Meet the Boyfriend

"You want to see something? I haven't given it to her yet. But..." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a ring. He handed it to her. "A few months ago, something like this was the farthest thing from my mind. Anyone who knows me can tell you.. But...well, things are different now. Suppose she'll like it?" The question that was heavier in his mind actually was, would Khaat accept?

"Abbey and Dakota are acting like sisters," Brian laughed. "They love being together. They don't know anything else. They have more toys than any ten babies. Khaat keeps buying them. And the house always is full of friends. They love all the attention they can get. Believe me, one of my favorite things in the world is taking care of babies. Don't tell my men that. They don't need to know. It would ruin my reputation as a tough guy.

"You know, Khaat and I want you to have a room with us. She's rented out the Hogsmeade cottage to a friend of the family. Well, you met him. She rented it to Michael. All that was important we moved to my place, including your things. We have more bedrooms than we'll ever use. You'll alwys have a home no matter where we are. Always. And you're always welcome. And anytime you want to start auror training, we'll do it. If you want your skills before you graduate, I'll train you on the side on your breaks. But you don't dare breathe a word of it to anyone. Understand me?"

Raising one eyebrow, she took the ring, and looked at it. Actually, it seemed pretty beautiful. Gorgeus. She remembered when Khaat wore a green dress on a ball. On that day, Jess got beaten on a duel, but she had to mention that green suited good for her mother. She nodded, and gave the jewerly back to Brian. She couldn't hide her smile when he was talking about Abby and Dakota. Actually, she could even see the vision where both of the girls were playing together. And Abby wasn't much older than her own little girl. But she nodded again. “Don't worry, all your secrets are safe with me.“

This was true. She would never say anything to anybody. “Oh, that's... great! Thank you.“ She had always lived in her own room, and she respected the privacy, but the thing is that she didn't know where their new house was. In tuscany, that's okay, but where exactly?

Then she nodded again. Trainings! Finally! She took a deep breathe, calculating all the things what she knew, and all the things what she had to learn. She was just a student, and in Hogwarts, they didn't teach much about dueling. They didn't even teach them how to survive and what to do if someone's about to cast Avada Kedavra at you. Of course Miseria had always jumped away from those spells. Her life was far too much precious to let it take away that easily. “Alright, but when shall we start?“ Khaat had probably told him that she was inpatient. She always rushed in things, and wanted things done fast, and correctly. And she wanted to start her lessons sooner because with some education of the fighting skills, she could just join the Aurors. With Brian, she could make up perfect background.

"Well, first things first," he said. He put the ring back in his pocket and drew out three plain coins. One was a muggle coin. A British sovereign, an Italian lire, and a French franc. "Here. You're going to want these. Keep them safe. They are not what they appear to be. See how they're each marked with a very tiny chip in the edge?" he showed her a slight nick along the edge of each coin. "That's to remind you not to spend them. They're portkeys. Each one will take you to a different place. The sovereign takes you to my estate hidden here in England. Its only about ten miles from your granfather's farm, but it is enchanted to be totally hidden.

"The Italian lire takes you directly to the house in Tuscany, and the French franc takes you to the headquarters of the organization that your grandfather owns and I run. It is a safehouse that has never been breached. Not ever. If you're ever in danger, that's the place to go. There is always a whole platoon of my operatives there. And its a good place for you to go to get some really good fighter practice in. There's always someone there to spar with.

"Do you know how to use a portkey? I don't mind teaching you, if they've not taught you that. You will definitely need to know how to do that. Oh, and if you can't drive a muggle car, I'll teach you how to do that . We have a pair of really great cars at the Tuscany place. We'll get you muggle ID's and a driver's license. Those are things that do come in handy. Now that you're old enough we can do all those things."

Miseria took the coins, and looked at all of those. They were different,yet they were so enchanting. Miseria always loved different countries and their cultures. It was so interesting to hold in your hands Italian and French money, though, they wouldn't actually cost much there. She raised her eyebrows, and looked back at Brian. She will keep those things safe, and will use them only if there's some sort of emergency. “You can explain me how do those things work. I mean that I'm touching them right now, and i'm not disappearing anywhere,“ she said, looking back down at the coins. Maybe she needed to cast a spell? Some sort of magical word? Or just say the place where she had to go?

When Brian was explaining, her expression changed into impressed mask. A muggle car? He would really teach her how to drive one of those? Miseria has seen those things, and she was in love with races. When she was little, her father once took her to the car race, and that was when her obsession started. But since they didn't have such things, and car wasn't necessary in the magical world because they had brooms, powder with what they could disappear, and port-keys, she soon had to forget the dream about becoming a racer. But now that they spoke about it, she could imagine herself in a bloody red car, riding really fast on the roads. Oh god!
“Hell yes I want you to teach me how to ride a car!“ she gasped loudly. But then she felt a little disappointment. “What's ID card?“

Brian laughed out loud. He liked her. He drew out his wallet and produced his muggle identification cards and drivers licenses from at least six countries. "When you do the work I do, it helps to be able to do any number of things at an instant's notice. The identification card confirms that a particular country's government validates that you are who you say you are. The drivers licenses have that information plus they give you permission to drive a car in their country. We also need to get you a passport so that, if necessary, you can ride in a muggle plane as a passenger. I know it sounds unnecessary, but depending on your assignment, you might need to go undercover as a muggle for some reason. We really do need to teach you how to be comfortable in a muggle world.

"Besides that, if for some reason, someone ever blocks your magic, you need to know how to function. We have wizards who live here in St. Mungos, in the extended care unit, simply because they lost their magic and never bothered to learn how to do things the muggle way. So they live here with us taking care of them. I don't want that to ever happen to you. I want you to be able to get out of any situation you might get into. Make sense?"

“These are only some piece of papers...“ she said, feeling more disappointed now. What could she actually do with those? No one would actually want to know her name, and she doupted that she would have to fly by plane somewhere. It was unnecessary. She had a broom, and she could just... fly somewhere. But when Brian explained her what she could do with those things, she only nodded. Alright, she was smarter a little bit, but as a classical wizard who didn'´t know much about muggle technology, she couldn't actually get it correctly. These were the documents, alright, she got that. But what else? “Undercover? It means that I will have six of those things?“ she pointed at the documents what he showed her. That was too much, but if she had to go undercover, she will do it. Only she really doupted that she will Have to do this. She wasn't the one who people chased. She didn't even have the Wanted Posters on the 'evil' side.

“How can my magic get blocked?“ Again, she felt herself stupid. This magical world was full of surprises that she couldn't actually even think of. Was there some kind of a spell or something like that? “Yeah, i understand.“

"Spells and potions can do that very easily," Brian explained. "They do it all the time at Azkaban to keep the wizards from simply escaping. They block their magic so they can't escape. Its standard practice there. And it can be very liimited. For example, no one but the headmaster can apparate into or out of Hogwarts. Its part of a security enchantment. They can take any part or all of your magic if they want. It is far more common than you think. And, essentially, you're right. They are just pieces of paper. But remember, muggles have no magic. They have to make the best of what they have . It is nearly impossible for a normal muggle to duplicate these pieces of paper, and its what they symbolize that is important. It gives them access to places and things they cannot get into without the ID's. Khaat and I will havto take you on a muggle weekend so you can get the crash course on how the world looks to a muggle. I think you'd enjoy it, and you would certainly learn a lot. We'll start by teaching you how to use the portkeys first. Its not hard to activate them, but one does need to learn how to land or you never know quite how you'll end up or exactly where."

"Oh, and if she says yes to the ring, I'll let you know," he grinned. "I can't leave it in my pocket forever, now can I?"

Miseria raised her eyebrows. Indeed, there were alot of things that she didn't know. All the time she thought that Dementors were the ones who took care of prisons in Azkaban. That they sucked out most of the part of them what made them wizards. “You mentioned the ones who are living here, in St. Mungo's. Why can't they use any magic anymore? Are they criminals?“ Questions, questions, questions. She was probably annoying Brian now, but she had to know those things as well, since he was telling her those. Besides, she wanted to become a greast Witch, too.
Then she nodded. A muggle weekend, that sounded fun. “That's really great... but the portkeys? Is there a some sort of a spell for them?“

She wasn't quite sure how to land, but as far as she knew from her experiences, she had to try and land on her legs. Maybe try to walk on air, and slow down before you land? Maybe.
“Well, thank god that you are going to tell me, and I won't have to figure it out by myself,“ she rolled her eyes. Of course she was happy that Brian will propose Khaat, but she still was kind of upset because they didn't let her know what exactly was going on in this family.

Brian smiled. He always, always had patience for someone who wanted to learn. Robert and Remus had put that into him.

"I like you," he said. "And I'm glad you're asking questions. If I get into a situation where I have to choose between taking a man who never asks a second question, or one who asks a lot of questions because he really wants to know, I would, unquestionably choose the one who wanted to learn first beyond anyone else.

"Let me tell you something that I don't share easily. I think the Lupins are the only one who knows this. I met Khaat when my parents came to stay at a muggle hotel close to Robert's farm one summer, for a vacation. That's how we met Robert and Kate and Khaat. I remember the first time I saw her. She'd gotten some candy from the muggle apothecary where Robert was working back then, and she'd walked down to the beach. And there I was, looking for shells. She showed me where the best shells were and shared her candy with me. We didn't know our parents already knew each other and that we were going to meet anyway. But, as it worked out, when my parents were killed, I was sent to live with Robert and katherine because that was how my parents had arranged it in their wills. My brother and sister were already in Hogwarts, so I just basically never saw them anymore. Still dont. Robert and Remus raised me much the same way they raised Khaat. But I was one angry young kid. I wanted nothing to do with their kindness and their giving and their love. They had to first, help me deal with the anger and the pain and then help me learn how to love again. They found out that the key, for me, was in the fact that I was so very curious. If they could get me interested in something to learn, the questions would just flow like water--much like you.

"We're a lot alike, I think. More than you know. I do need to talk to Khaat, I think. I think she needs to send you more letters. Keep you better connected. I know that's how I felt when I went to Hogwarts. I needed to know the Lupins were still there, that I was really a true part of the family. Khaat doesn't mean to leave you feeling left out. Its just that, for one thing, she really puts a mammoth priority for you on your school and the training they provide you. But, from what I hear, they arent' giving you everything you should be learning anyway. And second, her own life is so very, very dangerous that she does not want to worry you. She is the strongest woman I have ever, ever known. She sometimes feels she can handle whatever comes her way all by herself. And none of us can do that. But I promise, if she doesn't keep you informed, I will. Well, at least until I get her to see what she's doing, and I know it is completely unintentional. She loves you. When she talks about 'her girls' she talks about you and Dakota and Abbey all equally. Her first thought in the morning is 'her girls' and its her last thought before she goes to sleep. And, so you know, I promised her that her girls will always, always be my girls.

"I see what you need to know, and I promise, I will teach you. We'll start as early as Christmas break if you want. Actually, we'll really start before then. I'll arrange for you to come home to us for a few days to recover, and while you're there, I'll teach you how to portkey. Sound fair enough? We can start there."

Miseria raised her eyebrows. People usually didn't like when someone asked so much questions. However, it seemed to her that Brian was even proud or happy that she was curious.
"Well, then i must be really boring person since I ask a lot of questions and don't know anything." she grinned at herself.

When once again, Brian was telling her his history, only the most part of it how he was related to her family, Lupin family, she listened it carefully. "Well, then we do have something in common," she said quietly. Her parents are dead, and his parents are dead. Only she didn't have any other siblings who she knew. But by the time her parents were killed, she already knew Khaat, and after a trip to her home country, Transylvania, she was finally adopted. Though, it was still hard to think of them as 'dead family', she loved Khaat the same way she loved her real mother. She really does a good job of taking care of her. Sometimes she even wondered Why she was adopted by Lupins. She wasn't really known that much, and she and Khaat were just like 'friends', and nothing special at the time. But now, she couldn't even imagine her life without her, and she would do anything to make her feel Good.

She sighed. She couldn't usually find people who were like her. She didn't actually even know Brian that much, but he already told her such things. They were alike. Or she wanted to believe that.
"Brian, i don't care much if there is something dangerous or not. I am able to protect myself, and I will be able to protect my family if it's necessary." she said, looking down at her hands. Only that night she couldn't do anything. Those guns, and bullets were a surprise to her, and this won't ever happen again. "Thank you for understanding. I really, really, don't like to live when I don't know anything what is going on with my family. I always know that there is something, but then again, no one tells me, and that's even worse than being in Here." she smiled, and looked around in her room. She didn't like being in hospitals. It was like a prison - everything was limited. And she couldn't leave without telling anyone.
But then she smiled again. It was so Khaat-like. She was always thinking about the others.

"Thank you," she said again. Then she agreed with him: "It sounds fair enough."