The Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross station. Blair looked out the window and on to the platform, numbly listening to her roommates that chatted beside her in the compartment. She had done her patrolling on the ride from the castle before retiring into the compartment that had Mina, Poppy and Nancy talking avidly about finally being able to get away from Professor Umbridge.

"I hope Hogwarts is still there when we head back," Mina said. "I have a feeling Dolores will use the time to completely cover the castle in pink and her wretched cat plates."

"I don't think Blair would be mad about that second part," Poppy joked, motioning her head to Jasper that sat up right on the girl's lap.

The train stopped and students bustled off on to the platform to greet their families. Poppy, Mina and Nancy bid Blair goodbye with a Merry Christmas, leaving her to step off the steam engine and try to look over the heads of hundreds of people. Her height wasn't an advantage and she only saw the chests and shoulders of strangers. She hoped that she'd catch a tinge of red hair or the bubblegum pinkness of Nymphadora Tonks.

Sighing, Blair put Jasper to the ground and let him shoot off. He started to weave through legs and step over shoes, seeming to know exactly where he was going. In order to not lose her pet and out of pure curiosity of where he was heading, she followed after him and continuously apologised to those she accidentally pushed. She was sure that she had stepped on Narcissa Malfoy's robe and caused her to near trip over, causing a loud yelp and a sneer from her husband Lucius.

Jasper's raised black tail slipped through the last pair of legs before being scooped up into a pair of arms. Blair broke through the barrier of people and stood up straight, following the legs and torso to see Jasper snuggling into the curve of a jumper covered arm. Blair immediately noticed that the redhead Jasper was snuggling his head into wasn't the redhead he usually liked. It was his brother who was known to absolutely despise felines.

"This is such a powerful position," the redhead smirked. "Shall I give him a haircut?"

She snatched her pet out of Fred's arms and hid him away from the Weasley, glaring up at him with a look that said 'don't you dare'. Fred laughed and started to brush the black cat hair off of his blue jumper. Behind him, stood part of his family and the Order members Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody. Blair's eyes ran over the faces and avidly noted who was here and who could be the one that was the centre of the said family emergency.

"Oh Blair, it's so good to see you again!" Molly pushed Fred aside and threw her short arms around Blair's shoulders. It was relieving to know that Molly hadn't been hurt. It was equally as relieving to be hugged by the woman Blair classified as the motherly figure in her life.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs Weasley."

"Mum"

"Right, sorry, Mum."

The woman pulled away and gave her the motherly smile she was known for, before stepping aside and allowing Ginny and Ron to step forward and greet her. Blair was surprised to find that Harry was also here, making her realise that he too left Hogwarts early for the emergency. She had felt oddly lonely with the Gryffindors being away from the castle. Even though she had spent most of her time with her Ravenclaw friends, there was something that the redheads had that they lacked. While the three girls had sass and a talent in shooting knowledgeable comments and insults, the Weasleys knew how to have fun and make Blair laugh.

"Hope Umbridge didn't target you while we were away," Ginny joked as she hugged Blair.

"She actually chilled out significantly. I think her blood pressure dropped by tenfold from the absence of you two," Blair poked her fingers at the twins who emerged at the mention of their 'favourite' teacher.

"Aww she probably missed us," George sulked, pressing his lips against her temple and slipping his arm around her shoulders. "I can't wait to go back and let her know that she's not getting rid of us anytime soon."

"So," Blair started, glancing at Molly and the Order members that stood back in silence. "What was the emergency?"

---

Littering the dining table in the kitchen was the entire Weasley clan minus the oldest male. Blair sat with a cup of steaming tea in her hands and listened to Sirius who sat with his small glass of wine in hand. He explained what had happened to Arthur within the Department of Mysteries during the patrolling of the Order. The Weasleys were glum from hearing the recount for the second time but still with the same chills down their spines. They were deeply worried about their father and had only one measly opportunity to see him in the hospital since his admission.

"I think after Christmas, he'll be out of St. Mungos," Sirius noted with a hint of hope in his tone. It lightened the mood in the room, but there was still an undermining sense of worry and fear.

"Enough of all this," Molly appeared and tried to push down the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "It's Christmas in a few days! And in order for us to have a good one, we need to clean! Up everyone! We'll start with the living room!"

A ripple of groans went through the room but the scraping of chairs and movement stopped Molly from hearing it. Sirius stayed in his spot and waved smugly to everyone that left the room, his glass of wine full and in need of devouring. Harry gave his godfather an amused smile before heading out also, joining the Weasleys and Blair in the living room. It had two armchairs and a large sofa that centred on a coffee table. Built into the wall was a fireplace that had dust covering the mantle. The small chandelier that hung from the ceiling had cobwebs strung across all assets of it. The room, all in all, was in desperate need of a clean and a splash of festivity.

"Right! Here's some dusters and some cloths," Molly conjured a bucket of cleaning products and shoved it into Ron's hands. "There are bound to be Doxies in here, so there's a bottle of Doxycide in there as well. Don't let them bite you, otherwise there's a nasty tasting potion to make sure it doesn't get infected. After that, there's a box of Christmas decorations out in the hall with a Christmas tree and tinsel."

"Should we get Kreacher in here to help?" Ginny suggested and a collective cringe was felt through the room.

"I think we'll give that a miss," Fred sniggered.

The group started with the Doxies that were hiding in the mouldy corners of the room. Harry wrapped a rag around his nose and mouth before sticking a duster into the crevices, jumping aside and letting Blair or Ginny spray the bottle of Doxycide. The creatures would fly out covered in black soot from the fireplace and attempt to bite at any exposed skin they could see. Fred and George kept their wands out and helped the girls with a knockback jinx, which also affected the Doxies and caused them to implode with loud 'pop!'s.

The group scrubbed at the floorboards and patted out the rug, giving the room a more open and less musky atmosphere. The furniture had been dusted and the fireplace was now able to be used without the fear of something catching alight. The oldest of the witches and wizards used their wands to put up the Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree was being assembled by Fred and George, when a loud yelp echoed throughout the room.

"What is it?" Ginny whipped her head around and saw Fred with his finger in his mouth with an expression of pain.

"A Doxy was sitting in the tree," George laughed, using a jinx to abolish the creature that could be heard giggling in the branches.

"I'll go ask Mum for the potion," Ron stated and went to turn around to head for the door.

"Hold up," Blair stopped in, searching around in her jean pocket. "Try using this instead."

She pulled out a fresh bottle of the green healing potion and made her way over to Fred. She pulled the cork stopper out of the neck and tipped a small dollop out into her hand. Fred held his bloodied finger out and let Blair smother the greenery over his bite, wincing at the contact but relaxing when the cooling sensation sunk in. George stuck his head between the two and watched as the potion sunk into Fred's wound and stitched the bite marks together, leaving smooth and brand new skin.

"Oh this looks lovely!" Molly's voice caused the attention of the room to turn to her, her head swivelling around at the tinsel and baubles that covered the walls.

"Mum! Blair healed Fred's Doxy bite!" George cheered, pointing down at brother's hand.

"What?"

Molly marched over and looked down at Fred's finger that had residue from Blair's concoction. Her eyes widened and switched to the bottle that was tucked inside Blair's fingers, trying to read the label that would tell her what magical potion had healed a Doxy bite without the use of the revolting remedy Sirius had in his cabinet.

"How extraordinary! Did you make that, Blair?" Molly questioned, reminding everyone heavily of Arthur's constant state of amazement with anything and everything. "What's in it?"

"It's just a healing potion with Murtlap essence and some other stuff in it," Blair shrugged. "It works with most open injuries."

"Did you learn to make that at Hogwarts?"

"No. I just used basic healing ingredients that I knew about."

Molly pursed her lips together and asked to see the potion. Blair held it out for her and Molly eyed the liquid through the glass, looking at the mucus-like colour with flecks of forest green herbs. As if she was trying to see every ingredient used, the woman eyed the bottle for several seconds. The youngsters looked to each other with raised eyebrows and Blair feared that maybe she had made something that was against some rule. Even though she had just used the ingredients from a basic potions book, maybe the adding of certain herbs and spices had made something illegal or dangerous.

"May I keep this?" Molly spoke after a while, looking up at Blair with the bottle held against her chest.

"U-Uh sure?"

Blair watched as Molly left the room with her potion and the room lapsed into silence. The Weasleys and Harry looked towards Blair with equally as confused expressions. Besides the odd behaviour from Molly, they finished the Christmas decorations and headed upstairs. They hoped to not be seen by the adults of the house, who'd suggest they'd start cleaning and decorating the upstairs rooms.

"Do you think your mum's going to do something with the potion?" Blair asked as she sat on her mattress that was on the floor of Fred and George's room. Fred lay down on his bed with his feet up against the wall, staring up at the ceiling and George sat next to Blair.

"Maybe she'll try using it on Dad?" George shrugged. "You never know, you could have made some miracle million galleon product."

"Whatwere his injuries like?"

The brothers exchanged a look and swallowed at remembering the sight of their father in his hospital bed. The man had bruises all over his face and several cuts that leaked continuously. It hurt physically to see their father so bloodied and purple from bruises. Arthur was known for being constantly excitable and never in a sour mood. And that didn't change in his hospital room at St. Mungos, but the sight of his mangled skin gave the sense that not everything was jolly good and a'okay.

"Pretty severe," Fred answered in a strained sigh. "They were amazed he was still alive when they found him."

"I'm not saying that it could work..." Blair started and glanced cautiously at the two. "But maybe it'll help him. Maybe that's why Molly was so avid to keep it."

"If you can get our dad out of Mungos by Christmas," George turned his head and stared down at her with a wholesome and honest glaze in his eyes. "Then I'm sure they'll let us into the Order early. You're brilliant, you know?"