Standing Through Storms

So this woman was an ex-Department Head. Well that was fancy. She looked pretty young to have once held a position of such power, but Toby knew better than most that looks could be deceiving, especially when magic was involved. But the witch was prying now, asking why.

Once upon a time when Toby had been a curious and happy child, he'd loved that word. That single word had given him the power to question everything in existence, and exactly how it worked. Now, the teenager hated that word. It symbolized secrets, loss, and painful things that Toby would rather left unsaid. Jack had used it though, uttered that hated word. The very moment it fell from her lips, Toby's gaze returned to the contents of his mug.

He didn't want to tell her anything, but the werewolf knew that avoidance wasn't an option. She would just press until he eventually broke. Toby knew that he couldn't afford a breakdown right now. The blonde had quite the temper, and destroying Jack's shop wouldn't exactly endear her towards him.

Resisting the urge to curl in on himself or run until he couldn't even form thoughts anymore, Toby instead took another sip of the scorching tea. "I'm gay," the boy spoke into his mug. Toby figured that Jack didn't need to know about the wolf yet. The full moon wasn't for another two weeks, and he'd probably be gone by then. He'd tell Jack if it became necessary for her to know. Until that point, Toby was content with only giving the redhead why his adoptive family had kicked him out. He'd let the witch think that his birth family was dead or something. After all, that's what he was to them.

Jack lifted an eyebrow at his words. Surely, this was not still such a terrible thing to family members? The magical community had embraced all sorts - even Dumbledore was rumored to have been gay. Some pureblood families were still getting over it, but they were still getting over everything, if she was being perfectly honest. It was a little hard for her to believe, but Jack was never one to judge.

"Right," she said, straightening up. "Well, you can't be out in the cold. When I finish packing up the store, I'll apart you home with me. No worries - I live with my niece, so it's not a creepy trap for kids or anything." She attempted a smile, hoping to seem welcoming. Jack didn't like to think about any youngster wandering around in a storm like this, with no one willing to treat them like a human being. Even Jack's cold heart wouldn't settle for that.

Jack's expression seemed a bit skeptical, but she didn't appear to have any problems with him. That was good at least. When she spoke, however, Toby's head shot up in surprise. She was going to take him home with her? What the hell, was the woman some sort of bloody angel or something? People this nice weren't supposed to actually exist outside of stories.

"Thanks a lot," Toby said, voice open honest for the first time since he had started speaking to the redhead. "Can, uh, can I help with anything?" he stuttered out a moment later. It was the least he could do, all things considered.

The teenager felt a bit bad for a moment, about not telling Jack about the wolf. She would be taking him into her house, and she didn't even know was he was. But then Toby realized that most people wouldn't want to let a werewolf in their house, and forced himself to not feel guilt for the omission of that particular truth.

Jack saw that her decision had made him feel a bit more relaxed, a tad more open to her - she could tell by the way his expression cleared, ever slightly, and his features expanded. He made true eye contact with her, no longer giving her the shying glances of a victim. Perhaps she would manage to get the boy feeling safe enough to give her the full story, truly explain why he was out and about. Jack found it was a;ways hard to help someone in denial of truly needing it.

Still. At least she had finally gotten somewhere with the boy. He even seemed a bit eager at the idea of being given a home - she could tell someone had abandonment issues. She flickered a smile. "No. I'll cut some corners." She flicked her wand. The lights all dimmed, shutters rolled down the windows, product packet itself up, and dust disappeared in thin air. In the back room, all that lit the way was a large fireplace.

Jack strode through the shop, quickly locking the front and back doors. She returned to the back room and approached a small sack tied over the mantle. She opened it and handed Toby a handful of floo powder. "Apparation is out - the wind is too bad. Have you ever used the Floo network?"

Toby blinked a bit at all Jack had accomplished with a single flick of her wand. Magic wasn't all that common within the Pack. Sure, it was used on occasion, but wands were only ever pulled out if there was a task at hand that couldn't be completed without them. The teenager had been aware that magic could do things like that, but he'd never seen it. His mum had always ensured that he and Hallie were out of the way whenever she'd wanted to clean the house.

"Yah, course," the werewolf replied without a thought. It may have been a while, but Toby had always adored the Floo. The light tickle of green flames against his skin, the exhilarating and dizzying feeling of being transported hundreds of miles through just fireplaces and magic. The network had been his mother's preferred method of travel whenever she'd needed to take her children somewhere. With just herself, she couldn't side-along apparate both of them. So that had left the Floo. 

Half happy and half melancholy with the recollection of his youth, the teenager accepted the powder in two calloused hands. Leaning forwards so that his cupped palms were held over the dancing flames, Toby looked towards the witch expectantly.

She was glad he had used Floo Powder. Most people who used it for the first time were prone to get sick afterwards, or panic and jump out at the wrong fireplace. It also indicated that he probably had grown up in a magical family - probably. Jack was not one to jump to conclusions, but it was a logical hypothesis.

She dropped the powder into his hand and said, "The address is 1234 Layabout Lane." She dusted her hands off over the bag and took her own handful. She waited for him to step into the flames and being whirled away, before stepping in as well. "Number 1234 Layabout Lane!"

She spun around, the usual sensations, and stopped in her own fireplace. Sunny was sitting in the living room, drawing on construction paper. She looked up, staring at Toby. "Hi!"

Jack stepped out and flicked her wand. The soot shot off of herself and off of Toby and landed in the fireplace serenely. She looked at him. "This is home."

Toby stumbled out of the Floo, a huge grin on his face. He just couldn't help himself, Floo was far too fun to frown through. Stepping away from the fireplace so that he wouldn't get in the way of Jack's entrance, the boy looked around curiously. He appeared to be standing in a cozy-looking living room. The place just screamed casual. Toby was glad, he much preferred an environment like this to a fancy marble manor. He wasn't sure what to expect, considering the woman's former occupation.

Then Toby's eyes fell onto a young girl. She appeared to have been drawing something, and sported some impressively red hair. The teenager froze, and his only thought was that Jack appeared pretty damn young to have a kid this age. The resemblance was uncanny. As if his thought had drawn her, Jack stepped out of the Floo at that very moment.

It was then that the young girl chose to speak, greeting Toby excitedly. The werewolf offered the child a small smile. He had always been pretty decent with children, something that had been strengthened by the Pack's mentality and closeness.

"Hey there little fireball," the teenager greeted affectionately. At that moment, Toby was far more comfortable with the child he didn't know, than with that adult that he did. The male felt a tingle of magic over his skin, and looked abruptly down at himself. Noting the sudden lack of soot and grime, Toby sent Jack a glance. The casual uses of magic were still odd to him, no matter how natural they may be to everyone else in the household.

Jack smiled lightly as Sunny immediately greeted Toby, who (like most people it seemed) appeared to brighten exponentially at Jack's young kin's presence. "Toby, meet my niece, Sunny." Sunny stood and did an elaborate clumsy curtsy, before tilting her head back and doing one of those silly little calls where she tapped her open palm over her mouth as she let out a throaty yell. Jack couldn't get her to stop doing this.

She looked about, thinking Max must be nearby. Sunny had gotten into a habit of forcing Max to draw with her, but he must have skirted the duty he secretly loved so much somehow. She informed Toby, "I live with a man named Maximus Morrison. He works with the Ministry - muggle relations." She thought it might be important for him to know. "Are you hungry? Or just tired? We'll get you a room made up, and you can eat if you need too."

Toby let out a low laugh at the antics of the young girl. She was perfect. Sweet, but not prim, and with that childish ridiculousness that never failed to be amusing. If Toby had to have a sister- this would be exactly what he would ask for. Well, no, that was a lie. He would ask for a sister exactly like his own, as much as just thinking of her sent a sharp pain through his heart.

Admittedly, it did make more sense for Sunny to be Jack's niece then child, but Toby still thought that the resemblance was uncanny. The werewolf found himself wondering if Jack was just babysitting for a time, or something else. The teenager couldn't bring himself to ask, however, fearing that it would make him sound as if he didn't want the young girl around.

Nodding to Jack in recognition of her words, the blond approached Sunny and knelt down to her height. "I think I prefer fireball," the teenager admitted, looking deep into the sparkling youthful eyes that were almost the same shade as his own.

The boy barely responded to Jack, as he seemed captivated by her niece. Jack was becoming more and more used to this every day. She did not mind. She supposed she was old news now, especially to the kids. When she had first graduated, she was still la legend. Already in the Order, leading PA, continuing the pranking tradition set by the Weasley twins, and already scouted by pros to play Quidditch, mysteriously turning down the opportunity to go into the Ministry of Magic. Now that she had taken over the Order, she was not as popular nor as mysterious. She figured she should begin to enjoy the anonymity she had once craved.

Sunny smiled as she realized someone was paying attention to her. "Who are you?" she asked with interest, as her aunt went into the kitchen and began heating up some stew from the night before. She then ducked into the guest room and prepared it for their young guest, before returning to the main room. "Move it to the kitchen. There's some stew for you in there, Toby."