Sick pulled through guts as side apparation flicked through travelling parties. Two females approached a house that looked like a strong gust of wind could knock it down as fields ran for miles around it. The external pattern of the house had begun to peel as wind and rain wore it down. "Now, if anything goes wrong at all, even if you just feel nervous, send a Patronus and I will come to you immediately." Black hair shook to agree as the front door was met, McGonagall opted to stand a short distance back from the door. But she refused to move until the door was opened and Beatriz was inside.
"Bea, you came!" Ginny exclaimed but before Beatriz could set foot over the threshold a man shouted from the kitchen.
"Safety question, Ginny. Ask her something only you two know." Sighing, Ginny rolled her eyes as she thought.
"Who was the first male that you kissed on the lips? And I mean even as a child," Ginny teased. Blanching, Beatriz looked around as eyes stuck to her and inside she felt herself contract in anxiety. Knowing that everyone would hear.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, I was a baby when that happened. It doesn't..." accepting that she could only come in if she answered the question, knowing that her mother was still watching from a distance, unable to hear what was going on, Beatriz answered Ginny's question. "Dumbledore." It was a mumble but just as Ginny lifted her hand to her ear, waiting for Beatriz to repeat herself, Molly pulled the two girls through the house and closed the door.
"She doesn't have to repeat herself. And, really, Bea, it isn't embarrassing, it's quite sweet actually." Choosing not to look at Molly as Beatriz entered, she only smiled to the floor before being pushed out of the house, into the back garden. A table had been set out, food covered the surface of the wood and smiling faces surrounded it.
Harry's paled face caught Beatriz's eye as she entered the garden with a broad smile. Harry, however, looked less than pleased, along with the rest of the party attendees. "Potter!" Rushing to his side as she called his name, two sets of green eyes met as a short distance remained between them and a present was handed over to him.
"Thanks, Bea, how's your mum?" A polite nod was returned as Beatriz shrugged her shoulders.
"A little grouchy but a lot better now. She stopped using her walking stick a while ago. But, how are you? I know that look in your eye, you aren't happy about something." Harry agreed quietly as he opened the present that she had bought for him, a fresh set of Quidditch robes for the new year. "Mum told me that you were the new captain. She also told me that I am forbidden from the matches, I can only watch the game if I sit beside her so, that puts an end to my Quidditch career. But, don't think that'll stop me from beating you in friendlies." Harry let out a laugh as Beatriz winked before Ginny came hurtling towards them.
"Come sit with me. I'm so excited." Fred and George hadn't managed to make it but Beatriz pretended not to notice her old friends' absence as she sat down. "Mum is determined to make this birthday the best one Harry has ever experienced," Ginny mumbled as she stared down the table at Harry. Fleur and Bill had taken that moment to park themselves in the only available seats, beside Beatriz as Bill ran his fingers through his hair that was a few inches longer than Molly had liked. His hair was soon forgotten as Ginny rolled her eyes at Fleur and then began to fill Beatriz in on what had just been announced before she arrived.
"Oh, mum barely let me come here. She told me that I'm not allowed to leave Hogwarts this year, even on Hogsmeade weekends, which sucks," Beatriz complained before taking a cup from Molly Weasley. "She only let me come here because she is working on the castle, casting more protective spells around it." Beatriz suddenly smiled and had to hold back a laugh as a memory surfaced. "Professor Trelawney was doing it but she cast a spell that ended up blocking off all of the doors in the castle. I was in the corridor when she did it so I got to walk around, freeing them from their rooms. Dumbledore laughed but Professor Snape looked like Hermione had set his robes on fire again." Beatriz giggled into her cup as she admitted to what had happened.
Muffled voices had carried through the air around them but Hermione's voice caught Beatriz and Ginny by surprise as she responded to her name. "What were you saying?" Hermione had returned from the kitchen with more potatoes.
"Oh, we were just talking about the time you set Professor Snape's robes on fire. Anyway, I have spent my summer practising on my broom, does anyone want to play?" Beatriz didn't respond immediately as she waited to hear how others would react but Harry and Ron had jumped at the chance, while Hermione hung back.
"I don't feel like playing. Beatriz, you've always been good with it, haven't you? Take my place." Slowly agreeing, Beatriz stood, wiping down her black, skintight dungarees, with the first wipe, a white mark left from the coated rolls ran down her thighs.
"Mum's going to be so angry," Beatriz mumbled as she looked down at the marks but rather than paying any more attention to it, she stood and straightened the black and white blouse that sat below as she pulled a hairband from her wrist and threw her hair into a lazy bun that swung on the top of her head. High winds had taken the four for a short journey on occasion as they were thrown about in them. Beatriz and Ginny had ended up on the same side and with a little determination, the pair managed to outwit the boys half the time, until Molly shouted for them to return and so, reluctantly, they did.
By the time they returned to the floor, Hermione was stood with an oversized camera in her hands, looking strikingly like Colin Creevey as she then took a picture of them all. She claimed that it was for Harry's birthday but the four who were still a little out of breath from their Quidditch match suspected that she had ulterior motives. "Come on, just one picture." After a sudden flash, the four felt themselves blink as Hermione smiled to herself.
"I think I might be blind," complained Ron as he hunched over and blinked rapidly. The other three had started grunting slightly as they still fought against the white patches in their vision. Ginny had, as she hoped, distracted those at the party from the gloomy news that had arrived just before Beatriz arrived at their house. By the time tables and food stacked away, when the door was locked carefully and most of the children had been sent to bed, Beatriz was left to think as she sat close to a window and stared out at the rising moon.
"Are you okay dear? You look a little lost." Beatriz turned slowly to face Molly who was sat on the edge of her seat, sipping at whatever was in her cup.
"Yeah, just thinking about Hogwarts. Mum said that she would be here by now, she might have fallen asleep. Sorry. If you want to go to bed then please do. I can wait here." Molly silently waved the comment away as she anxiously finished her glass. The cup practically dropped from her hand when a loud popping sound filled the outside of the house and Beatriz jumped to her feet.
"Now now, Bea, we have to check that she is your mother." The door to the Burrow flew open and three wands met as Beatriz was caught between them as fear flicked through their hearts. "Ask her something that only she knows Bea." Holding still for a moment Beatriz quickly thought up a question as her mind managed to fall blank.
"When I was little and you lost me for two days, where did you find me in the end?" McGonagall had tinted pink a little as the question arose, Molly and Arthur stared disbelievingly at the woman believed to be Minerva McGonagall.
"With the giant squid who was keeping you afloat as you played with it." Smiling, Beatriz quickly pranced along the path to her mother.
"Thank you, Molly and Arthur, I hope that I will get to see you soon. It was a lovely party." All four parties gave their own farewell as McGonagall quickly took her daughter's hand and placed it on her forearm.
"Thank you, both. I hope she was well behaved." Molly and Arthur agreed quickly before a loud pop resonated through the grounds and house once again.
Hogwarts itself shone with light as candles filled the stone walls. Hagrid's hut was filled once again as candlelight shone through the grounds from it. Just as the gates were met though, McGonagall lifted her wand to allow them access but due to heavy wind, the pair were blown back a few steps. "Oh, that woman will never understand." With a wave of her wand, McGonagall cast a Patronus into the grounds and the pair silently waited for a response.
"What happed since I left?" McGonagall only grunted and rolled her eyes as she watched the school closely, waiting for movement from within.
"Sybill Trelawney happened. Her sherry drinking has gotten out of hand. Let's just hope Pomona is still awake. If not, we can probably get Hagrid's attention. Or Filch's. How did the party go? I assume it was nice and unproblematic." Beatriz twisted her head a little as she examined the forest.
"Igor Karkaroff's been found dead, Florean Fortescue and Ollivander have also gone missing. Lupin, Arthur and Bill found out." Black beady eyes watched emerald ones as she spoke but they both pulled themselves from the moment as a body came flying from the castle as Pomona tripped and nearly fell down the steps.
"The world is dangerous. This is why you aren't leaving Hogwarts. I will get your school supplies this year and I will have someone keep an eye on you when I am away doing so. Do you understand?" Beatriz nodded as the gates were met by Professor Sprout.
"What is my favourite pudding?" Beatriz heard the trepidation in the professor's voice.
"Pomona, you have just seen my Patronus, oh really, rhubarb crumble with custard, spiked with a little alcohol." Nodding quickly, the gate was tapped on but Professor Sprout was also sent back by strong winds.
"That woman needs to control herself." Huffing furiously, the pair began to pace as they thought about what spell she could have used until Beatriz tapped the metal and it immediately shifted away. "What was the spell?"
"I was bored so cast Alohomora." Both professors swore to themselves and Beatriz felt her jaw drop slightly. "Mum, I thought that I wasn't allowed to say f-" she stopped short when she caught the dangerous glare in her mother's eye. "I'm not allowed to say it but you are, gotcha." Professor Sprout pushed down a smile as McGonagall still arched an eyebrow at her daughter before the three set off back to the castle.