Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.

Chapter Twenty-two

Potter Manor

Days flew by quickly, what with Hogsmeade visits (sneak-outs), Quidditch, classes, detention with Sirius and the House-elves, and spending time with my friends. James, out of nowhere for some reason (which I later found out was so Sirius could defend himself without magic) had asked me to teach him and Sirius how to fight physically without magic. So a couple nights a week on days I wasn't working with Gary, I'd work with them, and they were making a lot of progress. Soon the day everyone was supposed to leave for their homes came. In other words; it was Christmas Break.

Luna, very discreetly, had been stressing for me to find somewhere to go. But no such thing had happened yet. I hadn't bothered to tell anybody because I hadn't wanted to bother them, and the only one of my friends who knew was Sirius since he was with me when Luna was, and he wasn't completely oblivious to the world.

I was sitting down in the Common Room, enjoying the heat that the fire offered. The snow outside was beautiful. It was flaky and crystal white. For the past week or two the Marauders, Lily, Tonks, and I had been out in the snow constantly, fooling around. And when I wasn't with them outside, I was with Gary, Austin, and a few other Ravenclaws. To tell the truth, I was gonna miss them while they were gone.

Out of nowhere I felt arms around my neck, and I was in a chokehold, the air leaving my lungs. Laughing internally, I reached around, grabbed the person's upper arms, and using the chair to help me, I flipped him over on his back on the floor.

I looked down at Sirius and grinned at his sprawled out figure. He was laughing.

"That was a little bit better, but you need t make sure they don't have enough air to be able to do what I did. Also, don't put yourself at a disadvantage, like you did with the chair. If they are anything like me, they'll know how to use their surroundings against you," I told him, offering him a hand to help him up.

"I'll remember that," he said, taking my hand. Instead of me helping him up, he yanked me down and sat on top of me, pinning me to the floor.

"Better?" he asked innocently.

"Loads," I said, unable to keep a silly grin off my face. He was improving a lot. "Surprise can be helpful."

Someone coughed, and he looked behind him to see who it was. I shoved him off of me and put him in a proper chokehold. He tried to break free, but just couldn't do it. He coughed and hit my arm softly.

"Do you give up?" I asked.

No answer. I tightened my hold.

"What about now?"

"I—can't—breathe—" he managed to get out.

"That's kind of the purpose of a chokehold."

"I—give—up—You—win—" I let go of him and he regained his normal breathing pattern. I looked over at a smiling James, Tonks, and Remus, a frowning Lily, and a scared looking Peter.

"You could really hurt each other if you're not careful," Lily said concernedly.

"Nah, I won't hurt her," Sirius said, rubbing his neck.

Remus snorted. "You? Hurt her? Mate, she was talking about Nike hurting you more than she already has."

"Are you kidding me? I let her win," Sirius protested, rubbing his neck that had red marks encircling it. "You know, to help build her self-esteem."

"Okay Sirius. If that's what you've got to tell yourself to keep moving on, we'll leave it at that," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

"And her self-esteem doesn't need to be built any higher," Remus said, laughing. I noticed all of them had their trunks at their feet.

"You guys are leaving now?"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," James said. "I'm really surprised Sirius listened and left it to me to tell you though."

"Hurry up James, I'm getting impatient. Two weeks was way too long to keep a secret from her," Sirius said.

"Anyways, Sirius told us what Luna had said, and I asked my parents if you could stay with us for break. They said it was fine, so…do you want to come live with me for awhile?" James asked sincerely.

I smiled. "Thanks James! I'd love to! But I can't believe you waited so long to tell me. I've been dreading this moment forever."

He smiled back. "Well, I had other things to discuss with my parents, and they," he gestured at the others. "had to speak with theirs. But everyone's going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day at my house."

"Really?" I asked, my spirit soaring high.

"Really," Sirius said. "Now come on you guys before we miss the train!"

The Hogwarts Express wasn't as bad as I'd remembered it being. I was able to sit in whatever compartment I chose, so I sat next to Sirius, James, and Lily, and across from Remus, Tonks, and Peter. The first half of the ride went by just fine. Sirius tried to offer me Berty Bott's Every Flavor beans, which I refused, and the others found it hilarious when Sirius told them about the first time I'd ever tried them. They took turns telling me what Christmas was, and James, Remus, and Sirius told us about James' house and everything around it. But with ten minutes left in the ride, things went downhill. Regulus, flanked by Malfoy and his cronies, stepped into our compartment without even knocking.

Sirius and James stiffened beside me, Remus' eyes narrowed, and Peter hid his face.

"What do you want Regulus?" I asked curtly.

He smiled "sweetly" at me. "It's good to see you too Nike."

"I never said it was a good or nice thing," I snapped.

Regulus held up his hand, stopping Malfoy and his friends, who, for some odd reason that was unknown to me, still thought they could take me down.

"We're not here to fight. Yet," Regulus said to no one in particular. "I've come to deliver a message from home." His dark eyes locked on Sirius'. "Mum and Dad said you're to come home for Christmas Break. They said we've got some things to talk about." Sirius' face fell, something only James, Remus, and I noticed. Regulus' sneer just got larger.

"They just can't wait to see you," Regulus said.

"Get out," I snapped, glaring at all of them. Regulus just smiled at me, and then he and his friends disappeared. Silence was left in their wake, broken by humorless laughter. It was Sirius.

"Well," he said dryly. "Christmas Break will be tons of fun." And he was silent for the rest of the ride to the train station, occasionally chuckling at his own misfortune.

"James! Sirius!" a pretty, average height red haired blue eyed older woman called as we stepped off the train. She ran up to them and engulfed them in a hug. And when she saw Remus, she pulled him in too.

"My boys are back!" she said happily.

"Come off some Joyce, dear," a handsome older man that was tall and had jet black hair and glasses similar to James' covering his blue eyes said from where he stood behind the woman. I was going out on a limb here, but I'm pretty sure these people were James' parents. He easily resembled them.

Joyce sighed, but released the three boys. "Where's Peter?" she asked.

"He already left," Remus replied.

"At least we'll see him at Christmas," Joyce (Mrs. Potter) said. She looked behind the three Marauders and saw us girls.

"You must be Lily Evans," the man said.

Lily looked startled, but she said, "Yes sir."

He laughed at her expression. "You see, my dear, us male Potters have what I like to call a Potter Curse. We have messy hair that won't lie flat no matter what we try, and we fall hopelessly in love with girls that have red hair." James blushed and Lily blinked, dumbfounded, while the rest of us laughed.

"And you must be Tonks," Mr. Potter continued.

"You got my name right!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Remus warned us," Mrs. Potter said with a smile. Tonks raised an eyebrow at Remus, but he just shrugged, an embarrassed smiled on his face.

"And that means that you're the new edition," Mr. Potter said. "Nike."

"Yes sir," I replied.

"You just got here, correct?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Yes ma'm."

"That's why we haven't heard too much of you," Mr. Potter said, giving me a warm smile. "I'm Harold Potter, and this is my wife, Joyce. To state the obvious, we're James' parents."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lily said.

"Ditto," Tonks agreed.

"I'm sure you'll probably get tired of me real quick," I said.

Sirius laughed. "Nike, you've forgotten; they live with me and James and Remus for months at a time. And we can be worse at home than we are at school."

"Oh, right. I'm terribly sorry for your misfortune," I told Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

They laughed and Mr. Potter said, "I can see how you get along with our boys."

"Well, I hate to rush, but we best get going. We've got to get Nike settled in. We'll see you kids in a week, but until then, have fun!" Mrs. Potter said. Remus, Tonks, and Lily told us bye and left to search for their families.

"Come on you three," Mrs. Potter said. James and I exchanged glances.

"Umm…mum…" James trailed off, unable to finish.

"What is it?" Mr. Potter asked. James was at a loss for words, and Sirius was staring off into space. So that left me.

"Sirius can't," I said hesitantly, thinking my words through. "Regulus said…"

James' parents' faces fell. "Oh no," Mrs. Potter gasped.

"Now what do they want?" Mr. Potter growled, his face turning into an angry mask.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Sirius grumbled. "I'll be home three days before Christmas Eve, when Remus usually shows up." I knew by 'home' he meant the Potters' house.

"Be careful Sirius," Mrs. Potter said, hugging him tightly. "Hopefully things won't be bad."

Sirius smiled at her worried expression. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." Mrs. Potter released him and Mr. Potter hugged him too.

"You do that, son," he said. Sirius and James embraced, James muttering something in Sirius' ear. Sirius turned to me.

"Why does it seem like this is going to be the last time we see you alive?" I asked.

He gave me his usual cocky, arrogant smile. "That's just how the Potters are. You have nothing to worry 'bout 'cause I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for life."

"Oh, that's a reassuring thought," I teased.

"Depending on how you look at it," he said. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." He turned to leave.

"Sirius," Mrs. Potter said in a disciplinary tone. "Give your girlfriend a hug good-bye."

"Mum…" James said, but Sirius smiled cockily, and followed her instructions.

"See you later Nik," he muttered.

"You certainly will," I replied, returning his hug. "Do me a favor though."

I felt him laugh. "What would that be?"

"Give Doughboy hell from me."

"I most certainly will."

The Potters' house was huge. It was more of a castle than a house. Along the front of the house with a narrow path leading through the center of it to the door was a garden that reminded me of a forest. The flowers and bushes were very tall and were colored with almost neon and fluorescent colors, and it smelled so good walking down the earthen path. How they kept the gardens blooming and looking good in the middle of winter when lots of storms had already hit, I had no idea. But whatever it was they were doing, they were doing it well. Gargoyles stood guard on either side of the door, each taking the shape of a griffin. They stared menacingly straight forward. I glanced off to the left side of the house behind the garden and saw a massive crystal blue lake that currently had several layers of ice on the surface.

I imagine my expression was priceless because James laughed and said,

"You're going to freeze if you keep gaping at everything out here. Not to mention if you keep your mouth open ice will form inside your mouth." He peered closer. "Actually, I think there's already some in there." I snapped my mouth shut, which made him laugh.

"It's…amazing out here," I whispered, not quite able to find the words I wanted.

James chuckled. "Welcome to Potter Manor. Come on; let's get out of the cold." He picked up his trunk and led me inside.

My breath caught in my throat.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. It kind of reminded me of Hogwarts, actually. The floors were polished and everything had this antique feel to it. A crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling, its lights dimmed. On the other side of the colossal hallway were two long winding staircases. One was on the left; one was on the right, going up who-knows how high. Closer towards where we stood (right inside the door), were a couple of different rooms. To the left it was a cozy looking living room with an enormous fire-place that somehow warmed up the house, which in comparison to the house was teeny-tiny.

I poked my head in the room on the right and saw it was a dining room. Behind the long dark brown table that could easily seat at least thirty people was another door, which I would be willing to bet would lead to the kitchen.

"What do you think?" James asked as we were climbing up the stairs.

"Wow," I said stupidly.

He laughed. "Intelligent Nike. Real intelligent."

"James!" Mrs. Potter yelled from downstairs.

"Yes mum?" he replied.

"Have Nike pick out whichever room she wants! If she wants it, it's hers!" came the answer.

"Okay!" James smiled at me. "I think mum and dad like you."

"I can't see why."

"I can." We stepped on a landing which had, I kid you not, at least forty-seven doors. "Mum and dad's room is on this level. Some of the rooms are vacant down here, but others are filled with stuff." I poked my head inside one of the doors and saw a whole bunch of shields, weapons, and armor, as well as practice dummies and a cleared space in the center.

"Cool," I muttered.

"Thought you'd gravitate towards that," James said. "You any good?"

"I've never touched any of these things…except for a knife," I replied.

"I'm sure in no time you'll be better than me, Sirius, and Remus combined. Maybe even better than my aunt."

"Your aunt?"

"Yeah. She's an expert. Competes in tournaments and such. Maybe this summer when she visits she can teach you some things."

"That'd be cool." I was thrilled. Already they wanted me to stay here with them during the summer too. This day was just too good to be true.

"Alright, come on. Let's go to the other rooms so you can get settled in." The third floor had a little bit less rooms than the second, but not much less.

"The next floor is the attic, where my room is," James said as I looked around. This floor was filled with Gryffindor colors and even had the Gryffindor crest skillfully painted on one wall.

"Your room is the attic?" I asked him, dumbfounded.

James shrugged. "It's the biggest bedroom in the house and it's quite nice."

"Oh. Makes sense then."

"Perfectly." He walked over to the door that was closest to the Gryffindor crest. "This is Sirius' room." He opened the door and stepped inside.

I hesitated. "Should we be going in there?"

James looked back and smirked. "I don't understand you. You seem like you could care less about anything and everything, yet you don't want to disrupt someone's privacy?" I didn't answer. He sighed. "Come on. He won't care; I mean it's just you and me. And if he does he'll just have to suck it up. There's nothing he can do about it. It's my house." I laughed and followed him inside.

Again, I was surprised at how neat everything was. Who would have guessed Sirius Black was a neat-freak? His walls had some Gryffindor stuff on it, like banners and Quidditch stuff. Next to one Gryffindor Quidditch team banner were two Quidditch team photos that had mostly all familiar faces beaming and laughing back at me. I (surprisingly) didn't find it at all weird that the pictures were moving. I was becoming used to this wizarding world. His oak desk was pushed into a corner, which had a small bookshelf filled with books. They were thin, tiny books, but they were books.

"You mean Sirius actually reads?" I asked, amazed.

"Rarely, but yes," James said, trying to hide the smile on his face.

On either side of his bed was a table, both of which had pictures in frames placed on them. On one table was a picture of all the Marauders, laughing, probably at some prank they had just pulled or a joke one of them had just cracked. They seemed to be about twelve or so. On the other table was a picture of him and James in the summer, sitting beside each other next to the lake, their feet dangling in the crystal blue water. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. They both looked much like they did now, so this must've been taken last summer, after they'd both turned thirteen maybe.

"He seems so…happy," I said sadly. "Unguarded."

James' smile disappeared. "Yeah. Things have gotten pretty rough. That was taken before he had to leave for the summer."

"I wish he'd tell me what was up at least," I muttered to the picture of James and Sirius.

"Nike…I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but…I think he's scared to. Please don't tell him I said that; he'd have my head for me telling you that he might be scared."

"Why would he be scared? Of what, exactly?" James sat in Sirius' desk chair, sighing.

"I think…" He trailed off.

"You think what?" I pressed.

"He doesn't want to lose you." James wouldn't look at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think he thinks that when you find out, you're opinion of him, unless it's really bad already, will worsen, and then you'll…abandon…us."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"I don't know. He just doesn't want to take any chances. He has a hard time with trusting people…and in turn he thinks people have a hard time trusting him."

"What's so bad that he's got to hide from me that makes him think I'll actually leave you guys?"

"I can't tell you. Believe me, I want to, but I can't."

"Okay. That's fine."

"Nike…don't be mad, and please don't ask him about it. He'll go…distant…again."

"I won't James," I promised.

I saw another door, so I went over, opened it, and found it was a closet. I was about to close the door, thinking I probably shouldn't go through his stuff, when, as before in the wand shop, something caught my eye behind his dresser.

"James," I called. "Does your house have any secret passageways or rooms?" He came over to me, curious.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

Intrigued, I stepped inside the big closet and moved his tall dresser. Right behind it was a door. James stepped inside behind me and froze.

"How did you—? I've never seen—?" James couldn't seem to be capable of finishing a sentence.

"Did Sirius know this was here?" I asked.

"No. He would have told me."

"You want to check it out?"

"Do you seriously have to ask?" James asked in an offended tone.

"I can never be sure with you Marauders. You keep surprising me."

"Consider yourself one of us, because that's exactly what you are."

"It's a dream come true!"

"We all know it. Everybody wants to be like us and submitted into our elite group."

"Gods James. You're way too much like Sirius for your own good!"

"Sad but true," he replied, sighing. "Or it could be vice-versa." He flashed me a pretend sad yet horrified look.

"Quit yer yapping and lets go," I said, opening the door and stepping inside.

"I'm not completely like Sirius! I'm not a dog!" He made to follow me, but by some unseen force, the door slammed in his face.

"Ow! Damn Nike! What was that for?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"I didn't do it this time!"

"'This time'?" I heard his laugh. The door knob shook. "It's locked Nik."

"How?"

"I don't know. Just see if you can open it from your side."

"Okay." I followed his instructions, and the door did open. But when I looked out, James was gone.

A/N: Dun-dun-dun. Yeah, I know, retarded, but…whatever.

How do you like James' parents? I love 'em to death! They will definitely have to be frequent occurrences. And speaking of the Potters, how do you like their house? I'm not exactly sure what I picture it like…but then I do. What do you guys see it as? Any advice that I can use to better the picturing in your minds?

So, what do you think happened? Let me know!

Next chapter: Well, you'll see what's up, now won't you? ;)

R&R please! You'll forever be my favorite readers! And, again note that I'm updating a LOT quicker than I normally do! So if I start getting lots of reviews, we'll be done with this one and on to the next!

Until next time,

Nike