Extraordinary (Sign it Series; BOOK 2)

Chapter 36

Sirius Black took the responsibility of watching and entertaining Simon and Darienne very, well, seriously. While the others were at St. Mungo's, he had the two of them help him bake sugar cookies.

Simon, to no one's surprise but his own, was a fairly good baker, the measurements and timing reminding him of potion making. Darienne preferred the art of cutting and decorating the cookies, her favourite being the black dog she made for Sirius.

When the group from St. Mungo's returned, Sirius and Darienne were competing to see who could stack more desserts on top of each other without it falling, while Simon was judging them.

Simon noticed the group enter first, and promptly left his post as judge to hound Maddy with questions about the hospital with a varying degree of specificity. Maddy answered them, after having to remind him that she had to take off her coat first.

Maddy didn't understand Simon's interest in the St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but she didn't ponder on that much. Anyone who liked Potions class had questionable tastes in her mind.

After hours of explaining every detail of her trip — indeed it did take hours, as Simon managed to question even the most minute of details — and following a delicious dinner Mrs. Weasley had cooked, and the desserts Sirius, Simon, and Darienne made, Maddy went up to her room to read one of her new Defence books. She had only gotten halfway through chapter one, however, when her bedroom door flung open and Sirius sauntered in, a wide grin on his face and a Father Christmas hat on his head.

Maddy put a Christmas card in her book like a bookmark and put it beside her as Sirius sat next to her. Please tell me that hat isn't off the house elf.

Sirius chuckled. "It's not," he reassured her. "Can you come with me for a minute?"

Maddy nodded slowly, before standing up and following Sirius to the living room. The only people in the room were Remus and Harry, the rest of the house's occupants scattered throughout the various rooms.

"Is there something wrong, Sirius?" Harry asked, his tone having an equal amount of bewilderment as his expression. "You don't have to leave, d'you?"

It surprised Maddy slightly that Harry jumped to the worst of conclusions when asked to meet, Maddy had initially just thought that he was going to give them an extra Chocolate Frog or something along that line.

"Nothing like that, Harry," Sirius told him, and Harry sighed in relief. "It's that this is my first Christmas with my godchildren, and we've yet to take a picture." He picked up two Father Christmas hats that were on the side table and handed it one to each of them. Maddy looked warily at hers, causing Sirius to roll his eyes. "I didn't take that off the severed elf heads, Madeline."

Maddy put the hat on, albeit cautiously, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Harry wasn't having as much luck with his hair, it sticking out underneath the hat.

"James had the same problem," Remus told Harry, who desperately tried to fix his hair under that hat, "Most of the pictures of him he's wearing reindeer antlers."

"Or he's actually a deer." added Sirius.

Harry gave a small smile before giving up with his hair, and sitting down on the couch defeated. Sirius sat beside him, and Maddy on his other side. Remus conjured a camera with the wave of his wand and snapped the picture before handing the camera to Sirius. "I know I don't need to tell either of you why you can't have a copy." he said to Harry and Maddy.

Maddy nodded, and Harry responded, "Can I have a copy to leave here? And if Sirius's name is ever cleared I can bring it with me?"

He's name has to be cleared at some point. Maddy signed confidently. Once the war's over, all the Order members can vouch for him. It's just a matter of when the war's over.