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Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042


‘Bozhe moi, I hate hospitals,’ thought Sergei as he walked into the room where his cousin was still recovering from what happened a couple days previously. Since immigrating to England he’d seen more of the inside of St. Mungo’s than he really cared to, and never for any malady might he have suffered. Still, there were few other options of places to go, it was either be with the members of his family injured in the attack on their home, or stay in the room he’d rented at the Leaky Cauldron, which was only slightly less depressing.

The house was a major disaster area which needed serious work done to be habitable again; especially the kitchen, since it more closely resembled an abattoir with all the blood splattered across the walls, the fixtures and the floor. Both doors were wrecked, as well as a couple windows, and considering at least one fire spell went off in the kitchen, it was amazing the damage wasn’t considerably worse than what it was. ‘The girls could have been burned out of their home … again’ he thought soberly. ‘We all got lucky, this time.’

Another stroke of good fortune was that despite all the Killing Curses and other spells which were shot off during the whole thing, nobody actually died. That said, five of the men whom broke in needed to be carried out of the house, and while Sergei walked away with only a few scratches and bruises to show for the violent encounter, Reyna and Faina were not so fortunate. It was as well Reyna needed hospitalization for her injuries afterwards, as it turned out her nasty Christmas cold was rapidly becoming pneumonia, and the multitude of spells she’d been hit with did little to improve her health. Faina nearly died.

Walking into Faina’s room, he saw she was still unconscious, as she had been since the night the house was attacked. She’d stirred on occasion, muttering something about ‘promises’ in her sleep before drifting back into whatever abyss she’d fallen into. What he found encouraging was her face no longer had the white-to-the-bone look of deep physical shock, and she had a bit of her usual colour in her cheeks. Sergei leaned over and kissed Faina upon the forehead before settling down in a chair to wait. As he took a swig from the flask he’d had in his coat, he glanced over toward the other chair in the room, where Katya was exactly where she’d been when he stepped out.

The blonde-haired Third Year Hufflepuff was sound asleep, curled up in a chair beside her sister’s pillow. She was wrapped up in a hospital blanket, and had a large snowy-white stuffed ferret toy clutched to her chest, a gift she’d gotten from one of her friends at school, or so Sergei assumed as he hadn’t seen the thing previously. In her lap was another ball of white fur, one which developed a pair of eyes and a pink nose when he walked into the room.

Snezhok yawned, stretched and started walking around, sniffing the air before hopping onto the hospital bed to start nuzzling one of Faina’s hands to get her attention and get petted. Claiming she couldn’t just leave ‘poor little Snezhok’ in their wrecked house all alone, Katya smuggled her cat into the hospital room, and the little creature split time between the girls, keeping them both company. So far, nobody said anything about the extra visitor, though whether this was because the staff had yet to notice, or they knew and were unconcerned, Sergei couldn’t say. As he watched, when Snezhok didn’t get the response she wanted, the cat walked across the unconscious girl’s chest, and started to lick her nose.

**********************************************************************


Faina was floating through a darkness vast beyond description, unaware and unknowing, where time and distance had no meaning. Images would flash before her, like snippets of a movie, there one moment and gone the next before she really could focus upon them. She could sense voices just loud enough to be heard, though she was unable to make sense of what they were saying. Some were inviting, some frightening, and others were outlandish and beyond her means of comprehension. Neither cold nor warm, but comfortable all the same, she could almost have floated along the eddies and currents for all time without caring. On occasion, she heard voices she thought she knew, calling out to her.

One plaintive voice in particular came through to her, accompanied by an insistent tugging on her; a voice she knew was as important to her as life itself. “Faina, please wake up,” she heard the girl’s voice say. “Please, don’t leave me behind like this. I remember what you promised me, but it’s too soon. Faina, please come back.” As the familiar voice pleaded with her, she felt herself drawn in a particular direction, as though a cord connected her with whomever was calling to her. She felt as though she were going faster now, and then came the unsettling sensation of tumbling through the footless halls of space…

**********************************************************************


The first thing Faina was truly aware of as consciousness slowly filtered its way back into her was the feeling of wet sandpaper being rubbed across her nose. She was greeted with a vision of white fur which slowly, almost unwillingly, resolved itself into Snezhok, and she could see Cousin Sergei not so much further away. “All right, all right, I’m awake,” she said with a groan, sounding more like a student being roused from sleep to go to a class she didn’t want to attend than someone waking from an almost death-like slumber. “I don’t need a bath, Snezhok. Give it a rest already.” Sergei leaned in closer to his cousin, and said in a soft rumble, “I was starting to wonder if you’d wake up today, Snezhinka. How do you feel?”

While the cat slammed its body into her, and started rubbing and purring loudly at her ear, Faina stared bleary-eyed up at her cousin. “I’m not sure exactly … thirsty for starters,” Before Sergei could say anything, his young cousin reached out her hand toward him, and plucked the flask from his grasp. Thinking it was water, she took a deep swig, and her eyes went wide as the alcohol rolled down her throat. Pulling a face, she gasped, “Bozhe moi, this stuff is rotgut, Sergei. Why on earth are you drinking this?”

“It was all I could find at a shop not far from here,” began Sergei defensively, before he started thinking about what his cousin just said. “Wait a minute, young lady, how would you know the difference?” Faina replied with a slight cough, her voice rough and gravelly, “Papa Patrovna said I was old enough, so he gave me a glass of the good stuff.” She took another swig from the flask, gagging slightly before passing it back to her cousin. “Honestly, Sergei, you’ll go blind drinking that stuff.” Sergei took the flask back, pocketed it with a dignified sniff, then asked, “He didn’t offer any to Kotenok, did he?” Faina chuckled, and replied, “She’s not old enough, and I doubt she could hold it anyway. I had some sherry with Baba and some of her friends at one of their tea parties; it was okay, but I prefer vodka.”

Faina drew a deep breath, and then she was assailed by the needle-sharp memories of what happened before waking up here. Panic gripped her heart, and she sat upright so swiftly, the cat yowled as she was suddenly dislodged from her spot atop Faina’s chest. Her breath came out in terrified gasps, and she stammered aloud, “Mother, M-Mother? M-mom? Mommy? W-where’s M-m-mommy? Sergei, where is she?” Sergei caught his cousin by the shoulders, as he realized she was freaking out and trying to get out of her hospital bed. Sitting next to her, he pulled her into his embrace, stroking her hair as he worked to settle her down again. With a shushing sound, he told her, “It’s alright, Snezhinka; everything’s all right. She’s resting comfortably in the next room.”

Shaking her head, Faina said, as much to herself as she was to her cousin, as tears rolled down her face, “Bozhe moi, bozhe moi, bozhe moi. I wasn’t going to let them get to her, Sergei. I wouldn’t let get Mother. I wasn’t going to let those men get to Mother; I would have died before they laid a hand on her, I swear it.” Sergei kissed her on the forehead, and told her reassuring, “ Snezhinka, dorogaya Malen'kaya Snezhinka, all is well. They never got to her … they never got close. You will see her soon enough and she will tell you herself, I promise you.” As Faina nodded her head, and felt herself starting to calm down, another icy spasm of fear stabbed at heart. “Kotenok; where is she?”

“She’s right here, beside you, Snezhinka. She’s refused to leave your side. All of us are here, Malen’kaya Snezhinka; all of us that matter right now,” said Sergei, nodding toward one side of the bed. He decided right then was likely not a good time to tell Faina any of the details of what else went on while she was unconscious; he really didn’t want her trying to rush off to battle Madam Harcroft in her hospital gown. It was then Faina realized her sister was there, and had been all along. Katya was curled up in chair, one arm wrapped around the toy ferret Cian gave her just before they left for Surrey, while her other hand lay close by where her own was not so long before.

‘It was her voice I heard,’ thought Faina, as her hand closed about her sister’s. ‘She called me back.’ Sergei gave a significant cough to get Faina’s attention again, and asked her, “Faina, she mentioned a promise you made her, and you kept muttering about a promise in your sleep. What’s going on?”

Faina drew a deep breath, and had a distant look in her eyes as she launched into her explanation. “It was after the fire, Father was … gone, and Mother was … absent, and we didn’t know what was to become of us. Kitten wouldn’t settle down, she was afraid to fall asleep, because she was scared I wouldn’t be there when she woke up the next morning. So, I made her a promise, I told her we’d stay together, no matter what, and nothing bad would happen to her so long as I could do something about it. I told her that if anything bad did happen to her, it was because I already died protecting her from harm, but that would be okay, because when she closed her eyes for the last time she would see me again, at the Waystation, waiting to pass through the Veil with her, so she wouldn’t have to go by herself.”

The room was quiet as Sergei digested what was told to him, and he gave the teenager a hug. “You and your mother, and your promises,” he commented after a moment, shaking his head with dismay. “A ten-year old kid shouldn’t be making promises like that.” Faina shrugged, and countered solemnly, “A ten-year old kid shouldn’t have needed to become mother bear for a six-year old, but such is life. So what happened to the gospodar, and when can we go home?” Sergei sighed, and said, “They’re going to prison, after they’re healthy enough to leave hospital. Home will have to wait until it is repaired, Right now, we don’t have a front door, or a back door … or windows … or a kitchen. Kitchen looks like a bomb exploded in it.”

Faina bit back a guilty curse, and her jaw visibly tightened, as anger clutched at her. One of the invaders used a Cruciatus on her mother, and Faina responded by setting him on fire. She vaguely remembered being hit with a Cruciatus, her Protego Charm buckling under repeated magical attacks and getting blasted down before falling unconscious. “Mne zhal’. I had something to do with that, I’m afraid.” Sergei answered back with, “What have you to be sorry for? You were defending yourself, and your family; you have nothing to be ashamed for.” Faina laid her head upon her cousin’s shoulder, and said softly, “Spasibo, Papa Sergey.”

Sergei smiled, and said, “‘Papa Sergey’? You’ve never called me that, Snezhinka.” Faina smiled and said quietly, “We have a Father, or maybe ‘did’ is a better word, but you became ‘Papa’ when we really, really needed a papa.” As long as he’d known Faina, he’d never seen her need him like she did right then, and her calling him ‘Papa’ was the measure of the trust she’d placed in him; trust she only ever offered almost grudgingly, if at all. Sergei kissed the girl on the forehead again, and he thought about what she said.

Healers were doing what they could to figure out how much damage was done to Nigel’s mind, and determine if any of it could be undone. As it stood presently the Hufflepuff Alum had no memory of his marriage with Reyna or of his two elder children, and he was only now beginning to realize what was stolen from his life. It was heartbreaking to think he might never be the man he was previously, worrying to consider what Madam Harcroft did to those kids and to Nigel’s … other wife, Amanda, and angering to think the grasping, manipulating harridan planned to do similar things to poor Katya.

With a loud yawn, Katya woke up, and she blinked a couple times as she took in the sight of Faina sitting up in bed, while leaning on Cousin Sergei. She smiled, and said softly, “Faina, y-you’re awake, you’re okay.” Faina chuckled softly, and wished she didn’t, as she was suddenly reminded she was still injured. “Awake: da, I’m awake. Okay? We’ll settle for ‘on the mend’.”

Katya got out of the chair and moved to hug her older sister. After being told her mother and sister were dead, Katya was happy to see her mother recovering at St. Mungo’s, though when she saw her sister lying in a bed, deathly pale and deeply unconscious, she feared Faina would pay a horrible price for that bit of good fortune. The Aurors told Katya that they’d captured Madam Harcroft, even if they were unable to snare ‘Jeeves’ yet, and the woman would be made to stand trial for her actions. “I’m not ready to live in a world you’re not a part of yet,” said Katya feelingly.

Faina chuckled, gave her sister a sisterly kiss on the forehead, and said wryly, “And I am not yet ready to depart it, so that should make us even, I think. Besides, I wouldn’t give that shriveled old crone the satisfaction of seeing me dead.” Katya smiled, encouraged to hear the surety in her sister’s voice. “So all of this over, right?” Sergei answered with, “All except cleaning up the mess left behind.” Faina added philosophically, “There’s always a mess to clean up.” Sergei gave an affirming grunt in response, then added, “However, that can wait. Both of you will be happy to know, you will be seeing Baba and Papa Patrovna soon.”

“We’re going to St. Petersburg for Christmas?” Faina asked, as right then she couldn’t imagine traveling back to school, much less leaving the country on short notice, she knew she didn’t feel physically up to such a journey, and doubted their mother could cope with the stress much better either. Sergei shook his head, and replied, “St. Petersburg is coming here. The family knows what happened; they won’t leave us to fend alone. Mind you, we’ll be spending the holiday at a hotel, so…” Faina replied practically, “It means we won’t be doing any of the cooking. Good.”

Katya suddenly had a crestfallen look, and she exclaimed, “ Ahhh, I was looking forward to helping Mamma cook Christmas dinner.” Being part of the Cooking Club meant she’d gotten some bit of practice in, and she’d wanted the chance to show her mother some of what she’d learned. Sergei told her assuringly, “There will be other Christmases, Kitten; hopefully less eventful ones.” Katya nodded, then her expression brightened, and she offered, “I’ll go see if there’s an owl I can borrow, and let Lucien know where you are, and that you’re ‘on the mend’, Faina.”

Part of her didn’t want to bother Lucien about her travails, but Faina knew he would be upset if he weren’t informed of what happened immediately, and found out after the fact, so she didn’t argue the point with her sister. However… she smiled and said, “If you’re doing that, Kitten, you should have the owl drop off a message for Cian as well. I’m sure he’d like to know you’re all right.” At the mention of Cian, Katya gave the toy ferret in her arm a slight squeeze; she smiled, and left her sister’s bedside to complete her self-appointed mission.

When Katya departed the room, Sergei asked Faina pointedly, “Who’s ‘Cian’?” Faina said nothing, though a pussycat smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she couldn’t help chuckling as a look of consternation crossed Sergei’s countenance. “You don’t mean…” he started to say, which caused Faina to chuckle some more, and say reasonably, “She’s not six anymore, you know…” Sergei shook his head, and muttered under his breath, “Bozhe moi, I’m not ready for this….”


OOC:

Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042

Faina and Katya were keeping each other company, while Sergei went back to check on their mother. What energy Faina possessed upon regaining consciousness soon faded, as she adjusted to not being in a state of 'fight or flight', or just plain 'stand or die'. No, right then, she was content to stay in her bed, and not do much of anything.

Katya soon started telling her what happened while she was unconscious, and she found out her sister never made it out of the house, at least not of her own volition. Katya didn't summon the Aurors, so Faina figured either Sergei called them, or they showed up to investigate why the Trace on her was indicating the casting of a large quantity of defensive and offensive magic. Somehow, the Aurors figured where Katya was taken, and they rescued her from Madam Harcroft before she had the chance to start doing to her what was done to their poor father. Faina tried hard not to feel guilty for not being able to rescue her sister, and she knew her sister would never hold it against her, as she was the reason why they still had Mother.

When there was a knock on the door, Katya looked up, and her face lit up as though the sun just rose. "Cian!" she exclaimed happily, and she leaped from the chair she was sitting in, casting aside the blanket she had wrapped around her. Katya gave her boyfriend a big hug, and she told him, "I'm so glad to see you. I was afraid I'd never see anyone ever again, or if I did I wouldn't have known who they were."

Faina smiled when she saw all this; it gladdened her heart to see her sister so happy again after what happened to them. She was hoping she would see Lucien, but if it was only Cian that showed up to make her sister happy she could be content. "Happy Christmas, Cian" she said, with a bit of a smile. Indicating her sister with a nod, she added, "I'm glad you came."

While this tableaux unfolded, Sergei appeared in the doorway. Leaning against the door jamb, he decided to stay quiet and see what was going on. he wasn't sure what to make of the young man, but he decided that if he was perking up the spirits of the girls it couldn't be a bad thing.



OOC:

Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042

Faina chuckled at Cian's comment, and told him, "I don't know how much Katya told you about what happened, but she was about to get Obliviated when the Aurors turned up to rescue her." Katya nodded in agreement, and added, "It's all pretty complicated. I'll tell you all about it, just not now. Right now, I want something happy to focus on."

Faina accepted the card, but didn't open it, not while she watched Katya open her gift. The blonde haired girl squealed with delight when she saw the ribbon, and promptly put it on. "Oh, it so cute, Cian. Thank you." Katya hugged him again, and kissed him upon the cheek. Faina opened the card with the pop-up tree, and set it up where she could see it before taking a cookie to munch on. For her, what mattered was that Kitten was happy.

Sergei chose to remain in the background, and not interject himself into things unless invited, or if he needed to, with a bemused look on his face. When Katya kissed the young man, though, he figured this was the Cian which the girls mentioned previously.



OOC:

Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042

"I'm well past speaking ill of that harridan," said Faina with a wry chuckle. "Although I'm pretty sure real hags wouldn't appreciate Madam Harcroft being lumped in with them." As she spoke, she was stroking Snezhok's fur absentmindedly, as the cat chose to curl up and take residence in her lap once more. She had a bemused expression, as she got a kick out of Cian's name for Katya, as well as the fact she'd just kissed him while Sergei was standing there in the doorway watching.

In fact, Katya was totally oblivious to Sergei's presence until Cian offered him a cookie, which the burly Russian accepted with a polite, "Thank you. So you are Cian, da?" Upon hearing Sergei speak, Katya's cheeks flushed with red, and she stared at him with wide blue eyes. With a slightly nervous laugh and a smile, she gestured toward their cousin, and said, "Um, Cian, this is Sergei. He's our cousin, and our ... um, protector, and he's been our ... um, Papa since ... um, well ... a long time."



OOC:

Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042

Faina watched the meeting between Cian and Sergei with interest, as she wasn't sure just how her cousin was going to handle things. He'd quizzed her pretty intently about her relationship with Lucien, especially after telling Baba before telling him or Mother. She rather suspected Sergei would have preferred meeting her boyfriend before confronting the concept of his younger cousin having a relationship. Katya was also watching, her blue eyes wide and hopeful, and she stood next to Cian as he talked to Sergei.

Sergei smiled and shook the young man's hand, and he said, "It is good to meet you as well. I know you're friends of the girls, but I get the impression you are ... something more to Katya, yes?"



OOC:

Faina Patrovna xxxxx Katya Patrovna
Slytherin Sixth Year xxxxxxx Hufflepuff Third Year


Christmas Holiday, 2042

As Cian answered Sergei's rather open-ended question, Katya wrapped an arm around one of his and smiled hopefully. Faina listened to Cian's answer and nodded sagely with approval. She and Lucien were friends before they were a couple, and so it was with Cian and Katya. She glanced up toward Sergei to see how he would respond.

Sergei was thoughtful, and he said with a genuine smile and an appreciative nod, "An honest answer, I can appreciate that. You are willing to take the time and the steps to do things right. That is good. As I see it, your being here is making Katya happy, for that I am glad. Perhaps if she is up to it, I will introduce you to her mother; I'm certain she would enjoy meeting you."



OOC: Meeting his folks? Yes, definitely