family reunion }{ devilles

[DANNA DEVILLE]

The children were home for the holidays. They had arrived three hours ago, but Danna had yet to see any of them. Instead, she was locked in a guest bedroom with two young women. Wilhelmina Prince, wife of ally Vespasian Prince, had been offered up by her husband to help her cause. Wilhelmina, at the age of twenty five, had already born five children to her husband, and was a prime vessel to carry one of her children. The fact that she was carrying her husband's child with another woman amused her greatly. The other was another ally, Tory Styx, who willingly accepted being implanted with Danna's child with Forsyth Frost. The pregnancies needed to be monitored closely; she had never been so ambitious as to transfer the fetuses so early on in the pregnancies as she had with these two. With Vespasian's child she had transferred into Wilhelmina at four weeks along whereas she had moved Forsyth's at only two weeks. Thus far, everything was going well. It meant she could work on seducing the Dark Lord within the next few weeks, once Lucius Malfoy ensured her an introduction. She also had the perfect surrogate in mind for her next child. It would be fun blackmailing Echoll's wife with the promise of his release. She was a naive thing, sure to fall into her trap. Once Findabair Echolls had birthed her child, she'd be thrown into the basement with beloved Endymion.

"Looks good," Danna finally decided after looking over Tory for the fifth time. The fetuses were healthy, the vessels were healthy, and everything seemed to be going according to plan. She had run every test she could imagine. Neither had any chances of being Squibs, both seemed to be sons (which she was thrilled about), and most of her worries faded away. By this point, if anything with the transfer had gone wrong, she would know about it. Locking her notes away in a drawer, she set out various vials on each of their bedside tables, then left them with strict instructions. As she would need Zoola for her own personal needs, she had bought another house elf, Mizzy, for her surrogates to use. They had their diet plans, their schedule for potions, and a list of things they could and could not do. "Wilhelmina, Vespasian says he will visit with the children in a few days. Call for Mizzy if you need anything. Be careful. Mizzy will take you out to exercise tomorrow morning."

Finally she left the room, immediately running into a tall man. Danna blinked in surprise, heart leaping at first glance. It took a moment to remember that Paul was dead and there was no way he could be alive to see the parts of Cameron that weren't cloned from his father. His ears and nose were hers, as well as the shape of his eyes, though they were the same blue as Paul's. Danna cleared her throat, heart sinking as she realized who it was, glaring when she realized that Cameron seemed to sense all of this. "Is there a reason you're creeping around this wing, Cameron?"

Cameron only raised an eyebrow, then extending his arm to her. Sighing heavily, Danna took it, letting him lead her downstairs, into the extensive den. She wasn't sure who had decorated, but Christmas was everywhere from the giant Christmas tree, lights, snow globes, stockings, and carols in the background. Laughter rang out from the large group in the middle. All of her children, save Christian and Cynthia, were present. Charlotte Vulcan was sitting on the back of the couch, grinning as she finished her hilarious retelling of her short-lived marriage to an Australian werewolf named Daytona and how she ruined his life in under a month, most notably by drugging him up the day of the full moon, tempting his wolf into eating his own children, then sticking his small pack against each other.

"So he wakes up the next morning," she went on, gasping for breath, "and looks all around, right? So fucking confused, y'know. The house is a pile of rubble, blood is everywhere, his buddy Javier is laying all around in at least twelve different pieces, his youngest daughter's body is lying on his chest, her head's acting as his pillow, it's pretty gruesome. Then he sees me, I'm on 'fire', begging him to help me. He rushes to put me out or whatever. I'm acting pretty great, right, he's buying the sob story, whatever. Then...Oh you'll never believe it! That night, when everything's all cleaned up, I 'convince him to eat' like the good wife I am. Barbecue. When we're done I tell him he just ate his son. He's so confused and everything. I couldn't stop laughing. He tried to attack me, but I just laughed more. As if, right? So I leave, put the Mortem Sibi Conscivit Curse on him, and that was it."

"Ah, ah, that's not all," Cathryn grinned. "You gotta explain."

"Yeah, why didn't you kill him?" Cressida demanded with a pout.

"Are you stupid?" Charlotte giggled. "Death would be a gift to him. Nah, he has to live with those memories and that knowledge. The best part is that curse will keep him from committing suicide. He's screwed!"

"Mind sharing who invented that curse?" Danna said loudly as Cameron hopped onto the arm of the couch.

"I thought that would have been obvious," Charlotte winked. "But for idiots like Cress, here, it was Mom."

"Did you really?" Caliban asked, impressed.

"Yep! Before you were born, youngin," Cathryn teased.

"Oh stop it, I haven't been the youngest in forever," Caliban chuckled.

"Oh, you'll always be youngin to us," Charlotte and Cathryn cooed.

"C'mon, Ma," Cameron said, leading her to the nearest chair. Picking it up with one hand, he tipped it over so that Cressida and Cooper fell out of it, then placed it back down, presenting it to Danna. "Your throne, my queen."

"Why thank you," Danna grinned, placing herself there, shoving her youngest children away with her foot. "Tell me one of you has a new story to share."

[CORBAN DEVILLE]

Being home for the holidays was always thrilling. Not only did Corban get to be with his already awesome mother, but his older, more interesting siblings would come home as well to catch up and spend time with the family. There'd be food that made the Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts look like a picnic, presents, and incredible stories to tell and be told.

This year would be even better. Not only was the usual family going to be there, but so was Corban's father and twin sister, who also happened to be his girlfriend. Jesse and his children were staying with the Devilles for a while, so with them, plus all of the incoming siblings, the manor was pretty filled up. Corban would sharing his room with Cassie, something he didn't mind in the least, even though there were enough extra rooms to spare. She did have her own, where she kept all of her things, but she'd probably sleep with Corban. Even if the two would rarely do much sleeping.

Today was the day that everyone would be coming home. Corban was constantly bumping into new arrivals, greeting family and catching up for a few moments before moving on. There would be plenty of time for stories once everyone was here. For now, though, Corban and Cassie had their own Yuletide plan. Hopefully, they'd be able to get Courtney in on it too.

"Courtney!" Corban called when he caught sight of his younger sister turning a corner at the end of a long hallway. "C'mere, we've got an idea," he grinned, holding up a piece of mistletoe. "Have you seen Cassie?" he asked, hardly waiting for an answer before whirling to check Cassie's room. Empty. He took the stairs two at a time down to the den where everyone else was gathering, making sure to hide the mistletoe.

"All set?" he asked, seating himself on the arm of the couch Cassie was leaning against.

[DANNA DEVILLE]

Courtney wasn't all into the festive spirit of the manor like most people. This year almost everyone would be coming together. She always felt pushed to the side a bit. In all fairness, her mother did like her older siblings more. While interesting, the older siblings themselves were all close to one another, much closer than anyone else in the family. They had all grown up together in a time when the whole family lived in Deville Manor in America, before the move to Amsterdam and the war. Courtney and the other younger children didn't feel much like family. They hadn't experienced what everyone else had, and most of them didn't even like each other as most of the other Deville children did. The person she was closest to in the world was Corban, and that wasn't even saying all that much. It was the ties of being full siblings that made their ties a bit stronger than hers with the ever annoying younger half siblings.

Having to play such a bubbly, optimistic, happy character at school, it made her depression and loneliness all the worse when she was at home. They had already been home a few hours and she hadn't even been in a good enough mood to be around anyone, even the new family she had only learned about a few months ago. Instead she had taken to walking the hallways, soaking in her bitterness.

Until, of course, she ran into Corban. He and Cassie apparently had an idea. Sighing heavily, Courtney followed him downstairs. "Dunno," she murmured. Maybe this idea of theirs would be a fun distraction.

Cassie, meanwhile, was sitting on the floor in the den, back against the couch Cooper, Cressida, and Carlton were sitting on. Her older siblings were so cool! They had really seen and done it all and Cassie was jealous! Charlotte's stories may have been heard by the others many times, but Cassie never had heard it. The other younger children sat back awkwardly, but she leaned forward eagerly to listen. It was amazing how well they all got along, how comfortable they were with one another. Cassie had never really gotten along with her siblings before.

When Danna called for new stories, they all spoke up, talking over each other while Cameron shot Cathryn a look. Cathryn then turned to slap Charlotte on the shoulder, giving her the same look until she understood.

"Mom, we forgot to tell you!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Wait, I thought y'all were saving that for Christmas," Caliban interrupted.

"It's the holidays now, whatever," Charlotte waved him off.

"Are they even here yet?" Caliban pointed out.

"They will be," Cathryn said.

"Who will be what?" Danna asked suspiciously.

Here, Corban and Courtney entered, approaching Cassie. She grinned up at her handsome brother, leaning her head against his knee. "Of course," she agreed with a grin.

"You might as well tell her. You know how Mother feels about surprises."

Danna whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice, face brightening as she laid eyes upon her two oldest living children, Christian and Cynthia. It had been so long--too long--since she had last seen them. Beautiful Cynthia was just as blond and busty as her mother, so much like her in so many aspects. More importantly was her dashing, perfect, handsome firstborn, dark eyes lit up with overwhelming happiness.

Rising to her feet, Danna had only to take a few steps towards them. Christian crossed the rest of the way swiftly, unashamedly falling to his knees before her, taking her hands in his, kissing each reverently. Gripping him, she tugged her son to his feet, throwing her arms around him in a rare embrace. Never would she ever produce a child so perfect as her Christian. There was no use in trying. She loved him more than anyone else, though (to her pleasure) not nearly as much as he loved her.

"Radiant as ever, maman," he breathed in her ear.

"Merci," she replied, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek before stepping back. "Now, tell me all about this surprise."

"C'mon, we've been planning this forever," Caliban sighed. He didn't bother putting up a fight, well knowing it was a lost cause.

"Just know that it was my idea," Charlotte grinned.

"Hardly," snorted Cameron. "It was their idea."

"His idea," corrected Cathryn.

"The credit actually belongs to Christian and myself," Cynthia mentioned haughtily.

"Was not!" Caliban argued.

Danna hushed him with a look then raised a questioning eyebrow to Christian and Cynthia.

Christian grinned proudly, then turned to the door with a loud whistle. Two male ghosts entered, dragging a female ghost between them. Green eyes grew wide as she recognized her three late children: Curtis, Caroline, and Cyrus. Her boys stood at attention while between them sweet Caroline struggled to her feet, trying to pull her arms from them.

"We found Curt hanging about the old house in Amsterdam," Christian explained.

"We convinced him to come along with us," Cynthia explained. "We found Harry Potter and his dopey friends nearby. They're hunting the Dark Lord's Horcruxes, by the way. They had the Resurrection Stone with them, so we stole it. Temporarily. Brought it to the graveyard, summoned Cyrus and Caroline, then returned the stone."

"It's basically useless without the other Hallows, really," Christian shrugged. "We don't really need an entire army of ghosts, though the few might mean something."

"We also found Uncle Jonathon hanging about France," Cynthia explained. "He came with us for a while but departed not too long ago."

"Decided he'd much rather seduce Helena Ravenclaw, so he headed to Hogwarts a few days ago," Christian sniggered. "But he promises to visit before long."

"We found Curtis and it was our idea," muttered Caliban bitterly.

"Can I go now?" Caroline demanded.

"Of course not, dear," Danna said, turning away from her. "I'm not entirely sure how useful ghosts will be, but we will make use of them somehow." She'd never mention how badly their deaths had actually affected her. Maybe she didn't care for them as much as a mother should, but she did care somewhat for them. "This," she said, linking her arms through Christian's and Cynthia's, "is what loyalty and dedication looks like. The best of the best."

"Also good looking," Cynthia added smugly.

"And charming," Christian added.

"Merry Christmas, Maman!" they said in unison.

"I really hate family reunions," Courtney muttered darkly.

[JESSE MERCER]

The last few months that Jesse had spent back with Danna were definite contenders for being the most confusing of his life. Perhaps it was that even though he had tried to hold on to everything after they had split, so as not to lose a single bit, there was no stopping the loss and distortion of memories. Maybe it was even because of his eagerness to remember everything perfectly that he had seemed to forget. Because he certainly didn't remember thinking about Danna so much. Sure, even in their years apart, she was always on his mind. Everything he had ever done was for her, and that had always been true. Maybe it was just because of her proximity now that she was always the very first thing on his mind. Or maybe because now that the house was so full of people, he rarely had time to hear himself think at all. But that didn't explain the longing to be near her, to touch her, that had nothing to do with the fact that Jesse was one of her most devoted soldiers, or even the very sexual nature of their relationship.

Playing the piano always seemed to clear his mind, and he hadn't had time in a while. While the others were downstairs preparing for the arrival of Danna's older children, Jesse was nearly the only person on the entire upper floor. There was a piano up here, set in an octagon-shaped room which had mostly glass walls. It provided a beautiful view of the grounds, and the only piece of furniture in the room was a grand piano, right in the center.

Lost in his thoughts, Jesse let his fingers take over, only realizing what he was playing halfway through the song. Immediately after, he also realized he was being watched by a familiar pair of young eyes. Jadis was quiet as she watched her father play, mesmerized as always by the way his fingers seemed to fly so effortlessly over the keys. She'd begged him for lessons more times than she could count, and some of those times, he'd sat her down for a mere ten or fifteen minutes to learn. She knew a few simple tunes, but it was never enough. She was sure she'd never be as good as Jesse.

"I like that one. Did you make it up?" she said when he was finished, and Jesse let himself smile. "A long time ago, I did. It's Danna's favorite," he told her, feeling her sit next to him on the bench before he turned to look.

"Why don't you play it for her?" Jadis asked. She was only six, but she was sure adults made things way too complicated. Here her dad was playing the piano all by himself, while Danna was downstairs. Maybe she was busy right now, but they lived together! It wasn't like before, where Dad didn't know where she was.

"Will you play mine?" she asked him, already all but forgetting her frustrations with problems she was too little to understand. She could tell by the way he sighed that she was going to get what she asked for, and she watched eagerly as Jesse played her favorite song. It was her favorite because it started slow, then gradually got faster, faster, even faster, until her father's fingers were just a blur over the keys. She'd tried to play it herself once, mimicing what she'd seen, but it just sounded like it did when she was very young and used to bang on the piano. It wasn't a song at all. Someday, though, she'd learn how to play it.

There was laughter downstairs as Jesse finished, and he stood up, his daughter following him reluctantly as he did. "We'd better get down there," he said, and Jadis stuck to him like glue, immediately shy. She was close behind him as Jesse descended the steps and entered the room where everyone was congregating, just in time to hear Courtney's remark.

"Oh, surely they can't be all that bad," he said lightly, offering her a grin. Truth be told, he was fascinated by this daughter he never knew he had. So much time had been lost without her, and though he knew there would be a process of acceptance where a child Courtney's age was concerned, he truly wished to make it up to her.

[DANNA DEVILLE]

Courtney glanced up in mild surprise at her father and his response to her mutterings. She raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly to where her mother was laughing joyously with her oldest children. Her favorite children. "You wouldn't understand, would you?" she retorted, lacking the bite she meant for it to have.

She wasn't the only one to take issue to Danna's clear favoritism. It wasn't so bad being treated like furniture when they were the only ones in the house, but to see that their mother could actually like one of her children, and they weren't one of them, stung. Only Cooper, at four years old, was oblivious to this. Cressida glowered bitterly, openly at them. Carlton flipped from the same irritation to the acceptance Cameron showed, though perhaps it was more remnant of the resignation Caliban had. Cassie covered her own agitation with nonchalance, though Courtney caught a glare or two shot in Christian and Cynthia's directions since their appearance.

"We do have interesting news," Cynthia said, making herself comfortable beside her older brother.

"Oh?" Danna said.

"Mhm. We ran into Melanie Myles not long ago," Cynthia went on with a grin.

"She ran off with Derek and Devin, but we managed to capture the rest. Regina, Nadine, Valarie," Christian listed off the names of his children with only a shrug.

"And DJ," Cynthia snarled. "But she got on my nerves."

"So Cindy killed her," Christian said with a grin, shooting her an appreciative look. "The others we...ahhh...had fun with."

"Practicing."

"Cruciatus."

"Confundus."

"Imperius."

"Legilimens."

"It addled their minds a bit," Christian went on proudly.

"Brainwashed them," Cynthia added.

"They still need a bit of tweaking, but they'll make great soldiers once we've perfected their minds."

Danna was silent for a long time, looking between the two of them, before breaking out into broad grins. Most of Christian's children weren't quite up to par with their father, more like their weak-willed mother. It was amazing Melanie had lasted as long as she had among their family. Nothing brought Danna greater pleasure than seeing those so against her bend to her will. By any means possible.

"Did you bring them with you?" Danna asked quietly.

"Not yet. But say the word and we'll get them here as soon as possible," Christian swore vehemently.

"Your wish is our command, Mother," Cynthia carried on.

"We'll enjoy the holiday, I think. Then, when we can focus on more serious matters, you will bring them to me," Danna said.

"Of course," Christian and Cynthia replied in unison.

"Suck ups," Charlotte snorted.

"It's called being smart, my dear," Danna corrected.

"Of course it is. It's also called sucking up," Charlotte giggled.

"You might like to try it sometime, dear," Danna said, smirk half amused, half irritated.

"Maybe," Charlotte shrugged.

"She's only jealous," Cynthia said, sitting all, seemingly superior to most in the room. "Most of them all."

"That reminds me!" Cathryn gasped. "I forgot to tell you about this one time Chelsea and I crossed paths in Madrid..."

And on went the tale of the sisters running into one another in a Spanish bar, not only stealing Chelsea's date, but then abandoning him to sleep with a very attractive young woman called Nerea, who just so happened to be the man's ex lover. It was an exciting tale of betrayal and sex that enticed most of the family. It was always a fun story, but Cathryn was more interested in keeping the mood light. Nothing was more frustrating than the family going to war with each other. Most of the siblings liked each other on most occasions, but when Christian and Cynthia acted like king and queen of the world because Danna paid them any sort of praise, it annoyed most people. By the time Cathryn finished her story, most were laughing, the matter forgotten.