It was such a peaceful day, well as peaceful as one could get in the Weasley household. It was also one of the rare days Bill was visiting with his wife and two children.
He glanced at the clock, mostly out of habit than anything else and stopped dead cold.
It took several minutes before his mind registered what he was seeing, because it had been years.
"Bill?" said Hermione.
"The clock," he said.
Hermione looked at the clock and then she saw it. The dishes in her hand dropped in disbelief, shattering on the floor.
The sound drew the others.
The hand that marked Lilac, the witch who had defeated Voldemort, had begun to move again. For years it had been frozen on the clock, never moving or hiding behind the others.
And now the magic was moving it again, this time marking it on the slot for "traveling".
Whatever spell she had used to hide herself from them, it was gone. Either that or she had decided to come out of hiding for some reason.
The flowers had been a small message. Her way of saying "Hey, I'm still alive" sort of thing.
Seeing it slowly move to 'home', eyes went wide.
Then there was a knock at the door. There was something of a rush to be the first one to get to it.
"Down here," said an exasperated voice.
Eyes tilted downward and Bill winced when he saw the pacifier.
"I'm back," she said.
"LILAC!"
Lal winced. She was never more glad for her new small size than when she managed to avoid a massive Weasley hug, especially from Molly. Her training kicked in and she managed to get out of the way in time.
Colonello laughed long and hard at the look on her face.
"Shut up you damn idiot!" she shouted.
"Come on Lal, it's not like you've seen them in a long time! You can stand a few hugs!" he said, holding his stomach.
She growled, before kicking him in the chest. Or as close as she could get.
"I would rather not be smothered, thank you very much!" she said irate, face flushed with embarrassment.
"Ah, the infamous 'tsun' side, of Lal," said Reborn amused.
With her help he had opted to change his name and drop off the grid. Until this curse was broken, he didn't want to be reminded of his own past.
"Bite me, you ass," said Lal grumbling.
What followed was the familiar sound of Weasley chaos, one that was quickly upgraded to a cheerful Luna dose of crazy. Like she had known.
With Luna, she probably did.
"Well this is cozy," said Fon with his usual serene smile.
Once the din had died down, Bill had pretty much guessed what happened and who the others were. Finding out Lilac, or rather Lal Mirch, had changed her name in desperation to get away wasn't that shocking at all.
Of course hearing her bark at Ron was a bit of a surprise. Especially when she seemed to adjust on the fly to deliver some rather spectacular slaps to the head.
"So Lal, who's the blond?" asked a cheerful Ginny.
"I'm her husband," said Colonello, and he sat back to enjoy the chaos. Lal was too busy blushing like crazy to deny his claim, and the others were too amused to say anything.
"How did you meet?" asked Molly.
"I was his instructor in the military and he was the only one crazy enough to stick around after the trial period. Most of my students transferred to the other instructors, but he stayed," said Lal, falling into familiar territory.
"I found out she had PTSD by accident, and there was no way I was going to let her suffer in silence anymore," said Colonello.
"What's PTSD?" asked Ron.
Hermione winced.
"It's short for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's a condition people get after traumatic experiences where they relieve some of the darker moments of their life and can lash out at others without even realizing they aren't in danger. Imagine being around dementors without the oppressive depression and despair that comes with it to keep you from moving. Where you replay every moment of the incident in the present, thinking it's happening again. It's particularly common in soldiers coming home from the battlefield or those who went through natural disasters," said Hermione.
Lal couldn't look anyone in the eyes, though she squeezed Colonello's hand.
"The war never left me, and being in England only made it worse. It felt like I was suffocating every moment I was here."
"You could have stayed," said Ron, openly hurt. "We could have helped."
"No, you really couldn't."
Everyone save the Arcobaleno turned to Hermione.
"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is incredibly hard to treat under normal conditions, and it's a mental condition...something wizards are reluctant to even acknowledge exists, much less bother to treat. Just look at the Longbottoms!" said Hermione in disgust. "Leaving England was a much better move, since it meant she wasn't around so many triggers...though I do wish you would have said something before you just left us like that."
"To be fair, I didn't even know what was wrong with me until one of the base doctors diagnosed it after an episode," said Lal. "On an unrelated note I finally found out why I hated being caged so much. One of my soul fire colors is amethyst."
Hermione blinked, before she groaned.
"That explains so much, even if Divination is full of nonsense," she said in exasperation.
"Amethyst?" said Reborn.
"It's the way magicals designate Dying Will Flames. Ruby for Storm, Agate for Sky, Topaz for Sun, Emerald for Lightning, Sapphire for Rain, Spinel for Mist, and Amethyst for Cloud," said Viper.
"Really?"
"Like designating Flames by natural weather conditions is any less odd," Lal shot back.
It was so weird, being back. Sadly it felt exactly as though nothing had really changed.
"I hate the English magicals. They're so... annoying," said Viper.
Lal rolled her eyes.
"Try being their damn savior," she shot back. "How did the meeting with the goblins go?"
"Good news, they didn't confiscate your vaults or fine you to high heavens. Bad news, they need proof I'm your new accountant and financial adviser before I'm cleared to see the full damage."
"...You're kidding."
"Fortunately for you, goblins are slightly more merciful than wizards. That and the fact the Italians apparently weren't entirely stupid and shared the fact you were diagnosed with PTSD helped your case. So they robbed Dumbledore's vaults and most of the administration during the war to pay for the damages you caused. It also doesn't help that you were kept deliberately ignorant by an older Sky. You might not have known about Flames at the time, but they recognized the signs."
Lal looked relieved. That was one headache she wouldn't have to deal with.
"Of course it could be that they're a little more inclined to trust you since you openly returned the Sword of Gryffindor to them, when Dumbledore claimed he didn't have it."
"Somehow I believe that. But I have the feeling they're still pissed with me about the whole thing."
"They are, but they're at least willing to help you move all your holdings and gold out of their vaults before they robbed you. You did break into their bank and steal a dragon," agreed Viper.
Lal's smile was frigid and very thin.
"I'll give you twenty-five percent in exchange for your help moving the gold."
"Deal," said Viper immediately. The Potters, before James, were all savvy investors and gold prices were at an all time high. Which meant she would be making a very nice profit from this for relatively little effort.
Five hours later...
"Dear god... what exactly is all this?" said a voice. It was Reborn.
"Oh good, you're here. Come help us unravel this mess," said Lal with false cheer. He heard a groan and saw Colonello out cold on the sofa. So was Hermione, funnily enough.
"Tell me what the hell I'm looking at first," said Reborn sharply.
"Her accounts, going back at least thirty years. As you can see, they're an absolute mess at the moment. Forget trying to move the gold, we need to track down where so much of it went and get it back," said Viper flatly.
"What's with them?"
"Hermione is good at Arithimancy, but she's been slacking and this is more than just balancing her checkbook. Forensic accounting is not her forte," said Lal cheerfully.
Reborn smirked at the blond.
"What about him?"
"He still in shock at the fact I'm actually rich and that I'm literally a noble who's been knighted. He knew I was Potter before, but it never really hit him until now," she said amused.
Reborn grinned evilly at that.
"That's not why I'm on the couch. Just looking at all that math makes my head hurt. That and the damn fan base you have!" he said with a groan.
Ever since he introduced himself as Lal's husband, her family had been giving no end of grief. Thank god they bought the excuse that he had yet to find where their rings went, and that they were planning to 'renew their vows' soon.
It was the most bizarre way of asking her to marry him she had ever heard, and the most entertaining. Par for the course with her life, really.
Colonello was just thrilled she hadn't disputed his claim even a little when he said it.
The fact she had kissed him on the cheek and called him an incredible sap had made his entire day.
The Marauders were probably laughing their asses off at the prank he had pulled to get her to say yes to him. Her mother too.
George walked in and did his own doubletake. Mostly at the fact Hermione wasn't in the thick of helping the trio go through so many numbers.
Finally he decided to ask something that had been bugging him for a while.
"What the hell is a tsundere?"
Reborn grinned behind his fedora. Lal growled. Viper continued going through the numbers.
Colonello grinned and sat up.
"Tsundere is a popular mundane slang from Japan. It's someone who hides their softer side behind a lot of bark and pride. You know how Lal keeps slapping that brother of yours whenever he puts his foot in his mouth and barks at him with all the grumpiness of a general berating a lackey?"
George nodded, already grinning.
"That's her 'tsun' side. Her 'dere' side is the part of her she hides behind that, her softer side. Took me a while to break through her thorns before she let me see it, but it was sooo worth it, kora!" said Colonello.
"The only reason you managed to pull it off is because you have more balls than brains!" said Lal without hesitation. Colonello snickered.
"See what I mean?"
George laughed.
"Whatever you say, angel," said Colonello cheerfully. Lal flushed, before she took a roll and tossed it at his head. He caught it in his mouth and winked at George, who was cracking up.
"Shut up, you idiot!"
"If you two love birds are going to flirt, then do it outside," Viper said flatly.
"Well I have been meaning to show Lilac...sorry, Lal, the shop since she finally came home. I could always take you two with me."
"Sold, kora!" said Colonello.
George bore the fact that Lal and Colonello were now on his shoulders with ease. Even if it was weird.
One of the few good things about the fact that Lal was so popular was when Bill found out she had been cursed with an ancient spell, he made sure the facts were known about what happened and what it meant.
Meaning everyone in Europe and likely most of the other magical communities now knew what the Arcobaleno curse was, and the fact that even though they looked like children they really weren't.
Lal was only happy with that for one reason. No one would be stupid enough to deny selling her alcohol in the magical communities so she could get drunk. She was not giving up her whiskey dammit!
At the shop...
"So why is it we haven't seen any wedding pictures yet? You know mum is never going to let that go until she sees them," said George, impish. He felt more like his old self with Lal back.
Lal blushed and refused to say. Colonello grinned and had his hands behind his head in amusement.
"Can you think a better way to convince a woman like her to marry you than with a minor prank?" he asked.
George was howling with laughter.
Lal growled at him. Colonello grinned unrepentant.
"Come on angel, you know I love you. If we hadn't gotten cursed I would have asked you properly in your favorite park with witnesses," said Colonello.
Lal felt uncertainty in her heart, but she did love Colonello. She saw he was telling the truth, especially when he showed her the ring he had bought.
"Well look at the bright side... you get to break it to mum she didn't actually miss the wedding," said George.
"Oh gods no. Not until after the ceremony is over," said Lal horrified.
Molly would be impossible to deal with, never mind the other women in her life, if they found out that they weren't actually married yet.
Magical England was firmly of the opinion that an unmarried woman shouldn't sleep with anyone but their husband. Their values were still more or less in Victorian times. The only reason why they didn't treat women like crap was because of multiple examples of powerful witches and sorceresses in history.
Never mind the disapproving looks Molly would give Colonello because they shared a bed.
George was still cackling to himself. He liked his future brother-in-law already... the man was hilarious and knew just what to do to keep Lal on her toes.
