Christmas at Potter Cottage

Half a month later, James and Sirius began to pack for their stay at Godric's Hollow, and James urged the others to visit Potter Cottage over Christmas break as well. At first, Peter had agreed eagerly, promising that his mother would let him go, but the next letter he received during breakfast in the Great Hall brought discouraging news.

"She won't let me go until I improve in Transfiguration," Peter told James mournfully. "I'm going to be studying all break long."

"I'm sorry, James," Remus told James as well, looking sincere. "My parents won't let me get away. They've been counting on me coming home for Christmas all year. Maybe next time," he added, although his tone did not offer much certainty.

"Maybe it's for the best," James joked, shrugging nonchalantly at his roommates' guilty expressions. "My parents can barely handle me, and Sirius might just make them lose their minds." At this, Sirius grinned, and Remus and Peter looked less downcast as they continued eating.

When the day finally came for them to journey home, the four joined the crowd of students boarding the Hogwarts Express and spent the lengthy ride in a compartment near the back. As he climbed onto the train, James thought that he spotted Regulus' dark head a few doorways down, and he turned to ask Sirius if his brother was returning to home by himself; however, before he could raise his question, Sirius had abruptly turned around to make a joke about the packed hallway and pulled open a door to an empty compartment.

After several hours of talking, James and the others jumped off of the train at King's Cross Station and parted ways to locate their respective families. Pulling Sirius over to where his parents stood expectantly, James waved as he approached and deposited Hardwin's cage onto the ground unceremoniously, causing the owl to hoot in annoyance.

"Hi, Mum, Dad," James greeted before turning to Sirius. "This is Sirius. Remus and Peter couldn't make it."

"Hello," Sirius said, dragging his suitcase to rest by his side.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" James' father told him, shaking his hand politely. "James has told us so much about you."

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" James' mother inquired of the boys.

"We had a few snacks on the way," James answered, though his stomach growled as he spoke.

"Well, I hope that you still have room for more, because we have a steaming meal waiting for you at home!" she announced as they turned and made their way off of the platform. "I made sure to cook twice as much as I usually do for the whole family; I know how much growing boys can eat."

Throwing James a glance from behind her back, Sirius grinned at him before they crossed through the metal wall separating Platform Nine and Three-Quarters from the Muggle station. During the trip to Godric's Hollow, James' parents chatted amiably with their son about the school year, effortlessly drawing Sirius into the conversation as if they had known him all their lives. Despite her previous doubts about Sirius' family, his mother addressed the boy as if her earlier conversation with James had never happened.

When at last the four reached Godric's Hollow, Sirius eyed James' yard appreciatively as they walked to the front door and entered the house. Once inside, the journeyers removed their coats as Winthrop appeared right on cue from a side door.

"Hey, Winthrop!" James greeted excitedly, rubbing his thick, white hair before he could move aside.

"Master should keep his hands to himself," Winthrop muttered gruffly, moving away with his accoster's coat to accept one from James' mother.

"This is Sirius Black, James' friend," James' father told the house-elf, giving him his coat as well. Bowing to Sirius as best he could with the fabric stacked over his head, Winthrop stumbled slightly as Sirius tossed his jacket on top of the pile.

"So where's dinner?" Sirius asked, turning to James. Behind him, Winthrop eyed him reservedly before waddling off, balancing his load with difficulty. To the side, James' mother made a soft noise in the back of her throat, eyes narrowed, but her husband quickly ushered the boys away.

"Right this way!" he answered, leading the way to the dining room. On the table lay a scrumptious turkey dinner complete with trays of fried potatoes and buttered rolls. As the enticing smells wafted over them, James and Sirius brightened.

"My, my, if you and Winthrop haven't prepared a feast!" James' father praised his wife, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before settling himself down at the head of the table; in a flash the boys were seated on the edges of their chairs. "Go ahead and dig in, there's no need to wait!"

Attacking their food as if afraid that it would disappear, James and Sirius made no conversation until their plates had filled and emptied twice. While the adults finished their meal at a moderate pace, the boys began to pass Chocolate Frog cards under the table, making trades and admiring each other's collections. After chatting happily with each other for a few minutes, they excused themselves from the table and stored their cards collections in their pockets.

"Thanks for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Sirius told James' parents as he stood from his chair and Winthrop entered to clear the table.

"You're quite welcome," his mother answered, smiling weakly, and James and Sirius quickly ran to the door of the dining room. Skidding around the corner, James led the way up the stairs and to his room, where they found both of their suitcases waiting for them. Freeing Hardwin from his cage, James led the Screech owl to the window and let him fly out into the darkening sky.

"This is it," James said, plopping down onto his bed and swinging his legs. "You can share my bed until we can move the extra one from the guest room."

"Nice," Sirius commented, looking around. Crossing to the open window, he stuck his head out into the wind and grinned down at the street. "Can we keep this open?" he asked, pulling his head back inside and turning to James.

"Sure, I normally keep it open so that Hardwin can fly in and out," James answered, and Sirius gave a contented sigh before joining James on his bed.

"Do you ever throw Stink Pellets at the Muggles when they walk by?" Sirius asked suddenly as if the thought had just struck him.

"No, but my mum once got me in trouble for trying to dump a bucket of leftover Exploding Bonbons outside my window," James replied, laughing. "A few of them hit the ground, and the blasts scared a Muggle's dog right out of its collar! I haven't seen them pass this way again."

After laughing, Sirius lowered his voice. "You know, I discovered that if you place wizard chess pieces out in your yard, they eventually try to make their way back."

"Really?" James asked, reaching for his desk. Opening a drawer to reveal a chess set, he crossed to the window and dropped the black queen and two knights. Both he and Sirius gazed down at the bushes where they had disappeared.

"Come back soon!" James called down, waving.

Walking on the opposite side of the street, a confused Muggle girl started and looked up at them in surprise. After waving at her in turn, they pulled themselves back inside of the room and built a small fortress out of James' comforter and mattress, under which they finally fell asleep nearly four hours later. When he found the two of them throwing empty candy wrappers at each other in the morning, James' father decided that it would be best to move the extra bed into the room later that day, which would, as he put it, "Prevent any catastrophes or accidental deaths."

During the first few days of break, James' father, who had taken an instant liking to Sirius, often took the boys on outings to town to give the house some much-needed quiet. They spent a great deal of time in the charm-protected area just outside of town where James liked to practice his Quidditch maneuvers. Once, they also visited the Muggle-free section of the local sweet shop, Oldeman's Candy Store, and James' mother sent them back the next day with a list of supplies for Christmas Day after seeing their arms laden with Peppermint Toad packages.

After visiting the shop for the second time, James ran into the living room with several bags full of Ginger Newts and Pumpkin Pasties, greeting his mother where she was busy decorating the Christmas tree with Fairy Baubles.

"We got everything!" he announced as Sirius stumbled in behind him with another set of shopping bags. "Where do we put these?"

"Oh, I'll take them," his mother answered, placing another transparent sphere on one of the tree's boughs rather hastily, causing the glowing fairy inside to slip and fall. "If you two want to finish with the tree, I'll have dinner on in half an hour."

Taking their bags, she left them with the small piles of decorations scattered about the floor. Bending down, James picked up a handful of tinsel and started placing the strands on the tree as Sirius lifted up a small, furry ball.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's a Puffskein," James answered. "We always hang it on the wreath by the front door. Be careful, it bite—"

Dropping the Puffskein with a yell, Sirius shook his injured hand as the creature scuttled under the tree and began to climb it. Alarmed, several fairies began to flutter agitatedly in their baubles as the Puffskein knocked into their cages. Lunging forward, James tried to grab the Puffskein, but it made a series of animated squeaking noises and climbed even faster, evading his grasp. Far above the boys' heads, it clutched the thin upper trunk warily as the tree began to sway. Trying to steady it, Sirius spread his arms out just as a fairy near the top blasted a jet of light at the Puffskein, breaking its glass cage and sending the Puffskein flying into the air with a yelp. On its way down, it grabbed a string of tinsel with its furry paws and pulled the tree down with a crash.

Several other baubles broke on the impact, and the freed fairies shot into the air and zipped around the room. Avoiding Sirius' lunge, the Puffskein ran out through the closest door and vanished around the corner. Just as he and James were about to follow, James' mother appeared from the opposite doorway with her gray hair askew.

"What's going on?" she asked, taking in the mess. Turning around, Sirius drew back as she approached.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Potter," he apologized rapidly. "I didn't mean to, honest! The Puffskein bit me, and—"

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she interrupted, grasping James' arms and looking him up and down. When she turned to do the same to Sirius, he flinched away; surprised, James' mother stepped back. "What's the matter?"

Cautiously, Sirius glanced from her to James and back again. "Aren't you . . . I mean, aren't you going to yell?"

After a short pause, James' mother slowly shook her head. "Of course not," she replied gently. "I'm not angry."

"But it's my fault," Sirius pointed out after a slight pause.

"It's no trouble at all!" she insisted. Turning to the felled tree, she righted it with her wand; beckoning to the fairies, she guided them back into their baubles and mended the glass before placing them back on the tree. "See?" she asked. "No harm done."

Still standing stiffly, Sirius stared at her warily as if expecting her to lunge at him. Slowly extending her hand, James' mother asked, "Now, did you say that you were hurt?" Taking his hand, she turned the palm upwards to reveal a small bite mark. "This won't take long at all," she soothed, closing up the torn flesh with her wand. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, staring down at his hand. Frowning, James' mother eyed him with a newfound sympathy.

"How about coming into the kitchen and helping with dinner?" she finally asked. "I'll let you choose our dessert."

The mention of food seemed to jerk Sirius out of his daze, and he eagerly led the way into the kitchen. As James followed, his mother peeked around the corner and quickly shot a Stunning Spell at the Puffskein, which bounced away from the rug corner that it had been gnawing.

After that, James' mother treated Sirius with much more respect, and she laughed along with the rest of the family at his dinnertime rendition of "Hark! Sirius Black is King." Both she and James' father wished the boys a good night on Christmas Eve before leaving them alone in James' room, and the boys spent the next few hours whispering to each other in sleepless agitation. However, when he jerked awake from a heavy slumber at six in the morning, James did not feel weary in the slightest as he jumped out of bed and shook Sirius awake.

"Come on! It's Christmas!" he announced, and for once, Sirius did not complain about the early hour. Bolting out of bed, he pounded down the stairs with James and ran into the living room, where the Fairy Baubles illuminated the presents below the Christmas tree in the pre-dawn darkness.

Sitting down, James ripped open the nearest package and found an unhealthy stash of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Next, he uncovered a game called Snitch Snatcher, a talking alarm clock, and a brand-new pair of scarlet-hemmed robes. Turning to Sirius, he watched as his friend unwrapped a set of long, metallic collar stays.

"From my parents," Sirius explained, tossing them aside as he rolled his eyes. "Do they think that I want to choke myself? At least this was better," he said, pointing to a lone Chocolate Frog package from Regulus.

"You have more," James indicated, nodding under the tree.

"Really?" Sirius asked, perking up, and he pulled out a small package with his name on it.

"That one's from me," James told him, watching excitedly as Sirius tore it open.

"Thanks, Frog Spawn Soap!" Sirius exclaimed, grinning. "I'll have to sneak this into Peter's drawer." Reaching back under the tree, he pulled out a larger package and gave it to James. "This is from me."

"What is it?" James asked as he opened it.

"A Broomstick Servicing Kit," Sirius replied. "Now you can fix your Airwake when the Bludger misses your arm the next time."

"Hey, thanks!" James said, opening the box and pulling out the large pair of clippers meant for the tail end. "This is great!" The pattering of footsteps suddenly sounded from the hallway, and James looked up to see his parents entering the room in their nightclothes.

"You just couldn't wait, could you?" his father asked, smiling. "I wanted to see you open your presents!"

"Sorry," James apologized sheepishly, but his mother uncovered a pair of identical packages from behind her back.

"I knew that we couldn't trust you, so I decided to save these upstairs," she said, giving one each to James and Sirius. Accepting the gifts gratefully, they both ripped open the paper to reveal two rather plain-looking handheld mirrors.

"They're two-way mirrors," James' mother explained excitedly. "They're bewitched so that you can talk to each other at any time, no matter how far away you are. I took one look at them and knew that they were perfect for you two."

"Excellent!" James said, holding his mirror up. Reflected in the glassy surface, the bottom half of Sirius' face grinned at him.

"Blimey!" Sirius commented, leaning over to look at himself through James' mirror. "I have nice teeth!" The others all laughed, and Sirius glanced up at their happy faces, beaming.

"How about you try this on?" James' mother told her son, picking up his new robes. "I want to make sure that you haven't grown again during the holidays." As James started to slip the robes over his head, she turned to Sirius and said, "You, too. Your pair should be under the tree."

"You got some for me?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Of course I did," she answered, "but I wasn't sure about your size . . ." Trailing off, she watched as Sirius ripped open a bundled package and jumped up to put on his robes.

"Yes! Gryffindor's coat of arms!" he exclaimed, indicating the small insignia on his chest pocket. Buttoning the last hole, he extended his arms and twirled around. "They're perfect!" he told James' mother, and she smiled proudly.

At half past seven, the Potters and Sirius gathered around the kitchen table and dug into a warm Christmas cake provided by Winthrop, who actually smiled a little when James gave him an Acid Pop as a present, reportedly for "his nonexistent teeth and sour personality." Eventually, James and Sirius headed upstairs, their arms burdened with gifts, and they began a game of Snitch Snatcher in James' room. After two hours of fiddling with the miniature Quidditch pitch, however, they finally decided to call it quits.

"There's no way that you can catch the Snitch on this tiny board!" Sirius complained, throwing his hands into the air. "It's impossible!"

"Hey, look!" James exclaimed, pointing at the door. Bending down onto his knees, he watched as his black chess queen limped across the floor, leaving a trail of slug slime on the wood. Shortly after the queen entered, one of the missing knights trudged in after her, sheathing his sword wearily. Although James waited expectantly, the second knight did not appear; thinking to inquire of the chess piece's fate, he attempted to pick up the first knight only to receive an irritated kick in the finger from his tiny horse. Rubbing his hand, James turned to see Sirius standing by the open window, reading a letter that a speckled owl had just brought in. From his cage, Hardwin gave a muffled hoot at the larger bird on the windowsill.

"Look at this!" Sirius suddenly shouted, rushing to James and waving the letter in his face. "It's from Andromeda! She just eloped with a Muggle-born!"

"Really?" James asked, surprised; he knew that her pureblood family would not approve.

"Apparently she's been secretly seeing him for about a year," Sirius told him, quickly scanning the letter again. "His name is Ted Tonks. Andromeda knew that her family wouldn't take to him if they found out about their secret meetings, so the two of them just decided to up and run away! Isn't it wonderful?" Falling back on James' bed, he crowed with laughter. "Her family's going to have a fit!"

He continued laughing as Hardwin finally pushed open his cage and lunged at the other owl, sending it darting out of the window. Chest ruffling proudly, Hardwin flapped to the end of James' bed, holding something in his mouth. When James managed to pry the object away, he found with a grunt of amusement that it was his other knight, battle-scarred and missing his sword.

While he put the knight away with his chess set, Sirius laughed again and took his Chocolate Frog out of his pocket. As soon as he tore away the wrapping, a small explosion blasted from the opening, and he dropped the packet with a yell as Hardwin screeched and took off through the window in fright. Leaping up, Sirius stomped on the flaming package and wiped the soot off of his blackened face.

"Why, that little prat!" he exclaimed, kicking the Chocolate Frog tin aside to reveal a smoldering cylinder inside. "Regulus replaced the Chocolate Frog with a Flaring Firecracker! I know that I gave him a Dungbomb last Christmas, but at least I left the wrapper on this year!" Scowling, he kicked at the smoking package again. "I'm going to get him when we get back to Hogwarts. Are you in?"

"Sure thing," James agreed readily, although he imagined that Sirius felt far more strongly than he did about Regulus' prank. "No one blasts my best mate and gets away with it!" James added with a small smirk at Sirius' singed hair.

"Have your Invisibility Cloak ready as soon as we get back," Sirius told him, picking up the remains of the Flaring Firecracker with a sly smile. "I think that I have an idea."