Marriage is Murder

"Partly," he smiled. "Good work. It still has to be heated in order to bind the ingredients and make them active. Let's see what happens if we heat it more slowly. And lets use a copper cauldron this time. It handles heat better." He switched the cauldrons and poured the potion into it and started it to simmer. It took nearly 30 minutes but finally, the potion turned to a bright ruby red. "Ah! There we go," he smiled. He took the potion, poured a small dose into a cup and tried it himself. He waited a moment, and he looked at her. "Much, much better," he said. He added some cherry flavoring to get rid of the rather metallic taste, got out another cup and handed it to her. "It seems to be helping my energy levels," he told her. "Try it. See if it does anything for you or if its just my wishful thinking."

"Good," he said, satisfied. "It will probably take a larger dose for her, and we don't know what, if any, the side effects are. Would you put my small brown leather journal over there on the work table so I can take the formula with me and document our findings? Oh and pack all the potion in my tan leather messenger bag, please. We want to take all of this batch with us in those little bottles. And yes, I think we need to carry some with us. Perhaps you, me, Kate, Khaat, and Brian. I don't see the sense in all of us carrying it. We'll leave the rest of the stores of it in my bag."

Brian arrived back home with a new black leather messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Khaat was noticeably relieved when he got home. About that time Angus finished his crackers and cheese spread. Angus met him with a tall glass of icy cold limeade.

"Thank you," he said, grateful. "Khaat, you need to go inside. You're getting too much sun, Babe. You're starting to burn."

"Am I?" she asked.

"Oh. Good," Robert said. "Well, I suggest we all go and pack, then, so that we don't have nearly as much to do tomorrow. Somehow with 11 kids there is no shortage of things to do. And I am presuming that Kate will need to do a bit of magic on whatever dress Khaat will wear tomorrow. Somehow it always takes a bit of something to get a dress to fit exactly right. Oh. Wait. In the desk drawer. There is a blue velvet bag. That has the magical makeup in it for Khaat. It did take me awhile to match it to her skintone. Would you get it for me so we can pack it for her?"

Brian picked Khaat up and took her inside while Angus added Brian's glass to his tray and took it inside so that Brian could return Khaat to the sofa. Brian noticed that Abbey and Dakota had fallen asleep on the floor in the middle of a big pile of toys. He decided to let them nap.

Brian got an ointment from their bedroom for sunburn. Khaat didn't normally burn and he had caught it in time before it was serious. His guess was that her fatigue had not allowed her to be as aware of it as she normally was and would have prevented her from leaving the outdoors without help anyway. He opened the jar and was pleased to find he had gotten the right jar--the jar of ointment that Robert had scented with her perfume. He soothed the ointment into her skin, taking the stiffness of her skin away and the sting of the burn. The pink tone began to turn to a tan.

"Thank you," she said. "That does feel better."

"I knew it would," he kissed her. "Now, if you're okay, I'll go pack for us."

"Please do," she said. "I'm fine now."

"I'll take care of her," Angus said, refilling her limeaide and putting a small plate of his sweet bread crackers and cheese spread near her. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, but maybe later, you'd play some wizards's chess with me?"

He laughed out loud. "I am not nearly the challenge your father is, but I'd be delighted. Thank you, Khaat. I know what you're doing, but its nice to be reminded every so often." He kissed her cheek.

"I don't want there to ever be a day you aren't in my house," she said.

"Don't worry," he said. "There won't be. I don't think there will ever be a day you don't need a cook or a estate manager."

"Or a bodyguard, even if its just from myself," she laughed.

Brian went and packed a bag for Khaat and him. Of all the trips they'd ever taken together, this was, perhaps, the most morbid. Macabre. He remembered clearly when they had gone to Remus's and Tonk's funerals. He remembered how very heavily Robert had her sedated, so much so that she could barely stand. He remembered Robert's hands, so strong as they held her up. Robert had held her together, held her up when she was falling apart. This was different.

She'd given everything she had, all she was, for Remus's use. And Remus had come forward to protect her and the rest of the family, especially her children. His children. The chhildren Remus would have considered to be his grandchildren. He would have been their other grandfather. And Khaat was the link between the worlds. There was nothing she wouldn't do for them all, or for Remus.

She was better today, though. And he was glad for that. Truly. But there was so much tremendous stress in the safehouse these days that he knew what was at work. They all wanted to go home. The tropics were nice, but Christmas was coming and they wanted snow and cold, and...well, Colorado might well be the closest they could do. Brian was wondering if they would ever get back to England again.

He found the cigarettes. Angus had put them on the dresser. He packed them. All but enough to fill the silver cigarette case that he slipped into his pocket. Then he stepped outsie and smoked one. Just one, before he stepped back inside and picked up the bag and took it out to the other room. Kate was just a few steps away from him in the hallway, and he put his bag beside the pile of them that were beginning to form in the living room. He looked over and saw that Abbey and Dakota were waking up from their nap. They scrambled to their feet and ran out to the kitchen and straight to Angus, wrapping their arms around his legs. It made him laugh.

"I know what you want," he laughed. "You little tricksters." He reached over to a cookie jar and opened it and gave them each a cookie. They laughed and ran off. He just shook his head, laughing.