204)In-laws meeting

We walked through Diagon Alley until we spotted the unmistakable red hair of my father in the distance. As we got closer, we found him along with Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid, talking near the entrance to Gringotts. My mother sighed in relief when she saw them all safe and sound.

"Harry, I'm so glad you're okay," my mother said tenderly as she hugged Harry.

"You almost gave our mother a heart attack, Harry," said Fred in an accusatory tone, though clearly joking.

"Yeah, what would we have done without her?" added George, with the same theatricality.

"Both of you, be quiet!" my mother scolded, shooting them a fierce look. Then she turned to Harry: "Where were you?"

"In Knockturn Alley," Harry replied, a bit embarrassed.

"Cool!" the twins said in unison, with admiration, although my mother's threatening glare quickly made them change their expressions.

Hagrid intervened, explaining how he had found Harry before continuing with his own errands. I later found out that he had come to my shop looking for carnivorous slug repellent. He had been searching in Knockturn Alley but remembered seeing something similar in my store last time and decided to ask if we had what he needed. It was on his way there that he found Harry.

As we walked towards the bank, Harry was telling Ron how he had seen Draco Malfoy and his father in Borgin and Burkes, which led to some snide remarks from my parents about the Malfoy family. As for me, I was trying to avoid Hermione's threatening gaze. After what happened the last time at her house, we had only been communicating via [Message], and this was the first time we had seen each other in person since then.

Hermione wasted no time. She discreetly approached me while no one was looking and, with an almost innocent smile, pinched my waist hard, twisting my skin in such a way that I struggled not to cry out in pain. I knew I deserved it, and now I was paying for it, though I didn't regret it one bit.

It seemed Hermione still wanted to get a bit more revenge. We had made up in our chats, and she had loved the free meal coupon I gave her, but that didn't mean she was going to let me off without a little punishment. I knew she wouldn't go much further, but she would probably keep reminding me of the incident and demand some additional compensation. As we whispered to each other, she pretended to be offended while I begged for forgiveness, we noticed that we were being watched.

First, there was my sister, giving Hermione and me a death stare, and then…

"Hello, Hermione! It's nice to meet you," my mother said in her most pleasant tone.

"H-h-hello, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione stammered nervously. "It's nice to meet you too."

"What a lovely girl!" my mother exclaimed almost absentmindedly. "We've heard so much about you. We wanted to invite you to our home to get to know you better, but Red didn't let us," she added, approaching Hermione.

I could see Hermione starting to panic. Even though we were in a relationship, we both preferred to keep it private. Neither of us felt ready to meet the other's parents; the pressure was too much. Hermione almost jumped behind me to hide, but she managed to keep her composure long enough to greet my parents politely and answer their questions as best she could. At that moment, she completely forgot her resentment toward me and focused all her energy on making a good impression.

At that point, I also started to get nervous, not because of my parents, but because of Hermione's parents, who also spotted us and were coming towards us. I felt my heart in my throat as I realized all that could go wrong if they mentioned something they shouldn't. My brain was working overtime, searching for a way out.

My parents and siblings also noticed the Grangers approaching, and I knew I had to act quickly. My father, always fascinated by the Muggle world, was already gearing up to greet those two "curious specimens," but I stepped in.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, it's a pleasure to see you again," I said, walking towards them with a smile. At the same time, I discreetly sent them a [message]. It was the first time I had used this with them, and I could only pray they wouldn't get scared.

[It's me, Red. This is a magical message, don't be alarmed.]

[Please, for the love of god and country. If you talk to my parents, don't tell them we've met before or that I visited, and we've only seen each other at the train station. Also, don't mention how I behave outside of home. I beg you, have mercy. I'm willing to negotiate.]

[I'll get you more coupons like the last one, or even free service for life. Just please, don't rat me out. "I'm just a normal kid," wink wink].

The Grangers stopped, surprised. From my parents' perspective, it looked like they were just taken aback by my sudden enthusiasm, but in reality, they were reading the floating words I had sent them. They looked at me in surprise, processing what they had just seen, and then exchanged glances with me, noticing my desperate expression.

There wasn't much time for more silent exchanges because my father enthusiastically went over to greet them, followed by my mother. The in-laws met while I was sweating buckets, even more than Hermione when she was facing my mother. A few words were exchanged, but to my relief, everything seemed to be going well, and I could breathe a little easier.

My family, along with Harry, still had to go down to the underground vaults to get some money, but I didn't want to follow them, so I stayed with the Grangers. My parents also wanted to talk to them, and my father wouldn't stop insisting on the idea of going for a drink together afterward. Xeno was also going to check his vault and took Luna with him when he saw that I needed some space, and Ginny… well, she wanted to stay with me, though her gaze terrified me, but my mother dragged her away.

Finally, when I was left alone with the Grangers for a moment, I sighed in relief once again, internally grateful that everything had gone better than I had expected.

"Thank you... you have no idea what you've saved me from," I told them, referring to not revealing my escapades.

"Your parents don't know you came to see us?" asked Mrs. Granger, looking at me with some suspicion.

"No, nor that I came during Christmas. You see, the thing with my clones is complicated. I haven't told them everything because I fear they might try to limit me. They know about their existence, but not how far they can go. I'd rather keep it that way. In fact, besides you and a few others, no one knows. I ask that you please keep my secret."

"Hmm... and what about Hermione being pregnant?" she pressed, narrowing her eyes with a much more severe look, which made Hermione visibly blush.

"I'm really sorry about that," I quickly responded, feeling the pressure increase. "I tend to use humor to deal with uncomfortable or high-stress situations. I sincerely apologize." I bowed at a 90° angle in a sign of regret. "I wouldn't get Hermione pregnant just like that. I don't want to be a young father; the stress would kill me. Just seeing my parents deal with us already makes me panic."

"Hmm..." Mr. Granger let out a snort, though I couldn't tell if it was out of anger or if he was holding back laughter. Probably a mix of both. Nevertheless, he remained silent, letting his wife speak.

"So, I don't have to worry about having a promiscuous daughter?" Mrs. Granger asked, while Hermione looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. After what had happened that day, they had talked a lot about our relationship, asking if I was trustworthy or if they should keep her away from me. Luckily for me, Hermione had defended me.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Granger. I know how to tell a joke from something serious."

"You'd better," she replied with an implicit warning.

"But seriously, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my parents any details about how I am with other people. My brothers are pranksters too, though more physical humor, and my mom already keeps a close eye on them. Also, my relationship with my parents has been complicated since childhood due to some medical issues, and I don't want to complicate things further. Can you do me that favor?" I said, making subtle use of my abilities to appear more vulnerable and in need.

"We'll see what we do," said Mrs. Granger, but I could already tell that my act had triggered her maternal instinct.

"Thank you. As I promised, I'll give you free access to the restaurant from last time. I'm friends with the owner; she was at Hogwarts with us last year. If you tell her you're coming on my behalf, she'll treat you like family."

"Thank you very much. It was very interesting last time, though we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked," said Mr. Granger, and I noticed how both of them blushed slightly, remembering the occasion.

"On another note, this thing..." he said, referring to [Message].

"It's a special ability. Think of it like a magical email or fax. It can be used for instant communication. If you give me some time, I can try to help Hermione use it with you so you can communicate more easily. But for now, keep it a secret, even from my parents, who will want to talk to you soon." I paused and added, "Oh, and a warning: the magical and Muggle worlds have big differences. Sometimes it's hard for them to communicate correctly. If my parents say or ask something strange, please don't be offended. The cultural differences are huge, and misunderstandings are common."

I wasn't completely lying. Since leveling up [Message] and opening my business, I had gained a few new abilities, like [Guild], although that was more Tenebrius's thing. But at this moment, I was focused on the Grangers as I saw my parents returning from getting money at Gringotts in the distance.

...

Currently, "The Dragons of Albion" was closed. We decided to open a little later, since, well, there was a much more important event happening at the moment... Tonks was sprawled over one of the tables, begging for mercy from the unexpected attack from behind as she tried to clean. If not for the silly smile on her face and how much she was squeezing me down there, as if she wanted me to go deeper, I might have believed her.

Here, as I was desecrating Tonks, I reflected on what I told the Grangers, wondering if it was the right time to start that part of the plan. You see, when I opened this makeshift adventurers' guild, I acquired an ability called [Guild], which allowed me to form groups of a certain number of people, granting them specific benefits. One of those benefits was the creation of a group communication system like [Message], although it wouldn't be as powerful as my own ability.

There were also other, more specialized benefits, though all were weaker versions of my abilities. This ability was designed for me to form my own group, but I wanted to make the most of it. I thought of creating a separate group for the guild, with subgroups available for a fee, where people could access these limited abilities. Even though they wouldn't be as effective as mine, many would be willing to pay to have them.

Additionally, I had the idea to offer banking services. Members would form their group here and be associated with an account in the bank of my [Fief]. One of the abilities I could offer with [Guild] was a [Wallet] like my own, linked to that account. This wouldn't only increase interest in the guild but also the growth of the bank and my profits. Even those with questionable money might be drawn to the idea, as long as they trusted us enough to do it. Of course, I'd impose certain limitations, such as restricting the use of these abilities to within British lands. If someone from another country wanted to enjoy these benefits, they'd have to wait until I expanded my business to their region, which would help maintain a low profile for now.

I continued thinking about the plan as I increased the pace of my movements, getting closer and closer to my climax. Growing up had definitely made all of this much more comfortable; I had better posture now.

"Maybe the werewolves could be the first group to join as a trial, which would also help get things started." The more I thought about it, the clearer the idea became, until I finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"AHHHHHhhhh...!" Tonks moaned as she felt herself filled completely. Her saliva dripped onto the table, knowing she'd have to clean it later, but not caring now, with her body trembling and her precious parts dripping.

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1st Additional Chapter

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