Having my own owl has been a wonderful gift. I've been able to correspond with Lena and Draco at regular intervals and don't feel so disconnected. I finally got an explanation about Keelan's letter from Draco. He asked around Slytherin's inner circle and discovered that Keelan has, in fact, become a Death Eater. Or rather is on the path to become one. I'm simply astounded and have no idea what to think. Currently I'm sitting in the kitchen while Cheyenne naps in her bassinet beside me, talking with mum about that particular situation.
"Can you get a wizarding lawyer? How does that work?" I shake my head and look down at Draco's letter.
"It doesn't work that way there, exactly. I don't even pretend to understand how it all works. It makes no sensible logic that a wizard with no relation to a child can decide to leave a baby on the doorstep of his muggle family without consulting someone." My mum gives me an odd look. "It happened to a boy in my year. His parents were both killed, he had no wizarding relatives, so the headmaster left him with his muggle aunt. It doesn't make any sense."
"We'll figure something out."
"If he comes for her I may kill him."
"Who are we killing?" I jump as Jordan and Nate enter the kitchen, noisily sitting down at the table.
"No one. No one. I'm just.. going to the loo." I get up and leave the room, lean against the wall in the hallway and close my eyes. If he comes for her, how am I to protect her? I'm smart and know my share of spells but against a Death Eater taught specific dark magics I'd never dream to know? I don't know how to compete with that. During my inner breakdown I feel a pair of arms wrap me in a hug. I can tell it's Nate by his smell and height.
"No one's going to take her, Bell." Tears leak out of my eyes and wet his shirt. He can't begin to understand the potential threat. "Alright?" After a few minutes I hear Cheyenne start to fuss and pull away from Nate while I rub my hand over my face and go back into the kitchen. To my surprise Jordan has picked her up and is moving her through the air. Mum has left to somewhere else in the house. I lean against the door frame and smile.
I really wasn't sure how Jordan would handle having a baby in the house. He never enjoyed having baby siblings and has never expressed a desire to have children of his own. But he's been a pretty great uncle so far. He turns, spots me watching him and gives me an awkward smile before resuming his movements. Deciding that I'm not needed just yet I grab Draco's letter off the table and retreat to my room to send him some type of response.
+++
"Oh, Becca, it's wonderful to finally meet you!" My mum practically shoves Nate out of the way to get in for a hug. Nate has finally decided to let us meet Becca for dinner tonight. I feel a great swell of pity and amusement for the poor girl. We are a big family and it can be very overwhelming, especially for someone that's an only child, as Becca is.
"Thank you for having me, Claire. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you all." I raise an eyebrow at Nate and he shrugs his shoulders, grinning shyly. After the introductions are out of the way the younger boys run off to play, Jordan goes to his room, and Cheyenne decides she's hungry so I sit in the living room with a book while I feed her. I only half read as I attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation in the kitchen. I don't make out much but suddenly my mother squeals and I hear her blubber about something. I shake my head and give my full attention to the hungry infant and my book.
After Cheyenne is fed and contently sleeping again I wander into the kitchen to see mum preparing dinner. I sit at the table and watch her for a few minutes. "Where'd everyone go?" She gives me a spoon to sample the pasta sauce.
"Charlie took the littles to get dessert from Norris, I don't know where Jordan went to, and Nate and Becca are in the basement."
"Ooh, I love Norris. What are they getting?" She shrugs while taking the spoon from me.
"Not a clue. I told them to pick something yummy." Norris is a bakery halfway across town. Their pumpkin tarts are amazing and I look forward to them every year for Christmas.
"What was all the yelling about earlier?"
"Not to worry about that, sweetheart. Can you grab the eggs from the fridge?" I roll my eyes but do as she asks, handing her the eggs and mustard because I know she'll want that later. "Thanks, hon." I watch as she moves about the kitchen until Charlie and the boys gather themselves back into the house. Very noisily. I'm about to scold them but before I can Cheyenne screams loudly from the living room. I sigh and make my way to her.
"Sorry, Bell." I ruffle Mark's hair as I walk by.
"No worries, bud. Want to hold her?" Mark hasn't yet held his little niece. I think he's scared of her. "Come on, once I settle her I'll just set her on your lap, yeah?" He's hesitant but nods and situates himself on the couch. "Stick a pillow under your left arm, yep, and hold your arms like you're going to catch a football. Great, here you go." I gently place her down and Mark looks as if he might throw up all over her. I sit beside them and pat his shoulder. "Nothing to it, eh?"
"She's really little." He touches one of her tiny fists with a finger and she blinks up at him.
"You were this small once. Crazy, huh?" His eyes widen and I smile.
"Bell, Bell, Bell I want a turn, too!" Leon skids into the room and nearly runs into the bassinet.
"You will, sport." Mark shifts and I quickly pick her up before he can fully disengage from the baby. Leon takes Mark's place on the couch and happily holds her for a full five minutes before he grows bored and asks to leave. "Freddy, want a turn, too?" Freddy is standing in the doorway with a peculiar look on his face. When I acknowledge him he quickly shakes his head and runs off to the stairs. Before I have a chance to wonder about that Jordan, Nate and Becca enter the living room and sit on the various furniture. Never a quiet moment here. Truthfully I love the chaos that comes with 5 siblings. There's always someone to talk to.
Becca sits beside me and asks me questions about Cheyenne and the pregnancy. I'd already asked Nate what information he's told Becca about me; namely, if I'm a witch. He hasn't and said it isn't up to him to tell her. As such, I have to be careful about what I tell her. It's strange having to censor my life. She's very lovely and I'm happy that she and Nate found each other. She asks to hold Cheyenne and her face just glows while she holds her. I wink at Nate and he smiles awkwardly. "How old is she, Bell?" I look back to Becca.
"Just over one month now."
"Wow. It's truly incredible. Nathan said she was early?"
"4 weeks. Not terribly early, but too early for my liking. I actually had some pretty serious pre-term labour contractions around 30 weeks. Thankfully they stopped and she got to bake for a while longer."
"Amazing. How did you choose her name?"
"Nothing exciting, really. Draco and I wrote a list of names we both liked and we chose from those. Mostly we agreed on her middle name, Lillian, and I got top pick for her first. He said we'll have to completely agree for any other kids." I roll my eyes and get a smile out of Becca.
"And you're engaged, that's wonderful! Any ideas on a wedding date yet?" I lean back into the couch and tuck my feet under my bum.
"Not really. I want a fall wedding but it definitely isn't happening this year. I need to graduate school and don't want to plan a wedding while caring for an infant." Becca makes a noise of agreement.
"Nathan told me not to say anything," She grins "but I can't not, seeing as I'm a wedding planner. I want to gift you my planning services and help you." I stare at her in shock. I had looked into a planner but they can be quite expensive. Hold on..
"Rebecca Masterson?" Becca nods. "No way! I went by your office last week. I had no idea it was you." I throw Nate a mock glare. "That's fantastic, thank you!"
"Don't even worry about it. I would love to help you." Cheyenne starts fussing then and Becca hands her back to me. I decide to feed her quickly before dinner and carry her up to my room. I also want to write to Draco and tell him that we don't need to worry about finding a wedding planner afterall.
Of course he's told me, repeatedly I might add, not to worry about how much anything costs when looking into everything. I balk at his insistence that money is no object. I never lived that way and don't fancy myself someone that suddenly gets lavish just because her fiance's family has money. His mother has apparently written up a guest list and he said there are over 500 names on it. I had to put the letter down and walk away from it before hyperventilating. Absolutely not.
I write Draco a quick letter, also sending more pictures (he insists I send some every week), and send Hector on his way. Despite his mother's insistence, I very much want to do this wedding the muggle way. I can compromise, of course, but certainly not to 500 guests. I also don't want to count on his money to pay for things. I have my own savings, meager as it may be. He tells me I'm being silly.
Once Cheyenne is settled I tuck her into her crib and join my family for dinner.