Project Motherhood: Emilia and Rem

by Gamer95

Subaru never came to Lugunica. Instead, the ones transported to another world were Emilia, Rem, Beatrice and Puck. Shortly after arrival, they find themselves learning the story of the Boy Who Lived, and discovering he lives right next door to their gracious host. Upon realizing he is harshly treated, Emilia and Rem take it upon themselves to raise him. Co-writer: francoslama2005

2. Chapter 2

A/N: You may notice that the Project Motherhood Zatanna Prototype is gone. That is because I only bothered posting it hoping it would shut Andrew Preece up. Rather than being grateful I gave him anything at all after the absolutely abominable way he's been treating me, he instead demanded more and continued his death threats and racial slurs. Because Andrew Preece is trash and not a single human being on this planet will ever love him. So yeah. You blew it, Preece, it's your own damn fault it's gone now. You need to learn to leave well enough alone and stop bothering me. You're nothing more than a pest. A minor mosquito. Screaming empty threats into the wind. You're a scumbag and you don't deserve anything. That said, enjoy the story.

And one more thing. I plan on making most of these fics yuri romance fics from now for a couple reasons. One, it lets me cover more ground. I can do more than one mother per story, meaning I'll be able to basically get two in there for the price of one, and when you have as many ideas as I do, then that goes quite a long way. And second is that I think the romance angle adds a lot more to the story itself. Building up the relationship and exploring how they work as a couple is actually a lot of fun, and I think it keeps the whole 'abused child is adopted' thing from getting too stale. So yeah. Expect a lot more lesbian romances in the future.

The morning sun flowed through the curtains. Rem and Emilia, both early birds, woke up at more or less the same time. Emilia saw the maid laying down and smiling at her, and she blinked owlishly. "O-Oh... Rem... Hi."

"Good morning, Emilia." Rem nodded with a smile. "I trust you slept well?"

"Yes... Yes, I slept just fine, thank you... And Harry seems to be okay too..." The half elf smiled down at the little boy as she gently stroked his back before pressing her lips against his forehead, prompting him to snuggle in closer with a coo.

Both women giggled softly at the little boy. "He's so cute, Rem... I love him so much..." Emilia said softly. Rem silently agreed, shifting slightly so that she too could embrace the child. He seemed to be shifting about, trying to snuggle into both of them at the same time.

"Yes... He is a precious boy, isn't he?" Rem murmured.

"And yet they hurt him... They hurt him and didn't even think twice about doing it..."

"...Yes... I know... I can't comprehend it either..."

She then placed her hand on his hair and ruffled it with her fingers gently. "But he's here now. With us. That's all that matters."

"Yeah." Emilia nodded, a smile grew on her lips.

Soon, the little boy let out a yawn as his tired eyes blinked open. He looked up to find the faces of Emilia and Rem watching over him.

"Good morning, sweetie." Emilia said, stroking his face with her fingers.

"Did you sleep well, Harry?" Asked Rem.

"Mmm...morning, Miss...Emilia...Miss Rem." He said tiredly, stretching his tiny little arms. "M...slept good...no nightmares."

Emilia giggled and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Good..." She said softly.

Rem nodded. "We stayed with you all night to make sure you would be okay."

Harry smiled up at them sleepily. "Thank you..." He said softly.

"Of course, Harry..." Rem whispered. "Any time you need us, we'll be there."

"That's right." Emilia nodded. "And right now, I think you need us to make some breakfast!"

As if on cue, Harry's tiny stomach began to growl.

Harry blushed and looked away. Emilia let out a giggle. "Looks like I was right! Now come on." She picked Harry up in her arms, before puffing out her chest and pointing her finger forward. "To the kitchen we gooooo!" She said, before speedwalking out of the room.

Rem watched as Emilia left the room, sighing and shaking her head. "That goofy elf girl." She said. "Hopefully Harry doesn't become as hyperactive."

She turned around and began to fix the bed. After smoothing out a few creases on the blanket, she examined her handiwork, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Just one more thing." She said, before picking up Harry's blanket, neatly folding it and placing Puddles on the bed, positioned him to look like he's leaning into the pillow.

"Perfect." She smiled at her work, before turning around and leaving the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

She walked down the stairs, opening the window next to her and taking in a breath of fresh air, before turning back and arriving at the bottom of the stairs.

She smelled something in the air. Emilia was cooking again. She looked over at the living room. Miss Figg had seemingly gone to bed. And Beatrice? Well, she was sprawled out on the couch with the cats covering all except her head.

Essentially, the little spirit had a kitty blanket.

The maid put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh and patted Beatrice's head.

As if sensing it, the little spirit pouted and shifted her head slightly in her sleep.

Even when not conscious she was as snooty as ever.

It was cute when it wasn't irritating or causing them grief.

The delicious smell filled her nose again. She immediately turned and entered the kitchen, coming to see Emilia flipping pancakes on the stove, wearing a different apron from yesterday.

Emilia took of the pan and placed the pancake on one of the two plates next to her. She turned her head and smiled as she spotted Rem standing in the doorway.

"Ah! Rem! I figured you'd stay back and make sure the room is tidy, so I decided to start cooking without you."

"No worries." Rem waved it off. "Your cooking skills do need some training. You may continue."

"Heeey." Emilia pouted. "My cooking is great!"

"Never said it wasn't. Just that it can get better." Rem made a smug expression. "Perhaps in another hundred years you'll be at my level."

Emilia stuck her bottom lip out in a pout as she sulked in Rem's direction. The oni giggled into her hand at her reaction. "You're mean, Rem." Emilia huffed, turning back to the meal.

Rem smiled softly and took a seat in the chair next to Harry, turning to him with a warm smile.

He turned to look at her, and returned the smile the best he could. It was weak, but he was making the effort.

Harry then climbed down from his chair carefully and made his way over to her.

He stood before her and reached up to her with his tiny arms.

He wanted her to hold him.

Rem leaned down and picked him up by the armpits. She sat him gently on her lap, ruffling his hair a bit, causing him to giggle.

"Aaaaaand here it is!" The two looked up to see Emilia setting down 5 plates, along with one giant plate with a...rather large tower of pancakes.

"Uum...Emilia." Rem began. "Doesn't that seem a little...unstable."

"Whaaat? Nonsense, it is perfectly sta-whoaaaaAAAGH!" Emilia quickly pushed the tower up to keep it from falling.

Quickly taking a fork, she began to distribute pancakes to make sure the tower doesn't fall. After she distributed all pancakes across the 5 plates, Emilia sighed in relief as the tower was now small enough to NOT tip over.

She grimaced down at her hands, grateful she had thought to wear gloves to ensure they didn't get all sticky.

Rem sighed and shook her head. "Remember, Emilia... Presentation is just as important as preparing the meal. No matter how well you make it, if not presented just right, it could ruin the whole thing."

Emilia crossed her arms and pouted. "You stack them high all the time!"

" Yes, but I worked hard to perfect that skill. Gradually, over time, I grew accustomed to stacking them well enough that I could make large piles like that without issue. You are still a learner. You aren't ready just yet."

"Awww..." Emilia whined. Harry winced as a memory came back. He had been three. He'd made pancakes. He'd stacked them too high... They fell off the plate,,, They landed in his uncle's lap... And then he... He...

He began to panic slightly at the memory, which did not go unnoticed by the two women.

"Harry? Harry what's wrong!?" Rem asked, getting up and setting Harry down on the chair. She knelt down and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Calm down, honey. Breathe deeply. In..." Harry's breathing slowed down, and he did as Rem instructed. "...and out." Harry breathed out, his mind slowly calming down.

Emilia walked over and knelt beside them, placing a hand on Harry's head. Harry, still scared from the terrible memory, flinched in fear at the touch, before easing in once he realised it was Emilia.

"What happened, sweetie?" Emilia asked, her face set in a worried expression. "Did you see something? Remembering something?"

Harry looked away. "N-no...it's nothing..."

"No. No it isn't." Rem said. "If something made you cry, all you need is to tell us. Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you. Ever." She said, enveloping Harry in a hug, Emilia following suit.

Harry teared up slightly when he felt himself being embraced from either side. He let out a choked sob. "Oh, Harry..." Emilia moaned, tightening her hold on him. He began to cry softly, and both women held him that extra bit harder, to let him know that they were there, and he was okay.

"I...I made breakfast... And it fell... and he... And he..."

"Shhh... Not just yet, dear... Let yourself calm down first..." Rem urged gently.

The little boy cried for a few more minutes before managing to regain his composure.

He told them more of the abuse he suffered at the Dursleys hands, how his uncle had punished him for accidentally stacking the pancakes too high and causing them to topple.

The two girls had different reactions. Rem's hands clenched tight, her anger still enough to prevent her from accidentally stabbing through her skin. She bit her lip, struggling to hold back her rage, and looked down.

Emilia meanwhile chose to ignore all those terrible things she was hearing from her boy. Instead, she picked him up in her arms and hugged him, letting him cry into her chest.

Harry let his eyes leak. His fears had resurfaced, despite all the good that he had experienced yesterday. What's worse, he made Miss Emilia and Miss Rem sad. When they were so nice to him.

He should just be punished. He doesn't deserve all that they gave him.

Emilia gently stroked the back of his head and closed her eyes. "Hey... Hey, Harry, you're thinking mean things about yourself right now, aren't you...? I want you to try reeeeally hard to stop doing that, okay...? It's not true... None of it is true..."

Rem took a deep breath to force herself to calm down and moved closer, gently resting her hand on the child's back. "Emilia's right, little one... You mustn't let their lies get to your head... They were horrible, poisonous people that only wanted to hurt you..."

"But... But they were supposed to...to be my f-family... Wh-Wh-Why did... Why... Why wouldn't they like me...? What did I do wrong? Wh-What did they want me to do?! I'm so confused... I... I tried so hard to be what they wanted me to, but they still wouldn't stop hating me, they wouldn't stop hating me...!"

Rem gently stroked his back as her memories went to a particular quote she remembered her sister say.

"Every child deserves a family, Harry." She said, her voice calm. "But not every family deserves a child."

"H-huh?..." Harry was confused. He stopped sniffling for a moment and looked up at Rem. "Wh...what do you mean...?"

Emilia picked up on what the oni was talking about. She gave Harry a kind gaze.

"What Miss Rem is trying to say is...sometimes, not all families are kind and warm, Harry." She said. "Some people ate just too angry, too cruel, too...evil, to have a good family."

Harry looked down at the floor and whimpered softly. "But... But they were a good family... They... They all loved each other a lot... They... They only hated me..." He said quietly. Emilia let out a soft 'Awww...' and squeezed him gently, kissing the top of his head.

"I'm sorry, Harry... It's not your fault... They were just... a family of awful bigots that hate what they don't understand... And also... I...kinda understand how you feel." Harry paused at that and slowly looked up at her with wide eyes. She took a deep breath.

"You see, sweetie, back where Rem and Beatrice and I come from, there's a... a person... that looks exactly like me... And she did a lot of reaaaally bad stuff... And... because I look just like her... Well... A lot of people... don't really trust me... They... never hurt me anywhere NEAR as bad as those PEOPLE did to you, but still, I understand what it's like to be made to feel like you're bad just because of what you are... After a while, you kinda start to believe it... don't you?"

Harry sniffled again. "B-but..." He began. "But you're so pretty...and you're nice...why would they hate you...?"

"The woman I'm talking about was pretty and kind too." Emilia said. "But...something happened, and...she started hurting people. Kind of like what they did to you, only...a LOT worse." She spoke.

Harry looked up at Emilia. He...he couldn't understand. Why? Why would they hate Miss Emilia? Was it because of that scary woman she was talking about? But Miss Emilia isn't her! She was kind to him! She cooked him dinner! She gave him hugs and kisses! Why would anyone hate her just because she looks like some scary woman?

He could understand himself. He's a freak, so he deserves it. But...Miss Emilia isn't a freak like him. She doesn't deserve to be hurt.

"I know what you're thinking right now." Emilia interrupted his train of thought. "You're thinking that you're the only one that deserves to suffer... That it's okay for you to be hurting, that you should just quietly endure it..." She sighed softly and turned to Rem with a soft smile.

"I used to think the exact same way. Every time someone would say something horrible about me... I would internalize it. I thought they were real problems that I needed to work hard to fix, but really... they were just a part of who I was... Things like my appearance... My hair... My ears, my eyes... I tried to be kind to others at the cost of my own well being... I ignored their mean words, I let them say whatever they wanted... I didn't feel like I deserved to defend myself..."

Rem looked guilty, but Emilia gave her a reassuring smile. "It all changed one day when Rem stood up for me... I remember we were in the market... Someone said something so awful to me that I thought I was gonna start crying right there, and Rem? She got mad, and she yelled at that man, and... I didn't know how to feel, because I thought it was what I deserved... But Rem told me that I didn't need to just... take that kind of treatment. She encouraged me to stand up for myself, to realize I was nowhere near as bad as they kept saying I was... And over time... I started to like myself a lot more..." She kissed Harry on the forehead and moved some of his locks out of his eyes. "And now we're trying to do the same thing for you." She pressed her forehead against his, looking into his eyes. "We want to get you out of thinking that it's all your fauly and that you deserved this pain... It isn't true..."

Harry sniffled, looking up at the two women.

Is...is this real?

Were they actually, seriously not hurting him? Are they really trying to help him?

"Why?" He asked, tears sliding down his face. "Why do you...why are you so nice to me...?"

Emilia hugged him closer to her chest. "Because you deserve it. You deserve all the love you can get. All of that and more."

She gently stroked his back. "You were denied it for so long, and for no good reason, and I just can't stand it... I won't let an innocent little boy suffer like that if I can do anything to stop it. We're helping you for two reasons. One, you're worth helping. And two, because we just want to."

Rem beamed at the half elf and nodded her head. "She's right, Harry... You very much are worth helping... You're a sweet little boy, that much is plain to see... You're very well behaved, you put others before yourself... And you're a child." Harry looked at her, head tilted, and Rem gave him a closed-eyed smile. "It is natural instinct for any adult to want to help a hurt child in any way they can." Harry opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted, knowing what he was going to say. "Nothing about THEM was even remotely natural. They... I don't know WHAT they are, but they are certainly inhuman..."

Harry tilted his head. They weren't human? They looked human to him.

Rem picked up on it and spoke again. "Look, all you need to know, is that you're never seeing them again. You have nothing to be afraid of. Ever again."

Emilia nodded. "That's right. You have me, you have Rem, you have your new big sis, there's nothing to be afraid of with us around."

Harry immediately calmed down, only to pause as something Emilia said caught up with him.

"Huh? Big sister?"

As if on cue, Beatrice walked into the room, yawning softly and rubbing at her eye with one hand as her other arm held one of Miss Figg's kittens close like a teddy bear, the tiny cat purring as it slept soundly. "Mmm... Good morning, I suppose..."

Emilia giggled. "Awww, Beatrice, you're so cute!" She chirped. Beatrice groaned and rolled her eyes.

"It's far too early do deal with your patronizing comments, I suppose..." She muttered in exasperation before noticing Harry. "Oh... Hello Harry... I see you've awoken." She said quietly, awkwardly, almost shyly in fact. Harry nodded his head.

"Hi..." He greeted timidly.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. The spirit looked away with a small blush. She then looked back at Emilia and Rem.

"You blurted it out, didn't you?"

"Uuuhh..." Emilia froze up. "S-surpise?"

Beatrice sighed, slapping her forehead and shaking her head in exasperation. "I suppose I should've expected this."

She walked over to the table, approaching Harry, and placing a hesitant hand on his head, ruffling his hair gently.

"Hello Harry. Meet your new big sister, I suppose." She smiled, looking genuinely kind. Even Rem and Emilia were impressed at just how...unusually adorable Beatrice could look when she wasn't all sour.

Harry felt himself relax. He awkwardly spoke up, looking at Beatrice. "U-um...hi, big sis Beatrice."

Beatrice tillted her head. "Yes, I suppose I am..." She smiled slightly. Hatty tilted his head before Emilia set him down in front of the little spirit gently. He blinked and looked up at the half-elf, sho smiled at him encouragingly and nodded her head.

He looked up at Beatrice. She was small, but he was smaller still, small enough that he head to look up at her to meet her eyes. The blonde spirit simply looked at Emilia with a raised brow. She was about to speak when she noticed something contact her leg.

Blinking, she looked down and discovered that Harry was in the process of trying to give her a hug. 'Trying' being the key word, because he was so tiny that even she was too big for him to wrap his tiny little arms around completely.

Beatrice smiled, her heart heating up at the small sight before her.

"Aww, look at you." She leaned down, wrapping her arms around Harry's small body. She lifted him up and hugged him, nuzzling him into her cheek.

"Mmm, you're so adorable. I'm going to love being your big sister, I suppose." She cooed. Harry leaned into her embrace, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Emilia internally squeed at the sight. It all looked so adorable. She couldn't ever stop saying it, Beatrice is super adorable when she isn't all sour and moody and isn't acting like a huge bully.

Rem leaned on the table, her face adopting a smirk. "I'm so committing this to memory."

Beatrice pouted and looked at them with a blush. "Hmph! Stop staring at me with that knowing expression, I suppose!" She demanded of Rem. "And you! Stop thinking I'm cute right this second, I am not cute, I am a perfectly proper lady!"

"Daww, you sure are! A very cute one!" Emilia replied with a giggle. Beatrice huffed and looked away, She looked like she was considering something that she quickly decided against due to not wanting her precious bubby to be angry at her.

She sighed and walked over to the table, setting Harry down in his chair again when she saw he hadn't finished his breakfast just yet. Rem smiled. "Well, you've certainly opened up to the idea of helping to take care of him, just last night you were so very awkward about it."

"Yes, well..." Beatrice began. "...I suppose I had a...revelation of sorts."

Emilia tilted her head. "A revelation?" She asked. "What do you mean?"

Beatrice began to pet Harry, the boy nuzzling into her hand as she stroked his hair gently.

"It was a dream of sorts. One involving...Mother."

"Mother?" Rem asked. "You mean Echidna?"

Harry looked up at Beatrice. "Big sister has a mommy?"

Beatrice nodded her head and closed her eyes. "Yes, I suppose... But I haven't seen her in a very long time, in fact..." She sighed softly. "I was waiting for her to speak with me again for such a long time, and... she finally came to me as I slept..."

Flashback...

Beatrice had falled asleep when some of the kittens had come to snuggle up to her, and she found herself in... a garden... 'Hmm... A curious dream this is, I suppose...' She thought to herself, looking around. 'Now just what kind of place is this...?'

"Oh, this is far more than just an ordinary dream, my child." Beatrice gasped, eyes wide, and slowly turned around to see someone sitting at a table. A familiar someone, with long flowing white hair and a long black dress. "It has been a while, hasn't it, Beatrice?"

"Mo...Mother?" The little spirit whimpered out, tears welling up in her eyes. She hesitantly pushed herself up on her feet, her legs trembling at the sight before her.

"Is...is it...really...you?" She asked, still in disbelief.

Echidna smiled (a smile Beatrice remembered fondly), and spoke again. "Yes. Yes, my dear child. It's me. Come here." She said, spreading her arms and inviting Beatrice in for a hug.

Beatrice didn't hesitate. She didn't hesitate for even a second.

The moment Echidna spread her arms, Beatrice knew what her mother wanted. She *ran.* Her tiny legs carried her through the grass as she practically flew towards her mother's awaiting embrace. As soon as she got there, she threw herself into Echidna's arms, wrapping her own tiny limbs around her waist and burying her face into her chest.

"Ah...ah...aaaahhhh!" Beatrice cried, waterfalls streaming down her face. It was real. It was real! The smell, the feeling, the gentleness. It was all real. Echidna was here. She was right here. Her mother is in her arms again!

If this really was a dream, Beatrice never wished to wake up.

Echidna looked down at her child and teared up slightly. "Oh, Beatrice... I'm so, so sorry for leaving you behind..." She whispered softly, shifting her hold on her daughter and nuzzling the top of her head with her cheek. "I haven't been the best parent to you, have I...?"

"I...I... I don't care, I missed you so much and... And I'm just... Just so happy to see you again!" Beatrice sobbed as she looked up at her mother. Echidna smiled sadly and kissed the little spirit's forehead, sitting down in her chair and seating Beatrice on her lap.

"Oh, you're much too forgiving, my dear... I'm sorry... I've... had a revelation recently... I've realized that I've been so very selfish... I failed to think of anything but my own curiosity, and I would probably still be like that if it hadn't been for Harry..."

At that, Beatrice was confused. She wiped the tears out of her eyes and looked up at her mother. "Harry?" Shd asked. "What does Harry havd to do with this. Did...did he bring me here?"

Echidna shook her head. "No no, Beatrice. That was me. I brought you here, but Harry is the reason for that." She took her teapot and poured some tea into two cups, handing one to Beatrice.

"Tell me, Beatrice..." She began, taking a sip of her tea. "Do you believe in the theory of the multiverse?"

Beatrice looked down at her tea. "I...am unsure." She said. "While it is true that the universe we're in now is...certainly not ours, I...still have a hard time believing all of it. For all my life, such a thing was the stuff of fairy tales. But now..." She looked up at Echidna.

"Now I'm not so sure anymore."

Echidna tilted her head. "Hmm? Not your own-Oh. Oh no, no, no, dear, no, you haven't left your own world." Beatrice stared at her mother with a flat expression that just screamed 'What.' Echidna laughed into her hand in amusement. "It's certainly a convoluted method. You see, my dear, to reach the part of the world you and your friends find yourselves in now, you have to find a very specific rock wall on the very, very edge of the furthest kingdom, and you need a skilled practioner of magic to move the wall out of the way to access this new world. It is a convoluted mess, to be certain, but perhaps for the best, it was created to keep entities such as the great rabbit, the white whale and the witch cult out."

Beatrice was stunned. "But... But... No one has ever written about this place, I suppose... Is it really so unknown to our world...?" Echidna nodded her head.

"It is. Even down to who may have created it. I feel much better now that you're there, my child... You will be far, FAR safer..."

Beatrice looked down. "H-How do you know Harry, I suppose...?"

"Well, that brings me back to the multiverse theory. You see, Beatrice... There is another reality where Harry... was not rescued from his relatives. And their abuse grew worse by the day... Until..."

Beatrice gasped. "U-Until he... You don't mean he..."

"Yes... He didn't make it... And when he reached his afterlife, he was just... so traumatized, and afraid, and young I felt... something inside me that I had never felt before... I picked him up off the ground... I held him close... And eventually... I was his mother..." Beatrice looked at her mother.

"I...So... You..."

"Yes... I brought you and the other two here for one simple reason: to save your brother's life." Echidna replied with a nod of her head.

"...Will... we return, I suppose...?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not... The spell was a one-way trip, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to use it again for several years at least... I'm sorry to do this to you and your friends, but I...I just can't stand the idea of him being hurt again... Of... losing his life..."

"...Would you not have a chance to raise him in this reality as well if you had left it alone, I suppose...?" Beatrice asked.

"No... No, my dear, perhaps there was once a time where I would have been so selfish as to allow him to perish so that I may hold him in my arms... But... watching my other self raise him, care for him... I finally understand far more about empathy... I love him... He taught me so much... He taught me how to love... He taught me how to find joy outside of satiating my own curiosity... I intend to see you like this far more frequently, because you are my daughter, and I had to raise another child entirely to realize how much I utterly failed you... I abandoned you for the sake of satiating my own curiosity and thought nothing of it... Oh Beatrice... Can you ever forgive your mother for being such a fool...?"

Beatrice looked down. Her hand gripped the handle of the cup as it trembled. Try as she might, try as hard as she could, she really couldn't bring herself to...to...

NO! She shouldn't be thinking like that! Her mother is here! She finally reunited with her after so long! She should not be thinking those thoughts! It's not right! It's not right! It's not...it's...it...

Why did it feel right?

Beatrice nearly broke down. Try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to fully forgive Echidna.

Ridiculous.

And yet she knew, deep down, that it was right.

"I...can't." She spoke, her words heavy as a hammer. "At least not fully, I suppose."

Echidna nodded. She knew it was right. She left her own daughter alone for YEARS. As much as it hurt to hear her daughter say that, she knew she was right.

"It's not fair I suppose."

Echidna looked down at Beatrice, who was staring up at her with tears in her eyes. "It's not fair, in fact." She said again.

"Look at me. I just reunited with my own mother, whom I haven't seen for thousands of years, and the first thing I say is how I can't forgive you for leaving me. What kind of daughter am I if I can't even forgive my mother?!"

Echidna's heart broke upon hearing this. She shouldn't be listening to those...terrible words.

"No, Beatrice, you-"

"You're not a terrible daughter, ya hear me?!"

Beatrice's eyes widened at the unfamiliar voice. She whipped her head around to see a blonde woman, her hair tied into a side ponytail. She was pointing dramatically at her, tears in the corners of her eyes. "H-Huh...?" The little spirit spoke in confusion, still tearing up.

The woman let out a scream as she ran towards her, then she did a front flip and landed directly by Beatrice's chair, making a small crater in the ground. Before Beatrice even had time to think about it, she was pulled into a tight embrace by this unknown figure.

"Now you listen to me! You are an AMAZING little girl , do you hear me?! You were hurt badly by your mother, and you're not obligated to just hand out forgiveness to those who hurt you! Forgiveness is earned, not given! Echidna made a MASSIVE mistake leaving you behind!"

Beatrice looked at this new woman, confused and slightly afraid. Minerva looked back at her with tearstained eyes and squeezed her gently, resting her chin atop her head, and Beatrice couldn't help but feel reassured. "Your feelings matter, Beatrice! YOU matter! YOU are important! People love you! I hated seeing you cooped up in that library, not living your life, not finding friends, not letting anyone else in! I don't wanna see any more of that, do you hear me, young lady?!"

Beatrice looked up at this new woman, awestruck. Echidna laughed into her hand.

"Ah, Beatrice... Allow me to introduce you to Minerva. She is the witch of wrath... and she is also the love of my life."

At that, Beatrice's mind grinded to a screeching halt.

"L-love?" She stuttered out, slowly comprehending what she just heard. "Love of...your life?! And...the Witch of Wrath?!"

Echidna giggled at her daughter's obviously confused and more than a little alarmed at the information. "Yes. Quite the surprise isn't it?"

She looked up at Minerva, her eyes filled with a kind of adoration and love Beatrice had NEVER seen her show. "But it's the truth, my daughter. After adopting Harry, I learned about emotion and how it felt to feel. Eventually Minerva joined in, though it was mostly because she wanted to be near Harry as much as possible. Over time however, things changed. We began to see each other in a new light, and we slowly began to fall for each other. Eventually, we realized our feelings were more than just a one-time crush. They were real."

Minerva looked up and met her eyes with her love's, smiling widely. "And we couldn't be happier for it."

Beatrice stared at her mother in pure shock. "Wait... Does that mean that..."

"Well, yes, I suppose that would make Minerva your stepmother." Echidna replied with a wide smile. Beatrice looked over at the blonde woman.

Minerva smiled back and gave Beatrice a tight but gentle squeeze, and the little spirit let out a soft squeak.

She didn't know how to feel about this new development... Minerva seemed like a very pleasant woman, especially when one considered she was allegedly the witch of wrath, but... her own mother had left her behind and then the next time she saw her, she finds out that she has a second mother now?! The little spirit... was confused, to put it very simply. "I...I... I'm not...sure how to process all this, I suppose..." She said softly, looking down at the floor.

"It's okay... You'll be here a lot more now, to see your mother... We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other then. Don't feel pressured to call me mom either... Don't you do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, do you hear me?!" Minerva put on that same stern voice, and Beatrice smiled wryly.

"I suppose." She said simply.

Echidna laughed softly. "It really is amazing... We don't have Harry in this reality, yet just watching him was enough to bring both of us close together..."

"Mother... Will you bring Harry here in his dreams as well?" Echidna shook her head.

"No, my dear... You see... Harry is not our son in this reality... He is the son of Emilia and Rem."

"And that's why we're counting on you. After all, you are his big sister, so it's your job to look out for him, and keep him safe!" Minerva declared.

Beatrice's eyes widened. She had accepted Emilia's offer to be Harry's sister figure, but... all this time... she really WAS his older sister...? Well... In an alternate timeline, but still!

Well...alternate timeline or not, nothing changed the fact that she's his sister now. That is her duty, and her wish.

And she'll be darned if she ever messed up a single detail.

Taking in a deep breath, Beatrice looked at her mothers (felt so weird to say that). "Don't worry. You can count on me, in fact. Harry shall have a life the Heavens themselves will be jealous of!"

Minerva squealed as she tiptoed in place. She immediately picked her up again and enveloped her in a bone-grinding hug.

"Ooh, look at you! So strong, acting like a real woman already! Now if only you were taller and the picture would be complete!" Minerva gasped. "Ah! But no! You're too cute to grow up!"

"A...ack..." Beatrice struggled to breathe as she swung her legs, desperately trying to make Minerva let go. "Pu...put me...down...you're...crushing me..."

"Minerva, dear, remember your strength." Echidna reminded gently. Minerva squeaked and put Beatrice back down in her chair. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, please forgive me!" She bowed down on the floor and grovelled to Beatrice for forgiveness.

"Um... Okay..." Beatrice replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. She didn't really know how to feel about Minerva, she was certainly... um... eccentric, not the kind of person she expected her mother would fall for... Echidna laughed softly into her hand at the way the two interacted.

Just then, there was a sudden surge in the air. "Ah... It seems it's time for you to wake up now, my child..." Beatrice looked at her, distressed. "Oh, no, don't be worried, I promise you will see me again very, very soon. I will never abandon you again, ever."

"Wait! But..." She hesitated. "When...will I see you again."

Echidna got up, approaching Beatrice and wrapping her in a hug.

"That, I do not know." She said. "What I do know, is that you WILL see me again. Do not think this to be the last time. I'll always be here." She looked up at Minerva.

"WE will always be here."

Beatrice enveloped Echidna in her own hug, before her body disintegrated, particles blown away by the wind.

Echidna got up, staring at the spot where Beatrice stood a moment ago. Her face was blank, her eyes unblinking.

"How could I have been so stupid."

Minerva placed a hand on her shoulder.

She and Minerva were now watching Beatrice explain the story to the rest of the group.

"You changed as a person. That's good enough for me." The blonde said simply. Echidna gave her a weak smile, then looked down at the ground, clutching at her dress and sighing deeply. Minerva took a seat next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"She was my daughter, Minerva... And I left her behind without so much as a second thought... Minerva... What if... What if my counterpart ends up leaving Harry behind...?" Minerva narrowed her eyes at her. "I know you would never allow it, my counterpart would very likely end up spending the rest of eternity planted headfirst into the earth, but... just the thought that I might..."

Minerva spun her around to look at her, causing her to let out a squeak. "Listen to me and listen to me well! You are NOT that person anymore! You LEARNED, you GREW, you CHANGED, and nothing will ever take that away from you! And if you ever relapse, know that I'll be right there to knock some sense back into you!"

Echidna laughed softly. "...If that ever does come to pass... I want you to beat me senseless until I'm back on the right track-"

"No! No, I will NEVER hit you, NEVER!" Minerva was crying again. "Stop saying stupid stuff like that, I'm not gonna hit the woman I love!" Echidna sighed.

"You have such a warm, open heart, Minerva... It truly is your best feature..." She smiled wryly, and then she lunged forward like a snake to pull the blonde witch into a kiss.

*meanwhile, back in the real world*

"...and that's what happened." Beatrice finished. The reactions were varying.

Rem simply stared at her, her face blank. "Hmmm, it appears I was right. This WAS your purpose all along. And...to think that this is still our own world, just another place..."

Emilia meanwhile, had different things on her mind.

"Awww, Minerva and Echidna sound so cute together!" She said, hearts in her eyes. "I bet Minerva is such a good mom. I really wanna meet her someday."

Beatrice winced at that. As much as she genuinely liked Minerva, the woman's hugs were monstrous. If she didn't know that everything attacked by Minerva gets healed, she'd honestly think that woman could strangle a White Whsle to death.

"Yes, well..." She spoke. "...she is a bit...eccentric. But nonetheless seems to be a great mother."

Emilia giggled softly. "Think you'll ever accept her as your stepmom, Beatrice?"

The little spirit twirled her hair around her finger. "It's too early to say for certain, I suppose..." She sighed softly. "But I will give her a fair chance, I suppose..."

Rem smiled softly. "I'm sure that's all she could ever ask for..."

Harry looked around at everyone, confused and out of the loop..

So... there were two pretty witch ladies, and one of them was Beatrice's mommy, and she was HIS mommy in another timeline, and that made Beatrice his big sister in another timeline, and...

Wait... They said that Miss Emilia and Miss Rem were sent here by her to be his... his mommies...? ...But that couldn't be right... They weren't just going to show up one day and decide to be his parents, that didn't make any sense to him at all.

Emilia looked at him with a smile, remembering that little tidbit too. She picked him up and set him in her lap, gently stroking his head. She wouldn't push anything on him, she'd wait for him to ask when he was good and ready.

"You'll understand when you're older, Harry." She said. "Now's not the time to be thinking about that. Right now, you need to your tummy.

Harry nodded, eager to finally eat after the whole situation from earlier.

Soon, the family of 4 was seated at the table, enjoying their peaceful meal. Emilia and Rem exchanged small talk, Harry listening even though he didn't get most of what they were saying, and enjoying his food.

Soon after, the meal was done. Rem collected the dishes and began to dutifully wash them in the sink. Beatrice returned to her book from yesterday, while Emilia pondered something.

Rem noted her friend's actions and turned to ask. "What are you thinking about, Emilia?"

"Hmm..." Said the half-elf. "...well, I've been thinking...now that we've saved Harry, and now that we have a home arranged...what now? What do we do after that?" She asked.

Rem let out a soft hum as she pondered the question, scrubbing away at the plate in her hands. "Well... I suppose we'll do...whatever we need to..."

"...What about the Royal Selection...?" Emilia realized.

Rem turned to look at her with a soft frown. "I'm sorry, Emilia, but... I don't see how you could win it... You're very far away from Lugunica, and I don't see how we'd ever make it back in time..."

Emilia sighed softly and looked down, clutching at her skirt. "Yeah..." She said softly.

It appeared she wouldn't be fixing her reputation in Lugunica any time soon...

Seemed that she was always going to be known as the half elf that looked like the witch of envy...

Then, it clicked.

"Ah! That's right!"

Rem looked over to see the half-elf bearing a small grin on her face.

"I think I got it!" She exclaimed. "Let's make a new life here!"

That even made Beatrice pause. "Are you suggesting we forget everything we have back home, I suppose?" She asked, looking up from her book.

"Ah...um, well.. "

"Rem has a sister back in Lugnica, you know." She spoke. "Do you want her to forget her? To never reunite with her again? Is that what you're suggesting, in fact?"

"N-No! No no no that isn't what I meant!"

"Now Beatrice, don't try to demonize her." Rem chided lightly.

"Mmm." Beatrice grunted, focusing on her book once more. Not like she cared that much about going back or not, she didn't have much back there.

Rem sighed. "She isn't wrong... Without a way to return home... We have no choice but to make our lives here count..."

Emilia smiled sadly. "Don't worry, Rem... I'm sure you'll see Ram again someday... And Puck can let you two be pen pals!"

Rem giggled softly. "Yes, I can still be in contact with my sister... How is Puck? He's still exhausted from using that power of his I assume?"

"Yes, from what I can tell, he's gonna be out for a couple more days, but he'll come back!" Emilia chirped.

"P-Puck...? Who's Puck?" Harry asked.

That's when Emilia remembered. They hadn't told him about Puck yet. She needed to fix that right this instant.

"Puck is a very special friend of mine. He's a spirit who looks like a cute little kitten, and he always follows me around on my adventures." She spoke, Harry getting a hopeful expression on his face.

"Ki-kitty."

Rem giggled. "Looks like he didn't hear anything past the kitty part. Can't say I blame him." She said. Truth be told, she always did consider Puck to be exceptionally adorable, even amongst all the other critters she has ever seen. Puck was just that special.

"U-um..." Harry spoke up. "Ca-can I see him? Where is he?" He asked.

"Oh, Puck lives in this green gem here." Emilia said, pointing to the green gem on her chest. "He's sleeping now, he had a long day yesterday, so he needs a bit of a rest."

"Oh. Okay." Harry nodded before looking at the gem. "Have a good sleep, Puck..."

"Awww..." Emilia cooed, giving the boy a gentle squeeze. "You are such a sweetheart..." She leaned down and kissed his forehead. He beamed at the affectionate gesture.

"Oh... Good... I'm trying to be..."

Rem finished with the dishes, then looked over at the leftover pancakes on their plate, satisfied that there would be enough to Miss Figg when she woke up. She imagined it was probably a tiring day for the poor woman yesterday, so she may be out for a bit...

She took a seat at the kitchen table with the rest of the group.

"Now then... What will we do today...?" Emilia mused, finger under her chin.

"I have an idea, in fact."

Emilia, Rem and Harry all looked at Beatrice, who had put away her book. She took a deep breath and murmured something to herself, before looking at them.

"I'd like to spend more time with Harry."

Rem and Emilia blinked. They honestly shouldn't be surprised.

"I see." Rem said. "But...what will me and Emilia do?"

Beatrice had a steady answer. "I had overheard that Dumbledore can arrange us a house to live in. If you want, I can take care of Harry for the day, while you go and scout the houses they have available."

Emilia and Rem exchanged a glance.

"Hmm... Well, I suppose we could do that, but I'm not sure if he's still here anymore..." Emilia murmured.

"I could send him an owl if you'd like." Ms. Figg replied as she entered the room, still looking groggy but very much awake.

"An... owl...?" Emilia tilted her head.

"Oh yes, I keep my owl in the shed outside." Ms. Figg nodded. "We use them to deliver messages."

"I see. And how long will it take to get this message to Dumbledore?" Rem asked.

"Oh, it would take about ten minutes or so. My owl is quite the speedy bird, I must say." Said Ms. Figg proudly.

"I see." Emilia said, before clapping her hands with a smile. "Well then, it's decided!" She exclaimed. "Harry will be staying here with Beatrice, while me and Rem go house-hunting!"

She bounced in her chair from the excitement. "Ooh, I can't wait to see all the amazing houses they'll show us!"

Harry tilted his head. "A...new house?" He asked. "W-will...will I see Ms. Figg and the kitties again?"

Emilia gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, Harry." She reassured him. "We'll come down for a visit every opportunity we can get. Isn't that right you two?" She asked.

"Yes, of course. Wouldn't want Harry to miss her after all."

Beatrice crossed her arms. "Hmph. I...I'm only doing it for the Bubbies, I suppose. Not another reason, in fact." She looked at Emilia. "And stop giving me that look."

"It's okay to care about your baby brother, Beatrice." Emila said with a closed-eyed smile.

"...Yes, I know..." Beatrice sighed, looking at Harry with a small smile. "I promised mother I'd care for him..."

"That's all well and good, but you should try to care for him on your own terms as well." Rem replied.

Beatrice simply hummed as she climbed down from her chair and approached Harry, lifting him out of his. "Yes... Perhaps so..."

She held him at a slight arms length, a little reluctant to hold him the same way Emilia and Rem did. He looked back at her, eyes curious.

She began to wonder just what it was they were going to do today with the other two out and about.

Play with the kittens? Maybe read a book or something?

"Hmm...how about a little trip around town?" Ms. Figg chimed in. "I heard there is a new playground that just opened. I could take them to play together in the snow."

Beatrice pondered that suggestion. 'A trip around town? It certainly seems plausible. I could use it as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the surroundings. And Harry and me could play in the snow togethe-...oh. Right.'

She hated snow. She loathed it with all her being.

Her eyes fell to the boy held in her arms.

Perhaps...maybe if it's with him...then maybe...

Emilia winced. "Oh, I'm afraid that would be a bad idea." She spoke, confusing Ms. Figg. "You see, Beatrice doesn't like sno-"

"I'll do it, I suppose."

Emilia snapped her head over to Beatrice with a shocked expression. Beatrice huffed.

"You look like a suffocating fish, I suppose." She said with a pout. "I may dislike the awful white nightmare, but I am willing to cast aside that distaste for the sake of my younger sibling. It is that simple, in fact." The little spirit stuck her nose up and huffed.

"How very mature of you, Beatrice." Rem remarked.

"With you, I struggle to differentiate between sincerity and sarcasm." The little spirit pouted.

"Hmm. Well consider yourself lucky I'm not my sister." Rem replied simply.

"Hmph. That one has a truly harsh tongue." Beatrice replied with a snort.

"Yeah... She uh... reeeeeally does..." Emilia sighed. "Okay... So, we just wait around a bit for the owl, and hope Mr. Dumbledore shows up then?"

"Yes. I'll go send it off." Ms. Figg said before leaving to send a message to Dumbledore.

Beatrice looked at Harry, giving him a smile. "Well then, it looks like you'll be spending time with your big sister today, Harry?"

The boy beamed at the thought of spending time with his new big sister. He reached out towards her with his arms, and Beatrice pulled him in, immediately getting embraced by Harry's tiny arms.

"Yay! I get to play with big sister!" He exclaimed, clearly excited.

Emilia giggled. "Aww, look at him. So eager to play with you, Beatrice." She cooed, before placing a finger on her chin. "Hmmm...do you even know how to play, Beatrice?" She asked, curious.

Beatrice blinked, then looked affronted, puffing up slightly and blushing a bit. "Of couse I know how to play, I suppose!"

"Really? Because from my understanding, you spent all your time sitting in the library." Rem said with a small frown.

"Yes, well... Well... I... I used to play... When... When mother was still around... But... It's..."

She looked down and let out a sigh. She hadn't played in such a long time... She forgot what she was supposed to do...

Harry looked up at her. "It's okay... I don't know how to play either..."

'OK, now that's not funny. At all.' Thought the three women.

Surprisingly, Beatrice was the one to come to the rescue.

"Well then, today's the day we fix that, I suppose." She said. "There's no way I'm letting my younger sibling live without ever playing once in his life. I promise you, in fact, today will be the most fun day you're ever going to have." She said determinately.

Harry beamed again at Beatrice's words. This is it. His first day of playing. He had always watched as Dudley and his friends played in the snow, while he was never allowed to. So to finally be not only allowed, but encouraged to play, it brought a smile to his face.

"Ah, but first..." Rem said, pulling out a set of warm clothes big enough for both Beatrice and Harry to fit into them nicely.

Beatrice tilted her head. "...Where did you get those, I suppose?"

Rem shrugged her shoulders. "Never underestimate my ability to knit fast." She said simply.

"When did you have time to knit though? After everything that happened yesterday, I didn't think- Rem, did you knit all this in the time it took for you to come downstairs for breakfast?" Emilia asked. Rem simply smiled proudly, pleased with herself.

"...Consider me impressed, I suppose." Beatrice said simply as she slipped on the pink jacket Rem had knitted. There was a hooded jacket and a pair of gloves. "But where did you get the material?" Rem looked back over at the Dursleys' house.

"I stole it from the creature's domain." She said simply.

"Ah. Very well then." Beatrice nodded, leaving it at that. She knew Rem would do something like that. Not like those animals deserved any of their belongings. And she can't blame her for calling them creatures.

Frankly, she herself had a whole list of names for them that would make a sailor blush.

"Alright!" Emilia exclaimed. "I'll go check on Ms. Figg and see if the owl is back. Rem, come with me." She then looked towards the kid duo. "You two can go wait outside in the yard. Beatrice, try to teach him how to play. I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

Beatrice nodded. "Come on, I suppose." She said, approaching the door and leaving the house, stepping into the cold white of the snowy yard.

Beatrice's gaze flew over the environment. Every house was covered almost completely in snow. The green grass from yesterday was completely invisible, having been covered in a white blanket of cold.

As Beatrice gazed upon the white expanse before her and Harry, only one thought came to her mind.

"Now what?"

She looked around at the area around her and tried to figure out what she was supposed to do.

She looked down at the snow beneath her feet, then bent down and scooped some up into her hand.

"Um... Okay... I...think I'm supposed to... perhaps... do... this...?" She tossed the powdered snow up into the air and it rained back down. "...Or...perhaps not, that doesn't seem very fulfilling... Oh dear... I have no idea what we're supposed to do, I suppose..."

Harry tilted his head. "Y-You never saw anyone else play in the snow...?"

Beatrice shook her head. "No. I spent all my time in a library, I suppose..." She sighed.

"Oh... Lots of books...?"

"Indeed."

"Um... I...saw my cousin playing in the snow a lot..."

"And I'm guessing you weren't allowed to do the same." Beatrice sighed, Harry nodding shyly. The spirit knelt down and cupped his face in her hands. "Now you listen here, I suppose. "

The boy looked into her eyes, the pink butterflies in them shining brightly. "Those days of staying cooped up in the house, cleaning dishes and burning yourself while cooking are done, in fact. I will not tolerate any work on my little brother's side. You are a child I suppose, and as such, you deserve to have the best fun in the world. No amount of inexperience on my part is going to ruin that." She said determinately.

She got up and approached a small pile of snow before them. She picked up a bit of snow in her hands, before walking back to Harry.

"Would you like to see a little magic trick?"

Harry hesitantly nodded. He was still a bit apprehensive about speaking the word magic out loud, even with Rem's little trick from yesterday.

Beatrice smiled, before wisps of colourful magic began to gather around the small pile of snow in her hand. She turned around and blew at it, causing the snow to disperse into a white mist, which floated into the air before beginning to form a shape.

Harry's eyes widened. The snow was in the shape of a kitty cat! It even moved around like one, padding around in the air, sitting down to lick its paws, and then curling up for a nap!

"Kitty!" Harry cheered, clapping his hands. Beatrice smirked and stuck her nose up in the air proudly, satisfied with what she had just done. "And now watch this..." She formed another figure with the spell, and she created a saucer of milk for the snow cat.

Harry giggled and clapped his hands as the frosty feline began to drink from the saucer.

Beatrice felt her chest warming up, and she smiled warmly, the smirk completely replaced.

"Aww, look at them." Emilia cooed from the window where she was watching and waiting for Dumbledore's response.

Rem smiled down at the two and nodded her head. "Yes, Beatrice is doing an excellent job... She truly is living up to the role Echidna bestowed upon her. ...Honestly, I'm still a little shocked to know that our Beatrice is the daughter of the witch of Greed..."

"I'm shocked that she's the daughter of a witch at all." Emilia said, watching as Beatrice continued showing Harry new and exciting shapes in the snow.

"She was always so mysterious. But to think that she hid such a huge thing from us...and...how much she was really hurting...I wish I did something to help."

Rem placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We had no right to pry, Emilia." She said. "In fact, if we did, I'm almost certain she would have blasted us into oblivion in one gesture."

"I know, but..." Emilia argued, ger bleeding heart on full throttle. "...but we could've tried, at least. We could've tried to help, we could've been there for her every once in a while. And not just Puck, but me and you too."

Rem sighed softly. "We... all have our own issues to push through... I suppose... it just never came up..."

Emilia frowned. "But Rem... That means we should all be helping each other... We've lived under the same roof for so long, yet... we never tried to get her to really open up."

There was a moment of silence before Emilia spoke again.

"...She was alone... She was all alone the entire time..." She had her moment of realization. Rem turned to look at her.

Emilia sighed. "You had Ram... And I had Puck... We had others we were close to that we could vent our problems and struggles to, but who did Beatrice have? No one... She's been alone with this for such a long time..."

Rem looked at her with a blank stare. As hard as it was to admit, it was correct. Each resident of the mansion had someone they could vent to. Someone whose shoulder was always available to cry on. Someone who would listen when they ranted about nonsense, with a smile on their face.

Everyone had someone.

Everyone except Beatrice.

Rem sighed, before her gaze fell on the duo outside. A smile graced her features as she watched the two siblings in all but blood play around in the snow.

"That was then, Emilia." She said. Emilia looked at her.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that's it's all in the past." She walked over to the window. "This is her chance, Emilia. To finally have someone to talk to. Have someone to be there for her. She may have not realised it at the time..." Harry threw a bit of snow at Beatrice, the spirit laughing as she stumbled backwards into the snow.

"...but the moment she decided to save Harry, she finally gained the one thing she wanted the most."

Emilia's eyes widened in realization. "Oh... You're right... You're absolutely right, she's not alone anymore! And neither is Harry! Oh my gosh, they were both completely alone until now... Now they found salvation in one another! It was meant to be, Rem!"

Rem smiled warmly.

"And it's not just each other they have, Emilia."

"...Yes. Of course, you're right. We'll both have to be there for them all we can."

Rem nodded. "We neglected poor Beatrice for far too long..."

"Perhaps that's why she was so harsh to me..." Emilia murmured.

"Hmm... Maybe so... it doesn't make her abrasiveness right, but it makes it understandable... Perhaps... the fact that you resemble the witch... triggered some of her... repressed resentment towards her mother? It may not be the same witch, but it is someone closely associated with her..." Rem said softly.

Emilia frowned. Then she looked down. "...I'm glad to be away from our world, Rem... I'm glad to be somewhere where no one will judge me for the way I look..."

"Yeah...no one..." Rem looked away, old memories resurfacing. None were bad.

Emilia noticed the maid's expression of pain, looking at her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Rem?"

The maid looked up to see her friend, her pale face covered in the white light that shone dimly through the window.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, concern lacing her voice. "Are YOU okay? Do you feel sick?"

"N-no." She said, shaking her head. "I-I'm fine. No worries."

Emilia frowned. "Rem, I may be a bit of a klutz, but I'm not that big of an idiot to not recognize when my friends are hurt." She said, putting both hands on her shoulders and making Rem look her in the eye. "Tell me. What's wrong. I refuse to stand by and let you hurt even more. Tell me what's on your mind, and I'l-"

"How do you do that?"

Emilia blinked at that. "Hmm? How do I..."

"How do you stay so... wondeful despite how much our world hurt you...? How much I hurt you...?" Rem asked softly.

Emilia frowned. "Rem... I... What are you..."

"Emilia... Don't say you don't know what I'm talking about... I was horrible to you when I first met you..."

"I mean, you were reaaaally cold, but-"

"I told you to your face that you were a monster, Emilia... I told you I hated you, just because you resembled the witch of Envy... I didn't care to get to know you as a person... All I saw was how you looked on the outside..." The maid was beginning to tear up.

"And despite that... You didn't even cry. If anything... you just got even more determined to convince me you were worth having as a friend... Why...? What did I do to deserve your kindness, Emilia...? You'd have been well in your right to turn me away forever, but you never stopped trying to win my favor... Why did you try so hard to befriend me...? Why did you try so hard with the kingdom that looked down on you...?"

"Because I recognised your feelings." Emilia said.

Rem looked up at her with teary eyes, slightly confused. "H-huh? I...don't understand..."

"I lost my people too, you know." She said. Rem noticed a small tear well up in her eye. "My mom was killed before my very eyes. By a friend no less. And I even lost control of myself and repeatedly killed Pandora, the Vainglory Witch." She spoke, her voice trembling with each word. "I can't remember when I've ever felt such pain in my heart. It's something I still have nightmares of."

She looked up and gave Rem a smile, the tear in her eye flowing freely down her cheek. "But then I met Puck. He became my first friend after I was unfrozen. He became my father figure, guided me through everything. He was so kind to me."

"And that's what made me want to befriend you, Rem. That's why I ignored your insults and harshness. I saw the pain you hid, and when I found out why you were hurting, I immediately recognized your feelings. That's why I wanted to be your friend. I didn't want you to drown in your sorrow. I wanted to be your Puck, just like Puck was my Puck...if that makes sense."

Rem giggled at Emilia's little mistake, wiping the tear from her eyes. She gazed at the white half-elf, no longer seeing the Witch of Envy, but an angel.

One who was her best friend.

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Emilia in a tight embrace.

"Eep!" Emilia jumped slightly at the sudden display of affection. She was quick to recover, and smiled as she returned the hug.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Emilia..." Rem whispered softly, audibly crying into her shoulder. The half elf tightened her embrace, trying to convey without the use of words that all was well and there were no hard feelings on her part. Sure... The things Rem said had hurt... But she could handle that pain if it meant helping her.

"It's okay, it's okay... I forgave you a reaaaally long time ago, I'm not mad at you at all..." She whispered softly. Rem's sobbing grew a bit louder at that. Emilia rested her chin on the top of Rem's head as she unleashed her pent u guilt after several years.

Rem was fairly quick to stop crying, pulling away from the half elf with a teary-eyed smile. "Thank you, Emilia... You've done so much for me... You've tried so hard to help me through all I've been going through... I haven't appreciated it nearly enough..."

"Oh, you've helped me too, Rem! I couldn't even boil water until you taught me how to cook, and you were an amazing help with my studies!"

Both girls giggled at that before exchanging another quick embrace before there was a knock on the door.

"Ah!" Both girls quickly separated, jumping away from each other. Emilia nearly tripped over a footstool, quickly catching herself just in time to avoid falling.

At that moment, the door opened, and in peeked a familiar wrinkled face with a long beard and bew glasses.

"Good morning, ladies." Said Dumbledore. "I hope I haven't arrived at an inappropriate time?"

The girls composed themselves, Rem clearing her throat. "A-ahem..." She began. "...n-no, it's alright, professor. We were just..." She looked at Emilia, giving her a look that said "Help me out here!".

"Ummm..." Emilia started. "We were...discussing what we want in our new house!"

'Thank God for your rare moments of wit, Emilia!' Rem thought gratefully as she let out a sigh of relief. Turning to Dumbledore, she spoke.

"Yes, that's right. We were discussing what we wanted to have for Harry and us three once we find the house we're looking for."

The old man's eyes twinkled under his glasses, and Emilia got the sense that he was getting the wrong idea between her and Rem.

"I see, I see. Well then. Shall we get the search started? I imagine you'd like to return to Harry sooner than later." He remarked.

Emilia nodded her head. "Oh, yes, we wouldn't want him to miss us too much."

Rem bowed. "We are in your hands. Please lead the way."

"Very well." The old man nodded his head before turning to Miss Figg. "We'll be on our way now, Arabella!"

"Happy hunting!" Ms. Figg called out. "I'll take good care of the children!"

Rem briefly debated whether or not she should tell her Beatrice was many centuries older than her.

'Nah. She'll find out eventually.' She waved it off, following Emilia and Dumbledore.

Meanwhile, outside in the snow. Harry giggled as he moved his arms and legs to make a snow angel. Beatrice watched from the side in amusement as the boy laughed genuinely, likely having fun for the first time in his life.

"Enjoying yourself, I suppose?" She asked. Harry at her with a big smile.

"Yeah, big sister Beatrice. I love it!" He exclaimed, getting up and rushing over to embrace her in a hug. "This is fun!"

Beatrice chuckled, ruffling his hair a little. "Of course. I said you'll have the best day in your life, and I intend to go through with it in full, in fact." She said.

She stuck her nose up in the air smugly, confident in her abilities, as the door opened up behind them.

"All right then, dears, Emilia and Rem are on their way out to go house hunting. Shall we be on our way?" Ms. Figg asked as she joined them outside, wearing a heavily padded trench coat to keep herself shielded from the harsh cold weather.

"But of course we are, I suppose." Beatrice said with a nod.

"Yes please Ms. Figg." Harry said politely.

"You remembered to leave food and water for the bubbies correct?" Beatrice asked sternly, not wanting to risk the cats going hungry while they were gone.

'Only one day of knowing them and she already acts like she's their owner.' Ms. Figg thought with a shake of her head.

"Of course. Don't worry, dear Beatrice. I've left them everything they'll need, no need to worry." She assured her.

Beatrice nodded in approval. Ms. Figg clapped her hands. "Right! Shall we get going then?"

Harry twiddled his thumbs, an expression of uncertainty on his face. Beatrice noticed and looked at him. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"U-um..." He stuttered. "I'm scared. What if...what if no one at the park will like me? What if..."

"They'd best like you, or they will have to deal with me, I suppose." Beatrice said with a huff.

Ms. Figg laughed. "Well there you go, Harry, Beatrice will be watching out for you as any big sister would."

'That is correct, in fact. Any sister worth anything doesn't allow anyone to harm their siblings in any way."

Beatrice made a mental note to try and reign herself in from attacking any children that might hurt her little brother.

She couldn't quite make any promises though.

Inside the house, two kittens were looking outside and meowing in distress that they were going. Oddly enough, rather than Ms. Figg, they were looking at Beatrice as they did it.

Being the cat loving midget she is, Beatrice immediately noticed. Her heart shattered so hard Ms. Figg could practically hear the sound of glass breaking.

The little spirit immediately zoomed over to the window, her eyes leaking anime tears as the kitties meowed for her.

"Aah! Don't cry my little Bubbies!" She whimpered. "It won't be for long! I would love to snuggle with you, in fact, but this day shall be spent with my little brother, I suppose." She dramatically threw her head back. "Oh, what injustice for me to leave you all alone! If only I could take you with me!"

Meanwhile, Ms. Figg and Harry simply stared at the spirit's dramatic episode. Harry blinked.

"Big sister Beatrice is talking weird."

Ms. Figg shook her head. "Oh, what a drama queen. It's not like she won't be seeing them again."

Ms. Figg looked thoughtful. 'Hmm... I've been having a hard time getting those two to bond with me and she did so without even really trying...' She thought to herself.

Beatrice rejoined them, sniffling slightly and wiping some tears from her eyes.

"How very cruel of me... I must do something to make it up to them when we return... Extra chin scratches, perhaps a big hug..." She said softly. Ms. Figg laughed softly in amusement and shook her head, impressed with the spirit's care for the small furry friends.

"You're quite the cat lover, aren't you?"

Beatrice huffed. "They're much better than smelly, greasy, noisy dogs, I suppose." She said haughtily.

"Mmm-hmm. Kitties aren't scary like doggies are..." Harry said softly.

"Oh, you're scared of dogs, are you dear?"

Harry shakily nodded. He still remembers Ripper, the dog of his aunt Marge. He was always afraid of him, how he would always bark and bite and-

"Harry, you're thinking bad thoughts, are you?"

Harry was snapped out of his mind by Beatrice's voice, his big sister looking at him with worry.

She placed a hand on his head, petting him gently. "Don't." She said gently. "Now's not the time to be remembering bad things in fact. Like I said, I promised to make this the best day in your life, and nothing will stop me. Not those pigs, nor anything."

A pile of snow fell somewhere nearby, and she whipped her head around to glare at it. "Not even YOU, in fact." She all but snarled.

Harry and Ms. Figg noticed the unbridled hatred in Beatrice's eyes, and Ms. Figg rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, dear?"

"Hmm? Yes. Yes, I'm just fine, I suppose. Merely showing my nemesis I won't be deterred."

A small clump of snow fell atop her head, and her eye twitched.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was leading Emilia and Rem to the fireplace. "Um... Mr. Dumbledore sir... what exactly are we to do here...?" Emilia asked. The old man responded by holding out a strange powder that she had never seen before. Floo powder.

"I'm glad you asked, young lady." He said. "Please, hold out your hands."

Confused, the girls complied, offering their hands. Dumbledore placed a bit of Floo powder into each hand, the girls inspecting the strange substance.

"Hmm..." Emilia hummed, bringing the powder to her nose and sniffing it.

"Ah...ah...ACHOO!" Emilia sneezed. Small sparks suddenly...sparked, in front of her nose. Emilia blinked, quickly moving the powder away from her face.

"I suggest you don't keep it too close to your faces." Dumbledore said. "That little devil of a substance has quite the fiery temper when agitated." He spoke with a joking tone.

Rem looked at her powder, inspecting it with a critical eye. "What...is this?

"Ah, why it's floo powder, of course. It will bring us straight to our destination."

"Oh... Um... How...? Do we... mix it with something...?" Emilia asked.

"No, no, not at all. You simply stand in the fireplace, clearly state the name of the place you wish to go, and then you throw it down and you'll be on your way!" The old man replied.

Rem tilted her head. "This seems rather... unorthodox..."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Emilia said, eyes sparkling. "Show us!"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very well. But first, let me tell you the location we're heading. You must speak clearly and make sure you don't misspeak. If you do, you will end up in a random location."

Saying that, he stepped into the tall fireplace, the coal cracking under his shoes. He took a deep breath as he lifted his hand that held the powder.

"Hagrid's house north of Hogwarts." He said, before throwing the powder beneath his feet. A green fire erupted and engulfed him, the old wizard disappearing in a blaze.

Emilia and Rem gasped at the sight. They looked at the fireplace silently, very surprised at the sudden disappearance.

"That..." Rem began. "...is highly-"

"COOL!"

Rem blinked.

"I was more thinking along the lines of unsafe, but-wait what?"

"I wanna try!" Emilia exclaimed as she ran into the fireplace, extending her hand just like Dumbledore did.

"Emilia!" Rem called. "Wait! Wouldn't it be-"

But before she finished, it was already too late.

"HAGRID'S HOUSE NORTH OF HOGWARTS!" Emilia said excitedly, throwing down the floo powder and vanishing in a burst of flames.

Rem stared wide-eyed where she had been, and then she took a deep breath.

"Oh Emilia..."

She was keeping her calm, but she was truthfully worried about the half-elf...

After all, she had just watched her disappear in a burst of flames.

Had it hurt her in any way?

...Only one thing to do now...

She looked down at her own floo powder and let out a sigh before stepping into the fireplace.

"...Hagrid's house, north of Hogwarts..." She said softly before throwing down the powder and vanishing in a burst of flame.

At that exact location, a fireplace suddenly came to life, a green burst of flames swirling inside it, only to disperse and reveal the excited half-elf.

"Whoo!" She cheered. "That was fun! Now then, time t-whoa!"

Just as she was about to step out, she felt herself step onto...nothing. Just empty air. Before she knew it, Emilia tripped out of the fireplace, hitting the ground and starting to roll down a hill. She grunted as her body slid down the grassy and rocky surface, before she eventually hit a hard stop against a tree.

Her vision blurred, her head ringing like she'd just slamming face first into a gong. Before she knew it, spots appeared before her eyes.

"Hehe. Twirly funny dotsss, spinning all day~y~y~yyyy..." She mumbled, disoriented.

And then a large pile of snow fell down on top of her, burying her under the cold white mound.

Mere seconds afterward, Rem emerged from the fireplace. She stood for a moment to take in her location.

"Hmm? How peculiar... Why is this fireplace outside...?" She murmured. She looked down to see it was elevated by something, very likely a tree stump or a discarded table. "Ah. Perhaps he's renovating... Emilia?" Rem called out for the half elf, gracefully hopping down and landing harmlessly.

No sign of the half elf. That wasn't a good sign... Had she ended up in a different location where she wouldn't be found...?

Suddenly, she noticed the large snow pile at the foot of the tree slowly beginning to rise up, higher, and higher... Until Emilia's butt burst free from the top of the pile.

"Ah!" There you are!" She exclaimed, quickly running over to the snow pile. She began to quickly dig through the snow, eventually digging deep enough to pull Emilia out.

"Hhhmmm-FAH!" Emilia yelped as she was suddenly yanked out of the snow pile. The duo stumbled backwards, Emilia falling on top of Rem.

"Ah! I thought I was gonna suffocate!" Gasped out the half-elf. She looked around, before looking down to find Rem, whose back she was currently sitting on.

"Get...off...me...can't...breathe." Groaned out the oni, struggling to speak from a lack of air.

"Ah! Sorry Rem!"

She hopped back to her feet and bent down to help the smaller woman up. Rem let out a soft sigh and dusted some snow off her apron.

She looked at Emilia with a small frown. "You were reckless, Emilia, be more mindful from now on."

"Huh? But... But Mr. Dumbledore showed us how to do it, so it was okay, right?"

Rem sighed. "Perhaps so, but it didn't look or feel very safe... And you were far too quick to assume your surroundings, judging by the view I just received."

Emilia's face turned red. "Eep! You didn't see anything, did you?"

"...Well..." Rem looked away, a slight tinge of pink appearing in her cheeks.

"Aaaah! You saw it!" Emilia sqealed in embarrassment as her face flushed. She turned around and covered her eyes, groaning as her ears burned.

Just as Rem was about to reassure her, a gruff voice called out in the distance.

"Oi! You lasses there?!" A male voice called. Rem and Emilia both turned around and looked up to find a large man dressed in brown fur. The man had quite the beard, and the girls were pretty sure they've never seen someone so incredibly big.

"Hello?" Rem called, waving her arms in the air. The large man looked down to find the two girls at the bottom of the hill.

He made his way down, practically bounding down the hill at full speed, and Rem quietly wondered if she should do something to defend herself, but before she had much time to thing about it, she and Emilia were promptly snatched up by the hulking man and pulled into a tight bear hug.

"Thank ye so much fer savin' im!" The man was now sobbing messily. Rem and Emilia exchanged a confused look as he squeezed them tight. "I knew those Dursleys were nutin' more'n a couple'o right monsters but Professor Dumbledore said they'd be fine with 'im! I'da never brough 'im f'I knew what they were gonna do to 'im!"

Emilia and Rem realized he was talking about Harry. Rem's expression turned sympathetic. "It's all right... Harry's okay now, he's going to be... We're going to take very good care of him, that's a promise... Now... do you think perhaps you could let us go? You're hurting my spine."

"Ah, yeah. Right." The large man nodded, before gently setting them down. Emilia stretched her arms, wincing at the sound of joints popping, while Rem massaged her pained back.

"Right. Best introduce meself, eh?" The man said, before extending his hand with a smile.

"Rubeus Hagrid. Groundskeeper o' Hogwarts. Nice ta meet'cha."

Emilia gave a polite smile of her own. "Nice to meet you too. My name is Emilia, and this is Rem." She said, extending her own hand. Hagrid's massive hand wrapped around her tiny one, and Emilia struggled to suppress a scream at the sheer force of the grip crushing her hand.

She gave the man a strained smile. "Ah, righ' sorry, guessin' I'm still a little emotional.." The half giant loosened his grip and Emilia let out a sigh of relief. Dumbledore joined up with the group shortly afterwards with an amused chuckle and a twinkle in his eye.

"Hagrid is the owner of the homes we'll be looking at." Hagrid puffed out his chest pridefully.

"Yes indeed, got enough homes ready for ye to have plenty o' options ter stay in fer as long as ye need!"

"Oh! But... why do you have so many homes...?" Emilia asked with a tilted head.

"Ah, that's right." Dumbledore spoke up. "I believe I only said this to Miss Rem yesterday evening, but I have a tendency to send Hagrid here on certain errands around the Wizarding World. And since those errands often take a few days or a week to finish, he needs someplace to stay."

"Indeed." Hagrid said. "An' dere ain't no way I'll be stayin' on one a' dose run-down 'otels. This big boya needs a pro'er home for a good rest while I'm on those trips."

Dumbledore nodded. "As such, Hagrid has plenty of different houses all around the Wizarding World, not just in Britain, but also in America, Africa, even Asia."

"Aye, those Japs do be 'ospitable, gotta say." Hagrid said with a smile, remembering his few trips to Wizarding Japan.

He chuckled. "'Course, if it's a place closer ta the muggle world yer lookin' fer, I got plenty o'those too, lots ter do there see..." Emilia and Rem exchanged a look before Rem made the decision to speak up with a polite bow to the half giant.

"Thank you, sir, we'll trust your guidance. A home on the balance between the muggle world and the wizarding world would be idea, as I feel there's much we all have to learn about both sides." She said politely. Emilia nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, there's two different sides to this world, it wouldn't feel right to only learn about one while completely ignoring the other." She agreed. Truthfully she was just excited to learn about both. It was like they were making discoveries their world never would!

"Well 'en, I believe dere's plenty o' homes I've got jus' at the edge of both. Enough magic fo' daily stuff, yet enough ta keep ya as muggle-lookin' as possible."

"Excellent." Rem nodded. "Again, thank you for your cooperation. We don't know what we would have done without you to help us."

Hagrid waved it off. "Ah, don't sweat the small stuff. Ye've done a great favour to Harry, to all o' us. It's da least we can do."

"Thank you." Emilia said gratefully. "You're such a kind person, Mr. Hagrid."

Dumbledore clapped his hands to gather their attention. "Ahem. While I certainly don't want to interrupt your exchanges of gratitude, I believe we have homes to check out, correct?"

"Ah! Yes." Hagrid said. "Now then, les go check out what I've got fo' ya."

Meanwhile, Ms. Figg had just arrived at the park with Harry and Beatrice. The woman was content to sit back and watch them from the park bench as Beatrice held her little brother's hand and led him throughout the park. It was large, and beautiful, and there was a lot to see.

A lot of trees. And a hill. And... What was all this stuff...? She looked at the playground equipment and tilted her head to the side with a raised brow, approaching it. "Hmm... How curious, I suppose..." She mused, touching the slide with her finger. "What is this stuff...?"

Harry approached. He had never played on any of this stuff personally, but he recognized it based off of all the times his cousin had bragged to him about all the fun he had when his parents brought him here. "It's a slide... You go down it." He explained.

Beatrice blinked. That's...that's it? You just...go down it?

"That's disappointing, I suppose." She said. Truthfully she expected something more.

Suddenly, Harry tugged on her dress. She looked down at him, his pleading eyes staring into hers.

"Ca-can we go? Just one time. It's okay if you don't want to, I...I'll be fine." He said.

"Nonsense." Beatrice said. "You and I will have fun, and if this "slide" is what it takes, then I shall do it for you, in fact."

Harry immediately beamed at Beatrice's answer. Beatrice made a mental note to try and make him smile as much as possible. That beaming light was far too precious to be extinguished.

"Now then, how do we go about this? Hmm..."

"Um...you're supposed to...climb up that..." Harry pointed towards the metal ladder." And then you sit and...let yourself slide down."

Beatrice looked up at the ladder and narrowed her eyes. Climbing to the top of what, from her perspective, was a huge ladder, directly above the cold white hell that she hated with all her heart, was not a good idea... But it would make her brother happy.

"All right then, Harry, you go up first, I suppose." Beatrice said with a nod. Harry looked at her, then carefully began the process of climbing the ladder, Beatrice watching him carefully in case he lost his grip and fell. Thankfully, he made it without issue.

It was her turn next, and she climbed up after him, taking great care to be as cautious about it as possible, not wanting to fall down to the white powdery snow below. And luckily enough, she managed to make it up with Harry with no incident!

She carefully sat down, Harry in front of her, before hugging him as to not let him fall accidentally.

"Um, now...we go down." He said.

"Right." Beatrice nodded. "Now, how did this go-whoa!" She exclaimed when she suddenly began to slide down, the smooth surface only speeding up their descent. Though as soon as it began, it ended.

Beatrice found herself at the bottom of the slide, blinking as her mind caught up with the experience. Harry happily clapped his hands, having his first time at the slide. It was just like Dudley described it. It was fun.

Beatrice noticed Harry's happiness at the experience. She smiled at her little brother's childlike joy.

Looks like her role as a big sister is coming along nicely.

Unfortunately, the ride was not going to end entirely well for them. Because directly at the bottom of the slide, waited a massive pile of cold white snow, eagerly anticipating the moment they were going to crash into it.

How had it gotten there? It had fallen down from a nearby tree branch shortly after they had taken off down the slide.

And when Beatrice saw it, her eyes widened, and she squeaked out "Oh no..."

Sadly, she wasn't able to stop both of them in time, and the two kids soon found themselves headfirst in the snow pile.

Beatrice swung her legs angrily, furious grunts echoing from inside the snow. Harry simply swung his own legs, with a bit less effort involved on his side than Beatrice.

With one last angry grunt, the snow started to steam, before the pile began to shrink and wobble. Soon, the snow was gone, the water from it absorbed into the snow beneath the duo's feet. Beatrice angrily grunted, before looking over at Harry, who was getting up from this unintended snow accident.

Concerned, Beatrice quickly approached him and took his hand. "Harry! Is everything okay? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Harry tilted his head to the side. "Hmm? No, I'm okay, thank you. Snow's fluffy." He said.

Beatrice sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, that is it's one redeeming quality, I suppose, it won't harm one physically in fact..."

Still... he hated this cold white nuisance so much, she wanted it all to vanish off the face of the earth. She gave the snowy ground a pout before turning her attention back to Harry. "...Do you want to go down once more, I suppose?" Please say no please say no...

"Um... Maybe a bit later..."

Beatrice blinked, then shrugged. 'Oh well. Good enough, I suppose.' She thought. She picked Harry up, patting the snow off his body, before setting him back down.

"Alright then. We'll do it again later if you want." Hopefully he doesn't. "Now then, anything else you'd like to try out?"

Harry looked around, observing the various things on the playground. His eyes then fell on a red carousel isolated in the middle of the playground.

"Um...can we go there?" He pointed at it.

Beatrice tilted her head. What kind of strange contraption is this?

She approached the strange thing and studied it suspiciously, eyes narrowed as she touched it with her index finger.

It seemed harmless enough... She gave it a poke, and it began to spin slowly. "Ah. I believe I see the purpose. We're meant to stand on it as it spins about, I suppose."

Harry nodded his head. "Uh-huh. It can go pretty fast, or at least that's what Dudley said..."

Beatrice nodded. "Well... I would suggest we avoid going TOO fast..."

She just knew trouble would follow if they did.

"Yeah...don't wanna slip." Harry nodded. Him and Beatrice climbed up onto the carousel, with Beatrice silently thanking whoever it is that made red seats on it so that they could sit. She picked up Harry and sat him in her lap, before plopping down in one of the seats.

"Now then, how do we go about this?" She said, her eyes soon landing on what looked like a small, wooden flower-shaped table. She examined it with a critical eye, hmming in thought.

"I believe I need to do something with this. But...I don't know what." She said.

Fortunately, Harry knew. He'd heard Dudley's stories after all.

He reached out and grabbed the flower with his hands, before using what little strength he had to turn it. Beatrice watched as the carousel began to spin in the opposite direction of the flower.

"I see now." She said. "You grab this..." She grabbed the flower herself. "...and then you turn it, causing the contraption to spin. The more strength you turn it with, the faster it spins."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, I um... think that's it..." He said softly before carefully pulling on the contraption to make it spin slowly. Beatrice grabbed it as well to help the boy out. They were spinning a bit faster now. She was trying to be careful not to make it spin too fast...

Unfortunately, elsewhere in the park, someone had tripped and dropped their boot, sending it flying. Through a freak accident involving a ton of ricochets and chain reactions, the boot ended up striking the contraption with enough force to send it spinning wildly out of control with the two siblings on it, making them resemble blurs from the sheer speed. Ms. Figg was quick to get up and try to help. She reached them and grabbed onto the ride, abruptly stopping it... and sending the two passengers flying off. She could only watch as they went.

"IIII HAAAAATEEEE THIIIISSSSS!" Beatrice screamed as she and Harry rocketed through the air. Before the two siblings could do anything to stop, they soon landed in *yet another pile of snow*, this one even thicker than the last one.

The only thing that prevented Beatrice from exploding and doing the same thing she did in the forest was the presence of her little brother. She didn't want to hurt him by accident, so she opted to simply doing what she did previously and melting the snow through sheer fury.

Just like the last two times, the snow melted in an instant, freeing the two children from it's cold prison. Beatrice shook what little water was caught in her hair, and she looked to find Harry shaking off some snow from his head. But instead of crying like she feared he would, he was...smiling?

"That was fun, we went so fast and we got to fly!" Harry cheered excitedly. The little spirit blinked and tilted her head to the side, perplexed by her brother's reaction. No child she had met would respond to that sort of thing so jovially.

"...Yes, we...certainly did, I suppose..." She said softly with a sigh before picking him up and holding him, inspecting him closely for any signs of even the most mild of injuries, but thankfully, Harry seemed to be just fine. She sighed in relief.

"Oh goodness, are you two all right?!" Ms. Figg called over as she ran to assist them. Beatrice simply sighed and nodded her head, knowing deep in her heart that that was not going to be the last of it, but stubbornly trying to ignore that feeling.

Ms. Figg checked them over, dreading any possible injuries, and sighing in relief when she saw none. She gently patted off some more snow off of Harry.

"Just...try not to get hurt. Okay? I...I don't want another mistake like the last one."

Beatrice nodded. "You needn't worry, Ms. Figg. Harry is safe in my hands, in fact." She looked down. "Even though it's becoming harder and harder to make it a good, memorable day for him." She muttered to herself.

"What was that dear? Is everything okay?" Ms. Figg asked.

Beatrice looked up at her. "Oh, yes, I suppose. It's.. it's nothing." She took Harry's hand. "Come on, let's find something else to play with."

Meanwhile, Emilia and Rem were preparing to see their first house. They each took some floo powder from the large satchel Dumbledore had brought.

"Perhaps we could go first this time." Rem spoke to the old man. "So that you can notice if one of us misspeaks."

"An excellent suggestion." Dumbledore nodded.

"So what house do we go and check out first?" Emilia asked.

"Yes, what shall we say when we use the powder?" Rem inquired.

Hagrid spoke this time. "Ah, that's right. Da words ye need ta say are: Cottage 60 miles from Hogsmeade."

The two girls nodded. Emilia went to climb in, only for an arm to stop her.

"Not this time, you don't." She said firmly. Emilia pouted. "Awww. But why not?"

Rem gave her a look that said *Are-you-freaking-serious-right-now?*

Emilia gulped. "Uuuh, yeah...okay, you go first."

Rem nodded. She walked over to the fireplace, climbing in and sighing.

'Here goes absolutely nothing.' She thought.

"Cottage 60 miles from Higsmeade." She said, before dropping the powder and engulf herself in fire.

Emilia watched her go with a bright smile. "Okay, my turn now!" She chirped, taking some of the powder.

"Now don't get too excited, remember the proper words now." Dumbledore warned her.

"I know, it's okay, I got it! Cottage 60 miles from Hogwarts!" Emilia chirped, throwing the powder down and vanishing.

Dumbledore and Hagrid were quick to join them.

Dumbledore disappeared first. Hagrid was about to do the same, when something dawned on him.

"Hol' up." He said. "Didn't dat white one say "60 miles from Hogwarts."

He immediately paled ahen he realized what was at the location Emilia mentioned.

"Oh God. I gotta get ta her before Aragog finds 'er. Or any of 'is kids."

He quickly threw the powder into the fireplace, disappearing immediately.

*Meanwhile, in a dusty run-down shack*

Emilia appeared with a bright smile. "Okay! Let's..." She blinked and looked around at her surroundings. "...Um... Okay... This place is kinda... not nice..."

She stepped out of the fireplace and tried to feel around with her hands in search of any kind of light source, unable to see properly.

"Um... Rem? Mr. Dumbledore? Mr. Hagrid? Anyone?" She called out.

No answer.

She blinked. "Oh. I said the wrong thing, didn't I?"

Emilia fell to her knees and began to hit herself in the forehead.

"Argh, stupid, stupid stupid STUPID! I got lost again!" She yelled, berating herself harshly. "Me and my stupid excitement."

After a minute or so of berating herself more, she eventually got up, dusting off her clothes. "Well, standing around and berating myself won't bring me anywhere." She snapped her fingers and created a glowing crystal that shined through the darkness. "Might as well see if there's...a way..."

Her words died in her throat when the light shone upon what looked to be a long, thin line running along the floor.

She narrowed her eyes as she studied the line closely. "...Spiders...?"

Many were afraid of spiders, but she didn't mind them all that much, they kept other bugs away after all.

Maybe if she followed the trail of arachnids, she could find a way back to civilization...? Content with this decision, she carefully trailed along behind the spiders, taking great care not to step on any of them, Wouldn't be nice to crush her guides after all.

She was so focused on following the spiders she failed to realize she was moving deeper into the woods.

Meanwhile, a burst of flames appeared in a discarded fireplace covered in plant matter. The massive bearded man that is Hagrid stepped out, nearly stumbling as he got out of the fireplace.

"Ah, thank God I left dat piece 'a junk 'ere of all places." He said. "Well, better find the lass before something bad happens..."

Emilia looked about left and right, when she heard the sound of what appeared to be some kind of explosion, causing her to tense up. She then heard something skittering about behind her and turned to see a massive spider.

She went rigid, then took a few tentative steps back as the massive arachnid started approaching her... only to hear something else directly behind her.

She turned to see it was a massive scorpion-like creature, pale white.

As soon as these two beasts saw each other, they were quick to call for their respective backup.

A pair of loud screeches echoed out, causing Emilia to flinch and civer her sensitive ears. She opened her eyes and paled as she saw a ln absolutely MASSIVE army of spiders crawling out of the dark woods.

She went to turn around, only for her blood to run cold when another army, of those massive white scorpions, crawled out of the ground. She was knocked back when the ground suddenly burst up under her feat. She screamed and hit the ground, looking up to find another scorpion directly above her, staring at her with it's many, *many* eyes.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and she began launching ice spells in every direction imagineable, blasting spider and scorpion alike, freezing them all solid as they began to fight each other. Eventually, the many-legged monstrosities began to see Emilia as a genuine threat that needed to be taken out of the picture. The skrewts all rushed her, charging up, and she kept firing, but they were coming from every angle imagineable...

Hagrid was rushing to reach the half-elf, when he noticed a massive explosion occurring off in the distance. He stared with wide eyes... And then he heard the sound of screaming. He noticed something coming down, and he tried to rush into the right position to catch Emilia... He was off by several feet, and there was a massive impact with the ground that created a large crater a few feet away from him.

The half-giant blinked, then turned around to see Emilia lying at the bottom of the hole. Her head was planted firmly into the earth, all the way up to her shoulders, and her butt was sticking up in the air in a very undignified manner.

"Mmmmmffffrrgghhh!" Screamed Emilia in the ground. She was really getting sick of having her face buried.

"Ah! 'Ere. Lemme 'elp ya." Hagrid said, grabbing Emilia by the ankles, and pulling with all his strength.

"Mmmmfffhah!" Emilia gasped as she was yanked harshly out of her dirt prison. She took several deep breaths, desperately filling her lungs with air.

"I thought...hah...I was...hah...gonna die!" She shook her head and looked at Hagrid. "What were those things!?"

Hagrid scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah. Dat musta been the Acdomantulas. Scary suckhas, dem things. And the thing that blew ya up was a skrewt. They're mostly calm 'til ya provoke 'em."

Emilia pouted. "Hmph..." Then she realized she was hanging upside down and hurriedly held up her skirt. "Eep! Um... Okay, please put me down..."

Hagrid blinked. "Ah, sorry, lass!" He dropped her... and she fell right back into her hole headfirst, slightly deeper this time.

"Mm cmm NNNNN!" She shrieked, standing up and shaking her rear end about a few times before bursting free after a few seconds of pushing, brushing dirt and soot off herself with a pout.

Elsewhere, Rem was pacing back and forth worriedly outside the fireplace they had come in from, before the flames burst and Emilia came out, looking filthy and grumpy.

Rem let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank heavens you're here..."

And then she paused at the state her friend was in. "What the heck happened to you?"

"I teleported to the wrong place, and ended up in a war between carriage-sized spiders and exploding crab things."

Rem blinked. She looked at Hagrid. "Did she eat something suspicious wherever she ended up?"

Emilia angrily shook her arms. "But I'm telling the truuuuth!" She yelled.

Hagrid just chuckled and gave her a pat on the back. One that nearly slammed her into a shelf in front of her. "Heheh. The lass' right, ya know. She got into a turf war between a nest o' acromantulas and a local herd of blast-ended skrewts. Crawly buggers, I tell ya."

Rem tilted her head and raised a brow. The half-giant didn't seem to be lying... And this WAS a different world...

She let out a sigh and grabbed Emilia by the shoulders. "Be more careful, Emilia, you could have been killed!"

Emilia sighed and rubbed her arm. "I know, I'm sorry..." She sighed.

"From now on you're going first so I can come after you if you go to the wrong place." The maid said sternly.

"Yes, Rem..." Emilia sighed with a slight pout. She didn't mind Rem going first, but she didn't like being made to feel like she was some kind of child being scolded by her mother. She was an adult for heaven's sake, she deserved to be treated like one!

"Right, then!" Said Dumbledore, snapping his fingers. Emilia's clothes returned to their natural cleanliness, and Emilia sighed at the refreshing feeling that went over her body.

"I believe we have a check out. Now, shall we?" He said,

Rem nodded her head. "Yes, let's look at this house." As they were led off, they didn't realize there were several small blue creatures snickering behind one of the books. Small pixie like creatures...

Back with Harry and Beatrice, Harry was looking around in search of what he wished to do next as Beatrice patiently waited.

*back to Beatrice and Harry*

"What in the world is this?"

This was the question asked by Beatrice. She and Harry have been trying to get used to "having fun." Beatrice nađe sure to clean up any snow piles in front of the slide. Once she did that, she and Harry went on the slide again, this time not getting faceplanted into the cold substance. They went on the carousel again too, and this time, Beatrice placed an invisible magic shield to protect them from randomly flying objects. Just like with the slide, everything went well, and Beatrice found herself actually liking the carousel.

Now, they were standing before another attraction. A large red metal structure with two weird plates hanging on it by four long chains.

In other words, a pair of swings.

She tilted her head to the side and approached the strange contraption. She grabbed it with her hands. It felt... loose, somehow, not firmly rooted in place like the other objects were... She gave it a light nudge and watched as it moved forward and back.

"Oh. I think I get it, I suppose. You're meant to sit on this as it moves forward and back." She said with a nod of understanding. Harry nodded his head.

"Mm-hmm. It's a swing." He explained.

"Ah... A swing... An apt name for it, I suppose..." Beatrice acknowledged.

"Hmmm...now how do we go about this?" She asked herself.

She grabbed onto the two chains holding the plate before her, and climbed up, now finding herself standing shakily on the plate.

"I...don't know what to do next." She said, her face morphing into exasperation. She really was out of her depth when it came to having fun.

Harry looked at her for a second, before he walked over behind her. Beatrice observed him in silence.

"What are you doing?"

He reached up with his tiny hands and then gave the swing a light push.

Beatrice blinked. "Oh. I see. It's meant for two, I suppose... One must push the other to maintain momentum..."

"Actually... Maybe you can keep it going if you... sit down and use your legs...?" Harry guessed.

"Oh? How so?" Beatrice asked. "Perhaps you could sho me."

She hopped down, grabbed Harry and set him down on the swing in a sitting position.

And then she realized his legs were a bit too small, not being able to reach the ground.

Her brows formed into a flat line, and Beatrice grunted. "Hngh. Looks like that plan is out of the equation, I suppose."

Sighing, she decided to go with the only other alternative. One that was significantly less safe.

"I'll push you, and you tell me if you feel like you're too high. Okay?" She asked.

Harry nodded. "Okay."

And with that, Beatrice gently pushed the swing. The chains let out a small sound as the swing began to move forward-backward. Each time it returned, Beatrice would push just a wee bit harder than previously.

Once the swing was at a decent height, another idea came to mind. She climbed back onto her own swing, and then began to focus, creating a gust of wind that gently rocked their respective swings back and forth, back and forth...

They went higher and higher at a gradual pace, and Beatrice was being careful to make sure that she didn't lose control of her wind magic and accidentally create a gust of wind that was too powerful and ended up blowing them off the swings,

She quickly found that she actually enjoyed this quite a bit. There was something... comforting about the light back and forth motions of the swing. It was easy to simply lose oneself in their own thoughts, something meditative about it...

So lost in her head she was, that she failed to properly control her magic. By complete accident, she accident blew a particularly strong gust of wind. One that catapulted them both off the swings and sent them flying through the air, screaming all the while.

"Not agaaaaaaiiiiinnnn!" Yelled/whined Beatrice as she and Harry zoomed through the air, eventually crashing into the cold wet snow. When the cold mist settled, the duo was nowhere to be seen, only a huge mound of snow in their place.

Suddenly, four eyes opened on the pile. The eyes blinked and looked at one another, before quickly splitting away.

Beatrice let out a deep sigh of exasperation, crossing her arms over her chest underneath the snow. "Oh this is so unfair!" She groaned out loud. "Why must everything we attempt go so terribly wrong?" She hated the snow, she really, really did.

Harry giggled slightly. He knew his sister didn't like this, but... he would be honest, he thought it was all kind of funny, and a little bit entertaining. After a few seconds, the two of them popped their heads free from the mound of snow they were under.

Beatrice spat some melted snow out of her mouth, then shook her head to get some of the cold white powder out of her hair before digging herself free, grabbing her little brother and carefully lifting him up into her arms and out of the snowbank.

She set him down and patted the snow off of him for the THIRD time that day. She then grunted and turned around, glaring into the snowy ground before her.

"You..." She growled out. "I am slowly getting sick of you and your shenanigans, in fact." She said, before angrily kicking the small pile of snow before her, sending white mist flying into the air...

"Ah! Oof!"

...and yelping when she accidentally slipped and fell on her butt. Another growl escaped her mouth and her eye twitched.

"That's it!"

She jumped back on her feet, before rainbow light glowed in her hand. She might be trying not to ruin Harry's day, but even she has her limits.

She swum her arm down, intent on erasing all the snow in the immediate area. But before she could do anything, her hand suddenly froze up just before hitting the snow.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shaking her head left to right. 'No... No, no, no, you will NOT do anything ridiculous on that level and risk harming your brother, compose yourself, Betty...' She thought to herself, shaking her head.

She rose back up and stood straight once more, clearing her throat and turning to look at Harry, who was looking up at her with wide eyes and a tilted head. She simply smiled back weakly and gently rubbed the top of his tiny black haired head.

"I'm... all right, Harry, simply... a little perturbed, I suppose..." The little spirit sighed softly. Harry nodded his head in understanding. He didn't mind it personally, but he could see how his big sister would have issue with the snowy mishaps. He gave her a hug to try and cheer her up.

Beatrice looked down at Harry as his tiny arms wrapped around her in a hug. A small smile grew on her lips, and she closed her eyes before returning the hug equally.

'This feels...nice.' Beatrice remarked in her mind as she and Harry remained in the hug, the snowflakes falling gently around them.

She looked at Harry again. "Alright. That's enough of that." She said, letting go of him, prompting Harry to do the same.

"Now then, I believe we have a few more things to check out, in fact." She said, pointing at something behind Harry. He turned around, only for his eyes to widen.

In front of him was a giant, colorful miniature house.

He looked at the rocking horse and tilted his head to the side. He had seen horses briefly from the few glimpses he saw of them on TV, but he didn't see any legs on this one, so he didn't think it was going to run around and take them for rides.

Beatrice was fairly confident she knew what was going on with this horse though. She gathered Harry up and set him down on top of the horse, before quickly clambering up after him, with no small amount of effort due to her own small stature.

When she was on the rocking horse, she huffed out a breath, then smiled down at Harry. "Now then... Let's see, how does one make this creature move...?" She kicked down at the equipment's sides with her heels. "Giddy up, I suppose! ...Move along, in fact!"

...

...

Nothing happened.

Beatrice growled. "I believe I said MOVE." She yelled out.

The horse still didn't move.

"Grrhhh..." She growled. "Move already, you stupid creature!"

"Umm..." Harry spoke up. "I don't think...I don't think it can hear you...I don't think it's alive..."

Beatrice blinked, before she facepalmed. Of COURSE it wouldn't hear her. It was a toy.

This "fun" was seriously starting to eat away at her nerves.

She pouted and crossed her arms. "Hmph... Very well then... Let's see..." She began to shift herself back and forth, and the rocking horse moved alongside her. "Oh... All right then, it seems to be working..." She nodded her head as she continued her movement.

Harry helped too, and soon enough, they found their pace, the horse toy gently rocking them back and forth. Beatrice stuck her nose up in the air and smiled smugly. "Yes, we are riding our noble steed into the sunset, Harry!" She cheered enthusiastically.

Truthfully she had always wondered what it would be like to ride a horse, and while she knew that this was very unlikely to be an accurate representation of what it was like, it would at least make for an adequate substitute. It was quite fun!

Harry giggled as the wooden horse bounced back and forth, up and down as Beatrice cheered from behind him. He is so happy that his big sister is having fun after all the mishaps they've gone through previously. It was nice to see his big sister happy for once.

Unfortunately, that happiness had to end eventually. Good things never last long, after all.

The house bounced up, before going down, causing the spring underneath it to creak. As soon as it went back up, the spring suddenly extended, and with a loud *toiiiing*, the two siblings in all but blood were launched yet again into the air.

This time Beatrice didn't scream. She didn't even let out a sound. Instead, she just looked forward to see where they were about to land, before sighing and wrapping Harry in her arms to shield him in case they hit something hard.

"I have no idea what the heck I expected I suppose."

This time, their landing point was not just into a pile of snow, but also the playground's sandbox covered by the thick layers. Both of them wound up landing headfirst, getting buried up to their torsos. Their legs stuck out in thei air, while their torsos were buried in the snow, and their heads were buried in the sand underneath.

Beatrice blinked in their confinement when she realized what had just happened. "...Sand...? Why is there sand here, I suppose?" She asked in confusion before realizing that was a bad idea when she got a mouthful of the soft loose silt.

"Ah! Bah! Bleh! Chagh!" Coughed Beatrice, trying and failing to prevent more sand from entering her mouth. Snarling, she instead summoned up a small gust of wind (since she knew Harry was near her), and blew through the sand until enough of her body was free to get out.

With a *pop* Beatrice's head was freed from the snady prison, only for the spirit to feel something cold on her head. She reached up and touched it, before her eyes fell flat at the cold feeling of snow.

"What a nuisance I suppose." She huffed, shaking her head and the snow off of it. She looked around to find Harry's for buried almost halfway in the sand pit.

She was about to reach over and grab him, only for Ms. Figg to beat her to the punch, having come running over as soon as she saw what had happened. "Dear oh dear oh dear..." The woman tutted as she carefully lifted Harry up and set him back down next to his big sister.

Harry just blinked owlishly, then looked at Beatrice. "Um... Is flying what we're supposed to be doing on the playground...? Dudley never mentioned anything like it before..." He said softly. Beatrice groaned out loud and buried her face in her hands.

Meanwhile, Emilia and Rem were being given the tour of the first house Hagrid wanted to show them. It seemed like a very nice house... Both girls would be happy to live here. Unfortunately, the Cornish pixies that lived within thw walls had other plans...

"Wow! This painting looks so beautiful!" Said Emilia as she observed an ornate looking painting of what looks to be the night sky, with some strange yet oddly beautiful swirls of white on it.

"Ah, I believe that is the Starry Night, by Van Gogh if I remember correctly." Dumbledore said. "One of my personal favorite paintings. A shame the moving version for the magical people isn't yet complete."

"You have moving pictures?" Emilia asked, stars in her eyes. This Wizarding World only seems to be getting more interesting by the minute.

Rem proceeded to ignore Dumbledore as he began to explain to Emilia the workings of a moving painting. She walked over to a shelf with several porcelain and obsidian figures, each looking like an animal of sorts. Doves, fishes, foxes...wait.

"What...kind of animal is this?" She asked, observing what looked like a strange obsidian figure.

Unbeknownst to her, that was ANYTHING but an animal.

The animal in question turned to look at her, and she blinked owlishly at it. It tilted its head to the side, and then began to hover in the air with a small pair of wings, getting in close as if trying to inspect her curiously. Rem smiled. It appeared to be some sort of fairy...

Suddenly, the tiny winged beast decided to jab Rem directly in the eye with its tiny fingers, causing the oni to cry out slightly and stumble back, clutching at her hurting eye... and end up stumbling over a broomstick that had been conveniently left in her path.

She fell back, then tried to regain her balance for several seconds before she felt several small things shoving into her from behind, sending her stumbling forward right towards a small bin filled with trash. She ended up landing headfirst in the bin, her head getting stuck in it as her rear end was left sticking up comically in the air.

The commotion didn't go unheard by the other people in the house. Dumbledore and Emilia turned to look at Rem, while Hagrid peeked out from the kitchen.

The trash can fell over, spilling it's contents all over the floor. Rem spat out a plastic cup, before shaking her a banana peel off her head.

Emilia ran up to help her. "Rem! What happened? How did you fall into the trash can?"

"Some weird creature poked me in the eye, and I stumbled backwards over a...broom that somehow found itself behind me."

She narrowed her eyes, looking around for the creature, but saw nothing. Emilia tilted her head to the side curiously. "I don't see anything... Maybe it was just some dust or something?" Rem looked at her with a flat expression on her face.

Dumbledore frowned as he had a hunch what might be going on. "Hrmm... Seems this humble abode has been invaded by Cornish Pixies in your absence, Hagrid. We'll need to find a way to remove them from the property so they can live here comfortably."

Emilia tilted her head. "Cornish pixies? Well that doesn't sound so bad-" Suddenly, a jar fell down from a shelf directly above her and landed right in her head, resulting in it getting stuck tightly around her head.

If it wasn't for the fact that Emilia was on the receiving end of this, she would have probably started giggling at the sight of someone's head being stuck in a jar.

Sadly, that wasn't the case this time.

"Huh?" Emilia squeaked out, her hands immediately reaching up to try and take the jar off. Unfortunately, every attempt was met with failure. She attempted one more time, squeezing her fingers in to try and pull it off...

"Ah! On no!"

...only for her fingers to get stuck as well.

"He-help!" She said, her voice slightly muffled by the glass. "I-I'm having trouble breathing!"

Rem grabbed Emilia around the midsection while Hagrid grabbed ahold of the jar and pulled with all his might, putting so much force into the pull that the half-elf was sent flying backwards, right into the Oni, sending them smashing into the wall behind them.

Emilia gasped for air while Rem groaned out loud... And then a pile of random objects fell down on top of them from the open closet door they had crashed into and buried them. A few seconds later, their heads and torsos burst free from the pile.

"...I want these things OUT." Emilia said with narrowed eyes. "They are NOT getting away with that!" Dumbledore nodded his head.

"Very well then, we'll search for them. I know precisely how to handle these creatures." He assured her.

"Aye. Now that biggest problem will be gatherin' up the lil' gremlins." Confirmed Hagrid. Rem helped Emilia up, and the group proceeded to split up in an attempt to cover more ground.

The pixies opted to stay away from the two wizards, seeing how they're going to be far too risky to prank without getting caught.

The girls on the other hand...

"Hmmm..I wonder where they could beeee." Emilia spoke innocently as she approached the fridge, where a group of pixies was hiding in wait. She opened the drawer.

"Hmm. Not here!" She said. She then approached the wooden box that is used to store bread, before sliding it open. "Not here either!" She said.

The pixies giggled as they heard Emilia approach the fridge. The elf grabbed the handle of the door.

"Or maybe they areeee..."

And then she swung it open, revealing a bunch of pixies who squeaked the moment the light shone on them.

"Aha! I've got you no-"

Unfortunately, it's exactly what the pixies planned.

Before she even had time to react, Emilia found herself being relentlessly pelted with various different food items. "EEEEK! NOOOO! STOP IT! STOP, NO MORE!" She shrieked, staggering back as stale carrot sticks hit her. Then she felt tomatoes splattering all over her body.

The pixies then proceeded to grab a plate of old spaghetti and slam it down on the top of her head, before they then proceeded to squirt her with various condiment bottles, sending her stumbling backward, until she triggered a tripwire nearby.

She turned around... just in time to see a pie come swinging down from a rope on the ceiling and smash into her face. This sent her tumbling down the nearby flight of stairs... Where she saw, waiting down below, was a whole bunch of pies laid out all over the floor, waiting for her to land.

Emilia grunted when the back of her head smacked hard against the edge of the last stair, before her entire body was dunked into the pies. One plate was even catapulted into the air upon her landing.

Emilia groaned into the pie her face was in, before slowly lifting her head up, letting the plate slide off of her face. Two eyes opened inside the cream, blinking in shock at the whole turn of events.

"What-"
*CLANG*

The plate that was launched into the air fell straight on Emilia's head, interrupting her sentence.

The impact forced her face back down into the pie she had landed in previously, and she laid there with a groan of frustration, rear end sticking up in the air, which was then quickly pelted by the pixies with various different food items that she didn't have the energy to turn around and look at.

She laid there in defeat and just allowed herself to be abused... until eventually, Dumbledore rushed into the scene and cast the spell that would stop this particular batch of pixies. "Peskipixi pesternomi!" He called out, and the pixies cried out as they were suddenly ensnared in an orb of magical energy that they banged against in a desperate effort to escape, but to no avail.

Dumbledore knelt down and helped Emilia back to her feet, the entire front of her body dripping with heavy dollops of cream. "Well done, my dear, you found some of them!" He praised. Emilia simply let out a quiet whine in response to him.

Meanwhile, Rem silently tiptoed through the hallway as her senses were on high alert. Her voice was completely muted so she could hear every possible twitch.

'I should probably watch out for tripwires or traps. Dumbledore said these pixies are known for pulling cruel pranks, so I must be-.' She thought to herself, before her thoughts froze.

She spotted the door to what she assumed was the bedroom, which was strangely half open. As silently as she could, she slowly slid the door open, only for a suddenly fall and spill a strange black liquid on her head.

Before she could even react, a mass of high-pitched giggles rang out, before a whirring sound was heard, and a cloud of feathers was suddenly blown into her face.

She stood in place for several seconds before her eyes opened up from underneath the thick coating covering her body, twitching slightly as she realized she had been made to look like some sort of chicken creature. She exhaled through her nostrils, and wound up sneezing as a result.

She spat some of the liquid out and turned to see the cackling little pixies. She clenched her fists, trying to figure out the best way to deal with the creatures. She didn't want to do anything that might damage the structure of the house, as tempting as it was to just try and smash them with her flail.

She didn't realized that there were more of the blue skinned demons sneaking up on her from behind, holding a bucket of something. When they slammed it down atop her head, it was revealed to be honey, and Rem cried out in shock as the little pixies began to bang at the bucket on her head with spoons, the reverberations causing her to stumble about awkwardly, trying to yank the bucket off her head.

Disoriented and confused, she didn't know where she was going, until eventually, she managed to pry the bucket free... just in time to see herself in the process of falling out the open window to the snowy ground below.

"WhooaaaAAAH!" Luckily, her fingers managed to snag onto the edge of the window, stopping her just before she plummeted down into the cold ground below. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, only for her to sputter when a feather latched onto her tounge.

She luckily managed to spit it out, and lifted her other arm to climb back up. But just as she was about to climb back in...

"Don't you dare."

The pixies giggled at the oni's words as they grabbed her fingers and began to try and pry them off to make her fall. She didn't go without resistance however, and fiercely pressed the fingers into the wooden edge.

She gritted her teeth as hard as she could and glared defiantly at the blue monsters, who simply snickered in response as they set to trying to force her to let go of the ledge. Rem proved to be far more stubborn than they let on, and they began to get frustrated.

Then they got an idea. Looking up at the latch of the window, then grinned maliciously, before they flew up on closed it harshly around the oni's fingers. Her eyes widened in shock as she let out a cry of pain, and then they promptly opened it.

That was when she lost her grip and plummeted down towards the large pile of cold white snow that taunted her far down on the ground.

WHUMP!

A white cloud exploded the moment she landed into the snow pile. Her entire torso was buried into the white powder, only her behind and legs sticking out, thankfully covered by the skirt.

"Hmmmmm..." Groaned the oni. Seriously, if this is some sort of curse for them to constantly fall face-first into snow at every opportunity, she was seriously considering learning fire magic.

She soon dug herself out, shaking her head to remove the snow from her hair...

"Oh Flügel dammit."

Only to realise that the honey and the black substance caused the snow to stick on her.

Now she was a feathery, sweet, inky and freezing work of pixie art.

Her eyes narrowed in displeasure as she glared up at the pixies... Only to find they were all trapped inside a large orb of magic. Dumbledore, Hagrid and Emilia were all looking down at her, and she could see that Emilia was just as targeted as she was judging by all the food remnants covering her.

Despite this, she waved her hand at the maid with a wide, bright smile on her face. "We're almost done, Rem, just a few more!" She called out. Rem let out a sigh of exasperation and shook her head.

"A few is far too many if you ask me..." She murmured. She made her way back inside, trying to be careful not to cause too much of a mess on the carpet. She would have to clean this house if they were going to move in after the pest control.

Emilia ran up and hugged Rem, paying no mind to the mess she was covered with, not even caring when she herself was lightly coated in it, and giggled softly. "C'mon, Rem! You and me will look for the last ones together, okay? Safety in numbers!" She chirped.

"Yeah, better to be together and...why do you look like you rolled in cake?"

"Why are you dressed like a chicken?" Emilia asked with a tilted head.

Rem's eye twitched, before she groaned and turned around. "Let's just capture the remaining pixies and end this whole farce already. I wanna be with Harry." She then walked off towards a shed.

Emilia blinked at the maid's retreating form, before scratching her head. "Did I...say something upsetting?" She asked herself. She then shrugged, before coming back into the house. The cakes were from the fridge after all, and she really didn't want to be standing in the freezing cold at the moment.

She idly wondered why the cakes had been baked. Did the pixies literally learn to bake just for that specific prank? Hagrid and Dumbledore went off in the opposite direction to cover as much ground as possible. Emilia walked by Rem's side and grabbed onto her hand.

Rem blinked and turned to look at the half-elf, head tilted and expression curious. Emilia beamed. "We should keep each other close, Rem! That way they won't have such an easy time getting us!" She chirped. Rem smiled back and shrugged.

"I suppose that makes sense. Now, just follow my lead..." The oni led the half-elf through the halls of the house in search of the last pixies. She didn't know exactly where to look, but she made sure to leave no stone unturned. They could be anywhere.

"It seems the pixies like to hide in narrow spaces." Emilia spoke up. "Maybe we should check out the broom closet."

Rem's hair stood on end. The broom closet. That was just begging to be made into the grounds for a nasty prank.

She *really* wasn't in the mood for more shenanigans.

"L-let's check out other places first." She suggested. "I uh...I wanna make sure we storm every nook and cranny. Can't be too safe, am I right?"

Emilia tilted her head. "Huh...alright!" She exclaimed with a smile.

Rem sighed in relief and made her way over to the nearby kitchen. And then the den. And basically everywhere until there was nowhere else to look but the broom closet. She groaned out loud and tightened her hold on Emilia's hand. "Perhaps Albus and Hagrid found them already?"

Emilia frowned. "But they would have told us if they did, right?" Rem sighed.

"I suppose..." She reached over and pulled the door open... And was relieved to find there was nothing inside the closet.

But that was because the pixies were directly BEHIND them.

"Hmm...maybe the, have captured them alre-AH!" Emilia yelped when something roughly shoved her directly into the closet. Unfortunately, since she was holding onto Rem's hand, that also meant that Rem was on for the ride as well.

Before they could even do anything, the two girls stumbled into the closet, and the pixies slammed the door shut. Unfortunately, the closet was meant to be opened from outside, so the girls were now literally locked in the closet.

Meanwhile, Rem and Emilia had a different predicament. Whilst being locked in the broom closet was already a big issue, the two had more pressing matters at hand.

Mainly the fact that they were so close to each other.

So close that the only thing they could see were each other's eyes.

So close that their lips were touching.

So close that-hold up, what was that last part?

Both girls let out a squeak before they pulled away, their faces red as tomatoes. Emilia looked away from Rem, her hands resting on her cheeks as she processed what just happened, her face becoming gradually more and more crimson by the second.

Rem was not faring much better. She was standing stone still, staring with wide eyed shock at Emilia, her cheeks tinted pink as she slowly processed what had just occurred. She had... technically speaking... KISSED EMILIA. KISSED HER!

It was... rather nice, actually... Her lips were soft and delicate and her face was so very beautiful- She forced herself to look away, still rigid, and cleared her throat awkwardly. Emilia spoke up. "Oh wow, that was reeeeally close, I could have gotten pregnant..." She murmured.

At that, Rem's mind shut down.

"What?"

Emilia looked at her. "Don't you know, Rem?" She asked, face still red. "Don't people get pregnant when they kiss someone?"

"I...huh...wha...?" Rem's mind kept short-circuiting as it tried (and failed) to comprehend what Emilia just said. Her mind was in disarray as it tried to catch up to two things:

1. What Emilia just said

And

2. That she just KISSED Emilia.
KISSED HER.

Granted, it had been extremely brief, and it was only a few seconds of their lips touching each other, but still, it had been close enough as far as she knew! She shook her head, then took a deep breath to compose herself. "Emilia... That is not how that works." She said evenly.

"H-Huh?! But... But that's what Puck told me! He wouldn't lie to me!" The half-elf insisted. Rem stared at Emilia with a small frown. Puck...was WAY too overprotective of the half-elf. Rem took a deep breath and began to explain how it worked to the half-elf.

Dumbledore and Hagrid had just found the last of the pixies, and were now in search of Emilia and Rem. By the time they found the two women in the closet, Rem had just finished up her explanation, and Emilia was standing tall and rigid, her face an atomic red as she processed this new information.

"Aye...what happened 'ere?" Hagrid asked. The girls turned around to find the two men looking at them with one eyebrow raised.

"Thank you for coming." Rem said. "Those pixies threw us into the closet when we checked it to see if any were inside." She pulled Emilia out of the closet before shutting it. "Did you capture them all?" She asked.

In response, Dumbledore smirked before lifting up a transparent orb with a swarm of pixies, squeaking madly inside as they attempted to escape. "I believe they won't be a nuisance any longer."

Hagrid then spoke up. "Aye. Nasty lil" blokes." He said, before grabbing the glass orb and stuffing it into his bag. "Nasty lil' blokes. Threw me into a thorn bush. Now I got pricks in me beard!"

He shook the bag around a bit just to jostle the pixies inside the orb violently, before letting out a sigh. "So, ye lasses think we got a sale 'ere?" He asked. Rem stepped up and nodded her head politely.

"Yes sir, this house is very much ideal now that those things are out of the picture. Thank you, we'd love to move in as soon as possible." Hagrid beamed.

"Ah, I knew ye'd love it 'ere, it's a right nice home it is! Now then, why don't ye run along now and go an' get the rest o'yer family and I'll stay behind and tidy things up a bit?"

"Thank you." Emilia squeaked, still embarrassed. And then, in a flash of light, Puck emerged.

"Ah... Now that was a good nap! I feel completely-Huh?!" Emilia grabbed him and held him up to eye level.

"WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?! BABIES DON'T COME FROM KISSING! REM TOLD ME THEY COME FROM MEN AND WOMEN...AAAAAH!" She clutched at her head and screamed.

Puck's eyes widened. "NOOOOO! YOU TOLD HER! REM, HOW COULD YOU?! HER INNOCENCE HAS BEEN CORRUPTED!"

Rem just gave him a flat look. "You know she would have found out eventually, right?"

Puck flew up to her and started violently tapping her cheek with his paws. "I knoooow, but I wanted her to keep her innocence until she had a boyfriend!"

"Well, it's no longer possible." Rem just shrugged her shoulders.

Puck angrily grumbled before crossing his arms. He then noticed the state the two girls are in. "Uuuh...what'd I miss?"

"Don't ask." The two girls replied at the same time. Puck blinked. "Huh? But-"

"Don't."

"Ask."

The cat formed spirit laughed softly. "Well, you girls do look pretty silly right now! But uh... you two are gonna have to get cleaned off. Just wait there for one sec..." Emilia's eyes widened, but before she could open her mouth to protest...

WHOOOSH!

A geyser of water erupted from underneath her and Rem, utterly drenching them. But at the very least it did clean off all the muck and filth that had covered their persons. Emilia pouted and stomped her foot. "Puuuuck! The weather outside is way too cold for that!"

Puck simply giggled, stuck his tongue out and lightly bonked himself on the head. Dumbledore approached the cat spirit. "What an unusual familiar you have here, Miss Emilia. I can't say I've seen anything like it. I don't suppose he's an animagus, is he?"

"A...what?" Emilia asked with a tilted head, before moving to squeeze out the water in her hair. "I've never heard of such a term."

"Ah, right." Dumbledore stroked his beard, just now remembering the girls' predicament. "Well, to put it simply, an animagus is a wizard who has the ability to transform into a specific animal using magic."

"I...don't think such a term or ability exists back home. " Rem said, using her ice magic to freeze the water on her body bit by bit, and moving her body to break off the thin layer of ice. "I do remember an old maid of Rosvaal's named Frederica, who had the ability to transform into a beast however. Perhaps I'll ask her about the term if we ever reunite."

Puck spoke up. "Nah, I'm no human! What you see here? Well, that's pretty much what you get!" The small spirit approached the old man. "Gotta say, I like the beard. Gives off a real mystical vibe, y'know? But I like that guy's beard juuuust a bit better. Makes him look like he knows his way around the wilderness!"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Why thank you."

Hagrid looked visibly pleased at Puck's praise as he ran his fingers through his long bushy beard. "Aye, never shaved a day in me life! Takes a lotta work to keep this beard lookin' well!"

Puck decided he was going to sit in Hagrid's beard for a little while. "So, uh... what's this place, anyway? Where's Betty? And how's the little guy? He doing okay?"

"Oh, he and Beatrice were left back at Ms. Figg's house to spend some time together. Ms. Figg said she'll take them around town to explore. As for us..."

"We went to try and find a house to live in!" Emilia spoke cheerfully. "We decided that having a home of our own here would be more optimal than just living with Ms. Figg. And so, we left to find a new house."

And so, they went on to explain the situation to Puck. How they were taught about using Floo powder, and about their various shenanigans during their first time using it.

Mainly just Emilia messing up.

Puck sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, Mili, I just can't take my eyes off you for even a minute!" He chuckled. "Seems you're always getting yourself into some kinda trouble." Emilia pouted and crossed her arms over her bust, turning away from the great spirit.

"Hmph!" She stuck her nose up indignantly. "It's not like I ask for any of this stuff to happen to me!" Puck laughed and left Hagrid's beard to perch himself on her shoulder, gently rubbing her cheek with his tiny paw in a reassuring manner.

"I know ya don't. ...But that doesn't change the fact that it does anyway!" Emilia stomped her foot.

"I don't need to be babysat all the time!"

"Yeah, just most of the time." Puck replied cheekily. He loved teasing his daughter.

"Oooooh!" Emilia fumed, her face crimson as she flushed in anger. Dumbledore silently tiptoed backwards in case the half-elf did something.

Luckily, nothing happened. Well, except Emilia walking over to him and offering her hand.

"Floo powder. Now."

Dumbledore blinked. "Already?" He asked. "Wouldn't you like to check the house out a little more-"

*"Now."* She growled out. Deciding that not angering the half-elf was the better course of action, Dumbo raised his hands in surrender and simply gave her a handful of Floo powder. Emilia gave him a nod.

"Thank you." She then went into the living room and walked over to the fireplace. Walking in, she prepared her hand.

"Number 6, Privet Drive."

She vanished into the fireplace, and Rem blinked. "Well then... I wasn't expecting that... She even chose the right location..." She let out a soft sigh and bowed politely to the group before her. "If I could get some floo powder as well, I would appreciate it. I'd like to reunite with Harry."

"Yes, of course..." Dumbledore handed her the floo powder.

"I'll stick around and scope the place out, see if I can figure out where best to put stuff!" Puck chirped, raising his paw into the air.

"Very well." Rem nodded. "We'll be back shortly with Harry and Beatrice. Then I'll see about preparing something to eat."

"Ah, in dat case, I'll visit da store fer some groceries. Need ta restock after all." Said Hagrid, before swiftly heading out to do shopping.

Rem turned to look at Dumbledore. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" She asked.

Dumbledore smiled, but shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Miss Rem. There's some urgent matters to attend to at Hogwarts, and I really don't have the time."

Rem gave a simple nod. "Very well then." She turned around and continued to explore the house, intending to clean up whatever mess the pixies have left with their pranks.

*meanwhile, with Harry and Beatrice*

Beatrice was sitting on the armchair in Ms. Figg's house, sulking and resting her hand on her cheek. It had all gone so wrong! It was supposed to be a fun filled day spent with her small brother, a memorable time at the park just playing and having fun!

Well, the MEMORABLE part was on lock, but not for any of the reasons she wanted it to be! Now all Harry was going to remember is the fact that he fell in the snow multiple times and it was a complete and total disaster! Ugh! She had failed miserably!

Harry was sitting in a chair next to her with a cup of hot cocoa. He looked at her with a tilted head. "Beatrice...?" He asked softly. "Are...Are you okay...?" Beatrice looked at him with a low hum, then let out a sigh and turned to acknowledge him.

"Yes, I suppose... I'm just... sorry we didn't have a very fun day like I promised you..."

Harry tilted his head. "Huh? But...I had fun."

Beatrice stopped at that. "You...you did?"

Harry gave a simple nod.

Beatrice adopted a confused expression. "Wha? But...but how? All we did was get thrown around into snow and cold. We barely got to enjoy anything on the playground, in fact! How could you have possibly had fun in all that chaos, I suppose?"

"But it was fun." Harry stated. "I...I loved playing with you. E-even though we always ended up in snow, I didn't get hurt, and it felt nice. And you were there too!"

Beatrice stared at him with wide eyes for several seconds. She set her mug of cocoa down, then walked over to the boy and pulled him into an embrace. "I...I'm very glad to hear that, I suppose..." She murmured softly, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Harry hugged her back with a warm smile... And then, they both jumped when they heard the sound of a loud burst of flames. They snapped their heads to the fireplace to see Emilia stepping out with a light huff before she closed her eyes and took a break.

She looked around, then saw Harry and Beatrice, and Harry immediately ran over to her. Smiling widely, she knelt down and outstretched her arms, pulling him in close for a hug and picking him up as she rose back up to her feet, giving the boy a gentle squeeze.

"Hi, baby! Did you have a good day with big sister?" She cooed gently, lovingly pinching the child's cheek.

Harry giggled at the pinch, and spoke up. "Yeah, big sister and I had lots of fun! We played in the snow, we went to the playground, we spun around, we had so much fun!"

Emilia chuckled and looked at Beatrice. "Oh, is that right? You actually had fun, Beatrice?"

The spirit crossed her arms with a huff. "Hmph. Stupid snow ruined everything, I suppose."

Emilia giggled. Looks like Beatrice's grand fun day didn't go quite the way she had planned.

A second later, the fireplace ignited once more and Rem stepped out, dusting some soot off her apron, and approached Emilia and Harry with a small smile. "Hello Harry, it looks like you had a good day." She said warmly. Harry beamed at her.

"Mm-hmm, it was fun!" He chirped. He started to tell Emilia and Rem all about what they had done at the park, and the two women were mildly dismayed to learn he had been dragged into Beatrice's mishaps. Beatrice noted the way they looked at her and huffed ingdignantly. "Well it's hardly my fault, I suppose! The snow is entirely to blame for all of it, in fact!"

Rem sighed. "I'm beginning to think you're correct..." She looked over at Harry once more and smiled before gently taking him from a pouting Emilia and sitting him in her lap. "Well, Harry... Emilia and I found a new house for us to live in."

Harry looked down, a bit sad at the news. "Oh...will we see Ms. Figg again?"

Rem nodded. "Well of course, Harry!" She said. "There's no way we could separate you from her. We'll just be living somewhere else."

Harry looked up with a smile. "Yay!"

Emilia giggled at his joy. He really loved Ms. Figg, didn't he? Or was it the kitties he truly wanted to see?

Nah, probably both.

Suddenly, a grumble echoed through the room, and Harry blushed slightly. Rem chuckled. "Looks like someone needs food in their belly. Come on, let's eat and then we'll head to our new house."

"Wait one moment!" Ms. Figg approached, looking at Beatrice, who had two kittens hanging off of her shoulders and clothing. "Young lady... would you like to take those two little ones along with you?" Beatrice's eyes widened at those words.

"You... You want me to bring two of your bubbies along with me to this new house, I suppose...?" She murmured softly. Ms. Figg nodded her head.

"They seem to really like you. So cold and standoffish to me, but they can't get enough of you. And Harry too. I can tell that you'll give them a far better forever home than I ever could."

"Come here you beauties!" Exclaimed Beatrice as she ran up to Ms. Figg and snatched the two cats into her arms. She nuzzled them into her cheeks with a happy smile and teary eyes. "I will take such good care of you two! I'll feed you, and I'll pet you, and I'll bathe you, and I'll-"

The other people in the room simply stared at Beatrice with an amused smile as she ranted about everything she was going to do to make the kittens' lives heaven. The cats themselves didn't seem to mind Beatrice's overly smothering affection all too much. In fact, they actually enjoyed it, as they affectionately rubbed themselves against her face with soft purrs.

Beatrice then remembered. She turned around and walked over to Harry, before placing the cats in front of him.

"Harry, these two bubbies will live with us from now on. We'll have pets, in fact! Aren't they adorable?"

Harry was excited as he gently gathered the small cats in his arms and hugged them close. "Pumpkin and Tabitha are gonna come and stay with us!" He cheered. Beatrice blinked at that and tilted her head to the side before speaking.

"Oh, Pumpkin and Tabitha... I never took the time to learn my new bubbies' names!" She exclaimed. Harry giggled and approached her with a smile. She sighed and smiled back. "Well, I know now, I suppose..." She said softly, stroking their tiny heads.

"Um... Ms. Figg, will the cats be able to take the floo powder?" Emilia asked.

"As long as they're held close." Ms. Figg replied.

"Oh, thank God." Emilia said, placing a hand on her chest in relief. "I really don't want a repeat of that...incident."

Ms. Figg tilted her head in confusion. "What incident, dear? Did something bad happen?"

Emilia looked away, a red blush dying her face crimson. Rem sighed and shook her head. "Long story short, she once accident froze every pet in the village near the mansion we lived in."

"I didn't mean to...poor animals got hurt when I lost control." She said dejectedly.

Rem placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's all in the past now, Emilia. I can guarantee that you won't be freezing any pets from now on." She looked down. "And look. It seems one of them has already warmed up to you."

She looked down and saw that Pumpkin seemed interested in her, wriggling around in Harry's arms and trying to move over towards the half-elf the best he could. Harry smiled and walked over to her, holding out the hand holding the tiny orange kitten.

"Pumpkin wants to say hi to you." He said softly. Emilia blinked, then smiled warmly before extending her hand and allowing the tiny kitten to step into it, before holding him up to her chest and hugging him close. Pumpkin mewled softly and purred, cuddling up against her.

"Aww, hi, Pumpkin, you're so cute..." She cooed softly. She idly wondered if Puck would be jealous, and then she quickly decided that he deserved it for teasing her. 'It'll teach that mean old cat a lesson!' She smiled triumphantly at her decision.

"Your face is telling me you're planned some sort of revenge." Rem said. "I'm guessing it's Puck?"

"He deserves it for lying to me and teasing me." Emilia simply answered.

"Fair enough." She nodded, before clearing her throat. "Now then, I believe it's time we had lunch. Emilia cooked yesterday. This time, I'll be doing the cooking." She then went into the kitchen to prepare the meal.

"Oh you're gonna love Rem's cooking, Harry!" Exclaimed Emilia, putting Pumpkin down and picking the boy up. "Her food tastes even better than mine. I guarantee you'll love every bite!" She said, nuzzling her nose against Harry's, eliciting a giggle from him.

She giggled as well and took a seat on the couch, setting him down on her lap. Beatrice sat down on the floor and played with the kittens, trying not to give too much attention to just Pumpkin and Tabitha, not wanting to neglect the other cats that wanted to play with her.

Ms. Figg went to offer to help Rem in the kitchen, but Rem assured her she could take care of everything, and so the older woman set to filling the cats' bowls up so that they could have their lunch as well, Beatrice smiling as the swarm of felines rushed over and began to eat.

Rem searched through the cupboard and fridge to figure out what it was she was going to prepare for their afternoon meal.

"Hmm...let's see here." She ignored the rice. They ate that yesterday. "I need something light for Harry to swallow, but supple enough to be enjoyable for the others."

Her eyes scanned over the contents of the fridge, before landing on a can of tomato sauce. Her cooking instinct took over, and she took the can out, before her sight was set on the cupboard. She set the can down, and opened the cupboard.

She immediately noticed a bag of yellow powder, with the word "polenta" written on it.

"Hmm. I believe that's what the powder made from corn is called." She hummed. "I suppose it should be enough." She grabbed the bag along with a jar of rosemary to sprinkle in.

She turned the knob on the over, and was pleased to find she had chosen the correct dial, before setting the pot containing her makeshift meal on the burner. Then, she put her hands on her hips and smiled as she watched it begin to cook.

She looked over at the living room and saw Emilia tending to little Harry, and she smiled softly. It was very clear to her that the half elf absolutely adored the boy. That was relateable... She felt more or less the same way, albeit less smothering with her affections.

Still, it was sweet to see the way the two of them interacted with each other... Emilia was so gentle and tender with Harry... When the white-haired young woman pressed her lips against Harry's forehead in a kiss, however, she had to look away to hide her blush as she remembered what had happened earlier that day in the closet.

'Those darn pixies.' Thought Rem bitterly. 'If it wasn't for them, I...I...'

She what? What exactly?

As much as Rem admitted it, the moment itself wasn't all too bad. Sure, it was incredibly awkward, and Rem did find herself feeling super embarrassed at the whole thing, but...it felt...

It felt oddly nice.

Now don't get her wrong. Rem was absolutely certain she had no such feelings towards Emilia. It wouldn't be okay. She and Emilia were friends. Sure, they are rather close and friendly to each other, but they're still friends at the end of the day.

Yeah, that's right. Friends.

That's all.

She looked back at the half elf and found herself blushing again. Emilia WAS very beautiful though... Her long, silky, snow white hair, her sparkling purple eyes, her slightly pale skin, and her choice in attire made her extremely pleasing to the eyes.

Emilia noticed Rem was looking at her, and she turned with a warm smile. Her smile... It was a lovely sight... Rem forced herself to smile back and nodded back at her before turning back to the cooking to hide her blush. She felt her heart beating just a little bit faster than it had been before.

She found herself wrestling with her feelings for the half elf. ...What WERE her feelings for Emilia...? She was attractive, to be certain, no one would deny that, but... did she truly feel THAT way about her? She wasn't even interested in women... was she...?

'Am I...really...' She mused in her mind, before a puff of steam caught her attention.

"Ah!" She gasped when she realised that the water was bubbling and was on the edge of spilling out. She quickly lowered the temperature, before placing a lid on the pot.

"Phew." She breathed out in relief. "Almost made a mess." She said.

She let out a sigh, before grabbing a chair and sitting down, placing her hands on her face. 'Oooh...' She moaned. 'What is going oooon...why do I have these thoughts?'

"Rem? Are you all right?" She heard Emilia call over, and she winced when she realized the half-elf had seen her. She turned to smile weakly and nodded her head in affirmation. Emilia was convinced and beamed back at her. Beatrice was giving her a look, brow raised.

Rem looked away and focused on the meal she was preparing, letting out a soft sigh. 'Honestly, I can't let these thoughts take over while I'm working, what sort of maid would lose herself to such distractions?' She internally scolded herself.

She buckled down and forced herself to put all of her focus on the cooking, not wanting to make the same mistake she had earlier. Soon enough, the meal was almost finished. She began to collect the bowls and utensils they would need.

Taking out the plates from the top cupboard, Rem gently placed them on the table, before arranging them neatly in a perfect circle.

She then moved onto utensils, taking out several spoons and placing them into the plates, like a waiter would in a restaurant. She knew that polenta doesn't need anything more than a spoon to be eaten. So she left it at that.

"Right. Now that the first part is done, I think I'll make some tomato sauce to add to the food. It's the best fit for a dish like this."

*meanwhile, in the living room*

"Ah, would you stop pulling on my hair, Tabitha?! That hurts!" Whined Emilia as the kitten named Tabitha kept tugging on her hair with it's teeth.

Pumpkin seemed to catch on that Emilia was displeased, and so he began to swat at his sister with his tiny paws, meowing at her indignantly. Tabitha turned to him and then lunged, playfully tackling her sibling, sending them both rolling onto Emilia's lap, where they began to wrestle one another.

Emilia sighed in relief and straightened her hair out before pouting at the wrestling kittens. "How would you like it if I bit YOUR hair, Tabitha? Not very much, I bet!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose up with a pout.

Harry giggled as he watched the two kittens playing with one another, and Beatrice simply smirked. "Well, it would seem that I'm the true Bubby whisperer." She said smugly. Emilia turned her pout on her, eyes narrowed. Beatrice simply looked triumphant.

Tabitha and Pumpkin eventually stopped rolling around on the carpet, before Tabitha jumped up and landed on Harry's lap. She placed her paws on Harry's shirt, letting out a meow, as if she was asking to be pet.

Of course, what else could Harry do besides return the affection?

He began to gently pet the kitten on the head, eliciting small purrs as the fluffball tilted it's head to follow the boy's hand.

Emilia gazed at Harry with a smile, before turning to Beatrice with a smirk of her own.

"Hmph. Looks like Harry's superior to you, Beatrice." She smugly stated. "He didn't even need to pick it up. It just came to him."

Beatrice replied simply. "That's because he's an adorable child, much like myself. You on the other hand are an angsty teen. Of course the cats would like us more."

Emilia promptly shattered like glass.

"I...I am NOT angsty, I don't angst over anything, and I am not a teenager, I am nineteen years old, that is two years a legal adult back home in Lugunica, you don't get to say that I'm an angsty teen when that's not even true!" Beatrice watched with a flat expression as Emilia ranted and protested.

Pumpkin noticed the woman with the pretty white hair was upset and decided he wanted to do something to help her, so he hopped up onto her leg, just barely missing her lap, latching onto her stocking with his claws as he lightly dug his claws into her skin.

"EEP! Um... Pumpkiiin... Careful... Don't...Ow! Don't climb up, you're digging into- OW! Pumpkiiiiin!" She whined as the tiny orange cat finally managed to climb up onto her lap, sitting on his haunces and purring, his tail swishing about back and forth in anticipation of love and affection.

Emilia let out a tired sigh and smiled before gently rubbing the cat's tiny head. "Oh, you're quite the little troublemaker... But I just can't be mad at a cute little face like that..." She said softly as Pumpkin curled up on her lap and tried to use the sound of his happy purrs to make the half-elf happy.

"Awww, who could ever get mad at such a widdle cutieeee!?"

Obviously, it worked.

"Come here you." Emilia cooed, snatching Pumpkin in her arms. The kitty meowed when it was picked up, before Emilia gently set it up in her arms, hugging it with all the warmth she could muster, and gently running her fingers through it's fur.

"Mmmm, do you like it?" She asked. The cat responded with a purr of bliss, turning over to show it's belly.

Meanwhile, Beatrice simply stared in mild surprise. 'Colour me impressed. She actually did it.' She thought.

And then she realized she was the only one of her current family besides Rem, who was cooking, to not have a bubby to cuddle with, which made her pout and cross her arms, cheeks puffing out slightly. One of the older cats in Ms. Figg's collection hopped up next to her, as if sensing her dilemma, and then laid itself down atop her lap.

Beatrice beamed and gently stroked the cat's head. "Aww, you're not as tiny as my bubbies, but you're every bit as cute as they are." She cooed. The cat meowed in response, enjoying the attention he was receiving. Now everyone was satisfied...

"Lunch is ready everyone!" Rem called out, prompting the entire house to enter the kitchen. Rem had even taken the liberty of filling the cats' bowls for them. Beatrice looked at the meal with a tilted head, curious.

"Hmm. A strange concoction, to be certain. Is it a sauce of some sort?" She asked curiously.

Rem shook her head. "I believe it's a sort of mash made from dry corn grains. It's simple enough to cook, almost anything goes with it to my knowledge, and it's soft yet supple enough to be enjoyable to everyone."

Beatrice observed the dish before her. It certainly seemed tasty, but then again, anything Rem cooked was tasty. She had yet to taste anything the oni had cooked that wasn't tasty enough to be a world class dish.

Tentatively picking up a spoon, she scooped up a bit of the yellow mash, with a stain of sauce on it, and placed the spoon into her mouth. Chewing for a few seconds, the spirit hummed at the feeling on her tounge.

Harry was next to take a spoonful. He made sure to be nice and slow about it, just in case they decided they didn't want him to eat anymore and he had to put the spoon down. His face lit up at the taste, and Rem beamed at him happily, glad he liked it.

"Mmmmm! So good!" Emilia cheered through a mouthful of her food. Rem looked at her with a deadpan expression, her brow raised slightly. Emilia pouted and looked down before swallowing. "I know, I know, I shouldn't talk with my mouth full..."

"It is quite tasty." Ms. Figg agreed as she ate her share of the meal. "Thank you again, Miss Rem." The oni beamed at her, then looked to make sure all the cats had their food, not wanting any of them to have been forgotten and left to go hungry.

Thankfully, the cats all had their bowls filled. Rem wanted to double check in case she missed one bowl, but luckily all of them were full.

UNluckily however, a majority of the cats were now about 50% done with the food. Meaning they are likely to start bothering them for more.

And true to Rem's suspicions, one was already tapping it's paw on her foot, meowing as if it wanted more food.

Rem sighed and shook her head. "This is why I never wanted a pet." She whispered. It's not that she was against keeping pets. It's just that they tend to be rather...annoying, when it comes to food.

Beatrice was quick to respond, hopping down from her chair and all but scrambling to find the cat food so she could fill the bowl once again, scanning every bowl and refilling each one she thought wasn't quite full enough. Rem sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Beatrice, honestly, you're going to spoil them." She warned. The little spirit let out a huff and stuck her nose up in the air.

"I know that! That is very much my intention! I will give my bubbies the world, I suppose!" She said with great conviction that Rem almost had to admire.

"If they eat too much they'll get fat." Rem warned her. "You can't keep putting food in their bowl every time they ask for it."

"There's nothing wrong with a little extra weight, I suppose! You should be ashamed of yourself for judging the bubbies based on their body weight, in fact!" Beatrice huffed.

Rem stared flatly as Beatrice stopped paying attention to the bowl, watching as the pile of food grew bigger and bigger.

"Beatrice."

"Yes, I suppose?"

"The food."

"Eh?" Beatrice asked, before realizing the bag in her hands was strangely light. She looked to find...

"Ah! Too much too much too much!"

...a huge pile of cat food spilling over the bowl, with the bag in her hands completely empty.

She fell to her knees and grimaced as she watched the cats eagerly digging into the food. "Oh no, I overfed the bubbies, I'm a terrible pet owner..." She moaned as she clutched at her head in frustration. Ms. Figg simply laughed in amusement.

"Oh, this happens more often than you realize, these little troublemakers get into the bags of food all the time when my back is turned, it was destined to happen regardless." Beatrice teared up slightly, relieved that she hadn't screwed up TOO badly.

"Hmm. Seems I'll have to keep a close eye on Pumpkin and Tabitha then," Rem mused, looking at the two kittens that would be joining them as they eagerly devoured their food. "They could prove to be quite troublesome." Ms. Figg shrugged.

"Oh, Pumpkin won't be a problem, he's a very calm cat. Tabitha... you may have some troubles with her."

Rem's eyebrows fell flat. This is NOT gonna be a welcome experience.

"Like...what?" Rem asked, holding back her irritation as her gaze settled on Tabitha, who was licking her paw without a care in the world.

"Well, for starters, she can be a bit messy when she eats anything not solid, like say, meat. She tends to drag it around and eat it on the floor instead of in the bowl where it was put. And she also doesn't like to stay in the house for too long. You should always be sure to let her out, or else you'll find a lot of your furniture and glass on the windows scratched up. And also-"

"Please. No more." Rem interrupted. She REALLY didn't want to listen any further. Those problems were MORE than enough.

She didn't much care for cats. Nor dogs, for that matter. Both were trouble. But she couldn't deny the rest of the group she was with the chance to have them as pets.

She just wished they had gotten something like a bird, or a turtle, something that wouldn't cause trouble around the house for her to deal with. Still, at the very least one cat was well behaved... She'd just have to keep a sharp eye on that little tabby.

Tabitha seemed to notice she was staring at her, and she meowed before padding over and brushing up against her legs. "Ah. I see. You're acting cute to throw me off guard, are you? Well I won't fall for it." Rem said sternly. Tabitha simply meowed in response.

Rem's eye twitched. For as much as she prides herself on her dedication to her opinions, even she has a weakness for cute things. Part of the reason why she wanted to save Harry as soon as possible.

There's no way she's leaving a sweetie pie like that with those beasts.

Tabitha made another meow, starting to purr softly as she rubbed against Rem's leg. The maid's fingers began to itch.

Must...not...succumb...to...cute...

"Oh get over here, you!" She finally caved in, scooping up the cat and giving her a big, warm hug.

She let out a sigh as she exasperatedly stroked the kitten's fur. "You may be adorable, but that doesn't mean you will get away unpunished when you cause trouble." She warned the kitten sternly. Tabitha simply meowed again and Beatrice giggled

"Tabitha seems quite talkative, I suppose." She remarked. Rem sighed through her nostrils and cradled the kitten in her arms. Emilia reached over to pet the tabby, and Tabitha gave her a light playful nip on the finger, causing her to squeak and pull away.

"She wasn't trying to hurt you, Emilia, she merely wanted to play." Rem reassured the half-elf.

"Biting isn't playing, she should learn to play more gently." Emilia huffed with a pout.

"Oh, she always plays like that." Ms. Figg spoke up. "All you need go do to make her stop is tell her she hurt you, and when you try to pet her again, she'll lick the spot she bit you on. She may be rowdy, but she knows when to stop."

"I sure hope she does." Rem said dryly, only to get a lick on the cheek. She shook her head with a sigh and set Tabitha down, the cat immediately returning to her share of food.

"Right, I believe I should start eating myself. The food will get cold if I don't get to it now."

And with that, she went back to the table, and dug into her plate of food.

The dinner went on in relative peace, Emilia cooing as she fed Harry his food, the boy enjoying every bite with a big smile.

"I've been meaning to ask...what's the new house you chose like?"

Rem looked up. "Oh, it's a very nice home... A two story house, four bedrooms, close to the borders of both worlds in case we want to visit one or the other... We had to deal with a mild pest infestation, but with that out of the way, it is an ideal place to live."

Emilia smiled brightly. "Yep! You're gonna LOVE it, Harry! A nice big yard for you to play in..." She stroked the boy's hair gently, and he smiled up at her. He was allowed to play now... He had freedoms that he was denied when living with the Dursleys...

Miss Emilia and Miss Rem were so nice to him... He was so grateful that they had come and taken him away. They were his real family. Them and his big sister. The Dursleys... he didn't know what they were, but they sure weren't family.

Miss Emilia and Miss Rem, and his big sister Beatrice...all of them are his family now.

Wait...does...does that mean...

Is...is Miss Emilia his...his mommy...?

And...what about Miss Rem? Is she his mommy too? Does he have two mommies?

He decided to put that thought away. He didn't wanna ruin the moment they were having right now.

And so, the small family talked over dinner. Ms. Figg kept asking about their new house, and Emilia enthusiastically answered. Beatrice ate in silence, but was still listening in on the conversation, for she too, was interested in just what kind of home the two girls picked for them. All the while, Harry and Rem simply enjoyed the lunch, content with being surrounded by people they love, and who love them just as much.

Eventually, the family of three were finished with their meals, and Emilia grabbed Harry out of his chair and set him down on her lap. "Okay, Harry! You ready to come and see our new house now?" She asked with a wide, beaming smile.

Harry nodded his head, smiling softly. His caretaker's happy smile made him happy too. Emilia gave him a kiss on the forehead, and then rose to her feet, Rem and Beatrice following suit. Rem bowed. "Thank you for being such a gracious host, Ms. Figg." She said gratefully.

"Yes, thank you so much for everything!" Emilia chirped with a closed-eyed smile.

"You were most pleasant and accommodating." Beatrice said with a soft smile as she gathered Pumpkin and Tabitha into her arms.

Ms. Figg simply waved it off. "Oh, please..." She said. "It's you who were pleasant company. I cannot even begin to thank you enough for everything you've done."

She then knelt down and ruffled Harry's hair. "I'm sorry we have to part, Harry. But don't worry. You and the girls will still visit from time to time, so it's not a goodbye forever."

Harry nodded, before wrapping his arms around the elderly woman. "Thank you Ms. Figg. For...for being so nice to me. I'm gonna miss you."

"Oh, sweetie." She sighed. "I'll miss you too. I really will."

The two broke apart after a few minutes, and after the goodbyes, they all made for the fireplace. Rem picked Harry up, planning to bring him along with her so that he could safely travel without making any mistakes, and she pulled out some of the floo powder, handing it to Emilia, who held Pumpkin, and Beatrice, who held Tabitha.

"Rem, yes, I DO remember the address I'm supposed to say!" Emilia whined indignantly, upset that Rem had so little faith in her ability to remember. Rem frowned and raised a brow. "Oh? Then recite it for me." Emilia beamed proudly.

"Fifty miles from Hogwarts!"

"No. It's SIXTY miles from HogsMEADE. ...Emilia, you go first, I want to hear clearly what you say so that I can come and collect you if you say the wrong thing." Emilia pouted and walked into the fireplace with her floo powder.

"And hold onto Pumpkin tightly, don't drop him!" Beatrice fretted worriedly.

"Sixty miles from Hogsmeade..." Emilia sighed as she threw the floo powder down, causing her and the cat to disappear.

"Whew." Beatrice sighed in relief, before adopting another worried face. "Ah! But what if Pumpkin got singed by the fire? The poor Bubby's fur will be all black and-"

"I'm sure they're fine. Both of them." Rem assured her. Beatrice gave her a look.

"I'm not worried about that elf, I suppose. Bubby is a bigger concern in fact!"

Rolling her eyes, Rem sighed before entering the fireplace. Harry grabbed onto her and gave her a worried look.

Rem smiled gently, before planting a kiss on his head. "Don't worry, Harry. As long as I'm here, you're not getting a scratch."

She tightened her hold on him, then looked over to Beatrice. "Okay, Beatrice, remember, you need to say 60 miles from Hogsmeade." Beatrice stuck her nose up in the air with an air of indignance.

"Of couse I already know that, I suppose! I am not a scatterbrained dolt like the half-elf!" Rem raised a brow, but decided not to say anything. It seemed Beatrice would settle for verbally abusing Emilia behind her back to avoid getting in trouble with Puck.

'...Sixty miles from Hogsmeade." Rem sighed before tossing the powder down, causing her and Harry to promptly vanish in a burst of flames. Beatrice looked down at Tabitha. "Well, let's get it over with, I suppose." She took her own floo powder and threw it down. "Sixty miles from Hogsmeade." And with that, she and Tabitha were gone as well.

Back at the new house, the once empty, black fireplace suddenly went alive, green flames dancing in a small maelstrom that soon dispersed to reveal the last pair of Rem and Harry. The two stepped out of the fireplace, Rem waving away the smell of coal.

Rem's eyes blinked open as she spotted the other two girls standing just in front of the fireplace. Emilia gave a triumphant smile as she puffed her chest out.

"Hm! See? I can do it myself, like I said."

"Only after she told you the exact words after you messee it up the first time, I suppose." Beatrice chipped in. Emilia's face drooped.

"You couldn't have let me enjoy my moment?"

"What moment?" Beatrice huffed, rolling her eyes. Emilia sat down on the couch, sulking in defeat and crossing her arms over her chest, and Rem just sighed softly and gave Beatrice a disapproving frown, to which she responded with a huff.

Rem shook her head. "Well, Harry... This is our new home now..." She held him so that he could get a good look at his surroundings. "It's nice, isn't it?" Harry looked and smiled softly. It really was a beautiful home... But it was big... Even bigger than the Dursley's house.

"Um... So... How long will it take for me to clean it every day...?" He asked nervously. Rem sighed softly.

"Oh Harry, don't worry about that... I will handle the majority of the cleaning." She reassured him gently.

"All by yourself? But that's not fair... I should help too." He said softly.

Rem's heart melted at his words. He really was such a precious angel.

She knelt down and cupped his face in her hands. "Look, I know you want to help me. And I appreciate that. I truly do. But you're too young, Harry. You should be out, playing with other kids. I'm the adult, and I will handle the cleaning. You do your best to have fun and enjoy your new life, and I'll handle the chores. Okay?"

Harry bit his lip. He was still unsure, he did want to help Miss Rem out. But...he didn't wanna make her sad by not having fun either. It wouldn't be fair, when she and Miss Emilia and big sister Beatrice did so much for him.

"Okay...I'll let you clean. M'sorry..."

"Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for."

Emilia knelt down by Harry's side with a wide, beaming smile. "You don't have to worry about that, Harry! I'm gonna help Rem with the chores! And if you reaaaally wanna help, maybe we can bake together sometimes!" Harry seemed pacified by that answer, and he gave Emilia a hug around the leg, which prompted her to squee and snatch him up.

Rem frowned at the half-elf. "You... want to help with the chores, Emilia? You're certain? You're absolutely CERTAIN you want to do that?" She asked. Emilia looked at her, head tilted to the side and frowning in confusion.

"Well of course, I have to help in any way I can, I can't just leave everything to everyone else! Why?"

"Oh. No reason, it's just... you're... Well..."

"As graceful as a newborn deer walking on thin ice, I suppose." Beatrice remarked.

Emilia gasped indignantly. "Wha?! Hey, that's wrong!" She yelled out. "I'm perfectly capable of cleaning stuff, right Rem?"

The maid in question grimaced. Several memories popped up in her head.

Emilia cleaning up the dust, and dumping it on Ram's head instead of into the trash.

Emilia dusting the shelves of the Forbidden Library, only to sneeze and dump a pile of books on Beatrice and herself.

...Emilia accidentally washing her maid dress with the colourful clothes, painting her entire uniform in pink.

"Eeeehhhhh..." Was all Rem could muster to say.

Emilia huddled up in the corner, a dark raincloud forming over her head, raining down on her as she let out a m***. "I can't do anything right..." She whined. "I should have just stayed in the forest where I rightfully belonged, I just make things worse..."

"Oh no, Emilia, don't be like that, you're not the BEST at working on the chores, but it is the thought that counts, after all..." Rem attempted to comfort her friend, but Emilia simply whined in response. Harry saw she was sad and gave her a hug.

"It's okay, Miss Emilia, I know how to do chores, I can teach you..." He said softly. Emilia felt even worse when she heard those words because on top of her own insecurities, she was reminded that Harry had suffered nonstop horrendous abuse.

"No. Nonono, Harry." She said. "You shouldn't be doing that. Like Rem said, you should be playing and enjoying the life you deserve, not teaching a dumdum like me how to do basic chores."

Harry shook his head. "But I wanna help you. I don't want you to be sad because you can't do chores, so I wanna help you so you won't be sad."

'Oh Flügel he's so precious.' Thought the trio simultaneously.

Emilia shook her head, a smile growing on her face. "It's okay. I know you want to help. I appreciate it so much. But you're still young, Harry. When you grow up a little, then you can help me with chores." She pinched his cheeks gently. "For now, just be a cute little tyke who likes to play with kittens and his big sis, alright? Rem can teach me everything I need."

Harry looked uncertain, but eventually, he did relent, nodding his head in understanding. "Mmkay Miss Emilia..." He said softly.

Emilia smiled and gave him a squeeze. "Aww, good boy... Now c'mon, we gotta show you around our new..."

"Hey, Mili!" Emilia blinked, then turned away with a pout when Puck floated into the room. "You doing al-" He stopped when he saw Pumpkin and Tabitha. "Wh-Who are they?"

"They're your replacements. You teased me, so I'm gonna replace you with these two." Emilia said, trying to get some petty revenge.

"Ah! Nooooo!" The tiny spirit squeaked out in terror. "I can't be replaced! Puck is only one!"

"Yes. Only one teasing furball." Emilia said, before picking up Pumpkin. "These two don't talk, so they can't tease me, and they're so much fluffier than you. So, ble!" Emilia stuck out her tounge mockingly. Pumpkin purred as she nuzzled into Emilia's long hair, the half-elf giggling as she pet the hairy puff.

Puck meanwhile flipped over and fell to the floor with a gasp. "I've been replaced! By a fleabag! I'm done. My life is over!"

Fortunately, someone was there to comfort him.

A certain child of a someone, that is.

"Talking kitty...!" Harry spoke softly as he knelt down and gently gathered the tiny cat into his tiny hands. Puck allowed himself to be picked up and looked up at the boy. He grinned.

"Well, looks like you're doing a lot better since the last time I saw ya! Guess that magic of yours is really helping, huh? And I bet Mili and Rem have been taking really good care of you!" Harry didn't reply. He simply held Puck in a gentle hug.

Puck grinned at Emilia. "Well well! You wanna replace me, huh, Mili? Fine. Guess I'll just have to replace you too. And I got the perfect replacement right here." He nuzzled his face up against Harry's cheek, looking about as smug as smug could be.

"Ah!" Emilia gasped in surprise. She had wanted to make Puck regret teasing her by briefly replacing him with the two new cats.

She hadn't expected to be replaced herself.

That's cheating!

"No fair!" She whined out. "How come you get to tease me and still get away with it scot free?! That's not how vengeance is supposed to work!"

"Guess I'm just too cute not to be loved by anyone." He shrugged his shoulders mockingly, before closing his eyes in bliss as Harry began to pet him behind the ears.

Emilia hugged Pumpkin close as she pouted indignantly. "Hmph... Well you're... You're a... You're a dunderhead!" She said as she turned away and stuck her nose up in the air. Puck opened a single eye in response to that statement and chuckled.

"I told ya once, I'll tell ya again. Nobody says 'Dunderhead' anymore." Emilia simply huffed in response. Puck turned to Harry. "It's good to meet ya! My name's Puck! And you must be Harry! Emilia's told me a lot about you!" He explained warmly.

"Hi Puck... Yes, I'm Harry and um... thank you for letting me pet you..."

"Awwww, geeeeeeez!" Squealed the furball spirit in delight at the adorable creature before him. "You are my new favorite master!" He said, before landing in Harry's arms and nuzzling his face in with a purr.

"Haaaaaah..." Emilia breathed out in disbelief, falling to her knees. Her spirit, her first real friend after awakening, her *father figure*...now betrayed her for Harry.

Rem placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your loss will not be forgotten, my friend." She said solemnly, before leaving the room as if nothing happened.

"Hmph!" Beatrice flicked her nose up. "Serves her right, I suppose."

Emilia let out a long whine and Puck laughed. "Aww, don't look so upset, Lia, you know I'm just messing with ya! Can't take away a father's love now, can you? It's perfectly normal for a parent to quickly take to their new grandchild, isn't it?"

Harry blinked. The kitty was Miss Emilia's daddy? But Miss Emilia wasn't a kitty, she was a pretty lady. Though she DID have pointy ears, kind of like a kitty... Was her mommy a human while her daddy was a kitty? So may questions...

As Harry tried to puzzle this out, Emilia gave Tabitha a squeeze, pouting... And the tabby promptly jumped out of her arms, having grown bored with her and wanting to explore her new surroundings. Puck watched her go with a smirk. "Heh. She's a stuck-up girl, isn't she?"

Unfortunately, Puck's remark caught Tabitha's attention. The tabby turned her head and spotted Puck, and grew curious upon seeing him.

Approaching cautiously, she sniffed the spirit in Harry's arms. "Uh, hello?"

Suddenly, Tabitha stopped sniffing and moved onto gentle licks, as if cleaning Puck of dirt like she would herself. "He-hey, what are you doing?" Exclaimed Puck, and before long, Tabitha suddenly snatched him out of Harry's arms by the crook of his neck, like a mother cat would with a kitten. Harry let go of Puck, and the people in the room watched as Tabitha carried Puck over to the big pillow next to the fireplace, setting him down before laying next to him, wrapping herself around him protectively.

Puck was protesting all the while. "Hey, hey, hey, come on, you can't do this, you're literally a kitten, I'm well over a million years older than you, this is degrading, let me go, come on!" Tabitha responded by pulling him even closer and purring softly.

Emilia was in hysterics at the scene, clutching at her stomach as she laughed uproariously. Harry was giggling as well. Beatrice's eyes were sparkling as she held her hands up to her cheeks. "SO ADORABLLLLLLLE! BUBBY'S MAKING FRIENDS WITH MY OTHER BUBBIES!"

Rem had come into the room to see what the fuss was about, and she had to smirk at the sight. "Well then, it seems you have your revenge after all, Emilia." She said. Puck was more or less resigned to his fate now, sitting with a grumpy expression as Tabitha mothered him, It was funny. Tabitha was by no means a large kitten. Puck was just so tiny that she dwarfed him in comparison.

"So...is Mister Puck Tabitha's baby?" Harry asked with a tilt of his head.

Rem chuckled. "Hm. Not exactly, but he is small enough for her to see him as a kitten, so she decided to be his mother."

She picked Harry up in her arms, bopping his nose. "Just like me and Emilia did with you. Even if a little different." She said, Harry giggling at the funny feeling on his nose.

"Now then..." Emilia said, recovering from her laughter spree. "I believe it's time Harry explored the new house in full. Shall we?"

She hopped to her feet and skipped off merrily, Rem smiling in amusement and giving Harry a gentle squeeze as she followed after her, holding Harry against her side. "Now slow down, Emilia, we can't just rush through the house, we must take our time and explain what each room is."

Emilia stopped, smiling sheepishly. "Right, sorry... Oh, we also need to pick out rooms too!" The half elf was clearly excited. Rem had to smile. It seemed that being away from the pressure of the elections was doing Emilia quite a bit of good.

"Now then... You saw the den area."

"We'll snuggle together by the fireplace and drink hot cocoa on cold days!" Emilia promised him with a wink, making him smile.

"Indeed we will." Rem nodded. "And the kitchen is over here... I'll have to get myself properly acquainted with it."

"What about you, Beat-" Emilia didn't finish, simply giving a blank stare. Rem raised a brow, and looked behind to see..

"Hn. And what are you, pray tell, finding so interesting, I suppose?"

Asked Beatrice, who was sitting on the sofa right next to a cabinet full of books, which were now neatly placed into stacks on the floor.

The two girls blinked. That...when did she even pull all those out? When did she have the time to stack them?

When did she already read a quarter of them?!

"I believe I asked a question, in fact." She spoke up again. "What is it you find so interesting to stare at so intensely, I suppose?"

"Um... It's...nothing. Just... enjoy your books." Emilia said with a sheepish smile. Beatrice huffed, sticking her nose up in the air. Pumpkin was curiously prodding at the stacks of books before he decided he wanted to climb on them, hopping up to land on the stack.

The little spirit watched fondly as the kitten proceeded to play by hopping back and forth between the various stacks of reading material before he eventually got bored and decided to give himself a bath. "Awwwww, so cute!" Beatrice cooed.

Rem and Emilia exchanged a smile, then decided to be on their way to give Harry the rest of the tour. First they showed him the restrooms. Then, they showed him the dining room. And eventually, the time came to select a bedroom for each member of the house. Unfortunately, there were only three bedrooms for four people.

"Two of us are going to have to share a bedroom." Rem said simply. Emilia turned to her with a tilted head.

"We can share!" She volunteered immediately.

At that, Rem's face exploded in red.

"H-huh?!" She gasped. "Share? With...with you?!"

Emilia tilted her head. "Uuuh, yeah. Why? What's wrong. Do you not wanna share? I can go to Beatrice's room if you want."

"No no!" Rem quickly discouraged her. Partly because she secretly didn't want to be alone.

And largely because she didn't want Emilia to die.

"Are you crazy?!" She asked. "Beatrice will KILL you if you try to sleep with her in her room!"

Emilia pouted and crossed her arms. "Beatrice is so meeeeean..." She whined. "I could stay with Harry!" Rem tilted her head and considered it.

"Hmm... I feel it's important for a child like Harry to have his own space he can retreat to if he needs to." She said softly. Harry tilted his head at her, and she smiled back. "Yes, his own spot to play, and sleep, and relax..." She kissed the top of his head.

"So that means you and me are the only real options to share a room!" Emilia chirped. Rem sighed and smiled softly at the half elf.

"Yes. I suppose we are." She honestly didn't mind this in the least. She hoped this could be an opportunity to further explore that strange feeling she had felt in her heart when she and Emilia's lips had made contact earlier that day...

"And now, the most important part!" Emilia clapped her hands, before walking over to the light blue door right across Beatrice's room. Emilia grabbed the doorknob, giving a wide grin to the other two.

"Get ready for the most amazing, most breathtaking, most incredible-"

"Just open the door Emilia."

The half-elf's mouth froze mid-sentence, and her brows fell flat, her cheeks puffing up. "Hmmm, you couldn't have let me make it memorable for him, could you?"

"If I did, we would have spent the whole evening without even stepping through the door."

Emilia let out a whine before begrudgingly pulling the door open to show Harry the sizeable bedroom. "This is your room, Harry! I decided it when we were looking around earlier! Isn't it nice? The walls are painted blue and it has a lot of space to put your stuff, and...oh, um... We still need to get you a bed, don't we...? And... a bunch of other stuff too actually..."

Rem tilted her head. "Well, it's a good start nonetheless." The oni looked around to try and figure out the best way to go about arranging the things Harry would need. The furniture, the bed, every corner of the room she commited to memory to ensure Harry's room looked nice for him.

"But until we can get you a bed, I guess you're gonna have to come and sleep with us!" Emilia chirped. Harry felt... he didn't know how he felt. He got his own room, just like Dudley? And he was going to have a bed? And other things too? It was much too good to be true!

"Do..." He began. Do I really deserve all this?" He asked.

Rem tilted her head. "Uh...I don't see why you wouldn't."

"But...all this stuff...this new big house...I know you said I don't have to clean anything anymore...but...I..."

"Harry, look at me."

Harry looked up, and was met with the kind visage of Emilia, who was gently holding his face.

"You deserve this. All of it. And not just this, but even more. You never had anything you deserved as a kid, but now that we're here, we are making sure that not a single detail of what you deserve to have is missing or out of place. Not. Even. One. Detail."

As she said that last part, she waggled her finger in front of him, ending it by lightly poking his nose. He looked at her finger in slight bafflement before looking back up to see Emilia smiling warmly at him. "We're here to take care of you now, and we are gonna do so the very best we can, so just leave everything to us, sweetie!"

Rem smiled and nodded her head. "That's right, dear..." She gently rubbed his tiny head. "We are here to not just protect you, but care for you as well. Always remember that you're every bit as worthy of care and affection as any other boy your age..."

Harry felt moisture beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, and he wasn't entirely sure why. He wasn't sad, so why did he feel like he was about to cry?

"You can cry, sweetie." Said Rem, planting a kiss on his forehead. "The room can wait. Let it all out, don't be afraid."

"N-no." He sniffled a little, before wiping his face. "I don't wanna cry now. You...bought this house, a-and I...wanna see it. For you."

The two girls' hearts melted at that. 'So considerate of him.' They thought.

"Are you sure?" Emilia asked. "You don't want to...let all that out first? It's not good if you keep all those feelings bottled up inside you, you know."

"But I'm not sad, I'm happy..." Harry wiped his tears away. "I don't know why I feel like crying... There's no reason for me to cry... So why...?" Emilia smiled softly and gave the boy a gentle squeeze, rocking him back and forth gently in a soothing motion.

"People don't always cry because they're sad. Sometimes they cry because they're scared... Sometimes they cry because they're mad... And sometimes they cry because they're happy... Any emotion can make you cry if you feel it strongly enough." She said gently.

Rem giggled into her hand. "Yes... That is true..." She gently cupped Harry's cheek and smiled warmly at him. "I'm glad you feel this way, that you're happy enough to cry... It shows us that we're doing a good job bringing you out of the nightmare you were living in previously..."

"S-so..." He stuttered. "People...don't always cry...when they're sad?"

The two girls nodded, and Emilia spoke again. "And you, sweetheart, are crying because you're happy. You cry because you finally feel good after all the terrible stuff you were put through. It's only natural that you'd want to leat all that out."

"Oh...okay..." He said, wiping off his tears with a sniffle.

Rem gave a kind smile. "Now then. Let's wipe those tears away. We have a room to show you, now don't we?"

Harry put on a smile and nodded. Rem gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Just don't be afraid to express your feelings anymore, okay? It's not good to bottle things up..." She whispered, she herself knowing full well how bad it was to restrain pent up emotion.

Emilia smiled at the maid as they looked around the room. Harry had no idea where anything would go, mainly because he didn't know what he was even going to have. A bed, maybe...? One of those lights Dudley had...? And maybe even some blankets and pillows...

Rem took all of ten seconds to take stock of the room and figure out where everything was going to go. 'Dresser here, bed over there, toybox there...' She had a game plan in mind, and she nodded her head in satisfaction. "It isn't much to look at right now, but we will get you all you need, just wait." She said gently to the boy.

"Wow! You already made a plan in your head so fast?!" Emilia said with stars in her eyes. "That's amazing!"

Rem bashfully rubbed her head. "Ah, it's nothing. If I can clean an entire mansion on my lonesome, organising a child's bedroom is no sweat off my nose."

"It's...really big." Harry said in amazement. "This is where I will sleep?"

"Yup!" Emilia nodded enthusiastically. "Though it's only so bit because there's still lots of stuff missing. Once we bring all that stuff in and place it properly, your room will be complete."

Harry sniffled slightly before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "Aww..." Emilia cooed, squeezing him gently. "You're such a little sweetheart..." She whispered softly. "Don't ever change, okay...?" Harry nodded into her chest, taking her words to heart.

Rem smiled. "Until we've got your room set up properly, you can sleep with Emilia and I." She said. Harry smiled up at her. He liked sleeping with them the night prior, it had been extremely warm and comforting... He was excited to spend more time with them...

And he was also a bit reluctant to have his own bed, because if he did, that meant that they weren't going to be there. And the scary dreams would get him...

His hairs immediately stood on end at the thought of more bad dreams, and he buried his face into Emilia's hair.

"I...I don't want my own bed...the scary dreams...they'll get me if I'm alone..."

"Aww, sweetie..." Emilia said, stroking his back comfortingly. "No bad dreams are going to bother you with us around...you know that, right?"

"Besides..." Rem continued. "...you can always come to our room whenever you have a nightmare. We'll always let you in."

"A-are you...are you sure...that the bad dreams...won't...come for me?"

"Positive." Both girls answered at the same time.

"You may have nightmares, but they will never become reality so long as we draw breath." Rem said softly. "We took you away from those horrors, and we intend to keep you away from them... We are willng to fight for your safety and happiness, so just leave everything to us..."

Emilia nodded her head and beamed at him. "That's right, you can rely on your new family, we'll make it all better, just you wait!" She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Harry was stunned. He...actually had someone he could rely on...? He didn't have to fend all for himself anymore... People were going to actually take care of him! This time, he couldn't keep his tears at bay. He began to sob, and both women smiled sadly.

"Let's check the room out some other time." Rem said, patting Harry on the back. "It's been a long morning, and we all need some major rest."

"Yeah...let's go Harry." Emilia whispered. "Your first sleep in your new house."

Harry sniffled a little. "O...okay..." He said, wiping away the tears.

The two women left the room with him, Rem gently shutting the door, before entering the living room.

"Beatrice." She called, causing the spirit to look up from the book for a moment.

"Yes?" She asked.

"We're going to have a rest. If you need anything, be sure to come and let me know. Don't wake Emilia or Harry though."

"Understood." Beatrice nodded, absentmindedly petting Pumpkin as she returned to her book.

Rem looked over to find that Tabitha still had Puck in her forelegs, and the great spirit had ended up falling asleep there.

'He was complaining about being treated like a baby, yet now he's fully embraced the role.' She thought with a smile and a shake of her head. "What an indecisive spirit."

"Did you say something I suppose?"

"Nothing! Don't think about it!" Rem quickly said, before retreating away to join Emilia and Harry.

Beatrice sighed before returning to her book. "Haah. What a rag-tag bunch, I suppose." She said, smiling as Pumpkin rubbed his face against hers.

She found she was feeling a little bit sleepy herself. Yawning softly, she leaned against the couch and closed her eyes. 'Perhaps I'll get some rest as well, in fact...' She thought to herself before sleep claimed her.

Emilia carefully tucked Harry into the bed, making certain that he was nice and comfy, smoothing out the blankets, making sure he had his teddy bear, making sure the pillows were soft enough, anything to ensure that he was nice and cozy.

Harry felt a sense of content and relaxation that he had never felt before in his life as Emilia fussed over him. He really felt like he mattered to her in this moment, and that meant more to him than he could ever even describe. When Emilia was satisfied, she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"There we go, nice and comfy." She said. Harry giggled at the kiss, before snuggling his face against Puddles.

The door slid open, and in stepped Rem, smiling as she silently closed it.

"All snuggled in I take it?" She asked.

Emilia nodded. "Mm. Nice and comfy with his beloved toy to boot. I'm so jealous of youuuuu..." She cooed, gently pinching his cheek.

Rem rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. "There's nothing to be jealous of, Emilia, you're going to be joining him just mere moments from now." She replied. Emilia giggled and nodded her head.

"Oh I know, I'm just being silly..." She carefully slipped up the corner of the blankets and climbed in next to Harry, gently pulling the boy in close. Harry liked being held by Miss Emilia. She felt... cool. Not quite cold, but not really warm. Instead her body exuded a soothing slight chill that he found extremely comfortable.

Rem joined them shortly afterwards, and in contrast to Emilia, she was extremely warm. He felt both women embracing him from either side, and he felt a sense of joy swell up within him. It was so nice and comforting... He felt like they were his parents...

"Sleep well, sweetie." Whispered the half-elf, placing a second kiss on his face.

"If you have bad dreams again..." Rem began. "...we'll be here to chase them away."

"So don't you worry about a thing. Alright?"

"Mhm..." Harry nodded. "Yes...ma...ma..."

He finally let himself fall asleep.

'Did...did he say...' Emilia started, but felt herself unable to continue, as she and Rem both succumbed to the exhaustion, and joined Harry in the land of dreams.