Remus sat staring at the Gryffindor Christmas tree. Every year he watched people open gifts. Sirius and James always opened tons of gifts. Peter didn't have as many gifts as they did, but he still got a few. Remus still couldn't understand why his friends got gifts but he didn't get any. Was it because he was a werewolf? Whatever it was, he didn't care. He was going to be speaking to Santa about it.

"Remus, what are you doing up? It's almost twelve o'clock," a sleepy Peter told him. Curfew for third years and below was nine o'clock.

"I'm waiting for Santa," Remus replied barely able to keep his eyes from drooping. When he realized how sleepy he was, he sat up straight and pushed his sandy blonde hair out of his scarred face.

"Remus, Santa isn't real. You've got to go to sleep now, or we won't be able to do our pranks." Sirius barely had any students to prank because most of them were gone for the Holidays. The four pranksters knew they were going to have some detention, so they stayed rested.

"Why is it that he gives everyone else gets gifts except for me? Am I bad?" Remus asked his friends while trying to hold back his tears. It was true. Everyone in Gryffindor got gifts under the tree if they stayed for the Holidays.

The other three saw their friend's eyes glistening with unshed tears. It was James who acted first. "Remus, you aren't bad. Santa…just doesn't know what to get you."

"James, you know Santa isn't-" Sirius was cut off with a swift elbow to the ribs.

"Anyway, Santa probably just doesn't know what to get you. Everyone usually makes a list to him, and he usually gives the good children what they want. The bad children get coal."

"Is it too late to make a letter now?" Remus asked hoping it wasn't.

"Nope! As long as you make it before twelve, he will get it." Remus didn't even hear the last part of the sentence before he hopped up and run to the boys' dorm. He grabbed a short piece of parchment and quickly scribbled down what he wanted.

In the common room, the two of the three remaining marauders stood confused. "James, you know Santa isn't real," Sirius complained while rubbing his ribs.

"It would kill him to figure out so suddenly that Santa isn't real. Maybe after Christmas we will tell him."

Remus was going to run to the owlry and have a school owl deliver it, James snatched it from him before he could leave the common room. "I'll deliver it for you. The owls would take too long." James took out his wand and sent the letter somewhere unknown.

"Now, you can go to sleep. He usually wants you to sleep while he reads your letter."

"Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. Ask him someday. Now go to bed before he gets the letter!" Remus told his friends good night before going to the dorm and slamming the door shut. As soon as he heard the door shut, James hopped over the red Gryffindor couch to get Remus's letter. When he opened it and read the usually neat handwritting, his eyes were a bit glossy when he finished.

Dear Santa Claus,

I'm sorry my letter is so late. I didn't know I had to send a letter to you. I'm not really asking for much. Can you just help cure me? No one besides my family and friends know I'm a werewolf. I don't want to constantly put my friends in danger every full moon. My parents hate me because of it. They had to move because of they fear me getting out and attacking someone. My dad hates me because I'm a dark creature. Please help me. I just want to keep my friends safe and make my family happy.

Sincerely, Remus J. Lupin

James threw the letter on the table to let the other two read it. How were they going to do this?

It was four hours later that the three finally found what they were looking for. Since all three of the boys were pure-bloods, they had large amounts of information in their family libraries. Sirius found a book on dark creatures and how to cure them in the very back of the library. The potion only took two hours, but all of the ingredients were very rare. How were they supposed to get basilisk venom or phoenix tears?

"I think I have some venom in the Manor," Sirius spoke up. His family was very dark.

"I'm not going to ask how, but do you think you could sneak back into the manor again?"

"Kreacher!" The short, grumpy house elf popped into the common room.

"What does Mistress's traitor son be needing?"

"We need the basilisk venom mother keeps hidden. We are making a very dark potion." Sirius put emphasis on the word dark to temp the house elf. The creature's eyes lit up with joy before he popped away. Seconds later, a vial of murky green liquid was on the table.

"We've got the venom, but what about the tears?" Just as the question was asked, Fawkes walked out of the burning fireplace. He began crying and it filled up an empty ink vial lying on the fireplace. Before they could thank him, he burst into flames and left.

"Um… okay we have everything. Let's start now!"

It was six in the morning when three stumbled into their dorm rooms. They had the vial holding the potion they had made. Sirius wrote a letter as neatly as he could. Peter was able to quietly put the letter and the potion in the drawer before all three of them crashed onto their beds.

Remus woke up well rested at six-thirty like he did every morning. He skipped down the stairs and saw that Santa had not left him a single present. He sighed and walked back up the stairs to get dressed. When he opened his shirt drawer, he gasped and pulled out the letter and the potion.

Dear Remus,

I'm sorry for not getting you anything last year. I didn't know what you wanted! I hope this potion makes up for it by curing you.

Sincerely, Nicholas Claus

Remus stared at the potion with amazement displayed across his face. He quickly downed the potion. His body felt like it was being ripped apart. The pain stopped as quickly as it started. He no longer felt the heavy weight of his wolf in his body.

"Guys!" The other three groaned and turned back over. Remus went to the bed closets to his which happed to be Peter's. He quickly flipped the entire bed over mattress, boy, and all. He wasn't a werewolf anymore, but he still had the strength of one.

"I'm cured! He gave me this potion, and it cured me!" Remus was hit in the back of his head with a pillow.

Even though the boys were extremely tired, it made them happier than ever to see their friend so happy. He never smiled as brightly as he did that day.