On New Year's Eve, the White house hold was bustling. Ben thought about it and if one more person entered the walls of the grand mansion, then it would surely explode. With his dad's recent appointment as Minister for Magic, he had practically the entire ministry in the entertaining wing of the house. If Ben was in that area he would know exactly what he would see. His father, Jay, would be working his way around the room. He would know everyone by name and ask how their sick cat was doing or inquire how their children (he would be able to name them all) were doing at Hogwarts. His mother, Cecilia would be speaking to some of her friends. If someone came to her for something, she would excuse herself and become the perfect hostess. Once it got closer to midnight, there was no doubt in his mind that he would hear the Grand Piano begin to play while she showed the skill he inherited from her.

But he wasn't there. No, he had left the party twenty minutes ago to go wandering around his house. The only times he stayed at the parties were when he and Annabelle would spend the whole evening people watching. But Anna had disappeared much earlier in the night so Ben got bored much quicker.

He just turned the doorknob to walk into his room when the said missing sister, appeared around the corner.

"Finally escape from the madness?" She asked him as she followed him into his room.

He nodded and sat down on his desk chair, "If one more person told me how much I look like Dad, I was going to explode." He said while rolling his eyes. "Why did you leave so early?"

Annabelle shrugged as she made herself comfortable on his bed, "I couldn't stand Mom's friends asking me when I was going to get married. Gideon and I are perfectly happy with our current arrangement; we don't need some piece of paper from the ministry to say we love each other." She said.

Ben shrugged, "That's true, but it would make mom happy. You know how bothered she is by you 'Living in sin' and every time Gideon shows up she asks him when he's going to make an honest woman out of you." He said referring to Annabelle's current living arrangement. Right out of Hogwarts, she got a flat with Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. Their mother wouldn't have been thrilled in the first place, but she would have been happier than when she found out there were only two rooms and Annabelle and Gideon shared a room and bed. While their mom would be considered a progressive by many people, she had a lot of traditional views on relationships.

Annabelle laughed, "She thinks it's going to be a white wedding. Last week I told her that no matter how many Whites show up, it's not going to be a 'white wedding' to anyone's standards." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively while she said that.

Ben feinted getting physically ill while the tops of his ears turned red, "Merlin, Anna, I don't ever want to hear that! I could have gone my whole life never hearing that I would have died happy." He shuddered as he considered her statement.

She just laughed louder at his reaction and got up off the bed. She stretched, the hem of her purple organza gown raising a few inches off the ground.

"I'm going to go save Frank downstairs. His mother is probably embarrassing the hell out of him. Hey, did you see Benjy down there?" She asked him.

He shook his head, "Didn't see him. I saw the Weasley's though. Did Molly have another baby?" Ben asked. Their distant cousin Arthur's wife already had a little boy named Billius, or Bill as they all called him, and the last Ben had heard they were trying for a new baby, hopefully a girl this time. He figured that Annabelle would know more considering she was living with both of Molly's little brothers.

Annabelle nodded, "Molly just had a little boy at the beginning on the month, December 12th, I think. Named him Charlie. I gave the little tyke a stuffed dragon and according to Arthur, the kid doesn't put it down. I swear, he loves his Auntie Anna already; cutest thing in the world."

"When are you going to make me an uncle, then?" Ben asked out of curiosity.

"Not for a very, very, very, long time, Benny. Gideon are a little…how should I put this…" she trailed off.

Ben raised his eyebrows, "Getting things in Order," he said, emphasizing the last word. Annabelle looked at him a little shocked. She shook her head,

"I guess that was a little obvious in the letter I sent, huh? Gideon thought that you would figure it out but I thought you would just think that I drunk owled you. Yeah, we are getting things in order." She confirmed.

She nodded once and was about to walk out of the room when she said, "Oh, and Ben, check under your pillow. Your Christmas present wasn't ready before but I just got it this morning."

Ben stood up and quickly moved the pillow on his bed. While recognition showed on his face, the smile on Annabelle's grew while she leaned against the door frame. He gently picked up the object under his pillow and he couldn't believe was he was seeing.

It was the most intricate, beautiful, exquisite violin he had ever laid eyes on. The woodworking was obviously carved by hand and the turning knobs were made of soft ivory. The wood itself was made of the same wood as his wand, Cedar. It took his breath away with its beauty.

"Turn it over." Annabelle ordered him from the doorway.

He turned the instrument over and saw the engraving, "When life gets tough, when it seems like everything is falling down, my wish for you is to play. Love, Annabelle"

"I don't…I don't know what to say except thank you," he said in shock.

She shrugged, her cheeks turning a shade of red, "It was nothing really. Just don't expect any Christmas or birthday presents for the next six years."

He laughed, "Got it."

She smiled, "Good, now I'll be on my way."

Annabelle turned and she was about to leave the room when Ben suddenly said, "You know, Anna, I was thinking about it. Maybe adding some order to my life when I get older would be good for me."

She froze and rested her hand on the doorframe. She didn't turn around as she said softly, "Benjamin, if I do my job right, you won't need any. For your sake, I pray that I do."

With that she walked out of the room, not looking back.

The next morning, an owl was waiting for him in the back porch. It was a snowy white owl that had specks of grey and black. Attached to its leg were five folded up letters; the one on top had his name written in a familiar scrawl. He grabbed an owl treat before he grabbed his letter and feed the owl. The owl hooted happily and nuzzled his (her?) head against his hand before it flew off.

He opened the letter.

Ben,

You gift was brilliant! We really appreciate the undetectable expansion bags. We are planning on testing if one of us could actually fit in one. If one of us doesn't show up, blame the remaining twin. Anyway, our birthday was awesome! Uncle Alphard brought us to the Potters and we spent the whole day with them. Honestly, Mrs. Potter had give children to deal with, not just three. But you won't believe was Mrs. Potter got us.

SHE GOT US AN OWL!

That was the owl that gave you this letter. Sirius and I decided to name her Thalia, after the Greek Muse of Comedy. We thought it was rather fitting. You should be proud; we looked it up in a book. Shocking I know. We will give you some time to absorb that new development.

James sends his best wishes and hopes that haven't been bored to death without us. We know how sneaky those books are, sucking out your soul little by little. Kind of like a dementor.

Anyway, since we know that you are going to be the first person on the train, save us the usually compartment alright? We know we are going to be running late and we don't want any pesky first year or some Slytherins to steal our compartment. We need to work out some of the finer details of out plans to get into Slughorn's private stores.

See you on the train.

Your friends,

Sirius, Ursula, and James

Ben smiled. Ol' Sluggy was going to be in for a wakeup call, that was for sure.

This is going to be the last chapter before they finally get back to Hogwarts. I was going to have them going back to Hogwarts in this chapter, but I wanted to showcase the relationship between Annabelle and Ben. I hope you enjoyed their sibling interaction and found it believable.

Oh, and anyone with Pottermore, the type of wood was chosen for a reason. Today when I got through Ollivander's, I went through all the wand woods and cores and carefully selected the woods and cores for all the characters that don't have it known in the series. For those that aren't on, haven't got that far yet, or are just too lazy to look it up, I chose cedar because owners of cedar wands are uncommonly loyal, have strong character, and you would never dare cross one if you intend harm against one of their loved ones. I thought it was a good fit for him. I thought that fit him and my plan for him.

Please don't forget to review. I appreciate everyone's reviews. Special thank you to Lauren and StormWithinHerEyes. Both reviews were, and are still, highly appreciated.

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