Chapter Two: First Meeting, Take Two

Greg Parker took a few moments to study Mrs. Potter as the two approached. He'd chosen a random park close to SRU Headquarters, but now that he was here, he was fairly certain that this was the exact same park where he'd first met Arthur, Victoria, and his two nipotes. His smile grew broader at the thought of his two kids, his two amazing gifts and the brightest parts of his life.

Mrs. Potter glanced around the park, her face and eyes just a bit nervous: a woman outside of her comfort zone and already missing it. Lord Potter wasn't unnerved, but Greg knew the man had grown up in the tech world, unlike his wife. When the couple came to a stop in front of him, Parker met Mrs. Potter's eyes and smiled as gently as if he'd been confronted with a frightened hostage. "Lord Potter, Mrs. Potter."

"Sergeant Parker," Lord Potter returned, extending his hand and shaking Greg's firmly. "How are Aurors Braddock and Scarlatti?"

The Sergeant's return look was partially rueful. "They're getting there. Sam's still a bit rattled by what happened and both of them got hit by the Cruciatus, but they're tough." Parker cocked his head to the side. "I think it did help that Sam finally got to say 'good-bye' to his best friend."

Lord Potter nodded sorrowfully, shadows in his eyes, and Mrs. Potter's expression was just as shadowed. Greg carefully didn't ask; he already knew they'd lost friends and family…to both Wizarding Wars. Instead, he politely shifted his attention to their surroundings until the two Potters had recovered their composure. As soon as his peripheral vision caught a slight straightening, he snapped back to them, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

"Sergeant Parker," Mrs. Potter began, a mix of assertiveness and tentativeness in her voice, "How are the children?"

Parker considered his answer carefully, well aware that there was a possessive glitter in the witch's eyes. "Much better than when they first came," he opened with. "I won't lie, those first few weeks were quite a ride and we had a lot of misunderstandings and mishaps."

Lord Potter coughed to cover a laugh, though amusement shone in his emerald eyes.

Greg quirked a grin. "Could've been worse," he mused, a twinkle lurking in the background. Then he sobered. "In hindsight, I think my team finding out about magic was inevitable. Lance and Alanna just did not know enough about technology to keep magic secret."

The witch frowned indignantly, but Lord Potter cleared his throat, drawing her gaze. "Ginny, do you remember what one of the first questions your father asked me was?"

Parker glanced between the two, sensing a prank of some sort and unsure of who it was aimed at. Mrs. Potter's brown eyes crinkled in puzzlement and she shook her head.

A faint smirk and Lord Potter shifted his gaze to look at both of his companions. "He asked me what the function of a rubber duck is."

The Sergeant nearly choked as he strained to keep from laughing. It took an iron effort and every last scrap of negotiating experience he had, but he managed to ask, straight faced, "And what did you tell him?"

Sheepish, Lord Potter rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't remember," he admitted.

Greg might've been able to keep it together, but then Mrs. Potter questioned, "So? What is the function of a rubber duck?"

The negotiator gave up and laughed until he was almost breathless.


Harry chuckled, but not at his wife; he knew better than that. He did draw Ginny aside a little so they could talk while Parker recovered from his fit of laughter. "Gin, think about if you had to live in the Muggle world and keep magic a secret without really knowing anything about Muggles. Could you keep magic a secret?"

Ginny bit her lip, considering the question. Then she shook her head defiantly. "Of course I could."

The wizard arched a brow. "So, you think you could handle escalators, lifts, and Muggle cars?"

"Forget those," Parker broke in unexpectedly. "Mio nipotes were having trouble dealing with the typical weekday afternoon crowd at our local mall."

Harry froze; he hadn't even considered that. "They panicked?"

"Just about," Parker confirmed quietly. "Too much noise, too many people. Jules asked if they'd been raised in a cult."

"A cult?" Ginny questioned, confusion burning bright again, but Harry just shook his head. He knew what a cult was.

"Was it because of the crowds?" he inquired, cocking his head to the side.

Parker's hand moved in a see-saw motion. "Partially that and partially because they didn't know anything about technology," the Sergeant explained. The man's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Of course, once my team knew about magic, they were able to help the kids settle in and start learning how to live tech-side."

Tech-side?


Ginny studied Parker, her eyes narrow as she evaluated the Muggle. He spoke of his team and the young Calvins as if both were equal members of his family. But which would he chose if he were backed into a corner? His team or the two orphaned children in his care? She wasn't sure and that left the red-haired witch unsettled. He was at least willing to share stories of the children, though each and every one was littered with references to his team. And there were a few stories that Ginny suspected he'd…held back on…hiding or downplaying a situation.

She wasn't pleased by that, but she suspected pressing him for more details wouldn't help. Rather, it would likely prevent her from seeing the children while she and Harry were in Toronto. And, since the entire purpose of this trip was to see the youngsters, Ginerva Potter refused to jeopardize her chances.

As the meeting continued, the Muggle park lost some of its menace. Not enough for Ginny to ever venture to the location by herself, but it wasn't as foreign as it had felt at first. Even without magic, the park was very similar to the parks she took her children to, complete with laughing families, joyful, screaming children, and the creak of playground equipment.


The veteran negotiator considered his next move. Lord Potter still had issues by the bucketful with techies – that much was obvious, even if the wizard was using much better manners than he had during their first encounter. Mrs. Potter, he suspected, had never been outside the magical world before. Or, if she had, it had been brief and about as short a trip as humanly possible.

She was also the type who believed, strongly, that children needed both a maternal and paternal influence in their lives. As a man who'd been divorced over a decade, Greg didn't meet that requirement. Not by a long shot. Whether she also had an issue with the fact that he wasn't magical, Parker wasn't sure…and it didn't matter anyway. In theory, he didn't disagree with Mrs. Potter's belief that children needed both a mother and a father, but his nipotes had had a mother and a father, both of whom had loved each other dearly. That they'd lost their parents was no fault of theirs, nor his. And frankly, Greg didn't think he was doing all that badly with his kids. Sure, there'd been a few bumps, mistakes, and misunderstandings. Some rebellions and consequences. But overall, the kids were happy, he was happy, and if they needed a female perspective, well, they had three 'aunts' to choose from.

So, in short, Greg could tell the Potters to buzz off and leave his family alone – an option he was rather tempted to go for. After all, the Potters weren't related to the kids – they had no right to make demands of him or them. Or he could take a chance and let them see the kids, thus offering an olive branch and perhaps even mending a few fences for if he needed the Potters' help in the future. They wouldn't be meeting the kids magic-side, though…Greg didn't trust either adult nearly enough for that. The Sergeant considered his options a few minutes more as he dragged out the meeting with a bit of small talk.

Then, just as the Potters were starting to fidget uncomfortably and glance at each other, Greg drew in a deep breath. "Would the two of you be interested in joining me and mio nipotes for dinner?"

"Where?" Mrs. Potter demanded at once, excitement shining in her face.

One shoulder lifted. "I was thinking our local pizza place," Greg replied nonchalantly.

Mrs. Potter wilted, just a bit, catching the implications that the dinner would not be in the magical world. But Lord Potter studied him thoughtfully. "Do they still make Meat Lover's pizza?" he asked hopefully.

Parker chuckled. "They do, but you might have to arm wrestle Lance to get some."

Amusement gleamed. "I can do that," the wizard agreed.

"Five thirty?" Greg offered. "And I've got the address in my car."

The raven grinned. "Works for us, Sergeant."

"Greg," the negotiator countered.

Lord Potter's grin grew just a tad wider. "Only if you call me Harry."