This story was a christmas wish by two of my best friends. So here it is. Everything for you both, Michi and Helen!

I owe a big thank to my betareader girl in the library corner. You're doing a great job!

I own nothing. Only the little ones.

xXx

„Happy Christmas?"

There was chaos everywhere in the house. His wife was on a journey and left him alone with the children. He hadn't had a minutes rest. Christmas was soon to come and the children were so excited. Today they wanted to decorate the tree and somehow they managed to put the tree into the corner beside the door of the patio just as a dark-haired whirlwind stormed into the room.

"Yippee! Finally we can decorate the tree!"

"Where are the others?"

"Slow down, Dad. The rest are coming. Elissa has to put on new make-up, Aenna has to put her teddy-bear to bed and Cassian has to come to an end with his 'important' letter."

He paused and sniffed.

"It smells strange in here, Dad!"

"I'll not be spoken to like that, Areios."

"Sorry. But I could almost throw up. A bag would be great."

Severus raised an eyebrow and looked sternly at his youngest son. The potion couldn't smell that disgusting, could it? Carefully, he sniffed, but smelled nothing. Areios pulled a face and had folded his arms across his chest.

"You shouldn't talk so big! Where would you search if you needed to get a bezoar?"

"Dad! What that's for? That's unfair. You're always asking such nonsense, which nobody needs to know."

"The bezoar!"

"Ahhh … in the excrements of dragons? No? Clearly, Doxy-eggs. For sure! Or?"

Severus shook his head. Sometimes he didn't know if his son did that on purpose or really had no idea.

"Sometimes you're just like your mother."

"Of course, Dad. I'm just as good looking as Mum and have a brain like you!"

"Areios…"

"Just kidding! Oh by the way, over there is something bubbling…"

Severus turned around, but the potion was still cooking on a low flame. His youngest took the first opportunity and tried to grab the chocolate.

"No chocolate! The bezoar! Where?"

"DAD!"

"In the stomach of a goat. Where else?"

Elissa had come into the room and reached for the candles to decorate the tree.

"Nerd." Areios stuck out his tongue at his older sister.

"You're the nerd. You are as dumb as a post even if you don't know it."

"Silence! Both of you," thundered the voice of their father through the living room.

Both children looked at him sullenly.

"What's going on here?" asked Cassian when he entered. Aenna held the hand of her older brother.

"Well, come on tiny tot. Let's decorate the tree." Christmas carols played on the radio. Soon Elissa hummed and Severus started to sing.

"Oh no, Dad. You can't be serious!"

"Areios is right. Your singing is so bad."

Severus went to Aenna and lifted her up. "I'm a fantastic singer." He tickled his little daughter who began to laugh.

"Yeah. I'll confess if you stop tickling me."

Together the five finished the decoration. When they stepped back, the Christmas tree looked amazing. Colours of bright red and silver shone through the room. Artificial white snow lay on the needles. The candles shone like stars when they were burning.

"Where's the star for the top of the tree. It's missing!"

Aenna hopped up and down with excitement.

"Then we'll have to look in the cellar. Elissa, would you do it, please?"

"Why? Cassian should move his lazy butt!" For the fourth time she smoothed out her new sweater. "Otherwise my sweater will get quite dirty."

"Oh boy! You're so vain. Let's hope you also have a bit of brains. And why can't Areios go? He has gotten out of working all morning."

"Nope! I'm not stupid. I'm too small to reach the cupboard. Besides it's Lis' task. Just like Dad said."

"You always listen to everything Dad says!" she said ironic. "And shut up, you little scoundrel!"

"Elissa!"

Severus looked shocked at his eldest daughter.

"Go into the cellar immediately and search for the star!"

"But, Dad…"

"No! You should have thought about that before." He stared at her sternly.

Angrily she stomped out of the room and went to the cellar door.

Areios shouted in her direction, "Be careful. I just spilled my Coke."

His cry was drowned out by a loud noise and a cry of pain. Severus and the other three children rushed to the stairs. Elissa was sitting in a mess of broomsticks, cauldrons and shoes. She cursed like hell.

"If Mum could hear that!" Aenna giggled.

"You only fell on your butt."

"Areios! I'll kill you!"

Elissa got up quickly. She groaned and laid her hand on her backside.

"Damn it! That hurts!"

The little boy laughed.

"If you don't clear out now I'll…" she threatened him.

"I'm gone already."

Grinning, Areios disappeared and an angry Elissa came up the stairs to follow him.

"Can I help you, honey?" Severus looked worried at his daughter.

"Yes! Get her a new backside!" Cassian said and he and Aenna laughed out loud.

"You're all so stupid. Wait until Mum is back."

In a rage, she rushed away.

xXx

By that evening everyone had calmed down. Elissa was hobbling around in the house and rubbed her backside when she thought no one was looking at her. The kids had stopped fighting. At around 5 o'clock all of them came to the kitchen to bake pancakes. It was Aenna's favourite food and she wanted it for supper. With it she wanted cherry sauce, which was already filled in the porcelain bowl on the table. Elissa filled flour into another bowl, while Cassian cracked the eggs. He didn't want to carry the kitchenware by hand, so he let it float. But it wasn't as easy as he thought.

The kitchenware didn't fly to the sink, but to the door of the patio and crashed to the ground. Elissa followed her brother immediately and let fly some spoons and cups through the kitchen. Areios looked enviously to his two older siblings. Then his glance fell on a wand at the kitchen table.

Severus was startled by the noise and stepped into the room.

"Stop it! Immediately! You all know well that you aren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Elissa! Cassian! Stop!"

He searched for Aenna and Areios. His heart almost stood still when he saw his youngest son with his wand.

"No, Areios! Don't dare to use my wand."

But either Areios don't hear him or he had no intention to obey his father he swung it like his siblings. Severus hurried to him to keep him of using his wand further. But it was too late!

CRASH.

Everything was covered under a big cloud of flour when three wands produced a small storm that swept through in the kitchen. Plates and cups were broken. The bowls with cherry sauce and eggs were smashed on the floor and spread out on the tiles. The four children laughed and Cassian started to speak.

"The mass of food far and wide, couldn't escape the eye of the gourmet."

"The cook poured the acid in the lye. Then everything exploded in the kitchen." Elissa continued.

"Foundation walls and joists are illuminated. A mushroom cloud rises above the house."

Typical Areios. Where he did he got that stuff?

"No, that was only what the clouds looked like." Laughed Aenna.

"Oh!"

Suddenly all of the children looked frightened and stared at the door. It should have been extremely funny how they stood there with flour on their heads, but it wasn't. Severus didn't dare turn around.

There was complete silence. Finally he turned around.

In the doorway stood his wife and her brother with his wife.

"What … what …"

Stunned, she stared around the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stepped toward her husband. Suddenly she lost her balance when she slipped on the cherry sauce. She rowed desperately with her arms but, despite her best efforts, she fell on her backside. Elissa couldn't help but put her hand on her own backside and rubbed over the painful area. Then her mother put her hand in the eggs. Disgusted, she raised her hand.

"Have you lost your mind? What were you thinking? If you don't know what to do with your free time, you should clean up the cellar."

Carefully she stood up and came closer to him. Severus could see how angry and embarrassed she was because of the mess.

"Did you do anything productive? Cleaning up, maybe?"

"You're repeating yourself," he said in a cool voice.

His wife, however, let out a loud scream.

"It was just a wrong spell! They couldn't know that the things would get broken." He tried to calm her down.

Severus' voice had become somewhat subdued when he saw her hands were clenched into fists. Remorseful and filled with consternation their four children looked down at the floor.

"ONLY a WRONG spell! It looks like a mess in this kitchen. And what smells so disgusting. I almost could throw up."

"That's just what I said!" Areios raised one finger. He let it drop when Elissa kicked him with her foot.

Angrily the couple stared at each other. Severus stepped to her, but there was still the cherry sauce. He promptly slipped, lost his balance and stumbled against his wife. Both fell to the ground and banged their heads on each other.

Ouch. That surely hurt. Thought Areios.

Giggles echoed through the kitchen.

Severus and his wife were laying on the ground, dipped in cherry sauce and egg yolk. Both held their heads as they stood up.

"Ouch!"

"Damn! That hurts like hell!"

Severus' brother-in-law tried to suppress a grin, but he wasn't really successful.

"That's enough! Ouuuut! Go to your potions where you won't ruin anything, only poison us."

She screamed at him. The now red hair, cherry sauce, stood out from her head and egg yolk stuck to her cheek.

What fun. Christmas here we come.

xXx

I hope you liked the story.

Merry Christmas!