Standing on the doorstep as the last echoes of the ringing doorbell faded, Sasha tried to ignore the foreboding sense of déjà vu.  It had been almost 10 months, exactly, since Sasha had last stood on this doorstep, fighting an uncomfortable mixture of worry, uncertainty and rejection while he waited for someone to answer the door. 

By mid-February last year, two months had passed since Abby had been scheduled to return from her tour de suitors and it had been almost four or five months since there had been any communication at all.  No owls saying she was having a blast.  No note saying she was looking forward to coming home.  Not even a memo saying she'd met someone fantastic and who, at the end of the day, represented a path of least resistance for Abby with her parents and she wasn't ever coming home.  There had been nothing.  Complete silence. 

That wasn't normal Abby.  Sasha had known that.  So, he'd come to the Reid doorstep in hopes of at least confirmation from her parents that they had heard from her and she was alright.  A curt confirmation she was fine and insistence it was none of his business had answered his question.  It hadn't completely eased his worry, but it had given more credence to the feeling of rejection. 

A lot had changed in the last few months, so there was absolutely no reason to fear that his arrival would be met with the same full-force unwelcome that it had the last time.  But nerves, Sasha assumed, were part of the normal package when it came to meeting the parents of one's girlfriend for the first (well...second) time and those memories were doing little to settle those nerves. 

He'd already spent the better part of the morning trying on different outfits ranging from casual to formal and purely wizarding to a conservative mix of magical and mundane.  Finally, he'd settled on a formal, yet festive suit that had just enough length in the tail to be comfortably ambiguous about the world it belonged to.  The bag in his hand contained an assortment of gifts - both holiday and hostess gifts, with a few generic spares in the mix in case there were unexpected additional family members in attendance. 

The dull echo of footsteps could be heard behind the door and Sasha spared himself a few moments to nervously preen before the door swung open to reveal which member of the Reid family he'd be encountering first.

The doorbell rang. Sulwen had planned for this moment when she'd first arrived at her grandparent's house. She'd asked the house elf very nicely if he would let her answer the door, just this once. She'd suggested that her sister Coira go help Abby primp and preen or whatever was taking her so long, and off her little sister went, bounding up the stairs. She'd abandoned her aunt Aileen in the parlor with her mother and her grandmother, and had not missed her unimpressed look when Sulwen had slipped out of the room, but Aileen was strong. She could handle them for a little while.

This was Abby's boyfriend, after all, and this might be her only chance to form an impression of him without the chatter and the influence of her family making it difficult. She'd heard lots about him already. He acted like a muggle and went to muggle school. He worked at the Ministry. He was rich. He'd been one of Aileen's best students.

He'd been present during Abby's exorcism a few days ago, too. Sulwen didn't know exactly what had happened, but her aunt Abby had survived, and that was the most important thing.

She didn't know exactly what had happened. She'd had no dreams or funny feelings or sudden ideas about what might have happened. She'd slept well since coming home for the holidays, and she was beginning to think that whatever strange inkling she'd had at Hogwarts had been just that - an inkling. Nothing magical. Nothing to do with divination. Wesley was fine, wasn't he? If she truly had some sort of ability to see the future, she would know if he wasn't. She would have been able to predict and somehow prevent what had happened at the train station, and she would know what had happened in the death chamber with Abby.

So she wasn't a seer. Definitely not.

A smile tugged on her mouth as she walked to the door. She'd never been so glad about not being able to do something.

Sulwen straightened her dress robes, a ruffled red ensemble that her grandmother had gifted her earlier and that she was now forced to wear. She opened the door, and looked up, and up further, and smiled politely at the tall young man wearing a suit on the porch.

"Hello," she stuck out her hand formally. "You must be Sasha Schlagen-" Sulwen paused, fighting back a glimmer of embarrassment. "Sasha Snow," she said with appropriate gravity. "I'm Sulwen, Abby's niece."

Sulwen moved back to let him in.

"Everyone's in the parlor." Mostly. "Would you like me to take that?"

She gestured to the bag he carried, eyeing it curiously. She'd been practicing levitation spells, and wondered if she could get away with using magic at her grandparent's like she did at home.

Luckily, though perhaps not surprisingly, Sasha hadn’t been left at the front door for too long so there had been a minimal amount of time for his mind to fret over what he was supposed to say or do or the likelihood that Mr. and Mrs. Reid would react to their gifts in the same manner that a Healer reacts to a bonsai.  What was surprising was to find the door answered not by a house elf, or either of the heads of the household, but by a young girl in a very red, holiday-esque dress. 

“Grüßen Sie,” Sasha greeted, reflexively, reaching out to shake the extended hand while his thoughts quickly ticked through the known members of Abby’s family in search of someone who fit the description of the girl standing in the doorway. 

With another stroke of luck (a good sign for things to come, Sasha assumed), the girl took the lead on introductions.  His mouth twitched up into an amused grin as the other stumbled over his name, shoulders hitching up in an unconcerned shrug.  “I still make that mistake, on occasion,” he admitted.  “Mostly because it still seems weird that my name ends after two syllables.” 

“Sulwen!  Yes, I’ve heard quite a lot about you,” he offered as he handed her the bag.  “You’re in Feliks’ house, aren’t you?”  He was looking forward to meeting the newest member of that branch of a new very complicated family tree. 

“And, by everyone, do you mean … everyone?”

He greeted her in German and for an instant she thought oh no, she didn't know any German. But Sasha was just saying hello in a worldly way.

Sulwen took the bag, appreciating his manners. He didn't take his last name seriously either, which she considered a good sign. She'd been wracking her brain trying to understand why he'd choose to call himself a substance that fell from the sky and got slushy and gray as the winter wore on. He must have a reason. Sulwen glanced quickly at him. He stood taller than most of the seventh years, and they were like giants. Anyway, he must have a reason, because he wasn't a boring adult yet, he was at the most interesting age there was, and that was Abby's age.

She just hoped he would like her and that she and her family would like him.

She led him down the hall, their footsteps echoing on the polished tiles as they passed family portraits and little tables with vases just waiting to be knocked over. Sulwen avoided the tables by walking in the middle as much as she could.

"Mmhm," she nodded. Everyone! The Reid family gatherings seemed so small in comparison to the others she'd heard about from her friends at school.

"My mother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt - well, aunt Aileen you've met. She has a lot of good things to say about you. Abby is upstairs primping and she'll be down shortly," she paused, then shot a curious glance at his impeccable suit. He'd primped too, she could tell!

"I sent my sister Coira up to help her, but she's younger than I am," Sulwen made a slight face. Coira did act very young.

The person who wasn't here, who hadn't been here for the past few years, was her father. Still in Azkaban. Sasha shouldn't bring him up, especially in front of the whole family, but did he know that? Had Abby told him?

Sulwen fell silent a moment. She didn't want to be the one to warn him.

"You've met Feliks?" Sulwen perked up a bit. "He often chimes in as I write letters. I've written to Raine a few times and he - do you know Raine?" Sulwen said with more interest, slowing her pace so as not to reach the parlor too soon.

The familiar sound of shoe soles rapping against hard, stone floors followed them as Sulwen led the way down the hall.  He'd known, of course, that Abby's family was well off - hence the need for the somewhat formal approach to introductions - but it was still hard to imagine that she belonged to all of this familial grandeur.  Professor Reid seemed a much better match to it than Abby. 

He glanced subtly, but curiously, at the various portraits as he followed in Sulwen's wake - at least until the younger Reid began listing off the various attendants of the day's celebration. 

Parents, grandparents, former professors.  Wow.  Well, he'd survived the trial-by-fire approach to education.  He could surely survive this. 

"Yes, luckily, I'm good at winning professors over," Sasha confessed, with a slight grin.  He wasn't sure how much that said about non-academic reputations.  So, Abby was still getting ready.  Which meant that he'd be meeting family ... first. 

He nodded to confirm he knew Feliks, unsure how much she knew about their connection.  "I'll be seeing him tomorrow, in fact.  I'll be visiting with him and his fathers for the holidays.  I'm hoping to get him enthusiastic about a game I'm developing - and I'm really hoping he'll drag some of you other students into it.  And, yes," he offered with a grin.  Sulwen was starting to make him feel like a proper wizarding socialite.  Sure, it was really only a handful of people, but ...

"Raine and I were in the same year at Hogwarts.  Different houses, though.  But, we were fairly good friends in school.  We cross paths every now and then since graduation, more so now that I've started working at the Ministry." 

"So, any recommendations before meeting the clan?" he asked, habitually fussing with his tie and straightening the lapels of his coat.

Sulwen raised her eyebrows curiously at the mention of a game. What kind of game would Sasha have for Feliks? She doubted it was the kind that Feliks already played, which was the game of acting up in class and getting her involved in trouble she'd normally avoid. Sasha had said he was good at winning professors over.

She'd have to ask him a little later about the Ministry and those he knew.

"No fussing," Sulwen advised immediately, watching him straighten his tie. She shot him a shy smile that was not quite apologetic, and went on. "No fidgeting, no discussion of controversial topics."

That was a lot of no's, Sulwen realized, hoping she wasn't being rude.

"I can't think of anything else?"

He seemed very nice so far. She hoped her grandparents and mother were nice to him.

She heard steps on the stairs, just around the corner. Steady steps, not fast steps, which meant that Abby was here and Coira was somewhere else.

Sulwen's face brightened. She gave Sasha a nod, and opened the door to the parlor, the gift bag in hand.

She went in, quietly closing the door behind her.

Abby would say that her steps were quick, but not quite as quick as her little niece's, Coira. She hurried down the stairs, hoping to catch Sasha before he faced her entire immediate family on his own.

She wore a tangerine-pink dress that she'd worn for the holidays a few years ago, which still looked just as nice and had already met with her parent's approval. The fabric gave off a velvety sheen when she moved.

She turned to find Sasha by the parlor door.

A smile slowly spread across her face. Sasha. Through all the numbness of the past few days, joy lit her up. She grasped at the feeling. She wanted to keep it for a while.

"Sasha," she closed the space, looking at him for a moment. He looked dashing, even more so in the suit.

"You look handsome," she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Abby was a little nervous about this day, only because she knew her parents could be intimidating, and they hadn't heeded Sasha's concerns when they'd first met, and they were rather protective of her (she hated to say it) after failing to protect her last year. Sasha must be incredibly nervous to meet them again. It didn't help that this holiday gathering was so close to the exorcism she'd survived a few days ago, and Abby expected she'd have to dash out every once in a while, to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Still, she was so happy that Sasha was here.

She looked up at him, standing on her tiptoes for a kiss.

A voice sounded behind her: "Ewww!"

Coira, her younger niece, giggled around the corner.

"Hi, Abby's boyfriend! Bye, Abby's boyfriend."

The girl disappeared down the hall, avoiding the parlor.

"My niece, Coira," Abby shook her head.

"You know what I've decided?" She glanced at Sasha with a trace of her usual teasing tone. "If at any point you or I need to sneak away from my family, let's do that. I know all the best hiding places."

"No fussing."

"Oh - I know," Sasha reassured Sulwen, as he quickly brushed his fingers through his hair.  "My mother slapped my hands enough when I was growing up.  I learned to get it all out before going into the lion's den."  Prim, preen - much like donning a slightly less cumbersome suit of armor - was best completed before heading into the fray. 

All in all, it sounded like standard, pretentious fair.  Sasha had been well-trained, at least in the muggle world.  He had a suspicion the safe topics he was used to were probably some of the more controversial topics here but he hoped his improvisation skills would sustain him. 

At the sound of footfalls on stair risers, Sasha quickly dropped his hands and turned to offer a polite greeting.  Completely oblivious to Sulwen's retreat into the parlor, Sasha stared as Abby approached. 

Whatever polite greeting he'd been planning dissolved into a wide-eyed blush and a slightly less eloquent and far less elegant : "I ... you're ... uh wow." 

How fortuitous it was that he first saw her out here in the hallway. 

He returned the hug and held her close for several moments.  "Thank you," he offered, both for the compliment and the invitation.  Silently, he sent a stream of thank yous to whatever or whoever above that had allowed them to make it here. 

Apparently, whatever or whoever was above had listened and responded.  He returned the kiss with a gentle squeeze before a giggle broke the moment. 

Beaming, he looked around and spotted the younger girl offer a passing hello before scurrying away. 

"Allo - Coira!" he called after, once Abby had filled in the name.  "I see she takes more after you than she does your sister," he offered with a grin, as he turned back to Abby. 

He chuckled slightly and nodded.  "I very well might have to take you up on that offer at some point."  The holidays still had the potential to be a heavy affair.  "I don't imagine we'll have the benefit of Professor Storm sporting a Darth Vader apron to lighten the mood." 

"Shall we face the Spanish Inquisition?" he asked, his voice making a poor imitation of a particularly epic Flying Circus sketch. 

Abby laughed under her breath, remembering that holiday at Professor Trishna's a few years ago, with Trishna's family and Professor Storm, of all people! She missed those days. There'd been underlying drama, as there always was, but it had been the calm before the... Storm.

Now? Now was good. Better than good. In this moment, she was here with Sasha, and he was making cute jokes and looking very pleased to see her. They'd have many moments later, when they sneaked away, and they'd have many moments after today, because by some miracle they were both alive.

"We are the inquisition. Just look at us, all charming and cute. We're going to make the most polite small talk they have ever heard, and they'll tell us everything we've ever wanted to know about the weather. They don't know it, but Snow has arrived."

With another kiss, Abby took his hand and opened the door.

Aileen raised her eyebrows at Sulwen as the girl slipped in and closed the door behind her with a gift bag in hand. The girl hurried over to the tree and tucked the bag beneath the lower boughs, which hung heavy with ornaments and tinsel. What the house lacked in warmth, it made up for with far too many decorations.

Sulwen glanced around the empty room. Aileen waved her over.

"Your mother is looking for your little sister. Your grandpa-"

"-Retreated to the study," Sulwen guessed, then frowned. "Where is grandma?"

"Scolding the house elf for failing to answer the door," Aileen couldn't help but joke.

Sulwen's face fell.

"No, I'm sure she's just checking on the tea."

Her niece looked around, taken aback by the quiet. "They just left you in here? Alone?"

"Bless them," Aileen nodded, picking up the book she'd been reading. She slipped a bookmark inside it and gave Sulwen her full attention.

Though she hadn't been around much over the years, and her strained relationship with her older brother had made things complicated, Aileen adored her nieces the more she got to know them. She was grateful to Sulwen especially, for her quick thinking during the train station fiasco with the dementor. Not many first-years would have pretended that a fleeing pentral was a patronus, let alone recognized the difference between the two. Aileen hadn't yet explained to Sulwen what had happened that day and why. Despite the amazing outcome of Abby's survival, it had all been a bit too much this month.

The door opened. Aileen stood, an amused smile creeping up her face as Abby stopped short and stared at the mostly empty room.

Aileen and Sulwen listed off all the places that the family was off to.

"Don't think it a slight," Aileen went towards Sasha. "It's impossible to corral all the Reids together in one room for very long."

Aileen gave Sasha a light, formal hug, and stepped back.

"It's lovely to see you again during happier circumstances."

She wasn't being sarcastic, even. What could be worse than what they'd endured a few days ago? If Aileen could make it happier, she would, for her sister, and for her former student, who had been there for Abby in the chamber while she'd been waiting outside of it. The longest wait of her life.

“Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my fluffy cushions.” Sasha tried his hardest to look and sound serious but it was a near impossibility.  Especially when such joking was followed with a kiss. 

But, alas, it was time to Meet the Family. 

After taking a deep breath, Sasha followed Abby through the door and immediately let out a sigh of relief.  The room was populated with only familiar faces and, while Sasha knew Aileen Reid was capable of looks of reproach that could turn the stoutest witch or wizard to ice, he wasn’t typically at the mercy of those looks. 

“Oh – don’t worry.  I don’t take it as a slight at all,” Sasha insisted after the whereabouts of the Reid clan had been identified.  “I half expected this to be like that scene in Lonesome Dove where the guy falls into the river and …[1] nevermind.”  This was probably not the Lonesome Dove crowd.  And, given the preponderance of Slytherins, it probably wasn’t the best choice of references. 

Sasha smiled warmly, and nodded his head.  “I’m very happy to be here,” Sasha insisted, earnestly.  He assumed the exorcism in the Death Chamber was one of those topics best avoided during the Holidays so opted to skim over it.  “Before a couple years ago, I’d never seen a proper British Magical Christmas – though, I assume yours is a fair bit different than the Trishnas’.” 

That, undoubtedly, was an understatement. 

“One day, we’ll have to see the German Christmas, though,” he added with a bright smile, glancing to Abby. 

He glanced towards Sulwen, intending on asking the most cliché of Christmastime questions when he realized he wasn’t sure if the question was appropriate.  “Do you all have a Santa Claus?”

1.	The scene – though proceed with caution of you have snake phobias.

Abby and Aileen shared a look and smiled. Their holidays were vastly different from the Trishna's Christmas Eve they'd attended a few years ago, where teenagers had played 'video' games, and Christmas specials had blared on the telly and the host had worn a goofy apron in the kitchen. What the Reids lacked in technology they made up for in silent disapproval and festive scenery. The scent of pine wafted in the air, and baubles with fairy lights lit up the tree. Ornaments glinted silver and gold, coordinated and carefully placed between the hanging tinsel.

With a pang, Aileen hoped the Trishna family was doing well.

The Lonesome Dove? Aileen was not familiar with that, but Sasha often made obscure muggle references when he was feeling nervous or oblivious or both. He might as well get it out of his system before her mother returned. The river was too far away to throw guests into.

"Wunderbar," Abby smiled at Sasha's German Christmas comment, and went to join Sulwen who had gestured her over to look at the tree.

"I don't believe in Santa Claus," Sulwen answered seriously, giving a self-conscious tug at one of the frills on her collar. Sulwen's little sister (still out in the halls somewhere) wore something very similar.

"Coira pretends to, thinking it will get her more gifts."

Coira was likely right. Aileen held back a smile, watching Sulwen nudge Abby, whisper, and point to the gift that Sasha had brought.

"Santa Claus is a minor folk figure for most magical families," Aileen took a seat near the fire in the fireplace, where a few gifts had been tucked into the stockings for Coira and Sulwen. High on the walls, family portraits kept one eye open, prepared to report to Cullodena Reid that evening.

"The stories told to children vary from family to family. Santa might use a carriage instead of a sleigh, or command a fleet of winged horses, or simply use the floo."[1]

"Mmhm, professor," Abby teased.

1.	Just making things up!