Magical Mischief: Year One

xiii. Christmas is the Best Time of Year

The next couple months flew by, and soon the halls were decorated in lights and wreaths in the spirit of Christmas. Lily had gone back to glaring at James and he suspected it was because of the epic prank that he, Sirius, Peter and Remus had pulled off in collaboration with Peeves the poltergeist, involving the halls being flooded with water after charming all the toilets in the girls bathroom to be suspended upside down on the ceiling.

Remus kept up his monthly visits to his mum. His absences caused James and Sirius to become remarkably better at note taking, and Peter even took up calligraphy so he could make the notes look neat and nice to look at, or as Peter liked to say, "adding character to boring letters."

Now it was Christmas break, each of them heading home to their respective families for the holiday. The Gryffindors gathered in the common room, bags in hand, waiting for McGonagall to escort them to the train.

"Alright, Frank?" James greeted the boy who strode up to where he stood with Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Frank smiled kindly at them. "You lot excited for the holidays?"

"I am!" Peter exclaimed. "My mum makes the most delicious Christmas dinners."

Frank chatted animatedly about his plans to visit his Uncle Enid and Aunt Algie, describing in detail the wonderful mince pie that his mum always made. This left everyone feeling severely hungry.

Soon, they were on board the Hogwarts Express. They chatted all the way to King's Cross, all of them excited except for Sirius.

"I guess this is goodbye, then," Sirius grumbled as they disembarked into the crowd of people on the platform.

The four exchanged goodbyes, and Remus and Peter left to find their families.

"Merry early Christmas, mate," James slung his arm over Sirius' shoulder. "D'you want me to help you find your parents?"

"No, they're over there." Sirius nodded sullenly towards two tall and intimidating people, dressed in dark cloaks. Between them stood a boy who looked to be the spitting image of Sirius.

"Your brother looks exactly like you," James marveled.

Sirius' gave a small smile at the mention of Regulus. "Hopefully my parents haven't turned him against me," he said bitterly.

They shared another quick goodbye before Sirius slinked off to his parents and James ran to his mum and dad, enveloping them in a big hug.

Mr. Potter ruffled his hair. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you guys too," James grinned.

"Tell us everything once we get home," said Mrs. Potter. "I've made my famous Christmas cookies!"

He grabbed their arms as they prepared to apparate home. James caught a glimpse of Lily with her family. She hugged her parents who beamed with delight, and gave a small smile to a girl who James assumed was her sister. The girl had dark hair which contrasted greatly with Lily's fiery red hair. The two looked nothing alike, except for the venomous glare that had engraved itself in the dark haired girl's face. She stood with her arms crossed, glaring coldly at Lily whose smile instantly dropped.

James caught Lily's eye and shot her a reassuring smile. He managed to catch a glimpse of her surprised expression before twisting into oblivion.

Moments later, he was in his living room.

"Ugh," James groaned, massaging his temples. "I hate apparating."

*\

The week leading up to Christmas seemed to drag on agonizingly slow. The Potter's Ministry jobs required them to continue to go to work every day, leaving James bored at home. He occupied himself by decorating his bedroom walls in red and gold for Gryffindor pride, and going out into town to buy presents for his family and friends.

One night after dinner, James found himself engrossed in an intense game of wizard's chess with his dad.

"Checkmate!" he whooped as his bishop destroyed his dad's king.

A sharp tap sounded from their window and they turned around to see a formidable owl perched on their window sill. It tapped again, ruffling it's dark, groomed feathers impatiently.

"Merlin's beard," said Mr. Potter. "Who owns an owl like that?"

James ran to open the window, grabbing a handful of owl treats which the bird pompously refused. Shrugging, he untied the letter attached to the owl's ankle and watched as it expanded it's large wings and took off.

James unfurled the parchment and grinned, recognizing the messy scrawl immediately. "It's from Sirius!"

He rushed up to his room to read the letter.

Dear James, it read.

I hope you're doing well. Upon arriving at my house I immediately shut myself inside my bedroom and have only come out to eat. Regulus hasn't said more than four words to me, probably out of fear of what my parents will do if they catch him speaking to me, the disgraceful Gryffindor. My father has been even angrier and more rude than ever before. I'm thinking of sneaking out to a nearby Muggle store and buying some Muggle items just to piss him off even further. Maybe then they'll banish me from the family and I can spend my Christmas at Hogwarts. It would be far more enjoyable than spending it here.

If you are thinking of sending me a present, (I would not be upset if you weren't,) I advise you to wait until we return to Hogwarts. My parents have been looking for ways to punish me for not 'upholding family honour'. I've already been threatened with grounding, hand-me-down dress robes, disembowelment— you know, the usual.

Your brother, Sirius.

James grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and some ink, and scribbled his reply.

Dear Sirius,

I'm sorry you have to go through that. The way they treat you isn't right. Maybe if they ban you from the family, you could just spend Christmas with me instead? It would probably be much better than having to spend it with the teachers.

I am of course planning on giving you a gift, but I will wait to give it to you until we get back to Hogwarts like you asked. I got gifts for Remus and Peter as well. I found a book called 'Old and Forgotten Charms and Enchantments' for Remus and I picked up a Muggle calligraphy set for Peter, as he seems quite interested in that. Shopping for Peter was a shot in the dark, really—I haven't got a clue what he likes. I also got a gift for Evans, but it's a bit of a joke so you'll have to guess what it is.

If you do end up going to a Muggle store, try to find something called a 'record player'. I overheard some Muggles talking about it the other day and I don't exactly know what it is.

Your brother, James.

He rolled the letter up and opened Titus' cage, giving his owl a loving back scratch and some food pellets before tying the note to his ankle.

"Try not to let his parents see you, alright Titus?"

The owl hooted in understanding. James opened the window and Titus flew out, soaring into the night.