Shooting Star

Chapter Six

Now

I came downstairs Christmas morning, wishing I was a kid again. "Morning, Mum." I smiled. "Morning Dad, Nat."
She scowled at the nickname, but didn't say anything. Mum and Dad have probably already told her to behave.
"Where's your dirty little boyfriend?" She spat. "Passed out drunk on the way home?"
"Shove. Off."
"Where is Sirius?" Mum asked, much nicer.
"James' mum made him promise to spend Christmas with them."
"Oh, well, that's nice. He's coming back, though?"
"I told him to." I shrugged.
"He's a charming lad, isn't he?"
"Yes." I agreed. She wouldn't say that if she knew him better. I found that amusing.
An owl tapped on the window. Natalie shrieked and ran out of the room. I opened the window as my parents watched, enthralled. "Thank you." I stroked it. "Come on, and you can have some food and water before you leave." I said, and it hopped on my arm. I took him to my room and put it in my owl, Snow's, cage. Very creative name for a snowy owl, I know. In my defense, I was eleven. She was currently taking parcels and letters places.
I went back downstairs, leaving my window open in case he wanted to leave before I got back. I knocked on Natalie's door and told her that the owl was gone, and that she could come back downstairs.
Just as Natalie finished opening her presents, a few more owls came and knocked on the window. Natalie stormed out, screaming all these dumb, terrible things. I opened the window and took the packages and letters off of them. "Go around to my bedroom. Haven't we been over this?" I told them, even though they probably couldn't understand me.
Mum yelled for Natalie to come back down, but she refused. "Go on, Eliza. Your turn." She said quietly.
"I'm sorry you guys have to put up with this." I said. "I promise that once I'm done with school, I won't come when she's here. It's not fair to you."
"No, honey, it's okay." She smiled a little bit.
They got me some books--various translations of Homer's works. I've been in a bit of a craze for him. So far my favorite Odyssey and Iliad are by Robert Fagle. The Odyssey must be my favorite book ever--and an Iron Man shirt, as well as a Mendelssohn vinyl. I'm a bit of an old soul, I guess they would say. I received a coat hanger from my sister. I'll have to thank her warmly for that later.
I felt bad, though. I didn't know what to get my parents, so I got my dad some shirts and my mum some gift cards to her favorite shops. They didn't seem to mind, though, and thanked me profusely. I had gotten Natalie a shirt that she'd probably just throw out, since I'd tainted it with my touch.
I don't know why I didn't just give my gifts to the boys and Lily last night instead of making Snow lug them around.
"What did your friends send you?" Mum asked.
"Oh. I haven't looked." I looked to the small stack of Owl-delivered mail.
Remus, Lily, and Peter had given books. James sent a necklace (with a note saying that if I didn't like it to complain to Lily because she helped him). I got some cards from others.
"Oh, that's nice." Mum smiled.
"Who's this James?" My dad asked.
"My best friend's soulmate." I said casually.
I had gotten Remus and Lily books, of course. I also got Lily a necklace I just happened to find because I thought the green would compliment her eyes. I had gotten James a book about Quidditch. I wasn't giving up on that yet. I got Pete a Gryffindor shirt. Sirius, though, was hard. I'm sure he'd appreciate what I had gotten him, though.
"What are those?" Dad asked, pointing to the unopened mail.
"Sirius'. I'll take it to his room when I go."
"I didn't know you had so many friends. Why haven't we met them?" Mum asked.
"Because Natalie doesn't like when I talk." Or exist.
I looked at Snape's letter, not opening it.
"Why haven't you opened that one?" Mum asked. Of course she did.
"I don't associate with him."
"Why not?"
I sought for an answer. "He used a bad word." I said. That was the easiest thing to explain. "A really, really bad word."
"What word?" Dad looked at me like I was crazy, probably wondering why the hell I stopped being friends with someone because they used profanity.
"Mudblood." I said. "It means 'dirty blood'. It's a derogatory word for Muggleborn."
"Who's a mudblood?" Sirius said quietly from the doorway, staring at me.
"Oh, no." I said. "I was just explaining why Lily and I don't talk to Severus anymore."
"He's a Death--"
"He isn't." I interrupted, giving him a pointed look. I didn't want to bring my parents into all that mess. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he's evil."
My parents had no idea what we were talking about, but that was okay.
I stood up and walked over to him.
"Please don't lecture me." He said quietly. "My head's pounding."
"I was greeting you." I said cooly. "But since you insist upon being rude--"
"No, no. Greet away."
I smiled and hugged him. "Happy Christmas."
"Yeah. You too." He hugged me back.
My mum hugged him after me. "Did you have fun?" She smiled.
"Yes." He smiled back, less uncomfortable than he had been.
"Sirius, your mail's here." I pointed at the pile.
He gazed at it warily, approaching it but not touching it.
"Your parents didn't send anything." I assured him.
He nodded perfunctorily, looking neither pleased nor displeased.
"Regulus did." I said cautiously.
"Regulus did?" He asked.
I nodded.
"I'll open it later. It might explode."
"Don't you think if he wanted to hurt you, he would have said something when I was there?"
"Not necessarily."
"All right. Open it later." I said, even though I was convinced it wouldn't explode.
"Go on." Mum said. "Open them." She was looking at him like he was a kicked puppy.
Sirius looked at me. I nodded, and he started opening them.
There was a book from Remus, of course, with a note saying to have it read by the time we were back at school, some shirts from Lily, and a dog stuffed animal, of all things, from Peter. He laughed for a while, but none of us knew what was funny.
"What'd James get you?" I asked.
"Some muggle thing Lily showed him. It's like a crystal ball, but it has these white things in it, and when you shake it--"
"A snow globe?"
"Yeah!" He grinned.
I laughed as my parents looked at us like we were crazy. "Nice. I have your present upstairs. I wasn't sure when you'd be home, so." I said.
We levitated our stuff upstairs while my parents looked on, enthralled.
I brought the box into his room. He extended a box to me sheepishly. I handed the box to him. "I didn't know what to get you." I said. "I figured you could put that to good use, though."
"Did you get me another sex toy? You shouldn't have! You know me so well." He grinned.
"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes.
I watched him pull out the bottle of firewhiskey.
"Oh, Merlin. This is why I--" He cut off, his face bright red.
"You can't afford to love me, remember?" I smiled.
"I know." He said quietly. "I just can't help it. Your problem, really, though." He smiled.
There was a knock on the door. I gestured for Sirius to put the bottle away. As he did so, I called for them to come in.
To my surprise, Natalie opened the door. She didn't cross the threshold. "We're going shopping." She said flatly. "Mum says I have to invite you."
"We--" I began.
"I don't want you freaks--" She interrupted.
"Stop calling her that." Sirius finally said coldly.
"And who are you to tell me what to do?" She looked affronted, being spoken to by such scum as us.
"Someone who actually gives a damn about her. Stop calling her a freak, or I'll give you the devil horns you deserve."
"Sirius." I said quietly.
"What?" He asked. "Just because you won't defend yourself doesn't mean I won't."
Natalie shut the door with a 'humph.'
"I thought you could defend yourself." He grinned.
"Shut up." I laughed.
"Open your present. I'm sorry; I didn't know what to get you."
I opened the box to see a book. It was a muggle book. "Where'd you get this?" I asked suspiciously.
"A muggle store. Lily helped me. Do you like it?"
"I can't wait to read it." I smiled. "Thank you so much." I hugged him. "Hey, Sirius?"
"Yes?"
"I told you you were capable of love." I smirked.
He popped open the bottle. "Shall we?"