Ferris couldn't help but give a warm smile as Vianna admitted that she too loved this little family they had, something that he'd adored since the moment he found out his wife had been pregnant. It was perfect; just the three of them. What more in the world could they ever need? They had this cozy little house with a beach just yards away, he had a gorgeous wife who was his best friend in the world, and the most adorable baby son on the planet. He couldn't believe that his life had turned out this well. And he wasn't taking it for granted for a second, his dimples coming out of hiding as he reminisced on this for a moment, his brown eyes roaming up to their beamed ceiling thoughtfully.

Ferris's gaze returned to his favourite two people as he felt Vianna moving, watching as she leaned in towards their baby boy to place a sweet kiss to his smooth forehead, those blue eyes he adored sparkling in that way he couldn't help but love. He admired her for a long moment, his dark brown eyes beginning to sparkle as well, taking in the sight of her slightly sleepy gaze. He was sure that he too was beginning to look drowsy, as today had been quite long and exhausting, but he couldn't bring himself to allow his eyes to close as he admired his wife. "I love you," he murmured softly to her with the warmest of smiles, all of the honesty in the world sparkling behind his gaze.

Vianna looked up from the adorable baby she was admiring as her husband turned to her and shared that he loved her. On instinct, the girl beamed at his words. "I love you," she replied softly, lovingly. But, being Vianna, she had to add: "More." She grinned as she said the playful little word, leaning in toward the young man and meeting his lips with her own, treating them as sweetly and lovingly as she could. She felt closer to him now than she had in a long time; they'd just spent a wonderful carefree day together, and now they were spending a cozy night with their beautiful baby boy. She was happy; happier than she had been in a while, and she felt completely at ease as she pulled back from the kiss a few moments later, her blue eyes fluttering open slowly and sparkling at the young man, accompanying that sparkle by the brightest of smiles. The girl returned to the cushions then, but kept close to her husband, wanting nothing more than to be as close as possible to the two people she loved most in the world.

After a few moments of simply admiring the sight before her in a comfortable silence interrupted only by the sound of the fire in the fireplace, Vianna's crystal blue eyes slowly began to close, until their blue colour was completely hidden away and a more peaceful, calm expression took over her relaxed features. And now, just like her precious baby boy, the young mother slept comfortably, in the company of the two people her life revolved around.

Ferris found his own expression beaming as his wife immediately informed him that she loved him as well, a phrase that would never ever cease to get his heart to warm up and melt in his chest. And then, due to the fact that she was Vianna, the woman he knew better than he knew himself, she had to add the lie that she loved him more. He scowled playfully at her but did a terrible job of hiding his amusement, the warmest of smiles sneaking onto his expression as he admired the sight of her. "Don't you start that agai--" but he was cut off as he suddenly found his wife's lips on his own, treating him to the most loving of kisses.

Ferris immediately relaxed, his lips curved up just slightly into the warmest of smiles as he returned the gesture as lovingly as he could, sweet and gentle with the woman he loved so very much. By the time that the kiss was over, the young man seemed to have forgotten what he was complaining about beforehand and only had the mind to admire the sight of her with the most sparkling of brown eyes. His arm slipped around her slender waist, pulling her into himself with the warmest of smiles on his pale expression, his dimples in full view as he admired her for a long moment. He observed her as she was moments from falling asleep, her beautiful blue eyes starting to flutter closed, unintentionally adoring the sight of the woman that had become the center of his universe. After a moment of thought, he leaned in and pressed the most loving of kisses to her forehead, allowing his lips to rest there a moment longer than necessary. When he pulled back and returned his head to the armrest, his brown eyes had already fluttered closed peacefully and he was falling asleep to the warm sound of the fire, as close as possible to the two people he loved more than anything else in the world.

That night was a little unusual. Ferris and Vianna actually slept through the whole night without an interruption, without a cry from Gabe to awake them and remind them of their parental duties. It was something that had never happened before, but allowed them to share one of the most peaceful, relaxing nights they had ever had. They still awoke quite early the following morning, though, to the sound of babbling and the feel of tiny little fingers exploring their sleeping expressions. When they awoke, they were glad to find it was little Gabe, already wide awake and being kind enough to wake his parents using his adorable babbling and tiny hands rather than his blood-curling cries. It was one of the most wonderful ways Vianna had ever woken up, and the sight of her precious baby boy being the first thing her blue eyes found… it was a wonderful thing, a sight that she couldn't help but admire lovingly and adoringly.

As had been planned, Fervi missed work that morning (not without first calling and letting their bosses know, of course), and after bathing little Gabe and changing him into a new diaper and a new onesie, the couple took turns preparing as well. While Vianna showered and changed, Ferris would be with Gabe, then as the young man's turn came to shower and change, Vianna would stay with the baby and prepare their breakfast (by now the young woman had no trouble cooking and carrying a baby in her arm at the same time, though she could place the little one in his high chair while she performed tasks that required she use both hands).

Gabriel was one very, very happy baby that day. He had been outside a few times before, but he was always in his parents' or someone else's arms. Now, however, he got the chance to actually crawl all around this seemingly never-ending grass-covered space, and Fervi were quite pleased to see just how happy this made their little boy. He was able to crawl surprisingly fast, and sometimes they would lose him in the tall grass, but he always reemerged when he sat up, searching for the squirrels he was usually chasing. Fluffy and Amber loved to play with the little one, to come up to him and tease him before running off, getting the little one to go after them as quickly as he could, giggling away joyously as he did so. Dolce and Sporco hopped around the baby as well, encouraging him to chase them, while Pigro preferred to stay back with the parents who sat under the shade of a tree, just like old times. Except, back then, they'd be talking or kissing or reading, or drawing (in Vianna's case more like modeling for drawings than actually drawing). But now? Now they sat admiring something that hadn't been there in all the past thousands of times they'd sat under a tree - now they admired the tiny little person they had just brought into the world a few months ago. It was a beautiful sight, and the parents were glad to have been able to give their son the time he deserved, to make up for the weekend they'd spent away from him. And by the looks of it, Gabe seemed just as happy to spend time with his parents as well.

Gabe was quite the little chatterbox. As the months passed and he became more comfortable using his voice and tongue for more than just crying, he loved to address his parents. He especially loved to ask them questions; of course, none of his gibberish really made much sense to the young parents, but by the tones in which the little one spoke and the facial expressions he made, they were able to tell when he was simply telling them something or asking them a question. Sometimes he would be in his high chair while Vianna fed him his lunch or dinner; the little one would sometimes stop and stare at his plate; point at it and babble something questioningly at his mother, flashing his curious blue eyes at her inquisitively. Most of the time, Fervi pretended the little one's words made sense and answered his questions ("Yes, Gabie, that's your own little plate of food"). This always made the little boy happy, as it made him feel like he really could talk with his parents just like they talked with each other; it showed him that they weren't going to simply ignore him, too, and encouraged him to speak more frequently.

Gabriel quite enjoyed imitating his parents as well, sometimes Ferris or Vianna would say something, and the little one would repeat it in his own baby babble, though always imitating his parents' tones perfectly so they knew he was imitating them. The couple always found this to be one of the most amusing things their baby did, it was as if he was mocking them, as he would always giggle when they gasped in surprise. But in reality, the little one was just learning from them, learning their tones and some of the words they spoke to him. He never really said anything too coherent, though, until a couple months later, when he surprised Vianna by addressing her as "Mama" when he had just finished eating. The young mother had walked away to wash the dishes, and when she returned to the little guy, he was holding out his tiny arms to her just when the brief word escaped his lips, catching his mother completely off-guard. Their baby boy had said his first word! And it wasn't long until he accompanied this new little word with "Dada", depending on which parent he was with at the moment. It was completely amusing and sweet, and the parents always encouraged him to say it again, just because it was so wonderful and sweet to hear him actually call them by their titles. He was a very clever little boy, indeed, and with each passing day, the young parents grew more and more proud of every little thing he did.

The young parents couldn't have been happier to have the joy of seeing Gabe's developing mind and growth, always completely charmed with whatever came out of his mouth, be it one of their titles or more gibberish that was completely adorable and inquisitive. They had never encountered anything more charming, and the baby boy seemed to be the center of their universe, their everything. And how could he not be? With each passing day Gabe grew more and more inquisitive and intelligent, more amusing to the pair that had brought him into the world and adored every second they could share with him. Slowly but surely he was beginning to put words together, and had been able to identify a few select words by the time his first birthday rolled around. Not simply "Mama" and "Dada", but random words that were very common to hear in the Fervi household, like: "Turnip" which in baby talk turned into "Toorn-neep", "Squirrel" which had turned into "Squawl", or even "Marshmallow" which had turned into "Mashmow."

Each of these little phrases and words that came out of their baby boy where nothing less than completely charming to the two parents who were beginning to master the art of balancing homelife and work. By the time Gabe turned one in December, the parents had already been on about eight little trips to Italy and France, taking a weekend for themselves and trusting Gabe in their mothers' hands for just a couple days. These little weekend traditions had become something very important and treasured to the parents who found their relationship still very strong, happy to have a couple days to themselves. It was important for them to get a little break, to be those teenagers again without a responsibility to anyone else, just relishing in their own relationship and allowing themselves to admire the spouse they'd loved since their teenage years.

Needless to say, Fervi kept very close to their extended family as well; any party or celebration was shared with both sides of the relations; the Vincenzis and Montgomerys (which really had begun to turn into most of Ferris's town) were always around in one way or another, visiting and getting together for parties. Gabe's first birthday party had pushed the house's population limit with all of their friends and family, and the little baby had loved being the center of attention on that one day, taking in all of the relatives he'd be growing up around. That had been Nathan's first chance as an 'uncle' to really bond with his nephew, due to the fact that he'd had school (a Gryffindor in Hogwarts) for most of the past year and Fervi had been pretty busy. He'd never seemed so happy to be around a little kid, completely thrilled to have a little guy that he could teach things to, a little baby that would possibly look up to him one day. Gabe's first birthday had been exciting for everyone involved.

And Gabe seemed to be growing right before their eyes, starting to grasp onto those milestones that every pair of parents adored; first steps, first coherent sentences, his hair beginning to grow longer and more defined. And with each day that he grew a bit older, starting to get into his toddler years, Gabe was looking more and more like his parents. As his hair grew out more, he suddenly found himself with a beautiful head of dark brown curls nearly identical to that of his father. His bright blue eyes had never seemed to sparkle as much as they started to in his toddler years, looking a good deal like his mother in the way he smiled. Vianna's bright, radiant smile had been something that Ferris adored ever since they met. And luckily for the parents, little Gabe seemed to have the exact same sort of radiancy about him. Each of his smiles were bright and gorgeous, seeming to light up every room he was in and catching everyone's attention. And of course, on either side of that smile, were those adorable dimples that seemed to be more prominent as he grew up a bit.

Gabe was inquisitive about everything; inheriting his mother's curiosity and his father's methodical, problem-solving mind. He examined everything that came his way with adorably furrowed brows, waddling around and investigating his surroundings as he muttered out his continuously-growing vocabulary.

And possibly Ferris's favourite part about Gabe's toddler years; Gabe loved books. He loved to admire the worn pages and the beautiful fonts of each letter; he loved to feel the covers and examine the binding, all of it was new and interesting to the naturally inquisitive boy. But most of all, he loved to hear his mother and father read them. Every night he was read a bedtime story, accompanied by both of his parents and read to by each of them. But even when Ferris was just reading a book on his own (a hobby he had never let go of), suddenly Gabe would be tugging on his shirt or a finger, asking to get up on his lap and be read to as well. It was completely adorable and one of the first definite interests their son had shown.

And by the time he was in the last two or three months of being two years old; he wanted to read. Exactly like his father, it was pretty amazing actually that that seemed to show up in the young boy. Ferris had begun reading at the (fairly early, as most kids didn't learn until three or four, depending on the school and child, of course) age of two and a half, something fairly unusual. And now Gabe was just a couple months away from three (a bit later than Ferris, but still), trying to read. He began to trace the letters with his little fingers, trying his best to comprehend what seemed to be so easy for everyone else to say aloud. And that was when Ferris realized he was actually trying to read the words, not just admire the texture of the page. The young father had never been happier, immediately beginning to try and explain the various sounds of the letters to his little boy who was beginning to show signs of being quite intelligent for his age. Gabe was reading slowly and tentatively just a couple months after turning three.

Vianna could tell, just by watching her little boy grow, that he was probably going to have a difficult time deciding what he wanted to do when he grew older. He had many interests, everything caught his curiosity, and not only that, but he was good at almost anything he tried! This, of course, had Fervi bloated with pride. Not only was their son the cutest thing in the world, but he was smart too. One of his first interests had been, of course, reading, but as he grew older he began to show other interests as well. Like drawing. Sometimes when his father had the free time to draw or paint something (often encouraged by a nagging Vianna that didn't like to see his sketchbook and paintbrushes collecting dust in their closet), Gabe, just like his mother, loved to watch. It was a cute little tradition they'd started; Ferris would paint or draw and they would watch with matching fascinated blue eyes; they oftentimes found themselves being the subject, too, and didn't realize it until the drawing or painting was halfway finished.

But it wasn't long until Gabe got tired of being the audience. By this time, the little boy knew how to express himself using sentences and not just broken syllables, so it wasn't long until the drawing or painting sessions turned into questionnaires - Gabe wanted to know everything. Why did his father hold the pencil the way he did? How did he create the shadows? Why did he mix certain paints? What were the different brushes for? And so on. Ferris was glad to answer his questions and Vianna was glad to watch this interaction, far too amused by their inquisitive little boy. It wasn't long until he tried drawing as well, though, of course, his doodles didn't compare to his father's detailed and realistic pieces. But it was a start, and it was something the little boy enjoyed and something Vianna encouraged greatly in him. She wasn't sure why, perhaps it was because she had always been so fascinated with Ferris's skill, but she really wanted their little boy to develop a skill in this field.

Sadly, it was around this time, that Fervi and Gabriel had to say goodbye to a couple of their pets. Fluffy and Amber were nearing ten years of age now, which was quite an accomplishment for squirrels, they usually didn't live to be that long. But they were old now, for squirrels, and their time had come. Saying goodbye had been a lot harder than Vianna had expected. They were her first two pets ever, and they had been with Ferris and Vianna since the beginning of their relationship, since they were only two teenagers falling in love. It was… surreal that they had to go, that they couldn't live forever and be with them for the rest of their relationship, to watch little Gabe grow from a little boy to a young man. It was definitely a sad experience, and Vianna had not been prepared for it at all, neither had she expected it to hurt as much as it did.

By the time Gabriel was around five years old, Vianna got him his first broom. She, too, had gotten her first broom at the age of five, and that was when her father had first taught her how to fly, so the girl decided to follow tradition and take this time to teach Gabriel how to ride his first broom. Vianna didn't do broom races or play Quidditch as often as she had when she was just a teenager, but sometimes when her brothers came over or they went to Italy during the holidays, the three of them would get together and race around or play Quidditch just like old times, alongside their cousins and anyone else who wanted to join. Gabriel had always enjoyed watching them, and found himself fascinated with the idea of being able to fly, of getting from one place to the next without using your feet. It was… well, it was fascinating to him. To get him used to the height and feel of flying, Vianna had often taken the little one on broomrides with her, so that by the time he had to ride alone, the height wouldn't be an issue. Like most things the little boy tried, flying was yet another success for him, and Vianna was happy to see that once he had fully mastered flying, the little one's interest for it grew even further.

It wasn't just flying that Vianna taught their little boy, though. She also taught him how to play football (she knew he'd need this skill for his visits to Italy; all little kids played football there and she didn't want Gabe to feel left out), and how to swim. Swimming was probably the most challenging of the three sports, though he eventually was able to get the hang of it. He wasn't exactly the best swimmer yet, though, and for that reason Fervi were reluctant to let him go swimming alone or go into deep waters without at least one of them there to watch over him. He was a very active little boy, he liked to run outside chasing the cat or the bunnies, and he liked to climb trees - much to his parents' horror; they were always afraid he might fall and hurt himself. But despite his parents' warning, Gabe continued climbing trees and scraping himself without a worry in the world; in that sense, he reminded his young mother a lot of herself. She, too, was always receiving warnings from her parents, but never listened and went ahead with her tree-climbing and broom-racing anyway. It seemed Gabe was going to be just as rebellious in that sense, though he never caused his parents too much trouble; he was, overall, a well-behaved little boy.

All of the time Gabe spent outside was finally bringing out the skintone that the pair of parents had been awaiting the answer for, something that hadn't really been a definite. His skin never really took on a definite tone of tan or pale and he had been too young in his early years to really decide. But once the little boy was five and six, running and flying and playing and swimming, his skin was just barely golden. Not quite as tan as his mother's, not quite as deeply rich in colour, but much farther away from the paleness of his father's complexion. He was just a light tan, showing off his Italian blood easily in that sense (especially when he spoke Italian with his mother, something that had definitely become a second language for the little boy).

He seemed to have inherited his father's height as well, that was pretty amusing to see and only added to the similarities between the two. No matter what age Gabe was, he always seemed to be at least a couple inches taller than everyone else in his age group, something that endlessly amused the parents that had been discussing Ferris's own height since they were teenagers. But there was something about Gabe that was very similar to Vianna, both in appearance and personality. They were both always looking for adventure, climbing trees and running around and naturally curious, traits that the young father couldn't help but be completely happy to see in his son. And as Gabe grew older, that smile remained prominent and extraordinarily like Vianna's own, a youthful smile that would probably stick with him no matter how old he grew.

And Gabe honestly seemed to adore time with his parents, as they so adored time with him. He wanted to learn everything, he wanted to experience everything and be taken to all of the countries they'd visited. Obviously, this didn't happen in the first six years of his life, but he was already making plans to one day visit Amsterdam and France (and he'd already been to Greece on a number of their vacations, and of course Italy as well). He wanted to try everything and seemed to have the appetite of his father (a second generation eater, given a trait that hadn't been seen in the bloodline before Ferris). You see, Ferris's father had the curly hair and all of that to pass onto Ferris, but Ferris himself was the first one of his family to have that infamous appetite. And Gabe received it.

Ferris, as a father, couldn't have been happier to have such an inquisitive, adorable little son who seemed to look up to his parents more than anything. He learned everything from them and always wanted to hear more and more about that one time his father had been kidnapped (!) of all things! And then his mum and his dad and his uncles and all of the people he was still very familiar with had had to go on the run! It was an adventure straight out of the books he always seemed to be reading whenever he wasn't running around, and nothing had ever seemed more exciting to the little boy than a real-life adventure story his parents had actually been in!

He was an adorable little boy, very much like his parents in a number of ways but also very much....Gabe. It would be hard to explain the sort of unique spin Gabe had on all of his traits. It's easy to say that he had Ferris's this and Vianna's that, but when the two parents looked at Gabe they didn't just notice themselves and themselves only. They were admiring Gabe, and how he'd received their traits but somehow made them entirely different in his own way. Afterall, he wasn't their clone, he was Gabe, a combination of his parents' traits but also harboring a few traits of his own, that were solely unique to him. For example...he loved music. And granted, Fervi both liked music as well, it was rather hard not to! But Gabe really liked to learn about it and study any instrument he came across, it was one of his own hobbies, though he had many that hadn't been necessarily prominent traits in his parents. He liked to collect things as a little kid, buttons or action figures, anything that caught his interest for a period of time. He was Gabe, and he was similar to his parents in a lot of ways, but he was also very unique to himself. These hobbies, along with ones that were very similar to that of his parents, developed more and more throughout his childhood, occupying his days and giving the proud parents a lot to admire. He was so active and joyous and happy so much of the time, carefree and inquisitive, intelligent and excited for new things; it was hard not to admire the little boy that was the center of their universe.

Gabriel was, in a lot of ways, like most little boys his age. He enjoyed playing games and running around and being active; he liked to read and draw and climb trees and swim and fly; he liked to try out new things, play with their cat (by this time, Sporco, Dolce, and Pigro had, sadly, passed away as well), go to school, learn new things, and ask his parents for homework help. He was an outgoing little boy in school, he almost always seemed to have the answer to most of the teachers' questions, but he also enjoyed spending time playing around with his classmates and chatting (he was still a bit of a chatterbox). However, despite his outgoing skills, Gabe was a rather reserved little boy. He had friends, but he usually only saw them at school or during birthdays. At home, he liked to either spend time with his parents or doing things on his own; like reading, for example. He always made sure to take a couple hours of the day to just sit outside and read a book, or try to draw something. He became a little more reserved at times like that, wanting to practice and develop his skills without the interruption of others. It seemed he was reaching a point in his life where he didn't want to ask his parents for everything, where he wanted to figure things out on his own; he didn't want to ask them why something worked a certain way but rather, on his own, figure out the answer with his own research. It was something quite admirable, and the parents were proud as always to see that their little boy had such a strong determination and a thirst for knowledge.

However, in some ways, Gabriel wasn't like most little boys his age. Odd things would sometimes happen around him - he'd reach out for a glass of water, and the glass would meet him halfway there; or he'd reach out to pull open a drawer and the drawer would open before he reached it, as if pulled by a magnetic force in his hand. Vianna and Ferris understood the signs right away.
Their little boy was a wizard.
It seemed Gabe had inherited his parents' ability to perform magic, and was slowly beginning to show the first signs of his ability, and as he grew older, the signs only became more obvious and easier to see. Gabriel was, of course, familiar with magic, as he grew up watching his parents perform both simple and complex tasks with their wands. It had always fascinated Gabe, but it wasn't a subject that he had focused much on in the past, since he couldn't really practice it. However, now that it had become a fact that he was going to be a little wizard, Ferris and Vianna though it was time to begin teaching their little boy all the essentials of this new power of his, and it was also their job to explain to him the differences between the muggle world and the wizards' world, and why not everyone was able to perform these strange acts. Before Gabe even had his first wand, he already knew a few spells, some he had seen his parents perform through the years, and he was becoming increasingly anxious to be able to hold a wand in his hand and perform the same tricks his parents had always performed in front of him.

It wasn't long after that, that the owl carrying the letter arrived - the letter inviting one Mr. Gabriel Montgomery to attend one of the best schools of magic in the UK.

At first, the parents were thrilled. Their little boy was a wizard, he was going to attend the same school they did! By this time, Gabe was 10, just starting to near his 11 years of age, and he had heard all about Hogwarts from his parents. They told him about the castle itself, its secret rooms and passageways (though they did not explain how to get there, not wanting to encourage the little guy to become a troublemaker or skip his lessons), the Whomping Willow, the train that would be taking him there, the town of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest and all the magical creatures that inhabited it, etc. They taught him of all the little magical shops in Hogsmeade, and how the years at Hogwarts had been for them (and it always baffled the little guy to hear that his parents had attended the same school for six long years and never even knew each other; it was incomprehensible to him). Gabriel was completely ecstatic to follow in the footsteps of the two people he most admired, to walk the same halls and classrooms they did when they were his age. It was something fascinating to him, and one of the happiest moments for the little boy during that time was his first visit to Diagon Alley, where he gathered all of the books and materials he would need to start his studies at Hogwarts - and, most importantly, getting his first wand.

Eventually, the time for Gabe to leave to Hogwarts arrived. All the excitement that had been filling the Montgomery residence for the past few months suddenly vanished, leaving the house along with its youngest member. The house felt empty, and Vianna had a very difficult time adjusting. She and Ferris had discussed it at first, how empty the house felt without their son, and how much they missed him; but Vianna didn't really quite get used to this after the first few days, or the first few weeks, or even the first few months. She didn't mention it, not wanting to worry her husband, but she was absolutely miserable without their little boy around. She missed his presence greatly and couldn't help but worry day and night if the little guy was happy, or if he was feeling lonely; if he was adjusting to his new life, or if he felt homesick. The young mother found comfort, though, when Ferris returned from work and shared with her how their little boy seemed; as part of the Hogwarts staff, he often got to see him in the hallways, in the Great Hall, and sometimes even got to teach some of his lessons every now and then. This allowed the couple to keep an eye on their son, to be completely sure that Gabriel was doing well and that if he ever felt sad or lonely or homesick, he had his father right there to come to.

Ferris could easily tell the visible melancholy that came with his wife as Gabriel went off to Hogwarts for his first year, understanding all too well that the little boy they loved so very much was a huge presence in their lives. And though he got to see him every once in a while in the halls, Vianna didn't get to see him at all except through the mirror they'd given him. Every weekend Gabe would call them up on his mirror and they'd talk to him for an hour or so about everything going on, but the young father understood that this wasn't quite enough for his wife. Well, it wasn't quite enough for either of them at first. This was something they weren't used to, they'd always had Gabe around, he was the center of everything for them. Because of that, because the spotlight over the past ten years had really been on Gabe, it was a difficult transition for the both of them to just let him go off to school for his first year.

And sure, Ferris got to see him in the halls, but that didn't mean that Gabe skipped over to him and began to chat his ear off about anything and everything. Sure, the eleven-year-old would come over and talk to his father when he could, but...he was growing up. And sometimes he'd be with his friends or sometimes he'd only have time for a wave and a broad grin, he was getting a bit of a life of his own. And though that was difficult for Ferris to watch, to realize that Gabe wasn't necessarily that little kid anymore, he couldn't help but be extraordinarily proud as well. Gabe was doing amazingly in school, his natural inquisitiveness and the smarts in his genes were doing him well and allowing him to earn those high marks that his parents were so proud of.

And when Ferris returned home from work around the same time Vianna returned home from her own job, he would talk about all of this with her. The first month or so of Gabe's absence was difficult; they didn't know quite what to do with themselves. It was as though their lives had been flipped upside down and they didn't know quite how to run them anymore. Both of them had been visibly a bit saddened by Gabe's absence in their household (they only really got to speak to him on the weekends, as even if Ferris did get a chance out of his busy schedule to talk to his son in the hallways, it was brief due to the fact that Gabe had classes to get to and things to do). And Ferris would comfort his wife all the time, knowing that she wasn't taking this separation as easily as would be preferred. It was hard for that first month, difficult for the two parents who loved their son so dearly to deal with him not being around on a day-to-day basis. But they began to talk a lot of things through, finding themselves in conversations about Gabe and how well he was doing, reminding themselves that he was in a safe place, gaining the education that they all wanted for him.

And slowly but surely, they began to accept that their little boy was growing up a bit more, that he had to get that education and get his chance to grow up and gain more friends and learn all he could learn.

And because of this acceptance, as a couple more months passed, things got easier. They grew accustomed to seeing Gabe on the weekends and sort of acclimated to the new set-up of things. They suddenly had a little more time for just each other, coming home to just one another, having more conversation and a bit more relaxation. Of course they loved Gabe and if they had the choice, they would've had him around all the time instead of away at school. But having a child is stressful, as much as they loved it, and it wasn't until they began to adjust to a homelife with just the two of them that they truly realized how much they hadn't gotten any alone time. Sure, they still went on their once a month weekend getaways, but...they were parents. Their focus was always on their child, as it should've been. And now that Gabe was in a safe place, learning and completely happy, they had a chance to sort of relax, to put more attention on one another. And it was good for Fervi, in a way. Granted, they were nearly always thinking about Gabe and what he was up to, he was their one and only son. But it was good for them to have that time to talk, to admire one another as they so loved to do. And their relationship was as strong as it had ever been, possibly even better due to all that they'd been through together, raising a child and all.

They took the time they had to spend away from Gabe and put it into one another, having long conversations more often (those kind that only really got to happen before they went to bed or whenever they had their monthly getaways), those kind that lasted for a couple hours, where they could discuss everything and anything. Those good, refreshing talks that reminded a person of what was important, of the good things in their life. And though they missed Gabe like crazy, it was nice to know that they still loved each other just as they always had, that they were still those teenagers at heart who couldn't stay away from one another for any period of time. Of course they'd loved each other just as much when Gabe was living in the house day-to-day, but when there's a child in the household, the sole focus isn't on the spouse so much as raising the child. They still had their time together, but it was usually confined to when Gabe was in bed or when they had their monthly-weekends. And that was good enough for them, they didn't really want or need anymore than that. But it was still nice to know that they could have all of this time to just be with one another and no one else...and still be happy, be just as content and excited to be with one another as they had been when they'd met.

They were in love like only Fervi could be in love, and this time alone was a good thing in a lot of ways, it gave them a bit more time to just be a couple rather than parents (though they of course loved that role as well). And they seemed just as childish as ever when no one was watching, roasting marshmallows and having pillow fights, staining one another's neck with a couple loving blemishes from time to time, loving each other as they could never love anyone else.

Even though Fervi had already become adjusted to little Gabe being away from home in school, the boy was still growing up a little too fast for Vianna's taste. It felt like it was just the day before that they had walked into the house with a tiny, adorably pink-faced newborn in their arms, one so tiny and new to the world that he couldn't perform the simplest of tasks like opening his eyes or turning his little head. Now… now he was an eleven-year-old boy attending school, making friends, learning new things, and simply… having a life of his own. He was still just a child, so obviously he still needed his parents, but… he didn't need them now as much as he had when he was just a baby, obviously. And this was a little difficult for Vianna to accept, but she did so anyway, having no other choice. Besides, there were positives to it all, and the greatest of those positives, to her, was that she and her husband could finally spend as much free time together as they had before little Gabe had come around. It was a strange change at first, but with time, after becoming adjusted to it, they learned to appreciate it and make the best of their time together.

Even though Fervi had learned to enjoy their new free alone time, that didn't mean they weren't completely thrilled when the holidays came around and Gabe had a chance to join them once again. The house was filled with energy once more, with a lively sort of atmosphere as the little family got together and set up their Christmas tree in the living room. They set it up and decorated it together, and on their free time they would go outside and play in the snow, like three kids rather than two adults and a child. They built snowmen and engaged in snow fights (Vianna and Gabe, being the most mischievous of the trio, usually started the whole war by attacking Ferris when he least expected it). Then they'd come back into the house, shivering cold, and change into some dry clothes, gather in the living room beside the roaring fire, and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Gabriel liked to take this free time with his parents to show off all of his magical abilities - well, not all, since it is illegal to perform complicated spells outside of school, but he did show off at least more basic spells and he liked to share his knowledge on the history of magic to his parents. Vianna and Ferris could not have been more proud. Not only was their little boy quite a clever little thing, but he actually enjoyed his studies as well, he was completely fascinated by each class he took, and the increasing difficulty of each lesson only fascinated him further, as he had always been one to eagerly accept a challenge. He also told his parents of the friends he had made in the school, of his teachers, of how he had considered joining the Quidditch team, even. But sadly, he was still too young, so the team captain had told him to wait at least one more year. Gabriel wasn't defeated, though; he wasn't afraid of rejection, and it only encouraged him to practice more, to become the best he could at anything he tried. Fervi were completely thrilled to see their little boy looking so happy to be attending school, and they were relived to know that he was doing well not only in classes but in his social life as well.

During Christmas day, the little family would spend the day together, opening presents and enjoying the treats Vianna cooked for them. Then they would visit Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, and then, the group together would floo over to Italy to spend part of the holidays with the others. By this time, though, Mr. and Mrs. Vincenzi no longer lived in the Vincenzi residence. They had moved out to a smaller and cozier home in Northern Italy, where Mrs. Vincenzi was from, and they had left the old house for Victor and his wife. This had been the Vincenzi tradition for centuries - the oldest son always inherited the house; and then, when little Vittorio was a man with a family of his own, he would get to own the house. It was a tradition that had been going for far too many hundreds of years and no generation wanted to break it.
So, now it was Victor's home where everyone gathered. Gabriel loved these trips to Italy. Whenever he was at home, he usually just spent time with his parents, and sometimes he'd visit the friends he'd made in grade school, but in Italy everything was different. His cousins were all there, no one lived too far from anyone, and he was never alone; though, of course, being the reserved little boy he could be at times, Gabriel did not at all mind having alone time. But it was still fun for him to spend time with his cousins, to talk with Vittorio (in a mix of English and Italian, as Gabe wanted to practice his Italian and Vittorio wanted to practice his English). Despite their short age difference, the two boys shared many common interests, and the main of those interests was probably their thirst for knowledge. Like Gabe, Vittorio liked to analyze and understand things, to experiment and try new things, and to learn through trial and error. It was a quality not all children their age shared, so the two little boys were always happy to be together, to have someone who saw the world the way they did. As for his other cousins, Gabriel kept a close relationship with most except perhaps Jackie. He didn't necessarily dislike her, she was family after all, but the little girl seemed to have too much fun pushing him around and trying to put him down; not only that, but the two of them shared almost no common interests at all. Jackie was all about her dresses and hair ribbons, whereas Gabe preferred to focus more on the things around him than the things on himself. Together, Gabriel and Vittorio usually spent a lot of their time trying to avoid their older cousin.

These holidays were always very interesting due to the number of personalities filling up that one house, especially in the younger kids. Gabe and Vittorio always got along, and they were always running around the house investigating and making new experiments and practicing spells, reading books and inventing stories even. Chiara, being a bit of a tomboy and less than a year younger than the two, always tried her best to tag along with the two boys though sometimes found that even she couldn't keep up with the pair that were always adventuring and doing something new. But she definitely did not spend her time with Jackie, the oldest of her cousins at fourteen, as she seemed to be the complete opposite of her own personality. And Jackie's personality was quite something, she was definitely daddy's-little-girl, no doubt about it. She had grown up just as spoiled as always, though toned down just slightly from her very early years of three and under. But she adored her father (as he adored giving her whatever she wanted and quite obviously loved her just because she was his little girl), and it was only natural that she grow up with the title of being daddy's favourite.

Add those four with the personalities' of their parents and then their grandparents, and you have a huge group of people with very contrasting interests and motives. But they all loved each other and every holiday spent together was warm and happy, filled with laughs and crazy games of quidditch played by the whole family. Every conversation was interesting and the food was always amazing; the large family, though filled with completely different personalities, meshed very well with one another and created quite the group of people.

Get-togethers were always looked forward to, that house was always filled to the brim with something fun going on, and every member of the Montgomery/Vincenzi clan always seemed excited to get back to the Vincenzi home. They were all a big family. Jenny and Nathaniel Montgomery were only really directly related to Ferris, Vianna, and Gabe. But that didn't matter in the slightest, as over the past few years they'd pretty much become standing Vincenzis. They seemed to be the grandparents to every one of those kids no matter if they were actually related or not. And that was just how it was, making those celebrations and holidays even more warm and fun for everyone involved. Aunt Rachel usually made appearances whenever she could as well, popping in with her very French husband for a couple days during the holiday season (with permission from Victor and his family of course, as it was their home). And Nathan was most definitely a familiar face to the Vincenzi home during holidays and parties, there was no doubting that he was part of the family. Not only was he extraordinarily close to the Montgomery side with Ferris, Vianna, and Gabe, but he'd grown quite familiar with Vince and Victor and all of their children as well. He was known around the board as 'Uncle Nate', not blood-related to even Gabe but that didn't matter. He was twenty-four now and still incredibly youthful, grown up quite a bit over the past decade of time. He was a great uncle to Gabe, always around the Montgomery home whenever he could and hanging out with the young boy who had learned to look up (but also grow faintly amused) by his Uncle Nate. Nathan was quite the ladies' man to be completely honest, but he was a gentleman as well, something that Ferris couldn't help but be completely proud of. Afterall, Nate was pretty much his younger brother, and it was nice to see that he'd grown up into such a good guy. Granted, he loved to date and flirt, but he wasn't a pig about anything he did despite his natural good looks (goldenly tan, wavy hazelnut-toned hair, foresty green eyes, you get the picture). He was a gentleman and only dated women that he legitimately wanted a relationship with, something that Ferris could admire after seeing Vince in his teen years. Nate thought of the Vincenzi/Montgomery clan as his main family (as his own parents were always travelling in their retirement and hadn't really settled down in any one spot for the holidays or anything), and they were; everyone appreciated Nathan's light-hearted presence and happy-go-lucky nature.

Despite the fact that letting Gabe go off to school was difficult, the Montgomery parents managed once again for the second semester of his first year (after celebrating his eleventh birthday, of course). And Gabe returned for Easter and every other possible holiday in the school year that the students had off, allowing his parents the time they always wanted to have with him whenever they could. And then of course, there was summer. And during the summer, Fervi found themselves with flooing kids all over the place. You see, during the summer their little Gabe wanted some time to himself, but he also wanted to hang out with Vittorio, the cousin that had quite obviously become his best friend. And so most days of the week and weekends, either Vittorio was flooing into their own home to run around with Gabe or Gabe was flooing over to the Vincenzis. It could be chaotic at times, but amusingly so, as they were never quite sure who they'd be housing for dinner since Chiara could often get bored at her own home and tag along with Vittorio when he flooed into the Montgomery home. Sometimes they were having dinner with their son, their nephew, and their neice, and sometimes they were just by themselves, aware that their son was over at the Vincenzis enjoying a meal because he and Vittorio's latest invention/story/anything really hadn't been completed in time to get home for the meal.

The kids got along wonderfully, and Vianna was beyond thrilled to see the close relationship Gabriel kept with his cousins. At one point, years ago when the little one was still just a child in grade school, she began to worry a bit. She had grown up with two older brothers, which meant she barely had as much time to keep to herself as Gabriel did, and she couldn't help but worry that perhaps the little one could get lonely at times, that maybe he wanted a little brother or sister to play with and to read with. But, with time, Vianna learned that Gabriel actually enjoyed spending time alone doing his own little experiments and going on his own little adventures; and he also clearly enjoyed his parents' company, he never felt like he was just with two adults who happened to be his parents, but rather with two friends as well. And so Vianna realized their little boy didn't really need to have a childhood as busy and crowded with kids as hers had been, and Fervi had made their final and official decision to have no more children, to focus entirely just on their one little boy.

However, it's still healthy for children to spend time with others their age; especially someone as outgoing as Gabe. He loved having someone to talk or climb trees with when he wasn't too immersed reading a book or getting his homework done, which was why he valued his time with his cousins so much. He was closest to Vittorio, but he was still close to the others as well; and by the others, it means not only his uncles' and aunts' children, but the children of his mother's cousins also, who he considered to be aunts and uncles as well. Giuliana and Luca eventually married and had kids of their own, as did Alessandro, Leonardo (to everyone's surprise; everyone thought he was going to end up with another guy), and Cosimo (I think that was his name, if it wasn't, then… it is now). And those four were only the offsprings of one of Vianna's aunts, so if you count the kids that her other aunt and her other two uncles (from the Vescovi side of the family) had, then… Gabriel had more cousins than he could keep count of. However, he was always closest to those he grew up with; they were quite a little group of characters, all of them so completely different but so familiar with each other at the same time. Vittorio was a lot like Gabe in his own way; Chiara was a very strong-minded little nine-year-old who often liked to follow after Gabe and Vittorio, but usually found herself bored when she didn't understand their complex vocabulary. She did, however, enjoy when they made up stories filled with action and adventure and shared them with her. Vianna couldn't help feeling a little bad for the little girl at times; she was one of the youngest in the group, and she was the only girl besides Jackie, with whom she had nothing besides gender in common. The two other children that followed after her from Victor and Airi were boys as well; fraternal twins with a mind only for mischief and causing trouble, so the little girl didn't really have another girl she could play with, another girl who enjoyed kicking footballs and riding brooms as much as she did. For this reason, Vianna grew extremely close to her niece, since, in a lot of ways, the little girl was very similar to the way she had been when she was her age, and sometimes when Chiara visited the Montgomerys, it wasn't for Gabe, but for her aunt instead.

It wasn't long until Gabriel was no longer 'little Gabe' (though he would always be so in his parents' eyes), but rather a boy turning into a young man. He was starting off his teen years, and his body began to change. His bone structure became more defined, he was slowly growing facial hair, his shoulders grew wider, and the biggest change of all was probably his height. He was growing increasingly fast! By the time he was only thirteen, he was beginning to catch up with Vianna, which was rather unusual for a boy his age, for whom the average height was still slightly below 5 feet. The boy wasn't necessarily his mother's height yet, but he was getting there a lot sooner than he should have. Despite having inherited his father's appetite as well and his mother's love for sports and physical activity, Gabe was a rather thin boy, just like his parents had always been; though it showed a little more on him and Ferris since they were both unusually tall, whereas Vianna was an average height.

It wasn't just Gabriel's looks and height that changed with entering teenage-hood, though. Vianna couldn't really see it while Gabe was at Hogwarts, but Ferris, who did get the chance to see their son every now and then in the school halls or in classes, did notice a change in their son - since when was his hair so… neatly kept? His uniform was no longer a mess from running around outside in the grounds, either, he had a way of wearing it now that showed he had probably started looking in a mirror. Sometimes, when he walked down the halls, it wasn't just him and another friend or a small group of friends anymore; now his new company was sometimes a pretty little girl his age, who smiled shyly as he spoke whatever he might've been speaking of. Sometimes during breakfast, or lunch, or dinner hours in the Great Hall, he'd sit with his group of friends as he usually did, but most of his attention would usually be on the little girl (usually the same girl, he wasn't turning into another Vince here) sitting before him or beside him, shy smiles sometimes gracing their young faces as they spoke.
It seemed Fervi's little boy was beginning to realize girls didn't have cooties after all.
Vianna loved to hear about these observations when Ferris returned home, giggling lightly with amusement as he explained to her the lovey-dovey looks on these kids' faces when they spoke, and how Gabe suddenly had become a little more concerned with his hair and keeping his uniform neat. It was incredibly amusing to hear this, but it also reminded the mother - yet again - that her little boy was growing up, that time was not going to stop and give them a chance to enjoy his childhood a little longer. He was becoming a little man now, and his interests were beginning to change just slightly, though he was still as immersed in books and studying and school and music, and drawing and many other things as he had always been, but new additions had been made to that list of interests now.

It was so amusing to Ferris to find that his son was growing up, turning into a teenager more quickly than he could've imagined. Suddenly those curls were being kept neat and his robes more tidy, suddenly he had a girl at his side every once in a while, he was growing up and he was nearing his mother's height! The latter of this was especially amusing as Ferris often liked to tease his wife on the matter, mentioning playfully that she would be the shortest in the family soon enough, something that Gabe too would pipe in on if he was in the house at the time. But it was also a little...melancholy in a number of ways. Gabe was going to be fourteen soon enough and he was halfway through his Hogwarts career. It seemed like just yesterday that he was attempting to climb the nearest tree in the backyard for the first time, just about to turn six. And though this was a little saddening, it was good in a lot of ways, their little boy was growing up and his personality was showing more and more. He and Vianna often talked about their son when Ferris came home from work, amusing themselves with the little funny things that Gabe did that seemed so mushy (ironically) to the pair, but also discussing how odd it was that he'd grown up so quickly in their eyes. Granted, it'd been a good fourteen years, but it seemed like a short time ago that he was still a little boy, tugging on his father's argyle sweater and asking to come read a book with him.

But with the adorable things of childhood being left behind, they also gained a young man that was growing more and more mature. They could actually hold a conversation with their son on a more sophisticated level. He wasn't just a little boy learning new things, learning the little things that were so simple to themselves. Now that he was growing older, they were discussing school in a new way. It wasn't just, 'Were you a good boy in school today' or 'What exciting things happened?' to receive a very young, adorable response. Now they could actually talk about classes and the new things he was learning, they could help him with more difficult homework, they could discuss various things happening at school and with his friends. And granted, it wasn't as though Gabe spent all of his time chatting to his parents, he was still a teenager. But he definitely spoke with them a good deal; afterall, they were the two people he looked up to most, loved most in the world.

Even though he was a teenager, he wasn't necessarily the stereotype that came with that. He was a little more preoccupied with his friends, but he always found himself coming back to his parents to talk about anything and everything, knowing that he could find good advice in their presence. Plus, they were quite amusing, when they weren't being completely and totally mushy and gross. Fervi was still the same as they'd always been in that aspect, it seemed as though like their love, their attraction for one another hadn't faded in the slightest.

They could still be found gazing at each other with sparkling eyes, sharing peck kisses when no one was looking, holding hands wherever they went, and even coming downstairs in the morning with disgusting hickeys. Poor Gabe couldn't bring anyone over in the summer without having to deal with his parents' mushiness. But he loved them, and he preferred his parents being like this than not liking each other at all like some of his friends' parents. And it was pretty amusing to everyone who knew Fervi since the beginning of their relationship, noting how similar they still were to how they were back then. They were still disgustingly mushy to everyone who glanced over at them when they were talking, noting how lovingly playful they were with one another when they were joking or teasing one another. Yes, they were very much still Fervi; there isn't a chance in the world that that can change, no matter the number of years that go by.

Despite Gabe's new teenage phase and his constant growing (both physically and emotionally), Fervi couldn't have been happier. Granted, it was a little difficult to realize that their little boy was growing up and older, but there was a time for everything and it was now Gabe's turn to start growing up and turning into a young man. Everything seemed to be just as Fervi had hoped, if not better in their current life. Granted, no one's life was perfect, but Fervi's life together had become something that they would have to call perfect. They had a son that they adored, one that looked up to them and enjoyed their company, one that they loved more than anything else. They had a successful bookstore, and a beautiful home, and they each had a spouse that they could never stop loving. Though they had their own problems to deal with and a large family that never stopped intruding in the most loving of ways, in Fervi's unique sense of the word; life was perfect.

To this day, it's still rather surreal for the couple to look back on their many years together. They had just been two teenagers when they had first met, two teenagers that could not have possibly been bigger opposites - Vianna was an outgoing, cheery athletic girl with a love for mischief and adventure, and Ferris had been a more reserved young man with a thirst for knowledge and a love for books. They had spent six long years attending the same school, passing each other in the halls, but never once acknowledging each other. It was completely surreal to think that it had been just one minor coincidence that had brought them together - summer camp. Had one of them not attended the camp (which Ferris had been close to doing), this wonderful and beautiful life would have never taken place and Gabriel would have never been introduced to the world. Vianna would have probably moved back to Italy and married some Quidditch player like her family had always expected; Ferris might have stayed in his flat in England, working at the ministry, and meeting his future wife there. They would have been living two completely different lives in two completely different worlds. Perhaps they would have been happy in those alternative lives, but… They were glad things didn't go that way. They were glad they had both attended camp, they were glad they had met, they were glad they didn't let Vince and Victor get in the way of their relationship, they were glad they spent Vianna's last year at Hogwarts together, they were glad they married, and… they were just glad with the way life had turned out. Even that horrible kidnapping was something they had to be grateful for; it had been a horrible experience at the time, yes, but… it brought them so much closer, it started many of the traditions they still followed today.

They had come a long way from that teenage girl and that teenage boy they had once been, their life had turned out exactly, if not better than they had expected it, and they had the most wonderful and loving of sons to prove what their love could do, a love that was not coming to an end now, or ever. It was completely surreal to think that all of this, this wonderful, beautiful life they led and this precious son of theirs was all the result of a meeting many years ago, all the result of that summer.