DISCLAIMER: Neither the TV show 'NCIS' nor the 'Harry Potter' book series belong to me.

The big, cheesy grins Tony and Ziva showed up in the bullpen with, returning from Interrogation, did not bode anything good for McGee. Only a headache.

He'd been having a weird day. Besides the obvious reasons, Tony becoming attached to a kid and the strange interactions between his fellow teammates were not things he called normal.

So, obviously, when he saw that the two of them were looking as though X-rated Christmas had come early, he bent his head down and pretended he hadn't noticed a thing. Self-protection was important, after all.

Mary, as soon as Tony showed up, made her way to him. Tim watched as the senior agent's expression softened to an extent McGee could have never imagined and he picked her up, sitting on his chair with the little girl in his lap.

The junior agent didn't even have to glance to know that Ziva had her eyes trained on them too while she distractedly sat down herself.

He wouldn't ask, because he really didn't want to know.

"Were you speaking with the men who hurt my parents?" She asked with quiet hesitation, refusing to look up from the box of cookies that was still on Tony's desk. His head shot up in alarm, frantically looking from McGee to Ziva, who were just as stumped as him.

She'd never breached the subject so far. McGee realized that the relative impasse they'd silently agreed to reach would have to end. Mary was asking the questions they didn't want to answer.

"I-" He stumbled over his words, and McGee switched wide eyes from him to the little girl. "I was, sweetheart." He was wholly tense, as if ready to flee at the barest prompt.

Mary's lips trembled slightly, and she slowly put down the piece of biscuit she was holding. "Mum and dad aren't- they aren't coming back, are they?" Her voice shook horribly.

McGee half-expected Tony to hand the little girl to someone else and take off. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in the senior agent – but he also didn't think that he'd actually try to handle the situation. And definitely not on his own.

Tony had, however, always been one to surprise him.

Gently wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes, he pulled her head to the crook of his neck when the first sob racked her body.

Ziva's eyes were wide when McGee glanced at her. Good to know he wasn't the only one thrown by this. He'd never, in his wildest dreams, imagine that Tony could be good with children. He'd never shown it in previous cases, and yet, from the first moment he'd seen Mary, it was as if he always knew what to do.

He started rubbing circles on her back, as if to give some kind of proof to McGee's thoughts. Mary was refusing to look anywhere, eyes tightly shut as she tried to contain her crying. Though doing a remarkable job of comforting and calming her, Tony's expression was too livid and his posture too stiff for him to be completely at ease.

But there was nothing they could say that would make her feel better. McGee imagined maybe Harry could be able to help (he'd said he'd lost his own parents – Tim winced at that), but he was nowhere to be found. He knew that Gibbs wouldn't have let him leave – but the team leader wasn't around either.

Before they had to say something inadequate that would undoubtedly make things worse, however, they were saved by the ring of Tony's desk-phone. He picked it up, frowning worriedly at the girl in his lap. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He greeted.

McGee heard the other side all the way from his desk. His theory that the telephone was just too loud was dismissed when Tony forcefully put some distance between himself and the piece of plastic. "TONY!" He heard it say in Abby's voice. "WHY HAS MARY BEEN AT THE NAVY YARD FOREVER AND NOT ONCE BEEN DOWN HERE?"

Tony immediately turned to McGee with a glare. "I didn't tell her!" He cried, holding his hands up in lack of guilt. "Palmer was here earlier."

Tony kept his glare up. "Abby had to know about her before that, McBlabber-Mouth…" He warned menacingly.

McGee made a face, caught. "I… might have told her about Mary yesterday…" He said, hesitating whenever the still-continuing screeching from the phone interrupted him.

Tony winced. "Jesus, Abs…" He muttered, distracted from his McGee-torture as the yelling kept on and on. It made Mary look up at him with wide eyes, shocked into stopping the tears momentarily. He grimaced.

"C'mon, Mary." He gingerly put the phone down, as if it were a bomb about to explode. "Abby's eccentric, but she's nice, and she'll put a smile on your face. Also, I kinda want to keep my life intact, so let's go meet her, shall we?"

"Well, she's certainly entertained down there." Tony told them dubiously, dropping onto his chair with a frown.

He'd gone to drop the little girl down in the Labby, and McGee actually thought that he could hear, from the lower level, the Forensic Scientist cooing and mewing and purring and doing whatever else cats did.

Tony had just returned, and he seemed to have made a temporary peace with McGee's fault in the whole situation. McGee wondered at his comment – was he referring to Mary or Abby?

"But?" Ziva prompted, smiling at her partner's father-like concern as she leaned forward in her chair.

Tony hesitated. "It's just… Have you ever noticed how Abby is a walking butchering machine?"

"No."

"God, yes."

Ziva and Tony's eyes snapped to McGee briefly. "I do not want to know." Ziva announced, holding her hands up. The look on Tony's eyes told them she was speaking for herself, but then he seemed to regain control of himself.

He shook his head, and McGee recoiled at the unusual maturity. "Anyway," He continued, smirking at McGee just enough to tell him that his words wouldn't be forgotten. "she just has so many spikes in her clothes. It's dangerous!" He protested, sobered up instantly.

Ziva chuckled, fully aware that his problem wasn't exactly with Abby's clothes.

"You are cute when you are worried." She teased him, grinning at the expression he made at her words.

McGee pretended he was deaf again. Although that fell through, due the fact that he was staring at the pair very obviously.

Even though he was trying – hard - not to consider it, a stray thought wondered off to ask himself what exactly had happened when they were in Interrogation. Because he didn't remember them acting this way before they'd gone upstairs.

"What're you looking at, McStare?"

With a sigh, he resorted to turn to his work again, and blissful silence filled the room for the full amount of three minutes. A record, considering Tony was present. "So…" McGee heard the clutter of the pen falling on the table-top and the hiss of the chair as Tony leaned back. The senior agent's tone heavily suggested that the word he'd uttered had no proper intent, and that it was just a pretense to escape boredom. "Oh, look at that, Ziva's high-school pictures." He stated cheerfully and suddenly, scrolling down on his computer mouse.

McGee rolled his eyes, easily seeing the empty screen from his position, but Ziva frowned. "What?"

"Don't worry." McGee reassured the Israeli. "It's Tony. If that were true, he would be neither sitting down nor being so quiet."

Happy with that answer, Ziva nodded, standing up and stretching her arms. His suspicions that she was deliberately trying to provoke Tony were confirmed when he stared – lacking only the drooling – very visibly at her abdomen.

At McGee's snicker, however, he scowled, eyes narrowed. Then he stood up in his chair, put his hands around his mouth as if they were a megaphone, and promptly wiped the smile of both his coworkers' faces.

"ATTENTION!" He cried, and his request was heeded. Everyone within a thirty feet radius turned their heads to the source of the noise. "My coworker Timothy McGoo has advised me that I am not announcing my thoughts with the proper flair! So! I will naughbl-" His voice was muffled as Ziva slapped a hand on his mouth and pulled him from off his chair by his hair. He landed with a painful thump on the ground, and McGee actually winced.

When Ziva turned to the rest of the room, though, no one was paying them attention any longer. So used to Tony's antics, they'd lost their focus on him almost as soon as they'd gained it, and continued with their respective tasks.

"That not loud enough for you, McParade-Rainer?" Tony asked with a bright grin, turning his head to the younger agent from the floor, and not appearing to have no intentions of standing up.

Ziva walked to behind his desk and peered at his computer screen. "There are no pictures on your computer. As a matter of fact, your computer is actually turned off." Ziva sighed. "You are an idiot." She made her way to DiNozzo again.

With a groan, Tony made to right himself, and Ziva seemed to take pity on him, holding out a hand to help. Wrong move.

The moment Tony's fingers grasped his partner's hand, he pulled her wide-eyed form to the floor too. Breaking her fall with his own body, she fell with wide-eyed surprise on his chest. Tony grinned. "Hi." She paused, staring at him in disbelief at his juvenileness. McGee reminded himself that Tony was doing all of this just so he didn't have to do paperwork.

Then she shook herself out of it. "Are you enjoying yourself, Tony?" She used an inquisitive tone that everyone who knew her had learned to recognize as dangerous.

Obviously, Tony either didn't care or was oblivious, because he answered in a very bubbly tone. "Immensely."

She wriggled one hand free to pat his shoulder good-naturedly. "I am glad. People should be happy before they die."

McGee snorted when Tony pushed her gently off him and then shot up with a wince – which Tim associated to his back – and put some safe distance between himself and the Israeli.

She stood up too, brushing herself off with a lot more calm than him.

McGee supposed he ought to break up the fight before it became a full-blown war (those hadn't exactly ended well in the past), so he cleared his throat to draw attention to himself. "Hey, Tony? You mind telling me why you did all of this just because you wanted to avoid red-tape?" McGee was pointedly indicating Ziva's pinched face.

"I needed to stretch my legs." He didn't disappoint with the usual stupid crack. "All the paperwork was making me a paraplegic."

"The paperwork you lasted about ten minutes doing."

"I have a really sensitive spine."

McGee wondered what an outsider would think if they saw their usual interactions.

Ziva seemed to give up her anger in its pointlessness. She sighed, bending down to pick up a handful of sheets (Tony had made them go airborne when he'd pulled on her and caused a mass dislocation of air).

Naturally, Tony's gaze immediately and sharply focused, possibly in tunnel vision, on the exposed body part. McGee wondered if he oughtn't to find shelter. DiNozzo was seriously pushing his luck with Ziva, ever since they'd come down. Tim hoped not to discover why.

Ziva noticed it too. Her lips curled up when she realized that her partner's concentration didn't waver from the same thing, even as she stood up again. Throughout all of this, McGee was just a bewildered and vaguely disturbed bystander, and he tried – as much as he could – not to look at the two of them.

She shook her ponytail-bound hair free, and, with a shock, McGee (who hadn't really avoided looking at the two of them) noted that she knew exactly what she was doing. She was very aware that she was leaving him in a frozen trance.

And, for all of that, Tony couldn't resist the opportunity when she passed him – a lot closer than platonically advisable, McGee noticed – and, snapping out of it, his hand brushed her bottom lightly, teasingly. He still had, however, some semblance of a not-so-healthy self-preservation syndrome, so, as soon as he'd made the incredibly stupid decision, he shrunk to the opposite direction, back turned to her, as quickly as he could.

Tim had to admit, when he wanted to, Tony could appear very innocent.

McGee knew Ziva would murder him for that. She'd give him a beating until he was unrecognizable, and then kill him in the most painful way possible. Then she'd gut him and spread him for miles and miles somewhere so that no one knew what had happened to him, except the unfortunate witness Timothy McGee, who'd wisely keep his mouth shut. He'd understandably expect that.

He did not except her to pay him back in the same currency. So, logically, when she turned back to him and her hand landed on Tony's butt, McGee was just slightly shell-shocked.

Tony, grinning in half-relief, half-delight, sat back down in his desk. If it wasn't just Tim's imagination, then he could swear that Ziva's blank expression betrayed a similar smile as she sat down.

"Got anything from the other guy, DiNozzo?" Gibbs strolled into the bullpen, seeming to have chosen the moment and placing a cup of coffee on his desk before sitting down.

Ziva quietly explained to McGee how the interrogations had gone, casually ignoring what had just happened, while Tony shook his head. "Nothing we didn't already know." He told their boss.

"Yeah, same thing." He looked around, and his eyebrows dipped in a would-be frown. "Where's the kid?" He asked. He threw Tony a glance at the question, even though he hadn't specified who was to answer.

Tony made a face. "With Abby. She squealed and begged and I can't say no to her." He was referring to the Goth, of course. This time, McGee knew that.

Gibbs nodded, looking unsurprised. "She'll be fine there. In the mean time, we need to focus on the case." His tone wasn't quite scornful, but it was on its way. "Potter's gone down to the lab too, but I get a feeling he won't be sticking around."

"Meh. Maybe just for a few more minutes." The grinning features of the wizard in question peeked from the outside of their bullpen.

Tony almost jumped. "I do not need another Gibbs around." He whined, low and slightly fearfully. A ball of paper connected with his head. "Thank you, Boss!" He offered the underlying apology.

Harry grinned – he did that a lot. "Right, so – you've all been cordially invited to have dinner at: The Burrow." He said the name as if it were a great title. "As a matter of fact, I'm under the threat of death should I fail to bring you all around at seven o'clock sharp."

Silence met his announcement. "I am sorry," Ziva began. "maybe it is my English, but- isn't a 'burrow' a hole in the ground for rabbits to live in?"

Tony couldn't help it – he snickered. "No, it's not your English, Ziva." He assured her, calming down. "I'd like an answer to Ziva's question too, though."

"The Burrow is where my parents-in-law live in." He cheerfully said, smoothing out non-existant wrinkles on his shirt (hey, normal clothing) and not really erasing any doubts.

"I need to deliver Mary to her family members – we already have her statement." Tony's voice was regretful to the trained ear.

"No, you don't." Harry replied. "I've spoken to the aunt and uncle that have custody of her-"

"Excuse me?" Gibbs demanded, realizing what he'd said. "We're the ones speaking to the family members-"

Harry did something both brave and incredibly stupid – he interrupted Gibbs. "Unless you wanted to tell them about their niece being a witch, I think I did good." Gibbs' stillness and usual stare were good enough as an answer for the wizard. "So, as I was saying, I spoke to them, and they seemed rather needy of some time to process it all. So, I, as the helpful individual I am, I offered them Agent DiNozzo's babysitting services for the night, and they seemed eager to take me up on it." He gave them all a charming smile.

Tony didn't seem as upset as he was confused. "And they just agreed with that?" He questioned, surprised.

"I told you," He repeated. "some family members have a hard time dealing with these things." His empty look faltered at that, and he suddenly seemed a lot younger and a lot more vulnerable.

Everyone looked eager to move on. "Then where do you suppose I leave her?" He inquired, mildly annoyed. McGee wondered why all of them were fighting his invitation so hard. Then he guessed it was because none of them liked orders that didn't come from Gibbs and Gibbs only.

Harry's smile returned. "I don't suppose you to leave her. You're to bring her along."

"I- can't think of anything to say to that." He said, incredulously and speechlessly. Harry's grin broadened.

"So, I can count on you all being ready in-" He glanced at his watch. "fifteen? Great!" He exclaimed at their (apparently non-shown) agreement. "I'll see you in the garage then." And he vanished.

Three heads instinctively turned to Gibbs. "Have you finished your reports?" He asked, his voice annoyed and dipped in warning.

Three shakes of head were his answer. "Well, then what are you waiting for? You have fifteen minutes to take care of it. And you need to use your imagination not to mention Potter. So I'd hurry along, if I were you."

Exchanging looks, they did what they were told, stealing occasional glances at Gibbs' expressionless features. McGee thought that Gibbs had agreed to this because he wanted to see more of a magical household, which made him feel better at his own curiosity.

And if Gibbs was curious, then DiNozzo would be jumping on his tip-toes.

"Did you hear? Did you hear?" Abby bounced into the bullpen ten minutes later, Mary trailing behind, face locked in a permanently amused grin. At least she was feeling better – Abby was good at distracting people. They just didn't notice that anymore, like the rest of the Navy Yard, because they were so used to her spiky bracelets and child-like piggy-tails. "We're having dinner at a wizard's house!"

"You're coming too, Abby?" McGee asked in surprise. She gave him a look.

Stupid question. Of course she was coming. She was Abby.

Mary made her way to Tony as soon as her eyes landed on him. McGee was actually beginning to get impressed with the bond the senior agent had formed with the little girl. And it was as if his whole demeanor changed as soon as she stepped into his arms. He softened, put on a real, warm smile and was otherwise sweeter. Like the way McGee had caught him being with Ziva several times already.

Abby was distracted by that display and immediately squealed in delight. "Oh, you guys are just adorable." She threw her arms around the two of them and Tony fumbled to hold the three of them right way up as Mary giggled.

Ziva's expression told McGee that she agreed with the Goth.

Abby beamed, pulling back. "Harry is very nice. He went downstairs to ask if I wanted to come, and then he played with Mary for half-an-hour."

And suddenly everyone could see McGee bristling slightly. "He's married, you know." He commented in a would-be casual tone – had he been able to pull it off.

Abby rolled her eyes, but then she seemed to soften, hugging McGee this time. "Don't worry, Timmy, I know. He's nice, but he's not that nice."

Tony cleared his throat, leaning back with a broad smirk on his face, looking every bit ready to make a stupid comment. Mary squealed in laughter as she fell back onto his chest. That made his expression turn into a grin, and his attention was momentarily diverted from the younger agent. McGee appreciated that.

"Abs," Gibbs was frowning. "I don't like this." He glanced at Mary.

He was worried about the 'two' little girls. Ziva stiffened at Gibbs' tone, and Tony glanced at her. She was remembering the last time they'd all been together with wizards, and he knew it too.

Somehow, Tony managed to convey, silently, that she shouldn't be worried. He – for some crazy reason – trusted the guy, and that showed in his reassuring gaze. That was enough for her, and she relaxed.

"It will be fine, Gibbs." She decided to speak up, stealing one last look at Tony. "I am convinced we can trust him."

Gibbs didn't look very pleased regarding the subject – in fact, he managed to half-glare at his female agent – but he quieted. Abby looked happy about that, and she clapped excitedly.

"Good! We're all set, then." She glanced at her watch. "We should actually get going…"

"Well, not without me, I hope." Ducky was suddenly there with them, coat draped over his arm and Palmer in his wake. "That Mr. Potter is quite the charming fellow. I did miss some British company." He seemed to have forgotten any bad blood he'd previously had regarding Harry.

"Is anyone not going?" Gibbs asked, raised eyebrows flickering among the party gathered there.

"I don't believe so, no, Jethro." Jenny called. She was standing in the stairwell, watching the scene, but when their attentions turned to her, she straightened and descended the rest of the stairs lightly.

She looked gorgeous. Ziva would take a wild guess and imagine she'd gotten an earlier warning of this meal. She was wearing a simple, summer, Sunday-dinner-like dress that reached just above her knees. Her hair was done and she was carrying a white purse that matched the outfit. It was not the kind of attire she'd wear to work.

Ziva harrumphed lightly and silently, but Abby had no such qualms and whined loudly enough to annoy even Gibbs. "No, that's not okay. Now I have to find something nice to wear."

Their boss rubbed his forehead, his head snapping back down after the slight staring he'd done in the director's direction. "DiNozzo, remind me – women, dress code, important?"

"Very important, Boss." He stressed. Ziva threw a pencil at him, which he barely dodged. Mary giggled.

"You should know that, Jethro." Ducky called, amused. "Weren't you married several times?"

"Stress the verb tense there, Duck. It means I didn't spend enough time with that in mind."

Jenny's lips twitched.

"Oh, but I wouldn't worry about it, though." Harry appeared, again, out of a sudden, again.

"Do you ever announce you're coming?" Gibbs snapped, irritated. Harry flashed him a grin.

"Well, Boss, now you know what we feel." Abby announced seriously. Then she grinned, hugging Gibbs and then walking over to Harry to repeat the motion. McGee looked vaguely annoyed.

Harry smiled around at them all. "So, you're all here. I came because you were taking too long." He explained, not looking anything but happy as ever. "Don't worry about your dresses, ladies. My mother-in-law won't really care much about it, but more about how thin you are underneath. Well, actually, that applies to everyone."

No one said a thing to that, because no one had any idea of what to say.

He clapped – he looked way too excited. "Well, come along, children. Off we go!" And he turned, walking briskly in the direction of the elevator.

McGee's look of disbelief and Gibbs' eye-roll were short-lived, since they had to hurry to grab everything.

Mary looked apprehensive as she tugged on the senior agent's jacket, when he bent down in order to grab his stuff. "Am I going with you?" She asked quietly.

Tony didn't give her a verbal answer; instead, after his backpack was poised properly on his back, he picked her up and placed her over his shoulder like a lamb. She squealed, grabbing his neck and giggling.

Ziva slipped inside the metal doors last, a grin on her face.