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"Hadrian, how did the healer know that I have magic and it's been bound?" Tim asked. "And can I get it unbound? Should I? What would happen if I did?"
"I'm afraid that Healer Roberts didn't think that your magic could be unbound" Hadrian said. "I have an appointment next week but I could call him and make one for you before that if you want to talk to him."
"He said that the block couldn't be reversed? What about my memories? Maybe I would remember why my parents wanted to do this to me" Tim asked.
"It would take a specialised mind healer but it is possible to reverse obliviations, you might get some memories of performing accidental magic. It's possible some of those memories might be a bit traumatic, often accidental magic first manifests while under extreme distress" Hadrian replied. "You know there's no guarantee that you were there when your parents made the decision, or that your father talked about why he wanted your magic blocked."
"I'll make you an appointment. He said he might be able to cure your seasickness too, and maybe some of your allergies" Hadrian said pulling out his phone and ringing the healer.
How was I born a wizard when my parents don't have magic?" Tim asked.
I don't know why it happens but it does about fifteen present of my class didn't have magical parents but I'm not sure if that percentage is normal or it was because of the war. Mum and Dad's class was more than twice as big as ours. Just like sometimes a child can be born without magic even if their parents are a witch and wizard, though the pure blood families all deny that it happens in their family" Hadrian tried to explain. "Hermione would probably know. She's one of those people that just has to know everything she can find out about a subject when she thinks about it."
"It's okay. I was just curious" Tim said.
"Healer Roberts might know more about it" Hadrian replied.
"You said that they don't bind kids' magic in England?" Tim said.
"No it's probably the only way Britain treat muggleborns better than America do. To be honest if they told muggleborns in Britain and their parents the truth about the amount of prejudice they're going to face in the wizarding world most of the parents would get their children's magic blocked and I'm not entirely sure most of them wouldn't be better off" Hadrian replied.
"How would they be better off losing a part of themselves?" Tim asked.
"Hermione got the highest exam results in 20 years and she's a decorated war hero. But she still earns less than most of the purebloods from our year who work in similar jobs do and her prospects for promotion are almost non-existent. And that's after hiring on blood status has supposedly been discouraged. "My mother was muggleborn and the last person to score higher than Hermione and she couldn't have for any job better than janitor or kitchen assistant/waitress in our government, and there were very few masters willing to take a muggleborn as an apprentice. And having left normal education at eleven their prospects in the mundane world aren't much better. Sending them to Hogwarts condemns them to a life of subsistence wages and poverty. Mum married straight out of school and had me at nineteen and sometimes I wonder if that was because she didn't have any other career options. It's better here because the wizarding schools teach normal subjects too so muggleborns can easily return to the mundane world and the wizarding world here knows it's in their society's best interest to keep as many as they can employed in the wizarding world and adding to the gene pool."
-o0o-
"I'm a little surprised that Tony, Ziva and Abby haven't come to see if I'm alright" Tim said. "The wards wouldn't be keeping them away?"
"They haven't called either and the wards have absolutely no effect on telephone calls. And they wouldn't stop them from visiting unless they meant you some sort of harm.
"But they could stop Tony if he was coming to check on me but also wanted to tease me about something or play some minor prank?" Tim asked.
"Depends on how minor the prank was and whether the intended teasing was about something that would have hurt you. I know that Tony doesn't always realise when he takes the teasing too far" Hadrian replied. "They might also stop him if his main motivation in visiting was to gather information to tease you about later."
"Would Ziva's curiosity also cause her problems with the wards?" Tim asked.
"Not if she didn't intend to use the information to hurt you. Of course if she were still passing information to Mossad they may see it as a betrayal" Hadrian replied.
"And Abby?" Tim asked, "Why will the wards be stopping Abby from visiting?"
"They wouldn't if she genuinely wanted to see you were okay or visit because she missed you" Hadrian replied trying to sound casual. He honestly didn't want to tell Tim that the woman he thought of as his friend probably hadn't even thought of trying to visit him
"Are you jealous of Abby? Would the wards treat her as a threat because of that? I promise that any feeling I had for her when we were dating are long gone. You showed me how someone who truly cares about me couldn't treat me the way she does."
"No I'm not jealous, I have no reason to be, and no the wards aren't that kind of sentient" Hadrian replied. "I would feel better if you told her you were with someone and can't be at her beck and call anymore though. But that's mostly for your benefit that she stops dragging you out to places you hate."
Tim nodded "I'll tell her when I get back to work, unless she calls before then" he promised.
"She won't. You can't do anything for her while you're injured" Hadrian snarked.
Tim let it go. Hadrian had helped him to see that Abby was big at asking for his help or inviting him places when she needed a ride but not so good at offering him help or accompanying him places he wanted to go to. It still hurt a little to realise the person he considered one of his best friends was too self-centred to realise she was using him. He was sure Abby considered him a close friend.
-o0o-
Gibbs started his day by visiting Autopsy. "You see Tim last night?" he asked.
"Yes his shoulder is healing remarkably well and his friend is a very good cook" Ducky replied.
"Glad to hear he's been taken care of" Gibbs replied. "When will he be back at work?"
"You know the doctor at Bethesda gave him two weeks" Ducky replied firmly. "It is in his best interest to rest his shoulder."
"Understood Duck" Gibbs replied.
"Jethro, what do you know about young Hadrian?" Ducky asked more out of curiosity than concern.
"He's 24 though he doesn't look it. And he and Tim have been together for a while. He obviously cares for Tim. He recognised me when Tim sent me up to tell him he was home and nearly passed out in fright thinking Tim had been badly injured, he was quite relieved it was a minor wound."
"Tim said he previously lived and worked in a war zone and is currently seconded to the FBI" Ducky replied. "He didn't show signs of PTSD but he's definitely used to caring for injured friends and colleagues."
"Did Tim ask you not to mention him to the rest of the team?" Gibbs asked.
"No but then he introduced his as a friend and neighbour" Ducky said. "Even at 24 he's a bit young for our Timothy and with the child in tow as well …"
"Child, Duck?" Gibbs asked demandingly.
"Young Teddy, his godson, he appears to be about three" Ducky replied. Hadrian said that his grandmother had recently died but didn't mention the parents. Tim seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with him. The child has a strong British accent that sounds more midlands than Hadrian's so I don't think Hadrian has had him living with him for very long."
"Ask Tim about it when he gets back. They seemed devoted Duck and it hasn't affected his work" Gibbs said dismissively.
"You're not at all concerned?" Ducky asked.
"Duck when I saw them they were both very emotional, far too much to hide their honest reactions. They genuinely care for each other and Tim has been happier this year. Did you see something I need to be concerned about because I didn't?" Gibbs replied.
"Well nooo…" Ducky began.
"Until we see something to be concerned about then it's none of our business. Tim made that clear when he chose not to tell us about his relationship before he was injured" Gibbs instructed.
-o0o-
"Are you going to tell your family about the baby?" Hadrian asked as they lay cuddled in bed that night.
Tim stiffened.
"You don't have to. I'm not sure if they had their memories of magic erased when your magic was bound or not so technically they're not supposed to be told about magic until the baby shows signs of being magical, and not even then unless they regularly babysit. It would be hard to explain without telling them that." Hadrian said hurriedly.
"My father campaigned against allowing gays and women to serve in the navy, he's still campaigning against the potential abolition of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'. I hadn't spoken to him in years before he showed up here the other day. I don't know why he came he didn't ask how I really was, I think it was because SecNav mentioned my injury and he had a couple of hours free before he would seem him again and it would look odd if he hadn't visited me. He wouldn't want his bosses thinking anything's not normal with his family. He can't forgive me for not following family tradition and joining the navy. I think that he'd disown me completely if I told him I was in a relationship with a man let alone a wizard" Tim replied.
"And your Mum?" Hadrian asked.
Tim sighed. "She won't go against Dad. I don't even know what she really thinks."
"Have you ever asked?"
"Hades she hasn't ever expressed an opinion that differs from my father's not once in my whole life, even when he's away at sea for months everything had to be done the way Dad wanted it done" Tim replied frustrated. "She mentioned wanting to meet the 'girl' who's been cooking for me and I asked if she'd still want to meet them if it was someone the Admiral wouldn't approve of. She looked worried but didn't answer."
"What about your sister? Or your grandmother?" Hadrian asked.
"I could happily tell Penny about our relationship. It just hasn't come up. Mostly she's been telling me about her travels lately" Tim replied. "There's too much about my job I couldn't tell her and I haven't had much else to talk about so she stopped asking. I did tell her about meeting you back then and about our friendship. I think I could tell Sarah too. We're both used to keeping each other's secrets."
Hadrian smiled.
-o0o-
Tim woke to the sound of a soft pop which he couldn't place. He got up, pulling on pants and looked around noticing Hades wasn't there. Pulling on a T-shirt he went upstairs and let himself into Hades' apartment noticing the changes now Teddy was living there. He found Hades in the rocking chair with Teddy crying on his lap.
"I didn't mean to disturb you" Hadrian apologised.
"It's fine. Did he have a nightmare?" Tim said sitting on the floor at Hade's feet.
"He woke up crying for Andi" Hadrian explained. "I'll just get him settled back to sleep."
"Do you want to bring him downstairs to sleep with us?" Tim offered.
Hadrian smiled. "Thanks Tim but I'd rather him not get into the habit of sleeping with us" he replied. "Especially once the baby comes."
Tim smiled. "How do you think he's going to react to becoming a big brother?" He asked.
"Probably not very well at first" Hadrian said thoughtfully. "He was looking forward to his godmother having her baby but he's still feeling a bit insecure being here with us instead of his grandmother."
"Is your ex fiancé his godmother?" Tim asked.
"No Hermione was one of my best friends but I don't know how much I can trust her now. she's married to Ginny's brother and the whole family reacted badly when I broke off my engagement. She supported me at the time but I know Ginny was her first female friend and the closest. I was disappointed to hear that she's barely spent any time with Teddy over the last few years. I expected better from her. She knew I'd left the country and I know Andi never told her I was visiting" Hadrian rambled. "She also wrote that biography I gave you to read."
"Stop worrying about it now and come and get some sleep" Tim said coaxingly as he stood and carefully picked up the sleeping child from Hades lap laying him in his bed and kissing his forehead.
Hadrian smiled. "You don't resent him?" He said as they left the room.
"I always wanted a family, at least a couple of kids close together in age. I'm glad our baby is going to have a big brother to look out for him or her" Tim said smiling. "And he's such a sweetheart. I can't help but love him."
"He is a darling! Andi did a great job raising him" Hadrian agreed recasting the monitoring spells.
"You do a great job with him too. It's obvious how much he loves you" Tim said hugging his boyfriend. "You're going to be a great Dad."
"You are too" Hadrian replied kissing Tim. "Do you want me to apparate us back to bed or will you walk down to meet me?"
"I'll walk" Tim replied. He watched as Hades disappeared with a small pop. It wasn't loud but for a moment the air pressure in the room dropped slightly and Tim who'd had inner ear issues most of his life realised that's what had woken him earlier.
"When's his grandmother's funeral?" Tim asked when he arrived downstairs.
Hadrian sighed. "Tomorrow but we can't possibly go" he said regretfully. "I can't subject Teddy to two more international portkeys and I can't show up in Britain without causing a scene. Andi and I discussed it, she'd rather Teddy not go to the funeral anyway. Not to mention it will be in the middle of the night here and that there will be people there who will object to me having custody and taking Teddy out of the country. And my ex and all her family will be there."
"Could you go in disguise? I could look after Teddy for you if you wanted to go" Tim offered.
"No, but thanks for offering" Hadrian replied smiling. "I said my goodbyes the night she died."
"You were there when she died?" Tim asked concerned about his boyfriend.
"Yeah she called me to come and take Teddy because she wasn't well enough to look after him anymore and I got there as she had the attack. If she's been well enough to survive it, I would have portkeyed her back here to see if there was anything the American healers could do that the British healer she'd seen didn't know about, but she wasn't. She didn't want me to call anyone else so I sat with her for a couple of hours. We talked about what she hoped for me and Teddy. It was a surprisingly positive experience" Hadrian said reminiscently.
"Were you close to her?" Tim asked.
"Recently yes. I'd only met her once before Remus and Tonks were killed but I knew nothing about babies and she was really good about helping me learn to look after him. Neither of us any other family and to be honest Teddy's godmother isn't really interested. Hermione went to Australia to look for her parents straight after the war and stayed with them until it was time to go back to school, then there was her work and apparently since I left she's got married had and is expecting her own baby which surprised me. I would have thought she'd want to have a career first, especially as I can't see her husband or his family tolerating her leaving the child to return to work" Hadrian rambled.
"Is that more of the old time beliefs that married women don't work outside the home?" Tim asked.
"No I know lots of married women who did but Mrs Weasley chose not to and her other daughters-in-law have all done the same so far" Hadrian replied.
"Peer pressure from Mama?" Tim asked jokingly.
Hadrian smiled "Probably. She's very determined to get her own way and opposing her can be unpleasant" he admitted.
-o0o-
In Hades, Tim had met his perfect match. Neither of them enjoyed parties or clubs and while both appreciated the odd pint down their local pub or meal out they were perfectly happy hanging out together at home watching movies snuggled up on the couch or doing their own thing. Tim writing or playing with computer code trying to invent better programs to complete searches quicker, and Hadrian studying or reading up on the care of babies. The addition of Teddy hadn't caused too much disruption to their lifestyle and Tim quickly came to love the little boy almost as much as Hadrian did. Tollie was a great help of course and while Tim was still a little uncomfortable with having a servant underfoot all the time he appreciated her cheerful help. (Hadrian hasn't yet admitted to him that there would be another two elves in the house and three in the garden- they'd begged to be allowed to help and he hadn't had the heart to say no. Hadrian didn't love jazz the way Tim did but had come to appreciate the soft cheerful sounds in the background as they worked and was always happy to accompany him to the occasional concert.
Tim still didn't know much about Hades' job though he'd been able to tell him more now he knew about magic he knew Hades worked a couple of cases per month usually three or four days at a time which must make going to his high school classes difficult.
Now that Tim was recovered enough to apparate without pain they went over to check on the progress every day or so. Quincy showed them around proudly and they were amazed with how much the elf and his team of largely invisible workers achieved each day. Hadrian had asked them if they could renovate 12 Grimmauld Place and Quincy had sent a team of elves in London to do it.
There were surprisingly few arguments over the decoration and furnishing of the house each happy to concede if the other felt strongly about a colour scheme. Tim felt Hadrian should have the final say as he was paying for the house and the alterations but Hadrian had insisted Tim should also have choices as it would be his home too. Tim had tried to bring up paying for at least a share of the house even though he would have to take out a loan to pay more than 10% but Hadrian just showed Tim his latest bank statement and said it wasn't necessary. "Money and ownership isn't important to me. I'm happy to pay for the house, particularly if you need to keep paying rent on your apartment to hide the fact you've moved in with me."
"I don't think that will be necessary. I'll just register a change of address though it might be better if I claim my new address to be an apartment in the building rather than the whole house. Otherwise it might raise questions about my finances" Tim replied.
Hadrian laughed. "You could always tell them you were a kept man. The toy boy for a multi-millionaire" he teased.
"You look more like you're my toy boy" Tim teased back.
Hadrian laughed again glad that Tim was becoming more relaxed about their age difference and also their financial situation. It had helped that Hadrian had let Tim purchase all the furniture for the nursery. Most of the rest of the house was furnished with antiques from the Potter and Evander vaults though they also bought some delightfully squishy couches for the small family lounge area.
Quincy had brought them paint and fabric swatches and they had fun choosing colours for the various rooms.
Tim's office was in soft greens and blues, very calming while Hadrian's private space was cream and gold with touches of scarlet, a toned down version of the Gryffindor common room. Their bedroom was sea greens and warm creams which managed to be luxurious and elegant while still feeling inviting and homely. Teddy's room was done the same as his room back home had been until he was old enough to choose his own colours and decorations and the nursery was a cheerful blend of yellows and pale oranges which worked better that Tim thought it would. Hadrian also insisted on decorating a guest room in Sarah's favourite colours as well as one that should appeal to Penny's more bohemian tastes.
The formal dining room was red and the kitchen and casual dining area a cheerful yellow and white with a Hamptons style kitchen and wooden benchtops. Other than the bathrooms which were the most decadent thing Tim had ever seen with a Jacuzzi type tub, large double shower and rain forest decorated look, the whole house seemed casual and cosy.
The elves also brought the gardens back to their previous splendour and Tim was amazed as Hadrian conjured play equipment for Teddy.
"Why'd we buy all that furniture if you could just make it like that?" He asked.
"It takes a lot of energy and it won't last more than a day or two which for play equipment is good because I can make it a bit different every time to keep up his interest and extend his motor skills as they develop. But for furniture we want to use the same way all the time it would take too much energy to be constantly re-transfiguring it all" Hadrian explained.
Tim nodded.
"We might have to buy some play things too if the healer limits how much magic I can do later in the pregnancy but I have a lot of magic to burn so it's fine at the moment" Hadrian added.
"So wizarding children are totally spoilt for toys" Tim asked.
"Not as much as you would think. The only wizarding family with children I stayed with were the Weasleys who didn't have a lot in the way of toys. I think a lot of magic went into keeping the house standing because it never would have stood up without magic. Playground equipment like this is a purely muggle idea. Ginny was ten when I met the Weasleys but the only toys they had were brooms and quidditch stuff and chess and gobstones and stuffed animals, I never heard of any other kids having other stuff either. Neville's family was quite wealthy but he mostly spoke about his greenhouse.
A/N: Thank you to Merlenyn , Kourtney Uzu Yato, Locket1, julschristine975, mithrilandtj, Guest, Silvermane1, Dedicated4reading, DevilishAngel666, Gracie15Trowa, Village-Mystic, Maben00, Bella216, DS2010, serenityselena, mayawene, tat5934, EMReader81, charm13insomnia, xDarklightx, lilly-flower15, Rori Potter, acherongoddess, buterflypuss, gabrieljuarezl, Nix09, of-B'lack-M'agick, Dark Elf Zeera, lovingsiri, zorra101, dragonkeeper106, Aurora Butterfly, handcl, Smashman44, TacticalFan, Icequeenk, SpitFyreForever, arana7, Silkylove13, aoin88, TheHuntresss, tnviolet, angearget1, weathergal08, ilikechocolatemilk27, AuroraxHime, articwolf12, slashlover91, EMReader81, kira690, prof M and Muuwi for your support.