baby girl;

“How does one small creature can create such havoc?” Aurora muttered, trying to clean up the scratches on her arms and legs. She was embarrassed that a tiny niffler defeated her.

Natalie laughed softly, moving to sit down beside her as she watched the chaos around her. She pushed her hair back from her face and shook her head. “You’d think that with my toddler’s nails, I would be used to it,” she told her. “But these bloody hurt.” She showed the other her arm, ripped up by the creature from their game. “I hope they don’t scar.” 

“Trust me I’ve been suggesting Taylor Swift lyrics as names of new potions for a while now, but they won’t allow me to go ahead with it.” Elodie sighed, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “If you ask me, those who don’t like Taylor can’t be trusted, they clearly have both bad judgement and taste. I’m happy to help point them in the direction of Folklore and change their lives for the better.”

Natalie adjusted Apolline’s positioning on her hip and laughed softly, shaking her head. “Don’t hate me for it, but I haven’t listened to her newest album,” she confessed. She moved to brush some hair out of her daughter’s face. “But I’m sure it’s just as great as her other stuff.” 

“I’m sorry but who in their right mind would pair these together?” Edith commented, scrunching her nose as she looked at the display. “The only excuse you could throw my way is that they’re color blind. Perhaps I’d forgive them then.”

Natalie turned to the display and scrunched her nose, shaking her head. “I don’t believe they actually knew what they were doing,” she told her, shrugging her shoulders ever so slightly. “Maybe they assumed no one would actually look at the display.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Theo said, “And what about our parents? Or should we have a separate celebration with them?”

“I don’t know if we want our friends around my father and your parents,” she said teasingly, laughing softly. “Who knows what they’ll say or do to embarrass us completely. Plus, they’d feel more special getting their own day,” she pointed out. 

“I know, I know but it’s still crazy to me. Our little girl growing up so fast,” Theo said and then laughed, “God I sound so old,” He added, “For sure. Who should we invite?”

“Don’t get cliche now,” she teased, laughing softly with him as she scrunched her nose with a smile. “I was thinking your sister and James. Ben and Skye. Octavia, and if she wants to bring someone, she can.” She adjusted her hold on Apolline, hiking her up more on her hip.

“I think it’s mostly how you handle them during the so-called terrible twos. Apparently a lot of things happen for kids at two, so it makes them fussy, which is probably why it makes it so notorious.”

“I think, with the village that we have gathered to help raise her, it won’t be too bad,” Natalie said, smiling softly as she looked from her boyfriend’s sister, back to her kid for a short moment, then again to Mackenzie. “Theo and I are really grateful for you all.” 

“You’re probably right.” Aisha laughed. “But they probably deserve to hear it every now and again.” She replied, before adding. “My little brother, when he was that age, he started talking, and I’m pretty sure he still hasn’t stopped. But still, he was absolutely adorable.”

Natalie nodded her head in understanding now. “She’s quite the bit of a talker,” she confessed, looking over at her child with an adoring smile on her face. “She gets that from both myself and her father. We’re both rather chatty. Especially me,” she admitted, laughing softly. 

“Ah, better keep your voice down.” Aisha joked, lowering her voice. “Even mentioning the terrible twos around a toddler is risky. It gives them ideas. But she looks so sweet, I just can’t imagine her running around and causing chaos.”

“Don’t go saying that too loudly either,” Natalie teased, adjusting the toddler so that she straddled her hip easily. It was a position that both she and Apolline were used to. “It’ll go straight to her head and she’ll be anything but sweet.” She laughed softly and Apolline just watched her mother with awe. 

“Oh my god, I can’t believe she’s walking,” Theo said, “I feel like we were only in the hospital when she was born yesterday. Time flies right?”

“She’s almost two, baby,” she teased lightly, laughing softly as she moved and offered Theo a soft kiss on the mouth. “If she wasn’t walking, I’d be a little worried.” She looked down at their daughter with a smile, and glanced back at Theo with an expectant look. “We’re going to have to put together a party for her,” she told him. 

“Look at you go!” Octavia exclaimed in her “baby voice” at Apolline and she ticked the child from Natalie’s arms, “Soon her Auntie Octavia will be able to teach her fluent French,” She joked, “Do you think you will? Teach her French I mean. I don’t know much about Professor Dub- Theodore but I think I remember him being a man of many languages. Or at least he definitely spoke to me in French a few times when I first came to Hogwarts and was struggling. I know Apolline isn’t technically his child but I figured since you guys are doing the whole co-parenting thing, he might try to teach her a few languages.”

Natalie laughed softly, rolling her eyes. “I think that Theo is going to teach her some,” she told her, nodding her head in response. “His parents speak Polish, so we might have to start with that. Not particularly my first choice, but I’d like her to be able to speak with them.” She shrugged her shoulders, pushing her hair behind her ears. It was still weird to hide Apolline’s true heritage from one of her best friend’s, but she would have to talk to Theo before she spilled the news. “But perhaps French will be after that,” she noted, giving the other a smile. 

“Look at her, she’s so big,” Ben said, grinning, “I feel like she grows like a foot every time I go without seeing her,” He paused, “But two years old. Damn, time flies doesn’t it? Are you gonna have a party?”

“I feel like a professional weight lifter with how heavy she’s getting,” she teased, laughing softly as she looked over at her daughter, brushing some of the hair out of her face, and turning back to Ben. “Probably,” Natalie nodded, smiling at the thought. “Of course, if we don’t, you know Skye and yourself are invited to celebrate anyway.” 

“Hmm, I heard the terrible twos are a myth, that or they last like three years,” Mackenzie teased. 

Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Well, I hope the former is true,” she told her, laughing softly as she brought Apolline up into her arms and held her on her hip. “Because I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it for three years,” she teased lightly.

“Come on, the terrible twos can’t be that bad.”

Natalie raised her eyebrows at the other expectantly, snorting softly as she shook her head. “Have you spent any time with a toddler lately? Because they are,” she paused, glancing down at the toddler beside her. “Little beasts. And I say that lovingly.”