(i decided that perhaps we could move to saturday to the dueling competition. there's nothing happening between now and then, and perhaps moving the plot along is a better thing, gives us more to work with.)
"Thanks, Ruby," Anise smiled. "I really appreciate all you and Angus do for us."
Angus laughed when Aria said the noodle wouldn't hold up as a garrotte.
"Well, I tend to agree with you, unless the noodle was bewitched in some way," he said. "I guess i'll find out--maybe."
"Unless its just a crappy plot," Marcus laughed, seeing Minos and his crew coming in to take over for the night.
"I hope not," Angus grinned. "We'll know it might be worth it if I get through the first chapter. He heard Edward and Simone arrive back home. "They're home pretty early."
"They are, but if Guy is here for work, diplomatic meetings often start early in the morning, so he might not be able to afford to stay out late. Still, Simone doesn't get to see Guy very often because Guy is stationed in Cape Town, so the distance prohibits them from getting together often," Marcus said.
"I hope they had a good time," Angus said.
"Yeah, me too. I think you're all locked up and safe for the night, and I see Minos and the Fae are here for the night. So if you're good with it, I think I'll head home. I have a stack of letters from my kids, and I'd like to respond to them before bed."
"By all means," Angus said. "Go ahead and go, and i'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Thanks," Marcus said. "Aria, you take your time and come along whenever you like. Bring your book with you when you come. I have five letters to write tonight, so I'm heading home."
Saturday morning came quickly, and everyone on the estate seemed to be up early, preparing to either go to Dartmoor. Angus woke Ruby when he got up to prepare breakfast, knowing that Ruby and Aria wanted to decorate the shelter house in blue and white before they went to Dartmoor. The October air was crisp and cool, so the Beauxbaton sweatshirts were going to be welcome. Angus had chosen jeans, sneakers, one of the Beauxbaton hoodie sweatshirts, and a denim jacket to wear over the sweatshirt. In the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie, he had the gift wrapped necklace that he had had made for her.
He was downstairs in the kitchen deciding on a somewhat French themed breakfast, feeling it was appropriate. He had designed a Banoffee eggy bread as an entree, individual ramekins holding eggs en cocette, some savory crepes that held sausage, cheese, julianned carmelized onions and a bit of ricotta cheese, and as a special treat, he had made a showstoppingly beautiful pumpkin clafoutis. He had made coffee and tea, and he had set up the sideboard, adding two large bottles of perfectly chilled champagne, opening both bottles so they could breathe a bit before breakfast.
Marcus had arrived extra early, and he had taken care of Finn, and he arranged for Shannon and Nicky to tend to the babies and also to take care of Finn. Angus had packed a baby bag the night before with everything the babies would need for a day at the main house.
Robert had come over last night, removed Anise's stitches from her surgery and had applied sports tape to add support to her knee. He had had her up and on her leg and moving about. He had applied a bit of a pain spell, and after he had done that, she had been able to go outside and spar a bit with him to test how her leg would hold up. Robert was pleased with how well she did and fully believed that she could participate in the tournament. He believed she was ready.
Simone had bought her a beautiful nail polish in a perfect shade of Beauxbaton blue, and she had done Anise's nails for her. Marcus had made sure her uniforms and her hat were all well fitting and impeccably cleaned, pressed and tailored for her, along with perfectly polished shoes. He had gotten out a messenger bag and had packed one of the uniforms that he had neatly folded and put in a dress box for her. He had shrunken the unform to fit in the messenger bag and had helped her decided on what else she wanted to pack, some toiletries for freshening up, a change of comfortable clothes to change into if she wanted after the tournament, including jeans and her own Beauxbaton's sweatshirt, and he and Angus had talked to Ollivanders about a duplicate wand for her, just in case something happened to her own, reliable wand. Anise's bag was now sitting near the front door of the duplex.
As Angus set up the sideboard, Marcus heard a knock on the door. He went to answer it and, at first, didn't see anyone. Then he looked down to see a package lying on the floor right outside the front door. Marcus picked up the package and saw it was addressed to Anise from Beauxbatons. Because Angus knew that Anise was going to feel stressed enough, Angus opened the package to find two pair of slacks in official Beauxbaton blue, with a note from Madame Maxime that since it was expected to be cold, she had decided to give Anise the rare privilege of being permitted to wear dress slacks to the tournament if she so chose.
"Perfect," Marcus smiled. "She's been anxious about that. Madame Maxime came through for her just in time. She can wear a pair and pack a pair as a backup. This will give her far more of a confidence boost than Madame Maxime can possibly know."
"Yes. I think that will be just the boost that Anise has needed," Angus agreed.
"I'll take them downstairs so I can fit them for her," Marcus said.
"Thanks," Angus said. He finished laying breakfast on the sideboard, casting warming spells to keep the food warm for everyone. He had put both bottles of champagne in ice buckets to keep it cold. Then he poured himself coffee and picked up the papers, seeing articles on the front page of both the quibbler and the prophet about the tournament today. The articles both mentioned that Anise was representing Beauxbatons and also talked about the Hogwarts duelist that was going and had included school photographs of both Anise and the Hogwarts student.
by 
