James had never apparated so many times in one day and across such a vast amount of distance, to the point where he was left exhausted and on the brink of vomiting. Every so often when he and Sirius reached a new location, one or both of them would fall over, claiming they were extremely dizzy and they had to take several moments to rest. The risk of splinching was heightened and James swore he could hear Professor McGonagall screeching in his ear about what they were doing was "beyond reckless." A common phrase she often used whenever dealing with the boys back when they were in Hogwarts.

"Oh, please tell me that there isn't much further to go," Sirius whined, " I'm dying here, James."

Glancing over, James could see that Sirius was still resting on the ground from where he had fallen over earlier from his dizziness. The trip was definitely taking its toll on the two of them and James nearly smacked himself a million times over, wondering why they just didn't take to flying their broomsticks. It seemed during such crucial moments, he always jumped on the first option that came to his mind, rather than thinking it through and considering other options.

But they had already travelled a great deal, they were in Italy finally, the rest of the distance didn't really matter at that point. Pulling out the small map that the two had picked up to pinpoint their designated stops, James rubbed his fingers over his eyes to rub the sleepiness away.

"We're in Turin now," he yawned before sitting down next to Sirius, " which puts us closer to Parma from what we mapped out. It's almost a straight shot from there."

"James, we need to rest," Sirius told him, " we're not going to be of any use if we show up exhausted to a fight. We need to be on our best, especially if we're possibly facing the idea of taking down a cult."

James didn't want to stop and rest, but at the same time, he perfectly understood where Sirius was coming from. They were both disoriented from the choice of travel and it was already nighttime, meaning that even if they arrived in Parma soon, the majority of shops and restaurants were still probably closed. A heavy sigh escaped him as he had to give in to actually stopping for the night as he leaned against Sirius' shoulder.

"You're right, we should stop for now," he said, "I just wish we could have solved it all in one day's time. I feel like the more time that passes, the greater danger Renata and Adelmo are going to be in. I have no idea what Alcina has in store for them."

"This is all my fault," Sirius admitted as he picked up a small rock off the ground and tossed it into the nearest bushes. "I should have told you when we found out she left. I just thought for once that I could handle things without you having to swoop in and save the day. Well, I don't mean it like that, I meant...I don't know. You've done so much over the years, James, always helping everyone out. I just wanted to do the same for you."

With a small smile, James reached his hand up and patted the top of Sirius' head. "There, there, Padfoot, there's no need to be so hard on yourself. I know what you were trying to do and it probably would have worked if we weren't dealing with a woman who is completely evil and mental. Under regular circumstances, I'm sure that Adelmo would have been able to bring Renata home on his own, but it just goes to show you what we're about to go up against."

"I should have gone with Adelmo or something," Sirius said, " I practically sent him back, let him walk right back into a trap of sorts. He wouldn't go back, I know he wouldn't. He loved his job at St Mungo's and maybe while he didn't love me as of yet, I know he was pretty much on his way. The way he spoke some nights, telling me that he was going to tell his parents about me and he didn't care what they thought about our relationship. It definitely had me all excited and we spoke about you and Renata."

"You two did?" James questioned. "What were you two discussing about us?"

Sirius gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Just that you two seemed so happy together, that Harry was happy too. When you finally asked her out on a date, you don't understand how happy that made me...and her, of course. You two were both driving me absolutely mad coming to me when your feelings for each other were so obvious."

"Wait, you mean, she was coming to you about me?"

"Well, yes," he answered, "it was just about how she was feeling during the time you both were tiptoeing around each other. And when Harry started calling her "Mummy."

It grew silent under the awkward topic as Sirius forgot how fresh it all still was in James' mind. To think that Renata had liked him a lot longer than he assumed and how Harry calling her "Mummy" had not first risen at his birthday party, it left his chest fluttery and his stomach unsettled unless he was still feeling all the side effects from a large amount of apparating.

"When did Harry first call her that?" he asked. "Do you know?"

He seemed apprehensive about discussing it initially, but there was no point in withholding any information at that point.

"I think she told me the first time it happened was the day you all went to the beach," Sirius replied," she said it was out of the blue and she corrected him. He would go some time without saying it and then he would call her it again. Once she told me that she thought Harry saw it as a game, she was terrified that he was going to say it in front of you, but he never did. He would only say it when it was just the two of them alone in a room or something along those lines. He wouldn't do it in front of you until...well...you know."

Not wanting to think back on the day, James closed his eyes and leaned his head back against a tree. He had made another big mistake, similar to the one he had made a couple of years ago, and he really hoped it wouldn't cost him everything again. Thankfully, exhaustion took over as he started to fall asleep, his mind entering a dark and blank state of silence. It probably wasn't their intention to fall asleep outside within the mountainous landscape, but they hoped they were not going to be bothered as Sirius fell asleep shortly after.

The night was somewhat cold, not that the two noticed as they were too tired to notice anything. They buddied up for warmth against the tree and remained in the same position throughout the entire night.

While the two did not wake specifically when the sun rose, they did not remain asleep long after as Sirius stirred first to the sound of approaching voices. Immediately, he started nudging James to wake up and before James could even figure out what was going on, Sirius gave him the cue that they were to "act natural."

Within seconds of the signal, a group of hikers seemed to be making their way down the trail and rather than stumbling upon an abandoned scene where James and Sirius had rested for the night, they came upon a scene of a stag and a dog, standing before them quietly. Everyone came to a standstill as the hikers weren't sure if the animals before them, were dangerous, while James and Sirius took to basically pretending that they were statues.

Eventually, one of the men in the group called something out to the others that James and Sirius didn't understand, but they watched as each person of the group, slowly started walking off the path to go so far around them. Once the voices were so off in the distance that they only sounded like whispers carried off in the window, James glanced over at Sirius before the two of them fell out of their animagus form. However, the transition seemed to be a lot smoother for Sirius as James managed to fall over.

"Oh, it's been a while since I've gone stag," James groaned on the floor, " I forgot how weird it is to transition from four to two."

"Oh, deer."

"Shut up, Padfoot."

After helping James to his feet, the two men faced each other before looking over at the map at the little blips that led the way to Parma. They were close, a lot closer than what they had been all the way back in London. They were both nervous, their nerves evident in their expressions as they faced each other once the map was put away. There was no telling if James' plan was going to work, but the least they could do was try.

Under different circumstances, James would have loved to have enjoyed the atmosphere of Parma upon arrival as he remembered everything Renata had told him about the place and it all seemed to hold true. From the elegant, yet bold architecture stained with warm colours, plants and trees lining the streets to the pleasantly overwhelming smell of all the different foods that were being cooked from various restaurants at the time, James would have loved spending extra time there. Unfortunately, his first visit to Parma was not for pleasure as he and Renata originally planned.

As he and Sirius had arrived on the outskirts, James didn't even know where to begin when it came to finding even a restaurant that served the dish and there was no telling even if Renata ate at any of them. He wished he could remember her mentioning any specific place she liked to eat and not just the dishes she enjoyed.

"Merlin, I don't even know how we go about asking," James groaned, rubbing his hand over his face," neither one of us speaks Italian, Sirius."

"James, we're in a tourist area, there's bound to be someone here who speaks English," Sirius reassured him, " whether it's on the streets or in one of the restaurants, I'm sure we can find someone. Now come on, we're not going to find her just standing around here. We'll probably warrant the attention of the police. I mean, we look like shit. Smell like it too. Merlin, where is my wand? First time in Italy and we are complete messes."

James was just about Sirius over his priorities in the situation, however, within just a couple of waves of Sirius' wand, the two of them actually looked put together with clean clothing and they didn't smell like they hadn't showered in over a day's time after travelling across multiple countries.

Placing his wand away, Sirius motioned his arm that they should get moving and the real challenge began. Find someone who speaks English. Find out which restaurant served tortelli d'erbetta and pray that they knew Renata. Sounded simple enough when it came to writing it down, but not when they actually had to do it.

Sirius came up with the idea to use his dog form to his advantage, making his way through the area to see if he could come upon any English speakers and then alert James. James didn't have much of a chance to argue if he wanted to do things different as Sirius took off leaving him alone.

Deciding to cover his own ground, James started walking and looking around. He approached several people but they either shook their heads or brushed him off politely to claim that they didn't speak English. He knew it was foolish for him to grow upset that no one around him seemed fluent in English, considering he was in a foreign country, but he was hoping to stumble upon at least one.

Finally, his moment had come and his patience however much it was dwindling at the point, paid off. He entered a small restaurant, one that he couldn't even bother with pronouncing the name, knowing that he was probably just going to butcher it anyway. Upon entering, the worker, an older man, inside immediately began waving his hands towards the door and telling James something. If he had to make a guess, James assumed that he was trying to tell him that the restaurant wasn't open yet.

"Help?" James called out to him, leaving the worker to fall silent. "Please? Do you speak English? Does anyone speak English here? I need help."

His voice sounded desperate enough that the irritated look on the worker's face softened to concern and for a couple of moments it remained silent. James stood there with a pleading look, only to watch as the worker walked away, heading into the kitchen area calling something over his shoulder. For a minute or so, James was just left outside near the dining area and wondered if the man had just travelled to the back to avoid talking with him any further. Thinking it was best that he leave and try elsewhere, James walked out of the restaurant and looked up and down the street to find his next target of an attempt.

He was just about to cross the way when he was grabbed by the back of his shirt, pulling him back towards the curb. Instantly, a slight panic rose in his chest, but as he turned around, he came face to face with a boy who could be no older than twelve years old.

"Why did you leave?" the boy asked him. "My grandfather told you to stay so that he could come and get me."

"I...I didn't know," James answered, feeling quite stunned as he faced the light-haired brunette, it was so rewarding to hear another English speaker. The accent paired with the language reminded him of Renata. "I didn't understand what he was saying to me, I just needed to find someone who spoke English."

"So why did you come to Italy then?" the boy continued to question with a cheeky grin. It was enough to bring a smile to James' face because perhaps under different circumstances, he could have seen himself saying the same thing when he was younger. Or, who the hell was he kidding? He would probably say it as an adult too.

"Listen, I'm trying to find someone very important to me, but I don't have a lot of information," James told him. "She spoke about Parma all the time to me, she said it was her favourite place to come here for food. I had to try here first. I'm wondering if you can help me by telling me, what restaurants sell the tortelli d'erbetta dish?"

The boy looked at him, a flicker of perhaps amusement or puzzlement drifting across his blue gaze before he let out a small laugh.

"The answer to your question, Sir, is plenty. Especially around here," he said, unaware that James' heart was sinking in his chest. "It's a famed dish. If you were here back on the twenty-third of June, on Saint John's night, tortelli is all you would find. Everyone here has their own personal way and touch of making it, including my grandfather. You chose a fairly vague dish as one to track someone down by."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that now, thank you."

"Why don't you actually tell me about the woman, instead of the food she eats?"

"Well," James began, figuring he could at least try, although he assumed the chances were going to be extremely slim about finding her with his method, " her name is Renata Abate, she-"

"Renata!"

James could have practically choked as the boy cut him off to repeat Renata's name, his face lighting up. "Y-You know her?"

"Of course! Who doesn't know Renata? Or the Abate family?" the boy said. "She's around here all the time! Well, she was and then she went away for a while, but then she came back! I remember her being around when I was a baby because she and her brother liked to eat around here. But she said our restaurant is the best! And we serve torte-"

Before the boy could boast anymore, James needed to know if she was going to show up because he needed to find her.

"Do you know if she'll be in today?"

He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "She might be, she normally comes around for breakfast or lunch. Adelmo should be with her too, he was with her yesterday again."

The boy introduced himself as Matteo Manfredi and his grandfather, the one who owned the restaurant was Giulio. Upon re-entering the establishment, Matteo informed his grandfather who James was and what his plans were, which seemed to unsettle the old man a bit. He told Matteo to tell James that he wasn't looking for any trouble and that he didn't want one of his favourite patrons coming to be harassed. James promised that he wasn't looking to do any of that, he just wanted to speak with Renata.

He was given a small table by the window to keep a lookout for Sirius as he wished they didn't split up. He thought about heading into the nearest washroom and casting out a patronus but he assumed that would be too much. With his eyes scanning the mostly empty streets in the early morning hours, he finally spotted Sirius about to turn down another street in his dog form. He told Matteo that he would be right back, that he just spotted a friend before running out of the restaurant.

"Sirius!" James called out. "Sirius!"

Thankfully, the road was mostly abandoned as Sirius ducked behind some rubbish before standing back on his two legs.

"Sirius, I found her! I found her!"

"You did?!" Sirius' eyes were as wide as saucepans, leaving James to calm himself because it wasn't entirely true.

"Well, I haven't seen her yet, but my idea worked. I found a restaurant that knows her. Apparently, she eats there all the time and Renata and Adelmo were both there yesterday. They're allowing us to wait for her there, just as long as we promise not to cause any problems."

"Great! So why the hell are we standing out here, James? Come on!"

Both of them were in such a state of shock that the plan had actually worked, but both of them were also feeling quite nervous. Things were running a bit too smoothly for James' comfort and while he didn't want to come across as a pessimist, he was waiting for the kicker. He was waiting for something to go wrong. Sirius tried to reassure him that everything was going to be fine as he placed his hand on James' shoulder as they walked back.

He led the way towards the restaurant, only to stop suddenly before they even cross the road to the place.

"James, what-"

There was no need to question what was taking place as Sirius followed James' gaze to the outdoor seating of the restaurant and instantly spotted Renata right away. She was dressed in muggle clothing, a book in hand as she had one leg crossed over another for comfort. It seemed she was there for breakfast and James could only let out a sigh of relief that they didn't have to wait until lunch to see if she was going to show.

"What are you waiting for, James? Go! Go over there!"

Sirius gave him an excited push, nearly knocking James off the curb, but it was the start he needed to get moving. He was sure he came across as somewhat menacing with his speed as he nearly bolted over to where she was sitting.

"Ren!"

She jumped, the book in her hands, taking to flying out of her hands and onto the pavement. James realised that he might have been a bit too loud but at the same time, he didn't really care.

"Renata, you don't understand how happy I am to see you!" he said. "I just want to start off by apologising to you. Although I don't think there's enough time in the day to say it a million times, but-"

He stopped as soon as he watched Renata reach down for her book to brush it off lightly. She peered up at him, looking slightly confused, but kept a smile on her lips. However, her smile didn't come across as exactly genuine but rather just a polite one. She gave a shake of her head to whatever he said before finally speaking.

"Mi perdoni," she began with a slight frown pulling at her lips, "Posso aiutarla, signore?"

James didn't understand what was happening right away as he tried talking to her again, but this time, Renata proceeded to point to her ears.

"No, mi dispiace, ma non parlo inglese."

James had never been stabbed before, but he was certain he suddenly experienced what it felt like when he came to the conclusion of it all. Not only did Renata not recognise him anymore, she didn't even have the ability to speak English anymore either.