The sound of music and cheers of holidays at the Irvingly Arms never never failed to bring a smile to Amelia's face and this year was no exception. Her hands stung slightly at the sheer amount of clapping she'd been doing all night. Her sides ached with laughter at the sight of Konstantin Fisk at the center of it all, ever so kind and never refusing a requested dance from the small children pooling around them.

Christmas had come and gone, which meant attending a few celebrations of note for Amelia and her family. While the first few Christmases as an 11 year old with her aunt and uncle always were bittersweet, Amelia had come to look forward to them. With every passing year since, she knew that this was her family, the ones who accepted her and didn't shun her for having magical abilities. Still, she'd grown up for 10 years with a family who'd loved her (in their own way, she supposed) and still found herself wondering about the people who she used to call family.

A pause in the music reflected the pause Amelia felt in the evening. Were they still thinking of her? Or would they have moved on without her just as easily as they always seemed to go about life; easy and crisp and emotionless. She'd fought hard to overcome those same habits that her family had instilled in her so young, with the only difference being that she always seemed to be caught between flight or fight. If her family had banished her now, as a spinster (there was no doubt in her mind that they would have expelled her from their abode for that sole reason), would she have fought to stay, or would she have fled?

There was no use in pondering over such things, Amelia knew her aunt and uncle would say. They were not in Amelia's life anymore - she had the power to expel them from her life as much as they did her. And she very well did, with the letter that they'd received upon her graduation from Hogwarts. Still, that didn't stop Amelia from thinking about them every once in a while...

It was the sight of Mr. Fisk coming towards her that drew her out of her slowly turning thoughts. The smile re-appeared on her face and she laughed as he came over. She was glad he'd been such a hit with the town children. It was always a challenge to establish trust with some of them, but Mr. Fisk proved to be quite a natural, it seemed. It of course helped that all the younger ladies were swooning over him. The awed glances the young men were throwing him had made Amelia laugh even harder.

The suggestion of her being his next dance partner made the expression on her face falter, and she blushed in embarrassment. "By the looks of it, Mr Fisk, it seems you've been fairing quite well thus far!" she said, casting a second glance over at the younger ladies still chattering amongst themselves. "And besides," she continued, glancing down at his feet. "I should hate to put more scuff marks in those shoes of yours!"

It was at least half true - Amelia had learned a few dances with her friends, but the most dancing she did in her day to day life was attempting to avoid the swarm of moon calves at feeding time. "Dancing was never my strongest suit, you see." She glanced back at him, quirking her brow.