Meet the Lupins!

In all honesty, Luxanna did not know what to expect when Andrew said that the house she’d been invited to, was huge. But now, as she stood at door which belonged to the famous Lupin family, her mouth was left open. She had seen a fair amount of manors and even castles where her mother’s friends resided, but this place! She could sense magic on every turn and unlike in Hogwarts, which had mixed auras, this one radiated positivity and Luxanna embraced it with sheer happiness.

She gathered herself and looked at the piece of paper Andrew had given her. The address was correct, she had checked it many times before approaching the home of the little girl Abbey, someone she was supposed to babysit now. She loved children and if what he told her about the girl was correct, then they’d get along just fine. As a get to know present, she also brought some coloring books, sweets and a fluffy bunny which she thought was very cute.

Finally, as she had done enough waiting and evaluating, Luxanna lifted her hand and knocked three times on the door before stepping back and looking up. She sincerely hoped she had not arrived too early as it was eleven in the morning, but with being invited there, to her first job as a babysitter, she had a hard time sleeping or resting in this matter.

Khaat was a little irked that Brian had given the kids the "magic crayons" again and had sent them off to draw on the living room walls again. It was a bad habit, and there were times when Brian was too permissive with them, Khaat believed. And drawing on the walls was one of those things that he permitted that made her crazy.

There was nothing magical about the crayons, not the crayons, not even the box. The only thing magical was Brian's charm that removed the scribbles from the walls later.

She and Brian had been planning for ages just an afternoon out together. It was hard pressed for them to get that accomplished, just even to arrange their schedules for it. Today, though, they were going to lunch and then they were going to try to find a mating pair of swans for the estate's pond.

The estate was busy today. Angus, who was usually in the kitchen, was outside today, working with some of the new horses they'd bought. He would be on the grounds but not in the position to watch 8 little kids.

It was a good thing that Brian had tucked this estate back in the woods, away from prying eyes, because it wasn't typical in any part of England to see a sprawling log mansion, filled with American southwestern decor and artwork. It would have been right at home in Aspen or somewhere in the States, but since she'd moved in here with Brian and married him, this felt like home and she couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

She heard the knock on the door, and she saw Abbey zip past her to run to open it. It wasn't often that the protection spells were lowered to let someone in, and it was even more rare that it was to let in a stranger. This stranger had been vouched for, though, by Andrew. Khaat trusted his judgement. Andrew was a good kid, and if he said that Luxanna could be trusted, then it was good enough for her and for Brian. They could give her a try.

"Abs," Brian called from down the hall, "let your mom get it."

"Okay," Abbey said, flinging open the door anyway. She saw a blond woman at the door. "Hi!" the fearless six year old said cheerfully.

Lux did not know what to expect and although it took less than half a minute for someone to open the door for her, she had the time to consider all the possibilities of what could go wrong with her first attempt to babysit a child. At this point she had to remind herself that the mentioned first time was, as a matter of fact, speaking of a child with magical powers. Usually when she did that kind of a job, it meant taking care of usual or so called "normal" people. Nevertheless, she was happy that she was invited.

And also quite surprised when she was met with a little girl who faced her with no fear in her eyes. That gave her an impression that this little kid knew her way around strangers and has probably spent a lot of time among the grown ups as well.

Gwen smiled and waved cheerfully with her hand:"Hello! You must be Abbey, am I correct? I am your new babysitter, Lux!" She introduced herself in her usual, positive voice, before offering her free hand as the other one was still holding the gifts she had brought for this occasion.

"May I come in? Are your parents home?" What a silly question! Obviously they were present, it was simply that she saw no one around just yet. Perhaps they were having breakfast? She felt no desire to interrupt the main course of the day by simply walking in. Thus, she straightened up and added quickly:"If they are busy, I can wait outside!"

"You know my name!" the little blonde beamed. "Lux," she repeated, just to get the name right. She shook Lux's hand.

"Abbey," Khaat said, hurrying to catch up with whoever Abbey was talking to at the door. When she saw the young woman she smiled. "You must be Luxanna. I'm Khaat. Come in. I see you've met Abbey. The others are playing in the living room."

"Daddy gived us magic crayons!" Abbey always got excited by the magic crayons. Khaat looked at Lux and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Abbey, why don't you go ask Daddy to put the magic crayons away now, please?"

"But Mama!..." Abbey moaned.

"If you go ask Daddy to put away the crayons, I'll show Lux where Angus keeps the cookies."

"They're on the top shelf of the cabinet in the kitchen, in the glass jar," Abbey told Lux, knowing far too many of the secrets in the house than she was supposed to know.

"Go," Khaat told her, trying to look stern with her. Abbey scampered off. "That child is far too smart for her own good. Come in and make yourself at home. We're not formal here about anything. I guess I'll introduce you to the kids and then show you around a little? We don't go out much, so its rare for us to have a sitter. If I forget something, just ask."

Her smile was bright and wide when the girl was surprised by her knowledge. And even when the mother appeared on the doorway, the corners of her lips remained where they were. "Please, call me Lux!"

She followed the woman quickly into the house before looking around. It was big and quite clean, but here and there she could see the evidence that there were children around. Or perhaps it was a simple aura that usually radiated from those innocent little humans? She did not know, but she certainly enjoyed it.

"I think that this is not an issue, but the exact opposite. If she is smart at this age, she'll get far in her life, that is for sure." And seeing her family, which was quite successful in everything they did, Luxanna had no doubt in her predictions.

"That sounds wonderful! I can't wait to meet you all. Also," she offered the gift for Abbey to Khaat. "It is a small get-to-know-you present for your daughter. I hope she likes the presents, I did not know what to pick."
She then stood by and glanced around once more, awaiting for the tour and a small family meeting. Lux was eager to meet them all.

(ooc: figured I'd have her do the tour and sort of describe at the same time. the house is just too big to do otherwise, i think.)

"You know, my father says the same thing about Abbey. He thinks she's going to be able to do just about anything she wants to do when she grows up," Khaat said.
She saw the gifts and took them. "Abbey is going to love them. You picked some of her very favorites. Would you like some tea?" she asked as she walked them through to the living room. "The house elves always have some brewed. I think they've brewed a pot of pumpkin caramel pecan tea. My father likes to tinker with tea blends, and he's responsible for the different flavored teas we sell at Sparks. He comes up with the blends and tries them on us first. This blend is a trial blend for Sparks for fall."

She turned and looked at the kids in the spacious southwest styled living room. There were all the kids and they all had crayons and were scribbling all over the walls. Khaat sighed. "My husband's doing," Khaat said. "He sees no harm, and I can't change him in that. I just want them to get past the scribbling on the walls phase. While we're here, though, I'll show you who is whom. You've met Abbey. The ginger girl next to her is Dakota, and she's 6 too. The smaller blonde girl is Julia. She's 4. The two boys coloring that..i think its a blue frog...they're Michael and Robert--they and Julia are triplets. And the two year olds--those are the twins, Daniel and Benjamin. Daniel is...well...i think that might be orange grass he's making. And I have no idea what Benjamin is doing with the purple crayon. There are some tricks for these kids to keeping peace with this many toddlers at one time. Don't let me forget."

"Okay, so here's the basic layout," she said, as she started to lead her through the house, "From here, the dining room and the kitchen are off to your right. Down the hall to your left, you'll find on the left,  Brian's office , a sitting room, two storage rooms, and my seer's room. On the right you'll find the kids' playrooms. There are two adjoining playrooms--the girls and the boys.  Most of the time they do share pretty well. And beyond the playrooms is my father's potions lab that he keeps at this house. That room is always locked with enchanted locks and has age lines and all sorts of things to keep the kids safe and out of there. Not a place I want them to play. And of course, there are loads and loads of bathrooms all over the place. When Brian designed this place, he clearly had a big family in mind.

"Upstairs is a whole boatload of bedrooms. Angus's is the first one on the left, followed by our master bedroom, my bodyguard's room, and the boy's nursery and then the girl's nursery.  On the right is a couple of guest bedrooms, the bedroom that my parents use when they're here, and more guest bedrooms. The room at the very end of the hall is a room I use for seer's stuff and divination things. I don't let the kids in there either.

"The basement, if you need it, has a full workout room and an indoor pool. The kids all know how to swim, but I'd not advise that simply because Abbey, we think, has some metamorph tendencies. She gets into water and shifts into a labrador, and then she gets stuck. She hasn't learned how to shift back. She got that from her bio dad, I think. He did that too. If she gets in the pool, though, don't stress it. Just don't let her eat the cat kibbles and wait til my father comes around. He usually stops for at least a few minutes at the end of his day. He'll change her back.  

"But, so you know, there are always, always guards on the grounds and always some indoors. There are protective spells on the estate to try to prevent anyone from getting in. There's an outdoor pool outside, some guest cabins, a barn, a stables, riding trails...um...the kids' play area. But--there is a lot of acreage. Woods, rocky drop offs, places that just aren't safe. I'm fine with you going out there, but not without someone like Brian or Angus or one of the house elves."

"Have I scared you off yet?" she asked, as they returned to the ground floor.

The house was even bigger than she expected, alhough there was no reason for her to act surprised. Gwen found it quite obvious that a person with her background and possibilities would have a rather big home. What made her consider the size more was perhaps the amount of people who walked in and out and also children. Lux had no doubt the last ones had an infinite amount of fun while playing hide and seek in those rooms. Perhaps she’d share the same enthusiasm if she would have brothers or sisters at home. Although she was lucky to have very well earning parents, she was unfortunate to have only grandparents as her company and thus her childhood was rather lonely.

„Tea would be nice, thank you.“ She stretched her hands as they were now free from the bags she had brought with her. „Oh really? I’ved been to Sparks coupe of times and I’ve always enjoyed my tea there. This new blend you are talking about must be as amazing as the others, I am sure of it!“ Her enthusiasm returned after rather negative thoughts and she smiled again. Needless to say, she was a big tea fangirl and when someone offered it, she was more than delighted to try it out. And acting as a test subject right now was an honor.

Her eyes widenedat the mention of triplets and twins. Wasn’t it quite rare to have both sets in th same family? She looked at Khaat, wondering how the woman had endured giving birth to so many children while nodding at the same time, memorizing all the names the proud mother had declared.

To keep everything in mind once the official tour began was hard and for once Lux felt bad for not bringing the notebook with her. However, as she hoped on babysitting the children for longer than a day, she believed she’d know the basics of this house in no time. It would be totally awkward if she’d put Abbey to sleep in a wrong room!
Her mouth fell slightly open at the mention of a pool; not because the Lupin had it, the Hale’s had one in their garden as well, but simply due to the danger she was now informed of. Despite of having this watery pit in their home, she was terrified of swimming or even the deep. „I will keep that in mind,“ she assured the woman while mentally writing the place down on the list of the things she would not go with the children. Abbey and the others could swim with their parents while she watches, right?

When they finally returned, all Lux could do was smile brightly at Khaat, brushing off the fear of now having two places to drown in this area. She tried to remain positive:“Not at all. I am all ready to start!“

"Let's make sure you have at least a proper cup of tea to start with, then," Khaat smiled. "But he really does need to get the crayons off the wall." She called for Brian, who came out of his office and saw the sitter there.

"Oh, hi," he said, coming to shake hands. "You must be Lux. Abbey told me you were here. Nice to meet you. I've asked the house elves to keep the meals on schedule. We've got four house elves, but the males, Jobey and Zodey, are outside today with Angus. The female house elves, Suki and Dottie, will be on household duty today. You'll like them, I think. They'll take care of the cooking for you. We try to do lunch between noon and one, and then all the kids except Abbey and Dakota still take naps after lunch. Abs can help you with that routine. Dinner is usually between 6 and 7. Bedtime is between 8 and 9."

"Don't worry about baths before bed, if you don't want," Khaat said, heading to the kitchen. "That can be a bit of a production. Help yourself to milk and sugar as you like it." She looked at Brian. "Your magic crayons are still a problem. You need to fix that before we go."

"Oh yes. The crayons," he said, unable to resist a bit of an amused smile. It amused him to no end that it made her so nuts that the kids scribbled on the walls when all it took was such a small charm to make them disappear." He went into the kitchen and got out the cookie jar and a stack of Angus's raspberry shortbread cookies and took them into the living room.

"Hey, you lot," he called them. "I don't suppose any of you would like a cookie, would you?" They all squealed with glee and ran towards him, each of them taking one of the cookies, while Brian managed a bit of wandless magic by slight of hand in order to make the crayon marks disappear. He flicked a clean up spell at the crayon box to pick up the crayons and then put the box up high on the fireplace mantel to get them temporarily out of the way.

"Better?" he asked Khaat.

"Much," she said. "Thank you." She looked back at Lux. "Just make yourself at home. If there's something you need, as Suki or Dottie or Abbey. Is there anything you can think of that we forgot?

She smiled and replied with a short nod. Lux looked at the painted wall and giggled quietly. It was fascinating how children were so creative when they were little. She used to scribble things on the wall as well when she was a little child and it gave her a habit of sketching things from time to time on her notebooks as well.

She shook hands with Brian, nodding and listening to him carefully. If anything, then she desired to listen to what they had to say from the very beginning. Lux loved when others spoke; that gave her enough time and opportunity to evaluate on things and tiny details she could read off of them and paint a profile while observing them.

She followed them into the kitchen and poured some milk into her tea before adding two spoonful of sugar.

His method of summoning children and distracting them from the wall was so amusing Luxanna found herself laughing quietly. They were all so cute and excited about the sweets and it reminded her of well... herself. She loved candy as well, perhaps a bit too much, and if she would not feel sick after eating them a lot, she would most likely sit on a sugar diet and be happy about it.

"No. I think everything should be good and I trust children will not use my good nature for their own advantage," she shook her head before taking a small sip of her tea. "I just hope they will really like me. I don't want children to feel like I am here to command or boss them around." She was a babysitter, not an enforcer in this place. However, she hoped for the best, despite being slightly fearful. But as Andrew recommended this place to her, she trusted in his judgment and did not complain. Whats the worst thing that could happen?

Khaat smiled. She liked that Lux didn't want the kids to feel like she was commanding them or enforcing them. Khaat and Brian didn't want to have to do that either. They tried to work in other ways, but they also knew that with that many, there were rules. The rules were the rules, and that parenting was not a democracy. The kids didn't get a vote.

"Don't be afraid to hold them to the rules, ours or yours. They know the adults are always in charge. It'll be alright," she smiled.

"Hey, cookie eaters," Brian said to them. "Mom and I are going out this afternoon. Lux is going to be the boss while we're gone. You know the rules. The rules are still the rules, just like when we're here, you got that?" They looked at him with big eyes and nodded. They weren't used to Mom and Dad going out. Benjamin went over to Brian and wrapped himself around Brian's leg. Separation anxiety. Daniel and Ben weren't quite past it yet.

"Hey," Brian bent down to Ben, "Papa bought you a new book yesterday, remember?" Ben nodded, sucking on his thumb. "Go get it for me?" Ben scampered down the hall to the playroom. He came running back with a big storybook in his hands. It was an antique, thick, and beautifully illustrated with elegant pop ups, and had several stories in it. "Nice job, Bud," Brian said. "That's the one. Why don't you show it to Lux? I bet she'll read it to you. There's time for stories before lunch, I bet." Ben hesitated. Brian nodded to give the most timid of his boys a bit of courage. "Go on. I bet she likes books too."

"Come on, Bennie," Abbey said in a singsong. "Let's go show Lux where we read!" Abbey dashed over to the sofa. "I'm sitting next to Lux."

"No you're not, I am," Dakota narrowed her eyes, dashing off behind her. The triplets started to run after them, baiting Daniel and then Ben found himself running behind them simply because that was what the others were doing.

Brian nodded to Lux. He had them distracted so he and Khaat could slip out. He was passing her the proverbial torch so he didn't leave her with two screaming 2 year olds. He slipped his arm around Khaat's waist and drew his wand to prepare to apparate out if Lux was good with it. "Oh! Wait! Look on the mantel. There's a tie tack there. Its square with a green stone. Put it on while you're here. If you get into an emergency, push the stone. It will alert us to come home at once!"