I snatch my photo of K off my bedside table and lay it carefully on my bed. With a quick glance at the rest of my stuff, which I'll be leaving here, I slip Tinea into my hip sheath. I'm just about to pick the photo back up when Ms. Know-it-all enters our dorm. And just my luck, she noticed the photo for the first time in months when I'm distracted thinking of how I'll ask Grace my question. "Who's that?" She questions, reaching for the picture frame. My hand whips out before I even have time to think and grabs Ms. Know-it-all's wrist. "Don't touch it," I hiss, clutching the frame tightly to my chest with my other hand. "Is he a friend of yours?" She asks, pulling her hand out of my grip. I tuck the frame into my robe and turn away, heading for the door, "don't. Just don't." She follows after me curiously, "is he your brother or something? Come on, tell me something, please?" I huff out a sigh and mutter quietly, "K." Ms. Know-it-all reaches for my arm and I jerk away, turning back to her. At her confused expression I add, "it's me and my brother, K, on my seventh birthday. Now leave me be, I want to get something to eat from the Great Hall before the train comes." With a glare to hide my pain I turn and stalk out, not waiting for a reply.

Just outside the Great Hall I'm greeted by a group of boys in my year. They appear to be talking about me so I pause, listening. "Come on Michael, if you like her go give her a kiss," one of them says. Another nods in agreement, "yeah, there's no way she could refuse you." After some more words of encouragement from his friends, one of the boys breaks away and walks towards me. I hold my ground and watch him approach, feeling for one of my smaller daggers beneath my robe. When he's just a few steps from me he says, "hi, I'm Michael, Michael Corner-" I cut him off with a wave of my hand, "yeah, yeah, I know what you want. I'm warning you though, you really don't want to kiss me." He narrows his eyes in confusion momentarily before smiling and asking, "why? Do you have a boyfriend?" Shaking my head, I open my mouth to reply when he steps forward quickly and pins me to the wall. Unwilling to hurt some confused mundane, I just stand there, seemingly in shock. Barely a moment passes before he leans forward, pressing his lips to mine. A growl starts low in my throat, frighteningly demon-like, and I twist my head in an attempt to get him off without hurting him. When he refuses to relent I slide my foot between his, wrapping my leg around his ankle slowly. Then I bring my right hand to his shoulder and my left to his chest, now smirking into his stolen kiss. Ignoring all the other students that have gathered, I twist my leg back towards me, simultaneously pushing his chest and shoulder around, and let the growl turn to a snarl. I slam him against the wall and spin in front of him, hands locked on either side of him and an angry glint in my eyes. "I warned you, and you didn't listen. Just be glad I'm not Rose, she wouldn't care about our mandate to protect you. Now let's get this straight," I bring my right arm up to his throat and my left hand twitches my robe aside, revealing my belt heavy with daggers and glamoured seraph blades, "if you even talk about me again, my mandate will crumble to dust. And little mundane, you don't want that, trust me." When he nods I turn away, releasing him, and address everyone else with a glare, "let this be a lesson for all of you. Never mess with Naila Nightcross, or her friends." With a glance at my watch to check the time I groan and follow a bunch of other students leaving the school for the carriage ride to the train.

I watch the landscape roll past outside the train window while Nightmare lays purring beside me. I'd forgotten about him until he came running to me as I climbed into one of the carriages and I'd quickly scooped him up in my arms. My thoughts drift back to the question I'm planning on asking Grace. I must have dozed off because the next thing I know the screech of train brakes jerks me awake. My kitten jumps up onto the seat and I pick him up, glancing out at platform nine and three-quarters. Spying my dad, Grace, and her dad I rush from the train and over to them. Dad takes Nightmare and I turn to Grace, immediately caught in a bone-crushing hug. I hug her back just as tightly until Tinea bumps into another student's mother. We let go and I adjust the sheath, taking Nightmare back from Dad. He gives me a swift kiss on my head and inquiries, "ready to go?" I nod and Grace takes my hand. Together the four of us stroll through the arc and back to Kings Cross Station. Dad leads us to his car, which is so ancient many mundanes are gapping at it. Good thing we rarely need it.

Me and Grace sit in the back while our dads take the front, her dad driving. Nightmare chooses that moment to let out a plaintive yowl and Grace bursts into giggles, quickly joined by me. Once we have control again, I pull one of his treats from my pocket and realize I'm still wearing my robe. "Oops," I laugh, tossing the kitten his treat and shedding the robe. Wadding it up, I toss the robe at Grace and she catches it with a goofy grin. Dad turns around in his seat and looks at us, "calm down you two, you don't want us to crash." While he's smiling as he says this, Grace and I settle down and play with Nightmare for the rest of the ride.

~time skip to Christmas Eve evening~

"Grace! No, stop, don't-" I say, backing away from my friend. "What's wrong, afraid to get some crumbs on you?" Grace teases, tossing a gingerbread man at me. I try to dodge but it hits my side and I burst into a fit a giggles. Momma sticks her head through the doorway from the kitchen and smiles, "now girls, I told you to decorate the gingerbread house, not yourselves." Grace glances at the half decorated house and snorts, making me giggle even more. Momma sighs and goes back to the kitchen to make more cookies. I reach out for Grace and manage to say, "come on, let's get this house decorated." She nods and reaches for the icing tube. I grab the bag of gumdrops right as Grace squirt the icing at me. I squeak and throw a handful of gumdrops at her, licking the icing off my lower lip. She snatches a gumdrop in between her teeth and giggles, ducking away from the others. "Ok, ok, I'm ready to decorate," Grace says, shaking her head with a smile. Swiping the icing tube, I put a dollop on a gumdrop and place it on the door of the house. Following my lead, Grace sticks a gumdrop to the roof of the house.

Pretty soon the gingerbread house's fully decorated and Dad comes into the dinning room. "Your mom said you were decorated each other, but I didn't think she was telling the truth," he says with a chuckle. I glance down at my and Grace's clothes and then back at Dad with a small smile. Grace gives him a guilty look and says, "sorry, Mr. Nightcross." After a moment I look at Grace again and burst into a fit of giggles. "At least the table's clean, right?" I try. He shakes his head and laughs, "yes, because that's the hardest thing to clean back up. Naila, go get cleaned up and wait in your room. I'll take Grace home and see if Valentine wants to give you your gift." I nod enthusiastically and give Grace a hug before making my way upstairs.

I grab a nightgown from my dresser and hop into the upstairs bathroom to wash up. Its the bathroom I used to share with K, and his soap brand still sits on the sink counter. The sight takes my good mood and I swap my dirty clothes for the nightgown quickly. I practically run back to my room and find Valentine sitting at the foot of my bed, a small box in his lap. Nightmare bounds over and hides behind my legs and I giggle, bending to pick him up. Kitten in my arms, I sit at the head of bed and smile at Valentine, "hey Valentine, what's up?" He smiles and strokes Nightmare, "I brought you something for your cat." After a moment he hands me the box and I snatch a small bottle off my bedside table. We swap gifts and I explain, "it's a little bit of Polyjuice Potion, if you add someone's hair and take a sip you'll look like them for an hour. Its something I made at Hogwarts and I already tested some from a different vial to make sure it worked." I watch as he examines the bottle and takes a whiff, nervous about whether he'll like it or not. A moment later he nods and I open the box he gave me, eager to see what he got Nightmare. When I see the shiny black harness I gasp and crawl towards Valentine, tears in my eyes, and hug him tightly. "Thank you so much, I love it," I mumble as the tears start spilling. He holds me gently and strokes me hair, glancing towards the window occasionally but not making any move to leave. Eventually the tears slow and I whisper, "it's just like something K would give me," before sleep claims me.

I dig through my closet, Grace sitting on my bed behind me. "Naila, come on and hurry up, I wanna see your cousin again," she complains. I giggle and pull out a light purple skirt and a nicely fitted shirt with long, silk sleeves, "how's this?" Grace sits up to see and nods enthusiastically, "perfect, now go change so we can leave." Shaking with laughter, I leave my room for the bathroom and change quickly. Returning, I sit down at my vanity and start intricately braiding my hair. Grace comes over and takes the braid from me, doing her best to stay calm when she so clearly wanted to see my cousin again. "So last year you were all for Nick and this year you're all for my cousin Alec?" I question her when she's done. Grace shrugs and drags me from the room, "well Nick obviously wants you, what can a girl do?"

Me and Grace walk side by side on the way to the Institute, so close I can't even feel the cold. Our parents walk behind us, talking to each other about boring stuff. I spot Pater and pull Grace in front of me, avoiding his gaze. Grace looks at me funny but, seeing the high warlock, says nothing. Luckily he doesn't try anything with four fully trained Shadowhunters just a few steps behind me. We reach the Institute and find my uncle, Robert, with his wife and their three children waiting outside. Momma walks over to her brother to talk while Dad and Grace's parents lead us and my two older cousins inside. Grace clings to my arm as we walk, not taking her eyes off my cousin. With a sigh I walk over to him, dragging Grace along. "Hey Alec, this is my friend Grace. Grace, my cousin Alec," I say, holding back giggles. Alec, looking flustered, glances from me to Grace and then over at his sister. Isabelle laughs and places a hand on his shoulder, "she's just introducing you to her friend, Alec, no need to get nervous." Shaking my head, I leave them to it and head for the training room, not caring that it's a holiday.

Once there I bend down and pull the knife from each of my boots. Turning to face the walk with the target, I'm about to let go of one of the daggers when I hear a soft laugh. I spin around, almost dropping the dagger, and see Isabelle leaning against the wall. "What?" I snap, tossing and catching my dagger impatiently. Izzy shrugs, "you're so much like Jace, he never stops training. Maybe you two are related or something." Now I do drop my dagger, jumping back in surprise just in time. "Jace? The Wayland boy your parents took in?" I ask, fidgeting with my sleeve. She nods and raises an eyebrow at me. I shake my head to clear it and bend to pick up the knife. She must notice how I toss the dagger still in my left hand to my right before grabbing the one off the floor cause she remarks, "you're left handed?" I narrow my eyes at her, "yeah? So was my brother." Izzy's eyes light up when I mention K and she exclaims, "oh yeah, your brother died a couple years ago. I remember his ceremony. Kendrix, wasn't it? Died fighting rogue werewolves by himself?" In one swift move I spin around, tossing the dagger from my right hand directly in the center of the target, and finish the spin facing Isabelle again. I snarl at her, "you have no right to talk about K like that, he was a strong and brave Shadowhunter, and an amazing brother!" I know my teeth, just slightly pointed from the demon blood running through my veins, are showing, but make no move to hide them. Izzy stares at me speechless for a moment before I swing around, storming from the room so she can't see my glistening eyes.

Its not hard to find Grace, arguing with Rose over something by the tall Christmas tree. I glare at Rose, "please go." Rose just stares at me and crosses her arms angrily. I fight down another snarl and say, as calmly as I can, "Primrose Sky Maplefox, don't make me ask you again. Now go!" I deliberately use her full name, which I know she hates. Rose huffs in annoyance and walks away, flicking her blond hair in Grace's direction. Once she leaves Grace places her hand on my shoulder and leads me to the front steps of the Institute. For a moment we watch the snowflakes swirl in the wind. Then Grace asks, "what did Isabelle do?" I stare at her in surprise for a moment before sighing and letting out a soft giggle. "You know me too well, Grace. She talked about K as if she knew him. Made it seem like his stupidity killed him. K was ANYTHING but stupid!" I'm shouting by the end and Grace takes my hand, squeezing it tight. Tears slip from my eyes and I lean my head on Grace, looking at the stars as I cry silently. We sit like that for some time before I break the silence, "Grace?" She glances at me from the corner of her eye and blows a snowflake away from her face, "yes, Naila?" I close my eyes and count to three, then sit up and face her, our faces pink from the cold. Taking a deep breath and tilting my head to watch the stars I whisper, "Gracie, will you be my Parabatai?" I lower my gaze to find her staring into space, lost in thought. After a moment her gaze focuses on me and she bursts into a fit of giggles, "did you read my mind or something?" I smile and shake my head, reaching back nervously to play with my hair. When she can talk again Grace takes my hand away from my hair, eyes locking with mine. "Naila Marie Nightcross, it would be an honor to be your Parabatai." Tears slide down my face as my smile brightens and Grace and I hold each other. We sit like that until I hear a growl and jerk away, hand reaching for a dagger. Grace blinks into the distance for a few seconds before standing, pulling me up with her, "let's go back inside. I bet Nick is dying for a chance to dance with you." I let her drag me back in without protest, scanning the shadows for the source of the howl, despite knowing it must have been quite a distance away.

Nick rushes to me the moment Grace drags me into the room. "Merry Christmas, Naila. May I have this dance?" I find myself nodding and Nick takes my hand, gently pulling me towards the other dancers. I sway to the music, head resting on Nick's chest, and fight back tears. About halfway through the song he wraps his arms around me and leads me towards a chair. When he sits and pulls me into his lap, I obey wordlessly, thoughts drifting away. I barely notice Grace constantly flicking her gaze to me as she attempts to teach Alec to dance. Two songs later I look up at Nick through bleary eyes, "can we train?" My voice is hardly louder than a whisper and yet Nick hears the pain in it. He gives me a slight nod and I stand, turning towards the doorway. Nick keeps a hand on my shoulder and leads the way, dodging between bodies soundlessly.

We stop at the weapons room on our way so I can get a sword, as Tinea is at my house. I lift sword after sword to test the weight and then put them back, dissatisfied. Nick, having already retrieved his sword from his room at the Institute, stands patiently in the doorway. I finally give up and select one that's only the slightest bit off for me and give it a swing. With a sigh I give Nick a slight nod and follow him to the training room. I twist my braid up onto my head and secure it with a length of rope hanging on the wall. Then I turn to face Nick, leveling my sword in my right hand. Nick glances at my hand, "you sure you want to use your right hand?" I give a small shrug, "Va- My dad's friend wants me to learn to fight with both hands." Nick narrows his eyes momentarily before shaking his head in confusion. Then we start circling each other, dating the other to make the first move. After a moment my opponent feints to the left and I jerk aside, only to give him a clear shot to my right. He leaps forward, sure in his strike, and I spin around so fast I almost drop the sword as I bring it up to block. The clang sounds throughout the room and Nick and I get knocked backwards from the force. I stumble and trip, but Nick grabs my hand and steadies me before I fall. I smirk and spin away, sword at the ready in seconds. He stands in surprise for a moment and I take my advantage, striking his shoulder with the flat of the blade. He stumbles sideways, barely keeping his footing, and I press on, swinging my sword around with my twisting body. Nick jumps back in an attempt to avoid getting cut and I swing the sword back around, knocking him out of the air. He lands heavily and I place the tip of my blade to his throat with a sly smile. He flops backwards and raises his hands in defeat but I'm already tossing the sword aside. "I'm gonna have my parents take me home," I mutter, striding out of the room.