Chapter 6 all! Leave a review


Christmas was coming, and with it the realization I still had presents to buy. Mainly Hermione's, and I wanted to get something for McGonagall. It was with that in mind that I approached the twins.

"I'm ready to try the tunnel."

Both boys turned sharply to me. "Are you sure?" George kept his face expressionless.

"Yes. I need to get a few Christmas presents, and I can't get them otherwise." I nodded my head sharply. I needed to do this. I had brought the pouch connected to my vault at Gringott's and seeing the determination in my face, the twins agreed.

We bundled up in our warmest gear, and I couldn't help but notice the twin's gloves were paper-thin and had several holes in them. Thinking about it, Ron's gloves weren't doing so well either. I decided to think about that a bit later, and focused on beating back the fear as the tunnel opened before me.

Again, Fred went in first, George behind me, and I held tightly to both of their hands. If they noticed me shaking, they didn't comment, and both cast a Lumos as soon as the door closed behind us.

It turned out not to be as bad as I thought, though I still wasn't looking forward to the return trip, as the twins kept up a steady stream of chatter, even going so far as to plan out a prank for Draco. Apparently he and Harry weren't getting on well, no surprise there.

The tunnel ended at a trapdoor, and I had to fight giggles as Fred lifted it a crack to check for people. Apparently the shop owners in Hogsmeade didn't much care if you snuck out of school as long as you bought things, but the tunnel let out in the storeroom of Honeyduke's candy shop, and he wouldn't have been happy to find us in there. We managed to sneak out past the counter, and I caught my breath.

The place was full to the ceiling with every type of wizard candy available. Chocolate frogs, licorice wands, sugar quills... I had to fight myself not to buy one of everything. I did get a small selection though to stash away for a rainy day and bought a few things for the three of us to eat as we walked. I stopped in the book store first, getting Hermione a book on transfiguration she had been complaining the library didn't have.

I could tell Fred was getting bored, but George kept smiling encouragingly as I skimmed the titles, looking for a few on Animagi. I was fascinated by the idea and wanted to try it, but I didn't really want to register. Finally deciding I was done, I heard a smothered sigh of relief as I bought my things. Next, we went to the Quidditch store, and Fred perked up considerably. I bought a few broom care items I was out of but waited patiently for the twins to be done browsing. I knew the store they were looking forward to the most, Zonko's joke shop. But I had a few other places to visit first.

The town was surprisingly quiet, grey clouds covered the sky, and footsteps crunched into fallen leaves. I tried to memorize the feeling, hanging out with my two best friends, and the contentment of buying gifts for my friends. I bought Professor McGonagall a snitch that was charmed to run errands for her, then decided on buying gifts for my other professors. Snape got Never-Break potion vials, Flitwick a royal blue quill and ink set, and Sinistra a small projector that showed the night sky, adjusting with the season to be accurate. Madame Hooch got a broom care kit, Sprout some Ever-Sharp pruning shears, and Quirrell... Well, let's say he had a better way to carry the garlic he'd been stuffing in his turban.

I made the potions store clerk give me a funny look when I bought some mandrake leaves, but I threw in some other ingredients to seem less suspicious.

What really threw the twins for a loop was my insistence we stop at the craft store. It was a tiny building, more of a hut really, and when I ducked inside I despaired of finding what I needed. But in the back, on one lonely shelf, was a few rolls of yarn and a small basket of various size knitting needles.

"What do you need those for?" Fred asked, watching me grab the smallest set of double points.

"None of your business." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Come on, you can trust us." George cajoled, but I kept my face blank as I grabbed some blue, purple, and mint yarn. I managed to distract them by saying I had what I needed and we could go to Zonko's now.

As we were leaving the joke shop to head home, I glanced at the darkening skies.

"Do you think it might snow?"

"Oh, we hope so." The twins spoke at once. And I was so distracted by their plans for a snowball fight, I didn't even notice the darkness of the tunnel home.


I was right about the snow, and the boys landed themselves in detention for bewitching snowballs to pelt the back of Quirrell's head. I was afraid they would knock his turban loose, sending garlic cloves everywhere. The few owls that were out before the snow, came back wet and bedraggled and had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid.

While the common rooms and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the rest of the drafty castle was quite cold. Down in the dungeons was the worst, for the whole of potions I hovered over my cauldron, hoping to leech some of its warmth.

I couldn't wait for the Holidays. I was being allowed two days away from the castle early, as the full moon would be the twenty-first, so that I could have Christmas with Remus. The twins thought this was awfully unfair, as I refused to tell them why I got to skip class for two days, but were mollified when I said I'd be at Hogwarts for Christmas. They were staying as well, as their parents and younger sister were going to Romania to visit one of their elder sons, Charlie.

The week before Christmas, I went up to Dumbledore's office. He greeted me with a smile and offered me a bag of floo powder. I took a small amount, threw it into the fire, and announced, "Lupin Lodge!" and was whisked away. I made sure to keep my mouth clamped tight, I didn't need a mouthful of ashes, and stepped out of the fireplace, into Remus's arms.

To say he was thrilled to see me was an understatement, and he asked many question's about how school was going, had I been bullied for being alone in my house, and if I had made any friends.

"I love potions actually, and I feel I would love the DADA if someone besides Quirrell were teaching. Meaning no disrespect, he's much too skittish.

"I haven't been bullied, no. In fact, I think unless I'm getting points, people mostly forget I'm in my own house.

"And I have made friends, several in fact. There's Hermione Granger, Harry Potter-"

"Harry? How is he doing? Do you two..." Remus trailed off, looking as though he wanted to ask a question but thought better of it.

"Harry is doing well, yes. I suppose you would know about him. He made Gryffindor seeker, and they won their first game against Slytherin. Fred says it was all him and George, but we both know that's not completely true."

"And who are Fred and George?" Remus asked with a tilt of his head.

"They're my best friends. They're twins, Weasley's, and I'm also friends with their younger brother Ron, he's in my year. The twins are third years and have built a reputation as the school Pranksters Extraordinaire. Why just last week they turned the Slytherin prefects robes bright red, they're in Gryffindor you see..."

Remus listen to me ramble about the twin's exploits, smiling faintly as he remembered another group of Gryffindors, Pranksters Extraordinaire. His trip down memory lane was interrupted however, as I admitted, "They know about my trip to see Uncle Sirius."

"Do they?" He knew I wouldn't talk about that with just anyone.

"Yeah. They found a secret tunnel to Hogsmeade and wanted to take me there, but it was dark, and I freaked out." I wasn't concerned to tell him we were sneaking out, I knew I wouldn't get in trouble for curiosity about a tunnel.

"Oh? Was it the one behind the One-Eyed Witch?"

I looked at him, briefly shocked, before remembering he went to the school himself.

"Are there any other secret tunnels you know of?"

He gave me a smirk and proceeded to tell me many secrets.


I hugged Remus goodbye sadly as our time together came to an end. He had given me a lovely book on defensive spell creation, and I had given him a new coat, spelled to always be the perfect temperature. I stepped into the fireplace, shouted "Headmasters Office at Hogwarts!" and flooed back to the school. I was surprised to stumble out of the fireplace, into the twin's arms.

"What are you two doing up here?" I asked.

"We knew you'd be sad about leaving your guardian, so we thought we'd cheer you up." Fred bounced on his toes, completely ignoring Dumbledore's amused smile from behind him. I turned to the Headmaster, and thanked him again for my few days home, then was ushered out and down the hall, George's hand at my back.

Once most of the school had left for the holidays, the place seemed very empty. I was sitting in the Great Hall, eating a small breakfast, and reading my book on Animagi when the twins appeared on either side of me. "Whatcha reading?" Fred asked, already picking up the book.

"It's on becoming an Animagus. I want to do it, but I don't really want to register." I whispered.

I gave them a brief description of the ability and its uses, and they seemed very interested. So interested in fact, they demanded I help them do it themselves. First, there was a charm to determine what our form was, and we had to hold a mandrake leaf under our tongue for a month, from one full moon to the next. Luckily, mandrake had next to no flavor, and it was easy enough to hide a leaf under the tongue. Then, using the leaf for the creation of a potion, reciting an incantation (Amato Animo Animato Animagus) on a daily basis, and drinking the Animagus potion during a lightning storm.

I wasn't sure how we could be sure of a lightning storm at the end of the month, but the boys assured me they knew a way. All that was left was to find a hidden and secure place to perform the charm. The twins offered to choose a spot, but I had something hidden up my sleeve.


The stunned looks on George and Fred's faces as I paced before my dorm entrance were brilliant. A door formed, and I dragged their still gaping forms into the Room of Requirement. I found the room had built me a decent sized chamber, with a roaring fireplace at one end, and three comfy chairs.

"How is this place not on-" George began, but cut off at a look from Fred.

I smiled, I had a guess as to what he meant, since my visit with Remus for Christmas. "It's not on the Marauder's Map, because the creator's hadn't yet discovered it when the map was made. I thought you two might have it."

If they had been stunned before, the faces she was receiving now were frozen.

"You- you know?"

"You know!?"

I grinned. "You boys will be delighted to know that I happen to know very well it's creators. Well two of them. The other's I evidently met as a baby, but I don't remember much."

"WHO!?" They both demanded at once.

I merely smirked. "I know Moony and Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail are both dead now. They died in the last days of the war."

I refused to reveal their real names, and eventually, the twins realized I wasn't budging. Finally, the three of us sat down in the chairs and cast the charm. When we all came out of the spell, I matched the gleeful looks on the boy's faces with one of my own.

"I'm a Coyote!" George enthused.

"I'm a Hyena!" Fred replied.

Both of them turned to me. "What are you?"

"I believe, I am a Bobcat." My grin Cheshire at the irony.

They dog-piled on me, passing around congratulations. And then we settled in to wait two more days until the full moon.


I spent most of my holiday break with the Gryffindors, and I snuck in Christmas Eve to have a sleepover in the twin's room. Obviously the house elves knew where I was, as there was an extra pile of presents at the foot of George's bed where I had ended up falling asleep late into the night.

Jerking out of the bed, I dragged the twins up with me. I watched with eager eyes as they opened their presents from me. I had given each of them a broom care kit, waterproof goggles, and a snitch like the one I bought for McGonagall, that was charmed to perform instructed tasks. Both were thrilled by the gifts, but the gift they seemed most excited about was the last one they unwrapped. Each of the twins were holding a hand-knitted pair of gloves. Fred's were mint coloured, George's were purple. It was obvious they recognized the yarn from our trip into Hogsmeade.

"You made us gloves?" George gasped.

"Yes, Ron too." I shyly ducked my head, but before I could think, I was tackled into a hug by both boys.

"Thank you," Fred whispered in my ear. I nodded, overwhelmed by the gratitude they displayed.

Then the moment was over and they were thrusting their gift into my lap. I ripped through the paper, to find a charm bracelet, with two copper charms on it, a bobcat, and a lion. It was my turn to whisper my thanks as I hugged them both to me. I had never felt more grateful for true friendship. They were my boys, and I hoped they knew that.

The rest of the morning passed in a flurry of torn paper. I received a sweater and some fudge from Mrs. Weasley, in a lovely blue that matched the twins, with a large letter L in the center of the chest. Then we decided to check on the others.


"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look - Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

The twins announced as we burst into the first-year boy's dorm.

"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "So's Leo's. She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family. "

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm. "

"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge."

I giggled as Percy Weasley, one of the twins older brothers poked his head in the door, with a disapproving look on his face.

"What's all this noise?"

He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry and Leo got one. "

"I - don't - want - " said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family. "

They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater. I giggled and turned to the remaining occupants of the room. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Leo. Thanks for the gloves, I was needing new ones." Ron held up the blue gloves I knitted.

"Yeah, thanks for the broom kit!" Harry added.

I nodded, thanking them for the pile of candy the two had bought me. It would further my stash until I next snuck to Hogsmeade.


Christmas dinner was fantastic. Roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce - and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Harry pulled one with Fred, and it went off like a cannon blast, surrounding them with blue smoke. He got a rear Admiral's hat and was shocked to see several live white mice emerge. I pulled one with George, and out of the explosive pink smoke, popped a black top hat with a rabbit in it. I offered the hat to George, but he placed it on my head.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. I watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to mine and Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When dinner was done, I had a handful of cracker prizes. The mice had disappeared, and I got the sense Mrs. Norris would be eating well tonight.

We then headed out on the lawn, and had "the Snowball Fight of the Century". Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, we returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. We suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.

Supper was leftover turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake. While most of us were quite full and sleepy, I did have enough energy to giggle as the twins stole Percy's Prefect badge, and watch him chase them around the tower. It was one of the best Christmas's I'd ever had.