"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY!"

"That's my line."

I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow.

Ouch

We'd finally made it back from Hogsmede frozen, exhausted and more than a little tipsy. I'd have been happy lying in a bubbly bath with a good book for an hour or two but Sirius had had other ideas.

Sirius, keyed up on butterbeer and firewhiskey, had been in all out party mode and hadn't let me stop dancing until about 3am when I'd threatened to charm all his laces to tie themselves together every time he tried to go down a flight of stairs. Having finally got the message we'd collapsed into bed and I'd passed out from exhaustion about 30 seconds later.

Sirius stripped the covers off me and sat up, yanking me up with him too. Blame my pounding head, sleep deprivation or lack of coffee or any other plausible explanation you can think of but I buried my head in his chest and groaned. I could just tell that he was staring down at me in utter confusion but his shirt was soft and his stomach was comfy and I couldn't think straight.

I definitely need coffee.

"Knew you couldn't resist me Twinkle."

Way to kill the moment

I groaned in response and buried my head deeper into his chest. I felt like I'd been run over by the Knight Bus. I heard him laugh through the fog my brain was making to try and block out the pain and then one of his hands stroking my messy hair, smoothing out the tangles.

Why couldn't Sirius be nice like this all the time?

And why doesn't he like me like James likes Lily?

Why does being an hormonal teenage witch have to be so damn complicated?

I' m not sure how long we just sat there but after a while the pounding in my head subsided long enough for me to sit up properly and rub my face. Even with my back to his I could tell he was watching me.

I yawned. "So what's the plan for today?"

He stretched out one hand and pulled my face around so I was looking at him.

He cracked a grin I can only describe as evil.

"Snowball fight!"

I groaned

0o0o0o

"I still can't believe your making me do this." Lily scowled at me as we walked down with the Marauders to the courtyard.

I held my hands up in surrender, "It's Marauder tradition apparently."

"It's so totally obvious that Black just made that up to get you to side with him."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Oh."

"Uhuh."

I changed tack at about the speed of a snitch, "You wouldn't leave me to be torn apart by the Marauder's by myself would you?"

"You're right, that way I wouldn't get my Christmas present."

I shoved her good naturedly with my shoulder and then walked into the back of Sirius who had stopped without my noticing.

"Ooof"

Sirius caught me automatically (over the last week our reflexes had got pretty good because of all the falling over I did) and twirled me around before dipping me. I caught Lily's knowing smirk and untangled myself.

"So teams?" James looked, well, like a kid at Christmas.

"Normal teams?" Peter piped up from where he was stuffing the last of some sort of food into his mouth.

"Yes Pete except the girls will have to split up. Arty will have to go with Sirius and-"

"Why does Arty have to go on Sirius's team?"

Is he really this stupid or does he just pretend so James and Sirius take pity on him?

"Because I'm stuck to him Peter. Remember?"

He flushed, "Oh yeah,"

James shot Peter a look and continued, "And Lily will have to come with me, okay?"

This was more aimed at Lily than anyone else but she nodded and actually smiled at him. I swear his jaw dropped at least a foot.

She giggled slightly and blushed, James messed up his hair nervously. Sirius and I just stared dumbfounded at each other.

"Are we just going to spend valuable snowballing time staring at each other or are we actually going to get a fight in before it's too dark to see anyone?"

James tore his eyes away from Lily and shook his head slightly. "Right, sorry Remus,"

"Don't bother apologising, I'm just standing here in an awkward silence here."

"Okay, okay!"

Remus rolled his eyes and flicked his wand at a pile of snow, making it fly towards James, getting him straight in the face. He spluttered and gasped then grabbed a handful off the floor by his feet, lobbing it at Remus, but missing and getting me in the stomach. I doubled over under the pretence of being winded but instead seized a handful, stuffing it down the back of Sirius's jacket.

He responded like any sane person by running round in circles, screaming at the top of his lungs.

And really, it pretty much went on from there.

Peter fell forwards into a pile of slush and just lay there with his bum in the air. Lily was chasing James around the courtyard, snow dripping from her hair. I sheltered behind Sirius as he and Remus exchanged rapid fire before Lily got me from behind and Sirius and I were standing back to back defending against all of them, any team alliances gone completely.

It was every witch for themselves.

Then the largest snowball yet flew over Remus's head, lobbed his way by Sirius and aided by the charm I had cast on it, soared through the air, further than any other snow ball had gone...And landed, smack!, in Minnie's face.

Awwh Dragon bogies!

"Detention Mr Black, Miss Di Angelo, tomorrow my office."

"B-b-but Professor," I spluttered. "It was an accident, and it's Christmas Eve tomorr-"

"I don't care! You cannot throw a snowball, even if it had gone further than any snowball before, at a member of staff and expect to get away with it."

"But-but-but-"

"Anymore buts and I'll transfigure you into a goat. Now GO INSIDE!"

0o0o0o

"You do know this is all your fault don't you?" I asked Sirius conversationally, the next day as we walked down towards McGonagall's office.

"yep."

That wasn't the answer I was expecting.

"Huh?"

"Whenever I get put in detention with someone, usually James, they always blame me. It's tradition."

"Right."

"Don't worry, I didn't get it for the first 6 years of school either."

"That's all right then."

The clock behind us chimed 10 o clock and I pushed open the door, little knowing that when I came out my life would have changed forever...