Her daughters and Abigail had retreated to the garden, seemingly glad for a bit of their own time to catch up. And so far, the kittens hadn't knocked anything over. Rowena seemed intent on spoiling her kitten as much as possible within these first few days.

The tea was perfect, of course. Krix was so impressively diligent in such matters. Aisling sipped from her cup, and made a mental note to use that lovely tea set she had been given whenever Aileen and Abigail were over again. Hopefully such wouldn't be an uncommon event. Particularly when it came to Abigail.

"Have you been enjoying your break so far?" Aisling made a slight motion at a small tray of cakes sitting next to Aileen. "I know how busy the season can become."

With the girls out of the room, there were a few more weighty matters to discuss, but they hardly needed to be jumped into immediately. Allow a bit of enjoying the moment. She glanced over at Tarron, and let herself watch him for just a moment too long. There was a particular warm enjoyment to such.

The atmosphere became a little calmer, a little quieter with Abby and the girls out of the sitting room, though for Aileen, that didn't necessarily mean it was more relaxing. The family had seemed to like their gifts, and Aileen appreciated the thought that had gone into hers and Abby's - hers especially! She had not known an offhand comment would prompt receiving Tapendra's books, and the reverence with which she'd turned them over in her hands could be interpreted as special effort to treat the books well - or wariness.

It was both.

"Yes, it's been quite busy in a good way." Aileen caught the loving glance Aisling sent to Tarron, and chose that moment to select a treat and place it on the small plate she rested on her lap. The only glances sent around the Reid home yesterday had been ones of exasperation between Abby and Aileen, her mother's sharp glares, and her father avoiding eye contact all together.

"I must say I am relieved to be finished with the shopping," she smiled wryly, imagining they could relate to the holiday chaos. "The visits have been lovely, however. We spent Christmas at my parent's."

Not so lovely. Best to gloss over that, and spare Aisling and Tarron the awkwardness.

"Christmas Eve at the Trishna's."

Indeed lovely. Best to speak of it before Abby explained it, though Aileen preferred to keep her mention of it brief as well. She glanced at Aisling and then continued.

"And earlier in the week, I received an unexpected visit from the Hogwarts counselor. You may have met her," she looked at Tarron, then Aisling, though she expected Aisling had mingled with the staff more.

"Maiko Biladeau-Yukawa. It turns out that she had just bought the house across the street, and had been introducing herself to the neighbors when she encountered Abby at home."

Aileen let a touch of amusement color her voice. "Needless to say, we were all very surprised."

Of course, there was still a paranoid part of Aileen that suspected it had been planned somehow, but she preferred to push that theory to the back of her mind. In comparison to the other visits, she could comfortably elaborate on this one - what was her social world coming to?

"And you?" She asked politely. "How has the season fared?"

Tarron leaned forward in the chair in which he had sat, the smoke from his pipe gently curling upwards towards the ceiling. The smoke made something of a grey-blue mist about him. He watched Aileen and Aisling as he sat, fingers raised to his mouth and dark blue gaze reserved but polite.

He met Aisling’s gaze for a brief moment, lips twitching into a quick smile before Aileen spoke. His attention quickly turned to his cousin, watching her with a curious but careful look to him.

“Mmm,” he said, when she spoke of spending Christmas with her parents – the grunt a sound of sympathy. Cullodena had been a nightmare when his parents had been alive; now, she was worse. He rather missed the days when he was free of her.

 Her next line made him quirk an eyebrow, his gaze darting to Aisling. He knew little of the Trishnas, any protests about the man’s choices in curriculum rather squashed by Aisling’s early insistence on muggle schooling for the girls. Best to keep his mild disapproval himself, then, though he did wonder why Aileen had bothered. He had assumed the dance between the two had been purely as colleagues. Was it? Now there was a topic he did not wish to worry over…

“I cannot say I did, though I know of whom you speak,” he said, nodding. “You many find having Wizarding neighbors refreshing, however. Muggle neighbors are certainly difficult to socialize with…if one has a mind to.”

He looked to Aisling to share her half of the answer to Aileen’s question, but spoke himself as well. “Ours has been largely uneventful, save the Yule Ball. Meetings, parties, Christmas spent with Aisling’s family.” The slightest hint of cringe indicated how much he enjoyed that – that little tradition left him sitting stiffly and formally in a muggle house, looking at everyone sternly. So casual, the lot of them! They seemed to find him very strange, which did not help.

Aisling wouldn't have described the mood as perfectly at ease, but it was far more pleasant than it might have been. And she'd come to find that particular scent of smoke rather comforting over the years. Warm, familiar, and quite tied to her husband. She leaned back into her seat.

"I do not believe that I met Ms. Biladeau-Yukawa, though it may have occurred in passing.  There were far too many at the Yule Ball who I only had the chance to exchange a few words with." There was a little tiredness to her smile, and she confined herself to tea for the moment, not taking any of the cakes or other treats.

The mention of family Christmas earned Tarron another quick glance, this one more grateful than anything. "They're always glad to have us. My parent's house is becoming rather small for everyone, though. Many of my nieces and nephews are bringing their dates, and some of them have children." It did make her feel old sometimes. Bailey's grandchildren being near the age of her daughters. "My father is always so disappointed that he can't crow about Tarron to everyone without breaking the Statute of Secrecy." He was far too sensible to go about proudly declaring how his son-in-law was such an important wizard.

Aileen heard the sympathetic noise from Tarron and hid a smirk. Some might say her cousin was not expressive - but the furrowing of his eyebrows and the things he left unspoken, spoke volumes.

She was all too happy to avoid socializing with the muggles, and she suspected he understood that when Aisling's family was mentioned. The smile Aisling gave him seemed grateful, and less tired than the one from earlier. Aileen tried to imagine Tarron at a home like the Trishna's, and simply couldn't.

"I'm sure he is," Aileen nodded neutrally at the comment about Aisling's father. It must be bothersome to have to tread in the muggle world with such care and secrecy. Better to avoid it, but one couldn't always avoid relatives, even muggle relatives, she supposed.

"Though if parents can't crow about one thing, they will find another." Or harp on it, in her experience.

"The girls seem happy to be home and settling in with their new kittens," she commented with a glance at the doors. "Abby would keep a whole menagerie of pets in the house if I'd allow it. But one hyper crup is certainly enough."

She smiled a bit. As if her house didn't already hold a menagerie! Which was mostly her fault... the cat was hers, the owl was hers, and the Sha was hers. The crup was Abby's.

Minor details!

Oh, there was no doubt Aisling’s family was of a decent sort. They were simply a bit intimate for Tarron’s tastes. He was frosty by most standards and the loud, bustling household of muggles was not one he found himself fitting into well at all. Especially when her father had a tendency to guffaw and slap Tarron on the back and her small nieces asked if he was a Doctor.

“Likely for the best. Certainly he has plenty of other accomplished in-laws to make up the gap,” Tarron muttered. Some of them were muggle doctors, a profession he found a bit alarming. But Tarron was not really the sort to enjoy being crowed about to anyone. He followed Aileen’s gaze to the door that led outside, removing his pipe from his mouth. When he exhaled, a further cloud of smoke arose to join the mist above him.

His eyes shone for just a moment, glinting with some hidden amusement. “I’m sure she would, yes,” he said, looking at Aisling. “I do hope these kittens are not the start of a trend, mm?” He had had a pet to keep him company during his decade or so if being a bachelor, but his Dobermann dog had died years ago and he had never seen fit to replace him.

However, while they were indeed making small talk – he was never the sort to stick to that. He looked to Aileen abruptly, watching her for a moment. “Hogwarts appears to be a popular choice for our kin, these days,” he said, recalling his conversation with Landis. “And despite poor Cullodena’s predictions of doom, you seem to have found some success there,” he continued, though his tone – and the glint in his eyes – indicated he didn’t feel Cullodena was poor at all. “How do you find it, then?”

Aisling raised her eyebrow slightly at the comment regarding accomplished in-laws. She was proud of her family, certainly, but Chief Warlock was a rather singular honor. And one she was quite proud of Tarron having.

"They're enjoying the kittens, but they won't be bringing anything else home. I would hardly have the time to care for it while they were away at school." The cat hair had already made some small messes, and she'd caught Krix buffing some little scratches from the furniture. Though no books seemed to be damaged, so far.

She couldn't help-well, she could, but it wouldn't have been worth the effort-the slight look of despair at the mention of Cullodena. Tarron's aunt  had just been sending him letters encouraging a divorce, yet again. The topic of Hogwarts sounded much more pleasant, and so she leaned forward with interest, attention directed towards Aileen for the moment. Hogwarts was certainly something she wished to hear more of, these days.

The light conversation was beginning to make Aileen feel more relaxed. As Tarron and Aisling shared glances, she was also beginning to understand what drew the married couple together. Mutual respect, subtle humor, and those moments of pride and affection.

Of course, at the mention of her mother, her back straightened and she sucked in a breath as if the woman would march through the door any second and shrill about The Disappointment! She glanced at Aisling, relating to her unsettled look, and fixed a polite smile on her face, keeping in mind that Tarron was not yet radiating disapproval. If anything, he seemed politely curious.

"It has grown on me," she answered honestly, setting her teacup down after a sip.

"The first year was an adjustment. I'd never taught teenagers before, so I was in for quite a learning curve in that regard," she smirked. Still learning. "The staff dynamics were not what I had expected, and it took me some time to get used to that." Or perhaps she should have said the staff dynamics were exactly what she'd expected with Snark running things - combative, destructive, tense.

"Much has changed for the better, however, and I feel as though I am making an impact. I must admit there are times I miss Herschel," she paused.

"But Headmistress McGonagall does a fine job, and the majority of the staff is respectable."

She nodded. True enough, though carefully worded. "Did you find that to be the case at the ball?"

Aileen raised her eyebrows, curious to hear their opinion.

Tarron puffed his pipe as both women spoke, glancing as Aisling with a slight nod as she told him there’d be no more pets. That he was glad for. He had nothing against the kittens, strictly speaking – he could even privately admit they were rather cute. This did not make the prospect of his black suits getting covered in white and orange hair any more welcome.

Aileen’s response did surprise him some, and this was largely evident in the way his eyebrows rose very slightly, smoke accentuating the slight intake of breath.

He had truly not expected Hogwarts to be such a popular destination for his relatives, and he had to wonder – or was it hope – that Aileen was staying at Hogwarts for much the same reason Landis had elected to. Or perhaps it was an ideal career for spinsters, which was what she was swiftly becoming.

Tarron looked to Aisling, again, to provide her insight. “I myself did not have much time to interact with the staff,” he said, simply. “But I have no doubts as to the Headmistress’s ability; she has already demonstrated it, both at the school and in an Elder’s chair. You will find her strict, but capable.” His favorite kind of capable.

“What did you find unexpected about the staff dynamics? The staff are all professional towards you, I trust.”

"I'm glad to hear that things have improved recently." Aisling gave an agreeing nod to the comments regarding the returning Headmistress. One could hardly doubt the qualifications of Minerva McGonagall. At least, if they possessed any sort of sense.

"And the staff were quite polite to me, though some seemed rather flustered. I suppose the finer details of Yule Ball etiquette were not part of the usual training." Her tone was somewhat curious, though politely so. It was rather a small fraction of time to judge anyone on. "Though I do hate to read too much into anything at such events."

She turned a little more towards Aileen, and folded her hands in her lap. The small circles of her earrings clinked against each other. "No doubt you have a far better perspective."

Aileen nodded, agreeing with their assessment of the Headmistress. She liked and respected her, and it seemed that most others working in the castle did as well, which helped.

At Tarron's question about the staff, she hesitated for a moment. It would not surprise her if the girls had mentioned that disastrous dance lesson from earlier in the month. Embarrassing! Still, she was not here to dwell on Kesali, or make her cousin think there was some sort of problem, even if there might be. At least the professors had treated Aisling with the same courtesy she had showed them, though Aileen couldn't imagine anyone other than Cullodena going out of their way to be rude. Only her mother!

"When I first arrived it was a bit chaotic. The staff turnover was unexpected." That made some sense. She hoped.

"Professional?" She smiled and shook her head, appearing to make light of it. "Some of them must have a different definition of the word than I do. But you can't get along with everyone. The few who have been troublesome tend to make enemies everywhere, and end up leaving or being asked to leave."

Graham Bombay, for example!

She paused, then continued dryly, "I suppose in that light, the turnover is not such a bad thing."

Tarron’s eyebrows remained where he had raised them, his mouth twitching very slightly – a sign of the surprise and uncertainty with which Aileen’s claims and lightness were met.

In his mind, unprofessionalism was never to be taken lightly, especially from Professors. They were meant to be an example to the students, and not in how not to behave! Think of what his daughters might be learning, and at such an impressionable age.

“Mmm. I had heard of the high turnover, yes.” The Prophet certainly seemed to take great relish in running plenty of discussions of a possible curse on the entire school whenever other material dried up in the back pages. “I had imagined that to be a simple case of misfortune. Perhaps that view was naïve.”

He shifted, turning his pipe to tap out the excess soot, puffing it when he was done to get the smoke going again.

There was just a bit of tension there, amid the many touches of politeness. To hear of anyone being difficult towards family was not encouraging, especially if said personages were instructing your children.

But if Aileen had wished for interference, Aisling rather expected that she would have been more open about her frustrations. As it was, it seemed best to not be too overbearing on the matter. "I expect that the shifts in leadership, along with the Tournament, have added to the stress among staff. Hopefully the Headmistress' steady hand will smooth matters out, in time." She shook her head softly, lips curved into a small smile. "Though it is rather discouraging if the Prophet is correct in the matters of turnover." The paper had its uses, true, but accuracy was not something which Aisling expected from it in any great quantity.

"Would you like some more tea, Aileen?" Her own cup had grown rather empty, and the rituals of nicety could prove a perfect respite from heavier topics.

"The Headmistress already is," she attempted to reassure them, not intending to alarm either parents about the state of the Hogwarts staff.

Aileen smiled at Aisling's offer, finding it a welcome distraction from the topic at hand. "Please," she set her teacup down on the saucer and handed it to her.

"I am glad to be getting a bit of a break from work for a few weeks," Aileen added, glancing between the two of them. "I hope the holidays at the Ministry have not been too hectic."

She'd heard about the case with the werewolves, which involved a Wizengamot member and the very man who had hired her. Aileen doubted this was something Tarron wished to talk about, and any reminder of Simon tended to make her cross. But she did look at him curiously, and then at Aisling, vaguely remembering the muggles and their explosive sneezing fits in London.

Tarron nodded, noncommittally, to Aisling’s remark. No doubt it did – but that was not an excuse for unprofessional behavior, especially towards a lady. One should never behave untoward in the presence of, or Merlin forbid, towards ladies. It was simply Not Done.

“That is good to hear, at least. The Headmistress has never been the sort to tolerate such things,” he observed, remembering the hawk-like expression Minerva so often adopted when in the Wizengamot.

As Aisling poured Aileen more tea, he was silent, and he blinked slowly as Aileen shifted the topic to the Ministry. With all that had gone on these last few months, his answer was very simple.

“The Ministry is, as always, a varied place,” he said, and there was a sense – deep under his dour tone – that he was joking somewhat. “Long days of little interest followed by rushed hours of panic. People working at cross-purposes, the guilty pleading innocent or attempting to blame the Wizengamot for their own mistakes.”

He puffed his pipe. “In truth, it is rather dull, on the whole.” He looked at his wife. “Aisling is far better for stories than I, I am afraid.”