Magical Mysteries- 10 Feb 1985 - Elliot

[Teagan Edwards]

Slipping quietly out of the bed, Teagan leaned down to kiss her toddler's forehead. It had been a rough day for the two of them, and she thought the four year old was never going to fall asleep. Thankfully it seemed like exhaustion had won, as Dean didn't even stir as she slipped out of the room. K9 was waiting on the other side of the door for her, and followed her as she headed into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. Elliot had mentioned he would be home late tonight, although she hadn't a clue if it was work or family related. They'd been together for years now, and she still felt like she was in the dark about so much of his life. She wanted Dean to know his grandparents and his uncles, well aware of the number of family members her husband had. And she had tried her best to find them on her own, but every search had come up empty.

And while she enjoyed a good mystery, she was at her wits end.

Dean was going through a tantrum phase, and she was beginning to think perhaps his tantrums were a bit more than they seemed. She knew very little about the paranormal, but when things started flying off shelves with her son's tantrums she had decided to do some research. She wanted to have something to present to Elliot, she didn't need him thinking she was crazy.

He's going to think you are crazy regardless of what you say.
            But you can't let your son be haunted by a ghost forever, can you?

It was not the most logical explanation, but clearly something was happening with their son. All the strange things that ever happened seemed to coorelate to what the young child was feeling, and she had read enough about ghosts before. But the responding answer she had gotten from all of her friends when she mentioned that something seemed strange about her child was that she needed to talk to Elliot.

The front door to the flat opened and closed, and K9 was off to greet her other half as he got home. Staring down into her wine, she gave a sigh before following after the animal. "Hey," she whispered as she rounded the corner, leaning against the wall as she looked at him. "Dean just got to sleep, we had a rough day. And uh, I think maybe it's time we talked about what's happening to him."

[Elliott Thomas]

Professionally, Elliott Thomas had never been more on top of his game. While still in the Department of Mysteries, he'd left the Hall of Prophecy years ago now, and was managing a team of his own within the Time Chamber. Some of the reshuffling in the Department was due to expelling those involved on the losing side of the war, but Elliott still liked to think that he was finally being taken seriously by the higher-up's. What this meant personally, though, were more late nights at the Ministry than usual as he delved more deeply into the project he was heading. The timing, funnily enough, could not have been worse, in that respect. Teagan and Dean needed him at home, for varying reasons, but deadlines waited for no one, even one investigating the properties of time...

The young man tapped snow off of his navy Oxford's as he climbed the stairs to his family's apartment, ready for a warming cup of tea and the welcome embrace of his wife and their comforters. He unlocked the door quietly, figuring Dean was tucked in and not wanting to disturb him, but was nevertheless hounded by K9 the moment he stepped in. Quietly shushing the dog as he hung up his coat, Elliott gave a small smile to his wife as she came into view, although it was quite short-lived.

Sirens blared in his mind at Teagan's words, sirens of deny deny deny that he'd let rule his mind when it came to such discussions since he'd met Teagan. But that had been, Merlin's beard, six years ago now? Seven? How much longer could he expect her to wait to meet his family, to visit his workplace, to not notice that their son had magic that he couldn't yet control? While Elliott had done what he could to try and teach Dean a bit of composure, he was only a child, and he didn't want the boy to feel badly about not being able to harness his abilities yet. Stop putting this off.

    She's going to leave you -

Got every right to.

"...all right," he met her whisper with a nod, coming closer to give her a hug while he still could. He hoped the pounding of his heart wasn't something she could feel, but his sudden anxiety was putting the organ into overdrive. Because surely, when it all came out - and it all had to, there was no way to address Dean being a wizard without admitting that he was too - she'd realize, once and for all, that she was better off without him. "What happened today?"

[Teagan Edwards]

Nothing about the life she had built with Elliot was normal. While her parents had been upset when they’d learned of the pregnancy and marriage (something she’d neglected to tell them until after it was over), they had become a part of their lives. They were wonderful grandparents to Dean, spoiling him endlessly whenever they when to visit. But even they had expressed concern for Dean, and she’d had to brush them aside like it was something her and Elliot were already dealing with. But she was the one dealing with the outbursts of their young son, not her husband. She didn’t even have a number she could phone him at, another oddity she had brushed to the side ages ago. Elliot was a good man, and maybe he was keeping secrets from her, but she had to trust that it wasn’t anything serious.

But that hadn’t stopped her from attempting to investigate. What she had found had been even more peculiar, no one knew about an Elliot Thomas that worked for the government. She couldn’t find anything in public records to prove her husband was who he said he was. It came down to a few explanations, although none of them were simple. The first was that the man she knew was involved in some sort of organized crime and was trying to keep her safe, although it seemed ridiculous. The second was that perhaps he was in sort of witness protection program, which to her seemed equally as insane.

But something wasn’t right.

She wrapped her arms around him, the comfort his closeness provided a reminder that she’d made the right choice. Whoever he was - he loved her and treated her well. And the two of them could figure out what was happening to their son together. “Maybe you should sit, this is going to sound crazy.” Making herself comfortable on their couch, she took his hands in hers gently. “Em dropped Jamie off for a playdate in the middle of one of Dean’s tantrums. She told me the same thing Tris keeps saying - I have to talk to you about this. But it just, it sounds so ridiculous. I think Dean might have a spirit attachment.”

[Elliott Thomas]

Elliott sat with her at her insistence, mouth and throat desert dry as he waited for her to break the silence between them, skin crawling in agitation. He couldn’t very well keep lying his way out of this; before long, Dean would make something happen by accident that would be too big for either of them to explain away. And so he did his best to listen, trying to quiet his frantic what am I going to say thoughts. Because he’d prepared for this for years, mentally. Gone over the conversation time and time again. Figured out how to begin it, when he was ready to. But he hoped that this would go better than the oral part of his Transfiguration N.E.W.T. - blanking now would be more disastrous than having to deal with McGonagall’s disappointed look, even if at the time it’d felt like she was staring him down for far too long as he fumbled for words.

He nodded along as Teagan began, more anxiety hitting him as she brought up Emmeline and Jamie. His schoolfriend was just as fond as any witch or wizard knowing the situation was of the situation. And Jamie was still learning how to control magic too…did something happen? Did one of them say something? Evidently, yes - but while Emmeline’s advice was sound, and that eventually it did have to come to this, Elliott was admittedly surprised at his wife’s sincere admission. He did his best to control his features, though, knowing that she had kept this inside for so long, and had stressed about telling him...And so he simply nodded, thumbs slowly circulating on the smooth skin of her hands as he cleared his throat.

"Because of all the activity that surrounds him, it makes sense that you’d think that. You’re not crazy, Teagan. The opposite, really. But if it helps at all..." He sat up straighter, forcing himself to meet her eye. I know I shouldn’t ask it of you, but trust me on this. "Dean is fine. Activity like this is completely normal for someone like him...like it was for me, when I was his age."

[Teagan Edwards]

The silence before he spoke seemed to be before, and she was preparing herself for whatever possible reactions she could think of. The look on his face was so similar to the look Emmeline had given her; it was the look she always got whenever she started spouting what some would call nonsense. It was a look that made her uneasy, one that always brought thoughts into her mind that everyone she knew was not quite telling the truth.

It was easiest to stay silent and let the words repeat in her thoughts. She wasn’t crazy, but she felt it. Because what the hell was Elliot saying? Normal for someone like him, someone like you? Her life has been normal, before she had met Elliot. But missing memories, secret boarding schools, friends that always dodged questions that were from that boarding school? That was far from normal.

She needed to stay calm, but whatever was happening could be a danger to their son. How was she supposed to be calm about that? More than that - there was the bigger implication behind his words. Like it was for me. Because it wasn’t like she was just talking about the tantrums - they were discussing things flying around the room, and Dean ending up in places he shouldn’t be.

She gave his hand in hers a squeeze, finally finding her voice after so much silence between them. “Elliot, what exactly are you trying to tell me?” she began, clearing her throat as her voice shook. “And what the f*ck do you mean normal?”

[Elliott Thomas]

Teagan was sharp. Inquisitive, scientifically-minded, quick-witted. He'd been more attracted to her mind than anything else about her when they'd met, even though she was also too beautiful for words. Elliott knew she'd had suspicions, that she'd been putting pieces together. She knew that all wasn't "right" with their son, in her understanding of the world. So why have you been putting this off? The war ended. It's safe. His inner voice, his conscience, was determinedly preparing him for the onslaught he anticipated coming from his wife. It was not helpful.

As she processed his words, hurt and concern then sharpening her speech, Elliott returned the pressure on her hands. He began slowly and softly, haltingly, eyes dropping from hers to their clasped hands. "I...Teagan, I never expected this to be my life. Y-y-you and Dean - I can't imagine life without either of you now, but I didn't think I'd find someone who loved me, who wanted me to be their family. I just - I know you know that, on some level, but I need you to hear it." He sighed and found her gaze, willing himself to get it out, once and for all. He could continue to avoid and evade, he could go as far as to cash in a favor with the Obliviators and just disappear. But he owed her the truth, after all this time. As painful as it was to admit, as painful as the aftermath would be, as unsure of their future as he now was...he owed her this, and more.

"I haven't been honest with you about - about parts of my life. I do work for the government, but not the British Ministry, like I led you to believe. I work for the British Ministry of Magic. I am an Unspeakable, which is a witch or wizard who researches into the lasting mysteries of the world. My family, and Dean, they are magical as well. This is why inexplicable things happen around him. He's starting to develop his magic, and it takes a lifetime of practice to learn how to handle it." Instead of relief, an unburdening, all that Elliott felt was nausea, and he was certain that it showed. There was no coming back from this. There was no pretending that all was fine. 

[Teagan Edwards]

She had tried countless times to figure out what it was that Elliot was hiding from her. It was clear there was some things he couldn’t be open with her about, and she chalked what little of it she could up to her husband's job. His secret, not able to be traced government job. She talked over many wild theories with one of her closest friends, the first girl she’d met in town after she had moved.

Every time she felt crazy, it was Kyra’s number she called - a calming voice that was willing to listen to her theories without brushing them to the side. Kyra understood that Elliot wasn’t just going to tell her no matter how many times she asked. Was it the MI6? Elliot was certainly brilliant enough for that sort of thing, and it would explain why she had never met his family. It had to be dangerous in some way, it was the only reasonable explanation for why he’d never been able to tell her.

Or was it willingly that he hadn’t brought this up. His words were chilling, like she had stepped through a ghost. She had thought that someday he would tell her the truth, but not like this. Not while talking about their son, the precious little boy she was struggling to understand. Her son loved football, had taken to it at a young age when she would bring him to a game. He was artistic, another trait she was sure was hers. He had been a surprise to their relationship, a welcome one she loved more than life itself.

She knew Elliot loved Dean as much as she did, she knew what he told her was the truth. Their life has so unexpectedly happened, and it was part of why she hesitated to push Elliot when it came to the things that didn’t quite add up. This certainly wasn’t the life she had planned for when she had moved to London.

She met his gaze, trying her best to keep her emotions from bubbling over. Ministry of Magic. Unspeakable. Dean was magical. Elliot’s family was magical. She looked away, mind blank as she tried to piece what she could together, tidbits of their lives starting to seem just a little bit clearer. She had prepared herself for the worst, but she wasn’t sure where this felt. Magic couldn’t be terrible, even if Dean was getting a bit dangerous.

But it was a very large secret to keep. Pulling her hands from his, she stood and rubbed her temples as she took a few steps away. “So - just to make sure I’m following. You work for a British Ministry of Magic, because you are a wizard. And Dean is-“ she stopped herself, shaking her head as she looked at her husband. “I knew you were lying about something Elliot. I tried to find your family, searched birth records for you. I accepted that something was up, but I thought it was for our safety.”

[Elliott Thomas]

This was it. The end of their marriage. The last night he wouldn’t be a guest when in this apartment. He felt it as soon as Teagan took her hands from his and further removed herself from him by standing. Mutely, Elliott nodded along to each of her points. He had worked for his Ministry since Hogwarts. He’d been a wizard his whole life. Dean as well. His nausea became harder to dispel as his wife went on, speaking of the lengths she had gone to in order to try and find the truth she suspected he was keeping from her. The faith that she had had in him that the "something" that wasn’t right was kept from her for their safety. 

Elliott cleared his throat, clasping his hands between his legs, and spoke slowly with eyes to the wall opposite instead of to her to keep his words steady and clear. "You weren’t wrong," he began simply. "When we met, the wizarding world was at war with itself. Factions had divided it into people who believe that wizardkind should roam freely and lord over others, and to those who wanted to keep things as they have been for centuries. With the wizarding world separate and secret from the non-magical one. There was fighting amongst our kind, and it spilled over into this world. Non-magical people were getting kidnapped, killed, disappearing. For sport, or for strategic purpose."

He swallowed, turning his eyes up towards her. "I kept you as safe as I could by keeping us as separate from that as possible. There were people who would have killed us for being together, and I...I didn't want to leave you to raise Dean alone."

[Teagan Edwards]

Don't kid yourself, if it wasn't for what has been happening with Dean you'd be delighted with this.
        Oh shut up.
Say’s the girl who kept some pretty big secrets from her parents.
        That was different, this is…
What, noble?

A war was a very good reason to keep this from her. The chance of him dying was possibly the only reason she could think of to be okay with him keeping this from her. Losing him would kill her, that much she was sure of. And how much danger had it been to even date her to begin with? Was it still a danger to them now - it couldn’t be, could it? The way he’d spoke of it made it seem like it was something of the past, but without asking question she couldn’t be sure. His whole family is magical, would they all have been at risk because of me? Because they had to at least know she existed, that there was someone that Elliot came home to every night. Or was he keeping secrets from them as well?

“Okay,” she said quietly, “That’s a lot for me to think about.” She needed to know more, she wanted to know more. Not just about this war, but about all of it. Because magic, and an entire world around it, had been hidden under her nose all this time. She could count on one hand the number of Elliot’s friends she’d met over the years, but they’d all known each other from school. Which meant Emmeline and Tris - both of them had to be magical as well. That meant Jamie probably was - and Zach, and Kingsley. How many other people did she know that were magical and hiding it from her? Before she could even form a question to ask, the shuffling of feet from the hall caught her attention. She turned to find their son standing in the doorway, looking at the both of them with concern on his face. “Dean, baby, I’m sorry we woke you. But I need you to go back to bed, okay?”

He said slowly, wide eyes staring between her and Elliot. Giving a sigh, she went and scooped him into her arms, looking back to her husband. “Give me a couple of minutes?” She could get Dean back down, and hopefully clear her head at the same time. She was quickly heading to his room, humming to him quietly as she tucked him back in. “Don’t worry my little love, everything is fine.”

“Why were you yelling Mommy?”

Teagan sighed, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead. “Just sleep baby, and then tomorrow we can talk.” Much to her relief, he laid back down, stuffed animals pulled close to him as he watched her leave the room. It wasn’t until she closed the door behind her that she had to wonder if Dean knew what had been going on, the little boy hardly ever as scared as she was when something out of the ordinary happened. No, he wouldn’t have kept it from you. He’s four. Her feet carried her back to where she had left her husband, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she twisted her weddings rings on her fingers.

“Tell me more about this world." 

[Elliott Thomas]

She's not throwing you out.

    Not yet.

He hated to think such things of his wife, but how could he expect even a woman as kind and understanding as Teagan to accept, to forgive, all of his wrongdoings? When he couldn't swallow that he was to blame for the faultlines threading through their marriage? So many nights he'd laid awake, even before Dean had come into the slightest thought, and told himself to break off their relationship. She could have someone else, a muggle, and be happy. She would be safer, away from him. She could have someone unafraid to tell her his secrets, for they wouldn't be as crushing as Elliott Thomas's. But he'd never been able to do it. For as much anxiety as the last years had given him on that front, they'd given him more of life than he'd imagined for himself. One mishap with coffee and a scarf had led to a love that he couldn't bring himself to part with.

It's coming, though. It has to be.

He nodded mutely, hands clasping themselves again, slick now with sweat. Her eyes were busy, clouded as, behind them, Teagan thought. Making sense of the strangeness that had invaded her life upon his entrance. Parcing truth from lies. Understandably, it seemed that she didn't know what to ask first. Elliott, attempting to be less caught up in the seemingly irreparable damage this was finally causing, was about to suggest a more thorough debriefing of the war when he followed her eyes to find their son. In sleep socks, but alert. More so than Elliott would have preferred, as his sad smile said. Hell's bells - how much did you hear? They'd need to talk, Dean and him, in the morning. Come clean to Teagan about Dean's forced-upon role of secret keeper...

He was a sharp kid. He knew that whatever he'd walked into was…wrong. And as Teagan gathered her to him, Elliott wanted to spare their son…all of what was to come. But he only gave a nod at his wife's words, meeting his son's eye as, quietly, he quoted, "To sleep, perchance…"

"To dream." Dean's fingers gripped the back of her shirt as she walked them away, a yawn escaping despite the clarity of his gaze. Unsteadily getting to his feet, quietly as he could Elliott opened a desk drawer to dig out a pack of cigarettes. He'd been trying to quit, realizing it an unhealthy habit, but he needed something to stabilize his nerves, and alcohol just made him sick these days. For the first time when his family was in the apartment, Elliott used his wand to light one and went to the window, breathing in and out slowly, deeply, until Teagan returned.

Eyes damp and uncertain, fingers busy at her rings, but determined to learn.

"You are remarkable, Teagan." The quiet words left him with wonder. How she could soldier on was beyond him, but he was grateful, immensely grateful, that she was keeping this conversation going. "Sci fi, fantasy, some of what's been dreamt up isn't that far off from reality. It's a fine world, now that the dust is settling." He paused to take a drag, free hand gripping the sill behind him. "Dragons exist, although I've never seen one. Unicorns I have, though they don't like men, so I didn't study them closely. Our magic can pretty much anything you can think of, besides bringing back the dead and a few other lasting mysteries. That's what I study. Not - not death, nothing so morbid, er - I study time and the possibilities of manipulating it..." Realizing his unhelpful rambling, Elliott trailed off and finally met her eye, nerves hardly soothed. "I - I'm sorry, I'm doing a sh*t job of this, er - what precisely are you interested in knowing?"

[Teagan Edwards]

The walk from Dean’s bedroom back to her husband seemed like a long walk, and yet not long enough. There was so much she wanted to know, so much she felt that she needed to know. Teagan was a reasonable person, and so was Elliot. There were reasons for keeping this secret, good and valid reasons from the little that he had told her. But that didn’t mean she didn’t feel betrayed, like a knife had been driven into her heart. They were partners, they were a team. They had a son together, for circe’s sake. If Dean hadn’t started having these episodes, when would she have found out the truth? Her mother would tell her to kick Elliot out, no man who would betray her trust was worth the fight. But her mother didn’t know Elliot like she did, the woman had only met her husband once or twice. With her son, her precious boy being magical, this would have to be a conversation they would address someday.

But that was the emotional part of her mind talking, the logical part had the answers she needed. At least, some of them. A war in which non magical people, like she was, had been kidnapped. Had been killed. A war in which some magical individuals wanted power over those that didn’t possess magic. That much she could follow, she could understand that a magical world would have its own share of struggles. And they’d been in hiding for centuries, which implied that perhaps there was a time where magic wasn't a secret. And she’d heard enough about witch hunts to put two and two together. Everything Elliot had said implied that the war was over though, that it was relatively safe for them to be the family that they were.

She listened, eyes focused on him as he spoke, nodding to show that she was paying attention. She wasn’t remarkable, although the compliment was nice. She was, above all, curious. If what he had told her was true - and it had to be, really - then there were so many questions that needed answers. Like, how does an entire group of people exist in the shadows? Were all of the friends she made through him magical? Never mind that - dragons and unicorns apparently existed, although the latter apparently wasn’t fond of men. It was too much information for her to take in, and yet she wanted to know more. Sleep was the furthest thing from her mind now, even though she’d been exhausted when Elliot had arrived home. “I just...dragons?” she questioned, letting out a strained laugh as she leaned back against the wall. “Sorry, it’s just a lot of information. Were you ever going to tell me about all of this? This magical world, the fact our son is involved in this. Does he...does he even know what’s going on?”

[Elliott Thomas]

Elliott cracked a wan, short-lived smile as Teagan laughed, extinguishing the cigarette in the ashtray on the sill. Maybe I shouldn't have begun with creatures. I was trying to make it relatable, but...there's no good way for this. If there is, I would've thought of it years ago. Sorry. He hadn’t put his wand away after lighting the muggle narcotic - there was no need to hide it anymore - and tapped the strip of walnut lightly against the side of his leg in a steady rhythm. His wife's questions were more than fair, and the Unspeakable nodded. It made sense to him that she would want to focus in on their family, to learn of the world later. You can finally take them to meet the rest of the family, if she wants that. His parents and brothers knew he had a significant relationship, but he'd dodged invitations, become reclusive from them, for years. They would be shocked to learn of their marriage and son, but after living the double-life for so long, Elliott was allowing himself a minute amount of hope. Teagan wanted to talk, and that was more than he’d hoped for previously.

"I'd thought I’d tell you when the war was won," he began unsteadily. "But we had built our life, not everyone on that side is accounted for in prison, and Dean wasn’t displaying his magic yet. I thought maybe it hadn’t been passed to him, so perhaps it was best to let things be. When it became evident that he had magic, I knew I'd have to confess. I wanted you to know, but...have you ever found yourself so deeply entrenched into a lie that you can't see a way out?" He knew the answer as he asked the question; of course, she hadn't. Teagan was a good person, she wouldn't deceive herself - or anyone else - as he had. He swallowed and went on, "I've been afraid to tell you, wanting to preserve what we have. And Dean...he knows he's special. I've been trying to teach him discipline so he has fewer episodes and so he can control them when they are unavoidable. He will learn to control his abilities, but it will take time and practice."

It was out now, all of it. Everything pertinent to their situation that she couldn't infer, anyway. He knew his wife, she'd be thinking of who else was magical, she'd conclude why he hadn't invited the rest of his family by, why he'd never taken her to the office. There were innumerable details about the wizarding world that they could get into, but Elliott knew what was more important than that. An apology. The first, with any luck his fatalistic mind would allow him to consider, of many. "I'm sorry I kept this from you. It began with protection, but I should have told you as soon as we became serious."

[Teagan Edwards]

Her eyes were drawn to his side as he tapped a piece of wood against his leg, and it took her a moment before she realized what it had to be. A magic wand. All her racing thoughts about what she’d learned so far stopped, and she had to remind herself to breathe. She had never even stopped to consider how one would go about using magic, and she definitely wouldn’t have guessed that magic wands were real. More questions rushed to the front of her mind, and she had to bite her tongue to keep them from spilling out. She was sure that he’d stay up with her all night answering questions if that is what she asked of him. Because she wanted to know everything there was to know about this magical world he and Dean were a part of. First though, she wanted to know about this war.

It was hard to hear, that those on the other side weren’t in prison. She didn’t know much about magic, but she knew that magic had to be dangerous. Maybe not in all ways, but it some ways, there was danger. There had been enough conflict for a war, and that told her a lot. And people like her, people without magic, had been targets. Her head throbbed as she remembered the blank spot in her memory, the night her and Tris had been out celebrating her engagement. She only knew what she had been told after the fact, and it was only now in this moment that it seemed strange. She brushed it to the side, more focused on not missing anything he was saying.

The question he asked her should of had a simple answer, but she could relate. Her mom and dad always asked her about her life in their weekly calls, and she’d neglected to mention Elliot for quite some time. At first it had just seemed too soon to tell them, it had just been one date. And then there had been a second. Before she knew it, she’d been pregnant and they got engaged and her parents barely even knew she was in a relationship. But that was something small compared to what she was learning tonight, even if she could understand why Elliot had kept this secret for so long. Instead of answering him though, she shook her head, running a free hand through her hair.

Dean knew he was special, which meant he’d been keeping this a secret from her. She felt a rush of anger at that - that her son had been told to keep this from her. It wasn’t fair to ask of him, but she needed to put that anger to the side. There was no point in being upset, and now they could move forward without secrets. “You’re right, you know,” she began quietly, giving a sigh. “You should have told me when we became serious. But what’s happened has happened, and we can move forward from this. Just promise me, no more secrets?” She took a few steps forward to close the distance between them, wrapping Elliot in a hug as she tried to put her thoughts together. After a few minutes, she took a step back and cleared her throat, “Tell me about this war. Why did it happen, how much danger are we still in?”

[Elliott Thomas]

Oh, to be a Legilimens. Not that Elliott particularly needed to be to infer the gist of what was going through his wife's mind as she took sight of his wand, agreed with his statement about her never being trapped so far in a lie, and learned that Dean had been instructed to keep secrets from her. Surprise. Disappointment. Fury. And yet, as he braced himself to feel the torrent that must be on its way out of her, muscles tensed, feet planted...

She sighed. She didn't - she didn't deflate, but she - she held more grace in her little toe than he did in the whole of him.

"We can move forward from this."

    We?

Until Teagan, he hadn't thought himself capable of romantic love. Until Dean, he hadn't thought himself capable of paternal love. That sort of caring - too big a feeling for that word, but it must suffice - went through your walls and through your layers, all the way to the marrow of your bones, and sunk in. It became a part of you - the new you, the changed you, because how could you be who you were before after being truly loved?

He'd known she was forgiving. He'd made flubs on dates, was rarely ever smooth in the moment, he'd forgotten bills and to pick up toilet paper on the way home. But to be open to forgiving him of all of this - he'd not thought it possible, even with the love he knew she had for him. Elliott stood in shock as the woman who held his heart in her hands came towards him. And at her touch, he felt the anxiety-drawn nausea start subsiding, but warm tears leak from his eyes as he jerkily, belatedly, moved his arms around her. Words failed as he sunk into her, the weight of living leaving him, but leaving him overcome because of her. He hadn't recovered by the time Teagan pulled back, but dried his eyes on the back of his hands and tried to focus on the present, on delivering the information she asked for.

"The war. It started - no more secrets - yes, I promise, no more secrets," he amended, the assent to her earlier deserved need not having been vocalized by him. "The war...Tea? Tea." He hadn't done a fantastic job of introducing her to the wizarding world by speaking of dragons and unicorns. How to sum up a war that spanned decades, and had a history that went back to the earliest wizards? He stared counting internally, an old trick to calm the frenzy in his mind. While doing so, Elliott stepped into the kitchen and got the tea started in the manner he tended to do when his wife wasn't around - levitate the kettle to the sink for filling while he focused on sifting through their containers of loose tea - and once it got going, leaned heavily against the countertop to face her.

"The war. It began with an extremist, as they are wont to. He held the ideology that pureblooded wizards - someone with magic, born from wizarding parents - were better than everyone. Better than someone like Dean, who'd be termed a halfblood, because of our bloodlines," he said with a gesture between the pair of them. "Better than a wizard born to muggle parents. Sorry - term for non-magical people. And better, far better, than muggles. He backed his ideas with stories from the past. Witch hunts and all that gory history. The old wizarding families, the old money, they and others liked his ideas for a new world order. They were willing to fight for it, for wizards to not be kept in secret, for us to exist in the same world, but a world that they controlled. They infiltrated our governing bodies, or took the fight to the streets. Enough people were willing to fight back that they were shut down and the leader killed, but it...wars don't start overnight, and they don't resolve overnight."

He eyed her uncertainly, hopeful that he'd done a bit better with this than he had earlier, and gave a slight smile. I could take you to Diagon Alley. You could see Tris's mum's shop. And Tris, she's wanted to show you her workspace for so long. "We're...as safe as we'll likely be, to my reckoning. We could be mugged here in muggle London any night, if we're not careful. We could be hurt in wizarding London any night, if we're not careful. So now it's more of a matter of taking precautions, than being on high alert."

[Teagan Edwards]

This was a very big secret that he had kept from her, and as she hugged him she knew that she was doing the right thing in forgiving him. She could still be angry about it, but that didn’t mean she didn’t understand why he had done it. And the why behind it all was noble, when it came down to it. Teagen loved him, and she loved their life together, and she loved their son. That had always been enough for her to be happy in her life. They could still be a family, and she’d eventually be less angry about it. Because, it was magic. A real life magical world that her husband and her son were a part of. And if she wanted Dean to have the best life he could, it involved her and Elliot working together to raise him. Magic and all. Once she moved past her anger, she could feel all sorts of questions bubbling to the surface, her curiosity winning. Because magic was real and it was just out of her grasp. She had to know more about it, but there were answers she needed before she spent the entire night asking about the logistics.

He was promising her no more secrets, and she believed him. It must have killed him, to keep this from her for so long. She knew if the situation had been reversed, it would have been the hardest thing she had ever done to keep this type of secret from him. Teagan followed him into the kitchen, watching with fascination as the tea kettle levitated itself to the sink, like it was a normal everyday occurrence. He’d told her there was little that magic couldn’t do, and if she let herself she could think of situations for the rest of the night to see how it would be handled magically. But she couldn’t let her mind get away from her, focusing back on her husband as he started to speak. Telling her about the war, about purebloods and halfbloods and muggles. It was a lot to take in, and not the best thing she’d ever heard. Wars didn’t end overnight, and it was safe to assume those that had followed the ideology still existed in the magical world. But Elliot was right, they could be mugged in her world easily if they weren’t careful, it had happened to her when she was pregnant with Dean.

“Okay,” she said quietly, giving a nod. “So we’re as safe as we can be. That’s reassuring.” She had so many more questions, but she wasn’t sure where to even start. She supposed the best place to start was the stick of wood in his hands. “So does everyone use a, what I can only assume, is a wand? And people like me, muggles, this is all just right under our nose? No one ever finds out?”