As observant as
her brainy consulting detective is, there is a significant part of her that
Irene has successfully kept from Sherlock.She dances
between the two worlds as she pleases, sending glows of energy with a slight
flick of her wand, or weaving power networks via a few taps of keyboard on an
intricate muggle device. She misbehaves with grace, taking joy in the best of
both sides. Skilfully she keeps her worlds separate, a task proved increasingly
difficult by the minute ever since the arrival of their son.Nero has
demonstrated signs of exceptional magical abilities from a very early age.
Throw in the unquenchable curiosity, endless ideas for various forms of
experimentation, plus a generous sprinkle of irrepressible mischief, and it’s
the perfect recipe for mishaps to occur on a regular basis in their two-member
household.Despite what
Sherlock has been led to believe, and aside from Irene’s own inclination to
steer away from sentiment and domesticity, herein lies the principal reason why
she’d declined his subtle and carefully worded suggestions for her and Nero to
return to England, to London, with him.Little did she
know that a critical premise, one upon which she’d based her interactions with
and decisions regarding the consulting detective, was on the verge of
shattering. Or rather, it had been an erroneous assumption to begin with, and
she was just about to uncover certain.. enlightening facts.It didn’t exactly
come as a surprise when her beaming 11-year-old boy showed her his second
acceptance letter that summer, from the prestigious wizarding school across the
Atlantic, a few centuries older than her own alma mater. (She was very pleased
of course, even as Nero ended up choosing Hogwarts over Ilvermorny.)Their shopping
trip through Diagon Alley, however, did give her an inkling, when several
strangers (around Sherlock’s age or a few years older) strode over to greet them
with delight and enthusiasm. (“The youngest Holmes! Off to learn to become a
brilliant wizard, now aren’t you? Excellent, excellent.” They said.)What confirmed
her suspicion with absolute certainty was the sight of a familiar impeccably cloaked
and umbrella-wielding figure (the Minister, apparently, according to the
whispers around her) on Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross.Which meant a
long talk with Sherlock was in order, Irene noted as she watched Nero hop on the train. Her expression spoke unmistakably of pride.I had to dig this out and repost it again after watching Fantastic Beast II.
LOL, the first day at Great Hall.
Some random kid “Me Mam’s a witch, dad’s a muggle. They were delighted when I got in!”
Nero, “Mummy’s a witch…pretending to be a muggle. Dad… is a wizard….pretending to be a muggle. Neither of them knew.”
“What.”
‘Yeah.”
The first time Nero performed accidental magic was, in fact, at Baker Street. Irene had left her son in Sherlock’s care for some last minute errands (read: she’d floo-ed to France for a quick catch up with Beauxbaton friends). Sherlock, quite delighted that Nero had made all his science equipment levitate and then proceeded to smash them all in an effort to gain Sherlock’s attention, was not even mad.
Nothing a quick Reparo couldn’t fix.
He had considered talking to Irene then, about the whole ‘being a wizard’ thing; she’s liberal minded, it shouldn’t be too bad. But he figured if he could get her to stay in London, then he could just….ease her into his reality without giving her a shock.
When Irene had -er – most decisively evaded his invitation, he was left wrong-footed. In the aftermath of her refusal, it felt ill timed to tell her about the whole…magic business. Anyways, he figured the next time Nero did something insane, she’d be one to reach out to him. Which, of course, never happened, much to his confusion. And because social skills was not his strong suit, Sherlock did not know how best to bring up the subject. How does one say to one’s not-wife, “say, sweetheart, has the baby been doing weird things lately? Set any curtains on fire or bend any spoons?” That just won’t do.
And Irene, after going back to America and experiencing Nero setting the table cloth on fire with a single sneeze, decided it was best to not let Sherlock babysit alone until Nero is a little older.
So when Mycroft had visited 221B one morning a couple years later and found Nero doing some rather impressive geometric pattern building with floating microscope slides while his parents were still asleep….well. The little shit had the audacity to grin – he knew full well his parents were both magically inclined, but had played along for shits and giggles.
Mycroft enjoyed this small victory immensely. The uncle and nephew decided then that this would be their little secret.
marvelfangirlandsherlockian4ever 