Anything For That Angel's Smile || Dorian ||

Dorian found himself in a repetitious cycle of work, playing dad, and having Sunday lunch with the Meadowes. Nearly every week was the same thing. The long-distance missions for the Ministry were becoming fewer and farther between as the mysterious Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters made their attacks more frequent. There was clearly a pattern to the violence but every once in a while there would be an outlier than perplexed the investigating agents. It was clear to see that this dark wizard had a plan, and more than likely some men inside the Ministry of Magic to aid in his nefarious plots. But Dorian had a little angel to see to, and he had gotten in the habit of staying only an hour or two past his shift before going home, as opposed to the several hours he had once remained late at work to avoid the empty chasm that was his social life.

Ariel was more than enough for Dorian’s social life, but she came with all sorts of added people; some blessings and others remained to be seen. He enjoyed Sunday lunch the Andre and Emily, who spent a large portion of the meal cooing over little Ariel as if she were their own granddaughter. Dorcas’ attendance had been infrequent as of late, but it was to be expected with the added work in the Auror Department. She was single and childless, and a clear target for being handed additional cases. Dorian was once that target, and he still insisted on taking on more than his fair share, but while he had no children of his own he was a father of sorts to his orphaned niece and her welfare and happiness was taken into consideration.

Weekends were not necessarily a day off for the Auror, but this particular Saturday just so happened to be. Ariel had slept in until nearly seven this morning, affording Dorian some time to read in peace before she awoke. After that they had breakfast and then went up to his rooftop garden where Ariel crawled around the patio trying to stick leaves in her mouth as Dorian did a bit of gardening. The little munchkin was not yet a skilled crawler, requiring little breaks every so often to rest her arms and legs from the spasm-like movements that propelled her forward. Ever the concerned parent, Dorian put up a play pin to keep from getting too far but she had yet to make it all the way from one side to the other without getting distracted by something or another.

“Look at you, young lady. That’s not for eating.” Dorian picked up the babe, who had grown longer and more child-like in the last few months, and pulled a leaf from her mouth. He bounced her on his hip as he wiped away a speck of dirt from her nose. She would need more that a little wipe to clean her up. Gardening always made her a mess, which meant Dorian was already planning a late morning bath. “This is why we garden in the morning, before your bath.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head and carried her inside.

There was no such thing a quick bath with Ariel. She loved the water and would splash and squeal every time a droplet fell on her face. She found it even more humorous to get her uncle sopping wet. The front door opening could be heard from the bathroom and then Dorcas’ voice rang out. “Looks like we’ve got a visitor, little Miss. That means bath time is all done.” Dorian lifted Ariel from her bathing seat in the tub and wrapped her in a yellow towel covered with green ducks. He was wet, the undershirt he’d been wearing while gardening and bathing his niece had large patches of water soaked through, and his trousers still had a bit of potting soil on them from where Dorian had wiped his hands.

Towel-wrapped baby on his hip, Dorian poked his head out into the front room and gave Dorcas a warm smile. “Hello, Dorcas. We’ll be right out. Make yourself at home.” He knew she would anyway, so there was no reason not to formally invite her to do so. At least this way Dorian could feign some manner of control in his own home.

Dorcas was settling in as Dorian knew she would, and so he turned back around to finish up Ariel’s bath time routine. A fresh diaper and some powder were the first order of business, knowing from experience that allowing the little munchkin to crawl around bare bottomed was a recipe for disaster. Dorian set her in the middle of his bed and magicked the pillows to create a bumper barrier around her, giving the little girl enough room to move around without having easy access to the floor and a bruised head. Ariel had her own little area in the corner of Dorian’s room. She was quickly growing out of space, but the flat was only a single bedroom and there was no where else to put her. Dorian knew the time was coming and he would have to resign himself to finding somewhere else to live. Someplace big enough to raise his niece properly. She was an active little girl and she enjoyed being outdoors. The rooftop garden wouldn’t satisfy her for long. She needed a proper garden to play in, and her own bedroom.

Turning half way, Dorian pulled on the drawer of Ariel’s dresser, and pulled out an outfit for her to wear. It was not her first one of the day, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Ariel went through more clothes per week than the contents of Dorian’s entire wardrobe, and the man owned a lot of suits. It would have been easy then for Dorian to give up on trying to make Ariel look presentable. Perhaps if she were his own child he would feel at ease to fall back on letting Ariel wear a simple onesie every day, but this was not his own daughter. She was River’s daughter, and while he had only known his sister for a short while, he knew that she would have put the utmost care and effort to ensuring her little angel was always presentable. Without the feminine eye for baby fashion that new mums seemed to instinctively have, Dorian tried his damnedest to make sure Ariel was cared for in a way that would make River and Bert proud. Today’s outfit, or this morning’s outfit to be more realistic, was a pale purple checked romper with lace on the bum and a white peter pan collar. A pair of matching purple socks were added to keep her feet warm as she crawled around the living room while he and Dorcas spoke about whatever it was she had come over to speak to him about.

Little Ariel in his arms again, her soft blonde curls framing her chubby angelic face, Dorian gave a sweep of his wand and sent his pillows back to the head of his bed in an orderly manner as the pair exited the bedroom. Dorcas was standing near the dining table, Ariel’s nappy bag having been pulled out of the cloak closet and the door still standing open. What was she up to? “Sorry about that. We were just finishing up a bath.” His gaze moved noticeably from Dorcas’ face to the nappy bag resting on the table. “Might I inquire as to your plans?” He sensed something coming that would surely make him on edge.

He was a relatively smart man and knew that “girl time” meant that he wasn’t invited on this spontaneous outing. Dorian wasn’t sure how that knowledge made him feel. He certainly didn’t want to go round to the shops, and he was certain having lunch with Dorcas would have consisted of inappropriately eaten foods with excessive eye contact and suggestive topics of conversation. He would rather leave all that…elsewhere. Just always elsewhere. The idea of Dorcas on a day out with his eight month old niece without him made him a bit uneasy. He knew Dorcas loved the child, in her own way, and would never put her intentionally in harm’s way, but Dorcas was adamant that she disliked children and so Dorian didn’t really have much faith in her abilities to care for his orphaned niece for long stretches of time. Dorcas was a great impromptu sitter for short durations, like when Dorian needed to pop over to the barber for a haircut or when Ariel was asleep and he needed to run to the shop for some more milk and didn’t want to wake her. A whole girls day of shopping, park, and lunch?

“Is your mum planning to meet up with you?” he asked, trying to keep any hint of insinuation from his tone, and certainly trying to downplay the hopefulness in his voice. He loved Dorcas, in a familial manner, but if she ever had children of her own he was fairly certain Emily would be playing a big role in actually rearing her grandchildren. Emily was a wonderful grandmum to Ariel, just as Andre was a superb grandad, but Dorian – and Dorcas as well, knew that they hoped for grandchildren of their own someday. Dorian didn’t know which side to root for as the idea of Dorcas as a mum was rather unnerving. He adjusted Ariel on his hip as he awaited the answer.

Her words elicited a tense jaw and Dorian closed his eyes as he attempted to block out her sexual remark meant purely to displease him. Dorian longed for children one day, ones that, unlike Ariel, would call him daddy. He did not appreciate Dorcas using the nickname in such a provocative manner, even if he knew there was no chance of him having his own little family beyond loving and raising his niece. “That won’t be necessary,” he said shortly, running his tongue over his top teeth and looking away from the feisty brunette. Passing the babe over to the child-like adult, Dorian inhaled, his brow furrowing slightly. “Ring me straight away if you have any troubles,” he told her as he nervously watched Ariel in her pram heading toward the door. “Don’t be too long, she’ll need a nap in a few hours.” He wanted to shout a whole list of items at her but that would neither help the slight panic he felt in his stomach at having his niece leave him without the nurturing eyes of Emily or Andre to replace his own, nor would Dorcas bother to remember any of what he said. He let them go without much more fuss.

Dorian busied himself around the flat, checking the clock periodically and then methodically letting his eyes dash over to the front door in the hopes that it would open, and Dorcas and Ariel would return safe and sound. He knew Dorcas would never allow any harm to come to Ariel, but his nerves got the better of him and allowed him to think of every possible, horrible event that could overcome the pair while they were away from the watchful eyes of Ariel’s primary caregivers. If Dorian was this stressed over a bit of shopping, there was no telling what sort of a wreck he would be come time for Ariel to begin attending nursery school.

The usually spotless flat was cleaned from top to bottom, with all of Ariel’s toys being washed despite already having been sanitized. Dorian kept a tidy home even before Ariel came into his life, but he felt even more responsible for keeping Ariel’s things in perfect condition because her mum wasn’t here to fuss over her as she should have been. It was not a rare occasion when Dorian looked at little Ariel playing on a plush blanket on the floor and thoughts of River would spring to mind. Was this how she would have wanted her daughter raised? Were the clothes she was wearing to River’s liking? Did he go overboard with the fruits and vegetables? Would River have snuck her daughter a lolly from time to time or would she have been outraged that Dorian would even have considered that Ariel’s age? He hadn’t known his sister long enough to truly know what she would have wanted for her daughter, and it was this knowledge that kept him fretting about how long Ariel and Dorcas had been gone. He managed to shower and put on proper clothes, fix himself something to eat, and review a few documents from a case he’d been working on, but his focus was never fully captured. When he finally heard the latch on the door begin to turn Dorian felt an immense sense of relief rush over him.

His desk faced the wall opposite to the front door. It wasn’t a position the Auror would generally be found in, back to the entrance, but his home was warded with an almost insane number of security charms and was the one place he felt he could be a little more lax. Dorcas called out for him as she and Ariel strolled into the room. Dorian turned in his chair, looking to the child who looked exhausted and content. Closing the file marked with the Ministry of Magic’s seal on the front cover and disturbing crime scene photographs and various other documents within, Dorian left his workspace and crossed the small space to reach his niece. Plucking her from the pram, he brought her to his chest and stroked her hair. “Did you have fun with Auntie Dorcas?” he asked, knowing the girl couldn’t answer him. He turned his attention to Dorcas. “Was she any trouble?” He could very well have asked Ariel the exact same question.