Chapter 3: The House of Everhart

~31st of August, 1989.~

Under a large tree on a hill on a sunny day, an extremely large golden feathered griffin laid peacefully. The griffin had its eyes shut and was curled up against a brown haired boy. The boy was breathtakingly handsome, with deep blue eyes as dazzling as stars. The boy, none other than Gavin, had his hands behind his head as he laid on Aelia, his griffin. He was enjoying the warmth of the sun and the glassy seaside air.

Nine years had passed since he was reincarnated as Gavin Everhart. These nine years were akin to utopia for Gavin. He didn't practice any magic and just enjoyed his new life, learning more about his family. He wasn't in a rush to prepare for the incoming storm that was the Dark Lord. To him, practicing and learning magic too early was pointless, so he had postponed it. He simply wanted to laze around in bliss for the first few years of his new life and enjoy its mundanity..

These nine years had put Gavin through a sea of positive emotions. The first of which was his elation at his newfound ability to walk. Gavin cried when he took his first steps 6 months after his birth, It was too emotional for a former paraplegic like him. At last, he could finally move around on his own and play sports, like a normal human being. He vowed to forever remember that moment and ingrained it into his subconscious.

Gavin absolutely loved his new family to death. The memories they shared were worth more than the world to him. He loved his charismatic and funny dad, his loving and cheerful mother, his calm and clever older brother, his stern, yet warm-hearted grandmother and the loyal, bright and courageous griffins who lived on the island alongside the family.

Gavin found out (from Aelia and his parents) that his new family, the Everharts, were an ancient English family, though nowhere near as old as the Blacks, that started off as a family of magic scholars and professors. A few of his early ancestors were even professors at Hogwarts and Durmstrang, which surprised him.  However, all of that changed when one of his ancestors, Darwin Everhart discovered griffins during one of his research expeditions on seaside islands off the coast of Scotland. Initially, the griffins nearly killed him on the spot, but by a stroke of luck, he survived and stayed on the island in order to study the creatures he had only heard in myths until then.

As many years passed, the griffins observed Darwin and realized that he was simply an overly curious man driven by his research. They saw how kind hearted and pure his soul was and relaxed their guard against him. Eventually, Darwin and the griffins became great friends. They answered his questions and allowed him to study them up close. Darwin closed off the island and erased it from the face of the map with powerful magic, as a show of goodwill to the griffins. He helped them maintain the serenity of the island and brought all sorts of magical plants from England in order to beautify the island.

Darwin was particularly close with the abyssal griffin of darkness, Erebus. They were practically brothers at some point. After a while, Erebus formed a magical bond with Darwin, granting him superhuman powers and capabilities. Powers that would prove vital for the tragedy that would befall the island.

The griffins and dragons had a fallout during Darwin's time on the island and started a war that brutally killed 98% of the griffin population as well as the griffin king: the radiant griffin of light, Lucian. When things were looking hopeless for the griffins, Darwin stepped up, and utilized extremely powerful magic and his newfound powers from Erebus to slay the dragons. The powers, when synchronized with Erebus, were incredibly powerful and cataclysmic. Together, in an attempt to make their last stand, Darwin and the Griffins relentlessly fought and forced the dragons off the island, putting an end to the gruesome war.

The 10 remaining Griffins, having no family left, decided to follow Darwin and rebuilt the island, naming it 'Griffin Cove'. Darwin decided to move the Everhart family over to the island and lived there for the rest of his days. He started the tradition of Griffin bonding and passed on his research findings to his descendants. He used powerful bloodline magic to bind the Everhart family to the griffins, and made them make pacts to live in harmony with the griffins.

Currently, there were only 12 griffins in existence, all of which live on the island. Because they are immortal and ridiculously powerful divine beasts, griffins have an extremely low reproductive rate. Since the time Darwin passed away, which was over 200 years ago, only 2 griffins had been born during that time. Because of this, Darwin made sure to publicize the 'extinction' of griffins in order to protect them from harm. Only the Everhart family knew that griffins still existed.

The griffin Gavin had bonded to, Aelia, said little about her past and only said that she was the Griffin King's successor, the monarch of the Griffins. Gavin didn't persist knowing about her past. To him, he would know in due time. After all, he and Aelia had practically become best friends by now. They had grown incredibly close and often spent a lot of time together, experiencing the mundane things of life.

Gavin was stupefied at the superhuman and magical capabilities he had obtained after bonding with Aelia. His five senses, agility, reflexes and coordination had improved drastically and reached ridiculous levels. His magical energy capacity also increased tremendously. Aelia had said that the boost he would get would be several times greater than the boosts the other griffins gave because she was the griffin queen.

Besides that, he was also pleasantly surprised that he was practically immune to fire and could conjure golden red flames of terrifying heat from his palms. He had asked Aelia about it and she said that it was her ability. Aelia was the celestial griffin of the sun so Gavin had received flame abilities. Right now, he could, at most, produce a fireball the size of a tennis ball due to lack of training. Gavin didn't bother learning anything until he was done savoring his first few years of life.

'This is so nice and relaxing…Cass got his Hogwarts letter a month ago. I'm gonna miss him when he leaves. I probably won't be able to practice quidditch anymore. Dad is always busy and mom and grandma can't even play. Well, it's good this way, it's about time I started preparing for Hogwarts and learned magic seriously.' Gavin thought as he gazed lazily at the cloudless blue sky, savoring the smell of the fresh seaside air once more.

[Yes it's about time you do. You've been ignoring my requests to teach you. I'll definitely make you pay for it once you start learning you cheeky brat] Aelia added telepathically, still closing her eyes.

[Please go easy on me] Gavin said as he gulped nervously. He didn't dare to imagine what sort of hellish training Aelia would make him do.

[Fat chance] She chuckled. [When i'm done with you, you'll wish you never met me]

'Sigh…I wonder if Erebus can help me out.' Gavin thought, assessing any way of escaping his predicament. Erebus was the only griffin who could influence Aelia's actions. Gavin often wondered why this was the case.

[You can forget asking him. He's going with Cass to Hogwarts anyways] Aelia interrupted Gavins thoughts and said lazily.

[Wait how? Surely he's not going to just show up there?] Gavin asked, rather curious.

[When we bond with humans, we gain the ability to shape shift into different creatures so Erebus would most likely transform into a pet that Cass can take to Hogwarts. I will do the same once you set off for Hogwarts too. I've already thought of the form I plan to take] Aelia said, sounding excited at the thought of transforming into Gavins pet.

[Wait, let me see. Are you going to transform into a cat or an owl? I doubt you'd want to be a toad ahaha]

[Yes I definitely won't be a toad. A beast as noble and divine as I am can't possibly take on such a humiliating form] Aelia scoffed and responded.

[Yea yea Princess, just transform already. I'm dying of curiosity here]

[Whatever…]

Aelia then glowed in a bright golden light and shrunk visibly until she took the form of a fluffy cat with white, and golden brown fur. Her little feline blue eyes topped off her extremely adorable look. Gavin was awed at how cute her cat form was. He immediately grabbed her and snuggled his head in her fur. It felt absolutely heavenly…as if he was putting his head on clouds.

[As much as it pains me to say this, you look absolutely adorable, Aelia. I can definitely get used to this] He said, relishing the warmth of Aelia's heavenly fur.

Aelia smirked visibly with her cute little cat face. She used her paws to tap Gavin's nose.

[That's right, I'm just too amazing. Keep snuggling me. This is….nice. I never thought I would like snuggles. Maybe it's my inner feline channeling itself] Aelia said as she purred under Gavins embrace.

[Right, we should probably return back to the mansion. Cass and I wanted to practice quidditch one last time before he leaves for Hogwarts tomorrow.] Gavin said, interrupting Aelia's newfound bliss.

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[Tch, you just had to ruin it….Well, let's go then.] Aelia said, rather disappointed.

She hopped out of Gavins arms and transformed back into her griffin form, her feathers glistening under the warmth of the sun.

[You know…i can never get over how beautiful your original form looks. It's simply…heavenly] Gavin said with a smile as he walked closer to Aelia. He ruffled her feathers and used her wings to climb onto her back.

[And I sure as hell can't get tired of your compliments….maybe i'm just an attention queen like you said.] Aelia chuckled and responded, flapping her wings majestically as she shot up into the air in a flash, startling Gavin.

[Oi, are you trying to make me fall off?] Gavin complained as he held unto her feathers for dear life.

[Heh…maybe] She replied, shooting off towards the Everhart manor. Gavin just smiled at her response and took in a deep breath, enjoying the scenery of grass fields from the sky.

"WOOOOOHH!" Gavin suddenly yelled. Flying Aelia was always fun and exhilarating. It was one of his favorite things to do. Honestly, he loved flying in general. He reveled in the bliss and adrenaline that came as a result of flying at breathtakingly high speeds. He loved the sound of the wind as it ruffled his hair. Flying made him feel….free. For someone who used to be shackled by fate, it was a blessing from the gods to him. When he flew, he felt like he could do anything.

After a few minutes, the pair stopped above a grandiose looking mansion. The Everhart family mansion was fairly large and lavishly decorated. According to Erebus, Darwin, the one who built it,loved luxury and lavishly decorated homes so he built his family mansion in a grandiose manner.

[Cass is over there on the lawn behind the house. Land us there.]  Gavin said, pointing at the ground.

As they neared the ground, Gavin caught a glimpse of his older brother. Cass had grown up rather well. He was tall for his age and looked rather charming. His brown hair was messy, and he was standing beside a griffin who was even larger than Aelia. The griffin had pitch black feathers and abyssal, ferocious  red eyes that seemed to be able to destroy anything with just a glance. Its front claws were pitch black and looked ghastly. The griffin was none other than the edge lord (according to Gavin), Erebus.

"Hey Cass! Hey Erebus! What's up?" Gavin said as he got off Aelia who had just landed on the ground.

Cass walked up to his brother and ruffled his hair. He flashed a smile ,chuckled and said

"Hey little bro. You're late…looks like I'll be using the bludgers today."

Gavin shivered at the thought of that. Cass was simply demonic when he played as a beater even though he wasn't even a beater to begin with. Cass played as a keeper, while Gavin played as a chaser. Gavin preferred scoring goals alongside teammates, he wanted to be a team player and goal scorer so he chose to play chaser.

"Sigh…just don't go too hard alright?" Gavin replied, a bit exasperated.

"No can't do little bro. You need to be stellar by the time you come to Hogwarts. I want to play with you or against you, depending on the house I get sorted into. They'll know us as the devilishly handsome quidditch brothers…ahaha" Cass said with a smile, laughing at the end.

*Gulp* "Erebus, help me out here." Gavin said as he smiled wryly.

[Haha, kid…you're on your own. Don't worry, in destruction, there is peace] Erebus said lazily, closing his eyes.

"Right…well, let's get this shit rolling Cass." Gavin said as he grabbed the broom Cass had brought for him, ignoring Erebus' edgy comment.

The two brothers practiced quidditch until the sun had set. At the end of their practice, they were both lying on the lawn facing the sky. Aelia had turned back into her cat form and was lying down on Gavin's chest.

"I'm gonna miss you Cass. It's gonna be boring here without you. Mom and Dad are out often so it will probably just be me and grandma" Gavin said, sounding a bit sad.

"Don't worry, it's just for two years. Then you'll join me at Hogwarts. You should start practicing magic. I bet we'd rule once we get there. Especially you. With your pretty boy face, those poor teenage girls will go crazy." Cass laughed and said.

"Tch…you're talking like it won't be the same for you." Gavin retorted, almost immediately.

"Oh it would be nowhere near as much as you, trust me. You sure as hell won it big in the genetics department."  Cass laughed again and said.

"Whatever….I'll write to you so keep me posted on what happens with you." Gavin said.

"Yeah I definitely will. Can't keep my dearest brother hanging now can I?" Cass replied, to which they both laughed.

"Right, it's probably dinner time. Mom and Dad should be back by now." Cass added, standing up and patting his back to remove the dirt."

"Yeah, let's go." Gavin responded. Aelia jumped on his shoulder and stood.

"Erebus, you coming?" Cass asked the sleeping griffin.

Erebus immediately opened his eyes and transformed into a black cat with silver eyes. He jumped on Cass' shoulders and the group then proceeded to return to the manor.

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