It was dark as Ed landed hard on the muddy ground, his feet planted firmly apart to help his balance. An arm was tightly wrapped around Quincy’s waist to stop her from falling over from the dizziness. She’d only just had the baby Ed had a feeling her ability to remain on her feet after sidelong apparation would no doubt be severely impaired. And she was holding their tiny baby. Ed didn’t want anything happening to either of them.

Once certain she was stable on her feet, the auror withdrew his arm and gripped his wand tighter in his left hand. He stepped away from his ex-wife and newborn child very quickly and began to scan the area with keen eyes. No shadows on the ground appeared to be moving and he couldn’t see or hear anyone close. It was when he was satisfied they were alone when he finally allowed himself to let out the breath he’d been holding.

“Kids are already inside. They think it’s grand.” Pratt whispered to his ex-wife before gesturing for her to come closer. He pointed his wand out in front of him and began to whisper a few anti concealment charms. In front of them, primarily a wavering blur before it came into full focus, a small wooden shack appeared. Ed smirked and glanced sideward at Quincy.

“Ye can be like the wicked witch in the forest now. Sorry it ‘ent made of gingerbread.” He wasn’t sure if she’d understand the reference. The gingerbread house had been in one of those muggle books his Dad had read to him as a kid. The wicked witch had been put in an oven and cooked by the kids. Somehow, Ed had every doubt that would happen. But it didn’t stop him grinning across at his ex-wife, watching her expression as she saw the less than perfect looking shack she’d be expected to live in.

Ed had known his ex-wife for twenty years. He knew what she liked and how she expected her living conditions to be. She was a St.James. She’d come from a rich family and had had enough of a surprise coming to his family home and meeting his less than wealthy family for the first time. But she’d been married to him for 11 years. She was now used to what he could provide. She seemed to have liked it enough. But this was a big change. Or at least from the outside it looked it.

“Beautiful ‘ent it?”

The ride had been sickening, and Quincy almost felt as though she would squeeze the baby to death if she held onto her any tighter. Her fragile emotional state was making her extremely cautious. It would be just their luck that - even though there was a crazy-assed-killer on the loose, threatening their family - their new-born daughter would end up with her ear spliced off due to her parents' carelessness whilst apparating.

They landed on soft mossy ground, Eddie's arm still tight around Quincy's waist. It felt right - she felt right. Safe and protected. She would have told him they should run away together, just him, her and the kids. Run away, don't look back. Forget it all. She would have, if she thought there was any chance he would leave. But she knew Eddie well, and she knew that he would never leave his colleagues to deal with whatever mess they were currently dealing with. Eddie's loyalty to his job came very close behind his loyalty to his family. Quincy was sure that if they were in grave danger, worse than they were now, he would leave without a second thought. However, it seemed as though there was a chance he could do right by his career and his kids without having to jeopardise one for the other.

Quincy swayed a little, the gentle breeze knocking her sideways as though it was the biggest gust of wind she'd had to face in a long time. She steadied herself, her face with a slight green tint and a few beads of shimmering sweat dotted across her forehead and nose. No woman, in her opinion, should have to go through that only a couple of hours after giving birth. She took a deep breath and nodded, indicating to Eddie (who was being ever-so-attentive) that she was okay to stand on her own. He withdrew his arm from her waist and immediately aimed his wand into the apparent nothingness. Quincy swayed slightly again, but managed to regain her balance by focussing on the baby sleeping blissfully in her arms.

She looked up once more as Eddie let out a breath. It seemed like the coast was clear. On the mention of the kids, she instinctively looked around for them, but there was just the three of them, standing alone. Ed pointed his wand, and Quincy found herself looking towards the-- "What is that?!" she asked, a bewildered expression on her face. The sorry excuse for a garden shed was barely standing upright. Bits of wood were splintering away from the corners, the roof had half-collapsed in on itself, and the front door was swinging on its hinges.

She chose to ignore his comment about being a 'wicked witch', and the reference to the gingerbread house was completely lost on her. Instead, her bottom jaw hung open as she stared at the tattered old hut. She half expected, half hoped, that Eddie would laugh out loud any moment now, swish his wand some more and a nice house would be there, with a garden for the kids and maybe even a pool for Quincy to relax in.

“Beautiful ‘ent it?”

He was serious! Her horrified expression was turned towards him, and she hugged the baby closer as though shielding it from the horrific sight of her new home. "Beautiful?! Beautiful?!" she demanded, words failing her for a moment. "Eddie, blast-ended skrewts with bowel issues would be more beautiful than this! The image of your parents wearing PVC leather and getting down-and-dirty on your bed, is more beautiful than this! This--" she gestured wildly at the shack, "--is not beautiful!" She swallowed and composed herself for a moment. "But," she carried on, her tone suddenly taking a demure lull to it, "If it'll keep us all safe, then it's the best home I could ask for." She paused and narrowed her eyes slightly, prodding Eddie's chest gently. "But that doesn't mean I'm happy about living here! So hurry up and sort this bloke out!"

As expected, Quincy Pratt’s reaction had been thoroughly priceless. First her expression had been shock, seeing something before her that she had not completely expected. Following this, a look of mild confusion crossed her expression, seeming to consider the shack before her a joke before Eddie led them a few minutes’ walk to the mansion she’d been dying to live in since he moved them into their cute little cottage in Yorkshire. Now the once pampered princess Quincy St.James stared at the shack before her in utter horror.

The auror, only sparing the odd glance at his ex-wife in between checking the area around them, awaited the outburst upon the full realisation that this was where she’d be living for the next month or so to stay safe. Ed couldn’t imagine his ex-wife as the shack in the middle of nowhere kind of woman and by the explosion that shattered the peace of the forest, Quincy didn’t seem to imagine that either.

"Eddie, blast-ended skrewts with bowel issues would be more beautiful than this! "

Edward was grinning as Quincy began to sprout off what was apparently more beautiful that the quaint little chalet he’d presented her with. Well until she brought the most horrific image possible into Ed’s mind and he swooned, feeling his stomach threaten to filter up his gullet and empty its contents onto the forest ground beneath him. What a disgusting thing to say! The wizard paused in his protective and concealment charms to spin around and look at his ex-wife, now equally as horrified as her if not more so.

“Why?! Out of everything ye could compare this place to ye pick that?” Her final words fell on death ears as Ed tried to filter his mind of any grotesque images rearing their ugly, utterly disturbing heads.

“Yer disgustin’.” He said after a pause before waving his hand at the shack. “Go inside. It’s too cold out here for the babby.” Ed began to walk away a bit further to perform a few more charms, muttering “Bloody disgustin’....gross...ugh” complete with several expletives on his way.

She knew the comment about his parents wouldn't go down well. Eddie was a proper boy when it came to anything like this. He'd prefer to believe that his father had never...carnally touched his mother, and that it was a 'lie-back-and-think-of-England' job when he had been conceived.Better still, he would have probably tried to convince himself he was dropped off by a hippogriff, as the childish story famously told.

She'd clearly hit a raw nerve as he told her - rather abruptly - to go inside. "Fine!" she huffed, turning away from him and heading towards the horrors that awaited her in the grotty little hovel. She winced as she ducked under the cobweb-ridden doorframe, and the pungent smell of rotting wood filtered up her nose. "Ugh! This smells vile!" Her voice bounced off the wood and echoed down the corridor that she was supposed to follow. She took one final glance back at Eddie, muttering expletives to himself in between completing the protective charms, before heading off as quickly as she could down the corridor and towards the slightly more stable looking door at the end.

Opening the door, she expected the other side to be just as dingy as what she had just experienced. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to find she was entering a rather spacious hallway, well-lit and warm with a plush, spongy carpet and the smell of potpourri lingering in the still air. She smiled. Eddie hadn't done too bad, by the look of things.

There were windows, as high as the ceiling - enchanted windows that allowed her to see out into the forest around them without letting the person outside see in - unless they were supposed to know the shack was there. Quincy watched from the front window as Eddie carried on with his meticulous wandwork, ensuring that his children were as safe as they could possibly be.

Suddenly, a crash was heard upstairs, and instinctively Quincy's right hand dug into her cloak and pulled out her wand. Her left arm held the baby closer, tighter than before and she waited, her heart thumping in her chest.

"Mummy!"

Quincy almost laughed, the relief overwhelming her as her first-born daughter came running down the stairs. Her eyes welled up as she crouched down and let Natasha wrap her little arms around her mother. Quincy kissed the top of her head tenderly and stroked her dark hair. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here now." She smiled. "Look-" Quincy moved the blanket a little, and revealed the sleeping baby to her big sister. "This is your little sister." The older girl's face lit up as she saw the sleeping baby. "You have to help me look after her, okay?" Natasha nodded, mesmirised by the peaceful infant. "And daddy will help as well!" she promised. Quincy's expression fell slightly, unsure of what to say. She pulled Natasha closer to her and kissed her once more.

With the protective charms completed Ed decided it was a sensible idea to vanish inside the shack and lay down a few ground rules for Quincy and the kids before he left them there to be safe and get back to work. As much as he would truly have liked to, Ed couldn’t just stay there with his family and hide away. He and Quincy were no longer a couple and regardless of that, it was still his job to protect her and his children. He couldn’t do that by stopping with them all and hiding from the world. Besides, it would only take a couple of hours together in one house in the middle of the woods before Quincy and he were ready to tear each other’s heads off.

Now, to the chancing muggle or wizard, nothing could be seen but the trees that made up the forest. The shack was invisible, protected, safe. Ed still didn’t put his wand away until he’d crossed the threshold of the shack, closed the door and locked it with a quick flick of the trusted apparatus. Then it was a case of shoving the wand into his holster and setting off down the corridor to the much nicer interior of the shack that the auror hoped his ex-wife would be satisfied with.

The door at the end of the corridor was pushed open and Ed stepped into the much nicer room, eyes falling on Quincy with the two girls. His lips went together, pressing against one another in thought.
“Where’s my hug, Moustash?” The auror greeted his daughter with a smirk after a moment of watching them. Natasha’s eyes, wide as galleons and brighter still, were glued on her baby sister’s, lips parted in awe. As her Dad spoke she looked away and grinned, bounding around her mum and jumping up in Ed’s arms. With a loud heave the wizard lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him, arms hooked tightly around his neck.

“Goodness you’re gettin’ heavy, lass. I’m gonna have to give you a potion and keep you cute forever.” His lips pursed and he planted a big slobbery kiss on the young girl’s cheek. She tried tugging her head away, pulling a face accompanied by an “Ew...daaaad”, but the auror only held on tighter, grinning broadly at his oldest daughter.

Eddie came into the shack-that-wished-it-was-a-house not long after Quincy. The little girl left the clutches of her mother and practically leapt onto her father – it was obvious she knew something was happening. Quincy didn’t know whether Eddie had said anything to the kids, but they weren’t daft. The kids usually knew stuff before even their parents did. Whatever Natasha did or didn’t know, she was putting on a brave face for her daddy. She was a daddy’s girl, but at the same time she shared a special bond with her mum.

Quincy stood from her crouching position a little awkwardly, balancing the baby in her left arm and steadying herself with her right. It was at that moment more noise could be heard from the landing upstairs. Quincy craned her neck around the dark wood banister to see Noah stepping heavily down the stairs, wand out in front of him and a look of concentration on his face. “Honestly, Noah – if I didn’t know you, I’d think that Wandboy was permanently attached to your hand!” She laughed, simply pleased to see that her oldest son was safe and well, and engrossed in his virtual wand game as always.

Noah tore his eyes away from whatever image was being projected in front of him and grinned – it was a grin that was reminiscent of Eddie. ”I’ve just got to kill two more trolls, then I can fly to Azkaban and I have to battle the dementors!” The excitement in his voice was apparent, and Quincy refrained from frowning (as she usually did). She wasn’t fond of her son playing so many games, as she’d prefer him to be out and about playing with other kids. However, she was willing to accept that for the foreseeable future, the poor boy would be stuck with only his mother, siblings and (occasionally) his father for company.

Noah stepped onto the carpet of the ground floor and made his way to Quincy’s side. He wrapped his arm around her waist in an unusually affectionate gesture for the young man. Normally he wouldn’t be caught dead kissing his mum, but again – he clearly knew something was wrong. He was getting taller, and it was only occurring to Quincy now that he was stood protectively at her side, admiring his new baby sister. Quincy kissed the top of his head as she pulled him closer. “Where’s Charlie?”

She looked up the stairs as Noah said that Charlie was asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief, the kind that would only materialise when a mother knew that all of her children were safe. Quincy was like a cat protecting her litter from harm’s way. If anything was to threaten the safety of her kids, she would turn into a ferocious lioness without a moment’s notice.

Suddenly she looked at Eddie. “Did you leave them here alone?” The panic was starting to set in now – her imagination was running wild with what could have happened if someone had known where her kids were, and she nor Eddie hadn’t been there. It was the same irrational thoughts she had time and time again, but they were multiplied. There had been threats before, of course – threats against Eddie, threats against his wife, against his kids. But nothing on this scale. Nothing that had ever made Eddie want to send them into hiding until further notice.

Noah began bounding down the stairs with a fake wooden wand held out in front of him and a look of extreme concentration creasing his young features and Ed stared, wondering what sort of trancelike hex had been put on his oldest son. The only other thing he looked so focused on was a broomstick but there would be none of that for a while. Ed had to make sure the lad knew that. It was time to be the bad guy parent and lay down the law and not the fun one who acted as immature as the kids themselves. Ed frowned, holding his growing daughter tighter.

He gave the young girl another kiss before plopping her back on the ground, a hand quickly reaching up and messing up the brown curls atop her head. Natasha verbalised her displeasure and Ed stuck his tongue out at her before bright eyes flashed to Quincy, expecting that disapproving look her mothering nature had perfected when he reminded her of one of her children.

But Quincy was busy with Noah as the young lad eagerly analysed his new sibling. He’d already stated a few weeks ago that babies were boring but girls were worse. Now he had both but despite this, Ed knew his oldest son would carry on being a big brother with the grace, love and insults he did so well with.

“Did you leave them here alone?”

Ed frowned and glanced at his ex-wife. “For the ten minutes it took to grab you. It’s not like I could bring anyone else here to watch over them while I bought you here. That’s getting more people involved that don’t need to be.” And Ed wasn’t going to apologise for that. Instead he glanced between the kids, frowning.

“Can we just come into the living room, kids? Quince? I’ve got a few things to tell ye before I need to get back to work.” With that, Ed walking through the door leading to a bright but small living room and he sat in the armchair besides the fire, waiting for the rest of them to file in.

Eddie looked mildly irritated that she asked if the kids had been left alone, but she didn't wilt away from him. She kept eye-contact with him, to let him know she wasn't messing around. Her children's lives were at stake - she wasn't willing to juggle with them for any reason. As Eddie explained that getting other people involved was unecessary, Quincy pursed her lips. Noah was only ten going on eleven - he wasn't old enough to be alone with even Natasha, nevermind a young toddler too! What if something had happened and Noah didn't know what to do? "I'm sure one of your colleagues could have helped," she muttered under her breath as she followed Eddie into the living room with Noah at her side.

At the mention of going back to work, Natasha let out a wail of frustration and a few big fat tears were squeezed expertly from between her eyelids. Quincy bit her lip. She hated seeing her little girl like this. She'd been the same way when Eddie had first moved out, and for a while Quincy was sure the young child blamed her for the fact her dad was no longer there. There was no doubt in Quincy's mind that the same thing would happen this time around, and it cut her up inside.

Suddenly there was a wail from upstairs and Quincy jumped slightly, startled at the unexpected noise. Charlie was awake, and he was making himself known. Quincy shot an apologetic look at Eddie as she passed the baby over to him and cast a glance at Natasha who was still crying. The baby hadn't stirred yet, which was a bonus. "I'll go and get Charlie," Quincy offered as she stepped over the threshold and into the passage.

She didn't know her way around the house yet, so she was relying on her ears to follow the sound of Charlie. On the landing, she made her way past a bathroom, one bedroom, two bedrooms and-- the third and smallest of the bedrooms held a cot in which Charlie was stood holding onto the railings. His little round face was red and streaked with the sore, raw skin that had been pocked by his tears. He was still crying, but the sound was muted somewhat when he saw Quincy, sounding more like a pitiful moan as he held his arms out to her. She obliged gladly, picking him out of the cot slowly and carefully, attempting to appease the pains her whole body was feeling. Charlie latched his arms around his mother's neck and lay the side of his head in the crook of her shoulder.

She smiled, taking in the smell of her second from youngest. His smell was still like a baby, but more prominent. It was a warm, rich, clean smell, a smell dotted with the scent of the sleep from which he had just awoken. She nursed him from side to side for a moment, trying to calm down his sniffling. She pressed her lips against his blonde hair and savoured this moment with him. Moments like this were so precious to Quincy, and she wanted to make sure she made the most of them when she could.

Once Charlie was feeling less sorry for himself, Quincy began making her way back down to the living room for 'the talk'. She pushed open the living room door and smiled at Eddie. Charlie's thumb was in his mouth and he was sucking with a furious determination, not caring about what was going on around him. He was at the blissful age where no matter what was happening, as long as he was fed, clothed, warm and had some attention, he was happy.

Quincy sat down on the red sofa and pulled Charlie towards her, cradling him in her arms and rocking him gently while she waited for Eddie to lay down the laws.

---

It was late evening and while Ed had planned on visiting today, he hadn’t meant for it to happen like this, for him to come bearing news like this. He knew they were safe, someone had checked without alerting them. But they were blissfully unaware. Quincy was blissfully unaware that her in-laws had been killed, that her children’s grandparents were gone. Right now the auror couldn’t imagine telling them. He couldn’t imagine telling his children that Nanna Brooke and Grandpa Charlie were dead. He couldn’t imagine uttering the words. His mam and dad had always been there for him. They’d always supported him, helped him do the right thing and now they were gone. He felt lost, but above all he felt furious and guilty that this had happened.

The auror let himself into the shack and slowly walked down the corridor, his whole body aching with exhaustion. Somehow the wizard knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep for the next few days. Not that he’d had any in the last few. He was being energised by anger, determination. But right now by the fact that he had to check Quincy and the kids himself. That he had to tell her this.

At the end of the dingy corridor he pushed the main door open and closed it, locking it behind him before moving into the living room which he entered cautiously. There on the sofa was Quincy, curled up on the small sofa with a book in her lap. A slither girls book written by her younger cousin to be specific. A tiny smirk tugged at the edges of the wizard’s lips before it dropped again and he stepped further in and pushed the living room door shut.

“Sorry it’s late, Quince. Are the kids in bed?” A calm, distanced voice muttered as he lifted a hand up to his face and removed the black glasses he’d put on earlier that evening. With a couple of thick fingers he rubbed the tired eyes and replaced the glasses. Without asking for her permission, since this was his ex-wife’s home for the moment, Ed sat himself on the small couch beside her and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the knees, looking directly ahead.

“Something’s happened, luv.”

Quincy was snuggled up on the warm, squishy sofa with her feet tucked under her to keep them warm. The logs were crackling on the fire, and there was a tender glow around the small room. It may not have been home, but it was home. Her children were here, tucked tightly into their beds and in a place where not even maniacs like MacDuff could hurt them. The dreamy, enchanted corners of a child's mind was something to be cherished, something to preserve for as long as it was wizardly possible. Noah was getting to the age now where he couldn't see the real magic in being a wizard. He was due to start at Hogwarts soon - so long as he received his letter - and he was more concerned with playing his games and riding his broom than anything else. Natasha was at the best age, or so Quincy thought. Everything was a wonder to the little girl, and the mother and daughter shared a special bond that Quincy would hold onto for as long as she could.

Charlie was...well, Charlie. The double of his father, the spirit of his grandfather for whom he was named, and the famous St.James puckered lip when he didn't get his own way. He was Quincy's own little cherub. Now there was a new addition to their family - the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Little Pratt still didn't have a name yet, and Quincy found herself scouring book upon book for inspiration.

For this reason (and no other), Quincy was reading one of the 'Slither Girl' collection. Though she hated to admit it, and never would in public, she was actually enjoying the book, though it was giving her no name inspiration. Dolly was the epitome of St.James - she relished the attention. The cousins rarely had anything to do with eachother. Quincy was positive Dolly wouldn't even know she had been pregnant, letalone had four kids now!

Quincy jumped as she heard a door close and the unmistakable clink of a lock. Instinctively her hand grabbed the wand at her side, and she held it out in front of her towards the door. Her throat dried up as her eyes flickered to Little Pratt sleeping peacefully in a cream moses basket by the heavily draped window.

“Sorry it’s late, Quince. Are the kids in bed?”

The blood that had drained from Quincy's face made a reappearance, and she breathed heavily. There was a colossal sense of relief as Eddie came into the living room. She had thought he might have visited today - it had been a couple of days since they had been brought here and he hadn't been back since - and she had been disappointed when the kids had gone to bed without seeing their dad again. She knew he had a lot of work to do, but she couldn't help feeling the same disappointment that her kids felt. She just hadn't expected him to come round so late.

She nodded and smiled as she tucked her wand back down the side of the sofa and closed the book, placing it on the arm of the chair ready to be picked up again as soon as Eddie decided he needed to go. Quincy yawned and held her fingers up to her mouth.

“Something’s happened, luv.”

She was forced to stop mid-yawn. The tone of his voice, the way his shoulder slumped and he leaned his elbows on his knees - all indicative of someone who came bearing bad news. Immediately she shuffled slightly, sitting up on her knees a little straighter and turning towards him. She cocked her head to one side as though trying to read his expression, her large, worried eyes watching his face. "What is it?" She couldn't help the worry in her voice. Had something happened to one of the aurors? Had MacDuff disappeared again? Did he know where they were hiding?!

"What is it?"

The auror allowed a long breath to empty his lungs as he closed his eyes for a moment. The words he had rehearsed in his mind on the way into the shack didn’t seem adequate to use in this unpleasant situation. They seemed petty, cold and insufficient. The words the wizard desired to say were completely different. He wished that by telling Quincy everything was jovial, safe and that she could go home with the kids and be out of harm's way wasn’t a lie. But it was. Things weren’t safe. Things had become worse and it was his entire fault.

There were a good few moments of silence before Ed took a slow intake of breath and brushed his fingers through his hair. It was the first time he’d stopped to think all day. He was exhausted, both emotionally and physically and now he had to speak these words, words he had avoided all day. By saying them, by telling the woman who’d been his best friend for twenty years, he was admitting the truth.

“I...” He stopped, closed his eyes again and lowered his head. How did you say it? How did you admit your parents had been murdered that very day? Ed shook his head and pushed himself up from the sofa, taking long strides to the fireplace where he looked down at the flames dancing over the burning wood, unaware of the tension residing in the room.

“Me folks are dead, Quince.” It was like pulling off a plaster. Ed said it quickly, plainly, flatly. “I found them this mornin’.” It certainly didn’t feel better now that the plaster was off. It hurt, it was sore. The cut was still there.

Into his pockets, Ed dug his hands. The left one clasped itself around the heavy golden badge. The tiny, powerful item that his refusal to surrender had caused the murder of his own parents. But this didn’t make him want to quit. This made him want to do his job with every last ounce of energy he had. This made him want to take MacDuff and subject him to every torture known to wizarding humanity. MacDuff had made this personal.

His words were broken. He was trying to say something, but he didn't know what to say or how to say it. Quincy's eyebrows puckered slightly. The worry was starting to eat her away from the inside out. Why couldn't he just say it, put her mind at rest? What had gone wrong? The kids were all safe -- what was it that had cut him up so much that he wasn't able to speak?

Her eyes followed him as he stood up suddenly and went to the fire. Then, he spoke. It was like a knife had been driven into Quincy's heart, twisted violently, mulched around and pulled back out again. She tried to speak, but only a pitiful murmur came from her throat. She felt her airways start to constrict, and she struggled desperately for a breath. Dead? Her in-laws, that man and woman who had accepted her from the very beginning - no questions asked - were dead? Brooke and Charlie, two people who had showered Quincy with love like she was their own daughter, two people who had not changed how they acted towards her even when she was divorcing their son. Two people who adored their grandkids, but hadn't met their youngest.

"No-" Quincy shook her head violently, the blood completely drained from her face and her whole body feeling weak and heavy. "They can't--" she could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. She had to mentally make herself slow down her breathing. "They haven't-- the baby! She- she needs...them!"

Her panic-stricken eyes flew to the sleeping baby. The little girl was never going to know her paternal grandparents. She would never know how much they adored her, even though they had never officially met her. They had been so overjoyed when they found out Quincy was pregnant again, so excited for another addition to their little brood of Pratt grandkids. Of course, they had been disappointed that Eddie and Quincy hadn't worked out, but they lived for their grandchildren, and the kids adored their grandparents equally. Grandpa Charlie had always insisted on talking to the unborn baby whenever Quincy visited, sitting next to her on their couch waiting for the little kicks that were sure to come when he spoke. He told the baby girl story after story about his childhood, and the baby had come to recognise his voice over time.

Quincy let out a sob of grief, letting the tears roll down her cheeks and doing nothing to stem them. Eddie needed her to be strong, but she couldn't be - not in this situation. She pushed herself up slowly off the sofa, trying to make sure that her legs wouldn't give way underneath her. Dragging her feet along, she stopped at Eddie's side and looked at his face. He looked consumed with guilt and grief. "Eddie-" she started, unable to think of what she could possibly say to make him feel even a little bit better. She moved between him and the fire, feeling the warmth on the back of her legs, but unable to shake away the goosebumps that were now speckled across her skin. "I'm so sorry." The whisper was half-caught in her throat and she swallowed it away.

Quincy let her right hand join Eddie's left hand in the large pocket of his red robe. Feeling around for his fingers, her slender ones came upon them wrapped around something small, sharp and hard. It was his auror badge -- the thing he had been so proud to receive, and something Quincy had been equally proud of him for. She still was. He was the best, most fervent and determined auror there was. She just hadn't told him that enough. She nudged the badge out of the way with the tip of her forefinger, and entwined her fingers with his.

"No-"

The sound cut through the auror as he tightly gripped the mantel with his right hand. It pained Eddie even more to hear his ex-wife’s voice so hurt, disbelieving. They may not have still been married but he had never stopped loving her. Her pain still cut him deep and right now he didn’t how deep pain could go. He was already reeling from the sight that morning. From the bodies lying on the rug completely lifeless. He didn’t know how to deal with it. Crying and letting it out was weak. But keeping it inside was making him feel dizzy, sick with grief. Hearing his ex-wife cry was making this ten times worse.

He couldn’t look at her. If Eddie looked at the woman he could hear sobbing he didn’t know how he would react. He had to be strong and make sure his family were okay. He had let his parents die, he had let some sick murderer into their home to kill them and he damn well wasn’t going to show how weak that had made him. Brooklynn and Charles Pratt had been good people. They wouldn’t have harmed a flobberworm but the fact that they had an idiot son had given them this sordid end. This undignified death. This violation of their family home before the violation on their souls. Their good, kind hearted souls.

Quincy was on her feet, moving closer to Eddie as he gripped the badge between his fingers.

"I'm so sorry."

Finally the auror spared a glance down at the tear streaked face of his beautiful ex-wife. His expression was stoic, unmoving. The emotionless auror face had been painted onto his visage. But it had failed to reach his eyes. It almost always failed to reach his eyes.

Quincy moved closer and her hand joined his in the pocket of his robes. They felt out the badge before pushing it away from his fingers. He squeezed her back, tighter than was probably comfortable before lifting his other arm and wrapping it tightly around her shoulders. He drew her in close to him and rested his cheek on her soft hair, closing his eyes.

“You’re okay, right?” The grieving auror muttered against her head as he held his ex-wife closer than he ever thought he would again. “Nothing strange has happened to you and the kids?”

She wasn't sure how he would react - grief did things to people, made them change. For all she knew, she was the most repulsive woman in the world to Eddie right now. She was his ex-wife, the woman who had kicked him out of their home and out of her life. She was the person he had looked to for support, and she hadn't given it when he needed it. She was the person he trusted the most, and she had stomped on that trust as though it hadn't mattered at all, by almost betraying him with his best friend.

Which is why she was mildly surprised when Eddie squeezed her hand in his pocket, perhaps a little more forcefully than she would have preferred, but she managed to contain the wince that had threatened to give her away. Then, he went a step further, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. She took a slow, deep breath in as she found herself nestled against his warm chest, his cheek resting against her hair. She missed this so much. She missed the smell of his body spray mixed in with the scent of hard work and lack of sleep. She missed the way his arms enveloped her into him, and the way she seemed to fit against him so perfectly; like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Her left hand moved around his waist and gripped his robe, making sure he couldn't go anywhere even if he wanted to. Her eyes closed momentarily, enjoying the familiar feeling before it was cruelly taken away from her once more.

“Nothing strange has happened to you and the kids?”

Her eyes flickered open slightly, bracing herself for him pulling away. They closed again once she was sure he was staying where he was. "We're fine." she assured him softly, letting his robe soak up her silent tears. "We're all fine." Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled her head away from his chest and looked up into his face. The eyes that usually held so much colour, so much laughter, seemed devoid of any happiness at all. Quincy frowned gently. "What happens now?" she asked gently, hoping to hear that he was allowing himself time to come to terms with what had happened, and not going and throwing himself straight back into work like he usually did. Eddie had the gift of being able to bury his head very deeply when he wanted to, but this was something Quincy felt he needed to face head-on.

Ed wished with all of his soul that he could remain here forever. That he could keep Quincy held tightly to him, protecting her in his arms and never letting go. No more arguments between them. No more threats to his family. No more deaths or attacks or stresses. Just him and Quincy and the roaring fire between them, blasting unnecessary but calming heat at their connected bodies.

Unfortunately this couldn’t happen. He and Quincy could rarely remain in a room an hour without arguing, the threats had already been made and his parents had been killed early that morning. They were already dead. Already beyond saving. There was nothing Ed could do now but get on with his job and catch the disgusting, scum of Merlin’s damn earth that had dared do such a thing to Edward Pratt’s family. It was his fault this had happened and he wanted to reset the score board. He wanted to make MacDuff pay. He couldn’t do that by holding onto his ex-wife forever. Besides, Ed had lost that right the day they’d split up.

Quincy seemed to realise this. Her croaky voice quietly confirmed that her and the kids were ok before she pulled her head from his chest. Ed wanted to check on the kids himself soon. He wanted to make sure they were sleeping soundly in their beds. That the only dreams they were having were of ice cream and quidditch and Hogwarts.

"What happens now?"

Ed looked down at his ex-wife and best friend. “I have to kill him.” He pulled away from Quincy and shoved his hands back into his pockets as green eyes took on a much darker hue. “I have to kill the sick bastard that decided to use my family as pawns in his disgustin’ game of chess.”