I'm back! 

My musical is in a few weeks, so I'm struggling a bit with time, people. Sorry for the wait. And I had such a bad writer's block with this chapter.

COMMENT PLEASE!

Leticia stared in absolute astonishment.

Regulus Black was handsome, but Orion Black was absolutely enthralling to look at, especially wearing a dark charcoal suit with grey details in the sleeves, silver tie looking positively proper. He looked like he had been painted on the simple and modest sofa of the Lupin household, somehow looking very comfortable and out of place at the same time.

"Lord Black, your tea," Luna said.

"Yes, thank you, Miss Lupin," he said, voice distracted as he watched the television with interest.

Remus licked his teeth under his lips in silence, watching his sister serve the man tea without hesitation before looking away and towards the television, where Leticia's chosen film was going by without anyone actually watching it. He hated how comfortable Orion looked with someone serving him without his request, and how he had given Luna a small smile, like one would to a waitress in a restaurant.

"Father, hm... Miss Lupin and I are going over there," Regulus said, nodding to the side.

Orion looked over, eyes stopping at the stairs.

"Certainly, you don't mean –"

"No, Father. Outside. We're going to the back of the house, in the sun," Regulus corrected, cheeks blushing as he frowned, looking affronted at the mere implication of his father's mind. "We'll just... be there. The door is made of glass."

Orion's eyes wandered to Remus, who didn't look away from the television, refusing to give him any signal.

"Alright," Orion said, voice hesitating. "Behave yourself, Regulus."

"Of course, Father," Regulus said.

Luna seemed to be struggling to hide her smirk as she excused herself politely and reached for Regulus' hand, pulling him boldly by the hand as she led them towards the backdoor, going out through it and closing it behind Regulus.

Uncomfortable with the sudden silence, Leticia looked down at Sophia in her lap, glad that the baby was sleeping peacefully and not bothering the man that was even more uncomfortable than all of them put together.

"That... hm... film," the man started, voice careful as if he was choosing words. "What is that film about?"

Leticia looked up at Orion once more, glanced at her cousin Remus to find his confused face staring right back at the man. She cleared her throat, getting both of their attention on her.

"It's my favourite film. It's called 'Love Among the Ruins'," she answered. "It's a comedic romance. It has Katherine Hepburn in it."

She expected a reaction, perhaps a half-smile or an acknowledging nod at the famous and beloved name, but Orion Black looked at her with some curiosity before looking back at the television, quietly scrutinising the Katherine Hepburn's image.

"I believe Lord Black isn't familiar with the film at all, Leticia," Remus said, voice strained.

Leticia looked at him, trying to understand his reaction. It took her a moment to understand he was trying not to laugh.

"Well, the film's just starting so..." Leticia said, biting the inside of her cheek as she watched Remus for a second long. "That's Jessica, Katherine's character, she's an actress and she's much older than people expect her to be while still acting, and she broke her engagement with her fiancé, and apparently it was normal to sue people for that."

"Indeed," Orion said, crossing his legs and putting his elbow on it, he leaned forward in interest, paying attention to Leticia's words. "It was a rather common action, too. One reputation is important, and the breaking of an engagement might lead to uncomfortable and awkward implications to both parties."

Leticia raised her eyebrows, taking a second to take in his words and try to understand all of them at once.

Remus sighed. "He's saying that people will think the former fiancé can't get it up," he said, rolling his eyes.

Orion made a grimace, distasteful with Remus' words and actions, but did hold his tongue, allowing himself just a look towards the boy that announced his disgust. Leticia, in turn, appreciated the uncouth translation and chuckled at it, nodding at Remus with some enthusiasm.

"Well, good thing that Arthur – that's that man over there, the older one," she said, using her free arm to point at the actor on the screen. "He's a barrister, has a title and all. He's representing her, but he used to be in love with her a long time ago. She doesn't remember him, but he remembers her."

Orion hummed, leaning back on the sofa once more and uncrossing his legs. "Entertaining," he mused.

"Yeah," Leticia said.

Once more, Orion's eyes went to her as they had been doing every time that he thought that she wasn't looking. She wasn't uncomfortable, especially because his eyes never strayed away from Sophia for too long, and while that might have made her uncomfortable in other moments, the softness that seemed so foreigner to him settled easily in his eyes at the sight of the baby.

Leticia licked her lips, wondering if asking questions would be a good idea.

"Do you have more children, sir?" she asked, suddenly.

The man seemed to have been so caught by surprise by her question that he didn't correct her 'sir' to 'lord', he just stared her for a couple of seconds before opening his mouth.

"My children are grown, miss," he answered.

Remus frowned, not looking away from the television. He seemed caught in between making a comment and trying to announce his own distaste for the situation as Orion had done before. Still, he said nothing and refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Leticia wondered if she had asked something terribly rude.

"Yes, yes, Regulus talked about his older brother when he was here to meet my daughter," Leticia said.

Orion raised his eyebrows, eyes stilling. "Oh, did he?" he asked.

He made no comment on the use of his son's first name, accepting the condition that Leticia clearly had no idea of the trouble it could be in 'polite' society, seeing that she had never been part of it and would never be mingling with Orion's colleagues.

Remus cleared his throat.

"I mentioned Sirius, Regulus made a passing comment when my grandfather asked of siblings," Remus corrected the situation.

Leticia pressed her lips together, sucking them in before letting them go and looking down at Sophia once more.

"I asked because you seemed interested in Sophia," Leticia said.

Orion made no attempt to hide. "She is a beautiful child, a very peaceful one, too," he said. "I fear my wife and I were not blessed with such silent afternoons in my sons' infancy. The noise was so constant that we had to hire a governess to make sure nothing would be broken while we were needed for our duties."

Once more, Leticia needed a moment to take in the words, but she didn't need Remus' rude translations to understand the enormous difference between the way their families had raised children.

"You had a nanny for your children?" Leticia asked, almost teasingly.

"A governess," Orion corrected.

Leticia was listless.

"Your wife works?" she asked.

"Not officially," he answered. Remus turned to watch the interaction, suddenly interested. "She is responsible for several facets of my own job, I fear to admit. My wife is a much more sociable adept than I could ever be, most of my job comes from being good with social interactions, however, and I depend on her constant help to pass my laws and find amenable partnerships." Orion rolled his shoulders back, chin raising slightly. "Besides, in the first few years, my wife needed time to recover from her confinement."

"And you are a politician, si?" Leticia asked.

"Correct," he answered, crossing his arms and turning to face the girl's sofa.

"So you are a paper politician and your wife is the true politician?" she cleared it up.

Remus' shoulders tensed, giving his cousin a pointed, accusing look. Regardless of her fault in the situation, Remus learned forward, preparing to go in defence of his cousin, who certainly had no idea of how disrespectful her question could've been, even though deep down he agreed with her (surprisingly impressed with Walburga's weight in her husband's work).

He didn't knew what was about to come next. Would Orion scream? Would he get Regulus and leave, leaving Remus and Leticia to Luna's anger and mercy? Would he reach for his wand due to Leticia's petulant nature?

But Orion laughed.

It wasn't a polite, rehearsed laughter either, as Remus had thought it would be. Orion had thrown his head back, shoulders raising as his face contorted in an absolute surprised joy. The laughter wasn't as loud as Sirius', but it was certainly louder than Regulus' breathy, fragile chuckles.

"A fair critique," Orion said after a beat, lips twitching. A smile broke free and a quiet chuckle followed. "My wife would agree with you. She would've been a much better politician had she been born a man."

Leticia hummed, pursuing her lips as she leaned back on the sofa, changing Sophia's position in her arms as she watched Orion with narrowing eyes.

"Can't she just sign up?" she asked. "If she's better at it than you, why does it matter that she's a woman?"

Orion's lips twitched once more. He seemed like he was trying to hold back another round of laughter.

Remus sighed again, hanging his head in silent exhaustion. "This isn't how it works over here, Leti," he said.

Orion's smile dimmed slightly, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the sofa a few times as he thought of an answer.

"Polite society demands we play the roles assigned to us, whether we are suited for them or not, young lady," he said, tone surprisingly soft. "It wasn't in my plans to do what I do today, and yet here I am. It is how our World works."

"Well, England it weird, then," Leticia said. She turned to Orion again. "You should do something about that, Mister Politician."

"Perhaps I will, miss," Orion answered, amused either by her honest or courage. "Perhaps I will."

Orion's eyes once more linger on Sophia, wondering silently if she would agree with the conversation that they were having had she been awake and completely understood of what they were speaking off.

The film played on, merging its sound with the sounds outside. Remus went back to watching it, though is attention was in any noise coming from Orion or Leticia. Leticia, in turn, looked down at her baby, held her closer before looking at the television once more.

Orion licked his lips and bit the inside of his cheek for a moment.

"She's lucky to have someone valuing her above all else," he said, looking away from Sophia. He glanced at the glass backdoor before looking at the television once more. "I believe that if I... had a daughter, I would've thought of seeing to your comment before it had been made out loud. I ache to admit that neither of my boys are perfectly suited for political pursuits either. They took after me in such parts of their personality, much to my wife's dismay."

Sirius had been far too reckless and too egoistical to think of putting his own needs after the family's, much like Orion had been in his youth. Regulus was far too sensitive, his feelings far too deep for his situation, much like Orion had been in his youth. They were both the worst failures his father had pointed out when he had been a teenager – fortunately, Regulus had always been much better at hiding it from everybody than he had been.

"Regulus is perfectly cordial when he tries," Remus said, as if that was any comfort.

"Well, sometimes one must remind him of trying at all, which becomes difficult when his pride or morals are affected. I cannot lead him through what's coming next," Orion said meaningfully.

Remus' face paled.

Leticia looked between the two men. "What's coming next?" she asked, curious.

Remus' lips pressed together before he opened his mouth. He closed it for a moment, thinking of a good enough response.

"Adulthood," he lied.

And they all knew it was a lie.

Orion continue looking at Sophia every now and then for the rest of the visit.

Sometimes, in the silence of the night, Orion wondered if he remembered Nova's face as perfectly as his mind begged him to. Sometimes, when Walburga was already asleep and looked peacefully calm, he would wonder how much Nova would look her like her – the dark hair in ringlets going down her back, grey eyes deep and expressive like her mother's... perhaps her lips would look like his, like Sirius' and Regulus' ended up being, but perhaps she would have Walburga's skin, paler than his and Sirius', smoother too. Nova, in his mind, often looked a lot like Regulus, after all many people complained that Regulus looked girlish. It was a motive of constant defence of his part to his son's honour, but in lonely moment it was a motive of comfort, because in Regulus he could catch glimpses of what Nova could've been. Sometimes, he wondered what in his imagination was part of his memory or what was his mind struggling to fill blanks spaces.

But in that moment, sitting in the Jensen's sofa, looking at the sleeping baby girl in her mother's arms, he knew that he remembered her weight in his arms perfectly well.

Regulus' lips were soft and warm against her, his nose hitting against hers as he deepened the kiss. Half of his body was leaned over hers, pushing her against the grass with more confidence than Luna imagined Regulus would have.

"Your father might see us," Luna whispered against his lips.

"He's talking to your brother," he dismissed. "They seem entertained."

"You're not even looking at them," she chuckled.

"If he had seen us, he would've kept silent. He promised to look away from small misbehaviours of mine as long as we weren't caught by someone else," he said, opening his eyes to look down at her, caging her in between his elbows as he found a more comfortable position half on top of her. "He said that since we are to stay in London the whole summer, I might as well spend time with you, though he was not glad to be my chaperone today. With Mother visiting Narcissa, however, he needed to make sure we weren't completely alone in the house, especially because your mother is working now."

"My brother's here, though, and so is my cousin, and my... new cousin," she said, hesitating in finding a way to talk about Sophia.

"Your brother might do in a pinch, but my father was more comfortable with not risking him not doing his job, which is a completely acceptable worry given how easy he was banished with the pie you made that time I came over unchaperoned," Regulus said with a smirk. Luna laughed at the memory. "And your cousin's a muggle, she doesn't understand the weight it holds to be unchaperoned with you. And she's an unmarried mother, her chaperoning would hold not weight in polite society."

"Well, polite society can suck my dick," Luna grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Regulus' lips twitched, holding back his own words. But Luna saw it and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not sucking you off here," she warned.

Her words caught Regulus by surprise. He laughed, rolling away from her and lying beside her in grass, amused by how genuine her words had been.

There was little to no breeze, which made the heat a bit more suffocating than usual.

"I wouldn't dare make such a request, my love," he promised.

Luna chuckled. "I know. You might be kinkier than I thought at first, but you're not an exhibitionist."

Regulus rolled his eyes, staring up at the sky in silence as he watched some clouds cover the sun for a moment, dimming the blinding light and numbing heat around them for a few seconds before it shone down on them again. He sighed, eyes fluttering closed to take in the sun for a few more minutes. Soon enough he would pester Luna to move to the shade for his skin's sake, she would complain, but they would go to the shade.

Luna's head rolled to the side, letting her stare at his profile as he relaxed on the grass beside her.

"You are so beautiful," she said, reaching out for him.

Regulus didn't open his eyes when he felt one of her fingers resting on the middle of his forehead and slowly trace down his nose, almost as if drawing him profile. Her finger rested on his lips for a second longer than necessary. He kissed the tip of her finger without opening his eyes still.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she answered.

He opened his eyes slowly, rolling his head to the side as well to look right back at her.

He took the image of her blonde hair around her head on the grass, a mocking simulation of a halo when he knew the devilish things Luna could do when provoked. Her peaceful face under the sun, green eyes looking at him with such chaste devotion that it made his heartbeat painfully. Her pink lips were stretched in a calm smile. He loved the sundress she was wearing, too – it was sky-blue and reached just to her knees, it covered her scars, it had small sleeves.

Regulus didn't want to forget anything about her, not a single detail of who Luna was.

He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Luna could destroy him, and he'd let her.

Without warning, Regulus leaned to the side, rolling his body to lie sideways. He captured her lips again in a more careful kiss, no heat, no desire, just the honest yearning of making her understand what his mind was thinking without having to say it out loud. Perhaps then Luna would understand why the constant ache in his heart made it hard to breathe sometimes.

"Do you remember what I told you before we finished the school year?" Regulus whispered, nose still touching hers.

Luna's eyes narrowed at him and her eyebrows furrowed. "Yes."

"They are insisting that I take the Mark, Luna. I cannot escape it," Regulus admitted. "I'll meet the man responsible for all of it soon, but my cousin Bellatrix insists that he took interest in me. Mother told Father to do something about it, either to tardy it or cross the idea out completely, but he can't. Many of the other Lords are offering their children and brothers up to take the Mark, if he refuses, the whole family will be ostracised."

"Who else?" she whispered.

By the fear in her eyes, she knew the answer before he responded at all. To comfort her, Regulus reached and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, catching a better look at her frightened face.

"Evan will take the Mark alongside me, he has also gotten attention by being Bellatrix's cousin," he said. "He's... excited for the opportunity. He believes it'll help him gather more influence in his family's Council, perhaps take over his father's Seat before his death rather than after, which is what he wants."

"Regulus, I don't you to," she mumbled.

"I know," he whispered.

He leaned ever so lightly towards her again, kissing her lips.

"Regulus –" she started against his lips.

"I know," he said midst the kiss.

Luna sighed, either from the feeling of the kiss or from the utter helplessness that invaded her.

"I cannot escape, I have no other choice," he said, pulling away just enough to look at her face. "Severus Snape said that the people with the Mark, within the Inner Circle, can protect someone if they claim them. If I can climb enough ranks, I can protect you."

She wanted to scream that she didn't need protection, that she knew what she was doing, that she was no longer a child. But Luna couldn't. She was terrified. Not only Regulus, but Remus and all the newspapers were saying to prepare for a war, the threat of it looming over them even in their happiest moments, a constant reminder that whatever was to come would end everything good in their lives – tainting their peace like ink in thin parchment.

Luna didn't know how to fight. She had never been good at it, no matter that she had won a duel or two against people she had taken by surprise when they were attacking Pandora when they were much younger, when Evan's reputation alone wasn't enough for people to keep walking when they saw Pandora doing something 'odd'. It was obvious that Luna would be in trouble if a war was to come. And it was obvious that Regulus was about to be very involved in everything.

"I can... run away," she said, frowning at the idea.

But they both knew it was a lie as soon as it came out of her mouth.

"And leave your brother here?" he asked.

"He can come with," Luna said, shaking her head, refusing to admit the truth.

Remus would never dare to walk away from a fight like this.

"Sirius will jump into the first fight he can, James Potter will follow. Peter Pettigrew already announced his loyalty to the resistance. Do you truly think Remus will leave that behind to hide?" Regulus asked. "What about your mother? Do you think she'll leave the whole life she built here in England to run away from a war she's not even involved in? And your cousin just got here, and you have a baby in the house now. Tell me, Luna, do you think you can run away?"

Luna bit her lip so painfully that Regulus was tempted to scold her for it, but then her eyes filled with tears.

"...I have something to tell you," she said.

Regulus slowly sat up, looking at her with all his attention. His posture wasn't as perfect as it usually was, his face was pale.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Do you remember when Pandora felt sick, and they sent for Evan when she was in the Hospital Wing?" she asked. "She said she Saw something."

"Yes," he said.

"She Saw me," she admitted.

Regulus' whole body went cold, his stomach dropping as he felt his blood turn into ice beneath his skin.

"What did she See?" he asked.

"I made something bad, a poison, apparently. It was common knowledge, and people were praising me for it, but she said I was miserable about my creation and that I didn't want to hurt anyone," Luna said. "I pushed it out of my mind, tried to ignore it. But I think you're right. I can't run away."

Regulus shook his head.

"I'm sure I can find something for you. I can... --" he swallowed, trying to appease his panic. "You could stay in my family's château, it's safe and nobody can go in or out of it without Father's permission. You can hide there."

Such hopeful imagination, a senseless dream that wouldn't come true when they both knew the reality closing in.

"There was a more, but she wouldn't tell me," Luna admitted. "I didn't try to pry too much. Whenever I tried, she would start crying, and I couldn't bear being the reason she was so sad. Pandora knows something terrible is going to happen to me, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it short of killing me."

Regulus' hand worked before his mind did. By the time he understood what he was doing, she was already pulling Luna's arm to make her sit up as well and was holding onto it forcefully.

"Nobody is going to kill you. I won't let them," he said, firmly.

Luna's face turned unreadable for a second.

"Don't worry, Regulus. Everything is going to be fine," she said, but her voice was weak and trembling. The arm he was holding onto moved and she held his arm back. "All I have to do is not let people know about what I create if it turns out to be a poison."

Regulus' jaw clicked. He had not realised he was grinding his teeth so hard.

"Luna..." he whispered, letting go of her arm and reaching to dry her tears. "Oh, my poor, beautiful girl. What are we going to do?"

She sniffed, allowing him to take care of her.

"We are going to live as much as we can for as long as we can, Regulus."

Remus was struggling to push his long-ish hair back as he ran down the stairs, staring at the letter in his hand. He ran right past Luna and Leticia, saying something under his breath that made both girls look up, but when he didn't answer when Luna made a noise to acknowledge he had said something.

"Remus, what did you say?" Luna asked, raising her eyebrows.

He walked back to the sitting room, looking at his sister and cousin before continuing his way.

"Luna, I can't cook tonight. I won't be back for dinner. I'm going over to Wormy's. Fuck, I'm late. Don't wait up for me!" Remus screamed over his shoulder before crossing the door and closing it behind him, giving Luna no time to argue or scold him.

Luna exchanged a look with Leticia, closing her book in the process of looking affronted with now having to make dinner when it was Remus' turn to cook.

Leticia chuckled, lounging on the sofa, glad that Sophia was sleeping upstairs and had no woken up with Remus' running around. She lowered the television's remote control, saying something in Spanish under her breath.

"Do you think he has a date with a girl?" Leticia asked.

Luna looked away. Apparently, her mother had not shared the fact that Remus was gay and dating a boy with Leticia yet.

"I doubt it," Luna grumbled. "He'll probably hang out with his friends. Sometimes, one of them calls him up in the middle of the night to help with something they fucked up. One day, Peter called the house phone at three in the morning to ask Remus to go over. Remus did."

"Remus is popular?" Leticia asked.

Luna nodded, throwing her book to the side of the sofa and crossing her arms.

"He and his friends were the kings of school. It was annoying," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's always those five getting in trouble. They pranked half of the school and most of the teachers. It was hell."

Leticia's face lightened up, finally getting Luna to talk about the mysterious school that she and Hope usually moved subjects around.

However, before she could question her cousin a bit more, the phone rang in the kitchen.

Leticia was disappointed when Luna got up and walked out of the sitting room to pick it up. She leaned on the kitchen's doorway, taking the phone of its holder and putting it up to her ear.

"Jensen's residence. Luna speaking," she said.

"Hey, Luna, it's Peter," said the person on the other end of the phone. The boy sounded nervous. "Hm... Peter Pettigrew."

"Hey, Pete. Yes, I imagined it was you. You're the only Peter that calls us," she said, chuckling. Peter did a little choking noise. "Remus is already on his way, just left. Might be 'popping' in any moment now."

Well, Luna couldn't very well say 'Apparate' when Leticia was in the house, so she hoped Peter would understand the 'popping' in her sentence. Fortunately, given his chuckle, Peter probably understood it.

"Alright, cheers, Luna," he said. "We're staying over at the Potters, so we might be late."

Luna frowned.

"Oh, is it?" she asked, leaning her head against the doorway as she pressed the phone harder against her ear. "Sounds fun. What are you lads doing?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Eating at the pub, coming home for a few more drinks. Might stay over at the Potters though," Peter said, chuckling nervously.

"Yes, you mentioned," she said, pressing her lips together. "Well, have fun. Be careful. Make sure my brother comes back home in one piece, please."

"Will do! Good evening for you," Peter said.

"Thanks. You too," Luna answered.

Putting the phone back on its place, she watched it for a few seconds in silence.

She couldn't understand why Remus would lie about something so simple. He had said he would stay over at Peter's, but Pete was saying they would stay over at James'. Whatever was happening, neither wanted her to know the truth.

She felt her stomach churn.

Regulus was right. Sirius was right.

Remus was in the resistance. 

This came out more angsty than I expected, but I promise that it was not my intention.

I hope you all liked it.

Leave a comment of a theory/something you want to see here!