till death do us part -regulus black (the blacks, vol. 1)

chapter 23

The girl started gathering her things while her parents were discussing in the kitchen of Adalyn's former house, now a holiday home for the Rosier-Clark family.

'She seems different to you, too?' Adam asked.

'I haven't seen her stress clean this much since she told me when she was 14 that Regulus was coming over and the whole house was a mess even though it was completely clean,' Adalyn said.

'How do you think our grandson looks?' Adam asked with a smile.

'Evangeline said he's a perfect mix of Reg and her. Her blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, but his face shape, nose and ears,' Adalyn said.

'Poor Regulus,' Adam sighed. 'He was a good boy.'

'And a much more loving husband and father,' Adalyn added.

Now back at 12 Grimmauld Place, Evangeline was doing some final touches to the decor of the house. For the previous months, the house was under total renovation because neither Sirius nor his sister liked how their family's home looked. They managed to change some of the rooms and bring in new furniture, also take down Walburga's portrait and put it in the master bedroom instead of its initial place in the hallway. Evangeline kept hers and Regulus' room just how it was; she couldn't bring herself to change anything in that room. They also reconditioned the tapestry, people no longer burnt out of it and the full family now on showcase.

An old vinyl player that Evangeline managed to get from a vintage store was playing Christmas carols. 12 Grimmauld Place was finally lively and no longer had the sober-y deathly side that Evangeline recalled from her teenage years.

'Where do you want me to put this, Eva?' Sirius asked with a stack of presents in his hands.

'Living room right under the tree would be perfect, Padfoot,' Evangeline instructed her brother-in-law.

'And this?' Remus asked, holding two boxes of tree ornaments.

'All these tiny boxes go into each of the kids' rooms,' Evangeline said. 'And each room gets a tiny tree for them to decorate however they like,' she added.

A knock at the door made Evangeline walk to the front door. When she opened it, she saw her family waiting outside.

'I heard this house is getting ready for Christmas,' Robert pointed out.

'And when have we ever said no to Christmas preparations?' Sarah asked, making Evangeline laugh.

'I'm so glad you could make it,' Evangeline sighed, pulling her sister-in-law and best friend into a hug.

'Of course, we came, it's the first Christmas we celebrate as a full family,' Sarah told Evangeline, smiling.

When the girls pulled away from their hug, Robert and Eva shared a sibling-ly hug of their own.

'Cissa!' Evangeline exclaimed at the sight of her cousin. 'But, I thought,' Evangeline tried saying.

'Lucius is away on a business trip until the party on Christmas,' Narcissa explained, which gives us plenty of time as a family.'

After greeting everyone, Evangeline called in a meeting in the kitchen.

'Listen here everyone, the kids are coming in exactly 24 hours to get this house into full-on Christmas mode, did I make myself clear?' Evangeline asked, everybody, replying with a "yes". 'Mom and dad, you have the drawing-room on the first floor. Make sure that the tree there is perfect. You can do whichever colour pallet you want, but keep it organised, people. We do it Rosier-Clark style: "Either go big or go home!",' Evangeline instructed her parents.

'Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?' Adalyn asked.

It was known throughout the family that ever since she had moved back to New York, Evangeline's appetite for holidays went low. She indeed attended the parties, gatherings and brunches but just because she didn't want to ruin her family's fun.

'Molly and Arthur, you're on Fred-and-George duty. Make their bedroom as cheery as possible. Don't forget to add some little pranks here and there. And Arthur, take things slowly, please,' Evangeline told the couple. 'Sirius and Remus, you're on Harry-and-Ron bedroom duty. Make it as Gryffindor as you two stupid Gryffindors can,' she addressed the two best friends. 'Robert and Sarah, you two have to put ornaments in the tree in the living room. Make it as Rosier-Clark as possible, lovebirds,' she addressed her brother and his wife and her friend. 'And lastly, Narcissa and I will be taking care of Hermione's and Ginny's bedroom and Draco's bedroom. For the rest of the house, meaning hanging up Christmas lights, I want all the males on that duty while we, females, organise last-minute details. Did I make myself clear?' Evangeline said, everyone, looking at the girl shocked.

'Yes, Mrs Black, sir,' Robert joked.

'And don't you think of slowing down for a second, alright?' Evangeline asked.

'Calm down momma bear, everything will be perfect in no time,' Adam assured his step-daughter.

Eight hours later, Adam regretted his words. As expected, there was always something that wasn't working and that couldn't be fixed with magic since neither Robert nor Sarah had any idea about the Wizarding World. So, he was always the one who ended up going to the store to buy some more materials. But, thanks to Evangeline's idea to put electricity at 12 Grimmauld Place, the house looked Christmas ready.

Evangeline was getting the last bits of Draco's room in order, adding some final touches that she knew her son would appreciate. With the help of her cousin, she had brought in some of Draco's old furniture, such as his bed, his bookshelves - which were now filled with his old books and some new books that Evangeline bought for him, and his desk - which now was decorated with pictures of him and his family. Evangeline wanted to give her son the best bedroom he had ever had and she surely put in the effort.

'Do you think he'll like it?' Evangeline asked Narcissa, visibly stressed out by everything going on.

'He'll love it, Eva,' Narcissa assured the younger woman.

'I just want everything to be perfect,' Evangeline sighed.

'And it will be. I'm sure of it.'