I'm back with a long chapter this time around, ya'll!

A slightly fluffy chapter focused on the main couple and the JENSEN FAMILY. I know, nobody saw it coming, but I wanted to write this and make Regulus interact with Muggles that don't know/understand magic at all.

As always, LEAVE COMMENTS. I do tend to write faster when I get comments because I'm attention-whore :)

Barty's birthday wasn't celebrated that year, but Evan's return to Hogwarts was. Barty did not complain about the way people seemed to forget he was turning a year older, he was more than glad to share such a special day with Evan, helping him get around the castle with an arm around his waist, glad to have a reason to let Evan put an arm around his neck in public. Open to the world, Barty and Evan walked with their arms around each other even though Evan was already capable of walking short distances on his own.

And in the next day, Regulus Black and Luna Lupin were waiting on the Headmaster's Office for Remus, because they were going to Hope Jensen's place. Hope had made sure to make Catrin write to Regulus' parents to allow him to go too, after all they were all going to meet Sophia Morgan.

Regulus was quite excited, surprisingly.

"I've never seen you look so antsy," Luna said, crossing her legs while leaning back in the sofa. "Are you nervous to see my mum again?"

"No. I..." he started, he hesitated. Regulus pressed his lips together, putting a hand through his hair. "I've never seen a baby before."

Luna turned to him, lips twisting as she held back a smile. He glared and narrowed his eyes, but that didn't have much effect on Luna, instead her lips spread, a laugh slipped out. She couldn't help herself as she leaned forward, trying her best to muffle her laughter.

"What?!" Regulus asked, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she answered, shaking her hand in front of his face, trying to dismiss her laugh as something silly. "But what do you mean, you never saw a baby before, Regulus? It makes no sense."

"Well, I'm the youngest in my family. What am I to do? Besides, if one has a child, one does not leave the house for a good while, certainly. For the babe's safety," Regulus said, frowning as he explained, hoping it would be enough for him to not be seen as ridiculous. "And my parents have no friends with younger children, at least none close enough to be invited over to our house to a casual meal that allow children. The youngest child I have seen was six."

"That's a devilish age," Luna said in false compassion.

"He was quite difficult to understand, indeed and – Oh, you're mocking me."

"No, darling, I'm not mocking you!" she said, leaning towards him and putting a hand on his leg gently. "I'm teasing you, and only because it surprised me so much. It makes absolute no sense in my mind to never have seen a child before, but then I remember that you don't get public transport or something equally as peasant, of course you would've never seen a baby that was not from your own family. You don't babysit neighbours, and you don't want down the streets near your house."

"When you put it like that," he said, making a little movement with his head, understanding her words.

Luna scooted closer to him, taking her hand away from his leg and putting both of her hands folded neatly in her lap, noticing that Dumbledore was nearby and watching them through the corner of their eye with some amusement and interest.

"They're just babies, Reggie. Little, tiny humans," she said.

"Don't call me Reggie," he grumbled, looking away, though his cheeks gained a pinkish colour.

She raised her eyebrows in silence. It still surprised her that something as simple as calling him as nickname, even one that he didn't like coming from others, would make him as flustered like that. Surely, the way she used the nickname freely when they were intimate was a heavy example as to why he avoided the use of it in public, but she thought it to be most interesting.

"Regulus," she repeated, "they're not scary, don't worry."

"I know they aren't scary; I'm just worried I'll hurt it," he said, crossing his arms like a petulant child, avoiding her comfort.

Luna let out a little hum. "They are quite... fragile," she agreed in a low voice. That made Regulus' shoulders tense up again. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. They're more resilient than they look. As long as you support their head, they can survive it."

"Don't use the word 'survive'," he complained in a voice just a step away from a whine.

She smiled at him, amused by his reaction and concern over a child he didn't even know.

"I'll teach you to hold her, don't worry, Regulus," she said. "But now, we need to talk about the one thing that is really important."

"Which is?"

"My grandparents will be there, the ones from my mother's side," Luna said, frowning a bit. "As the headmaster already said a few days ago, they're Muggles – completely unaware of our world, and they can't know about anything. They think Remus and I got a scholarship to a prestigious posh school in Scotland, and they'll probably assume that you're some posh politician's son."

"I am a politician's son," he reminded her.

Someone chuckled by the door. "And posh as hell," Remus added.

Luna looked over her shoulder to Remus standing by the open office's door, arms crossed and with a small bag thrown over his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes at the bag in interest.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Sirius sent Sophia a few gifts," he said, raising the bag to show it to her. "James got in the mood, decided to send her some gifts as well. Peter tried to throw some sweets in, but I reminded him that babies can' eat sweets, so he put it in a pretty box and said it was for Leticia – I said she was a Muggle, James and Sirius spent the night deciding what seemed 'muggle-enough' to send over."

"And what was decided?" Luna said, getting up from the sofa.

"Black liquorice and chocolate frogs without the spell are muggle enough," Remus said.

"And, of course, those two know how to get the spell off the frogs," Luna guessed.

"Oh, they spent the night figuring it out," Remus grumbled. "Easier than I expected to James. He's becoming scaringly good at things like that."

Dumbledore chuckled, shaking his head. "How interesting! Marvellous!" Dumbledore said from his seat.

Remus offered him one of the spelless chocolate frogs, which the headmaster took with some interest, opening the box and looking in absolute amazement at the stillness of the tiny fake frog. He made a little noise, inspecting it closely before biting its head off with great delight.

Regulus raised his eyebrows. "Are we leaving?" he asked.

He got up from the sofa as well.

Dumbledore glanced at the clock near his desk and made another humming sound before agreeing and pointing at the fireplace in his office.

"Say 'Jane's Little Italy', you'll get to the back of the restaurant across the coach's station," Dumbledore said.

Remus eyes widened.

"The little red restaurant in Bristol, it's wizard owned?" he asked, confused.

The headmaster smiled at his surprise and question, but nodded. "It certainly. Jane's grandmother was a great friend of mine in my youth."

Ignoring the tiny piece of information, Regulus put his hands behinds his back, watching and waiting the Lupin siblings to go first so he could go last.

Silently, Dumbledore ushered Remus into the fireplace, making the tall and lanky boy hunch his back to fit well in the space, but he made no complaint as he took the Floo powder and closed his eyes, focusing on his mind as he said the correct words, throwing the powder in and being swallowed by the flames.

"Do wait a second before jumping through, Miss Lupin. It's safer," Dumbledore said in a gentle voice. "How was Missus Lovegood doing? She came back to school just this morning and I didn't have a chance to ask if her migraines are dimming."

Luna smiled at the mention of Pandora. "She's well, sir. Finally getting full nights of sleep without visions or nightmares. She's controlling herself better."

"Good, good. Her prophecies are most interesting, as she must have told you," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Luna's face twitched for a second, but quickly she opened a smile that not even Regulus believed.

"Oh, sir. Pandora doesn't tell me anything. She knows she's not allowed to tell me the prophecies," she said, voice sickly sweet.

Dumbledore's smile became plastered on, fake and vaguely threatening as he nodded, taking in the meaning of Luna's words, but the clear veil of lies between them. He licked his teeth before looking at the fireplace and offering her the powder's bag with a more controlled and realistic smile.

"I believe it's safe to go now, Miss Lupin," he said.

Luna was quick to snag a handful of the powder and step into the fireplace, rolling her shoulders back and saying the words, throwing the powder down to the fireplace with such unnecessary strength that some of it escaped to the wooden flooring on the office.

Dumbledore turned his eyes to Regulus, who wasn't looking at him.

"Mister Rosier's recovery is most enthusiastic. Mister Crouch is ever so keen to help him," he said.

"They're good friends," Regulus said, nodding and turning to look at Dumbledore in the eyes.

"Yes, yes. I know how it is to have a good friend as well," the older man answered with a solemn nod. Regulus held his breath. "Do not look so surprised, Mister Black. I might be old, but I was young once upon a long time, and friendship is something we all experience to some extent – I'm glad your friendship with Miss Lupin is so widely... not hated."

"Not liked, of course."

"Liked is a strong word in times like this, as you know," Dumbledore said.

"And it shall be a strong word soon enough, as one can imagine," Regulus added, giving Dumbledore an intense look.

"I fear so, my dear boy. I fear so," Dumbledore said, putting his hands behind his back. "And who, pray tell, was the kind soul that warned you of such developments. I can't imagine your family would dare write something like that down."

"My family isn't stupid enough to write it down and be discovered with such inclinations, Headmaster, but some people still inside the school are most intrigued with the developments of the politics outside. Next year the number will grow, I'm certain, but the original number shall dimmer," Regulus explained, raising his eyebrows. He hoped Albus Dumbledore was smarter than his father said he was.

Thankfully, Dumbledore's face becoming serious made sure to comfort Regulus' fears.

He said what he wanted to say. There were sympathisers of Death Eaters inside the school in their last year, but recruiting younger students with great eagerness, and people were falling into their net with their eyes open wide – not in fear, but in complete amazement.

"And you know their number?" Dumbledore asked. "Your friends told you?"

"Nobody needed to tell me, Headmaster," he answered, looking away from him and to the fireplace. "Do you believe it to be safe to cross? I have duties to attend to, and I cannot neglect them any longer.

Understanding that the conversation had just finished whether he wanted it to or not, Dumbledore just nodded and offered him the same bag, silently watching as Regulus crossed through the burning flames.

Regulus barely stumbled when he got to Bristol, frowning to himself and cleaning his muggle button-up white shirt and tailored trousers. He looked up, ignoring the way Remus rolled his eyes.

"You look like a rich bastard," Remus complained in a low voice.

"He is rich," Luna reminded her brother, helping Regulus out of the smaller fireplace and smiling at him as she put her hands on his shoulder to turn him around, seeing that there was no ash on his back. "He's no bastard, but he is quite rich."

"If he's rich, he's a bastard," Remus grumbled.

"Well, that's not quite –" Regulus started.

"I'll tell James," Luna quickly answered, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Well, James will agree that rich people are bastards. Eat the rich, and all that," Remus said, turning his back to his sister.

"Is that why someone found you on your knees with Sirius Black in the fifth-floor bathrooms last week?" Luna said, mouth as sharp as a whip.

Regulus choked on his own saliva, coughing loudly as his body seemed to fold onto itself in panic to breathe again. Remus turned so fast to stare at his sister that Regulus heard his neck crack loudly as he used his heels to turn the rest of his body. Luna just raised her eyebrows, daring Remus to say something that he wouldn't regret, so her brother went quiet, just staring at her in absolute shock.

"Where did you hear that?" Remus asked.

"Evan Rosier has his trusted people," she answered with a shrug.

"Evan told you that?" Regulus asked, eyes widening.

That wasn't the sort of conversation he expected his friend to have with his partner without proper reason.

"No, someone told Evan while I stood beside him," Luna explained, turning to Regulus and smiling at him. "Now, do you remember everything I told you about today?"

"We'll catch the bus to the station near your house and walk from there. Your cousin and your grandparents will be there with the baby and your mother," Regulus repeated right away, noticing that Luna wanted to change subjects. "Your grandfather is German and your grandmother is Portuguese, you aren't close to either of them. They raised their daughters in Spain, then moved to England, and then moved back to Spain."

"Good," Luna said, surprised. "I don't remember telling you about my grandparents last week."

"You didn't tell me about them last week. You told me when we were getting to know each other," Regulus corrected her, raising his eyebrows at her confusion. "You don't remember? I told you about where my family came from, and you told me yours. Origins are important, I wouldn't dare to forget it; I'd hazard it's what makes our families acts the way they do. I do find some French vocabulary and mannerisms in some of the older family members sometimes."

He would never forget the fact that the Lupins, as he already knew, came from Ireland and Wales, while her mother's family – Jensens – were mostly from several parts of Europe that ended up in Spain at some point.

"My cousin is Spanish, by the way, so she has an accent and might not be the best in English, so... do tone down the vocab," teased Remus over his shoulder as he took the bag of presents and smiled at Luna. "I'll go ahead and see if the bus is here already. Get him prepped for a muggle bus."

Luna gave Remus a playful glare as he walked away before turning to Regulus.

"Darling, do be prepared for what's to come," Luna said.

"I've been in the Knight Bus before," Regulus said, puffing his chest in pride.

"It's not the same," she said, cringing a bit. "It's much slower, so it might take a while. And we don't say where we want to go down, alright? We just hail the driver when we want to get down and he'll stop at the closest stop. Got it?"

"Yes," he said.

She reached for his hand, holding it tight as she slipped through the door of the backrooms of the restaurant and into the main area, ignoring the way some of the customers gave the couple odd looks as they came out of what seemed to be the door to a private area for employees. Thankfully, the owner – an old, grey-haired woman – smiled at them and waved as they walked by.

Regulus wasn't as prepared as he would like to believe, however, because as soon as he climbed on the bus right behind Luna and Remus. He watched as Remus gave money to the conductor and then he was ushered along by Luna, who made him sit. Confused, Regulus obeyed in silence.

"Sit," Remus said to Luna, holding onto the railing as he stopped beside Regulus' sitting form.

"No, I'm fine, you can sit. Your back has killing you for days –" started Luna.

Remus reached for her, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her down to sit down beside Regulus, who watched the siblings and narrowed his eyes at Remus when Luna grunted in pain and effort. She sat, looked up – then she looked down, face pale.

Regulus understood why he was adamant for Luna to sit and why she had looked so uncomfortable suddenly. A man had leaned to the side to free the seat beside him for Luna to sit, licking his lips like a hungry wolf at the sight of poor lamb walking alone.

Remus turned, glared at the man that stepped to the side, blocking his view of Luna with his own body. What the man in his thirties thirsting over the teenage girl didn't understand, however, was that Regulus' glare was much worse than Remus', and that he wouldn't look away when he was satisfied – Regulus only looked away when he was scared of the consequences or when the person looked away, and there was no way that he would be scared of a muggle man.

The man seemed to realise that Regulus was looking at him.

"What are you looking at, lad?" the man asked, voice deep.

"At your panting tongue out of your mouth, sir," Regulus answered. "At the way you're staring at my girlfriend."

Remus looked between Regulus and the man with sudden concern. Luna reached for Regulus' hand immediately, holding his hand tight.

"Oh, mate, don't –" Remus started, but surprisingly the words were towards the man, not Regulus.

"Shut up, twat. Don't get involved," the man said.

Remus looked away, eye stuck on his pale sister that had her eyes on Regulus' lap, almost as if the weight of her eyes would somehow make Regulus unable to get up by sheer will. Well, if the man didn't want him to get involved, he wouldn't – it would be his funeral either way.

"And you, you manky little cunt, you staring at me for, are you?" the man said.

Regulus cringed dramatically.

"Your accent is offensive to the ears, sir. And your sentences are senseless," he said, not letting go of Luna's hand, but he did look forward. "Certainly, you know the Queen's English, of course. Why not use it?"

"Posh little –" the man started.

Luna opened her mouth to perhaps say that Regulus' elitism wasn't welcome but closed her mouth again when the man threatened to get up from seat. Regulus cleared his throat, raising his head and staring at the man right into his eyes, leaning forward as if he was about to tell a secret.

"Sir, if you as much as think of getting any closer, I can assure you that I'll break at least two of your bones," Regulus said.

Remus shivered discreetly. Sometimes he did forget that Regulus was more than Sirius' little brother, but that he was the Heir of the House and all that posh bullshit that he usually ignored. Regulus was used to power and wielding it, and his voice showed it.

The man sat back down.

"Who do you think you are?"

"You don't want to know, mate," Remus said, not looking at the man. "You really don't."

It was early afternoon when they got down from the bus and started walking, but they took a break when Regulus recognised Luna's house with a relieved sigh, ignoring the way Remus was staring oddly at him when he made any sort of noise, as if he expected him to start screaming in panic for walking a couple of blocks after getting down from the bus, where he had made the man get down at least three stops before his correct one. Perhaps Remus had forgotten that Regulus was a Quidditch player, especially a Seeker – it took a lot of core and leg strength to get as good as he was – so walking wasn't a problem at all, that ignoring the fact that he lived in the dungeons and had to climb several floors of stairs to get anywhere in that castle.

"I'm starving," Remus announced.

"Hope mum made pastel de nata for grandma," Luna said, also feeling her stomach complaining.

"What's that?" Regulus asked.

"Heaven," was the siblings' answer at once.

Regulus frowned at the lack of a proper answer, but followed them down the entryway, glancing at the bicycle at the corner of the waist high wall dividing the small garden and entryway of Luna's house to the neighbour's.

Remus pounded at the door. "Mum! Please, I can smell food!" he belted out.

The house's front door swung open; Hope Jensen glared at her son with the fire of a thousand angry mothers.

"Remus John Lupin, you cannot yell and pound at the door anymore. There's a baby in the house!" Hope hissed at him, lips barely opening and teeth clenched.

Remus frowned, holding back a wince. Luna didn't hold back her smug smile as she put her hands behind her back, watching her brother get scolded. Uncomfortable, Regulus shifted his weight from one leg to the other – he would rather get into another 'discussion' with the bus man than watch Hope scold one of her children.

"Hi, Mum," Luna said, voice normal.

"Hello, Madame Jensen," Regulus added, eyes still on his shoes.

"Hello, dears," Hope said, voice more relaxed now. "Don't you look positively normal, Regulus! Good job."

"Those are Sirius' jeans and James' shirt," Remus said. Regulus had to make an effort to not roll his eyes. "I was surprised Sirius' jeans fit you, Regulus. I would imagine them to be big on you."

"I filled out," was all Regulus said.

"Quidditch," Luna said, a tone almost thankful.

Regulus looked over at her with some amusement but decided it was for the best to hold back his tongue in front of Hope and Remus.

"Alright," Hope said, deciding the pleasantries were over. "Come on in, everybody. There are people wanting to see you all. Luna, please, be nice to Leticia."

"If she's nice to me..." Luna grumbled.

He had been warned beforehand, not only by Luna but by Remus as well, – which confirmed any suspicion of Luna's exaggeration – that Leticia was aggravating at the best of her days and completely annoying in the others. She was petty, childish and extremely conceited. Regulus had thought it better to not say that both siblings were also petty and childish on occasion, just nodding and thanking them for the information.

"And the baby?" Remus asked. "And Leticia?"

"Both upstairs but will come down shortly, I imagine. They're taking a nap after Leticia fed her," Hope said, letting the children in.

Regulus thanked her for welcoming him into her home once more under his breath and took off his jacket silently, watching as Luna took off her shoes, so he followed. He knew that it wasn't something that they did for a reason, just something that they did out of harmless repetition from their mother, so he didn't think it would hurt to do the same this time around. He was just thankful that he put black socks without holes in them.

"Grandma and Grandpa?" Remus asked.

"Kitchen," Hope said with a smirk as she watched her son fix his hair. "With the food."

"Pastel?" Luna asked.

"Of course," Hope answered.

Luna made a little squeal of delight that made Regulus smile even though he had no idea why she was so happy.

She blindly reached behind her and Regulus offered her his hand, fitting his palm into hers without hesitation. He didn't look at Hope smiling fondly at the image of him allowing himself to be dragged further into the house and into the kitchen with a small and controlled smile in his lips.

"Opa!" Remus said, walking into the kitchen first.

"Remus!" the man said.

Regulus hesitated.

Heinrich Jensen was a tall, blond man, which was apparently where Remus had gotten his height from, and he was burly as well. His shoulders were bigger than Remus', and a hug from him made it seem like he was swallowing the poor boy into him completely. Though clearly oldening, he seemed completely fine – there was no forced healthiness like Pollux seemed to exhale with his rogue in his cheeks, or the frailty of wheelchairs like Arcturus had. Heinrich was tall, strong and very much more intimidating than Regulus had expected. Luna telling him that he had been a soldier in a Muggle war came back to mind.

"Vó!" Remus said once the man had let go of him, turning to hug the other person in the kitchen as well.

Ana Jensen was quite shorter than her husband, at least a whole head. She had dark hair, pale skin and dark eyes. She looked a lot like Hope had it not been for Hope's light eyes, which she had gotten from her father. She had a collection of age-telling wrinkles around her eyes and a few skin folds on her neck, still her smile was so alive that no amount of wrinkles would made her look old.

Regulus, however, watched Luna with attention.

She was tense, waiting for their attention to turn to her.

Once her grandfather saw her, he opened his arms and hugged her as well, saying something in German that Regulus (and Luna) didn't understand, but it seemed to make her smile, nonetheless. Then, she was passed off to her grandmother's waiting arms, smiling a bit more at the way she seemed to squeeze her tighter than she had squeezed Remus' enormous frame.

"You two grew!" Ana said.

"So much!" Heinrich added.

Ana's accent was stronger than Heinrich's, but she seemed to not care about it.

"And you... you must be Luna's boy," Ana said, raising her eyebrows at Regulus.

"I am," Regulus agreed, a solemn nod.

Hope slipped into the kitchen, smiling at her mother and putting hand on Regulus' shoulders.

"This is Regulus Black, mãe," she said. "He's Luna's boyfriend, they study together in that private school I told you about."

Ana hummed, watching him attentively.

It was the first time Regulus wondered if that was how women felt, being analysed so closely by people they didn't know. He even wondered if that was how horses felt when the Rosiers came to buy them.

Ana said something in Portuguese that made Hope smile, then the conversation continued into Spanish, which brought Heinrich to smile as well. Fortunately, it seemed that Regulus was no more lost than Remus or Luna.

"You study together, yes?" Heinrich said, pointing at the three children. Remus nodded before anyone else could answer. "And what are you good at, Regulus?"

Regulus opened his mouth to answer, but Luna was faster. "He's good in pretty much everything, Opa, though he excels in mathematics."

The man didn't seem to like that Luna had answered for Regulus, and seemed to like even less that Regulus had allowed such a thing, however Regulus knew that conversating with Muggles was not something he would excel in without some practice, so he listened to Luna's implied clues and nodded.

"I'm fond of numbers, sir," he added to the answer with a polite smile.

"Numbers are good," Ana said. "You can good jobs when you're good at mathematics, right? Like an astronaut, or something. Astronauts are quite the trend now, have you heard? Since the moon landing, America has doubled its number of astronauts."

Remus smiled.

Regulus didn't. He had no idea what an astronaut was.

"I plan on following into Law, Madame," he said, going into a much more comfortable area of the conversation.

Luna seemed to relax a bit.

Heinrich narrowed his eyes. "Madame?" he repeated.

Regulus raised his eyebrows. "Yes, sir. Shall I refer to her as Missus Jensen, I shall if so requested."

"Are you French, boy?" Heinrich asked.

That made Regulus hesitate, looking over at Luna for help. Perhaps Muggles had a different politic understanding of diplomacy between countries and Germany and France weren't allies in the Muggle world.

"My family has its roots in France. I'm English by birth and raising, sir, though I do often summer in France," Regulus answered.

Ana exchanged a look with Hope that made both of them smile to each other, though they did try to hold it back. Luna pressed her lips together, also holding back her smile, which confused Regulus even more.

"So you're just rich," Heinrich said.

It wasn't a question; it was barely even something worth answering. It was a statement that Regulus had no idea how to respond to.

"I'd hazard so, sir," Regulus mumbled.

Remus snorted at his answer.

"Opa, why are you questioning the poor boy?" Remus asked, crossing his arms. Though his question seemed to want to defend Regulus, there was amusement in his face. "He just got here, and we didn't even eat lunch yet."

"He's dating my granddaughter. Someone has to question him, and I think your father didn't," Heinrich said, some obvious bitterness in his tone.

Hope looked down in what seemed to be embarrassment, but Ana was quick to engage her into a conversation just between the two. Luna was quick to ignore the mood shifting to hold Regulus' hand again and pull him further into the kitchen, leading him into sitting on a chair near plates of pastries and pasta.

Before Regulus was completely aware of what was happening, Luna was shoving one of the pastries into his mouth, demanding his opinion on the taste. It was good, but he barely had time to swallow it and answer her before Heinrich was staring at him again.

"Where do you live?" Heinrich asked.

Had it come from anyone else, it would be a common question. Heinrich's tone made it seem like a veiled threat. Oddly enough, it wasn't the German accent cutting sharply through the room, it was the way he stared so coldly at him – Regulus thought it looked at lot like Arcturus when he was angry, but holding it back

"London, most of the time. We have a townhouse," Regulus answered.

"So fucking posh," Remus grumbled.

("Language in front of your grandparents, Remus. Honestly!" Hope said over her shoulder.)

"What do your parents do?" Heinrich asked.

He had taken an interest in Regulus as more than just Luna's boyfriend. His polished demeanour shone through in the smallest of interactions

"My father works in politics, sir. I'm expected to follow his steps after school," Regulus said.

"Do you plan to?"

"As I said –"

"You said you're expected, I asked if you plan on following his steps," he cut him off sharply.

Luna sighed. "This conversation is boring," she grumbled, but was ignored by her grandfather, however Remus nodded.

Remus put another pastel on her plate, smiling apologetically when he understood that there was nothing that anyone could do to save Regulus from his fate and their grandfather's attention until the baby and Leticia woke up.

"I am to follow his steps, sir, regardless of what I want," Regulus said. "It's my duty towards my family."

"An important family, I guess. Which side of politics does your father fall on? Action or diplomacy? England seems to lack one of them at the moment," Heinrich said.

Hope sighed. "Are we really talking politics right now?" she asked. "Please, can't we talk about anything else?"

"Oh, leave your dad to it. It's how he has fun," Ana said, rolling her eyes.

Regulus rolled his shoulders back and raised his chin, trying not to feel so small in the small wooden chair in the small, rounded wood table. It wasn't like the big banquet table in his house whenever Arcturus visited, asking questions and pressing for answers verbally and mentally – whichever side of him broke first.

Heinrich was a muggle. He couldn't break him mentally.

"My father believes and values tradition. He understands the necessity of adapting to the times, however. Good leadership is about balance, like strength is understood only when tempered with strategy," Regulus answered.

"Ah," Heinrich mused, nodding. "Wise. Has your father seen battlefield, boy?"

"I'm unsure –" started Regulus.

"Not in the same war as you, Opa. He has been in battles, but not wars," Luna said, cutting Regulus off and talking over him. They exchanged a look, silent and warning, before she continued. "Regulus' dad is young."

"Well, wise for someone young, then," Heinrich said. "Strength only means something if you are willing to use it when needed. And you seem to have learnt a lot from him already for a kid, boy."

"Father ensures I am well-versed in the matters of state and conflict. He believes a strong leader must understand the complexities of peace to understand completely war, they are important alike," Regulus answered, puffing his chest in pride.

Luna looked at Regulus, mouth full of pastel and panic in her eyes. She had seen the way Opa's interest had peaked.

"I've seen conflict first hand in the last war, I know of both sides. War makes great men, peace makes great children," Heinrich said with his voice deepening. "Tell me, does your father hold any official position?"

Hope turned, ignoring the conversation she had been having with her mother. Luna tensed up and Remus widened his eyes. Unsure, Regulus didn't know where to look and missed Luna's frantic gesture to remain vague in his answer.

"Father took a Seat," he said.

Heinrich's curiosity piqued even more.

"A Seat, you say? In the House of Lords?" he asked, voice edged with scepticism and amusement. "He's a Hereditary Peer?"

Regulus, oblivious to the general panic and growing tension, answered with perfect honesty and vagueness.

"He's Orion Regulus Black, Duke of –" he started.

Hope made a loud noise. "A lovely name, indeed!" she said in a high-pitched voice, ignoring her mother and almost running to Regulus.

Too late, Heinrich had understood.

"A duke, is he?" he asked, shaking his head and leaning away. He crossed his long legs.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Hope said, voice still unnaturally high. "Exactly. Exactly. Anyway, Luna, why don't you –"

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on one's point of view – Ana seemed to take over the conversation, quietening her husband's clear distasteful reaction to Regulus' title and future job. She almost floated in happiness to Regulus' side and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"A duke! Luna, your mother didn't tell me that you're dating a duke," Ana said, voice happy. "What a catch! A true gentleman. Handsome, polite."

Regulus frowned. He wasn't following the conversation, especially because there were a lot of people talking at once.

"A title means nothing!" Heinrich was saying.

"I know!" Hope said, trying to appease him.

"Didn't I teach you anything? A title means nothing if it's built on centuries of unearned privilege. Monarchy is outdated and useless!" Heinrich continued. "I fought for Spain because I didn't agree with the decisions taken by my country, not because of their fucking king."

"I know!"

"And now my granddaughter is... involved with a duke!"

Regulus pressed his lips together to keep himself quiet, unsure of what to say or when to say it. Heinrich clearly didn't beat around the bush and didn't care for Regulus' feelings or pride. He wasn't used to people saying what they wanted straight away, there was no preparing or testing the ground, there were no testing the waters.

He smiled. It was a lot more comfortable than he thought. It wasn't like his family at all.

"Sir, if it's any comfort to you, my father hates the job," Regulus said, leaning back on his chair, posture breaking for a moment. "And I really wish I didn't have to go to Law, but I need to keep my family afloat. I have a mother, aunts and cousins to care for. It's my duty as the male heir, and I'll fulfil it for my family's sake, no more than that."

The whole kitchen stopped; silence reigned for a moment of stillness.

Remus cleared his throat.

"His brother ran away because he didn't agree. There's only Regulus now," Remus added in the silence.

Regulus turned, prepared to glare at him for sharing the information, but it did seem to soften the grandfather's expression just a tiny bit. Silently, he thanked Remus' oversharing.

Ana took over the conversation again.

"Enough of that nonsense, Heinrich. Querido, you're sour about things like that. Enough! Leave the boy alone! He's a wonderful match to Luna," Ana said. She did a hand gesture to Remus. "Give him more pastel, stop eating all of them. He's had a long day."

Remus looked up like a kicked puppy. "So did I!"

Luna rolled her eyes and put a pastry in Regulus' plate. "Eat up before she forces it into your mouth."

Regulus was more than happy to take the pastry in hand and eat it slowly himself.

Ana turned to her grandchildren again and watched them for a moment.

"And you, Remus. Why aren't you bringing a nice girl home yet? One from your school, like Regulus. You have so many options. Someone pretty –"

"For the love of –" Remus began.

"I assure you, ma'am. Remus has excellent taste in family; if he's waiting, it's because he has his sights set on someone from a refined family," Regulus said, cutting him off.

Remus shot him a sharp look that turned into a glare before it hesitated. He wasn't even sure it was meant to be a jab or an attempt of an implied smug comment. Still, Regulus wasn't even looking at him, he was looking at Ana and throwing her his most charming smile, fluttering his eyelashes.

For a moment, he really looked like Sirius.

Remus looked down.

"That was torture," Luna grumbled, pulling her legs closer on the outside of the house, under the tree in their backyard.

Remus nodded, closing his eyes and flopping against the bark of the tree, sitting between his siter and Regulus. "Actual torture."

"I don't think I've ever been more uncomfortable. It was like I was prize horse," Regulus muttered.

"Welcome to how I'm treating in every ball," Luna said, looking at her boyfriend. He shivered. "Don't worry, you'll live. But what the hell, Regulus. You blurted out your father's full name and title like it was nothing!"

"I wasn't aware that it was meant to be a secret!" Regulus snapped, pouting.

"It's not a conversation starter, it isn't," Remus shot back, turning to glare at him. "Honestly, what did you think was going to happen? Look at where we are, Black. You throw a 'oh, daddy's a duke' here, and then what? You're moving on to the weather?"

Regulus scowled.

"I didn't know he would be interested. We don't treat titles like that. It's just a fact in the wizarding world, you either have it or you don't – you don't gush over it. Barty doesn't have it and he doesn't care," Regulus said.

"That's a lie. He hates it."

"Yes, but he doesn't do... whatever that was."

Remus sighed. "Opa is... passionate."

"Oh!" Regulus did.

"Well, he's a German, married to a Portuguese woman and living in Spain for decades. He was bound to moments of passion," Remus mused to himself.

"I thought he was going to scream at Regulus," Luna said, reaching over her brother's legs to touch Regulus' knee for a moment, then pulled her arm back. "I'm glad you kept so calm."

Remus glared at her for reaching over him to touch Regulus.

Regulus shrugged.

"It was just like talking to Grandsire after he talked to Aunt Lucy for too long," he explained. He smiled when Luna held back at laugh. "But your grandfather can't poke around my mind like a nosy git."

"Careful, your Grandsire Arcturus will find out you called him a 'git'," Luna teased.

Regulus grumbled under his breath.

I know that we wanted Leticia and Sophia, but the chapter would be too long, so I had to cut it, but don't worry, it's coming soon... and we'll have a surprise next chapter! You are all going to love me or hate me next chapter.

I'm so excited!