Here's my little festive treat for you all this Christmas. Warning, this is a story (possibly a one-shot) with a twist, and introduces some of the characters that I have created for my story, The Raven & The Jackal, as well as giving you hints to the future of some of your best-loved characters and pairings. This little gem is the reason why I've been a little lax with the House of Reunion updates. I hope you enjoy this little present, and have a very merry Christmas wherever you are. Eve x

Snowflake Wishes

'David? Daaa-viiid? David?'

It took me a few seconds to realize that someone was calling my name and poking at me. I groaned and rolled over.

'Rosie...' I grumbled as my five-year-old sister prodded my ribs with her fingers. 'Christmas isn't until next week. Go back to bed...'

'I know that, silly!' Rose said. Then she whipped back the warm duvet that cocooned me and I groaned, reaching and clawing to pull them back. 'But you need to come and see this!' She grabbed my arm and tugged it. Any ideas I'd had about having a Saturday lie-in were long gone by now. All I wanted was to go back to sleep and stay like that until either of my parents barged in at one o'clock in the afternoon, expecting me to be up.

I sighed. 'Fine,' I said as I sat up. Rose let go of my arm and slid off of the bed. Her dark eyes were wide and excited, far too alert for a Saturday morning. I noted that she was already dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a thick white and pink jumper with little red hearts printed over and over in horizontal lines.

'Come and see!' Rose said, practically hopping up and down as I kicked my long legs over the side of the bed and stood up, swaying sleepily. She took a hold of one of my wrists and then half-dragged, half-pushed me across the dark room, to the window. 'Look!' She exclaimed as she threw back the heavy curtains, letting an eerily bright white light flood in, chasing the shadows away. I blinked once or twice, feeling like a vampire in direct sunlight. When my eyes finally got used to the sudden brightness, I did as Rose asked. The fields that stretched far off into the distance like a giant patchwork quilt had been covered by a thick blanket of snow. The sky above was milky grey, a sort of porridge-colour, and it was streaked with darker grey clouds, as if there was another flurry on the way.

'See! See? Isn't it amazing?' Rose gushed. She was standing on her tip-toes to look out over the wintry landscape too, and she was swinging my arm back and forth dreamily. Then she turned and beamed a gap-toothed smile at me. 'Isn't it brilliant?'

I stifled a yawn and nodded. 'Yes, it is, Rosie,' I replied, peering out over the rolling hills. Just looking out at it made me feel cold. I was only wearing a pair of pyjama trousers and a black T-shirt.

'Daddy, Mummy and Mel have already said that they'll come out and play with me. Will you come too?' Rose asked, her eyes shining with anticipation. Part of me wanted to stay tucked up in bed, but another part was just like Rose: aching to get out there in the snow. An image of me pelting our fourteen-year-old sister Melody with snowballs appeared in my mind and provoked a smile on my sleep-dried lips.

'Sure, that sounds like fun.' I agreed. Rose threw her arms around my middle and hugged me as hard as she could, taking me by surprise. 'You're the best big brother ever!' Once she let go, she broke into another bout of excited hop-dancing.

'Yay!' She squealed. 'Mummy says we've got to eat something before we go out, though.'

'Well, you go down and start eating and I'll get dressed.' I told her as she hurried towards the door.

She paused to looked back at me. 'Okay, but hurry up!' and then she disappeared out into the hallway. I heard her slipper-boots patter down the hallway to the top of the stairs. It sounded like she was humming happily. I smiled to myself. When I was her age and the first snow of the year had come, I had woken my parents every single morning at seven on the button to go out and explore the fields which I knew like the back of my own hand, but seemed alien when they were covered in snow. I walked over to my bed and sat down on the end of it. As usual, it was messy. Clothes hung out of drawers, and knick-knacks were packed into any space that I could find. It was a sharp contrast to Melody's room, which was orderly and coordinated, very much like her. Melody, Mel for short, was my complete oppsite. She was serious and straight and never ever got into trouble, either at home or at school. We were both at a boarding school, where we lived at all week round. Because I was sixteen and she was fourteen and therefore in different years, we lived in different dormitories, which were really a collection of small houses that could hold about ten students in each one. We only ever really saw each other at breaks or in the corridors to lessons. I was in Anubis House, as both of our parents had been before us, and Mel was in Isis House. Mel was part of the in-crowd of her year. She was one of those people who managed to find that perfect balance between having fun and passing your studies. I however, was just one of those people who wasn't a jock, or a geek, or a cool guy. I was just me. Sometimes, I wondered if we were actually related.

I ran a hand through my short, frizzy black hair. I supposed I'd better get ready unless I wanted to suffer Rose's wrath. As I got to my feet and shuffled around collecting my clothes, which were strewn around the room, I felt an evil grin tug the corners of my mouth up. At least today I'd be able to bombard Mel with snowballs.

As I walked downstairs, the smells and sounds of breakfast made my stomach gurgle. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw that the rest of my family were already sitting around the table, tucking into the delicious food that Mum had cooked. Mum looked up as I walked in.

'Good morning, David,' She greeted as I sat down opposite Mel. Mum looked glamourous as usual with her hair straight, pale blond hair pulled back into a tight ponytail high on the back of her head.

'Morning,' I replied, reaching for a slice of toast. My eyes went to Mel opposite me, who wasn't quite awake yet and mercilessly hacking at half a kiwi fruit with a teaspoon. 'Looking sexy today,' I said. Her short, choppy-cut black hair was sticking up at odd angles from rolling around in bed all night. She'd apparently tried to draw the attention away from it by using her favourite colourful African print scarf as a hairband.

Mel looked up from mangling her kiwi and pulled a face at me. 'Look who's talking,' She replied coolly before returning to her mushed fruit. I chuckled as I spread peanut-butter on my slice of toast.

'Mum?' Rose piped up. 'Can I go outside yet?' She asked.

Mum shook her head, making her ponytail swish around her shoulders. 'No sweetie, you haven't finished your eggs.' Rose followed Mum's gaze to her plate, to the pile of uneaten scrambled eggs. Rose groaned but picked up her fork and began dutifully shovelling scoops into her mouth.

'I suppose she's press-ganged you into it as well?' Mel asked me, nodding towards Rose. She'd given up on her kiwi fruit and moved onto a muffin. Dad smiled at this, pushing cereal around his bowl with a spoon. Everybody said I was Dad's double. In a way, I sort of knew why. I had the same wide brown eyes and frizzy black hair. The only real difference was that my skin was a little lighter than his, more of a copper colour.

I nodded. 'Yup,'

Rose looked confused. She swallowed some scrambled egg before carefully asking, 'What does that mean?'

'It means you make someone do something,' Mel replied. Rose though for a few seconds, processing this new word then, when she seemed pleased with the definition, returned to her scrambled egg. 'Can we build a snowman today?' She asked.

'Of course we can,' Dad replied. 'When I was a kid, my favourite part about the snow was building snowmen. Well, next to ambushing your mum and other girls in some epic snowball fights.' He nudged me with his elbow as he spoke and we both smiled at Mum.

'Yes, you were pretty annoying back then, Alfie. But then, not much has changed...' She shot back. This time, she and Mel smiled at one another.

Dad pretended to look offended. 'Moi?' Rose giggled and then hurridly downed the last mouthful. She put her fork down on her plate and grinned triumphantly.

'I did it! Can I go now? She begged Mum.

'Yes, you can go now. Go and wrap up warm. It's cold out there.' Mum said as Rose darted out of the room.

'Mel, David! Hurry up!' Rose called back to us.

'I'll go with her.' Dad said, getting to his feet and following Rose.

Mel pushed her chair back. 'Me too.'

I rolled my eyes and stuffed the last corner of toast in my mouth as Mum began clearing away the plates. 'I'm on my way.' I called after them. I caught up with Mel in the stairs.

She pushed a lock of black hair that hadn't been gathered up in her scarf out of her eyes. 'We're being bullied by a five year old. She'll have us singing Barbie movie theme-songs next.' She said as we stepped onto the landing. I laughed as we split up and headed into our rooms to get ready.

Ten minutes later, we were all back downstairs in the kitchen. Rose was fidgeting as Mum wrapped her white scarf tigher around her neck. She was wearing a pink jacket with a white scarf and matching hat and mitts. Her brown eyes were the only part of her that was visible underneath the layers of clothing.

'Muuum,' Rose protested, struggling to free herself as Mum pulled Rose's little white hat down over her ears and tucked loose strands of her pale blond hair into it. Mum herself wasn't dressed to go out.

'Are you not coming, Mum?' I asked.

She shook her head. 'Not yet, honey. I'm sorting out lunch first.' Finally, Mum straightened up. 'Okay, you're ready sweetie.' She had barely finished the sentence before Rose bolted for the front door. Dad, Mel and I followed, our snow-boots clumping heavily on the slate kitchen floor. Even before I stepped out the door, I felt a cold blast of wind buffet me, stinging my face. Rose shreiked with delight and began running around, jumping into the virgin snow. Dad began chasing after her. She squealed as he scooped her up and spun her around in his arms. I looked around the garden. The thin branches of the old apple tree near the gate were drooping with the weight of the snow, and the little path that led from the house to the three barns around it was invisible under the thick blanket of white. The freezing air nipped my lungs as I drew it in, and when I blew it out, a misty cloud rose up towards the milky grey sky.

Mel had joined Dad and Rose in their mad chase, hopping over small shrubs and pot-plants which now looked like warts on the nose of a pale giant. I felt myself smile. While they were distracted, I bent down and gathered up a handful of snow in my hands and began mashing it together, forming a snowball. Then, in one quick, fluid motion, I threw it over my head. Dad saw the white missile just in time and ducked. The snowball exploded on the top of Mel's head, almost knocking off her black earmuffs. Dad, Rose and I let out peals of laughter as Mel furiously brushed the snow away from her tweet jacket. I always called the jacket, which she usually wore with a pair of straight-legged brown trousers, her 'Sherlock Holmes look'. She insisted it was cool.

'David!' She screamed at me. 'You're going to pay for that!'

'I'm scared!' I yelled back, hugging myself theatrically. Mel didn't look scary at all. She just looked red-faced and angry. 'No, I'm wetting myself in terror!'

Mel hissed at me and gathered up a snowball. So did I. Soon, snowballs were flying around the garden like the Battle of Waterloo. Being tall and gangly was somethimes a blessing and sometimes a curse, btu today it was an undisputed blessing: the others had less to aim for. When one hit Dad, he cried out like he'd been shot, collapsed in the snow and lay motionless for a few seconds. Rose giggled, clearly thinking it was wonderful idea, because she ran up to him and threw herself down beside him.

'Eat ice!' Mel cried, lobbing a snowball at me. For a girl, she had a good aim. It hit me square in the chest, spraying up into my face.

'Nice shot, Mel!' Congratulated a new female voice. I would have recognized that sweet, gentle tone anywhere, but I turned around nonetheless. Sarah Rutter stood by the gate. She was dressed in a blue quilted jacket and a pastel pink wool scarf with a matching hat. Her lovely face was smiling but flushed from cold. I felt that odd little pang in my chest that I always got when I saw her. Sarah was at the same school as Mel and I, and she lived at Anubis House with me and a handful of other students. I'd known her since we were small, because our parents were close friends when they were our age. I'd always treated her like a sister, somebody to prank and annoy like Mel, but in the past school year I'd begun to feel... differently about her.

'Mind if I join in?' Sarah asked, reaching over the wooden gate and unlatching it. The metal hinges creaked as she opened it and slipped into the garden.

I was about to answer when Mel cut me off. 'Sure, I could use help with getting my ownback.'

'Good morning, Sarah,' Dad called over. 'What are you doing over here?' He asked as Sarah trudged through the snow towards us.

'I was supposed to be meeting Poppy in town, but she's stuck because of the snow. I thought I'd come over here instead. I hope you don't mind me just turning up like this.' Sarah explained. I couldn't help but smile at her politeness. Poppy was another girl from Anubis, and Sarah's best friend.

'Hey, no worries,' Dad answered. 'I've got to go inside and help Amber with lunch. I'll come back later.' He dusted the snow off of his legs and arms. 'Watch out for Rosie, David,' He called over his shoulder as he headed back towards the house. Once he'd disappeared into the house, i turned back to Sarah. She'd come to stand beside me, and Mel had also come closer. I eyes Mel's hands warily, ready to dodge a hidden attack. She rolled her eyes and raised her hands.

'You're safe,' She said. Then she smiled at Sarah and nudged her friend's side. 'For now...'

Both girls giggled.

'Like I said, I'm terrified, Mel.' I replied. I wasn't about to let Mel show me up in front of anybody, especially not Sarah. 'And that shot earlier was just lucky.'

'It's not our fault you just have slow reflexes.' Sarah added. I raised an eyebrow and she folded her arms.

'Oh, so it's girls v. boys now?' I asked, looking down at Sarah. She grinned back up at me playfully. There was a glint of challenge in her smoky, dark grey eyes which people usually mistook for black. A flock of butterflies flapped crazily in my belly.

'Is that a challenge, Mr Lewis?' She asked, taking a step closer to me. She was close enough now that I could see the delicate, indiviadual black lashes that surrounded her eyes.

'Yes, I believe it is, Miss Rutter.' I replied.

Sarah smiled, a mischievous grimace. 'Then I will not be held responsible for anything that happens from this moment onwards.' She said.

As she turned back to Mel, I hoped that she hadn't noticed the almost imperceptible shiver that shook my frame as a ripple of gooseflesh made the tiny hairs all over my skin stick up on end. Sarah and Mel high-fived.

'Come on, let's go and see what Rosie's up to.' Sarah told my sister, hooking her arm around Mel's. They headed towards the barn closest to the house, where Rose was fascinated by some miniature icicles which were hanging off of the old stone water trough by the double doors. I pulled my jacket up to cover the back of my neck. Even through my gloves, the cold was biting at my fingertips. I stuffed my hands in my black duffel coat pockets and trudged after the two girls towards Rose, the snow crunching under my boots. I watched Sarah's back as she walked ahead of me. Her long, wavy dark blond hair swung loose halfway down her back. She was shorter than Mel, who was almost the same height as me, but she was a lot tougher than she looked. One year, we'd sneaked out into the woods that surrounded the grounds of the school. We were in first year, and we wanted to explore our new home-for-the-time-being. We'd split up, but then I'd heard a loud crunch. It turned out that Sarah had fallen through some old, dead branches and leaves into a hole. When I'd found her, she was hugging her ankle, which we later found out that she had sprained in the fall. She'd looked up at me, more embarrased than in pain and calmly told me to go and find help, that she'd be fine alone. I hadn't been sure about leaving her there, especially since night was drawing in. But Sarah had insisted, and I'd sprinted for help. Of course, afterwards we got into trouble for sneaking out without telling anybody, and even though Sarah spent a month on crutches, we were silently pleased with the adventure into the forest, our first taste of freedom, and I felt that it had somehow made our bond stronger.

'What have you got there, Rosie?' Sarah asked Rose, kneeling down beside my sister. Rose was grinning and running her small, gloved fingers down the icicles, from the top down to the more or less sharp points.

'They're so pretty!' Rose exclaimed. 'And look at what they can do!' She peeked through the largest icicle at Sarah, which must have been about the length of my middle finger, and giggled. 'It's so wierd!'

Sarah laughed too. 'You're right. David, Mel, come and try this!'

I glanced at my sister, and then we both knelt down at opposite side of an icicle. Mel's round face was distorted and out of shape. One of her eyes was massive and the other was small, her nose looked abnormally round and her jaw was wobbly. I smiled.

'Well, you look even sexier now, Mel.' I teased her. She tutted and reached out to shove my knee.

'Yes, but you look like something out of Doctor Who.' Mel replied. 'Like that farting-blob creature. What was it's name again?'

'The Absorbalof.' Sarah told her, grinning at the idea.

I stood up. 'Honestly, you lot really do like ganging up on me, don't you?' Both Mel and Sarah got to their feet, but Rose stayed in front of the icicle, transfixed by the strange shapes that it captured inside of it, like a flawed snowglobe.

Just then, I heard Mum's voice shout across to us. 'Rosie! It's time to come in soon. You're going to get cold.'

Rose groaned. 'But Mum...' She protested. 'We haven't even built a snowman yet.'

'You can build one after lunch, sweetheart. But for now it's time to come in and warm up.' Mum said. 'Hi Sarah,'

'Hey Aunt Amber.' Sarah replied cheerily. Because our parents had known each other for a long time and we'd all grown up together, we called each other mums and dads 'aunt' or 'uncle'. In a way, we were as close as family.

Mum's eyes went back to Rose, who was standing defiantly between Mel and I. 'Now, Roseanna Lilian Lewis.' She went back int othe house. Rose kicked at the snow at her feet in frustration, dragging her foot back and forth until the green of the grass was visible under it.

'I'll come too.' Mel said, taking Rose's hand. She looked back at Sarah and I. 'What about you two.'

Sarah looked up at me with a 'whatever-you-say' expression. I nodded towards the house. 'You two go ahead. We'll catch up in a minute.' I said to Mel. My sister's eyes ping-ponged from me to Sarah and the corner of her mouth twitched.

'Okay well, we'll leave you two winter love-doves to it, won't we Rosie?' She said. Rose smirked, and then broke into song.

'David and Sarah, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G...' Rose sang as she and Mel walked back towards the house. I glanced over at Sarah. I couldn't tell if the colouring on her cheeks was because fo the cold of because she was blushing.

Mel joined Rose's tune, singing her lungs out, breaking the gentle silence of the wintry garden with her own lyrics to theclassic rhyme. 'Went to the sweet shop, bought a bubblegum, and she wasn't looking, he stuck it up her-'

'Mel!' Sarah and I yelled simultaniously. Rose and Mel exploded in a fit of giggles as they reached the door and went inside. This time, it was my turn to blush furiously.

'Okay,' Sarah muttered, smiling.

'Sorry about that, somebody must have forgotten to lock the drinks cupboard.' I grinned, trying to deflect my embarrassment with a joke, which I was good at. Sarah laughed. I liked her laugh. It reminded me of a bell: clear and beautiful.

'So, what are you guys doing for Christmas?' I asked as we began walking slowly in the direction of the house. Her shoulder brushed my upper arm as we walked.

She shrugged. 'Just having a quiet, family Christmas. My granddad's coming up to ours this afternoon to stay until New Year, and I think Uncle Ade and Aunt Lydia are coming for Christmas Day.' Ade and Lydia were in fact Sarah's great uncle and great aunt, but she always found it shorter to leave out the 'great'.

'Cool. Well, my grandparents are coming too. All of them, Mum's and Dad's. And Uncle Peter and his family.' I told her.

Sarah pulled an impressed face. 'Wow, that's a lot of family.'

I gave a small shrug. 'Yeah. I'm almost glad Dad's an only child.'

'I hate being an only child.' Sarah confessed. 'I sometimes feel really lonely.' I watched her through the corner of my eye. She looked genuinely sad as she said that, like a kid who had been abandonned in the playground by all her friends. I barged her playfully with my hip and she stumbled, caught by surprise, almost toppling over into the snow. Luckily she managed to steady herself.

'Hey!' She complained.

I smiled and stopped walking. 'Oops,' I said sarcastically. 'I think you must have tripped over a pot-plant or something.'

Sarah pursed her lips. 'Right.' Then she made a dive for the snow, scooping up a pile in her hands. But I was too quick for her. I picked up double the amount that she had and chucked it in her face. She squealed, missing me with her snow by a mile. She wiped a hand across her face.

'You're so dead when Mel gets back out here. We're going to make you wish you had stayed in bed.' She said.

'I do wish I'd stayed in bed.' I replied. 'But Rose doesn't understand the teenage need to sleep till noon. Even on school days.' She chuckled and shook her head in mock-despair and looked up into my eyes, locking her smoky grey ones onto my dark brown ones. She looked perfect. There was a little snow in her hair, glittering like tiny diamonds. Every breath she took came out in a small puff from between her slightly parted and slightly chapped pink lips. My attention was suddenly fixed on her face, taking in every detail of her delicate features. My heart was thumping far too hard, pulsing in my fingers and toes. Sarah shuffled closer, leaning in against my body. My skin tingled from the closeness.

'I, uh...' I fumbled for words, but they froze on my lips before they could be formed. Sarah stood up on her tip-toes, her face inches away from mine. Her hands were on my arms, which stayed uselessly glued to my sides. Sarah's breath was warm on my face. It smelled of mint. Her eyes were half closed as her lips got closer and closer to mine...

'David! Sarah! Are you guys coming or what?'

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Dad's voice penetrate into the blissfully perfect moment. Sarah let go of me and took a step back. I was sure that now she was blushing. She batted at a stray strand of dark blond hair that hung in her face, awkwardly staring at the ground. Dad stood in the doorway. He looked slightly embarrassed too at having caught us in a private moment.

'Yes, we're on our way.' Sarah said a little too quickly, nearly falling over herself to get to the safety of the house. Dad went back inside, leaving the door ajar for us. I watched Sarah go, feeling a little prickle of heat move through me. I was grinning like an idiot. I would have stood there all day if it hadn't been for something small and white floating past my face. I looked up at the sky. It had begun to snow. The flakes fluttered silently, gracefully down from the grey clouds, swirling around me on the small icy breeze that picked up. I reached out a hand and caught one on my fingertip. Quickly I brough it close to my face to look at. One moment it was there, the next it was gone, melted and vanished, just like Sarah's and my closeness. But like the small flurry that was dancing around me, there would undoubtedly be others.

Izzi08, if you're reading this, I hope you feel better soon. It'll pass, remember that. Rahie, if you're reading this... about time too! Haha!