Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: This chapter and the next one are a bit shorter, but I'm behind on some other stuff so I'm just going to keep to the weekly schedule. Sorry!

I also might come back and edit the end of this chapter later; I gave it a lot of thought but tbh I'm not 100% sold on it. And I've given you guys on AO3 some links to how I've imagined the jewelry in this chapter to look; FFN readers, most links aren't allowed on this site, as you all know. Sorry again!

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until the next chapter,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~daughter of briganti~

~meet me in the woods~

~chapter 10~

31 July 1995
Chania, Crete, Greece

While Heraklion was the administrative capital of the island, Chania was the more popular city with the magical folk. It had its own magical shopping area that was much like Diagon Alley, called in English the Charmion Way. This was where they went that afternoon.

Matala Beach had been impressive enough on its own, but there was something about the Charmion Way that was even more so for Hyleth. Diagon Alley had nothing on it: the shops on this road were more colorful, more exuberant, and the people walking down the street and in out of the shops were wearing more varied magical outfits than she'd ever seen. They weren't in magical Britain anymore, that was for sure.

"Ginny, Theo, make sure you two stick together," Hyleth's dad said, handing them each a bag which undoubtedly had to be full of magical drachmas. She didn't know when he would've been able to get them, unless he'd contacted Gringotts by mail. He probably had. "I've given you a thousand magical drachmas each – they're basically the same as our galleons. That should be more than enough."

Ginny made a face – like her parents and brothers, she wasn't overly fond of what she saw as "charity." "For what?" she asked.

"Wedding dresses, I bet," Theo said.

Ginny's eyes widened. Her face flushed. "Oh! Um – "

"I already have my mum's as an heirloom – I'll be wearing hers," Theo spoke. He grabbed Ginny's hand, then gave Hyleth a wink. "But I'll make sure she's wearing something ultra-stylish for the day."

"We'll meet back up here around four," Hyleth's dad told them before they left.

In their wake, she turned to him, a tad anxiously. "Are you sure they'll be okay on their own?"

Sirius smiled. "Don't worry: Pritchard told me this street is warded extensively. Any attempts at dark or offensive magic are Traced, and undercover Aurors are always on patrol. They'll be fine. Besides, it's bad luck for either of the respective parties to see the other in their wedding outfit before the ceremony."

"'Either?'" Hyleth quoted. Her face blanched. "Wait, Dad, you don't mean – ?"

"We're killing multiple birds with one stone today," he said. "You need a proper set of wedding robes, and there's a place here I have in mind to get them."

They walked down the street, made of cobblestone, like Diagon Alley's. Hyleth kept on craning her head this way and that to see what all the shops had to offer: there was a gelato shop, selling even more flavors than Florean Flortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which she hadn't even imagined to be possible; a pet shop like Magical Menagerie, except there were many more types of pets, including some Occamy fledglings which looked at her as she walked past, as if sensing she was a Parselmouth, as her own mother had been; what looked to be a stand selling fresh produce, magical and mundane, from the area; a store specializing in clothes made of dragon-leather; and more.

A store called Auriga's Fine-Crafted Robes – and its sign had to be charmed, because if Hyleth turned her head to the side, she could see it glimmer, revealing the Greek letters it was actually written in – was where they stopped. The sign in the window stated that the store was closed, but this didn't stop her father. He opened the door, unlocked, and directed her to walk in.

A woman immediately came out from the back. She was tall, with loosely-curled dark brown hair, eyes as grey as Hyleth's father's, and olive skin. Her scent identified her as a theta. "Did you not see the sign? It clearly says that we – " She stopped short as she took in Hyleth and her father. A grin spread across her face. "Ah, cousin Sirius! I should've known it was you! It was just about time for you to come!"

"Hello, Auriga," he said. He stepped forwards, and the two embraced briefly. As they separated, he gestured over to Hyleth. "Hyleth, this is Auriga Black; she's our cousin from the first Arcturus Black."

The one that killed your first namesake and multiple other members of the family, then ran away to Corsica, before he was brought back to Britain and sentenced to Azkaban? she thought, albeit she didn't say this out loud.

"And Auriga, this is my daughter, Hyleth Potter."

"She is beautiful," Auriga gushed. "The pictures do her no justice."

Hyleth flushed at the praise.

At the same time, she thought that there was something about the woman that was –

"But you're forgetting one other way she might know me, cousin," Auriga said. She smiled warmly. "I'm also the maternal niece of one of your classmates, dear: Susan Bones. Her omither, Stellarus, is my younger brother."

Yep. That would do it.

Susan was a descendant of the Blacks in recent memory, since they were all related, through both of her parents, if she recalled correctly. Her father's omither had been Canopus Bones née Black, son of the female alpha Belvina Black and the male omega Herbert Burke.

"It's nice to meet you," Hyleth said, offering out her hand.

Auriga accepted it. "Your father sent me a letter a few days ago – told me you both were in Crete, that you needed a pair of specialty robes?"

"Yes. For my wedding. And...err, probably all the ones after that, too."

The theta paused. She glanced over at Sirius. "She is getting married? So young? And did I just hear more than twice?"

"You did," Hyleth's father confirmed. "Listen, I wish I could explain. But we are on a bit of a schedule and – "

Auriga waved her hand. Conveniently, with it, the curtains in the front windows fell down. "No matter. I know that you would not be marrying her off below the age of majority without good reason, and that that is not necessarily a reason I need to know."

He was relieved. "Thank you, Auriga."

"I saw the dress you wore at the Yule Ball in the newspaper," Auriga spoke. She led them over to a platform, very similar to one of the ones at Madam Malkin's or Twilfitt & Tatting's. "It was very beautiful. But red – it does not bring out the color of your eyes. And while black is traditional for marriage, that is not what I am thinking."

"What are you thinking?"

Auriga brought out her wand from its holder with a flick of her wrist. A sheet of fabric came out from one of the wardrobes and floated in front of Hyleth. She grinned after taking a moment to observe herself in the mirror. "Yeah, I think I like that."

Auriga promised that her wedding robes would be ready by the end of the week, if not sooner, so there was no danger of them not coming by the 12th. Hyleth and her dad left her shop, and then went to another one, for jewelry.

It was traditional in the pureblooded families to use heirloom mating collars and rings. The Potter and Black families both had their own – her mother had worn the mating collar that her grandmother had worn, which had been worn by her great-great-grandmother, and so on and so forth.

It shouldn't have needed to be said that Hyleth did not want to use that mating collar for Ginny. And almost all of the Black ones were either too gaudy or cursed, if not both.

So, two mating collars made just for them (and maybe to be passed down to their grandchildren or great-grandchildren one day, if Hyleth lived that long), it was.

The jeweler's eyes were gleaming as soon as they walked in the door. "Καλημέρα," he said. "How can I help you?"

Her dad had explained to her prior that they would be putting up a bit of a ruse with him: he was going to be the one saying that he was getting married, and Hyleth was the daughter of one of his two future spouses, here to help him pick out the right choices. He'd placed a charm on her to hide her lightning-shaped scars; fortunately, it appeared to do the trick.

She looked around at the jeweler's wares. He had a lot to offer: mating collars, other sorts of necklaces, earrings, rings, watches. One of the former caught her eye almost straightaway.

The jeweler sensed this. "Do you like that one, κυρία?"

"It's very pretty," she said.

"The silver is from the Mines of Laurion – very famous," he said. He opened up the case and took the collar and the pillow it was sitting on out. The metal was finely woven together, and like most mating collars, looked like a much more refined muggle choker necklace. "As for the emerald, it's eight carats, and is from Madagascar."

"And the diamonds?" she asked. Those small gemstones surrounded the larger, teardrop-shaped one (or maybe it was pear-shaped; she didn't know) in their own, unique pattern.

"South Africa – and very ethically mined, I assure you," he told her and her father as he came over. "Unlike our muggle counterparts, I and my suppliers make sure that we do not partake in slavery, forced labor, or unfair wages."

"I think he would like that," she said.

"I agree; it's very much in line with what the Consort of my House would wear." That was the other thing: no directly calling themselves or Ginny and Theo by their names. "And it suits him."

She nodded.

"We'll take it."

Ginny's collar was a bit harder for them to find. Nothing in the display cases seemed to be to her tastes.

"There is something that I have in the back," the jeweler said. Obviously, he was out to make as much money as possible; he wasn't going to let them go away with just Theo's if he could. "I was going to set it out tomorrow. But, hmm, maybe it would do..."

He came back with a collar with a rose gold chain. Hanging from it was a giant, circular ruby surrounded by small diamonds and a black flower design.

"The ruby comes from Kashmir," the jeweler informed them. "The gold from Canada. The diamonds, also from South Africa."

"Well, what do you think?" Sirius asked her.

Hyleth nodded wordlessly.

"We'll take it, too."

The collars were expensive – well over six-thousand drachmas each. And since the exchange rate for galleons was about five pounds for one...

You do the math.

Theo and Ginny more than deserved them, though.

Surprisingly, they still had some time to kill after getting out of the jeweler's, so they spent a bit longer walking up and down the road. This was how Hyleth got her knife, because as her dad put it: "It's what the town is known for, even among the muggles, and it's your birthday. We should get you one."

The knife was for pig-butchering or something like that – which meant it'd basically be for decoration only with her. She didn't mind.

Ginny and Theo were at the gelato shop by the time they got back towards where they'd arrived, sitting at one of the tables with more than a few bags between them. Although the Sun Block Charms prevented them from getting sunburnt, the redhead was even more tanned than she'd been before. It looked good on her.

"Did you find a dress?"

"Yes, but you're not allowed to see it." Ginny grabbed the handles of what must have been the offending bag, proving her point. "And we got Theo some new clothes, too, for when we're out with the muggles."

"Apparently, I was too conspicuous," he drawled.

"What about you?"

"We found something for me." Hyleth grinned. "You're not allowed to see it, either."

"You should get some gelato," Ginny suggested. "Just a scoop or two. We got something for later, too."

So she did, getting a scoop of tiramisu and something called stracciatella. Both were delicious.

When they got back to the villa, the events of the day all suddenly hit Hyleth. She was whooped. Ginny and Theo weren't much better. "Oh my gods," Theo groaned, collapsing onto one of the couches in the sitting room. "That was too much."

"A letter from Luna Lovegood came while you were out," Pritchard said from the archway, holding the envelope in his right hand. He gave it to Ginny, since she had been the one to write to the Ravenclaw, although the letter was addressed to Ginny, Hyleth, & Cousin Theo.

"What does it say?" Theo questioned.

He and Hyleth read over Ginny's shoulder even as she told them the contents of the letter. Hyleth had the abrupt sensation that there were butterflies in her stomach.

This letter was from the girl who they thought had been raised with the expectation she would be one of her spouses one day – and she would be, because Hyleth had decided she would marry her if that was what she wanted. The girl who was the daughter of her godmother.

"Well, first off she says she wishes we're all well," Ginny said. "And she says you shouldn't be too worried, Theo. She says your father doesn't know the whole reason why you left, but he knows you're responsible and 'with a good head on your shoulders.'"

Theo tried to smile. It wasn't a successful attempt.

"And, uh, Hyleth, it's as we thought," she spoke. "Luna says that she knew this was going to come soon. She says her mum – "

"I know," Hyleth said quietly. "I can see it, too."

There was a pause.

"When do you think it would be a good idea to get married to her?" Theo inquired at last. "She says she wants to know."

She exhaled loudly. "Probably not long after we get back. The sooner, the better, right? So, sometime in September. Not the first weekend that we get back, though. We're going to have to explain to everybody why we did this then."

"How about the Saturday after that? The ninth?" Theo suggested.

She bit the inside of her cheek. "That's not much time to be able to get to know her, since it took two weeks for her letter to get here."

"We're all going to be with you for the rest of our lives. That's plenty of time to get to know her."

"Let me think about it," she said.

Dinner that night consisted of grilled marinated chicken and vegetables and rice. They'd most likely been eating healthier here than they did back at home. It wasn't hard to; the food selection at the stores in the nearest town was different, and like she'd said before, her dad was a good cook. He'd bought yet another cookbook for meals that were local to the region.

After they were finished with the main course, Ginny and Theo went inside, since they'd brought the table and now five chairs in the kitchen out for tonight, and came out with a cake. It was simple, a two-layer cake with white buttercream frosting and pistachios and fresh blackberries decorating the edges and honey drizzled on the top. Fifteen magical candles were placed in the cake, the sparkling kind, but with none of the danger of their muggle counterparts.

"Happy birthday, to you," the two omegas sang, and her dad quickly pitched in. Pritchard remained quiet, though he did smile. "Happy birthday, to you. Happy birthday, dear..."

Hyleth smiled and affectionately rolled her eyes. She blew out all of the candles when the time was right, to which her present mates-to-be cheered. Her dad cut the cake, and that was when it was revealed its flavor was pistachio.

As they ate the cake, she went about opening her gifts. Theo had gotten her a set of emerald and silver cufflinks, with what looked like a few diamonds decorating the rim. He must've used some money he'd brought with them to buy them; there was no way the drachmas her dad had given him would've been enough. "It's traditional," he said, "for an omega to get their partner a set of cufflinks as a courting gift. Because – "

"It's expected they'll wear them at the wedding day," she concluded. "I know. Thank you." She wasn't going to mention how well they'd go with her wedding robes in a little less than two weeks' time.

Ginny had gone the simpler route, getting her a watch and some magical candy that they didn't have in Britain. Along with the Animagus book and the knife, already given, her dad got her an introductory book on Greek and ancient Greek each. "You didn't get to have the same educational experience as other high-ranking and/or pureblood magical children your age, but that's no reason to not catch up now," he said. "It's customary for them to know ancient Greek and Latin by the time they get to Hogwarts. Sure makes spell-casting easier."

"Thanks, Dad."

Even Pritchard got her a gift, a book on the early magical history of the British Isles up until the Norman Conquest by a German wizard named Wolfram Prinz. It looked interesting, even though he said it didn't have anything more beneficial to offer about Wulfnoð Peverell and the Ritual of Briganti than what she'd come to learn.

It occurred to her after the clean-up was done and they were back inside, and she, Ginny, and Theo were playing a few rounds of Exploding Snap before they went to bed, that this was, in effect, her last birthday as a child, legally and in the eyes of tradition. In less than two weeks, she would be married to these two omegas who were sitting with her, who she was glancing back and forth from. Then, without knowing how long it would take for them to conceive for sure, they'd be having her children, them and all of the other spouses she would take on.

It would be a lie to say that she was anywhere close to being alright with it. It would be a lie to say that she had really accepted it, since those two things were very different.

But, to put it as Theo had, it was the reality she was living in, and she didn't think it was wholly bad. If it hadn't been for the Ritual, none of them would be here right now. She could only imagine how worried Theo would've been, instead of happy and carefree like he was, and how much sicklier he would've gotten from the stress. And not to mention how shewould have felt this following year if she'd survived that Halloween night for some other reason, and no one would have told her the truth about what was going on.

(Such as the prophecy, and her being a Horcrux.)

She had support for her destiny, in a much more concrete way than prior. So yes, although things could've been better – they could've been a lot worse from those specific angles, too.

(Though none of this meant she had forgiven her mother for what she'd done. She was still furiously angry with her, and suspected she always would be, to some extent.)

"It's your turn, Hy," Ginny told her, nudging her gently on the arm.

"What? Oh, my bad," she said, before she laid down the correct number of cards.

Word Count: 3,221