She was nearly out of boxtown, and Maiko thought that it was about time to meet the neighbors. She had pestered her brother into helping put together small little baggies full of different kinds of cookies, tied shut with a purple ribbon. And now, she was making him walk up and down the street with her so that they could introduce themselves. Some people had been polite and neighborly—others, not so much. None of them, she thought, would have wanted to continue interactions with her. Especially not the crotchety older fellow—Mr Cooper or Conners or something along those lines. He had only accepted the cookies because Maiko had guilt tripped him into it.

And now, she was at the last house on the list—the one right across the street, with her brother and cookies in tow. 

“Go on, knock on the door.”

“Mai, I don’t—“

“Your knocks are louder than mine!” She insisted.

“What if they’re sleeping?” He whispered harshly.

Maiko sighed and rolled her eyes, cradling the baggies in one arm. She knocked on the door and announced, “We come bearing gifts!”

“You’re being embarrassing! No wonder Mr. Cooper nearly threw his cane at me.” Kohaku muttered, taking a few steps back away from the door, as if the distance would somehow make him invisible to whoever lived in that house. “I hope this isn’t another cat lady. You know how I feel about cat ladies.”  He waited a few more seconds. "They haven't answered the door yet, they're sleeping. I told you."

"It's the middle of the day--"

"People take naps, Maiko. Like cat ladies."  Haku grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think I saw one the other day, with a white cat. She's a cat lady."

"Just because our neighbor may own a cat, doesn't mean she is surrounded by cats."

"I'll be right there!" Abby glanced up from her seat at the dining room table, where every inch was covered with parchment and her shiny laptop perched precariously on her knees. She closed it, set it on top of a moving photo, and slip-slided to the door in her stockinged feet.

Abby had taken after her sister's fashion sense this afternoon, wearing a warm dress and leggings, her hair in a loose, high bun. But Aileen hadn't commented or teased her as she'd walked out the door. Things were still tense after yesterday, so Abby did what she did best and threw herself into fun distractions.

"Hello!" She threw open the door with automatic cheer and a big smile, eyes landing first on the woman, then the boy with his arms crossed.

"Hello!" She said again, grinning at him with more enthusiasm.

Very Attractive People were at her door! They were obviously related, though the boy stood a head over them both.

She was just studying the bags of cookies with interest, when chaos began in the background.

MROOWW! Clawed feet skittered across the wood floor, the crup barking and running over the cat to get to the foyer first. The cat was not even in on the competition, and bolted for the stairs.

Uh oh. Abby's eyes widened and she hastily pulled the door close to her side, not only to block the crup from getting out, but to block the scene from the strangers' view. That forked tail! Aileen must have forgotten to charm it before she left! The crup let out a whine, skidding into her legs and shoving her nose between Abby's ankles in an attempt to sniff the visitors.

"Roxy!" She scolded, turning her head. "Be good!" Bump, bump, the crup bounced against her legs.

Abby's feet began to inch over the invisible magical barrier Aileen had set around the house, protecting it from unwanted intruders. It worked sort of like vampires in stories - they wouldn't be able to reach her unless she specifically invited them in. Or unless the crup pushed her out.

But seriously. These people did not look threatening.

"Sorry. Are you lost?" Abby asked, looking a bit confused. She slid her feet back. Muggles never visited. The warding runes kept most muggles away from the house and the curious creatures - owls, strange dogs, cranky cats, crankier older sisters - that inhabited it.

Kohaku cursed under his breath when the door opened. Great. Why did all these neighbors answer their doors?! He forced a polite smile and nodded stiffly at Abby. “Hello.” He replied, though he made no move to continue conversation with her. He was going to leave the talking up to Maiko when--- MROOWW!

He looked at Abby nervously. “You don’t have a cat, do you? If you do, how many do you have, precisely?” He wasn’t afraid of cats per se, but he was terrified of the crazy-cat-lady- stereotype, and he felt like more than one of his neighbors fit into that category. He once had a babysitter who happened to be a crazy cat lady, and he had never been very fond of her.  This blonde seemed young, but she could be a budding cat lady. Or maybe her mother, or whoever else lived here, was also a cat lady. “I told you there was a cat here.” He whispered to Maiko, taking another step backwards.

Mai waved her hand towards Kohaku as if she was trying to beat away his negativity.  Kohaku narrowed his eyes at her hand, silently urging her to stop.

“Hello! No, we aren’t lost! In fact, we’re new neighbors. My name’s Maiko, and this is my little brother, Kohaku. We just moved in across the street.” She offered the bags of cookies to Abby, “We ‘ave been giving cookies to the neighbors and introducing ourselves. These cookies are for you and whoever else lives here.” She leaned in and stage-whispered, “There’s a grumpy old man down the road, is ‘e always like that?” She smiled warmly, and her eyes met the face of the cute little terrier whose head was peeking out. “May I pet it? If I knew you ‘ad a dog, I would have brought it a treat too.”

His eyes widened as he realized that the dog was giving his sister an excuse to linger. He was going to be here . He was going to be here forever.  “Mai—don’t you have that thing you  need to get to?” He asked, hoping for an out. To no avail. She didn’t even respond. "You're supposed to help crazy people or something. C'mon, Mai."

"Shhhh-" She flapped her hand at his face again, "Don't interrupt!"

"Just one," she answered Kohaku’s question about the cat, wondering if he was allergic. Crabapple had the personality of five, but she spared him that tidbit.

Brother and sister. That made sense, and Abby was amused that the friendlier one seemed to barrel forward and pull the grumpy one into shenanigans. Wasn’t that always the case? Not that it felt familiar at all…

“Abby,” she introduced herself, accepting the cookies with a bright grin. “Thank you!”

Poking her head outside, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Cooper frowning at them from his window. Abby nodded at Maiko apologetically. Yup, that was him alright.

She glanced back at the crup, who gave her the puppy dog eyes. That settled it. Aileen would pitch a fit if Abby invited them in from the cold (especially after yesterday), but the least Abby could do was introduce the new neighbors to her favorite bundle of mischief.

“Sure! Just let me grab her so she doesn’t run off.”

She hoisted the crup in her arms, struggling with her as she wriggled, and tried to hide her tail. Abby stepped forward a bit so Maiko could pat the dog’s head, a shiver running through her at a gust of wind. Cuddling Roxy for warmth, she gave Kohaku a confused look as he made excuses to leave, then launched into her usual ramble.

“I’ve been wondering who was going to move in across the street! Is it just you two? It’s just me and my sis. Did you move from France? I’ve been hearing that accent all over the place lately,”[1] Abby grinned at her own private joke. Beauxbatons boys! How lovely they were.

1.	If the accent is too faint for her to pick up on, let me know! Also, I leave it up to you if Maiko or Kohaku catch a glimpse of the crup's forked tail

Kohaku let out a relieved sigh. Just one cat. One cat was fine. And, they also had a dog with a deformed tail but that was—wait, deformed tail?! He took a few steps closer and scratched the crup behind the ears while trying to sneak a closer look at the tail. Fascinating. “Was he the only one in his litter that had a tail like that?” He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

Maiko gave her brother a strange look and continued the conversation. Obviously, a dog with a forked tail was not interesting to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Abby.”  She affectionately scratched Roxy’s chin and then patted the top of it’s head. Oh, she wanted a dog, and she was in the market for one. She was up for a giant, fluffy type though. Terriers were fantastic—her grandpere owned a few, but she wanted a gentle giant to cuddle with. “It’s just the two of us. The place is large, but I plan on living there for a long time.” If she were ever to adopt a child, there’d be a room available.

“No, no. I’ve lived in the area for awhile. I was born in France and raised by very French people.” Her father wasn’t French, of course, but that was the main language that he had spoken at home. His English was never very good, but his French and Japanese were impeccable. Her mother, on the other hand, and her family, had been wonderful English speakers. After her parents had died, people on her mother’s side had raised her until she was ready to live on her own.

“Kohaku’s not French, really.” Maiko mused. Her brother gave her a look.

“I always forget that, being around you all the bloody time.” His own mother had been Irish, though he had been raised by such a mixture of people with different accents that his own natural accent was a bit different than Irish or British ones, but still close enough for people to assume he was from the area. He very, very rarely had a French accent, and that was only after being exposed to Maiko’s family for extended periods of time. When it came to accents, he was a chameleon and changed his speaking to fit the situation.

“Were you raised by your sister?” He asked curiously, slowly warming up to Abby. Because she lived with her sister, and he lived with his sister, he felt like she would have had a similar experience and relationship. It was difficult being raised, or partially raised by someone who wasn’t your parent, but still a relative. At times, he viewed Mai like a sister, and at others, he viewed her like a mother. At times, she had been more like a mom to him than his actual biological one.

Abby's eyes widened for a moment as she shifted her arms, attempting to cover the tail. Deformed! Right. She merely nodded, grateful for muggles and their reasonable explanations.

The crup wriggled under the attention, licking Maiko’s hand as she tried to get out of Abby’s arms. Abby set her on the floor, brushed the hair off her clothes and shook her head in mock-scolding at the creature, who began nudging her nose against Abby’s legs again.

So Maiko had been born in France but Kohaku wasn’t. She grinned at his grumpy comment, then added, “My sis was born in Edinburgh but I’ve been in London my whole life. Not as exciting as France.”

The brother seemed to show a bit more interest in her, and Abby smiled at him brightly.

"No, she just acts like it sometimes," she glanced at Maiko, able to picture the woman doing the same. “Our parents can be very,” she paused. “Traditional. They were driving me mad. So one day – about a year ago, I just showed up on Aileen’s doorstep and now I drive her mad. Works out perfectly!”

‘Drive’ was the word that muggles used for that phrase, wasn’t it? They weren’t so different after all!

Abby’s eyes lit up. “Do either of you have a car? An automobile?” She said helpfully. “Aren’t they brill!” She tilted her chin up to peer at the driveway across the street.

The muggles in this neighborhood might like Abby. But they also thought she was completely nutters.

Maiko shook her head, she didn’t own an automobile. She didn’t need to! She was a witch, though Abby didn’t know that. “I can drive, but I don’t own a car—“

“I own a car.” Kohaku said quickly, looking at Maiko as if she was an idiot. “What do you think that giant hunk of metal is in our driveway?”

“It runs?!”

“Mai, I fixed it up myself.”

She gave Kohaku a weary look. “Is it safe to drive? I don’t want you driving it if it isn’t safe, you know.”

“It’s safe. I drive to school and work all the time.”

Maiko let out an exasperated sigh.  “Fine.” She shook her head. She had to choose her battles, and Kohaku was just as stubborn as she was. She couldn’t control whether or not he drove when she wasn’t around, and there was no point in forcing him to sneak behind her back. “Just be careful, okay?”

He rolled his eyes at her, “I’m always careful.” He focused back on Abby, “I wouldn’t say cars are ‘brill’, but they’re convenient.” She was strange and awkward, but strange wasn’t something that Kohaku was unaccustomed to.  “Do you drive?” Abby looked young enough to not have a license, and he knew plenty of people his own age who preferred to take the bus.

Mai was pleased that her brother was finally warming up to a neighbor. The other neighbors, he had been downright rude to! Abby lived right across the street, and Maiko didn’t want to make any enemies within the neighborhood. "Maybe you and Aileen can come over for dinner sometime this week?" Maiko offered, "I'd like to meet her." If this neighbor-Aileen was anything like the Professor-Aileen, then it was bound to be interesting. But there was no chance of that, this was a muggle neighborhood! "You can bring your dog too!"

Fascinated both by the topic of cars and the brother-sister conversation, she listened, filing away this information. Kohaku knew how to drive. He had a car. He might be willing to teach her someday!

Abby shook her head politely and told him no, she didn't drive, but she'd ridden in a car before. Because clearly that was a novel experience!

"Yeah!" Abby agreed to Maiko's invitation with a grin, patting Roxy on the head when she barked in excitement at the word 'dog'.

"Well, I do have to check with her. Our week is going to be pretty full. But winter break just started so she's off from teaching - which means she has no excuse to be reclusive!"

She giggled, glancing at Kohaku, thinking he might be the same way. Abby was just about to ask them what they did or if they'd moved because of a job, when a telltale pop sounded in the fireplace a few rooms away. That set the crup off on another round of barking as it skittered on the tile to greet her.

"Aileen!" She hollered down the corridor. "Neighbors are here!"

Abby heard her sigh. "For Merlin's sake, Abby, I just fixed the enchantments yesterday."

Abby grinned widely and apologetically at the muggles. "You mean you fixed the- the door! And they're standing right next to it and can totally hear you!"

Looking annoyed and puzzled, her sister finally deigned to enter the foyer, her hair windblown and a scarf around her neck. She stopped and stared at the pair on the porch, eyes widening in surprise.

"What in the world?" Aileen exclaimed, raising her eyebrows at Maiko.

Abby's head whipped around. Huh?

Kohaku gave Abby an uncomfortable smile when she giggled and glanced at him. Was she laughing at him? Was he laughable? Oh gods, she wasn’t flirting with him, was she? That was inappropriate! He liked men! Manly men, not blond neighbor girls! Then he heard the word “enchantments” and gave Maiko a puzzled look.  “Oi, like the stuff you did last night?” Maiko elbowed him in the ribs.

“Shh!” She exclaimed, but then she realized—that voice was familiar. The voice in the house! Abby’s sister was—no, it couldn’t be! Aileen Reid!

No, Maiko wouldn’t let herself believe it until she saw her.

And tada, Aileen appeared, looking as beautiful as ever with her windblown hair!

"Surprise! We're neighbors!" Maiko exclaimed, waving her hands like jazz hands in excitement, trying to act like she wasn't shocked at all, when she actually was. "Now I get to see you, even when we don't 'ave work! Like now, it's winter break. You are going to have dinner at my house, right?" It wasn't a question. Aileen was going to enjoy a meal in Maiko's home whether she liked it or not.

Kohaku gave Aileen a weird look, “Wait. Are you—“ he looked at Mai, “Like her?” His question was directed towards Aileen. Well. This was strange. And awkward. And he wanted to go back into his home and play with Maslow. That was better than interacting with people. Especially magical people who had strange behaviors. The only witch Kohaku really had experience with was his sister, and thus he decided that most witches must be strange and behave like his sister.

To him, this was humiliating. To her, it was possibly the best news she had discovered all week!

Cold air rushed in from the door Abby held wide open. Aileen stood still, repressing a shiver, and blinked at Maiko and the confused young man on the porch.

Aileen was just as confused! How did this happen? Tapendra did not have a death wish and wouldn't give out her address, especially to over-zealously friendly coworkers. Abby had said neighbors. Maiko was waving her hands and saying neighbors.

"Neighbors?!" Aileen repeated, glancing at Abby as if she'd somehow caused this.

"You two know each other? Professors at Hogwarts?" Her younger sister bounced toward her and tugged on her arm. Aileen did not move an inch. "How exciting!"

Maiko's question about dinner and Kohaku's question about 'being like her' did not register in the panic overwhelming her brain. If it had, she would have told him she was most certainly not like her, despite Maiko's hopes to the contrary. The woman's flirtatiousness was futile.

"That's Maiko's brother, Kohaku," Abby rambled on."They brought us cookies! They've kindly invited us over for dinner!"

"Dinner?" Aileen repeated, looking staggered.

"Yes!" Abby rolled her eyes up. "At our neighbors'! Is any of this sinking in?"

Aileen finally moved forward, but only to peer over her guests' heads at the strange metal contraption in the driveway across the street. The new contraption. No, it couldn't be!

"It's cold out," Abby reminded her pointedly.

Aileen's gaze shifted to the brother and sister. A forced smile twitched on her face. "Won't you come in."

As her personal bubble floated away.

It wasn't as if Aileen disliked Maiko. She could be amusing in small doses, and in some ways, her optimism reminded her of Abby, and for some strange reason, Maiko's good opinion of her would not be dashed. But Aileen had grown used to and grateful for the privacy that living around muggles afforded her. Her home was her refuge from meddlesome family, work, and outside pressures. Hogwarts staff never dropped by. Until now!

"Tell me, did you just move in?" Aileen continued her attempt at a smile. "Is it a permanent arrangement?"

Her sister giggled nervously as they sat in the living room, shaking her head.[1]

1.	If they wouldn't come inside, just let me know and I'll edit!

“Do you need a hearing aid? My sister said we were neighbors, your sister said we were neighbors.” Kohaku said irritably, shaking his head. “I thought this was a neighborhood for-- people like me!” He sighed, shaking his head. Now he’d have to be even more careful about inviting friends over-- what if the neighbors were not as careful with the secrecy law? What if they wanted him to do magic with them? He couldn’t do magic! He was normal. He was a regular person! As far as he knew, his parents had been regular people!

“Don’t be rude.” Maiko said to him quickly, but then nodded at Aileen. “I suppose we’re neighbors. We live across the street, right over there.” As she pointed at the house, a black and white dog appeared at the window, leaning his head against the glass, ready to mark it with doggy nose prints. Maiko made a mental note to clean the windows when she got home.

“Thank you for inviting us in.” She said politely, making herself comfortable on a couch in the living room.

Aileen’s home was extravagant. It was fancy. Everything about it looked pristine and perfectly in place. Maiko’s home, in comparison, did not look like that. It was homey, warm, and cozy. There was clutter-- organized clutter, but clutter nevertheless. But here, Mai didn’t even see a speck of dust. Impressive!

Kohaku stood at the door hesitantly, concerned about the magical wonders that may have been in the house. “It’s safe, right?”

“She’s not going to kill you, yet.”

He rolled his eyes and walked in and sat next to Abby, though he was far from comfortable.

“To answer your questions, Aileen. We moved in just a few days ago. I ‘ope it’s a permanent arrangement-- I won’t be staying ‘ere every night once term starts, but it is where I live now.” Mai regarded Aileen carefully. “Does this bother you?” Even if it did, the offer for her to come over to dinner was still standing. Even if Aileen wasn’t excited about this neighbor situation,  Maiko was.

Kohaku looked over at Abby, “So." he said awkwardly. "Our sisters work together? So, what. Do you go to that gifted school?" He spoke to her as if he still had to uphold the statute of secrecy, though it was more because he was uncomfortable with a world that he was barely even a part of.  He didn't even bother to think that if Abby went to Hogwarts, that she would have known his sister.

Merlin, her sister was a weirdo! Abby rolled her eyes as Aileen perched on the edge of her seat, looking ready to bolt. She didn't even offer them tea! How rude.

But Abby wasn't going to hop up and make some. She wanted to hear this!

Abby wasn't as critical of the weird vibe coming from Kohaku - he was a cute boy, and for all she knew, a wizard could have tried to murder him sometime during his life. She wondered if he was disappointed to live among muggles, and if that was where his earlier comment had come from.

She smiled at him as he sat next to her, patting her leg to try to distract the crup from slobbering on Kohaku's shoes. The crup paid her no attention. Roxy enjoyed slobbering on cranky people. Soon though, Abby would take her over to meet the huge polar bear that passed for a dog in the window across the street!

"Nope!" Abby answered for Aileen, just as Aileen said, "Of course not."

It did indeed bother her sister. Abby could tell by the stiffness to her shoulders and the small, polite smile fixed on her face. But if Aileen really didn't like the woman, she wouldn't have invited her in at all, cold be damned.

"You're the counselor!" Abby exclaimed suddenly, grinning at Maiko. "I remember now. Something about drinks with Professor Tappy." She paused, then snapped her fingers. "Exuberant and talkative! That's what she said about you."

She nodded at her sister, who raised her eyebrows at her. Yes, she knew she'd forgotten to say 'relentlessly' exuberant. Aileen had also said Maiko seemed intelligent, and passionate about her work, even if it was a bunch of fiddle-faddle, but Abby did not feel the need to elaborate on that.

Kohaku wondered if she went to the 'gifted' school, and Abby sent him the briefest of annoyed glances. Quickly, she smiled again, assuming he didn't know. "Nope! Homeschooled. Can't go to Hogwarts, anyway."

Abby and Aileen glanced at each other.

"No magic," the younger sister wiggled her fingers in the air.

"No room for it with her personality," Aileen commented, leaning back slightly in her seat, and sending her a smirk that was somehow fond, if smirks could ever be.

“Hnm.” Maiko gave Aileen a doubting look. Aileen was, apparently, not happy—and was too polite or high strung to admit it. That was perfectly fine. As long as she wouldn’t admit it, Mai could lie to herself about the situation! Aileen loved it! She was excited! They could trade recipes and… Watch each other’s pets? If Aileen ran out of flour, she could borrow a cup or two from Maiko. Being friends with your neighbors did have it’s perks. She was about to say more, but was quickly distracted by Abby and Kohaku’s conversation.

He wasn’t part of wizarding culture, not really. He had no reason to know this may have been a sensitive topic. Luckily, the sisters did not take it too poorly, and she relaxed.

“No magic?” Kohaku sounded pleased, “Like, you know—“ He snapped his fingers, looking at Maiko. “You know, Garrett! He had a huge family, all magic. Not him. You know, I really liked that blo—aaaaah!” A throw pillow promptly hit him in the face.

Mai forced a smile at Kohaku. “There are plenty of people who do not have magic, in wizarding families. She is aware of that.” Including him, though Maiko wasn’t completely sure about it, and nor did she want to break the news to him quite yet. It would be a shock, in the event that their father had indeed been a wizard, and hid it while raising them.   

“Soooo Aileeeeen.” The counselor leaned towards her coworker, “Have you lived ‘ere long? Are there any other people we work with who also ‘appen to be neighbors?”

Her brother shrugged and focused his attention on Abby. She was muggleish like him, and he therefore felt much more comfortable with her. She also had a sister who was magical, so of course they had that in common. Even if their personalities were drastically different, in a weird way, he felt like they could relate to each other. “I don’t have magic either. Never have. We don’t really need it, y’know. We have technology and automobiles.” He snapped his fingers again, “Oi! Do you play football? Or have you seen Star Wars?”

The barest of tension lingered in the air after the sisters explained why Abby didn't go to Hogwarts. Aileen expected Maiko to react favorably, but she didn't know her brother, and her shoulders relaxed when he seemed glad. Excited, even.

She'd assumed Maiko, with her psychology degrees, was muggleborn, and Kohaku's reaction confirmed that in her head.

A throw pillow whizzed across the room and hit Kohaku in the face!

Aileen looked started, quickly interjecting, "It is really no problem."

Did Maiko not want Aileen to know about this Garrett? A squib, by the sounds of it? How odd.

"I'm afraid you're the only one." Her dry tone held a hint of amusement as she leaned back in her seat, hoping the impromptu and one-sided pillow fight was over. "I've lived here for years. When I stopped traveling so much and took on that job at the Ministry, it made sense to find a more permanent home."

Aileen hadn't minded living in a flat when she'd rarely been around to use it. As she'd hit her thirties, however, she had wanted a house, even if it had not come with the husband or children expected of her.

"What made you decide to move?" Aileen wondered politely. She glanced at Kohaku, remembering that Maiko had mentioned a younger brother who'd been sick growing up, though she did not know (or recall) the details.

Abby's face brightened and she leaned forward, understanding his earlier remarks now. The thrown pillow didn't even faze her.

"Cool!"

She tilted her head at the boy, wondering if Maiko's family was muggleborn, or perhaps halfblood. That would explain why Maiko was moving into this neighborhood, and why Kohaku talked about Garrett with fascination, as being from a different world. He seemed more interested in talking to her now, too.

"No," she giggled and shook her head. "I've slowly been getting used to muggle things this past year. My family's all magical, and a bit traditional," she paused. More than a bit.

"I do have a mobile! And a Mac-top! Never seen Star Wars. Is that a game or a telly?"