Home for a Few Days

[Katalina Harker]

Katalina had just arrived in front of her home in New Zealand and her face lit up. Inside waiting for her was her family and she was practically busting at the seams with excitement to see her sister it had been this very same time last year since Kat had seen her. Picking up her suitcase and paying the cabbie with the muggle money that her mother had sent to her, Katalina walked up the little dirt path and entered the front door of her home.

Once inside, she sat her things down by the front door and headed for the kitchen, where she heard someone moving about. Must be mum! she thought with a smile as she rounded the corner. She was right, her mother was standing there cooking dinner. Kat walked up behind her quietly and poked her mother in the side with her index finger saying, "Boo!"

 

[Cystine Vanderhol]

Cystine had been in the kitchen preparing dinner for her family. It was a good day since her daughter was to come home this afternoon and she was wanting to make something nice for her homecoming. She had just salted the tomatoes when she felt something stick into her side and a girls voice. Cystine jumped and dropped the ladel she had just picked up to stir the stew and then turned to see her daughter standing there with a smug look on her face. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she laughed as she embraced Katalina tightly. She pulled her daughter away from her and gave her a look over, amazed at how much she had grown and matured over the last 6 months. "I'm so glad that you're home. Have you seen your sister yet? She's been antsy all day about you coming hom."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her mothers face. It was absolutely priceless. "No I just walked in actually so I haven't seen Rena yet, but I'll go up in just a minute." she said, just as excited to get to see her sister as Serena apparently was to see her. Kat rolled her eyes at her mother as she looked Katalina up and down. Must be a mum thing...she does it everytime she sees me. she thought with a chuckle. "Yes I've grown, three more inches to be exact. I know, I know...I've turned into such a beautiful young lady. And yes I'm certain that I look more and more like Grammy everyday." she added with overdone sarcasm. It was the same thing everytime her parents saw her again. Kat hugged her mother and went to grab her bag. She then headed upstairs and sat her stuff down in her room before heading down the hall to her sisters room.

When she reached Serena's door, Katalina grabbed the knob and flung the door open practically yelling, "I'm home brat! Come give me some love!" When she wasn't greeted the way she thought she would have been Kat looked around and saw that her sister wasn't even in the room. Confused she went and sat down on the end of her sisters bed and thought for a moment. Where the heck is she?

 

[Cystine Vanderhol]

Cystine shook her head and laughed quietly as Kat spouted exactly what she herself had been about to say. "And you're starting to act more and more like your father every day too. Don't forget that!" she said to her daughter with a nudge. When Kat started to head back upstairs she yelled after her, "Tell your sister to start getting washed up for dinner. Your dad will be home soon and I want to be ready to eat as soon as he walks in the door." Cystine doubted that Kat had heard a word of that, but she could at least dream that her daughters were always 100% attentive.

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

Serena had been watching out the window as her sister arrived home. Normally she would have burst down the stairs to greet her sister, but she was still a bit too weak to be able to do that, so she figured she'd wait instead for Kat to come up. She heard the exchange between her mother and sister, then she heard foosteps coming up the stairs. The foosteps stopped and a door opened, but it wasn't to Serena's room. Kat must be dropping her bag in her room she thought then a sly grin spread across her face. She got up and moved quietly across the room to her closet and hid inside, waiting for her sister to appear.

It took all Serena had in her not to bust into a giggle fit when Katalina came through the door shouting like a mad woman. And it took even more self control to ignore the look of confusion and frustration that was all over her sisters face. After about three minutes Serena flung open the closet door and yelled out, "Hey! Don't you ever knock?" Then she hurried across the room and wrapped her sister as tightly as she was able into a hug. "I missed you dorkus!" she said sweetly.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"What the..." Kat squeaked out as she was practically attacked by her younger sister. "You really are a brat...you know that right?" she added with laughter as she squeezed Serena tightly. "You know...you don't look nearly half as horrible as mum said you did. I'm a bit disappointed actually. I thought I'd come home to find you looking like some sort of ghastly ghoul or something, but no...you look like the same old goofy little Rena that I know and love." she said as she flicked her sisters ear. "By the way, mum said to wash up for dinner before daddy gets home!" she added, remembering faintly what her mother had yelled after her when she was coming up the stairs.

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

Serena screwed her face up and stuck her tongue out at her sister. "I think I look simpy ravishing compared to what I looked like a few months ago. It was horrible Kat. I looked absolutely disgusting, but I'm back to my marvelous self now!" she said as she sat next to her sister on the end of the bed.

"I'll clean up in just a little bit! Dad won't be home for at least another 45 minutes. We've got plenty of time." Serena said assuringly and then asked her sister, "So...how's life at school?" It always made Serena a little bit sad that she wouldn't be able to finish up her time with her sister at Hogwarts, but being sick over the last year had made that an imposibility. And their mother had said that it would take another six months or more for her to return to the bright energetic person that she had always been.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"You haven't missed much. We did get selected to host the Tri Wizard Tournament this year, but to be truthful I didn't even go to the first event." Kat said, noticing the look of disappointment on her sisters face. "I've been so bogged down with school work that it's actually nice to be away from that bloody castle. There were times that I thought my head was going to explode." she added, trying to make Serena feel a little bit better.

"So how have things been at home? What's it like having Uncle Michael teach you everyday?" she asked her sister with genuine curiosity. Kat couldn't imagine what it was like for her sister to have to be cooped up in the house all day with no one, but mum and uncle Micheal all day long. Must have been maddening for Rena, especially since she'd always been bubbly, outgoing, and energetic.

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

"How could you not go to the first task? Kat...you do realize that the tournament being held at the school is a huge honour right?" Serena practically yelled at her sister in disbelief. Her mouth just stood agape for a moment until she got a mental image of Kat's head swollen to three times its normal size and then she bust into a fit of laughter. "Sorry, I was just imagining your head all swollen and ready to explode." she added, still chuckling a good bit.

"Urm, well...to be quite honest it's a bit boring. I do get a good bit of flying time though. Daddy set up some kind of shield around our house and the field behind it so I could get out and fly. I've gotten quite good actually, might give you a run for your money." she said in a very cocky tone as she gave Kat a big grin. "Uncle Micheal is a great teacher, but I just miss having friends that are in my classes. It's not too bad though."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat was a bit taken aback by her sisters reaction to her not going to the first task. "Sheesh Rena, calm down. There's still two more tasks to be had, don't worry, I'll make it to those." she laughed at her sisters over-reaction, but then got annoyed when her sister started laughing about the prospect of Kat's head swollen to the point that it might explode.

"We might have to do a bit of flying before I go back in to school in three days." Kat gave Serena a goofy grin. She did feel sorry for her sister being trapped in this house for most of the day everyday and she missed having her at school with her all the time. Just then she heard her mother move about downstairs and said to her sister, "We'd probably better get ready, I'm sure daddy will be home in just a little bit and I don't want to get mum all in a tizzy."

 

[Steven Vanderhol]

There was a loud 'pop' as Steven apparated onto the front steps of his home. He hated that he was running late today since his little girl was coming home for the first time in over a year. Opening the door and sitting his things down by the front door, Steven headed into the kitchen where Cystine was finishing up supper. "Smells wonderful love." he said as he leaned to kiss her cheek. He looked around and said, "Where are the girls? It's quiet and that's never a good thing for those two!"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat heard the door open downstairs and a smile broke across her face. "Daddy's home!" she said as she jumped up off her sisters bed and ran down the hall. Her father was standing at the bottom of the stairs and when she was 5 steps from the landing she jumped into her dad's arms and hugged him tightly. "Daddy! I missed you!" she said as she continued latch on to her father. When she finally let go, her father gave her the exact same look that her mum had when she first arrived home. Kat rolled her eyes and spouted off once again, "Yes I've grown and I know...I've turned into such a beautiful young lady. And yes I'm certain that I look more and more like Grammy everyday." Her parents were so predictable that it made her laugh.

 

[Steven Vanderhol]

"And you're getting a bit more brazen too little miss smarty pants." Steven said as he hugged his daughter once again. "Is your sister ready for dinner? I'm starving." he asked Kat as he looked up the stairs to see if Serena had followed her sister.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"I'm ready and I'll go get the brat!" Kat said as she bounded back up the stairs. "Rena!" she yelled, "Get your butt downstairs. Dad's home and he's ready to eat!" When her sister appeared outside the door they both headed downstairs to eat. It was the first family dinner she'd had in over a year...and she couldn't believe how much she'd missed it.

 

[Steven Vanderhol]

~Christmas Day~​

Around 7am Steven woke up his wife and girls, telling them to head downstairs. Once they were all in the living room and seated near the Christmas tree, he began to hand out presents to each of them. When all the presents had been given out he smiled at them and said, "Well don't just sit there. Open them!" This was his favorite time of year and this year his family was all together, healthy and happy.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat groaned loudly as her father came in to wake her up. She had rolled over and covered her head up, but her sister came in and jumped on top of her shouting that she needed to wake up it was Christmas. "Can we not just sleep for another hour? PLEASE!!" Kat pleaded, but it was a lost cause. Rena had grabbed her arm and was dragging her until she nearly fell out of the bed. "I can do it myself brat! You're going to yank my arm out of its socket." she said throwing a pillow at her sister.

With a final yawn she slipped on her robe and headed downstairs with the rest of her family. She sat on the floor next to the fireplace and waited until it was time for her to unwrap her gifts. One by one she opened her Christmas presents, revealing that her parents had gotten her some clothes (both muggle and wizarding), a broom care kit, and a journal. She thanked them both and gave them hugs and kisses.

"I'll be right back! I have everyone's presents upstairs!" she said as she headed upstairs to grab the presents that she'd purchased for her family. When she returned she had an armful of packages. Three for her sister and one a piece for her mother and father.

When everything had been unwrapped and the mess had been cleaned, Kat's mum made breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream. "Breakfast is wonderful mum! I miss family dinners!" she said as she inhaled her fourth piece of bacon.

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

"When are you going back to school?" Serena asked her sister as she ate her breakfast and played with her pygmy puff her sister had gotten for her. "You are staying home until New Years at least right?" she added as she looked at Kat pleadingly. She had a feeling that her sister was going to be leaving soon and that upset her greatly. Afterall, she hadn't seen Kat in a year and this few short days just wasn't enough time.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Aww, Rena! Don't look at me like that." Kat said as she looked away from her sister. "I'm leaving day after tomorrow. I've got entirely too much stuff to get ready for the SDA before the new term starts." she added as she got up to sit by her Serena.

She nudged her gently and said, "Hey! I'll be home all summer! That'll give you plenty of time to try and get your quidditch game good enough to play me!" Kat tried to joke with her sister, knowing that it was going to be hard on her when she left.

~Leaving Time~​

Bags were packed and sitting by the front door. Leaving home was always bittersweet for Kat. On one hand she was glad to be going back to school, but she hated leaving her family as she always got a little bit homesick for a few days. She looked out the window and saw that her cab was here. "Hey! Time for me to go!" she yelled.

Her mother, father, and sister all came into the front hall, all looking a little down in the dumps. "Oh come on...I'll be back home in a few months and you'll all be absolutely sick of me." she said trying to perk them up. It obviously didn't work. "Well can I at least get a proper goodbye then?" Kat added as she went to hug her family.

Each of them hugged her individually and then they shared a family hug together. Tears glossed over her eyes as she thought about how much she was going to miss them. "I really better go. Don't want to keep that man waiting." she said, trying not to bust into a sob fit. She picked up her bags and packed herself into the cab.

As they drove off, Kat looked out of the back window waving to her family...watching until she couldn't see them anymore.