A/N: Hello! I'm sorry if this took too long to be published. I just moved into my dorm and started class in college. I was so paranoid about the first week and didn't get a chance to type. But now, I THINK I know where all of my classes are and when I have free time! Also, Thanks to for reviewing! And now, Tada! Chapter 5!

Chapter 5: Their First Christmas

The Death Eaters had successfully completed the tasks that they were given in a timely manner, returning before four-thirty in the morning. Tom was waiting for them when they arrived. They gently set the requested items on the floor in front of him, awaiting his approval. Sadly, the new recruit still hadn't learned from his mistake a few hours earlier.

"Merry Christmas, My Lo-"

"Crucio! Did I give you permission to speak? You seem to enjoy stepping out of line. I would suggest that you stop, but this is entertaining. Anyway," Tom started, lifting the curse and walking to the other Death Eaters, "You four have done well. Very well. She will love these-"

"She, My lord?"

Tom sighed and slowly turned to face the stupid man still lying on the floor.

"Why? It's not like I need practice torturing people," he sneered, making his way to the recruit, "But, Why. Do. You. Not. Learn. From. Your. Mistakes?" he said, punctuating every word with a kick the recruit's ribcage. He will be dead within a week's time, the others thought to themselves. Again, Tom walked away from the whimpering recruit.

"Damn it! You made me forget what I was going to say!" Tom finally said after pacing around the room for a moment. He turned around and glared, effectively causing the recruit to soil himself, thoroughly. "Never mind. Just make this look presentable and leave."

The other four Death Eaters quickly set up the gifts and left. The poor recruit, however, was still in shock and was unable to move from his puddle of urine on the floor.

Tom rolled his eyes at the pathetic sight. "Just leave within five minutes. And clean up this mess. Today is Christmas, so I won't kill you. I have more important matters to attend to."

Tom made his way up the stairs and to Rosette's side of the floor. He opened her door and peeked in to find her still sleeping in a rather odd position. Somehow, she migrated her entire body to the foot of the bed in her sleep. Her silver curls were dishevelled and a few even ended up in her open mouth, saturated in drool. Her lizard was sleeping on the pillow where her head should have been. This is rather adorable, Tom sighed. It was only five in the morning, and after yesterday's event, she would surely sleep for much longer. He decided to wait downstairs until then.

Rosette woke up, spitting her hair out of her mouth around nine in the morning. At first, she was confused, not remembering where she was. Then it all clicked and she smiled. I'm living with Brother, now. And today is Christmas! She quickly jumped out of bed, momentarily startling Apep before he promptly went back to sleep. Not wanting to singe her brother's eyebrows off with her morning breath, she decided to brush her teeth before going downstairs. Tom could hear her moving about from where he sat in the living room. He chuckled at the sound of her little bare feet hastily moving from her room to her bathroom, and back to her room again. Five minutes later, Tom was greeted with the sight of his little sister, still in her clothing from yesterday and hair sticking up in all directions, but smiling so brightly. At him. This was something Tom would have to get used to. No one smiled at him.

"Merry Christmas, Tom!" she said bouncing toward him. She suddenly jumped at him with her arms up to give him a hug. Startled, Tom almost dropped her, not knowing anything about hugs. He merely stood there, dumbfounded, with his arms wrapped around her.

"Uh…Merry Christmas to you too, Rosette. Did you sleep well?" he finally got out.

"Yes! The bed was so comfy! I didn't really use my-"

"Pillow?" he smirked.

Rosette giggled, "How'd you know?"

He grinned in response and set her back on the ground gently, "Magic. Hey, I have some gifts for you, that is, if you would like them," he said, pointing at large mass of gifts in the corner of room. The look on Rosette's face was one that he would give his soul to see every day.

"All of these?" she squealed. He had given her even more than what her parents had given her when they were alive.

Tom nodded, "Go on. Start opening them."

Rosette hugged his waist tightly and began to tear up.

Tom panicked. "I can take them back if you don't like them! Please, don't cry-"

"Brother! Stop apologising! You're so silly. I'm not sad. I just feel so happy to be able to celebrate Christmas with family, again. Thank you for everything," she sniffled, "But, I didn't get you anything, and now I feel bad."

"Nonsense, silly Sister. YOU are my present. You being happy is enough for me. Now, stop snotting on my hip and go open those presents."

He peeled Rosette off of his side and nudged her towards the pile. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the pile, too. She decided that this was a two person job. They spent the rest of the morning going through all the gifts and organising them.

"How am I going to wear all of these?!" Rosette asked, looking at all the new clothes she received. "I'll have to change clothes like, four times a day!"

"We can just put some away for later. All we have to do is resize them if you grow. No big deal," Tom laughed as he helped her put the clothes away. It was true. The female Death Eaters went above and beyond with his sister's new wardrobe. He might actually have to thank them. Maybe a voucher for one free escape from a Cruciatus Curse. Next, they set up a potions lab and makeshift library in her study nice enough to make a Ravenclaw green with envy. The potions lab came with a copper cauldron and a trunk full of ingredients that were magically shrunken and organised to save space. The library was nothing more than a single bookcase, but it was filled with more tomes and stories than Rosette thought possible. No matter how many books she added to the shelf, there was always room for one more.

"Cool," she whispered.

After they had finished arranging the study, Tom brought Rosette downstairs for the last present. He shyly handed her a gift that was terribly hand wrapped in green gift wrap by your's truly.

"What's this? Another present? Tom-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. You be quiet and accept my gift," he demanded with feigned sternness. Rosette laughed at her brother's faux serious face and began to open the gift. She spent a minute or two trying to remove the poorly placed tape and wrapping before she gave up and lightly tapped the gift with her finger. The wrappings instantly fell off, revealing a little brown teddy bear adorned with a silver bow around its neck.

"Oh Tom! It's so adorable! This is for me?!" she asked excitedly.

Tom chuckled, "Well, of course, silly child. Who else would it be for? Certainly not for me."

Rosette hugged the bear tightly. "Oh thank you so much! Oh Tom, I feel so terrible. You've gotten all of these things for me on such a short notice, and I haven't gotten you a single thing. What kind of a sister am-"

Tom pinched her mouth closed with two of his fingers.

"Rosette. When will you understand that you being here is enough for me? I never dreamed that I would find someone kin to me, because it seemed so impossible. But, here you are. And I'm," he paused, thinking about how he felt and how much he changed on the inside, "Happy. I'm happy. So, all that I give you will never be able to repay my debt to you." Tom was shocked by his own words but knew that they were the absolute truth. He did owe her.

The two spent the rest of the day by the fireplace with books, marshmallows, and hot chocolate. Tom watched as Rosette levitated the marshmallows into the fire. He was confused as to why she waited until they were on fire to pull them out of the fire, and even more confused as to why she wanted to eat the burnt product. Rosette felt Tom's eyes on her and turned to look at him.

"You wah uhn?" she asked him with her cheeks full of marshmallow. She gave him the bag of marshmallows. He shrugged, grabbed the bag, and took his wand out.

"So, I just put it in the fire?"

"Yeah!"

So, Tom took a marshmallow out of the bag and pointed his wand at it. He levitated it out of the bag and moved close enough to where the flames could barely touch it. He turned to look at Rosette for further instruction, only to be shocked by her looking at him with disapproval.

"What?" he asked, slightly taken aback. What could he have possibly done to make her look at him like that?

Rosette grabbed his wand hand and pushed it forward a bit, making his marshmallow fly into fire and burst into flames. Then, when the marshmallow was completely black, she pulled his arm back, pulling the marshmallow out, too.

"There!" she exclaimed, "It's done!"

Tom stared at what use to be a fluffy, white puff of sugar, now a dark, crispy mass of unknown.

"What was I doing wrong the first time?" wondering how this was any better than what he was doing. It looked inedible as far as he knew. It was burnt.

"You have to throw into the fire or it won't be right! Now, try it!"

He looked at the result of Rosette's "help" and inwardly cringed. This mass was on fire a second ago…and now, it's somehow safe to eat? He prepared to take a nibble when Rosette grunted in disapproval.

"No, the entire thing. You can't just bite off a tiny bit."

She's so demanding. Who did she get that from?

So, Tom yielded and swiftly shoved the burnt object into his mouth. He was surprised to find out that only the outside was crisp, while the inside became molten but still remained delightfully edible. From that point on, the two continued their feast of marshmallows until the bag was empty.

Ultimately, their day consisted of lazing around the house, eating, and talking to each other about anything that came to mind. Sometime during the wee hours of the morning, Tom managed to "buy" groceries. It didn't matter. There was food in the kitchen. He didn't really know what a Christmas dinner consisted of, so he decided to just get everything, hence the marshmallows. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to cook. There are plenty of ham sandwiches left… Rosette didn't care. Her brother had given her the best Christmas ever, so holiday ham sandwiches weren't an issue.

Around ten at night, Tom roused from a much needed power nap. He enjoyed his time with Rosette, but that didn't mean that she wasn't tiring. Not in a bad way, though. She was just very stimulating. He sat up from the couch and scanned the room for Rosette. He found her on the other couch, face completely covered by one of her new books.

"Rosette?"

She moved the book down, revealing her chocolaty covered face.

"How in the world did you get chocolate in your eyebrows?" he asked.

She simply shrugged and giggled.

"Go wash up and get ready for bed, silly child," he laughed.

Rosette nodded and hopped off of the couch. She almost made it to the stairs, when she stopped suddenly and turned around. She ran to Tom and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much for today, Brother. This has been the best day I've ever had in such a long time. You're the best brother ever!" she said before giving him a small kiss on the cheek. After that, she ran up the stairs, leaving Tom unable to process any thoughts on the couch where he sat.

"She's so sweet," he whispered.

Not everyone's Christmas was as new and wonderful as Tom's. A black haired boy listened from his room to the sound of his father striking his mother. He felt so powerless. His mother could easily end things and not have to worry anymore. She was very capable of that. They could say that he had had a heart attack or something. The muggle police would never know what had really happened. But, she continued to let him put his hands on her. Was this what happened when you loved someone? Are you completely powerless to defend yourself? Would Lily every use his love for her against him? They were going to get married and be happy, right? He couldn't see it any other way. The boy cringed again as a particularly strong slap echoed throughout the small house. He began to cry. I'm turning eleven next month. Soon, I'll be going to Hogwarts. I'll learn how to use my magic and defend us both from him.

A/N: :D Thanks for reading! Favourite, Follow, and Review!