Christmas Holiday
James and Peter were in the middle of packing, they were meant to have finished yesterday evening but had ended up throwing their stuff at each other across the room till lights out. Remus sat on his bed with his legs folded, reading Lord of the Rings again. He had already finished packing a while ago, and now simply had to wait a few hours until the train would arrive. Sirius hadn't needed to pack at all. His parents had requested for him to come back for the holidays but he had simply refused to comply. Instead, he sat on James' bed, throwing rolled-up socks at his friend.
"Sirius, will you cut that out? I really need to finish packing."
Sirius folded his arms, "I still don't get why you can't stay here with me."
James huffed, "I miss my parents, it's been months since I last saw them and if I stay here I won't get to see them till July next year!"
"So?"
James moved over and sat closely face to face with Sirius.
"I miss them."
They sat like that for a while, till Sirius licked the side of James' face and James fell off the bed in shock.
Peter laughed from across the room, in the middle of trying to close his suitcase full of unfolded clothes.
Remus looked up and spotted Peter's failing efforts so he silently grabbed his wand from his nightstand and walked over to him.
"You know Frank's staying here for the holidays?" Peter said, "You can hang out with him."
"He is?", both Sirius and James questioned in unison.
"How'd you know?" James added.
"He told me, you know when I got invited to the third-year party."
Sirius groaned, "Ugh. You will not stop going on about that."
Peter smugly shrugged, "Well maybe if you ever got invited to a party you'd talk about it too. But no one ever does."
Sirius stuck out his tongue at him and then caught sight of Remus moving over to Peter.
"What are you doing there, Lupin?"
Remus didn't spare a glance at him, instead, he pointed his wand at Peter's suitcase and muttered a spell. The clothes magically all folded themselves and the suitcase shut with plenty of room to spare.
Peter smiled at him, "Thanks."
"Show off," Sirius muttered under his breath.
James snorted, kicking Sirius lightly in the leg, "And what are you then?"
“It’s not showing off if I am better than everyone else.”
James laughed, tackling Sirius to the ground, the two starting to play-fight, rolling around on the carpet. Remus folded his arms, staring at the two from across the room with a small smile.
“You like them”, Peter appeared right next to them.
Remus jumped, “What the fuck, Peter?”
He smiled, “You like them.”
“I don’t”, Remus huffed, grabbing his book and sitting down on his bed.
“You do”, Peter shook his head, his smile getting wider.
“I really don’t.”
Peter grinned, “You so do.”
At that, James stood up, cracked golden watch in hand, and a triumphant smile, “We’re about to miss the train, lads.”
Remus instantly grabbed his suitcase and ran out of the room.
James’ eyes widened, “He’s fast.”
Sirius huffed, James’ knees on his stomach, “Well the train does leave in like ten minutes.”
“Oh dear”, James yelled, jumping off Sirius and quickly shutting his suitcase.
He grabbed Peter’s hand, pulling him along to the door. Peter quickly reached for the handle of his own luggage before being dragged from it.
James stood by the door, looking around the room, “What am I forgetting?”
He made eye contact with Sirius, sitting on James’ bed and waving at him.
James ran over, “Goodbye, my love. I shall miss you, I will anxiously count down every day until we are once again reunited.”
Sirius held his hands in his own, “Each day we are apart will be misery, but I shall be here, waiting for your return. Goodbye, darling.”
The two hugged, being torn apart by Peter pulling on James’ sleeve.
The two went to run out the door.
“Bye, Pete!”
“Bye Arsehole!”
Sirius was left, giggling at the swear word and lying on James’ bed.
-
The Potter's didn’t really celebrate Christmas, but Marlene Mckinnon did. And they’d do anything to make a guest feel welcome. So, on Christmas Day, when Marlene inevitably ran away, the Potter's had decorated the living room in yuletide joy, just for her.
A large, green tree stood proudly in the corner of the room, undecorated because it was a tradition for Marlene to decorate it with them. Tinsel and fairy lights scattered around the room, china angels dancing in the air, charmed by Euphemia. The sweet smell of Jalebi ran through the house, Marlene’s favourite snack that Fleamont made. Fleamont had also started cooking a roast dinner, gulab jamun for dessert.
A knock sounded on the door, and James ran down the stairs. He opened the door to Marlene standing there, pulling on a red dress.
“You look… pretty.”
She snorted, “I look like my mother.”
James laughed, “Maybe we should open one of your presents first, Mami may have brought you something to wear.”
She grinned, “Yes! And you can have my dress.”
He shrugged, “I do like red.”
An hour later, Marlene was wearing a black suit, a red shirt, and a bowtie with little Santa hats on. James was spinning around in Marlene’s red dress, sequins decorating the top and the bottom, soft silk. They danced as Euphemia played an old record, something from the forties, but the two kids didn’t care, they twirled and danced and spun with Mia and Monty, not a care in the world.
-
Peter sat on the sofa, watching as the older kids played charades. He was meant to be laying but they kept choosing things he didn’t know. Rude words, drugs, musicians he hadn't heard, and films he hadn't watched. He sorta missed school, not the lessons, but being the one who knew things. He was the one who spoke rude words, who knew the most sex jokes, who had seen so many more films and read so many more comics, and knew so many more bands, than everyone else. But here, he was just a little kid.
The teens passed a bottle around, giggling and taking sips from it.
“Can I have some?” Peter asked, squished between two strangers.
They held the bottle away from him, “You’re a bit young for this stuff”, one of the girls giggled.
Another tousled his hair, “You’re so cute!”
“I’m not.”
A bunch of them laughed, someone else tousled his hair.
“I’ll tell Mum you’re drinking that, I know you’re not meant to.”
Angel rolled their eyes, they were only a few years older than Peter and had been actually staying at the Pettigrew’s for almost a year now.
“Come on, kid. Don’t be a fucking rat.”
Peter folded his arms, leaning back on the sofa, “Let me try it then!”
One guy, Peter didn't recognise him which meant he definitely hadn’t come round before, grabbed the bottle and shoved it in Peter’s hands. He quickly took a sip before Angel pulled it off him.
“What the fuck, Mikey? He’s like 10!”
“I’m twelve!”
Lydia Pettigrew walked into the room, a tray of mince pies in her hands, she spotted the bottle.
“Give me that, Angel. You know that shit is banned here.”
Angel passed it to Lydia, “I was just taking it from them!”
Peter frowned, hands covering his mouth, “I don’t feel good, Mum.”
Lydia narrowed her eyes, “Who let Petey drink this?”
Susie shoved Mikey, “He did.”
“Out.”
Mikey swore, “Thought you were meant to be helping us out, Miss!”
“Not if you’re putting my kid in danger, Mikey.”
As Lydia escorted Mikey out of the flat, Angel smiled at Peter.
“I got you something, Kid.”
“What is it?” He jumped up.
They passed him a small, wrapped present. Peter quickly opened it in excitement, pulling out a vinyl, Nursery Cryme by Genesis.
“They’re real bomb, the album just came out recently too.”
“Thanks”, he reached to hug them.
Angel tousled his hair again, “Your roots are really showing now, want me to dye it again for you?”
“Yeah! Mum said she was going to but then Georgie relasped and she was too busy.”
Angel snorted, “You mean relapsed?”
“Yeah, that.”
“Well don’t worry kid, it’s Christmas, and I’ve got time. Your hair shall become straw once again!”
-
Lily sat in the empty park, swinging on the swing with Severus by her side. She hadn’t really wanted to come, Chanukah was over now, but she still only had limited time with her family before going back to school. But Severus had really wanted to meet up with her, and Petunia kept making snide comments.
Severus never liked Christmas, it always made his dad drink more, he told her. His mum would hide in her bedroom, but eventually, his dad would find her. And his dad would either kick him out or Severus would sneak out so he didn’t have to hear the yelling and the slaps.
Lily got him a gift, nevertheless. This year, was a small black journal; in silver, cursive writing, the cover read, ‘Who I am is what I make for myself, not what I happen to be’. He liked it, hugged her, and started writing in it straight away. She had also given him a pen, but he preferred quills and refused to use it, giving the pen back to her. That was fine, people have preferences all the time.
Swinging, Lily leaned against the rope and turned to look at Severus, “Do you think Tuney might like some photos of Hogwarts? I could use all my pocket money to buy a camera and I could take photos of everything and send them to her. Maybe she won’t feel like she’s missing out so much.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Lily. Petunia really abhors magic, because she doesn’t have any, sending her little picture won’t do anything. Besides, the Wizarding world isn’t meant to be photographed and shared with muggles. They’re not allowed to be a part of our world.”
Lily frowned, “She’s my sister, though.”
Severus shrugged, “You should just let her be. Muggles and wizards don’t mix, I mean look at my parents.”
Lily thought about it for a moment before shaking her head, “That doesn’t seem right, Severus.”
He held out his hand for her to take, the two swinging as they held hands.
“You look really pretty, today.”
She beamed at him, “Thanks, Sev.”
-
Mary ran around the house, her sister in tow. The two had just covered their parent’s room in tinsel. It was a tradition at this point, pranking their parents on Christmas morning. Mary was glad that Sy still wanted to partake in them, she was sixteen now and looking for her own place with her girlfriend. She wasn’t going to sixth form and had instead gotten a job in some record store further in the city. And she had started to dress strangely, in a way people would gawk at and yell at her for. Mary didn’t quite understand it, but she knew Marlene would love it.
Currently, Sy was toned down, since their parents didn’t really like the extremity of Sy’s new look. But she still had all her piercings in and had her hair all shaved off.
The two ran into the kitchen, Sy grabbing a box of eggs, “Pancakes?”
“Yes!”
The two got to work, flipping the pancakes and laying the table. Once finished, they turned to each other.
“Ready?” Sy grinned.
“Ready”, Mary replied.
The girls loudly ran upstairs, shouting and singing as they made their way back to their parent's room.
After a moment, their parents came out. Their mother adorned in a tinsel necklace and hat. Their father with tinsel wrapped around every inch of their body.
“Is that not itchy, Dad?” Mary asked.
“You don’t think I look cool?” He posed, “Is this not the latest fashion?”
Mary shook her head with a small laugh, and her father growled and picked her up, running downstairs with her giggling over his shoulders.
-
Remus wrapped his scarf around his neck, pulling on his woolen gloves and hat, and stepping outside into the cold.
Lily had written to him, several letters about once a week. He had replied to all of them, to the irritation of his father. Peter had also sent him several letters, maybe more than Lily. Peter wrote that he had told James he was writing to him, so James had sent one letter as well. He hadn’t replied to any of Peter’s letters or James’.
Lily mostly wrote about how her Hanukkah had gone, Remus replied with the same. She sometimes wrote about problems with her sister, or things she did with Snape. She told him how Snape told her that Wizards and Muggles shouldn’t mix. He had strong opinions on that and rightly wrote back such.
Peter liked to write about films he had gone to see, and comics he had gotten. Sometimes he’d send little painted stones in the letters. Remus kept them all on his window sill. But never wrote back.
James’ letter was long, with random doodles scribbled onto the sides and covering sentences. Even with neat, clear handwriting, it was a terrible struggle to read. James talked about some Quidditch team losing some match that Remus had never heard of, he’d talked about some sweet his Dad made that Remus had never heard of, he talked about some wizard band that Remus had never heard of. But there was the occasional joke or pun that had made Remus smile. Right at the end was a detailed story about Professor McGonagall coming round to drop off gifts, and how she had come in from the rain, looking like a ‘wet cat’. James had drawn a picture. It was the funniest thing Remus had ever seen and had pinned the last page of the letter onto his wall. He didn’t right back.
There wasn’t a market today, it being Christmas day. And his parents didn’t have any chores for him to do, so he set off to the library. It was about a two-hour walk, but he had his cane and several layers to fight against the cold. As he walked, he collected flowers and edible leaves for his mother. He thought about sending some to Lily, but decided it might send more of a romantic message he desired. Peter would definitely like them, but he had managed not to write back so far and wanted it to stay that way. The more friends, the more likely for secrets to be revealed.
Remus lowered his cap and trekked on, more and more flowers filling his bag.
-
Emmeline sat at the table in her grandparent’s house. A hushed talk of some war was whispered at the other end, where the adults sat. But she was young, innocent, and sweet.
She ignored the adults and instead, threw a roast potato at her cousin. Her cousin threw a brussel sprout at her and she laughed loudly, catching the sprout and placing it next to another on her plate, she moved a carrot and made a smiley face.
She leaned back in her chair, “Dad! I want dessert.”
Her father turned towards her and looked at her plate, “Em, you’ve got to eat your dinner first.”
“But it’s Christmas. On Christmas, you eat nice stuff and you can’t get told off because it’s a holiday and Santa Claus will haunt you if you tell nice children off on Christmas day.”
“Emmeline! Eat your dinner and then you can have dessert. As always, you know the rules.”
She stood up from her chair, “This isn’t fair! We should eat cake and chocolate and… mince pies! Not vegetables like usual!”
The other kids around her jumped up in solidarity, yelling and clapping with her.
Emmeline grinned at her parents, both utterly embarrassed at her behaviour.
Her mother got up and picked her up, taking her out of the room as she screamed.
Once in the bathroom, her mother put her down.
“This isn’t fair!”
“Being good applies to every day of the year, Emmeline. If you’re not being respectful, then we’ll take away all your presents you’ve just gotten, okay?”
She pouted, “Fine. But when I’m older, I’ll do whatever I want!”
“If you listen to us now, then when you’re an adult you’ll be sensible enough to make your own decisions, honey.”
Her mother opened the bathroom door, taking Emmeline’s hand in hers, “You won’t be getting dessert now because of this tantrum.”
Emmeline huffed, blowing her fringe out her eyes, “Dumbledore would let me have mince pies.”
Her father appeared, roughly grabbing her wrist, “Well, Albus Dumbledore isn’t your father.”
-
Sirius sat in the common room, a letter from Lucretia, his sister, in his hands. He hadn’t opened it, hadn’t wanted to. He knew she would be mad that he hadn’t come home for the holidays. But he couldn’t face it all, hadn’t had enough time to come to terms with now being such a huge disappointment in his parent’s eyes.
He pocketed the unopened letter, maybe once James was back he’d have the bravery to do so. James always made him braver.
Sirius sat, legs tucked into his chest, on the sofa, staring into the fireplace. It was all he had been doing for the holidays so far, that and looking through the things his roommates had left behind. James had left a bunch of clothes and posters. A couple of muggle fidget toys his parents had given him, at the start of the year, remained in his drawer. Peter had left behind the least amount of stuff, just a couple of comics and shorts remained. Remus had the most interesting stuff, Sirius decided. Although he only left behind a few things, it was much more fascinating to look through than the others had been.
Remus had an annotated copy of Romeo and Juliet. Sirius had read quite a bit of Shakespeare, but never that play. He took it to read in front of the fireplace, not only reading the play but the annotations Remus had left. Sirius discovered much from it.
1. Remus Lupin was objectively hilarious. His annotations filled with quips and funny comments.
2. Remus Lupin was smart. He had analysed the book, every single word said and unsaid, even leaving references to other books and myths.
3. Remus Lupin related to Benvolio. With almost every line of Benvolio’s, Remus had written a little ‘same’ or ‘relatable’.
4. Sirius related to Mercuito. And Mercutio was very good friends with Benvolio.
5. People weren’t always what they seemed. Sirius knew that was a silly thing to just discover, but it was true. And he hadn’t quite understood that before.
6. He liked Remus Lupin. He very much wanted to be friends with the boy.
As he continued his nosing, he discovered more and more of the mysterious boy. For instance, Remus seemed to love wool, having multiple woolen clothes. He seemed to like plants, having dried flowers in almost every drawer. He also had a lighter. Sirius couldn’t quite understand what it was for. But he found it quite fun, fiddling with it and making a small flame appear.
He laid down on Remus’ bed, lighter in hand, and fiddling with it. But on his tenth click, he had accidentally held the flame too close to the bed curtain, and soon the entire thing was on fire. Sirius scrambled up and grabbed his wand, spraying a heavy stream of water out to extinguish the flames. It worked, but the curtain was burnt through, blackened, and crisped.
He threw it out the window.