About Time

The rest of November was quite lovely in Mia's opinion. Remus recovered perfectly from the full moon, and, with Mia's help, managed to set up a small Quidditch game for Sirius to make up for missing his birthday. They were all elated and tried to get Mia to join, even though they knew she wouldn't for the life of her.

"Come on, Kitten. This is for my birthday." Sirius whined.

"Your birthday was over a week ago, Sirius. I'll just stay here in the stands watching you play," she retorted.

Fortunately, he ended up letting matters drop and didn't push it much.

As November passed, December came along with its flurry of snow, the end of term exams and the Christmas hols nearing. Mia was glad that she didn't need to study as intensely as she had her first time around, how Lily was this time. After her first test of the year, she knew she wouldn't have to worry about exams ever again. Well, maybe her NEWTs, but by that point, she would probably know enough as well.

Her boys, however, were struggling. Jamie and Sirius were honestly studying a lot more than she thought they would, meaning they opened their books and asked her a few questions. It was quite a pleasant surprise, really. Peter was hopeless, though, and Mia didn't even bother with him. Remus was the only one who seemed to be doing fine without her help.

"I have an idea," Sirius claimed one afternoon, "let's go outside!" He had one of those giant grins on as if he were the smartest person ever.

"If we go outside, Sirius, you're not going to study, and if you don't study you're going to fail your tests. And I know you don't want to fail your tests." Mia reasoned.

He pouted a bit. "You're no fun, Kitten." He still went back to his studying, though.

The weekend between both their test weeks was the only time that Lily and Mia allowed their group a small break. It was Saturday afternoon and they were all looking like zombies. Jamie mentioned the same thing earlier, and his only response was, "At least we will be zombies who passed their exams."

"Merlin, both of you are scary. I can't even imagine how it will be in our end of years. Or our OWLs!" James joked.

"Haha. Very funny. Fine, we can have a small break." Mia acquiesced.

Sirius immediately closed his books and threw them away from him, the sound causing Mia, Lily and Remus to flinch.

"What's everyone doing for the hols, then?" He asked.

Lily shrugged. "Spend time with my family, I guess. I've never really spent so long without seeing them, so it's been a bit weird. Letters can only communicate so much, and I really just want to give them a hug."

The rest of the group nodded. They all knew that they were going to be attending Hogwarts once they were eleven - minus Remus who had his doubts - so it didn't come as a surprise to them and they had time to prepare, but they still missed their parents dearly.

"I'll be doing the same, I guess," Marlene said. "We'll be going to the ball, though," she said to James and Mia, "so we'll be seeing each other then."

Mia sat up and clapped her hands. "Oh, yay! That's wonderful! Who else is coming this year?" She asked the group, but mostly Jamie.

"Of our year I know some people from Ravenclaw and Slytherin were invited. No one we really know." James mentioned.

"I will be going!" Sirius announced. "Even if the hag doesn't want to. I'll just sneak out. Leave your floo open for me, Kitten."

Mia gave an unladylike snort. "As if Walburga would want to miss out on one of the biggest events of the year."

Lily turned to all of them, looking confused. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

Mia turned to her, eyes wide. "Oh, Merlin, I completely forgot! Every year our family hosts this huge ball on Christmas day. A lot of families are invited, but you can only go after you've started your first year at Hogwarts, which is why it's so exciting for us." She paused for a bit. "You should come! We can arrange for someone to go pick you up and bring you back!"

James looked quite excited at the idea. "You should definitely come, Lily flower."

Lily threw a pillow at James' head. "I told you to stop calling me that, Potter." She turned to Mia with a smile. "That sounds lovely. I'll talk to my parents and let you know if I can."

Mia smiled right back. "Sounds great! What about you, Remus? Are you coming?"

"I - um. I'm n-not sure if my parents received an invite or if I should-"

He didn't even get to finish before Mia interrupted him. "Nonsense. Of course, you're invited. Once we get home I'll owl you one of Jamie's dress robes, Merlin knows he doesn't need that many."

James' protest went unheard as Mia continued. "Is your fireplace connected to the network? If not we can arrange a way for you to be picked up and dropped off."

Remus smiled a bit. "Thanks, Mia. And yes, we are connected to the network."

"I'll come, too!" Peter announced, but Mia ignored him, so James sent a smile his way.

Their studies were forgotten as they continued to talk about the holidays and the ball. Marlene and Mia fell into a discussion about their dresses and who they thought was going to be there. Marlene, apparently, was shocked to learn that a famous Quidditch player would be attending.

"How could you not have told me about this before!"

"I forgot. In case you don't remember, I'm not that big of a fan of Quidditch."

Marlene then turned to James. "How could you not have told me about this before!"

James raised his hands. "Hey, I'm not your best friend. She is," He said, pointing at Mia.

Unfortunately, this just led to the siblings bickering for Merlin knows how long. By this point, the rest of the group had learnt to ignore them, and fell into their own conversations.

They were only interrupted by the chiming of the clock, indicating that it was time for dinner. Lily looked like she was going to have a breakdown. "I can't believe we wasted a whole afternoon where we could have been studying!"

"It's ok, Lils. It's good to take breaks sometimes, and we've been studying like crazy." Mia wasn't actually studying, but no one needed to know that. "We still have plenty of time tomorrow and on other days to make sure we are test ready."

That seemed to calm Lily down a bit, as she nodded and started eating some of her food.

-

After their last test of the term, the atmosphere was almost tangibly lighter. Lily was even smiling again, which became a rare sight after so many tests. She tried to rope Mia into a conversation about how the tests went, but the only answer she got was, "Let's just rest now, Lils, stop thinking about the tests." So that was what they did.

It was too cold now to spend their time outside, so they just stayed in the common room, playing games and finishing up any homework that had been set for the holidays. Well, Lily and Mia did, the rest just continued playing Exploding Snap.

On the morning they were set to go home, Mia turned to Jamie and asked, "You're all packed up, right?"

James gave a false look of shock. "Of course I am, what do you take me for?"

"Do you need any help finishing up?" She continued with a pointed look.

"Yes please," he said with a small voice, turning his attention back to his bacon.

Mia only smiled and shook her head, knowing this would happen. When she noticed the time, she sent a quick look to Marlene, who reciprocated the action. No one noticed the looks, or how they were both wearing smirks now.

They did notice, however, when all of the Slytherin table suddenly had their hair turned red and gold and started singing "God rest ye merry hippogriffs". They looked shocked, to say the least. Most of them hadn't even noticed their hair yet, just the fact that they couldn't stop singing the Christmas carol. Many turned to Dumbledore, to see if he could help, but he was just smiling and enjoying the music as if it were his own personal concert.

Mia turned to her boys, seeing their mouths drop one by one. Lily was already rushing towards Snape, throwing a scathing look at the boys, who was leaving the Hall while angrily singing the song. Their eyes were wide as they took the scene in.

Sirius was the first to speak up. "This is now my favourite song! I don't even care that someone tried to upstage us, the look on their faces is worth it." The Slytherins were now panicking as they continued to sing, and Slughorn took his time getting down from the teachers' table and towards the students from his house.

"Hats off to whoever managed to do this," James said.

"Well thank you, Jamie," Mia said with a smile, going back to her breakfast.

All the boys turned their attention to her.

"What-"

"How-"

"When-"

"I couldn't let you think you were the only ones who could pull pranks, now could I?" She joked. "It was fairly simple, really. It was a layering of spells and potions. My friendship with the elves paid off because all I needed to do was hand them the vials and they handled the rest."

Marlene cleared her throat. "And of course, Marlene helped. She reminded me of the terrible prank you guys tried to play at the beginning of the year..."

"Hey!" James yelled. "It wasn't terrible. Besides, it was our first prank, don't hold it against us."

"Ahh, so you're saying you owe us credit for your prank. We were your muses. Your inspiration." Sirius joked.

Mia just shot him one of her looks.

Sirius whistled. "Impressive, though, Kitten. Who knew."

Mia just smiled and turned to James. "Come on, let's get you packed up. Don't worry, the effects will only fully wear off when we arrive in London."

Remus turned to her and said, "Could you explain to me how you did this?"

Mia took a second to think. "Hmmmm, maybe. Wouldn't want the competition knowing my tricks, now would I."

She gave him a smile and forced James off the bench, to go finish off his luggage so that they wouldn't be late for the train.

-

The train ride back to London was anything but quiet. Even though they had their compartment doors closed, they could still hear some singing off in the distance. Most of the Slytherin students had already stopped singing, but there were a few of the unlucky ones who had eaten later and were still afflicted. All of them, though, still sported the ever-changing red and green hairstyle.

Her boys still laughed at the predicament the Slytherins found themselves in, but Mia believed that none of them fully comprehended the fact that not only had she out-pranked them, but she had used NEWT level knowledge to do so.

Marlene was asleep with her head on her lap and Mia was struggling to hold the heavy book above her when the trolley lady stopped by. James looked at Mia for permission, and she said, "There's money in my bag. Just don't eat too much, or you'll ruin dinner and Ma and Missy will kill you."

James gave her a big smile and bought treats for everyone in the compartment with the money from her bag. Marlene, as soon as she smelled all the chocolate and sugar, woke up and demanded to be fed.

They spent the entire train ride playing games and performing any last-minute magic that they could before arriving at the station.

Mia wasn't sure how, but that seemed to be the quickest train ride back to London that she had ever been in. before they knew it, they were pulling up at King's Cross and had to get off the train.

When they got off, Mia turned to them, and with the no-nonsense voice she used to reserve for Harry and Ron said, "I expect to receive owls from each of you at least once a week."

They all smiled at her and assured her that yes, they would be writing to her and James and that yes, they would see them again at the Christmas ball.

They all hugged each other and said their goodbyes, and as Sirius was about to leave to find his parents, she saw how stiff and apprehensive he looked, so Mia pulled him in for another hug. She took the chance to whisper in his ear, "If things get bad, you can always come and stay with us."

He pulled back from the hug and gave her a look she could not decipher. He had never told anyone of how things were at his house, and how he wasn't exactly thrilled to go back. Mia always seemed to know everything, though, so he put that thought away for now.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you." Waving another goodbye, he left the twins on their own.

It didn't take them very long to find their parents. As soon as they spotted the twins, Euphemia let out a cry and ran towards them, enveloping her children into a hug. She kissed their faces until Fleamont forced her to pull away so he could hug his children as well.

"Oh, my darlings. I missed the both of you so much." As if she couldn't help herself, she went and gave them another hug.

"We missed you too, Ma," Mia said as Euphemia hugged James.

"Alright, everyone," Fleamont started, "We should get going. It's almost dinner time and Mipsy has prepared something special."

He shrank their trunks and put them in his pocket. He took James' hand while Euphemia took Mia's, and they swiftly apparated home.

It didn't take even a minute after they landed for the twins to be attacked by the tiny house elf. Well, attack isn't really the right word, but it is the first one that comes to mind when someone jumps on you.

"Mipsy missed Master and Mistress so much. It is not as fun here without them to take care of. Of course, there is still the other Master and Mistress, but they is grown up already." Mipsy started rambling on and on.

"We are so happy to be back home," Mia said, interrupting Mipsy. "We'll just take one second to shower and then we'll be down for dinner. Is that ok?"

"Of course, of course. Mipsy will draw up baths for you."

"Thank you, Mipsy." James said.

They all made their way upstairs. Fleamont returned their trunks back to their original sizes and placed them in their rooms, leaving them so they could take a bath.

As Mia got into her bathtub, she could only think of how she missed her bathroom. Of course, Hogwarts didn't have terrible bathrooms, but her giant bathtub and shower always came out on top. There was the prefect's bathroom, though, but in this lifetime she would never be allowed in there.

And she was fine with that. She was.

Mia got up from the tub and tried herself off, putting on some comfy clothes before going down to meet her family.

"Oh, darling. You shouldn't walk around with your hair wet in such weather. You'll get a cold." With a flick of her wand, Euphemia ensured that Mia's hair was dry and soft.

"Thanks, Ma."

Fleamont turned to the women. "Now can we go eat? I'm hungry."

Euphemia laughed at her husband, and rushed them all into the dining room where Mipsy had set out their dinner for the night.

She had truly outdone herself, in Mia's opinion. Mipsy had made not only her favourite dishes, but Jamie's as well. She could see treacle tarts, chocolate cake, pasta, fish and chips, roasted potatoes and more. It looked and smelled like heaven.

Much to their mother's ire, the twins rushed to the table and started serving themselves. They each had a little bit of everything, feeling like they were going to burst by the end of dinner.

"Off to bed now you two, both of you look exhausted. We can't wait to hear all of the details of your first term in the morning." Euphemia had to almost carry them to bed.

Mia got changed quickly and slipped into bed. She was quite tired, but somehow she wasn't managing to sleep. She tossed and turned and pushed off her blanket and pulled it back again. But nothing.

She was trying yet another position when she heard her door open. She didn't even have to look before asking, "Couldn't sleep either?"

As James came into view, she could see him shaking his head. "It's weird after having slept at Hogwarts for so long." He climbed onto her bed and slipped under her covers.

"I know what you mean."

They were both silent for some time before James said, "I liked your prank today."

"Thanks. I was going to go after Snape specifically after he hexed you a couple of weeks ago, but this seemed funnier."

James let out a laugh. "Yeah, it was. You don't need to defend my honour life though. Besides, we are already planning something to get back at him for that."

Mia hummed an answer.

"Do you think Lily will ever like me back?" James asked suddenly.

Mia let out a loud laugh. "Just go to sleep, Jamie. Ask me that again in a couple of years."

She turned around and closed her eyes, feeling her brother doing the same. Before she knew it, she was asleep and dreaming of singing red hippogriffs.

-

The beginning of the holidays passed rather quickly.

They spent a lot of time with their parents, catching them up on a lot of things that happened during their first term. They, of course, left out many of the pranks or times they were in trouble, but the glint in Euphemia's eyes told her she knew. Can't keep anything hidden from a Slytheirn, after all. Least of all your mother.

James was happy to be reunited with the love of his life; his broom. He spent almost every afternoon flying atop the grounds, while Mia laid on the grass and read a pile of books from their library.

It was a bit weird for it to be just the two of them again, after months of being constantly surrounded by people. She missed their friends, but it was nice to get a little peace and quiet. She laughed internally, thinking how in her old life she would have killed for a term like that, with lots of friends and nothing big to worry about.

She talked to Pa about books and let Ma do her hair and makeup, and Mipsy even let her cook with her. Admittedly, it was a bit of a disaster, but it was fun.

Before any of them knew it, it was Christmas eve and Euphemia was more stressed than ever.

Most people consider Christmas a calm holiday, but it wasn't like that in the Potter household. Christmas eve was always the last day to make arrangements for the ball, to receive last minute RSVPs or to make sure that the decorations were perfect and up to Euphemia's impossibly high standards.

They always had a lovely Christmas eve dinner, though. It was always in the living room, next to the roaring fire and in their comfiest clothes, in piles of blankets. Euphemia always joked that if her mother saw that, the lack of 'pureblood decorum', she would be rolling in her grave. They all laughed at that, no one truly caring about pureblood customs.

This year was no different from any other. They spent hours and hours eating and talking and laughing. The family of four broke a record this year, staying up till past one in the morning, when Euphemia and Fleamont rushed them off to bed, claiming they would be too tired for the ball the next evening if they didn't go to sleep immediately.

Mia didn't even bother going to her room first, she just headed straight to James' room, slipped into bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

For a moment, Mia was back in the Weasley living room. They were all huddled together by the fireplace, drinking Mrs Weasley's famous hot chocolate. Fred and George were telling some wonderful story that made all of them laugh.

All seemed well.

If all seemed well, then why was Mia feeling so odd? She looked down at herself, and saw the regular her; her beautiful dark curls, handmade dress and eleven year old body. She looked up, seeing that Jamie looked mature, and she couldn't understand why.

He turned towards her, green eyes shining. Wait, green eyes?

"Right, Hermione?"

"WAKE UP MIA! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UPPPPPP!" James was quite literally jumping on top of her. "It's Christmas eve, Mi. That means gifts! Let's go!"

Mia chuckled a bit. "Alright, Jamie, alright." She stretched a bit, getting up from the bed. "Let's go."

Jamie had one of his pure joy smiles on his face as he grabbed her wrist and rushed her down the stairs. She put her dream away in a small box in the corners of her mind, for now. It was Christmas, she could surely deal with it later.

They got to breakfast and their parents were waiting for them there. Fleamont was still in his pyjamas, much like his two children, but Euphemia was already dressed for a day of party planning.

"Merry Christmas!" The twins shouted, running to hug their parents.

"Oh, my darlings, happy Christmas." Euphemia said.

"Merry Christmas indeed." Fleamont told them.

They both rushed off to their seats at the table, and started piling food onto their plate. It was Christmas, so Ma wouldn't mind it if Mia ate only bacon and muffins for breakfast, right? She laughed a bit internally, and decided to try out her theory, quickly discovering that she was indeed correct.

Mia and James ate their food as quickly as they could, and when they finished, they immediately looked up to their parents with an expectant look in their eyes.

"Very well, very well," said Fleamont. "Come on, children, let's open up our gifts."

They all went together to the sitting room and sat in front of the fire. Fleamont summoned all of the gifts from where they were hidden.

As always, the kids were the first to receive their gifts. Jamie flipped out when he ripped out the wrapping paper and found that his gift was a pair of specialized Quidditch gloves ("This means that my grip on the quaffle will increase by tenfold, Mi!").

Mia, to her credit, promised to listen all about it later, and then immediately went to see what her gift was. Just based on the weight, she already had a good idea of what it was. As soon as she uncovered the big book, she couldn't help the smile that came over her face.

It wasn't a regular book, but a journal. "I had this ex-Unspeakable who owed me a favour, and he thought it wouldn't do any harm in sharing some of his notes with you," Fleamont explained.

Mia couldn't help it, she set the book beside her and jumped on her parents, giving them a tight hug. She was ecstatic! Though, she wasn't very sure how he had convinced the man to share his notes, as Unspeakables are bound with oaths, and she was just a child. She wasn't about to start questioning it, though.

Next up came their parents. They gifted each other lovely pieces of jewelry; Ma got a pair of diamond earrings, and Pa got a pair of gold cufflinks. They shared a sweet kiss of thanks that left the twins crying out with grossness.

Then, the kids handed over their gifts to the parents.

"We hope you like them!" Jamie said. "We spent a really long time picking them out."

"I think you mean I did." Mia retorted.

James looked at her, "I still helped, though."

Mia gave him a smile and went back to looking at their parents. They both seemed really happy with their gifts; they got Ma an enchanted pair of heels that changed colours, and Pa a gold letter opener.

They thanked their kids with lots of kisses and hugs.

Shortly after, Euphemia went to start the arrangements for the party, and Fleamont went to get a book to read. The twins took that time to open the gifts they got from their friends.

From Remus, Mia got a copy of A Winter's Tale, by Shakespear. She internally laughed at the irony of one of the character's names being Hermione. She did love it, though. From Lily she got a journal that was quite beautiful. Marlene sent her a very nice perfume. From Peter, nothing.

Her favourite one, though, was her gift from Sirius. He gave her a pack of Sugar Quills (lemon, of course), and a beautiful new black quill. He must've heard her complaining about how her quills would always stain when an inkpot broke.

Jamie mostly got candy, with the exception of a new Puddlemere jersey from Sirius.

They hoped that their friends got the gifts that they sent. Remus should've received enough Honeydukes chocolate to last him a term. Sirius a nice variety of supplies from Zonko's. Lily a variety of Honeyduke sweets. Marlene a new pair of Quidditch goggles. Mia wasn't sure what James got Peter, and wasn't interested in finding out.

The twins mostly hung out the entire day and waited until the evening. Around five o clock, Euphemia rushed into the sitting room, interrupting a game of Exploding Snap, and grabbed Mia, rushing her to her room to start getting ready.

Mia hadn't realized how excited she was for the party until she started getting ready. This would be her first time at the event, and she couldn't wait to see all of her friends. She wasn't sure why Ma felt the need to get her up so early to get ready; it was mostly sitting around and waiting for Euphemia to do her own things.

Mia was still young, so she didn't need all of the makeup and jewelry that Euphemia was putting on. Her hair did take a long time, though. She wasn't sure how long Mipsy spent doing it, but it was definitely worth it when she saw the final result, which was a braided bun with a champagne coloured ribbon interwoven in it.

When it got close to the time the guests were supposed to arrive, Euphemia rushed Mia into her dress. It was a pretty champagne colour that went to her knees. She then went to make sure everything was perfect, and let Mia go find her brother.

"Jamie, what in Merlin's name are you doing with your tie?" She rushed towards her brother, preventing him from making an even bigger mess of the situation.

"Pa put it on too tight and left before I could ask him to fix it. I thought I could do it myself, but turns out bow ties are a bit more complicated than regular ones."

Mia felt bad for him and immediately summoned Mipsy to come and fix his mistakes. "Mipsy will teach Master how to properly tie a bow tie tomorrow. Master cannot let a disaster like this happen again. Master should have called Mipsy."

James looked down at his shoes sheepishly until Mipsy was gone. By then, it was already time for them to go and wait at the top of the stairs.

Traditionally, the party always started with the Potter family descending down the stairs. Of course, Euphemia would always be at the door greeting people as they arrived, but they still made their special entrance every year.

Once Ma appeared at the top of the stairs, they knew it was time to go. James offered her his arm, and she graciously took it as they followed their parents.

The twins put on their best smiles for all of those watching, but to anyone watching closely, they would see that they were scouring the crowd to find their friends.

"Welcome, all, and Merry Christmas!" Euphemia said, and with a wave of Fleamont's hand, the band started playing music.

The ballroom was beautifully decorated with tones of champagne and green. She could tell James didn't appreciate the latter as much, but they all had to admit that the effect was stunning.

As soon as they could, the twins left their parents' side to go and find their friends. Mia knew that neither Peter nor Lily were going to be able to come. Lily told her in her last letter that her parents appreciated the offer, but they missed her too much to allow her to leave on Christmas. Mia totally understood and told Lily so.

The first person that they encountered was Marlene. Encountered wasn't really the right word, considering that Mia was almost knocked off her feet by her friend giving her a hug.

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Mar. Come on," she said, detaching herself from the other girl, "Let's find the rest of the boys."

They continued their search, but this time with Marlene filling them in on everything she had kept out of her letters.

"Remus, mate!" James called out suddenly.

Mia turned to where he was looking and smiled a bit as she saw Remus looking quite awkward next to one of the food tables, with a drink in his hand. He looked visibly relieved when he spotted them and walked over to where they were standing.

He gave them all a big smile. "Hi, guys." James gave him a big pat on the back. "It's nice to see everyone. Where's Sirius, though?"

As if summoned, Sirius arrived running, almost knocking James off his feet. "Bloody hell, Sirius. Be careful."

"Sorry, mate." He gave James a smirk. "Was running away from the old hag. You know how it is." He turned to the rest of the group. "Merry Christmas, everyone! Ladies and Remus, you look simply dashing."

They all gave a good chuckle at that and started going somewhere a bit less crowded.

If it weren't for her friends, the party would be quite honestly, boring. She supposed it's the same for the adults, who could be seen shuffling around to talk to different people that they know.

The food was great, though, Mipsy had really outdone herself this time.

They spent as much time as they could in the ballroom, but eventually, they all got too tired and migrated to the sitting room, where it was a lot quieter, and they could finally talk without yelling at each other.

Mia managed to go and talk to each one of them to thank them for their gifts and was happy to know that they all liked theirs as well.

She reached Remus while they were walking. "I'm glad the suit fit, Remus."

He gave her an embarrassed smile. "It fits perfectly. Thank you so much, by the way, you really didn't have to do this."

"Nonsense. You look too dashing with it, it was obviously meant for you anyways." She gave him a smile and walked a bit ahead to catch up with James, missing the blush that graced his cheeks.

They were all sat down on the couches when James mysteriously got up and left the room. Everyone looked towards Mia for an explanation, but she just shrugged, having no clue what was going on with her brother either.

He didn't take very long, and when he came back he had Mipsy with him. With a snap of Mipsy's fingers, the tables in front of them were filled with snacks. They all thanked Mipsy profusely and started to enjoy the food.

"That was a great idea, Jamie!" Mia said, eating a piece of pie and she rested her head on his shoulders.

"Don't mention it." He said, but by the tone of his voice, she could tell he was proud of himself for the idea.

After a couple of minutes in silence as they ate, it was clear that Sirius couldn't take the silence anymore. "Alright, everyone. Time to play truth or dare."

Mia and Marlene slightly groaned. They all knew Sirius had been itching to play another round of the game ever since Halloween, but they hadn't gotten the chance.

"This time without all of the magic paper stuff, obviously. Now, who wants to start?" He looked around expectantly. When no one made a move, he continued. "Fine, I'll start. Kitten, truth or dare?"

She took a second to think about it. "Truth."

He gave her a grin. "What's your next prank going to be?"

"I haven't thought about it." At his look of interrogation, she expanded. "I'm serious. The last one alone took weeks to prepare, and I like my holidays to be prank free, thank you very much."

Remus chuckled a bit at that, and she sent a smile his way. "Ok, I guess it's my turn now to pick." She turned towards her brother. "Truth or dare, Jamie?"

He gave her a smirk and confidently said, "Dare."

Without missing a beat Mia said, "I dare you to go dance with Mrs Longbottom."

All the colour drained from James' face and she could hear their friends laughing. "You wouldn't. Don't you remember what happened the last time she came over?"

Mia gave him a smile. "It'll be one dance, Jamie. It won't be as bad as you think. I promise I'll go save you if anything happens."

He still looked a bit pale and nodded as they all made their way to the ballroom. The group stood back as Jamie approached Mrs Longbottom and asked for a dance. In the distance, Mia could see Euphemia smiling approvingly, seeing that her son was being a good host.

For the few minutes that the song lasted, James looked like he was being tortured. The group laughed good-naturedly at the scene, sending him encouraging looks whenever they could.

"Hey, Kitten." She turned towards Sirius. "What happened the last time that Mrs Longbottom came over?"

Mia gave him a mysterious smile. "Ah, I can't tell you that. I swore a twin oath that I would never reveal it to anyone else unless Jamie approved."

Sirius fake pouted. "Come onnnnnnnn, Kitten. Please?"

"Sorry, Sirius. You'll have to get it out of James." She gave him a shrug and turned back to the sight of her brother leaving the dance floor as quickly as he could.

"Never make me do that again." He shuttered. "She tried to get me to start courting one of her nieces. And her vulture hat kept staring at me."

They all went back to the sitting room and continued their game. Nothing as funny happened for the rest of the night, but it was perfect nonetheless.

"Next year we need to force Lily to come," Marlene said. "Maybe we can kidnap her!"

They all laugh at that but agreed that Lily would need to come next time.

One by one the members of their small group started to leave until it was just the twins and Sirius.

"Well, I suppose I should get going. The old hag is probably looking for me, and I wouldn't want to expose both of you to her presence just yet."

He gave James a pat on the back and hugged Mia, and with a final goodbye, he left the sitting room to look for his parents.

James sighed. "That was really fun."

"Yeah, it was."

"I'm knackered, though. Let's head to bed?" He asked, standing up and extending his hand out to her.

She took his hand and stood up. "Yeah, let's go."

They went off to bed, each in their own room this night, and almost immediately fell asleep after the long night that they had just had.

-

The twins spent the rest of their holidays in relative peace. Or as peaceful as things can be for the Potter twins.

They exchanged letters with their friends almost daily, but it still felt weird not seeing them every day.

They spent a lot of time with their parents, taking advantage of the fact that they were at home. Mia spent a lot of time discussing the books she read during the first term with Fleamont; it just wasn't the same, telling him her thoughts through a letter.

Euphemia was excited to know all that they had learnt during the term, and every time they told her they performed a spell perfectly or brewed a potion very well, she got extremely happy.

The days quickly passed and before they knew it, it was New Year's Eve. This year, the Potters decided to forgo going to a party, and just spent the evening together as a family. The twins thought it was because they were going back to Hogwarts in a couple of days, and their parents wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.

When they were standing once again on Platform 9 ¾, to board the Hogwarts express, their parents went through the same routine as before. Ma cried loads and Pa had to distract her while the twins boarded the train.

They quickly found an empty compartment and waited for their friends to arrive. Mia rested her head on Jamie's shoulder, and she knew she was speaking for both of them when she said that she couldn't wait to start another term at Hogwarts.