Chapter Nineteen
The next morning was the beginning of the Christmas holidays, and everyone was going home. Sirius, of course, would be spending the holidays with James and his family, while Peter's family was going to visit his grandmother in France again. Peter swore that woman should have been dead years ago, and that she was staying alive just to spite him. She was about as nice as Sirius' mom, and according to Peter, twice as loud. He said that she loved to spend their time together reminding him of just why he was her least favorite grandchild. Needless to say, Peter was not looking forward to the holidays.
Remus wasn't exactly thrilled about his plans for the holidays, either. He'd gotten a letter about a week ago, telling him that his father was taking a business trip to Spain, and that his mother would be going with him, meaning that Remus would be spending the holidays with his grandparents in Wales. Paul and Sierra Lupin were wonderful people, really. The only reason Remus didn't enjoy visiting them was that they always had these huge formal parties, invited some of the most prominent wizarding families in Britain, and Remus always ended up having to entertain the sniveling, spoiled children of the various Ministry officials who came to call. He truly hated those parties. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd been able to invite some of his friends, but they all had plans.
Grace was spending the holidays in London with Jennifer, while her parents visited her two older brothers in Germany. Grace had chosen not to go, because she knew her brothers' friend Jeremy would be there, and according to Grace, he would use every opportunity he had to hit on her. She couldn't stand him, and had been quite relieved when she'd gotten permission to stay with Jennifer. Lily would also be with her family, though she planned to visit Jennifer and Grace at some point in the holidays, in order to get away from her 'horrid' sister Petunia.
Michelle, meanwhile, was also going to be spending the break with her grandparents. A friend of her mother's had died a few days ago, and so she'd told Michelle that she was going to spend some time with that family. Andrew, thankfully, was going back to America to see their father – although Michelle was sure that David Cooke was still in Britain, though she had no proof of this. She was just happy to be away from Andrew for a while, and was hardly going to complain about his leaving the country.
As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, the eight of them all settled into their compartment. Michelle sat down next to Remus, who instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her lightly to him. Sirius and James were talking about all the fun they were going to have, playing pranks on James' older cousins, Thelma and Louise, who would almost certainly be coming for Christmas. James didn't particularly like either of them, and neither did the other Marauders.
"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they wake up Christmas morning with green hair, and the worst case of acme ever!" (Boring prank, I know, but I can't think of anything more original right now!) Sirius said happily, almost bouncing in his seat with anticipation. Even Remus and Peter laughed in appreciation, imagining how the two normally prissy girls would react to this.
"Oh come on," Lily said, frowning at them as they continued laughing. "They can't be all that bad, can they?"
"Yes, they can." James said, calming down somewhat. "Thelma and Louise are complete snobs, who think that they're better than we are, just because they got to Bauxbatons and not Hogwarts. As if that stupid school is better than Hogwarts."
"Oh, I don't know, Prongs," Sirius said, smirking mischievously at Remus. "Thelma certainly didn't seem to mind Moony too much last Christmas. Remember how she practically threw herself at Remus while we visited you last time?" The other Marauders laughed at the expression on Remus' face, and the girls looked at them curiously. Remus grimaced at the memory. Thelma had practically jumped on him the moment James had introduced him, and Remus had been absolutely repulsed by her.
"How could I forget?" James asked with a chuckle. "The stupid girl barely left us alone, because she kept fawning all over you, Moony. I still don't know how you got her to lay off those last few days."
"Simple," Remus said as the witch with the food trolley stopped at their compartment, and he got food for everyone. "I told her I was gay, and had taken a vow of celibacy. That turned her off pretty quick."
Everyone else looked at him in shocked silence for a moment, before bursting out with laughter. Even the girls, who'd never met James' cousins were practically crying with mirth. "That's classic, Moony," Peter said, wiping his eyes.
A few hours later, the train pulled to a stop at King's Cross. Remus helped Michelle unload her trunk, pulling his own along behind him, as they walked off the train, followed shortly by the others. Peter was going steadily paler, bemoaning the prospect of having his holidays ruined by his evil grandmother.
As they all stepped off the train, Remus immediately spotted his grandparents, who were speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Pettigrew. James and Jennifer's parents weren't there yet, and Lily's were more than likely waiting on the other side of the barrier. Michelle was taking the Knight Bus to her grandparents' house, as they weren't able to make it into the city that day. Sirius glared upon seeing his own mother and father, there to pick up Regulus. Paul, who looked like an older version of Remus, smiled as he saw his grandson and his friends approaching.
"'Lo Remus. Hello boys," Sierra greeted the Maruaders. "And who are these lovely ladies?" She asked Remus, smiling at Lily, Grace, Jennifer, and Michelle.
"Grandmum, this is Lily Evans, Grace Pole, Jennifer Sharpe, and my girlfriend, Michelle Cooke," He said, indicating each girl in turn, and blushing slightly when he said that Michelle was his girlfriend. Sierra and Mrs. Pettigrew both cooed with happiness as the young couple clasped hands.
"Cooke? You wouldn't be any relation to Raquel and Abram Cooke, would you?" Paul asked, while shaking James and Sirius' hands in greeting.
Michelle nodded. "They're my grandparents. Do you know them?" She asked.
"Of course we do! They're old friends of ours." Sierra said with a smile. "Are you going to see them over the holidays?"
"I'll be with them the entire time, actually. Mum's going to visit a friend's family, and so I'm staying with them." Michelle said, as Jennifer and Peter's parents finally arrived.
After introductions were performed once again, Lily said, "Well, I hate to break this up, but my parents are probably waiting on the other side for me, so I should probably say goodbye." She bid her friends goodbye, and demanded that they all write to her, before leaving the platform.
"We should be going too, Remus. We've got a long ride ahead of us," Paul said to his grandson.
Remus nodded, and said goodbye to his friends, before kissing Michelle on the lips, causing his grandmother to coo with glee once again. He blushed as they pulled apart, and told everyone to write. He followed his grandparents back through the barrier and out of the station to their old Ford Anglia.
A few days later, Remus woke up with a groan. He'd been having the strangest dream – something to do with monkeys hunting vampires, which made no sense at all. He frowned slightly as he sat up and looked around the room he had at his grandparents' house. It was Gryffindor red (this had been his father's room, when he was growing up) and sunlight was streaming in through large bay windows on the far side of the room. Next to the door was a huge bookcase that held more than enough books to keep him occupied over the holidays. His double bed was in the very center of the room, directly in front of a large oak dresser. Beside the windows was a walk-in closet, where his trunk had been placed by one of the house-elves. Looking over at the clock, Remus saw that it was seven o'clock. He was surprised that he'd woken up so early, but came to the conclusion that it was because Sirius never let anyone sleep past seven. Cursing his friend's name, Remus tried to go back to sleep, but found that he couldn't. It was too quiet here; he hated to admit it, but he almost missed Sirius' singing, along with James' subsequent cursing.
After deciding that there was no point in staying in bed any longer, Remus finally got up and began to get dressed. He'd just finished pulling on a sweater over his jeans when his grandfather knocked lightly on his door, before entering the room. Seeing that Remus was awake, Paul smiled. "Good, you're up. I though after breakfast you might like to come into town with me. We've still got a bit of shopping to do before the party next week. Can't have a Christmas party without a tree, now can we?"
Suppressing a groan at being reminded of the party they were planning, Remus nodded in agreement. He hated the idea of planning parties, and didn't particularly like to shop, but he did enjoy visiting the small village a few miles away. It reminded him of his own hometown, especially at Christmas. "That sounds all right." Remus said, and Paul smiled again.
"Great. Now, go on downstairs. Breakfast is ready, and I think you've got some mail." He told Remus, before exiting the room. Remus followed him after pulling on a pair of shoes, and grabbing his cloak.
Heading downstairs, Remus could smell his grandmother's wonderful cooking. This was one of the things he loved about his grandparents. They were rich, and had several house-elves, but still chose to do most things for themselves, and treated the elves like extensions of their own family.
Sierra looked up as he entered the cavernous kitchen, and sat down at the table. "Good morning, dear, did you sleep well?" She asked, handing him a plate full of food.
"Yes, thanks grandmum. This is great," He said, taking the food and tucking in.
She smiled and said, "Well, you eat up now, and here's you mail. Paul should be ready to go in a few minutes, so you'd better eat fast."
Remus nodded, as he opened one of the two letters she gave him. The first was from Michelle, telling him about her grandparents. "Michelle's grandparents said to tell you hello," Remus said, reading the letter. There really wasn't much to say, as they'd only been apart for about four days, except that she suspected Raquel and Abram were getting her a broom for Christmas. He couldn't help but smile however, as he read the last lines of the letter, when Michelle said that she loved him. The next letter was from James and Sirius. They went on, complaining at length about Thelma and Louise. It seemed that Louise had a crush on Sirius. Remus laughed, remembering how they'd teased him about Thelma's feelings for him.
After finishing his breakfast, Remus put the letters in his room, before going outside to wait on his grandfather.
One week, later, on Christmas Eve, Paul and Sierra were running around the huge three-story manor, putting up decorations for the party later that night. Remus was fortunate enough to be allowed to go into the village once again to get more food for the guests. As he walked home, carrying a basket full of cakes and pies from the bakery, Remus couldn't help but think how much he wished he could be with his friends, instead of his grandparents tonight. He would've even preferred to be with Peter and his evil grandmother, rather that be stuck here for the party.
A few hours later, Remus was in his room on the third floor, throwing on his new navy-blue dress robes when he heard his grandmother calling him from the stairs. "Remus! The guests are arriving! Hurry up, please." Remus groaned, as he heard more voices from downstairs. The only guests who could possibly be here so early would be their boring old neighbors. Nevertheless, Remus made his way downstairs as slowly as he could.
By seven o'clock, the house was filled with guests, and more were arriving every minute. When is this going to end? He thought to himself, just as he heard a pair of familiar voices calling him from the doorway. Surprised, Remus turned to find James and Sirius grinning madly at him.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Remus asked them in confusion.
"Geez, is that how you greet your guests, Moony?" Sirius asked in mock indignation.
Laughing slightly, James said, "My grandparents were invited, so they decided to drag all of us grandkids along too. So, I decided to drag Sirius along. We didn't know we were coming here, though, or else we would've told you."
Remus nodded. "S'alright. Come on, and I'll show you the rest of the house." However, as they were leaving the hallway, Remus processed exactly what James had said. "Wait. By all the grandkids, do you mean Thelma and Louise are here, too?" He asked, dreading the answer.
Before either James or Sirius could reply, Remus was nearly knocked to the ground as someone quite literally leapt on him. Grunting with the effort of trying to remove himself from the clutches of James' brown-haired cousin Thelma, Remus greeted her as politely as he could. James and Sirius were trying to hide their snickering, as Thelma attached herself to Remus' arm, saying, "Hello, Remus, it's simply divine to see you again. I've missed you so much, and I can see you've matured a great deal."
Detaching himself from the girl, Remus said, "Maybe so, but I'm still just as queer as ever, Thelma."
"And just as true to your 'vow of celibacy', eh Moony?" James said, elbowing Remus in the side. Sirius was practically beside himself with glee – until Louise, Thelma's twin sister entered the room, and attached herself to him like some sort of magnet. Thelma, it seemed, didn't care that Remus was 'gay', and she linked their arms once again.
"Hello, Siri-poo," the girl, who, aside from the fact that she had blonde hair, looked exactly like her sister, simpered. Both girls were about five foot three, had dull grey eyes and pale skin, and might have been attractive if they didn't drench their faces in make-up each morning. "I'm so glad we're here. Don't you think this is just so romantic?" She asked, batting her eyes suggestively at him.
Sirius grimaced. "Louise," he began, glancing at Remus and James in warning, "did I ever tell you that I'm gay?" James nearly choked on the drink he'd just been given by one of the house-elves when Sirius said this.
Louise laughed her annoyingly high, false laugh. "Oh, Siri-poo, you're such a kidder! I know you're not gay, I can tell when guys are gay. Take Remus here. I knew he was queer the moment I saw him." She said matter-of-factly.
The three boys struggled to keep from bursting out in laughter at this. When he was finally able to trust himself not to laugh in the blonde's face, Sirius turned to Louise and said, "All right, you've got me there. But I'll bet you didn't know I'm a hermaphrodite, did you?"
The three boys finally managed to get rid of Thelma and Louise when they told the girls they were going to help the house-elves clean the kitchen; they disappeared like bats out of hell at the prospect of actually doing work. Of course, this meant that they had to spend the rest of the night hiding from James' cousins. Two hours later, they actually were hiding out in the kitchen, when Remus heard someone else ring the doorbell. His grandmother must have opened the door before they could ring it again, because a second later, he heard her say, "Oh Abram, Raquel! How nice to see you, I'm so glad you could make it! And you brought your lovely granddaughter and her friend, how are you dears?"
