"Professor Briar?" Damian asked one day after their class session. Anya had thankfully rushed away, needing to talk to Becky about something "urgent."
"Yes, Mr. Desmond?" Yor paused in clearing her desk to pay him the needed attention.
"I-I was hoping I could join your extra training sessions…." Damian said nervously, unsure if she would even like him knowing about them but Anya couldn't help but blabber about it when he asked why she was so busy in the afternoons that she just couldn't spare time to watch his Quidditch practices.
Yor startled a bit at that, surprised he even knew about them. But well, she had recently joined Melinda Desmond's Mum Quidditch team at her request, and in hopes of getting information for WISE and aiding Loid in his mission, training Damian could only benefit them, right? Especially now that the boy was her daughter's boyfriend and wanted to clearly keep her safe.
"Hmm, I don't see why not. However, you have to ask Professor Forger what he thinks on the matter, since he also assists in the training," she quipped with a smile that widened just a tad bit as he seemed to struggle with a sudden lump in his throat. After all, just because she didn't hate the boy didn't mean she wasn't as protective of their Anya as Loid was and if he truly wanted this, he would have to develop some of that bravery the Gryffindors claimed to possess.
"Come in," Loid said, as he heard a knock on his office door. He had just gotten in for his office hours.
"Um, Professor Forger, I… I wanted to ask you for some help," Damian said hesitantly as he stepped in.
"Oh? How may I help?" Loid asked. Although he wasn't the biggest fan of the boy dating his little girl, he had to admit that Damian was very clever and he was intrigued as to what he could possibly want.
Damian straightened his back. Trying to appear as sure and certain and fierce as possible. "I wish to join your special training sessions with Anya… I want to be able to protect her."
Loid studied the boy. He was clearly determined and something in him softened at the sight. From the things his dear daughter had shared about the boy's past and family -all whispered in confidence to him only as she had no wish to upset her sweet, kind-hearted mother or worse, cause her to retaliate- and his own few interactions with the Desmond parents, he had slowly grown kinder… more patient towards the boy. Seeing him now, determined to do anything to protect his little girl -if a brief glimpse into his mind was to be trusted- he couldn't help but internally melt.
"Very well, but you have to know it will not be even the slightest bit easy… and you have to tell Anya first. She has to agree to it," Loid acquiesced, grinning internally when Damian swallowed a lump but gave him a brief nod in reply.
"Oh, this is wonderful!" Anya said, hopping to give Damian a hug. In the middle of their common room. In front of everyone. He had whispered the news in her ear, so he was certain no one heard him, but her reaction clearly couldn't be contained. He could practically hear Emile and Ewen snickering. Thankfully, Becky wasn't there to witness it but he was certain Emma would tell her and he would never leave it down anyway.
"You're… you're not angry?" Damian asked, stiffly in her arms. She leaned back.
"Well, I'm a little annoyed that you went behind my back… and that you think I can't protect myself…" she whispered softly, "But it's oddly sweet and I do love to spend time with you... I'll also feel better whenever you visit your home, knowing you can protect yourself," she added the last bit while nervously biting her lower lip.
"Really?" He asked, flushed. He barely held back his stammer but was glad he did. His friends already had too much on him after this little interaction.
"Yep, but don't ever try going behind my back again or next time, I will punch you," she added loudly. Emma actually chuckled at that, knowing very well by now the tale of their first meeting. Beside her, Regulus and Severus smirked as Ewen and Emile struggled valiantly to hide their voracious laughter behind their hands.
"Anya, Lily, and Severus have been begging for permission to allow their friends to join," Yor whispered to her husband as they watched the aforementioned trio plus Damian practise their defence skills. Nodding at them, she added, "I don’t think we can say no them anymore."
"I know," Loid sighed, "Who are they suggesting?"
"Well, Anya, of course, wants Becky to join. Other than that, she's mentioned Emma Vanity and Pandora Pantazis. Maybe even Egeburg… she's not certain she can trust him not to tell Elman, however, and said she'd leave it fully to your discretion," Yor rattled off. Loid nodded wearily for her to continue.
"Severus wants to invite Aurora and Regulus and to that Lily wishes to add her other friends Mary Mcdonald, Marlene Mckinnon, Alice Fortescue, and Amelia Bones," she listed off as the children kept practising their disarming spells against their shields.
"Hmm," Loid huffed softly, frustrated, "I'm not certain we should allow any other Gryffindors in yet… Most think Dumbledore can do no wrong and that could be a problem… Could be a bit of an issue with some of the Hufflepuffs too," here Yor huffed, wishing to be insulted but he knew her past too well. He simply patted her comfortingly on the arm, "But in this case, I think those two can be trusted. Aurora, Emma, and Pandora should be alright. I'm not certain about Regulus but we could give him a chance. I do, however, think Egeburg and Elman can't be allowed to join at the moment."
"Agreed," Yor said thoughtfully. That seemed like the right way to go.
"I still don't like this," he muttered in reply, crossing his arms childishly. "I joined WISE specifically to stop this kind of thing, not to create a child army of our own."
"Oh Loid," Yor comforted him with a pat on his arm like he'd just done for her moments before, "We're not. We're teaching them ways to keep themselves safe, not sending them to fight our battles for us."
Loid huffed, "Well, it could give them stupid ideas."
"Maybe," Yor acquiesced but added, "But we have to do what we can to keep them safe and we have to trust them."
"Very well, I'll speak to Silvia. See if she can help us or at least send Franky or Fiona to help out. If this keeps getting bigger, we'll need it," Loid sighed out before moving forward to correct Lily's form.
"Thank you for helping us out," Loid said as he patted his former roommate on the back. They made their way into the training room only to be met by a delighted yelp
"Uncle Franky!" Anya squealed, "How come you're here?"
"Well, given so many of your friends are now taking these extra defence lessons, your ma and pops thought they could use the help of a real master," Franky winked at her. Through the years, even with her petite stature, she'd grown to almost reach the shorter man's height. He wouldn't admit it but he would miss the days he had to crouch down a little to see her eye to eye.
"Oh, of course," Anya chuckled behind her hand before returning to her spot in the formation line. Today would be their first lesson with their friends, as permitted by her parents, joining them. The three adults were clearly still figuring things out, however, as they remained muttering to each other allowing the kids to talk.
"He's surely bluffing, right?" Becky whispered in her best friend's ear. She had studied the short man before her with a wary eye.
"Oh no, not at all," Anya giggled back, making Becky roll her eyes at the strawberry blonde's antics.
"Well, he was a Slytherin, so who knows, actually…" Emma said more wearily from Becky's other side.
"What is his lineage?" Damian asked, genuinely confused. He liked having information, as much of it as he could, and his father had always taught that families were important knowledge.
"He's American, of the Franklin family in Philadelphia," Anya patiently explained, used to her boyfriend's ways. She didn't particularly like said behaviours but she also understood the reasoning behind them and knew that old habits were hard to kill.
"His name is Franky Franklin?" Becky asked in surprise. She completely ignored the important part of the information. The little fact that proved him a part of an old pureblood family… the sort of old family that had been there since the beginning of the country… so he was acceptable by the Desmond and Blackbell standards, at least for an American.
"Of course not, it's Francis Franklin," Anya replied with mischievous eyes, happy to share her "uncle's" favourite joke.
"Oi, seriously Anya," Becky replied with a bemused eye roll as Anya tried her best to hide her giggles behind her hand. Damian just looked annoyingly fond of Anya while Emma and Pandora, on Emma's other side, struggled to keep their giggles in too.
"Alright, enough chit chat, let's start!" Loid announced before separating them in groups of two. Franky would take care of the older group so Loid and Yor could evaluate the newer members and help them catch up. It was going to be a long day, and Loid just hoped that Yor was right and that they were in fact doing the right thing and helping them.