Hey, it's me! Since we're near the holidays, I thought it would be fun to write a holiday classic. This story, as you can imagine, takes place during the Maurader era. And, take a look back at the Half-Blood prince, because I've updated Veronica's story. Review!
Veronica Son whistled as she opened up a brown box and pulled out an ornamental ball.
"I love this time of year, don't you, Lily?" the young woman smiled as she turned to look at her best friend. Lily Potter smiled at her best friend as she looked through the box.
"I sure do. And I already have a little present." Lily smiled as she rubbed the small bump on her stomach.
"Don't worry, Lily. It's not so bad until you actually start the labor. Then again, the vomiting's pretty bad too." Veronica frowned.
"Thanks for the advice." Lily chuckled.
"I just want this to be perfect. It's Kiara's first Christmas, and I want it to be special. I've been stuck on that blasted floating platform the whole time I was pregnant, and there was almost nothing to do but chat with Mr. Popo. Have you tried that? His eyes are so…creepy! And don't get me started on that talking cat." Veronica shuddered.
"That place seemed pretty interesting to me. Kami looks like one of those Martians that I saw on the telly when I was a kid." Lily smiled. Then, she looked around the small flat. It wasn't exactly impressive. There were four rooms, the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, where Kiara's crib was.
"So… are you happy here? You can cone and stay with us if you want." Lily asked nervously. Veronica glared at her friend.
"Lily, stop. I already told you, I'm not accepting your charity." Veronica crossed her arms.
"Your parents disowned you, Vi! You can't just ignore that!" Lily countered.
"I was disowned the second I broke my engagement, I already accepted that. At least I could keep this and enough money to get this place." She gestured at the necklace she was wearing.
"I'm a bit surprised that your parents didn't try to take that." Lily asked as she looked at the necklace. Veronica laughed.
"They can't. It's a Black tradition that this necklace be passed down from mother to daughter. It's been in the family since Hogwarts itself was founded. It's my family heirloom. Bellatrix and Narcissa can't touch it." Veronica chuckled.
"I bet it's worth a lot of money." Lily frowned. Veronica shook her head.
"Never. My family may hate me, but I'm still a Black. I would never sell it." Lily nodded.
"And someday… I hope to give this to my daughter." She smiled as she looked at her bedroom.
"I'm sure she'll love it someday." Lily smiled.
"Look, it's not safe here, Vi! People are dying every day! The McAllisters were found dead in their home last week with the Dark Mark over their house!" Lily snarled. Veronica sighed.
"I heard. Emily was a friend of mine. How's James taking it? He and Robert were chasers together." Veronica sighed.
"He's pretty torn up about it." Lily answered.
"Look, let's forget about all this death for now. What I want is to know where the bloody hell my moron of a husband is with the tree, I wanna start decorating." Veronica muttered as she pulled another box from the shelf.
"It's not Goku I'm worried about. It's James and Sirius I'm worried about." Lily sighed. Then, they were interrupted by the sound of an infant crying.
"Crap! I gotta feed her before my cranky neighbor shows up again! Lily, grab the bottle from the kitchen!" Veronica cursed as she ran into the bedroom.
Elsewhere…
"So guys, do you think Veronica will love it?" Goku grinned as he looked up.
"Well… a bit big, don't you think?" Remus frowned as he followed Goku's gaze.
"Hey, it's my niece's first Christmas, it's going to be big!" Sirius grinned.
"The stuffed dog you bought is bigger than she is!" James glared at Sirius, who whistled innocently.
"When your kid is born, let's see what you buy." Sirius chuckled. They were staring up at a gigantic evergreen tree, which seemed to go into the sky.
"Goku, I'd get something… a bit smaller. Like this one." Lupin pointed at a much smaller tree, which was about four feet tall. Goku frowned as he looked at it.
"Looks great!" James grinned as he turned to go look at Goku, who shrugged.
"Okay." Goku frowned as he reached out.
"WAIT!" the Mauraders yelled in unison, causing Goku to frown.
"You'll snap the thing in half! Then we'll have to spend another hour out here!" James groaned as he pulled his wand out.
"You're just sore that you tried to warm up by turning into a deer, and a hunter took a shot at you. Lily's gonna freak." Sirius grinned. James whirled on Sirius.
"One word, and you'll regret it." He hissed. Sirius laughed as James pointed his wand at the tree's base.
"Are we clear?" he asked. Sirius frowned as he looked around.
"I THINK WE'RE CLEAR!" he yelled, startling everyone else.
"Bloody hell! Could you be any louder?" James hissed as he rubbed his ears.
"You idiot! There could be Death Eaters nearby!" Remus yelled at Sirius.
"Relax, even you-know-who celebrates Christmas." Sisius chuckled.
"Yeah, and his present will be our dead bodies if you don't shut your mouth!" Remus glared at Sirius.
"Ricarda!" James yelled, causing a purple light to shoot from his wand and strike the tree at the base, severing it clean, sending it toppling to the side.
"I got it!" Sirius grabbed the tree and propped it up.
"Let's get going! Kiara's probably driving them crazy." Sirius chuckled.
"Our way. I'm never getting on that cloud again." Remus said quickly.
Back at the flat…
"Thank god." Veronica moaned as she massaged her forehead. Lily smiled as she cooed at Kiara who was lying on her back in her playpen nearby.
"I don't see what the big deal is. I can't wait until my little dear arrives. I love these little pajamas!" Lily smiled as Kiara grasped her finger. Then, Goku, Sirius, Remus, and James appeared in the middle of the living room, causing the two women to yelp and pull out their wands. Veronica immediately moved to cover Kiara's playpen, who stared in curiosity..
"Wait no more, ladies, your knights have arrived!" Sirius proclaimed.
"Have you lost your mind?" Lily snarled.
"We nearly hexed you!" Veronica hissed as she pocketed your wand. Kiara lit up and started making squealing noises at the sight of her father.
"We bring you the tree, your highness." James grinned. Veronica frowned as she looked it over.
"Not bad, Paddy." Veronica chuckled as she posed the tree.
"Someone wants to say hi." Lily smiled as Kiara stood on the edge of her playpen, looking up curiously.
"Hi there!" James grinned as he picked her up. She immediately reached out and plucked his glasses off his face, something she did a lot whenever James was around. She frowned, and then proceeded to gnaw on them.
"No. That's not a chew-toy." James frowned as he plucked his glasses from the baby, causing Sirius to snicker.
"Great. Now they're covered in baby spit." James groaned as Kiara began to gnaw on his shoulder.
"She's drooling! Moony, help!" he yelped. Remus sighed as he took Kiara from James.
"God help your kid when it's born." Remus muttered as he bounced Kiara on one knee.
"Okay, me and Lily are going to get the turkey out of the oven and check the ham. Can I trust you lot?" Veronica asked with a wary eye as she glanced at Remus and Kiara, who giggled.
"We'll be fine, Veronica. Don't worry." Remus chuckled as he patted Kiara's little curls, causing her to giggle. Veronica smiled. Goku simply scratched his head.
"And decorate the tree while you're at it!" she snapped before ducking into the kitchen. James winked as he pulled out his wand.
"The muggle way!" she yelled from the kitchen.
"You're no fun, Vicky! Aunt Videl would lose it if she saw you now." Sirius laughed.
"I thought she already lost it when I left Malfoy at the alter." Veronica answered.
"Point taken." Sirius chuckled as he took Kiara from Lupin. She pulled at the curls on Sirius's hair.
"Sirius. Say Sirius." Sirius frowned. Kiara stared at him.
"Never got the hang of this." James frowned as he placed an ornamental ball on the tree. Then, he quickly pointed his wand at the box, then the tree, causing the decorations to fly out of the box and arrange themselves on the tree. Kiara squealed in delight as the lights twinkled on the tree.
"Pretty, huh?" Sirius grinned as he held her up to the tree.
"James Potter!" he whirled to see Lily glaring at him from the doorway.
"What? She likes it!" James said quickly as he pointed at the giggling baby.
"The same one who's eating the tinsel?" Lily asked with a smile. Sirius yelped as he pulled the baby back and tried to pull the silver material out of the baby's hand.
"Just like her uncle. Eats everything." Remus chuckled.
"Out of the kitchen, Goku!" Goku yelped as he ran out.
"She's mean." He rubbed his head in annoyance.
"I learned that the day I broke her toy broom." Sirius laughed. Then, he placed Kiara on the floor and turned into a dog. Kiara squealed in delight as he barked.
"Oggy!" she squealed as he licked her face, causing her to giggle.
"SIRIUS! Stop!" Veronica screamed in horror as she ran in from the kitchen and picked Kiara up. Sirius frowned as he turned back to normal.
"What?" Sirius protested
"I don't know where that mouth of yours has been! And I'm pretty sure it was some very filthy places!" she snarled as she wiped the baby's face.
"Is dinner ready yet?" Goku asked with boredom as his stomach growled.
"Be patient, will ya? Sirius, grab the star." Veronica ordered. Sirius frowned as he looked into the box, and pulled out a bright white star.
"Hey, this looks like the one from Grimmuald Place!" Sirius said with surprise.
"That's right. Take a look, honey." Veronica smiled as she held the star in front of the baby's face, causing her to giggle as she stared at it in curiosity. Then, she stood on her tip toes and placed the star on top of the tree. She smiled as she flicked her wand, causing the star to glow. Kiara cooed in amazement as she stared at the glowing white star.
"I think she likes it." Veronica smiled.
"Okay, ham's done. Let's eat!" Lily grinned as she stepped out of the kitchen holding a gigantic turkey. The men scrambled to the table and took their seats.
"You really shouldn't have bought it, James." Veronica smirked as Lily walked over to the table and placed it at the center, before hurrying back to the kitchen to collect the rest of the food.
"My gift, Vi! You've been through a lot these past few years, you deserve a break." James chuckled as Veronica placed Kiara into her high chair. Then, Lily sat next to James and flicked her wand, causing the food to float in on plates. Kiara squealed in delight at the sights.
"Oh Lily, it's wonderful!" Veronica smiled.
"Thanks." Lily chuckled. She frowned.
"Peter's not coming?" she asked with curiosity.
"No, he told us not to wait up for him. Something about his mother." James snorted, causing Lily to glare at him.
"What? I just send my parents a letter." He muttered.
"So, do you like your dinner, honey?" Veronica smiled at Kiara, who giggled.
"Before we start, just let me just make a toast!" Sirius grinned. Goku whined as he looked at all the food. He quickly shut up when Veronica glared at him.
"I know that things haven't exactly been great right now, so we gotta live every day to the fullest. Let's face it, we don't know who wont be sitting here tomorrow. I'm just grateful I have my wonderful friends and family here tonight to celebrate Christmas with me! So… to life!" Sirius grinned.
"To life!" the others chimed in, except Kiara, who simply babbled. Veronica smiled as she watched everyone else chat and eat, except Goku, who simply ate.
"I wish every day could be like this…" she said softly as she ran a finger over Kiara's curls. She didn't care what the future held. She was happy with what she had now.
"Ma-ma." Kiara smiled. Veronica stared in surprise at her daughter, before breaking out into a smile.
"Merry Christmas, Kiara." Veronica smiled.
Happy story? Well, we still have one last part. Read and Review.