a/n: Oh dear, it's been far too long...but I had quite the case of writer's block, and the pool has been calling my name...anyways... :D

A million thanks go out to Kitty East, who somehow agreed to beta this...yay!

xoxcrescentmoonxox--Thank you! I do try do keep them in character; I'm not a huge fan of OOC fics and I don't think many others are either!

b4 dawn 101--noo, i would NOT like it if you got on my computer while i was asleep...you creeper. hahaha. btws you have to reread this chapter, changes have been made.

HeadWayUpInDaClouds--yay, I'm glad that you like my short chappies! Sorrowfully...they've grown quite long as of late...oh well. Glad you liked it anyway!

anablack1--yay! I'm so glad you liked it...here's an update, after about a century...:P

Kitty East--thanks so much for all the reviews and the beta-ing! I feel much more...secure now, hehe. Thanks again! :D

muddy worm--:D yay! I really need to write more, don't I?

anyway...

Sirius POV.

It was early Christmas morning, and I had resigned myself to believe that I wouldn't receive any presents—it didn't matter that I belonged to one of the most prominent Wizarding families in Britain. I had known that I wouldn't get anything since I had decided to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. It wasn't like I actually wanted them to send me anything—if they had, it would be something like Blood Purity: a Traceable History, robes in Slytherin colours, or yet another Howler… in my case, receiving no presents was a good enough present for me. I figured I wouldn't be alone in my giftlessness—Lily, most likely, wouldn't get anything (unless James dropped to post-pathetic measures) since her family was thousands of miles away.

"Sirius Black!" a voice bellowed from the common room. Ugh. Talk of the devil.

"Coming, Evans," I yelled back. I was still wearing what I wore to sleep—Muggle clothes that Regulus had stolen but given to me when our mum found out and yelled at him—not for stealing, but for possessing Muggle clothes. I smirked. Well, I wasn't going to make her wait; it was her fault if she got – er – surprised.

I opened the dormitory door and walked downstairs to where she was waiting, fully dressed in her own Muggle clothing, by the entrance; a brown owl was sitting on her shoulder. She opened her mouth and then seemed to do a double take.

"It's winter!" she said, her bright green eyes widening. "You can't wear that!" Lily pointed at the bright blue basketball shorts and the sleeveless white T-shirt with some sort of sports logo. The owl on her shoulder hooted and bobbed its head.

"I can do whatever I like," I informed her. "What did you call me down here for?" Lily pointed to her shoulder.

"This owl won't get off my shoulder," she complained. Who did she think I was, a Junior Member for the Committee for the Disposal of Magical Creatures? "And it's got something for you." I looked at the owl, surprised, and recognised it…it was one that I had not seen in a very long time.

"Enwa?" I said, somewhat incredulously, and the owl gave a happy hoot and stuck its right leg out comically, digging its left claw into Lily's shoulder. I saw her wince. I untied the package quickly and opened it—it contained a letter and two Chocolate Frogs.

"I'll put her in Hera's cage for now." Lily said, disappearing up the stairs towards the girls' dormitory, with the brown feathery mass bobbing up and down excitedly.

I put the Chocolate Frogs on the table and opened the letter. A picture fell out—my cousin, Andromeda, with her Muggle-born husband, Ted Tonks, and what I could only assume to be their child, a pink-haired girl of about two. Andy, who looked exactly like a happy, lighter-haired Bella, was waving cheerfully at me out of the picture, and her dirty blond-haired jolly husband was doing the same.

All of a sudden, their daughter's hair went from straight to curly, then into a Mohawk. The little girl laughed, and her hair went back to being pink. She was a Metamorphmagus! She would have fun with that when she got to Hogwarts. I know exactly what I would do if I were a Metamorphmagus…

I grinned and began reading the letter.

Dear Cousin,

Your mum's brother wrote to me the other day (don't ever tell your mum, she'd blast him off of that worthless family tree of hers) and told me that you'd not come home for Christmas. Your uncle says that the rest of the Blacks are absolutely furious with you, so I decided to write to you, since you most likely won't get any other sort of present.

I'm sorry that we could only send you two Chocolate Frogs, but after leaving home there hasn't exactly been loads of money. Ted is starting his job at the Ministry on the first of January, but until then we'll just have to make do with what we have.

If you've seen the picture that I sent, you will have noticed our daughter, Nymphadora—Nymphadora?! Could she have picked a worse name? That poor girl, she'll hate it—who turned two on the first of December. I do hope that you will be able to come for a visit sometime and see her. And keep in mind that, if your mum ever burns you off for being decent, you can always stay with us.

Well, I really must close, there's quite a bit of food to prepare, Ted's family is coming to our home for Christmas. I do hope that they don't mind a bit of magic!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas,

Your Cousin Andromeda

I folded up the letter and put it on the table. This, I felt, was a far better present than any other I could have received. I would write Andy back later tonight—there was so much that had happened since she left that I had to tell her.

At that moment, Lily came racing down the stairs, clearly glad to be rid of Enwa. Perhaps I'd have to write that letter sooner to save Lily from that owl.

I wasn't quite sure what prompted this cheerful Christmas spirit (considering that I've hated this time of year since I was eleven), but I decided to use it to my advantage. Cheerfully, I grabbed a Chocolate Frog and tossed it to Lily. She caught it and looked up at me in surprise.

"What's this for?" she asked, her green eyes wide. I forced myself to look away.

"Dunno," I decided on saying, looking purposefully at a spot on the wall over her shoulder. "Just thought that I might share my Christmas present with you, since you didn't get any." I shrugged in what I hoped looked like a generous manner, then chanced a look at her face: there was either anger or amusement playing behind her eyes.

Finally she grinned crookedly and chucked the Frog back at me. "Thanks, Black," she said as I caught it, "but I've got five of my own Frogs over there." Lily pointed to one of the scarlet couches, where a pile of presents, including oranges, joke products, socks, and Chocolate Frogs lay.

"What—how—?" I spluttered, eyeing the joke products. If she hadn't been so angry at that moment, I would've politely begged her for them—she would never use them.

"Did you think that I was getting nothing?" she asked snappishly. "My parents sent them to Mary's mum last week to give to me, if you must know!"

"Sorry," I mumbled, slightly bewildered. How had this gone all wrong?

"It's alright," she said, smiling slightly. "Anyways…" She grabbed her robes, which were draped over a nearby chair. "…I'm going down for breakfast – want to come?"

"Er," I said, looking down at my attire. "I'll meet you down there in a minute."

"Right," Lily said, looking like she was trying to conceal a smile. "I'll save you a seat."

I started towards the stairs, but turned to see Lily stepping out of the portrait hole. I realised, with a sickening jolt, how difficult it had become to continue calling her "Evans". I groaned.

James was going to kill me.