Park near Grimmauld Place, mid-January 1996
Remus lowered himself onto a bench with a satisfied sigh. After their breakup, it had taken a while but now after about four weeks, he and Nymphadora were able to return to their former friendly, platonic family-like relationship.
The two of them simply weren't right for each other as romantic partners, their six-month relationship was fun, but not the right thing for both of them.
The only good thing that came out of it was, that Remus realised that he definitely wanted a partner in his life. But the problem was, no sane Witch would ever consider dating a Werewolf, and should he somehow manage to get a Muggle Woman to love him then he'd have to explain that he was a Wizard on top of being a Werewolf.
"How about you snag a female Werewolf? Imagine how much fun you could have once per month" was what Sirius suggested. A suggestion that got him a right hook to the liver once more.
It was a complicated situation that got one more sight out of Remus, so to get his thoughts in order again he grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
Just when he released another puff of smoke, a snowball hit him in the back of the head.
"Ouch! Who threw that?!" he yelled and turned around. He raised a surprised eyebrow when he saw the culprit. A small girl with straight platinum blonde hair and light green eyes. In front of her stood a slightly older boy with the same complexion. The girl had one arm outstretched like she had just thrown something.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry Mister Lupin!" yelled the girl and ran over to Remus, the boy hot on her heels.
"You are Lillie and Gladion right?"
The two kids nodded with a shameful expression on their faces. Before anyone could say something a new voice yelled "Where are you two?"
A tall woman who shared hair- and eye colour with the kids came toward them with fast steps. Like the kids, she was dressed in heavy winter clothes.
She quickly recognized Remus and the snow dribbling down his back. "Mr. Lupin, it seems we always run into each other when my kids cause you trouble."
"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Aether. They are children, they play and sometimes they go overboard."
Lusamine smiled slightly and replied, "I think you can call me by my first name considering what's happened." She then looked down at her kids and said "I hope you already apologized to Mr. Lupin."
Lillie and Gladion nodded furiously and Remus said "Yes, they apologised right away. And please, call me Remus."
"Remus Lupin huh? Would it be wrong to say your favourite animal is the wolf?"
Remus chuckled and replied "Something like that. Being named 'Wolf Wolf' does have its ups and downs"
This got a laugh out of Lusamine. Lillie and Gladion were already gone again and busy building a snowman. Their laughter caught the attention of the two adults.
"They are so full of energy," remarked Remus.
"Yes" began Lusamine with a melancholic look in her eyes "They got it from their father. He was always so full of energy as well and could play with them for hours. God may bless his soul"
"Oh. I am sorry to hear that" lamented Remus.
Lusamine shook her head and replied "Thank you but it's alright. He lost the battle against the cancer but slept away peacefully."
Remus was unsure what to reply to that but he could feel that it was a long time since Lusamine was able to talk about her deceased husband.
Just then a harsh cold wind blew through the park and the nearby bell tower rang which reminded Remus that it was almost time for the afternoon tea. Collecting all of his courage, he took the first step to a new life.
"How about I treat you all to some tea? I know a lovely café not too far from here"
Lusamine fixated Remus with a probing glance. Her green eyes flew over his graying hair and the scars on his face and hands.
'Well, he isn't exactly ugly. Scratch that, he's quite handsome. And Mohn said I shouldn't stay alone. It's already been five years, I have to start somewhere'
"Sure, why not?" she said loudly and called her kids over.
10 minutes later, Remus was seated in a small café with Lusamine and her kids. The two adults enjoyed a cup of tea and biscuits while the kids got a cup of hot chocolate and some cake.
Before the kids could dig in, Lusamine gave them a stern glance, and immediately "Thank you Mr. Lupin!"
Remus smiled and said "You can also call me Remus you two. And you're welcome. Dig in"
They didn't need to get told twice and quickly they attacked their respective cake with their forks. Remus was surprised that they still maintained good table manners.
"They are very well-behaved" began Remus.
Lusamine took a sip from her cup "Thank you. I mostly raised them alone to the best of my abilities. Gladion is seven and Lillie is five."
She slowly set down her cup and continued "I wanted to be completely open with them, so they know what happened to their father. It was hard for them when they fully understood it but they made their peace with it for the most part"
"Wow. That certainly sounds like it wasn't always easy for you"
She shrugged lightly. "It is what it is. But I wouldn't trade them for anything"
Remus now smiled "I can understand that. My nephew is six and he is the most precious thing in my life"
"He is?"
Remus nodded "His parents got killed by a terrorist when he was barely over a year old. The government then screwed up and placed him in an abusive household but roughly a year ago I and his godfather managed to find him again and take him with us"
This muggle-proof version of Harry's life wasn't perfect but it was enough to not raise any eyebrows.
"Oh my, the poor boy" gasped Lusamine in shock.
Sighing, Remus continued "You can say that again. I can never forgive myself that I didn't manage to get ahold of him sooner but for now, I want to do everything I can to help raise him right"
"That sounds good Remus. Maybe- Lillie, look at your dress!"
Small Lillie hat spilled a bit of her hot chocolate on her white dress and now had a light brown stain on her stomach.
"I'm sorry Remus, but can you have an eye on Gladion for a minute?" asked Lusamine who had already taken Lillie's hand.
"No problem" replied Remus. Lusamine nodded thankfully and walked to the bathroom with Lillie.
Remus looked down at Gladion who was watching him with big attentive eyes.
"Do you often visit London with your Mum?" asked Remus to not sit in silence all the time with the young boy.
Gladion nodded "Mum sometimes doesn't find a babysitter when she has to go to her work. Lillie and I then always have to be quiet to not disturb anyone." he finished with a frown. Then he grinned again "But when she's done we always visit that park and are allowed to run around and sometimes we get some candy when we behave well!"
Remus laughed at the boys' enthusiasm, he reminded him a bit of Harry. "That sounds like a fair deal. And are you already in school?"
"Yes, I can now count to twenty and even read a bit! Do you want me to show you? Here, one, two, three-"
With a smile, he listened to how the boy loudly counted to twenty which took him two minutes. When he was done Remus praised him for the good work.
"Very good Gladion. Maybe you could use your fingers to help you remember the numbers better" he instructed gently.
Gladion's eyes widened and he stared at his hands and flexed all his fingers. Then he looked back at Remus like the man just told him all the secrets in the universe.
"Thank you, Remus! This makes it so much easier!" yelled Gladion excitedly. Fortunately, the Café was rather empty so nobody felt disturbed by the boys' outburst.
"I hope it does, I was a teacher once" laughed Remus and at this moment Lusamine came back with Lillie, the stain on her dress barely visible anymore.
"You were a teacher? Impressive" she said and sat back down.
"Well, it wasn't that big and I only held the position for a year"
"Really? Why?"
Without thinking, Remus replied "Racism"
Lusamine blinked "What?"
Panicking, Remus had to think fast. 'FUCK! How do I explain to a muggle that I got fired for being a Werewolf? Think fast Moony!' "Y-you see, I am half Irish and another teacher at the school where I taught was some elitist snob who did everything he could to get everyone not fully English kicked out of the school."
'This is a Sirius-tier bullshit lie'
"How terrible that such people are still around" grumbled Lusamine.
Remus internally sighed in relief that she bought it, but he missed the twinkle in Lillie's eyes, who could feel that something about Remus' story was off.
The two adults chatted for about half an hour with the kids sometimes chipping in with something only kids could find interesting.
But then it was time to leave. Lusamine dressed her kids while Remus paid and together the four left the Café.
Outside, Remus said "It was very nice to see you again Lusamine, and you two as well, Gladion and Lillie"
Lusamine nodded "Yes it was. Did you two have fun as well?"
"Yes Mum!" they answered in unison.
Lusamine took notice of how enthusiastic her kids answered. And also how comfortable Gladion seemed when she left him alone with Remus, more so than with any other adult except her of course.
A barely visible smile came to her pretty face and she reached into her coat. "We should do this again sometime. If you have the time call this number" she said while handing him a business card.
Before Remus could say anything, Lusamine took both kids' hands and walked off after saying one last goodbye.
Quickly the three were out of sight and Remus could only look down at the card.
Lusamine Aether
Chairwoman at Aether Enterprises
Below that was an E-Mail address, a phone number, and office hours.
Remus did a double-take when he read that. Aether Enterprises was the biggest insurance company in Britain. And the woman he just spent the afternoon with was the chairwoman of that company, and according to her name was at least related to its funders.
He began to walk home and lit another cigarette. 'Crazy, Lusamine must have lived in luxury her whole life and yet she's so down-to-earth'
On his way, he looked at the business card again and again, memorizing the phone number and E-Mail address while simultaneously making plans to buy a computer for Grimmauld Place and get internet access installed.
He rounded the corner to Grimmauld Place where he saw Harry being pulled through the snow by a big black dog.
Smiling, Remus walked up to his nephew and gently took the leash from him. "You've been a free man for months Padfoot, why do you still have Harry take you for a walk?"
They stepped into the house and Padfoot transformed into Sirius. "What, is it now a crime for a Godfather to play in the snow with his Godson?"
This question kicked off a heated discussion between the Marauders about what was appropriate and what wasn't. While they argued, Harry noticed the card in Remus' hand.
"Who is Lusamine Aether Uncle Moony?" he asked innocently, "That name sounds fancy."
This of course caught Sirius' attention. "Lusamine Aether? Isn't she that bigshot from the telly?"
"Uhm, y-yes"
"And why do you have her card? For that matter" Sirius took a deep breath through his nose, some of his Animagus Properties were still present in his human form, including the stronger sense of smell, "Why do you smell like perfume? A woman's perfume to be precise"
In a cruel twist of fate, it was at this moment that Tonks walked through the door. Harry ran into her open arms with a loud "MUMMY!" and she picked him up before she asked "A woman's perfume on Remus? Now this is interesting."
She and Sirius gave Remus matching grins that left the poor Werewolf backed into a corner. He had no other option than to talk now.
Needless to say, the two cousins teased him mercilessly. When Tonks left to prepare Dinner, Sirius had to throw in one last jibe, "Going from Tonks to a hot widow that is nearly as loaded as me, gotta respect your game Moony!"
This earned Sirius once more a hook to the liver. And a few more bruises from Moony on the next Fullmoon.
Late March 1997
Remus did indeed call Lusamine a week after their first meeting. From then on, the two met up regularly. Sometimes for a cup of tea, sometimes for a walk, and sometimes even for a trip to a museum.
Over the last months, the two got to know each other much better and there was certainly some affection between the two of them. Sometimes Lusamine would hook herself on Remus' arm, hold his hand, or even give him a haughty peck on the cheek when they parted ways for the day.
Now it was time for the next step. Starting to introduce his family to Lusamine and her kids. He had to be careful there, Ted and Andi were muggle-compliant, same as Harry, but Tonks and Sirius needed an explanation and the truth to get introduced.
So Remus wanted to have Harry meet Gladion and Lillie. Should that go well (which he strongly assumed, Harry might be a Mini-Marauder but he knew when to behave), then he would start easing Lusamine into the world of magic and come clean with what he was.
Gladion and Lillie, now eight and six years old, currently had holidays from school so they could play all day. Remus cleared it with Lusamine as well as Tonks to have the kids meet each other.
So here he was together with Harry in the tube on the way to a playground where they would meet Lusamine and her kids. Harry had a small bag with a few outdoor toys with him. Nothing too impressive since they didn't want to win points through money, but enough to ensure that the kids would interact with each other.
"Now remember Harry, they are both your age but Lillie is a girl. Sometimes girls don't want to play the same way as boys so you have to be mindful of her when she doesn't agree to something, alright?"
Harry nodded happily, he had this talk a few times now, not only from Uncle Moony but also from his Mummy and Granny.
He might have been a bit grumpy at first since this meeting was on a Saturday and he couldn't visit Daphne and the others at Hogwarts, but at the thought of meeting new friends, he got excited again.
Meanwhile, inside Daphne's mind at Hogwarts
"JUST WAIT YOU PIECE OF SHIT! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I WILL RIP THEM A NEW ASSHOLE! HOW DARE THEY STEAL THE PRECIOUS FROM ME!" raged Daphne in her straight jacket, and for good measurement, her clothes got nailed to the wall to ensure she couldn't break loose.
"Darling explained to us why he can't be here today. It's just this one time" sighed Eaphne from her drawing board.
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE! LET ME OUT!" screamed the desire department.
"For fucks sake that's enough" groaned Raphne. Swiflty she grabbed her good ol' reliable stick and knocked Daphne out.
"Finally some peace" She made a satisfied huff and went back to work, having the outer Daphne brood.
To the dismay of the other people at Hogwarts, a brooding Daphne looked scary and was just seconds away from a violent outburst. We will never forget Nott's original nose.
Back in the real world with Remus and Harry
"Do you think Lillie might like Dragons?" asked Harry innocently. The concept of the statute of secrecy was still a bit incomprehensible for the young boy.
"Well she might, but that is something for another day. Remember, there are some things we can't show to everyone. So no transforming into Chompy today and no talk about Hogwarts, understood?"
"Yes Uncle Moony" replied Harry a bit sadly. He would have loved to show Chompy to his new friends. Well, maybe he could show it to them another time.
Meanwhile in the Aether Limousine
Lusamine gently adjusted Lillie's sunhat for the sixth time in the last ten minutes because the girl wouldn't stop nervously pulling at the long ribbon.
"Lillie dear, please stop that" chided Lusamne gently.
"But what if Harry is mean to me? Or if he doesn't like me? I am scared!" whined Lillie with a few tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Remus told you that Harry is a nice boy. Just don't try to be something you aren't," instructed her mother.
"Mum is right Lillie. And I am also here to protect you in case Harry does something mean!" said Gladion energetically, which helped to calm Lillie down.
"See Lillie? Everything will be alright. Now remember you two, this isn't just a new situation for you, but also for Harry. So be mindful of him should he feel uncomfortable"
Both kids nodded and soon they reached the playground.
Their butler and driver Hobbes helped all three out of the Limousine before he drove off. And just at that moment Remus and Harry came into view.
"Let's greet them," said Lusamine and took their hands.
"Lusamine!" called Remus in greeting with Harry holding his hand.
"Good afternoon Remus" replied Lusamine. Her pale green eyes then fell on Harry and she kneeled to his height. "And you must be Harry, right?"
Harry nodded and said "Yes Ma'am. I am Harry Potter. It is nice to meet you." He held out his small hand.
"Oh my, what a polite young man." chucked Lusamine and gently shook Harry's hand. She then looked at her kids who got the hint.
"Hello Harry, I am Gladion" "And I am L-Lillie" greeted the two and Harry also shook their hands.
"Nice to meet you. Do you want to play with me?" asked the young wizard, which got him two enthusiastic nods, and off they were.
Remus and Lusamine sat down on a nearby bench to keep an eye on the kids where they talked about everything and nothing.
The kids had a blast. They began by playing tag, and after that, they kicked a ball around until Lillie complained that her feet hurt. Gadion suggested the swings where Harry volunteered to push Lillie.
A few trips down the slides later, the three were doing rounds on the roundabout before they finally settled on playing in the large sandbox with the small shovels Harry brought with him.
At some point, a sudden gust blew away Lillie's sunhat. The girl shrieked loudly and wanted to run after her hat, but before she could even get up, a large raven swooped down from a nearby tree and caught the hat in its talons.
It then quickly glided down and gently placed the hat back on Lillie's head before it settled on Harry's left shoulder, much to the siblings' surprise. Before they could ask, a beautiful snowy owl dived down and landed on Harry's right shoulder.
Lusamine saw this from a distance and wanted to shoo away the birds but Remus gently held her back. "It's alright, they are Harry's birds"
Harry meanwhile laughed when Hedwig and Hartwig nuzzled him. After they got their snuggles, the two birds looked at the Aether siblings.
"Oh yeah, these are Hedwig" 'Hoot' "And Hartwig" 'Krah' "They are my birds. Guys, these are Lillie and Gladion, they are my new friends."
The birds softened their gazes and hopped down from Harry's shoulder to greet the new humans.
"You are really cool," said Gladion while Hartwig gently pecked at his fingers.
"I've never seen such a beautiful owl," praised Lillie who gently ran her fingers through Hedwig's feathers.
"Do you have any other pets as well?" wondered Gladion.
"I also have a Snake who is called Basilisk. I wanted to bring him but Uncle Moony forbade me from doing so" grumbled Harry.
Lillie shuddered at the mention of a snake but Gladion looked interested.
"We both have a dog," said Gladion and reached into his pocket. He showed Harry a picture with the two siblings who each had a dog next to them.
Gladion pointed at the pure grey Husky, "This is mine, he is called Silvally," then he pointed to the white Shiba Inu "And this is Lillies."
"I call her Snowy because of her snow-white fur," she said with a smile.
"Cool! They look awesome! All we have at home is Paddy the mutt" said Harry.
Far away in Grimmauld Place, Sirius had to sneeze violently.
The three kids spent more time talking about their pets and had overall a great afternoon, which only got better when they went to a nice family diner for dinner. They promised to become pen pals and Harry impressed them by revealing that Hedwig and Hartwig were Post Birds that could and would deliver letters between them. When the siblings asked how the birds could find them, Harry just winked and refused to say anything more about it.
Four Months later, mid-July 1997
Lusamine had invited Remus to her house for a dinner date. Since the playdate between the children the two had officially begun dating, which included all the typical relationship stuff except bedroom fun (for now).
And of course, they would sometimes crash at each other's place. Whenever that was the case, Remus hastily called home for Andromeda to lock Sirius in his room and get Tonks out of the house. There were a few close calls but so far, Lusamine didn't witness even a speck of magic.
But that would change today. The last Fullmoon was a week ago so Remus was full of energy again and he was prepared to ask Lusamine a very important question.
He arrived perfectly on time at the huge mansion of the Aether family where Hobbes opened the door for him.
"Master Remus, I wish you a nice evening. I hope you had no troubles on your way here?"
"Good evening Hobbes. Everything was fine" replied Remus. Apparation did have its perks.
"I am glad. Please come in, I will guide you to the dining room."
Remus followed the dutiful butler into the luxurious dining room where a candlelight dinner was already prepared. Hobbes guided Remus to his seat and then said "Mistress Lusamine insisted on preparing tonight's dinner all by herself. So I will take my leave now to watch the young Master and Mistress. I wish you a nice evening."
And with that he took his leave, leaving Remus all alone. But not for long, because Lusamine practically floated into the dining room in an elegant evening dress.
"Remus!" she called with sparkling eyes. The Werewolf stood up and hugged his girlfriend, who pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I hope you're hungry love, I went all out for this"
Remus laughed and pressed her closer to him for a second and replied "I am starving and can't wait."
This caused Lusamine to smile beautifully and she quickly disappeared into the kitchen.
They enjoyed a full three-course meal together, starting with a seafood salad, followed by Wagyu-Steak, perfectly medium, and for dessert, they had the best Crème Brûlée Remus ever tasted.
After the meal, Lusamine served tea in the sitting room where the two enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the mansion.
Remus then took a deep breath and began. "Lusamine, there is something very important I want to ask you, but before that, I have something very important to tell you."
Lusamine had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to ask her, and her answer was already prepared and approved by her kids, but she had no idea what he might want to tell her before that, so she gave him her full attention.
"Ok so, I'll keep it as short as I can. I am a wizard. Magic is real and there is a whole hidden society of witches, wizards, and all kinds of mythological creatures you read about in fairy tales."
Lusamine's eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates and she opened her mouth to say something but Remus stopped her by reaching into his pocket.
"I know it's hard to believe but let me show you," he drew his wand and swiftly transformed an empty chair into a pig, which he then let float before transforming it back.
"Oh my god" whispered Lusamine in shock. Her eyes were fixated on the chair like it would explode at any moment before they shot back at Remus, who smiled softly.
"We normally have to keep this a secret for reasons nobody really understands. But when we marry someone without magic, a muggle as we call them, we are allowed to tell them"
Lusamine now had a few tears in her eyes but before she could say anything, Remus continued "Before I ask you the most important question of my life there is one last thing you should know. I suffer from lycanthropy. You probably can't work with that. That means that I'm a Werewolf"
Lusamine froze. "Wait, so you can do magic and are a Wolfman?"
"Yes," replied Remus. He then gingerly reached for Lusamine's hand and gently pulled her to her feet.
He went down on one knee and pulled out a small box. With a click, it opened and revealed a white gold ring with a black pearl on top of it.
"Lusamine Aether, you are an amazing woman. You let me feel things I never felt before, you make me happier than I have ever been. I know that I just dumped a lot of information on you, and be sure that I don't intend to replace your late husband, but still, I want to ask you, will you marry me, even though I become a bloodthirsty monster once a month?"
Tears of joy were flowing freely from her eyes. She looked at Remus with warm eyes, then at the ring, then back at him.
Remus started to grow worried, why wasn't she saying anything? And why was she crying?
But his answer came quickly, in the form of Lusamine tackling him to the ground and showering his face with kisses. "Yes yes yes yes YES! ALL THE TIME YES! So what about you becoming a bloodthirsty monster once a month? So do I!"
Remus gave a shocked look and Lusamine quickly caught on "You think I'm a vampire? Bullshit, I meant my PMS, they hurt like a bitch! Now give me my ring!"
Laughing, he slipped the ring on her left ring finger, which earned him another round of kisses. A round of kisses that lead to a night of passion-filled love.
A few days later
Remus had stayed at Aether mansion for the last few days, to explain to Gladion and Lillie that he would become a part of their family (which they were more than fine with) and also explain the concept of magic to them.
Of course, one of the first things Gladion asked was "Is Harry a wizard as well?" to which Remus replied with a simple yes.
Lillie on the other hand smirked smugly. When her mother asked her why, she answered that she always had a feeling that Remus was someone special.
Anyway, it was now time to introduce the Tonks (and Sirius) to the Aether family, so the four of them prepared for the trip to Grimmauld Place. Hobbes of course drove them. On the way there, Remus pulled out his two-way mirror to contact Andi to prepare for their arrival.
After the two-hour drive to Grimmauld Place, the five got out of the car. "Here we are. I have to warn you, while Harry is rather normal, the others are, uhm, rather special."
Lusamine smiled and pressed a light kiss on his lips, which caused Gladion and Lillie to make a face. Laughing she said, "Stop being so worried darling, what's the worst that could happen?"
Remus chuckled nervously and led them to the front door. He rang the bell and waited the appropriate five seconds before unlocking the door and entering.
And oh, it was worse than he feared. A large black dog was furiously wrestling with a giant green snake that was wrapped around him while a young woman whose hair switched colours was desperately trying to pull them apart.
On the side stood a pair that looked slightly older than Remus and between them stood Harry who was nearly collapsing from laughter.
The woman then looked down at Harry and said "Harry, nobody blames Basiliks for being angry at Padfoot for eating his lunch but we expect visitors in a few minutes so please."
Harry chuckled one last time before he said "Alright Granny."
And then, to the shock of the present muggles, he hissed loudly which sounded strangely like a real snake, and indeed, the green snake loosened its grip and slithered to Harry's side.
The young woman grabbed the dog by its collar and dragged it off. It was now that the only other man in the room noticed the visitors.
Ted smiled politely and walked to them "Remus, there you are" he looked at Lusamine "And this must be your fiancee. Ted Tonks, it is a pleasure to finally meet you"
Lusamine answered "The pleasure is all mine, Ted. Uhm, pardon my curiosity but what was that?"
Harry now piped in "That was nothing, just Padfoot being a bit too greedy."
After the first round of introductions was done, Tonks returned together with Sirius, who rubbed a new bruise on his arm.
Sirius, being the lunatic he was, had quietly decided to lay it on thick before crashing it.
With purpose and pride, he walked up to Lusamine and looked at her with intense gray eyes.
"Lord Sirius Orion Black the third, Black of Blacks and Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black."
He extended his right hand with his Lord Ring in full display. It took a moment for Lusamine to realize what he expected her to do, but before she (or Remus) could explode, Sirius couldn't hold it in anymore.
He snorted in laughter and yelled out "You should have seen your faces! Merlins' beard, this was my best one in ages! Just call me Sirius or whatever you want. Welcome to Grimmauld Place, please, won't you have a seat?"
He led everyone to the sitting room where tea and biscuits prepared by Dobby were already waiting for them.
While they all followed Sirius, Remus send him a glare that quite clearly said "I will fucking end you for this!".
In the sitting room, they all enjoyed the tea and after a few minutes, the kids started to become more and more unsettled, so they got sent off to play in Harry's room.
The adults continued their talk, which was mostly answering Lusamine's and Hobbe's questions.
"So you two are cousins?" asked Lusamine while pointing at Andromeda and Sirius.
"Yep. I am the eldest of the main line which is why inherited the title of Lord Black. Andi is the second oldest of one of the sidelines. Let's see, in the order of precedence, Andi is number two to inherit the Lord, or in her case the Ladyship."
"And the one before her?" asked Hobbes.
"My first and only heir is Harry as my Godson. Then comes Andi, then her younger sister Narcissa, then Tonks over there, and after that, it starts to get weird so don't worry about that."
"And the eldest sister of Andromeda?"
"In prison and banished from the family."
Lusamine nodded in understanding and asked her next question "Is the reason that Nymphadora can change her hair colour some magic spell?"
Tonks answered "Please just call me Tonks, I don't appreciate my first name too much," this got a tired sigh from Andromeda, but Tonks ignored it. "To answer your question, I am a Metamorphmagus, which means I can change my appearance at will."
She showed this by changing the length and colour of her hair, as well as changing the shape of her face and even shortening her arms for good measure, much to the amazement of Lusamine and Hobbes.
Their peaceful tea talk continued for about half an hour, where Lusamine learned how Remus and Sirius were best friends at school together with Harry's father, they also told her how exactly the situation with Harry being so young came to be and what led to Tonks adopting him and so on.
Before Lusamine could ask another question, Sirius asked her one. "By the way Lusamine, could it be that you also have magical blood?"
Lusamine looked at him in shock, "W-what?"
"You smell a bit magical. And no offence, but your beauty is certainly far above natural levels so I am curious."
"Uhm, I don't know" began Lusamine. She grabbed one of her long blonde locks and began to play with it, now suddenly feeling very nervous. Remus noticed this and took her other hand to calm her down, which worked to some degree. While he would have asked with a bit more tact, he had to admit that he was curious as well.
Sirius leaned forward in his seat, his steel gray eyes practically burning into Lusamine's. "Let's see, you possess otherworldly beauty, which means you either have Veela, Vampire, or Siren blood. We can scratch Vampire, cause no matter how thinned out it is, they can't survive in sunlight.
That leaves Veela or Siren. A Veela will always possess an allure that makes the men in their vicinity act like idiots to impress them. They also always have silver blonde hair and blue eyes, you have neither.
Which means, you must have some Siren blood in you. Sirens can match the beauty of Veela, but they don't have a fixed appearance"
"This is crazy Sirius! It's been ages since the last Siren was seen!" called Ted in confusion.
"Is it? It's quite easy to test. Lusamine, please give us an order. Of any kind."
"Uhm, ok? Stand up and do jumping jacks!"
A second after she said that, everyone in the room twitched for a moment except Hobbes, who jumped to his feet and did as instructed.
"See? Magic in her voice, you all felt it! But if you're still not convinced, we can go to Gringotts to do an inheritance test" said Sirius smugly.
Lusamine agreed to do that test but then a new question shot into her head. "Wait a moment, Sirius, you said I smelled magical. What did you mean by that?"
Sirius grinned and opened his mouth, but then a loud creak caught everyone's attention. They looked towards the ceiling where the creak came from and suddenly it burst open.
From the new hole in the ceiling, something massive fell down with a roar, together with two loud, gleeful squeals.
Dust and debris got kicked up and it took a minute for it to settle. And then they all saw it, in the middle of the room, surrounded by broken boards and debris, was a huge crocodile, who had a pair of loudly laughing siblings on its back.
This was it for Lusamine. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" she screamed in a mixture of shock and being fed up with this magical weirdness.
The crocodile and the kids looked at her and then at each other. For a few seconds, nobody moved, but suddenly the crocodile transformed into Harry, who yelled "THE FEDS, LETS BOOK IT!"
Fast as lightning, he grabbed Lillie's legs while Gladion grabbed her arms. Then the two boys fled the room as fast as they could while carrying Lillie.
For a minute or so, the silence was deafening, until the sound of the front door clicking shut was heard. "I'll get them," said Tonks and quickly ran out.
Sirius on the other hand coughed into his fist, "Erm yes, you see, I am an Animagus. That means I can transform into one specific animal whenever I want. Together with Harry's father and another former friend, I learned this ability to accompany Remus during the Fullmoon, since a Werewolf normally won't attack other animals. My form is a black dog."
He quickly transformed into Padfoot, ran around the room two times, and then transformed back. "Remus and I taught Harry how to do this as well and his form is a giant crocodile, a Purussaurus to be more precise."
"Fascinating" whispered Lusamine.
The adults continued their talk for a while until suddenly the front door flew open.
"YOU'LL NEVER GET US ALIVE!" yelled Harry.
"Harry, that's enough now!" screamed Tonks.
"JUST TRY TO CATCH US!" came Gladion's voice.
Everyone looked towards the hallway. Harry and Gladion were still carrying Lillie, who was cackling loudly. Hot on their heels was Tonks, her hair now fire red.
"QUICK, GET THE GOODS TO THE BOSS AND GET AWAY!" instructed Gladion.
Harry nodded and the two boys made a bee-line towards Sirius. They came to a screeching halt, threw Lillie in Sirius' arms, and then jumped out of a window.
"Lillie, is everything alright?" asked Lusamine concerned after she saw how Tonks dove after the two boys.
Lillie was still laughing and jumped down from Sirius' lap. "Yes, Mum! But I have to help the others against the feds!"
With those words she took off, but instead of jumping out of the window as well, she opened the front door to get outside.
Lusamine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is this now my new normal?" she moaned tiredly.
Remus softly patted her back with a chuckle, "No, I think they just got really excited because Harry could now show them Chompy."
The introduction of the Aether family to magic then remained peaceful. Until it was time for dinner and Sirius went outside to tell the kids and Tonks. Only to soil his pants from laughing so much after he saw that the three children managed to tie Tonks to a tree.
Two days later, Gringotts
Sirius, Remus, Lusamine, and her kids entered the famous wizard bank. The three blondes already got an explanation about Goblins and their customs. Sirius went to a teller and requested a meeting with his personal Account Manager for an inheritance test.
On the way to the office, Sirius said "Fair warning, my Account Manager has a unique name. Please don't laugh, ok?"
"Uhm, ok?" replied Lusamine.
Sirius nodded and soon they reached the office. The teller knocked and after a short grunt, he opened the door and motioned for the humans to enter.
"Good afternoon Lord Black." greeted the Goblin behind a large oak desk.
"Tactical retreat, it is good to see you" replied Sirius.
Lusamine had to bite her tongue to not laugh, she now understood what Sirius meant earlier.
TacticalRetreat nodded at Sirius and asked everyone to take a seat.
"So Lord Black, you asked for an inheritance test for your friend, correct?"
"Yes. We suspect that Lusamine here is of Siren blood and her children therefore as well."
TacticalRetreat nodded and wrote something on a piece of paper. He then threw the paper into an opening on a desk and suddenly, a small door in the desk flew open, and something that looked like a raccoon raced out of it with the paper in its mouth.
"A Tanuki. They love to run and be helpful. We use them as our in-house messengers." explained TacticalRetreat after he saw the confused look some of the humans had.
Five minutes later, a young Goblin hurried into the office with a device in its hands that looked suspiciously like a Coffee maker. Carefully he placed it on the desk and bowed to TacticalRetreat.
"Thank you very much RockEar. You may leave" said TacticalRetreat. The young Goblin bowed again and quickly left.
"An eager lad. Now allow me to explain. This is our J.A.V.A. Joint Ancestry Verification Apparatus. All I need from you Ma'am is a single hair and a bit of Salvia."
He opened a compartment of the device and handed a tube to Lusamine, who did as he asked. Quickly she spit into the tube and plucked one of her long hair into it.
TacticalRetreat took it back and placed it in the J.A.V.A., which started to whirr softly after he pressed a button.
"This will take a moment. It's slower than the old system, but much more precise. And it's better than having to cut open your hand, right?"
"Indeed." laughed Sirius with Remus.
After a minute or so, the J.A.V.A. was done and it printed out a long sheet of paper. TacticalRetreat took it and began reading.
"Mrs. Aether, this is a sensation! Your Great-Grandmother was a full-blooded Siren. Which means that you are one-eighth Siren. The first one ever recorded."
He looked at Lillie and Gladion "This means you two are one-sixteenth Siren. This is especially outstanding for you, young man since Sirens are normally an all-female race. I guess since the blood got so thin when it reached your mother a male baby could be born."
"And what does this mean for us? Remus told me that demihuman races have far fewer rights in this society." Asked Lusamine concerned.
"You don't have to worry. It's extremely unlikely that anyone would ever discover this. Especially since you only have very weak powers compared to pure Sirens. An allure in your voice that would only work on muggles and being sensitive to cold weather, that's it. And also, I understand that you are about to marry Mr. Lupin?"
Lusamine and Remus nodded simultaneously. "Then you have even less to worry about. Mr. Lupin is known to be a sworn ally to Lord Black and the House of Black. That makes him and his family essentially untouchable, should anyone harm him or you, they would feel the whole force of the law."
This calmed Lusamine down considerably. Lusamine and Remus asked a few more questions about magical potential, which TacticalRetreat denied. Opposed to Veela, the Siren blood was incompatible with traditional magic. When asked about potential children, the wise Goblin revealed that the union of Remus and Lusamine could birth a magical child, but it wasn't guaranteed. As a bonus, he also told them that Lycanthropy wasn't hereditary.
While they talked, Sirius busied himself with entertaining the kids, who loved Padfoot.
The year 2000
Remus and Lusamine finally tied the knot and married in June 2000. The ceremony was purely muggle. Gladion was the ringbearer and Lillie was the flower girl.
Of course, a few Witches and Wizards were in appearance to make the marriage official in the wizarding world. This included most of Remus' and Sirius' old friends from school, as well as Harry's friends. R.E.D. nearly had a meltdown when they saw Lillie, the result was a brain-fried Daphne who just stood there staring holes into the air for half an hour.
Sirius then spent a small fortune to install a floo in Ather Manor which was connected to only Grimmauld Place. He also invested in special floo powder which would allow muggles to use the floo.
Lillie and Gladion never developed magic, but they were fine with it. They had tons of fun whenever they met with Harry. Sometimes he took them with him to Hogwarts. Poor Blaise always took the brunt of their collective mischief.
Remus moved into Aether Manor. He did his best to not be a full father replacement, but after two years of marriage, Gladion and Lillie started calling him "Dad" and never stopped it, so there wasn't much he could do except his best.
After some long discussions, he and Lusamine decided to try and have a child together, something they managed in 2001. Edward Mohn Lupin was the new sunshine of the family. Once the little rascal started to walk, he immediately got included in Harry's and Gladion's pranking sprees.
One nice summer evening in 2004 saw Remus and Sirius sitting on the porch of Aether Mansion. With fond smiles, they watched how Harry and Gladion, now 14 and 15 respectively, taught little Teddy, now three, how to kick a ball, while Lillie, 13, stood nearby to keep an eye on her brothers and cousin.
"You know Moony" began Sirius and took a swig from his beer bottle, "This really is the best life. To you old chap, you deserve this."
Remus smiled and toasted with his best friend "We both deserve this. And thank you for aiding me wherever you could."
"Anything for you. By the way"
"Yes?"
"Who was better? Tonks or Lusamine?"
And this question once more ensured that Sirius got a hook to the liver. Repeatedly.
The end
Wow, this went on and on and on lol.
Hope you liked it, let me know in the comments.
Till next time.
Bye :D