A/N: Ok in this chapter I've put in some Welsh. Fisrt I don't speak Welsh very well. Second if my spelling or grammer suck review and tell me an I'll fix it. Third there's a heap more coming in later chapters. Oh yeah and please review this I want to know if it's good or not.

CHAPTER TEN

Invites to Christmas.

Two weeks later and Aimee had gone from like to 'maybe love but let's not rush anything, I mean he's nice and all and I love spending time with him but I wouldn't exactly call him my boyfriend. Well maybe I would. Oh I don't know.'

Tauree rolled her eyes she had been listening to this for the past two weeks and Aimee was so unsure about what her relationship with Sirius was that it was driving Tauree mad. Tauree flicked her honey gold hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure that Aimee was in love with Sirius or at the very least running headlong down that path.

"Have you got him a Christmas present?" She questioned in a bored tone.

"Oh yes I got him a journal and a silver necklace. Do you think that's too much, or not enough, what if he doesn't like them?" Aimee was fretting again.

"Right that settles it Aimee Jade Weir, listen and listen good. You spend almost all your free time with Sirius, he escorts you from class to class and I might add that he has gained five detentions in the last week for being late to his own classes. The boy adores you so it wouldn't matter if you gave him a half eaten piece of Boomslang skin for Christmas, as long as it was you who had been eating it he's mount it frame it and hang it over his bed as a piece of modern art so for Merlin's sake stop obsessing!!!" Tauree had almost shouted herself horse with that last effort and Aimee looked a little taken a back.

"What do you mean he's been getting detentions for being late to class? I thought he got them for pulling pranks."

"Look here." Tauree waved her wand and a poster appeared with four different line graphs on it. A green one, a red one, a yellow one and a blue one

"Right so each of the lines represents the pranks pulled over the past year by the Marauders, against each house. See Gryffindor is red and it's the lowest green is Slytherin and it's the highest. We're yellow of course and Ravenclaw's blue both in the middle not as pranked as Slytherin but more pranked than Gryffindor." Tauree stopped and took a deep breath she loved to show thing visually and Aimee was used to her whipping up graphs and diagrams to illustrate her points.

"Ok note the drop off on the yellow line over the past month." Tauree waved her wand again and the graph changed. Instead of 'Marauders Pranks' across the top it now said 'Sirius Black's Pranks'.

"Ok colours are still the same but note Sirius was sitting in a steady five prank a month average against Hufflepuff until this point here." Tauree tapped the poster with her wand. "Three weeks ago not only did he decrease his pranks against us he stopped all together." Tauree was right a sharp drop at the end of the graph showed that Sirius had ceased all practical jokes against the Hufflepuff's three week ago.

"Now that was the weekend of your little trip to the gallery, he'd been winding down for two weeks before that but once you kissed him he stopped completely. So in conclusion Aimee my dear the boy has given up pranking us because of you. For Sirius that's a big deal. Pulling practical jokes is his life."

Aimee pondered the graph and giggled. "I thought it had been a little quiet lately."

"So will you give over Weirdo," Only Tauree was allowed to call Aimee by this nickname. The metamorphmagus had been tormented by kids calling her Aimee Weird or Aimee the Weirdo for most of her childhood. Tauree only got away with it because she had been Aimee's best friend for almost six years.

"He likes you he'll love his Christmas presents and I wouldn't be surprised if you were peppered by owls over the break, I mean what else is he going to do he lives alone so it's not like he'll have anyone else to talk to."

Aimee considered this. Sirius did live all on his own in a flat in London. So what was he doing for Christmas? He might stay here at the castle but that was no way to spend the holiday season. He'd probably go to James's or home with Remus. She made up her mind to ask him to accompany her home for the holidays. Her parents wouldn't mind and she thought I'd be better than spending two weeks alone.

Six floors above the same thoughts were running through James's head. He knew how much Lily hated going home, her parents were ok, they loved her to bits but from what she'd told him her older sister made her life a living hell and had only gotten worse since she'd agreed to marry some fat bloke who worked in a drill factory. James grabbed Lily's hand as she strolled past and pulled her onto his lap.

"Hey I was going somewhere you know?" She said in a mock angry tone.

"Yeah but I need to ask you something.."

"No. James I will not let you copy my homework, buy me a broom for Christmas or take me up to your room to have your way with me."

"Well ok, Lucky I wasn't going to ask that then, though now that you mention it the third one does sound tempting." He grinned at her and she slapped him playfully on the arm.

"No what I wanted to know is what you plan to do for Christmas."

"I'm staying here. There's no way I'm going home to sit through two weeks of Petunia and Vernon."

"Right so how would you feel if you didn't stay here, if you came home with me for the holidays?"

"Well I'd love it apart from the fact that I'd have to meet your parents and that scares the hell out of me."

"So you'll come then. If I promise that my parents aren't going to sacrifice you for trying to deflower their only son."

"Sure I guess so. Now can I go I was off to the library to get a book on advanced healing thought I'd have a go at fading my scares a little before summer arrives, it takes a while you see."

"Ok see ya then" James planted a kiss on his Lily Flower and let her up.

"So your bringing her home then" Maddi was leaning over back of the couch watching Lily exit the common room.

"Yeah is that a problem?"

"No I think it's a great idea just don't make disgusting noises or anything my room's right in between the best guest room and your room and I don't want to think about what you two might be doing."

"You are a cheeky young lady Maddi Potter and if what Sirius tells me you are no stranger to the opposite sex."

Maddi poked her tongue out at her brother at which point James grabbed her round the waist and flipped her over the back of the sofa and onto his lap where he began to tickle her mercilessly. Romy pounced on James and he was forced to stop torturing his baby sister.

"Unhand her you scurvy knave" Romy shrieked. Within seconds it was three on two as Remus and Sirius came to James's aid. Lily re-entered and evened up the numbers for the girls. All six ended up in a pile on the common room floor in hysterics. It was the holiday season making everyone a little silly. James looked at Lily and smiled it was good to see her laughing again.

The next morning Aimee made her way over towards the Gryffindor table. Sirius's face split into a smile at the sight of the slight framed beauty making a bee line for him.

"What's up cutie?" He asked making room for Aimee to sit down.

"Not much just a few things. First if it's going to make you late for your classes then stop escorting me to mine. I manages to get there on my own for the past five years and while I love your company Siri it's not worth you getting detention over." Sirius blushed. She wasn't supposed to find out about his punishments.

"Ok second what are you doing for Chrissie?"

"Noting much going to James's I guess but he's invited Lily so I might just stay here and give them some space, Why?"

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to come to Chifley Chan Hod with me. Mum won't mind and it would mean you wouldn't be sitting in a cold empty common room on Christmas eve."

"Um Ok but one question first, what or where is Chifley Chan Hod?"

"It's my house. It's in Wales just over the boarder from Chester."

"But you're not Welsh." Sirius exclaimed.

"No I'm half Welsh. My mother was born and bred in Wales and met my dad right here at Hogwarts. Chifley Chan Hod is welsh for place of magic. It's my mother's ancestral home. So do you want to come?"

"Sure. Your parents won't kill me will they? You know for dating you or something."

"No but Gran might you see you're a sais, an Englishman she'll hate that but don't worry her bark is worse than her bite and she got over mam marrying a sais so she'll just have to deal with it."

"One last thing. What the hell does Chifley Chan Hod mean?"

"Place of Magic"

Aimee stood up kissed Sirius on the head and left for her class reminding Sirius not to be late to his own.