Chapter Eighteen
A Game of Choice
When Lunette and Bres showed up at the Black Mansion, Zoe simply shrugged and let them in.
"Your room's in the same place it was last time you stayed here. Just don't forget this house is dry… I know how you are, Lunette, and Bres, Fairy Nip isn't allowed either. No night shift donuts in the house. If you want to go out and have a good time, have fun, you even have Dad's blessing, but not in the house," Zoe said.
"Yes, I know! Give me a break, Zoe, I didn't get this kind of treatment when we stayed here our first weekend," Lunette said.
"My parents were very glad to see you after five years and they trust you, but this isn't about you," Zoe told them, walking them upstairs. "My father hasn't had a drop since he got back from visiting from Aepheri and we want to keep it that way."
"Ever been tempted?" Lunette asked curiously.
"Yes, and he's always spoken up when he is. So please be good and take your Dark Fae substance habits out of this house, okay?" Zoe told them.
"We were going to cut back anyway," Bres offered.
"I found out that I've become allergic to human wine because of my pregnancy. Maybe it's all the sulfites," Lunette grumbled. "But Dark Faes actually do have a need for fermented drinks due to adaptation…"
"That is quite true," Bres admitted.
"I would try the Pannage, but if you get desperate and run out of options around here, you can always try the Ninety in Polaris Town. They always keep a selection of Fae friendly cocktails and wines for the locals," Zoe suggested. "Why did you come back now all of a sudden anyway, especially since you could have come back with them when they picked up Samantha? Did Aunt Jennifer start getting on your nerves?"
"How did you guess?" Lunette said dryly. Zoe grinned.
"Just don't forget she means well. She only pokes in because she cares about you… same with Uncle Severus when he gets involved," Zoe said.
"Severus hasn't paid any attention to us, and personally, I don't think he'd ever butt into our lives like Jennifer does. She's a lot more intrusive than he is," Lunette protested. Zoe's gaze shifted over to Bres.
"Are you still planning to work at Hogwarts in the fall, Bres?" Zoe asked.
"Yes," Bres agreed.
"Then good luck with keeping him out of it," Zoe said bluntly. "You think Jennifer's bad? At least you know when she's interfering. Uncle Severus will interfere in your life without you even knowing about it. Feel free to raid the kitchen anytime! I'm going to go see what sort of mischief Aubrey Lynn is up to," she added, then left them to their own devices.
"I don't want Severus interfering in our lives either," Lunette grumbled as they went back into their rooms. "But I do need advice, and now that Albus and the others have gone back to the Otherworld, there's only one place I can go. The moment we're unpacked, I'm going to go talk to Toby."
"You are? Do you think he can help you find your father?" Bres asked curiously.
"All I know is that he's my best option right now, because I have no more interest in talking to Viviane about it than I am talking to Jennifer," Lunette said firmly. "If anyone's willing to help me without trying to take away my right to Free Will, it'll be him."
Toby's Trinkets was unusually empty, making Lunette pause to read the handwritten sign that read: "OPEN TO ANYONE I HAVEN'T THROWN OUT" in large, flourishing letters.
Lunette came in, and Halcyon greeted her warmly. Toby looked up from a journal he was writing in with a smile.
"Ah, there you are," Toby said.
"I like your sign. Subtle," Lunette commented.
"Yes, well, there are times when ambiguity is necessary, but now isn't one of those times," Toby said curtly. "I am terribly sorry you got drawn into one of Viviane's power plays like that."
"Yes, I'm sorry too," Lunette said dryly but then glanced at the ring and shrugged. "I guess I don't mind the ring itself, especially when Bres and I have been spending a lot of time apart lately. But just because I accept the part of Fate that pushed us together, that doesn't mean I want it dictating the rest of my life! I thought that one of the advantages to coming home was to make my own decisions, so why do I feel like my Fate's more stifling here than it was in the Otherworld… and you know how stifling Fate is there!"
"Oh, I know, I know," Toby sympathized somberly.
"Well, I'm grateful for meeting Bres, and I chose to marry him, just like I chose to honor my obligations to my grandfather and their desperate need for peace and restoration. But this isn't Tir Na Nog, and I want to look for my father in my own way… because I choose to, not because I want to follow my Fate or anything. I'm tired of people butting into my lives that think they know what's best for me. I want to make decisions for myself," Lunette said firmly.
"I completely understand," Toby said sincerely. "How can I help?"
"I don't know," Lunette said flatly. "All I know is that I'm not getting anywhere."
"I see. Care for some tea?" Toby suggested.
"I might as well. Thank you," Lunette said.
"Have a seat," Toby said, and Lunette pulled a stool up to the counter and sat down as he poured them some tea. "You know, Lunette, when Kor Rigbarn first came to discuss territorial boundaries with King Iuchar, I wondered how that would go. They both had mutual benefit to becoming allies, but Rigbarn's claim to his kingdom went back generations, and he didn't originally plan to step aside and offer his fealty to the elf who inherited the Unseelie Court by way of simply being the last Fae standing. To see them, it was literally like night and day; Rigbarn is intellectual, shrewd, cunning and reserved. Iuchar still has the animated larger-than-life personality of a grandson of Danu, cursed and cast out into the Dark Faeries. Lugh must have known Iuchar fled his trial, but Lugh believed that being banished to the Unseelie Court was a fate worse than death. He probably saw it as a fitting end to the last living brother who had aided the murder of his father."
Lunette,who had heard the story many times before, simply prepared her tea.
"Forced into hiding after the death of his older brother and his twin, your grandfather decided that the best way to get even with Lugh was by producing an heir among the Unseelie that matched Lugh in power. Lugh was Half-Formorian and was more than a match against a True Danaan. In the interests of war, it became quite popular to intermarry… in fact, the king that your husband was named after was also half Fomorian and half Danaan," Toby added.
"Yes, my Grandfather told me," Lunette acknowledged, sipping her tea. "My grandfather took to seducing, tricking, and coercing quite a number of Unseelie Fae women in the hope of producing the heir he wanted… and none of them in ways I approve of."
"Don't interrupt the story to try to make a modern observation. Like it or not, it was common behavior in those days. Context matters for something, you know," Toby scolded her with furrowed eyebrows.
"Fine, continue," Lunette humored him with a sigh.
"Iuchar finally had success producing a son with a very powerful woman named Bronagh, Queen of the Beansidhe. She raised Irvonhar until he was a young boy, when the current King of the Unseelie, Tressach, took a liking to her and decided to make her his queen. So Bronagh took Irvonhar to Iuchar's hidden camp to get him out of the way; Tressach would have killed the boy the moment they had a son if she had attempted to keep him, so take it as you will, I suppose. By then, Iuchar had been gathering up all of the cursed Danaan and half Danaan warriors who had been condemned to the Unseelie Court no matter how severe or how petty the crime. They strengthened their forces, and Iuchar raised his son from page to squire to knight. But when the rest of the Unseelie Court began to retreat back to Tir Na Nog, Iuchar felt he had no choice but to return. Despite that, there were several Dark Fae, including Irvonhar, who chose to stay here, even though they knew that Fae domination was over. Times were changing… humans were increasing and gaining in both wizardry and technology, and all of the invading races had tired of the constant war. Reaching a tentative agreement between factions, they returned home, creating Callum's Seal out of their most precious artifacts to seal their retreat and to provide a way back if they chose to return someday."
"You were the one that manipulated the Danaan into creating Callum's Seal so that you could gain control over the portals and make certain they couldn't invade again," Lunette said flatly.
"This is the official story. It's always best to consider the official story when it comes to these sorts of tales," Toby said defensively. "Whether it's true or not is inconsequential."
"I'm not going to argue with you when I came to ask for help, although I don't know why
you're repeating this story to me," Lunette replied. "Since my grandfather was the uncontested King of the Unseelie Court after Lilith died, I can only assume that my grandmother, her new king, and their descendents came to a pretty bad end when they arrived home, likely thanks to the demons."
"I doubt you want to hear the details, but yes. The time difference played tricks with those who had attempted to migrate to this world; they had lived a generation here, but nowhere near as much time had passed in Tir Na Nog. They returned wartorn and weary back through the portals to their homelands. The Danaan returned through the portal where Viviane took up residence to find their home safe but reorganised for defense. The Unseelie returned to a nightmare. Since most of the Dark Fae born when the diamond shattered became the playthings of the demons, the Unseelie faced a demon horde a great deal larger than they anticipated. Lilith, of course, had been quite delighted by their return and used them to validate her position, allowing the host to torture and kill the queen and take her place. But your grandfather and his band of warriors had taken a different portal than the Host had taken. He had led them through a portal near the sea, where he was hoping strategically to establish himself as a lord. By then, Lugh and his descendants had fallen to wars, so Iuchar was in the position of having all of the other races against him despite no longer having a clear enemy. His only choice was to keep strengthening his position in the hopes of finally having an opportunity to end their insufferable isolation. Iuchar and his warriors' isolation lasted until we arrived in Tir Na Nog. It was because of us… because of me being captured by the demons, Andrew's victory, and your Fated reunification with your grandfather… that led Iuchar to the throne. But then, when Kon Rigbarn would only give his fealty and his permission to intermarry with his people was if Rigbarn's descendents were in line to the throne, you stepped in, and Iuchar's pathway became clear at last. The only thing that gnaws on Iuchar now was what happened to his son Irvonhar, and the only one who can find out for him is you."
"Which brings us to now, where I'm sitting here wondering why you just repeated to me a story when I knew most of it already," Lunette concluded impatiently.
"Because context matters. Your heritage matters. Even if your mother raised you as a human and barely acknowledged him, that doesn't give you the right to treat him with the same indifference. He is the Heir of Danu, for Danu's sake… even if he pretends to be human to survive day after day…year after year… century after century… it doesn't change his true identity. If you're at the Black Mansion because Jennifer lost her patience with your treatment of him, I don't blame her in the slightest!"
"How the hell do you know about that? I thought you weren't speaking to the Snapes," Lunette snapped, growing rather red.
"You are correct, I am not speaking to them, but I know Jennifer well enough to know how she'd feel about such an estrangement. I also understand why the two of you have been coming to blows since you've returned, but I'll leave you to sort that out yourself… or not sort it out, the choice is yours. As long as you honor your husband's choice to listen to her guidance even if you don't, I have absolutely no intention in getting involved. It's really none of my affair anyway. You came to me for advice as to how to go about finding your father by Free Will methods and not Fate methods, and I have every intention of advising you. But choosing to act by your own Free Will doesn't mean that everyone else around doesn't have their own choices to make, and those choices can influence yours whether you like it or not," Toby said sternly.
"Yes, I know that," Lunette acknowledged with a sigh.
"Then the first thing you need to find out is what your father's choice is… in other words, is he even willing to connect with his estranged child at all, especially under the current circumstances," Toby said.
"How do you expect me to find out what choices he's made when I don't even know where he is?" Lunette asked.
"Let's pretend for a moment that your father has a very famous daughter who is constantly in the news in some form on two continents. Her comings and goings are common knowledge," Toby said, gesturing over to a newsstand that conveniently appeared. It not only had the Daily Prophet and the Wizard Weekly, but several New York Wizard papers and the San Francisco Sorcerer. "Not only did they blast your retirement to the Otherworld when it happened, they were quick to print your surprise marriage. And this is just the newsprint, it doesn't cover the fact that it was mentioned on the radio, WizT.V., and the Wiznet. If you are in wizard circles and you don't show up for an important event, there's speculation on the reasons why you're attempting to hide your husband from the opposing party's press…"
"What? When did they say that?" Lunette exclaimed heatedly.
"Not the point, that article was put there just to instigate you," Toby pointed out, and Lunette made a face. "The point is that I have a very hard time believing that your father isn't keeping track of you through those media outlets. It'd be hard to avoid, and being his own flesh and blood, he wouldn't be able to help but satisfy his curiosity about what you're up to. It's what he chooses to do with that knowledge that's important. In other words, is he using this knowledge simply to stay connected with how you're doing, or is he using it to actively avoid you? We know it can't be the third choice; to get in touch with you. If it was, he'd have easily tracked you down by now."
"Or he could be going out of his way to ignore it… or he could be dead," Lunette proposed. Toby furrowed his brows.
"No matter how anxious you may be about seeing your father again, that's no reason to wish the poor elf dead," Toby scolded her.
"I was just saying it's a possibility!" Lunette blurted out.
"Let's assume he's alive and paying attention to the media for the moment," Toby said evenly. "What I suggest is to take out a very large advertisement in every newspaper you're associated with that you're looking to get in touch with your father. Buy an ad on the radio, put up something on the Wizardnet, or whatever else you can think of and give him a safe neutral way of contacting you. Put a time limit on the end, such as, 'if you don't contact me within two weeks, I'll assume you do not want to be in touch. Hoping for the best, your daughter… or something to that effect.'" Toby suggested. "That way, if he does choose to contact you, you won't have to waste all of that time tracking him down. If he doesn't want contact, then you'll have to choose whether you're willing to step on his personal liberties to track him down anyway or not."
"I'm doing this for my grandfather's benefit, not mine. Maybe I should put that in there as well?"
"I wouldn't, if I were you. If he is avoiding you, it'd only give him another reason to try harder," Toby said.
"Good point. Alright, I'll try it," Lunette decided, then glanced around. "Anything in here that might help me as well?"
"I can think of one thing," Toby said, pointing over to a small stack of games. "A copy of Trial and Error. Ever heard of it?"
"Heard of it, yes. I've even seen people play it from time to time, but I've never played it myself… to be honest, I never had the time before I retired, and you know what I've been doing since then," Lunette chuckled. "It's a morality game, right?"
"It's whatever you need it to be, really," Toby shrugged. "Its main purpose is to help people make their own choices…by challenging you to work out your decisions in trying circumstances, whether it's caused by your previous decisions, by other people's decisions, or one of Fate's unexpected interventions."
"I'll take it," Lunette said, finishing her tea.
"Good! Then I'll make just one recommendation; that you first play the game with others to get your feet wet on how the game works. Anna may be the best choice in this case, along with anyone else in the mansion who wants to play. Even Bres might be interested as curious as he is," Toby suggested.
"Alright, I'll make it a family game night out of it," Lunette agreed, bringing over one of the games and putting some coins in.
"Feel free to come to me for advice anytime you like," Toby said with a smile. "Because I am not going anywhere."
When Bres went to the museum the next day, Lunette got to work composing an advertisement and getting Ron Weasley to help her edit it and ready for the paper. After going to the Daily Prophet she took it to Wizardday, then visited both of the radio stations before meeting him at the museum at the end of his shift.
The day after that, she went to New York and met up with Lucky to help her coordinate her efforts there, and then went to San Francisco to get things moving there.
By the time she got back to the Black Mansion, Sirius and Anna had returned from their trip. She arrived as they were getting ready for dinner, greeting them warmly. Bres, Samantha, Anna, Sirius, and Zack put out glasses and plates and carried in plates of vegetables, rolls, and chicken.
"Great, you're just in time for a celebratory dinner!"Sirius said.
"I had a late breakfast. What are we celebrating?" Lunette protested with a laugh.
"It was Bres' last day of his summer job," Zack explained.
"Yes, but Ambrose is going to keep the exhibit I made as a permanent exhibit," Bres explained.
"That's great," Lunette said with a smile. "Maybe just a coffee, then I'll wait for dessert," Lunette said.
"Good plan. We're exposing Bres to green apple gelatin with jelly bats floating in it," Sirius explained.
"Sounds appetizing," Lunette said sarcastically. "But I'll try it anyway."
"I love a good sport," Sirius said.
"So how did things go in New York? We saw your advertisement," Anna said.
"Everything's set up, at least. I haven't heard anything yet, but I really wasn't expecting to right away either," Lunette admitted.
"Think it'll work?" Sirius asked.
"It depends on if he wants to see me or not," Lunette said with a shrug. "Toby seemed pretty sure that my father would probably hear that I was looking for him. He seemed convinced that he was keeping an eye on me. By doing it this way, I can find out how hesitant he is to talk to me," Lunette explained.
"That's true, but what are you going to do if he takes it the wrong way or he's trying to avoid you?" Sirius wondered.
"I don't know yet. Maybe someone he knows sends an Owl," Lunette said optimistically. "When I asked Toby if he had anything else in his shop that would help me, he sold me one of those Trial and Error games and suggested I play it with several people my first time," Lunette said.
"Great idea! Let's play after we put Sam to bed," Sirius suggested. "All four of us, right, Bres?"
"Oh, but Zack invited me to go to the castle…" Bres pointed out.
"It's fine, Bres, you'll have more fun here playing that game than following me around while I do preterm welfare checks on the ghosts, trust me," Zack said. "I should be concentrating on my clients anyhow."
"I see, then I shall take your advice and stay and play the game too," Bres agreed.
"Does your culture have many games, Bres?" Anna asked curiously.
"A fair number," Bres replied. "As a court scholar, I had access to many intellectual games."
"Trial and Error is definitely an intellectual game," Anna assured him.
"Then I am intrigued," Bres said.
He was also intrigued by the wobbly gummy-filled gelatin placed in front of him.
Sirius unfolded a side table to put a pot of tanna on as they cleared off the wooden table in the dining room.
"Why do you call it a dining room table if you always eat in the kitchen?" Bres asked.
"Hush, you," Sirius said. "With this game, it's better to go with a bigger table with less permanent tot food stains on it."
"Here's the game, although I don't know why we can't use yours," Lunette said.
"It's kind of like Wizard Chess; after a while, these sets start to favor their owners," Sirius explained.
Lunette opened the box and Anna and Sirius grabbed one of the decks, then Lunette and Bres got one as well and Anna got the box out of the way.
"Alright, so how does this start?"Lunette asked.
"Turn over the first card and put it in front of you like so,"Anna said, turning over the ace of hearts. "I guess I go first."
"Second," Sirius declared with the spade.
"Diamond," Lunette said.
"Whatever this is," Bres said, turning it over.
"That's a club. It means you go last,which works well since it just means we go clockwise," Sirius said. It also will give you more time to figure out what's going on "
"That sounds like a good idea," Bres said.
"Where did the box go? I want to look over the rules," Lunette said.
"Yeah, those change, so we're better off just playing," Sirius said. "Any house rules, Anna?"
"No, let's keep it simple. The only house rule is everyone has to read their cards out loud since there's a Truth Seeker playing,"Anna said.
"Why, what's the normal rule?" Lunette asked.
"Normally you're allowed to keep what your question is to yourself, but every time we've played with Jennifer or Rel, we noticed that just makes them even nosier about what we are trying to hide, so we don't do that any more," Anna explained, then drew a card.
"Your husband wants to take your daughter to the park tomorrow for some quality family time. If you'd rather check in at the Ministry, go left; if you want to bring the frisbee, go right," she read, then gave Sirius a dirty look. He gave her a tight-lipped smile in return. "You're just lucky I know you couldn't have rigged that," Anna said, putting the card on the right. Sirius slid a card out.
"If you want to go to Wizard Highlands park, go right. If you want to go to Wisecraft, go down," he read, immediately putting the card below his spade.
"Seriously? You want to go all the way to Wisecraft?" Anna said dubiously.
"Wizard Highlands makes us take a leash," Sirius said indignantly. The two of them burst out laughing and Lunette joined in, while Bres smiled unsurely. "Your turn, Lunette."
"I'm nervous now," Lunette said.
"It won't give you a hard one when it's your first game," Anna reassured her, and Lunette pulled out a card.
"If you'd rather drink tanna, set this to the left of your starting card. If you'd rather drink coffee, set this card below your starting card. You're right, that is easy. And is it just me, or did it give me clearer instructions?" Lunette observed, setting the card below the first one.
"It did. The game adapts to your play level," Sirius agreed. Curiously, Bres turned his card over.
"It is written in Delvish," he said, even more surprised. "If I want a boy, place the card on the right. If I want a girl, go left," he read, then put it left. "You're right, that was easy."
"Wait, you want a girl? But your father and my grandfather want a male heir," Lunette said in surprise.
"Which gives us a reason to try again," Bres reasoned strategically, and Lunette grew really, really red. "Besides, I have had much more practice with little girls since we arrived here.."
"He's turning into a good babysitter," Anna acknowledged, deciding to spend all day Tuesday getting caught up with the Ministry.
"Maybe we should invite some of the boys over. He could look after Roland and get some practice changing nappies," Sirius suggested, then glanced at his card, putting it down. "Looks like I'm running errands in Hogsmeade and registering Sam for school on Tuesday."
"Good idea," Anna said.
"Which one?" Sirius asked. "Your turn, Lunette."
Lunette, who was still squinting at Bres, reluctantly turned over the next card.
"If you want to go to the park, go left, if you want to work on extending your media to search for your father, go down. I definitely work on getting more ads out, I just have to figure out where else to place them," Lunette said, placing her card below her last one.
"Does your father only speak English and Fae?" Anna asked thoughtfully. "He could be somewhere with a different language."
"A Fae could get by anywhere using magic, just like I do," Bres pointed out.
"I was thinking of adding Paris and Polaris town to the list, as well as maybe the Villahexen's village paper, since it's fairly neutral. I wonder where the best place would be to place an ad in Australia?" Lunette pondered.
"I think adding the first three is a good idea, but the last one is pointless," Sirius offered. "If Toby believes that your father is keeping track of you, then he'd be somewhere that often reports your activities. You might want to add Canada to that, too. They have a robust wizard community and they stay up on the wizard news in our countries as well."
"Fair point," Lunette said, then saw that Bres was looking at them expectantly. "Go ahead, it's your turn, you know."
"Thank you," Bres said, then pulled the next card. "'If you want to go to the park tomorrow, put this card to the left. If you want to go shopping for your new job, put this card below the first card.' I would like to go shopping, but not until I've made certain that Lunette goes to the physician first," he said, putting the card below it. Much to his satisfaction, the script had changed by the time he put it down, adding, escort wife to the doctor just before shopping.
Lunette blinked at it, then noticed her last card had been modified, adding visiting the doctor before 'extending your media'.
"Hey! That's not fair!" she said with a short laugh.
"By the way, Sagittari sent us an Owl yesterday letting us know that his family was back and for you to come over as soon as possible. From the note he gave the impression that Jennifer called him back to check on you," Anna explained. "He helped with my pregnancy as well as Zoe and Aubrey Lynn, so he's had experience with what sort of problems can come up with strange blood mixes."
"Do you have the strange blood, or do I have the strange blood?" Sirius taunted his wife expressionlessly.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Anna said, then picked up the card and read it. "Apparently, the card wants me to answer that."
Sirius smiled knowingly at her.
"Fine, it's me," she muttered, putting the card down.
"I like this game, but how does one win?" Bres asked Lunette as Sirius struggled with "picnic" or "takeaway".
"You make the longest path you can without getting blocked in by your neighbors' cards or your own," Anna explained.
"I would feel quite silly if I got blocked in on my own," Bres said.
"It happens quite a bit. In fact, that's the end of the game if you play the solitaire version," she explained. "When you're playing by yourself, the goal is to try and best your longest run."
"Your turn, Lunette!" Sirius said, finally deciding to choose making a picnic for the park.
"'You finally find your father only to discover that he isn't at all interested in reconnecting. If you give him your grandfather's message and leave, go right. If you try to find a way to make amends, go left,'" Lunette repeated, staring at it with a frown for a long time before looking up. "I don't know. I really don't. What do I do when I don't know?" Lunette asked Anna helplessly.
"Sometimes it makes you work through it, and other times it lets you come up with a third reply," Anna explained. "Why aren't you sure?"
"I guess because I haven't looked him in the eyes yet," Lunette said. "I want to know why he doesn't want to see me before I decide whether or not to try. I suppose what I really want is a true understanding of why he feels that way before I make such an important decision."
"Sounds reasonable," Sirius commented.
"It makes sense," Anna agreed. Bres nodded solemnly as well. "Try checking your card again." Lunette looked down.
"There's a third option… 'Investigate further without jumping to conclusions,'" Lunette murmured. "I'm starting to understand why Toby recommended this. It's more of a tool than a game, isn't it?"
"It all depends on how you play it," Sirius said. "You can add some rules so that it stays fun and not serious too. It's pretty versatile, depending on what your needs are. What does your card say, Bres?" he added when he noticed that Bres already had a card in his hand.
"It is asking if I want to stay at the castle or stay here if I go to work at Hogwarts," Bres said carefully. "Perhaps it'd be better if I asked for outside opinions first."
"You mean you want our opinions too?" Sirius asked with interest.
"It is your home, after all…" Bres began, and Sirius waved him off.
"It's a big place and the two of you are as good as family. Feel free to stay anytime you're on this side of the portal," Sirius said. "I won't even throw you out if you were broke and didn't have a dozen other places to go…"
"Thank you, thank you," Lunette said dryly. Then she gazed at Bres with a resigned smile. "I already know what you want to do, Bres. You want to stay at the castle so that you can focus on learning about this world. Fortunately for you, you had the good sense to marry someone perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I've been alone more than married, and other than a bit of trepidation about how much I'll miss you when we're apart, I'll support your decision no matter what you want to do while we're here."
"You can always come back here on the weekends," Sirius offered. "In case you two want to… you know… pair up."
"Delicately put," Anna told him flatly. "Maybe a less ambiguous opinion?"
"My opinion is that anyone who gets invited to stay at Hogwarts should treat it as a rare opportunity and should accept immediately," Sirius replied sincerely. "Even if you happen to be a backup caretaker and only stay there during worst case scenarios… or because you happen to have a wife who can't get away that weekend for some reason…" he added. Anna simply sighed with exasperation and smiled slightly.
"When I first came to Hogwarts, I wasn't even allowed to stay in the castle. I had to stay in a cabin that Hogwarts owns that's out in the Dark Forest, because they didn't want Voldemort to know I had been moved for safety reasons because I didn't come into my magic until I was an adult," Anna explained. "Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster at the time, and was able to get me into the castle full time after convincing the school board that taking a semester of Muggle Studies… studying non-magic human cultures… should be a requirement for graduation. He assigned Jennifer to teach me magic, and more importantly, how to control my magic. Of course, at that point Sirius and I had an on-again-off-again relationship, with lots of fireworks thrown in…"
"Mostly caused by your magic," Sirius said defensively.
"And the fact that you and my brother were in a constant battle had nothing to do with it," Anna challenged him.
"Steer back on topic, Anna," Lunette suggested.
"I also had a dual life at that point. I crossed two continents like Lunette does… in fact, I was working with her in New York during the summer on weekends, and then coming back to Hogwarts the rest of the time," Anna explained.
"I stayed here because I had a lot of obligations helping Albus and looking after my godson Harry," Sirius added. Anna nodded to him.
"I guess I can speak to both points of view in this, because I've been in both situations," Anna explained to Bres. "Ultimately, the choice is up to you, but if I were in your position, I'd choose to stay at Hogwarts for both of your sakes and not just yours. Not only because you will be able to concentrate on your personal growth, but it also frees Lunette up to focus on her own mission without having to worry about you. It even helps your relationship because it will slow things down, and considering the two of you were rushed into it, that can only be a good thing," she added, looking over at Lunette. "I know you've been married many times before, Lunette, but believe me when I say this one is different. You may not see it now since the two of you were blindly forced together, but the more time passes, the more you'll see how different it is. Not only that, but it'll start to feel different when you're together, and it'll start to feel different when you're apart… even when you're not speaking to one another and swearing you'll never speak to one another again. Ask Severus about that one if you don't believe me," Anna said seriously, then looked back at Bres. "I know that you knew it was your destiny to marry Lunette and you accept this without question because you come from a land of Fate. But surely now that you've been exposed to a land of choice for several weeks you can plainly see that Lunette needs more time adjusting." Bres gave them a soft smile.
"Thank you all. I feel more confident in my choice now," Bres said, putting down the card that led him towards Hogwarts.
"Good," Anna said, putting down a card that questioned her sandwich preferences for the picnic, while Sirius had to decide whether or not to bring his favorite ball.
Lunette quickly found it was her turn again, wondering at the sudden anxiousness she was beginning to feel before turning the card over.
"'When Bres goes to live at Hogwarts, put the card left if you want to stay at the Black Mansion, right if you want to go to New York, or down if you want to pack for a long journal and travel wherever your path leads you,'" Lunette read.
"Ooo three options starting out, that's interesting," Sirius decided, sipping his tanna while studying the board.
"At least this one is easy… easy to answer, that is… not so easy to do," Lunette admitted. "If my father hasn't contacted me by the time Bres has to report to the school, my father isn't likely to show up here or in New York. I'll have no choice but to pack up and find him," she said, putting the card down without hesitation.
"As soon as your physician has cleared you to do so," Bres reminded her.
"Yes, I know. We'll go to see Sagittari first thing in the morning," she promised, and was relieved when the questions turned trivial for the rest of the game.