Abby had been upstairs playing Videe-o Games with the girls, but as fun as it was, she'd soon realized Sasha was elsewhere. Taking a break from blasting things with muggle weapons, she went downstairs to find Tapendra and Aileen chatting in the lounge (happy day!) and Sasha outside with Professor Storm. Now was the time then!

During the gift-giving session earlier, she'd given Sasha several movie passes so that they could go to the muggle cinema together sometime. But there was a second gift that she wanted to give him when they had a moment alone. She dug it out of her purse in the cloakroom and went into the kitchen to set it on table, where the festive packaging glimmered underneath the light.

Hot chocolate. He might appreciate some after being outside. Abby found two clean mugs, milk, and chocolate sauce easily enough, and began heating the milk on the stove, hoping to Merlin that Professor Tappy would be okay with that. She really did not want to interrupt him while he and her sister were cozying up (she could dream).

Once she was done, she set the two mugs of hot chocolate on the counter, and decided to wait a bit before interrupting Sasha and the professor. As she waited, she inspected the microwave with fascination. All those buttons! Abby opened the microwave door, looked inside, and shut it again. Buttons! One said 'beverage'! Her finger hovered over it. Then pressed.

The microwave hummed to life! Abby jumped back, startled, and peered at the light-show and the rotating plate, wondering when the hot beverage would appear inside. Did it create a mug, too? How exciting!

The kitchen door opened and she glanced back guiltily, expecting Professor Tappy. But no, it was Sasha. Perfect!

"Sasha!" She giggled, putting up her hands. "I didn't do it!"

Rain had just started to drip from the sky, turning the already chilly night colder.  Professor Storm had moved on his way and it was time to head back inside and warm up.  After taking a few minutes to clear his thoughts, Sasha ushered the German Shepherd back in the kitchen. 

"Na-ja.  Komm- Oh.  Abby!"  What hadn't she done?

Baldur had noticed the squib playing with the microwave first and wiggled away from Sasha to greet the girl, muddy paws and all.  Sasha grabbed the towel hanging by the back door and hurried after the dog.  He managed to toss the towel over the dog and held him in place before the dog could get wet-dog hair on the Abby's outfit. 

He was able to get three of the dog's paws wiped off when the microwave beeped.  "What are you cooking?" Sasha asked, straightening up enough to peer into the microwave.  The glass turntable was empty and two mugs were already sitting out on the counter.  Another glance between the empty microwave and the two mugs didn't offer anymore explanation.  "What were you..." 

Oh.  Nothing.  Finally, he understood.  "Of course you didn't do it," Sasha grinned.  He finished wiping off the dog and hung the towel back up.  "What were you not doing?" 

"Got tired of dying?"  Whenever Sasha played games with Georgiana, it usually resulted in his poor avatar playing the part of an overachieving phoenix.  He was constantly dying and resurrecting.  Maybe Abby faired better than he did but he suspected not.  If he were to guess, Abby just found more amusement in dying. 

Sasha quickly washed his hands at the kitchen sink before stepping up to the counter.  "Did you make cocoa?" Sasha asked, hopefully.  He was still chilled - hot cocoa actually sounded good. 

"And Baldur!" Abby greeted the muddy dog enthusiastically, amused by Sasha's leap to prevent him from getting dirt on her.

Grinning when he asked what she'd been up to, she avoided answering for now, focusing on his other question. Once she'd figured out what he meant, of course.

"Nah, I love those games! I figure I'll get better with practice. Just means I'll have to come over here during breaks more often. Darn."

Abby hadn't minded her avatar getting blasted to bits. It seemed to amuse Gigi too.

"I did!" She gestured toward the mugs, putting the pan that had cooled into the kitchen sink. "One of them is for you. I heated it up on the stove, and I was trying to make a new beverage in the microwave, but it didn't work! I closed the door, I hit 'beverage', and it whirred to life, yet nothing appeared!"

Clearly puzzled, Abby babbled on.

"By the way, that's for you too," she tossed a grin at the small gift on the kitchen counter[1].

Her smile turned wider, if that was possible, and she turned to focus suddenly on the dog.

"Hey, cutiepie!" She patted Baldur on the head gently, ignoring the wet dog hair feeling.

1.	The gift! Click on 'more' to see the tracks.

Baldur wiggled as Abby greeted him, whining quietly with restrained eagerness.

"You could practice between breaks, as well," Sasha pointed out.  He leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as Abby played with the dog.  "Get a leg up.  Except, you'll be able to beat me, then."  Even though she could probably beat him now.  He didn't know where he'd be over spring break but he was certain he wouldn't be staying at school.  He had plenty of motivation to come back to the less-than-magical world.  Visiting Abby was amongst the strongest of those motivations.   

"You're the best," Sasha said, wrapping his fingers around one of the mugs and cradling it gingerly.  It was just on the brink of being too hot to hold but it still felt good against his cold fingers.

Sasha was really only marginally more skilled with a microwave than Abby - before this past summer, he'd had very little reason to use one.  There was one in his kitchen but, until Edith was gone, Sasha simply hadn't used the kitchen much at all.  So, it took a moment for Sasha to understand what Abby was trying to explain.  "Oh - that's not what - it's for heating a beverage, I think.  I mean, I know it doesn't make beverages.  That just happens on the Jetsons.  Or Star Trek."  Which, was Abby nerdy enough for Star Trek?  Or at least willing to embrace nerdiness?  Sasha would have to test that one day.

The Ravenclaw picked up the small package and carefully unwrapped it.  "Oh - you didn't have to get me anything else, you know," he offered, glancing up as he pulled the two gifts from the paper.  He arched his eyebrow, first, at the walkman.  "A cassette player?" Sasha asked, grinning broadly.  He assumed this was her attempt to be 'muggle' and it was charming, if a bit outdated.  "I've - my sister used to have one."  Jacoba was, really, the only one of the Schlagenweit siblings old enough to have remembered cassette players.

"Wilhelm's old truck has a cassette deck, too.  I can subject him to -"  Sasha picked up the cassette and flipped it over to read the list of tracks.

Of course, he didn't know many of the songs but ... well, Abby had made him a mixed tape.  Which, Sasha had seen enough sitcoms to know such collections were rarely thrown together at random.

"Blushify?"  And, of course, he had to blush.  Realizing that made him blush more.  He quickly continued reading through the list.  "Lean on You.  Hoofprints Across the Heart."  Sasha felt his own heart suddenly start to race and he glanced up at Abby but the squib was distracted with Baldur.  How much was he supposed to be reading into this?  They hadn't really talked much about, well, what they'd talked about back in Hogsmeade and, especially after the Yule Ball, Sasha had started to convince himself he understood what she was saying.  Or, wasn't saying.  So ...

He looked back down at the tape.  "Nerds Get More O's."  He chuckled, a little anxiously.  "Be My-"  Sasha looked up, again.

"Girls like confidence," Sasha remembered Professor Trishna saying.  Who, coincidentally, was sitting in the other room.  With Professor Reid. Abby's sister. 

He glanced down at the pictures on the cassette cover and grinned at the little ballerina.  "Isn't it strange how some songs seem to speak so well to certain things?  I am, in fact, needing a date to the opera."  He looked back up, certain his heart was going to flutter right out of his chest.

Even if Abby couldn’t figure out the microwave on her own, she’d make it her goal to get better at the blasting games while Sasha and the others were back at Hogwarts. She told him that as she tried not to laugh too hard at her mistake with the microwave. It was an honest one!

Abby focused on the dog, who leaned against her and got dog hair on her dress (oh well!). She kept glancing at Sasha, thrilled that he appreciated her efforts.

Because really, what was better than a vintage muggle music player? Nothing!

When he got to the most important part – the tracks, she couldn’t help but giggle a little, and moved toward the table with the other mug of hot chocolate in her hands. Of course, he read aloud the songs that were most flirtatious. Raising the mug to her mouth, Abby blamed the heat of the beverage for the almost-blush that rose to her cheeks.

Abby took a sip, eyes lighting up as he guessed right, and so quickly too!

“Well, gee!” Abby grinned, setting the mug on the counter. Yeah, she’d just said ‘gee’. “It just so happens I don’t have a date to the opera either! What do you know.” She laughed this time, giddily. “I would love to go to the opera with you. So thoughtful of you to ask.”

He was still so much better at this type of thing than she was! In hindsight, she should have had him listen to the songs, or written the track list in invisible ink. Or something. At least he seemed happy! That made her happy.

“Jacoba helped me transfer the music to Muggle format. They all reminded me of you in some way. Especially ‘Blushify’,” she teased.

This was the best Christmas gift, ever.  Who would have thought he'd be looking at 2010 and the best gift would come on a cassette tape. 

Sasha smiled broadly and looked down at the plastic case.  "Is that you?" Sasha asked, carefully tugging the artwork insert from underneath the cassette as he joined Abby at the table.  "It's beautiful."  He was asking about the image of the lone girl on the bench, but he was looking more closely at the image of the dancer on the fence.  The reference was obvious even if, still, the underlying implications were not quite so clear. 

But, she had agreed.  And, she'd used the word 'date', hadn't she?  He hadn't imagined that?  And, not only did she agree but she seemed enthusiastic about it.  Excited, even.  Her usual, upbeat self - not the hesitant, uncertainty she'd been back when they'd been standing by the gate like the one in the picture. 

"So, it's a date then?" Sasha asked, hoping the question sounded as casual as it did in his head.  "Shall I, you know, pick you up?" 

“They all reminded me of you in some way. Especially ‘Blushify’.”

Right on cue.  Sasha chuckled, dropping his head forward and running his hands through his hair.  He knew the gesture was entirely useless when it came to hiding the inevitable flush but it was just far too predictable. 

"I can't help it."  Obviously.  He shrugged and looked up.  "It just means I have to figure out how to make you blush to even the score." 

Sasha had never actually used a walkman but it seemed fairly straightforward.  He loaded the cassette and pressed play, turning the volume all the way up while leaving the earbuds on the table. 

“No, I wish!” Abby laughed, but she was charmed to hear he thought the image was beautiful. “It’s an old photo I found at an art sale. It seemed hopeful.”

They could all use a little hope in their lives. Abby glanced over his shoulder at the spinning dancer on the fence. Now, that might represent her. Just the wrong color dress.

Abby grinned and nodded, to both the date and picking her up, thinking that rather cute. Aileen might want to escort them, but Abby could handle the embarrassment as long as they weren’t stuck in the same opera box as her older sister.

She pushed back the flutter of nerves that popped up from excitement over the date idea and the knowledge that Aileen had implied she didn’t want them dating, at the moment. Hold off on hasty decisions, don't draw attention to yourself, she’d said after Professor Tappy had left that afternoon. But Abby didn’t see the harm in one date, or in thinking of it romantically. It was between her and Sasha, right?

She happily pushed back the logic from her thoughts, too.

"It just means I have to figure out how to make you blush to even the score."

“You’re welcome to try,” she teased back, the words coming to her more easily than they had for weeks. Just knowing that her sister knew about Sasha's situation, and knowing that she and the Astronomy professor were handling things, and knowing that they were here tonight, made it seem in this moment like things would be okay.

The tinny music sounded from the player, and Abby leaned her hip against the table, tapping her foot to the beat. The song began with a fast little jig, and then a cacophony of cheerful voices burst in, describing the delicate flutter of wings - and the crash into a goal post!

"Now these guys, they didn't expect to get popular. They picked their name as a joke and it stuck. They're all like, in their forties and fifties, with crooked noses and funny scars, and half of them can't even sing!"

She tilted her chin at the cassette player as one of them veered out of tune.

"But for retired Quidditch players, they sound pretty good, huh.” Abby glanced at him, smiling.

The only thing that saved Sasha from blushing, yet again, was the still lingering color in his face from the previous comments. 

While the formality and ritual of courtship gestures and invitations might have been more Sasha's strength, the casual and in-the-moment flirting was still definitely Abby's realm.  He'd seen enough sitcoms and movies to know Abby's invitation to try was just begging for some witty, smart return remark but the self-consciousness was quick to creep in as soon as they moved off traditional or predictable scripts. 

To buy himself a little time to contemplate, Sasha took a slow sip of his cocoa. 

"Well," he said, having set the mug back down.  "That sounds like a rather intriguing research project.  I'll have to start on a whole new collection of flashcards."  Okay.  So, it wasn't exactly witty.  And, as tempting as googling 'making girls blush' might be (something he'd only do when he was certain everyone else had gone to bed), he knew better than to make them into flashcards. 

Sasha leaned against the table to try to hear the song better.  "They're actually, truly retired Quidditch players?" Sasha asked, glancing towards Abby.  "It's not just what they call themselves?  That's pretty cool."  He had to wonder which of them came up with the idea. 

The cluster of jubilant voices faded out and a pair of chipper, pop-y voices filtered in.  He chuckled, glancing down at his own coat before looking back towards Abby, still grinning like a fool. 

"You saved it for after the whole official gift-giving session," Sasha observed, casting a fleeting glance towards the living room.  "I feel like I should have some hidden gift, too.  I wasn't, you know, expecting this."  He'd actually worried a fair bit over Abby's gift - trying to find something nice enough that didn't carry too many unwanted connotations. 

Abby nearly snorted into her cocoa at the mention of flashcards. Only Sasha! She laughed silently, her shoulders shaking, and set down the mug on the table.

He did seem to appreciate the song choices! Abby glanced at his coat and nodded. Yup. That jacket, and every other one he owned looked sharp on him.

"Naaaah," Abby waved her hand in the air at his mention of hidden gifts, grinning back. He was smiling more this evening than she'd ever seen him smile before. Which made the ever-smiley Abby even more smiley. A dangerous combo! Or perhaps a dorky one. She was okay with that.

"I wanted to do something nice for you. Well, more cute than nice. You're better at the grand gestures," she glanced at the cassette cover.

"And then I thought, I could be sneaky with that last song! If you picked up on it, yay! If not, then I would have had to just ask you," Abby admitted. The direct route. She was capable of it sometimes.

"We've been friends for a long time," she looked at him with a smidgen of seriousness, though a genuine smile remained. "But we haven't really been on a date yet," she threw him a questioning glance. Unless the Yule Ball counted. For her, it had felt like something between a date and two friends going together.

"It'll be fun. We can see how it goes?" Abby raised her eyebrows hopefully.

The Ravenclaw smirked as Abby snort, letting go of his mug of cocoa to pantomime pulling a flashcard from his pocket and setting it on the table.  He leaned over the table, fake-scribbled a few lines, made an extra elaborate display of dotting a final period and carefully folded air before slipping it back in his pocket.  All the while trying to appear serious and studious.

Sasha picked up the cassette case and removed the inner paperwork, the smirk softening back into a soft grin.  If the dull ache in his cheeks was any indication, it had been sometime since he'd smiled this much.  This felt nice and, now, in this moment - sitting in this small, cramped kitchen, knowing Professor Trishna was in the next room - he felt content.  And, for the first time in quite some time, genuinely happy.  It had been a very nice gesture and Sasha was very grateful.

"Thank you.  I love it."

Sasha shook his head, slightly, when Abby cast that questioning glance.  He wasn't quite sure if that's what she'd been expecting but he hadn't approached the Yule Ball as a date.  He knew she'd been uncertain and hadn't wanted her to feel pressured or rushed.  Other than the Deres-fueled moment of uncertainty in the courtyard, Sasha had assumed they'd gone as close friends.

"It'll be fun. We can see how it goes?"

The Ravenclaw nodded, chewing his lip, slightly.  "If you're sure," he added.  He hesitated for a few moments.  Right now, everything seemed fine.  Normal.  It seemed like a small glimpse of the way things should be.  If he thought he could convince himself this was reality as completely as he had the stuff that had led him into his current mess, he'd be very tempted.  But, deluding himself had been much easier back what it was only him involved.

With a sigh, Sasha reluctantly added: "I know things are complicated.  I'd understand if ... but, yes.  I'd like that." 

Abby only laughed harder when he pantomimed the flashcards, color tinting her cheeks from cracking up. Which wasn't really a blush, but it was close! Flinging a hand dramatically to her cheek as if to test the effect, Abby then gave him the thumbs up sign. Point for Sasha!

He loved the gift! Her smile turned rather sappy at this point, and she shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing.

Abby could completely relate to his uncertainty, though it was nice to feel confident about it at the moment. She'd thought about it. A lot. And could guess what he'd been about to say.

“I am,” she nodded happily. Though things were indeed complicated. She studied his face for a moment, then glanced down.

“I should tell you,” Abby glanced at the doors and moved closer, lowering her voice slightly as the pop music played. “I did talk to Aileen. About you-know-what. Well, actually, I invited Professor Tappy over and he ended up telling her.”

Brave man.

“I hope you’re not too upset, since you offered to tell her,” she rambled on. “She did freak out a little. They argued over it. I can’t say about what, exactly, because they sent me to another room.” Which wasn’t the complete truth. She’d overheard enough, but did not feel that Sasha needed to hear the things her sister had said in anger.

“But eventually she calmed down and she’s not going to like, spill the beans. Plus, they seem fine now.” A smile flickered across her face. She hated spoiling the moment, if it did, but he needed to know.

There it was.  The inevitable shift in tone.  Sasha's grin faltered and faded just a little, as Abby shifted closer.  He followed the squib's glance towards the door and looked back, already starting to formulate guesses in his head before Abby confessed. 

So, Professor Reid knew.  Sasha sighed and leaned back against his chair, nodding his head slowly.  There hadn't been any indication from Abby's sister that she knew which, of course, could only be a good sign.  But, it meant the knowledge that someone else was in the 'know circle' had come without warning. 

Sasha glanced, again, towards the door before looking back towards Abby and shaking his head. 

"No.  Of course not, no - I'm not too ..."  Sasha shook his head.  "I'm not upset.  I just ... you didn't have to do that."  Or, more accurately, Professor Trishna didn't need to.  If Professor Reid was going to freak out at someone, it had only seemed right that it was at him.  "I'm sorry," he said, earnestly.  "I didn't want to, you know, cause arguments.  None of this is your fault.  Or, Professor Trishna's.  Obviously." 

It felt like a lot had changed, even since the beginning of the month when he and Abby had first talked about it. 

"Professor Trishna and I talked again a bit after I talked to you.  I don't know if that was before or after.  But, she didn't seem, I don't know, upset this afternoon?"   Sasha glanced at Abby, hopeful he'd read the situation right.  "And, she's alright with you and me going to the opera?  I don't want to be sneaking behind her back or anything." 

She nodded, letting him know it was alright. Aileen had acted angry at Professor Tappy, not her and Sasha - which wasn't ideal, but at least they'd hashed it out and seemed fine now. Though she was glad he understood, and cared about what her sister thought. She might not always act like it, but Abby didn't want to push her too far.

Abby grinned sheepishly, which was always a sign of trouble. “Well, she'll be there, and she said it was ok. I conveniently left out the date idea.”

Her expression turned slightly somber, and she began to choose her words more carefully, reminded of what Professor Tappy had said. Sasha didn’t need to hear that they could all get killed. Especially not on Christmas Eve. Yet he deserved some explanation.

“She encouraged the Yule Ball, but that was before. Before she knew. Now she’s worried that changing things up would draw more attention to me, and she figures it'll be safer for everyone if that doesn't happen.”

Abby met his eyes, wondering how his talk with Professor Tappy had gone and how much it had really influenced him.

“But I’m not giving you up as a friend, so I don’t see how it matters,” she shrugged as her voice went softer. “I’ll be in your life either way. You're stuck with me.”

Sasha inhaled deeply and let the breath out, slowly, nodding his head.  Under different circumstances, Sasha would have been surprised and touched to know Professor Reid had actively encouraged Abby going with him to the Yule Ball.  But, that seemed neither here nor there. 

He understood, of course.  And, it would be foolish and selfish to dismiss Professor Reid's concerns.  Back before his last big discussion with Professor Trishna, it had been blissfully easy to dismiss the risks and worries as unnecessary and superfluous.  Now, they were a constant presence and underlined almost every decision. 

Had this become the new status quo?  He hoped not.  Or, at least, that this new status quo was very temporary. 

The Ravenclaw set the cassette insert carefully on top of the plastic case and wrapped his fingers around the mug of cocoa.  After a moment, he caught Abby's glance and offered another smile, though more muted than before. 

"So," Sasha said, carefully, trying to make sure he understood.  "They - she's alright with us spending time together.  But, we should be subtle about ... when it's a date?  Not make it obvious?"  He nodded his head.  "That's doable, I think.  I'm ... I'm alright with that." 

Sasha took a sip of his cocoa. 

"We're planning on telling Professor Storm as well," Sasha admitted, running his finger around the rim of the mug.  "They're trying to figure out, you know, a plan.  For the time being, it's mostly keeping things the same - keeping up with the lessons and everything.  I haven't seen him - Kronos - yet, since then.  I know it's inevitable."  Sasha shook his head, still not sure what emotion that brought anymore. 

“But I’m not giving you up as a friend, so I don’t see how it matters.  I’ll be in your life either way. You're stuck with me.”

It was hard to tell for sure but, for a brief moment, Sasha wasn't certain if Abby was changing her mind about the date idea.  But, after a moment, he concluded it wasn't though, in the end, it wouldn't have mattered that much.  The sentiment behind the statement, either way, was most important. 

"Thank you.  I ... that means a lot.  And, just so you know, you're stuck with me, too." 

"Exactly," Abby nodded when Sasha summed it up, wishing it weren't so complicated as she caught his mild smile. It was a date, but they couldn't act like it much, to keep her sister from worrying. And in the long run, to keep the eye of Malvivicus from swiveling and focusing on her.

She listened, relieved to hear that Professor Storm would be involved. From what little she knew of him, the Defense professor seemed very capable, and he'd be motivated to protect Sasha, his son, too. He'd better be! While she understood the awkwardness of acknowledging the family connection, Abby hoped it wouldn't keep the man from helping him in such a tough situation.

And though the prospect of Sasha seeing Malvivicus in person freaked her out, the shift in Sasha's tone hinted that he was starting to understand how dangerous the criminal could be, toward him and the people who cared about him.

A brief, but genuine smile flitted across her face at his thankful words and reassurance.

"Good." Abby scooted closer, leaning her shoulder against his.

"So, you and Professor Tappy talked about trying to keep things the same until you figure out a plan? That must have been before he stopped by this weekend," Abby nodded.

"Do you feel like-" Abby paused, unsure how to phrase this. "You want things to change? To get away from," she paused again, hesitant to even speak his name in this house, as if it would conjure the criminal to this very spot. "That influence?"