France, as usual, was beautiful. There was a reason why its capital was known as the 'city of love'. Everything in France was over the top, breathtaking, and captivating. No matter how many times Alex visits he is still awestruck. France was simply beautiful. But upon closer examination, Alex sees a country that is loud, busy, and a bit too extravagant. Don't get Alex wrong, he loved France, but he could only handle so much of it at a time. England will always be his home, but he could see how his family would love it here so much.
Pike Scamander's home was just outside the city, he preferred to be within nature and not among the city. Acres and acres of land of fresh green grass and a beautiful crystal pond behind a sparkling silver fence. The land had been bought from old family money. His wife, Emmeleia came from a wealthy family and together they have made a home here in France.
Alex now walked their property alongside his cousin, Rolf. Rolf was more of a brother to Alex. He was six years older and has just graduated from Beauxbatons. This would be one of the last time Alex will see Rolf for awhile. He has recently gotten a job in the French Ministry of Magic to go on expeditions to help bring endangered, injured, and captured magical creatures to reservations for safety and rehabilitation before releasing them back out into the wild. It's a dream job for any Scamander, but it meant Rolf being away for at least two years, if not more. He was to set out tomorrow for his first expedition.
"Your father must be proud." Alex says, breaking the silence that has formed. He spoke in fluent French, something he often did when he was in France. His family was taught many languages, French being one of the most used due to the family marrying into a French family.
"He's worried too. I just graduated and already I'm setting off." Alex smiles, staring out at the grassy hills before him.
"You're a Scamander. You all have such adventurous souls, you can't be held in place for long. Especially when you have a goal."
"You're a Scamander too, Alex, maybe not by name, but certainly by blood." Alex didn't look like a Scamander. Rolf looked just like his father. Auburn hair, dark green eyes, tan freckled skin that has seen the sun a bit too much. Alex looked just like his father, a boy from the house of Black. Black curly hair, cut short, storm gray eyes that always shown with mischief, a wolfish grin that rivaled that of his father's, and a pale aristocratic face. Alex seems to fit well among his French family, unlike Rolf and his father who stuck out like a sore thumb.
"What time do you set out tomorrow?" Alex asks, trying to sway the conversation away from the topic of family.
"First thing in the morning. What time do you leave for London tomorrow?" Summer was almost over, which meant Alex would soon be returning to his Hogwarts, his school where he learns witchcraft and wizardry.
"Late in the afternoon." Alex tells his cousin. He will be arriving back to London by nightfall and the next day he will take the Hogwarts Express back to school.
"Did my mother talk to you already or my father?" Alex glances over at his cousin with a curious look.
"Talk to me about what?"
"Rosabelle refuses to go to Beauxbatons." Alex snorts. He knew she would. Belle wasn't like most veelas. She didn't have the snobby, spoiled, conceited personality that most veelas have, hell half of Beauxbatons was filled with people like that. Most of the students came from old wealthy wizard families that spoiled their kids rotten and filled their heads with ideas that they were better than everyone. Belle was more like her mother. She was actually insecure and selfless beyond belief. It didn't surprise Alex that she didn't want to attend the French pompous school.
"So what is she going to do? Surely she intends to go to school." Alex says as they round the corner, heading back towards the Scamander Mansion.
"She has said that she intends to go to Hogwarts come time for school. She wrote to the headmaster herself and everything."
"She wrote to Dumbledore? What did he have to say?" Alex asks, already guessing the answer. His headmaster was a kind old man who would never turn his back on anyone. He stuck true to the meaning of Hogwarts, accepting just about anyone.
"He came to France in person to talk with my parents. He was a good friend with our grandfather, Newt, and he knew Rolf well enough. He actually pleaded Rosabelle's case. He wants her to attend."
"I'm guessing he convinced them." Alex knew Rolf wouldn't bring this up if Dumbledore hadn't gotten Belle to get admission to Hogwarts.
"Yeah. I would have thought my parents would have talked to you. They are going to have her go with you to London and join you on the Hogwarts Express."
"Does my mother know?"
"I would assume so, but as I already said, I would have thought they'd have told you already. You leave tomorrow, after all."
"Your parents had a lot on their mind with you leaving tomorrow morning. I'm sure they plan to tell me."
"Do you mind?"
"You know I don't, Rolf. We're family. Belle is like a sister to me. You know I'll take care of her and look out for her."
"You're a good cousin, Alex. You're a lot like your mother than you know." Alex smiles at Rolf before pushing open the front doors. Whether Emmeleia is a humble veela or not, she still loved things to be grand. The mansion was huge and the front doors stood close to ten feet tall. The entire house was something that stole your very breath. Alex still gets taken aback at times upon seeing the beautiful mansion.
"Rolf, Alex, lunch is almost ready. Why don't you both get cleaned up and meet us in the dining room." Emmeleia was absolutely gorgeous. She looked like an angel or a goddess. Her hair was smooth like silk, running down her back such as a waterfall rolled down the creek. Her hair was a pale blonde and her eyes were like that of sapphire stones. There was not a single flaw about her. She was tall and elegant. Thin and willowy. It is no wonder Pike Scamander fell so desperately in love with her, but Alex has grown to know there is more to Emmeleia than just her beauty. She has a kind heart and loving nature. Alex has never once seen her angry or heard her raise her voice. He highly doubted there was a single mean bone in her body. She cared deeply for her family and loved Alex's uncle with all her heart despite his flaws.
"We'll be there in a minute, mom." Rolf smiles. He does look so much like his father, however, he also shared his father's nature. He often was a bit eccentric, preferring magical creature over most people (except his family of course), he was awkward, and had a tendency to be shy, but he was a compassionate, selfless, and brilliant young man, which is why Alex looked up to him so much.
"Alex? Are you okay?" Alex smiles at his aunt. He always found it easier to talk to her. His mother, despite being the granddaughter of Newt Scamander, was relatively normal as was most his family, but Emmeleia wasn't exactly normal. She was half veela and she understood what it was like to be different from others. She understood Alex. Alex was far from normal, but he has learned to hide his unique gifts and has come to almost believe himself to be just like any other wizard, but some days it's harder to hide the truth. The truth that he, Alexander Sirius Black, was as far from normal than anyone else in the world.
He looks so troubled. I wonder if he's thinking about his father again. I know it isn't easy for him. To have people judging him for his the crimes they believe his father capable of. I just wish I could-
Alex pulls out of it and shakes his head. It's rude to go inside another person's mind without permission. "I'm fine, Aunt Em. I'm going to go get cleaned up and then I'll join you for lunch." Alex makes his way towards the marble staircases, feeling his aunt's worried stare on his back.
Alex walks into the dining room to find his aunt and uncle talking about his latest case at the Ministry, while Rolf is telling his sister all about his upcoming expedition. Alex can't help but smile at the scene. This is what a family truly looks like. Emmeleia had a bright smile on her face, her hand resting in Pike's, obvious love shining in her eyes as she looked at the tired man. He has been working a lot these past weeks. A man has been breeding dragons in Megève and that kind of thing took a lot of work for Pike to go through, but sitting beside Emmeleia he looked so much younger. There was a light to him that only ever shown when beside his beloved wife. It always amazed Alex to see two people so in love even after all these years. They had only eyes for each other. "Alex." Pike notices him standing in the doorway. "Come, join us, don't be shy." Alex would have snorted at the mear thought of him being shy, but he decided against it, he didn't want to appear egotistical.
"What's for lunch?" Alex asks as he sits down beside Rolf, almost immediately the family house elf popped in and placed a beautiful salad in front of him. He could never get over how much the French put into their meals. Alex always eats here at the mansion together with the family and lunch is always four courses. The first is a starter course today is salad, but others it could be soup. After this course is the main course, which is followed up with dessert, and then the fourth unofficial course is a cup of coffee. Everything is fresh and comes right from either the town or from their property itself. The fish come from the pond, the fruit from the field and the vegetable from the garden. Everything in France is always so much more elaborate, but Alex doesn't mind, it's nice to have an elaborate moment once in a while.
"Your uncle was just telling me about the Common Welsh Green dragons that he is sending to the reservation in Romania. He said the man had been breeding them illegally for years and keeping them in small cages." Emmeleia had come to love magical creatures almost as much as her husband, but when it came to Scamanders it was hard not to fall for their creatures.
"What did you do? With the man I mean?"
"Well, breeding is illegal in France. Dragons, as beautiful as they are, they're dangerous and only professionals should handle them, but my job is with the creatures, not the wizards. The ministry will find a fit punishment and I am going to be joining a few other wizards with the task of bringing the rescued dragons to Romania."
"How many are there, dad?" Rolf asks his attention now on his father and not on his own expedition.
"I counted six, but there could very be more. Five of my fellow coworkers will be bringing three of the ones we found to Romania, while me and another will stay behind and check the area more thoroughly before bringing the final three to Romania."
"What if you do find more?" Belle speaks up.
"Well, then, I'll contact the ones who went ahead and they'll come back and together all seven of us will bring the rest."
"Is it dangerous?" Rolf asks.
"Not if you know what to do and have been trained."
"When do you think you'll be heading out, love?" Emmeleia asks as she takes a sip of her wine.
"It should take a few days for us to prepare for our trip, I will be here for the dinner with your folk." Pike assures, squeezing his wife's hand.
"If you can't attend, I'm sure they'll understand."
"I will." Pike looks over at Alex then. "Which reminds me. I have a favor to ask you."
"If it's about Belle, Rolf already informed me and I will be more than happy to get her situated in London and on the Hogwarts Express."
"That'd be very helpful, thank you, Alex." Alex smiles as he finishes off his salad. The house elf reappeared and waves the dishes away and replaces them with baked scrod with cheesy mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and a small bowl of fresh fruit, normally fruit wasn't apart of the main dish, but Alex's family loved fresh fruit and they if they had craving they'd make every course have fruit with it.
"When we finish our meal, the three of you should pack. You all will be leaving tomorrow." Emmeleia looked saddened by that fact. "Soon my home will be empty." Pike gives a loving smile towards his wife, squeezing her hand once more.
"They'll be back before you know it." Emmeleia eyes filled with tears as she looked at her oldest.
He has grown up so much. I remember when he was just a baby. A little patch of fuzzy red hair, tiny little fingers….
Alex felt a wave of pain fill him. "May I be excused." Pike and Emmeleia look over at Alex suddenly with worry.
"Are you okay, Alex?" Emmeleia asks.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine, I just… I don't feel so good."
"Of course. Go and get some rest. You don't want to be sick on your trip back to London tomorrow." Pike says. Alex was up and out of the room the second Pike finished speaking. It was hard to be around them sometimes. He tried to stay indifferent, but it was hard. His own father was rotting behind bars, while Alex's mother was still locking herself in her room at night and crying herself to sleep. It was hard to be indifferent to the happy family around him.