A/N: Hey, y'all! Merry/Happy Christmas! So, guys, this is a Christmas special. Every year I'll stick another Christmas one-shot or two in here. I'll keep the status on "Complete" so people don't expect me to update weekly or anything. Hope you guys like it!

This first one takes place in the Marauders' 6th year. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Those rights go to J.K. Rowling.

A Marauder Christmas

James Potter and the Epic Snowball Fight of 1976

James Potter stared forlornly out the window of Gryffindor Tower. He sighed. THen sighed again. And again. And-

"Alright, Prongs, fine! I'll bite. What's the matter?" a very testy werewolf by the name Remus Lupin asked irritatedly.

James frowned. "It's not snowing."

Remus' right eyebrow met his hairline. "So?"

"What do you mean, so? It's Christmas Eve! If it doesn't snow tonight, then we won't be able to do the Annual Marauder Snowball War Where No Mercy Is Shown! Better known as the AMSWWNMIS."

Remus rolled his eyes. "We never should have let Sirius pick the name."

James shrugged. "Learn from your mistakes, right? Anyway, I want to punish the other Houses by sending snow in their faces, Moony. And I can't do that if there's no frozen precipitation."

Remus rolled his eyes again. "Calm down, Prongs. I'm sure it will snow tonight. And even if it doesn't, I promise that you'll still get your AMSWWNMIS."

James flopped into an armchair. "If you say so."

The next morning, James was awoken by a great, slimy, disgusting tongue.

"EURGH!" James shrieked. "PADFOOT! I told you to stop doing that."

Sirius transformed back with a grin. "But it's so fun."

Grumbling and glaring, James said, "Go wake up Peter."

Wormtail shot out of bed. "Already up!"

Sirius looked crestfallen. Then he brightened. "I'll get Moony."

He bounded over to Remus' bed, leaning over the sleeping werewolf, transformed, began to lick his friend, when suddenly-

"HEY!" Sirius yelped, flying backwards. "He hexed me!"

Remus sat up, scrubbing at his face. "The motto of Hogwarts may be 'never tickle a sleeping dragon', but the Marauder motto should be 'never lick a sleeping werewolf'."

James and Peter burst out laughing while Sirius assessed the damage. "Green hair, Moony," he wailed. "If you were going to change it to Christmas colors, you could have done red."

Remus shook his head. "I wouldn't have gotten the message across that way."

James frowned thoughtfully. "You know, whoever came up with the Christmas color scheme was kind of dumb. Why would you put Gryffindor red and Slytherin green together? It's ridiculous."

Remus sighed. "I'm pretty sure whoever came up with that wasn't thinking about Hogwarts Houses."

Sirius and James shrugged.

Peter cleared his throat. "Guys. Presents!"

James and Sirius ran back to their beds, and Remus followed more slowly, chuckling.

James grabbed a random present from the foot of his bed. He shook it excitedly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "You know, one of these days you're going to open your present only to find you've broken it by shaking the box."

Sirius scoffed, hair still a festive green. "That's what reparo is for, Moony."

Remus shook his head, rolling his eyes once more. James wondered how many times Remus would do that today.

Probably over a million.

James tore open the present, noting that it was from his parents. It was-

"Tickets to the World Cup this summer!" James crowed happily. "Four! You guys coming?"

Sirius looked up excitedly. "Of course I am!"

Remus laughed. "As long as it doesn't interfere with the moon, Prongs."

Peter shrugged. "Sure."

James pointed at Remus and Peter. "Just you wait. Padfoot and I'll make Quidditch fans out of you yet!"

The four of them laughed, and James knew that he never wanted to leave Hogwarts, not if it meant leaving his three best friends. Although, they were more like brothers now.

Sirius didn't receive a present from his parents, but he didn't seem to mind, because James' parents had sent him the latest pranking supplies. Peter's parents had sent him what looked like half of Honeydukes, and he was happily munching on a chocolate frog. Remus' parents had sent him a slightly battered copy of some advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts book, which made him grin eagerly. James felt a bit bad that they had all gotten such expensive presents from their parents and Remus didn't, but he never seemed to mind. One thing James had learned over the years was that the werewolf didn't need much to satisfy him.

James tore open his gift from Sirius. He laughed when he saw it. "Gee, thanks Padfoot."

Sirius grinned, looking over at James. "Glad you like 'em."

Peter glanced over. "What'd you get?"

James held it up. It was a bright red shirt that read in blinking gold letters 'James Potter, Gryffindor Chaser, Whose Head is Bigger Than the Quaffle'.

Remus and Peter were roaring. James held up the other one. This shirt was gold with blinking red letters, and it said 'James Potter, Gryffindor Seeker, Whose Brain is Smaller Than the Snitch'.

Remus and Peter had doubled over from their laughter, and Sirius grinned wider. "See? So when you play Seeker you can wear that one," He pointed to the gold one. "And when you play Chaser, you can wear the other one!"

James laughed. He had played Chaser up until his 5th year, and then he had switched to Seeker, since the team had been in need of one, and they could only find a competent Chaser. He was more popular as a Seeker, though, but he liked both positions equally. This was his second year playing Seeker, and the team was already doing better than ever before- it was awesome.

James opened his present from Remus next. "Er... mate? I know you said I have a big head, but a mirror?"

Remus looked over. He saw the mirror and grinned.

From his bed, Sirius grinned at his own mirror. "Don't know why you're complaining, Prongs. I got one too! Thanks Moony!" Sirius winked at his reflection. James rolled his eyes.

Remus walked quietly over to James' bed. He gently took the mirror, angling it so it showed James' face. "Watch this," Remus whispered. Clearly but quietly, Remus spoke to the mirror. "Sirius Black."

"ARGH!"

James jumped. Then he began laughing hysterically with Remus and Peter. Sirius' face had appeared in the mirror, and James had no doubt that his face had just appeared in Sirius' mirror, effectively startling him.

"Brilliant, Moony!" James shouted. "That was great."

Sirius grumbled under his breath. Remus just laughed some more and said, "No need to thank me, Prongs. I was just tired of you two complaining when you have separate detentions. Now you can talk to each other. Wormtail helped me find them."

Peter shrugged. "Moony knew exactly what to look for. I just told him where to look."

Sirius grinned. "Either way, these are fantastic, Moony. Thanks."

Remus smiled. "No problem."

Peter received new dragonhide gloves for Herbology from Remus. James gave Remus a few bars of Honeydukes chocolate and a new quill; Sirius had given him a Foe Glass (shrunken for convenience), which Remus totally geeked out over; and Peter gave him a new Potions kit, because as they all knew, Remus liked practical gifts that he could use often.

Peter had given Sirius a new Beaters bat, and Sirius had given Peter the cloak he'd been asking for. James had given Peter a couple bottles of butterbeer, and Peter had given James some of Zonko's finest.

James caught Sirius and Peter's eyes and nodded. It was time.

Sirius and Peter rummaged around in the closet, and James turned to Remus. "Moony, we have one more present for you."

Remus' eyes widened. "But I don't have anything for y-"

James interrupted him. "Moony, it doesn't matter. We just couldn't pass up this opportunity. We bought it together."

Remus bit his lip and nodded, looking nervous. "Alright, then. As long as you didn't spend too much."

James shook his head, amused. Typical Remus. "Close your eyes."

Remus obeyed. James helped Sirius and Peter drag the rather large present over.

"Alright!" said Sirius cheerily. "Open your eyes!"

Remus did. He cocked his head to the side, confused. "It's a trunk. Will it explode if I open it?"

Sirius and James blinked. Peter slapped his forehead. "Ugh! Prongs, Padfoot, it's backwards."

"Oh." said Sirius. "Oops."

They turned it around, and Remus' mouth dropped open. James grinned. The truck said, "Professor R.J. Lupin".

Remus looked like he was having trouble forming words, so Sirius helped him out.

"We bought it because we believe in you Moony, before you ask. You'll get there someday. You'll drive McGonagall up the wall as a teacher instead of a student." Sirius paused. "Do you like it? I mean, that's what you want to be, right? A Defense teacher? Because, if you don't-"

"No!" said Remus hurriedly, finding his voice. He cleared his throat. "It's great, guys. I love it."

"Knew you would," said James briskly. "We're not that stupid."

Remus grinned. "That's debatable."

All in all, it was a great start to the morning.

Bracing himself, James looked out the window. He grinned. "Oh boys..."

THey all turned to him. "Yeah?"

James grinned mischievously. "It's time for AMSWWNMIS."

They blinked. "After breakfast." said Peter.

James sighed. "After breakfast."

Things were looking bleak for Gryffindor.

James watched grimly as his men were struck down around him. He had to rally the troops. Ravenclaw had gone unnoticed most of the war, only to strike full-force when Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin had least expected it. The result?

Total chaos and carnage.

"LUPIN!" James bellowed. "Give the west side more ammunition!"

Remus nodded determinedly. "On it!"

Since their aim was lousy, Remus and Peter kept the front-fighters supplied with snowballs. James always led Gryffindor's troops, and Sirius was always his second-in-command.

Hufflepuff should have been easy to crush, but James was currently distracted by Ravenclaw. Their offence was strong, and he was struggling to counter it.

But, by Godric Gryffindor, counter it he would.

Sirius ran up to James. "We need a new strategy!" he yelled over the din of the battle. "Ravenclaw's too strong."

James grit his teeth. "I know. But we have to hold firm! Hufflepuff's close to surrendering, half their forces ran inside a few minutes ago-"

"Which is why," Remus said, running up. "They formed an alliance with Ravenclaw!"

"WHAT?!" yelped James and Sirius.

Remus nodded grimly. "We don't stand a chance. Our men and women will fight to the last person, but if Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are working together, their numbers will simply be too great."

Sirius looked aghast. "Are you saying that there's no chance of a Gryffindor victory? No hope for survival?"

"What do we do?" wailed Marlene McKinnon. "We elected you Captain, Potter! So lead!"

The people nearby were all shouting at him to decide what to do, but James couldn't see how the war could be won. All he knew was that they'd never surrender, even if it meant an embarrassing defeat. It just wasn't the Gryffindor way.

"SHUT UP!"

They all turned to see Lily Evans, face red from the cold, glaring at everyone with her hands on her hips. James thought she had never looked so beautiful.

"You're right, McKinnon!" she yelled. "We did elect Potter Captain! So be quiet so he can come to a decision, because no one can think properly under that kind of pressure!"

Oh Merlin, he loved her.

They all fell silent and looked at James, who was thinking furiously. He turned to Remus. "Is there really no hope?"

Remus crossed his arms. "There is always hope." He took a deep breath. "Hufflepuff formed an alliance with Ravenclaw. The only way we can win this is if we form our own alliance- with Slytherin."

Immediately, shouts broke out, Sirius' the loudest of all, about how Gryffindor would never ally itself with the likes of Slytherin.

"Think about it!" Remus shouted helplessly. "If we-"

"LET THE MAN SPEAK!" James screamed. Everyone quieted down. "Thank you. Remus, continue."

Remus swallowed. James knew that he didn't like to be the center of attention, especially negative attention, but they were at war. He could make it up to Remus later, if they survived this.

"Prongs," said Sirius exasperatedly. "You can't seriously be considering this."

Ignoring the golden opportunity for everyone's least favorite pun, James answered. "Yes, I can, Padfoot. Remus. Go."

Remus straightened his spine. "Ravenclaw's alliance with Hufflepuff was formed with one common goal in mind: winning this war by taking down Gryffindor and Slytherin. Separately, both of us will fall- their numbers are too big. But, as James pointed out a few minutes ago, half of Hufflepuff retreated a while ago. That means, should we form an alliance with Slytherin, we'd already have more manpower than the opposing side. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would be caught unawares, because, come on- who'd expect Gryffindor to ally with Slytherin? And, as much as we may hate to admit it, Slytherin has a great defense, while we're better at offense. Together, we'd be an unstoppable team."

Silence. Then-

"Let's do it," James decided. "Remus, you'll go negotiate, since you're the best at that sort of thing. Sirius, you and I will go with him for protection. Everyone else, back to your positions!"

They all scrambled, and three of the Marauders set off to attempt an alliance with Slytherin.

"GRYFFINDOR INVADERS!"

"NO!" Remus bellowed. "WE COME IN PEACE! WE'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR LEADER!"

The Slytherins kept their snowballs at their sides, but they didn't let them go. James and Sirius followed a very confident Remus into the heart of the Slytherin forces.

The crowd of Slytherins parted, so the three Gryffindors could see their Captain. They all gasped.

"Regulus?" groaned Sirius. "You've got to be kidding me."

Regulus Black scowled, managing to look both remarkably like Sirius and unlike him at the same time. "Sirius. What do you want?"

Remus stepped forward. "We'd like to propose an alliance."

Regulus stared at him. Then he burst out laughing. "Us? Form an alliance with you? Why would we do that?"

Remus squared his shoulders. "Alone, both Gryffindor and Slytherin will get crushed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's alliance. Together, we can defeat them. With your defense and our offense, they won't stand a chance."

Regulus crossed his arms. "You're forgetting one thing. While you Gryffindors seem to think that this annual snowball fight is the difference between death and survival, we Slytherins see it as it is- a glorified snowball fight."

Sirius looked scandalized. James looked as though he were about to be sick. The other Slytherins looked as though they disagreed with the young Black, but were unwilling to stand up against him. Remus looked calm.

"I didn't forget that, actually." Remus adjusted the collar of his cloak. "If you help us defeat Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, both our Houses get the glory, and," Remus smirked, still focusing on his collar. "Slytherin gets a prank-free rest of Christmas break."

Excited whispers broke out amongst the Slytherin ranks. Sirius and James looked gobsmacked. Regulus' eyes narrowed.

"Moony!" complained Sirius. "This isn't worth sucking the fun out of our holiday!"

Remus cast him a warning glance. "Padfoot, we can still prank others. We just can't target the Slytherins without cause." He turned back to Regulus. "If any of your men insult Muggleborns, or make a jibe at someone, or hex without reason, the deal's off. But, if you Slytherins can keep your snide comments to yourselves for the rest of break, the four of us will keep our Dungbombs to ourselves. If you alliance yourself with Gryffindor. Do we have a deal?"

James and Sirius held their breath. Regulus pursed his lips, thinking. Then his gray eyes met Remus' amber ones. He shook Remus' hand. "Deal."

Remus grinned. "You can attack with us once we give the signal."

Regulus cocked his head to the side. "What's the signal, Lupin?"

The three Gryffindors glanced at each other. "Er," said Sirius. "Just look for a bunch of charging Gryffindors."

Regulus grinned. "Got it. Slytherin's got your back."

Sirius shook his head. "Never thought I'd hear that."

Regulus cocked an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd hear a Gryffindor ask Slytherin for help."

Sirius pouted. "It wasn't my idea."

Regulus smirked. "Didn't think so."

James cleared his throat. "While this truly is a Christmas miracle and I hate to interrupt, we have a war to win."

Sirius agreed. "Yeah." He glanced at his brother. "Meet me by the library once this is over. To further discuss the terms of our agreement."

James knew that Regulus hadn't misunderstood Sirius' true meaning. "Sure. Now go so we can get this over with. My toes are frozen."

Sirius let out his bark-like laughter and began dragging his friends out of Slytherin territory.

James had just finished filling in what had happened to the frostbitten Gryffindors. "Now; cease fire."

They obeyed, and the snowballs pelting towards them stopped. The opposing force obviously thought that they were preparing to surrender. The snowballs from the Slytherins had also halted.

"Hold," James called. "Hold. Ready, and... CHARGE!"

As one, the Gryffindors let out a mighty battle cry and stormed Ravenclaw territory. By the sound of it, Slytherin had joined in. Ravenclaw and what was left of Hufflepuff frantically tried to stop their adversary, but it was no use. With renewed energy and the combined efforts of the two most persevering Houses in Hogwarts, Gryffindor and Slytherin easily destroyed Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff until they had no choice but to surrender.

Grinning from ear to ear as the missiles flew around him, James bellowed, "Witches and wizards of Hogwarts! The winners of the 6th Annual Marauder Snowball War Where No Mercy Is Shown, or the AMSWWNMIS- blame Sirius Black for the name- are the GRYFFINDOR and SLYTHERIN!"

There were cheers from both Houses, and the Hogwarts students went happily inside, recounting the day's events to those who had missed them.

James walked with his friends. "That was the best AMSWWNMIS we've ever had."

Peter grinned, cheeks and nose red from the cold. "Yeah. Definitely."

Remus shook his head. "It should have been 'Annual Marauder Snowball War In Which No Mercy Is Shown'."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I was a first year, Moony. Forgive my grammatical errors."

The four boys laughed. Sirius went off to find his brother, and the others headed to dinner.

About an hour later, the Marauders could be found in their dormitory, playing Exploding Snap. They had brought up gingerbread and hot chocolate up from the kitchens, and were happily snacking on them after James won the fifth round.

Remus took a large sip of his hot chocolate, some of the whipped cream sticking to his lip. He licked it off. "This is my favorite Christmas yet."

Sirius laughed. "You say that every year, Moony."

Remus looked him in the eye. "And every year I mean it."

James raised his mug of hot chocolate. "I hear you, Moony. Cheers to the best Marauder Christmas yet!"

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all raised their mugs. "Cheers!"

They all drank.

That night, James glanced once more out the window before falling asleep. The snow was falling again, and, as Peter's snores filled the air, in perfect harmony with Sirius' heavy breathing and Remus' page turning, James couldn't have felt more content.

A Marauder Christmas, indeed.

And the next one would be even better.