Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling, just as all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon. Christmas Is All Around is by Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) from the fantastic film Love Actually.

A.N. Sorry about the wait, life stuff in the way. Thanks for all the continued patience and support, I hope this chapter does a bit to get us back on track... who doesn't love Christmas... besides me? I love my reviewers.

Sonofgloin: Don't worry, I'll be sure to always have a little angst on the cards somehow, just for you! XX00

Clcountry: Best chapter yet? Thanks for the vote of confidence! Still don't know about the 'real Buffy & co.' issue. I do have a way in which I might be able to bring some of them in, but it just seems like a lot of work... LOL

Kit: Actually, since you've mentioned Harry's time, the sequel will take place in the time frame of Order of the Phoenix...

Angie: Sigh, I love perfect daddy Mr Potter. He's so much fun. And hopefully this will start to heal the wounds Dawn & Sirius have as a result of the last chapter and all. XX

PomegranateQueen: Thanks, I try for realistic stuff (even if it doesn't always work out!)

Phoenix83ad: I love your reviews! They're full of encouragement and honesty and high expectations. I hope I don't disappoint.

MK: I'm still playing the wait and see game with Spike... thanks for the review.

Darkest Melody: Angst is hard to pull off without going into overkill, I've discovered. Thanks for letting me know it's working for you! Sorry about the R rating, but with events past and future, it's just got to be that way (don't worry, I'll always do my best to make it worth it!)

Dawn lover: Thank the Valar I'm not the only one sick to death of Buffy!!!!!!!! Although I can't say I'm a Willow fan either, but it's good to hear you're enjoying my story!

Eleclya111: I know the last chap was heavy, but this one is nice and light in comparison. Yes, bow down to the Moony-God. And Dawn isn't really the luckiest girl in the world, but she did manage to get Sirius Black to fall for her, so maybe there's hope for her yet. LOL

Lunawolf: When is all ever at peace? LOL. And sorry about the late update, it really couldn't be helped, I got over a bout of writer's block just in time for assignment season to begin again!

CodeNameTargeter: If you wanted to kill Malfoy, I'd be willing to look the other way and ignore the blood splatters! I so wanted to castrate him, but Malfoys will be Malfoys. Slimy bastards.

Eyexcandy: No, no break-ups for now. As if a piece of trash like Lucius Malfoy could come between Sirius and Dawn. I am all for laziness (it's actually my religion) but please, PLEASE don't stop reviewing. It's my fix, and my inspiration and I think with how damn long this chapter took to get out, I've proven that I need it!!

Yoshocrow: Here's Christmas, hope it's what you were hoping for (isn't it funny all the expectations people have for Christmas!)

Beachgurl2005: Wow, glad you liked so much. I'd love to have McGonagall letting James and Sirius off completely, but she's too fair a teacher to let them escape all punishment. So I figure, hey, Dumbledore already gave Dawn back all the points she took from James and Sirius, and just because they have a week's worth of detention looming, doesn't mean it's gonna have to be like an Umbridge or a Snape detention! Yeah I said that this story ends at the end of fifth year, but don't just presume Dawn will be going back to Buffy... coz some things you'll have to wait and see... though people who've read the sequel-spoilers could answer that one for you... sorry this update was so slow coming.

Daydreamer04 & Inversnaid: Thanks for the reviews and I updated as fast as I could, really!!

Christa: Four words: Reset Button Chapter Three. Ok, five words: please? XX00 Hope it's coming along well (busy life stuff aside)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Christmas Is All Around

Dawn leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window pane, watching the scenery roll by as the Hogwarts Express cut through the snow. Behind her, James and Peter were playing exploding snap and she had long ago lost the habit of jumping every time the deck exploded. Remus had gone to fulfil his Prefect duty and patrol the train, he'd patrolled his way right to Isabel's compartment and had yet to return.

Sirius was sitting across from her, shifting around moodily. James had asked him once if he had Nifflers in his pants, but the question had earned such a forceful glare that Sirius was left to his own devices after that. It took all of Dawn's willpower not to look at him. Things had been so tense between them in the last week of school before the Christmas holidays that Dawn had to strain to remember the time when she thought things would always be perfect. There were no little looks. No secret smiles. No comfortable touching. If Dawn's hair fell in her face, she pushed it back herself. There were no late-night visits, no gentle exploration and getting lost in each other. Their kisses were brief, awkward, uncertain, he held her hand almost as a formality, a flimsy lie that the world saw right through when they walked together.

When the compartment door slid open, Dawn sighed and turned her attention from the snow-covered plains to what was actually going on around her. The plump witch with the food cart was smiling expectantly at them. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Dawn watched open mouthed as the boys proceeded to strip the trolley of anything and everything at all edible and then simply emptied their pockets over it to pay for the damage. With another smile, the witch wheeled the empty trolley away. Sirius picked up a Cauldron Cake and offered it to her silently.

Dawn smiled, trying for warmth but deep down knowing it seemed as forced as every other smile she'd given him in the past week. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he mumbled, already sifting through the assortment of sweets for his own Cauldron Cake.

The mountain of food dwindled quickly and James announced that they needed to make the most of the last few hours in which they could use magic until they returned to Hogwarts. Dawn just rolled her eyes.

"Ok, what prank are you just dying to pull?"

He looked almost offended by the assumption. "I'm hurt, Kitten! What makes you automatically think I want to pull a prank?"

Dawn shrugged. "Having known you for more than five minutes."

He grinned. "Point taken. Let's go then."

He led them out of their compartment and down through the carriages, outlining his idea as he went. They spotted the witch with her replenished food cart just as Lily was paying for a small selection of sweets.

"Perfect timing," James whispered as Lily slid her compartment door closed and the trolley was wheeled on. "Now how do we distract her?"

Dawn smiled. She knew a thing or two about diversionary tactics. She'd seen the master of diversions, who just so happened to be her older sister, in action once or twice. The Scoobies had always thought she didn't understand, didn't care what was going on around her, but Dawn had always paid attention. She sauntered up to the plump witch, scratching absently at her forearms.

"Excuse me?" she positioned herself so that the witch needed to turn her back on the trolley to face Dawn.

"Yes, dear? Were you still hungry?" the kindly woman smiled.

Dawn shook her head, starting to scratch at her knee through her jeans. Behind the witch, James, Peter and Sirius had crept up to the trolley, a potion each in their hands. "No, I'm not hungry. I was just wondering, what exactly is in those Cauldron Cakes?"

The witch frowned in thought. Dawn scratched furiously at the back of her neck. "Oh, flour, sugar, milk, flavouring, poppy seeds-"

"Ah!" Dawn blurted, leaving her neck alone before she drew blood, starting to scratch at her arms again. "Poppy seeds, I'm allergic to them. They make me itch."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" the plump witch covered her mouth with her hand. Behind her, the boys finished sprinkling their potions over the food and were backing silently away. "I'm sure I'll have something under my cart to take that itch away for you."

"No!" Dawn blurted, stopping the witch from turning and catching sight of the three boys who hadn't quite cleared out. "I've got something in my trunk for it, I just needed to know what exactly was in the Cauldron Cakes first. Thanks."

She scrambled off after the boys, who were waiting for her in the next carriage, grinning with triumph and taking a quick bow while they applauded her performance. They slipped into the compartment that housed the only four toilets on the Hogwarts Express for the finishing touches of their prank. Three of the little cubicles were empty, they set to work performing the 'Colloportus' Charm on the doors so they sealed themselves into the doorframe with a loud squelch. James crept over to the fourth, occupied stall and pressed his ear to the door for a moment. Then he grinned, whispered an unlocking charm, and threw the door open.

"James!" Dawn gasped, horrified he would be so insensitive to some poor student trying to go to the bathroom.

Remus and Isabel sprang apart at the intrusion, Remus' hip colliding painfully with the small basin attached to the wall. Dawn winced in sympathy as the pair turned to stare at them. Isabel was hastily straightening herself up, Remus was rubbing his hip and glaring at James as he smirked.

"Sorry, Moony, Whitman," James shrugged. "But it's for a good cause."

Sirius reached in and pulled the stunned couple out of the cubicle, Peter slammed the door and James cast the 'Colloportus' Charm to seal it shut. Isabel, not wanting to know, went to find Lily and the Marauders returned to their own compartment. It wasn't long after that, compartment doors down the train started to slam open, several sets of footsteps rushed towards the toilets.

Then the cries of horror echoed back to the Marauders' compartment and they all broke out in evil giggles. By the time the Hogwarts Express chugged into Kings' Cross Station, it had started to smell faintly like a sewer. And every student who'd eaten food from the second trolley, including Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape, had changed their pants at least once, performed a fair few vanishing spells and looked completely mortified.

The five of them stepped off the train and pushed over to where the Potters, Lupins and Pettigrews were waiting to greet them. There was a little boy hanging onto Mrs Lupin's sleeve who hadn't been present at the disastrous Parents' Weekend, Dawn noticed. But then again, no younger children had come to the castle, so maybe they weren't invited. She hadn't known Remus had a little brother. He was cute, too. About six or seven, with big brown eyes and the same dirty blond coloured hair as Remus', but it was thinner, finer and just a little shorter, it hit his shoulders and curled up in little ringlets. He grinned broadly at Dawn and she smiled back.

Mr Lupin wrinkled his nose at the state of the train. "What happened in there?" he asked.

Five innocent shrugs responded. "There must've been something in the food on that second trolley," Sirius supplied.


"Welcome to Godric's Hollow," Mr Potter said, proudly ushering Dawn across the threshold.

Dawn stepped into the large, welcoming home of the Potters, staring around in awe. The house was spacious and decorated with just enough of the extravagant touch to announce the social and financial status of the Potters, but there was nothing overstated or pompous about it. it was homely, comfortable and inviting.

"Come on, dear. I'll show you your room," Mrs Potter hooked her arm through Dawn's and led her up the winding staircase, the boys following behind. Mrs Potter showed Dawn to a large, pretty guest room with its own en suite on the second floor. She pointed out James and Sirius' rooms just down the hall in case she needed anything.

Mr and Mrs Potter left the three students alone to give them time to settle in before dinner, and twenty minutes later the trio were taking the scenic route to the dining room so that James could give Dawn the grand tour. After becoming accustomed to the utter lack of technology Hogwarts had to offer, she was surprised to see how modernised Godric's Hollow was with its comfortable mix of wizarding and muggle appliances. The living room contained not only a radio to pick up stations on the Wizarding Wireless, but also a regular stereo and television in the entertainment unit. Dawn vaguely wondered if the tv shows were all the same here as they'd been in her sister's dimension as they joined James' parents at the dinner table.

When Mrs Potter finally stopped trying to force another bakes potato onto her plate, Dawn took a moment to cast a bittersweet glance about the table. It had been a long time since she had taken any sort of part in a real family dinner. Her eyes fell on Sirius and she sighed, wishing for the millionth time that she hadn't made such a mess of things with him. When he looked up and caught her staring, Dawn suddenly found the extra baked potato Mrs Potter had somehow managed to sneak onto her plate incredibly interesting.

"I thought you kids might like to help me decorate this place for Christmas tomorrow," Mrs Potter chattered happily over the gentle clinking of cutlery against china.

"Well done, dear," Mr Potter laughed. "Wait until they're all signed up and settled in for the holidays and then hit them with the demand for slave labour!"

"Oh, really Harold!" Mrs Potter huffed, though her eyes were twinkling.

James was grinning at both his parents. "Don't worry, Mum. Don't we help you every year?" he reminded her.

"You're a good boy, James."

His jaw dropped. "Who told you that, woman!?"

Dawn giggled behind her napkin and Mr Potter shot her a swift wink. An hour later they were all yawning and the adults were sending the three kids upstairs and straight to bed. James yawned and waved, disappearing into his own room and leaving Sirius and Dawn standing uncomfortably outside her door. Dawn looked up at him.

"Goodnight," she said softly.

"Yeah," Sirius swooped in to knock his lips against the corner of her mouth. "Night."

She watched him go into his own room without so much as a backward glance, her eyes watering with hurt before she retired herself. She fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams invaded by the heavy pounding of rain in a murky downtown alley. When she awoke the next morning, it was with the memory of Angel cradling a newborn baby, shielding it from the driving rain with his jacket as best he could. A name danced on her lips.

"Connor."

She was just about finished scribbling her dream into her almost-full Dream Journal when there was a loud knock at her bedroom door. She hastily recapped her ink bottle and put her quill on her bedside table.

"Kitten, you awake?"

"Yeah," she called, blowing on the leaf of parchment to help the ink dry quicker. James and Sirius tumbled through her bedroom door, rumpled and still, in their pyjamas.

"Dawn, you're not doing... homework on the first day of holidays, are you?" James wrinkled his nose. "Because I can't let it get out that my sister does homework on the first day of the holidays."

Dawn smiled and put the book aside so she could crawl out from under the covers. "Just my Dream Journal, I swear."

They wandered down to a late breakfast with Mrs Potter, though James' father had long since departed for work. James' mother gaped at Dawn over her coffee as Dawn stood there in nothing but the old, oversized shirt of Sirius' that she still slept in. "Oh dear, did you forget your nightgown?" she asked.

Dawn frowned as she took her loaded plate from James' hands. "Um, no Mrs Potter. This is just what I sleep in."

"Hmm," Mrs Potter muttered, seemingly focused on buttering her toast but James recognised the rare but dangerous 'over my dead body' look in his mother's eyes.

After breakfast they were set to work decorating the living room, dining room and large foyer ready for Christmas. Mrs Potter set James the task of untangling the long strands of coloured tinsel so that Dawn and Sirius could hang them along the picture rails and wind them through the banister of the stairs. The lady of the house herself fixed the magically glowing baubles to the rich green tree that had appeared in the foyer. When the tinsel was hung, the mistletoe was brought out to be hung in bushels throughout the house, then Mrs Potter completed the effect by spreading little clumps of magical snow over the tree and around the house. Dawn had even attached red and green bows to the handle of Newman, whom she couldn't bear to leave behind for the holidays.

"Looks great," Dawn smiled, staring around at their day's work.

"Yeah. The Potters do this every Christmas," Sirius shrugged.

James suddenly snorted and pointed at something above their heads. "I've never known you two to miss an opportunity for snogging."

Dawn and Sirius raised their gazes, realising for the first time that they were standing directly under a little bushel of mistletoe. Then they stared at each other a moment, each feeling awkward and pressured and not at all in favour of the offending greenery looming above them. Dawn finally stretched up to kiss Sirius briefly, then she hurried out of the room before they could get caught in the same predicament again. Sirius watched her go, strange clouds of despair filling his eyes as he came to a difficult decision.

It wasn't easy, though, to find a chance to speak to Dawn because she avoided him for the rest of the afternoon. The next time he saw her was when James called her downstairs for dinner and there was no chance for privacy during the evening spent lazing around in their pyjamas, watching the muggle television. And since she no longer came to him, Sirius decided it was time he went to her. He slipped into Dawn's room and found her curled up in a seat on her little balcony, just staring out at the snow. She was always so fascinated by it, somehow.

"Kitten, what are you doing out here? You'll freeze," he chided gently, stopping by her chair.

Dawn blinked as if coming out of a deep reverie. "Sirius," she breathed. "What are you doing out here?"

He clenched his jaw, staring out at the blanket of whiteness. It would be so much easier if he could do this without having to look at her. "We need to talk."

Dawn nodded, studying her hands with deep concentration. "Yeah, I guess we haven't really talked since..." since I made you think there was nothing more repulsive to me than your touch, Dawn admitted silently, but couldn't bring herself to say anything out loud.

"Uh-huh. Well, I've been thinking about it and maybe it'd be best if we..." he gripped the frozen balcony rail for support. "If we just cooled things off for a while."

Dawn's eyes snapped onto his back. She was feeling dizzy, sick, winded. "You're breaking up with me?" she choked. "On Christmas?"

Sirius whirled around, his skin tearing painfully from the railing. "No! Merlin, no, Dawn. I don't want us to break up for good," he swore. That was one idea he really couldn't stand to entertain. It was almost worse than the prospect of becoming a Death Eater. "I just think if we backed off a little, it'd be less pressure on you. You've just been so distant lately I thought maybe you needed some space," he closed his eyes. Couldn't she see how hard this was for him? That it was the last thing he wanted, but if it was going to make her feel better then he would sacrifice as much time as it took?

"No! I don't need any space, I need you!" she cried. "You can't leave me."

Sirius opened his eyes, staring at her in confusion. Dawn was drying as she looked fearfully back at him and Sirius opened his mouth to respond but found he had no idea what to say. Dawn scooted to the edge of her seat and grabbed his wrist almost imploringly.

"I know things have sucked between us, and I know I said some really horrible things that must've hurt like hell and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away so much. I'm so sorry, Sirius. I just... didn't want you to know, didn't want you to see what he did to me," she broke down completely, no longer capable of producing any sounds beyond deep, ragged sobs.

Without realising he'd moved, Sirius found himself kneeling before her with his hands on her face and her tears running over them. "Shh baby, don't cry. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I didn't know what else to do, I'm sorry I didn't understand. I never meant to be so insensitive, really I didn't."

Her forehead was pressed against his and at length Sirius felt the shaking of her shoulders subsiding as Dawn finally calmed. She was so close and it felt like forever since he'd been allowed to see her in such an intimate light, Sirius didn't think twice about kissing her. He found the taste of her salty tears better than any food he'd ever had and as Dawn returned the kiss, all of a sudden everything in the world seemed to right itself again.

"I missed you," Dawn murmured against Sirius' lips. He just pulled her closer to him so in the end they were both huddled together in a little heap on the cold pavers of the balcony. When Dawn started to shiver with the cold, Sirius helped her to her feet and led her back inside by the hand.

He closed the balcony doors and turned to look at her. She was standing on the carpet shivering, her eyes rimmed red and her face still wet, but looking much happier and more beautiful to him than she had in a long time.

"Come on, baby," he murmured, bringing her over to the bed and settling her under the warm covers. "You need to sleep. Goodnight," he kissed her goodnight and moved to let her sleep in peace, but Dawn reached out and gently seized his hand.

"Can you stay? Just til I fall asleep?"

He smiled and settled himself on the edge of the bed without a word. One hand was stroking her hair back softly while the other kept a firm hold of hers.


"Dawn? Are you in here?" Mrs Potter knocked briefly, then pushed the door to Dawn's bedroom open.

"Here, Mrs Potter," Dawn stepped out of her en suite, freshly showered and buttoning the pyjamas that Mrs Potter always wrinkled her nose at.

The woman waved her hand at Dawn, then pulled a mass of white material from a shopping bag in her hands. "Oh never mind those buttons, dear, I've brought you a proper nightie. Can't have you wandering around in that shirt any longer, go put this on."

Dawn smiled and accepted the offering. "Thanks."

Mrs Potter just smiled and shooed Dawn back into the en suite, where she traded Sirius' shirt for the new nightie. Dawn glanced in the mirror and whimpered. The solid white gown was fitted over the bust, but then it hung loose and shapeless almost to her calves. It was not quite like the one she remembered her grandmother wearing. But not nearly far enough from it. The boys were going to have a field day, she just knew it.

Dawn walked stiffly out of the bathroom and Mrs Potter, who in her heart had always liked the idea of having a girl in the house to spoil, beamed with pleasure. Mustering an awkward smile for her benefit, Dawn followed her downstairs, rolling and jerking her shoulders to try and get the unfamiliar garment to sit more comfortably.

She hesitated for as long as possible before stepping into the living room. James and Sirius both stared, Dawn could practically see the wisecracks banking up in their heads even as she shuffled across to sit next to Sirius on the lounge. She crossed her arms and stared at the tv, hoping that if she didn't give them an opening they'd manage to keep their mouths shut. No such luck.

"I didn't know Grandma Potter was coming to visit," James said through a loud snigger. "Did she get her luggage mixed up with yours, Kitten?"

Dawn glared at him. Sirius snorted. "Actually I was going to ask what she was going into hospital for.

Dawn shifted her glare over to him as the two boys broke into small fits of laughter. Mrs Potter sent them a stern look over the top of her copy of 'Witch Weekly'. "Stop it, the both of you. She looks lovely."

Dawn gave a wan smile as Sirius and James settled into a restless quiet, like twin volcanoes in danger of erupting with laughter at any given moment. After a few minutes of uneasy peace, they exchanged a wicked grin. Sirius ran a finger over the little ruffles on Dawn's sleeve.

"It really isn't so bad, I guess. If you ever get stuck on top of a building you could always use it to parachute down to the ground."

His hand was slapped away viciously and Dawn sent him a 'that's it- no kisses for you tonight' glare. James hastily smothered his smile and caught Dawn's eye in a mock-serious moment.

"So when's the baby due?"

Dawn threw up her hands and screeched with frustration. She jumped up and stomped out, wishing the living room had a door to slam behind her. Sirius watched her retreat, his eyes catching the barest hint of her lithe silhouette through the white cotton as the firelight momentarily framed her in the doorway. He cocked his head to the side.

"Actually that is kinda sexy."

James slapped him upside the head.

Dawn stamped all the way up to her room and more for lack of anything better to do than actual tiredness, went to bed early and slept the night away. She was eased back into consciousness early the next morning by smooth lips tickling her jaw.

"Sirius?" Dawn murmured blearily.

"Wake up baby. Happy Christmas," he whispered and set to work kissing her all over her face until she opened her eyes.

"Merry Christmas."

He kissed her lips and pulled her into a sitting position. "C'mon, James is already rounding up Mr and Mrs P so we can go open presents!"

Dawn hesitated, glancing down at herself. Sirius grinned and hauled her forcefully out from under the covers. "I swear on Marauder's Honour I won't make any more fun of your sexy nightie."

"Sexy?" Dawn snorted. Sirius just shrugged. It had a lot to do with the girl wearing it, really. She made him wait outside a few minutes while she spent some girl time in the bathroom before they headed down to the massive Christmas tree in the foyer. Dawn couldn't help but laugh at the way Sirius bounded along beside her like an overexcited puppy.

They stepped into the foyer and gasped. There was barely room to move amongst the three mountains of presents, each wrapped in a separate colour, though a rug to sit on had been spread over the only uncovered space of floor. At the very base of the tree was another assortment of gifts with little tags on them; Dawn recognised the gifts she'd wrapped for James, Sirius and Mr and Mrs Potter amongst them. Sirius had seen this every other Christmas he'd spent at the Potters, but the spectacle never ceased to amaze him of the love with which his best friend's family approached Christmas.

"Happy Christmas," James called, dragging his dishevelled but nonetheless beaming parents into the foyer. Dawn and Sirius took turns being hugged and kissed and wished a 'happy Christmas' by James' parents before their attention was turned to the presents.

Mr Potter passed out all the personal gifts first, and they all sat on the rug to open them together. Hagrid had send her an enormous tin of fudge and Dawn was glad she'd remembered to send him a set of striped and dotted tablecloth-handkerchiefs for Christmas. Lily and Isabel had pooled their money to buy her her very own selection of Tolkien books, since she'd seemed to enjoy the ones Isabel had loaned her so much. Dawn grinned and opened Remus and Peter's presents next; Peter had given her a box of Honeydukes chocolates that would automatically replenish itself once she took the last one while Remus had given her a book on practical defences and a bracelet laced with unicorn hair, which he'd once told her had protective properties. Grinning broader than ever, Dawn fastened the bracelet around her wrist and reached for the package from James. She tore the paper off, lifted the lid and gasped. Nestled into a bed of crimson velvet was a silver cross on a chain and a matching anklet.

"James..." Dawn breathed, looking over at him. "Oh my God!"

He smirked over the top of his brand new Quidditch gloves and Zonko's gift voucher, then leaned in to give her a soft, very brotherly kiss. Dawn put on the cross and the anklet, and with her stomach fluttering a little, at last reached for Sirius' gift. She caught his eye and smiled, realising he was just about to open the present she'd picked out for him, too. They pulled the paper off simultaneously, Sirius breaking into a huge grin as he read the title of his new book: Shakespeare On Love. He'd always wanted to read more work from the writer who had Dawn so captivated by his words. Dawn stared at the brand new journal resting on her lap in wonder. It was bound in rich leather and studded with jewels in intricate little patterns.

"It's password protected, Kitten and it never runs out either. At the end of each year, that year appears in the index at the front and all you have to do is say the year and it'll appear in the whole journal," Sirius explained.

Dawn smiled at him, then they were kissing a little more forcefully than intended until James got bored and prised them apart. "Come on, there's more presents to open yet!"

"Yes," Mrs Potter smiled, looking up from the small photo album Dawn and Sirius had given her and her husband. They'd coerced Michelle, who was interested in photography, into snapping pictures of James when he was least expecting it. Dawn had picked only the very best selection to include in the album, and had decided to keep the others, such as Lily hefting a cauldron full of some potion over James' head, to herself. "James, honey, yours is the red pile, Sirius has all the green gifts and all the white ones are Dawn's."

Dawn blinked at the mass of presents all for her. Now she thought about it, it wasn't really a mountain of gifts at all. It was the Himalayas.

James and Sirius tore hungrily into the first round of presents while Mr and Mrs Potter curled up together to watch lovingly. Dawn reached for her own much more slowly, savouring every moment. In time she was surrounded by clothes, jewellery, books, cds, and countless other odds and ends of both magical and muggle origin, she could barely see James and Sirius over their own mountains of gifts. She looked around the perfect homely scene and paused, for a moment dwelling on thoughts of her mother and sister and how long it had been since she'd been able to feel like part of a family.

When only a sea of discarded scraps of wrapping paper lay around them, they all went back upstairs to dress before the big Christmas breakfast the House-Elves had laid out for them. Dawn lay on her bed to stop for a bit and took Newman out of his holiday home in the bottom of the drawer, letting him plod around on her stomach for a bit while she thought about the Summers family and tried not to cry for them.

There was a knock at the door and Sirius poked his head in. "Hey baby, I-" he began, then broke off. "Why are you crying?"

Dawn swiped her tears away and gave a little smile as he sat by her. "I'm ok. Really, I am. I just missed my Mom and Buffy a little is all. First Christmas without them, you know?"

He nodded, playing his fingers against hers. "I know. I, er, have something else I wanted to give you, but I wanted to wait until we were alone," he said nervously.

Dawn pushed herself up a little, not noticing that Newman had toppled off her stomach and onto the mattress. She pulled something out of the top drawer at her bedside. "Same here... together?"

He nodded and they exchanged similar small boxes from the little jewellery shop in Hogsmeade. With a deep breath each, both Sirius and Dawn lifted the lids.

"It's-" Sirius began.

"A Claddagh ring," Dawn breathed. She giggled, delighted by the intense, strange perfection of them unknowingly getting each other matching gifts.

"You know about Claddagh rings?" Sirius blinked.

Dawn nodded sheepishly. She'd once tried to borrow the one Angel had given Buffy, and if she had known the Slayer was going to launch into an hour-long lecture on the subject, she would've just picked something else to wear. "It's an Irish symbol of devotion showing loyalty, friendship and love in the crown, hands, and heart..."

Sirius reached over, plucked the ring out of the box in Dawn's hands, and slid it on her finger with the heart pointing towards her. "And when you wear it like this, with the heart pointing towards you, means you belong to somebody," he said softly.

Dawn smiled as she took his ring and slid it on his finger with the heart pointing towards him. She kissed him deeply, then returned Newman to his drawer so they could join the Potters for breakfast, walking hand in hand. The day passed peacefully, and after a phenomenally huge Christmas dinner to rival a Hogwarts feast, the trio lazed the afternoon and evening away in James' room.

James was sorting through his presents, separating them into piles of Quidditch, clothing, food and miscellaneous objects to be put away. Dawn was skimming through the defence book Remus had given her, glancing over every now and then to see if Sirius was still engrossed in the words of Shakespeare. She smiled at the way his eyes flew across each line eagerly and was wondering if she'd ever be able to talk him into reading some scenes aloud with her when the fire in James' hearth suddenly flared into acidic green.

"Happy Christmas!"

"Ack!" Dawn jumped about a foot in the air in fright as Remus' head appeared in the fire, smiling at them all. "Remus, how?" she squealed.

He arched an eyebrow over dancing amber eyes. "Just the floo network, Kitten. And again, I say Happy Christmas to you all."

Dawn flushed slightly. "Merry Christmas," she hastily wished him.

"Happy Christmas, Moony," James and Sirius called and the three of them went to sit on the rug by the hearth to talk.

"Had a good day, then?" Remus asked, heartened to see the way Dawn snuggled herself comfortably into Sirius' side. A part of him feared that in the fallout of Malfoy's attack on Dawn, her relationship with Sirius would not survive the holidays, he was more than relieved to see he had nothing to worry about.

"It was great," Dawn smiled, answering for the three of them. "How was yours?"

"Good, good," he assured her. "I just wanted to make sure we're still going to get together this week. I'm going out with Isabel on Thursday," he said, a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. "But other than that, I'm free all week."

"Wednesday, then?" James shrugged. "Mum won't mind, long as she's got time to put all her breakables out of reach."

"Why would-?" Dawn began to ask, but then stopped at the look on Remus' face.

"Things have happened, Dawnie, and none of us are too proud of the loss of certain family heirlooms... best not to talk about it, really," he said frankly.

"Ok." When even Remus didn't want to explain something, Dawn had come to realise she just didn't need to know.

Remus smiled as if he'd read her mind, then returned to the task at hand. "Right, so I'll floo Peter and we'll be by at ten on Wednesday. All right?"

"Yeah, sure Moony," James said with a grin. "I'm sure Wormtail hasn't got anything better to do."


"Kitten!"

Dawn looked up just in time to see James' snowball flying right at her. It exploded against her chest, the impact sitting her right on her backside in the snow.

"Sorry," he called sheepishly, before turning his attention back to the every-person-for-themselves snowball fight they'd initiated when Mrs Potter had driven them all outside for a few moments of peace.

Dawn just folded her arms and sulked in the snow. She wasn't playing anymore. She'd never been in a snowball fight before, the boys all had much more experience in this area and with the exception of Peter they were all stringer than her. It just wasn't fair. A few minutes passed before Sirius came and threw himself down next to her. Pulling a glove off, he reached up and tickled her chin. Dawn looked away, determined not to smile.

"Aw, come on baby," he cajoled. "We're not that rough, are we?"

She nodded curtly.

"Oh... well, we can do something else then. I know, I'll show you how to make a snow angel!"

Despite herself, Dawn turned an interested stare back to Sirius. He grinned at his small victory and proceeded to flap his arms and legs wildly, leaving the outline of an angel imprinted in the snow.

Dawn bit her tongue to keep the impending giggles at bay. "You do realise you look completely ridiculous, right?"

Sirius rolled over and knelt before her. He dipped the fingers of his un-gloved hand in the snow. "You Miss Summers," he trailed his wet, icy hand across the nape of her neck, drawing a little squeal, "are incredibly difficult to please sometimes."

The only response he received was a secretive little smirk as James, Remus and Peter joined them, all considerably wet and snow-covered.

"What's next, snow angels?" Peter asked.

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Sure, if we all want to look 'completely ridiculous'," he scoffed. Peter piped down, going a little pink as he misinterpreted Sirius' remark as a way of ridiculing him.

"A snowman then?" Remus suggested.

James snorted. "What are we, eight?"

But Dawn's eyes had lit up at the suggestion. "Can we, please?" she begged. "I've always wanted to make a snowman!"

"Why, was the miracle snow no good for snowmen?" Sirius teased, glad she'd stopped sulking and was back into her playful mood.

"No," she pouted. "Buffy was off somewhere smooching with Angel, Mom said it was too cold outside and Faith was too cool to play in the snow so I missed out."

"Ok then," James grinned, never one to deny his adorable 'sister' much of anything.

They set about heaping the snow around them, packing it into enormous boulders that they stacked one on top of the other. When, some time later, they finally reached the stage where they needed only to deposit the head on top of the hulking body, none of them were actually tall enough to reach. In the end James and Sirius knelt in the snow like stepping blocks while Dawn, gripping Peter's hand tightly for balance, stepped up onto their backs. When she was steady, Remus handed her the snow head to attach to the snow body and then helped her back to solid ground.

Dawn squealed and did a little dance of joy. "That is so cool!"

"It's the biggest snowman I've ever seen," Sirius commented.

"Mmm. Maybe we should get Mum to take a picture," James thought aloud. A moment later he was jogging back towards the house to act on the impulse.

Peter and Sirius began to pat the snowman down, making sure he was fit to be photographed. While they were distracted Remus took the opportunity to sidle over to Dawn. "Seems like you're feeling a lot better these days," he commented quietly. "I'm glad."

"I'm fine, Remus. Really," she promised with a grateful smile.

He shifted, looking both sincere and a little uncertain about overstepping the mark. "Listen Dawn, I don't know if I should be saying this, and I- I guess sometimes the last person you'd want to talk to would be a guy, but... I'm here, you know? If you ever needed to talk about anything at all, I'll always be ready to listen," he looked down shyly.

He'd had friends who were girls, like Lily, and Isabel before she'd become his girlfriend, but he'd never had quite so close a female friend before Dawn had come along and slotted herself neatly into their lives. She was much more difficult to gauge than the male Marauders, girls and boys shared their confidences in very different ways and Remus had never thought "just sit down and tell me what's wrong already, you great dolt' would be an effective invitation for Dawn to open up.

Dawn blinked, taken aback by the unassuming, open offer. Then her mouth curved upwards and she wrapped her arms around his neck for a quick hug. "You're the best, Remus," she told him. "And you know the same goes for you, right? I mean, if you ever wanted someone to talk to, you could talk to me."

They shared a smile, sealing the unofficial bargain. James reappeared on the scene, practically dragging his mother with her camera in hand. She did a double-take at the ten foot monster they'd created.

"Well that is the biggest snowman in Britain," she laughed. "Come on, kids, in you get and I'll take a picture."

The five of them crowded around their snowman, grinning and waving frantically at the camera. Dawn glanced cheekily at Remus and he responded immediately, the pair crashing into James, driving him sideways. James fell through the snowman, which exploded into a blizzard around him and knocked into Peter, who in turn barrelled into Sirius. Mrs Potter laughed, snapping away in delight as James latched onto Dawn's arm in a futile attempt at remaining upright, she overbalanced and grabbed Remus, the momentum carrying the lot of them to the ground. They staged another mini snow fight, but with the way they were just splashing the snow every which way, Dawn thought it seemed more like a water fight... just with frozen water.

Only when she ran out of film did Mrs Potter call them to order. "All right, inside with the lot of you. You'll need to get dried off and I'll make some hot chocolate to warm you up."

They all trudged in the back door, Mrs Potter performed drying charms on them and by the time they'd shed their outer layers of clothing, she'd set a tray full of steaming mugs in the living room for them.

"Thanks Mum," James grinned as she left them to their own devices.

"Have you guys finished your holiday assignments, yet?" Remus asked, swirling his marshmallows around with his finger.

James and Sirius laughed openly, Peter shook his head sheepishly, but Dawn nodded proudly. Much to the disgust of Sirius and James, she'd finished all her holiday homework within the first three days of the break.

Remus grinned. "Me too. How'd you find them?"

"They were ok," Dawn shrugged, pinching Sirius' nose to stop his over exaggerated snores. He sputtered and glowered at her, but Dawn only smiled sweetly and turned back to Remus. "I had to get Mr Potter to tutor me a little with the Charms essay, but I got through it."

"Hmm, I thought Charms was pretty in depth, too. I guess they're just starting to crack down on us for OWLs," Remus shrugged.

They all grimaced at the prospect of their end of year exams. "I'm still not sure what the OWLs are, really," Dawn admitted. "I mean, what will we have to do?"

"Pretty standard, really," James told her. "You do a theory and a practical exam for each subject, set by Ministry officials who look even older than Dumbledore. In the fifth we have OWLs and then in seventh year we'll have to go through the same thing for NEWTs."

"So it's just like magical SATs?" Dawn tried to translate into her own language.

Sirius shifted his eyes from side to side. "Er, yeah..."

"I think it sounds scary," Peter confided, setting his empty mug aside and reaching for the bag of marshmallows Mrs Potter seemed to have left just for him.

The other boys rolled their eyes, but Dawn shot him an 'I hear you' look before another question popped into her mind. "Hey, why do they call them NEWTs?"

"Because it sounds more prestigious than Salamanders," James deadpanned.

The door opened then and Mrs Lupin popped her head in. "Hello," she smiled at them all. Remus' little brother detached himself from her side and charged into the living room. "Remus, we're going out for dinner tonight, so we'll have to make a move once I've had a cuppa. Will you watch your brother for half an hour?"

"Mum..." Remus gave a long suffering sigh. "Oh, all right!" He grimaced at the other boys as his brother bounded right up to Dawn and smiled disarmingly.

"Hey, you're that pretty girl at the train," he blurted. "I'm Romulus."

Dawn blushed at his description of her and put on her friendliest smile. "Hi, Romulus. I'm Dawn. And how old are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm six," he said proudly. "I'll be seven in April, Mum says that's not very far away."

"No, it isn't," Dawn agreed. He settled himself comfortably on the lounge, so close he was almost in Dawn's lap and Sirius felt an irrational stab of jealousy as his girlfriend turned her back on him to continue chattering away with Romulus.

Remus groaned and spoke to the other Marauders in a low voice that Dawn, deep in discussion with Romulus about all the best presents to get for a seventh birthday, didn't even register. "He's bloody shocking. A couple of days before Christmas he had Isabel all but convinced to drop me for him. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever have her round for dinner again long as he's about!"

Sirius frowned and tried to loop a possessive arm about Dawn's waist, but she shrugged him off as a distraction from her conversation. He let out a soft growl. Romulus grinned cheekily at Sirius before Dawn had returned her attention to him. The Marauders watched as Dawn completely forgot them, captivated by the childlike babble of her little companion. Remus' face held the eternally annoyed expression of an older brother, though James looked slightly amused by the entire situation. Peter's eyes had narrowed at the child, he was snatching up marshmallows from the dwindling supply in the bag and shoving them into his mouth ferociously. Sirius' blue eyes glittered coldly, he knew it was completely ridiculous to feel threatened by a six year old, but the way Dawn seemed to just forget he was even next to her drove him insane.

Romulus cast a glance around the room, searching for mischief. He pouted at Dawn, brown eyes glowing with innocent heartbreak. "How come everybody else got hot chocolate but me? I really like the marshmallows!" his lower lip jutted out, trembling.

Dawn immediately whirled around and plucked the bag of marshmallow's out of Peter's dumbstruck hands. "You've had enough," she said crisply. "Here you go, Romulus. Is that better?"

He nodded happily, his eyes fixed on Peter and daring him to speak up as he slowly, teasingly popped the marshmallows into his mouth one after the other. Remus just shrugged apologetically. Finally, just as the boys (even Remus) were considering stuffing Romulus into a barrel and rolling him down a mountainside, Mrs Lupin popped her head back in.

"Time to go, boys. Have you been good, Romulus?" she fixed a stern eye on her youngest.

"He's gorgeous!" Dawn piped up enthusiastically. "Can I keep him?"

Sirius started coughing loudly. Mrs Lupin smiled at her as Remus slowly got to his feet. "Come on, Rom, we've got to get going."

But Romulus ignored him, turning a pleading stare to Dawn one last time. "Can I have a hug?"

"Of course you can!" Dawn pulled him into her arms for a tight hug. Romulus looked over her shoulder, straight at Sirius, and poked his tongue out. Sirius went brick red with rage, he reached for his wand, but James kicking his shin at the last minute brought him to his senses. It wasn't right to hex a six year-old. Even if that six year-old was doing a bloody good job of stealing his girlfriend right under his nose.

"Bye, everyone. See you on the train," Remus called.

"Bye Remus," they all returned, Dawn waving back at Romulus' enthusiastic goodbye wave. Then the door swung closed.

"Little devil," Sirius muttered.

Dawn sighed. "What a little cutie."


A.N. I love reviews... subtlety is not my strongest point.

Anoron