Hey guys... I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out, but between sickness, holiday madness, and so on, we can just deal, eh?

"Come off it, Benjy," Emmeline groaned, laying out sets of robes on her bed in the Tower while Benjy stood at the door with his arms folded. "I'm going to Hogwarts this year… why are you suggesting I don't?"

Benjy sighed. "We've got rumors. It's just not going to be a good year."

"But I'll be at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore. You-Know-Who wouldn't dare cross him, everyone knows that. The school's the safest place now." Emmeline shook her head, almost pleadingly. "Don't tell me not to go. We both know I won't obey you. And if I stay behind, you know Caradoc won't go back, and there's no way he'd become an Auror without NEWTs."

"I know you'll go whatever I say. But Emmie… be careful. No place is safe now, not even with Dumbledore."

"I'll always be careful, Benjy." She gave him a soft smile and stood, resuming her packing. "Will you see me and Caradoc off tomorrow?"

"Of course. When you're through come downstairs—Auggy and Zig want a Quidditch game, and you need to at least get one practice in before you go back."

She nodded, folding a robe and placing it in the trunk. "I'll be down in a bit."

The next day was only mildly frantic, as it was only Caradoc and Emmeline who were going to school and they'd both packed the night before. They had a leisurely breakfast and then Apparated to the station, Emmeline traveling with Benjy and the twins with Caradoc. The station was hectic, as it always was, but they got through the barrier without any problems.

Benjy handed Emmeline back her trunk, having shrunk it down to fit in his pocket. "I've got it timed to expand when you reach the station in Hogsmeade, so make sure it's out of your pocket by then."

"Thanks Benjy."

"No problem, little sister. Can't have you mussing up that pretty hair of yours, or getting all sweaty and nasty before the feast."

"I'll miss you. Take good care of the twins, all right?"

"I always do." He leaned down slightly and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Keep out of trouble."

"I will. Don't get hurt on the job, Benjy… I don't think I can get by without you." Her voice was lighthearted and mildly teasing, but there was a serious undertone.

"You'd be fine without me. Now come on, don't miss the train." The whistle was blowing as students hurried aboard. "Love you, Emmie!"

"Love you too Benjy, always and forever!" She waved farewell to the twins as well, blowing them a kiss. Turning around, she fought her way along the corridor packed with students, grateful she didn't have to bother dragging a trunk along as well. She found a compartment with Alice already in it and sat down after stowing her tiny trunk in the luggage rack above.

"Hey Emm. How was your summer?"

"Not bad, I was at Lily's place for a few weeks. Muggles are crazy, you know?"

"I can't imagine. She's off being the responsible prefect that she is, said she'd be by later. If the train doesn't blow up first."

Emmeline made a quizzical noise, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"I saw Sirius, James, Remus and Peter pass by here a few minutes before you came along. Sirius was cackling and James was looking shifty, Remus rolling his eyes and Peter looked too excited for his own good. Something's going to happen, so I'm not setting foot outside this compartment until we get to Hogwarts."

"Sounds like a good plan." They chatted about their summers for the next few hours as the sky darkened and rain lashed against the windows in a sudden downpour that lasted until they reached the village. Alice shot her wand upwards and a sparkling, liquid silver sheet erupted from the tip and floated over their heads.

Alice frowned up at it, then shrugged. "Gideon can make it transparent… Ah well. This'll do the trick. Have you seen—oi, Lily! Over here!" Alice waved over her friend, who had Mary MacDonald in tow as they caught a carriage, Alice's magical umbrella shielding them up to the doors.

They watched the Sorting impatiently, Lily glaring over at the sixth year boys more often than not. Emmeline eventually got sick of it and asked her friend in a hiss, "Would you either stop ogling James or tell me why you suddenly find him so attractive?"

Lily turned a haughty glare back. "I am not ogling him, he was being an arse on the train!"

"Oh really? What'd he do?" Emmeline tuned out as Lily started ranting in a whisper about James, something involving Dungbombs, the prefects' compartment, a mimbulus mimbultonia (whatever that was, she wasn't that great in Herbology) and the seats in the compartment. Emmeline completely lost her friend when food appeared on the plates and they all tucked in happily.

Alice, Mary and Emmeline led a sleepy procession up to the Gryffindor Tower after the feast, glad to find the beds all turned down and ready for sleep. They dragged Lily away from her prefect duties and hauled her up the stairs, falling down to sleep almost the moment they laid down.

The next morning dawned dismal and rainy again, and there was some lighthearted complaining about it. The sixth year Gryffindors started off with Charms, which Emmeline was determined not to fail that year. The girls were chattering impatiently and somewhat nervously about the classes beforehand—they'd all gotten into the NEWT classes of their choices, but there was a difference between getting in and passing. However, Flitwick was a cheerful as ever, even though he stressed that the classes would be harder. Emmeline stifled a groan.

A new teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts greeted them with a cheery smile, seeming entirely too happy for a teacher of defense, at least according to the Gryffindors' general opinion of the woman.

"We've always got a new professor," Lily complained over dinner.

"That's because the job's cursed," Alice put in sagely, stabbing her fork into her potatoes.

"Cursed?" Remus asked from down the table. His other friends looked around as well, James nodding in agreement with Alice's words.

"That's what Marlene says. Every since… oh, twenty years ago or so, there's never been a teacher that lasted more than a year. She told me about the one in her first year, Professor Derny, who didn't even last until Christmas break. Something about a vampire on Halloween… anyway, it's no surprise. Look what job it is!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked around a mouthful of pork.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts? There's a reason for danger and the like… but something like History of Magic or Arithmancy? Not as much." Lily explained.

James leaned back and cracked his knuckles. "That's pretty much what my dad says too. Anyway, you going out for Quidditch this year, Emm?"

"Of course. You're captain, right?"

He flashed his badge. "Who's surprised?" Giving her a suave grin, he reached for a plate of carrots and dumped some on his plate.

Lily groaned. "Let's get out of here, Alice, Emm, Mary. Potter's ego is threatening to overwhelm the table again."

Emmeline rolled her eyes at her friend. "You go, Lily. I've got more to talk about with James. I'll see you later." Her friends waved and she settled back in, returning to her conversation about Quidditch with the boys. "So, James, when're tryouts?"

"I was thinking this weekend, to get a jump on the other houses. Can you be ready by then?"

Emmeline stood with a toss of her head. Loftily, she said, "I was born ready." She gave a joking smile to the others and walked away, headed to the library.

That Saturday morning was bright and clear, a difference from the past days of rain and wind. It wasn't warm but Emmeline was grateful for it—flying got hot after a while, especially in heavy robes and her Beaters' armor. She'd strapped on the shinguards and armguards snugly, having Alice help her with the leather guards for her shoulders and back. The leather was well worn and supple from Emmeline oiling it weekly. The armguards had been Benjy's, the only part of his old armor that fit her. However, all of it was falling apart now and she rolled her eyes as she used a charm to stick the leather together. She'd have to replace it soon…

She took to the pitch in a quick kick off, feeling the broom kick up in speed as she urged it forward. There were other fliers there as well—she recognized James already soaring around the goalposts. Jessa McKinnon, a cousin of Alice's in her fourth year was there as well, her dark auburn hair streaming out behind her as she ducked and wove, juggling a Quaffle in her hands and darting glances over at James to see if he was watching. Emmeline didn't know if that was because she wanted to be back on the team that year, or it was because she fancied James Potter.

"All right, all right!" James shouted, waving the players down. "Get down here, you lot. You're all pretty talented up there, and I notice there aren't many new faces."

"Maybe that's because it's seven in the damn morning, Potter," Emmeline growled good-naturedly.

"Stop complaining, Emm. Good, clean air, it's healthy for you. Now come on, up into the air. Beaters, if I get hit by a single Bludger, I'm going to throw you all out. Keepers, up two at a time, on each set of hoops. If a Chaser scores, you're in trouble. Chasers, groups of three, I'm going to watch you work. Let's go, people!" James kicked off and the team did likewise, with a few muttered complaints.

The tryouts went well and there was only one new addition to the team, the young and talented third-year Graden Greengrass. He played the other Beater, and so Emmeline helped him draw armor from the extras in the locker room. "So, Graden… do you have a nickname?"

"Not really. It's not acceptable in my family."

"Greengrass… you pulled a Sirius, right?" Emmeline pulled out a smaller set of armguards. "Try these on. The armor's got to be comfortable, or you'll have a hell of a time out there on the field. I'd suggest getting your own, actually. I need some new gear, myself."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. My family isn't as renowned as the Blacks, and we're not as notorious either, but they weren't happy. I didn't get a Howler and I wasn't disowned, though."

Emmeline stilled. "Sorry, what?"

Graden bit his lip and looked at her with wary, somewhat sheepish blue eyes. "He didn't want it spread about, but Dark families can't keep their secrets among equals, you know? It happened this summer. The Blacks have a tapestry and he was blasted off, which is pretty much disowning among them. Crazy family."

"Where did he go?"

"To the Potters' house, apparently. The Blacks couldn't stand the shame, so they let him go. Do these look okay?"

"Yeah, the armguards are fine—toss them over there, and come here and try on these shoulder guards. You tighten them like this… So Sirius is disowned?"

"Maybe not officially, but it's been all my family can talk about all summer. Bloody boring. Then they say 'Well, Graden's got some ideas… we'll have to keep an eye on him, to keep him from going wrong.' I'm sick of it." He spoke lightheartedly, but Emmeline could hear an underlying tightness in his voice.

"I'll just have to keep an eye on you as well, to keep you from going wrong then, Grey. Can I call you that?"

She saw a little smile on his face as they gathered up the guards and traipsed out of the locker rooms. "Sure, I guess," he said. She slung a companionable arm around his shoulders and dragged him into the castle, back up to Gryffindor tower. "Call me Emm, kid. Welcome to James Potter's madhouse."

About a month later Emmeline was coming back from Quidditch practice and chatting with Graden. "So, if you keep your bat about elbow height when you're level with the Chasers they'll see it and not go crashing into it. I taught James to keep a watch for Beaters that way, back a few years. He keeps an eye out now, but they forget sometimes. Oh, hey Remus!"

The sixth year boy was standing outside the portrait hole, looking a bit nervous. "Hey Emmeline. Can I have a word?"

"Sure. I'll see you later, Grey!"

"Night Emm. Have fun!" The third-year called wickedly with a wave of his fingers. Emmeline made a rude gesture of her own after his retreating back.

"Stupid kid," She grumbled good-naturedly. "Anyway, Remus, what's up?"

"Um, I have to patrol tonight and I had some problems with a group of Slytherins earlier, so I don't want to go alone."

"Why not ask your posse?"

"I want to deal with them gently, not send them to the hospital wing in a box and a few vials."

"And Lily?"

"She's panicking about her Ancient Runes test tomorrow—I went over there to ask and she nearly hexed me. Please?"

"Alright, fine… if you don't mind me smelling a bit from Quidditch. Your friend Potter is an arse sometimes, you know?"

"Don't you normally call him James?"

"Not when he drives us into the ground at practice. What do we do on patrol, anyway?"

Remus shrugged. "Mostly just walk around the halls and hand out detentions when we catch people out of their common rooms."

"Sounds bloody boring. No offense or anything, though."

Remus laughed, leading the way up a set of stairs. "None taken. Actually, I don't think many people will be out tonight. My 'posse,' as you call them, is working on something, I don't think I want to know what. The Slytherins are the only people I'm worried about, in all honesty."

"Excellent," Emmeline said. She looked sheepish as her stomach growled. "Sorry. I'm hungry."

Remus grinned over and down a bit at her in an expression she'd rarely seen on his face, if ever, a sort of mischievous smirk. "Would you like to go to the kitchens?"

"We're not allowed to do that, are we? And I don't even know where the kitchens are."

"Of course we're not allowed to do that. But I know there they are, and please realize that if I walked around with a girl for a few hours while she was hungry and my mother caught wind of it, I would be beaten around the head with her frying pan for being an uncaring, insensitive prat. Come on." He ducked behind a curtain and Emmeline followed, curious.

They went down stairs and through a few passageways Emmeline didn't even know existed before then, and ended up standing before a portrait of fruit. Remus reached out and tickled the pear while Emmeline looked at him like he was crazy, and then a door handle appeared. He turned it and opened the portrait, leading her into a spacious, warm room the size of the Great Hall above. There were four tables just like the house tables, which Remus motioned her to sit at.

A group of house-elves had descended and were greeting Remus and Emmeline with great enthusiasm. The Vances had lost their house elf lineage after the last had been ordered off with Loxias when he started his rampage on the south of England. As such, Emmeline hadn't ever really had much experience with the creatures, but they brought her a plate of pork and rice quickly, cooked to perfection.

"Oh, Merlin," Emmeline breathed at the sight of the plate borne forward on willing house-elf hands. "Talk about service…"

Remus laughed. "Go on, eat up. May I have a cocoa, please?" He asked politely, to much squeaking agreement. They sat there as Emmeline finished her meal and Remus sipped his hot chocolate contentedly. "Emmeline," Remus started as they headed out with much thanks to the elves. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I don't quite know how to phrase this, but…" He trailed off.

"Remus, I know."

"Know?"

Emmeline sighed and stopped leaning up against a wall and looking at him, meeting his pleasant amber eyes with her own, surprisingly serious dark ones. "About your… what is it James calls it? Furry little problem?"

He blanched, then swallowed hard. Emmeline could see his Adam's apple bobbing as he turned away. "Sorry?"

"Remus, most of the people in our house and year know. Or at least have suspicions. None of us are going to say anything, though, so don't worry."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, don't do this. You've only got a problem once a month, and no one's ever been hurt because of it. Trust me, if they had, everyone really would know."

"How'd you find out?" He didn't seem to be trying to dissuade her, which Emmeline appreciated, but he seemed more resigned and slightly afraid.

"I guessed. Lily worked it out a few years ago, she said, and Alice and I guessed together. Look, I'm not going to tell anyone. You're my friend first, Remus—not a werewolf." Emmeline smiled at him, putting her hand under his chin and forcing him to meet her eyes. "Why on earth would I tell people?"

"Because I'm a monster."

She slapped him, not too hard but enough to sting. "Oh, don't even. People like you and respect you; you're not a monster."

"I am! Do you know what werewolves can do to people? They're killers, and it's only a matter of time until I slip up."

Emmeline slapped him again. "Stop that! Your friends won't let you slip up. It's kind of a commonly known secret that you all do something on the full moon—you all vanish early in the evening and come back looking exhausted the next day. No, I don't have any idea what it is you do, or where you go, but then again, it's none of my business. So stuff the self-pity, Lupin. You're better than that."

He coughed. "Thanks, Emmeline. You sound a bit like James, you know? He pretty much told me the same thing. But, um, that's not what I was going to actually ask."

"Oh," Emmeline said, nonplussed. She then gave a sheepish laugh and said, "I guess you wouldn't, would you? Anyway, what were you really going to ask?"

"I have a favor… no, wait." He stopped and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking at her warily. "Have you ever kissed Sirius?"

"Sirius? No. What's this about?"

"May I kiss you?"

"Sorry, what?" A strange feeling of deja-vu swept over Emmeline. That was the second time this year she'd asked that, and she considered herself relatively good at reading people.

"May I kiss you? Only, Sirius was bragging the other night about how he's kissed all the girls worth kissing, so I asked him if he'd kissed you and he got quiet, then said he'd kiss you before the month was out, but for once I want to do something he hasn't, and he hasn't kissed you. I've been trying to work up the courage to ask but I needed a decent reason to talk to you alone, and I was thinking that if you—"

Emmeline placed a hand over his mouth. "Remus, shut up."

"Sorry," he muttered around her hand.

She removed it with a smile. "That's fine." Leaning up, she pressed her lips gently to his, steadying herself with a hand on his shoulder. He stood stock still for a moment, then wrapped his arm around her waist. Emmeline broke the kiss softly after a bit and leaned into his chest, breathing deeply. "You smell nice."

"I'm glad," he rumbled, then coughed. "We are supposed to be patrolling against this sort of thing, you know."

"I know. But I don't care."

"You're a bad influence."

"Have you looked at the people in your dorm lately?"

Remus chuckled lightly and shrugged. "Touché. And, um, thank you."

Emmeline looped her arm around his middle as they walked back to the tower. "Remus Lupin, it was my pleasure. With a bit of practice, you'd be a lovely snogger." She laughed as he blushed a bit. "You would be, I'm just saying. That's a professional opinion too, you know." He didn't seem to know what to say to that and she merely grinned.

They stopped outside the portrait hole, the Fat Lady looking the other direction with a knowing smile on her face. "This won't change anything between us, right Emmeline?"

"For Merlin's sake Remus, please call me Emm. But no, of course not. I'm always glad to help you thwart Sirius. And here…" She leaned forward and kissed him deeply again, then drew back with a wink. "In case he asks if it was my own free will, and more than once. Good night." She gave the password to the Fat Lady and entered the common room before him, so as not to draw undue attention. She didn't want both Benjy and Fabian to come raining down like a ton of brick on Remus. He was a sweet person, and he didn't deserve to be ground into the carpet.

"Where've you been?" Alice asked when she went into the dormitory. "It's going on midnight."

"Remus asked me to walk prefect patrol with him, because Lily's in a threatening mood. Before that I had Quidditch practice… and I really need to change." Emmeline took clothes out of her trunk and showered off, pitching her sweaty and dirty practice robes into the laundry basket that Mary insisted they keep in the bathroom. She walked back into the dorm room braiding her hair.

"Well, you were out on patrol for a while."

"We had a conversation."

"About what?"

"Things, drop it Alice!"

Her best friend sighed and turned out the light. "Fine. I'll find out eventually."

Emmeline rolled her eyes as she dropped off to sleep. She had a wonderful best friend, but sometimes Alice was a real pain in the arse.

Christmas came meandering up in a sort of sideways fashion, slinking around the door like a student late for class. Lily, as always, went frantic over preparing for the holiday. After seeing her house the Christmas before, Emmeline understood better where she got it from.

"Emm! Alice! Mary!" Lily shouted across the common room as Emmeline was returning with a stack of books from the library. "I've just had the most brilliant idea—come here!"

Exchanging a look of trepidation with Alice, who was sitting by the fire with Mar, the girls walked hesitantly over to their redheaded friend, whose smile was practically glowing. "Secret Santa!" She said, in a sort of shouting whisper.

The magic-born and raised witches looked blankly at her. "Sorry?" Alice said.

"Secret Santa! It's really fun, my Dad's doing it at his work this year! It'd be amazing here—a bonding time for Gryffindor!"

"Lily, what the hell is Secret Santa?" Mary asked shortly, looking flirtatiously over at a seventh year who was sitting with Caradoc. "I'm kind of busy…"

"Fine, go then. Alice, Emm, you're going to love this…" As Mary sauntered away, Lily explained about Secret Santa to her friends.

At the end of the explanation, Alice said slowly, "So let me get this straight. You write your name on a piece of parchment and drop it in a hat, then we place a charm on the hat so that people get people they know, then we pick names out of the hat and give presents or do nice things for the people whose name we draw?"

"Um, pretty much, but I don't remember anything about a charm…"

"No, I threw that one in there because it'll be awkward as hell if we don't. And I'm rigging it so I can fix a few pairings, no arguments." Alice glared at them, as though they'd thought about accusing her. Emmeline held up her hands in a placating manner.

"I wouldn't dream of arguing with you," Emmeline said, the turned to Lily. "This is a Muggle tradition?"

"Yes. It's really fun—please say you'll help."

"And you're not going to leave us alone if we don't right?"

Lily just smiled at them. Alice groaned. "Fine. But if I don't get to have my fun, I'll know why."

"Merlin, calm down Alice!" Lily said. "We'll let you fix it, don't worry. Now, we need to let people know what's going on… I was thinking posters."

Emmeline sighed and rolled her eyes. "Lily, this is Gryffindor. Do we even have a bulletin board?" She cupped her hand around her mouth. "OI, GRYFFINDORS! LILY'S GOT AN IDEA, SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" She shouted, then nodded to Lily.

Her friend stood up with a slight smirk of mocking thanks to Emmeline. "In the Muggle world, there's something we like to do to promote good-feeling and House unity. Well, not exactly House unity, but… you get the idea. Basically, we all write our names down on little pieces of paper and put them in a hat—"

"—which we charm so that we can only draw out names of people we know—" Alice chimed in.

"—yes, and then draw names and get presents and do nice things for the people whose name we've chosen. It's really fun, and we can do it the week before Christmas break, and finish off with a party at the end." Lily smiled hopefully at the assembled Gryffindors. "Come on, please? Alice and Emm and I will set everything up, and all you will have to do is draw a name out of the hat and then get presents or nice things. We'll make a box that you can drop things in, and we'll hand them out to people. It'll be fun, I promise."

There were a few enthusiastic faces, but most people just muttered in agreement. Emmeline looked over at the group of four boys sitting in a corner muttering and decided to help them out a bit. Excusing herself from Alice and Lily, she walked over to them. Taking a seat on the edge of Remus's chair, she said quietly, "If any of you would like me to ask Alice to charm the hat to give you a certain person's name…"

"Lily," James muttered at once. Sirius rolled his eyes.

Remus did as well. "No one saw that coming."

Emmeline swatted him on the head. "Don't be an arse, Remus. That's cute, James. And I think Alice and I were already planning to do that, but we'll make sure it happens. Any other requests?"

Sirius winked at her. "You."

"All right, Remus, you're going to draw my name," Emmeline said, as though Sirius hadn't spoken.

"Oi!"

Remus laughed. "Thanks for that, Emm," he said dryly. "Sirius might just kill me in my sleep now."

She waved him off. "He'd never. James, would you like Alice to make it so Lily draws your name? She'll figure out I'm behind it in about four seconds, but…"

James nodded eagerly, looking like a little kid. "That'd be excellent. I know just what to get her."

Emmeline nodded and stood. "I'll tell Alice to make it all work. If anyone asks, I was over here talking about Quidditch. Can't let people know we're willing to rig it—Alice and I'd never be left alone." She waved as she walked away, giving instructions to Alice once they were back upstairs and Lily was in the shower.

Emmeline and Alice spent the next few days agreeing with everything Lily said in regards to her Secret Santa idea. They'd set up a box, appropriately festooned with seemingly half the contents of a Christmas shop. Emmeline and Alice didn't say anything where the red head could hear them, but both wondered quietly where Lily had gotten all the gold, silver, bells, ribbons, bows, tinsel, and other decorations from. They wrote down all the names and placed them in the hat before calling Gryffindor together on Saturday night.

"All right, we've got the hat! Now, try not to tell anyone who your person is, because that takes all the fun out of it." Alice was quickly firing off charms at the hat while Lily spoke, and Emmeline stifled her laughter as her friend said, "So, this is a completely random draw. Yes, you all have to draw. Everyone's name is in here, and Alice charmed—Alice, what are you doing?"

"Forgot to put on the knowing-people charm earlier. But it's all taken care of now," Alice lied breezily, throwing a lazy wink at Emmeline. "Carry on, Lily Marlene."

Lily blushed slightly. "Shut it. Anyway, everyone come draw!" With varying degrees of muttering, the Gryffindors came forward and pick out a scrap of parchment from the battered Appleby Arrows hat that Alice had stolen from Frank at the end of the year before. When no one else stepped forward, the three girls each drew. Emmeline looked down at the piece of parchment in her hand and saw, in Lily's neat writing, the name of the person she had to be nice to.

Sirius Black

"Alice," Emmeline growled at her friend, who gave a cheery wave and hesitant grin, "is this on purpose?" The blond girl pretended to think, then nodded slightly apprehensively. "You are getting nothing for Christmas, you hear?" Alice acknowledged that and turned back to her little piece of paper, leaving Emmeline to think about her first gift.

Monday dawned too quickly, with Charms right after breakfast. Emmeline had dropped Sirius' present in the box that morning, a nice eagle quill. She felt pathetic that she couldn't find him anything else, but she'd ordered a motorcycle-printed tie from one of Mary's magazines and it would arrive by Thursday, so that was that day taken care of.

Lily was overly excited that night when it came time to open the box and hand out gifts. She called people up one by one, and Emmeline was left to snicker with Alice over the various gifts people had wrapped up. Some were in the Prophet's comic papers, some in parchment and Spellotape, and others were wrapped prettily in festive paper. Emmeline's own, when her name was called, was covered in the Quidditch section of the Daily Prophet. The girls in the sixth year all retreated upstairs to unwrap their presents.

Emmeline tore the paper off of hers, never having been good at waiting with presents. Her eyes widened as a pair of Beater's gloves, dark leather supple and new, with brass studs worked in, fell out onto her bed. Her name was stitched into the side in simple embroidery, the thread matching the brass. "Who would spend money like this on me?"

"Who would spend money like this on me?" Lily echoed, though for an entirely different reason. She was holding up a fine golden chain with an enameled lily in white and green dangling from the end. Alice and Emmeline were careful to avoid looking at each other as the dark-haired girl tried on her new gloves and Alice held up a new Gryffindor scarf against her pajamas.

"No idea. It's really pretty, though," Mary said from across the room. "Someone sent me a plate of cookies, anyone want one? They're not bad, either." The girls split the cookies as Lily put on her new necklace, still blinking in wonder.

"Who'd spend money like this on me?" She wondered again, fingering the chain.

"We don't know, Lily. Emm, who do you think sent you those?"

"I don't know! Someone else who plays Quidditch. Mary, those cookies are excellent. I love your person."

Mary laughed. "Me too. Don't eat all my cookies, Emmeline Vance!"

"I won't, I won't… but Alice might."

"I will not. Just one more. Night all."

"Night Alice, Mary, Lily."

"Night Emm."

"But who would—"

"Shut up!" Three pillows were chucked over at Lily, effectively silencing her.

Lily was wearing her pendant the next day, and there was a huge, entirely explainable smirk on James's face. Alice and Emmeline both warned him to act a bit more normal, to which he replied that if he was normal he wouldn't be James Potter and in love with Lily Evans. Lily didn't notice the abnormality, however, as she was too busy trying to figure out who gave her the lily.

Emmeline, on the other hand, waited outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and grabbed Remus's arm in a vice-like grip as he exited, pulling him down the hallway into an empty classroom. "Um, hello Emm," the boy greeted her, slightly confused.

"Hi. I need your help."

"Were the theatrics necessary?" Remus rubbed his arm with a rueful grin at her. "You've got a strong arm."

"It comes from being a Beater. And no, maybe not, but I need help. I know we're not supposed to tell anyone or whatever, but I have Sirius as my Secret Santa person and I have absolutely no idea what he would like. Help me!"

"Calm down, calm down. Sirius is easy to get presents for… but I'll help you!" He quickly added at the look on her face. He ran a hand over his face and grinned at her. "Do Peter and James and me a favor and get him clean socks."

"Clean socks?"

"He doesn't like house elves, so he hides his clothes from the to torment them. Consequently, he has nothing clean, and his socks are the worst I have ever smelled. And since I room with James and Peter as well, I know about stinky socks." Remus rolled his eyes and groaned. "You have no idea. I've been tempted to sneak into the girl's dorms to get away from the stink."

Emmeline smiled at Remus and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're wonderful. I'll see you later!" She started to walk away, then called back flirtatiously, "Sneak into my dorm any time you like, Lupin." There were several raised eyebrows at that, and Emmeline snickered to herself as she walked away.

She laughed as she hurried off to the Gryffindor Tower, hearing Sirius's shout behind her.

Over the next few days, Emmeline added to her new set of Quidditch gear. It seemed that her secret person was both wealthy and openhanded, and she finally got to try everything out on their Friday practice. She slipped on the armguards and shoulderguards, and then strapped the shinguards to her legs as well. The leatherwork complimented her broom, and she felt rather elegant in terms of being a well-dressed player as she took to the field. James let out a whistle at her new gear, and cruised along beside her for a few hundred feet. "Where'd you get the new kit?"

Emmeline laughed. "Lily's Secret Santa nonsense is paying off. You wouldn't happen to know who mine is, would you?"

"Sorry, no. Does Lily like her gifts?"

"Not a hour has gone by that she hasn't interrogated either Alice or myself. She knows we know something, and if you have to find yourself a new beater at the end of this week, don't blame me. Lily's about to kill me if I don't fess up. She's too smart for her own good."

He looked panicky for a second. "You mean she doesn't like them?"

"That's not what I said, calm down—she loves them. When she learns who they're from… I don't know. I think you might have noticed, but she doesn't really like you."

He punched her lightly in the shoulder. "You think?" Flying away, he called to the rest of the team and put them through their paces. Emmeline groaned and beat the Bludgers back and forth with Graden until it was well past eight at night.

She staggered upstairs that night after stripping off her new armor and locking it up with her broom. The next day was the end of the 'Secret Santa nonsense' and while she was grateful, she was also slightly hesitant. She knew what to do for Sirius's final present, but she knew it would require an amount of daring and nerve that she'd been quite content to go without before. She looked around the dorm room and then slipped back out the door, heading downstairs. Few people were up to notice her sneak out of the portrait hole and she was grateful for that.

Making her way to the Owlery wasn't hard. What was hard was keeping her yelp of shock silent as she saw a dark figure by the window. She stifled it, turning it into more of an embarrassing squeak, and that was enough to draw the shadowy figure's attention. "Oh, Alice," she said in relief.

Her friend didn't appear as cheerful as she normally was. "Hi Emm."

"What's wrong, Alice?"

"Frank just sent me a letter." Alice proffered the open envelope to Emmeline, who took it and removed a single sheet of paper. Alice nodded tightly to Emmeline's unasked question.

Hesitantly, Emmeline let her eyes scan the brief letter.

Alice,

This is hard for me to write, but I have to. My team is going to be called out during Christmas vacation, and I'm not going to be able to see you. I'm so sorry to have to break it to you like this, but things have gotten so insane here at work. People are vanishing and dying left and right, and there's no scrap of order left. They need as many of us Aurors as they can muster—we've been leaked information that something massive is going to happen before the New Year. All trainees, everyone's being called out. People are coming out of retirement as well, because everything's falling apart.

I'm sorry to throw all of this on you. I'll be there in spirit.

All my love,

Frank

Emmeline quit reading and gave the letter back. Her first thought wasn't of her friend, but of Benjy. If this was true, Benjy wouldn't be home for Christmas either. She swallowed hard. "Alice…"

"You know what this means? No one will be home. Fabian, Gideon, Ben, Frank…"

Emmeline wrapped her friend in a sudden hug, as much for giving support as for getting it. "Come over to the Sea Tower for Christmas. Please."

Alice nodded, and Emmeline kept her arm slung over her best friend's shoulder on the way back to their dorm.

The next morning dawned bright and early with a pillow in the face. "Morning sleepyheads!" Emmeline heard. She groaned, remembered the letter from Frank, and then let out a quiet sigh. Lily didn't know. It didn't directly affect her, and there was no need to ruin her day. Emmeline and Alice met gazes across the brightly-lit room and came to a quick, silent agreement not to tell Lily.

Emmeline yawned and stretched, plastering a bleary smile on her face. "Why do we have to get up so early?"

"It's almost noon, Sleeping Beauty, get up!" Another pillow was thrown her way and she dodged it wearily. She really hadn't gotten much sleep that night, but she made certain she looked reasonably well put-together. She staggered into the bathroom and into the shower, grimacing as she stripped off her clothes covered in Quidditch stench. She rinsed off and then dressed in her favorite grey sweater and pulled her hair back into a braid.

Lily had completely redressed by the time Emmeline emerged back into the room, and Alice was in the middle of pulling her slippers out from underneath her bed. "Come on you two, hurry up! We need to get ready for the party! It starts at four!"

"Shout a little louder, why don't you?" Alice grumbled good-naturedly. She yanked on her slippers and headed out the door with a jerk of her head, Lily scampering off after her.

Contrary to Lily's frantic worries, everything was more than ready by the appointed time. "See, Lily, we have this thing called magic," Alice said, directing the last bit of tinsel up to the rafters of the room. "And it gets things done really quickly."

"Oh, shut up," Lily replied, arranging chairs into a loose circle. People were watching them amusedly, and Emmeline ended up flopping down in the chair Lily had just moved.

"Take a seat, Lily Marlene. Everything looks great." Lily turned on her with fire in her green eyes, but it died in the face of Emmeline's casual manner.

"Fine," she huffed, sitting down with her arms crossed. "We'll just wait for everyone to come down now."

People were slow to trickle back in from the castle, and many didn't come in until after dinner. Alice and Emmeline snuck away to the kitchen to get food, returning with more sweets than they could handle. Alice charmed up a large bowl and set of plates and they arranged the extra on a table, ignoring Lily's sudden interest in where they got to food.

Finally, everyone was seated in the chairs. Lily stood up with a smile and clapped her hands together for attention. "Hello everyone! So, we're going to do this really simply. We'll guess the name of our Secret Santa, guessing up to three times, and then if you don't get it by then the person who had you will just say. Then the person who had you will go, and so on. This is also a time for the last gifts to be given. Everyone clear? I'll start."

Amidst a backdrop of mutters of assent, Alice leaned over to Emmeline and said quietly, "Lily going first is a bad idea. The Tower will go up in flames when she figures it out."

Emmeline nodded, but then quickly shook her head as Lily said her name. "Lily, no way in hell am I your Secret Santa."

"Alice?"

"Nope."

"Um…" the redhead frowned slightly, and the looked at Remus. "Remus, it's got to be you."

"Sorry Lily."

"Alright, fine, who was it?" She looked expectantly around the circle and almost missed James's hesitantly raised hand. Blinking, her lips parted slightly, she said "Potter?"

"Er, yeah." He stood up and handed her a small box, which she opened to reveal a gold and enamel hairpiece that perfectly matched the necklace, choker, earrings, bracelet and rings she'd received throughout the past week. Shakily, she twisted her long, dark red hair into a knot and secured it with the comb-like piece, then smiled at him slightly. "Thank you."

"I'm shocked," Alice muttered. "No explosion?"

Emmeline shrugged as James coughed and muttered, "No problem."

There was a silence for about half a minute before Sirius slapped his friend on the back and said, "Now, that wasn't awkward at all. Jamesy, who do you think your person was?"

"Um… Lily?"

She nodded, still in something of a trance, then blinked and snapped out of it in the instant it took her to round on Alice and Emmeline. "You rigged it!"

"Not denying nothing, Lily dear. Now come on," Alice said breezily, "let's not cause a scene. Wholesome, family fun here, right? Since we seem to have reached a dead end here… I'll go." She proceeded to guess her Secret Santa, and Emmeline tuned out until it was Sirius's turn for guessing.

"Hmm…" he said, placing a long, pale finger at the corner of his damn perfectly shaped mouth. Half the girls proceeded to breathe quicker, and Emmeline rolled her eyes. Really? That was pathetic. Just because he was handsome didn't mean he deserved to be drooled over. "Moony? You my Secret Santa?"

"Thankfully no, Padfoot."

"Oh? I thought that the socks… huh." He named one of the seventh year girls, who giggled but sadly shook her head. "Alice? Are you my Secret Santa, beautiful?"

"Don't call me that, I have a boyfriend. But no, actually, I'm not."

Shit. Emmeline thought. Here we go. She took a deep breath and started singing, her voice low and husky as usual. "He's a tramp, but they love him. Breaks a new heart, everyday. He's a tramp, they adore him, and I only hope he stays that way." She stood up and sauntered over to Sirius, who had a huge smile on his face. She didn't feel normally that hips were supposed to swing that much, but she just went with it because what on earth was normal about Emmeline Vance singing to Sirius Black? Damn Lily Evans.

She walked around his chair and then perched on the armrest and leaned over him. "He's a tramp, he's a scoundrel, he's a rounder, he's a cad. He's a tramp, but I love him," She rolled her eyes inwardly and kept singing, "Yes, even I have got it pretty bad."

Sliding down the armrest and ending up with her side pressed to his in a slightly movement that would have made Benjy hex the kid black and blue, she sang, fully aware that every eye was firmly set on her little display of Christmas spirit, "You can never tell where he'll show up. He gives you plenty of trouble. I guess he's just a no-count pup. But, I wish that he were double."

She slipped an arm around his shoulders, firmly concentrating on ignoring his lovely muscles, and finished off the blessedly short song. "He's a tramp. He's a rover, and there's nothing more to say. If he's a tramp, he's a good one, and I wish that I could travel his way. Wish that I could travel his way. I wish that I could travel his way…" She gave him a light kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Sirius. You're not getting another present from me for the next ten years, you hear?"

And, with her face flaming, she walked with the remnants of her dignity back to her seat next to an Alice who was roaring with laughter. "Haha, oh, Emm… hah, you've got to be… that was brilliant! Now… haha… now you have to guess."

Emmeline tried to pretend like nothing had just happened, although that was rather difficult with a roomful of snickers around her. "Um…" she looked around the circle at the faces of those who hadn't come forth yet. "Mary?"

"Emm, you got Quidditch gear. The hell do I know about that?"

"Right… Caradoc?"

"Sorry Emm."

There was a grin on someone's face, and so she narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "Grey?"

"Merry Christmas, Emm!" He jumped up and handed her a large box, which was moving. Hesitantly, she opened the lid with the kid in front of her positively jumping up and down in excitement.

A small black cannonball bounded out, then twined itself around her shoulders. "You… Grey, you got me a kitten?"

"Do you like him? Guess what his name is?"

"Oh, Merlin, Grey! You got me a kitten!" She wrapped the third-year in a hug. "I've no idea… what's his name?"

"Guess!"

He was small and black and fuzzy. Remembering her gifts from the week, Emmeline looked down at the kid she was still hugging tightly. "Bludger?"

His loud laugh was more than enough to tell her that she was right. She released him and sat back down, running her fingers over the small ball of black fluff. "Oh Grey, he's perfect! Thank you!" Emmeline hadn't been able to bring herself to get a cat after her parents had died. While she'd always wanted one, she had found it too hard to walk into the pet store.

Grey had that adorable grin on his face as he turned to guess his Secret Santa. Emmeline played with Bludger, fascinated with the little kitten. Alice was laughing again and the rest of the evening passed with Emmeline's attention focused almost solely on her new pet.

Later that night, when the girls were back up in bed, Emmeline was finishing up packing for the train ride home the next day. Alice was more subdued than she'd been during the party, and Emmeline was grateful that Lily was asleep. "There's not going to be a party at my place this year," Alice commented quietly.

"I know," Emmeline replied. "We could…" she drifted off, sighed, and shook her head. "Never mind, I couldn't throw a party anything like one of the McKinnons' could."

Alice gave her a sad half of a smile. "It's alright. Frank can probably drop by on a few days, if that's fine with you."

"Of course it's fine with me. Benjy… I'm surprised he hasn't written me about the call up yet. It'll be good to have the house filled with people. I'll invite Fabian and Gideon over as well. Maybe James and Remus and Peter could come over too. James's parents are Aurors."

Alice laughed, her half smile shifting into a full one. "What, you're not inviting Sirius?"

She blushed. "I think I've dealt with enough Sirius-ness to last me a lifetime."

Couldn't resist the pun... sorry. Anyway, reviews=love. And I need more love.