The Marauder's heiress returns

Gone in flames

When Adelaide returned home, her father informed her that only she, Sirius, and Remus remained at Potter Manor, as everyone else had moved out. The three Lestranges returned to Lestrange Manor, while Evan and Barty relocated to Grimmauld Place with Regulus. She found the silence a little unnerving at first, especially since the last time she was home, the manor was filled and lively.

Linny was busy packing away Adelaide's belongings while she took a shower, hoping to feel refreshed after a long train ride. As the hot water cascaded over her body, Adel felt her muscles relax, easing the stress she had been experiencing over the past few days. She lathered her waist-length hair with cherry-scented shampoo and conditioner before removing her body hair with a spell. After that, she used lemongrass body wash to cleanse her tanned skin. Once she rinsed and was finished with her shower, she wrapped a grey, warm towel around her body and another around her hair before walking into her bedroom.

"Well, isn't this a sight" Adelaide let out a yelp and instinctively sent a stunning spell towards the voice. "Really? Come on, little love, you know that won't do anything to me"

"Mortem! You scared the shit out of me" Mortem, who was once again lounging on her bed, let out a chuckle as he raised himself to lean against the headboard. "You have a habit of just appearing in my bedroom. What if I was indecent?"

Mortem slowly scanned her from head to toe, raising an eyebrow as he did so. The towel clung to her figure like a second skin, stopping just above her upper thigh and displaying her smooth, tanned legs. Adelaide shifted, feeling a bit self-conscious as she noticed the deity's eyes roaming over her form. She was aware of the mutual attraction between them and believed that the only thing preventing them from pursuing a relationship was her age. Morten, too, recognized Adelaide's interest in certain members of her pack and understood that it would only be a matter of time before she created the reverse harem she had been talking about.

"Why don't you go get dressed, baby girl? Your father has invited me for dinner" She raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic but decided to let it go. She nodded her head and collected the pyjamas that Linny had placed out for that evening before returning to the bathroom to change. After applying cream to her entire body, Adelaide put on her emerald-green silk shorts and vest top combo before throwing on an identically styled dressing gown.

"Susy?" She calls out and a second later, her house elf pops into the bathroom with a warm smile on her face.

"How can I help you, mistress?"

"Can you please braid my hair? French perhaps" Susy's smile brightened and she nodded before gesturing for Adelaide to sit on the closed toilet. They remained in comfortable silence as Susy braided her hair but there was a longing in her heart, wishing that her mother was alive to do such things together.

"There we are, Mistress. You look beautiful" Adelaide smiled kindly and thanked the loving elf before she made her way to the dining room. As per usual, the head seat was left absent for Adelaide while Mortem sat on her left and her papa on her right.

"Where's Uncle Moony?"

"He's not feeling too great, the full moon is in a couple of days and he still gets quite nauseous" A frown appeared on her face, her heart aching at the thought of her loving uncle being under the weather due to his condition. She quickly called an elf and asked if they could give a hot chocolate to the werewolf for when he awakened.

"Such a sweetheart" Mortem cooed, earning a snicker from Sirius while Adelaide simply rolled her eyes before she dug into her meal.

The conversation was light throughout dinner and it made Adelaide happy to witness her papa and Mortem bonding. They were quite alike in some ways, though it was clear Mortem had a darker humour that shocked her poor father at times. When it became time for dessert, Sirius decided to bring up his daughter's plans for the summer as well as the possibility of her being involved in the Triwizard tournament.