It's weird to be back at Watford. Even though I'm only 31, it feels like a lifetime ago that I was last here. Dancing with Baz at his Leaver's Ball, surrounded by gaping mages and fairy lights. Everything looks the same, but also completely different. It feels smaller, more disconnected; like I'm watching the hallways through a fishbowl. But it still feels safe, still feels like home. As long as I don't look at or go near the White Chapel. Every time I've tried I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and I have to rush for the nearest toilet. By now, nothing much comes up but bile that stings my throat.
I'm sitting on this uncomfortable high-backed chair outside of the headmistress's office. Penny's mum is still headmistress, and from what I can tell, she's doing wonderfully. She's made some major curriculum improvements, reinstated some of the old traditions (the good ones like memory books and the theatre programme, not the low-magic exclusionary ones), and, from what I hear, she's planning on introducing a new co-ed dorm (inspired by Penny's to-this-day-unexplained ability to get into the boy's dorms). I'm trying to convince her to pay Cook Pritchard extra for every sour cherry scone she makes, but so far she hasn't taken to the idea (no idea why).
Baz is in there with her, right now, which is why I'm incessantly tapping my feet and making a miniature fireworks display of nervous golden sparks. They've been in there for ages. Should it be taking this long? Why would it take this long-- Penny's mum already knows Baz, already likes him. Penny is our daughters' godmother, for Crowley's sake. This should not be taking this long.
At long last, the door opens. Baz steps outside, grinning and shaking professor Bunce's hand.
"Thank you very much, Mitali," he's saying. My heart leaps-- their conversation must've gone well, then. "It's been a pleasure, as always."
Professor Bunce smiles back at Baz.
"You're very welcome, Basil. Are you and the girls still coming round for tea next week?" Baz nods, a lock of hair coming loose from his short ponytail and drifting lazily across his forehead.
"Unless one of them manages to lick another trolley at the supermarket and explosively vomit for a week again, you can count on it."
Shaking my attention away from my husband's hair, I stand up, going over to join them. Penny's mum smiles at me (she's been more tolerant of my aptitude for disaster ever since Baz and I got married. I think she thinks he's a good influence on me)(is he, really?).
"Hello, Simon," She says jovially. I return the smile, linking hands with Baz.
"Hello, professor Bunce. How are things?" She waves away the question, giving a very Penny-like dramatic sigh.
"Oh, fine, fine. Priya's having her baby next month, Pip's off trying to break another arm on a skiing trip in America. So, the usual, I suppose." I laugh lightly.
"Well, give our luck to Priya. I dunno if there's any helping Pip," I reply. Mitali chuckles.
"Yes, well, you might very well be right about that, Simon." She glances at her watch, and her face gets that familiar, faraway look that always means she's got other work on her mind. "Well, I'll let you two be off. Congratulations, Basil. See you soon." We say our goodbyes, and she retreats back into her office.
As soon as the door closes, I turn to Baz, a grin on my face, my hands gripping his arms excitedly.
"Did you get the job?" I ask. Baz nods, the smile on his face absolutely luminous.
"I got it!" He replies, sounding like a kid in a candy shop. Laughing, I kiss him, pulling him close.
Miss Possibelf is retiring this year, and so Watford needs a new Magic Words teacher. Baz has been hoping for a job at Watford for the past five years, but until now, no position was open. He's been practising for this interview with me for the past month. It'll be strange not to ask him interview questions at dinner, using a funny voice to entertain the girls.
"Are we gonna tell Natasha and Lucy when we go pick them up?" I ask, pulling away. Baz nods, kissing my jaw.
"Yeah. And then, later, when they're sleeping over at Bunce and Micah's, we're going to celebrate," He murmurs teasingly. Laughing, I playfully push him away.
"Don't you dare talk sexy to me in front of the headmistress's office!" Baz scrunches up his nose, knocking up my chin.
"Aw, you're no fun, Si. All right then, let's go get the girls. We can continue this conversation later." Even after ten years of being married to him, that voice he uses when he's teasing me still sends shivers up my spine. Grinning, I take his hand, leading him towards the stairs that'll take us back to the grounds and the car.
"Let's go, you absolute wanker."
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This is the beginning of the end :_(
I hope you all enjoy the last fic in this series! I think it's gonna be a short, sweet little fic that will hopefully satiate your Snowbaz needs until I've got time to write a new fanfiction (though it will feel weird to write a fic that's not in this series). It's going to be difficult to write this year, as I'll be busy with my final year of high school and applying for university (which I have to start doing in SIX DAYS AAAAKJHGAKADFH) and whatnot, but I'm going to try really hard to write whenever I can. And I'm going to try and finish this fic as soon as possible, so I don't have to go on hiatus with it. Again, I hope you enjoy it!
Love you all, and welcome back!
-Lefty
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All That We Are Is Who We Must Be
Fanfiction{PREVIOUS FICS IN THE SERIES: ALL THAT WE ARE, IF YOU MUST. THIS IS THE FINAL FIC IN THE TRILOGY} Baz and Simon have been married for ten years. It's been ten years since Baz was kidnapped by the Enenra, ten years since they fought a giant, wyrm-lik...
