bThe Unraveling Chapter Three
Christmas Galore/b
The weeks after the attack passed quickly for Chloe and Sirius. She worked extra hours at St. Mungo's, spending a lot of her spare time with James in recovery. He was perfectly okay, except a little weak, but the hospital wanted to keep him because of the mysteriousness of the spell that had been used to repair the damage. There had been a lot of research done on the spell, charm, curse, or what ever it was to find out it's background and it's properties. It had been discovered that it was actually two spells combined; an anti-jinx and a curse that seemed to counter act the original curse. Nobody had a clue how Lily had learned this spell, and Chloe played dumb though she had a sinking idea that Severus Snape was responsible, especially after one conversation with James about the attack.
"I had felt a spell like that before, from Snivellus, except it caused a much smaller cut on my face and it stopped bleeding after a while. It was no where near as serious as this was, but much the same." James described to Chloe on one of her lunch breaks.
"Do you think Lily and Severus are responsible for this?" Chloe asked; a little afraid that James would just angry with her for mentioning Lily's involvement, but surprisingly he nodded.
"I know for a fact that Lily is responsible for coming up with the spell that reverses the damage. She told me that when she had been friends with Snape in fourth year he had become extremely interested in coming up with spells and had come up with the one that cut me all those years ago. I don't know about the bleeding part, Snape could have added that recently, but because Lily knew about it, it must have been part of Snape's plan to come up with a way to make it so that the wound was cursed and would not stop bleeding." James admitted.
Chloe had left that room a little frightened. She couldn't believe that Lily could be linked to something that had killed so many innocent, but she knew it was possible. With everything that had happened with Severus, it was completely plausible. But when asked Chloe simply played dumb, afraid that Lily might get in trouble if she didn't. She didn't tell Sirius about the conversations she had had with James, knowing that he would be much more bothered by it than James was. James had become a very understanding person as he got older. Besides, Sirius wasn't interested in details this time, he was just happy his friend was alive and that Lily had been quick enough to come up with a spell.
Since the agreement of dropping the subject of Chloe joining the Order, the relationship between them had changed completely. Sirius was finally honest to her when he had to leave to do something for the Order. He also let her in on some more information about Voldemort and his followers, making sure that she knew who she should trust and shouldn't trust. It wasn't hard for Chloe to figure much of that on her own however, because much of them she had attended school with and they were all Muggle-haters, it seemed natural that they would be part of a group led by a mad wizard who wanted the end for all Muggles.
All in all Chloe's life had settled down a little since the attack on James and the other Aurors. There had been no new attacks, and the stream of patients had slowed down to a minimal. Though the people of the Wizarding community were still on guard, waiting for another attack, people had calmed down considerably. Chloe wasn't exactly sure what to make of it all. She was happy that nobody was getting hurt but it didn't sit well with her. She was waiting to wake up one morning and find that there had been some kind of mass killing.
While this seemed to weigh on everyone's minds, it was getting closer to Christmas time, and that became Sirius's main focus. Every day Chloe would come home and find more Christmas decorations had been set up. She didn't mind it that much in the beginning, but it was getting to the point where she couldn't move without standing under mistletoe, or open a door that didn't have garland on it. Sirius had even bought three trees, one for their bedroom, one for Ryan's, and one for the living room. Chloe had no idea what to make of it, but she lived with it because she saw how happy it made Sirius.
After an extremely long day at work, Chloe came home to find a table full of food, with Sirius explaining he was testing out some recipes for Christmas.
"Why?" Chloe asked cautiously, as she took her seat.
"Because were going to have Christmas here this year. We'll invite everyone – it will be the best Christmas Party ever." Sirius said, placing a plate covered with turkey, stuffing, vegetables, and mash.
"Sirius!" Chloe whined, looking at her plate. "We don't have time to plan a party! Not too mention there's a war going on," Chloe frowned as Sirius took his seat, looking defiant.
"Not true; you don't have time because of work, but I have the world." Sirius argued.
"So what, you're going to play house wife and host some grand party?" Chloe snapped, groaning.
"Don't say it like that." Sirius said, frowning now.
"Say what?"
"Say it like I would rather stay home than work." Sirius said, angry now.
"I thought we talked about this; you told me you were okay taking care of Ryan while I worked!" Chloe exclaimed.
"That's not the point." Sirius slammed his fist on the table.
"Yes it damn well is. All your friends in the Order have jobs with the Ministry; get to fight the big bad guys and you're stuck home babysitting!" Chloe was shouting now, and Ryan had started to cry.
"Look what you've done." Sirius groaned, standing up and picking up Ryan.
"Of course! It's always my fault, isn't it?" Chloe said, standing now. "I get that you're tired, I know what it's like to have to be stuck inside, but you seem to forget that." Chloe finished.
Sirius was silent, as he calmed down Ryan. It was few minutes before Ryan was settled, and Sirius and Chloe sat down at the table and started to eat. "We don't have to have the party, Chloe." Sirius said quietly.
"We can have the party, Sirius, I'm just tired." Chloe admitted.
"I'm sorry," Sirius replied.
"Don't be, I'm sorry." Chloe said her body sagging and offering Sirius an apologetic smile.
Sirius stood up, and went around the table and kissed Chloe softly on the lips. Her eyes drifting open as Sirius pulled away he flashed a smile, and than sat down in the empty chair that was diagonal from her. Lifting his plate over to where he now sat, he started to eat, and Chloe followed his motion. She still felt guilty for bringing up the things that she had, as she knew very well that it wasn't true. Yes, Sirius did wish he could work and provide for his family, but he did not resent her for it, and she knew he loved spending time with Ryan, but it was just like how she felt when she had been raising him alone.
When they had finished eating as much as they could, Sirius pulled his wand out and with a single wave the plates disappeared, the food with it too. Chloe stared at the blank table, and then at Sirius with a raised brow.
"A new spell I learned," Sirius explained as he went to get Ryan.
Chloe stood up as he did so, and took Ryan from his arms. "I'll clean him up, you can relax. It really was a good dinner," Chloe told him, kissing him on the cheek as she walked towards the loo.
After a quick bath, and putting Ryan to bed, Chloe joined Sirius on the sofa, leaning her head on his chest. He was watching the Muggle news on the telly, the volume so low that Chloe couldn't hear it, but she didn't complain. She hated hearing bad new especially when she had to work with it all day.
Sirius began running his hand threw her messy hair, absently humming a tune as his gaze was fixed on the television. Chloe grinned to herself, peering up at his face. She loved moments like these, the peace and the normalcy. She hated fighting with, considering in the youth of their relationship they had spent so much time doing so.
Chloe felt Sirius's hand sag around her, and as gently as she could she pulled an old afghan around them. Sirius's deep breaths filled the room, and Chloe managed to turn the television and the lights off with her wand that she managed to get out of her pocket. Leaning her head on Sirius's chest, he woke up but simply got more comfortable pulling Chloe with him.
"I love you," he mumbled in her hair, hugging her close.
Chloe giggled quietly, breathing in his peppermint scent. "Yeah I know." She whispered, and closed her eyes.
"MUMMY!"
Chloe woke up with a start, pushing her weight down on Sirius's chest, which woke him up, coughing violently. He pushed Chloe off of him without realizing what he was doing, and tumbled off the couch after her when he tried to catch her. Landing in a heap on the floor, Chloe untangled herself from Sirius and the blanket to see why Ryan was shouting.
He stood in the door way, clutching his comforter in the early morning light, tears streaming down his face as he wailed. Behind her, Chloe could Sirius trying to make sense of what was going on while she stood up and went over to Ryan. Right away she knew what was going on, and that Ryan had simply had an accident during the night.
"Hush Ryan its okay; just a little accident." Chloe cooed, kneeling in front of Ryan. She brushed his tears away with her fingers, and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go to the washroom and clean you up." She stood up, and took Ryan's free hand.
"Do you need my help?" Sirius asked, befuddled on the floor.
Chloe turned to tell him no, but ended up laughing when she saw his mess of hair. "No, no, you stay there." She laughed, and taking Ryan's hand walked down the hallway to the loo.
Peeling off his clothes with the littlest amount of touching she turned the taps on the tub at the same time, waiting for the water to warm. Alert, and feeling the warmest she had in years Chloe couldn't be bothered to be too upset that her son had waken her up after such a long and tiresome day. It had been so long since she had been able to sleep so peaceful, and she knew it had a lot do with the tension that existed between her and Sirius about the war, and their situation. She knew Sirius loved she and Ryan more then life, but she resented him sometimes when he would make his little comments about having to stay in rather then joining his friends at their parties. She didn't like resenting him, nor did she like him resenting her. It was all very complicated.
Ryan was in the tub, a sleepy expression upon his face as she ran the warm water over his tiny body with a cloth. It was funny how Ryan hated having to take baths, but when he had an accident or anything of the sort he would be the first to suggest a bath. The truth was Ryan actually loved baths, but loved an argument with his parents more. He had certainly inherited his parents' stubbornness.
When Ryan was washed she wrapped his half-asleep in a fluffy yellow towel and carried him into his bedroom where she found Sirius changing the sheets of Ryan's bed. Together they put clean pajamas on his sleeping body and tucked him into bed, and still he did not wake. Kissing him on the forehead, Chloe followed Sirius out of the room and into their own bedroom.
He pulled her onto the bed, and Chloe to lazy to care about her smelly clothing let him pull her close. Snuggling in his warm homely chest, she shut her eyes tightly longing for that place she had just been in. Sirius had begun to sing a soft unnamable melody, his chest rumbling in a low baritone voice. Grinning a little, Chloe slipped her hand under his shirt feeling his bare chest, and began playing with his chest hair. Sirius stopped singing and made a purring noise which sent Chloe into a fit of giggles.
"Why do you always do that?" Sirius said, laughing at his own silliness.
"I don't know, why? Does it bother you?" Chloe asked, pulling her hand from his shirt.
"No, I just never understood it. I remember not too long ago you saying that you hated chest hair." Sirius said.
"Are we really having this conversation now?" Chloe asked, sitting up on her one elbow to look Sirius in the eye.
Sirius grinned and nodded. "Yes, I want to know."
Chloe rolled her eyes, but answered anyway. "It makes you seem older; I like that idea now when it used to scare me to think I was actually growing older."
"Of all people to be afraid of getting old!" Sirius exclaimed, barking a short laugh.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because you've been acting older since the age of sixteen. I thought you got over that stage of your life." Sirius told her.
"Are you seriously going there right now Sirius?" Chloe questioned, her brow rising.
"Fine, say what you like. You shouldn't worry about getting older – you'll always be beautiful; the beautiful mother of my beautiful child." Sirius whispered the last past and pulled Chloe on to him and kissed her deeply on the lips.
After nearly a minute without breath Chloe pulled away with a staggered breath. "Are you saying this to get into my pants Mr. Black?" she smirked.
Sirius laughed loudly again, but Chloe quickly placed her hand over his mouth, hushing him as she did. "Ryan is the next room sleeping."
"That just means we will have to be quiet." Sirius grinned wickedly.
Laughing, Chloe collapsed on to his chest trying to keep a loud laugh within, but Sirius pulled her face up to his and into another long, dizzying kiss. Slipping his hands under her shirt, and holding her waist tightly, Chloe felt a shiver run up her spine and she moved closer to him, deepening their kiss. It had been so long since they had been this close, and more than ever Chloe wanted Sirius.
Sirius's ragged breath filled Chloe's ears as they struggled with their clothing, a pulsating excitement running through their veins. Arguments, fears, everything left their minds as they set out to simply please the burning hunger within the other. Together they moved, and Chloe's body moved of it's own accord. She couldn't remember the last time and Sirius had acted as one, and she couldn't lie, she had missed him.
Falling next to Sirius on the bed, Chloe felt more exhausted than ever. Sirius shifted her body closer to him, holding her tightly against him. She rested her head next to his ear, and kissed him softly, nuzzling her head into his neck. "I missed you," she murmured into the darkness.
"I couldn't tell," Sirius laughed loudly, playing with Chloe's hair again. Chloe flicked Sirius in the nose, but laughed herself.
"I'm so tired." Chloe whispered her mind beginning to race with all the things she had to do the next day.
"Then sleep." Sirius answered softly, kissing her briefly on the forehead. He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, and at last Chloe closed her eyes.
"That will be twenty-four galleons and two knut's please." The witch told Chloe and Sirius as they stood at the cashier's desk at the Quidditch Quality store in Diagon Alley. There was a long line behind them, people all doing last minute shopping at Christmas neared. There was only two weeks left, neither Chloe nor Sirius had had the time to go shopping for Ryan's Christmas presents. They found that this was the perfect time, as Chloe had received a day off and her mother was willing to care for Ryan while they were out shopping.
Sirius pulled a small black pouch out of his pocket, and dropped the money in the woman's hand. After placing the money in the register, she handed Chloe a brown paper package that contained three Holyhead Harpies jumpers – Sirius's favourite team, which Chloe often associated with the fact that the team was made up of solely girls. There was another package much slimmer, which contained a real broom for Ryan. It had been the gift he asked for from Father Christmas. Though Chloe had fought against it, Sirius had convinced her that it was the safest thing. It was a child's broom, and only went five kilometers an hour, and never above three feet in the air. It had a cushioning spell so if Ryan ever fell off, it wouldn't hurt. Sirius assured Chloe that now that he was four years old, he could handle it. He had received his own when he was nearly three.
"That's because your parents were mindlessly insane!" Chloe had argued.
"Well there are no arguments there, but that doesn't stop the fact that I was able to ride it before I was three." Sirius had concluded.
So they bought it, Chloe knowing very well that as much as she hated it, she knew it would make Ryan the happiest child on the block. As they exited the shop, Sirius balanced the parcels with the other ones he was carrying, leaving Chloe with her list, and the bag of money.
"Where to now?" Sirius asked, sounding tired.
"Do you want to stop and rest for awhile? We've done a lot of shopping." Chloe suggested.
"Yeah, sure, that sounds fine." Sirius agreed.
They walked for a few minutes down the winding path of Diagon Alley until they came to the small ice cream parlor that served hot chocolate and coffee in the winter. Chloe sent Sirius off to find a seat and ordered to hot chocolate's at the counter. The place was busy, but quiet enough that you could hear Christmas music playing from the old record player that was behind the counter. Chloe held the cups in her hands firmly and walked over to Sirius, who was leaning on his one elbow and staring out the great window.
"Here you go," Chloe said, placing a mug of hot chocolate in front of Sirius.
"Thanks," he murmured, taking an absent sip and returned to gazing out the window.
"What's up?" Chloe asked after a long silence. He had been completely fine for the past few weeks, fantastic towards her. She couldn't remember a time when they had been getting on so well. But last night there had been a meeting, and ever since she woke up this morning with him next to her – sneaking in late at night – he had gone back to his moody self.
Sirius turned his look at her and offered her forced smile that was only a shadow of the smile she loved. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"Well I'm going to when you act like this." Chloe countered.
Sirius let out sigh of frustration. "You said you wouldn't be like this."
"How else am I supposed to be?"
"I don't know, but I'm doing my best. I come home every night, I pretend nothing is wrong in the world. I do it so you won't feel left out." Sirius told her.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to do that for my Sirius. I don't need you to 'pretend' because I already know that the world isn't all butterflies and daisies. Besides you're so called 'pretending' is crap." Chloe added with a grin.
Sirius let out a smile. "I never said I was an actor."
"Shut up," Chloe shook her head, glad to see a genuine smile. Reaching out for him, he let her take his hand and she squeezed it tightly. "Don't pretend around me, I hate it. But don't be down all the time. Not when Christmas is so near. You can't beat yourself up over things you can't control."
Sirius frowned. "But I can control it. Don't you see? iThey/i are after me, and until they have me you and Ryan will always be in danger. Everyone around me will be in danger. Some days I wonder if the fight is worth it." Sirius's eyes drifted downwards to the table top.
"Sirius," Chloe said sharply. "Stop blaming yourself; please stop blaming yourself for what ever it is. Because no one else is, and self-loathing doesn't suit you."
Sirius snorted the last part, but met Chloe's eyes. Leaning across the table he planted a soft, sweet kiss on her lips, pulling away only a little and breathing gently on her face he said, "This is why I love you."
Chloe smirked. "Because for some reason I put up with it all."
"That's exactly why." Sirius laughed, kissing her again, and finally settling back in his chair and taking a sip from his mug, never letting go of Chloe's hand. "So what are we getting for Ryan next?"
"I don't know, maybe something to spark the inner prankster within him." Chloe suggested, grinning as Sirius's eye twinkled with joy.
It was finally December twenty-fourth, and Christmas had arrived. Sirius had decorated the house top to bottom with decorations, red, green, and gold was sprinkled every where, the tree glowing with white decorations and a singing Angel. There was mistletoe hung every where, and he had decked the fireplace out with the three largest stockings he could find, all reading their names. The presents had all been wrapped in colour paper, and they all sat under the tree waiting to be opened the next morning. It certainly was magical, Chloe had to admit, and she was extremely surprised that Sirius had managed to pull it off. Before the guests had begun to arrive, Sirius had swung Chloe around and kissed her with an excited joy.
Guests would be arriving any minute, and Chloe couldn't stop looking at reflection in the window. She was wearing a black dress that hugged her curves, something Sirius had picked out for her as an early Christmas present (to herself or him, she couldn't tell). She had to admit she looked good, really good, but she couldn't help but feel a little too dressed up. She had never been one to enjoy dressing up, but she supposed, being with Sirius there were some things she had to do. He had always loved looking good, and holding big parties. She supposed it was the pureblood upbringing, though she would never tell him that because he would most likely try his damn'st to look unruly all the time.
The floor creaked, and Chloe turned to see Ryan dressed smartly in a red jumped and black corduroy pants. He had received a haircut early in the morning, and his curls had been cut short. Smiling up at her, Chloe grinned at her handsome little boy.
"Pretty Mama." Ryan told her as she knelt to be at eye-level with him.
"Thank you love," Chloe told him, pitching his cheek and fixing his sweater. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Ah, you're just saying that." Ryan sputtered, wiggling his body. Chloe laughed, and looked up to see Sirius standing near the doorway to the kitchen, a grin on his face. He was dressed in black dress-robes, and hint of red underneath. His hair, he had cut it to the perfect length – or at least what Chloe thought was the perfect length.
"He's right though, you do look beautiful." Sirius agreed with a grin.
Chloe stood up straight, and walked around Ryan who was now jumping up and down for no apparent reason and over to Sirius. Kissing him lightly on his clean shaven face she smiled up at him. "Thank you for the dress, I do love it."
As Sirius went to put his arms around Chloe, a knock was at the door, and from their place in the living room they could hear Chloe's family arguing with each other. Chloe raised her eyebrows, and went to pick up Ryan while Sirius went to the door. As Chloe stood up, her family was greeted by Sirius, all dressed up.
"Where's my cute little nephew?" Danielle said loudly, stumbling past Sirius, with a large present in her hands. She was wearing an extremely vibrant set of red dress robes, and screamed loudly when she saw Chloe and Ryan.
"You are so loud!" Chloe complained as she hugged her sister, and somehow managed to hand Ryan off to her.
"I'm just so happy to see my little buddy." Danielle said swinging Ryan around in her arms.
Chloe rolled her eyes and turned to her mother and Aunt who were hugging Sirius in turns. "Hello mum," Chloe said as her mother hugged her.
"Merry Christmas darling, I see Sirius has had some fun." Mrs. Roberts said, looking around the apartment when she let go of Chloe.
"I gave him creative freedom." Chloe agreed, and hugged her Aunt who was equally amused by the numerous decorations.
Moving into the sitting area, Chloe's mother and Aunt took seats, and Chloe sat on one the armrests of her mother's chair. Danielle continued standing, still holding Ryan as he babbled about going to the park earlier and playing in the snow. The doorbell rang again and Sirius answered it, and Remus, Kathy, Nadine, Lily, and James entered. As Sirius welcomed each one, Albert followed by some people Chloe did not know entered. Chloe's average apartment was getting full, and Sirius turned the music up so that it could still be heard amongst the loud chatter. After excusing herself, Chloe went over to where everyone stood taking off their coats and jackets and handing them to Sirius.
"Chloe!" Lily said loudly rushing to hug her friend. She was still wearing her work robes of dark blue that caused her red hair to stand out exceptionally.
"Hey, I'm so happy you could make it." Chloe answered as she hugged Lily.
Lily pulled away, and James hugged Chloe next. "Happy Christmas!" he said loudly into her ear.
When James let go of Chloe, she finally managed to get near enough to Remus to hug him. She had not seen Remus in two months, even when James had got hurt. In fact nobody had seen him except for Sirius a few weeks ago, at the Leaky Cauldron where he informed Remus of the Christmas party. Chloe knew that Remus was doing something for the Order, but she no idea what it was, and Sirius wouldn't tell her because it was Order business. But he was with her now, and she was going to get some answers. Pulling him away from the crowd of people, Remus looked at her with weary eyes.
"Happy Christmas Chloe," Remus said a little bewildered as to why she had pulled him aside.
"You look so old," Chloe murmured, noticing the new age lines and shadows under his eyes.
"Occupational hazard," Remus said briefly, with a small smile.
"You sound like Sirius." Chloe frowned.
"Let's not do this, Chloe. I haven't seen you or anyone for months, and I was looking forward to just feeling human." Remus sighed heavily.
Chloe's eyes narrowed. "What have you been doing? And what about your job at the publishing company?"
"I can't talk about it, and you know that." Remus told her exasperatedly.
"So you are just going to give up on your life?" Chloe asked, her voice straining to stay calm.
"I haven't given up on anything."
"Then what happened to your job? And Kathy – she has waited for you to make your move in four years. And don't pretend you don't feel the same. You can keep smiling and repeating Happy Christmas but you have no idea what happiness is because you won't let yourself-"
"I lost my job Chloe. They found out about… well, they found out. And it doesn't matter what I feel for Kathy because I can't be with her. She is better off with… Albert." Remus finished darkly, the words all spoken in a suppressed whisper.
Chloe's eyes drifted from Remus's light ones to where Kathy and Albert now stood alone, talking lightly, both with drinks in their hands. Turning her gaze back to Remus, both of their expressions softened. "I'm sorry," Chloe breathed, hugging Remus again. "I didn't know – Sirius didn't say anything."
"That's because I told him I quit to help the Order. It better stay that way – I don't need him or James to create some kind of ruckus." It was more of a demand than a question.
Chloe rolled her eyes but nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want." Brushing a loose strange behind her ear, Chloe took a step from Remus. "By the way, you are a moron to think being a werewolf would stop anyone from loving you." Chloe smirked as she turned around to join in conversation with Lily and James who were standing with Alice and Frank Longbottom – whom she had not seen enter the house. Hearing Remus's light chuckle behind her she knew he had taken it lightly and stood next to her.
"Moody said he would be coming, though I don't know why Sirius would ever think of inviting him – he will only go on about how unsafe we are by all gathering in the same place." Frank was saying.
"Who's 'Moody'?" Chloe asked, glancing to Lily and James.
"A high ranking Auror, and our mentor throughout Auror training." Lily said, winking as she spoke. Chloe wondered if this meant Moody was in the Order, and that Lily was just not at liberty to say so. Assuming this was correct, Chloe nodded in understanding.
"In fact I think I can hear him coming now," James said, and everyone turned to the door where Sirius was already standing. Chloe also gasped at the amount of people now standing in her home, a number of which she did not know the names of. Chloe assumed these were Order members, and other Chloe recognised as being neighbours.
There was a loud knock at the door, and those closest to the door who heard paused to see who would be coming in next. Chloe watched as Sirius answered the door, and in walked a peculiar looking man who Chloe could only assume was the man named Moody. He wore regular Auror robes, but that was the only thing about him that was normal. His face was scared heavily, and as he walked a loud 'clunking' could be heard. But what was most noticeable was the blue swivelling eye that spun around madly. It took a few moments for Chloe to manage to look away from the eye, and it was not until Sirius and Moody were walking towards her.
"Chloe, this is Alastor Moody, Chief Auror, and a good friend." Sirius introduced formally.
It took a moment for Chloe to respond, whether it was from the shock of Moody's appearance or Sirius behaviour – which did make her want to tease him – Chloe did not know. Finally, taking the man's hand which hung in the air, Chloe smiled. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."
"Good ta finally meet you." Moody said gruffly, and then turned to Remus, James, Lily, Frank, and Alice to say hello and asked his appropriate questions for each. Glancing at Sirius, who was now standing next at her, Chloe bit back a laugh, to which Sirius responded with the same look.
"Excuse us a moment," Sirius said, and took Chloe's hand. Leading her away he chuckled lightly and said, "There are some other people I'd like you to meet."
Sirius led Chloe over to where a small group of un-nameable faces stood talking with cheerful voices. They all were holding alcoholic drinks in their hands, and were perhaps the loudest group out of everyone. As Chloe and Sirius neared, they all turned their gazes upon them, taking sips of their drinks as they came close.
"Chloe, meet Edgar Bones-" Sirius pointed to a tall man with sharp features and twinkling eyes; he smiled and said hello. "Marlene McKinnon-" Sirius pointed to a stout woman with rosy cheeks and glossy black hair. She smiled brightly, and nodded her head toward Chloe. "Dorcas Meadows-" Sirius pointed to a tall woman with short blonde hair, and looked to be in her early thirties. She seemed to be the most serious of the bunch, though she offered a warm smile. "And lastly, Gideon and Fabian Prewett." Sirius said pointing to tall man who looked to be in their twenties, both with flaming red hair and handsome faces.
"It's nice to meet you all," Chloe responded lamely.
"Oh, no, it is much nicer to finally meet you," Marlene gushed.
"Yes, Sirius does love to talk about you and Ryan." Dorcas added.
"I can see why, you and your son are positively charming." Edgar said, bowing his head slightly.
Chloe blushed, but thanked him. She didn't know why, but it was quite embarrassing all of sudden. All these people, she knew were fighting a greater cause then she would ever know, and hear they all were talking to her like she was somehow equal to them. They made her feel like an awkward school girl, especially when it seemed like Sirius was showing her off to all of his 'friends', even though she knew it was not true.
"Chloe!" Danielle's excited voice gave Chloe the perfect excuse to escape, and after apologising went over to where Danielle was standing with her family, Ryan in her arms.
"There are certainly a lot of people here." Mrs. Roberts said as Chloe took Ryan from Danielle's arms.
"I know, most of them are friends of Sirius." Chloe said, looking around. "I hope he has made enough food."
"Don't worry about that, dear." Mrs. Roberts said.
"What is that you wanted?" Chloe asked, turning to Danielle.
"Oh nothing, you just looked at little trapped over there." Danielle smiled.
Chloe laughed thankfully, and proceeded to put Ryan on the floor. "He's getting too big for me to carry him."
"He is quite tall for his age." Chloe's Aunt commented.
"Sirius said he was tall when he was little too." Chloe mumbled, and became distracted when she was Sirius stand on top of a chair near the kitchen door. "What is he doing…?" Chloe mumbled under her breath.
"Excuse me, everyone, if I could just have your attention for a moment!" Sirius called across the room, and everyone stopped their conversations to look at him. "This party has taken a while for me to get prepared, not to mention it took awhile for me to get Chloe to warm up to the idea," Sirius glanced Chloe's way with a smirk, "but I am glad to say that it all worked out and that I have all of you, friends and family here to celebrate the Christmas cheer with my family. And what better way to do so by eating!" With that food appeared on the single table Sirius had moved from the kitchen in the living room. The music grew louder and everyone began to clap as they moved over to the tables. Chloe hung back with Ryan, and Remus came over to join them.
"Uncle Remus!" Ryan called out, stretching his arms out to Remus.
"Hey Ryan," Remus said, grinning, and picked Ryan up. "Did you miss me?"
"Daddy said you were far away." Ryan told Remus, nodding as he did.
"Yeah, I was, but I'm home now. I got an early Christmas Present for you." Remus said, and somehow managed to pull a concealed present from his robe pocket. Chloe watched in amusement as Ryan took hold of the square present wrapped in green paper.
"Open it!" Ryan said, holding it in his hands.
Remus and Chloe laughed, and both took seats on the sofa. "You two are crazy to have a party like this."
"No, you are crazy to buy a present. You know I would not have cared." Chloe said, watching as Ryan struggled to open the present.
"I can't have James beating me for the position of 'best Godfather', now can I?" Remus laughed.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous."
Finally Ryan tore the paper away and Chloe saw what the present was. Her jaw opened, and she looked at Remus. "You should not have done that Remus."
"I wanted too." Remus said, giving Chloe a meaningful look to drop it.
"What is it?" Ryan said looking at it with a confused face.
"It's a snitch – you know from the game Daddy and Uncle James like to play all the time." Chloe said, taking the box from Ryan's hand to open the wooden case. Ever since Ryan had watched a game of Quidditch that Sirius and James had months earlier, Ryan had not only become obsessed with the sport, but the golden snitch. He had watched it with great interest, and often asked if he could hold it – only if they could catch it.
"Oh!" Ryan said in great excitement. "Open it, open it!"
Chloe laughed, and unlocked the case, opening it. She went to take the snitch, but to her surprise and utter annoyance (of her own stupidity) watched as the snitch flew up in the air and darted away in a blink of an eye.
"Mommy!" Ryan whined loudly.
Everyone in the room turned to see what the commotion was, many in various states of eating and watched as the golden snitch flew around. Ryan continued to whine, watching his 'snitchey' back, and finally James turned around just in time for it to fly past his face, and with a quick motion he caught it. Everyone started clapping and cheering, and Chloe laughed looking at Remus who was laughing as well.
"There goes my chance at being the best Uncle of the year." Remus said as James made his way towards them.
"Here you go Ryan, hold on to it now." James said handing Ryan the snitch, kneeling in front of him. Looking up at Remus he smiled. "Great gift idea Remus – it will certainly sharpen his eyesight so he can be the best seeker there ever was."
"Sounds good to me," Sirius said coming up behind James.
"I figured you two would get excited." Remus said with a smirk.
"Uncle James caught it!" Ryan said gleefully leaning against Remus, and holding the snitch tightly in his hands.
"What do you say?" Chloe asked, watching Ryan in amusement.
"Thank you Uncle James and Uncle Remus! I love my snitchey." Ryan said, still holding it tightly for fear of loosing it again.
Everyone laughed lightly, and Sirius held out his hand for Chloe to take. Everyone had gone back to their chattering while eating, and Chloe could hear the music switch to a slower temple song.
"Dance with me?" Sirius asked, in a mock voice that made him sound like an awkward thirteen year old.
Chloe rolled her eyes, but took his hand knowing she had no choice. Sirius pulled her up fast, spinning her around, and suddenly everyone's eyes were on them. Chloe ignored this, laughing as Sirius began to spin her around, holding her tightly in confident arms. It wasn't long before others joined them in the middle of the room, and Sirius finally slowed letting Chloe lean on his shoulder.
"I wish things could be this wonderful all the time." Chloe breathed.
"Things are wonderful all the time; you can't let the war stop that." Sirius told her.
"All these people here are fighting the same cause, and I feel like I'm doing nothing." Chloe admitted.
"Yes, because saving lives at the hospital is nothing." Sirius countered. Chloe went silent, taking deep breaths of her favourite scent, and trying to focus on being happy. It was Christmas after all. "Let's not talk about this, it is Christmas after all." Sirius finally said, echoing her thoughts.
"Ryan looks so happy." Chloe commented as they spun by the sofa where Remus still sat, talking animatedly with Ryan. Danielle was sitting next to him, laughing occasionally. Meanwhile James and Lily had joined the floor and were dancing wildly and fast, and out of step with the music. But Lily's laughing filled her ears as James continued to spin around, and Chloe could only smile at the two of them.
"I want him to always look that happy." Sirius divulged seriously.
"I hope he does." Chloe said, and kissed Sirius softly on the cheek.
They fell silent, and stayed that way for the remainder of the dance. Knowing that Sirius had the same fears as she, comforted Chloe a little. They both new that this happiness wouldn't last forever, no matter how hard they tried, but they would keep trying for their son's sake. To be born in a time of such fear and devastation, Chloe prayed that it would never hurt him in the end. And that nothing would happen to Sirius for she feared of having to raise Ryan again without him. Though she knew she could do it, she knew it would be more difficult seeing as Ryan had fallen in love with his father (just what she wanted of course).
Pushing these dark thoughts from her mind Chloe allowed herself to be completely happy and to enjoy the splendour of Sirius's party. She danced till midnight with Remus and James, and when occasion allowed it Sirius. She enjoyed the company of the Order members, many being kind and hilarious when they had too much to drink. When the clock rang twelve, and Ryan could be found sleeping in his Grandmother's arm the party slowed and people began to trickle out of the apartment until only James, Lily, and Chloe's family remained.
"It was a lovely party Sirius," Mrs. Roberts said hugging Sirius goodbye, kissing him on both cheeks.
"Truly lovely, but we are old women and we need to get some sleep." Chloe's Aunt said, hugging and kissing Sirius next.
"It was lovely to see you all!" Mrs. Roberts said, and kissed her grandson – whom Chloe was holding. "We'll see you tomorrow then," Mrs. Roberts said, and hugged her daughter.
"Yes mum, but don't come before ten as I doubt we will be moving." Chloe admitted, realizing they still had to wrap some of Ryan's presents and get everything ready for Father Christmas.
"Yes dear," Mrs. Roberts said, and turned to Danielle. "Are you coming with us?"
Danielle shook her head, she was standing beside Remus. "No, I promised I'd help clean up."
"Okay, we'll see you later then. Happy Christmas!" Mrs. Roberts said and finally she and Chloe's Aunt stepped into a the green flames of the fireplace and disappeared.
Chloe turned to Danielle. "You never said you wanted to help clean up?" She was suspicious.
"That's because I don't. I'm going to meet some friends at the Leaky Caldron," Danielle grinned, and walked over to where her coat lay. "I'll see you in the morning, I promise." She said and kissed Chloe on the cheek as she headed for the door.
Chloe watched, rolling her eyes. "Have fun," she called as Danielle left.
"And your mother thought you were the wild one." Remus laughed.
"We should probably get going; James and I still have to visit my mother." Lily said, taking James's hand in hers.
"It was a great party mate," James said, slapping Sirius on the back.
"I can't remember having so much fun – not since Hogwarts anyways." Lily said, hugging Chloe. They said their goodbyes to Remus, and then they were gone too. Looking at Remus, Chloe could all ready tell he was unsure of what to do.
"I can stay and help clean." Remus said awkwardly.
"You can stay the night if you want," Sirius said, putting his hand on Remus's shoulder. Sirius said something to him that was in audible to Chloe's ears, but she had a feeling she knew what it was.
"Sure, that would be nice." Remus said, and gave his gentle smile. Chloe didn't like seeing Remus this way, especially now that she knew the truth behind his disappearance. He had given up everything he had to help in the destruction of Voldemort, and all they could offer was a warm bed and their friendship.
While Remus and Sirius cleaned up, Chloe took Ryan into his room. Half asleep, she changed him from his handsome clothes and put on his favourite pyjama's. Tucking him into bed, he was already gone to the world of dreams. Kissing him softly on the forehead, Chloe kneeled in front of his bed for a few moments, staring at his peaceful boy. She couldn't remember loving someone more than she loved her son, and she prayed that his future was good.
Standing up, Chloe walked across the room, and turned the light off. Looking back at Ryan for a moment she smiled, and then left. This Christmas certainly had been a good one.
A/N: So this isn't one of my most favourite chapters, in fact I don't really like it that much. I think what I was trying to do got muddled up mostly because it took me so long to write it. I apologize for any errors, as I have been unable to find the time to look through the entire monster of a chapter. I hope you did enjoy it, though you can sense the dark times coming. There is this sort of sad cloud hanging over Sirius and Chloe's heads. Which is depressing, but I think true to the times that they are living. Any how, before I ramble any more, do please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Hopefully not as bad as I think it is.