It had been a rather eventful week for Hogwart's new Transfiguration professor[1]. She'd managed to survive and hopefully endear herself a little to a few of her students. She and Henry had continued their nightly tea gossip sessions, and she'd manage to beat Storm to the puzzle page twice. She was spending what was left of her weekend in the village, restocking her treat chest for the next round of lessons. Bribery wasn't her favorite method of persuasion but it worked in a pinch and she was still trying to establish a rapport with her students. She also had a feeling that the winter squall blowing it's way in from the coast would make them all anxious and fidgety. It was best to have them distracted. Bad weather could bring out the worst in people.

Browsing the carefully stocked shelves she found herself feeling the same giddy sort of contentment she had ever Hogsmeade weekend growing up, eyeing the display just as carefully trying to calculate what would get her the biggest sizzle for her knut. Unlike all those times in her childhood memories, the shop was fairly vacant. There was no one to step on her or jostle her shoulders. In fact she might have thought she were in the shop completely alone until there was a rather loud crash; the sound of candy and glass breaking as it hit the floor and a forlorn wail. Against her better judgment (because there was not a child within a ten mile radius that she should have been in charge of) she scurried around the corner and came face to face with the biggest pair of weepy blue eyes she'd ever seen. He couldn't have been more than four and instantly Effie wanted to scoop him up and cuddle him.

"Hey, s'alright Bubtion," her voice was soft as she stepped around the broken glass, carefully moving the boy back a bit as she crouched down in front of him, "what's a wee fella like you doing in the shops all by himself? D'you know where your mum or da are"? It was hard to say where his language skills and understanding of stranger danger would be at. Of course the little one didn't say anything, just looked at her with his big eyes, crocodile tears still running down his cheeks as he chewed on his  thumb and sniffled, "Missus Flume, you about"? Effie suddenly felt far too responsible for the tot and wanted to pass him off to someone else before she gave up and just scooped the boy up for a good cuddle and dried those tears herself. Much as she was terrified to settle down and commit, kids were her biggest weak spot; especially the baby kind of kid.

1.

wearing

Declan had taken Ignatius out into town with him, intending to buy him a few sweets to use as rewards throughout the week. He'd found a reward system worked fairly well with his toddler. Nevermind the fact giving the boy a treat for doing something right like he was an animal might not be the best for the boy in the long run. He was still learning. Declan was not accustomed to being a father and having to deal with a moody youngster. He was getting better, more adjusted. Slowly but surely. Ignatius asked after his mother less and less these days, and had started calling Declan "da"- something that made his heart swell every time he heard it. And the nanny he'd hired was a godsend. She was patient and good at helping Declan learn how to take care of his son on his own.

He had looked away for just a few seconds- which was long enough for Ignatius to run off, and when Declan heard a loud crash and a wail he groaned to himself before rushing toward the sound of the cry. And there stood his son, surrounded by candy and broken glass. He watched as Effie Finnigan approached his little boy, asking what he was doing on his own. Then she started to call for a shopkeep and he sprang into action. Declan stepped forward in a few swift strides, and his son looked quite ashamed and avoided his gaze. He bent at the waist, picking up Ignatius and holding him with one arm while his free hand and a few spells cleaned up the mess. He would have to pay for the candy and to replace the container, but Declan was just glad that it hadn't fallen on his head or harmed him in any way.

Once the mess was cleaned up, Declan gave his son a closer inspection, satisfied he was indeed alright he set him back down, keeping his hand gripped tightly in his. Ignatius responded by hiding behind his father's leg, peeking out at the woman who'd been so nice to him. "He's mine," Declan said to Effie. "My son, I mean. I just looked away for two seconds and he tottered off." Ignatius seemed to be good at doing that. No matter how many times Declan chided him, the boy had a willful disposition... Not that it was a horrible thing. Declan was glad his son had some level of independence, but it was inconvenient more often than not when the boy was barely four years old. "Are you quite alright, Miss Finnigan?" Declan asked. "He didn't pull the jar of candies down on top of your feet or anything, did he?"

Shocked is not a large enough word for the feeling that came over Effie as none other than Declan Ó Móráin sprang forth and scooped the boy up. It took her a moment to process the idea of the man as a father - though the resemblance was rather uncanny with their faces so close together, "He's yours, really"? Instantly she felt guilty that she'd basically just repeated back to him what he'd said to her. It was just so hard to picture. It wasn't that Effie had spent much of the last fifteen years thinking about Declan, even if school once he'd fallen from grace she didn't bother to think much after him. She supposed, once in awhile, when she was having a particularly grand time with the twins or Ronan and she spotted him she'd think it was sad; but she didn't spend her days pondering after him and what his life must have been like.

Digging through her bag she brought out a fresh hankie and without thinking gently dabbed away the toddler's cheeks, "Chin up, accidents happen, everything is more or less right with the world," her slender fingers brushed the boy's blonde baby bangs from his eyes and lightly tickled his check. He was going to be a trouble maker when he got to Hogwarts, no doubt about it, "I was actually just round the corner when I heard the noise. Instinct from looking after my brother's kids. You just feel the panic and follow the sound," she sounded vaguely amused (and maybe a little wistful), "can you give us a smile, then? All limbs in tact and accounted for," she wiggled her fingers in front of the boy before shifting her brown eyes to Declan and feeling rather foolish.

She had absolutely no idea how to talk to him. They were just...such different people. "Please. We've known each other for twenty years or so, call me Effie. How was your first week back? Storm seemed happy to see you," it was the adult version of how were the hols, when asking about someone's holiday seemed far too personal a topic. "Someone should really put a mailer together for our class. I feel like every time I bump into someone they've got a new job or a new sprog," not that she particularly wanted to keep up with anyone she didn't already keep in pretty steady contact with. It was just something to say, words to fill the uncomfortable silence between them. Well, maybe he wasn't uncomfortable - but she was, "I can't believe you got married and I didn't hear about it. You think the grapevine'd be stronger than all that". Oh Effie, if you only knew how you just put your foot in it.

He watched, quite surprised that Iggy did not scream in protest as Effie started to dab gently at his face. He was not a boy who liked strangers very much, and the fact the toddler did not even recoil from her touch was astonishing. He even smiled when she asked him to, then looked up to his father- his smile growing even wider. Declan smiled right back. But when Effie began to talk, and Declan focused on what she was saying, he felt the tug at his hand as Ignatius tried to wander off again. He picked the boy up again, giving him a stern look as the boy started to protest- and the boy fell quiet, content to play with the collar on his father's shirt for the time being.

Twenty years. That was a long time. "It was nice to be back at the castle," he said to Effie. "I missed it quite a bit these last six months. I was initially quite excited to be going to the ministry and working with potions again... But I discovered rather quickly my heart wasn't in it any longer." The fact his heart was with Hogwarts and in education had come as quite the surprise. He'd always thought of his job and the students as a nuisance. He never would have imagined he'd end up actually liking it. "And I suppose Storm would be happy to see me. Present company excluded, it seems that many of those on staff at Hogwarts are not quite up to the ... standards ... of Storm." Propriety was lost, it seemed, on his generation. Especially on the likes of Nightingale Kesali. Ah well. It was of little consequence to Declan how the charms professor chose to conduct himself. He was no longer deputy headmaster, thus such matters were no longer his problem.

Declan blushed lightly when she mentioned something about him getting married. He looked to Ignatius and fidgeted uncomfortably. "I am not married," he said to Effie. "Nor have I ever been. I've recently gained custody of my son..." he trailed off for a moment, sighing a bit. He did not like to discuss Iggy's mother or situation in front of him, but he felt that Effie deserved some kind of explanation. "The short version is that pureblood politics finds me keeping him full time. I am certain you can understand, but I'd rather no go into details in front of him. Perhaps some day I will give you the more in depth version. Even so, I am happy with the arrangement. I am glad to be able to be a good father to Ignatius. I just hope I do a better job with him than my late father did with me." Translation: that he would not raise his son to be a purist little brat and then eventually disown him. He wanted Iggy to have some level of humanity. It would make life easier for him. Declan knew from first hand experience that his stiff behavior and overly proper manners put people off more than it put them at ease.

"And your first week?" he returned the question, eager to change the subject. "I imagine the first and second years were quite the handful." He was always thankful to be teaching an elective- there were less students to worry with, and they were (for the most part) more responsible and less stressful to deal with than the younger children. (Or so he assumed.)

Effie couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his comment - both because she was surprised that he'd bother to exclude her from the mass of Professors and also because he'd admit that Storm was a bit of a snob himself. Effie didn't begrudge either of them their opinions but she did think it was a bit funny. She wasn't sure if he'd bother to exclude her if she wasn't standing right in front of him. It probably wasn't fair but Effie wasn't one to forget being mistreated and as a Hufflepuff she'd faced her fair share of scorn from the man when he was a boy. Still, he seemed to be a very devoted father and Iggy obviously adored him. Being good with small children went a long way to soften Effie's heart toward people, "Ah, I suppose we're a bit of a rag tag team as of late. I've no doubt Minerva will snap everyone into shape before the years out. She was always good at that".

When he admitted he wasn't married, Finnigan's face flushed a mortified pink. Obviously social graces were not her strong suit, "Sorry, you don't have to explai-" but he sort of explained anyway and she found herself wishing the floor would swallow her whole. Never mind the fact that her assumption spoke volumes about her world view (which could be a little simplistic and naive at times, and apparently old fashioned which she had not even known!), it was just strange to watch the proper professor stumble over the explanation. It also made it sound like she was possibly fishing to find out if he was with anyone, which she most certainly was not! It only got stranger as he admitted to wanting to be a better father than his had been, but her expression shifted from embarrassment to something softer, "I think you're doing just fine," her voice was faint as her brown eyes focused on the boy again. He seemed very happy.

She took a deep breath, her lips forming a bright smile as he asked after her week, "They're a handful, but worth it. First week is all about seeing how far they can push. I'm not as formidable looking as some of you," her grin was almost bashful as she admitted that, even though he was about her height she was sure his attitude alone snapped most students in line. She was the sort of person students thought they could get one over on at first. She was quite sure a few of the sixth years were Sociopaths in training; one in particular gave her more heebies than the others but it was best to focus on the positives. "All in all it went much better than I expected. Storm had me almost terrified, surprisingly most of them still respond to bribes," she glanced down at the bag of candies in her hand, tone amused, "I should probably feel worse about loading them up with sugar and sending them off to another professor, shouldn't I"?