Chapter 6
Christmas Holidays
The students remaining at Hogwarts were snowed in on a bitter day in December. Remus and Leigh sat in front of the cozy pleasant fireplace on the squashy couch. Lily and James were snuggled together in a large armchair. Sirius and Helen had left earlier that morning to spend the holidays with Helen and her father.
Tomorrow would be Christmas day and Leigh hoped that Remus would like his gift, now unsure of what she had gotten him. Remus also had the same worriment about whether or not Leigh would love what he had found for her.
At around lunchtime the skies darkened to the deep shades of grays at twilight and the heavy snows began. Remus and James left the girls soon after and returned an hour later with soups, butterbeers, and hot chocolate. The group of four managed to eat heartily, leaving nothing but empty bowls and mugs. Remus leant back on their sofa and Leigh curled up like a kitten next to him, her head resting over his heart, and her right arm wrapped around his waist to his back.
An afternoon nap settled over the foursome; they awoke and played a game of wizard's chess. Lily allowed them to forget homework. They made an early night of it, going to bed at eight, anticipating Christmas morning.
Christmas Morning
The fresh two feet deep blanket of snow surrounding the castle and covering the school grounds made Christmas morning even more enchanting and pure. Remus, James, Leigh, and Lily all ran downstairs around the same time calling out their 'Happy Christmases' to many fellow students and each other.
Leigh and Lily blushed at seeing Remus and James running to them in their boxers. The two girls could plainly see that both of the boys' boxers matched. They were green with little decorated Christmas trees, holly, and gingerbread cookies that danced and performed acrobatics at seeing the onlookers.
The guys however, were not ashamed and praised the gingerbread's performance. James began to stride and 'strut his stuff' as though he were on the catwalk. Lily laughed when Leigh hurled a considerably large and bulky book at James and not altogether missing by catching his right ankle. He hopped around whining about Quidditch until Leigh reminded him with
"Oh hush! You play that on a broom! You don't need your feet."
More Christmas laughter and holiday cheer rang through the common room. The girls had each exchanged presents in their dorms, as did the boys. The couples separated to exchange their gifts with one another.
Leigh plopped herself on the floor at Remus' feet and he sat down beside her. Leigh handed him his neatly wrapped box.
He began to guess, "A man thong?"
"No," Leigh giggled, "But that would have been a good idea!"
"Okay, er… a book?"
"No, but another good one."
"Hmm… A clown costume?"
"No! Just open it!" She said exasperatedly, but finding it comical.
He began to strip away the Christmas wrapping to reveal beautiful, brand new black robes for school. Remus was speechless. They were the same robes he had tried on in Diagon Alley. Leigh looked anxious. Remus looked at her with a big smile and sparkling glossy eyes.
"I remembered you had needed them, and your sizes from the Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions shop in Diagon Alley. Do you like them? I mean if you don't it's okay they can be returned or exchanged." Leigh said all of this at a very rapid pace.
"No, no. I love them. Sweetheart, they're wonderful."
He gently kissed her on the forehead, then handed her a small wrapped box. Leigh peeled the wrapping away from the deep red velvet rectangular box. The paper was discarded lightly on the floor where the carpet had worn away and the color had faded over the many centuries of Gryffindor students' foot traffic.
Leigh looked up at Remus and creaked the beautiful box open. She cast her eyes downward. There rested the most elegant necklace begging and waiting to be adored. It was a pear-shaped garnet of high quality, in a four prong setting, suspended from an 18 inch and 14K gold Cobra-style chain.
Her brain forgot how to convey thoughts to vocal cords, and produce sound, to emit from her gaping mouth. Tears of happiness slip down her soft rosy cheeks.
"Do you like it?" Remus asked hopefully.
Leigh vigorously nodded her response. She lifted the delicate gift from its place in the box, and held it betwixt her small fingers. Remus opened her hand towards hers, suggesting that she had him the necklace. She placed it in his hands and turned her back to him, pulling her hair out of the way as he hooked the clasp.
Finally, she found her voice,
"It's beautiful. Thank you, so much." And with that she threw herself affectionately on top of him and pressed her lips full on to his.
"Happy Christmas, Remus." She said as she pulled away.
"Happy Christmas, Leigh." He replied.
Remus pulled her back down into another kiss and she just let herself melt and slip into ecstasy.
A/N: So sorry that I haven't updated on this story in a while. I've been writing on all my other stories and I've had writer's block. etc. Prize for you if you count how many times I have typed Christmas in this chapter.! (including this one in this A/N) lol xoxo