A/N: Hey, loves. I'm posting this earlier than expected, but only because I'm lying in bed with what appears to be an extremely vicious cold. Or perhaps strep throat. I can never tell the difference. Anyway, this is yet another story about a reader of Broadcast Live from Hogwarts by marauder4u and her ongoing love story with Remus Lupin. Check out Broadcast Live for more fun with the Marauders and please enjoy this story. Thank you.

My Christmas with Remus Lupin

I can't control my happiness on the morning of December twenty-seventh. Remus Lupin, my boyfriend of two and a half months, is supposed to arrive in my living room at exactly eleven o'clock this morning. Looking at my alarm clock, I notice that it is almost nine-thirty. I jump out of bed and head down the hall to get ready for the day.

An hour and a half later, I am looking in the mirror before going downstairs to wait on Remus. My long black hair is done up in a cute ponytail, and my makeup emphasizes my pale skin and green eyes. I smooth down my red silk blouse and blue jeans before running down the stairs to wait for Remus. However, when I arrive, he's already sitting on the couch, looking sheepishly up at my father. Oh, no. This doesn't look good.

"Oh, hello, Remus!" I greet him, plopping down next to him. He smiles at me, but then glances back at my dad, who looks like he's about to burst into laughter at any second. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"This isn't funny, Daddy. You're scaring him," I say. That causes the bubble of laughter to spill out of my father, who just waves at us and heads into the kitchen, where I assume my mother is; I can hear him retelling the story.

"Sorry about that," I apologize. Remus smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"It's alright. I was quite frightened, but he seems nice. And so does your mum. She's in the kitchen making us hot chocolate right now," he says. I laugh at the look in his eyes – you know, the one that lets you know he has chocolate on his mind.

I take this moment to appreciate his features. His soft brown eyes, his messy hair, the light freckles. He looks quite handsome in the dark blue button-down that fits him perfectly. He notices me looking at him and chuckles. I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks.

"You look very nice, too," he says. It's cute that he still blushes as much as I do, even after almost three months together.

"How long are you staying?" I ask, hoping that he forgot he told James he'd spend New Year's with him.

"Well, I told James I'd spend New Year's Day with him, so only until about ten on the thirty-first," he answers. I find myself pouting. James ruins everything… Then I remember my parents.

"Did you ask my parents about this?"

Remus nods. "I asked your mum, and she said I can stay as long as I'd like." At that moment, my mum comes in with the hot chocolate.

"Here you go, lovelies," she says. Remus quickly grabs his; I laugh.

"Oh! That reminds me! I got you a present!" I quickly run up to my room and grab the two packages. When I return downstairs, I thrust them into Remus' hands. I grin and drop back down onto the couch.

"Open them!" I encourage him. He chuckles and does as he's told. The first present is just a trick. It's a book entitled How to Deal with Addiction: 15 Steps to Coming Clean and a chocolate bar. He's laughs and gives me a chaste kiss on the cheek. He then opens his other present, a Weird Sisters record that he's wanted for a while.

"I love them, both of them," he says. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box wrapped in light blue paper. He hands it to me with a smile; I dispose of the wrapping paper then open the small box. I gasp.

"It's beautiful, Remus!" I quickly pull out the silver necklace, fingering the small snowflake pendant. I hand it to him and turn so he can he put it on me. Once the clasp is secure, I turn back and give a quick kiss. This holiday break is going to be great.

I awake on the morning of the thirty-first with a frown. Remus is leaving today. I wish he was staying longer so we could spend more time playing outside in the snow, talking and laughing, and cuddling in front of the fire. Dad wasn't too happy about that last one, but Mum talked to him about it and he's fine now. I let out a sad sigh and make my way down the hall to the bathroom to shower.

Later that day, Remus and I are sitting on the couch in the living room talking to my mother when the doorbell rings. I jump up.

"I got it," I say, then make my way to the front door, wondering who could possibly be here. When I open the door, I instantly want to slam it shut.

"Hey, Hartfield. Nice place," James Potter says, inviting himself in. I growl.

"What do you want, Potter?" I say through my teeth. He smiles at me.

"A butterbeer would be nice. Is Remus here? – Ah, Remus!" he says to the boy who just walked into the front hall.

"James! What are you doing here?" Remus asks, looking completely baffled.

"Well, I got your letter saying you wanted to stay here longer, which meant less time for the Marauders to be together, so we decided we'd come here," Potter answers, acting as if this serves as a viable explanation. Sirius and Peter trot into the house and Remus and I watch in disbelief as the three boys make their way into the living room. I follow them, too angry to kick them out.

"Hello, Mrs. Hartfield," James greets my mother, plopping down on the couch next to her. My jaw drops. Here are the two most obnoxious Gryffindors, and Peter Pettigrew, and they're sitting in my living room, enjoying tea and biscuits with my mum.

"You must be James," Mum says, holding out her hand. Potter takes it and kisses her knuckles. She smiles. "You two are just so charming. Why didn't you tell me your friends were coming, Tracy?" I roll my eyes.

"They didn't tell me," I say, glaring at the two black-haired boys. They smile back innocently.

My dad picks that moment to come down the stairs. He hesitates for a moment when he sees James, Sirius, Peter on the couch, but then shakes his head as if he doesn't care; then again, before two cups of coffee, Dad doesn't really care about anything. I grimace, feeling a pang of the agony that is sure to come.

A couple hours later, I am standing in my living room with my wand pointed at two dark-haired wizards and being held back by two blonds.

"Now, Tracy," Remus begins. I whirl around to face him. Peter lets out a small shriek and runs behind the couch.

"They. Lost. My. Turtle," I growl.

"We'll find him, Hartfield," Sirius says. I face him again.

"I can't Accio him, which means he's stuck somewhere. How do you suspect we find him, Black?" I yell.

"Erm, I think I found him!" I hear from behind the couch. I run over to see that Peter had indeed found Billy… in his pocket. James lets out a bellow of laughter and I can't help myself.

"Furnunculus!" James screams, running around the room screaming until Sirius sits him down and casts a counter-spell.

"Was it really necessary to put boils all over his face?" Remus asks. "You know how he is about his looks."

"Which is why it was completely necessary. Anyway, Sirius took care of it in about three seconds. James is fine now," I tell him, curling into his chest. We are sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, while Peter reads his Charms book on the floor in front of us. Which reminds me… "Where are those two idiots?"

"Hello, Tracy!" I hear from behind. I look up to see Black and… snow?

"Sirius!" Remus squeaks. "What is that?" Sirius looks up, too.

"It's snow, Remus. Don't be so thick," he replies. I jump up.

"Potter! Black! It is snowing in my house!" I yell. I can't believe they did this! "Why is it snowing?"

"Well, we wanted all the enjoyment of snow without the chill that comes with venturing to the outdoors. And look! It worked!" Potter explains. Remus grabs my hand.

"Deep breaths," he whispers into my ear. I sigh. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

I shuffle the cards in my hand for a few moments before handing out seven cards to everyone. "Now pick your cards up without showing anyone else what you have in your hands."

"But they know I have cards in my hands," Peter shifted his eyes back and forth at the Sirius and James.

"Just don't show us what the value of your cards are," Remus explained.

"I'll go first. James, do you have a four in your hand?" I ask.

"I am not supposed to tell," James frowns.

"You are if I ask for a specific card. So do you have one?"

"I thought you wanted a four?" James tilts his head in confusion.

"Deep breaths," Remus mutters again.

"I'm sorry, James. You're right. Do you have a four?" I ask again, trying to force myself to be patient.

"I do," James blinked at her.

"Then you give it to me," I say, extending my hand to him.

"What do I get in return?" James asks.

"You don't get anything, James. It's how the game works," Remus sighs.

"And this is fair how?" James asks.

"Because once you give me your four, you can ask someone else for a card that will match a card in your hand," I explain.

Slowly James plucks the four out of his hand and gives it to me. The boys watch as I pair my four and James' four, placing them face up on the table. "Now it's your turn, James. Ask anyone for a card in your hand."

"Okay. Peter, do you have an eight?" James asks the boy on his right.

"I do." Peter sighs heavily as he hands his eight over to James. James pairs the eights, placing them on the table face up. Peter looks at me. "Do you have a six?"

"No I don't, go fish." I smile sweetly at him.

"W-wha… B-but…" Peter looks out the window at the snow piling higher and higher.

"Why does he get to go fishing?" Sirius whined. I groan. This day has not gone as I wanted it to.

"Happy New Year!" we all yell as the clock reaches midnight. After a long night of sweets, butterbeers, and dancing, we're all exhausted, but we pushed through to the countdown.

"Happy New Year, Trace," Remus whispers in my ear. Then he presses his lips softly to mine. I hear the Marauders whistle and clap behind us. If it means I get to keep Remus, I guess I can deal with his crazy friends.