A few brief thumps of a heavy tail was all the warning Sasha got before Baldur hopped down from where he’d been laying on tope of a hay bale and trotted directly through the pile of dust, shavings, loose hay and grain Sasha had just managed to sweep into a pile.  He didn’t need to look up to know what had caught the dog’s attention, but he still felt an entirely pleasant impulse to do so.  Abigail Reid was absolutely beautiful and Sasha really needed constantly remind himself that he was not dreaming.  That he had, for once, been blessed by luck.  He brushed one hand against jodhpurs and leaned against the broom, watching with a smile as the shepherd trotted happily next to Abby. 

He had invited Abby to spend the afternoon riding and to have dinner, since she conveniently had the afternoon off.  And, more importantly, because the horses and unicorns who had been rescued from the Lilly’s Lakehouse were arriving at their new home, though he had kept that part of the afternoon as a surprise. 

Summer and Autumn, the two horses, had arrived earlier in the day and much of the morning had been spent getting them settled in.  The two resident stallions, had been exceedingly interested in the newcomers and had spent much of the morning flagging their tails, trumpeting, snorting at each other and generally acting like idiots.  In the end, Sasha had moved the two newest arrivals to stalls at the very far end, leaving as much space between them and the two nut-brains.  Assuming they managed to keep the whole operation on schedule (Sasha completely understood how any animal could prevent that), Balfour would be arriving with the unicorns within the next fifteen minutes or so. 

He’d just finished swapping the name plates and sweeping up the hallway when Baldur escorted Abby through the front barn doors.  “Mein Gott!  Miracles do exist!  Allo, Liebling,” he greeted with, first, feigned dramatics followed by a smile.  He redirected his attention to the pile of debris, briefly, sweeping it to the edge of the corridor and leaning the broom against the wall over it, to hopefully keep it in place.  “They did let you go.  Or, did you stage a dramatic escape and flee before they could hold you?” 

Even though Sasha kept his stables as immaculate as he could, he was still conscientious of the fact that he’d spent much of the morning working.  He leaned over to kiss her, but couldn’t resist grinning as he heard the rustle of curious horses hanging their heads over stall doors.  A few nikkered, quietly.

Abby strolled along the grounds at Sasha's estate, absentmindedly brushing floo powder off her sleeves, but mostly enjoying the crisp fall air and the warm sun on her face. After spending the morning battling paperwork at the Ministry, she'd embraced the outdoors like a Jane Austen heroine, complete with a few treats for the horses in her purse, and boots made for muddying on her feet. She'd tied her red hair back, though a few wisps escaped as she knelt to greet the dog trotting towards her.

"Baldur!" Abby scratched the fur around his ears and turned her head to cough as dust filled the air. "Who's all messy? Yes you are!"

The dog's tail wagged.

"Have you been looking after Sasha? Making sure he doesn't work too hard?"

He wagged his tail harder.

"Good Baldur!"

She glanced up, shielding her eyes for a moment against the sun, and finding the handsome silhouette of her boyfriend who had paused in sweeping out the barn to grin at her. Abby grinned back. Her distraction earned her a dog kiss on the chin.

Laughing, Abby stood, wiping off the knees of her riding trousers. A flutter of excitement and nervousness ran through her. Excitement at seeing Sasha and going horseback riding for the first time since her return, a touch of nervousness about the emotions that riding might churn up. She missed the horses from the lakehouse, and though she'd had opportunity, hadn't plucked up the courage to ask Balfour Spectre how they fared or even if any had survived.

Baldur kept pace beside her as she stepped swiftly to the barn. Liebling! Abby added that to her mental checklist of adorable nicknames.

"Sasha! Horse whisperer," she teased, though it didn't sound nearly as good as Liebling. She'd have to come up with a name that fit him better. He looked as much at home among the horses as he did in a laboratory.

Knowing her too well, Sasha rested the broom against the wall just before she threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. He smelled of soap and straw and sweat, and he had a bit of dust in his hair that Abby chose not to tell him about because it was so endearing. Liebling, even?

"No dramatics necessary. Carstairs let me go, because I was working slash babysitting on Saturday," she grinned. "Oh, do I have stories for you."

Abby looked up into Sasha's face, admiring his shy smile and the soft blue of his eyes, and only distantly hearing the nickering of the horses in the background.

As Abby drew him into an embrace and kissed him, despite all the evidence of a morning's work, Sasha smiled in return and came to a simple conclusion: this was about as close to perfection as he could imagine.  Abby always looked incredibly beautiful, but there was something particularly striking about her in riding trousers.  Though, of course, that could be his own bias. 

So, he had to admit he didn't feel too disappointed when Abby lingered in the embrace and looked up at him. 

"I'm not sure 'whispering' best describes the day," Sasha offered, with a broad smile as he looked back down at her.  As if to help Sasha make his point, the Holstein stallion trumpeted and kicked at the wall of his stall.  Sasha rolled his eyes and, regrettably, let go of Abby so he could close the top half of the stallion's stall door.  "They've been showing off their manliness all day and I've been doing far more reprimanding than whispering." 

Sasha retrieved a halter from a hook on the wall and extended it to Abby.  "Adventures in babysitting?"  Sasha grinned wryly, picking up a second halter.  "Just to clarify, were you babysitting aurors or actual children?  Given some of the stories I've already heard, either seem plausible." 

Feigning absent-mindedness, Sasha nodded down the stable hall.  "With bringing in the two new mares, we've had to do a little rearranging.  Kelsie has been moved to the end of the corridor.  Assuming she's who you want to ride."  It was a blatant lie and, if Abby glanced at the name plates on the door, she'd notice the pony's name plate was still affixed to her usual stall.  However, the new bay mare was currently standing in Kelsie's stall while Kelsie stood in the second-to-last stall, next to the newest arrivals. 

"The Auror office is the last place I'd expect to see children running around.  Is that a common occurrence?"

Abby jumped at the noise of the horse kicking the wall and finally glanced over at the preening stallions, raising her eyebrows in amusement as Sasha rolled his eyes at them. She let go of him, reluctantly, and took the horse halter he handed her.

"Not Aurors or kids this time. Something new! A department head," she answered with actual absentmindedness, realizing the stables looked different. A little more crowded. A nicker - almost familiar! - sounded from the stalls at the end. And then Sasha explained.

"You got two new mares!"

That was exciting! She wondered what had inspired him as she made her way down the stable hall. "I've missed Kelsie. She's going to be so proud of me and impressed with my riding skills, and I haven't seen her in..."

Sasha asked a question, but Abby didn't hear it.

She came to a stop near the end of the stalls. Kelsie's name was on the name plate. But the new mare that stood in her stall was a horse Abby knew very well. Her gray dappled coat shone even in the shade of the barn, and her mane was brushed to a silvery sheen. She turned her snowy white face towards Abby.

Summer! Summer, who she'd renamed in rebellion. Summer, the horse she'd learned how to ride on. Summer, the horse she'd taken into the woods the day she'd tried to escape. Summer, the horse she'd feared was dead.

Autumn, in the stall next to Summer, nickered. Her black mane hung over her warm brown coat.

A grin flickered on Abby's face as she looked back at Sasha, unable to believe it.

"Sasha?"

Her heart beat quickly in her chest.

"Are you aware," her voice faltered for a moment. "That's not Kelsie?"

Little did most people know that when Abby was absolutely shocked, she reverted to Reid manners and stoicism. Her grin stuck as she glanced at the new mares and then back at Sasha again. Of course he was aware. He had to be. He must have planned it! Her amazing boyfriend.

Slowly, she moved toward the stall, putting her hand out, and letting Summer sniff her and get used to her again. The horse let out a breath on her fingers. When Abby patted her neck and shoulder, Summer nuzzled her with her snowy white head.

Abby opened the stall door with shaky fingers, and wrapped her arms around the mare's flank in a hug. Happy tears sprang to her eyes.

She thought she'd never see the horses from the lakehouse again. She'd told herself that the few things that had brought her real joy there were gone, that they belonged to another life. A life she wanted to forget. Now she realized what she was missing all over again. What a miracle it was, to be around the animals that had been there for her, and she for them, during a very dark time.

"I'm so glad you're here, Summer," she murmured into her coat.

"You're alive, and so am I. That's the most important thing."

The two other horses, Winter and Spring, were they...? Abby would ask, but later.

"Give me a minute as I happy-cry into the manes of the others," she grinned at Summer, finally pulling away. "Then I'm coming back and we. Are going. Riding!"

She moved to hug Autumn and chatter at her, too, and then she greeted Kelsie, giggling when her nose sniffed at her hair.

"My hair still isn't carrots!"

Her purse was laden with treats, but first she turned to Sasha, her face alight in wonder. Looking at him in wonder.

 "How?" She managed, the halter limp in her hand.

Sasha laughed, though the sound came out somewhere between a half-snort and a half-chuckle.  "Babysitting a department head," he repeated, shaking his head.  "That sounds very ..."  He fished in his head for an appropriate and appropriately-proper conclusion to that sentence.  "...peculiar.  Are they often in need of babysitting?" 

Another half-snort, half-laugh escaped his as he glanced down the barn aisle and nodded his head.  "Well, actually, today makes it officially four more mares since you were last here."  Sasha grinned and offered a slight shrug.   "Finally getting around to building the breeding program.  And, I suppose, four and a half, if you count the newest baby as a half-horse."  Sasha offered, with a bright grin, then pursed his lips in thought.  "Maybe four and two halves, if you include the centaur moving in." 

Surely, that hadn't been a mistake, had it?  No.  He'd find a way to make it work.

"I have no doubts Kelsie will be proud," Sasha confirmed as he trailed behind Abby.  "Of course, she was proud even before.  So, she's guaranteed to be now."  Sasha's voice grew quiet and he came to a stop before Abby did, letting her move forward on her own after she'd recognized the tall, grey mare standing in the last stall. 

He leaned against the stall door belonging to one of the other four new mares, Dielka, and her new filly, Lys.  The filly gummed, curiously, at Sasha's fingers as he watched Abby approach Summer's stall. 

In truth, Sasha hadn't been entirely confident about what Abby's response would be.  While any combination of happiness and relief had been the desired goal, he had acknowledged that the horses might have been too much of a reminder or, simply, a part of a past she would rather forget entirely.  Not that such a reaction would change the intended outcome; being able to provide the animals with a permanent, stable home had been his first and foremost motivation.  They deserved as much and it was one way he could help.  It would simply be icing on the cake if knowing they ended up somewhere safe brought some degree of relief to Abby. 

It was a potentially complicated mix of emotions that Sasha understood all too well.  He had often wondered what had come of the horses Kronos had kept at his home on the Isle of Skye, especially Aero, the dapple grey stallion Sasha had taken to during his time there.[1]  There was no telling and Sasha had finally come to the conclusion that it was probably best not to think about it. 

Of course, a negative response would complicate things.  So, Sasha was very relieved when she looked towards him with a grin. 

He offered a broad smile in return, still ignoring the filly's attempt to nurse on his finger.  He offered a non-verbal acknowledgement of Abby's question in the form of a nod but followed it up with a feigned, verbal response laced with surprise and confusion.  "It's not?" he asked, looking from Abby to Summer to Kelsie, the much smaller, though equally grey pony in the stall next to her.  "I thought Kelsie had just gone through some weird, late growth spurt and had turned into a proper horse." 

He grew quiet, again, and turned his attention to Lys, giving Abby space to greet Summer at her own pace and on her own terms.  For better or worse (he wasn't quite sure which), he could overhear Abby's words and the quiet nickers that answered them and couldn't help but smile to himself. 

Despite having his attention on the little filly, the change in Abby's tone of voice made it clear she'd turned her attention back to him.  He pushed himself off the stall door and closed the distance between them. 

"I went to Balfour earlier this month to ask what had happened to the animals and he said his department had taken them in.  I put in an application to adopt them that afternoon and picked them up this morning.  I didn't figure they'd have any objections to me taking in the horses; I'm sure quasi-family connections helped."  He offered a cheeky grin and stepped up to Summer to scratch her between the ears.  "I suppose you could ask, if that was the case.  He should be arriving with the unicorns anytime now." 

1.	Spider Web

Abby let Sasha know she'd tell him all about her Saturday at the office during their ride. They had much to discuss! Centaurs and horse breeding programs, no less.

His teasing response nearly sailed over her head, she was so distracted, but she made sure to tell Kelsie she was a 'proper sweetheart' when she greeted the mare.

She watched Sasha with the filly, and then as he moved to the stall to scratch Summer behind the ears. The mare's nose drifted towards him, sniffing. Of course it did. Sasha was a natural, and Abby hadn't brought out the treats yet. A responding smile inched up her face, less so because of his joke about family connections, more so because she loved looking at him in this moment. His hair, dark blonde in the shade and a little sweaty around the temples, his confident stance, the gentle strength in his hands, his assessing glances at the horses to ensure all was right and well in their world.

Abby stole glances at him as she draped the lead rope over Summer's neck, her heart beating a steady truth. She knew this feeling had a name. She let it fill her up like sunlight, and pushed back the shadows at the corners of her consciousness that warned her not to trust. It was hard to tell if they belonged to her or the pentral or both.

Could anyone be as thoughtful as Sasha? And could Sasha be any more thoughtful?

He could.

Her hands stilled on the halter around Summer's face.

"Unicorns?" Abby repeated.

"The unicorns, too?" Her eyebrows inched up into her hair.

"Really?" Her voice rose a hair higher, causing Summer to flatten her ears. Abby glanced at her and rubbed the mare's ears in apology.

A grin crept up her face. "Sasha, no jokes," she giggled, well aware he wouldn't joke about that.

Abby fixed the halter, then shifted her attention to Sasha, taking his hand and drawing him a pace away from the stall. Standing on her tiptoes, she cupped his face with her hands and kissed him until the horses snorted their impatience. Then she hugged him again, and sighed happily into his shoulder.

She drew back when the rest of his news caught up to her. Her eyes widened.

"Balfour Spectre? I met him this weekend. He was the department head I was 'babysitting'," she air-quoted, laughing.

"Don't tell him I said that!"

"The unicorns, too," Sasha confirmed, smiling at the look of shocked surprise in Abby's expression.  It was a look that she wore well, especially given everything that had happened.  "Three of them."  He didn't know how many horses or unicorns had been at the Lake House and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

He shook his head, offering a wordless confirmation that this was no joke and still grinning broadly at the sheer joy on her face. 

Though his own smile didn't waver, his brows inched up slightly in confusion as she took his hands and led him towards the center of the barn isle.  Abby didn't leave him wondering for long, though.  Her soft fingers drew him into a kiss and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close even after she broke the kiss and leaned against him.  He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and rested his cheek against the top of her head. 

"You were babysitting Balfour?"  Sasha's eyes widened with surprise and amusement when Abby drew back and elaborate on her weekend activities.  "How - but, more importantly, why?  He doesn't even work for Level 2!"  He snorted a laugh and shook his head.  "And, I'm supposed to pretend I don't know this?  Clearly, there is a story behind this and I expect to hear every detail." 

And, now, Sasha's curiosity about this whole extra credit work activity was even more piqued than it had been before - but they were on a bit of a schedule. 

Sasha unclipped the lead rope from Summer's halter and patted her on the neck before extending an elbow to Abby.  "Shall we go greet them?" he asked, nodding his head towards the stable doors. 

Excited by the possibility of a new round of activity, Baldur hopped up to his feet and trotted past them through the doors and out into the back field.  Smiling warmly at Abby, Sasha followed and led the way out into the stable yard and through the gate out into the northern field.  They walked a few paces away from the barn to the spot where the portkey should escort a very confused trio of unicorns. 

Unicorns.  On his property.  He was trying to come across as smooth and cool and suave about the whole affair but, as they stood there waiting, it was getting harder to conceal his giddiness.  This was the epitome of a lifelong, seemingly impossible dream coming true. 

He leaned down to whisper into Abby's ear.  "I won't tell Balfour about the babysitting comment if you don't tell him about any unavoidable giggles or squeaks I make when they arrive."

He liked unicorns, although unicorns did not always like him.

The rescued ones were an exception to this. Balfour had told his secretary that he wanted to deliver them personally to Sasha, on account of them being family now. He had begun the task by visiting the Sanctuary in Scotland, where they had kept their unicorns alongside other magical creatures who were recovering from various forms of illegal captivity. The same sanctuary in which Arathorn had died.

Luckily for him, these unicorns were more open to gentle handling than pegasi.

Having spent some time grooming and allowing the three equines to accept his presence, Balfour was fairly certain they would be fine travelling to the Schlagenweit estate by time-activated portkey. In this case the portkey was a length of thin rope looped around their necks, the end of it in his hand.

One moment the wizard was stood in a clearing at the sanctuary, surrounded by various beast handlers and towering trees, and the peaceful verdancy of his home forests. And then he was jerked off his feet by a familiar sensation of nausea.


Before Balfour could acknowledge the field in which he had transported, he let go of the rope and stepped away from the three unicorns who were anxiously neighing - they couldn't get away from each other, being tethered, and he stepped back to give them space to adjust.

The weather here was fine, the surroundings serene and natural enough not to cause alarm. In his dark handling robes and leather boots, Bal looked more out of place than the animals. He drew his wand to untether the unicorns, glancing over his shoulder - two familiar figures stood at the edge of the field.

"Sasha! Abigail!" his voice carried a warm, cheerful note. He hadn't expected the Reid girl to be here but her presence was a welcome one. "Come say hello, nice and slowly!"

Three. Her heart sank. Only three must have survived. But at least Balfour had found them, and looked after them since then. Abby took the arm that Sasha offered and they followed Baldur out of the barn and to the field.

Her heart pounded fast as the minutes crawled by, warring between excitement and nerves. Wait till she told Moira! She felt certain her friend would be excited and understand how important this was to her. Sasha had known, without her explicitly saying it. He must have picked up on the sadness and fondness in her voice when she'd told him about the creatures she'd befriended.

She giggled and leaned into him, "It's a deal." Any giggles he let out, Spectre would likely hear, anyway!

When the three unicorns winked into the field like stars touching the earth, she pursed her mouth and held her breath, trying not to cry. Their golden hooves stomped the grass, testing out this new land. Their white tails twitched, and the two larger unicorns shook their heads when freed from the rope, trotting a few paces around the smaller one.

The youngest had survived! His coat gleamed silver, and like the others, was dappled with scars.

Here, the unicorns never had to worry about getting hurt again.

Abby looked up at Sasha and smiled, eyes bright.

"Mr. Spectre!" She waved at the man, making a mental note to tell Raine about his dashing outfit later.

At his prompting, Abby moved forward, slowly and steadily, her hand finding Sasha's. Her heart still raced, but she affected calm, not wanting to startle them.

Would they be upset with her for leaving them behind? She hadn't been allowed out of the lakehouse after she'd tried to escape in July[1], but she'd watched for them from the owlery windows. The unicorns had crept to the edges of the trees every afternoon, waiting, until one by one they'd flit away.

She and Calix had destroyed the gallery in August, in the afternoon. Why had she done that? Why hadn't she done it in the morning?

If she'd had, if she'd known, more might have survived. But she hadn't known.

The unicorns stilled, sensing new people. Abby held out her other hand.

"It's me," she clicked her tongue. She hummed a little. Their ears pricked.

Her mouth twisted into a bittersweet smile.

"Follow me," she said softly, repeating the words she'd used when they'd ran with her in the forest.

"Catch me."

The youngest ducked around the other two and edged nearer, butting his nose against her hand. She took another step, stroking the unicorn's neck, and as she leaned in, he breathed right in her face. Abby laughed, looking back at Sasha. She tugged his hand slightly in encouragement.

1.

The Woods

One minute, a tree-lined open field stretched before them, diffusely illuminated by the overcast skies overhead.  The next, three brightly-coated unicorns stood in the field, their coats seeming particularly bright against the overcast skies.  Beside them, a decidedly goth-looking Balfour was deftly trying to help the animals settle after their confinement and abrupt travel. 

They were stunning.  Absolutely magnificent.  He'd seen them from a distance at school before, of course, but never this close.  And never with the potential to touch them.  Now, at close proximity, it was even hard to convince himself they were here.  This felt like some strange, wonderful dream and he didn't want to wake from it. 

Except, it wasn't a dream.  They were here.  Sharing his property where they would be safe. 

He glanced down at Abby, noticed the particularly shiny glint in her eyes and looked forward again, pretending not to notice.  With urging from both Abby and Balfour, and the former's hand in his own, Sasha drew closer and came to stand next to Balfour. 

"Thank you," he offered Balfour before, after a moment's hesitation as he considered what gesture was most appropriate under the circumstances, extending a warm handshake with a smile.  "This is ... unbelievable.  It means a lot - to everyone here."  He reached a slowly, but deliberately, extended hand to the mare standing closest to him, allowing her to sniff at his fingers before scratching her under the chin.  "I never thought this would ever happen." 

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, round apple-oatmeal treat and held it out to the mare.  Velvety soft lips shuffled the morsel to the end of his fingers and into the mare's mouth. 

Then, with the hesitant familiarity of old school friends crossing paths for the first time in ages, Abby extended an invitation to the mares to play. 

It was beautifully touching to see the flicker of recognition in the unicorn's expressions and Sasha cast another smile at Balfour.  And, as tempting as it was to assume he was on equally familiar grounds with the animals as Abby, he was also cognizant of how much change they'd been through in the last few hours, let alone months.   

Reluctantly, he let go of her hand but nodded encouragement for her to continue alone.  "They've been through a lot and I'm very much a stranger.  I think they'd prefer a familiar face for the moment."  Besides.  There was no rush; this was their home. 

Despite his previous promise, he couldn't resist glancing between Abby and Balfour with a slight grin.  "I'd offer introductions, but I understand you know each other." 

He respectfully watched as the young squib reacquainted herself with her old friends. Tentative at first but, as even an untrained eye could tell, ultimately positive. They recognised her with caution rather than alarm, which was the instinctive reaction creatures had with traumatic associations.

            "Thank you,"   Sasha offered a hand to shake.

The older wizard glanced away from the unicorns to accept it with a firmly, friendly grip. He could understand why Sasha wanted to do this for Abby - it was the kind of gesture Balfour would have liked to have done himself, under similar circumstances, on account of both its grandness and emotionality.

"It wasn't a problem," he smiled warmly. "You're giving them a good home. They've suffered enough." At least they could promise that to the creatures, a promise you couldn't so easily make to people.

His smile broadened as the unicorns relaxed into their new environment, reassured by Abby's presence and the non-threatening nature of these surroundings. Balfour slipped his hands into his pocket and watched the youngest of the unicorns nudge at the girl. It was a privilege to see them this close.

"Aye, wee are acquainted," he clocked Sasha's grin with a raised eyebrow, wondering what context had been given. "Abby was exceedingly kind enough to take care of me on level two, after that Witch Weekly business."

Bal made a gesture, as if to dismiss the entirety of that magazine's content. "And I went to school with Aileen. Proud Slytherins, the both of us."

Abby caught snippets of the conversation between Balfour Spectre and Sasha, and she quickly remembered why she hadn't minded working on Saturday after all. Spectre spoke with a consideration that felt genuine, his demeanor hardly changing from his confinement in a Level Two conference room to now, watching over the unicorns in a field. He likely felt comfortable in both places. Most places, even.

She glanced back and giggled at his remark about her sister. Abby had encouraged Aileen to reach out to him. Abby didn't think she had yet. Out of the Slytherins she knew, Aileen was the proudest of them all.

"Aileen says hello," Abby managed to get a word in before the youngest unicorn draped his head over her shoulder like a hug.

Sasha might be a stranger to them, but Abby felt sure he wouldn't be for long. Following his example, Abby reached into her purse and opened a baggy, smiling as the unicorn nudged his nose in before she could even get out the carrot. She also offered a carrot to the third, somewhat shyer unicorn, who took it without touching her hand.

As the two unicorns gathered around her, Abby murmured assurances.

"You're safe now, you know that?" She rested a hand on each of the unicorn's necks. "We made it out, you and I, one way or another."

Abby paused. Her through fire. The others found by Balfour.

"Now you're here and you're in the best place in the world, with the kindest person. He's thoughtful, and courageous, and generous. Don't tell him I said so, he'll blush."

The unicorns lifted their heads and glanced in Sasha's direction.

"Is he already blushing? I thought so," Abby let out a giggle. Who could help it if a few words drifted over to her boyfriend.

"But really, you're going to like him a lot."

The youngest unicorn settled his head over her shoulder again. Abby scratched him between his ears, the way she'd seen Sasha do with Summer. The unicorn's ear twitched as she whispered one last thing.

"You're going to love him."

"It wasn't a problem.  You're giving them a good home. They've suffered enough."

Sasha nodded, slightly, his gaze shifted back to the unicorns and Abby.  "They all have," he said, quietly, as he watched the unicorns shifting and milling around the young woman.  It was a hopeful sight - it had to be a hopeful sight, right?  A sign that this ... everything would be okay. 

Of course, it would be.  He had to believe that.  After all, hearing Balfour speak of working with Abby made one thing very clear: there were so many people who were on her side and on the side of the other pentral victims.  When he'd first found out about all of this, he'd worried that her being a squib would lessen the sense of urgency with those in a position to help.  But, that was Abby's gift and charm.  She opened herself up to others with a brightness, ease and sincerity that he could only envy.  And appreciate.  She made people care, perhaps even without knowing she did it, like those on Level 2 and Balfour and his classmates and him.

As he watched Abby with the unicorns, a question surfaced that he'd pondered on and off since originally submitting the application.     "You explained back in your office that they may revert to a more wild state.  Would it be better to stick with the level of interaction they've been used to and let them go the route they want to?  Or, actively encourage that - try to be hands off as much as possible?"

"Abby was exceedingly kind enough to take care of me on level two, after that Witch Weekly business."

Grinning slyly, Sasha glanced over at Balfour.  "Yes.  She'd just been telling me about that, though we hadn't quite gotten that far.  What was the Witch Weekly business?  I admit, I don't really read it." 

"So, you have the dish on all the common room stories about Professor Reid?" Sasha asked with a grin, both fostered by the image of a teenaged Aileen Reid and the genuinely heartwarming scene of Abby leaning in to whisper to the unicorns.  "I imagine she could have been an intense classmate to have, if present day is any indication." 

Though the first few things Abby shared with them remained between squib and unicorns, the next few managed to carry back towards Sasha and Balfour.  Indeed, predictably, a slight brush spread across Sasha's face and glancing over at Balfour to see if he'd heard only made the blush darken.  Somehow, Abby managed to even get the unicorns in on the conspiracy, since they all seemed to look his way in unison at her words. 

With a resigning sigh, he took a step towards the mare standing on the edge of the group and reached a hand out for her to sniff.   

"Do they have names?" Sasha asked, glancing first towards Abby and then towards Balfour before turning his attention back to the mare.  With a flutter of excitement, he reached his hand up to run his finger gently along the unicorn's cheek.  He was petting a real unicorn! 

              "Aileen says hello." Abby mentioned, still busy with her unicorns.
"My warm regards to her," he smiled back as he thought of the regal Aileen Reid.

Balfour hadn't been worried about whether the creatures would adjust - they had tame temperaments and were able to be handled even by wizard handlers. But seeing the young squib with them, he felt even more optimistic about the treatment they would receive here. The freedom. His gaze softened slightly. It was always the trapped ones who knew the value of freedom, of open fields and sacred meadows.

"Follow their cue," he answered Sasha's questions one by one, pausing first to collect his thoughts. "If the unicorns begin spending more time on their own, leave them to it. Interact only as much as you think is necessary for them to continue to remember your presence."

As much as he liked being around creatures, it was more important for them to retain autonomy. That was their natural state. His smile turned grim, however, when the younger wizard brought up Witch Weekly. "It was a nasty piece of work, outing Feliks as Ira Almasy's son. I went down to their HQ to hex Misslethorpe, the bastard."

Even if it had been Snigger, he didn't appreciate Sandy's pointed words. That magazine was an utter bully.

"That's in the past for now. No point in resurrecting it, though I'd gladly resurrect a few stories about Aileen for you two to hear one of these days." Balfour grinned and made a mental note to send the old girl a dinner invite one day.

             "Do they have names?"

The Scotsman shrugged, watching the two of them with the unicorns. It was charming. "The handlers have given them none."

Between blushes, Sasha was asking about the best way to make the unicorns comfortable. Of course he was!

"Goldilocks and the three beauties," Abby answered with mischief in her voice, mentally blocking out the fact that there were only three unicorns now. "Isn't that the tale? No, they responded to whatever silly cutesy thing popped into my head. We should come up with some proper names though, Sasha."

Abby finally detached herself from the unicorns. Her heart gave a little flutter at the sight of Sasha greeting them, and she rested a hand on Sasha's back as she passed him on the way to greet Balfour.

She would love to hear stories about her sister sometime.

"Speaking of Spectres and Reids, I've got a Feliks update for you," Abby grinned at Balfour. "Sulwen reports that they studied in the library, without someone named Wesley ruining it, whoever that is. She also says that he hugged her," she laughed. "It's the way she said it. What if someone saw? I think someone saw!" She fluttered her hands and gave a girlish shiver. "No one will hide from my Petrificus Totalus anymore!"

That wasn't exactly what Sulwen had said, but Abby was too amused to get her facts straight. First years. They were adorable.