A/N: Sorry, I've been MIA for a bit, I've been sort of busy but I left you a particularly long chapter to make up for it! :) Also, I've started a new L/J fanfic which I think is rather promising, so please check it out. It's called Annoyingly Persistent and the chapters are short but its fun. Let me know what you think about it and also this chapter. You guys are awesome as always. Thanks for being patient :)

Leaving For Christmas

MARY POV

Richard Davies is a git. But at least he's a git that fancies me. I mean yes, he never holds open doors for me and barely pays attention to a thing I say when he's with his friends…but he holds my hand in the corridors and calls my friends by their first names. Sometimes he spends more time looking in the mirror fixing his hair than I do but he's well handsome. Also, it's only been a week…I really ought to give him the benefit of the doubt right? I wonder how the winter holidays will be, now that we're together? They start tomorrow and we're all really antsy during class. At least there's only Potions before we end the day.

"I can't wait to go home!" Lily muttered as we left Transfiguration. She's had some trouble with that class lately and McGonagall had just told her she ought to ask James for help since he's top of our class.

"Like, I'd really ask Potter for help…honestly!" she continued as we walked along the corridor. "I'm perfectly capable of getting by without him! I don't need him for anything else, why would I possibly need him for this!" she said angrily. Just then, Potter brushed by us without a word. Lily looked rather stunned at his lack of acknowledgement but I was preoccupied by someone else tapping me on the shoulder. Sirius.

"Hey Mary" he said with a pleasant smile before touching my arm lightly and following James into the classroom. How is that the slightest touch from Sirius makes me shiver but when Richard kisses me I just feel awkwardly bored. It's the little things like that which make me smile. I had barely said anything to him in Transfiguration but he wasn't irritated, he just wanted to say hello when he got a chance.

"Mary!"

I turned and saw Richard standing there looking cross.

"Hi Richard" I said with a smile.

"Why didn't you wait for me outside the Transfiguration classroom? I always walk you to class" he demanded. I felt rather confused. He walked me to class when we bumped into each other, but I didn't know I was meant to wait for him to do so.

"Oh…I didn't realize," I said glancing at Lily who had an eyebrow raised. She looked back at me and said,

"Well, see you inside Mary".

"Bye Lily" Richard said impatiently and saying her name with a slight roughness. My thoughts wandered to the way some people said "Evans" in a kind tone and immediately made a comparison.

"I need to talk to you before we leave tomorrow" Richard continued when Lily had gone inside.

"Oh alright Rich. Should we talk after dinner?" I asked.

"No, I'll sit with you at dinner and we'll talk then" he stated simply.

"I guess that's ok" I said my mind dashing to a typical night in the Great Hall and wondering if the Marauders would still sit with us if he was there.

"Good" he said before wrapping an arm around me and kissing me chastely on the cheek. I sighed and he grinned in response before taking off around the corner. If only I was sighing because the kiss made me feel something. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. I just felt nothing. I walked into Potions and sat down. Sirius, James and Remus were nearby and surprisingly things were very quiet. Usually when its just them and Lily, she and James are arguing their bloody heads off.

"Hi" I said to them all as I took my place.

"Excited about the holidays Mary?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I can't wait to go home and take a break!" I replied with a small smile.

"A break from what?" James asked without even a glance at Lily. I noticed she looked confused, but didn't comment on it.

"Oh life at Hogwarts in general I suppose" I said even though I really meant Richard and Sirius and everything!!

"Yeah, it's been a rough term" Sirius spoke up with his easy smile. My heart sank. Nothing in his tone was ever important anymore. At least when we were arguing he sounded like he was a little nervous…or at least sounded like he cared.

"Have you lot managed the new Transfiguration spell? I need to get it right before I leave and forget everything" Lily spoke up.

"I'm still working on it" I replied with a shrug.

"I haven't really tried" Sirius said in an uninterested tone.

Remus laughed. "Don't ask me. I've apparently become a bit pathetic at Transfiguration".

We laughed and Lily tried but looked uncomfortable.

"What about you Potter?"

"Yeah" he replied stiffly.

"Oh" Lily said looking down.

"I can help you if you want" he said hesitantly.

Lily flushed. "No, no that's quite alright, I just wanted to make sure everyone else was having trouble with it too".

James laughed in a bitter sort of way and said nothing as he turned to the front.

Sirius met my eyes and he smirked at me knowingly. My stomach flipped over. I really ought to see if that's something wrong with my digestive system.

SIRIUS POV

Potions was uneventful until the end when Prongs and I whooped for joy. I can't wait to go back to the Potter's and eat some of Margaret's famous bangers and mash. My mouth was watering as I thought about this and Peter gave me a strange look.

"You hate liver," he said, to which I looked down and sighed. Liver for dinner. Hogwarts hits some out of the stadium but others…complete miss.

"Euch, so do I" Mary said in disgust as the rest of our friends dug in. I looked at her across the table, her face contorted in dismay, and couldn't help grinning. I've been doing that a lot. Since I can't tell her how beautiful I think she is anymore, I've just started smiling at her everytime I notice how adorable she looks doing something. Dipping her quill in ink; Flipping aimlessly through her textbooks, smiling at Moony…oh bloody hell I've become Prongs. Next thing you know I'll see her throw up and think how wonderful she looks all sweaty and pale. I clicked my tongue in disgust at the thought and looked at Prongs who was eyeing Evans from the corner of his eye. She had her mouth full of the disgusting liver but was also laughing at something McKinnon had said. She was trying to cover her mouth but a piece sprayed out and on to her plate before she got the chance. I saw Prong beam at his plate, obviously thinking this was the cutest thing he'd ever seen and grinned to myself. Good to know, we're all barking mad. My grin immediately fell off my face as Davies sat down right next to Mary. I saw that she was now uncomfortably trying to cut her food but his body kept getting in her elbow's way. He was also kissing her cheek and I noted that she barely looked up. Her eyes met mine and she glowed a slight pink but that gave me hope. If she had to look at me when the bloke she's seeing is kissing her, I still had a chance.

"Lily, Marlene, Dorcas" he said formally and they all smiled back rather weakly. He then turned to the Marauders with a fake smile plastered on his stupid face.

"Oh hello boys".

Who the hell does he think he is? Slughorn?

"Mary, anyway I needed to talk to you" he was saying loudly, talking over the other conversations our group were having. Annoyed, the others stopped talking and tried not to listen. I, on the other hand openly watched as Mary prodded at her liver and said,

"Hmm...?" rather distractedly.

"Stop playing with your food! Listen" he said sharply.

She stopped and turned to him. I narrowed my eyes threateningly but he didn't seem to notice.

"What's wrong?" she asked in her concerned way.

"Nothing, I just think we need to talk about us…in context of this holiday."

I exchanged looks with Evans and both of us seemed to look wary.

"What do you mean?" Mary asked.

"Well since we've only been together a week, I think we ought to not be exclusive until we come back…"

The git. The stupid git.

"Well…ok. But who would we possibly meet during this holiday anyway?" Mary tried to joke in a light tone. I could see the crinkle in her forehead though and she was anything but amused.

"Oh I don't know about you, but there's this muggle from home who I always see during holidays from Hogwarts" Richard replied taking a bite from her plate. She looked at this in slight annoyance but she nodded,

"So what you're saying is…you want to be able to see anyone you want, but don't expect that I will" she said slowly and quietly. She was embarrassed he'd brought this up in front of everyone. I knew it.

"Yes! I knew you'd understand love. You must understand how difficult it is for me to get into a relationship when I have been used to being with whoever I want for so long."

"You're a git Richard" she finally said and he opened his mouth in shock. A glob of food fell out on to his arm. She looked at it in disgust before continuing, ignoring the whispers and slight laughter coming from my friends.

"See whoever you want. I will too and then we come back, I'd rather not see you ever again" she said matter of factly before eating a spoonful of peas.

"What…no, we aren't breaking up! I just wanted a break" he said, now lowering his voice embarrassedly.

"Well, I wanted to break up. Now sod off, you're ruining my dinner" she said, picking up another spoonful.

He looked speechless. The rest of us were at the verge of laughing. Suddenly someone a few people down, let out a huge guffaw of laughter and the rest of the Gryffindor table joined in. Davies looked around in astonishment before blindly getting up and going toward the curious Ravenclaw table, thinking better of it and leaving the Hall altogether.

"Thank goodness you've gotten rid of that git!" Lily said thumping Mary on the back.

"That was the ballsiest thing I've ever see you do" Marlene said, shaking her head with laughter.

"You were really, really funny" Dorcas said between giggles.

"Blimey Mary, you should've seen his face…he looked like he's swallowed a lemon and then was waiting to catch flies to get rid of the taste" Prongs said slapping his knee. Peter and Remus just laughed and soon the three of them were rehashing the argument, imitating Mary and Davies as the girls laughed in amusement. Through this all however, Mary had cast her large green eyes shyly up at me and given me the smallest of smiles. All I could do was grin back with happiness.

MARY POV

I'm finally going home!! After I broke up with that dumb toad, the rest of the day was a whirlwind and before we knew it, it was morning and those of us leaving were on the Hogwarts Express heading away for Christmas. I was really excited to get away from everything but at the same was sad I wouldn't see Sirius or his mates for a whole three weeks. I'm so used to seeing him everyday, eating dinner with them all the time, that it will be strange to have that part of my life missing. It seems like years ago that I hadn't said more than two words to him. Not only was I upset that I wouldn't see him. I was also worried that if there had been any tiny spark left between us left, it would soon fizzle out during the three weeks of separation. I would see Lily all the time I was sure and Marlene and Dorcas both live up the road from me, so it wouldn't be hard to meet up with them, but Sirius…the Potters lived in some small Wizarding village and it was very unlikely I'd see Sirius or his mates around London where I'd spend most of my time.

I didn't see Sirius at all that morning. I expect their train compartment must've been a long way from ours because I didn't even catch a glimpse of a Marauder through the ride. When we arrived Marlene and Dorcas found their families quickly and left, leaving me with Lily in Kings Cross. Both of our families are constantly late so we weren't worried. I tried to be discreet as my eyes searched my surroundings for Sirius. I at least wanted to say bye. Three weeks is a long time. Trying to think optimistically, I was relieved that at least it wasn't summer. Lily was humming some tune as we both sat on our trunks, waiting for someone to pick us up. She waved to Remus who grinned at us as he dashed by and hugged his mother in greeting. Good, if Remus was leaving, Sirius and James couldn't be far behind.

"Bye Moony!!" I heard a deep voice call and I grinned at the owner. James put his trunk down beside Lily and sat on it.

"No one here for you girls yet either?" he asked with a smile.

"Hopefully my mum'll be along in a minute" Lily muttered looking at the floor. He grinned at her, apparently not noticing her expression and started absent-mindedly humming the same tune she had just been humming.

"Stop it, you don't even know that song…it's a muggle one" Lily snapped and he shrugged.

"I don't know a lot of muggle music, but almost everyone knows 'I want to hold your hand,' Evans" James said rolling his eyes.

"Who's it by then?" she challenged.

"The Beatles" he said before looking out into the swarm of people, ignoring the embarrassed blush that had crept to her cheeks when she realized her immaturity. I smiled to myself. Sirius would be thrilled, he always thought Lily would fall for James eventually and I'm actually beginning to believe he's right. Speaking of Sirius…where was he? I thought he was going home with James.

"Where's Sirius?" I asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"The loo, I think…"James answered uncertainly, looking at someone in the crowd. "Isn't that your sister Mary?"

I looked up and saw Sarah approaching, beaming her head off. Grinning, I hugged her and when we separated she took a good look at me.

"Go on, let's have a look at you" she said, twirling me around. "Aw my little sister, all grown up".

"Oh shut up Sarah" I said blushing.

"Hiya Lily…need a lift?" Sarah said after kissing Lily's cheek in greeting. She looked longingly at us as she shoved James knee away from hers.

"Thanks, but my mum'll be along in a minute….hopefully" she said throwing James a cold look.

Sarah noticed this and broke into a grin when she saw James.

"Oh little James Potter…you are getting handsome aren't you?" she said with a smile.

James smiled and ruffled his hair a bit. "Hiya Sarah, alright?" he said in the deep, mature voice he used when he's trying to impress Lily.

"Yeah…wow I can't get over how much older you look" she replied, shaking her head. "Where's your partner in crime?" she asked, smirking at me slightly. I ignored this of course.

"Loo I think…Shame you didn't get to meet him" James said with a slight frown as his eyes scanned the crowd again.

"Ah well, it was nice seeing you anyway" Sarah said.

"It's always nice seeing you" James replied flirtatiously, turning back to her with a wink. I saw Lily look shocked and then a little annoyed, as Sarah threw her head back and laughed heartily.

"Still too young and still too in love with someone else to be flirting with me Potter," she replied, shaking her head and picking up my trunk.

Lily and James both blushed profusely and I laughed, quickly giving Lily a hug goodbye. I paused in front of James and then boldly hugged him too. He patted my back and gave me a small, somewhat reassuring wink, sensing I was upset Sirius wasn't around. I shrugged and followed Sarah, feeling still very disappointed that Sirius hadn't bothered to find me to say bye.

I walked in the door and my mum hugged me warmly before returning to the kitchen to talk to our House Elf.

"Oh Mary love, you have post" she called over her shoulder.

Post? I suppose it could be a Witch Weekly subscription form or something. Who else would send me post? I grabbed the letter on my way upstairs, noting the untidy black scrawl and feeling rather curious. I collapsed on to my own comfortable bed and ripped it open.

"Mary,

I looked all over for you at Kings Cross and the just my luck when I find James he tells me he'd been sitting with you for the better part of ten minutes. We had a bit of fun messing with Evans though. She seemed very annoyed when James brought up the topic of your sister. Jealous d'you reckon?

Anyway, I decided to send you this letter because James and I are meeting Remus at Diagon Alley the day after Christmas to have a look round the shops. Petey stayed back at Hogwarts and it'll be lonely with just the three of us. I'm obligated as James' best mate to ask you to invite Evans too.

Let us know if you feel like seeing us. I know I'll be downright gutted if I don't see you and your pretty little face for three weeks. I'll miss you Mary.

Love,

Sirius."

Be still, my heart.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Let me know how I did and please have a look at my other story when you have a chance :)