So, since TODAY (for here it already is the 16th) is the release date of HBP, which I have of course preordered (I live in a village of about 420 people, the next 'city' is thirty minutes away, the shops there open at 10 a. m. compared to this the mail comes between 8.30 and 9 a.m.) and the mail won't dare to NOT bring me my Amazon-paket, I will be busy with finding out who the halfblood Prince is and who is going to die and so on over the weekend.

So I decided I would be a nice author and give you another chapter before the weekend.

TriGemini: The nightmares didn't turn up suddenly again, Angelina had them for the past years. It was just that the wedding reminded her of what happened last time she was engaged.

Fujutsu: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Eruaphadriel: (and I thought I had chosen a difficult name…;)) Angelina's nightmare was about what happened some years ago. So, it is not only a dream.

Redcandle17: Ah, so finally some hint for the secret fiancé! First: yes, the nightmare is really a memory and about the name you wrote…yes it is him. When thinking up this story I remembered Hermione's alleged betrayal to Harry (when Rita Skeeter claimed there was a love triangle and all that). That made the mother look rather old-fashioned to me and I thought she'd be someone who may not have something against black people as friends but as the wife/husband of a white person.

Tiarwen: oh my, I really should make a TV show out of this… Who's the mean ex-fiancé? Candidate no. 1? No. 2? Or no. 3? Stay tuned, you will hear the answer after the break… Okay, maybe not a TV show… Well, he is a canon character and more you will find out if you read my comments to Redcandle17 right above this.

Burnt Reflections: Ah, for those two to admit anything that could be called feelings you will have to wait a while…

Rupert's honey: ah yes, that dress alone would be worth to marry someone…

Mistress of the Red Kiwi: there are smutty sex scenes on THIS site? I must have missed something… well, I'm glad the way I described that part of their relationship did found good resonance because there will at least be two more described scenes of that.

Battlestar Polaris: ah, I loved writing the grandmother! I hope you will enjoy reading about her as much as I enjoyed writing her. Well, even the people who seem nice may have other sides… just read my comment to Redcandle17 above, then you will understand.

Andybear09: the mark will have to wait a bit, there are more important things right now… like meeting the family :D

Ashliegh: well, they HAD to sleep together, since Angelina needs to get pregnant as soon as possible, so she will give birth to a boy as soon as possible and thus, Adrian will inherit as soon as possible… Ah, and here we have the first person who is not asking but absolutely sure about who the fiancé was… about his mother (I don't know how often I've written this already) read my comment to Redcandle17.

Translation of the Italian words at the end.

Chapter 6

Home again!

Dyson was standing in the living room area whistling some song. Adrian glared at him while he waited for Angelina and Julia to finish dressing.

"Is there a reason why you are so annoyingly cheerful this morning?" he finally asked his cousin. Dyson raised his eyebrows at that and smiled.

"Ah, one should think that you should be just as cheerful this morning, cousin. After all last night was your wedding night. Or… wasn't it good?"

"How my wedding night was is none of your concern!"

Dyson sighed and shook his head.

"So, why are you so happy?" Adrian asked again when Dyson grinned.

"Just imagining our return to England." He looked at his cousin and saw that Adrian didn't understand what he meant.

"I've just been thinking about how happy your mother will be that you have found yourself a bride. And dear Camille! She will surely be delighted! Say, how long has she been trying to get you to ask her out?"

Adrian sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Maybe we should stay for a few days more…" he thought out loud. Dyson tried to hide his grin at this.

"Of course. Let me arrange everything. I'll talk to the hotel manager, write to your mother and my parents that we'll arrive later, cancel our portkey for today. I'll do everything that is needed… And in return you'll tell me – in detail – about your wedding night." Dyson grinned and raised and dropped his eyebrows several times.

"Make sure the portkey is ready. We'll leave in thirty minutes." Was Adrian's immediate reply.

"Cousin, you really hurt me! Why don't you want to tell me about it? You've never made a secret about your sex life before!" Dyson said and put his hands over his heart as though he was deeply wounded.

"Because I like my wife were she is – in MY bed! And now get out and make sure the portkey is ready."

"It must have been very good then, he?" Dyson asked grinning just before he closed the door behind him and just in time before Adrian could throw something at him.

As soon as the portkey had brought them to England Angelina took a deep breath. The wind was blowing around her skirt and she was actually glad that Adrian had asked her to wear a green long-sleeved dress made of velvet.

Compared to the heat in Argentina, it was cold in England. And she loved it! When she had been younger she had often complained about the weather in Great Britain. Of course, some people might argue, all British love to complain about the weather in their country. But deep in her heart she had missed it over the past four years. And she was glad to have this weather back that would change from sunshine to rain in less than five minutes.

They were standing in front of a huge house or rather a mansion. Julia was holding tightly onto her hand. Angelina looked down at her.

"It is cold." Said Julia and shivered slightly.

"Yes, it is." Angelina replied smiling. Julia frowned at this response. How could her sister smile when it was such a bad weather? Adults really were odd sometimes!

Adrian opened the door and guided Angelina and Julia into the mansion. Dyson was walking behind them, the big grin still on his face. They entered the hall and immediately Julia's eyes grew wide.

This house was even more impressing than the hotel they had stayed in. She was looking directly at a wide stone staircase that led upstairs. And there were so many doors and ways leading somewhere else from the hall. Julia wondered if this was some kind of castle. Like the one her sister had been to school.

"Adrian! You're already back home!" They could hear a female voice coming closer.

"That's what I call timing. Camille Crowfeather has come over this morning to keep me some company and we've just been talking about you!" A very pretty and very elegant woman came towards the group and kissed Adrian's cheek. Her deep brown hair was tucked up neatly in a bun and not a single strand of her hair was out of place. Her dark dress looked as though it had been made just for her – which it probably really was.

Dyson rolled his eyes at his aunt's words. She had known exactly when they would return. She had already known that before they had gone to Argentina and Camille being here was surely not by chance.

"Mother, I want you to meet…"

"Oh, just wait a moment for Camille to arrive. She is such a dear girl! You really ought to ask her out before someone else does." His mother interrupted Adrian and called for a house elf to tell Camille that Adrian had arrived home.

"Come, we'll go into the drawing room and meet her there."

"Mother." Adrian said and waited for his mother to stop babbling. Marjory Pucey looked wide eyed at her son.

"I fear Camille will have to wait. I want to introduce my wife to you." He said and put his hand around Angelina's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Marjory stood frozen for a moment. Had her son truly said wife? Her eyes fell on Angelina and she raised her eyebrows at the young woman.

Who did this girl think she was? Just because she was wearing a decent dress and held a somewhat catching beauty didn't make her a worthy match for Adrian! She probably was only after his money anyway! And the child she had with her? Oh dear lord, she already had a child! What could one expect from such a woman? This couldn't be true!

"Mother, this is Angelina. And her sister Julia. Angelina, Julia, this is my mother, Marjory Pucey."

"You are jesting with me, right?" 'He better says yes' Marjory thought.

"I can't see why you'd think that." Adrian replied calmly. He knew his mother's mood swings too well to give much about them. He was just waiting for her to scream now.

"Adrian Briscoe Pucey! You will tell me this instant that this is only a joke!" she demanded and pointed at Angelina. Adrian's grip around Angelina's shoulder tightened when Angelina gritted her teeth.

"It is NOT a joke! We're married."

Marjory gasped. How could he have dared to marry such a …

"Well then, annul the wedding!" she said simply and was about to turn around.

"This won't be possible." Adrian replied just as calm.

"Then get a divorce!"

"Mother, you know a Pucey-marriage is for eternity."

Marjory spun around and looked Angelina over once more.

"What do you know about this…this…woman? She is probably a mudblood! She will taint out family's bloodline! She doesn't fit in our family!"

Angelina tensed. Hadn't she heard that before?

"I can assure you, mother, that Angelina's blood is as pure as can be!"

"Ha! How can you be so sure about it? She can have faked any papers proving she is a mudblood!"

"And there comes the next one." Angelina could hear Dyson mutter under his grin. She turned around to look at the man who was obviously enjoying the scene and found him winking at her and nodding in the direction Marjory had appeared from before.

A young, blonde woman walked slowly towards them and Angelina had the feeling, she knew her from somewhere.

"Marjory, is something wrong?" she asked in a sickenly sweet voice as she looked at Adrian.

"Adrian, you're back already? Did you have a nice trip?"

"I did indeed. Camille, I'm sure you remember Angelina? She was in our year at Hogwarts."

So that was where Angelina had known her from. Camille looked at the other woman and frowned, visibly confused at what she was doing there. The look on her face when Adrian spoke again was one that Dyson would keep in his mind and cherish all his life.

"We married in Argentina."

"And they will end this marriage IMMEDIATELY!" Marjory screamed, surprising Angelina with this outburst. The dark woman silently wondered if Adrian would send her back to Argentina. But she didn't think he'd be so heartless. Or she hoped he wouldn't be. That he would listen to his mother sooner or later that was something she was sure would happen. She was in for a big surprise.

"No! This marriage is legal and will be held onto! Whether you like it or not, she is my wife. And she will stay my wife until either of us dies!"

Marjory was fuming silently at this and all Camille could do was stare open mouthed at Angelina. What had this dark skinned woman that she hadn't? If she remembered correctly she was this tall, loud Gryffindor chaser. Spoke what she thought, held no respect to those superior to her, had her own mind and could get very angry. Who would want someone like that for a wife?

"Now, now, what is all this chiasso about?"

'Just how many people are going to come?' Angelina wondered silently when an old woman came into the hall.

Her hair – or most of it – was black. Every here and there were some grey strands in it. She was leaning on a walking cane while she walked towards the group. Her dress was made of velvet and a dark red colour. You could tell by looking in her face that she was an old woman but her eyes were still full of life.

So this was Adrian's grandmother. If his mother and Camille had been any indication Angelina was prepared for the worst now. She lifted her chin while the old woman demanded to know what was going on.

"Your grandson thinks he is married to this woman!" Marjory said and made no secret of her dislike when she looked at Angelina.

"I AM married to her." Adrian replied just as his grandmother walked towards Angelina. The old woman was smaller than Angelina and she squinted her eyes when she looked up at her grandson's wife. She lifted her hand and took Angelina's chin between her fingers, turning her face to one side then the other while she looked at her.

"Dignità, orgoglio, coraggio, indipendente," she murmured when she looked at the woman's face. She made her look into her brown eyes and frowned.

"Tristezza, furia, dolore," she said silently and nodded.

"Conosco questa faccia. Conosco questi occhi." She smiled a little and turned to Adrian.

"You have found yourself a good wife, I'd say." Her smile left her face again.

"But I still want to talk to you!"

Adrian nodded silently. His mother, however, broke the silence.

"How can you say she is a good wife! We don't know anything about her!"

Adrian's grandmother closed her eyes and shook her head. Her hand was still holding Angelina's chin. When she opened her eyes she looked back at the young woman's face.

"You don't see it, do you?" She asked her daughter-in-law. She then frowned and looked at Angelina again.

"Angela… no, Angelina it is, right?"

Now it was Angelina's turn to frown. How did this woman know? The old woman smiled at the look on Angelina's face.

"Do you really not see it Marjory?"

"See what!"

"Leila Scott. You look just like your mother child." She said to Angelina. Marjory frowned but didn't say anything.

"Except your eyes. They are your father's."

Now Marjory let out a dry laugh.

"They had both brown eyes, Sophia."

"Stupido! I'm not talking about the colour." She told Marjory angry.

"I'm talking of what lies behind… of the feelings that are visible underneath the surface. All the time. One just has to look closely."

Sophia was looking at her for another second before she let go of her chin.

"Your parents got married at about the same time as my son and Marjory." She started to explain how she knew about Angelina's parents.

"And of course it was in every newspaper. Two high society weddings in less than a month, that was something to write about. And some even made a competition out of it. Who had the more expensive wedding, who had the more famous guests, the more expensive dress. And of course, who was the more beautiful bride."

Marjory made an odd sound at that. Sophia looked at her daughter-in-law for a moment before she turned back to Angelina.

"I always said your mother had won that one." She said and out of the corner of her eyes she watched Marjory fume.

"Would you know please tell Adrian that this marriage is to be annulled immediately!" Marjory said irritated.

"No." Sophia smiled at Angelina and Adrian and then turned around to Marjory.

"This has been the best decision the boy has made in some time. This wedding will NOT be annulled or divorced or anything else."

"But…"

"Zitto! They will stay married. Punto e basta!" Sophia said vehemently and Marjory went silent.

"And now, I want to talk with you!" Sophia said and walked past Marjory towards the drawing room. Before she was out of sight she turned back around.

"And bring your sister along, Angelina." She said and waited for Adrian, Angelina and Julia to follow her.

Dyson said his goodbyes before the three went after Sophia and he promised Julia to visit again soon. When he left he heard Marjory cursing loudly in the hall.

When they entered the room, Sophia was already sitting in an armchair and told them to sit on the sofa. Julia sat as close as possible to her sister on the light brown sofa, her teddy bear tightly in her other arm.

"I must admit that I don't remember your sister's name." Sophia said and looked at the small child.

"Her name is Julia." Angelina replied and stroke over her sister's hair. Sophia nodded slowly.

"Say Julia, would you like some hot chocolate?"

Julia looked up at Angelina and then nodded slowly.

"Adrian, would you be so kind and bring Julia and her orsacchiotto into the kitchen and get them something to drink?"

Adrian knew too well that it was no use to argue with his grandmother and so he arose from the sofa and led Julia out of the room. Before he closed the door, Julia turned around and cocked her head to one side.

"What is an orso… orsach…"

"Orsacchiotto. It means teddy bear." Sophia explained.

Once they were alone Sophia simply sat there and looked at Angelina for some time.

"I'm sorry about your parents." She suddenly said. Angelina nodded slowly. So it was true. They really were dead then. She had already feared so, but there had always been this small bit of hope.

"Do you know all about my parents from the newspapers?" Angelina asked.

"No. My husband was the owner of the Ballycastle Bats." Sophia said and saw that Angelina understood what that meant.

"It was my father's first team."

"Si. It was. Tell me something, Angelina. And I beg you to be honest with me."

Angelina nodded and waited what Sophia would want from her.

"Why did you marry Adrian?"

Angelina looked dumbfounded at the old woman.

"Because he offered me something that I couldn't decline."

"That doesn't sound like love."

"It isn't."

Sophia sighed. She had really hoped that Adrian would marry out of love.

"You do know that there is no way out of this marriage. So, if you should fall in love with someone else…"

"I don't believe in love." Angelina told her calmly.

"That is sad." Sophia said and watched her intently.

"Do you like him?"

"I… I'm not sure. I know to little of him."

Sophia sighed. This was really not what she had hoped Adrian's marriage to be like. But then, Esmond had been in love with Marjory and it wasn't at all what she had wanted for her son.

And she had seen the pain in Angelina's eyes. She knew that her words came from that feeling. And it was possible to heal this.

"Do you want children? Or, is this marriage not real at all?"

"I do want children." Angelina said blushing. She really didn't want to talk about that part of her marriage with Adrian's grandmother. It just felt wrong to talk about this with the grandmother of one's husband.

"I hope for you, that at least in this part then, you like him." The way Angelina looked everywhere but at her made her smile. So maybe there was really hope for these two.

"Tu mi piaci. Mi piace tua natura." Sophia said. When she saw that Angelina didn't understand what she had said she smiled.

"I like you. I like your nature." She translated. Sophia looked at the grandfather clock that stood in one corner.

"I have to go now. Adrian and your sister should be back any moment. She arose from her armchair and Angelina stood up as well. Angelina offered Sophia her help to stand up and the old woman smiled gratefully. They walked together to the door and left the drawing room.

"One more thing." Sophia said and looked up at Angelina.

"I want you to call me either grandmother or Sophia. I don't want to hear anything like Mrs. Pucey."

Just then Adrian and Julia came back. Julia stood close to her sister and Angelina's hand went automatically to Julia's shoulder.

"You're leaving already?" Adrian asked his grandmother as he stood next to his wife.

"Yes. You know I'm meeting Laura and Simone for Lunch once a week. But the two of us will talk, don't worry." She kissed Adrian's cheek and then did the same good bye with Angelina.

"And I will have to come more often so I get to know this young lady." She said and smiled at Julia who was pressing herself back against Angelina's legs.

Sophia made her way to the fireplace in the library to floo back to her home. But before she walked into the library she turned around one last time and saw Adrian leading Angelina and Julia upstairs. His hand rested on Angelina's back while they walked.

"Forse un giorno… non si sa mai…" she said to herself as she made her way home.

"I hope you'll like your room." Adrian said to Julia before he opened the door. Julia gasped when she looked into the room and Adrian thought that the house elves had really done a good job at changing the colour of the room.

This had to be the room of a princess! The whole furniture was white and rose coloured. There were paintings of kittens, puppets, and other baby animals on the walls. A white desk and a white chair stood in front of a window with rose curtains. A huge white wardrobe, two empty white shelves and a set of three white and rose armchairs that had the perfect size for her were also in the room.

But it was the white four-poster bed that caught her eyes immediately. The rose coloured curtains were open, revealing the rose beddings. The mattress looked even softer than the one in the hotel had been.

"Wow!"

"I take it that you like it then." Adrian said and Julia turned around to stare at him.

"This is really for me?"

"Of course." He frowned when he looked at the empty shelves.

"We will have to do some shopping I fear. You will need some more dresses. And then we will make sure you get something to fill these shelves with. Toys, books, anything you want."

Julia just looked at Adrian, unable to speak.

"Thank you." She finally managed to say.

Adrian turned around in his bed and opened his eyes sleepily. The first thing he noticed was that Angelina wasn't lying next to him. He frowned at this. Then his eyes caught a movement at the windows and he saw Angelina standing there in a dressing gown, looking out into the rain that was pouring down onto the land.

Her hand rested on the glass of the big window, which reached from the ceiling of the room down to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked her silently.

"I missed this." Angelina said and laughed slightly.

"The rain. I missed the rain. I had no idea how much until now." She turned around, almost expecting him to laugh at her, but he merely lifted the blanket he was lying under, silently asking her to join him in bed again. Angelina bit her lower lip as she walked towards the bed. She let the dressing gown fall before she followed the unspoken invitation and slipped into the bed.

Adrian pulled her close to him and ran his hand over her stomach.

"It is still pretty early." He whispered and kissed her neck. Angelina sighed under his touch and let herself fall barely able to wait until she would fly again.

Wow, I wrote this in less than six hours. Without any (real) interruptions. (Save for when I was looking up words).

Translation:

chiasso – row, racket

dignità – dignity

orgoglio – pride

coraggio - courage

indipendente – independent

tristezza - grief, sorrow

furia – fury

dolore – pain

stupido! – idiot!

Conosco questa faccia – I know this face.

Conosco questi occhi. – I know these eyes.

Zitto! – quiet!

punto e basta – and that's it

Orsacchiotto – teddy bear

Forse un giorno – maybe one day

Non si sa mai… – you never know…

Oh, yes, I've decided to write my livejournal bilingual, so it is now also English. The link can be found on my profile's page.