A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK I REALLY HAVE NO EXCUSE (jk university is kicking my ass and so is work but oh well). I will do my best not to ever leave that long of a break between chapters. Once again, a huge huge thank you to my beta Mandy. Without her, this story would not be where it is today. Thank you. And a huge thank you guys who are reading this. It means the world to me xx

The living room was a disaster; wrapping paper was strewn about the room, tinsel lay on the floor from where the family cat had decided to play with it, and piles of each family member's gifts took up their own section of the room. The Lightwoods sat among the chaos, enjoying their traditional post-gift opening tea and biscuits. It was warm and familiar and the kids could almost pretend like there was not a murder investigation wasn't going on. It wasn't until Max asked when the family would be going shopping the next day that the real chaos began.

"We can't just not go shopping! It's a sacred tradition!" Isabelle proclaimed, shooting glares at both her parents when they announced that there would be no Boxing Day shopping trip. Their eldest daughter's hands were firmly placed on her hips and her expression warned of an argument that wouldn't be dropped.

Robert rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, "We are on lockdown, Isabelle. We are not allowed to leave our house. How would it look if we went galavanting in the village, clearly breaking Ministry orders?"

"So what if we took Max and went? Just us four?" Jace casually asked, leaning back on his hands. Despite his off-handed nature, his eyes were narrowed, carefully watching his parent's faces , trying to gauge their reactions.

Maryse answered before her husband, "You three aren't supposed to be here. We cannot draw attention to ourselves." She paused and looked at her children sadly, "I'm sorry."

"What if just one of us took Max out?" When no one argued against him, Alec continued a bit more forcefully while Isabelle continued scowling, "I mean, then we wouldn't really be drawing attention to ourselves if it's just two of us and it's not like Max has been banned from leaving the house."

Maryse and Robert exchanged a wary glance. Robert spoke slowly, after a tense moment of silent, "I suppose that could work...but you could only spend a few hours out in town. It can't be the usual all day event."

"You wouldn't be able to dawdle about," Maryse added her lips pulled tight, "You would have to go straight to the shops and come back as soon as you're all finished."

The kids nodded eagerly, matching grins growing on their faces. It didn't matter that there were now rules accompanying the day, the prospect of being able to go out in the village was worth it. A warm silence back fell over the Lightwood Clan as they simply enjoyed their morning together. The time to decide who would go into the village would come later. Right now, the only thing that was important was spending their Christmas morning together as normally as possible.

The next morning, Isabelle and Max found themselves trekking through the snow to the village. It was a longer, but easy walk. Isabelle laughed as Max ran ahead, trying to catch as many snowflakes on his tongue that he possible could.

Once again, Isabelle thanked her lucky stars that Alec and Jace had let her take Max into town and spend the day with him. She wasn't sure if they were fully aware of how much the investigation was taking a toll on her. Granted, she wasn't sure exactly how they were coping but she was pretty sure that her brothers weren't having weekly meetings with their professors because they were worried about them. It didn't bother her too much- she loved having tea with Professor Gray- but it probably wasn't a good sign of her mental health. She shook herself out of her thoughts. This wasn't a time to focus on the negative. She beamed at Max; it was time to focus on brother-sister bonding.

He turned and skipped back towards Isabelle, unable to contain his laughter. Iz grabbed his mitten covered hand and held it, swinging it dramatically as they continued down the path.

"How have you been, Maxie?"

He scrunched his nose at the nickname but continued to beam at his sister, "Alright, I guess."

Isabelle looked down at him, eyebrows raised. Max stared ahead, still swinging Isabelle's hand. She let out a quiet huff; the Lightwood trait of stubbornness had clearly been passed on to him. She nudged him gently, "Just alright?"

"It's boring, Izzy. I miss being at school with my friends." He turned and blinked up at her, eyes wide and earnest behind his glasses, "I wish I was at Hogwarts with you guys."

A lump formed in the back of Isabelle's throat. She didn't want to tell him that Hogwarts would probably be worse for him than being at home. That even though he was bored, at least he was safe from the cruel words of the outside world.

She readjusted her scarf with the hand that wasn't clutching onto Max, "You know, I wish I was here with you and Mum and Dad."

"Really?" Max gasped.

Isabelle hummed, "Really. I promise, things might suck right now, but I wish I was in your place right now. Besides," She added with a sly grin at him, "You at least get to get out of school."

Max laughed and it was loud, clear, and carefree. Unable to help herself, Isabelle broke into a grin. She made a mental note to thank her brothers for letting her be the one to take Max into town. When the two of them reached the snowy town, they hesitated at the outskirt of it. Isabelle bit her lip, a wave of nerves rising in her. She glanced down at Max; he was staring into town with wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth. It was like he couldn't believe he was really outside of their manor, acting like everything was okay. She squeezed his hand gently.

"Where to first, Max?"

Isabelle and Max headed home after their day of shopping. Max's pockets were brimming with candy, a happy grin plastered on his face. He carried a bag of new books, swinging them every now and then as they trudged through piles of snow. Isabelle, usually the culprit of spending far too much money, had empty hands. She had been determined to buy Max as much as she could and had completely forgotten to get anything for herself. With a smile on her face, she decided that seeing him happy was better than anything a store could offer.

As Max explained a story, Isabelle realized that this was the happiest she had been this year. Being away from Hogwarts, she could almost pretend that everything was the same; no investigation focusing on her parents, no fear of reading about another death in the paper, and no worries about what her fellow classmates were saying about her. Her only concern at the moment was how she was going to keep her new white cloak from getting dirty and if she should start her holiday homework tonight or tomorrow.

Isabelle laughed as Max gestured wildly, nearly knocking off his glasses in his glee.

In a split second, a flash of green light passed just in front of Isabelle, coming from the woods on their right. Isabelle whirled towards the trees, wand already out in front of her. Eyes never leaving the dark trees, she called back, "Max, did you see who that was? Or where they came from?"

Silence.

Isabelle's heart thudded in her chest as she scanned the forest but nothing moved in their snow covered depths, "Max?"

She frantically turned back around, a roar in her ears. She let out a strangled cry when she saw her younger brother lying in the white snow, blood slowly seeping from his sides. She quickly dropped down and grabbed his thin arm, looking for a pulse. It took her a few seconds to find his veins in her panic, but when she finally did, she couldn't feel anything. Where a solid, thudding pulse was supposed to be, there was silence. She whispered his name, choking on her salty tears, desperately hoping that maybe, just maybe, the voice of his sister would somehow, magically, bring him back. She shook his arm gently at first, but harsher after as more tears wet her face.

But nothing happened. Not giving a damn about her pristine cloak, she picked up his little body and held it close to her, sobbing into his damp hair. She sat in the snow, holding his lifeless body to her until she couldn't feel her fingers or toes. The cold had seeped into her bones and Max's lips were turning blue, snowflakes stuck to his skin and didn't melt away, just gathered under his open eyes. She knew she had to go home, knew she had to take Max home. He needed to be with his family and her parents needed to know. She stood slowly and picked up Max's body; her heart broke from how light he was. He would never grow any taller or gain any more weight. He'd be this size, this age, forever.

The walk home felt shorter than it had earlier. Isabelle collected herself enough to stop sobbing, but a constant stream of tears flowed down her face and dripped onto Max's. She kept her eyes on the pathway, forcing herself not to look at his pale and bloody face. Trying to push open the door with full hands was nearly impossible, but Isabelle refused to let go of Max. Her fingers, slippery with blood, finally gained a grip on the doorknob and she was able to push her way in, using her foot to close the door behind her.

The door slammed shut behind her, the bang echoing through the house. Maryse's voice called out to her from the library, "Ah, you two are back! How was shopping?"

Isabelle tried to will herself to speak, to give her mother some sort of warning as to what happened. But nothing came out of her mouth. She could hear Maryse's heels clicking on the wood floors as she made her way to the main hallway. Isabelle clutched Max closer to her, unable to do anything else.

Isabelle saw her mother's smile drop once she walked into her line of sight. Her face scrunched up, trying to piece together why Isabelle's new cloak was stained so darkly and what she was carrying in her arms. She froze when she realized what happened to her youngest child. Her eyes dropped straight down to Max's unmoving body, his bloodied face. She unsteadily lurched forward until she stood directly in front of Isabelle.

Her face was ashen. Never looking up from her son's face, she asked, "What happened?"

Isabelle stuttered out the story, having to pause several times because she was crying too hard to speak intelligible words. Though Maryse's eyes were filled with tears, none fell. For a moment, when Isabelle had finished talking, she said nothing. Finally she murmured to herself, "You need to go."

"What?"

Maryse blinked, as if pulling herself from a daze. She pulled herself to her full height, eyes already hardening, "You need to go. You and your brothers. We need to send you back to Hogwarts."

Isabelle recoiled, "What?"

"Isabelle, this was a murder." Maryse's voice was harsh, "Your father and I need to report this to the Ministry. We're going to have to explain why Max was out of the manor since we're on house arrest. You and your brothers weren't supposed to be here and if they find out you are, it will be even more trouble. Not just for us, but for your professors who helped get you here." She took a deep breath her bottom lip quivering was the only sign of emotion left on her face, "No, you children need to leave. Now."

Caught up in their own emotions, neither Maryse or Isabelle had notice Alec creeping down the stairs, curious about the commotion. "Izzy." Her name came out as a broken whisper, but she whipped her head towards the stairs to where he was standing, frozen. "Please tell me that's not Max."

She shook her head, unable to speak. For a moment, Alec's face remained straight. He looked from Isabelle's tear-stained face to Max's bloodied one, his breathing becoming more rapid and shallow. When the first tears fell, he scrubbed at his face, trying to stop them. But as more and more kept falling, he gave up and sat on the stairs, burying his face in his hands.

Maryse moved forward and grabbed Max's body out of Isabelle's arms, none too gently. "You need to get Jace. Then the three of you need to leave. Your father and I will deal with all of this." Her voice broke. Isabelle thought that she was about to see her mother, who never cried, break down. Instead, Maryse took another deep breath and gave Isabelle a stern look, before carrying her youngest further into the house.

Isabelle stared after her before moving her gaze back to Alec. "Is Jace in his room?". Alec nodded, not even bothering to move his face from his hands.

She climbed past Alec, touching his shoulder as she passed him, and moved into the long corridor upstairs. Her tears had stopped falling but there was still a curious roar in her ears as she moved, an internal scream that hadn't stopped since the first sign of Max. Jace's room was at the furthest end; with each step towards his door, Isabelle's heart sunk a little more. She stood outside his door for a minute before building up the courage to knock.

"It's open," Jace's voice drifted out. She pushed open the door. Jace was sprawled on his bed, a roll of parchment in his lap and a concentrated look on his face that was ruined when he met his sister's eyes. He scrambled up, moving towards her. He frantically checked her for any wounds, "Iz, what the hell happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm not hurt, Jace. It's not me. It's Max."

He pulled back, fear shining through his eyes. He opened his mouth several times before speaking slowly, "What are you talking about?"

She hurriedly explained everything, focusing on a spot on his wall, a scar left on the house from a childhood experiment involving Alec's stolen wand and misspoken words. She didn't want to see his face fall, see him break. She didn't know if she could see another family member fall apart before her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him shaking his head. When she was finished, Jace didn't move for a second. He stood up and pushed past her, flying down the hallway and down the stairs. Isabelle trailed after him, tears streaming down her face again. She paused on the staircase where Alec was still sitting. She wanted to be able to comfort Jace but there was no way she could see the body again.

Alec grabbed Isabelle's hand and squeezed when they heard a strangled cry. Moments later, Jace stumbled back out into the hallway, looking like he was going to be sick. Maryse followed him, hands still red.

She looked at each of the children, breathing hard and desperately trying to blink back tears. Something shifted and she pulled herself upwards, face visibly hardening.

"You need to leave right now." Her voice was harsh, "We need start an investigation and you can't be here."

The kids stared at her, unable to speak. For a moment, Maryse's face dropped and she moved forward, as if to hug them. But then she was grabbing at Jace's and Isabelle's hand, urging them into the parlor. Alec followed but it was mostly from muscle memory.

She set about getting the fireplace ready, a heavy silence filling the room. Jace grabbed at Alec and Isabelle's hands and held them tightly. Isabelle squeezed back, just as tight. When the fireplace was crackling and glowing green, Maryse pushed them in front of it.

With a sad smile, she touched each of their cheeks, "I know you must hate me right now, but it's for everyone's safety that you need to leave. There's nothing more that I want than to be able to-" Her voice broke, "be able to grieve with you. We'll send your bags as soon as we can."

Quickly, she shoved them into the fireplace. The last thing Isabelle saw before the flames engulfed them was Marye's face crumpling, the tears that she had fought for so long finally starting to fall.

Tessa Gray let out a sigh of contentment. For Christmas, she had received books almost exclusively as her presents from her friends, coworkers, and Nate. As a result, she had a stack of new books that she was determined to make a dent in before the end of the holiday. She and Jem were in her office; Tessa curled on the small couch next to the roaring fireplace, Jem seated next to her, fiddling with his violin and occasionally playing bits and pieces of his songs.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the green light of floo powder. Tessa frowned, glancing up from her book. The only people that she could think of that would be travelling to her office were the Lightwoods, but there was still over a week left in the break. Jem looked up, fingers hovering over the strings of his violin.

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle stumbled through the fireplace. Tessa and Jem both shot up, taking in the student's' appearance; Alec and Jace were deathly pale, tears still flowing from both of their eyes. Isabelle's appearance sent ripples of fear through Tessa's body. She wore a white robe which was stained with dark red blood. The blood was smeared across her pale face, save for where the tears had cut through blood. Her hands, which were also coated with drying blood, were shaking.

"Jem, get Catarina!" Tessa cried, panic ebbing into her voice. Before she finished the sentence, Jem was racing down the corridor towards the hospital wing. She turned back to the boys, who were supporting Isabelle despite looking like they might collapse themselves.

She guided them away from the fireplace, murmuring to to them, as she sat them on her little couch. She stood in front of them for a moment, taking in their broken expressions before whispering, "What happened?"

Isabelle's lips wobbled, trying to stop the tears that formed in her eyes from falling. Jace's jaw and fists clenched and unclenched. Alec met Tessa's eyes, the bright blue dull.

"Max is dead."

Isabelle's face contorted as she tried even harder to keep from breaking into sobs. Tessa thought of the young boy that she had seen in the fireplace a few weeks ago, bright with energy and happiness to see his siblings. Her heart sank; these poor Lightwood children have been through so much this year and now their brother died.

Jem burst into the room, Madame Loss following behind him. The young healer took one look at the three students, shook her head, and knelt down to speak to them. She murmured something before standing, the Lightwoods numbly following suit. Still crying and shaking, the children were lead out of the office towards the Infirmary.

Jem looked at her, his silver eyes glinting with concern, "Tessa...what happened?"

"Their brother," Her voice broke slightly, "Their brother is dead. I don't know how, but obviously it was..." She trailed off.

Jem took a few steps forward before wrapping her in an embrace. She shook slightly, unable to wrap her mind around the idea that the youngest Lightwood was dead. Was murdered.

Jem murmured something into her hair. She pulled back slightly, "What?"

"I asked," He looked at her, concern shining in his eyes, "What's going to happen to the children? They can't go back home if there is an investigation on their brother's death along with everything else going on."

Tessa straightened, thoughts turning, "They'll stay here. Barely any other students stayed here this holiday, so they will have the privacy they need to heal. Everyone here can check on them and make sure they're alright- Charlotte, Will, you, me and everyone else. If there is a funeral, of course they can go back. But, no, they should stay here."

Jem nodded as she continued, muttering to herself, "I need to let Charlotte know that they are back. I need to make sure she's okay with this."

"Tessa, stop." She paused her ramblings, "Take a breath. I'm sure Charlotte won't mind; she has their best interests at heart. But you need to calm down. You can't help them if you're too worked up."

She let out a long sigh, her body deflating, "I'm just worried about them. How much more can they take?"