(AN: This is a longer chapter than the others, and chapter four is longer as well. There are only
Chapter Three: Christmas
Part One: How You Remind Me
"Hey guys, Mum said you could come over for the Christmas holidays." James said, brandishing a piece of parchment. I noticed Sierra looking at him in disbelief.
"Even me?" Sierra asked, and James gave her an odd look.
"Yeah, you can come!" James said, sitting down on his bed. We were in the dormitory, talking about our plans for Christmas. "Or did you have other plans?"
"Oh, no, I was just wondering how your parents reacted to you asking if you could bring a strange girl home." Sierra answered, and we all laughed at her statement.
"I may have mentioned about you and Remus…" James muttered, blushing slightly. Sierra leaned over and slapped him playfully, and he feigned hurt.
"Well, Mum said that she knew someone named Nevada from work, so that might be why she wasn't so hesitant about letting you come over." James explained, and Sierra nodded in understanding.
"She probably met my dad, everyone remembers his name." Sierra said, and Sirius looked confused.
"Why? Nevada might be an odd name, but it's not extraordinarily memorable." Sirius asked, and Sierra laughed.
"His first name is Reno. Reno is the name of the capital of the state of Nevada, in America. That's why people remember his name so well." Sierra replied simply.
"Reno Nevada. What's your mum's name?" I asked, curious.
"Anya." Sierra replied, staring out the window. We were nearly in London, so most people started changing out of their robes and into their regular clothes. We had changed earlier, so we just kept talking.
"Aren't the Sierra Nevada's a mountain range in America?" James asked, and Sierra nodded, still staring out the window.
Part Two: How to Save a Life
A week into the Christmas holidays, someone showed up unexpectedly. Luckily for our unexpected guest, Sierra answered the door.
"I got it!" Sierra called, sliding down the banister of the main staircase. She hit the ground running and flung open the door to reveal a very upset Lily Evans.
"Lily? What's wrong?" Sierra asked, pulling Lily into the house and leading her into the sitting room.
"They- they got my parents! They killed my parents!" Lily cried, breaking down and sobbing into Sierra's shoulder.
"Oh. Oh dear. Mrs. Potter?" Sierra called, and Mrs. Potter rushed into the sitting room.
"Lily needs a place to stay. You-Know-Who seems to have… gotten her parents." Sierra explained, and Mrs. Potter went to the front door to get Lily's bags, which didn't exist.
"Where are your things, dear?" Mrs. Potter asked gently, not wanting to provoke Lily.
"They burned down my house. Everything was destroyed!" Lily cried, and Mrs. Potter gestured to Sierra to follow her and led the girls upstairs and into the room Sierra was staying in. James chose that moment to come into the hallway and act the part of a love-struck idiot.
"Lily's here?" James asked with eyes full of hope.
"Her parents were killed and her house was burnt down. She came to find Sierra, not to hang around with you." I replied coolly, walking down the hall to Sierra's room and knocking on the door.
"If you're not James or Sirius, you can come in!" Sierra called, and I entered the room.
"I heard what happened. It's terrible." I said, going and sitting on the bed next to Lily.
"It's only me and Petunia now, and I told her I was coming here. I think she might show up too." Lily mumbled into Sierra's shoulder. The doorbell rang then, and Mrs. Potter went down to answer it. A few minutes later, she came back into the room with another girl who looked a little bit like Lily, but older and with dark hair. I stood up, letting her sit down next to her sister, and watched as Mrs. Potter conjured two beds and made them up with sheets and pillows.
"Petunia, Professor Dumbledore wrote back. He said you could stay at Hogwarts until other living arrangements are found for you." I heard Sierra tell the worried sixteen-year-old.
"But I can't just live on my own! I'm only sixteen!" Petunia snapped, and Sierra showed her the letter from Dumbledore.
"He said that you can stay at Hogwarts for however long you need to, even if it's until Lily graduates." Sierra reassured her, but Petunia was still worried.
"What about during the summer?" Petunia asked. Sierra summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote something.
"I'm writing to my parents right now and asking if you and Lily can stay with me during the summer holidays." Sierra said, finishing her letter and whistling for Amicus, James' owl, who she gave the letter to, along with instructions for delivery.
"Thank you, Sierra. I always thought you people were freaks, but you're helping me so much that I think I was wrong about magic." Petunia said, sniffling and hugging Sierra.
"I'm glad to know you're more accepting, Petunia." Sierra said, returning the hug before standing up and leaving Petunia alone, joining me in the hall.
"I feel like I've saved both of their lives. I know I haven't really, but that's what it feels like. When Lily couldn't sleep that first night, I stayed up with her all night, just talking to her." Sierra told me as we walked downstairs.
Part Three: Kryptonite
Christmas morning, I woke up to find a pile of gifts at the end of my bed. I looked over to where Lily and Petunia slept and noticed that they had gift piles as well. I turned back to my own gift pile and dove in, tearing open my presents eagerly. I got chocolate from Remus, a Gryffindor scarf from James, a bag of things from the Hogsmeade joke shop from Sirius, a necklace from Lily, and a pair of earrings from Petunia. By the time I was done opening my presents, Lily and Petunia had woken up and started opening their presents as well. I had given Petunia some books about magic and Hogwarts, including Hogwarts, a History and A Muggle's Guide to Magic, so she would understand some of the things she would hear about at Hogwarts. I had given Lily a copy of Hogwarts, a History as well, since she had said something about wanting that book. Once they had opened their presents, we got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.
(AN2: I will post chapter four when I get one more review. I really love hearing that you like my work. -TTP)