a/n – Firstly, let me express my sincerest apologies for the delay in my posting of this chapter.  I know that I said I would try and have it posted in time for Christmas, but…. I lied!  Sorry!  I have been busy, and have neglected writing very much for no particular reason at all really.  I *promise* that I'll have the next chapter up sometime…  sometime…. soon, and I promise that it will be funnier, and better than this fluffy crap one! 

Disclaimer:  Mostly J.K's, Tiff and her family, Ilianna and Amber are mine, everything else is most noticeably not.  Oh, and I've 'borrowed' a couple of lines from the LOTR movie, and a few ideas – please don't haunt me Tolkien!  Hmmm… Legolas…*squeals*

Mucho thanks to my super-duper amazingly beautiful and talented beta-reader Louise!  *applause*  Without her, this fic would've died two chapters ago! 

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Destiny

Chapter Seven – A Christmas Wish

December flew by and before the students knew it, there was only a week to go until they broke up for Christmas.  Tiff publicly made up with Sirius and they reverted to their normal jokey relationship.  Tiffany; who along with James was the only Gryffindor staying at Hogwarts over the holidays, received a mysterious package from home, the contents of which she kept secret. 

  Sirius and Tiff traded mild insults with one another; Sirius had dreamed up a new phrase to annoy Tiff with – "Where's Tiffany?  Oh yes." He would then look at his shoe in amazement.  "I seem to have trodden on her!"  He stayed well away from the term 'slut', as he still didn't know why this upset her.  Four hours before the ball, Tiff, Amber and Lily went to get ready much to the amazement of the boys who were incredulous at the amount of time they needed. 

  Both Sirius and Tiff had arranged to meet their 'dates' at the ball.  The Great Hall had been decorated with huge crystal ice sculptures of unicorns, and much to James' amusement – a stag, well reindeer.  Tiny Professor Flitwick could be seen casting charms to prevent the ice from melting; Hagrid was dragging in several six foot pine trees, leaving a trail of snow-dust behind him; Professor Sprout was surreptitiously enchanting sprigs of mistletoe, so that they hovered twelve feet high. 

*  *  *

"What's taking them so long?  They've been up there for three hours!  Honestly, anyone would think them to be participating in a drunken lesbian orgy rather than be prettying themselves up for a stupid dance!"  Sirius exclaimed, having grown unimaginably bored of waiting for the girls an hour ago.  James paced around the common room, nervously running his fingers through his hair. 

  Remus and Peter chose not to answer this, and sank back into a silent stupor. 

"You could go, Sirius.  Ilianna will be waiting for you."  Remus glanced towards a scowling Sirius who lay sprawled lazily across the sofa, undoubtedly creasing his new navy dress robes.    

"No power on this earth could make me walk into that ballroom alone.  Plus I want to see the look on Tiff – and Snape's face."  He grinned, yet his eyes were dark and humourless.  James smiled weakly, missing the false humour.

"Yeah…heh…"  James said, trailing off as he stared at the foot of the stairs in awe. 

"Sorry I'm late, James."  Lily looked unbelievable.  She was one of those people who looked beautiful without even trying, but with a little make-up and glitter she looked ethereal.  Her hair was pulled backwards into a bun, with a few loose red ringlets falling freely.  Her dress was simple and white, yet gave her air of grace and elegance. 

James could find not other word, but "Wow."

"Do I look okay?"  Lily asked, feeling slightly insecure because of all the stares.  James opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find words.  Sirius tactfully intervened. 

"You look fantastic, darling.  I think you've stunned Jamesie boy into silence."  Lily blushed. 

"Thanks Sirius, Tiff and Amber did my hair, that's why we're running late.  Sorry…"

"Don't apologise you silly coot, you look amazing.  Doesn't she James?"  said Sirius, poking James in the shoulder. 

"Absolutely."  James grinned at Lily, feeling like he'd won the Million Galleon Lottery.  Lily shook her head, muttering something which sounded like "boys…"  She put her arm round James lovingly. 

  Moments later, Amber almost fell down the stairs, wearing killer spiked heels and a slinky bronze gown which complimented her tawny hair perfectly. 

"Tiff'll be about five minutes Sirius, she's just painting her toenails."  said Amber. 

"That's ok, I'll wait for her.  You lot go on ahead." 

"Are you sure?"  Asked James. 

"Yeah, go,"  Sirius replied, wanting to catch Tiff on her own before the night started. 

"Um… ok then, we'll see you later.  And don't worry, we'll cover for you with Ilianna."  James winked.  Sirius narrowed his eyes evilly.

"What, like I covered for you with Lily when you were too busy checking her out to actually say something?"  he replied, one eyebrow raised craftily. 

"Sirius?"

"James?"

"Shut up."  Sirius smirked at James' glare, then nodded formally. 

"Yessir, right away sir!"  He saluted James, who shook his head in amusement. 

  As the others left, Sirius went up to the girls' dorm.  He paused just as he was about to enter.  He remembered what had happened last time he walked into her room unannounced – he had caught her in a towel!  Hmmm…  and he wouldn't that to happen again…  Sirius grinned, then walked straight in. 

"Bugger!  Stupid bloody dress…"  Tiff cursed as she surveyed herself thoroughly in the mirror.  She was just in the process of untucking her dress from her knickers when she caught sight of Sirius in the mirror. 

"Need a hand?"  he said smoothly, one eyebrow raised wickedly. 

"That the f- oof…"  Tiff cursed as she promptly tripped over her own feet as she tried to turn around, resulting with her landing on her backside.  She looked up at him and laughed, embarrassed. 

"Please,"  she replied, as he pulled her to her feet. 

"You look lovely, and so tall,"  he complimented her.

"Thanks, you too,"  she grinned, tilting her feet to show her very high red stilettos which brought her up to eye-lip level with Sirius instead of the usual eye-chest. 

"Ready?"  he asked her. 

"Yep,"  she replied with a grin. 

She wore a sparkly red dress that fell just below her knees.  Teamed with the red sandals and nail polish she looked amazing.  Her hair was wavy and tousled as opposed to its normal poker straightness.  Sirius could definitely say that Tiffany looked very sexy.  This worried him, as he wasn't her date and therefore wouldn't be able to defend her against other predatory males. 

"Nice dress,"  he commented whilst raising an eyebrow. 

"Thanks, my mother sent it from home,"  she smiled, glad that he had noticed.

Tiff frowned bemusedly as she caught Sirius staring at her.  "What?"

"Nothing…  you just look really beautiful.  I feel like I don't even know you."  He aid, unable to tear his eyes away from her. 

"Aww, you can be so sweet sometimes y'know," she replied, blushing. Tiff wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly.  "You do know that you're one of my best friends don't you?"  she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know Tiff," he replied, holding her in his strong arms.  "Just promise me one thing,"  he said in a serious tone.  "Save me a dance."  He looked at her pleadingly. 

Tiff smiled.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."  Sirius cupped her face gently and gazed into her deep violet eyes.  He planted a soft, tender kiss on her forehead, and for a split second they felt an overwhelming sense of unity – like they could be together forever, without anyone standing in their way.  Yet almost as suddenly as it had come, the connection was gone, and Sirius pulled away.  Tiffany opened her eyes and smiled at him. 

"Come on, lets get this over with,"  Sirius grimaced, wishing beyond all reason that he didn't have to go with Ilianna. 

"Mmmnnmeh,"  Tiff grunted, walking reluctantly towards the door. 

Sirius linked arms with her, then extended his free hand extravagantly with a flourish.  "You shall go to the ball, Cinderella." 

Tiff grinned, shaking her head.  "Thunderbirds Away!"  She smirked as Sirius' face grew puzzled.  "It's a muggle thing,"  she shrugged. 

"Right…  Away!"  They walked through the deserted common room,  Sirius paused at the portrait. 

"Oh, before  I forget."  He said, in the style of one who had misplaced his socks.  "Darling Tiffany,"  he flashed her a smile that weakened her knees, and leaned in to whisper into her ear.  "Your skirt is still tucked into your knickers."  She gave him a long look, then sniggered embarrassedly and un-tucked it. 

"Thanks, now, on with the ball…"

*  *  *

Sirius sighed heavily, casting his eyes around the Great Hall.  It had undergone a magnificent transformation to emerge as an elegant ballroom.  Students were dancing, eating, talking, and somewhere in a corner there were Slytherins drinking mead.  Stupid idiots…  as if they thought Dumbledore wouldn't notice. 

Sirius had never been more bored in his life.  Not even Divination was as torturous as standing around casually, whilst Ilianna Harman bragged about you to her friends.  Oh well, it wasn't that bad, Sirius smirked wickedly to himself.  Ilianna was wearing a very low cut dress, but still, was it worth looking like an idiot simply for a glimpse of flesh?  Well, 'glimpse' would be lying, an 'eyeful' would be more correct. 

  He stole a glance towards Tiff, who was attracting a lot of attention wearing the red dress.  Even Lucius Malfoy, who had a beautiful Slytherin girl on his arm, snuck a glance towards Tiff.  However, Snape stuck to her like glue, and tactfully kept away other predatory males with icy glares.  Sirius was almost grateful for Snape – except of course when he dared to touch Tiff, then Sirius just hated him again. 

Tiff seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing and joking with Snape and Zane.  Hmmm…  was that a smile he saw on Snape's face?  Mind you, Tiffany could make anyone smile.  All she had to do was scrunch up her nose in that cutesy-grinny way - that was guaranteed to raise a smile even amongst the coldest scrooges. 

  He seriously regretted setting her up with Snape.  What had started off as a highly amusing joke had ended up as his worst nightmare.  He wished that he was the one laughing and joking with Tiff.  He wished he was the one she was smiling at… the one whose eyes she would gaze into when dancing gracefully… the one…

  Sirius mentally shook himself.  He couldn't think like that about her.  Not now, when Ilianna was standing feet away, winking at him every few minutes.  As he raised his eyes, Ilianna took the opportunity to snatch his arm and drag him onto the dancefloor as the band struck up a slow song.  The band, 'Jinx 182' were currently unsigned, but they were very good, almost too good to be playing at Hogwarts.  Sirius felt nauseous as they struck up a slower song.  The song was actually quite good, yet he couldn't quite appreciate the magic of the lyrics when Ilianna was clung onto him like a limpet. 

  Across the dance floor he could see James and Remus laughing loudly at him.  Sirius glared at his friends. At least Lily had the decency to attempt to stifle her laugher, whilst the other two idiots pointed openly and let rip. 

So this is the lowest point of my life, he thought to himself sarcastically.  Yet a reminder of a shameful memory crept to the centre of his mind; the fight with Tiff.  That was bad, so low that it sank into the fiery depths of the underground and then some.  Sirius regretted ever going into the common room that evening…  however, there was something that Tiff had said to him that he couldn't forget and if he was honest, completely threw him. 

'You sick, perverted old man.'  Sirius hoped that she hadn't meant the obvious, God he prayed that she hadn't…

While Sirius was worrying about her, Tiffany was also slightly concerned for the safely of herself… 

It wasn't pleasant, yet it wasn't quite repulsive, apart from the fact that he was Snape.  Tiff didn't feel at all comfortable dancing with him.  He was far too close for her liking…  and his hands… Urgh… the presence of them on her waist made her skin crawl.   

"You look particularly beautiful tonight,"  he whispered, his lips touched her earlobe softly.  Tiffany pulled back quickly.  She had to get out of the room. 

"Tiffany?  Are you alright?"  Snape asked, frowning worriedly. 

No I think I'm going to be sick you disgusting creep.  "Yes, I just need to get some air, that's all.  Please excuse me…"  She ran from the ballroom and out of the main doors, into a clump of rosebushes.  Tiff sat down on a bench, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. 

"You look like you need a drink,"  A smooth voice came from her left.  Tiff looked across to Zane who was seated beside her, an understanding smile on his handsome, chiselled face. 

"Please,"  she took the bottle he was offering without hesitation.  Tiff took several deep gulps of the intoxicating liquid; it burned the back of her throat like fire and ice combined.  She  drained the rest of it, grimacing at the foul aftertaste. 

"Ah, vodka,"  she grinned as the alcohol went straight to her head.  "That's better,"  she said merrily. 

"You looked like you were having fun dear cousin,"  Zane smirked. 

"Oh yes darling, because being touched up by Snape is often the highlight of my evening."

"That may be my dear, but I sense that you'd much rather be snuggling with a certain Mr. Black instead of with the three legged ape,"  he raised an eyebrow. 

"No…"  she said quickly, her face reddening out of embarrassment and intoxication.  "Oh, no… you warned me, months ago.  Bugger…"  Tiff exclaimed, remembering Zane's prediction.  He gave her a sympathetic look as if to say 'I told you so.' 

"You got anymore alcohol,"  Tiff asked him.  Zane looked slightly hesitant before removing a clear glass phial from his robe pocket.  Tiffany foolishly didn't ask any questions, but downed the contents in one gulp.  Her face immediately acquired a vacant expression. 

  Zane blinked guiltily.  He couldn't believe that he had done it.  He'd betrayed Tiffany, his closest confidante other than the Dark Lord.  He'd given her Veritaserum under Voldemort's orders. 

"Is your name Tiffany Miranda Zabini?"  He asked her to test the diluted potion was working. 

"Yes,"  she replied blankly.  He glanced around warily, they were totally alone. 

"Are you the witch child?"  he asked her, taking care to keep his voice low. 

"The what?"  Tiffany replied, confused yet still in a trance.

"The…"  Zane glanced around worriedly.  "A descendant of Zabrian blood will overthrow the Dark Lord, claiming his throne either as the Princess of Darkness or the Queen of Light.  Which path she follows will depend entirely upon her heart's desires."  He recited this from memory, running his fingers through his hair nervously.  "Are you the descendant?"  he said in barely a whisper. 

"No,"  she said, in a definite tone of voice. 

"Right.  Do you know who it is?  Is it… your sister?"  he asked, trying to ignore the nauseous feeling of guilt eating  away at his conscience as he pried deeper.

"I do not know,"  she said blankly. 

"Alright, hmm.."  He rubbed his temples thoughtfully, thinking of what else he could ask her. 

"Does your father intend to join with the Dark Lord?"

"No, he said he'd rather die a thousand deaths before he betrayed the Ministry." 

"Do the Ministry know of my father's actions as a Death Eater?" 

"Is your father still alive?"  Zane was unnerved by this question. 

"Yes."

"Then they know nothing." 

"Right."  He rested his head in his hands, sighing heavily.  "Ooh,"  he said, perking up slightly.  "One more thing, are you in love with Sirius Black?"  He asked, his dark eyes twinkling. 

"I…  I cannot help but love him, whether or not my mind agrees.  We were meant for each other,"  she said with difficulty.  Zane could tell that the effects of the truth potion were wearing off.  He swiftly removed another phial from his pocket, this one containing a blue liquid.  He put a few drops of the antidote in her mouth, then put an am around her, tilting her head to rest on his shoulder. 

Tiffany opened her eyes to find the world a spinning blur.  She blinked a few times, bringing her eyes into focus. 

"You ok, hon?"  She looked up slowly to look at Zane. 

"No…  I feel… sick…"  she wailed, clutching her throat.  Zane patted her on the back gently. 

"Now are you going to be sick?  Because if you are, then I know a good bush which has a sort of hollow centre, and branches that you can rest your arms on."  He said helpfully.  Tiff sat up, swaying slightly on the bench. 

"Don't 'fink so..."  she said, getting up and walking clumsily on her tall shoes.  "I'm goin' back to the party, 'twas lovely to talk to you m'dear,"  she hugged Zane as he stood up, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Bye darling,"  she waved as she strolled merrily down the path and back into the Great Hall. 

Zane followed Tiff with his dark eyes, unable to rid himself of the guilt of betraying her.  Oh well, he thought.  He didn't exactly find anything out that would interest the Dark Lord.  He chuckled softly to himself.  Because Voldemort revels in the knowledge of hormonal teenage love affairs, he grinned, shaking his attractive head in amusement. 

How wrong could he have been… 

"How dare you speak to me like that?  Who do you think you are?  Interfering with Sirius and me!  Our night was going perfectly until you opened your big mouth!"  Ilianna Harman resembled a disgruntled kitten, yet sounded like a banshee in pain as she hurled abuse at Amber, who simply stood there looking bored. 

Sirius cringed as Remus, James and Peter fought to control their laughter.  The room was silent and the atmosphere tense.  The music had stopped playing when Ilianna first raised her voice after  Amber had provoked her into a rage.  Sirius wasn't sure what Amber had said, but he assumed it to be something involving Tiff, himself and most probably Ilianna by what the 'Big Blonde' herself was saying.  Everyone in the Hall was watching surreptitiously while pretending that they weren't listening. 

"Really, Ilianna?  Night was going perfectly was it?  My, my, aren't you a lucky boy Sirius, having this ravishing beauty all to yourself for the entire night?"  Amber exclaimed loudly, her voice loaded with sarcasm.  Ilianna seethed with anger. 

"Why, you nasty little cow!  Of course he's bloody lucky, many guys would kill for a chance to be seen in my company." 

"That may be, Ilianna, but I'm sure that many more guys would kill for a chance to get away from you and your self-centred, microscopically idiotic excuse for a braincell.  Mind you, you know what they say about blondes…"  Before Amber could finish her sentence Ilianna pounced on her, pulling her hair and shrieking loudly.  Amber responded by stamping hard on Ilianna's toe with her spiked heel, causing Ilianna to shriek louder. 

"Um…  ladies."  Sirius tried to break them up, but immediately withdrew after a long nailed hand came slashing in his direction. 

"Moony, what do we do?"  Sirius asked anxiously. 

"I don't know, I'm sure she was planning this though,"  replied Remus, casting an amused glance at Amber, who was winning so far. 

"But what if they really hurt each other?  Has she got her wand?"  

"Nah, I doubt it.  Ilianna wouldn't think to use hers anyway.  Amber won't get hurt, she's stronger than she looks…"  he winked slyly. 

Sirius chuckled.  "Aha, Moony's Midnight Madness!"  he grinned.  Sirius heard a door bang, amongst the banter of the fight.  He turned to see Tiffany sauntering across the Hall towards him. 

"Hello, my darlings, I'm back,"  she said, her voice betraying the traditional English roots which she normally concealed well by usage of slang.  Sirius frowned, immediately noticing that Tiffany was not herself.  Unfortunately for Tiff, so did Lily. 

"Have you been drinking?"  Lily hissed, storming up to her angrily. 

"No, no, no my dear, of course not."  Tiff hugged Lily, leaning heavily on her for support. 

"You're lying, you're pissed out of your face.  Now what did you drink?"  Lily demanded in a somewhat motherly tone. 

"Not much, just a little vodka,"  Tiff winked, leaving Lily and skipping over to Sirius and Peter.  Lily stalked up to Snape, her face a thunderstorm.  They left the Hall together talking hurriedly.  James, who was commentating the fight, didn't notice.

"Petaaaaaahr,"  Tiff called, hugging him in a way that Sirius found repulsive.  "How are you sweetie?"  She giggled, ruffling his hair whilst Arabella looked on, amused.  Sirius caught hold of Tiff's arm and pulled her away from the crowd. 

"What are you doing?  And more to the point, what've you been drinking?"  he asked her, holding her shoulders in case she fell. 

"Nothing… nothing…  woah, dizzy now,"  her legs wobbled slightly. 

"Stupid girl, right, look directly at me."  Tiff gazed into his eyes, her pupils huge. 

"All three of you?  Meheew…"  She groaned, then draped her arms round his neck for support. 

"Um… Tiff…  you're not feeling queasy are you?"  he glanced down at her worriedly. 

"No..."  She slurred.  "Sirius?"  She whined softly. 

"What?"  He replied.  Tiff stood on her tiptoes, trusting him in supporting her.

"I love you,"  she whispered into his ear.  Sirius looked at her incredulously. 

"You're drunk,"  he said sadly, regret showing deep in his eyes. 

"I know, but even when I'm not I love you.  Whatever happens, you'll always be my darling Sirius…"  she said, gazing at him adoringly.  Sirius wished he could believe her, god he wished he could...  Tiff looked up at the enchanted ceiling to see the stars twinkling merrily.  "Look up,"  she whispered, motioning towards a piece of mistletoe hovering above them.  She kissed Sirius on the cheek, just as Ilianna happened to look up from the piece of floor where she was lying, having been defeated by Amber. 

"NO!  Get your thieving hands off him!"  Ilianna yelled, scrambling to her feet.  "No!"  She stormed across the dance floor towards where Tiff and Sirius stood embracing.  Ilianna took long definite strides towards them, preparing to attack Tiff when luckily, Amber stepped in for another try.  Before Ilianna knew it, she had tripped over Amber's outstretched foot and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.  Quiet spread through the room.

Tiff looked at Ilianna, puzzled.  "Oh my, what a silly thing to do,"  she said.  Everyone roared with laughter, breaking the uncomfortable silence. 

"Now girls, that is quite enough."  Professor Mondoc had ventured over to investigate.  "Who started it?"  He asked firmly, gazing with sympathy upon a whimpering Ilianna. 

"She did,"  Ilianna and Amber said simultaneously, pointing each other whilst exchanging menacing glares.  Mondoc glanced between the two.  His eyes lingered on the neckline of Ilianna's dress for a second before he announced that they would both receive detention. 

"Hey…  long live Queen Amber,"  Tiff called drunkenly, feeling herself go very light-headed, she swayed slightly. 

"Tiff, TIFF!"  Sirius shouted, but to her his voice seemed to grow more and more faint until she could hear it no longer.  The last thing Tiffany felt was the comforting sensation of being held in Sirius' strong arms, before the world around her faded into darkness…

"Mmmmn…."  Gentle hands shook her, rousing Tiff into the world of the physically awake.  "Whaaaarrrt…?"  Tiff moaned, extremely hung over.  She opened one eye blearily to see a pair of vivid green ones surveying her worriedly. 

"Lemme sleeeeep…"  Tiff rolled over, oblivious to the fact that Lily was wearing muggle clothes. 

"I can't, I came to say goodbye."  At this Tiff tried to sit up but almost immediately collapsed back onto her pillows. 

"Why?  Where are you going?"  She asked drowsily, rubbing her temples gently.

"Home.  It's almost Christmas remember.  You do remember, don't you?"  Lily frowned worriedly. 

"Yes, Christmas…  but… last night…"  Tiffany looked mortified as realisation dawned on her.  "Oh…  my…  god…"  she wailed.  "What did I do?"  She hid her face in her hands.

"Do you really want to know?"  Lily was doubtful to whether or not she should inform her that Ilianna had told the entire school that Tiff had 'stolen' Sirius away from her, and that she'd caught them snogging under the mistletoe.  Which of course, had remained a mystery as Sirius refused to comment on the matter. 

"Yes,"  said Tiff unsurely.  So Lily told her everything; from Amber giving Ilianna a black eye, to herself and Snape giving Tiff an 'Sober-Up' potion when she had collapsed in Sirius' arms, and finally the question the whole school was asking – were they a couple?

"But…"  Tiff was speechless.  She couldn't recall any of those things, except, strangely enough a bush and … Sirius!  "But  I…"  Yet she couldn't find the words, or excuses for her behaviour. 

"I bet Sirius thinks I'm a right idiot,"  she grimaced. 

"I don't know, he's keeping quite calm about it.  Strange really, you would've thought that he'd use this as an opportunity to poke fun at everyone, especially yourself.  But he's well….  Serious!  No pun intended m'dear,"  said Lily, a thoughtful expression crossed her fair face. 

Tiff frowned, but said nothing. 

"Anyway, I have to go, the others want to come in and say goodbye.  Plus I have to go and see James…"  said Lily, sounding agonised.  They'd only been together for a few months, but already she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.  "And look after him for me, won't you.  Bye Tiffy."  She hugged the pale blonde, who seemed more awake now. 

"Bye, Lils, have a great Christmas,"  she said with a smile, trying to hide her sadness that she wouldn't be with her family. 

"Bye…"  Lily left the room.  Shortly afterwards, Peter, Remus and Amber came into the room, giving her a blow by blow account of how she had pulverised Ilianna. 

"So then, Ilianna kept trying to kick me, right?  …So I grabbed hold of her leg, and spun her round!  You should have seen her hopping round in a circle, flapping her arms like a one-legged chicken!  Oh I almost died laughing!"  Amber giggled, retelling her story enthusiastically.  Tiff laughed as best she could manage.  Her head was pounding now. 

"I wish I remembered it.  I bet you were great,"  she winked at Amber. 

"Yes, but it was very dangerous.  I knew you'd been planning something, and I knew that you'd win, but honestly Amber; what if she'd had her wand?  You would've been in trouble,"  Remus said. 

"Yes but she didn't, dear,"  Amber put an arm around Remus and kissed his cheek.  "Thankyou for having faith in me, sweetie.  I really did think you'd try and stop me."

"Amber, anyone who really knows you would never try to fight you.  You're bloody dangerous, woman!"  he exclaimed jokingly.  Amber glared in mock-rage. 

"How dare you incur the wrath of Queen Amber?  Now you must pay the price, or are you willing to grovel deeply in order to redeem yourself?"  Remus raised an eyebrow. 

"I'll grovel later,"  he winked. 

"Ok, out now!  Out!  Before you make me throw up!"  Tiff exclaimed with a laugh.  Amber hugged her before she left, hand in hand with Remus.  Peter just smiled, his watery blue eyes reminiscing about how she had embraced him when drunk. 

Tiff settled herself back against her pillows, yawning tiredly.  She closed her eyes sleepily.  Almost immediately they sprung open as she felt a presence looming over her. 

"Eeek,"  she exclaimed in shock.  Sirius sat next to Tiff, who resembled a frightened rabbit. 

"Oh, it's you,"  she looked at him, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

"Yes, it's me.  Who else were you expecting?"  He grinned merrily. 

"No-one, you just scared me…"  she muttered.  "So, why are you here?"  She asked with raised eyebrows. 

"Because….  I wanted to see how you were feeling?"  He raised his eyebrows in return to answer her question.  "And also I wanted to say goodbye." 

"Well; am feeling slightly pukish.  Not that I'm going to be sick, a lady is never sick,"  she shook her head with mock aristocracy. 

"Mneurgh,"  he sneered at her jokily.  An awkwards silence prevailed; Sirius looked at his hands. 

"Tiff...  Can I ask you something?"  His eyes were lowered, in what she presumed was shyness. 

"Sure,"  she replied, feeling slightly on edge. 

"Well… you probably don't remember but, at the ball… you said-"

"Yes."  Replied Tiff, cutting him off in mid-sentence. 

"Yes, what?"  he asked. 

"Yes, I know what I said."

"Oh…"  A tense silence descended on the room as their eyes met.  "Did you mean it?"  Sirius asked softly, his sapphire eyes twinkled nervously, framed by dark lashes and brows.  Tiffany stared back at him defiantly; her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky. 

"Every word."  She whispered. 

Tiff watched in awe as a smile spread across Sirius' face; his eyes lit up as he felt for her hand.  He moved closer to her; Tiff nervously tried to flatten her tousled hair, but to no effect. 

  Sirius held her hand lightly, brushing his thumb gently across her fingers.  Tiffany exhaled softly; her heart was fluttering nervously as he placed a hand on her arm. 

"Let me assure you m'Lady, that your love is not unrequited.  For you will always be my darling too,"  he quoted from her softly, his eyes fixed on hers.  "Until the New Year, my sweet."  Sirius kissed her hand, then reached out and touched her cheek lightly.  He left the room, pausing at the door to cast a final glance in her direction. 

Tiff had to restrain herself from swooning in what was probably the single most romantic moment of her life.  He's so sweet and tender; and bloody handsome too!  Such a gentleman…  she thought with a grin.

"Hmmmm…"  Tiff sighed dreamily.  "Tiffany Black.  Hmm, no.  Tiffany Miranda Black…  Tiffany Black – Zabini…  I know…  Tiffany Miranda Zabini- Black…  Zabini – Black?  That sounds like a swan!"  she said, immersing herself in her thoughts. 

*  *  *

"Get up!"

"No.  I'm asleep."

"Tiff, I'm ordering you to get up now."

"No…  It's Christmas Day, therefore I am entitled to a lie in."

"But you have to get up.  Come on, there's a surprise waiting for you downstairs." 

Tiffany sat upright, giving James an odd look. 

"Do you have any idea what that sounded like?"  her sleepy eyes shone humorously. 

"Yes, but you must get up now."  He pleaded anxiously, reminding Tiff of a little child, excited at the prospect of Christmas and presents. 

"Why?"

"Because…  lets just say that when Santa came last night he left a special present, only you have to get up now, because it won't last for long." 

Tiff raised an eyebrow.  "Once again my perverted mind chooses to view that a different way to the intended one." 

"Come on."  James grabbed Tiff's arm and dragged the petite blonde out of bed. 

"Meh!  But sleep…"  She stumbled alongside him, making disgruntled noises at being awoken so early (8.30am.)  Tiff followed James, who bore a knowing grin across his face. 

"James, what's going on?"  James simply smiled, then quickened his pace.  He led her towards a balcony which overlooked the common room.  She listened intently as she heard voices; a deep, male aristocratic one, and two female laughs, one of which was so familiar that it wrenched her heart. 

"Mum?"  Tiff ran to the balcony; her face lit up with excitement as she set eyes on her mother and father, who stood by the tree with James' parents. 

"Mummy!"  she squealed, leaping down the stairs and throwing herself into the open arms of the small, curvacious blonde woman whose face bore an expression of sadness and delight. 

"Hello my darling, oh, I missed you so much,"  Mrs Zabini embraced her daughter tightly.  She detached herself from Tiffany's steel-like grip and stepped back to survey her child.  "You've grown,"  she commented, her lavender eyes twinkled.

"Yep,"  said Tiff happily as she hugged  her dad.  "What're you doing here?  I thought you were too busy working." 

"Well, we thought if Tiff can't come for Christmas, then Christmas will come to Tiff,"  said her father with a smile. 

"And me!"  piped James. 

"Yes, and you Jamesie-poo,"  James' mother ruffled his hair affectionately as he screwed up his nose distastefully. 

Tiff laughed. 

"Yeah, Jamesie-poo…"  she teased.  "Ooh, presents!"  she scampered over to the tree excitedly, and began to unwrap, or more appropriately tear open her presents. 

 The parents watched in amazement as Tiff and James acted like children under the tree.  They were struck by how innocent the teenagers looked, and in that moment, Mr Zabini realised that he would never again be presented with a childlike image of his daughter.  She was growing up, and couldn't be sheltered from the real world anymore.  But he still wondered if it was the right time;   whether she was mature enough to handle her responsibilities as heiress to the Zabini fortune and whether she would be able to keep their most treasured possession a secret, even from her friends… And more importantly; from her family.

  Tiff received strange presents from her friends.  Lily had given her a muggle book, entitled "Jane Eyre," as Tiff was a keen reader of muggle literature;  Amber had gotten her some sparkly golden hair clips, that were shaped like butterflies - their wings actually fluttered delicately.  The last present; which she assumed was from either Sirius or Snape, as there was no message, simply the initial 'S'; was in a thin, rectangular box.  The box was plain and brown, nothing special, as seemed its contents.  At first glance, the bracelet looked nothing more than a fine chain, an unusual cross between gold, white gold and silver.  Whatever the material was, Tiffany could not distinguish it, however she noted its simplistic beauty and the pale gold glimmer it emitted when the suns rays caught it's fragile links.  There was a tiny golden heart charm on the bracelet, in the centre of which looked like a solitaire diamond, yet was not.  Diamonds were only glass, and Tiffany cared for them not, yet this was no mere piece of glass.  It shone with a sweet radiance and gleamed a white light, so brightly brilliant that it put the stars to shame.  There was an engraving on the back of the heart, which Tiff could only just see as the writing was miniscule. 

'Forever

  S'

 Tiffany smiled as she put it on her wrist.  She knew it was from Sirius; it made her realise how much she missed him and how much it pained her heart to admit that she missed him, that she couldn't be without him…

  She caught James watching her from the corner of her eye; a knowing smile crossed his face as she met his eyes with her questioning gaze.  That answered it all. 

James could tell it was from Sirius simply by the look in her eyes, for it was the look she wore whenever she set her eyes upon his mischievous friend.  The look whose meaning was so painstakingly obvious that James wished he could point out how perfect they were for each other.  But… something stopped him.  He supposed it was his friendship with both Sirius and Tiff.  He didn't want either of them to get hurt because of the other. 

Meanwhile, Tiffany's father watched her from the other side of the room.  He beckoned to her to join him.  "Just a quick word," he said.

"What is it?  Is everything ok?"  she asked, concern sounding clearly in her voice.  His eyes looked at her sharply, and he almost smiled at the irony.  His daughter had his wit and awareness; that was for sure. 

"Possibly, possibly not."  He replied.  "Look, there's nothing for you to worry about at the moment but we can't stay at Hogwarts for long."

"You can't?"  Tiff echoed, her face falling dismally. 

"No, at a push we can stay for lunch, but then we'll have to go I'm afraid."  Mr. Zabini rubbed his temples thoughtfully, wondering how best to phrase what he had to tell her. 

"Oh…"  she said, her face betraying her sadness.  "That's alright.  I understand…  work…"

"Yes,"  he said impatiently.  "But there's something I must tell you about.  There's an extra present for you that your mother and I will give you directly before we leave.  We have to go and see Dumbledore about it later… sort out a few minor details…"

Tiff frowned.  Her father looked nervous.  He was never nervous.  Caleb Zabini was renown for his quick and logical thinking under pressure.  So why was the Ministry detective sweating about giving his daughter a present.

"What is it?"  she asked, beginning to feel nervous herself. 

"I – "  he began. 

"Caleb dear, we must see Dumbledore.  Now,"  Mrs. Zabini insisted gently. 

"Right, coming dear."  He embraced Tiffany briefly.  "We'll speak later,"  he said, kissing her forehead before following his wife out of the common room with James' parents. 

Tiff traded a glance with James. 

"Well…. How odd,"  she said quirkily, laughing at the strange version of events.  Her parents weren't usually the 'huggy' sort, plus, why would they have to see Dumbledore?!? 

"Batty.  Absolutely bonkers, the lot of 'em!"  Commented James, devouring a chocolate frog. 

*  *  *

The Zabinis and Potters stayed for Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.  There was one long table, full of adults and a handful of students – two twin Hufflepuff girls, a surly faced Slytherin, and James and Tiff.  The atmosphere was warm and jolly as teachers, students and parents enjoyed the release that Christmas brought.  Yet Tiffany saw things differently.  She watched her parents surreptitiously, and noticed a pattern in their behaviour that betrayed their true feelings – of unease and growing anxiety as time pressed on. 

  Tiff pulled a magical cracker with James, which exploded with an almighty bang, engulfing them in a cloud of blue smoke.  Tiff caught the object which flew at her with deadly precision.  She raised an eyebrow as she looked from James to the stuffed unicorn she was holding.  Their faces split into identical grins as they both thought of the Halloween prank played on Snape. 

As the time came to say their goodbyes, both Tiff and James were tearful.  Her parents pulled her aside and Mr. Zabini handed her a small box bound with silver ribbon. 

"What's this?"  she asked, glancing from the package which lay delicately on the palm of her hand, to the nervous faces of her parents. 

"A gift.  This is an ancient family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation.  You mustn't open the box until your sixteenth birthday, and when you do, you must never let the object out of your sight.  Do you understand?"  Her father said quickly in a hushed voice.  Tiffany blinked a few times before replying. 

"No, not really.  Why can't I open it now?"  Her eyes strayed to the ribbon; her fingers longed to pull at the loose ends, to unravel the silken bow and to finally set eyes upon the mysterious contents of the box.

"Tiffany, listen to me.  It is vital that that object remains unseen by the bearer until the age of reckoning.  For that is when its ownership will be transferred to you, and without that ownership, the object is free to be claimed," he said earnestly, taking hold of her shoulders to convey the importance of this to her. 

"Claimed?  Bearer?  I don't understand…"  she frowned, not knowing what this meant at all.  Her mother took hold of her hand; silently comforting her. 

"Tiffany, I know this is confusing, and believe me when I say that life is confusing.  But at this moment in time, all you need to know is that your task is to protect the object,"  she said gently, her lavender eyes filled with understanding and concern. 

"But protect from whom?  And what in the name of Merlin is 'the object?"  said Tiff, becoming more frustrated as she grew more confused. 

"Don't curse Tiffany, you were not brought up that way,"  he father frowned. 

Tiff rolled her eyes.  "I can't tell you that right now, but what I can tell you is that all will be revealed in due course."  Replied her mother. 

"Oh, Tiffany…"  she sighed, wrapping her arms around her daughter protectively.  Tiff hugged her back, overwhelmed with confusion and sadness.  She wished that they didn't have to leave, and she wished that they hadn't left things so unexplained. 

"I love you sweetheart, remember that.  You'll always be my little girl,"  her mother kissed her cheek and hugged her once more before reluctantly withdrawing.  Tiff noticed the tears in her mother's eyes, yet tore her gaze away from them as her father embraced her. 

"We must go, time is short.  Goodbye dear Tiffany."  He kissed her forehead, then leaned towards her ear and whispered softly:

"Keep it secret, keep it safe," before turning and striding towards the horse-less carriages which would take them to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, from where it would be safe to disapparate. 

Tiff nodded briefly before her eyes returned to her mother. 

"Goodbye,"  she whispered.  Her eyes welled up, and her fists clenched as she fought the tears.  Her mother was now openly sobbing, gazing at Tiffany longingly.  This disturbed Tiff, as she had never before seen her mother cry. 

"Aurora."  Tiff's father called to her mother, as she swayed, torn between her husband and her daughter. 

"Go, mum,"  said Tiff sadly. 

"Goodbye my darling,"  whispered her mother as she walked slowly towards Caleb, who put an arm around her as she cried in the carriage. 

Tiff watched them leave until she could no longer see the carriage.  She wiped her eyes, then cast a glance towards James, who was also attempting to cover up his sadness.  She made an effort to smile, yet it came out as a racked sob.  James patted Tiff reassuringly on the back. 

"They'll be ok, don't worry,"  he said soothingly, yet his voice quavered slightly as doubt crept into his mind.  He had been writing to his parents regularly for months, and by their accounts, things seemed to be growing worse as Voldemorts ranks grew in numbers and strength.  He didn't voice these thoughts to Tiff though; she was upset enough at her parents departure. 

Tiff didn't hear the fault in his voice.  She was worried.  More worried than she had ever been; and sadness, confusion and concern were not a good combination.  Especially not now that she had a task, and a dangerous task at that…

a/n  dun dun duuuuuuun…..  next chapter:

What will Sirius do now that he knows Tiff's true feelings… What exactly is 'the object' in the box… Why will Amber feature heavily in the next chapter?

Find out in chapter eight of 'Destiny',  due in erm…. 2002.  Soon.  I hope!

Reviews are very much appreciated, and I can (almost) guarantee that I will either review your story or send you a nice 'thankyou' e-mail! 

Also, if you would like to be added to my mailing list, (I haven't forgotten you all!) then please leave a note and your e-mail address in your review!  Ha!  Now you have to review!  Unless you flame…  please don't! 

Ok, I'm gone….