Chapter 38: Noel

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"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

-Norman Vincent Peale

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As he always did, Regulus had to take a moment before he walked up Cal and Grace's familiar driveway. The snow on the house and yard was old, but still white. Candy canes hung from the tree in the front garden and multicolored lights twinkled from their strings stretched across the roof edge and around the garage. Cars owned by guests who weren't witches or wizards filled the drive. A beautiful wreath decorated the front door and he could see—even from where he was standing—people talking and laughing in the glow from the front picture window.

It seemed so alien to him.

A scene he really shouldn't have a part of. He walked slowly up the side of the drive, still looking at the window. By luck he saw Lenna's beaming face as she introduced herself to someone, offering a platter of something, and it was that sight that quickened Regulus' walk and replaced his hesitancy with assuredness.

He opened the door like he owned the place and hung his cloak in the front hall closet. The living room was full of people he didn't know and it made him anxious. Any one of them could be a threat to his and Lenna's security if they recognized him and then saw him with her. Regulus slipped into the guest bedroom and shut the door. He stood in front of its mirror and waved his wand above his face, murmuring charms. He kept his hair black but made it shorter and changed his eye color from gray to dark brown. He made his eyebrows and nose slightly different, modeling the Muggle man he'd seen in the street just a few minutes ago. He was still decently handsome, but now wholly unrecognizable.

He went into the living room and hung by the back wall until he saw Lenna leave the room to go back through probably into the kitchen. It was strange not to attract her eyes. He left the living room, crossing the front hallway, and through the circularly-shaped house toward the kitchen the other way. He slipped into a branching back hallway by the laundry room; he only had to wait a couple moments before Lenna crossed in front of him and he took her arm and pulled her into the narrow hallway with him.

The speed of her reaction took him by surprise.

She threw his hands off her and had a wand pointing at his nose before he could even blink.

"Don't grab me," she hissed, eyebrows knitted furiously. "Who are you?"

"Your husband," he replied quickly, laughing a little. He held up his hand to display his wedding band. "Nice reflexes, by the way."

Lenna's eyes only narrowed as she looked at the golden band. Her eyes searched Regulus' unfamiliar brown ones. "What was the name of the owl Regulus bought used to send letters to me?" she demanded.

"Crendlin. Kitten, it's me. I'm sorry I didn't catch your eye before I shifted my features, but I was anxious about being recognized. We took a broomstick flight over the lake, grounds and forest that day at the end of our seventh year, there's a chandelier in Hogwarts that's rainbow now because you changed it and couldn't figure out how to change it back, your birthmark looks like a hot air balloon—"

"Okay, I believe you," Len said, visibly relaxing. She pursed her lips. "I don't like your hair. You look like an army grunt."

Regulus chuckled and reached out to bring her close. He kissed her a couple times, gently, and her eyes relaxed fully. As she had said before, no one could duplicate his kiss. She took his hand and led him out into the party in the living room from the kitchen.

The house looked amazing. The girls had outdone themselves. On every surface, food. Everywhere, decorations. Nat King Cole's Christmas album on. A real Christmas tree with its star at the stop brushing the ceiling sat glowing in the corner of the living room, lending a crisp and very holiday-esque scent of pine to the room. Beneath it were piled gifts guests had brought.

Lenna introduced him to everyone a few at a time as her husband Reggie. Cal and Grace overheard and were then in on the deception. Cal took his mother and father off to the side to explain it to them quickly and quietly as well. Regulus slowly relaxed completely and settled down into a game of cards with some of Cal's friends while Lenna continued to mingle and be a hostess, fetching drinks, food, glasses of wine, and laughing with friends.

Regulus won a second game and then excused himself from the table, wanting to spend more time with his wife. She was by the fireplace talking to a lanky young man with curly red-and-brown hair in a white Muggle dress shirt and slacks.

"So I meet the girl for coffee, right," he was saying, "and we got on alright, but her teeth… 'Ello."

"Hey," Regulus greeted, nodding.

"Oh, Mathew, this is my husband Reggie. Reg, this is one of my coworkers, Mathew Mclusky."

Regulus shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, mate."

"You did that article on the Leaky Cauldron's loos, right?" Regulus asked. Matt grimaced.

"Yeah. Right, I did. But I see Becca, Len, so I'll finish my story later, eh?"

"Sure, Matt," she replied, and when he had walked across the room she gave Regulus a look. "Rude."

He smirked.

"You having fun?"

"'Course," he said. "It's a great party. Cal's mates are interesting."

Lenna chuckled. "Yep."

Regulus' gaze glanced over toward the fireplace mantle and he stepped closer to it, interested. On it were photos of Lenna and Calun at Christmastime over the years, and a very recent-looking photo of Cal and Grace holding one another in front of the house. As he watched, Cal ducked down in the photo, scooped up some snow, and rubbed it into Grace's hat, laughing. Another photo on the mantle caught his eye: a photograph that had been developed from Halloween of the four of them in front of the fireplace. He smiled at himself and Lenna in their costumes; his arm was around her and they were both beaming at the camera looking so happy and in love. There was a photo of him and Lenna dancing at their small wedding reception in the backyard as well. He watched as he spun her slowly under the glow of paper lanterns.

"These are great," he murmured. Hopefully no one would be looking at them closely enough to notice the man they'd met tonight wasn't the same face as in these photos.

Lenna smiled. "Grace had a bunch developed and framed for me. I'm in the process of finding places for them all in my apartment." She laughed. "But hanging them up has been nice. Makes the place feel so homey. And Grace is actually a really talented interior designer. You should come home for a little bit in the actual daylight and see what she's done to the place."

Regulus looked at her guiltily and took her hand gently in his. "I'm sorry I haven't been home for a day in a while, love."

"A week and a half, but who's counting," she replied.

He grimaced. "We've been busy night and day... But I know that's no excuse. I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head.

"I've been thinking of getting a bigger apartment. I can definitely afford it with how well-placed my articles have become, and I was thinking having an extra room or two might be nice… For a study," she added, seeing Regulus' face pale slightly.

"Mm," he responded.

She laughed softly. "Well. I still have to think about it. I could use a bigger kitchen, too…"

"Whatever you want," he said. "Still the same complex?"

"Same street, but I've been looking at that complex with a park next door. I don't know. Just something I've been thinking about."

"Okay."

As they spoke, Grace had been moving food out of the way as people had begun to dance to the Weird Sister's version of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Cal dimmed the lights slightly and preformed a temporary widening charm on the interior of the room to provide more space. People still sat at the card table and on couches, but now there was a large open space in front of the Christmas tree where people were chatting animatedly or dancing with one another. Before Regulus could escape to the cookies and caramels table at the far side of the room, Lenna towed him out to dance.

At the end of the fourth song, a group of Lenna's girlfriends came up to talk to her and she again was called back into being the party social butterfly. She knew almost everyone here, and they all demanded her attentions and smiles. Regulus amiably let her go and returned to watch the poker game Cal was now playing. Regulus had bonded earlier with his friend Bradley and the two struck up conversation again as he stood watching the game.

Lenna sat on the couches with her friends, sipping at her glass of red wine and taking ribs for not inviting any of them to her wedding.

It was fairly late into the night by the time guests began to leave the party. There were hugs, and Lenna and Grace forced tins of leftover food into hands. Cal's friends ruffled Lenna's hair fondly and she was hugged by her coworkers and friends. People left slowly, walking out to Apparate from the edge of the dark yard or rolling their cars out of the driveway. Lenna had a piece of candy cane sticking out of her mouth as she hugged her two cousins and her dad's sister goodbye in the doorway and they piled into their minivan lit by the garage's Christmas lights and drove away.

Grace was lying across a living room couch, waving her wand tiredly at food platters and trash and glasses to clean up the place. Cal was fiddling with his camera which had been busy during the party taking photographs. Len dropped into an armchair onto Regulus' lap. He was helping Grace clean with his wand. Soon the place was good as new and Cal retracted his lengthening spell on the room and went to the kitchen to make Grace some tea. She looked exhausted.

Lenna cuddled in her husband's arms, tracing the planes of his chest with her fingertips. Regulus closed his eyes and smiled a little. From stealing hours behind the clock face to being here in this moment… He felt so much older than he had just two years ago, but this had not changed. He held her tighter.

"Can you look like yourself again please?" Lenna asked. "I like your own face so much better."

Regulus chuckled, having forgotten his features were altered. He dug out his wand and erased the effect of magic upon his appearance. Lenna's eyes softened happily and she kissed him.

They heard the click of a camera and broke apart to scowl at Calun and his ninja picture-taking skills. He laughed and teased, "You guys are gross."

The Christmas tree glowed warmly as Lenna grinned and laid her head on Regulus' shoulder. He laced his warm fingers through hers and held her hand gently as Sinatra crooned Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow…

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