Chapter Seven - Confrontations at Christmas

"James, please tell me you've remembered what the last ingredient for the Shrinking Solution was," piped up Sirius sadly, watching Professor Stroud clear the blackboard with a wave of his wand.

"I remember what the last ingredient for the Shrinking Solution was," James answered, grinning despite himself.

"What is it?" asked Sirius, with wide eyes, eyeing all possible ingredients to place in his potion, "Hurry before he comes this way!"

"To tell you the truth, puppy, I have absolutely no idea."

Sirius threw a lizard spleen at him. Remus rolled his eyes as usual, quietly taking his time to add his own ingredients to his potion. It was just a week after his most recent transformation... his tense nature was just wearing down. Being December, it was only a few days before Christmas.

"Help me! HELP!" whined Sirius, grasping Remus' sleeve. The sandy-haired boy's eyes curtly snapped onto his friend, but he could scarcely see. His hair had grown again; his bangs were down to the top of his upper lip and the rest of his hair came down to the back of his lower shoulder bone. If it grew any longer, it would be in his mid-back.

"Add the fluxweed rinds!" grumbled Remus under his breath, wrenching his arm out of Sirius' hands, "And stir for five minutes clockwise. And James, you've did yours wrong - it should've been green."

James sighed sadly, looking at his feeble potion. It was bright blue.

"Is it any way of fixing this?" he almost cried, holding his head in his hands, "I really need this grade."

"You could add the bison milk and the curried leeches, it would counteract with the fluxweed that you added too early," suggested Lily Evans, sitting in front of James and Sirius. She had already finished her potion, and was putting some in a vile for grading.

Sirius and James exchanged glances.

"Well, thanks for helping." James started off slowly, "But Evans, if we wanted your help we would've asked for it."

He couldn't help himself as he reached for the bison milk, however.

It was like a light flickering on in Remus' brain, as Lily flushed and began to get up and run away. He barked at James. "Why'd you say that for? James, Lily just saved your skin and you act like you're not even a tad bit grateful for her help!"

James shrugged simply, adding his leeches. Lily made brief contact with Remus' eyes, and mouthed a thanks before Remus filled a vile of his own potion before handing it in to Professor Stroud and leaving a few seconds before the bell actually rung.

"What was he all about? D'you think he's got a flobberworm in the wrong place or something?" Sirius asked, packing up after successfully bottling his own potion. James' potion had just begun to turn green... but it was too late. At the exact time the bell rung, Professor Stroud waved his wand and all remaining potions in the cauldrons vanished.

"Damn!" swore James, as he had no other choice but to leave the room, "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

Lily giggled slightly as she exited the dungeons a few seconds before James and Sirius. Spotting her red-hair, they bustled past her.

"Thanks a lot, Evans." James growled bitterly, prodding Lily in her upper arm with his wand, "You still failed me."

"No, Potter, I think you failed yourself. I was just trying to help." Lily replied quietly, fearing James' wand so close to her. "Please put your wand away."

James glared as Sirius lowered his wand hand for him. He saw James furious more than often, and even though Lily was annoying at times, it really wasn't her fault he had just failed his exam.

"I'll get you back for that, Evans. Just you wait." James mumbled, watching Lily as she left and breathing hard through his nose. Quietly, he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "I'll pay you back for failing me if it's the last thing I do."

-x-

Since there was no other way to order Christmas gifts, the trio sat around the Gryffindor Common Room with piles of owl-order magazines. They were debating on things to buy for their family and for each other.

"What'd you think of this, Sirius? The hard-to-find Spotter Telescope?" asked James, grinning at his best friend as he showed him the picture, "I bet you I could spot Uranus with that thing."

"Ew, James, you keep out of my pants!" said Sirius, looking scandalized and grabbing his rear end protectively, "You freak of nature!"

Remus laughed, and despite himself he squinted in the fire glow. He knew couldn't front any longer. It had been about four months, and his vision was only getting worse. Why was he even bothering to hide it? He couldn't see these ads... a few of the pictures, sure… but really...

"Oooh, lookie! Guess what Jamesie, Remie is a double-sighted freakie too!" squealed Sirius, as he watched Remus put on a thin, golden-oval shaped spectacles. Remus paled, only because it slipped his mind that James wore glasses too. He cooled, then looked up with a smirk.

"You have a problem with my eyesight, puppy?" Remus asked, re-reading what he was about to seal in an envelope. He had already pre-ordered what he was going to give to Sirius and James, but he had to send his parents and two other special things he was ordering out by the end of the day.

Sirius, of course, being the obnoxious little twit that he was, he snatched Remus' order list out of his hand, and began hopping around with it as he read it aloud.

" 'For Selena Lupin - Witch Weekly's Singing Photo Album?' What kind of crud is that? Ten sickles." Sirius read, making Remus wince. He suddenly wondered why he or ANYONE put up with Sirius as he darted around the room, trying to get his list back.

" 'For Artemis Lupin - A pack of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers' - hmm, it's better than the photo album thing - but it's still rubbish. Three sickles." joked Sirius, making Remus go scarlet.

"That's enough, Sirius, seriously." said James, watching Remus chase his best friend around the room very angrily, "Give him back his orders, and act like you at least don't want to be hexed. At this rate, it makes no matter because Remus looks like he's about to kill you."

Sirius ignored James, and the wand in Remus' hand, and kept reading the notes.

"And look, two more girly things. A glitter quill, ooh, the most expensive thing on here, a galleon. Who's that for, your Muggle girlfriend?" Sirius teased, pressing Remus' patience.

"Sirius -" warned James.

"And last, but not least... a... what's this? An enchanted miniature tea set? What for? What girly do you know that actually likes to play with their dollies and -"

Remus had enough. He raised his wand, and almost hit himself for not performing a spell earlier.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

"What's going on - ow! Hey!"

Lily barely had time to dodge the papers that flew at once from Sirius' hands and back at Remus. The werewolf boy glowered at the three of them, gathered the rest of his things and was about to storm away - until -

"Gross, Evans!" sneered someone. "Why do you even bother to show your face in front of me? Didn't my threat at least scare you off or something?" James sneered, at the redhead, even though he did seem pleased that she was there.

"James Potter, you jerk, sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me!" tartly replied Lily, confounding James and Sirius alike.

"What?" asked Sirius, blinking. It took James a minute to comprehend.

"Oh, it's a Muggle thing!" James dawned, "I guess like the Wizarding saying: 'Incantations that aren't spells won't really repel, so useless wand waving won't harm me?' " asked James. Lily wrinkled her nose, and Remus snorted a little bit. The Wizarding interpretation was funny, but he was in a bad mood, and couldn't change so quick... he wasn't schizophrenic.

"I see! So, is that like the Quidditch one? 'A slight wind on a broom won't toss me to my doom, because bludgers without a bat will take care of that'?" asked Sirius, looking quite confused.

"Er... whatever, I just came to see -" Lily tried to change the subject, holding out a textbook she had in her arms and looking hopefully at Remus, who glanced at her fearfully. He had forgotten she asked him to review Herbology with her.

"Not here." Remus murmured under his breath, rushing from the room. The remaining three looked puzzled. Shortly after, Lily left looking slightly abashed, leaving the duo in the Common Room on their own.

"Do you have a feeling Remus isn't telling us something?" asked Sirius, feebly, not feeling bad at all for upsetting his friend.

"Yeah," added James dismally, returning to his catalogs and wrinkling his nose, "And perhaps what he's hiding from us maybe more than what we're bargaining for."

-x-

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

Red and Green fireworks shattered in the 1st years boys' dorm. Remus' eyes snapped open at once.

"Why oh why?" he complained, glancing at a nearby clock which read seven fifteen in the morning.

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

"I'm going to STRANGLE you with tinsel, Sirius BLACK if you don't shut that hole in your face!" screamed James from his four-poster.

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

"Wha - what's he making all that noise for?" asked a timid voice from the other side of the common room. Remus had to think before he realized the quiet voice belonged to Peter Pettigrew, one of his room mates.

"HAPPY CHRIST-OOF!"

There were cheers around the room as Remus pulled back his curtains and put on his dressing robe and slippers. He woke up to find James beating Sirius profoundly over the head with a scarlet pillow. Amazingly, James didn't have his glasses on but it looked as if he didn't need them to beat Sirius down and keep him quiet.

Remus ignored them, and turned to a small pile of presents at the foot of his bed. He glanced around the room anxiously, and found that everyone else had much larger piles of gifts than he had. Blushing, he was reaching for the first one when he realized James had stopped beating Sirius down - leaving the boy with the big mouth free reign.

"Why so little presents, Remus?" asked Sirius, almost teasingly as he looked at his large pile. The only thing to rival his pile was James' - it took up all the space in front of his four-poster and went around on both sides.

James winced at Sirius' question and despite himself, he muttered, "Silencio!" under his breath while pointing his covered wand at Sirius. Once silenced, Sirius glared through the charm, but kept mouthing all the while quiet took over in their dorm. Remus had a funny suspicion he was singing Christmas Carols, but didn't really care. Sirius Black was quiet, and he took full advantage of the situation. He knew his charms weren't particularly strong, so eventually it would ware off.

His mum and dad had sent him a few recent models of broomsticks, which he thought they shouldn't have. He knew that secretly the models must've cost a load's worth of money. Remus noticed that there was also a pouch containing some spare change that his parents had left over. Of course, it wasn't much because his illness was the reason his family no longer had much money. Guilt bubbling in his stomach, Remus uneasily turned to look at his other presents.

He received a long letter and a box of his favorite Muggle chocolates from Alanze. From James, he received a case of pumpkin pasties and from Sirius he got a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit.

Half-hour later, there was a soft knock on the door. Sirius, from playing with a collection of Quidditch Action Figures glanced up. Remus' charm had evidently worn off by now.

"Oiy! Come in!"

James took time to counteract with his own Quidditch Figures and steal the Quaffle from Sirius' team. They were trying to get a game going; pretending that Sirius' figures were the Japanese and that James' were the Americans. At the moment, it seemed like Sirius' team had been winning, however, their Keeper was unbeatable.

A girl with a spring in her step came into the room. She surveyed the scene, then walked right by Peter who was reading a book he had gotten. He gave a slight squeak as she walked directly over to Remus and gave him a hug.

Remus dropped his letter from Alanze, and his eyes widened, "Hallo... Lily."

Almost-identical evil grins appeared on both Sirius and James' faces.

"Oh Happy Christmas! I just wanted to thank you for the Tea Set, it's charming and I'm pretty sure that I'll use it just as soon as I get a craving for tea -"

Sirius snorted.

"But I had to come up here to give you your gift... sorry it's late, the owl I sent it on got lost. Here." Lily told sheepishly, handing Remus a Muggle-wrapped present. Remus smiled and opened it with slightly trembling hands.

Inside, there was a dark green sweater. Remus blinked at it, and gingerly shook it free. Lily watched eagerly as a small flash of silver caught Remus' eye. He stooped quickly and picked up the fallen object that had fell out the sweater. It was a wristwatch.

"Gee, Lily, thanks." said Remus, amazed at the little girl. Suddenly he felt as if his present hadn't been enough. "I- I don't know what to say."

"Thank you. You befriended me when no one else would, so call it a favor redeemed." smiled the redhead. "I'll see you at the feast later, then?"

Remus smiled at Lily, and forgot James and Sirius were there momentarily. "Sure. Thanks again."

Lily left, grinning. Sirius began imitating her and Remus immediately.

"Aw, how cute, don't you think Jamesies? Don't you think that they should just set the date of their wedding in stone?" Sirius teased. James grinned weakly; hiding a creeping blush across his face that Remus noticed...

"Why can't you both stop being so obnoxious? At least once in your lives?" asked Remus, glaring at them both. "Grow up. Lily's my friend."

"You're the one that hid the truth from us!" said Sirius hotly, "And you call yourself OUR friend -"

"But I had good reason! Look at the way you treat her! Look at the way you're acting now!" claimed Remus, glaring. "Get over yourselves."

Angrily, the werewolf boy rose from the place on his bed and left the dormitory without another word. Still left in the dorm, Sirius and James looked at one another very guiltily.

"Are we really that bad?" asked James, sucking his teeth and folding his arms at the closed door. Peter, not wanting to be involved in no more drama had gotten up and left too.

"Probably," said Sirius, stubbornly and holding his chin high in the air. And after that, he firmly said no more about the subject.

-x-

It had gotten late from the last time Remus had checked. He went back and changed into more suitable clothing for the day. He hadn't spent much time in the Gryffindor tower since the argument. He wondered if Sirius and James even cared enough to see that he had made a point. He probably thought that they were too thick to even notice he had been gone for hours now. Glaring at what seemed to be nothing, he sulked and stuffed his hands in his denim jeans pockets. Then he began walking down a dark hallway that he recently found to use as a shortcut to get to the Entrance Hall.

As Remus rounded a corner, he heard a clattering of metal and a wild shriek of someone obviously being injured. Rushing forward in his steps, Remus spotted the cloak of someone who seemed to be a first-year and tiny Peter Pettigrew tangled up among the rubble of a suit of armor.

"What happened to you?" Remus asked, helping Peter up. The small boy, whose eyes had been bulging out of their sockets calmed slightly.

"A Slytherin - he - he claimed I was in his way and then shoved me because I didn't move fast enough for his liking." Peter twitched quietly, "But it wasn't my fault! I- I was lost and all I did was ask for dir-directions to the Great Hall from here. Do you kn-know wh-where we are?" the blonde boy trembled.

Remus blinked at his dorm mate, and then nodded. "Yes, I use this route a lot. It leads directly to the Entrance Hall, behind the giant mirror near the Transfiguration corridor. C'mon, let's go. We're late for the feast as it is and I'm so hungry I could eat an ox."

Peter laughed at Remus' attempt at humor, and despite his feelings of paranoia he was glad he had made a friend to walk with down the dark passageway. Together, they reached the Great Hall in time to swallow down at least three helpings of a great Christmas Dinner and about two more helpings of festive deserts.

And Remus spent a lot of time with small Peter Pettigrew and even more so - tiny Lily Evans after that day. He had no reason for going back to hang with James and Sirius if they were going to be ridiculous and not talk to him for associating with people they didn't like or get along with. And simply because of that reason... Remus kept things at that and just didn't bother speaking with them either.

The holidays flicked past, and not before long it was time for the celebration of New Years Eve. Waiting patiently for the clock to chime twelve, Remus and Peter sat by the Gryffindor Common Room fire playing a game of chess. Remus had already won two games previously; Peter was new to the game and still didn't quite understand the rules.

"I - I don't get it. This one... the knight is it? -Yes the knight - I can only move him like-like so?" asked Peter, curiously. He moved his knight a moment before he realized how Remus could counteract on his play.

"Hey wait - if I do that you'll just take him with that thing that goes sideways - hey!" claimed Peter again, as Remus grinned madly and indeed, took his knight with his own bishop, "Cripes, Remus - I was just asking a question, I didn't really mean to place the piece down so you could take that one too!"

Remus grinned again, despite himself. It was funny to destroy Peter at Chess.

"Mate, if I were you I wouldn't move your Queen. Remus'll take that bishop again and checkmate your King in an instant if you do." Said a voice that made Remus roll his eyes.

It was James. And naturally, to his left was none other that his partner-in-crime, Sirius.

"Hallo," greeted Remus coldly, hiding a smile on the inside. He hoped they had come over to apologize. Perhaps what he had said finally taken its toll on the two boys and made them feel guilty.

"Cutting to the chase, Remiekins, I'm sorry for teasing you and saying things about your friendship with Lily." Sirius repeated quietly, as if he had rehearsed. "But don't take this too personal; I don't apologize often."

Remus looked touched. "Aw, thanks puppy!" he said loudly, sniffling and howling full of fake tears, "You touched my heart with that apology, you did!"

James grinned and put Remus in a headlock before ruffling his hair up a bit. Remus smirked and pushed James off of him, expecting an apology from the tousle-haired boy too.

"Yeah well, I guess I'll apologize too. I promise I won't be too bad to Lily - but it's no guarantee because she does get on my nerves sometimes." James compromised.

That was good enough for Remus. "Fine. But don't tell Peter what to do; I could've won for the third time if you kept your fat mouth shut," he joked.

James feigned innocence, "Oh no, not me!" he claimed, "But I have to admit, Sirius and I missed your sarcasm. It wasn't right with Sirius and his right-off-the-brain stupidity and me with my witty comments. It really stunk when you weren't around to reply to something I said with sarcasm."

Remus looked touched again. He ran a hand down the side of his face, imitating a teardrop falling. "Oh, tear!"

The four boys grinned despite themselves. Then without a warning a fifth year in the back of the Common Room yelled, "Fifteen Seconds!"

The whole room went into screaming as they counted down with the clock towards the New Year.

"TEN!"

"-Lords a leaping!"

"NINE!"

"-Ladies Dancing!"

"EIGHT!"

"-Maids a' Milking!"

"SEVEN!"

"-Swans a' Swimming!"

"SIX!"

"-Geese a' Laying!"

"FIVE!"

"-Golden Rings!"
"-SIRIUS, SHUT UP!"

"FOUR!"

"-Calling birds!"

"THREE!"

"-French Hens!"

"TWO!"

"-Turtle Doves!"

"ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Celebration rung out in the whole Gryffindor Common Room. James had set off a box of fireworks he obviously had gotten for the occasion; and Remus grinned because he knew that they wouldn't die down until the next morning. Confetti flew down a hole somewhere on the ceiling and the werewolf boy couldn't help but feel happier than he had been in the past week. He now had four great friends; who could get along if they wanted to despite what they all thought about each other. All four of them were weird in their own ways - and incredibly funny. Why was Sirius singing The Twelve Days of Christmas to their countdown, anyway?

Then a thought hit Remus. He didn't have four friends at all... on the contrary, he realized he still had one more person. Almost-forgotten Muggle Alanze made five. Still thinking, Remus made a decision that he didn't have the slightest intentions of introducing ANY of them to Alanze. It wasn't anything personal, or at least he thought. He just didn't want to be teased about his relationship… relationship? His… his friendship with Alanze. Smiling, Remus decided he didn't want to introduce her to the rest of his friends. That is… not unless he had to.

Sirius grinned, walking around and shaking confetti out of his hair. He looked like a hairy dog more than anything as a great wave of sparkles showered down on two second-year girls sitting behind him. They shrieked and ran out of his range of fire.

And just to make matters worse, with the stupid humor Sirius seemed to possess he turned to Remus and called for his attention.

"Oiy!"

Remus couldn't help but grin as Sirius grinned back at him.

"What?" the sandy-haired boy questioned.

"AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!" Sirius screamed at the top of his voice, starting the year off in a song.