the definition of family

Bianca glanced back at him as she tottered towards the adult voices, waving him on as though to hurry him up. Teddy was quickly realizing the toddler was not where she was supposed to be and he had a hunch that it was probably thanks to some of that “baby magic” as Khaat was fond of calling it. The house had to be one of constant chaos and confusion with so many traumatized magical children under one roof - and here he thought growing up in a Potter-Weasley household had been wild.

Bianca was staring at something and as he rounded the corner into the main hallway he saw what, barely ducking in time to escape being knocked upside the head by two flying baby bottles. His mouth tipped open in surprise and disbelief, staring down the hall from whence the bottles had flown and then down the way they were heading. He looked down at Bianca as though the little girl may have answers but she merely stared and made a POP noise by smacking her lips together.

Apt.

So he followed the bottles, Bianca tripping after him. He had barely come upon Robert when he saw the blood and knew that the little girl’s field trip had come to an end. He stopped and turned towards her. “Okay, can you go find Mr Angus, or someone else? I’m going to talk to Mr Robert here, okay?”

She pouted and swayed in indignation but there was the sound of well timed footsteps, whether it was from one of the caretakers looking for her or Angus searching for Robert, and the little girl took her leave.

Teddy had often been the unofficial healer of the family, as James’ reckless Quidditch, Albus’ outspoken misanthropy, and Lily’s experimental Potionmaking had put all three in the position to accrue constant and continuous injury. He could also tell, instinctively, that Robert had suffered a bad night and did not want to contribute by panicking or fussing. He silently stepped in, helping settle the babies down.

“Let me get the bleeding stopped before we fuss anymore, I’m sure they can bear a delay.” He didn’t say what he wanted to say, which was that even so young they probably didn’t need to see any more bloodshed tonight.

It was quick work to stop the bleeding, to siphon some of it away and at least dry his shirt. Teddy knew Robert needed more attention, but he also knew he would rather get to the work of tending to the children. He gave his uncle a nod that said he was done, and dropped to his heels next to one of the babies, reaching for the bottle.

“So… rough night?”

Aside from Angus, Teddy's face was the first face he had seen in hours that was both friendly and competent, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt greater relief. He was more than a little grateful that Teddy had seen to the bleeding because, aside from leaking all over his shirt, the thing had hurt like the dickens.

"Bless you," Robert said, more grateful than he was sure he usually showed. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you." He picked up a bottle and a baby and settled in with it. He could deal with babies that needed diaper changes for a bit longer. Babies with full stomachs were much easier to change than hungry ones, or at least that had been his experience with it.  "And thank you for not being squeamish. Nice work on the healing spell. It feels better already. God, yes, it was a long night."

"The 'after' of this story is nearly as unpleasant as the 'before,'" he said, sitting down at the desk. "The nutshell version of the 'before' is that two of our newer trainees got a lead on these two wee ones here being taken for private placement, which is the same in Gelding's vernacular as an under-the-table sale. And rather than telling Angus or me or you about it, our two recruits decided to take it on themselves. Long story short, Angus and I went to extract them and made it to get them both out alive, but not before we encountered some of Gelding's agents and had to try to deal with them. As it was, Angus saved my sorry behind, and I sent him to make sure our agents got home safely and I went to pick up the babies.

"That's the short end of it, but the part that I didn't get to tell Angus about is that the money transfer hasn't happened yet. And I mean to go follow up on it when it happens. That will surely be done by middle men, and if we can manage to see who is delivering the cash and who is picking it up, it might lead us to some of Gelding's connections, and they're as important to us as Gelding is. If Gelding had no one eager for what he's selling, he would be out of business. I want his connections just as much as I want him. You up for a bit of a stakeout with me at the Paris branch of Gringotts? If I can find a clean shirt, that is." He looked briefly at the backside of the baby he was holding to find the baby was damp and was making him damp now too. Fabulous. Just fabulous.

"Figures," he sighed and glanced at the baby Teddy was holding. "Watch yourself. Mine's sprung a leak."  

There was a knock on the door, and Angus stuck his head in.

"Oh, Teddy! Hi!" Angus smiled. "Coffee and tea are both on. Could I get either of you something? And cinnamon buns are fresh and still warm if you're hungry. Egg casserole and sausage will be ready in a few minutes. And I'll get the patch kit for you."

"Coffee, please," Robert said, feeling a need for a bit of a caffeine lift. "And a couple of fresh nappies. No need for the patch kit because Teddy's quite good with a healing spell. I'm fine now."

"Teddy? Can I get you something? Something to drink? Breakfast or cinnamon roll, perhaps?" Angus asked.

"Cinnamon roll?" Robert inquired. "Full sized?"

"Nah. More like burger sized. Khaat baked them off while we were out. We've got mostly little folk upstairs, so they wouldn't eat a full one. Nor would the nanny workers appreciate them having a huge sugar rush."

"They're not to be missed," Robert told Teddy. "When he makes them at home, they're huge, always a favorite."

Teddy was thankful for the look of relief on Robert’s face - it helped keep at bay the sense of uselessness that was ever creeping into his soul. He hadn’t forgotten, exactly, but it had obviously slipped on his list of priorities - and they obviously needed him. He would cling to the idea that he had come exactly when they needed him most.

“Squeamish - you know that James and his cousin Fred used to just bash their heads against each other, right?” He said, glanced over at Robert with a small smirk lightening his otherwise serious face. That household sure had prepared him for everything life could throw his way.

Teddy listened carefully, focusing equally at the ravenous child in his hands as well as the story of the awful circumstances from which she was saved. He was glad he had something useful to do as he heard the story, as he was sure he would have otherwise gotten his head all twisted in the frustration that his uncle had to do any of this in the first place. Why couldn’t people just be…

Lily slurring her words as her friends yelled above the din of noise that her cousin Roxanne had put something in her drink..

Finding out that a mad werewolf had sicked his pack on the Hogwarts Express...

Albus, age twelve, looking like a deer in the headlights as Teddy walked into his room, as a book titled Unforgivable Curses and Their Forgivable Uses slipped from his hands...

-good.

There was still work to be done, no reason to focus on the bad that was gone and passed.

Angus slipped in and Teddy’s assurance that he was fine, that he didn’t need anything, died on his lips at Robert’s insistence. He, of course, wouldn’t mind a cinnamon roll - it was that nasty bad habit of denying himself a good thing when he felt it was unearned. He would have chided Lily for it, reminded her that her loved ones were always happy to give her something good even if she felt she didn’t deserve it. He could allow himself the grace he would have given her.

“Sure, a cinnamon roll sounds lovely,” he said, smiling at Angus. “Lily’s here too, if you could save one for her. I could pop down and slip it into the lab, don’t want to disturb her. If you ask, she’ll say she’s not hungry, but if we leave her one, she’ll feel guilty and eat it.” He offered an affectionate roll of the eyes. That was thing about raising three teens - you knew how idiotic they could be.

He looked back to Robert, as he lifted the infant in his hand to his shoulder, looking around for a burp rag. “Her idea, actually. To stop by, that is. I think that lab is going to be a really great thing for her. She hasn’t wanted to go anywhere all summer.”

He found a rag and draped it over his shoulder and began to rub and pat the infant’s back, a technique he had seen growing up in the extended family that was Potters-Weasleys-Lupins-Lovegoods-Longbottoms and all. There had always been a new baby around and he was hardly ten the first time one of these “aunts” had handed him their child and asked him to watch the baby for awhile. “I, er, should have thought to stop by sooner. Especially now that I’ve found out just how much is going on. I’ll definitely do better to, y’know, check in. See how I can be of help.”[/i]