As soon as Alcina excused herself from the kitchen area to use the toilet, Renata made a mad dash for the back door leading into Adelmo's garden and hurled the contents of her stomach. She hadn't eaten anything that morning, in fear of what was taking place currently happening, which only left her with stomach acid burning her throat. Adelmo was right behind her, holding back her hair after closing the door behind them with the use of his wand. He had to admit that he was extremely proud of his little sister, the way she spoke against their mother, it had left him nearly suffering a heart attack, but at the same time, the way she defended him, it showed a lot of growth that he didn't initially expect.

Back home, Renata had followed the word of the parents for most of their childhood, never really questioning anything they ever told her. And if she did question something, she never dared to speak out against it, both of them rather sit in silence than speak what was on their minds. But Adelmo was a witness to it all, the way Renata had jumped to his defence, rather than just being the means of support. She had always been there for him, but she had never fought for him against their parents. It was impressive to see, but it left Adelmo also thinking that he was so weak in comparison to his little sister.

There she was, challenging their mother, standing by her job as Harry's nanny and willing to introduce Alcina to James, knowing very well that their mother would not approve of him. It didn't matter how nice James was, it didn't matter how well he treated Renata, or how well off he was financially. For Renata, their parents probably had a list of suitors back home that they approved of, which was probably another reason why they wanted her to come home. As much as Adelmo didn't want to admit it, their parents were control freaks and they wanted to make sure that every aspect of their children's lives was perfect.

They didn't know James, but they knew the men that had attended their school and they knew the families that the men came from as they were all longtime friends. They came from the same families that the women that they had picked out as suitors for Adelmo originated. Anything or anyone outside of the circle wasn't considered worthy and it didn't matter how polite James was or even if he happened to love Renata with all of his being, to the Abate parents, he was nothing.

He already saw how his mother reacted to just his flat alone, when Alcina figured out that Renata was, in fact, dating her boss, he knew all hell was going to break loose. But Renata seemed ready to take on the challenge, even if she was vomiting over the railing of his back stairs. It was better for her to get it out now than when she was introducing the two. 

"Renata," he said as she stood up straight after a moment and placed her hands on her hips to collect herself, " you know you don't have to do this. You don't have to bring her over there-"

"But I do, Adelmo," she whispered to him, " don't you see? We have to show them that we can be happy, even if we didn't follow everything Mamma and Papà told us to do. They have guided us all throughout our childhood and we can be thankful for that, but we're adults now. We should have a say over what makes us happy. James makes me happy, Harry makes me happy, and Sirius makes you happy, they shouldn't have say over that."

Adelmo looked away at the mention of Sirius, his eyes carried worry as he made sure that their mother wasn't close enough to overhear anything.

"Renata, please, be careful with what you're saying-"

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, " but how long are you going to put up with the idea of her telling you to find yourself a wife? No matter what, that's not something you want but they are going to keep pushing it on you until you make it clear that it's not going to happen. You know what makes you happy, Adelmo, are you going to fight for it?"

"You know, it's easier for you, Renata, because even if you end up with someone Mamma and Papà don't approve of really, they won't nearly hold as much resentment as opposed to me. What makes you happy isn't nearly as big of a sin as what makes me happy. In the end, you're always going to be the favourite no matter what you do unless you suddenly developed a liking towards women!"

"Al, I'm not trying to upset you, I just want you happy-"

"Then get our mother out of here!"

He raised his voice at her, even though his anger wasn't directed at Renata, but he watched as she flinched and looked away from him. She gave him a small nod of her head before walking back into the flat without another word, just in time for their mother to walk back into the kitchen area.

"Are you ready to go, Mamma?"

Since Renata had made the comment that Alcina had the honour of meeting James, she could see a slight bitterness in her mother's gaze. She knew that Alcina was not happy about meeting James, but she really wasn't going to be happy when she learned that James was the father of the child she was an active nanny for. But Renata wasn't so concerned with what her mother's belief, instead, she was worried about what Alcina was going to say to James.

As strong as James had been appearing in the recent days and weeks, Renata didn't know how fragile he was. She could feel how happy he was, she could see it too, however, there was no telling if there was anything that could set him down the wrong path again. She didn't want to put him into that position, just in case things did get ugly, but James insisted that everything was going to be fine.

She just hoped that he was right.

With sweaty palms, a speedy heart rate, and repeated short breaths that were on the borderline of being considered hyperventilating, Renata did make her way to the Potter household with her mother. Several times, she felt faint because Alcina had yet to say a word since they had left Adelmo's flat. She could feel her mother's anger even if Alcina kept a rather blank expression on her face. But she probably didn't care for the way Renata spoke to her and she probably was against the idea of Renata dating this man that she knew nothing about.

She was trying to see it from her mother's point of view, she was trying to make it seem like Alcina wasn't entirely in the wrong, and that there were two sides to every story. But Renata was struggling, especially since she had the words that James told her before Alcina's arrival. He had pointed out flaw after flaw in her upbringing and it left Renata questioning so much that it was very difficult to face her mother head-on with any sort of affectional greeting. Not only that but seeing the compromising position that she was putting Adelmo through was driving her mad internally.

The problem of it all was, Renata realised that she and Adelmo had been fighting to be perfect for their parents for so long when really, they just wanted to find acceptance for the things that made them happy. Adelmo may have had a "perfect job" but he didn't have the "traditional" love life that their parents wanted for him. He didn't want a wife and while they had deemed him cured, Renata could sense that her parents knew that Adelmo still did not care for women in that sense. Yet, they were still pressuring him into following their path, rather than the one that was going to make him the happiest.

Not to mention, when it came to Renata failing at her training, she remembered how terrible her parents had made her feel. Rather than supporting her during the toughest time in her life where she felt like a complete failure, they had made her feel worse as if that was going to help. It only led to her leaving and rather than supporting any other endeavours that she had pursued since her departure, her mother was trying to get her right back home.

Alcina was trying to get both of her children home as if it was the only way for them to succeed or survive in the world. Shouldn't she have been initially happy that Renata simply found a job that she could maintain, not to mention, a man that she was dating that made her happy? Shouldn't Alcina have been proud that her son was considered one of the top Healers at St Mungo's rather than ridiculing him for the size of his flat because it wasn't "family friendly?"

Renata didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to see her mother in a poor light, but it seemed that was how Alcina viewed them if they didn't follow her every word or order.

As they arrived on the steps of the Potter home, Renata didn't feel comfortable walking in just yet, she felt her confidence from earlier dwindling before they even went inside. However, she turned to Alcina once more to make a point before they entered.

"Mamma, before we go in," she began, " I just want you to know that he means a lot to me. He may not be what you consider ideal, but he really makes me happy. He's a beautiful person and so is his son-"

"Son?!" Alcina repeated. "You're dating a man with a son-"

Before anything could be exchanged between the two, the door swung open, revealing James standing before them with Harry in his arms. The two of them were an adorable sight, with matching grey jumpers and their hair pushed back, even though it looked like their hair was putting up quite the fight to return back to its usual messy state. Renata grinned because James looked ridiculously posh, which while it wasn't a bad look on him, it didn't speak James Potter to her at all.

She liked his usual relaxed demeanour and attire, lounging around in old Quidditch jerseys and t-shirts. Clothes that looked like they should have been thrown out years ago but he couldn't bring himself to part with, that made up the James Potter aesthetic. However, the man before her dressed like he should have been smoking a fancy pipe in one hand with a glass of the finest wines in the other. He certainly looked the role of one of the men that Alcina would have picked out for Renata back home.

But it made Renata have to bite on her tongue to keep from laughing because even Harry did not look thrilled about their dress-up. Already she was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed as James stepped out to kiss her cheek and greet Alcina.

"Sweetheart, you're home so soon," he said, kissing her cheek with a chuckle. What he really meant was: what the hell are you doing back here so soon?

She flashed him an apologetic look before the smile returned to her face. "Well, Mamma really, really, really wanted to meet you, Mr...er..."

Suddenly, she felt extremely stuck because she wasn't sure if her mother would take it as an odd sign that she referred to him as Mr Potter. Yes, he was still her employer but she was also claiming to be dating the man, if she didn't address him as James, her mother was going to jump on it immediately.

"James," she said in a strained voice, hoping that he wouldn't take offence to it, " this is my mother, Alcina Abate. Mamma, this is James Potter and his son, Harry."

James went in for a hug, but Alcina made it clear that she was not ready for such a gesture to be exchanged between them. Instead, she held out her hand for James to shake, leaving James briefly meet eyes with Renata, a slight worry that he had already managed to screw things up. Renata wanted to reassure him that it certainly wasn't any fault of his, it was just how her mother was.

Nonetheless, James still welcomed Alcina into his home and announced that he had just finished making breakfast if they were hungry. Alcina opened her mouth to decline but Renata beat her to it and told James that they would love something to eat. Of course, as James prepared everything at the table, Renata took to holding Harry. He had been completely silent since Alcina's arrival, which was so odd because even if he didn't have an extensive vocabulary, Harry was known to go on and on, even by the means of babbling or making up his own words.

Yet as he sat in Renata's lap, his hands rested over hers and he just stared quietly in the direction of Alcina.

"Please correct me if I am mistaken," Alcina began causing Renata to automatically sit a little taller, " but is this the boy that you are a nanny for as well?"

"Nanny Nanata!" Harry clapped his hands together before peering up at her with a smile. Renata smiled back down at him warmly before facing her mother.

"Yes, Mamma."

Suddenly, a shrill but terse sense of laughter escaped Alcina before she looked at Renata and gave a slight shake of her head. When James came over with an assortment of breakfast foods, included perfect executed crêpes, Renata smiled up at him, knowing that he had put so much effort into the breakfast because the crêpes looked amazing. Of course, Alcina didn't notice nor would she probably care in the slightest as her mind was still stuck on the prior information she was delivered.

"So Mr Potter," Alcina called out as James sat down, " is this a routine of yours?"

"Making breakfast?" James replied with a confused look. "Well, Ren and I tend to rotate-"

"Do you normally date the nannies of your son?"

"Mamma!" Renata exclaimed, but it was too late, her mother had already delivered her first blow. If only Alcina asked her questions first before passing her judgement on James, someone she didn't know at all. It didn't only catch Renata off guard, but James looked to be in a state of shock.

"Do you simply hire beautiful women to look over your son and then start to date them?" Alcina continued with her questions. "Then what? When you grow tired of them and find a prettier woman, you move on and fire them?"

"Excuse me-"

"I want to know how stable my daughter's job is," Alcina stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "I cannot have Renata rely on you keeping her around if you have a pattern. She needs job stability."

"Mrs Abate," James spoke in a low but firm voice that made Renata and Harry become still, " I assure you that there is no pattern. Renata started off as my son's first and only Nanny because they got along extremely well when they first met. Your daughter has a natural way with children and it was a joint decision between myself and my son to have her around. There have been no nannies before her, it was only my late wife that passed away a couple of years ago."

"So your wife passes away, so you take in the next beautiful woman willing to look after your son? Are you two having sex-"

"Mamma! That's enough!"

Renata wanted to pull her hair out of her head with how her mother was acting. She figured it was going to be bad, but she never anticipated for it to be that terrible. She was screaming on the inside and if James reacted out of anger from what Alcina was saying, she was definitely not going to blame him, if anything she was going to cheer him on.

It was one thing to question her job, but to question whether she was having sex with James was going above and beyond to be rude.

"I just don't want you to be trapped in a situation where you're being used, Renata," Alcina said, " I don't understand what you're benefitting from all of this. So far, you provide everything for this household and for your employer, is the pay at least decent? I mean, I would hope it would be if you're going to be a live-in-home sex worker-"

James immediately stood up especially as Renata quickly covered her face to hide the fact that she had started crying. There he was, he had been on his best behaviour, trying to be as polite as possible to this woman, so that he never had a second encounter of family meetings going awry with the woman he loved. But he seemed he couldn't escape it because even if he had done nothing, it still managed to go wrong.

"Mrs Abate, you have crossed the line beyond reason," James told her as he stood at the table, " it is one thing to have concern for your daughter and her happiness, but you have been nothing but rude and disrespectful since your arrival and you haven't even been here that long. Your daughter is not a live-in-home sex worker. Our relationship started off as Renata working as Harry's nanny, but as time went on and I could see how remarkable she was, I couldn't help but fall for her. If you gave your daughter just a fraction of praise of what she deserves, you would understand that it's really not that difficult to fall in love with her."

Peering up, Renata's gaze was watery, but she didn't bring herself to cry because she had picked up on everything that James had stated and he wasn't finished either as he continued talking to Alcina.

"Furthermore, you came into my house and without even bothering to get to know me, you passed judgement. You have been nothing but incredibly disrespectful, not only to me and Renata but to my son as well. He may be young, but you have no business judging us in front of him.No one here is using Renata, she is welcomed to leave at any given point if she isn't comfortable. But she has chosen to stay and we want her to stay. As her mother, you should have been supportive that she had something that made her happy..."

"This happiness is temporary," Alcina said, not even a look of surprise on her face with James standing up to her. "Renata is not living up to her potential whatsoever. She spent many years studying and working hard to become an Auror and yet, here she is working as a nanny. No, not my daughter-"

"You don't get that say!" James growled at her, suddenly causing Harry to become upset as he could sense his father growing angry. Renata stood up to remove herself from the table, only to see that Sirius was in the garden as if he was acting as backup in case things had grown ugly. She made her way outside with Harry to hand him over, digging into her pockets for any spare money that she had on her person.

"Take him anywhere fun, Sirius," she said, " he really shouldn't be around that inside."

Sirius could see the prominent frown on her face as he told her to keep her money as he had his own on him. They could hear James inside, leaving Renata worried as she made her way back in before Sirius could say something to her. She only mentioned that when it was all over that they would send an owl or pick him up from Sirius' place. He wanted to tell Renata to tell her mother to leave, but it seemed James was doing that job perfectly. She hurried back inside to see that now Alcina was up on her feet, ready to stand her grounds and claim that James wasn't good enough in her eyes.

"What is good enough for your daughter, really?" James questioned Alcina. "Honestly, I really want to know. Since her happiness isn't a matter, it doesn't matter if she's miserable just as long as she becomes an Auror and marries someone from the school, is that it?"

The kitchen area grew quiet as Renata stood in the doorway, suddenly all eyes were on her and she didn't know what to say, but she was waiting for her mother's response.

"Renata doesn't fully know what's good for her," Alcina spoke in an eerie calm tone, " job stability and a stable husband will grant her happiness. Not some job as a babysitter to a widower. Tell me, what happened to your first wife-"

"That's enough!" Renata finally found her voice as she walked over to stand before her mother. "You have no right to ask him any of that. It's none of your business and no matter what happened to his late wife that doesn't make him less of a person. You don't understand how strong James is, how strong his late wife is and to think for one possible second that it's appropriate to ever use that against someone...who are you? Because you're certainly not acting like a mother, you're acting like a monster."

"Renata-"

"No, ever since you got here which has only been less than two hours, you have managed to shake everything in your wake. You have made Adelmo and I feel inferior when we finally believe we have achieved our own happiness. All we've done is live our lives to be perfect for you and Papà, but we weren't happy. But we're happy here, Adelmo is happy in his flat, he's happy without a wife. And me? I'm happy not to be an Auror, I'm happy to have that pressure lifted off my shoulders."

Renata really did feel an exaggerated weight lifted off her shoulders as she let everything out at the moment. She peered over at James to see that he wore an encouraging smile on his face and she could see that whatever he had placed in his hair had already started to wear off as his messy hair was poking through.

"And James and Harry make me the happiest I've ever been. There is not a man you could find that is more perfect than James Potter, no matter how hard you searched, Mamma. And as for Harry, he's an amazing little boy and it wouldn't have mattered if he was the Boy-Who-Lived or not. He's precious, smart, sweet, and beautiful and even if I wasn't dating his father, I would be his nanny a million times over. I would be his nanny over an Auror anyway."

"Oh, sweetheart," Alcina said in a voice barely above a whisper as she reached her hand out and touched Renata's face softly. "You're a fool, just a fool."

Renata thought she had made some sort of breakthrough to her mother, she thought that Alcina was finally seeing the error in her ways, but it seemed as though she was wrong.

"You have fooled yourself into believing that this will bring you lifelong happiness, when in fact, it's only temporary. This is what your father and I tried to protect you from. You have such a big heart, but the world is going to take advantage of that, my dear. That's why we were so proud of you when you started down the path to becoming an Auror, we figured it would grant you tough skin."

"I can't remember the moment when I wanted to become an Auror," Renata said," I don't ever recall the moment where it became obvious that it was what I wanted to do. Do you remember that moment, Mamma? Do you remember the moment I came to you and said I wanted to be an Auror? Do you remember when Adelmo came to you and said he wanted to be a Healer?"

"Of course I do, you two were very young, that's why you don't remember-"

"I remember reading newspaper back when I was four years old, why wouldn't I remember the turning point in my life when I picked out my career?"

James watched as the two went back and forth and he had to pinch himself and bite down on his tongue to keep himself from screaming out his ongoing cheer and smiling. There were no words to describe the amount of pride he felt in those moments to hear Renata defend herself, him and Harry, and her brother. It was perfect and he really wanted to jump up and down in place.

"Renata, I don't know what you're implying-"

"I don't know why you can't be happy for Adelmo and me," Renata sighed as it grew quiet, "whether we are Healers, Aurors, teachers, or members of the Ministry...we're your children and if we find something that makes us happy that isn't harmful, why can't you and Papà be supportive of that?"

"Your father and I know what's best for you," Alcina said, " you may not realise it now, but you will one day. Both of you can live in this fantasy for as long as you'd like, but I know eventually, you will come home."

"I won't," Renata stated strongly.

"Excuse me-"

"I said I won't and you know why, Mamma? Because I am home. I have made my home here and it makes me happy. It's not a fantasy, trust me, far too many times I thought I was in a dream of sorts, but I'm awake and aware of the life I'm living and I love every part of it."

Alcina didn't seem to have much to respond with as the two stood there and stared at each other for a few moments in silence. It seemed they were ready to start swinging at one point, but eventually, Alcina looked away, giving Renata the unspoken victory.

"Very well, Renata, we'll see how long this lasts."

She started making her way towards the door, clearly, it was the end to the visit, leaving Renata to blink several times in shock. She glanced over in James' direction who gave a shrug of his own shoulders in confusion as to what was happening. Following her mother towards the front door, Renata didn't expect such an abrupt ending.

"Mamma, is that it, you're just leaving? Just like that?"

"What else do you want me to do here, Renata?" Alcina asked as she turned around with one hand on the door to see herself out. "You have everything here that makes you happy, do you not? What is the purpose of me staying?"

"You could share in this happiness, Mamma. It may not be what you planned for me, but you could at least be happy for me, right?"

"No. I don't have to be happy about this because I know it will not last, Renata. When you're done playing nanny and this man's whore, you can come back home. Your real home. We'll be ready for you when you're ready to get back on the right path."

"I am on the right path!" Renata spat in her mother's face. "Didn't you hear anything I said back in there? I helped James and he's helped me. It's not a matter of lust or whatever you think this relationship is. There is so much more...James is so wonderful and his son, how can you not see that? Oh, that's right because you're trying to judge them without knowing them."

Alcina said nothing as she pulled open the door and stepped out, but Renata followed her out onto the front step.

"Before you leave," she called after her, leaving Alcina to turn around, " I have a question about my blood phobia. Was my first incident during my Auror training? Did it happen any other time during my childhood?"

She expected her mother to recall a memory or something, but instead, Alcina remained silent before she disapparated from the scene. Renata was left outside for a few seconds, unsure of what to say or do as her mother seemed to depart just as fast as her arrival. Deciding to head back inside, Renata walked back into the flat and closed the door behind her.

Pressing her back against the door and leaning her head back as well, she let out a loud sigh before looking ahead and seeing James standing at the end of the hallway.

"Well, she's gone," she whispered to him. "Look, Mr Potter, I'm so sorry-"

Too caught up in what had happened, Renata hadn't even processed that James was making his way over to her at such a rapid speed. She was too busy trying to come up with a proper apology for her mother's behaviour, but that wasn't going to happen as she suddenly found herself involved in a kiss with James. He damn near tackled her into the door, catching her off guard, but James couldn't resist himself. The way she had spoken about him and the way she had spoken about Harry, claiming that they made her so happy and how she viewed them, it left him just all out of sorts in a good way.

She had placed all of her trust in James, calling out her mother on the suspicions he brought up, she was willing to question Alcina and that showed that she trusted that he had her best interest at heart.

Sometimes it was hard to convey how they felt around each other, but at the sign of someone daring to question their relationship, they had put everything out on the table. They made everything clear to the other person and to themselves, so James couldn't hold himself back anymore.

Eventually, since he had managed to catch Renata off guard, she needed to pull away to gather her breath, feeling a rise in her body temperature as James had practically lifted her up into his arms. To steady herself, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck before leaning her forehead against his.

"Mr Potter-"

"Renata," he cut her off before she could continue, talking against her lips, " I swear if you don't start calling me James, I'm going to end up losing my mind."