A/N: Congratulations to Colibi on your new house. And to Black Ice, you wanted to know what happens next? We celebrate.



CHAPTER TWENTYSIX: THE HOLIDAYS


The small group went slowly down the walk, singing Christmas Carols. They would pause when people stepped out of their houses to listen, and occasionally someone would join them. They walked down the street, turned onto the lane, and carefully avoided another road, where a different carol was being sung.

"ARE YOU BOYS CRAZY OR WHAT. DON'T YOU KNOW THAT TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS? START SHOWING SOME PEACE AND JOY OR I'M SENDING ALL THE PRESENTS BACK."

"Honey, you don't have to yell like that. We're all in the same room. LOOK, you're standing under mistletoe. You know what that means?"

"Stop it, Hal. I'm not in the mood."

[Mom's like this every Christmas. She has this idea that we could pretend to be good at least one day a year. That's why I'm her favorite son. I pretend to be good all the time.]

Lois looked at everyone gathered in the room. Only Nob was smiling. "Why are you smiling? I just yelled at you for making a mess."

"He does that when he's scared," Dewey explained.

"Oh." Lois said, and patted Nob on the head. "Just be a good boy."

Lois turned around and Nob let out a sigh of relief. "Come on, all of you boys. Get in the Christmas spirit. Help decorate the tree. We're having company tomorrow."

[Yeah. I remember the Spirit of Christmases Past.]

"No, Reese," Lois told the five year old boy. "You hook the ornament on the branch like this."

Reese swatted at the ornament and it went flying off the tree and into the kitchen.

"Hal, do something with this kid."

"Now, honey. His aim IS getting better."

*

"Dewey," Lois screamed at the two year old boy, "you're not supposed to eat the popcorn. And Malcolm, why aren't you stringing more popcorn?"

"Because Dewey ate the needle," Malcolm said as he pulled on the thread coming out of his brother's mouth. "Don't bite the string, Dewey."

*

Hal snuck into the house, pausing to look in a mirror to see if his disguise was on properly. He adjusted his hat and tugged on his white beard then walked happily into the living room, tripping over the rope that had been pulled across the threshold.

"Get his bag," Eight year old Francis called out. With Reese's help he pulled the bag filled with presents out of Hal's hand and ran off to the bedroom. Little Malcolm paused, and looked back in concern. Satisfied Santa wasn't going to follow, he grabbed the milk and cookies and went after his brothers.

*

"And what do you want for Christmas, little boy."

"Why do you care?" Malcolm asked. "You're just a guy hired by the mall. And I'm just here because my mom thinks it's cute for me to get my picture taken with the school janitor, who's moonlighting."

"Smile," The camera elf called out and snapped the picture.

"That's against your contract," Malcolm added. "And I know where the principle's office is."

"OK, kid. What do you want?"

"One of those good gifts like that junior chemistry set, instead of that stupid balloon for kids whose parents won't pay you."

Santa shoved the chemistry set into Malcolm's hand and ushered him off his lap. "Come back to this mall again, you little creep, and I'll call the cops."

[That was a great chemistry set, too. I even made my first explosives with it. With Francis's help.]

"Mom," Malcolm called out. "I'm going to run over to the Weasley's and give Ginny a present for her dad before she heads off to the hospital."

"Go ahead," Lois said, then turned to the rest of them. "Why can't the rest of you be so thoughtful."

Malcolm ran out of the house and across the lawn, almost bumping into Francis and Piama.

"What's the rush, Malcolm?"

"I want to be out of earshot before mom remembers that the Weasley's aren't home."

Francis nodded. "Get running. I'll cover for you if I can."

"Thanks, Francis."

Piama watched as Malcolm ran off. "Is your mother always like this?"

"Only when she's in a good mood. She actually wants a perfect Christmas, but it only happened once. That year we went to somebody else's house."

"At least your family celebrates Christmas. My mom was too cheap to buy presents. She converted to Judaism every December 24."

"That is cold," Francis acknowledged. "At least she didn't ruin the holiday for you. My mom would give us horrible gifts and tell us that Santa knew coal was too good for us. Of course, every gift we liked was one that dad bought us. I hated the sight of Santa Claus. I thought he was so evil. I actually made a plan to kill him and replace him with my dad."

"What happened?"

"Mom found out and told me there was no Santa Claus. It was Dad all along."

"That must have hurt."

"Naw. Once I knew who I was dealing with, it worked out. That year, I was the only one who didn't get underwear as a Christmas gift."

On cue, Lois walked out the front door, and shouted, "MALCOLM, GET BACK HERE!"

*

There was a knock at the door, and Nob opened it

"Mom, they're here," Nob called out, as he closed the door behind him.

"Okay, everyone," Hal said. "This is important to your mom. At least look like you've been enjoying Christmas."

"Thanks, Hal," Lois said and reopened the front door. "Tonks, Thank you for coming."

"I'm happy to be here. I don't exactly have a place to go to. This will be a treat."

"Make yourself at home," Lois offered. Tonks grinned, and her form shimmered as she became a familiar looking brown haired girl.

"That is so creepy," Reese said. "Couldn't you please become somebody else."

"That was cool," Dewey added. "You can take Malcolm's place if you want."

"Watch it, Dewey," Malcolm said.

"Go mail a letter," Dewey yelled back and took Tonks hand to give her a tour of the house.

Malcolm frowned and turned around to come face to face with a camera which flashed.

"Thanks for coming, Colin."

"Mum thought it would be fun. Can I get a picture of you with your sister?"

"Hi, Malcolm," Dennis said cheerfully, "You have to meet my parents. Mum, this is my best mate, Malcolm. He's the reason I'm getting great grades."

"Yeah, I do all his homework for him. Nice to meet you again, Mrs. Creevey. Mr. Creevey."

"Always wanted to meet some of the other lads from that school," Mr. Creevey said. "With two boys studying magic, it's quite a change in our lives."

"Ours too," Lois said. "We were very surprised when we found out about Malcolm."

[This is the point where I want to leave before Mom says something to embarrass me.]

"Malcolm was actually at the school before he found out he was a student there. He was trying to sneak in."

"Dennis," Malcolm said quickly, "have you met Tonks?"

"Yes. I want to hear the rest of the story."

"Okay, and when they're done I'll tell the one about how I talked you into jumping into the lake."

"Where is Tonks?" Dennis asked as they walked off. He would ask his parents later.

*

"Do you really want to see my photography album?" Colin asked. "I only mentioned it because I like it. It's my hobby."

"I'd love to," Piama said. "Magic is new to me, and I'm curious about so many things."

Colin happily fetched the album from the family car, and returned with an impossibly huge smile. "I'll start in the middle of the album. Pictures from my second year. You'll recognize some of the people." He showed her the first picture. "This is the sorting. I took a picture because it was Malcolm wearing the Hat. He's the first American to ever attend Hogwarts."

"He looks so cute," Piama said. "And this is . . ."

"Just after he was placed in our house, Gryffindor. I have one more picture that you'll like. Someone else used my camera, and I hid it for the longest time, but I decided it would be fun to show."

"OH MY GOD! Is that Malcolm?"

"That's me," Colin said with a grin. "He gave me a cursed toffee. I call it, Malcolm's First Detention."

"Were you . . ."

"I was fine. And a teacher restored me almost immediately."

Colin's smile was infectious and Piama had to laugh. She laughed even harder when Colin added, "Malcolm is the only student in the history of the school to get a detention at the welcoming feast."

*

"I don't believe my mom let me do this," Dabney said as he and Lloyd walked briskly along the sidewalk. "An actual Christmas party."

"I know. Cynthia had a great idea."

Dabney froze as he looked ahead. "Trouble."

A group of high school guys came walking up laughing at the two Krelboynes. "The nerds are out tonight," one of them said mockingly.

Lloyd grabbed Dabney and jerked him into motion, saying, "They're just some muggles. Let's get going."

"Uh, Uh, Uh," Dabney said in agreement."

"Not so fast," One of the guys said. There was a small flash that was almost unnoticeable, and the guy fell forward with a grunt."

"What happened." "He tripped." "You okay, man?"

Dabney and Lloyd kept walking the other way when suddenly a long haired guy literally popped in front of them. "You're cool, little guys. Like I covered for ya. Them muggles are just too weird to deal with some times. Where ya headed?"

"Don't tell him anything," Lloyd whispered.

"We're going to a party," Dabney said without thinking. "It's only a couple of blocks from here."

"You're going there? Like this is great. That's where I'm going. I'll walk with ya. I'll make sure them muggles pay you no mind."

"Um, thanks," Lloyd said, unsure of what to do. His mind was trying to figure out what had happened. "The way you suddenly appeared in front of us. It was like magic."

"Like fer sure, little guy. I just turned seventeen. I'm street legal. No more warnings from the feds."

"Great," Dabney said as he attempted to vocalize.

"No kidding. Mom was getting ticked. She even threatened to take away my broom."

"Terrible," Dabney agreed with no idea of what he was agreeing to.

"Here we are," the long hair said as he grabbed Dabney's shoulder, who in turn grabbed hold of Lloyd. The space in front of them suddenly stretched to reveal another house on the street, this one lit up brighter than the rest. A girl opened the door and called out.

"Johnny, you made it. Who're your friends?"

"Like just a couple of little guys I ran into, Peggy. The locals were trying to hassle 'em. They were coming here so I joined 'em, you know, like for safety."

"Great. You must be friends of Belinda. I'm Peggy."

"Dabney," Dabney said carefully.

"I'm Lloyd," Lloyd said happily, convinced he was suffering from delusions and having decided to enjoy them.

"Come on in."

"What do we do?" Dabney pleaded to Lloyd.

"Look, we'll go in, and then explain we were going to a different party. Besides, this is a real party. Like normal people go to. And they think we're cool."

Dabney's eyes lit up. "A real party?"

Both boys happily entered the house having conveniently forgotten the magical means that brought them there.

*

"You are really scary," Reese said. "I really wish you would look like someone else. I lived with Malcolm too long. It gives me the creeps to see him as a girl."

Tonks laughed. "I'm doing it as a Christmas Gift for your mum. Lois is enjoying it."

"Then why do you keep following me around."

"I was curious if you would actually climb a tree to get away from me."

"Well now you know," Reese said as he hung onto the branch for support. "You can go now."

"I'm curious," Tonks said as she reached for a low branch. "What would you do if I actually climbed the tree."

Reese screamed and jumped out of the tree, landed on top of his dad's car. He rolled off and began running without pausing. He only stopped several minutes after knocking a pair of carolers out of his way.

"Thanks, Tonks," Dewey said appreciatively as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Merry Christmas, Dewey," Tonks said as she took his hand and walked him back to the house.

*

"That's the Burrow?" Dennis said.

"Yeah," Malcolm replied. "The Weasley's live there, except they haven't been home much since we moved next door. They keep telling us it's not personal but, you know."

"I do," Dennis admitted. "It seems that every time we get a new neighbor, they end up moving. We've has eight new neighbors in the six years before Colin went to Hogwarts. People thought we were mental."

Malcolm laughed. "My mom tells everyone that I am mental. I don't go to school. I go to the Hogwarts Institute for Teenage Brain Disorders."

Dennis looked up. "I always thought that was a joke."

"It depends on which side you're on."

"That idea's Brill. I'll tell Mum on the way home. She can have fun with the new neighbors." Dennis looked around. "Are you sure no one's home?"

"Yeah."

"Watch this." Dennis concentrated and his body seemed to shimmer for a second.

"That was great," Malcolm said with praise. "It looked as though your body was trying to change."

Dennis beamed. "Colin noticed it first, when I was practicing. I would try to imagine myself as an animal and it would happen briefly." He frowned slightly. "I think you helped me do it. I know I can perform the spell but," he paused, "I can't seem to find an animal. I've tried dozens of different animals but nothing works."

"Don't rush it," Malcolm counseled. "It's like anything else. If you try to force it, it won't work properly. It's only a matter of time before you figure it out."

"So I shouldn't keep trying."

"Look, Dennis. I'll be honest. You're close to doing the spell but it's not powerful enough. One time you might try and it will almost work. McGonagall made me read about cases like that. Right now, there's a lady in St. Mungo's who tried it. Whenever you ask her anything she barks for an answer. Don't try it unless you're sure. I was lucky. I was very lucky. McGonagall proved that to me. She was another lucky one. And there are ten unlucky one's for every lucky one. And sometimes, like the dog lady, they're very unlucky."

"You're trying to scare me," Dennis said.

"No, I'm trying to warn you. You were doing something dangerous."

Dennis nodded. "I understand, Malcolm, and thank you. But don't try to make me believe there's a dog lady at St, Mungo's. That's too strange."

*

"I've heard all the scary stories," Mrs. Creevey admitted. "I sometimes wonder what my children aren't telling me."

Lois laughed. "If they're anything like mine, they're not telling you a lot of things."

"I know that's true enough," Mrs. Creevey said. "Because of Colin I started having the Daily Prophet delivered, and I would read things about the school, and Colin would never say anything. For example, there was an article that mentioned a student who used his photography potions to dye the caretaker's cat. Colin even sleeps with a camera, but he tells me he never heard anything about it.

"You're lucky. The headmaster, Dumbledore, makes it a point to keep me informed about Malcolm. His first year he had fifty days without detention. And that includes weekends and vacation. He was always doing something."

"But he's a wonderful boy," Mrs. Creevey noted. "Colin was sore for the longest time because of that incident on your son's first day, but Dennis always had good things to say about him. Only that Potter boy ranked higher on their list. And I wonder about him, the things I've read."

"Yeah," Lois admitted, "I've read those things too and they're a load of crap. Did you read that paper the day after Hallowe'en? They called my son a playboy. Malcolm couldn't say three words to a girl without stuttering."

Mrs. Creevey smiled. "From that first picture it looked as though Malcolm didn't bother saying anything."

"He told us he was too embarrassed not to kiss her."

Mrs. Creevey looked over to where Malcolm was talking merrily with Tonks. "I'm sure he was telling the truth," she lied. Suddenly she relaxed. She now understood that she was talking to a soul mate.

"Look, honey" Mr. Creevey said as he came over, wearing Hal's special Christmas hat. "We're under the Mistletoe. You know what that means."

"Stop it, Harold. I'm not in the mood."

*

Tonks looked up. "Malcolm, is that Mistletoe?"

"No," Malcolm said strongly.

"It looks like Mistletoe."

"What's that?" Francis asked. "Wait, that is Mistletoe. Piama, you know what that means?"

"Your mother left the decorations up from last Christmas?"

"Close enough," Francis said, and kissed her.

"That is so touching."

"For them, yes," Malcolm admitted. "Not for me."

Tonks laughed. "Relax, Malcolm. I was teasing. I have ten years on you, if you remember. And you're not my type. I like a man who can be himself."

Malcolm grinned, "you mean instead of a fly by night playboy?"

"Not that it would matter," Tonks said dramatically. "No one would ever know."

Malcolm pointed at Colin. "It does matter. There are photographers here."

*

Twelve year old Belinda glared at the two boys. "Who are you. Peggy said you were friends of mine."

Dabney quickly drank from his bottle of butterbeer, leaving Lloyd to answer.

"Johnny brought us."

Belinda rolled her eyes. "That brain-dead freak. Were you even invited?"

"Uh, kind off. We were actually trying to go to a different party."

Belinda laughed. "That is so Johnny. And he just dragged you here. Why did you stay?"

"Well," Lloyd prevaricated, "When we came in, well, um," then he added quickly, as an excuse, "The music is better."

"It's louder, too," Dabney admitted.

Belinda grinned. "Okay. You're a couple of geeks, but you can stay. Do you want to owl your friends and let them know you won't make it?"

"Owl? That's what Malcolm said that time," Dabney noted to Lloyd, neglecting to remember that Belinda was standing in front of them.

"Malcolm?" Belinda asked. "As in MALCOLM."

"You know Malcolm?" Dabney asked.

"Who doesn't?" Belinda said, the excitement rising in her voice. "Do you, I mean, do you really know him."

"We were Krelboynes together, before, um," Dabney faltered.

"Before he moved to England," Lloyd said diplomatically.

"OH OH OH," Belinda shouted, "Kamie, Crystal, come here quick. These guys know MALCOLM."

A blond haired girl rushed over. "You mean THE Malcolm. The Hogwarts Malcolm."

"You know about Hogwarts?" Lloyd asked in surprise.

Suddenly three girls were screaming in front of him, excited about their good fortune.

"Come with us," Belinda demanded, as she and her friends dragged the two boys to another part of the house where their own party was going on. A dozen boys and girls greeted them on their arrival and made them the center of attention.

"What's he really like," One girl asked.

"Did you go to Paris with him," a boy asked with a wink, to be playfully hit by the girl next to him."

"Can you change too," another girl asked.

Lloyd burst the bubble when he asked, "How do all of you know Malcolm?"

"From the papers," Belinda said, stating the obvious. "Don't you read the papers."

"Only if they're published in book form," Dabney admitted.

"You weren't lying, were you?" Belinda asked, "When you said you knew Malcolm?"

"We did. We do," Lloyd said. "We even spent most of the summer with him. We flew to England together."

"On brooms?" Someone asked with a laugh.

"Malcolm can't fly on a broom," Lloyd explained quickly.

"Oh, no," Kamie squealed. "That was true. And Gabrielle, is that true, too?"

"All I know is that when Malcolm found out she liked him, he couldn't stop talking about her."

"It was disgusting," Dabney said. "It was embarrassing. Cynthia was extremely annoyed."

"Cynthia?" Kamie asked.

"His old girlfriend," Dabney bragged.

"Malcolm is my hero," the smart-aleck boy shouted, raising his hands in the air

"Alex!" His girlfriend admonished.

When there was a pause in the conversation, Lloyd thought to ask. "You said you read about Malcolm in the newspapers?"

Belinda grinned. "Come with me. To my bedroom." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. His only thought was that he was going with a girl to her bedroom. "Thank you, Malcolm," he whispered.

Belinda opened the door to her bedroom and pulled Lloyd inside. Lloyd stood there, amazed. It took his mind a while to adjust to the moving pictures. He had seen them already throughout the house, but most of these were of Malcolm. On one wall was a poster of Malcolm standing in a hospital room, posing with a young girl who was obviously a patient. A smaller picture on another wall showed Malcolm with the girl and her parents. It was obviously a birthday party, but Malcolm was wearing a robe. A recent picture showed Malcolm and another girl. They were kissing, while someone held a crown of leaves over their heads. Belinda saw his eyes and said, "That is Gabrielle. It's hard to believe she's my age."

Lloyd nodded. When he turned his head, he say another picture. "That's Ginny."

"Ginny?" Belinda asked excitedly at the new information. "You know her?"

"Ginny Weasley. She lives next door to Malcolm, well, their parents live next door to each other."

"Are they, you know, romantically involved?"

"I think she likes somebody else. There was this older boy, Draco something. . ."

"I hate you," Belinda said, giving Lloyd a kiss. "Now I have to tell Crystal that she was right. She said it was Ginny from that Wizard Weekly cover and I didn't believe her."

Lloyd stared in surprise as he suddenly understood what was going on around him. "You're a groupie."

Belinda grinned widely. "Now I have to close the door."

Lloyd began to panic but realized quickly that it was to show him her favorite poster. It was a life size picture of Malcolm. He stood there grinning. He saw Lloyd and waved. Then he mouthed, 'watch this.' Lloyd stared in amazement as Malcolm transformed into an owl and then turned back into himself."

"Magic is real," Lloyd stammered.

*

Malcolm stumbled down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen. With five extra guests, he was stuck sleeping in the attic. The unheated attic. The thermal sleeping bag was wonderful, until he had to get up. He decided to stay up, and to get something hot to drink. He heard someone tip-toeing behind him.

"Dewey?"

"Wotcher, Malcolm. You're wrong," a familiar voice said. Malcolm turned around to look into his own girlish face.

"Why do you still look like that? I thought you would have changed back to yourself."

"Keep walking," Tonks said. "I'm trying to get to the kitchen and you're blocking the way." She deftly slipped past him and waltzed down the rest of the stairs. Malcolm quickly followed.

A short time later, as he drank from his mug of hot chocolate, Malcolm looked pointedly at Tonks. "I know why you didn't change back."

"Do you," Tonks said as she picked up her own mug.

"You weren't just born a metamorphmagus. All of a sudden, one day, you found out you could change."

"That is an obvious statement," Tonks admitted.

"I don't know how old you were when it happened, but I know how tall you were."

Tonks smiled appreciatively. "When I was this tall, it was the last time I could actually remember how to walk and move. That day I visited you at the school, when I changed back, and I tripped. That was the first clumsy move I made since I entered the school. I realized that I still knew how to move in at least one size." She looked into her cup. "You don't know what it's like, always being clumsy. Three out of four times, the spell I cast is 'Reparo'. This is the first holiday in a long time that I didn't drop a glass, knock over a chair or bump into somebody. This was truly a Merry Christmas for me."

[Reese is right. It s creepy looking at her when she looks like me.]

"Merry Christmas, Tonks," Malcolm said as he reached across the table and took her hand.

"And many more," Malcolm," she replied, squeezing his hand in return.

The next line was cut off when the fireplace suddenly flared green.

"Who would be coming at four in the morning?" Tonks asked as she and Malcolm walked into the living room.

The question was quickly answered when a familiar figure suddenly fell out of the fireplace with a strange girl.

"Lloyd?" Malcolm asked in disbelief. "Lloyd what are you doing here?"

The fireplace flared again as Dabney appeared with another girl, and a boy followed close behind them.

"THAT'S HIM," the first girl screamed as she saw Malcolm.

"Quiet," Malcolm hissed. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"I case a silence spell on the room," Tonks said. "Just in case."

"Thanks, again," Malcolm said as he helped the small group to their feet. "Lloyd, what are you and Dabney doing here? Who are these kids."

"This is Belinda," Lloyd said, nodding to the girl who was possessively holding his arm. She let go with one hand and held it out tentatively.

"Hi."

"Hi," Malcolm said, shaking her hand.

"Crystal, he shook my hand."

"Shake mine, too," Crystal begged. Malcolm did so, while Tonks stood behind him, laughing.

"This is Alex," Lloyd said of the boy who was with them.

"It's nice to meet you. "I'm sorry about Belinda and Crystal. Girls can be so childish at times."

"Yeah, and you can stop shaking my hand," Malcolm said. "What's wrong with you people?"

"They're groupies," Dabney whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Groupies? Whose groupies."

"You should see Belinda's bedroom," Lloyd said, "It's covered with pictures of you."

Malcolm folded his face into his hands.

[I wish Tonks would stop laughing.]

"Who are you," Alex asked suddenly.

Tonks grinned broadly. "I'm Mallory. I'm Malcolm's twin sister."

"I'm Alex. I'm in love with you."

"Malcolm," Dabney said questioningly. "You don't have a twin sister."

"They don't like to talk about me," Tonks said coyly. "With Malcolm as such a playboy, I'm an embarrassment to him. I mean, I actually enjoy going to school."

"Me, too," Alex said.

"She means she enjoys going to classes to learn," Crystal told him.

"So do I," Alex Insisted.

Crystal looked at Tonks. "Let's just say you're having a lot more fun than he is."

"Hey," Alex said angrily, but Crystal and Tonks kept laughing.

Meanwhile, Malcolm had cornered Dabney and Lloyd, with Belinda eagerly listening in.

"Listen, guys. You forgot about the time difference. It may still be early for you but here it's four thirty in the morning."

"THAT"S why you're wearing pajama's," Belinda said happily.

"Yeah," Malcolm said brusquely. "Look, Belinda. Did these guys tell you that they knew me?"

"Duhh, how do you think we got here."

"Floo powder. I bet they were really surprised when you suggested it."

"I didn't, I mean they, after all it was . . . How did you know?"

"Belinda, I don't know how they ended up at your party, but they're muggles."

"Oh, no," Belinda said laughing, "they couldn't be. Johnny . . ." Belinda stopped in mid sentence and looked at Lloyd. "You're a muggle?"

Lloyd proved it by asking Malcolm, "Shouldn't she be a muggle as well?"

"No, she can do magic. A muggle is a non-magical person, you know, somebody normal."

"Oh," Lloyd said. He smacked himself in the side of the head. "I'm such an idiot."

Belinda looked shocked. "He's only a muggle? Then he isn't really your friend?"

"Oh," Malcolm said coldly. "Why would wizards bother having muggles for friends?"

"That isn't what I meant. He said you went to school together and that he spent most of the summer with you and . . ."

"And it's true. We did. And we had a great time together. But he can't do magic and I wasn't allowed to tell him."

Suddenly Dabney yelled. "That's how you had my mother deported."

"That wasn't me," Malcolm said. "All right it was me but it wasn't magic. I hacked into the State Department files and changed her passport listing to Resident Alien."

"That's okay then," Dabney said, "except she's still mad at you."

"Excuse me," Crystal said slowly, "Did you say you hacked into the State Department?"

"Yeah, the hotel we were staying at rents computer time."

She looked at Dabney. "Then you're not a wizard. And the Krelboyne Academy is not a wizarding school."

[Krelboyne Academy. I can't believe such a lie came from somebody who used to brag about having curvature of the spine.]

Malcolm smiled politely. "They lied to you. The Krelboynes are just a class of really smart kids. Lloyd and Dabney are a couple of smart guys but . . . they're not too big on the social graces."

"Wow," Crystal said, "I never heard somebody being called a geek so politely."

Belinda looked at Malcolm and gave a small smile. "Thanks for telling me," she said softly. "I was being such a jerk, I never thought of you as a real person." she giggled suddenly. "Lloyd is actually kind of cute. I think I'll make him my school project."

"What?" Lloyd asked as he heard Belinda's last line.

[It's going to sound stupid but I'm going to have to sing this.]

"Lloyd and Belinda sitting in a tree . . ."

"Don't," Lloyd begged but Belinda started laughing. Then Alex screamed, grabbed some floo powder and jumped into the fireplace. Tonks walked over, smiling.

"What happened, uh, Mallory," Malcolm asked.

"Alex is enthralled by your romantic conquests on two continents, three once I told him you've been to Australia, and he tried to emulate his hero. I became bored with his boorishness and did this." Suddenly her nose changed to a pig snout and two tusks came out of her mouth. Every one screamed, except for Lloyd.

"Lloyd," Belinda asked, "Didn't that scare you?"

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. "It does explain why Malcolm never talked about his sister."

[I give Belinda two weeks before she can't stand Lloyd anymore. Give or take fourteen days.]

*

"It's time to go," Malcolm said, and pointed toward the fireplace.

"Can I write you," Belinda asked.

"Don't use perfume on your letter's. I have enough problems with that already."

"You mean with 'Gabrielle'?"

"You know about Hallowe'en? Yeah, her and Camilla."

Belinda and Crystal looked around one more time then helped Dabney and Lloyd back through the floo system. For a second, there was complete silence in the room.

"That was fun," Nob said. "Are more people coming?"

Malcolm looked up in surprise but Tonks was already walking to the stairs where Nob was sitting. "I know one little boy who would love a cup of hot chocolate."

Nob raced her into the kitchen.