Surviving Times

The Dursleys might harbor some suicidal thoughts after having some 'chat' with the headmaster and the guidance counselor. But Gresil was not satisfied yet. He wanted to do more, but the law of magical world here encouraged little to none involvement with muggles.

Maybe, if he just brought the company Vernon was working and drop some (not so) subtle threats here and there, that would be enough. The thing with Gresil is, he hates abuse, of any kind.

One must know, Mia was a dragon slayer during her life in the Fairy Tail world. Which meant that she raised her Exceed, Gresil since birth like a parent. She thought him how to speak, do magic and most of the things he knew. It's not an exaggeration to say that Mia is everything that matters to him.

He was there with her, from the beginning. He watched her as she learnt the dragon slaying magic under the tutelage of… that 'dragon.' The dragon, exceed and the slayer were like a family for some time. It was one of few well treasured, happy memories Gresil had. The three loved and took care of each other. Everything had been perfect… or it was until the dragon's heartless betrayal which tore their family apart.

Things started going wrong since then. Mia simply shut herself to everything. She was no different than a lifeless puppet… until she met Gildarts Clive and they became best friends, despite all their differences, but that would be a story for another time.

Gresil would still sigh in amazement at that man. How can someone so strong be so stupid and imm.a.t.u.r.e? It was mystery unsolved till today, so was the Fairy Tail guild. All of them were clearly idiots, but they slowly crept into the hearts of people…

Even after living so many lifetimes, Mia was never able to be completely apathetic towards life. She valued it too much in fact. That's why, she never killed. Never. Even during the most desperate times, she never took someone's life. She felt that she had no right to decide someone's fate. Because that would make her no different than the so-called God who took her life…

And Gresil, who shared the same values as Mia, loathed any kind of disrespect to it. That was why he got so enraged after checking on Harry. He could tolerate deception, schemes, lies and even death, but there were few things which one should not cross. Humanity, was something Mia and Gresil vowed never to let go, since they accepted their fate of immortality.

***

3rd person POV:

"Thank you very much, Mr. Edolas." Dumbledore said.

"No need to thank me sir, it was my job to take care of the students' well-being." Gresil said casually.

"And so is mine, but it seems I've failed to do so." The old wizard sighed. He regretted many things and leaving Harry with those worst of muggles seemed be one of the greater mistakes he has done. One must know, the death eaters were still out there, silently gathering strength and waiting for an opportunity. Sirius in jail, half of the order members dead, the ministry corrupted, a most likely not-dead Voldemort and midst of all of this, the boy who lived became his responsibility.

Dumbledore knew, Harry was no ordinary wizard from the moment Rebekah told him about the prophecy of Sibyll Trelawney. Harry would, without doubt become the new celebrity of the wizarding world. The headmaster knew what fame could do to a person. He himself experienced it, Grindelwald… if not for the death of his sister, there was no stopping to the atrocities he would've done with the man, all in the name of greater good.

"Though it wasn't the best, it was not the worst either, headmaster." Gresil said. Deep down, he knew what Dumbledore did was necessary and within the best interest of everyone.

"You think so?" Dumbledore paused. Anyone else might have labeled him heartless, irresponsible and a fool.

"You did send some people to check on him, didn't you?"

"Yes, but apparently, the scar on Harry's forehead was all that mattered to them." He sighed at that thought. He wanted to hide the boy and his relation to him at all costs… but where has it led?

The two men were quiet for a long time. Gresil got up from the chair and said, "…it's not too late to make up to the boy, headmaster."

"…Indeed."

***

"Gresil locked himself in his room." Daphne whispered scandalously.

"He had to speak with a bunch of teenagers on a daily basis, we should be thanking spirits that he didn't hang himself yet." Draco replied, as he finished his cup of mocha. He began to appreciate a good and high dose of caffeine in the mornings, much to Theo's delight. All thanks to the boring classes which promised to never get any better.

"That makes sense. Remember the Casablanca?" Theo mused. Casablanca… left an impression on them. A rather strong one. After all, it's not just anywhere you can find peddlers you wish to strangle so bad.

"Let's not compare those incessant imbeciles to anyone. And yes, we all agreed to give Gresil the privacy he deserves in his life." Mia said coolly, only because she knew the reason behind her partner's vexation. Personally, she thinks that the man is a little too emphatic and compassionate for his own good. But who was she to judge? She had better things to do than judging people. Like how she should smuggle an amaricano into transfiguration class. Minerva McGonagall, is another incessant woman who is very inflexible.

Life at Hogwarts was much unamusing than they expected. How interested a surgeon would be on learning basic first aid all over again? Well, Mia and her friends show same amount of zeal. The classes were a complete waste of time, at least for them.

Like that, another unremarkable week passed by and it was the quartet's turn to visit the guidance counselor's office. And this is how it goes…

"For the love of all the good things in the world, I want to quit." Theo scowled.

"Just two weeks and you're done?" Gresil grinned at the kid who slouched on his couch.

"We're done. Seriously, I'd rather sit in front of my desk and read monthly paintball game results of our employees than listen to the classes unsurprisingly made out of boredom." The blonde boy supported. Draco and Theo rarely disagreed with each other. The two boys get along really well indeed.

"The popcorn's ready." Daphne said as she came out of literally nowhere, along with Mia and floating buckets of popcorn.

"Great. Theo, turn the projector on." Draco asked the boy. Theo, quickly turned the tv on and connected it to a laptop. Yep, these kids were watching movies in Gresil's office. And Gresil is never the person to say no to fun.

Hence, four preteens and an exceed did a marvel movie marathon with popcorn and ice cream for dinner.

When the clock hit 12, the lights in the room were gone. No later, few candles were lit up, placed on top of a cake.

"Happy birthday, Theo." There was a cheery yell.

The birthday boy, was a bit shocked before he grinned and then there was another party.

After an hour, Theo was covered in coffee flavored frosting head to toe, thanks to Daphne. The girl never let goes a chance to put the boy in misery.

After a scourgify (cleaning spell), the room looked like a room and people in it looked sane.

"So, Theo, come on and open up your gifts." Gresil said.

"Alright." The boy began unwrapping his presents. There were only four. He picked a box wrapped in blue first. In there, a pair of finger-less gloves lay. Theo raised a brow and looked at Draco.

"Yes, that's from me. Try it on and tell me how it is." Draco urged his friend.

The boy did and instantly understood. The gloves were magical artifacts.

"Since you struggle in alchemy a bit, thought you could use some help. How are they?" Draco explained.

"They're fantastic, mate. Where did you find them?" Theo obviously loved them.

"Well, I sort of… made them I suppose. Mia helped a little though."

"Thanks, Draco. These are great."

He opened another present, it turned out be a parchment. Of coffees and Mexican food, which kept changing. Theo was perplexed. "Stare at it for a bit, Theo." Gresil said. Theo nodded and stared at the picture of expresso for a bit. Then he tasted expresso in his mouth and felt its aroma. The boy's eyes widened and looked at the man.

"Since you were almost caught drinking coffee in potions class, I thought this would be much smarter."

"Smart? This stuff is wicked!" Theo was so going to carry this piece of paper with him all the time. Severus Snape could come and bite him if he wants to. Theo then unwrapped the last but one present, from Daphne, yet again a piece of paper.

"What's this, Daphne?"

"A summoning contract with a celestial spirit." The girl said. Despite all the scorn she has for him, she still cared enough to give him a decent gift.

"Thank you." Theo said quietly. He knows what it means. His heart was warmed by the gesture. He opened the last present, from Mia. It was a basket.

"What's in it, Mia? Chocolates?" Theo was curious.

"See it yourself, and don't be too surprised." Mia said, and the tiny mischievous glint in her eyes made Theo all the more intrigued.

And yes, to say he was surprised was a massive understatement.

"What the f…!!!"

His friends burst into laughter looking at his face. It was hilarious. The look of incredulity on his face was priceless. And yes, Daphne took a picture of it.

"W-What the hell?"

"It's not hell, it's your pet now." Mia said while trying not to laugh.

"My pet? No, never!" the boy protested.

"Come on, it's so cute." Daphne cooed. The creature had pure white fur and was endlessly adorable.

"Then you can have it, please." Theo offered.

"No darling, it's yours now." Mia said.

"But… it's a fox! And I hate foxes!"

"Suck it up, mate. It's the kitsune's deal to teach to you it's elemental magic. You need to make it your familiar." Draco stated. He knew the trouble they went through to get that damn fox agree.

After a lot of sulking, Theo accepted his fate. He decided to raise this demon spawn…

"Name it as soon as it wakes." Gresil said.

"Un. How about… Fraus?" the rest of them looked at him in disbelief. Regardless, the little fox liked its new name, as it happily blinked its large lilac eyes.

'poor thing', they all thought after having seen the boy's prejudice.