After a hearty meal and a round of drinks, the rest of the mutants followed the house-elves to their rooms, leaving behind a quieter, cozier hall. The long candles flickered low, casting a soft glow over the ancient stonework.
Nova glanced around at the company that remained — Fleur, Wanda, Jean, Emma, and Mystique — and let a small, crooked smile settle on his face.
He stretched his arms behind his head, relaxed, then spoke with a playful lilt in his voice.
"You know," Nova mused, "I must've done something very good in whatever life came before this one… because I can't think of another way to explain ending up in a room with five women like this."
Wanda snorted, hiding her grin behind a hand. "Or maybe you're just incredibly lucky."
Emma gave a soft chuckle, swirling the wine in her glass. "He's fishing for compliments. Classic move."
Fleur's lips curved in an amused smile, her accent lilting as she replied, "Or perhaps he is hoping we'll argue about who is the most beautiful among us."
Jean raised an eyebrow, leaning slightly forward. "Careful, Nova. You're one comment away from starting a competition you won't survive."
Mystique, watching the exchange with a wry smirk, added, "Either that, or he's angling for trouble. And honestly… I respect it."
Nova held up his hands in mock surrender, grinning. "Hey, I'm just appreciating the moment. Can you blame a guy?"
The women exchanged glances, a mix of amusement and mild exasperation, though no one seemed truly bothered — if anything, the teasing lightened the air.
"Well then," Fleur teased softly, "if you are so fortunate, you should enjoy it while it lasts."
"Oh, I intend to," Nova shot back, his grin widening.
After a few more jokes — or flirting, in Nova's case — the conversation shifted as the warmth of the evening gave way to the weight of business.
Seeing the change, Fleur spoke up, her tone settling into something more serious. "Since it's Yule break, there aren't any classes, so Harry and the others can easily sneak out of Hogwarts this weekend — which is three days away. From what Harry told me, in that single night, they'll find the ring. He… stressed that word when we spoke through their enchanted mirror."
Nova nodded thoughtfully, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. "We don't need an army for this. Too many people will only slow us down. I'll take Harry, Wanda, and a few mutants with abilities best suited for the mission. We'll handle the ring."
Then he turned to Emma. "Till that day, you and your group will focus on gathering information about Fefnir's werewolf pack from the minds of magical people in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Between you and Jean, you can pull that information right out of people's heads. And if anyone's hiding behind Occlumency, Tina can easily crack them open with that mutant ability of hers."
Emma considered that for a moment, then glanced at Fleur. "When's the next full moon?"
Fleur tilted her head, thinking. "Um… it's this Friday, I think."
Emma's lips curled into a sharp, satisfied smile. "Perfect timing. Good plan, Nova. Hitting the werewolf pack the night after the full moon, when they're weakened and scattered… it'll throw their forces into chaos. Voldemort's people will be busy cleaning up that mess, which lowers the odds of anyone important wandering near the ring by accident."
Mystique gave a slow nod of approval. "A coordinated distraction and a targeted strike. Clean. Surgical. It's quite good."
Jean turned to Nova and asked, "So who will lead the attack?"
Looking at her, Nova answered, "The team will be led by Emma, who will oversee the entire operation using her mental strength. Sabretooth will lead the mutants with powerful attack and defense-type abilities. Jean will be on standby — attacking, assisting various mutants, and also taking care of Elli, who's the healer."
Jean gave a small nod, her expression sharpening with the weight of responsibility. "I'll keep an eye on the battlefield and patch holes where needed. And I'll make sure Elli's safe — she's too important to risk."
Nova smiled at her. Then he turned to Emma," While gathering the information, if you get any other major information, inform about it immediately. Also focus on major death eaters... especially wealthy ones."
Wanda raised her eyebrow," What? You planning on robbing people Nova? And discussing infront of girls?"
Wanda shook her head," This really damaged your image in my mind."
Nova grinned at Wanda, entirely unrepentant, the flicker of candlelight catching in his eyes as he shrugged. "Wanda, sweetheart — you wound me. I'm not robbing people. I'm redistributing assets. There's a difference."
Emma chuckled, the sharp gleam in her gaze making it clear she approved. "He's not wrong. And frankly, if the Death Eaters are sitting on vaults of gold and artifacts while funding half the dark dealings in Britain, I don't see a single good reason not to lighten their load. Consider it… asset acquisition in the name of public interest."
Mystique raised her glass in salute. "Now you're speaking my language."
Wanda rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the twitch of a smile tugging at her lips. "You're all terrible people, you know that?"
"Please," Jean teased, leaning back in her seat. "You've been hanging around us for how long now? Don't pretend like you wouldn't pocket a few Galleons if the chance came up."
"I wouldn't—" Wanda started, then paused. "Okay, maybe if it was some smug pureblood bastard who made a crack about 'lesser bloodlines,' I'd empty his vault and leave a thank-you note."
Nova laughed. "See? Knew you were one of us."
Fleur, who had been listening with quiet amusement, finally spoke, her voice like soft silk over steel. "If you're targeting the wealthy ones, you'll want to look into families like the Travers, Selwyns, and Nott. Old money. And dangerous. If you hurt their fortunes, you hurt Voldemort's war chest."
Emma gave a slow nod. "Noted. I'll make them a priority while we sweep the alleys."
Nova pointed a finger at her, his grin easy but his tone firm. "Good. And if you stumble onto any black market contacts moving rare items or weapons, tag them too. We don't just need gold — we need leverage."
Mystique's lips curled into a smirk. "You planning a little empire while we're at it, Nova?"
He lifted his glass in mock toast. "Wouldn't be the first time."
The table shared a rough-edged laugh, the air growing warmer again even as the weight of what was coming hung overhead.
Jean gave a final glance around, her expression serious despite the humor. "Alright. We've got our orders. Two days to prep, then it's go time. No mistakes."
Nova met each of their gazes in turn, his grin fading into something colder, sharper — the look of a man used to walking into fire and dragging his people back out.
"No mistakes," he echoed.
And just like that, the game was set.