Alphard returned to Cygnus and Druella's slightly warily the next day. The house was surprisingly quiet, wondering briefly if Druella had actually murdered Cygus, Alphard wandered in the direction of the livingroom. Druella glanced up from her book when he entered, arching a brow.

"Alphard, I wasn't expecting you."

"Ah. Did Cygnus mention we had agreed to have a conversation with Bella yesterday?"

"Cyngus cannot currently mention anything at all." she clipped.
Alphards eyebrows rose, "Druella?" he questioned warily. She rolled her eyes at him.

"He is not dead, Alphard, merely silenced. I grew weary of listening to his increasingly irritating justifications for that monstrosity he gifted Meda."
Alphard failed miserably to suppress his grin. "Ah. I see. Could I perhaps unsilence him so we can have that conversation with Bella?"
Druella sighed, clearly unimpressed with that plan. "If you must, Alphard. I believe he is in the study."

Nodding, Alphard swiftly removed himself lest Druella decide he was involved in yesterday's shenanigans too, making his way to Cygnus' study. He smirked slightly when a visibly unimpressed Cygnus raised his head and scowled. Alphard waved his wand, unsilencing his brother.

"How did you manage that? Druella told me that no one but her could release it!"

Alphard shrugged, sitting down on the opposite side of the desk. "I have no idea."

Cygnus scowled, "Why are you here?"
"We have a chat to have with Bella do we not?"

Cygnus visibly wilted before he sighed, "Yes. I suppose we must. Lori?"

"Yes Master?"

"Can you fetch Bella please?"

"Ofs course, Master."
They waited in silence until the elf popped back in with a visibly confused Bella.

"Uncle Alphard? Father?"

"Sit down Bella, don't look so worried, you're not in trouble. We promised we would speak about your feelings on the muggle areas yesterday but in all the excitement of Aslan's arrival we didn't get round to it."
Bella smirked, "Excitement? I think you mean Mother losing her temper with you, Father."
Cygnus inclined his head, "Perhaps." Ignoring Alphard's poor attempt at hiding his grin, Cygnus gestured to the seat in front of his desk, waiting until Bella sat down. "Can you explain to us why you were so distressed yesterday?"

Bella scowled, "We shouldn't need to hide!"

Cygnus hummed, "And yet, regardless of where we are, we do." he commented lightly, "There are complex charms, compulsions and wards on all of our areas. Hogwarts for example, looks like a ruin to muggles. It has strong anti muggle wards that mean they suddenly remember that they need to be elsewhere if they get too close, it shows signage listing the building as dangerous. We hide ourselves from them whether we are in muggle or wizarding areas."
"We shouldn't have to!" Bella repeated stubbornly.

"Perhaps," Alphard replied with a tilt of his head. "However, what do you think would happen if we did not?"

Bella frowned at him. "I don't understand."
"Well, how do you think muggles would feel about our existence? Born with a gift they will never have, able to do things with the swish of a wand that they struggle with?"

"The girls at the stables wouldn't mind! They'd just be happy i could make things easier!"
Alphard smiled gently, "Say you are right, say they do not mind, that there is no jealousy, how would you feel if they asked you to do all the difficult jobs because you had magic? If they never took their turn? And then imagine it everywhere, witches and wizards asked to do the things muggles find challenging."

"It doesn't seem so bad, if they find it hard." Bella ventured.

"Ok, now imagine that someone has asked but you have something else on and have to say no. How do you think they would feel?"
Bella frowned at him, "Everyone gets told no sometimes. Mother tells us no all the time."
Alphard huffed out a laugh, "Indeed. How does that make you feel?"

"Cross….sometimes," Bella said hesitantly.

"So imagine that that person feels cross too and they get angry. They don't understand you have other things to do. Have you any idea how many more muggles there are than us?"

Bella shook her head. "There are millions of muggles all over the word, there are perhaps one and a half million of us? They have learned to live without magic, they have…adapted." he paused suddenly, sighing, "Bella, I do not want you to be frightened of muggles, they are, like us, all different. Many, most, of them are lovely like us, there are some who are…..frightened by things they cannot understand and react with anger. Muggles, like magicals hurt people, only instead of a wand and spells, they have other ways."
"What other ways?" Bella asked, worry settling over her face.

"Honestly, Bella, there are lots of other ways. In the same way we have lots of spells which can do harm. You must understand, I am not trying to tell you that muggles are bad or that we should avoid them, I am trying to get you to understand that they are exactly like us, just without magic, in all ways. Unfortunately, there are good and bad people everywhere."
"You think they'd hurt us." She stated.

"I think some of them would, yes. In the same way some muggles hurt other muggles, the same way some magicals hurt other magicals and some magicals hurt muggles."

"So…all people just hurt each other?" She asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Bella, unfortunately, some people just hurt other people. We don't hide from muggles because they are muggles specifically, we hide because we share the same human nature and it is human nature for some people to try and take over or hurt that which they do not understand and given that there are physically more muggles than magicals, it was decided to cloak ourselves and our safe areas"

"If they would hurt us, we could hurt them."
Alphard froze, shooting a glance at Cygnus. "We could." he allowed, his heart hammering. "Would you want to, Bella?"

Bella frowned, "If they were hurting us….."

"Then you would be allowed to use self defence, in that moment, to keep yourself safe." Cygnus spoke softly, "However, I do not think that is specifically what you mean. How many muggles would you hurt Bella? Because you would have to rule with fear once you began, you would have to keep hurting people who tried to stop you being in control so we didn't have to hide."
Bella blanched, "I don't want to hurt lots of people though!"

"For that I am glad, my star. Can you see the issue?"

Slowly Bella nodded, "Is there no way not to hide without having to hurt lots of people?"

"No, my Star, there is not. That does not mean you cannot have muggle friends, it does not mean that there are not muggles who are accepting of magic, lots of muggleborns have parents who support them, it just means that as a whole, our world must remain hidden from the majority."
"So….one day I could tell my friends?"

"Perhaps," Cygnus allowed, "We still need to remain careful, the Statute is something we all take very seriously, for our own safety. There are occasionally ways around it, however it is not something we could seriously consider for a very long time."

"I still don't like it, but I think I understand."
Alphard sighed, "It is not ideal," he allowed, "Many of us wish for a world where the divide is not so great, but no one has yet come up with a safe way to make that happen. You are aware that your Uncle and I have muggle friends, I would dearly love to be able to tell them about our lives without omitting great parts of it, however, I cannot and I must accept that to protect our world. Bella, this is so very important, sometimes, someone in our world, will try to convince people that we are superior to muggles purely because of our magic, that we should rule. They are pretty words that are meaningless. We are not superior, just different. And there is no way to take over the muggle world without mass death and fear. I hope you never encounter someone who believes such nonsense, but if you do, remember the faces of your friends, and think about how you would feel if they were hurt for no other reason than they were born without magic."

Bella blanched, "Would someone do that?"

"Yes Bella, muggles do not have the monopoly on fear. Magicals fear muggles and the inventions they do no understand, others truly believe we are superior becasuse of our magic and that all muggles are stupid and therefore should serve us. The end result is the same. You will have heard of Grindelwald in your lessons?"

"Yes."

"Tell me his plan."

Bella's brow creased in concentration, "he….he wanted to rule the world, Mother said. He wanted Wizards and witches ruling muggles and everything else. She said Dumbledore defeated him."

"He did. And he did indeed want to rule the world, with a hierarchy, he planned to be on top, of course, magicals under him, helping him rule, beasts and beings next, then muggles. He believed it was for the Greater Good, that phrase became his motto because he believed he knew better what people needed than they did. Can you see the issues?"

"Most magicals don't understand the muggle world." Bella began slowly, "If they don't understand it how can they understand what's best for people? Centaurs and Merfolk have their own rules and laws, we can't just take over, they'd be really annoyed."
Cygnus snorted, "Indeed they would. And if i can give you any advice, my star, it is do not annoy the centaurs. Anything else?"

"I…..I don't know."

"Is what other people think best always best for you?"

"I….sometimes? Mother tells me she knows best."

Alphard snorted, "Indeed she does. OK….perhaps a clearer scenario. I was due to be married, did you know?"

"To Uncle Jus?"
"No." he said softly, "Not to Uncle Jus, to a woman. Your grandparents thought it best."

"But….but that doesn't make sense! You love Uncle Jus."

"Indeed I do. But they thought they knew best. It wasn't badness, they genuinely believed it was best for me."
"But they were wrong!"
"They were." Alphard waited, watching Bella mull that over.
"Sometimes, even if people believe they know what's best, they can be wrong, even when they don't mean to be?"
"Yes, Bella." he smiled. "Exactly that."

"Oh. So there's not much we can do? We just have to hide?"
Alphard tilted his head, "Sort of. Do you hide from muggles? You have muggle friends, do you not?"
"Yes…." she replied hesitantly.
"Then we do not need to hide. We have to hide our magic, but not ourselves. We can still be in the muggle world, we can have muggle friends, we can even have muggle friends in our homes, with some modifications. They can meet our families, they can be a part of our lives."
"Just without the magic?"
"Just without the magic," he confirmed.

"It feels like lying."

"I can imagine it does. But it's lying to keep us all safe."

Bella sighed. "Ok."

"What do you wish to do about York and Edinburgh?"
"Can we go back and see them? I….I was too cross to see them properly. And maybe we could speak to some of the other shop owners?"

Cygnus smiled, "Of course, my star."
Bella nodded and made to move, Alphard stopped her. "I know it's difficult Bella, and if you ever need to talk it through again, please come and speak to one of us."

She nodded slowly, "Ok Uncle Alphie."

"I have no idea how that went." Alphard voiced once she had left.

Cygnus sighed, "I know. I hope it will be enough, but I worry she could still be swayed by Riddle's honeyed words."

"Hopefully he will be long gone before she is of an age to be of interest to him."

Cygnus merely nodded, a pensive look on his face.

Justus tried very hard not to react to Cassie's bouncing knee as they waited silently in the cafe for Marius.

"I think I'm going to be sick." she muttered suddenly, her face paling as she lost the fight with her nerves.

"Nonsense," he replied briskly, trying not to show how rattled he felt by her loss of composure. "You are Cassiopeia Violetta Black. Blacks do not do something so pedestrian as vomit in public."
He heard her breath out a long exhale as a reluctant smile crossed her face. "I am hardly the embodiment of a typical Black." she muttered wryly.

He snorted quietly beside her before his head shot up on hearing her sharp inhale. Marius walked slowly into the cafe, his eyes falling on Cassie as his step faltered. Beside him, Cassie had tears running down her face, her hands gripping the table so hard her knuckles were white, her eyes never left Marius' face.

"Cassie." The man whispered when he reached the table. "You got old big sister."

Choking on a sob, Cassiopeia launched herself at him with a muttered, "Still cheeky then."

Justus allowed his eyes to roam the room, feeling like a voyeur. The muggle patrons were watching the scene with covert interest, averting their eyes when they noticed him watching them.

Marius cleared his throat as they both sat down with wet eyes, drawing Justus' attention back to them. He noted their clasped hands, Cassie's knuckles white as if scared he'd disappear if she let go.

"Thank you for this." Marius spoke, his voice suspiciously hoarse.

Justus inclined his head. "I can leave you both." he offered, "Give you a chance to catch up without eyes on you."

Cassie and Marius looked at each other, "if you wouldn't mind, Justus." Cassie voiced softly, at odds with her usual larger than life presence.

"Come and have dinner." Marius offered impulsively, "Bring that nephew of mine, I'd like to meet him and the children."
Justus smiled at them both, "Of course, what time do you want us?"

"Five? Your children are small are they not?"

"Yes, two and almost twenty months."

Marius blinked, "Good God, you have your hands full then. I didn't realise they were so close in age."

Justus snorted, "Yes. Addy is a diva and Rigel panders to her every whim. I'm grateful that, for now at least, they adore each other."

Marius laughed, "Well I cannot wait to meet them. The Blacks always did produce strong willed women."

Cassie rolled her eyes at her brother, "As all good women should be!"

Justus left them to their own devices having acquired Marius' address, wondering idly if Pollux and Dorea would want to be reunited with their brother. He couldn't imagine Dorea refusing but Pollux? His father in law was still somewhat of a mystery, his views held close to his chest. Perhaps it was something to broach with Cassie and Marius.

"You're back early," Alphard exclaimed while the children flew around the warded enclosure giggling wildly as they chased each other.

"I thought I'd give them some time alone. We're invited back to dinner."
Alphard's eyebrows shot up. "Are we really? I wasn't sure he'd want anything to do with most of us."

Justus shrugged, "He seems to want to reconnect to be honest. I know I said he was….reserved in the meetings with the teachers but I do wonder how much of that was self preservation. He never once asked to be mentioned to anyone but he practically bit my hand off when I wrote to say your Aunt Cassie wanted to see him. I don't think he'd ever have taken the first move, regardless of how much he wanted to."

Alphard grimaced, "That makes sense I suppose, he was abandoned for something outwith his control. I wonder how Grandmother will feel if she finds out he's back in touch with at least some of us, you said he wrote to her?"

"Yes, monthly apparently, he wasn't clear if she wrote back though."
"Salazar, I hope she did! I cannot imagine anything more soul destroying than writing monthly to a mother who refuses to acknowledge your existence. Surely he'd have stopped by now if she was silent?" Alphard exclaimed, horrified.

"I don't know, I don't know what is in those letters. You have to admit you're a vengeful lot, I wouldn't put it past a Black to keep writing on point of principle to show her how good his life was without her in it." Justus responded pointedly.

Alphard snorted, "Fair point. Still…." he trailed off looking at the children, "I cannot imagine sending them away after loving them for eleven years and never seeing or speaking to them again."

"Nor can I love." Justus replied softly, leaning into him, trying to ignore his horror at the thought as he watched his giggling children.

"Stop fidgeting!" Justus hissed as Alphard adjusted his tie for what felt like the hundredth time as they waited on Marius to answer the door. Shooting him an apologetic grimace, Alphard forced himself to still, clutching Addy to him like a lifeline.

"Justus! I'm so glad you could make it!" Marius opened the door with the most genuine smile Justus had seen on the man's face. "You must be Alphard?"

"How do you do….Uncle Marius?" Alphard answered softly.

"Oh." Marius looked momentarily stunned at the address. "You look so very like Poll."

"So I've been told." Alphard answered wryly. "This is Adhara, Addy, can you say hello?"

"Lo." she said softly, reaching out to touch Marius' face.

"Hello to you too Miss Adhara. Aren't you a Princess?"

Justus snorted, "She looks like one," he conceded, smiling at his daughter. "She hates those dresses though, Moxie insisted. She's far more Helion than Princess. This is Rigel." Justus indicated to the wary looking boy. Rigel scowled slightly, burying his face into Justus' neck. "As you can see he's far more reserved than his sister. It takes him a little while to warm up to people."

"So I see." Marius replied softly, bending to catch Rigel's eye, "Good evening young man."

"Hello." Rigel whispered softly, not moving his head. Marius smiled at him.

"Come this way. You'll have to forgive me, it's turned into quite the production."

Shooting Justus a panicked look, Alphard followed him through.

"Alphard, Justus, my wife, Anna. My daughters Sophie and Violet and my son, Gareth. Sophie's husband Colin and Gareth's wife, Miranda."
Alphard and Justus greeted them all attempting to remember names. "I cannot promise my sisters will not always were too nosy for their own good," Marius laughed, making them all smile. Alphard noted that Aunt Cassie's was slightly strained. He wondered how hard it must be for her to hear her brother talk so casually of siblings knowing that they'd had all the years she'd missed. "Everyone, this is my nephew Alphard, his husband Justus and their children Adhara and Rigel."
Alphard noticed a few raised eyebrows at that statement, but thankfully no one commented, he wasn't sure his nerves were up for blatant homophobia.

"They're beautiful." Miranda cooed, while Adhara beamed back at her. "How old are they?"

"Rigel is just over two, Addy is twenty months."

"So close! They can't have been siblings before?"
"Ah no. They have different birth families." Alphard explained slightly awkwardly.

"They look so alike."

Alphard shot Marius a panicked look making the man laugh. "Relax, you can explain."

Nooding, Alphard tried to explain how blood adoption worked, Miranda looked fascinated.

"So they truly are your children?"

"Yes. Their family tree will always show their birth families, it's important however, their magic is ours, and their characteristics were altered by the ritual. They'll have our features, our traits and our affinity with certain types of magic. Of course they will also retain some of their original characteristics too."

"That's amazing." she breathed, playing peekaboo with a giggling Addy.

Alphard gave a lopsided smile, "it really is." he said softly, "When are you due?"

"Next month." she replied with a roll of her eyes. "I cannot wait for this pregnancy to be over. I feel like it's been years since I was last able to see my feet." Alphard laughed at her, beginning to relax. "Marius said your world has no issue with same sex relationships?"

Alphard stiffened. "No." he replied shortly.

"I must be nice," she whispered. He frowned at her quizzically, having not expected that. "My brother has been with his partner for as longer than I've been with Gareth." she explained, "He'd love nothing more than to marry him, have children but they're not allowed. They have to pretend to be nothing more than friends, in fact they live with a female couple in order to keep up appearances."

Alphard gaped at her. "Pardon?"

"It is illegal to be homosexual," she said softly.

"Illegal?" Alphard asked, baffled.

"Illegal." she confirmed. "We hope it will change but….."

"Sweet Salazar." he breathed, wondering how he had never realised, wondering why none of their friends had ever thought to query his relationship. "I'm so very sorry about your brother."

She nodded, looking pensive. "Thank you. I hope one day we will be as progressive as your world."

He nodded slowly, "Progressive is not a world I would have used in regards to our world before tonight." he said slowly, "We are behind the times in many ways, however I wish to thank you for the reminder that it is not all bad."

She nodded, her lips tilting up in a half smile as she walked back to her husband, leaving Alphard to mull over what she had said.

Justus looked at him with concern as they took their seats at the table, the children flanking them in highchairs Justus had transfigured. "Are you alright?" he murmured softly.

"Did you know it's still illegal to be homosexual in the muggle world?" Alphard asked sadly.

Justus paused, "Yes. It is why I am so careful of our behaviour when we are out. Our friends think we're cousins."

Alphard blinked at him, not having expected that answer but didn't comment, filing it away to be discussed when they were not surrounded by other people,allowing himself to be drawn into the conversation around the table.

"Your Aunt Cassie is a character." Sophie stated, while attempting to bribe Rigel out of his shell with food. It was a surprisingly effective technique.

Alphard snorted, "Your Aunt Cassie too, cousin." he replied pointedly, "And she is indeed. She has always been my favourite."
Sophie looked slightly startled as if she had not yet put together the familial connection. "It's so strange," she murmured, "I mean, we knew Dad had a family he didn't see, not that he told us the reasons for that until very recently. I cannot imagine being cut off for something i can't control."
"Neither can I." Alphard said honestly, "I look at my children and I cannot imagine a world where I would ever be able to turn my back on them."

She hummed, drawing a giggle from Rigel as she pulled funny faces at him while handing him another roast potato.

"You're good with him." Alphard stated, inclining his head towards his son, "He's fussy with who he interacts with, the only one that's never been up for debate is Addy."

"They're adorable. Its sweet they're so close."
"Sometimes." Alphard conceded, "I dread the day they gang up on us. Probably with Sirius and James in tow."

"Sirius and James?"
"Did your dad tell you he had three siblings?" At her nod, Alphard continued, "Pollux is my father, I have two siblings, Walburga, who has Sirius and Regulus, both are close in age with Addy and Ri. Cygnus, my younger brother, has three girls, aged ten, eight and six. Aunt Cass has no children through choice. She's never really been that fond of men, she thinks they hold women back. She's probably right to be fair. Aunt Dorea is the youngest, her son, Fleamont, has James, who is also really close in age with my children."

"Wow." she muttered softly, "Dad wasn't sure whether there were other children"

Alphard hummed, "They're all reasonably close age wise, other than Cygnus' girls and even then, they're all really good with the toddlers, even Bella who hated children before Rigel came along."

"Do you think they'll want to meet us?" Sophie asked softly.

"I don't know." Alphard replied honestly. "I imagine Aunt Dorea might, Flea and Effie probably. Uncle Marius has already met Wally, I cannot imagine that she'd be adverse to bringing Orion and the boys, I imagine Cyngus and Dru would feel similarly. As for my Father, I do not know. I had intended to check if Uncle Marius wanted me to ask. I didn't want to assume."

Sophie nodded slowly, "He'll never admit it but he's scared. Meeting Cassie, even just knowing she wanted to, it's like there's a spark in his eyes that's been missing but he's too scared to ask about the rest. Maybe sound out your father and Aunt before asking him. I think if he reached out first and they rejected him it would crush him."

Alphard nodded. "I will ask," he replied softly.

"Do you think we'll see much of you?"

Alphard shrugged. "I do not know. I would like to get to know you all."

Sophie grinned. "You're nothing like I was expecting you know?"

"Oh?"

"Dad had to tell us why he was given up, I was expecting someone who had no idea how to act around….what do you call us?"
"Muggles." Alphard supplied.

Sophie wrinkled her nose. "That's it. Sounds bloody ridiculous if you ask me. I wanted so badly to be angry at you all, for the way your family just tossed Dad aside like he was rubbish. But you're trying, you seem suspiciously comfortable and you clearly don't agree with what your Grandfather did."

"No. I don't. Justus and I have muggle friends. We take our niece, Bella to muggle stables to learn horse riding, we have a slightly unhealthy addiction to the cinema. Or we did before children. We're reasonably familiar with the muggle world."
"How?"

"I don't know what you know but Justus and I only really reunited with the family recently, we were…..estranged isn't quite right but distant. We thought they held ideals that either they did not or they found the impetus to change. Having the children has been the catalyst for more than I could ever have imagined."

"Ideals?" she queried, "Your relationship?"

"Partly," Alphard allowed, "Although probably not in the way you're imagining. My, our, Great Uncle Arcturus is Head of House, he signs off on the marriages amongst other things. He would have allowed my marriage to Justus as long as we could procure an Heir to ensure the continuation of the family line. As you know, that was never happening via the muggle world and the Minister of Magic was reluctant to allow us access to the information needed to find a muggleborn in need of a family. Not because of our relationship but because of my last name. The Black family has a reputation for being on the darker side of magic. However it was that reputation that was the main reason we were distant. I truly thought they held on to the old ideals and I disagreed."

"Old ideals?"

"Old pureblood families, like ours, tend to believe themselves superior. Superior to half bloods, superior to purebloods not in the sacred 28, superior by far to muggleborns and so high above muggles that they view them as little better than animals."

Sophie blanched, "Jesus Christ. Although what the hell is the Sacred 28?

"Indeed. I was thankfully proved wrong, for our immediate family at least, but we saw very little of them for a long time. We travelled and spent time in the muggle world to avoid them. The Sacred 28 is our worlds version of the aristocracy, I suppose, families who pride themselves on having remained pureblooded through many centuries. Of course they do so by disowning squibs, those they refer to as blood traitors- family members who marry muggles,muggleborns, halfbloods or support a more equal society. My sister pointed out reasonably recently that that is now us. I imagine Cantankerous Nott is plotting a way to come and strike us off his list from the afterlife."

"Wow." she breathed. "Thats…..both horrifying and reassuring. Are there genuinely magical people who think muggles are no better than animals?"

"Truthfully, yes. I guarantee you that those who believe it will never have set foot in your world."

She nodded slowly, "Well. That got heavy fast."

Alphard snorted, "Didn't it? Tell me about you."

Sophie laughed, but allowed the subject change as she filled her new found cousin in on her life.

"How are you Aunt Cass?" Alphard asked softly, handing her a drink.

"I…I honestly don't know." she replied with a pained grimace. "That was….intense."
Alphard hummed, allowing the silence to fall, knowing she'd speak when she was ready. They had ended up staying late at Marius', his cousins fascinated to learn of their world, eager to share their own lives in return. Alphard had watched his Aunt close in on herself slightly at the arrival of Marius' sisters, two boisterous women who very clearly loved him and who had tried hard not to allow their disgust at the situation cloud their interaction with the family who was actively seeking a relationship. They didn't entirely succeed, their protective instincts flaring at the thought of their little brother being more hurt than he had already been. It had turned the previously light evening awkward, resulting in Marius apologising as they were leaving. It had been brushed off, Aunt Cassie explaining that she understood their wariness, but when he hadn't had to push too hard to convince her to come home with them, Alphard realised she was barely keeping up the facade.

"Do you think it's selfish, invading his life like this? He's obviously happy, he has siblings, a family, does he need us….me, reminding him that he was abandoned?"

Alphard drew in a sharp breath, looking at Justus helplessly.

"I don't know, Aunt Cass. But shouldn't that be his decision to make?"

"Cassie….he was desperate to see you from the moment i told him you wanted to." Justus cut in softly, "I know that things were awkward towards the end but he wanted to see you. He wants you in his life."

Cassie looked at him with glassy eyes, nodding slightly as he reached over to squeeze her hand.

"Things will settle down with his other sisters once they realise we're here to say." Alphard said softly, "I understand why they were wary, up until now their views of us must have been horrendous. We just need to prove them wrong."

Cassie closed her eyes, tears escaping as she let out a long breath, nodding. "You're right of course, although I shall deny it if you ever tell anyone I said so. I overheard you speaking with Sophie about Pollux and Dorea. Are you intending to tell them?"

"Sophie suggested I mention it to them rather than Marius in case they don't want to see him. She thought it would hurt less."
Cassie hummed. "I think they'll see him. Your father never said but he's missed him for as long as I have. Dorea idolised him, her big brother. He was so patient with her when she was tiny, far more than Pollux and I."
Alphard nodded, giving her a lopsided smile,"We'll speak to them. When are you seeing him next?"

"Lunch next week. He and his wife are coming to me, he's still a Black so they should be able to see the house through the wards."

Alphard smiled slightly, "I hadn't thought of that. Once we've spoken with father and Aunt Dorea, perhaps we should have him here? Get the rest of the initial meetings out the way, there are more of us now than I had released."

Cassie snorted, "Indeed. It does us all good to see the next generation looking so strong, although you've a couple to go to catch up to us. There were ten in my generation, although given that yours is half that, perhaps I'll let you off."
Justus laughed, "If you're looking for more babies for your army Aunt Cass, I'm afraid you'll need to convince Flea or Wally. Our two are more than enough of a handful."

Cassie laughed openly, looking more like herself than she had done for most of the evening. "Given how miserable Walburga was towards the end of Regulus' pregnancy, I do not think even I'd dare suggest it. Perhaps Fleamont would be more agreeable."
Alphard laughed outright at her not denying her wish for an army.

"Come along Aunt Cass, your army can wait for tonight, I'll show you where you're sleeping."

"Are you sending me to bed like an errant child, young man?"

Alphard sputtered, "Of course not! I, however, am going to bed and I thought you'd like to know where your bed actually was! You have the run of the house Aunt Cass, although I must ask you not to blow us up in our sleep."

Cassie snorted, "I make no promises. Come along then, show me to my bedchamber like a toddler or a doddering old woman."

Behind them Justus was laughing.

"Jus?" Alphard whispered into the darkness.

Justus sighed, "Yes Alphie?"

"Do our friends really believe we're cousins?"

Justus snorted. "Yes, or they pretend to believe it. You make it hard sometimes."

"In my defence I didn't know!"

Justus sighed, "Salazar Alphard. I know you're not stupid but I simetimes wonder if you the most unaware person I have ever met."

Alphard snorted, "That's why I've got you love." He couldn't see it but he knew Justus had rolled his eyes. "Do…do you want me to pretend to just be your cousin?" he asked hesitantly.

"I would like not to be arrested while out with our friends. I imagine your Uncle Arcturus would be most displeased to have to bail us out."

Alphard sighed, silently acknowledging he was right, "How did you explain the children?"
"Actually, their existence helped. I froze some pictures and they think Adhara is mine and Rigel is yours. Obviously men cannot adopt, so they appear to have decided we have wives somewhere that we all but hate. I don't doubt that they know we're together but I've given them enough alternative explanations that they can ignore it with a clear conscience."

"Dear Merlin, I never realised it was that complicated. How do you relax?"
Justus snorted, "We're hardly particularly tactile in public, Alphard, other than keeping an eye on what comes out your mouth, it's not that hard."

Alphard sighed, "Will it always be like that do you think? Miranda looked devastated for her brother."
"No. I don't, there is talk of change happening, how long that will take, however, is anyone's guess." Alphard nodded in the darkness, mulling that over. "Go to sleep, love. We cannot fix the entire world."

My Lord,

I hope this letter finds you well, England is, as always, dreary this time of year. I hope you find yourself in a more agreeable climate.

Recruitment is steady, your words and your vision for our world is inspiring and as such we have several new people of interest who are eagerly awaiting your return. I find myself thinking that while some of them will be of no use beyond their vault contents, some of them are surprisingly promising.

As ever I have had people keeping an eye on potential recruits from Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, I believe a young man by the name of Antonin Dolohov is worth keeping an eye on, his skill in Arithmancy, warding and the Dark Arts is impressive.

You asked me to keep you apprised of any unusual developments while you are away on your travels so I report, with some concern, that Alphard and Justus Black, along with their Aunt Cassieopia visited the home of the squib Marius. It is not clear what their intentions are but I feel the situation requires watching.

Your faithful servant,

Abraxas Malfoy.

In England and Wales, being gay (or participating in 'homosexual acts') wasn't legalised until 1967. Apparently it was later in Scotland, taking until 1980, with Northern Ireland following in 1982.