Darlings, you've got nothing on this wench.

Christmas was coming and as much as it pained him, Baird’s lady wife would not forgive him if any of their friends went without some semblance of a family for the holiday season. He adored Sonia and as much as he wanted to curl up with her for the days that the world would claim as a virtual armistice while it indulged in minced pies and far too much alcohol he did know that she was right and there wouldn’t be anywhere for the ones they left behind to go. As a result, he was doing damage control and cleaning up, making sure that everyone they knew and loved as friends or acquaintances were on good terms with their parents or had a semi-lumpy couch to sleep on for the season. There was only one option left to diffuse trouble from and then he could go back to Hogwarts and amuse Sonia and revel in the fact that he’d gotten her to get rid of the Ivanov in favour for McLaggen.

He’d agreed to meet Tibby and Grace in Hogsmeade although neither knew the other was coming. Baird didn’t know exactly how well the two girls knew each other and he was determined to be tactful - if only for Sonia’s sake because she was the one who’d have to deal with the fallout if he mucked it up. He loved Tibby, she was his problem, whilst Grace was Sonia’s by extension of her friendship with Charlie. They’d gotten closer though, ultimately, and Grace had lost some of her unsettled resentment towards Sonia for stealing her friend. The girls had become proper friends and while this made things easier for everyone, Baird knew how lonely Grace was. You’d have to be blind not to notice that.

Once the girls were assembled on neutral ground: The Three Broomsticks - where else? - Baird bought them a drink each. He set the bottles of Buttebeer down, it being far too early in the day for anything harder and all of them too young to buy any of it, and took his seat to the left of Tibby and across from a nervous looking Grace who stared at him openly, fear riddled in her eyes and a freshly healed scar disappearing into her cheek leftover from a particularly grisly Full Moon that had even seen Healer Ivanov wince. Baird had known how much it had hurt and shuddered to think what would have happened if it had been any lower. He set that out of his mind, though, and looked at the girls, keeping his body language as neutral and open as possible.

“Grace, this is Tibby Frank. She’s the best lesbian in town. She’s got a sweet smile and is bloody awful at Divination. Conversely, Tibbs this is Gracelyn Llewellyn. She’s a werewolf, Charlie’s bestest pal, way too much of a loner to have any friends at all - she’s ginger and she’s currently peeing her pants just a little bit so I’ll make you both cringe and ruin those floral, lacy spectaculars by telling you this: Tibby, Grace is staying with you this Christmas. I hope Arren is cooking goose an I hope the apartment-- wait, no, I know you have room. Right, well, I’ll let that sink in and I’ll go and flirt with that odd-looking waitress in the hope of finding out what the likelihood of me getting a job here is. Have fun chatting, lassies.”

With that, Baird got up and hurried away, hoping against hope that Grace wouldn’t keel over and Tibby wouldn’t explode. He couldn’t be sure of either, though, and hoped at least he’d be far enough away for it not to be his fault by the time either or both occurred.

Like many Hogsmede weekends, Tibby was going out with Baird for lunch. Even if the shops in town rarely updated their stock or front windows it was still always fun to get out from under the hawk eyes of their teachers. The friends almost always went, even if it was just for a few hours, and one of the most popular spots to meet up was the Three Broomsticks. It was not the most exciting or exotic place in Hogsmede but it was cheaper than Madam Puddifoots and warmer than the Hogs Head, leaving them without many options.

When the Ravenclaws arrived Tibby was only slightly suprised to see Gracie sitting there. The two girls had only spoken a few words to each other on a few occasions but from those few snippets of conversation she didn't have anything bad to say about the redheaded girl. Besides, among their group of friends the smaller gatherings often shifted and switched members. It was expected that everyone knew everyone at least a little bit and it was wrong for Tibby to barely know Grace.

If she was friends with Charlie who was friends with Sonia who was friends with Baird then naturally Tibby should also make an effort to get to know Grace.

They had all settled down and Baird had gotten the girls drinks - an act that Tibby had found surprisingly kind of him. But no sooner had she taken her first sip of the hot drink then he opened his mouth and all thoughts about his generosity disappeared. An expression of exasperation mixed with shock covered Tibby's face and she visibly edged away from Baird slightly as his word vomit took over the table. She was used to his unnecessarily honest bursts but rarely did they start with "best lesbian in town".

Actually, no. They often did start with that. He just normally managed to avoid making those comments in front of beautiful girls.

And just as soon as he had sat down he was gone again, off to do whatever weird thing he had in his head now. Tibby had stopped listening at that point. "Oh my god. I'm sorry." Tibby apologized, unsure of how seasoned she was to her Ravenclaw companion. Of course there really was nothing to apologize for - it was just Baird - but too much of Baird before you knew him could be quite the shock. She remembered first year enough to tell you that.

"For a genius, boundaries are a little bit of an intellectual gray area for him." And he just likes watching people squirm. For the life of her, Tibby didn't know how Sonia was able to put up with her husband-to-be. Even as Baird's best friend of six years she got constantly annoyed with him (not that he really noticed or cared) and never in a million years could she be persuaded to marry the fool. The couple was either going to kill each other or live the rest of their lives in total harmony. Tibby couldn't tell which.