The next few days were a total bliss for the three Hogwarts students in the Potter's Mansion. The whole house was filled with merriment, happiness radiated from everybody's face. And in all these festivities, it seemed Artemis had temporarily forgotten her word of advice of keeping her feelings about Sirius, in check. Of course that happened because Sirius too had been reciprocating her attention and it is bringing them closer day by day, unconsciously. And then in a blink of an eye, Christmas arrived.
"Merry Christmas!" "Rise and shine sleepy heads, its presents time!" Artemis entered Sirius's room and yelled in his ear. With all the sudden noise, Sirius shot opened his eyes and literally jumped out of his bed. Seeing Artemis in front of him, he asked, bewildered, "What happened? Who attacked?!"
Laughing directly at his face, she replied, "Awesome expression you gave there. I should do this more often."
Sirius's eyes narrowed. "You do know I'll take my revenge, right? And it won't be pretty." "Anyway, why did you wake me up so brutally?"
Just then, James came running inside. "It's Christmas! Come on– downstairs– Presents!"
With that cue, Artemis and Sirius rushed downstairs to the sitting room, following James. The sitting room looked like it was dipped in Christmas spirit; the huge Christmas tree in the corner, and its vicinity, enchanted with falling fake snow, decorated with tinsels, holly, mistletoes, scattered candies, and lastly, a huge pile of presents lying at the foot of the tree.
"Merry Christmas!" Mr. and Mrs. Potter wished us as we entered the room. We gathered around on the floor for opening the presents.
"I'll open mine first." James said as he snatched the first parcel which was addressed to him. He tore open the wrappings and pulled out a box. "Broomstick full servicing kit! I wanted these for my Nimbus. Great gift bro."
James then proceeded to the other parcels. He found a copy of 'Quidditch through the ages' by Remus, a big box of Chocolate frogs from Peter. "That one is from me." Artemis prompted when he reached out for another one. James looked at the wrapping for few seconds before opening it. It was handmade; 'Merry Christmas, James' was written in small handwriting all over the wrapping which floated lazily around. James was mesmerized by the beauty and effort in it that he cautiously undid its wrappings, so that it won't tear off. Underneath that, he found a small rectangular paper. It was blank.
"umm…. What is it?" James questioned, clearly confused to see an unusual gift.
She grinned at him. "It is 'TIP- Think Ink Paper'. It reflects your emotions and converts it into visuals. I customized it a bit."
Clearly mesmerized by it, James said, "Thanks. But how does it work?" He turned the small paper over and over trying to figure it out. By this time, it had already attracted the attention of the other three beings in the living room. Sirius was peering over James's shoulder to take a good look.
"You have to channel your magic into it while thinking of something – anything." Artemis said.
"Okay…" James took a deep breath and stared into the paper. Everybody in the room did the same. Seconds passed.
"… exactly how should I channelize…?" James seemed perplexed. A loud groan escaped Sirius's mouth. "Just… hold it and concentrate on it. That should do the trick."
"Okay, Okay. Here I go…"
The small paper was the centre of attraction. After a few moments, the paper started to go dark at the places where it had been touched, spreading, like the ink was alive. It took a shape of a girl, a very familiar girl, laughing and opening presents under the Christmas tree.
"It's Lily. Just now, were you thinking about Lily?" Sirius asked. James's eyes darted from the paper in his hands to Artemis and then to Sirius. He nodded. A faint red flushed across his face.
"Is this the girl you are smitten by, all these years?" Mrs. Potter chimed as she too joined the three person huddle. "She looks pretty."
"Mom!" James voiced while retracting the paper with his quidditch reflexes. "Can we just go back to opening presents?" his face was getting redder with each passing moment.
Mrs. Potter chortled as her husband stepped forward with a rather big present box on his hand. They both shared a look before handing James his last present. "This… is from us. Hope you like it."
James took the large box and began opening it. As he took the wrappings off, and the lid of the outer box, he started to anticipate what could be in it. And he predicted it right.
"It's Nimbus's latest model!" he cried at the top of his voice.
"What?! Nimbus 1500? No way…." Sirius jumped on his feet to take a good look. The broom looked absolutely stunning. The sleek design and the top notch speed were one of the many qualities that made the broom a professional's choice. Both boys were doting over it like no tomorrow when Mrs. Potter cleared her throat. James looked at her and reached up to give his mother and father a big hug. "Thank you so much!" "I can't wait to ride it and give it a try."
The rest of the 'present opening event' passed by in hurry. Sirius got a variety of presents including numerous Zonko's products from James, a Quick Aid Kit from Remus, another box of Chocolate frogs from Peter and an exclusive muggle monthly magazine of 'Hot Bike' from Artemis.
"It's a muggle Bike Magazine. But please don't open it now. You'll know why when you take a look at it." Artemis whispered to Sirius. He raised an eyebrow as a devilish smirk crawled up his face. "Ah… my favorite kind."
"What are you two whispering about?" James question, narrowing his eyes. Sirius swiftly averted his gaze from the gift box in his hand to look directly at him. "Nothing." But his eyes said otherwise. Trying to divert attention from the ongoing exchange of looks that obviously looked quite lecherous, Artemis started opening her gifts with as much noise as she could make.
The first present was from Sirius, he got her an elegant peacock quill, the next one was from James, who gave her a photograph of them, them being the marauders and Artemis, framed beautifully in a silver carved frame; Remus had given her a perfect leather bound diary. Peter again, had parceled a box of chocolate frogs as a gift.
"Looks like Peter had outdid himself this time. He gave all of us boxes of Chocolate frogs as gifts. Not that I am complaining or anything but man, at least give it a proper thought on Christmas gifts for your best friends!" James whined while chewing on his box of Chocolate frogs. Artemis rolled her eyes as she continued to her next present.
"Lily got me a present too!" She opened a small box adorned with a pretty ribbon on the top. It contained a small four leaf clover pendent. A smile formed on her lips.
"You should put it on." Sirius said to her. "Here, let me help." He circled around her as he took the pendent. He undid the clasp, brushed aside her mane and fastened it around her neck. This action took Artemis totally by surprise. She shivered slightly as his fingers grazed softly on her neck. She could feel his warm breath on her bare skin. Butterflies suddenly erupted in the pit of her stomach that had subsided or to say it clearly, she had shoved deep inside her. "There. You're….It's pretty." Sirius breathed. This little incident went unnoticed by others but had created enough turmoil inside Artemis and Sirius.

The whole day was very nostalgic for Artemis, how she enjoyed the family time, and the merriment surrounding the house. But due to the same nostalgia, an ache was rooting deep inside her head. It kept bothering her all day but she was too happy to give a damn about it. It was like something trying to rise its head up, only looking for the right time to surge.
It got what it wanted. Later that evening, Artemis entered the dining room with James and Sirius for the dinner. It was the Christmas dinner. Lavish, delicious and just family. Well apart from Sirius and Artemis. Mrs. Potter had made extra effort to consider and include both of their choices of favorite foods on the table. She had already accepted them as her own family. Despite of a constant helping hand offered by Artemis to her, she politely declined and ordered her to enjoy the night as a 'special guest'.
The scene in front of her, the scene of a loving family gathered together for a meal, 'a mother setting up the table, a father helping her with whatever he can, and a sweet smell of caramel pudding lingering in the air', pulled the trigger on her. In that very second, a flood of memories swooped her away.
The scene in front of her, hit her like a beater's bat. She stood rooted at her position, petrified, before she fell unconscious on the floor. Only one word could escaped her mouth, before she went cold, 'Ma'.
The Potter family came rushing toward her, panic written on all of their faces but Sirius got there first. "Arty! Arty!" He called, trying to wake her up as he kneeled beside her head.
"Did you see what happened to her?" Mr. Potter asked, in his worry ridden voice.
"No. But she looked petrified before felling unconscious."
Mrs. Potter checked Artemis's pulse while muttering some spells. "There's nothing serious. It seems like she's just fainted. I'll check her properly when she wakes up."
"We should lie her down some place comfortable till she regain consciousness." Mr. Potter said.
Sirius nodded slowly as he gently scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Laughter echoed. Cutleries clattered. A small happy family was enjoying their dinner, just like every other night.
"Tonight's dinner is remarkably delicious. What's the occasion, Mom?" Artemis asked, on her second helpings of the pudding.
"No reason. I just thought we could use a little merriment for our taste buds." Mrs. Hale said. Artemis 'hmm'ed in understanding, paying no attention to her parent's exchange of looks. "Speaking of dinners, your aunt Dolly called." She added slowly. "She had invited us to dinner tomorrow. And we were thinking you should come too."
"Now I understand what this dinner means. It is to bribe me to say yes for the invite." Artemis said, but her eyes never left her plate.
"Not bribe. Just incentive. Besides… you could use some of the fresh country air." Her mom nudged her towards the idea.
Artemis hated going to her aunt's place, not because she hated her, in fact, her aunt was one of the kindest person she had ever known. She hated the place because the area was so remote that there was hardly any cell reception let alone internet connection. Seeing no excuses left to make her stay, she used her trump card. "Okay mom." Mrs. Hale was astonished to hear her daughter's sudden agreement. "There's one thing though. There is a weekly test at school the day after tomorrow and I want to study for it thoroughly. And don't forget about my piles of homework. I have to complete it before the week ends." She lied easily about the test but her homework part was completely true. She was a great procrastinator and was on the edge of her teacher's patience.
"Ohh…" Mrs. Hale looked dejected.
"It's okay, Aurora. Don't look so dejected. Education always comes first." Mr. Hale gave a kind, understanding smile, looking at which, Artemis instantly felt guilty for half lying to her parents. "Look at the bright side. My baby girl is being responsible to her life."