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"Papa! Look at it!"

Ian pinched the bridge of his nose in between two fingers before turning in the direction of the small voice behind him. A couple meters back back, the blonde toddler who had previously been at his heels was now bent over at the waist at the roots of a tree, hands reaching out dangerously towards something squirming on the ground in dirt and mud. He opened his mouth to warn her against touching strange things, but by the time his half-hearted demand was out, Katie had already grasped the writhing earthworm in her tiny fist and presented it to him proudly.

Sighing, he held out his hand and beckoned for her to come back over. "Good job, K, now let me see that," he coaxed her--not that it was needed, as the little girl seemed more than happy to show off her trophy. While she was busy smearing the dirt on her hands over the legs of her jumper--at least he hadn't been silly enough to have her wear a dress this time--he quickly disposed of the poor creature and snatched her closest hand before she could digress again.

It had already taken them five minutes to get halfway across the park with the way she kept finding something new (and messy) to get into. She was not going to get the chance to do it again, especially not now that he finally spotted Victoria just meters away.

Beginning to protest against his hold on her, Ian swooped Katie up into his arms and tossed a wave at his fellow Quidditch player, jogging over before the squirming toddler could writhe free. When he had reached his destination, he finally set the little girl down in front of the child who he assumed was the Ava that Victoria had talked about.

"Look, Katie, this is Ava. Why don't you guys play a little?" he said, kneeling down to her level before turning his head to Victoria. "Sorry she's a mess already. I seriously don't know how she manages to do this between the Floo and here."