AN: This was a fic written for the Reviews Lounge All I Want For Christmas Challenge. All the stories will be thrown together in one collaborated story. The challenge was to write a oneshot surrounded around one canon character and what they wanted for Christmas. Each character was only used once, as well as each wanted item. I know it's a little early for a Christmas fic, but I hope you like it!
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All I Want For Christmas
(Sirius Black wants New Socks)
by touchtheskyx
Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
Yes, the snow fell in spirals around the lamp posts giving the street the 'winter wonderland' look of a holiday postcard. The spirit of the season clung to the houses in each christmas light and every cheesy lawn decoration. And yes, for most, the night held every ounce of the usual magic that Christmas was supposed to.
"Deck the halls with... something and ... Molly, fa la la la la, ba ra ra ra..." James belted out.
"Would you shut up already?"
"Why should I? Come on Pads, get into the Christmas spirit." James prodded Sirius' shoulder irritatingly.
"Look, it's December 1st for Merlin's sake...I won't stop you from singing once it's closer to Christmas okay?"
"I will," Remus interjected. "Unless you start getting the words right. I'm pretty sure it boughs of holly..."
James laughed. "Same difference. They both end in 'olly'."
Through a tightly closed and frosted over window Christmas carols carried through the evening air. Songs of kings and snowmen and reindeer, belted out as loudly and boistrously as possible, resulting in the fact that the extent to which they were tone deaf was very apparent. All the same, the little family of just four cherished every word.
And yet, Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
Beside the couch where they sat was a tall tree, decorated so thoroughly that the green was barely distinguishable under the cover of silver and gold and red. Popcorn strings and tinsel hung from every branch, partially obscuring the bright white lights that lit up the room and made patterns on the walls. On each branch, every little twig, there was a shining bauble that as it turned slightly caught the light. Every so often there was an unmatching ornament thrown on, a home craft or a special gift, each one with its own story. On top glistened an angel, glass, or perhaps plastic pretending to be glass, and trimmed with gold. It was a perfect angel, watching over a perfect night and a perfect family.
Indeed, a seemingly perfect holiday.
Still, Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
"Wow, good haul this year, hey Pads?"
"Yeah... great..." Sirius said distractedly. He hadn't yet opened one, he was still futiley looking for one in particular. But he did not see anything marked as having come from Grimmauld Place. He had not really expected anything, but he still felt the small spark of hope that had risen in his chest die.
"You okay mate?" James asked, though he didn't look away from the new quidditch gloves he was unwrapping.
"Yeah," Sirius said, pulling his face into a convincing grin.
"Well, get a move on then, open mine first, I think I might have really outdone myself this year, and that's saying something since I cleaned out my bank account last christmas..."
Underneath the glorious angel, the tinself, the lowest branches of the tree, unopened gifts lay stacked one on top of another: large boxes wrapped in gold and silver paper, small boxes wrapped sloppily in colored construction paper with a small "To Mommy" scribbled on them. It was to be expected that they would be filled with toys for the kids, trucks and balls and frisbees. Among these would be the smartly wrapped tacky ties and useless holiday napkin rings that would ceremoniously join last years batch.
Tacky or otherwise, it was the thought that counted right?
Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
A large, welcoming looking fire danced merrily in the grate, stoked every so often by the father, cheered on by his children. It filled the room with the unexplainably soothing smell of firewood and a warm orangeish glow. It was a shame that the warmth brought on by the fire couldn't reach out into the cold that filled the snowglobe-like street.
Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
Sirius and James hurried into the room, laughing and soaking wet, a sure sign of a successful snowball fight. James made a movement to toss something at Sirius before he realized the snowball he had been running with had melted. Sirius stuck his tongue out and took a seat by the fire. "Come on Jamesy... better warm up..."
He tugged James' sleeve until he was sitting beside him. "You'll never dry like that... get closer..."
The edge of his robes ignited quickly and he stood up faster than anyone had expected, considering he was usually too lazy to lift a pen in class. He danced around the room, swatting at the flames while Sirius howled with laughter, rolling on the floor and clutching his gut.
"It's too bad you weren't a wizard, then you could put that out with your wand," he joked, as James skipped around the common room, his eyes wide, though obviously enjoying the attention and giggles he was recieving from the younger girls in the room.
Sirius shifted unneccessarily in the snow - moving around made no difference in his temperature. He watched the family inside the little house, now unwrapping their gifts happily, laughing and singing by the fire.
It was Christmas like he never remebered it at home, and had that close-knit family warmth that he couldn't have achieved at Hogwarts.His eyes filled with longing, his ears drooped and he involuntarily gave a small yelp.
The mother got up from her seat on the couch and looked out at the shaggy black dog sitting on her lawn. She waved her arms, and he could faintly hear her saying, "Shoo, shoo."
He shook his head and stood up, shaking the snow off his fur as he rose. One last look at the woman and he turned around. He left her yard only reluctantly.
It has been so nice to watch them, to relish in the few memories he had of happy Christmas's at Hogwarts, where he too had had presents and a tree and a warm fire to huddle beside.
He found that the things he missed most, aside from his friends, were the little things like turkey, crackers and telling your best friend what you wanted for christmas only to have them get you something totally different, yet undoubtedly better. For a week he had had a tiny spark of hope in the back of his mind that someone would reach him, send him the usual 'what do you want for Christmas?' letter, and that he would reply with the only thing he could think of and something he had taken very much for granted until it was beyond his reach.
But of course, nothing of that sort ever happened.
He left the lawn and padded up the softly lit street, the snow dancing around him almost mockingly.
Christmas time had never felt so lonely.
And to think, all he had really wanted was a new pair of socks.
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AN: Well, how'd I do? Your reviews would be appreciated muchly.
Make sure you check out the other submissions as well, here: They'll all be up by December 31st.