"DIMITRI BURTON! Is that really you?" Sophia shrieked happily, giving him a big hug. She nodded proudly, turning to her gorgeous spunky fiancee. "Honey bun meet Dimitri, my cousin. Dimitri, this is James." How good was Christmas - you get to see all your family again! It had been ages since she had seen Dimitri, and now here he was with his own family. She smiled warmly as she was introduced to Alana and Keenan, and she gave Alana a hug "Because we're family," and gave Keenan a twinkly wave and a high-5.
Zhenya watched happily as Dima and Sophia and their own families connected, and was gobsmacked as Raven performed a summoning spell. "You're doing magic again?" she asked, a smile on her face. She gave an appreciative squeeze on Raven's shoulder before running off to double check some things.
Lisabel looked down at her shoes. She was worried about her husband, who hadn't let go of the fact their daughter, when she recovered, had left them. Lisabel was only trying to protect her eldest daughter from the truth of heartbreak. She was certain Gary had moved on, as he should. Why wait for a girl who had been frozen all those years? As it was, Lisabel and Alexander had been worried sick about her, first not knowing if she would be alive when she thawed out, or whether she would stay alive, or whether there was any brain injury. She woke up perfectly fine, though. Understandably upset when she realised she had just lost all those years, but she refused to allow her to have the age-match serum. No, her daughter was to finish her education first. She needed to become a witch legally able to perform her magic. And now she was, she was an accomplished healer, as she had heard both from her eldest son and seen in the Daily Prophet when she graduated. So, really, she was right. But it didn't help that her daughter refused to speak to her parents or see them. Alexander had wilted with stress and depression since Zhenya left in a huff. Even Sophia, her niece, hardly spoke to her much. She knew Zhenya was safe with Sophia, the two of them biologically being the same age, but still… a girl needed her mother.
Yet here they were, after everything that had happened. Lisabel didn't look any different than she had before Zhenya had left, but she was there to recover her relationship with her daughter, and to see Zhenya and Alexander reunited. She never understood the bond they had, but she could see how deep it was, seeing Alexander suffering like he was. She tried to help him as much as possible, but he was missing a part of him, and she understood that. Besides, Theodore and Ava would be starting Hogwarts soon, and they would need their older siblings for advice.
Getting caught up in her thoughts, she was slightly shocked when the door opened. It wasn't her son, or her daughter, but Gary. Lisabel smiled at him and gave him a brief hug in return, then entered. It was a lovely, warm house, she had to admit. But as soon as she looked inside the house, her eyes fell on her daughter. Her beautiful daughter, and she heard a faint gasp escape her lips. Her vision went blurry through the tears, and all she wanted was to hold her daughter.
Zhenya had just put Keenan down, a warm smile plastered on her face, when she looked up. Her smile vanished. Were they…? She looked up at Gary, and then at Dimitri, neither of which were shocked. She licked her lips. What in Merlin's beard?
"Mother? Daddy?" she asked, swallowing hard.
"Ooooooookay, this is a bit awkward. Everyone, how about we head to the family room and let them have some space?" Sophie's twinkling voice sounded, very loudly, as she ushered everyone down the hallway into the lounge room where the music was playing.
"So… what made you want to be a surgeon?" She asked Raven.
Lisabel stepped forward twice, but stopped. Zhenya was always a girl who needed her own space. "Zhenya, darling. You look well." She did. She no longer had that blue pale look to her, the pasty death look. Her face was warm with colour, her hair shiny and healthy, her smile bright and white. Was it the serum she had finally taken, or love?
Zhenya didn't want to look at her brother or her boyfriend right now. What had they done? But she didn't want to cause a fuss, either. No, this was a problem they would deal with later… perhaps. "Um… welcome to our home," she said, then decided she couldn't get through the day without addressing the problem. Walking to stand in front of her brother and boyfriend, she looked up at them both, "Whose idea was this?" she asked deadpan, her bitch-face on. She didn't need to ask why, she was pretty sure she knew why. And she knew her short stature was nothing to deter her wrath, so they had better be honest with her.