70. Chapter 70 (1/2)

previously on returning to his roots: chapter 69

theo sighed. "you are a grown witch who has made an amazing turn with her life. you have the means. you deserve a vacation. i've never been a father before so i'm a bit uninitiated when it comes to certain things. i apologize for that. commit to ellis then you will have to explain exactly how i go about getting a manny. thank you for the conversation as well as the information."

finishing his tea, theo stood and called out to declan who came on a run. "are we ready to go home father? i was watering auntie's garden and got a bit dirty. i'd like a bath."

placing his hand on declan's shoulder, theo wished esther a good night. as an afterthought, he added. "i'd like us to have our discussion tomorrow evening if you aren't busy. say goodnight declan."

"goodnight auntie. i'll see you tomorrow. have a good afternoon."

before turning into apparition, theo grinned at the son who knew more about child care than he did.

declan returned theo's smile. he didn't know why his father was smiling, but it made him feel warm inside. he had a father and two uncles who loved him. declan wished his gram could see him now. she'd be so proud. he was turning into a right fine

itish lad….

before declan could finish his thoughts, he and theo landed at home. "i'm going to ask cely to run my bath. i'm a young man. i can do the rest myself. i have a taste for corned beef, cabbage and potatoes father. could we ask cely to prepare it for dinner?"

theo leaned over to kiss declan on the top of his head before assuring him corned beef, cabbage and potatoes sounded mighty fine.

declan headed to his room with that warm feeling coursing through his body. it was so good to have a father. calling out to cely on the way to his room, declan thought he would ask for a nice piece of fruit for after his bath. one piece of fruit wouldn't spoil his dinner.

/

returning to his roots: chapter 70

theo grinned at the fresh smelling, pajama wearing young wizard who approached the dinner table with a smile on his face. "all cleaned up then son?"

"i am father. i'm looking forward to ….."

"hello family. the handsomest byrne

other has arrived home and is in a very pleasant mood. how are you both?"

declan glanced at theo to gauge his mood over the overly loud entrance his uncle mick had made. seeing nothing but a wide smile, declan chastised his uncle. "we are just sitting down to dinner uncle. if you go have a wash up, you may eat with us. it's not good to come to the table with dirty hands."

winking at theo, mick grabbed declan in a big hug. "why you fresh mouthed little wizard. i'll teach you to talk down to your elders. i'll be sitting down to the table just the way i am. right theo?"

declan chanced another glance at his father who seemed to be enjoying his exchange with mick.

running a hand through declan's hair, theo winked back at mick. ""although you are my favored son, i'll have to side with the uncle on this. i can see from here he's almost washed the skin off his knuckles. he's as clean as you or i."

declan grinned. "i knew that father. i was just checking to see if you knew. well then uncle mick. there's nothing for you to do other than hang your jacket and get to the table. please don't take too long because we are hungry and longing for the taste of some nice corned beef."

both theo and mick grinned at their favorite wizard.

"i'll be quick as a flash, but you may have to wait a few more minutes because the other uncle will probably be coming through the door shortly. unless of course you'd rather start without him."

declan looked down at his lap before realizing his father and uncle were having him on. looking up into the two grinning faces, declan

oke out in a grin. "i'm just letting you both know i'll be reporting your mischief to uncle conor."

"ah! who is it you'll be reporting declan. has my

ute of a

other been acting out? if so, i can fix that straightaway. go to your room mick. dinner at the nott household is only for well behaved wizards."

declan turned a

ight shade of red. there was no way he'd be reporting on his father. "i was having a little joke uncle. go get washed up so we can eat."

theo and mick

oke into loud laughter while conor stood by looking a bit confused until mick explained the situation. "it would seem your nephew has the very bad habit of ordering his elders around. however, when it comes down to reporting on his father it becomes another matter. i say, let's eat the fine dinner cely has cooked and be done with it."

"i'll second that. there's been enough talk. it's time to eat." theo answered with a grin and a wink in declan's direction. "the uncles have passed inspection. sit conor. corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots coming up. you may serve now cely."

conor was still a bit confused but sat anyway. declan simply smiled. it was time to eat.

/*/

after explaining to conor what had transpired in his absence, the three adult wizards shared stories of their day while a tired and subdued declan finished his meal. mick noticed declan's lack of interaction and went in on his nephew.

"for a lad who was giving off orders a short while ago, you've become very quiet declan. me, conor and your father have had a banner day. shouldn't you be complimenting us or something, or, are you sitting over there thinking up more orders to give?"

never failing to have an answer for every question, declan didn't fall short. "i'll offer you my compliments then uncle, but i'm quiet because dinner has run late and i'm tired."

theo perked right up. he hadn't been paying attention. dinner had started and run late. "alright son. it is late. excuse yourself from the table and go get ready for bed. a quick wash up is all you'll need. you can shower in the morning. say goodnight and be off with you.'

declan rose from the table and bid theo and the uncles goodnight leaving them with a few last thoughts. "i'm hoping to have a mobile of my own soon. mr. snape and miss

adford sound like very smart people. i think they will be glad to hire me when i've trained up some, especially if my uncles are top employees. goodnight."

theo, conor and mick glanced at each other before turning their heads as one to watch declan march off to bed.

"you'll need to keep a good eye on him theo, or he'll be at the doors of wcs looking for a position." mick remarked with a chuckle while conor nodded in agreement.

a smiling theo nodded as well. "nott men don't mess around. my son will have one of your positions, if you're not careful."

"no doubt." conor added as he got up from the table. "if you lads will excuse me, i think i will have a shower and bed. it's an early start for me tomorrow."

mick rose from the table as well. "same for me. dinner was excellent theo. thank you."

"no need to thank me mick. thank cely. she's the cook. by the way. i expect you to attend the small get together i'll be having at the house on saturday. dates or plus ones are welcome. however, since this is your house as much as it is mine and declan's, i might need you to act as hosts for a bit."

"no problem theo," answered both wizards at the same time.

"conor and i are versatile. we can date and host at the same time. two totally different parts of the body. goodnight."

theo let out a soft chuckle. "one more thing. esther and i have had a discussion about her future plans. in the very near future she might be going on holidays with ellis. the issue of who will watch over declan while she's gone came up. she mentioned getting a nanny or a manny for declan. i'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter as soon as tomorrow."

"i'm aware of young wizards having a nanny, but i've never heard of a manny. i'll assume that a manny is a male nanny."

"and you would be right in one conor."

"i don't know much about much, but i'll be glad to give my input. actually, we'll be glad to give our input."

"that we will," added mick.

"alright lads. thank you. we'll speak after work tomorrow."

/*/

theo remained sitting at the table mulling over what was to come next. his son would need looking after while he was working if esther decided to holiday. that much was certain. the harder part would be hiring some stranger. then there was the part about nanny or manny. theo didn't know much about nannies or mannies, but wondered if he and the lads would be more comfortable with a wizard as opposed to a witch in the house. that was the discussion he would have with conor and mick, because he wanted declan to have the best life. if that required hired help, that was what declan would have.

theo sighed as he got up from the table. there was so much he didn't know about raising a child. what he wouldn't give to have padma back by his side giving him assurances.

theo stopped by declan's room for his nightly check before heading to his own rooms. his son was fast asleep probably dreaming of a mobile phone and securing a position at wcs.

theo smiled all the way to his rooms where he would have a shower before falling into bed.

/**/

thursday morning, draco watched hermione through one open eye as she made her normal mad dash around the house getting herself ready for work. nothing different about that. hermione was always like some small whirlwind in the morning. he was watching her through one eye because, she was humming. humming wasn't hermione. grouching, bitching, sighing and many other things were hermione in the morning. humming wasn't one of them.

"someone is happy this morning." draco remarked, opening both of his eyes.

"if by someone, you mean me. then yes i'm quite happy, but that's my natural state. happy hermione."

draco reached out to hug and kiss hermione before heading to the bathroom for his own, less frantic, morning preparations. "funny how that works. your sunny disposition doesn't normally appear before noon. you might want to be careful with that or you'll scare severus, jean and the wcs employees to death."

hermione huffed at draco telling him she couldn't hear what he was saying over his loud pee.

draco laughed out loud as he stepped into the shower. he didn't know which was worse, an overbearing witch, or an overly happy witch. either way, the day at wcs should be very interesting.

draco was just stepping out of the shower when hermione called out she had to be at work early and was leaving. draco stuck his head out the bathroom door. "it's barely 6:30 in the morning hermione. severus probably isn't even out of bed yet. stay and have a cup of tea with me. i'll even fix some toast and eggs."

the humming stopped. "i realize the time draco. i also realize severus might not be out of bed yet. however, neither of those things impact me. i simply want to get to wcs early to get myself sorted for the day. anyway, keep your nose out of my business and on your own. i hear blaise won't be putting up with any antics from his agents, even if they are from his lifelong mate. nothing like a suspension to find out where you stand."

draco chafed over hermione ill chosen words, but didn't respond in kind. he simply advised her to get back to humming. hermione walked over to open the now closed bathroom door. "so we feel good teasing our witch, but don't care for it when the witch teases back. come on then. get that lovely arse out here so we can have a cup of tea together. hurry it up. i still want to get in early."

draco came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. leaving a kiss on hermione's forehead as he passed, draco asked her to start the kettle and perhaps a few slices of toast while he dressed.

hermione strode from the bedroom to the kitchen mumbling about aggravating wizards. she wanted to get to work, but her whiny wizard wanted to have tea. how did she end up doing the work? "hurry up and get out here malfoy, or you'll be sipping tea and munching toast by yourself."

a grinning draco appeared at the kitchen door. "i liked it so much better when you were humming."

hermione chuckled. "don't make me spell your arse this early in the morning. you're bloody lucky i love you. tea and toast is ready. come sit down."

draco gazed at his witch as he sat down and grabbed a piece of buttered toast. she was a handful no doubt however, when she mentioned the word love and him in the same sentence, he went all soft inside. instead of showing how her words had affected him, draco decided to fall back on humor. "what, no eggs?"

"i'll give you eggs you lazy lout. you're the one who roped me into this. fix your own eggs. i've had a few sips of tea and a bite of toast with you. may i leave now mr. master?"

draco chuckled as he suggested to hermione that humming wasn't all that bad.

giving her wand a quick swish, hermione sent a minor spell in draco's direction. "i'm leaving now git. have a good day. owl me if you find out anything about dmts. see you later."

"see you later love. i won't be long behind you. if the mobiles are available for sale, get one for each of us. i can't wait to call you every five minutes. oh never mind. that's your job."

hermione grinned while gathering her purse and jumper and calling out, bye git, before turning into apparition.

/*/

draco had been dead wrong. severus and jean were up, had been up for an hour and were enjoying a leisurely

eakfast.

"if i can get time away from wcs, i plan to stop by the ministry. what are your plans for the day?"

jean gave her lover a somewhat skeptical look. "a visit would be welcome. although there really isn't much to see yet. we have several office set up, but there is still a lot to do. as for my plans for the day, my team and i will continue setting up dmts. that reminds me severus. i will need to set a position or positions for general clerk(s)."

it was severus' turn to give a skeptical look. "thank you for the advance notice jean, but that's your territory. hire whom you need."

jean gave severus a squeeze. "i realize it's my area. however, as you are the messiah, i am keeping you advised. i first had thoughts of stealing another of the wcs employees, but that would be a bit much. i've decided to advertise."