A/N: Well readers, I started school again. Sigh. Back to the horrible grind of grad school and mountains of work. However, this story will not get thrown to the waste side, trust me. I'll need it to cool off and it's my baby!
Who's To Say?
Chapter 21
Severus already had a lot on his mind as he stood in a corner of Slughorn's magically altered office with his Housemates, the only one not in dress robes. He was ruminating over the letter he had received the previous day and had spent all of his time when not at meals or in class in his room staring at the parchment. Mulciber had stayed true to his word and sent his acceptance back almost immediately, but Snape deliberated overnight and thought about all the possibilities. He had sent his reply right as dinner began that evening and did not regret accepting the ominous invitation; however, he was now going to anxiously await until January 1st came to see what was in store for him. Snape briefly pondered if he should tell his mother about the situation while Rosier, Regulus, and Avery (whom Rosier had brought) spoke around him about the letter, but the thoughts were wiped from his mind when he saw Lily and her three companions enter the room. He thought she looked amazing and could only gawk.
"They're here then, are they?," Avery mentioned as they took notice as well, "Potter's missing. If we're lucky, he died."
"You can still see Evans' mud, even through the gloss." Rosier sneered.
"And Hamilton looks like a twit." Regulus attested. Snape said nothing but his gaze did not waver.
The Gryffindors, as it were, noticed the Slytherins too and also had something to say.
"It's kind of disturbing how much your brother looks like you tonight." Dorcas told her date, observing his similar all black dress robes.
"Pssh. That git is lucky enough to have my good facial features!," Sirius responded offhandedly, "But look at Snape—he's wearing his school robes! I don't think he got the memo." She sniggered and a moment later the host of the party had walked up to them with a large beam.
"Hello my dear students and esteemed guests!," Slughorn boomed, "You all look wonderful! Mr. Black, very dapper in black, and Lily m'dear—you are a true vision!"
"Thank you, professor." Lily said, nodding.
"Marcus, always a pleasure to see you! And Ms. Meadowes, a lovely surprise as well! I have not seen you since fifth year Potions. You are Sirius' date, I presume."
"Yes sir." Dorcas affirmed.
"Very well!" Slughorn commented.
"The office looks great, professor." Marcus complimented.
"Why thank you, lad! I do try."
His office was indeed very festive. Gold lights, green bauble and wreaths, a small tree, colored ornaments, and mistletoe were strategically and beautifully placed about the room with floating trays of decadent food all around. A number of adults were also present, including McGonagall, Flitwick, and Aurors.
"Do you have any special guests coming to this party? Like there was for Halloween?" Sirius pondered.
"Of course! I have the editor of the Prophet, Richard Clinton, and the Head of the Ministry's sports department, Ms. Cobble, set to come. In fact, they are due at any moment!" the teacher relayed.
"Bridgett Cobble?! Wicked!" smiled Dorcas.
"If I may ask, is Mr. Potter coming?"
"He is. He just had to meet his date first." Sirius answered.
"Wonderful," Slughorn remarked, "Well, enjoy yourselves! I will be sure to see you again. And be careful of the mistletoe!" He winked as he walked away and, back in the Slytherins' corner, Snape had resorted to glowering at Marcus and resolved to watch his actions in regard to Lily.
James and Michelle appeared to the party shortly thereafter, with the Ravenclaw wearing a flowing pink dress that looked good on her and was somewhat reminiscent of a Muggle Barbie doll. Sirius was happy and gleefully pointed out Snape to his best friend whereas Dorcas had something to say about Michelle herself.
"Pink? She would wear that color!" Dorcas muttered to Lily, making a face.
"I think it's fine…" the prefect replied, secretly surveying the blonde.
"Don't you just love Snivelly's outfit?" Sirius snickered.
"I think that's the only bit of clothing he owns." James offered, smirking as he watched Severus pick a quiche from one of the trays.
Snape felt someone gazing at him and when he looked up it was only to see Potter and Black chuckling while they glanced at him. He worked up an ugly scowl and threw them a hard glare before he stalked off. Those two wastes of life thought they were so much better than everyone else in their inane dress robes! Well, come January first, Snape would not be everyone else and then they would see.
The Gryffindors and their dates hung in a loose group, munching on food and talking until Cobble, Clinton, and Dumbledore showed up around 8:30PM with a few other adults with official looking robes on. Slughorn hailed them with fervor and made a general introduction before greeting them individually and taking them around two at a time to students. Dorcas and James were eager to meet Bridgett Cobble and so shot off in the crowd to find her without waiting for the professor's introduction.
"They're not excited at all." Marcus grinned to Lily.
"I actually would like to meet Clinton myself," she alerted.
"Well it seems that they've run off together, Michelle, so we must form an alliance," Sirius noted, "That is, unless you still hate me for the, you know, Fiona thing." She looked at him.
"I don't hate you, Sirius—I never did," Michelle explained, "I was upset, but I'm not anymore and it's her place to be upset. She'll be fine, though."
"Well that's good because we'll be seeing a lot of each other since you said yes to that Quidditch freak," he half smiled.
Almost an hour into the party, after the students had met the desired, older guests of Slughorn's, James, Sirius, Dorcas, and Michelle were together while Lily and Marcus had branched off by themselves, though often consorted with Melody and her date: the Head Boy. Dorcas partially seemed like she wanted to be there and partially like she did not, occasionally glancing over to her roommate. Snape, meanwhile, had moved so he could keep a discrete eye on Lily and Marcus.
"So what do you think? The current Heads talking to the future Heads?" Dorcas inquired, breaking into the conversation the other three were having. They looked at her then to whom she was referring.
"Hamilton?," James prompted skeptically, "Not Head Boy of this school."
"Yeah. It's going to be Remus. He at least has a life." Sirius added. Michelle smiled as she moved closer to James, who had his arm around her waist.
"You can go over there, Dorcas; you seem like you want to be with Lily," the Ravenclaw stated kindly. The Chaser shot her a pointed, direct look.
"I'm fine here, thanks. It was just an observation," she told her in a clipped tone. Michelle gave a confused expression and looked up at her boyfriend, but before anyone said anything more a Hufflepuff witch in a blue dress approached them.
"Hi Sirius!" Emma Seigal sang, wearing a flirty grin.
"Emma…" he responded slowly, bracing himself.
"I knew I saw you," James interjected, "Whose date are you?"
"Roger Walberry's. And hello to you too, James! I see you're doing well," she said, glancing at Michelle, "Parks."
"Seigal," the Ravenclaw acknowledged evenly, moving even closer to James. Emma half smirked and then questioned:
"Meadowes, are you in the Slug Club?"
"No." Dorcas attested.
"She's my date." Sirius claimed, throwing a casual arm around her shoulder.
"Is she?" the Hufflepuff uttered, sounding pleasant but her eyes quickly flashing.
"Yep," the Chaser smiled, sounding amused.
"Well! That's… nice! I should probably get back to Roger, though. I hope you lot have a good time, and maybe I'll catch you under the mistletoe later—Sirius."
He raised his eyebrows at her brazen and she turned around and walked off, giving James a quick farewell as she did.
"She is a number, that one!" Sirius exhaled.
"What attracted you to her?" Michelle pondered critically, studying the captain.
"Blonde hair, maybe." Dorcas mumbled, grinning to herself.
"I was only 14! I was distracted by… physical traits." James admitted, shrugging. The Ravenclaw "hmph"ed as Sirius laughed once.
"Make sure she doesn't Stun you under the doorway as you leave the room, Sirius." Dorcas smirked.
The party go-ers dispersed at 10PM to their various locations full of food and a sense of two hours very well spent. James was going to walk Michelle back to her dormitory and Sirius knew it was not going to be just a short walk, so he and Dorcas went solo since Marcus was escorting Lily back and would also have something else in mind. The Black boy made sure to avoid Emma Seigal and rushed out of the room alongside Dorcas before the blonde could hunt him down for a mistletoe kiss. When Snape saw Lily and her date exit the office he felt compelled to hurry and follow them, but there was a group of others in the way that was also trying to get out. He deduced that there was still one more day at the castle and the train ride home on Saturday left for him to remind Hamilton to watch himself around Lily. When Dorcas and Sirius returned to the common room by themselves a quarter after ten, they were flagged down by their friends sitting in armchairs outside the hearth's circle.
"We should have just walked with him to Ravenclaw Tower." Dorcas stated, peering at the other sixth years who were waving merrily.
"Uh, I think we may have interrupted something if we had!," Sirius told her, "James wouldn't have appreciated it."
"So was it fun?" Frank promptly asked when the two arrived.
"Indeed!"
"Sirius, you look quite handsome." Alice remarked, occupying the same chair as her boyfriend.
"You do." Marlene observed, smiling shyly as she peered at him.
"Thanks, loves!" he answered, though gazing primarily at Marlene.
"Y-Yes! Dorcas, you look great." Peter added.
"Thanks," she exhaled, "But I'm glad I can get out of this dress now!"
"So where are James and Lily?" Remus wondered.
"Are they together?" Mary posited, looking at though she may have stumbled on gold.
"They're with their dates so you know what that means." Sirius grinned.
"Anyway," Dorcas commenced, rolling her eyes, "Sirius decided what to do for his birthday. Tell them."
"Oh, yes!" Marlene smiled.
"Right! So I thought it'd be cool to have a tiny, birthday, picnic-like thing on top of the Astronomy Tower tomorrow night. Just the people I really like, so only our House and our year," he explained.
"That sounds cool." Frank nodded earnestly.
"And we can shoot off fireworks in honor of how terrific I am!"
Peter, Marlene, and Alice all laughed.
"It'll be really cold up there." Mary vocalized.
"You don't have to come, Macdonald, if that's a problem for you." Sirius mentioned, looking at her.
"There… there are ways around it! Heating charms. We do it for the matches…" she muttered, sounding a bit humbled and embarrassed.
"Out past curfew, I'm assuming." Remus commented.
"Yes," the Black boy carefully confirmed.
"You're lucky it's for your birthday so I won't say no to you," the prefect smiled. Sirius returned the smile.
"Do you ever say no?" he pondered.
"He tries." Peter smirked.
"But it's difficult with mates like you, I reckon." Frank quipped.
Friday brought no true work for the students since the holiday began the following day and they were allowed to bring the first term to an end in a leisurely way. Packing was not much of a task since they would only be gone for two weeks, so numerous snow fights were carried out on the grounds as a means of passing the time, in addition to various games being played inside the castle. Sirius' birthday soiree was set for 9 o'clock that night and Lily could not believe that she (and Mary) had been invited to go to the unusually small, intimate event. Black was into crowds and attention and had spent past birthdays celebrating with the entire House, so this was unlike him. She had never wanted to celebrate his prior birthdays with the larger groups so it surprised Lily that she actually had a desire to go, and that she felt comfortable enough to do so. Things were changing so suddenly….
A little after nine PM, the Gryffindor sixth years sat atop one of Hogwarts' towers bundled up in extra clothes and with food requested from the kitchens, all of which were Sirius' favorites. There was a big chocolate and strawberry cake that James had especially made and butterbeer was even present compliments of Remus, though he would not say how he obtained them and only wore a smug smirk. They stayed out in the night for two hours enjoying one another's company, eating, talking, and silently being grateful that a wizard named Sirius Black was going to be ringing in another year. His fireworks wish came true when the boys extracted their wands and used charms to perform a three minute show of the loud, colorful entities, but they were silenced since Remus pointed out they did still have to get back to the common room without detection. It was a compromise Sirius was willing to live with.
Early Saturday morning, the Marauders and Frank were jerked out of their peaceful sleeps due to a horrible abomination of noise that unexpectedly went off.
"SEVENTEEN YEARS, SIRIUS BLACK! SEVENTEEN YEARS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ALIVE THANKS TO YOUR FAMILY, THE FAMILY THAT YOU BETRAYED! THE FAMILY THAT YOU SPAT ON THE INSTANT YOU WERE NAMED A WORTHLESS GRYFFINDOR AND THE FAMILY WHOSE NOBLE VALUES YOU SAW UNFIT TO UPHOLD! YOU DO NOT DESERVE ANOTHER YEAR OF LIFE! YOU ARE AN UNGRATEFUL CHILD AND INSIGNIFICANT PERSON! AND NOW THAT YOU ARE AN ADULT, WE ARE NO LONGER BOUND TO PROVIDE YOU WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT! YOU ARE NOW CUT OFF IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE FROM THE ESTEEMED HOUSE OF BLACK! PROVIDE FOR YOURSELF, YOU INGRATE, AND IF YOU ARE FORTUNATE IN ANY WAY YOU WON'T LIVE TO SEE MANY MORE BIRTHDAYS!"
The Howler exploded in a spectacular display of pieces when Walburga Black had ceased screaming in her trademark voice, and the five inhabitants all sat up erectly in their beds with shocked expressions on their bleary faces.
"Well," Sirius commenced, croaking some from the rawness of his voice, "Happy birthday to me."
The other four stared at him with pity.
"Sirius, I'm so sorry you had to wake up to that." Frank apologized, thinking it would be awful to have predictions of death on one's birthday.
"Don't be. That was my mother's special way of wishing me a good birthday and letting me know she misses me!" he jested.
"Well, happy birthday, Sirius, mate!" James declared as he made to get out of the four poster.
"Yes, happy birthday, adult!" Remus added. Frank smiled.
"Padfoot, you've got presents!" Peter notified happily. Indeed, there was a small pile of parcels waiting on top of his trunk.
The grin Sirius had on widened and he quickly jumped out of bed to inspect the gifts, causing the rest of the boys to do the same.
"One's from Hagrid, the house elves in the kitchens—" he started.
"That'll be food," smiled James.
"Frank, Peter, and Remus—thanks, you lot—er… the fifth year girls?"
Remus and Frank laughed but Sirius continued on:
"Dorcas, one that doesn't say, and Marlene!"
"That looks like a card," Peter grinned, "Open hers first!" The Black boy obliged and on the front was a majestic, roaring lion that shimmered; when he opened it a realistic roar poured forth from the card.
"Whoa!" Frank uttered as Sirius started to read the message Marlene had written.
"What's she saying?" James asked. His best friend did not respond, and when he had finished reading he closed the card while a tiny smiled played about his lips.
"Hello? What'd she write?" the captain tried again.
"Don't worry over it." Sirius advised.
"Don't worry over it? I want to know why you're grinning!"
"It's nothing! And it's my card." His dorm mates all opened their mouths to protest his silence but Sirius interjected, chuckling some.
"Moving onto the next gift!" he declared, grabbing the parcel from the fifth year Gryffindors. He ripped off the wrapping and found himself gazing at a box of French cologne. The others all snickered as Sirius quirked his eyebrows.
"How very you, Sirius!" Peter sniggered.
"I'd keep the giggling to a minimum—this might be a perfectly good bottle of cologne!," Sirius told him, sniffing it, "And if not, say hello to your Christmas present, Wormtail!"
"Open this one, lover boy." James remarked, handing him the unmarked gift. The birthday boy took and unwrapped it, revealing a plain white box. When he opened it and saw what was inside, he cried out in alarm and dropped the box, appearing somewhat revolted.
"What is it?!" Frank questioned.
"Good question! What the hell is it?!" Sirius stated, standing next to James. Remus vigilantly bent down to investigate and moved the box to get a better look at "it", which was halfway out on the carpet.
"It looks like… an animal heart?" he reported.
"What?" the Potter boy noted.
"Oh, there's a note!," Remus grabbed it and read, "Happy birthday to the wizard who has it all, except a heart. Maybe you can use this one..." The prefect trailed off and they all studied Sirius, waiting for his reaction.
"Cheers, Fiona!" Sirius growled through clenched teeth. James shook his head, feeling frustrated.
"Sirius, maybe you should say something to her. That was very unnecessary." Frank observed. Peter nodded.
"What a smashing birthday morning so far!" he wearily sighed.
"Let's… open the rest later! Maybe on the train," Remus suggested, "You can be sure we didn't get you anything like that!"
"Yeah! Let's get ready for breakfast! Once we're done it's off to the Express!" Peter encouraged.
"Sure, all right." Sirius consented in a low voice, shrugging.
The Hogwarts Express was departing at 9 o'clock and most of the students (who wanted breakfast) were in the Great Hall by 7:45AM consuming food, since they had to leave the castle at 8:30AM. Quite a few people wished Sirius a happy birthday during the morning meal, including the girls, and he thanked those he saw who had given him tokens. The fifth year females looked at him longingly when he spoke to them and said it was their pleasure, while his younger brother glowered at him and seemed to be sending him birthday vibes from the Slytherin table.
"So what did your roommates get you?" Dorcas inquired.
"I haven't opened theirs yet, but James is the only one I saw no present from." Sirius relayed, smirking. There was a joking "oooh!"
"First of all, I am gift enough!," the captain asserted. Remus snorted, "Secondly, mine is waiting for this twit at home so he can calm down!"
"He seems pretty needy. Maybe a card would've held him over." Mary joked, her chin resting in her left hand.
"Marlene's was good enough," Sirius commented, looking at her with magnetism in his eyes, "I really liked it."
"Cool. I'm glad," she said as she smiled, hoping profusely that she was not blushing. Alice kept quiet but peered at her friends with a diminutive, sly smile.
At 8:30AM exactly, the first of the carriages began its journey on the cobblestones to exit the castle's grounds and head for the Hogsmeade train station. Michelle found James as all the students stood waiting to load the vehicles and requested that they sit together on the ride to the Express and he consented, but a moment later he realized the carriages only held four, which meant he would be separated from the Marauders.
"You're not sitting with us?," Sirius replied dully, "But you always do, and it's my birthday!"
"I know, but Michelle won't fit," the Chaser implored, "And I'll still be with you mates on the train."
"You'll have to find two more people." Remus notified.
James frowned as he discussed who they could sit with who was amicable enough and in need of another pair, and it so happened that Frank joined them, realized what he was talking about, and merrily suggested that he and Alice could sit with them. The Potter boy accepted the offer gladly, and when it came time for the sixth years to board the carriages, James and his Ravenclaw girlfriend sat contently with Frank and Alice, while three of the Marauders rode ahead of them, Sirius the owner of a half frown.
Once on the Express with their luggage resting above their heads in the compartment, it was back to the boys once more. Remus had to leave for a short prefect meeting ten minutes after the train left the station but he was back within a quarter of an hour, reporting he would have to patrol the freight in two hours with Lily. Frank was in and out of the Marauder compartment like usual and spent half of his time in the one occupied by the sixth year Gryffindor witches.
"So are you going to confront Fiona about the heart?" Peter pondered two hours into the ride after Remus had gone to patrol.
"Yeah. I don't know how exactly to go about it but I feel like hexing her," Sirius affirmed with folded arms. He then looked at his best friend, "You should ask Michelle if she knew anything about it, Prongs." James appeared somewhat surprised from his spot on the opposite bench.
"She… she hasn't mentioned anything about it so far; maybe she didn't know," he began, "But, yeah… I'll ask her. It is her best mate." Sirius nodded appreciatively as their door slid open to reveal Frank and Dorcas.
"Ah, you've brought Dorcas this time!" James stated as their friends walked in. Peter lit up some.
"No one 'brings' me anywhere," she corrected as Frank smiled.
"I brought you to Slughorn's party on Thursday." Sirius relayed, smirking a tad. James grinned as Dorcas sat down on his right.
"I obliged your arse, Black, get it right," the witch commented. There was laughter.
"Oh, Dorcas! Did you hear about what Etherton sent Sirius for his birthday?" Peter posed, seated on the other bench and leaning forward.
"No. Enlighten me!" she directed, looking at the boys.
"An actual heart." James said, peering at her.
"What?! Merlin!"
"She's lost it." Sirius vocalized.
"I'd say! Was it human?" Dorcas responded, appearing offended.
"No. Remus and I think it's a sheep." Frank reported.
"Mental, huh?" Peter uttered to her.
"Yes, quite. James, you'd better keep an eye on Parks if that's the case," the Meadowes girl advised.
"Michelle is not like that," the captain remarked. His teammate, conversely, did not look convinced.
Dorcas was still with the wizards when Remus returned and Lily popped her head in to be courteous and see what was going on. The red head observed her dorm mate and jokingly noted she was not shocked by her presence, to which Dorcas answered she would be back soon enough. Sirius claimed Lily should go fetch the rest of her roommates and return to the compartment so they could have part two of his birthday bash, and she smiled as she exited the room. Another visitor arrived thirty minutes later around noon and this time it was Michelle, though Peter had initially thought it was the lunch trolley and was disappointed upon finding out it was not.
"I did see her though; she's about two cars back," the blonde revealed, peering at Peter.
"Oh, okay! Thanks," he said as James stood up next to his girlfriend.
"Oh, and happy birthday Sirius! I haven't said it to you yet." Michelle bid, half smiling.
"Er, thanks Michelle!" he announced, slightly taken aback and looking between the couple.
"So! Do you want to sit, or…" James prompted, dropping his voice some. Dorcas seemed rather unimpressed by the Ravenclaw's presence as she studied them. Michelle shook her head, hiding a smile, and he understood.
"I'll be back later!" the captain told them cheerfully.
"Do you want us to get you food?" Remus posited, wanting to smirk.
"No, I'll get some myself."
"See you." Frank said as the two left the compartment hand in hand.
"Have to get used to James disappearing again since he has a girlfriend. It's been only you for awhile, Frank." Peter explained.
"It's nice to have someone else," the Longbottom boy quipped.
"Too bad it's not Amy again. She didn't ever seem to have him all tied up that often." Sirius mentioned nonchalantly, stretching.
"That's because they were in the same House so you didn't notice." Remus offered. However, with the way Dorcas rolled her eyes and shook her head to herself, it seemed she agreed with Sirius.
Michelle and James searched for an empty compartment per the witch's suggestion but it was a very difficult task; the only one they found completely deserted was the prefects'.
"Should we go in?" she wondered while they stared inside the dim room.
"Well, we could always go back to those compartments where there were only two kids and force them out," he attested casually.
"No."
"Then this is our option!"
"But… we're not prefects!" Michelle mentioned, gazing around.
"But I am captain and have the same privileges as prefects, so if you think about it, we're allowed in!" James rationalized, pushing open the door with a grin.
"I suppose…" she smiled as he motioned for her to go inside.
They left the lights off but pulled the shade on the door and cast a quick locking spell, and as Michelle moved to plant the first kiss on his lips, he remembered something.
"Uh, I need to ask you something, Michelle." James notified.
"Sure," the blonde consented, shrugging.
"Okay. Well, Sirius got a heart—an animal heart—this morning as a birthday gift and he really believes Fiona sent it."
"A heart?! Oh my—Fiona?"
"Yeah. Did she say anything to you about it or mention a heart or anything?" he inquired, peering at her.
"Well, n-no! That's extreme!" Michelle admitted, sounding alarmed.
"To be honest, based on the note that came with it, I think she sent it too."
"A heart!," the Ravenclaw murmured. She then looked up at him, "But, I-I'll ask her about it, James. It's possible, I guess."
"Thanks," the Potter boy acknowledged, "But I didn't mean to ruin our snogging with talks of hearts, so forget it even happened!"
They had been kissing for a few minutes when the handle of the door rattled, and a couple of moments later it was opened completely, causing the two to jump apart and stare at the entry in shock. Lily and Marcus stood there with the Gryffindor holding her wand and gazing back with equal surprise.
"Erm, Michelle! Potter!" the Hufflepuff said, sounding a little shocked.
"Oh!" the Ravenclaw piped, starting to blush. In the next instant, the two lions had spoken at the same time as they looked at each other.
"What are you doing in here?" Lily asked.
"How'd you open the door?" James inquired. Brief silence followed in which he smirked a bit and she appeared expectant.
"Magic, Potter. We used that spell in first year," the red head relayed, raising her eyebrows.
"Of course! I knew that," the captain mumbled. Marcus smiled.
"Well I answered your question so you can return the favor."
"Refresh my memory again, if you please! What was the question?"
"Why you're in here." Marcus stated, sounding amused.
"Oh. Well, forgive me Evans, Hamilton, but I could ask you the same exact thing!" James alerted, evading the inquiry. Michelle began to appear entertained as well.
"We're prefects and this happens to be our compartment," Lily told him, chuckling with disbelief, "So, seeing as how you are not, can you explain your presence?"
"But of course! This." He pointed to his badge.
"Quidditch?" Marcus pondered.
"Exactly! Captains are kind of like prefects, with the same rights and all that, so I realized I was fine to be in here. Am I right, Evans?" smiled James.
"Okay… but why did you need to be in here?" Lily questioned.
"Why do you two? Coming to the empty prefects' compartment, alone, when there's no meeting—sounds kind of suggestive!"
Michelle hid her grin behind her hand and Marcus looked rapidly at Lily, who returned the surprised glance before gazing back at her Housemate, who was smirking.
"This isn't about us." Marcus claimed. James shrugged then asserted:
"Look, why don't we just agree that we're both in the prefects' compartment, whatever our reasons! There's no need to hand out any punishments; we'll simply take our leave!"
"Bye!" Michelle piped, smiling as she let a smug James lead her out. They heard her giggle as the couple walked away.
"Why does it always feel like you've come out of a storm when you deal with Potter?" the Hufflepuff pondered.
"Because you have." Lily answered, shaking her head.
James remained with his friends for the rest of the journey and, hours later, the trip had come to an end, with the train pulling to a stop at King's Cross. Eager and welcoming parents and family members stood on the platform waiting for their children to exit and be embraced.
"You can finally use magic this holiday, Sirius. I know you're gonna love it." Peter remarked as the Marauders gathered their belongings.
"You have no idea," smiled Sirius, "Jamesy will be at my mercy with no way to fight back."
"That's what you think," the captain muttered darkly, peering at his best friend.
"Do you plan on seeing Michelle at all?" Remus asked.
"Uh… I don't think so. It's only two weeks and you mates are coming over after Christmas. I'll write her, of course."
"And don't forget the gift you'll have to send her!" Sirius reminded, the first one to walk out of the room with his trunk following behind him.
The four boys traveled to the nearest car with doors and had a brief wait while other students exited before them with their own baggage. Conversations and animal noises pervaded the air and as the Gryffindors moved closer to getting out, Sirius spotted someone.
"Hey," he alerted, nudging Peter. They all looked and saw Fiona, Michelle, and their roommates on the other side of the car talking.
"I'll be back. Take my trunk out." Sirius commented before he went to approach the Ravenclaws. The other three all stared at him leave.
"Fiona," the Black boy commenced in a hard tone as he stopped in front of them. The girls ceased speaking and peered at him. Michelle had been talking exclusively to her best friend and studied him nervously.
"What?" the brunette responded with an impatient look in her eyes.
"The next time you decide to send someone a heart as a present, you should at least have the courage to sign your name. Or maybe you should find better things to do with your life. Have a good holiday."
Sirius then turned around and marched back to his friends, leaving a stunned Fiona and company behind, who no longer had the stern look in her gaze. Peter and Remus were already off the Express and Sirius grabbed his trunk that sat behind James.
"What'd you say?" the Potter boy asked in a low voice.
"For her to basically get over it," he said with a diminutive smile.
The Marauders saw their families almost instantly and so they gave their goodbyes to one another and the rest of their friends before they went to greet them.
"Bye James, Sirius! Remus, Peter!" Alice hailed as Marlene smiled happily and waved.
"Have a good Christmas!," Sirius replied, "Thanks again, Marlene."
"Practice over the holiday, Meadowes. Oh, and have a happy Christmas I suppose." James instructed.
"Ha ha!" Dorcas uttered, playfully shoving him before joining the girls. Mary had already met her strict father so had to give her farewells on board.
"Hey, where's Evans?"
"Mmm… over there." Peter reported after looking around for a bit. James saw her being chatted up by Marcus some feet away near the train, her cat Autumn lazing about in her carrier and flicking her tail. He studied them for a moment before calling out:
"Evans!" She and her partner attuned to his voice.
"Yes?" Lily responded.
"I hope you have a great holiday. Happy Christmas." James wished. The red head did not answer right away and instead gazed at him along with Marcus, but a moment later a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"You too, Potter," the Muggleborn remarked softly.
"Let's get to your parents, mate." Sirius advised, half smiling as James threw her a grin.
As they walked away and Marcus and Lily watched them go, Lily realized this was the first time she had ever truly meant well wishes for James Potter. On the other hand, Marcus, who witnessed James look back at Lily one last time, came to the sudden understanding that the Gryffindor captain still held his old feelings for Lily, girlfriend or no girlfriend. This did nothing to make him happy.
Vivienne Potter lovingly embraced her two sons when they approached, after they had taken their leave of Peter and Remus, with Mr. Potter waving at the other two Marauders.
"Boys, I'm so glad to see you!" Vivienne told them as she kissed Sirius' cheek and hugged James.
"You too, Mum." James said, returning the hug.
"Happy birthday, Sirius!" Harold declared, gripping his shoulder.
"Thanks! Are the presents waiting in my room?" the Black boy questioned. Mr. Potter chuckled.
"Oh, I can't believe you're 17! Where have the years gone?" Mrs. Potter vocalized while James accepted a hug from his father.
"I'm very hungry. Will you feed us when we get home?" the captain commented.
"Of course, dear! All of Sirius' favorites."
"Brilliant." Sirius grinned.
"Um, excuse me," someone interjected. The party of four then saw a second year Slytherin observing them curiously with a piece of parchment in her hand.
"Hello." James greeted.
"This is for Sirius Black," she relayed, holding out the folded parchment.
"Uh, thanks," he noted, taking it. The 12 year old nodded once before turning around and hurrying off. Sirius opened the paper with James peering over his shoulder and saw a three word message written on it:
Happy birthday… prat.
Sirius immediately looked up and his eyes searched the platform as James furrowed his brow.
"Why do you keep getting anonymous letters?" he wondered.
"This is Regulus' writing," his best friend reported, still searching.
"Oh!"
Seconds later Sirius saw his younger brother being cooed over by Walburga while Orion stood with his unique smile on, and they were accompanied by Narcissa and his most hated cousin Bellatrix. Sirius' gaze became hardened as he studied his family.
"They're here." James grumbled, seeing the Blacks as well.
"Who is, love?" Vivienne asked, looking as well.
"Oh." Harold uttered, glowering at Sirius' family.
"Do you… want to say something?" James posited carefully, thinking of the nasty Howler.
"Nope," Sirius began, "I don't fancy going to Azkaban my first day as an adult."
"Let's go home, then." Harold smiled.
As James told his parents about Michelle and how they had to find her so she could meet them and he could say goodbye, Sirius looked at his brother's message once more and smiled to himself. Despite all the animosity, he knew that Regulus had actually meant to wish him a decent birthday and that was a gift within itself.
"Look at him, walking off with those blood traitors as if he did not carry our surname!" Orion growled, having spotted Sirius walking away with the Potters.
"Rotten seed!" Walburga sniffed, hugging her younger son closer for comfort.
"He will not last long, Aunt Walburga. Not with the company he keeps." Bellatrix assured, smirking at Narcissa. Regulus did not say a word as he glanced at his family before watching his brother depart with his adopted family.
The Potters had Sirius' traditional, brand new, coming-of-age watch waiting for him on his pillow when they returned to the manor, along with the rest of his presents that he gratefully tore into (including James'). Afterward, the four happily ate his birthday feast as a unit, during which his watch sat on his wrist. And thus was the start of a good winter break.
James and Sirius went into Diagon Alley two days later so the former could buy Christmas gifts for Michelle, his parents, and a handful of their sixth year friends, and they noticed the shopping center was more deserted than usual; they deduced the fear of Voldemort had something to do with it. Two days before Christmas, the boys went with Harold to the Ministry to get out of the house and to hopefully be privy to any important information their father received, but they found that while they were greeted warmly they often had to wait outside of offices instead of being let in with Mr. Potter.
"If this is about us being young, I am an adult." Sirius noted at one point.
"One who can stop bringing it up." James retorted.
"I'm still surprised your dad gets to meet with everyone who tells him everything. He hasn't been an official for a couple decades."
"He was really influential."
"Obviously," agreed Sirius, "I just can't wait until he takes us to the Law Department to meet Mad Eye Moody!"
"Yeah, that'll be wicked." James grinned.
Christmas finally arrived and it was a pleasant one, with the countryside covered in white. Sirius was smug about getting more presents in such close proximity to his birthday, although he had significantly less than his best friend because of this reason. James enjoyed his gifts from the Marauders, which was a book featuring every spectacular or illegal professional Quidditch move, Dorcas, who gave him a personalized Quaffle, and Michelle, who sent him a nice set of Gryffindor themed gloves and a scarf, but the gift he loved the most was four tickets to the Falcons game on the 29th from his parents. Apart from the deluxe box set of novelties from Zonko's that Sirius gave him, the Black boy also felt the need to throw playful jinxes and hexes at James who could not retaliate with magic of his own, so had to resort to having his mother place a protective charm on him. His helplessness kept Sirius laughing but James promised he would return the favor, and even threatened to not let him have a Falcons ticket if he kept it up. Peter and Remus came to the Potters' residence on the 27th to stay until the start of term and they were very excited, to be going to the Quidditch match and to merely be with their good friends once more. The house was indeed more vivacious with all four present and Vivienne found herself preparing more food more often, but all were in an excellent mood.
To her mild surprise, Lily found that her own winter vacation was going in a smooth and pleasant direction, primarily because there was hardly any stiffness or hostility radiating from her older sister, which she definitely noticed. In fact, Petunia seemed to be quite happy, as if she were living in a blissful dream, and she would often speak cheerfully with her mother. One day after Christmas, Mrs. Evans found Lily in her bedroom tinkering with a gift from Marlene.
"Lily, have you noticed that Petunia has been very… positive, since you both have been home from school?" Janice inquired, sitting at her daughter's desk.
"How could I not have," the red head smiled, "It's not really like her."
"Well, it is a nice side of her."
"Oh, I'm not complaining!"
"Indeed," Mrs. Evans smiled, "But... there is a reason for her attitude."
"Oh?" Lily replied, appearing interested.
"Yes. I know she hasn't told you—she hasn't exactly figured out a way to, er, tell you."
"Does Dad know?"
"Yes." Janice replied.
"Well what is it?" Lily inquired.
"Sweetheart, your sister has been so happy lately because… Petunia has a boyfriend."
"What?" the witch exclaimed, gawking.
"She met him at the university about two months ago," Mrs. Evans elaborated, "She really likes him, it appears."
"Is he a student as well?"
"Well, no—he's a bit older. She met him at a café."
"Wow." Lily muttered, thinking her sister never had a boyfriend before.
"That's not all, dear," Janice prompted a tad cautiously, "He is, her boyfriend that is, um… coming to dinner to meet the family."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!," the red head half shouted, "And no one told me?!"
"Oh Lily, I'm sorry! Petunia didn't want to tell you at all but I had to put my foot down! I know it's short notice and I apologize for that, but just be your lovely self and I'm sure he will like you. It will be pleasant." Mrs. Evans explained. Lily did not respond as she peered murkily at her mother, having doubts about what she had just said and feeling resentful Petunia had wanted to tell her absolutely nothing.
"What's his name even?" the teenager exhaled.
"Vernon, Dursley. I'm sure he's delightful."
A/N: So, the introduction of Vernon next chapter! I'm very excited about the stage I'm at in the story and feel antsy when I can't write it due to other obligations, ha. That's a good thing!