Chapter Five

"But in all of the rush

I was missing so much

Girl, you made me finally see, yeah

That I never knew the meaning of Christmas

'Til you came into my life

I was lost in the dark 'til you opened my heart

Like an angel shining bright

I wished on a star and, girl, here you are

Suddenly I realize

That I never knew the meaning of Christmas

'Til I looked into your eyes"

- N'Sync

Mr. Burnings had sent a package for Austin to the Evans household on Christmas day. Austin beamed brightly when she saw it and immediately thought of the thank you note she would send along later. Austin sat with Lily and Petunia on the floor.

"I didn't know that freaks celebrated the holidays that normal people do." Petunia hissed harshly before her parents came into the room.

"Did ya know, Lils, that I used to grow a bunch of petunias back in America. I never really liked 'em, just grew them because my mom wouldn't let me grow lilies, which I always found to be prettier." Austin sighed out wistfully.

"You gardened, Austin?" Mrs. Evans asked as she came into the room with a camera and was followed by Mr. Evans who held a tray of hot chocolate.

"Yes, ma'am. Mom and I were always in the garden. It was more calming for her than me, though. I'd get mad at the plants and they'd end up shootin up too quick because of the magic." Austin laughed before clutching at a locket around her neck.

"I'm sorry, dear. Let's get off this bad subject and see you girls opening your presents, shall we?" Mrs. Evans smiled as her husband passed out the mugs of chocolate.

"Yes, Rose, let's see how big a mess the girls will make this year." Mr. Evans stated with a wink to the girls.

Austin grinned with Lily while Petunia pouted on the opposite side of the tree.

Austin decided to save Mr. Burnings package for last. She opened the one from Lily while Lily was opening the one from her. This package contained a beautiful set of dragon pearls in two rows. Austin gasped at the red swirls in the normally white pearls on each strand and looked at Lily. "Lils, I can't take this! It must have been real expensive!" Austin exclaimed.

"Actually it wasn't, Austin." Lily giggled. "If you look at the tag it was a joint gift between Alice and me. We were able to split the price and it brought it down to a reasonable amount."

Austin shook her head quickly before deciding to move on to another package. James had given her a new traveling cloak. She did have to admit that her old one was getting pretty ragged. Petunia got her a piece of paper—which didn't matter since Austin got Petunia a little rag doll that had a missing eye and baby drool all over it—and Mr. and Mrs. Evans gave her a beautiful watch with a gold band.

"It's beautiful!" Austin gasped, her American accent at a minimum at the moment. She was being slowly corrupted by the Brits all around her.

"Lily explained to us when she turned seventeen before school that a witch and wizard are supposed to receive a watch for the birthday because we had gotten her a watch and she began to laugh. Rose and I knew that you didn't get a watch and we decided it was better late than never." Mr. Evans explained with a smile as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.

Austin looked at the gift with tears forming in her eyes. If her parents would have survived, they would have been the ones giving this special gift to her. Austin's heart was breaking but also swelling with the love she knew her friend's parents had for her. "Thank you very much. It means a lot to me." Austin sniffled before wiping her tears quickly.

Mrs. Evans leaned off the couch and hugged the American witch before drawing back, "You have always been like a third daughter to us, Austin. We will do everything that we can to take care of you." She said before wiping away one last tear.

Petunia broke the tension by scoffing and leaving the room with her wrapping paper and gifts in hand. Lily shook her head with a disgusted expression. "Well, I think you'd make a brilliant sister, Austin." Lily smiled brightly when she turned back around.

Austin laughed and they continued to open presents. Peter had given Austin a small wooden box that would hold all sorts of jewelry—that's what the note attached had said anyway—and would expand whenever she added too many items to it so it never fill. Remus, on the other hand, had sent her a pair of earrings. They were enchanted to look like snow was falling in the orbs that were hanging from the ear lobe. Austin found them to be quite enchanting actually, but the winter season had always been her favorite.

Once all of the presents were unwrapped from friends, Austin glanced over at the package from Mr. Burnings. She was the last one finished, just because of this one simple gift. Austin picked the brown paper package up and opened it. Laying inside, wrapped in pages from the Daily Prophet was a beautiful dark red dress. It would fall to Austin's knees with a sweet heart neckline and inch and a half straps. The skirt of the dress puffed outwards nicely with netting underneath to cause this. The dress was plain other than the slight ruffles in the skirt and simple bows in random intervals. There was a note pinned to the bodice.

Dear Austin,

Beatrice told me about your love for the color red. I decided that you needed something to go to that party you were talking about and I spoke to one of my friends. She was very happy to make this dress for you and asked if you were ever to get married if she could make your wedding dress. Really, the woman is a charming lady, but I believe she is a bit around the bend. At any rate, I do hope that you like the dress and have a wonderful Christmas.

Happy Christmas,

Gerald Burnings

Austin gaped at the dress. She knew that a werewolf female made the dress. Mr. Burnings didn't have many friends outside of werewolf clans. She was proud to wear the dress tonight and immediately showed it off to the group around her.

After a light lunch, Lily and Austin decided to go outside and make a snowman with the neighborhood children. Only thirty minutes into the cold snow, the older children started an all out snow war.

"Lily, Austin!" Mrs. Evans voice rang through the snow covered streets as the girls ducked behind a car to dodge a well-aimed snowball. "Come in for tea!"

Austin and Lily grinned at each other before throwing one more snowball each and running towards the house. They slipped and slid all the way to the door before stumbling into the entrance. They shook out their wet, snow covered hair before shedding themselves of coats and gloves.

Tea was uninteresting. Austin's thank you note had been sent to Mr. Burnings and she was now just enjoying her day. After tea was when Lily and her planned on getting ready for the get together tonight.

Remus sat in his room at the Potter's house. It was a large place, about three stories tall and had enough guest rooms for all the boys to stay over. Sirius had already taken over one of the rooms across the hall from James and Remus and Peter had the rooms at the end of that hall.

He was reading the book that Lily had given him. Austin's present was still wrapped and on the writing desk in the corner. He was afraid of opening the present, not wanting to be disappointed if his present to her was more extravagant then what he received. Actually, Remus was being a coward. He was fearful that Austin had guessed his secret and didn't want to see a wolf pendent or other wolf-like object underneath the paper as he always was gifted by his friends.

Instead, Remus settled in his bed and read until it was time to ready himself for the party. He didn't have to wear dress robes, and for that he was grateful. He slipped into a pair of beige slacks and a grey button up shirt. Afterwards, he combed his hair and left his room with plenty of time to spare.

Remus settled into the sitting room of the house and played Exploding Snap with James and Sirius before the front door rang. James jumped up, mused his hair, and hurried to the door. "You would think that he would try to play calm." Remus muttered before standing as well.

However, the people at the door were not for the boys. The people who had shown up were actually from Mr. Potter's work at the Ministry for Magic.

James made a good appearance, as did Sirius. Remus and Peter just stood back and allowed the Potters to work their magic on their guests. If Remus didn't know any better, he would have assumed that Mrs. Potter had put some sort of mind control over her guests to make them as happy as they were to be here. It seemed as if there had to be some magic, not one woman could make everyone feel so loved in her home. That was only if Remus didn't know Mrs. Potter at all.

No, Remus knew that Mrs. Potter was always very good at being a hostess. It was what she lived for, or so Mr. Potter said. Mrs. Potter enjoyed having her friends over to the house, being able to feed everyone and gossip with the older witches and wizards. It was something that she enjoyed, but Remus couldn't blame her. He couldn't wait for his own guest to arrive.

"Moony, come on. Mum said that Austin and Lily just showed up." James grabbed the werewolf's arm and pulled him away.

Remus looked back to give Peter an encouraging smile for being on his own, but was surprised when he saw that Peter was already joined by a girl. Remus shook his head and looked back to where he was walking.

The first thing that Remus saw of Austin was her sunshine hair. It was elegantly curled and fell on her shoulders beautifully. He knew for a fact that her hair was naturally straight but would curl slightly at the ends if she didn't use magic to dry it. She had complained about this more than once because knots formed at the end of her hair more often than not. Austin was laughing with Mrs. Potter and nodding her head. That was when Remus noticed Austin's dress.

The dress was beautiful on her, hugging her waist before moving outward to fall at her knees. The color was a deep red, a dark red that almost reminded Remus of blood. However, with Austin's lightly tanned skin, it looked perfect. James had already swooped in and grabbed Lily. Now it was Remus' turn since Mrs. Potter excused herself to go greet another woman who had just come to the door.

"Austin!" Remus called, pushing through the crowd that had gathered in the foyer.

Austin turned her head. She had actually put on makeup for once, but it didn't detract from her beauty like on other girls. No, it brought out her natural beauty that Remus noticed every single day that he was around her. Her eyes stood out far more and her lips were a darker than normal. Her cheeks had a fake blush on them, but they darkened when she saw him. "Hey, Remus." Austin stated once he had finally joined her. "Don't you look nice tonight."

Remus grinned stupidly before nodding his head. "You look very charming tonight, Austin. Where did you get that dress?"

Austin plucked at the end of the dress before looking up at him from under her black lashes. "Mr. Burnings had it made for me. He wanted to make sure that I didn't have to wear something worn out to the party tonight." Austin gave a soft smile.

"Mr. Burnings?" Remus cocked his head to the side before pulling her out of the way of Mr. Potter who was rushing around and trying to do as his wife instructed.

"Mr. Burnings is my friend's father. The one I've been telling you about? He took us to dinner last night, the Ministry finally allowed him to." Austin frowned slightly at the thought of dinner. "I'm pretty sure that he spent a lot of money, though. More than he normally would have during Christmas."

Remus nodded his head. He already knew that he was going to have trouble finding a job and holding a job down when he left Hogwarts. It was another reason why he was fearful of being with Austin. "That was very kind of him. The dress is beautiful." Remus complimented before escorting her to the refreshment table.

"Thank you, Remus. I thought it was pretty nice myself." Austin chuckled before taking the peppermint spiced hot chocolate. She took a sip while looking around the room. "So, what is there to do here while all the old folks talk?"

Remus chuckled as he looked at her bare arms. "Did you bring a cloak with you?" Remus questioned quickly, coming up with a perfect plan in his head.

"No. Lily and I apparated. I didn't think I would need one." Austin shrugged her shoulders before Remus grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall so they were standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I'll let you borrow one of mine. Come on." Remus grinned brightly before pulling her up the stairs.

Austin laughed as she was pulled upstairs and down a hall. Remus opened a door and allowed her to enter first. Remus' room was just as she would have expected, even if this was just the room he would stay in for a few days while at the Potter's. Everything was perfectly clean; the bed was made and there were no clothes on the floor. All of the drawers were shut in the dresser and the wardrobe doors were shut and latched.

Remus headed straight for the wardrobe and pulled two cloaks from it. One of them looked brand new and the other was worn. Remus handed her the newer one, "Here you are."

Austin took the cloak and quickly fastened it about her shoulders. With that done, the two of them hurried back down the stairs and then out into the backyard. Austin paused before following Remus. Apparently the Potter's were planning on having dancing outside tonight. They had a large tent placed in the middle of their yard and she could see the steam that was rolling from under the canopy. That would mean that there was a nice warm heating charm on it. Remus grabbed for Austin's hand and she snapped her attention back to him.

They took off into the woods. Austin and Remus were keeping up with one another. She had never known someone who could run through the woods with the same agility as she. Austin beamed brightly and laughed as they kept going farther and farther into the woods. It was when a cottage came into view with lights in the windows that they began to pause to catch their breath.

"It would seem that the others have already made it here." Remus cocked his head to the side before moving forward.

Austin followed carefully behind him. She knew that the others would be their friends, but at the same time she placed her hand at the hem of her dress where she could feel her wand.

Austin didn't trust very easily. She was always afraid that something else would happen to take away the people she loved. Austin closed her eyes for a second before she reopened them to look at the door of the cottage. She relaxed once she heard Sirius' laugh and Lily telling James to go away.

Remus pointed his wand at the door and whispered something that Austin couldn't hear. The door clicked open and they stepped inside. Remus took the cloak from around her shoulders and Lily screamed.

"Austin, get Potter away from me! He thinks that just because I spoke to him politely because his mother was there, that I am now going to go with him." Lily exclaimed before stealing her away from Remus' side.

Austin sighed and rolled her eyes. Maybe it was a mistake to bring Lily to the party.

The group of teenagers were called back to the house for dinner. The meal was very uneventful even though Remus couldn't help but watch Austin as she gossiped and spoke with a few of the older witches and wizards who were seated around her. She continued to laugh through the entire meal and even had to excuse herself because she couldn't catch her breath.

Remus smiled as he watched Austin dance with Sirius, James, and Peter after dinner. She was passed between the three of them throughout at least four songs before another young wizard came up to steal her away from Peter. Poor Peter looked at the other two while Austin was pulled out of his arms and dragged off to another spot on the dance floor. It wasn't even a minute later before she came back looking beautifully angered.

Remus stood up to go and see what had happened. The wizard who had stolen her away was leaving the tent after speaking with Mr. Potter, who was also looking stern. Remus watched as Austin hugged Peter and laughed with the other two. He caught only the last part of her sentence.

"…it just wasn't right. Peter isn't that bad of a dancer."

"What happened?" Remus questioned as he came over to their side of the dance floor.

"It was just some kid from Durmstrang. He decided that I needed to be 'rescued from those bloody fools' and treated like a real lady." Austin rolled her eyes with a grin on her face. "I didn't really get a choice, actually. He just took me away from Peter and led me off."

Remus shook his head before smirking. "What did you do to him after you got him alone?"

Austin snapped her attention to him and her smile dropped so she looked like she was innocent. "I didn't do anything, Remus. I'm hurt that you even thought I would be mean to the kid. He's just delusional is all."

"I don't think I like her being proper and innocent. Evan's has knocked her off her rocker." Sirius shuddered before the band began to play again. "Alright! My dance!"

Sirius grabbed Austin and off she went in a blur of red and black. Remus shook his head as he watched his friends pass her off once more. She was really having too much fun at the party.

Austin threw her head back and laughed while she was spun from Peter to James once more. The boys were trying to treat her to an actual party. Lily had to go home because her grandmother was going to be there. Austin, on the other hand, had no one that needed her. Beatrice was spending the evening with her father and Austin would be spending it with her friends. Everything was perfect in her world, until Sirius didn't spin her to Peter or James. Instead, Austin was being spun in a direction she hadn't been spun in yet.

She was spun just right so the timing was perfect. She hit a grey clad chest and felt hands immediately grab her waist. She knew the shirt because she had admired the way it had looked on the wizard who was now holding her to him. Austin gulped before looking up, trying to seem as if everything was normal. She placed a smile on her face as she looked into Remus' eyes. "You're dancing now?" She asked.

Remus laughed and nodded his head. "I don't think I really get a choice. They did hand you off to me."

Austin nodded her head, but that was before she heard James whistle from behind them. "Better look up, Lupin!" Sirius shouted.

Both of them looked up and Austin felt her cheeks darken into a blush. "I think I'm gonna kill 'em later." Austin whispered.

Remus looked back at her with a smirk on his face but there was something else in his eyes. Austin tried to pin point it, but she just couldn't figure out what it was before it was gone. Remus' hands tightened on her waist and she readied herself for the kiss, but what she received wasn't what she had expected.

Remus' lips crashed down on hers without any control. She gasped and pulled away sharply. Remus was holding a hand to his lips and Austin could feel the pain herself. They turned towards the perpetrator only to see Sirius Black looking as if he were about to be killed. Austin placed two fingers to her lips and narrowed her eyes.

"Black, if you enjoy bein a male, you'd best start runnin." Austin glowered.

It seemed like most of the party hadn't even stopped to pay attention to their spectacle, but Mr. Potter had. The older wizard came over quickly and placed a fatherly hand on Austin's shoulder. "Let me deal with him, Austin. You worry about making sure that you're alright. Remus, would you mind taking her into the house and show her where she can clean up?" Mr. Potter smiled affectionately at the young man before turning towards Sirius. "As for you, I would like a word with you and James, and possibly Peter because I know he helped you with all of this."

Austin smiled brightly as Remus lead her away. "I think I like Mr. Potter. He's not gonna let them get away with that."

Remus laughed and shook his head. "I'm shocked that this is what you took away from everything tonight."

"Not really. I've taken away the fact that I'm kinda stuck unless I want to brave this blizzard to get home tonight." Austin nodded towards the small area that they would have to run through to get into the house.

The snow was falling fast and the ground that was already covered a little while ago was now fully blanketed. "I'm sure that Mrs. Potter would get you home, that or allow you to stay here for the night. No one would miss you, would they?" Remus questioned, referring to the orphanage in a very subtle way.

Austin always loved how Remus would refer to the orphanage as a person and it made her smile each time he did it. He understood how much she hated the place even if she never let anyone but Lily know. "I'm not sure. I told them I was goin to Lily's for the night and they are still hoping that the Evans' will adopt me."

Remus nodded and they darted into the snow and up the steps into the house.

In the end, Austin stayed the night at the Potter residence. It was nice and warm, not quiet though. It was just a normal building, except that she had been given Peter's room. He had had to go home that night to be able to see his grandmother in the morning. Austin tossed and turned all night before she was able to get to sleep. Her dreams were consumed with Remus and mistletoe.