Sirius stretched his arms above his head as he woke, a soft yawn leaving his lips as his muscles relaxed. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept so well; he was worried he would be in for another sleepless night of worry. He could hear his dorm mates shuffling around the room, greeting each other as they woke up and got dressed. He laid in bed for a moment, his eyes closed as he basked in the absolute perfection of the moment. Sirius knew it wouldn't be much longer before the boys came to wake him, but he wanted to enjoy the moment.

He was in a warm bed in his favorite place in the world-the Potter's home was a close second-, listening to the sounds of his best mates, his brothers really. Brothers by choice, which was so much stronger than blood. His family had already burned him off and he had run away from home, moved in with the Potters; why would he want to be related to a bunch of crazy blood supremacists. He'd rather be a filthy blood traitor any day, thank you very much. It was Christmas day, he had a small pile of thoughtful gifts resting on his bed and he was going to be spending the day with his favorite people, goofing off and eating more food than he probably should. What more could he possibly want?

A smile crossed his lips before the lads pulled open the bed curtains, allowing the bright sunlight in. "Happy Christmas!" the three screamed before jumping onto Sirius's bed, piling on top of him. 'This is home,' he thought as he laughed, trying to escape the pile.


The four Marauders made it down to the common room in record time, with Sirius whistling happily as he brought up the rear. 'Amazing what some sleep can do for you,' he thought cheerfully as he began whistling a muggle Christmas song one of the fifth year Gryffindor girls had been singing days before. Something about snow and mistletoe; he'd have to ask Lily or Remus about it later.

"Happy Christmas," Lily greeted them cheerfully from her seat near the fireplace, a wide smile stretching across her lips as she stood.

Sirius stopped short as he took in Lily's appearance, feeling as if he swallowed a brick. While he had slept like a baby, it was clear Lily hadn't gotten a wink of sleep despite going to bed earlier than them. The dark circles beneath her eyes were worse than before, looking like bruises against her pale skin. 'She's going to make herself sick,' he thought frustrated. 'As if she doesn't have enough to worry over.' He suddenly wished he had told James about Lily being pregnant last night; at least then he knew he had to take care of the woman since she wasn't doing such a great job.

The group returned her greeting with a chorus of their own, James punctuating his with a sound kiss.

"Hey, hey, none of that you two," Sirius teased, recovering from his earlier shock. "If you two get started, we'll never get down to breakfast."

James laughed, shoving Sirius gently as Lily blushed. "No one said you prats have to wait; go without us," he answered, kissing Lily again.

"Come on, James; Christmas is family time," Lily replied as she pulled away from him, taking his hand in hers. "And I'm hungry."

Sirius smiled as he watched Lily with James, watching the way his best mate lit up like a damn Christmas tree, the way Lily fully returned his love after so many years. She didn't look like she was in a rush to leave his side and James didn't look as worried about Lily breaking up with him. 'Took them long enough to get it together,' he thought. 'Now if she would just tell him and put me out of my misery, it'll be a happy Christmas for us all.'

"You're my girlfriend; you're supposed to be on my side," James complained as he was tugged toward the portrait hole.

"She decided she wanted to be on the right side instead," Remus answered, making the group laugh.

"Bunch of traitors, the lot of you," he muttered as Lily led them along the empty corridor.

"Have you all opened your gifts yet?" Lily questioned.

Peter shook his head, "Decided to wait till after breakfast to open it together."

"Which means we need to move," Sirius added, hurrying them along the corridor. "I'm hungry and we have gifts waiting. Christmas waits for no one."


Sirius laid on the floor of the common room, flicking through a motorcycle book that Lily had gotten him. Overall, he considered Christmas to be success. They had stuffed themselves at breakfast, opened their gifts together in the common room-he would never tell her, but he was surprised at how good Lily was at picking out gifts for the Maraduers- and spent the entire day goofing off; they had even gone outside for a snowball fight during the afternoon. He looked over at Remus and Peter, both engaged in a serious game of wizard chess, before turning his head in the opposite direction to look at Lily and James. Lily had curled up on James's lap two hours ago before, promptly falling asleep with her Gryffindor blanket draped over her shoulders. Sirius could tell by the look of relief on James's face that he was worried over her too, though not for the same reasons. He had tried to give the pair as much privacy as possible while giving Lily several pointed looks, but she still hadn't said a word to James. 'At this point, she'll have the bloody baby before she tells the bloke,' he thought in annoyance.

As his stomach let out a growl, he tossed his book aside, sitting up. It was almost midnight, perfect time for a snack. Or an entire meal. Possibly both. "I'm hungry," Sirius declared. "Who wants to come to the kitchen?" he asked.

Peter winced as Remus's knight smashed his pawn. "I'll go with you. Moony?"

Remus nodded, yawning as he stood. "Sure why not? I could use some hot chocolate."

Sirius turned his attention to James, "What about you, Prongs? You going to come with us or not?"

James shook his head, stroking Lily's hair. "Nah, you go without me. I don't want to wake Lily up. Bring me back something, yeah?"

"What do I look like, your maid?" Sirius asked as he headed through the portrait hole.

"You haven't got the legs for it!" James called back.


The trip down to the kitchen was quick and productive, their arms laden with drinks and snacks as they headed back to Gryffindor Tower. The house elves were thrilled to see the Marauders in the kitchen; they had been coming there at least once a week since third year. They knew all their favorite foods by heart and usually kept some tucked away in case they paid a visit, something the boys appreciated immensely.

"Lily doesn't look too good, does she?" Peter commented as they walked along the empty hallway, munching on a slice of cake. "She looks like she hasn't slept in a week."

Sirius nodded in agreement, "Probably just stressed about NEWTS or James. Merlin knows the bloke has stressed her out enough over the past six years," he replied.

"You arse," Remus laughed, bumping his shoulder. "That's your best mate." "And we've watched him pine after her since we got on the train first year. He's been a pain in her arse," Sirius laughed. "Least she's getting some sleep now unless James woke her."

"Maybe we should ask her if she wants to sleep in the boys dormitory tonight," Remus suggested. "Girls dorm might be too lonely since she's the only one there."

"Maybe," he replied as he approached the Fat Lady's painting, giving her the password. He'd barely gotten into the common room before he stopped suddenly, causing Peter to run into his back.

Lily and James stood in the middle of the common room, tears streaming down Lily's face as James shoved his hands through his unruly black hair. They didn't seem to notice the arrival of the three boys, their eyes locked on each other. The Marauders had seen their fair share of fights between Lily and James, but Sirius couldn't ever remember seeing Lily cry over it. Hell, until two nights ago, Sirius had never seen Lily cry at all. Tears now could only mean bad news and bad reactions. 'Oh no,' Sirius thought, panicking as he watched the pair. 'Oh bloody hell.'

"We should give them some privacy," Remus whispered as he grabbed the back of Sirius's shirt, trying to tug him toward the portrait hole.

"Lily, what are you talking about?" James exclaimed, his voice filled with anguish and frustration. "I don't understand why you're saying this."

Sirius could see Lily swallow hard, trying to choke back her own emotions. "I think we should break up," Lily replied quietly, her hands swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

"What?" Sirius said loudly, the food in his hands falling to the floor.


-dramatic music- Reviews please!