Bollixed

He saw she was relaxing just by not being forced to stay someplace where she didn't feel safe.  He was glad for that.


"Yes," he answered when she asked about the owls. "Several. If you write your note tonight, I'll send it so she has it first thing in the morning. There's a small writing desk in your room, and I'm sure there's paper and pens in the drawer."


She kissed his cheek, and it made him smile. "Yeah, well," he said, softly brushing a lock of hair from her face, "if you hadn't found me, I'd probably still be sitting in that alley in the rain.  Seems like it all worked out well, didn't it?"  He really was glad that she'd found him, and he knew he'd be more than happy to make her landlord's life a bit unpleasant. 


"Come on," he said. "I'll show you to your room, and by the time you settle in, Dottie will send you that tea to warm up with."


He took her upstairs to the bedroom that was decorated in crisp whites and with wildflower prints and touches of lace. One of the house elves had put bouquets of freshcut wildflowers in the room, even though they hadn't really expected anyone. It was a nice touch  He put down her bags she carried and just out of habit checked the windows. 


"Don't feel you need to get up for breakfast if you don't want," he told her.  "We have been out late. No one will expect you to be up almost as soon as you get to bed.  They send your tea tray, they'll send you a light breakfast if you decide to sleep in. Its rather nice to get breakfast in bed every once in awhile. How about I let you get settled and then I'll stop back for your key and that owl to your mom?"

"Ok, that would be best because she gets up rather early." Bella said nodding as she thought about her daughter being there. She missed Rose when she was off visiting Grandma but she wasn't going to deny her mother visits. "The quicker she sees the letter the better it will be. Rose is suppose to be back with me tomorrow afternoon so it works out well. I'll have to go back into London to pick her up."

She blushed when he brushed her hair from her face. "I'm glad that I found you and that I could help you. Yes it did seem like it all worked out, I'm glad that you came to the Leaky tonight." She said smiling softly wondering what would have happened if she wasn't there. She gave her head a small shake to clear what that might have been like.

"Okay, lead the way." She said with a grin as she waited for him to lead her to the room.

Following him to the room and her eyes were wide as she looked around it. "It's beautiful," She said her voice soft as she looked at everything around her. Going to where the wildflowers were she smelled them and grinned widely. "It's wonderful Angus, I love it." She looked at him her eyes lit up in excitement.

"I'll probably end up getting up anyways, I'm anxious to get Rose out of London." Bella said as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. She loved the smell the wildflowers made in the room and took a big breath breathing it in. "Yes getting breakfast in bed is nice every once and a while. Okay I'll just get started on settling in. Again I want to thank you for everything Angus."

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled. "Make yourself at home, and I'll be back in a little bit to get your key and your note."


He went to his own room and showered and changed into fresh, dry clothes.  He chose just plain jeans and a plain cotton workshirt. He went downstairs, intending to go out to the barn to get an owl and found Khaat's large bald eagle perched on the back of a chair in the kitchen. The bird was tightly bonded to Khaat, which was one of the main reasons it was allowed in the house.

"Where did he come from?" Angus asked Dottie, as the house elf put the rest of Isobella's tea tray together.


"I don't know," she sighed, "That great big nuisance just flew in the kitchen window and has been screeching in my ear.  I surely do wish he'd shut it!"
She snapped her fingers at the tray to float it upstairs to Isobella's room.


Angus went over to the refrigerator and got out a bit of fish and gave it to the bird who ate it greedily and then nuzzled Angus.

"He was just hungry," Angus laughed.  He looked back at the bird. "Come." The bird hopped over to his shoulder and Angus went back upstairs.

He knocked on Isobella's door.  "I brought your owl for you," he called quietly, hoping not to wake the others in the other bedrooms. He didn't remember her meeting the eagle the last trip, and Khaat's bald eagle was so singular that over the years it had become synonymous with her. Still, the enormous regal bird was well trained and a great protector, not to mention an incredibly reliable messenger.

"Ok I will." Bella said as she stood up and looked around smiling. She walked over the window and looked out trying to contain her excitement about the room. She then went to her suitcase and opened it pulling out of her framed photos. She looked at it smiling, it was a picture of her and Rose at the zoo. Then she picked up another it was of her and Rose again but it was them in the park a few years back.

She put the two of them on bedside table and put her suitcase in the closet. She grabbed the black leather zippered binder from her suitcase. She took it to the bed and sat down opening it up to look through the pictures in it. The top photo was of Rose and Angus in Tuscany playing in the ocean. She smiled at the memory of being there in a place that beautiful. She looked up and saw the tea tray float in to sit on the bedside table. Pouring herself a cup of the tea to warm her, she sighed as she continued going through the pictures.

Bella put down her cup and remembered to write a note to her mother. She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the writing desk. She scrawled a note to her mother telling her that she was going to meet her in London to pick up Rose. Then she went back over to the bed to continue to look through the pictures.

She heard a knock on her door she got up and walked over to the door. "Come on in, I'll get that letter for you and the key." Stopping a few feet in she did a double take at the bird perched on his shoulder. "Uh that's not an owl. That's an eagle. He's gorgeous." She said as she walked over to the desk to grab the letter off it. She reached into her jeans and pulled out the key to her apartment. She handed it both over to him with a smile. She looked at the eagle in fascination and wonder as she grinned at Angus.

"This is Archangel," he smiled. "He belongs to Khaat. Khaat's mother--Kate--talks to animals, and she raised Archangel from a hatchling. She trained him for protection duties and for owl duties. He and Khaat somehow bonded, and they've been inseparable ever since.  He has a huge understanding of commands, and he plays the best game of fetch you've ever seen.

"I think I'll have him take your message because, first, he's wicked fast. And, second, he's bored out of his mind, and when he gets that way, he gets annoying," he laughed. "He needs to get out and to fly. So long as he won't scare the everloving life out of your mother. Rose saw him the last time you were here, and she knows he's friendly, but most people aren't used to seeing something with a seven foot wingspan delivering a parchment."


He saw the bird go to snatch the key, and he took it first, pocketting it.


"Oh, no you don't. I know its shiny, but that's mine," he said. The bird just looked at him. "Shall we set him loose? Your window will do." He walked over to her window, read the address on the letter, and handed it to the bird.  "Now, go straight there and straight back, and I'll give you a whole fish." 


The bird seemed to make flying look like it wasn't even child's play as it stepped off the windowsill and glided off into the night. Angus closed her window and latched it again.


"That bloody big bird is spoiled rotten," he laughed. "If you go to pick up Rose tomorrow, and if I can't go with you for some reason, you take him with you. Just the sight of him scares the crap out of anybody with half a mind. And he will know to protect you and Rose."

Bella grinned and looked at Archangel, "He's beautiful. I'm glad that he bonded with someone. The cats that we have are bonded to Rose and I know those kinds of bonds are special. Khaat is really lucky to have bonded with a wonderful bird." She said as she laughed when Angus said that Archangel got annoying when he was bored. "Oh no he won't scare my mom she'd would actually be pleasantly surprised to have an eagle deliver her something. Rose adores all animals I'm not surprised if she giggles when she sees him."

She laughed when Archangel tried going for the key that was intended for Angus. She watched the bird take flight from the window and grinned. "Wow he makes flying look easy." She said looking him before walking back over to the bed sitting down. "I found some pictures I took when we went on vacation to Tuscany. I wanted to know if you wanted some of them. I have doubles of them but I thought maybe you might want some of them. You don't have to look at them now if you don't want to." She looked down shyly, looking for any reason to spend a little more time with him.

"He seems like he's spoiled but sometimes that's a good thing." She said laughing softly. "Okay, I will take him if you can't go with me. Just being here I feel protected. It's not because it's protected around the clock but because I know that the people inside are protective of people. I feel safe around all of you and tonight when I found you I knew that you'd protect me even if you were injured. Honestly it's a relief to feel protected and I don't feel like it's too much." She blushed slightly in embarrassment as she confessed this to him.

"Here's my general plan for tomorrow. I'm going to go see your landlord and have a talk with him and break your lease. I'm going to arrange to have your things moved out of there as soon as possible. We can simply store them until we know for sure where you want to go. Your things aren't as important as you are."


He looked at her photos, impressed. He smiled, looking at each of the good memories that each photo held. "Yeah," he said, "I'd really like copies of them. That trip was so much fun, and my family really loved you. And you know my aunts ask all the time about Rose.  I wonder if a kid can have entirely too many family members, because they sure have taken to her."


He was glad she'd take Archangel with her. He preferred to go with her himself, but he needed to know she wasn't alone. And he was glad she was safe at least tonight.

"Any time you need me," he said softly. "I'll be there."  He heard a clock chime, and he knew he needed to go. He had a few things to do before he headed to bed.  He sighed. "The clock is moving, and I'm not. Isn't that always the way? You should finish your tea and get some sleep. I need to go," he said, reluctantly. 


Without even thinking about it, he kissed her lightly, with a feathery soft kiss. It wasn't something he did very often, and he'd never done it unless he meant it. 


"Sleep well," he said, heading for the door, not wanting to give himself time to rethink it.

"Okay, just promise me that you'll be careful around him." Bella said looking at him hoping he would say he'd be careful. "I know of a place I can store my things until I'm ready for them. I'm off tomorrow so I might see if I can find a cottage in Hogsmeade. I'll have to see if they have one with a nice yard for Rose to play in." She wondered why she didn't know about the cottages being there in the first place.

"Yeah it was a lot of fun. I tried to get a lot of pictures taken and they turned out really good." She said grinning as she saw a few that she didn't remember taking but said nothing. "I'll sift through them and make sure that there's no blurry ones for you. Your family is amazing and I'm glad that I got to meet them. I really like your grandfather though," She said with a smile. "Well Rose asks about them too she really liked them. She said that we would have to go back again so she can see them. She calls your aunts her aunties and she has a picture of herself with them.

"If I need you I'll call." She said smiling softly. Hearing his words she smiled more and wanted him to stay with her a while longer. She knew however that he probably had things he needed to do. "Yeah it always seems like that's how it happens. I guess I shouldn't keep you longer than needed."

She felt like her heart stopped when his lips touched hers. Butterflies were in her stomach and then he told her to sleep well. She watched him walk towards the door and couldn't help herself. She got up off the bed took his arm softly stopping him. She reached up and kissed him back, her lips pressed softly against his.

"Sweet dreams." She said before walking back towards the bed with a grin.

"Goodnight," he smiled, turning and leaving.  He headed down to the kitchen to make sure the house elves were good with the breads and pastries and desserts they were making for the next day. 

Then he found Brian at work in his office on estate finances.


"You're up early," he said to Brian.


"And you're up late," Brian laughed. "Did I see you brought Isobella back?"


"Yeah. Its alright, isn't it?"


"You know it is. Is she in trouble?"


"Meh...Weirdo landlord stuff. He's ranking above the norm on my Creep-o-meter. I'll go see him in a few hours."


"Want me to go with?"


"If you like."


"I like dealing with creeps," he grinned mischeviously. "Sure. I'm in."


"Thanks. Hey, you have any plans for any of the guest cottages this summer?"


"No, they're all empty. Why? Oh. Isobella."

"Yeah.  I'm thinking about the small one--the original house that's close to the main house. Might give her time to find a house in Hogsmeade that really suits her and Rose."


"Good idea. Its a two bedroom, and the rest of the place has an open floor plan so she can keep a good eye on Rose. Yeah, thats fine."


"She wants to earn her keep."


"Meh," he waved that concern away. "But if she wants, I'll let her help in either the kitchen or with the kids when things get busy.  Or she can help babysit sometime the next time things get weird for us."


"Good thought. And you know there will be a next time. Oh, can I borrow your old wand?"


"My old wand? Why?"


"James broke mine last night."


"Oh, fabulous," he sighed, knowing Angus had tangled with James.  "Did you win?"


"No," he laughed. Brian opened the desk drawer and handed Angus the old wand Brian had started Hogwarts with years ago.


"Thanks, Mate," he said. "I'll get to Ollivander's today."


"Let's do that before we go Creep hunting, shall we?" Brian said.


"Probably a good thought."


"You aren't in any hurry for her to move out, are you?" Brian teased lightly.


"Me?"


"Yeah. You.  Its been ages since you even asked a woman to dinner. You'd like her to slow this moving thing down a bit, wouldn't you?"


"Maybe," he said, not wanting to give Brian that satisfaction.


"She can stay as long as she likes," Brian said. "Tell her all she needs to do is make you happy."


"Stop it," Angus told him. "And you just shut it about that when you're around her. I'll manage my own relationships, thank you."


"Whatever you say, Romeo," Brian laughed.


"This from a man with eight kids under four," he tossed it back at him, walking away.

He went out to the barn, did the morning chores before daylight and went back to the kitchen.  By the time the clock struck seven, he had the sideboard bulging with breakfast dishes.

Once Angus left Bella felt like she couldn't wind down from their kiss. She decided to drink the tea she was given and then work on the pictures she was looking at earlier. She began sorting a pile for Angus and found one she knew she didn't take. She grinned as she looked at the picture. It was a picture of Angus, Rose and herself walking along the beach at sunset. Rose had been holding both their hands as they walked along the beach. She put a copy of that day into Angus' pile and began wondering who took it. She couldn't remember handing it to anyone there but then it dawned on her who took it. One of Angus' aunts was admiring it when Rose wanted them to go on a walk. She laughed at the thought of the woman who Rose grew quite attached to taking that picture of them.

She finally got them all sorted out when she went to the closet to retrieve a scrap book from her case. Grabbing also a small box that went with it she took it back to the bed. She began putting the pictures together in the book and was halfway done when light filtered through the curtains. Putting everything away for now she grabbed the pictures for Angus and stuck them in an envelope. She quickly showered and got dressed in a long maxi dress that was a deep purple. Her hair was pinned up in an elegant twist with a purple flower comb on one side.

Bella walked down the stairs towards the dining room as she smelled the food wafting from it. The smell reminded her of the food Angus' family made when they were there in Tuscany. She had a lot of fond memories of her time there and she loved his family. They were amazing people and she could tell they loved Angus. She shook her head to clear it as she walked into the dining room with a grin on her face.