Chapter Text
It was a fine day at the Phantomhive-Michaelis household. Ciel Phantomhive, former earl, current demon and wizard, was lounging across the sofa in his study, reading ‘The History of the Dark Arts’, a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits sat on the small table beside him.
After they came back from Hogwarts, Ciel and his demon butler, Sebastian, had gone to Switzerland for a summer holiday. They had stayed at a lake house in the countryside, surrounded by rolling hills and grass field.
While he was there, Ciel had made the decision that he was going to go back to Hogwarts, if for nothing else than to kill some time. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do other than sitting around, being bored out of his mind. He might as well use his time to learn more about magic. Besides, if he had wanted to get to Voldemort, the quickest way to do that was to stick close to Harry Potter.
Throughout summer, Ciel had been corresponding with both Harry and Ron and had made the arrangement to watch the Quidditch World Cup together. Ron had assured him that they could stay at The Burrow – the Weasley’s residence – for the rest of the summer until they have to go back to Hogwarts in September. He even went as far as reassuring Ciel that the demon boy would have a room to himself, due to his supposedly condition.
An insistent knocking caused Ciel to turn to the window and saw Errol, the Weasleys’ family owl at the window. He put aside his book and went to open the window. He untied the letter from the old owl’s claws and let him drink from the bowl that Ciel had kept at a bird stand that he had purchased specifically for this purpose.
Ciel opened the letter and read through Ron’s letter. The young Weasley told him that the Weasleys were going to pick Harry up tomorrow at five o’clock at the Dursleys and they could pick up Ciel too.
Ciel picked up a pen and paper and scribbled down a quick reply before sending the letter back to Ron with Errol and then he wrote another letter, this time addressed to Harry.
Dear Harry,
I assume Ron has written to you about picking you up at the Dursleys tomorrow at five o’clock. I have an idea. How about I pick you up tomorrow at one o’clock and then we can wait for them together at my house? I would imagine that you would not mind leaving the Dursleys a little earlier. I have told Ron about it as well, so you do not need to worry that they are going to show up there tomorrow. Let me know what you think and send your reply immediately.
Ciel
Ciel put the letter inside an envelope, wrote down Harry’s address, and went to the birdcage at the corner of the room and opened it. A few weeks ago, they had gone to Diagon Alley to buy an owl for Ciel. He had chosen a white owl with black and grey markings on his back and the tips of his wings and he had named him Earl.
“Alright, Earl. Get this to Harry and wait for his reply.” Ciel said as he walked to the window. He released the owl and went back to his book.
The reply came an hour later and Harry had agreed wholeheartedly with Ciel’s suggestion.
By morning, Ciel’s trunks were packed. Since they’d be going straight to Hogwarts after, Sebastian had packed Ciel’s school uniforms too. Ciel had also informed Dumbledore that he’d be coming back to Hogwarts for the fourth year.
“Come on, let’s go.” Ciel said at half past twelve. Harry lived about fifteen minutes drive away from their place and sometimes, the traffic could be terrible.
The two demons got into their car and soon, they were on their way to 4 Privet Drive.
They arrived in front of the unsuspecting looking house about twenty minutes later and pulled the car to a park. Sebastian slid out of the driver seat and rounded the car to open the passenger door and Ciel stepped onto the pavement.
They walked to the front door and Sebastian rang the doorbell.
Harry pulled open the door seconds later and a smile appeared on his face. “Hi, Ciel, Sebastian.”
“Hello, Harry.” Ciel greeted him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Potter.” Sebastian said.
Behind Harry, Ciel could see the Dursleys standing around, watching them with disdain and uncertainty. He recognized Vernon Dursley and he also saw a dark haired woman – must be Petunia – and their son, Dudley. He remembered Harry telling him a few weeks ago that Dudley was currently on a diet regime, but looking at him now, Ciel wondered if it was even working.
“Are you ready to go?” Ciel asked.
“Yeah.” Harry nodded and pulled at his trunks.
“Please allow me, Mr. Potter.” Sebastian said. He moved to take Harry’s trunks from him and carried them to the car.
“Well, then, I’ll be going.” Harry told the Dursleys awkwardly. Not expecting any reply, he stepped out of the door and closed it behind him. “Come on, Ciel. Oh, does Sebastian drive?”
“Yes. How else are we going to get around? A broomstick?” Ciel said jokingly and the two burst into laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Dursleys had moved to the window to watch them.
“Ignore them.” Harry said. “They don’t like… people like us.”
“Don’t worry, Harry. Honestly, I’ve stopped caring about people’s opinion a long time ago.” Ciel said reassuringly. “Get in. Sebastian will take care of your stuff. Where’s Hedwig?” He asked, noting that the birdcage was empty.
“She’s sending a letter to Sirius.” Harry said, sliding into the car.
Ciel got in behind him and the two got settled in the backseat.
After he was done with Harry’s trunks, Sebastian closed the boot and the backdoor and got into the driver seat.
“Is your house far from here?” Harry asked as the car started moving.
“About fifteen minutes away.” Ciel said. “Have you heard from Ron?”
“Yes, Pig arrived this morning with a letter, saying that they’re going to pick us up at your house.” Harry said.
“I still don’t know why Ron named him Pig.” Ciel said.
“Neither do I.” Harry admitted.
“How’s The Burrow like?” Ciel asked curiously.
“Hm… It’s like, a home, you know… Chaotic, but in a good way. The Weasley is a big family, so it’s kind of expected. I can’t quite describe it.”
“How are they going to pick us up? With a car or…?”
“No idea. The last time they picked me up, they were driving a flying car.” Harry said.
“A flying car?”
Harry proceeded to tell Ciel about how he and Ron had flown to Hogwarts two years ago in Mr. Weasley’s flying car.
Harry and Ciel sat down in the living room and Sebastian stood nearby, busying himself with tea preparation.
“I like your house. It’s very cozy and organized.” Harry said, looking around the room. Harry was sitting on a comfortable sofa and Ciel sat on his armchair across from him. There was a large fireplace on Harry’s left. On the mantle, there were various trinkets and Ciel told him they were souvenirs from when the pair went travelling.
Sebastian put two cups of tea and a plate of chocolate chips cookies on the coffee table in front of them and they took one cookie each.
“Thanks for the food parcels the other day, Sebastian.” Harry said. “Did you make them yourself?” He had asked for ‘food supply’ a few weeks ago when Dudley had gone into his diet regime and the whole household had to go on the same regime to ‘support’ Dudley, but iof course, Harry wasn't going to. Ciel had sent him a big box of cookies and pastries with a note that if Harry ran out, he only needed to write and Ciel would send more.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Potter. And yes, I baked them myself. I hope they’re to your liking.” Sebastian said.
“They’re really delicious.” Harry said.
“Thank you very much.” Sebastian said with a bow.
They started talking about the Quidditch World Cup and both boys were very excited to watch it. Ciel had never attended any sporting event, but he thought Quidditch was quite fun.
At ten to five, they got ready to leave, putting their trunks by the front door for easy retrieval, thinking that the Weasleys were going to pick them up with a car.
Five o’clock came around, but there was no sign of any redhead.
Ten past five… Still nothing.
“Maybe the traffic is really terrible…” Harry mused.
It wasn’t until a quarter past five that they heard some noises coming from the inside of the living room. Harry and Ciel looked at each other and hurried inside just in time to see Ron stepping out of the fireplace.
“Oh! Of course! They used Floo powder!” Harry said as Mr. Weasley stepped out from the fireplace.
“Floo powder? What’s that?” Ciel asked. He glanced at Sebastian and saw the man’s frown at the soot and ashes that was now on the floor.
“Hey, Harry! Ciel!” Fred greeted them. “Oh, hello, Sebastian.”
“Good afternoon, sirs.” Sebastian greeted everyone.
“Oh, hello.” Mr. Weasley greeted them, dusting himself off. “I’ve connected your fireplace to the Floo Network, just for the afternoon.” He looked around. “It’s a very nice place you’ve got here, Ciel. Ron told me you’ve lived all your life like a Muggle, yes? So, I imagine this is how a Muggle house looks like. Do you have electricity? Plugs? Telephone?”
“Err, yes, sir.” Ciel said unsurely. “Do you need to power up something?”
“No, no. But electricity fascinates me, you see.” Mr. Weasley beamed at him. “Do you mind if I take a look around?”
“No problem…” Ciel said.
Mr. Weasley walked around the room, asking about various things. He asked to take a look at the kitchen and spent a good half an hour admiring the fridge and the electric kettle.
In the meantime, Harry and Ron explained to Ciel and Sebastian about Floo Powder.
“Just remember, you have to speak clearly. Otherwise, you might end up somewhere you didn’t mean to.” Ron said.
Harry nodded. “I did that once. It was my first time using Floo powder and instead of Diagon Alley, I ended up in Knockturn Alley.”
“What is that?” Ciel asked.
“An awful place.” Ron said. “Something like Diagon Alley, but the shops there sell goods that are used mostly for the Dark Arts.”
Mr. Weasley came back and they got ready to leave.
“Alright, so our destination is The Burrow. Ciel and Mr. Michaelis, you might want to see how the boys do it first before taking your turn.” Mr. Weasley said. “And don’t worry about your fireplace. I’ll clean it up before I leave.” Then he lit up the fireplace. “Fred, you go first.”
Fred took one of the boys’ trunks and a pinch of the glittering powder and threw it into the fire. With a roar, the fire turned emerald and rose higher than Fred himself, who stepped right into it, shouted, “The Burrow!” and vanished.
George went next and then Ron.
Harry stood in front of the fireplace, turned to Ciel, and said, “See you on the other side, Ciel.” He threw the powder into the fire, shouted his destination, and disappeared.
“Go on, Ciel.” Mr. Weasley said encouragingly.
Ciel took a pinch of the powder, took a deep breath, scattered it into the fire and stepped into it, shouting, “The Burrow!”
The sensation was unlike anything that Ciel had ever experienced before. It was like he was being pulled into a giant drain. Everything around him was spinning – or was it him that was being spun around? If he were human, he probably would have thrown up. He could see flashes of fireplaces and caught glimpses of the rooms beyond them.
And then everything stopped as he landed on the hard ground.
Try as he might, even with his demonic balance, Ciel couldn’t stay on his feet and fell onto the ground, covered in soot and ashes.
“Ciel, you made it!”
Ciel looked up to see Harry and Ron approaching him.
“That was awful…” Ciel groaned as he got to his feet. “I’m never doing that again…”
The other two boys laughed and helped him up.
“You’ll get used to it eventually.” Harry said and peered into the fireplace. “Sebastian should be arriving soon…”
True enough, not five seconds later, the butler landed on his feet and unlike Ciel, he managed to stay upright. He stepped out from the fireplace and somehow, he didn’t even have a speck of dirt on his person.
Ciel hated him a little for that.
“Looks like everyone is here.” Mrs. Weasley greeted them. “Oh, look at you boys. Go and get yourselves cleaned up first. Ron, show Ciel and Harry to their rooms. And, uh, Mr. Michaelis, do you need to get cleaned up? I’ve also prepared a room for you.” She asked, noting that the butler looked as impeccable as ever, not a hair out of place.
“No, thank you, ma’am. But I’m going to help my master.” Sebastian said politely.
Ron showed them to their rooms. Harry would be staying in Ron’s room and Ciel and Sebastian would be staying in two guest rooms.
“After you’re done, join us downstairs.” Ron said.
“Okay,” Ciel said. “Thanks, Ron.”
Sebastian cleaned Ciel up, wiping soot and ashes from his hair and changed his clothes.
After Ciel was ready, they went downstairs to join the others. Mr. Weasley was back and he assured them that their fireplace was spotless, but Ciel suspected that Sebastian would still make a quick trip home later to check it.
“We’re going to eat in the garden.” Mrs. Weasley said. “There’s just not enough room for this many people inside. Bill and Charlie are setting up the table. Children, you need to bring the plates, the forks, and the knives outside.” She instructed.
“Mrs. Weasley, how can I help?” Sebastian asked. “Is there anything that you need?”
“Oh, if you could help setting up the table, that would be great, Mr. Michaelis.” Mrs. Weasley said.
“Of course. And please call me Sebastian.” Sebastian said and stepped outside.
They arrived at the garden just in time to see two battered old tables banging against each other in the air, trying to knock each other down. The tables were controlled by two of the Weasley children and the twins were cheering at the side.
“Will you keep it down?!” A loud and annoyed voice bellowed from the second floor.
Ciel looked up and saw Percy poking his head out from one of the windows.
“Sorry, Perce.” One of them said. Then he spotted them and waved. “Oh, hello there! You must be Ron’s friends!” He let his table fall to the ground and approached them. “Name is Bill Weasley.”
“Harry Potter. Nice to meet you.” Harry said.
“Yes, of course. Nice to meet you too, Harry.” Bill said before turning to Ciel. “And you are?”
“Ciel Phantomhive.” Ciel said. “And this is my butler, Sebastian Michaelis.” He gestured at his butler who was standing behind him just as another male approached them.
“I’m Charlie Weasley.” He introduced himself. “Pleasure to meet you all.”
They started setting up the table and a few minutes later, Crookshanks appeared. He approached Sebastian and started rubbing himself against the demon’s leg, much to the butler’s delight as he crouched down to greet the cat and pet him.
An hour later, dinner was ready and everyone was seated around the table – everyone except for Sebastian, who had volunteered to serve.
“Oh, but…” Mrs. Weasley started to protest.
“Please allow me, ma’am. I’m just a butler and it’s inappropriate if I were to be seated with my master during meals.” Sebastian said politely.
Mrs. Weasley hesitated.
“Mrs. Weasley, please don’t worry about it.” Ciel spoke up.
“Oh, very well then.” Mrs. Weasley finally gave up.
Looking at the dishes, Ciel was certain that Mrs. Weasley’s cooking was wonderful, but being what he was, he could barely taste any of it.
Dinner was quite lovely, although Percy kept going on and on about his job at the Ministry of Magic.
“He worships his boss.” Ron whispered to Ciel and Harry. “It’s always Mr. Crouch this, Mr. Crouch that…”
Soon though, they joined the twins and Charlie to talk about the upcoming World Cup.
At dessert time, Ciel dug into his homemade strawberry ice cream, the only thing that he could properly taste out of the whole dinner.
“You really are big on sweets, aren’t you, Ciel?” Hermione said laughingly. “You barely touched your food, but your ice cream bowl is sparkling clean.”
Ciel looked sheepish. “I have sweet tooth.”
When the rest of table’s attention were elsewhere, Harry told them that he had been corresponding with Sirius. However, before he could say anything much, Mrs. Weasley told them to go to bed.
“You all will be leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Harry and Ciel, if you could leave your school list out, I can get them for you. I’m going to go and get them for everyone else anyway. There might not be any time left after the Cup to get them since the Cup had lasted for five days the last time.” Mrs. Weasley said.
“Wow!” Harry said in astonishment. “I hope it will last just as long this time too.”
“I hope not.” Percy said. “I can’t imagine how my in-tray would look like after five days of being away from the office.”
“Yeah, course not.” Fred said. “Someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?”
“That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!” Percy said, his face as red as his hair. “It wasn’t anything personal!”
“It was.” Fred whispered as they got up from the table. “We sent it.”
Ciel couldn’t stop the snort that escaped his lips.
Just as Ciel had predicted, Sebastian left after everyone retired to their rooms to go home and check on their fireplace, leaving Ciel here. Bored, the young demon decided to read to pass the time. He took out one of his books, a murder mystery novel, sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and started reading.
The room was dark. The only source of light was the silvery gleam of the moonlight through the window, but Ciel dared not light up a candle, worried that someone might wake up and saw the light under his door. Besides, he had no trouble seeing and reading in the dark anyway.
Ciel managed to finish the whole book in one sitting. He checked his watch and saw that it would be dawn soon, which meant they should be leaving in less than an hour.
Not ten minutes later, people started waking up and the house come alive with activities. There was a knock on his door.
“Enter.” Ciel said, getting up from the bed.
The door opened and Sebastian stepped into the room. “Good morning, Young Master.”
“Morning.” Ciel said and stretched.
Sebastian went to the trunks to retrieve Ciel’s clothes for the day. He dressed the former earl in blue casual shirt, khakis, and black jacket. Then he knelt down to put on Ciel’s sneakers. Lastly, he stood behind Ciel and tied the boy’s eyepatch around his head.
Sebastian himself was dressed in his usual butler uniform – white shirt, black tie, grey waistcoat, and his signature tailcoat. For years, Ciel had tried to get him to wear something more modern and he sometimes did, but since they were in this world - where people still used quill and parchments – Sebastian had decided that this classic butler look would be better than his modern cut suit jacket.
They left the room and went downstairs to find Mr. Weasley in the dining room. They greeted each other and soon enough, the others arrived to join them for breakfast.
Mrs. Weasley insisted that Sebastian sit down to eat and finally, Ciel told him to do that and the butler ate with them.
Half an hour later, Ciel, Sebastian, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the twins left the house. Percy, Charlie, and Bill would be going later since they could Apparate to the venue directly.