Hailey waited beside Hermione at King's Cross waiting to be picked up by Natasha. Ron and the Weasley crew had already left through the floor network within platforms 9 and 3/4 but Natasha and Hermione's parents were both running late.

Natasha was most definitely mad about her Hogsmeade adventure but Hailey couldn't help the joy she felt as she waited for someone to pick her up for Christmas. She had just never known this feeling, it was so completely unlike what she'd ever felt before.

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Granger came to them. They were a little uptight at first glance but were more than friendly with Hailey.

"I'm so sorry, dear. The traffic is horrible," Mr. Granger said to Hermione. Mrs. Granger pulled her daughter into a hug and Hermione tried to pull away.

"Mum! Not here!" she said fixing her hair and rolling her eyes a little in Hailey's direction. Mrs. Granger laughed it off.

"Jean, 'Mione is all grown up now," Mr. Granger joked. Hailey didn't understand why both Ron and Hermione felt embarrassed by their parents. They waited with Hailey until Natasha came to pick her up.

"Our flight was delayed!" Natasha exclaimed as soon as she reached the group. Steve came into view shortly after dragging both their bags with him. There was no way he actually found those suitcases even remotely heavy but he was putting on a good show.

"It's ok, you were only late by like 45 minutes, give or take," Hailey said. Natasha completely ignored Hailey and proceeded to greet Hermione's parents.

"Ms. Romanoff. We have heard so much about you," Mrs. Granger said politely shaking her hand.

They continued their boring parent talk about irrelevant things like politics and world news while Hermione pulled her to the side.

"Hailey! You said you didn't know the other Avengers!" Hermione exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"I didn't until the last week," Hailey told her.

"How could you not tell me you knew Captain America?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Oh, I must've forgotten. That's Mr. Rogers," Hailey said casually.

"Oh my god! You should've told me!!" Hermione whispered in an urgent tone.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Hailey asked. Hermione had never made a big deal about the Avengers or even about Captain America

"Big Deal!? No big deal, only Captain freaking America is standing in front of me." Hermione exclaimed. Hailey rolled her eyes. Hermione was just annoying in her fangirling phase (Hailey had plenty of experience with it when Lockhart was at Hogwarts).

"Get me an autograph! Please!" Hermione exclaimed.

"He's right there. Ask yourself," Hailey replied dryly. Hermione blushing at the prospect of talking to Captain America was hilarious though. 

"Hailey! Please!" she nudged. Hailey shrugged. Natasha was talking to Mrs. Granger about only God knew what and Mr. Granger was talking to Mr. Rogers. It was funny to see them interacting, Mr. Granger was 2 heads shorter than Mr. Rogers. He looked up to talk to Mr. Rogers but it seemed that both got off pretty well.

Finally, they decided that time was a factor and they'd better get going.

"Girls, you'll be together all year. Give us the 2 weeks, " Mrs. Granger said.

"Mr. Rogers, Hermi- Ow!- I want an autograph. I really want your autograph please," Hailey gave Hermione the stinkeye as she rubbed her arm where Hermione had pinched her hard. Hermione shoved a notepad and a pen in her hand and Hailey handed them to Captain America who was also turning red at suddenly being put on the spot.

He signed it real quick and handed it back. Natasha giggled quietly.

"Thank you," Hailey said and handed the notepad back to Hermione. 

They left to go to the parking lot where Natasha finally burst out giggling.

"Natasha, what is so funny?" Steve asked in a mock-serious tone. They stared at each other smiling. Steve was trying to look all serious but he was smiling uncontrollably and Natasha was giggling while looking at him AND Hailey got the ick at the PDA.

"Okaaay! Ew. Stop. I'm not going to third-wheel with you all Break!" Hailey said stepping between them to get ahead.

"What!?" they both exclaimed indignantly.

"I'm sure you're 'just friends' but stop staring at each other like that and smiling," Hailey said creating air quotes.

"Imagine having so much attitude when you're already in trouble," Natasha scolded lightly. At Hailey's exaggerated expression of shock, she added "Don't think I've forgotten. Professor Snape was kind enough to write to me. You're SO in trouble,"

"First of all. Kind and Snape don't belong in the same sentence and Secondly, you can't even be mad. I told you the truth. I was under an invisibility cloak, nobody could've known, Malfoy was being an arse- that's hardly my fault," Hailey said. She knew Natasha enough to know she didn't truly sound mad.

"Fine, you're off the hook- this one time and this one time only," Natasha said. This time Natasha bent over so they were at eye level. When her green eyes met the identical green ones, Hailey knew that she wasn't joking.

"I'm serious, please, I can't stress this enough- keep yourself safe. You need to work with me, I cannot do it on my own, Hailey. I can't keep you safe if, after everything I try, you run off to Hogwarts and do as you please," Natasha told her. Hailey wished she'd just yell because this was a hundred times worse.

Not only had she received the scolding of a lifetime from Professor Lupin, but Natasha was also scolding her too.

"I'm sorry, I thought it'd be okay because I was under the invisibility cloak and there were so many people. I promise to be more careful next time," Hailey said sincerely.

"No promise me that you won't go back into Hogsmeade- no promise me that you will abide by all the rules set in place for your safety," Natasha said.

Hailey hesitated, it wasn't that she wanted to go rule-breaking on purpose but she always did break one rule or another. She didn't want to make fake promises to Natasha because that would be a whole new level of worse.

She took a deep breath and decided to make the promise. That's all Natasha asks of her anyway.

"I promise," she said.

Natasha smiled and got back up. Hailey felt a huge weight lift off her chest the atmosphere lightened again.

 "Besides, grounding you is counterproductive. We would have to hire a babysitter while we have fun," Natasha teased.

~-~-~

Steve and Natasha's idea of fun was to go to the hotel room, put the bags away, and force Hailey into thick winter gear including but not limited to gloves, ear muffs, hat, leg warmers, and scarf until she resembled a potato. For Merlin's sake, she was nearly sphere and it looked like she was waddling when she walked.

"Natasha! I'm boiling!" Hailey exclaimed.

"Better than freezing!" she piped in happily. 

"Besides you look sho adowable! " Natasha said pulling her cheeks or at least what was visible of her cheeks.

The Special Christmas package consisted of two museum tickets and a ticket to the skating rink. Surprisingly enough, this fit perfectly with Steve and Natasha's idea of fun. Hailey's idea of fun was a little bit different but this was better than anything she had imagined.

"Steve was actually the one who closed the coffin on that guy," Natasha joked pointing to the mummy partially wrapped inside an open coffin.

"Will you stop it now? That's the 8th age-related joke you've made in the past hour," Steve asked. He had practically brought it upon himself by agreeing to come to museums but he seemed amused over irritated.

"And Steve used to drink his daily coffee in that pot," she said pointing to a large gold pot referencing both Steve's age and the amount of coffee he drank. "I'm done now. That was the last one," Natasha said putting her hands up in mock surrender.

"Did I tell you that was Steve's ex?" Natasha asked Hailey pointing towards another mummy. Hailey giggled silently as Steve stared Natasha down.

"I was the one who dumped her. Blondes were never my type," he replied finally deciding to join in on the jokes being made about him.

"Really? Then, what is your type, Rogers?" Natasha asked him flirtatiously. Hailey NEEDED to vomit OMFG.

"I'll tell yo-"

"Oh my god no! Please drop me back at Hogwarts. I would prefer to spend the break scrubbing the dungeons for the greasy bat." Hailey said. They both turned to her almost as if they'd forgotten she was right there.

Natasha rolled her eyes at the dramatics and Steve tried to laugh it off by scratching the back of his neck. They kept the rest of the night family-friendly- or at least Hailey-friendly and took their PDA where Hailey couldn't see them.

~-~-~

"Can I get hot chocolate with extra whipped cream? Ooh, and marshmallows!" Hailey said excitedly at the counter.

"And for you, dear lady?" Mr. Rogers asked Natasha. 

"A Cappucino," Natasha replied.

"Ok, so can we get a hot chocolate with marshmallows-"

"And extra whipped cream!" Hailey piped in.

"Hot chocolate with marshmallows and extra whipped cream,  a cappuccino, and a regular coffee," Mr. Rogers said. The barista took their order and a few short minutes later, they were seated at a table to enjoy their hot drinks before they headed to the rink.

"I've never been skating before, I'm so nervous," Hailey said while she blew on her hot drink.

"Well, I used to, a long while back but that's beside the point. It's really quite simple, don't worry. I'll teach you," Steve volunteered.

That's when Hailey's eyes landed on something she hoped never to see in this lifetime...the Dursleys. They were not easily missable and Hailey noticed them as soon as they waddled in.

"Now what does Dudders want?" Aunt Petunia asked Dudley at the register.

"Double chocolate brownies," he replied. 

"I'm sorry M'am, we're out of those right now," the Barista replied. 

Dudley's face began turning purple and oh boy, this wasn't going to end well for anyone present in the cafe. 

"I want the double chocolate brownie!" He yelled. Everyone's attention turned toward the family. Natasha and Mr. Rogers recognized them immediately but Hailey didn't know how. As Dudley began throwing a tantrum, Aunt Petunia's eyes searched the room trying to make sure she got the situation under control before the people judged her family.

Her eyes landed on Hailey and she sneered immediately. Soon Uncle Vernon noticed her and he too gave her a look of disgust. Finally, they managed to get Dudley under control by promising him a new video game so he too quit his tantrum and noticed Hailey. However, he didn't sneer like his parents.

"Mummy, Daddy! Look, Hailey's here too. Should we go say hi?" he asked as if he hadn't just finished with an episode for a brownie.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon obviously didn't want to but how could they say no to Duddykins. They walked up toward Hailey. Steve and Natasha stood up, and Hailey followed suit.

"You look...different," was all Dudley said when he came up to her. Different? That was certainly a new one. Not ugly, scarface, rathead, shitface? Wow, 'different' was most definitely a compliment.

"Thanks," Hailey tested.

"You're welcome," he replied. So it really was a compliment.

"Good Afternoon, Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon," Hailey greeted formally. They hmmed in acknowledgment.

"Let's get out of here now, Dudders, we have places to go. Some people around here have issues behaving in a civil manner and keeping their hands to themselves," Uncle Vernon shot Natasha and Mr. Rogers a glare to which they did not respond.

"Bye Hailey," Duddley said before leaving with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce you," Hailey realized. It must've been incredibly rude that Mr. Rogers and Natasha were standing there and she hadn't introduced them to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.

"It slipped my mind in the heat of the moment-"

"We have already met," Natasha told her.

"It is nothing you have to worry about. Just formalities," Natasha replied quickly as she saw that Hailey was about to open her mouth to ask questions.

Hailey decided it was unimportant today. She focused on her amazing drink, chatting away happily.

Skating was the most fun Hailey had ever had. Hailey and Natasha grasped the concept fairly quickly due to the fact that Natasha was trained in ballet and Hailey was a seeker. This gave them an excellent sense of balance. It was so so easy, Hailey couldn't believe she had ever fretted about it.

She'd even gotten told off for trying a trick.

Steve 'the, don't worry I will teach you' Rogers, however, was having a lot more trouble than either of them. He'd fallen more times than they could count on fingers which was hilarious enough but what was even funnier was that he refused to let go of both Hailey and Natasha (on either side of him).

Natasha handed her camera to a man so he could take a photo of all three of them. After a good amount of photos had been taken holding Mr. Rogers up, they decided to try a different pose but as soon as they let go, Mr. Rogers panicked and skidded on the ice. Hailey and Natasha could not stop laughing as he struggled to regain his balance. Hailey's stomach hurt from laughing.

But she wasn't laughing anymore because, in his attempt to balance himself, he had grabbed both Natasha and Hailey and dragged them down with his downfall.

The man with the camera laughed along with them since he had managed to record everything.

Their butts were freezing on the ice but the giggles just would not stop especially as they struggled to get back up.