Elias had been back in his home country for nearly half of the year by now, but things still did not feel quite like
home. He was living alone, which he had thought would suit him, but it had ended up being rather lonely. Sure, things were always pristinely clean, and he no longer had those baffling muggle appliances in the kitchen (why had Edith insisted on a microwave when they were perfectly capable of warming things more evenly and with less of a mess using wands?). But coming back to an apartment that was empty (aside from his owl) felt more lonesome than it had before. In the past, living alone had been a luxury; now it felt cold.
If he was being honest with himself, which he rarely was, Elias had accepted the job without realizing he would be moving alone. He had expected his girlfriend (it was hard to think of her as his “exâ€) to join him, or, at least, visit. Maja had moved away shortly after he had arrived. He had known his parents would not be much company; though he saw his father regularly at work, the pair were rarely more than cordial. Leonhard was still furious with him for refusing the connection his parents had established with the Jaworski family. Not that the rest of the office knew anything about that; neither man was likely to admit that they were experiencing any intrafamilial distress.
And so, Elias was not particularly looking forward to the Dörfler family Christmas party, even though it was historically one of his favorite times of year. Maja coming back to stay for a few days, though, was a godsend. They had agreed to meet at the Kölner Weihnachtsmarkt in der Schiefsgasse to finish up holiday shopping and catch up. Elias had dutifully written letters to his sister over the past semester, offering advice for her studies now that she was back in school, but it had been months since they had held a proper conversation. The German had never been one to talk much about himself, but with Maja, at least, it had become a bit easier to admit that he was wanting for something.
Elias was early, standing just inside the magically concealed entryway into the Weihnachtsmarkt. Two mugs of Glühwein were already in hand, charmed to stay warm by the vendor up the street. The temperature was already beginning to drop a bit, but the outwardly-muggle suit and Oxfords he wore kept him magically dry as a light snow began to drift down slowly from the dark sky.
Spotting his sister among the small group of witches and wizards who had just walked into the alley, Elias stepped forward to greet her. It was hard to stop a smile from spreading over his face as he caught her eye. Elias kissed her quickly on the cheek, carefully holding the hot cups away from her body until he had stepped away.
“Merry Christmas, Maja,†he said warmly, offering both a wide smile and the warm drink.
@Maja Dörfler 
