Chapter Forty

The Owl Cage

When Alexandria got back to her office from lunch, there was a letter on her desk. Apparently Wilder had returned while she was at lunch but then left, probably returning home for the day. She felt more than a little guilty about sending him off and not being there when he arrived, promising herself to get him some new kibble when she went shopping with Rus the next day. Glancing at the handwriting on the front so that she could start learning to recognize it, she opened the letter.

Alexandria,

The tone in your last letter indicated that you in some distress over my absence this morning, so I want to apologize for any disappointment it may have caused you. Work obligations motivated me to rise at an appointed hour, and you seemed so exhausted and looked so beautiful after our joyous night together that I decided to pay you a courtesy by allowing you to sleep in. Some continued business keeps me away, but rest assured, there is no reason for dismay. You are now and forever my only love, and I will lament any time we was spend away from each other.

Yours forever more,

The Magician.

Alexandria blushed bright red, wondering exactly what films he had been watching to be using such old fashioned language. She felt a lot younger... just like she did any time he was around her. How could he write in such suggestive tones with such underlying innocence, she wasn't quite sure. And yet she saw it clearly in the fact that he was trying so hard to impress her and put her at ease at the same time. She smiled at that, but then frowned at the note, wondering how dangerous it would be for her to keep it. Sighing at the necessity, she took the time to burn it.

"Austere, remind me that I am going to have to give the Magician some Witchlock paper the next time I see him," Alexandria said, fanning the smoke from the brazier she used for that purpose.

"Why not simply give him Agent paper?" Austere hissed.

"I may be willing to entertain the idea of dating him on a regular basis, but trusting him with Agent magic is another thing entirely. I think it'd be better for everyone concerned if we keep those two halves of my life separate, at least for now," Alex decided. "I need to make up my mind whether he's trustworthy or not first, and I don't think I can do that until I've figured out where this relationship is going."

"Yes, I agree. He is much too accommodating. Perhaps he is the sort of mate who eats his own young," Austere suggested, and Alexandria laughed at that.

"Firstly, we humans don't have that particular problem. And second, I have no intention of having any more children considering that I can't possibly be a good mother to them," she said firmly.

Suddenly, she found herself wondering if she had remembered to take an Oat's Bane potion. She decided to take the one out of her cloak, having to fish for it since it had been so long. After some searching, she found it and downed the potion.

"There. Not going to happen. And I'm going to make absolutely certain that he knows from the start that I have no intention of having any more children," Alexandria said resolutely.

"Then why bother getting a new mate at all?" Austere hissed curiously.

"I guess there are just some things that as a Winged Serpent you just wouldn't understand," Alexandria said curtly, tossing the bottle.

"Perhaps that is better. I prefer not to entertain such irrational thoughts," Austere decided.

"I am going to need to find a way to explain this to Jay and Rus," Alexandria mused, deciding just to ignore him. "I guess I could talk to them about it on our shopping trip tomorrow to get Rus ready for Whitebridge. Rus will probably understand... Jay will be trickier. Maybe Mum will have some ideas."

"Are you really going to ask your mother for advice?" Austere hissed in surprise.

"I may not want her nosing into my life generally speaking, but as Jay's guardian, she does know a lot more about his day to day feelings than I do. Besides, I've just started to get Jay to opened up to me. I'd hate to do anything to mess that up now," Alexandria decided, then spent the rest of the day going through Agent notes to prepare for taking the next day off.

The morning was misty when Alexandria arrived at Baker Street that morning, getting there early enough to have a cup of coffee with her mother before any of the children woke up.

"We may want to keep it as quiet as possible. If Seren thinks anyone is in the kitchen, she'll be down in a flash," Jennifer said with amusement, setting down Alex's cup.

"Thanks for letting me come over so early. I wanted advice before I saw the boys, actually. About what I should say about... well, if I were to start dating again. I think Rus will be okay, but Jay..."

"Yes, I see," Jennifer said solemnly, sitting down. "Well, as far as today's shopping trip, Jay decided to meet some of his housemates at Aviation to plan for the rest of the term. He thought that it would be more productive than watching us shop for his brother when it had... in his words... nothing to do with him. Yes, well, I'm sure a bit of that is not wanting to prolong goodbyes for when his brother goes to Whitebridge, and we are spending all day tomorrow in Pittsburgh as a family getting him settled, after all. So I was planning to let Jay go... and I really think we should. In fact, I really think the best way to handle it would be to go through Conner."

"You're right, that is probably the best way to handle it," Alexandria realized.

"Of course, there is the problem with the press. They've certainly been noticing that the letters to the editor have been targeting you as well as the Ministry as a whole lately," Jennifer warned.

"I'm already bracing myself for whatever today's letter will be. Grandfather's sure that Bagman's likely to say something particularly vicious," Alexandria admitted with a painful expression.

"As someone who has gone through my fair share of bad press, I highly sympathize," Jennifer assured her. "I'll see what I can do to misplace it temporarily, but I suggest you send word to Conner straight away. Perhaps drop by his office after you're done shopping."

"Good idea," Alex agreed.

"Might I suggest one other small thing?" Jennifer asked.

"What?"

"Perhaps you could rescind your request for an Auror to guard the reception area?" Jennifer asked hopefully.

"I would love to, Mum. But I can't," Alexandria said apologetically, and Jennifer frowned in disappointment. "I'm sorry, but there's no way that Grandfather and I can rescind that security measure without a statement as to why the security changed to all of the other departments and Ministries... which would probably lead to making a press statement. Besides, I still don't know if I trust him yet."

"Yes, alright," Jennifer said with a sigh. "Mercy, could you set up for breakfast? The children will likely be down soon."

"I'm already working on it, Jennifer," Mercy's voice assured her.

"Lovely, thank you, Mercy," Jennifer said.

"I think I hear someone on the stairs," Alex offered. In fact, the wooden stairs were echoing with a strange step-step-slide pattern.

"It sounds like your sister," Jennifer decided, setting up the drinks while Alex went out the stairwell.

Seren was busy working her way down the stairs while still sitting down, putting each foot firmly on the stair below before sliding her rear down to sit on it before cautiously putting her feet on the next one.

"Do you want a hand to hold?" Alexandria asked her with a grin, the little girl agreeing and letting Alexandria help her the rest of the way down the stairs.

Pretty soon there were the sounds of doors opening and closing. Not long after Serendipity was settled in her seat, the other three came downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast conversation quickly turned into what shopping was finished and what was left to be done until Jay asked to leave. Everything else was put on pause as Jennifer made sure his wallet and cloak were filled before allowing him to head to the broom park.

"There will be times when it'll probably be better if we split up so that Seren isn't distracting you away from your shopping," Jennifer said as they stepped over to the fireplace. "Quintin, if you could help me with your sister while they're shopping for school supplies, that'd be lovely... oh, and Rus, don't forget to go to Eeylops for a new cage for Wrongway. You certainly can't keep him in that old one."

"I keep it because it was Dodger's old cage," Rus explained.

"Yes, I know. Sometimes it can be hard to let go, even when an item's falling apart," Jennifer told him. "But your memories will still be there even if the cage isn't. And even if the memories fade, the impact of his presence on those who knew him also doesn't change. Besides, I think that Wrongway will be both excited and grateful to have a new one," she added, getting the Floo Powder off the mantle so they could all head to Diagon Alley.

After a quick stop at the bank, Rus and Alexandria walked off with his shopping list while Jennifer, Quintin and Seren wandered around to see if there were any sales still going on.

"We bought my uniforms already, but Grandmother thinks I could use more jumpers and undershirts since I won't be used to the weather, as well as better gloves," Rus explained.

"All of that white, though. Are you sure you going to be able to keep it clean?" Alexandria asked.

"Other than the formal robes, all of the shirts and overalls are potion treated to help cut down on stains, especially grass and dirt stains since everyone's climbing trees all of the time," Rus said. "I'm glad I know so many people there already. I'm a little nervous, as exciting as it is. I know that everyone is just a painting away, but it feels very far from my own bed."

"Just think of it like going to camp, but with more comfortable beds," Alex suggested.

"Yeah, I guess, only I wasn't by myself then," Rus said.

"Too late to back out now," Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Rus said.

"Change is hard for everyone, even when it's a good thing," Alexandria said. "It's not only hard to change, but sometimes it's hard when others you care about change, too."

"It can be," Rus agreed. "And sometimes it can be long overdue."

Alex opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"You know already," Alexandria realized, dropping her shoulders. "Of course you do."

"I suspected something ever since that day at Hogsmeade when you tried so hard to get rid of me, and at that point, you were still trying to make up your mind about things," Rus explained. "But Christmas was what cinched it for me, when you lied to us about why you were going to accept his invitation to go on a tour with him."

"It wasn't a complete lie," Alexandria said defensively. "I really am still trying to figure out what side he's on."

"Maybe, but I think you're doing it for your own reasons now," Rus said. "Admit it, Mum, you like him."

"Fine, I like him... but I don't know beyond that yet," Alexandria said defensively.

"Only because you're frightened. You don't want to hurt us, and you don't want to hurt Dad's memory. But it's like what Grandmother was saying, isn't it? Nothing's going to change the fact that Dad was here no matter what... the impact of his presence doesn't change. Jay's here. I'm here. And everyone's always said that I take a lot after my father, including my personality," Rus pointed out.

"Very much so," Alexandria admitted softly. "From your brown hair to that calm, patient, understanding demeanor of yours. You certainly didn't get that from my side of the family," she added with amusement. "As you know, we tend to be a bit more dramatic."

"That's what makes it so fun to watch," Rus decided, and Alex couldn't help but chuckle at that. "But since I did inherit Dad's personality, I think I know how he'd vote on this, and he'd want you to go for it. He didn't save you because he wanted you to languish and suffer for years, he saved you because he wanted you to live... and not just because you had a 'more important job', but because he loved you. And I believe... that he would think... that the best way to honor that sacrifice is for you live life to your fullest, and that includes being happy again, finding love again, and surrounding yourself with people you care about and who care about you."

Alex gave her son a tearful hug, wiping it away as she became aware again that they were standing on the street in front of the owl shop.

"Thank you, Rus. I know you're right, but at the same time, it's good to hear you say that," Alexandria said. "All the same, I'm not sure your brother is ready to accept it."

"Don't worry. I won't say anything until you've found a way to explain it to him although... even with Conner's help, I'm not sure if it's going to go over well no matter how long you wait," he warned.

"Just when I thought we were making progress, we're going to have this between us. There can be no doubt that this is going to complicate things in all sorts of ways, some we probably don't even see yet," Alexandria acknowledged solemnly. "I plan to speak to Conner after we're done today, but after I've seen to that, I really need to take care of myself. I've given so much of myself that I've grown bitter, and that's just as detrimental to the rest of my family as it is to me. I need to recover some of what I've given up so that I can be Alex again... and not just a mum, and not just the Minister of Mysteries." Rus nodded, but then pondered that thoughtfully.

"Just what are you like? When you're not being being a Minister, or you're not being Mum?" he asked, attempting to separate them.

"I don't know. I've lost sight of it, and I didn't even realize it until I started talking to the Magician. To be honest, he seems to understand that pretty well, and I think it's because he's also trying to figure out who he is, just in a different way," Alexandria said.

"Then I hope you can both find that out together," Rus said encouragingly.

"Yes, me too," Alexandria replied with a smile. "Come on. Let's go get Wrongway that new cage."