Christmas in the Reid House((The Reids + Riley))

[Jackson Reid]

Christmas day, a time for love, giving, family, and togetherness. Jackson’s eyes slowly opened to the familiar view of the ceiling. With a casual flick of his wand he deactivated his alarm a full second before it would begin its annoying ringing. Setting the thing had become more of a habit for him, since he hadn’t required its help to wake up in nearly 30 years. Another casual flick caused the curtains of the window to fly open, revealing the dark sky outside. Another habit of 30 years of work, Jackson had risen before the sun during his school days. Getting an early start on the day meant that one could complete more work and get more things done. Jackson easily slid out of bed and walked over to the window and stared off into the distance, the sun hadn’t even begun its ascent over the distant horizon. Not much had changed in Jackson routine over the past, and that was exactly how Jackson liked his life. Turning from the window he began to move toward the bureau, he stole a glance toward the bed as he made his way. One major thing had changed in the routine of his life, this change was made evident by the vacant bed that usually held another occupant quietly sleeping while he dressed for the morning.

Amelia had recently taken to sleeping within one of the guest rooms alone, her mental state made her slightly disturbed around other people and it was difficult for her to lay by his side for an entire night. Jackson quickly shook the thought away as he opened the bureau and began to dress. Jackson was never one to use the word “Vacation,” and had never taken one before. Although he wasn’t required to enter the ministry today due to the holiday it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to get some work done, that was the beauty of being a council member, one could easily take his work home with him. Jackson slipped from the room; the house elves would be quite used to his routine by now and had probably been awake for some time preparing his breakfast. Still, he decided not to slip into the dining room just yet, the elves would make sure to keep his food warm and ready for him. Jackson’s large frame moved silently through the depths of his well known home as he approached the smooth wooden door of his study. The door closed behind him with a slight click and the lamps within the room immediately burned bright at his presence.

Jackson set himself behind his writing desk; today’s work load was quite light. For the next hour the only sound that came from the study was the scratching of quill upon parchment as Jackson set about writing up a few letters and drafts concerning the council. There had been a huge drop in workload ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, the council was rarely called together anymore; and even than it was to settle minor trivial matters. Jackson stole a glance out of his window and noticed that the sun had finally made an appearance on the distant horizon. His stomach gave a slight growl and he grinned, perhaps it was time to get started on that breakfast. Once again Jackson moved silently through his quiet house, the kids should still be asleep although that would soon change. Christmas morning seemed to be the only morning where it was normal to see his three sons up early. He moved into the dining room and watched as, like Hogwarts, his plate of breakfast materialized on the table’s surface.

The house elves had once again risen to the challenge and kept his food ready for him so it seemed that he hadn’t delayed coming to this meal at all. The Daily Prophet, having arrived just an hour ago, sat upon the table waiting for him. Jackson picked up the newspaper and opened it as his eyes began to skim through the stories. The day was young and many possibilities hang open for the Reid family. As the sun continued its ascent into the morning sky the sound of the family waking and beginning their own morning routines reached his ears.

((Ok, sorry about the delay in getting this up. I figured it would be a bit dangerous of me to hand out Christmas presents this early on, since I haven’t quite gotten to know my own sons yet . So get yourselves something nice from me.))

[Jack Reid]

Jack woke to the small sliver of light peeking from the side of the large picture window to the side of his room. It was Christmas morning, and for once, it was early and he didn’t hear the loud, annoying, and completely rambunctious nature of his youngest brother Bronsen. While the youngest in the family was certainly not a toddler any longer, he had a tendency to act that way sometimes, especially when he got excited about certain things, one of which was Christmas. Every Christmas morning for the past so many years or so, Bronsen was always the first one up that morning (or so it seemed), and he had a habit of making it known to everyone in the house, even if the Reid home was spacious enough that this was an unnecessary activity. Still, this morning, as both of Jack’s tired eyes opened to the large yet mostly empty room, he listened and heard no loud noises. The house elves tended to be incompetent at times, so Jack would have to clean up after himself and clean his room a bit, something his father would likely remind him of numerous times. Didn’t Jackson realize how old Jack was now? He was approaching 18, and closing in on his final year at Hogwarts. Soon he would be rid of the school, and out on his own. Jackson would have no power over him at that point in his life. Besides, his room barely had anything in it as it was anymore. Everything he had was pretty much at Hogwarts. He had seen to that over the past few years. He wanted everything out of that house so that the moment he was done at Hogwarts he could get rid of everything he didn’t absolutely need and travel light.

Of course what he hadn’t planned was Riley. After Juliet, he hadn’t thought anyone would find him attractive or that he would trust someone like that again, at least not that quickly. Life had a way of surprising him like that. Juliet had come and gone quickly, and while he was waiting for Riley to come to her senses and leave him the same way Juliet did, she hadn’t yet. It had been a few months. A few great months with someone that meant the world to him, and he didn’t say that about many people, especially women. Sitting up and pulling a button down shirt on, Jack stood up, facing his full body mirror as he began to fix the shirt. With the thought of Riley came the thought of what Jackson would think. August and Bronsen likely already knew about his relationship with the Gryffindor girl, but Jackson would likely sit him down and give him a lecture about dating within Houses. Something he didn’t need hear at the moment. In fact, it was something he didn’t have to hear, ever. Jack had feelings for Riley. They were strong feelings. Probably stronger than they both realized, but that wasn’t something that needed to be thought about right now. Jack had just seen Riley the day before Christmas Eve, so he had to get her out of his mind a bit, so he could look forward to seeing her after the holidays. Hopefully he would get to see her on the train...he needed to write her an owl about meeting her at one of the stops before long.

Jack pulled his slacks on, rather than his muggle jeans, just to please his father. The man would likely get a bit more of an attitude that usual if Jack didn’t attempt to please him in every way he could today. Even if it was Christmas, Jack still was expected to be on his best behavior. As his mind wandered, Jack couldn’t come up with a clue as to what Jackson could have bought him for Christmas. He likely had bought him some book on the Ministry that he got cheap at the bookstore of the building where he worked. It likely was a last minute thing, because as it seemed, Jack was an oversight. Jackson had likely bought gifts for August, Bronsen, Amelia, and maybe even a few of the random women he slept with on a regular basis behind Mum’s back. But Jack’s gift was an afterthought. He was sure of it. As he finished his outfit, he straightened his hair and walked out of his room. Again, the house was quiet. Odd, for Christmas morning. Definitely odd. But nonetheless, completely fine with Jack. He walked down the steps, the house elves scurrying about cleaning and making sure things were in order. He turned the corner and ventured into the dining room, where he saw his father was reading The Daily Prophet.

“Morning Dad. Happy Christmas,” he said simply. He wasn’t completely in the mood to talk, much less talk to his father. But it was breakfast on Christmas, and if there was anything that the seeming abandonment his father had taught him, it was that sometimes he had to get through things he didn’t want to deal with. This was one of those moments. Christmas Day at the Reids would be an interesting day, and it started with breakfast early in the morning with his father. Jack sat down at the end of the table, which was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holiday, with green and red place mats and a white tablecloth. The breakfast was already made, and had appeared in front of him as he pulled his chair out to sit down. Breakfast on Christmas? Eggs and pancakes. A staple from the house elves. Jackson hadn’t touched his breakfast yet. He was too busy reading his newspaper. Jack couldn’t come up with a word to say. He would have asked where the boys were, but it was an obvious answer. They were either asleep or getting ready to come down. As he cut up his pancakes and poured the syrup, he heard what he knew was Bronsen. A large thud came from above the room, and then a quick run to the bathroom in the middle of the hallway upstairs. Jack found it somewhat surprising he knew exactly where Bronsen was going, and his routine on Christmas morning.

He finished his breakfast quickly, without any words from his father, nor any words to his father. Jack picked up his plate, along with his fork and knife, and put it in the dish container. Right by the table there was a small desk that had a tub where dirty dishes went, and the house elves constantly came around and collected dirty dishes. He looked at his father again, noticing that his breakfast was still not eaten, and the Daily Prophet was still in his nose. Jack ruffled his hair, and walked into the living room where it was completely decorated for the holiday as well. By now Bronsen was banging down the stairs, and passed him in the hallway between the dining room and the living room. “Morning Jack! Happy Christmas!” Bronsen said, with a nice cheery voice. Jack shrugged it off and rubbed his eyes a bit to wake up a bit more. “Go eat your breakfast, kiddo. Eggs and pancakes.” Bronsen freaked out at the mention of food. “Oh boy!” He scurried into the dining room, greeting Jackson with his glee of the morning. Where was August? If Bronsen was up, August wouldn’t be far behind. Jack sat in the large soft chair near the tree, picking up the one gift he had bought (reluctantly) for his father. He had bought him a pin with a wand on it, for his ties when he went to work. It was a cheap and small gift, something he could get away with. He had also found an old, beautiful necklace for Mum, something he had found in Hogsmeade. When he had walked into the store, he had seen the necklace right away, and immediate thought of Mum. It was definitely something he wanted her to have, even if she couldn’t tell who he was anymore. He looked around at the presents littering the underside of the tree. The rest of the presents were mostly for August or Bronsen, he couldn’t see any with his name on them. It didn’t matter. As Jack looked out the window, he saw snow falling, knowing it was officially Christmas. It really didn’t completely feel like it yet, but he supposed it would start soon enough. He rested in the soft chair, waiting for Jackson and Bronsen to come in, and August to show up. Where was Mum, his mind wondered as well.

((I think I got a little carried away...I guess it's August's turn. Bronsen's G-Moding totally allowed, btw.))

[August Reid R7]

August slowly opened his left eye halfway then quickly shut it. Go back to sleep, he thought to himself. But it was too late. He could hear the not so subtle sounds of his younger brother as he got ready for the day. This was one of the only times of the year that Bronsen was ever this excited. One of the other times being Bronsen's birthday. Pretty much anytime he received gifts it seemed like. August couldn't really blame him though. What twelve year old didn't like getting gifts? August wasn't looking forward to this day. Yes, it was Christmas. Yes, the entire family was together. But they weren't really together. August had never been able to look at Jackson the same way ever since he found out about the affair. Amelia was... well she.... Jack hadn't been home for Christmas since he had left for Hogwarts. August still couldn't figure out exactly why he was home for the holidays. He really had no business being there. He obviously didn't care what happened to the family; so why didn't he stay at the castle?

The only one who seemed happy about today was Bronsen. August thought that a little odd too seeing as Bronsen had pretty much been sallowed by the library at school. Trying to talk to his younger brother at Hogwarts was like trying to talk to a brick wall. Especially with Madam Pince giving him the evil eye. August pulled his comforter over his head and willed himself to go back to sleep but it was no use. He was awake. He tossed the blood red comforter from his body as he slowly rose to a sitting position. He gingerly opened his eyes almost expecting to see the curtains of his four poster bed at Hogwarts before remembering where he was. He gave a mighty yawn before looking down at the presents at the foot of his bed. Leaving the warmth of his covers he crawled to the pretty boxes to find out what he got. There was one from his dad and mum (August knew that his dad had written 'Mum' to be polite), and one from Bronsen. He quickly opened the one from Bronsen to find a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. August smiled at the gift and made a mental note to thank his younger brother for it. He then moved onto the gift from his father. Opening it he found a picture frame and a small vial. Inside the vial appeared to be liquid gold. Why would August want liquid gold? He would have to ask his father or Bronsen about that later. Turning his attention to the other object he recognised the picture frame at once as a re-sizable frame meaning that you could change the shape and size of the frame along with the picture it held. Of course, the portrait would have to be charmed so that it could change size and shape as well. The picture was of the five of them standing in front of the Roman Coliseum. It was the family trip they had taken right before Amelia's.... accident. Jackson knew how much August had enjoyed that trip. August looked down at the five family members in the picture and they smiled back. He held the picture close to him and felt his eyes water. If only...

Once dressed he headed downstairs to find Bronsen at the table eating and Jack in the other room looking like he was already in a bad mood. August had got Jack a box of Chocolate Frogs but he wasn't able to put it at the foot of his bed last night because when he tried, Jack's door had been locked. Therefore, August had put the present underneath the tree. A odd place to put it, but it worked. "Happy Christmas, Bronsen," he told his younger brother as he sat down beside him. "Happy Christmas, dad," he told his dad who was reading the paper. August ate his breakfast talking and laughing with Bronsen. It was refreshing to have someone in a good mood at the table. After he was done he thanked the house elves and placed his used dishes in the dirty tub where they would be picked up. He made his way into the living room and the ever-in-angst Jack. August went to the tree and picked up the gift he had bought for his older sibling. "Happy Christmas, Jack," August said as he handed the wrapped gift to him. He then sat on the couch and waited for his father and other brother to join them.

[Riley Coxen G7]

Riley couldn’t sleep. It was well past four in the morning on Christmas Eve now, and Riley had of course stayed up late talking on the phone with the girls and flipping through the channels on the television downstairs. The family television had been a new installment to the Coxen family home. It had arrived just days after Bruce Coxen’s funeral to provide some sort of distraction from the death. Well, that was Yasmin’s excuse anyway. Riley knew the real reason the tv had arrived into the Coxen home. Yasmin had always wanted to experiment with muggle technology and such, but Bruce had always been dismissive of anything that involved them being less like witches and wizards. He’d grudgingly agreed to the telephone ages ago, but never used the thing himself as a form of rebellion. He never approved of such contraptions, so it only made sense that the day he wasn’t around to complain anymore, Yasmin went out and bought a television for the family. It was a bit cynical and sneaky in Riley’s opinion, but even after his death she’d always been for anything that would displease her father in any way possible. Sure it was messed up, but she didn’t mind. The new device had given Riley a new excuse to stay up late at night. She’d been the first to figure out how to use it of course, and had taught the rest of the family the wonders of a remote control. Therefore, it had pretty much been deemed her television.

Her eyes were starting to twitch though being as it was practically five in the morning now and Riley was still up watching television, so she decided that was probably enough tv for one night. She was very much looking forward to the next day. She had the morning “off” so to speak, meaning that she didn’t have to be around family until around five in the afternoon. As if the immediate Coxen family wasn’t enough, the extended families of both Bruce and Yasmin Coxen always came to visit for Christmas. This Christmas would be a bit different of course, but most of the traditions would stay the same. Riley’s aunt married a muggle, and against her family’s wishes, she still hadn’t told her husband about the special gifts her families held. Because of this, Aunt Gloria had to travel over to the Coxen place by using muggle transportation. They lived hours away, so ever since the two started dating four years ago, they wouldn’t arrive to Riley’s home until late in the afternoon. Others had taken to the odd custom as well, and before everyone knew it, no one arrived to the Coxen house until late. And, seeing as the family had to be polite, the famous present opening ceremony or whatever it was didn’t take place until after the big family dinner. The Coxen kids had gotten used to sleeping in late and going about their normal activities until about four when everyone started to arrive. Before this year, Riley had never really had any reason to leave the house. Chace usually spent Christmas morning at Seth’s and Oz at Oliver’s, leaving Connor and the remaining Coxens at home doing nothing. But this year, Riley had places to go. Her first thought had been to visit Erica or one of the other girls, but then Riley got a better idea.

Riley had always wondered what Jack’s family was like. She knew he didn’t want her to know, but how bad could it really be? Riley wasn’t afraid or intimidated by any cruel dad of Jack’s or anyone else’s for that matter. Growing up with Bruce Coxen, Riley had developed a certain level of natural tolerance for men like her father. Of course, Riley had purposely decided she’d never bother to use this tolerance she’d developed, but that was only to p*** off Bruce. That same tolerance would be there when she needed it, so she could put up with pretty much anything. Couldn’t she? Riley walked on her tiptoes passed her brother Connor’s room and into the bathroom she’d previously shared with both Cora and her mother. It was the unofficial ‘Girl’s Room’ of the Coxen household. Bruce and Yasmin had their own bathroom joined in with their master bedroom, but for some reason they preferred to have separate bathrooms, so Riley was stuck sharing. However, now that Cora was gone and her mother was using Bruce’s old bathroom, Riley finally had it all to herself.

Riley looked in the mirror, sighing impatiently at how incredibly exhausted she looked. She hopped in the shower, and by seven o’clock, Riley was awake, clean, and looked incredibly rejuvenated. She walked out, grabbed a bag of floo powder, and scrawled a note on a small piece of paper to her mother. Left some things at Veronica’s. Be back before anyone gets here. Yasmin had been surprisingly cool with Riley’s new look, friends, and suddenly busy social life. She’d have no problem with a missing Riley for the beginning portion of the Christmas day. So, Riley disappeared into the fireplace, arriving in the fireplace of a nearby muggle family moments later. There were two small children sleeping on the couch just in front of the fireplace, fast asleep. The moment Riley arrived in their fireplace with a thud, the twin children woke with a start. Riley froze in her place. How would she explain this? “Santa?” One of the children asked curiously. Riley gulped nervously. “No. Um, actually…I’m his daughter. He forgot the last cookie.” She said quickly and nervously, taking the last cookie on the table. “Er…I’ll be off now. Don’t tell anyone of this please, boys.” She said quickly to the young children as she opened the window and climbed out, leaving the children to stand and stare in awe. “Santa’s Daughter? How much further from the truth can you get?” Riley thought humorously as she walked up to the large estate that had the Reid family crest on the door. Riley took a deep breath. The house looked absolutely terrifying and undeniably intimidating. Not to mention it was pretty early in the morning. Perhaps this was a bad idea. Jack had said he didn't want her to see what his family was like, didn't he? Not to mention she was lying to her mother again by being here. This was wrong. She was about to turn back when her eyes met with Jack’s through the closed and frozen window. She waved meekly and mouthed the words Surprise? Without waiting for a reaction, Riley nervously knocked on the door. Jack had already seen her, and she’d seen him. There was no turning back now.

[Jackson Reid]

Jackson was a man with two basic principles in life, the first was that to achieve anything in life you have to work hard to obtain it, the second was that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. This second principle held true for his usual morning routine, whether he had to work or was on vacation (Which was very rarely). He became immersed in the prophet before him, even forgetting about his own breakfast as he read most of the important news. There really wasn’t much going on, no emergency that pertained to him anyway, mostly just minor criminal’s doing minor crimes and bringing shame to their families (That being its own type of crime). Jackson’s eyes left the paper in front of him for a second as movement caught his eye and he watched his eldest son enter the room. Jackson merely grunted in reply to Jack’s greeting and returned his attention to the paper. Though it looked like he was focusing on the paper Jackson kept his senses on Jack for a few more moments, watching and gauging his future heir. Satisfied that Jack hadn’t slipped up in any major way Jackson returned to his paper.

A few minutes later a loud thud came from above them. Jackson lifted his eyes momentarily to the ceiling and couldn’t suppress a smile at his youngest son’s antics. A few minutes later his eldest and youngest son’s performed a switch and now Jackson was in the company of Bronsen, his youngest and most energetic of the three. This time his eyes did not immediately return to his paper as he watched Bronsen come into the room and pick out a seat to eat his breakfast in. “Good Morning, Happy Christmas.” He responded before returning to the paper but was shortly interrupted again as August stepped into the room. Jackson watched him carefully, out of all three children August seemed to have been affected by Amelia’s accident the most. “Happy Christmas August.” Jackson answered. He hoped that his present to August would cheer him up a bit. The bottle of Felix Felicis was rather hard to get, he had been tracking that particular batch for a long time before finally managing to catch up with it.

With the morning greetings out of the way Jackson returned to the last bit of his Daily Prophet. He folded the paper and set it aside, there really hadn’t been anything important in the issue, there rarely ever was these days. Jackson looked down at his breakfast, kept magically warm and ready for him no matter how long he read his paper and began to eat and watch his two son’s as they finished up. August finished soon after and made his way into the living room. Bronsen was slightly slower at his meal, perhaps because his mind was occupied with the idea of presents. Jackson pushed his plate away and stood up, “Better hurry, if you take too long to eat the presents might just disappear.” Jackson smiled as he left the dining room and made his way upstairs into one of the guest rooms.

He found Amelia already up, fully dressed and sitting in of the armchairs. She gazed at him blankly as if she didn’t recognize him, or care. “Come on honey, the family is waiting.” He said and approached her, Amelia complied with Jackson’s gently but strong urging and rose from the chair. Arm in arm the two made their way downstairs into the living room where the three boy’s had already gathered. Jackson helped Amelia into a seat before turning to his kids, a smile on his face he glanced at each one, Jack’s glance was rather quick.

“Man, I swear you boy’s just keep growing every time you go to that school. Well Happy Christmas everyone, me and your mother are glad to see you.” Jackson reached into the tree and pulled out an unwrapped book on the history of the Ministry Council. “Here Jack,” He said handing his son the unwrapped present. “I picked this up for you, I thought it would be useful.” He turned his attention to his other two sons, “And how did you….” He was interrupted by a knock on the front door. “Now who could that be at this time of the morning?” Jackson said to himself a little annoyed and turned toward the door.

[Jack Reid]

Jack sat in the living room, glancing out the window, seeing some light snow fall. It would have been perfect, if only Mum was the way Mum was supposed to be, and Jackson wasn’t secretly sleeping around with any woman he could get his grubby old hands on. Jack remembered way back when Christmas was beautiful. When Christmas was his favorite time of year. The whole family was around, even Grandma and Grandpa came over to the mansion and they would all have breakfast together, so unlike the current morning, where each of them had a separate breakfast at the same table. He seemed to remember a time when Jackson actually spoke to him on Christmas morning too, but those times were long gone. Getting a grunt was about as good as Jack would get, and he was fine with that. He didn’t need anything else, and didn’t want anything else from the man he had to call his father. The man didn’t act like his father except when Jack failed to act according to the Reid tradition, which seemed to be in everything as of lately. Jack shifted in the soft chair he sat in, eyeing the outside again, noting that the roads were completely deserted. Typical for a Christmas morning, why would he notice something like that? It didn’t matter, so he shoved it away.

August walked in with a wrapped present, noticing Jack’s gloomy mood immediately. Bronsen was already under the tree pulling out each present that had his name written on it, which likely was the lot of them. Bronsen was the favorite and the youngest, so he was easiest to buy for as well. Bronsen began ripping open presents, smiling and laughing at every new gift he could find. Books on wands, new toys, and numerous candies littered the floor quickly. August handed him the wrapped present he had in his hand, saying happy Christmas. Slightly taken aback, Jack took the box and thanked his brother. “Thanks.” he said simply. August looked somewhat dejected as Jack opened the box, immediately noticing from the packaging that it was a box of Chocolate Frogs. “Oh, these are perfect. Riley gets a craving for chocolate every once in a while. I’m sure we’ll share them sometime. Thanks, brother.” He did his best to sound grateful, but it was sort of a cheap gift, and both Jack and August knew that. Before Jack could say anything else to his brother, Jackson came downstairs with Mum, her blank gaze searching the room for something that seemed familiar, but ending on the tree at the edge of the room. Jackson sat her down in a seat before turning to the rest of the family. The glance towards Jack seemed shorter than any glance Jackson had ever given him. Odd, but normal for his father.

After making small talk about how they were each getting bigger and growing each time they went to school and sharing Happy Christmases all around, Jackson handed his eldest son a book from inside the tree. He hadn’t even bothered to wrap it, wonderful. It was completely predictable of his father. He eyed his father as Jackson explained what it was. Another book about the Ministry, a history of it this time. “Thanks Ja---Dad.” Jack had to catch himself. While he was at Hogwarts he always referred to his father by his first name, even though his father didn’t approve of his first name being used anywhere, ever. Without another word to him, Jackson turned to his other sons, looking through presents, looking for the ones he had picked out specifically to give them that morning. Jack glanced over at Mum, noticing she was staring outside at the snow. Usually she just stared off into space, but right now Mum seemed to be able to note that it was snowing, as her lips curled slightly into a half smile. It was nice to see some sign of life on her face. Jack looked outside again, noticing the snow again, and had to do a double take when he looked at the door. Was that...Couldn’t be. He rubbed the dust from his eyes and looked again. It WAS!

Riley. What was she doing here? It was Christmas Day! She shouldn’t be here now. She couldn’t be here right now! Jackson would be furious if a Gryffindor girl came into their house uninvited on Christmas Day, especially this early. How had she gotten here, in the first place? He had to figure out what was going on first, before Jackson figured out she was here. She mouthed the word Surprise to him and, without waiting, she knocked on the door loudly and nervously. Jackson’s head perked up, noticing the loud knocking and sounding a bit annoyed, wondered aloud who it could be at the door this early. “Dad, I’ll get it!” Jack said quickly. “Give the kids their presents. It’s Christmas, after all. I’ll take care of whatever or whoever’s at the door. Bronsen, maybe Santa forgot to leave you a present. Wait here and I’ll find out.” It was a stupid lie that Bronsen would freak out about, but it would keep him from running to the door to greet Riley at the door. That would be lovely, to have Bronsen at the door with him greeting Riley on Christmas day. Jack reached the door, the rest of the family out of sight, and opened the door, pulling his wand out and summoning his boots. He pulled them on and grabbed his jacket. Jack stepped gingerly outside and pulled the door shut silently. He looked at Riley with a slight look, and said simply, “What are you doing here??” He didn’t want it to sound like he was mad, because he was happy to see her, but there were plenty of reasons why he didn’t want Riley to meet his family. “I told you I didn’t want you to meet my family, at least not yet, and on Christmas day of all days! What were you thinking? Why aren’t you home?” He didn’t want to be upset with her, at all. He could tell his words were hurting her. Rather than questioning her again, he simply stepped towards her and hugged her tightly. “Forget it. Happy Christmas, Riley. It’s great to see you, especially today.” With that, he kissed her forehead, and then her lips lightly. “But seriously, how did you get here? My father’s right inside and he knows someone is out here. What are we going to do?” He searched Riley’s eyes for some sort of solution.

[Riley Coxen G7]

Riley Paige Coxen why on earth do you always insist on being such a complete idiot?! Riley scolded herself in her head. I mean really, you couldn’t just be a smart person and go to Erica’s or Veronica’s of course not! You just HAD to see Jack and his family on the very worst day and time possible! He didn’t even invite you over! Urgh what the hell were you thinking?! Now his dad is going to be pissed and you’ll get the death stare the entire time and the second you leave Jack is going to have to pay for your stupidity. Oh my it’s going to be all your fault if his dad decides to go all muggle on him and beat him for letting you come over this early in the morning! The frantic thoughts went on like this as Jack rushed to the door before his father. Why did she make such a completely idiotic mistake? Riley wanted to bang her head on the brick wall in frustration at herself, but that would only make more noise and cause far more trouble for Jack. There was a reason he didn’t want Riley to meet his family just yet, and Riley felt like an even bigger idiot for letting herself even begin to believe that she could handle such disapproval. What if Jackson Reid ended up turning out just like Bruce? Riley could never tolerate Bruce for more than just a few moments before she blew up in his face and stormed off. Riley was extremely opinionated and if Jackson opposed Riley’s strong opinions she knew she wouldn’t be able to help but fight back. Oh why did she have to be so stupid?!

Riley waited nervously at the door, shuffling her feet as he approached. He was going to be angry with her, she just knew it. He had specifically told her to wait until he was ready to introduce her to his parents and she had disobeyed his one and only request. Riley felt terrible. She wanted to crawl in a hole and live there for the rest of her life. She knew now though that she couldn’t. Even though Riley regretted knocking nervously on the door with every fiber of her being, there was nothing she could do about that now. She had to come forward and face the music. She would have to grin and bear whatever the Reid family hurled her way. With a deep breath, Riley prepared herself for her boyfriend’s lectures. She wouldn’t be surprised if he told her to go home. Hell, she wouldn’t have even been surprised if he told her he never wanted to see her again. Sure she’d be crushed, but not a bit surprised. She deserved whatever scolding Jack was going to give her. She nibbled on her lower lip hard and nervously as his wild and frantic eyes searched hers in desperation, wondering what the hell she was doing at his house on Christmas Day so early in the morning.

“Jack…I’m so sorry. I had no idea what I was thinking just showing up here. I mean, I’m on like zero sleep not that it’s any excuse or anything, but I dunno. My ‘Christmas Morning’ of sorts doesn’t really start until evening when everyone gets there and everyone kind of just goes wherever they want for Christmas morning so I thought I’d go visit you and I wasn’t thinking because mum got this muggle television and I was up all night watching and...the twitching and I told mum I was going to Veronica’s but I took the floo and I ended up in your muggle neighbors house and the kids thought I was Santa or something which I find extremely insulting because I’m not a big old fat man…but that’s not the point. I told them I was Santa’s daughter even though my real father can be more easily compared to Satan and yeah…so now I’m here and completely mortified. I was gonna turn back and go home but then you saw me and then I sorta knocked and well…now I’m here.” Riley babbled nervously for what seemed like ages before her nearly incoherent rant finally came to a halt. She took a deep breath. “Wow that was a mouthful. I’m really sorry Jack. I would turn around and go home, but I guess it’s kind of late now. I’m sorry. Your dad is probably going to be furious.” Riley apologized again, breathless.

[August Reid R7]

As their father made his way into the living room with their mother August tried his best to make his face into a fake smile. He wanted to be happy on this Christmas morning, he really did. But, he could only fake it. The only one who didn't seem to feel the family tension was Amelia. Bronsen acted like he didn't know but August knew Bronsen better than that. The kid was brilliant. He could figure anything out. Right now, however, Bronsen was preoccupied with Christmas and presents. At least Amelia looked happy. August envied her a little. She was lost in her own world and didn't have to worry about what happened in this one. Of course, she could never interact with someone in this world. Ever again. August kept the fake smile plastered on his face as Jackson looked over his three sons and commented on them growing. Jackson then handed Jack a present and a sigh of relief went through August's mind. At least he hadn't been the only one unable to deliver his present to Jack's room.

August couldn't help but be surprised when he heard someone at the door. Who would be knocking at their door? And at this hour? Jack rushed off to answer the door and August had a sneaking suspicion who it was. There was only one person that Jack would rush to the door for. Riley. Riley Coxen was a fifth year, same as August. But unlike August, she was in Gryffindor. August hated Gryffindors. But he loved Jack. If Jack wanted to hide his girlfriend from their father then August would help. Before Jackson could head toward the front door August stopped him. "Oi, dad," he began and stepped in his father's path. August found it very difficult to talk to his father now that he knew the truth. His father was not faithful. August had been the first one to learn of the affair and had turned to Jack for help. That had been a mistake. "uh.... um....." he began. What was he going to say? August looked all around and looked down at his hands. In one of them was the vial with the liquid gold in it. He looked back up at his father, "Thank you for the picture. I really liked that trip we took. Though, I don't quite know what this is..." August raised his hand and showed Jackson the vial.

August's eyes grew wide after hearing the answer. "Luck? You mean this is luck?" He looked at the vial in his hand. He looked up at his father with a sincere smile on his face. "Thanks, Dad." August then did something he had not done for a long time. He hugged his father. It felt good to be embraced by the man who had raised him. He had forgotten what it was like not to be angry at his father. For an instant August let all his anger and hate go and was just Jackson's son. Still in the embrace August whispered to his father, "Happy Christmas, Dad. And thanks." He let go of the warm embrace from his father and looked into his eyes. "I..... I.... well... I..." He wanted to tell his father. He wanted to tell him everything. No more secrets. No more lies. But he looked around the room and his blue eyes settled on his mum. All the pain come rushing back like a tidal wave. "I'll go see what Jack and his girlfriend are doing." He turned and headed for the front door. The water behind his eyes suddenly dried as he realised what had slipped past his lips. "Oops..." he said under his breath.

August made his way to the front hall and then to the front door. He slowly opened the door just enough to peer through it. He was right. It was Riley. August vaguely wondered how the young Gryffindor had made her way to their mansion. She obviously hadn't used their fireplace as she was outside and she was still too young to apparate. August didn't know of any of his neighbors fires being connected to the floo network either. His eyes made contact with Jack and then they made their way to Rileys'. "Good morning," he said shortly. He had no respect for the Gryffindor especially on Christmas morning. How dare she invade their family time. He slammed the door on them and turned back to the hall. "I'm going to run to the john real quick," he called and ran upstairs. He wasn't going to be anywhere near the war zone.