"After three?"
"Alright, then. Oi, Peter. Are you ready? Wait, that's not yours. Yours is the one in the brown paper."
"Sorry, this must be Sirius' then."
"Merlin. I thought we had this sorted? So much for starting Christmas with presents."
Remus was the only one of the four of them to remain quiet. Instead, as he stood with his three best friends holding his own present, he chuckled to himself.
They had been arranging their Secret Santa since October, immediately after their Halloween plans had been enacted and they'd sought another holiday to celebrate. It was a very basic thing to organise, compared to their typical antics, and soon enough they had a hat with their names inside it.
"Right, are we ready now?" an exasperated James asked. He stood beside Remus, clutching the tattered hat which had belonged to Sirius in his first year.
"Yes, I have the brown one with my nametag on it," Peter confirmed.
Sirius nodded, "Yup. I've got mine. No expenses spared with this wrapping." It was wrapped in old muggle newspaper, and Sirius was less than impressed upon his first glance.
"Got mine," Remus said quietly. His was the only one wrapped professionally; the wrapping was an emerald shade of green, and the bow around it was a lighter, lime shade of green. It certainly put the others to shame.
"Same," James agreed with a huff of impatience.
"After three, then?" Sirius repeated, glancing between his companions eagerly.
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One- Sirius you cheater!"
The four of them tore off their wrapping, though Remus had been slightly more tender with his since he rather liked the ribbon on the top, and Sirius had begun a fraction before the others.
There was a further few seconds of silence as James tore open the gift box which his present was in, and Sirius removed the packaging from his.
It was obvious immediately, what Peter had; a rat toy.
He rolled his eyes, laughing, "Well, thanks I guess – whoever gave me this. I'm guessing it wasn't Remus because he just…wouldn't have."
Remus' eyes twinkled, and he neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. He hadn't been Peter's buyer, but he had been an accomplice in its purchase.
It was also soon clear what James had been presented.
"Epic!" he cheered gratefully, for he had just received a selection box from Quality Quidditch Supplies, "This is amazing. Thanks!"
James' thanks was directed at Sirius, since he assumed that was who had gone out of their way to spend money on such a thing.
Only the slightest twitch of Sirius' brow and the amazement in his eyes implied that he had been just as surprised as James was to have seen the gift, and that he was therefore not the person responsible for delivering it.
Sirius opened his next, and was equally as appreciative as James had been. Despite the unexciting wrapping, the stocking of Zonko's tricks and games inside was certainly enthralling.
"Holy- Wow. Cheers!"
He glanced between his companions, so as to find the person responsible for its delivery, but considered himself unsuccessful. Instead, he turned his attention to Remus as he figured out what his gift was.
"Um…" Remus was puzzled, as he took out a pair of sunglasses from his wrappings, "Thanks?"
The other three laughed, appearing just as uncertain of the gift's intentions.
"Put 'em on, Moony. Let's see if they can make you look cool," James prompted.
Why anyone would want sunglasses in the dead of winter was beyond him.
"Okay," Remus complied, opening the plastic to put on his glasses.
He soon realised that he had been wrong to think they were sunglasses, for they were not. Instead, they had been completely blacked out.
"Why have I- oh. What is t-"
Remus silenced himself, as he saw with his own eyes the night sky. Odd stars appeared to twinkle, and he could spot the Ursa Major constellation he had grown to recognise during his childhood. When he tilted his head, the scene also moved and he could see further into the night sky.
Then he came to a stop, for there on the right was a great, imposing full moon.
He hadn't noticed he had begun hyperventilating until the scene had been pulled away from him and the faces of his three friends were before him once again.
"Hey, Remus? Moony? OI!"
Sirius clicked his fingers in front of his friend, whilst James laid a hand upon Remus' shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
Together, they guided Remus to a chair nearby, and helped him to settle back in it.
Peter, meanwhile, dug deep into his pockets for some stray chocolate coins he was sure Remus would appreciate.
No one said anything for a moment, as Remus' breathing began to settle back to normal.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked, pushing a chocolate into Remus' hand.
Remus nodded vacantly, his eyes staring off into the distance.
They remained silent, then, and the chocolate was simply allowed to melt in his hand.
"Who gave me that?" Remus asked after a moment. His voice was monotonous, empty.
The other three Marauders looked between one another, and neither confessed to being responsible for Remus' gift.
He swallowed, and a deep frown began to etch itself into his brow.
"Who gave it to me?" he repeated again, his voice increasing in urgency as he tore his gaze away from nothingness to glance between his three friends.
He glared accusingly at each of them, until James turned his back on them and walked over to the fire.
Taking a handful of powder from the bag reserved for use by Head Boy and Girl in emergencies, he put his head in the fire and threw the powder into the grate. After a second, he addressed someone in the kitchen.
"Can we get a large hot cocoa in the Gryffindor common room, please?" he asked, and his voice remained audible in the room where he physically remained.
James returned to his friends just as a small creature entered the common room; a house elf wearing a miniature Gryffindor scarf, carrying a mug of hot chocolate larger than its hands.
"Thanks," James said kindly, offering the elf some chocolate in return.
The elf bade them a merry Christmas, and left.
"Here you go."
The chocolate was passed to Remus, who took it in his hands and rested it upon his lap. The steam tickled his chin, though he didn't move it.
"Today's going to be a rough day for you, Remus, we get that," James consoled gently, "Just stay there and get yourself together. Have a drink. Eat, you'll feel better."
"I don't need to get myself together," Remus snapped, his drink spilling over onto his thigh and the chair, "I want to know who the fuck thought it would be funny to send me a full moon for Christmas? And not just any Christmas. The Christmas with a full moon!"
He jumped up, then, knocking his drink to the floor completely.
"Remus," Sirius stammered, evidently nervous, "I didn't mean it like that. I hadn't actually realised that-"
"You?"
Before Sirius could offer a word in is defence, Remus had leapt at him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
To be continued...