Chapter 23

First Christmas

Christmas was approaching fast. Sirius decided to give Peter a book that Peter had borrowed from him at least three times. It was one of the few books Sirius owned that they had not decided to burn as soon as they found a good fire spell. Remus hadn't been too keen on the idea but changed his mind when he read a few of them. He easily agreed to burn them all after that. He seemed unusually eager to burn one that was about dark creatures for some reason.

Remus didn't like anything that had anything to do with magical creatures. James thought that Remus had a bad experience with one or something. Sirius figured he was probably right, but he couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that.

Sirius couldn't help but notice all the little signs that there was something different about Remus. He was almost always sick, especially, it seemed, around the time his mother falls ill. He was also very fast, for being so small and sickly. He had great hearing. Sirius had seen proof of this many times. Though he was sure Remus was trying to hide it…

Sirius stopped his train of thought there. If Remus was hiding something it was not any of his business. Remus liked his privacy, it wasn't right for him to try to invade it like he was. Maybe he wasn't hiding it maybe he just hadn't thought to tell them. He decided to talk to him about it later. Until then he was content to just work on the Map.

Well, not exactly content. He was still extremely bored, though not as lonely. He had made friends with the house-elves in the kitchen. He had even got them to call him Mr. Sirius, which was a huge improvement over 'Sir, Mr. Black, Sir' He couldn't wait to tell the rest of the Marauders. He almost told them in a letter but decided that he would rather tell them in person.

He got a letter from at least one of them a day, which he immediately responded to. They may be gone but they certainly hadn't forgotten him. He was so relieved, he had been afraid that their parents might have attempted to convince them that he was a bad influence, or that they shouldn't be friends with a Black. Actually, though according to James and Remus their parents couldn't wait to meet him. Remus' parents were a bit hesitant to encourage a closer friendship between them, as they thought Sirius was a bad influence. That was another thing he had been worried about, he didn't want Remus getting in trouble for what he had pressured him into doing. He knew that he had influenced them into becoming troublemakers, but he also knew that they weren't hurting anyone and that Remus was mature enough to set a limit for the amount of trouble they could cause, smart enough to stay under that limit, and brave enough keep the rest of the Marauders under that limit. He sent Mr. and Mrs. Lupin a letter explaining this not long after Remus had gone home. It may have been the reason that they didn't mind Remus remaining friends with Sirius. Sirius was rather proud of himself for thinking of telling them himself instead of getting Remus to do it, and they seemed to respect him more for it.

Sirius growled at Peter's present. The stupid book would not wrap. He couldn't remember the spell and couldn't figure out how to do it the muggle way. He sighed and flopped back on his sleeping bag.

"Ah forget it!" He stood and carried the book down to the dungeons. He walked to the bowl of fruit and tickled the pear.

"Hello, Mr. Sirius!" One of the house-elves greeted.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could wrap this for me. I can't figure out how to do it." The elf eagerly took the book and ran off with it. It came back quickly with a perfectly wrapped book.

"Thanks," He said smiling and then left.

He walked back to the Great hall, wondering whether he should wait until Christmas Eve or if he should send the presents now. He decided to wait; he didn't want them to get it too early. When he got in the Great hall he sat down on his sleeping bag and watched the twins for a while, they were giggling over a piece of paper in their hands.

"Girls" He mumbled and pulled out the Map. He felt rather proud of himself. He had gotten half a floor done in just the time that the rest of the Marauders had left. It was hard doing it by himself but he had spent all his free time on it. Remus put a counter-charm on their schedule thing and planned to redo it when he got back so he didn't have to waste his break studying. Though he did study when he got extremely bored and it was after curfew.

OOOOOO

Christmas Eve was rather anticlimactic. Sirius finally found out that the names of the twins were Samantha, or Sam, and Kristy, or Kris, but that was really the only thing that happened. On Christmas morning, Sirius woke to the sound of the twins laughing and cheering. At first, he ignored them, as it wasn't the first time they had gotten loud. Thinking it was just a normal day he tried to get back to sleep.

When he gave up and opened his eyes the first thing he noticed was that Snape and McGonagall weren't there. The next thing was there was a small pile of wrapped gifts by his feet. He stared at them for a moment trying to figure out what they were before he remembered it was Christmas. He had been so busy trying to figure out what to get them for the holiday he didn't even celebrate that hadn't even thought that they might get him something. He blushed a little and realized that there were more than three presents there. There were five. Who else had sent him something? He shuffled around them looking for tags.

Sirius laughed when he saw one with dogs on the wrapping paper. He instantly knew who it was from, and when he looked he was right, James. Ever since he had told them where his name came from James had made it his mission to bring it up every chance he could. He swore it was the perfect name for Sirius. What with the growling and all. They had even decided that his laugh sounded like a bark.

Sirius was surprised when he found out who the two extra presents were from. Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Lupin. They both had cards on them.

The first was from the Potters.

Dear Sirius Black,

Our Jamesie has told us that your family doesn't celebrate Christmas so we decided to help make your first Christmas the best we possibly could. We can't wait to meet the boy James has told us so much about.

Merry Christmas,

Mr. and Mrs. Fleamont Potter.

Sirius smiled at the note. He had never met the Potters but anyone that his mother hated and had had a kid like James could not be a bad person. He opened the present; it was a biography of his favorite Quidditch player. He laid it next to him and looked at the note from Remus' parents.

Dear Sirius,

We know that you don't know us, but with how much Remus has told us about you, we feel like we have known you for a very long time. In your letter, you expressed your concern that Remus would get in trouble for the pranks you admit were your idea. You have no idea how touched we were, and are, by your concern for our son. We are not sure if you know this, Remus thinks that you do, but you are the first person Remus has ever called his friend. In his letter to us, you were the first one he mentioned He thinks of you as nothing less than a brother. Remus has changed quite a bit since we watched him go on the Hogwarts Express and every change we have seen has made him a better person. This gift is a thank you for what you have done for our son.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mr. and Mrs. Lupin.

Sirius wiped a tear from his eye when he finished the letter. He knew then he had made a better choice by being in Gryffindor, there was no longer a doubt in his mind. Nothing his mother had ever told him had ever made him feel as good as that letter did. He had known that Remus didn't have any friends before the Marauders, what he hadn't known was that even among the Marauders he was his first friend. He tried to imagine what Remus' life would be like if he had chosen to be sorted in Slytherin. It was a horrible thought. He opened the present to find a journal. It was very nice and beautifully decorated. He hoped they didn't spend too much money on it; they didn't have enough to be spending it on him. He opened it to find that every page looked different, some had an outdoorsy theme, such as mountains or a forest, and others had things like Quidditch or chess. The first page had a large Gryffindor lion in the background. He was afraid that if he wrote in it, it would be ruined. He put the card in the journal and set them under the biography from the Potters. He was worried that if he looked at it any longer he would start crying, and he really didn't want that.

He picked up Peter's present nest, knowing that there would be absolutely nothing mushy about it. He was thankfully right; he opened it and saw a book. It was a story about a wizard who ended up slaying a dragon. Sirius placed it next to the other presents, and picked up James'. He saw a card James put on it. He was worried when he opened it, thankfully it contained no mush.

Roses are red; Violets are blue

Monkeys like u should be kept in a zoo.

Don't feel so angry you will find me there too

Not in cage but laughing at you.

Sirius laughed, it was exactly what he needed. It was just like James to insult him in a friendly way. He opened the present, gladly ripping the dog paper. It was another book, though this one was the best of all. One Hundred and One Pranks for the Young Wizard. Sirius laughed again, and looked at number one and laughed it was the very first prank they did. Throwing the Slytherins clothes in the lake, though it wasn't so specific about the victims. James left a note inside.

Ironic ain't it. I picked this up and this was the first thing I saw. I just had to get it, if only for the memory, it was our very first prank. I can still remember Snivellus' face when he walked into the Great Hall that morning. Oh, that moment was priceless. See ya soon Si.

Sirius laughed again. James was right, though priceless still didn't seem to catch the beauty of that moment. Sirius placed the both of James' notes in the book and placed it beside the others. If they kept this up he would have his personal library restored sooner than he thought. He picked up Remus' present and instantly knew it wasn't a book. So everyone but Remus had got him a book of some form. He smiled to himself that would have been the exact opposite of how he would have expected had he actually expected to get any presents. Remus' had a card as well. He slowly opened the card; half praying it didn't contain the same thing his parents had. He didn't think he could handle it if it did. Thankfully, Remus seemed to have been rather hyper when he wrote the card.

Hope this fixes your boredom problem!

Sirius laughed when he saw Remus had drawn all over the card. Yes, he had definitely been hyper. They had gotten him in that mood every once in a while. He was very talented; he could act drunk without even touching a drop of alcohol. Sirius opened the present and was surprised to find a pack of dungbombs and a fanged Frisbee. His jaw dropped while he hurriedly hid the dungbombs in his sleeping bag. Remus sent him stuff that wasn't allowed at Hogwarts! Now that was a surprise. Thankfully the Fanged Frisbee wasn't against the rules…yet. He was going to have fun with these. By the end of the day he had used up half of the dungbombs and gotten Filtch to swear that Fanged Frisbees were going to be banned. It was altogether a great day. The Christmas feast was amazing; somehow even better than the beginning of the year feast. He even held a full conversation with Dumbledore, that didn't involve misbehaver. It was a wonderful day; the only thing that could have made it better was if the rest of the Marauders were there with him.

A/N) I found the poem on the internet; it's from someone called Lollygal. I don't own it but I wish I did.

Aww! YAY Sirius had his first Christmas!

Edit (5/3/2016) Changed Mr. Potter's first name due to recent cannon information.