Hyacinth POV
The manor was in absolute chaos.
Not the kind I hated, like screaming portraits or dust choking the halls, but the kind that buzzed with life. Older elves snapped out orders to the younger ones as trunks floated overhead. Goblins argued over rune-seals on property globes as families dragged heirlooms down the halls. Children darted between legs, laughing, and even Crookshanks had decided a pile of cloaks was his new throne...
Every corridor echoed with the sound of trunks sliding across floors, portraits protesting their removal from their ancestral halls, and house-elves snapping their fingers as heirlooms packed themselves into endless streams of crates. Because even with the property globes things still needed to be packed to avoid breaking during the shrinking process. The long driveway was choked with wagons enchanted to float just above the snow, loaded with food stores, potion kits, bundles of cloaks, and entire libraries stripped bare from ancestral homes.
I sat at the top of the stairs with a mug of cocoa in my hands, watching as two goblins supervised the levitating of an enormous grandfather clock out of the dining room. They barked corrections at each other harshly in Gobbledygook, but their eyes gleamed with something more than simple goblin greed for gold. They were here as guardians from the goblin nation to help us get everything into the Peverell vault unnoticed.
"Bloody chaos," Dad muttered as he stalked past me. But even as he growled the words, there was a light in his face I hadn't seen since he walked into my life. With every crate, every shimmering ward being dismantled, it all made him stand straighter. Because we were leaving.
Through it all, Uncle Newt caught my eye. He gave me a small nod, to let me know that he remembered about taking me to see the Phoenix's. When he finally appeared in the doorway bundled to the ears he asked, "Ready, Hyacinth?" then his eyes lit up in mischief because he already knew the answer.
We Apparated into the heart of a mountain range I didn't recognize, and the second I stepped into the valley, the air nearly knocked me to my knees. Heat shimmered off black rock looking like waves on the air. The snow melted into mist at the edges as magic rolled in waves across my skin.
That's when the phoenixes appeared and not just one or two, there were hundreds of them.
There were scarlet and gold phoenixes, with wings brighter than bonfires. Others had feathers of sapphire with matching flames, their songs ringing off the mountains like silver bells. A single one with wings black as coal and eyes like molten ember circled above before crying out. The sound burrowed straight into my chest.
I forgot to breathe because she was so beautiful.
"They've been here for centuries," Uncle Newt whispered reverently. "Hidden from the world, guarding their secrets, all while waiting for something or someone." His eyes flicked to me. "Maybe they've been waiting for you." he said with a teasing smile.
I stepped forward, as their heat rolled over me, and the flap of their wings thundered overhead. The lead phoenix broke away from the flock, landing with a hiss of flame so close I could see the gold flecks in its eyes.
I let the words rise in my chest the way they always did with beasts. "We are leaving this place, heading home to Atlantis. Would you like to come with us?"
The phoenix tilted its head, then let out a note so clear the air trembled.
Dozens answered at once, the song washing through me until my skin prickled with heat and my bones hummed. "Yes, we will follow. The city calls to us. So, we will fly with you."
Fire bloomed above us, while wings painted ribbons of light across the valley sky. One dipped low, brushing its flaming tail feathers against my arm, but the fire didn't burn me. It seeped into me like sunlight on a warm summer day.
"They're willing to go with us, I'm assuming?" Uncle Newt said hoarsely, but I hardly heard him. I was too busy grinning, my throat aching with joy as the phoenixes' voices filled the space around us.
I tilted my face to the sky, heart pounding as the chorus of phoenixes echoed across the mountain. Their song painted a picture and for the first time, I could see it, tower spires lit by flying fire, while the air hummed with their songs.
They weren't just coming with us. It was like they belonged to the city already.
By the time we returned to Potter Manor, the news of the phoenixes had already spread. They'd followed us, circling above the grounds like fiery sentinels, and the sight of them only deepened the frenzy inside.
After the house had calmed down from the Phoenix frenzy and we had finished dinner, the delegation from the deep sea merfolk came
They emerged from the river that wound past the manor grounds, their sleek silver scales were gleaming under the moonlight, their dark hair flowing behind them as they rose to speak. Their voices were low and melodic, but steady. They started talking about poisoned waters, dwindling reefs, the slow crawl of Muggle industry and careless magic-users. They had been in discussions with the goblins for years about the situation. So, when the goblins told them about Atlantis, they came here as soon as they could in hopes of joining us.
Dad stood on the steps and listened to their whole story before he said. "The oceans around Atlantis will be yours if you want them. They won't be polluted or overrun with Muggle ships and chemicals. You can do with them what you want as long as you help us grow underwater plants for our potions and whatever else that needs doing underwater."
Their leader inclined her head, as the water rippled around her like a crown. "Thank you that is more than fair. We will send some fish and plants we would like planted first if that is possible? Because we will be bringing all our children with us."
Even the goblins shifted at that, murmuring approval. They already had their orders from the goblin king, they would guard the Peverell Vault and the Gate. They would oversee migration, not just for families like ours, but for magical creatures and clans who the Ministry had abandoned long ago. So, they could arrange for them to come through after we have something in place for the merfolk clans.
After the Merfolk's clan leader left to prepare their people. We settled into a rhythm Mrs. Weasley fussed about food stores and preservation spells. Aunt Narcissa oversaw the careful layering of wards to keep trunks intact in transit. Amelia Bones scribbled furiously about law frameworks while Ted Tonks chimed in about schools and education.
It was in this rhythm that we heard news about Dumbledore circling.
We hadn't seen him, but the whispers were everywhere. He'd been visiting the Ministry, dropping questions into Gringotts, prying into Hogwarts governors. His control was slipping, and everyone on our side knew it.
I caught Dad in the doorway, Uncle Remus at his side. His voice was quiet, but edged. "He's circling like a hawk that's just realized the coop is empty."
Uncle Remus snorted. "Let him circle. By the time he even thinks of striking, we'll already be gone. I've already cured all the werewolves that have come forward. It's just a matter of time now Pad's. Don't worry so much we've got this."
On Christmas Eve, when the manor finally stilled, and everyone settled in after all the news was gone over I slipped outside. The snow was thick over the grounds, and shone silver under the moonlight.
But the sky was alive with the sound of Phoenix's in flight. They wheeled above the manor in a glowing storm of fire, embers trailing like stardust. Their song poured down into my chest, weaving through my bones until I couldn't tell where I ended and they began.
One landed in the snow beside me, its wings glowing ember-red, heat radiating from its feathers but not burning. Its eyes met mine, and I whispered, "You want to come with me?"
The phoenix bowed her head like she had always known she was meant to be with me.
I tipped my face up to the sky, imagining it, Atlantis burning bright with phoenix fire, merfolk swimming free in its seas, goblins hammering in its forges. Wizards and witches walking streets that hadn't known footsteps in millennia.
Dad and Uncle Remus watched from the window behind me. I didn't have to hear their words to know what they were thinking.
"You think she's ready?" Dad murmured.
"More ready than either of us ever were at her age." Uncle Remus answered.
I looked up at the sky and the stars didn't feel far away. They felt like home.