The Ketteridge family had finished their annual Christmas Quidditch match. As usual, it was after a light brunch, and before presents and dinner. Mysti, her brother Billy against her father, Jack, and other brother Johnathan.  Officiating had been Mysti’s mother, Geraldine. Of course, Mysti’s team had won by a large margin, though Jack said it was because he was getting older.  With the game over, the family started walking back to the house, brooms over their shoulders.

“Dad, even with your age, we all know Billy wouldn’t be as good without the plans. Mysti’s just got a gift.” Johnathan said, having a laugh at his younger brother.

“Well, I’m not quidditch captain for nothing!” Mysti said with a smile. The team had been doing fairly well, and she was proud of them.  And thankfully they were good with her as captain.

“That’s true. Though I still don’t think it’s fair when you make that pig face when I’ve got the quaffle. You know it scares me!” John shook his head trying to get the image out of his mind.  Ever since he was a child, he had a fear of pigs.  A run in with one that tried to get some truffles he had been collecting had left him scarred for life.

“Pig face? You mean this one?” Mysti asked before contorting her face into one with a pig snout where a normal nose should be. 

Then she ran over to her older brother, causing him to let out a squeal and jump back.  Mysti gave a snort of laughter before focusing and changing her face back. Billy and Jack had a laugh, while John and Geraldine did not. Her mother gave a disapproving look which silenced the laughter. The teenage girl gave her mother a look of innocence that seemed to say “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Of course, her mother knew better.

“You know I don’t want you using that ability lightly. You don’t want to have a slip up at school and then be looked at differently because of it. It will certainly make things difficult for you, Mystique.” Geraldine said, causing her daughter to frown.

“Mum. I never get to do anything with it during school when people are around. I know it’s for protection but around you all I think I should be fine. It’s nice not to hide it here. It’s hard enough keeping it from my friends, so why should I have to still hide it from those who know?” Mysti felt she had a point, but had made a bit of a lie to make it.

“I still just don’t want you getting used to it.” Mysti nodded at her mother’s words, deciding it better not to argue.

Being home was a time for her to use her ability for people to see, though she had used it in front of a select few at Hogwarts. Only her closest friends knew about it, mainly after a slip up.  But Mysti hadn’t told her mother about that, because she knew she’d be in trouble.  She practiced and experimented, but no one could know.  Didn’t her mother remember how hard it was to keep secrets as a teenager?

Her brothers, who had both been at Hogwarts for a short time with their sister, did know how difficult it was.  Billy, Johnathan, and Mysti were closer than most siblings normally are.  They would gather in an abandoned classroom and share stories from their different classes and and about their friends.  And on occasion, had to keep Mysti from getting too upset and changing her appearance without meaning to, alerting others to her talent.  She normally would depend on them to help her stay calm.  And since Billy graduated that past year, they knew it would be more difficult for her without them around.  They felt bad for her having to keep such a big secret, seeing her struggle like that.

But at the same time, they envied her.  Sometimes they wished they could be the ones with the gift, and Mysti saw that.  She often tried to make light of situations, but also felt bad when she used her metamorph ability around them.  If anything, Mysti just wanted to see people happy, and that’s when she most wanted to be able to use her ability.  Which is what she does for those few who know at Hogwarts.

Of course, Mysti hadn’t told them about her kind of boyfriend, Trent. They wouldn’t have reacted well to her dating a Slytherin.  And since Billy was no longer at Hogwarts, he didn’t have to know.  But that also meant she couldn’t tell them that things weren’t going well between the two.  Problems with her friends not liking him, and then him drifting away from her.  Mysti and Trent hadn’t talked all break, and she sensed their relationship was probably going nowhere.  But she decided to wait til they saw each other again at Hogwarts before making a decision. So she focused her energy on entertaining her family, and trying to hide her emotions. And trying to forget any problems.

Then it was Jack who decided to try and lighten the mood. “So... How about presents?”