Altair watched through Strix's eyes as the Muggle couple left in their car and little Hermione saw them off at the door. He had been waiting for it to happen.
"Let's go, Fruska." He gently said, and his house-elf, who had just returned after dropping off Luna at the Greengrass Manor, took his hand, and the next moment he was inside Hermione's house, right behind her as she closed the door.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" She nearly screamed her lungs out when he patted her shoulder, but then he pulled her to him and covered her mouth.
"Good morning, Hermione." He playfully said, and hearing his voice, her eyes widened.
"Altair!" She turned around to see him, and as he smiled, she excitedly hugged him. "You scared me."
"My apologies, my lady." He bowed to her, took her hand, and planted a kiss on her knuckles.
"How did you..."
"Fruska dropped me here." He informed her and then reached inside his trouser pocket, taking out a beautiful necklace for her. "For you."
Hermione stared at it in awe, mesmerised by the shine of the goblin silver, and subconsciously reached for it.
She fondly traced the lion head, and when she turned it around, she found her name written on the back in both Latin and Ancient Greek.
"Hermione."
There was also a gem right above the names, a beautiful pigeon blood ruby, which was both haunting and tantalising.
"This must be expensive..."
"I wouldn't know." He smiled. "I created it, and it will help you keep a clear mind and also protect you from spying on your memories, safeguarding your secrets."
"Spying on my memories?" She looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes, there are wizards and witches who are capable of reading minds just by looking into your eyes. They don't even need an incantation."
Her eyes widened in horror, and Altair took the necklace from her hands and walked behind her.
He gently helped her wear it, and when that hidden ruby came into contact with her skin, she felt refreshed and light.
Hermione blushed when he tucked the necklace under her shirt and then smiled at her.
"Is the weight bothersome?"
"No. It's very light." She shook her head, and he smiled.
"As you grow older, the chain will grow longer on its own, so you don't have to set it or get it replaced."
"How..."
"Magic." He chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him.
"When will your parents be back?" He gently asked and subconsciously turned to look at the clock.
"Not until five o'clock."
"Would you like to come with me to my home?" He asked, and she hesitated a little. "We can use our wands there, use all the magic and spells without catching anyone's attention."
"Okay!" She brimmed with excitement, and he chuckled.
"Go, grab your wand and wear another layer."
As soon as she heard his words, she was off, running to her room, and Truffles, her cat, saw the opportunity and jumped into Altair's arms.
"How are you?" He gently asked the magical cat, who happily informed him about its exploits and purred under his ministrations.
"I am ready!" Hermione came downstairs, all set and brimming with excitement.
"What's in the bag?" He curiously asked and chuckled when she told him that it was filled with books.
"You don't need them." He said and took off her bag, putting it on the sofa.
Hermione seemed unconvinced, but then her eyes widened again as Altair called out the name of his house-elf, and Fruska appeared out of nowhere.
"Take us to Castle Nocturnum." He said as he offered his hand to her, and Fruska took it, offering her other hand to Hermione.
The young lioness took a deep breath and grabbed the house-elf's hand. When she blinked next, she was staring at enchanting scenery that made her feel like it was a dream.
Mountains, a crystal clear lake, and the wind that ruffled her hair. Her mouth cutely dropped open when she saw a pair of hippogriffs in the sky, but then tensed up when the said creatures dived down at them.
The only reason she did not scream was because Altair was holding her hand, squeezing it, but her breath still hitched and she took a step back in fear when the hippogriffs landed on the platform.
"Bow to them." She heard Altair say and quickly bowed, bending her back.
She stayed like that for a while, and when she raised her head, she found the creatures bowing to her as well, which relieved her.
"Come." Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat when Altair pulled her forward, and before she knew it, he had placed her hand on the beak of one of the hippogriffs. "This is my beloved Aquilla, and Archion is her mate and brother."
Hermione smiled as the magnificent creature nuzzled against her palm, and when her fingers brushed through the soft feathers, her heart melted and an involuntary giggle escaped her throat.
"Want to go for a flight?" He offered but did not wait for an answer.
Hermione was amazed at how effortlessly he held her waist and helped her onto Aquilla's back before jumping up and sitting behind her.
The hippogriffs reared, turned around, and she was shocked at the sight of the haunting Castle Nocturnum.
When the beast finally took to the sky, her eyes stayed on the castle, entranced by its beauty, but the rush of wind soon had her laughing in excitement.
However, soon she screamed as Aquilla decided to go for a death dive towards the lake, but Altair laughed at his hippogriff's playfulness.
Regardless, it was an experience of a lifetime for Hermione, and after a while, she was just staring at Castle Nocturnum in awe.
Altair also showed her other magical residences in Buttermere, and their history excited her greatly.
It was almost noon when they landed on the Sky Platform, and Altair pulled her hand and took her inside, showing her around the ancestral home of the Black family.
When they finally sat down for their lunch at the large dining table, she was quite excited and nervous at the same time.
"Oh my God... this is delicious!" She said as she tasted the roasted chicken leg, and Altair smiled and silently ate his meal.
His table manners soon made her feel insecure, and even though she was well mannered too, she still tried to emulate him.
The meal was silent and peaceful between them, and when they finished, Altair pulled her out to one of the hanging gardens.
"Alright, let's see what you have learned so far." He said, and Hermione took a deep breath and bravely pulled out her wand. "Start with Lumos."
One by one, Altair pushed her to perform the First Year spells, guided her where she needed guidance, and told her some secret ways to perform these spells even better.
Thanks to her heritage, she was not tired even after hours, and Altair smiled at how bright a witch she was.
"Would you like me to fix your front teeth?" He popped the question as he took her to show her his room, and Hermione stopped in her tracks. "It's okay if you don't want me to..."
"Can you?" She hopefully asked, and he smiled.
"Yes." He gently squeezed her hand, and once they arrived in his room, he sat her down at his study chair. "Close your eyes and open your mouth."
Hermione did as asked, trusting him, and Altair still picked up a ribbon and wrapped it around her eyes.
"Remember. I am not allowed to perform this spell, so you must never tell anyone that it was I who fixed it for you. Not even your parents, and certainly not anyone who belongs to Hogwarts."
"I promise." She sincerely said, and he smiled as he took out his Elder Wand and started fixing her teeth by erasing the spell that had caused them to grow like this.
It took over half an hour, only because he did not want to hurt her, and he was very careful about weakening the spell on her eyes, which would take a few years to wear off.
Once he was done, he put his Elder Wand back inside Morgana's locket and then gently helped her close her jaw.
Altair carefully took off her blindfold, and then he grabbed her hand and pulled her to come with him.
They arrived in front of the life-sized mirror, and Hermione's eyes were already brimming with tears as she noticed the subtle changes right away.
She slowly opened her mouth, checked her teeth, and was shocked at the perfect set of them, which made her fall into a trance. Her jaw did not look swollen either, and she just stared at her image in a trance.
Suddenly, she rushed to Altair and tightly hugged him, crying, burying her face in his chest.
"This is the real you. Perhaps a burst of magic in an accident in your childhood deformed your teeth and jaw a little, but now it's all normal again." He softly said, and she hugged him even more tightly.
It took her a long time to calm down and stop crying, and Altair gently wiped her face clean.
"You are pretty." He complimented her, and she blushed.
"Thank you, Altair."
"You're welcome." He gently patted her head and called for Fruska.
"I..."
"We will see each other next week, but you must not tell your parents that I took you away. It will be our little secret."
Hermione nodded her head in promise, and then hugged him again before she happily grabbed Fruska's hand.
What she did not know, however, was that the house-elf soon returned to take Altair away too, and he arrived inside the dental clinic that the Muggle couple ran.
They could not see him as the Disillusionment Charm was active, and he took out his Elder Wand and adjusted their memories slightly, just so they would not find Hermione's changes alarming.
He also went through the warnings that Dumbledore had planted in their minds and rearranged and blurred them slightly, and the only reason he did not plant anything false in their minds was that they genuinely loved Hermione.
Altair also made sure that the couple would talk about Dumbledore's visit to their home to someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when they came to check on them next month.
The Headmaster had made sure they would not speak his name, but now they would.
When he returned to Castle Nocturnum, he found Daphne practising her duelling spells against a dummy on one of the duelling platforms, and Luna was sitting next to his MoonFox, curiously watching her.
"How was your day?" He asked the Lovegood, who sweetly smiled at him.
"It was fine. We fished with Uncle Alaric down the stream, and Daphne showed me all the spells that she knows."
"Not all," the Greengrass corrected.
"You know more spells?" Luna looked at her in surprise.
"A lot more." Daphne smiled. "Let's have a duel, Altair. Let's see how good the Champion of the Primus Cup is."
The Lord Slytherin laughed at the challenge but stood up to teach his future wife a lesson.
Daphne had been training for some years now, but she was not as good as Aurelia. Maybe not as good as Cho either, but her skills were already beyond witches her age.
Now she had her own wand. It was ebony, thirteen and a half inches, and contained the horn of Iblis. It was quite a beautiful and wicked-looking wand, and in her hands, it felt just right.
Altair was surprised at how quick she was, but he easily blocked and defended against her barrage of spells, none of which managed to strike him.
And then he tested her defence, which made her swear profusely and give her all.
In the end, she was bound in shadow tendrils, unable to move at all, and he walked over to her and stared right into her emerald eyes, which had madness and anger flickering through them.
She hated losing, even if it was to him, and he chuckled, rubbing salt into her wounded pride.
"Finite." He whispered, and she was instantly freed from her bindings.
"I will defeat you one day."
"Good luck." He grinned and then tapped her head with his wand, making her wince a little.
"Mean."
"Thank you." He pulled her leg even more, and she begrudgingly followed after him.
"What did you do today?"
"Visited someone, came back, rode my hippogriff, toured around the castle, had lunch, practised spells, and then went to a place where I had some important things to deal with."
"Important things?"
"Related to the Black family."
"Oh."
"Where is Astoria?"
"My family has left for Spain, and I am going to stay with you this summer," she informed him, and he smiled.
"I will help you get ready for the Quadrivium Cup."
A smile bloomed on her face at hearing him agree to it without her needing to voice what she wanted.
"Thank you, my lord."
"My lady."
Luna smiled at their exchange and merrily skipped to the dining hall.
"Who is going to be your partner in the Gemini Cup, Altair?" Daphne asked as they sat down at the table.
"Aurelia."
She nodded her head, not saying anything, and then silently had her supper.