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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 25, 2007 12:02:41 GMT -5
Raising a curious eyebrow, Ib wondered what the little laugh was about, if that was even able to be considered a laugh. It sounded like something any one of his daughters did, and they weren't always laughing, they giggled a good amount of the time. Whatever it was about, the question had been answered, and he'd be sure to get more out of them later if Andrew decided to stay for a bit.
The conversation switched from the night, to what the boy had in his hand and Ib was genuinely surprised. None of the young men his other daughter's had gone on a date with ever brought something back, especially food. And dessert, well, that was usually eaten after dinner. The conclusions the older man could come to were that of they had a late dinner, or they were too full to eat anymore right after their dinner. Neither of which he could come up with a reasonable explanation to be angry about.
"It's a chocolate concoction we found at a bakery and Drew let me choose," Felicity added. "It looks like it'll taste pretty amazing. We're going to put it in the kitchen for a bit though, because Freddy wants me to put him to bed and if mum's upstairs, I'd like Drew to help me." The last statement was spoken a bit softly, pleading with her dad not to go against what she wanted. And if her mum wasn't upstairs, the blonde wasn't opposed to having her dad go upstairs so Drew could.
With another nod in confirmation that he'd heard what she had to say as well as in confirmation that Meadow was indeed up the way, he waved them off towards the kitchen, but gave a warning look to Drew. There were a few people upstairs, and Ib was pretty sure none of them would hesitate to tell him if Andrew did something that was not kosher.
Smiling up at Drew, she touched his arm and led him into the kitchen. Her dad hadn't said he couldn't go upstairs which was a plus in her book. "It's going to be fun putting Freddy to bed," she giggled at him softly. "He's really adorable, and loves stories. So, don't be surprised if he asks for one. And my mum and I tend to tell him stories that include things from the wizarding world. He's quiet and doesn't talk too much about such things, it's a reason why we take him to Diagon sometimes, because he won't tell about things he sees."
Entering the kitchen, it seemed Felicity's dad wasn't the only one who was waiting for them to return. Lindsey, Cherry, and Jacob were all sitting around the counter conversing, which stopped immediately when they saw the pair. The knowing smiles from Lindsey and Cherry were enough to send Felicity into a blushing bout, and the menacing glare Jacob was giving was enough to make the blushing stop and return the look.
"So...how'd it go?" Cherry broke the silence, wiggling her eyebrows at the two to see if one of them would possibly break, though she was pretty sure Felicity would've if Jacob wasn't being such a git.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 26, 2007 0:24:48 GMT -5
Drew took the silent wave to be permission granted and he smiled nervously at the man in response as Felicity led him out of the room. Perhaps the offered dessert had worked even better than Drew had hoped. He wasn't counting on it much.
As Felicity told him about her nephew, Drew was a little worried. Mr. Hjort had given a sort of consent, but would Freddy be okay with the arrangement? Again, Drew wasn't counting on that either.
The small group in the kitchen seemed less intimidating to the seventeen year old than either the man in the living room or the little boy upstairs, even with Jacob glaring at him like he was. "It was fun," Drew answered with a crooked smile, not quite sure what Cherry meant with her look. The best policy in such situations was short answers, neither lying nor giving any information not asked for. Drew was sticking to that.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 26, 2007 23:45:16 GMT -5
Rolling her light brown eyes at Cherry and Lindsey for added benefit, Felicity merely nodded in response to what Drew said. It was fun, every last bit of it, except for the misunderstandings. But, her cousins would be sure to tickle her to the ground to get what they wanted out of her in the morning, they were only being polite at the time being and having a bit of respect for the young ones which were either in bed or being put there. Morning would be a time Felicity would be dreading from the very moment Drew left her home.
"We stopped and saw the vendors and watched the light show," she piped in. This way, at least there was a bit of context to what was fun, for their minds at least. "I bought a bit of candy and Drew bought some really cute bears," she added, pulling the two out from her pocket. At least the blonde hadn't lose either of them, had she of, she would've been brought to tears. "He also bought a cake, but we're going to go put Freddy to bed, so we'll chit chat a bit later. You know how mum can be when they're not put to bed on time."
It was already past the young boy's bed time, though Felicity could understand why they'd allow him to stay up so late to make sure Felicity made it home. He worried a bit too much sometimes, thought Felicity loved him for it at times.
Taking Drew's purchase, she sat it on the counter along with her candy and slipped her hand into his before leading him up the first flight of stairs, where Freddy, Winston, and Winthrop shared a room. However, the two older boys didn't have to be to bed for another bit of time, so at least it would just be Freddy they would have to handle.
Seeing her mum just down the hall giving Freddy a quick once over wash on his face before sending him down the way to Felicity and Drew, she smiled and added a quick greeting, which was kindly returned.
"This is mum and dad's room, and Freddy, Winston, and Winthrop share this one right next door," the Gryffindor explained while waiting for Freddy to come over to them. "And Lisa's room is across the hall from their room. It's really more like a closet space, but there aren't any other girl's her age, so she gets her own room. And Jacob's is next to hers, which as you can see is right by the bathroom. Aunt Abagail's is on the other side of Freddy's room. Upstairs is Raquel's and Harold's room, Cherry's room, and Matthew and Jeremy share a room up there as well." Turning to smile at him, she lowered her voice to a bit of a whisper as Freddy was slowly making his way closer, eyes still wide on the giant. "And my room is down the way," she gestured slightly, knowing she wouldn't be allowed to show him her room for a very long time, if at all.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 27, 2007 0:17:57 GMT -5
Drew felt a little embarassed when she brought up the candy, feeling bad for making such a fuss over such a simple purchase. At the time it had worried him, letting her pay for it, but now it seemed kind of stupid.
He allowed himself to be led up the stairs, offering the others a nervous smile as a goodbye. He greeted Felicity's mom with a "Good evening" just as Felicity started rattling off names in connection with certain rooms. Drew just nodded back, knowing the chances of him ever again being on that level of the house were pretty slim. He didn't even bother asking to see her room when she mentioned it, barely daring a glance in the direction she indicated.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 27, 2007 0:38:16 GMT -5
The greeting was kindly reciprocated by Meadow as she made her way up the next flight of stairs to drag Lisa down the stairs to start getting ready for bed herself. The older woman found it a bit strange her husband had been so against the boy before, but had allowed him to run upstairs with their daughter? Of course, Meadow didn't mind too much as she was upstairs as well and knew Freddy had asked if Felicity could put him to bed, and she doubted her youngest daughter would want the boy to be left downstairs, so it made sense to the woman.
"You ready mate?" Felicity inquired when he was finally within arms length and she could grab him 'round the middle and pull him up to her for another good hug. Rubbing her nose affectionately against the boy's own freckled one, she waited for his giggle of a reply before shifting him about, opening the door and turning on the light.
Grabbing at Drew's shirt with her free hand, she tugged on him to enter the disaster of a room. "Sorry it seems to be all sixes and sevens in here. I think the boys are going to have to work on getting all of their presents taken care of in the morning, else Father Christmas might come back and take them back since you boys don't seem to be taking good care of things he made."
With a quick, wide-eyed shake of his head, Freddy was ready to scramble from his aunt's arms and start cleaning it all right then and there, but Felicity kept a good grip on him. "Not now, Grandmum wouldn't be too pleased if Drew and I didn't get you to bed soon. So come along, we'll tuck you in and tell you a story. How 'bout it?"
With a cautious smile, Freddy looked at Drew and wondered if the giant was any good at story telling. "Aight, but Lissy...will you tell me a story like Grandmum and Grandpapa do?"
With a nod, she turned to Drew while Freddy clamboured into his little bed. "That means he wants us to alternate in telling the story. Tell a bit of it first and switch off randomly." Turning back to the boy, she sat on the edge of his bed and turned about to face him. "You can sit too, if you want Drew. And I'll let you start if you'd like."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 27, 2007 0:48:55 GMT -5
"He once almost took back my presents," Drew said softly, grimacing sympathetically at Freddy. He took it as a good sign that Freddy hadn't kicked him out. "Left a note saying that if I didn't have any more room to put things away, he'd have to stop bringing stuff."
Drew grimaced again at the story telling bit, staying on his feet mostly because he didn't know where to sit. "I... I'm not sure I'm any good at telling bedtime stories," he admitted apologetically. "Maybe you better start..."
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 27, 2007 13:07:02 GMT -5
"It's not that hard," she grinned in response. "All you have to do is add things as you go along, but always keep a goal in mind." Freddy knew all of the normal bedtime stories, as he got a story every night, but he liked the ones that people made up together, which was even more fun because you never knew what surprises another person was going to throw in. With her mum and dad, Ib usually tried to curb the stories and keep to what he knew, in which Meadow would throw in a few things he had no idea about and it would turn out interesting to say the least since he didn't know.
Turning herself about again, she curled up a bit near the headboard, leaving a bit of room for Drew to sit on the end of the bed. "Come on, take a seat, his bed won't break, promise." Freddy giggled a little, but still didn't let the frightened look leave his blue eyes as he watched the giant. "And I'll start, that's all right."
Pulling Freddy into a hug she was quiet for a minute while she thought about how to start. "Once upon a time..." such a normal beginning, but it gave her a minute to think about what she was going to tell a tale of. "There was a little boy who loved to read. He was very little when he learned how to, and once he learned, he just couldn't stop. He finished all of the books in his house, and his mum decided to take him to the library so he could read even more, because reading is such a good thing to do," Felicity giggled into the boy's ear. "Well, one day he was on the very last book the library had, and it was about some of the most amazing things he'd ever read in his life. All about dragons, and witches, and wizards, and funny little creatures he'd never heard of before. The little boy really liked this book, and he was very sad when he got to the end of the book, but he found something written on the last page that he found very interesting."
Shifting slightly, she pulled Freddy even closer, loving the feel of her nephew in her arms. It was something she missed greatly being at Hogwarts. "The last page said some really odd things. About how everything in the book was true, and there was a little message the boy had to figure out in order to really see all of those things. He didn't know how to figure the message out though, so he asked his mum to take him to another library so he could learn even more, and maybe figure out how to get to this place he'd read about. Well, a few years later, this boy still hadn't fogotten about the storybook, and had even asked for it for Christmas, and Father Christmas brought it to him as a gift."
Glancing over at Drew she smiled, she didn't know where to go with the story, so she was passing the torch over to him.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 27, 2007 20:16:18 GMT -5
Drew balked when the story was passed to him so quickly and did a fair amount of hemming and hawing as he took a seat at the foot of Freddy's bed.
"Well... um... see... He got it for Christmas... but it was... but it was a really old version... it wasn't new, right? And the kid's parents were a little upset at Santa... Father Christmas... for bringing an old book instead of a new book. And at first the little boy was kind of upset too because it was all doggie-eared and everything... and scuffed up on the bindings, but he still really liked it even if it wasn't as new as the one in the library."
Drew was starting to think of the books in his grandfather's library, some of which were as old as those at Hogwarts. It was the older books that held the biggest secrets. "So anyway... the mom and dad are ready to write a sternly worded letter to Father Christmas, but the boy... he notices that this old book has some really neat writing around the picture in front... and it wasn't there on the library book, right? So it's kind of like a secret code and he has to figure out what it says."
Drew wasn't exactly sure what the book was supposed to say so he stopped, letting Felicity continue.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 27, 2007 23:14:53 GMT -5
A few giggles escaped Freddy as he waited as patiently as possible for Drew to continue with the story. It was funny to watch the giant do such things, and when he sat on the bed, though Felicity said it wouldn't break, he was sure it was going to flip and he'd be finding himself in the air, heading across the room to smack into the wall. All giants weighed a lot, didn't they? But when nothing happened, he relaxed a little in Felicity's grasp, trying to figure out why the giant wasn't like the one's from the storybooks.
The child's blue eyes were a little confused through Drew's portion of the tale. He was calling the book a doggy, and even he knew a book couldn't become a dog. But, he excused the giant and turned his big eyes up to his aunt to listen to her continue with what the writing said.
"The words weren't in any language the boy had ever heard of, or seen, and he'd learned quite a few languages by this time with all of the books he read. It was confusing, but alluring at the same time." Taking a moment to think about what in the world she was going to say, she stretched out on Freddy's covers, resting her legs quite nicely on Drew's, but never letting Freddy go. "But one day, from a library far away from where the boy lived, his dad brought home a new book, one he knew his son hadn't ever read, and wouldn't you know it? It was the very kind of book the boy needed, it had a ton of languages in it, and it was then that the boy understood why he couldn't figure it out before. The writing wasn't in one language, but each word was from a different language."
Resting her head up against Freddy's, she kissed his cheek to give herself more time to think. "Well, the boy figured it out. It said, 'To find what you are looking for, you need to look within.' Which, the boy of course thought it meant within the book and became very frustrated when he couldn't find the answer in the pages. So, being a brave boy, he took the book to his mum to see if she could find it, and it made her so happy that her son was finally asking for her help. And the mum had a little laugh to herself when she read it, and knew why the boy hadn't understood. While he thought it meant he had to look in the book, his mum knew it meant all he had to do was look in his mind and heart and he'd find the world he was searching for. So, that night when his mum and dad put him to bed---" Felicity was cut short by Freddy protesting.
"No, it could't be the mum and dad Lissy. Mum and dad don' put me t' bed, Grandpapa and Grandmum do, and you do too when you home. It must've been the aunt and uncle," he told her, quite sure that's the way the story was supposed to go. "you fergot aunt and uncle lived there too."
Closing her eyes briefly, Felicity nodded, knowing she shouldn't have told him the mum and dad were putting the boy to bed, being his own were unable to do so for many reasons. "Yes, you're right love, I'm sorry I forgot."
Looking over at Drew, hse gave a weak smile, urging him to continue from there.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 27, 2007 23:41:09 GMT -5
Well, that was a fine place to leave him, digging his way out of moms and dads who couldn't put their kids to bed. He really had no clue what to say anymore, wondering if it was in the rules that he could pass. Probably not.
"So... so the book... it was secret... and the aunt... she helped him figure it out..." Why... why was he so bad at this? He couldn't even remember the stories he had been told at bedtime. If he had, maybe it would help him some. He answered her weak smile with an apologetic one of his own, wondering if it would have been less painful to stay downstairs with Felicity's dad. Freddy sure as heck would have gotten a better story out of it.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 28, 2007 10:42:01 GMT -5
Freddy's anticipation of what came next was let down just a little as he waited for the giant to continue the story. Nothing was said that hadn't already been and he was left to look up to his aunt and wait for her to finish it, obviously the giant didn't know this story.
Rolling her light brown eyes playfully at Drew, since he didn't go anywhere with the story, she smiled down at Freddy and nuzzles his cheek lightly. "Hmmm...so the aunt and uncle put the boy to bed, made sure he'd brushed his teeth, washed his face, had his pajamas on, and wrapped him in his blanket so tightly, he could barely move, but he didn't mind, because he liked it. The boy's aunt and uncle decided to read a bit of the boy's favourite story to him, which was of course out of the book Father Christmas gave him. They told him of the land he longed to visit one day, what it looked like, the grassy areas, the mountains, the deserts, and the forest. They also told him of the creatures and the people he would meet if he were ever to visit the land."
Pausing for a moment, she readjusted her grip on Freddy, and nudged Drew lightly with her foot. The blonde found it a bit funny that he didn't seem very comfortable with story-telling, though she didn't mind as she figured he probably hadn't done very much of it, but she found it funny. "After the aunt and uncle told the boy about the story, they kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him until his cheeks and nose and forehead were red," she continued, making sure to get a few giggles out of the red head with a few of her own kisses. Looking up at Drew, she gave a small smile before adding to her part, and not taking her eyes from his face. "And they told him they loved him, many, many times," she finally tore her gaze from Drew once more kissed the child's cheek. "Of course, the boy knew they did, but he liked to hear them say it. And when they left the room, they shut the lights off and told him to dream well, which he closed his eyes and fell right into one of the most wonderful dreams, he found out he was in the world he wanted to visit."
Looking back up at Drew, she smiled. It was his turn again.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 29, 2007 0:05:27 GMT -5
Drew smiled as Felicity continued, relieved he had been let off the hook for the moment, but mostly enjoying the attack of kisses she gave Freddy. It looked kind of fun no matter which end of it you were on. For a moment he wished he was part of it and he felt his ears go red when Felicity looked at him, wondering if she knew what he was thinking.
Drew was still at a loss when it came to continuing the story, feeling decidedly unimaginative at the moment. The best he could come up with was talk about some of the places he had been and put them in the story.
"Okay... so... he wakes up and he's in this forest and it's right on the edge of the ocean. And even though it's night, it's really bright because the moon is so big and it's reflecting off the water... and it's warm so that he doesn't need a sweater or anything. And he sits on this rock and looks out over the water and realizes he hears this kind of singing and first it comes from the water and then it comes from the forest. And he sits and listens for a long time before he realizes it's the people in the water... the merpeople singing... and then the fairies in the trees are answering with their own song. And at first, he doesn't know what they're all saying, but then as he keeps listening, he realizes that he can because of all of those books he read."
Drew, of course, spoke absolutely no fairy and only knew a few swear words in Mermish (something he picked up over the years while surfing), so he let Felicity continue from there.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 29, 2007 20:42:59 GMT -5
"They were telling each other of the problems they've been having because of the evil man who lived in the castle," Felicity continued. Of course, every good story needed an evil person, otherwise what obstacle would the hero have to overcome? "Now the man wasn't a Prince, nor a King, not even a nobleman, but he had taken over the castle many, many years before. The man thought he could make himself royalty if he ruled the land, but by the laws the world was governed by, he couldn't without marrying someone in the royal family. The problem was, the only girl in the royal family was much too young, only a year older than the boy himself was, though he didn't know this."
Freddy's blue eyes were getting larger with each part of the story being told, liking the idea, but not the evil man. "The faeries told the Merpeople about how the evil man was ordering for their trees to be cut down unless one of them would come forward and show him a way to make himself the King without being married. The evil man had tried and tried, but the crown that was needed in order to recognize the King would not be set free of the pillow it sat on until a true king took the crown. Of course, the fairies, being as magical as they were knew a way to make this happen, but refused to help him."
While the boy was thoroughly enjoying the story, his eyes seemed to become heavier, and Felicity was sure only a little longer and he'd be fast asleep, and ready for the continuation of the tale another night.
It was Drew's turn yet again.
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 29, 2007 21:41:53 GMT -5
It was a little easier to continue the story, but even so Drew was glad to see Freddy starting to doze off. Drew wasn't sure how long he'd be able to fake his way through this story.
"Okay... so the merfolks are complaining that they can't do anything because they're stuck in the water. And to make matters worse, this evil man wants to build a huge wall between the ocean and the forest too keep the people away from the water. See, this guy knows that the merpeople are pretty smart and powerful and he's afraid of them. So anyway, the merfolks don't mind so much about the people not messing with them, but if that wall is built then all the sea turtles can't come on shore to lay their eggs and the sea lions and walruses won't be able to hang out on the beach. But yeah.. the merfolks can't do much about the situation.
"And the fairies... well, they're worried that they aren't very big," Drew continued. "They have magic and all, but they're really small, so they're trying to figure out what to do also. And they see the boy and they start saying how they wished they knew someone big like that to help them. Too bad no one in the human world understands Fairy or Mermish."
"So the little boy, he's kind of confused, thinking they're talking about someone else because he's little and they were talking about someone big. But the thing is he does understand them so he goes up very carefully, not wanting to be rude or scare them or anything and tells them that sure, he understands them, but he's still little and he doesn't know what's really going on. He doesn't think he can do much either."
Drew stopped there, realizing he was getting into the story himself, but he didn't want to go too far with it. Best to let Felicity continue and keep the whole thing on track.
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Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 29, 2007 22:25:12 GMT -5
Two pairs of eyes were on Drew throughout his part of the tale, as Freddy's tried closing many times, but he forced them to remain open, wanting to hear what was being told, liking the story the giant gave him, but still afraid to close his eyes in case the giant decided to try to eat him while he was still. Felicity's light brown were on Drew, listening intently as he seemed to finally relax into the idea of it, and she enjoyed listening to him talk.
"And the fairies begin to argue with him, telling him he is much bigger than he must think he is, for his size compared to their's is gigantic. He looked like a giant to the poor little creatures, but the boy shook his head, saying that he was too little to do anything. But then, the Merpeople tell him he's the only one who can help, because no one understands them but him. After a very long talk, the little boy finally agreed to help, but told them he would need their help in order to do anything. For, while he'd read the book, he didn't know the world well enough to do anything on his own, and the fairies agreed, and so did the merpeople."
Freddy's eyes were finally closed, and Felicity paused, only to hear Freddy murmur something about not yet being asleep. Giving over to a silent fit of giggles, she wasn't sure what else to add, and shrugged at Drew. Her creativity was getting low, she was just glad the boy was almost asleep, if Drew could get out a few more lines, the red head was sure to fall fast asleep in no time.
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