Unofficial Portkey Archive

------------------ One Week Later ---------------

"CHRISTMAS VACATION ROCKS MY SOCKS!! WOOOO!!!!"

Sirius's yells rang through the Great Hall, earning a few appreciative laughs from the students that remained for the holidays. Sirius caught sight of James, Lily, Peter and Remus gathered at their usual table, and he wandered over to greet them.

"Gee, Padfoot, tell us how you really feel" James quipped.

"Yeah, we somehow didn't quite catch that," Peter said.

"Oh. All right then." Sirius jumped onto the table, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"CHRISTMAS VACATION ROC--" Remus and James tackled Sirius and they collapsed on the table, knocking over plates and goblets.

"Get off me! You asked!" Sirius cried. "Get OFF!" The boys laughed and kept wrestling on the table top.

"Cripes," Peter muttered. "Bloody children, they are." Amid all the commotion, however, no one heard him. He got up from the table just as James' elbow overturned his plate full of food. Lily was red in the face, clutching her ribs and trying to breathe through her laughter.

"OH, it hurts! It hurts!" she cried. Tears of mirth were streaming down her face.

"Then stop laughing" Peter grinned.

"I can't!" Lily doubled over and clutched Peter's arm for support, her laughter out of control. Peter smiled and gently patted her back.

"It's going to be ok, Lily. We have a nice room for you, with soft padded walls," Peter said encouragingly. Lily laughed even harder and leaned fully onto Peter. She was so close he could smell her hair. . .

"Oh my lord." The twins had arrived Autumn was staring open-mouthed at the scene before her. Spike's eyes were alive with excitement.

"Excellent!" He looked at his sister, who grinned and nodded.

"BONZAI!" Spike yelled.

"DOG PILE!!" Autumn screamed. They both launched themselves from where they stood three feet from the table, flew through the air, and cannonballed themselves onto the pile of wrestling boys. Their collision caused the entire table to turn over onto its side and everyone spilled onto the floor.

Lily and Peter were both in complete hysterics; clutching each other and watching the pile of people roll around on the ground amid dishes and food and spilled drink.

"Well, look at the simpletons acting like their pig forefathers." The wrestling and laughter stopped. Standing behind Lily and peter were Bellatrix, Lucius, Severus and Calista. Lily's grip on Peter's arm tightened and she went noticeably pale. She couldn't take her eyes off of Lucius; the pale monster of her nightmares.

"Get bent, Malfoy." Spike was the first to stand and pull out his wand. James went to stand behind Lily and put his hands on her shoulders. Sirius was at her side, Autumn and Remus behind Spike. All had their wands out except Lily, who was frozen, and Peter, whom no one noticed.

"Now, now, children," Bellatrix said. "We wouldn't want to cause a ruckus in the Great Hall . . . with witnesses!" she said pointedly to Lucius. Lucius acknowledged her with a graceful nod of his head.

"We just came to say, Happy Christmas," he said sarcastically. He let his eyes trail to Lily before he turned and led his band of Slytherins out of the Hall.

"I can't believe they didn't expel him!" Autumn was so angry she was shaking, her wand emitting blue sparks uncontrollably. Remus put a soothing hand on her arm and gently took her wand away from her.

"His parents went to the school governors," Spike said softly.

"Figures," Sirius muttered. "I guess money really can buy everything."

"But Lily gave her testimony to the governors," Remus said.

"They passed it off as lies," Spike said.

"How can they pass off what happened as lies?!" Sirius exclaimed. "He attacked her! We all saw him!"

"I wonder why we weren't called as witnesses," Remus wondered.

"Malfoy's parents pinned the entire thing on Lily's medication and even convinced the school governors she had hurt herself during her reaction." Spike was quiet, but the fury was evident in his voice.

"Can we please talk about something else," James said sharply. Everyone turned; Lily was still very white and was staring at the floor with a heartbroken look on her face.

"Sorry, Lily-girl," Sirius said quietly. The others muttered their apologies behind him.

"Let's go take a walk, love." James held out his hand to Lily, and she took it gratefully. James nodded to the others as they left the Great Hall together.

"And here I was thinking the worst was over," Autumn said. No one else said anything, but they were all thinking along the same lines. They had been living in a peaceful dreamland, and now they were back to the harsh reality. Whatever was happening between the two groups, it wasn't over.

~~Christmas Eve ~~

The pale gray light of the early dawn crept into the Shrieking Shack. Remus stretched and opened his eyes.

"Why am I always on the floor? You'd think I'd have the sense to fall asleep on the friggin bed!!" he muttered aloud. There was a snort of laughter from above him and as he rolled over, he saw Calista sitting, cross-legged on the bed.

"I didn't think you'd be here," he said softly and Calista just shrugged.

"I didn't think you wanted me here," she said softly as she fiddled with a large hole in the thin blanket, not looking at him.

It was the day after the third night of the full moon. Remus had become very accustomed to having Calista there when he woke up, indeed, he even looked forward to having her there, but the past two days he had awakened to no one. He told himself that it was all right that she wasn't there, that these morning visits didn't mean much and besides, he was mad at her. Yet here she was, and his heart was warmed by the sight of her.

"It's good to see you," he said now, even softer than he had spoken before.

"I thought you were mad at me," she said.

"I was."

Calista's eyes flicked to his face, "Oh," then darted back to the blanket. Remus grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself like a toga, then sat next to Calista on the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"You keep asking me that!" she cried frustrated. "There is nothing wrong!"

"Then why won't you be seen with me? Why won't you talk to me in school? Why do you insist we hide ourselves in this miserable little hovel?"

Calista had gone very still, her fingers no longer twiddling with the blanket. To Remus, she looked even paler than normal. I wonder if she's sick?

"What we have . . ." her voice was very small. It sounded as though she had rehearsed what she was about to say a thousand times.

"What we have is not supposed to be," she said. "This is wrong. You know we don't belong together. We're too different. We-"

Remus silenced her with a small, delicate kiss. He pulled back just enough to whisper to her before he kissed her again.

"I don't care."

~ Christmas Morning ~

"This is so not cool!" Sirius yelled. It was Christmas morning and he was finding himself in a bit of a tangle.

"I am not kidding! Lily! Autumn! Knock it off!"

"Aww, c'mon, Padfoot old boy." James voice was coming from somewhere on Sirius's left side. "Don't tell me you think having two gorgeous girls tie you up is a bad thing!!"

"When I imagined being tied up, it wasn't like this!!!"

In a moment of child-like Christmas spirit, Lily and Autumn had decided to take all their ribbons and paper from their now-unwrapped gifts and turn Sirius into a human gift. He was covered from head to toe with wrapping paper and now the girls were finishing the whole thing off by tying a large red sating bow around Sirius's midriff. Peter and Remus were not helping matters any; they kept bringing the girls more wrapping paper to use.

"This is the most insulting thing. . ." Sirius grumbled. In truth, he actually didn't care. The situation actually struck him as being very funny, but he felt that if he didn't protest, he'd never live it down.

"Turn him around," he heard Lily say and felt himself being lifted off the ground. He was turned in the air until he found himself facing his friends, with Spike dead center holding his camera.

"Aww, man!" Too late. Spike had snapped the picture already. He took several more as well, Sirius making faces for the last few.

"Let's go! " Peter cried.

"Hey, Pete, this party is just getting started," Spike said. Peter cringed inside; he hated being called Peter almost as much as Calista hated being called Cali, though he did not know this.

"But it's time to eat," he whined. "FOOOOOOD!!"

"Food? Where?!" Sirius swiveled his head back and forth as though looking for food. James cracked up at the sight of his best friend with a bow in his hair.

"I've got to send a picture of this to my mom," he said.

"Oh, good. Give Natalie more ammunition to torment me with!!" Sirius groaned and closed his eyes in complete mortification. Since Sirius had moved in with James, Natalie Potter had never ceased to tease him about anything and everything. She said she was making up for the first sixteen years of his life, and Sirius loved every second of it. Natalie was more of a mother to him than his own had ever been.

"OK, people, you've had your fun," he said. "Now unwrap me so I can go eat."

"Depends on what we'll find when we unwrap you," Autumn said slyly.

"EEW!" James, Remus, Peter and Spike cried out in unison.

"Autumn!" Lily gasped.

"What?" Autumn said innocently. "I'm just curious!"

"I'm leaving," Lily said. She left the room trying very hard not to let her imagination run away with her. Bad Lily. Baaad Lily. . .

"Wait up Lily-bean!" James was right behind her. He grabbed her just as they reached the portrait hole, picked her up from behind and swung her around in a circle before kissing her head and setting her down again. Laughing, Lily took his hand and led him into the hallway.

"Tough luck, Padfoot," Peter said as he followed Lily and James.

"You guys can't leave me here!!" Sirius yelped. "Come on!"

Spike said nothing; he just laughed his way outside. Remus and Autumn were left holding each other and laughing at Sirius

"Please unwrap me," he said in his most pitiful voice.

"Hmmm," Remus said. "I think you look cute like that, Black."

"When I get out of this. . ."

"If you get out of this," Remus interjected.

Sirius sighed and turned imploring eyes to Autumn. "Please?" he begged her. Autumn grinned and pretended not to hear him.

"All right. Autumn, if you unwrap me I'll give you chocolate!"

Autumn was on him in a flash, tearing at the wrapping paper while Remus tried not to have a heart attack from laughing. Sirius's limbs were free in seconds.

"Thank you!" Sirius flung his arms around Autumn and stuck his tongue out at Remus. She stopped him when he reached for the bow in his hair.

"The bow stays," she insisted.

"You're on crack, woman," Sirius retorted.

"Want some?" she offered

Sirius, Autumn and Remus cracked up. They were completely in the Christmas spirit and didn't mind being extra-silly.

"FOOD!!" Sirius ran screaming from the common room and out the portrait hole; tearing the bow from his hair and flinging it back inside as he went. Remus and Autumn could hear him screaming for food all the way down the hall. Remus laughed at his friend's antics as he crossed to Autumn and offered her a hand.

"Thanks," she said as he helped her up. "Hey Remus. . . "

"Yeah?"

"Remember, back in the Three Broomsticks. . . "

"Yeah." Remus grinned. He had a feeling he knew what was coming, and was very eager for it.

"Remember what we talked about?"

"No. Not at all. Uh-uh."

"Oh," Autumn said. "Well, we were-"

"I remember idiot!" Remus laughed and Autumn playfully swatted him on the arm.

"Prat!"

"Of course I will," Remus said. Autumn's eyes widened at she couldn't help smiling a big, goofy grin.

"Really?" she squealed. "Oh Remus, you're amazing!" She squeezed Remus in a bone-crushing hug and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"We just have to keep this quiet," he said when she had let him go.

"Naturally." Autumn dropped him a wink and they went down to the Great Hall together.

********

The woods were darker than normal tonight. There were none of the sounds that usually accompanied the forest, only this low, unearthly chant. Calista tried to see what was happening, but she couldn't move. Thick ropes were binding her to something hard and cold that felt like stone, but she wasn't entirely sure. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she wished that whoever was making that awful racket would stop.

A figure appeared in the darkness, tall and hooded. Calista was paralysed with the fear that she would see red eyes burning like hellfire under that hood, but it was too dark to tell. The person raised their right hand into the air and then spoke to the night in a voice Calista knew but could not quite place.

"Behold the sacrifice!"

The hand plunged down and Calista did not realize they were holding a knife until it was buried deep inside her belly. She screamed; there had never in her life been pain like this; and at that moment there was a flash of lightening and Calista looked up into the cold, dead eyes of Sara Brown. She screamed again and looked around her dormitory's room in terror.

She was drenched in sweat, the bedclothes tangled at her feet and her heart pounding as though she had run a marathon. She leaned back against the pillows and brushed her damp hair away from her head with a shaking hand. Her stomach had apparently decided to join a gymnastics team by the flips it was doing inside of her and if it didn't stop soon she was going to be ill all over her bed.

Calista's nightmares were growing steadily worse. This last was so vivid she could have sworn the hills were actually alive with the sound of music. OK, time to get a decent potion for dreamless sleep. Yes, that was a good idea. She could make up some excuse to the nurse and then the dreams would go away.

She tossed the tangled blankets off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stepped into the moonlight and saw what it had been too dark to see earlier: the rope burns on her arms and legs.

**********

Christmas dinner had come and gone and night found Sirius, Autumn, Remus, James and Lily gathered around the fire in their common room, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Peter had gone to bed ages ago and even Spike had crashed early. The boys were singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs, changing the lyrics to suit themselves. Lily and Autumn were in hysterics not just because of the words, but from the singing itself. What Sirius lacked in pitch he made up for in volume and his off-key caterwauling echoed off the walls with gusto.

After the last verse of "Oh Golden Snitch" (sung to the tune of "Oh Holy Night") had been sung, Lily yawned and stretched her arms over her head.

"So tired," she mumbled.

"Guess that means Lily's done for the day," Remus said.

"Oh yeah," Lily replied. She stood and kissed James on his forehead. "Night."

"Night, love," James whispered.

Lily waved to the others and made her way up the stairs, very eager to greet her bed. James stood as well.

"I think I'm done too," he said.

"Before you go, I have something to show you," Sirius said, leapt top his feet and gestured for James to follow him outside.

"Uh-oh." James rolled his eyes at Remus before following Sirius into the hall. Once the portrait had swung shut behind them, Autumn turned to Remus.

"How come we never get to play?" she asked. Remus just shrugged; he was too tired to even think straight. Autumn, however, was completely wired.

"Did you do it?" she asked.

"Of course I did," Remus said. He pointed with his wand to the ceiling. Autumn followed and her face widened into a huge grin.

"Do you think it'll actually work, Remus?"

"Well, I've heard better plans, to be perfectly honest," he said. "But I've also heard worse. We'll see soon, won't we? DO you know what you're going to say?"

"Not a clue," Autumn said nervously. "I was thinking I'll just wing it."

"Wing it?"

"Yeah, you know, improvise."

"Lord help us." Remus raised his eyes to the heavens and prayed for mercy. Autumn laughed and threw a piece of chocolate at him. Remus caught it in his hands and grinned at Autumn.

"I think you're going to want that." He tossed it back to Autumn, who gave him her mischievous grin.

"Dirty!" she scolded him.

"You know it. I'm off." Remus hopped over the back of the sofa and wandered over to his staircase. "Have fun." He winked at Autumn over his shoulder before he disappeared up the stairs, the sound of her laughter following him as he went.

*************

"OK, Padfoot, what's going on?"

Sirius sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I --- well, I don't have anything to show you. I just wanted to talk," he said to the floor. James folded his arms and leaned casually against the wall.

"So talk."

"It's about Lily."

Sirius could feel James go tense, even though the boy didn't move at all. James didn't say anything, so Sirius took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

"I just want you to know it's over."

James gave Sirius a very confused look. "I'm lost."

"What I feel - what I felt," Sirius quickly corrected himself, "that's all passed now. Lily is just. . . Lily to me now. I don't have those feelings for her any more. That's behind me now. I just wanted to let you know," Sirius finished quietly, once again looking at the floor. James was still for a moment, considering what his best friend had just told him. Sirius held his breath while he waited for James to respond.

James grinned and smacked Sirius on the arm.

"Breath a little, Padfoot. All is well," James said happily. Sirius let out his breath and smiled at his best friend, the past neatly buried at last.

"So, we're ok?" Sirius just wanted to make sure James had swallowed his lies.

"Of course we are," James reassured him. Sirius slung his arm around James' neck and they walked back into the common room together. They found that everyone had gone to bed except Autumn. She was lounging on the couch, tossing empty candy wrappers into the fire.

"Was it cool?" she asked.

"Huh?" The boys exchanged confused looks.

"What Sirius wanted to show you," she said to James. "Was it cool?"

"Oh!" The mental light bulb went on inside James' head. "No, it was completely lame, actually." James ducked to avoid getting hit in the head by Sirius and ran laughing up the stairs to his dorm room.

"Slytherin wannabe!" Sirius called after him. He turned to Autumn, who was giving him a very strange look. "What?"

"Your insults have more bark than bite," she said.

"That's a nice way of putting it."

"You're right. They suck."

"Thanks, Autumn."

"Anytime."

Sirius plopped onto the sofa next to her and looked from Autumn to the fire and back again. "Having fun?"

"Loads."

"Hey now," Sirius held up his hands. "Let's stop this crazy whirligig of fun. I'm dizzy."

"Shut up," Autumn smiled. "Hey, you owe me chocolate, Black! Don't think I haven't forgotten."

"True and I always repay my debts," Sirius said gallantly. He searched his pockets but came up empty. He grinned sheepishly at Autumn.

"My supply seems to have run out," he said.

"I feel robbed," Autumn said. She leaned her head back against the sofa and gazed at the ceiling. A tiny smile played upon her lips. "Of course, there are other ways to pay me back."

"Such as?" Sirius was suddenly suspicious. If this was one of Autumn's pranks. . .

Autumn just smiled and pointed to the ceiling. Sirius looked up and inwardly groaned. Mistletoe.

"You planned this," he said accusingly.

"Who me?" Her false innocent act never worked, but Sirius had to admit she was very cute when she tried to do it.

"Yes, you," he said pointedly.

"Hey I didn't put it there," she said. Sirius kept looking at her until she cracked. "Remus did."

"That little--! I swear, he's as bad as a woman sometimes."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing," Sirius said quickly. Autumn continued to glare at him so to divert her from killing him he said the first thing that came into his head.

"If you kill me, how am I supposed to kiss you?"

"Who said anything about kissing?" Autumn asked coyly.

"I just assume that's what one does when one is under mistletoe," Sirius said, playing along.

"Oh, well, I'd hate to break tradition."

"Me too," Sirius said quietly. It was just one kiss, it couldn't hurt.

Sirius and Autumn did not make it to their beds until the early hours of the morning. Both went to sleep much happier than either had expected.

*********************

It had been a wonderful Christmas, full of laughter and smiles. For the first time in a long time, there was a day with no problems, no worries. There was no whisper from the shadows to hint of the darkness that was to come, only light. It was the perfect day.

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