The Problem with Being the Werewolf's Sister (Marauder Harry Potter Story)

Chapter 25: Christmas

"Merry Christmas Lily!" I yell loudly, hitting her with a pillow. "The one morning you get up early, I'm asleep." She laughs, sitting up. "C'mon, I'm going downstairs." Lily and me, in our pyjamas, walk down into the common room and find nearly every Gryffindor down there. "Merry Christmas Lily, River." Voices call as we walk to Alice and Mary by the fire. "Good morning guys! Merry Christmas!" I smile happily at them, sitting down. "You too! Here I got you this." Mary smiles, throwing a small box at me. "Oi! Ouch!" I laugh as it hits me in the face, before ripping off the paper. "Oh yes! I love every flavour beans, thanks Mary!" I hug her tightly, popping a bean in my mouth. Sharing them around, we talk and laugh, exchanging presents. "Thank you Lily! It's perfect! Wow!" I breathe, unwrapping a broomstick care kit. "Well you're broom is getting trashed in the matches, so there you go." She smiles at me. Alice gives me a huge box of chocolate frogs and it matches the presents I got for her and Mary. "Here Lily." I smile, throwing her present at her. She catches it and rips off the paper. "Oh they're great! Thank you so much River, I love them!" I had given Lily a mixture of the best Muggle and wizard books, my favourites that I read. "I'm so glad you like them Lils." I tell her as she throws her arms around me. Over her shoulder, I see Remus and the other three coming down the stairs. I blush slightly, remembering Sirius and our "moment" last night. "Merry Christmas River." His voice is still in my head, having been there since he said it, keeping me up all night. Surely he was just being friendly? He is one of my best friends, anyway... I smile at them as they come over. "Merry Christmas Evans!" James smiles broadly. "Merry Christmas." Lily says dryly, going back to our conversation. James sighs and turns to Remus. "Got it?" He asks, and Remus nods, looking shy and anxious. "River, wanna go for a walk?" Sirius asks me, and I look at him. "With you guys?" "Yeah, with all of us." He says, as I to make a point of it. "Sure." I nod, saying goodbye to the girls for now.
"It's freezing!" I tell them, the first snow having finally fallen around Hogwarts last night. As cold as it is, it's beautiful. Cold, clear, white ice covers every surface, making everything look clean and fresh and new. Snow flutters down, wetting my clothes and landing in my hair. James angrily messes up his hair, brushing off the snow. "So a Christmas party tonight?" I ask them. Remus looks at me, eyebrows raised, before joining the boys in nodding eagerly. Peter is so busy nodding, he trips and falls into the snow, face first. Laughing, I pull him to his feet. "Thanks." He smiles at me. "It looked fun." I shrug, them flop down in the snow. "What'r you doing?" Sirius asks me. James pulls out a snitch, tossing it up in the air and watching the wings spread out. "Making a snow angel." I smile, looking up at the cloudy winter sky. "A snow angel. Merlin." He mutters, sitting down in the edge if the fountain. I laugh slightly as he slides down beside me, making a snow angel. "Oh hey! I have presents for you guys!" I tell them. Out of the bag I had brought, I pull four small presents. "Sorry there so small.." I say awkwardly, handing them over. "Don't be silly." James brushes it off as he unwraps the quidditch jersey I bought him. "Oh Merlin!" He gasps, dropping the wrapping. "The other one was tatty." I shrug. "River, it's amazing! It even has my name on it! Thanks so much!" He smiles, hugging me tightly. "James, it's no big deal." I laugh as I hug him back. Peter thanks me, smiling broadly as he eats the box of chocolate frogs of bought him. Sirius looks up and smirks at me, laughter in his eyes as he holds up the muggle clothes I bought him. "Amazing." He says, his arms going around me and hugging me tightly. "I love it!" He grins, shrugging on the leather jacket. "Looks nice." James says. "Almost as good looking as me now. Almost." Sirius throws a snowball at him, rubbing the soft black leather. "Now I can annoy my Mum even more than usual with my muggle clothes." I laugh at Sirius, noting how good he looks in the leather jacket. "These must have been expensive.." James says, looking up. "You didn't spend loads of money on us, did you?" "No way! I enchanted the jersey, it was cheap. The sweets, easy peasy, and the jacket wasn't expensive. Muggle shop." I shrug, eating sweets. "And Remus, here." I say, handing him a small package that he takes shyly. His eyes light up as he sees the enormous stack of chocolate I got him, and the jumper and books. "It's not exactly creative, but it's you. I think." I smile at him. "It's brilliant!" He grins, hugging me gratefully. "And we all got you something." Peter says, looking up quickly, his small eyes happy. "You didn't have to." I smile, but I'm extremely happy they did. A long, thin package zooms towards us under the summoning charm, and I know right away what it is. "We all chipped in. Though it'd be a good idea. And we found out what Evans got you.. It kind of fits to be honest." Sirius tells me, trailing off. I tear off the wrapping to reveal a long, skinny broom. It's in perfect condition, new from a shop. "I.. I don't know what to say." I breathe, running my fingers up and down the smooth wood of the long handle. I examine the fine point of the twigs, clean and tidy and neat. Perfect for flying. Perfect for quidditch. "Guys I.. It's amazing." I whisper. "It's not the newest model, but who cares?" Sirius smiles, standing in the snow. "Oh my.. It's just.. You shouldn't have!" I tell them, throwing my arms around Remus. Where they all got the money, I'll never know, but I don't think about it right now. "Test it out." James says, his hazel eyes alive with mischief." "Inside?" I ask them, and we turn, running inside to try the broom instead of out in the open.

A/N: Hey!:) So I really enjoyed writing the last couple chapters, I hope you guys liked them! So this chapter.. I suppose it's a bit unrealistic (the presents) but I liked the idea of her getting a broomstick from them. So ye.. And I couldn't think of anything else for her to have gotten James Sirius Remus and Peter so that's how that happened.. Anyways please comment on stuff, you're opinions, wether you want something changed, or anything like that.. Okay Bye!:)