B-F-Rs minus one Henny wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she and Niall got to her parents’ house. Her dad normally loved Christmas, but when she’d called to check about coming over and decorating the tree at the weekend, he hadn’t seemed enthusiastic - a phrase which was putting it mildly, given that he had asked what the point of anything was. She was encouraged when she saw a wreath on the door. At least, until it began singing...
Deck the halls with help from house elves, Fa la la la la, la la la la MACUSA, you can go-
When he let her in, she glanced around the living room. It was decidedly unfestive. There was no hint of the upcoming festive season, nor any sign that he had prepared for the evening’s activity. She knew he was upset about her father being quarantined, they all were, but she was beginning to think that she was going to have to be the one to be a Responsible Adult and keep them all on track to Damn Well Have a Nice Christmas Anyway.
“Why haven’t you got the boxes out?” she admonished.
“The government is holding your father against his will. And Christmas is basically cancelled.”
“Right. Glad to see you’re not over-reacting,” she said sardonically, fixing him with a pointed look.
“Don’t be mean,” Charlie glared from the sofa. “We’re allowed to be miserable that Tarq isn’t coming home. Aren’t you upset?”
And so it’s begun already, she thought. When Tarquin had called, he had apologised to Henny for upsetting the natural allyships within the family. Danny and Charlie could be somewhat prone to melodrama, but they normally had two counterparts to balance them out. Now it was going to be Henny’s job, and hers alone. Clearly Danny was determined to wallow, Charlie was inclined to let him and to join in, and any suggestion that they should do otherwise was not sensible or rational, but downright mean and lacking in proper filial affection. She looked to Niall for help, only to find that he had already slipped out of the room.
“Yes, I’m upset. But wallowing isn’t going to make MACUSA release him. It’s only going to ruin Christmas.”
“It’s already ruined.”
“More so. For Merlin’s sake. The situation sucks, but Tarquin would not want us sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. And if you don’t believe me, we can just Floo him and ask. Shall we call him?” she said, and it was more a threat than a suggestion, “And tell him how miserable you’re both being? And that you’re refusing to have Christmas?”
This received a mumbled ‘no’ from Danny, who slid off the sofa to go look for the boxes of decorations. She suspected he would be fine, more or less, now that he had permission to enjoy himself… At least, she hoped so. His natural chirpiness was currently at war with his sense of loyalty - he felt he should be miserable (and probably was, to a degree, because he hated being alone) but he also surely wanted to be happy, because it was Christmas, and because that was who he was. Having set him on the right track, she ducked out to look for Niall. She found him in the kitchen. He started pretending to look for a drink too late for her to believe he had been doing anything except hiding.
“Thanks for your support,” she said dryly. He held out his arms, offering her a hug, which she accepted.
“I was reading a magazine article the other day, about how different idioms translate into other languages,” he informed her. Henny, waited, assuming this was going somewhere of relevance. “There was a particularly nice one, that I think applies here. I believe it was Polish…. Not my circus, not my monkeys.”
“Charming.”
“I love you. I love your family. But I am not getting involved in telling Danny how to feel or behave when he’s upset. You yell at him all you want. You’re his daughter. You’re allowed to.”
“Fine. I think I convinced them to behave anyway. Though whilst you’re out here, you may as well make yourself useful by making some eggnog.”
“Duly noted,” he nodded, beginning to rummage in the cupboards for real.
Back in the living room, the boxes of decorations had been assembled, and Danny was Transfiguring a small garden plant into a large fir tree, although he still seemed a little bit lost.
“I’ve put Niall on eggnog duty,” she explained.
“Ok. Who’s going to hang the skater bauble? And the other things that are Tarq’s?” Danny asked. She supposed it was progress that it was talking about this like it was definitely happening, though it was a little weird to be deferred to as the one in charge.
“We could share them out. Or we could send them to him to decorate with at Sonora.”
“I think they should stay here,” Danny countered quickly. “But… but maybe we can put the tree behind the couch? That way we he Floo calls, he can see it?”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Henny smiled. She glanced up to see Niall poking his head tentatively around the door. She gave him a reassuring smile and he made his way in bearing a tray of drinks.
“Here’s to making the best of it?” she suggested, holding up her glass. Her dad and brother nodded and clinked theirs with hers.