A/N: Chapter six :)
Thanks to everyone who read and reveiwed the last chapter, hope you like this next one :)
review responses:
quirky-as-alice: Got it in one (or three :D). Thanks for reading, hope you like the next chapter.
2Lazy2SignIN: Thanks! I'm glad you've stumbled across this one and are enjoying it. Don't worry, I have no thought sof abandoning this, I'll be seeing it through till the end. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the next chapter :)
evershort: I'm glad you think it's a good idea :) I thought it would be nice to get a feel for our Gryffindor's before they got to Hogwarts :) Also, thanks for reassuring me on the chapter length, cause I'm exactly the same. Sometimes, I'll read a story, and the chapters are just so long it's a little overwhelming. I'm trying to keep them under ten pages, but sometimes I go a little over...my bad. Hope you like the other chapters, though, and this one too :)
Fairywolf: Thank you, I really wasn't sure if it flowed well, and I re-wrote it a few times, but it just seemed to go the same way, but I'm happy you thought it was alright. Hehe you noticed! I thought about it, and decided not to mention what he was until our brave Marauders found out too, so it'll be awhile until 'werewolf' is actually mentioned. Aww shucks, you're making me blush haha, it means so much that you said that, it's really brightened my day (the weathers been awful and that always makes me a little sad). Thanks for reading, I hope you stick with the story, and enjoy the next chapter :D
appleeater123: Thank you! Well, I go back to work on Thursday, so I'm not sure if there'll be an update on that particular day since I'll be trying to get back in the swing of things, but most likely daily updates will be fine. So apart from Thursday, it'll be a chapter a day (I may double update over the weekend to make up for Thursday :)). And your other review, yeah I really wasn't completely happy with that chapter, I just didn't feel like it flowed as well as the others, but hopefully the rest of the story isn't like that. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you like this one too.
FishPonysRock: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it :D Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
BloodMoonRising: Thank you, it means alot that no ones gotten bored yet :P, I'm really happy you continued to enjoy the story, and I hope the next chapters are just, if not more, enjoyable.
splatteredpaint: Your reviews are so detailed, I LOVE them! Yes, James and Sirius are both bright boys, they're just both idiots as well...they'll grow up someday, I hope. Yeah, Severus has lots of slimy qualities about him, it's a good job he ended up being a hero, or I would have seriously hated that man. And unfortunately, poor Lily find's out that hard way that he's not the nicest of fellows. I was thinking of writing this story just until their seventh year, when they leave. Then, if people are still interested, I'm planning on writing a sequel about their lives after Hogwarts, up until October 31st, 1981. So basically, that would focus on the Order of the Pheonix and the first war, and how it affected them. What do you think? And no problem about the quote, I nipped over to your profile page and saw it there, I couldn't stop grinning! Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
VampireWithGoldenEyes: Thank you :) I'm so glad you said that, cause last time around, some readers though Lily was a little too mean. I took some stuff out (I seemed to be making her out to be awful, really), but I think Lily had one of those relationships with James where he just annoyed her constantly. I sort of imagine her disliking him right from the start, to sort of prove a point, if you know what I mean. She can be stubborn, our Lils :). Anyway, thanks for continuing to read, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
Disclaimer: I make no money from this, if I did, I wouldn't slave away in a pub night and day!
The Marauders Tale: The Hogwarts Years
Chapter Six
Christmas
A blanket of fluffy white snow covered the grounds of Hogwarts as its students prepared to either return home for Christmas, or spend the holidays within the magnificent castle. The houselves had gone all out with the decorations. Twelve large Christmas trees stood proudly in the great hall, decorated with everything from everlasting snow to mini moving nativity scenes and fat little Santa Claus's. James, who was returning home for the holidays, reflected on his first months at Hogwarts.
Apart from getting detention almost weekly (which he hoped his mother wouldn't be too annoyed about, he'd taken to ignoring her letters after the first one he'd received about his behaviour in which his mother had threatened to come and sit in his every lesson until he learned to behave) and a certain red head seeming to hate his guts, it hadn't been half bad; in fact, it was far more enjoyable than he had imagined. He was excellent in all of his classes, he had three great friends, and though he seemed to get into trouble an awful lot, the teachers all seemed to like him well enough, even Professor McGonagall, who had been very angry after finding out it was James and his friends who had stolen a niffler from the Care of Magical Creatures classroom and somehow managed to get it into the Slytherin common room. But really, the Slytherins were just as bad. Why, only last week Jonny and Simon had returned to the common room covered in angry looking red boils from a curse thrown at them by Lucius Malfoy. Suffice to say, James' cousin had been more than a little angry, and James thought Malfoy deserved every stinging hex hurled at him the next day.
All in all, things were working out fine for James. He had attended his first school Quidditch match, in which Gryffindor had played Slytherin. Though Gryffindor had lost rather dismally, he still enjoyed the experience, and was even more determined to try out next year after finding out half of the team were now in their final year of Hogwarts.
However, there was something that had been bothering him. His friend, Remus, had been disappearing near the start of every month, he had noticed. After confronting him about it, he confessed that his mother was indeed gravely ill, and that his father had requested he come to visit. James was surprised at how much it hurt to hear about Remus's mother, and had decided that after Christmas, he'd get the guys together and think of something to cheer Remus up, as he always seemed pale and weak when he returned.
~**~
The week before the students of Hogwarts were to go back home for Christmas, James and Sirius in particular found it rather hard to concentrate. The holiday spirit was definitely in the air, and decorations were already being put up by Hagrid and the house-elves of Hogwarts. Just that morning, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had offered to help Hagrid with a rather large Christmas tree they'd found him dragging towards the Great Hall.
"I sort of wish I could stay here, actually," James was saying, watching the paper aeroplane the boys had charmed to fly around the common room.
"You're telling me," Sirius scrunched up a ball of parchment and tossed it at the small paper plane zipping past his head, "Mum's gonna be all smiles and rainbows when I get back".
"Has she sent anymore letters?" Remus asked quietly, and with concern. Sirius nodded, and pulled out the latest letter from Mrs Black. He'd received three to date, all complaining about the fact he was now a Gryffindor, instead of a Slytherin.
Sirius made quite a show of unfolding the letter, eliciting chuckles from his friends, and cleared his throat dramatically.
'Sirius,
Have you been to Professor Dumbledore yet? The man sent back quite a rude reply to my letters, stating that only you could decided whether to be moved or not. I have, of course, and your father to, offered to come to the school and have you re-sit a sorting, just to make sure. I have a feeling something has gone terribly wrong with that hat, are you sure no one tampered with it before you used it? Who was before you? A Muggle-born? That could be the problem. Your father is terribly angry, and I must say, I am beginning to lose patience. I will not have a son of mine breaking the noble traditions of our family. You are a Black, a Slytherin at heart.
Son, I am worried by the nature of the letters you are sending home to me. It seems to me you actually enjoy being a Gryffindor, which I cannot imagine being very enjoyable at all. You are to follow in the footsteps of your fore-fathers, Sirius, I urge you to see the Headmaster at once! I will not have this tainting our good name. Do you know what they are saying Sirius? The Malfoy's consider you a blood traitor! The Lestrange's are questioning your upbringing, and I must say, where did I go wrong? I have always known you were a stubborn child at times, but I had hoped Slytherin would bring out the true qualities given to you through our prestigious family.
If this is not sorted soon enough, I'm afraid your father and I will be forced to come to the school for a meeting with the Headmaster. I have left it to you up until now, but it seems Gryffindor has only heightened your incompetence. Do you see what you will become, Sirius, if you are to mix with such people as Gryffindor allows into his house? Lazy, ignorant – those are the qualities you will bring out in yourself.
For the sake of this family, Sirius, go to Professor Dumbledore. I have had quite enough of this nonsense, and it is time action was taken!
Yours sincerely,
Walburga Black'
"She sign's her name?" James gaped at the letter Sirius had read it (in a rather humorous, high pitched imitation of his mother's voice), "What's her problem".
Sirius snatched the letter back from James, and tossed it into the fire, "You heard her, 'I will not have this tainting our good name'. All she bloody cares about his looking good in front of her mates," there was a strange glint in Sirius' eyes. And a flash of what looked like pain that James immediately didn't like. For all Sirius said it didn't bother him, the letters and the disappointment his mother had expressed, James knew it did. Deep down, Sirius Black was hurt all because the Sorting Hat had placed him in a house different to that of his family.
"I'm not even gonna bother replying," Sirius' voice snapped James from his thoughts, "If she wants to come up to the school and make a fool out of herself, then let her...bloody wench!"
James, Remus and Peter all snorted, and thankfully, Sirius was grinning. Though said grin didn't quite reach his eyes.
~**~
Christmas at the Potters
The sun rose brightly on the morning of the 25th, a light snow was falling outside, making the small village of Godric's Hollow look like something out of a Christmas card one would receive from a grandparent.
James awoke early, as always, grinning as he bounded down his stairs towards the living room.
"Happy Christmas sweetie," grinned Gwen Potter, hugging James.
"Happy Christmas mum," said James, turning his attention to the generous pile of gifts located at the base of their large ornately decorated tree.
"Well go on, get opening, I'm making pancakes," she called as James raced towards the tree and began ripping open his vast mound of presents.
"Good haul this year?" asked Harold Potter, coming to sit in the living room. James nodded, his mouth full of chocolate frogs he'd received from Sirius. Along with the Bertie Botts every flavour beans from Remus, and the Chocoballs from Peter, James had received his own copy of Quidditch through the ages from Holly and Jonny, a new Quaffle to practice with from his Aunt and Uncle (chaser was James' favourite position, though seeker was a fun position too) and to his surprise and everlasting thanks, the new Nimbus 1001 from his parents. He couldn't wait to show it off when he got back to school.
The last present he got too, was from his father. He ripped open the crimson wrapping paper, and frowned, as something silvery fell out of the packaging and pooled like water onto the floor.
"Dad? What's this?" asked James, holding up what appeared to be a cloak. It was light, and soft, almost like air. Harold grinned, and took the cloak from James, wrapping it around himself. James gasped as his father disappeared.
"Holy....is that an invisibility cloak!" breathed James. His father reappeared, nodding.
"It's been in the family for generations, passed down to every first born in the Potter family," explained Harold, handing it to James, "Of course I shared it with your Aunt Claire, but as tradition states, it's passed down to you, but I'm sure you'll lend it to Jonny and Holly occasionally".
James nodded dumbly, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"This is....brilliant! I've gotta tell the guys," he raced from the living room and back to his bedroom, where Merlin had just returned from a night of hunting.
At dinner, James and his family arrived at his grandparent's house in Tinworth for Christmas dinner. James immediately retreated to the back garden to find Jonny and Holly, who were currently having a snowball fight with a blonde haired girl James didn't recognise.
"James!" called Holly, rushing over to her cousin, "Thanks for the broomstick servicing kit! It was brilliant!" she stepped back from hugging him, and dragged him over to her brother and the blonde girl.
"James, this is Olivia Berry, Jonny's girlfriend Olivia Berry, this is James," introduced Holly. Her face was flushed from the cold and her eyes were alight with excitement. She was always like an overactive two year old at Christmas.
"She's always like this at Christmas," chuckled Jonny, pulling Liv closer for a kiss, "Oh and James, thanks for the servicing kit, I'm hoping it'll help our chances after that awful performance last month," he added bitterly. Jonny played keeper on the team, and was probably the only decent player on the Gryffindor team at the moment.
"Just wait until next year when me and Holly try out," grinned James.
"Kids! Dinner!" called Holly's mother. James and Holly raced into the large stone house, followed by Jonny and Liv at a more leisurely pace.
Dinner was enjoyable, as always. The Potter household was always full of love and laughter, a truly wonderful place to be at Christmas.
"So kids, how was your first term?" asked a silver haired, hazel eyed woman, James's grand-mother Elizabeth Potter. James looked up from the joke he was telling Holly, and grinned.
"Brilliant grandma! Honestly, Hogwarts is amazing! Even the lessons, I thought I'd hate all the work we had to do, but turns out I'm a pretty good wizard!"
Holly chuckled, "He and his mate Sirius get top marks without even trying, it's sickening!"
"I must say it is a little strange hearing about a decent Black," remarked the equally grey haired George Potter, James's grandfather. George, on the other hand, had the dark brown eyes Holly had inherited.
"They're not all bad, dad," reasoned Ivy, "I met young Andromeda, Druella's daughter at a function at the Ministry last summer, wonderful young woman".
"Yeah, Sirius says there are a few decent ones, but most of them are 'crazy old purists', as he says," chuckled James.
"Well I'm just glad you've made some good friends," smiled his father, "I knew you would".
"What about you Holly dear, you haven't told me about your friends?" asked her grandmother. James perked up slightly, but scowled at Holly's smug grin.
"Well, there's Chris, who's just absolutely mental! Seriously, I've never met such an excitable girl! She's brilliant though. Then there's Bridget. She's quite quiet, but such a sweetie, she always knows the right thing to say, you know. And then there's Lily," she glanced at James, and stifled the urge to laugh.
"Do you know Lily?" asked Ian, Holly's father to James.
"Oh he knows her," teased Holly, "He luuurrrvvveeesss her".
"Do not!" protested James, blushing furiously. He didn't at all. He didn't even like her. She was horrible to him, so why on Earth would he love her. As if.
"But she hates him 'cause he keeps hexing her mate Snape," continued Holly, "Mind you, I dont like Snape either, half the time he deserves it".
"Son, you shouldn't be hexing people, you'll get into trouble," said James's mum sternly.
"And the other half?" asked James's dad.
"The other half of the time that idiot Black is hexing him. Now he just does it for fun, you say he's decent but he's just an arrogant little berk," replied Holly simply. The adults in the room exchanged amused glances, and returned to their meal, striking up random conversations.
After dinner, the entire family retreated to the back garden for another snowball fight, building snowmen and general fun in the snow. Christmas at the Potters was a wonderful place to be, in this family, family was everything, they were probably the closest family in England, which was what made the Potters so special indeed.
"Holly, Vespa has a note," called Mrs Knight. Holly bounded into the room, and removed the note from her owl. She unfolded it, and sighed.
Hi Holly,
How's Christmas going? Did you get my present? I know how much you love Quidditch, and I thought you'd like to read up on your favourite teams!
Thank you for the book, I know how expensive it is, you really shouldn't have. But I love it! Anyway, I'm having an alright day, except Petunia's being horrible once again; I really don't know what to do about her anymore.
Well, I was just feeling a bit lonely, and thought I'd owl you since Vespa seems to have taken up permanent residence at my house (I think she likes annoying Petunia).
Lots of Love, Lily.
"Poor Lily," mumbled Holly, scribbling back a reply. She really felt for her, she knew how close Lily and Petunia used to be. The girls had stayed up one night a few weeks ago, when Chris and Bridget had fallen asleep. Lily had confessed everything about her and Petunia, from how they were best friends, to when Snape had told her she was a witch. Holly couldn't fathom how horrible it would be if Jonny ever hated her, though she'd never admit that.
~**~
Christmas at the Evans's
"Merry Christmas girls!"
Lily and Petunia both bore identical grins as they stepped into their large living room, and spied the mountain of gifts circling the base of the Christmas tree. However, things were different this year. Normally, Lily and Petunia would play all sorts of games, like racing to see who could finish opening all of their presents first. But this year, Petunia had barely spoken to Lily since she'd returned home, and though Lily acted like this didn't bother her, on the inside she was hurting deeply. However, she refused to let this ruin Christmas, and spent the entire morning opening the variety of Muggle gifts from her family, and wizarding gifts from her friends. From Holly, Bridget and Chris, the two had saved up their money and bought her a copy of Hogwarts: A History, a book Lily had wanted since her first visit to Diagon Alley, and a generous box of chocolate frogs, which had become her favourite wizarding sweet. Her last wizarding present, was a small pendant, that glowed a different colour according to your mood. It was very similar to the silly little mood rings Muggles bought, however this pendant actually worked. She smiled as she read the card attached to it.
To Lily,
Happy Christmas, at least with this I'll know when Potter is bothering you!
Love, Sev.
Lily gently placed the pendant around her neck, and smiled again. Severus wasn't a bad person; she couldn't understand why he was picked on so much. She made a mental note to have a serious talk with Potter about it when she returned to school.
"Oh honey that necklace is beautiful," breathed Mrs Evans, reaching over to examine Lily's pendant.
"It's a mood stone," she explained, "Like the Muggle ones, except this one is magic, and really works".
Petunia snorted into her Christmas pudding, earning a glare from Lily.
"Well it's beautiful, who gave you it?" asked Mrs Evans.
"Severus, the boy who lives at Spinner's End," grinned Lily proudly.
"Is that the weedy little boy we met in the park," asked Petunia abruptly, "He was weird!"
"He is not weird!" protested Lily, "He's a wonderful person, and one of my best friends!"
"Yes, well he's one of your lot, so he's weird," Petunia said simply.
"Petunia, that's enough," scolded Lily's father, "Lily is perfectly normal, and so is this Severus boy".
Petunia glared at Lily, and returned to her pudding. The family ate in silence for the rest of the meal, before Lily retreated to her bedroom, and burst into tears. She missed her big sister so much, they were always so close. And now? Now Petunia hated her, just because she was different.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Lily spotted Holly's owl Vespa, who was still snoozing after delivering presents. She rummaged around in her draws for some parchment and a quill, and scribbled a quick note.
"Go on Vespa, I need a friend right now," she whispered miserably. Vespa hooted soothingly, as if knowing how down Lily was, and nipped her finer affectionately, before spreading her large black wings, and taking flight.
Several hours later, after a small Christmas tea, Lily spotted Vespa tapping her beak patiently on the living room window. Petunia raced from the room muttering something about 'bloody owls', and Lily quickly let the large bird in, and unfurled the note.
Hey Lils!
I'm sorry about Petunia; I know how awful you must be feeling right now. Don't worry; she'll come around, just give it time. Oh and thank you soooo much for the book Lils, it was brilliant! I've wanted it for ages but mum said I had to save up for it myself! She's so mean. Anyway, our Christmas has been good, same old same old really, I'm in Tinworth at the moment, at my grandparents house, and you'll never guess who's with me....James!
Yup, your dear little Potter...HA! But you know, he's been as nice as always, he even got me a broomstick servicing kit for Christmas, can you believe it! Anyway, I managed to embarrass him at dinner by telling the family how much he loves you; you should have seen him blush! It was brilliant. I actually think he might have a thing for you. Anyway, I hope that cheers you up, since I know how much you loathe my dear cousin.
Don't worry; we'll be at Hogwarts before you know it! Chin up, and I'll see you soon.
Lots of love and endless hugs, Holly.
Lily beamed at the note. She knew Holly would know how to cheer her up, all of her friends did, but Holly just seemed to have a natural talent for it.
"Only a few more days," she muttered to herself. She absently stroked Vespa, who seemed to be sticking around an awful lot lately. Perhaps she knew Lily was lonely and thought she'd need a bit of company. Lily glanced at the large black owl, and grinned.
~**~
Christmas at the Blacks
Sirius tumbled out of bed groggily, muttering curses to whoever was jumping up and down on his bed. He knew who it was, he did this every year, it was almost a tradition.
"Regulus shove off, it's too early," he groaned.
Sirius's younger brother Regulus was a sweet little boy. He was a year younger than Sirius, and looked just like a mini version of his older sibling, except his eyes were a stormy blue, instead of grey.
"Come on Sirius, its Christmas!" cried Regulus excitedly. He jumped down from the bed, taking the blankets with him.
"Regulus!"
The younger Black giggled, and raced from the room, soon followed by a weary Sirius.
The drawing room was, as always, used to hold the many presents the Black children received from the many members of their family. The Black's were a rich family, a notable wizarding lineage who were once well respected throughout the wizarding world.
Sirius noticed the change as soon as he entered the room. Regulus, who in Sirius's opinion has always been the favourite son, had a pile of presents so high they almost ran the length of one wall. Sirius, on the other hand, had a pitifully small pile; compared to the amount of gifts he'd received last year. And he was pretty sure why this was.
As if to personally attack him, every single Christmas decoration put up by Kreacher the house elf was silver and green. The colours of the Slytherin house.
His parents were already doting upon Regulus, urging him to open his gifts and pointing out which ones were from whom. Sirius turned to his small pile, his heart sinking. His parents had never been this cruel before.
He sifted through the pile of presents lazily, not really interested at all in Christmas anymore. He had received a brand new beater's bat from his favourite cousin Andromeda, one of the only family members who didn't seem to think Voldemort had the 'right idea'. He spotted several boxes of various sweets from James, Remus and Peter, which brought a large grin to his face. The only present he received from his parents was a scarf and hat set, a Slytherin scarf and hat set. Snorting in disgust, he tossed the garments aside and turned to his last present. He knew what it was before he even opened it, but still didn't quite believe his eyes. Ripping off the wrapping paper, a shiny new Nimbus 1001 rolled out onto the blood red carpet. Sirius's eyes widened at the sight, he knew who had sent him this. His Great Uncle Alphard was not a favourite within the Blacks, he, like Sirius, was an avid detractor of Voldemort, thus making him quite unpopular indeed. Sirius quickly exited the drawing room with his present stuffed in his arms before his parents could see what he had received and more than likely confiscate it. They weren't the biggest fans of Uncle Alphard either.
It bothered him that his parents were still sore about him being sorted into Gryffindor; it wasn't as if he had a choice in it. He had hoped they would just forget about it, even put it down to a mistake on the sorting hats behalf, but they genuinely seemed angry with him. They seemed to think it was all his fault.
"As if I care," he mumbled, wiping a stubborn tear from his face, "I'm better off in Gryffindor anyway".
~**~
Christmas at the Lupin's
Remus smiled weakly at his parents as he unwrapped the neatly stacked presents in his living room. The full moon was on the 31st, so he was feeling a little peaky, but was determined not to let it ruin his day.
"Remus, there's presents here from your friends at school," Mrs Lupin handed him three individually wrapped gifts, a broad smile across her face. To be perfectly honest, she had been extremely worried that Remus would let his condition and natural shy persona affect his ability to make friends. She knew how hard it had been for Remus growing up, and that he'd never had any real friends before. The fact that he'd received presents from these boys was like a beacon of hope for Mrs Lupin, hope that he one day her son would be able to lead a normal life.
Remus smiled to himself as he unwrapped the various boxes of sweets James, Sirius and Peter had sent him. It wasn't much, but just to receive a gift from them at all was enough to brighten his day. However the guilty voice in the back of his head was slowly growing stronger. He hated lying to them every month, hated having to pretend his own mother was sick because he was, simply put, a dangerous monster. No matter how much his parents reassured him he wasn't a monster; he knew perfectly well what he was. They didn't see him transform, didn't see the way he'd tear a chair or table apart, or attack himself because he had no prey. They didn't hear the bloodcurdling howls from within the chamber they locked him in every month he was at home. He was a monster, and telling James and the others would only make things worse for them all. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want them to hate him.
Christmas at the Lupin's was usually very quiet. The small family would have a quaint dinner prepared by Mrs Lupin, after which Mr Lupin would return to work at St Mungo's (Christmas was a busy holiday for them) whilst Remus and his mother would take down the decorations. However this Christmas, Remus would be forced to help his mother ready the basement for his transformation, helping move various bits of furniture that were beyond even magical repair and replacing them with new furniture for Remus to attack during his night as a werewolf.
Even though today would be overshadowed by the impending transformation, Remus enjoyed this Christmas just as much as the last, perhaps even more so after receiving the gifts from his new friends.
~**~
Christmas with the Coddlesworth's
"Christina! Come on, up!"
Mrs Coddlesworth cried out as her eldest daughter jumped into view, fully dressed and intent on opening her presents.
"Sweetie why did you get dressed?" she asked amusedly as Chris raced into the living room and practically dived into her pile of presents.
"I woke up early and was too excited to go back to sleep," she grinned, passing her younger brother Carl one of his own presents. The small, blonde haired boy toddled over to his twin who began helping him unwrap.
"Oh mum this is brilliant!" Chris held up the hand knitted jumper her mother had made her. It was a pale, periwinkle blue colour, and made of the softest wool Chris had ever felt. Chris's family weren't exactly well off, however their parents always managed to provide for their children at Christmas.
"Now don't forget, your Aunt Judith and Uncle Peter are coming over with the girls at about ten, Aunt Lisa and Uncle John at around eleven with the triplets, and grandma and grandpa will be here just before dinner," said Mrs Coddlesworth absently, "So I'll need you to make sure the table is all set and everything is at least acceptably tidy".
Chris groaned, her family was huge, it was a wonder they all fit into her house. She always had to pitch in on Christmas day, whereas most children would be left to enjoy their presents. She didn't mind though, her years of helping her mother prepare Christmas dinner had made her a talented cook, and how many eleven year olds could say that!
"Are we going to grandmas for my birthday?" asked Chris. She would be turning twelve on New Year's Day, and normally her family had a little birthday party for her at her grandparent's house.
"Yes, although Aunt Judith and the kids won't be able to make it, they're going on holiday to Scotland for a week".
Chris nodded, her eyes glued to the presents she was still unwrapping. Christmas was always pretty crazy at the Coddlesworth's household, and Chris wouldn't have it any other way.
~**~
Christmas at the Pettigrew's
A lone Christmas tree stood as the only decoration in the Pettigrew household. Peter's father didn't really like celebrations, and only allowed the rather pathetic looking tree to be put up to appease his wife. Peter carefully unwrapped his small pile of gifts whilst his mother watched him intently. His father was out somewhere with his friends from work, he didn't normally stay in on Christmas.
"Thanks mum, this is great," grinned Peter, setting aside the copy of The Wonder of the Wigtown Wanderers his mother had given him. Peter was a big fan of Quidditch, though he wasn't very good at playing.
"I thought you'd like it," smiled Mrs Pettigrew, "I know they're your favourite team".
Peter nodded affirmatively, and proceeded to unwrap his other presents, which included various sweets from the boys (they had agreed on this a while ago, but Peter had noticed that Remus seemed a bit sceptical as to whether they would actually send him anything) and a Wigtown Wanderers scarf from his grandmother.
Dinner was quiet, just the two of them, which in all honesty, Peter preferred. He loved his mother dearly, and hated how timid she was around his father. It wasn't that his father was aggressive, he was just controlling, and saw himself as the head of the household. He had always put Peter down, and even commented on how truly surprised he was Peter wasn't in Hufflepuff. This was probably what caused Peter to be so nervous and quiet all of the time, however his time spent with James, Sirius and Remus had slowly coaxed him out of his shell a little, something Mrs Pettigrew had noticed.
"So dear, tell me more about your friends," she said as they retreated to the living room after dinner.
Peter's face lit up at the mention of his friends, he loved telling his mother about them, "Well, I've told you mostly everything about them, they're great. I can't believe they'd wanna hang around with someone like me".
Mrs Pettigrew frowned, and placed her hand on Peter's shoulder, "You're a wonderful person Peter, and you shouldn't let what people say to you make you believe that is really you. You're friends are lucky to have such a sweet, loyal friend".
Peter positively beamed at his mother praise. All in all, this Christmas had to have been the best so for, and it was all thanks to three certain eleven year olds who had taken Peter under their wing.
~**~
Christmas at the Moore's
"Bridget, happy Christmas dear".
Bridget rubbed her eyes, and grinned as she spotted the mountain of presents beneath a large Christmas tree.
"Happy Christmas mum, dad," she hugged her parents, then practically dove into the pile. Mrs Moore grinned, and returned to the kitchen where a fat turkey was roasting. Bridget spotted a gift from Lily, Holly and Chris. She quickly unwrapped it, and grinned.
"Those three are amazing," she laughed, holding up the Celestina Warbeck t-shirt she'd mentioned wanting a few weeks ago.
"Oh that's pretty Bridget," commented Mrs Moore as she re-entered the living room, "Is that from your friends?"
Bridget nodded, "Yup, from my best friends!"
"And you were worried you wouldn't make friends," Mr Moore chuckled, ruffling his daughters hair fondly. Bridget squirmed, and giggled.
"Dad, I'm not five anymore, you need to stop doing that".
Mr Moore laughed, and shook his head, "I'll be doing it even on your wedding day dearest, now get back to those presents, your grandparents sent quite a few over this year".
Bridget grinned and turned back to her gifts. Oh, how she loved Christmas.
Love it, hate it? I like the chapters that detail a different characters life, they're fun :D
