At the Delacour house, Gabrielle and Fleur were tightly embraced by their mother, perhaps too tightly for the girls' well-being.
Gabrielle was happy to be back home, safe, but that didn't make her forget what she had to do. Mentally, the blue screen in front of her changed as she sent the notice that she was now safe, just as her werewolf friend had asked.
...
After leaving the girl at the shop and fighting against everything that crossed my path to draw attention to myself, what I mainly did was run, with a confrontation here and there when I couldn't avoid it.
I kept this up until I finally received the long-awaited message. I relaxed a bit upon knowing the girl was safe, and forcing my will to calm my bloodlust, I veered back into the alleyways once more. With a poor invisibility, I moved out of everyone's sight and then undid the clone, leaving no trace for anyone, whether Auror or criminal.
...
In the Burrow, sitting on my bed, I was reflecting on the disaster in France. I didn't expect something like this to happen; I wanted to stay under the radar, but in the end… Well, at least I gained a good ability with a lot of potential.
And then… the girl. Now that I know who she is, I feel more satisfied with all the effort I put into saving her. I don't know if it happened in the original story, but if her kidnapping was caused by the butterfly effect and I hadn't helped her, maybe I would have regretted the consequences of the events.
Anyway, I have more important things to deal with, like the fact that Headmaster Dumbledore just arrived at my house and is downstairs, talking with my parents.
I knew this could happen, but I'm still nervous. I don't regret anything I did, but I'm concerned about my parents' opinion and what could happen if they knew everything I've done. I know very well that even if I had to run away and live as a fugitive, I could do it without any trouble and build a good life in no time, but still…
Fortunately for me, when I was called, I didn't see any expressions of displeasure, fear, or any other bad sign of what might be happening. I greeted Professor Dumbledore with enough respect not to alarm my parents, rather than my usual casualness with him, and I sat down in one of the chairs, observing how much of my family was present.
"As I was saying, Red was quite an outstanding student in his first year at Hogwarts," said the old man, exchanging glances between my parents and me. However, the feeling his eyes conveyed was completely different when he looked at me than when he looked at them.
"We know, and we're very proud of that," my father replied with a hint of pride.
"He hasn't caused any trouble, has he?" my mother replied in contrast. She was also delighted with the good things she had heard about me, like when Dumbledore tried to hold that 'celebration in my honor.' But still, she added, "We know he can be a bit special… well, at least he was before."
"Oh, yes! 'Special' is one way to put it, and he certainly is... it's been a long time since I've seen such a… remarkable student." Dumbledore looked at me briefly, but quickly turned his gaze back to my parents.
"He has always been different. We didn't know how he would turn out when he went to Hogwarts, but we are relieved that everything has gone so well," my mother added.
"And we hope it stays that way," my father added.
Listening to your parents talk about you with your teachers is uncomfortable and annoying. My siblings didn't seem very interested either; although some of their achievements were also mentioned, it wasn't anything interesting enough to capture their attention. So they started doing their own things; maybe only Percy remained attentive to the conversation.
I held back from speaking so as not to ruin it. At least Dumbledore, while saying things I would have preferred he kept to himself, didn't say anything too bad. The chat lasted about 20 more minutes until it finally came to the main topic.
"Well... back to the reason for my visit. This is for you," said the old man, pulling out a scroll and handing it to my parents.
My father took the scroll and held it open in front of him, far enough for my mother to read it as well. A few moments passed before they finished and looked at both Dumbledore and me.
"Congratulations to Red. For his outstanding academic achievements, he has been selected to participate in this exchange program with Castelobruxo," Dumbledore announced.
"This…" My father continued to hold the authorization form they needed to sign.
Both he and my mother were astonished. There was a silence in the room, which was broken by Fred and George, who took the form from my father's hands.
"Fred, look, it happened. That announcement was real!" (George)
"Red is going to Brazil. How lucky!" (Fred)
"We'll have to prepare many of our masterpieces for him." (George)
"Yes, the Weasley name should be known worldwide." (Fred)
"Fred, George!" my mother scolded.
"Wait a moment, Professor Dumbledore," my father said, ignoring what was happening with my brothers. "Is this real? Percy mentioned it to us, but we didn't think it would happen… Red just finished his first year."
My father mentioned that they had heard about that announcement at the end of the year, but since they hadn't received any notice or anything like that, they ended up forgetting about it. They didn't think I would be invited to something like that; I was barely 12 years old.
"Yes, it is true. It turns out that due to certain circumstances," Dumbledore said, glancing at me for a moment, "this exchange program came up, and it's a bit different from previous ones. It's rare for such young students to participate, but it is a unique opportunity that will hardly come again. I know it may be difficult to accept, but I believe that Red, with the ability he has shown, could truly flourish in a place like that."
"Professor Dumbledore… this…" My mother hesitated. "We don't think that..."
"Mum," I interrupted, putting on the most pleading face I could.
"Red, Mum is right. You shouldn't even think about doing something like this; you're still too young," Percy cut in.
"Shut up, Percy, you're just jealous," Fred shouted at him.
"Yeah, Red gets to go to Brazil, and we're happy for him. Even though we wish it were us, too." (George)
"Who knows what great things we could do there? I heard they have a giant statue of some guy." (Fred)
"Do you think we could have our own statues?" (George)
"Or we could paint the statue they already have with our faces." (Fred)
"Fred, George!" our mother yelled again as the twins began to live out their fantasies, wearing that 'we're going to pull off the biggest prank ever' expression.
"Right, Red, you have to make sure to leave the Weasley mark." (Fred)
"Yeah, we have to start advising you now. We've got to prepare you!" (George)
"Let's go grab our things, we have a lot to plan." (Fred)
My brothers dashed off to their room, ignoring everything else, even our parents' call.
"Boys!" my father tried to stop them, but it was impossible.
"It seems your brothers are more excited than you are," Dumbledore said to me, referring to Fred and George. The expression on Percy's face showed that what the twins said was true; he had a bit of envy.
"Ugh..." sighed my father. "Headmaster, we are very grateful that you have given Red this opportunity, but..."
"He is very young and..." (Molly)
"Mum, Dad. I know I haven't exactly shown myself to be the most mentally stable, considering my behavior throughout my childhood... but I'm sure I'm mature enough for something like this. This is an opportunity I can't miss." I tried my best to convince them; I couldn't waste the effort I had put into this.
"I understand that he may seem young," Dumbledore interjected, "but my colleagues at Castelobruxo are very trustworthy. Just as we are sending students, they will send theirs as well. We will take care of our new guests as well as they will take care of our children." I was surprised at how willing he was to help me with this; it seemed very suspicious. Even so, my parents didn't seem willing.
"Even without considering Red's age, we've been in this situation before... with Bill. It may be a little humiliating, but we don't have the funds to allow for a trip like this," my father said with some embarrassment over not being able to give his children the opportunities they deserved.
"I have money," I replied quickly.
"Red, it's not that simple... something like this takes a lot of money, and we don't have it," my mother tried to explain to me, while seeming to try to comfort me for not being able to give me what I wanted. It hurt a bit to see her expression.
"No, Mum, I mean I have quite a bit of money," I insisted, pulling out a few Galleons from my [Pouch], pretending I took them out of my clothes. It wasn't much, but enough to catch their attention; in my hands was more money than there was in the family vault.
"Red! / Where did you get that?!" my parents exclaimed in unison, jumping from their seats, incredulous.
"Impressive, young Weasley," Dumbledore commented, with a very piercing look. I was almost certain that, if not for my innate ability, he would try to invade my mind with Legilimency. The old man still suspected me because of the Philosopher's Stone incident. "I am curious as well."
I sighed, knowing that this would be difficult; there were many things I couldn't reveal, and I would have to improvise.
"Well… let me explain…" I made an effort to sound convincing without raising suspicion. "I've always been concerned about the money given our financial situation…" I said, looking at my parents with some embarrassment. "So I looked for ways to earn a bit, like when I tried making potions here at home…"
I began to recount how, in my spare time, I continued my attempts to make money by brewing potions or selling whatever I could. I made friends in different houses, and through them, I managed to strike some deals that helped me earn a little money, especially with a certain Nymphadora Tonks, who is no longer at Hogwarts.
Thus, I revealed I used to sneak into the Forbidden Forest, which made my parents almost leap from their seats to scold me, if not for the fact that the headmaster was present. I explained that it was only a few times and that I no longer did it, but that during those adventures, I befriended a creature from the forest... a unicorn. They were very surprised, and I told them that some of my friends could corroborate it because I had shown them. In the end, thanks to that unicorn friend, I obtained quite a bit of its hair, which, with Tonks' help, I managed to sell.
My story was believable enough because, in reality, most of it was true. I even pretended to go to my room to look through my things and brought back some unicorn hair to show my parents. Dumbledore assessed it as good-quality material.
My lie worked, and the origin of my money was partially justified. I also mentioned that I had found a secret room at Hogwarts filled with old objects and junk, which I used to decorate the clubs I founded and also sold some of those items in the same way. This last part was not very well received, but they accepted it. After all, it was junk, so it wasn't stealing.
After my explanation and giving them an estimated amount of my money, the debate about my opportunity in Brazil continued. Dumbledore even mentioned that there was a small scholarship available, probably from his own pocket, which still bothered me; his "goodwill" seemed suspicious. Why did he want me to go so badly?
There was a long discussion about the topic. My parents wouldn't have a problem sending someone like Percy, but I was very young, and they weren't sure.
In the end, my parents decided it was something they needed to discuss further, and Dumbledore accepted that. He said there was still time to confirm, and then he left.
During dinner that day, there was a long conversation about it with diverse opinions. My mother didn't want me to go so far away and was against it. My father, although he shared her thoughts, didn't want me to miss this opportunity. Percy supported my mother but didn't have a strong opinion. Fred and George enthusiastically supported me going. Ron, clearly envious, said nothing. And Ginny... she was in a complicated situation. She still didn't want to talk much to me, but it seemed that the idea of me going so far away scared her. She appeared to be conflicted between wanting to show she didn't care and making it clear she didn't want me to go.