{ 4 }

"Signore Remus?"

Remus looked at the eight year old girl in front of him, who was happily closing her book on goblin wars. Adrianna had never been too fascinated with history, so he wasn't surprised. Admittedly, even back in Hogwarts, he never quite understood why the majority of the lessons for his whole seven year stint at Hogwarts revolved around goblin wars.

They were currently in her study, which was well-lit and filled with numerous bookshelves. Most were still empty, save for the new history books they acquired, which, Remus was proud to say, veered away from goblin wars, and introduced more of wizarding history. Still, Remus did notice how quickly she was picking up offensive and defensive spells, so he had no doubt that those shelves would soon be filled with books on these topics.

"Yes, Adrianna?"

"Is there a spell that can multiply a living object as many times as I want?"

"Unfortunately, one limitation of magic is that living objects such as plants or foods cannot be multiplied. Transfigured, perhaps, but nothing to duplicate the material. If we were talking about multiplying inanimate objects, the Geminio charm should do the trick. Why do you ask? Did you have an object in mind?"

"A bamboo shoot."

"A… bamboo shoot? What is it for, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, my birthday's coming up soon, and Zio Squalo's making me come up with a wishlist. I didn't ask for much, okay? I just wanted some more books and…"

"And?"

"Well, I asked for a panda, too."

"A stuffed toy?"

"No. A real one," Adrianna replied, scowling as she continued, "but then, Fran was all like, 'you can't get a panda, Adi, you wouldn't be able to take care of it, and Varia land doesn't have enough bamboo, yadda, yadda'. But, I know we have more than enough land area for a panda, and if I can be the one making its food with a spell, then Fran can't say no, right?"

Remus tried to keep it in. He really did. But, he just burst out laughing at how adorable she really was, and to be fair, she had a point, The Varia owned a vast expanse of land that was guarded twenty-four-seven by patrolling members, and Remus didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to waltz into an area full of professional assassins. (Somewhere, a purple-haired Arcobaleno sneezed, much to the surprise of his octopus companion.)

Thus, no one would also be dumb enough to go in to take her panda away. (The aforementioned Arcobaleno sneezed again and complained about the weather.)

At least, Remus hoped no one was stupid enough to do so.

Life at the Varia truly was… unique. After having been here for a few weeks, Remus had been exposed to the Varia's shenanigans, especially since he had a room to reside in inside the base, along with free food and utilities in exchange for teaching Adrianna, and a monthly salary that was certainly more than what wizards would have paid him had he tutored some other magical child.

In times like these, he wished she saw him as an uncle, the way it should have been, but even with her knowing about his origins, they were getting to each other slowly. Teaching her daily, save for the weekend, certainly helped, as she wasn't afraid to share anecdotes of her life with him. Yes, she still called him 'Signore', and yes, there were times he wished he could ruffle her hair affectionately the way the other Varia members nonchalantly did, but he knew it would take time to reach that point.

Remus Lupin was a patient man, after all.

"I apologize for laughing," Remus chuckled as she pouted, "but I like the way you think. I'll ask around if there are some Herbology books that may be able to explain spells regarding plants. We can discuss these next month. In the meantime, let's return to the raid the goblin Redthorn was planning, shall we?"

Adrianna made a face but opened her book obediently.

.

.

Dear Arabella,

I must admit your letter was quite concerning, but I have checked the instruments in my office, and they have shown that little Harriet is quite safe and sound. The wards around the house are still going strong, too.

Petunia was likely pretending that Harriet didn't exist, given how jealous she was that Lily had powers while she did not.

There is no need to fret. Despite Petunia's attitude, Harriet is certainly healthy and well cared for. My instruments would have alerted me otherwise.

Keep up the good work on checking up on Harriet and the Dursleys.

Rest assured, I have everything under control.

Yours truly,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

.

.

"Are you sure about this, Papa?"

"I wouldn't make you do this if I wasn't, brat."

"But it's Fran."

"He's smart enough to dodge if it all goes wrong. If he can't, then he's not Quality, are you, you fucking frog?"

"That's mean," Fran said with his usual blank stare.

Lussuria giggled as they sat on standby, Sun Flames at the ready just in case something went wrong. Though, they doubted it.

While at first, Xanxus wanted to let Adriana handle an airsoft pistol, Lussuria had to remind their Boss that Adrianna really was still just a kid, so maybe she should start with a toy gun first. Xanxus reluctantly grunted in agreement before giving his daughter a gun that only shot styrofoam bullets. Those were practically harmless, but Lussuria wanted to be here just in case. (It was definitely not an excuse to be here to watch how it would all unfold.)

Adrianna hesitantly loaded the bullets - the gun could fit up to six - and looked to Xanxus. "Won't it hurt him?"

"They're harmless."

"But this looks like one of the guns you always have."

Levi had made the gun, another one of his hidden talents, and had patterned it off of Xanxus' X-Guns. The toy was done so splendidly it was actually hard to tell the difference between the two. (It made Xanxus wonder if he should have the Lightning Division spearhead Varia's own weapon manufacturing.)

"It's a toy. Do you trust me?"

Adrianna nodded before taking aim at Fran's head, particularly at the X-mark that was taped to his frog hat. Her right arm was shaky from holding the toy gun - which somehow was a bit weighted. "Can't I use both hands?"

"Practice with one. It will be easier."

"O-kay~"

Adrianna struggled to keep her arm steady, her right eye looking through the sights of the pistol. Between them, she could see a faint image of Fran's hat. She took a breath, as instructed, and pulled the trigger.

A styrofoam bullet flew through the air before hitting Fran's nose.

Lussuria placed a hand on their mouth to keep from laughing.

"What happened?" Xanxus asked.

"My arm kept moving?"

"You loosened your grip," he said, grasping her smaller hand and helping her hold the toy better. "It can cause your shots to go elsewhere. Because your grip was loose, it was easy for the gun to tilt downwards."

"Okay, thank you, Papa!"

The second and third tries were somewhat the same, though the fourth try proved to be fruitful when it hit Fran's forehead instead.

"Better," Xanxus said as he patted his daughter's hair.

The fifth and sixth bullets were still hitting the boy's forehead, but she was inching closer and closer to the edge of his hat. It was still progress.

She ran over to collect the bullets while Fran scratched his slightly reddening forehead.

"The bullets are itchy," he complained without really complaining.

Lussuria giggled and doused the boy in a thin layer of Sun Flames.

By the time his forehead was clear and back to normal, Adrianna had reloaded the gun.

Fran sighed from his seated position and prepared to have to sit here for a few more hours.

.

.

Adrianna loved going on trips to Diagon Alley with Xanxus and Mammon. True, their business was usually conducted in Gringotts, but the way to the bank was always a nice sight to see.

On today's trip, Mammon had simply needed her blood to access a collection of books stored within her vault - without notifying Albus Dumbledore, of course, and for a price, of course. Mammon went over the books and brought back what was useful at the moment, books that seemed to be written in strange characters. Unfortunately, Xanxus wasn't with them today as he was in Spain conducting official Vongola business with Tsuna, so it was Bel as today's second chaperone.

Adrianna walked through Diagon Alley and took her time window shopping. Quality Quidditch Supplies was particularly interesting to her. Flying on a broom just seemed so exhilarating, but it was The Magical Menagerie that elicited an excited squeal from her.

"Bel, Mammy, let's look for a panda here!" Adrianna said as she took Bel's hand and dragged him into the store. Mammon floated along behind them.

"Shishishi, the prince can always just get you a panda by tomorrow," Bel said. "Who cares what the frog thinks?"

"But, if it's a magical panda, Fran can't say no easily!" Adrianna grinned as she raced around the store, only to be disappointed when the fluffy creature at the forefront of her mind was absent. "Oh, I guess they don't have pandas. That sucks."

"Pandas aren't common here, I'm afraid," a voice came from beside Adrianna.

"Why not?" she turned to the left, only to be surprised when there was no one else there. Mammon was looking at the frogs somewhere at the back. Bel was staring at the cats on her right, while the shop attendant was towards the entrance of the shop. "Huh?"

"Down here."

Adrianna blinked and lowered her eyes, her line of sight coming into contact with a tank containing a black Arabian sand boa. "Was that… you?"

"Yesssssss."

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. Well, if magic existed, then she supposed it shouldn't be too shocking that animals could talk. (Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to see a talking panda.) "Oh, hello there. I'm Adrianna."

"Hello, speaker. I have no name."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. You're very adorable," Adrianna pouted before smiling. "This is so cool. I can't wait to tell Papa I met a talking snake!"

"Of course, snakes talk. How would we converse amongst ourselves otherwise? That said, I have not encountered a Speaker in so long."

"A speaker? You mean a human? Of course, we talk!"

"A human who converses with us snakes is a Speaker. You speak our tongue."

Adrianna laughed. "What do you mean? We're speaking in English!"

"No. We are speaking my language."

"Principessa, are you speaking with a snake?" Bel, who had finally noticed Adrianna having a staring - and hissing? - contest with a rather derpy-looking snake in a tank on the bottom shelf.

"Yeah? Couldn't you understand him, too?"

Bel shook his head. "You were hissing, like an actual snake."

"Told you," the boa said.

Adrianna blinked before looking at the snake. "Why can't he understand?"

"Simple. You are a Speaker. He is not."

It was strange for Bel to not know a language considering the Varia spoke so many languages. More importantly, he was the Prince, and he was supposed to know all the languages. Perhaps snake language wasn't as common as the others? Not knowing irked him slightly, so he would have to ask the little girl about it later.

While Bel debated on how to learn the language, Adrianna approached the shop attendant with a bounce in her step. "Hello, Signore. How much for the black snake over there?"

The shop attendant's eyes widened. "The Arabian sand boa? They're not a very popular breed among wizards, you know."

"That's a shame, I find him very adorable," Adrianna pouted.

"Er, besides, are you sure you want a snake? Hogwarts only accepts an owl, a cat, or a toad…"

"I'm very sure about getting him," Adrianna said, attempting to mimic how Xanxus would look at Squalo whenever the latter brought the wrong wine bottle - which was, surprisingly, often. (Sometimes, Adrianna thought Squalo did it on purpose for the laughs.)

Her intimidation tactic seemed to have worked, thereby allowing her to make her purchase. She happily handed over the necessary Galleons. (Little did she know that Bel brought out one of his newly polished knives and toyed around with it while sending a penetrating gaze at the shop attendant.

"Right," the shop attendant said as he levitated the boa's tank. "I'll shrink his tank so it's easier for you to carry around. When you're home, pat the tank with your hand thrice to revert it to its original state. Pat four times to shrink it back."

"Alright, thank you," Adrianna chirped as she gently placed the shrunken tank into her pocket. She hoped the walk wouldn't make her new snake dizzy. "Oh, where did Mammy go?"

"It was something about the Arcobaleno. The Prince was told to go home with the principessa."

"Oh, okay."

As Bel and Adrianna exited the store, Bel had to gently pull the girl away before she could collide with a boy with pale blonde hair.

"Watch it!" the boy snarled, eyeing her clothes with distaste. Bel couldn't fathom why the boy would be so disgusted when she was wearing tailor-fit clothing from one of Italy's top designers. "Stupid Mudblood. My father will hear about this!"

(Draco Malfoy, upon getting educated on Muggle fashion trends, would look back on this and feel a sense of embarrassment knowing that the whole outfit cost almost as much as his acromantula silk robes.)

Adrianna didn't find the boy, who she towered over by one inch, intimidating. She raised an eyebrow at him as Bel creepily smiled, grabbing the boy's collar, easily physically setting him aside despite his squawked protests. Bel would've done much, much worse, as was his norm, but Mammon had warned them against making a scene. It wouldn't do for Dumbledore to hear about her yet.

So, the pair ignored the complaining boy as they went back to Gringotts.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was utterly flabbergasted by the way he was treated. Did those people not know who he was? To set him aside as if he were a Mudblood… It was preposterous!

"Draco, darling, why are you still outside?" his mother arrived, looking confused at how he just stood there in front of the shop, glaring at the last spot he had seen the pair.

"Mother! You'll never believe it-"

.

.

"Huh," Xanxus looked at the snake that was currently coiled around his daughter's outstretched arm. It was a quirky little thing that bowed in greeting, as Adrianna had informed the snake of who was who in this large nest.

"The Speaker's father. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said.

"He says it's nice to meet you," Adrianna told Xanxus before turning to the snake, "He can't speak the language, either, I'm afraid. Only I can."

"Interesting," the snake said. "At least you will provide me some company."

"True. Oh, by the way, would it be okay to give you a name, or is there a name that you wanted for yourself?"

"I shall allow you to name me."

"Hmm… I think Cuddles will do!"

"Perhaps another option?"

"Muffin?"

"Another?"

"Uh…"

As Adrianna and the about-to-be-named snake debated on potential names, Mammon floated around Adriana and stared at the conversing duo curiously. "None of the Potters could speak Parseltongue. Perhaps this was due to the introduction of Lily Evans' blood. Or, it was the blood adoption. Or both. Either way, Parseltongue is a useful skill to have."

"So Adi is speaking Parseltongue?" Lussuria said before giving the gentle snake a pat. "They're so cute together!"

"Well, if she already has a snake, we don't need to get her a panda," Fran said, almost as if there was triumph and relief in his ever monotonous voice.

At that, Adrianna halted from her conversation with the snake, sending Fran a displeased gaze that just looked funny and unserious to everyone in the room due to her round, bouncy cheeks.

She turned back to the snake and asked, "If I bought a panda, would you promise not to harm him or her?"

"What is a panda?"

"A black-and-white mammal that's very fluffy. It mostly eats plants, but I've heard they can eat fruits, too."

"Well, if it is another one of your companions, I would not harm it, Speaker. I do just need to be fed daily - preferably with live prey."

Adrianna nodded then turned back to Fran with a close-eyed smile. "He says he won't harm the panda, Frannie."

Fran slumped minutely in defeat.

"That said," Remus interjected, "you should be wary of speaking Parseltongue in public. It does seem limiting, but people view it as something Dark. After all, Salazar Slytherin and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named spoke it, as well."

"You mean Voldemort?" Adrianna clarified. Remus nodded his head despite the small flinch he released at the name. Mammon had been training him out of it and there seemed to be some progress. "Signore Remus, you do realize that there are less syllables in 'Voldemort' than in 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'."

Remus chuckled nervously.

"Wolf has a point," Xanxus said. "Until you determine how many minions you can have in whatever House you'll end up in, best to keep it a secret. Or else, that shitty goat running the school will cause problems."

"Hmm, okay, Papa. I'll hide it for now," Adrianna sighed, a bit put-out, before turning back to her snake. "Now, how do you feel about Crinkles?"

.

.

It took a day before Adrianna and her snake came into an agreement.

The Varia welcomed Oreo the Arabian sand boa, and made that day his official birthday. Levi even made him a party hat.

A/N: I've been gone for quite a while… I'm really so sorry about that :^) In a nutshell, I've been having a tough time with my life in general, but also mostly it's been hard for me to not be a perfectionist. I found that the reason why it's been hard for me to update is that I always think I have to try and keep up with the way other authors (with popular fics) write, but then I'm sad to say, I only recently realized I didn't have to try to do that. I just had to write the way I wanted to because my stories aren't their stories and vice versa.

So, this is me trying,,, and we'll just see where it goes. This fic still isn't really a priority to me, but I promise to try and not make you wait years… for an update. One of my goals for this year is to actually finish one of my multi-chap fics KSJBDFKJBSFKJS so let's see where this ride takes us.

Will be going through the reviews in the next chapter!

Thanks for still reading, and see you next time!

(Sidenote: one of the reasons I tried writing for this again was because I was still getting notifs for this fanfic after quite a while and it really made me think, dang, I should really write again)