A/N: Longer chapter ahead! Ended up yapping a lot JDBFKSBFKS hope you guys like it! Quick little sidenote that I was unable to do some quality checking before posting this because I was too excited to share this with you guys xD also I'm typing this while half-asleep—
Additional disclaimer, I mention Naruto in this chapter. I do not own Naruto — if I did, I would have had first dibs on Itachi. Alas.
{ 5 }
"Aguamenti calls forth water. Can you guess what the etymology of this spell is?"
"Agua should mean water. Not so sure what menti means, though…"
"Menti refers to your mind. Put the two together and it makes sense why you put your mind into conjuring water from thin air," Gokudera Hayato, Adrianna's tutor for the day, said. He glanced once more at the book he held, pushing his glasses up. "I wonder if there's a scientific explanation for this. Energy starts at the tip of your wand to produce this stream of water, so does magic act as some kind of energy that draws the hydrogen and oxygen molecules from the atmosphere to 'create' water? Is there some form of chemical reaction going on, centered around magic?"
"Um, Zio, I can't really understand what you're saying…"
Gokudera coughed in embarrassment. "Ah, yes, uh, I got caught up in figuring this magic stuff out, but at least we've gone through what Aguamenti means. It seems a lot of the spells in your world make use of Latin, which is why it's important for you to learn the basics at the very least, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes, Zio," Adrianna pouted as she turned back to her workbook on Latin.
Today was a rare day where no one in the Varia was available to watch over her. Levi, Bel, and Squalo were in China to visit the Triads; Fran was in Japan with Mammon; Lussuria was training the Sun squad; and Xanxus had to attend a week-long Vongola function in France with Tsuna. Remus, on the other hand, was on his scheduled day off, and as much as he would have liked to offer to watch over her, it was going to be a full moon today, and he would be putting her in danger.
Thus, at Tsuna's request, it was Gokudera who was trusted to take care of Adrianna. He was given a basic overview of what was going on with Xanxus' daughter once Mammon confirmed that Omerta was stronger than the Statute of Secrecy, so there was no problem in telling Decimo's right-hand-man. The only issue, if it could be considered as such, was that Gokudera grew interested in magic and perceived it to be a strange scientific phenomenon, which meant Adrianna's lesson plans began to include modern science and mathematics.
This caused her to lose time to spend playing with Oreo and time spent bothering the other Varia grunts for fun, but Xanxus, in a rare show of saying 'no' to the girl, told her it was going to be important for her to learn and he wasn't going to let her live a life unaware of modern Muggle advancements and discoveries — which is why Gokudera was also throwing in GCSE topics on top of her Latin lessons.
Her schedule was getting fuller and fuller, but everyone agreed that the about-to-be-nine year old girl would need this.
Thankfully, Latin vocabulary was easy enough for Adrianna to understand — some words explicitly contained English words that she already knew, while others she could contextualize.
Still, there were a few times where she felt stumped, as if she would not progress with her learning. She knew — and acknowledged — it was because she wasn't as patient as Fran or Levi, but Bel had learned at least twenty languages by the time he was five. All Varia members knew at least five languages, as was required of them, and all the ones she asked said they'd been learning as young as seven years old.
Her French was certainly improving, but not in leaps and bounds as she had hoped. She could string along simple phrases, answer easy questions, and say basic greetings, but she was barely reaching an elementary level. Her English and Italian were more than fine, at the very least, but surely she could do better?
So, she had to be able to do this. Everyone else could, so why can't she?
As she finished an exercise on her workbook, she sighed. Words. She really did understand the importance of learning all of this, but memorization bored her. It was too nice of a day to study, anyways.
She stretched her arms then gazed at Gokudera. She didn't like choosing favorites, but out of the Vongola Decimo's Guardians, the silver-haired Storm was definitely the one she was closest to. Everyone else continued to treat her as if she were fragile, saying she couldn't do some stuff because she was only eight, but Gokudera never did that. He always treated her as if she was completely capable of doing whatever she put her mind to.
And that, she was going to do right now.
"Zio?"
Gokudera looked up from his book, a text detailing how spells for sixth years in the British education system worked. "Yes?"
"May I take a break from Latin?"
"Sure, what did you have in mind for your break?"
Adrianna sat up straighter and held out her hand, eyes narrowing as she focused on it. In front of her, Gokudera looked mildly confused but stared at the palm of her hand, which was currently turning red.
Magic was about intent — that was what Remus Lupin told her the first time they ever had lessons about magic. You had to want it to happen, to will it to come to life and to do your bidding, and to Adrianna, she could compare it to how Xanxus could simply command his subordinates to actualize his orders.
However, unlike subordinates, her magic was entirely hers, so it had to be much easier to do.
After a few minutes of concentration, sweat began to build up around her nose, but she let out a triumphant laugh once a small droplet of water began to form three inches above her palm.
Gokudera's glasses slipped down his nose bridge as he stared in wonder, quickly pulling a notebook out of nowhere to take down notes, muttering to himself as his pen slid around the lined pages. "Droplet of about three centimeters in radius was formed after a great deal of intense focus. It took approximately eleven minutes to be formed. Did tiny water particles in the portion of the atmosphere surrounding her hand coagulate to form what is now the droplet? This requires further examination—"
On her end, Adrianna's little droplet popped in the air and she sank back down in her chair to find relief. It was a good break — doing things was always more fun for her than reading about them, after all — and it was certainly good progress than just using her magic to push and pull the things around her.
Maybe she could be a water-bender or something.
The possibilities were endless!
Dear Papa,
Zio Hayato was surprised today! Remember when I was watching Naruto with Fran? And there was an episode about the Rasengan? Well, I can do that! Kind of. With water.
Zio can't explain how yet, but I think it's really just magic. Period. I got bored from studying and that Naruto episode gave me the idea. It's still really small, like the size of a cotton ball, but I think it's pretty cool! I want to show you when you come home.
Zio Takeshi dropped by and said he could give you a letter since he was going to France, too. I hope he doesn't forget to give this to you. All he talked about today was random baseball facts and events. I don't really know what he's talking about, though. Can we watch a baseball game soon?
Lambo was here, too. He got off school early. He gave me grape candy, and it was really yummy. He kept ranting about how I-pin spent more time with their guy classmate because the guy was dumb or something, but if you ask me, I bet he has a crush on her and he's just jelly. He also screamed when he saw Oreo hugging me.
I really like it here because everyone's funny, and Zia Kyoko and Zia Haru made me cookies! But, I still miss home and everyone.
Can you come back soon, please?
From,
Adi
Experts in Arithmancy would say that turning nine is a most auspicious event. After all, the number three is hailed as the second-most lucky number, and nine is the product of three multiplied by itself. Hence, it wasn't so surprising that Adrianna's ninth birthday was a much awaited affair.
Not only was the Varia going all-out on her birthday this year, but it was also the first time she would be formally introduced to the Mafia world as Xanxus' daughter. As such, several Varia grunts, particularly the newbies, were assigned to do the decorating and to assist with party preparations. At the forefront of these was Lussuria, who had deemed themselves as the party planner of the century.
After all, it was a surprise for their darling Adi!
"You two, I want streamers over there. Oh, and over there, yes, there, that's where the gigantic panda stuffed toys should be placed," Lussuria told two Lightning grunts before turning to the Sun grunts nearby. "As for you three, the name holders are in the bag on the table. I already told you how the seating plan should go. The Decimo and his Famiglia to our right, and of course, we will be at the center to watch our little Adi."
The grunts nodded and began doing their tasks. The bulky Lightning grunts carried the eight-foot panda stuffed toys one by one towards the doorway, ensuring that the pandas were faced towards the entrance. It meant the mammals would act as some sort of greeters to whoever would enter the premises.
On the other hand, the Sun grunts split the name holders among them, and began arranging the names according to importance. The Zabini Famiglia had the honor of sitting to the left of the Varia, a semblance of respect for their long standing partnership; the Zabini were the Varia's sole provider of surveillance technology, after all. On the other hand, the Bertelli Famiglia was trusted to sit behind the Varia; this Famiglia in particular provided the Varia with unique experiments ranging from weapons to health supplements. Then, next to the Bertelli sat the Delacours.
As the grunts busied themselves with completing Lussuria's tasks, Levi strolled in with a grunt who pushed along a cart of loot bags.
"There, you are," Lussuria trilled. "Everything is complete?"
Levi grunted in assent. "The miniature figurines of Oreo were finished in time thanks to one of the Bertelli's Sun users."
"Perfect! And Fran is?"
"Here," the boy in the frog hat drawled as he entered, eyeing the pandas he passed by with judgment. "You're going to give her bad ideas."
"Honey, getting a real panda isn't a terrible idea."
"Besides," Levi huffed, "you weren't any better when you were younger."
"Excuse you—"
"You asked us for a Cerberus—"
"You made me think it was real—"
"Uhm, a Cerberus is real. Rare, but I've heard some countries like Romania have managed to domesticate one," Remus nervously interjected as he too entered the venue.
"It's real?"
Remus could have sworn he heard a hint of interest in Fran's voice. "Yes. Welcome to the magical world."
Fran sighed, shaking his head before placing his package on the table.
Lussuria excitedly turned the package around. It was a tall, white box wrapped in pastel pink ribbons. Its front face was made of plastic, so it was easy to see the four-tier chocolate cake inside. The dessert was masterfully decorated with purple and pink icing, and had a mini Adrianna with a mini Oreo at the top of the cake. "You did well, Fran. Where ever did you find the cake designer?"
"Master knew a bakery in Korea," Fran shrugged. "He hasn't stopped ordering from it since he found it."
"Well, he did well finding it," Lussuria cooed before turning to Remus expectantly.
The werewolf pointed at the coolers of gelato that Storm grunts were rolling inside. "Available in seven different flavors."
Lussuria squealed. "Everything is going so well!"
After hours of preparing, the venue, as Lussuria would never tire of saying, looked amazing. The pandas by the doorway were given cute little party hats to wear, and once someone walked past the pandas, they would walk through a carpeted area to reach the reception booth. They would then log their names and their messages for the celebrant. They would then proceed to their seats, escorted by Mist grunts to enjoy the event. Should they find themselves hungry before dinner is served, each table contained three-tiered stands for bruschetta, focaccia, and ciabatta sandwiches for their consumption. The tables themselves were decorated with either dark fuschia or matte purple tablecloths, paired with baby pink and thistle accents.
In front of these tables was an elevated platform containing a comfortable, ornate ivory chair where the birthday celebrant would be sitting — there was also a little cushioned stool next to her for Oreo to rest, if he felt like it. The cake Fran brought was being refrigerated behind the platform, meant to be rolled in later when it was time for the birthday song.
By seven o'clock, guests began to pour in. It was Lussuria excitedly greeting them, with a shy Remus Lupin next to them, who looked lost since he knew next to nothing about who these people were, and he worried he might offend one of them. He had, of course, nothing to worry about because these people had had exposure to the Varia for so long that any offense Remus might incur would seem laughable.
In strolled several key Famiglias who were invited to be part of the event, and among the early arrivals were the Zabini and Bertelli Famiglias. Bianca Zabini, and her son, Blaise, were the representatives for their Famiglia, accompanied by her Storm and Sun Guardians. On the other hand, Alonzo Bertelli strolled in with his niece, one Luna Lovegood, and his Mist and Cloud Guardians.
"Ah~ Bianca and little Alonzo," Lussuria greeted them.
"Lussuria," Bianca leaned over to kiss their cheeks, "it's been a while. I suppose you have yet to meet my son, Blaise?"
The child stepped forward and put on a suave smile, bowing slightly in respect.
This caused Lussuria to giggle. "So like his mother. I can't wait to see what will happen if he charms our little Adi."
"Won't Xan-xan kill my son for that?"
"Oh, don't worry, darling, you're in his good books. Blaise will be just fine~"
On the other hand, Alonzo simply nodded in greeting. "I brought my late sister's daughter, Luna."
"Hello," she said with a bell-like voice and a knowing smile. "I see the little muffin in your head swirling in delight. It has pink icing, too! It matches the party theme."
Remus was a bit perplexed by the girl's words, finding no sign of a pastry near his companion. He did, however, stiffen in alarm when she spoke to him next, "Oh, what a nice friend you have inside of you! Sometimes, letting him speak is the best way to solve fights between you."
"I apologize if she caused any discomfort," Alonzo quickly whispered to Remus.
"I— no… it's just, how does she—"
Lussuria quickly leaned in. "Her mother, Pandora, was a gifted Mist almost on par with our Mammy, though her skill lay in experimentation. One day, she accidentally created something that helped her see things we can't. No one was able to replicate it, but she and the Bertelli are confident that what she was seeing was real."
Remus nodded to indicate he understood even though he couldn't quite yet grasp that there was a world within their world, or that the little blonde in front of him seemed to know what he was.
He still looked somewhat confused as Bianca, Blaise, Alonzo, and Luna were escorted to their seats.
Up until seven forty-five, it was a flurry of getting to know people and how powerful they were. Then, finally, the Vongola arrived, easily the largest group who was represented by the Decimo, his Guardians and his friends, a perk of being so closely intertwined with the Varia and the birthday celebrant.
It was Remus' first time seeing all of them together, and it really struck him for a moment that there were people younger than him already leading a Mafia family. He watched as Lussuria greeted the last guests of the day before hurrying over to his seat on the Varia table.
Lussuria was not only the party planner, but also today's host. They assembled on stage, microphone in hand.
"Welcome, everyone, to our darling's birthday party~" Lussuria said. "In just a few moments, our little girl will be walking through those doors," they gestured towards the pandas, "so clap when you see her!"
At that, trumpets began to sound to announce the arrival of the celebrant, and to everyone's amusement, Mist flames began to surround the pandas, causing them to appear to move and waddle to open the door.
The doors swung open and in walked the four-foot five girl, whose curled hair bounced against her light blue princess dress. She stared at the pandas in fascination and took her time to snuggle with them before Xanxus, who had been napping in a corner by the bar — 'strictly for the adults, by the way!', or so Lussuria insisted — walked over and picked her up.
All attendees clapped politely as the father-daughter duo walked over to the center of the stage, where he placed the little girl on the chair. Only then did the Mafiosos spot the little Arabian sand boa slithering next to her and onto the stool by the chair. The females in attendance found the small, derpy reptile adorable, and they openly cooed at its sleepy eyes.
For her part, Adrianna was a bit overwhelmed seeing how many people had flown from all over, but the anxiety she had been feeling was quickly stamped down when she saw her family smiling at her, even when their smiles would have elicited fear in more ordinary people.
The program then began. Lussuria led everyone through several party games for Adrianna's amusement. After all, there were only three children in attendance (unless you were counting the teenage Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta. To Lussuria's happiness, Adrianna was giggling all the while as the Decimo himself fumbled at musical chairs, causing his Cloud Guardian, who refused to let anyone touch his chair, be the winner.
A scavenger hunt, which Adrianna participated in, led to Luna Lovegood of the Bertelli Famiglia as the winner. Despite how obscure some of the listed items were, one being a golf ball hidden under one of the giant pandas' party hats and another being a rare floral patterned handkerchief that was found in Bianca Zabini's pocket, little Luna seemed to know where everything was.
There was also charades, which was won by one of Bel's grunts, a man who had grown up with mimes and so could easily understand the words being said by people's gestures. Uno was also thrown in, which led to a few messy fights between disgruntled people, but no one could get mad when Adrianna and Oreo kept pulling 4s out of the card pile. All Mist attendees swore that the cards weren't being tampered with, so it was either they were good liars or the birthday girl and her companion were just that good.
Finally, it was time for Adrianna to greet her guests while receiving presents from them. There, she sat on her little throne on stage with Oreo hissing excitedly next to her.
Though the Varia could have opted to go first, they allowed the Vongola Famiglia to be the first to give their presents. 'Best for last', or so they said. Thus, it was the Decimo and his entourage that strolled up the stage first.
"Hello, Zii, Zie," Adrianna beamed at them. Oreo slithered in a circle to express his own delight upon seeing Haru and Kyoko. The girls squealed and petted the snake before hugging the little girl. From Haru and Kyoko, she received tons of vouchers for cake shops across the continent. Hana, on the other hand, had given her a book on British legislations, for educational purposes of course. This, in turn, caused her fiance, Ryohei, to gift the girl with yellow boxing gloves, for EXTREMELY educational purposes. Similar to Ryohei, Yamamoto had given her a child-sized baseball bat, in hopes that she would fall in love with the sport.
"Idiots," Gokudera scoffed at their presents, firmly believing that his was the most practical and useful: a Latin-to-French dictionary and an English-to-French dictionary. This would force Adrianna to be more fluent in French since her wizarding studies required a grasp in Latin. (Adrianna shuddered in fear when she saw how thick the dictionaries were, but she resolved to get over this fear — just not today. Today's her birthday, you know.)
Gokudera also handed Adrianna a cute, little, yellow coin purse shaped like a bird. It was apparently from Hibari, who, unsurprisingly, did not enter the premises, citing crowding herbivores as a reason.
Finally, Tsuna walked over and gave her a headpat before shyly presenting her with two things, the second causing several in the room to gasp. The first, which was a present every adult had expected, was a Vongola crest.
"With this crest," Tsuna said as gently placed it in her hand, "you are formally recognized as a member of the Vongola, and you will be protected accordingly. Of course, as Xanxus' daughter, you already have the protection of the Varia, but allow me to offer you the backing of the Vongola."
"On the other hand," he continued as he draped a cloak around her, the object being the cause for the audience's interest, "this is the one and only variation of my own Cloak. It will protect you from other Dying Will Flame users."
"Shouldn't this go to your own kid, Zio?" Adrianna asked worriedly even though her fingers wrapped around the cloak to pull the edges closer to herself.
Tsuna chuckled. "In time, perhaps they'll have one of their own, but I'm practically your uncle, Adi. This is the least I can give to you."
(Xanxus would forever deny seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi as a little brother, but everyone and their mother knew Sawada Tsunayoshi was one of the few people he trusted with his life to protect Adrianna, so really, the Decimo was as good as her uncle at this point.)
Adrianna hid a sniffle as she hugged Tsuna, eyes watering slightly at how much she appreciated the act. It was true that she spent the most time with Gokudera, but whenever Tsuna was around, meetings and paperwork never stopped him from spending time with her and asking about her day. "Thank you, Zio."
Tsuna himself melted inside and hugged the girl back, idly wondering about what it would feel like to have his own child one day.
After the Vongola, the other guests came over to give their own presents. Several had given her toy weapons, while others opted to present her with several books on various topics such as how to effectively use poisons and how to master the art of negotiation. Levi idly wondered if they should be letting her read those already.
Then, Blaise and Bianca walked over with a bouquet of flowers.
"I am Bianca Zabini, and this is my son, Blaise," the beautiful tanned woman said. "Buon compleanno, principessa. We present to you two gifts. The first: a bouquet of fern and ivy."
Blaise handed Adrianna the flowers, gently grasping her hand and placing a light kiss on her knuckles, which caused the girl to blush slightly. (At the back of the room, Squalo jumped on Xanxus to prevent the man from storming over towards the boy.)
"The second: my son."
Loud and confused whispers emerged from the crowd, many trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. Squalo even paused from wrestling with Xanxus as both men were mildly stunned by the lady's words.
"That is to say," she smiled serenely, "I offer him to you as a companion. A friend. A symbol of the loyalty of the Zabini to the Varia."
Blaise inclined his head towards Adrianna.
"I don't want to be friends with him if he doesn't want to be," Adrianna pouted, surprising the Zabinis.
"...No, I want to be friends with you," Blaise replied slowly.
"We don't know each other, so what makes you sure you want to be friends?"
"We can get to know each other, can't we?"
Adrianna commenced a stare-down with him before deciding he was telling the truth. "Okay, then."
"Me too! I want to be friends, too!" a voice chirped from beside Blaise.
Adrianna jumped slightly upon noticing that a little blonde-haired girl had somehow made her way to the stage without anyone noticing. To his embarrassment, Blaise flinched slightly at the sudden appearance of Luna Lovegood.
"Ack! Luna!" Alonzo whined in dismay as he walked over to the stage to pick up his wayward niece. How could I not have noticed?! She always does this, he sighed to himself.
"Um, who are you?"
"I'm Luna! We'll be good friends! The Moon Frog next to Blaise says so," Luna smiled happily. Adrianna, Blaise, and Bianca looked around the stage but found no trace of this so-called Moon Frog.
Bianca then remembered who her mother was and nodded sagely.
Luna presented a music box to Adrianna. "It has a song from the fae. It's very enchanting and it helps me sleep when the yellow mouse in my head won't stop running around."
Adrianna was mildly confused by what was happening, even when Alonzo Bertelli arrived and properly introduced himself and Luna to her, the Bertelli head gifting her with three requests for experiments per year. Still, Luna did mention something about a frog and a mouse, and Adrianna loved her animals, so she shrugged and happily thanked Luna and Alonzo.
A few more people lined up to give her either money or clothes, and while Adrianna was grateful they went out of their way to shop for her, she found herself glancing around.
Fran, who, at some point, decided to sit beside her after assigning some Sun and Storm grunts to move the presents to a large mahogany table at the back of the room, looked at her curiously. "Looking for something?"
"Someone," she said after thanking the final person in line, who had gifted her a cool-looking skateboard. "I thought the Delacours were invited?"
"Family emergency, apparently."
"Oh, I hope they're okay," she said, still just a bit put-out since she thought she would be meeting Fleur in person today.
The second-to-the-last group who went over to her were the Cavallones. As Adrianna noticed them approach, whatever sadness and disappointment she had been feeling was quickly wiped away as she was starstruck by shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes. Every step the man took was graceful, accentuated by the little turtle slowly waddling next to him.
"Buon compleanno," he said with a grin. "I'm Dino Cavallone, the Cavallone Decimo. My gift for you is this backpack."
A man with a thick mustache approached with a fluffy panda backpack. The backpack itself was shaped like a panda's head, so the top part of its white fluffy head served as the flap for the bag. It was spacious enough to comfortably place a few things inside.
When the man handed it to Adrianna, she reverently held the backpack in her hands, staring into the panda's eyes. After a few moments, she looked at Dino and squealed, hugging him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you—"
He chuckled, amused, subtly sharing a thumbs-up with Romario.
Once the birthday girl was extracted from him, he looked away quickly to let out a small sneeze that had Adrianna giggling at him. (Little did he know that Lussuria was holding back a ranting Squalo, the latter raging about Dino trying to steal Adrianna away, and the former telling him to shut up before he ruined the party.)
Finally, it was the Varia's turn to gather on the stage, Dino having successfully descended the stage without a swordsman coming after his butt. All Varia Officers and Xanxus greeted the girl enthusiastically, whatever 'enthusiastic' might mean for their demeanors. Xanxus had given her a four-foot stuffed toy version of Bester, which she delightedly hugged.
Squalo had given her a lightsaber that would glow purple. "VOI, you've seen this in movies, right? This might be a toy, but you can still shove it up that fucking Dino's—"
Lussuria quickly kicked Squalo's face, causing the man to choke on his words. The muay thai expert huffed before presenting Adrianna with a clothes rack full of what looked to be designer clothes in various colors. "Just for you, I sewed these. They're an exclusive collection, honey, so wear them with pride!"
From Levi, she had received some green stress balls — "In case you get stressed from all the studying and training and you feel like throwing them at Fran", he said.
The aforementioned frog hat enjoyer gave her a classy black wallet, "This is to hold all your money. Since you're already nine, we think you're ready to learn budgeting."
"And the Prince will be the one to give you your first ten euros, shishishi," Bel added, using a knife to point towards the wallet.
Thankfully, Mammon cut in to give her a book on the basics of budgeting. "Bel is inclined to give you a weekly allowance because he feels like it, but you should learn how to save and how to grow your money. Money is everything, after all."
"Thank you, everyone!" Adrianna chirped.
While the Varia spent some time with the birthday girl on stage, everyone else was invited to partake in their luxurious buffet dinner. Guests mingled with each other, wine glasses clinking as they discussed their lives and potential transactions. It only took a few minutes before Adrianna began to feel sleepy, leaning on Xanxus for warmth and much needed rest, while Oreo curled up on her lap.
Lussuria cooed at this, whipping out a camera to take photos, happy that Xanxus could care less.
All in all, Lussuria would say the birthday party was a success.
When Adrianna first saw the Flames that enveloped Xanxus' hands, she was amazed by the warm feeling she was getting from them. The Flames of Wrath did not need a Vongola ring to manifest — they appeared simply when her father felt like using them.
Now that she was officially nine, she had asked if she had Flames of her own, wanting a taste of the harmony she felt from her father. Yet, everyone straight up told her that if she wanted to access her Flames to find out, she would have to learn one of the most boring things she had ever heard of: meditation.
Yamamoto was the one who tried to teach her first — a choice that, looking back, puzzled everyone — but all he told her was "meditation is like a swoosh where your brain goes all fuzzy and your eyes start to get a little tingle and then before you know it, your tummy feels funny and warm". Gokudera, on the other hand, had a more technical approach — "this is the part where you inhale for four seconds, hold, exhale for four seconds, hold. Keep doing this until you're able to do it subconsciously. Only then can we truly begin".
The Varia, of course, had all learned through life-or-death situations, which was something they would never subject her to, so instead, they told her to at least try and stay still every night before going to sleep and to just focus on breathing and feeling at peace — ironic, since it was them saying it, but it was the lesser evil.
At first, Adrianna struggled with meditating because she always fell asleep soon after, but lately she had been able to last a few minutes of just lying down. These meditation sessions had recently turned Adrianna a bit more contemplative about life in general since she was unable to keep her mind quiet while she meditated. What was a soul? Did she really have her own original thoughts, or was she merely a product of her environment? Was she not really a witch but merely an advanced life form?
These were things she jabbered on about during her recent tutoring session with Remus. The werewolf snorted softly at her questions, answering each one of them to the best of his abilities and assuring her that yes, witches and wizards are human, too, and no, she was not an extraterrestrial being.
"It's nice that you've become more reflective lately," he told her as he finished setting up a telescope in front of her. Today's session was covering Astronomy, a subject he only recently introduced since he knew she would find it uninteresting, "because we'll be learning about the stars in the sky today."
Adrianna tilted her head backwards. Oreo, who was lazing around her shoulders, tilted his head back, as well.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We're supposed to stare at the stars, I think."
"The yellow dots?"
"Yes, the yellow dots."
"What did Oreo ask?"
"What we were doing tonight."
"Well, Adi, and Oreo, back in the day, witches and wizards would study the movement of the planets to help them determine if it was a good time to engage in agriculture, if the tides would rise, if a journey was perilous, and whatnot."
"So, it's like, telling the weather? Prehistoric weather forecasting?"
"Partly, although the most important thing they used this study for was for their rituals," Remus explained before grimacing slightly. "Ever since Dumbledore became Supreme Mugwump, rituals were banned and labeled as Dark Magic, or something terrible. My opinion is this was meant to curb the strength of the purebloods, who, at the time, were especially hostile towards Muggleborns."
Adrianna took a few moments to hiss, translating and explaining things to Oreo. "You said 'at the time'. Did purebloods improve already?"
"I haven't been in magical society for a while, so I can't say for sure, but the last time I was there, the discrimination towards Muggleborns was still rampant. Less violent, for sure, but present nonetheless," Remus said. "Although I don't see eye-to-eye with Dumbledore, I suppose I could understand why it seemed like a good idea back then."
"Are these rituals limited to strengthening the purebloods? Only they benefit?"
"No, in fact, anyone with enough magical power for the rituals could participate in it and gain significant advantages. For instance, the Mabon ritual was meant to strengthen our connection to the elements, particularly to the earth and to the water, while Samhain, which you might know better as Halloween, was meant to strengthen our connection to our ancestors and to our family magics."
"Shame it's banned," Adrianna sighed, thinking of how it would have been if she could master the elements.
"Indeed, but there are still a few things we can learn from the stars, which is what I hope to start with on you this week." Remus' face took on a melancholic look as he gazed at a particular section of the sky, reaching out a hand to trace a certain pattern. "I was informed that you knew about your adoption."
"Yes," she replied with a shrug. "What about it?"
"Your biological grandparents on your father's side were from a pureblooded family," he explained with a sad smile. "Just a fun fact, but it was tradition for them to name their children after stars, or constellations, in the sky. They also mixed these with names from Greek mythology."
"Zio Hayato told me all stars eventually fade away," Adrianna frowned. "It's sad to name your kids after them."
"Who knows why they do what they do?" Remus chuckled almost bitterly, a pained look entering his eyes before he hurriedly blinked it away. "Would you like to hear about that family?"
"Of course!"
"Really?"
Adrianna nodded. "I think you might be worried that talking about them will make me uncomfortable, but I have Papa and the Varia and Zio Tsuna's Famiglia. I'm okay, and I have a family. Knowing these people exist just means I have more people to get to know, right?"
Remus smiled more happily. "Yes, that's true. Well, let's begin with your grandmother, your father's mother, Dorea. Her name, I was told, was based on the Lilii Borea, a star in the Aries constellation. Oh, I should've asked — you're familiar with your Zodiacs?"
"Yup," Adrianna grinned, "Luss-sorella reads me my daily horoscope all the time!"
"...Okay, at least you're familiar with it. The Aries constellation is shaped like a ram," Remus said, squatting down next to Adrianna to point out to her and Oreo where Aries could be found. He asked her to stretch out her hand and he gently guided it to trace where Aries was. "They say those born in the Aries months have strong personalities, and your grandmother certainly had that. She was passionate about what she believed in, and she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. She was a wildfire, I'd say."
"You knew her, Signore Remus?"
"...For a time."
"What am I supposed to be seeing?"
"Signore, I think Oreo needs help with finding Aries."
"Oh, my apologies, Oreo," Remus said, allowing Adrianna to transfer the friendly snake onto his arm. He once again traced where the constellation was.
"Interesting. I'm getting sleepy, though. Tell the kind wolf-man I will be sleeping."
Adrianna giggled. "I think he'll be napping during our lesson, Signore. Sorry for the interruption, but he says you're very kind."
"No worries at all, Oreo," Remus said, noting with surprise that the snake made no move to remove himself from his arm. Shrugging, Remus continued, "Then, there's your… well, your aunt, I suppose. Her name is Andromeda, and unlike the Lilii Borea star, Andromeda is a collection of stars, a constellation. The constellation is rooted in Greek mythology, where Andromeda was a princess sacrificed by her father to her a monster. The monster was commanded by the sea nymphs to attack because of her mother, the queen, but her father was told that the only way to stop the attack on their kingdom was to give up his daughter to the monster."
"That's horrible," Adrianna said softly, eyes downcast. "She died?"
"Thankfully enough, a hero, Perseus, saved her. They lived happily ever after," Remus assured her, thinking for a moment about the Andromeda he knew, who was able to escape from her horrid parents due to the help of a Muggleborn.
"Parents can be mean, can't they? I'm lucky Papa isn't like that."
Remus nodded in agreement. Had she ended up with Petunia Dursley, well, he shuddered to think about what kind of treatment she would have endured because of the sour woman.
Both of them continued looking up at the vast sky, cool wind gently drifting by.
"Signore, would you know if I would have been named after a star, too?"
"Well, you know that your name would have been Harriet Lily — Harriet, a variation of the name Henry, since the Potters' tradition was to name their children after British monarchy. Your second name, Lily, came directly from your mother, whose family liked to name their children after flowers. But, your grandparents weren't around when you were born, so who knows, really?"
Remus noticed that the little girl looked rather solemn tonight, her hands softly clutching the sides of the bear-shaped hoodie she was wearing. "May I ask what's on your mind?"
"I guess… I was wondering if I had any blood relatives left. It's just to satisfy my curiosity," Adrianna quickly assured him in panic, eyes widening as she waved her hands frantically. "I don't need to meet them, I mean, that would expose who I am, right? And I love my family, I don't want to leave or replace them! I'm just… curious."
For a moment, Remus once again thought about how she would have grown up had James and Lily lived. She would have been happy, well-loved, taken care of, but she was getting all of that now, anyways. A bigger family, even.
Harriet — no, Adrianna — was in good hands. He would like to think James and Lily would have liked the Varia very much.
"Well, your Aunt Andromeda is still around. She has a daughter, your older cousin, though I haven't met her. Then, you have your Aunt Narcissa, who has a son your age. I expect you'll be meeting him in Hogwarts in two years' time. You also have your Great Aunt, Cassiopeia Black, but she's very hard to track down when she doesn't want to be found."
The little girl stared into space some more before nodding to herself. "I find it weird that I'm not sad at all. Thank you for telling me about them, but I think, unless I unexpectedly meet them, there's no reason for me to find them."
She looked up at him and grinned. "I'm happy where I am."
Remus thought of the Varia, who acted as a bunch of uncles and aunts and cousins, who always made sure she had the time of her life. He thought of Xanxus, who would do absolutely everything and anything for his daughter.
He returned her smile. "You're in excellent hands."
EXTRA: Snapshots from Adi's birthday party
Scene 1
Mukuro: …
Fran: …
Mukuro: Are there pandas greeting me at the doorway?
Fran: …No.
Scene 2
Dino, running away: Squalo, I did nothing, I swear!
Squalo: VOI YOU CAN'T FUCKING HAVE OUR BRAT, YOU HEAR ME?
Dino: I'M NOT EVEN INTERESTED!
Squalo: ARE YOU CALLING HER UGLY, THEN?! GET BACK HERE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT
Dino: I NEVER EVEN SAID SHE WAS UGLY
Scene 3
Haru, spotting Oreo: Hahi, how adorable!
Adi: Oh, thank you! *hisses with Oreo* He thinks you're pretty, Zia!
Haru: I think you're very pretty, too!
Scene 4
Reborn: Who even spawned with Xanxus
Mammon: That's for us to know
Reborn: Not even for a price?
Mammon: Not likely
Scene 5
Remus: Happy birthday, Adi
Adrianna: What am I going to do with a ball, Signore?
Remus: Don't you want to learn how to do the Rasengan?
Adrianna: Ain't no way—
A/N: Fun fact — I actually do have a Hibird wallet. It's very chonky. Forgot where I purchased it, though.
Notes:
1. I just got a lot of the information on Wiccan holidays and the constellations from the Internet, but do feel free to correct me / add info if you'd like! Fleur was supposed to be in this chapter but I realized it felt a bit too forced, so I will try again in a future chapter.
2. Adrianna's childhood arc will last until chapter 6, then by chapter 7, Adi's first year at Hogwarts will begin! I'm outlining the next chapters as we speak, so I hope I'm able to finish at least half of first year by this year . . . We'll see xd
3. Having Dino as Adi's puppy crush was a spur of the moment thing, but it's just funny because it makes Squalo chase Dino around xD No idea who to pair her with at this point, but Dino won't be considered. Some of the reviews pointed out that the Arcobalenos were still technically way older, which, now that I think about it — you're right. Still no idea who'd be good enough for Adi (Xanxus' words, not mine!), but yup, gonna take the Arcobalenos out of the running. Hope this is ok!
I will properly reply to the reviews in the next chapter, I swear. Just churned this chapter out as soon as I could because September is going to be a busy month for me :c
See you guys next chapter! And let me know how this chapter went c: