𝓔ach and every year, on Christmas, the Petrov family hosted a gala. It was a fundraiser event, to donate money to a charity that Natalina, the mother of the family, sponsored with her fashion line. She was a helpful, kind lady, always looking out for those in need even if she does not favour their kind. The Petrov Chateau would become festooned in lights of all colours. Rainbow lights outlining all of the windows, ones that change colours of the rainbow outlining every edge of the many different roofs. On the front lawn, decorations were put out by the maids of Old St. Nick, and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, along with the rest of the reindeer. White Christmas lights wrapped around every tree, shrub and bush, making it a true Winter Wonderland once the snow fell.

 𝓝ow, the substance covered the grass of the chateau's property about three feet thick. The pavement was shoveled away, making way for the guests who were to come. A large parking space was provided just to the left of the chateau driveway, already a few sports cars taking up the spots and it was only 6:58PM. Given that they all were the Petrov's cars, but that didn't matter. It just made it look like they were either extremely wealthy, or popular enough for people to want to show up before they were fashionably late.

 𝓘nside the chateau was a marvelous sight. The whole scene of the ballroom and the entrance wing had been redecorated to suit the Christmas spirit of things. A Christmas tree was placed in each corner, each decorated with a different colour - red in the far left corner, blue in the closest left corner from the door, white in the closest right corner, and gold in the far right corner. In the middle, a grandly large Christmas tree stood, decorated with all four colours and topped with a golden star - the only topped tree.

 𝓐long the walls were long tables filled with finger foods and drinks. Maids were also ready with trays to bring around specialties to people, which would vary throughout the night. The tables were covered with red, gold and silver tablecloths, and a pointsetta sat on either end of the end of the line of tables. It was truly a Christmas-sy event. Even the fake presents underneath the trees appeared to be real.

 𝓦hen guests entered the palace-like building, they would be amazed at the shiny, chestnut grand staircase with a long red carpet stretching up the stairs on either side. In between them on the ground floor, a statue of Mary stood holding a baby in her arms, presumably Jesus. Katya wasn't a big fan of it, but apparently it just came with the whole Christmas ordeal. The wooden floors of the house were freshly polished by maids and butlers alike, bringing the house to a state of utter perfection for the events ahead.

 𝓐t the end of the left staircase stood the famed family. Katerina, the youngest daughter, stood on the far right, closest to the double front doors, which were decorated with a fine stained glass. Next to her stood Mikael, her older brother, holding her hand in his. They were the closest out of any of the Petrov children, and that much was obvious. Next to Mikael and Nikolai was Alexandre, the eldest son, demonstrating absolute model status. Hands tucked behind his back, a straight as stick posture, and his hair slicked back. Then again, he was now in his sixth year of schooling, so perhaps it was his intention to look proper. Then Nikolai and Natalina stood - the perfect couple. Nikolai had an arm snaked around his petite wife's waist, holding her close to his side. Natalina had the biggest grin on her face, a hand placed lightly over top of Nikolai's heart.

 𝓜ikael, Nikolai, Alexandre and Natalina initiated a conversation then, obviously leaving Katya out of it considering she was much ''too young'' to understand anything about relationships. She was only nine, she didn't see the big deal of her getting her two cents in, but she knew what her mother would say: Children are meant to be seen and not heard. An outdated saying, definitely, but apparently appropriate for this situation.

 "𝓐lex," Mikael addressed his older brother, "Did you invite Eve?" He asked, grinning mischievously. This caused Natalina to roll her eyes, and tell him to knock it off. Alexandre didn't seem to mind though.

 "𝓟erhaps. She didn't say yes or no." Alexandre stated firmly with a thick Russian accent. The little girl couldn't grasp some of the words, but she didn't really mind. Soon enough, she would be able to understand too. Today just wasn't her time to do so.

 𝓝ot much time passed before people began to arrive. At 7:01PM, the first guests arrived - the Rownald family from eastern Russia. They had a younger son that Katya was convinced her parents wanted her to marry or something with the way they speak of him, and an older daughter. They brought Ms. Rownald's mother along, elder and feeble yet dressed to the nines. Then it was the Choykovskys with their son Desmond. They went straight to the ballroom after greeting the Petrovs, not taking time to marvel the beautiful collector paintings hanging on the walls by muggle artists.

 𝓐ctually, majority of the guests that night were muggles, as the charity was a muggle one. There were a few pure-blood elite families there to make more connections, or to enjoy the Christmas spirit that lingered throughout every nook, cranny and crevice of the Petrov Chateau. The rest were muggles, looking to make a change in the world even if it were only donating a million or two to a charity that helps out children in need. 

 𝓚atya pushed strands of her black hair behind her ear as she looked up at her brother, tugging on the cuff of his sleeve, "Mike, можно ли перейти на партии сейчас?" She frowned as she looked up at him, trying to pull off a puppy-dog look, but before he could respond, another family came through the doors of the chateau and Katya had to push a grin onto her face, readying to greet the guests. Only, it was her best friend - and there was no controlling Katerina around her best friend, really.

 "𝓑ailey!" She squealed, breaking her family's structured line and running up to the light-haired girl, engulfing her in her arms, "I am glad you come! I missed you!" She exclaimed, excitement taking over her voice as a giggle escaped her chest. She could burst at the seams and not even notice. "Would you like to go to ballroom?" She suggested, pointing in the direction of the main event.