Jamie followed behind Santa – he's real! Take that Mia! - as Santa took them on a tour of his little village. Soon after the youngest Granger had remembered his manners and stopped poking the jovial man, Mia had stepped in and requested a tour of this amazing place. The man had simply smiled at his sister's boundless enthusiasm for learning new things. "I'd love to show you around! It's been ages since our last visitor, and even longer since we've had children. Come along, and I'll introduce you to my helpers," he beckoned them to follow as he began walking towards his little village. Jamie followed him with Mia in tow, both of them nearly bouncing in their excitement.
From behind them, he heard Mrs. Wilkins call out, "Nick, if you doing not mind, I'll be leave the children with you. I has not had tea with Penny in ages, and I'd love to go catching up with her."
"Not a problem. These two seem well-behaved, and my wife's been anxious to see you ever since we got your kookaburra. I'll make sure the children stay safe. You should go enjoy your tea."
"Thank you, Nick. Now children," Mrs. Wilkins turned in their direction, "I wanted you to be on your best behavior for Santa while he showing you around. If I hear a bad report, I might just request he not stopping by your home this Christmas."
Jamie panicked a bit on the inside. Not getting a present from Santa now that he knew that he was real would be the worst! He was sure his sister felt the same way, as they both simultaneously answered, "Yes, ma'am!"
Santa chucked as Mrs. Wilkins walked away, "Come along now, children. Let's start our little tour by introducing you to my helpers and showing you where they live."
Jamie saw his sister perk up, and as they started walking, she let out a quick litany of questions, "Who are your helpers? Mr. Wilkins mentioned you had oppressed magical creatures under your protection. Are they the little men we saw when we first arrived? How many of them are here? Are they friendly?" Jamie, sensing that his sister was just getting warmed up, reached out and squeezed her shoulder, "What do they -" She cut off as soon as she felt the squeeze. It was a communication that Jamie had worked out with Mia to let her know she was rambling and that she should slow down, take a breath, and give the other person a chance to say something.
Santa laughed again – Jamie really hoped he would be able to laugh as much and as sincerely when he was 600 years old – and started answering Mia's questions. "My helpers are magical creatures called 'Domovoi.' They are spirits of the home and hearth that have lived in these cold, desolate lands since before the first humans arrived. Once humans settled, some of the domovoi took up residence with various families and would secretly and silently protect their family and assist with simple household tasks. Muggles looked very favorably upon these spirits, and came up with some very...elaborate summoning rituals to try and convince a domovoi to show favor and take up residence with them. None of the rituals actually worked, of course, but occasionally a domovoi would see one being performed and be so entertained that he would take up residence with the family anyway.
"Alas, their relationships with wizards and witches were not nearly so innocent. Wizards, once they found out how useful the spirits could be, would often trap them and try to magically enslave them to do their bidding. Many domovoi were enslaved and worked to death this way. Eventually, they started avoiding wizards and witches altogether. I offered asylum and freedom to any domovoi who could escape enslavement. Once they arrived and realized what I did here, they offered to help me make gifts. I couldn't do it without them."
The somber story slightly saddened Jamie, and he looked at his sister. She had tears brimming in her eyes, and she asked Santa, "Will they be okay having us around? I can't imagine they'll be very excited to see a wizard and a witch when our kind have treated them so poorly in the past."
"Not to worry, my dear. As long as you stick with me they'll know that you mean them no harm. You're also children, and domovoi are generally quite fond of children. It's one of the reasons that adult wizards and witches no longer get any gifts from me. The domovoi don't like making anything for the adults, and I wouldn't think of forcing them. They're like my family after all these years." Santa pointed ahead. "Moving on to happier subjects, this is the workshop where all the Christmas toys are made."
Jamie's eyes followed Santa's finger, and all of the sad thoughts were wiped from his mind in a single moment. Surrounded by hundreds of tiny, cheerily decorated houses was a massive brick building that nearly glowed with a magical light. As Jamie and his sister approached the workshop, they felt a supernatural warmth settle over them, washing away any remnants of cold or sadness. Santa opened the doors for them, and within Jamie saw an even more astonishing sight. Hundreds of domovoi were bustling around various workstations, and toys were flying through the air every which way. Jamie darted his eyes to and fro, watching the gifts fly about. It was amazing that everything didn't collide or crash into the walls. Magic was truly wonderful.
Eventually, he felt a hand on his shoulder as his sister drew him from his reverie. She pointed at Santa, who had started walking towards the bustle of the factory, "Welcome back, airhead." Jamie blushed as his sister gently teased him, "Come on, let's follow Santa before we get lost. I want to see everything."
Not wanting to get separated from Mia, Jamie grabbed his sister's hand and followed Santa. As they were catching up, Jamie realized that most of the domovoi were so focused on their work that they didn't notice either him or his sister as they ducked and dodged among various flying toys and other surprisingly speedy magical creatures. Emerging from the other side of the boisterous crowd, the siblings found Santa waiting for them. He ushered them into a nearby office, and as the door closed behind them, the noise from outside suddenly cut out.
Looking around the office, Jamie noticed another domovoi sitting behind a miniature desk scribbling furiously in a ledger that was several times bigger than he was. "Hello, Vassili! Are we still on schedule for Christmas this year? Anything you need from me?"
Without looking up from the ledger or ceasing his incessant scribbling, Mr. Vassili replied, "Yes, Nick. We're still on schedule for Christmas. Just like the last time you asked. And the time before that. And the time before that." Mr. Vassili's sarcastic drawl was breathy and ethereal, much like a whisper on the wind. Jamie was surprised that he could hear him so easily, but he was sure Mia would explain the magic to him later. She knew almost everything. "Lev has been at it again too. She made off with most of our stock of erumpet fluid, as well as several bushels of starthistle. It won't set production back, but I'd really rather she go through the proper channels. I had to send Pavel and Artem to the Yeti in Oymyakon to get replacements."
Nick sighed, "I'll have another talk with her. Maybe someday she'll learn a little patience." He gestured at the siblings, "But for now, I have two guests I'd like to introduce you to, Jamie and Hermione." At this, Mr. Vassili at last looked up from his ledger. Now that Jamie could see his face properly, he realized that this domovoi looked rather old, and that was saying something considering that his entire people looked like old men. Seeing the children, he suddenly smiled and closed his ledger. With a wave of his hand, it shrunk and flew over to a nearby shelf, lodging itself neatly in its place. He rose, grabbed his cane, and shuffled over to greet the children. Jamie's sister, ever the polite girl, stepped forward first and extended her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Hermione," As Mr. Vassili reached out to shake her hand, the air around him shimmered, and his form blurred for a moment. As his shape came back into focus, Mia gave a startled yelp instead of a greeting. She was no longer looking at a hunched-over old man, but instead was looking at a mirror image of herself. Mia stood numbly in shock as her doppelganger shook her hand before it backed away and blurred into the familiar shape of an old man. Mr. Vassili let out a breathy laugh as he explained, "It's the traditional domovoi introduction to take on the appearance of the other person. I'm not usually much for tradition, but this particular one is rather entertaining, so I keep it around."
Mia was slowly recovering from the shock. "Amazing! Domovoi are shapeshifters? How do you do it?" Jamie chuckled. Of course, the first thing his sister would do was ask more questions.
"Indeed we are, as you can see. As for how it works, all I can say is 'magic.'" Mr. Vassili winked at the curious girl, "Now, I haven't greeted your brother yet." Jamie rushed forward and held out his hand, anxious to see the awesome magic again. "Nice to meet you, Jamie." The air shimmered, and Jamie was looking into his own green eyes.
"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Vassili!" Jamie couldn't believe how cool it was to shake his own hand. This was the best day ever!
Mr. Vassili turned back to Santa, "Would you like me to show them around the workshop, Nick?"
Santa thought for a moment, "If you have the time, Vassili, that would be quite helpful. I'll go have a talk with Lev at the lab while you show them around, and then I can show them the kikimora laboratory when I get back."
Jamie just barely managed to beat his sister in asking, "Kikimora laboratory? What's that?"
Nick smiled and winked, "You'll have to wait and see. Now, behave for Vassili, and I'll be back in just a minute."
"Okay. Bye, Santa!" Jamie waved with his sister as Nick walked away before disappearing with a pop outside the doors.
"Now, come with me, Jamie, Hermione, and I'll show you how we make Christmas happen." Mr. Vassili walked from his silenced office back into the bustling work area and led the children to a circular stone platform with a podium just outside. He stood on the platform and gestured to the children to join him on it. Once they were all standing on it, Mr. Vassili walked over to the podium and started touching a few symbols that Jamie hadn't noticed.
Jamie's curiosity was piqued, and since an opportunity to satisfy one's curiosity was never to be missed, according to Mia, he asked, "Are those magic runes?"
"Indeed. Good eye, young man." Mr. Vassili smiled at him kindly, "Nick designed this platform to help me when I got too old to be down there with the young whippersnappers on the floor."
"What does it do?" Jamie had seen Mia reading a book on runes once, and he couldn't help but read a bit over her shoulder. It had all looked so cool! And now he was going to get to experience runic magic firsthand! Awesome!
Mr. Vassili turned back to the panel and punched a few runes. "Oh, not much. Just this," A railing burst up from the edges of the platform. "And this," The platform lifted off the ground with a lurch, and started floating steadily towards the ceiling.
Jamie had no words for how cool this was! He was flying! He ran over to the railing just to make sure he was really off the ground. As the platform continued to rise, Jamie heard a whimper behind him and turned to find his sister sitting in the center of the platform hugging her knees. In his excitement, Jamie realized he had forgotten about his sister's fear of heights.
As soon as he was in range, Mia reached out and grabbed his arm in a vice grip. "Don't worry, Mia. It's perfectly safe up here. There's a railing to keep us from falling off, and Santa himself made this thing. It's never had any problems, right Mr. Vassili?"
"Indeed. I've been using it for years, and I haven't broken anything yet." Mr. Vassili smiled from a distance, but wisely left the comforting to Jamie.
Slowly, Jamie managed to coax his sister to uncurl and stand up. He guided her over to the side of the floating disc so she could see the factory, but she never released her grip on his arm.
With the factory spread out below them, the children could finally see some order in the chaos they had waded through with Santa. Toys were flying back and forth between various locations in the factory below. Jamie couldn't recognize all of the stations, but he could pick out the potion brewing area with rows of bubbling cauldrons, and it looked like metalworking was in another corner based on the giant furnace. Magical toys whisked back and forth at incredible speeds as they flew between all the different magical assembly stations. Jamie was able to pick out a few cool-looking toys, including what looked like a child-sized flying broom. His sister was too nervous to ask any questions, but she did take a few peeks over Jamie's shoulder.
"Below, you can see all of the stations where we assemble the toys for Christmas every year." Mr. Vassili started pointing out various stations, "We have a transfiguration station over here, a charming station in that corner, and over - wait a minute… Is that Lev?" Jamie followed Mr. Vassili's finger and saw what looked like a woman with horns, long, thin limbs, a long nose, and the feet of a chicken. So that's what a kikimora looks like!
Mr. Vassili sighed, "I bet she's pilfering more supplies for her experiments again." He shook his head at the mischievous kikimora. "But let's move on with the tour. Nick will talk with her later, and I've already yelled at her once this week. Yelling at her for the same thing so soon will likely accomplish nothing. So, over this way, we have the metalworking furnace we use for-"
BOOM! Mia gave a startled yelp and Jamie's head snapped back to where they had glimpsed the kikimora moments ago. Now, there was only a rapidly expanding inferno of magical flames where she once stood.
"Frozen Yeti Toes! Lev must have dropped some erumpet fluid!" Mr. Vassili quickly hobbled back to the platform's control panel and started hitting runes rapidly. Mia screamed and grabbed onto Jamie with both arms as the platform sped back towards Mr. Vassili's office. As they hurtled through the air, Jamie noticed a small group of domovoi who were trapped in the flames. Several of the old men were standing in a circle around the injured who had been closer to the epicenter of the blast, which included a bloody Lev. The conscious domovoi seemed to be keeping the flames at bay with some kind of magical sparkling dome.
"Children, I'm going to have to activate the emergency fire suppression runes in my office. It's the only thing that can put out a magical fire like this. I'm going to leave you two on this platform above the flames. As long as you stay here, you'll be safe." Mr. Vassili pressed a few runes and lowered a section of the railing. He placed his cane over the edge, and it extended down to the ground. Gripping onto it, Mr. Vassili slowly lowered himself to the ground, and shuffled rapidly towards his office, telling the kids, "Stay away from the gap!"
Jamie was stuck on the platform with Mia, who was only just regaining her bearings from the rapid movement. "Are you okay, Mia?"
"What do you think, Jamie? We were on a floating platform speeding over the equivalent of a lake of fire! If we had fallen, we would have broken all of our bones and been immobilized except for our screams while we burned to death! I feel like throwing up!"
Jamie almost smiled at his sister's capacity to exaggerate, but the situation was too severe for any levity. "It's okay now, Mia. All we have to do is stay here until Mr. Vassili puts out the fire, and then we can go down to the ground again, and you'll feel better." Jamie awkwardly patted his sister's back in what he hoped was a calming fashion.
While he was comforting her, he heard yelling coming from the direction of the trapped domovoi. Pulling his sister with him, he walked to the railing and looked towards the shield. To his dismay, he saw it flickering. Flames were aggressively licking at the edges, and several of the domovoi holding up the barrier had fallen to their knees. "Mia! Look!" Jamie pointed at the failing shield "We have to help them!"
Mia's eyes widened as she saw what was happening. "I certainly hope you have a better plan than jumping over the edge, falling twenty feet to the hard floor, and running through the sea of magical flames on our freshly broken legs."
"Well… I was watching Mr. Vassili control the platform earlier, and I think I could maneuver us over to them. All we have to do then is get them on the platform, and then we can escape."
"But how are we going to get them onto the platform with us? We can't land inside the shield without breaking it, and then the fire will get them faster than we can save them. We can't land outside the shield either since then we'll cook in the flames ourselves."
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing! They're going to die!" Jamie ran over to the control panel and started touching the glowing runes.
The platform wobbled and banged into a nearby wall. "JAMIE! What are you doing?! You're going to get us both killed or, worse, we'll never get a present from Santa again!"
"You're the smart one. Figure out how we can land without burning!" Jamie called out as he continued activating runes. Eventually, his tinkering wobbled the platform near the edge of the shield. "Okay, Mia. Your turn!"
Jamie could see that his sister was getting angry with him through her terror of both the flames and the height they were unstably teetering at. "We don't have any options, idiot! Maybe if we were qualified adults, I could use a charm, but we don't have wands, and we don't know any spells!"
"You know that we don't need them! I saw you reading that book about accidental magic. The blurb on the back said that sometimes when children want something enough, and really focus, it just happens. I bet we can do it! I know you want to save them as much as I do!" Jamie ran over to the edge, stuck his hands out, closed his eyes, and scrunched up his face in concentration.
"That's not how it works, Jamie!"
"Then come show me how it's done, Mia! We have to save them!" She slowly walked over to the railing as well, where it was impossible not to see how scared and desperate the domovoi beneath them were becoming. She scrunched up her face, breathed deeply, and focused completely on the fire, and slowly - very, very slowly - the fire below them began to take on a blueish tint, and Jamie felt some of the heat rising from below them start to fade away. He knew his sister could do it if she set her mind to it!
"What are you waiting for, Jamie?! This is really tiring! Land while it lasts!" Jamie rushed back to the panel and activated runes until the platform shuddered and descended into the blue flames.
As they settled to the ground, Jamie ran over to the edge and called out for everyone to get on the platform quickly. The still capable domovoi let the shield fall and started hurriedly depositing their injured comrades onto the disc. Jamie felt a bit queasy when he saw some of the injuries. Many of the domovoi had bits of shattered toys impaled on their arms, legs, and chests, while several others were coughing up blood. When Lev was brought on board, Jamie felt his legs go weak. She was by far the most injured of them all. Blood was pouring from her ears, one of her arms was bent in the wrong direction, her foot had completely cracked to the point where it was only hanging on by a ligament, and she was covered in burns and blackened skin.
"Jamie!" Mia called out to him, with her eyes still closed. Jamie turned to her, and, much to his concern, her skin had a slightly bluish tinge to it, "I can't keep doing this much longer!" Indeed, as the last of the domovoi got onto the platform, he could feel the heat returning to the flames. Rushing back to the control panel, he made sure that everyone was on board and lifted the platform high above the flames. As he did so, the flames roared back to their full heat and consumed where the domovoi were previously standing. Steering back to one of the unaffected areas, Jamie put the platform back onto the ground and left the control panel to find his sister while several of the healthy domovoi rushed to get medical help for the rest.
"Mia! We did it!" Jamie shouted while looking for his sister. When he couldn't see her despite the fact that they were both taller than the little old men, he ran over to where she had last been standing and found her collapsed among the domovoi. Rushing over, he stared at her - she had turned completely blue! "Mia! Are you okay?" He kneeled beside her and grabbed her hand, nearly dropping it when he found it to be ice cold. "Mia! Mia! Wake up!" Jamie braced himself for the cold and reached over to shake her. And yet, there was no response. Mia did not wake. She merely lay there; cold and still.