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Hadrian had heard from Ron and Hermione telling him that all of the Weasleys except Bill and Charlie had been compelled to think of him as both family and Ginny's future husband. From the age of the interference Dumbledore was the main suspect, not that that mattered anymore after the old man's death. Ron speculated that that was why they'd all taken his breaking his engagement to their daughter/sister so hard. Hadrian suspected that he could be right but he still didn't receive any apologies from his brothers now that the compulsions had been removed. He didn't care that much, he wasn't of a mind to be forgiving and for them to do that to someone they'd been spelled to think of as a member of their own family somehow made it worse not better in spite of the excuses Ron was giving him.
Arthur and the boys all had their compulsions removed quite easily and were able to return to their normal lives and work within a couple of days. Molly however had been kept in hospital by the mind healers and while she was making good progress and now allowed to have the family come and visit, wasn't expected to be released for at least another couple of months.
Ginny however had had only two family visits, one from her father and one from Ron acting as her legal guardian. Neither had gone well, Ginny had become violent when they refused to take her home and had expressed her ongoing infatuation with the boy-who-lived and her unwavering belief that he would soon come looking for her to renew their relationship.
The healers confirmed that all of the compulsions and implanted thoughts and beliefs had been removed but because they'd been layered on top of Ginny's already badly damaged mind from her possession by Voldemort that had gone untreated they were unable to get Ginny to accept that her fantasies and desires were not based on reality.
The healers had confided that it may be months before any of the family could visit again without her suffering a setback. They had also confided to Ron that they did not currently believe she would ever be able to live a normal life but were still hopeful that she could return to her parent's or guardian's care and supervision one day in a year or two, if Molly herself was completely cured and they were prepared to make a full-time commitment to her supervision. To be honest Harry doubted anyone but Molly would agree to make this sacrifice and he didn't think that being restricted to the Burrow alone with Molly day after day would be in Ginny's best interest. Still it wasn't his problem and having Ginny home to look after would at least keep Molly too busy to be interfering in everyone else's lives.
-o0o-
Hadrian put the Weasleys' problems outside his mind as he concentrated on his own family and the joy of his pregnancy. He was much less ill this time around which he put down to knowing the triggers for his nausea in advance and being able to avoid them and being far less stressed. Last time he'd barely been able to enjoy his pregnancy with the stress of trying to tell Tim all his secrets and settling Teddy into their lives, dealing with the little boy's grief and the stress of going from being a couple to a family of three soon to be four.
He was putting on weight a little earlier but his healer was pleased with his health and Tim promised all the support he wanted to regain his fighting condition as soon as the baby was born. Work was mostly pretty boring being mostly consults and desk based work but he was enjoying the time spent assisting training at the Auror Academy.
Trainee Auror Caddie was repeating her final year on probation and was quite rude to Hadrian as she blamed him for failing her work placement with Auror Fox and his team. Hadrian ignored her but one of the senior trainers pulled her aside and informed her that they were honoured to have Senior Auror Black's assistance and she should be treating him with the respect shown any visiting Senior Auror who came to give them a lesson.
"All the other visiting Aurors have given us a battle demonstration," Caddie said to her classmates trying to stir up discontent. "Auror Black refused. I wonder why?"
"He's on desk duty so either he's injured or ill," one of her classmates replied.
"Or being investigated for something," Trainee Caddie suggested spitefully.
"No, they wouldn't let him come and teach if he's under suspicion, and that wouldn't be a reason he couldn't duel," another classmate scoffed. "I don't know why you don't like him. He was great today. I learned a lot."
"I'm glad to hear it," the head trainer of the academy said stoutly. "Trainee Caddie what did you learn today?"
Caddie blushed and repeated the lessons she'd learned. "That's good, I shall expect you to use those lessons during your next assessment. And for your information Senior Auror Black's evaluation of your abilities in the field were entirely in agreeance with reports Senior Auror Fox and Aurors Becker, Davis and Wolfenden had already given. He had nothing to do with the marks you earned at the end of your work placement. You didn't fail because you made mistakes the day you were with Auror Black, it is expected that trainees will make mistakes. You failed because you didn't learn from your mistakes, and one of the things you failed to learn then or since is respect for your betters. I want you to send him a written apology for your attitude and inappropriate behaviour today." It may have been worded as a request but the trainees all knew it was an order and for Caddie to be reprimanded in front of others meant that Senior Auror Black was an important wizard, even though he did not seem to fit in the hierarchy of Auror command. Caddie wrote a stiffly worded and blatantly insincere apology and minded her P's and Q's with visiting lecturers and Aurors after that.
-o0o-
Tim's phone rang while they were relaxing outside with the children one Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks later. "It's my Mom" he said surprised. He hadn't heard from her since they'd chosen to obliviate his parents for their reactions to his upcoming wedding over a year ago. Tim had made the decision to stop trying to reach out to his mother just as he'd accepted years ago that he'd never be the man his father wanted him to be. Even if Heather McGee wanted to approve of him and his lifestyle, and he had no idea if she did or not, she just didn't have the emotional strength to go against his father's wishes and make her love and approval for her son dictate her actions.
"You should answer it" Hadrian said moving to wrap his arms around his husband. He called Tollie to watch the children while they were distracted.
"McGee" Tim answered formally, putting the phone on speaker. Hadrian erected a silencing charm around the two of them so the children wouldn't overhear.
"Hello Tim" his mother said hesitantly.
"Hello Mom" Tim replied, waiting to hear what she wanted.
"I haven't heard from you in a long time" Heather McGee said.
"No, I got tired of having to pretend to be who I'm not" Tim replied. "In the end every time I lie to you, pretending to be the son you and the Admiral want me to be, diminishes me. It isn't worth it."
"Penny told me you're married. You didn't even invite your family" Heather complained.
"I tried to introduce you to my fiancé and the Admiral was so rude to him and demanded I break off my friendship because he wasn't the right sort, and being seen in his company would harm my career prospects in the navy, before I even mentioned our true relationship. Why would I invite him to the wedding if I knew he would only make trouble? And you wouldn't have come without him," Tim retorted.
"You married a man?" Heather asked, sounding shocked though Tim was fairly sure Penny or Sarah would have told his mother that since they'd told her of the wedding.
"Yes, it's perfectly legal," Tim said evenly.
"But your career," Heather protested.
"I'm not in the Navy, Mom" Tim said calmly. "And discrimination over sexual preference is illegal in civilian employers."
"But what about children?" Heather asked upset.
"Do you mean what about grandchildren to love and spoil, or what about a son to carry on the McGee name?" Tim asked.
Heather was silent for a moment.
"Children are no longer impossible for gay couples Mom, but regardless of whether any of our children bear my name and/or DNA, I will not allow the Admiral to pressure them into joining the Navy and living up to his idea of the McGee tradition," Tim said forcefully. "Nor will I let him treat any child who doesn't want to follow his way of life as worthless. In fact, in my opinion that's a good reason not to give them my surname."
There was silence on the line for a moment.
"I'm sorry I let him make you feel that way" Heather said in a small voice.
"I spent years, wishing that I would be good enough in his eyes, that I could make him proud of me in some way and make up for the fact I couldn't join the Navy with my seasickness. Years thinking that our relationship was my fault, and hating myself because I wasn't the son he wanted," Tim said quietly.
Hadrian hugged him.
Heather started to say something but Tim interrupted her. "And then I became a father and I realised it wasn't the son's job to try to be good enough, to become a replica of the father. It's the Admiral who failed me, not me who failed him."
"You have a son?" Heather whispered in shock. "Why'd you never tell us about him."
"Stepson and I'm damn sure Penny mentioned him to you, he was at the wedding," Tim retorted. "I wonder why you rang if you're not prepared to accept my new family."
"Do his family accept you?" Heather asked.
"It's not a bloody competition Mom" Tim said angrily, well aware that his mother would hate to have Tim's in-laws think poorly of her even if she wasn't willing to support the marriage.
"Do they?" Heather pressed.
"If you mean his son then yes I've adopted him and he sees me as his second father. If you mean his mentor and his friends yes, they were glad to see him happy. He doesn't have any other family," Tim replied.
"Is he there, can I speak to him?" Heather asked.
"You're on speaker. He can hear you" Tim said.
"Timothy McGee, how dare you put me on speaker without telling me. I raised you to have better manners than that," Heather erupted.
"I didn't want Hadrian to worry about what you might have said. Almost anything you say would be better than the uncertainty of what he might imagine if he didn't know," Tim replied calmly.
"You could have warned me" Heather huffed.
"And have you turn into the perfect Admiral's wife and state the party line instead of being genuine? There would be no point in even having a conversation," Tim retorted.
"Your father will never accept this," Heather said anxiously.
"My father has never accepted me as the man I became, not since I graduated high school at fifteen and told him I wanted to go to MIT instead of Annapolis," Tim replied, unaffected. "I didn't need his acceptance then and I certainly couldn't care less about it now. Why did you call me Mom?"
"Penny's here visiting and suggested I should call," Heather admitted.
Tim sighed. "I'm sorry Hades. Penny tries hard to see the best in everyone, for a woman of her experience to be so wilfully blind is ridiculous," he said apologetically to Hadrian. "She hasn't spent enough time with my parents to really see what they're like and that this situation just isn't fixable."
"What do you mean by that Timothy McGee!" Heather screeched.
"That the Admiral is too bigoted to accept my marriage and you're too much of his door mat to go against his decision to disown me when he finds out," Tim said bluntly.
"You said that last time you were here and I didn't understand how you could think that then either. You're wrong," Heather protested.
"Then come for the weekend, by yourself, and meet my husband. Make up your own mind about him instead of disapproving just because the Admiral does," Tim invited.
"I couldn't, I have…" Heather stuttered.
"It's an open invitation Mom, come whenever you want. Wait until the Admiral's at sea if you must, or tell him you're coming to visit Sarah when she gets back to DC next month," Tim said rolling his eyes. "But come with an open mind or don't bother coming at all."
"Tim…" Heather protested, near tears.
"No Mom. If you're going to bring the Admiral's opinions and attitudes with you instead of getting to know Hadrian and seeing how happy we are together then what would be the point. We will both just end up hurting each other further. I'd rather you just left me alone to live my life than come here just to tell me how much you don't approve of me, the man I love and our family. And if you dare to hurt my children or try to tell them that there's something wrong with our lifestyle, I'll never forgive you.
"Children?" Heather asked shocked, "Your biological children?"
"Yes we have a one year old daughter and a second biological child on the way but Teddy will always be our firstborn son in every single way that matters. I will not stand for you treating him differently," Tim said firmly. "Nor will I allow the Admiral try to push any of my children into a career they don't want or let him disparage their achievements in any field they choose to pursue."
"Your biological children or your partner's?" Heather pressed.
"Husband, not partner!" Tim said firmly giving a great impression of a Gibbs growl, ignoring the question he had no intention of answering.
"What does your husband do for a living? Heather asked, having recognised the danger signal in Tim's voice.
"He's a British agent seconded to consult with the Alphabet Agencies though he mostly works with the FBI," Tim replied.
"Does that mean you will be moving to England at some stage?" Heather asked curiously.
"No, we don't plan to. Hadrian will resign and get a job over here if his secondment ends," Tim replied. "The FBI has already said they'd be happy to hire him directly."
"What happened to your husband's parents. Did they disown him?" Heather asked. In spite of the fit she'd thrown over being on speaker, she seemed to have forgotten about it again.
"My parents loved me so much that they deliberately placed themselves between me and a deranged mass murderer and willingly died to give me a chance to live Mrs McGee. I refuse to believe that something so inconsequential as my sexual orientation or who I chose to love could have made them stop loving me," Hadrian said fiercely.
There was silence at the other end of the phone and Tim wondered whether his Mom had hung up. He wanted to kiss Hades passionately for putting his mother in her place like that and reminding her of what true parental love should be but he couldn't do that while his mother might still be listening. Instead he wrapped both arms around his husband and lightly kissed his forehead. Hadrian smiled at him letting him know he wasn't upset.
"Are you still there, Mom?" Tim asked eventually.
"Is it true?" his mother almost whispered.
"Yeah Hades' Mom was an incredibly strong woman. His only clear memory of her was of her standing in front of the man who'd just killed her husband and begging him to kill her if he must and leave Hadrian alone. She would have had plenty of time to get away if she hadn't gone to get Hadrian before leaving. They fought and she managed to kill him as he killed her so Hadrian was saved, she lived a few minutes longer and her last words to him were that she loved him, she was proud of him and he was worth it," Tim said sombrely translating what Hadrian had told him of the battle and the conversation Hadrian had had with them using the resurrection stone into a muggle fight. Part of him badly wanted to add the words 'and you couldn't stand up to Dad for me even once,' but he knew he couldn't be so cruel to the woman who he did love in spite of her failings.
"Your father has meetings in Washington on the sixteenth of next month, I know it's a work day but could we possibly meet for lunch?" she asked.
"As long as neither of us is working a case that day?" Tim replied, making it clear to both Hadrian and his mother that he wasn't interested in meeting her on his own. "It would have to be somewhere near the naval yard."
"You're willing to risk being seen with him near the naval yard?" Heather asked surprised.
"I'm willing to be seen with him inside the Navy yard. Hadrian has met all my team and they know about our relationship, in fact my team leader and our medical examiner came to our wedding and neither of them has ever discriminated against me in any way because I have a husband instead of a wife. Hadrian and the children are listed as my dependents and Hadrian is my primary medical proxy. NCIS is a civilian agency and 'Don't ask, don't tell' is a thing of the past, Hadrian and my family aren't hidden away as if I am ashamed of them mother. I'm not the only gay or bisexual agent at NCIS any more than Hades is the only gay agent at the FBI, neither of us is harassed or discriminated against for our relationship or sexual preferences."
"Okay Tim, I'll meet you near the navy yard somewhere or do you want me to pick you up from NCIS?" Heather asked hopefully.
"You can pick me up, 12 noon on the sixteenth," Tim agreed, realising she was probably anxious about she and Hadrian both arriving before him.
"I'll see you then, Tim. I love you," Heather said.
"Love you too Mom," Tim replied before disconnecting.
-o0o-
"I could take the day off and meet you at the restaurant with Teddy and Rosie," Hadrian offered.
"That sounds good but I don't want them to hear her initial comments. Heaven only knows what she's going to say. I think we're going to have things we need to talk about on our own before bringing her near the kids," Tim replied, sighing.
"In that case a restaurant probably isn't the best option either. Though if we go to the diner or to Luigi's and I arrive first I could discretely cast a one way silencing charm around the booth," Hadrian suggested.
"Yeah I think that would be a good idea. My mom would be more comfortable at Luigi's than the diner," Tim replied.
"That's fine," Hadrian replied, refraining from mentioning that he didn't care how comfortable or uncomfortable Heather McGee was about their choice of restaurant.
-o0o-
Hermione excitedly read the ritual again. The rune circle diagrams and ritual instructions looked complete, there was nothing inherently dark in its magic, though like all rituals it was illegal in Britain. Not that it mattered, they'd already shown that they didn't care about that and they wouldn't be casting it in Britain. This could be what she'd been searching for but she needed to find out more about it. Whether it had successfully been used in the past and what unwanted effects and complications had occurred to the participants and the target of the ritual, and whether the knowledge of the ritual was lost when all ritual magic was banned or there was a reason witches and wizards stopped using it. She looked at the notes that were in the book and went off to find more works that might give her the answers she still needed before she decided to do anything with this.
Hours later she stretched, rubbed her aching eyes and decided she couldn't read any more that day. She packed up her work, determined that nobody would find out what she'd been researching. She didn't want to risk the information disappearing. Nor did she want to lose the chance to be the one to give her friend the information she'd worked so hard to find. She knew there were more than a few people who would happily destroy the information to keep it out of his hands and even more that would try to extort a high price from him in return for the ritual instructions. A price that might lead to heart rending decisions and a lifetime of regrets. So she secured her notes with vicious personal wards and carefully made sure there was no trace of her magical signature left on the books which she hand shelved in the exact positions she'd found them.
-o0o-
Tim had easily cleared it with Gibbs to take a couple of hours' comp time to have lunch with his mother before she arrived. Luckily, they'd closed their current case the day before and Tim had finished his reports and started working on cold cases by late morning so there was no reason he shouldn't take the time off.
Gibbs kept a careful eye on his youngest team member today, he was concerned by the return of several small nervous ticks he hadn't seen in years. Whatever was going on with this lunch with his mother had Tim more anxious than he'd been even on his wedding day. That reminded Gibbs that Tim's parents hadn't been at the wedding, Tim hadn't really explained why, but Gibbs had met the senior McGee years before when investigating a crime on his ship back before he'd made Admiral and Tim had joined his team. The man had been hard and unyielding with his crew and Tim had mentioned in the past how disappointed his father had been when he chose not to join the Navy in spite of his seasickness. He'd never before put the two bits of knowledge together in his mind before, now he wished he knew more about Tim's childhood and upbringing. He hung about the bullpen in spite of needing to go down and speak with both Abby and Ducky about a slight discrepancy in their reports, wanting to meet Mrs McGee.
Right on twelve Henry escorted a conservatively dressed lady up to their level.
"Thanks Henry," Tim said as they arrived at his desk. He looked around and saw his team clearly expecting introductions.
"Mom this is my team leader Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and my team members Special Agent Tony DiNozzo and Special Agent Ziva David, guys this is my mother, Heather McGee," Tim introduced.
"Pleased to meet you Ma'am," Gibbs said automatically, shaking her hand.
"Very pleased to meet McGee's Mommy" Tony said, not missing the opportunity to tease his colleague.
"It is lovely to meet you Mrs McGee," Ziva said politely.
"It is good to meet you all too. Tim always speaks highly of his team," Heather replied.
"We need to get going to meet Hadrian," Tim said.
"Enjoy your lunch," Gibbs said brusquely.
"Thanks Boss," Tim nodded.
"How are you Tim? You're looking well," Heather said.
"I am well, how are you?" Tim said, looking his mother over with slight concern. She looked tired and older than he had expected.
"It's been a difficult week, these meetings are very important for your father," Heather replied.
"I didn't ask about the Admiral's work, I asked how you are," Tim said pointedly. "You don't look well."
"I am a little tired," Heather admitted.
"The restaurant is about five blocks away, I'd normally walk it but we can take the car," Tim offered.
"No, I'm wearing sensible shoes, the walk won't harm me, and I'm sure parking would be an issue," Heather said not wanting to give him the opportunity to drop her at the door and leave her alone with his husband while he took his time finding a park.
"Is there a reason you're so worn out, are you well?" Tim asked.
"I'm perfectly well," Heather replied. "Have you heard from your sister?"
"I call her most weeks, she says she's doing well. She looked well when she came to Teddy's birthday party a couple of weeks ago," Tim said. "Do you plan to see her while you're here?"
"I'm hopeful I can see her tomorrow for coffee but she has a term paper due at 1700 tomorrow. Did she bring her new boyfriend to the party?" Heather asked.
"No she didn't," Tim said frowning. "But then she wouldn't. She's still angry and Hades for running the last one off by talking of the FBI and investigating crime at university campuses. She didn't believe it was just a coincidence that the FBI arrested him a couple of weeks later."
Heather chuckled, "I take it, it wasn't?"
"He did commit the crime he was arrested for and he wasn't that smart, he would have been caught eventually. Meeting us just sped up the process a little," Tim said.
"If I give you the information I know about her current boyfriend, can you look into him?" Heather asked.
"Sure, the last one I heard about was Rodney," Tim replied.
Heather told him what she knew and Tim entered the information into his phone before they arrived at the restaurant. "I hope you're in the mood for Italian, this restaurant has more privacy than most in this area," Tim said.
"Bye bye diet," Heather said ruefully.
Tim chuckled. "You don't need it Mom," he said honestly. In his opinion his mother would look healthier if she gained a dozen pounds or so.
A/N: Thank you to Kourtney Uzu Yato, TruGemini, Rori Potter, Firehedgehog, starie78, charm13insomnia, KEZZ 1, DarkRavie, julschristine975, Fyreheart, lilly-flower15, Fallow54 (Guest), knuckles 8, Reader Ethiriel, xDarklightx, Gime'SS, delia cerrano, Village-Mystic, StealingATimeLord, mayawene, buterflypuss, mooneysfate, Rainbow2007, Serpent91, Harriverse, Vladimir Mithrander, daithi4377, kimbarn30, acherongoddess, HeroLeagueClub, DS2010, Tetractys, Tyler'sPrincess, DullReign82, SpiritBlackPaw, Silvermane1, serenityselena, Lucky Guard, mumimeanjudy, Guest and all those who followed and favourited for your support.
A/N2: Merry Christmas everybody.
A/N3: I toyed with the idea of having Pettigrew be the one who cast the compulsions to give Harry a family, and Ginny's going wrong because of her pre-existing fantasies of being Mrs Harry Potter. No matter what Pettigrew felt about the adult James, he would have good memories of first year James befriending him.
