{Edited} A Merchant's Odyssey - Chapter 25: War Council (Patreon)

AN: Edited chapters do not count toward monthly quota's

Chapter 25: War Council

"Did you forget our meeting time, Sebastian?" Andromeda Tonks put her hands on her hips and stared at the two of them. "Again?"

“Of course I didn’t forget.” Sebastian pushed a table off his back and offered Neo a hand up. “Am I the kind of person to keep a beautiful woman waiting?”

Andromeda gave him a dry look.

"And on that topic." Sebastian very casually kicked the blood-stained flying carpet under a desk like a teenager whose mom had just found their porn. "I believe we were set to meet at midnight?"

“It’s one in the morning.” Andromeda raised an unimpressed brow. “Ted went to sleep hours ago, something I should be doing at the moment.”

"Aha, time zone issues." Sebastian raised a finger like a sword, not commenting on Neo hiding behind his back and looking over his shoulder like a cat. "A complete and logical reason for this mix-up."

“Mhm.” Andromeda made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go put on a pot of coffee; I want to meet my new daughter-in-law.”

Neo flushed and vanished under an illusion as she made a break for it, only for a Summoning Charm to pull her right back into Andromeda's waiting hand, leaving her hanging limply like a cat as the older woman held her by the collar of her shirt.

"Nice try, dear.” Andromeda patted her head. “But I raised kids in a magical household."

 Neo sent Sebastian a pleading look.

"Right. Introductions." Sebastian coughed into his fist and acted like he meant for everything to happen. "Neo, meet Andromeda Tonks, my aunt and foster mother, and all-around woman you don't want to fuck with. Auntie, meet Neopolitan, or Neo for short, illusionist extraordinaire and shanking enthusiast."

Neo looked at him in betrayal, but she couldn’t help but feel proud of her titles.

“Interesting introduction.” Andromeda shot him a look only a mother could. “Coffee, now.”

"Yeah, yeah." Sebastian sighed and casually snatched Neo's umbrella from her twitching hands as he passed by them. "Don't try it, Love; Auntie always wins."

Neo’s grasping arms were difficult to ignore, but Sebastian hardened his heart. ‘I will remember your sacrifice.’

0000

'Meeting Sebastian's mother!?' Neo's inner mind desperately conjured illusions to let her escape, but in her panic, she couldn't think of anything that wouldn't cause physical harm to the woman. 'I'm not ready for this!'

Sure, she said she loved him, and she really did, but this was a step she wasn’t prepared to handle.

"No need to be so nervous, dear." Andromeda smiled warmly at her and finally put Neo down. "I just want to meet the girl with whom my idiot son is so taken."

Despite herself, Neo flushed like a schoolgirl at those words.

"Now, now, no need to be embarrassed." Andromeda gently fixed some loose strands of Neo's hair. "Come, sit with me."

Neo let herself be guided into a comfortable leather loveseat she didn't remember Sebastian having in his workshop.

"Men." Andromeda scoffed and sat beside her. "I swear if that boy is not sitting at his desk, he's probably sitting in that abomination over there." She pointed to Sebastian's Throne of Agony. "It looks atrocious."

"It has a purpose, Auntie!" Sebastian called from the loft.

“Of course it does.” Andromeda rolled her eyes. “He said that about every random thing cluttering his room when he was younger.”

Neo felt a smile tug at her lips as she imagined it.

“Not one for words, are you?” Andromeda questioned. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Neo quickly shook her head.

She had spent a lifetime wishing she could say things, only to finally be able to, and suddenly found herself unable to think of what to say.

“It’s fine, dear.” Andromeda smiled and gave her a look over. “Sebastian always did have a thing for pink. I love the color scheme; did you design it yourself?”

Neo felt her eyes widen, as civilians usually shot her dirty looks for her style.

She nodded a bit shyly and lifted her hand to form an ice cream cone.

“Oh, like the ice cream. I see it now.” Andromeda looked over the illusion with a critical eye. “And the quality of detail you gave your illusion is incredible. You must be quite skilled.”

A flicker of pride poked through her nerves, and Neo multiplied her illusion, first into two and then four. Then, she kept going until the two were surrounded by floating ice cream cones.

“Remarkable.” Andromeda commented with honest praise. “Is this ability common in your world?”

Neo thought about how many people she had met with a semblance and made a small gesture with her fingers.

"Well, then, you're incredibly talented, my dear." Andromeda's motherly tone struck Neo in the chest, stirring complicated emotions. "I'd expect nothing less from a woman my child fell in love with."

Neo’s eyes widened in shock. ‘We didn’t say we loved each other until yesterday.’

“Don’t look so shocked.” Andromeda laughed. “A mother knows when their child has that look in their eyes. The fool couldn’t stop smiling when he told us of you.”

Neo’s face contorted as she couldn’t decide what emotion to feel. ‘He talked about me?’

“Oh, you’re just precious.”

Neo was blindsided by the woman pulling her into a hug and had to restrain her instinct to react violently.

"Your mannerisms remind me so much of my sister before life happened to her." Andromeda ran a hand through Neo’s hair, and Neo was surprised by how much it relaxed her nerves. "You could have been her daughter, and I wouldn't have been able to deny it at first glance."

Despite the foreign situation of being hugged by someone her mind wouldn’t dare consider attacking, Neo found herself interested.

“Bella was also what one would call a ‘Shanking Enthusiast’, as Sebastian introduced you as.” Andromeda’s lips twitched in amusement.

Neo cringed and felt like throttling Sebastian.

"No need to feel embarrassed about it." Andromeda laughed at her look. "In House Black, your hobbies and talents would have made you fit right in.”

The idea of fitting into any sort of family outside of the one she already had made Neo blink in surprise.

“I'm serious.” Andromeda laughed again. “When Bella turned ten, our uncle got her a set of throwing knives for her birthday, and the first thing she did was…”

Despite being a nervous wreck seconds before, Neo found herself leaning in, interested to hear the tales of a young Bellatrix Black.

0000

A shiver crawled up Sebastian's spine after he finished pouring coffee for everyone. 'Why do I feel like someone just walked over my grave?'

With a thoughtful look, Sebastian levitated the tray and returned to the others, only to be surprised to see Neo hugging her knees and listening with literal starry eyes to something his aunt was saying.

“-to this day, the mystery of how that knife got there was left unsolved by the Aurors.” Andromeda was finishing.

"It sounds like you two are having fun." Sebastian set the tray down on the coffee table and looked at the extremely comfy loveseat Andromeda had conjured to share with Neo. "What, nothing for me?”

“As if you couldn’t make your own.” Andromeda dismissed his complaint and gently summoned a cup for her and Neo. “Here you go, dear.”

Neo happily took it with a nod of thanks.

"Is this the so-called middle child treatment?" Sebastian couldn't help but comment as he waved a hand, conjured a leather seat of his own, and plopped into it. “Being casually ignored?”

“No, you would be the eldest.” Andromeda corrected. “You’re expected to be capable of doing things yourself. Neo, as the youngest, gets the most pampering."

Neo shot him a thumbs up.

“And where does that leave Nym?” Sebastian threw his feet up on a desk. “The middle child who gets ignored?”

“Once she gets over her issues with the beautiful name I gave her." Andromeda mumbled in a tone of long frustration. “Nymphadora will return to being my eldest.”

Neo covered her mouth and looked away to laugh.

Whether it was at the name or the treatment was left unsaid.

“Harsh, but fair.” Sebastian shrugged and sipped his drink. “So, you two need any more time to chat, or should we begin?”

“Before that.” Andromeda jerked her chin to the mess taking up nearly a fifth of the workshop. “Do you plan to clean up from your little landing stunt? And don’t think I didn’t see the bloody flying carpet.” She shot him a look. “A carpet which happens to be illegal in this country.”

“It’s only illegal to use it in the country, not own it.” Sebastian pointed out matter-of-factly.

“And have you used it in this country?” Andromeda raised a brow.

“Correction: It’s only illegal to use in the country if you get caught.” Sebastian lazily waved a hand as a pulse of Mana washed over the workshop. “And I’d love to see someone catch me now.”

Desks, chairs, beakers, papers, and everything in between lifted off the ground, moving back to their proper places and setting things straight under Neo's fascinated gaze, who saw something that looked like proper magic.

"Mhm." Andromeda eyed the impressive display with motherly pride. "And the blood?"

“Ah, that was for this.” Sebastian removed a specialized pouch from his inner coat pocket. “Copying Scamander’s rune schemes onto something this small was a pain in the ass, but it's paying off now.”

“Scamander?” Andromeda furrowed her brow. “But that would only be for…” Her eyes widened. “You got it?”

“We got it.” Sebastian smirked and flicked a finger towards a confused Neo. “I couldn’t have gotten it in time without putting myself in far greater danger if it weren’t for her.”

Sebastian knew he could have created a mission at Spirit Hall and had a horde of level 30 to level 40 Spirit Masters lining up to accompany him for the pay he could offer, but that would mean revealing any number of secrets he had, especially the fact that any Spirit Beast that died to him resulted in their Spirit Ring being absorbed by his pendant.

Something he didn’t want Spirit Hall to know about.

"Oh, thank Merlin." Andromeda turned, misty-eyed, and pulled a surprised Neo into a hug. "Thank you so much, dear. Having my family safe even a day sooner means the world to me."

Neo looked distinctly uncomfortable with the affection, but she also didn't want to pull away.

It was the most contrasting expression Sebastian had ever seen on her face since he asked which of the three Neapolitan flavors was the best.

"You're welcome." Sebastian's eyes widened at the sound of Neo's voice whispering in the air.

“Oh, you have such a wonderful voice, dear.” Andromeda pulled back with a warm tone. “You should use it more often.”

Neo dipped her head and shot Sebastian a look that he easily understood.

“It’s not her physical voice, Auntie.” Sebastian cut in gently and got the woman to look at him in confusion. “She was born without the ability to speak. We only found a solution yesterday through that world's version of magic, so it’s still difficult for her to speak."

“I can speak.” Neo’s voice crackled with a few different tones before evening out. “It’s just… odd.”

"You poor girl." Andromeda said, pulling Neo into another hug she couldn't resist. "You can practice speaking with me anytime you want."

Neo's eyes softened as her voice whispered. "Thank you."

Andromeda seemed to understand the young woman was uncomfortable and released her. “Did you try taking her to St. Mungo’s?”

“I didn’t want to risk it.” Sebastian shook his head with a frown. “Not until we clean up the Unspeakables.”

The name alone made the mood take a hit as Andromeda nodded in understanding. “In that case, we have another reason to hurry up.”

Neo looked curious, so Sebastian filled her in. "St. Mungo's is our country's magical hospital. Our society can get quite… creative with magic.”

He tried to keep his description civilized. “And the hospital is typically the place to put anything still alive back together. The healer community is a pain in the ass with their oaths, but they know what they're doing."

Andromeda snorted at the multiple understatements in his words. “You should hear Ted go on rants about how their oaths get in the way of his court cases.”

“It’s one of the reasons I never got to learn any healing spells.” Sebastian grimaced and held a hand to the scars on his neck. “I wasn't able to find tomes of healing magic anywhere else, and the healer oaths force any healer to get a student to swear them before they will teach you. No compulsion, control, torture, or tampering will get around it. Magic always remembers.”

Sebastian shook his head in disgust. “Why anyone would subjugate themselves to a life like that is beyond me.”

“People do need to find jobs, you know?” Andromeda admonished. "A healer's life is safe and pays quite well. If one has the aptitude for it, they are considered fortunate.”

“Well, I enjoy my freedom too much for that nonsense.” Sebastian sipped his coffee and rested his head on a fist. “I’d rather chop off my arm than restrict myself to a magical oath that demanding.”

“And then there’s that sense of independence of yours.” Andromeda gave him a fond look before shifting her gaze to Neo. “Does she know the situation?”

"Yeah, I read her in." Sebastian's brow twitched at Neo's daring glare. "Let's just say that she was… adamant in her participation.”

Neo nodded happily.

“Thank you, dear.” Andromeda patted Neo’s head, unbothered by the addition. “Having another proper witch on our side will be good."

"Technically, she's not a witch." Sebastian cut in and got two glares in reply. "I'm just saying."

“If she’s the one who gave you this Aura ability that you passed on to me.” Andromeda flared Aura on her skin. “Then she’s more than capable of helping.”

“I’m not arguing with that.” Sebastian unlocked his aunt's Aura on their first meeting to help keep her safe.

Unlike his soul awakening with Neo, his emotions for Andromeda were very clearly familial affection, and their connection was only surface layer compared to him and Neo diving deep.

His preliminary tests on using magic against Aura, with Neo's help, showed it was effective to an extent.

Still, he hadn't tested it on someone with Aura and Mana yet, but he felt it was better to let her have Aura and not need it than need it and not have it.

"Neo’s skills are more toward combat, and we’re in the recon stage.” Sebastian shrugged. “I’d rather not risk her against magical defenses she is uneducated about.”

Andromeda considered his point and slowly nodded. “That's… fair."

She turned to a frowning Neo and apologized. "He's right. Wards can get quite nasty, and they are very tricky even for experienced witches and wizards.” Her eyes gleamed ruthlessly. “We don’t want to alert our enemies too early and miss one of them.”

Neo wasn't happy with their point, but she understood the logic, and Sebastian sighed in relief at her acceptance.

“However.” Andromeda cut in, smiling at Neo. “You would be a great help in accompanying Sebastian to a certain meeting.”

“Auntie.” Sebastian narrowed his eyes in warning.

“Don’t auntie me, Sebastian.” The middle-aged woman stared right back at him chidingly. “Relying on old promises and life debts is a terrible way to do business. I might have had no choice before you showed up, but by Morgana, you will show a position of strength when you negotiate.”

“And what makes you think I wouldn’t?” Sebastian challenged.

"Because I know you." Andromeda scoffed. "You'll be too lazy to posture and just end up throwing resources at them until they agree. My grandfather was the one adult in my family that I respected, and you will not tarnish his reputation because it was too much effort.”

“Fine.” Sebastian grumbled at being called out so directly and straightened his spine. “Make things more complicated for me.”

He shot Neo a look and decided to be proper. “My lovely lady, would you be interested in accompanying me on a date to meet with the head of a magical mafioso and negotiate terms of an agreement?”

Sebastian couldn’t have said more exciting words as Neo’s face lit up in agreement.

“Just no stabbing unless they try to stab first.” Sebastian raised a finger. “It’s proper manners.”

And that killed her mood.

Sebastian snorted in humor and turned back to his aunt. “Since you’re bringing it up, I’m assuming you got the meeting set up?”

Andromeda reached into her purse and pulled out a sheet, then flicked it over. "The time and place are there. I hope you have a suit."

“Nothing a little transfiguration can’t fix.” Sebastian took in the information with a lazy nod and pocketed it.

"Oh no, you don't." Andromeda locked him down. “They will notice. Get yourself a proper tailored suit.”

“You’re very demanding.” Sebastian gave her a dry look. “How would they possibly tell a transfiguration apart?”

“They’re Italian, dear.” Andromeda said it as if it was all the answer he needed, and sadly, it was.

"Mamma mia." Sebastian casually dodged a sugar cube aimed at his forehead and went on. “What about your other task?”

"It's a work in progress." Andromeda frowned. "I'll get to it, but tell me your progress first. You have the flower you needed; what next?"

“Next.” Sebastian groaned and rubbed his brow at the complicated process. “I need to keep studying the damn thing until I can get its Spirit Rune down. Thankfully, the weeks I spent going through an ancient library helped tremendously in understanding the mechanics of how their runes work.”

Sebastian wasn’t just archiving for fun; he had a purpose in all that mess.

“Plus, I left a portkey marker by the lake.” He gestured over to the gate. “So I can always go back and get more flowers if I mess up.”

Neo sent him a shocked look for wanting to go back, but Sebastian waved her off. “I can always ask a friend back in that world to help subdue it for me. Two different people owe me a favor for giving me outdated information.”

Bibi and Elder Lu both assumed it was a thousand-year-old Spirit beast and left it at that.

The bastards.

Now that Sebastian didn't need to risk showing more than he already had, given his ability to teleport and summon things, he could just ask them to keep it busy while he gathered the flowers.

Of course, that was simply a plan B in case his first plan didn’t work as he hoped.

Plan C was trying to smack the Impurity Vine with more stunning spirit bombs, and he didn’t think it would work so well the second time.

“Aside from that, I need to start focusing on my body to get my Spirit level up to 30 so I can actually take in a new ring.” That part wasn’t something Sebastian was looking forward to. “I think I’ll need to find a new world.”

“Can’t you just have someone from Neo’s world train you?” Andromeda asked curiously. “Or even ours? Is it not just working out?”

“No, it’s not just that.” Sebastian shook his head. “I’ve thought over this for a while and realized some key differences in worlds.”

Sebastian pointed at Andromeda. “In our world, magic is commonplace for our people. We can casually alter reality on a whim, create animated life out of nothing but energy, time travel with a twist of an hourglass, and create wormholes through space. On top of all of that, we as individuals generate Mana from within.”

Neo’s jaw dropped at the examples.

“And what is so odd about that?” Andromeda asked, while Neo looked at her, wondering why she wasn't shocked.

"It wasn't odd to me at first." Sebastian admitted, smirking at Neo's look. "But then I went to new worlds and saw things that simply aren't possible in others. Auntie, do you remember when I awakened your Aura?"

Andromeda thought back to that moment. “Yes? It was quite emotional for me.”

Even if it was only surface-level deep, the connection of souls is still an eye-opening experience.

"Do you remember how I first tried to do it in my workshop?" Sebastian continued.

“I do.” Andromeda frowned. “You said it wasn’t working, so we went to Remnant.”

"And there, it worked fine." Sebastian finished with a smile. "You see, I believe dimensions have higher laws of their own; conceptual rules are what I call them.”

He summoned a whiteboard and had a marker draw for him.

“It's the same way magic has rules that scholars simply cannot understand the purpose of, such as Gamp's Laws, and how we cannot make gold from spells. Something conceptually stops us from doing it. But." Sebastian's eyes shone while his marker drew images of differences in their worlds. “There are ways around things, such as how an alchemist could make a stone that could make permanent gold for him.”

“Art is not your skillset, Sebastian.” Andromeda hummed at the images and shook her head while Neo sniggered. “And how does this apply to awakening my Aura?”

“Rude.” Sebastian banished the board with a roll of his eyes. “It applies because, while the ability to awaken another’s Aura exists inside each of us, the actual skill to use it is nothing more than a conceptual instinct on Remnant.”

He looked at Neo. “Everyone with Aura knows how to do it. It’s not taught. It’s known and felt as naturally as breathing. But only in the dimension where Remnant exists.”

Neo considered it and nodded, never really thinking about why she knew how to awaken another’s Aura.

Sebastian had been testing it and was amazed by the possibilities.

Being off-world didn't limit his ability to use Aura, but awakening another's Aura was never his ability to begin with.

“The same thing goes for Martial Souls in the world of Cultivation we just came from.” Sebastian added. “My conceptual law hypothesis grew more assured when I tested it on one of my experiments.”

Sebastian's Soul Power guided him as he awakened Neo's Martial Soul.

He felt the process but didn't know how it functioned.

Weeks earlier, he tried to do it on one of his God’s Tear experiments here in his workshop and felt nothing.

“Which brings me back to training my body.” Sebastian tapped his chair in thought. “If things follow the same conceptual train as I’m imagining it, I wouldn’t be able to train my body to the level I need in our time frame."

Sure, he could spend hours working out, down some Elixir of Life, heal all his muscles, and do it again, but to what extent would that bring him?

What risks would that bring him? Someone whose body was a fragile shell, with cores of dense Mana and Soul Power constantly flooding his body with energy instead of letting it fuse with his physical shell.

He had to limit that energy and allow his body the space to grow, but how?

Sebastian was no personal trainer; he'd never done more than basic exercises to maintain his stamina. He could read about it, but that was a world of difference from having a proper teacher.

“We could always look into rituals.” Andromeda tapped her cheek. “I know the family manor has an entire section on them.”

“Yeah, and the most lethal wards in England.” Sebastian shot her an annoyed glare. “Do you know how many times I almost got cursed trying to get in there?”

He didn’t dare try while the house still had residents, but the last living Black family member living in the manor had passed away a few years earlier.

“I told you it wouldn’t work.” Andromeda admonished with a proud smirk, having laughed at Sebastian’s claims to get in there during his school years. “But you kept trying. Picking you up from St. Mungo’s was hilarious.”

Neo looked interested in the topic, but Sebastian wasn’t interested in reliving his humiliation.

“Anyway!” He spoke up while his aunt laughed at him. "What if there was a world that conceptually supported physical training in the same way our world benefits magic, or Remnant benefits Aura, or how the Cultivation world benefits the Martial Soul?"

He tapped the armrest. “If I can find a place to conceptually grow my body, I think I can finally solve the imbalance in myself.”

Sebastian never regretted his choices, but he knew he rushed ahead to progress.

Using the Stone to force his Mana Core to grow made his magic too strong for his body. Even now, Mana passively funneled through his enhanced channels, invigorating his body but also putting constant pressure on them.

The same was happening from his Soul, as Aura and Soul Power seeped into his body and stretched his channels.

The two were the reason he could physically keep up with Neo so long back in Demora Falls.

It was why he could physically last as long as he did against the Grimm.

And it was why he could last an entire night of sexual intercourse with Neo.

“I’m not like you, Neo.” Sebastian saw she didn't fully understand, so he explained. "You spent your whole life with Aura, and as you aged, your body grew and adapted to it. I’ve had Aura for less than a year, and I've already boosted it from level 9 to level 25 in cultivation terms. I'm basically a stuffed balloon at the moment."

“Are you in danger?” Andromeda asked in slight concern. “Is it causing you pain?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Sebastian shook his head, not wanting to worry her with how close he might be to real danger. “It’s just capped my potential growth until I solve this issue. I need to get my Soul Power to level 30, but I'll probably explode if I keep pushing as I am."

Neo mimed an explosion with her hands and got flicked in the forehead with a mini-Banishing Charm for her cheek.

“What if I absorb this Spirit Ring?” Andromeda asked while gesturing to the pouch holding the flower. “You could unlock my Martial Soul, and I'll do it."

“It wouldn’t work.” Sebastian immediately stopped her. "You need to be at least level 30 to take in a thousand-year ring. That world has literally hundreds, if not more, of documented cases of how bad Soul Collapse can be when you try to absorb a ring beyond your level."

Spirit Hall's library lived up to its reputation as a treasure trove of knowledge, no matter how cluttered it was.

“But you said you leveled up quickly?” Andromeda pointed out.

“I cheated.” Sebastian admitted with a shrug.

He still hadn’t exactly told anyone about the Philosopher Stone and his pendant’s abilities; he felt there was no reason to speak of that.

"My method wouldn’t work for others.” He shook his head. “I’m working on something, but it could be a long while before I get around to finishing it.”

“And Neo?” Andromeda gave her a smile. “Did she not level up quickly? Can she use the ring?”

"Neo's a freak." Sebastian openly answered and winked at the mock-offended woman. "A sexy freak who I would love to do things to.”

Neo waved a hand coquettishly.

“Focus, child.” Andromeda admonished with a smirk.

“She already had that much Soul Power to begin with.” Sebastian grumbled. “She just needed the rings to unlock the full potential of her accumulated Soul Power."

Sebastian held up the pouch and sent Neo an apologetic look. "But the ring isn't compatible with her. She could absorb it at level 30, but it would stunt her future growth.”

There were many reasons there were fewer than a hundred Titled Douluos (level 90+) in over a thousand years.

The Cultivation world's power system relied heavily on patience, as finding the right Spirit Rings to match your Martial Soul could be a lifelong challenge. The wrong ones would slowly shrink your potential and increase the time needed to gather Soul Power to level up.

“There are other mental ability rings she could absorb, but it took me two months just to find this one, and that was with help from a friend.” He still needed to thank Bibi for that. “The time it would take to find the right one for her isn’t something we have right now.”

Neo shrugged, not overly bothered.

Sebastian summoned a whiteboard from across his lab once more and stood up. "Auntie, did Nym get back to you on her progress?"

“Yes.” Andromeda's face twitched with wry humor. "She's been taken under the wing of a certain one-eyed veteran author.”

Sebastian’s hand froze as he went to write on the board. “You’re fucking with me?”

“Not at all.” Andromeda laughed and turned to Neo. “Alastor Moody is a bit famous in our culture. He’s old, half-retired, and crippled now, but he is still breathing despite how many criminals he’s taken down.”

Neo leaned in and conjured an image of how she imagined such a person, forcing Sebastian to look away and stifle his laughter at the black-skinned, trenchcoat-and-eyepatch-wearing man.

“Not quite.” Andromeda poked the illusion with a laugh. “In his prime, he filled more cells in prisons around the world than any other law enforcement. And he’s quite vicious at that.”

Neo made the illusion seem menacing.

"Nym was a spell-waving maniac even before she joined." Sebastian pinched his nose. "That man is going to make her so much worse."

“Better, you mean.” Andromeda raised a brow in challenge. “Moody is the best damn Auror still alive when it comes to ability.”

“That man is more paranoid than me, and that’s saying something.” Sebastian groaned, having met the man once by happenstance.

He shook his head and picked up a marker to write. “Nevertheless, with him as a teacher, Nym might end up graduating even earlier than I expected.”

A frown crossed his face as he thought it over. “It’s illegal to graduate without a minimum of a year in the academy. It’s already been nearly eight months since she enrolled, leaving us with four months, possibly more if she gets delayed for some reason. Ideally, we want everything set in four months at the latest."

He wrote out his list of tasks.

"I'll set off to a new world soon in search of physical training until I can get my Soul Power level to 30, absorb the Spirit Ring, and gain the ability to clear Nym and Ted's of their mind shards without complicating their mental health.”

Below that, he wrote a set time.

“I’ll go with Neo to meet with your connection in a week so they can start on their task and get us some bloody intel on our enemies."

Andromeda cut in there. “Did you finish that project?”

“Yeah.” Sebastian pointed off to the side where a sheet covered a table. “Finished it last week. Soul Runes are tricky, but I made it work in the end. I’ll have the box ready for the meeting.”

Andromeda nodded, and he went on to write his aunt's name and her tasks.

“With the meeting out of the way, have you figured out how to get our hands on the Taboo Charm?"

The Taboo Charm was a very obscure Charm used during Voldemort's war.

The man put a taboo over his name, and any time it was spoken in the British Isles, he would know and send his Death Eaters to attack and spread fear.

“Yes and no.” Andromeda grimaced as Sebastian looked at her. “I know where to get it, and I have an idea of how to get it, but there are complications.”

“What complications?” Sebastian gave her a wary look.

Andromeda hesitated for a moment. “It’s in the Black family library.”

"The Black family library…" Sebastian trailed off in a dry voice, not expecting the conversation to return to this topic.

“The one kept in a random undefended apartment?” Sebastian asked hopefully, only to get shot down as Andromeda sent him a look for being stupid.

“In the ancestral manor.” Sebastian's groan of utter suffering was perfectly understood by his aunt, who decided to fill in for Neo.

"The Black family is one of the few truly ancient bloodlines in Britain and has a reputation for how vicious and dark they can be if provoked.” She shot Sebastian an exasperated look for trying to break in. “After the last war, which resulted in many family lines going extinct and having their homes burned down, the Black Ancestral Manor is among the limited number of dangerously warded places in our country.”

"Not even the Unspeakables would be dumb enough to try getting in there." Sebastian added, rubbing his temples, and explained his own experiences with it. "That manor sits on a leyline; think of it like an unending power source, and its wartime footing wards are always on in the event of an absent head of house.”

A grimace crossed his face at the memory of his leg bones being cursed into sharp obsidian. “If anyone without direct access so much as crosses the property line, they will be incinerated at best."

“Don’t be silly.” Andromeda scoffed and sipped her coffee. “Incineration is far too tame. I recall my uncle refilling the blood bags that would cover whoever stepped on the portkey stones on the front lawn leading to an Inferi pit.”

Neo looked up in confusion before Sebastian flatly answered.

“Magical Undead.”

Neo grimaced in disgust.

“I’m going to hold off on asking why he was refilling that particular trap.” He sent his aunt a look that she shrugged at. “So, the spell we need is in the highly defended manor of an extinct household.” Sebastian tapped the board. “Without a head of house to add people to it. How exactly is this an answer for us?”

“Who said there wasn’t a head of house?” Andromeda smirked as Sebastian locked onto her.

She pulled out a file from her purse and held it up. “I had Ted look up the lordship records in the Ministry to see who would be next in line to inherit the house.”

“I’m assuming you didn’t reveal anything incriminating?” Sebastian asked with a sharp look.

“I’m not an idiot, Sebastian.” Andromeda tossed him the file. “It’s perfectly normal for an exiled daughter of a house to wonder what would become of it.”

Sebastian hummed and flipped it open. "If I'm not mistaken, the only one of you all who had a child besides you was Narcissa; I really hope I'm not going to have to deal with the bloody Malfoys."

“Thankfully, not.” Andromeda chuckled as she watched Sebastian’s eyes widen while reading. “My grandfather made many mistakes about the family in his life, but it seems he pulled a fastball on everyone before he died.”

"He made Sirius Black the head of the house?" Sebastian looked at her in confusion. "Why would he make the most notorious betrayer in recent history the head?”

Even if Sebastian didn’t care about things outside of his interests, the famous story of the Boy-Who-Lived was everywhere.

A frown crossed Andromeda’s face at the mention. “Ever since I read the file, I’ve been having doubts about Sirius’s case.”

Sebastian raised a brow and hummed thoughtfully. “You think there’s more to it?”

“I do.” Andromeda gave him an apologetic gaze before she gathered her words. "I misjudged Nick once, and I didn't believe your tales. Look at where that got me."

Sebastian's eyes softened at the pained expression on his aunt's face. "I told you I forgave you."

“But what if I misjudged Sirius as well?” Andromeda looked down at her hands. “Sirius was the grey sheep of the Blacks. When he wasn’t home, he was happy and optimistic about life. He was thick as thieves with Potter and thought of him as family more than he ever did our family, not that I blame him, considering I ran away.”

Andromeda wiped a tear and nearly flinched as Neo reached over and squeezed her hand. She sent the young woman a thankful smile, pulling Neo into her side as she went on.

"The idea that he was a secret spy who betrayed his chosen family should have made me question things more, but I didn't.” Andromeda grimaced in guilt. “I had a baby. My parents, uncles, and aunts were being buried in the ground one after another, and the war had just drained me dry. I was too tired to question it.”

Sebastian gave her a moment to breathe before speaking. "You believe he could be innocent?"

“I believe he deserves a chance to explain himself.” Andromeda responded firmly. “He never even had a trial, Ted checked.”

Sebastian frowned at that odd bit. "Alright, so say he's innocent and willing to help us; how the bloody hell am I supposed to get to him? He's in Azkaban."

He turned to Neo. "Remember that example I gave you of soul-devouring monsters in my world when I spoke of how bad a Soul Collapse could be?”

Neo thought back and nodded.

“Well, they nest on and guard Azkaban, a prison on an unplottable island somewhere in the ocean, where the soul monsters feed on the positive memories of the prisoners until the prisoners go insane and are left as dry husks.” Sebastian explained dryly. “And there are hundreds.”

A shiver crossed Neo’s skin at the very idea.

“That’s the issue with my plan.” Andromeda actually looked a tad embarrassed. “I wish I had more to offer, but this is the best I can do under my circumstances. If we can get Sirius free, he can let us into the Black manor.”

“Just.” Sebastian held up a finger and closed his eyes. “Just give me a moment here.”

He walked a few steps away and breathed deeply while trying to fight his headache with spite.

Neo tried to stand up and follow, but Andromeda shook her head with a confident smile. “He’s fine. Sebastian performs best under pressure; trust me, he’ll find a solution.”

Neo didn’t doubt his ability but rather worried over whether he was going to pop a blood vessel with the throbbing vein on his forehead.

She was tempted to poke it.

“Alright.” Sebastian walked back and picked up the marker. “I have another task to accomplish.”

He wrote [Break into Azkaban] beneath his list. “Is there anything Ted could get us from the Ministry?”

“I’m already on that.” Andromeda grinned confidently. “I didn’t want to rush it so he wouldn’t get suspicious, but I’ll have more information for you in a few days. I might take a trip over there to visit an old friend and see if I can find out where they keep the portkeys to the prison."

“I wouldn’t be able to use them directly, but that’s not a bad plan.” Sebastian thought through the issue. “If I can get a bead on its destination somehow, I could follow the trace on my carpet to find its location.”

Typically, that would be impossible.

The destination point would be highly monitored and warded.

On top of that, there was no beacon one could make that would tell someone what the destination of a portkey was.

However, for Sebastian’s second Spirit Ring, it was more than possible.

“I’ll come with you.” Neo spoke up then, hiding her concerns about facing soul-sucking monsters behind her desire to protect Sebastian. “Can’t be worse than Grimm.”

“Thanks, Love.” Sebastian sent her a warm smile. “But I think it's time you head back to Remnant and check in with Roman. We did kind of leave him in a sticky situation.”

Neo mouthed the word ‘We’ with a questioning tone.

 “As if I could take you anywhere you don’t want to go.” Sebastian scoffed good-naturedly, and Neo responded with a mature tongue poke. “Anyway, now I have to plan for a heist of my country’s most notorious prison.”

He clapped his hands together and grinned madly. “Sounds like fun.”

The more he thought about it, the more Sebastian realized it might be doable, and he was nothing if not a man who liked a tricky challenge.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more.” Andromeda apologized once again with a trace of self-loathing. “I feel useless like this.”

“You’re not useless, Auntie.” Sebastian denied.

He walked over and knelt before her, taking her hand comfortingly. “We don’t know when or where the Unspeakables may check in on you. You’re their prime target to keep a bead on Nym.”

After his last trip to his uncle and aunt's home, he came back at night with Andromeda's permission and did a full scan of their home.

Almost all the monitoring wards were on Nym’s areas, but his aunt was the second most watched, with Uncle Ted being the least.

“You’re under constant stress, doing all you can to ensure they don’t notice anything is wrong. Even getting the information from Ted and setting up the meeting with your grandfather’s contact is more than enough.” Sebastian gave her an encouraging smile. “We’ll keep our family safe.”

Andromeda looked over his fearless expression and felt her eyes grow misty as she reached up and stroked his cheek. “You’ve grown up to become so dependable, Sebastian. Your father would have been so proud.”

A vulnerable flicker crossed Sebastian’s expression as his gaze lowered. “I always hope he would be.”

“You never have to hope for it, my child.” Andromeda leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “He would be. Just as I am.”

A slight tremble crossed Sebastian's lips, but he held his storming emotions long enough for a hesitant hand to sneak atop his and Andromeda's.

Neo didn’t look up as the two turned to her. “Sebastian’s family is my family now.”

"Neo…" Sebastian reached for her, only for Andromeda to steal his thunder and pull his lover away in a hug.

“Oh, you sweet girl.” Andromeda swung her around. “You’re part of this family now.”

Neo hung limply like a kitten in Andromeda’s arms, but a gentle smile rested on her lips as she stared at Sebastian with love in her eyes.

Sebastian chuckled and smiled back, watching the two interact as he silently swore in his heart.

‘I’ll protect this.’

The storm would come for the Unspeakables.

It was just a matter of being thorough.

Chapter End.

AN: Hope you enjoyed!

Sebastian is never late to an appointment; blame the time zones.

Neo has a panic attack, only to end up fascinated by stories of young Bellatrix.

Nothing is illegal if you are not caught.

Sebastian explains what he must do next. Find a world that conceptually improves GAINS.

Neo gets invited for a date to visit the Italian magical mob. She is excited.

Sebastian relives his teenage trauma of trying to break into the most heavily secured ancestral manor in the country.

A prison heist is set on the schedule.

Neo is adopted. Technically. Just nod your head and agree with Auntie Andy.

And Sebastian needs no more motivation.

See you next time!