Hotch's prediction had proved incredibly accurate and it was just a couple weeks before Christmas when one of the Slytherins had caught Grey and Landon snogging in a broom closet. Word had spread around the school at practically warp speed and it was only hours later that the whole of Hogwarts knew that Landon and Grey were gay. It was only a day later that Grey's parents had shown up at the school and demanded to know what was going on and how their son could do such a thing.
Grey when he had learned that Landon had told his parents about his abuse had been upset and felt that his friend turned boyfriend had betrayed him, but then both Spencer and Hotch had a talk with him and told him all about how they had been abused to just in different ways and that Landon had known this when he told them. He had known that his father and uncle out of everybody would understand what Grey had been going through and that Landon hadn't wanted for his friend to be thrown out on the street when his parents found out about their relationship.
By the time they were done gently explaining things to Grey had looked stunned, which neither man could blame him for.
Grey had came around remarkably fast and both Spencer and Hotch put that down to the fact that he and Landon had been friends since they were 11 and that Grey trusted him more than anybody else. Grey had known deep down that Landon never would have told them if he hadn't had to and when he understood that they were going to make arrangements to take him in if his parents did disown him he forgave his boyfriend as he had worried about what he was going to do when his parents found out about his relationship with Landon. Grey hadn't been about to give Landon up because he had been hopelessly in love with his best friend for a long time before he ever admitted his feelings. The one thing he had feared was not being disowned as that would have been kind of a relief, but being pulled out of school and he would've had no choice, but to go with them at least until he turned 17, and his birthday wasn't until April.
Grey had been very enthusiastic about the idea of coming to live with Landon's family as he had been over their house for part of this summer for several years now and knew that he would never be beaten for the slightest infraction and would always have enough to eat. One of the things he liked best about being away from home was that he was away from his parents who tended to abuse him from the moment he stepped in the door to the moment he left for school. Oh it wasn't mostly physical abuse, just mental and emotional where they berated him and if they weren't doing that, neglected him, although to be honest he preferred the neglect as it meant that he was left alone. They also tended to starve him and Grey always tried to make sure that he saved what little bit of money he got and bought nonperishable snacks and things to eat at home so at least he wouldn't be hungry all the time. Eating chocolate for at least a couple of meals a day wasn't exactly very healthy, but he didn't really have any choice in the matter at least while he was at home.
The last three summers had been better since he was invited to spend some time with Lochlan and Landon at their home and their housekeeper Sara was a spectacular cook. Grey had often wondered why his parents let him go to his friends houses and stay away for weeks at a time considering how they treated him when he was home and he had finally come to the conclusion that they didn't want to make anybody suspicious if he told them he couldn't come and come up with some sort of lame excuse as to why not.
And yes his friends would have been very suspicious as to why he couldn't come and spend part of the summers with them as they knew him very well and knew he would be excited to spend some time having fun with his friends. Of course all his good friends knew about the abuse now, but that hadn't been true for the first four years.
Now thanks to Lochlan and Landon's family he was going to live in their house doing the Christmas holidays and summer. It also turned out that Harry Potter was a very distant cousin to the Reids and he too had gone to bat for him and had helped arrange everything so that when the inevitable happened they would be prepared. Normally when somebody was disowned they became a ward of the government, especially if they didn't have any other family to take them in and Grey's case he didn't.
Grey was just glad that his parents had decided to disown him instead dragging him back home. Perhaps it was because they knew if they had taken him back home he would've been out of their legally when he was 17, which was only a few months away, although he knew it would have seemed much longer then that simply because of the abuse he knew would be heaped on him in those few months. Or perhaps they knew that Harry Potter would never allow them to take him and abuse him for those months and that he would do everything in his power to get him out of there. His parents knew that Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord when he was just 17. He also had a great deal of political power with a seat on the Wizengamot and he knew the Minister of Magic personally. The reason they had let him go so easily, at least as far as he could guess was that his parents wouldn't want anybody looking too closely into their affairs as he was sure there were some things that would put both of them in Azkaban if they were discovered and that was only if they managed to escape the child abuse charges as he could bring such charges against them as soon as he turned 17 if he wanted to.
It was probably also the reason why they disowned him instead of trying to drag him back home since this way they could prevent the Aurors from looking more deeply into their affairs.
Grey was glad that he was an only child even though it had been very lonely because he knew that if he'd had a brother and sister that they either would've turned out like his parents or they too would have been abused, so it was just as well.
"You okay?" Landon asked and the concern in his voice jerked Grey out of his thoughts.
"I'm fine," Grey assured his boyfriend.
The two of them along with Art, Lily, Lochlan and Michelle were sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts Express going home for the Christmas hols. Well actually Grey was going to spend a couple of days with the Potters, along with the twins and then he was going home with Lochlan and Landon for the rest of the holiday.
None of Landon's and Grey's true friends had abandoned them when they found out that they were dating each other, although some of their more casual acquaintances, ones that they had been friendly with, but weren't in their inner circle, had been keeping their distance since the news had spread, which had hurt, but it would have been worse if it had been any of the ones that they were now sharing their compartment with.
"You seemed deep in thought," Lochlan commented grinning at his friend. He hadn't really been surprised when Landon and Grey had admitted their feelings for each other, but then he had seen it coming for quite some time.
"Just thinking about how my life has changed in the last couple of weeks," Grey admitted.
"I would think you would be happy about getting away from that horrible family of yours," Michelle said.
"Oh I am," Grey assured her. "I was just surprised that they didn't really put up a fight and let me go so easily."
"They did come to the school and threaten to pull you out," Landon pointed out.
"That's why I'm so surprised they didn't actually do it," Grey admitted. "I know I'll be 17 in just a few months so they wouldn't be able to keep me very long, but I really didn't want to have to repeat a year."
"Or be separated from Landon," Art suggested with a knowing grin.
"That too," Grey admitted leaning over and kissing Landon on the cheek causing the other boy to blush, which made the others laugh at him good-naturedly.
"I feel," Lochlan said slowly, "that had a lot to do with Uncle Harry coming to bat for you. I mean he whispered something in both their ears and that seemed to make them decide to not try to pull you home, but disown you instead."
"I'm glad, because I'm not sure I would have survived if they had managed to drag me back home. It's not that they beat me a lot when I was younger just neglected me or always making snide little innuendos about me. That might have changed though if they had managed to pull me out of Hogwarts as I have never in all my life seen my father so angry," Grey shuddered.
"I wonder what dad said," Lily wondered speaking for the first time, although she had been paying close attention to the conversation.
"I have no idea," Grey admitted and Landon shook his head to say he didn't know either. "I've never seen either of my parents go that shade of white before though, so whatever your dad said couldn't have been good as every ounce of blood drained from their faces."
"If I had to guess," Art said, "it was probably along the lines of that if you pursue this I will make sure you pay for all the abuse you put your son through or something to that effect. Dad was abused to you know, just like you Grey, and there's no way he would have let you be put in such a situation again once he knew about it that is."
"Art is right," Lily told Grey. "Dad has always had a pet peeve against child abuse, if you know what I mean, not that you can blame him for that considering his aunt and uncle abused him from the time he was left on their doorstep."
"Yes, I do, understand now why your dad came to bat for me," Grey said slowly as he had been unaware that Harry Potter to had been abused, but then he was sure that it wasn't well known and probably something of a family secret.
"Just don't tell him we told you," Art said, "he doesn't really like to talk about it and you can't really blame him for that. He wasn't physically abused mostly, but like you he was mentally and emotionally abused and also treated like a servant. From the time he was old enough to reach the stove he was made to cook and clean and do everything instead of them doing it themselves. Also his fat lazy lump of a cousin was allowed to bully him, so even if his aunt and uncle never physically hit him his cousin Dudley and his gang would if they could catch him that is."
"Art is right," Lochlan said, "when we first became aware that Harry and his family were distant cousins he showed us some of his memories in a Pensieve including some of his childhood years. I know he didn't show us everything, but what he showed us was enough that it made my parents boiling mad and both of them wanted to go hunt down the Dursleys and do something drastic. My father normally isn't one to lose his temper like that, but that time was a rare exception."
"Yeah, I agree," Landon said with a nod. "Dad is usually pretty even-tempered and not much gets him angry, but that time was one of the rare exceptions."
"Uncle Aaron isn't really one to lose his temper very often either," Lochlan added. "He has one and he has been known to lose it, but normally, not much can get him mad."
Art and Lily both nodded in agreement for they had both become quite close to Spencer and Aaron in the last few years and knew it was true.
"You're really lucky," Grey told Landon in Lochlan sounding wistful. "You're lucky that you have two parents that love you so much. Who cares if only one of them is related to you by blood, it doesn't really matter because I know your Uncle Aaron loves you just as much as your dad does."
"They love you too, mate," Landon said giving Grey's hand a squeeze. "They never would have offered to take you in and they didn't care about you a great deal. Yes, you're my friend, but they would've made other arrangements for you and not offered you a place in their home if they didn't already love you. When dad, Uncle Aaron and I had our conversation back in the summer and I confessed that I was in love with you they weren't really surprised as they had already suspected that was the case and that we were just not admitting our feelings for each other."
"Was I really that obvious?" asked Grey.
"No," Landon assured him. "It's just that my dad and uncle are really observant. Part of that is that my Uncle Aaron is a profiler and works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU for short, but what that means is that you have to be observant and also intelligent since they only take the best."
"What exactly is the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Behavioral Analysis Unit?" asked Grey looking confused.
"It's part of the muggle US government," Landon began to explain. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation does a lot of things like tracking down serial killers that somebody who kills again and again sometimes across state lines, they deal with counterfeiters, somebody who likes to make fake money that looks enough like the real thing to fool most people, but has the same serial numbers and a lot of others crimes. The BAU is always getting called in by local police forces, who are like the Aurors, in different cities to help them catch criminals that they aren't trained to catch. The BAU requires you to be observant, intelligent, and always polite no matter how much the locals resent you being there. The BAU team gathers information and studies the bodies of the people that are murdered and from that they form what is known as a profile, which they then deliver to the police or other form of law enforcement and most of the time that helps them catch the person or persons that is doing the killing."
"Landon, it might just be easier if when we get home for the holidays we simply loan Grey here Uncle Dave's books and maybe that will help him understand rather then you try to explain it," Lochlan suggested.
"Great idea," Landon told his brother.
"So if I'm understanding you right, the BAU is part of the federal government and helps catch criminals," Grey said.
"That's a very simplified explanation, but mostly accurate," Landon admitted. "It isn't really that simple, but Uncle Dave's books will help you understand all about profiling and how difficult it really is."
"Who is this Uncle Dave you keep mentioning?" asked Grey with a raised eyebrow.
"You never met him, but he was part of the original BAU team when it was first formed," Lochlan explained. "His name is David Rossi and he retired for a lot of years until he came back when one of the members left. In the years that he was retired he made his living by writing books about profiling and he has quite a few out. Even when he come back about fifteen years ago he's written at least another dozen in his free time. Uncle Dave's books will help you understand all about profiling, although it will take you awhile to get through them all since he probably has about 30 or more books out."
"Well it's a good thing I'm a Ravenclaw," Grey said with a smile. "Us Ravenclaws like to read or at least most of us do."
"Actually Uncle Dave retired a couple years ago, so he has time to write full time now," Landon said.
"Why did he do that?" asked Lily in surprise.
"He didn't want to," Landon told her, "but the muggle government has an age where you're forced into retirement whether you are ready or not and that's 65, which is fairly old for a muggle."
"Uncle Aaron wasn't too happy about Uncle Dave being forced into retirement, since he was a really good and experienced profiler and it took him awhile to find somebody even halfway decent after that so that the team wasn't shorthanded."
"Actually the new team member is working out fairly well from what I know," Lochlan said. "The whole team does miss Uncle Dave though they stay in contact outside of the job. Sometimes Uncle Dave even helps with the profiling behind the scenes, just like dad does."
"What's this about your father helping with the profiling?" asked Lily in surprise.
"Oh sorry haven't Lochlan and I the ever mentioned, that our father is a consultant for the BAU team? He never officially joined the unit because he and Uncle Aaron couldn't openly have a relationship that they do as the government has a no fraternization rules, especially for people on the same team. At first he didn't want to join because of Lochlan and me as it can be a very dangerous job and he didn't want to possibly be killed while we were still so young. He's not very athletic anyway, which is really a requirement if you do go out in the field, so he's a consultant which means that he helps the team behind the scene so to speak and never goes out in the field where he could possibly be hurt."
"Dad has helped the BAU team solve more than one complicated case over the years as he has an eidetic memory, which means that once he learns something he never forgets it. Unlike most of the human race he doesn't have the advantage of painful memories fading over time," Lochlan said.
"He also has an IQ of 187, can read 20,000 words a minute and is something of a genius," Landon added. "He has more information stored in his memory then any 500 people and all that obscure trivia that he knows has helped solve more than one case."
"Which might also explain why you two turned out to be so intelligent," Grey suggested with a smile, "if your father is really that smart."
"Oh he is," Landon assured Grey with a smile of his own.
"Do either of you have your father's of eidetic memory?" Art asked curiously the both twins shook their heads negatively.
"No," Landon answered after shaking his head. "I'm not really surprised that neither one of us got it though for that particular trait is pretty rare and only 3% of the human race has such memories. Besides I'd really prefer not to have his kind of memory."
"Whyever not?" asked Grey in surprise.
"Think about it and I'm sure the answer will occur to you," Landon told his boyfriend.
Grey thought abut for a few minutes, but finally Landon decided to help him out.
"We would be able to remember every happy memory true, but would also be able to remember all the bad ones with perfect clarity, like when one of our friends died for example. A lot of people with that kind of memory never get married and if they do they get divorced sooner or later, especially if something bad happens like the death of a child for example."
"And how has your father managed to maintain his relationship with your uncle?" asked Lily curiously.
"Well he told us once that he's learned how to compartmentalize. All of us do that to some extent, especially those with jobs like Uncle Aaron's because if he couldn't put his memories in like a box in his mind and disassociate it from the rest he would never be able to do the job that he does because of the horrors he sees every day," Lochlan explained. "This way he doesn't constantly think about those memories as they're kind of not associated with all the other memories he has. Because he's able to do this it allows him to do the job that he does and still stay the same man we have always known instead of all those horrible memories he has changing him."
"So he kind of puts those memories from his job on the back burner," Grey suggested.
"Something like that yes, except that it is a sealed box that new horrible memories can be added to. If he or any of the rest of the team had those horrible memories from their job they do in the forefront of their minds all the time and if they constantly couldn't stop thinking about them it would change them for the worst."
"Trust us the human race can be extremely sadistic and sick, just think about what Voldemort tried to do and you'll get some idea of what I'm talking about." Lochlan added. "Some of the stuff that we've picked up from dad, Uncle Aaron or the rest of the team would be enough to make you constantly sick, well either that or drive anybody insane, especially if you are constantly exposed to such horrors day in and day out. Compartmentalizing is the only way that dad, Uncle Aaron and the rest of the team can do the job they do and not turn bitter or hateful or angry or disgusted all the time, especially if it involves children."
The rest of the compartment absorbed that and Lochlan and Landon figured that they had given their friends enough to think about for awhile and so changed the subject to Quidditch for the rest of the ride to King's Cross Station.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"Thank you, for letting me stay with you until I graduate from Hogwarts," Grey told Hotch and Spencer.
It was several days later and they had just gotten to the house in Quantico Virginia as for the last few days they had been spending it at Potter manor, while Hotch and Spencer had been busy. Harry Potter had picked up his children, the twins, and Grey at the train station and he had greeted all of them with warm hugs including him, whom he didn't hardly know at all except as his son's and daughter's friend, even if he was the defense against the dark arts teacher. Harry had Grey in class of course, but had never really had the time to get to know him that well even though he knew that Art and Lily were best friends with him along with Lochlan, Landon and Michelle. Harry had been very polite and had told him very sincerely that he hoped to get to know him better then he'd had time to do before. What had gone unsaid was that he was sorry for what he had gone through, but glad he had been able to help. Grey was just glad that Harry hadn't said what he knew he had been thinking out loud as he didn't really like to think about his past and who would be able to blame him for if they only knew what he had gone through...
It was now a week before Christmas and the twins seemed glad to be home and Grey was just glad to be away from his parents for good.
"You're more than welcome," Hotch told him with a sincere smile that Grey could tell was real and not just the fake kind that some people plastered on when they thought that you were just going to be a bother and had only taken you in because they had to. When he had met the twins parents several years ago he had been genuinely surprised that they were so nice and accommodating instead of like his own parents. The twins and Jack were never neglected like his own parents had done to him and since Spencer was mostly a stay at home dad he had taken all four children on outings while they had been there for the summer.
Grey had had more fun with the twins and their brother Jack when he was staying with them than he ever had at home or at Hogwarts. Uncle Aaron hadn't been around much during his stays as he seemed always to be gone on cases. Grey had asked what he should call the three adults in the house since he would be staying here more than a couple of weeks and he had been told to address them by uncle and in Sara's case just her first name.
Grey had been secretly thrilled, for he knew that the twins called Aaron uncle and only reason they didn't do the same for Spencer so was because he was their father and so dad was more appropriate, but to be given the same privilege made Grey happy and made him really feel like part of the family.
"Why don't you take your trunk up to Landon's room," Spencer suggested with a smile. Grey stared at the two adults in surprise and they both laughed at his expression because he looked like he had been smacked over the head with a hammer.
"You going to let me sleep with Lan?" asked Grey. "I thought for sure I'd be staying in the guestroom."
"Spencer and I agreed that you could stay and Landon's room so long as you followed a few ground rules," Hotch began quite seriously. "First we don't mind if you two sleep together and cuddle all night, but there will be no sex until you are at least 17. Spencer and I had to compromise on that because you aren't really of age until 18 in the muggle world."
Grey nodded grateful that Lan's parents were willing to make such a concession when he had expected to have to sleep in the guestroom until after they'd graduated. The thought of cuddling up to Lan all night was something he was seriously looking forward to, although it would make going back to Hogwarts and sleeping in separate beds again much harder, but then again they shared the same dorm and had shared the same bed after he'd had a particularly violent nightmare, which they could do again if necessary or even if it wasn't.
"Second we don't mind if you make out a little, kissing that kind of thing, but you are to leave the door open so that we can check on you at any time. Third you are never to go off alone by yourselves and must have at least one other person with you whether that is Lochlan, Spencer, Sara, Jack or me."
"Make sure you never break our trust in you because if you do you will have a very hard time earning it back," Spencer added and then looked at Grey as well as Landon seriously.
"We won't," Grey assured them after looking at Landon who nodded. "I'm grateful to you for taking me in that I would never want to break your trust in me."
"Good, then we are in agreement," Hotch said with another smile. "Now why don't you go drag your trunk up to Landon's room and then come back downstairs since it is almost time for dinner. Oh by the way one other thing before you go," he added as both Landon and Grey turned back to listen to what Hotch had to say. "You're not to mention these arrangements to anyone outside this family, is that understood? Spencer and I could be in a lot of trouble if it was discovered we allowed you to have sex after you turn 17 since 18 is the legal age for that."
"Yes, Uncle Aaron," both boys responded.
Hotch nodded and allowed the boys to drag their trunks upstairs.
"I hope we're doing the right thing," Hotch told Spencer as soon as the boys had disappeared from sight and he was sure they were out of hearing range.
"We are," Spencer assured him. "Grey needs the comfort that Landon can provide right now after what happened with his parents being so nasty and disowning him. How anyone can do that to their own child…"
"In Grey's case it's a good thing," Hotch told Spencer. "We may never know all that happened to him but we both know what that kind of abuse can do to you mentally and emotionally."
Spencer nodded in agreement and then the two men headed for the den to sit down and cuddle together until dinner was ready.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"Wow! I never imagined that your father and uncle would actually allow us to share a room," Grey said as soon as both boys had dragged their trunks into Landon's room.
"They're usually very accommodating," Landon admitted, "although this is a little surprising even for them, but then again they both know what its like to be abused when you're a child so that's probably why."
"Yes, Aaron and I know what it's like to be abused as children," Spencer said suddenly appearing in the doorway. Both Landon and Grey looked startled, then embarrassed, but Spencer continued ignoring how both boys had jumped five feet, although inwardly he was laughing. "You've probably had nightmares on most nights ever since you parents came to the school a couple of weeks ago."
Both Landon and Grey nodded, for Grey had woken more then once in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after having a horrific nightmare. After that he crawled into bed with Landon, who didn't mind and being able to cuddle together seemed to help him sleep peacefully.
Spencer saw the nod and continued without pause, although inwardly he wasn't surprised that Grey had been having nightmares.
"When you do it's good to have somebody with you that can help you deal with them. Sometimes just cuddling next to somebody and knowing that they love and care about you is enough to keep the nightmares at bay, just don't be surprised if you wake up in a cold sweat some nights, because eventually your mind is going to force you to deal with those horrid memories even if it's through nightmares and even if you're not ready."
"Believe me, I know," Grey said soberly, but so quietly neither other person in the room were sure they had heard him as he remembered all those horrid dreams he'd had while at school, especially right after his parents visit.
"You sound like you're talking from experience," Landon noted never having known this about his father before and he was sure Lochlan didn't either.
"I am," Spencer told his son looking him directly in the eye. "I still have the occasional nightmare, although mine aren't all that bad because all my father did was neglect me, he never actually beat me and I've had years to come to terms with it, but when I first stated having them they were much worse. You'll find that the human mind has its own way of dealing with horrible memories or even just the mildly bad ones and forcing you to deal with them usually long before you're ready to do so. Actually my nightmares didn't really begin to die down to where I hardly have them anymore until after I met your uncle and we got together. Aaron helped me through them just by holding me and comforting me, when I woke up covered in sweat, which is why we both agreed to let you two share a bed."
Grey nodded knowing exactly what Uncle Spencer was talking about for he'd had a lot of nightmares over the years. Of course when he did he had learned to have them quietly and not disturb his parents rest. It was true he had been mostly neglected, yelled and screamed at for no reason at all or for anything he had done, but occasionally he had been beaten if his father had been in a particularly foul mood. In that case he'd just happened to be a convenient target and it really didn't have anything to do with him at all. He didn't have nightmares every night and he also had never had them at Hogwarts probably because he knew he was away from his parents and they couldn't do anything to him with so many other people around.
"I've had nightmares too on and off for years," Grey finally admitted looking down embarrassed.
"There's no reason to be embarrassed to admit that you were abused," Spencer told Grey giving him a comforting hug knowing exactly how he felt. "Sure neglect might not seem as bad as physical abuse but that doesn't mean it isn't for the people who experience it. Just like physical abuse in its own way mental and emotional abuse leaves it's own scars even if those are all on the inside, instead of outside where they're visible. In its own way neglect is much worse then physical abuse," Spencer said.
"What do you mean?" asked Landon although Grey knew exactly what Uncle Spencer meant.
"Well for example neglect can mean being denied food and that's important for very young kids because their bodies won't develop properly if they don't have adequate nutrition. Your organs can also be compromised without the proper nutrients especially when your body is still developing, which means that your normal lifespan is shortened from what it should be because your organs fail much earlier then they should. Also your height can be affected and that's mainly because you weren't fed adequately so that your bones and body structure developed like it should and it can also affect your brain's development as well. In other words neglect is basically the lack of any parental care, love, adequate food or any other basic needs that all children deserve. Parents are supposed to provide for their children, shelter, food, clothes, love, medical care, supervision and emotional nurturing. Neglect is often hard to pin down because in some cases some of these options are not available, especially to the very poor, so it isn't considered neglect. In it's own way neglect is just as harmful as physical abuse."
"Anybody ever tell you that you sound like a whole shelf of walking encyclopedias?" Grey asked with a grin changing the subject and Spencer laughed glad that Grey felt like he could joke with the adult figures in his life a little because that was a very good sign.
"I've been told that more than once," Spencer admitted with a grin and a shrug. "In any case dinner's ready so we should head on down before Sara comes up and believe me you don't want that."
Landon laughed knowing this was very true and the three of them headed downstairs for dinner.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"So what does your family do for Christmas?" Grey asked Landon and Lochlan as the three of them just walked around the neighborhood.
"Christmas is brilliant," Landon said enthusiastically and Lochlan nodded excitedly in agreement.
"One thing we do every year is have dinner at Uncle Dave's place and not just us, but every member of the team and their families," Landon begin to explain. "I will admit though that it doesn't happen on Christmas every year as sometimes it happens early in the month just because everybody's so busy with their jobs."
"So your parents often work on Christmas?" asked Grey looking astonished.
"I'm afraid that is one of the downsides of working for the FBI, as crime never really takes a holiday, mate," Lochlan told his friend. "Most of the time even if the team isn't actually working they are at least on call, which means even if they get to spend Christmas with their families they can be called in if there is an urgent case and it also means that they can't go on holiday they have to stay around the Virginia area."
"Every couple of years though they get the time off where they aren't on call, and the second team that works the nightshift is and when that happens we usually go on some holiday somewhere."
"Yeah we took a couple of really great vacations before we started at Hogwarts, didn't we?" asked Landon smiling as he remembered.
"So are you saying that your uncle is on call this Christmas and so we aren't going on holiday?" asked Grey.
"Yes," Landon confirmed, "but next year he should be off and maybe we'll go somewhere in the summer or at Christmas."
"So what else do you do for the holiday?" asked Grey.
"Well, we do our shopping separately so that nobody knows what we're getting for each other," Lochlan said.
"But only if we haven't already bought our presents in Hogsmeade or elsewhere."
Grey's face fell and Lochlan and Landon knew why. "Don't worry, mate," Lochlan told him with a smile. "You'll get the same amount of money as the two of us when we go shopping at Christmas and also when we go to Hogsmeade."
"Dad and Uncle Aaron think of you as another son now you know and they would never not treat you the same as us or Jack," Landon added.
"Are you sure about that?" asked Grey looking uncertain.
"Yes, we are," Landon assured his boyfriend as he gave Grey's hand a squeeze. "Our parents never would've taken you in at all if they didn't love and care about you and think of you as another son. Probably the only reason they haven't decided to adopt you is because then we would never be able to have a relationship since we would be technically siblings."
"The only reason they probably didn't tell you was because they thought you would understand that was their intention when they took you in," Lochlan said.
"Why would your parents do this for me?" asked Grey trying to understand. "My own parents certainly didn't care about me like yours seem to and yet they barely even know me."
"Well, part of it certainly is that you're our friend," Lochlan told Grey, "and there's no way that they would have let any friend of ours just go to an orphanage even if he wouldn't be there for more than a few months before he was of age. As for the rest of it, you'll find that both our dad and uncle are very caring and compassionate individuals and they care about people. Uncle Aaron could never do the job he does if he didn't genuinely care about people as individuals, well either that or he would be hard, cold and uncaring because there's no way that the horrors he sees on an almost daily basis isn't going to affect him in some way."
"Dad and Uncle Aaron care more about you then those people they help through their job, even if dad is only a consultant, simply because they know you personally and you aren't just a faceless victim that has been hurt because of all the cruelty in the world," Landon added.
Grey absorbed that and decided that it did make sense and besides the twins parents had always treated him like a son from the first moment they had met and so he knew deep down that it was true.
"So what else do we do for Christmas?" asked Grey after a few minutes of thoughtful silence and the twins took turns telling him exactly what else they did, so that the subject they had been discussing forgotten for the moment.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"Grey seems to be doing better," Hotch mentioned as he and Spencer cuddled in bed.
It was near the end of the Christmas holidays and the kids would be going back to school in just a couple of days. Both Spencer and Hotch had already been into Landon's room several times over the last couple of weeks to comfort him when Grey had woken from a nightmare bathed in sweat. Sleeping with Landon seemed to be helping the other boy not have as many nightmares, although neither man was surprised that Grey had still had a few. In fact neither would be surprised if Grey had nightmares on and off for the rest of his life just as Spencer did. Landon had been there the whole time and held Grey close to him whenever he woke due to a nightmare, kissing him on the cheek or the lips or rubbing his back soothingly.
It was plain to see for both Hotch and Spencer that the two boys really loved each other and were really close. All three men had sat with Grey until he had stopped shaking on those nights and also comforted him, although Hotch and Spencer left most of that up to Landon, except for giving the shaking boy hugs and kisses on the forehead like they did their own sons, who was more than up to the task. It had taken several hours to go back to sleep after one of those nightmares and nobody could really blame Grey for that since they all knew how horrific they must be.
"Yes, he does, and that's mainly due to Landon I believe," Spencer said. "I'm not saying that neither one of us hasn't played a part in how well he's doing it's just that Landon is the major reason that he's doing so much better than he was when he first came here."
"You're right," Hotch admitted. "It's obvious that those two are very deeply in love and care about each other, well, as much as we do. In fact it wouldn't surprise me and probably not you either if those two decide to get married after they graduate from Hogwarts."
"I'm hoping Landon and Grey will decide to make his life in America and not in England just so I can see them both more often then I would otherwise," Spencer admitted.
"And what about Lochlan?" asked Hotch with a grin.
"I'd be very happy if Lochlan did decided to move to America," Spencer admitted, "but I have a feeling that he and Michelle are going to make their home somewhere in England so that Michelle can be close to her family."
"If that does happen I'm sure they'll come to visit often and we could of course go see them," Hotch suggested.
"I'm not looking forward to all those hours of traveling on a plane if we do go see them," Spencer said making a face, "and I know you're not either. I'm afraid I've gotten spoiled with traveling by Portkey so often over the last few years."
"You'll do it though, if it means you get to see your first grandchild," Hotch told him with confidence and Spencer had to admit that Aaron was spot on with that statement.
Spencer laughed at that, which was answer enough for Hotch who knew his mate well. "You know me too well," Spencer admitted as he gave the other man a tender kiss on the lips, which Hotch returned immediately and with equal tenderness. "I'm hoping that Lochlan and Michelle decide they want a big family with at least 4 or 5 children, although not all at once of course. Who knows they might even have twins since they do run in the family."
"It's too bad that Landon won't give us any grandchildren," Hotch commented. "I don't fault him for loving Grey, but that means that we won't get any grandchildren from him which is kind of a disappointment."
"There is a way you know, although we would have to get them to agree to it," Spencer said as he had been thinking of this question for the last couple years at least, well ever since he had suspected that Landon and Grey were going to get together as a couple anyway.
"What way is that?" asked Hotch curiously.
"Surrogacy," Spencer said and watched Hotch's dark eyes light up in comprehension.
"I didn't think of that," Hotch admitted, "but you are obviously way ahead of me there."
"I've been thinking about it on and off ever since I began to suspect that Landon and Grey were going to get together romantically," Spencer admitted. "There's even a way to do it so that the baby is not genetically related to whatever woman they choose to carry it."
"How's that?" asked Hotch in surprise not really knowing anymore then the basics to that particular subject, "I admit that IVF isn't exactly my area of specialty and I really don't know much about it at all other than the fact that it helps couples have children that can't for whatever reason, and not just same-sex couples either."
"Well, IVF is used with a donated egg and the intended father's sperm and then injected into the surrogate so that the child is nongenetically related to the woman carrying the baby. The only problem I see is them finding a woman that they trust to carry the baby or babies to term and then give it up afterwards. They could even have a whole family this way using the same woman or different ones. Monetary compensation is often offered to compensate the carrier of the child."
"So what you're saying is that Landon and Grey would need to find a woman that was willing to carry a child or children to term and then give them up afterwards," Hotch summarized.
"That's right," Spencer said.
"I'm also assuming that only one of those boys sperm would be used at a time," Hotch questioned.
"Correct," Spencer said. "If say Landon wanted to use his sperm then you would get a baby that looked like him and the mother of course even if you never knew who the egg donor was. If they do decide to do that they'd have to be really careful and make sure none of the eggs that were going to be used would have any kind of diseases or things wrong with them because some diseases are genetically inherited."
"Egg banks do that for you don't they?" asked Hotch.
"Yes," Spencer admitted, "but that doesn't mean you don't need to be careful. Actually I've been wondering if the wizarding hospital right here in Virginia does something similar and it might be interesting to find that out. Besides I'm curious to see if the magical world here in America has something similar to the IVF process or not."
Hotch and Spencer certainly knew more about the wizarding world nowadays and they had six years ago and the two worlds were certainly an interesting contrast. They had discovered over the last few years that wizarding America was much more relaxed about muggles knowing about them and then wizarding England was, which was a relief.
"Why?" asked Hotch curiously.
"Because if they do they would all be women that have magic in their blood and that means that there is a greater chance that the child will have magic of their own like their parents instead of turning out to be a squib. I'm sure that Grey and Landon wouldn't care either way so long as they had a healthy child to raise, but if the wizarding hospital here does do something like that it might be an option for them, especially since wizarding America seems not as uptight and more accepting about same-sex couples then England is. Besides maybe they have a way to make sure that the woman that is the surrogate has twins if that is what Landon and Grey want that is, while if they went with the muggle option there's only a fifty percent chance that both eggs would be fertilized or have magic. I nearly forgot to mention that the muggle option at least is very expensive, although it's not like they can't afford it or that we can't help them out I'm just saying that it's not exactly cheap."
"I did know that much," Hotch admitted. "IVF isn't exactly a very old process and it does take a lot of work so I'm not really surprised that it's an expensive option, but if you're desperate for a child and you have the money then I would think it would be more than worth it."
"It would be and if I hadn't already had the twins I might have considered that as an option so that I could have a child of my own. I did think about it a few times while I was still in college, since I figured that no girl would ever fall in love with me since most of them tended to avoid me like the plague in both high school and college. To them I was just an upstart kid who they wouldn't give the time of day to."
"Well, I don't believe we need to mention this option to Landon and Grey at least until after they graduate and get married," Hotch said.
"No, we don't need to mention it right now," Spencer admitted, "although we might want to do a little research on our own just so we have all the information for them when they do bring the subject up."
"So do you think that eventually they will want a child or possibly more?" asked Hotch somewhat wistfully as he had always wished that he had more than his son Jack. He loved the twins like they were his own and he loved his godson Gideon as he knew Spencer did Fabian, but then he had always loved children and would have liked at least three with his own blood, although he had never told Spencer this, not wanting to make his lover feel guilty for not being able to provide a child of his own body and Hotch knew very well that the younger man would have indeed felt that way if he had mentioned that desire even though Spencer hadn't had anything to do with being born a man or of him falling in love with one.
"Well, I know they're really too young to think about such things right now and I suspect that the idea won't occur to them at least until they're a few years older, but yes, I do believe that Landon at least will want a child or even several, although I'm not sure about Grey since I don't know him that well yet."
"Good," Hotch said sounding happy, "since I'm kind of getting to the point in my life where I would really like some grandchildren even if if they won't technically be related to me."
"Like that matters," Spencer snorted. "Whether they are related to you by blood or not they will still call you granddad or something along those lines just like they will me. People who believe that being related by blood is everything tend to be very prejudiced against families like ours where all the family members don't share the same blood and yet still consider each other that way."
"Like my mother," Hotch suggested who hadn't thought about his mother in a long time as she had finally quit calling. "She's exactly like you were just describing. I know you've only met her once, but she was always telling Jack that he should never consider anybody family, except those related to him by blood like me, her, my brother Sean and so on."
"What brought that on?" asked Spencer curiously.
"It was years ago back when we first got together, during Christmas, because you remember I always went to have dinner with my family until I got tired of all the sniping about you and them telling me that I was going to go to hell. That was when Jack told anybody that he thought of you and the team as aunts and uncles and that's what's set my mother off."
"Is that why you quit going because it will always sniping out you about my relationship with you?" asked Spencer quietly.
"Partly," Hotch admitted, "but I also didn't want Jack to grow up in that kind of environment even if he only saw most of them a few times a year. Besides Christmas is a time for family and yes, technically they are related to me, but I don't really consider them family except for Sean and Jack since none of the rest of them will ever accept that I'm in a permanent relationship with another man. I mean it's been what? Just over 10 years since we got married and 12 years since we got together and they still haven't accepted our relationship is real and permanent and if they haven't accepted it by now they never will."
"Kind of like my father," Spencer said in sudden realization. "I don't consider him part of our family either, especially after he abandoned mom and me and he has never even tried seriously to make amends."
"Or like Harry considers the Dursleys," Hotch added. "He doesn't consider them family either even though they are related to him all because of how they treated him as a child."
"That's one of the things that makes all three of us so close because we have all suffered child abuse of one sort or another," Spencer said, "so we share common backgrounds in that respect."
"And so does Grey," Hotch added.
"Yes, so does, Grey," Spencer repeated. "Sometimes I really wish that human race wasn't so messed up because there is a lot more abuse going home and then we ever catch. If we could catch more of the child abusers perhaps in time that would be less abuse going on at all."
"Maybe someday," Hotch said, "although I'm sure it'll be long after we're dead and gone."
"Well, let's not worry about it right now and just concentrate on helping Grey at least mostly get over what happened to him, although I know he'll never forget it because I certainly never have, but then again I can't because of my eidetic memory."
"I don't have your memory, but I certainly remember what happened to me as a child and Sean too," Hotch said, "even if most of those have faded over time, so you're right you really never forget, but you have to choose what path you want to follow. Do you want to be bitter and not make anything of your life, because of what happened to you or put your past behind you and actually do some good in the world."
"Well. we both know what path we chose to follow," Spencer said starting to get sleepy, "now we have to help Grey make something of his life and make sure that he doesn't turn into a bitter angry adult."
"I don't see that happening so long as he and Landon stay together," Hotch said. "So long as Landon is there to support him and we and his friends are there in the background also supporting him I believe he'll turn out just fine."
"Well, let's just hope that Landon's and Grey's relationship is permanent then because you're right, so long as they are together Grey will be okay, but if they do break up it's possible he will turn into what we want to avoid."
"I don't think their relationship is going to be a problem at least from what I've observed," Hotch said. "The two of them kind on remind me of you and I, except in the fact that they discovered each other much earlier than we did and are the same age."
"Yes, that's true," Spencer said thoughtfully. "We can discuss this at a later date though because right now I'm so sleepy all I want to do is curl up against your side and conk out until morning."
"You're more than welcome to do that and I'm tired too so I'll be following you into dreamland," Hotch said as he put his arm around the younger man pulling him close and Spencer gratefully curled up into his lover's side and put his head into it's usual position on Hotch's chest so that the sound of his mate's heartbeat could lure him to sleep just like it had for the last twelve years.
It wasn't more then five minutes later that both men were sound asleep curled up in each other's arms.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
Landon and Grey, age 17
"Did you ever think about us getting married as soon as we graduate?" asked Landon as he and Grey walked hand-in-hand around the lake. The two boys were bundled up against the cold of the Scottish winter with cloaks gloves and scarfs, blue and bronze, Ravenclaw colors wrapped around their necks.
It was the beginning of November of the twins and Grey's final year at Hogwarts and Landon's and Lochlan's 18th birthday was only a couple of weeks away.
Grey looked startled for he had never thought about it, although he knew he would love to be permanently tied to Lan for their love had only grown in the last two years and a half since they had started dating.
"Can we do that? I didn't think that was legal," said Grey.
"It's not in either muggle or wizarding England, but in Virginia where I grew up it is. Didn't you know that dad and Uncle Aaron are actually married and have been for just over eleven years."
"Well yeah, but it never occurred to me that we could do the same, although I know it should have."
"Oh you would've thought of it eventually, but with classes and Quidditch and everything we have been a bit busy and most people our age don't usually think about such things anyway."
"And yet you thought of it," Grey pointed out dryly.
"Well, that's a little bit different, love," Landon said.
"How?" asked Grey with a raised eyebrow to show that he was skeptical.
"Lochlan and I were raised in a house filled with love," Landon explained gently his golden brown eyes that were exactly like his father's and brother's filled with love, "so really it's not that surprising that I'm the one that thought about us getting married after we graduate while you didn't because you weren't raised in that kind of environment. To me getting married would just be a confirmation of the bond that we already share."
"That is so beautiful," Grey said with happy tears in his eyes. "Is that how you really feel about me?"
"Absolutely," Landon assured his lover and yes they were lovers now and had been ever since they had turned 17. They certainly didn't spend every night together, but they did spend as many as they could. He took Grey into his arms and held him close and the other boy accepted Landon's embrace with pleasure. "You should know me well enough by now to know that I never would have agreed to make love to you if I wasn't absolutely sure my of feelings for I am not one of those people that has sex just for the sake of having sex. I have to really care about the person I'm going to do so intimate with. In that way at least I am like my father, for he never would have sex with anybody until they had been dating for at least a month, with my mother being the one exception, and he really had to care about that person in order to do it. In other words he didn't have sex much until he met my uncle because you know that most women aren't willing to put up with that kind old fashioned attitude. My father in that way is really old-fashioned and sex has never been just a casual thing for him and I am the exact same way, although my brother is the opposite, which probably comes from the mother we've never met."
"I love you," Grey mumbled softly his voice passionate, and sincere and he and Landon shared a tender, soft kiss as if to confirm their feelings for each other.
"I love you too," Landon assured him as soon as the two had broken apart. "So what do you think about getting married once we graduate in a few months?"
"It would be a dream come true for me," Grey assured the man at his side taking Landon's hand in his own and started to run his thumb up and down the other man's palm.
"Good," Landon said pleased that Grey felt the same way he did. "I'll write my father and let him, Sara and Uncle Aaron start planning everything."
"Let's not rush into anything we need to make a few plans first," Grey told Landon.
"Yeah, we do," Landon agreed after a moment of thought.
"Where do you want to live for example after we get married?" Grey asked.
"Well, why don't we live in America as for one thing the resident wizarding population over there isn't quite so backwards as here and much more modern. From what I have observed anyway they're not so much against same-sex relationships over there, although there will of course be some people who disapprove as you can't please everybody and you really shouldn't try. Before you object just think you'll be thousands of miles away from your parents who will have absolutely no idea where you've gone if they decide to try to get revenge on you."
"Yeah, that's true," Grey agreed, "and we could always come back for visits."
"And we will," Landon assured him. "I have a feeling that my brother is going to want to settle down in England because I'm sure Michelle will want to be close to her family, since they are nothing like yours. Really we can pop over for a visit with Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and their family not to mention my brother and I'm sure his future wife any time we want since we do have a Portkey."
"And we could always make several more for different destinations," Grey said looking intrigued.
"Well, we would have to get permission to do that from the Minister of Magic, since a Portkey is a regulated item, at least in England, but since Uncle Harry knows him personally I don't think that would be a problem," Landon said.
"It's nice to have friends or in this case family in high places," Grey joked and Landon laughed by way of agreement.
"There's probably something you should be aware of," Landon told Grey after a few minutes of contented silence ignoring some of the looks they were receiving from some of the other students who were also walking by the lake.
"What's that?" asked Grey and looked over at Landon who looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Well, my brother and I have never mentioned it, but him, me and Jack have had trust funds set up for us by my father," Landon explained.
Grey blinked at that but he wasn't really surprised because he knew how wealthy Landon and Lochlan's father was just from his own observations, although he had never said anything to either of them.
"Exactly how much are we talking about?" asked Grey, curiously.
"Well since it was set up after my dad made his fortune before we were born it's around 25 million, each," Landon said after looking around him cautiously to make sure that nobody was close enough to overhear.
Grey blinked and appeared so shocked that he couldn't form any coherent words for several long seconds. "Blimey! Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say that you and Lochlan and Jack all have 25 million dollar trust funds?"
"Yes, and keep your voice down since I don't want it to get out," Landon said as calmly as possible. "Now you can see why neither Lochlan or I never mentioned it. Dad and Uncle Aaron warned us before we ever started at Hogwarts that we were not to mention the amount in our trust funds to anyone unless they were about to join the family that is, like you are. They told us that if anybody knew how much money we had even if we couldn't touch any of it until we were 21 that we would be put in the middle of a lot of schemes by a lot of unscrupulous people trying to bilk us out of it."
Grey blinked trying to figure out what bilk meant since it was an unfamiliar word, but then finally figured out it meant conned and Landon was right that unscrupulous witches and wizards would try to con at least some of that money for themselves, and Grey assumed that the muggles would do the same if they found out.
"Why do you need to get a job at all if you have that much money?" asked Grey still looking absolutely flabbergasted.
"Because dad raised us to still work, for what we want and the trust funds are there as back up, but not to live off of, although we could live off the interest alone quite well for many years to come. Dad and Uncle Aaron always taught us that people who work at jobs they love are less likely to be spoiled rotten brats, arrogant or to get in trouble with the law. A lot of bored aristocrats with a lot of money on their hands don't know the meaning of hard work and because of this they are raised like they are better then anyone else and to treat everyone around them that they consider lower then them like dirt, which is almost everybody. Even if their parents don't raise them that way a lot of times having so much money gives them a sense of entitlement that they don't work to earn and it doesn't help that their parents spoil them rotten from the time they are born. Well, just think of some of the Slytherins that have families that have fortunes and how they act and you'll know what I mean."
"Yes, I see what you mean," Grey agreed finally as he thought about how some of the Slytherins strutted arrogantly around like they owned the schools just because their parents were rich and powerful.
"Actually none of our trust funds started out with $25 million in it," Landon explained as soon as he saw that Grey had absorbed the news. "Dad started out by putting just 5 million into each account, then he hired a trust lawyer to look after them for him and to invest so that the amount increased. The lawyer he hired was recommended by somebody he knew and trusted and he is quite good at investing, following trends and so forth to increase the amount."
"So you're saying that your dad started out putting 5 million into each account and that the person he hired to oversee increased it to 25 million over what last 14 years?"
"Well, except for Jack, since he and Uncle Aaron didn't officially join the family until we were six, but for my brother and me, yes about that."
"So this trust lawyer is kind of like the goblins at Gringotts who look after a wealthy families money and invest it wisely so that it increases and that way there is always money for the family," Grey realized.
"Yes, it is almost exactly the same thing, except it had to do with children instead of a whole family," Landon agreed.
"Blimey! You three sure are lucky," said Grey looking envious.
"Yes, but what you don't realise is that once we get married my money is your money or at least it is once I turn 21 and get control of my trust."
Grey looked shocked at that. "You would do that for me?"
"It will be like a joint account at a muggle bank or Gringotts. The kind that married couples have so they can both draw money out of the same account."
"Are we going to turn all our money into Galleons or leave it at the muggle bank?"
"There's no reason to take it out of the muggle bank," Landon said looking uncomfortable.
"Okay...why?" asked Grey uncertainly seeing how uncomfortable Landon was and knowing he was about to be shocked for the second time in just a few minutes.
"Because Uncle Harry opened two separate accounts in our names after our first year at Hogwarts and put about 10 million in each in them," Landon said. "He didn't even bother to ask our parents for permission because that's not the way he is, especially when he believes he is doing the right thing and he believes in taking care of family, even distant relatives. You know that family is very important to Uncle Harry, especially after what happened with the Dursleys."
"Were your parents mad?" asked Grey a little apprehensively.
"No," Landon said shaking his head negatively, "as they understood why he had done it or at least Uncle Aaron did and stopped dad from blowing a gasket. Actually Uncle Aaron only suspected that Uncle Harry had opened accounts, but he had gotten to know him pretty well by that time and knew that family was the most important thing in Uncle's Harry's life and that meant making sure they were taken care of for the rest of their lives, but it wasn't actually confirmed until sometime later."
"So why did he do it without asking for your parents permission first?" asked Grey curiously.
"Because he didn't want to be told that no he could not open accounts in our names because we didn't need the money and while that might have been true, he still probably would have argued with them about it so doing it his way avoided that argument."
"So if your Uncle Harry gave you 10 million apiece like almost seven years ago now that's bound to have increased if the goblins invested…" Grey said looking awed and stunned, which Landon could hardly blame him for.
"It has," Landon said calmly, "since the goblins are geniuses at investing your Galleons and making a profit as I know you are aware."
"How much?" asked Grey not sure if he wanted to know the answer. He knew his parents were well off, but not as well-off as his boyfriend, not even close.
"Around 18,000,000 Galleons, apiece," Landon answered. "Give or take a few thousand Galleons."
Grey whistled appreciatively. "Well I never knew I was dating someone so..."
"Down to Earth?" Landon suggested with a wry grin interrupting Grey's train of thought, "considering I have so much money to my name? I'm still that same person you've known since we were 11 years old and just because I told you about the money now shouldn't change that."
"Well, yes," Grey admitted. "You don't seem to care that you are ultrawealthy at all."
"That's because I don't," Landon told Grey quite seriously, "and neither does my brother. Sure it's nice to have some financial security, but I don't plan on being one of those lazy aristocrats that think they're too good to work for a living just because they do have a ton of money. Our father raised us to know the value of a dollar or Galleon if you prefer and we were never spoiled except at times like Christmas and birthdays when a little spoiling is expected. That's the reason I and Loch always did our best in class so that we can get any job we want once we graduate as we don't intend to live off the money that two different people have given us. I'm not saying that the money won't be useful, just that we don't intend to use it all that often."
"You're one of the most easygoing, nice, rich people I've ever met, Lan," Grey said his joking demeanor gone.
"Thank you," Landon said with a smile kissing Grey on the lips as a thank you for the compliment. "Look at it this way at least we won't be struggling if we come across some hard times, especially in today's economy. Besides you know my Uncle Harry and how nice and down to earth he is and how he doesn't make a big deal about having a lot of money, but if he was able to leave Loch and me 10,000,000 Galleons apiece just imagine how much he actually has in the bank. He never would've left my brother and me that much if it was going to put him in any financial difficulty as he has a family to support so I imagine 20,000,000 Galleons wasn't even a drop in the old proverbial bucket of his family's wealth."
"You're right," Grey agreed as he knew Uncle Harry loved his family and would never have put them into a situation where they were wondering where their next meal was coming from. "From what I know of the Potters they were a very wealthy pureblood family, although how wealthy I don't know. Of course a lot of old pureblooded families are wealthy, although not all of them of course. The Malfoys, the Potters, the Longbottoms, the Blacks, the Notts, the Parkinsons, the Greengrasses... Well I'm sure you get the point. Being from a pureblooded family usually means being ultrawealthy, although not always. Some families in the past had money, but lost it due to bad investments or other reasons, the Zabinis for example."
"So me telling you about all this money I was giving isn't going to change our relationship, right?" asked Landon a little tentatively.
"No," Grey assured his boyfriend shaking his head negatively. "In fact you tell me reassures me about our relationship."
"Why?" asked Landon looking surprised.
"Because I know you," Grey explained confidently. "You never would've told me about the money if you believed for even a second that our relationship wasn't going to last. One thing I know about you and Loch both is that you're both very modest and down to Earth. Neither of you is the type to brag about things like money or you're skills with magic. Actually you're really not the kind to brag at all unlike some of the Slytherins and Gryffindors or even some of the other Ravenclaws. Sure you're intelligent, rich, excellent at most branches of magic, but you don't go strutting around bragging about your skills. Nobody would know from the way you act that you do have quite a bit of money, so in other words I know you never would've told me about how many Galleons and dollars you have to your name if you weren't serious about our relationship."
Landon looked thoughtful and then nodded in agreement for Grey was absolutely correct in everything he'd said. In fact he and Loch were a lot like their father in that respect as Spencer Reid didn't need to brag about his skills in order to get himself noticed and in fact he preferred just to fade into the background, although he could be confrontational if the situation required it. Come to think of it all three of them were a lot like their Uncle Harry at least in that respect, so maybe it was just a Potter trait, even if they didn't actually share the same last name.
"You're right," Landon finally admitted after a few minutes of silence. "I'm glad I convinced you that our relationship is permanent as far as I'm concerned. When it comes to love both Loch and me are a lot like our father. Sure we dated some, but they always ended within just a few weeks or at most a couple of months, because we always knew when we had found the right person to settle down with."
"I'm glad you chose me," Grey said softly.
"I would correct that and say we chose each other," Landon said as he gave Grey kiss on the lips, which the other boy returned.
The two stood there on the opposite side of the lake for awhile just enjoying being together out under the stars, although they both knew that they would have to go inside soon as it wasn't long until curfew.
"You know, we were discussing getting married just a little while ago and yet you never officially asked me," Grey commented after awhile.
"No, I suppose I didn't," Landon admitted with a sheepish look knowing exactly what Grey meant. "I was going to wait until after we had graduated in June, but since you mentioned it and I'm the one that brought it up in the first place I will go ahead and propose now," Landon said getting down on one knee and taking the ring he had bought with his father's financial help out of his pocket. "Grey, the love I have for you grows the more I get to know you and I would be honored if you would accept this proposal and agree to marry me. We have known each other since we were 11 years old and been best friends ever since. I have loved you since the first moment we met even though I didn't realize it for a long time. The best kind of marriage is built off friendship, for if you're friends first your marriage is more likely to last then if you've only known each other for a month or two. If you agree to marry me I promise to spend every day making you as happy as you always deserve to be as we share life together through the good times and bad. I solemnly vow to love you forever and that my love for you will never lessen, but only grow the longer we are together, so marry me and make me the happiest man on the face of the Earth."
Grey stood there with tears in his eyes as he knew Landon meant every single word of his speech. How had he been so lucky as to find someone like Lan he didn't know but he wasn't about to say no to his boyfriend's proposal considering if he did it would probably destroy him as he loved Lan with ever particle of his soul and he knew with absolute soul shaking certainty that Landon felt the same.
"Yes, I will marry you. I love you," Grey said simply and as the words left his lips Landon opened up the box he had been holding and Grey saw a beautiful white gold band with emeralds and sapphires encrusted into the metal. It was perfect and just looked like a very nice, expensive ring without looking like an engagement ring or a wedding band.
"What, no diamonds?" Grey joked a little shakily as he held out his hand and allowed Landon to slip the ring onto his finger. The minute the ring touched his finger it resized itself until it fit perfectly.
"Diamonds are run-of-the-mill and trite in this day and age," Landon told him quite seriously, with a smile that lit up not only his face, but his eyes as well, which meant that he truly was happy. "In fact in the muggle world it is practically the only stone that is ever used for engagement rings for women, although some people are more original and choose something else nowadays."
"It's perfect and I love it, almost as much as I love you," Grey assured his lover kissing him quite seriously on the lips.
"As much as I would like to continue this we had better head back inside as it's going to be curfew pretty soon," Landon said looking a little wobbly on his feet from Grey's kiss, which made the other boy grin at the effect he had on his lover.
"Yeah," Grey agreed, "but don't expect to be sleeping alone as I am never going to allow you to do that again and the four-posters are more then big enough for two."
"That's fine with me, although we'll have to make sure that nobody else finds out, except for Lochlan and our other friends of course, because the teachers would definitely not approve of us sleeping together even if we are two young men who can't get each other pregnant and also of age."
"You're right," Grey agreed knowing exactly what point Landon was making. "Let's get going and tell our friends about our engagement as I know they will be happy for us."
"They will be," Landon agreed. "I'm sure it will also be part of the Hogwarts rumor mill by next week even if we don't mention it as someone is bound to notice the ring on your finger eventually."
"Let people talk," Grey said not seeming to care. "We've been being talked about ever since we started dating, so I don't know why this would be any different. I'm not about to remove this ring and put it somewhere just to keep our engagement secret and save us a lot of nasty looks and teasing, since it won't work because we would still be made fun of just for being together as a couple."
"I totally agree, although some people need to get a life and leave us alone," Landon said. "We had better head inside now as it's only about 15 minutes until curfew."
"Alright," Grey agreed still looking extremely dazed and dreamy from Landon's proposal.
The two continued to walk hand-in-hand heading back inside the castle and up to Ravenclaw tower arriving there just before curfew.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"You know we didn't have time last week to finish discussing what we want to do with our lives after we graduate," said Landon.
"Even if we'd had time last weekend I'm not sure I would have been able to take part of such a serious conversation, since I was kind of out of it after you proposed," Grey admitted with a grin as the two of them sat together in the common room wrapped in each other's arms as well as a Muffliato spell, that they had both learned from Uncle Harry. What the Muffliato spell did was make sure their conversation was private and that nobody outside the spell would be able to to hear them.
"Yes, I know exactly what you mean," Landon said with a grin so wide that he felt as if his face was actually going to split in two. Of course he had been feeling euphoric ever since Grey had accepted his proposal and people had noticed. "Now that we've both come down to Earth though there are some things we do need to discuss."
"I know," Grey agreed happier then he had ever been in his life.
"First what kind of wedding do you want a where do you want the have it?" Landon asked.
"I don't think either one of us need a humongous wedding," Grey said and Landon nodded in agreement. "Something small and simple with just the people that are closest to us is fine with me, although we could have a reception afterwards we don't necessarily have to."
"Yeah I agree there shouldn't be more than 50 people, tops and probably not that many," Landon said.
"Also we need to start looking for a place to live before we even consider tying the knot," Grey said.
"We can do that as soon as we graduate," Landon agreed. "Thanks to Uncle Harry and the Minister of Magic you have a passport, visa and all the appropriate paperwork and once we get married you'll have dual legal status in both England and America and so will I so that means we could live either place."
"I don't see why we couldn't have houses in both countries and spend a lot of time in both," said Grey with a nonchalant shrug. "It's not like you don't have the money."
"Great idea, love," Landon agreed. "That way when Loch and Michelle finally decide to start a family we won't put them out by staying with them and still get to visit as often as we like."
"Or have to listen to a crying baby in the middle the night," Grey suggested with a grin.
"Oh I would've put a silencing spell on our room," Landon said returning the grin, "but this way we're not in the way at an inopportune moment."
"So now that we got that settled, have you decided on a career?" asked Grey.
"Not really," Landon admitted. "Both dad and Uncle Aaron want me and Lochlan to go to college and I still haven't decided if I'm going to do that since it would require even more studying. You could do the same you know as they do have universities in the wizarding world or you could go to a muggle college."
"I've had enough studying," Grey said with a shake of his head and Landon agreed with a nod. "Besides I don't know enough about the muggle world in order to be able to go to one of their colleges."
"Why not? You're a half-blood so you should have had at least a decent amount of exposure to the muggle world."
"You know what my parents were like Lan," Grey said.
"I do," Landon said with a nod, "so you wouldn't have had much exposure to the muggle world like most half-bloods simply because your parents were so evil." Landon said the last word with a very realistic shudder.
Grey laughed a deep, rich sound that sent a shiver of desire down Landon's spine. "I never thought of them that way, but you're right they are evil. I'm sure from all we know about Voldemort he would've loved to have them on his side since they were just as evil as he was. Oh they've never killed anybody as far as I know, unlike Voldemort, they are just cold-hearted, intolerant, callous, harsh, cruel, narrow-minded bigots. They had their own narrow view of the world and wouldn't turn from that path for anything. In a way they were just as bad as Voldemort for he shared a lot of the same traits even if they never actually killed anyone."
"Evil is still evil," Landon said wisely, sounding like he was 30 or 40 instead of 17. "There are a lot of different levels of evil in the world even if most of them aren't as bad as what Voldemort did to so many wizards, witches and muggles alike."
"Well, I'm just glad to be out of that house and also extremely happy I never have to go back so let's just change the subject, shall we?" Grey suggested and Landon nodded in agreement.
"Alright," Landon agreed. "I was actually thinking about becoming spell crafter since I'm so good at creating new spells."
"That would probably be a good career for you," Grey agreed.
"Well, you're just as good at creating new spells as I am and if we did do that we could become partners in the business sense of course," said Landon.
"So if we do decide to live in America what kind of career options are there over there?"
"Oh the same ones you have here in England," Landon said. "You could join the Aurors, you could be a healer, you could open up your own shop, or be a teacher. There are literally thousands of options to choose from. The only major school over there though is Salem Academy so being a teacher might not be an option, but everything else is."
The two continued discussing options, although no final decisions were made that night and after awhile the two headed upstairs to bed and not to sleep or at least not right then.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
"Have you ever thought about having children?" asked Landon as he and Grey took there now normal walk around the lake just to relax a little from doing homework.
It had now been several months since Landon had proposed to Grey and was now the middle of March and school got out in just a few months time.
"Well, yes, I always thought I'd like to have children if I got married to some female, but with us being together the only way we can have children that I know of is to adopt not that I object to that mind you," Grey said looking a little confused at the question.
"I know you're wondering why I asked the question," Landon said as he looked over at Grey's confused expression, "but I do have a reason I promise you."
"Well, what's the reason then because since we are two males in a relationship we can't have children," Grey said. "I wouldn't change our relationship for anything, but I would've liked to have had a lot of children running around eventually."
"And you can," Landon informed Grey with a smirk.
"How?" asked Grey in surprise with a raised eyebrow.
"It's true that as two males in a relationship we can't have children naturally, but they're muggle alternatives."
"So you're saying that the muggles have come up with a way for two men to have a child or even several?" asked Grey looking so flabbergasted that it caused Landon to burst into laughter.
"Yes, they do," Landon said once he had quit laughing at Grey's flabbergasted expression. "They have what is known as IVF or in vitro fertilization, which means in glass. The first successful test tube baby as they are known was done in 1978 and her name was Louise Brown. What this is, is a very expensive process where an egg is taken from a female and then your sperm is also taken."
Landon went on to explain the whole process to Grey and the other boy appeared fascinated, which Landon could hardly blame him for.
"So you're saying that this in vitro fertilization is done with a female egg and a male's sperm and then implanted it into a female uterus," Grey said.
"Well the egg and sperm have to spend a few days in a petri dish first, but essentially correct," said Landon. "They even have such things as egg and sperm banks where the men and women donate to so that childless couples can have children of their own, although sometimes this is done anonymously."
"How in the world do muggles get the eggs from women?" asked Grey. "It's not as easy as it is for men as all we have to do is pee in a cup."
"Well, it's pretty difficult process and requires surgery," Landon explained. "The woman has to be ovulating, which means she has to be having her menstrual cycle, since this is the time to where she's producing eggs. The surgeon has to cut into her stomach and extract the eggs and then sew her back up."
"Sounds painful," Grey said with a grimace.
"I'm sure it is, but a lot of women decide to do it anyway just to give other couples a chance to have children of their own," Landon said. "So now that I told you all about the IVF process do you think you might want children? A few years down the road of course once we have ourselves established in America."
"And have a few years by ourselves so that we can have some major you and me time!" Grey added with a grin making Landon laugh.
"Yes, that's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to finishing school so that we can spend all our time together without any interruptions like classes and homework and tests," Landon said.
"It won't be much longer before we can do that since the end of the school year is only about three months away," Grey said as he leaned over to kiss his fiancé's cheek.
"I can hardly wait," Landon said fervently, "until we can start our own lives away from school."
"Neither can I," Grey told his lover. "We've had hardly any just you and me time except the little bit we sneak here and there."
"Well, you can't really expect much privacy in a school," Landon said philosophically. "The teachers are responsible for us after all, so they can't allow stuff like having sex to go on, although I don't think they ever considered same-sex couples before, which really isn't surprising considering that Hogwarts is over a thousand years old. At least neither of us can get the other pregnant."
"Well, it's just a good thing that not one of us is female," Grey said with a grin. "If we were there would be no way we could spend the night in the same bed, have sex and not risk getting pregnant."
"I believe there are such things as contraceptive potions and even spells designed to prevent pregnancy," said Landon.
"How do you know that?" asked Grey in amazed surprise.
"Well, really it's kind of logical that the magical world would have such things since there is no controlling teenage hormones after all," Landon replied. "Besides I read about it somewhere in the library, although I can't remember in exactly what book at the moment. So now that you know we can have children would you like say half a dozen or more someday?"
"Yes," Grey answered immediately. "Our only problem is going to be to find a female that would be willing to carry a baby or even several for us and then give it up afterwards since the only female we are close to is Michelle and I can't see your brother allowing her to do that even if she was willing since they are engaged to be married just like we are."
"Yes, that's probably going to be a problem," Landon admitted. "Hopefully by the time we decide that we're ready for children we'll know some of other females and be close to them, but we'll just have to wait and see. We might just have to choose an anonymous female somebody we don't know very well or at all and there are agencies, at least in the States that provide a surrogate for you."
"Why would muggles have a agencies that does that?" asked Grey in surprise.
"Well, there are a lot of reasons," Landon admitted. "Some females can't have children for one reason or another whether it's because of their age or for medical reason like severe heart disease. A pregnancy would of course put a strain on their heart so sometimes using a surrogate is just a safer if expensive option. Some people use relatives as surrogates, although that's also considered incest in certain circles. In any case some women are part of an agency that uses them for a surrogate and the fetus is implanted into her uterus. The surrogates of course get paid for this service and we can go that route if we need too."
"Well, you learn something new everyday," said Grey looking amazed, "and that would be a yes to your earlier question about us eventually having children. I would love to have as many as Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny someday and if we request twins then a women would only have to be pregnant four times instead of eight."
"I would like at least one set of twins, when we do decide we are ready to have children," Landon said. "By the way I doubt we would get the same surrogate every time so it wouldn't matter if we did decide on one baby or two."
"That's for the future though and right now all I want too do is snog you senseless, do you think you can handle that?" asked Grey with a smirk.
Landon looked surprised for a moment and then a smirk to match Grey's came onto his face too. "I believe so yes."
And with Landon's words Grey immediately attacked him and it was only a few seconds later that they were both laying in the grass underneath a shady tree snogging each other senseless.
~~~Hotch and Reid~~~
