A/N: Thanks to reviewers! I promise that I'll let Sirius talk more… my Remus muse just wouldn't shut up. There will be a new speaker today and probably more than a little fluff. It's also very long. Enjoy!
Sirius' POV
I love Christmas. It's a happy holiday when everyone comes together and there are presents galore. This Christmas the Potters have been gracious enough to let me stay with them. Actually everybody is staying with the Potters.
It was James' idea back in November to plan a huge week long Christmas with our group and their parents; kind of a last hurrah with our collective families before we graduate and move out. Surprisingly they agreed and the invitations were sent out. Even more surprisingly everyone agreed to come. So, in roughly fifteen minutes Remus and his mother, Jen, her parents and her sister Melanie, Peter and his parents, and Lily who is bringing her parents and her sister Petunia who is bringing her fiancée Vernon Dursley. I was a bit shocked to hear of the last people on the list, but Lily said that her parents wouldn't let her sister stay home so as a consolation she's allowed to bring Dursley along.
James' parents have decided to go all out. All of the beds in the house have been shrunk and were replaced with cushy sleeping bags. The boys will sleep in James' room, the girls in the guest room, and there are nice two person (well, one one person one) in Mr. and Mrs. Potters' room.
The door bell is ringing and I rush down the stairs. I'm eager to see my Remus again even though we've only been separated for a few days. I know that we won't be able to touch each other very much, but it'll be enough just to be near him. I suppose that there's always sneaking off for a while too.
"Peter," I say as he walks through the door.
"Hi Sirius, James, it's great to see you," he says brightly. "This is going to be so much fun. It was a great idea James."
James smiles and says, "Yeah I'd have to say that it is," then, "come on Wormtail let's get this stuff upstairs."
We've just come downstairs after taking Peter's along with Peter's parents stuff upstairs when the doorbell rings again. "Remus," I say happily as I pull him into a tight hug. He squeezes back, his head resting on my shoulder for a moment before pulling away. He then moves on to hug the others.
We decided back at Hogwarts that it would be best if we all were physical with one another so that Remus and I don't stand out. We're pretty close so it's really not anything new, just a little extra.
The others arrive after that. By twelve everyone has arrived and we're all introduced. Vernon Dursley is a big man; I mean really big. My guess is that he weighs between two hundred and three hundred pounds. Petunia on the other hand is skin and bones with a long neck. Both of them have made it perfectly obvious that they don't really want to be here. According to Lily, her sister hates magic in all way, shape, and form. Dursley knows about it and the fact that he's surrounded by wizards is obviously making him uncomfortable.
"Why don't we go up to my room," suggests James. I could kiss him, really I could. Actually I could kiss Remus and have been fighting that urge since he walked through the door. We get up and head for the exit when I notice something. Melanie, Jen's sister, is following us. I almost groan aloud in frustration.
"Remus," I say as sweetly as I can when we reach our destination, "would you help me with something?" I ask with a wink.
"Of course Padfoot," he says with a smile and a wink of his own. I nearly drag him out of the room and down the hall. Once the bathroom door is firmly locked I pounce on my startled boyfriend, covering his face with kisses. He responds by capturing my mouth with his.
After about ten minutes he says against my mouth, "we should go back." Sighing I agree and after straitening our clothing and hair we walk back to the room. We sit on the floor, thighs pressed together, and Melanie comes over to sit with us. It's now that I notice the look on her face. I've seen it often enough living with James pining away for Lily for so long. She's got a crush on Remus.
Mrs. Potter has always thought that at big family or friendly gatherings that the adults should sit in one place and the children in another. So, we're sitting at a large table about three feet away from the "adult" table. The definition has been modified of course to basically say that anyone who's never been married is a child.
Melanie seats herself on Remus' other side and I almost groan in frustration and jealously; for a ten year old she sure is flirtatious. In fact for the next half an hour after Remus and I returned from the bathroom flirting is all she's been doing. Stop it, I scold myself, she's ten years old and Remus doesn't even like girls. Smiling smugly to myself because of this information I discreetly take Remus' hand under the table.
Across from us are Petunia and Vernon. As the wonderful food starts its circulation around the table Vernon and I make a poor attempt at conversation. Seeing as I don't know anything about Muggles and he doesn't know anything about wizards it makes for a strained conversation. Remus, who actually pays attention in Muggle studies, has struck up a very polite conversation with Petunia about politics. For some reason Remus gets a Muggle newspaper delivered once a week so that he can catch up on the news. He says that the reason is something like 'if we understand them then maybe there'll be less Muggle hate crimes'. I personally think that he's just scared of people finding out that he's a werewolf and being turned out of the wizarding world. Hence he wants to know about Muggles in case he has to live with them.
As the meal progresses the subject inevitably turns to girlfriends. I'd better play it safe and say that I'm single. "I'm not seeing anyone right now," I explain nervously to my less than pleasurable dinner companion, "my last girlfriend and I broke up sometime in October." I hate lying and I'm not very good at it, but he seems to buy it.
Then he drops the bomb, "what did she look like?"
"Well," I say, "she was very pretty. She had, umm, blonde hair, and uh, brown eyes and a very nice smile." He just nods and I hope that my made up girl friend has passed inspection.
Meanwhile Melanie, who's been listening in on our conversation, says, "So do you have a girlfriend Remus?" Her tone of voice and the way she's batting her eyelashes is starting to make me sick.
"No," he replies, "I don't have a girlfriend." He then proceeds to wink at me. Sometimes he's just as bad of a flirt as Melanie is!
Needless to say I'm very happy when this torturous dinner is over. James herds us into the living room and the adults disappear into another room. Remus and I are lounging on either side of the door frame and the rest have found places to sit inside the room. A plate of cookies catches my eye and I go to move towards them when I find that I can't. Lily is laughing quietly and pointing discreetly upward. I look to find enchanted mistletoe.
Neither Remus nor I can move from this doorway until we kiss. This is perfect. I can one test my curiosity about the look on Dursley's face when I kiss my boyfriend and two I can make that little flirtatious brat jealous. But then, again any excuse to kiss Remus is a good one.
I put on the most disgusted tone I can manage and say, "Well Moony if we have to kiss we might as well do it properly." I then proceed to grab him around the waist, dip him, and kiss him passionately on the lips.
The results to my questions come quickly. When we pull away Vernon and Petunia are sitting next to each other looking horrified and Melanie is giving me such a look that if looks could kill I'd be six feet under right now. The spell, however, has been broken and we can't stay like this forever. We disentangle ourselves from one another and make our way over to the couch where Lily and James are sitting.
Half way there, however, something catches Remus' eye and he stops. "James," he says, "do you mind if I play the piano?"
"Sure," he says, "I was planning on putting on some music anyways." Remus smiles and makes his way over to the piano where he sits and places his fingers on the keys. Then he starts to move them. All I can do is stand there, enchanted by this hidden talent. Soon he's getting requests and James has pulled out some old sheet music. Melanie has claimed the seat on the bench next to him already, so I settle for behind him. We're all singing, but all I can hear is Remus' sweet, lilting tenor as it weaves it's harmonies with the other voices present.
The adults join us and finally after one last verse of 'Silent Night' we're shooed off to bed. After giving our presents to Mrs. Potter to deliver, Lily, Jen, and Petunia kiss their boyfriends and Melanie blows Remus a kiss. Then we're finally rid of them. I love Lily and Jen like sisters, but Melanie is really starting to get on my nerves.
The sleeping bags that Mrs. Potter has conjured are more like sleeping on air than on a hard floor and are very comfortable. We arrange ourselves in a circle like shape so that all of our heads are in the middle. Dursley is a bit farther away but still sort of in the circle.
"I didn't know that you could play the piano Remus," says Peter. My thoughts exactly.
"Yeah," he responds, "I started taking lessons when I was about four. It came pretty naturally and was relaxing. I used to practice when Dad wasn't home."
"What happened to your Father? Did he run out or something," asks Dursley in his snobbish tone.
"No he died," states Remus calmly.
"A magic related death I'll bet," says Dursley in his 'I know everything and am better than you voice' that I'm coming to hate.
"No it was a gun accident," says Remus. He says it causally and without much emotion but I can see the small smirk on his face; Remus loves proving people wrong.
The wind seems to have been taken out of his sails and with a small 'oh' he rolls over. "Goodnight then," he says. We all look at each other and try not to laugh. This impulse becomes stronger when he starts to snore.
"Goodnight guys," says James. We all mutter our responses and snuggle under the warm coverings. Remus and I can't sleep together, but I stretch my hand above my hand and he covers it with his own. I happily drift off to sleep.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!" Someone shouts in my ear. I awake to Remus sitting on my chest shouting this somewhat annoying phrase. I look around to see a sleepy James and Peter sitting up and rubbing their eyes. Dursley is still snoring loudly, so I quickly kiss Remus on the nose and push him off of me.
"Presents," says Peter excitedly. Peter's normally pretty mature but on Christmas he's six years old again. His call wakes Dursley, but none of us really notice him.
James holds a dilapidated cauldron out to us and says, "alright, everybody in." Ever since first year this has been our Christmas tradition. That year we all gave each other candy. In order to assure more creative presents the next year, we decided to make a Christmas candy pool. Everyone buys a large amount of candy and puts it into the pot (a cauldron that Remus melted in Potions sometime in first year). Then we keep it in the dorm and everyone can have what they want. We all throw in our share and move on to the other presents.
I wait anxiously as Remus selects my present. He smiles briefly as he pulls out a copy of, "The Survival Guide for taking your NEWTs". It's then that I notice the other four copies of the same book already lying on his bed. Looking around I notice that James and Peter are in the same predicament; come to think of it so am I. It's the other things that I'm worried about anyways. He opens the scarf.
"Did you make this Padfoot?" he asks quietly.
"Yeah," I reply shyly, "Lily taught me how to do it. I've been working on it since November. It's not very good, but your always cold so I though that I'd make you something to wear."
He smiles fondly at me and gives me a big hug, "Thanks Sirius," he whispers, "I love it." With that he pulls away and puts it on. There's one final thing and he's unwrapping it now. It's a locket, gold in color, with his name engraved on it. I know that it's kind of cheap and tacky, but I saw them on display in Hogsmeade and I had to buy it.
"Now it's your turn," he says to me. I open the package to find a box with the words "Your NEWTs Survival Kit" painted on the lid. Inside I find a copy of "The Survival Guide for taking your NEWTs" and on the inside cover I find this message…
Padfoot
Use this well, and always remember to be kind to your enemies for nothing annoys them quite so much. All my love,
Moony
P.S Turn to page 62 for a surprise.
I quickly turn to the given page to find a few pictures of just the two of us. There is also a locket identical to the one that I gave him except with my own name on it. I put it on, hug him, and then examine the rest of the kit. It's full of little things, from extra quills and ink to a dog collar. There's even a little stress ball that looks like a wolf. There's also a rat shaped one and a stag shaped one.
The girls wander in and I see that all of them are sporting lockets similar to mine and Remus'; Lily's and Jen's from their boyfriends and the other two from their sisters. I can also see James and Peter are wearing them too. Well that store certainly did some business this holiday season.
It's now that I notice the small envelop sitting in my pile of unwrapped presents. I open it and read the note which tells me to look out back for my big surprise. I was wondering why I didn't get anything from the Potters. They've kind of adopted me as a second son and I normally get a lot from them for Christmas.
I run down the stairs and the others follow with superior looks on their faces. They obviously know what's waiting for me outside. I smile to myself as I run past the kitchen and smell cinnamon; Mrs. Potter is an excellent cook and breakfast is starting to sound more and more appealing to my rumbling stomach.
Outside is a large black motorcycle. "Oh," breathe as I walk to it and tentatively reach out to touch it. There are even two helmets so that someone can ride with me.
"It flies too," James says proudly.
The Potters have arrived in the doorway and I run and hug them. "Thank you so much, this is the best Christmas present ever!" I say to them as we stand in the frosty December air.
"I know that you've probably not had many great presents from your folks so this is to make up for it," says Mrs. Potter quietly, then louder, "why don't you take it for a test run?"
I nod eagerly and say, "Remus you want to test this thing out with me?" He agrees and soon he's sitting with his arms firmly around my waist and we're flying. I fly away from the house a bit so that we can't be seen and we land.
After we've kissed a bit he says, "We'd better go back. They might get worried and I'm starving." I nod in agreement, kiss him one last time and take off for the Potter's house with a very happy grin on my face.
James' POV
The past twenty-four hours have been a lot of fun. From watching Sirius trying to tell Vernon about his "girlfriend" at dinner last night to Jen's little sister blatantly flirting with Remus it's been very amusing. But now I'm getting nervous.
I love Lily with all my heart. She was a hard one to catch, but once I tuned my ego down she agreed to go on one date with me. She said that it was to make me stop bothering her, but when I asked her out again she consented. Now I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I've never felt this way about anyone before.
"Lily," I say, "could I have a word with you outside?" She nods and we head outdoors to the gazebo. There's a two person swing out there and earlier I put a heating charm on the place so that we won't freeze.
"What is it?" she asks.
I've never been more nervous in my entire life. "Lily," I start, "I've always loved you very much and I always will. Now I have something for you, but first you have to answer a question." I pull the small box from my pocket. "Lily Evans will you marry me?" I open the box to reveal the thin gold band with the diamond lily on it.
"Oh James," she whispers, "of course I'll marry you." Then she's in my arms and we're kissing and laughing and crying and everything's perfect.
We sit together like this for a long time, just holding each other in our happiness. "When are we going to tell everyone?" she asks after a while.
"How about at Christmas dinner?" I offer. She nods and smiles and we're just moving in for another kiss when Mum calls us in for dinner. I take her hand and we walk indoors.
The meal goes well. There are no awkward conversations and the food is delicious; Mum's really outdone herself this year. I stand and tap my empty glass with my fork. "My I have your attention please?" I yell to everybody.
When everyone's finally looking at me I say, "Mr. and Mrs. Evans, I would like to ask something of you." They nod and smile at me so I continue, "I've already asked Lily and she's agreed so now I need to ask you." The nervousness is returning to my stomach as I blurt out, "I would like to ask for your blessing and your daughters hand in marriage." There I've said it.
Mr. Evans looks at his wife then turns to me and says, "You have our blessing." Then he comes around the table and shakes my hand. He gives Lily a hug and everybody starts clapping; except Petunia and Vernon but I didn't really expect them to be all that excited about it anyways.
Remus' POV
I think that this has been one of the happiest weeks of my life. It's been so wonderful to have everyone here having this huge never ending party. Petunia and Vernon left the day after Christmas and the atmosphere was much less tense after that. It was pretty obvious that they didn't want to be here and were uncomfortable. Jen's little sister has a crush on me and it's annoying, but it's worth it to see Sirius get all jealous and angry. I mean she's nice and all, but she's ten years old and really not my type.
I love the scarf that Sirius gave me for Christmas. It's not the prettiest thing to look at (red and gold, very lumpy, and slightly misshapen) but the colors are nice and it's the thought and the effort that count. I know that it sounds silly, but I sleep with it every night as a substitute Sirius. I know that we'll have to tell my mum someday but I'm just not ready yet.
I'm really happy for Lily and James. If anyone can make it through marriage I think that it's them. The pair of them have been walking around with deliriously happy grins on their faces since James proposed. That is of course whenever they're not attached at the lips.
It's thirty seconds to midnight on New Years Eve. We've been partying all night. Mrs. Potter supplied a ton of food and James put on music. My mum even danced with Mr. Evans, Mr. Potter, and Sirius. "Come with me to get some pots to bang together when it hits midnight," says Sirius to me. I grin and follow him.
"Three, two, one…Happy New year!" I hear from the other room.
"Happy New Year Moony," says Sirius right before he kisses me deeply.
"I think that it'll be a good one," I whisper back. Then, "come on; let's get those pots and pans before they send out a search party." We head back to the living room banging our cooking implements together extra loud. I have a feeling that this is going to be an amazing year.
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