Saturday
December 3rd
10:00am
He needed a break from school and work.
What he really needed was some time with Rose, but that would be coming soon enough with the Christmas Holiday. He couldn’t wait to wake up next to her.
It was the first Saturday of December, snow fresh on the ground outside. There was a chill in the air, but the fireplace gave the room a comforting warmth. The Hogsmeade Christmas Bazaar was open until later this evening. Little shops and stands filled with presents, sweets, hot chocolate and mulled wine. He thought it would be a fun outing, one that he hadn't told Rose about.
Gideon had approached Maddox, asking to take little Evander for the day. Give him a break and allow Gideon some time with the boy. He wouldn’t be living with them, but he wanted to get to know him all the same.
Fiona and Evander were running around Rose’s living quarters, squeals of delight and laughter in the air. Currently a rousing game of hide and seek was being played. The two littles hid, while Gideon was the permanent finder. Not that it was a challenge, there was a lot of giggling involved.
Sitting on the brightly colored rug counting loudly, Gideon kept his eyes closed while the sound of little feet ran all over the room. Ankles crossed in front of him, he had a smile permanently etched on his face. It was hard not too, the kids brought so much happiness.
He heard the little feet running, the small vibrations rumbled underneath him. The little man jumped on Gideon, catching him off guard, but his arms came around to steady Evander as the boy laughed. “Found you!” He exclaimed, causing Gideon to laugh.
“You DID! Great job, but I think you were supposed to be hiding.” In one ear and out the other, Evander got up and went screaming in delight towards Fiona. Gideon chuckled.
They were both running off some of their energy. It was cute, and exhausting. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Once they arrived at the Christmas Bazaar, the hot chocolate would help replenish the expended energy.
The door opened to the suite, Rose crossed the threshold in all her beauty. Gideon didn’t get up right away, just watched as the kids ran around her in their quest to find the perfect hiding spot. This was his dream. Kids running around playing, cuddling with his wife, being endlessly happy in a chaotic house. He just needed to convince Rose to give him 1 to… 3 more kids.
Should be easy.
“Hello Love. Hope you don’t mind, I kidnapped Evander for the day. With Maddox’s approval of course. I thought we could take the kids to the Christmas Bazaar in Hogsmeade.”
Rose was quite literally counting down the days until Christmas break; she was excited to get out of Hogwarts and experience more life with Gideon. She didn’t mind remaining separate during the school year; she knew that their respective students were more important. Usually there weren’t many fires to put out, but that could also be unpredictable.
She’d left her office a couple of hours ago; she’d been thinking about Matilda and the strangeness from last term and the root rot, and thought she’d check to see if the girl was in the greenhouse. She was, so Rose ended up helping her out for a bit.
But then she had to return to her part of the castle. She missed the greenhouse, though, and told the girl she’d be sure to check in more often. It seemed those that signed up to help out in the Hospital Wing had hardly any interest in working with plants.
Strange.
Rose walked into her office and deposited a paper that a student had handed her in the hallway; she’d allowed them to turn in their homework late but just this once. She added it to the stack of parchments, promising that she would return later to grade them all.
She turned to the door that led into her living quarters just as laughter rang out from inside. It seemed Gideon had decided they should spend time with both kids today, which she was more than okay with. She entered the room, letting the door shut behind her.
“Hello Love. Hope you don’t mind, I kidnapped Evander for the day. With Maddox’s approval of course. I thought we could take the kids to the Christmas Bazaar in Hogsmeade.”
Her face lit up and she bent down to pick up Evander. She squeezed the boy before setting him back down so he could keep running around. That kid had endless energy.
Rose sank down next to Gideon, smiling still. ”That sounds lovely,” she responded to him before kissing him on the lips. She sighed, happy to be back with him. ”I missed you,” she admitted and then laughed as Fiona tripped and almost landed on her face. The blonde girl giggled and kept running.
”Have they been doing this all morning?” she asked, amused.
Gideon chuckled as nearly tripped, worried for a spilt second, then relieved as she laughed and kept running.
”Have they been doing this all morning?”
It was exhausting, watching the littles run and giggle. How they had this much energy was a mystery. The good news, when they returned Evander to Maddox later that evening, the young boy should sleep well. “As a matter of fact, yes. I’m not sure how either of them is still awake, but it seems they suck energy directly from the oxygen in the room.” He laughed as Evander, hiding behind a chair, jumped out to scare Fiona, who in turn squealed and ran the other way.
“We should probably get going to the Bazaar before they exhaust themselves. Shall we, my dear?” He asked, kissing her on her lips in a chaste kiss. He got to his feet, holding his hand out to help her up from the floor.
“Let’s go kids! Get your shoes and jacket, I hear they have the best hot chocolate around.”
Getting their coats and hats on, as well as their winter boots, was a loud and ruckus affair, but with a little convincing they were on their way to Hogsmeade.
Walking around the stalls, Fiona between Gideon and Rose, holding a hand of each, was excited at all the trinkets and gifts for sale. Evander seemed more excited about the sweets, riding piggy back on Gideon. Apparently hours of hide and seek, running and playing can wear a kid out.
Finally seeing the small cafe at the end of the road Gideon used the hand still holding Fiona’s he pointed at the shop lit up with Christmas lights and decoration. "There we go, let's go get something warm to drink, then maybe we can look at the shops. Sound good?”
Evander PP Approved by Dani
Rose couldn’t explain just how at peace she felt. While the bazaar was crowded and loud, it felt right being there with Gideon and the kids. Evander riding on his shoulders warmed her heart. Fiona walked between them, each holding a hand.
She had never loved life as much as she did now. And it was refreshing.
"There we go, let's go get something warm to drink, then maybe we can look at the shops. Sound good?”
”Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Rose commented as they made their way in the direction of the cafe he’d pointed out.
A booth they passed caught her attention; it had enchanted glowing baubles floating in the air. She smiled and slowed a bit, just as a large group of older boys, seventh years from Hogwarts, walked towards them, laughing. Two were tossing a quaffle back and forth. Just as they passed, Rose felt her daughter’s hand leave hers. Through the sudden crowd, where she was cut off from the rest of her family, Rose felt herself begin to panic.
Not for her, but for her daughter. ”Fe!” Rose called out, pushing through the rowdy group of boys. Once they had passed her, her face fell slightly. Fiona was still holding onto Gideon and was now pointing at something with the hand she should have been holding.
Rose bit her lip and then sped up, taking her daughter’s hand in hers again. She told herself that moment meant nothing; Gideon was taller and easier to spot in a crowd. It made sense that the girl would have held tightly to him.
Still, a tiny fracture in Rose’s security in knowing her place in her daughter’s life had developed. She felt herself lost in thought momentarily before tightening her grip on Fiona’s hand slightly.
Gideon had underestimated the family day. Taking two kids out to a crowded market in the cold snowy weather, feed them sweets and let them look at toys and trinkets… Yeah, it was a recipe for pure exhaustion. Walking through the crowds with Evander clinging to his back and Fiona’s hand in his, Gideon was hyper aware of the people pressing in around them.
Yeah… he was already over it.
A group of rowdy kids were walking down the lane, passing a quaffle between them, completely unaware of the people around them. Gideon’s glare made contact with two of the boys, one in his house, causing the boy's eyes to grow in size. “Murphy! Knock it off. There are too many people around for you lot to be roughhouseing.”
The boys hurried off, properly chastised, while returning to their wild hijinks seconds later down the lane. Cataloging the names in his head. Conversations would be had back at the castle.
Fiona was pointing at something, none the wiser to the boys and their behavior, too focused on something in the booth they were currently in front of. It was then that Gideon realized Rose was missing. Looking around the crowd, she came into view looking flushed and a little worried, until her eyes landed on Fiona. Once they were all back together he felt it was time to head back to the castle. The kids were getting tired and it looked like Gideon and Rose could use a break.
Moving in front of Rose, Gideon looked into her blue eyes and smiled. “Ready to go back? I think we’re all over the crowds.”
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