A/N A little bit of Amelia and Ava bonding here. Especially for AndDreamOfSage, you more than deserve this little bit of fluff.

"So my dear, it's just the two of us for a couple of hours. I need to do a little bit of work so shall we go to my office?" Amelia Cackle smiled at the little person looking up at her.

"OK."

Constance and Imogen's daughter Ava was fourteen months old. This particular day her mothers had taken their eldest daughter Abby off to shop for school clothes and supplies leaving the toddler with her Granny. There was no better person to look after her as the bond between the two was only getting stronger with time.

"Now then, would you like to walk or shall I carry you?"

Ava thought for a second then replied, "Wak"

Over the summer her vocabulary had continued to increase, at this stage she probably had between fifteen and twenty words and almost words which was apparently above average. Considering her very articulate mothers and the influence of Abby this was not surprising and Amelia was enjoying playing her part in developing this precious little girl.

"There's no need to ask who dressed you today."

There was also no denying how adorable Ava looked on this afternoon. Her hair was up in two tiny bunches and she was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved dark blue t-shirt with a rainbow on the front. The sweetest part of her outfit was probably the pink high top Converse trainers that her Mummy had certainly picked out for this casual day at home.

They walked along the corridor until reaching the top of the stairs leading from the teachers' quarters. At this point there was a safety gate that Amelia unlatched before bending down and picking her granddaughter up.

"Up you come."

The office was close to the bottom of the stairs so she kept hold of Ava for the final few steps.

"We don't have a lot to do, just assigning rooms to the first years. Let's say we work for an hour and then have a cup of tea. How does that sound?"

Ava beamed back indicating that was fine with her.

As she sat down at her desk Amelia asked another question. "Would you like your chair to sit on or do you want to stay here on my lap?"

"Heh."

"Yes, here is nice isn't it? Okay, let's see what we have. Do you know we have an extra six students this year? I think it's because since your mothers got married and have you and Abby the atmosphere is so much nicer. And of course we provide a very good education. We'll miss your parents teaching after February when your sister comes but I know Gabrielle and Jamie will do a good job. And of course your Mama will still help me run the school. Let's not tell her but I would find it impossible to run this place without her."

Ava nodded sagely as her Granny spoke.

"So, these first years. Luckily we have plenty of rooms and we've cleared them out over the summer."

It took about forty minutes but by the end Amelia had assigned each girl their bedroom for the four years they would be at the school. Once that was finished she reviewed the timetables that Constance and Imogen had put together for the first part of the year. They were to continue teaching part time as they had the year before. The system had worked exceptionally well and both still contributed more than necessary to the running of the academy.

"That was a very productive hour Ava, your Mama would be very pleased with us. I think we've earned that cup of tea."

The principal of course had a kettle in her room but she decided to take the slightly more trivial option and use a spell to boil the water and steep her pot of tea. A similar spell summoned some biscuits, a banana and a bottle of water from the pantry.

She peeled the banana and handed it over to her eager companion.

"I would offer you a biscuit but in all honesty I think you're happier with your banana." Amelia laughed as she saw the fruit being demolished.

"Mmmm."

Once their snacks were finished and all traces of banana had been cleaned up she noticed that Ava was very interested in a photograph on her desk.

"You know who that is don't you?" She pulled the photograph closer. "That's your Mama and your Mummy. And who's that?"

"Abby!" Ava pointed at her beloved older sister.

"That's right and who is your Mummy holding?" There was a confused look in response. "That's you my dear when you were about a week old. Baby Ava."

"Baby." The puzzled look was replaced by a massive smile. The word baby was being used a lot in the Drill household right now and all Ava knew was that it caused a lot of happiness for everyone.

"Yes, except you were the baby here. Oh, you were so beautiful and now you are even more so. Would you like to see some more pictures?"

"Yeh."

Abby's influence was very clear in this particular word but Amelia couldn't help being proud at how much her eldest grandchild looked after her sister. She reached into her bottom drawer and pulled out an older looking box as well as a photo album.

"I haven't looked at these for a long time. There's Davina, you probably won't recognise her, I don't know why she wore her hair like that for so long. That's Elizabeth with her, even when they were just friends they were as thick as thieves. That was before your Mama came to teach here. That's me before my hair went so grey. Ah, here is Gabrielle when she was about four I think. Imagine, she'll be here soon to start teaching with us. I honestly never thought I would see the day but I cannot tell you how proud I am of her. Oh, here's your Mama."

Amelia took a moment to reflect on the picture. In it Constance was probably around twenty four and the sadness was so evident in the image. If she remembered correctly it had been taken at Halloween. Constance's long dark hair was straight and flowing down her back. Her body was thinner than now, too thin in fact and her face looked gaunt and deathly pale. But it was the brown eyes that clearly conveyed the burden that was still being carried alone at that time.

It was hard to articulate the changes that had occurred in the younger woman over the years but this picture summed it up. For so many years Constance had been so lost, so lonely but finally she had received the rewards she deserved. Now, she looked healthy and even in her strictest moments, happy. It was impossible to imagine her looking like the girl in that picture ever again.

"Oh Ava, don't fret. Mama's not sad anymore, I promise."

Amelia had been snapped out of her reflection by Ava's concerned face. Realistically she may not have been able to recognise her mother in the photograph but from the way Ava was gazing at the younger Constance, Amelia couldn't be sure. She and her granddaughter both possessed a strong empathic ability and it was also likely that her own emotion was seeping over as she reflected on the past.

"Let's look at some happier pictures. This is your parents' wedding day. Look how absolutely exquisite they look, how happy. And here's Abby again and Jamie. There's Davina looking somewhat normal. And Granddad Tom. I can tell you that when we were at that wedding, I never once dreamed we would be getting married ourselves less that two years later. I still can't quite believe it. You already know this but your grandfather is the nicest man in the world and I am a very lucky woman. I'll miss him tonight but it makes sense for him to stay with Uncle Stephen while he moves house. I expect I'll find something to keep myself busy this evening.

"I thought I'd missed my chance to have a family Ava. When I was younger I never met the right person, then I took over the school and didn't have time for romance even though I very much wanted a husband and family. I know there was Gabrielle too but that's another story. It was only when your Mama started to let me get closer that things changed. She was the daughter I always wanted but even then I didn't think she would allow me to look after her. But she did, although it was very slow progress. Then your Mummy and sister came along and made her so happy, just like you did. I'll never forget when they told me that she was pregnant with you. I felt so protective but so excited at the same time. It was one of the most special moments in my life. And you my dear, you are more than we could have hoped for.

"As you get older you might hear things about the past, I'm sure your parents will tell you about their lives but I don't want you to worry. Finding each other and everything that has happened since is everything that either could have wished for and they both deserve this incredible life they have built. And the same for Abby. And even though we might be a bit unusual, we are all a very happy family aren't we?"

Ava snuggled even closer which Amelia took to mean yes.

"That's my girl. You, Abby and your new sister. I cannot tell you how much your grandfather and I love you and I'm so happy your mothers allow us to spend so much time with you. We'll see what happens over the next few years. I think I have another bit of teaching left in me and then I'm going to hand the school over to your Mama to run. That was always my plan and I think she's ready. Even more so now. I know she will have you and your sisters to look after, I'm not even sure if the family will be complete after this baby but we will help look after you all.

"She and Mummy are a good team and they'll run the school very well. I know there are some changes they want to make and I'll help get them set up before I go. I won't go far though. Granddad and I will have our cottage in the grounds and we'll have his old house too, he'll never sell that and I wouldn't want him to. I like it there very much. We have a lot of friends there and sometimes it's nice not to be "Miss Cackle the Witch" for a little while. Not that being a Witch isn't wonderful and I look forward to helping you develop your powers as you get older. Although I'm not as powerful as your Mama I hope I can help you balance your empathic skills and magical abilities, I believe you'll find it very rewarding."

"Mmmm Hmmm." There was a contented sigh from her arms and Amelia smiled as she stroked the wavy dark hair. The short silence was broken by the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Hello, we weren't sure where you were." Imogen's smile reflected her daughter's massive grin.

"Ah, I didn't expect you back so early. Did you get everything you needed?"

Imogen laughed. "We're actually late, it's almost seven. We got stuck in traffic. I don't know who was more annoyed Constance or Abby. But yes, we got everything, including some new clothes for this one. She's grown so much in the past few weeks haven't you poppet?" With this she reached over to take Ava who was eager for Mummy kisses.

"She certainly has. At least her old clothes will be going to a good home soon." Amelia stood up and stretched her legs. "I'd better leave you go back to Constance, I'm sure she'll have missed her as will Abby. We've had a lovely afternoon, we took a little trip down memory lane. Actually I meant to ask, I know you have a lot of pictures and I wonder if I could have a more recent one of the girls? My desk has room for another frame I think."

She had enjoyed her afternoon with Ava so much that she hadn't noticed the hours pass by. In fact she was a little reluctant for their time to end but she didn't want to intrude on the family's evening.

"Of course you can. I have hundreds, I can't stop myself talking pictures of them. Or of their Mama. My girls are just too gorgeous. Constance pretends to complain but she loves it. Actually, I have a great one of the three of them from last weekend. You can pick some out after dinner and I'll print you off some copies. Are you ready?"

"Dinner. Oh but I thought?"

Imogen shook her head and smiled. Even after marrying Tom, Amelia was still concerned she was intruding at times. Which of course she never was. Although she was technically her stepmother now, since her own marriage to Constance Imogen had considered Amelia to be more of a mother in law. Either way she was exceptionally fond of her and never wanted her to feel in the way. And she knew she could say the same for her three, soon to be four girls.

"Yes, dinner. We picked it up on the way home, Abby wanted Thai food. Constance is laying it out so we'd better go before it gets cold. After dinner we'll look at the pictures, maybe even take some new ones and then you can help put this one to bed. She'll like that. What do you say poppet. will Granny tell you a bedtime story?"

Ava squeed with excitement. "Gannie."

Her mother and grandmother looked at each other in delight. Although the word wasn't quite there it was clear what she was saying for the very first time.

Holding her hand up Imogen grinned at Ava, "What does Abby do when you learn a new word?"

There was a little giggle and then the tiny hand tapped hers.

"That's it. High Five! Well Granny, you heard your granddaughter. You've got plans for this evening. A family night will be nice for all of us."

Amelia followed the mother and daughter out of her office.

"It will more than nice, it will be wonderful."