Oh God Not Again!

Chapter Twenty Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

After Ron, Hermione, and Neville had gone to bed, Harry stayed down in the Common Room, waiting for Sirius to call. Sure enough, after twenty minutes, his mirror flashed to indicate that Sirius was trying to reach him. He removed the silencing spell from the mirror and waited to see what his godfather had to say.

"You sent me a bloody mirror?" was the first thing out of Sirius's mouth.

"Well, hello to you too, Sirius. I haven't seen you since Halloween. I'm fine, thanks for asking. How have you been?" Harry asked politely.

"Don't get cute with me Harry," Sirius growled. "You sent me a mirror for Christmas!"

"Don't get pissy with me Sirius," Harry said, imitating Sirius's indignant tone, "You really need it. When was the last time you shaved?"

"I've been on the run!"

"I got you a wand," Harry pointed out.

"You made me look like an eleven-year-old girl first," Sirius shot back.

Harry shrugged, trying valiantly to suppress his grin at that very interesting mental picture. "What can I say, Sirius? Sacrifices must be made."

"I didn't see you making any sacrifices…" Sirius said moodily.

"Au contraire, I am now scarred for life," Harry insisted.

"You don't look scarred," Sirius countered as Harry lost the fight to keep his face impassive.

"Yeah, well…" Harry trailed off. "I thought I should probably warn you before I actually do it, but Mrs. Figg sent me one of her kneazle kittens and I'm having one of the school owls deliver it to Filch tomorrow at breakfast."

Sirius froze, mouth agape in horror. "Harry…you…" he shook his head, unable to continue.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Spare me the histrionics, please."

"What histrionics? I am genuinely horrified and appalled here," Sirius huffed indignantly. "What were those Muggles thinking when they raised you?"

"'I sure wish we had a less active Child Protection Service so we could beat the magic out of our freak of a nephew'?" Harry suggested impishly.

"You know what I mean," Sirius said impatiently.

Harry nodded. "Indeed I do. That's why I answered your question to the best of my abilities."

"Don't play dumb Harry; it doesn't suit you," Sirius sniped.

"Hey, if you're going to be like that, then fine. Where's myChristmas present?" Harry demanded, crossing his arms. "You can't complain about what I got you and then turn around and not get me anything."

"I'm a fugitive of the law! I don't exactly have the resources to get you anything," Sirius said defensively.

"Bull," Harry said dismissively. "You have a wand, don't you?"

"Anything I can make with a wand, you can make," Sirius pointed out. "Given my little prison stint, you technically have more years of using magic on you than I do."

"Details, details," Harry waved his hand impatiently. "And what I meant was, you can use glamour and don't even pretend that the goblins care that you're a fugitive. You could have easily gotten me something."

"Well, maybe I would have been more receptive if you'd agreed to meet up. I haven't seen you in months, after all," Sirius pouted.

"That's because, your fugitive status notwithstanding, I'm off at boarding school. That's kind of how these things work. You're just going to have to get used to that."