Chapter 4: Family Dinner

"Cass, are you ready for tomorrow? How are you feeling about starting school?" Evan asked his son as his family ate together at the large dining table. Like most other rooms in the Everhart manor, the dining room was large and nicely decorated with paintings and prints adorning its walls.

"Excited mostly.. and yeah I'm about ready. I have my stuff packed in the suitcase you guys got for me."

"Excellent, make sure to brighten the school up if you know what i mean…" Evan smirked and said ominously.

"Absolutely." Cass replied with a chuckle, reading his father's mind.

Sophie raised her eyebrows at their interaction.

"What are you telling the kids Evan? Must you always be so irresponsible?" She scoffed, displeased about Evan's antics.

"Honey...I'm just telling him to have fun."  Evan turned to his wife and replied with an innocent expression on his face.

"Cassius Everhart, if you don't want to get a howler on your first week of school, I suggest you behave yourself when you get to Hogwarts." Sophie scolded sternly, ignoring Evan. Cass gulped and nodded nervously, not daring to imagine receiving a howler from his mother.

"Make sure to study hard and make good friends…okay, Cass?" Sophie then added softly.

"Yeah I will mom, don't worry." Cass replied with a wry smile.

'"You know…as crazy as this sounds, your mom used to love my antics back when we were in Hogwarts. That's how she fell for me you know…I still remember the time I asked her on a date to Hogsmeade like it was yesterday. She was extremely giddy about it…." Evan said and laughed suddenly, reminiscing the good old days.

"How exactly did dad ask you mom?" Gavin asked, rather interested.

"Well…your father was quite creative and bold, I'll give him that." Sophie started with a chuckle, dropping her fork and knife.

"I was Slytherin's star seeker during my years at Hogwarts while your father was one of Gryffindors chasers. On our game right before a Hogsmeade visit, he charmed the snitch to say a love poem and ask me out on a date. He practically bet on me catching it over his own teammate, who was arguably the best seeker of our year." Sophie added, laughing at the end.

Gavin's eyes widened when he heard that. He was amused and a little surprised. Amused at his father's creativity and surprised that his mother actually played quidditch. Sophie had never talked about quidditch, nor did she show any interest in it, so Gavin had just assumed she didn't play the sport.

"Best decision ever." Evan said abruptly, looking at Sophie with a smile.

Sophie blushed and looked back at Evan, reciprocating the gesture.

"You two lovebirds know we're in the middle of a family dinner right?" Rose, who had been silent all this time coughed and remarked.

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Evan and Sophie coughed embarrassedly and shifted their attention away from each other.

"Anyways, I was completely caught off guard when I caught the snitch and was left stunned. Your father won it big that day. Won the game and bagged his girl." Sophie then said, trying to resume where she left off.

"Learn from your old man, boys." Evan winked and said to his sons, earning Sophie and Rose's laughter.

"Dad, I've got to admit, that was wicked!"  Gavin said, smiling at his father.

"I agree." Cass remarked as well, nodding his head in approval.

"Thank you…thank you." Evan replied, pretending as if he had won a prestigious award.

Everyone laughed at his behaviour.

'This is it…this is the life I wanted. How nice is this?' Gavin thought as he looked at his family.

He had spent a lot of time with hiw parents until he turned 7, which was when they started to leave the island regularly, for months on end at times. They told him all sorts of stories, taught him many things and took him and his brother to visit the muggle world every now and then. Gavin loved them dearly. His father, Evan, joked around a lot but when he got serious, he was a completely different person…almost as if he was bipolar. He was the one who taught Cass and Gavin how to ride brooms and griffins. He explained the family's history, values and griffin bonding ability in great detail. All in all, he was a perfect father in Gavin's opinion.

His mother, on the other hand, was a mix of warm and stern. She was the disciplinarian amongst his parents and often scolded Cass when he was younger. She rarely ever scolded Gavin and well, that was because he was a teenager in the body of a kid so he never misbehaved. Sophie was the one who handled their education and taught both of them etiquette as well as how to play a few instruments. She also barely spoke about her past, even when Gavin had asked her, so he didn't even know her background. He suspected that she was French though, as she had a faint French accent, unlike his father whose accent was purely British.

His grandmother, Rose, just doted on both Cass and Gavin. She didn't talk much and was just warm towards Cass and Gavin. She was the ideal person to get advice from in Gavin's opinion. Rose often knitted scarfs and sweaters for the boys and told them stories of how the wizarding world was back when she was a teenager at Hogwarts. She told them stories of their grandfather, Audric Everhart.

Apparently, his grandfather fought closely alongside Dumbledore as one of his commanders during the global wizarding war against Gridelwald's tyranny. Gavin was fairly surprised when she told him that story. He marveled at the deep history his family had. When he asked her if he was dead, she told him he was but strongly refused to tell him how, much to his dismay.

Gavin suspected that there was definitely something deep she was hiding given her facial expressions when she told him the story. He had asked Aelia and the other griffins  about it but they kept her mouth shut, like Rose. Gavin inwardly swore to uncover the truth. What was so deep that could make both the griffins and his grandmother act so gravely.

The family continued to chat and laugh, enjoying the time they were spending together over dinner. As they were talking, Gavin inwardly swore to do whatever it took to protect this….this wholesomeness that pulled him out of the void of solitude and suffering he experienced in his past life. He didn't care if he had to burn down everything in order to do so. He would gladly raze the world to bits if it meant he could preserve his home. Nothing else mattered to him.

Unknown to Gavin, Aelia, who was watching from the window, was frowning deeply while looking at him. As his bond, she could clearly feel Gavin's thoughts. She inwardly sighed as she looked at him while in thought. He was starting to remind her of him…the one who destroyed everything. She swore firmly to never allow Gavin go down that path even if it cost her her life. She had grown incredibly attached to Gavin and didn't want to see someone she treasured so deeply go down that path.

'Let's just wait and see. It's still too early.' Aelia thought, hopping off the window sill, transforming into her griffin form and flying away.

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