Wizarding Mayhem

[Regulus Black]

As Regulus walked up the stairs to his modest apartment, he expected that inside the door he would perhaps find his wife baking up a confectionery heaven for an after-dinner treat. He expected to see his three-year-old daughter possibly playing with her most recent favorite doll in the enchanted dollhouse Sirius had just brought over for her. Maybe Katie would be napping, perhaps Adriana would be occupied otherwise...basically, he was expecting to walk into a calm apartment.

The first inkling that his thoughts were simply imaginings was the slow trickle of water coming down the stairwell. Regulus looked at it with curiosity, but figured one of the muggles might have let their bath overflow again.

The second sign was the low rumble that began at the second floor of the building, sort of a magical static that indicated trouble was afoot. Regulus hadn't felt that sort of magic since the old, dark days. He began to take the stairs by two.

When he reached the apartment and opened the unlocked door, his mind was put at ease. No dark magic was sinisterly threatening his little family--but his three year old daughter was cackling as she splashed through several feet of water in what was once the living room, followed by a school of goldfish.

"Addie?" Regulus called tentatively, wondering where his darling wife was and how his daughter had come to make such a mess on her own. The magical "static" he felt must have come from the containment spell on the water, keeping it from flooding the entire apartment. The trickle on the stairs was stemming from the non-waterproofed floor of the apartment, which was most likely pouring into the flat below.

Katie looked up at the sound of his voice and splashed her way towards him. "Daddy, daddy, I'm a fishy!" she proclaimed, flopping on her back in the water and waving her arms about to splash.

[Adriana Bell-Black]

Addie brushed a loose lock of hair from her now extremely wet forehead. Frustrated was probably the understatement of the century as she took in the scene before her. One minute she was talking to her three year old monkey on why fish live in the water, the next her daughter managed to flood the apartment with fish. It was purely accidental or so she had hoped, but Katie was certainly showing the signs of being a black. This was no doubt a stunt that either Regs or Sirius might have done at the ripe age of 3. Thank Merlin for the quick thinking, Addie managed to contain most of the water, she however didn’t have the heart to banish the water. Katie was finally calm, somewhat, and having a blast tormenting the sodding fish colony. ‘oh Regs, where are you?’ she silently prayed.

Hoping for some reprieve of the magical chaos, she stepped into the kitchen in search of a large bowl, rather a few large bowls for Katie’s new friends; and possibly a nice strong tea or mead, which ever she would reach first. Her daughter’s mumblings about play time to the fish assured her that she hasn’t caused much more mischief during her mother’s search for bowls.

“Daddy, Daddy, I’m a fishy!” she heard Katie suddenly exclaim, Adriana knew she could finally gain some control over the situation. Grabbing two of the largest bowls she could hold, she walked into the living room to give that husband of hers a piece of her frustrated mind. Wading through the water, with both hands at her hips she glanced bemused at Regs. “Lovely what YOUR daughter has decided would be a good décor for the flat eh?”

[Regulus Black]

Regulus knew he was in for it when his lovely flustered wife used the words "YOUR daughter" to describe the situation at hand. Sure, Sirius had done much worse over at Grimmauld Place and blamed Regulus numerous times, and it was thoughts like this that made Regulus grateful they were waiting to have another child until Katie was a bit older. At least there weren't two little witches egging one another on.

"I'm not sure if I really appreciate the nautical decor, myself, dear." He dipped a hand in the water and thought about splashing at Addie, but decided it might be ill advised to frustrate her any further. "At least she's got the water at a nice temperature, eh? Be pretty uncomfortable to watch the telly in icy lake water."

Katie made a grab at one of her goldfish and it wriggled out from between her hands. "Mummy, catch the fishies," she whined. Regulus smirked and took his wand from his pocket.

"Accio fishies," he said, unable to keep a straight face. "Come here, baby girl."

Splashing across the sofa, Katie giggled as the school of goldfish flopped out onto the entry mat. She spilled across Addie's containment spell and dripped all over Regulus's shoes as she scooped fish up in her arms. Regulus smiled at her but then glanced up at the mess of the living room. This would take a little while to clean up--and what were they going to do about their magical daughter, surrounded by muggle neighbors? Certainly the landlord was going to have some choice words about this situation.

Perhaps it was finally time to start flat-shopping in a wizarding community.

[Adriana Bell-Black]

Despite the mounting frustration, even Adriana couldn’t hide the amusement of their current predicament. The almost knee deep water, a happy 3 year old witch and several goldfish populating the flat. She knew she had done worse as a child, the youngest of 6 and the only girl—Katie was an angle compared to her.

“Katie was a bit curious as to why fish need water, unfortunately I forgot to mention that the water need not be in our flat.” She motioned to the obvious pseudo marine environment. “It probably would have been best to just take her to the aquarium—though she probably would have attempted to swim with the sharks” she mused.

Narrowing her eyes at Regulus’s attempt to be witty “Not at all darling, after all I’d hate for you to get frostbitten or hypothermia when YOU are cleaning this mess since you appreciate Katie’s fine craftsmanship.” Her daughters whining diverted her attention to the once again failed attempt to grab the fish. Regulus’s method of summoning the fish, however effective was slightly barbaric and merely pulling the fish out of the water not into a habitable environment for them.

Bending slightly she filled both bowls with a reasonable amount of water before placing them on the table. One by one, she slowly began levitating the fish into the bowls and out of the living room pond. Katie’s giggles filled the air as she attempted to catch the fish in midflight, only resulting in her falling back into the water with a splash and then repeating the process for each fish. In Adriana’s honest opinion Katie’s entertainment was torn between the actual fish and the splashing.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus watched his wife clean up Katie's fish and thought to himself that he probably could have done a better job summoning them into the bowls, but all the splashing soon distracted him. Katie cackled and began to maneuver her chubby little legs so that she would be able to kick water at Regulus--as well as the door to the flat, and the landing, and the stairs, and the muggle neighbors who were undoubtedly getting curious about their little family and planning to come by for a visit...yes, he thought, it was about time that they began shopping for a flat elsewhere. Maybe a nice little cottage or something. He bet that Addie would appreciate a garden.

Katie kicked her feet cheerfully, but not before Regulus thought to finally banish the water seeing as Addie was now levitating several fish bowls. "Aww, Daddy..." Katie cried, her face scrunching up.

"Want to see some bigger fishies?" Regulus asked, jumping on Addie's aquarium idea. "Get your shoes on, baby, let's go on an adventure tonight."

Katie, her splashing pond temporarily forgotten, jumped up off the floor and ran for her bedroom. "Lemee get dressed!" she gasped. Regulus smiled to himself--lately, Katie had been fascinated with dressing herself up whenever they were going out. That was all right, so long as she didn't decide to add wizarding robes to her ensemble when the destination was a muggle venue. He and Addie would have to see what she came up with tonight.

He looked at his wife and smiled. "So, dear, how is it that our living room became a lake while I was gone?" Genuinely curious as to whether or not Katie had worked such advanced magic herself, and wandless, Regulus hoped that Addie would indulge him in the story while they waited for their little witch to get herself ready to go.

[Adriana Bell-Black]

Sniggering at Katie’s attempt to drench Regulus, she secured the last of the fish in the bowls. Adriana decided to humor her own inner 3 year and took a chance to splash Katie and Regulus playfully. Thinking maybe she should bring up the idea to move somewhere more child-or rather –wizard child friendly location sometime soon.

Seeing Katie’s face scrunch up in distaste for the lack of play dates, Adriana was reminded of Regulus and how his face has the same adorable scrunch when he doesn’t get his way. ‘They are both way too spoiled’ she mused to herself. “ mhm, Aww daddy is right little missy” she chided playfully knowing full well that if given a chance to plead her case, the three year old witch would bend daddy’s will whichever way she pleased.

Shaking her head, she grinned at her husband’s suggestion to let Katie dress herself. “You do realize she may leave her room with a princess dress, crown and sparkly shoes rather than an appropriate outfit for this outing? Or worse, she was trying to wear my dress robes early.” Laughing at the memory of Katie playing dress up in her and Regulus’s closet earlier

Sighing as Regulus asked the million galleon question. "Katie saw a picture of a fish and decided she wanted a pet fish. I explained that fish weren’t like kittens or puppies that they need water, of course she proceeded to ask why fish need water." She grinned ruefully remember her own curiosity at such a tender age, “ Next thing I know, the water is rising in the room and there are loads and loads of fish.” She concluded, pointing out what was their living room. “She’s finally coming into her magic, and not really getting control of it yet. I was worse at that age, Mom says I had a tendency to set things on fire because I had a temper.” She explained. “But I have no idea what she’s talking about, I don’t have a temper” she said sarcastically.

[Regulus Black]

"Oi," Regs protested as Addie splashed at him. He thought about immediately snapping up some revenge and splashing back, but knew that the satisfaction would be far less than the retribution his beautiful wife would dish out. "Maybe soon we can take a look at some cottages closer to Goderic's, eh? Or Hogsmeade? Don't want the ministry swooping in on us anytime soon because of Katie's little aquarium or any other little spells, eh?" Perhaps the trip out this afternoon could serve the dual purpose of satisfying their little witch and also checking into a bit of real estate.

Regulus smirked and agreed with Adriana immediately. "Yes, she very well might go the princess route today, but I'm thinking she's going to lean more towards mermaid, given the fish." Katie had an extensive closet of dress up clothes, acquired via Sirius as well as her doting parents, that were with and without magic. Hopefully they wouldn't be wrestling her out of an enchanted skirt or anything, that was always a battle.

Regulus was impressed with Katie's quick summoning skills. Perhaps she'd excel in charms, as opposed to his magical forte. He agreed, though, that she was definitely coming into her magic and something needed to be done about it. "Let's make a call to my brother sometime soon. He'd know better than I remember what sort of trouble I caused around the house--though as I recall, I was often in trouble for his doings. Mum always went easier on me than him." He frowned, thinking about it. "I do recall once filling his room with doxies, though. I think he'd made me miss my pudding after dinner because of some idiotic spell he'd worked in mum's parlor." He laughed at Addie's denial of her temper. "Oh, darling, I can assure you that you certainly have a temper to be reckoned with. Let's just be grateful that our little witch appears to be so easygoing thus far."

[Adriana Bell-Black]

Adriana smirked at Regulus’s lack of retaliation to her splash, he was learning well; in truth her retaliation outweighed any satisfaction he would have gotten out retaliating to begin with. Clearly Katie got most of her mischievousness from her mother. “We should, it just depends on how close you want to be to other wizards because the Weasly’s have a wonderful spread of land so molly’s boys Bill, Charlie and Percy are free to roam around without unwanted wandering eyes.” She stated, the Weasly’s weren’t as financially comfortable as her and Regs but they definitely had their hearts in the right place, especially in raising their boys. She hope to be that successful in raising Katie, so that she only experienced the most love that both her and Regs had to offer, and of course maybe another sibling or two; just not the quidditch team that Molly and Arthur were building. “Or we could ask your brother to help, I’m sure he’d probably have something to recommend. Or he might even want to join us in relocating; you know how much he loves the little witch.” Adriana Smiled fondly at the thought of Sirius, he’d always been an exemplary friend at Hogwarts but even more so since he and Regs reconciled and tenfold since Katie’s birth.

"I’m thinking we might want to surprise the little witch with a pet too, this might satisfy her for a little while. At least until she decides she wants to bring a killer whale or dolphin home" she mused, remembering her own argument with her father in attempts to convince him that the shark made a great house pet. “Clearly the owl isn’t enough, maybe a nice kitten or puppy. I’m sure Sirius would appreciate a pup.”

Adriana shook her head at Regulus’s suggestion, yes there was a good chance she might choose the mermaid attire. "I bloody hope nope, I don’t fancy having to wrestle a 3 year old out of a costume and into muggle clothes." She knew however it was probably wishful thinking, that doting uncle of hers has certainly encouraged the ‘Theatrical’ attire and behavior claiming she was born to stand out and something of the sort. Personally she believe he was trying to get a kick out of tormenting Regulus, but she wasn’t going to bring that up to him.

Adriana giggled at the thought of Sirius putting the blame on little Regulus, those two were beyond adorable as little tykes. "However true that may be, I don’t think you were that innocent darling—I can certainly recall that you were no angel at Hogwarts.” She stated with a smirk. Laughing enthusiastically at Regulus attempt to scheme "oh darling, no wonder he always tried to get at you, you were horrible at retaliation, Doxies are nothing. I once set loose a lion on my brother Michael for teasing me about being a girl. Being the only girl out of 6 boys is hard. I wanted to be just like them." Smirking at her husband she agreed. "Okay, maybe I do." She said with a roll of her eyes, “She’s easy going because you give her everything she wants, but Mommy is definitely the bad witch here when she says no cookies before every meal. I swear that little witch has lungs bigger than your mother’s” she said deadpanned, remember the one too many tantrums Katie has thrown.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus considered what Adriana was saying about the Weasley family. Moving out into the countryside seemed like a good idea, but then they would be spending years using floo powder to travel with their little witch, and he didn't like the idea of turning up covered in soot every magical destination they set out to. Perhaps talking with Sirius was a good idea, actually. "Maybe Sirius has some ideas on how to turn a place unplottable, or some other enhantment we could consider. We wouldn't be worrying about neighbors if we were concealed properly." Regulus thought he might take a nip over to Diagon Alley and see if he could find a book on wizarding architecture. Between himself, Sirius, and Addie he was sure they could figure out something, even if it was a bit of tricky magic.

He considered what Adriana said about getting Katie a pet. looking around at the state of their living room, he could hardly imagine a bird or a dog mucking about the scattered toys and dripping furniture. If a pet was being considered, they definitely needed a larger home. "If we could find a magical dog that stood up to her unintentional magic, maybe. I think the only pet that could really stand up to Katie right now is a phoenix. And then we will be cleaning up ashes forever," Regulus said, ending his sentence with a little whine.

They were pleasantly surprised to see Katie come barreling out of her room wearing the clothes she went in with, pulling two different socks up her skinny legs with one sneaker and one plastic high heel in her hands. She came right over and held the shoes out to her parents, silently asking for help in getting them on. Regulus smiled at her and knelt down, taking the sneaker helping her sit down so he could slip it on her foot. "Let's find this one's partner, baby girl," he said, getting the high heel away from her while she was distracted by him taking his wand from his pocket. He slipped it to Adriana so that Katie wouldn't notice it was gone and have a fit. "Accio shoe," Regulus said, swishing his wand just as Katie's little fingers tried to grab it away from him. The other sneaker sailed into the room and to his waiting hand, much to Katie's amazement. He got it on her other foot and picked her up. "Alright, let's get your coat," he said.

Regulus pouted as Adriana made fun of his anecdote, saying he was bad at retaliation. "I tried," he defended himself. "You know Sirius, it's very difficult to think of a way to get back at him that he hasn't already thought of doing himself. At least I'm not a copycat, even if I'm lame," he whined. When Adriana complained about being the bad witch, he looked sheepish and said, "it's my fault, love. I know I need to put up with more tantrums, but I hate seeing her upset. I agree, though...cookies are for after meals, not before." Regulus had tried once or twice to stand up to their daughter. Perhaps it was the shock of not getting what she wanted out of daddy, but her tantrums always seemed extra loud and extreme when Regulus was trying to be firm. But he would have to buck up and try harder, or she would be an insufferable brat as she got older. He smirked at Adriana. "She does rather sound like mum when she's upset, doesn't she?" He agreed.