Hey guys! Sorry for the extremely long wait. Truth is, the majority of my stories are largely experiments or outlets for my random plot bunnies. More often than not, I just leave my stories be once I've gotten it out of my system. This was the case for this one- HOWEVER, I'm not gonna lie. I really enjoyed writing this story. I've actually got ten more chapters already written out a long time ago, I just never published them (sorry sorry don't hurt me). It would've continued to go unpublished had I not recently received a lovely review about a work I previously thought had died.

Shout out to Azaira! Your review really made my day and ultimately motivated me to actually put the chapter up. Thank you for being awesome!

CHAPTER 6

Harian looked sick, standing between the two clashing auras that circled around but never went on the offensive. The atmosphere was suffocating and the magic was swirling around chaotically with no clear intention. He shuffled back as if to avoid the backlash that would certainly happen if a fight were to ensue.

"I beg your pardon?" Fae blinked with a frown. Verona rolled her eyes at her reaction, "Honestly, Fae. It's only a play date, no need to act so severe."

Fae bit her lip to hold back a sarcastic retort, this was a severe situation. Fae took a breath and asked as calmly as she was able to, "What brought this on, Mother?"

"You're already ten and you haven't met another proper girl your age, not once!" Verona argued, "I was always fine with you declining the requests when you were younger, but no longer. You will attend this tea party!"

Fae gave an affronted look, "I refuse to sit with the company of snivelling children for hours on end."

"They're your age!" Verona said in exasperation. The redhead sniffed disdainfully, "Regardless of their age, the girls there are spoiled brats. I hardly think I will get any intelligent conversations out of them."

Verona stared at me incredulously, "They're British purebloods, Fae. They're practically trained to be intelligent from birth."

"Unfortunately, their form of intelligence isn't up to par." Fae drawled. Verona let out a strangled sound before sighing. She straightened to her full height and stared down imposingly at her daughter, "You'll be attending, no negotiations."

Fae let an aggrieved sigh before glancing towards Harian who was standing behind the loveseat next to the door with a flighty disposition, "Will Raven go with me at least?"

Said boy froze at the mention of his name and offered a nervous smile.

"No." Verona answered firmly, "He still has lessons to attend to."

Fae scowled at Verona's unyielding form before unwillingly submitting. With a stiff curtsey, she retreated up the stairs to her room. The soft patter of shoes alerted her to Harian's presence.

Fae opened the door to her room and glided in, leaving it open for Harian to enter. He did so quietly and silently perched himself on the side of her duvet. Fae settled herself on a cushioned armchair next to his position. She let out a heavy sigh before turning towards Harian who was fiddling with the buttons on his cuffs.

Fae absentmindedly reached over to smack his hands away, it wouldn't do for it to develop into a habit. He gave a sheepish grin before placing his hands on his lap. She stared expectantly at him as he started to fidget not a second later.

After a minute, Harian took in a fortifying breath and spoke, "It can't be that bad."

Fae frowned but held back her retort and instead asked challengingly, "... and why is that?"

As if a switch had been flipped, Harian's posture straightened and a glint entered his eyes, "Mum said that British purebloods are raised with archaic traditions, keeping them uninformed and at a disadvantage to some aspects of social culture. It would make things much easier to maneuver them under your thumb with little to no complications. If you were to attend..."

Fae shrugged as Harian trailed off in thought, "They're not worth my effort. I plan on making them learn their place with an alternative method. Besides, what have I told you?"

Harian sighed and boredly droned, "The Nightshade family holds no power in the pureblood circles outside of America. I will be the one to deal with the people on the political front as well as the media. My reputation is crucial a the last Potter, I am to lead the neutrals in the foreseeable future…. Am I missing anything?"

"Don't use sarcasm with me, Raven, or you'll be finding a special present late at night." She answered, "I'm not to be noticed and becoming an acquaintance of the Crowley heiress will do the exact opposite. You are aware of their distinct bloodthirsty, Dark nature, yes?"

Harian promptly reverted from the pureblood persona Verona constantly hammered into him and nodded with a faint grimace. His emerald eyes shone with understanding, "Both the Light and the Dark keep a close eye on that family. They are both powerful assets and dangerous enemies. The Nightshade name is already infamous in pureblood circles, there's no need to paint bigger targets on our backs."

Fae nodded in agreement, absentmindedly wondering why she was being so talkative. She propped her legs over the arm of the chair and leaned back, ignoring the fact that it was improper of her, "If we accept the Crowleys, what's stopping the other purebloods from approaching us? Nothing. There's no doubt that followers of the Dark Lord will attempt to sway us to their side. Followers of the Light Lord will do the same. Choosing one side puts the other faction against us, our best bet is to remain neutral. Grey."

Realization dawned on Harian, "If you attend the tea party and manage to gain the Crowley heiress' allegiance, the wizarding world will see that as a declaration of our alignment. Since the Crowleys are a purely Dark family, the Light will label us as potential enemies since they know nothing about us."

Fae silently nodded before moving to stand up from her position, sparing him a glance. Harian immediately rose and walked to her door, noticing her nonverbal cue. He awkwardly bowed, still unused to the action, and left.

With a tired sigh, Fae used her magic to gather all her blankets, pillows, and other cushions to create her customary nest on her oriental rug. Once everything was settled, she unceremoniously dropped onto the pile with a longer, louder sigh.

She would need a nice long nap if she were to properly deal with the young girls in a few scant hours.

"I think it went rather well." Verona said cheerfully the moment they exited the Floo and into the reception room. Fae, on the other hand, adopted a neutral look and slowly patted away the ashes on her clothing, "The social gathering was… enlightening."

The pureblood girls were even more vain and bigoted than she had previously estimated. They were also very, very intimidated by her presence. Of course, that tends to happen when one summons a legion of undead critters to chase after rude little girls. Not that her mother was aware of that little tidbit.

Fae never did get on well with the females in her previous life. It had something to do with the fact that she drew in all the guys because of her fame and the girls were jealous. She wasn't above taunting the juvenile teenagers either, so any connection she shared with the female population was shot out the window before first year was over.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself. Did you make any friends?" Verona asked jovially as she lead them to the family room. Fae offered a stiff smile and settled onto a dragonhide armchair, "I unfortunately was unable to gain any acquaintances during the gathering. I trust you fared better than I?"

Of course she did, Verona was a social butterfly.

"We're at home, little fairy." Verona smiled softly as she made herself comfortable on the loveseat, "There's no need to sound so formal with me. As for your question, I was able to establish some contacts. It is nothing compared to my connections in America, but it's a start."

Holly popped in and started to lay out the tea set, informing them that Harian had been put to sleep before leaving. Fae picked up her prepared cup of tea and took a slow sip, "That's good."

Verona chuckled, "Don't think I didn't notice the diversion. This attempt was far less subtle compared to your other works. Why didn't you make any friends?"

Fae swallowed her drink and placed her cup onto the tray. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "What did you expect, Mother? I'm not like those girls and I never will be."

Verona sighed, "I know, but I had to try. I don't want you to be lonely, that's all."

Fae inwardly grimaced at the mushiness of it all, but moved to sit next to her mother anyways. She wrapped her arm around Verona's waist and laid her head on her shoulder, "I have you… and Raven. I'm not lonely."

Verona smiled lovingly and hugged her tightly, "We'll always have each other, hm?"

Fae stared at the tendrils of steam wafting over the cup of tea, "... Yes we will."