Marriage is Murder

John looked at Brian as he emptied out his pockets it was a typical boys things string a gold key, a hankie and his wand "That's it" he said and looked at Brian and simply nodded to him then looked at Lee " I'd like Brian " he said and looked at Brian again when Lee asked about Khaat losing her memory. " did she really?" he asked now standing biting his lower lip. " that's bad. "he said and slowly looked down at his feet.

Steven looked at Angus " do you think he will learn, will they really take him to jail?" he asked looking some what worried that his oldest son was rebelling and doing it the wrong way.

Brian took John's things. There was nothing special about the wand. Nor the handkerchief. He stopped at the key and exained it. He had had that key mae at least two years ago, maybe three. Brian recognized it. He handed the things to Lee, who examined them and pocketted them.

"Are you willing to do this for John?" Lee asked Brian.

"Yeah," Brian said. "I am." Robert accio'd Brian's coat for him. "Will you make sure Khaat's alright while I'm gone, Robert? She's not used to being without me."

"Yes," Robert said. "She'll be alright." Brian put on his coat while Lee and the auror took custody of John.

"You're welcome to port with us," Lee told Brian.

"I intended to," Brian said. He joined with them and the four of the ported out.

Once they were gone, Michael looked at Robert. "That's your plan? Put the boy in jail on Christmas Eve?"

"It is now," Robert said. "What? Did you think I intended to leave him there? I have plans for young Mr. Walker, but they've only just begun."

John went quietly with Lee and Brian now feeling he'd gotten a little over his head in porting it had seemed a good idea but now he was not so sure. Steven paced back and forth in the living room " how could he I thought Janet and I brought him up better , what made him do such a thing?" he asked as Cassidy tried to calm Steven down. Jess sighed and looked at Steven as she spoke softly.

" there gone" she told him and Steven went to find Robert and ask him what he was planning on doing with John.

" Robert what do you have In mind for John?" he asked " its Christmas eve " he said his arms folded his voice thought like a father had not been confrontational to Robert but he s a father wanted to know.

"I did not plan on this, Steven," Robert reminded him quietly. "This was not premeditated on my part, if you remember. I don't have control of John right now. The Americans do. I am very well aware what the date is. So was John when he broke the law. He has at least some basic knowledge that what he did was forbidden. That lesson is taught right from the beginning, right from the night of the sorting hat ceremony, and its repeated incessantly. He knew. You've lived beside me since he was small. If nothing else, he knows I'm a man of my word. And he should have figured out that I am not so all powerful that I can just ignore a violation of law that extends halfway around the world.

"Brian is with him, and he will help Lee look out for him. I trust Lee. He's proven his worth to us over and over. I have only ideas right now. This was rather sudden. But I will need to get Lee's approval since this is in his hands now. If John believes he is a man, then let him find out exactly what it means to be a man. If he thinks he's grown up enough to use adult skills, then I'd like Lee to either toss him in a very primative bootcamp while he's here. I'd like him to have a lesson he will never ever forget."

Steven on hearing Lee and Brian were with John breathed out and nodded " of course and yes I think that's best " he said " what if he come out of the boot camp okay?" he asked knowing his own determination was part of Johns make up as well as Janet's compassion. Steven looked at Cassidy and sighed " Im sorry Cassidy" he said but she walked over and held him tight.

" not your fault Steven " she told him " Roberts doing what any person in his situation would" she kissed his cheek and he sat down with her " we'll have a hands full with the twins and Fallon and his gifts will still be here when he comes home"

"What do you mean if he comes out of bootcamp okay? Are you asking me if he will still face charges?" Robert asked. "I understand your concern, but you should know that no one has those answers this soon. Not even Lee. I can make a request to Lee, but ultimately whether John faces jail time or probation depends on the Americans. I do understand its concerning. I can't blame you for that. But you know that no one is going to know the long term outcome for this at the moment of his arrest. You know that any charge sometimes takes days or even weeks to get resolved. Lee will do his best, but no one works this fast--not even with magic. The important thing to remember right now is that he's safe, which is more than he was when he was porting himself here. Brian and Lee are with him, and Lee has that bloody key, so he's not going to put himself in jeopardy tonight. He's not liable to be a happy camper, but then again, he's not supposed to be either. I would encourage you to not get so panicky that you lose your ability to be strong with him or to make him follow the rules whenver he gets back."

Steven looked at Robert and nodded his head he sighed and held Cassidys hand tight " I just hope he gets his act together " he said softly and looked at Cassidy with a small smile. Jack walked over to Steven and placed his hand on his shoulder.

" I wouldn't worry mate, he has the best people with him right now." he said trying to reassure him all in the end would be fine, "he might think about how his actions affect you and cassidy now" he added and Steven looked up at him.

" I should patrol the area" he said and grabbed his coat knowing the snow was deep but he wanted some time to think.

It had not been pleasant. Lee had taken John through the full booking process. Photos, assigning a jail number to him, fingerprinting, searches, physicals, taking his clothing and putting him in a florescent orange jumpsuit and plastic slippers. He was taken to a cell that was equipped with a toilet and a tiny sink and a hard white resin bunk that was attached to the wall. There was no mattress or pillow. It was the way the cells in America worked. There were cameras built into the ceiling so that the corrections officers watched John's every movement. Lee offered John a blanket for the night but made it abundantly clear that if he even attepted to use it for anything other than to keep himself warm, it would be immediately taken from him. Then Lee gave Brian a few minutes to visit with John. A corrections officer brought Brian a metal folding chair to use while he visited and then he locked Brian in the cell with John.

Brian merely sat down on the chair and said nothing. He just waited for John to try to take it all in.

In the meantime, Khaat had changed into her nightgown and had gotten into bed. It was the only Christmas she remembered ever having with Brian, and it somehow felt ruined. It wasn't supposed to have gone like this. Not for anybody. She wasn't angry with John. Kids sometimes did stupid things. But she just wanted to forget about Christmas now. She was done with it now.

John just sat quiet in a corner of the room staring off to space his mind drifting back to several years ago. " How...how long do..do I have to stay here?" he asked even his voice seemed broken now as he looked up, pulling the blanket around him to keep out the cold as he sat looking up at Brian. Steve sighed as he sat out side in the cold he had walked to the green house and looked at rose that grew in the center of one display.

" Where did I go wrong?" he said to himself while he looked at the rose " I thought I raised him better Janet" he said the name on the tag of the rose was the red Janet.

"I have no idea," Brian said. "Its not my choice. All I can do is advocate for you. The matter apparently hasnt been decided yet. After all, people are on holiday. I don't know if there will be a judge to decide what to do with you until after Christmas. For all I know, they might decide to just let you sit for a day or two.

"But let's start with something more basic," Brian said. "That portkey doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Cassidy. She knows better than to give it to you. So that means you stole it. Flat out. And its a portkey to my house. What the hell were you thinking? By wizarding law, that equates to almost the same thing as theft, not to mention breaking and entering. This is an unplottable, protected property. The only way to get here is by portkey. When has your father ever, ever let you just sit in Hogwarts over Christmas? There was no way you'd ever be dumb enough to believe he didn't plan to come and get you. If I'm to be your advocate, you'd better start by telling me the truth. Lee knows far more about my properties and my work than you have any idea of. He surely knows that key isn't yours. That's going to add more trouble to your plate."