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Post by Kat-la on Jan 20, 2008 17:43:44 GMT -5
“Come on Daddy! I haven’t seen Becca, or John, or Noah, or Kira is FOREVER!” A girl said dramatically as she pulled her father down the street…it looked as if he was still trying to get his jacket on with one hand as a very determined 9-year-old, who only had one thing on her mind, seeing her friends, was pulling the other. “Gweneth Daisy Browning, PLEASE slow down…I really would like to get my jacket on.” Her father said and Gwen sighed and just let go of his hand and rushed inside the Entertainment Center they had arrived at. Chris sighed, gave a small chuckle, as he was finally able to get his other arm through, and followed his daughter inside. She had already found two out of the four Potter-Tripp children and was catching up on missed events. Gwen was wearing a pair of jeans, with a pink rose on the back pocket, a long sleeve white shirt and a brown jacket with fake fur around the collar. Chris on the other hand was wearing a pair of black pants, a silver long sleeve shirt and a black leather jacket. Gwen had her red hair up in a ponytail while Chris’s dark brown hair was just rumpled and wind blown from being dragged down the street. He spotted Kat watching the three kids with a smile on her face and walked over.
Becca and Gwen were jumping up and down and hugging while John stood off to the side and shook his head. Becca had her chocolate hair down and it was flying everywhere but she did not care, she was glad to be back with her best friend. Today Becca wore a pair of jeans with a ring of flowers around the left leg and a dark blue long sleeve top and a white jacket while John wore a pair of jeans, a black tee and a grey jacket. “Where are Kira and Noah?” Gwen asked noticing the missed kids. “They are coming with our dad…Noah ran into the wall cause we were all chasing him…so dad had to make sure he didn’t have a concussion and Kira went so she could laugh at him.” Becca said with a shrug. “Yeah, and Becca said she couldn’t wait for Noah to stop being an idiot to see you…and I didn’t feel like going to St. Mungo’s.” John added before giving Gwen a small brotherly hug of greeting. “Cool!” Gwen said, referring to the fact that they were here…not the fact that Noah had run into a wall…though that was funny. “So…you still coming to our party this weekend?” Becca asked referring to their four way 7th birthday party and Gwen nodded. “Of course! And you all are going to LOVE your presents.” Gwen said and Becca laughed, “You already sent us gifts, on our actual day of birth.” She said and Gwen shrugged, “So…these are the PARTY gifts…those were the BIRTH gifts.” She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Kat smiled when she saw Chris, stood up, hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hey Chris. Long time no see.” She said sitting down again as he sat down across from her leaving the spot next open to her for Brent. “It has been awhile, where is Brent?” Chris asked and Kat explained the story and Chris laughed. “Wow. Well I hope he is ok. Gwen dragged me here by the way.” He said in response to the quizzical look she was giving his disheveled appearance. Kat wore a pair of hip hugger jeans and a green tee with a red jacket and her scarlet locks were up in a loose bun. “Ok then, if I didn’t know you I wouldn’t believe you…but with Gwen protecting you all the time…I don’t doubt it.” Kat said with a laugh and they continued the chat as they waited for Brent, Noah and Kira.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 20, 2008 17:57:33 GMT -5
//It's always Noah...//
"Noah, your mother is going to kill me," Brent said simply. Kira was laughing quietly as they approached the Entertainment Centre, but she quickly put on a sad face as they stepped inside. She kept her eyes centered on the ground as she walked over to her siblings and Gwen. She gave a small smile to Gwen before looking just as sad as before.
Noah, meanwhile, was being carried by Brent over to Kat and Chris. There was dried blood around his nose, which was at an odd angle, curving off to the right; his left eye was black and swollen shut; and it was visible that at least two of his teeth were missing when he gave his mother a weak smile. "Hi, Mum..." he said softly, with a 'it's-not-as-bad-as-it-looks' voice. He glanced at Chris before looking back at Kat.
Kira looked around the group of friends. "What exactly are we gonna do?" she asked without emotion. She was pointedly avoiding looking at Noah.
//Mwahahahahahahaha...//
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 20, 2008 18:08:00 GMT -5
“BRENT! You just got back from St. Mungo’s…what happened between there and here??? And why didn’t you go BACK?” Kat practically yelled, her eyes wide and filled with concern over Noah as she took her son from Brent’s arms. “How could you let this happen?” She accused him as she studied him and tried to figure out if she would be able to fix it or if she would have to take him to St. Mungos. Chris just winced at the sight of Noah and at how much trouble Brent was in…you never brought your child to the mother in any condition except perfect or you would be killed…
“How about a virtual game of quidditch? Or Laser Tag?” John suggested. Becca’s eyes widened and she nodded quickly and Gwen gave a small smile and a nod herself. “Then we can play air hockey!” Becca said happily.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 20, 2008 18:17:45 GMT -5
Darn it. I was sure she would Apparate us there before she started asking questions..." Brent said quietly. Noah laughed. "Galleon, please?" he asked, holding his hand out to his father, who sighed and handed one to him. Noah put it in his pocket and looked at Kat. "Sorry, Mum...I forgot to bring money for souvenirs, so I had to get some quickly..." he said, smirking and looking up at Brent, who stuck his tongue out at him.
Noah dropped some green dust on his head and immediately turned back into his normal, unhurt self. "Oh, and if it helps the protest against grounding me, it was Dad's idea..." Noah trailed off. Brent glared at him. "I was being sarcastic!" "Sure, Da. Whatever you say."
Kira nodded. "Quidditch sounds good. Mum actually lets us play that here."
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 20, 2008 18:27:34 GMT -5
“Noah….please leave while I kill your father.” Kat said smiling at Noah, but the look in her eyes told him NOT to argue with her and to leave as quickly as possible. “And you!” She said turning her attention on Brent, her mood immediately going south, and if looks could kill….the glare Kat was sending Brent would not ONLY him under ground, he would go out the other side and way past PLUTO! Chris shook his head and muttered “Idiot…you never ever play a trick like that on a mother….” He said knowing from experience with his own mother. You especially never do it if said mother tends to have a temper…
“Of course she does…we can’t actually get HURT.” John said with a laugh and Becca shrugged. “So…whose on whose teams? The computer will add virtual people for the players that we don’t have…but I totally call seeker for one team!” Becca said very quickly and all in one breath. “I call chasser for a team.” John added, “Beater!” Gwen said with an evil glint in her eyes.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 20, 2008 18:36:29 GMT -5
Brent attempted an innocent smile. "It didn't start out as a cruel prank..." he explained quickly. "Noah really DID look like that until they fixed him up, and I made a joke that if you had seen him like that, you would Apparate to the Ministry immediately, no questions asked. And he said that you would ask questions first as long as there wasn't any instant danger...so he ended up betting me a Galleon, and he all ready had the prank stuff half on by the time I could say anything..." he finished slowly.
Noah scurried off as fast as he could. A Galleon AND the chance to put Brent on the couch for a decade...sweet, sweet victory. He joined the other kids and said, "So, what's going on?" Kira gave him a questioning look, eager for information, but he shook his head. "I'm guessing Quidditch?" he added, having heard yells of Seeker, Chaser, and Beater. "I call Chaser for one team," he added.
Kira rolled her eyes. "Do you even have to ask? Beater," she said simply. "So...teams...John and Noah are separate, cause they're both Chasers. Gwen and I are separate, cause we're Beaters. So it's either me and John vs. Gwen and Noah, or me and Noah vs. Gwen and John, and then Becca picks where she wants to go and the rest are virtual," she finished.
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 20, 2008 23:55:33 GMT -5
Kat continued death glare on him as she smacked his as hard as she could across the face, “Don’t EVER do that again. You will end up on the streets so fast you will not even have time to BLINK! Moreover, you will be served with divorce papers just as fast. My children’s health is more important to me then you are Mr. Tripp….I hope you understand that. Now, I need some time to myself so I don’t commit murder.” She spat glaring at Brent, “Please watch the children Chris and make sure HE stays away from me.” She said, seeing Chris nod out of the corner of her eye, she stood up and walked out, hatred dripping from her words and anger in every step.
“Of course…oh and Noah….not REALLY the SMARTEST move pissing mom off like that…” Becca said as she watched her mother smack her father and leave. John sighed, “Bloody ‘ell….life at the house now is going to be ‘ell.” He said shaking his head. Gwen gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “You all are welcome to spend the night at my house…” She offered and Becca looked at her, “I might take you up on that.” She said and Gwen nodded, “I call John!” Gwen added and Becca smirked. “Hmm….whose team to be on…” She said looking between the two.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 21, 2008 0:04:51 GMT -5
Brent felt like fire had been whipped across his face. He blinked a few times, holding the side of his face. OK...I f*cked that up pretty nicely, he thought to himself, sighing heavily. "I swear, Noah has some sort of hypnotic power or something," he said aloud, more to himself than anybody else, but loud enough for Chris to hear. Looking back on the plan, it was obvious what a stupid idea it had been in the first place. A no-brainer answer: don't do it. And he couldn't believe he actually had.
Noah shrugged, although he did wince at the resounding smacking noise that echoed through the room. "Well...it was either piss her off like that, or have her freak out and get it all motherly and 'my poor baby'...probably should have chosen the second one," he said, not offering any explanation for what he meant. "OK, you can have him," Noah added, rolling his eyes. Typically, John was better than him again. He waited for Becca's choice.
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 21, 2008 0:20:02 GMT -5
“No…you just don’t want to disappoint him so you do stuff for your kids even if you know it’s stupid…trust me…it’s worse with one who KNOWS she has you wrapped around her finger…Gwen says jump and I usually ask how high.” Chris said with a sigh, “But yeah…you’re gonna need to do some SERIOUS damage control. The kids can stay at my house tonight if you want to try and work things out with Kat…though I wouldn’t be surprised if she locks and magics you out of the house tonight…” He said with a small shrug of his shoulders as if to say sorry, but there is nothing I can do to help.
“Or you could have just run in here perfectly fine after St. Mungo’s, asked mom for some money for the games and everything would have been fine.” Becca said before turning to Kira, “Sorry…but I can’t be on a team with Mr. IDIOT over there…” Becca said glaring at Noah and praying this was not something that made her mom do something stupid…or make her father do something stupid, again which would make her mother do something stupid…like divorce or separation. Gwen smirked, “Sorry…but John is someone who isn’t stupid!” She said with a smile now.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 21, 2008 0:31:52 GMT -5
Brent shrugged. "I'll figure something out...I hope. It's been like this a lot lately...not this bad, but still. All the stress from James being a Minister candidate, new school for the kids, Lily and Quidditch, I've been swamped at work a lot..." he sighed.
"Oh thanks, I feel loads better now," Noah said sarcastically. He sighed. "OK, I guess we can start now," he said, emotions in a turmoil. He wondered how a six seven year old could feel so many things at once: guilt, fear, anxiety, self-loathing, pity...Maybe a nice game of Quidditch would make him feel better. Noah's stomach flip-flopped at the thought. "Uh, you guys set it up, I'll be right back," he mumbled.
Noah walked off briskly. He went the long way around Chris and Brent, so they didn't see him. He didn't want an interrogation about what he was doing. He just wanted to do it and get it over with. Finally, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed home. There was no answer at the house, so he called his grandfather, Harry. He waited for an answer.
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 21, 2008 2:21:58 GMT -5
Chris sighed, “You have to make time for your family. I mean, I’m really busy too, as is Gwen…but we both make time to spend time together and time like this…were they can be kids. You need to find a way to spend time as husband and wife and mother and father…not just working people.” Chris said looking at him. “I’ve grown up with the Potters…and I know they can all be difficult…but marriage is difficult too.” He said sincerely.
Becca just rolled her eyes at Noah and looked away, but nodded when he said he had to go. “Come on, let’s get everything ready!” John said running over to the place, Gwen quick on his heels.
The cell phone rang twice before Harry picked it up. “Hello?” He said, his voice wavering a bit. He had just left the room where Kat and Ginny were. Ginny was on one cushion while Kat was laid on the couch, her head on Ginny’s lap as Ginny talked to her and stroked her head, it seemed to calm her down a bit. When Kat had apperated to their house in hysteric’s, Harry, like most males, had been totally useless, but had finally been able to help calm her down but rubbing her back and being “Daddy” again while Kat became his “Little Girl” again. Then the phone had rung and he left the two women by themselves.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 21, 2008 2:26:08 GMT -5
Brent nodded. "Yeah...you would think four magical kids would bring a family closer together, though..." he said with a small laugh, even though he wasn't completely joking.
Kira nodded, waiting impatiently for Noah to get back. She wanted her dang Chaser; there was no way she was leaving it up to computers.
"Hi, Harry," Noah said. He had never gotten used to 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma' for Harry and Ginny. It was too weird. "It's Noah...I was just wondering, if maybe, Mum were there?" he asked, trying to be as polite as he could while pressing on. "And if she is, I really need to talk to her. Badly."
//gtg//
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 22, 2008 22:28:21 GMT -5
“Brent….kids are going to put stress on ANY marriage….have four of them at one time and your just asking for four times the strain. And to any mother…it’s kids and then spouse…so your prank…yeah….just really stupid.” Chris said with a slight nod as he ordered a butterbeer and paid for it from the menu on their table. “Grace was the same way with Gwen…if it was between Gwen and me…Gwen would always win.” He said with a small shrug.
“Yeah, your mum is here. She’s with Grandma so I’ll go get her.” Harry said gently as he pushed his way through the swinging door and into the den, “Princess, Noah is on the phone. He wants to talk to his mum.” Harry said. He had gone back to the nickname he had always used for Kat when she was younger, and it had seemed to calm her and he was just in the phase right now. Kat nodded and got up, composing herself and taking the phone and walking into the kitchen. “Hey sweetie, is everything ok?” she asked concerned.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 22, 2008 22:39:52 GMT -5
"Yeah mum, it's fine. Well, I mean, we're safe and everything..." Noah trailed off, wondering what he was getting into. He could lie and say he called just to make sure she was OK. Yeah, add one more to the list, he thought bitterly. OK, here goes... "Mum, I have something to tell you," he started slowly. This was not going to end well. "And I know it's really bad that I haven't told you before, and I know it's really bad that I did it all in the first place...and I know grounding for a year wouldn't make up for it," he continued, trying to say it gently and not all at once. "But...the truth is...the prank was my fault. All of it. Da made the remark about you and I made the bet, and he said that it would be cruel to do it, so we weren't. And he was still carrying me as we left the hospital, and I had this prototype from WWW that's like an obedience dust. They decided not to sell it, because it was too much like the Imperius Curse, but I had some anyway, and I just wanted him to go through with the bet to prove I was right, and so I used it on him when he wasn't watching, and it only wears off when the person who they obey leaves the immediate area around them, but until then the victim," Noah swallowed as he used the word. Victim...that's exactly what it was. And he was on the bad end. Continuing, he said, "they don't think as well as normal...they can only focus on the good parts of what their master is saying, and so he did it and it really wasn't his fault and I don't want you to be mad at Daddy unless he really does something stupid."
Barely taking a breath, Noah continued, "There were other times, too. Just lies and pranks and stuff that end up causing fights, and I didn't think they would mean anything, but then everything got all stressful and you and Daddy are always arguing and stuff, and half the stuff Uncle Jake did wasn't his fault either. He just took the blame for it," he said, running out of air. He stopped to breathe.
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 23, 2008 18:23:42 GMT -5
Kat sighed, and waited a moment. She had a feeling one of her children would call and say something like this and was not surprised it was Noah. All four of them seemed to have a helping or saving people thing in them and she would blame her father for that, and then also a slight death wishy side, which she would blame Brent’s side of the family for. It was cute, and yet also very nerve racking when they tried to do something that they really should not be doing. “Honey, I know your Great Uncle’s and they aren’t dumb enough you let you or any of my children near something that could do that, nor are they dumb enough to even invent something like that. Moreover, since they are the only inventors I doubt someone else made it. As for your father, it is not only this time in which I got mad at him for. It is a lot of things and it is simply something we have to sit down and talk about, but right then and there was neither the time nor the place. We will work it out though sweetie, because we all love you four very much and we do realize it upsets you when we argue, but sometimes parents do that. Grandma and Grandpa Potter still argue a lot of the time, and while now a days it is over silly little things, they use to get into the loudest fights I have ever heard. Your Grandpa Harry spent an entire year on the couch once, but they never got a divorce nor did they split up. I love how you are trying to take the blame for this sweetie, but it is not your fault and I do not want you to think it is. As for your Uncle Jake, again, I doubt it was you or any of your siblings half the time as I know your Uncle Jake very well and his signature is normally all over his pranks. However, back to your father and me arguing, it is natural sweetie. Things would not be normal if we did not fight like this at times, though I promise you our fights in school were a lot worse. Yes, things are stressful, but your dad and I both have very stressful jobs and a very stressful family…I mean imagine your brother-in-law being like Uncle Jake and then having Uncle James and Aunt Lily as your siblings, of course, things are going to be a little stressful. That is life and if there were no stress, things would be a tad bit boring. I am sorry if I scared you or any of the others, but I really just needed to talk to Grandpa and Grandma for a little bit. Even when you get old, going home to be with mom and dad is sometimes the best thing to do.” She said gently, her tone was happy and it was evident that she was smiling. “Are you ok now?” She asked.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 23, 2008 18:35:23 GMT -5
"Yes...now multiply that by four..." Brent said with a forced laugh. "Ugh...dang kids," he added jokingly, leaning back on the bench and sighing. "We couldn't have had nice, normal, polite, non-pranking, loving, classical-music liking, nerdy kids?" he asked, then shuddered. "Never mind, I'll take what I got."
Noah wanted to tear his hair out. "No Mum, I'm not OK," he said in the typical I'm-older-than-two-years-old-and -yet-noone-seems-to-notice voice. "I'm NOT taking the blame for ANYTHING that I didn't do. Trust me, I rarely, if ever, do that. You and dad and Becca and John and Kira all seem to think I'm some gullible little angel that can't do anything 'bad' right! And no, they didn't invent it on purpose, they were trying to create an antidote to their hyper drink, and I accidentally spilled this dust thing from another prank into it, and it turned into that, and I was helping cleaning it up cause it spilled and when I got home later, I still had some in my pocket, and then we were going to Mungo's after the wall..." he said.
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Post by Kat-la on Jan 23, 2008 19:26:55 GMT -5
“Honey, I’m not dumb enough to think that you are a perfect little angel. None of my children are, which I admit keeps me on my toes. However, I also know your Great Uncles and your second cousin Natalie, and neither Fred nor George nor Natalie let anyone, especially children into the inventing room. Fred and George barely let NATALIE in the room. I get that you are trying to fix everything, but you cannot. Your father and I just need to talk and this definitely is not the only incident…this was simply the last straw that made me just have to get away from your father, if even for an hour. With as much stress as everyone is under in this family it was only a matter of time before either your father or I exploded and I just did it first. However, I am warning that if you use this tone with me again…your father will not be the only one in trouble right now. I’ll be back soon; I’m just catching up with Grandma and Grandpa now.” She said gently.
Chris laughed, “Exactly. If kids weren’t a hand full, people would be popping them out like candy…but yet they are smart in the fact that they are cute…because otherwise parents would probably kill them without thinking.” He said with a smile.
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Post by Daniel on Jan 23, 2008 21:09:25 GMT -5
"Well, obviously. I had to sneak in...Fred and George are extremely oblivious sometimes," Noah explained, trying to avoid the topics that got him into even more trouble. "Fine. I don't care. I'm not pretending that I'm the cause for all your arguments, so you two have fun talking; but when Da tells you he has no idea why he did what he did, and literally barely remembers it, you'll know why," Noah said, sounding like he was about to hang up.
"That's...a nice idea..." Brent said, frowning slightly. "But I think the actual birth would scare most people away anyway...especially the guys," he shuddered, remembering how that had gone.
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Post by Kat-la on Feb 2, 2008 1:08:22 GMT -5
Kat sighed, she really did not want to argue with Noah, but she had a good idea he had nothing to do with it, and Brent was that oblivious anyways, the dust would not have made much of a difference. It was an endearing quality at times…and yet at others it was highly annoying. “Just tell everyone I’ll be back soon and I’m just visiting Grandma and Grandpa who send their love to everyone.” Kat said easily changing the subject. “Love you and see you soon Noah.” She added, and it was obvious from her tone simply that she was smiling when she said this.
“Only you and a few others have had that lovely experience Brent…Crystal’s OBGYN was very supportive and treated myself and her like equals. We were both in the whole process together and she acted like that. You probably got some chick whose husband or lover cheated on her or something so she was very scornful against men…that or some lesbian.” Chris said with a laugh and a smile totally joking about the last part….mostly….he hoped….
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Post by Daniel on Feb 2, 2008 1:14:47 GMT -5
Noah sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said, taking long breaks between each word to make it sound like he was actually listening. "See you later," he muttered finally, and hung up. Merlin's socks, mothers could be so DIFFICULT sometimes.
Noah walked back over to the rest of the kids and said, "So, where were we?"
Brent shuddered and put his index fingers in his ears before starting to say, "La la la la la I can't hear you la la la la la." He was joking, of course. Although he really did not want to hear about those nine months... Ever, ever again. Which meant Jake would bring it up daily.
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