Dinner With Friends, Becca Tarwater

[Emilia Spellman]

Letters from home usually meant one thing to Emilia Spellman: bad news. The Hufflepuff stared down at the flowery and flowing handwriting of her mother, trying to piece together all the little details. It read

My Darling Emilia:

I know now how you feel about me dating and I'm sorry for what I put you through these past few months. You were right about Jeff. Anyway, I have met a new man, and he is one of use in two ways. He is a wizard and a muggle lover just like us. We would like to meet you for dinner at the Three Broomsticks on Saturday at 6 so you can meet, although you actually already know him. He has a daughter from a previous marriage who I would like you to meet as well.

I miss you my lady bug and can not wait to see you this weekend

Love Momma

Although Emilia was not happy about he mother jumping into another relationship so fast, she was actually a little relieved and somewhat hopeful. Maybe things would be different this time. For the first time since her time with Gabriel, Emilia's mom would be with a man of her own society and that could make all the difference. Emilia had finally caved in and told her mom how she felt about her dating life. The girl child had held back her emotions for too long and it had gotten to the point where the blond couldn't take it anymore. Emilia had gotten to it too late though. Her mom has broken up with that no good journalist the day before .Although she was relieved she didn't have to break her mother's heart and ruin the relationship with the women who gave her life she gained on lesson "You can't keep things bottled up. You can tell me anything honey and I would love you no less." she remembered her mother saying before being pulled into a hug. The two stayed like that for a few minutes an Emilia began to cry because of how stupid she felt holding back such a struggle for so long, to the point where she contemplated rebelling. This time she wanted things to be different and her mother must have too. Hopefully that journalist was the last of the muggle her mother dated.

The second year sat on the edge of the fountain, letting the warm breeze whip her hair into her face and radiate her skin. The girl hardly noticed as she was lost in though, trying to thing of who this man was. It seemed a little soon to meet him, but maybe it was because she knew him. Things were happening fast, a little too fast for Emilia's liking. The badger was usually angry after reading letters like this. She was really far from that, dare she say excited for Saturday? She never was excited to meet her mother's many men, or at least it had been a while since she had. She was going to take the advice columns advice and give the guy a chance. That had to be why she wasn't so bothered about this new man, she was going to cave in and not judge for once

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

Becca walked through the court-yard reading an owl from her father. His tidy scrawling words made her stomach clinch hard enough to bend steel. It was hardly even two months after her mother had gotten married. And now, here her father ways saying he was interested in her meeting this fabulous woman that he had met. He had never dated anyone since mother, never, and now, no. It just wasn't right.

Sitting down next to Emilia, the Slytherin shook her head. "I think my father has finally lost his mind. He's apparently starting dating again." She said to the Hufflepuff, shooting her a look. "This cannot bode well." In her mind, it definitely couldn't. Her father was suppose to be with her mother, and no other. If they couldn't be together, they shouldn't be with anyone else, and now they were both in on ruining that view of the world.

Was it naive? Well, she knew it wouldn't happen, so probably not naive. It's just, a mother and a father should stay together. Be a family, like those families on sitcoms that had their issues, but were at least all together. Not a continent apart with step family members. Although, Uncle Father had always been part of the family, he was just the one no one wanted to talk about.

[Emilia Spellman]

Still staring down at the parchment letter, Emilia's train of though was stopped when Becca sat down next to her at the fountains edge and began to speak her troubles. Emilia wasn't sure why but Becca was the only person that could pull the Hufflepuff out of her brooding moments in seconds time. It had to be the transferring of the Slytherin's non focused brainwaves that through the girl off.

"Welcome to the club.," the blonde said before turning to Rebbecca, a whimsical smile on her face. "My mom broke up with that journalist over the summer, but she of course has found someone else. At least this time he isn't a muggle. Maybe that will make all the difference." Emilia said with a raw feeling of hope keeping her from saying her own story without loath. Rebbecca now had another thing they had in common and hopefully it would bring the two friends closer. They were again in the same boat and could use each other as anchors, a way of keeping each other from killing there parents.

"She wants me to meet him this weekend. That's a first. Apparently I know him so that must be why things are moving so fast. Usually fake family dinners fall under the 6th date category." she said dryly towards the end. She hated these meet and greet dinners. They always were awkward beyond belief. The man would treat her like she was five when she usually had more brains in her pinkie than he had in his entire head or they ignored her completely. Hopefully he would be different. He was a wizard after all, Different was in his blood.

As for his daughter, Emilia wonder about her most of all. Hopefully she wouldn't be an air head or a snob. Getting along with his kid was the up most importance. What if their parent's got married? They would need a strong relationship to make that work. No! to soon. It was only the beginning. Marriage might not even come. She wouldn't think about that today. The blond would think about that when it was actually a greater possibility.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

Becca looked over at Emilia, raising an eyebrow. Her stomach seemed to drop just a little, and the persistent blah feeling in her gut from the medicine seemed to roil into almost nausea. "You're meeting your mother's boyfriend this weekend?"

It was an innocent enough question, Becca hoped, as she cast a look down at her own letter from her father. She was going to have dinner with him this weekend too, and his new girlfriend. It pained her to even think of her father and the word "girlfriend" in the same sentence, but that was the ugly truth. Now, she was waiting and hoping not to hear the confirmation that her paranoid mind was sure would come.

No, she was being paranoid. It would be far too much of a coincidence for her father and Emilia's mother to meet, ever, for any reason. Except on the platform 9 3/4. She tried to wrap her mind around that thought, and then think whether she saw him talking with anyone before boarding the train himself. Besides, her father didn't spent much time socializing with other magical people outside of Hogwarts, and he didn't get out much. It was just all her imagination getting away with her. Except Emilia did know her father...

Becca looked around the court-yard, then back at Emilia. "I'm stuck having dinner with father's new...friend.... this weekend too." She said, hoping to make it sound like she wasn't worried that it was the same date. "He's made arrangements for me to go to Hogsmead, pulled a few strings just for this dinner." She said, rolling her eyes. "At least I know she's not a muggle, since it's at Hogsmead."

[Emilia Spellman]

As the words dinner, friend, weekend, and Hogsmeade flowed out of Becca's mouth, the girls eyes widened 10 times there normal size and her stomach began to slowly nose dive to the floor. There was something way to. how could she put it, fishy about this whole thing. Both girls were meeting there parent for dinner this weekend in Hogsmeade, both meeting "friends" which Emilia knew straight away was Tarwater's nonchalant way of saying her father had a date. No it had to be pure coincidence. Weekend was such a general term. It could be any day from Friday to Sunday. However, she needed to rule out this possibility, and there was only one way to. To give every exact detail she knew.

"Yeah. My mother arranged something with the headmistress I guess. I'm suppose to meet her on Saturday at the Three Broomsticks at 6 pm for dinner" The blond said calmly, but at the same time, compulsively twirling her hair around her long, delicate finger to keep herself from losing control. " And of course Honeyduke's after." She added. She needed to have one positive outlook on this situation. Even if it wasn't the man she though it was, it still could be a horrible date.

As she waited for Becca to respond, Emilia prayed silently, hoping who ever controlled the fates of the world let her win for once. How would her mother have even met Professor Yoxall. Sure they were both magical, but they interacted more in the wide muggle world than anything else. The possibilites were endless. The chances of it being him were slim, 5.2 percent at the most. She was just overacting. Emilia took one deep breath to calm her unnecessary nerves. Everything would go swimmingly. Emilia Hildegard Marie Spellman just needed to relax for once in her life.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

"Dinner at 6?" Becca asked, her self-assurances that it was all just an odd coincidence going out the window. She raised an eyebrow, then impulsively grabbed the letter from Emilia's hand, shoving her letter into the puffle's hands as well. "Lemme read that." Once Becca was able to decipher the writing, her stomach dropped and her face got very pale. "No. Oh no. This is not right, Emilia, it can't be right. This says Saturday at six, wizard, muggle lover... This cannot be right." She said again, willing the words to change on the paper. They didn't, though, it all stayed the same. The loopy cursive handwriting taunting her with the knowledge that life had just gotten a dozen times weirder. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. Make it stop, make it stop.

It was bad enough to think of her father dating, but not Encyclopedia Spellman's mother. While she and Emilia weren't the worst of enemies now, Becca wasn't sure how that would work if their parents got together. The perfect child versus Becca. The same problem that they had to begin with. Emilia was perfect, quiet well behaved and intelligent. Becca was intelligent, and fair enough with certain types of magic, but she certainly wasn't quiet or well-behaved. She didn't want her father to dote upon her, but she didn't want to have to fight for his affection or certainly hear him compare her to little miss perfect puffle. All she wanted was her normal, original, family back the way it was suppose to be. Just because that was never going to happen did not mean that they needed to screw it all up further.

Becca held her head for a moment, then stood up and started pacing. "We have to fix this. They don't belong together. You don't want to have to deal with him, he's a certifiable nutter. Like, really, certificate and everything. Up and down and up and down, and he's bad when he's down, but you don't want to see him when he's up, I don't think your mother can handle that." Becca said, trying to rationalize out loud why this would never work. Should never work. Aside from the fact that Emilia's mother was not her mother.

[Emilia Spellman]

Before Emilia could speak, Becca had pulled a switcharoo with the letter's from their parents. As Emilia looked down at the slightly familiar, chicken scratch and began to read. With each letter and word, each dotted I and crossed T, the hufflepuff felt she was having a deja vu moment, this letter was nearly identical in context. Emilia couldn't handle the shock. Her stomach finally fell to her feet and she nearly feel back into the cold, running water of the fountain. Luckily her hands kept her in place. Becca couldn't have stated the situation more perfectly. This couldn't be right, their had to be some mixup. However, Emilia knew it was the truth. There was black and white evidence in front of her and she couldn't throw that away just because she didn't want to believe it. The scientist with in her stopped herself from it

"Why Why Why!" Emilia said. It was the only thing she could think of at the moment. Her brain was scattered all over the place, thinking about every possible detail of this new discovery. How did they meet? How long have they been dating? Are they going to get married? The list went on and on. Emilia took one deep breath, her chest rising slowly and nearly visible under her thick, house sweater. Once she exhaled, everything began to rearrange itself in the right place. Her brain was back and she knew what she had to say. She had to be rational, the rock of this situation, the adult.

"I know it's a shock but it obviously is happening. We have proof right here, in our parent's own hand writing, delivered by our family owls. We'll just have to make the best of it. I'm upset my mom is dating again, especially someone whose my teacher, no offense to your father.But her's the good thing. We aren't alone.We have each other, which a couple of months ago might of been bad, but now, for the sake of survival, I think things can somehow work out. We just need a survival plan" The girl got up from her spot on the stone seating and began to pace., tying her long blonde locks back in the process. It was the only way she could think thoroughly, without silly distractions. The only thing that remained was silence, paired with the calming sound of the trickling water from the center fountain and the whooshing of the crisp autumn breeze. After a few moments of pacing she had the beginning of their plan.

"First, we WILL go to dinner and observe. Then we can determine if we let them be or split them apart. We have to think of their happiness though and our future happiness at the same time." She said, still pacing back and forth. Difficult. Yes, very difficult indeed.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

Becca shook her head, "No, we need to nip this in the bud. Stop it before it becomes serious. I cannot have my father dating someone. Not after Mom just got married to..." She stopped, suppressing a wave of nausea that always came when she thought about her Uncle being her step-father. "Too soon. I can't have it, I won't have it. I will go to dinner, but I'm going to make every effort to sabotage the relationship."

It was one thing for Emilia to be upset about her mother dating another person. Her parents had never been married. She didn't have the expectation of what perfection was. What was suppose to be, the proper family. Becca on the other hand remembered what it was like to be part of a happy nuclear family, the way things were before her father went crazy and life went to hell. She wanted that back, but she wanted it back with her family, not someone else who would try to take her mother's place, or her father's place. Not someone who has another kid to compare her to.

Becca stood up and started pacing, running her hands through her hair. She wanted to scream, she wanted to fight. Literally shaking from pent up energy and frustration, the snake shoved her hands in her pocket instead of breaking something. She did kick a stick in the yard several feet. It was another betrayal, another stab in the back. She couldn't let this happen. After all, didn't anyone actually care what she thought about her family? No one ever listened.

[Emilia Spellman]

For once in her life, Emilia was having trouble figuring out what to do and what to say. Stopping in her tracks from her pacing routine, the blonde had never seen Becca so flustered. Becca though had every right to be upset. So much had changed in life recently that it was hard to keep track. Her mother getting married to her uncle, her father taking her to a psychiatrist and threatening her to take her out of school, adjusting to her medication. Is was enough to make anyone want to pull their hair out and kick the nearest person. Think of this though gave Emilia an idea. Walking up to the now pacing girl, Emilia slowly and gentle placed her hand on the girls shoulder, hoping to calm her down and stop her in her tracks.

"You can't just sabotage it full force. That will give your father more reason to...you know." She said and then turned to see if anyone else was their. When she was assured they were the only living beings she continued but dropped her voice to not attract any stragglers. "He'll take you out of school faster than you can say Einstein. If we want to end this we have to do this in stages, slowly like a chronic disease. Then he will think it is all them and not you." Emilia knew it wasn't Becca's ideal plan but it was the only way that would work to both of their advantages.

She honestly didn't want to break the two up. Emilia was hopeful. She wanted some chance at a normal family, even if it was her professor her mother was dating. She didn't want Becca to ruin things quickly. If anything Emilia wanted her mom to be happy for a few weeks, if not a few months.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

Becca stopped when Emilia put her hand on her shoulder, then suggested that flat out sabotage would lead her to Texas on a one way flight. The girl's mouth when dry when the Hufflepuff said that. "No, no, he wouldn't..." It was the same thing she thought every time she thought about not taking the pills, but then, she couldn't risk it.

"How exactly do you suggest we do that?" Becca asked, turning around to face Encyclopedia Spellman. "Aside from tell her the truth. He's nucking futs. Crazy. Bonkers. Cookoo. Loco. Unhinged. A few french fries short of a happy meal. A few sickles short of a galleon. Been confunded one too many times..." She said, more or less just ranting for the sake of letting that energy out. She had no idea how to do anything subtly, so how in the world was she suppose to do THIS subtly?

[Emilia Spellman]

"If they are already thinking about meeting each others families and this is as serious as we think than he probably has already told her and she could care less about his mental health status." Emilia immediately replied. The blonde knew her mother all to well and was sure, about 104% sure, that it wouldn't stop her from pursuing a relationship that is happy, even with the little obstacles. Her mother was not one to easily give up, in both science and people.

"And even if she didn't I know my mother wouldn't care. She's a scientist. She wouldn't dream of classifying him as crazy since she knows the wiring and workings of the body like a mechanic knows cars and that's not even her specialty in science." After her long breathless rant, the girl plopped down back onto the stone makeshift seat on the fountain. Her face was read, blood surging from anxiety. Her breathing was rapid as she tried to catch hear breath having used all the air her body had stored during her prose. She didn't have a clue of any alternatives to safely and gently break this couple up. She wanted to work, but not at the expense of hurting Becca. Sure her families happiness mattered, but so did her friends. Her mother could find someone else.

However what if she didn't? What if this really was her soul mate? The girl would feel horrible if this really was the rare and pure love only found in fairy tails. That one in a million relationship. She had only on thing she could do. Wait and see them in person.

"We'll just have to take this one day at a time. I mean what if this is true love. I wouldn't be able to live knowing a broke them up when they were that perfect. I say that we behave on the first date and if is not anything but true love we try our best to slowly, but surely as you say "nip it in the bud." Emilia suggested, showing a little bit of discomfort with repeating Becca's choice of words, as risky as they were.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

"True love? True love?!" Becca asked, raising an eyebrow. "No. You don't understand. This can't be true love. My father is suppose to be married to my mother. In love with her. That is suppose to be true love. Not my mother with my uncle and my father with....some random person he met on the streets of wherever. Witch or not, it's not true love." Becca said adamantly, voicing her opinion on her parents divorce out loud for the first time in ages. It wasn't something she usually talked about, since she knew it wouldn't happen. Still, the girl had no greater hope or wish than to just see her family go back to normal, the way it was. Maybe then she wouldn't even have to misbehave for the attention she wanted.

"You can behave all you want. Aside from the fact that you always behave. You wouldn't know how to misbehave if you were given a thousand galleons to do it." The snaked said, looking around the empty court-yard. It was rare for it to be this quiet, but it was nice right now. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself a little. Despite the fact that she had vented so much at the Puffle, there was much that she wasn't willing to say yet. Or admit that she was starting to think about, unfortunately, Emilia was right that half of it would probably get her sent to Texas with no hope of ever returning to Hogwarts.

The Slytherin kicked the bench, then sat down to sooth her now aching foot. "Bloody hell... Seriously, will nothing go right?"

[Emilia Spellman]

Emilia wished she could understand how Becca was feeling. She had never had a crazy family dynamic full of step father/uncles and divorce. The Hufflepuff had grown up in entire different set of dysfunction; a single mother who was a physics genius and goodies two shoes, but let men get the best of her and a aunt who was her pseudo-parent, but at the same time was more of a child than Emilia. She did have some normalcy though. Her grandparents, the creme de la creme of boston witch society who made sure Emilia had the best opportunities possible, despite the actions of their usually responsible daughter. Because of them she had gotten into the best schools, the best of witch and muggle society. Despite what could have been a nasty series of events she had a happy life, but still she missed not having a father. Deep down she wanted someone to love her and her mother like her real father should have. She wanted someone to walk her down the aisle on day and she also wanted to have her first father daughter dance. She was idealistic about this one aspect of her life, having a perfectly stereotypical family

"Well It can never be a year at Hogwarts with a little drama and disappointment and disaster." The girl said with a hint of sass and sarcasm.

"We're in a enigma alright and each one of use want a different outcome. I think for the first time in my twelve years of life I don't have a way to fix this to both of our likings." The words of a scientist flew out of her mouth before she realized what she had said. Thankfully Becca and her were companions and the blonde didn't to worry as much about watching her mouth before she spoke. She was a nerd and proud of it and hopefully Rebbecca would tease her to much about it, but that was way of target. They had bigger fish to fry, the fate of their respective parents love life and the two young girls futures.

[Rebbecca Tarwater]

Becca stopped her fidgeting and looked at Emilia with a confused look on her face. "I thought an enigma was a person, like, 'she's such an enigma, I can't figure her out.' Not a thing to be in...unless you're the alien from alien, in which case..." She stopped short, then shook her head. "You did not just hear me make a muggle reference."

She ran a hand through her hair, shaking it out of the pony tail holder. "So, dinner. And we behave...-ish... Then we convince them to break up. Because this is not true love." She said, summarizing what she figured to be the plan. "And we tell your mother that my father is insane. Because he is. Even with medications, he's not really stable."

The snake didn't mention that he'd been worse since her mother's wedding, though she had been too. At least she wasn't up and down, just up all the time. Not even manic, just hyper. Manic was insanity. There was no way anyone could stand living with someone like that. It was why her parents had gotten divorced to begin with. If he wasn't crazy, they would still be a happy nuclear family.