This is the longest chapter I wrote in a while. More than 6000 words. I thought about dividing it in two chapters, but it didn't feel right, so you have this real big one. I hope you all like it. I deserve a lot of comments for this one lmao.

Anyways, I started my mandatory intership in Uni. It was shit. A kid threw up on me. I want to die. Help.

Morgan's Marvelous Munch was a beautiful restaurant in the richest part of Diagon Alley that made Luna hesitate walking in, thinking about how much water would be in there.

The hall was filled with round tables of several sizes, covered in white tablecloths and overly large number of silverware and three different plates piled in each place of the table. The male maître was dressed in expensive black robes and tight white gloves, waiting at the front door, but the female serves were moving around the restaurant in white, long dresses with long sleeves and high necks, no gloves.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?" the man asked.

"Under Black," Regulus answered.

Straight away, the man's back straightened and he stepped away from the podium he stood, quickly showing the way, mumbling something that Luna didn't understand. He led them further into the hall, taking them to a distant table near the windows and away from the kitchen and bathrooms.

McGonagall walked with them just a few steps behind them and watched in silence, but with her frown lessening significantly, as Regulus pulled a chair for Luna, waited for her to sit down and fixed it before walking around the table to sit right across from her, so he would be able to see her throughout the dinner – ever the romantic boy that people expected him to be while in a courtship.

As the maître stepped away, McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I'll take my leave now. Behave and do not leave the restaurant until your parents come. I'll be here in the previously agreed upon time, and I do not want any tardiness," McGonagall warned them.

"Aye, professor," Luna said, casually.

"Yes, ma'am," Regulus answered, cooly.

Once the professor walked away and out of the restaurant, Luna turned to Regulus straight away.

"I do not know how to use these plates and silverware," she warned.

That got a laugh out of him.

"You don't need to understand the plates, the serves will lead you instinctively, but the biggest plate is just the service plate, so don't worry. Now, the silverware is simple enough; it's English manners, work inwards – from the outside in," he said, pointing discreetly and touching the outer spoon in the right. "Soup spoon for the first course. These at the top are dessert cutlery. This plate and this knife are for bread."

"Bread?"

Regulus ignored her.

"This is supposed to be somewhat informal, so it's four courses, not five," he warned her.

"Four?!"

"I thought you knew, that's why I didn't explain anything beforehand," he said, rather annoyed, but swallowing down any anger he had towards her to continue explaining. "Appetizers, then soup, the main course and finally the dessert."

It sounded like something out of a romantic-comedy film from Hollywood. She felt exposed and informal, too far deep into somewhere that she did not belong in, but too late to back down before embarrassing herself.

But one thing was concerning... Luna hesitated.

"I don't think my family can pay for something like this, Regulus," she admitted.

He swallowed.

"If our parents decided to meet here and you're worried about this, I expect my parents explained that it's always the male party's family that pays for arranged meals such as these," he said.

He had made sure to bring that up in his letters when he talked to Narcissa a few days before, who had spoken to her aunt and uncle, clearly.

Luna seemed a bit more relaxed.

"And these cups?" she asked.

"You'll only use one," he said. "Water, red wine and white wine. We'll only use the water cup."

"Right... underage," she mumbled.

"More like 'we need to go back to school' rather than our age," Regulus said. "There's little to our age in luncheons and dinners."

Luna wasn't allowed to drink. Both her parents were rather strict about alcohol or any other substance in their home, and for that reason she had seen Remus sneaking around to smoke his cigarettes away from their eyes more than once. She had caught him once and he had become so flustered that it became funny as he fumbled with the fag and the lighter, letting both fall to the wet grass, she giggled and walked away, not telling anyone about it.

"My parents don't drink," she said.

"Mine shouldn't," he answered, as if that was some sort of comfort.

"Do you?" she asked.

"Sometimes. When I need to, but I don't particularly enjoy it or the feeling of becomes altered," he answered. "You?"

"Sometimes, when I'm nervous," she said. "To become altered," she added, thinking it would funny.

He frowned in silence, not enjoying her answer and not smiling at her awkward joke, having no power to give his opinion about it. They weren't close enough for him to say anything about her behaviours, though he was glad that there was a part of the contract that they had written about any mentally altering substances and its uses.

"Do you smoke?" she asked, suddenly.

"No," he answered. "It's a filthy habit. I'm always telling Evan to quit; Barty supports me in it." She pursed her lips. "Do you?"

"No. I don't like the smell," she answered.

There was a moment of silence.

Regulus seemed comfortable in the silence, taking the menu left on the table and opening it to read it, silently letting his eyes rest in some of the main courses that they could order once the time came. Luna, however, was not someone that enjoyed silence – she enjoyed solitude, but being with someone and being silent was tortured (that was why she loved Pandora so much, she tended to ramble when silence came and Luna loved it). She felt in the responsibility to take over the conversation again.

"Sirius smokes, my brother too," she said.

That made him look away from the menu.

"Remus Lupin smokes?" he asked. She nodded. "Now, that's surprising. I've seen him drunk, but I never seen him smoking before."

"He's like a bloody chimney. I don't know how my parents haven't found out yet," she said, smiling at the thought. Regulus closed the menu and put it aside. She relaxed. "I caught him smoking out of his window several times and I have seen hiding between the trees in my father's house to smoke after dark."

"Do your parents smoke?" he asked.

Luna shrugged.

"Mum doesn't. Daddy used to, but he quit when his mum asked him to," she said.

"His mother and him are close?" he asked, leaning forward.

She nodded, smiling again.

"He's thinking about selling his house and moving back with her. Since my grandfather died, she's been depressed – and now that she's sick, it's concerning to leave her alone for too long. Finally she's in her last round of chemotherapy, but it was really hard for her and she enjoys being with my dad," Luna explained. "Her house is gigantic, it has five bedrooms, so it's alright if we visit."

Regulus frowned.

"You visit your grandmother? Doesn't she visit you?" he asked.

"No! She's older. The least we can do is go to her, not making her leave her comfort to see her own flesh and blood," Luna said, aghast by the idea. "Even my mother visits her sometimes, even after the divorce. Everybody loves my grandmother after they meet her."

"Well, I hope to meet her one day as well," Regulus said kindly.

Luna smiled. Perhaps Regulus was just being polite with such phrasing, but it felt genuine enough.

"At Christmas, even my mother goes to my grandmother's house so we can all be together. It's the only date in the year that we are all under one single roof," Luna said, still smiling. "It used to be better when I was younger, though."

There was a time that she had loved Christmas.

Regulus didn't need to know that it usually ended with her mother leaving and spitting venom at her father's feet and her grandmother crying, sad and lonely in her own bedroom, missing her husband. Her father would usually lock himself away in the garage (which he had transformed in some sort of work-station since he had started fixing up cars and motorbikes when he was a teenager, and his things were still there, untouched by anyone that not him) for hours until he came out, pale and lifeless. Remus would usually sulk the whole holyday, however he had been spending Christmas at the Potters a lot. That left Luna in between the adults, ignorant to many of the secrets that she had been too young to know.

"Well, Christmas in my home isn't all that normal either," Regulus confessed, hoping it would be comforting to her. "It's usually hosted in our home because we're the main branch of the family. My grandfather, Arcturus, is quite insistent that everybody comes, he's been rather upset about having to step down as Duke due to his condition, so he still wants respect from the family, unfortunately he doesn't seem to be all that beloved across our family. Uncle Cygnus comes with is... lover and without his wife, and his daughters – my cousins – come for a bit and then go away to the Rosiers, since they're also cousins to Evan and Pandora. Uncle Alphard comes as well, always looking like a lamb walking to the slaughterhouse, grim and dull – he's an artist and it pains him to be torn away from his masterpieces, so he's always eager to go back to his apartment in Paris."

Luna leaned forward.

"Your grandfather's still alive and your father took his title? Why?" she asked.

"Well, my grandfather isn't in complete control of his mental faculties all the time," Regulus explained. "He can be quite... impulsive when he cannot be, he lacks the social awareness he was renowned for when he was younger. His age does not allow him to be a good representative of the wizarding kind amongst muggle representants. Forthright or not, it can be somewhat reckless to allow him such power."

Luna leaned away, resting her back against the chair and took a deep breath.

"There's something that I don't understand," she admitted.

"You're welcome to ask it, and if I can, I shall answer it," he said, seriously.

"There are actual duties tied to the title?" she asked.

"Yes. The titled families are not only to serve justice in the Ministry, they're also the wizarding representatives amongst muggle kind; we're called for conversations before any law that might slightly change our way of living to decide if it's worth to allow the law to pass," he explained. "My grandfather and my father are trained in Law, went to the Academy for it."

"So your father's a lawyer, too?" she asked, surprised.

He nodded. "He was in the year above your father in the Academy," he added.

That caused a little surprised laugh to escape Luna's lips.

Before Regulus could follow her into a laughing point, the door to the restaurant opened again and a few patrons walked in, sitting on the opposite side of the hall, but made eye contact with Regulus as they walked – one of them lowered is head in respect. Regulus just stared, not moving.

Luna, noticing how Regulus' shoulder tensed up, looked over her shoulder in confusion.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"My father's colleagues," he said. He got a frown that made him look older than he was. "Dumbledore's friends in the Wizengamot."

She was confused to why Regulus seemed almost scared of their presence, if not completely angry.

"And that means?" Luna asked.

"It means that no matter what happens in their luncheon, everybody will know that we are officially courting, even if it goes against our parents' decisions," he explained. "They're known gossips."

More than gossips, they were known liars and spies for Dumbledore and whatever crew he had. Sure, while they could just be eating their lunch in the restaurant as a coincidence, Regulus thoroughfully doubted so – they were there because Dumbledore was interested in the result of that luncheon for some reason, and he feared the reason. When Dumbledore couldn't get into his mind to search for answer, Regulus had seen his happiness to his level of Occlumency; it had been an almost child-like joy that made his eyes sparkle and his glasses slip down his crooked nose a bit more when he forced himself to swallow a smile.

Regulus sighed.

He couldn't imagine a reason for such an interest. Unless...

His eyes met Luna's confused ones.

Luna didn't know Occlumency, that much was clear. If he tried, surely, he would be able to get into her mind and search for whatever he wanted in there. Dumbledore was a far more talented Legilimency user, so there wasn't any surprise in Regulus' mind if he had gone into her mind only to find out about their courtship and found it to be fake.

Why he was interested in it, was another question entirely.

Still... His parents...

"Luna," he said, voice hurried.

Luna was suddenly alert.

"Yes?"

"Would you allow me to get into your mind and lock one of your memories away?" he asked. "I should've thought about it before! I'm so stupid!"

Her eyes widened.

"You mean –"

"Yes." He fixed his chair, dragging it forward a bit. "My parents are talented in Legilimency, and our ruse might be in danger."

She nodded.

"Alright. Go on!" she said, hurried.

He blinked, surprised by how easily he had managed to convince her to allow him to go into her mind, searching for the memories of her proposition and the writing of the document between them. He had expected hesitancy, and perhaps a little bit of fear. But apparently, she was a lot more scared of his family than of him.

Taking his wand from his pocket and using under the table, he searched for her mind. He was surprised how easily he could access it, barely finding resistance to getting in. However, as soon as he was in, Regulus wanted nothing more than to get out – her memories were disorganised and loud, attacking him from every side like emotions during difficult times. He had to push through and take a deep breath in to bear it. Still, it didn't take too long before he found the memories he was searching for; disorganised or not, Luna's mind was clear enough in its patterns, it was obvious enough that the memories she was trying to hide (subconsciously or not) were in the very back. He caught a glimpse of an open window, but looked before the image could completely form itself. He took the memories he was searching for and shoved it in the walls of her mind – it wouldn't last for a long time; without training, the memories would be back in a day or so.

Regulus knew that he would have the bring the awkwardly tense conversation they had after Dumbledore's office up, explaining to her Occlumency and how his family were experts in it. He needed to teach her the basics to at least a few memories out of their eyes – the more one wanted to keep away, the harder it would get, but a couple of memories wasn't all that bad.

Luna made a noise from the back of her throat. A groan of pain.

Regulus eased up, pulling back from her mind as gently as he could.

"Sorry," he said, voice just above a whisper. "Are you alright? I needed to get it done fast."

"It's fine," she dismissed.

"No, I should've been more –" he started.

"I'm fine, really. It's just a headache," she insisted. "It's nothing much, I swear. I had worse before."

Regulus nodded.

"Still, I'm sorry either way," he said.

But the conversation couldn't go on, because the door to the restaurant opened again and Hope and Lyall walked in side by side.

Lyall was in wizarding robes; they were a few years out of style and had not been worn in a long time. It was black and tight around his shoulders and chest, but strangely baggy around his hips, so he had to use a belt to keep it in place. Luna had seen him wearing it before once, it was in his own father's funeral, it had been new then and had never been worn again.

Hope was wearing a simple yellow muggle dress under an old brown long coat. The colour seemed out of place in such a place, but she looked younger than she usually looked – she wasn't as exhausted, her hair was down and she seemed just slightly tense, either because Lyall was beside her (he had to pick her up to Apparate there, after all), because of the awful trip or because she did not want to meet the family that seemed to drive her ex-husband to despair. Luna wondered if she looked so well because she didn't need to take care of anyone besides her patients while they were in school.

Luna smiled.

"Mum, Daddy!" she called, voice controlled, but sounding very loud in such a quiet place.

The maître uselessly led them to the table Regulus and Luna were on.

Regulus stood in ceremony automatically.

"Hi, love," Hope said, leaning down to kiss the top of Luna's head. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Luna said, trying to get up.

Her dad put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back onto her chair. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, Lady," he greeted.

"Hi, Daddy," she answered, smiling even more. "I'm glad you could come. How is Grandma?"

"She's a lot better," he answered.

Regulus cleared his throat politely.

"Hello, Mister Lupin. Madame Jensen," he greeted.

Hope offered him her hand to a handshake, but he led her hand near his mouth. He did not kiss the back of her hand like Luna had seen in the movies, but his lips were near to her ring finger before he pulled back from his bow. In the next movement, he let go of the woman and offered his right hand to Lyall, whispering his greeting once more.

"You must be Regulus," Lyall said.

"I am, sir," Regulus answered. "Please, sit down. I imagine my parents might get here at any moment."

As if in cue, the door of the restaurant opened again.

This time, Luna stood up, heart quickening in her chest as she looked at Regulus. He looked back at her, and she could watch as any life in his face disappeared for a second, curtains closing behind his eyes.

She understood, suddenly, that it was Occlumency, as he had done with her.

Looking down at her feet as she took in the realisation, she realised that her parents were taking their places by each side of her, either as a protection to her or because they didn't want to sit beside one another.

"Mother, Father," Regulus greeted, stepping away from his chair and lowering his head slightly in a discreet bow. "How do you do?"

"Exhausted, son. Exhausted," Duke Orion Black answered, something in his tone letting Luna know that there was something more to the meaning of his words other than what anybody ese could understand. "How do you do?"

Luna glanced up, under her eyelashes and brow, trying to see without making it obvious that she was staring.

"I'm well," Regulus answered. He stepped towards his mother, taking her hand and actually kissing the back of it. "Mother, you look beautiful as always."

Hope and Lyall exchanged a quick look over Luna's head. Though they might not be the best of friends, they knew a weird family dynamic when they saw one. Even Luna, who was trying her very best to be understanding of whatever was that she was about go into, knew that there was something odd happening.

"Mother, Father, if I may introduce you. This is Mister Lyall Lupin, this is Madame Hope Jensen, his..." he hesitated, eyes running to Luna for help.

"Ex-wife," Hope completed for him before Luna could.

Regulus locked his jaw before nodding and opening a charming smile to Hope.

"Of course, his ex-wife, and mother to Luna Lupin, my partner," he introduced.

Luna found Orion's eyes stuck on her.

Orion was dressed as a lord from an old-time film. It was a cutaway front, single breasted morning coat from – what she could only guess – the 19th century, with a white shirt underneath, it's collar upwards and a beautiful silk grey tie around his neck. Luna almost smiled at the handkerchief that looked so much like Regulus' in his breast pocket.

"My Lord," she greeted.

She did not bow; she wasn't sure she should. So she just stood, hoping that her back was straight enough.

Orion's lips twitched.

"It looks like your daughter has more manners than you, Lupin," Orion said, a tone between mocking and teasing.

Walburga Black, behind him, looked at her husband in surprise.

"You are acquainted, I suppose," she said.

"Only professionally, Lady Black," Lyall answered. He lowered his head, copying Regulus' head bow. "Thank you for inviting us for this luncheon."

Hope watched Lyall for a second before looking away, not lowering her head or looking down. Luna wished, silently, that her mother would go on about how she thought titles and royalty were just excuses for grabbing money without actually working as she did whenever the Royal Family appeared on the telly.

Luna looked away from her mother, eyes suddenly stuck on Walburga's dress.

The fitted bodice created a beautiful figure with its pointed waist and frilled collar (and it made Luna feel happier about the ruffles of her skirt), the sleeves were long and full, gathering at the shoulders and gauged at the insides of the elbows in an overly dramatic puffed sleeve and tight in the forearms and wrists. There were thick horizontal stripes in the silk, alternating between white and silk, small flowers into the silk. Moon flowers, Luna realised once she managed to see it better. Walburga's hat was still in her head and wouldn't be pulled out of its place, because it completed the outfit.

Walburga noticed that she was being watched. She looked away from Lyall and turned to Luna.

"Luna Lupin," she repeated the name before turning to her son. "Miss Luna Lupin. Don't be impertinent. Use the correct titles."

Regulus' cheeks burned red immediately as he realised his mistake.

"Of course, Mother. Do forgive me," he said, looking at Hope and Lyall. "Miss Luna Lupin."

Luna had to force herself not to roll her eyes.

"It's a beautiful dress, Miss Lupin," Orion mused. He turned to look at the table. "Why don't we all sit?"

Regulus moved before anybody else, going back to his seat and watching Luna as she hesitated. He waited for a second as his mother and father took their places (one in each side of him as well), before nodding at her. She sat and he followed.

Staring at each other across from one another at the table, they barely noticed when Orion made a movement with his hand, calling a server until the young woman stood beside the table, taking their orders.

Orion and Walburga did not let Lyall or Hope get a word in, ordering for the whole table.

Once the server walked away, Orion smiled.

"You called yourself 'ex-wife', Madame. How interesting," he said.

Hope, unembarrassed, nodded.

"We're no longer married, sir –" she started.

"'Lord'," Lyall corrected.

Hope glanced at her ex-husband, ready to not correct herself, but stopped when she saw Luna turning to look at her as well. Big, green eyes begging her for a chance.

"Forgive me," she said without looking away from her child. She took a deep breath and turned to Orion. "Lord Orion, no. We're no longer married. We divorced many years ago."

"How modern!" Walburga exclaimed.

Luna looked down at her hands on her lap. Though she had been made aware of how uncommon such situations were in the wizarding world, Walburga's passive-aggressive comment just reminded her how completely ignorant Luna was to many things.

"Madame Jensen works, Mother. She's a muggle Healer," Regulus said. That had been something that had gotten his attention, indeed.

"Oh, yes. You married a muggle, Lupin. How could I forget that?" Orion said. "And a talented one at that."

"A Healer, you say?" Walburga asked. "Interesting. How does one does anything so important saving lives without magic?"

Hope raised her chin.

"With our hands, Lady Black," she answered, firmly.

That caused Luna to smile just a little bit, feeling the pride in her mother's voice as if it was her own. She knew how her mother had worked herself to exhaustion time and time again to get to the end of her studies, pushing through moneyless months and difficult, lonely months. Though things had gotten better after she had gotten together with Lyall, who supported her through the end of school, she had done most of it by herself. She had always been loud on her pride. She had always been right about her pride.

"Meanwhile, you decided to retire, old pal," Orion said, turning the conversation to Lyall once more. "For so long we worked together in vetting passing laws in the Board, suddenly you disappeared, leaving to fight alone. Then, after no more than a year, you were back, working as a barrister and making my work a nightmare."

"You see, Lord Black, working as an activist was not allowing me a lot of time with my family. It was a sacrifice that I needed to make for my children's well-being," Lyall said.

Not a complete lie. Being an activist was always dangerous, no matter what side one was on. However, he had not been prepared for his son to be attacked by a werewolf in the middle of the night. Therefore, to make sure both his children would be as safe as they could be after his already big fuck-up, he had decided to work as a common lawyer. Nevertheless, it was not due to the lack of time that he spent with them that he had stepped down.

Orion looked between Hope and Lyall.

"Yes, I can see it worked," he said. Luna wasn't sure if he was mocking again. "I see the beautiful daughter that you raised."

Lyall fixed his posture.

"Yes, Luna is my pride and joy, and so is my boy," Lyall said.

Lyall would often say that they were the only two things that he had done right in his life. Remus didn't seem to take it as a compliment, but it always brought tears to Luna's eyes.

Walburga watched everything in silence.

"Regulus says that you are interested in Alchemy," Orion said.

"Yes, my Lord –"

"You can call me 'sir', Miss Lupin," Orion said, gently. Far gentler than he had to that point, especially when talking to Lyall. "My title was given to me though I didn't want it, I don't mind when someone... close calls me 'sir'."

She smiled at him.

Hope was paying more attention to the conversation now, turning her head to watch her daughter answer the question.

"Thank you, sir. And, yes, I am interested in Alchemy. You see, I hope to discover new medicines and treatments to illness and ailments that are considered unhealable or untreatable," she answered.

Walburga raised her eyebrows.

"Such as?" she asked.

"Vampirism, McAlpine's heart disease and lycanthropy," she answered.

Walburga's chuckle made Luna tense up.

"The daughter of the anti-werewolf activist and the healer wants to heal werewolves?" she mocked.

Luna blushed and looked away.

"Mother, please," Regulus pleased right away. "Luna's grades can easily pass her into a good Alchemy Academy. The chances of her managing her objectives in tasks are high."

"I never said otherwise, I only thought the irony deserved to be commented on," she answered.

"It did not," Regulus insisted.

Walburga turned to glare at her son.

Under the table, Hope reached for Luna's hand, squeezing it tightly as if to pass some message that Luna didn't understand when she turned to look at her mother. She understood, however, when she saw her mother's smile – an almost malicious grin of approval.

"I –" Luna stuttered. She saw everybody turn to her. "I'm ever grateful for your tutoring, however, Mister Black," she said to Regulus.

Regulus smiled at her. She had reminded not to call him by his first name in front of their parents, something he had taught her and had forgotten about himself.

"Your Astronomy shall become perfect by the time I'm done with you," he said, playfully.

Luna wondered if he could hear the second meaning in his sentence, because her mother certainly had – the second squeeze in her hand had been painful, not playful at all.

"And you shall know everything about Transfiguration by the time exams come around. You are doing really good," Luna answered.

Lyall watched the young couple.

"You are tutoring each other. Does that work?" he asked.

"My grades are already raising," Luna answered, turning to him. "I'm on an 'A' already."

"Acceptable," Walburga said.

Regulus nodded.

"My grades went up to an 'E' already," Regulus added.

Orion smiled at his son.

"Well, someone with an 'E', then, must be smart enough to know that we need to draw up the Courtship Contract," Orion said.

Any playful atmosphere that they had on the table disappeared.

"Contract?" Hope asked.

"To protect your daughter, of course," Orion said. "One's purity should be kept until marriage. That's the protocol."

Luna's wide eyes went to Regulus, preparing to tell him that they didn't need the contract or that she needed to talk to him – anything to stop whatever was happening from happening. But Regulus was already looking at her and barely shook his head side to side, denying her the possibility discreetly. Confused, she just stared, but Regulus had already looked away from her.

Orion offered Lyall a pile of paper that he had brought with him, not even offering her a glimpse of it. Uncomfortable, Luna couldn't help but feel like she wasn't welcome to stretch her neck to read as well.

Lyall was a man of principles when it came to his daughter and was uncomfortable as well, shifting nervously between glaring at the papers and looking at his ex-wife apologetically.

"While I understand the necessity of these formalities, some of these terms seem intrusive," Lyall said.

Something in how he said it made Walburga give a sickly-sweet smile, sly as always as she leaned forward just enough to make her grey eyes look lighter, more hypnotising and scarier.

"It's a precaution, Mister Lupin," the woman said.

Hope turned to Lyall, tired of waiting his explanation.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"They ask us to vow Luna's purity," he explained.

Luna's cheeks burned and she truly thought about slipping to crouch under the table, but she thought that it was not very ladylike. Still, she hated being there at the moment.

"That's outrageous! My daughter is just a girl," Hope said.

"Oh, my dear, do you have any concerns about these terms? Is her purity something that you cannot testify to?" Walburga asked.

Luna turned to Regulus again, trying her best to breathe through her fear. Couldn't he see how terrified she was? Couldn't he understand everything that happened that made both of her parents unaware of the truth?

Still, Regulus discreetly shook his head once more, so gently that she barely saw it. He seemed firm in her silence.

"I believe trust is the foundation to any relationship. If we can't trust each other, what do we have?" Regulus asked, voice firm but cold. He looked straight at Luna. "Trust is crucial at moments like these," he turned to the rest of the table once more. "I don't want anything to tarnish the authenticity of our courtship. I don't want anything to stain Luna's reputation, especially since she wants to go into Alchemy, such a closed-off area of magical knowledge. I'd anything I can to help this work."

Walburga turned to Hope, eyebrows raising sharply.

"My son is a true gentleman," she insisted. "This courtship must blossom in a gentlemanly manner."

Uneasy, Lyall turned to Luna with a strained smiled.

Luna watched Regulus for a another second before nodding.

If he wanted trust. He would have it.

"Sign it, Daddy. What must be known, Regulus already does," she said, voice a lot calmer than she had expected it to sound.

It was a tentative agreement that Luna had no chance in reading but hoped that she would understand soon enough. Lyall took the pen from his robes' pockets and turned its end, the ball of ink appearing.

"What does all of it mean?" Hope asked, frowning.

If Luna didn't like being kept in the dark, then Hope hated it even more.

"If, by some unfortunate accident, Luna's purity is compromised during the courtship, the consequences are written down," Walburga explained.

Hope was about to start a discussion about how disrespectful it was to her daughter to be submitted to such conversations; Luna cleared her throat nervously.

"And what are the consequences?" she asked, hoping she sounded nothing more than curious.

"Nothing," Regulus answered quickly as if he had been waiting for her to ask it.

Orion chuckled.

"Nothing to you, Miss Lupin," the duke said. "Regulus, here, made sure as he helped me draft the courtship papers." Luna looked at Regulus again, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, but Orion continued speaking. "He'll pay a significant amount of money in case your reputation is damaged at all, from his own personal vaults, he made sure to add."

Lyall's face was pale before turning red while the food arrived.

The conversation changed to a more neutral subject: Quidditch (something that even Hope had some interest about).

Luna's mind couldn't stop working.

Regulus' offer had looked to the other as if he had every intention of breaking Luna's purity from the start, preparing himself to pay a lot of money to her from his 'transgression' with her reputation. But, to Luna, it had been the biggest offer of safety. He knew she wasn't a virgin and he had taken a step forward, promising his parents that she was and offering them reassurance by allowing himself to pledge his own money.

Regulus had taken the blame for something that was yet to happen, just so she didn't have to.

Luna almost smiled.

The food had been eaten. Orion had drunk at least three cups of white wine, but had barely touched his fish, because he was too busy still talking.

While the whole conversation about the consequences of Luna 'losing her virginity' during the courtship had been uncomfortable and there was a whole contract about that, there were more subjects that everybody needed to agree on, for example the approved chaperones to watch the couple.

"I, particularly, feel more comfortable with women, of course," Walburga said, putting a hand on Regulus' shoulder. "Women are better chaperones and the honour in the relationship is mostly accepted. Men can do in a pinch, but women are better."

"I cannot watch them all the time, I work," Hope said.

Orion nodded.

"We weren't expecting you to. Usually a magical, married woman would be better," Orion said.

For the first time during that conversation, Hope looked somewhat ashamed of her situation. Still, she swallowed down her saliva forcefully.

"In such cases, then, what should we do?" Lyall asked.

"Then, we would find a sponsor family," Orion answered.

Luna took her cup of water and sipped it once more, trying to distract herself from the fact that people were talking about her and Regulus as if they weren't there, listening to everything, without the capacity of arguing for their wishes.

"A sponsor family?" Lyall asked.

"A family that will put their reputation around Miss Lupin. The woman would most likely chaperone the couple, becoming a secondary mother, if possible, perhaps even allowing her to spend a week or so in her home so Regulus would be able to visit during the holydays," explained Walburga.

It felt like a personal attack against Hope. Walburga had done her best to imply as discreetly as she could that Hope was not being a good mother, so Luna would need a secondary one. It was hardly ideal conversation for their first meeting, but it was nothing that Lyall had not warned her about in their way there – Hope had ignored most of what he had said, not believing him at all, but now, sitting across from that woman through a whole meal, she understood Lyall's fear when he heard who Luna was going out with.

"Oh, if that's the case, I already have a sponsor for her," Lyall said.

Orion turned to him.

"Pray, tell."

"The Potters. Lady Potter has already agreed on watching her in meetings when I cannot be there," Lyall said. "I've talked to her, asking for advice once I received your letter, my Lord."

Orion's face became serious for a moment before he forced himself to go back to smiling calmly. He clearly didn't enjoy the idea, but it was better than anything else that he had been imagining – he had not been very excited to go around, hoping that one of his friends' families would accept taking responsibility for a half-blood.

"Well, Lady Potter will be Miss Lupin's sponsor, then," Orion said with a solemn nod.

I hope you all liked it. I'm sorry if it was a big boring, but chapters like these are my favourite ones. But I worked hard on this one to not make it so long, as you can see there was a whole part (when they were eating) that I cut because it was absolute pain to read. 

So, what did you get from this chapter?