May 27 '78: It's Sheep We're Up Against: Phoebe

[Edgar Bones]

▶︎ i think they must have wool in their ears
inspiration XD

Somewhere out in the wilderness beyond their yard, a farmer must be at a loss, wondering where the hell his sheep ran off to.

He'd had to shut Sadie inside - the dog was rather territorial and her persistent barking at the sounds of their approach was freaking Gray out - but was happy as a niffler in a Gringotts vault to be out on the back porch with the rest of his little family this evening. Days off were to be treasured, and while he'd spent a lot of it helping around the house - Pheebs was due in just a few weeks, and Ed did what he could to stop her from lifting a finger when he was home - he really couldn't be more pleased. Phoebe and the kids were healthy, his wife cute as a button as their third child grew within her; Albus was shaking up the structure of the Order as they prepared to onboard a flock of new graduates, and he and Gid would be sticking together; he'd finally gotten around to fixing the creaking stair and the stubborn window shutters in the kitchen.

Yeah, there was a war on - but he'd successfully fed the family dinner, the stars were just starting to come out, there were about a million lost sheep in the fields and woods just outside of their fence, Gray was up on his shoulders to catch glimpses of the peaceful animals, his little pixie of a daughter was imitating their sounds passionately in an attempt to communicate as she waited for her turn to see. An idea struck him, one that made his green eyes glint with the mischief of youth not yet lost as he caught his wife's eye. Ed lifted the young boy from his shoulders and set him down.

"I'm gonna open the gate," he declared, a wee bit giddy, to the pure delight of their girl. That would be the best way to see their visitors, right? No more back-and-forth with lifting the kids, and Elle could see if her bleating had any effect on the sheep. He grinned and jumped down the steps, heading with confidence to their fence's wooden gate. "What's the worst that could happen?"

[Phoebe Bones]

Things had been as normal as they could be in the Bones household, with Edgar giving her a break from the house work with his magic. And Phoebe was ever so grateful for it all, because she was quite pregnant and it was exhausting. Growing a person was never an easy task, and there was a part of Phoebe that could hardly believe they were adding a third child to their family. She was excited to welcome their new little addition, even if she had been enjoying the pregnancy. After having been through it twice with unpleasant side effects, she’d been pleasantly surprised to have an easier time. No complications, and no bedrest. Things had been smooth sailing.

Then the most unusual thing had happened, there were sheep in the area behind their fence. Phoebe was enjoying it just as much as her kids were, the two of them positively delighted by this discovery. Elle was bleating away, and Grayson was excitedly giving names to a many of the sheep as he could. Edgar was doing his duty and lifting them up one at a time to see over the fence, as Phoebe grinned as she put her feet up and laid back in her chair. But Edgar caught her eye - and she knew there was about to be some mischief happening. He was going to open the gate, and she watched as he started down the steps towards their fence. “The sheep could get stuck in our yard,” she teased him with a laugh, and her comment only drew more squeals of delight from Elle. “Guess we’ll find out what happens.”

[Edgar Bones]

"Already forgotten who you married, babe?" Edgar spun on a heel to grin at his wife, teasing her back in kind. "I'm an entirely competent wizard - no way we're getting stuck with the flock!" However much their little girl seemed keen on the idea, Ed simply laughed as he turned to jog to the fence, side-stepping children's toys and their attempt at a vegetable garden as he went. Outside of the fence was just a bunch of sheep - dull creatures, weren't they? With a pack mentality? Easy prey for dragons - although, to be fair, what animal wasn't? - and bred for wool and meat...No use, are you, if you can't outsmart the lot. The young man was rather confident it wouldn't come to that point, though. What would their relatively small yard provide for the sheep that the woods and parks of Waltham Forest wouldn't? There was no appeal, no cause for them to enter.

Right?

He debated momentarily about conjuring a shorter barrier, charming a section of their fencing invisible, something of the sort - but surely that wasn't necessary. And so Ed jiggered open the lock and swung open the gate, giving a thematic half-bow at the clapping of the kids, and returned to them with a look over his shoulder at the mass outside the fence. Nothing to it. He ruffled Grayson's light hair as he passed him in taking the steps two at a time, and swept Elle up into his arms, then onto his lap, as he fell into the chair beside Phoebe's. He reached for her hand, lightly intertwining their fingers atop her belly, smirking at the transfixed nature of the children as they could now see the sheep beyond the gate. "We've still got to let Gid and Liz in on their godparent duties, you know," he commented with a smile towards her. While the roles had fallen to his siblings, Fabian, and Kyra already, and it was likely obvious to their remaining closest friends that they were next on the list, Ed was looking forward to clueing them in. It was a solemn thing to ask, really, due to his work and there truly being a likelihood of someone needing to step in for him. But Ed liked to think of it as a way to extend their already growing family in an official capacity. And he'd been lucky so far, hadn't he? "Before or after she's born, do you think?"