"H! A! DOUBLE L! O! DOUBLE U! DOUBLE E! N! Spells Halloween!"

"What is all this racket?!" James complained. He'd been laying in bed in the delicious spot just between dreaming and wakefulness when he'd been rudely interrupted.

"Potter! It's Halloween!" Sirius threw back his bed curtains and laughed rather maniacally.

When James saw him, he started laughing as well. "What in the world are you wearing?"

"I'm a pirate!" Sirius said happily. "The Muggle children always dress up for the holiday - I watch them go door-to-door."

James raised one eyebrow in a well-practiced expression of skepticism. "Is that true Remus?"

"Actually, yes," the sandy-haired boy said. "Father would never let me, but we had lots of trick-or-treaters stop by the house. Mother always had treats on hand for them."

"I told you Potter!" Sirius said, looking at James with hooded eyes in a haughty fashion. "Personally, I prefer the trick part myself."

"As you should." James swung his feet off the bed and hopped onto the floor, wincing just a little when he hit the cold stone. "Gideon Prewett won't know what hit him."

The boys had worked out the full details of Prewett's plan just a few days before, leaving them little time for a creative blockbuster creation of their own. As it was, they were simply turning Prewett's prank on the prankster himself. James hoped the element of surprise would be enough to make the event worth it.

"But first - flying lessons!" James had almost forgotten. He flew into the bathroom and slammed the door, eager to get dressed.

"I don't see why we have to have a class on a Sunday. And on a holiday too.." Peter grumbled. But James didn't care that it was Sunday. He had been awaiting flying lessons with feverish anticipation, and they were finally here. They'd been canceled due to poor weather twice already, hence the weekend timing.

But first he was forced to sit through a long-winded explanation by the instructor, Professor Ribbons.

They were paired with Ravenclaw for this class - it was the first time James had met any of his fellow first-years in that House. There was a pretty girl with black hair and chocolate eyes named Hestia Jones that seemed to be fascinated by Sirius - and not just because of the ridiculous costume he was still wearing. She kept staring at him intently and smoothing her own hair as if hoping he'd glance her way, but Sirius was too interested in flying to notice anything but his broom. This was the normal way of things with Sirius - girls could be such airheads.

Finally they got the go-ahead to actually touch the brooms, which had been sitting on the ground at each student's left.

"Up!" The whole class cried. But only a few brooms zoomed up into the air. James and Sirius were among the sucessful, as well as Alice Fawley. James smirked at Sirius, who winked back.

"Okay, okay, no need to be concerned, just try again," Professor Ribbons said.

Remus succeeded on the second try, though he didn't look too happy about it. But, as usual, Peter was struggling.

"Don't overthink it Petey," James told the other boy. "Just visualize the broom in your hand, and it will come."

"Up!" The stragglers said a third time and James smiled as a look of wonder crossed Peter's face when the broom snapped into his waiting hand.

"See?" He told him. "If you believe it will happen, it will happen."

Professor Ribbons was giving more instructions on how to get up off the ground, but James and Sirius were growing impatient. With a glance at his friend and a lopsided grin, James kicked off.

Lucky for him that was at the moment Ribbons had instructed the rest of the class to move as well. Most students had succeeded, though it was clear scanning the faces surrounding him that there were widely ranging levels of comfort in the skies.

"Oh...um...oh...how do you steer?" Peter asked. He was only a few feet off the ground and spinning around in circles.

"First, don't hold the broom up like that Petey, level it out," James told him as he himself rose higher and higher into the air.

"Like this? Oh no!"

"No not like - "

But it was too late - Peter had zoomed forward, rising into the air at the same time and shooting straight for a tree.

"Mr. Pettigrew - turn!" Ribbons called tensely. James watched with interest as Peter managed to yank the broom in a different direction at the last possible moment, avoiding the hard crash of the tree, but instead slamming into Sirius, who yelped.

Both boys went crashing to the ground, though Sirius managed to recover himself enough to roll off the broom and land on his knees. "Merlin's beard!" He cried. "That must be what it feels like to walk the plank!"

James was laughing at the spectacle as he came down to check on his two friends. Professor Ribbons, Remus, and Hestia Jones were all rushing for the boys.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked Sirius, touching his shoulder. But James could tell Sirius was just fine - it was Peter he was now concerned about. He quelled his laughter and landed next to Remus and Ribbons, who was examining the boy's wrist. James felt extremely guilty when he saw the strange angle Peter's hand hung from and the paleness of his face.

"Okay son, it's just a little break, the matron will be able to fix you right up," Ribbons was saying. "Can you walk? Let's get you to the hospital wing."

Peter looked like he was about to blubber, so James hastily shoved in and put a consoling hand on his back. "Hey, could have been worse for your first try, right? The first time I rode a proper broom I was seven and I promptly crashed into a thicket of thorn bushes - broke an ankle and Mum was pulling thorns out of my bum for hours! Very undignified."

The anecdote appeared to cheer Peter despite his pain, because he offered James a thin smile. "I've always been rather rubbish at sports anyway."

"Me too," Remus said. "No hand-eye coordination."

"All right boys, let's see about helping your friend up and getting him to the hospital wing," the professor said.

"But Sirius -" Remus started to say.

"Arghhhh, I be fine matey," Sirius said, giving a thumbs up.

"That was a fine recovery, Mr. Black," Ribbons said as he gently helped Peter to his feet. "Perhaps a jaunt on the House Quidditch team is in your future?"

Sirius looked rather pleased with that comment and didn't offer a smart remark as he often might to a teacher. James tried not to be envious that it was his friend's flying skill and not his own that had captured the professor's attention.

The professor instructed the whole class to wait while he took Peter inside for treatment. Remus looked very much like he wanted to tag along but the professor shooed him away.

As soon as the castle doors swung shut James turned to Sirius. "Race you to the lake and back?"

"You're on!"

Both boys mounted their brooms and took off before Lily Evans could even open her mouth to scold them.

"Yes!" This was more like it. James felt the wind tousling his hair and his robes flew out around him. He dove low as he reached the lake, releasing one hand's grip from the broom so he could dip it into the cool water.

Next to him Sirius was laughing, matching him movement for movement until they reached the lake. Rather than dip a hand, Sirius rolled upside-down and dipped his hair.

The maneuver cost him - James was first to touch back down with the other students. Sirius landed seconds later, shaking out his now wet hair like a dog and grinning. He looked like he had walked the plank.

Much of the class was laughing and Hestia Jones and Mary MacDonald were both clapping. The pair of friends took a bow before returning to Remus, who was one of the few not smiling.

"That was against the rules and dangerous," he told them, looking upset. "You saw what happened to Peter - what would have happened if you'd fallen?"

"Come on Remus, you didn't really think one of us would fall," James drawled.

"We're a fair bit more coordinated than Pettigrew." Sirius was laughing.

"You shouldn't put your safety at risk like that," Remus told them. "What if you were hurt? What if the giant squid decided to pluck one of you off a broom for its own amusement? What if -"

"What if we had a jolly old time and nothing bad happened?" James finally cut him off. "Calm down Lupin - we've both been on brooms before. We've already had two flying lessons canceled over poor weather - I wasn't wasting the first chance I've had to hit the sky."

"That much was obvious," Mary MacDonald said. "Will you give the lessons? How did you fly one-handed?" A few other students gathered around murmuring similar questions.

James grinned. He loved the attention of his peers. It made him feel empowered. "Well you see, the key to flying one-handed - or no-handed - is actually in the ankles…"

Flying distracted James from everything else, including their plans to prank Prewett, and he was a happy boy through the class. The plan involved fireworks, a curious Muggle toy called silly string, and the suits of armour lining the halls.

Chasing around Gideon Prewett had a variety of benefits, in James' eyes. He'd learned where the prefect's bathroom was, for though Prewett was not a prefect himself, he'd somehow gleaned the password and often snuck in during the busy dinner hour for some quiet time. James had also learned that there was a secret passageway behind a mirror on the fourth floor, which appeared to lead outside. Sirius had followed Gideon through a passage behind a tapestry that came out near Flitwick's classroom, and Peter insisted there was some kind of fancy room on the third floor full of armchairs and advanced spellbooks, but the boys had been unable to find the room again and James had to wonder if Peter had been mistaken in its placement. He was almost sorry the spying was about to end. Mischief-making was a welcome distraction from his woes - he hadn't been homesick for his mother in weeks and he was starting to truly become the confident persona he put on as a show for everyone else.

/

Sirius was in his glory as he surveyed the Entrance Hall with a critical eye. The preparations were complete. Gideon Prewett had just finished rigging the suits of armor to shoot silly string at students as they headed down to the Halloween Feast. What he didn't know was that Sirius and James had been hiding under the invisibility cloak, waiting for him to finish so that they could change the time-delayed spell into one that wouldn't go off without a specific prompt.

Meanwhile, Remus and Peter were hiding in the rafters above the Great Hall, hidden by the enchanted ceiling and dutifully working to magic the explosives to spell Gideon's name in red and gold sparkles. James had talked mild-mannered Remus Lupin into mischief-making with promises of copious amounts of chocolate, and it had been a brilliant strategic move. Lupin was just as smart as he or James, and unlike them, he had the diligence and patience to research the details on the spells they needed to pull everything off.

Content that everything was in place, Sirius grinned and pushed his decorative eyepatch back over his eye. It was game time.

Students began trickling in for the fast slowly, eager first years at the front and the older students, who knew what to expect, farther behind. James was positioned at the staircase, invisible, lying in wait for the first glimpse of Prewett's vibrant shade of red hair.

The signal came in the form of a sharp whistle, Grinning, Sirius waved his wand, and chaos ensued.

"Ahhh!" A Ravenclaw girl with long blonde screamed as she was assaulted by a suit of armor. Massive amounts of sticky Muggle silly string were shooting across the entrance hall. Sirius, who was safely behind the suits of armor, avoided the material, but Gideon, along with every other unfortunate soul in the entrance hall, could not escape.

"Bloody hell!"

"My hair!"

"Sod it!"

"What is this stuff?!"

""Evanesco!"

"Eeeek!"

Students were screaming and cursing as they struggled to avoid drowning in the mass of plastic. A few older students had the presence of mind to vanish the substance, but Prewett had cast some kind of duplication spell and the well-stocked account just kept coming. Younger students covered their heads and shrieked while older students tried taking up arms against the suits of armor themselves. Sirius couldn't help but admire Prewett's spellwork - the inanimate objects jumped and dodged spells with ease.

"What the - " Gideon was trying to clear the face of his watch of silly string enough to read the time. It must have been difficult, - Sirius had tested the silly string, and while it wasn't exactly wet, it had a slimey feel and left a strange coating on everything it touched. Obviously, Gideon had intended for the event to start later, after he'd safely cleared through the area.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out as she appeared at the top of the staircase. It took nothing more than a flick of her wand to handle the mess and reign in the suits of armor. Students sighed in relief when they thought it was over.

"It still feels like it's in my hair," a short Hufflepuff girl whined.

"Well, Miss Abbott, I imagine a shower might solve that," McGonagall said, sounding supremely unconcerned. "It seems someone decided to pull a trick. Rest assured that once I find proof of who it was, they will miss out on the "treat" part of the evening." Her eyes fell briefly on Sirius before moving to Prewett, whose ears had turned red.

Sirius just grinned and ducked into the Great Hall. The second course would begin shortly.

"Phase one was a wild success," Sirius told Remus and Peter as he slid into place at the Gryffindor table. Something invisible shoved its way into him, and Sirius kicked James under the table.

"Phase two is ready to go," Peter told them. He was wiggling in his seat, as though unable to reign in his excitement. Remus, in contrast, was remarkably still, though the twinkle in his eye betrayed his amusement.

"Wait until the feast is formally underway," the disembodied voice of James Potter whispered. "I'll be back."

There was a swishing noise to indicate James' exit. The spot was taken up by Gideon Prewett himself, who looked a bit disgruntled.

"Happy Halloween, Gideon my good man," Sirius said, saddling up to the older boy and putting on a coy smile.

Gideon looked down and his grumpy expression softened into one of amusement when he noticed the costume. "Argh! Ahoy there matey." He glanced around. "Where's Potter?"

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not his keeper," he said. The redhead grew visibly suspicious, but Sirius just continued to smile. "Chocolate truffle?" He popped a candy out of his pocket.

Gideon frowned. "I wouldn't want to ruin my appetite…"

A group of Slytherins slunk by, openly pointing and laughing at Sirius' costume as they passed. Sirius felt Peter shiver beside him, but he ignored the group. He was always able to overlook his anger or embarrassment when he was about to cause mayhem. Besides, he knew he looked dashing.

Dumbledore stood and raised an arm, indicating quiet. The roar of students eager for the feast died down to a low rumble.

"Halloween," he began, "Can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated in a time where wizards and Muggles lived together as one, and yet did not entirely understand one another. Muggles believed that on this day the division between the living and the dead was at its weakest. Though we in the magical community fancy ourselves better-versed in matters of the dead due to our ability to return as ghosts -" he tipped a hat to Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar, who were in attendance "the truth is we still know very little. So let us raise a goblet and toast to the unknown that lies beyond this realm, and if the dead are among us tonight, let us show them a good time." His eyes twinkled and food appeared on the long tables.

"That was a strange speech," Peter said, already helping himself to a chicken leg.

Sirius ignored him. Remus had his hand on his wand. His eyes flickered to Sirius for a moment, then he flicked his wand and whispered a spell.

Upheaval. Bedlam. Pandemonium.

All these words came to Sirius' mind as fireworks burst from the ceiling, sparks raining down across the tables. Once again, students shrieked and some dove for cover under the tables. The staff and the prefects were on their feet as though it was an attack, which Sirius supposed was an easy mistake to make. But Remus had been the one to enchant the fireworks - no one would be hurt.

The noise was deafening. Remus was trying to say something, but Sirius only saw the lips move. The room was filling with smoke, giving the Great Hall an eerie feel. Sirius was laughing, his neck craned so he could get a good look at what they had done.

Gideon Aiden Prewett. The name shown brightly, writing in sparkling lights in the dim hall. Sirius glanced over at him and saw that the teen had turned a funny shade of dark red - almost bordering on purple.

"CALM, PLEASE!" McGonagall's voice rang out, magically amplified. Sirius knew the fun would be over momentarily, so he turned back to admire their handiwork one last time. Remus had magically altered the fireworks quite beautifully - along with the script, there were starbursts and spirals and even something that looked like a bird.

A few wand waves from the staff and it was all over.

Gideon turned his neck aggressively fast, his hair swaying at the motion. "BLACK!"

"At your service," Sirius said, trying to clear the ringing in his ears with his finger.

"That's not my middle name."

"Yes it is. I swiped McGonagall's register," Sirius said immediately, without thinking. Then he realized he'd given himself away.

"I knew! I knew I should be suspicious of you and Potter," the older boy said, shaking his head. "How the bloody hell did a couple of first years steal my thunder?"

Sirius opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a cold wind swept through the hall, and every single candle and torch went out, plunging them into blackness. More screams.

"Now what?"

"That wasn't us," Sirius told him. He suddenly felt the need to have his wand securely in his hand, and he moved closer to Remus and Peter.

"Is that James?" Remus asked him. Sirius shook his head.

"James was ducking down to the Slug Club party to set off a few fireworks down there, then he was going to rush back here for the main event," Sirius told him. Sirius and James had been invited to the party, but they'd had no interest. He was watching the staff table closely. It seemed, from what he could deduce through the shadows, that Dumbledore and McGonagall were trying to restore the light.

"What the devil is going on?" James had returned and pulled off the invisibility cloak, relying on the darkness to cover up his sudden appearance.

"I don't know -" Sirius hadn't finished his sentence, but another frigid wind blew through at that moment, and someone shrieked as a bunch of floating candles over the Ravenclaw table fell to the ground. Sirius saw who he thought was Dorcas Meadowes rush to the aid of a few second-years who had been standing beneath the fallen wax.

Suddenly flames popped up in the torches lining the walls and Sirius could see clearly again.

"Well, I suppose that was someone's way of telling us they weren't too fond of the fireworks," Dumbledore said nonchalantly. 'If I recall, before all the excitement, we were all about to hunker down and eat."

Food appeared, and nervous students returned to their bench seats, looking around suspiciously.

McGonagall swept between the tables and stood next to Gideon. "Mr. Prewett. I imagine you to be bright enough not to leave a signature on your less advisable stunts."

The seventh-year stole a look at James and Sirius, then shrugged at his professor. "I thought you liked fireworks, Professor. You seemed plenty content with them when Gryffindor took home the Quidditch cup last year."

The witch frowned. "I do enjoy fireworks, outdoors at appropriate events. Not inside where they could set fire to tablecloths and student robes." She sighed. "Am I to understand you're not going to give up whoever did this?"

"I'd be a poor sport if I did, don't you think?"

She shook her head. "Twenty points from Gryffindor." She then returned to her place at the staff table.

"That's it?" Sirius asked, incredulous. "Not even a tongue-lashing?"

"What can I say? She's fond of me." Gideon grinned. Frank Longbottom materialized next to him.

"A little flashy, Gideon, don't you think?" The boy grinned. "When did you start signing your work?"

Prewett was swallowed by a crowd of older students and the first years left to their own devices.

"That was...anticlimactic…" James said, frowning.

"That ominous wind did put a bit of a damper on things," Remus said. "What do you suppose that was?"

"Some days, the dead are more forceful than others." Nearly Headless Nick popped up, making Peter jump.

"Don't give me that rubbish," James said. "I don't buy into that whole Muggle theory."

The ghost just chuckled. "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean, sir?" Peter asked politely.

"I mean, sometimes ghosts enjoy a little prank too." He winked at them then floated off, leaving the four of them looking rather foolish with their mouths hanging open.

"B-but I thought only Poltergeists played pranks…" Peter stuttered.

At once, Sirius started laughing. "We've been outdone."

/

"Remus is gone again," Sirius told James as soon as he returned from detention.

"Are you certain he's not just at the library?" James asked, dropping his bag carelessly at the foot of his bed.

"He's not, I checked."

James frowned. "So do you figure he's off to see his mum again?"

"I s'pose," Sirius said. "But he didn't look so good earlier. It doesn't seem right to force him home like that all the time, in the middle of the week no less."

"And he never warns us he's going," Peter added sadly. "I was going to ask him for help on this Charms essay..."

James leaned over the shorter boy and snatched the parchment out of his hands. "I'll help you with that Petey," he said. James loved any excuse to share his brilliance with those who needed it.

Sirius snorted and took custody of the essay. "You're rubbish at Charms. Don't torture Pettigrew."

"I am not!" James was affronted. It was true Sirius had more of a natural talent for Charms, and Remus certainly knew the material better because he spent so much time studying, but James did just fine in the lessons. "Besides, we all know you don't have the patience to sit calmly and help Peter on his essay."

Sirius bit his lip and scanned Peter's work. "True," he said after a moment, dropping the parchment on James's bed. "I leave this duty to you, young Potter."

"I wish Remus as here," James muttered after looking over the essay himself. "Peter, the incantation is wingardium leviosa - not winged guardians tossia. Where did you even get that?" He scribbled it out and corrected it.

"We should sneak down to the kitchens and snag some chocolate biscuits for when he gets back," Sirius said, obviously displeased with the schoolwork that was going on.

"We don't have any idea when he will get back," James pointed out. "The first time he was gone two days, the next three. Biscuits won't last in this room that long." He looked at Peter pointedly.

"I wouldn't eat biscuits meant for Remus!" Peter said, looking insulted. "Well...not unless I was really hungry…"

"We'll save the trip to the kitchens for tomorrow," James said.

"Why tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, no reason…" James said evasively. "Hey, you know what we could do tonight…."

"Help me finish my essay?" Peter asked.

"Sure, sure," James said, waving his hand dismissively. "So, you know how McGonagall and Flitwick have all manner of animals on hand for practical sessions?"

Sirius nodded.

"Well, she has to keep them somewhere, right? Somewhere in this building there's a room full of rats and rabbits and birds. Let's find it and set them all loose!"

"I'm not sure-" Peter started to speak.

"Brilliant, Potter!" Sirius was already getting up. "Any idea where to start?"

"Just follow along," James said with a wink.

A short time later the boys were standing in a room on the second floor filled with all manner of small animals, from mice to toads to kittens to...

"PUPPIES!" Sirius squealed in a voice James had never heard out of him before and ran up to the enclosure. "Puppies!" He said again, apparently too overjoyed to form any other word. He hopped right in and sat down. The animals, which had been sleeping, woke up and began sniffing him curiously and wagging their little tails.

"They are cute little buggers," James said, stepping in. "I hope we don't have to do something awful like transfigure them into books." He picked up a black and white one and it began licking his face.

"I couldn't do that!" Peter exclaimed.

"If you do it right it won't hurt them - it's no different than transfiguring yourself, except in the puppy's case it's dependant on you to put it right," James told him in between making kissy faces at the dog he was holding."McGonagall explained that the first day of class. If it harmed them we've have some animal rights advocacy group descend from the heavens and shut us down I'm sure."

"Oh, well that's a relief," Peter said, lying down in the sea of puppies and letting them run all over him. He giggled.

"But who would ever want to transfigure such good boys?" Sirius said in the type of voice reserved only for animals and small children. He had four puppies in his arms and kept rubbing his face on them making cooing noises. "Think we can nick one of them?"

"I'd advise against it, Mr Black."

James froze and turned very slowly to look at the source of the voice, hoping he was imaging things. "Professor McGonagall! Fancy meeting you here." The room hadn't been marked with any particular signage warning students away, but it had been locked. But what was a locked door to a school full of young witches and wizards anyway? Surely no one expected a locked door to stop anyone.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, imagine my surprise, given that curfew was 30 minutes ago," she said sternly.

"Was it? Golly boys, we must have lost track of times. Best be getting back to the common room then…"

"Perhaps you should write home for a watch. Mr. Black - do stop trying to shove a puppy under your robes."

Peter was already at the door, but Sirius was looking regretfully at the puppies. "Mum would never let me have a dog..."

To James' surprise, the professor strode over to Sirius and put a gentle hand on his shoulder while plucking the puppy from his arms. "Head to bed, Mr. Black. You will all serve your detention for breaking curfew feeding and exercising the puppies tomorrow. Professor Kettleburn will appreciate a break."

"Really?!" Sirius' face lit up. "That's hardly a punishment at all!"

"I expect you may take that back when you're cleaning up dog feces tomorrow." James thought he saw McGonagall smile, but it was gone so fast he couldn't be certain. "Let's go you three."

"We get to play with puppies tomorrow!" Sirius said, dancing to the door. "Puppies! Say, Professor, if Remus is back, can we bring him too?"

"I'm sure Mr. Lupin will appreciate some quiet time to study while you three take your punishment, Mr. Black."

"But puppies!" Sirius whistled the whole walk back to the Common Room.

James went to bed that night rather pleased with himself. Sirius didn't know it, but James had been making plans to celebrate his friend's birthday the following day. Detention hadn't been part of the plan of course, but McGonagall had been uncharacteristically lenient in her choice of punishment - indeed it wasn't really a punishment at all.

James wondered as he drifted off to sleep if his Head of House took the time to memorize her students' birthdays. He liked to think she had.

/

"SIRIUS BLACK, WAKE UP!" The boy was rudely awakened by a very loud James Potter jumping on his bed.

"My wand," he grumbled, fumbling around for it on his nightside table with James on top of him. "Peter, my wand, I need to hex Potter to next Sunday."

"Will you just get up and look at the foot of your bed first?" James said, sounding excited.

Sirius blinked. "The foot of my…oh, right." He'd forgotten it was his birthday.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" James cried with much more enthusiasm than Sirius felt at the moment.

"How did you know?" Sirius asked. He hadn't volunteered the information.

James grinned wickedly. "I couldn't possibly reveal my sources. But look, presents! And Petey and I snuck down to the kitchens so you can have breakfast in bed!"

The smaller boy appeared with a huge plate full of breakfast offerings, from eggs to kippers to porridge to Belgian waffles.

"Thanks," Sirius said, a little bewildered. He'd never been served breakfast in bed before. In fact, it had been a long time since his birthday had been made such a spectacle. The Blacks marked birthdays with rather formal ceremonies, not happy bubbly moments. When he'd turned ten, he'd received a garish locket in which he was supposed to store a vial of his own blood. He'd thrown it off the London Bridge.

"We weren't sure what you'd be in the mood for, so we grabbed it all," Peter said, putting the plate down on the bed.

"But first, presents!" James said. "Open mine first." He shoved a package impeccably wrapped in shiny crimson wrapping paper and topped with a little gold ribbon in Sirius' hands. "And no, it's not a puppy."

"All right," Sirius said, sitting up properly and smiling when he realized how the morning was going to go. He looked around. "But Remus is gone again, isn't he?"

James frowned. "Yes," he said, looking unhappy. "I'm sorry Sirius, I'm sure he would have stayed if he could."

"It's fine," Sirius said, though he did secretly wish he had all three of his friends around him on his first happy birthday morning in some time. He tried to shake the disappointment off and ripped into James' gift with vigor.

Inside was a thick muffler in Gryffindor red and gold, embroidered with a Gryffindor lion, and a matching knit wool cap and gloves.

"Do you like them?" James asked, sounding almost anxious, which was unusual for him. "I sent away for the best quality. I know the gold will clash with the silver on your cloak a bit but I thought you needed something in proper Gryffindor colors."

Sirius was at a loss for words. His parents would never in a thousand years purchase him such garments, though Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa had all been purchased handsome sets of similar attire in Slytherin green and silver when they were first years. He ran his hands against the soft wool. "I love them," he said forcefully. "They're perfect."

James beamed at him. "I know it's a bit motherly to buy clothing on a boy's birthday, but we had to have you properly attired."

"Thank you," Sirius said, still staring down at the items. He was deeply touched by the gesture. Of course he could have sent away for things himself with the money his mother had given him for the school year, but to receive them as a gift was a thousand times better.

"Open mine now!" Peter said, dropping a lumpy package wrapped in brown paper onto the bed.

Sirius set aside James' gift in a place of honor in a cubby over his headboard, then dug into the second package. He laughed when he realized it was dungbombs.

"I wouldn't have expected this out of you, Pettigrew," he said grinning. "How did you get these?"

"One of the fourth years bought them for me in Hogsmeade. If you get caught with them, I know nothing," the boy said.

"Oh, I don't intend to get caught," Sirius said, already formulating plans to use them.

"Just don't leave them out on the floor of the dormitory where someone may step on one and set it off," James said. "Waste of a perfectly good dungbomb - and stinky. Come on now, there's more, keep opening."

A package from one set of his grandparents contained a three cashmere jumpers of a fine quality and several pairs of socks. The other set had sent him a rather heavy looking gold chain, as if any 12-year-old boy was after jewelry. Andromeda and Narcissa had sent along a package of sweets from Honeydukes in Hogsmeade- Sirius was not surprised to see that Narcissa had not actually signed the card - it was in Dromeda's handwriting.

Another parcel contained greetings from his Uncle Alphard and several Quidditch magazines. Regulus had sent along a set of Quidditch figurines representing Puddlemere United, and Sirius spent a minute letting them zoom around the room, amused by the oohs and aahs the toys received from Peter.

Finally he turned to the smallest one, the one from his parents. He was apprehensive about opening it - he knew he wasn't in good standing with them, so what did his mother send?

Bracing himself, he opened it to find...money.

"Galleons?" James said. "They just sent you Galleons?"

"Twelve Galleons," Sirius confirmed.

"How lovely," Peter said. "Twelve Galleons for 12 years. My mother could never afford that."

But Sirius hardly considered it lovely. Even if his birthdays were usually about ceremony rather than him, in previous years his parents at at least made an effort to give him a proper gift. Peter might think it was a lot, but those Galleons were probably just pulled from the bottom of his father's pocket. Still, it was better than being ignored all together.

But he glanced back at the beautiful set of winter things James had given him. He doubted they'd cost 12 Galleons, but it was still the best gift he'd ever been given.

A/N: I know there is absolutely nothing in the canon about what happens with the animals used in class and no evidence that they aren't just vanished away, but I like to think they are well cared for during their time at Hogwarts and adopted out when they are no longer needed. So just work with me on that one.