Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Yes, I know, I'm really really late. Again. And I'm really sorry! But the next update will be sooner, I promise. And it will have Sirius' POV! Also, get ready for some RemusXAudrey fluff in this chapter :3

Chapter – Animals and Marauders

For a moment all movement was suspended. My eyes, which were the size of bludgers by now, stared at the two animals, and they stared back with an, ahem, deer in the headlights expression.

Unconsciously, my mind registered the fact that they were completely decked up in Christmas paraphernalia. Small fairy lights entangled in the deer's antlers and a big red bulb on his nose, while the dog had a red collar with each edge lined with multi-coloured fairy lights and a miniature Christmas tree hanging from the middle.

The stand-off ended with the sound of skin thwacking against skin, making me jump and I whirled to see Remus's palm covering his face.

"Uhhh Remus?" I squeaked.

It seemed to physically pain him to remove his hand from his face and he took an inordinate amount of time to raise his eyes to mine. "I am sorry Audrey, you weren't supposed to see this."

I opened my mouth but couldn't think of what to say. The sound of movement made me whip my head back towards the animals, my wand extended. It seemed that both of them had taken a step forward but froze in their places when they met my gaze, one foreleg each in front of the other.

"Audrey," my gaze flipped back to Remus, he was approaching me cautiously with his hands outstretched and palms up.

I wasn't scared of animals as a rule; it was just the closed space that was making me twitchy, and apparently I was the one being treated as the skittish animal in this scene by Remus as well as the animals themselves. Even now, when I looked out of the corner of my eye, they were doing their best imitation of a statue but their wary eyes were trained on me.

"Audrey," Remus repeated, "you don't have to be scared."

"I am not," I said but the slight trembling of the hand that held my wand betrayed me. Remus was kind enough not to point it out. But I felt the need to clarify, "No, honestly, they just surprised me. I like dogs; I have one myself, Brownie, but a dog and a deer? Inside Hogwarts? You have gotta admit, this kind of thing is unusual even by Hogwarts' standards."

"Its a stag," Remus corrected me unconsciously. I raised my eyebrows at him, and the 'stag' let out a snort, Remus hurried on, "but this is kind of usual for us."

Usual? I mouthed. The animals unfroze, the stag started pawing the rug and let out little snorts while the dog started letting out small barks.

Remus spoke hastily over these noises, "Its a Marauder thing," at this both the stag and the dog took collective steps forward, their noises increasing in volume. I pointed my wand at them, and they retraced their steps, hastily. Remus moved, placing himself between us, his back to them and his palms outstretched in a placating gesture towards me.

"Remus-" I tried to manoeuvre myself so that I had a clear sight and aim of the animals, but Remus was having none of it.

"Audrey. Audrey," he placed his hands on my arms when I tried to find an opening beneath his underarm to aim, "listen to me, its a prank."

I finally shifted my focus to him.

"We do something like this every Christmas," he continued, his stare holding mine captive, "there's no need to be scared, its James', Sirius' and Peter's version of saying Merry Christmas. They would never," he hesitated a bit here then plunged on, "they would never hurt someone on purpose."

His hesitations made me wary but then when I looked towards the stag and the dog I saw that they had quietened and were doing their best to take up as less space as possible, while giving me large innocent eyes.

I bit my lip in contemplation, it was just like the Marauders to have a weird Christmas tradition. "Okay, if you say so." I gave a slight nod and his bunched shoulders loosened. "But what will you do with them now? Are you going to keep them?"

He let his hands slide from my shoulders slowly, leaving a trail of warmth on my arms, in their wake. He turned to inspect the subjects in question, one hand still touching the end of my sweater sleeve.

I tried not to make any unnecessary movements to jostle it; I think he was doing the same.

"We could keep the dog, and release the stag into the forbidden forest. But how will we get them out of here? Filch will still be patrolling, I don't think he understands the concept of Christmas." I mused.

Feeling the weight of a gaze on me I looked up to see Remus staring at me with an eyebrow and the parallel corner of a mouth tilted up. "We are not going to be doing anything. I am sure those three must have an escape plan. While I will escort you to your dorm and hope that by the time I come back these two will be gone," he directed the last loudly, over his shoulder to the two animals and they seemed to grunt in answer. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at Remus, he just shrugged.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he curled his hand around mine; his fingers were long and calloused and unusually hot against my own.

A pleasant warmth surfaced in my stomach. I glanced back at the dog and the stag even as Remus started in the direction of the door, they stared back at me.

I gave a mental shrug and followed Remus out of the Gryffindor common room.

We walked quietly through the halls, Remus was quite certain on which corridors to take to avoid Filch. He didn't drop my hand till we were near the kitchens, "I'll leave you here then," he said but didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

We dawdled there, neither willing to leave first. Finally he bent his head and swiftly, before I could even brace myself, planted a chaste kiss on my cheek. "Happy Christmas, Audrey Westfall," and with that he fairly ran back to his common room.

My breath hitched and I stared at the corner where he had disappeared with wide eyes. A giddy smile stretched my lips and I lifted a hand to touch my cheek, the touch of his lips had been too fleeting to leave an impression but I fancied that I could still feel them there.

It was a happy Christmas indeed.

A/N: Pleeeeeeeeaseeeeee Review!