Mischief Not So Managed

Happy Holidays

Christmas had arrived and most students were packing bags to go home for the holidays. James, Remus and Peter had their bags ready when they saw Sirius sitting glumly on his bed.
"Aren't you going to pack?" asked Remus.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I-I'm not going home for Christmas."
"Really? You don't want to see your mum and dad?"
"Nah. I don't feel like seeing their hideous faces. I'd like to avoid their idiocy for as long as I possibly can," he said casually, swinging his legs.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"You really shouldn't say such things about your parents, Sirius. They are your family after all," said Remus quietly.
"Are they really? Well they most certainly don't act like it," scoffed Sirius.
"Well, they can't be that bad..." said James.
"You should see them. My wonderful mother just about reeks of death and lives on malice. I'd say Filch is a fairy princess compared to my mother."
James chuckled.
"Wow... um well have fun," said Remus, still quite startled.
"Hey Sirius?" said James after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Would you... um... do you want to come over to my house for Christmas?"
Sirius's eyes widened.
"Really? Your parents wouldn't mind?"
"No no, I'm sure they'll be fine with it," assured James.
"You mean it?" asked Sirius.
James nodded, "Yeah it'll be fun."
"Thanks a lot James. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Hey you'd do the same for me."
Sirius smiled. It was decided then. Sirius would be over at the Potter's for Christmas.

Sirius had been nervous. What if James's parents said he couldn't come? The Blacks weren't exactly the most treasured wizarding family. The day they arrived at station 9 ¾ James had run up to his mum and dad and introduced them to Sirius and said he wasn't able to go home for Christmas.
"Well of course he can stay at our house over Christmas," said Mrs. Potter happily.
"Yes. The more the merrier," said Mr. Potter in his deep voice.
"Thank you very much Mr. and Mrs. Potter," said Sirius meekly with a genuinely sweet smile. Not the sarcastic and sickeningly sweet one he was known to give when he was trying to look innocent in front of McGonagall after having tripped Snape.

Sirius and James had spent a wonderful Christmas together and the Potters had planned for Sirius to come over for Christmas every time from now on. Sirius gladly accepted. The Potters were warm and friendly, something Sirius had never been exposed to in his own home. His place was "dark and everyone was a snob with inhumanely high standards that did not suit their medieval and stupid methods" as Sirius had said. He had spoken mind about his family to James finally.

"They have this horrific pure-blood mania. They think half-bloods and muggle-borns are all scum under their feet. I hate every single one of them. The only decent one is my cousin Andromeda, but of course since she wasn't a psychopath like the rest of them and has a muggleborn boyfriend, Tonks or something I guess, well they disowned her," said Sirius with hatred spilling from his voice.
"That's terrible!" said James, "Your poor cousin."
"She was sad at first but honestly she's glad now. I would be too."
The more James listened to Sirius's stories the more, family and he wondered how someone so normal like Sirius was born from a family like that. It was almost a miracle. Sirius was glad to get all of this off his chest. He had never been able to talk to anyone about the toxicity that ran through his entire family, he just had to accept it and move on but now it was different. Hogwarts had given him new hope.

_______________________________________


"Hey Sirius! James!"
"Remus! Peter!"
James and Sirius ran to them and they got into a compartment.  They caught each other up on their holidays and what they got for Christmas.
It had been their first train ride all together and they enjoyed it very much. They ate enough chocolate frogs and every flavor beans to keep them full all day. However that didn't stop them from pouncing at the food at dinner.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Something was noticed by James which intrigued him greatly. The more he thought about it, the more he grew curious.
"Hey Sirius can I talk to you for a second?" he said one day in the Great Hall.
"Sure James."
"What's up?" said Sirius once they had exited the hall.
"I've noticed something and I'm not sure about it or anything but I just thought I'd let you know."
"Oh alright. What is it?"
"Have you noticed that Remus disappears every month?"
"Yeah. Because of his family. Honestly James how thick are you? Don't tell me you've noticed just recently?"
"No no, let me speak will you. It's just that he always disappears at a certain time every month."
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
James lowered his voice to a whisper, "It's always during a full moon."
"So what's that got to-" Sirius stopped mid sentence and gasped loudly, "James. Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

James nodded slowly. "I think he might be a werewolf..."