"Daddy!" three loud voices rang through the room as Xander walked into the house.
Xander laughed as the three boys launched themselves at him. "How was your first day?" he asked with a curiosity that only a loving father could.
His sons explained their day with hands and feet before Harry climbed onto Xander's lap. "I meet Moony," the boy said like he was sharing a big secret.
"You met Remus? Did you have fun with him?" Xander asked as he watched the green eyes glitter. Xander looked at his husband to see the surprised look on Angel's face. Only they knew of Remus' history with Harry and they were surprised to hear that the boy had remembered him. They wondered if Harry would also remember Sirius Black one day.
"Yes, we danced!" Harry said, as if it would explain his entire day.
"You did? Are you and your brothers going to show mom and me how good you can dance?
Harry nodded his head before joining his brothers in the playroom.
"I didn't realise he would remember Remus, he's so young" Xander said as he kissed Angel hello deeply.
"Neither did I," Angel answered as they kissed a second time. He placed his arms around Xander's neck and deepened the kiss until loud giggles came from behind them.
"Tell us all about your first day, how did it go?" Angel asked his family gathered around the dinner table. Angel and Xander were determined that their children would have fond memories of growing up and chatting at the dinner table, since neither one had fond childhood memories of their own.
"I was nervous as hell. But I think I did okay, gave them homework, so it's really starting now," Xander answered. "What did you do today?"
"Lorne, Wesley and Gunn came over with Anya. She and Lily are becoming the best of friends. Nicky finally slept a few hours in a row," Angel said while helping William with his drawing.
"Are Wesley and Gunn enjoying their new home? How about Lorne?" Xander asked.
"They're doing fine. Although they can't wait for my lessons to begin as they will become my assistants," Angel answered, as he now turned his attention to Draco. The small boy still had insecurities whenever his siblings got more attention then him.
"They will be your new assistants? When was Albus going to tell you?" Xander questioned suspiciously.
"Maybe he forgot? I don't care. I'm actually glad that Lorne and Gunn will be helping me," Angel replied as he watched Draco fidgeting.
Draco had become restless when William and Harry were helped with their drawings and had climbed off his chair to sit on his mother's lap. He smiled when Angel coloured his sun green.
Harry and William stared at their brother for a moment before pushing their chairs closer to their brother. They climbed back onto their seats and continued colouring.
Xander had stilled his movements and watched in fascination how the brothers decided to sit close to each other. He looked and stared at his husband's brown smiling eyes. ***** They were startled when a head popped out of their fireplace. "Xander, could you come to my office when you and your family have finished dinner?" Albus said straight to the point. "Yes, of course. Is there something wrong?" Xander asked worried. "No, there's nothing wrong. I have a matter that I would like to discuss with you," Albus said and disappeared with a loud whoosh.
Xander looked back at Angel and the children and saw that the boys were still staring at the fireplace. He needed to remember to remind the children that the fireplace was not a place to play in. He was afraid that they could be seriously injured quite by accident.
*****
"Mentos," Xander said and watched the door open at the correct password.
"Good evening Xander. Please come in and have a seat. Lemon drop?" Albus offered as he sat down as well.
"No, thank you," Xander replied and sat down in one of the chairs. He looked around him. He saw the Hat as it stared at him.
"Xander, I have been very curious as to why Lily had been given a Hogwarts letter and not you. So I decided to research the matter and now I do have an idea why, but I need your permission to activate the spell," Albus explained concise and to the point.
"You think I have magic as well?" Xander asked looking surprised, clearly not believing the older man's words.
"Yes, I do, as well as Molly Weasley and Severus Snape. You have a certain signature that screams power and magic," Albus answered. "The fierce love and protection of your family that you demonstrated when Lord Voldemort tried to kill William more than proves the point," Albus explained calmly.
"You need to do this spell to see if you're right," Xander stated more than asked.
"Yes, correct. Why don't you discuss this with your husband and give me the answer when you have decided," Albus instructed kindly and stood up to guide Xander out. The older man watched the young man leave, shock in his eyes as he wandered back to his home.
*****
After putting the children to bed, Angel waited on the couch for Xander to return. It had been nearly impossible to get the boys to go to bed without a goodnight kiss from their father. But Angel had prevailed. His head snapped towards the door when he heard it open softly.
"Xander, is everything all right?" Angel asked concerned.
Xander looked up and saw the worried look in Angel's eyes. "I'll be fine. Are the boys in bed?"
"They're in bed, but they're probably still waiting for you to go in and say goodnight," Angel said smiling as he heard soft noises coming from the bedroom.
Xander grinned as he heard the whispered noises. He stepped into the bedroom to see three sleepy boys trying to stay awake for him. Xander bent down and kissed each one on the forehead before saying goodnight. He watched as the children snuggled into their blankets and fell asleep, before standing up and walking back to the living room.
"Albus has a strange theory about me. He says I have magic and power but something is holding it back. He wants to do a spell to see why," Xander said, rushing out the words.
"Well, that explains things!" Angel exclaimed as several thoughts fell into place.
"What!?!" Xander shouted loudly before lowering his voice, afraid of waking the children up.
"Several times now when the children were not around, magic happens. I know for sure that I don't have any magic in me, but I was beginning to think that maybe you do. The first time it happened it was when Draco couldn't sleep because Sevvie wasn't in bed with him. I had found it under the couch, but when I reached out to grab it, the toy disappeared and materialized next to you," Angel explained and raised his hands to stop the protest.
"The second time was when the children were over at Molly's and we had the whole house for ourselves. Everywhere you went items went flying but settled back on the counter when you turned around," Angel said as he looked into his husband's shocked eyes.
"So it's possible that I have magic? But how did it disappear?" Xander asked meekly while accepting Angel's embrace.
"Perhaps something happened while working with Buffy. You've been around magic all your life," Angel offered.
"Do you think it's too late to get Albus to do the spell tonight?" Xander asked, his voice muffled by Angel's chest.
"Why don't we try to see if we can figure out how the fireplace works and ask Molly to watch the children while we go to Albus' office," Angel said as they stood up.
After a few failing attempts to get the fireplace to work, they finally managed to get Arthur to come over while Molly looked after her own children. Together they walked towards Albus' office only to meet Severus Snape on the way.
"Are you okay, Xander?" Severus asked as he watched the nervous fidgeting.
"Yes, I'm fine. You're going to see Albus as well?" Xander asked as they stopped in front of the eagle.
"Yes, he said you've decided an important matter," Severus answered and watched the surprise settle on their faces. "You're going to let him know now, aren't you? Be aware that Albus knows certain things, somehow he can feel it before you say anything!"
All three men entered the Headmaster's office, Albus stood already prepared to do the spell. Severus went to stand next to him while Angel sat on the chair watching as Xander stood still in front of the two men.
Xander watched hands and wands move as a green light enfolded around him. A sharp pain went through his stomach and something was set free from a cage. He collapsed, as the pain was too intense to remain standing.
*****
Arthur was trying to calm the children down as the three oldest boys had woken up screaming. Draco and Harry were screaming for their mother while William was yelling that he wanted his father. He prayed that they would hurry up, because the large amount of magic coming off the children was disconcerting.
Finally after what seemed hours, the boys settled down, hugging each other and sniffling. But Arthur couldn't get them to go back to sleep and waited anxiously for Xander and Angel to return. He was already pressing his luck that Lily and Nicky hadn't woken up.
Two twin cries echoed through the room and Arthur could hit himself for jinxing it.
*****
The moment Albus and Severus were done, Angel jumped to his feet and gathered Xander in his arms. The young man was exhausted, but the pain had disappeared into a dull ache.
"Angel, take your husband back to your home and let him sleep. Wake him up every two hours and when he's well rested, contact me," Albus instructed calmly even though the spell had taken quite a lot of energy from him. "Severus, go home and get some sleep."
All three men left the office and quickly walked towards their respective homes. Angel wasn't surprised that all of his five children were awake and crying. He had felt something snap inside him when Xander collapsed from pain. His instincts warned him about the children and he had hoped to get back to them as soon as possible. He entered their bedroom and immediately placed Xander in bed, undressing him and covered him with the blanket.
Arthur watched Angel take care of his family and went to the fireplace. He heard a noise behind him and turned around to see Angel mouthing the words 'thank you' before he flooed back to the Burrow.
Angel was not surprised to find four of his children snuggled around Xander while Nicky was still mewling sadly in his crib. He moved the crib closer to the bed and was happy to see and hear their baby boy fall asleep once again.
He went to bed himself, even though it was still early and stared at his family. It sometimes still came as a shock that all this was real... a man that loved him and married him. Four sons and one daughter completed his life and on top of that, a large family based on their friends and families. Angel kept watch all night long, wondering what had stopped Xander's magic.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Many thanks Pat, Lunamoon and Queensereya for betaing my story.
A/N 1: Read the content guide and Book I to see how everything went until they came at Hogwarts.
A/N 2: Sevvie is Draco's stuffed toy snake.