AN: Yes, they show them reloading in cutscenes, like Nero doing his dramatic as fuck reload in his fight against Dante, but they don't reload during gameplay, so neh. Literally translated Shuraba means 'the scene of bloodshed'.

Edit: Looked further into the legend behind the Strix, and while it's usually summarized as some woman and her sons being turned into them for cannibalism and therefore being birds that only eat the flesh and blood of humans, supposedly only Polyphonte was actually turned into a Strix, her sons, who were the ones who ate people, were turned into an eagle owl and a vulture respectively. Not really relevant, I just found it interesting, so I thought I'd share.

Dante is unsure of what to think right now. His daughter is only six, but his father is in the forge with her making her weapon. Vergil had mentioned that even if she didn't outright become a Demon Hunter, she needed to be trained how to fight. As a Sparda, she would inevitably be targeted by Demons again, so she needs to know how to defend herself. Or rather, that was what he said when Dante was seconds away from protesting. He still wasn't happy, but Vergil had a point.

Besides, if she did decide to become a Demon Hunter, he could always make her wait until she was older to start hunting. Though even if he made her wait he had the distinct feeling she'd be hunting by the time she was a teenager. That thought doesn't sit well with him, but he knows Marzanna could be even more stubborn than him when she puts her mind to it, so he figures he should just be glad she'll have a relatively peaceful childhood from now on. No more abuse and Demonic capture if he had anything to say about it.

After his parents were captured and thought dead, he was put in an orphanage that happened to be run by Demons. This had directly led to him being a Demon Hunter from a very young age. He would not allow Marzanna, his baby girl, to share his fate.

However, the process of at least teaching her to defend herself started by making her a weapon. Though she had an opportunity the rest of them hadn't had. Dante and Vergil had inherited two of Sparda's weapons, Nero's much adored Red Queen was made by humans that knew how to forge steel in a fashion similar to how Demons do it, and Trish's blades were Demonic steel. Marzanna on the other hand, was receiving the opportunity to have her weapon be Nephilim mythril, an alloy made from Demonic steel and Angelic orichalcum. Normally, attempting to combine these has a rather explosive effect, but the Nephilim figured out how to do it a long time ago, and Eva had learned the secret to successfully creating mythril from a Nephilim friend 3000 years ago.

Dante knows his father will have to be extremely careful while making the mythril. Not only to prevent messing up and causing an explosion, but also because orichalcum was incredibly toxic and poisonous to Demons, it could even cause horrible burns and slow a Demons natural healing abilities. Angels had a similar reaction to Demonic steel. This made mythril toxic to both species, only Nephilim could fully wield it, though humans and other species that had no Demonic or Angelic ties could touch it without being negatively affected. However Sparda believed the advantages to forging Marzanna's blade from mythril were worth the risks, because if a Nephilim poured their Demonic and Angelic energies into the raw mythril while it was still fresh out of the forge it created what was known as a soul bound weapon.

As its name suggested, it was a weapon bound to the owners very soul that took shape when it had been charged with enough energy to create the bond. A soul bound weapon took the form that would best accentuate its wielders natural fighting style, making them literally perfect for their owner. Not to mention they always had three forms to start with. A 'default' form that perfectly matched the wielders fighting style, an Angelic form which was always a light fast weapon, and a Demonic form which were always heavy slow weapons. Though more forms could be gained by killing powerful Demons and absorbing their energy. The best part was that it could even gain new Angelic forms from Demonic power. Technically, killing powerful Angels would also give her weapon new forms, but they had no qualms with the Angels. In fact, they were their allies.

Vergil had also brought up whether or not he was going to make her guns. Dante had been firm that even if her birthday was only four months away, he wasn't giving her guns until she was at least 7. Though he would be teaching her how to use them before that. Besides, that would give him time to make her guns. Making a regular gun didn't take much time, but making guns like Ebony and Ivory took a bit longer. This was because they didn't fire actual bullets, instead they were designed to take a charge of either Demonic or Angelic energy and condense it to the point it took physical form. Nero's Blue Rose had been a regular gun at first, but after he started working with Dante it had been changed to be like Ebony and Ivory. Obviously he would make Marzanna's guns like his and Nero's.

Marzanna was fiddling with her new weapon. The bond meant she'd instinctively know how to use it, like the ghostly hand of her Devil Bringer, but Eva said she should familiarize herself with it while the bond was still settling. Besides, even if she instinctively knew how to use it she would still need to train with it to truly master it. So, here she was, familiarizing herself with it. Grandpa had informed her that her blade was a double edged falcata, which from her bond she knew was named Shuraba. Dangling from the handle was a strange bracelet looking thing. She knew from the bond that it could come off, but it hadn't settled enough for her to know how, so she was trying to figure it out herself.

A few minutes later she manages to get the 'bracelet' off. Immediately it latches onto her right wrist, the clasp reclosing then disappearing completely. Instinctively, she pushes Demonic energy into it, and a moment later the bracelet had become a wicked looking claw. It was snugly latched onto the back of her hand, and was itself designed to look like a skeletal hand. The claws themselves extended from the tips of her fingers and were heavily serrated. They were very obviously made to tear flesh on their way in, but shred it on their way out. A burst of angelic energy has it shifting into what looks simply like brass knuckles.

Curiosity sated about the offhand weapon, which returns it to its neutral bracelet form, she returns her attention to the actual blade. There doesn't seem to be anything special about her sword, but she instinctively knew this wasn't the case. A burst of Demonic energy and it was suddenly a heavy battle ax. 'Arbiter' her mind whispers, and vaguely she realizes she'd have to become stronger before she could even hope to lift the heavy weapon, much less wield it. After examining Arbiter for a few minutes she reverts her weapon back to Shuraba. A burst of Angelic energy and another mental whisper 'Osiris'. Osiris was a large but light scythe. Though light enough for her to wield, it was large enough that it'd be a bit difficult until she was taller. Difficult but not impossible.

She wonders briefly how her mother was doing. She would write to her if she could, just so her mother knew she was safe, but she doesn't have an owl or any other message carrying bird. She sighs as her dad walks into the room. Those thoughts would have to wait. For now, her training was about to begin.

Vergil was sitting in the living room reading one of Marzanna's books. Most Demons and Angels were capable of human magic to an extent, the only reason Mundus hadn't put anti-magic seals on their cells was because they already blocked Demonic powers, and unlike Marzanna's magic theirs was entirely based off of their Demonic abilities. Angelic magic did have destructive spells, but they consumed a lot of energy. Energy neither Vergil nor Eva had possessed as Mundus had seals on their cells that left them with just enough to survive. Certainly not enough to break free and escape.

Still, even if his magic was Angelic and Demonically based, it didn't stop him from learning spells from Marzanna's library. His magic may use a different energy then witches and wizards used, but it could still be applied and used in the same way if he wanted to. So he'd been understandably delighted when he found out Marzanna had an entire massive library on magic, with at least an 8th of it being dark magic, which was his specialty. The one time Dante glanced at one of the books he'd borrowed from Marzanna, he'd shuddered and muttered something about being glad Vergil and he weren't enemies anymore. Vergil couldn't really blame him though, when Dante had looked he'd been reading about a spell that ruptured internal organs.

He wasn't reading about that kind of stuff right now though. Currently he was reading about familiars, and if he was understating what he was reading correctly, they'd be getting some new additions to the house soon. A familiar was an animal that magically bonded itself to a witch or wizard, usually when they were young. While it wasn't necessary for a magical to have a familiar, due to the fact familiars enhanced and focused their bonded's magic it was recommended. Though most only had one familiar, from what the book said about other hybrid people, Marzanna would likely have two familiars as a Nephilim. Three if she had enough human blood. Most might think she was half human, but both Demonic and Angelic blood was very overpowering in that it tended to try to rewrite any additional genetics to be like they'd come from another Angel or Demon. Vergil would be surprised if she was even a 14th human.

He would've been worried about Marzanna's familiars being expensive, but in Marzanna's trunk her mother had left a pouch that was directly connected to her Gringotts vault. Her mother had told her in her journal, which Marzanna had revealed to them after she'd grown to trust them to a certain extent, that neither Potter or Dumbledore knew of that vault, as while her parents converted money into galleons and deposited them into a Gringotts account they'd set up for her when she was 11 regardless of whether or not she'd used all her money from the previous year, after she turned 13 she started using it as a dummy vault and subtly started moving some of her money into a separate vault she'd set up under an alias.

Though even then, the bulk of the money in the vault had come from her running various under the table jobs, both for people in Hogwarts and outside it. She'd run some rather profitable businesses in everything from brewed potions to doing other students' homework, and after she had a decent amount in the vault, she'd told the goblin overseeing it to start investing the funds. Though there was by no means a fortune in the vault, the goblin still had that standing order to invest, so it had been steadily gaining money ever since. She also told Marzanna in her journal to consider it her trust vault, as she knew Potter wouldn't make her one, and to use it for whatever she wanted or needed.

He shakes himself from his thoughts and stands up. He needs to tell Dante about familiars, and explain why it would be best to get Marzanna hers if he didn't figure it out on his own. He knew Dante wasn't stupid. His brother just wasn't as intelligent as Vergil himself, and was prone to being a bit dense or letting his emotions get the better of him. It also didn't help that becoming a Demon Hunter at such a young age prevented him from getting a satisfactory education. Which reminds him, Marzanna needs to be registered for school, though it was the very end of the school year at this point, they needed to get her registered before next year began.

Marzanna looks around at the various animals in the warehouse. It had taken a good amount of digging according for Trish, but eventually she managed to find the local magical shopping centers, and from there with a bit of asking around had discovered a rather large international company that dealt with magical creatures for various reasons.

So now here she was with her dad and uncle Vergil. Glancing at them unsurely and getting a warm smile and nod from each of them, she hesitantly begins wandering amongst the cages. She knew from the book that if she found it or them, she would recognize her familiar or familiars on sight. She also knew, both from the book and from her uncle's summary of it, that she would likely have both a dark creature familiar and a light creature familiar. The company that runs the warehouse wisely keeps them separate, and given that her magical core leans more towards dark than light, Vergil had insisted on starting on the side with dark creatures in case she only had one.

Eventually she works her way all the way to the back of the warehouse where the most dangerous creatures were kept, at least according to the employee that had been escorting them, but had stayed behind with her dad and uncle. He was awfully right too. She didn't want to be back here, she recognizes far to many creatures back here as highly dangerous, and it honestly frightens her more than a little. Exactly how quickly could her dad and uncle reach and find her if one of the creatures in the cages managed to get out? Probably not quickly enough. She forces that thought down and moves a little faster, wanting to hurry up and leave already.

She doesn't feel anything towards any of the animals back here, except for fear anyway. Just as she's about to call it quits and go inform her uncle that he was wrong, these creatures don't suit her at all, she notices a cage shoved into the corner. It's kept a good distance from the rest, and is very carefully covered in a sheet that leaves not even the tiniest gap for whatever is inside to peek through.

She's wary of whatever could be so dangerous it needs to be kept apart from all the incredibly dangerous creatures around her, but she also feels curious. There's a saying, she knows, about curiosity killing the cat, even so hers gets the better of her anyway. Moving cautiously and fully ready to scream at a moments notice, she pulls the sheet off.

Her fear and any idea of screaming evaporate in an instant as she gasps.

Contained within the cage was the most beautifully magnificent cat she has ever laid eyes on. It wasn't any house cat either, no this looked like a black jaguar, but if it was back here it couldn't be. No matter what it was though, she knew she'd found at least one familiar. The large cat had been tense when she pulled back the sheet, but had relaxed as swiftly as she did upon laying eyes on her. It moves forward and she doesn't hesitate to reach through the bars and start lightly scratching it under the chin though she has to do so around the muzzle someone had shoved onto her poor familiar's face.

She tilts her head when she notices something green waving behind it, and quickly realizes it's a gorgeous but blindfolded snake swaying contentedly. She glances at the cat, and after a moment the pieces click into place. Her familiar was a chimera. Chimera was actually a rather loose umbrella term, much like dragon was. Though whereas with dragons there were many species, with chimeras there were many different combinations of species, given that they could be an amalgamation of basically any species of feline and snake, magic or not.

Her poor familiar was treated like some sort of evil monster, locked up in the dark, off by itself, its feline head muzzled, its snake head blindfolded, both of which are covered in runes, and from personal experience she knew how terrible it felt to have your abilities forcibly put out of your reach by someone else. Cooing at her familiar, she opens the cage and removes both the muzzle on its feline head and the ribbon that was blindfolding its snake head, then begins petting the now happy animal. A moment later a flash of magic goes off and she feels the familiar bond begin to settle.

Knowing her dad and uncle would've seen it she simply settles herself in to wait for them, more than happy to continue petting her new familiar. Her familiar shifts, moving halfway into her lap, and the snake head pushes itself into one of her arms. Without hesitation, she switches one of her hands from petting the feline head to scratching under the chin of the snake head. A moment later the feline lets out a purring rumble, and simultaneously the snake head hisses in a distinctly female voice, "Oh, that is the spot."

She jolts in surprise, memories of rants and lectures on the evilness of snakes and Parseltongue flying through her head. After a moment she shoves it aside roughly. Potter and Dumbledore would say the majority of her new family was evil too, yet they were far kinder than those two were. What did she care what either of them thought?

Still she can't help but hesitate before replying, "What's your name?"

Both heads open the eyes that had slipped shut in pleasure to look at her, then the snake tilts its head, "You Speak?"

She swallows tightly, then lifts her chin defiantly, "Yes. I do."

Both heads simply study her for a moment, then the snake simply flicks its tongue out, "Good. Be proud of it." Then in a dismissive manner as though it thinks there is nothing more to be said of the topic, "We are called Aite. And you, bond mate?"

For a moment she just stares at it in surprise, then she blushes, feeling incredibly foolish. Of course a snake, chimera or not, wasn't going to judge her for being a Parselmouth. After a moment she shakes the thought off, "I'm Marzanna."

Two heads tilt in thought, then the snake nods, "Marzanna. A good name. A strong name. Tell us Marzanna, as we are curious. We are both snake and cat, so can you understand our other head?"

The feline meows, and she shakes her head sadly, "I'm sorry, but no."

The snake makes a hissy sort of hum, "Most unfortunate. Ah, but at least at least one of our heads can speak with you. We have another question. We could smell you much earlier than you removed the cover over our cage. You smelled scared, yet now you do not. Why?"

She blushes in embarrassment, "I was scared of the other creatures back here. They could probably easily kill me if they somehow escaped."

The snake hisses angrily, "We would kill them if they tried. You are ours."

She smiles at her familiar, "I know. That's why I'm not scared anymore. I have you with me."

The snake makes a pleased hiss, "Good. You never need be afraid again. Unlike most of our kind, we do not enjoy fighting, but we will fight to protect you if necessary. We will not allow harm to come to our bond mate."

She smiles, "I won't let anyone hurt you either."

Both heads nuzzle into her at that proclamation, "Then we shall trust you to be our partner, rather then the master many tried to become to us."

She nods, but abruptly the feline lets out a short growl and both heads turn in the direction she had originally come from, the snake informing her, "People are coming. Two smell like you, but the third is one who works here."

She reaches out and pets both heads in a soothing manner, then slips her hands around to scratch under their chins, "It's my dad, uncle, and the employee that was escorting us. I came here today looking for my familiar or familiars. They probably saw the flash of our bond and came to find me."

The snake lifts its head, but before she can say anything, a hysterical voice cuts through their conversation, "Just what the fuck are you people?!" She turns towards them, catching her dad raise an eyebrow at the warehouse employee, who elaborates despite still being hysterical, "That Chimera is a Nundu-Basilisk hybrid! Do you have any idea how dangerous that-that abomination is?!"

She scowls furiously at the man, unable to help herself from growling in a low threatening tone, commanding despite being worded as a request, "I would appreciate it, sir, if you didn't insult my familiar."

The snake hisses at her, "Though we appreciate you defending us, there is no point. We will soon leave the easily frightened humans behind and go with you. Your family does not seem to mind us. We can take the humans' fear a while longer."

She turns to Aite, "Are you sure?" Aite simply nods, so she smiles, "Ok then, but it's probably not a good idea to take you to the other side of the warehouse, so I'm gonna leave you with my dad and uncle for a little bit, ok? I'll come back as soon as I can."

Aite nods in agreement, so she gets up, ignoring the employee's faint, "That was Parseltongue. She's a Parselmouth?"

She hesitates to go to the other side of the warehouse though, a part of her needing to know how her dad and uncle will take this reveal.

Her uncle merely huffs in reply, clearly annoyed with the man butting into business he had no right sticking his nose into, which is probably why his tone is so cold when he says, "This is a new development, but it would seem so. However you are not here to ask questions. You are here to serve customers." Then he seems to notice her lingering, and turns away from the frightened man. He softens when he looks at her, his tone becoming gentle, "Marzanna? Go on. You'll likely have a light aligned familiar as well, so you should get going to find it."

Marzanna frowns lightly, but reluctantly nods, "Alright. I'm gonna have to leave Aite with you guys though. The light creatures will react violently towards her."

Her dad raises an eyebrow, "That's fine, but Aite? You already named her?"

She shakes her head before explaining, "Nope. Aite told me that was her name."

Vergil just nods, and she heads through one of the many doors in the wall separating the dark and light animals. Just before the door closes, she hears her dad ask, "What's a Parselmouth?"

She shakes her head ruefully. She'd wanted to know if her dad and uncle would accept her despite being a Parselmouth, but really, given how limited his knowledge of the magical world was, she should've expected that her dad would have no clue what it meant, or what people thought it meant, that she could talk to snakes.

She pauses on the other side of the to take in her surroundings. Her gaze sweeps over the cages before falling upon what looked to be a common snowy owl. She knew this was far from the truth though. This magnificent animal was a Strix, a species that was capable of many things. Non-magical mythology saw them as ill-omens as they could predict wars and uprisings, but they were actually light creatures and their predictions were meant to be warnings. Still, Marzanna can't help but wonder and worry about what the future may hold in store for her to have a Strix for a familiar. Despite that, even as the familiar bond settles, what she considers most important right at this moment was the fact all Strixes could teleport. She grins. It looks like she'd be able to write her mother after all, and it'd even be express delivery.

Marzanna was in the living room writing her letter to her mother. Nero is doing routine maintenance on Red Queen, and Vergil is reading another book he'd borrowed from her. Overall, the atmosphere was rather peaceful.

While she's trying to figure out what to write next, Kyrie comes in to tidy up. However, when she bends down near her to grab some dishes from the coffee table, something slips out from under her usual summer dress. Something vaguely familiar that catches Marzanna's eye.

Momentarily putting her letter out of her mind she turns her gaze to her cousin-in-law, "What's that? Mama has one that's really similar."

Kyrie glances up at her, then follows where her finger is pointing at the necklace. Upon seeing that she was referring to her feather necklace, a startled expression crosses her face, "Your mother has one similar? You wouldn't happen to know where she got it, would you sweetie?"

She tilts her head, "Mama only talked about it once. It was the only time she told me about dad, but she said she found it the night she met dad."

Nero and Vergil had looked up at Kyrie's questions. Upon realizing what the two were talking about Nero gapes, and Vergil's eyes widen, both incredibly shocked. Nero manages to collect himself enough to ask in a mostly level tone, "Are you absolutely sure that's what she said Marzanna? Did she ever tell you where she found it, or if she found it before or after meeting Dante? It's very important."

Before she can answer Vergil, who'd completely regained his composure, snorts and says, "Why are you bothering to ask those questions? It would make perfect sense. Dante's never given any girl a second thought before, but when it comes to Marzanna's mother? You've seen the way he still pines for her even though he only knew her for, what? All of 12 hours, six years ago? It's not usual Dante behavior. So this…" He trails off for a moment, then shakes his head firmly, "It makes perfect sense."

"What would make perfect sense?"

She turns, seeing that her dad had walked into the room. Good, maybe he would actually explain what was going on. She'd asked one simple question out of curiosity and now she was horribly confused. Seriously, what was so important about a feather? She'd only asked because she'd compared it to the feathers of every bird she could find in Potter's library, which is actually how she'd been able to identify Hedwig, and had turned up nothing, which was saying something, because asshole though the current Potter family head may be, he did have a rather extensive library collected by generations of Potters.

Before she can say anything though, Kyrie speaks up, quickly explaining, "Marzanna noticed Nero's feather. She asked me what it was and said her mother has one similar. To be specific she said her mother found her feather the night she met you."

He almost trips over the coffee table, then gapes at them for a minute. After he collects himself, he promptly ignores everyone else, instead walking over to her and sitting down, "I know you're probably really confused at the way everyone's acting right now, but that's because those feathers are incredibly important to Angels and Nephilim. If your mother's is what we think it is- well it's just really important and I'll explain later, ok? We think it might be one of my feathers from my Angel wings. You saw your mom's feather a lot right?" He pauses and she nods, "Then you should be able to recognize the feathers if I brought out my wings. So, could you do me a favor and see if my feathers are the same as the one your mother has?"

Marzanna nods again. Angel wings could withdraw into their owner's back, so she's not surprised when her dad quickly reverses the process and brings his wings out. He doesn't bother taking off his shirt or coat, both had nearly invisible slits so he could pull his wings out at any time.

She needs barely a second after her dad's wings come out to recognize them at a glance and nod, "Yup! Mama's looks exactly like yours!" Then she scrunches her nose up as she gives the others a look, "Honestly, I was only asking because while it makes sense if it's actually an Angel feather, I could never find anything about it in Potter's library. And I was curious because while people under love potion will basically go with whatever the person they're love potioned towards says, it was one of the few things I heard mama argue with Potter about, 'cause she's got hers as a necklace too, and he was always demanding she take it off and she was always refusing."

Her dad looks a little surprised at the end, then nods and retracts his wings before saying, "You're writing to your mom now, right? How long do you think it'll be until she replies, and do you think you'd be able to tell purely from a letter if she's under a love potion again?"

She tilts her head in thought, "Not too long, mama may be in the UK, but Hedwig is a Strix, and Strixes can teleport. And telling if mama's under the amortentia? It'll be quite obvious if she is."

Her dad nods before wearily commenting, "Good, 'cause me and your mom need to have a chat."

Lily was currently sitting in the drawing room, absolutely exploiting her Occlumency to relive every memory she has of her little girl as she slowly sips at some alcohol. A bittersweet feeling had long since overcome her. Marzanna had been so bright and beautiful and vibrant no matter what Potter or Dumbledore said or did. And now she was probably dead. And for what? Nothing. One of her babies was most likely dead and it was all for nothing.

She knows Marzanna had already had strong morals, and had probably been unable to bring herself to not act, but she would have rather spent the next eight years being fed love potions by Potter and Dumbledore than lose her baby girl. The only reason she even had this small reprieve was because she'd reminded Potter that Marzanna was likely dead because of him. She'd then told him that if he really loved her, he would have the decency to let her morn her daughter with a clear head. She was usually against people using the 'if you really love me' line, but given that Potter has and was fully planning to continue dosing her with love potion, she doesn't feel a single shred of guilt.

She's pulled from her memories when a beautiful snowy owl flies into the room and lands on the arm of her chair, quickly extending the leg with the letter to her. She stares at it blankly, trying to will it to just leave her alone. When it just narrows its eyes at her and shakes its leg a little, she sighs and takes the letter. However the bird doesn't fly off, it simply flits up to the back of her chair.

She tosses a glare at it, "You may as well leave, I have no intention or desire to read whatever nonsense which ever one of Potter's and Dumbledore's approved correspondents that think they know me has sent.

The owl hoots angrily, then pecks at her head hard. She yelps as she shoots onto her feet. Whirling around she glares at the owl in in a baffled manner, "The bloody hell was that for?"

She studies the owl closer in curiosity. Most of the people Potter and Dumbledore allow her to associate with would never send an owl with such manners. It would make them look bad, and most people have a strong desire to look good to the mother of the 'Boy Who Lived' who was also one of 'Dumbledore's Favorites'. But if whoever sent it wasn't either directly keyed into the wards or at least had their magical signature keyed into the ward, the letter wouldn't have come straight to her, it would've gone to Potter so he could look it over first.

As though responding to her question, the owl swoops down to the side table she dropped the letter on, picks it up with its beak, then pushes it into her hand with an intent expression. She eyes the bird with weary confusion, then takes the letter and opens it. Immediately she drops her gaze to where the sender had signed, wanting to know who the determined owl belongs to.

Her heart nearly stops, and she's sure it at least skips a beat or two. At the very bottom below a short PS note it was signed by Dante Sparda of all people, but above that, below the letter proper it was signed in familiar, somewhat shaky handwriting by Marzanna Sparda.

She's never read anything so fast in her life. Tears appear in her eyes as she clutches the letter to her chest when she's done reading. Her knees go weak and she drops into a crouch. Her baby was not only alive, she was safe. Not only that, she'd somehow found her way into her father's care! He'd not only taken in the six year old daughter he'd only recently learned of, he was taking good care of her, and from what she gleaned from the letter he and his family loved Marzanna dearly. Marzanna loved them fiercely in return as well, that was for sure.

After the way Potter, her stepfather unwilling or not, treated her, she wouldn't call just anyone 'daddy', yet from what Lily could tell she called Dante that quite happily in her letter. Though she confided in Lily that she hadn't yet worked up the courage to call him that to his face. She went on quite extensively about the rest of her and her father's family as well, making it quite obvious just how much she adored them all in how she spoke of them.

She makes up her mind right then and there. She had to see her daughter at least once more, even if it was the the last time. She needed, desperately, to see her baby girl, her little Marzanna. After believing her daughter dead, she wouldn't be able to rest until she saw her baby alive and well with her own eyes. Besides, Dante's PS note said he needed to talk to her urgently.

Stumbling to her feet, she all but tumbles back into her chair. Calling for a house self, she asks Zeely to quickly bring her what she needs to write a letter, along with some water and food for the owl. While she's gone, Lily drags the side table in front of her, scooping up her wand, and sending the bottle of firewhiskey and glass she'd been drinking out of with the elf when she gets back. Thanking the elf, she dismisses her. She pens her reply rapidly along with a note to Dante, quickly giving it a read through before putting it into the envelope and sealing it.

Turning to her daughter's owl, which was actually a Strix according to the letter, she hesitantly extends her hand to pet her. She was far more courteous now that her bonded's letter had been read, "You're a good girl, aren't you Hedwig?" The Strix preens, and she can't help but smile, "Thank you very much, for being so loyal and dedicated to my daughter." The owl nods as though to say, 'of course I am!', and she gestures towards the bowls, "Are you done?" The Strix nods, even though she'd hardly touched either, so she continues, "Do you need to rest before you take my reply? I know you undoubtedly teleported, but I have no idea how tiring that is for you."

Hedwig shakes her head, then hops closer and extends her leg. Once she has the letter she doesn't hesitate to take off. Lily watches her go, wondering how long she'll have to wait for a reply.

As it turns out, the answer is 'not long', as Hedwig is back within half an hour. The return letter from her daughter is significantly shorter, much to her disappointment. Marzanna is thrilled that she wasn't under the effects of amortentia, for now at least, and seems eager to see her clear headed mother in person for the first time. Though there isn't much substance in the letter, she takes solace knowing she'd see her daughter soon. There wasn't much to Dante's reply either. He seemed incredibly reluctant to reveal what he needs to talk to her about unless it's in person.

The only really solid thing contained was him asking if she thought she could get away from her handlers for a bit, a suggestion that if she can't, he could come to her, though he flat out tells her that he absolutely will not bring Marzanna anywhere near Potter's house no matter how firmly she believes no one else will be there or if she insures Potter is distracted.

He also asks if she can get away if she'd like to meet in the UK or the US and insists that if it's the former that they meet in the non-magical world, as he refuses to let Marzanna anywhere near a society in which some members would legally be allowed to kill her for no other reason than that she's not fully human, which wasn't hugely surprising given that weirdness that had occurred with her arm but was nevertheless technically new since she hadn't known for certain it was inhuman blood that was the cause. Or rather, he refuses to let her near there until she's old enough to protect herself, after that, he makes it clear in the letter that it would be Marzanna's choice.

His restrictions could have been annoying, if it wasn't crystal clear that he was only concerned about Marzanna's safety. It is clear though, so it does nothing more than fill her with warmth at the abundant proof that he loves their daughter to pieces despite her being sprung on him not only out of the blue but years after she'd been conceived.

She and Dante exchange notes for a bit, quickly ironing out the details to meet up. She'd have to sneak away from Potter, which wouldn't be easy, but she doesn't mind. A chance to see her daughter was worth any amount of trouble. She wouldn't mind seeing Dante again either. Actually, the thought makes her heart skip a beat before quickening. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, which was ridiculous. She'd barely known him for one night six years ago. She should not still be this- this infatuated with him. And yet… And yet she knows that even if the situation with Marzanna wasn't what it was, she still wouldn't mind going through the trouble to sneak away, and damn the potential consequences, even if she was only going to see him.

Marzanna was excited and nervous. She and her dad were supposed to see her mama today, in less than half an hour in fact. She'd missed Lily horribly. Sure she had her aunts Trish, Kat, and Lady, her grandmother Eva, and Kyrie the wife of her pseudo big brother, but none of them were her mama. Now though, now she is gonna see her mother again, and incredibly soon.

As Marzanna's thoughts kept going in circles, she vaguely notices that her dad seems rather nervous too. Which she thought was strange, as he's obviously already met mama before, she was born of that meeting after all.

Finally her mom appears in the park they'd agreed upon, looking around almost frantically, and she happily yells out to her, "Mama! You're here!"

Her mom's gaze snaps to them and she rushes over, but just before she reaches her, her dad pulls her behind him. She looks back and forth in confusion as her mom gives her dad a confused look, and in return receives a scrutinizing glare. Finally her dad relaxes and lets go of her, letting her all but tackle her mom in a hug. Then he says, "Sorry Lily. I know magicals are aware of Demons, something I didn't tell you the last time we met is that I'm a Demon Hunter. Needed to make sure you weren't a Doppelganger Demon or something like it before I could let you near Marzanna."

Her mom, who'd looked slightly angry at first, calms down with her dad's explanation, "Well, I suppose I can't fault you for protecting our daughter." She had picked her up while her dad was explaining, to cradle her to her chest, and now turns her attention to her, "Of course I'm here. You're my baby girl, I thought I'd lost you when I found out that bastard Potter had left you all alone, and in another country to boot!"

Marzanna doesn't respond, instead choosing to simply burrow further into her mother's embrace. After a moment, her dad speaks up, "Lily. This is going to sound like an extremely strange question, but Marzanna said you found a feather in our hotel room the night we met. I need to see it please."

Her mom looks startled for a moment then a light pink tinge comes to her cheeks. However she ignores it, and after shifting her out of the way, pulls out the feather.

Her dad barely glances at it before he nods, absently muttering to himself, "That's one of mine alright."

Her mom tilts her head in confusion before saying, "One of yours? So it belongs to you then. Sorry, I didn't realize. I wouldn't have taken it if I'd known."

Her dad shakes his head when she goes to take the necklace off and give the feather back, "No, it belongs to you now. Before I can explain that, I need to tell you some things about me."

As he'd been speaking, he guides her mom, who was still holding her, to a bench in the abandoned park. Once they'd both sat down he continues, "What do you know of Angels, Demons, and Nephilim?"

Her mom frowns, "Well I'm aware of the existence of Angels and Demons, and I know they aren't the servants of a god or anti-god respectively, just species from other realms adjacent to ours, as you mentioned earlier most magicals are aware of them. However, I haven't the faintest idea what a 'Nephilim' is."

Hey dad sighs before explaining, "A Nephilim is a half Angel half Demon hybrid. I'm a Nephilim. That feather is one of my feathers from my Angel wings. More specifically, it's my mating feather. An Angels mating feather only comes off after, ah," He glances at her quickly before continuing, "After they mate with their soulmate. In other words, since it came if after we-"

Her mom abruptly cuts him off, "Wait, let me get this straight, you're a half Angel half Demon hybrid, and I'm your soulmate?" Seeing him nod nervously, she grins and continues, "That's great!" Now her dad was confused, so she explains, "I became aware that Potter had been feeding me love potions the day I met you, when my pseudo brother gave me something to counter it."

She blushes a bit before explaining in obvious embarrassment, "To be honest, Marzanna wasn't an accident. I never intended to run into you again, nor for you to have to raise Marzanna. I wanted to do something that was completely my decision, something that would remind James I would never really be his. In other words, I had Marzanna on purpose. That isn't to say she's only a reminder or simply a decision, I love Marzanna with all my heart. Actually, I originally made the decision to have Marzanna when I did, because I thought I'd be stuck with Potter for the rest of my life, and I had wanted to have a child eventually, though originally I thought it'd be later in life after I settled into my career and settled down with someone. With the situation with Potter being what it was, I thought it'd be my only chance to have one he didn't dictate and wasn't his, not that such stops me from loving the son he made me have, but…. Anyway, the so-called wedding we had is almost completely binding, I can't divorce him, nor can I just leave him without losing my magic and risking my life."

Her dad had gone through a plethora of emotions during her explanation after his confusion. First, was shock at finding out she had been conceived on purpose. Then he'd tensed at her explanation of why she'd had her, before relaxing once she affirmed that she loved her. Finally, he grew furious when he learned the details of her 'marriage'.

Looking away with a sullen expression and clenched fists as he takes deep calming breaths, he bitterly comments, "Considering I know magicals have ways of altering someone's memory, I'm surprised they didn't make you forget that you were under a love potion."

Her mom hums, "Oh they did modify my memory. However, they didn't wipe my memory, just altered it. So when I found out I was under the love potion when Marzanna destroyed Potter's stock, regaining the knowledge triggered my memory to return. Anyway, my marriage isn't utterly binding. Which is why I brought it up in the first place."

Now her dad turns back to her mom with a cautiously hopeful look. She'd read that soulmates hated being separated from each other, even if they weren't aware they were soulmates. It was undoubtedly why her mom had cherished her dad's feather as a memento, and though she was unaware of it at the time, she would later learn it was why her dad had developed the habit of reliving what little memories he had of her mom. Not that anyone had noticed his habit, since he'd already been prone to spacing off before he met her mom.

Her mom smiles at her dad's hopeful expression, "See the British Ministry of Magic requires by law that all marriages and marriage contracts contain a clause that should one of the parties meet their soulmate, they can terminate the marriage or contact immediately without repercussions. In other words, despite how binding my marriage to Potter is, since I've met you, my soulmate, I can divorce him immediately." Her face falls, "Though, unfortunately with the way Potter and Dumbledore have brainwashed him, there's not much choice for me but to leave my son there."

Her dad gives her a sympathetic look, then shakes the gloom off and grins widely, "In that case Lily, since our daughter's living with me, world you like to move in? You could live with our daughter again, and we would have a chance to properly get to know each other."

Her mom's smile returns, "I'd like that very much, Dante. As long as Marzanna did as I requested and collected my trunk from the attic, I won't need to go back to get anything, as everything else is replaceable, like clothes. Though we do need to head over to the British Ministry of Magic so I can file my divorce, and I need you to come with me, so I can prove I've met my soulmate."

Her dad nods quickly before glancing down at her, "Of course. Though I'd like to take Marzanna back home before we go. I don't really want her anywhere near the UK, not until she's older anyway."

Her mom nods back, and she finally pipes up, "I got your trunk mama. More importantly, just to be sure I understood you guys correctly, mama's gonna live with us, and divorce the bastard Potter?"

Her dad grins and nods again. Though she didn't know it, the smile she gives the two seems brighter than the sun to her happy parents.

She's quickly gathered up by her parents and deposited in her dad's jeep and whisked back to the house in short order. Since in the car her parents had quickly decided on taking her mom's return portkey then appariting to the Ministry before immediately getting a one was portkey back after they were done, she isn't surprised when her dad fully parks the car and her mom follows them inside. She looks around the shop in interest while her dad takes her into the house.

They quickly find Nero, Kyrie, and her grandparents in the living room and her dad immediately asks the room at large as he anxiously glances back towards the shop, "Hey, could you guys watch Marzanna for a little bit, there's something I need to take care of."

Her grandma smiles, "We'd be happy to."

Before she gets any further, her dad flashes a quick grin, "Great!" He rubs the top of her head briefly, "Be good kiddo."

And just like that he's gone. Nero frowns after him in confusion before looking to their grandparents, "What's got him in such a rush?" They look just as bewildered as he does though, so he turns to her, "How 'bout you kiddo? You know what's going on? Thought Dante and you were going to meet up with your mom."

Her smile grows so large it actually begins to ache a bit, but she can't help it, "Apparently mama is dad's soulmate. Mama couldn't divorce the Potter bastard because of the way the marriage was set up, but wizarding law says that since mama met her soulmate, that she can divorce the bastard just like that. To do that though, mama has to go to the British Ministry of Magic, and she's gotta take dad to prove she's met her soulmate. After that's done though, Mama's gonna move in with us."

They're briefly surprised, before grandpa chuckles, "Well, I guess that explains why he's in a rush at least."

Kyrie nods in agreement and smiles at her, "As well as why you're so happy. You must be excited, being able to live with both your parents soon."

There's nothing she can do but nod blissfully to that.