the gentle moon / george weasley

i never blamed you for leaving

Just outside of London, through a pair of wrought iron gates led the mother and daughter, and their dog, down a long, tree lined gravel driveway. At the end of the driveway sat a large fountain, and behind the fountain stood a manor that made Hogwarts look rundown. August can't deny the beauty of the house, and the details that were put into it, but she still rather spent her Christmas at home. Because that felt like a home.

"Are you going to knock?" August asked her mother; whose hand was frozen only a few centimeters away from the grand door. A door that could accommodate a family of giraffes.

"You knock." Jade turned her daughter.

"No, you brought us here. You knock." August crossed her arms.

Jade huffed and then turned back to the door

"It's not like Grandmother is going to answer the door anyways, she has people for that."

Jade sighed, and knocked on the door lightly. A few seconds later, a man in a tuxedo opened the door.

"Good evening, Miss O'Keefe." He greeted Jade.

"Hello, Henry." Jade greeted back, "It's good to see you again."

Henry turned to August, and bowed, "And good evening, Miss O'Keefe. You've grown up."

August smiled at the man, and tugged Jet in while Henry grabbed their bags from the front steps.

August, in her normal attire; brown corduroy pants, green turtleneck and oversized sweater, paired with her dirty doc martens felt like rags as stood in the foyer. One large staircase smack right in the middle of the room led to the library that August would usually hide out in when the misfortune of their presence was needed at the house. On the left side, a large dark oak door led to the kitchen that was covered in copper cookware and emerald green backsplashes, and to the right, a matching door,  would lead to a grand living room where the rest of the O'Keefe family was waiting for their arrival.

"I will show you two, to your sleeping quarters." Henry informed them as he walked past, "You can follow me. I believe your mother is expecting formal wear this evening, Jade."

"You don't think Grandmother would approve of my corduroys, Henry?" August joked with the man. She would have sworn she saw a smirk form on the man's face. Jade pinched August's ear when she said that, but August just laughed when Jet ran past the two with a wagging tail.

Once in their room, the decor did not differ from the rest of the house. A large bed with a canopy, with layers and layers of, in August's opinion, the ugliest fabric she has ever seen and what seemed like 50 pillows, sat in a perfect formation at the top of the bed.

"Do you think there is a pressure plate under these pillows? Like if I moved one, do you think a maid will run in here and fix it?" August joked, throwing a pillow across the room, "Who needs this many pillows?"

August sat on the bed and frowned, "Maybe we're supposed to sleep on them. This bed is rock solid." She said, knocking on the bed with her fist.

"Just get dressed, August." Jade sighed, putting on a green and black cocktail dress, "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home."

August sighed, as her mother lifted her wand and hovered a pile of clothes towards August. In the pile, and delighted to August, a pair of brown pleated trousers that sat just above her ankles, a cream blouse that would even make Ethel forget that August was wearing pants. And then of course, a black silk bow for her hair.

"I have an early Christmas gift for you." Jade said. A shoe box gently floated toward August.

"A fire for this bow." August beamed looking up at her mother.