Disclaimer: The characters of the Harry Potter books are not mine they belong to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 5
Renee sat down on the couch next to her father. Other then a few tell tale giveaways, like moving pictures and a few magical Christmas decorations, no one would have known that this was the liveing room of a wizarding family. Her father, Benjamin Henderson, liked to keep it that way so as to be able to understand muggles better. After all that was his job. The outside of their house blended in with every other house on the street. Her father drove a completely unenchanted car to the nearest public wizarding fireplace and took the flu network to work. They even owned a muggle radio and television. The t.v. was on at the moment, but had been turned down so as to not interrupt the enthusiastic quidditch banter.
As far as the neighbors knew they were a respectable muggle family. They'd all been told that Mr. Henderson worked at a muggle bank in a near by city and no one had any reason to question this. In fact the Henderson family was generally well like by most people on their street and Benjamin made it a point to get to know all their neighbors well.
Renee usually enjoyed talking quidditch with the man folk, but her conversation with Aunt Tabitha had left a sour taste in her mouth and she didn't feel much like talking. She sat in a sullen silence until the seven o'clock news came on and the volume on the t.v. was turned up. Her father always watched the muggle news so that he could get a "muggle perspective" on things. All conversation stopped so that full attention could be given to the news caster. Just as the news anchor was beginning today's top story her aunt came in from the kitchen and sat on the opposite side of her father.
Renee focused all her attention on the news. She was well aware of the fact that Jack was staring at her and she tried her best to ignore it and pretend she hadn't noticed. She fixed her eyes on the t.v. and tried to block out everything else. As she watched, the news anchor switched stories. "In other news," he announced, "The escaped convict Sirius Black is still at large. The authorities urge anyone who has seen the mass murderer to contact the authorities immediately. The public is warned that he may be armed and is extremely dangerous."
Renee stiffened as she heard the name Black mentioned. Her glance shifted instinctively to where her aunt was sitting, white faced with one hand gripping the arm rest of the couch fiercely. Her eyes were fixed on the empty wall directly in front of her. Renee wasn't the only one who noticed her aunt's distress. Her father was looking at his sister with a look of concern and sympathy. Her brothers and Jack were looking at her with similar expressions.
The news anchor had a little bit more to say about Black, then changed to some sappy human interest story about a fireman rescuing some puppies from a burning apartment building, but Renee wasn't paying any attention. She watched as her aunt rose and left the living room. Her father followed seconds latter. The rest of them just glanced around at each other in awkward silence. Everyone one agree silently that it was best to let their father deal with the situation. Renee, who did feel like watching the news anymore, headed back up to her room. She had been excited for Christmas when she'd gotten of the train earlier that day, but after everything that had happened since then had managed to squeeze most of the Christmas spirit out of her.
When Renee got up the next morning it took a few minutes to realize what day it was. A few minutes later her brother's were all pounding on her door shouting that it was time to get up and if she wasn't down stairs soon their wouldn't be any presents for her. Renee shouted back at them that she was already awake and that she intended to take her own sweet time and they should just keep their pants on. There was more pounding and some swearing from Allen when his attempts to magically unlock her door failed thanks to the new enchantment her aunt had placed on it for her. Finally they gave up and went on to their aunt's room and from there to their father's with the purpose of waking them up as well. She smiled and got out of bed and put on her slippers and robe, and headed down the stairs while her brothers went about their self-appointed duty of waking up the entire house.
The Christmas tree in the living room surrounded by presents and the stockings hanging from the mantle piece had been filled to the top with all kinds of candy. One of the best things about Christmas in Renee's opinion was the sugar high that resulted from eating almost nothing but sweets. She sat down on the couch and listed to the rucas going on up stairs. From the sound of things, their father didn't much liking being woken up early on Christmas morning by sons who ought to be old enough to have the patience to wait until a decent hour to open gifts. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of waiting, her brothers came trooping down stairs followed by a grumpy father, a serene Aunt Tabitha, and a confused Jack.
At last they could get down to the business of opening presents. Renee was quite pleased with her haul this year. Her brothers had all pitched in to get her a beater set including two bludgers and a bat so that she could practice at home. From her aunt she got her the set of new dress robes she had requested and her father gave her various memorabilia form her favorite quidditch team. Jack gave her a large bag of jelly slugs. He knew to be her favorite candy, though thought the idea of eating slugs, even candy ones, was kind of gross. Renee liked them because her brothers felt the same way and so were not tempted to steal any.
After opening presents they all had breakfast, then went up stairs to get dressed. The moment they were back downstairs again Aunt Tabitha ordered them all into the kitchen to help her with dinner preparations. To Renee, her father, and her brothers this was nothing new. They knew exactly what needed to be done and how to do it. They'd all been helping her with the holiday feast since they were old enough to hold a spoon. They quickly settled to their favorite tasks. Jack, however, had never so much as helped his mother boil water. Not that he wouldn't have, but it was a well known fact that Mrs. Felt refused to let anyone else in her kitchen besides herself. Jack just stood there for a few minutes not having a clue what to do until Aunt Tabitha gave him one of the simpler tasks and showed him how to do it.
As they sat down to dinner Renee's mood had improved immeasurably over the pervious evening. Presents, good food, and a lack of weird behavior from Jack was enough to almost make her forget her conversation with Aunt Tabitha. She decided as they all sat down to eat that she didn't want to ruin the Christmas holidays for everyone by confronting him now and possibly making a fool of herself. She'd wait until they were back at their respective schools and maybe write him a letter. That way she wouldn't actually have to face him. It wasn't the bravest method, but then again she was a Hufflepuff not a Griffindor.
Dinner was passed for the most part in silence as everyone attacked their food with zeal. Only after they had satisfied themselves was there time to talk. When it was time to clean up Renee volunteered to do the dishes. It was customary for them to help their aunt clean up just as it was for them to help her prepare the meal. Her brothers and father each volunteered for tasks while Jack volunteered to help Renee. As then rest of her family went into the kitchen to clean up Renee began to feel antsy. What if this was an excuse for Jack to get her alone or something? She began stacking dishes in silence, trying her best to appear at ease. Jack was thoughtfully silent for a few minutes as he too stacked dishes. After a few minutes he spoke.
"I'm sorry about that whole Mistletoe thing. I know it made you uncomfortable. And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you in the car when you were trying to tell me about how your term went. I guess I was a little too excited at seeing you. I'm sorry."
Renee was surprised by the genuine contrition in his voice. She felt herself relax. This was the Jack she knew. "It's all right.", was all she could think of to say. She smiled at him to show him that she meant it.
Chapter 5
Renee sat down on the couch next to her father. Other then a few tell tale giveaways, like moving pictures and a few magical Christmas decorations, no one would have known that this was the liveing room of a wizarding family. Her father, Benjamin Henderson, liked to keep it that way so as to be able to understand muggles better. After all that was his job. The outside of their house blended in with every other house on the street. Her father drove a completely unenchanted car to the nearest public wizarding fireplace and took the flu network to work. They even owned a muggle radio and television. The t.v. was on at the moment, but had been turned down so as to not interrupt the enthusiastic quidditch banter.
As far as the neighbors knew they were a respectable muggle family. They'd all been told that Mr. Henderson worked at a muggle bank in a near by city and no one had any reason to question this. In fact the Henderson family was generally well like by most people on their street and Benjamin made it a point to get to know all their neighbors well.
Renee usually enjoyed talking quidditch with the man folk, but her conversation with Aunt Tabitha had left a sour taste in her mouth and she didn't feel much like talking. She sat in a sullen silence until the seven o'clock news came on and the volume on the t.v. was turned up. Her father always watched the muggle news so that he could get a "muggle perspective" on things. All conversation stopped so that full attention could be given to the news caster. Just as the news anchor was beginning today's top story her aunt came in from the kitchen and sat on the opposite side of her father.
Renee focused all her attention on the news. She was well aware of the fact that Jack was staring at her and she tried her best to ignore it and pretend she hadn't noticed. She fixed her eyes on the t.v. and tried to block out everything else. As she watched, the news anchor switched stories. "In other news," he announced, "The escaped convict Sirius Black is still at large. The authorities urge anyone who has seen the mass murderer to contact the authorities immediately. The public is warned that he may be armed and is extremely dangerous."
Renee stiffened as she heard the name Black mentioned. Her glance shifted instinctively to where her aunt was sitting, white faced with one hand gripping the arm rest of the couch fiercely. Her eyes were fixed on the empty wall directly in front of her. Renee wasn't the only one who noticed her aunt's distress. Her father was looking at his sister with a look of concern and sympathy. Her brothers and Jack were looking at her with similar expressions.
The news anchor had a little bit more to say about Black, then changed to some sappy human interest story about a fireman rescuing some puppies from a burning apartment building, but Renee wasn't paying any attention. She watched as her aunt rose and left the living room. Her father followed seconds latter. The rest of them just glanced around at each other in awkward silence. Everyone one agree silently that it was best to let their father deal with the situation. Renee, who did feel like watching the news anymore, headed back up to her room. She had been excited for Christmas when she'd gotten of the train earlier that day, but after everything that had happened since then had managed to squeeze most of the Christmas spirit out of her.
When Renee got up the next morning it took a few minutes to realize what day it was. A few minutes later her brother's were all pounding on her door shouting that it was time to get up and if she wasn't down stairs soon their wouldn't be any presents for her. Renee shouted back at them that she was already awake and that she intended to take her own sweet time and they should just keep their pants on. There was more pounding and some swearing from Allen when his attempts to magically unlock her door failed thanks to the new enchantment her aunt had placed on it for her. Finally they gave up and went on to their aunt's room and from there to their father's with the purpose of waking them up as well. She smiled and got out of bed and put on her slippers and robe, and headed down the stairs while her brothers went about their self-appointed duty of waking up the entire house.
The Christmas tree in the living room surrounded by presents and the stockings hanging from the mantle piece had been filled to the top with all kinds of candy. One of the best things about Christmas in Renee's opinion was the sugar high that resulted from eating almost nothing but sweets. She sat down on the couch and listed to the rucas going on up stairs. From the sound of things, their father didn't much liking being woken up early on Christmas morning by sons who ought to be old enough to have the patience to wait until a decent hour to open gifts. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of waiting, her brothers came trooping down stairs followed by a grumpy father, a serene Aunt Tabitha, and a confused Jack.
At last they could get down to the business of opening presents. Renee was quite pleased with her haul this year. Her brothers had all pitched in to get her a beater set including two bludgers and a bat so that she could practice at home. From her aunt she got her the set of new dress robes she had requested and her father gave her various memorabilia form her favorite quidditch team. Jack gave her a large bag of jelly slugs. He knew to be her favorite candy, though thought the idea of eating slugs, even candy ones, was kind of gross. Renee liked them because her brothers felt the same way and so were not tempted to steal any.
After opening presents they all had breakfast, then went up stairs to get dressed. The moment they were back downstairs again Aunt Tabitha ordered them all into the kitchen to help her with dinner preparations. To Renee, her father, and her brothers this was nothing new. They knew exactly what needed to be done and how to do it. They'd all been helping her with the holiday feast since they were old enough to hold a spoon. They quickly settled to their favorite tasks. Jack, however, had never so much as helped his mother boil water. Not that he wouldn't have, but it was a well known fact that Mrs. Felt refused to let anyone else in her kitchen besides herself. Jack just stood there for a few minutes not having a clue what to do until Aunt Tabitha gave him one of the simpler tasks and showed him how to do it.
As they sat down to dinner Renee's mood had improved immeasurably over the pervious evening. Presents, good food, and a lack of weird behavior from Jack was enough to almost make her forget her conversation with Aunt Tabitha. She decided as they all sat down to eat that she didn't want to ruin the Christmas holidays for everyone by confronting him now and possibly making a fool of herself. She'd wait until they were back at their respective schools and maybe write him a letter. That way she wouldn't actually have to face him. It wasn't the bravest method, but then again she was a Hufflepuff not a Griffindor.
Dinner was passed for the most part in silence as everyone attacked their food with zeal. Only after they had satisfied themselves was there time to talk. When it was time to clean up Renee volunteered to do the dishes. It was customary for them to help their aunt clean up just as it was for them to help her prepare the meal. Her brothers and father each volunteered for tasks while Jack volunteered to help Renee. As then rest of her family went into the kitchen to clean up Renee began to feel antsy. What if this was an excuse for Jack to get her alone or something? She began stacking dishes in silence, trying her best to appear at ease. Jack was thoughtfully silent for a few minutes as he too stacked dishes. After a few minutes he spoke.
"I'm sorry about that whole Mistletoe thing. I know it made you uncomfortable. And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you in the car when you were trying to tell me about how your term went. I guess I was a little too excited at seeing you. I'm sorry."
Renee was surprised by the genuine contrition in his voice. She felt herself relax. This was the Jack she knew. "It's all right.", was all she could think of to say. She smiled at him to show him that she meant it.
