Christmas time in NI

[Anne Rogers]

Anne was running around the house, making sure that everything was ready for Patricia's return. It was her first Christmas home ever since she found out that she was a witch.

As Anne tidies she couldn't believe that it was already a year since that day they found out. By now, they had of course learned to accept it, but it was strange.

Anne ran up the stairs, "Gerry!" She called out for her husband, "Are the spare rooms finished yet?" She asked, "They'll be here soon." She said in a panic. She was worried that Patricia's friends wouldn't like the rooms that they had done up for them, but she was sure everything would be fine, Patricia said they were nice girls. she thought to herself.

 

[Gerard Rogers]

Gerard was upstairs in one of the guest rooms. He was putting the finishing touches to the rooms for Patricia's guest, who would be staying for a few days over the holiday period.

He heard his wife running up the stairs in her usual panic. "Anne calm down." She said with a light laugh. "It can't be that bad, it's just two 12 year old girls, who will be with Tishy all the time anyway." He said reassuringly.

"Come on down, they should be here soon." He said, making his way down the stairs.

 

[Christopher Rogers]

Chris had been outside gathering some wood for the fire. It was cold day in Northern Ireland and he was on strict orders to have the house warm for the visitors. They were from New Zealand so they were probably used to the heat.

Chris had enjoyed the few days he had in New Zealand and enjoyed the freedom of been able to come and go when he pleased, but it was the mess afterwards that stopped him from doing it everyday.

He came into the house with an armful of wood. He placed them into the bucket beside the fire, just far enough out of the way so no one would hurt themselves when they arrived via the floo network.

"Mum's the wood is in. When will they be here, or they will be freezing." He called out, hearing his parents coming down the stairs.

 

[Joseph Rogers]

Joe had been sitting up in his room all day, listening to music and staying away from his family as much as possible. He didn't know what the big fuse about Patricia coming home was, even if she was bringing guests. It will just be like Briege Anna and Erin, except they can do magic. He thought to himself.

After nearly two years, Joe still despised Patricia for all the attention she was receiving, just because she was special. "She can't even do magic outside the school" He said to himself as he heard his parents running around, getting things fixed up.

He expected they would be arriving soon, so he decided it would be best make an appearence or his mum would never let him forget it. He made his way downstairs and sat on the edge of the sofa, and waited for everyone to arrive.

 

[Patricia Styx]

Patricia stood in her house in New Zealand, casting locking charms on all of the doors and windows. Once she finally made sure everything was secure, she made her way over to the fireplace and lifted a handful of green powder. She dropped it into the fireplace and said, "Home in Northern Ireland." As soon as she said this she felt a pulling sensation as she went past fire place after fire place.

After a few moments she finally arrived at a familiar fire place, standing up she patted the dust and soot off her and saw her mum, dad and oldest brother standing there, waiting to welcome her. "Hi guys." She said, standing out of the way, knowing Kate was coming behind her any moment.

 

[Kate Johnson]

((You have LOADS of family members!))

Kate took off into the fire place where Pat had told her to go. Smiling shyly at Pat she bit her lip and looked around at who she was seeing. There were 2 older boys, a kind looking lady and a smiling dad. She smiled nervously at them all and turned to where she had dust on her suitcase. She wasn't sure what to do here seeing as at home her mum would clean it off for her with a wave of her wand. Brushing it quickly she picked up the handle and pulled it closer to her. Smiling at Pat she waited patiently as she looked around the house. It was MASSIVE! She was wearing a white simple top with a pink scarf and a black jumper.] She hoped she looked muggle enough for the people around her.

Taking in her surroundings she felt in a different world all ready. She was a half blood, as were her family up to her Grandparents. She looked around and couldn't help feeling strange at not seeing the washing up doing itself, her mum's knitting going on by itself. Everything felt strange and different. She gulped and looked towards Pat to see what to do next. It seemed that everyone was looking at her.

 

[Patricia Styx]

( )

Patricia turned round when she saw soot come out of the fire place. She smiled at Kate, "You know you can use your magic to clean yourself." She said to Kate, knowing she must feel slightly out of place, as Patricia was the only other witch there. Just so Kate felt comfortable using her magic Patricia pulled out her wand and cleaned her clothes with the scourgigy charm.

Once she was clean she smiled at Kate and said, "Right well, this is my mum, dad and two older brothers." She said pointing to each of them. "Anne, Gerard, Christopher and Joseph." She added, not expecting Kate to call her parents mum and dad. "Everyone this is Kate Johnson." She said pointing at Kate with one arm, and put her other arm around her friend.

 

[Delani Frost]

(Patricia, no magic out of school! )

Delani shivvered, and wrapped her pale blue scarf around her neck. It was freezing! She had just apparated all the way from New Zealand with Natasha, and neither of them had been splinched. Del remebered the one time she had been splinched, ouch. But, Delani had always been good at apparating, she had passed her test the first time. But to apparate halfway across the world, with another person, that had been difficult.

"C'mon Gnat." she grinned at her niece, and began to trudge through the snow. The two brunettes walked for a while, then Delani spotted Patricia's house. "This is it." she said, leading Natasha up the driveway.

She saw Patricia and another girl, most likely Kate. She walked into the doorway, and smiled at Patricia's parents. "Delani Frost, Natasha's aunt." she introduced herself. "And, this is Natasha." she said.

 

[Natasha Bell]

Natasha had decided she did not like apparation. Ugh, it had been horrible, it felt like she had been sucked through a vortex. Still, they were in Northen Ireland now, and she was about to see her friends. Natasha poked her tounge out at Delani, and trudged along with her. "Don't call me Gnat." she said.

She hummed as she walked, trying to ignore the fact that is was freezing. It never snowed back home, so Natasha was quite amazed. Her hair was slightly wavy today, and a red beanie was jammed over top of her midnight locks.

She followed her aunt into Patricia's house, and smiled at Pat and Kate. "Hey." she murmered, standing beside Delani.

 

[Patricia Styx]

(Shhhhh - Plus you didn't knock )

Patricia heard a knock on the door and left Kates side and went to open the door. Standing there she saw an older woman, who she didn't know, and her other best friend, "Natasha!" She exclaimed, giving her a hug.

She showed the two girls into the house where the rest of her family were at. She let Delani introduce herself and Natasha to her family. "And this is my mum, dad and two brothers. Anne, Gerard, Chris and Joe." She said, doing as she did for Kate, pointing to each person as she said their names.

Patricia couldn't stop smiling, now everyone was here she felt great. She loved spenting time with her friends, even though it was only a few days since she last saw Natasha and she had been with Kate the whole time.

 

[Anne Rogers]

Anne watched as big green flames appeared in the fireplace and after they disappeared, her daughter. Once she was out of the fireplace she give her a hug, "Hi pet. Welcome home." She said beaming.

In a few moments the green flames appeared again, and there stood a young girl, a bit smaller than Patricia. "Hello Kate." She said with a sweet smile. In a split second she heard a knock at the door, she was about to go get it herself but Patricia was away before her. I must be her friend she thought, seeing how excited she was.

Her thought were confirmed when she heard Patricia, pratically scream, the name of the other girl, Natasha. Anne watched as two new people entered the living room. The older woman introduced herself and Natasha. Anne extended her hand and said, "Hello Delani and Natasha. Welcome to Northern Ireland." She said with a small laugh. "I hope you all packed warm clothes, we're in for a cold winter." She added, knowing how warm it is in New Zealand, and that they may not be used to the cold.

 

[Joseph Rogers]

Joe watched as the green flames appeared in the fireplace and saw Patricia, he give her a small nod of recognisation. Then her friend appeared shortly after her, and give her a smile, trying to be nice.

Once the introduction were done he heard the door knock and watched Patricia run to open it. Two more girls entered the room. Joe give a small wave to them when Patricia introduced him to the new people.

Now everyone was here, Joe didn't want to be there anymore, he tried to think of an excuse to get out of the house for a while. "Mum I got a call from work, they need me in for a while." He whispered to his mum. "Well, I will see everyone later." He said, getting up and walking out of the house, glad to be away.

 

[Gerard Rogers]

Gerard, like the rest of the family, waited for Patricia and her friends to arrive. When the green flames shot out of the fireplace Gerard saw his daughter standing there. When Anne give her a hug Gerard give her a kiss on the head and waited for Kate to arrive after her. And within the next minute Kate was standing in the room along with them. "Hello Kate." he said to her as Patricia went to open the door.

She appeared again with two girls, one older than the other. Gerard sat back giving a slight wave to them when Patricia introduced them. When Joe said he was leaving Gerard shot him a glare, He could be a bit more socialable, he's off work for the hoildays anyway. he thought. Not wanting to let the guests catch on Gerard, "See ya later Joe. Don't be home too late." He warned. He may be 21 but he's still not going to come and go as he pleases. Gerard thought.

"Right well, would you girls like Patricia to show you to her rooms or would you like something to eat first?" He asked.

 

[Kate Johnson]

((Naughty Patricia! ))

Kate smiled sweetly at the kind lady who was introduced as Anne. "Thank you very much for having me this holiday, it is really kind of you." She said rather shyly but still politely. She felt better as Pat put an arm around her and one of the boys who Kate didn't know which waved slightly. She smiled at them and then heard a knock. The door opened and it was Nat. Forgetting that she was in someonelses house she ran up and gave Nat a big hug. "Hey!" She whispered in her ear. Remebering that she was in someonelses house she stepped back quietly and looked nervously at Anne.

Suddenly, one of the brothers announced he had to go and so Kate smiled at him softly before he left. Gerard asked if they would like to eat or go to their rooms and Kate, hating to make desicions looked towards Pat and Nat.

 

[Patricia Styx]

[color=CC00FF]Patricia give a sigh of relieve as everyone was been nice to her friends. She looked at Joe when he began to talk, typical she thought and rolled her eyes as he left, not really caring that he left the house.

When her dad asked what to do first Patricia said, "I think I'll show Nat and Kate their rooms, and we'll be down in a few minutes for something to eat." She said happily. "Come on and bring your bags." She said to her friends as she made her way out of the living room and up the stairs.

Walking along the corridor she opened the first door and walked in a bit, "Right, well this is my room." she said with a smile. Stepping out again she closed the door and went to the next room and opened the door. "Kate this is your room. If you just want to leave your bag in their, we can come back up later on." She said. "And last but not least." She said closing the door once Kate had left her bag in, "Nat, this is your room. Leave your bag in and we can go eat." She said with a smile.

She went back down the stairs and turned to her friends. "So do you like your rooms?" She asked hopefully, she was so worried they wouldn't like them.

 

[Kate Johnson]

((There really cool!))

Kate smiled at Pat as she showed them their rooms. "There lovely." She breathed still in awe of the muggle house. Her room was really nice and sweet, just like her! Suddenly, a little noise came from her handbag. Milly crept out slowly and jumped onto the floor. Kate gasped and picked her up. "She was meant to stay at home with my mum and dad. She must have got into my luggage!" She giggled nervously, hoping that Anne wouldn't send them both out. Hugging the tiny tabby she waited for a reaction.

Remebering her presents she had brought she opened her bag. "Nat, Pat i have got your Christmas presents here." She said quietly as she rumaged to the bottom. "They are rather small at the moment as the lady in the shop shrank them for me but they will grow in about." She looked at her watch. "5 minutes." She pulled out 3 tiny bean bags. Just on her words, a pale green one suddenly grew into the size of a normal beanbag. Kate jumped back and dropped it shocked. "Thats for you Nat." She said quickly as she handed her a pale green bean bag ((That color but a more rounded one.)) Kate smiled hopefully as she handed it over and turned her attention to a pale pink one which was growing. She smiled shyly at Pat and handed her the pale pink bean bag Kate smiled warmly again and hurried to get another growing bean bag out of her night case. It was a lilac color.Kate bit her lip and added, "I hope you like them. I didn't spend much in the summer so i had it spare." She added quickly, not wanting them to worry about the price at all.

 

[Patricia Styx]

( I liked them too)

Patricia give a sigh of relieve when Kate said she liked her room. Patricia looked at Kate's bag when she heard a noise. A wide smile went across Patricia's face. "Milly!" She exclaimed. "Hello there." She said playfully to her. "Well it will be some company for Tiger, my car." She explained.

When Kate mentioned presents Patricia felt a knot in her stomach, threw all the hustle and bustle she had forgotten to wrap her friends presents. Patricia took the present from Kate, "Aww Kate, thank you so much. It lovely." She said with a big smile. "I'll be back in a moment, I'll just go get your presents." She said.

She ran to her room and placed her, still small, bean bag in the corner beside her other chair. On her bed was Kate and Natasha's presents. Patricia knew she wouldn't have time to wrap them so she placed them into two gift bags. Once they were placed in the bags Patricia went back to where her friends were. "Here you." She said handing a bag to each girl. "They're nothing special, just a few things." She said, hoping they would like them

(1 cat ornaments, 1 photo album, a cat poster, a packet of cauldron cakes and jelly slugs - EACH)

 

[Kate Johnson]

Kate smiled at Pat as she understood about Milly. Stroking the naughty kitten she waited patiently as Pat went to go and get something for her and Nat. She returned and handed them a little bag each. Kate peered inside and gasped in wonder. As Pat was explaining that it wasn't much Kate remebered her mum's famous saying, "Pat, its not baout how much it cost, it is about how much effort you put into it and if you chose it. It shows me that you know me well enough to know that i am a cat freak rather than just buying someone a coloured beanbag which anyone would love." She said and felt a knot in her stomach as she said this. She had worked hard on them and had wandered around many shops looking for the right object and colors. She now bit her lip, regretting what she had just said. "Thanks Pat!" She continued as she pulled out the sweet cat ornament and showed it to Milly who sniffed it and looked inquisitably at it as if she wanted to make friends with it. Kate laughed and stroked the confused kitten's head. "It looks like Milly has fallen in love!" She added with another giggle.

Turning back to the presents she looked at each one carefully. The photo album was AWESOME and Kate knew that she would fill it up quickly with pictures of her friends. The cat poster was adorable and she showed it to Milly who found she know had 2 crushes! Turning to the sweets she hugged Pat again and packed the cauldron cakes and the jelly slugs in her bag. "Maybe this term we should have a feast sometime in the common room!" She added, hoping for some excitment this year, what with the head being kidnapped on her 1st year, Hogwarts NZ had set its standards or surprises high! "Thanks Pat!" She echoed again, and put down her bag and Milly who seemed to enjoy curling herself on Pat's foot and waiting to be tickled.

 

[Elliot Keaton]

Posting as Pat (BTW I'm going in a few minutes and this forum is closing in a few hours so this will be my last post)

Patricia grinned when Kate said she loved her present, she hoped Nat was as enthusiastic about them.

Patricia nodded, "I like your thinking Kate. Maybe we should invite some of the other girls too." She said with a smile. "And I'm sure Elliot can give me a discount on a few sweets in the shop." She said with a wink.

Patricia heard her stomach grumble, giving a small giggle Patricia said, "I think all this talk of food is making me hungry. Shall we go eat. Mum is an amazing cook." She said with a smile, making her way to the kitchen.