Marriage is Murder

Jack listened and frownd he ahd check every where but he also knew just how good kids were at hiding things around the house. " Abby would you show me where it is?" he asked " you know boo boo's don't last with me " he said hoping she would not mind him getting it " we just want to stop you or any of the others geting boo boo's" he explained hoping she would understand. Jess placed her hand on Jack shoulder.


"she'll tell us when she wants" she said and pored a cup of juice for Abby and a cup of tea for Robert " let all just relax Im sure where ever she's put it is safe, am I right Abby?" she said softly to her hoping she would give them a clue as to where she'd hid it.

Abbey listened to the grownups talking about her. When Jess said it was safe, Abbey nodded.

"I hide-d it good!" she said. She looked at Robert. "Down?" He laughed.

"Oh, alright," he said, putting her down. "Go play. Are you sure nobody can get hurt where you put it?" She nodded and ran off to play. "I'd better soon get going to work. Oh, I can't go yet. I forgot my Ministry security badge. I need to go back upstairs." He made a light job up the steps to go back to his room.

On the way there, he heard someone calling him. He stopped in the hallway, listening. "Who's calling me?" he asked.

"In here, you dolt," the voice called. It took Robert a moment and then he recognized it. He went into Khaat's room and looked up at Remus's image in the portrait. "Yes?" he asked.

"Are you looking, by chance for a broken toy?" Remus asked.

"Yes. How do you know?" Robert asked.

"She gave it to me," Remus said. "She was looking for a grownup to give it to who couldn't get boo boos. So I told her to give it to me."

"And how the bloody hell did she do that?" Robert frowned.

"You really are thick, aren't you? Think like a three year old. The closest she could get it to me was in the ashes in the fireplace hearth. Its buried in the ashes. Be careful. It does have quite a few sharp edges. Not sure how she didn't get cut with it herself."

"Thank you," Robert said. "We'll remove it carefully then."

Jack walked back up to the nursary hoping to have a second look he heard Robert and Remus talking walking in he listened " I'll get it " he said and began to look threw the ashes , finding the toy he placed it in a small box and picked it up. " I'll get rid of it " he said and took it down to the kitchen to dispose of the bits. As he passed Abby he smiled " no more boo boo's " he said softly as he dropped it in the trash. Jess smiled as she gave Jack a cup of coffee and sat down with Jim.


Steven walked back in and washed his hands looking at them both. " roof done" he said and took a scone and a cup of tea. " finaly got that hole patched " he said Cassidy walked over to him and took some straw from his hair.

" looks like you brought half the barn back with you too" she said pulling a second from his hair.

"Unca Re Re told my secret?" Abbey asked, putting her hands on her hips, irked. "Not nice!"

Brian watched his daughter's desire to be independent, and he tried hard not to laugh. Instead, he went over to her and swept her up in the air over her head, listening now to her laughter that was like pure music in his soul.

"Daddy!" she giggled.

"Uncle Re Re told your secret because he loves you," Brian said to her. "That secret was okay for him to tell. But that was very brave of you to hide the toy so no one would get hurt." He looked at Khaat and then whispered a new secret in Abbey's ear. Her eyes grew wide and excited and she nodded. "Come on," he whispered. He carried her into the kitchen.

"Don't be feeding her cookies, Brian!" Khaat said, wanting him to stop spoiling her.

"What cookies?" Brian asked from the kitchen, handing Abbey a sugar cookie shaped like a ladybug, decorated with red and black sprinkles. "Don't tell Mama," he whispered.

"Shhhh," she held up her little finger to her lips, nodding.

Jess chuckled and smiled as Abby smiled at the cookie she was glad she was smiling again and not made at Remys giving up her secret. " some secrets are meant to be told" she said softly as she drank her tea. Jim walked around the small town paper in hand as he searched for the man Robert had sent him so far he was lost he looked at fiona and sighed handing her the paper.

" okay now its your turn " he said and folowed her knowing she knew exactly where to go. He had a fair idea but he wanted to get this done quickly and easily. Knocking on the door of the building they stopped at a nam awnsered and he explained who they were.

"She'll learn," Kate said. "It really was a pretty brave thing to do for a three year old. She cared enough about the rest of the kids that she tried to protect them, even if that meant that the broken toy might cut herself. Mark my words. She's got the hallmarks of a Gryffindor already."

Fi didn't have time to even look at the directions Robert had written out for them before Jim was walking up to a door and knocking on it and announcing who they were. She was irked. She looked at Brian, not saying a word.

"For someone who didn't know where they were going, you seemed to find it just fine without Fiona or me," Brian said. "I thought you felt you needed Fi to find your way around." It was either that or Jim was crazy. It was very unwise, Brian thought, to just knock on a door and announce that they were wizards and were coming for magical items.

"We're looking for Alistair," Fi said quietly to the man who had answered the door.

"And, if I see this Alistair," the man said. "Who should I say you are?"

"The herb woman," Fi said. She had grown and sold magical herbs to wizards at one time. Alistair had once remarked that he was used to dealing with a man. Not a woman. She hoped that would jog his memory.

Jess smiled " she takes after her mother I think" she said smiling to Kate. Jim looked at Brian and nodded with a rub of his stubbled chin.

"Thinking about it yeah, not a good move." he said and moved to Brian leaving Fiona to do the rest of it. " Guess Im not that good at this espionage business. " he said softly and looked at Brian. He watched as Fiona spoke to the man his eyes darted around where they stood. He didn't want any suprises but he had an unnerving feeling that some one was watching them from the shadows , though he evn thought it could have been his own imagination playing with him.

"Yeah, you might want to practice that before you actually do one of those assignments," Brian said to Jim.

"You lot are pitiful," The man at the door sighed, rolling his eyes. "You'd better come in before you actually destroy the wizarding world with that nonsense. Honestly." He motioned to them to come in quickly, looking around to see that they hadn't been spotted.

He took them through a maze of narrow hallways until the hallway opened up into a massive warehouse that had been turned into a workshop for Alistair and his apprentices.

"Next time, just put it in the muggle newspapers that there are lost wizards marching about Cork," a white haired man said, not looking up from his work. He was assembling a residential sized transformer. "What nitwit sent you?" The man asked.

Jim frowned as he moved with Fiona and the man into the house and threw the corridors. " I know Brian and will work on it " he said not liking the mans attiude in regardes who they were. he heard the old man and sighed " who sent us is not to be revealed just to any one " he said and looked at Fiona some what irrked at his tone if any one was to say it would be Brian or Fiona. Jim looked around seeing tranphormers of all sizes being biult. " impresive place" he said glancing back at the man as he called Robert a nit whit. Jim scoffed at those words and folded his arms across his chest as he waited fiona to set the man straight.

"I came on my own," Brian said. "I need a commercial transformer, and I'm willing to pay cash for it."

"Oh, of course you are. Very few people actually need that much power. And very few have that much money," Alistair said. "Quit wasting my time, little boy. Either tell me the truth or go away."

Brian went around to stop talking to Alistair's back. He leaned against the transformer. It made Alistair look up, irritated.

"Do you want to electrocute yourself?" Alistair scowled. "Get off that thing. Its dangerous."

"Maybe so, but it got you to look up," Brian said. "Now--I do have cash, and I do need a transformer. Are you a man of your word, like Robert said you were, or are you an arse?"

"Robert? Minister Lupin?" Alistair asked. Then he frowned. "Oh wait. You're that boy, aren't you? He took in a boy. Are you the son? Or...are you the son in law...."

"Probably both," Brian shrugged.

"Why didn't you say so?" Alistair asked.

"I can't ride Robert's coat tails forever," Brian said.

Alistair motioned to Brian, knowing he had a note from Robert. Alistair knew Robert too well. "Give it here," he said. Brian drew out the note and handed it to him. "Now, was that so hard?" Alistair said. He opened the note and read it. "The terms are acceptable," Alistair said. "I need to finish construction of this one and finish the power supply on the commercial unit I have. I can be there tomorrow. It will take me two days to install it. I will require a place to stay for myself and two apprentices. Robert knows what I'll need. We will be there by 7 am. Any questions?"