IMPORTANT: Please make sure you've read chapter 12 before you read this one! Because of a glitch it looks like a lot of people weren't able to access the new chapter when I uploaded it on Tuesday. So if you missed it, this is your cue to go back and read the previous chapter!
Chapter 13: The Spy (pt. 2)
It was the valet.
That was the first thought through Remus's mind the moment he came to. He breathed in deeply, a sound like a startled gasp leaving him as the second thing he realised was that he was sitting upright and tied to a chair by what felt like a lot of thin, invisible ropes coiled like snakes around his arms, torso, and legs, keeping him well and truly trapped in place.
Princess Jophiel was standing a little ways off, the wand in her hand suggesting she had been the one to cast the Rennervate on him. A surreptitious glance to the side revealed that Magnus the valet was standing in front of the closed door, blocking his only exit.
He supposed he could jump out of the window if he somehow managed to find a way out of his bindings, but this was the second-floor study, so it would be a bit of a fall. There also wouldn't be much to hide behind once he was outside as this was the back of the house… just a long run to the edge of the woods, and Remus didn't like the sound of that. His captors would have a clear shot at his back, and one of them had already proved himself a quick shot.
But what other choice did he have?
The fireplace was lit, so he could escape through the Floo Network, if he could make it there. Not without any Floo powder though, and definitely not while he was still tied to this chair.
The sound of movement brought his attention back to Princess Jophiel, who was standing closer now.
It had never occurred to him that a woman of her age could cut such an imposing figure – she was an unusually tall woman even under normal circumstances, but the effect seemed amplified now that he had to crane his neck just to see her face. She was practically towering over him.
And oh, that was not a friendly expression.
"Hello, Dellucci. Do tell me – when is your birthday?"
The question struck him as odd, at least for the split second before his mouth opened by itself and gave her the answer. Then, he was filled with a sudden sense of dread.
Oh no.
Oh no – no no no – oh shit. He was done for.
Princess Jophiel smiled, "Did no one ever tell you? My cook also happens to be a Master potion-maker. A drop of Veritaserum will have even the best liars telling the truth in no time. Though if you prefer some good old-fashioned torture, we could always resort to that…" Seeing him try to pat himself down in hopes of maybe finding his wand, his captor's smile only widened. "Your wand's safe with me, Dellucci. Not that you'll be needing it. What is your real name, anyway?"
Clamping his mouth shut was useless. His lips moved, and the words slipped out anyway.
"Remus Lupin."
"Is it really? Well then, Lupin. While we're waiting for our guest of honour to arrive, how about I make your situation a little more clear to you?"
She waved her wand and a chair appeared out of thin air, which she sat down in. Another flick of her wand and a small, circular table had appeared next to the chair. With the third, a silver platter appeared with thereon a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses. She poured herself a glass and took a sip, looking very much like she was getting ready for a show.
This struck Remus as ominous.
"I would offer you a drink, but seeing as you a bit tied up at the moment, I think you'll have a hard time drinking it. Anyway – to get to the point – I'm sure you recall that contract you signed when my butler hired you? You should know that as a servant to the royal family – as my servant – you get to enjoy a couple of the benefits that come with that status. Of course, it isn't all benefits. You see, for as long as you work for me and your contract is valid, you are beholden to me. You are to keep my secrets and not do anything that may bring shame onto my name… and by conspiring with a foreign power to spy on our Princess, not to mention giving him information about my private life, you have betrayed me."
She put her glass down on the table, folded her hands neatly on her lap, and then said serenely:
"Do you know what we do to traitors, Dellucci…?"
Remus never did get to find out what the Red Kingdom did to traitors, because just then the flames in the fireplace lit up green and a newcomer stepped out of it. All at once, Remus's blood ran cold.
It was the Crown Prince of the Red Kingdom – definitely looking disgruntled and unhappy to be here.
"This better be an emergency, Great-Aunt Jophiel – I'm missing my daughter's birthday party."
"Oh don't worry, I think you'll find what I have for you worth the inconvenience."
At this, Prince Asriel finally turned to look at Remus. Remus couldn't see his eyes, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the Crown Prince's gaze on him. Cold and calculating.
It sent another shiver down his spine.
"Who's that?"
"His name is Remus Lupin apparently – he's been spying on me since early on in June. He and that English meddler, Albus Dumbledore, seem to be under the impression that you have kidnapped your daughter and that she isn't your child by blood at all."
"Are they now…?" Both royals turned to look at him, "And how did you two come to that conclusion, then?"
Remus's mouth opened, and to his horror, the words started to spill out of his mouth without his consent once more. He told them everything: about Charlie's memories and his plan to find Rose through Princess Jophiel.
When he finally had no more to say, the room fell quiet.
"So it was the kid at the dragon sanctuary…" The Crown Prince mused, now twirling a knife around his fingers with disconcerting ease. His great-aunt's eyebrow twitched.
"So it is true… but what happened, then? I had figured out she was the same girl, but there was nothing in any of Dumbledore's letters about how you did it, Asriel."
Feeling a sudden rush of bravery fuelled by anger – he wasn't even going to deny it, the bloody bastard! – Remus's whole body fought against his restraints while he spat out:
"Does it really matter?! He kidnapped her!" He nodded at the Crown Prince, "He stole Rose Potter from right under her aunt and uncle's noses and then pretended she'd been his all along!"
"I wasn't addressing you, Dellucci." Princess Jophiel said icily, "And you'd do well to remember yourself – you're addressing royalty."
"No, no," Her great-nephew raised his hand to stop hers. Princess Jophiel lowered her wand, although reluctantly. "Let him talk. What other inane slander has Albus Dumbledore been spreading about the Prince?"
"It's not inane! It's all true, and we have the evidence to back it up!" Belatedly, Remus relaised that getting into an argument while under Veritaserum was definitely not a good idea. It was the same as not having a filter: he just said everything that came to his mind – he'd been tricked. Which only intensified his anger, "You bribed and brainwashed Rose's relatives! You're a serial killer! Well – well I have news for you – Dumbledore knows where I am, and if I don't report back he'll know where to start looking! You won't get away with this!"
"A little brave for a man at our mercy, isn't he…?" Princess Jophiel clicked her tongue, "What is Dumbledore planning to do with Princess Hel anyway? Surely he doesn't think there's any place she'll get a better upbringing and education? We're practically doing you lot a favour."
Dumbledore?
He wanted Rose back with her aunt and uncle, of course. The idea didn't seem to impress either royal:
"That the same aunt and uncle who contacted the Prince after an unexpected visit from Dumbledore a while back to make sure he had no intention whatsoever of returning their niece to them? They're perfectly happy with their life as it is, without Hel in it."
… What?
That couldn't be, Dumbledore had said they'd be willing to take Rose in.
"As for your accusations, peasant, the Prince didn't bribe or brainwash anybody. The Dursleys signed the papers willingly – and as relatives of my daughter's they are entitled to a small monthly allowance as per the laws of my Kingdom. It's a courtesy, not a bribe."
Oh…
So the Dursleys had only thought the money they were receiving on a monthly basis was a bribe, but it wasn't that officially… despite serving pretty much the same purpose.
Remus winced. Dumbledore had been counting on being able to use that against them, but it didn't look like it was on the table after all.
"And," Remus started, paused to swallow, and then continued, realising that this might be his only chance, "And… the serial killer thing? Are you?"
"Ushishi~ you don't seem to understand how interrogations work, peasant. But the Prince will humour you – it's a fun question…" The knife he'd been twirling came to an abrupt stop, and without warning, he suddenly threw it. Remus flinched and closed his eyes, expecting pain, but the blade just grazed him – when he dared open his eyes again, the blade was embedded in the back of his chair, just a hair's width away from the skin next to his eye. The Crown Prince of the Red Kingdom sounded downright cheerful when he spoke next: "Serial killer is not the word the Prince would go for. But it is true that he's killed a lot of people – some of them just for fun – so make of that what you will."
Remus shivered, now whishing he'd never asked at all.
Or that he'd at least gotten the chance to tell Dumbledore about the Ripper murders. The Red Kingdom and their Crown Prince were much more dangerous than they could have feared, and the headmaster was going to need all the help he could get if he hoped to save Rose.
Dear Merlin – poor Rose! She was stuck with this madman. Had been for six years, being raised by a serial killer! Did she know? No, no, she couldn't possibly – she had looked so happy in Charlie's memories. She wasn't afraid of Prince Asriel, she clearly liked him.
The thought broke his heart.
"We all have our vices." Princess Jophiel said dryly, breaking him out of his thoughts, "Now that all of that tiresome talk is out of the way, will you tell us what's really going on Asriel? How did the Princess end up with you?"
"The Prince adopted her. By blood and magic, and once more on paper just to be thorough."
"Perfectly legitimate then." Princess Jophiel mused, "Not bad. But how did you find her?"
Remus was interested in finding out about that too. But the answer wasn't what he'd been expecting-
"By complete chance." The Prince shrugged, "She'd been left on her aunt and uncle's doorstep the night after Halloween, and the Prince just happened to walk by. If Dumbledore hadn't wanted somebody to find the baby, he should have knocked on the door and delivered her to the Dursleys himself."
What…?
No – no, that couldn't be.
That was a lie – it had to be – Dumbledore wouldn't-
"So you just decided to pick her up and adopt her? But why?" Princess Jophiel asked, sounding equally as baffled as Remus felt right now, "Surely not out of the goodness of your heart…"
The Prince snorted, "Of course not. At the time, Rose Potter was merely a convenient solution."
"Solution…? Oh yes, yes of course – that would have been around the time my brother was trying to pressure you to get married. So you provided him with an Heir… no, not just an Heir. You provided him with an Heir who could bring back magic to the ruling line."
"Couldn't say no to that." Prince Asriel agreed easily, sounding pleased with himself. He turned to look at Remus next, still smiling that mocking smile of his, "If your Ministry wanted to know what happened to Rose Potter, all they had to do was ask. Not our fault they never connected the dots. We have nothing to hide – the adoption is perfectly legal and above-board, and we have the paperwork to prove it. The Prince has not told a single lie, but can Dumbledore say the same for himself?"
On this note, the conversation seemed to be over, and Remus realised with a daunting chill that it only left one question to be answered:
What to do with the spy?
They didn't have any use for him.
Was this it?
Was he going to die?
He watched fearfully as Prince Asriel walked over, grabbed the knife he'd thrown earlier by the hilt, and pulled it out of its resting place on the chair. He was no longer smiling.
"Asriel, wait. Don't kill him quite yet."
Remus released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Princess Jophiel had stood up. She was eyeing him with a calculative gaze.
"What?"
"We could use him. I've met Dumbledore before. That man will be nothing but a thorn in your side if you kill his spy now – do you really need the added pressure when you're making plans to move? There will be a right time to wage war, Asriel, but sometimes it's better to stay your blade."
"And what do you propose we do instead? Have him spy for us?"
"Certainly, our own spies have been having a hard time getting close to Dumbledore. He doesn't trust them like he would someone who went to his school, someone he already believes he has in his pocket. He's an influential man – it might not be so bad to have Dumbledore dancing to our tune instead."
The Prince considered this for a moment, and then snickered.
"You're a cunning old hag, has anyone told you that before?"
"On occasion," Princess Jophiel said simply, then turned to look at Remus, "What do you say, Dellucci? Tired of being Dumbledore's lapdog yet? You can be ours instead."
"It's that or death, ushishi~ your choice."
Wasn't much of a choice, but Remus was intent on living. He had to – James and Lily would never forgive him if he left Rose behind. He'd never forgive himself.
So he nodded.
"Excellent. Our King will be pleased. And you can start proving yourself right now – Dumbledore will need to be convinced to leave Princess Hel alone. I trust you're alright with this, Asriel?"
The Crown Prince agreed.
"How long will that truth potion last?"
"Another half hour at least." Princess Jophiel said, glancing at the time, "Why?"
"I've wasted enough time here – I'm getting back to Hel's party. Can I count on you to continue the interrogation by yourself? I want to know everything you can find out about him."
"I'm sure I can manage that, My Prince."
"Good. The Prince will have some Varia drive down to pick the peasant up in about half an hour. They'll wait as long as need be."
Varia!
That's what the reporter had said!
But before Remus could even think of anything to say, the Prince had stepped into the green flames, and they engulfed him.
…
In the end the interrogation took something more like two hours, with Princess Jophiel deciding to take a break on the first half hour mark so a new dose of Veritaserum could be brought up and fed to him.
She had taken particular interest in him admitting he was a werewolf, and that Dumbledore had let him attend Hogwarts despite that. How none of his fellow students had known anything about the danger they might potentially be in, and that none of their parents had been informed either. She had taken even more interest in the Prank, and the fact that a student had almost been attacked once – scribbling this all down on a roll of parchment and looking very much like a woman who'd just uncovered a goldmine of dirt on her enemy.
Which she had, admittedly. If the Red Kingdom decided to use that against Dumbledore – Remus didn't even want to think about it. It was all his fault.
By the time it was all over, Remus's mouth was dry and Princess Jophiel was curling and uncurling the fingers of her dominant hand like they were stiff from all the writing. They probably were; that was several parchments' worth of confessions she'd managed to gather… and Remus had no doubt she'd be taking them straight to Prince Asriel the moment she'd seen him out the door.
"Magnus," The Princess addressed the valet, who was still standing in attention by the door and had done ever since Remus had woken up, "Release Dellucci and escort him outside, would you? Asriel's people will take over from here. Oh, and give them this-" She opened her drawer and removed Remus's wand, which she handed over to Magnus before returning to her rolls of parchment, taking out her own wand to wave it over the text and make the ink dry faster.
The valet released Remus from his bindings without a word, grabbing him by the arm with a warning look, before leading him out of the room.
The promised car was waiting for them on the gravel road outside, under the shade of a large weeping willow…
Five people were there. They were all dressed in the same black uniform as Prince Asriel had been, and looked like they'd been sitting there for a while. Two were sitting on the ground, playing a game of cards, while one was sitting on the roof of the car and reading a book, the fourth and fifth ones just talking to each other. They all glanced up as Remus came outside.
The car ride was relatively short, if still incredibly tense, and so Remus was back in front of his flat within half an hour. As the five Varia walked him from the car to his apartment building – him in the middle with one Varia on each side of him, two behind, and one in front of him – everyone seemed to suddenly be giving them a wide berth.
It made Remus wonder, once again, what the Varia even was.
Some kind of a cult?
A Mafia…?
Whatever it was, people seemed to know about it. Gianni happened to be leaving his flat just as they had reached the top of the stairs. He did a double take. Remus tried to catch his eye but Gianni only looked at him like he'd just seen a ghost for a second before quickly averting his gaze and hurrying down the stairs without another look backwards.
It left Remus feeling very much alone.
Then he unlocked the door to his apartment, the Varia pushed him inside with a sheet of instructions, warned him that they would know if he tried to make a run for it, and closed the door behind him.
The moment he was alone, Remus felt his legs turn to jelly. Suddenly feeling like he could no longer support his own weight, he slid down to sit on the floor, exhausted. He didn't realise he was trembling until he took a look at his hands and found them shaking.
He'd messed up.
He'd messed up so bad he wasn't sure how Dumbledore could ever fix this.
But Remus had to tell him – Dumbledore had to know what he was up against. It was so much worse than they'd initially feared. Prince Asriel was dangerous – but he was also brilliant, shrewd, and absolutely terrifying.
He had to tell Dumbledore.
But how was he supposed to do that? He was sure he wasn't going to be able to slip it into the letter Prince Asriel wanted him to write – or any of the future ones, now that he knew for sure that they were going to be closely monitored – and a peek out the window revealed he wouldn't just be able to climb out of there and make a run for it. There were Varia stationed outside every possible exit, and he didn't even have his wand.
If this didn't count as an emergency, Remus didn't know what did.
Walking into the bedroom, he opened the battered closet. On the top shelf, hidden behind several smaller, stacked boxes and a spell to make it hard to notice, was the package Dumbledore had entrusted him with at the start of his mission.
Remus picked it up and put it down on the floor – he had no idea what it was, but Dumbledore had said he should only use it if he ever found himself in a dire situation and needed to escape. He'd half been expecting a portkey, charmed to activate the moment someone touched it, but what he found when he unwrapped the several layers of paper wrapped around the package was…
Not that at all.
It was-
But… how-?
Why did Dumbledore have this?
Remus ripped the rest of the paper with growing desperation and grabbed the fabric – unwilling to believe it – but it was exactly the same as he remembered it. The texture, the colour – the silver clasp. It was James's invisibility cloak, the same one the marauders had huddled under to pull off so many pranks. The same one James, Peter, and Black had used to sneak out of the castle and into the Shrieking Shack so they could transform into their animal forms and be with him during the full moon.
Why did Dumbledore have it?
Had James given it to him before he died? But… but if that was the case, why had Dumbledore not said anything?
This belonged in the Potter vault, along with all of the Potters' other valuables. Or at least, it belonged in Rose's hands. It was a family heirloom.
Why hide it?
… Why lie about leaving Rose on her aunt and uncle's doorstep that night?
Had the Crown Prince really been telling the truth about that? Even if he had, why was Dumbledore the one who got to decide what happened to Rose? Black being on a one way trip to Azkaban, and Alice Longbottom being admitted to St. Mungo's… Rose hadn't had any godparents to take her in. Although related to the Blacks through her grandmother, Petunia Evans had in fact been her closest living relative.
Her going there… made sense.
But why did Dumbledore get to make that call?
Why did he want to send her back, if the Crown Prince of the Red Kingdom was adamant that her relatives didn't want her back?
Remus had been too consumed by his grief to really think about these things at the time, but now they all came rushing back to him – one painful hit at a time. He looked back down at the cloak in his hands and that was the final nail in the coffin.
He folded the cloak back up again, put it back on the shelf, and made his way back to the living room. The table was stacked high with issues of newspapers new and old, just one small spot left clear, where he usually ate his meals. He sat down there and unfolded the instructions the hooded Varia had given him, reading through it. Then he grabbed a roll of parchment, ink, and a quill… and got to work.
Convincing Dumbledore to leave the Red Kingdom alone would not be a quick or easy task. I would take weeks if not months of subtle changes to his reports before he could just start pushing for what the Crown Prince wanted. And even then it would have to be done in small steps, otherwise risk being too obvious.
Dumbledore was no idiot, and Remus changing all of his views and suddenly proclaiming his support for the Red Kingdom would be very suspicious.
But he could start small – comment on how Prince Asriel was treating Rose well, and that she was well-protected. Then he could eventually work up to the bigger arguments, the ones Dumbledore was most likely to care about, and for which he might still reconsider.
That the Red Kingdom would serve them better as an ally than an enemy.
That they would aid their fight against Voldemort, because with Rose as their future Queen, they had a vested interest in keeping her safe.
The enemy of my enemy, and all that.
Yes… that might just work.
Of course, it wasn't like Remus suddenly trusted Prince Asriel. But it wasn't his side he was going to be fighting on from this moment onward anyway. And it wasn't Dumbledore's either.
No – it was Rose's.
By the time he had finished writing, light was dwindling. The sun was setting, casting its warm, fading rays through the blinds. With how much had happened since then, that morning felt like a thousand years away… but he was pleased with the report.
Remus took a moment to rub his eyes, to yawn, and then he got up form the table, folded the parchment in half the same way he usually did, and secured it with a piece of string. He walked over to the door and opened it. The Varia standing there turned around to look at him.
They were the shortest of the group, wearing a hood over their head that covered their eyes, two purple triangular shapes peeking out from under it. Remus couldn't tell if the person in front of him was a boy or a girl, but he knew their name was Mammon, and that they held the rank of 'Officer'.
He'd heard them be addressed that way in the car.
"Here." He said, holding out the letter, "This is the finished report – let me know if His Highness wants me to change something about it."
Mammon regarded him for a moment… then took the letter, unfolded it, and started reading. When they were done, they folded it back up again.
"That will do just fine." They said, "And just so you know – the invisibility cloak wouldn't have saved you. So good on you for doing the smart thing."
Remus swallowed.
He gathered his courage to ask a question of his own.
"Is there any possibility I could talk to your Prince? Without being interrogated this time?"
Mammon's lips twitched upwards, as though they found what he'd just said funny.
"Bel's one of us, but he's not our prince. And I don't do pro-bono work, so you'll have to pay me if you want that message relayed. Anything else, Lupin?"
Well, since they had asked…
"What is the Varia anyway?"
At this, Mammon's lips twitched upwards.
"Didn't anyone tell you? We're assassins."
…
There was another full moon soon after that, which unfortunately meant that it was almost a week into August before Remus was well enough to actually meet Prince Asriel. Or Belphegor… as this was the name he apparently went by at work and in muggle company.
Not that Remus had met him at work that day: the Prince had instead shown up at his flat without preamble, to ask what Remus wanted and to finalise the entire servant-spy situation once and for all.
That had been a stressful visit – but he'd told the Crown Prince what he'd meant to, making his intentions clear. That he was doing this for Rose, and that he was on her side and her side only. Which Belphegor had seemed to find perfectly agreeable as his previous contract with Princess Jophiel was terminated and they signed up a new one which made Princess Hel his employer.
Along with that, Remus had also agreed to take a vow of silence – both to protect Rose, and to protect the Varia's secrets, as he'd be moving in and working there until the move happened. Where the Prince and an unknown number of other assassins could keep an eye on him.
Now that was a daunting thought.
Before the Prince left, Remus also asked for permission to visit Rose.
To meet her.
He'd been prepared to grovel at Belphegor's feet if need be, but the Crown Prince had allowed it – on the condition that it be on his terms. And only if Rose wanted to meet him.
Another week later he'd gotten an owl with a date and hour for said meeting to take place.
So on the day itself, Remus woke up early. He swung by the local bakery to buy some snacks and at nine another Varia car – black with tinted windows, again – arrived to pick him up. They drove up the mountain leading towards the home of Princess Jophiel but took a different turn about halfway through, and after another half hour on the road they dropped him off in view of a castle, pointed at it, and told him to go up there and tell the Varia at the door his name and that he was there to see the Princess.
The castle – Rose lived in an honest-to-Merlin castle, and it was filled with assassins, what the hell – loomed in the distance, growing somehow more intimidating with every step Remus took in its direction. Remus tightened his grip on the plastic bag in his hand, and continued onward.
The assassin at the door let him in and lead him upstairs, to a room on the second floor. Some kind of sitting room, although Remus's observation of it quickly came to an end when he realised he wasn't alone in the room.
The realisation hit him like a bag of rocks-
There she was: sitting on the red sofa closest to the window, next to a scarred man with red eyes.
It was her.
It was Rose – dressed in overall shorts with a white t-shirt underneath and wearing her hair up in two buns with ribbons woven through them. She'd been playing a game of cards against the man with the red eyes, which she abandoned with a huff – Remus guessed she wasn't winning – when the door opened.
"Remus Lupin is here, Princess."
"Oh. Thank you, Vor."
The man nodded wordlessly and Vor left the room, closing the door behind him. That left Remus to shuffle closer, suddenly feeling very awkward.
The last time he'd seen Rose she'd been a little over a year old. The girl in front of him had recently turned seven – despite everything he'd learned about her while working for Princess Jophiel, he still felt like he knew nothing about her.
And of course, she didn't even know him.
Right, introductions. That was a good idea.
"Hello." He smiled, holding out his hand, "I'm Remus Lupin."
Hel shot a glance at the man sitting next to her before reaching out to shake his hand. She introduced herself as Hel and the man as Xanxus – her godfather.
"It's good to meet you." He said as they sat down, Remus opposite of Rose, "Oh, and I brought this-" He held up the bag from the bakery and set it down on the table, "I heard you like raspberry?"
"What is it? Ohh, cake?" Her face lit up. The next moment Rose was jumping up and announcing that she was going to get them forks and a couple of plates to eat on. She ran out of the room and hollered for Vor.
This left Remus in the very uncomfortable position of being alone in the room with Xanxus. Was he also an assassin? He was wearing the uniform, so he had to be… honestly, the idea of assassins and a prince being part of a secret organisation of them still made his head hurt. It didn't feel real sometimes, but the holstered guns the man was carrying – definitely on display as a warning – looked very real indeed.
And now he couldn't stop thinking about them.
"So, um," Remus cleared his throat, "You're Rose's godfather…?"
"And you're the werewolf."
Ouch – he'd gone right for the jugular. Remus winced, but muttered his agreement.
The man rolled his eyes.
"I don't fucking care if you're a werewolf or a goddamn fairy, Lupin. But let me tell you one thing," Something changed in that moment, and Remus felt something pressing down on him – something furious and terrifying, something that threatened to swallow him whole; for a moment, Remus was sure he forgot how to breath, "I do care about that kid. So you harm one hair on her head… and you'll be wishing that old crone had just killed you. Got it, trash?"
The feeling subsided again, just as quickly and suddenly as it had overcome him.
With great difficulty, Remus swallowed… and nodded.
"Good. And just so you know – whatever I do to you, Bel will unleash tenfold."
And on that cheerful note Xanxus leaned back, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes… waiting for Rose to come back. It only took another minute or so, but it felt like so much longer.
"Here, this one's for you."
He accepted the plate and fork, managing a "thank you, Rose" although it came out weak. Rose frowned.
"My name is Hel now. Use it."
Remus blinked.
That had been an order, not a request.
…
Despite that bumpy start, Remus's first meeting with Rose - Hel, she went by Hel now - went well.
They spent two hours getting to know each other, and before he left, Remus gave her one more present. It wasn't really a present – the invisibility cloak had belonged to her father in the first place – but Hel was the rightful owner, and Remus didn't feel right keeping it.
In the end, the meeting had given him a lot to think about.
After talking to her properly, Remus now knew: Hel was going nowhere. Had Dumbledore tried to bring her back to England, she would have kicked, stabbed, bit, and screamed at him the whole way – and that wasn't even touching on the chilling mental image that was her family coming in guns blazing and blades slashing to retrieve her.
Because going by her words, stories, and anecdotes, that was absolutely what they were.
A mismatch of frankly bizarre and outlandish people who considered each other family, and would burn the entire world down for Hel. She didn't care that they were killers. And yes, she definitely knew about that – and about her father's fondness for bloodshed. Just like she knew about her adoption, which had never been kept a secret from her.
None of it mattered to her – Prince Belphegor was her papa, and the Varia her family. If Remus wanted to be a part of her life, he was going to have no choice but to learn and live with that.
Seeing as he'd be starting his new job as a full-time member of the Varia's staff next week, there'd be plenty of time to get used to the idea.
…
It was a week before the next full moon when an unfamiliar owl landed on the windowsill of Remus's flat. It was carrying a package – a rather large one, which Remus released the bird from and set down on his table.
Inside he found a smoking potion.
It smelled like wolfsbane.