Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or NCIS or any of their characters. I do however own this story, I wrote it and I do NOT give permission for anyone to post it anywhere else. If you want to share it post a link.
-o0o-
"There's one thing I don't get" Tim said.
"Yeah?" Hadrian asked.
"If you can use this magic portkey thing to go from here to London in eighteen minutes how come you were flying the day we met?" he asked.
"Because Portkeys are strictly regulated and registered in the country of origin. So I can take a return portkey from here to London and all the paperwork is in the American ministry of magic where nobody knows me and my magical signature is registered as Hadrian Black. At the British Ministry of magic everyone recognises me by name and the whole bloody place leaks information like a sieve. If I'd taken a portkey to America, then everybody and their Crup would have known about it by the end of the day" Hadrian explained. "Besides I consult for the non-magical American government agencies too so there had to be records that I'd entered the country legally."
Tim laughed. "Yeah that could be a problem" he agreed. "Is the British government really that bad?"
"I don't think the British muggle government is much different than yours when it comes to things like corruption and information leaks. The wizarding government was corrupt to the core until the end of the war. Kingsley's doing his best to fix it and it is improving but the whole place is used to a horrifying lack of confidentiality and minor bribes" Hadrian replied. "The judicial system wasn't any better but at least the worst offenders were killed off or arrested in the final battle."
"It's still hard to believe there could actually be a war in Britain without the rest of the world knowing about it" Tim said shaking his head.
"Even the British muggle word didn't know, though they were aware of an increase in terrorist activity they blamed it on the IRA. The whole British wizarding world is tiny compared to the muggle world and to be honest the whole Dark side was only a couple of hundred people until the last year when they took over the ministry. You'd probably consider it more of a terrorist group than a civil war. The truly amazing thing is that most British pure bloods have no idea about the muggle world. They are totally shut off from it and they think that their world is as big as yours, they also think they're superior. Even the witches and wizards that don't believe that being pure blood makes you better than having a muggle ancestry believe that muggles are less than wizards. I think it is because back when we hid our world during the witch trials we were better educated and capable of a lot of things muggles couldn't do and the wizarding world really hasn't changed that much since then so they don't realise that the muggle world has."
"They really think that non magical people still live in one room mud huts and cook on open fires and walk everywhere?" Tim asked shocked.
"Well some of them must have realised that muggle education has improved because we don't have classes to teach muggleborn children how to read and write and bathe themselves anymore but it doesn't seem to have translated to the wider population.
"It's actually a problem for the purebloods because if a wizard does get out into the muggle world they don't even have basic road sense and if they survive almost being run over then they come back with stories of being attacked without warning and then people are more afraid of muggles and the isolation continues. And if they went into a non-magical building they would think there weren't any lights because they have no idea what light switches look like or how to use them."
Tim chuckled, "Is that why you were so reluctant to have your friends come to visit?" he asked.
"Mostly yeah. Hermione's muggleborn so she would have been fine but there's no way Ron could have stayed here even half a day without you either finding out about magic or thinking he'd escaped from an asylum" Hadrian replied. "He was also nearly physically sick when I explained to him what homosexual meant, and that was without me even hinting that I could be talking about anyone he knew let alone myself."
"You had to explain it?" Tim asked shocked.
"I've never met an openly gay witch or wizard. I know it isn't actually against the law but I really think that's because it's so ingrained in everyone that it isn't acceptable. You have to remember this is a society where arranged marriages were common until about thirty years ago and even now nearly a quarter of my classmates would have been betrothed before they started at Hogwarts"
Hadrian tried to explain.
Tim's phone rang before either of them could say anything else.
"McGee" Tim greeted the caller formally.
"Timothy. How are you this morning my boy?" Ducky greeted him.
"I feel fine, I slept well and my shoulder feels much better. And yes I've taken the antibiotics" Tim replied touched by the elder man's almost fatherly concern"
"You sound better. Is the dressing still dry and intact?" Ducky asked.
"Yeah I haven't touched it but it doesn't look like it needs redressing" Tim reassured Ducky pulling his T-shirt out to look at the dressing.
"I'll come and take a look at it on my way home then" Ducky replied cheerfully. "Is there anything I can bring you, when I come. Fresh milk and bread perhaps?"
"No my friends have taken care of that. You don't have to come Ducky, I'm sure it's fine" Tim protested lightly.
"Just be thankful I've talked Jethro, Abby, Tony and Ziva out of accompanying me" Ducky replied. "At least I think I've managed to put them off descending on you until tomorrow."
"Thanks Ducky!" Tim said gratefully.
"I'll see you around 1800 then my boy, take care til then" Ducky replied disconnecting.
"Ducky's coming by around six to check my shoulder"
"Oh shite" Hadrian exclaimed.
"Is something wrong with my shoulder, or with Ducky?" Tim asked concerned.
"Only that it's probably too healed. That potion last night should have accelerated the healing process. If Ducky's use to looking at wounds he'll notice that it looks like you got shot a lot longer ago than it should."
"Ducky's one of the finest medical examiners in the country, and yes he looks after all the teams when they're injured. He will definitely notice" Tim said. "But he won't know how or why it healed so quickly, and I've healed quicker than he expected before just probably not this much quicker. He'll have no reason to believe that it was anything you've done."
"Ducky's your medical examiner, is he Dr Mallard?" Hadrian asked making the connection.
"Yeah why?" Tim asked.
"He knows about magic" Hadrian replied. "After the case we had together the medical examiner would have had to have their memories adjusted to hide the real cause of death but he didn't because he already knew about magic. He's not a wizard himself but he has or had a relative that is."
-o0o-
"Is Tim sick?" Teddy asked Hadrian in a small voice, they were up in Hadrian's apartment playing on the floor while Tim was downstairs napping.
"He was badly hurt at work but he's getting better" Hadrian replied, hugging his godson.
"So he's not going to go to heaven like Mummy and Daddy and Grandma?" Teddy asked uncertainly.
Hadrian kissed him on the top of his head. "No Teddy, Tim will be all better in another day or two. He's going to move into our new house with us when the elves are finished fixing it. He's going to read stories and help us make play forts and go to the park and the zoo with us and teach you so many new things about the non-magical world and we are going to be a family." Hadrian hoped he wasn't making promises and plans that Tim wouldn't want to keep. Tim had seemed accepting of Teddy's place in his life and after what Tim had said about his own childhood and relationship with his father, Hadrian knew Tim would never deliberately make Teddy feel unwanted or insecure about his place in their family.
Teddy smiled and settled back to his toys happily.
-o0o-
"Quincy" Hadrian called mid afternoon after Tim and Teddy had both woken from their afternoon naps.
"Master Hadrian" Quincy replied popping in.
"Is it a convenient time to talk" Hadrian asked.
"Yes Master Hadrian" Quincy replied.
"How is the house coming along? Would it be safe for us to come and look it over this afternoon?" Hadrian asked.
"The wards is done and the house is safe. The floors and walls and windows is fixed. The celingses is painted. We's is needing yous to choose colours for the insides wallses. The kitchen and bathrooms will takes another weeks but it would be good if yous want to choose how you want thems now too" Quincy said.
"It sounds like they've done a lot of work" Tim said.
"The house was structurally sound but it had been vacant for years so it needed a lot of updating and cosmetic work" Hadrian explained. "What about the electric wiring? This will be a muggle home too" he asked Quincy.
"The wiring for the electricities be done" Quincy said.
Hadrian put on rubber gloves and opened Tim's laptop to pull up the listing he'd saved and the photo's he'd taken when he viewed the house the other day.
"I take it the rubber gloves is a magic thing?" Tim asked.
"Yes I'm not sure it's necessary but magic and electronics don't mix and I'd hate to wreck your computer. I think that's why I had so much trouble with the phone you bought me. My new one has a special magic hardening but they still don't last as long as they should. I didn't know you could get phones like that, otherwise I would have stopped you from buying me a normal one."
Tim looked at the listing. The house is a wreck it's going to take months for the contractors to fix that. And cost a fortune" Tim said.
"No It will only take another two or three weeks. That's the advantage of magic" Hadrian said.
"The land alone is worth a fortune" Tim said anxiously looking at the address. "Hadrian I can't pay my half of this."
"I didn't ask you to pay half" Hadrian said. "I can easily afford the house Tim. It should be a similar commute to the Navy yard maybe even a little shorter."
"Even when you didn't know if I wanted to be with you anymore you still considered my commute" Tim said touched, though he was still uneasy about not paying his share of the house.
"Of course. I wanted you to move in with us. I think you'll love the manor it's got some real charm even with how filthy it was and the size of the block and high walls around it means Teddy will be able to play outside without taking his potion. These are the other housed I looked at." Hadrian quickly pulled up each house he'd visited describing why it hadn't been suitable.
-o0o-
Tim couldn't drive with his shoulder and Hadrian knew how much it hurt to be side-along apparated or portkeyed with an injury and also decided not to subject Tim to his still jerky driving style so they took a taxi to view the house. "Can you wait?" Hadrian asked the driver.
"On the clock, sure" the driver replied smiling. It was a slow time of day and being able to stop and eat his afternoon snack while being paid was a real bonus.
Hadrian led Tim through the gates which now looked like new and up the overgrown drive to the house. It had changed considerably the roof, gutters and windows looked like new and the brickwork repaired perfectly.
"This place is huge. We don't need all this space" Tim said.
"Yeah but it was the only house that had the privacy we needed for Teddy to be able to play outside without taking his potions, within a reasonable commute that wasn't actually in need of pulling down and rebuilding. And it's gorgeous inside (or it will be) and it was a real bargain because of the state it was in. If I hadn't have bought it a developer probably would have and pulled it down." Hadrian explained.
"It's going to cost a fortune to heat" Tim said mildly.
"Oh no master Tim. The runes will helps heats" Quincy said.
"Runes?" Tim said looking at Hadrian.
"Think magical insulation. The environmental control runes will keep the entire house at about 21 degrees Celsius" and the humidity comfortable, regardless of the weather outside" Hadrian explained.
"I think I'm going to love living in a magical house. What else will they do?" Tim said smiling.
"The house is fireproofs, termite proofs, decay proofs, rust proofs, mould proofs and flood proofs the windows is waterproofs and weather proofs and unbreakables. The wards prevents mean intents, theifs, and spys or scrying, also prevents peoples from noticing magics. Also prevents spiders, Quincy not be liking spiders."
Tim laughed.
"The runic arrays will also run the hot water so it can be set at different temperatures from each tap" Hadrian said enthusiastically, "So we can have our shower hot but Teddy's bath will never be hot enough to burn him or the baby. Really the utility bills here probably won't be any more than they are in your flat."
"Did you set wards on my apartment?" Tim asked.
"Only a mild intent ward to prevent access to anyone who meant you harm. Too many wards would interfere with TV and mobile phone reception."
"Is that why Tony hasn't broken into and searched my apartment lately?"
Hadrian blushed. "Probably, I might have overpowered it a bit, but if Tony was searching for you because he was worried about you the wards wouldn't stop him only if he was just snooping or trying to prank you would they affect him."
"Wait does that mean my computer, internet connection and cell phone won't work here?" Tim asked concerned.
Hadrian pulled out his phone and checked. "It won't work within 2 metres of the fence line but it should be fine in the house itself so long as you're not holding it against the floor or walls. The only problem is whether anyone notices the phone black spot as you walk past the property on this side of the street. If you're having trouble with them after we move in we could go to the magical electronics shop to see if they have a way of fixing the problem."
They finished looking around and headed out into the back garden.
"Do you like the house?" Hadrian asked.
"It's beautiful, and you're right about the character. It's going to be a lovely home" Tim said smiling. The house was way bigger than the four of them needed but so long as it wasn't decorated too formally it would still feel homely.
"So you'll move in with us? We can be a family?" Hadrian asked happily.
"Yes Hades. I'll gladly move in with you and make a family with you, Teddy and the baby" Tim said.
"Let's go home. You should be resting" Hadrian said. "We'll choose colours for you tonight and decide what sort of kitchen and bathrooms we want" he told Quincy.
The taxi driver looked a little nervous when they got back to the car. "Did you know this is a cellphone dead spot?" he asked.
"No I didn't the phone works fine up in the house" Hadrian said feigning surprise.
-o0o-
"Hades, can you get me some books that tell me more about magic and what it can and can't do?" Tim asked. "I believe you but the scientific half of my brain is going nuts trying to explain it and I don't want to drive you mad with questions." 'Or ask too many and sound like an idiot.' He added silently.
"I'm happy to answer your questions but I can get you books if you'd rather but you won't be able to explain magic with science. Magic has its own laws but it really doesn't follow many of your established rules of physics, chemistry, or biology" Hadrian replied. "It's making it really hard for me at school to remember stuff that I know with magic isn't always true."
Tim laughed.
"I don't know how good the books here might be, magical Britain banned all books from magical America decades ago. But Hermione found the inconsistencies in a lot of magical books would drive her mad. Authors in Britain aren't good at differentiating between what they know as a fact and what they believe and lack of advances in magical printing and the quality of magical preservation spells often meant that a book hundreds of years old doesn't look any older than a book written recently."
"So it's like there's still books out there stating that the world is flat and nothing's been done to mark these books as debunked historical perspectives?" Tim asked disbelievingly.
Hadrian nodded. "Not that extreme perhaps but yeah."
"Do you want me to go upstairs? Ducky will be here soon" Hadrian asked as he looked over and checked the time.
"I'd rather not have to introduce you as a neighbour and casual acquaintance" Tim replied. "I think we could trust Ducky to keep the secret. Gibbs is the one he's most likely to tell and he already knows."
"I don't mind, but it's not my life that's going to be affected if you're wrong" Hadrian said smiling.
"I'll go if you like."
"No stay. I'd like you to meet Ducky, He won't judge us" Tim decided.
"I should send Teddy up to Tollie, that way he won't hear anything if Ducky doesn't approve" Hadrian said.
Tollie popped in. "You called Tollie, Master Hadrian?"
"I was about to Tollie. Can you take Teddy upstairs for a while? Tim's doctor is about to visit" Hadrian said smiling at the eager little elf. "Teddy can you go with Tollie?"
"I'se takes and gives little Masters a bath" Tollie suggested. "Master Teddys loves his bathses"
"Bubble Bath" Teddy agreed laughing and reached out for Tollie. They popped away and Hadrian put away the toys he'd been playing with before starting dinner.
"There should be enough for three if you want to ask Ducky to stay for dinner" he said to Tim. "I'll just pop the bread rolls in the oven to go with it."
"Thanks Hadrian. It smells terrific"
"It was a pity your Mum couldn't stay for dinner. It was the best chicken korma I've made yet" Hadrian said smiling.
"I'm sure Ducky will appreciate it far more than the Admiral would've" Tim replied.
"Oh I must have the wrong apartment" Ducky said when Hadrian opened the door.
"No. this is Tim's apartment. You must be his friend Ducky" Hadrian smiled ushering him in. "Tim's watching movies on the bed."
"I'm afraid you have the advantage" Ducky said.
"I'm Hadrian, I'm a friend of Tim's I live upstairs" Hadrian introduced himself holding out his hand.
"Pleased to meet you. I've heard Tim mention a friend Hades. Is that you?" Duck asked shaking his hand.
"Yeah he calls me Hades" Hadrian said grinning.
"I was of the opinion his friend Hades was an a.. agent" Ducky said.
"You meant to say an adult" Hadrian said dryly. "I am. I'm also an agent, secret service seconded to the FBI."
"I'm sorry, it's a sign of age you know, to think that people are younger than they are. I always have trouble with the new cadets, to me they still look like they should be in high school, but I remember resenting it when I first qualified too. In fact…"
"Hey Ducky" Tim called out interrupting the story that was no doubt coming.
Ducky tried to fuss over Tim but he looked too well for him to worry. "You must be taking excellent care of him" he said to Hadrian. "He's almost as stubborn about refusing to rest as Jethro."
"I threatened to tie his good arm and both feet to his bed" Hadrian said grinning. Tim tried to control his blush. It was true just not in the context of making him rest when he was injured.
He eased off Tim's loose shirt and gently peeled off the dressing. Tim and Ducky both looked at the wound in astonishment. It was nearly healed.
"I don't know how you healed up so quickly but it looks good. The risk of it becoming infected is low but I want you to be careful not to over stretch or move the arm, we don't want to risk reinjuring the muscle" Ducky ordered. "You don't have to stay in bed but I don't want you back at work until Monday and you'll be on desk duty until your physical therapist clears you for the field."
"Would you like to stay for dinner? Hades says there's easily enough for three. He's made curry and Indian bread" Tim invited.
"My dear boy I wouldn't want to impose" Ducky protested.
"You wouldn't be imposing. I'm grateful to you for looking after me and Hades has been interested in meeting the team. We just haven't had the same time off lately and I'm not sure I want to deal with him meeting Tony.
"Not to mention I doubt he'd get served at the bars Tony likes, without pulling his ID and making a scene" Ducky suggested.
Tim laughed. "He's not a kid" he said.
"Yes he told me he's an agent" Ducky said.
Tim frowned, Hadrian almost never mentioned being an agent to anybody they'd met. "Why'd he tell you that?"
"I mentioned you telling me Hades was a fellow agent and he confirmed it" Ducky said flushing slightly in remembrance of how nearly he'd been rude to Timothy's friend.
"You told him he looked too young to be an agent" Tim guessed. "It's okay he knows he does. It's the strangest thing, he looks years younger now than when we met a couple of years ago. Of course that was just after he left the warzone so I guess stress does that to a person."
"Yes indeed so he's a veteran?" Ducky asked curiously.
"Not a military veteran but he did grow up and work in a war zone for many years" Tim replied.
Ducky was surprised when he walked into the kitchen to see Hadrian strapping a child into a highchair. "Hello Ducky. How's Tim's shoulder?" Hadrian asked, looking slightly anxious.
"It's healing remarkably well" Ducky reported. "There's no need to worry so long as he doesn't overdo it. I've taken the stitches out but I'd recommend no heavy lifting for at least two more weeks."
"This is my godson Teddy. Teddy this is Tim's friend and doctor Ducky" Hadrian introduced.
"Quack quack" Teddy said clapping his hands.
"Oh dear I'm sorry Doctor" Hadrian apologised. "Yes Teddy ducks do say quack quack but it's Doctor Ducky's name and it isn't nice to make fun of people's names" he tried to explain to the little boy. He turned and saw Tim trying to contain his laughter just out of Ducky's hearing.
"I thought he was going to stay upstairs with Tollie" Tim said mildly. "Not that he's not welcome to eat with us" he added not wanting Hades to think he didn't want the little boy around.
He got a bit upset after his bath wanting Andi to come and read to him so Tollie brought him down for me. He's okay now though and I'll read to him after dinner."
"Teddy's just lost his grandmother who he was living with" Tim explained to Ducky.
"Oh the poor little tyke" Ducky exclaimed. "May I tell him a story while you finish getting dinner ready?"
"I'm sure he'd love that" Hadrian smiled.
"Will he eat Korma?" Tim asked.
"It's pretty mild but I'll mix a little more coconut milk in his" Hadrian replied. "He's a very good eater generally."
It only took a few minutes now that Hadrian wasn't having to entertain the little boy as he worked and they sat and ate companionably.
"That was delicious. Did you make the bread as well?" Ducky complimented.
"Yes I've been taking an Indian cooking class. I've always found cooking to be a good stress relief" Hadrian replied smiling. "And it's nice to cook for people who appreciate it." The meal had been pleasant, full of stories of the old country from Ducky who was amazed Hadrian had gone to school in his beloved Scotland though he didn't seem to have seen much of the country. Hadrian had initially tried to steer the reminiscences towards the team wanting to find out more about the people Tim worked with but backed down when he saw Tim frowning.
After dinner Hadrian and Teddy went back upstairs leaving tin and Ducky alone.
"Who took the kill shot Ducky?" Tim asked.
"Impossible to tell my boy. All three shots would have killed him within minutes. Your bullet pierced the abdominal aorta, Tony's the carotid artery and Gibbs the heart itself. I.A. have already cleared the three of you. Don't worry about it my boy he'd killed before this case and he would have killed again if you hadn't caught him."
"Thanks Ducky" Tim replied. "He would have killed one of us if he'd had time to get off another shot. I'm not losing sleep over the possibly that I killed him."
"That's good my boy. I like your young friends" Ducky said.
Tim smiled but didn't offer any further information.
"I don't think I need to check on that shoulder again but do call me if there's any discharge or increased swelling. Goodnight my boy"
"Night Ducky. I'll see you next week" Tim replied.
Tim texted Hadrian once he'd heard Ducky's Morgan drive away and Hadrian came down with another potion to finish the healing. "There's a stronger healing potion but that wouldn't even leave a scar which I'd guess would be a bad thing in this situation" he said.
"Yes, the team would be expecting to see a scar" Tim replied.
"Now you know about magic I could give you a vial of potion to keep in your pocket in case you get hurt in a situation where you can use it before anyone sees the injury" Hadrian offered.
"Is there any injuries I shouldn't use it for?" Tim asked.
"There's no injuries it would harm you to use it on though it won't work well against dark magic or injuries caused magical creatures. The only risk is that you'll be found before the potion finishes working which tales about fifteen minutes, and somebody will see injuries disappearing before their eyes" Hadrian replied.
"Or gunshots where the bullet is still inside?" Tim added.
"I hadn't thought of that. Wizards don't typically use guns in England" Hadrian admitted. "But yeah you're right it could cause problems. The other thing you need to be careful of is that the potion uses your magic to heal so you'll feel drained. It's best if you can sleep after taking it though it isn't strictly necessary."
"That could also be a problem seeing as the team wouldn't know I'd been injured" Tim replied thoughtfully.
"It could still save your life though Tim if you were in a position where help wasn't immediately available" Hadrian said hoping he wouldn't hesitate to use the potion if he really needed it. "Just remember you can't give it to your teammates, not just because they don't know about magic, but it won't work on them."
Hadrian was right about the potion making him sleepy and he was a bit disappointed, he'd hoped to be able to make love tonight. They hadn't had sex since a week or so before their fight because Hadrian had been feeling nauseas and Tim felt the need to reconnect with his partner. Still drifting off to sleep with Hadrian's arms wrapped around him felt good too and there was always tomorrow.
A/N: Thank you to Guest, Kourtney Uzu Yato, HPSLASHADDICT(Guest), xDarklightx, charm13insomnia, julschristine975, icyquest4, Rori Potter, Dedicated4reading, lilly-flower15, Village-Mystic, gabrieljuarezl, Maben00, buterflypuss, Winged Dire Wolf7, sezeny, acherongoddess, Bella216, Bee (Guest), DS2010, Merlenyn, ElysiumPhoenix, serenityselena, Silvermane1, runaway demon, shidoni16, DanaeJesabel, aayjames, strawberry-reader, Undine-Genest, Princessmeg8989, misssmartt, MaliciousDelerium, YukiyaS2, egram23, TheAngelsarewatching, Melshenia Kari, foxgirl24, KishuMai, aoin88, RabitNut, bluekyubi1985, Mithalis, sakurakhadag, I'mfreakylikethat, travainiaqueen, KitRoFei and rkmpjohns for your support.
