Clap Your Hands If You Believe

Disclaimer - Castle owned by ABC, Harry Potter by JK Rowling. So not mine.

Kate Beckett tapped her pen against a folder, glancing once more at the elevators.

"Castle still not here?" fellow detective Javier Esposito asked, leaning against her desk.

Shaking her head, Kate checked her cell phone to see if Rick had texted her as to why he was running late.

"I'm sure he'll be along -" Kevin Ryan began only to stop when the doors to the elevator opened, and Rick Castle – world-famous author, police consultant and Kate Beckett's sorta-secret lover – had arrived, a tray with his and her coffees in one hand, and the hand of a young boy in the other.

"OK, Al," Castle was saying. "Here we are, the police. Now will you tell me your Dad's name so we can find him?"

A small boy with dark hair and wide green eyes partially hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses gave Castle a tiny smile before he frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not really supposed to talk to strangers," he piped up in a British accent.

Kate had gotten up from her desk and walked over, giving Castle a raised eyebrow before she smiled at the little boy. Flipping open her badge, she bent down and spoke softly to him.

"Hi, I'm Kate. I'm a police officer. Are you lost?"

Al nodded his head. "Yes, Miss. Dad says if we got lost I was to find an officer. But he didn't tell me how to find one."

"Do you live around here?" Kate asked as she led the two boys (please, it so fit Rick Castle) to a small conference room.

"Does he sound like he lives around here?" Castle snarked before smiling at the mysterious Al never let go of his hand.

"No, Miss," Al said politely as he sat at the table. "Dad and Mum wanted us to have a vacation before my brother goes off to school. Dad used to work as an investigator for the Ministry but now that Jamie is about to go to school, he finally took the teaching job they've been trying to get him to take FOREVER. Aunty 'Mione said he was fooling himself if he thought he could be anything but a teacher."

"Is Jamie your big sister?" Esposito asked as he entered the doorway.

Al frowned in confusion. "No. Jamie is my big brother. Lily is my sister, but she's younger."

Ryan smiled as he nudged his partner. "Yeah, Javi – Jamie is a common nickname for James in the UK. You're from England, right, Al?"

"Actually," a new voice said behind them, "we live in Wales."

The group all turned around to see a man who was clearly marked as Al's father standing near Kate's desk.

"Dad!" Al hollered, running straight to his father.

The man kneeled down, pulling the boy into his arms before standing, still hugging his son. "You had us worried, son."

A muttered, "Sorry," was heard from near the man's waist.

Holding out his hand, the man smiled and said, "Thank you so much. Al is so much quieter than his siblings and cousins that my brother-in-law, Ron, hadn't even noticed that he had left Al behind at the ice-cream shop. Hermoine was about to have his head."

"Would that be Aunty 'Mione?" Castle asked with a grin.

"Telling tales, Al?" the father said with a smile before answering. "Yes. One of my best friends married the other one – and I married Ron's kid sister, so...Well. I am glad Al found a police officer."

"Oh, I'm not a cop," Castle grinned again.

The man frowned now before looking at his son. Al shrugged.

"He looked like a dad, you know?"

Castle laughed now before leaning forward. "My daughter, Alexis, will be glad to hear that, um...Alan? Albert?"

Now it was the other father laughing. "If you are digging for my son's full name, it's Albus. Yes, I know, dreadfully old fashioned."

"Lose a bet?" Castle joked.

"Nope, the wife did," the other man deadpanned. "She got her way with the other names, however."

"Well," Castle smiled, "I'm glad my favorite coffee shop is next to the ice cream parlor, Mr. – Um, Mr.?"

Chuckling lightly, the man shook his head. "Sorry – I never did give you my name, did I? It's Harry, Harry Potter."

Ryan, who had been in the process of drinking some coffee, began to choke. A few powerful slaps on the back – Beckett really did have a strong swing – and the detective was breathing somewhat normally again.

"Potter?" Ryan breathed in surprise.

Harry's eye went wide while Albus looked at his father in confusion. Things like this had happened sometimes in Britain, and his father had said he'd understand after he went to Hogwarts. Albus knew there had been a war – heck, his Uncle Fred had died, hadn't he? – but that no one liked to talk about. Many of Dad's friends and some of their family had scars that even magic couldn't heal, and if anyone asked, a shrug and the words "the war" seemed to satisfy most people. The children understood that was something you would learn once you started school and not to ask too many questions.

"Yes," Harry said cautiously as he eyed Ryan. He hadn't sensed any magic about the man – he had gotten rather good at that – but as he eyed the man's wedding ring, he wondered if the man might be married to a magical.

"You ok, bro?" Esposito asked curiously.

But Ryan only had eyes for their guest. "I think you may have gone to school with a cousin of mine – his father and my mother were first cousins but she came here for college, married dad and the rest was history."

Harry raised an eyebrow, even as he fingered his wand discreetly. He hadn't had a problem with Death Eaters – or their family members – in several years, but to quote the late Alastair Moody, "Constant Vigilance."

"And your cousin's name?" Harry asked politely.

"Seamus Finnegan," Ryan quickly answered.

Harry relaxed. The man looked rather different than the jovial young man Harry had known in school – a happy go lucky half-blood Irish wizard, Seamus was as equally proud of his muggle Da as his witch mother – but there was something...Oh, yes. The eyes. Harry's mind drifted back to a conversation he had with Seamus after the Battle of Hogwarts. Something about his mother having wanted him to go visit relatives in America but Seamus having stuck to his guns and insisting on heading back to Hogwarts, saying if there was one thing being in "Dumbledore's Army" had taught Seamus, it was to stand up for something he believed in.

They had both sadly looked around the Great Hall, seeing the dead, wounded and devastated souls left behind. Not surprisingly, they had rarely talked about it again. Some wounds went just too deep. Seamus had wandered away to sit with the body of muggle-born Colin Creevey, knowing that without magical parents, the boy would have no one waiting with his corpse until arrangements could be made to take him home. It had been the last time either mentioned the months leading up to the Battle; like so many, they preferred not to talk about the dark days under Voldemort's rule. But as he remembered the conversation, Harry recalled a name...

"Would that make you Michael Ryan?" Harry asked, purposely changing the name to try and make sure it wasn't a trick.

"Kevin Ryan," the detective said with a raised eyebrow, almost as if he had expected some kind of test question. "My father is Michael, however. That might be the confusion. But that's the magic of family, isn't it?"

Oh, yeah, Harry thought. The man was about as subtle as Seamus – which was to say, not at all.

Ryan saw the moment Harry relaxed and he calmed down as well. He had often wondered if Seamus' tales about the Wizarding World were just a bit too much whiskey but he did recall the stories of a great battle that only came up when Seamus was deeply in his cups. Ryan had accompanied his mother to Ireland for a funeral and they had still been there on May 2nd. It was then that he had learned the significance of that day to British Wizards as Seamus had gotten quietly but supremely drunk. His cousin had wept softly, recalling the names of the dead. In an attempt to comfort Seamus, Kevin had recalled the words of Shakespeare from Henry the Fifth.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day

Seamus' eyes had grown brighter but he had nodded and Kevin Ryan, already a member of the NYPD, had understood a bit as well. In the days following 9/11, many people had silently agreed it was something you had to have lived through to understand, but it didn't mean you didn't get it. And according to Seamus, Harry Potter would definitely get it. Holding out his hand, he smiled and gave a bit of a nod.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Potter."

Harry's jaw tightened but he forced a smile. "Harry – it's just Harry."

Knowing his co-workers (yes, he included Castle in that) were looking at him strangely, Ryan ignored that and simply shook the wizard's hand. "So...you'll be teaching at –um, at your alma mater?"

Harry almost laughed at the way the Yank had skillfully avoided saying Hogwarts.

"Yes, yes I will."

Ryan just smiled and nodded. "Say hi to Seamus if you see him before me. He's due for a visit soon...Man, how am I going to explain him to Jenny?" At Harry's confused look, he explained. "My wife. I, um...I'm not sure how to explain Seamus to her."

Harry nodded and chuckled as he began to guide his son from the precinct. "May I suggest a liberal use of strong spirits?"

"Something up with your family, Ryan?" Esposito razzed his partner.

"Something tends to be up with most families," Harry said politely. "That's the magic and mystery of family. You should meet my wife's family. And hope that you never meet mine," Harry added half under his breath. He had met with Dudley occasionally after the war ended and had even seen Aunt Petunia twice. But considering he had come dangerously close to hurting Vernon Dursley when the man had made a remark of "good riddance to bad rubbish" when he was informed how many had died in the year since he had last seen his nephew, Harry avoided his family as much as possible as focused on the Weasleys as his family.

Ryan only nodded in agreement. His sisters all had thought some of the tales from that side of the family were "keeping with the Irish tradition of a good story". But having seen some accidental magic from Seamus when they were kids, and a bit more when Seamus was deeply drunk, Ryan believed.

As the Potters waited for the elevator to arrive, Castle's writer's mind had caught the soft emphasis on the word "magic" both Ryan and Harry had used. "See – that's what I love about some people. Magic."

Harry looked at Castle in alarm even as he fingered his wand, wondering if a quick "obliviate" was needed only to pause when Beckett elbowed him.

"Drop it, Castle. Just because you believe in painted wings and giant rings, doesn't mean magic could be real." Smiling at the Potters, the female detective explained. "On-going argument. Castle is always telling me that I have to believe in magic to see it."

Harry just smiled. "I fear I must agree with Mr. – I guess that would make you Mr. Castle? Or is it Detective Castle?"

The three detectives all snorted as Castle glared briefly before smiling at Harry. "Rick Castle." As Harry continued to only smile politely he added, "Richard Castle. You know – the mystery writer?"

Harry shook his head even as he thought about where his son had been brought. "I take it from our location," he gestured with his hand, "you write murder mysteries?" When Castle nodded, Harry's smile grew sad.

"My parents were murdered in front of me when I was only fifteen months old. I actually have flashes of the memories. Not unreasonably, I tend to avoid thinking of anything to do with murder in my free time."

"But didn't Albus say you were an investigator for the government?" Beckett asked.

Harry nodded again. "Actually, I investigated, um, I worked for counter-terrorism. It was challenging but I am glad to give it up."

"Had to pay better than teaching," Esposito joked.

Grasping his son by the shoulders, Harry just smiled. "Money isn't everything. Family and love – that is true magic and is priceless."

Just then the elevator doors opened and the Potters entered. With a jaunty wave and smiles all around the doors slid shut and they were gone.

"OK," Beckett said with a sigh. "Back to the real world. And no, Castle – magic isn't real, right guys?"

Esposito nodded firmly but Ryan gave a small smile. "I don't know Beckett – just because you've never seen something it doesn't mean it isn't real."

"Just what I was saying!" Castle exclaimed. "I mean, whole planets used to go unseen until science proved they existed. Does that mean they didn't exist before that?"

Beckett simply shook her head before heading back to her desk, Esposito following quickly but not before saying, "C'mon, Castle Jr – we need to follow up with that witness."

The two men grabbed their coats and as they got on the elevator themselves, Esposito snarked, "Next thing you know, you'll be trying to convince me that leprechauns are real as well. Or fairies. Or banshees. Or unicorns. Or -" the detective rattled on, thinking of every magical creature he had ever heard of.

Ryan just smiled. He was looking forward to seeing Seamus again. With his partner cheerfully rambling on, he quietly clapped his hands.

A/N - Hubby said to post, so eh, here it is.

And I shouldn't have to say it, but no one owns Shakespeare these days. Oh, and in case no one got it - Kate's "painted wings and giant rings" was from Puff the Magic Dragon.