James left the shower after spending a significant amount of time fixing his hair. He then approached Sirius who was standing over his open trunk, eyes unfocused.

"You ready to go?" James asked, breaking him out of his stupor with a start.

"Yeah, I think I have everything." Sirius said, shaking off his anxiety with his usual plastered-on smile. He slammed his trunk lid shut, as James considered whether or not he should say something.

"Good. Come on." James said, deciding that he would at least give Sirius the chance to work it out for himself before pushing him to talk about it if he wasn't ready.
The boys headed down to the common room where Remus and Peter were waiting, their trunks at their feet. Sirius yawned.

"Why does the train have to come so early?" He asked, pulling on his leather jacket over the jumper, evidently too tired to have noticed his effort to stay warm despite losing the coolness factor.
"The sooner we leave the sooner we get home to Mum's cookies Pads."

James said, wistfully breaking off with the memories of his mother's cooking.

"I'm with Sirius," Peter said yawning as well, "As much as I miss Mum it's not like I'd be seeing her any earlier if the train left at 10."
James shrugged, having always been an early bird by nature, and the group finally made it down to the main lobby where the vast majority of the school were standing around, yawning, and waiting for the carriages to take them to Hogsmeade station.

"Hey Mary, Susan." James said, addressing each of them in turn.

"Hey James." They said together, looking down with a slight blush.

"Where's Evans?"

"Sleeping. She's staying at Hogwarts for the break, didn't you know?"

James looked up with shock at that.

"Staying? Why?"
"Um…" Mary began, looking at Susan.

"It's just…"
"She doesn't want to go home and have to deal with her sister. Marlene's staying with her though; she'll be fine."

Alice spoke up from behind James, having overheard the last bit of the conversation. Alice didn't like to mince words like Mary and Susan, preferring to cut straight to the point no matter how unpleasant.

James paused, thinking about that, and glancing over at George who was laughing with a couple older Ravenclaws. He suddenly felt himself beginning to boil over with rage. How dare he leave Lily behind at Christmas no less? As the group made their way towards the exit James couldn't help himself, he shot a muttered "Diffindo" at the bag George held over his back, splitting it right at the seam. A large number of books and papers, as well as ink pots fell out over each other and James ignored the sour looks shot his way by Lily's friends, marching forward with his head held high.

Lily woke up, happy at first, having had a most pleasant dream. Then she remembered why she was still in her four poster at Hogwarts, and not lying in her small twin bed back home with her mom kissing her forehead to wake her. A frown overtook her normally happy countenance, until she turned to Marlene, lying in the bed next to hers, and her smile returned. Marlene had insisted on staying when she found out Lily wasn't going home for Christmas.

"I'll have a lifetime of boring old Christmas with mum and dad, when am I going to get to spend another Christmas alone in this castle with my best friend?" She had said. "Besides, Thomas is going to be unbearable. You know how he and dad get talking about the bank…"

"Yeah, don't remind me." Lily said, pulling Marlene in for a tight hug because she knew that for all her talk Marlene loved her family more than anything, and the only reason she was staying was because she knew Lily really needed her to. The others would have stayed as well, but Mary's family already didn't love magic, and Susan's was taking a trip to Prague for the break.

Alice for her part had invited Lily to stay at her place, but Lily had protested, saying:

"It's yours and Frank's first Christmas together Alice I'm not going to get in the way of that. I'll be fine."

And as for George:

"Lily, of course I'll stay I won't have you spending Christmas alone."
"George, your father has done this trip for each one of your brothers. I know how important it is to you."
"We can do it next year, or even over the summer. You've already been through so much this year Lils."

He said, tracing his thumb over her cheek. She grabbed his hands in her own, looking into his eyes as she made her next point.
"And I promise you I'll have a horrible Christmas if I know you're staying here when you could be on your big manhood trip with your dad."

She said this last part with a sarcastic lilt, and he chuckled, but then frowned still looking guilty.

"I don't want to leave you." He said, in a last-ditch effort to convince her, but Lily had made up her mind.

"George, Marlene's staying with me, I'll be fine. Please don't worry about me. Enjoy your trip."

She pulled him in for a long kiss and George smiled into it resting his forehead against hers.

"I'll write you every day." He said.
"Promise?" Lily asked, pulling him in for another kiss by the front of his robes.

He smiled again kissing her with fervor before pulling back to get one last look at her.

"Promise."

"Good. Now go on, get some rest, you've got an early start tomorrow." Lily said turning backwards towards Gryffindor tower.

"Lily."
George said, causing her to turn back.

"Yes?"
"I-I love you." He stammered the words out, his nerves getting the best of him as he waited for her response.

She smiled lightly, biting her lip with uncertainty, before finally saying: "I love you too."

The smile on George's face could have lit up Azkaban, and Lily tried to ignore the pang of guilt in her stomach knowing that she really wasn't sure about her response. George smiled sheepishly, before finally turning around, on his way back to Ravenclaw tower on the other side of the school, his confession carrying him the whole walk there. Lily, on the other hand, felt as though she was slugging her way up the final staircase to the Portrait of the Fat Lady.

She halfheartedly muttered: "Holly Bush", which was the password for the Christmas season, and made her way up to her room.

Marlene was already snoring in her bed, taking a much-needed rest after a week of exams preceding the Christmas holidays. Lily, however, was wide awake. She meant what she said to George about his trip. She knew how important it was to him, but a small guilty part of her couldn't help but feel angry that he still chose it over spending the holidays with her. She knew that wasn't fair, after all she had insisted, but if he really loved her as he claimed than why wouldn't he postpone the thing, no matter how important it was to his family?

She knew that his three older brothers had all gone on the trip with his father in their final year of Hogwarts, a trip around Europe over the Christmas holidays to explore the opportunities that the rest of their continent held. George wanted to be a master potioneer, as his father was before him, along with the older two of his brothers. His third brother, Michael, on the other hand was twenty-one years old and the rebel of the family. He had chosen a career in the capturing of dark creatures that had wandered into muggle areas. He worked closely with the ministry, which gave him some esteem, but Lily knew his profession had been seen as a bit of a letdown for George's father. He wanted his sons to accomplish great things, and George suspected it was largely because their mother left shortly after he was born. She was a muggle, and evidently had found raising four wizard children to be too much responsibility for her. As a result, his father only wanted the best out of them.

Lily was broken out of her musings from the night before by Marlene shouting:

"I get first in the shower!"

She ran to it before Lily had a chance to protest and Lily just chuckled, preferring an afternoon spent in bed anyway. Lying in her bed, mind in a thousand different directions, Lily couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something. She shrugged, turning to a book on her nightstand to occupy her while she waited for her turn in the shower.

Meanwhile, George Fisher was sitting on the train among his friends, his large grey owl fast asleep in its cage above their heads, its daily message to Lily having been forgotten for the first time in two months.

About two compartments over James Potter could not keep his mind off Sirius, whose leg had been bouncing since they boarded the train an hour prior. He finally took a chance, putting his hand on the leg to steady it, and trying to get Sirius to quit avoiding his eyes.

"You alright mate?" He asked, drawing the attention of Remus and Peter who had been wrapped up in their own conversation about the coming holiday.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sirius said, looking out of the window to avoid his friends' prying eyes.
The boys looked at him with suspicion, so he sighed and settled for picking at a hole in his jeans while he voiced his concerns.

"It's just…my first Christmas without the Black family Christmas party. All the pomp and circumstance of it all," he said with a hint of bitterness in his tone before turning to sadness, "and it's just weird I guess."

"Sirius, why would you want to go to that lame stuffy party anyway?" James asked, elbowing Peter to try and get some support.

"Um, yeah, it's the same thing every year Padfoot and you always complain about how miserable it makes you." Peter said.

"And besides you know the Potter Christmas party is 100 times better than the Black one."
"Yeah, I know." Sirius said, thinking back on all the positive memories that the Potter Christmas party had given him over the years.

"So, picture that, but instead of having to leave my place before Christmas Day, you get to stay. We don't have our party on Christmas for a reason Padfoot, Christmas is about family, and that's you, now. So quit worrying."

Sirius looked at James with the utmost affection, feeling lighter than he had in days. He didn't want to admit how much his first official Christmas at the Potters had been weighing on him. But he knew that with James Potter by his side, a twinkle of mischief in his hazel eyes, professing only the deepest support and love, there was nothing that he couldn't face. But instead of saying all that and making a fool of himself, Sirius just said:

"Yeah, whatever Prongs. So long as your mother keeps that Christmas fudge coming, I'm sure it can't be too bad."

James chuckled, turning his attention to the snow coming down outside the train window, while Sirius put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes to take a much-needed nap. All four boys ended up drifting off by the time the train arrived at Platform 9 ¾ five hours later. They were awoken to the shrill sound of the train whistle, and all made their way groggily onto the platform, lugging their trunks behind them. James and Sirius approached James' father who had come to pick them up and gave them each a hug in greeting. He shook both Remus and Peters' hands before their own parents caught their attention, and they turned to say one last goodbye before they saw each other again for James' Christmas party in about a week.

"Alright, well we'll see you at the Christmas party James." Remus said, hesitating before pulling him in for a hug.

James returned the hug with a smile while Sirius made kissy noises in the background. Remus jumped forward grabbing him by the hair and forcing him into a hug as well, saying:

"I'll miss you too Padfoot." To great protest from his frustrated friend.

James snickered, saying: "Bye Remus," turning next to Peter and pulling him into a hug before he could say no, "Bye Wormtail, be well alright?"
"Yeah thanks Prongs, I'll see you next week."

"Yeah." James pulled away, and the four boys parted ways Sirius traveling with James and his father for his first real Christmas. He hoped it would be a good one.

James and Sirius arrived at home, with James still having to side-apparate with his father, about a quarter after six. Euphemia Potter was waiting on the front porch, and pulled each of them in for tight hugs and kisses on each cheek which James wiped off in feaux disgust while Sirius just beamed.

"Boys! I'm so happy to see you. Did you have a good term?"
"Yes Mum. It was just like any other term, not anything special."
"Here, I made those cookies you love Sirius and Shepard's pie. And you really should bring all your stuff upstairs…"

"Give them a minute to breath Euphie."

Fleamont said with an endearing smile. But Euphemia didn't pause for a moment.

"Oh, come on it's been three months I want to hear everything." She said, glancing between the two boys as they took their seats at the dinner table, and she started spooning out servings of Shepard's pie.

"Let's see, good marks in everything but herbology which is a bunch of bullocks anyway…"

"Language, James." Fleamont interrupted him.

"Sorry Dad, um…"

"Oh, James mucked up the first quidditch match, but you guys already saw that."

Sirius said with a smile. James hit Sirius on the arm shooting him a devious look:

"Well, Sirius screamed like a little girl when he thought he saw a spider in his bed. Turns out it was made of rubber, and Wormtail put it in there."

At that, Sirius jumped on James and started wrestling him, knocking both of their plates to the ground with a loud crash.

"Boys." Fleamont said in a voice that was probably supposed to be scolding but came off more amused.

"Ratting me out for a Wormtail prank, that is a low blow Potter." Sirius said as he held James in a headlock and started in on a noogey.
"Hey, watch the hair!"

"Tough luck you'll be bald once I'm through with you." Sirius said laughing before James managed to get the upper hand pinning him to the ground while his parents looked on with mild amusement. Euphemia rolled her eyes, sipping on her tea with a shake of her head, while Fleamont began calling out encouragement to whoever was on top to spur on the competition.

Meanwhile, Sirius' other brother was sitting in the cold silence of a far too empty house. His parents were cutting up their steak and kidney pie made specially by Kreacher for Regulus' return. But Regulus wasn't hungry. His mind was far away partially hoping that Sirius was having a good time with his chosen family, while a small part of him bitterly resented being abandoned to the oppressive darkness of their blood.

Lily and Marlene found the days leading up to Christmas to be a nice break from all of the work they'd been doing for so long. And George did keep his promise, writing Lily every day (apart from that first morning) with a quote as usual followed by a piece of lengthy prose describing his adventures with his father across the European continent. Lily was happy for him and wrote him back with fervor, describing hers and Marlene's days spent lounging around in the Gryffindor common room. They only bothered leaving in order to get food (sometimes from the Great Hall, sometimes from the kitchens) or to go outside and play in the snow with the handful of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who had also stayed behind. One of the boys, a fifth year Ravenclaw named Bertram Aubrey, was actually quite clever, having invented a spell to launch snowballs with precision accuracy from at least 50 feet. He was just beginning to describe a new idea he had to use this spell for fighting during wartime when she was hit by a counterattack from Marlene and the Hufflepuff third year cutting him off.

"Well, I think that was a productive day, don't you?"
Marlene asked Lily, flopping down in the armchair by the fire in order to thaw after a long day spent out in the cold.

"Yes, I would say so." Lily replied, boiling some water over the fire in her tea kettle before pouring it into two cups with teabags for herself and Marlene.

"You and that Ravenclaw bloke were getting quite cozy."
Marlene teased, to which Lily just rolled her eyes.

"Mar, you know I'm dating George, just because Sirius is too obsessed with skirt-chasing to settle down doesn't mean every guy prefers an open relationship."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that Lils. Any guy sees a skirt he'll be chasing it, not just Sirius."

The conversation lulled as Lily took a sip of her tea. She glanced at Marlene who was contentedly watching the flames spark and hiss before speaking up again.

"He told me he loved me."

Marlene did a double take, before turning to Lily and squealing loud enough to wake the whole tower had anyone else been there.

"Lily, that's huge!" She went to grab her arm before noticing Lily's guarded expression. "Why don't you seem happy?"

Lily bit her lip, trying to find the right words.

"I said it back, but I'm not sure I really meant it. Do you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, of course. I'm not sure I really love Sirius, but he's fun to be around and even funner to mess around with and…"
"Yeah, I get it Mar. I just thought George and I were more serious than…"

"Me and Sirius? Ironic." Marlene said with a smirk to which Lily smacked her with a pillow in reply.

"Oh, shut up. He's a great guy and he cares about me, and we can talk about anything, academics, art, culture…"

"But?" Marlene interrupted, sensing the missing piece in Lily's ranting.

"I don't know." Lily said. She bit her lip again, harder this time trying to stop her thoughts from wandering to muscular quidditch players with stupidly intoxicating cologne.

Marlene just smirked knowingly into her tea, and Lily looked away, blushing furiously at how obvious she was being. As much as she cared for George it wasn't fair to him to keep this ruse up. But it was Christmastime at Hogwarts, there was a scent of fresh pine in the air, crisp white snow was falling outside the Gryffindor tower window, and she was sitting in front of a fire with a warm cup of tea and her best friend by her side. Right now, she could afford to push her doubts to the back of her mind and just enjoy life as it came.

Back at the Potter mansion enjoying life as it came was coming far easier to the Marauders. It was December 22nd, and the annual Potter Christmas party was scheduled to begin at 7 PM that evening. Fleamont always upheld the family tradition of holding the party a few days before Christmas so as to keep it in the spirit but still give everyone time to celebrate the regular holiday with their families.

"Moony, we've missed you!" was the first thing Sirius shouted as Remus came walking up the road, an overnight bag slung over his shoulder. He nearly fell backwards with the intensity at which Sirius crashed into him, squeezing him so tight that his bag slipped out of his grip, and he began to pat Sirius on the back in an attempt to signal for him to let go.

"Padfoot, please don't suffocate Mooney before he gets his party on."

James said, approaching his friends from behind with his trademark smirk on his face.

He looked behind Remus and shouted to the next two people approaching:

"Hey Wormtail! Hello, Mrs. Pettigrew." He greeted Peter with a quick side hug, and Peter's mother with a kiss to her hand. She blushed at that, hiding her giggles behind a stern demeanor.

"Oh, James Potter you…scoundrel."

"Scoundrel? That's a new one Prongsy." Sirius said from his spot next to Remus, having finally released him to Remus' great relief.

"And why you boys insist on using those silly nicknames is beyond me." Peter's mother said for what must have been the hundredth time.

The boys chuckled at that, Peter just looking down in embarrassment as James spoke up.

"It's an inside joke Mrs. Pettigrew."
She huffed in disapproval at her son's silly choice in friends before turning to Peter.

"Now, you be good until I get here later tonight, understand? I don't want any funny business with the Potters. They're good people. And you keep your hands out of those cookies until after dinner time Peter, Merlin knows you don't need to be eating Mrs. Potter out of house and home for the fourth year in a row."

Peter looked down during the whole scolding while his friends nearly burst from holding back their laughter.

"Alright boys I'll see you tonight for the party." And with a turn of her heel and a loud crack Mrs. Pettigrew was gone.

The boys were then free to not only release their laughter but tease Peter mercilessly about the encounter they'd just witnessed.

"You heard mummy Peter no funny business, understand?" Sirius said, trying and failing to maintain a stern presence as they made their way back towards the house.

"Have you boys seen the mansion?" James asked, looking around mockingly. "I swear it was right here."

"My dear Prongs, don't you remember? It's in Wormtail's stomach, he ate and ate until there was no house or home left." Sirius said, poking Peter's rather portly stomach to add to the joke.

"Alright, that's enough you guys." Remus said with a lighthearted chuckle to try and take the spotlight off of Peter.

It didn't exactly work, but after James received a scolding from his own mother about the state of his hair with the party just hours away, and Sirius got his hand smacked for reaching for the cookies early, the teasing surrounding Peter's mother began to taper off. Peter even got a good jab or two in with Sirius backing him up about how James should really take tips from Snivelly to get his hair greased down for the party. Sirius even suggested paying him a visit, but Remus scolded him for that idea.

"It's Christmas Padfoot, let's just enjoy the day please?"

The boys did what they always did before the Christmas party, sat in James' room talking and making jokes, making plans for pranks for the upcoming year, and eventually growing bored and making their way out into the snow for a couple rounds of quidditch. With only four of them they played without keepers, just trying to stop each other from getting the quaffle into one of James' goals.

"I'd love to have regulation size goals back here one day, but Dad says it's too showy even for us."

James said, laughing as Peter flipped upside down on his old Cleansweep Five, the first adult broomstick he'd received in fact. Peter blushed deep red at that, before a determined look crossed his face and he dove at James, nearly knocking him off his broom and distracting him enough for Remus to make his way to the goal and score.

"Alright you got me there Wormy, but let's see you beat this!" James easily weaved between him and Remus passing to Sirius without hesitation, scoring three goals in quick succession.

"Alright, the teams are completely uneven. Prongs, you and Wormtail should be on a team, that way it's fairer." Remus said.

"No Moony I really am fine with…" Peter tried to speak but was cut off by an indignant James.

"You want me to take Wormy? Moony, you must be joking."
"Come on James, it's only fair."

"Alright, let's just relax. I'll play with Wormy and it'll all be good right?" Sirius said, taking on a peacemaking role when faced with the odd sight of James and Remus fighting.

Meanwhile, Peter was growing more miserable by the second as James and Remus continued to bicker over whose team he should be on. Finally, he landed on the ground, albeit shakily, and started walking back towards the house. The rest of his friends noticed and shot off after him, landing on the ground in order to catch him on the same level.

"Wormtail what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Peter said, his shaking voice quickly betraying his anger.

"Wormy you're about a minute away from bursting out in tears so you may as well just tell us." Sirius said.

"Shut up! I'm sick of you going after me all the time, all of you. Oh, who's team is Wormy gonna play on, what are we going to do with Wormy, Wormtail can't come he's gonna mess it all up. You think I don't hear you? That I don't hear you mocking the name you gave me? I know I'm not the best wizard here, I'm probably not even in the top 100 at Hogwarts, but I just…hate being reminded of it all the time. So, will you all just stop? Please?" And with that Peter made his way back into the mansion, slamming the door and leaving his friends in stunned silence.

Peter had spent the past few days with his mother, so it was no question that he was going to be on edge. The first time Peter had been invited to James' house for the Christmas party he had nearly collapsed from the excitement of it all. It had come with an official invitation and everything, and James' parents had said his parents were welcome to come. The Potters were a respected family in the wizarding world, despite having been removed from the Sacred 28, they were wealthy purebloods all the same. His mother insisted that they go.

"The fact that anyone in our family, let alone you Peter, making friends with a Potter. Honestly, I still can't believe it. But it's right there on the invitation, Peter Pettigrew and two guests, as if you'd have anyone else to bring with you."

Peter had nodded his head as usual, hand in the cookie tin avoiding his mother's judgmental gaze. His father nodded along, eyes on his copy of the Daily Prophet, holding a well-worn pipe between his teeth.

"Good going Pete." His father said, taking a draw on his pipe and giving Peter a nod of recognition and slight eye contact before going back to his paper.

That was about as much affection as Peter could have hoped for from dear old Dad. He was a good father, all in all, just not all that good at showing it. Now Peter's father was dead, and he was seventeen, the man of the house. Yet, his mother still treated him like he was a little boy, as did his so-called friends. He found himself wandering around James' mansion, cooling off from the anger he felt so often overtake him, pushing it down like he always did. He knew that he would go back to his friends, they would make a half-hearted apology with Remus elbowing them the whole way through, and he would forgive them like he always did. He knew it, and yet, for once Peter just wished that he could have the spine to tell them that it wasn't ok. He wished he could demand something more than a forced apology for treating him like a lesser being just because he wasn't as smart or as naturally talented. But he wouldn't do it. He never did. And nothing ever got any better.

In fact, the boys were rehearsing that very apology right at that moment, but this time something was different. Remus was at the forefront, believing himself to be the most responsible for this recent event. He had said:
"I'll take this one guys. It was my fault I shouldn't have pushed for different teams."
"He's still sore about the whole quidditch thing. I shouldn't have suggested playing."
James said, trying to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders just as Remus so often did.

"No, really James let me find him. He's got to be around here somewhere, Merlin how many rooms does this place have?"
"34 including closet space, why?" James answered without hesitation, receiving a look of intense annoyance from Remus.

The two continued bickering as they went room by room looking for Peter before Sirius interrupted in a flash of anger.

"You know what? Enough, both of you! I don't get why we're always chasing after Wormtail trying to make him feel better because we hurt his stupid feewings." Sirius said in a mocking tone, a darkness casting a shadow over his normally handsome features.

The boys paused, looking at Sirius in disbelief.

"You don't mean that Padfoot." James said.

"No, I do. He's always running off, crying, acting like he's the victim in some massive game the world is playing against him. It's not our fault that he's rubbish at spells and quidditch. It's not our fault that his mum is constantly on his arse. And it's certainly not our fault that he's probably the most sensitive being known to mankind." Sirius paused at that, gaining some control of his emotions as he looked at his two best friends standing there in shock. "We're his friends, shouldn't that be enough?" He said that last part so quietly they barely heard it, but James stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You know what? Maybe it should. But I don't think any of us can call ourselves his friend if we don't find him and apologize, no matter how we feel about it. He's been hurt, and if I have to apologize a hundred different ways to make it right, I'll do it. We don't give up on people."

And with that the arguing stopped and the search for Peter continued. They finally found him, not ducked in some ancient corner of James' house, but walking down the hallway in full view. His eyes were still red, but other than that the boys saw no evidence of the furious, weeping boy who had fled from the quidditch pitch less than twenty minutes before. Peter looked cold, indifferent, and when he saw them approaching him he put up a hand.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted, can we just get ready for the party and forget it ever happened?"
The boys looked between each other, unsure of how to respond to this.

Remus spoke first: "Look, Peter, we don't want to just gloss over this."
"Well, I want to." Peter nearly shouted with a scary amount of force in his voice before he shrunk back into himself. "I just want to forget it, ok?"
Sirius spoke next: "Ok. Let's go upstairs and get dressed for the party, yeah?"

James didn't want to accept this, he wanted to talk more, but before he could say anything Peter just nodded, shoving past them. He looked at Remus, but Remus avoided his eyes, looking more guilty than worried as James felt. James hadn't thought much about it before, but Peter so often held his emotions close to his chest. James was able to coax explanations out of Sirius despite how much he hid behind his sense of humor, and Remus was always willing to talk about his worries especially in the dark of the dorm room hidden from view. Everyone had secrets, but friends were supposed to share everything with one another, or at least…something. All those nights of sharing and Peter had never said a word, just sat and listened. As James watched him walk away, he vowed that he would find a way to break through Peter's shell, as he had for Sirius and Remus. He vowed to make Peter more than just a casual acquaintance, but a true friend.

Sirius was in the room the Potters had given him, while Remus and Peter were both in guest rooms getting themselves situated. He pulled out the pair of dress robes that Mr. and Mrs. Potter had bought him at Diagon Alley for this occasion. He had insisted he would get the money somehow, buy them secondhand, but the Potters had brushed off his arguments. He hadn't thought to pack his dress robes in his hurried flight from Grimmauld Place and, he was glad he hadn't. Those robes held too many bad memories, years of stuffy parties with his cousins jumping down his throat no matter what he said. Regulus was the darling of the family, so Sirius would try and find the furthest corner to hide away, but that never lasted for long. Someone would always find him, Bellatrix or Uncle Cygnus or, God forbid, his mother. They would drag him back to the party by the ear, or in Bella's case rip him apart verbally or sometimes physically depending on her mood. Sirius' experience with parties was the reason his first Potter Christmas party was quite a shock by comparison.

James had invited Sirius during their first year, saying that he hated having no one to hang around with at his family parties. Sirius could relate, especially after being sorted into Gryffindor this past year, and promised James that he would come. He was prepared to defend him from whatever necessary, whether it be judgey blood relatives or just simple boredom. Unfortunately, he had also hoped to make a good impression on James' parents, so Sirius' nature was quickly at odds with his expected behavior.

"Hey, what's wrong?" James asked, approaching Sirius who had taken to staring at the party with an odd twitch in his eyebrow.

"Nothing." He said, tightly, to which James shrugged.

He looked around himself, before something caught his eye.

"Oh, check it out, Dad made a chocolate fountain." He said, dragging Sirius towards the massive ornament which people marveled at as they mulled about the mansion's ground floor.
"Wow." Sirius said, blown away by the extravagance which the Potters showed in such a different way than the Blacks. This ornate detail almost seemed…fun. He looked at his newfound friend with wide eyes, and quickly noticed a large smear of chocolate across James' lips and cheek. "Oh, James you got some."

Sirius gestured at his own face, and James smiled, wiping the chocolate off on his sleeve.

"Thanks Sirius."

Sirius gaped at the audacity of the action, but James just looked around the rest of the party with veiled interest, turning back to Sirius with a sigh.

"Damn, we've got to find something to do or I'm going to die of boredom."

Sirius cleared his throat, looked around the room nervously, but nodding. He tugged at the collar of his robe, and James glanced at him.

"Why don't you just take the tie off? It's way more comfortable." He said.

"Oh, no I'm fine." Sirius replied, horrified at the very idea of removing his tie at such a formal event.

"Sirius, really just take it off." James said with a laugh, not noticing the panic in Sirius' eyes as he noticed Mr. Potter approaching them from behind James' back.

"Hey boys."

Sirius gulped, looking up at James' father with a healthy amount of fear. James just turned around, smiling at his father. Before James could say anything, Sirius was speaking:

"Mr. Potter, sir."

He stuck out his hand to shake and Fleamont took it with a hearty chuckle.

"A polite young man, I like that." He said.

James looked at Sirius like he was from another planet. Sirius began tugging at his collar once again, and Mr. Potter looked at him curiously.

"Sirius feel free to just take the tie off you look like a dog on a leash."

"Oh no, I'm fine, I don't want to…" Sirius began to stumble, but Mr. Potter interrupted him.

"Go down to your nickers if you like, son, just don't get into the brandy. Your mother would be very angry if I let you boys try any of that." He said it with a wink which made James laugh and Sirius glance at him in utter confusion.

Sirius thought back to that night with great fondness as he adjusted the bow tie of his dress robe knowing that it would come off as always about an hour after the dinner started. But he had to at least start looking put together, old habits die hard. That was the first night that Sirius had ever seen an adult treat a kid with any semblance of respect. James had joked around with his father like it was nothing, told Sirius to relax at a dinner party as if that wasn't an oxymoron. Sirius looked at himself in the mirror, his hair combed perfectly around his face, his grey eyes alight with a joy he hadn't known around the holidays since he was a little boy. He breathed a deep sigh of contentment and moved to head downstairs feeling such relief knowing that he would be returning to this very room tonight, and nowhere else.

The party would have been dreadfully boring if the boys hadn't have had each other. James didn't have any young cousins like Sirius, the few distant cousins he had being quite a bit older than him, so he didn't get along with them. Not that Sirius got along with his own family but knowing James' relatives he would have been a great older cousin, sneaking candy to the little ones and when they got older sneaking them whiskey. Any young cousins Sirius had spent the party avoiding the big scary Gryffindor of the family, warned off of him practically before they could string two words together. So, without anyone to spend time with James' first ten parties or so had been a lot of pinched cheeks followed by standing around for a few hours until his bedtime. But now James had the marauders and no matter where they were the boys were able to find ways to have fun.

It started with them coming down in their best clothes with Mrs. Potter fawning over all of them and forcing some Sleakeazy into James' hair despite his loud protests. Following a good ten minutes of pouting on James' part Sirius and Peter managed to perk him up, leading him to the cookies that his mother had laid out, and proceeding to stuff their faces for the following ten minutes. By the time the guests had begun to show up the boys were filled up with cookies and on the lookout for a new batch of trouble.

"Come on, Moony. You can do it." Sirius whispered in his ear, while James and Peter stood back, smiling.

Remus took a deep breath, looking back at his friends furiously, before finally stepping forward. He approached one of James' great aunts, who was conversing with Fleamont at the time, and with a curt bow recited the following:

"Excuse me young lady, could I possibly bother you for a dance?"

Fleamont had a hard time holding in his laughter, releasing a hearty chuckle as the older woman blushed a deep crimson before smiling kindly at Remus' good manners and taking his hand.

"But of course my good man." She said, taking Remus' hand and dancing a waltz with him finishing by planting a wet kiss on his cheek.

Remus came back to his howling friends with a falsely annoyed smile and a roll of his eyes.

"There, I did it. Now I believe it's my turn. Peter, truth or dare?"

Peter looked at Remus with wide eyes before glancing between James and Sirius.

"Um…dare…I guess."

Remus looked around and nodded, turning to Peter.

"Alright, I dare you to dump the punch down your pants."

Peter looked at Remus with pleading eyes.

"Alright, I'll take truth just don't make me…"
"No, no you took dare Peter. Good show Moony." Sirius said, rather impressed with Remus' rather devious idea.

"These are new dress pants you guys, my mum will…"
James just gestured for Peter to turn around, shoving him towards the punch bowl. Peter sighed, resigned to his fate, approaching the punch bowl where a few people were milling about. He grabbed it by the sides, causing some curious glances to be thrown his way, followed by shrieks of shock, and then laughter as Peter poured the remainder of the liquid down his trousers.

There were a lot of mutters about how "boys will be boys" as Peter waddled uncomfortably towards his friends with the liquid and ice sloshing in his pants. The boys were laughing rambunctiously as Euphemia approached them with a stern glare. James glanced at Sirius nervously and Remus just stepped back to watch the chaos ensue, subtly casting a hot air charm towards Peter receiving a grateful look as his soaked pants were dried in nearly an instant.

"James Fleamont Potter! Sirius Orion Black!" Euphemia shouted so loudly that the entire party turned to look.

"Mum, I…"

But she didn't wait to hear his excuses, grabbing him and Sirius by the ears, dragging them upstairs to chew them out. Meanwhile Remus and Peter were laughing hysterically at their misfortune, Sirius shouting as he was dragged away.

"Traitor Moony!"

Remus shrugged, shooting the boys a sarcastic wave. After they had been sufficiently scolded, Sirius actually feeling rather guilty for disrupting the party, Euphemia sent them off. Sirius and James headed towards Peter and Remus, a haunted look in Sirius' eyes. But before they could arrive Fleamont approached the two boys.

"James, can I talk to Sirius for a moment?"

James nodded, glancing at Sirius, but making his way off. Sirius watched Fleamont approach him and immediately his mind jumped to the worst-case scenario. He thought back to the first time he left James Potter's house, after that first Christmas party.

"You sure you have to go back?" James asked, as Sirius pulled his bag over his shoulder, preparing to make the trip by floo powder to his family home.

"Yeah Mum'll have a cow if I'm not there for Christmas, just for the party, really she couldn't care less if I was there for the actual holiday I doubt they'll be getting me anything this year anyway." Sirius rambled on in a joking tone, staring with more and more apprehension at the fireplace that would take him back.

"Sirius." James said, trying to get through to him.

"James, it's fine thanks for a great Christmas I really, um, it just meant a lot." He said, the closest to an emotional response that he was willing to give.

"Next year I'll ask mum and dad about getting the whole gang to come to the party. We can make it a proper get together, maybe even nip some of dad's whiskey." James said with a smirk.

"I heard that!" Euphemia shouted.

James winced and for the first time since he arrived at James' house Sirius laughed. That barking laughter died in his throat the moment he returned home. His mother had quite a lot to say about him spending three whole days with that Potter family, the disgraces, removed from the Sacred twenty-eight. Sirius could hear her in his head when Euphemia was scolding him. "Failure, disgrace, ruining the family party as usual, an embarrassment." Sirius figured Fleamont wanted to take him aside to say that this arrangement wasn't working out anymore, he had pushed it too far.

He tugged at his collar, feeling just as small as he had five years before, and nodded.

"Mr. Potter."

"Sirius, are you feeling alright?" Fleamont asked, eyes running over Sirius' face in concern.

"Yes, I'm alright." Sirius said in confusion, looking for the angle, the reason Fleamont might be asking him this.

"You know, Euphemia can be tough, but she doesn't mean anything by it. I know these events can be rather dry, just maybe relax with the pranking for an evening, nip some of that eggnog, and try to keep it out of your pants alright?" He said with a wink.

And that was it, Fleamont Potter made to walk away, but Sirius felt a slight whimper leave his mouth as if against his will. Fleamont turned back, and Sirius winced in preparation for being reamed out, showing weakness. But Fleamont just looked at this small, broken boy before him, and pulled him in for a hug, right there in the middle of the living room. There were people all around, Sirius was shaking, partially from fear and partially from sobs.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Sirius," Fleamont said, holding him by the shoulders so he could better look him in the eye. "You have nothing to apologize for." He wiped away his tears with his thumb. "Now go enjoy the party, alright?"

Sirius nodded, moving back into the throng. James looked at him, showing a subtle thumbs up, and Sirius returned it with his usual easy-going smile. And this time it wasn't false or plastic, it was real and genuine, a smile that came from deep inside his chest. Because for the first time since he'd arrived at the Potters he really felt like he belonged.