Love Me [Hogsmeade, Fall 2001]

[Abraxis Binx]

Normally Abraxis Binx had no problem getting his parents to spend time with him. If they were busy then he'd convince one of his uncles, aunts, or cousins to spend time with him. Never had the six year old run upon a time when he couldn't get an aunt, uncle, cousin, his brother, or his parents to spend time with him. His mom was busy with her club and his dad was busy doing whatever it was that Johnny Binx did when he wasn't at home with his family. He had no idea where his brother was and all of his other relatives were busy doing things that they do. His parents had called in one of their friends to babysit him while they went out and said friend wasn't being very entertaining at all.

The six year old let out a quiet sigh as he stood from his bed where he had been blankly starring at the wall and left. The babysitter wasn't paying him any attention which meant it wasn't hard for him to sneak out of the house and start a nice little walk down the street. He allowed his attention to stray to various store windows and made a note of things he might want that he was going to tell his parents (after all they owed him for leaving him like this). He seemed to be in luck of getting attention this time though because it seemed that it was a Hogwarts weekend and a bunch of people were there to visit students. Now all he had to do was play his cards right and someone would take pity on him and play...or talk...or something...

[Paula Kendrick]

Paula wasn't sure what she had been expecting of her last year of school. Her siblings had each had a different experience upon leaving school. Benjamin had went straight into the ministry to follow in their deceased father's footsteps and Landon had went on to become the famous Quidditch player that he wanted to be. Ruth, her sister, had graduated two years ago and wound up pregnant not weeks after getting out of school. She didn't know who the father was and had wound up making their mom (and by extension Paula) raise the little girl while she went out and tried to find a job and get some money to support the two. Of course that was over a year ago and no one had heard from Ruth since and it wasn't from lack of trying. Benjamin had called in a couple of favors with some of the Aurors and other higher ups in the ministry to try and find the missing Kendrick sibling, but Paula doubted she would be found.

Now that she was in her last year of school the girl wished that she could be home with the little girl that she had pretty much been raising since birth. She missed the happiness that the little girl brought with her smile and all, but Landon had promised to bring the two year old around for her to see during her Hogsmeade visit. That was why Nikki was trying to hurry and get to the Leaky Cauldron because her brother would be there soon. As she was walking though she caught sight of a little boy wondering around by himself. After a second of hesitation the blonde girl hurried over to the boy to make sure everything was alright and that he wasn't lost.

"Excuse me," she called as she got closer to him, "are you lost?"

[Abraxis Binx]

Abraxis was starting to think that he wasn't going to get any attention from these people wandering the street. A few had cast him a glance as they passed him, but none of them had actually stopped. He was starting to get annoyed and an annoyed little Binx was a dangerous little Binx. Maybe he should throw a tantrum? Or act like he was scared and lost? People stopped for scared lost kids, didn't they? He was sure he'd seen people stop for lost kids before when he was out with his parents. Just as he was getting ready to start screaming and throwing his own little fit someone called out to him.

The six year old looked up at the girl when she asked if he was lost. So people did stop for lost kids! That gave him an idea. He'd get attention from this girl and wait until his parents came looking for him. It was a great plan in his mind. It also meant he'd be able to time how long it took his parents to find him. Instead of grinning like he really wanted to he put on a sad, slightly scared face and looked at the teen. "Y...yes," he whimpered as she got closer, "c...can you he...help me f...find my d...daddy?" he asked with wide eyes.

[Paula Kendrick]

When Paula saw that the kid was sad and scared and looked on the brink of tears the blonde knew that she had to help him. She would just pop by the Leaky Cauldron and grab her brother and Ella and then they could find the kid's parents. Giving him a soft smile she knelt down so that she was eye level with him. "Of course I'll help you find your parents," she assured him as she held out a thin, pale hand for him to grab. "Why don't you tell me your name and where you last saw your parents?" That would be the best way to go about finding his parents. First have his name and then the last place they were seen. From there it would be a matter of deciding which way the parents would go and getting the kid to them.

[Abraxis Binx]

Abraxis could tell that the teen in front of him was going to help, but just for dramatic effect he allowed his eyes to tear up and a couple of tears to roll down his cheeks. He knew it was unnecessary since she had already agreed to help, but crying would get him more attention than simply standing there and looking scared. He placed his own rather small hand in her's when she offered and blinked away more fake tears when she started asking questions. Would it be safe to tell her his name? Would she know of the Binx family and refuse to help him because of that? He didn't have time to sit here and worry and think it all through because the girl was going to need an answer.

"I...I'm Ab...Abraxis," he whimpered out, "Abraxis B...Binx." Alright name out and still sounding pathetic. He had to do the same with where he last saw his parents. What was he supposed to say to that? His parents were off doing whatever and the last place he'd seen them was at home...that morning. Merlin this was harder than it seemed. He usually already had these things planned out before he started them and this time he was having to make it up as he went. "I...I..." just stutter and seem as if trying to remember where the last place he saw them was, yeah that would work.

[Paula Kendrick]

Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that Paula had never heard of the Binx family was up for debate. It probably didn't matter either way, especially with this little kid being lost. Paula was a kind person and would never have been able to turn down helping someone else no matter what their past history. When the kid started actually crying the blonde almost started freaking out. What was she supposed to do? Did he need a hug? Or was he just scared about not finding his parents? Did she need to pick him up and comfort him and reassure him that everything was alright and that they'd find his parents? That sounded like a good idea. Maybe not the picking up part because she really wasn't that strong and would have problems picking the kid up.

The Ravenclaw knelt down and pulled the kid into a hug, muttering nonsense words like "it's gonna be alright" and "you're safe" and other random stuff she remembered her mother saying when she was younger. When the kid gave his name Paula smiled. "Nice to meet you Abraxis," she told him in a gentle voice, "I'm Paula Kendrick." As the kid stuttered and tried to remember where he'd last seen his parents the girl looked around. They couldn't have gotten to far away, could they? Perhaps they just stepped into a shop for a moment? That would place them out of sight of the child and make it seem like he was lost.

[Abraxis Binx]

He hadn't expected to be pulled into a hug and told that everything was going to be alright. He'd expected for the girl to just coo over him and shower him with attention before they set off to find his parents who weren't actually lost. That was probably the hardest part of his plan though. His parents hadn't disappeared on him and he wasn't missing from them. He'd just walked out the front door of the house and the girl had asked him and he'd come up with his plan. He should have thought this over before he wound up in the situation. Instead he buried his head in the girl's shoulder and clutched at the front of her clothes and made it seem like he was crying harder. He forced more tears into and out of his eyes and thought of the saddest things he could think of to make it seem like he'd been crying.

Once she gave her name Abraxis tried to put on a shy, shaky smile and make it seem like he was trying to be nice and not so scared. "N...nice to me...meet you too," he whispered as he looked down at his shoes. He kicked at a couple of imaginary pebbles as his mind worked as quickly as a six year old's mind could work. What was he supposed to say? That he'd last seen his parents at home? No that would just get him taken back to the stupid babysitter. Maybe he could say he saw them at the Three Broomsticks. That sounded like a good idea to him. "I...we...were leaving the Three Broomsticks," he muttered as he pretended to be thinking hard about, "and I stopped to look in a shop window," trembling lip and more tears and start blubbering and such, "and when I...l...looked aw...away they were...they were GONE!"

Shout the last word and make it seem very tragic and sad and make the girl feel bad for him so that she coos over him more. He liked the attention and the fact that this girl was taking time out of her day to do as she should and shower him with attention meant that Abraxis liked her. Maybe his parents would invite her over to play sometime or something. It was worth mentioning to them.

[Paula Kendrick]

Paula felt her shirt become wet with more tears as the child cried into her shoulder. She'd never really had to deal with a kid who'd been separated from their parents before. How did she handle this situation? It was confusing to her and so she continued to try and comfort him until he pulled away to talk to her. She returned his smile with a gentle one of her own and stood once more, dusting the dirt off of her pants. She listened as he explained what had happened, frowning slightly when he mentioned that his parents had seemed not to notice that their child was missing. The blonde winced when he shouted the last word and started crying just as hard as before. "Aww..." she cooed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "don't cry. We'll find them. They couldn't have gone to far. And they're probably already looking for you."

She held out a hand for him to take. "Why don't we try checking out some of the stores close to the Three Broomsticks? They might have gone back to those thinking that you're there." It was all she had to work with at the moment and she was going to take it because as it was she was running late in meeting up with Landon and Ella.

[Abraxis Binx]

Abraxis watched the girl with calculating blue eyes, though the calculating glint was hidden behind his little act of sad, scared child. She seemed to really care that he had been separated from his parents and really did seem to be trying to figure out where his parents might be. If he didn't want her attention so much he might actually tell her the truth about where his parents were. Well...where his mother was anyway. He had no clue where his dad had run off to. Merlin he would have been fine with his brother showing up just to have someone to play with him. Why did they have to all leave and have things to do at the same time?!

He wanted to laugh at the mention of them already looking for him. If the babysitter had figured out that he was missing then they probably were, but considering that neither Misty nor Johnny Binx had appeared ranting and raving about him disappearing he was betting that the woman hadn't figured it out yet. Personally Abraxis didn't want to be there when his parents (or any other relative that might pop over to his house before he returned) found out that the babysitter hadn't done her job in watching over him. Just the thought made Abraxis want to cringe away and hide behind something. Though he would believe it justice for the woman not doing her job and paying attention to him.

The child took the offered hand once more and nodded in agreement, sniffling slightly to keep up his act, on going to check the stores around the pub. He would let this play out for a bit longer before he finally just lead her to his house and let the babysitter take the blame for the whole mess...or something.

[Paula Kendrick]

With the child's agreement Paula began to lead the child down the street. A few people stopped their conversations to look at the odd pair, an obvious Hogwarts student walking down the street holding the hand of a crying six year old child. It wasn't something that people got to see everyday and Paula could only hope that the kids parents let her explain the situation before trying to hex her for hurting their kid or something. Maybe she should go to the Three Broomsticks first? Let Landon know what had happened and see if he knew the kid's parents? It would be better than running around searching through different stores with only a hope that the kid's parents would turn up.

Plus, it would give her a chance to get his face cleaned up a bit so that it wasn't all teary and red and such. It made things seem worse than they really were and worried her more than a little bit. "We're going to stop by the Three Broomsticks first," she told him as she pushed open the door of the pub and looked around in search for the blonde head of her older brother. She quickly caught sight of him and a grin broke over her face as she saw the child sitting in her brother's lap.

"Landon! Ella!" she exclaimed as she hurried over to the table, keeping a good grip on Abraxis' hand so he didn't get lost.

[Landon Kendrick]

Landon believed that life had been pretty good to him. He hadn't lost any members of his family during the war, except his dad but that was before the war really started up. His older brother had went straight into the ministry with near perfect marks to follow their dad's footsteps as an Unspeakable. He had attended the draft in his seventh year of school and been picked for one of the best Quidditch teams around and right after graduation he had become a reserve for only a couple of months before the other keeper had been injured during a game and put out of commission for good. The blonde took the opening and was now playing keeper for his team. Paula was in her last year of school and seemed to be doing pretty good for herself, having the inspiration to go into the medical field when she graduated. The only one of his siblings who seemed to be having a hard life was Ruth.

She had graduated a year after him with barely passing marks and gotten pregnant not long after getting out. She had no idea who the father was, which upset Landon a great deal because he didn't like his sister sleeping around with so many people that she couldn't even tell who the father of her child was. She had wanted to get herself straightened out after the birth of her little girl and so had left the girl with her mother and little sister to be raised until she came up with the money to have a life for them. That had been February of 1999 and Ruth hadn't been seen since. Her little girl was now two years old and believed that she was just another sibling in the Kendrick bunch, which to Benjamin and Landon she was, but the blonde man believed Paula thought of the girl as her own.

Knowing how much the little girl meant to his sister Landon tried to bring her around for Hogsmeade weekends so that the two females could see each other and it meant that he got to see his sister a great deal more than if he just left Ella at home and showed up when he thought was a good time. Today just so happened to be one of those Hogsmeade weekends and he was currently sitting in the Three Broomsticks with a two year old child on his lap and an old friend from school sitting across from him. When he'd arrived at the pub the place had been packed and it was only luck that he'd run into Geovanny when he had or else he'd be standing outside waiting for his sister to show up.

At hearing his and the child in his lap's name the blonde looked up to see his sister weaving her way through the crowd clutching the hand of...a little boy? A frown appeared on his face and he wrapped an arm around Ella's waist to keep the little girl from jumping down and running to meet Paula half-way. "Nikki," he greeted with a grin, confusion still on his face as he looked at the little boy, "who's this you have with you?"

[Geovanny Fyfe]

He had been the last of his siblings to graduate from Hogwarts what with Leslie being a squib, which had come as a shock to just about everyone, and him being the youngest kid. Geovanny hadn't liked it when Leith graduated because it meant he was left at school without any of his older siblings and Leslie wouldn't be joining him there. At first he hadn't known what to do about the entire situation, but as that first year without them wore on Geo learned that he could survive without one of his siblings around at all times. That had actually been his worst fear was that he wouldn't be able to survive Hogwarts without one of his siblings around to help keep him in line and make him do his homework and such, but that worry was for nothing. He had settled down just the smallest bit and had learned how to control his ADHD over the course of his school years.

If he took time in the mornings to go for a walk or something to rid himself of excess energy and then tried to do his work and then another break at lunch and another later in the evening then he would be able to sit still. It didn't change the fact that he was still a little absent minded and never really stayed on topic when talking, unless it was work. He'd gotten a job involving animals, one of the things he loved the best, and was able to concentrate on it for long periods of time without getting antsy. Today had been his day off and he'd stopped by Hogsmeade for old times sake and browsed around a bit before stopping by the Three Broomsticks for a drink. He'd only been there for a few minutes before an friend he hadn't seen in about two year entered the pub. He'd waved the put-out blonde over and offered to let him join him.

Of course Landon had informed him that he was meeting up with his sister since it was a Hogsmeade weekend and Geo have assured the older male that there was plenty of room for one more at the table. They'd talked for a little bit before the blonde boy heard a girl's voice calling for Landon. He looked over to see a pretty blonde teen weaving through the crowds of people clutching at the hand of a young child. Curiosity took over and he cast a glance over at Landon to see that the other had stopped his niece from running to greet Paula. Blue eyes watched the interaction between them curiously. He'd never been particularly close to Paula in school and had only befriended Landon in his fourth year of school so he didn't feel like he had the right to question the Ravenclaw student about her extra guest.

[Abraxis Binx]

Abraxis didn't really get to put up much of a fuss when the woman told him they were making a pit stop by the Three Broomsticks to see if his parents were there. She told him about it and then she opened the door and he was being dragged inside. The six year old followed after the blonde girl quietly and clutched tightly to her hand as they squeezed through the crowds of people to one table at the back of the pub. A table that he knew very well. A table that he claimed as his every time he came here. A table that someone else was sitting at! If they hadn't been heading straight towards that table to child probably would have thrown a tantrum. That was his table! Luckily the two males and little girl they were looking for were seated at the table so all was good in the world.

He peaked out from around Paula, who the oldest blonde boy called Nikki, and looked at them. The one holding the child in his arms looked rather familiar. Where had he seen him before? It only took a couple of seconds for him to place the face. Landon Kendrick! He was a Quidditch player! Abraxis stared in awe at the man currently holding a little girl on his knee before moving his attention to the other blonde male who seemed to be doing the same as Abraxis, watching. When Landon asked who he was Abraxis tightened his grip to almost bruising on the small, girly hand in his and continued to peak around her leg, his free hand grabbing a fist full of pants leg.

Paula...or Nikki...the girl could handle answering the questions and explaining everything and he would just keep up his act of scared little kid who wanted to go home to his parents. Maybe the act would get Paula away from these guys quicker than if he played the social child who talked to everyone.

[Paula Kendrick]

As she got closer to the table with her brother and niece Nikki could make out someone else sitting at the table. She couldn't tell who it was until she was already standing next to the table. When she saw the blonde man, only a year older than herself, sitting there a grin broke out over the girl's face. "Hello Geovanny," she greeted the man. She was never close with him in school and so didn't feel she could actually call him by the nickname that even Landon had gotten close enough to use.

When Landon inquired about who was with her the blonde felt Abraxis tighten his grip on her hand and winced slightly, but said nothing to the scared child. "This is Abraxis Binx," she informed those at the table, "he's gotten himself a little lost and I'm helping him find his parents."

Paula then turned around to face Abraxis and knelt down to his level with a small grin. "Let me introduce you to my brother," she told him before shoving him in front of the small group of three at the table, "Abraxis that," points towards Landon, "is my older brother Landon and the little girl in his lap," points to the two year old fighting to get out of Landon's arms, "is my daug-er I mean my niece Ella and the man sitting across from them," here she points to Geovanny, "is an old friend of my brother's, Geovanny Fyfe. Guys, this is Abraxis Binx."

[Landon Kendrick]

Landon nodded when his sister introduced the little boy, feeling like he knew the last name, but not being able to remember where. He smiled when his sister properly introduced him to the little boy though his smile slipped when Ella started crying and reaching towards his sister before rolling his eyes. "She wants you," he told his sister flatly. He loved the two year old with all his heart, but dang it all if he didn't wish she would sit in someone else's lap when his sister was around. Then again she hadn't seen Paula in weeks and was probably missing her since Paula was the one who usually took care of her when she was home. The blonde man stood and slipped onto the bench next to Geo, Ella still in his arms, and gestured to the free bench. "Have a seat sis, Abraxis."

[Geovanny Fyfe]

Geovanny was content to sit quietly on his side of the booth watching the two siblings interact over the child. He nodded when Paula greeted him, but otherwise said nothing. When he was introduced to the little boy hiding behind the blonde girl the man smiled slightly and nodded his head. He thought the kid was adorable the way he was hiding behind the Ravenclaw and being all shy and such. He was brought out of his thoughts by Landon suddenly sliding in next to him. Blue eyes blinked before he quickly moved over a little more to let the other man have room. He chuckled slightly at Ella when the girl threw a fuss to be in Paula's arms and shook his head. The kids were adorable.

At Paula's mention of the boy being lost though Geo frowned. That wasn't good. They needed to find his parents and get him back to them before the Aurors or something were called in. Though the way it was looking Landon was going to make Paula sit down and have this little meeting before he allowed her to go anywhere. "Landon," he spoke softly, "perhaps you should let her find the boy's parents and then have this meeting?"

[Abraxis Binx]

The boy looked at the people he'd just been pushed in front off, trying to look a little scared about the whole deal. Really he was just annoyed that his plan wasn't working out the way it was supposed to. The girl was supposed to coo over him being lost and then offer to help him find his parents and worry over him and such until the parents were located or until he decided that he was tired of the whole ordeal. Nothing in his plan included sitting down in the Three Broomsticks with the girl who was supposed to be cooing over him and her family and friend! He wanted to throw a tantrum, but barely restrained himself.

Blue eyes watched as the blonde man, Landon, holding the baby, Ella, moved to sit next to the other blonde man, Geovanny. The blue eyes narrowed when he heard Geo muttering something to Landon. What were they saying? Was it important to him? Did he need to know what was being said? Instead he simply slid into the booth before Paula and looked at the fussy kid and the other two males at the table.

[Paula Kendrick]

Paula went to reach for Ella when she started fussing, but before she could get the girl Landon moved seats. The blonde teen pouted at her brother before reaching out and snatching Ella from him. She held the little girl on her hip and made shushing noises and she bounced her slightly before sitting down next to Abraxis. For a moment the seventeen year old simply ignored the three males at the table as she calmed down the little girl before smiling and sitting her on her lap and turning to face the others. "Alright, we need to get Abraxis to his parents so that I can spend time with Ella," she told Landon and Geovanny.

[Landon Kendrick]

Landon let Paula take Ella from him and turned to look at the blonde next to him with a raised eyebrow. "I should?" he inquired with a small tilt of his head, "why would I do that? We can just feed the kid and send him home afterwards. Plus sitting here gives the parents time to notice he's gone and come looking for him. They might check in here to see if he returned." His gaze moved to Paula when the girl mentioned finding the kid's parents before spending time with Ella. "I can't hang around here for to long Nikki," he told his sister, "you spend time with her now or you'll have to wait until next trip." He hated to make his sister choose between Ella and some kid she just wanted to help, but he had practice that he had to get to and he couldn't be late.

[Geovanny Fyfe]

Geovanny wanted to roll his eyes at his friend's obliviousness when he asked why the kid needed to be returned first. He had just opened his mouth to reply to that question when Landon explained that they could feed the kid, take him home, and there was the possibility of his parents arriving before they left. He hadn't thought that far ahead of the entire situation. He simply nodded in agreement before leaning back slightly and waiting to see where the whole thing would lead to. He did feel a bit bad for Paula when she was given the two options, but knew that Landon had to get to practice and couldn't afford to be late because his sister wanted to help a kid and play with her own.

[Abraxis Binx]

Abraxis listened to the conversation, trying to figure out how it was going to end. Was he going to be stuck here until Landon had to go or was Paula just going to walk out? He really hoped she'd just leave the baby here and take him to hunt down his parents. He was getting annoyed with this whole mess and as far as he could tell it was getting close to time for his mom to come home. If he could help it he'd rather be there before his mom got home so he could tell her about his day and make her make it better. His mum always made things better when the day went terribly. A tear started to fall down his cheek again. If he wanted out of here he was going to have to play the scared, sad child who missed his parents and he was going to have to play it hard.

A few more tears fell down his face as he looked up at the three adults around the table. "I want my mommy," he cried, shoulders shaking and tears pouring from his eyes faster. "I want my mommy, I want my mommy, I want my mommy," he kept muttering through his tears.

[Paula Kendrick]

Paula listened to the conversation between Geo and Landon with half an ear. She was more interested in playing with Ella for a few minutes. As soon as Landon gave her the choices the blonde girl wanted to say Ella over the kid she didn't know, but Abraxis started crying and wanting his mother so Paula knew what she had to do. She placed a kiss on Ella's forehead and stood, handing her over to Landon. "I need to get him home," she told her brother. Once Ella was in Landon's arms the blonde girl placed another kiss on her niece's head before picking up Abraxis and walking out of the building. She had a couple of parents to find.

[Landon Kendrick]

Landon took Ella back when Paula passed her to him and watched as the seventeen year old gathered the kid in her arms and left. It made him proud to know that she could make choices like that. He watched as the girl disappeared out the door before looking over at Geo. "I guess I should get going then," he whispered with a small smile towards his friend, "I'll see you later." With those words he stood and walked out of the building with Ella secure in his arms.