Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

William and Harry bombarded him with their chatter, wrinkling Henry's coat and loosening his scarf, but he didn't dodge. He simply reached out and ruffled the heads of his two younger brothers.

"Merry Christmas," he said.

"Merry Christmas!" they both shouted in unison, then bowed their heads simultaneously—

They saw Lucy.

That little thing standing half a step behind Henry, dressed in a neat tea towel, with bat-like big ears and tennis ball-sized eyes.

William's mouth dropped open.

Harry hid behind William, only one eye showing.

Lucy was also watching them, her big eyes blinking, her tea towel clutched tightly in her hand, clearly unsure whether she should speak—His Highness hadn't said she could speak.

"This is..." William asked cautiously, "Your pet?"

"William," Diana called softly, her tone carrying a hint of warning.

“Not a pet,” Henry said, turning to let Lucy stand beside him. “This is Lucy, my assistant, and my friend.”

Lucy's eyes lit up.

She looked up at the two little boys hiding behind their mother.

They looked quite different from His Highness; they had round faces and round eyes, unlike His Highness who was handsome and possessed a certain air of authority.

"Hello," William mustered his courage and stepped out from behind his mother. "I'm William, and this is Harry."

Harry peeked half his head out from behind William and waved to Lucy.

Lucy paused for a moment.

Then she bowed—the kind of bow a house-elf would give, so wide that the corner of her tea towel almost touched the floor.

"Your Highness William... Your Highness Harry," she said softly, "Lucy... Lucy is very pleased to meet you both."

William's mouth dropped open again, clearly not expecting the house-elves to actually talk.

Harry stepped out from behind his brother, stared at the bowing little thing for a long time, and then suddenly asked, "Do you have magic?"

Lucy blinked, straightened up, and a hint of confusion flashed in her large eyes—of course she could use magic; house-elves were born with it. But this problem…

"Yes, Your Highness Harry," she whispered.

Harry's eyes lit up.

"Transform into a rabbit! Transform into a rabbit for me!"

Lucy looked at Henry.

Henry nodded slightly.

Lucy took a deep breath, stretched out two slender fingers, and snapped them lightly.

"Smack."

Snowflakes gathered at her fingertips and fell to the ground, forming a small, fluffy rabbit the size of her palm.

The little rabbit twitched its ears, hopped twice in the snow, then raised its head and looked at Harry with its beady red eyes.

Harry's mouth formed an "O" shape.

William's mouth dropped open.

Even Diana raised an eyebrow slightly.

"My God," she whispered, "this is amazing."

The little rabbit hopped to Harry's feet, rubbed against his boots, and then with a pop, it turned back into snowflakes and disappeared into the snow.

The pedestrians around them didn't even look this way—or rather, they couldn't even see the bar entrance shrouded in the Muggle Expulsion Curse.

Henry's family was an exception; they had been here before and were on the whitelist.

Harry paused for two seconds, then turned sharply to look at Lucy, his eyes filled with adoration.

"Change it again!" he shouted. "Change it again!"

"Harry," Diana said with a smile, "let Lucy rest for a bit, we're going home."

She turned to Henry, her gaze falling on the dark leather suitcase beside him.

"Have you bought all the gifts?"

"It's all there," Henry said. "Your gifts are all inside."

Diana blinked. "It's not going to be one of those gifts that are particularly in line with royal tradition, is it?"

Henry remembered the spare corgi can, the runaway coloring book, and the two potted plants, the Four Seasons Tree and the Tickle Willow, that he wanted to give to his grandfather.

He unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, eagerly anticipating the expressions on his family members' faces when they received the gifts.

Of course, there's also what will happen when his two younger brothers try the canary cookies... well, they'll have to have them when their grandparents are both around.

"It fits perfectly," he said.

Looking at his expression, Diana suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Get in the car," she said with a smile, shaking her head as she turned and walked towards the driver's seat. "It's cold outside."

William and Harry had rushed back to the back seat and were frantically banging on the seat, shouting, "Henry, sit in the middle!"

Lucy stood there, somewhat at a loss—she didn't know where to sit; she had never ridden in a car before.

"Lucy," Henry said, "you sit with me in the back seat."

Lucy blinked and nodded vigorously.

She awkwardly climbed into the car, feeling a little nervous under the curious gazes of William and Harry. But soon, the two boys were drawn to the streetlights outside the window and began chattering about "how many lights are on that tree."

Henry leaned back in his seat and met his mother's gaze through the rearview mirror.

Diana smiled at him and started the engine.

By the time the car entered the gates of Kensington Palace, the snow had lessened considerably.

The guards saluted, and the iron gate slowly opened, revealing the cobblestone path that Henry had walked from childhood to adulthood.

After handing the car over to the butler, Diana led the children into Kensington Palace.

The lobby was already lit with warm yellow lights, and the oil paintings hanging on the wall gleamed with a gentle luster under the light.

One of them is a portrait of Henry as a child, wearing a white miniature naval uniform, sitting on a rocking horse, with one hand pointing diagonally to the sky, much like Napoleon crossing the St. Bernard Pass in the Alps.

William and Harry had already rushed inside, their little legs thumping on the wooden floor as they ran and called back, "Mommy! Can we open our presents now?"

Diana followed behind, shaking her head with a smile: "These two little ones..."

She asked the two to be quiet, then turned to Lucy, her eyes full of tenderness.

"Lucy, right?"

Lucy paused for a moment, then bowed deeply, so deeply that she almost broke her body in two.

"Yes, Your Highness Princess Diana! Lucy... Lucy is Your Highness's assistant!"

Diana bent down and looked directly into those big, round eyes.

This action startled Lucy again—few wizards would look a house-elf in the eye like that, let alone a noble princess.

"Welcome to Kensington Palace, Lucy," Diana said softly. "There aren't many rules here, so please make yourself at home."

Lucy's tea towel was crumpled at the corner, and she blinked her big eyes, unsure how to respond.

She had served at Hogwarts for so many years and had never seen a master like this... like this...

"Let's go," Diana straightened up and smiled at Henry. "Your father is in his study. He said he wants to talk to you when you get back. But don't rush, dinner is ready."

Kensington Palace