LONDON CALLING

Ruby smiled at Angus " I can't wait, a warm beach, a hot guy, sounds perfect "she said softly to him "but we will be in contact should you need us" she said. Jess sat listening to Kate and nodded but it was Jack who spoke.

"well, Brian did pull something off that hag" he said " when she had us both and she threw us I think he pulled a leather wrist guard off her." Jess looked up at him then to kate.

"could that have been what was blocking us" she asked then looked back to Jack just as Jessie and Kaden sat down at the table. " if it was enchanted it might have broke it when removed from the wearer." she looked to Edward as she spoke again " did you see anything that he brought back.?"

"I think we should be able to spare you," Kate said to Ruby and Angus. "Have a good time. Angus wouldn't tell you this but I will. he's worked for us now almost since he graduated for over a decade, and he has never taken a holiday. Not once. We've given him days off, of course, but aside from the routine days off during a work week? He's not taken any time. I'm glad to see him taking a little, and Robert will be very, very happy."

Kate listened to Jack talk about taking something from the hag, and she became concerned immediately.

"Oh, that's not good," Kate said seriously. "Here's what you need to know about a hag. Consider this Hag Lesson 1. They look like witches but they are not human, and don't ever let them make you think otherwise. They are actually beasts and are much more closely genetically related to trolls than to humans. They are exceptionally diabolical and one of the most ruthlessly savage magical creatures you'll ever come across. Remember the muggle fairytale of Hansel and Gretel? That wasn't a witch those children actually came across. That was a hag. A hag's diet is entirely made of human flesh, and the younger the better, particularly if its a child. That's how the fairytale began. If Brian took anything at all from a hag, that could have dire consequences...."

"What could have dire consequences?" Robert asked coming in.

"Jack was just saying that Brian took something off the hag he ran into earlier. A wrist gauntlet or something, and Jess was asking if that was what might have been blocking us because it was right around that exact moment when our abilities came back."

"What?" Robert's frown suddenly became highly worried. "It absolutely could have come from that, but that would mean that a hag was somehow able to get close to us and affect us, and that does not make me happy. I will search his things to see if I can't find whatever it was he took. And, there's another piece. Despite my efforts his mood and his thoughts are very dark right now. Part of it is still some residual contamination from the shadow creature. I think it will wear off as the energy drain subsides and if he can get back into some of the things here that keep him grounded--doing the training, working in the barn with the horses and the larger creatures, that sort of thing. And certainly as he sees Khaat and Abbey feeling better, he'll feel better."

"You know what Remus would have said. He'd have given him a chocolate bar," Kate said.

"Yes, and I did that. I had him eat that while I was assessing him and removing what I could. I think it did help," he said.

"Why does this have such a hold on him?" Angus asked.

"Because," Edward said. "I think he already had his own dark thoughts stuck in his head already that he was struggling before the skirmish began last night. I watched him for a moment, and I know what I saw. He was already bothered and upset when we all got there. A dark thought would certainly have been something a shadow creature could have gotten hold of and used it not only as a gateway into him but also an anchoring point to allow itself to hang onto him, contaminate his soul, and keep tight hold of him."

"That is exactly what I think happened to him," Robert agreed. "A shadow creature is very closely related to a dementor. That's why our patronuses worked so well. With a shadow creatures, the bigger and darker they are, the more powerful they are. The one that attacked him was bigger and darker than the others and why we had more trouble getting rid of it. That's why it took all of us to banish it. And this one entwined itself not only around him but inside him. It was absolutely determined to rob him of every part of himself, very much like the dementor's need to consume the soul. Shadow creatures work in almost exactly the same way."

"But Brian doesn't get very dark very often," Angus said.

"That doesn't mean the thoughts aren't there," Robert said. "When they do happen, he pushes past them most of the time, and they fade away for him. And last night, it was huge in his head. He blamed himself for the hag and for the shadow creatures at St. Mungo's and all that grew out of that. He believes he drew them there and caused all that trouble for everyone."

"Hogwash," Edward retorted. "The hag was already there. Dr. Harrington never existed. It was always the hag. That's why Abbey was so upset earlier in the day. Something alerted her to the extreme danger she and Kate were in, and that's why she was so completely inconsolable. She had been attacked by a shapeshifting hag, and we never knew it. All Brian did was to expose it. Who knows how many others could have been contaminated or affected by the hag or the shadow creatures if he hadn't caught it?"

"Well, and I think he might be onto something else," Robert said. "He mentioned something to me just a few minutes ago. He said he was wondering if all these shapeshifters are somehow related to each other. He wants to check and see if there is some sort of a family of shapeshifters that Gelding has contracted with. I'm wondering if it could go a step further," Robert said. Edward's face cleared, understanding.

"A pack of hags," Edward said, realizing where Robert was going. "Magical creatures often belong to packs. Why not hags? That would explain one hell of a lot. And--think of Gelding's 'products.' He has what they want..."

"Oh, God, Robert," Kate said, filled with utter horror at the thought.

"It explains was why Abbey was completely terrified today. She was in the hands of a creature that probably wanted to eat her--and maybe you too--literally."

"Gabe, what about that bead we retrieved from Abbey's cheek?" Robert asked.

"It was a marker," Gabe said. "It's core was Hidebehind hair, and a dark arts magical powder. I think that bead was intended to mark Abbey so that a shapeshifter of some sort could track her and come and take her later, probably to be used as food. If you hadn't found that bead and rid her of it, we might well have already lost her and maybe been up to our eyeballs in dark creatures right this minute. The bead has been completely destroyed, though, so we are in no danger from it now."

"I can go check the Ministry's register of magical creatures to see what they might have on any sort of pack of hags," Robert said. "Come to think of it, Brian said the hag said something though, said we had something that didn't belong to us..." Robert said.

"The shapeshifter in your bug jar," Edward said. "I think you might not have just any ordinary sorceress with a fettish for staffs instead of wands. I think you have captured a hag--one of their pack, and they want her back."

"Oh, dear God," Kate said. "What the hell sort of insanity has Gelding taken the lid off of? If he's not careful, he'll set off another wizarding war--a war of creatures against humans."

"Precisely," Edward said. Robert rose from his seat.

"Hold my plate. I'd better find that wrist gauntlet before it does some sort of weirdness," Robert said. "He couldn't have gone that far with it."

"I want to see it straight away when you find it," Gabe said. Robert just nodded and went over to Jack. "Forgive me one moment, Jack. Just being cautious." He laid his hand on Jack's forehead for one moment, assessing. Then he removed his hand and looked at Jack. "Your skirmish and your wounds would have been a perfect time for another marker to be implanted. I was just checking, and, no. There are no metallics or foreign substances there. You're clean.'

"Good thought, Robert," Gabe said, "Better safe than sorry."

"I'm going to go look for that gauntlet. I'll be back," Robert said, leaving and heading upstairs.

Ruby listened to Kate and smiled as she spoke of him finally taking a holiday even at their insistance over the years.  "well I feel happy I could get him to finally take one." she said looking up at him. She listened to Kate and Jack talking and frowned at the mention of hags " ugly witches" she said noting Abby was in the room, "they ruin witches reputations" she spoke softly.  

When Edward spoke of a pack of Hags she sighed "You mean the rule of three, a coven is always made of three women well in this case Hags." she said and looekd at them " but yeah I agree, they can be related." She looked at Angus as they spoke of the bead that was taken from Abby and was relived it was distroyed.  Hearing Robert talk of checking the  Ministry's register of magical creatures  she thought for amoment before she spoke again.

"You could also check with the Broom Regulatory Control and the foreign affairs department to see if any new requisitions or foreign dignateries have entered the country." she sugested now pushing her ice cream around the bowl. She watched as Robert checked Jack pleased when he found nothing. Now she was becoming stressed and took hold of Angus's hand to calm herself. "I don't like that these Hags are giving us witches a bad name" she glanced at Angus.

"No," Edward replied to Ruby. "I mean packs. More than three. Remember Hags aren't human and never have been. They just physically resemble humans, and so a human form is nothing more than a handy disguise for them. They're, for all practical purposes, animals. They don't follow the rule of three. There are still some dark arts witches that function in covens, yes. Complete twaddle, but light practitioners don't tend to do that so much."

"Calm," Angus told Ruby steadily when her anxiety triggered. "It isn't the wizarding world you need to worry about. Most people in our world have had a basic lesson or two in magical creatures. The only ones you really need to be concerned about getting them confused are muggles, and, technically, muggles don't believe magic in any form actually exists anyway. They believe it's all make believe, so therefore, so far as they're concerned, hags are imaginary too. Actually, we really are exceptionally well protected here, so truth be told, unless I tell you otherwise, I wouldn't worry. I say you should get it off your mind and think about the trip. Kate, can Ruby borrow a few more things from Khaat's closet."

"Certainly. She'll never miss them," Kate laughed. "Do take her to the outfitters and get her properly sized, would you? I realize its a bit of a deviation for you..."

"Consider it done," Angus said. "We're going that way anyway in the morning."

"Oh, which boat are you taking?" Edward asked Angus.

"I thought I'd take the sailing yacht," Angus replied. Edward frowned.

"Well," Edward said, "your choice, of course. You can take what you like. I wish you wouldn't take that one though. They're having a longer than normal storm season this year, so I'd rather see you take one of the cabin cruisers. They're more reliable in bad weather. You're a fine captain, always have been, but I'd rather you take a safer boat since you're going by yourselves. You'll have plenty of opportunities for sailing in the summer when the weather isn't nearly so iffy. Just at least use the muggle radio when you get there and let Evan know you got there safely."

"Alright, Make it a cabin cruiser, and I'll check in with Evan. Anything else?" Angus asked.

"No, I think that's it," Edward said. He looked at Ruby. "Ever been on a sailboat or a cabin cruiser before?"

"I'll make a mental note to relay your ideas to Robert, Ruby," Michael said to Ruby about her suggestions. "Thank you. Good thoughts."

Ruby breathed out at Angus's words then listened to Robert as he spoke " hum yeah, your right they still see us as fairy tale creatures." she said then listening to Angus she chuckled and nodded " Thank you, oh Angus should I borrow a one peice or a bikini?" she asked smiling teasingly at Angus. she listened to the banter between Edward and Angus. She loved the idea of the sail boat but understood the need for caushion with the weather turning.

"No, sailing sounds relaxing but, I think Edwards right with the weather that could turn bad, the cabin cruiser sounds nice too, being all cosy in a cabin with teh starts out, sounds romantic." Picking up her plate she moved to the kitchen and began cleaning it ready for breakfast prep. She looked up and smiled at Angus. then looked at Michael and nodded.

Jess was relived that Jack didn't have a marker on him and breathed out sigh of relifebut could not help but chuckle at Ruby's tease of Angus. " I'll fetch some things Ruby and put them in your room." Ruby nodded.

"Thank you Jess and you too Kate its apreciated ." she said placing the last item in the washer and turning it on.

"You choose what you like," Angus said smoothly, since he was in front of everyone else. He knew where the bathing suits would end up anyway, so it scarcely mattered.

Robert came back downstairs with a black leather wrist gauntlet in his hand, and he handed it to Gabe. The first thing Gabe noticed was that it was set with semi precious stones, and the largest stone, an multicolored oval cabochon, seemed to be glowing and swirling with colors. Gabe picked up a cloth napkin off the table and covered the stone with it. He looked up at Robert, deliberately not saying a word, but he wanted Robert to know he was not happy with what he was already seeing. He quickly left and went upstairs.

"Come with me," Angus said to Ruby. "I want to show you something." He led her outside, across the grass, out to the barn where one of the workers was feeding some of the large animals and he had a bucket with some cuts of raw meat for the hippogryff.

"Could I have that?" Angus asked.

"Certainly, Sir. I was hoping to get him out a little. He hasn't been out in days."

"Understood," Angus said. He went into the stall and bowed to the unusual cream colored hippogriff, who bowed back to him, pawing at the ground. "Come introduce yourself, Ruby. This is Swift. He really is a friendly fellow, but right now, he wants his supper. Introduce yourself, and then I'll feed him."

Ruby chuckled at Angus's awnser, having a feeling she knew what was going on in his mind. Taking his hand in her own she walked with him outside to the barn. Walking in she smiled seeing a hippogriff. she kept hold of his hand as he moved to the hippogriff and introduced her to it. " hello swift, Im Ruby" she said softly then bowing low to it and hoping it would acept her.

"He's beautiful" she said as she watched him lower his head to her. Gently she reatched out her hand placing it lightly in the top of its head. " This is my first time seeing a hippogriff." she said and smiled at Angus. " but I do think he wants his food." she said watching Angus with the meat. " would you let me?" she asked

"Certainly," he said. handing her the bucket with the one large cut of meat in it. He petted Swift's head. "Swifty and I are old pals," he smiled. "When you get to know each other, you probably won't have to bow to him each time you greet him but most of the time I still do just because it's habit."

He stepped back from Swift so Ruby could feed him, and he spoke to the barn hand who was standing by.

"Would you ask the night crew to turn on the outside lights, just for a bit, please?"

"Sure, Angus. It's time for rounds so they should be turning them on anyway," the man said, heading off to find the barn intercom to send Angus's message.

Ruby smiled at Swift "Then I should realy get to know him" she said picking up some meat then she held it out for him to take, glancing at Angus she smiled as she spoke to Swift. "I'm not going to hurt him." she said to swift softly as she stroked his main gently. " he's the first man, that I can be myself around and care for a lot. " she told him with a chuckle as it nudged her towards Angus. At a second push she tumbled to fall against him and chuckled. " Thing swift is ether telling me I need to be with yu or he wants to go out." she said with a chuckle.

She saw the outside lights come on and looked at Angus. " always looking out for others arn't you?" she said her arms srill around his waist.

He watched her with Swift, and she did just fine with him. Swift seemed to respond well to her.

"I know what he wants," Angus laughed. "And we'll take care of that too before we go inside. "I look out for others because, first of all, they're family. And that's what families do. Good families, anyway. And, the other reason is that I don't know how to be any other way. You do know what the dolphin stands for as a patronus, right? They're protectors, guardians. I guess that's what I am. Anyway, come with me." He grinned. He petted Swift again and then got on in the very same way he mounted a bareback horse. Then he reached his hand down to her.

"Come on. Let's go for a night flight, and I'll show you this amazing place from the air. Yeah, the view is a bit limited at night, but its still an amazing view. He's about ready to tear the barn door off if he doesn't get to fly. Let's take him out. Come with me." he said.