"Alright, hands up and…. One, two, three… one, two, three… Stop looking at the floor, Bailey, three…"
Bailey sighed. Of course the last free period of the term would be spent in an abandoned classroom learning to ballroom dance. Amelia seemed to find those particular lessons the most enjoyable, while Bailey was of the complete opposite opinion. Draco, her current dance partner, was smirking annoyingly at her, as was Blaise. Bailey purposely stomped his toe, knowing it had to hurt given the heels that Amelia had forced her into for the lesson.
"You are not to maim your dance partner," Amelia said, keeping each. bloody. word. in rhythm. "Now the opposite direction…. And…. Switch partners…"
Draco bowed out of the way and Blaise swiftly took his place, obviously trying not to laugh when Bailey nearly tripped over her long skirt at the exchange. She stuck her tongue out.
"Keep acting like a lady two, three… one, two, three…"
"I'm gonna show her how a bloody lady acts," Bailey muttered.
"You're doing fine. Besides, you still have that week with Narcissa. I know that she doesn't expect you to know anything about anything," he said, grinning wickedly.
"What is that—"
"Switch partners!"
Before Draco was able to take his place however, an owl swooped through the window, dropping a letter at Bailey's feet. She bent down to pick it up. It had her father's handwriting. Why would he be writing her when she would be at Grimmauld Place the very next evening? She started to rip it open.
Amelia waved her wand at the instruments playing themselves in the corner to make them stop before marching angrily over to her friend. The petite redhead went to snatch the letter away, but Bailey spun away from her friend, keeping the letter out of arm's length.
"Bailey, really, we are in the middle of a lesson—"
"Shush, 'Melia," Bailey said as she began to scan the letter's contents.
Bails,
Mr. Weasley was attacked last night, so we will be hosting them over Christmas. He is currently at Mungo's and is doing as well as can be hoped. Please, if you hear anything new about the attack, go straight to Dumbledore, and stay safe. I cannot stress that enough.
Your mother sends her love as well.
Love,
Snuffles
"Well, I do believe my chances of going to the Banquet has just decreased tenfold," Bailey said, trying to keep her tone light. But, her heart was sinking inside as she thought of George and the rest of his family. It seemed, no matter how much the Wizarding World wanted to pretend otherwise, the upcoming war was showing up on their doorsteps, demanding attention.
When Bailey got off the train, she was immediately tackled by a woman wearing a blinding shade of red with some leopard print thrown in for good measure. After a few moments, her mother stepped back.
"It's so good the see yeh, Bailey!" she exclaimed, slinging an arm around her daughter's shoulders and taking her book bag. The pair began walking together toward the exit.
"You too, Mum," Bailey replied, shoving away her previous frustration and anger at her mother for keeping yet another secret. It felt good to be back with her mum again. "Are you ready for the wedding?"
Tilly grinned at her daughter as she called down a taxi and loaded Bailey's stuff in.
"You know, I never expected to get married again, much less to him," Tilly said, a dreamy expression on her face. "After so many years, he and I—"
"Okay, Mum, you know I'm happy for you and happy for him, but yer still me parents, so please, spare me all the sappiness. I'm fairly sure you don't want me barfing all over you, and this taxi is on the small side," Bailey said sarcastically. But, she couldn't help her huge smile. Tilly just laughed, smacking her daughter lightly.
The entire ride to Grimmauld Place, the two girls were discussing dresses and cakes and decorations and color schemes and if it would be at all possible to finally remove the portrait of Bailey's grandmother.
"I could hear the bloody woman's screamin' at me first weddin', I don' care fer it at the second one," Tilly said.
Bailey shot an inconspicuous Confundus charm at cabby before they got out of the taxi. Hopefully, he would think that he had taken too much Nyquil before driving and not mention Bailey and her mother to anyone.
They waited until he sped out of sight before walking up to Number 12. They weren't even able to open up the doors before Bailey's dad beat them to it, exuberantly embracing his soon-to-be wife-again and daughter. Bailey laughed at her father's over-the-top exuberance.
"I guess you're glad to see me, then, Da'," she said with a smile as she hefted her trunk into the door. He quickly took it from her and the bookbag from her mum.
"Of course I'm happy to have you home!" he exclaimed. "It'll be the first time that we'll have Christmas since you were one!"
Bailey grinned as the little family made their way inside.
Grimmauld Place was, as it had been over the summer, insane. Her boyfriend and his twin were constantly Apparating and Disapparating all over the place, causing their mum to scream. She didn't even want to know what her godbrother was yelling at his friends over now, and the littlest Weasley seemed to promise an explosion if her older brothers didn't stop giving her grief over a little gift that a secret admirer had sent her. Their boisterousness had only increased when they got the news that Mr. Weasley would be home in only a few days.
In short, Bailey was ready to go to the Malfoy's.
She had already warned Narcissa that she didn't think that she would be able to convince her mum to allow her to be away for more than a few days as Tilly was marrying "an old childhood friend". Narcissa, of course, had been ever the gracious hostess and said Bailey was free to come and go whenever.
After all, we are family, her letter had read.
Bailey, however, was not quite thinking about Narcissa Malfoy or the general chaos happening in her ancestral home at the moment.
No, the only thought she had room for was George, who had managed to whisk her away from the Christmas decorating in the parlor behind a thick tapestry of hags at a cauldron on the second floor. He had captured her lips in a kiss and was holding her rather closely. She responded in kind, her fingers carding playfully through his hair. After a few moments, she remembered where she was and just who could walk in on them at any moment and, with great disappointment, pulled away.
"George!" she admonished quietly.
"Bailey!" he said in the same tone, mocking her.
"My parents could move this curtain at any moment, or Uncle Rem could come over, or your mum could find us—anyone could!"
"Never stopped us at Hogwarts," he said with a devilish smile before kissing her again, swallowing any further protest.
Before she could gather the willpower to push him away again, light was suddenly flooding in their little hidey-hole. Her mum was holding back the tapestry, tapping her foot with her eyebrow raised. She looked far too pleased with herself
"Alrigh', lovebirds, c'mon out," she said with a wicked smirk. "I knew tha' Bails hadn' whined enough abou' havin' to spend Christmas with yeh lot."
Bailey flushed bright red, while George looked like he was torn between trying desperately not to laugh or trying desperately not to bolt as the two teenagers stumbled out from behind the tapestry. Bailey primly straightened her clothes and hair back out, not that it did any good. The outfit that Amelia had forced her into that morning before they got on the train—a dark green pencil skirt, black top and a dark gray robe with trailing sleeves—was altogether too prissy for extended snogging.
"Not that I mind yeh datin' me daugh'er, but I don' want teh catch yeh with yer filthy paws all over 'er again, capiche?" Tilly said to George with an eyebrow raised. "I'm too young fer grandchildren," Bailey squeaked at that comment and George himself went a bit pale and nodded tightly. "And, fer yer own sake, don' let Siri catch yeh either. I'm sure he'll be havin' the whole scary "don't hurt my daughter" talk that didn't ever work a lick on 'imself way back when. Now, c'mon Bailey, we need teh talk."
Bailey groaned and gave George a "save me" look, but her brave Gryffindor boyfriend was looking a bit too preoccupied at the thought of a "talk" with Sirius Black to notice.
Typical, Bailey snorted.
"Yer playin' with fire, Bails," Tilly said as they went into the kitchen. Before Bailey opened her mouth, however, Tilly continued, "And I don't mean snogging with yer boyfriend. While I would prefer never teh have had tha' image of me dau'er bein' felt up, yer fifteen. I expect it. But, with that get up yeh have on and the friends yeh keep, I had thou' yeh were tryin' to be neutral in the war."
Bailey frowned. She had never before heard her mum speak politics, Muggle or Magical.
"George is a nice boy, but the Weasleys are firmly on Dumbledore's si'. Datin' 'im'll send the message tha' yeh are, too. Is tha' wha' yeh want? To place yerself in the war?" Tilly said, crossing her arms.
Bailey narrowed her eyes and studied her mother.
"What side are Gramps and Grandmother on?" she asked suddenly, hoping to catch her mother off guard.
"Wha'?" Tilly replied, shocked.
"I said, wha' side are Gramps and Grandmother on?" she repeated.
"I don' know wha' yer talkin' abou', Bailey—"
"I know that they have to be wizards, Mum," she said. "You've never shown an inkling of understanding about the Wizarding World until now, when you are trying to warn me away from me boyfriend. That story that you and Uncle Rem always told about how you met Da'—it doesn't add up. Besides that, I received an invitation to the Malfoys' Yule Banquet, which I was informed I could only receive if all four of my grandparents were wizards. So, it follows that Gramps and Grandmother must be magical, even if you aren't. So, what side are they on?"
Tilly was gaping at her. Then she groaned and placed her head in her hands.
"Damn, but I knew I should have taken you to America when I 'ad the chance!" she groaned, shaking her head. "I never wanted this fer you, all this intrigue and terror and damned prejudice. I told yer father, I told 'im when we first married, tha' I wanted to get away from this mess in Britain, but did he listen? No! He had to try and be some damn hero!"
"Mum, I—"
"Yes Bailey, I am a Squib. Me parents are magical, and I innit. Happy?" her mum said in an abrasive tone.
"No, Mum, I—"
"As fer me parents, they were always on the Darker si' of neutral," her mum growled. "Tha's 'ow I met yer father—we were betrothed before anyone realized that I 'ad no magic. Yeh can bet 'ow tha' went over with Mrs. Black, much less me own parents. Ended up runnin' away an' livin' on the streets fer awhile. Funny, I dou' Siri and I would 'ave ever married if I hadn' been a Squib, so I guess it all worked out in the end, dinnit?" her mum said in the most bitter tone Bailey had ever heard. All of Bailey's plans of using her mother's secret as blackmail in order to be able to go to the Banquet left her at the sight of her mother's defeated stance.
"I'm sorry, Mum," she said softly.
"It's no' yer fault," she replied, just as soft. "I s'pose yeh think I oughta told yeh sooner? If I'd 'ad me way, yeh woulda never known any o' this. Yeh woulda been without magic, like me, we woulda gone to America, an' yeh woulda never known all this—this—hatred that the Wizarding World has. Not that I'm no' 'appy, Bailey. I am so proud o' you, and I never dreamt tha' I'd get to be with yer father again. But—I wish—I just wish I coulda kept yeh safer."
"I'm fine, Mum, see?" Bailey said, gesturing to herself. "I'm sure Fawley will slip up again soon, and even if he doesn't, he graduates in just a few months, yeah? I'm not dead, 'ave no permanent damage, and most of the school is too terrified of me and me friends to actually try somethin'. I'll be fine, you'll be fine, and you, me, Da', and Potter, I guess, will make it through this war alive and unscathed and be a nice, big, happy fam'ly an' all tha' rot. Okay?"
Her mum still looked worried, but she smiled and nodded, wrapping Bailey up in a hug. After a few minutes, Bailey pushed away.
"Now, about the Yule Banquet, it's Christmas Eve, but Mrs. Malfoy would like me to come a few days early, so—"
Her mum was shaking her head. "Yer father knows more abou' this than I do, so if yeh get it past 'im, then I s'pose yeh can go'. But I say no."
Bailey groaned.