Disclaimer - I don't own The Worst Witch in any incarnation.

Author's Note - This story ties in with Permanent Mother - Making a Home written by my friend Hallow Sisters on My Mind, with kind permission. Enjoy.

Babysitting.

Julie Hubble was nervous; when she had made the offer to Esmerelda she would be happy to look after Ethel and Sybil when the older Hallow sister had suffered from that breakdown, she hadn't expected the teenager to take her up on her offer considering how protective she was towards her younger sisters.

Still, Esmerelda had been grateful to her for the offer, and Julie was more than happy to help. While she hadn't been totally happy to find the Hallow sister were here, especially Ethel since she had heard the stories from Mildred about what the blonde girl had done to her over the last few years, there was something about the girls that touched her heart.

Esmerelda had asked her here to the flat because the teenager had a meeting with her lawyer with the custody case, it could take hours and Esmerelda didn't want to take her sisters along to a boring office where they would be trying to find something to do. Julie could understand why the girl wouldn't want to take her sisters to an office.

Standing outside the Hallow flat' door, Julie knocked on the door and waited. She didn't know the sisters that well, Mildred's stories aside she only had her own impressions of them, and they were brief at best, which only made her even more nervous. She knew Sybil was the timidest of the Hallow sisters, but Julie was taken with the girl. She was taken with all of them, even if she wasn't sure about Ethel. Her brief encounters with the Hallow sisters didn't count; when she had met the girls at the hospital the only one to be truly welcoming towards her had been Sybil.

Ethel had regarded her with paranoid anger, frightened Julie had poisoned the cottage pie she'd taken to the hospital for the sisters to eat, though why she would go so far as to think that, Julie had no idea. Esmerelda had been terrified she was there to judge her, or to take care of Ethel without considering the idea she was only there to visit.

But while her relationship with the elder sister had improved after that night where Esmerelda had broken down due to the unfair stress brought on by the judgemental teachers of Cackles Academy who kept dragging her into the school, Julie still wasn't sure how she was going to cope with the younger Hallow girls.

Mildred had given her quite a few stories about the Hallow sisters, but being told about someone was not the same as meeting them for yourself.

The only consolation Julie had was, thanks to Esmerelda taking her sisters away from their abusive parents (learning the Witching world not only turned a blind eye to child abuse but refused to even listen to children when they were clearly having terrible problems at home worried Julie, because the long term effects of said abuse were obvious since some abused children become abusive themselves because they didn't know any better; it was just another reason why she was frightened for Mildred) the girls had become different in a good way but she still didn't have much contact with the Hallows to get an idea of what they were like.

Julie blew out a breath and knocked on the door and waited. She didn't have time to wait as the door opened and Esmerelda poked her head out. The elder Hallow was dressed in a smart and clean outfit, and her long blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. She was clearly trying to appear casual but professional, hoping to present a woman who was taking the whole matter seriously.

Esmerelda smiled when she saw her. "Hi, Julie," she greeted, though Julie could tell the teenager was tense because she was going to be leaving her sisters shortly.

Doing her best to keep the worry for the elder Hallow girl off her features since she was sure Esmerelda would bottle everything up, Julie returned the smile. "Hi, love, how are you doing today?"

Esmerelda grinned nervously, stepping back and letting the older woman into the flat. "I'm great, thanks. A bit nervous about the meeting, of course, but I'm okay."

The unspoken I'm also worried about leaving my sisters behind went uncommented by Julie since she didn't want Esmerelda to be even more stressed out.

Julie stepped into the flat. It was virtually identical in layout to the flat she herself lived in and shared with Mildred though the kitchen and small dining room had a closed door and the girls had placed a TV and DVD player on a stand in a corner with sofa and chairs nearby, only the Hallow girls had decorated their flat in a purple colour. Along the wall was a small collection of photographs of all the Hallow girls through various stages of her life.

Julie was about to take a look at the photos when Esmerelda closed the door. "Thank you for doing this," she said, and when Julie turned around she wasn't surprised when she saw Esmerelda wringing her hands nervously. "I wouldn't trust anybody else with this….," the teenager trailed off as if she realised she had spoken out of line, but Julie held up a hand.

"It's okay, I believe you," she said quietly, "I remember when I needed to go to work, and when I left Mildred at nursery school. I was always dreading getting a call saying Mildred had hurt herself, or something like that. I know where you're coming from, really," she said as reassuringly as she could at the teenager.

Esmerelda smiled back shyly, pleased Julie understood.

Julie looked around, but there was no trace of the girls. "Where are your sisters?" she asked as she put down her handbag and took off her jacket.

"Oh, they are just finishing their breakfast," Esmerelda replied with a smile, making a hand gesture for Julie to follow her into the kitchen, though now she knew where the sisters were in the flat Julie could hear the sounds of the girls chatting as they finished eating their breakfast.

Esmerelda opened the door to the kitchen showing Ethel and Sybil both sitting at the table, eating either toast or cereal. Both girls looked up at their guest. Their reactions to Julie's presence was actually predictable; Sybil brightened at the sight of her, and Julie wondered what it was about her and Mildred that made Sybil trust them so much. But Ethel looked torn between looking at her with suspicion, but she appeared to be struggling with keeping awake. Julie looked at the middle sister with sympathy, guessing the girl had had a rough night.

"You okay, Ethel?" she asked in concern; if there was going to be a problem with the girl later she wanted to know.

Ethel yawned. "I'm just tired. I'm okay, really. I just didn't have a good night last night."

Julie nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling Ethel, all too well."

Ethel pierced her with a look that was somehow more intense due to her clear fatigue. "Oh really?"

Julie raised an eyebrow at the challenging tone in the blonde girl's voice. "Yeah, you try working in a hospital during the late night shift, then we'll talk," she said with a smile, indicating Ethel didn't need to do a shift to prove herself.

Esmerelda suddenly appeared by her elbow, and Julie could see the teenager was on the verge of panicking and she wondered how the teenager was able to move between calm and controlled one moment to panicked and nervous the next.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked in concern, wondering if there was something wrong with the girl.

Esmerelda went to her sisters and glanced at their breakfast plate and bowl, and she touched her sisters' shoulders gently. "Finish your breakfast, I just need to speak to Julie for a moment, okay?"

Sybil and Ethel nodded. "Okay, sure," Sybil replied.

Ethel yawned, too tired to reply.

Esmerelda went back to Julie and took her hand and with surprising strength, pulled Julie out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Once they were out of earshot of the younger Hallow girls, Esmerelda looked at her with such an expression of fear Julie was even amazed the girl was even standing upright.

"I don't think I can go through with it," the teenager said, her eyes darting around in panic, "I don't think I can go through with leaving them, I've never left them before like this…."

Julie let out a breath of relief, relieved that the reason was simple enough to overcome. "Esmerelda, you said this meeting was important," she stated simply, knowing she had to make things clear to the blonde, "you have to go. You know you can't take your sisters with you, otherwise, they would be bored out of their minds."

Okay, she knew that Esmerelda could take the girls with her to this appointment, but the girls couldn't sit around for long periods listening to their sister, and besides Julie knew all too well how distracting children could be when it came to boring meetings. She had once taken Mildred with her to an appointment to a bank when Millie had been only two-years-old. The banker had not been happy when Mildred had needed attention, in fact, Julie was positive the other woman she had met had been on the verge of telling Julie to go home and not to come back with Mildred.

Esmerelda looked like she was going to argue with her, but Julie was not going to let that happen. The longer the teenager was here, the greater the chance she would miss the meeting.

"I know how you feel, really I do," Julie went on calmly, knowing the teenager would listen to a more understanding voice. "I had to tell my own sister she needed to take care of Millie, and when the time came she practically had to throw me out of the flat. I was terrified something might happen to my baby girl, but I knew there would be times where I would need to leave Mildred in the care of either my sister, my mum, or a school. It's perfectly normal what you're going through, but you have to accept there will be moments you won't be there."

The sooner Esmerelda realised she couldn't always be there for her sisters, the better. It was one thing them being at school, but that was different compared to this case.

Esmerelda swallowed and nodded. She knew Julie was making a very good point. It was just… hard for her to be away from her sisters; when she had first gone to Cackles, she had missed them both terribly and although she knew in a few years they would spend time together in Cackles, a couple of years seemed like such a long time. When it had come time for Ethel to come to Cackles, Esmerelda had been delighted but she had been upset by how…. angry Ethel had been, and while some of the blame rested on Mildred's shoulders, Esmerelda knew the girl wasn't completely to blame since there were other factors.

The most difficult time for Esmerelda had been when she had no powers for a whole year, and she had been forced to remain at their parents' home where Ursula and Triton, being the unbearable control freaks they'd always been, simply would not leave her alone. They had always gone on and on about her shaming the family name while blissfully not bothering to come up with a solution to her problems, playing their never-ending stupid games like when they had tried to get Ada Cackle kicked out with that fake petition like it was actually going to help matters when she didn't have any magic.

Now she was Ethel and Sybil's guardian (more or less), Esmerelda had no intention of letting anything happen to her sisters, especially after everything that had happened. Their parents' abuse had been bad enough, but Ethel's accident had terrified her. Esmerelda did not know if she could take anything happening to her sisters again after what had happened to Ethel. She had been telling the truth when she had said Julie was the only one she trusted and she did. Like Esmerelda, Julie was a single parent/guardian, and truthfully Esmerelda trusted Julie more than she trusted anyone else, though none of the Hallow sisters had really gone out of their way to make friends with some of their neighbours since they were private by nature, and besides Esmerelda knew Ethel would prefer to be looked after by someone like Julie Hubble since the woman wasn't completely a stranger - well, she was, but because Julie was the mother of one of Ethel's classmates and one of Sybil's friends, she was more likely to be accepted by her younger sisters than someone else.

Esmerelda sighed and picked up a couple of pieces of paper she had spent most of the morning, and some of last night preparing, and she handed them to Julie. "I've made a list of their likes and dislikes," she explained quietly, "Ethel and Sybil are both very fussy it's best you know what they like to eat and drink, but also what they dislike."

Julie took the pieces of paper. She knew of course how fussy children could be, and although Mildred wasn't particularly fussy about what she ate despite her own allergies, she did have limits, but she was surprised to receive three sheets of paper listing the girls' likes and dislikes.

Julie could not help but whistle when she let her eyes scan the list in amazement.

Esmerelda nodded, taking the whistle of astonishment in her stride. "I told you they were fussy," she said.

"Yeah, but there is fussy and then there is this," Julie replied as she scanned the lists she'd been handed. Mentally Julie rubbed her head while she tried to think of a way of making something good for the sisters without them moaning about it.

"Just follow the list," Esmerelda gave her advice, "don't let them tell you they don't like something. I know what they're like and what they like to eat and drink, and it's down on that list. I've told the girls not to cause too many problems for you."

Julie was relieved to hear that just as Esmerelda handed her another piece of paper. Julie looked at it in confusion for a second, wondering if Esmerelda had forgotten to give her something, but then she recognised the names of several drugs. She guessed what she had just been handed when Esmerelda told her without realising the nurse in Julie had already worked it out.

"Ethel's medications," the blonde said in explanation.

Julie took the fourth sheet of paper and nodded quietly, looking sympathetically at the teenager she was quickly coming to see as a friend. "How is she?" she asked.

Esmerelda sighed, smiling softly though Julie could tell it was forced. "She's getting there. Ethel's walking is getting better, but she still suffers from pain and it is especially worse at night. That's why she hasn't been sleeping very well."

Julie smiled sympathetically, remembering all too well how Mildred had been after her broken leg.

Esmerelda turned to face Julie, looking so seriously that the nurse could tell she was about to say something important.

"Julie, I trust you, but those two girls in there…. well, they're my life. They're important to me, and they're the reason why I have grown up so fast these past few months. They're my world. Please…. please," Esmerelda said in a voice that said the girl was on the verge of getting down on her knees and begging, "don't let anything happen to them."

Julie had to hold back the smile, remembering how she had said the same thing to Mo, knowing that her sister loved Mildred so much. She knew how Esmerelda felt, but she was worried because the Hallow sisters were witches. Their parents were still out there and anything could happen.

"I won't," she replied, "but are you expecting problems? I mean, your parents are still out there," she voiced her thoughts and watched as Esmerelda looked suddenly worried at the mention of those two people who had abused their own children simply because they could.

Esmerelda visibly shuddered at the memory of what her parents had done to her sisters, the sounds of Sybil and Ethel screaming in agony as the curse burnt their backs, as well as the sight of the remaining scars, haunted the teenager even now. "No, but after everything, I don't want anything bad to happen to them," she said.

"Oh," Julie nodded in understanding while she looked at the blonde girl. "Don't worry, Esmerelda. Your sisters are safe with me. I am a nurse after all, and if Ethel falls ill I can step right in."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Julie immediately wished she could suck them back while simultaneously kicking herself for being stupid. However, it was too late to say anything to the girl.

Esmerelda looked both worried and yet relieved. Julie guessed she looked worried that anything could happen to Ethel and Sybil while she was gone, but one of the biggest problems Esmerelda had was she believed she couldn't leave either of her sisters alone long enough especially when they were in the care of someone like Julie, who was an experienced parent. It was both endearing and yet it could be annoying, especially because there would be moments where the girls would need to be taken care of by someone other than Esmerelda. The girl was worried probably because of the thought of being away from her sisters for a long period of time, but there was nothing she could do with that; Esmerelda knew she couldn't take the girls with her to this meeting even if they were old enough to take care of themselves, there was always likely to be something that would distract the course of the meeting, and while Julie didn't know the specifics behind it, she knew Esmerelda would need all of her concentration for this one.

The teenager needed a few more seconds before she realised that Julie didn't mean the world would end as soon as she left the girls, and she smiled back at the older woman. "Thank you," Esmerelda said gratefully, though suddenly her manner changed into something between desperate and terrified, and Julie wondered if this attitude was what Mo had been confronted with years ago when she had left her daughter with her sister, "but if you do need me-," she tried to say, but Julie held up her hand.

"It's okay," Julie said, knowing the best thing to do here was to reassure the blonde and acknowledge what she wanted rather than be dismissive towards her valid fears, "I'll call you. We'll be just fine."

Julie did consider saying that Esmerelda shouldn't worry, but she quickly decided against it. The last thing she wanted was for Esmerelda to do the opposite, and worry.

The teenager smiled nervously, her eyes darting towards the door as if bracing herself for the inevitable. Julie mentally sighed, wishing the girl would get over that attitude.

"Okay, she said with some effort, "I'd better say goodbye to them, then." Esmerelda nodded at the end for emphasis and then turned and headed towards the kitchen where Ethel and Sybil were probably still eating.

Julie followed the teenager, mentally asking herself if Esmerelda would break down and wish she could stay and take the girls with her anyway even though she would know it would be a bad idea.

In the meantime, Julie watched from the sidelines as the sisters immediately began to cry at the immediate departure. Esme had a python grip on both of her younger sisters, and it didn't look like either party was going to let go. One thing caught Julie's attention, though; Sybil was the younger Hallow girl who was doing the majority of the crying, though Esmerelda was certainly reaching the younger girl's level. Ethel, on the other hand, was looking at Julie with worried glances.

Julie mentally sighed. It was clear Ethel still didn't completely trust her, and Julie had no idea what could make this temperamental girl see she was not going to be a problem for her, even if those looks the middle sister was sending her spoke volumes about her worries about what Julie was going to do when Esmerelda was gone.

"Don't cry, Sybil," Esmerelda said to her sister, sniffling back her own tears as if she was trying to hold back her own flood, and Julie had to hide a small nostalgic smile as she remembered how she had left Mildred with either her mother or sister or even at school, "you'll set me off if you do."

Esmerelda hugged the smaller girl and kissed the top of her head. "I'll only be a few hours," she said to Sybil, and Julie realised from where she was standing the elder girl was saying that to reassure herself as well as the girls.

Sybil nodded, but she couldn't speak through her sobs.

Esmerelda quickly looked away from her little sister and turned to Ethel, looking at the middle sister seriously. "No trouble today, please Ethel," Esmerelda said to the girl.

Julie stood upright so she could see for herself just how Ethel reacted to that. She had heard quite a few things about Ethel and her temperament from Mildred, and while she wasn't as gullible as her daughter was sometimes prone to be (she still couldn't get over how Mildred had believed that thing concerning Mr Rowan Webb, it just didn't make sense), Julie still had a lack of experience where Ethel was concerned.

But if the girl played one of her games…..

Meanwhile, Ethel was torn with indecision. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to completely wind the woman up, but Esmerelda had told her that if she came back and found Julie had been antagonised by one of Ethel's antics, then there would be trouble. She also had to concede she and Mildred had become more civil with one another; they may not be friendly at the moment, but they weren't at each other's throats anymore. On top of that, her heart just wasn't in it, not today. Ethel had endured a really long night, and she was too tired to fight with anyone. Fighting with Sybil, maybe, but not with Julie.

In the end, she just settled for a nod, but she caught sight of Esme's beady eyes which seemed to say 'I don't believe you, but I will give you the benefit of a doubt on this one.'

Esmerelda took a look between both of her sisters, and she glanced back at Julie for a moment. The older woman mentally shook her head when she saw what was going through the mind of the teenager.

"Maybe I should stay," Esmerelda said, biting her fingernails in worry.

"Esmerelda…," Julie began, but the teenager still looked reluctant.

"Esmerelda," Julie began again, "you need to go to this meeting, and you can't take the girls with you. If you don't go, then who knows what will happen with your case?" she asked, looking straight into Esmerelda's face so she could see the emotions cross the older sister's features.

Julie was not surprised to see realisation, worry, indecision, and resolution spread across the girls face before it was replaced with nervous fear, and she groaned when she wondered if this was her own karma for nearly driving her sister and mother nearly insane when she had to leave Mildred with one of them.

"I need to go…," Esmerelda said, but she shook her head quickly as if annoyed her brain was betraying her in that manner, "b-but I can't. My sisters need me."

Julie had had enough. "Don't make me drag you out, Esmerelda," she warned, "now come on. It's time for you to go."

Esmerelda sent Julie a disbelieving look, clearly thinking Julie would never do such a thing. But it was shadowed by the visible indecision as she looked at her two sisters. Ethel looked torn herself, clearly not wanting Esme to go, but accepting the fact it had to happen. Sybil looked at her through red eyes, and it was that expression in the little girl's eyes which made it worse.

Julie sighed and she reached over and grabbed Esmerelda's ear. "AAAHH!" the blonde girl cried when she felt the older woman take her by the ear. Julie noticed the worried expressions on Sybil and Ethel's face, particularly Ethel as the middle Hallow sister was looking at her as if all of her worst fears had just come true but Julie didn't have time to think about that as she needed to get Esmerelda out of the flat before she was late to her appointment.

Esmerelda squealed as Julie pulled her by the ear towards the door. "Just focus on the meeting, Esmerelda," Julie told the girl as if she was giving last minute advice to someone going to a job interview rather than to a teenager who just would not get out. "Just think about what you get out of it, then you can come back here, yes?"

Esmerelda squealed again.

Confident Esmerelda had gotten the message, Julie nodded as she opened the door and pushed Esmerelda through it. "Now beat it! Your sisters will be okay, I promise."

Once the girl was pushed out of the door, Julie closed the front door. She was about to head back to the kitchen, hoping to reassure the younger Hallow girls she wasn't going to hurt them, but there was a knock on the door.

Julie sighed, guessing who it was before she even opened the door, and she was not surprised in the least when she saw it was Esmerelda. The teenager was looking at her with eyes filled with tears. The moment she saw Julie, Esmerelda immediately began rambling.

"If they get sick call me," the blonde girl babbled, "and don't let them watch too much TV…"

Julie sighed. "Okay, now please - just go. You don't want to miss this, do you?"

Esmerelda looked like she was prepared to miss the appointment, but Julie was not going to let that happen.

"I-," the blonde began to say, but Julie was not going to let her go on.

"No, Esmerelda," she said firmly, "now, will you go, or do you want me to take you there myself?" Julie lifted her hand slowly so Esmerelda got the message and left, or else she would be dragged to the lawyer by the ear, which would not be appropriate for all concerned since it would send out the wrong messages. Esme needed the lawyer on her side, she didn't need someone who thought the client had some kind of problem.

Fortunately, Esmerelda seemed to realise that, and she recoiled. "No, it's okay," Esmerelda said quickly and turned around to leave. "Bye Julie."

Julie stayed by the door and didn't close it again until Esmerelda was in the lift and was going on, but she remained by the door for a few minutes to make sure Esmerelda was really gone. In the end, she was satisfied, and she went back into the flat to see the girls.

They were pretty much finished with their breakfast, and Ethel was just standing up with Sybil supporting her. Julie wondered if she should step in or not, but it looked like Sybil had everything covered - she was doing everything completely right, showing she was doing it in a well thought out way, but Julie was still nearby in case Ethel needed her help.

In any case, she needed time to herself so she could think about ways of making Ethel see she wasn't a threat to her.

"Okay, I'll clean up here," she said to them both, and the girls nodded in agreement, though Julie could see the look Ethel was giving her; she knew she had probably frightened the girl with how she had virtually manhandled Esmerelda out of the flat, but if she hadn't the teenager wouldn't have even left. The only sister out of the duo that seemed to have accepted her was Sybil, though Julie didn't know if it was because the younger sister had a more trusting nature or not, she was going to take it as an act of faith.

It didn't take her long to clean up the kitchen; the Hallow sisters didn't eat much, and they didn't make much mess as a result. Julie wished they had made a bit more work for her to take care of because she really wanted to think of a way that would make Ethel accept her, but as she continued to work slowly, humming a tune under her breath, an old Beatles song she had heard a long time ago and had loved ever since, she realised the best thing she could do was just to give it time and not expect instant acceptance from the girl.

Julie jumped when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Do you need any help, Miss Hubble?"

Julie turned her head, and she saw Sybil looking at her expectantly and yet with a tinge of uncertainty; Julie hoped the girl wasn't afraid of her for the same reasons Ethel was, but from what she had heard about Sybil she guessed the girl was just nervous since neither she nor Ethel had ever spent much time being looked after anyone other than Esmerelda and didn't know what to expect. It was hardly comforting, but Julie hoped it was that reason and nothing more.

Looking at Sybil's face made Julie realise there was a chance to actually bond with the little girl. "Err, yeah, okay. Thanks for the offer, Sybil," she said, watching the little girl smile shyly. "Er, do you mind doing the drying?"

"Sure," Sybil replied and picked up a dishcloth and began drying everything in sight and she put them away.

"Where is your sister?" Julie asked, wanting to make conversation.

"She's sitting down, watching television and bending her legs," Sybil replied as she put away a couple of knives in a drawer; Julie made a mental note of where the Hallow sisters kept their plates and cutlery, knowing it would come in handy if Esmerelda trusted her with the girls again.

But she was happy that Ethel was taking things easy in her current state. "Good," Julie replied, "we don't want her standing too long."

"No, we don't," Sybil said in agreement as she picked up a glass and towelled it dry before putting it away before she took one of the plates Julie handed to her; the older woman noticed how the girl took it gently and towelled it slowly as if afraid the plate would come alive or something because Julie had handed it to her, and the older woman sighed mentally. She had honestly thought she and Sybil were okay, but it looked like she was just as nervous as Ethel was.

She cursed the elder Hallows for what they had done to their children, but she knew there was nothing that she could do to make things better since it was in the past, and besides with their sister they were growing up.

Pushing those thoughts aside, at least for now, Julie smiled at Sybil. "So, what do you guys wanna do today?" she asked.

"Normally me and my sisters like to talk," Sybil replied, looking at her uncertainly since with just Ethel around and Esmerelda gone to the meeting, the talk would be limited, but Julie didn't have any problem with the sisters doing their thing.

"Do…do you still want to do that with me around?" Julie asked uncertainly as she looked at the girl.

Sybil shrugged as if the idea of having a stranger sitting in on a talk with Ethel wasn't strange, though Julie didn't want to impose on them. "I don't mind," she said before she suddenly smiled as something occurred to her, "Oooh, I've just had an idea."

Intrigued Julie knelt down until she was kneeling close at Sybil's height level. "Oh, what's that?" she asked.

"Sometimes we watch a film together. I know you're not family, but friends do that, right?" Sybil's bright face changed, shifting from being happily confident about her idea, to uncertain as she looked at Julie as if remembering the older woman might not actually want to do that.

Julie smiled back, thinking it was a great idea, but there was something about the way Sybil said that which upset Julie, and she didn't know why… But she pushed that out of her mind, knowing it was a great idea since it was so straightforward and simple, and it should hopefully make the girls relax around her while she was here. In any case, Julie wanted to have a good relationship with the Hallow girls. This could be a good start.

"Definitely," Julie smiled at the girl reassuringly while she shoved that lingering upset to the back of her mind, it could have been the offhanded way Sybil had said she wasn't family though she didn't know why it bothered her so much.

Sybil's bright, confident and happy smile disappeared in a flash. "Great! I'll tell Ethel!"

With that, the younger Hallow sister ran out of the kitchen and went back to her older sister, but as she stood up slowly Julie idly wondered how Ethel would take the suggestion.

Meanwhile, Sybil skipped into the front room and sat down next to Ethel who was painfully lifting her legs in one of her exercises. Ethel glanced at her idly before returning her focus to her legs. "What was all that about?" she asked.

"Julie said we can all watch a film," Sybil replied brightly.

Ethel grimaced at the thought of spending time with the woman. But Sybil was looking at the small DVD collection that was neatly by the DVD player.

"What should we watch, a musical?" Sybil asked.

"NO!" Ethel didn't mean to cry out, but it was out of her mouth before she could check it in time.

Sybil crinkled her eyes. "Why not?" she asked.

Ethel rolled her eyes. Sybil knew she didn't like musicals, but what made them worse was Sybil used them as a chance to show off her singing talents, or lack thereof. Knowing that Sybil would repeatedly ask the question in future, Ethel settled for a short reply. "I hate them!" she growled in a low voice.

Sybil was about to protest, which in her mind was understandable since Ethel seemed to have the monopoly on choosing what they watched every time. It just wasn't fair!

But Sybil didn't get the chance to say anything because Julie, who had been eavesdropping, came in with a suggestion. "Maybe we can try something else?" she suggested, but Ethel chose to take it as agreement Julie didn't like musicals either.

"Okay," she said, "just no signing please."

Sybil just shrugged her shoulders, not at all bothered that Ethel didn't like her singing.

Hoping to maintain the peace and not let these two lose their tempers, Julie looked at Ethel. "What would you like to watch instead Ethel?" she asked.

Ethel glanced at the collection of DVDs for a second before she turned to Julie, and shrugged. "Dunno," she replied eloquently.

Julie sighed. "Well, that's helpful, isn't it?"

Ethel glared at her, but Julie rolled her eyes in a bored manner as if the girls' glare was nothing to worry about, though she was slightly taken by surprise by the stare.

"Not a musical," Ethel went on, wanting to make herself very clear, "No musicals, and definitely no horror."

Julie tilted her head, musing to herself as she tried to think of a film they could all watch that would keep the sisters happy without them declaring war on each other, and on her before she remembered she had brought with her as a way of making peace with the sisters.

"How about Matilda?" Julie asked, looking at the two girls and seeing for herself the Hallow sisters didn't know about the film and what it was about, well she wasn't going to spoil it for either of them. "I think the two of you will like that," she added, thinking that the gentle plot of the film would fascinate the sisters.

Ethel looked at her with crinkled eyes. "Matilda? What's it about?"

Julie held back the urge to roll her eyes. "Do you want me to ruin the plot for you two?"

Ethel looked embarrassed. "Well, no," she said, but Julie interrupted the girl before she went on. "Good, because its a classic!"

A thought visibly crossed Ethel's face. "Does Mildred like it?"

Julie decided to be honest then, though she hoped the reply would not make the blonde girl instantly refuse to watch the movie. "Well, yes she does," she replied, making sure her voice was kept neutral and not nervous, but when she saw Ethel's face set she realised that telling the truth was making the girl throw away the chance to just sit and watch it.

She wished she hadn't bothered to answer the question, but she decided to just put it into the DVD player whether Ethel liked it or not; the girl might have magic and she could probably take the disc straight out, but maybe if she told the girl enough about the plot it might make her curious enough to watch it…. but before she could even open her mouth to give the girls a vague summary, Sybil got there first.

"Yeah, let's watch that," she said.

Julie smiled gratefully at the girl. "Okay, then," she said with a smile and then glanced at Ethel. "Do you want anything to make you feel more comfortable, Ethel?" she asked, looking at her legs and the crutches leaning against the sofa the blonde was sitting on.

Ethel looked at her surprised as if she wasn't expecting the courtesy; Julie wondered why the blonde girl always seemed surprised whenever she was asking her questions about her health. She guessed the blonde had preconceptions about her and Mildred, which wasn't fair on them.

Julie mentally shrugged her shoulders, deciding that she wasn't going to spend the rest of her day here contemplating what made Ethel Hallow click. "Right, well lets put it on then, shall we?" she said with a smile, pushing aside her worries about Ethel; she had heard all kinds of things about mentally abused children in her time, and while Ethel clicked all of the boxes she didn't know what she was going to do, and that was before Esmerelda had let slip her 'parents' had attacked both Ethel and Sybil, Julie had few options available to her. She went over to her bag and rifled through it, pushing aside her purse and her mobile phone, before she found the DVD and pulled it out, smiling at the image of the kid who played Matilda, Mara Wilson. "I brought the DVD along with me in case you wanted to watch something and you didn't have any good choices," she went on, opening the case and slotting the disc into the player before she stood up and walked over to the sofa, where she sat next to Sybil, feeling the younger girl would be okay with it rather than Ethel, deciding it wasn't a good idea to just force herself into the girl's private space when it was clear she still had issues with her and Mildred.

When the film began to play, the girls quickly became interested. Julie glanced at them as the movie began to play out, starting from the intro made by Danny DeVito, and how the character he played with his wife in the movie was just dismissive of Matilda when it was clear she had a gifted intellect, and truthfully she wasn't surprised when they both looked sad and angry on Matilda's behalf.

The Hallow sisters smiled as Matilda grew into a person, completely different to the personalities of her parents and her brother whom she had absolutely nothing in common at all, and yet she was able to read magazines and newspapers without being taught the basics. Julie noticed how Ethel sneered at Matilda's 'father' with disgust when the man sneered at Matilda when she plucked the courage up to ask for a book, and then she was shoved aside by her brother!

Julie had never liked the characters portrayed by Danny DeVito or his real-life wife, who didn't seem to care that they could do so much with their lives, and yet they were both stuck in their bubbles, their own little worlds where they ignored the fact there was more to life than TV, bingo, and dodgy car deals. But overall the two sisters were both enjoying the movie, and while Ethel was sad watching how Matilda was being treated by her parents, which brought back memories for the blonde about how Ursula and Triton ignored her growing up, she had to admit the film was entertaining.

She perked up when she saw how Matilda bravely left the house, all by herself while her parents and brother left her alone and didn't care they were leaving her behind and went to find a book by herself. Ethel had to admit that Matilda was brave, especially when that massive truck was looming over her, and again no-one seemed to really care.

But whenever she saw Matilda with her family, especially when she was old enough to go to school (she was annoyed on Matilda's behalf that her so-called parents didn't care about her education when it was important, especially since Matilda desperately wanted to learn), she was sad because they didn't even try to understand her. Ethel knew how the character felt because she had gone through the same thing. She was completely unaware that her feelings were showing on her face and in her body language, and Julie was paying attention to it.

Julie was feeling guilty for putting Matilda on just by watching Ethel, remembering Ethel could relate to Matilda since she had gone through what the character had gone through during her childhood, but she was delighted when Ethel seemed to perk up, and Julie wondered why so she looked at the screen again, and she smirked when she saw Matilda discover the revolutionary premise that kids could punish their parents… but only if they deserved it.

Sybil glanced at Ethel and saw the way her sister seemed to perk up when she saw how Matilda got revenge on her father…. twice, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it, Ethel."

Ethel turned to her questioningly. "What?" she asked in an innocent tone that didn't fool either Julie or Sybil.

Sybil rolled her eyes. "I know how you get your ideas, Ethel."

Ethel looked at her sister with such honesty that Sybil felt momentarily bad for judging her. "I'm not getting any ideas, Sybil, honestly," she said with a straight face, but Sybil rolled her eyes when she saw for herself the glint in her sister's eyes that made her realise Ethel was getting ideas. Sybil only hoped she could remember to tell her sister to be aware of Ethel's ideas, but for the time being, she settled for sharing a look with Julie and then turning back to watch the movie. It was really enjoyable and while they were surprised the TV screen blew up, the sisters could say the film was great. And then the Trunchball appeared on the screen, making both girls scream with fright.

Julie cursed herself for not remembering the Trunchball. "It's okay, you two," she said reassuringly, "it's okay."

But her reassurance was too late. On the screen, the Trunchball had grabbed Amanda by her pigtails and was spinning her around and around before hurling her over a fence, sending her screaming through the air.

Julie cursed herself again, annoyed by her lack of timing. "It's okay," she said again, "I'm sorry, I should've thought."

Julie saw Ethel glare at her, but the scene on the screen quickly changed showing the classroom where Miss Honey was introduced, and the character's personality was immediate straight off. Losing the glare, Ethel watched as the teacher took to teaching with a deft hand but with a kindly persona, she was able to teach and yet keep control in a school where the headmistress was a twisted monster.

Ethel was left wishing the teachers at the Academy were like Miss Honey - while Miss Drill certainly came close because she didn't have the oblivious attitude of Miss Cackle, the arrogance of Miss Hardbroom, and was more considerate, she wasn't like Miss Honey who cared about her students regardless.

In the same scene, Matilda's intelligence shone through, and Ethel smiled, pleased for her.

"Oh, it's so sweet," Sybil gushed.

Ethel smiled at her little sister, thankful for her and Esme in her life; she may have claimed at Cackles during her first years that she would be better off without them, but they were just words she really did not mean.

The mood of both Ethel and Sybil made Julie smile in delight the two sisters were both happy.

When the story changed to where Mildred was locked in the Chokey by The Trunchball for her father's stupidity, the mood shifted again to where the sisters were scared (the bit with the chocolate cake had shocked both Ethel and Sybil because of the sheer size of the cake, but at least it wasn't this scary), but they were relieved when Miss Honey helped her.

Things got better when The Trunchball nearly drank a live newt, but Ethel had her mind on something else. "Why don't the Cackles teachers help?" she asked.

Sybil glanced at her sister, knowing what she was asking. "They can be cruel," she answered.

Julie had her own opinion which seemed more realistic. "Or they can be ignorant of the real world. They don't realise there is more to people than what they see," she said, thinking back to how Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom treated her without seeing that they were causing more problems than they solved by summoning her to those pointless meetings where they said a lot and yet said nothing at all without thinking about the potential dangers of just dragging her into the school.

Ethel nodded in agreement, surprising her. "Yes, well," the blonde girl said, "but we witches are still locked in the Dark Ages in some ways.

Julie smiled at them, though she wasn't sure how to take that remark, she wasn't going to say a word.

"It took me ages to get used to everything in the non-magical world," Ethel went on, "we're able to do so much that we can't do in the Magical World."

Julie didn't want the Hallow sisters to drop their culture after spending such a short amount of time in the non-magical world, but things weren't entirely peachy in the non-magical world either. "Don't discount everything Ethel, you grew up in the witching world. There must be some things you really enjoy."

The movie showed to the part where The Trunchball drank from the glass of water the newt Lavender had placed into without realising it, which only made it more absurd. When the woman finally cottoned on, Ethel and Sybil could not help but laugh when she panicked. Both girls couldn't believe it when Matilda lifted her hand when the evil teacher (not that they could call her that, but with her talk about children in the past, they could not help but ask themselves why The Trunchball was a headmistress in the first place) demanded to know who had done it, Ethel and Sybil were both amazed by the girls' bravery.

Sybil whistled. "She's either brave or very stupid."

Ethel tilted her head when Matilda spoke, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, said the newt was not a snake, but a newt, and at that moment she realised she had the answer. "She's brave," she said with admiration for the girl. "She's not scared of The Trunchball."

Ethel watched the film, envying the girl. At that moment she felt that she and Matilda were alike, they had a great deal in common, but she had to admit Matilda also had some things in common with Mildred as well.

"Her family is horrible," Sybil commented, watching the scene where Matilda's father lashed out at the girl. "Why do they hate her so much?"

"They're into themselves," Julie said with a shrug that said the older woman didn't really understand it either.

The Hallow girls loved Matilda, especially the part where the girl went back to The Trunchball's house at night to get Lucy's doll, and then when the evil headmistress was finally kicked out of the school, and how the students threw food at her.

But what the sisters really loved since it seemed to echo their own lives was how Miss Honey adopted Matilda when the police were after them because Harry Wormwood's really stupid car deals had attracted their attention.

When the movie was over, Sybil squealed. "Oh, that was so sweet! We have so got to get this movie!"

Ethel nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Julie sighed with relief, happy that the movie had made both girls relaxed.

When Esmerelda came back she burst through the front door of the flat in a panic just as Julie was helping both girls have lunch. "Are they okay? Did anything happen? I'm so sorry I was gone for so long!" Esmerelda looked around in a panic as if worried her flat would be a scene from a horror movie.

Julie was taken by surprise by the rapid-fire way Esmerelda had barked her questions, and judging from the way her sisters were taken by surprise as well both Ethel and Sybil were unused to this. "Esmerelda, your sisters are both okay," Julie said slowly as if she were a police officer trying to talk down a gunman. "Nothing happened, they're here. Look."

Esme took a deep breath. "Oh, thank Merlin for that!" the teenager said, placing her hand on her chest.

Julie shook her head, wondering how mad the teenager was.

Until the next one-shot.