There was a knock at the door, and Lily quickly shut the oven to greet her
friends. Remus and Krystle were at the door with the widest grins.
"Happy Christmas!" Lily said brightly. She gave Krystle a hug and kissed Remus on the cheek.
"So? What did James give you?" Krystle asked as Remus pulled off her cloak for her.
Lily grinned and pointed at the diamond necklace around her neck.
"Oh my God! It's so beautiful!" Krystle squealed.
"I know!" Lily laughed. "And what did Mr. Lupin give to you?"
"Uh! Remus has refused to give me my present until tonight," Krystle said, rolling her eyes. "But I have a feeling it'll be worth the wait..."
"So where's Darlene and Sirius?" Remus asked.
"Oh - Darlene phoned earlier saying she had to stay at work a little later, so they won't be here for awhile," Lily said.
"You mean she had to work this morning?"
"No, no - she had to work until this morning. All night."
"Yikes... So - when's dinner?" Remus asked, rubbing his hands together.
Lily laughed. "You'll have to wait awhile, hun!"
"Argh!" Remus folded his arms, frowning a little.
"What's James up to?" Krystle asked
"I think he's working on the nursery - either that or he's doing work for the Ministry."
"The nursery, eh? Starting already?"
"Harold has been on James's case about ever since he found out, so James is trying to put a stop to the continuous owls and phone calls," Lily said. "So, Krystle, how is work?"
"Oh, I just quit the job I was doing - it was only for part time. I'm working as a secretary in a Muggle place now," Krystle said.
"And what does Darlene do?"
"Umm," Krystle said. "Er - she's... She's in quite a complicated job. She's like an agent for some Muggle CIA thing. It's unbelievable how much she does. She had to learn Spanish for this one thing she did in Mexico a few years back, and she speaks it fluently."
"Wow! So that would be sort of equivalent to an Auror, right?" Lily asked.
"I suppose, but she can't use any magic."
"Shit! That's got to be harsh!"
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS YOU BLOODY TROUT!" James's voice sounded from upstairs.
"Uh oh," Remus said.
"What's going on?" Lily asked.
"Er - my guess is that Sirius is already here," Remus said.
Lily shook her head and started up the stairs, but was stopped by Remus.
"Lil, you'd better not. I know what this is about, and you walking in on it most likely won't help."
"What are they doing?"
"Er... nothing. I'll go make sure James doesn't kill him," Remus said. He dodged up the stairs and a door slammed moments later.
"I wonder what they're up to this time?" Lily said.
"How'd he mess up?" Remus asked after closing the door of the bedroom.
"Little shit forgot the incantation!" James said.
"So go and get it!"
"I can't," Sirius grumbled. "I left it at Darlene's!"
"What the hell was it doing over there?"
"I left it in the pocket of my leather jacket, and I left my jacket there."
Remus shrugged. "Go and get it!"
"I can't!" Sirius said. "Muggle place! Can't Apparated there - physically impossible. I'd have to Apparated streets away from hers, and walk the rest of the way. Then I'll miss her before she leaves, and she'll take the jacket and find the spell. I can't exactly fly there! She's not connected to the Floo Network either!"
"Shit! We're screwed! That was going to be like the highlight of the night!" Remus groaned.
"Well, wait! Where's Darlene?"
"She's sleeping for another hour," Sirius shrugged.
"Why can't she just bring the jacket? She won't go through it, will she?"
"No - whenever she's in contact with that jacket, she automatically puts it on. She'll feel the papers in the pocket and look at them," Sirius said.
"Well, this is up to you, Sirius," James sighed. "Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it sometime before ten o'clock tonight."
Sirius groaned even more.
"Problems, gents?" Lily asked as Sirius, Remus, and James came down the stairs with glum faces.
"Er, no. Everything's ok," Sirius said.
"You're sure?" Krystle asked.
"Oh, no, problem's solved," James said.
Lily and Krystle shrugged and went into the kitchen to check up on the turkey. James and Remus both sighed and sat on the stairs.
"What are you going to do?"
"No idea," Sirius said. He leaned against the wall and smacked his hand over his face. "Should I just go back to Darlene's place and get it?"
"No - we can't risk you missing her on the way. We could always rewrite the original, right?" Remus suggested.
"Like hell! That thing took two months to do - remember? The whole summer before fifth year!" James said. "We shouldn't have left it in Sirius's garage!"
"Well, with any luck, when Darlene wakes up she'll be too tired to noticed anything in the pockets, and-" Sirius said, the doorbell interrupting.
"Oi," James muttered.
Lily and Krystle rushed out of the kitchen and greeted Darlene at the front door. Darlene smiled and looked around for Sirius. She put her hand over her mouth and ran to him and hugged him. James and Remus both grinned.
"She brought the jacket!" James whispered.
"So you liked it?" Sirius said quietly.
"Are you kidding me?" Darlene laughed. "You are so amazing..."
"Go get it," James whispered to Remus. Remus bit his lip and approached Darlene.
"Er, can I take your jacket?" he stammered.
"Oh, sure, thanks Remus," Darlene said. She took of the jacket and handed it to Remus.
"SCORE!" James and Remus both shouted. They ran up the stairs with the jacket.
"What is up with them?" Darlene laughed.
"No idea," Lily said, shaking her head. Sirius smiled briefly and edged out of the room and ran up the stairs.
"So what did Sirius give you?" Krystle asked Darlene.
"Oh my God," Darlene breathed. "He left it by my bed and I almost cried when I opened it. It was the most beautiful crystal rose - about a foot long, completely clear. I told him that my parents had had one, but they sold it before they returned to Canada."
"Aww! That's so sweet!" Lily and Krystle said.
"He also left a little note saying, 'That's not all.'"
"Really? James did too!" Lily said.
"And Remus said he'd give me my present after the second present. That makes no sense to me - I guess they're up to something," Krystle said.
"Ugh, it'd better not be another one of they're stupid pranks," Lily laughed.
After dinner, the six of them sat around the fire and watched the news on the TV.
'A strange thing to happen in one of the driest winters we've had in awhile, folks,' the newscaster said, 'but it's time to get out those umbrellas! Around ten o'clock tonight we'll be witnessing a meteor shower, and the clear sky tonight will guarantee a fantastic sight!'
"Oh, wow!" Krystle said. "We should watch the meteor shower!"
James, Remus, and Sirius exchanged quick grins.
"What a lovely idea," Sirius said, fighting to keep his face straight.
"Okay," James said. He checked his watch. 8:53 pm. The spell takes about 5 minutes to start so you have an hour to blow... "We've got about an hour. Any ideas of what to do?"
"I have one!" Krystle squealed. "You guys haven't decided on a name yet!"
"Uh oh," James groaned.
"No! You can't keep putting this off, James!" Lily laughed.
"Ok! We'll all go around and suggest a name, and the parents-to-be will judge them," Krystle said. "Starting with girl names. Umm... Let's see here... How about... Tammara?"
"Aw! That's so cute!" Lily said. "What do you think, James?"
James shuddered and shook his head.
"What about... Jamie?" Lily asked, knowing what James's reaction would be.
"Oh, no you don't! Don't you go starting that up again! That name is unacceptable!"
"Fine, then! You think of something!" Lily laughed.
James shrugged. "I've got nothing."
"Oh! Oh!" Remus said. "How's Jilly?"
Sirius laughed. "Oh, think of the possibilities! If you guys have twins and if it's a boy and a girl, they can be Jilly and Lames!"
"You've got to be kidding!" James said, but he laughed with the others.
For about and hour they laughed at the pathetic attempts Sirius and Remus made for suitable names for the baby. James kept checking his watch. When it finally read, '9:58 pm. GO!' James nodded his head at Sirius and the three guys got up.
"We'll meet you three ladies outside in about five minutes, and no sooner than that," Sirius said.
"So this must be the other present the three of them have cooked up," Lily said.
"Oi, this had better be good," Darlene said. She got up and went into the kitchen to get them some drinks.
"Uh... I wonder what it is?" Krystle said.
"Well, they seem pretty excited about it all," Lily said.
"OI! Shit!" Darlene screamed from the kitchen. Lily and Krystle jumped up and ran into the kitchen. Darlene was standing by the counter with her hand over her heart.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"I don't know," Darlene said, and she pointed at something that was floating in mid-air, undisturbed. It was a small tray with six glasses and a glass of wine, slightly on an angle. "I nearly dropped it - well, I did drop it, but it didn't exactly fall too far."
"I'm guessing this has something to do with the guys," Lily said. Krystle, Darlene, and Lily went outside and gasped. The meteor shower had started, but it had all seemed to freeze.
"What did you three do?" Krystle asked.
"Why do you suspect us?" Sirius asked, but it was a bit of a silly question. The three of them had their wands out and they all had one hand on a piece of parchment.
"You're always the usual suspects, hun," Darlene said. "What did you do?"
"Oh... just a small, very tiny, even un-noticeable spell," Remus said.
"Time for everything and everyone - except for us - has stopped," James said.
"Just so we could... enjoy the night a little longer than usual," Sirius said.
"Awwww!" Lily, Darlene, and Krystle sounded.
"You guys are so sweet," Krystle said. Remus grinned. He took Krystle's hand and led her further down the front lawn and sat down.
"So this is our secret present, then?"
"Of course! We were going to have fireworks, but we thought that the meteor shower would be just enough," Remus said.
"Well it's perfect!" Krystle said. She pulled out her wand and summoned a blanket. "The perfect night - with the perfect man."
"Who, me?" Remus said, blushing a little. He sat on the blanket and pulled Krystle into his lap. "This is for you."
He handed Krystle a silver, heart shaped locket. "Put it on before you open it."
Krystle smiled and pulled the thin chain around her neck and looked at it. "It's so beautiful!"
"Open it now," Remus said.
Krystle opened the locket and smiled softly. There was a small voice inside her head that sounded incredibly like Remus.
"I love you more than anything, and I will not let you go..."
"Remus, that is so sweet," Krystle said. "You are unbelievable!" She leaned back and kissed him wildly.
James sat Lily down on her lap and the two of them stared up at the stars. James's hands wandered across Lily's stomach.
"I'm so sleepy," Lily said quietly.
"It's only ten o'clock, hun," James said.
"I know... I'm still tired, though," Lily said.
"Would you like to go back inside? You'll get more sleep than anyone in the world," James said.
"No, I'll stay out here with you," Lily said. "You guys are so incredible. This was so sweet of you."
"It's nothing for the woman I love," James said softly.
"Yes, we'll just have to find something that's just as special for you, then," Lily purred.
"Something special for me?" James said thoughtfully. "I think that carrying our child is like one hundred times what I deserve."
"Aww!"
"I'm so surprised at you, Sirius," Darlene said.
"You mean besides the fact that I haven't gotten completely piss drunk yet?" Sirius joked as he poured some wine into Darlene's glass.
"Well, that, yes," Darlene said sarcastically. "But you were right. You have changed - immensely."
"So you bought my rugged handsomeness, then? Ah ha! It does work! I came off as this... James-like lovey-dovey guy, and you bought it!" Sirius joked.
"You're right - you're nowhere near as romantic as James is!" Darlene joked back.
"But you trust me, right?"
"Sí, te quiero," Darlene said very quickly in a rich Spanish accent.
"Er, meaning what?" Sirius asked with a goofy grin. Darlene smiled.
"Meaning I do, and I love you," she said.
"Oh! Now that makes more sense! Mmm... say something else in Spanish..."
"Hmm," Darlene said. "Necesito estancia conmigo..."
"And what does that mean?"
"I leave that for you to figure out," Darlene said, and she kissed Sirius gently on the lips.
Darlene parted from Sirius and widened her eyes. She nodded towards Lily, James, Remus, and Krystle. Sirius nodded.
"James!" Sirius hissed.
"Gah! What?" James snapped.
"I'm taking off, ok?"
"Fine! Please, go!" James said, shaking his head.
"Don't forget - dinner here for New Years," Lily whispered.
"Gotcha."
"Happy Christmas!" Lily said brightly. She gave Krystle a hug and kissed Remus on the cheek.
"So? What did James give you?" Krystle asked as Remus pulled off her cloak for her.
Lily grinned and pointed at the diamond necklace around her neck.
"Oh my God! It's so beautiful!" Krystle squealed.
"I know!" Lily laughed. "And what did Mr. Lupin give to you?"
"Uh! Remus has refused to give me my present until tonight," Krystle said, rolling her eyes. "But I have a feeling it'll be worth the wait..."
"So where's Darlene and Sirius?" Remus asked.
"Oh - Darlene phoned earlier saying she had to stay at work a little later, so they won't be here for awhile," Lily said.
"You mean she had to work this morning?"
"No, no - she had to work until this morning. All night."
"Yikes... So - when's dinner?" Remus asked, rubbing his hands together.
Lily laughed. "You'll have to wait awhile, hun!"
"Argh!" Remus folded his arms, frowning a little.
"What's James up to?" Krystle asked
"I think he's working on the nursery - either that or he's doing work for the Ministry."
"The nursery, eh? Starting already?"
"Harold has been on James's case about ever since he found out, so James is trying to put a stop to the continuous owls and phone calls," Lily said. "So, Krystle, how is work?"
"Oh, I just quit the job I was doing - it was only for part time. I'm working as a secretary in a Muggle place now," Krystle said.
"And what does Darlene do?"
"Umm," Krystle said. "Er - she's... She's in quite a complicated job. She's like an agent for some Muggle CIA thing. It's unbelievable how much she does. She had to learn Spanish for this one thing she did in Mexico a few years back, and she speaks it fluently."
"Wow! So that would be sort of equivalent to an Auror, right?" Lily asked.
"I suppose, but she can't use any magic."
"Shit! That's got to be harsh!"
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS YOU BLOODY TROUT!" James's voice sounded from upstairs.
"Uh oh," Remus said.
"What's going on?" Lily asked.
"Er - my guess is that Sirius is already here," Remus said.
Lily shook her head and started up the stairs, but was stopped by Remus.
"Lil, you'd better not. I know what this is about, and you walking in on it most likely won't help."
"What are they doing?"
"Er... nothing. I'll go make sure James doesn't kill him," Remus said. He dodged up the stairs and a door slammed moments later.
"I wonder what they're up to this time?" Lily said.
"How'd he mess up?" Remus asked after closing the door of the bedroom.
"Little shit forgot the incantation!" James said.
"So go and get it!"
"I can't," Sirius grumbled. "I left it at Darlene's!"
"What the hell was it doing over there?"
"I left it in the pocket of my leather jacket, and I left my jacket there."
Remus shrugged. "Go and get it!"
"I can't!" Sirius said. "Muggle place! Can't Apparated there - physically impossible. I'd have to Apparated streets away from hers, and walk the rest of the way. Then I'll miss her before she leaves, and she'll take the jacket and find the spell. I can't exactly fly there! She's not connected to the Floo Network either!"
"Shit! We're screwed! That was going to be like the highlight of the night!" Remus groaned.
"Well, wait! Where's Darlene?"
"She's sleeping for another hour," Sirius shrugged.
"Why can't she just bring the jacket? She won't go through it, will she?"
"No - whenever she's in contact with that jacket, she automatically puts it on. She'll feel the papers in the pocket and look at them," Sirius said.
"Well, this is up to you, Sirius," James sighed. "Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it sometime before ten o'clock tonight."
Sirius groaned even more.
"Problems, gents?" Lily asked as Sirius, Remus, and James came down the stairs with glum faces.
"Er, no. Everything's ok," Sirius said.
"You're sure?" Krystle asked.
"Oh, no, problem's solved," James said.
Lily and Krystle shrugged and went into the kitchen to check up on the turkey. James and Remus both sighed and sat on the stairs.
"What are you going to do?"
"No idea," Sirius said. He leaned against the wall and smacked his hand over his face. "Should I just go back to Darlene's place and get it?"
"No - we can't risk you missing her on the way. We could always rewrite the original, right?" Remus suggested.
"Like hell! That thing took two months to do - remember? The whole summer before fifth year!" James said. "We shouldn't have left it in Sirius's garage!"
"Well, with any luck, when Darlene wakes up she'll be too tired to noticed anything in the pockets, and-" Sirius said, the doorbell interrupting.
"Oi," James muttered.
Lily and Krystle rushed out of the kitchen and greeted Darlene at the front door. Darlene smiled and looked around for Sirius. She put her hand over her mouth and ran to him and hugged him. James and Remus both grinned.
"She brought the jacket!" James whispered.
"So you liked it?" Sirius said quietly.
"Are you kidding me?" Darlene laughed. "You are so amazing..."
"Go get it," James whispered to Remus. Remus bit his lip and approached Darlene.
"Er, can I take your jacket?" he stammered.
"Oh, sure, thanks Remus," Darlene said. She took of the jacket and handed it to Remus.
"SCORE!" James and Remus both shouted. They ran up the stairs with the jacket.
"What is up with them?" Darlene laughed.
"No idea," Lily said, shaking her head. Sirius smiled briefly and edged out of the room and ran up the stairs.
"So what did Sirius give you?" Krystle asked Darlene.
"Oh my God," Darlene breathed. "He left it by my bed and I almost cried when I opened it. It was the most beautiful crystal rose - about a foot long, completely clear. I told him that my parents had had one, but they sold it before they returned to Canada."
"Aww! That's so sweet!" Lily and Krystle said.
"He also left a little note saying, 'That's not all.'"
"Really? James did too!" Lily said.
"And Remus said he'd give me my present after the second present. That makes no sense to me - I guess they're up to something," Krystle said.
"Ugh, it'd better not be another one of they're stupid pranks," Lily laughed.
After dinner, the six of them sat around the fire and watched the news on the TV.
'A strange thing to happen in one of the driest winters we've had in awhile, folks,' the newscaster said, 'but it's time to get out those umbrellas! Around ten o'clock tonight we'll be witnessing a meteor shower, and the clear sky tonight will guarantee a fantastic sight!'
"Oh, wow!" Krystle said. "We should watch the meteor shower!"
James, Remus, and Sirius exchanged quick grins.
"What a lovely idea," Sirius said, fighting to keep his face straight.
"Okay," James said. He checked his watch. 8:53 pm. The spell takes about 5 minutes to start so you have an hour to blow... "We've got about an hour. Any ideas of what to do?"
"I have one!" Krystle squealed. "You guys haven't decided on a name yet!"
"Uh oh," James groaned.
"No! You can't keep putting this off, James!" Lily laughed.
"Ok! We'll all go around and suggest a name, and the parents-to-be will judge them," Krystle said. "Starting with girl names. Umm... Let's see here... How about... Tammara?"
"Aw! That's so cute!" Lily said. "What do you think, James?"
James shuddered and shook his head.
"What about... Jamie?" Lily asked, knowing what James's reaction would be.
"Oh, no you don't! Don't you go starting that up again! That name is unacceptable!"
"Fine, then! You think of something!" Lily laughed.
James shrugged. "I've got nothing."
"Oh! Oh!" Remus said. "How's Jilly?"
Sirius laughed. "Oh, think of the possibilities! If you guys have twins and if it's a boy and a girl, they can be Jilly and Lames!"
"You've got to be kidding!" James said, but he laughed with the others.
For about and hour they laughed at the pathetic attempts Sirius and Remus made for suitable names for the baby. James kept checking his watch. When it finally read, '9:58 pm. GO!' James nodded his head at Sirius and the three guys got up.
"We'll meet you three ladies outside in about five minutes, and no sooner than that," Sirius said.
"So this must be the other present the three of them have cooked up," Lily said.
"Oi, this had better be good," Darlene said. She got up and went into the kitchen to get them some drinks.
"Uh... I wonder what it is?" Krystle said.
"Well, they seem pretty excited about it all," Lily said.
"OI! Shit!" Darlene screamed from the kitchen. Lily and Krystle jumped up and ran into the kitchen. Darlene was standing by the counter with her hand over her heart.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"I don't know," Darlene said, and she pointed at something that was floating in mid-air, undisturbed. It was a small tray with six glasses and a glass of wine, slightly on an angle. "I nearly dropped it - well, I did drop it, but it didn't exactly fall too far."
"I'm guessing this has something to do with the guys," Lily said. Krystle, Darlene, and Lily went outside and gasped. The meteor shower had started, but it had all seemed to freeze.
"What did you three do?" Krystle asked.
"Why do you suspect us?" Sirius asked, but it was a bit of a silly question. The three of them had their wands out and they all had one hand on a piece of parchment.
"You're always the usual suspects, hun," Darlene said. "What did you do?"
"Oh... just a small, very tiny, even un-noticeable spell," Remus said.
"Time for everything and everyone - except for us - has stopped," James said.
"Just so we could... enjoy the night a little longer than usual," Sirius said.
"Awwww!" Lily, Darlene, and Krystle sounded.
"You guys are so sweet," Krystle said. Remus grinned. He took Krystle's hand and led her further down the front lawn and sat down.
"So this is our secret present, then?"
"Of course! We were going to have fireworks, but we thought that the meteor shower would be just enough," Remus said.
"Well it's perfect!" Krystle said. She pulled out her wand and summoned a blanket. "The perfect night - with the perfect man."
"Who, me?" Remus said, blushing a little. He sat on the blanket and pulled Krystle into his lap. "This is for you."
He handed Krystle a silver, heart shaped locket. "Put it on before you open it."
Krystle smiled and pulled the thin chain around her neck and looked at it. "It's so beautiful!"
"Open it now," Remus said.
Krystle opened the locket and smiled softly. There was a small voice inside her head that sounded incredibly like Remus.
"I love you more than anything, and I will not let you go..."
"Remus, that is so sweet," Krystle said. "You are unbelievable!" She leaned back and kissed him wildly.
James sat Lily down on her lap and the two of them stared up at the stars. James's hands wandered across Lily's stomach.
"I'm so sleepy," Lily said quietly.
"It's only ten o'clock, hun," James said.
"I know... I'm still tired, though," Lily said.
"Would you like to go back inside? You'll get more sleep than anyone in the world," James said.
"No, I'll stay out here with you," Lily said. "You guys are so incredible. This was so sweet of you."
"It's nothing for the woman I love," James said softly.
"Yes, we'll just have to find something that's just as special for you, then," Lily purred.
"Something special for me?" James said thoughtfully. "I think that carrying our child is like one hundred times what I deserve."
"Aww!"
"I'm so surprised at you, Sirius," Darlene said.
"You mean besides the fact that I haven't gotten completely piss drunk yet?" Sirius joked as he poured some wine into Darlene's glass.
"Well, that, yes," Darlene said sarcastically. "But you were right. You have changed - immensely."
"So you bought my rugged handsomeness, then? Ah ha! It does work! I came off as this... James-like lovey-dovey guy, and you bought it!" Sirius joked.
"You're right - you're nowhere near as romantic as James is!" Darlene joked back.
"But you trust me, right?"
"Sí, te quiero," Darlene said very quickly in a rich Spanish accent.
"Er, meaning what?" Sirius asked with a goofy grin. Darlene smiled.
"Meaning I do, and I love you," she said.
"Oh! Now that makes more sense! Mmm... say something else in Spanish..."
"Hmm," Darlene said. "Necesito estancia conmigo..."
"And what does that mean?"
"I leave that for you to figure out," Darlene said, and she kissed Sirius gently on the lips.
Darlene parted from Sirius and widened her eyes. She nodded towards Lily, James, Remus, and Krystle. Sirius nodded.
"James!" Sirius hissed.
"Gah! What?" James snapped.
"I'm taking off, ok?"
"Fine! Please, go!" James said, shaking his head.
"Don't forget - dinner here for New Years," Lily whispered.
"Gotcha."