When James had gone out scouting for a restaurant venue before Christmas to gift to Renata, he had come across plenty of places that seemed to be in better condition than what he had actually purchased. He hadn't purchased the place in order to be cheap, as it wasn't in the slightest due to the prime location in Diagon Alley, he had purchased it because as soon as he entered, despite the condition, it felt right. There was something about the place, no matter how vacant or riddled with doxies, it seemed perfect. He was sure that Renata could add her personal charm to it in more ways than one and turn it into a masterpiece.

During the first time she had actually visited, James could distinctly remember the tears in Renata's eyes, probably because the idea of owning her own restaurant had been a dream and she believed it would remain as so. Not to mention, it was a dream that had been stolen from her for many years as her mother made her believe that her only ambition in her life had been to be an Auror. But that wasn't the case anymore, Renata could remember wanting to be a chef and for James, that's all he really needed to hear.  He could remember some of the first times that they cooked together and how much she seemed to enjoy it, enough that he ended up falling in love with the idea of cooking as well.

He was now at the stage where he was experimenting with his own recipes (under Renata's supervision, of course) and was helping Renata develop dishes for her menu. However, the menu was only part of the battle, as creating the magical atmosphere of the restaurant was the task that they were having the hardest time with.

Renata couldn't decide on anything as every time she visited the space, new ideas came to mind, putting old ones to rest and the only thing that ever remained consistent was the name she had come up with for the place.

"Nepenthe," she wanted to call it, leaving James confused as to what she meant by that. Renata took the time to explain that it was meant to be something that allowed a person to forget their griefs and sorrows and that's what she wanted whenever someone walked through the door for a meal. She wanted them to forget all their troubles, even if they couldn't forget them forever, they could at least live in an ideal world while they were enjoying a meal in good company. 

It was a way to turn around what her parents had done to her and Adelmo, along with what others had to face as well that come from the same troubled origins. Alcina Abate had it in her mind that she was going to alter the minds of her students, including her own children, make them forget things so that she could create the "perfect" society. However, she had only caused even more trouble by doing so. In her quest to create perfection, Alcina had caused people to go mad, some of them losing their lives, other taking the lives of their families.

She had suppressed their memories, thinking she was helping, when in reality, she was causing substantial damage. Renata didn't want people to necessarily forget the troubles they were facing in a literal sense, she didn't want to alter or suppress memories. But she wanted her customers to have such a good experience at her restaurants that they could find themselves brushing their troubles aside.

She just wasn't sure how she was going to go about it as of yet but hopefully, it would come to her soon enough.

Every chance that she had though she would travel to the restaurant, even if it was to just sit in one of the dusty chairs and look around, hoping that an idea would come to mind. James would usually be the one to accompany and try to help in any way that he possibly could. They normally didn't bring Harry because between the dust and the doxy infestation, it wasn't the best place to bring a toddler and have him wander around.

Normally, he was left in the care of Molly as she would watch over him, very much like how James and Renata agreed to watch over the Weasley children sometimes to give Molly and Arthur and well-needed and deserved break. Or if Molly was overwhelmed, Harry would stay in the company of Sirius and Adelmo at Adelmo's flat that Sirius had recently moved into much to his delight.

And as Sirius moved in with Adelmo, he left his flat to Remus, who had announced at Christmas time that he planned on coming home. However, he wasn't returning alone as he had taken Huxley in his care. He claimed it to be somewhat like a foster system as the Ministry honestly didn't hold werewolves in the highest regards, they didn't necessarily care what happened to them as long as they weren't causing trouble for others. Huxley's parents had been murdered by the werewolf that had also attacked him and it was considered a miracle that he had survived at only two years old when he was attacked.

Left orphaned, he was practically shipped off to the nearest werewolf colony, where he found himself not receiving the full care he actually needed until Remus came along. Since Remus was coming back with Huxley, he figured it was the proper time that Renata learn about his lycanthropy condition, so that she wasn't in the dark. He spoke it over with James and Sirius, wondering if it was the right thing to do, and they encouraged him that it would be and Renata would accept him no matter what.

Even if they hadn't been able to spend a great deal of time around each other since Renata had come into James' life, Remus could see how happy she made one of his best friends and it seemed that she was there to stay.

If only the three men had been aware that during a night where James had been in a sleepy state induced by a sleeping-draught, he had already informed Renata of Remus' condition. She had known long before Remus sat her down to confess, yet didn't tell him that. Instead, she acted surprised when he informed her, supportive of course, but surprised. But she reassured Remus that he had nothing to fear because she was not going to pass any sort of ill judgement due to a condition he had no control over. She saw him no differently and she also reassured him that Huxley would find the same support as well.

As James had considered Remus to be one of his brothers, Harry seemed to quickly befriend Huxley and the two of them had become fast friends or as Sirius referred to them as "Scar-Buddies."

Initially, it took Ron and Neville to warm up to Huxley's presence, not because they didn't like him or anything of the sort, but because they had become so accustomed to the idea of it just being the three of them hanging out, that they weren't used to the fourth member right away. However, it shortly passed as Huxley behaved just like the rest of them and seemed to fit in perfectly to the dynamic of the young friendship.

It seemed that Harry not only took after James in appearance but in more ways than one, taking on James' best qualities including being an amazing friend, even from a young age.

So while Renata and James went to the venue one afternoon to work on some planning, Sirius, Remus, and Adelmo offered their help to look after Harry, Huxley, Ron, and Neville for a playdate. It left Renata quite distracted, wondering how that was working out as the three men were definitely going to have their hands full with the four boys. However, James was walking around with doxycide, trying to rid of the infestation while leaving a foul odour behind with the spray.

Renata didn't seem to really notice it though as she looked off into a small corner of the place that was illuminated by the sunlight that was peeking through the grey clouds outside. A smile reached across her lips as James reentered the area where she was, curious as to what brought about the change in her mood so suddenly. All morning, she seemed to be dreading the idea of visiting the restaurant, simply because it left her feeling frustrated whenever they left because she couldn't decide on anything.

"What brought about that smile on your face?" James asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as they had slid down during his work." I sure hope it's not this doxycide stuff, it's absolutely foul. I'd question a lot about you after discovering that-"

She shook her head and lifted her to hand to point into the corner. "I was just thinking about that corner over there."

James wanted to be supportive but he also didn't understand what there was to smile about when it came to that particular corner.

"I don't understand-"

Renata didn't answer right away, instead, she grabbed James' by the hand and led him over to the spot, sensing his confusion. The two of them came to stand in the corner, basking in the warmth of the rays of the sunlight pouring in.

"This could be where we can have musicians play," Renata said, " maybe Adelmo could put his dream of becoming a musician into play, right? I know he's not going to give up his position as a Healer, but there's no reason as to why he couldn't play on his time off."

As she rambled on about plans of having Adelmo play music in the restaurant along with other musicians that were willing to come in, James watched the excitement grow on her features. It was the first time since she had first walked into the place that he witnessed such happiness in her expression when it came to one of her ideas. At one point, she clapped her hands together, barely able to contain herself and James could only chuckle, knowing that if Harry was there, he wouldn't be able to resist joining in the clapping with his own excitement.

Reaching out, James managed to grab her hands, catching her off guard as he pulled her close into him.

"Well, if we have music, that means we'll have dancing, right?" he asked. "I'd like to share in a few dances with you...and by a few, I mean a few hundred."

He could see the blush grow on her features but she nodded her head, seemingly liking the idea of dancing with him, even if neither one of them were the most skilled when it came to dancing. Maybe they couldn't manage any advance dance moves, but they could sway for centuries without even noticing that time was passing them by.

"I'd like that too," she answered, " we could have nights of music and dancing. Especially on the weekends when everyone just needs to have some fun after a long week at work. We'll have different styles of music too...all dance styles would be welcome, even the dance known as the "plastered deer."

Noting the mischievous glint in her eyes, James narrowed his own playfully in her direction, feeling the jab at his dancing skills.

"Or perhaps the "Hippogriff on Fire" will become a fast favourite around here," he countered, leaving both of them to giggle like school children.

"I'm alright with that," she said before looking over at the spot again, " finally, I made one decision, even though it really doesn't have much to do with anything else that needs to be done."

"Well, just like how this corner spoke to you," James said, directing her to look over at him, " the rest of the place will do the same. All you have to do is listen."

It grew quiet for just a moment as the two of them stood still, only for them to be startled by the sound of something crashing loudly in the back where the kitchens were located. James grimaced as he rolled his eyes, believing it was more of the doxies attempting to make their way back into the building as the smell of the doxycide had cleared out.

"Those things are so damn annoying-" he went for his wand, but Renata placed her hand over his to push it back down.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this round," she told him, "just wait here and relax. See if any part of the place speaks to you, after all, this place is as much yours as it is mine."

Leaving James to himself in the main front area, Renata wandered to the back with her wand out to handle the doxies. She didn't plan on using anymore doxycide as the smell was terrible, not to mention, she sort of felt quite bad for the little creatures. As much as they were considered a pest, it was more than likely that the place had been abandoned long enough that they had established the place as their home. She was hoping that instead of just knocking the creatures out and banishing from the spot that they could be relocated, hopefully to a better location where they wouldn't be disturbed.

Making her way into the kitchen, she could hear the rumbling coming from the direction of one of the cupboards. The amount of sound seemed to be a bit much to be emitted from the small stature of a doxy, even if there were multiple of them inside. Drawing her wand, she remembered that Remus had warned them to be careful of boggarts that liked to take up space in abandoned places. That was the last thing she wanted to confront, something that would take the form of her worst fear because she had no idea of what it would turn into.

Suddenly, feeling quite anxious about it, Renata swallowed and realised that no matter what came out of the cupboard, in Boggart form, she had to remind herself that it wasn't real. Even if it took the form of her mother or something worse, it wasn't real. Alcina Abate was dead and even if she came back in Boggart form, she was powerless.

Without giving it a second thought, she opened it up, only to have something launch out to attack her.

As she had left James out in the main part, he had been trying to envision something or let the restaurant "speak to him" when he suddenly heard the sound of Renata scream.

"Ren!?"

Immediately, James raced to the back, wand drawn and ready to fight off or attack whatever had caused Renata to scream, but as he came back to the kitchen, he saw that Renata was on her hands and knees.

"Ren, are you-"

He went to move to knelt down by her side, but as he took a step forward, Renata raised one of her hands, signalling him to stop and remain in place. Confused, he obeyed but kept a firm grip on his wand, just in case. She eventually looked over in his direction and then motioned for him to come over.

"Keep slow with your movements, I don't want to frighten it," she whispered to him as James knelt down beside her.

"What are you-"

James found her hand over his mouth before she placed one of her fingers to her lips. They remained quiet for a few moments and eventually, James heard the sound of scratching against the floor. Below the cabinets, there seemed to be movement coming from under and he assumed it had to be doxies, but it appeared he was mistaken as finally, a small white paw emerged.

Seconds later, James and Renata had their answer as a kneazle emerged from under the cabinet space, the grey speckled fur cat-like creature allowed half of its body to poke out. Its body was small, however, the ears were massive as they seemed to scan the area for noise. The two watched as it sniffed the air before turning its head in their direction and became still. Neither one of them made any sudden movements as James didn't want to scare it and Renata looked absolutely thrilled to be in the presence of the creature.

The kneazle sniffed the air once more before venturing out further and made its way over to where they were. Its ears flicked at the sound of any noise and it continued to sniff as it moved around until it reached Renata. She reached out her hand but it didn't react right away only until its nose came into contact with her. James could see the long plume at the end of its tail swish about, resembling that of a lion. 

"He's blind," Renata spoke, leaving James to glance over at her, wondering how she could tell.

"How do you-"

"Do you see how he's crouching down to the ground like that? Just enough that his whiskers are trailing the ground to guide him, the whiskers help keep a distance so he doesn't bump into anything. He's also relying on his nose and look-"

She waved her hand slowly in front of the kneazle's face but the creature didn't react, leaving James to raise a brow. "Wow, you really paid attention to all of his movements-"

"Well, there was that and the fact that when he jumped out of the cupboard at me, he ran into the wall twice before he slipped under the cupboard, so I had to assume.." she chuckled.

The two were interrupted by the sound of strong purring as the kneazle rubbed his side against Renata's side before rubbing his face against her hand after sniffing it. The kneazle was young, probably only several weeks old, incredibly thin as it wasn't getting enough nutrients being on his own. James could already see the look on Renata's face as she wore a warm smile as she petted it gently. He already knew what the question was that was forming in her head, but she was probably not going to ask it.

"So," he said, drawing her attention to him as he met her gaze, " what are you going to name him?