Chapter 8: A Period of Adjustment
1987
After Orion met his great-grandparents a new routine slowly formed. Whenever Remus needed someone to watch Orion, he would call upon Melania Black. The woman was always delighted to spend time with her great-grandson and she never refused when Remus asked if she would watch him. This coupled with the one day a week that Lord Black had demanded Remus send Orion to them meant that Orion spent at least three days of his week with his great-grandparents while Remus restored manuscripts and kept up with the managers of the stores.
It was a system that had allowed Remus more freedom to dive into his work or to have time to just himself. He didn't know what to do with the time alone. The first mandatory day that he had to take Orion to visit with Lord and Lady Black he had gone home and cleaned the house. It had only taken him an hour since he and Orion kept the house very tidy. By the third hour, he had been struck by a deep feeling of loneliness and longing. He missed his little boy and just wanted to go grab him and bring him home.
Slowly, as the months passed, Remus began to come up with things to do during the day that Orion spent with his great-grandparents. He reread old books that he hadn't had much time to relax and enjoy over the last few years. He came up with little repair projects that he could do to their little home. He took up more hours in the shops. Anything that kept him occupied and his mind from worrying too much about his cub he did it.
That Orion adored his grandma Melania and loved spending time with her, helped soothe some of Remus' concerns. Orion always returned from a visit with Lord and Lady Black full of happy stories that Melania shared with him and smelling of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
It was becoming easier to share Orion with others. It had been just the two of them for years with Remus only occasionally trusting others to watch over Ori. He had thought that he would not be able to stand having his little boy out of his sight and that had been the case at first, but it had gotten easier with time and with every story that his little boy told him. Orion was flourishing now that his circle of friends had expanded to Leonis and the other children of House Black. There were more adults to take care of him, to help ease the load for Remus when his responsibilities to his clients tugged him in one direction yet his desire to spend time with his little boy tugged him the other way. He still preferred to spend time with Orion, but now it hurt less to allow Melania to watch over his son. Orion adored her, and she adored him. His boy was happy. Happier than he had ever seen him.
That was worth everything to Remus.
Ascella stole glanced at Remus Lupin as she artfully arranged the new books in the storefront window. They had a new book about Dragon's out by the great Dragonologist Dragomir Krum. She stared at the book cover for a moment. It was a pretty green leather that attempted to imitate the Welsh Green Dragonhide, but of course, the book would be outrageously expensive if it were made of the real Dragonhide. It looked pretty on its stand but she felt it needed a little ascetic to go with it.
She smiled when she realized exactly what was needed. With a flick of her wand, she summoned two of the little dragon stuffed animals that they had gotten in just that morning.
"I'm under attack!" Thierry japed as the two dragons zoomed right past his head.
"Sorry," she called out. "I should have warned you," she admitted with an apologetic tone.
"At least they were stuffed and not the heavy tome of books that Leandre summoned last week," Thierry said as he came over to her to see what she was doing with the dragons. He watched as she arranged them around the book.
"Well?" She asked when she had completed the look.
Thierry nodded once. "I like it. Adults and children alike will enjoy the book but seeing the stuffed toys beside it will draw the kids toward the cute toys and might likewise entice adults to buy the toys for their kids."
"Yes, that is just what I thought," Ascella declared.
Thierry smiled at her before he left to go back to where he was stacking books in the bargain books section. They had marked down several historical novels and art books recently and Thierry had made it his task that day to move them to the bargain books section and get them set up.
Ascella stole another glance at Remus Lupin and sighed softly. There was just something about her boss that drew her in and captured her attention. He was a kind man, professional in his business dealings, and a devoted father. She had liked Remus Lupin when she had sat down for the job interview to work in his shop. By the end of a day of watching him juggle work in the shop and time with his son, well, she was head of heels in love with Remus Lupin.
She didn't suffer any delusions about her situation. She was probably doomed to a broken heart. Remus Lupin was devoted to his son and his work. He was devoted to the memory of his son's dead mother. Sylvia de Rais' portrait hung upstairs now in the café staring down upon them all. She had seen the way Remus looked at the portrait. The longing in his eyes, the love all too clear. He still loved the woman, despite her having been gone from this world for many years already.
He was always going to love Sylvia. That didn't necessarily bother her. Many men and women suffered the loss of their beloved only to find love again. Sylvia seemed like a good woman whose memory should be cherished and loved. She didn't want to replace Sylvia in Remus' heart or the heart of Orion. She just wanted a place there just for her. She didn't know Sylvia, but she was willing to know all they would share about her. She was willing to honor the woman too.
She looked away from Remus and refocused herself, forcing herself to get back to work. The front window was not going to decorate itself. She had been given the task by Remus because he believed that she would create something pretty to showcase the books. She wasn't going to let him down. She gently lifted the second book that she was meant to showcase. It was a pretty color in a lovely lavender shade with rose petal grooves in the leather.
She thumbed through the book briefly to get an idea of what the book was about. She soon made up her mind to set one of the books aside for her to purchase. It was a book about the Language of Flowers and the many meanings as compiled and written by Lilac Deverge. Ascella was absolutely smitten with the book. Furthermore, she knew that her mother would like it as well.
'In second thought, put aside two books to purchase,' she told herself. Oh, she could loan her book to her mother, but then she would never get it back. Her mother was notorious for forgetting to give back books that Ascella loaned her.
She set the book on the pedestal and then she looked to the old decoration that had been beside the pedestal. They had used some fake ivy last time for the Herbology book that they had promoted last month. She transfigured the ivy to look like pretty lavender roses and gently organized them to surround the book without obscuring the view of the book. When she was finished it looked like the book was cradled on a bed of roses. She was once again pleased with the outcome. She just hoped that Remus would like it.
She stole another glance toward her boss who was now hard at work setting up the dragon stuffed animals in the children's section of the store. She watched him work for a few moments with a gentle smile curving her lips. She could just imagine him with a younger Orion, carefully helping the boy pick up his toys and organizing them properly on a shelf.
She shook herself again, forcing herself back to work. The last thing she needed was for Thierry to catch her stargazing at Remus. He had noticed her affection for their boss a few months ago and he had taken to teasing her, though always when Remus couldn't hear him. She was grateful for that. The young man was acting like a younger brother and Ascella adored him. She had always wanted a younger brother.
The final book was the fifth book in a series of mystery novels. The book, "The Mystery at Blackstone Moor" looked intriguing. The cover showed an image of a man with a wand raised. A Lumos light shone from the wand and in the darkness behind him, lurking was a dark image of a grim with glowing red eyes.
She shivered at the image. Thierry liked this book series, so she resolved to also put a copy aside for her to purchase for Thierry. Her pseudo brother deserved some spoiling. Heaven knew that his parents were not going to do it. They detested that he was a rare male Veela and never let him forget that they were disappointed with him.
She would think them specist but they were thrilled that his younger sisters were Veela as well. Instead, they were gender-biased and she just wanted to take Thierry away to live with her.
She blinked at that. "Now that's a good idea," she murmured thoughtfully. Thierry was of age. He was seventeen and could leave his parent's home. They held no authority over him any longer. She should offer them to become roommates. She owned her home. It had been a gift from her father when she had turned seventeen. He had bought houses for her older sisters as well when each of them had turned seventeen. She had plenty of space for a roommate. She smiled at the thought and resolved to ask him after work.
She placed the book on the pedestal and glanced longingly toward the dragon stuffed animals. She wished that she had a few stuffed black dogs to put near the book but alas, they didn't. She decided to put black satin material on the pedestal for the book to rest against and after playing with the drape and fall of the fabric for a moment she decided that this would be good enough. It was a popular series; the book probably didn't need an eye-catching aesthetic to help draw attention to it.
She glanced toward Remus again and watched as he dropped one of the stuffed dragons. She giggled at the look of consternation that he gave the stuffed toy even as she approached to help him. "I finished the storefront. It's just waiting for your approval, boss," she told him in a tone that was light and flirty. She wasn't sure when she had started to call him boss, but he had blushed the first time she had said it and she had determined to use the title to address him more often. "I can help you here," she added even as she picked up the stuffed dragon and held it up for him to take. Their fingers brushed for a moment and she fought down the shiver that raced through her.
Goodness! She really was in trouble if a simple brushing of his fingers over hers could cause her such a spike of arousal.
She looked away from him with a blush suffusing her cheeks even as she went to the other stool and stood upon it so that she could reach the high shelf. She flicked her wand to levitate several little stuffed dragons and then guided them to the shelf. Once they landed she arranged them side by side. She gave a pat to the Welsh Green and heard a chuckle from Remus. She turned to look at him in question and watched in amusement as he held up a hand in peace, as though he thought she might attack him for laughing.
His blue eyes were alight with amusement as he watched her. "I meant no offense. I just thought it was cute that you pet the Welsh Green," he said simply.
She smiled at him. "It is my favorite. The Welsh Green is highly intelligent and is a gentle creature," at his dubious look she laughed. "For a dragon that is."
He nodded his understanding. "May I ask where Orion is this day?" she asked as they continued to work together to set up the new set of toys and new children's books in the children's section.
"He's with his great-grandmother for the day. I'm to pick him up later tonight, after dinner," he explained.
"I see. And does he like spending time with Lady Black?" she asked Remus with a smile curving her lips as she imagined her distant cousin frolicking in the halls of the Chateau Noir.
"He does," Remus responded and then he narrowed his eyes at her. "Though I don't recall ever telling you that Lady Black was his Great-Granddame."
His tone had grown cautious and a bit cold toward her. Ascella didn't like that, she didn't like that at all. "I'm sorry, I thought you already knew," she began carefully as she finished organizing books by author and title on a shelf. She gave Remus the full of her attention and winced when she saw amber bleeding into the blue of his eyes. She wasn't afraid of the wolf, not really. The amber meant that he was angry though. The change in his eye color only ever happened near the full moon or when Remus was angry.
"Knew what exactly?" he asked her pointedly.
"My full name is Ascella Blasine Black," she told him, refusing to look away from his eyes, meeting his gaze head-on. "I'm the youngest daughter of Monsieur Acamar Black II and Madame Melusine Black née Delamere."
Remus stared at her for another moment, processing what she said, and then she watched the amber bleed out of his beautiful blue eyes. He ran a hand over his face and then looked at her again and nodded. "I should have realized," he said after a moment. "Your name is a celestial name which the Black family is renowned for. Also, your eyes are gray, which seems to be a Black family trait as well. Though to be fair not every gray-eyed person can claim lineage from your family."
She nodded her agreement. "True, but most Witches and Wizards in Europe who have gray eyes can trace their lineage back to a Black at some point," she pointed out.
He chuckled at that. "Why did you not tell me you were a Black? Why the subterfuge?"
She blushed. "I..well, I had one interview before I decided to try with De Rais. The man was a bit, let's just say he was judgmental about giving a job to me because of my family. He insisted that a beautiful woman like me who came from money didn't have to work. He didn't seem to understand that I wanted to work. I wanted the experience of working for my wages and earning my own money myself. I didn't know if you would behave the same way, but I wanted the job and I didn't think I could take the risk that you would judge me for being an heiress of House Black."
Remus smiled at her. "Fair enough. And you thought that I had it all figured out well before now, so it wasn't that you were keeping it from me, because you thought I knew."
She nodded in agreement.
"Alright, no harm was done," he said.
Ascella smiled in relief as she got back to work. She started humming as she organized books, never noticing the fond smile that Remus Lupin kept casting her way.
Orion liked Cygnus Black the third of his name. He liked the man's cunning smile and mischievous eyes. He felt safe with Cygnus even though he knew that he wasn't really a good person. Cygnus had done bad things, things that haunted him, things that he was being punished for. He didn't know how he knew all of that, he just did.
There were times when Cygnus was visiting the Chateau Noir and he watched Orion play that he noticed the bittersweet expression in Cygnus' eyes. Melancholy sometimes haunted the man. He had thought to ask him about it, but he was scared. He wasn't scared that Cygnus would yell at him or hurt him, but he was very much afraid that Cygnus would retreat into the isolation that he had existed in for several years. Draco had told him all about it, how his grandpa Cygnus had rarely come to family events but he was coming now. Cygnus was being more open with his family and Draco enjoyed spending time with his maternal grandfather. Orion didn't want to ask him uncomfortable questions and the man retreat into his previous isolation. Draco would miss him. Orion would miss him too.
Grandmere Melania told him that Cygnus had lost a lot of his loved ones and he had taken their deaths hard. Orion could understand that. His papa Remus was still haunted by the death of his mother, Sylvia de Rais. There were times when Remus watched him play that the same bittersweet longing rested in his eyes too. Grandmere had told him about Cygnus' losses as they were her losses too.
Cygnus had lost Walburga Black, his sister.
Cygnus had lost Alphard Black, his brother.
Cygnus had lost Regulus Black, his nephew, and godchild.
Cygnus had lost Orion Black I, his best friend.
Orion didn't know which loss pained Cygnus the most, but he was determined to make the man laugh and to make the man smile as much as he possibly could because he liked him and the man made him feel safe even though he was a man who had done terrible things.
I have had this written and ready for edit for a month. The chaos of Harvest festivals and other various family events kept me from my goal of creating a writing, editing, and posting schedule. Perhaps I shall embark on that dream again as a New Years Resolution! In any case I hope that everyone enjoys this installment of Winterwolf. Until next time...