Halcyon // R.J.L

Chapter Twelve: The Holidays

Before long, Violet found herself anxiously awaiting the arrival of the other three boys at the Potters. Her and James sat attempting to play a game of exploding snap, however each time a gust of wind slightly louder than the last was heard the pair would jump to their feet in anticipation and hope that it would be one of their friends.

Aside from Walburga and Orion of course, it became a tradition for Peter, Remus, their parents, and Sirius to join the Potters for Christmas after the parents met at Platform 9 3/4 the summer after first year and immediately hit it off. Even Remus' mother Hope being a muggle fit in to the quirky group perfectly, almost daring them to question her sense of belonging in the magical world along side her husband Lyall and her son.

While in Sirius' case it was always a concern that his terrible parents would forbid him from coming to a 'blood-traitors' house, somehow he managed to show up every year through the fireplace always sporting new bruises or slight cuts that Euphemia would fret over consistently.

Violet found Christmas to be a quite bittersweet time. Sure she loved seeing all of her friends and their parents all adored her (especially Hope, although she couldn't quite work out why), but still her mother was no where to be seen, and her dad would show up for a few hours if she was lucky without so much as acknowledging her friends. Still, she had it better than Sirius so she felt it was wrong to complain.

Peter was the first to arrive, apparating along side his mother Hannah just outside the Potters front gate. Violet bounced to her feet upon hearing the distinctive crack and jumped entirely over James to rip open the front door and welcome her friend like she hadn't seen him in twelve years.

"Peter! Hannah!" Violet yelled in excitement her voice slightly muffled from the mandrake leaf, reaching out to take Mrs. Pettigrew's bag from where it floated in mid air, but James appeared behind her and gripped it before she had the chance.

"Oh Violet dear how you've grown! And James, Merlin, such a handsome young lad" Peters mother Hannah rushed, grabbing the pair by the elbows gently and smiling at them.

"Mum has you set up in the second guest bedroom, we'll take your stuff up. She's in the kitchen" James yelled over his shoulder as himself, Peter, and Violet rushed into the house, eager to rid their mouths of the foul tasting leaves. Sliding in their socks to the staircase, the trio grinned as they heard the telltale noise of someone entering via the flu network, and immediately turned back around into the sitting room where a dishevelled and battered looking Sirius sat.

"Fancy seeing you tossers here" The raven haired boy grinned beneath a black eye, and the others had to muster every ounce of energy they had to smile back at him in his current state.

"Oh Sirius come here" Violet attempted to hide the sympathetic tone in her voice as she knew the Black boy hated it, but threw her arms around him none the less. Of course Remus having recently been the king of bad timing chose that exact moment to walk through the door with Hope and Lyall right behind him. The green beast inside his chest was tamed however upon seeing Sirius' face and the damage his parents had caused.

It had only been a week, but the Marauders were something else entirely. They weren't just friends, they weren't quite like siblings either (at least that's what Remus thought, because thinking of Violet as a sister made him squeamish), but they needed each other. Each of them bettered each other and offered something new, none of them meaning any less than the others. And looking at his friends as he walked into the Potter house, Remus knew these were the people he wanted around him for the rest of his life.

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