Book 1: Nepenthe
Book 2: Halcyon
For those that survived the war and carried on, happiness was waiting for them just around the corner, they simply had to find it. For James Potter, it took a wrong turn to end him in the right place where he met Ren...
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The day had finally come when "Nepenthe" was set to open and Renata had woken up at the crack of dawn, chewing at her fingernails. Anxiety riddled her expression, her eyebrows nearly knitted together in concern and her feet tapping against the floor with nerves. Every bit of her was absolutely terrified about the reception of the opening and the major fear was if anyone was actually going to show up? She knew that she would have all the support of her family and friends, but that wouldn't be enough to keep a restaurant afloat. Everyone continued to reassure her that she would be fine, but with so many things on her mind, the opening was more nerve-wracking than exciting in her mind.
Even though Remus had reassured her that James would be more than willing and accepting of her adopting Harry under her name as well, she had still gone the extra lengths of asking others as well. She confided in her brother and in Sirius, who both seemed absolutely thrilled about the idea and when she asked Molly, the woman had practically broken into a state of tears. Everyone seemed to be behind her, but there was still a bit of hesitation. She didn't know when it would be appropriate to ask.
Harry and James had slept in a bit that morning as the restaurant wasn't set to open until lunchtime, with the added hire help that James had helped her process through, she was well staffed for the opening event. She wouldn't need much help in the kitchen with the aid of magic, so everything was set to run smoothly. It was just her own insecurities getting in the way of everything.
A sudden mewling sound dragged her out of her thoughts as Leone had entered the room slowly. His long whiskers twitched in every direction, in order to guide him over to where she had been tapping her foot in the kitchen. Certainly welcoming to the idea of a distraction, Renata smiled and lifted the kneazle into her arms, allowing him to purr and nuzzle into her shoulder and neck.
"Wish me luck, Leone, I'm going to need every bit of it," she said quietly. " I suppose if it all goes to hell, I could always find something else to do. Now that I don't have the blood phobia anymore, maybe I could put my Auror skills to use. "
Leone looked up, one his ears flickering about which made her laugh as she took it as him disagreeing.
"What? You don't think I can do it?"
"I don't think it's a matter of you not being able to do it," James' voice rang out, " it's a matter of knowing that you wouldn't be happy as an Auror."
She turned to see James making his way over to her from the doorway where he had been standing long enough to hear the little exchange between Renata and Leone. Her cheeks turned a slight pink in colour as she had been caught, leaving her place Leone on the floor as James came to stand in front of her. His hands reached out, both of them coming to rest on the upper part of her arms, gently rubbing them up and down in a comforting manner.
A kiss was placed on her forehead as she leant into him and closed her eyes. " I don't know why I'm so nervous about this," she confessed, " but I'm terrified."
