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

Chapter Twenty-five

My First Christmas

"Nike! Get up!" someone yelled. I groaned, rolled over, and covered my head with my pillow.

"Niiikkkeee!" The voice was closer, probably right above me.

"Go away," I mumbled, my voice coming out muffled.

All of a sudden my pillow was lifted off my head and the blankets were thrown off.

"Get up!"

"No!" I curled into a ball, blocking out the light. I was determined to get my well-earned sleep. The next thing that happened I didn't see coming. I was lifted up out of my bed, thrown over someone's shoulder, and was being carried down the stairs.

I opened my eyes and glared at his back. "Sirius Black, put me down this instant."

"Mornin' sunshine," he replied.

"Sirius! I told you to go see if she was up!" Mrs. Potter scolded him as he came down the stairs.

"Well, she's up," he replied with a smile.

"Ugh!" she grumbled, handing Mr. Potter his coffee and sitting down next to him.

James and Remus smirked while Tonks tried not to laugh and Lily gave me a sympathetic look.

Sirius threw me down next to James on the couch and sat on the other side of me, beaming.

"There better be a good reason for you dragging me out of bed, Black," I said.

"It's Christmas," he said simply, as if that was the best reason in the whole world.

"So you're supposed to get up at…"

"Seven fifteen," Remus supplied.

"Seven fifteen on Christmas morning?" I asked.

"Yeah," James said, shrugging.

"Sometimes even earlier," Sirius agreed. "Besides! You actually like to get up early!"

"Where's Peter?" Mrs. Potter said suddenly.

"Asleep," James said.

"Oh, so you'll let him sleep in but not me?"

"Payback for that one day sister. At least I didn't throw you out the window," he retorted.

"If she's your sister mate then that means she's off limits," Remus muttered, getting a glare from Sirius.

"That's a story I want to hear," Mr. Potter said. "It sounds like you're more like the boys than we thought."

"You have no idea," the three said at the same time.

"James, go get Peter," Mrs. Potter said. "before Sirius loses what little patience he has left." James ran up the stairs. Lily scooted over and took James' spot next to me.

"Good morning Nik," she said, hugging me.

"You too Lil," I replied.

"You'll enjoy Christmas," Tonks piped up from beside Remus. "It's actually fun. Especially when you have me and Lily here to celebrate it with you."

I chuckled. "Couldn't picture it any other way." Just then James appeared with a sleepy-eyed Peter.

"Alright!" Mrs. Potter said. "I think Nike should open the first present."

"I'll hand presents out," Lily offered, jumping up from the couch.

"You're a good girl," Mrs. Potter said. "James couldn't have chosen any better." Both Lily and James blushed, but each said nothing.

Lily picked up a red present from under the tree and handed it to me.

"S'from me!" Tonks exclaimed happily, barely able to keep herself in her seat.

"It's very pretty paper Tonks," I said truthfully. For some odd reason, everyone laughed really hard at that, even Peter. I just sat there, confused.

"Well," Sirius said finally. "We all know you're a genius and all that…"

"Sirius! Be nice! It's Christmas," Mrs. Potter said through her laughs.

"...but you're supposed to open it," Sirius explained.

"That explains a lot," I said sarcastically. Sirius reached across me and tore at the paper, ripping it, revealing something black.

"Now you take it out of the paper and see what it is," Sirius finished explaining.

I took it out and it unfolded, revealing a very long black coat that would probably even drag the ground on me.

"It's a trench coat," Tonks said, unable to keep her mouth shut. "They're very comfortable and useful. Not to mention it will probably make you even more intimidating. With looks, anyways."

"Like that's something she needs to be," James muttered jokingly.

"Thanks Tonks!" I said, ignoring James' comment. "I love it!" And I really did. At school the teachers would probably be fighting with me because I would be in my trench coat instead of my robes. I liked it that much. Tonks, who was thinking the same as me, and I smiled at the thought.

Lily then tossed one at James. James looked at the tag and then looked up, stunned.

"You actually got me something? You know you didn't have to."

Lily avoided his gaze. "I know. Just open it Potter."

Smirking, James did as he was told. Inside was a couple of books, one about the best pranks of all times and the other about Quidditch. There was also some Honeydukes candy too. James' face was priceless.

"Th–thanks," he stuttered. "I didn't think…"

"I listen to you sometimes when you talk," Lily teased.

"Okkaayy lovebirds," Sirius said. "Some of us want to see what else is under that tree." Sirius received glares from everyone in the room except the adults, who chuckled.

"I'm just sayin," Sirius grumbled.

"Here Tonks," Lily said. "It's from Nike." Tonks, mocking me, I'm sure, very slowly and awkwardly opened the package and pulled out a black bracelet that said Best Commentator in the World on it. She laughed joyously.

"Glad you think so Nik!" she said.

"It'll help with your balance and coordination too, I made sure I added that. And if you want the words change, tap it with your wand saying what you want it to say, and it'll change, right before your eyes, like magic," I said, grinning.

Tonks stared at me openmouthed. "You made this?"

"Well yeah—"

Tonks threw her arms around me. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed.

"No—problem—" I got out. "Can't—breathe—"

"Right. Sorry," she said, sitting on the arm of the chair that Remus was in, putting her bracelet on.

An hour later I had gotten a bunch of really great stuff from my "family", and they in turn had gotten really great stuff (including from me). Two of my favorite gifts I'd picked out had been the potions set, book, and ingredients I'd gotten for Lily, and a book of extremely rare and complicated potions for Remus, which included a potion and the ingredients for the potion that would keep him sane during the full moon. I also liked how I'd wrapped James' present; when he'd untied the ribbon and lifted the lid, it had exploded in his face. We'd all gotten a good laugh at that. Now, there were only three presents left.

"They're all for…Nike," Lily said, glancing at the tags. She tossed one to me, which, of course, I caught easily. It was from Sirius. I glanced at him, but he wasn't looking at me. Strange…

"If I open it, what's going to pop out and bite me?" I asked. James snickered and Remus tried to hide his smile. They obviously knew what was in the small package.

Sirius rolled his eyes at me. "I don't know. Your worst fear ever."

I'm sure I paled a little bit. "How do you know…"

"Oh, so you are afraid of something?" he taunted.

"Well, yes, actually," I muttered.

"What is it?" James asked eagerly. I glared at him.

"C'mon Nik. You can trust us. We're all friends and family here," Remus said, knowing exactly what buttons to push.

"Spiders," I grumbled softly.

"What did you just say?" Sirius asked, leaning in closer to me.

"Well, if you must know," I whispered softly into his ear. "SPIDERS!" I replaced my soft whisper with a loud scream. He jumped and leaned away.

"Gods girl!" he exclaimed, covering his ears. "What'd you do that for?" The others were laughing, not at me for my fear, but at Sirius for, well, being Sirius.

"You are afraid of spiders?" James laughed.

"Yeah. Got a problem with it?" I demanded, pouting.

"No…but you being you and…who you are…I never would have guessed," he replied, shrugging.

"Open your present Nike before Sirius decides to take it back," Lily warned, trying not to smile.

"Yeah, 'cause you never know…you might like what's inside," Tonks said.

"Right," I said, and I carefully tore at the wrapping, still afraid something was going to jump out at me (like spiders…ugh, I'm shuddering inwardly at the thought!). I was amazed at what I found inside. It was a silver necklace that had a thick circular pendant attached on it. Swirling designs etched in black covered the surface, and right in the middle, a dagger or sword seemed to be stabbing downwards through it all. It was beautiful.

"It's a locket!" Lily gasped to Tonks, louder than she'd meant to be.

"In a way—" Remus started to say.

"Ssh!" James cut his friend off. "Let Sirius explain. This could be interesting."

"Well, umm…" Sirius fidgeted with the paper that had covered the black box that the locket had been in. "It, um, Remus, James, and I put an enchantment on it…and you still put pictures in it…it's just whosever picture is inside of it…the pictures, when you want it to, will morph into the image of the person as they are then…and you'll be able to talk to them, as well as see them. It…uh, the person or people will feel this tugging sensation in their minds, and they'll kind of here your voice calling to them…and then part or all of their minds will be drug into the conversation; them seeing you through the locket and you seeing them in the locket."

There was absolute silence.

Sirius, who had been looking everywhere but at me, finally made himself look me in the eyes. As soon as he did, I jumped on him and gave him a huge hug.

"Thanks so much Sirius! It's amazing!" I whispered to him. "I never knew something like that was possible…or that you could make it for that matter…"

He chuckled. "We're both full of surprises, aren't we?"

"I guess so." I sat back next to him, smiling up at him.

"Here, let me." He took the necklace from my hands and fastened it around my neck. "Uh, you look…nice."

James, Remus, and Tonks laughed while Lily raised her eyebrows. But they all said nothing, including Mr. and Mrs. Potter who exchanged smiles. Peter just stared at us in awe.

I'm pretty sure I blushed, although I don't know why. He was just trying to be nice for once…

"Ahem," Tonks coughed. "I really hate to interrupt…but you have two more gifts here Mrs. Bl—" Her words were cut off when a pillow hit her in her face. Surprisingly, or should I say not so surprisingly, it was me who threw it.

"Oooo, this one's from your other boyfriend Nik!" Lily said, smiling slyly.

"Gary?" I asked, groaning. "I'd told him not to get me anything!"

"Did you get him something?" Tonks asked.

"Umm…"

"Did he tell you not to?" Lily questioned.

"Umm…"

"Well there you have it," Tonks said, leaning back on the chair arm that she sat on. "Now open it so you can see what you have to kill Napier over."

I reluctantly opened that package and took out—

"Oh Merlin! Is that what I think it is?" Tonks and James exclaimed at the same time, jumping to their feet.

"Is that a ticket for a professional Quidditch game this summer?" James asked.

"For who?"

"Greece and…the U.S.?"

"That should be a great game!" Tonks said dreamily. "I've been wanting to go… You're so lucky."

"What's the U.S.?" I asked.

"Another country overseas. They've got a pretty good Quidditch team for just being introduced to the world professional league a few years ago," James, the Quidditch brainiac, said.

"And I get to go to the game? This summer?" I asked.

"That's what it looks like!" Tonks said, excited. "You get to go to Greece to see it! It's gonna nominate who gets to go in the World Cup next summer!"

"World Cup?"

"Only the best Quidditch teams with the best Quidditch players get to compete against each other for the title of the best in the world," James said, sighing dreamily.

"And I get to go?"

"Obviously. You and Napier both," Tonks said. "Man, I wish he was my friend."

"Okay, well, moving on," Sirius said, grinning slightly.

Lily handed me the last present stiffly, the gentle and excited smile gone from her face. I froze in shock when I saw who it was from.

Regulus A. Black

James, aside from Lily and me, was the first person to notice we both seemed grim, and who the package was from. And he noticed this all through his Quidditch World Cup dreaming haze. Scary, huh?

"What. The. Hell!" he yelled.

"James," his parents snapped.

"Sorry," he muttered, but he'd gotten everyone else's attention.

Sirius snatched the package away from me. "Oh Merlin," he said. "Please don't let this be what I think it is." He looked at me. "Do you mind if I open it for you…just in case my suspicions are right."

"S–sure," I stuttered, warily handing it over. Sirius tore through the paper, opened a box, and there laid an emerald green stone with the Black Family Crest (which was a black shield with two greyhounds rampant charged with a white v-shaped symbol, two five-pointed stars, a short sword, and at the bottom of the shield written in a curved banner were the French words Toujours pur ) carved into it.

"The bastard! What game does he think he's playing?" Sirius looked at James, and then at Remus. Peter cowered at the anger in his voice while Mr. and Mrs. Potter decided that was the time to 'go start breakfast'.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked. "Besides for the fact that it's from Regulus."

"It–it's a pureblood tradition that when you ask a girl you really like or might even love out that you give them a stone or jewel that has your family crest carved into it. When and if, although it's always almost most likely, they get married, the girl gives the stone or jewel back and it's made into a ring. But the thing is," Sirius continued when Lily started to say 'Well that's not too bad then, she could always say no…'. "Once she touches it, she'll be doomed to Regulus. That's the twist to it. Once the 'victim', in this case, no offense Nik, touches it, there's like this…contract. She'll have to stay with him, unless, and I can guarantee you this wouldn't happen with him, he takes it back from her, breaking it off."

"Holy fucking crap," Tonks muttered.

"Hey! Language in there!" Mrs. Potter called from the kitchen in a stern voice. Everybody trailed off, lost in their own thoughts.

"Lily, can I talk to you alone, for a minute?" James asked suddenly, looking a bit nervous.

Lily looked startled, but she said, "Uh, sure. We won't miss anything. Nike isn't going to agree to go with that monster."

"Right," I said as they walked out of the house. "Lighten up some Sirius. It's never gonna happen with me and your brother, okay?"

He smiled cockily. "But of course. Especially when there's much better choices around here."

"Actually…give me that rock Sirius. I may have changed my mind…" I said, reaching for the stone.

Sirius, taking me completely serious, jumped up and threw it in the fire. Everyone watched it get hotter and hotter, until, strangely, it exploded.

"Much better," Sirius sighed, sitting back down on the couch. Just then the front door opened and Lily came in, flushed, with James right behind her, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Wh—"

Lily looked at me, and then at Tonks, and then said, "James Potter just asked me out." Remus and Sirius didn't look surprised, but Tonks and I were.

"James, give it a rest," Tonks groaned. "It's Christmas, for crying-out-loud!"

"What'd you say Evans?" Sirius asked, a bored look on his face. Remus looked sympathetic.

"Well, I kinda…said…" Her face broke into the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her face. "…yes."

There was silence, and then Sirius and Remus started yelling at the same time at James (although I understood none of it because I was lost in my own thoughts), Peter clapped his hands and smiled, and Tonks jumped up and stared at Lily like she was on crack.

"He gave me a promise ring and everything," Lily was telling Tonks and me excitedly, holding out her left hand so we could see a dark purple stone encased in a gold band. Looking at the ring, Lily, and then James, I was amazed.

"Sorry, what was that Nike?" Remus asked, turning away from James to glance at me.

I grinned wickedly at James, and then at Lily. "I said…there really are Christmas miracles."

A/N: Well, this was fun to write! Yes, I know, I know, James and Lily originally never dated until seventh year and blah blah blah… But remember; this ISN'T the original story, and it also DOESN'T follow along with how everything went.

Anyways…my thank-you's for reviewing:

Daughter of Chaos 98: Thank you SOO much for your two reviews! Everybody better thank her for these two chapters!

Anyways… Yes, it's like a magical passageway…but no. See…when Nike is around magical objects that have, say, been dormant or even put out so they can't be used again, the magic that was once inside the object(s) will flare up and become active again. I'm not going to explain more than that, but I didn't want you to be too confused (even though my explanation probably just confused you even more!)

And I KNOW! I absolutely HATE shopping AND the color pink! Haha, we're alike, me, you, and Nik! ;) Thanks for the reviews!

So, everybody else out there who I KNOW is reading and not reviewing, think about this: it's not really fair to me if I put chapters up for all of you (well…and for me, but that's beside the point), and not even half of you review. C'mon! We're nearing the end of this book! I don't care what you say! Just leave a review telling me SOMETHING! Thanks! XD

Nike