictions on these guys in your house? Aren't you afraid one might burst in during the night and stab you?"

Ron said unconcernedly, "Why would they? House-elves would never do that."

"Let's try it. I haven't really used the Philosopher's Stone much yet." Oren casually tapped the Philosopher's Stone against the desk lamp.

Ron: "Wow! A golden legend!"

"Children, come downstairs for dinner~" Molly's voice seemed to carry magic. Even with a floor between them, Oren could hear her perfectly clearly.

"Let's go."

The moment they stepped out, they ran into a red-haired little witch.

"This is my sister, Ginny."

"Hello, Ginny. Here, a little gift for you." Oren stuffed an exquisite hairpin into Ginny's hands.

After sending Ginny away, Ron said, "That's a pretty hairpin, but why does it look familiar?"

"It's the one Snape gave me for Christmas," Oren said through gritted teeth.

Ron...

"Do you lot have to act so smug?" Percy's questioning voice drifted up from downstairs.

Fred: "Is being smug illegal?"

George: "Tell me which Ministry of Magic law—"

"—says people aren't allowed to be smug." ×2

The twins were dressed in brand-new clothes that were clearly custom-made. With their arms folded, they stood high on the stairs and looked down at Percy.

"What's with them?" Oren poked Ron in the side.

"You know, they made quite a few Galleons with you last term."

"I can see that. Those new outfits suit their whole vibe perfectly. No wonder Ginny is dressed like a little princess."

Oren looked at Ron suspiciously. "Didn't they give you any benefits at all?"

"If that bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans on the table counts, then I suppose they did."

Oren...

"Aren't you going to resist a little? Just because you're the little brother doesn't mean you have to stay the little brother."

Thinking of the heavy brotherly concern from his two older brothers, Ron hurriedly shook his head and tossed the unrealistic fantasy away.

"No need. I'll count myself lucky if they don't prank me."

"Fair enough." Oren walked over to the twins and Percy. "Greetings, upperclassmen. You've worked hard, upperclassmen." Like an old official inspecting the troops, he shook hands with the twins and Percy.

"Come here, child, let me have a look at you. I'm Arthur Weasley," Arthur said, setting down the Muggle alarm clock in his hands and calling Oren over.

"Hello, Mr. Arthur Weasley."

"What a polite child. Here, a little something for our first meeting. This is a Muggle alarm clock." Arthur went on and on about the virtues of the mechanical alarm clock, making Oren's mouth twitch wildly.

"Of course, if you're interested in these things, you can ask me anytime. I'm the head of the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts."

Now that was something that could keep Oren awake. In his previous life, he had been fully immersed in the internet. With knowledge decades ahead of this era, he could talk about anything from kitchen stains to hip joints.

Over dinner, Oren and Arthur had a wonderful chat. It was rare for Arthur to find someone he could talk to, so he downed glass after glass. By the end, he insisted on becoming sworn brothers with Oren. If Molly had not forcibly shut him down, Ron and the other little redheads would have gained an uncle.

Ron pulled Oren back to the room and said, "Whew, you almost became my uncle."

Oren shrugged. "It's fine. We can each address the other however we like. I'll call you little brother, and you can call me Uncle."

Ron...