Introducing Remus Lupin, a self-hating, half-blood werewolf who hasn't experienced human touch for six years; Sirius Black, a rebellious pureblood who doesn't know how it feels to be loved; Peter Pettigrew, an anxious halfblood with a dark past who...
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Monday 25th December
Being back at home—in his childhood bed, rather than chained to the wall of the cellar—caused Sirius' mind to revert to its old ways of waking him up at exactly six o'clock. In some ways, it was a good thing—he wouldn't be in trouble for being lazy, for example—but in another way, it was thoroughly annoying because today was Christmas Day, the one day of the year they were allowed to stay in bed until seven-thirty.
Grumbling under his breath, Sirius climbed out of bed and plodded through to his bathroom. He never could stay in bed once he was awake. Not just to lie there and do nothing. There needed to be some kind of activity happening. Finished emptying his bladder, Sirius took a quick shower and dressed in formal dress robes for Christmas breakfast, before looking around for something to do while he waited.
And that's when he remembered he had presents from his friends to open.
Pulling the three gifts from his trunk, Sirius examined the ones from James and Remus before tossing them onto his bed, ripping Peter's open as he walked over and flopped onto the mattress. As expected, Peter's gift was a selection of sweets and Sirius ripped open a packet of ice mice and happily popped one into his mouth. Peter could always be relied upon to provide food for poor starving wizards with an hour to wait until breakfast.
It was a tough decision but Sirius opened James' present next, saving what he expected to be the best for last. He was confused, at first, when the first thing to be revealed was a book, but when he turned it over and read the title, that confusion turned into a belly-fizzing excitement. Magical tattoos and how to charm them. Along with the book, James had given him a beginner's tattooing kit, complete with needles, ink, and enchanted artificial skin to practise on. Sirius flipped the book open and read the message James had written on the inside of the front cover. Twinkles, I think every club needs an official club tattoo, don't you? Love Sunshine.
If it wasn't for the fact that he still had one present left to open, Sirius would have grabbed some parchment to immediately start working on designs. Instead, he put James' present to one side, giving it one last grin, and picked up the gift from Remus. Whatever it was, it was bound to be brilliant.
He was unfazed by the unassuming notebook that was revealed when he ripped off the paper. Nothing Remus gifted would ever be that boring and obvious. There was definitely more to it. With that thought in mind, he opened the book, and on the first page, his faith was rewarded and he read the message there with a grin. Remus had worked out a way for them to communicate instantly, without owls. He was amazing.
Happy Christmas Moony. You're a genius. This is amazing, he wrote back on the first page, and then he turned to the next one.
Reading what was written there, he snorted and shook his head, pressing his quill to the page to reply.
