Beta'd by the mighty Insane Scriptist.

And it's update week again!

Of staying in and going out

On Saturday it rained all day, in contrast to Friday which had been cloudy but dry. Xanxus didn't really mind; he'd had a fantastic day out with Dorea in the good weather, found out a few more things about himself as a Zabini –including that chasing his wife up and down twisty winding roads on his new motorbike appealed to the same parts of his brain that liked dancing with her– and was therefore fine to stay in and host half-a-dozen of the twins' future school friends. Oh and Fuuta, who seemed startlingly amenable to being minionised by Cassie. Not that anybody had used those words yet, but they fitted very well.

These were the same children Xanxus had first met at that long-ago cinema outing, although he now knew a lot more about them than their names and faces as he'd seen them several times since then and both Cassie and Marius talked a lot about their friends. Victoria Parkinson, daughter of Everett Parkinson the Lord Parkinson and his wife Delia –formerly of the Yaxley family– and her cousin Belladonna Yaxley –who went by Nox and answered to nothing else– who looked nothing like her due to both of them taking after their mothers in looks. Victoria was as tall, blonde and sturdy as Nox was small, dark and slim, but they had identical mannerisms and it was somewhat hilarious watching them react side by side.

Then there was Enoch Smith, whose great-great-great-uncle Xanxus had frightened to death in the Wizengamot, but who had made a point of assuring the Varia Boss that he didn't hold it against him. It rather hammered home that the family connections in Magical Britain were just as tangled and byzantine as in the Vongola Alliance; more so even, since it predated the Vongola by over half a millennium. Add in how long magicals could and did live and everything was just so much worse.

Perry Burke and Maria Hilliard were both far more peripheral to the levers of power, as Perry's father had married a newblood like Lawyer and Maria's had married an entirely non-magical woman. Maria's mother did know about magic, but that was more due to her having been a neighbour of her husband's growing up and having been peripheral to various magical childhood shenanigans, including a particularly memorable incident involving Charmed daisies. That had been a funny story; according to Jenny Hilliard, the explanation of 'yes, magic is real' had both made complete sense and been something of a relief.

Domenic Bole's parents were the closest in age to Xanxus –chronologically at least– as they had been in the same school year as Knight and married right out of school; Lucian and Beatrice were very friendly but also rather improvident. Lucian was a professional Quidditch player on a moderately successful team whose name Xanxus had immediately forgotten and Beatrice was cheerful but scatterbrained and tended to wander off and get lost due to having no sense of direction; she was however very personable and worked behind the counter in her father-in-law's furniture and upholstery shop.

Charlotte Page and Joshua Rickett hadn't been able to come today, but Xanxus knew there'd be other times.

Having nine six- and seven-year-olds –not including a handful of similarly-aged Stewarts– running about the house was surprisingly quiet, because there was just that much house to run around in. Xanxus hadn't seen any of them since lunchtime, despite having camped out in the ridiculously rococo sitting room with his Sabina paperwork so as to be readily accessible to his children if necessary.

Dorea was visiting the Magical district in Syracuse to see what old maps and census records she could find, since Sicily's various magical families mostly dated back to the Greek period and were therefore concentrated along the southern and eastern coast. Talk about set in their ways; Palermo had been the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily since the eleventh century! Either way, Dorea was hoping to find relevant documents since Primo had been a member of the Selinunte Family, who were fairly major in Magical Sicily, so there would probably be a record of where he'd lived and any land he had actually owned. Giotto had been a squib –inherently magical but unable to use a wand– and first-generation squibs were still subject to magical law in Sicily, so he would have had to pay tax, document his holdings and appoint an heir. Ricardo Vongola had been another first-generation squib, so there should be records of him as well. Probably under the name of 'Ricardo Zabini,' seeing as 'Vongola' was essentially a made-up name.

His wife had taken Daniela with her but Hector had been left to his Varia godfather for the day; Xanxus had no idea what Turk were getting up to with his younger son and didn't really care. The man was responsible, well-aware of the limitations of small children and still Quality, so Hector would be fine.

The quiet left him with plenty of time to go over the reports his various cousins had dropped off, as well as the historical and biological studies they'd dug up from wherever.

The current report was from the cabal of Curse specialists who'd been rounded up in response to his question about whether his father's wife's death might have been Curse-related; it had taken most of a year, but at least he had an answer now.

No. There were no Curses currently afflicting Timoteo Zabini, or the Principality generally –other than the usual nuisance kind that there was a monthly rotation for dispelling– or on the office of the Principe. Aurore Zabini had died of ovarian cancer, which had been obscured by incidences of post-partum bleeding in the months after giving birth and a rather bad case of the blues leading to the lady in question forgetting to eat regularly, which had led to fainting spells and a fall on the stairs. The initial cancer symptoms had been confused as relating to her existing difficulties, then by the time the exact problem was uncovered it had been too late. Cancer was something magic couldn't fix –it was part of the body, not an invasive external force– so Aurore had died. Tragic, but utterly mundane.

Magic was good for prevention though, so his sister had been dosed appropriately long before puberty to minimise her own risk of contracting this specific cancer. Their father however had decided that his life had functionally ended alongside his wife's, leading him to neglect the rest of his family and make various other deeply dubious decisions, resulting in Xanxus's own birth and subsequent 'exile.'

Whatever. At least Dorea wasn't in any danger from his newfound family baggage.

Rence walked calmly behind Rhea as she crossed the square between the basilica and the baths in the magical district of Ottiggia in Syracuse, named after the island that the original walled city had been built upon which was also where the district's primary entrances were located.

He'd visited the city before with Talbot –using the surname Ilica which probably had context he was unaware of– so was familiar with the markets and the basilica –which fulfilled its original function as a law court and town hall– but had never investigated the public buildings Dorea was interested in today.

Padma walked in step with their Lady and Sky, a satchel slung over one shoulder containing the paperwork which would hopefully grant them access to the civil archives so that Rhea could see the documents pertaining to her ancestor Maria Selinunte and her half-uncle Ambrogio. Especially Ambrogio; whether she would be permitted to view those documents however depended on how the wider Selinunte had responded to her marriage to the Heir Potter of the time, which considering the Potters were a much younger lineage could feasibly be 'not well.'

Even if she couldn't access Giotto's paperwork, Padma had additional documents from Sabina granting her permission to access the records of Ricardo Zabini, Ambrogio's successor, so the trip would not be a complete loss even if the Selinunte chose to scorn the connection. Not that Rence considered it likely; Dorea Black-Potter had a certain infamy in European circles these days for having married the Principe di Sabina, so even if the connection was currently unacknowledged it was likely that, upon being asked, the current Family Head would choose to rectify that.

However first they had to get past the front hall of the Palace of Records; hopefully what they needed was here rather that at the satellite archive in Acre. That was a way off and the journey would mean Rhea had less time to find everything she wanted.

It would also mean more time for Daniela to decide she was bored; that however depended on whether Rhea chose to keep the infant close or handed her off to either him or Secretary. If it came to it one or other of them could take the little girl down to the sea wall to watch the waves. Daniela wasn't on solids yet so food bribes would be ineffective, but his Lady's youngest did really like being sung to.

Xanxus glanced up from a report on recent military restructuring –he'd finally got around to retiring and replacing the generals and doing a general house-cleaning of the upper ranks back in August and the knock-on effects were still in full swing– as the hallway door opened off to his left and his wife walked in, their youngest balanced on her hip.

Dorea was wearing a familiar orange walking dress with the associated hat and had a faintly distracted smile on her face; Xanxus could tell through the marriage bond that she was pleased about something and thinking hard, probably about all the things she'd discovered on her outing and how to integrate them into her research.

"Hello husband," she said warmly, closing the door behind her and walking closer. "How has your day been?"

"Quiet," Xanxus admitted, making eye-contact with Daniela –who was bouncing excitedly in her mother's arms and signing 'papa' at him– and signing a greeting. His baby girl squealed excitedly and tried to wriggle out of Dorea's grip.

"What do you want, hatchling?" his wife asked, glancing down at their daughter.

Daniela signed 'papa' again, hissing as she did so.

"Then Papa you shall have, owlet," Dorea agreed, kissing the baby on the nose and then setting her down on Xanxus's lap. He quickly put the report down on the table –out of reach of grasping baby fingers– and gently nuzzled his daughter's forehead, one hand in the small of her back so she didn't accidentally topple over.

"Have you had a good day with Mama, hatchling?" he asked gently. "Have lots of fun seeing new places?"

His daughter lifted up onto her knees and flopped forwards into his chest, tiny fists clutching at his shirt as she dragged herself up almost to standing so she could rest her head against his shoulder. Shifting his hand so that it was supporting her bottom rather than bracing her back, Xanxus lifted her the last few inches and smiled into the back of her neck as she sighed loudly and grabbed hold of one of his feathers.

"It's been a long and exciting day," his lovely wife said quietly from where she'd settled herself on the couch opposite, "and I suspect our little girl wants to nap on her Papa for a bit now the fun bits are over."

"Not too exciting, I hope?" Xanxus asked, shifting himself so he was leaning back against the cushions.

"The weather was good, the streets were bustling and the archivists accepted my genealogy as sufficient for accessing the records of my seven-times-great uncle, since despite my six-times-great grandmother having been disowned from the succession of the Selinunte she was still acknowledged as part of the family," Dorea told him, rolling her shoulders and reaching forwards to pick up the steaming cup of tea from the tray that had quietly popped into existence on her side of the coffee table. "Turns out the Selinunte officially registered her marriage into the Potter Family in their records, so there wasn't even any need for confirmation or for the current Sebasta Selinunte to recognise the connection, which was convenient." She blew on her tea, attempted a small sip then put the cup and saucer down again; too hot, clearly.

"Results?" Xanxus asked curiously, idly stroking Daniela's hair and enjoying the soft baby snores next to his ear.

"Surprisingly good actually," she said, a frisson of amusement sliding across the bond. "Ambrogio was officially entered in the census records as his mother's firstborn, along with the note of his father having been denied parental rights. His fostering with the Flamels is also noted –under a different surname of course– as is his being given a respectably sized chunk of land near the ruins of Entella by his maternal relatives –well technically he bought it but for a fairly nominal sum– in exchange for an oath renouncing his place in the family succession for himself and his descendents."

Xanxus snorted; yes, that would have made things awkward, wouldn't it? At least it had been a fairly nice bribe; Entella had existed long before Magna Graecia or the Roman invasion and had flourished well into the Middle Ages before finally being flattened by Fredrick II, who had the surviving locals moved off the island entirely to Nocera, near Naples. Clearly the local magical community had taken possession of the land after that, hence it ending up in Giotto's possession.

"Local law at the time –and still today, actually– requires a wizarding landowner to not only register his holdings, but his dependents," Dorea continued, "which is fun because Ambrogio Selinunte was registering so many non-magical vassals that he was granted a permit to expand his holdings into unenclosed land so as to provide for them all. He also paid for a whole range of harvest rituals and fertility rites, as well as for Wards to be placed around several springs and a large area of forest. From this angle I'm less surprised by how fanatical his following was, to be honest: I think he actually managed to keep everybody fed regardless of fluctuating numbers and various local disasters through shrewd magical assistance. Never mind the implications between the lines about the Selinunte anyway; there're indications of nymph heritage there."

Well it followed that if there'd been Sirens and the so-called 'gods' according to Greek Myth had been wizards, there'd be nymphs as well… "By where Lake Garcia is now."

"By and probably underneath," his wife agreed wryly, "along with the likely-still-Warded first home of the Vongola and the original node of the tunnel system. Well, original nodes; I suspect they had a range of access points to reduce congestion."

Xanxus nodded; it made sense.

"There are also records of a Selinunte cousin –magical actually– marrying a mundane man and taking his name despite keeping her land, which caused a bit of a to-do," Dorea went on after picking up her tea and drinking some of it. "Especially when she then left her land to her oldest son rather than her oldest daughter, never mind the boy being a squib when the girl wasn't. The son marrying Ricardo Zabini's youngest daughter didn't really make things any better; that was when the Selinunte cut off all contact with that branch of the family and barred them from the Wards, along with the associated magic to ensure they couldn't even find the family home." She sighed. "The girl married back in and got made somebody else's heir, but the bad blood probably hasn't gone anywhere despite it being nearly four hundred years later."

"Alliata are a proper offshoot then." That was interesting and had implications.

"Oh yes; the records state that all the Selinunte lands around Pandolfino were 'lost' as a result, and while there isn't a 'Pandolfino' on the regular mundane records anymore it was in the general area north of Poggio Reale, on the plains east of Salemi."

"Alliata heartland," Xanxus agreed; well that explained a lot. Especially how people regularly 'got lost' around there, especially when walking or riding on horseback.

"Anyway, after Ambrogo abdicated Ricardo took over and census records continue in his name, up until he notes that his appointed heir is his non-magical grandson, who is not subject to magical law. Then there's a massive document file with all the paperwork of the land that can't be handed down to said grandson due to the still-new European Statute of Secrecy, along with a note that should a magical heir arise, the archivist is duty-bound to inform them of their inheritance upon their admittance into the school system."

"Said the local communities don't accept wizards from crime families," Xanxus pointed out.

"I know, but that was a later development," Dorea grumbled, "which oh-so-conveniently means that the magical Warded forest east of Lake Garcia remains in trust, so that the Council of Ortigia can go on charging small fortunes to issue foraging licences there. Among likely a great many other convenient trusts; Sicily's magical population has been shrinking ever since the Statutes were laid down."

Oh, so it was about money just as much as it was about keeping criminals out of their little gated community. How utterly unsurprising. He could wreck that little scam by offering the kids places in Sabina's magical school.

"When does the Curse the Selinunte laid on Primo and Secondo run out?" Because there wouldn't be any magical Vongola until then, which would set the timetable for his scheming.

"Theoretically, in Amadeo and Serena," Dorea admitted. "But the magic could have bred out generations ago. Well, Maínomai's got his own inheritance there, so Serena could easily be magical without having anything on her maternal side which would be grounds for arguing she doesn't count as truly a Selinunte, but that generation anyway."

"Old fart's great-grandkids." Of whom there were more than just Erica's two, since he had Grandma's black book with the details of Enrico and Federico's bastards. One of Enrico's was in fact married with kids –in France as it happened– and totally civilian, but the older one was barely ten so wouldn't have been drafted into the local magical school system yet. Provided, as his wife had pointed out, that they had sufficient magic to wield wands.

She nodded, finishing her tea and pouring herself some more from the teapot on the tray. "The next decade has the potential to be very interesting."

Xanxus snorted. It rather did, didn't it? Something to look forward to.

Translations

Sebasta = esteemed, august, venerable (f)(Ancient Greek)

Magna Graecia = 'great Greece', ie the Ancient Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily. (Latin)