A Birth day

Aria and Ruby both gathered everything on the list along with several tubs of ice cream for the fridge and some home made caramel and chocolate sauces to go over the top of the ice cream. Now with bags in hand they ported back to the duplex as Jack finish setting up Poppy's bed down in the girls room " thank you Jack " Ruby said as Aria went down to make it up only to find Jack had done it already .

"yes Jack thank you" Aria said smiling a she returned " you didn't have to make the bed too" she added Jack chuckled and smiled.

"hey, make the bed to me means make the bed" he said and chuckled holding up his hands " hope she feels better soon" he said and headed back to the barn leaving the girls to set up everything down stairs for Poppy. Aria took down a table that slid under the bed for her and placed the paints and colored pens along with all the sketch books and colouring books on it along with paints and an easel so she could see what she was creating from the bed.

Once done Aria placed Amari into the play pen while Ruby did the same with Caprice then sat waiting for the guys to return.

Robert said he would get with Andrew about Poppy's care, and he made sure he gave Poppy some pain potion and then he helped her put on a second hospital gown, this one on backwards to act as a robe long enough for Marcus to get Poppy home in. Marcus signed the discharge papers, and Angus took the plastic bag that had Poppy's things in it. Marcus picked up Poppy, and Angus apparated the three of them home. Angus opened the door, and Marcus took Poppy straight downstairs and put Poppy in the third bed in the girls' bedroom. Poppy was very tired, and she was fighting sleep hard now.

Marcus covered her with the blankets and then he sat with her and explained the house, Angus and Ruby's kids, etc. She slipped into a deep, drained sleep almost straight away. Marcus was tempted to worry, but he knew that a small girl, like Poppy was, was going to find her injury was painful and her surgery was going to take a bit to recover from. Besides that, Robert's pain potion had been a strong one. He reasoned it out for himself. He knew that, if she were undisturbed, she might sleep a few hours now.

"One of us can stay," Angus said. "You should try to get Nyx for her," Angus told him quietly. Marcus nodded and went upstairs to contact the school by floo to request her lessons and her owl. 

Angus went upstairs. 

"She's sleeping," Angus told Ruby. "A child her size is going to find surgery tough going, not to mention being in a house she hasn't been in before. And Robert's got her rather knocked out on pain potion. Still, we should take her something to drink in case she wakes up and we're not there. Marcus is trying to get her owl for her and her lessons."

Ruby made sure everything was clear for when the guys returned and sure enough they did Aria walked over to Poppy and walked with Marcus while he placed her in the bed. Gently she placed the sheets and blanket over her as he explained where she was. Seeing Poppy drift to sleep Aria walked back up but not before placing a reassuring hand on Marcus shoulder . " Ruby and I will watch over her" she said smiling to him and watched him head back upstairs to sort out Nyx.

Jack opened the back door and carried one owl perch he handed it to Ruby who carried it down to the bed room setting it up where she knew Poppy would be able to see it before leaving just as quiet as she had arrived. " okay how is she?" Jack asked after Ruby had left the room.

" she's sleeping right now." Aria said to him " Marcus is sorting out getting Nyx back here for her from the school, she probably won't be fully awake till tomorrow." Aria moved to the kitchen and began to make dinner for every one she chose to make Creamy mixed mushroom and mustard pies recipe with a Roasted beetroot & feta salad to add as a side salad.

"Thanks. Robert had to do a bit of surgery," Marcus said. "The beast gored her with one of his horns. Robert says she'll be fine but this could take awhile for her to recover--perhaps some weeks," Marcus said. "It's best that she's here anyway rather than to take her back to Mom and Dad's since they're going to participate in that archaeological dig in a week or two. It's better than we don't have to uproot her.

Marcus went to the desk and sent a message to Hogwarts. Then he whistled for Archangel and sent the message with the eagle. Angus went upstairs and got an insulated carafe and put ice water in it and took it and a glass downstairs and put it on the nightstand for her in case she wanted some water when she woke.  And then he went back upstairs.

"Making supper, are you?" Angus asked. "I would think that the girls and Evan and Tara could be here in an hour or so, so you might want to make plenty. I think I'll work on some ice cream for tonight's dessert."

Angus made four treacle tarts. He froze two of them for use later. Then he took one cut it into tiny cubes, and he made a wonderful brown butter ice cream and added the treacle tart bits into it, stirred them through, and then put the ice cream in the freezer to chill.

Aria heard Marcus talk to Jack about what had happened to poppy " poor girl, glad shes here with her dad" he said patting Marcus shoulder. He smiled and smelled ria's cooking " smells good" he said and heard her chuckle as Angus asked if she was making supper " yep if its that time, guessed they would be hungry when they arrive." she said with a chuckle as she watched Angus make desert for every one " oh and I did" she said chuckling " there's enough to feed an army here" she said as she saw Ruby pick up Caprice and move her up stairs " seems some one had a blow out" she said glad to be in the kitchen.

Ruby took Caprice and bathed her and changed her into her P'Js ready for bed . Returning she did the same with Amari and smiled as Amari hugged her as she took her up to the bathroom and bathed her. Returning she placed her with Caprice and watched them watch Angus in the kitchen Amari's head tipped as if wondering just what he was doing.

"Dessert is in the freezer, so that's done," Angus said. "Marcus, if we need to go to the school,..."

"No, I dont think so. I think..." Marcus was saying. As he was speaking, there was a knock on the door. Angus answered and saw a woman outside. She was carrying a carpetbag, and she had a spotted owl on her shoulder.

"You...aren't Marcus Belby, are you?" she asked.

"I'm not, but he's here," Angus said. "I'm Angus Donohue."

"I am Professor Evans. I'm an adjunct professor from Hogwarts. Her head of house asked me to bring some of Poppy's things? Said Marcus might be here?"

"And they would be right. Come in." Angus said. "Marcus? It's for you." 

"Thanks," Marcus said. He went to the door as the woman came inside. Marcus went over and introduced himself.  He recognized Nyx, and the bird seemed to know him too. The professor handed over the carpetbag and said that if there were any questions with her lessons, all they needed to do was to send a message. Marcus understood. 

Angus got out an owl treat, and he gave a quiet whistle. The bird flew over and landed on his shoulder, and Angus gave him the treat.

"Nyx will do just about anything for a treat," the young professor said. "How is Poppy? The staff have all been so concerned for her."

"She's here and she's sleeping," Marcus said. "She's much better. She had surgery at St. Mungos to repair the damage, and now its just a matter of recovering."

"Well, she might want to expect a deluge of mail because I think her schoolmates are likely to be sending cards and letters to her," the woman said.

"We'll watch for them. Thank you for bringing her things and for bringing Nyx," Marcus said.

"Oh, and there is the matter of packing her trunk and sending it home for the school year. We can pack it and send it on the train to Kings cross in a couple weeks when the school closes for the summer. Are you able to collect it?"

"Certainly," Marcus said. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Its our pleasure, and if there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I will. Thanks," Marcus said. The young professor took her leave, and the owl went over and perched himself on the back of a kitchen chair, just looking around.

Aria finished her prep and washed her hands before she heard the knock on the door . Hearing talking she moved to stand with Marcus with a welcoming smile. Once the professor had left Aria picked up the carpet bag " I'll take this down and put it close to her, in case she needs anything from it" she said to Marcus as she headed to the stairs down to the girls room. Entering she placed it beside the bed and rechilled the glass of water Angus had left for her on the night stand.

Ruby looked at Nyx and smiled " is Nyx a male or female owl?" she asked Marcus as she looked at the owl seeing its speckled feathers and how it looked at them too.

"Male, I believe," Marcus said. "He's exceptionally gentle, as owls go, or at least that's been what Poppy's told me."

"He seems to be," Angus said, watching the bird fly upstairs. 

"Where in the world.." Marcus frowned. 

"I think he's looking for Poppy," Angus said. Angus whistled again for the bird, and the bird fluttered back to Angus. "Let's go find her, shall we?" he talked to the bird, stroking the bird's feathers gently. He walked downstairs, and the bird saw Poppy and went over and perched on the bedknob on the headboard of the bed--the place the bird seemed to feel was closest to Poppy. The bird's feathers seemed to be ruffled now, as if the bird sensed that Poppy wasn't herself. Angus soothed the bird a bit, and he seemed to settle and appeared to want to just sit on the bedknob and wait.

Angus went back upstairs and accio'd a couple of steel food and water cups for Nyx's perch, scrubbed  them and then filled them with food and water for Nyx and took them downstairs and attached them to the perch. 

At that moment, Evan arrived with Tara and the four girls. The girls were in a big hurry to get downstairs to Poppy, but Angus held them up.

"Now hold on. Just a minute," Angus said. "She's had emergency surgery this afternoon, and she's downstairs sleeping. Do not wake her up, or I'll zip your lips shut. Understand me?"

"Don't ask if he'd really do it because I've seen him do it," Marcus said.

"I'll take our bag upstairs," Tara told Evan, and all four girls headed downstairs--quietly.

"Anything I can do to help?" Evan asked.

"Not that I know of," Angus said. 

"We did not make the girls do their homework like we normally do, so they will need to do that,:" Evan said.

"That's fine. Maybe when they settle a little, we can get them to do that," Angus said. "I think Aria will have supper ready on time, so I'm guessing that as soon as Sam and Victor get off work in a bit, we'll be able to eat."

Ruby smiled as Marcus told her about Nyx " well hes a very hansom bird" she said smiling to him but watched as Nyx flew up stairs only to be called back by Angus making Aria smile. Hearing Even and Tara and the girls arrive Ruby smiled and relaxed more .

" It will be creamy mixed mushroom and mustard pies with a Roasted beetroot & feta salad " Aria said from the kitchen as she walked out and hugged Tara. "It's good to see you both again." she said as Angus spoke to the girl about not waking Poppy since she was recovering from her surgery.

The girls changed clothes out of their school clothes, and it wasn't long before Aria came back upstairs and talked softly in Angus's ear.

"I'll take care of it," Angus said. Anise nodded. "And, yes, you can go see the Fae but why don't you wait until after supper. You go and set up the sideboard for Aria or whatever she needs help with to get supper on the table." Anise went over to Aria. Angus went to the kitchen, made an ice pack and then got into the cabinet and poured a dose of pain potion. 

"What can I help with?" she asked her.

"Apparently Poppy woke because she's getting pretty uncomfortable," Angus told Marcus. "I thought I'd take her an ice pack for her incision area and a dose of pain potion, unless you'd rather?"

"I'll do it so you don't have to," Marcus said. "And so I can help her maybe feel a bit more comfortable being here."  Marcus took the ice pack and potion downstairs. He introduced Poppy to the girls, and they went out of their way to ask her if they could do anything to make her feel more at home. Ginger volunteered to make space in her drawer and in part of her closet for Poppy's things and she and Faith and Evie unpacked Poppy's things and put the things in her nightstand that Poppy wanted close to her. 


Marcus put the ice pack on Poppy's midsection over her surgical dressing and gave her the pain potion and some ice water. Poppy confessed her stomach hurt. 

"We can fix that, I think," Marcus said. "I'll be back." He went upstairs. "Angus, she needs something to eat, I think."

"Let's go very easy since she's just had surgery," Angus said. "I'll take care of it." He opened the freezer, got a container of chicken stock, and thawed it and heated it. Then made some toast soldiers and added some Irish butter, and made her a cup of Robert's almond tea. He put it on a tray to take it downstairs to her. Marcus took it and encouraged Poppy to try a bit. She had half a cup of the stock and some of the toast soldiers. Then she worked on sipping on some of the tea, immediately liking the almond tea. The little meal was just the thing to stop her stomach pain. Once she had eaten, she dozed off again, with the tea mug in her hand. Marcus left the tea and the toast for her and floated the rest of the tray back upstairs, leaving her to rest.

"She's better," Marcus told Angus. "That was just the ticket. And, she said the almond tea is her new favorite tea."

"Well, that's good because we have a boatload of it," Angus laughed. "I dont mean to intrude but do you need to notify Ana?"

"I considered it but, rightly or wrongly, Poppy sees it as Ana left her. So she's not particularly interested in seeing her mother. So I think I'll leave it go and not stress her right now."

"Probably the best choice," Angus nodded.