Dust particles drifted silently through the air, made visible by the pale morning light streaming in through the high windows in the Grimlish family home. A fire leapt merrily in the fireplace, shedding the only other light in the room, giving off a distinctly grim appearance. A lone figure was stood before the flames, warming his hands in the drafty room. Around the ceiling flew three bats, gleeful in being together. The boy barely spared them a glance. Though bats were naturally nocturnal creatures, these weren’t normal bats – not at all.

“Vlad, out,” Said the boy dryly, and followed by his two companions, the boy’s messenger bat flew noisily from the room, screeching its indignation the entire time. Elijah winced at the piercing sound, but otherwise made no movement. ‘Twas Christmas morn and the Ravenclaw boy had yet to have a moment alone, so the few seconds he could sneak in the dining room, even if it was under the premise that he’d set the table, was much appreciated.

With a slight sigh, he moved from the warm fire and made his way toward the long rectangular table. A Three Owl Standard tune escaped his lips as placed the cutlery around the table and made sure everything was ready for the scrumptious meal that was soon to follow. Eli loved being at home, the sense of belonging, a feeling that even Hogwarts couldn’t offer. He could hear the sound of trilling laughter in one of the rooms beyond and a smile found its way to Eli’s face.

With a final flourish with the boy’s wand, the candelabra lit. Though magic was strictly forbidden outside Hogwarts, with all the magical folk in the house, Eli was sure it would go unnoticed. The light, so small and insignificant individually, reflected from the metal accents in the room, shedding much needed light and giving a sense of warmth.

A loud grumble sounded and the sixth year looked around, curious as to if Vlad had returned, before he noticed that the sound had actually come from his stomach. “How much longer?!” He called through the house, hopeful that someone would hear him… and also hoping that no one would scold him for yelling through the house instead of walking to the kitchen to find out.

Evie was enjoying being home far too much to do something foolish like getting dressed on Christmas morning. She was still in her ankle length floral nightgown, her chipped, lavender painted toenails peeking out from the pale lace circling the bottom. She'd thrown a long and chunky cardigan over the top, which hung open like a curtain around the cuddly form of a now contented Vlad, who was clinging to her abdomen like a small child seeking solace from his mother. She was idly stroking the upside down creature's fuzzy head with her thumb as she padded into the room in search of her brother. The look on the bat's face was almost smug (if a bat could look smug), having employed the ages old strategy of going to the other parent after the first said no. Evelyn herself was none the wiser as she cradled him against her tummy. She passed through the threshold and paused, silently taking in the room. The floor was cold, and Evie's chilly toes curled up beneath her, seeking warmth. “Good morning,” she greeted him, stretching out her back as much as she was able to without disturbing her brother's sneaky familiar.

Evelyn liked being home. She loved visiting with her books, taking some quiet time to occupy her favorite hidden armchairs, and, of course, seeing her family. The fact that it was Christmas was just a nice bonus, as far as she was concerned, as even without the festive flair to everything, Evie was in her comfort zone. “What was it that you were shouting just now?” she asked her brother softly, having heard the racket but not having made any sense of it. It had definitely been Elijah hollering, though. Nobody else in the house – in the world - sounded even remotely like he did. Evie yawned, tipping her chin back to admire the candelabra, the Grimlish family's homier answer to the great hall's enchanted ceiling. She could be a hard girl to rouse once she fell into a good, deep sleep and this morning had been no exception. There were still traces of exhaustion in her face, but she was slowly warming up to the morning. She pushed some of her long hair off of her face and uncurled her toes.

It didn't feel like Christmas. It never did. It felt like morning because she was sleepy, and it felt like winter because it was cold, but Christmas? Christmas really didn't feel like much until she got down to the gift exchanging and got to hand off the gifts she'd been working on.  Her ears perked up at another swell of chatter from the other room and she turned her head, listening. It didn't sound like Christmas, either, but it definitely sounded like home. The tiniest of smiles appeared on her lips for only a fleeting moment before retreating again. Home was good enough for her.

This lack of holiday spirit was short lived, for moments after Evelyn made her entrance, a trio of figures laden with silver platters burst through the doors and danced into the room in a flurry of nightclothes and conversation. Cassie lead the conga line, bringing the Christmas spirit in spades thanks to her pine green hair being offset by a bright red nightgown, the front of which was festooned with a fawn whose bright red nose and large brown eyes blinked randomly in a disturbingly lifelike manner. She carried a large tray of eggs made in a dozen different ways. Behind her was Tesla, whose fur was mostly brown except for a tuft on the top of his head that had been dyed green and glued into a mohawk, to match his mother. He was carrying a pitcher of juice that had, thankfully, been enchanted to not spill. Which proved to be useful a moment later when he flailed it towards the twins, grinning and hooting in greeting. Carrying up the rear was Opie, draped in a fuchsia silk kimono and laden down with a giant plum pudding.

As Cassie went to greet her cousins, Opie patiently argued with a disembodied voice that floated out of the vicinity of her waist, who was quite upset to find that he would not be getting his own seat at the grand table.

"All I'm saying is that if you are gonna give that damn monkey..." Rodolfo reasoned, pausing when Tesla let out an irritated, "OOK!"

"Ape. You know he hates being called an M-word..." Opie corrected gently. Rodolfo grumbled something rude in Swahili under his breath and continued "... ape, then why can't I have a place? Hm? I have a mouth too you know!"

"Yeah, well, you don't have a rear end or tastebuds, so you really don't have a leg to stand on, do you?" Opie retorted, setting the tray on the table so she could retrieve the shrunken head from her hip. It didn't dawn on her that she had made a rather tasteless joke, but Rodolfo certainly noticed. "Oh, Oh! Body jokes now! Make fun of the disembodied head because he can't fight back, hm? That's a fine way to treat a loyal friend, let alone on Christmas! I should have let them eat you back in MMPH MMMPHMM!"

Opie sighed heavily as she released the string that bound Rodolfo's lips. She hated to do it, but when he got in one of his 'moods', she had little choice. "Roldolfo, that is a horrible thing to say! I would never make fun of your... disability, at Christmas or otherwise, and you know it! The simple fact is that you can't eat." She carefully hung him from what used to be a banana hook, where he spun slowly and disgruntled. "Do you remember last summer, when I let you have some rambutan because you just had to try it? You had to be restuffed because you had maggots growing out of your ears! All because you were too stubborn to tell me that the food had just rotted in there! So... No, no food for you. Buuuuuut...." She produced a small bottle that smelled strongly of death and cherries, that had a ridiculous loopy straw shaped like a pair of sunglasses "... I did make you a little formaldehyde mixed with cherry juice! Your favorite! It even has a loopy straw~"

Eying the straw, Rodolfo made a reluctant noise that Opie took as acquiescence and she placed the bottle next to him before settling the glasses on the remains of his nose with some difficulty. Then she undid the strings and stuck the straw in before he could start shouting again. "There." Patting him on the head, she left him to suckle happily on his drink, momentarily placated, and turned to the three youngest members of the family. "Good morning and Happy Christmas! Did you sleep well?", she asked, giving each of the twins a hug.

Elijah was about to walk from the room to find the rest of the family before his sister walked in, with a certain sneaky flying creature clinging to her tummy. A stern frown appeared upon his face, quickly followed by a broad smile. He could tell the little bat to leave again, and he might… but probably not. It seemed, most times, that Vlad liked his sister more than he liked Eli, which honestly didn’t bother Elijah in the slightest. The only time the thought even crossed his mind was when it came time to clean Vlad’s cage – and Eli would have never turned down a hand with that.

In reference to Evie’s underdressed state, Eli couldn’t really complain. He’d barely taken the time to throw a pair of pajama bottoms on over his knickers before heading out for the morning. Before Eli had even had a chance to spit out a quick ‘good morning’ or a ‘happy Christmas’ a gaggle of people trapezed into the room, and Eli’s grin only widened. He was happy to be home with his family; nothing beat it, but Eli was really smiling because of the food. Blimey he was hungry.

The Ravenclaw boy opened his mouth again to offer a greeting, but ended up shutting it just as quickly when Opie’s little head friend started complaining about… well everything. He seemed to be a rather unhappy sort, and Eli was all too happy when his aunt finally stuffed a straw of preservatory goodness in his sewn up mouth. During the exchange, Eli moved over and threw an arm over his twin’s shoulder, and laughed quietly at everything.

With his other hand he stowed his wand and grabbed for a handful of sugar cubes with the other. He offered one to Vlad, and the little bat nibbled at the cube happily, clutching at the sweet treat with his batty claws. He knew that the bat wasn’t supposed to eat them… but it was Christmas and Vlad did love them, so what else was he to do!

“Happy Christmas!” He finally managed, and left his sister’s side to ruffle the fur atop Tesla’s scalp. With a bit of sleight of hand, Eli sneaked the little ape a couple cubes of her own, and with a quiet “OOK!” of thanks scurried to Cassie’s side to nibble on them. “I slept wonderful! Just wish morning hadn’t come so soon,” He said in response to Opie’s questioning. “Where’s everyone else? I’m starved!”

Evie didn't think Vlad liked her any better than he liked Eli, even as comfortable as he'd made himself while clinging to the pleasantly soft fabric of her nightgown. After all, when mum was acting cross, running to an auntie – any auntie – always seemed like the better option. Vlad had done the same thing, in a way. Eli was his parent, whom he loved and counted on, and Evie was merely the indulgent friend who happened to be there when the parent whom he loved and counted on was being a big jerk. She continued to absently stroke the bat's surprisingly downy head, even as her brother manhandled her into a semi-hug and a parade of aunties, animals, and insanity passed on through. It was your everyday, typical sort of chaos – a far cry from Hogwarts drama, which she appreciated. It just didn't feel like home unless a monkey was screeching, a shrunken head was complaining, and a naughty bat was eying treats while he hung from her clothing. She just had to chuckle, even as she tilted her head to rest it on her brother's shoulder.

As soon as her head made contact, however, she could swear she heard his stomach rumbling. She pulled away a bit and looked him in the face, amusement twinkling in her dark eyes. Her lips, taut and smooshed together, were betraying her as she fought to keep from smiling. As Eli pulled away and went for the sugar Evie was certain he was going to pop that handful of cubes straight into his own mouth, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that he'd decided to share with the rest of the zoo. As her brother went off to feed the primate, Evie allowed herself to be pulled into her Auntie Opie's hug. She was very careful to make sure that poor Vlad didn't get squished. She was feeling greedy for affection, though, and lingered for a moment with her arms around her aunt's neck.

“I'm still tired,” Evie admitted, blinking, as she reluctantly pulled away from the embrace. It was a far less enthusiastic response than her brother's, but wasn't that so often the way? Evie had gotten distracted by a book and had fallen asleep in an overstuffed easy chair down in the labyrinthine library and had woken up sometime in the early hours, shivering. Her candle had gone out and she'd done her best to step on the squeakiest parts of the floor on her way back up, trying very hard to spook herself in the dark, just for a thrill. By the time she'd climbed all the way up to her attic bedroom she'd had to run and dive bomb under the covers to keep from being pursued by the creatures she'd conjured in her mind. It had taken a while to fall asleep after that, with her heart pounding so rapidly in her chest. Once she was out, however, she'd slept like the dead. “My dreams were very vivid last night, and I've already written them all down. Sleep was enlightening but not very restful,” she explained, accenting her response with a yawn. “Is it really Christmas? I swear it never feels like Christmas. Maybe everyone else forgot.”