Christmas At The Ge Home (Shen)

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Jia Le had missed her parents. She had missed her older siblings who no longer attended Hogwarts. When she left the castle for the Christmas break, she was happy to be able to see them again and have another wonderful holiday together. A time of peace, joy, and harmony...

Loud and aggressive Chinese could be heard from Jia Le's room. First her, then her younger sister Da-xia, then their mother getting involved. It escalated into Da-xia crying, mother Draza yelling louder and Jia Le slamming her door.

A few moments later, Jia Le sat on her bed reading over the first book she had reached for on her extended bookshelf- Great Magical Architecture Of Eastern Europe. She didn't really had a particular desire to read the book, but she was desperate to grab something and get her mind off of the battle that was just fought and lost. The reading didn't work and Jia Le threw the book on the spotless carpet of her well-organized and well-cleaned bedroom. She then realized that she had begun to make it messy by doing so and grumbled before getting up and putting the book back on the shelf.

Needing something to do, she went to her closet and grabbed her violin and began to play. The tune was a tad aggressive, reflecting her attitude at the moment.

@shava44

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Sitting in his room in the lotus position, eyes closed and hands upturned on his knees, Shen felt at peace. The room had two bunk beds in it, but he knew his brothers were out at the moment so it was a good time to try and let his mind go. As he reflected on the holiday so far, he felt pleased. Everyone was having a good feeling of compassion at seeing each other again and his nephews and nieces were growing like weeds! The new part was holding his youngest niece in his arms yesterday while she napped and wondering if YiXue liked kids...

As his mind drifted to that inner place, loud argument pierced through his non-focus and caused a sigh from him. The Mandarin was too far down the hall to be understandable, but it had been enough to cause a reaction of worry from him for just enough to knock him out of his place. A minute later crying could be heard and a door slam. Par for the course in a large family of course so he waited a minute and then closed his eyes again.

Just as the instrument started.

Shen sighed, then shook his head. Reaching out for his leg he grasped it and stretched his legs out, attaching his prosthetic and struggling to his feet. Using the bed for leverage, Shen managed to stand straight and then move to the door with a second sigh. Crossing down the hall to the aggressive tune of the instrument, he found himself irritated he had fallen in step with it's beat. Knocking on her door, he waited till he heard her acknowledge him and then turned the doorknob. In soft Mandarin he asked <"The instrument is an art, dearest sister, so one should play it with grace, not acceleration.">

@jiale

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Jia Le wouldn't have let anyone but Shen in at that moment. Her older brother was the only one she was willing to vent to when something upset her. When he spoke to her softly, she calmed a bit. And he was right. She was practically attacking her poor violin. Placing it back in her case, and placing the case in its proper spot in the closet, she turned and sat on her bed. She looked at Shen for a moment, thinking of how to begin without making Shen feel like he was an intrusion, which of course she didn't feel at all.

"I guess you heard the argument," she said in Mandarin. Jia Le spoke fluent English, and did so at school, even to her siblings. But at home, she spoke her family's native language more often than not. "You see, Shen... well you know how I am about my Malaysian Dream Dolls. They're not toys and they're positioned just a certain way." She looked over at the case, which had three shelves filled with various versions of the famous dream doll. "Da-xia doesn't realize that. She always wants to play with them, even after I've told her no like a million times."

@shava44

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Shen could not say that all of his siblings were his best friends ever, but there was a family closeness that made the bond very workable. Despite multiple personalities, he found he enjoyed the company of his younger sibs the most. Maybe there was something to it he would figure out some day, but for now it worked that he acknowledged it in his own mind. Of them, he liked Jia Le the most (her name meaning 'good and beautiful') despite her teasing. Which he suspected she enjoyed far too much.

<"Much better. Such a delicate and wonderful instrument should always be played with respect."> As she spoke about the argument, he nodded, having heard and not sure he wanted to say something about the argument's noise level. He did nod about her feelings about the dolls. <"For you they are beautiful and art and she sees only dolls at her age, I know. It will be another few years before I think she will comprehend the problem."> And maybe not even then; Shen suspected she might end up being one of the more active and playful members of his family.

They had however spoken of this before.

<"I think until you find her a replacement she will continue to raid your collection. And you know how mother is about locking doors.">

@jiale

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Blast it, Shen was alway right. He always made good points. How was he not in Ravenclaw with her? It had to have been that genuine kindness he possessed that got him into Hufflepuff, not that Jia Le protested such kindness. She loved him for it.

She listened as he spoke about Da-xia being young and seeing the dolls the way a child would. Again, this was true. She sighed and nodded.

"Maybe when she comes in, I shouldn't get so mad," she said. "Maybe I can find something else we could do to keep her away from them." She shrugged a bit. "Maybe I should start showing her as much love as I do the dolls. She is my sister after all."

When Shen spoke of finding her a replacement, Jia Le smiled.

"Well... and this is just between you and I because I trust you more than anyone, Shen, but I did get her a few dolls to play with for Christmas," she said. "I saw them in Diagon Alley. They can move when you cast the right spell. Hopefully that will keep her away from mine."

Now that this drama was over, well after she apologized to her sister and they hugged and made up, she decided to talk about another subject with Shen... one she had been hesitant to discuss.

"So... are you and Yuxoo or whatever her name is getting serious now?" she asked. She was admittedly jealous of Shen's girlfriend. Her brother and she were like peas in a pod at one time at Hogwarts, but these days they hung about one another less and less. Perhaps is Jia Le wasn't so difficult in turning now some of the nice boys who wanted to date her, she wouldn't be so down-trodden about Shen's romance.

@shava44

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Shen was a modest boy and knew his own intelligence was not as high as people thought. It was just simple logic and observation of how things ran around him. The fact that unlike many others he took the time to watch and listen to people simply gave him an edge in understanding things easily. In this case it was simply that his little sister was big into dolls at her age and not in the least thinking about growing up yet (though it was fast upon her he thought). So seeing her own view on Jia Le's collection was clear; dolls were made to be played with.

<"Another thought might be buying some used ones, some roughed up in need of repair dolls which we could mend with some magic and give her for Christmas, then she would not be as much after your own?"> Her out loud thoughts about love caused him to smile approvingly. <"Give them to her with a hug and a personal moment, like telling her since she loved them so much you got her her own because you care for her more then she knows. And yes, a little attention like that could do wonders.">

Hearing she had already made that move he sat beside her awkwardly on the bed and one arm hugged her. <"I should have guessed you would be so smart. Then I think just give her the extra attention over the next few days and you should be golden."> And of course as he should expect from a sister, she zeroed in next on his girlfriend status. A sigh; this was a subject he didn't mind speaking about, but he didn't want to get into details either. <"YiXue, Y-i-X-u-e. And yes, I feel quite serious about her.">

A glance at her face. <"Have you ever talked to her? You might want to, maybe establish some friendship there."> Didn't that say enough about how serious it might be? Shen didn't think that could be misconstrued. <"After Christmas I'm going to go and meet her parents. They run a meditation center which I should think will be interesting to see.">

@jiale

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Jia Le liked Shen's idea about restoring some inexpensive dolls. If she wasn't already set on her idea, she would go for that. Perhaps next year.

"Thanks, Shen," she said. "I definitely need to treat her with hugs. I admit, seeing her little face when she cried hurt a bit." Jia Le recalled a good memory with her younger sister. They were actually very close at one time and often played with dolls together. Maybe Da-xia just wanted to play with her in general.

Jia Le returned her brother's hug and smiled when he said all would be golden is Jia Le did the right thing. She then rolled her eyes when Shen corrected her on YiXue's name. She actually knew what it was, but it was too fun picking on her brother about it.

"I've seen her around and all," she said. "But she's too... bubbly for me. But... if she makes you happy, that's what matters." Jia Le sighed when Shen said he was spending some of the time between Christmas and returning to school with YiXue. "Alright, but we need to do something together, just us like old times."

@shava44

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Shen nodded, not in sympathy but in understanding. A sad look on any of his siblings faces young or old bothered him personally as if he was at fault, but far worse when they were younger and especially if you know you had caused it! When you had older siblings it was hard to remember sometimes they probably had been through the same thing with you, only younger. Although he hadn't been able to remember why, he was sure one of his older sister's still regretted something involving him...

He would have been surprised to find out it was about his leg.

<"Why not right now? While the argument is still on her mind, letting her know you still love her anyway will help I am sure."> He doubted his mother would stay with her log as there was simply too much to do in a family their size, but she would spend some time after the argument with her for sure. He caught the roll of her eyes after he began spelling out YiXue's name. He sighed. Little sisters could be like this. And worse.

"What I mean is that no matter how you may feel about her, you may want to try to make an effort as she will be around," switching to English. He didn't want to say forever, but it did imply that she was going to be around as much as family. He pursed his lips a moment, thinking about it. "What would you like to do, Jia?"

@jiale

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Again, Jia Le had to agree with her brother. Waiting too long would do her or Da-xia no good. She smiled at Shen.

"Okay," she said. "I'll think of how to go about it. You know how Da-xia can be while she's still upset."

And so as they continued to speak about YiXue, Jia Le pondered what to do for Da-xia. She raised an eyebrow as he switched to English, but then she did as well. She laughed a little.

"Okay, okay, but I'm doing it for you, not for her," she said. "Anything for my beloved brother. And who knows? I might like her." She hugged him again. She then looked over at her collection of Malaysian Dream Dolls and sighed before smiling again. What she was about to do would be difficult and rewarding at the same time. Stepping over, she took the doll she always noticed Da-xia wanting to play with the most. It also happened to be one of Jia Le's favorites. Smiling at her brother one last time, she stepped out into the hall and into Da-xia's room. Kneeling down, she presented the doll to her sister.

"You know how much I love this one, Da-xia, so promise to be a big girl and take good care of her," she said. Da-xia wiped her tears, smiled, and took the doll before hugging her sister. "I love you, Da-xia. Happy Christmas." In the distance, their mother smiled at the scene.

(We can skip to a family scene if you want. I figure this is a good end to this particular scene, but we can do more.)

@shava44

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As she spoke, Shen gave her a fond look and then a long hug one armed. Siblings, he had long ago decided, were part of the glory of life. In many ways they were both an extension of you understanding where you were coming from and your past while separate enough you could celebrate their lives as very separate from your own. How anyone could stand to be an only child, even his own darling YiXue, he would never understand. "Please do, dearest of all sisters, and I shall hope that you come to see her as part of me and our family someday."

He stepped out of his sister's room and heard from the hallway enough to bring a smile to his face. Returning to his room, he tried again, and this time achieved the peace in his mind to go with his heart. Maybe he had needed his family around him at peace before he could do it, but it was a nice thought either way.

- - - - - - - -

In the morning they did their own version of presents. While not big celebrators of the holiday, they still tried to share as a family a number of the better parts of it. In the afternoon, a good chunk of the family would go to help with the local soup kitchen, doing Christmas dinner for the locals and the other half would go to take flowers and art for the nearby nursing home as well to bring some cheer to those in both places. So few people thought about either on the actual day so they did their best to give back to the community at this time. The morning however was for family.

Shen handed out the present-per-sibling (they had long ago decided handmade gifts for couples and bought for siblings in self defense be cause there were so many) to his family, with the one for Jia on top of her pile. The present wasn't entirely traditional, but it had seemed very cute and he thought she would appreciate the idea. Plus, it was blue like her house! Besides, too many of hers were for display only, she needed something more personal then that sometimes.

"Merry Christmas, Jia Le! In hopes you remember to relax and enjoy simpler things." A hug along with it was a given really.

@jiale

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Jia Le beamed at the present... a Dream Dragon, and it was the color of her House! It was perfect!

"Thank you so much, Shen!" she said, hugging him tightly. "It's beautiful and will look perfect on my shelf. No wait... I should take it to Hogwarts with me!"

She then presented Shen's present, a brand new cage for his crickets.

"I thought they could use a bit more space," she said. "Happy Christmas, Shen. I love you." Jia Le then went on to present the rest of the gifts. She then looked outside at the snow and had an idea.

"After we eat, let's go outside and make a snow-wizard, Shen!" she said. She saw Da-xia grin at this. "Yes, Da-xia you can help to. Anyone who wants to come out can help!" Some of the family accepted the invitation, some politely declined. Still, Jia Le was excited now!

@shava44

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Smiling at her reaction, Shen felt well rewarded for the selection. She had enough stuff to collect and keep in good shape, she needed more things that were just, well, used might be the right word. Balance included having something to grab hold of in tough times to get comfort from and he hoped it might be used that way some day. A smile as she handed him a large package and his eyebrows went up. He was not much of a collector of things...

A truly magnificent and very new, yet with the lines of the traditional, cricket container! Shen wasted no time in looking over it carefully, seeing the places the crickets could explore, hang upside down like a trapeze act, and generally roam and still be seen from all angles! "It is wonderful, Jia Le, thank you! I am sure they will both find it to be a great change!" A second thought remembering the size of his current one and he lifted an eyebrow at her.

"I think I will keep this one here for my room because it's so nice. I can repair their current one before I take it back to school and this one can be my impressive one." He gave her a fond smile. A snow wizard? He glanced outside before nodding. "We can do that, maybe a snow witch to keep him company? Hopefully you don't want him so big as last time..."

That one had been a monster to make! And they had barely finished it when it got wrecked by one of the younger sibs so he didn't want to do full sized ones again! "Better think what you want for eyes and nose and a hat before we go out..."

@jiale