A Birth day

"No, not necessarily," Angus told Ruby. "I do feel obligated to help clean up the mess, though."

"Don't you give two thoughts about it," one of the hula girls said. "We'll have this all sorted in just a moment or two. You feel free to stay or leave whenever you like. It's all part of our agreement with Mr. Tremaine."

"Thank you, Michael," Angus said.

"My pleasure. Call it a celebration for rescuing Elwood," Michael said.

"They tell me they play chess," Elwood said.

"Oh, they do indeed," Angus nodded, "but they play a very tough game."

"I look forward to it, then," Elwood said. "I was the captain of the chess team in Hogwarts when I was there. That has been a long, long time ago, though. And just so you know, Pukwudgies cannot be taught to play chess. They can't understand the first thing about it. I had a better chance of getting the cockatoo I owned to learn to play."

"That bad, huh?"

"Oh, worse. Guaranteed," Elwood yawned. "Of, forgive me. The sun and the fresh air and the wonderful food is making me sleepy."

"I'll take you home whenever you want to go," Andrew told him.

"Fairly soon, then, if that's suitable," Elwood said.

"Certainly," Andrew replied.

"Have you noticed?" Robert asked. "He's gotten some sun. His skin is looking better for being out today. I could not have asked for better."

"I did notice. We'll be beating off the girls who are after a handsome, well tanned man," Angus teased.

"Oh, heavens to Merlin. None for me, thank you. I am very happy to not be attached for now," Elwood said.

Ruby smiled and chuckled as she listened to the banter between Elwood, Angus and the others. " he does have a lot of color in his cheeks today" she said smiling and chuckling as he said you cant teach Pukwudgies to play chess. " noted" she said and smiled " you and Robert should play a game some time" she said smiling and glancing at Angus " might be an interesting game." she said with a smile hearing the girls say they would clean up Ruby smiled to them " oh thank you, and you to Michael " she said.

Aria looked at Michael and smiled "its good to get out of the estate once in a while" she said and sat up to look around at the others cleaning up around them . "wow these people work fast" she said noting how now there wasn't a sign they had been there. "I'm going to walk down by the shore, se if I can find a nice shell to take back" she said standing and heading down to the shore and walk back and forth to find a shell.

Andrew and Robert took Elwood home, and Angus presumed Robert went along so he could check Elwood to make sure he was still doing well after his day out. Angus got up and started shaking out the sand from beach blankets and folding them up to put them back in the beach bag, and Michael came over to help.

"Michael, so is this new Tremaine related to you?" Angus asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Michael said. "We were a pretty small family, though. My parents are both gone, and I have...had...I don't know...a younger brother. He is or was about ten years younger than I, and we haven't spoken in years and years. I don't know if he's alive or not."

"Mind if I ask what happened?"

"Our dad died shortly after John was born. and that left my mom desperate for money, so I did what I've always done best. I made money the only way I knew how--on the streets, even after I went to Hogwarts. It was what money I made that kept my mum and my brother fed and provided for, for a long damned time. I got my job at the Ministry in my mid 20's. And even after that, I made sure my mum and my brother had what they needed. Those were damned lean years, and none of the three of us had what we wanted, but we had what we needed. And then, just a month before my brother's graduation, mum died.

"As if that weren't bad enough, things got worse after that. My brother had a real temper tantrum at our mother's funeral. He blamed me for her death, saying if I had just done the right damned thing and come home, our mother wouldn't have died. He didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I was going to try to explain it but he wasn't hearing a damned thing. He always was a hotheaded ass. Anyway, I gave up arguing with him, and I turned around to walk away. That was my mistake. I should have known not to turn my back on him. Anyway, he slashed my back wide open with a sectumsempra that went from the bottom of my left ribcage all the way up and across my back to just over my right shoulder."

"That's where you got that hellacious scar you have, then."

"It is. Thank God, Robert was there. They wanted to haul me off to St. Mungos, but Robert was there, and he was working on a Vulnera Sanentur before anyone could have taken me to St. Mungos. My brother wasn't an adult yet, so Dumbledore helped me make him my legal ward. I was, legally, my brother's guardian, but for my own medical recovery and my own safety, Dumbledore looked after him til he turned eighteen, two days after graduation. The last time I ever saw my brother was that argument. I did try to write to him but Dumbledore told me that my brother set the letters on fire, unopened. I heard rumors that he got some sort of a job somewhere in Asia, but that's the last I heard. And that is the long and short of what I know about my brother. For all I know, he's dead. Might as well be, so far as I'm concerned. I have a damned good life, and my family now is you lot. I don't need to resurrect him or the Tremaine tree."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried."

"You didnt. You just asked, and I answered," Michael said, putting the last towel in the beach bag.

Joseph listened to the two men talking and something seemed familiar about what they were talking about, the arguments and blaming for a mothers death. He frowned but shook it off helping to pack away some beach things the babies had washing them in the water and drying them before placing them in their baby bag to be carried home. Joseph chuckled listening to Michael talk about his brother "sounds like my father, he never wanted to talk about his brother, always blamed him for the crap he started , saying it was his fault this and his fault that" he said softly. Jack just chuckled and nodded.

"that's brothers for you, but you broke that mold and didn't follow in his foot steps you became hat you are now." he said patting Joseph on the shoulder.

" didn't help when he use to take out that thick leather belt or before I left cast sectumsempra the amount of times he threatened then one day poof , up and gone" he said placing the folded blanket in the bag " best thing he did, stupid John" Joseph said under his breath.

Angus heard Joseph say the name John.

"Wait. What was your brother's name? Just humor me," Angus whispered very softly to Michael.

"John. Why are we whispering?" Michael asked Angus, whispering.

"Well, shit," Angus said. "How many John Tremaines do you suppose there are in the world?"

"In the wizarding world? Not very damned many. Why?"

"Joseph just told Jack his dad's name was John."

"Oh, of course it is," Michael said, sighing.

"What if he's your nephew?"

"I don't know," Michael said. "Depends on whether it brings my brother back in my life. I have nothing against this new lad. You know, though, the only reason my brother was not jailed for attempted murder was that I lied, deliberately, to my co-workers at the ministry when they investigated. They came to talk to me about what happened, and I told them I'd pissed off a woman, causing her to break a firewhiskey bottle and gouge my back with it. They knew I'd lied because it was such a damned stupid lie. I sucked at lying back then. Anyway, I never told them the truth because I didn't want his whole life to be thrown away. You want to know the end of the story? Lucius Malfoy was a couple years older than us, and he got wind of the story I'd told about a woman, so he spread it like wildfire. And I got labeled as a womanizer. That lie has stuck for decades and decades. Serves me right, I suppose, for trying to protect my little brother. So, yeah, if all of this brings John back, I'm out. Flat out."

"Understood," Angus said.

Jack and Joseph continued to pack away the things while Aria and Ruby tended and kept the girls busy buy taking them down to the waters edge and dipping their feet into it making them giggle in delight.

" So your dad's called John" Jack asked and Joseph nodded.#

"was , I want nothing to do with him" Joseph said " I said this when you found me that I din't know where he was and I stand bu it , he can stay where ever he is" Joseph added placing a shrunk umbrella in the bag. " my mom once said the only good thing he did was give her me then leave." he stood up brushing off sand from his legs as he looked out over the ocean " and don't worry I hate the dark arts and forbidden curses, even in Hogwarts I would not entertain any one using them, there forbidden for a reason." Joseph said as he picked up a toy and felt it squishy " awe boy I need to wash this off" he said carrying it to the waters edge.

Michael excused himself, said his goodbyes and ported back to the estate. Angus and Marcus went to collect the babies from Rosaria and Carlo to take them home. When they came out of the house, Marcus saw Aria down near the shore looking for shells. He motioned to her to signal to her that he and Angus had the minions and were taking them home. Marcus wasn't worried about Aria and Ruby since he knew Aria would make sure she and Ruby got home safely.

Angus and Marcus ported him, but for some reason, they got caught in a thunderstorm as they were going across the chanel. They were pelted with wind and rain and a bolt of lightning missed them. By the time they got home, the babies were screaming and crying, having a real conniption. Andrew was on his way down the stairs, rubbing his hair with a towel to dry it.

"Oh, I see that you two got caught in the same foul weather we did," Andrew said. "We were hoping you'd wait a little for the weather to clear."

"Didn't know it was storming," Angus said. He opened the floo and sent a message to Carlo and Rosaria that the weather across the channel was quite foul and that the others in Tuscany should wait for the storm to clear before they tried to port home. Carlo promised to relay the message. He apparated down to the beach and found Evan and relayed the news.

"Ruby! Aria!" Evan called. "Angus said you should wait a little. There's a storm going over the channel. You could get caught in high winds and rain and lightning. They're fine, but they didn't want you caught in it. If you like Rosaria will make you a couple cappuchinos while you wait it out."

Joseph rinsed of the toy and wrung it dry, wrapping it in a towel he made note to put it in the dryer when they got back. Soon all was packed and he ported with Jack to the duplex as they appeared he was hit by the rain and gasped as he ran to the house, shaking off the rain he grabbed a dry towel from the bag he was carrying " well at least these got used " he said and chuckled as Jack chuckled too .

Aria and Ruby saw Angus and Marcus with the babies motion they were going home Aria nodded and thumbs up to Marcus letting him know they would be home soon too. After a moment a they both walked back up to the house to give their good byes when she heard Evan call out to them. " oh that's bad but sure that sounds great" Aria said with a smile " piece from the babies for a while" she said looking to Ruby who smiled and nodded.

"thank you Evan for relaying the message , and a cappuccino sounds like the perfect ending to the day" she said walking towards the house. " and we get to spend time with Rosaria and Carlos."

Joseph dried off best he could as he stood by the back door watching a soggy Finn run back in the house then shake the water over him " shesh, I am wet enough" he said chuckling as he grabbed the same towel that he'd used to dry Finn off. Jack chuckled and looked to Angus as he spoke..

" we can stay till it blows over since porting in this is dangerous , if that's okay with you" he asked as Joseph nodded to him.

"I'll go tell Carlo. Take your time. It'll take a moment to make the cappuccinos anyway," Evan said. He headed back to the house.

"You guys must have ported out before we sent the message," Angus said to Jack and Joseph, still holding Amari. She was having a real angry fit now, and Marcus, who was holding Caprice, was being pummeled by Caprice's little fists as she beat on him, screaming at him. "Sorry, the minions are irked. They did not like getting caught in that storm over the channel."

"Here," Marcus said, finding that trying to console Caprice was pointless at the moment.

"I'm going to try an old truck I used for Abbey when she was about their age," Angus said, heading to the kitchen.

"Here. Give me Thing 2. She might as well screech in my ear along with Thing 1," Marcus said, taking Amari from Angus.

"Tea will be on in a minute," Angus told Marcus, Andrew, Jack and Joseph.

Angus went and made some tea that was a blend of almond and chamomile.

"I made two different kinds of tea. there's a pot of chamomile and a pot of Roberts almond tea. Help yourselves," Angus said.

"I'll take some up to Elwood. He does like the almond tea," Andrew said. "Robert should be just about finished with checking on him."

Angus got a cup out and blended half a cup of almond with half a cup of chamomile and just a drop of almond extract. Then he divided the tea in the cup into two sippy cups, and he took the cups to Marcus. He took Amari back, and he and Marcus fed the tea to the babies. That seemed to not only redirect them but also calm them down.

"Worked like a charm," Marcus said. "Good trick, Angus."

"Just one more thing that tea can fix," Angus said, as the babies started to settle. Angus put them in the playpen with their sippy cups now that they were calm again.

"I'll go get some for us. Almond or camomile?"

"Almond, preferably," Angus said.

Joseph looked to Jack the to Angus " yeah we must have" he said " so Ruby and Aria will stay till this eases enough that they can get back" he said but then covered his ears " wow air raid siren much" he said seeing Amari and Caprice going at it, but when given the Sippy cups with tea in it she quiet down " wow , magic tea?" he asked " should advertise it as that for other mothers" Joseph said chuckling.

Jack looked at Joseph " I'll get the tea " chamomile for you?" Jack asked and Joseph chuckled and nodded.

"Thank you" he said as he placed the towel he used to dry Finn in the drier and set it going before walking back to the living room.