A Birth day

Aria listened to Angus and nodded she agreed " I think its a year old they have their MMR and they are still a ways off that" she said eating her own food she chuckled at the boys reaction to seeing the chocolate rolls and tasting them. She watched das Angus made more rolls and talked to the fae since they too wanted more rolls this made her chuckle but she looked in amassment as she saw them move to the terrarium and heard him mention the eggs hatching to worms " so not long now until they are little fae?" she asked.

Ruby sat and fed Caprice her roll and watched how she ate every piece and licked her fingers clean of the chocolate before asking for another piece. " that's wonderful there community is growing" she said smiling as Caprice took a piece of roll from her hand and started to eat it

"Well, I don't know the exact time frame," Angus said. "Most butterflies and such are in cocoons for a couple weeks. So if that's anything to go by, and it's going to be a week before they enter the cocoon stage, we're looking probably at 3-4 weeks, but that's just a complete guess on my part. Marcus said that Evelyn seemed to think there really is not such a child stage to Fae. She thought they entered the world from their cocoons in what we would consider puberty age child, maybe 10-12 years old or so. But I guess we'll get to see that for ourselves."

Angus packed up a couple of the rolls for the girls to take to Evan's, and he checked the clock.

"You two are going to need to go. I'll take them while you lot finish your breakfast," Angus said. "It won't take me more than a...."

"Not without me," Marcus said, dashing down the stairs, dressed and ready for the day. The girls got up and go their backpacks and picked up the rolls that Angus had packed. "Aria, Diamond needs a bit of a cleanup. Something she ate for breakfast isn't agreeing with her. Either that or she's got teething issues. We'll be straight back."

Angus and Marcus each took hold of Anise and Ginger and ported out.

Ruby and Aria looked at the fae worms and Angus explained when he said Anise and Ginger had to go to Evens Ruby was about to ask Aria to look after Caprice when Marcus said he was taking them as Angus and Marcus ported out" hum so much for me taking them then then ." she said with a chuckle as she and picked up Caprice and took her upstairs to bathe and change her and Dimond with Aria.

Once both babies were clean she she brought them back down now both dressed in trouser outfits she knew Simone had bought for them. Placing them in the play pen she watched as some of the fae tended to the worms happily.

Angus and Marcus weren't gone more than about ten minutes. They came straight back, and Angus came back inside.

"Marcus is helping the garden crew. I told him I would be in here looking for a temporary chef for the main house," Angus said. "Oh, and there is a bit more of a reason why the girls are anxious about the dueling exam. It's going to be at the school today, in their dueling arena. It's one of the first events they've actually done at the school. If they'd mentioned it, I could have prepared them for that, but neither one of them said a word. I only found out because Faith and Evie were in their uniforms when I got there. Anise and Ginger have uniforms at Evan's, so they'll be alright with that, but I'm sure dueling in front of classmates they've never met is going to cause them some nerves. I just hope they do well." He got out an address book, and he sat down to try to compile a list of chefs to call to see who might be interested in such an assignment.

He had been searching perhaps thirty minutes when Marcus came in.

"Angus, didn't you say you knew someone who had a restaurant in Edinburgh?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah. Husband and wife couple. Trish and Mickey. They've got an upscale gastropub there."

"Not anymore. The place burned down six weeks ago, and the paper says they've file for bankrupcy. Can't find work. They might jump at the chance to work," Marcus said. "A couple of the grounds crew were talking about it just now."

"They might indeed," Angus said. "I'll try to reach them. Thanks, Marcus." He began to search his book to find their address.

Ruby and Aria saw Marcus and Angus port back then she listened as Angus explained why they took the girls . Ruby nodded she understood " I hope she does well both of them" she said softly. then she heard him talk about temp cooks for the main house " good idea" she said as she let him search for a replacement while she read her book.

Aria looked up as Marcus walked in from the garden and spoke to Angus " they sound perfect" she said with a smile " would also give them something to do while repairing the pub or finding some place else after." she said " and I know Scottish food is an acquired taste especially that Haggis they have." she said and chuckled.

"Haggis," Marcus sighed, shaking his head. "When I was in primary school--second grade, I think, the school had a cook from Scotland. She made this truly disgusting dish she called Haggis Surprise."

"Oh my God," Angus laughed. "Was it edible at all?"

"No," Marcus said.

"What was in it?"

"Mystery meat, mystery vegetables, mystery...well, mystery everything. I did try it once--ended up sick enough that my father had to come to collect me from school and take me home," Marcus said.

"Have you ever had Haggis since?"

"Well, I was served it once on a mission, and in order to not have my cover blown, I had to look like I was eating it. However, what I was actually doing was pushing my food around on my plate to make my portion look smaller, and doing a wee bit of magic to cause it to disappear, one tiny bit at a time," Marcus said. "It might have been gourmet quality haggis, but I wasn't eating it." That made Angus laugh. "Your ancestry is Scottish. How have you fared?"

"I have been fortunate to have a grandfather who can't stand the stuff and who did not hire Scottish cooks," Angus laughed. "So, no. I haven't had to eat it, except for a taste in culinary school. It wasn't bad. Wasn't good either, and I don't have any desire to have it again. If we hire Trish and Mickey, I'll have to tell them I'm highly allergic to disgusting food."

"You won't be the only one, I'm sure," Marcus replied.

"Ah. There's there address. I'll call them on the floo and see what they say," Angus said.

Aria laughed then chuckled as Marcus spoke of not liking Haggis, or the one he was served " mystery haggis, no one I heard of." she said with a chuckle. Listening more she made note not to bring Haggis into the cottage once it was finished and they could cook their " noted, no Haggis to be brought into the vicinity of the cottage" she said smirking.

Ruby looked at Marcus and then to Angus " I've had it and its really nice , a bit dry because of the barley and spices they used but , yeah nice, she must have been just a bad cook" she said chuckling " never have I heard of mystery haggis" she once again shook her head as she turned the page in the book she was reading..

"I will be happy to not serve it," Angus laughed. He used the floo to reach out to Trish and Mickey, and he got Mickey, who sounded sleepy. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry," Angus apologized. "I can call later if you like..."

"No, no, its fine," Mickey said. "Always nice to hear from an old mate. What can I do for you?"

"I just heard through the grapevine about your pub. I am truly sorry, Mate. Really," Angus said. "You and Trish alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine. She's going to be sorry she missed you. She's helping her mum put some plants in her window boxes this morning."

"Well. I might have something for you. It's temporary, but if it works out, I might be able to help put you onto something more permanent."

"I'm in."

"You haven't heard the job yet."

"I don't care. Does it pay real galleons?"

"It does. And I need the both of you. Can you handle private chef duties, the two of you, for a large estate? Breakfast, lunch, and supper, and some housekeeping tasks."

"Can we? Mate, that sounds like a dream come true. Where and when?"

"I know its short notice, but the sooner the better. There are two full time chefs and a housekeeper, and they've all taken ill. So the two of you would be doing the job of three fulltimers."

"We're in. With our kids in Hogwarts, we're free. Is it close to a hotel of any sort?"

"A hotel?"

"We're being evicted from our flat. We have to be out by five tonight. Movers are coming to put our stuff in a storage unit. We'll be living out of a couple of suitcases for a bit."

"Don't worry about housing. I can handle that for you. Just be aware, the sickness that took them out is some sort of a magical strain of mumps."

"We've both been vaccinated for regular run-of-the-mill mumps, does that help?"

"It does. Could you come today?"

"Could we? Just tell me where and when, and we'll be there."

"How about I meet you at the Leaky at 1? I'll pick you up," Angus said.

"Mate, you are the answer to a prayer," Mickey sounded almost tearful. "I owe you. I really owe you for this."

"Not a problem. I'll see you at one."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. See you then," Mickey said, and the floo went dark.

"Problem solved, it appears," Marcus said.

"Yes. I'll talk with Kate and see if they can make space for them at the main house," Angus said. "I'll send her a paper bird."

"Sounds like they damned near lost everything," Marcus said.

"Yeah. You know, if they do well with this, maybe we can find a permanent place for them," Angus said. "I'll have to give it some thought."

Ruby chuckled as Angus spoke of never serving it. " okay I get it , no Haggis" she said and chuckled again. Now as he spoke to Micky and Trish . well Micky about the job she heard the relive in his voice at the offer. Once Angus finished she nodded " he seems relived at the job, we do have a cabin spare next to Jessie on the other side , I'm sure Robert said there were three spare, not including Marcus and Arias." she said the heard Marcus say he'd send a paper bird to Kate. " good idea and why not send one to Jack so he can notify the ground crew so they don't get turned to stone of zapped by one of them" she suggested.

Aria looked at them both and smiled " I'm sure the guest rooms will be okay for now short term" she said " I'm guessing they will have the usual security checks too?" shea asked " or will that be bypassed since you know them?" she looked at Angus as he spoke to him and made a bear dance in the play pen for Dimond who chuckled as did Caprice seeing it dance around the play pen.

"I never skip the vetting process," Angus said, "not even for someone I know. The way I see it, everyone has secrets, even my friends. I can't afford to let my emotions get the better of me and put the people who live here at risk because I didn't do my job. And I do my own vetting for anyone I hire and usually I do the vetting for people Robert hires." He scribbled a hasty note to Kate and changed it to a paper bird and sent it over to the main house.

Kate was relieved, and she sent a note back to tell him so. She said that Rosaria's and Carlo's things had been packed and returned to Edward late last night, and their room at the main house had already been disinfected and refreshed for whoever might need it next. She said she would wait on the results of Angus's vetting, but she was presuming they were going to be just fine.

Angus got to work on the vetting process, and once he had the records requests all submitted, he got to work making his crown roasts for supper so he could put them on for a slow braise. He got them ready and put them in the oven and then did the prep for his mashed potatoes and the stuffing he was making, and what vegetables he could prep ahead of time for his salad. Lastly, he made a huge batch of an orange sherbet and made some orange madeleines. The sherbet and the madeleines could certainly be made ahead of time.