Chapter Thirty-Two “ Christmas Tidings
When Lily Evans awoke on Christmas morning in her darkened bedroom, the first thing she realized was that there was a heavy weight over her legs. She wiggled slightly and raised a hand to wipe away a bit of sleep. When she opened her eyes, she was momentarily startled.
Lying right next to her under a thick patchwork quilt was James. He was still asleep, his mouth slightly open and his hair”if it was possible”even messier than normal. Lily chuckled to herself, remembering that he had put up a fight to be allowed to lie next to her, instead of on the floor. Knowing James wouldn’t wake up, she placed a kiss on his nose.
Over James’s shoulder, she could see Remus’s feet resting on the arm of her couch. Piled at his feet was a stack of presents.
She then turned to the problem of her legs. She looked down and gasped. A large black dog laid at the foot of her bed, warming her feet, a contented expression on its large head.
Lily stared, and then realized that James had told her that Sirius’s Animagus was a large dog. The three boys had begged to spent the night in her room, not wanting her to be alone on Christmas morning. If James was next to her, Remus was on the couch, and the human form of Sirius was loath to sleep on the floor, then he must have turned into his Animagus form so he could share the bed.
The dog shifted slightly and snuggled a bit further underneath the grey blanket covering him.
Lily shook her head, exhaling in laughter. She looked contentedly at three of her beloved friends in her room, and then closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
When she next awoke, James was looking sleepily at her. She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. Before their lips met, a soft bark sounded through the room. When Lily pulled back, she looked to the foot of her bed. Sitting there was the same black dog. As she sat up, she caught James’s shocked look pointed at the dog. The dog’s eyes widened slightly and he shifted his head from side to side as if looking for a way out. Lily wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction. She crawled out onto the top of her covers with an admiring sound.
“Oh, what an adorable dog! I wonder how in the world he got in here!” She reached forward to rub the dog’s neck with both hands. The dog backed up slightly, and then looked over Lily’s shoulder to James. James was laughing silently as the large black dog was rubbed and petted by Lily.
An ill-concealed snort from in front of the fireplace drew James’s gaze. Remus was sitting up on the couch, his eyes half-closed but his mouth was curved into a smile. Remus caught James’s glance and smothered his laughter at Lily’s antics with a hand. Remus figured, after all, that Lily had no idea who this dog was. He was wrong, of course.
As Lily continued to pet the dog, James gradually came out of the cover of his blanket. He reached over and started petting the dog as well.
“Isn’t he just beautiful?” asked Lily. “Look at him... so strong and that coat is amazing!” The dog, being rather conceited, puffed out his chest and panted happily as Lily scratched behind his ears.
A soft knock on Lily’s bedroom door caused a stop in the admiration of the dog. Lily called admittance to the guest, and she gasped when Nikeia walked in, being supported by Professor McGonagall. Lily smiled broadly and jumped out of her bed. Unfortunately, the dog beat her to the girl. Nikeia got down on her knees to pet and hug the animal.
McGonagall looked furious.
“Miss Evans,” she started, placing her hands on her tartan-clad hips. “What in the name of Merlin is that animal doing in this room? And why are Potter and Lupin here? Miss Evans, you know that I do not accept this situation. Boys in your room? And a dog?
“Oh, Professor!” said Lily turning away from Nikeia and the dog. “It is Christmas! They’re not doing any harm. James and Remus, I mean. They didn’t want me to wake up alone on Christmas, what with Josey at home with her family and Nikeia in the Hospital Wing. And the dog, well, he... he belongs to Remus. I believe his name is Truffles-”
“Snuffles,” supplied James, swallowing his laughter for a moment. McGonagall raised her eyebrow at the strange name.
“That’s right, Snuffles; I knew it was something silly like that,” stated Lily, flapping a hand. “Anyway, Remus’s parents have gone to France on vacation for the week, and they didn’t want to bring Snuffles along, so, well, they Flooed him over here last night. To Professor Dumbledore’s office.”
Snuffles, James and Remus had froze in anticipation of Lily’s rather far-fetched”and yet plausible”lie.
“Please, Professor. Can’t they stay?” asked Lily. The others nodded pleadingly.
Professor McGonagall looked around at the upturned faces of her students and her lips twitched. “Very well. Just make sure that dog doesn’t ruin any of the furniture.”
Everyone sighed and chuckled at Snuffle’s bark of indignation. “Wait a moment... Where is Black?” asked McGonagall after looking around.
Everyone froze again. Whoops.
“Um, he’s... in the bathroom!” lied James, pointing towards the door that led to the second hallway.
“Oh. I wouldn’t have thought he would be up this early.”
“You know,” explained James. “When you got to go, you’ve got to go.”
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. “Thank you, Potter.” She sighed. “Very well; Happy Christmas. Breakfast is at ten. Professor Dumbledore claims that he doesn’t mind what you wear.” McGonagall looked a bit disapproving at this before she nodded and turned.
As she walked out, Snuffles broke away from Nikeia’s hold and trotted up to McGonagall. He yapped up at her, and she smiled again and patted his head. She gave a rare chuckle as she walked out of the room and down the hall.
“Oh Nikeia!” cried Lily as she fell to her knees to hug her friend. “We were hoping to see you sometime soon! Out of the hospital wing, I mean.”
Lily and Nikeia hugged each once more, a tight, loving hug, and then pulled each other to their feet. They walked over to Lily’s four-poster bed, and sat on top of it. As they wrapped Nikeia in a blanket and Remus came over to join them, no one noticed that Snuffles slunk out the back door. A few seconds later, Sirius walked back into the room and joined them on the bed by flopping down right next to Nikeia after giving her an enthusiastic hug; he wasn’t in the room when she came in, after all.
“There you are, Sirius. McGonagall was just in here wondering about where you were,” claimed Remus, holding back a chuckle.
“Was she really? Hmm, oh well. Nikeia!” exclaimed Sirius, reaching out to hold her hand. “What are you doing here?”
“Madam Pomfrey said I could come up; I’m doing fine. I just can’t believe I was out for so long. What’s happened?” she asked, looking around at all the faces.
“Well, I guess it won’t hurt to tell her. She is much better anyway,” rationalized James.
Lily nodded and started the story from when they found her in the hallway.
Nikeia winced at the description, and leaned back against Sirius, who had sat up and settled behind her, leaning against one of the posts of the bed.
Nikeia continued to wince and grimace as they went through the story of the duel with Voldemort, and then the scar, which she insisted on seeing. Not later”right then and there. Lily sighed and turned around; she lifted up her shirt, which exposed her back and the scar. Nikeia gulped and Sirius tightened his grip around her. James took over the story telling of the decision for the masquerade, and then Sirius getting all depressed. (Sirius wasn’t too happy about James telling them that and as they wrestled on the floor Lily continued the story.)
She told Nikeia about the trip to Hogsmeade, and then the knighting of herself, Monica, and Josey. When Nikeia asked about the kids, Lily told her that they had in fact gone home for the break. Nikeia nodded and the two girls and Remus watched as Sirius and James continued to wrestle.
When they appeared to not want to stop, Remus spoke up. “You know, the house elves brought our presents here. I wonder what I got...” Remus’s voice trailed away as he walked over to his bed on the couch, stopping only to turn and watch as James and Sirius called a truce. He chuckled knowingly as Sirius shot off the floor to sit on Lily’s bed once more, and James walked to the foot of the bed to distribute the three piles of presents that belonged to Sirius, Lily and himself.
Before they could start, a small pop was heard, and a single present appeared. Sirius raised an eyebrow and looked down at a tag on the topmost pile. “Ah, I thought that looked familiar.” He pulled himself upright and handed the slim package to Nikeia, explaining that it was hers. The black-haired girl smiled and took it into her hands.
“Hey!” cried Remus, from the edge of the couch. “Why don’t we open the presents one-by-one?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” claimed James, and everyone else nodded. “You first.” He gestured to Remus with a present.
Remus sighed, but opened his present, stating that it was from Lily. He ignored Sirius’s proclamation that it “looks suspiciously like a book”. It indeed was. Remus looked up to Lily, and she smiled a kind and understanding smile.
“What is it?” asked Nikeia. Remus hesitantly turned it over so that the title faced the group on the bed. My Life as a Werewolf: The Life of Gregory McIntire. Nikeia looked confused. “Why did you get him a book about wer... werewolves?”
A look of thought and shock came over Nikeia’s face, as everyone else froze. She looked down at her crossed legs, and pondered the thought. Then, she suddenly looked up at Remus, a strange look on her face. In a fluid movement, she rose from the bed and came over to Remus. She then put her arms around his neck and hugged him. Although the brown-haired Marauder was surprised, he hugged back after a few moments. James, Lily and Sirius let out their held-in breaths. When Nikeia pulled away, Remus softly whispered: “Thank you.”
“Oh, Remus,” whispered Nikeia back. “You’re no different. You’re the same loveable, great-to-be-around Remus Lupin.”
Remus smiled, but then he turned to Lily. “How did you know? A better question, I guess, is how long have you known?”
Lily smiled kindly at him. “I’ve only known for sure since earlier this year. A number of things led me to it. I didn’t know how to tell you, really, so I thought the book would be best.”
Remus smiled back and her, and nodded. “Thank you.” He chuckled. “I suppose I should’ve known that you would figure out on your own.”
“Hey!” cried Nikiea. “What about me? I figured it out on my own, too, you know!”
Remus laughed, and pulled Nikeia close again. She laughed and squeezed him.
“You better watch out, Sirius; you just might have some competition!” laughed Lily.
Sirius scowled. Nikeia smiled and walked back to the bed. After she sat down, she leaned forward and placed a tentative kiss on Sirius’s lips.
“Then, again, maybe not,” amended Lily, watching as the two black-haired people parted with smiles.
“Darn!” muttered Remus, snapping his fingers. He gave a genuine smile as everyone else laughed, and then carried his gifts over to the bed and sat down in between Lily and Nikeia. Remus didn’t think anyone else could imagine just how happy he was that both Nikeia and Lily had accepted his condition as easily as they had. His heart glowed with the thought.
Lily opened her first present, which was from Sirius, and laughed. It was a pot of red ink. Ever since Lily first started to get better acquainted with the Marauders, she was consequentially nominated to be the Homework Checker. Sirius had even Transfigured one of her ink pots into red ink, hence the reason for buying her a new one, just when the old one ran out. Sirius claimed that he felt obligated to replace the jar as it was his idea and he was the one who caused Lily to use up most of the ink.
James opened his present from Josey, which was a bottle of hair gel. James laughed; Josey got even more agitated than Lily over his messy locks. James didn’t think he’d have the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn’t work.
Sirius received a towel from Remus with the explanation that if Sirius ever planned on sitting on a pier again, he should bring this with him.
Nikeia opened her one gift and her eyes started to water. It was a photo album of the pictures taken the night of the Masquerade, including the one Josey had taken of Sirius, Lily and James skipping along the path from Hogsmeade. A few pictures from the past years at Hogwarts filled the pages as well. The last one was the picture of the entire group in the hospital wing. Sirius leaned over and hugged her gently. She hugged his arm one-handedly and looked to the rest of the group. She managed to whisper a “thank you”, before smiling broadly, even through her soft tears.
The rest of Remus’s presents included a box of Bertie Botts from Sirius (“Next time, make sure you get that absolutely horrid one I got on the train ride over!”), a bottle of Scar Liniment, and a stuffed white rabbit from James (Nikeia had to be filled in on that conversation and years-old joke), a large roll of parchment from Josey (the note read: “I know you’re running out, and this is a never diminishing roll!”), a book in Latin that Remus had been interested in from Peter, and a book of cliché’s from Frank and Alice (“Lily gave us the idea that one day a while ago”). Remus had shown a dislike of silly little clichés.
Lily received a bottle of her favorite body wash from Josey, a bottle of Zonko’s Chill Pills”Guaranteed to relieve stress for anyone! Just pop one in your mouth, and you’re chilled!”from Sirius. (“I figured you’d need them for NEWTs.”) Remus gave her a small journal with a set of new quills. Lastly, she received a bottle of bubble bath from James. Attached to it, was a card that read: “Lily, this is given to you in honor of those ‘dead days’ you had after we lost our parents. But, I’ve something else for you. I’ll give it to you later. Much love, forever and ever, James.” Lily looked over to James, a questioning look on her face. James just smiled and turned back to the other people, who were looking over at Remus’s book of clichés.
Sirius received, along with the towel, a pink chew toy with the note “From Prongs, to Padfoot”I know you hate pink!” Nikeia looked at that one with a raised eyebrow, but she didn’t press the subject, figuring someone was just fooling around. They were guys after all. Remus gave him a book entitled “101 Ways to Really Win a Woman’s Heart”. Sirius looked up somewhat indignantly at that. Remus replied with: “I had bought it for you during the summer. Before Nikeia,” he admitted, nodding in Nikeia’s direction. Sirius nodded, accepting the answer, before he leaned forward again and kissed Nikeia. Lily gave him a brightly colored blanket; “In honor of the first time you attempted that spell. I hope it keeps you warm. Love, Lily.” Sirius smiled at Lily with a raised eyebrow. She smiled broadly back.
James’s presents included a book of spells from Remus. James sighed, and raised an eyebrow at Moony. The latter flipped over a bit of wrapping. Spelled to the paper was a note saying: “Before you raise that eyebrow at me, open it up; you might like the spells.” James shook his head at the way Moony knew what he was going to do. After James flipped open the book, and started to turn the pages, his eyes widened. It was a book of spells that had to do with secrecy and the like. There was even a spell that enlarged an invisibility cloak, though the author didn’t know if it would work on genuine invisibility cloaks, their being very rare. Sirius gave James a new set of Quidditch gloves, along with a replacement bottle of broomstick polisher; “Sorry I never returned that other bottle; I’m not quite sure where it went…” Lily present was a small wooden box. When James opened it, he found a simple collection of old Quidditch cards. He looked at Lily in surprise. “I may never have shown a liking for you playing Quidditch, but I did enjoy it at one time; before I met you and your ego. My father bought me these; he had a fondness for the baseball cards he received from his brother, my uncle. I thought you’d like these.” James thanked her fondly with a lingering kiss, knowing that it meant a bit more than she gave away.
Peter gave everyone a Christmas Variety Box from Honeyduke’s.
Samuel and Monica gave everyone a copy of the photo album; Monica’s art work decorated the pages. While the pictures were the same as those in Nikeia’s, these albums didn’t hold evidence of the hours of love they poured into it for someone they hardly knew.
After all the presents were exchanged, Nikeia looked around the room at her close friends. “Hey; where’s that dog?” she asked, noticing that there was no big black dog around anymore. Sirius looked to Remus and froze.
“Good question...he’s...” Remus trailed off as he groped for an acceptable lie.
“Moony, mate... she already knows about you... we might as well tell her the whole truth,” reasoned James.
“What about Lily?” asked Sirius. Lily ducked her head sheepishly. “You already know? Everything?”
Lily nodded. Sirius sighed. Nikeia looked confused.
“Well, we should have known better than to keep something from Lily, eh?” Remus smiled and nudged Lily’s leg with his toe. She looked up and smiled back. Nikeia raised her eyebrows and a look of expectancy came over her pale face.
Remus satisfied her wondering. “Nikeia, a few years ago, James, Sirius, and Peter found out about my lycanthropy. They went through quite a bit of trouble to learn to become Animagi.”
Nikeia gasped and tore her gaze away from Remus to James and Sirius. It was their turn to duck their heads.
“Did you manage it?” she asked.
Sirius nodded as he got down off the bed. In a few heartbeats, a black dog was standing with its paws on top of the coverlet, looking up at Nikeia. She gasped and stared. The dog barked and nudged her hand with its nose.
“Snuffles??” she gasped. “They couldn’t find a better name for you; they had nothing except Snuffles? Some great friends you have,” said Nikeia, through her laughter. She reached out and rubbed Snuffle’s head. The dog jumped onto the bed and lay down next to Nikeia and continued to be petted by the girl. “What about you, James?”
“Me? Um, I’m a stag.” James sounded slightly sheepish.
“A stag? Wow. That’s got to be beautiful,” she whispered to herself.
The keen ears of Snuffles heard that and raised his head, alarmed.
“Not as beautiful as you, of course.” Snuffles replaced his head on his paws and smiled, or at least smiled as much as a dog could.
James smiled rather pompously, and Lily hit his shoulder. Conceited Marauders… she thought.
Nikeia asked about Peter, and was told he turned into a rat.
“But,” said Nikeia, confusedly, “what do you do to help Remus?”
“We keep him company,” confessed James. “Without us, he would bite himself to pieces, the poor thing. We calm him down, and then, well, just stay with him.”
Nikeia smiled. “You guys are so wonderful, to do something like that for a friend. It’s heartwarming.”
Apparently, Snuffles had never heard the explanation of what he did described as ‘heartwarming’ before, and he squirmed on the cover.
Nikeia laughed. Impulsively, she threw her arms around the dog’s neck and squeezed. Snuffle’s yapped playfully and pushed her over into Remus. He caught her and laughed as the dog nuzzled Nikeia, tickling her gently. James and Lily laughed as Remus joined in. It lasted a few minutes, before Lily glanced over at her bedside table and her clock. Seeing that it was almost ten, she slowly got out of bed and pulled on her terry-cloth bath robe over her pajamas. James followed suit; he got out of bed, but instead of pulling on a robe, he pulled Lily to him and hugged her tightly. She laughed and gently kissed his lips. They made their way to the door, leaving Sirius”who had transformed back”and Remus to torture poor Nikeia.
As Lily got to the door, she gasped, turned around, and trotted over to her desk. She pulled off the surface a small grey object, which expanded to the size and shape of Sam’s camera. James laughed, knowing that that was just what it was, and watched as Lily got a good photo of the three friends, laughing so hard they cried, on her bed. When she was done, she set the camera down and ran back over to James.
“We’re leaving now!” he called over his shoulder.
“Leaving to go where?” asked Sirius, falling back against the bed, still laughing. Nikeia rolled over to lay her head on his chest and continued to laugh. Remus fell back against the post of the bed and looked to James and Lily, smiling broadly all the while.
“Breakfast” was the response that caused Sirius, Nikeia and Remus to fly off the bed and run past James and Lily into the hallway. The latter two just laughed and followed at a much more leisurely pace.
Breakfast was a calm affair. Dumbledore, McGonagall, the game-keeper Hagrid, and a few other teachers sat at a single circular table, set for a much smaller amount of people than normal, but still quite large. The five Gryffindors were joined by a few more from their house, and a number of students from the other three houses.
All the students were still dressed in their pajamas, with robes or sweaters draped over their shoulders. Dumbledore wore a royal blue robe, spangled with bright silver stars, and his long beard was braided neatly. His rabbit-eared slippers would have caused giggles had his students been able to see them. The flannel shirt that Hagrid wore over a nightshirt and trousers could have easily wrapped around all four Marauders. Professor McGonagall’s neat green dressing gown and a white shawl hid her nightgown completely, but the really shocking part was her hair; rather than in a severe knot on top of her head, it was in a thick plait down her back.
The breakfast was delicious, of course. Waffles, pancakes, French toast were accompanied by bacon, ham and sausages. The syrup bottles were never empty, a quality that Sirius abused with relish.
The talk of the table was mainly on Christmas gifts, everyone giving an overview of what they got. The students were most surprised when Dumbledore claimed that his most appreciated gift was a pair of thick wool socks.
Sirius was the only one who laughed, saying: “Aren’t those just the best type? They’re so warm and comfortable. I wish I had gotten a pair.” His face was a bit downcast as he spoke, and the others just looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“What?” he asked, throwing up his hands in a shrug. “I like wool socks!”
Remus leaned over to James and whispered: “To wear as a human, or chew on as a dog, I wonder?” James burst into silent laughter. Sirius, who had heard that, just glared.
After breakfast, the rest of the group went upstairs, while James and Lily walked outside in the courtyard. The snow lay over everything, and the fountain’s jets of water were frozen in graceful, magical arches. James conjured a very large blanket and wrapped it around the both of them as they stood in each other’s arms. James kissed Lily gently, then asked how her day was.
She chuckled, explaining that he had been next to her throughout.
“But how are you?” he urged.
“Oh James.” She smiled up at him lovingly. “My day started with laughter, then the thrill of seeing my best friend out of the Hospital Wing. It continued with a wonderful breakfast and now I’m standing with you, absolutely happy.”
His smile was such that her knees went weak, and she was very glad for his hold on her waist. “Then, I’d like to give you that present I promised you earlier…”
Lily’s heart leapt, even as her brow furrowed slightly in anticipation. James reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small mahogany box.
He paused a moment, noticing her anxious look. Then, he lifted the lid, and heard her gasp.
An emerald-green bead sat amidst small pearls on a silver pendant. It was oval-shaped, not much bigger than the pad of his thumb. A fine chain of silver disappeared beneath the black velvet pad.
Lily smiled and reached out to touch the necklace.
“James...” she started, before her voice trailed off.
“It was my mum’s. I found it when we where there for the funeral. My father had given it to her before they were engaged. A promise ring kind of thing. It’s passed down through the generations, and there’s no one I’d rather continue the tradition with than you, Lily Evans.” He paused, watching her eyes begin to water. “I love you, Lils. And I’m pretty sure I always will.”
Her eyes were wide; he had gotten close to saying something similar at the masquerade, and he had brought it up that one day long ago, but he had never actually said the words. And oh, did they make her knees get weak all over again. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and her stomach tightened.
“I…” he continued, before stopping. He exhaled briefly in laughter, one side of his mouth quirking upwards. “I’ll have you know, that I’m quite set on spending the rest of my life with you.”
“Oh, James…” Lily repeated, brushing his cheek with the tips of her fingers. She seemed to want to say something else, but could only sniffle and blink back tears. Then, she gave up and threw her arms around his neck, letting the blanket drop to the flagstones.
James smiled more broadly then he had ever smiled, and held on to Lily, never wanting to let go.
When she whispered into his ear the very words he wanted to hear, he nearly collapsed to the ground in a giddy pile. Somehow, he managed to will strength back into his own knees and hold her tighter.
Eventually, he loosened his hold so that he could pull the necklace from its container. He fumbled over the clasp for a moment, then urged Lily to turn around. Draping it across her collarbones, he fastened the chain and pulled her hair out from the loop.
She faced him again, and he had to steady himself again as she pushed her fingers into his hair and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. He gladly responded, lifting her off her feet.
She had said, “I love you,” and his Christmas”and the rest of his life, he felt”was complete.
.