Secrets Revealed
It had been a few days since the team had returned from the Beacons. Jack and Owen had been fairly busy, but it was manageable for them. It was currently 7 am, and he was heading to check on Ianto and Tosh before Owen got to the hub. He wanted to make sure they were recovering well. Ianto was Jack’s first stop. He was extremely worried for the youngest member of his team. He still felt bad over what had happened with the partially converted cyberman, Lisa.
He knocked gently, not wanting to disturb Ianto more than strictly necessary. Ianto answered the door wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms and an oversized and ratty jumper that looked as old as Ianto was.
“Jack?” Ianto’s voice was soft in his shock at seeing jack at his doorstep.
“Hey, I wanted to check in on you and see how you’re healing and processing everything.” Worry Laced Jack’s voice as he told the former the truth.
“You can ask Owen for an update on my health. He’s in the living room. He just finished my check-up.” Ianto told him, moving out of the way to let the other man into his apartment. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Owen’s here? Also, you should be resting, not making coffee.”
“Fleur’s making coffee. She won’t let me into the kitchen, don’t worry. Bill and Rhys are with Owen in the kitchen, Luna and ginny are making breakfast, and I'm not sure where exactly Draco is.”
“Gwen;’s boyfriend is here? Also, I’d love a coffee right now. Thank you, Ianto.” Jack smiled at him. Together the pair walked to the living room, ianto stopping long enough to pop his head into the kitchen to tell them Jack was there and staying for breakfast before Fleur could shout at him to get out.
The Three men stopped their discussion when the pair entered the room.
“Jack, I wasn’t expecting to see you ‘til I got to the hub. Are you checking in too?” Owen asked, moving things around in his medical bag, making sure he hadn’t lost anyone and that his potions were safe.
“Yeah, Tosh is my next stop. How are Ianto’s injuries healing?”
“Alright, bruises still look like hell. The concussion is getting better, same with the bone bruises and fractures,” Owen informed jack before looking to Ianto for permission to tell Jack. “So, what do you know about the magical world?”
“Why?” jack was unsure, but upon getting no response, went on. “The Wizarding world is Both separate and within our world, Wizards and Witches of all ages live among us, and we’d never know. During my time on earth, I’ve seen three Wizarding Wars. One against Grindelwald and Two against Voldemort. Wizards and witches also helped in both. Yvonne wanted to use them as lab rats which was another reason I separated Cardiff from London after I became boss. So I repeat my question of why?”
“You’re in a flat full of Wizards and Witches.” Owen deadpanned. “Rhys and Ianto were in Hufflepuff, Bill and Ginny were Gryffindors, Luna was a Ravenclaw, and Me and Draco were in Slytherin. Fleur attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France. On and Ianto’s file is full of mistakes to avoid Yvonne’s experiments, including parentage.” Owen told him, and the others nodded to confirm everything Owen had said.
Jack was shocked and amazed by this information. His medic and Archivist were wizards, along with Gwen’s boyfriend. “Do Tosh and Gwen know?”
“Tosh? Yes. Gwen? No. Gwen is already unbearable in her opinions. You tell her magic exists. She might go crazy saying it’s bullshit. Me and Draco told Tosh after we got back from the countryside. Gave her some potions for the internal damage since we can’t do much about the bruises. Also gave her some sleeping potions for some dreamless sleeping if she has nightmares.”
“Can’t blame her if she does need them. I’ve been taking those potions the last few nights. Used to be because of the War, then Canary Wharf and now this.” Ianto admitted remembering the nightmares he’d suffered on the first night back. “Sometimes I see their deaths in each place; Tad,m Dad, Dora, Lavender, Harry, Colin, Fred, all of them. Tad lived out in the Beacons; he was alive last time they did that.” His voice wavered as he spoke, and he felt tears begin to prick his eyes.
Fleur appeared from the kitchen and hugged him while he composed himself. He thanked her quietly.
“Sorry.” Ianto said as he pulled away from the hug, wiping the remnant of tears from his eyes with the sleeves of his jumper. “I shouldn’t still be crying so much over Tad.”
“May is the 10-year anniversary of the battle, mate. You’re allowed to be upset. He was your dad. It’s alright to still be mourning.” Rhys tried to reassure him the best he could, knowing the others agreed. They all knew they could never truly understand his grief.
“You took a week off at T1 for your dad’s death anniversary. You curled up in his childhood bedroom, barely coming out of the room to eat, let alone stay hydrated.” Draco said from the doorway, holding the hand of a child with blue hair and a toothy smile. “I thought you and Teddy could use some time together. He knows you can’t be very active, don't worry.”
The boy let go of Draco’s hand and hugged Ianto, his hair changing colour to match his older brother’s. He was about a foot shorter than Ianto himself.
Ianto smiled at his brother and then looked at Draco, giving him a silent thank you. Jack watched in awe at the pair as Ianto moved to the sofa with teddy and pulled the boy into his lap. Once Teddy was settled, Ianto decided it was probably best to introduce him to Jack, Owen and Rhys, as none of them had ever met him.
“Jack, Owen and Rhys, this is my half-brother Teddy Lupin. Teddy, these are Jack Owen and Rhys, my friends and colleagues here in Cardiff. They’re good people, don't worry.”Ianto said the bit softly to Teddy to reassure him.
The 9-year-old waved to the three men he’d just been introduced to. Owen smiled softly, quickly picking up that the boy was shy around strangers. He decided it was better to take a soft approach.
“Hey, buddy. You’re a Metamorphmagus, right? You must drive people mad with that. I think you’ll do the same with your professors in a couple years. Your family is full of mischief. Ask Harry about the Marauder's map when you see him.” Owen didn’t want to spook the kid but calculated his age from when Remus and Nymphadora died.
“Andy was at her wit's end when I got there, but I think part of that was worry for Ianto., not just Teddy’s mischief. She doesn’t exactly have much family left, so she worries a lot. We all share the responsibility of caring for Teddy. Harry and Ginny have him most of the time, Andy takes him when the rest of us can’t, and me and Ianto look after him when work allows.” Draco informed them as he watched his cousins. “Ginny’s boys are the ones to look out for true chaos between them. We can only hope this next one is well-behaved.”
“I heard that, Malfoy, and you can talk. Scorpius can be just as chaotic.” Ginny said, walking in from the Kitchen with a scowl on her lips.”Breakfast is about ready. There's enough for Toshiko if Owen wants to go get her. Might save time to check on her here after breakfast.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Either way, there's not enough space for everyone at the dining table. Be back in a couple of minutes, don’t start without us because last time, I missed out on a lot.”Owen then apparated to go retrieve the tech genius.
The pair arrived a few minutes later as they finished setting the food on the coffee table. Tosh though a little nauseous from the apparition, thanked Owen and sat beside Ianto, who had set Teddy on the sofa on his other side. She waved him a little hello. Breakfast was spent sharing magical and alien stories as they ate.