As I arrived in front of the house with all my newly bought stuff in tow I feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It has only been a few months since I left but having a home is a great feeling. A large smile spreads on my face as I take a whiff of the familiar smells.

I calmly walk up to the front door and slowly open it. Inside Auntie and Uncle are busy making food in the kitchen. They both turn to me noticing someone has opened the door.

"Ah, Soren, you're back." Uncle Ted smiles at me, not in the least bit shocked.

Auntie on the other hand comes running over and embraces me forgetting about the food on the burner. I return her hug with a tight squeeze.

"I'm back Auntie Dromeda." she pulls back a bit and puts her hands on my shoulders looking into my eyes. Her eyes are a bit watery, she must have really missed me.

But her expression quickly changes as if remembering something.

'Fuck?' I quickly question myself.

"Is it true you fought a troll by yourself?" She looks at me with a glare.

'Crap, how did she find out?' My smile falls as I can feel sweat collecting on my forehead.

"Umm, there were extenuating circumstances Auntie, I had to." Trying my best to give an innocent smile.

She gives a smack to the side of my head, not very hard, far from 'that man's'.

"You could have been killed what were you thinking?" She looks more sad than angry now. I'm starting to feel a bit bad for making her upset.

"I had to save my friends, they don't know any offensive magic so I decided I would hold it off till a teacher came." I rub the back of my head trying to smile, but my smile quickly becomes less confident.

"You know offensive magic? Who taught you that?"

"....Sis Dora… Don't blame her Auntie, she taught me because I asked her to."

She shakes her head while pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'll have a chat with her when she gets home."

"Don't mention that I told you okay?" I give begging eyes.

She rolls her eyes before sighing "Now... why do you have a cat resting on your shoulder?"

"Oh yeah. Uncle, I got you a pet for Christmas." I say peeking past Auntie. I grab the cat and hold it up a bit so he can see. The cat is very well behaved and just allows me to hold it.

Uncle takes the food off the burner and puts a small towelette over his shoulder. "That's great, but Christmas isn't for another week is it fine giving it right now?"

"Yeah, I don't think I could hide a cat from you for a week anyway." I take the cat and hand it over to Uncle Ted.

He takes it from my hands with a soft smile. The cat struggles a bit trying to hold onto my shirt but as soon as it gets into Uncles' arms it curls back up and starts to purr. It seems the cat isn't fussy when it is comfortable, probably since it is smart enough to understand the circumstances to an extent.

"You know, when I was younger I really wanted a cat but my mother was allergic, Thank You, Soren." He gives a wide smile.

"The cat is a bit special, it's part Kneazle so it is really smart, as smart as a kid I would say. Not to mention as strong as a boar." I say excitedly since it seems he likes his present.

He holds the cat high into the air looking at it "Is that true, are you a smart boy?"

The cat gives a meow and holds its head high proudly. Uncle chuckles at the cat's proud look.

Auntie smiles as she stands up "Dinner should be ready soon, put your stuff away and sit down at the table."

I nod and head off to my room before Auntie finds any more reason to scold me.

------------

The week went by fast to Christmas, I got to remember how nice it is to be home. Although Hogwarts is nice, learning new things and hanging out with friends, being able to listen to Auntie Dromeda and Sis Dora bicker all day is the best.

Christmas morning Sis Dora woke me up early "Get up sleepyhead, we got to open our presents." I wake up to Sis Dora with a broad smile and her hair is tied up with a mix of green and red.

We head downstairs to see Uncle Ted drinking coffee with his cat on his lap, he has named the cat Arthur by the way. He is sitting on a loveseat next to the Christmas tree while Auntie Dromeda is making breakfast in the kitchen.

Noticing us come down the stairs Uncle Ted smiles "Hurry up and open your presents, then we can eat breakfast together."

The tree is near the center of the living room with 6 or 7 presents sitting around it. All of the boxes around the tree are rather small.

"Edward, be a dear and set the table, please?" Auntie Dromeda asks while walking towards the living room.

"Why me? Have the kids do it." He lets out a small complaint but starts to get up nonetheless.

"You already got your Christmas presents so no complaining." Uncle Ted just grunted at this and walked towards the kitchen.

"Of course, anything for you dear." He kisses her cheek as he passes her. I ignore them as I observe the presents.

I walk to the tree and look at the first present "Sis this one is yours." I hand it to her and find the ones for Auntie as well and give them over. Auntie got 2, Sis only got 1 and I had a whopping 4.

Considering I have never gotten a present before this was like a heaven-shaking event, I honestly think I might cry. I notice they aren't opening their presents yet and are just staring at me. Not wanting to make them wait I start to open the first one.

It's from Auntie Dromeda and that's it, honestly, I'm surprised Uncle Ted didn't just slap his name on it as well. It's obvious why once I open the box, inside is just a mirror the size of a palm sitting there. I look up at Auntie Dromeda and she pulls out a matching mirror and smiles at me.

I didn't expect her to get me a two-way mirror, they aren't that rare they are pretty expensive, and Auntie Dromeda isn't exactly rich.

I get up ready to hug her but she gestures for me to sit "You can thank me when you open them all." She has a big smile seemingly proud of herself.

So I sit back down and start opening the next one this one is labeled "From Auntie Dromeda and Uncle Ted" this box is slightly wider as I unwrap it I see it's a board game. It's one that I actually know, Wizards Chess. I have never actually played chess, not really had a chance you know? But I do know the general rules and stuff, so it looks like I'll have something to do while bored in the dorms.

"Thanks, Auntie Dromeda," I say with a big smile. She just nods with a smile. "Thanks, Uncle Ted!" I say loudly into the kitchen.

From the kitchen, I hear him yell "Not a problem my boy." Auntie rolls her eyes at his overzealous yell and Sis gives a small chuckle.

The third one is a small box, it's just labeled "From Uncle Ted." As I unwrap it I see it is just a plain white box under the wrapping. In the box is a wristwatch, leather strap with a copper color in the clock. It's obviously a bit smaller than a normal-sized one like it was made a young man.

As I put it on I say loudly into the kitchen "Thanks for the watch, Uncle Ted."

I hear him yell from the dining room with an over-enthusiastic voice "You are quite welcome! Hope you don't mind a muggle item. It's actually quite an expensive item in muggle money so I do hope you enjoy it."

I laugh a bit "I don't mind at all, it's perfect." Arthur seems to not like our yell since he stretches and heads off in the direction of the dining room, probably expecting food.

Seeing the last present is from Sis I get up and give Auntie a big hug, "Thank you, it means a lot."

Feeling that I'm getting emotional she hugs me tight, "I'm glad you like your presents."

Sis Dora chimes in "How come I never got a two-way mirror?" Auntie Dromeda lets go of me as she rolls her eyes at her daughter.

"Well, I never had to worry about you fighting a troll when you were eleven." She glares at me, I rub the back of my head with a wry smile.

Sis laughs and urges "Hurry up and open my present I'm sure you'll like it."

I sit back down and grab the present from her, it is a longer rectangle box. I open the box and inside is a quill pen which makes me a bit confused, there is a piece of paper below it with what looks like a charm written on it.

"What is it?" I ask a bit confused.

"It's a spell-checking quill, it's enchanted to never misspell a word ever. The paper below has the charm you need to cast on it every so often to make sure it doesn't stop working." She holds her nose up as she looks proud of her gift. Her hair even shifts into a royal gold color reflecting her feelings.

"I don't think I really need it, I never misspill words, I'm actually pretty well-read," I say with a confident grin.

She rolls her eyes "How well-read can an eleven-year-old be?"

I shrug "I guess you're right" I get up and give her a big hug as well "Thank you, Sis."

She hugs me back and asks "So where is my gift? I didn't see your name on this gift."

I smile "It's a secret I'll give it to you after breakfast."

"Ooooooo Suspicious, suspicious indeed. Alright but it better be good."

I look over at Auntie Dromeda "Hurry up and open my present, I want to see if you like it." I'm pretty excited to see her reactions, I think she will like it.

Seeing me excited she smiles and grabs my present and unwraps it. From the box, she pulls out a long robe-like dress with the pattern of stars.

"It's a star map," I say pointing to a place on the left chest area "This is the Andromeda galaxy here."

I can see tears starting to well up in her eyes. Her tears make me believe I did a good job picking the present.

"Do you like it?" I ask while walking up to her already knowing the answer. Before I can react she grabs me into a tight hug.

She starts to cry "God, I'm so glad you were born and found your way to us."

These words make me start to tear up as well, this family is the only reason I have been glad to have been born. All of my life up until now I had wished I had never been born, I had wished I could just erase my existence. But since being in this house I have been happy, happy to be alive.

As we are hugging I hear Uncle Ted "Ahem, sorry to interrupt your heartfelt moment but the food is done and set out so could you hurry up with the presents so we can eat?"

I start to laugh at his words but Auntie gives him a death glare. He just smiles and slowly backs up into the dining room and goes to feed Arthur.

When we went back to opening presents Auntie got an enchanted make-up kit from Uncle and Sis. While Sis Dora got a Foe glass from Auntie and Uncle. Apparently, Foe glass shows a reflection of your enemies, the closer they are to you the more clear their figure appears.