Simul Ut Tres

Time passed quickly, the summer heat giving way to the incoming autumn weather. Leo and Fig spent most days in the garden, going over charms, and spells, and different history topics. They would take breaks for snacks along the way, sitting down to enjoy dinner together, where Fig banned all academic discussion. Leo learned much about Fig in the latter half of the summer, listening to every story Fig told of his life with Miriam with rapt attention. Occasionally, there were tales of Fig’s time at Hogwarts. Leo heard a great deal about the current Headmaster, Phineas Black, who attended school at the same time as Professor Fig. It seems the two had many run-ins with each other, much to the apparent amusement of Fig. 

Leo continued his dictionary, dedicating many pages to the odd form of currency the wizarding world used compared to the muggle equivalent. It was a headache indeed, trying to sort through the logic of the system. He grimaced when he had to write that there were 29 knuts to a sickle, and 17 sickles to a galleon. 

“Who made such an arbitrary system?” Leo complained one day, during their daily break to enjoy their chosen sweet for the day.

It was Leo’s turn to choose, and he always chose queen cake’s. Fig had purchased a recipe book at a muggle bookstore, filled with desserts, and they had spent weeks working their way through it. Queen cakes were meant for Christmas time, but Leo loved them so much that Fig indulged him, and they had them everytime it was Leo’s day to choose their midday treat. 

“I do not believe I was ever curious enough to even think such a question, so I, unfortunately, do not know the answer,” Fig answered, picking up his own queen cake, using a finger to scoop a bit of the meringue off to taste. 

Leo ate his cake, enjoying the taste of the brandy and nutmeg, deciding to just accept the oddity that was wizarding currency. 

Leo had written through nearly half the pages of his journal, and knew he would have to purchase another before heading to Hogwarts in a few weeks time. 

And that reminder had a bead of anxiety growing inside Leo, as he sat at the shabbily transfigured kitchen table. He shifted, feeling his stomach flip around, thinking of the people at Hogwarts, and what they would think of him. 

Everyone else started Hogwarts at eleven-years-old, whereas he would be starting at fifteen. They would all have friends, groups of them even. They had been through years of lessons, years of classes. They would be so far ahead of him in every single way. The bead started growing inside him, and he felt frozen, staring down at his journal, hand clenched around his quill. It snapped suddenly, drawing Fig’s attention to him. 

“Leo?” Fig questioned, setting curried fish on the counter nearest him. 

Leo didn’t answer, thinking too much of the future to worry about the present. Fig made his way to him, carefully taking the now broken quill from his hand, and forcing Leo to look up at him. 

“Overthinking, my boy?”

Fig knew Leo too well. 

The many weeks, and months they spent together had made Fig an expert in all things that are Leo Lestrange. Fig did not wait for an answer, simply helping Leo from the chair, and leading him to the sofa in the living room. They sat together, and Fig offered Leo a tray of biscuits. Leo took one mechanically, body working without his brain really being aware of it. 

It felt like hours later that Leo came back to himself, but given that the sun had yet to fully disappear from the horizon, it could only have been minutes. The half eaten biscuit was held limply in Leo’s fingers. 

“What was it that troubled you?” Fig asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“We’ll be heading to Hogwarts soon. I’ll be joining others my age, that have been studying magic for at least four years now. They’ll have so much more knowledge than I do, and they’ll have plenty more friends. I suppose I am just… Worried.”

He sets the biscuit down on the tray, not interested in finishing it, rather choosing to stare out the window, watching the light disappear over the hill.

Fig lays a firm hand on his knee, squeezing once, “You have progressed at such a speed I was not expecting, Leo. I knew the time limit we were under, to catch you up before the summer’s end, or at least reach a point where you would feel prepared enough starting as a fifth-year. And yet, you surprised me. You have only been studying for a few months, and already I feel you are wholly ready to step into a fifth-year classroom.” 

A slight alteration of their positions, and Fig was facing him head on, “As for friends, those come with time. You will find many friends at Hogwarts, this I have no doubt of. And do not forget that I will be there, should you ever need me.”

Leo looked up at Fig, eyeing the man in front of him. The man that, over the last few months, had slowly become his family. He hesitated to think of Fig as his father, but that was the only term that fully fit what Leo thought of him. 

Leo leaned forward, hugging Fig, reminiscent of the time in his room all those weeks ago. There had been many hugs shared in the time between now and then, so Leo put little thought in the one they shared currently. Though he had agonized over them plenty of times in the beginning. Fig returned the hug easily, and they pulled apart minutes later. 

“Now, I believe it is time for dinner. I made curried fish, with carrots and turnips. We’ll have some orange pudding for dessert, if you’d like. Though I’m sure we have some queen cakes leftover if you would prefer that,” Fig’s smile at the end was sparkling, knowing Leo could never resist the cakes. 

He would have both desserts, and Fig would happily let him.

They returned to the Ledbury’s home the next day, and if Fig noticed Leo dragging his feet along the way, he graciously kept the observation to himself. 

The door was propped open, and the windows were up, allowing for the midmorning summer breeze to wind itself throughout the small cottage. A man exited the home, nodding at Fig and Leo as he went. 

Leo lingered slightly, allowing for Fig to enter the home first, before following him in. 

Gemma Ledbury is sat at the loom, looking far more natural than Neil did when he sat in the same position the first time Leo had come to this house. When Leo had met Gemma, as she came to deliver the few pairs of robes Fig had originally commissioned for him, he had been surprised when she pulled him aside, away from Fig and Neil, to apologize. 

“Eleazar wrote to me of what happened with Neil. I am terribly sorry for his behavior. He has such trouble sometimes, understanding what is too far, too… Inappropriate. He knows now, of your age, and why him affecting you in that way was wrong,” Gemma said, head bowed. 

Her light red hair was curtained around her face, the sun shining on it making it look like fire. When she finally lifted her head, her green eyes lit up in the sunstream, like jewels. 

Leo tilted his head, wondering if his eyes looked like hers, and said, “Professor Fig mentioned my school robes when we met with him. Surely he would know my age then?”

Gemma grimaced, tucking her hair behind her ears, glancing up at the blue sky above them, before saying, “That is not what I meant. He knew your age at the time, yes, but he didn’t… Understand why it was wrong, to affect you. Neil may only be part incubus, but sometimes he allows those instincts to simply take over. And an incubus doesn’t- they don’t- age does not work the same, you see? For us, you are a child. But for an incubus? He smelled your attraction, and saw you were matured, and let his instincts take over.”

Leo felt the blush creep up his neck, covering his cheeks and ears. He hoped the sun shining on them would disguise the redness as being from the heat, rather than his embarrassment at Gemma calling out Leo’s attraction of her husband. 

“I’m sorry-” Let begins, but Gemma waves his words away. 

“Nonsense. I know who, and what, Neil is. I cannot begrudge you for your attraction, and if I got myself worked up by every person that saw Neil as handsome, I would spend the rest of my life tied up in knots,” Gemma smirked.

Leo simply nodded, eyeing Fig and Neil across the garden, enjoying tea under a shade tree.

Gemma had her hair tied up with a wand, like Neil had done the day they met, with a few wisps falling out to frame her face. Neil was fluttering about the living room, sending various pieces of fabric at the loom. It all seemed very chaotic to Leo, but he could tell they had some kind of system. As Neil would sift through the piles of fabric, touching every one, before choosing a piece seemingly at random, and sending it to Gemma at the loom. She grabbed it out of the air without looking, either setting it beside her, or tearing off small strips of the fabric itself to feed into the loom. 

Neil stopped his searching when he saw Fig and Leo, turning to them with a heart stopping smile. Leo stared, awestruck, before the feeling seeped out of him.

He offered his own small, grateful smile at Neil, who winked at him. 

“Oh is it that time already?” Gemma said, turning from the loom, though it kept working behind her. 

Neil handed Fig a set of robes, as Gemma made her way over to them. She kissed Fig on the cheek, and then copied the action on Leo. 

“You must try them on here, so I know they fit properly. This way, this way,” Gemma began walking away, not checking that Leo was following, though he was. She led him to a makeshift dressing area, separated from the main area by an ornate partition. Outlined in gold, with red patterned fabric covering the middle, it stood up to Leo’s neck. She motioned for him to go behind the partition, and turned away from him.

Leo listened to the quiet chatting as he put the first robe on. Fig was talking about returning to Diagon Alley to collect Leo’s supplies, and Leo suppressed a groan at the thought of that. 

He would prefer to steer clear of Diagon Alley, and the Beetles, if he could. 

“Has Leo chosen a pet to take with them?” Gemma asked, a soft whooshing sound punctuating her sentence. 

His eyebrows furrowed, wondering what Gemma meant by pet. He didn’t know he was allowed a pet at Hogwarts. Like a dog? He wondered, picturing taking a dog to an ancient castle to learn magic. He almost laughed out loud at the image. 

Making minor adjustments to the robe along the way, Leo walked over to where Gemma, Neil, and Fig were gathered. Gemma was sat on the cloth-covered sofa, legs crossed in front of her, hair falling around her shoulders as she swished her wand around her. The loom is still working, and clothes are being folded and shuffled away.

“Oh, you look so charming, Leo!” Gemma exclaims, standing up suddenly.

She picks and pulls at the robe, smoothing down wrinkles Leo isn’t sure are really there. She smiles at him, eyes crinkling at the corner slightly, “Feel okay?”

He nods, noting how soft the robe is, and how odd it feels to wear a robe. He was still unsure why this was his school uniform, or who decided on such a thing. Fig had told him first-years would wear wizard caps, as well, so Leo thinks he should perhaps be thankful he doesn’t have to wear one of those.

“Go try on the others, hm?” Gemma says, finishing her ministrations.

Leo couldn’t quite stop the petulant sigh that leaves him at that moment, not quite enthralled with the idea of spending the rest of his morning trying on various pieces of clothes and waiting for Gemma to deem it acceptable. 

“I was wondering when that typical schoolboy attitude would make its appearance,” Fig said, smiling all the way through.

Leo startled, blinking a few times, before realizing all three adults were giving him amused smiles. “Now, Eleazar, you complain quite thoroughly when it is time for your own fittings. Leave the poor boy alone,” Gemma says, an easy reprimand that had all the feeling of friendly teasing. 

And, well, Leo couldn’t help himself as he stuck his tongue out at Fig, dashing quickly behind the partition as Fig guffawed about the “disrespect from my own charge”. 

They returned to Diagon, and Leo refused to acknowledge his clinging to Professor Fig as they wound their way through the cobbled streets. He felt much like a tyke, hand gripping their father’s pant leg in fear of the great, big world around them. Leo simply had a hold of Fig’s cutaway coat, initially claiming it was to ensure he stayed near the man, lest he get lost in the throng of people. Somewhere along the way, he dropped the act, and let some of his anxieties show. Fig understood him so well, leading them quickly through the streets, heading toward Flourish and Blotts. 

They ducked into the shop, leaving the crowd of people on the street just to be met with a crowd of people inside the musty book shop. It was overwhelming, to say the least, the smell of dust, books, and people almost too much for Leo to handle. 

Before he could work himself up too much, Fig pulled him into a blessedly empty corner, surrounded by books.

“I’ll look for your school books,” Fig said, hand resting on Leo’s upper arm, Hogwarts supply list held easily in his other hand, “You can look around, find any other books you might like.”

Before Leo could protest, wanting to stay close to Fig, the older man was gone, winding through the people quickly and efficiently. 

Leo stood there, glancing around warily, as if the books themselves might jump out at him. He took a deep breath, reminding himself if he couldn’t even handle a simple book shop, he likely wouldn’t be able to handle Hogwarts. With that in mind, he resolutely propelled himself forward, eyes bouncing off the book covers around him as he went.

A bright colored book caught his eye, with a sapphire shaded spine, and a soft pink cover. Leo pulled the book out, noting interesting, abstract designs on the cover. Leo didn’t quite understand what he was looking at, the random shapes molding into an amalgamation of different things, various circles and squares joining together at random points. The red lettering said Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts. 

Is Leo a tricky sort? He wonders. 

He flips the book open at random, finding a sloppily doodled picture of a young girl with a beak on her face, titled adder rostrum. Reading the description, Leo found the spell simply transfigured the target’s person to have a bird-like beak. The effects wear off in a few hours time, and are completely harmless, notes the book. Leo closes the book, tucking it gently under his arm, wondering if Fig would approve of such a book, or if he would rather Leo find a more academically inclined book, like the one currently on display atop the shelf Leo is currently standing at.

An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms.

Leo wrinkled his nose at the idea of reading that particular brick of a book, and was interrupted by a hand touching his elbow. He jerked away, his own hand reaching for the wand concealed in his shirt sleeve, turning to face the person behind him. 

He is met with a boy that looks strikingly similar to Gemma Ledbury, with his red hair and green eyes. Leo is struck for a moment, watching as the boy’s eyes, Gemma’s eyes, seemed to glow with amusement. 

“Didn’t mean to startle you! I just saw you had hold of Saucy Tricks! That’s the last copy, did you know?” The boy said, rocking slightly on his heels, the corner of his lips tucked up, giving him a mischievous look. 

Leo glanced at the book he held, eyebrows furrowing, “Oh, I didn’t know. I just saw it on the shelf, over that way. It looked interesting enough,” Leo explained lamely. 

The boy laughed, shoulders shaking, “It is interesting! Or, well, I suppose it is. It’s sold out most everywhere! Just published, did you know? I was hoping to snag a copy before returning to school.”

Leo glanced down at the book, pulling it out from under his arm, and holding it in both hands. He twisted it around, chewing on his lower lip, before holding it out to the boy.

“Here, you can take it. I only just saw it, and thought to purchase it. You seem more interested in it,” Leo said, book held out like an offering, though the boy failed to grab it.

His eyebrows, standing out like red streaks against his freckled forehead, rose into his hairline. 

“What? No way! Finders keepers! You got it first, you get to keep the book. Do you go to Hogwarts? I don’t recognize you. And I know everybody. My aunt said a new student would join us this year, did you know?”

Leo understood that this boy used the phrase “did you know?” like an end mark to a sentence. He wasn’t actually asking any question, seemingly using it to mark the end of his turn to speak. 

“I… My name is Leo. I suppose I am the new student your aunt mentioned. Unless there’s another, newer student coming that I don’t know about,” Leo said, shifting awkwardly in the aisle of books.

The boy laughed, not shoulder shaking, but still a laugh. 

“I’m Garreth Weasley. And, no, you’re the newest student we’ve got, if you don’t count the first-years, and who would? So, you will be attending Hogwarts?” A nod was all Leo could manage before Garreth continued on, “So, you’ll bring the book with you, yeah? I can borrow it from you, then! Friends let friends borrow their books, did you know?”

Leo felt the word slam into his body, seeping into his skin, and he couldn’t stop himself before he said, “We’re friends?”

Garreth looked appalled at the question, head jerking back, eyes going a little wide. He broke out into a bright smile quickly, though, looking like Gemma’s twin suddenly. 

“Of course we’re friends! Anyone that wants to read Saucy Tricks is a friend of mine, did you know?” 

Leo offered his own timid smile, tucking the book back under his arm. Before he could ask about Hogwarts, and what house the boy was in, Fig had returned. 

“Ah, I see you’ve met the infamous Garreth Weasley,” Fig said, a stack of books in his hands. Fig glanced at the book Leo had, giving Leo a rueful smile when he saw the title on the spine of the book. 

“Professor!” Garreth exclaimed, adopting a boyish smile. He looked between Fig and Leo, and Leo saw the moment some sort of realization came upon him. “Oh! Are you the nephew Lenora was talking about? She’s been raving about you all summer, did you know?”

Raving? About Leo? That thought was almost laughable. No one raved about Leo, least of anyone his age. 

Fig took the declaration in stride, “Yes, yes, we did meet Lenora at her tea shop earlier this summer, didn’t we?” It was perfectly amicable, and Leo noted that Fig did not confirm nor deny the familial relationship that both Lenora and Garreth bestowed upon them. Leo smiled. 

“I trust you’ve purchased your books for the year, Mr. Weasley? Big year this one is. Your OWLs are an important step in your magical education.” 

Garreth rolled his eyes, not so discreetly, an action that had Leo nearly gasping. Leo had never rolled his eyes at an adult before, not since he watched Hugh do it once to Sister Beatrice. He had cried for hours after leaving her office, and it took weeks for the caning marks to fade from his back. Leo watched Fig, and felt the shockwaves roll through his body as Fig simply chuckled at Garreth’s actions.

Not that Leo expected Fig to tell Garreth to bend over a table, and take a cane to him. But… Well, suppose Leo did at least expect Fig to verbally reprimand the obvious disrespect. But a proper telling off never came. Instead, Fig adjusted his hold on Leo’s books, freeing a hand to good-naturedly clap a hand to Garreth’s back. 

“I’m sure your aunt will be most pleased at your dedication to your studies,” Fig jested, causing Garreth to scoff. 

Leo was interested in whoever Garreth’s aunt actually was, but it seemed the two were not as interested in telling Leo who the woman was. Garreth made to leave, turning to Leo as he walked, “See you at Hogwarts, Leo!”

Fig gestured for Leo to hand over his book, which he did. Leo watched as the man took the cover in, smiling, before adding it to the stack of school books. 

“Right then! Shall we make off, my boy?”

As the day wore on, the shop had only gotten more crowded, so Leo was more than happy to leave the musty walls behind them. 

Leo resumed his position slightly behind Fig, fingers clasped to Fig’s coat as he was directed through the streets once again. Leo had no idea where they were going next, but trusted Fig easily enough that he didn’t think to ask where they were headed. When they came upon a shop, with large windows, and various animals seen fluttering about inside, Leo perked up. 

“The Magical Menagerie!” Fig declared, standing before the shop proudly, as if he owned it.

Leo looked in one window, seeing a fluffy cat lazily lounging in the sunlight. “What are we doing here, Professor?” 

Before he heard the answer, Fig was dragging him inside the shop, a soft, little bell twinkling above their heads. Once inside, Leo took in all the animals around them, seeing toads, and cats, and rats, and… A round, fluffy little blob. Leo stepped closer, inspecting the little ball of fur. It had large eyes, and a little pink nose, buried inside a mountain of off-white fur. 

“That is a puffskein,” Fig said, scratching the top of the puffksein’s body. Leo watched as the little ball rolled onto his back, prompting Fig to scratch his belly. And then, a soft humming sound began to come from the puffskein. Fig smiled, glancing up at Leo, “They hum when they’re happy.” 

Leo smiles too, reaching down to pet the other puffskein in the encloser, this one with dark brown fur and their tongue slightly poking out. Soon, both puffskeins were humming, fur shaking slightly with the force of their noises. 

“I see you two have befriended my little puffs,” A voice says from behind them. 

Leo turned, seeing a gray haired woman, with large, round eyeglasses staring at them. She wore an apron over her dress, the white fabric covered in filth and grime, but her hands were perfectly clean. She smiled kindly at Leo, “Good day, young man. Come for a pet for Hogwarts?”

Leo nods, withdrawing his hand from the puffskein cage, and facing the woman head on. Fig joins the conversation, “I believe a more muggle type animal would be best.”

The woman nodded, waving her hand in a gesture for them to follow her. They did, a pace or two behind her, and Leo took the time to look around the small, cramped shop. A rather large purple toad was hopping around the back, looking to be the size of a small child. They came upon a wall of cages, filled with various different animals. Cats of all colors, as well as owls staring down at them with their wide open eyes. Leo didn’t quite enjoy looking back at them. There were rats running around, small squeaks coming from their cages. 

“Most boys go for an owl, or rat. An owl is useful for keeping in contact with close friends and family while away, but a rat is well to have when practicing transfiguration.”

Leo’s body jerked from the cages, whipping to look at the old woman next to him. She shrugged her shoulders, as if the act of forcibly changing a living creature into something inanimate was a shrug worthy response. Leo felt a little sick. 

Fig pressed a soft hand into Leo’s back, leading him away from the rats and toward the carts along the wall, farther down. Leo allowed himself to be moved, still feeling nauseous at the idea of transfiguring a rat. 

“Cats are quite a good choice, I suppose. Loyal companions, independent. Perfect for a busy student such as yourself.”

Leo stuck a finger into the cage, scratching at the head of an all black cat, smiling when he heard it start purring. Still, he didn’t feel necessarily drawn to a cat. Nor did he feel drawn to a rat or an owl. 

He sighed, removing his fingers, and looked around the shop again. 

Leo heard the call before he saw the bird, from up above them. It wasn’t in a cage, instead roosting in the rafters. The bird seemed to stare down at them, beak open, squawk directed at the tiny group below it. Leo watched the black bird, listening as it squawked, and started smiling. 

“Is that bird available?” Leo asked, pointing up.

The woman startled, glancing up, as if just realizing there was a bird in her rafters. “That bird? Are you sure? He’s a wily little thing. I can’t even catch him to put him in a cage. How would you take him with you?”

So the bird was up for sale, Leo thought, never taking his eyes off the beady black ones above him.

“A raven,” Fig said, voice soft and contemplative. 

“Yes. I got him weeks ago. His owner dropped him off, said he needed rid of the bird at once. I never would have taken him if I knew what a nuisance he would be,” The woman said, a note of irritation in her voice. 

Leo frowned, wondering why the raven’s owner would just get rid of him so suddenly, and with no proper explanation. 

“I want him,” Leo declared, turning to finally look at the woman, and Fig.

They regarded him in entirely different ways. The woman looked shocked, and a little relieved. Whereas Fig… Fig stared at him with analyzing eyes, eyebrows furrowed, and a purse to his lips. Leo wondered what he was thinking. 

“However will you get him to go with you?” The woman asked, hands set firmly on her hips.

Leo glanced back at the raven, who had gone silent during the duration of their conversation. The black eyes regarded him in a way that reminded Leo of Fig’s assessing look. Leo hummed softly, and then held out his arm, bent at an angle, in front of him. He waited a moment, and the raven swooped down suddenly, landing easily on Leo’s arm. 

He smiled at the bird, gently stroking the bird’s head, careful of his feathers. 

“Well, it seems your stubborn little friend has chosen my own stubborn little friend,” Fig said, hands clasped in front of himself. The woman looked unsettled suddenly, looking at Leo as if he had grown another head. Or summoned a bird down from the rafters with only a passing thought. He ignored her looks, and allowed Fig to pay for the bird, and the materials needed to care for it. He waited at the front, hands sliding down glossy feathers, and thought of a name.

“Your bird is a boy, if that helps in the naming process,” Fig said, a moment later, joining him near the front door.

Leo thought for only a moment, before saying, “Jinx.”

Fig laughed, offering Jinx his own stroke of his feathers, before the three made their way out of the shop, and back into the terribly busy streets of Diagon Alley. Leo moved his arm, offering Jinx a spot on his shoulder, which the bird took happily. This time, Leo did not hold onto Fig’s coat as they weaved through the throng of people.