After finishing my moment of admiring them, and after they showed me other garments they had bought—which they promised to wear for me later—they moved on to examine what I was wearing.
The girls began inspecting the robe I had on, looking at me closely both in its original state and with the modifications I had made to it. Perhaps they got a bit too confident, as I felt their hands slipping too far inside the fabric to the point where I had to tell them to stop; but they had no intention of doing so. Ginny even gave me a teasing smirk while tugging at the material.
However, their boldness didn't last much longer. Our mother suddenly appeared to check on how we were doing and found us in a rather peculiar scene: the girls in outfits hardly appropriate for walking down the street, and me wearing a robe that made me look like a dark wizard.
The look of surprise on her face, combined with our figures frozen in place, would have been comical to anyone watching us.
"Ginny? Red?" my mother called out, looking at us in bewildered astonishment.
Ginny quickly let go of me and apologized, blushing deeply, though luckily her veil covered the lower half of her face.
My mother looked at us in confusion, but just as had happened to me, she was amazed by the girls' appearance; they looked truly beautiful.
"My sweet girl… look at you… you look gorgeous," she couldn't help exclaiming as she stepped closer to examine Ginny up close.
"Do you like it, Mum? I saw it and couldn't resist trying it on," Ginny said nervously, trying to act like an innocent little girl who just wanted to play dress-up. And it worked.
My mother bought the excuse and assumed both of them just wanted to try on those exotic clothes. She thought the same of me—or at least that was what she wanted to believe—since the robe was far too extravagant and dark for a boy my age. Of course, she was also worried that we were causing trouble in the establishment and that the shopkeepers would force us to buy what we were wearing.
Before she could address the vendors, I anticipated it and sent them a telepathic message that startled them. I wasn't overly detailed: I simply ordered them to go along with us and act naturally without revealing anything unnecessary; if they did well, they would be handsomely rewarded. Both women, somewhat frightened by the mental intrusion and wary of my presence, reacted with sharp commercial wit. They immediately complied with my request and catered to us with utmost kindness.
My mother let out a sigh of relief. In a way, she liked how we looked, but even though we had a bit more money now, we weren't in a position to splurge. Although she would have liked to show Arthur how the girls looked, she made us return the outfits and helped us look for something more suitable to stop "playing around." The girls changed and "returned" the clothes, though in reality they had already stored them in their inventories along with the rest of the garments the vendors handed them behind my mother's back. As for me, I kept the robe: I had the vendor mention a supposed discount and acted as if I genuinely wanted to buy it. Thus, I became the only one who kept his change of clothes, though I adjusted it into a more casual design.
Our mother helped us acquire a few more items by taking advantage of the "discounts." It was undoubtedly the best place to shop. Ginny and Luna didn't take long to get practical outfits, though clearly they didn't make them look as dazzling as before.
When we finished, we prepared to leave, but not before I dropped a considerable sum of money on the floor with a subtle gesture of my hand, thus settling the merchants' cooperation.
We rejoined the rest of the family, and most of them were already wearing colorful new clothes. It couldn't be said that we blended in very well with the surroundings; except for Bill, who had been in the country for a while, the rest didn't know much about local fashion. Besides, we were a group of redheaded foreigners... not to mention me, though at least the hood of my new robe allowed me to hide my hair.
Everyone marveled at each other's purchases amid compliments and jokes, at least until they saw me in the black garment. The twins and Charlie gave me an approving thumbs-up. In contrast, my parents and Bill looked concerned. Bill was worried about the impression it projected and whether it could get me into trouble; my parents... well, they feared I was taking an increasingly dark path. After what happened at the Ministry, they were paying closer attention to my actions and, knowing what I was capable of, feared for my decisions. Although they tried to be understanding of my choice, they concluded that it would be necessary to talk to me as soon as they had a quiet moment alone.
Of course, my mother brought up the outfits Ginny had tried on and lamented not bringing her camera. However, both Ginny and Luna immediately rejected the idea of being photographed out of embarrassment over being seen like that. It seemed they enjoyed me looking at them, but the idea of others seeing them dressed that way was something they were not yet willing to accept.
My father lamented it as well, and to avoid being left without a record again, he bought a camera that very day. In fact, we bought quite a few things throughout the day; while we didn't spend all the money our parents had given us, we did allocate a substantial portion.
In the end, as evening began to fall and the fatigue of exploring the area set in, we enjoyed a few night shows that Bill showed us, ate some local food, and returned to the hotel. The next day we would continue the trip: soon it would be our turn to visit the pyramids and the other desert attractions.
...
Back in the privacy of our rooms, the girls immediately regained that relaxed demeanor they only showed when we were alone. They laughed and enjoyed themselves, longing to take out all the clothes they had bought to try them on, though they knew it was impossible: if someone walked in and discovered them, it would not only be embarrassing, but also difficult to explain where all of it had come from. For that reason, they sat down with me to discuss "The Plan."
Both Ginny and Luna wanted more freedom than they already possessed. They wanted to enjoy the family trip, but at the same time, they yearned to explore Egypt without our parents' constant supervision; and because of that, they demanded that I find a solution.
I could only sigh at their demands, pondering what alternatives to offer them that would meet all their expectations, when the very problem we were trying to solve knocked on the door.
First came our parents, who chatted with us for a moment before sending Ginny and Luna to join the others, who were already at the hotel restaurant. That was when a serious talk began.
They hadn't postponed this out of irresponsibility, but because they were looking for the right moment to ensure they didn't overwhelm me. To them, I was still their son—the most peculiar of them all—the one who had taken a man's life, and they understood that it wasn't an easy topic to process.
I had lied before and intended to keep doing so, only this time it required a greater effort. On previous occasions, my evasions were accepted without too many questions, but now my parents demanded clear answers: what exactly had happened at the Ministry, what I had discussed with Lucius, what happened in Brazil... They wanted to know everything. They seemed determined not to overlook anything, not to ignore details about me, and to prevent me from becoming that distant, emotionless boy from years ago. They feared I was walking a dark path of no return.
The lie had to be much more elaborate, using my auras and other abilities discreetly, though to a lesser extent than with anyone else. Although I took my time, I managed to clear up most of their doubts, though I had to adjust my stance: while I had always projected myself as someone reserved and a victim of circumstances, I decided the ideal approach was to show greater maturity. I wanted them to see me not just as a child who had killed a man, but as someone extremely capable, both magically and intellectually. With this, my parents would gradually accept my actions, or at least the impact would be lesser when they found out about them.
It was a long conversation that, if not for my intervention, would have dragged on even further. There were still aspects they wanted to inquire about, such as my romantic life. Sparked by Fred and George's jokes and comments from my other brothers regarding my close relationships with several girls, a certain curiosity and concern had awakened in my parents. While they were filled with pride that I was so handsome—despite looking less and less like them—they didn't want to see me caught up in a whirlwind of romantic drama I couldn't handle. They tried to offer advice, but I didn't allow them to delve too deeply into the matter; that troubled them, though they could only sigh and plan how to address it later. They liked Hermione and didn't want my relationship with her to suffer setbacks due to my supposed inability to understand love and friendship, as that was how they interpreted my peculiar way of interacting with several girls at once.
Finally, we all went down to join the rest of the family, who were already having dinner. We arrived late, but no one complained; moreover, more food was ordered, which for someone like Ron was great. We ate until we couldn't eat anymore and shared laughs during a family dinner that was far more luxurious than usual.
Intending to wake up early the next day to continue the excursion, we returned to the bedrooms. However, I was held back once more, this time by Bill, who pulled me aside to have that "brother-to-brother talk."
We stopped on a balcony to gaze at the stars in the night sky, remaining silent for the first few moments. I couldn't tell if he made that dramatic pause on purpose or if he simply couldn't find a way to break the ice.
My relationship with Bill had always been strange, at least ever since he hit me when I was a child. After that incident, even though we treated each other with the same affection as with the rest of our brothers, we maintained a different dynamic.
"So... you killed Lucius," he said gravely, keeping his eyes fixed on the firmament.
As I was saying, our interaction was different; he started out directly and without beating around the bush. He wanted to speak man-to-man and get answers to try and help me; after all, we were family.
The atmosphere of this conversation was far different from the one I had with my parents. As a Curse-Breaker in his line of work, he possessed extensive experience, but I had also filled that role during secondary campaigns, so I was able to steer the dialogue in my favor without leaving him room to uncover what he shouldn't.
We discussed things for a while as he probed deeper and deeper, partly to know what had become of my life and partly to decipher what had really happened. For him, finding out that one of his younger brothers had murdered the head of a noble family like the Malfoys was shocking.
The talk concluded with Bill more bewildered than at the start, but visibly more reassured; at least his main suspicions about me had evaporated. Even so, he allowed himself to give me a few recommendations that I didn't take entirely well... not because they were wrong, but because they hit right on the mark, especially regarding Ginny.
I finally returned to the room. The girls were in their beds but still awake, chatting under the dim light of the magical lamp.
"Girls, we're having our adventure," I announced firmly.
After those conversations, I had made up my mind to give them what they asked for. The idea of spending some time away from our family's watchful eyes was becoming increasingly necessary, if only to avoid having to constantly put on an act.
Ginny and Luna's eyes sparkled with excitement upon hearing me.