Pratt Household
Easingwold, North Yorkshire

Jason’s pride was still a bit wounded after finding out Sam had blurted out to Charlotte (and thus his brother) his embarrassment. It happened to every man! Just normally in a different time. With someone he wouldn’t see the next day. It had happened to him once, during Hogwarts, and since then… Well. He just hoped it wouldn’t happen again. In fact, he was going to make sure it lasted a lot longer. That would show Sam, since he couldn’t act like a completely moody teenager about it.

Still, he felt she had a lot of making up to do.

Jason had been avoiding Felix the past few days as much as he could. Work had hit, luckily enough, and kept him too busy to do much else than see Sam and the boys and sleep. Jason had felt better about the entire ordeal after making it up to Sam at her parents, and after what she had told him, what with it being a compliment. Those feelings had been dashed when Charlotte opened her mouth. If it was a compliment, it didn’t seem to be one that others saw as well.

Charlotte had caused a lot of issues for him, now that he thought about it.

Regardless, he needed a little ‘guy time’ with someone other than the boys or his brother. Next best thing? His best mate, back on good terms as far as he was aware. He had the next day off and so did Eddie. Jason figured it worked out great; Aidan was visiting his mum, Sam was working late, and someone was watching Lewis. There was a match on the wireless, he was pretty sure, and a case of beer that he thought would complement the early evening was tucked under his arm.

Other than Ed’s kids, they’d be answering to no one but themselves. Quincy had to work. Smirking at that, Jason arrived, rasping loudly on the door. He could let go of the things bothering him and settle in for an evening of relaxation. It was all ready refreshing, getting away from the city. 

“I told ye to brush yer teeth, Noah! Don’t mess about!” Eddie shouted up the stairs in response to his son whining at him about stupid bedtimes and the fact that all of his friends got to go to bed later. Eddie half considered pulling out the ‘yer mam won’t be happy when she hears’ card but it was his turn to get the three of them in bed and he had promised Quincy it would happen on time with as little trouble as possible. Unfortunately for Eddie right now, he wasn’t normally the one to lay down the rules. He liked to leave that to Quincy at home. But she was working...

There was a loud knock at the door and Eddie crossed the hallway and pulled the heavy door open. “Y’alrigh’ mate?” Ed greeted his friend, stepping back to allow entry. As he did this, there came another moan from the landing about him being extremely lame. Eddie grinned and shouted back. “Get in bed, Noah or I’ll come up and put ye there meself!” Quincy had made him promise no magic but he could still threaten to use it.

Finally Ed moved his attention back to Jason and he smirked, his eyes taking in the beer. “Ye gonna’ be gettin’ down that yerself, Marren?” Every time Quincy was pregnant, Eddie made a promise to make her feel better. He, like she had to, would give up alcohol for the term of her pregnancy. He was thoughtful like that. But sometimes he wished he could just ignore that for a night. Unfortunately, that wasn’t fair to his wife.

“Y’alrigh’ mate?”

“Of course.” Grinning, he stepped in through the open door, giving Eddie a pat on the shoulder with his free hand. “How about you? Misses keeping you well wrapped?” Jason was glad that Quincy and Eddie were back together. They seemed happy at least. The whole pregnancy thing was done and dealt with, at least the surprise of it, and now… things were back to where they ought to be. Or Jason felt so.

Then he heard the noise upstairs and shared Ed’s grin. Hearing the threat, Jason shook his head. “How are you going to manage that? I bet he could take you down without even trying.” Smirking, he shifted the beer slightly, allowing a longer inspection of his mate. He looked healthier than he had prior to moving back home as well; Quincy must have been making him eat… or he was overstuffing himself in happiness.

“Ye gonna’ be gettin’ down that yerself, Marren?”

Glancing down at it, Jason smirked and brought it forward, grasping the box and carrying it into the kitchen. Mi casa su casa right? Jason felt the same way when they came over to his. Though now it was a little odd, being stuck in a flat over his nice home… Regardless, he was like family to Jason, after all the years he had to put up with him. “I could if I had to, but I know you won’t force me to do that.” Surely he wouldn’t… It was no fun when only Jason got to drink and Ed had to watch. He’d suffered through enough pregnancies with that.

Besides, a game was on. It was customary to drink, joke, listen. There was no breaking tradition!

“The lad wishes.” Ed grinned, before glancing back up the stairs to hear a loud groan. That boy really deserved a clip around the ear like Ed had been given as a kid. Apparently that wasn’t quite right, however and Ed had to suffice to other forms of punishment. He half considered taking Noah for a trip into the cells of the ministry when he really angered his Dad. Ed always rethought that one when he reminded himself why he didn’t even have family pictures on his desk. He didn’t want criminals who held grudges knowing about his family. In fact, Ed didn’t even talk about the kids or his wife with his colleagues. No, personal life was personal and an hour in a ministry cell would just have to remain a threat to the adolescent male.

“Little get won’t go to bed.” The auror grumbled, closing the door behind Jason before he buried his rough hands into the pockets of his faded stonewash jeans. Sometimes Ed wished he’d been even more active in disciplining the kids but he’d always tried to avoid that. There was only so much Mr Nasty one man could do. At home he wanted to be Mr Nice. Especially to his kids.

Miraculously, Ed had cleared up after the dinner he’d made for him and the eldest two. Dragon burgers and chips. It was about as far as his culinary skills stretched. He tried occasionally to make elaborate meals for Quincy but they tended to be off in some way or another. Ed just wasn’t a chef. Nevertheless, Natasha had polished off two burgers, a miracle for a girl of her size.

Ed leaned against the counter, watching Jason put the case of beers down. “I wouldn’t normally,  mate.” Promises had unfortunately made. They always were and Ed liked to adhere to them. He couldn’t afford anymore messing up with this still sensitive relationship. He needed his wife’s trust back. He needed his wife officially back...

“Just pretend I’m drinkin’.”

“Little get won’t get to bed.”

“If I was around, I wouldn’t want to get to bed either. It’s more exciting to hang with the big guys than sleep.” Jason smirked; he enjoyed causing some havoc for Ed. It was good for him. Besides, he knew somewhere deep inside that Ed had probably missed having his kids around all the time. The heart grows fonder when away? Jason personally hated to be pulled away from Aidan, but with work and the divorce… he tried to take it in stride. Plus, he was getting pretty attached to Lewis (and his mum), and while he enjoyed hanging out with Ed, part of him missed them as well.

That was why he brought the beer—to forget about that. Sam was working, the boys were being cared for, and he was allowed to have a peaceful night. Or at least a night away from his duties and responsibilities, right? He’d even had take away for dinner, not wanting to be hassled with cooking and cleaning on his off night. “You could always give him a glass of whiskey. That would put him right to bed.”

“I wouldn’t normally, mate.”

Raising an eyebrow at that, he started to open the case. “And today isn’t going to be normal?” Frowning slightly, he shook his head. Jason thought it was admirable that Ed gave up alcohol for Quincy’s pregnancy. He just didn’t understand it. Wasn’t it better for her if Ed wasn’t so stressed? And it wasn’t like they ended up in a holding cell every time they went out for a drink…

“Just pretend I’m drinkin’.”

A short laugh escaped him as he pulled out a couple of beers, the cold charm cast on the case still in effect as he popped the tops off. “I don’t have the greatest imagination. You’ll have to indulge me.” Grinning and picking up the two, he motioned with his head for Ed to lead the way. “You can wait until all is quiet, of course. I need you to be able to keep up with me, after all.” As if to prove that point, he lifted one of the beers and took a swig. "Besides-" Jason shrugged and gave Ed an innocent grin. "Quincy has a late shift. She won't know if you have a couple."

"I'll know." Edward muttered in response, frowning across at his friend before his eyes fell down to the beer. He never lied to his wife and Jason was just a darn bad influence. In fact, Ed still held some resentment towards his best mate. After all, it wasn't everyday you got to hear about your best friend and your ex wife being interrupted in attempting the act.
       
"I'm not gettin' drunk tonight. Remember what happened last time?"

---

Sighing, Jason swung the beer back and forth, finally lifting it up and taking another drink, his free hand rubbing the back of his head. "We always have a few drinks though." Waiting to follow Ed, Jason raised an eyebrow at his good memory.
   
"Who said anything about getting drunk? A few beers-" Motioning to the case in point, he frowned, "-are not going to do us in. Last time we had a lot more than this... and we can be responsible drinkers."

---

“I don’t even remember last time.” Ed grunted. There was nothing about that night he wanted to remember. Fortunately, his boss had been....relatively understanding. She’d not reported dragging them in and the rest of the office didn’t know. There were always small mercies, Ed guessed.

Ed cautiously lifted a beer from the case and eyed it with suspicion as if half expecting the bottle to explode in his face. “Me, you and responsible don’t mix, Marren.”

---

Come to think of it, Jason didn't remember much of last time either... Just the awful hangover and waking up in level two without a clue of why except Eddie was slumped next to him. At least Tamis was there-he grinned in memory.
   
"We mix well enough..." They both still had jobs and families, even if Ed's was rather... jumbled right then. Leaning forward, he clinked his beer with Ed's unopened one. "You've built up some sort of tolerance after hanging out with me all these years."

---

Well enough? Ha! Ed rolled his eyes at his mate’s comment, retrieved his wand from his robe pocket and flicked the bottle top off with a handle little charm. He tossed the bottle in the bin and turned on his heel. “I hope you feel really guilty now.”

After a faked scowl directed at his best mate, Ed turned on his heel and exited the small kitchen. “Noah, get yer arse in bed or yer uncle Jason’ll be up to talk ye to death!” Ed bellowed up the stairs before pushing into the living room.

---

"The guilt is overwhelming." And he swallowed it back down with a little more beer for good measure. He'd been mindful to get Ed's favorite, so it was a little more enticing. As long as there was beer, he wasn't picky.
   
Smirking as he followed behind, Jason rolled his eyes and sighed. "I can tell you ALL about girls too. And what to watch out for in broom cupboards." Jason made it over to a chair, sitting down. "How's work been anyway?"

---

“Don’t encourage the lad, Marren. Or he’s comin’ to live with you.” And that threat, for Edward, was genuine. He didn’t need Noah becoming any more difficult than he had already become.

Ed dropped down comfortably in his seat and leaned back.  “It’s work, ‘ent it?” He shrugged his shoulders and took a swig of beer. Now that was why he liked it, the gorgeous smooth liquid floating lovingly down his throat. “There was summit’ i wanted to pick yer brains about, mind.”

---

Rolling his eyes, Jason sighed and smirked. "I remember someone learning the ins and outs of broom cupboards himself..." A bit older than Noah, mind, but still close enough.
   
Another drink and he was close to finishing the first beer--thankfully he'd had the hindsight to bring another one with him. Balancing the cool bottle on his knee, Jason raised an eyebrow and leaned back comfortably. "Sure, mate..." It must have been a health related question, though why he wasn't asking his wife... "Pick away."

---

Frowning, Ed leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. “Not that there’s much to pick at. I’ll have a hard time.” The man smirked slightly before deciding to get back to the more serious topic. “DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. Ye heard o’it?”

---

Laughing, he shifted in the chair a little. "Clearly more than you have." He was asking Jason's opinion, after all... Frowning a little at the word, he raised an eyebrow. "Pretty big word for you, Ed. Do you need a gold star?" Smirking, he finally nodded. "Of course I have." Jason enjoyed researching, and did a good bit of it for work to help understand the ins and outs of his field. And you needed to understand the body, even if you used magic. "Why?"

---

“A gold star’d be grand, mate.” Eddie couldn’t help but grin at the joke before taking a swig of beer. “Don’t sound right with me accent does it?” Deoxyribonucleic was definitely a difficult word for him to get his tongue around. Especially with his northern brogue.

“Well I were doin’ some research for a case. Tryin’ to clarify an identity. This DNA thing...have ye ever messed around with it? Seein’ what happens when you case spells on the person or feed ‘em potions?”

---

Shaking his head, Jason ran a hand over his mouth. "Who sounds smart coming from the north?" Then they put joking aside and got down to the meat of his question. Frowning in thought, Jason leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, the beer dangling in the space between them.
   
 "I've worked a bit with it... not so much on the molecular level though. I know of some research that a few choice wizarding groups have invested in, though, and have seen it used in the clinical setting." Rubbing his cheek, he took a drink and focused on Ed. "Muggles use DNA, from what I understand, to track down criminals."

---

“Ye mind sendin’ me that research at work as soon as?” This case had stalled enough. Ed had explored every avenue. He’d always been positive a lad of 17 would never be able to commit such a crime in front of so many people and vanish of the face of the earth as the boy had apparently done. He was scared now, hiding, facing life in prison for something Ed was pretty damn sure he’d not done.

“It’s like a footprint, right? Something special to identify each individual by. I read muggles can identify gender, age, hair colour, all sorts of crap from it with science.” It was quite impressive really. “Can we? Is it different in beasts, vampires, werewolves? Do they have it? Can ye remember from the research spells and potions that might affect the structure?” Ed may have bombarded his mate with questions, but Jason should hopefully be able to keep up.

“Sure mate, I’ll get some of it together and send it over… I go back to work in a couple days.” Clearly it was something that was bothering Eddie, and Jason was willing to help him out, even with all the joking and harassing they did. When something important came up, it superseded screwing around.  Jason was curious, however, what would make Ed start venturing into the muggle world of science.

Nodding slowly, he could tell Ed had all ready done some of his own research. “It’s like it, sure. Specific to each person but also the same across everyone.” There were a lot of specifics and ‘this and that’ sort of things that came with the explanation of DNA, but his mate seemed to get the gist of it. Rubbing his chin, Jason finally lifted his bottle back up and took a swig, his mind no longer on the refreshing beverage.

Blinking at the sudden onslaught of questions, he lowered the bottle back to its previous state, leaning his elbows on his knees and smirking at Ed. “Well that depends… to be a beast, or a werewolf, or whatever, something has to change your DNA, change who you are on a molecular level. If it’s a change that happens after you’ve been human. If you were born like that… I imagine beasts share similar qualities but… it wouldn’t be so simple.” Part-things, such as veela’s or giants, had human DNA mixed with that of the beast, and in some way it was compatible. But with other beasts, it just wasn’t… possible. Or something he wanted to contemplate.

Things that might affect the structure… Scratching the back of his head in thought, he considered what potions that could come to mind—he was more versed in those, after all, than spell damage. “Anything that might change you… could affect it. But if it’s short term, then the change would be short term as well. Perhaps even… harmful if overdone, you know? Almost like a mutated gene…” Shrugging, he set the empty beer bottle aside and leaned back, crossing his legs. “So what’s going on that has you dipping into my field?”

Jason knew he couldn’t get specifics, per say, but he could get a broad idea, surely. Then, maybe, he could give more insight.