He caught her cheek in his hand and kissed her fiercely. "Just being here is means the world to me," he whispered against her lips before kissing her once more.
Josiah forced himself to disentangle from her and stand. While he wasn't exactly dressed to impress Ministry officials, he wasn't about to disturb the children while rooting for something more than denims and a faded Hufflepuff tee-shirt. "I'll be back as quickly as I can."
As he moved toward the door, there was a sudden brusk knock. Josiah froze for a moment and then continued on with his wand in his hand. "Who's there?" he demanded, spelling the door translucent to eye-ball the knocker. The guy looked too damn familiar.
"Auror Peter Burke," the man said. That explained the familiarity, thought Josiah, "I need to speak with Josiah Plunkett."
Josaih glanced back at James and shrugged helplessly. Opening the door, he stepped back to let the Auror come in. "I was just heading to the MLE. What the fuck is going on?"
Peter swallowed a sigh. It looked like he hadn't managed to beat John here after all. "That is a long story. Do you know where your nephews or your father are?"
"The boys are asleep in my bedroom. Dad is," his voice trailed off and once again that helpless shrug made an appearance. "in the wind."