First of all, I wanted to tell you guys that, re-reading Philosopher's Stone in English, I realized that they all said 'Happy Christmas' instead of 'Merry Christmas'. I'm guessing British people say it that way? I hadn't noticed the difference before haha, but I edited the previous chapters. If any of you is British (or American, but knows British English – remember that's not my mother language, neither British nor American), tell me if I was right correcting that! Well, now, about what really matters:

Chapter 37 up! Please, tell me what you think of it. It took me a while to write it because I found these other series I really enjoyed (Maze Runner) and I read them all in a row, I confess… The truth is that this chapter isn't that good and nothing very exciting happens, but there's some stuff worth telling 'cause they're needed for the story …

…

Lily shifted on the bed, frowning without opening her eyes at the powerful ray of sunshine entering through the window and hiting her right on the face. She covered her head with the pillow, groaning; since when entered so many light through her room's window? Even when she forgot to lower the blinds …

Then she opened her eyes, her head still covered by the pillow and her face buried into the blankets, and she remembered it. She wasn't at her bedroom. She wasn't at her house. She was at the Potters', and a group of Death Eaters had destroyed half of the town.

"Bree," She called her outloud, suddenly sitting and narrowing her eyes, trying to hide from the light behind her hand. "Bree, are you awake?"

The smal bulk on the adjoining bed moved a little, and she saw a dishevelled, curly head slowly emerge from among the sheets. Her eyes as two blue slits, she sat up, holding her curls with one hand and covering her mouth with the other, yawning before looking at her friend.

"I'm awake," she answered with a sleepy voice and another yawn. "I didn't sleep quite well."

"Me neither," said the redhead, rubbing her eyes and yawning too. She let herself fall on her back again and her friend made herself comfortable, sitting with her legs folded and leaning on the bedhead "What time is it?"

Her friend looked at her wrist watch before answering.

"Eleven." After saying it, she gave a start, looking at it again to make sure it hadn't been a mistake.

"Eleven!?" Lily repeated, suddenly sitting up again. "It's so late! I've told my mum I was staying at your place, to avoid worrying her with all the Death Eaters thing, but I should be back by now."

As she talked, she stood up and begun gathering her clothes, entering the bathroom and beginning to dress with the door ajar.

As she unbuttoned her shirt, she stopped for a second in front of the mirror and she blushed when she remembered it was James', and even more when she thought she had been using only that when she had met him in the kitchen: it was so see-through her black bra showed through the fabric, and she was wearing nothing to cover her long, white legs. Then, her fingers froze on one of the buttons and her eyes opened wide in surprise. She hadn't only ran into James at the kitchen, she had kissed him! Merlin, she had kissed him!

She wanted to leave the bathroom so quickly that she bumped into the doorframe, provoking her friend's laughter, who was still sitting on the bed, a little more awake now.

"Are you alright?" Brianna asked, coming closer to the edge of the bed and trying not to laugh. Lily stuck her tongue out at her, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm fine," she said. Her friend looked at her with an eyebrow raised: she was still wearing the half-unbuttoned shirt.

"Weren't you getting dressed?" she asked, freeing her bare legs from the sheets. She was only wearing a shirt too; the trousers were too big for her.

"Yeah, it's just that…" the redhead approached and sat on her own bed, biting her lip and looking at the door. "Nothing."

Bree decided not to push it, and when she looked up, Lily knew there was something going on with her too. Then she remembered Sirius had kissed her and she was about to start asking questions, but she noticed Bree's attitude and restrained herself.

The brunette was twisting the shirt's sleeves, too long for her, and was looking at the floor with a worried expression on her face. It took her some minutes to start talking:

"Would you mind if we… left as soon as possible?" She asked, startling the redhead, who decided to be straightforward about it.

"What's happened?" She asked. Bree sighed, deciding to tell her; after all, she had witnessed the kiss, and she couldn't deny it now.

"He's kissed me and then he's said it didn't mean anything," She summed it up. Lily was surprised; she wasn't expecting something like that from Sirius. "He knows what I feel for him, I know he does, last night I realized about it. And still, he's kissed me."

She looked up and the redhead saw her eyes were full of tears.

"Oh, Bree…" She stood up and hugged her friend, who let out a sob.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot," she said, letting her hug her. "But it's been so humiliating, Lily, and it hurt so much." She sobbed again, and Lily hugged her tighter.

"I know." She moved awat a little and Bree dried her tears, rubbing her face vigorously.

"I'm fine," she said, sighing and putting her curls back on its place. "Thanks, Lils, I'm fine already." She smiled a little and the redhead sat on her bed again. "It's just that it hurt. I would have wanted that at least he told me the truth, whether he feels the same or not."

Lily nodded quietly, staring at her friend. She knew that, despite all that had happened, she was determined to keep her relationship with Sirius just as it used to be; she had probably forgiven him already. The redhead wondered if it weren't a disadvantage sometimes, having such a huge heart …

"I'm not mad at him anymore," Brianna said as if she had read her thoughts. "But I need some time to process it, and I would rather not stay here for too long."

Lily nodded staring at the floor and bitting her lower lip again. She wasn't planning on telling any of her friends, but after what Bree had told her, she felt like she had to. Besides, Brianna would keep the secret, and wouldn't torment her with questions. She would just listen to whatever she was willing to tell her and wait patiently until she was ready to tell her the whole story.

"I've kissed James," she let out without looking at her. She realized the girl had gave a start, but she hadn't said anything about it. "Well, he's kissed me, actually. But I kissed him back …"

She looked up and gave her a crooked smile.

"So leaving soon certainly suits me."

Bree stood up, grabbing her clothes and gesturing her to go dress up.

"Too many kisses for one Christmas," she mumbled, managing to get a smile from her friend, who headed to the bathroom and ended up getting dressed.

…

"You what!? You snogged the redhead? Are you kidding?" Sirius exclaimed, sitting up on his chair and placing back on its dish the bun he was about to gobble.

"Shhh, Padfoot, remember they're still here!" James shut him up, leaning over the table, nervous. "And we didn't… snog," he said that last word with a hint of reproach "It was just a kiss."

"And you say it so lightly? Merlin, James, you've just had it off with the girl you've been drooling about since first year!" The dark-haired boy said, laughing a little. After James' withering look, he tried to lower his voice "Sorry, but I still can't believe it, Prongs. I mean, I'm happy for you, but I was expecting a little bit more enthusiasm from you. Or the redhead isn't such a good kisser?" He laughed again.

"We didn't have it off!" James replied in a hiss, and then added (with such an stupid and cheesy tone that Sirius rolled his eyes) "And she is a great kisser. It's been…"

"Please, Jamie, save me the awfully soppy and corny stuff," He cut him short, though he simled sideways. He was genuinely glad for James.

"Don't be happy for me, anyway," The dark-haired boy replied, changing his loving smile for a bitter grimace. "She ran off."

"What?"

"She ran away. I kissed her, she kissed me, and she ran."

Sirius burst out laughing and his friend threw him a withering look.

"Hey, sorry," he said, patting his back and going serious. "For real. But it's an improvement, isn't it?" James looked at him skeptically, so he kept saying: "C'me on, Prongs, what were you expecting? That she suddenly changed her mind and you two were happily ever after?"

"Kinda." He smiled sideways.

"Think 'bout it, mate, the girl hated your guts for quite a long while, now you're her friend; then you go and kiss her and she realizes she probably has feelings for you; her head must be a mess, give 'er some credit."

"Yeah, I guess," James toyed with a toast.

"At least she ran because of how she felt. At least you didn't cock it up in the worst possible way, like I did." He said, grimacing. His friend gave him an encouraging smile.

Sirius had already told him how he had behaved with bree, and the boy had agreed with him that he had been a pig. A really, really stupid one.

After scolding him and letting him complain with self-pity, he had told him that first he had to find out what he actually felt, before making things even more complicated. Once he was sure of what he wanted, he could talk to Bree and do something about it, but he ahd to be sure, because otherwise, the girl could turn out even more hurt.

"Uhm, good morning." Bree's little voice startled them, and they both stood up when they heard it. Both her and Lily were dressed again, clad with their coats and gloves.

James couldn't help fixing his eyes on the redhead and thinking again on all that had happened between them. After that kiss, as brief as it had been, he hadn't been able to sleep, laying face up on the bed, thinking about Lily, her sweet lips, her warm body, the soft smell emanating from her hair.

"Good morning," the dark-haired boys said in unison. The girls smiled lightly.

"What d'you blokes want for breakfast?" James asked, approaching the cupboard to take out two other cups.

"Oh, no; we're not staying for breakfast, thank you," Lily rushed tos ay, maybe too quickly. James frowned a little. "It's late, we should be back already." The girl explained, though her friend's expression proved that there was more to it.

"Oh! Okay. Sorry I didn't wake you earlier, I didn't know. You're going by the floo network? We'll walk you to the living room." He said, and they both headed there, along with the girls.

"Don't worry, you couldn't know," the redhead said. It was strange that she was the one talking and that Bree was the one being quiet, though that last thing wasn't actually so unexpected; she was probably still hurt for what had happened with Sirius.

He noticed his friend didn't say much either, and judging by his expression, he felt extremely guilty. James thought it was a good decision what Sirius did; shuting up and not trying to force a conversation with Brianna.

However, the strangest thing was the naturalness with which she treated him. Maybe it was because she was trying to ease the tension there was between Bree and Sirius, but it was still odd that she didn't seem inhibited around James. Then his heart sank when he thought that maybe she hadn't felt a thing when they had kissed, and that she had only wan away because she regretted doing it.

"Well, thanks a lot, James," Bree said, smiling widely and kissing him on the cheek. "I had a great time last night. And thank you for letting us stay after…"

"You're welcome, Bree. We'll be seeing you." He replied. The girl smiled at his friend and nodded, and hen dissapeared into the green flames.

"Well, I'm taking the Knight Bus," Only then James seemed to notice Lily was still there, and he looked at her startled. She laughed softly.

"My place isn't connected to the net, remember?" she said with a smile. He messed up his hair.

No, James told himself, she must had felt something when they had kissed. He was sure of it, he had seen it in her eyes when she had pulled away. If now she was acting so carelessly it was because she desperately wanted to hide her feelings. She wanted to pretend she didn't feel anything, that she only wanted to be his friend. Well, at least he had that, for now.

"I had forgotten," he said as his friend took Lily's arm and dragged her towards the door.

"Your parents aren't back, James?" The girl asked, looking at him over her shoulder with a worried expression on her face.

James. It sounded nice when she said it.

"No, they aren't; don't worry, though, they've sent a Patronus saying everything's fine. It's been a tough night." His countenance darkened a little when he thought of his mother; she was too weak to go through stuff like that. "They say hi."

The redhead stopped at the threshold and turned around, smiling at them.

"Thanks," she said, looking at James in the eye. "I had a lot of fun…" She stood on her toe tips and kissed him on the cheek, and he couldn't help ruffling his hair again. Then she looked at Sirius.

"It was nice spending Christmas with you two," she said and hugged him. James looked at him scowling a little, trying to decide whether he preferred a good-bye hug or a kiss on the cheek.

"It was nice spending Christmas with you and your legs, redhead," Said the dark-haired boy, winking one of his grey eyes. The girl rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Bye," she said, turning around and running towards the street. They watched her raise her wand and get into the bus.

"You're a complete goner. You know that, right?" Sirius told him as they both watched the strange vehicle disappear at full speed.

"I do."

…

Just like during her previous trip, Lily, too lost in thought, was only vaguely aware of paying the young man and saying hi to the driver.

She sat on her assigned place and her green gaze got lost through the window as she thought of all that had happened during that Christmas.

Her mind wandered about all she had went through with James those days; on one side, she had felt closer to him than ever, and on the other, she had wished to run away each time they had been only inches away from each other. She had finally understood that the boy she now knew was the real James, and she had loved finding it out, just as she had loved learning about him and his life. She was fully aware, now, that he meant a lot to her, and that she liked each new thing she found out about him; she liked them a lot. It had been extremely hard for her to admit to herself how attracted she had felt to him, and the reason she had ran away each time she had felt butterflies in her stomach or the desire to kiss him.

For a moment, she felt guilty for thinking about all of that; about James, about herself and what she felt, instead of worrying about the Godric's Hollow attack. But she couldn't control the direction her thoughts were taking, and slow and unavoidably, they led her to rekindle the kiss.

Vulnerable as she was, standing there at the kitchen, crying, she had opened her heart to James without a doubt: she knew him now, and she knew she could trust him. The boy had opened up to her too, and knowing he had always been there for her, even during her father's death, had touched her in the deepest of her sould. Then she had looked him in the eye and she had told him she wanted to fight, and in those hazel orbs she had seen the same determination she had felt. And she had wanted him to kiss her.

Almost as if he had read her mind, James had leant, holding her face and joining his lips to hers. She remembered how she had felt back in that moment, as she pressed her body against his and drove her fingers into his chest: she had felt loved and safe. She had felt that all that mattered in the world were him and her. She had felt the warmth of his body, the safeness of his arms, the hunger of his lips… And as if something had exploded inside her head, she had realized she was kissing James, brusquely pulling away and running upstairs.

She remembered her confusion, her surprise. She had kissed James! She had been wishing for it to happen all afternoon long, but when it had actually happened, she had ran as if he had the plague. And it was that, what had actually confused her in the first place had been that urge to kiss him. She didn't understand what she felt for the boy, she didn't understand all that happened to her body and mind when he was around. She didn't understand anything!

Now she had had time to think and analize her feelings, she had understood everything.

She was falling for James Potter.

Shit.

…

"Ickle Remsie! And little Wormy!" Sirius exclaimed when his friends showed up in the kitchen.

"What's up?" said the lycanthrope, hugging his two friends. Peter did the same, and then took one of the buns that rested on the table.

"Happy Boxing Day*," James said, greeting them "You came by floo powder? They both nodded-.

"I went to Wormtail's and then we both came here," Remus answered, leaning on the countertop as Peter sat at the table next to Sirius, who was still eating. "We didn't see your parents. How did it go last night? Anything interesting to tell us?"

"Oh, not that much," Sirius replied with an enigmatic smile before James could open his mouth. "We had a great time. I've kissed Bree, I've screwed it up and she's sent me to hell; James' kissed Lily, who flew off; and some Death Eaters attacked the villaje, that's where Prongs' parents are. Oh, and we really liked your gifts, thanks a lot."

"What!?" exclaimed Remus and Peter in unison.

"Death Eaters? At the village? Said the lycanthrope, his honey eyes wide open.

"You've kissed Brianna?" said at the same time the sandy-haired boy's pitchy voice, who, despite the surprise, was stille eating.

"And Lily? You've kissed Lily? How come she didn't disfigure your face?" Remus was saying "Did she sterilize you?"

"She almost sterilizes me, but that was before, and it was an accident. I think you should better sit and we tell you how it all went." James sighed, approaching to the table, followed by Remus.

They narrated their Christmas to their incredulous friends, who ended up reaching the same conclusion as James about Sirius' behaviour, and encouraged James after knowing what had happened with Lily.

"I can't believe they've attacked Godric's Hollow," said Remus when they had finished discussing everything else. "This is getting worse and worse"

"James has said it already, we need to fight." Sirius agreed with a seriousness very unlike him. Peter shifted on his seat, terrified.

"We need to do something 'bout it. We should talk to people who think like us," said the dark-haired boy, adjusting his glasses, which were slightly crooked since he had lost them in the snow "Maybe with Dumbledore himself."

Remus and Sirius nodded, but Wormtain didn't say a thing. They remained quiet for some minutes, and a solemn silence flooded the place.

"Well," Padfoot commented, again in his careless and arrogant tone. "Before talking 'bou how good we're doing with the Marauder's Map, why don't you tell us 'bout yout Christmas?"

Remus grimaced, calling everyone's attention.

"You first." Said Peter, and Remus sighed with frustration.

"I've spent the first part of my holidays looking for a job," he said, surprising the rest "Not beacuse I need it right now, but we have a little more than a year before we end Hogwarts, and, being realistic, despite my marks, I don't really have much of a chance of getting a job," Sirius tried to interrupt him, but the boy didn't let him, repeating: "Just be realistic. So I thought 'bout trying to get something now, with enough time… And I think it's been the right decision."

"What d'you mean? You got something?" James asked, unable to refrain himself. The boy shook his head.

"It's been even harder than I thought. I did the good thing starting looking now, 'cause I think it'll take me more than two years to get one." Dissapointmend and helplessness in his voice were palpable.

"C'me on, Moony, you must be exaggerating," Sirius said, in a fruitless attempt to cheer him up.

"No, Padfoot, I'm not. It's impossible. They seem interested until they hear 'bout my… condition. It would probably be better to hide it, but I doubt that's legal. I've tried to be discrete 'bout it, and I hope that no one at Hogwarts hear 'bout it, at least for now. But it's impossible for me to get a job, I don't know what I'm gonna do when I leave Hogwarts."

They tried to cheer him up, but it was in vain; when Remus entere done of his depressive pits, it was too hard to get him out of there; the only solution was to change subject. However, the boy wasn't done:

"And that wasn't the worst of all," he said, smiling sadly at his friends' questioning eyes. "I met Rebecca's parents."

*flashback*

Remus flopped face up on the bed with a frustrated sigh, rubbing his face so strongly that he hurt himself. He felt helpless and angry at life. He got it, he was a damn werewolf, and he couldn't do anything about it! Couldn't his life be normalin any aspect because of this stupid disease?

Right then, something knocked on his window. He stood up and opened it a bit to let in a majestic, unknown owl that waited with a note tied to her leg. He closed the window and unfolded the parchment.

Hello.

He turned the piece of parchment around, but it didn't say anything else. He looked at it, frowning, wondering if it was some kind of joke, when he heard someone knocking the door. He headed there still looking at the note in his hand, and only looked up when he opened the door, meeting Rebecca's smiling face.

"Becca!" He exclaimed, surprised, looking alternatively at the note and at her, and then laughed. "Come on in."

The Ravenclaw rushed to enter, rubbing her cold nose. She was wearing a knitted hat on her blonde hair and her cheeks were blushed because of the cold, but her catlike eyes sparkled naughtily.

"I thought I could come to check on you, see how your holidays were going," she said, taking off her gloves and hat. "I've missed you."

Remus smiled, wrappign his arms around ehr waist and kissing her sweetly. Even though they had decided to take things slowly at the beginning, their relationship was better and better, and he was already comfortable calling her his girlfriend. Being with her, he was genuenly happy. He felt like when he had first met the Marauders, and like when he had found out they wouldn't reject him for being what he was.

She laughed against his lips, pulling away a little and looking at him in the eye.

"Hello," she said, standign on her toe tips to kiss him on the nose, making him laugh again. She had arrived in the right momento, when he needed something to make him smile, something to make him think that his life could be normal. When he thought about it, he felt something heavy falling in his stomach, a reminder that this couldn't last forever. "You look hotter." She kissed him again, putting her arms around his neck and stroking his hair with one hand as he drew her closer with a hand on her waist and another one on the back of her neck.

"Wait," She said, suddenly separating from him "Your parents aren't home, right?"

He laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Look how demure you can get," he commented, and she hitted his shoulder, giggling.

"I doubt you want to make a show of indecent exposure in front of your mother." She replied, but he got closer to her again.

"Don't worry, we're alone." She gave him a quick kiss and pulled away, holding his hand.

"C'me on, show me your place."

"It's not too big," He begun saying, leading her a bit reluctantly to the kitchen. His home wasn't much, and, as far as he knew, the Moons were a really wealthy family, and even though Rebecca didn't care at all about stuff like that, he couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

"I love it," she said, sweetly caressing his hand when they finished at the lycanthrope's room "And the colour of your quilt is my favourite." She commented, letting his hand go and jumping on the bed. The boy approached and sat next to her, and the blonde lay with her head on his lap.

"Purple?" He asked, laughing softly, stroking her hair and face.

"Uhum," she answered, half closing her eyes. He outlined with his finger her jaw, her nose, her eyelids and soft lips, and she sighed with pleasure. "I really have missed you, Moony." She said.

"Me too."

Rebecca sat up a little, sitting on the boy's lap and kissing him pasisonately, burying her hands in his chest. He wrapped her with his arms and let her lean on him, laying on the bed and caressing the girl's curves.

"Becca," he suddenly murmured against her hair as she kissed his neck.

"Hmm?"

"What time is it?" He asked, pulling away a bit. She seemed confused, but glanced at her watch.

"Almost four o' clock. Why?"

"Errr… my mother arrives at four." The girl tried to get up so quickly that she fell to the floor, hitting her head against the night table.

"Remus!" she complained, rubbing her head as the boy stood up and tried to help her "And now you remember that?"

"Sorry," he said, ashamed. "I got distracted."

Rebecca burst out laughing.

"Well, I accept my part of the guilt," she said laughing, trying to arrange her hair and clothes. "Merlin, Remus!" she laughed again and the boy joined her.

They sat on his bed and she put her head on his shoulders and held his hand. He put his other arm around her shoulders and placed his cheek on her blond hair.

"I'm so happy you're here," Remus whispered "I needed you."

Those three words filled Becca's heart. Even if the blonde was sure about what she felt for the lycanthrope, and also knew that he loved her, she couldn't help thinking about how fragile their relationship was, because every time she looked at the boy in the eye, he saw a trace of doubt and pain. It wasn't hard to understand why; Remus didn't like himself and he seemed to believe he didn't deserve to be happy. When he forgot about it, when he left his lycanthropy aside, she had hope, but always, unavoidably, that doubt filled those honey eyes again, and Rebecca lived with the fear that he told her that they couldn't be together anymore. And when he told her that, she knew there would be nothing she could say to convince him. It was him who had to convince himself that he could have a happy life by her side.

"Then I'm glad I came," she said, smiling, removing her head from his shoulder and kissing him on the lips. "Come, now I'll take you to my place."

She stood up and pulled his hand, then saw him hesitate, and she laughed.

"Remus Lupin, are you scared?" she said mockingly "My parents aren't supposed to be home, and even if they are, who cares? Come on, and we celebrate our pre-Christmas afternoon."

"Fine," he said with a smile, and followed her to the fireplace.

"I go first, I'll wait you on the other side," Rebecca said winking and walking into the flames. Remus hesitated again, but finally followed her.

When he fell on the other side, still coughing because of the ashes, he looked around. The house looked huge and elegant, and the boy felt so out of place there that he felt like going into the fireplace again.

"I know," said Becca, watching his face and helping him stand up "Wish it was more like your place. I don't offer you a 'tour' 'cause I don't wanna bore you. I'm starving," She pulled his hand and dragged him to the dining room "C'me on, there must be some chocolate somewhere."

Remus chuckled and let her drag him, but when they arrived at the dining room he gave a start, and his girlfriend seemed quite surprised as well. Sitting on the table, reading with concentration The Daily Prophet, there was a broad-shouldered man with square jaw. Hi wore his hair really short, which was graying already, and he had a couple of small blue eyes that glued on them when he heard them enter.

When he recognized him, his heart sank. He worked for the Ministry, and he had been there during one of his job interviews, when he had asked about the free spot in the Defense Department (one of his first interviews, when for some reason he had thought he might have a chance of getting a job in the Ministry. He had soon come to senses, looking for less important jobs, though with the same results.)

Next to him, a beautiful blond woman who wore an elegant black dress was drinking a cup of tea. Her hair was put up and her face was a lot like Rebecca's: catlike brown eyes and full lips, although some tiny wrinkles showed her age. She smiled widely when she saw them.

"Becky!" said the woman, and Remus supressed a smile at the nickname "We weren't expecting you until later." Then she looked at the boy and smiled wider.

"Uhm, I wasn't expecting you to be here," she said, looking at the boy as if to apologize. She sighed "This is my boyfriend, mum," The boy gave a start; he wasn't expecting her to introduce him that way.

The woman's eyes shone with joy, while the man only stared at him, the newspaper in his hands. Becca gave him a slight push and he approached to introduce himself.

"I'm glad to meet you!" the blonde woman exclaimed, offering him her hand. He shook it and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Moon. I'm Remus Lupin."

The woman's smile froze on her face, and she fixer her eyes on her daughter, who looked at her defiantly. The boy pretended not to notice the change in her, and turned to say hello to the man.

"And you too, sir." He shook his hand, but the man didn't say a thing.

"Well, well, sit," told him Becca's mother with a sickeningly sweet, false smile "Make yourself comfortable. Can I talk to your for a second, Rebecca?" And she dissapeared through the door before her daughter could answer.

The blonde glared at the door her mother had just went through and then looked at the boy with shame. He looked at her and gesticulated with his lips, without pronouncing the word: "Go"

He closed his eyes for a second, still standing, facing the door. Why had he tried to fool himself? From the beginning he had known that relationship couldn't go anywhere. He had thought it could last for a couple of years, but that idea had been stupid as well. That would only make everything worst, when it ended.

"Sit down, kid," said the man, and Remus startled; he had forgotten he wasn't alone. He looked at him and did as he told him, trying not to panick "Excuse my wife."

Well, he wasn't expecting that.

"She'll see sense. She would've probably reacted the same way even if you weren't… you know. She wants Becca to marry someone rich and pretends her to be happy doing absolutely nothing and being a trophy wife,"

He let out a harsh laughter. Remus was really surprised at his honesty, but he remained quiet, listening.

"As if she didn't know Becky well enough," the man looked at him in the eye, leaving the newspaper aside and sighing "Look, boy, I'm sorry I can't help you with your job. I'm really sorry. You have excellent marks and seem like a nice kid, but there's nothing I can do. And I can't do anything about my wife either, but I know Becca loves you,"

Remus smiled and the man smiled back and kept talking

"And I love her too, even if Rebecca doesn't see it sometimes. She'll probably tell you I'm too hard on her, and maybe I am, but I just want what's better for her. And if you can make her happy, fine by me."

Right then, Rebecca entered the dining room, enraged.

"We're leaving." She said, approaching to Remus and grabbing his hand without looking at her father. Remus turned around to look at him over his shoulder, letting the girl drag him.

"Thank you, sir," he told him, wishing he understood how endlessly grateful he was for his words.

The girl dragged him to the door, leaving the house and slamming it closed. She kept pulling his arm for a while, ignoring the freezing wind that lashed her face and the snow that buried her up to her ankles as she walked. Finally, he stopped and forced her to do so.

"Becca, you'll end up catching the flu, stop already," she stopped, furious, but didn't look at him. Her face was covered in tears and it was evident she really wanted to scream. He made her look at him, holding her face with one hand. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright! My mother is a hypocritical snob, a-"

"I don't care what she says," he said, interrupting her. Actually, he did care, but he tried to drown the guilt he felt, the hatred of himself. He did it for Becca, and the one who had given him the strength to do so had been her father. "Do you?" They looked at each other's eyes and she seemed to relax.

"No. I don't care."

"Fine. Then stop worrying." He hugged her and she squeezed him tightly.

"Sorry I spoiled your day." She said, her voiced muffled on his chest.

"You've actually cheered it, I've already told you my holidays hasn't been that cool." He replied. Rebecca pulled away a little, taking his hand and pulling it.

"C'me on, I know a café nearby that makes the best chocolate cake ever. And you can tell me why your holidays were so crappy." They both smiled.

"Let's go, then."

*end of flashback*

"Well, Moony," said James when the by was done speaking "It didn't go that bad." Peter nodded.

"Yeah, seems like a nice bloke; the psycho blonde's father," Sirius commented, agreeing with his friend "Who cares what his stupid wife has to say?"

"It matters 'cause actually, she's right," Lupin said sadly. His friends rolled their eyes.

"Cut the nonsense," James cut him short, standing up and looking at his watch. "Let's do something productive."

…

The rest of the holidays passed without major inconvenients, and the New Year was received with great expectations and different promises from the gang. It was good for everyone to spend some time at home, but no one regretted it when it was time to go back to school.

Lily rushed into the train in the last minute; she had had to take a taxi because her mother was sick in bed and Petunia had refused to take her, alleging that she had to meet Vernon in three hours. She walked across the aisles in a rush, looking for the compartment where her friends were so that she could leave her trunk before heading to the prefects' meeting; thank God she had already put on her robes.

When she found them she yenked the door open and met the smiling faces of her three girl friends, of Eli, and three of the Marauders.

"Lily!" Becca, who saw her first, exclaimed. Instantly, James stood up and the rest of them turned their heads. "I haven't seen you in ages. How were your holidays? Potter here was telling me…"

"Sorry, I'm late," Lily interrupted her panting. She arranged her hair, which fell covering half of her face, and pushed the trunk inside the compartment, as Arya, her owl, screeched with all her might. "See ya blokes later," she said, and blew them a kiss.

She was already closing the door when she realized Eli was still in there, braiding Sam's hair, and she opened again.

"Eli!" The boy gave a start. "You've spent almost your whole holidays with her, Merlin! To the prefects' wagon, now!" and she left after making sure he was following her.

"What, now you stand up each time a girl enters the room?" Said Sirius with irony, looking at James, who sat down "Or each time a redhead enters the room?" His friend pushed him over Rebecca, who hit him on the head.

"And what d'you say 'bout Perks, huh?" said James, trying to change the subject. The girl looked at him, irritated. "As tough as she pretends to be during the trainings, and it turns out that deep inside she is softer and sweeter than candy floss."

Bree and Peter giggled.

"I wouldn't mind sterilizing you to prove you wrong," she grunted, though without the bad mood she always carried.

"Merlin, you're kind of sedated after being with Eli," Sirius commented "Otherwise, you would have already set Prongs' hair on fire."

Sam waved her wand and Sirius begun laughing uncontrollably until she said the counter spell, almost with boredom.

"Shut it, Black." She said.

"Anyway," Sirius kept saying falteringly, trying to breathe normally "I think Lily already took care of sterilizing him."

Bree burst out laughing and Peter, who had already heard the story, laugh timidly too, while James glared a his friend. Rebecca and Samantha looked at him with interested.

"Oh, yeah?" asked the blonde. "How's that?"

The rest of them embarked in the tale of their colourful Christmas, avoiding the detail of the mistletoe and the night kiss between James and Lily, although, of course, neither one of the dark-haired boys could avoid thinking about both events while they listened to everyone else talk about their holidays. Rebecca had spent most of them in boring meetings, except for that afternoon she had visited Remus (though she omitted the argument with her parents; she could tell her friends about it later), and New Year's Eve, which she had spent at the Rivers'. Peter had spent the first week of his holidays at his home with his family, and the rest of them at the Potters, with Remus. Lastly, Sam had enjoyed the first half of her holidays without leaving Eli's side, either at his home or at the Perks' (She could avoid the jokes suggesting they were already a married couple), and the New Year's Eve with her parents.

The journey was pleasant and fun, and Sirius was surprised that his relationship with Brianna had went back to normal. Well, almost; she acted as usual, treating him as always and laughing with him, but the boy had stopped hugging her and playing with her curls all the time, maybe fearing her reaction, or maybe fearing his own. If it was possible, he was even more confused that all had gone back to 'normal'.

"I'm gonna look for the candy cart," Brianna said when they were about to arrive. At the expression on her friends' faces, she added: "I'll get something chocolate for Lily; even if we're about to have dinner, she'll go crazy without her daily ration of sweets."

"Bring something for Remus too," Becca asked, laughing "In some things, they're too much alike"

Bree left the compartment, walking around the train looking for the cart, immerse in her thoughts. She gave a start when she felt a hand seizing her wrist and she screamed, suddenly turning around. She was received by Sirius soft laughter, though it sounded more like a bark.

"Sorry," he said without letting her go "Sometimes I forget everything scares you." Bree pulled an outraged expression. "I've come to talk to you." He said, getting serious.

Brianna was surprised; she wasn't expecting Sieius to want to have a serious 'talk' about what had happened during Christmas, because there was nothing that could be more opposite to his personality. She would have expected him to pretend nothing had happened, mentally begging that she did the same thing; because as bold as the boy might be, he was just as coward when it came to talking about his feelings. But there he was, telling her he wanted to talk. For a moment, Bree wished he hadn't done so, but she shook the idea out of her head: she always thought clearing everything up was better. Besides, Sirius had already been behaving weirdly during the trip.

"Uhm, fine," she said, following him to the last wagon and stopping at the empty aisle. The boy looked up and she could see in his grey eyes that he was sorry, that he wanted to make it up.

"Nana…" He started, and she smiled a little to encourage him to continue "I'm sorry 'bout what happened. It was stupid."

Bree raised her eyebrows and he, frustrated, tried to make his point:

"I mean what I did, the way I acted. I don't want that… I'm sorry, okay? I don't want it to-"

"It's fine, Sirius," she said softly, looking at him with those round, blue eyes. He fixed his eyes on them and wondered if he had ever told her how pretty they were. "I understand. Yes, you behaved like an arse, but it's fine, I've forgiven you and I'm not mad anymore. Actually, you hurt me, and that affected me more than the anger,"

"I'm sorry," He repeated and she could tell he really was. Pain was visible in his grey eyes, just as anger at himself for having hurt her. "I've always known I could do this to you, hurt you like that; I never wanted to -"

"It's okay, really;" she cut across him again; it was hard for her seeing Sirius like that, struggling with words, trying to express how he felt. The truth was that she had forgiven him already, and she had decided she didn't want their relationship to change after what had happened. She had decided she didn't care if Sirius had felt something when he kissed her or not; if he had regretted it or not, or if he had decided to do it or he had just kissed her and that's it. She had decided to overcome it; she would be his friend, and that was it. "Forget it." She said. That seemed to shcok the boy, but she kept talking:

"I've already forgotten about it, I've forgiven you. Yes, you've made me mad and you've hurt me, but I'm over it. Maybe it was for the best; the fact that it happened that way, 'cause I don't hold no grudge and I really believe I can be your friend, as always"

The boy stared at her.

"Just forget it, okay?" she asked, and smiled. "I wouldn't want to lose you for a trifle like that one"

He nodded and smiled, opening his arms. She buried herself into them, hugging him tightly and letting out a giggle.

"I'm glad we're fine." She said against his chest. He entwined one of her curls with his fingers and pulled it..

"Me too, Bree."

But his smile faltered a litte. Forget it, be friends. Did he want to be just her friend? He wasn't sure.

Had he lost his chance?

…

The castle went back to life, and the students were received with piles of homework and a lot to study. January quickly went by, and nothing out of the ordinary disrupted the students who, having came back with renewed energies, got ready to study for the exams, which wouldn't take long to arrive.

Even though nothing too worrisome happened inside the school's walls, we couldn't say the same about the chaotic wizarding world, where the war was reaching alarming proportions. It was impossible to know who was in which side or what place was safe anymore, and it was rumored that many parents wanted to take their children out of Hogwarts, fearing what might happen to them being far from them.

The attack at Godric's Hollow had been one of the first ones of a long series of damages and murders, and not a single day went by without an owl bringing black news. Lord Voldemort was creating an army which grew bigger as time passed, and only a few dared to confront him. Wizards, witches, murderers and torturers, werewolves, psychopaths, inferi; the community lived in fear of being attacked or of opening a letter to receive the news of someone's death. Locked up inside their houses, the doors blocked, the windows covered, protective spells and secret passwords; no one dared to help a neighbour, because no one knew who to trust.

Despite the terror tinting the lives' of any sensible person, not everything was sadness and destruction, and there were those who knew how to enjoy the little joys in life, appreciating those around them, aware that they could lose them anytime soon. Samantha and Eli were an example of that: they were so much in love, and they seemed to be trying to recover all the years they had lost for not telling each other how they felt. Nothing had changed, actually, in their relationship with their friends or with each other, other than the fact that they could kiss, hug and cuddle instead of only wishing it silently. There was no doubt for anyone at Hogwarts that they would be one of those couples marrying as soon as they left the school, as many young people were doing, fearing that the war might impede them from being happy in the future. Neither Sam nor Eli bothered in denying it anymore.

But they weren't the only happy couple between a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw: The relationship between Remus and Rebecca was getting better and better, and no one was surprised any more when they heard that the quiet, good-looking prefect was dating that brazen, curvy sixth-year blonde. But actually, they both knew that not everything was rose-coloured, and Remus's qualms about his lycanthropy hovered over their happiness like a shadow, but they had decided (separately) that they would forget about it for now, and live the moment, even when they knew they would eventually have to talk about it and make a decision.

Bree and Sirius, on the other side, had gone back to normal, and they both treated each other with the same familiarity and affection as always, as if nothing had happened that Christmas. Not all of their friends had approved their decision (Although Lily had kept shut, Bree had confessed her friends what had happened between her and the handsome marauder under the mistletoe, and all that it had brought along), but when they saw them as happy as always, they had doubted if their qualms had a reason.

The truth was that, deep inside, not everything was as it used to. Brianna had did as she promise, making all she could to forget what had happened. What had happened had been to her some sort of epiphany; it had made her understand that maybe Sirius wasn't for her, and it had helped her to, little by little, start erasing the Marauder from her heart, at least from the part that dreamed to be in his arms. That had numbed the pain that invaded her and impeded her from being the boy's friend, and that way, she had been able to be truly the same as she was in her relationship with Sirius.

The dark-haired boy, on the other hand, had done all he could to be the same around Bree, but he had done it for her and not because he really felt it. Bur despite his smiles and hugs, inside him was taking place a struggle, between the Sirius who yearned for her lips, who had understood he had fallen in love with his best friend and needed to be with her; and the Sirius who said that this was better for her, that he couldn't stand hurting her again, and that, besides, was scared. Scared to feel what he felt for Brianna.

Sirius wasn't the only dark-haired Gryffindor with girls' problems, as James lived frustrated with himself and with Lily for how things had gone after Christmas at Godric's Hollow.

When they had returned to school, he had feared the redhead wouldn't want to talk to him for having kissed her, and that she would accuse him, as she always had, of considering her just another girl in his list. But none of that had happened, and in his moments of desperation, James almost wished things had gone that way; maybe it would have been better than standing a Lily who didn't seem to remember having kissed him, and that behaved nic and smiling while he wished to kiss every inch of her body every time she was around, remembering the taste of her mouth and the heath of her body, the smell of her hair, the tickling of her eyelashes and the softness of her face.

The worst of all was that the girl didn't seem to be pretending. Her laughter, her jokes, everything felt genuine, and even though James adored spending the afternoons joking around with her and the rest, he was sometimes disconcerted about her attitude. When he asked for advice, everyone's answer was unanimous: talk to her. But, was it worth it, risking all of it? Risking their friendship, when it had taken him years to get it?

James didn't know what to do, but he didn't think he could stand it much longer. Finally, his chance arrived on Valentine's Day…

…

*Boxing Day: For the non-British people out there, I was reading some stuff on British Christmas and I found out that apparently, they have this thing called Boxing day (the day after Christmas) which they celebrate.

…

Answers to reviews:

-Potterwatch: YAY thank you! I'm so glad you liked it so much! Aw, glad you liked the initial Bree/Sirius part, and I'm sorry for the last one (I promise they will get together, but Sirius is so stupid, and as you probably saw in this one, Brianna is behaving quite stupidly as well). And thank you! Glad you liked both the final kiss, and the death eaters attack; and glad I surprised you, 'cause that's what I meant to do! And YAAAY thanks again, your comment made me so so happy! And no, you're not too critical, thank you for pointing it out, you were right, too many mistakes. I should really get a beta reader :/; I always end up translating the chapters too fast and too late at night, and they end up being a mess, especially when they are that long.

Well, anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too much of a disappointment. I didn't like it, and nothing too exciting happened, but I guess some of this was necessary to keep the story going. Hopefully I'll do better next chapter! And Thank you very much for your review!

-Wheezy: Hey there! (I've seen you created an account, awesome!) Hahaha, well, the fact that you're shocked is a good thing, right? Sorry to leave you hanging! Especially since this chapter was crappy and didn't solve anything – it's more of a transition chapter. Glad you liked last one so much, though! I am a grammar nazi too, at least in my native language – in English I am not, 'cause well, I have loads of mistakes. I don't mind if you correct them, 'cause I really want to learn!

I'm really happy to hear you liked all that scenes so much! And again, sorry this chapter wasn't worth the waiting, hopefully next one will be as good as the previous one! And thank you very much for your review!

-Knut: You caught me, it was meant to torture you xD Sorry this chapter didn't solve anything, just wait for the next one, I swear It gets better! And thanks for your review.

-Shalalalalalala: Thank you! Glad you like it! It's a great compliment, the fact that you read it all in a row! Hope I won't disappoint you!