Silence was never so down right terrifying. The silence where Sirius started to wonder where everyone else was in the house. The silence that made his breathing sound too loud, not to mention it was a little faster than normal. This new silence made Sirius as stiff as a board in his chair, his back aching in the awkward sitting position. Sirius held one hand close to his ear with the phone, the other was fighting to stay on his pant leg. Sirius felt the dampness of sweat pooling under his palm, cursing silently for being so dramatic about this. The urge to bite his finger nails suddenly popped up, but the other voice on the line coughed after what seemed like centuries.

"It's acceptable, good job, Sirius."

Sirius grinned, his face glowing with excitement as he practically leaped up, breaking the position.

"Thank you, sir." Sirius said back, biting his lip after fighting the new urge to yell happily.

"Now, I expect you to memorize it by next weekend. I'll be arriving home the night of Christmas Eve."

"The night of the party, sir?"

"Yes, so I won't be able to remind you. I hope your mother does, because so help me God, Sirius if you mess this up…"

"You won't be disappointed sir. I promise. I'll read it over twice a day"

"I hope not." Another pause before Sirius's father coughed and continued, "Okay, send my regards to your mother and Regulus. I'll see you on Christmas Eve."

Sirius hung up the phone and did a little victory dance right in the hall way, not noticing his servant watching from the hall way over.

-

Remus smirked, walking back down the hall so Sirius wouldn't notice him. He had listened to Sirius's conversation with his father, feeling happy for him. The speech was as expected, full of distrustful comments towards commoners and full of love for the rich. Remus wanted to hit Sirius and hug him at the same time, all the boy wanted was to be accepted. And if putting down the rest of the world meant his father would love him, then Sirius Black would do just that.

Sad but true, and Remus suddenly felt maybe he didn't dislike Sirius as much as he thought. Maybe, Sirius is misunderstood…

Remus stopped in his tracks, looking up in thought before smirking.

'Nah, he's just a brat.' Remus thought, going to find the duster so he could dust off the shelves in Sirius's room.

-

"Lily? Lily, dear are you up? Oh, I hope so…Lily?"

Lily turned over in bed, hiding under her pillow as the frantic knocking on her door woke her up. The Inn was home as well as job, and waking up to her mother knocking meant possible customers. With a mumble, her door opened and her mother sighed.

"Yes, mother?" Lily mumbled again.

"Ah, Lily. Thank god you're up." Her mother sighed, making Lily peek out from under the pillow.

"What's wrong, mother?" Lily yawned, blinking up at her mother. The woman was wrapped in a fluffy white robe, her hair a mess as she stood in Lily's door way. Maybe there were now customers after all, seems like just more gossip from mother dearest.

"It's that boy again." She seemed annoyed, yet amused as she motioned towards Lily's closed window.

Lily frowned before looking over at her window, and for sure something tiny had knocked against the glass. She glared at the innocent inanimate object, before getting out of bed and quickly pulling on her own robe. Her mother covered her mouth with her hand, watch as her daughter marched over to the window. The snow was still covering the window pane, but Lily managed to open the window with a dramatic swoosh.

"My beautiful, princess! You look lovely this fine December morning!"

"James Potter, you absolute fool! Do you have no decency? Bothering my family before the Inn is even opening now?" Lily yelled down at James. "Why are you here at the crack of dawn?"

James was standing below her window with a bouquet of colorful flowers, raising them towards her. His smile bright, his glasses fogged from the cold, and his accomplice leaning against the street lamp across the street. Lily rolled her green eyes before looking back at her mother who was still smirking at her from the doorway.

"Lily Evans! My sweet, angel, the first thing I wanted to do this fine morning was see your lovely face, I hope you don't mind!" James said, ignoring Sirius's comment about being cold.

"Will you ever go away, James!"

"My name sounds so much better coming from your lips, darling! Come down here and say it again!" James sighed dreamily, Sirius stomped his foot in annoyance and shaking his head.

"No! Go away, you wanna-be Romeo!" Lily spat, her eyes full of disgust as James pretended to be shoot. Sirius couldn't hold back a smile at the obnoxious scene James was putting on, so he lit a cigarette to stay warmer.

"Your harsh words kill me, Juliet!" James threw his head back, kneeling slowly to the ground with his flowers in hand. "But, for you, dear Juliet, I will die a thousand deaths!" James flung himself back, laying in the middle of the street dramatically.

"I hope someone runs you over!"

"Only you can truly kill me, Lily!" James yelled, still laying on the floor.

Sirius sighed, walking towards the middle of the street to make sure nobody hit his idiotic friend. Sirius put his cigarette in his mouth, obviously annoyed that he had to pick James up off the street. With both arms under James's, Sirius managed to put him on the sidewalk, away from any morning traffic that might appear.

Lily took this moment to glare down at James, before shaking her head in disbelief and closing the window. James's protests were muffled by the closed making Lily sigh heavily and lean against her dresser, running her fingers through her red hair.

"Would a date be so bad, darling?" Her mother laughed. "He seems like a nice boy, and I've heard that his family comes from a wealthy line."

"Yes, mother. It'd be horrible to date that fat head."

"Fat head, dear?" Her mother laughed, watching her younger daughter go to sit on the edge of her bed.

"If he hangs with that nasty Sirius Black, he's mostly the same way, mother. I will not date anyone who treats my family with little respect."

Lily's mother flinched a little at Sirius's name, before sitting beside her. Lily looked at the floor, her stare fixed on a pair of her own shoes beside the open closet.

"Sweetheart, maybe he's not like Sirius. I mean, just because he hangs out with him doesn't mean he's exactly like him." Lily's mother placed her arm around Lily, pulling her close before continuing. "He stops in almost everyday with some pretty expensive stuff you know."

"I don't care about the presents, mother. I want someone who will take care of me, not just flatter me."

"With money like that, he could take very good care of you." Lily's mother let her go before standing up. "You might want to reconsider, after all the boy has been trying to get you for almost two years. Most boys would give up by now, this James Potter truly is something."

Lily went to say something back, but her mother was already walking out. Lily looked back down, then towards the window where James must've been talking with Sirius. His voice was still echoing around outside, now mixed with Sirius's voice. She sighed, falling back against her sheets before groaning in frustration.

"I hate James Potter…"

-
"I can' believe we're out here so damn early…James it's a Saturday." Sirius puffed away, mentally panicking about next weekend. Just a few days ago he talked to his father, and a day before that…had that awful dream.

"What else better do you have to do? Annoy that poor servant, Remus?" James laughed, poking at Sirius's side.

"He goes home on weekends." Sirius glared over at James, before tucking his hands in his pockets. "Besides, he asks for it."

"Does he now? Does he come up to you with those pretty eyes and beg to be yelled at?" James pouted, making puppy eyes at Sirius.

"Fuck off." Sirius pushed him, thanking god it was cold enough out to stop a heated blush.

Ever since that dream, Sirius has been thinking of Remus a lot. He practically became Sirius's study subject. Sirius took notice of the way he walks, how his eye brows knit together when he can't reach something, and how he smoothly insults Sirius right back. There was a list of things, but Sirius wouldn't dare go over them…Of course, none of the facts listed have anything to do with Remus's eyes being pretty.

'So, why the blush?' Sirius thought, shaking his head and changing the subject. "I still think you're wasting your time." Sirius puffed his cigarette, watching as a group of girls walked by. them The girls all giggled as they passed Sirius and James, the boys both smirked and winked, both obviously acting. Being used to the public loving them, Sirius and James often played into it.

"I'm not wasting my time, Sirius." James waved at a blonde girl with a winning smile, before looking forward and frowning. "She really is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"I agree, that blonde one was very easy on the eyes." Sirius laughed as James hit him. "No, really, mate. Think about it, there's a whole world full of them!" Widening his arms to show just how many, Sirius nodded.

"I know…But, I don't want just anyone, Sirius."

Sirius slapped his arms down, inhaling his cigarette before putting an arm around James's shoulders.

"Why her, Jamie? She hates it every time we show up. She curses you every chance she gets. Never accepts your gifts. Hates you with a burning passion of a million suns…You've never even seen the girl smile at you."

"Oh but, she did! The very first time I met her." James smiled, an honest smile with a sappy loving look in his eyes. "She was so radiant. I remember seeing that smile and saying to myself, I want to make her smile like that everyday."

"Why? Lots of girls smile, James." Sirius let go of James, looking as the car rounded the corner to pick them up. "Why not try another girl?" Sirius asked, throwing his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

The car belonged to James's family, since James had rudely woken Sirius up and dragged him, it made sense that he drove. As they entered the car, Sirius first and then James, they sighed happily as the heated air inside warmed them up instantly. Sirius relaxed against the leather seats, closing his eyes and suddenly feeling tired.

"Because, they're not Lily Evans."

Sirius looked at James, he too was relaxed and had his eyes closed. Sirius blinked before thinking what a funny thing someone could do without even trying to. Lily Evans had made James Potter a love sick puppy, without even meaning to.

-

"Remus? Can you please help Jennifer out?"

"Sorry, sorry. I was day dreaming."

Remus quickly jumped up off his chair, flattening his apron down against his lap as he walked towards the counter full of sweets. Licking his lips at the chocolate, he failed to notice Jennifer smirking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Think my mom would notice if I stole one?" Remus asked, looking over his shoulder with a sly smile.

"I wouldn't underestimate her, besides as a working employee I'd have to say something." Jennifer smiled at him.

Jennifer has her long raven hair tied up high in a pony tail, usually her hazel eyes were rimmed with a dark eyeliner. She was just about Remus's height, her body type was exceptionally curvy. She was a very confident young woman with a lot of self respect…oh and Peter's eye candy.

"It comes out of my pay you know."

"I'm only bluffing." Remus lied, still thinking of how he really wanted to sink his teeth into one of those chocolate truffles.

"I'm positive you were."

The door creaked open a young woman walked in with a baby carriage. Remus felt his heart warm a little as she smiled down at the child, the baby making happy noises from the warm little carriage. The young woman smiled warmly at them, her face a little red from the cold and her blonde, long hair a bit messy.

"Good day, are you still selling those cupcakes for a dollar? I know there was a special sale the other day." She asked politely.

"Tomorrow is the last day," Jennifer smiled, moving towards the counter. "You're just in time, what would you like?"

Remus watched as the woman kept one hand on the carriage, looking over the different treats and pointing at them. Jennifer was placing the selected cupcakes into an on hand ready to-go box. Making sure she didn't mess any up, Jennifer placed a divider into the box, placing each small cake into a section. The woman was pleased, taking the box and putting it into the basket on the bottom of the baby carriage. After paying, the woman said good bye and went on her way.

"I love nice customers." Jennifer smiled, moving back to clean off her hands. "They make my day bearable."

"Aren't most people around here that way?" Remus asked, taking a bowl of raised dough out of a fridge.

"Well, most are, but I wouldn't say all…maybe 99%."

Remus made a face as he plopped the cold dough onto the flour coated prep table. "Why only 1% missing?"

Jennifer smirked, then looked over at Remus, "You should know that one person, Remus."

Again, Remus made a confused face, "I should?"

Jennifer looked at him in disbelief before laughed, "Are you that daft? You see his face 5 out of 7 days a week."

Suddenly Remus knew exactly who Jennifer was talking about. A look of realization washed over Remus's face as he laughed along with Jennifer. She rolled her eyes and turned as another customer came in.

Kneading the dough, Remus felt odd thinking of Sirius right now. Usually he didn't, but now that Jennifer had brought him up…It was all Remus thought of. She agreed that he was awful and rude, which means he probably came in here once before.

Did his mom notice him?

Was she working that day?

Was he rude to Jennifer?

Better yet, was he rude to Remus' mother?

Remus slammed the dough down on the table, his expression full of focus as he thought.

Sirius better not have done anything disrespectful toward his mother…