Disclaimer: All characters except for Hollie, Sam and a few others, are owned by J.K. Rowling and of course we are not receiving profit for our story.
Christmas Plans and the Blues
3rd person
"Is it just me or does Sam seem somewhat distant at times?" Lily asked Robin as they went up a staircase on their way to the Gryffindor common room. After working in the library for a few hours, the two girls had decided to take a break and head back to their dorm room. They had invited Sam but she had refused, stating that she wanted to finish her essay.
Robin was quiet for a few seconds before slowly replying, pondering her answer. "Yah, she does. There seems to be something she's not telling us."
Lily nodded her head, relieved that she wasn't the only one aware of that. She now knew that she wasn't imagining Sam's behavior. They studied together most days and spent their free time playing games and getting to know each other. Sam called them her friends but at times, like today, she seemed to hold them at arms' length. "Definitely. Have you ever seen her get a letter from her brothers or her parents?" Lily stopped climbing the stairs as a new piece of information about Sam struck her. "Actually, have you even heard Sam talk about her parents?"
"No," Robin answered quietly. She had stopped right next to Lily, a similar expression on her face. "I always found that a little odd but there's nothing we can do about it."
"Except confronting her about it." Lily voiced.
Robin looked a little troubled at the thought of confronting their friend on a matter she obviously was not ready to share. "You don't really want to do that, do you; risk our friendship with Sam? I mean, if we confront her about it, she'll probably get angry with us…" Robin trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought of breaking a new friendship.
"No, of course I don't want that to happen. It was just an idea. I guess she'll tell us when she's ready."
Sam's POV
After Lily and Robin left the library, I tried to study and write my essay instead of thinking about the letters I had sent to my brothers. I had written them during the semester, telling them all about Hogwarts, things I was sure Billy would find fascinating but I hadn't received one response. I just didn't get it. We agreed to write each other so we wouldn't lose contact and grow apart while I was away. Maybe Mum had finally gotten to them; convinced them I was some weirdo freak. Oh, who am I kidding? Not me. Maybe Mum found our list and discovered everything we hadn't told her and then…she killed them out of anger. Well…it would be more likely than the first except we practically kept that list locked up and we had always been extremely careful when we actually pulled it out.
I sighed, part of me knowing my scenarios were far fetched but not wanting to believe it. I hadn't told any of my friends about what happened-what my mother had done. I didn't want to talk about it; I didn't even want to think about it. So I tried to pretend that it never happened. If I never thought about it, I could go from day to day without feeling any pain. However, my brothers' not writing to me was a constant reminder of what she had done to me. She was probably controlling my brothers somehow, keeping them from staying in contact with me. Although she was thousands of miles away, she still managed to control an aspect of my life. Even though she kicked me out of the house, telling me never to return, she still managed to cause me more pain, keeping me from moving on. I wiped away the few tears that had started falling down my face, wondering how the heck I was going to finish my homework.
Remus' POV
I sighed and slammed my book close in frustration. James, Sirius and Hollie were making too much of a ruckus planning the next prank for me to get any work done. I had tried to get them to work on their homework now so they could get it over with sooner. Instead of agreeing, they assured me that they would have no problems with writing it tomorrow. After all, it was Sunday so they had the whole day. Their theory was to enjoy Saturday, do homework on Sunday. Although what they usually ended up doing was trying to do all of their homework Sunday night. How they finished it all and managed to get decent grades was beyond me. Their parents or godparents must have given them the gift of procrastination and doing well under pressure.
I put my books and supplies into my book bag and headed downstairs in order to find a quiet place to finish my Charm's essay. Before I reached the common room, I could hear the noise of students talking, laughing and playing all sorts of games. I stepped into the room and commotion surrounded me. No, the common room would most definitely not work. It was worse than my dorm room. The library. It would be the only quiet place in the school. If anyone got too loud, Madam Pince would throw them out. My destination set, I headed towards the portrait and when I passed Lily and Robin, I heard them complaining about the level of noise in the common room. A smile spread across my face, glad to know I wasn't the only Gryffindor student trying to do homework on Saturday.
Once I walked into the library, my feet lead me to my favorite table. It was in a corner, giving me a sense of seclusion from the other students. I stopped short when I spotted Sam sitting at my table, books and paper in front of her, apparently working on her essay. Maybe she wouldn't mind sharing the table with me. After all, we were working on the same essay. I started to take a step towards her when Sam suddenly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper. She was crying. Why would she be crying? I don't know much about girls, except for Hollie of course, but it didn't take a genius to figure out she wasn't crying about Charms. My brain screamed for me to leave, find another place to study but my feet stayed rooted to their spot, my eyes not able to move away from the sight of Sam looking down at the table, silent tears running down her face. Trying to figure out if I should do anything, and if I should, what exactly, I just stood there, staring at her, unaware of my surroundings.
"What are you doing, Remus?" I looked over my shoulder to see Hollie approaching me, her book bag slung over her shoulder. I quickly turned to block her view from Sam, not understanding why I didn't want Hollie seeing Sam crying.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You're standing right here blocking traffic. I wouldn't call that nothing." Hollie cocked her head to the side, her left eyebrow lifting in that questioning way that always made me smile.
"I, uh…what are you doing here? I thought you were too busy planning prank number whatever to do any homework." I crossed my arms, giving her that side smile that told her I was teasing her. Maybe if I distracted her, we could leave the library before Hollie could see Sam.
"Prank number 37. And we already finished planning it…you'll be helping Peter with the owls. Sirius and James wanted to keep joking around so I decided to come join you at your table in the library and get started on my Charm's essay."
"Get started? You haven't even started it yet? How do you get high marks when you do everything at the last minute?" I shook my head as something she had said sunk in, "Helping Peter with the owls? What?"
Hollie grinned up at me, "We're crashing the Christmas party the upper students get to have a week before break. You and Peter won't get caught because you'll be nowhere near the Great Hall. James, Sirius and I shouldn't get caught either, but since we'll be in the Great Hall, there's no guarantee."
"What are we doing?" I stared down at her, feeling, and more than likely, looking a bit uncomfortable about this plan.
"Why don't we go sit at your table and I'll tell you," Hollie moved to go around me, but I quickly stepped in front of her…so much for distracting her.
"Um…how about we go outside instead? I sure could use the fresh air," I smiled at her, placing my hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving around me.
"There's snow on the ground, Remus. It's cold out there and I need to get started on my Charm's essay, which will be easier to write if I have a table."
"You can write your Charm's essay later. We're both wearing thick enough jumpers and we can build a snowman." I gave her a big grin, trying to charm her into agreeing without asking questions. I failed.
"What's going on, Remus," Hollie looked at me, a hint of suspicion in her black eyes as she tried to look around me. I leaned with her, blocking her view.
"Nothing…it's just that, well…Sam's sitting at my table. And I know you don't like her, so…" I shrugged, dropping my hands from her shoulders, giving up any hope of hiding Sam.
"Well, that's very considerate of you. I guess we could go outside…I really don't want to be around her right now…not after what she did to me last week. That was really embarrassing." Hollie turned and walked away, looking over her shoulder at me as I hesitated. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah, yeah," I took two long steps to catch up with her then shortened my stride to be able to keep pace with her, "So tell me, what exactly are we doing for this prank?"
"Alright…Sirius, James and I are each going to hide underneath tables in the Great Hall before the whole thing starts with a box of invisible mice…each. About an hour into the party, you and Peter will release the owls. And since owls are able to see invisible mice…" She grinned at me, her eyes twinkling at the idea.
"All hell is going to break loose! Ingenious! I take it you thought of this one?" I slung my arm around her shoulders as we walked down the empty hallway.
"Of course…I'm the one that always comes up with the best ones," her arm settled comfortably around my waist.
"Wait," I looked down at her, frowning, "Owls hunt at night…the owlery is going to be empty by the time the party gets into full gear."
"Ha, no worries, my friend. After Hagrid checks on the owls, which is usually an hour or so before sunset, you and Peter are going to tie several of them to their perches. That way they won't fly away," she looked up, her grin still in place. She was definitely pleased with herself but I could still see some problems.
"Well, that's a sure way to get pecked to death," we turned the corner that would lead us to the open courtyard by the clock tower.
"You're a wizard, Remus. Use your wand," she pulled away from me, rolling her eyes at my obvious display of stupidity.
"My wand…right…I knew that," I gave her sheepish look that made her laugh as she walked out into the open courtyard, new fallen snow crunching under her feet.
"Remus," Hollie turned, standing a couple of feet away from me and looked deep into my eyes, her black eyes filled with sincere concern, "Stay away from Sam. She's not good for you."
"Where is this coming from?" I laughed nervously, kicking snow with my foot as I looked away from Hollie's caring face. She's always been able to read me so I avoided her eyes, not wanting her to see what even I couldn't quite understand.
"I've watched you watch her. You always sit wherever you can see her best. Do you have a crush on her or something?" Hollie crossed her arms, a frown marring her cheerful face as she kept her steady gaze on me.
"Of course not. I don't know her well…why should I have a crush on her?" I looked out into the courtyard, watching the snow fall to the ground. This conversation was making me uncomfortable.
"You're interested in getting to know her, aren't you?" Hollie looked away from me, not wanting me to see how she felt about that possibility.
"No…you don't like her and you're my best friend, so there's no way I'm going to make an effort to get to know her." I looked into her eyes, seeing the doubt and hurt lingering there, "Hollie, I know where my loyalties lie. With you. Always with you." As long as Hollie didn't like Sam, I would have to deal with the fact that Sam was out of bounds for me.
Hollie's slightly slanted black eyes twinkled as her mouth broadened into that smile that let me know all was right with the world because all was right with Hollie.
"I do have one question, though," I reached out and tugged at one of her curls, just the way I used to when we were little, "Why do you dislike her so much? You usually get along with everyone 'cause you're so darn likeable."
"Only to you Remus." Hollie gnawed at her bottom lip, "I can't really give you the details but I can tell you that it's better this way. I…I wasn't expecting her reaction to her mouth disappearing but I did it to try to keep her away from me. I succeeded…at a heavy price but it's a price worth paying."
"This has something to do with being called to Dumbledore's office at the beginning of the term, doesn't it?" I continued playing with her hair, knowing from experience it would relax her and get her talking.
"Yeah…" Hollie looked out into the courtyard, her pretty face clouding with anger…and a tinge of sadness as she pulled her hair out of my hand.
"What did Dumbledore want with you two," I reached out and gently took her chin, forcing her to look at me.
"I…I can't tell you," her black eyes widened as she realized how unusual this moment between us was.
"You're keeping a secret from me," I looked at her, shock registering on my face. As children, we had told each other everything and even after being separated for three years, it was still the same…except, of course, for my own secret, which I kept because I didn't want to lose Hollie again…which I knew would happen if she ever found out. This was definitely unusual for us both.
She smiled up at me as she took my hand from her face and held it, "Remus, I know you're keeping a secret from me. I also know that if you could, you would tell me. Also know that if I could, I'd tell you my secret. I've wanted to tell you…so bad…but I can't. Please don't make me feel guilty about it. I won't make you feel guilty about not telling me yours." Her black eyes shined with unshed tears as she smiled sweetly up at me. I felt an overwhelming sense of love for this girl. She was my best friend, my little sister, my confidant, my…my Hollie. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, wrapping my arms around her for a much needed hug.
"I just wish…I just wish it didn't hurt so badly," her voice was muffled by my woolen jumper as she buried her face into my chest.
"I know…I know Holls," I leaned back and wiped the tears that had spilled over with my thumbs, "Even though I don't know what is going on, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"
"Yes," her smile was shaky at best as she tried to regain her composer, "Can we change the subject to something less…intense?"
"Alright," I stepped back, giving her a full-fledged grin, "How's it going?"
"How's it going…with what?" Her confused face made me laugh.
"James…are you still dating that git? I thought he annoyed you…that's what you told me three months ago." My grin grew as I saw her face redden in consternation.
"Well…yeah. He still annoys me but…well; I just thought it would be good to see if there could be anything between us." She shrugged, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her designer jeans.
"What are you talking about? Why should there be anything between you two?" I frowned, not sure I even liked the idea of there being anything between Hollie and James.
"Oh, you don't know!" Hollie laughed at the look on my face…she knew it bothered me to be in the dark about important things and, obviously, her dating James was one of those important things, "James and I are arranged to be married when we both turn twenty."
"What?" I exclaimed, taking a step back as I gave her an incredulous look. "I thought Uncle Chris wanted you to marry me when we turned twenty."
Hollie laughed, "He still does, but you know about that stupid curse on his side of the family. If any Belledrex marries someone that is not Pureblood, we lose our magic. When we were kids, Dad thought it was just a family myth but it turns out its true. Now he's trying to find a way to break the curse so you and I can get married when we're twenty…which could be weird."
"So how did you end up arranged to marry James?" I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous…I didn't really want to marry Hollie, at eleven I didn't really want to marry anyone, but family was family. Besides, I would be marrying my best friend…spending the rest of my life with Hollie didn't seem so bad in that aspect. And now, here she was, arranged to marry James Potter. Oh dear Merlin, it couldn't get worse than that.
"Mum," Hollie tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, staring down at her neon green converse sneakers, pushing snow into a pile.
"Ah…Aunt Jess. I suppose she convinced Uncle Chris to go along with it just in case he doesn't find a way to break that curse. I know she's not all stuck on the whole Pureblood thing but she still thinks it would be good for you to marry a Pureblood…just like everyone in her family line," I shrugged, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my jeans. I was starting to get really cold.
"Yeah…and since she and James' mum are close friends that was the natural next best choice," she shivered, both in reaction to the idea and to the cold.
"Just as long as you and I know that I was the first choice." I winked at her, making her laugh.
"Yeah…between you and me, I'd rather marry you than James. He really is an annoying git…but I'm thinking if we start "going out" now, then maybe by the time the wedding comes around, we'll be in love or whatever." Hollie looked up at me, pursing her lips in disbelief.
"James will grow up, Hollie," I chuckled at the look of doubt on her face, "And who knows? You two may fall in love. At least you'll have it better than Uncle Chris and Aunt Jess…they didn't meet until, what, a couple weeks before they got married?"
"Something like that," Hollie wrapped her arms around herself. The cold air was starting to sink through her thick woolen jumper, "Can we go inside? I'm getting cold."
"But we haven't built our snowman yet!" I jumped up and down, trying to warm up. I hadn't wanted to build a snowman but the idea sounded good.
"We'll build one later. It's not like the snow's going anywhere. Let's go up to the common room and work on that Charms' essay…oh! We can play Wizard's Chess!" Hollie hurried into the castle, rubbing her hands together.
"Oh Hollie," I slung my arm over her shoulder as we walked to the Gryffindor tower, "don't you get tired of me kicking your arse all over the chessboard?"
"Cute Remus," she wrapped her arm around my waist, knowing without doubt that I was merely teasing her, "One of these days…I will pulverize you."
"I hope that day comes before I die of old age."
Hollie's laughter echoed throughout the hallway as we continued bantering back and forth. Being friends with Hollie was as natural as breathing. I just hoped she would never find out about that secret she knew I had because it would tear me to pieces to have to see her look at me with anything less than the love that was always there in her eyes.
Sam's POV
I walked into the Great Hall for dinner, grateful that I had been able to work on my Charm's essay. After crying for a little while, I was able to concentrate enough to write, although I didn't finish my homework. I just hoped it wasn't obvious that I had been crying. The last thing I wanted to do was come up with a reason as to why my eyes were red and my face splotchy.
When I sat down next to Lily, I noticed that Hollie was reading a letter. The mail had come but, once again, I hadn't received anything. Immediately I blinked back the tears, which were trying to resurface. Lily turned her head to say something but was interrupted by a squealing Hollie.
"What is it Hollie?" Remus leaned towards her, interested in what the letter said, which evidently got Hollie all excited.
"A letter from Mum. Her cousin Cheyenne had another baby so we're going to Texas over the Holidays to meet her. Of course that also means I get to see my cousins Cade and Reba." Her smile grew even wider at the thought of seeing her extended family once again.
Remus looked at Hollie slightly confused and disappointed. "I thought you were spending Christmas with my family."
Hollie nodded her head in agreement. "We're popping over to your house on Christmas Eve. Then we're popping to Hawaii. At New Year's we're coming back to England for the New Year's Eve Party at our house."
"Why Hawaii?" Remus wondered. They might as well stay in England. Apparating wasn't time consuming but Christmas break wasn't that long and that was a lot of traveling.
"Mum wanted a warmer Christmas this year." Hollie stated as if that would explain everything. She folded up the letter, placed it in her bag and continued to eat dinner.
Remus, still looking confused, replied. "Then why not stay in Texas? Is that not warm enough for her?"
James turned his head to look at Hollie. "Your mother wants to visit a tropical beach doesn't she?" After Hollie nodded her head in agreement, James turned his focus on Remus, "there's not a tropical beach in Texas, Remus." James, all of a sudden not sure of himself, looked around at everyone, "Is there?"
"There's a beach in Texas." Remus responded, quite positive that there was.
"Remus, the Gulf Coast doesn't count," Lily informed him, "it's not tropical."
"Besides," Hollie added, "we've been to Padre Island before, several times in fact. Mum and Dad wanted to go somewhere different this year. Why the big deal, Remus? Did you want to go with us?"
"No," Remus answered quickly before taking a sip of pumpkin juice. As if he could go with them…only if Hollie's family was gone between the full moons and that was not likely to happen so perfectly. "So, Lily, what are you doing for Christmas?" Remus asked, effectively shifting the attention off of him.
Lily answered before taking another bite of food, "Going home. We don't have anything special planned though."
"Me either," James added between bites, "except for going to Hollie's for the New Year's Eve Party."
"Well I'm not," Sirius interjected not wanting to be left out.
"Not going to our party? Of course you're not going, our parents aren't exactly friends," Hollie responded quite frankly.
"Not that, I meant I'm not going home. I want to stay away from my parents as much as possible. Even if it means staying here by myself."
"You won't be by yourself." I blurted out.
"What?" Sirius looked somewhat shocked, a fork halfway to his mouth…we weren't exactly close friends.
"I'm staying here too. I got a letter from home saying that my brother Billy has mono. So my parents figured it would be better if I stayed here over the holidays." I answered, relieved that I had been able to come up with a good lie…after all, Billy having mono was a high possibility. For all I knew, he actually did have mono.
Sirius lowered the fork to his plate and looked at me confused. "But you didn't get any post."
Go figure, he would be observant now. I shrugged, "I meant earlier."
"Oh." Sirius looked disappointed and shoved more food into his mouth. Apparently he thought I was hiding something.
"Your brother has mono?" James looked at me with a smirk on his face, "As in the kissing disease?"
I nodded my head. At least I fooled him. "Yah, he tends to kiss a lot of girls. No telling which one he got it from." If Billy really had gotten mono, I wonder if he would realize that meant the girl was just as bad as he was.
"Sounds like it could be Sirius." Hollie commented, grinning at the play in words.
I shook my head. "No, Billy is the future Sirius," I couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Billy and Sirius were very much alike.
"It's too bad you can't go home, Sam." Robin said, changing the subject of my brother being a playboy.
I shrugged it off. "I'll see them this summer," at least I hoped I would somehow see my brothers over the summer. Wanting to shift the attention off of me I asked, "but what about you, Robin?"
"Nothing much, just going home." She quietly responded, not wanting to be the center of attention. She looked down at her plate of food, shuffling her food around with her fork.
"So, Sam, how many girlfriends has your brother had?" Sirius asked curiously and effectively turned the conversation back to my family.
"Why would you want to know that?" I wondered, not even sure of the number myself. I never even tried to count how many girls I saw Billy with.
"Well, if I know the number, I know how many girlfriends to shoot for." A cocky smile spread across his face. Yes, he was definitely a young version of Billy.
Hollie turned to look at him, a disgusted look on her face. "You're a pig, Black."
Sirius' smile faltered for a second, thrown off by Hollie's insult, before it reappeared. "Want to be number one?" He asked her.
"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talking to!" James exclaimed, quite indignant that his best mate had the nerve to ask out his girlfriend. Apparently James forgot that his best mate was the future ladies man of Hogwarts.
"Please, that's not going to last." Sirius stated as Remus started coughing, which sounded suspiciously like laughing, and James' mouth fell open. The shock that his friends thought so little about his relationship was apparent.
"So?" Much to my disappointment, Sirius turned his attention back on me. He seemed to be glued onto the idea of learning about my family, Billy in particular.
I slowly chewed my food before swallowing so I wouldn't have to answer right away. "Ummm…I'm not actually sure. There was Cindy, Sarah, Liz, Kim…Stacey, Laura…Tracy…and other ones that I don't remember their names…and those are the only ones I've met. He never brought them home so I only met them when we were at the park," everyone's eyes were on me with stunned expressions, "yah; my brother is a male slut."
"That man is my god!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Hollie's right…you're such a pig Black!" Lily, being absolutely appalled at Sirius' attitude, got up from the table and left.
"Are your other brothers the same way, Sam?" James asked eager to hear more.
"No…in fact E.J. is the exact opposite. He's only had one girlfriend and they dated for almost two years. Nate's never had a girlfriend but he is only 13." I stopped talking, not sure what to say after that. I hadn't talked so much about my brothers at one time before. It usually brought up painful memories and thoughts. Stupid realistic lie of Billy having mono…why couldn't I have thought of something more boring but still believable?
"So, anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?" I asked to change the subject once again. Maybe this time it would work.
Both Hollie and Robin stated that they were probably going to head for bed since they had a long day but James answered enthusiastically. "Sure, I haven't played Exploding Snap in three days!" James jumped up from the table. Apparently the game was his favorite.
As we were leaving the table, Peter walked over and joined us. I secretly hoped he wasn't going to join the game. There was something about him I just didn't like.
"Hey, Peter, where have you been?" James asked genuinely concerned about the whereabouts of his friend.
Peter sat down at the table and sighed as he reached for some food. "Trying to finish my Charm's essay. It's a monster."
"Would you like some help, Peter?" Remus asked wanting to help his friend.
Peter brightened up at the thought. After all, Remus was extremely smart and would be a major help. "That would be great."
Remus sat down next to him and Sirius shrugged his shoulders, joining them at the table. If his mates were staying, so would he.
James sighed. "Sorry, Sam," he looked at me, quite disappointed, "looks like we won't be playing Exploding Snap."
I fought back a laugh at the look of utter disappointment on his face, "It's okay, James. We can play some other time."
He nodded his head, sat down next to Sirius and joined the conversation the other three had started.
I think Hollie and Robin had a great idea. Bed. All of a sudden sleep sounded like a wonderful idea.
AN: Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well and enjoying the story. And here is where I tell you about the little game HolyMae and I came up with. Throughout our story, we will be using quotes from our favorite TV shows and movies. Sirius' exclamation, "That man is my god!" is from a TV show. So before the next chapter comes out, tell us where you think it comes from. When we post the next chapter, you'll find out if you were right.