"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!" Peter sang terribly out of tune, walking down the corridors after Transfiguration as Sirius groaned.
They'd all heard it about four million times already that afternoon and all straight from the rat's mouth. It was making him even more exhausted; head pounding, eyes drooping, mood about ready to snap – Sirius prayed it would all stop soon. Hauling his bag up onto his shoulder better, he saw the girls walking ahead of them on their way to the common room. O'Malley was gesturing about something that made her face light up as she told the story, Sirius missing that look more than anything right now.
"I'm so ready for this bloody holiday," he sighed, running a hand through his hair and idly pulling on his piercing, "It honestly couldn't come at a better time."
"I'd agree with you mate, but now that you're all leaving me behind to go on grand adventures without me, well, I'd say it's all a bit poppycock." James said snootily, pushing his glasses back up his nose and puffing out his chest as if he was a distinguished bloke that was too far above them to care. Sirius just shook his head and punched his mate in the arm.
"What can I say, Prongs? We hate you," Peter joked, watching the mistletoe flying back and forth above their heads as they ducked out of the way.
For the past week it had been catching students off guard and trapping them beneath it until the couple kissed either on the cheek or the lips. It had put the whole student body in sticky situations as of late, but most of all Remus. A very rambunctious Hufflepuff named Louisa had given him quite the snogging that left him bright red and spluttering for a good hour and a half. It had done for a good few days of laughter, but poor Remus still wasn't recovered from the assault.
"Yeah James," Sirius continued, "we can't bloody stand you! We're kicking you out of the group, no longer a Marauder are you. Please turn in your Prongs nametag by midnight tonight or forever be banished from Gryffindor Tower!"
James rolled his eyes and smacked him on the back. "Why must you torture me so terribly, Padfoot?"
"Purely out of love, mate – nothing more." Remus smiled, joining in on the conversation as they took the steps carefully to dodge the trick ones. "So, anyone get brutally attacked by the mistletoe today?"
"I got a fair number of pecks up on the eighth floor this morning," Sirius smirked, "You should be a bit more adventurous mate, it'd do you some good. Get you a nice bird."
"No, that's no good," Remus swore under his breath, "Birds and I don't go well together, werewolves eat birds."
Sirius snorted, James and Peter doing their best to not laugh as they looked at their mate. Poor Remus had been thoroughly put through the ringer during the last full moon, his face covered in bruises from where James had to push him back with his antlers and kick him with his hooves. If he hadn't though, Remus would have raced down into Hogsmeade and that would have been a lot harder to forgive then a few bumps and bruises that'd heal soon enough. Besides, Remus was getting quite a reputation after it spread around that they weren't bruises at all but actually hickeys, and now he was the talk of the school.
Much to his chagrin.
"You're going to need to get over that whole monster bit sooner or later, mate; depressed werewolves are definitely not as attractive as confident ones." Sirius hugged his mate around his shoulders, ruffling his hair a bit. "No bird is going to turn you down if you just be yourself, you hear me? You're a good bloke with a furry little problem…it's not going to kill you to try, Remus, and I really think you should try."
Remus shook his head. "Maybe, but unlike you, I'd like to date just one girl and not snog about."
"Hey now, no changing the subject, mate – we're talking about you!" Sirius couldn't help looking at O'Malley's back again after Remus said it, but quickly brought his focus back. "Find one girl to snog, then, or make good on that muggle girl while you're on holiday. Just get out Moony, alright? You need to take some stress off your shoulders and have a bit of fun…you deserve it."
"He's right, Remus, you really could do with some loosening up." Peter agreed, eyeing his girlfriend across the corridor and practically foaming at the mouth. "Go on and snog her."
"I appreciate it guys, but you're no help, you know that?" He laughed, all of them running ahead to make it through the portrait hole before the Fat Lady closed up again. Heading straight up to the dorm, Sirius tossed his bag on the floor and swiftly kicked off his shoes before flopping onto his bed.
"So, what will we be getting up to tonight, blokes? It's the last night before the tragic split of the four Marauders – we have to make this good!"
Remus laughed, shaking his head as he loosened his tie. "It's only two weeks, Padfoot, none of us are being shipped off to war, for Merlin's sake."
"That's what you think!" Peter said, Sirius silently hoping he wasn't about to start complaining about his mum again. The poor woman just wanted Wormtail to wear a jumper with a Christmas tree on it, and no matter how much Sirius hoped there would be pictures to remember his humiliation by, he could honestly think of much worse things.
"Moving past the jumper dilemma of '76, we need to come up with a brilliant prank for tonight. It's time we sent off Hogwarts with a proper farewell until we get back after the New Year."
James nodded. "I'm with Padfoot on this one, I'm totally up for a prank. It has to be something that screams Christmas though. Prongs and Padfoot a-go!" They high-fived as if they'd already come up with a brilliant fool proof plan, but they were about as close to that as they were to solving the great mystery of the disappearing pudding in their first year.
"Something that screams Christmas? Like what…turning everyone red and green?" Peter started to think, spitting out ideas as he settled atop his trunk. "Or like, all the food red and green?"
"Always coming back to the food, Pete," Sirius laughed, sitting back up on his bed so he could join in with everyone else.
"I just love it, alright? Mmm, cheese." He joked, rubbing at his belly as if he were craving it. Though, without how much he'd been hanging around with Catchlove all the time, he did seem to be embracing his ratty side and eating more cheese.
"Right, well, Wormtail's nutters, but we all knew that well enough. You were the one who wanted to put biscuits in everyone's shoes in second year for a big prank."
"People hate crumbs in their shoes!" Peter protested, the three of them laughing at him. "And I was twelve, bloody hell – your plans weren't all that much better."
James chuckled, messing up his hair like usual. "We could make all the trees pelt the Snakes with their ornaments – everyone would love a good star piercing the arse of a Slytherin right before the holidays."
"Or," Sirius cracked, "we could somehow make Snivellus' shoes sing about how amazing Christmas is and how much he misses his mummy."
"No! I've got it!" Remus shouted, jumping up from where he'd been sitting on the floor. "I need to run to the library quick – I'll be back in a while."
And just like that, Remus was off running and leaving them all staring after him like he'd gone mad. Sirius just shrugged his shoulders, pulling at his tie to loosen the knot and laying back on his bed again. Remus had come up with some of their best pranks in the past, he wouldn't deny that, but Prongs and he were going to end up being the ones left actually performing it again. Not that it mattered in the end, everyone in the school believed it was always the four of them, not a single one more troublesome than the next, and that was exactly how they liked it.
We're a team.
"You excited to be at Alphard's tomorrow, Padfoot?" James asked, tugging off his shirt and sending his glasses to the floor. Sirius was still waiting for the day that the idiot blindly stepped on them and broke them in a million pieces that no spell would be able to repair – that'd serve him right.
"Yeah, of course I am – I mean, it's better than going home, right? He's the only member of my family, other than 'Dromeda of course, who's basically not ready to throw me out onto the curb with a sign saying 'Traitor Puppy for Sale'. That will always give him points above the rest, that's for sure. But honestly," he sighed, staring up at the ceiling, "It's been a while since I've seen him…I'm scared he'll have changed."
"I thought he was always the life of the party? You always talk so highly about him." Peter asked.
"He is, always was when he was invited to those stupid parties. He's always sent me brilliant gifts as well, but I've not had the chance to spend all that much time with him. Mum wants his head on wall with her house elves, remember? She hates everyone except those willing to murder, the stupid bitch."
It's been a long time since Sirius had a problem disrespecting his mother and calling her names. Children weren't supposed to disrespect their elders, but she hadn't ever given him a shred of respect to earn his in return. He'd told her that to her face too, and it landed him with a black eye from his charming father and a fat lip the following day. One of my most favorite Easter holidays.
"So why are you going then, Padfoot? Why not lay low with me and G?" James wondered, now digging deep in his wardrobe as his voice echoed off the wooden walls.
"Uncle said he wanted to talk about something important, something he said he didn't feel safe just sending in a letter. Merlin knows what it is, but he's always been good for a surprise or two." Sirius happily remembered a Christmas where Alphard had popped up dressed as Father Christmas and scared the shit of his mother; it was a golden highlight of his childhood. "It could be anything, I guess."
"Maybe you've got a gigantic Christmas present or something," Peter smiled, nibbling on a snack, "Like a hippogriff or a dragon! Wow, how wicked would that be?"
"Well, if that's it, I'll be sure to ship them on over to your house, Wormtail; I'm no good with pets."
"Brilliant!"
Sirius laughed, grabbing a new jumper to change into as he yawned. Grabbing for his wand and telling the others he'd meet them in the common room so they could go find Remus, he headed downstairs. Not seeing many options for seating, he planted himself somewhat uncomfortably in an armchair across from Evans and O'Malley who were working on something together.
He didn't bother saying hello, knowing just how well that would go over. It had been really hard not talking to O'Malley though, there were some new jokes he'd been dying to tell her but it never seemed like the right time and he'd been the one to throw the rift between them to begin with. So besides asking for things to be passed in class or sending along a message from someone, Sirius stayed away from her. Besides, their fight had been a pretty bad one in terms of how they both ended up feeling, and O'Malley had kept her promise.
She didn't show up for his last match.
"Um…Sirius," he heard his name all of a sudden, ears perking up once he realized it was O'Malley talking and he fought a grin, "Can I…um, could I talk to you, for just a second – I promise it won't take long."
"Sure, yeah, totally, that's fine." Trying not to seem eager or anything, he stood up with her and walked over to a more quiet area of the common room. O'Malley looked nervous, biting at her lip and holding a small parcel in her hands. Just standing next to her though, smelling the cool peppermint on her skin being so close – Sirius was starting to realize that being away from her wouldn't be lasting all that much longer.
I can't fucking do this anymore.
"I'm…really sorry to do this, Sirius, knowing where we're at and all that," she sighed, not looking at him as she spoke, "But I really have no one else to ask, and I'm about to have a breakdown if I can't get someone to help me. Honestly, I've asked everyone else I can think of so I don't have to burden you with this, but–"
"Hey, hey, calm down, Leprechaun," she looked up then, blue eyes hopeful as he gave her a small smile, "It's fine, okay? I…I want to help, if I can."
"You're staying with your uncle in London, right? At least that's what I thought you told me last month."
"Yeah, he lives downtown, I think." He thought so at least, he wasn't all that clear on muggle road names; Alphard could live in Romania and Sirius would probably still think he was in the middle of London. "I know he lives in London, just don't know where."
"Well, that's fine, that'll work. It's just that everyone else I know has to be places almost the second they step off the train, or they won't go near a post box or something stupid like that. Lily's travelling, Mary's doing…something or other, and Mar doesn't want muggle germs," she laughed a little, her fingers still gripping her package, "Peter and Remus too, they both had something to do, so…I understand if you say no, but, well – could you drop this in the post for me?"
He looked at the parcel oddly. "Muggle post?"
"Yeah," O'Malley sighed, as if he'd just told her no, "I know it's beneath you or whatever, it's alright…"
"I wasn't saying that! I just…I don't really know how you lot send things, you know? Why can't you just send your owl?"
She stared at the floor. "Nana doesn't know I'm a witch, so sending Winnie with her gift might give her a heart attack or something…she's pretty old, after all."
"What about you parents? Can't they give it to her?"
"Oh, well," O'Malley's face was burning red, kicking at the carpet a little, "My dad would probably dump it in the trash before even checking to see who it was for. I mean, it's just a scarf, but the fact that I bought it in a wizarding village with wizard money…he'd be really angry with me. And even if I hadn't bought it in Hogsmeade, he'd probably just assume I had and throw it out anyway." She sounded really sad, Sirius fighting the urge to hug her or try to cheer her up somehow. "So, I thought…if you sent it for me, and it got there before they did…she'd get to keep it."
There was a deep desperation in her eyes that he couldn't ignore. Taking a deep breath, Sirius didn't much enjoy knowing he was suddenly her only hope and getting all the added pressure, but he couldn't let her down either. Not again. "How the hell do I do this?"
"Oh, Sirius!" Her face lit up suddenly with the brightest smile he'd ever seen as tears collected in her eyes. "I didn't think…with the space and whatever…I could kiss you right now, you know."
He chuckled a little, looking away from her face as to not try and get her to make good on that thought. Stop being an idiot, just get back to being mates; you've already fucked yourself over anyway mate, just get it together. "How about I make you rub my back or something after the holiday, get my reward that way," he smirked, feeling like a suffocating weight was lifting that he hadn't known he'd been carrying around, "The space well…I've decided I don't need it.
"I, well – I think the Leprechaun and Padfoot need to have another go. We're still mates, right? I didn't completely fuck this up, did I?"
O'Malley gave him a small grin, shaking her head a little. "Yeah, we're still mates, at least we will be." Sirius sighed, thanking Merlin he hadn't completely lost her over his own idiocy about his feelings. "Okay, so, all you have to do is find a tall, red letterbox – they're kind of shaped like wee little towers, and they have a rectangular slot in them. All you do once you find one is slide the parcel through the slot and that's it."
He looked skeptical. "That's it?"
"Yeah, not hard at all, and even if it doesn't make it, at least you tried…unlike some of my mates," she laughed, Evans behind her waving her warms in surrender as if she knew they were talking about her, "but honestly Sirius, I can't even thank you enough for this. You're my hero."
"Anything for a bit of Christmas spirit, yeah? It's no trouble, really."
"Well…thanks, I really do owe you one, Sirius."
Reaching out, she squeezed his arm hesitantly as if their fight was coming back to her and realizing that maybe she'd forgiven him too easily. Sirius didn't want to lose her again though. "I am sorry, really, about blowing you off lately and being a prat. I've been dealing with some stuff that I didn't want to drag you into and I…well, it wasn't fair of me."
"That's what mates are for though, Sirius," she said, a light blush in her cheeks, "You can drag me into anything if you need help…you know that."
Sirius sighed, realizing that the only way she'd be able to help his current predicament was to snog him and hopefully get rid of his desperate need to do the same to her. But that wasn't exactly the kind of help she was offering, and Sirius was still trying to act like that wasn't his actual problem. "Yeah, right, I'll be sure to remember that, Leprechaun."
"Good, I'm glad…just, if you feel like you want to back off again or whatever, can you just tell me? I don't mind giving you space, but just tossing me away like that, well – I don't think you realize how much of an affect you have on people, Sirius." Giving him a small smile, she gave his arm another warm squeeze before going back over to Lily.
With her parcel safe in his hands now, the rough paper on the outside crinkling under his fingers, he made a promise to himself. I'm done fancying her, I'm just going to be her mate because it's what we both want, and that'll be so much easier than trying to be the nothing I was trying to be. You gotta do this Sirius, or you'll end up losing her.
You have to do this.
Late that night after curfew, the Marauders snuck down into the kitchens to put their plan into motion. Cheerfully named 'Operation Happy Christmas', they made sure the prank would happen to everyone in the Great Hall, including the professors, by casting the spell on the goblets. Though, Remus hadn't told them exactly what they were doing, but it didn't matter; they knew it was going to be good no matter what happened.
So naturally, in the morning after the spell had taken hold, a pair of unsuspecting Hufflepuff's wished one another a Happy Christmas and all hell broke loose. Every time those two words were muttered, a resonating "And a happy new year!" was bellowed from the person's lips of who you were speaking with. Remus was happy as a loon when he found out it worked, the song suddenly spreading throughout the Great Hall as students wished each other happy holidays before their friends left for break.
The song was haunting him.
"So, we've plagued the whole student body, and ourselves, with singing that rubbish song?" Sirius laughed, a particularly squeaky girl belting the line out in a baritone voice as her mate laughed herself into hysterics. "For how long, Moony?"
"It should wear off sometime tonight – I'm sure their parents will just love having them back home." Remus snort, Dumbledore walking up and down the staff table and practically forcing the prank upon each of the teachers as breakfast went on.
That old coot always loves our pranks.
"This is brilliant, Remus!" James patted him happily on the back, the four of them watching as Snape snidely belted out at a girl who looked petrified before she ran away. "I love them all sounding like deep voiced giants, as well…that's a nice touch."
"That's what I needed the library for," he laughed, all of them happy with their work, "It all turned out rather well, didn't it?
"Oh yes, our little master genius –another prank pulled off splendidly!" Sirius held up his goblet, the four them toasting amongst the madness in the Great Hall. "To the Marauders!"
"To pranks!" James shouted.
"To Christmas!" Peter added.
"And a happy new year!" Remus joked, their goblets smashing into one another and sending pumpkin juice raining down on the table.
By the time Sirius had left breakfast to run upstairs and finish packing, the Great Hall was still loudly singing behind him in good spirits. Either no one had caught onto how the prank worked, or people were just doing it for their own amusement now. Jogging up to the fourth floor, he suddenly ran directly into O'Malley and sent her books flying in every direction.
"Oh shit, sorry Leprechaun," he apologized, quick to bend down and help grab her books as she did the same, "I didn't see you there – running too fast, I guess."
"No, I'm sorry, I honestly couldn't even see around the book stack. Obviously I shouldn't carry that many at a time," she blushed, making a new stack on the floor.
"You're going to remember you're short one of these days, you know."
"Har har, Sirius, glad to know we're back to that," she scoffed, smiling still despite the slight at her height, "You still have the box, right?"
"Damn, I think I accidentally chucked it out of my window last night singing Mars is Bright," he mocked, though he had been singing that particular wizarding song last night, "I'm not that irresponsible, O'Malley; your parcel is safe with me"
"Well good, glad I trusted the right person even though you were the last person I picked."
Sirius smirked after a laugh, stacking her books on top of the rest just before the worst thing imaginable happened. Irritating bells were suddenly ringing above them, the bewitched mistletoe dancing up high with its white berries swinging happily about. Sirius stared up at it and then brought his eyes back down to O'Malley, her face redder than the Christmas decorations on the wall behind her.
"Fucking mistletoe," he growled, standing back up and jumping to swipe at it, but it only went higher each time. Of course, if either of them ran in different directions to try and get away, it would only end up pulling them right back together again. "Dumbledore is a cruel old goat."
"Hadn't realized kissing me was that horrible of an idea," O'Malley laughed nervously, standing up next to him and pushing her hair behind her ear, "I'll remember that."
"You always like twisting my words around to make me sound like a prick, don't you?"
"Oh no, that's not me Sirius – that's all you." She poked him in the chest, the mistletoe still happily jingling above them as he stared down at her.
Sirius' palms were sweating, uncomfortably so as he wiped them on his trousers and tried to calm down. Maybe this is the perfect moment, there's no one around, she doesn't seem to be trying to figure a way out – maybe fancying her was going to end better than I thought. Though, when she suddenly got onto her tip toes and placed her hands carefully on his shoulders, Sirius lost any thoughts he might have had about it and blinked slowly.
I can't even remember where to put my hands!
As her face neared his, he decided to let her take the reins on this one and felt her cool lips land just at the corner of his mouth.
"Happy Christmas, Sirius." She whispered, the words making him shudder before he realized what was about to happen. He could feel it wrenching itself from his throat no matter how hard he tried to smother it down and cursed Remus for ruining the moment.
"AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!" He sang out, O'Malley jumping back with her eyes wide before bending over and laughing at him. "Fucking, Remus."
"Oh my God, what the hell was that?" She snorted, picking her books up again as she went on laughing at him while he glared back.
"A Marauder's prank backfiring terribly, that's what that was." He felt like punching nothing in particular, the place on his cheek where she'd kissed him still burning.
"Quite charming, really; maybe you should go into the music business, Sirius." She teased, heading down the stairs away from him.
"Go ahead and joke now, Leprechaun – I won't invite you to any of my concerts!"
"Well, there goes my heart, breaking all over the floor again."
He stuck his tongue out at her. "Stuff it, O'Malley!"
"Come on, love…have a happy Christmas!" She yelled back, sending him off singing again until he could just hear her laughing as she went out of view.
I'm going to fucking kill Remus Lupin.
Walking down to Hogsmeade later that afternoon, Sirius said goodbye to a few girls before catching back up with the Marauders and tightening his scarf around his neck. Grabbing for his bag, he checked for about the fifth time to make sure O'Malley's parcel was there and then put it back and turned back to his mates.
"You'll write to me?" James asked dramatically, standing just at the train door as the rest of them loaded their things on.
Sirius nodded, pushing his trunk hard into the aisle with a grunt. "Yep, a hundred letters a day, sweetie – I promise."
"I expect no less from you Black; you can't go around leaving gorgeous and brilliant people waiting at the window for your letters, that wouldn't be nice."
"If you're gorgeous and brilliant mate, than I'm the bloody King of England." Sirius laughed, the three of them standing in the door looking down at James.
"Fantastic! I've had some things I'd like changed about this country of ours," James said seriously, "Starting with those damned automobiles; get rid of those, will you? We'll just let the muggles have broomsticks and things will go much smoother."
"Worst idea in the history of ideas," Remus said simply.
"No need to insult me, Moony – you lot are already leaving me alone for Christmas, I feel like a little orphan boy with no friends."
Sirius laughed, rolling his eyes as he bent to flick his mate on the forehead. "You're a complete duffer."
"I take great offense to that, thank you very much."
The Hogwarts Express sounded its whistle moments later, indicating it was getting ready to leave the station. "We'll send your gifts on Christmas, alright? Otherwise I imagine you would have just ripped into them the second we were gone."
"Remus…you have no trust in me, do you?" James pouted.
"None of us do." Peter laughed along with the rest of them.
"Alright then, farewell my dear Prongs; have a lovely holiday at school and all that, and I'll call you on the mirror Christmas morning, okay?" Sirius said, patting his coat pocket as if reminding him that they had secret mirrors to begin with.
"Right-o, Padfoot. Go off and eat tons of food and sweets so you'll be round and portly when you get back; that'll just reinforce how damn sexy I am to the rest of the school." James chuckled.
They all laughed once more, waving him off and going to find a compartment for the trip back. Sirius settled in next to the window once they'd gotten a place near the back of the train. He looked out, spotting James and O'Malley walking back up to the castle together and throwing snowballs back and forth. Lying back in his seat, he yawned and looked over to see Peter already passed out against the door.
"Well he took no time falling asleep, did he?" He asked Remus, the train moving a few minutes later and beginning its long trek back to London.
"You know Wormtail; he could fall asleep on a bloody rock in the middle of a storm in the ocean," Remus said, looking over at their sleeping friend with a small smile and laugh, "I envy him sometimes."
"So, you have any plans for this trip, Moony? Going to see that bird for a snog?"
"Maybe, I guess," he shrugged, "If she's home that is. Most of it will be spent doing stuff with my parents – dinners, extended family, all that. It's just time to relax." He smiled happily over at him, ruffling his hair before lying back in his seat with his feet propped up next to Sirius. "Just stuff, you know?"
He nodded. "Yeah, stuff, jolly good."
The train ride back into England was made much shorter after Sirius had passed out too; the lulling movements and the quiets caroling of some of the other students in the train had made him a lot sleepier than he thought. Waking up when they arrived with loud goodbyes in the aisle and people peeking in to wish them a happy Christmas, Sirius grabbed his things after singing 'And a happy New Year' one too many times and marched out with his mates.
The platform was buzzing with happy families greeting their children back with open arms and warm wishes. Sirius took a moment to say hello to the Mrs. Pettigrew before he and Remus headed outside the platform to wait on the muggle side of things. Knowing full well that Remus's mum have never been quite taken with the idea of running through a brick wall, they searched around for the Lupins through the throng of Londoners.
"Doesn't look like they've shown up just yet, Moony," Sirius said, looking over the tops of heads and trying to spot their somewhat familiar faces.
"Traffic has got to be shit right now, what with the holidays and all; you don't have to hang around, Padfoot. Muggles during the Christmas season tend to drive either like snails or like speed demons."
Sirius shrugged, sliding down onto the bench with him and laying an arm across the back. "I've got nowhere to be in any sort of hurry, mate; Uncle doesn't expect me for another few hours. I told him I was going to explore muggle London a bit, see what's out there."
"Really?" Remus looked skeptical
"Well, why the hell not? I doubt I can get into too much trouble, and I wanted to find a record store." Smiling, he heard a pop behind them suddenly and turned to see a small, wrinkled house elf hiding behind the bench. "You should be a bit more careful there, little guy – these muggles would scream if they saw you."
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Black; was Brownie wrong to do this?" The house elf went to box his own years in punishment, but Sirius grabbed his tiny wrists to stop him.
"No, no, you're alright Brownie, its okay. Just be careful, is all – I don't want you getting trampled or anything."
"Of course, Mr. Black, Brownie will be very careful, thank you Mr. Black. Shall I take your things to Master Alphard's now?"
"Oh, right, yeah – thanks Brownie." Pushing everything under the bench towards the little elf, he grabbed his wand, mirror, and O'Malley's package before he disappeared.
"Goodbye Mr. Black, Mr. Black's friend." Brownie bowed deeply to both of them before disapparating and leaving them alone again.
"That was…weird," Remus said, looking for his parents again, "Though, I s'pose you're used to it by now.
"Just part of being a pureblood, mate; almost all of us have house elves, just something that's been passed down through generations really. Though, not all of us treat them that well." Sirius thought darkly about those elves' whose heads were hung up in his house, probably decorated with hats and holly for Christmas. Regulus should be there by now, he thought miserably. His brother would be welcomed home happily just long enough until he had to give the scathing update on how his traitorous big brother had been still loving on muggles and was still best friends with the muggle supporting Potter.
"I wish I had one sometimes," Remus said nonchalantly, "I just miss them pressing all my clothes when I'm at home."
Sirius snorted. "It can come in handy I guess, but if you had mine you'd probably be happier with a few boggarts in your closet."
"Is Kreacher really that bad?"
"Worse."
Sometimes Sirius tried to figure out the first moment when Kreacher decided to start hating him. Sirius hadn't been overly cruel to him when he was a child, though he did sometime push him around when his mum wasn't watching, but he was five and figured he was like some kind of toy. It wasn't until he was around nine when the elf started to hate him, no longer taking orders, staining his clothes, and tripping him in hallways. He'd cried too many times on behalf of the little heathen and wondered if Kreacher even punished himself after each act or just didn't see it as wrong to hurt his young master.
All Sirius knew was that he despised the little bastard, and he was more than positive that the feeling was mutual.
"There they are!" Remus shouted happily all of a sudden, both of them jumping up to greet his parents as they came over.
Mr. and Mrs. Lupin were always very pleasant people to be around when Sirius saw them; both always wore cheerful grins and their hair was dusted with grey, but they never looked that old to him. After they both wished him a Happy Christmas, Sirius gave another belting rendition of the prank before he and Remus laughed at their shocked faces. It had ended up being the perfect prank, even if it had ruined a particularly important moment.
"I'll see you in a couple weeks, yeah?" Remus asked, hugging him quickly as Sirius returned it with a few pats on the back. "Have a good holiday, Sirius, and don't give your uncle too much grief."
"Right, I won't, I promise. Have a great Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, and you too, Moony. I'll see you back here after the holidays." Giving Remus's parents a big grin, they gave him equally happy one's back before they all headed out of King's Cross with one last wave behind them.
Sirus pulled his jacket around himself more tightly once he was alone, putting his gloves back on and then winding his Gryffindor scarf securely around his neck. Heading out of the station with a good grip on O'Malley's parcel, he blinked into the late afternoon sunlight and headed down the road towards nowhere in particular. Alphard had given him simple instructions on how to get to his flat, which Sirius had in his pocket, but he really was set for a bit of adventuring.
Walking down the road away from the only familiar place he knew, Sirius looked around at all the muggles with their large bags and Christmas packages wrapped in bright reds and greens. They all seemed to be out doing last minute shopping, Christmas only a week away and any final touches were probably being prepared. He didn't envy them as they ran about like chickens with their heads cut of, thankfully he'd gotten his shopping done on the last Hogsmeade trip and didn't have anything to worry about anymore.
Making his way deeper into London, Sirius finally spotted one of the weird red letterboxes that O'Malley had told him to look for. Standing next to it, he wondered if he needed any money or something, or maybe to touch a button to make it talk, but she'd told him all he had to do was slide it through the slot, so that's what he did.
"That wasn't so hard," he said aloud, peering down through the slot to see the box lying on the tops of letters that were piled high.
Leaving it behind once more with a nervous glance back, he just took in the afternoon and all the decorations that the muggles had littered their streets with. Garland and lights hung on everything, carolers on every other street corner as he walked past shops with windows holding grand displays. One even had a moving decoration, a jolly Father Christmas waving from his magical flying sleigh.
Sirius laughed, wondering just how muggles had come to know the wizarding legend.
Stopping in a record shop after searching around for one, he looked at all the albums in their brightly colored sleeves like a kid in a candy store. A bloke not much older than him with spots all over his face welcomed him in with a drawn out groooooovy and left him to look around. Sirius wasn't too familiar with any of the bands besides the Beatles and a few random others, but it didn't stop him from enjoying his time.
Sadly leaving empty handed once he remembered that he only had wizard money on him, he made a mental note to come back after he exchanged some galleons in and made his way to his uncle's flat. It wasn't too far away from the Leaky Cauldron actually, high up in an old building that he realized was occupied by wizards and witches only. Walking inside, he stared up the stairs until he saw a bright pendant hanging at the top, glittering and sending shapes onto all the walls.
Jogging up the steps, he really hated the fact that Alphard had to live at the very top and cursed him a few times for good measure. We he finally reached the landing, he bent over a little to catch his breath and then straightened up again to knock on the door. When it opened, he barely caught a glimpse at the older man before he was pulled into a warm hug and pats on the shoulder. Sirius couldn't help smiling up at his uncle, as if nothing had changed between them at all.
"It's so good to see you Sirius, my boy." Alphard said, smile crinkling his eyes with wrinkles before he pulled him inside and shut the door again behind him.
"Yeah, you too, Uncle Alphard." Turning to look around the place, it turned out to be a lot bigger than he'd expected. Not that he didn't know his mother's brother had his own very large sum of gold, but it hadn't looked like it would be all that much from the outside of the building. Pleasantly surprised that he wasn't going to be stuck in a tiny flat with an uncle he hadn't seen in three years, he gave Alphard a big grin.
Thank Merlin for magic.
"Safe trip, I expect?" He asked, ushering him further into his home, "Have some fun rubbing elbows with the muggles?"
"Surprising none of them tried to kill me or anything, it that's what you're asking. I enjoy proving Mum and Dad wrong one day at a time," he joked, taking off his jacket and gloves before hanging them up on the coat rack, "They are all after us, you realize."
"Oh yes, my mad sister and her ideas of muggles; honestly, you'd think she would have had a tragic stabbing by one of them or something." Alphard shook his head, calling for Brownie to bring them some tea as they settled in. "Mind you, she hasn't."
"Too bad, it might do her some good," Sirius said quietly, his uncle chuckling a little.
"How's school going, then? Feels like ages since I set foot in Hogwarts."
He just shrugged, trying to get comfortable in such an unknown place. "Well, it has been ages, Uncle."
"No rude remarks about my age, Sirius – it won't take much for me to kick you out on your arse." Alphard threatened mildly, a smile still spread across his old face.
"I guess its fine, you know…the same. Though, there have been some attacks on the muggleborns recently. It's getting ugly."
"I've heard about that," he said, handing him a cup of tea once Brownie had brought it in. They both thanked the house elf before he popped away again, and Sirius took a long sip to feel the burn. "Tragic that it's inside the school now, it's never been that bad in the past. I feel for your friends."
"Yeah, you can tell it's getting a lot worse, can't you?"
They both sat in silence for a moment, as if they were gauging just how bad it was all going to get when it finally came to its climax. Sirius hated thinking about it, hated wondering if all of his mates were going to even make it through this stupid war alive. He had a feeling he might lose one or two, the dread filling him with despair, but he always tried to push the thoughts down deeper until he stopped thinking about it.
"Any girls catching your eye, Sirius?" Alphard interjected, lifting the mood. "Or are you like your old Uncle, here? Snogging them left and right." He winked, Sirius laughing as he sank deeper into the overstuffed armchair.
"A bit of both, I guess."
"Ah, so there is a girl! I'm guessing she's a pretty little thing."
Sirius kind of just shrugged, taking another gulp of tea as he become suddenly aware that he was close to admitting something he didn't want to. "Yeah, she's cute – little is an understatement though. She's tiny."
"Oh come now, boy – I bet she's better than just 'cute'."
"Yeah, yeah, alright – she's fit, okay?"
Alphard chuckled across from him with a twinkle in his eye. "It's one of those birds then, is it? The kind that drives you absolutely insane without even doing a bloody thing."
"Yeah, that'd be the kind." He sighed heavily.
"Only the best do that, you know – they're always fun with a little fight in them." Alphard smiled, winking at him again as Sirius rolled his eyes. "Do you think she might be worth taking home to your parents?"
Sirius snorted. "Not unless I'm ready to fight to the death," he scoffed, setting down his cup. "She's a muggleborn, Uncle, and I really don't expect anything to come from this fleeting fancy either."
"Right, of course, we Black's don't like getting tied down," Alphard said, gesturing to his empty apartment and suggesting that he'd taken the same route. "But did you say muggleborn? They're good people, Sirius."
"Thinking of Ted, aren't you?" Sirius wondered, his cousin's husband a cheery, wicked bloke. Andromeda had struck gold with that guy, he couldn't remember a time he didn't have fun hanging around with Ted Tonks. Plus, he'd made 'Dromeda very happy, and that's all that mattered.
"A bit, yeah, I do like him. He's a fine young man."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"Now, getting back to this girl…"
"Come off it, Uncle – it's not happening. We're just mates, alright? And I'm almost positive that she doesn't return the fancy."
Alphard scoffed, setting down his cup. "Now come on, my boy – don't dirty our sex appeal as Black men." Sirius laughed, wondering just how much he was going to end up like his uncle in the future. "She mostly probably does fancy you."
"Can we not talk about O'Malley anymore; this is awkward enough as it is."
"O'Malley you say?" Alphard smiled, "She's Irish, I'm guessing?"
"Yes, yes, Irish, fit, gorgeous, muggleborn – not talking about her anymore," Sirius said, trying to end the conversation again as he rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.
"Right, sorry, you obviously have that all handled and dealt with," Alphard said, standing with a clap of his hands, "How about some dinner then?"
"I'd love some."
Following him into the dining room, Sirius took a seat and looked around the room at everything. There were pictures of his family along a shelf on the wall; his mum's younger self was smiling out of them as she moved with her parents, looking much happier than she ever had since he was born. He idly wondered if she'd always been an angry, selfish bint, but by seeing the pictures he started to wonder if it was maybe his dad that poisoned her with crazy ideas of muggles and the more powerful race. And so he sat there, waiting for a dinner a week before Christmas with his family surrounding him.
Maybe I should have just stayed at Hogwarts.