As soon as the fire went back to normal Hermione sighed. She had kept any reaction other than positive out of the mix when it came to Ron's discovery but this had to potential to be bad. When the two men her best friend was in love with were muggles she was okay with it. But given Harry's title, she didn't want to see him hurt if they turned out to be like the majority of the wizarding world. Harry wouldn't recover if they betrayed him too. She was jumping to conclusions though, there was no proof at all that those two men would hurt Harry. Now she just had to tell him that they were American Wizards. That was going to be fun. Pulling herself together she got up and went to find her errant brother and daughter. Lily loved Harry and he was good with her.
Harry, Tim, was pushing Lily on the swing when she stepped out of the house. He grinned at her widely as he noticed her. He looked so… Carefree with her daughter in that moment, his stomach now more noticeable swollen with the two lives he carried. She hoped to Merlin that the two men he had given his heart to didn't choose to rip it out and stomp on it. He deserved to be happy after the life he had lived as Harry Potter. She watched as he said something to Lily before jogging over, the smile still on his face.
"What's up Mione? You're looking pretty pensive there." He chirped. She smiled tightly. How does one go about telling someone that they could go home now, but that their lovers were magical, the very thing they had been trying to escape? He frowned slightly as she didn't respond right away and she relaxed her smile slightly.
"I have some news from the home front. Let's get Lily fed and down for the night, and then we'll talk. And before you start frowning yourself there's no bad news. Everything and everyone is fine over there, there's just been some surprising developments and I want to be able to talk you through everything." She murmured, keeping her tone even and calm. Tim made a face at her statement, but nodded all the same. As her daughter come over he looked her over and chuckled softly. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head.
"I trust you Mione. But you're working yourself into the kind of state that menas you're worried about how I'll react to something, so that something is wrong so I'll wait until after dinner before I get my answers. Just tell me this, is there packing in our immediate futures? Because I'm sick and tired of playing dead. I want to go home, even if I'm going to have to reveal I have magic to the men I love." He hummed. She rolled her eyes.
"We'll be packing up as soon as you give the say so. Ron caught his guy and the cover up is already being implemented." She replied. Tim's smile was blinding as he looked at her. She could only hope he was still this excited after he found out her other news. He hugged her suddenly and she was struck by how much more open to touch he was. Before he had gone to the US you had to be considerate of the fact that sudden movements alarmed him, and that he really didn't like being touched that much. She hugged him back gently.
"I can never thank you or Ron enough Mione. The two of you have done so much for me, and now I get to go home." He whispered into her ear. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. Lily broke the hug up by colliding into Speed's legs. He made a dramatic noise in response to the collusion, letting Hermione go and picking Lily up. He tossed her up in the air and Hermione had to grin at her little girl's laughter. She turned and went inside, and he followed, tickling Lily as they went. She laughed lightly as he continued making her child laugh.
Dinner was a quick affair, and putting Lily down was even quicker. She was excited about the move, excited to meet her two new uncles, that Tim was eager to tell her about. Hermione smiled as she closed the door to Lily's room. Her two elder children would transfer to Celestial Magic School in a week, that was already set up. Tim turned to her as they sat down in the living room. He sighed as she fidgeted as she sat down and looked back at him. When he raised an eyebrow she growled lightly. This would be so much easier to say to his base image, while she was alright with Tim, she knew how to read Harry and Tim had a much better poker face. He must have been able to read her still, but suddenly she was looking at her childhood friend again.
"There. Now what's bothering you Hermione?" He asked; his voice stern. She chuckled softly Harry had changed so much since he had left them. He had grown up and she hadn't been there to see it. "I know you said that Ron had resolved the issue with my would be murderers. That being said I assume something else happened, or you would have had us packing already." He added with a wry grin. "I want to know what happened?" She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. Of course he would jump straight to the point.
"Ron wasn't the first one to find the perpetrator." She began, her voice hesitant. Harry snorted.
"Not surprising. I would expect that the American's would have their Magus Force on the case considering the agreement that I made with them when I took refuge on American soil. So who was it? I assume it's someone that I know, or you wouldn't be tiptoeing around this." He replied, a heavy note of sarcasm in his voice. She rolled her eyes at his easy acceptance. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard to tell him, not if he took his lover's identities this easy. He made an impatient motion with his hand as she didn't make a move to speak again.
"Delko and Caine. They were ready to kill the suspect in retaliation for your death." She blurted out, hoping that this would be like taking a band aid off, that by getting it out in one smooth motion it would be done with. Harry started laughing loudly as her sentence ended, his face going from shocked to amused in seconds.
"Oh great Merlin. " He wheezed. She looked at him in concern but he waved a hand, his other resting on the bulge of his stomach as his laughter continued. "I should have expected something like this. Goddess, I know how paranoid American Magi are. The mystery of how two muggle men got me pregnant is solved. Shit." He muttered, as he started hiccupping. She stood up to go get him some water and when she returned he had calmed slightly. He had a hand over his face though and she cleared her throat to let him know that she was there.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly. He nodded, sighing as he moved his hand and looked at her. There was still a mad grin on his face, and he still looked amused. She took that as a good sign. He shook his head.
"I take it that Ron let the cat out of the bag before contacting you?" He asked softly, accepting the water and sipping it. She nodded her head hesitantly. She honestly didn't know what to expect out of the pregnant wizard before her. He didn't look like he was upset or panicking at all and she had expected panic.
"I'm pretty sure he vetted the two before he even considered flooing me. Neither of them batted an eye about your base image, but they kind of broke when Ron announced you were pregnant. The red head demanded that you be returned home, and the other was freaking out over the fact that you were here in England. He was afraid that you'd get hurt here because you had ran from the magical community here." She explained. Harry sighed, caressing his stomach. He looked bigger that he had that first day, but she expected that.
"Well this makes it so much easier to explain everything to them. Damn it Hermione, I guess I'm just a magnet for the unusual. I should have known that I couldn't escape magic." He muttered softly. She raised an eyebrow at him and he looked at her, but he didn't looked panicked in the least, in fact he looked too calm.
"Alright. I'll bite. Why are you not panicking? And why are you not mad at them for failing to tell you this themselves?" She asked. His grin softened slightly as he stroked his stomach. He looked content.
" It's kind of hard to be pissed at them for not telling me when I'm guilty of the same thing Mione. And if they weren't magical? Well I wouldn't be pregnant now would i? That being said I espect that Eric wanted to tell me and it was H who kept it under wraps. That man is by the book, and even I've heard the horror stories over telling your significant other you were magical when they weren't. He wouldn't have cared so much about the fine, but he wouldn't have wanted to chance me leaving them over this. I love them, and that's all that matters. Now, we've established that I won't be freaking out over this so what's next?" He replied, his voice just as amused as he looked. She chuckled, shaking her head. Harry was always full of surprises that much was for sure.
"We get ready for the move, that's what is next Tim. If you're okay, and not having a freak out over your lovers being magical then I see no reason to delay that. The longer we wait the more… uneasy they will get and that means the more Ron will want to strangle them. You and I both know that he doesn't do emotional very well, and that when it comes to you that tolerance is extremely shortened. I would prefer not to arrive in the middle of an all out war, because once Ron's had the time to sleep on this he's going to start thinking he should test them and from what I saw of your Horatio? That man won't stand Ron's testing with out retaliating." She replied, her voice droll. Harry snickered at her pronouncement, nodding his head as she spoke. His eyes were sparkling.
"Horatio doesn't like to be led around in circles, and Ron will do just that when it clicks in his head that he's alone with the two men that I am dating. Merlin I'm surprised he lasted this long watching from the shadows." Tim replied, his voice sounding fond. Hermione looked at the man she considered her brother and shook her head. She didn't think that Harry had fully thought through why Ron had stuck by his side, why she hadn't complained when Ron's self imposed mission made it so she barely saw her husband.
"You're family Tim. And once you're family you never get rid of him, or me. Hell Fred and George would love to know you're alive, so would Charlie and Bill, but love to know that you're alive and healthy, but it wasn't our call there. Ron stayed with you, watching out for you because there was no way in hell he wasn't going to. Now are you going to help me pack up tonight, or do you want to go and let all of this sink in?" She asked playfully. He snorted, rolling his eyes as he stood up and looked around. The truth was that they had already packed up most of the things in the house, there was just some essentials that they had left out to use.
"I have no problem packing with you. As for my older brothers? Well I suppose I'm going to have to tell them that they are going to be uncles sometime. Especially if I'm stealing you and your family to come and be my baby sitters." He hummed, before going towards the kitchen. Hermione watched him leave and snickered to herself. She was definitely going to have to learn what not to expect from Tim all over again. She had expected more of a fight over this, panick that the men Harry loved were magical and what that could mean. Instead she'd been the one to do all the panicking and Harry had just shrugged it off. It was insane.
She went to the living room. Now that Harry knew he could go home she expected him to be ready to leave by the morning and she had to keep pace with him. She knew he'd been having problems sleeping since he was released into her care, so she didn't expect him to go to bed tonight, not when faced with getting to go home the next day and she couldn't blame him. She never slept that well when Ron was away so she couldn't imagine being taken from him herself, not the way Harry had been taken anyways.
^.^
Horatio sighed as he watched Eric get ready for bed. Their host hadn't bothered them since they retreated to the guest bedroom, but he had sent in meals with a quirky free houself name Manny. And Eric hadn't spoken a word to him since earlier. Horatio had called into the lab and made sure that they had leave for the next week. He wasn't leaving this apartment without Tim. He jumped as his cell phone rang suddenly. Eric didn't even look in his direction as he grabbed his phone. His eyebrow raised when he saw Alexx's number. Sighing he flipped his phone opened, he had a feeling she was going to announce Tim was alive but in hiding.
"Caine." He rumbled into the phone. Alexx sighed at the sound of his voice.
"Horatio. I just got a phone call clearing me to inform you that Speed's alive but in recovery. He had a drug dealer by the name of Joshie Chamness after him, and the higher ups decided that it was for the best if he went into hiding. They had me fake his death, I'm so sorry." She almost babbled into the phone. Horatio could tell that she'd been crying recently and sighed. There was a reason for the secrecy among Magus here- if one was every caught they couldn't implicate others if they had no idea they existed, It would have been a hell of a lot easier to handle this if he'd trusted his friends and co-worker's more though. Her breath hitched at his silence.
"I already know Alexx. I helped arrest Chamness, Eric and I tracked him down before Weasley did." He spoke softly. He hoped that by mentioning the wand waver the other woman would understand that Eric and himself were like her. She gasped almost silently, then he heard a tiny snort and then a laugh.
"I shoulda known. Have you spoken with Speedy? I haven't gotten an update since Weasley took him to keep him safe." She asked, her voice cracking slightly. Horatio made a note to chew the other red head a new one for not keeping Alexx in the loop after she had done what she had. Alexx loved Tim like he was her own flesh and blood, and he could only imagine what the woman had gone through not knowing what had happened to him.
"I have not spoken with him directly, but I have been assured of his health. Although I am not happy with his location, given his history in that area. He should be coming home soon though. Eric and I are staying with Weasley until then." He replied, not mentioning the fact that Tim was pregnant. He would let his lover tell her himself. She sighed heavily, and he could hear her handle the phone for a couple minutes.
"I'm so sorry Horatio. When he almost died… I jumped at the chance to get him somewhere safe even if was back to that place. I can't ever apologize enough to you or Eric for making it look like he died though. I knew I couldn't hope to protect him myself and I didn't know that either of you knew." She whispered. Horatio sighed, and there was the self blame that he had expected from Alexx from the moment her name had come out of Weasley's mouth. The ME was not the sort of woman who didn't regret what she perceived as slights or mistakes. And if Weasley had kept her in the dark about Tim's recovery letting him take Tim would have been a mistake in her eyes, plain and simple. He had to stop that thinking before Tim got home, or his lover would never forgive him.
"You did what you had to do considering the circumstances Alexx. I can't blame you for protecting him. As soon as he gets home I'll have him tell you the same thing. From your point of view giving him to Weasley was the only option you had available. It doesn't seem that he is upset over seeing his old friends from what I can tell. You did good Alexx, don't second guess yourself." He murmured softly, ignoring Eric's snort. His youngest lover was angry with everyone right now and Horatio was sure he had blame enough for everyone to pass around. Alexx sighed, sounding tired as hell.
He looked over at the clock by the bed, it was almost midnight, and while he could appreciate how fast the people putting together to story for Tim's return were working it was one hell of a time to let their co-conspirator know that the victim was returning home soon. Alexx would be worrying until Tim talked to her himself, and she couldn't blame her. He wasn't tired in the slightest and he knew Tim was as safe as he could be considering where he was exactly. There wasn't much he could do to ease her worries though.
"You can say that all you want Horatio, but until my baby boy is home where he belongs and tells me himself that what I did was right I won't forgive myself. How's Eric doing?" She replied, quickly switching subjects. This time Horatio sighed as Eric shot him a glare from where he was huddled under the blankets.
"He's worried, and he blames me for not telling the statute to screw itself and healing Tim while I could. I can't blame him for that considering I almost let him die in my arms. I would have let him die, because I was being a coward." He replied. Alexx snorted, and she sounded angry now. He grimaced as Eric looked at him with dark eyes. He knew he had a lot to make up for when Tim came home. And he had a feeling no one would let him forget that. Not when his lover had been bleeding out in his arms and he'd been too scared to do anything about it.
"I won't say anything on that subject Horatio, because it's not my place to be judging you on how you reacted. Tim, he loves the both of you more than life though. Don't let that guilt destroy you. For his sake, he wouldn't want you to feel guilt this and I'm sure he will tell you so when he comes home. That boy knows you, understands you. There's nothing that you could do to make him stop loving you." She growled, sounding every bit the mama bear that she portrayed herself as when it came to Tim. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We'll see about that soon enough Alexx. He's going to be home soon and he's going to know that I could have saved him and I didn't." He replied, his voice dull. He fully expected his pregnant lover would never want to speak to him again when he came back to Miami. Alexx snorted, sounding half amused and half disgusted.
"You're underestimating him Horatio, mark my words." She muttered darkly. The mood was broken by her yawn and he snorted. He didn't want to continue this conversation, because it would get no where until Tim was home. And he was bone tired, while he didn't expect to sleep he didn't want to talk anymore either.
"I'll speak to you in the morning Alexx. Today has been one hell of a day." He murmered, letting the weariness that he was feeling seep into his words as he spoke. Alexx tsked under her breath.
"I expect it has been, but don't think you're getting off this lightly Horatio. I'm not going to let you beat yourself up over this, and neither will Speedy." She warned softly before he heard the dial tone. He sighed as he put away his phone, before finding a chair to prop himself up in. He had a feeling that if he even tried laying down in the bed Eric would bite his head off. Eric sighed and reached over turning off the light. It wasn't until around two am that his youngest lover got up with a huff and dragged him to the bed, still making sure not to touch him as he went back to sleep. Horatio didn't know when sleep finally claimed him, but it did.
^.^
Hermione rubbed her eyes and sighed. They had been up most of the night packing, and even Lily had slept in, but it was eleven in the morning now, and while Lily was up and about she was tired as hell. And no amount of explaining that Miami was six hours behind them would calm Tim down. He wanted to leave now.
She knew that Ron would be grumpy at the lack of sleep, but he wasn't dealing with a pregnant wizard who wanted his bonded. She was, and she was making the executive decision to leave now before she felt the need to strangle said wizard and be done with the whole thing. Everything they were taking with them for now was shrunken and packed into bags, so there wasn't much to carry. Grunting she slid a backpack on, then picked up her daughter, and another bag. Harry had a backpack, and she waved him off when he tried taking the bag.
"Toss the powder into the fireplace and call out Trio's Lair for me will you?" She almost growled. He looked sheepish as he grabbed the floo powered and did just that. She stepped through the green flames, and he followed close behind. Ron was already up, watching the fire with an bemused expression.
"I didn't think he would last this long." He joked to her. She leveled him with a glare and shook her head.
"I'm going back to bed, you're in charge of these two." She grumbled crankily, setting down their daughter and belongings and going straight to where she knew her husband's room was. She needed at least four more hours of sleep before she was going to be human again. Ron's laughter followed her mockingly. As the door closed Ron looked at his best friend, who was thrumming with energy, and if he looked close enough was beginning to look pregnant in this form. He'd seen Tim's face often enough not to be creeped out by thinking of a stranger as Harry though, it would be tough not to considering he'd been tailing him for 13 years.
"I think you finally managed to break her mate. She didn't even get this frustrated when the kids were little." He joked. Tim's grin was a tad bit too mischievous for his liking, and he had a feeling the other man had deliberately tortured his wife. It was confirmed when Tim started laughing and shaking his head.
"She deserved every second of it. After your floo call last night she had me on pins and needles with the way she was acting. I was imagining the most horrible things I could think of happening because she was tip toing around the fact that my lovers were magical." He replied lazily. "Now where are they? I can't imagine that H or Eric would have left after you told them I was alive." He added, a small glare in place. "We'll talk about you shadowing me later, but for now I want to see them." Ron sighed, and pointed to the guest room.
"The wards I have on the room told me they didn't fall sleep until about three hours ago." He warned. Tim shook his head, then yawned. If you looked closely you could tell that the pregnant wizard was tired.
"Then I'll join them for a nap. It might be fun to see how they react to waking up with me there. Is the bed big enough?" He asked softly. Ron chuckled. It was hard to imagine that they hadn't spoken in 13 years, not with the way that Tim just jumped right back into the thick of things. But he'd always been like that, even when Ron had been at his most idiodic. He nodded and him gave him a small wave before wandering in the direction of the room. Ron looked down at his daughter before grinning to himself, this was going to be a good thing. He was sure of it.
^.^
Tim entered the room that Ron had directed him to quietly. Even in the dim light of the room he could see his lovers. They were sleeping on the same bed, but Eric was as far away from Horatio as he could get, while H's arm was stretched in the smaller man's direction. Both looked horrible, even in their sleep. He felt a stab of guilt that he tried to push away. He hadn't had a choice in the ruse that Alexx and Ron had pulled off- he'd been a little bit on the dying side of things at the time. But he couldn't push it away totally. He hadn't told them that he could possibly be in danger either. At first he hadn't wanted to trust anyone with who he had been… Then it was easier just not to tell them that he had lied to them the entire time he had known them. He had a hell of a lot to make up for and that was why he couldn't be mad at them for not sharing their secret.
He undressed down to his boxers, before crawling into the bed, settling H's arm around him. The other man tightened his grip in his sleep, and didn't wake up. That alone told Tim that H had been exhausted when he had fallen into Morpheus' arms. The red head was a notoriously light sleeper. After he was comfortable there he threw his own arm around Eric, pulling him from the side of the bed that he had seemingly glued himself too.
The slighter man whimpered in his sleep, burying his face in Tim's neck. Eric inhaled, and then seemed to melt into his embrace, his body conforming to Tim's. For a moment the pregnant wizard was afraid that the Latino would wake up, but he didn't. The tension that had lined the younger man's body disappeared though and Tim closed his eyes, feeling warm and safe with the men he loved. At that moment the world could go screw itself, he wouldn't be leaving this bed for a while and while there would be one hell of a discussion in the morning for now everything was right in his life. He pressed a kiss to Eric's hair and fell back to sleep.
