Chapter 108: The Complexities of Rule Breaking
Three days later, Sirius, Regulus, Capella, and Lyanna, along with Marius and Ilaria, arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. First, they were going to go shopping for their Hogwarts supplies, then they would be meeting back at the Leaky Cauldron to see Emilia and Mauro, who were going to meet them there for lunch. Emilia and Mauro were visiting England for a week. Originally, they were going to introduce their friends to the Blacks, but there was a scheduling conflict, so the Blacks would have to wait to meet the others when they got to school.
"Alright, the four of you go get your supplies," Marius instructed. "We'll be here when you're done. Remember to be back by noon."
"Alright," they replied in unison. Sirius led the way into Diagon Alley.
They didn't need a lot this time, just their books, some new robes, and some pet treats for their owls. Luna really liked her treats, Sirius had learned over the years. She was a very quiet owl most of the time, but if she wanted a treat, she would make sure he knew it. Capella and Lyanna's owl, Thunder, was always making noise, but also loved his treats.
After stopping at the different shops to get their supplies, the four Blacks stopped at the Quidditch shop so Sirius and Regulus could see the newest broom.
"These brooms are still nothing compared to the Firebolt," Sirius said, staring at the brooms.
"Well, it will still be a long time before that comes out," Regulus reminded him.
"Yeah, like 1993," Sirius said bitterly. "That's too long!"
"That is a long time," Regulus agreed.
"Are the two of you done yet?" Capella asked with a roll of her eyes. "We need to get going. We don't want to be late to meet with Emilia and Mauro just because the two of you are too busy staring at boring brooms all day."
"Alright, alright, we're done," Regulus said with a laugh. They headed out of the shop and went back to the Leaky Cauldron where Marius and Ilaria were waiting.
"Just in time," Ilaria said with a smile. "They should be here any moment now." As if on cue, Emilia and Mauro walked into the Leaky Cauldron at that moment.
"Hello, Emilia and Mauro!" Sirius greeted them excitedly.
"Hello Sirius, Regulus, Capella, Lyanna, and Mr. and Mrs. Black," Emilia greeted in return.
"Hello everyone," Mauro said with a smile.
"Hello to both of you," Ilaria said kindly. "Come. Let's sit down, and you can see what you would like to eat."
After everyone was seated, Marius asked, "How has your time been here so far?"
"It's been a great vacation," Emilia said with a smile.
"Er, cauldron cakes?" Mauro asked, looking up from the menu. "We don't have those in Spain."
"Wait, I thought all of the wizarding communities would have those!" Lyanna exclaimed. "The wizarding community in Italy has them!"
"No, we have Ranas de Chocolate," Mauro informed them.
"We have chocolate frogs here too," Capella pointed out.
"Do you have Sapos de Menta?" Emilia asked curiously.
"Yes, we have peppermint toads," Regulus replied. "Those are one of my favorites!"
"Too bad we can't turn a certain toad into one of those and eat her," Capella said. "Sirius, you know Transfiguration. Can you do that?"
"Nope, sorry," Sirius said with a laugh. "I don't think she'd taste like a very good one either way."
"Probably not," Regulus mumbled. Tom took their orders, which Mauro decided to get cauldron cakes instead of lunch.
"Oh, Mauro," Emilia said with a sigh.
"What?" Mauro asked with a shrug.
"Our parents would be very disappointed that you are not having a proper meal," Emilia said.
"So what?" Mauro snapped. "They're not here."
Regulus rolled his eyes. "Our grandparents never let us have only dessert for a meal," he commented. "Adults are so boring!"
"Hey now, there are two adults here," Marius cut in with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I agree," Capella said, ignoring her father. "Adults are SO boring! You have to follow all these rules until you turn seventeen, and... I don't like rules!"
"I know you don't," Lyanna said with a smirk. "You always try to find ways to break them!"
"Hey, there are loopholes to every rule!" Capella shot back.
"Er, you do know that you are talking about this in front of your parents, right?" Emilia asked. She was always a rule-follower, unlike her brother.
"Oh, they talk about things in front of us all the time," Ilaria said with a slight smile. "They are Blacks through and through."
"Loopholes?" Lyanna asked. "Not EVERY rule has one!"
"Yes, every single one does," Capella replied.
"I agree with Capella," Mauro said. "Like, when our parents say that we can't have any food fights, well, you just change the wording. I call it a food-throwing contest!"
"It's the same thing!" Emilia exclaimed. "It's still a food fight, no matter how you change the wording!"
"Well, a food fight is when you're angry at someone and you just want to throw food at them," Mauro said. "A food-throwing contest is when you want to see who can get the person the most messy! Like this!" Mauro grabbed one of the cauldron cakes and threw it at Regulus, which landed in his hair.
"Hey!" Regulus exclaimed, trying to pull the mess out of his hair with little success. "Fine! Here!" He grabbed a bowl of mixed fruit and threw it back to Mauro. It landed all over his arms, with the juice from the fruit making everything sticky. That was all it took. A full-on food-throwing contest broke out, with Capella and Lyanna joining in. Sirius joined in soon after. Emilia was the only one not joining in on the fun. Marius and Ilaria decided to let the children have their fun. Marius definitely knew that while Blacks may not always start something, they would get involved if it seemed like fun, even if it was childish.
Finally, when everyone was covered in all the food they had ordered, they stopped. Regulus and Lyanna were covered in the most food, and Regulus still had half of a cauldron cake in his hair. Tom stared at them and asked, "Do you want more food?"
"Er, yes please," they responded. Emilia crossed her arms and gave her brother a stern look.
"I will be telling our parents about this," she stated. "You broke a rule."
"Oh, please, I didn't break a rule!" Mauro defended himself.
"Yes, you did!" Emilia exclaimed.
"Alright, let's not fight now," Ilaria said calmly. "Children can have fun sometimes." Emilia and Mauro stopped their argument after that, and they focused on finishing their meal.
"Sorry you couldn't meet our friends like we had planned for today," Emilia finally broke the silence.
"It's alright," Sirius said. "We'll meet them at Hogwarts. Or, at least the ones that are currently students there."
"True," Mauro said. They finished their lunch before saying their goodbyes.
"Please come back sometime," Sirius told Emilia and Mauro.
"We will, we definitely will," Emilia promised. "If we didn't have things to get to, we'd stay longer."
"We understand," Ilaria said kindly. "We hope to see you again soon."
Everyone left the Leaky Cauldron, Emilia and Mauro to go back to their vacation home where their parents waited, and the Blacks to go back to Italy and clean up from the food-throwing contest.