A sweet new blossom of humanity

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella reached into the bassinet, tugging the soft blanket over the infant's arms. Olivia had done little more than sleep ever since she had been born. Her mother could not say the same for herself. She was constantly waking up pretty much on the hour. If she wasn't feeding or holding her daughter, the woman was usually conked out. This was evident in the shoddy condition of the kitchen and the shadows lurking under her eyes.

With a yawn, the brunette collapsed onto the sofa. Even the presence of family would not aid in her struggle to stay awake. She would have preferred so many people not to visit today, but she couldn't really deny them seeing Olivia. Then there was her new brother, Elijah. Exhaustion did not change the fact that she still wanted to meet him. Estrella's head lolled onto a pillow, and soon enough she was snoring not-so-soundly.

 

[Evan Drage]

Evan was excited. Though she didn't understand everything that her parents said, she was certain that a baby would be where they were going. She just loved her little brother, Elijah, and she wanted to see another like him. The tiny girl managed to squirm out of her father's grasp, soot still clinging to her skin and clothing from Floo Travel. With her parents behind her, she toddled to the bassinet, having no interest in the woman sleeping on the couch. "Bay-bee," she cooed, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the little cradle. Evan was soon frustrated, as she was too short to get a look at the infant.

 

[Julie Bennett-Drage]

Julie wanted to smack Tristan upside the head for deciding that they were going to go to visit their granddaughter today. Yes, she wanted to see her desperately, but she knew that Estrella would be in just as rough a shape as she was, having only had Elijah a few weeks before Olivia. Dusting herself off from the soot of the floo, She looked around and saw Evan toddling away already and that Estrella was asleep. She dusted herself and Elijah off, before turning to check on the older two, Eliza and Erik. They were able to care for themselves, a fact that, with a newborn in the house, she was grateful for.

Looking up at her husband, she pushed him forward. "Go get Evan before she wakes them both up! You know how much she loves Elijah, do you really think she is going to leave Olivia alone?" Soon as she spoke with her rather annoyed tone that she had over everything as of late, she felt bad. "Sorry, I am just so tired," she apologized with a yawn. She stretched up and placed a kiss on her husband's lips. "You do need to catch Evan before she wakes them, Tristan. You know what Estrella is like when she is woken up too early." She smiled at her rather tall husband, then returned her attention to the car seat that Elijah was bundled into and began to unbuckle him from it. Tristan thought it was funny that she wanted to take the car seat with them, but Julie had been thinking ahead. This way, they would have a place to rest Elijah when he was sleeping and not take up Olivia's crib.

 

[Eliza Bennett]

Eliza was excited to be able to see Estrella and Jaken again, but really hated how they had to travel. Floo sucked. Period. She stepped out of the fireplace just after her mother and Tristan and dusted herself off, rolling her eyes. This world of magic was cool and all, but she really hated the fact that she was not able to do things like Erik was able to do. Yes, she was fully jealous of anyone that was magical. She wanted to be able to fly on a broomstick by herself and to be able to flick her hand and have things fly into her hand. Despite how much she tried in her room in private, nothing ever would happen for her. When Julie and Tristan weren't around, Erik would tease her, calling her a muggle. She hated that word. Muggle. It was so nasty to her.

Stepping forward, she took in the room. Her cousin was sleeping on the sofa, and Evan was already on her way to the little bassinet where Olivia must be sleeping. Eliza walked in and found a chair to sulk in. To her, this was going to suck. Other than her mother, she would be the only one there that was not able to perform some sort of magic. Even Evan was able to do some things already. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Eliza pouted, mad at the hand that fate had dealt her.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Bossy. Tristan did not feel it necessary to rush. He was tired himself. It'd taken forever to get a break from work to see his granddaughter; he was new at the hospital after all. Nodding at Julie, he received the kiss with a little more enthusiasm, pecking her cheek as an afterthought. Erik, Eliza and Christian were left to their own devices. The large man had never seen Estrella and Jaken's house before. It was decent, he had to say.

Sweeping his youngest daughter into his arms, he turned her towards the baby. "That is Olivia," he told her, "She is your niece. But you have to be very quiet around her, Eva. She is sleeping, and she will be mad if you wake her up." Evan walked away when he set her down. She would be back to harass the infant in no time.

Tristan observed his oldest daughter thoughtfully. Even though he was pissed that she was in the situation and despised the choices she had made, being a parent was hard. If she had expected any different she was in for a reality check. With a sigh, he conjured a blanket and watched it float onto Estrella.

The large man then turned to his stepdaughter. Eliza did not look pleased. Not giving her time to protest, he picked up the young girl, taking a seat in the plush armchair. Wrapping his arms around her tightly so that she couldn't squirm away (but not enough to hurt her,) he asked, "What's up, buttercup?"

 

[Erik Drage]

Erik could care less about babies at this point. Not so long ago Eva had been born, and now he had a new brother, Elijah. The fact that there was another infant in the family did not phase him. Babies couldn't do anything. He wanted someone else to play with. Sure, he had Eliza and Christian today. Wishing that there were more kids so that they could all do something really fun, he went to Julie, tugging at her dress. "Mum, I want to go outside and play."

 

[Christian Drage-Dolohov]

Christian had been so happy to hear he was to go and see his sister, she was one of the most beautiful people he had ever met and she always made him smile. His mother was due to have another baby soon so he was glad to be away, remembering the hullabaloo from the last one. Vixen was fine she smiled a lot and it made him smile too. She now had several teeth and often tried to chew on his toys or his hands but he asserted himself as the big brother very quickly and told her quite often 'no'. Vixen seemed to have taken over a huge chunk of Nassie and his mothers time, he didn't mind Mr. Zhefarovich being around or Mr. Chevvy as Christian said it as Goia rarely left his side. It was actually his house elf who had brought him to his fathers house so that they could all go to meet Estrella. It had been there that he had discovered that his sister had a baby of her own now and he was happy for her because he knew she would make a great mother. He didn't know how he knew but felt it was a very grown up thing to believe all the same.

Arriving there he hid behind Tristan's leg alot and though he loved his brothers and sisters dearly, Estrella was all his as far as he was concerned. He often found that he felt very strongly that if her husband, the tall man Styx were to treat her meanly just once then he would sort him out and take Estrella away to take care of her. As the grown ups talked and the other children seemed utterly bored, Christian very slowly made his way over to look at the baby. She was tiny but really pretty.
"She looks like Estrella" he was able to say her name so much better now, he was after all growing up. He turned with a big smile on his face to those around him before looking back at the baby. He was trying to be quiet so he didn't wake his sister but as the blanket landed on her, he began to try to tuck it in so she would be warm. His chubby little hands doing a poor job.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Five more minutes." Estrella shifted uncomfortably in slumber. At some point her eyelids peeled apart, and she regarded a tiny boy with his hands at her sides. It took her a good minute to realize where she was and who was trying to tuck in her blanket. Where did the blanket come from, anyway? Yawning with the intentions of waking up the dead, she grinned at her brother. "When did you get here, Christian?" Wondering how long she had been sleeping, she reached forward, hoisting her brother to the sofa and setting him at her side. It was as if someone had tied anchors to his feet. Give him a year or two and she wouldn't be able to do that anymore. Figuring that he wouldn't mind snuggling, she pulled the blanket over his legs.

"You're getting to be such a big boy!" she remarked. Her smile was tired, but it was there, as she observed the rest of her family. Her father had brought the troops- excepting Sumner of course. All of the kids were getting big too. Eliza and Erik shot up a few inches every time she saw them, and Evan had aged so much that it was almost hard to recognize her. And then there was her new brother, Elijah. "Hey guys. Was the trip here okay?"

 

[Christian Drage-Dolohov]

Christian hadn't meant to wake her up only to snuggle her in with her blanket the way Nastasia and Goia did to him, he looked first at Tristan and then at Julie all apologetic and bashful. His cheeks staining a bright red with how upset he was that he had done something wrong instead of right but then she was lifting him up on her lap and tucking the blanket around his legs and he tried to wrap his two arms about her but they just weren't big enough, even if she didn't have a bump anymore.
"I am very big now. See I can even say your name propt erly" he opened his mouth slowly as he spoke the name he loved so much, his big sister was his hero and he didn't care who knew it. The day he had found out about her and then had met her was not just one of the best in his little life but he could genuinely say it was the best. Of course meeting his big brother had been fun too but Sumner was usually so busy kissing the pretty girl that he wasn't really too much fun to be around.

"E.s.t.r.e.l.l.a" he beamed at her then kissed the side of her face. He had a little present for her and the baby in his pocket and as he shifted his weight to get at it the smile never once left his face. He pulled the piece of parchment out and unrolled it for her smiling as he passed it to her.
"See that's you and that's Mr. Styx" he still had to get used to calling him Jaken and then pointing in the middle smiled, "and that's Liv"
before then snuggling back down into the blanket to let the grown ups speak.

Spoiler: gift from Christian

 

[Julie Bennett-Drage]

Julie no more than got Elijah out of the carrier when Erik was asking to go out and play. Releasing an exasperated sigh, she looked at him and said, "Not right now, Erik. Can you at least say hello to your sister before you take off on her? Go into the living room and find a place to sit. Please." Turning to move into the room, she noticed Estrella asleep on the sofa and Eliza scowling in the chair already. That child. I just don't know what to do anymore! She is always in a bad mood! Thankfully, Tristan moved to take care of her after covering up Estrella with a blanket.

Before she could stop him, Christian took off and was tucking in Estrella. It looked so cute that Julie couldn't help but smile. He freaked a bit when she woke up, like he had done something horribly wrong. Sometimes Julie wondered what he was taught when he was with his mother, but never brought it up since Thorine hated Julie simply for living. Moving to another chair in the room, she snuggled up with Elijah, hoping the little one would stay asleep for a bit longer so she could rest for a few minutes herself.

 

[Jaken Styx]

Jaken flooed in after a hard day's of work. Even though he had recently received word that his own family were coming, on the same day as Estrella's, Jaken was not looking forward to it. His days at the Auror's office were long and hard, and plus not really sleeping at night was taking a toll on the young Auror-in-training. He entered in the room with everyone, and he raised an eyebrow. Well, they were a bit early. Then again, his family weren't there either, and heard that Nicolette had married his father. Jaken just had to learn to grow up and accept it. It was probably for the mistake anyway. Jaken smiled at his wife and at how cute and tired she looked, plus holding a toddler.

However, he could barely remember the names of the children in the house. Is that...Elijah or was that the kid that was just born...? Or is that Erik? Christian? Jaken figured that Estrella would inform him soon enough. He sat down next to Estrella and the blonde one, and he looked at the drawing. "Oh that is a pretty drawing... Quite an artist," Jaken tiredly said. He glanced at the others and he nodded to them, smiling with exhaustion even though Tristan did in fact bring fear in this young man, "Sorry I'm a bit late. I got held up at work..." He assumed that others would be wanting their attention with Olivia, and Jaken had all the time in the world to spend with his daughter. Being a father was coming naturally, and Jaken was proud of that.

 

[Kailie Styx]

Kailie bounded through the fireplace as her family flooed in. Her blonde hair was braided in two tails, done by her mommy Nicolette. Kailie had lost all memories of Namina, thus Kailie resorted to thinking that Nicolette was her mom. Entering the house with a ton of people, Kailie beamed. She removed her white, furry coat and showed a black dress with white tights and a pair of mary-janes. Kailie threw it to the side and out of the way. She glanced over everyone with her bright blue eyes, before she saw a girl her age, pouting. Kailie ran toward her, before kneeling down and asking, “Aww, cheer up and come play!” Kailie was never in one place for long. She stood back up and she jumped in Jaken’s lap, curling against his chest and giving a huge smile at her older ‘sister’. Her blue eyes landed on a huge, huge male. Oh god, he is big! Blue eyes staring at Tristan, Kailie asked, "Are you a giant?" Sure, her father was tall and built, but this man looked like he had more width.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Today was not going to be a pleasant day for Kalif, he had a huge feeling about this. Ever since Kailie begged him to go see her niece, and with Nicolette adding on, Kalif caved in and sent a notice to Jaken about it a week beforehand. He stepped into the fireplace and as much as he hated floo travel, he had to do so. After stepping into a large home, Kalif cleaned the soot off the three of them. Kalif wanted nothing more but to go home and ignore that he was a grandfather. And to make things worse, Kalif heard others around and his cold, black eyes stared at the other company. Why did Jaken not tell him that Tristan and the others would be here? Kalif did not move, nor did he speak. Kailie gotten away almost too soon, and Kalif muttered in Bulgarian, “Just my luck.” Kalif’s arms folded across his chest, and he did his best to stay out of everyone’s way. Kalif was not in the mood to deal with stupidity right now.

 

[Nicolette Styx]

Nicolette had to admit that she had really wanted to see Estrella's baby that she had heard all about through the family and such, but today the baby was making to severely difficult for her to enjoy her time out of the house and with her new family. Nicolette smile as Kalif cleaned the the soot off of her from the floo travel and watched with amusement as Kailie bounded off and threw her jacket to the floor, with a simple sigh she waved her hand and let the jacket levitate into her hand with wandless magic.

When Nicolette was about to say something she sensed Kalif's irritation and glanced at him softly, poor guy probably didn't want to be here. Letting her golden eyes shift to others int he room she let a small but pretty smile grace her lips, hoping her large stomach didn't attract much attention like it often did.

 

[Erik Drage]

For the most part, Erik was well behaved. Now he was on the verge of throwing a full out tantrum. Plopping onto the davenport, he propped his legs on the other cushion, not caring to take his sneakers off. They wouldn't get a hello out of him even if they used the Imperius Curse. He smirked at the considerable amount of soot he had rubbed into the sofa.

Erik took in the new arrivals with interest, especially the girl. Who was she? Well, he needed someone to pick on. "He's not a giant, dummy. Giants are bigger than this house."

 

[Estrella Drage]

"And so smart too!" Estrella beamed at her brother, not getting a chance to return the kiss. She gasped at the masterpiece Christian had made for her. "Why, this is lovely! You know, this is our first family photo. We have to frame it!" The woman had full intentions of doing just that, whether or not Jaken was opposed to portraits of stick people hanging up in the kitchen. Pecking the tiny tot on the cheek, she engulfed him in an affectionate hug.

The arrivals were nearly too much for her head to handle. She wasn't sure how many people were in the room- then again, she hadn't stopped to count. They had better pray to Merlin that the babies didn't wake up. Peeking at Olivia (who was still sleeping soundly) she turned her attention to the rest of the room.

The presence of her father was enough to set her nerves on a crash course; her father-in-law made it all that much worse. The two didn't seem to be pleased at the prospect of being called a grandfather. She smiled at Nicolette. The woman's stomach had swelled massively over the past few months. A little girl who she presumed to be Jaken's sister Kailie was all over the place like popcorn in a movie theatre.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Estrella piped up at no one in particular. She didn't show any signs of abandoning the sofa herself. It wasn't like she was going for a hostess of the year award. Her gaze settling back on Jaken, she shrugged and tickled Christian's sides.

 

[Evan Drage]

Curiosity was the cat's friend. Although she was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people in the room, Evan's shyness died a very quick death. She approached the very pregnant woman cautiously. Wrapping tiny arms around the pretty lady's leg, she looked up. "Bay-bee," she stated with a smile, staring at the giant belly that she knew held someone like Elijah or Olivia. Maybe this was one of her new brothers or sisters?

 

[Kailie Styx]

Kailie was snuggled into Jaken's large chest, and listening to a steady heartbeat. Upon hearing another boy's voice, Kailie narrowed her blue eyes in a glare. "Fine! He is a troll, stupid." Kailie glanced up at Jaken and her father, both giving her a warning glare to behave. Kailie bounced off of Jaken's lap, and she said to her big brother, "Imma go find the play 'oom!" Kailie was excited and of course her words were a little mispronounced. Then, she tore out of the living room, bounding up the stairs, before anyone could catch her.

 

[Tristan Drage]

There weren't words filthy enough for what Tristan thought of Kalif. The dark haired man had tried, for the sake of a calm evening, to keep the reigns on his temper. Merlin would watch that effort go out the window. Holding Eliza much more tightly than was necessary, he scowled at the blond Death Eater.

He opened his mouth to tell Erik off, but the young girl was able to take care of herself. "A troll? Am I that ugly?" he laughed. It was a bit too loud for Elijah's taste, who squirmed in his sleep. poop. If Tristan had woken either of the babies he would be in it up to his neck.

 

[Erik Drage]

Erik blew a raspberry in retort, making a face at the new girl. He was used to having only Eliza to contend with. He jumped off of the davenport, blurting, "Yes," to his father before running out of the room after her. He wouldn't be told no before he could get out. Adults were boring, babies were boring and it just wouldn't be fair if this girl got to play while he didn't. "Hey, wait up!" he yelled after her.

 

[Nicolette Styx]

Nicolette had a very time going from face to face and trying to possibly connect who some of these people were and such, so far the only one's she vaguely recognized was Estrella and Jaken, other than that she was a bit stumped with all the other faces. When Estrella smiled at her, she returned it with a bright smile of her own, the poor girl looked exhausted and as if she were about to keel over. As Nicolette was standing there trying to make sense of what was going on she noticed a fairly built man glaring daggers at Kalif for some odd reason, she raised an eyebrow and let a small smirk befall onto her lips, of course she wasn't going to get involved but she was curious about it all the same.

"Oh!" Nicolette jumped slightly in shock when she felt someone or something wrap itself around her legs. She cast her golden eyes down to see a little girl attached to her leg, staring up at her...or was it her stomach. The one word the small child uttered not only brought a pretty smile to Nicolette's lips, but answered her question as well, the small girl was looking at her stomach of course. 'Ahh who am I kidding...I'm so big.' She thought to herself with a small roll of her eyes, she knew it was because she was pregnant but d*mn she felt so big and self-conscious when she was around people when she was this big, at least soon she would be less big. "Hello there!" Nicolette really wished she could bend down to the girls level, but she knew if she did, she might not be able to get back up as easily. With a small sigh she rested her hands on her stomach, wondering why the little girl had such a fascination with her pregnant stomach.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif shook his head when Kailie took off running, and he glanced down at some little kid getting closer to Nicolette, which in turn, was closer to him. Kalif took a side-step to the side to lengthen the distance between Nicolette and himself. Though Tristan's words left Kalif in shock. Kalif had to turn around, his hand to the forehead, and he thought with a gnarl, Why does he have to make things so damned easy? Luckily though, Kalif's tongue was held from saying something smart to the loathed fiend.

 

[Julie Bennett-Drage]

Julie was so tired that as soon as she sat down with Elijah, she crashed out. The chair was super comfortable and the ottoman was just what she needed at the moment. Snuggled up with her youngest, and hopefully last, child, she was the picture of a tired mom. Before too long, Elijah began to squirm as Tristan laughed. Opening her eyes to glare at her husband, she couldn't help but smile. She had heard something about a troll, and noticed Erik running off after a girl about his age. Eliza was still sulking on Tristan's lap. At least she is not mouthing off. There is a first for today.

Looking around the room, Julie noticed some other arrivals. She recognized the blonde man from the dinner when they found out they were going to be grandparents, but the pregnant woman, well, she was new. Evan quickly noticed the baby bump, and Julie couldn't help but giggle at her daughter. "Evan, come by Mommy and let that nice woman alone. Come see your baby brother." She motioned to the little girl, hoping to distract her from one baby with another baby.

 

[Joshua Hanson]

Josh stepped from the floo and into a room that was filled with people. A very familiar voice was laughing about being called a troll, and he noticed a hated blonde shaking his head about it. He walked in, then opened his mouth. "Well, whomever said you were a troll got it right on the money." Crossing to the sofa, he gave his Goddaughter a quick hug, then moved to greet Jaken. Finding himself a seat, he jumped right into the conversation. "So, I see the entire family minus two is here. Nice job, Tristan. Amazing actually considering the size of your brood." The fact that his friend had issues keeping from procreating had always been a point of teasing between the pair, and it was not about to stop now.

 

[Christian Drage-Dolohov]

Christian felt instantly shy as more adults appeared, he stayed as long as he possibly could snuggled close to his sister but knew that adult talk did not include children. Even at such a tender age this had been instilled into him. Giving her a quick peck on her face he pulled back the blanket and slid down, then tried to tuck her in once more before walking over to his father he looked at Julie. She was a lovely lady, no matter what he overheard his mother say about her and he certainly wouldn't go repeating any of it either. Reaching up he placed his little hand in Tristans.
"Should you get Julie a blanket too daddy?" he asked him, slightly jealous of how everyone was seemed so close and friendly to one another here. He knew he was always welcome in his fathers house and in Estrella's but could never understand why everyone behaved so differently at their homes compared to his own. There was laughter here, something that was rare at his home.