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 NOTgive permission for anyone to post it anywhere else. If you want to share it post a link.
Teddy was super excited on the first day of school. Having spent the day with his new friends had eased his anxiety and he was eager to see them again. It was Tim and Hadrian that were nervous, Hadrian because he remembered being that innocent boy thinking magic was beautiful and that he was entering an amazing and safe new world, and he'd been wrong. On the other hand, Tim was nervous because a wizarding school was a place he'd never been, could never truly go though he could visit on the periphery, never share in. He'd never been jealous of Hadrian and the children having magic until today and mostly he still didn't want to be able to cast spells but he wanted to fit into Teddy's new world and he was afraid he never really could.
Parents were invited to arrive with the students on their first day and help settle their children into the class, meeting the other parents for morning tea before returning home. Hadrian couldn't use portkeys this late in his pregnancy and was starting to have difficulty being on his feet for hours so Tim had taken the morning off work to attend. Teddy could hardly sit still long enough to eat, and his excitement had rubbed off on Rosie and Daisy who were giving Barbara and the elves trying to get them ready for their day a hard time as they kept running and dancing around the house. Eventually Tollie resorted to elf magic to spell their clean clothes onto them and tidy their hair and Barbara hustled them out the door to walk Rosie to preschool, planning to let Daisy run off her energy in the park on the way home.
Tim wrapped his arm around his son as the two of them gripped the portkey tightly. They'd both had a little experience with portkeys though they both admitted to preferring to be apparated by Hadrian when he wasn't pregnant or being transported by house elf. They arrived and Tim immediately called Dixi so she would know where to take Teddy in the morning and where to collect him from. She would show the other elves over the next week or two so any of them would be able to pick him up.
"Last chance, do you want Dixi to go and get Papa?" Tim asked.
"No, he was tired, Barbara was going to take Daisy out so he could nap, I heard her tell Granma Heather," Teddy said.
"You're a very thoughtful boy but you know it would hurt him not to be here for you if you wanted him. I will make sure he naps later," Tim said.
"No, I know I'll see my friends and the teachers we met were all nice, I'm glad you're here but I don't need Papa too," Teddy said decisively.
Tim grinned, proud of his confidence as well as his care for Hadrian and the new babies they hadn't even met yet.
They approached the classroom they were instructed to go to and before long Teddy was happily greeting his friends while Tim greeted their parents and the mentor group teacher.
Ten minutes later it was time for Tim to leave the room and the casual wave he got from Teddy across the room made him smile. Most of the other parents were also happy enough to let the class get on with their day. A few hurried away but the rest met with the parents from the other first year class for coffee.
"First child to have magic?" an elegantly dressed woman asked.
"Teddy's our eldest," Tim confirmed smiling. "Tim McGee-Black."
"Filomena Fotheringae. Your son seemed to be well known to the others, though I've never heard my Dierdre mention him?" she commented curiously.
"Teddy has made friends and kept in contact with several of the other students we met at orientation, I'm a navy brat and we moved around a lot, so I knew how valuable already knowing someone could be on your first couple of weeks at a new school," Tim replied.
"So, this isn't your alma mater?" Filomena asked. "I wondered why I didn't recognise you?"
Tim had trouble hiding his amusement at the comment since the woman looked about a decade older than he did they wouldn't have been at school at the same time anyway.
"Is Dierdre your eldest?" Tim asked, changing the subject before he inadvertently insulted the woman.
"Deirdre is my only child," Filomena admitted sounding sad about the prospect.
"Does she have friends starting school today?" Tim asked. If so, he wondered why the woman wasn't talking with their parents and if not why she hadn't been sitting with them and the other nonmagical parents at orientation.
"Yes of course, she's a very friendly child," Filomena said.
"Then you have nothing to worry about today," Tim said reassuringly.
"Oh I am aware, but over time her friends may become jealous with how easily she learns magic, with her power levels she should easily be top of the class and it would be nice for her to make friends that can compete with her magically," Filomena said.
"I don't know about that, Hadrian said that magical levels had nothing to do with friendship, he was always more interested in his friends' attitudes and loyalty. My husband has spent his entire life fighting against bigotry and prejudice of any kind, even that prejudice that would seem to benefit him and his children," Tim replied, insinuating that dropping his friends merely because he seemed to have more magic than they did wasn't something he or Hadrian would approve of, and a child who did that wasn't someone he was going to allow his son to be friends with.
"I simply meant that sometimes it's easier to be friends with people of similar skills, wouldn't you agree," Filomena replied trying to regain ground.
"I find it's easier to be friends with people of similar beliefs and values, sometime also similar experiences but I've never found it beneficial to limit my friendships to those with similar talents, and at this age I wouldn't want Teddy to limit his personal growth like that," Tim replied, looking at his watch and making moves to walk away, to greet the other parents he did know before returning home.
He was immediately accosted by an overexcited Leanne Matheson. "Hi Tim. Hadrian not here? Was Teddy super excited this morning?"
"Hi Leanne, he sure was had us both up before the sparrows, I think Hadrian was ready for a nap before we left after just watching the three of them bounce around the house," Tim replied amiably. "How was Jessie this morning? Excited or nervous?"
"A whole lot of both and I don't think she slept at all last night, so she's going to crash this afternoon," Leanne said laughing.
"I think they all will after the excitement I saw in the classroom this morning, I don't envy their teachers trying to calm them down enough to learn," Tim replied.
"Oh! I don't ether, I was so glad this morning when it was time for the portkey and I could hand Adrian over to his teacher," Narelle Christie agreed. "Hello Leanne, hello Tim, how is Hadrian?"
"Tired and ready for it to be over, but keeping well, his healer is happy with their progress," Tim replied. "He was sad not to be able to come this morning."
"Why couldn't he? The portkey only took a minute," Leanne asked.
"Portkeys aren't safe this late in pregnancy, and he really needs to stay off his feet more than he could here," Tim replied.
"You think that he's better off home with two active preschoolers?" Narelle asked amused.
"Rosie is in preschool this morning and Daisy has gone to do some shopping and to the park with her grandmother so Hadrian can rest," Tim replied, not quite truthfully, his mother was meeting with Quincy this morning but he didn't want to mention having a human live in nanny as well as the elves. The differences in their financial situations had already made several of the parents they'd met at orientation uneasy. "But I'm afraid that I have to get to work so I can be home before the children go to bed."
Leanne and Narelle laughed and bid him goodbye.
Tim portkeyed back to the house and looked in for a moment on his husband who was awake but resting on the bed.
"How did it go?" Hadrian asked.
"Very well, he's in class with friends but I'll let him tell you the details," Tim replied kissing Hadrian softly.
"You have to go?" Hadrian asked.
"I do," Tim agreed regretfully. "I'll see you tonight."
"Keep safe," Hadrian said.
"Keep well," Tim replied lovingly.
-o0o-
Teddy arrived home in high spirits having enjoyed his day.
"He Teddy, did you make any new friends?" Hadrian asked.
"Some but Jessie and Ellie are in my class so I sat with them and we played soccer with Adrian and Harley and a heap of others at play and lunch," Teddy replied.
"Anything strange happen?" Hadrian asked lightly, wanting to ask about Healer McCray but not wanting to put paranoid thoughts into Teddy's mind if there really wasn't anything going on there.
"The older guys were trying to levitate the football with their wands but the prefects made them put them away and play properly, they said magic has no place in sports," Teddy replied.
"The prefect is right, soccer is about kicking the ball, there's no fun in playing if you're using magic to cheat," Hadrian agreed.
"I don't think they were trying to cheat. They were just excited about the being able to do magi in front of their friends after a summer at home having to hide it. But they were acting like being able to levitate a ball was a big deal and how much practice it took to levitate something that heavy and control where it went and it's easy?" Teddy said confused.
"They've probably only just been given permission to have their wands with them outside of class as well. You find learning magic easy because you've grown up knowing that wandless magic is possible and copying me do it, and your magic is stronger than a lot of your classmates. To someone who doesn't have as much practice using magic, or who has not long learned that it is real, things will be a lot harder. Do you remember when you were first trying to make things fly or come to you?" Hadrian said.
Teddy frowned thoughtfully. "I don't remember it being hard."
"What about something more difficult. Do you remember learning a new spell and it being hard at first and then once you knew you could do it every time it suddenly seemed much easier? Or trying to lift something that was too heavy and having to really push your magic into it?"
"Yeah," Teddy admitted, not mentioning that the 'object' he hadn't been able to levitate and move out of his way had been his sister, who'd been actively resisting him at the time.
"That's how a lot of people feel learning spells. You'll find that there will be spells that you struggle to learn that other students find easier, and some you find simple will be difficult for some of your friends, it has to do with where your magical strengths lie. Just like some people are good at sports and others are better at music or reading or math," Hadrian tried to explain in a way that didn't make Teddy feel superior to the older boys who'd thought learning to levitate a soccer ball was difficult.
Teddy looked troubled. "I told my friends not to worry, that they were just trying to scare us about how hard it would be. What should I do?"
"I wouldn't do anything, a large part of being able to cast a spell is believing that you're going to be able to cast it. If anything you've helped make those spells easier for your friends than they would've been if you'd not said anything and let the older students make them worry about whether they will be able to learn to do it yet," Hadrian said reassuringly.
"So when Daisy made her doll come to her the first time it was easy because she didn't know she couldn't do it?" Teddy asked.
"Yes, exactly, she's grown up watching you and Rosie do things like that without having to concentrate or use a wand so she thought she could do it to and she did. The biggest differences between children from families like ours and families like your friend Jessie who is the only one with magic is that until orientation last year, Jessie had only ever seen or experienced magic when she was emotional and it happened by accident. She probably didn't even know that she was the one who did it the first time or two and then when she found that out she didn't know how to make it happen again. Some of the other children will have been taught that the only way to control magic is to use a wand so they've had bursts of accidental magic but they didn't try to cast spells without a wand because they don't believe it's possible. They may have tried to borrow a family member's wand to practice but wands are tricky like that, they get used to their owner's magic and don't like other people using them so not all of your friends would've succeeded. You're going to be a long way ahead of a lot of your class with spellcasting but that doesn't mean that you don't need to learn the theory so you can use it to learn new more advanced spells in the future.
"Should I tell my friends that I can do magic without a wand or should I keep it a secret?" Teddy asked frowning. One of the things he'd been looking forward to with his new school friends was not having to keep secrets.
"You're going to have a lot more trouble keeping it secret than you did at your old school because your friends already know magic is real so when they see something happen they'll know it's a spell not just their imagination," Hadrian replied.
"So I should tell them? What if they want me to teach them to do it and get mad at me if I can't teach them or if some of them can do it and the others can't and it causes a fight?" Teddy asked.
"I don't know what to tell you Teddy. I didn't find out about magic until I was eleven and then I always had other things to worry about. I didn't start using a lot of wandless magic until after I finished school and because I'd defeated Voldemort people just believed I could do it because my magic was stronger than theirs. Some people might have been jealous but nobody was willing to say anything to me about it," Hadrian replied. "If I were you, I would just be honest, that wandless magic does take more power than using a wand but the real reason most people can't do many spells that way is because they believe they can't and that belief stops them. Most people can do at least one spell windlessly, it's usually a spell they do frequently without thinking about it, many of them aren't even aware that sometimes they do it without their wand." He didn't want to go into it with his eight year old son, but most of his dorm mates had learned to cast silencing, lubrication or cleaning charms wandlessly while wanking even if they couldn't do it any other time.
Tim arrived home and he and Heather were treated to a blow by blow account of Teddy's day and Rosie's day at preschool since she wasn't going to be outdone by her older brother. It hadn't been Rosie's first day, they'd started limited hours the week before to have the school grounds to themselves before the older children were around and Rosie was already friendly with everyone in her class and now it seemed she was beginning to make some best friends to hang around with. Hadrian would use his resources at the FBI to have these friend's families checked out and was planning to invite them over for a play date after the twins had been born and he didn't have to hide the fact he was pregnant for hours while they were in the house, which he found too tiring to do lately and the glamour didn't exactly hide the trouble he was having getting out of chairs or the fatigue he was feeling, even if he hadn't been advised not to use it more than he absolutely had to.
Tim listened attentively to his children, glad that they'd both had a good start to the school year though he wasn't naïve enough to think that problems may not arise in the coming weeks. He bathed Daisy and Rosie and tucked them into bed, letting Hadrian and Teddy read them a story before Teddy phoned his old school friends to talk about their respective days at school and Tim helped Hadrian shower. Tim loved showering with his husband though this late in his pregnancy the shower was more sensual than sexual, especially while Teddy was still awake and might need them, it was still an expression of love and intimacy between them. Hadrian loved it too, though he felt a little frustrated at times needing to be taken care of like that. He was still capable of showering and dressing himself. He let Tim settle him into bed and bring Teddy in to kiss him goodnight, more so Teddy would have the opportunity for a private chat with Tim if Teddy wanted, since he'd had him to himself for an hour after school while Barbara and Heather had looked after the girls.
Teddy came in looking worried but Hadrian and Tim both reassured him that his Papa was merely feeling tired and a bit achy from carrying around his huge pregnant belly all day and that it was to be expected at this stage.
"I don't remember you being tired all the time like this when Daisy was born," Teddy said a bit uncertainly, his memories of that time barely registered his Papa being pregnant other than the excitement that a baby brother or sister was coming soon.
"There was only one of Daisy, so it's a bit more tiring this time, and I think you notice more because you're older and don't spend so much time napping yourself these days," Hadrian admitted cheerfully. "I did tend to go to bed after putting you to bed, like I did with the girls tonight."
"Why did you want another baby if it was going to make you tired all the time?" Teddy asked.
"It wont for much longer. They'll be born soon and it won't take long for me to get back to normal again," Hadrian said optimistically.
"It will be worth it once the twins are born, you'll see," Tim promised. "Or perhaps from your point of view, it will be worth it once they're old enough to play."
Teddy looks skeptical and Tim can't blame him, Hadrian looks constantly exhausted these days and he'd also caught a mild head cold that he was having trouble shaking off.
"Truly, growing two babies is hard work, much more than one, but Papa is not unwell, just easily tired these days," Tim said.
"Into bed with you so you're not too tired for your second day at school," Hadrian said kissing their eldest before Tim swept him up and carried him to bed.
"You're getting too big for this, that or I'm getting too old," Tim said groaning theatrically as he put Teddy down and tucked him in. In truth carrying Teddy was never as hard as it should have been, scarcely heavier than Rosie though he weighed a lot more on the scales. Hadrian speculated that it was because Teddy unconsciously cast wish magic to make himself light enough for his fathers to want to keep carrying him when he wanted them to.
Teddy giggled. "Night Dad."
-o0o-
Teddy settled into school well, making friends and finding all of the coursework both magical and nonmagical fairly easy. He particularly found the beginning potions preparation classes extremely easy though not always pleasant as his enhanced sense of smell warned him when something wasn't right earlier than the rest of the class could notice. His teacher told him to enjoy the advantage while he could, his nose would be a disadvantage when they graduated to working with more powerful potions ingredients many of which smelled terrible throughout the preparation and brewing even when you did everything right.
Hadrian and Tim also became used to having Teddy at Salem, leaving for school with the elves half an hour earlier and arriving home an hour later than he had, it was Rosie and Daisy that missed their big brother the most. To them the extra time he was away each day seemed an age, particularly for Daisy who was also missing Rosie while she was off at preschool, and to a lesser extent her Papa who had less and less energy to play with her, though he was always happy to read her a story and let her cuddle up with him. She couldn't sit on his lap anymore though, she no longer fit and she was sad to be too big for him to lift and carry. Papa talked to her about the new baby brothers or sisters that were growing in his tummy and she liked it when they pushed out of his tummy at her, as if they wanted to play. She hoped they hurried up and came out so they could play with her properly.
-o0o-
The house Heather was renovating was finally finished to her satisfaction and fully furnished, she'd fallen in love with it and Tim and Hadrian were delighted that she wanted it to be her new home, though sorry that meant she would soon move out. Heather's divorce had been finalised with minimal fuss, the threat of pressing charges for the assault the night she left had been enough to stop Thomas from protesting the divorce or harassing her into withdrawing the application or trying to contact her again, and he had relocated to the Naval base near San Diego and not returned to the DC area since the failed attempt at remediation.
There were only three weeks left now until Hadrian was due to have the twins. He was managing quite well with the large baby bump and frequent rests and the healer was hoping he'd last another week or two but reassured them that the babies were developed enough now that there wouldn't be any serious consequences if he went into labour at any time now. Heather knew that part of Hadrian was more than ready for the pregnancy to be over, he was using minimal magic these days which kept him a virtual shut in to protect the babies and the statute of secrecy. Heather has asked whether they would prefer her to move out to have the last few weeks of being a five person family to themselves before they became inundated with caring for two new infants but both Hadrian and Tim had asked her to stay to help Barbara and the elves while Tim was with Hadrian at the hospital and then for at least the first few weeks or months so that the children didn't associate her leaving with the arrival of the twins. Though she was keen to move into her house and be settled into her forever home, she was more than happy to stay and help out with her grandchildren while she was wanted.
A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed followed or favourited this story for your support.
I wish everyone the best in this time. Please stay safe and keep your distance, stay at home if you can and keep in contact with family and friends on line.
