A Birth day

Robert brought over a big box of quick quotes quills at lunch time, and Angus merely thanked him for the quills and got out his pad of paper and a completely normal pencil and went to work. He worked all afternoon on it, and finally, just before Rosaria was due to serve supper, he had Marcus send for Robert.

"You going to be my guinea pig?" Angus asked Marcus.

"That depends on whether Robert can put me right again," Marcus said.

"I'll give it a shot," Robert laughed.

"Okay, here," Angus handed him a quill and the pad of paper. "Now,, write a lie."

"What?"

"Write down a lie."

"I hate whiskey," Marcus wrote. At that moment, Marcus's skin started to change into bizarre colors, and he began to puff up like Harry Potter had said his aunt had done.

"Uh oh," Robert said. "He's becoming a rainbow balloon. Not good." He stepped in quickly to put Marcus to rights.

Aria and Ruby finished putting the things away they had bought and when Robert dropped off the quills Ruby sat watching Angus and what he was doing while Aria went and retrieved the babies. She was stunned by what she saw when she returned, Marcus skin changing and blowing up like a balloon but she could not help laugh " that is so funny" she said handing Caprice to Ruby while she set Dimond down in the play pen in front of them.

Aria walked over and gently poked Marcus before Robert set him to rights " phew thought I'd have to live with a big balloon" she said chuckling. She looked to Angus " so your going to do that to Rita Skeeter if she writes a lie , right?" she asked then laughed " I can't want to see the head lines, Skeeter blows, up like a balloon" she said like a news reporter making Ruby laugh at the image.

Marcus breathed a deep sigh of relief when Robert put him back to rights.

"Well, that would be the idea," Angus said.

"That would depend, it seems, upon two key things," Robert said. "We have to switch her quills. Take her original quill and replace it with one of these. And then, second, we have to put someone in her path that she just can't wait to interview."

"I can do some slight of hand," Angus shrugged.

"Meh. Piece of cake for Michael, and he hates her guts. He'll be in straight away as soon as I ask him if he wants to help get her," Robert shrugged.

"And the interviewer?"

"I rather hoped I could get you to escort Khaat to the Valentine's Ball. I know it's short notice but so is this. The ball is actually tomorrow night. The thought was that people might actually want to take their wives to dinner, so its being held before Valentine's, of course. Kate and I are going, of course, but Brian can't go. He's going to be in Paris to stop an auction. That means she'll need a guard. So, if you're her lone bodyguard, Rita will be trying to ooze all over one of you or both of you."

"And I'll miss my own prank," Angus sighed.

"Well, not necessarily," Robert said. "I'll see if I can't work on that to find a way for you to be able to go. It would be a shame for you to miss it."

Aria looked to Robert then to Marcus confused " and what do I do in all this, watch?" she asked " what about to keep Khaat safe we use Polyjuice potion to look like her but not be her there for keeping her out of harms way." she said but having a feeling they would want Khaat there at the ball. She didn't mind but didn't want to be just left on the side-lines Aria was hoping she could have gone with Marcus to debunk the roomers about him and Khaat.

Ruby chuckled and nodded " could work" she said " but won't that just feed the flames she could take what ever they say and twist it, isn't that what she's known for?" Ruby said placing down a book she had been reading on the table in front of her .

"You don't need to impersonate Khaat," Marcus looked at her, frowning, not liking what seemed to him like a bit of jealousy on Aria's part. "I am not incompetent. I have been keeping her safe for quite a long time now, and I can manage to do it for one more night. Besides, she likes adventure and a good prank like any other Lupin and every bloody Gryffindor I've ever met."

Angus wasn't prepared for Aria's sudden emotion either. This wasn't about some romantic dance that she needed to be jealous about. This was a possible assignment like any other. A mission. And not every bloody mission needed to involve her. Angus was angry with her instantly, and he snapped the enchanted quill in two in silent anger and chucked the pieces in the bin next to the bed.

"Aria," Robert said calmly, "it seems to me you need to stand down and let me make any mission decisions and assignments. You're out of line. At this point, nothing has been decided. We're only just bantering some ideas about. We're not actively planning anything yet, but when we do, rest assured that those choices will be mine."

Angus cast a quick glance at Ruby. At that point Angus was making up his mind that he still could make it all come to a grinding halt if he refused to make a new quill. Maybe the best choice was to let the lawyers battle it out instead.

Ruby saw Angus's look and stood up. " can you watch the babies for a moment" she asked Angus as she moved to Aria she took her hand and spoke to Robert " I'll talk to her, she'll be good." she said then faced Aria " walk with me Aria" she said taking her outside the duplex and over to the tea garden that as still lightly covered in snow but the snow drops poked their heads threw it.

" Aria you can't be like that, Marcus has looked after Khaat and Khaat has looked after herself just fine, its to throw off Rita not a date" she said to her. " if you need to take a brake then go, now and cool off but do not ever think Marcus will look at another woman , if you do he'll drop you like a hot potato and fine some one better ." she said making Aria look at her.

" I just don't like being left on the side lines" Aria said Ruby sighed and shook her head at her as she sat next to her.

"well that's what we do sometimes, sometimes we have to step back and trust our men to to their missions without us." she told her " as I said before if you can't handle it then let Marcus go and go to Colorado or something , but this isn't you, your not the jealous type Aria " she said noticing something pinned to the back of Aria's shirt , retching out she gently took it off her making Aria shake her head.

" your right its just a mission , He'll be fine " she said standing up she headed over to the running track leaving Ruby looking at a small golden bee pin that sat in her hand. Standing she walked over to the duplex and re-entered " okay she's gone for a run but I found this on her shirt, not like any bee I've seen ." she opened her hand and showed Robert it before accioing a protective bag , dropping it it it gave a purple fizzle and she closed it " wonder what that was?" she asked looking at them both.

Angus knew Marcus well enough to know that Marcus did not have the ability to handle a clingy, touchy, jealous woman. That's just what he got rid of when he got rid of Evelyn. If Aria wanted to stay with Marcus long term, she needed to stop that jealous horseshit immediately because Marcus just wouldn't put up with it. If he'd wanted a jealous woman, all he'd needed to do was to keep Evelyn.

"Angus," Marcus began, "don't let her poor behavior turn you off. It's a good idea. Rita does need taken down a peg or two. I'm far more concerned that if I'm there for Khaat, I won't be able to be there for you."

"I am not worried. If I need a guard other than you, I'm sure Jessie or Edward or Jack would go," Angus said. "And I am not entirely defenseless."

"Besides, Kate and I will be there, and I coujld also send Michael with you if I had to," Robert said. "It really isn't a bad plan, you know. Do keep in mind that Rita is an animagus. She can turn into a beetle. That's part of how she gets all those scoops of hers. She can get and get out of just about anywhere unseen."

"Oh, I dare her to think that will help her escape," Angus said. "I'll chuck her in a soda bottle or something and let that ugly little beetle swell up so big that all anybody can see are her two beady little bug eyes in that bottle." That made Robert laugh.

"You can be an ornery little buggar, can't you?" Robert laughed. "I have no idea what it is, Ruby, but I'll take this pin to Gabe and let him look at it." he tucked it into his pocket. "There are all kinds of little magic gizmos, so I cant' tell what this one does just by looking at it. Gabe might, though."

Ruby looked to Angus as Marcus finished talking to Angus. She looked to Robert and nodded " thank you the only time she and I were not together was when she went to get a paper I think one of the men might have followed her over to it and planted it then." she said " she's gone for a run " she explained and moved to sit down " I feel they are right , keep at it, Rita needs to learn she can't mess with us or she'll be on the receiving end, plus it will be fun seeing a Rita balloon, especially if she looks as funny as you did." she said and chuckled so not to wake the now sleeping babies.

Lucian ported in with a report for Robert " hey guys" he said and walked over to him " sorry they asked me to give you tins, its a report from the Paris office, I'm playing errand boy today." he said and chuckled then looked at Marcus " looking good for some one dating a married woman." he said with a chuckle " don't worry I'm kidding your good I know your not like that." he said then heard a peep from his watch " oops got to run."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ruby," Robert nodded. " A run will do her good."

"But the interesting thing will be is will she be a Rita balloon or a beetle balloon, and if you change her back into her human form at the ball while she's still a balloon, then will she have her clothes and such or..."

"No. She'd be a naked beetle balloon. Or a naked Rita balloon. I dont' know that we necessarily need to stoop that low, but maybe she won't be a repeat offender either. Besides., she's not exactly the young woman she used to be. If my math is right she's got to be, um...in her mid seventies now? Nobody really wants to see an old naked woman balloon, do they?"

"You have a point," Angus nodded.

"I'll make up a potion that might help you to be able to be back on your feet for short periods by tomorrow night, but I would also want someone like Jack right there in case you need to sit and can't find a chair handy. Jack could at least help support you til you can find something. Ruby, I don't have any issue with you going, but I'd have to work that into game plan too. I'll give it all some thought, and Angus, you reconsider if you'll make a new quill."

"I'll give it thought," Angus said. Robert nodded and apparated out to return to the main house. Suzanne and Rosaria brought over supper for everyone. They'd fixed a large salad, a large dish of beautiful handmade tortellini, and a lovely vodka sauce. She made some cannoli for dessert.

Ruby scrunched her nose at the thought of a wrinkly naked woman balloon floating around. " I think I'd go with the beetle balloon, at least it will be colourful" she said chuckling to them both " oh Angus, please make that quill" she said as Rosaria and Simone walked in with supper " hum smells good " she said as she went to the kitchen to set the table for them to dish up.

Aria caught up to the boys on the assault course as she too decided to run it finding Jack with them she nodded and ran harder finding it therapeutic feeling the burn of her muscles a s she ran off the feelings she had weirdly running threw her , the harder she ran the better she felt she passed them and climbed a rope to the top of one obstacle before easily climbing another before hitting a wall and pausing as he looked at the obstacle in front of her it was one where she would have to crawl on her tummy , she was use to flying but down she got and crawled. Jack watching her and the boys, but
mostly the boys as they began to become tired " Come on , you going to let aria beat you this close to the end?" he said chuckling as he sped up a little.