"What does the owl say?" James asked as he rocked Hermione.

Remus folded the parchment and sighed. "Well, they haven't killed each other yet. So, that's good news."

"What's the bad news?"

"They are ready to kill each other any moment now."

James smiled. "I still don't understand why Sirius and Severus had to go together."

"Because I wanted them to go together."

James nearly dropped Hermione. "What?"

Remus grinned. "Yeah, it was my idea. Thankfully, Albus went along with it."

James still hadn't recovered from the shock. "You... you... you-"

"Yes, James," Remus sighed. "I did that."

"But, why?" James asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"Well, they both need to let go of their school grudges. It's unhealthy. And i was hoping that if they learn to tolerate each other, especially Sirius, he will be open to working on his relationship with Regulus."

"It takes two to work a relationship, Remus."

"Regulus is okay. He is not as anti-Sirius as Sirius is anti-Regulus. Regulus asks me after his brother, he is concerned for him, even if he hides it well."

"While i understand the logic, i don't understand why Severus had to be included in the whole grand scheme. It's not as if Severus is going to be part of our life."

Remus smiled. It wasn't as he had lied to James, right?


It had been an hour of walking in the streets and Sirius had never been so bored. It was a well known fact that Sirius couldn't keep quiet for fifteen minutes. An hour was too much.

What choice does one have when the company is Severeus Snape?

Sirius tried to look interested in the stalls selling Merlin-knew-what. Well, that was the extent of his interest. He turned his attention back to the bane of his life, walking swiftly ahead of him, robes swirling and all.

The Git was tall, as tall as him, though he had an effeminate physique. Perhaps, this was the reason why people thought he was gay, back in school. Well, it wasn't only his effeminate physique. His mannerisms also suggested the same. Long, oily hair, though they hadn't been oily this week. Looks like, Remus was right; it, really, were potions fumes.

Where was he? Oh yes, long hair, long, slender fingers, graceful, yet intimidating, walk - definitely gay. Sirius was contemplating on Git's possible lovers, when he suddenly stopped and Sirius bumped into him.

"Oomph. Could've used a warning," Sirius muttered.

Severus turned around to give him a glare. "We're here," he whispered.

"Where?" Sirius asked, confused.

Severus jerked his head to the left, with a pointed look. Sirius looked and saw a big shop, with loads of trinkets hanging in the window. He couldn't read the sign, but there was a picture which he remembered from the one Graeme Angil had showed them.

"Let's go," Severus muttered.

Though there wasn't much excitement in this mission, if you will, he suddenly felt nervous. What if this merchant didn't have the stone? It was important for the potion that the Git was making. And the potion was important to find Harry.

Sirius and Severus walked in. The shop was relatively empty; it was still early for shopping. The shop was crowded, with antiques, trinkets, etc hanging or lying on every bit of space in the shop. There were three people behind the counter; two men and a small petite girl. The one behind the cash counter was the one they were looking for.

"Mr. Wuraola?" Severus asked.

The man behind the counter smiled at them. He was bald, with a prominent belly and smiling eyes. He seemed open and peaceful guy.

"I am Severus Snape and this is my friend Sirius Black," Severus introduced themselves. "We have come from Britain, looking for a rare gemstone."

The smile grew on Wuraola's face. Customers from far-away place usually meant good business. He stretched his left hand to shake hands with Severus. And that is when Sirius noticed the stone, their stone, on his middle finger. Sirius glanced at Severus and realised he had identified the stone too.

Sirius again looked around. There were still no customers. Wuraola led them to the far end of the counter and sat them comfortably.

Severus started the conversation, explaining the stone. Wuraola was listening intently, but his expression told Sirius that he had realised they were talking about his stone, as he reflexively covered his left hand with his right.

"That's a very rare stone," Wuraola said. "What is it called?"

"Benitoite,"Severus answered.

"I have never heard of it," Wuraola said, his eyes shifting anxiously for few seconds. "Why are you looking for this particular stone? May i show you something else?"

"It was a family heirloom," Severus answered. "It was stolen years ago. We have not been able to locate it. The least we can do is replace the heirloom."

"Well, i don't have that particular stone," Wuraola said. "Perhaps you would be interested in something similar."

"You do have the stone, Mr. Wuraola," Severus said, looking directly at the man. "On the middle finger of your left hand, to be precise."

Like a small child, Wuraola hid his hands behind his back. "It's not Benitoite."

"It's the exact stone i have been talking about."

"I bought it years ago from a trader."

"I can prove it is the same stone, Mr. Wuraola," Severus said patiently. "There is an engraving on the back side of the stone, as you may have seen it when you removed it from the locket and put it on a ring."

Wuraola's expression gave away the truth. He had seen the engraving.

"I paid 10,000 Naira for the locket," Wuraola said, dejectedly. Sirius realised the game was over, as the merchant had more or less conceded.

"We will pay the amount," Severus said.

"This stone brought me lots of luck," the merchant said, sadly. "But deep down i knew that it didn't belong to me. I don't need your money. The stone brought me enough."

Sirius hadn't expected it to be that simple. Severus took the ring from the merchant and within minutes, they were heading back to Angil's house.

"That went well," Sirius commented.

Severus nodded. "I hadn't expected it to be that simple."

"He seemed an honest and genuine merchant," Sirius commented. "I was observing throughout the conversation. The moment he realised we were looking for the stone, he decided to give up the claim."

"Merlin bless him. There aren't many honest men around these days."

"Well, now that the stone has been retrieved, we can travel back tomorrow," Sirius said happily.

"We will have to stay back for another two days," Severus said, "I need help from Angil on the potion that i am working on and he will be back from his conference tomorrow morning."

Sirius deflated. He was looking forward to meeting Devil.

"On what, exactly?"

Severus looked surprised. "Would you like to have coffee? I saw a coffee shop somewhere around. We can discuss it there."

Sirius nodded and led them to the shop. He had seen it too. Severus was again surprised; he was sure Sirius was bored and not paying attention to anything on the way. Perhaps, it was the Auror training.

Once they had sat down and coffee had been served, the conversation started on the potion. Now that they had the stone, a major hurdle had been crossed. The minor ones, Severus was sure, could be solved with Angil's help. So, it was with barely suppressed excitement that Severus explained the potion and its process to Sirius.


"Mistress?"

"Yes, Blush?"

"Mrs. Zabini is here to meet you. She is waiting for you in the library."

Adele grimaced. Adriano was never a pleasant company even when her son was alive, but she had become downright intolerable after his death.

Pasting a smile on her face, Adele went to greet the family matriarch.

"Adriano! What a surprise!"

Adriano turned around, a book in her hand. "How is my daughter-in-law doing?"

Adele gave a small hug to the older woman and they both took their seats beside the window. Library was Adriano's favourite place in the house.

"Things are fine here," Adele answered. "What brings you to Sicily?"

"A young man with the name of Dante," Adriano answered.

Adele winced. Her mother-in-law was set in her traditional ways. She wouldn't approve of Dante's presence in the house.

"What about it?"

"You know very well what about it, Adele. What is he doing here? Who is he, in the first place?"

"An orphan, whom i have adopted, Adriano, as you very well know."

"You don't go and adopt random kids, Adele. What do you know about his blood, his status?"

"Adriano, this is my personal matter."

"Adele, it is my family matter. I cannot have the family name disgraced because of your antics."

Adele was seething with anger. "Adriano, this is my family matter and not yours. You made that very clear when Alonzo married me."

"All that is in the past, Adele," Adriano replied. "I have been trying to bring honour to this family, the family you so gladly disgraced. I cannot have another disgrace brought to this family."

"And what will you do?"

Adriano held her chin up. "I will remove you from family tree. I will denounce you. Will you leave your family for an orphan?"

Adele stood up. "What will i want this family for? What have i achieved after coming in to this family? Your taunts, your honour, your expectations have already ruined this family. I am not going to let you do further damage, Adriano. You can cut us off the family tree all you want. I really don't care."

Adriano was seething. "You will regret this."

With that, Adriano stormed out of the house.


"Why do you need werewolf blood?" Sirius mused. "Even with this stone, it is going to cause you a big problem with degeneration of the prepared potion."

Severus was sipping on his coffee, thankfully, because his surprise on Black's knowledge on potions was evident.

Sirius was still on. "I would suggest werewolf claws. But the problem is they tend to lose their properties pretty quick in the presence of beetle eyes. However, they are more stable with unicorn hair. You might have to compromise on the potency of the potion with claws and you will have to change beetle eyes with something, but i guess this stone should help with it. What do you say?" Sirius finished looking at Severus.

Severus couldn't help it. He was openly gaping at Sirius. "How do you know all this?"

Sirius suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Well, Remus is a werewolf and we had an easy access to these things, so, we experimented a lot. And i guess i am okay with potions. And, yes, that is it."

"Sirius," Severus said, surprise still evident in his voice. "It's not okay, it's great."

Sirius gave a sheepish smile. Honestly the Git was over-reacting.


"BLUSH!"

"Yes, Mistress?"

"We will be moving from here. Start making arrangements. Bring in all the accounts from all the properties. We have two months to finalise everything."

Blush knew it was time before the Mistress would want to move out of Sicily. Zabini family was making things increasingly difficult for Madame Adele.

"Yes, Mistress. Where would we going to?"

Adele sighed. Her anger leaving her tired.

"I am not sure, Blush. I am not sure. But we are definitely moving out here."