Sirius bounded down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. It was the first day of Winter Break, and he always enjoyed the Hogwarts castle in its relatively empty state. It was a real treat he came to look forward to each year, seeing as he spent each Winter Break in the castle – his idea of being home at 12 Grimmauld Place with his mother and Kreacher was not his idea of a good time. Regulus wasn't too bad, but he was a bit too much of a conformist for Sirius' liking. Sirius wasn't fond of Regulus' new group of friends, but Sirius figured it was just a phase that he would grow out of soon enough.

As for his own friends, Sirius was momentarily deserted. James spent every Christmas with his family in some exotic country or another. Remus went home for every Christmas as per his parents' request; his parents were particularly over-protective due to their son's "condition." As for Peter, Peter was privately very scared of Sirius. Yes, Peter hero-worshipped Sirius, as he did Remus and James as well, but it was not the kind of adoration built on true friendship. Peter was too insecure to be comfortable in one-on-one situations, so when it was Christmas time, Peter bolted for home so he could retreat into his room for comfort and safety.

Sirius surveyed the common room. Regulus was sitting in one corner, whispering with one of his friends who had stayed for Winter Break. "Making plans for world domination, I'm sure," Sirius thought to himself. Lying on one of the couches with a book was Loretta, a girl in Sirius' year (7th year) whom he had never much spoken to but whom his few encounters with had been enjoyable, including a coordinated book-drop in Professor Slughorn's potions class to take up class time. Loretta's twin brothers, Neil and Edward, a year below her and Sirius, were playing a very rambunctious game of Exploding Snap in the corner, while her youngest sibling, her 3rd-year sister Melody, watched on with a mix of delight and dread of being caught in the explosion.

"Decent crowd," he thought. Then he realized he had never seen Loretta's family stay at Hogwarts on break before. This thought was interrupted, however, when Melody spotted Sirius.

"Ooh! Sirius! Come sit over here and let's get a 4-person game of Exploding Snap going! We need a 4th player so I can play, and Retta was being drab and refused to play."

Without missing a beat, Loretta replied over her book, "Melody, you liar, you didn't ask me to play. I do find it quite interesting, however, that you asked Mr. Black to join you the instant he set foot in the common room."

Melody blushed a deep crimson and Loretta felt a slight bit guilty and put down her book. "I'm sorry, lovey. Do you want me to play with you? I'm sure you thought I was so deeply immersed in my book that I would have had to decline."

Melody, seeing that her sister had given her a way out of her embarrassment and that she essentially had no choice but to take this avenue, nodded her head. She couldn't resist from adding, however, "Yes. We all know how pissy you get about your books. It's like you're on eternal PMS or something."

At this, Sirius laughed out loud. Loretta grimaced at her sister and said, "Nice, Mel. Really lovely," as she walked over to the Exploding Snap game and sat down and played. She just so happened to beat everyone on the next hand.

Sirius sat down on the couch. He was now un-invited from Exploding Snap, so he looked around for something to do. He saw Loretta's abandoned book lying on the floor and picked it up. "Hmmm. The Night of 1000 Passions. Loretta, I am so glad to see you're not taking your Winter Break too seriously."

"WHAT?" Loretta's eyes shot up and met Sirius' playful grey eyes. Neil and Eddy let out snorts and Melody looked up with an expression of utter confusion on her face. He held up the book with the title clearly facing everyone. Hogwarts, A History. His face broke into a grin. Loretta, sighing visibly out of relief, smiled back. "Ha ha. Very funny, Sirius."

"Oh, so I'm not Mr. Black any longer?"

"No, the title of "Mister" is reserved for those worthy of respect. You have just disqualified yourself."

They both smiled.