Author Note: Little longer this time around to get this out, but this is also a fair bit longer of a chapter, so it evens out, I think. For anyone averse to cursing, you may want to sit this chapter out. This chapter essentially answers the question of what kind of person raises a Gajeel. Enter, Metalicana. I am very fond of Metalicana. This chapter (number 20, woo!) also kicks this story to over 100k words (ignoring my rambling with each chapter) and this is still in year three. I feel like I should cut a year somewhere. Oh well. Here's to another 100k! Next chapter isn't drafted yet. It's in my head, but not on paper. So, may be a couple of weeks before it's out.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Blacksteel

The approaching Christmas holidays left the Great Hall in a general buzz of excitement, like it had been the two previous years that Juvia had been at Hogwarts. The Hall, already decked from floor to rafters with garland and ribbon and bells, was filled with the chatter of students excitedly talking of their holiday plans. She listened to the conversations around her with the now familiar pang of jealousy and longing. She had nothing to look forward to but a quiet break, working on whatever potion Professor Precht found to keep her busy. She wouldn't even have Gajeel and Panther Lily this time. Gajeel's uncle had returned from his latest assignment after two years away and the boy would be joining him for the Christmas holidays.

She was happy for Gajeel. Really, she was. But it was just one more reminder how little she belonged anywhere. She picked aimlessly at the eggs on her plate, only half listening to Gajeel as he went on about his uncle's latest letter, his story hampered only slightly by the mountain of food he was busily tearing through at the same time.

It wasn't until Madame Porlyusica appeared behind them, clipboard in hand, that Juvia's attention was fully brought back to the Hall. The dour woman, performing her twice yearly duty of identifying the students remaining at Hogwarts over the holidays, started with Gajeel. "Mister Redfox, are you staying at Hogwarts over break?"

The boy shook his head, his mass of wild black hair whipping about. "Nah, my uncle's in town. Stayin' with him."

"How lovely," came the flat reply. "Miss Lockser? Are you here over break?"

"Yes, Madame Porlyusica."

Gajeel paused in his annihilation of all things edible and turned to her, brow furrowed in confusion. "No, yer not. I told ya, yer goin' with me when my uncle was back."

"When did you say that?"

"Last year."

"How is Juvia supposed to remember an invitation given a year ago?"

Madame Porlyusica sighed. "Miss Lockser, are you staying here over break?"

"No, she's not," Gajeel answered before she could.

"She hasn't been invited by your uncle!"

The pink-haired deputy . "Miss Lockser, figure it out and then inform me." The woman then carried on to the next group.

Turning her full attention and irritation to Gajeel, who had decided the matter settled and had returned to his breakfast, she snapped, "Gajeel, you can't just bring Juvia along without your uncle's permission."

"Would ya calm down? Yer givin' me a headache. He's already given permission," he replied.

"He has?" Juvia paused, irritation turning to surprise and then into anxiety. She absently chewed on her bottom lip before asking softly, "He really said it was okay for her to go?"

"Well, what he really said was 'Send the girl. Ya can stay there. I've seen yer face enough. I remember what it looks like.' But fuck him, I'm goin' anyways."

"He wants to meet Juvia?"

"Ya. Thinks yer either some kinda angel or saint fer puttin' up with me, and he's never seen either before. He's curious."

Juvia lapsed back into silence, pushing her eggs about her plate. She tried to imagine what the oft lauded Metalicana Blacksteel would be like. Gajeel had spoken so much of him over the last few months and every story told built him into a figure too imposing to be real. The thought of actually meeting that figure left her stomach twisting itself into knots. "What if he doesn't like Juvia?"

"Then ya'll be in good company. He doesn't like anyone," he replied nonchalantly.

"That doesn't make Juvia feel better." The boy merely shrugged in response, returning to his breakfast. Juvia tried doing the same, but the upcoming introduction to the only other human that Gajeel had time for left her too anxious to do more than stare at her food. Suddenly, staying alone at Hogwarts over the break didn't seem so bad.

Neither said much as the train rumbled down the tracks towards London. For Juvia's part, she occupied herself with petting Panther Lily to soothe her nerves and keep her thoughts distracted. Gajeel, though he wasn't one to talk unless provoked, stared out the window, arms folded over his chest. He made no movement except the tap of his foot against the floor. To most, it wouldn't have meant much - just Gajeel being his normal surly self - but for Juvia, who counted among her accomplishments fluency in Latin, Irish Galeic and Gajeel, that little spoke volumes.

"You're excited to see him," she said, a smile managing to break through the anxiety.

The boy's blood red eyes narrowed on her - the effect wasted. Juvia never learned to be frightened of those eyes. "Fuck off," he snapped, his face flushing a little.

"It's adorable. She hasn't seen you this excited since the Slytherin/Gryffindor game."

"I ain't excited t' see the old goat. Just happy t' not be at Hogwarts."

"Uh-huh." Her smile widened while Gajeel's scowl darkened. Though as equally unmoved by Gajeel's scowl as his glare, Juvia opted to not press Gajeel further, choosing instead to watch the countryside outside give way to the first signs of their approach into London.

The train had hardly pulled onto the platform when Gajeel was on his feet, yanking Panther Lily off of her lap and throwing him into the carrier. "Let's go."

They were the first into the hall and other students emerging from their apartments were quick to duck inside again as Gajeel stomped by, Juvia trailing behind as usual. Gajeel paused at the exit, his eyes swiftly scanning over the crowd. He needed only a second to find who he was looking for, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. He hopped down out of the carriage, a couple of steps at a time. Juvia paused at the carriage exit, quickly glancing about as well. It didn't take her long to pick out Metalicana Blacksteel from the crowd, despite knowing little outside of what Gajeel had told her. While Gajeel and his father shared a number of physical traits from their jet-black hair and blood-red eyes to the shape of their noses and mouths, they differed greatly in their mannerisms from what she could tell from the pictures of Gregory Redfox. The uncle, however, seemed to her a much better preview of what the nephew would become. Like Gajeel, Metalicana towered over the people around him, though given that the people around him were grown adults and not school aged children, the feat was rather more impressive. His hair, though dark silver in color, was as wild and unkempt as Gajeel's, and like his nephew, his grim face sported a number of piercings, though while Gajeel only had a couple of piercings along his brow, the uncle had a full set of studs along his eyebrows and a row of studs down both sides of his nose and down his chin. He even scowled like his nephew, though the effect was far more terrifying than with Gajeel. At least to her. All her anxiety bursting back to life, she lingered at the carriage exit until Gajeel called for her.

"Oi! Raindrop! Hurry up!"

Snapping back to her senses, she gingerly made her way down the steps of the carriage and followed Gajeel to where their trunks were being unloaded. After locating their trunks, they carted them over to where Gajeel's uncle had broken away from the crowd.

Juvia had seen enough family reunions at term's end to believe that they all followed a standard theme. Hugs, tears, greetings. Some expression that the student was missed and that their family was glad to have them back again. She supposed, given that Gajeel was hardly normal to begin with, that his family wouldn't be much for following norms either. However, no matter how she might have predicted Gajeel's family to have behaved, it certainly wouldn't have matched reality.

"Yer late," the elder said as they approached, his arms folded over his chest and face set in a neutral expression, betraying only mild annoyance. "Ya were supposed t' be here a half hour ago."

"Ain't like that's our fault!" Gajeel snapped back. "We don't control the trains. How'd ya get through Hogwarts and not learn how trains work?"

The uncle glared back at his nephew. "How'd ya get this far along at Hogwarts and not learn some respect fer yer elders."

"I learned respect's earned, ya old goat, so start earnin'!"

The verbal spar carried on while Juvia stood the side, quietly observing and studying her friend and his uncle. Every word between them was combative and surly, and were it anyone other than Gajeel, she might have felt pity for them. But it was Gajeel and everything about him - from his stance to the way his eyes lit up to the energy in his voice - betrayed a happiness that Juvia only saw shadows of when he started another fight or was playing in a Quidditch match. It was a relationship that bewildered her but seemed to suit Gajeel perfectly. She could only stand to the side and smile.

When the argument had run its course, it ended with the uncle setting a heavy hand on his nephew's head, the gesture the same one Gajeel had often done to her. "Glad t' see ya ain't gotten any uglier."

"Tch, can't say the same about you," Gajeel snapped back, swatting the hand away. He glanced about before spotting where she had moved to, and reaching out to drag her over, placed Juvia between him and his uncle. "This is Raindrop. Raindrop, this is my uncle, Metalicana Blacksteel."

Juvia's ability to talk or even think temporarily abandoned her as she looked up at the grim face staring down at her. Remembering her manners at last, she folded her hands in front of her and gave a short bow. "Thank you for letting Juvia stay with you, Mister Blacksteel."

Gajeel's snickering behind her alerted her that she had said something wrong, something that Metalicana's scowl confirmed as she looked back up at him. She didn't know what it was she had said until Gajeel repeated in a sing-song voice. "Mister Blacksteel."

The elder's scowl deepened as he jutted a finger at Gajeel. "Oi! You. Shut up." He then shifted focus to her, looking grim still but making an effort to look less irritated. "It's Metalicana, kid. Just Metalicana. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

More snickering from Gajeel followed while Metalicana cradled his face in his hand. "We'll work on that." A second later, the scowl returned, and Juvia, having said nothing else since her last blunder, was only partly sure it wasn't due to something she had said or done. "Need t' get outta here quick. I hear that dumbass and his nephew. Last thing I wanna deal with today is a pair of Dragneels. Grab yer shit and let's move." Gajeel, apparently as eager to encounter Dragneel as his uncle was, tried to balance his trunks on the trolley only to have a couple begin to topple, both caught in their fall by Metalicana. "The hell ya pack in all this?"

"Brought my Quidditch gear. Thought ya might run some plays with me over break," the boy replied, looking almost nervous as he said it. Having rarely seen Gajeel unsure of himself at anything, Juvia watched with rapt attention, ignoring her trunk and the Kneazle's carrier on top of it.

"Giihii!" The uncle laughed the same strange laugh as his nephew, further cementing Juvia's belief on who her fellow Slytherin truly took after. "Don't see why not. Never pass up an opportunity t' hurl a Bludger at ya."

Gajeel's moment of insecurity passed and gave way to his combative nature. "Like ya still have any aim at yer age."

"Keep makin' comments like that and ya ain't livin' t' be my age." Metalicana set the unsteady trunks back onto the trolley and fastened the trunks onto the stack. "There. Should hold. Try not t' knock them over. What about you?" The man turned to Juvia. "Just the one trunk, Starfish?"

Juvia paused, not that she was all that eager to say anything anyways, but she wasn't entirely sure that he was even speaking to her. So she stood there, silent and still. Gajeel, however, was never one to be silent or still. "The hell? Starfish? What the hell kinda name is that?"

"I don't know - she just looks like a Starfish."

"How the fuck -"

"Oi! Watch yer language in front of the girl."

"- does she look like a starfish?"

"Sure as hell don't look like a raindrop."

"Raindrop makes sense! She makes it rain, so Raindrop!"

"Well, I ain't callin' her Raindrop."

"But ya'll call her Starfish?"

"Juvia does actually have a name," she said at last, compelled to speak to remind them of the obvious. Nephew and uncle merely looked at her in rather bewildered silence a moment before continuing their argument. With a sigh, she let them continue until their subject ceased to amuse them, each declaring the other to be an idiot.

Metalicana turned back to her. "You okay with that trunk, Starfish?" She nodded, deciding to accept the new nickname. She knew well enough from dealing with Gajeel that any attempt to dissuade him from using it would only reinforce his use of it. Better to accept the inevitable and come to peace with being both a Starfish and a Raindrop. There were worse things to be. "Alright, this way, kids." The man cut his way through the crowd, his large form leaving a formidable wake behind him, making it easy for Juvia and Gajeel to follow. The trio left the platform and joined the busy King's Cross station. Juvia never cared for King's Cross, loud and crowded as it was. People bustling about would always jostle and push Juvia around, not seeing or not caring to see the little blunette in their haste. However, following Metalicana proved to be far easier than following Jose. People certainly couldn't fail to see Metalicana, and many needed to stop and stare to be sure of what they saw. It made it easy for Juvia to make her way around them.

The screams and roars of the city welcomed them when they left the cover of King's Cross and stepped out in to the frosty London air. The city's poorly crafted symphony followed them as Metalicana ushered them away from the station and eventually down a lane of residential houses. They paused before one of the old stone buildings, a crumbling edifice that seemed to be kept together by little more than sheer will. "Here we are," said the elder.

Juvia examined the dilapidated facade, the peeling paint, the warped window frames, the rusted railings. Gajeel never spoke in great detail of his home, but he certainly hadn't ever seemed impoverished in any way. All his supplies were newly purchased, not second-hand as hers always were, and his aunt had sent a full set of Quidditch gear when he made the team that, judging by the reactions of those around them when it had arrived, had cost more than a few Galleons. It certainly didn't seem the sort of place he'd live at. Not that she had much room to speak - her entire abbey shuddered when a storm wailed through the isle. "This is where you live?" she asked.

Metalicana laughed. "Hardly. This is a station on the floo network." He approached the door and knocked a seemingly random series of knocks. With an aching groan, it opened. "Everyone in," he said, waiting in the doorway as Juvia and Gajeel pushed the trolleys through. When the door closed behind them, only then did the lamps around the room flicker to life, revealing what appeared to be an old sitting room filled with dated and fraying furniture. It rather reminded her of Sister Agatha's room, the sparse little cell in Inis Stoirm decorated with items from the Sister's childhood, fading away as she and they turned to dust. Except that her cell had photos everywhere - on the wall, on the furniture, in old books throughout the room - memories of every moment leading to the one that saw her rotting in an abbey far from the rest of the world. The room here, however, was devoid of any personal touch. The room just seemed to center around a single focal point, a fireplace that took up a large chunk of the western wall. Unlike the rest of the room, the fireplace had obviously been well maintained, every stone in its facade secure in its place, its mantelpiece free of dust and debris. Next to it stood an urn on a stand, filled to the brim with a blue powder.

"Ya ever use one of these before, Starfish?" Metalicana asked as he stood next to her. She mutely shook her head. He knelt down beside her. "Ain't nothin' t' worry about. Easy as breathin'. What yer gonna do is pick up a handful of that dust over there, stand inside the grate and then say Kurogane Hall. Ya got that?" She nodded. "Say it back t' me."

"Kurogane Hall."

"Good girl. Clear as ya can. That's important. Ya say Kurogane Hall and then ya throw down the powder and then there ya are. Move outta the fireplace as soon as ya got yer bearings. Understood all that?" She nodded again. "Good. Boy, ya go first t' show her. Leave yer trunks - I'll take those. But take yer beast with ya."

"Right." Gajeel grabbed Panther Lily's carrier from the top of her trunk, the Kneazle voicing his displeasure at still being caged with his crackly growl. "Watch me, Raindrop." He grabbed a fistful of powder as he passed the urn and crossed the mantle's threshold. "Kurogane Hall." Down he threw the dust. A bright green flame flared up, blocking the boy from view. When the flames had died again, he was gone.

She took an involuntary step back but was prevented from retreating any further by a gentle hand on her back. "It's alright, Starfish. Doesn't hurt any, I promise. Most ya feel is a bit of a chill, odd enough." She looked away from the fireplace to Metalicana. The man's face was still intimidating - which she imagined was rather the point of all those piercings - but his eyes were soft and kind. He reminded her of Headmaster Makarov, terrifying when he wanted to be but kind when he needed to be. "Ready t' try?" She nodded. "Atta girl. Remember, Kurogane Hall."

Taking a deep breath, she approached the urn, reaching into the pile of dust, feeling the grains slip through her fingers like the grains of sand on her beach. She stepped past the fireplace threshold. Speaking loud and clear, she said, "Kurogane Hall," and then threw the powder to the ground. A flash of green light blinded her a moment, but Metalicana was right - she felt nothing more than a slight chill over her skin. When she was able to see once more, the dilapidated sitting room had been replaced with a large airy foyer, Gajeel and a newly freed Panther Lily waiting by a large staircase.

"There ya are," Gajeel said, looking a mix of irritated and concerned. "Come outta there. Don't wanna be in there when the old man goes through."

She quickly exited the hearth, trying to take in her surroundings as she did. The foyer she had been deposited into rather reminded her of the Slytherin Common Room. Every piece of furniture, every inch of fabric that decorated the room had been carefully chosen to display a picture of wealth and significance that served to create an undoubtedly impressive entrance, but also one that was largely cold. There weren't any family photos or knick knacks to speak to the household personalities. There were portraits - a fair number of large paintings mounted on the walls - but none of the house's current occupants, or at least none of the ones she had met so far. The largest portrait, positioned pride of place at the landing of the staircase before it branched off to lead up to different wings of the house, was of a couple. A woman sat in the foreground, her hands folded in her lap, while a man stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder. The man was clearly one of Metalicana's family. Though he lacked the piercings of his descendant, his grim and stern expression mirrored Metalicana's and was made no less intimidating by the lack of adornments. The woman seemed far kinder. Softer. While the man glowered at Juvia as she approached the foot of the staircase, the woman in the portrait merely smiled gently at Juvia, making the blunette feel welcome and safe.

"Who are they?" She asked, gesturing at the large portrait.

"My grandparents. Never met Granddad, but Nan was alright. Lived with her fer a while after my folks went away."

Juvia studied the woman a moment, looking for similarities in the woman and her grandson and son, but both seemed far more like the grandfather than the grandmother. Eventually, she abandoned trying to find familiarity in the woman's face. Her focus then shifted to the woman's hair. The woman's pink hair. The woman's incredibly familiar pink hair. Juvia made no attempt to stop the squeal of pure joy that sprang from her lips. Gajeel flinched as did the grandfather. The grandmother only smiled.

"The hell, Raindrop?!"

"Your grandmother's a Dragneel!"

The boy flushed bright red. "Dammit, Raindrop..."

"Does Dragneel know? Can Juvia tell him? Juvia's going to tell him."

"Raindrop, I will drown you."

"There's no drownin' people in this house," Metalicana said as he emerged from the hearth, Juvia's trunk under one arm and Gajeel's set of trunks balanced on his shoulder. "At least not this century," he added under his breath before setting the trunks down with far more deference than her battered tin trunk really deserved. "Also way too early to be resortin' t' death threats. Pace yerselves. Ya got two weeks more locked in the same house. Plenty a time to be plottin' each other's demise over the days ahead."

Gajeel turned to his uncle, grateful for the backup. "She realized Nan's a Dragneel."

The elder winced, as unenthusiastic of her discovery as his nephew was. "It's a distant relation, Starfish. Very distant. She's part of the House, but many times removed from the current dumbass and his nephew. Got it?"

Juvia nodded, still grinning from ear to ear. She turned back to Gajeel and, after another unstifled giggle, added, "Dragneel's your cousin."

Gajeel groaned, slapping his hand against his forehead. "Fix this," he pleaded, turning to his uncle.

"Starfish, I ain't rescindin' the no-drownin' rule, but I do know a half dozen silence spells - a necessity growin' up with this one," he said, jerking his head towards Gajeel, "- and I will not hesitate to use 'em if I keep hearin' the name Dragneel. Bad enough I gotta deal with that Igneel bastard at work. I ain't dealin' with him on my break. Understood?"

"Yes, Metalicana," she replied, still grinning, content to drop the subject for now knowing that she had plenty of ammunition to take with her back to Hogwarts for the remainder of the term.

"Good. Now where the hell is Cass? Cass!" After a moment in which nothing happened, the man bellowed out into the chamber, various fixtures and ornaments in the room trembling as he did and Juvia clutching onto the stairwell for balance. "CASS!" A quick breath later and a house elf joined them in the foyer. Juvia hadn't met many house elves - just a couple at Hogwarts and the one that worked at the Leaky Cauldron - so she regarded the new addition to the foyer curiously. The spindly creature scarcely seemed like he should be able to hold himself upright, all bones and skin and little else. "Cass, this is Juvia." Metalicana gestured to her. The house elf turned to her and squinted as though he couldn't see her quite clearly, which was probably the case, his old eyes clouded. "She'll be stayin' the next couple a weeks. Can ya take her trunk to the -"

"Green Room. Yes, yes. I'll take them."

"- no, the Gr- ummm, actually, yes. The Green Room. How did ya know?"

"You always put her in the Green Room," the creature said as he turned from her and hobbled towards the trunk.

"Cass, she hasn't been here before," Metalicana told the house elf.

The house elf paid him no mind, merely waving his withered hand and muttering to himself, "She's always in the Green Room." With that, he and the trunks appareted away.

Confused, Juvia looked to the others only to find that Gajeel and Metalicana seemed to make as little sense of what had happened as she had.

"Mad as a box of frogs, he is," Gajeel said at last.

"Watch it," Metalicana snapped. "He's been a loyal servant of the house for nearly two centuries. Treat him with respect. But yeah, completely insane, don't pay him any mind, Starfish. Let's get ya settled. Been a long day. This way." The man headed up the staircase, Juvia and Gajeel right behind.

As she reached the first landing, the woman in the portrait smiled at her. "Welcome to Kurogane Hall, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blacksteel," Juvia replied with a small bow.

"My, such manners."

"Obviously not one of ours," her husband remarked drolly.

"Come along, Starfish," Metalicana called from further up the staircase.

After another quick bow, Juvia darted up after Gajeel and Metalicana. All along the walls, other portraits watched her go, though none were as grand or as welcoming as the pair on the landing. Most just stared at her as she passed, which left Juvia more than a little unnerved. Though she had rather gotten used to the living portraits in Hogwarts, they usually didn't pay her any mind at all, having seen far too many students come and go to be interested in one more. These, however, stared at her. Silent. Judging. One portrait of a large, elderly woman, richly dressed and adorned, asked Metalicana as he passed. "And whose House is she from?"

Metalicana rolled his eyes. "The House of Yer-line-died-out-a-century-ago-ya-old-bat-so-sod-off."

The portrait's subject huffed and stormed out of frame, going to some more favorable setting, Juvia assumed. The woman from the landing portrait called out in a voice laden with exasperation and reproach, a tone she sometimes heard from the abbess whenever she was being particularly unkind to Sister Theodosia, "Metalicana..."

"Sorry, Ma," he called back, though Juvia failed to detect any regret in his voice. "My great aunt several dozen times back or whatever," he explained, looking back at Juvia. "Married inta the family and has a thing fer proper breedin' or whatnot. Don't mind her. Or any of 'em. Lots a bastards in the family. Carry a candle around and threaten to trip onto them. That'll shut 'em up if they bother ya."

They reached the first floor landing, greeted by a long hall of rooms, the hall framed on each side by even more portraits, their painted eyes on them as they passed. Juvia hurried past them, rather wishing for the sparse and still paintings of the abbey. However, she did stop in front of another portrait of the same woman from the first painting, this time older and without her husband behind her. Instead, a familiar child sat on her lap. A familiar child with a familiar scowling face, unmistakably recognizable even at a few years old. Another squeal of joy eeked out before she even had a chance to muffle it.

"Oh, goddammit," she heard Gajeel groan.

"Baby Gajeel!" she shrieked, pointing at the frame.

"I will fuckin' drown ya!"

"Language!" the woman in the frame snapped, hurriedly covering the ears of the young Gajeel much to the painted boy's displeasure.

"Sorry, Nan," the real one apologized, though again with the same lack of regret his uncle had shown. "C'mon, Raindrop!" he growled, grabbing onto her arm, dragging her after Metalicana.

"Juvia loves this house!"

"Can't ya use that silence spell now?"

"Not when she's just irritatin' you. She's doin' my job fer me."

"That's it, I'm goin' back t' Hogwarts."

"Awww, kid, I told ya - ya didn't need t' get me a present for Christmas."

"Fuck you."

"Language!" shouted both the portrait and the uncle. "Now then, Starfish. This is you," Metalicana said, opening one of the hall doors for her. He waited in the doorframe while she entered the room, her trunk already waiting for her at the foot of the large four poster bed and a fire crackling a welcome in the hearth. Larger than even the room at the Leaky Cauldron, the room was a bit dated, obviously cleaned but all of the furniture and upholstery seemed from an older age. "Room ain't used too often," Metalicana said, apparently reading her thoughts, "but feel free t' make whatever changes ya like. Cass will get ya whatever ya need. 'Fraid I don't know what kinda things teenage girls like. Have two sisters but I don't think they're good standards t' use. At least, God, I hope they aren't."

"It's lovely," she assured him, "thank you, Mist- Metalicana."

"Well, get settled. The boy's just a couple doors down, and I'm at the end of the hall if ya need somethin'. Rest up and I'll see ya at dinner in a couple a hours." He closed the door behind him, leaving Juvia to the softly crackling fire.

Heaving a happy, contended sigh, she set to work unpacking her trunk, taking her Gray doll out first and setting it at the head of the bed, the scowling visage never failing to brighten everything around her. Humming happily, she next set to work removing and organizing her clothes. She had just started hanging up her dresses when she heard a clatter behind her. She turned to see Cass carrying a large tray and trying to set it on a writing desk by the window, the old house elf obviously struggling a little with the weight of it all. Dropping the dress in her hands, she hurried over to the desk. "Here, let Juvia help." She steadied the tray and helped him set it onto the desk without losing pot of tea or tray of treats.

"I made you the lemon bars you like so much," he said once the tray was safely on the desk.

"Well, thank you, Cass, but Juvia's never had a lemon bar before."

The old house elf studied her a moment quizzically before shaking his head. "No, no, you like the lemon bars and peppermint tea. I've made them for you." He patted her hand with all the fondness of a doddering old aunt and apparated away.

For a few moments, all Juvia could do was stare blankly at the spot the house elf just vacated. Eventually, however, a slight lurch of her stomach told her that she was a bit hungry and a lemon bar certainly didn't sound horrible. Pulling one off of the pyramid of bright yellow treats, she hopped onto the bed and was absentmindedly chewing on the bar when there was a knock on the door.

"Raindrop, ya decent?"

"Why wouldn't she be?" she called back.

Taking that as a yes, Gajeel entered, Panther Lily trotting in after him. "Whatcha got?" he asked, gesturing at the bar in her hand as he flopped into a chair by the bed while Panther Lily curled up next to her.

"Lemon bar. Fortunately, she rather likes it. She wouldn't have the heart to tell Cass otherwise." The boy merely arched an eyebrow to ask an unspoken question. "He's apparently confused her with someone else. Someone who likes lemon bars and peppermint tea. Juvia's not sure what to make about that combination yet, but she's rather sure she'll have it often over the next couple of weeks."

"I can order him t' bring somethin' else if ya want."

She shook her head. "It's fine. It's very sweet of him. He's very nice."

"Yeah, Cass is alright."

"Do you know who stayed here before Juvia?"

"Not anyone that I know of," Gajeel replied with a nonchalant shrug before gesturing for Juvia to hand over one of the lemon bars. After fetching the platter of treats from the desk and setting it onto the bed where both of them could grab from the pyramid at leisure, she returned to her seat on the bed. "My aunt has people over now and again, but she has 'em stay in the east wing. Fancier part a the house and she likes t' show off. And they ain't the lemon and peppermint types, anyways. Coulda been a long while ago - Cass has been here a couple centuries now. Probably just thinkin' of someone from when he was younger." He took a large bite of his newly acquired lemon bar, for once not attempting to continue the conversation while eating. After several minutes, he asked in a voice lacking its usual gruff or irritated timbre. "What do ya think of my uncle?"

"He's nice," she replied.

The boy snorted. "That's a load a shit."

She giggled. "She thinks he is. She likes him. She thinks you're a lot like him."

"Sod off," he said, but the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth betrayed his lack of offense at the comparison.

"It seems so odd to Juvia that your uncle and your mother should be so different." Gajeel's mother was not often a topic of conversation between them, but the little he had told her of his mother had painted her as a vain and ruthless woman, obsessed with her status and her wealth. Metalicana didn't seem to care much about either. She doubted she'd have warranted an invitation if he had.

"They weren't raised together much. See, Blacksteels are like Redfoxes. If there's a Zeref around, there's a Blacksteel in the mix somewhere. Blacksteels have always been purists. They want to see all Muggles wiped out, and only the pureblooded wizards and witches left when the dust settles. They don't fight out in the open like the Redfoxes, but they back the Zerefs all the same. They fund their wars. They corrupt the Ministry from within. They're always part of Zeref's silent army. Except my granddad didn't want anythin' to do with it. His parents wanted him to marry a Redfox - my great aunt. He ran off with Nan instead. They wanted him in the Ministry, t' position him t' spy for the next Zeref, whenever he showed up. He became an Auror, puttin' dark wizards away. His parents pretended to be fine with his choices. Didn't want their friends knowin' their only son wasn't the proper Zeref stooge they wanted him t' be. Joke was on them, though - he ended up workin' for Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?"

He paused, thinking back. "Huh. That's right. We ain't talked about Fairy Tail yet. I thought Jose woulda brought that up in Defense Against the Dark Arts by now. Wonder why he hasn't mentioned it yet." Juvia had a few theories on the subject but kept quiet. Jose was one of the few topics on which she and Gajeel disagreed. "Fairy Tail's a group that shows up whenever a Zeref comes along. They fight back - rally the others against Zeref. No one knows who's in Fairy Tail. It keeps them and their families safe. But they're always there watching out for the next Zeref and tryin' t' take him down.

"They recruited my granddad, knowing that Zeref would reach out t' him when he made a move. Granddad played along when the Zeref came around, spyin' for Fairy Tail. He even sabotaged a spell my great aunt was castin' durin' an attack on Hogwarts. Ended up killin' both him and her and a whole mess a Death Eaters. Ended that war. Not that anyone knew what he'd done. Officially, it was just an accident - a spell that backfired. Fairy Tail didn't want anyone knowin' he was workin' for them. Afraid of retaliation against his family. Only Nan and his parents knew, and none of them ever said anythin' outside of the family - Nan because it'd put their children at risk from whatever Death Eaters remained, and his parent because they'd felt it just bring shame t' them.

"When it was over, his parents fought fer custody of the kids. Said Nan couldn't take care a them - said she was livin' off of Dragneel charity since she hadn't money of her own. Eventually agreed t' raise the kids here together, Nan living with them and the kids, but his parents always talked shit about Granddad and Nan t' Ma and my aunt. Tried t' poison my uncle against them too, but my uncle was older. He remembered Granddad. Ma was like three when he died and my aunt was just a baby then. But Metalicana was seven or so. He remembered Granddad and remembered bein' proud a him. Poison wouldn't take with my uncle. He just ignored his grandparents, spendin' his time with Nan instead. But Ma and my aunt bought inta it all. T' them, Granddad was a traitor who sullied the Blacksteel name - not like the name was all that grand t' begin with. Ma jumped at the chance t' marry a Redfox. Bring the family back t' glory or whatever. Dumb idiots. But my uncle's keepin' my Granddad's legacy. He's making Blacksteel a name that he can be proud of. Just like I'm goin' t' do with Redfox. Ain't no one gonna write another chapter about another Zeref's Redfox. Not while I'm breathin'."

The next couple of days passed peacefully enough for Juvia. Metalicana and Gajeel were constantly quarreling, but having been Gajeel's friend for so long, a day without him arguing with anyone would have just been disturbing. Besides, it was clear enough to her that every fight was exactly what Gajeel had been looking forward to the last few months. Towards her, Metalicana was always kind, always patient. He'd ask her about her favorite classes, give her advice on how to handle some of her professors or tell her stories of when he was at Hogwarts. It was a family - one she wasn't actually a part of, but it was nice to pretend for a couple of weeks.

The room she had been given had obviously not been used for some time, and with Cass' help, she made adjustments to cheer it up a little. She had spent the morning cleaning up the room while Metalicana had taken Gajeel to the village for some long awaited piercings. Finally settling on flowers as the best way to brighten up the room, she had just fetched an armful of lilies and carnations and baby's breath from the gardens and had filled a vase full of water for them, when, while carrying her slightly awkward burden back to her room, she noticed a trophy cabinet along the hall wall. She lingered, looking over the pictures within which largely seemed to be of Metalicana in earlier Quidditch days, both in Hogwarts and out.

A slam of a door somewhere in the house announced the return of the residents - Cass never slammed doors - and a low groan and thud next to her alerted her of two things. Firstly, that either the piercing appointment had gone really well or really poorly and secondly, that Gajeel had some sort of tracking spell placed on her to find her so quickly in the house. She cast an empathetic glance towards the boy as he slumped against the wall, a line of shiny metal studs along his brow.

"They look...," she paused searching for the right word. Nice wasn't the right word. Scary? Mmm... Probably not. Painful fit. She didn't want to even think about how they were affixed to his head. But painful probably wasn't what he was going for either. "Intimidating."

The red eyes shifted over to her, causing the boy to wince slightly as though that little twitch had inflicted fresh pain. "It hurts like a bitch."

She rolled her eyes. "Can't imagine why. Not like you got metal spikes shoved into your skull."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Raindrop."

"She begs to differ. Where's Metalicana?"

"His study. We were comin' up the drive and two of the Aurors in his unit showed up t' talk t' him."

"Everything alright?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "If it ain't, my uncle'll sort it." The utter trust and confidence he had in Metalicana when everyone else on the planet were idiots never failed to draw a smile from Juvia, which in turn earned her a glare from the boy. Or would have had the act of doing so not caused him to grimace in pain again. "Dammit. Stupid studs," he growled, gingerly rubbing his forehead. He glanced at the vase in her arms. "What'ya doin' with that?"

"Juvia thought they'd brighten up her room," she replied, proudly holding out the vase to the boy to display her beautifully arraigned bouquet.

Gajeel, however, proved to be unimpressed. "Ya are such a girl. Why ain't ya lettin' Cass handle that?"

"Cass has enough to do," she said as she carefully cradled the vase back to her chest. "She's more than capable of getting her own flowers."

"Uh-huh. My arm's hurtin' just watchin' ya try t' carry that. Gimme that thing," he plucked the vase out of her hands before she could argue.

She briefly debated arguing but opted instead to respond with a huffy, "Thank you."

"What'ya lookin' at?"

"Just looking at Metalicana's photos. Did he play Quidditch long?"

"All through school and a few years afterwards. Even went to the Quidditch World Cup with England. Didn't win that year, but he got t' beat the hell out of Ireland along the way."

"This picture here. Is that -?"

Gajeel leaned in to peer at the photo she pointed to of a younger Metalicana with his arm slung over the shoulder of a red-haired man in Quidditch gear. The other man lacked the pink hair of Natsu Dragneel or Gajeel's grandmother, but he shared more than a few similarities in his face with her Dragneel classmate, particularly that wide smile, full of energy and life, devoid of restraint. "Yeah, that's Igneel Dragneel. He was Keeper durin' that World Cup."

Juvia watched the photo, both young men smiling, obviously thrilled to be at the World Cup. "They seemed close."

"Yeah. Don't let my uncle's constant bitchin' fool ya. He's just isn't able to take Dragneel's dumbassery in large doses. He and Dragneel are actually really good friends."

Juvia's lips twitched into a grin. "Like you and Natsu?"

The boy carefully kept his expression neutral to avoid aggravating his head. "I will drop this vase."

"It's your family's vase!"

"Like hell I care. More than happy t' break it t' send a message."

Opting not to see just how far he'd go for his "message", Juvia turned back to the case, scanning the photos. Dragneel's uncle featured in a number of them, as did a blond man wearing Seeker gear. "Metalicana played Quidditch when your father was at Hogwarts, didn't he?"

"Yeah, they were in the same year."

"Do you think he'd remember the Slytherin Seeker?" Juvia had tried asking everyone. Professor Precht, who had been Headmaster at the time, had promptly admitted to despising Quidditch, dismissing it as an idle amusement for those with nothing better to do. Jura had said much the same, though far more nicely. Belno had attended Beaubaxtons and not Hogwarts. Gildarts tried to remember, offering up a couple dozen names and summarily dismissing them one after another. Jose told her she was wasting her time on frivolous pursuits. And Porlyusica just glared at her for a solid three minutes until Juvia slunk away. She even tried asking Acnologia, but the Slytherin ghost pretended not to hear her, which all things considered, was probably the nicest outcome she could have hoped for. She wasn't really sure why she cared so much - she didn't even like Quidditch - but it was a mystery. She had enough of mysteries. One of them had to have an answer, and the name of a Seeker should have been an easy one.

"He should. He's obsessed with Quidditch."

A short laugh slipped out. "So that's where you get it from."

"Tch, I'm not obsessed."

"Of course not," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Ah, shut up. Let's take this t' yer room before my arms fall off. We'll talk with my uncle during lunch." Without waiting for a response, he trudged past her. With a last glance at the case, she trotted after him.

They were at lunch half an hour before Metalicana joined them, having seen his two guests off. Though never a horribly cheerful person, Metalicana looked unusually preoccupied. He did his best to appear calm, ruffling her hair as he passed behind her and checking with Gajeel on how much his face still hurt, poking at the boy's forehead as he did. After a short and expected argument between the pair, he took his seat and poked half-heartedly at the plate that appeared in front of him.

After a few minutes of silence save the scrapes of silverware against plates, Gajeel cleared his throat to ask Metalicana about the Seeker only to be quieted by a swift kick under the table from Juvia. Glaring at the girl, he mouthed the word, "What?"

"Don't ask him," she whispered. "They can ask another time."

"Yer the one who wants t' know," he hissed back.

"Yes, but it's obvious he's dealing with something. They shouldn't bother him."

"He's fine. He can handle a five second question."

Their whispered argument didn't get much of a chance of continuing. "Neither of ya is as quiet as ya think ya are," said the man at the head of the table. "What did ya want t' ask?"

"It's not important," Juvia replied before Gajeel had a chance to. "They don't want to bother you when you're busy with something else."

Metalicana smiled softly. "Ya ain't botherin' me, Starfish. It's just a buncha Ministry noise. Nothin' unusual and nothin' t' stop the world over. What's the question?"

Juvia glanced to Gajeel who, though irritated with her, took the lead nonetheless. "What was the name of the Slytherin Seeker the year my da won the Cup?"

Confusion settled over Metalicana's face. "How the hell should I know?"

"You remember everythin' when it comes to Quidditch. Just tell us already, will ya?"

"Sod off. I don't remember random nonsense like that."

The boy glared at the elder. "Seeker of the 1986 American National team?"

"Brankovitch. The third. Everyone knows that."

"No. No one knows that. Brankovitch's mother doesn't know that. Hell, I'd wager Brankovitch himself doesn't know that. Now, who was the Slytherin Seeker?"

"The hell's the interest?" Metalicana sighed. "Keeper that year was Gregory, of course. The Beaters were two ugly shits - Ryan Simmons and Joseph Russell. Had maybe a full set of teeth between the two of them. Maybe. Chasers were Denny Evans, Lyra Hughes and Ruby Turner. Ruby was decent. Went on t' play for Wales a couple of times. The other two were worthless for anythin' more than Bludger fodder. The Seeker...," his voice went quiet as his eyes closed, brow furrowed. "The Seeker that year... I can't remember."

"Of course ya can. Think, ya idiot!"

"I swear, boy, I will stuff ya in a box and mail ya t' yer father so ya can ask him instead," the man growled, his eyes still closed. He leaned into his hand and rubbed his forehead. He was silent for a few minutes longer before he sighed in resignation. "I can't remember. They obviously weren't that important." He paused. His eyes opened, but he still looked troubled. After another short moment of silence, he spoke again, though he seemed to be more talking to himself than to either of them, his voice so soft she had to lean forward to try to catch any of it. "And yet, the Gryffindor game. We hardly were half an hour into the game before it ended. Their Seeker must have gotten the Snitch. We had a backup in the game - goddamn awful third year. Couldn't outrace a slug. Seeker shoulda been Alistair, but he got himself placed in the Infirmary the day before the game. Dumbass got caught flirtin' with Gregory's girl. Next thing ya know, he's got a broken leg after an errant spell in a joint Charms class with Slytherin. Gregory swore he hadn't anythin' t' do with it, but we knew it had to be one of his friends. Bastard."

"Gregory's girl? You mean Ma?" Gajeel asked.

Metalicana looked up, surprised, as though he had forgotten that either of them were there. "Huh?"

"Ya said he was flirtin' with Gregory's girl."

"What are ya on about? Gregory didn't have a girl. Yer Ma and him didn't start datin' until they were both outta Hogwarts. Shit, he didn't date anyone in Hogwarts. Not that half the female population didn't try. And some of the male population too."

"Ya said Da had a girl."

"I said nothin' of the sort."

"Ya did too."

"The hell I did."

"Raindrop, tell him."

Both uncle and nephew turned their focus on her. After a short pause in which she suppressed the urge to hide, she quietly replied, "You did say that."

The look on Metalicana's face clearly said, "Traitor." Gajeel, however, looked pleased at having been proved right. "So, who was his girl?" he asked.

"He didn't have one," the man insisted. "I musta been thinkin' of someone else."

"Fuckin' swiss cheese fer a brain."

"Watch your language around the girl," Metalicana snapped.

"Ya've said worse a dozen times at breakfast this mornin'."

"I'm allowed. Yer the one that needs t' set a good example fer her."

"Don't ya have that backwards?"

Juvia watched the two banter back and forth for a moment longer before quietly interrupting. "Metalicana, sir."

"Kid, I told ya. Metalicana. Not Mister Blacksteel. Not sir. Just Metalicana."

"Sorry, sir."

"Fuckin' hell."

"Language!"

Juvia wasn't entirely sure what the gesture Metalicana directed at Gajeel meant, but she guessed it wasn't meant for polite society. Not that anyone at the table generally qualified as "polite society". "Metalicana, could they ask Alistair? Would he know who the other Seeker was?"

Metalicana grimaced. "I'm sure he would, except... Ya can't really talk t' him."

"He dead?" Gajeel asked. "He die in the war?"

Metalicana shook his head. "He's at St. Mungo's."

Juvia glanced at Gajeel.

"It's a hospital fer people who are hurt by magic spells and whatnot," Gajeel replied to the unspoken question.

"He's a long-term patient," Metalicana continued. "Catatonic. Been that way fer over a decade now."

Juvia frowned. "What happened to him?"

"I'm not really sure. We were paintin' some room in his house again. Blue this time. Damn shit. I spent every weekend for three weeks before that paintin' the damn room pink. Paint wasn't even dry yet, and nope. Room had to be blue instead. With all the bunnies turned to seashells. Friggin' bastard," he cursed in a tone that betrayed less irritation than it did regret. Silence settled in again, the man seeming to dwell on the memory. Juvia waited patiently for him to finish. Gajeel looked far less patient, but a swift kick under the table any time he seemed to be ready to open his mouth kept the table in silence. She'd pay for those kicks later, she was sure, but it seemed a decent enough exchange if it got her an uninterrupted story from the uncle. At length, Metalicana seemed ready to continue. "He just started screamin'. Didn't say anythin'. He just screamed. And then he went silent. Never heard word from him again. He's been at St. Mungo's ever since."

Juvia focused her attention on her hands folded before her on the table. One Seeker missing. Another catatonic. It seemed too much to be coincidence.

Gajeel seemed to think much the same. "How about the Hufflepuff Seeker? Or the Ravenclaw one? They still around?"

Metalicana paused, thinking back, and then shook his head. "The Hufflepuff Seeker, Cornelia Alberona, died in the attack at Raven's Hollow, and the Ravenclaw, Lapointe, got mixed up with the Death Eaters. He's currently spendin' his days with Dementors at Azkaban. Nothin' but a babbling idiot last I saw him there. Serves the fucker right. Was a shitty Seeker too," he added after another moment's pause.

Juvia wasn't sure which actually offended him more - the Death Eater affiliation or his apparently poor showing as a Seeker. Deciding that asking him which wouldn't help matters any, she decided to shift back to the one Seeker they could theoretically speak with, even if the conversation was decidedly one-sided. "Metalicana? Can you take them to see Alistair?"

The studded face studied her in silence before sighing and shaking his head. "St. Mungo's isn't a pleasant place, Starfish. And there's not really an Alistair left t' see. Ya wouldn't get much outta him than nightmares. I'll ask around. Maybe one of my other teammates remembers, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Been a long time, and a lot more's happened since then. Not all questions get answers."