LONDON CALLING

"I think that looks fine," Kate said. "I don't think there's much of any hurry on them opening the gifts, but if you get envelopes, I think we should perhaps have either a box for those or perhaps pass them straight on to whoever they go to. Or you could take them and hold onto them. Those will either be money or some sort of gift certificates, and from past experience, I can tell you those envelopes will be very easily lost without a plan for them."

Michael finished the sauces and the salad and took the frozen bread dough and used it to make garlic breadsticks. When the sauces were underway, he boiled Angus fresh raviolis and fresh fettuccini, and Kate helped him start to set the sideboard for supper in the dining room. She put the caesar salad and the breadsticks at one end along with salad bowls and bread plates, the fresh pastas next in two big bowls with stacks of pasta bowls beside the pasta serving bowls, and then the bowls of sauce--the marinara with mini meatballs, and the alfredo, followed by a big bowl of additional grated parmesan cheese in case someone else wanted extra cheese on their bowl of pasta.

She cut the large lemon almond ricotta cake and set it out, with cake plates and big thermal pitchers of fresh hot tea and fresh coffee, and some pitchers of water, iced tea, and lemonade. Michael opened a couple nice bottles of chianti in case someone wanted a really great Italian wine with supper. Everyone could take what they wanted.

Then she called everyone for supper. Andrew went out and woke Angus for supper, taking his short hooded, beach robe for him to put on over his swim trunks. He helped Angus into his chair and then took the chair inside to the dining room

Sam and Victor were excited to see what was for supper.

"Spaghetti and meatballs!" Sam said.

"Cool!' Victor was just as excited. "And they're mini meatballs. That means we have have a million of them. Angus, what's in the ravioli?"

"More meatball filling and a blend of five cheeses--mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, romano, and provolone."

"Oh, nice! Can we have some of both?"

"Of course."

"Did you make these yourself?"

"I did, and Michael made the sauce," Angus said. He saw Edward and Simone come in. He didn't say anything, but he had used Caprice's recipe for the meatballs and the ravioli meat filling. As far as Angus was concerned, nobody had ever beaten Caprice's recipe for meatballs. He hoped Edward recognized it and that it brought back warm memories for him.

Andrew fixed a small salad for Angus with a breadstick and then made him a small bowl of pasta with some of the ravioli and the meat sauce in one bowl and a different small bowl with the fettucini and the alfredo, and poured him a glass of wine.

"Angus, can we have some wine with dinner?" Sam asked.

"If you like," Angus said. "It's legal to drink it at your age. Have you had wine before?"

"Yeah," Victor said. He wasn't going to add more information in front of everyone else, but Reginald and Suzanne hadn't cared what they drank, so the boys had regularly had wine at home, and even had hard liquor on occasion.

"Then, fine. Just don't go crazy with it, will you? One glass will do. Then go to something else."

"That's fine," Sam said.

"Thank you, Andrew," Angus said. "Now go get some for yourself."

"I intend to. I'm starving."

"How's the unpacking going?"

"Thanks to the boys, I am completely moved in, including my stuff from your place. I am moved out of my room at your place butif I need to move back in, I will be happy to do so," he said.

"Do you have things you'll still need?" Kate asked.

"Oh, of course," Andrew laughed. "My apartment in New York was sadly lacking, but I'm sure Rowan and I will fill in the holes in due time."

"Well, get us a list of what you're short when you both get settled. We all have a lot in storage that we'd be happy to donate to the cause," she told him. "Unless you don't like
hand-me-downs."

"Hand-me-downs are just fine with me," Andrew said. "Don't know about Rowan, though."

Ruby smiled at Kate " I'll make a box that has the names on and they can just drop them inside, kinda like a voting box, it but won't be able to open it just yet, should keep the envelopes safe" she said smelling the delishious food that Angus and Michael had mede together. She took a box and fashened a small slit in it then closed the open end over once more to only alow the envalopes to slip inside , taking a peice of paper she wrote simone and Edwards name before taping it to the box then repeating it for Sam and Vincent. " there done." she said and smiled.

Rowan walked in to the smell of cooking " wow thats smells great" he sid and took some food and sat down at the table " don't bother me one bit, Andrew, I basicaly grew up on hand me downs, mom never bought anything new always second hand " he said filling his mouth with a peice of ravioli. " humm, delishious , especialy the melding of flavours," he complimented Angus

"That's probably the best way to handle it," Kate agreed.

"I'm glad you like it," Angus said. "And, Michael, the sauces are every bit as authentic as anything you'd find in Italy. Well done."

"Yes, indeed," Edward said. "And Angus, thank you. I noticed exactly what you did with the meatballs. Wherever did you find her recipe?"

"From her. She taught me how to make it years ago."

"This was Caprice's recipe?" Simone asked.

"It was indeed," Edward said. "She learned it from an executive chef in Sicily when she and I were on our honeymoon there, and it was the one she used every time she made it. She tweaked it a bit over the years, but once she had it where she wanted it, she left it alone. I haven't had these since she got sick. Thank you for thinking of it."

"Those are the ones you had as a kid?" Sam asked.

"Yes, they are. The same recipe."

"Sounds like you had a cool grandma."

"I did," Angus smiled. "And she would have loved you guys."

"You think?"

"I know so," Angus said.

"So is anybody going out target shooting tonight?" Victor asked. "Sam and I would like to go, if you do."

"If no one is going along, you're welcome to go if Jack and Jessie are going to be out on night patrols," Angus said. "But--don't go any farther out than the target range, and if you intend to go anyplace else on the grounds, you be sure to either come back and check with Ruby or me, or if you see Jack or Jessie, you ask them. Once it gets dark, you stay close to the house and within eyesight of an adult at all times--especially you, Victor." He knew neither boy had taken their apparition classes yet since they started in January of their 7th year. Escaping from James or Gelding would be impossible for them.

Sam got up, taking his bowl and Victor's, both of them ready for seconds already. It made Angus laugh. At that age, he was eating seconds and sometimes thirds. It didn't surprise him a bit that they were going back for more.

Ruby smiled as the boys loved the meatballs, she had to admit they were tasty as was the ravioli. " I for one love them," she said smiling at Angus " maybe you should get Sparks to put them on the menu" she sugested. Jack glanced up at Sam and Victor and smiled " hey I'll take them out" he said " anything to shoot at those targets" he chuckled as did Jessie.

"don't worry I'll be with them too" he said finishing his food and moving to the kitchen to wash his plate and cutlry. Ruby was happy to let them go.

"I'll help with clean up " she said and began to clean away some of the food leaving some for the others who were not there like Robert. Once done she sat down with her book to continue reading and studying her beasts so not to fall behind in her trainning , even though she could not do the pysical side of it she wanted to keep her mind sharp while she had the opertunity.

"I hadn't considered that, but that's a good thought," Angus said.

"I think they would sell like mad," Kate said. "If there are any left, you should send some to Lizzie to try."

"I might do that," Angus smiled. "Thanks, Ru. Good idea. And thanks, Jack and Jessie. I'd feel better if they weren't alone at least until after they've had their apparating classes. Those don't even start til after Christmas break."

"Unless, someone can get permission to teach them earlier," Robert said, with a bit of a mischievous smile. "You'd have to know someone who knows the minister. I wonder who that might be." That made Angus smile. Robert was always thinking of a way to try to bump of the boys' abilities.

"Jack, who's the great big ugly geezer that's been made into a target out there?" Sam asked. Angus burst out in uncontrollable laughter, since he was the one who had gotten Jack to shave James bald in the first place and then Angus had made the photos into larger than life cutouts that he had put in the target area. That made Robert and Michael and several of the others laugh as well. Sam looked at them, not understanding the joke.

"Your new father is the one responsible for his picture being a target," Robert laughed. He saw Rub settling in with her book. "Ruby, I hope you haven't sworn off all your exercising. You should be doing 2 or 3 hours worth of some sort of exercise a week. Most of my pregnant patients are doing about 30 minutes worth a day. Do we need to talk about what training pieces you still can do?"

"And while we're talking about exercise, you all tuck into a piece of Angus's Italian Lemon Almond Ricotta cake. Then we can all go out and run it off," Michael teased.

Jack heard Sam ask and burst out laughing too " that would be James my brother on the target," he said and listened while Robert explained more to them " yep, but together we shaved him with a hair removal spell" he chuckled " okay come on boys, target practice time," he said and Jessie grinned as they walked out the door and down to the target area " okay boys show me what you got." Jack said smiling.

Ruby heard Robert and nodded " can we, I'm not sure what I'm aloud to do now I'm in this trimester." she told him as she marked the page she was on and stood up to walk over to him. " I worry I will overdo it or do something to harm the little one" she sat facing him " guess I could use the treadmill to continue my runs just at a gentle pace I guess, and swimming could be good, just not at this time of night," she said hoping he'd have more ideas for what she could do t keep up her training but more gently.

Andrew helped Victor get outside and into an all terrain chair, and then Sam helped push the chair to the target area. They drew their wands and started practicing with aiming and firing the spells that Robert had showed them as beginning defense spells.

"Well, there's no reason why you can't run, since you were doing it anyway, as long as you still feel good. Walking is very good exercise, and it's important. You absolutely can swim. That would be good for you. You can do stationary biking, strength training with weights--but not a lot heavier than what weights you were doing before you got pregnant. You can do yoga and tai chi, low impact aerobics, golf, water aerobics, pilates, doubles racquet ball, and tennis. You certainly can do wand practice, as long as someone isn't firing at you. You'll know, as you progress, which ones you want to do less of, but as long as you feel good, then I say go for it. No more climbing for now, but you weren't doing much of that anyway. Nothing high impact, and obvious things like horseback riding or outdoor biking. Take someone with you if you're not sure, and make sure to have a water bottle nearby to stay hydrated."

Andrew helped Angus upstairs to get his shower and to help him get settled in his room. After Angus's shower, Andrew brought Angus up a slice of cake and a mug of fresh coffee, and settled him with his book.

Simone met with Marcus and showed him her dresses. He had her try them on, and he used spells to alter the hem on the taupe colored dress and helped her tailor both of them so that they fit impeccably. He wanted to see her headpiece, so she got the box from her room and took them to Khaat's closet, where Marcus had copied the mannequin and had hung both of Simone's dresses so he could use a cleaning and pressing spell on both dresses. Khaat had plenty of space in her closet, and she had given permission for the wedding dresses to be put there and to be readied so Edward didn't see them.

Simone took the box in, and when Marcus opened it and took out the headpiece, he was immediately drawn to how thick and deep the box was for the headpiece that it held. He believed firmly that there was a hidden compartment. Simone brushed him off, but Marcus took a close look at the box, found a hidden switch, and the box sprang open a second time, this time to reveal a second headpiece. This one was, again, done in mithril but it had mithril stars with sapphire sets, and the center of the headpiece was a crescent moon.

"You know what this is, right?" Marcus asked.

"No. No idea," she frowned. "I've never seen that one."

"Well, Michael or Gabe might know more, but it looks to me like the first headpiece celebrates the daytime, in the forest. And this one obviously honors the night. I think you have a full set, and I think they were always meant to be a set."

"Are they worth anything?" she asked.

"I should think, but I think you should ask. Michael on that," he said. "You know, since the other celebrates the moon and the stars, maybe that would fill the bill for Ruby's something borrowed or something blue, if she likes it. It really is a lovely piece."

"Maybe. I can offer it to her," Simone said.

Ruby sat and listened to Robert then nodded her eyes " good to know I can still go bike riding or use the gym, I might do that tonight." she said transfiguring her clothing to gym wear but she listened to him again " golf?" she said " I don't do Golf" she said to him smirking but then she realized the potion he had given her was in the duplex " oh could you make up some fresh potion Im not sure if the other bottle servived the fire." she said " and the one here is almost gone." she said.

Jacl watched Victor with Andrew, " okay wands out and rember focus on your target." he said Jessie stood next to Sam and took aim , standing slightly side on as he fired off a fireball spell whitch hit sightly to the left. " nice try but adjust your stand your too far to the left." Jack said.

"see even seasoned wand users get it wrong" he said just as Rowan walked past. He drew his wand and fired an arrow spell that hit dead center "ok almost every seasoned wand user" he said as Rowan laughed.

"took me years of trainning to be able to do that" he said " that and constant fighting" he said as he paused to watch the boys train. " so I belive there going to be taught aperation" he said to Robert as he stood back and let the boys have ago at the targets.

"Of course. There's more up in the workroom. It's a standard potion," he told her. "They're not necessarily heat sensitive, but if you find it, let me check it before you use it. In the meantime, I'll get you another bottle."

"Is it labeled, Robert?" Edward asked.

"Yes," he told her. "Look on the top shelf in the potions cabinet in the work room. It will be clearly labeled. There are a couple different versions. She takes the one marked Pregnancy Potion, Full. Just give her another bottle, would you? The ones in the cabinet have lemon meringue pie flavoring. If she wants something different, I'll have to add some flavoring to an unflavored one."

"I'll get it for you," Edward told Ruby, motioning her to come with him.

"Well, I can't technically teach them apparition unless I get approval from the Ministry. They'll still have to take the Hogwarts classes, most likely, but I'm not sure. Given their circumstances, it is exceptionally dangerous for them to not be able to apparate to escape some sort of a threat, though, so I want to make sure that they have that ability absolutely as soon as we're allowed to teach it. In the meantime, though, I can teach them some shield spells and their patronuses. That would help. I'll start with shields because those are far easier for them to produce rather than a patronus. Jack and Jessie, how about we teach these lads an effective Protego spell?"

Ruby was grateful that he'd made spare potions " thank you and I will." she said moving to Edward " and thank you to Edward" she said moving with him to the lab to find the shelf with the potions on. Watching Edward take down the potion she opened it and smelt it trying the lemon meringue pie-flavoured one she nodded " that's good" she told him and slipped it into her pocket.

Rowan listened to Robert and nodded " Im sure with their curcomstances being as they are they will get permishion to learn" he said moving to Sam and repositioning him. " try that " he said and stood just back from him as he watched him fire his wand. Rowan nodded he aproved and looked back to Robert " I helpped train some of the men under my employ, I try amd make sure they are full trainned to the best of their abilitys, hard when you get some real numptys." he told him and glanced at Victor. " you think hes tiring?" he asked