We had a morning walk through the forest, much more relaxed than we had before when we were in the deeper areas.
We returned to the camp and there we found that someone else was returning, was Newt, but this time he came accompanied. Arm in arm with him was an older woman who looked nice, but also a little annoyed with Newt for the way she was pinching his waist.
"Red! Elise! This is my loving wife Porpertina Scamander" Newt greeted us with a smile upon seeing us.
We slowly approached and I got off Elise. I could see a compassionate look on the woman, as well as astonished to see us, although that look also made me feel a little uncomfortable and I covered myself more with the beast skin that I used to wear tied around my waist to protect myself from the cold.
"Hello Mrs. Scamander, I'm Red" I greeted warmly, or tried it taking into account the wild look that I usually wear in the camp
"You can call me Tina, dear," she said kindly.
"Looks like I'll have to start wearing more clothes than usual"(Red)
"Don't worry, you can dress however you want, there's nothing I haven't already seen" she said laughing, not showing any shame or looking away from me.
"...it's...unbelievable that you don't treat me like a child..." I commented surprised "I like your wife, she has earned her place here more than you"
Elise next to me bumped her head against me as she talked to me, I was the only one here she could communicate fluently with and she felt left out of this conversation.
"Sorry, this is Elise, my partner and my family, she introduces herself to you" (Red)
"Hello Elise, nice to meet you" Tina also greeted her. From the life she led with her husband, she had a certain respect for magical creatures, besides that she seemed interesting, it was the first time she had encountered such human behavior in a unicorn.
We walked the couple around the camp and Newt and I explained to Tina how things worked here. Newt also told her everything he learned about us, despite being next to them, but it didn't bother us, even giving us a chance to talk a bit.
Newt marveled at our participation in the dialogue, especially the fact that I acted as Elise's intermediary occasionally, while he was here we hardly spoke other than answering questions. Tina also asked about our lives, but without being too intrusive or rude, in a way I think like Hagrid she was worried about a boy living in the woods.
...
Our life from then on was somewhat different, Tina's presence changed things a bit.
Usually, we would get up early to go out into the forest for a walk or collect ingredients for the day's meals and then return to prepare breakfast, but since Tina arrived, when we return to the camp in the morning, she was already waiting for us with breakfast ready.
Tina became like a mother of sorts to the place, she cooked, cleaned and cared for everyone here. It was weird, even Elise felt weird being taken care of, but after a while we found it nice.
We accepted Tina much faster than expected, I began to wear more clothes in respect to her, although she said that it didn't matter, I knew that in her eyes there was concern for my way of life. Newt also seemed to start living better thanks to her, he could get careless when he was alone.
Starting to have more social relationships, Elise not being able to communicate properly without me around became a problem. She didn't feel comfortable and although Newt was very competent to understand what she wanted, she still asked me to find a way that would allow her to talk to others like he does to me, or something similar.
I searched through the rituals for a while and after spending some money I was able to get what I wanted. I worked on creating magical pedestals with large crystals on them and zirconium necklaces, I also painted on Elise's neck several triangles between two parallel lines, paint that would have to be repainted every morning.
I explained to Newt and Tina the reason for the pedestals and handed them the necklaces, which were different from the one I gave Elise, and the magic happened… after a few tries.
Elise's thoughts materialized in a voice coming from the necklaces, but only within the field cover created by the pedestals. From now on, Elise could converse with any of them without my help.
The Scamander couple were very surprised at this, and Newt almost jumped for joy all over the camp. The questions invaded Elise to the point of making her run away from the old man, who was then scolded by her wife.
With Elise away, now I was the one being plagued with questions, Newt wouldn't stop until he knew everything about what I did so that a magical creature could communicate with others that way. I explained a bit, but then I got fed up and let Tina rescue me
Now we could all talk to each other without much trouble, and this changed things a bit.
Elise approached Tina to ask them things, for example, while she was cooking she came up to her for advice and in the future to be more helpful when we cook together. Elise was seeking answers from the only human woman she knew who had a long-term relationship with her mate.
...
It was time to see Lily, Petunia and Snape and I was saying goodbye to Elise. This didn't go unnoticed by our stalker magizoologist, who came to ask what was going on, and Elise blurted out that I was going to see me with some girls.
Newt was intrigued by the fact that I went out to see other 'normal' children, although he had noticed that I was dressed more than what I usually wear here. He wanted to find out more, but his wife had also heard this and stopped him, letting me go.
I returned to the Evans house after my long absence, and the four of us spent time together. The girls were a little upset that I was gone for a while, but it always happens and I sent them letters from time to time.
Snape was also somewhat annoyed that I forgot we were going to Diagon Alley these days, but giving him some of the exotic ingredients gathered from the depths of the forbidden forest was enough for him to have a faint smile on his face for the rest of the day.
Our group of four was together again and we went out for a walk with the girls' parental permission. Our group even started to have a name, the marauders had one, why not us? It stayed in "Aconites" for lack of a better one, but I think it was quite adequate.
We went out and had fun for a while, talking about life, family, school and other things while we ate. Letters for Hogwarts would arrive next year, but we didn't push the subject too much because of Petunia, even Snape was kind of considerate. Finally, as I had promised before, with Snape we went to Diagon Alley until nightfall before accompanying him to his house helping him load the purchases and then returning to my home.
...
When I returned, I noticed how things seemed somewhat different... once again...
Given the questions that they asked Elise, she ended up saying that I had gone out to see some girls, or being more accurate in what she said 'future mating partners'. They inquired more and discovered several things about it, which caused that now the looks on me were somewhat different.
Tina arranged dinner that night, we would all eat together in front of the fire, but it ended in a silent dinner. It's very likely that Newt wanted to ask about that topic, but his wife stopped him, telling him not to interfere in other people's lives or something similar, don't pay too much attention.
...
Time passed and I continued to visit my friends, only on a few occasions I brought some cookies baked by Tina. I had commented on a few things, in addition to what Elise said, and upon learning that we were a group of children, she cooked something for to take away… although the matter of 'mating pairs' remained unexplained.
While I was gone, Elise went to see Tina for advice. While cupcakes were being baked, Tina heard how Elise approached her and received her kindly, she had understood that she was not a common unicorn and that besides her physical form, she didn't stray far from any human... besides that she was an important part from this family that her husband came to study.
There had been harmony between them for some time and it wasn't a problem to answer her questions as she was doing, but with each one of hers she had begun to notice things.
"Does it bother you that he goes to see his friends?"(Tina)
"No…well, a little…"(Lys)
"Don't you have friends too? Didn't you go with your pack a few days ago…?"(Tina)
"Yes, but it's not the same"(Lys)
"I understand that you are a family, but I also think it's okay for him to see other children. I don't want to intrude or tell you how you should live, I know very well that you can't change the nature of people, just look at my husband, he remains the same, no matter how many years pass..."(Tina)
"Was he always like this?" (Lys)
"Maybe a few little things are different, but it's pretty much the same... what I meant was that it's good for him to interact with other children, just like you interact with your pack. Do you plan to live forever in the forest? Don't you think that he also wants to see others like him from time to time?"(Tina)
"I know, it's just that I feel a little bad when he leaves" (Lys)
"It's understandable, it's because you want him"(Tina)
"Yes, I don't like that he is with them because he can't be with me"(Lys)
"You're jealous" (Tina)
"That's what he said" (Lys)
"You're adorable" she said caressing Elise's cheek while she smiled when she saw how her husband had quietly approached and started to write his notes "But it's something we accept. It's good that he has friends and he'll always come back, I know how much he loves you"
"It doesn't bother me that he has friends, but it bothers me that he is with the other girls" (Lys)
"His... mating partners?" She couldn't help but laugh a little at these words.
"Yes, they…"(Lys)
"You're afraid of losing him, aren't you? That he'll fall in love, have a family, and not spend time with you anymore?" She tried to be understanding and figure out the fears of the girl she was comforting.
"Yes, I am very afraid of that"(Lys)
"You don't have to be afraid, in the first place he's still young and takes a long time to start a family, and even so I don't think he'll leave you behind. He may not spend as much time with you as he does now, it's part of growing up, but I can assure you that your relationship is stronger than you think and you won't separate as you think"(Tina)
"But I'm not like those girls, I can't do what they do"(Lys)
"You don't have to be like them, I'm sure he loves you the way you are"(Tina)
"But we can't mate!"(Lys)
"..." Tina froze upon hearing these words.
"..." Newt stopped writing and also looked up, somewhat dazed.
"Before, I agreed with him not to do it because I wasn't ready for something like that, we were very different, but as time goes by I'm more afraid. If the fact that we can't mate ends up separating us, I'm afraid it's my fault. I'm ready to accept it, but he still doubts about my body..." Elise explained without noticing the environment.
"...y-you...do you want to breed with him?" Tina asked, still shocked by what she was hearing, not knowing if it was true or if she was just imagining it.
"No, we already talked about that, I don't want to have foals so that the same thing happens to me... but I do want to... um... have sex with him. I don't want to be the only one who doesn't and be less than the others, but it's hard being different, that's why we let your husband come to study us, to see if he could help us. Also you, I hoped to learn some things from you that could allow us to achieve it... that he love me more"(Lys)
"Um... I..." she ran out of answers and looked at her husband, who also had a disoriented look.
...
I came back from my day with the other "Aconites" but I felt that the atmosphere was somewhat tense and not long after arriving I saw Elise running towards me.
"I think I made a mistake, sorry"(Lys)
"What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Newt or Tina? Okay, we'll figure it out" (Red)
"No... I didn't know if I could say it or not, but now they know that we are couple"(Lys)
"Ohh... well..." I answered with a little pause as I understood and thought about it for a while "Someday they had to find out of it if we wanted their help. Okay, calm down, you didn't do anything wrong, we'll talk to them. Tell me how much they know ..."