The House of Rambolt

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily breathed in the crisp winter air, reveling in the tingling sensation in her nose from the smell of her mothers cooking wafting through the open window. She loved the bite of cold on the clear day she'd come home for Christmas with her parents. They would have spend the day and night catching up and then tomorrow they would have Christmas dinner with Nicolas as their guest. She felt a blush stir on her cheeks. She knew her parents would like him. She just hoped they wouldn't think she was moving too fast from being newly divorced and now dating. They'd already had a long talk about Bearse and what had happened between her and him. She hadn't gone into details of what he'd done to her from her recovered memory. It hadn't been necessary. They were noticeably upset but after breakfast and more talking they were well on their way to accepting what had happened.
She shook off such thoughts and turned to go back inside. She'd floo'd there earlier that day, ready for her mother's ligonberry pancakes and homemade syrup and lingonberry butter. It had been delicious, even through their shared tears and stories swapped. She was thankful her mother was doing better and was well into remission from her cancer. It'd been a trying time but with the potions Cecily had sent home and with rest and her husband's loving care, Marilyn Rambolt was well and truly healthy for the first time in over a year.

Cecily walked through the door, taking off her boots and putting them beside the doorway on the mat.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

James Rambolt stood by the counter, clutching a piece of parchment in his hand and reading it with a scowl on his handsome face. He looked up when his daughter came through the door. "Smoke break?" he joked, looking back down at the letter.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Ha ha, very funny,"Cecily replied, sticking out her tongue. "I was enjoying the beautiful outdoors. What's that you got there?"she asked, going to him to give him a hug.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

"Hmphf. Too cold for my old bones," James gruffly said, returning her hug with a squeeze of one arm. He kept his arm around her shoulder and led her to the kitchen table. "Tea?" he asked, grabbing the kettle and preparing a service. He talked as he worked. "A letter from Edward. He said he probably won't make it this year to dinner. Some blasted thing about work."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily's breath caught. "Oh,"she got out, upset. "But he comes every year, at least for dessert. She sat there playing with a piece of string hanging off of the placemat.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

"Maybe," James said, setting down a cup of tea in front of her with cream and sugar already in it, "he felt three would be a crowd."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Three? But that's ridiculous, there'd be five of us...oh,"she said, looking back down. "Don't be silly dad."

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

James let it go. She would find out on her own how much Edward loved her. He'd seen the way that boy had looked at her since they were knee high. It was probably killing him that she'd moved on and not to him. He sighed and drank some of his tea, liking the slow bite of the whiskey he'd added to his.
"Maybe you'll see him before you leave."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"But we're leaving after dinner, dad." Cecily was dejected. Edward had been her best friend since she could remember. It hurt that she wouldn't see him this Christmas. Who would he spend the hols with? He'd always been a member of their family.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

"I guess that's that then," James said. He was about to say more when his beautiful wife of many years came in and took a seat at the table, pausing to kiss her husband.
"Hullo James,"Marilyn said quietly, a secret smile on her lips. James murmured something to her that made her laugh before getting her a cup of tea.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily watched them with a smile on her lips. It was comforting to see two people so much in love after all the years they'd been together. It gave her hope for her own future.
She excused herself to her father's study, where she wanted to curl up with a good book and give them some privacy.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

"What's wrong with Cecily?" Marilyn looked in concern at her husband.

"Edward isn't coming for dinner this year," James told her, hugging her to him and burying his face in her hair. He hardly ever was far from her although he was careful to give her her space when she needed it. The past year had terrified him.

Marylin sighed and hugged him back. "Poor Cece. I wonder if she'll ever see how that boy worships her. Do you think this Nicolas fellow is good to her?"

"I haven't seen her smile this brightly in years, Mar. I think she picked a good one this time. We can see how they are together at dinner." James ruffled her hair, kissed her cheek and turned to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Marilyn had squawked when he'd mussed her hair, she leaned a hip against the counter, laughing.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily heard their laughter and smiled gently to herself. She read for a while before they all gathered for their nightly cup of cocoa before they all retired for bed. She lie in her bed, the covers pulled to her chin and watched the snow fall outside her window. She thought of the time on the lawn when she and Nicolas had acted no better than their students, getting into a water fight. Moments later, with a smile on her lips, she was asleep.

When she woke up, they spent the morning and a good part of the afternoon, cooking and laying out the rest of the Christmas decorations around the dinner table, which was a circle and medium sized, perfect for a cozy tradition. The table was set, by Cecily, and her parents were in the wine cellar Cecily had put in for them in their finished basement when Cecily looked up at the clock.

She rushed and put the last touches on the table before she went to sit on the edge of the sofa, smoothing any wrinkles from her emerald green cocktail dress. Nicolas would arrive any moment through the fireplace.

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas had put on his best robes instead of attempting to dress in muggle fashion. Wizards were never very good at this and he was no exception to this rule most of the time. He had packed a trunk of things he wished to bring home and sent it home via the floo network to his House Elf. After a few hours of anxiety and worry, very unsure of what to expect or even if he would be going to the right place Nicolas grabbed the Christmas presents he had purchased fro Cecily and made his way from his office to the Professor's Common Room. Cecily had instructed him that her parents home was connected to the floo network through that fire place. Trusting her direction he grabbed a handful of floo and tossed it into the flame. The flames became emerald and Nicolas stepped into them, stating the place he desired to go. After a moment he was flying through the network, watching grate after grate whiz by him only recognizing one or two her or there. Finally he arrived in Cecily's Parents fireplace.

Nicolas stepped out of the fireplace and brushed himself off, looking about his new surroundings.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily stood up quickly, nervously clutching her hands together while the flames flared green and Nicolas stepped out. She waited a moment before she approached him, reaching out both her hands to clasp his in greeting, a smile on her face. "Happy Christmas, Nicolas," she said, smiling up at him.

 

[Nicolas King]

"Happy Christmas Cecily." Nicolas answered her greeting, bending over slightly and giving her a light kiss on her cheek. "Where may I set these?" He enquired, drawing her attention to the two wrapped gifts he carried.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Under the tree," she smiled, leading him over to the large Christmas tree in front of the family room large window. It twinkled brightly with many different colored lights, decorations collected and made over the years, and a Lionel train set tooted along slowly on its track under the tree. There were already several brightly wrapped packages piled under the tree.
"It's so good to see you. How was your trip?" she asked, her green eyes twinkling merrily up at him at her joke.

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas smiled as he was led over to the tree, taking in everything he could. He had been in the muggle world, and muggle houses before but with the opportunity to learn a little more present he was willing to allow himself to.
He set the gifts under the tree and stood again, looking out the large window at the landscape a moment before Cecily spoke. He turned to her again and smirked, "Too long." he replied. Taking in only now how wonderful Cecily looked in her dress.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily grinned as he played along. "You look very dashing this evening, Mr. King," she said in her best imitation of old world courtesy.

 

[Nicolas King]

"You look quite ravishing yourself Ms. Rambolt." Nicolas returned the compliment with a grin, giving Cecily the low bow that seemed only second nature to him having been raised how and where he was and then with his work in the Ministry of Magic. Straightening back out he looked around the house again, "This all looks very festive." he stated, imaging his own home and how very un-festive it probably was and would be.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily's cheeks were quite pink from his compliment, a smile still on her face. "We do this every year, no matter what. The only thing that changes are the new ornaments on the tree. I charmed a nightingale ornament to sing for my mother. She's very enchanted with it," she quipped.

 

[Nicolas King]

Nicolas glanced at the tree and all the ornaments on it. He smiled, sure that every ornament meant something or had some story behind it. "Well that was quite nice of you." Nicolas said, unsure whether or not that these batteries that he was aware muggles possessed could allow for something similar to occur but not wanting to belittle what Cecily had done for her mother.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

James finished the punchline of his joke as they entered the room and Marilyn groaned loudly, laughing. "Oh that was so lame!" she exclaimed, giggling. "Please don't tell that at dinner," she begged, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "Oh!" she started, noticing her daughter standing in front of a rather handsome young man.
"You must be Nicolas," she said, moving forward to shake his hand, her husband following suit behind her. "I'm Marilyn and this is James," she gestured behind her to her tall husband. Marilyn was decked out in a red cocktail dress, her short blonde hair in curls on her head. Her cheeks were as pink as her daughters, something her sharp mother's eyes picked up on right away.
James wore a suit with a red and green tie, the earring in his ear glinting in the firelight.

 

[Nicolas King]

"I am indeed." Nicolas began, shaking the woman's hand and then her husband's. "It's a pleasure to meet you both -- you have a lovely home." Nicolas stated, holding back a smirk at how into the holiday Cecily's father seemed to be. "You're both looking quite festive." he said instead.

 

[James and Marilyn Rambolt]

James laughed pleasantly, smoothing his tie and grinning over at his wife. She giggled and he looked back at Nicolas. "We met when we were teenagers at a Christmas party my parents threw. So this holiday's always been a bit of a big deal in our house."
Marilyn stood next to her husband and thread her arm through his. "Would you like a drink, Nicolas?"