Author's Note: This is a one-shot of Sirius and Anna, a companion piece to my multi-chapter fic, Harry Potter and the Not-So Fairy Godmother. You do not need to read that story to enjoy this one. I was feeling the Christmas spirit and that story is not yet at a point where I can write a Christmas chapter, so this is the result. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Harry Potter.

Anna was singing in the shower, much louder than she would have had Gryffindor tower been filled with students as usual. She was the only fifth year girl staying behind for the Christmas holidays. The Potters had invited her to stay with them but she had declined, knowing that this way she could ensure that the remaining Dumbledores would at least share a meal together on Christmas. Otherwise, her grandfather would remain in the Hog's Head, alone on Christmas Day. She had insisted that if she were going to stay, that she stay at Hogwarts with Sirius and her great-Uncle, he had relented and agreed to have Christmas dinner at the school.

As much as her Grandfather loved her, he really didn't know what to do with her for nearly two weeks of downtime. He had always been a rather angry person, apparently ever since the death of his beloved little sister, Ariana. Anna knew next to nothing about her, though Ariana was her middle name. His anger had only increased with the death of his wife to dragon pox before Anna was born, and then again with the loss of his son. She didn't know how to handle his misplaced anger toward her great-uncle or his odd behavior toward her. One minute he would cling to her like a lifeline, and the next he would be aloof, almost cold. Uncle Albus said it was because he was afraid of losing someone else he loved. It was hard for Anna to believe that her vibrant, loving, joyful father had come from such a bitter person.

Anna paused between carols, trying to avoid that train of thought by continuing to sing. Those thoughts would only lead to her missing her parents so badly that she would waste the day curled up in a ball, crying on her bed.

The summer holidays had been difficult enough the past two years, particularly since her parents had died right at the end of August, just before her third year. Christmas, however, left her longing for her parents so badly that it was almost a physical ache. Perhaps it was the fact that there was still a childish part of her that believed Christmas itself was magical, that Father Christmas could carry her parents in a sack and deliver them back to her, perfectly whole and full of life, under the Christmas tree—her very own miracle. Or maybe it was because Christmas was about peace on earth and goodwill to men, light shining in the midst of darkness, and that's what her parents had been all about too. That's what had led to their deaths. She shook her head, and didn't let herself think about the end of their lives for the moment. Mum and Dad would have wanted her to dwell on happier times.

Her mother had been a muggleborn, and she always told her daughter that when she had first entered the magical world, it felt like Christmas. Anna, growing up in the magical world, had trouble imagining it, but her mother said that's what magic had meant to her: mystery, light, and infinite possibility, same as Christmas.

Hogwarts was picture-perfect at Christmas, the snow-laden castle and quaint little village just beyond, the evergreens everywhere, the decorations, the age-old traditions. But it was so very deeply ensconced in the actual magical world, and her heart yearned for that piece of ordinary muggle 'magic' that she used to indulge in with her mother at this time of year. They would visit department stores, drink hot chocolate, and sing carols while looking at muggle decorations and sucking on candy canes.

Smiling at the memory, Anna got out of the shower and toweled herself dry. She charmed her hair dry with her wand and dressed warmly. It was odd that a magic castle wasn't somehow warmer, but she supposed the Scottish winter was a match even for the Hogwarts founders. Singing, she hung her towel and went into the adjoining bedroom.

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh ton—ahh! "

Anna jumped and shouted as she ran straight into Sirius, who had been standing right outside the bathroom door. He caught her before she fell and eased her onto Mary McDonald's bed.

"What-what are you doing up here?"

"Waiting for you, Bird. I had to show off my newest accomplishment." He leaned back on Lily's bed, and held out his hands as if to say "ta-da", winking at her as he used her childhood nickname.

"You're lucky I was dressed—James would have hexed your eyeballs out. How did you finally figure out how to get up here?"

He smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Prongs wouldn't get mad at me for accidentally catching a glimpse. And you know a marauder never reveals his secrets."

Anna rolled her eyes in return.

"First of all, I don't see how standing right outside the bathroom is accidental. Second, I already know all the marauder secrets and most of them are huge letdowns. "

Sirius stared at her aghast, apparently so outraged that he was speechless. Next thing she knew, an enormous black dog was nose to nose with her, giving her imploring puppy eyes.

"Other than the obvious, clearly, Padfoot. I just meant that sometimes knowing how you lot pull off your superbly brilliant pranks makes the result a bit less impressive as a spectator," she corrected with mock sincerity and a bat of her eyelashes. She received a tail wag and furry nod of acknowledgement in return before Sirius changed back.

He quirked a dark eyebrow at her over his smiling gray eyes and sprawled on the floor in front of Lily's bed.

"So, what you're saying is that you'd prefer we not involve you in our marauding?"

Anna's eyes shot wide as she realized she needed to backpedal quickly.

"No! You four always leave me out of too much anyway."

Grimacing, she realized she sounded like a whiny little girl. She felt like one sometimes, trailing after her male friends, trying to keep up, a bit like a puppy herself. Sirius grinned at her triumphantly and she wrinkled her nose at him, admitting defeat.

"So, what's the plan today?"

He was now sitting on the floor at her feet, leaning against the foot of Lily's bed. Anna shrugged a shoulder half-heartedly, looking down at the swirling pattern on Mary's red and gold bedspread.

"Come on, where's all that cheeriness I heard you warbling about a moment ago? Some ridiculous muggle song about a deer?"

She did chuckle at that. Sirius was usually such a rebel against his parents' pure-blood bigotry that it was easy to forget where he came from, once you got used to his typical Black looks and elegant tone.

"It's about one of the reindeer who pulls Father Christmas's sleigh."

"Why would Father Christmas need a sleigh? He just apparates when he can't use the floo. His house-elves are a lot more helpful than any reindeer would be."

Anna sighed and frowned. This was exactly what she had meant before—the explanation of the magic ironically sucked all the mystery and, well, magic out of Christmas for her.

"Hey, Bird, what's wrong?"

He was now sitting on Mary's bed with her, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Are you regretting not going home with the Potters?"

Biting her lip, Anna sighed, still staring at the bed.

"I just miss them more right now."

Knowing she meant her parents, Sirius scooted over to her and slung an arm around her, not saying anything for a moment. She closed her eyes and leaned onto his shoulder. She appreciated that about him. Out of the marauders, Remus was the one to go to for a philosophical discussion of life and death, the one to speculate with her about why the universe was the way it was. James was the one to go to if she needed someone to slay a dragon for her. He always wanted to take out the enemy, to neutralize the situation. But sometimes things couldn't be reasoned away or fixed, and Sirius understood that where James and Remus didn't, though they tried. So he just offered his calming presence and camaraderie, which was what she needed at the moment.

Swallowing through a tight throat, Anna tried to get hold of her emotions. She did not want to spend Christmas in self-indulgent depression.

"So…which do you want, cheering up or staying sad and having a good cry?"

"Cheering up, please."

"Alright, come on then."

He leapt up and held out a hand to her. She hesitated before taking it and being hauled to her feet.

"Where are we going? I thought you were going to tell me a joke."

"Telling jokes? Please. I'm no amateur; I can do much better than that. Put your shoes on. Unless you want to hear the one about the witch and the hippogriff. See, the witch takes her-"

Holding her hand up, she shuddered.

"Please, no. I said cheering up, not throwing up."

"How do you know it's something dirty? You didn't let me finish."

"It's you, dear, of course it's dirty. Anyway, James already told me that one."

He sniffed disdainfully.

"That was my joke. Prongs is a plagiarist."

Anna patted his shoulder in mock comfort as he shook his index finger in the air.

"Oh, I would let him take the blame for that one if I were you."

"You're such a girl," he said with a weary shake of his head.

"Nice of you to notice. Cloak too?"

He held up his hand to show that he had already grabbed her cloak. They strolled out of Gryffindor tower as Sirius told more off-color jokes and she tried to plug her ears.

"You know, everyone being gone sort of takes some of the thrill away. There's barely anyone to catch us. Even if a teacher did catch us, I doubt they'd even bother giving us a sympathy detention," Sirius shook his head woefully as they trudged down the passageway to Honeydukes'.

"I'm sure if you tried really hard, you could piss off McGonagall enough to get a detention. Maybe you should go through her underwear drawer again," she giggled in remembrance. "You and your desperate need for negative attention."

"Yes, well, negative attention is extremely hard to come by, when you're as naturally gorgeous and brilliant as I am."

She rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"Are you saying I'm not either? Right to the heart, Bird."

He was incredibly handsome and quite intelligent as well, but she knew that he was fully aware of both. He was just fishing for compliments, and she wasn't going to take the bait.

"Oh, no. If you wanted your ego stroked, you should have gotten Pettigrew to stay behind with you."

"Wormtail's an ego-stroke slut. He gives it away at the drop of a hat," he laughed, and then got quiet for a moment. "Is that your problem with him?"

Anna winced. So he had noticed that. She'd been trying very hard to hide her discomfort, not wanting to come between the marauders' friendships when she didn't even know how to explain the reason for her unease. They weren't girls; they wouldn't understand that the way he looked at her, at other girls, gave her the creeps.

"Yes, it is. I think he should become an ego-stroke prude," she tried to hide the lie with a joke.

Sirius stayed silent for a few minutes and she thought he would call her out on the lie, but he changed the subject instead.

"Tell me about this reindeer. I want to know why there's a song about him."

They both ducked out of habit as they reached the end of the tunnel, and then checked to make sure the storeroom was clear before heading up the stairs. Once they were out on the street, headed toward the Three Broomsticks with sweets in hand, Drooble's best blowing gum for him and a chocoball for her, she started to explain Rudolph.

"His name is Rudolph, and he's a reindeer. He was born with a glowing red nose."

"His nose glows red? Why? Did somebody hex him?"

"No, they're not wizards, they're reindeer."

"But I thought they were magic!"

"They're magic because they can fly, not because they can perform spells. We don't know why his nose is red. He's just different for some reason."

Anna chuckled. It was always enjoyable to try to explain muggle stuff to Sirius and James. It made her feel as though they were very young children from a foreign country, and she was the translator that had to help them navigate the culture.

"So, anyway, he can't fly Santa's sleigh because they all think he's a joke, and the other reindeer call him names. They won't let him play any reindeer games."

She was basically just stealing lines directly from the song now.

"Then, a storm hits on Christmas Eve, and there's a lot of fog. Santa decides he'll have to cancel Christmas."

"Oh, Rudolph can pull the sleigh, right?"

"Exactly. So he goes down in history."

"I like this story, even though makes absolutely no sense."

"It's not supposed to make any sense, Sirius, it's a children's story. It's supposed to teach children that being unusual isn't bad, that it can actually be beneficial, like there's a role only he can play."

"Oh."

Sirius opened the door as the entered the Three Broomsticks and sat in a booth at the back, greeting Madam Rosmerta on the way.

He appeared to be deep in thought, staring off into space.

"Sirius? What is it?"

He turned to her, puzzled.

"Muggles teach their kids that differences are a good thing?"

Ah, okay.

"Not all of them. There are plenty of muggles, just like wizards, who think everyone should be exactly like them. Lily's sister is like that. But many of them do, yes. Of course, it's easier to believe in the idea of it than to actually practice it."

"My parents always taught us that muggles were nutters who would roast me over a spit like a marshmallow."

Anna's mouth quirked at the mental image, but Sirius continued.

"I know it's not true, I'm not stupid. It's just…I've always been taught that abnormalities are to be squashed out of you. Conform! I never could, that's why my parents hate me so much."

He stared off into space again, his eyes hard. She felt a surge of anger toward his parents. That they could turn on their son because he wouldn't hate the people they hated was nonsense. Couldn't they see what a person they were depriving themselves of knowing, simply because he didn't share in their prejudice?

"Your parents really are ridiculously horrible. How did you ever come from them?"

His gray eyes softened as he looked at her.

"Maybe it's all the inbreeding."

She smiled gently back at him for a minute, before Rosmerta came and brought them each a butterbeer.

"Okay, so I'm supposed to be cheering you up, and I'm failing miserably. What do you propose we do next?"

"Um…play fetch with Padfoot, maybe?"

He barked out a laugh that filled her with warmth as she saw the smile return to his eyes.

"What would you do with your parents, if you were with them?"

Anna stopped for a moment, a little taken aback by the abrupt change in subject.

"Well, a lot of it is normal for wizards, too. You know, getting the tree, decorating, singing carols, baking."

Sirius nodded, although she knew that at his house all of that would have been done by house-elves.

"But then we would go around town, shopping and looking at all the lights and decorations, eating candy canes and drinking hot chocolate. You'd think that wizards would have thought up something as good as candy canes, but I haven't found anything yet. It's mostly stupid superficial stuff that I miss."

"It's not stupid. You could still do all that, you know."

She shook her head.

"Not really. Mum's parents died a few years before she did, and she didn't have brothers or sisters. It's sort of like my connection with that world is just…gone."

Anna was just realizing now that it was sort of like losing a part of herself in addition to her parents. She had always taken pride that she could straddle that line, with one foot in each world. It had been comforting to know that if one of them didn't work out for some reason, she could go live in the other for a bit.

"What were your grandparents like?"

She was feeling a little self-conscious talking about herself so much, especially now that his glass was sitting empty while hers had barely been touched.

"You don't want to hear all this, Sirius."

"Yes, I do, actually. It's nice to hear what real families are like. And I like hearing about all these muggle things—gives me knowledge I can use to piss off my mother later."

"Happy to be of service. Well…when I was very small, we used to visit Granddad and Grannie, before the car accident. Granddad was a big, tall, whiskery man, and he always held me up to put the star on the top of the tree, and then Grannie would read me a muggle Christmas story like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", or "A Christmas Carol".

He looked at her questioningly. "Will you explain those later?"

She laughed her agreement.

"Then Granddad would dress up as Father Christmas on Christmas Eve, and bring me a present, trying to talk in a deep voice like 'ho ho ho'."

Sirius laughed at her attempt to imitate the Father Christmas voice. "Sexy."

She kicked him under the table and he grabbed his leg and pretended to cry as she tried not to let him see her amusement.

"One year, he took me to a farm, where there was a reindeer calf. He wanted to show me 'one of Santa's own'. I didn't understand why it was just sitting on the ground, so I levitated it. The poor thing was terrified, it kept bleating."

"What did they do?"

"Thankfully, they thought it was hilarious instead of terrifying. Grannie was in hysterics. Dad had to get the thing down and modify the farmer's memory. I guess similar stuff happened when mum was little, so they got used to it. After that, every year, Granddad would talk about how I was going to work at the North Pole once I grew up, to help the reindeer fly. He told me I would have to wait for the reindeer to give me permission then."

She grinned at the reminiscence. Those memories felt a little further away, and the passage of time had taken out most of the sting. Now, they just made her feel loved. She drained the last of her butterbeer and stood up to put on her cloak.

"Thank you, Padfoot. This helped a lot."

"Least I could do. After all, I have to butter you up if you're going to help me sneak into McGonagall's room for a panty raid."

"Alright, I'll do it, but only if you hide a pair under James' pillow and take pictures when he screams."

"Yes! That's a deal."

On Christmas morning, Anna woke up early to a room that was too quiet. It still felt weird to wake up without girls yelling at each other to get out of the shower or let someone else use the mirror. There was a pile of presents on her bed. She and Sirius had agreed that whoever woke up first would go get the other, so she levitated her stack in front of her as she went down the girls' staircase and up the other side.

The boys' room was even weirder, since the room was always rearranged to make room for prank experiments that were in various stages. She always had to keep an eye out for a cauldron—she never knew if it was swelling solution or something even worse.

She watched Sirius for a moment, wondering if he would notice and wake up. Her heart clenched a little as she took in his face, looking so peaceful in sleep, but she didn't pause to think about it. Instead, she yelled "Happy Christmas!" at the top of her voice while she jumped on James's bed. Springing up, he grabbed frantically for his wand, before noticing her standing there. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes before choking out "Happy Christmas" in a gravelly voice.

"You can sleep some more if you need to, we can open presents later…"

He looked like he hasn't slept at all, but he still shook his head, finally managing to smile.

"I'm up now, Bird, and there's never a good reason to put off presents!"

Opening the first package, he wrinkled his nose.

"Unless, of course, they're from my parents."

The book was in flames before she could read what it was.

"Proper Deportment and Rules of Courtship and Breeding for Wizards of Noble Stock. Rubbish," he said in answer to her unspoken question.

"Yikes."

Rolling his eyes, he moved on, and so did she. James had given her a set of Exploding Snap cards, and Remus and Peter had given her a book on curses and counter-curses. There was a pair of fur-lined gloves from her grandfather, and a copy of Anne of Green Gables from Uncle Albus. It touched her that he remembered her fondness for muggle literature, but of course, that was how her Uncle was. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had sent a box of sweets for her to share with Sirius, along with a note telling her that she was missed and that she could come whenever she wanted, but that they understood her need to be with her family. Taking out a peppermint humbug, she carried the box over to Sirius' bed and held it out for him to choose.

"Thanks!" he said, taking a piece of fudge. "And thanks for the sneakoscope. That way I'll know when the others are trying to prank me."

"Well, now that I think about it, it's going to go off whenever anyone around it does anything untrustworthy, so I suppose it will be constantly spinning around all of you."

"I'll use it at home for when Kreacher tries to sneak into my room. Um…here."

He passed her a heavy, wrinkled package.

"Thank you," she said, embarrassed, though she wasn't sure why.

"You have to open it to find out what's in it," he teased, and she felt her face start to blush as she realized she had just been sitting there, holding the package.

She tore open the paper to find a snow globe inside, and looking more closely, she realized that it was a snow globe of what was unmistakably Rudolph. Her cheeks got hot as her eyes filled with tears, and she nearly dropped the gift.

"Hey, watch out, it's breakable. Apparently, you have to wind it up, like this, and it plays music."

The tinny strains of "and if you ever saw it…" started to play, and as he set the globe down on the table, he looked at her in concern.

"Are…are you crying? Is it okay?"

Anna looked up at him, in disbelief, his wonderful face full of concern, and she threw her arms around him.

"It's…it's...amazing. And so are you. Thank you," she pulled away and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're uh…you're welcome."

She could swear he was blushing, but it didn't make sense, Sirius never blushed.

"How did you get it? This is definitely a very muggle thing, where on earth could you have gotten it?"

He leaned back against the headboard and smiled at her.

"Let's just say that, according to my mother, I risked life and limb to get you that, consorting with muggles. I seem to recall that you find our feats less impressive once you know the hows, so I'm going to leave you out of my marauding. Just in this case."

"Okay."

"Really? You're going to leave it at that? Don't want to know how I had to fight Filch, Slughorn, and twenty muggles, just to get that for you?"

"Nope."

They looked at each other for a moment, before Anna realized that they were just sitting there, and she was smiling like an idiot while she looked at his face. She cleared her throat.

"Okay, I'm starving. Want to sneak to the kitchens for an early breakfast? I'll just go back and get changed."

"Yeah, I'll meet you in the common room."

Anna gathered up all her gifts, carefully cradling the snow globe, and closed the door behind her as she left. As she slowly descended, she heard Sirius very quietly singing "and they shouted out with glee…"