Originally written for "A Winter's Tale" Challenge on FictionAlley Park
"God, I'm so proud of us," said Peter, bobbing up and down excitedly. "We've finally got it!"
"It's exciting, isn't it?" James smiled down at Peter. "But I don't understand why it took us so long."
"If you remember, James, you made me go through all the books in the Restricted Section in the middle of the night, reading loads of irrelevant stuff," Sirius explained, "just because you always had to be with Lily. After several weeks, I found the answer in the longest volume of all, called How To Succeed At Animagus Transformations Without Really Trying. What a misleading title that was! It was long as crap and full of technical things I didn't understand. The answer was in the last of thirty-eight chapters, so I had to read through the whole thing before finding it. Tiny print. My eyes are killing me."
The empty classroom they had been using was littered with bits of parchment, scribbled notes, and books sneaked out of the library's Restricted Section. The desks had been pushed carelessly to the side to give them room to work.
"Oh, so it's your fault then," James said.
"You try reading this, four-eyes." Sirius threw the book at James, who tackled him in response.
"Can we do this now?" asked Peter, who never liked to see violence, even if it was just play-fighting.
"Okay, then, Pete, you can go first," Sirius said.
Peter shut his eyes tightly and screwed up his face in intense concentration. After a few long seconds, there was a pop and Peter disappeared.
"PETER! Where are you? Oh my God, what's happened? He's gone!" Sirius yelled.
"Well, thank God we made him go first," said James dryly. Sirius laughed.
Suddenly, they heard squeaking from the direction of the ground. A fat grey rat was sitting on the floor of the classroom, looking up at them with a pair of very familiar eyes.
"Peter, is that you?"
"Squeak!" said the rat.
"Change back, Pete," commanded James.
The rat's eyes shut and its nose twitched. It took a little longer this time, but soon there was a pop and Peter reappeared.
"What, you thought I'd disappeared?" asked Peter. "Not my fault that I'm small."
The three friends laughed.
"Alright, then," James said, rubbing his hands together. "Sirius, you next."
Pop!
A large, shaggy black dog sat where Sirius had been standing only a second before. It looked up at James and Peter with piercing blue eyes and wagged its tail.
"You look like a Grim," said James.
Sirius tried to respond, but all that came out was a low, booming "Woof!"
James threw back his head and laughed. "I don't speak dog, sorry."
Sirius changed back into human form and said, "Not my fault I look like a death omen. But you know, it could come in handy one day. What wouldn't I give to have Snape see me like this, and then watch, he dies the next day."
James snickered. "Don't say that, 'cos you never know, he might change. He may end up being a nice guy."
Sirius snorted. "Not bloody likely. The extent of him becoming 'a nice guy' would be him taking his Potions kit out of his…"
"Okay, my turn now," said James hurriedly. There was a faint pop and a magnificent stag stood in the middle of the room, pawing at the ground. It bowed its head in Peter's direction, and Peter shrank back.
"It's okay, Pete, he's not going to hurt you," said Sirius.
James changed back into human form and grinned. "Scared, Peter?"
Peter smiled back. "You wish."
Very satisfied with themselves, the three boys packed up and left the classroom silently so as not to attract the attention of Filch or Peeves, or get held up by a stray house-elf, which happened the last time they were out late. Peter shut the door behind them, and they began their long walk back to Gryffindor Tower.
"This is fantastic. Remus will just love this."
"So what does everyone want for Christmas this year?" said Remus. He sat in his favourite chair in the Gryffindor Common Room, looking down at his three friends who were sprawled out on the floor by the fire.
"You know what I want?" said James. "I want a new broom. The new Nimbus 1001 just came out last week, and it's rumoured to be the best and fastest one on the market. I heard that both the Montrose Magpies and Puddlemere United have already put orders in for their players."
"Cookies," said Peter. "Loads of cookies."
"How about you, Remus? What's on your Christmas wish list?" Sirius asked.
"A new teacher for Potions. Professor Wilkes is a nightmare. I wish he'd do something to get himself sacked," Remus said. He was usually not one to speak ill of people, especially professors, but Professor Wilkes had stood against Remus' admission to Hogwarts four years before, and treated him accordingly. "You, Sirius?"
"A flying motorbike," replied Sirius, with a dreamy smile and a faraway look in his eyes.
Some time later, after a few hours of lively banter, the clock on the wall chimed six times. Remus got up and sighed heavily. "Six o'clock. I've got to go." He lowered his voice. "It's because of… well, you know."
Peter looked at Remus sadly. "'S rotten luck that you've got a full moon on Christmas Eve."
Remus sighed. "Yeah, I know, but I've gotten used to it. I've got ten years of practise under my belt, after all." He picked up a small bag of his belongings and turned to leave. "See you guys later. You know where to find me in the morning."
Remus lay on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. His entire body ached from the transformation. Tonight had been especially awful – it was more painful than any he'd experienced thus far, and it was made twice as bad because it had to happen on Christmas Eve.
Well, here it is, another Christmas, he thought. I've got to spend Christmas Eve all alone this year, in an old, dilapidated shack in the middle of Hogsmeade, hundreds of miles from home. This is the first Christmas I've spent apart from my family. It's a weird feeling, really, but I reckon it's something I ought to get used to.
Mum and Dad are off visiting Romulus in France right now, and I wish I could have gone with them. Sometimes I envy my brother for being the "normal" twin. He got into Beauxbatons without any controversy, unlike his lycanthropic twin brother who had the entire Hogwarts staff and Board of Governors in a tizzy because of his unfortunate condition.
I guess I lied when I told Sirius what was on my Christmas list. What I really wish for is a way to be with my friends on these lonely nights every month. Especially tonight. My friends… my friends are like my family away from home, standing by me even with the knowledge of what I am, and I wish I could have spent this special holiday with that second family who's been so accepting of me, as nobody really has been before now.
It's terribly lonely in here. It's no wonder they call us werewolves the Lonely Ones.
Happy Christmas, I guess.
A single tear slid down the werewolf's face. It shivered, then closed its eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.
At dawn, a back door to the Shrieking Shack opened. If one looked very, very closely, one would have seen a woman in a matron's uniform floating a stretcher bearing a very battered and bloodied young man down a secret passage in the direction of Hogwarts.
The winter sun shone faintly through the clouds as Christmas morning dawned on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The school grounds were covered in a blanket of fluffy white snow, and large snowflakes danced through the air outside the window of the Hospital Wing.
All in all, it was a peaceful Christmas morning. Until…
"BAN-ZAI!"
Thump.
Remus sat up, bleary-eyed. He found himself face-to-face with a grinning Sirius. Remus rubbed his eyes and swatted at his friend's head.
"Ow! Sirius! What's gotten into you?"
"Happy Christmas to you too," said Sirius.
"Ugh. Happy Christmas, Sirius." Remus groaned. "I can't understand how you could be such a morning person."
"I think it's partly to do with the fact that you're… oh, I don't know, a werewolf?" Sirius said cheekily.
Remus narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "Get off me, you lump," he said. "I've had a really bad night."
"Come on, Remus, we've been waiting for you for hours!" James exclaimed, holding out a long, thin, and colourfully wrapped package with both hands. "Look! Presents!"
"Looks like you got your new broom, James," said Remus, smiling. James grinned back and began to tear at the wrapping paper. "Where's Pete?"
"In the room. Couldn't bear to part with his cookies," Sirius answered. "Come on!"
The two boys grabbed Remus by one arm each and practically dragged him out of bed and out the door. Sirius waved at Madam Pomfrey as they ran by her office. She tutted at them in response, but made no move to stop them. Best to let the kids have their fun, she thought. Anyway, it's Christmas.
In the fifth-year Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Peter sat on his four-poster, munching cookies contentedly out of a large tin. When his friends entered, he jumped up, knocking the tin over. Cookies went flying.
Remus looked around. What a mess, he thought. I go away for a day and this is what happens. Sighing, he turned to look at the foot of his bed.
No presents.
No presents?
"I see you're wondering where your presents are, Remus," James said conspiratorially, winking at Sirius and Peter.
Remus looked at him suspiciously, but said nothing.
"Today," said Peter, jumping off his bed, "we give you the gift of friendship."
"Thanks," Remus said, "but I thought I already had your friendship."
"You do," said Sirius, "but we think this is, er, symbolic."
James turned to Peter and Sirius. "Are you ready?"
Peter glanced around nervously and said, "Yes, I think so." Sirius just grinned.
"Alright. On the count of three. One, two…"
POP!
A rat, a dog, and a stag stood in front of him, all looking at him expectantly. Remus was speechless.
"Wait… I don't understand," he finally managed. Three pops later, his friends stood in front of him again in human form.
"Pete's small enough that he can go under the branches of that horrible Whomping Willow to press the knot to freeze the branches and open the trunk," Sirius explained as Remus' eyes grew wider by the second. "Now, don't look so surprised – don't think we haven't figured out where you really go every month. Anyway, James and I are big enough to hold you back should you present a danger to anyone else around. Oh, the adventures we're going to have…"
"You did all this… for me?"
"Of course," James said, clapping his friend on the back. "We're your friends. We want to be there for you during the worst times as well as the best times."
"Because that's just what friends do," Peter said around a mouthful of cookie.
Tears sprang to Remus' eyes. His Christmas wish had just come true.
During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
Or in this case, three sets.
"Happy Christmas, Remus," they all said.
"Thank you! This is amazing!" Remus cried, tears spilling down his cheeks. "You're the best friends I could ever hope to have, and you've just given me the best Christmas present of my entire life."