I own nothing but Odile and my crap writing. Enjoy!

They talked long into the night, her explaining all the muggle sports he would need to know when he met her family, and him comparing it all to Quidditch in some fashion. When he finally looked at the clock on the wall and realised it was getting on to 3 o'clock.

"Blimey, I nearly forgot why I came in here in the first place. I've got you a gift." She turned to him with an excited manner as he pulled a box out from behind him.

"Merry Christmas Black Swan." He said, smiling at her fondly. She tore open the wrapping to see what seemed to be a ring box underneath the golden wrapping paper. She gave him a questioning look and he gave a nervous one. He seemed to get the hint when she lifted her eyebrows.

"Oh god, no, it's not what you think. It's just a little gift to thank you for… well I don't know. Putting up with me? And I guess there is a question to go with it. But not that one!" She laughed at the frightened look on his face as she opened the box and gasped. Nestled in the box was a beautiful silver ring, in the shape of a snake wrapped around a dark ruby, glistening in the light of the bedroom like fire.

"Oh my… Fred. I can't take this."

"I'm afraid you'll have to. I can't take a gift back. Weasley policy." He joked with a wink, as she directed her attention back to the ring, staring at it in wonder.

"But-" she began to protest.

"No buts." he replied, arms folded in mock finality.

"Fred… fine," she replied when she saw him shoot her a playful glare, "But what can I do to repay you?"

Fred's mind raced as he gathered his courage, blushing as he blurted out,

"Be my girlfriend?" Her head shot up from its previous position of staring at the glimmering ring.

"What?" He scratched the back of his head nervously at her shocked expression.

"That's not how I meant to ask. It's just… well look. I don't know how it happened, or why. All I know is somehow… somewhere along the way I realised I have feelings for you. Real feelings. I don't really understand them, all I know is I just want to be around you all the bloody time, and I don't want you to get hurt or ever be upset, and-" he was cut off when he felt warm lips on his, sparks flying at the contact, and was knocked backwards when Odile pounced on him.

"Oof, bloody hell woman. Could have just said yes." He teased, a silly grin on his face when they finally broke apart.

"You are so fucking cheesy Weasley. But for some reason, I seem to like that." She replied, gripping the hair at nape of his neck.

"So… that's a yes?" He asked tentatively.

"Duh, ya idjit."

"Phew, because I really spent far too much on that ring." She laughed and kissed him again, thoughts of propriety or dull headed threats from blood purists far behind them.

Odile sniffed slightly as she looked at the picture in her hands. Fred and the rest of the house had already gone to bed. The next day Fred and herself would be leaving to go to America, but she knew she wasn't as ready as she thought she'd be. She sighed and wiped a tear from her face as the picture began it's moving loop once more.

"Odile?" Her head snapped up to see Sirius gazing at her with concern, and she sent him a weak smile.

"Hey Sirius." He gestured towards the couch and she nodded, allowing him to come sit next to her on the couch. He didn't face her, but instead stared at the pictures on the wall. All family members of his, with severe looking faces, and morality issues.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, still facing away.

"No. You?"

"Nah. Too many thoughts keeping me up."

"Hmm." She hummed, staring down at the picture in front of her. He glanced down to see it was an image of a woman dancing in a field, grinning like mad. Her chestnut hair was whipping around her face, and long billowing dress swirled around her barefoot toes, a strap of the dress slipping off one arm. If you looked closely, you could see a dusting of freckles covered the bridge of her nose and the apples of her cheeks. She was red in the face, but an aura of pure joy exuded from her.

"Who's that?" He asked, already guessing the answer.

"My mom." She answered, voice quiet. He glanced over at the girl, a fond smile on her face. He waited, knowing she had something to get off her chest.

"Her name was Charlotte. Like the city. Charlotte Louise Fuller. Born September 3rd, 1957. She weighed in at about 7.5 pounds, and she was born with a smile on her face. She was a miracle baby. After Uncle John and Aunty Sal were born my grandma got told she wouldn't be able to have any more kids. Doctors said her body wouldn't be able to handle another pregnancy. They had a couple of miscarriages before they decided to stop. My mom was the lucky accident. It was a tough pregnancy, but both my mum and grandma made it. She was strong, my mom." Sirius waited as she paused to collect herself.

"Very strong. And smart too. She came from a nowhere town in North Carolina and ended up working as a director at MACUSA. That's where she met my dad. Grandma always said they were a terrible match from the beginning, but my mom didn't care. She always saw the best in people. They got divorced a year to the day I was born. Dad was never around, and when he was, he treated my mom terribly. She got tired of it. She got custody of me, which was fine by him. I don't think he ever really wanted children. There are some people who just aren't cut out to be parents, you know?" He nodded, looking over at the room which contained the mural created by people that weren't fit to be parents. He then looked over at the girl who had stopped talking to stare down at the photo in her hands.

"How did she die?" He asked quietly, recognizing the vacant expression in her eyes. The haunted look of someone who had lost the person closest to their hearts.

"Cancer. Stage four breast cancer. We tried magic treatments. We tried muggle treatments. Nothing worked. I was 12 when she was diagnosed. The doctors gave her four months. But my mom, she lasted eight. She was a strong woman. I was 13 when she finally closed her eyes for the last time." Silence crept throughout the room. She took a shuddering breath and gripped the photo more tightly.

"I was taken out of school so I could say my last goodbyes," A tear dripped down her cheek, "But my mom, you know what she said? She said, "This is not goodbye angel. This is only hello to something new. You're going to great things birdy, I just know it. You'll find love and joy, and I'll watch you the whole way. You just won't see me. But I'll always be here," she paused for a moment, voice breaking, "I can still remember her smiling before her grip loosened in mine."

"That's beautiful." He replied gently, as more tears rolled down her face, but she shook her head, a hard look in her eyes.

"It's not beautiful Sirius. Death isn't beautiful. Watching someone wither away to nothing isn't beautiful. It's grotesque, and it's ugly. It's playing the waiting game, constantly. It's always watching what you say, wondering if it's the last chance you'll get to say it. It's anger, at the person for leaving. It's sorrow, and guilt, and- and just pain. Waves and waves of unrelenting pain. It's the feeling of drowning, with no light in sight. Losing someone is hard. Watching them go is harder. Watching the light slip from their eyes. Feeling their body stiffen and chill under your fingertips as their blood stops pumping. Closing their eyes for them because they can't do it themselves. Watching as the doctors come in and cart them away, for their bodies to be cut open, or burned." She paused once more, and he watched as the hardened look turned softer and she turned to him.

"But that's life. There are two things that are inevitable. Death, and darkness. Everybody knows that everybody dies. And the day will always give way to the night. One day the sun won't rise for you. One day, the darkness will envelop you. It is what you do until that day comes that really matters. What you do makes who you are. We all die someday. You should never fear death. Death is just a means to an end. Death merely a reminder to live. To make friends, and fall in love, and to take every chance you have to breathe in fresh air. Because despite how painful life can be, it's a gift. And we are given the choice to use this gift or not." Sirius stared at wonder at this young girl who was wise beyond her years.

"That's an impressive speech you gave there." They both looked up to see that Remus had joined them. She blushed lightly and stared down at her hands.

"Sorry, sometimes I ramble-"

"No really. He's right." Odile looked at Sirius out of the corner of her eye. The man ran a hand through his hair and glanced over the scarred man standing in the doorway.

"When we lost Prongs- well James and Lily, it was like the sun went out. We had lost our two of our best friends, our other betrayed us, and I was locked away. We both lost three of the most important things in our lives. But… maybe because we had Harry, we had hope. Hope that something good would come our way. So you're right. We're all going to die. But not before we've had the chance to live."

"And you know what they say," continued Remus from his stance in the doorframe, "How lucky are we to have something that makes say goodbye so hard?" She smiled at the two men before Remus entered the room and sat down in the chair adjacent to them. She wiped the tears from her face and let out a harsh breath.

"Sorry to be such a downer." The men chuckled at that, and Sirius gently patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry. It makes a nice change from Moony over there constantly being the downer." Remus shot the man a glare, but the small smile gracing his lips ruined the effect.

"So… you have to tell me, what was Hogwarts like back in your day?" She asked, attempting to change the subject. It worked.

"Good ole' Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts eh? What do you want to hear about first? The pranks, the teachers, old Dumbles, or Minnie?"

"Minnie?" Sirius smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Ms. Reisinger, you are in for a treat. Get comfortable. This may take a while."

A/N: ALRIGHT, THAT'S THE CHRISTMAS CHAPTER! Ok, confession time. The first half of this chapter wasn't completely written on my own. I'm not exactly a romantic, far from it in fact, so it was a collaborative effort between my good friend, Joe aka Silver Tongue Joe and I. If you like fluff, you should check out his stories!

And I don't really know what this second half was. Mainly me getting introspective at 5 o'clock in the morning. I should mention that I am an atheist, and Harry Potter doesn't really include theism that much anyway, so that's why the chapter didn't really talk about death in a good way. In my personal view, it really is the end, so that's why I try to live each day like it was my last. Try being the operative word here. I was also re-reading this story I noticed a serious lack in Sirius time *wink wink* Ok friends, hope you enjoyed! BYE!

THANK YOU TO HannahV AND ALilSweetNSour FOR FOLLOWING THIS STORY

THANK YOU TO HannahV FOR FAVOURITING THIS STORY

THANK YOU TO Chelsea always AND Love .Fiction. 2017 AND DippedInVinegar AND ALilSweetNSour FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS

EDITED= 11/26/17