When with Rome {Sirius Black}

16. Christmas Break

Barbara was extremely excited to spend her break with Lily. Barbara had confronted Lily about how the friendship between her and Snape would never blossom; and she was thankful when Lily agreed and wouldn't push it. The young girl knew Lily's hair matched her fiery attitude and told her not to worry about reprimanding Snape, as there was no point. Barbara only encouraged Lily to make sure Snape didn't relish in the fact he made her tear up.

When she packed her bags in her dormitory, Barbara left them by the foot of her bed as she was told earlier that morning that those leaving Hogwarts would have their bags picked up for them. James was staying at Hogwarts (to the disappointment of his parents) to strengthen his friendship with his new group of friends. Barbara was happy he found a good group of people to be around, even if she wouldn't admit that she did enjoy Sirius's company.

Barbara hugged her brother with all her might when she was heading to the Hogwarts Express. This was the first time she and James were to be separated since her Childhood Incident. The majority of her bad memories had been blocked from her mind from a spell the Healers had placed on her when she was in St. Mungo's; but that didn't stop her from nearly having an anxiety attack from the amount of pain she felt.

"I love you, James. I'll write you first and we can use Hercules so I won't have to give you Lily's address. She'd kill me if I gave it to you," James smiled as he let go of his sister.

"You can count on me, Barb," James smiled cheekily as his little sister climbed onto the train. Sirius and James waved goodbye to Lily and Barbara obnoxiously while Peter, Remus, and Marlene took the normal approach and waved politely.

"Man," Barbara said as she plopped herself on a seat across from Lily, "I can't believe I'll be meeting Muggles for the first time. What do you do without magic, Lils?"

"Well," Lily began, which made Barbara internally groan. This is going to be a lot longer than I thought. Why do I have to ask so many questions?

Barbara woke up with a start when the train jerked to a halt, much to her annoyance. She loathed waking up without any warning before she took a nap and was always feeling about murderous after an unexpected wake-up call. She glared at Lily, who was laughing, and went to collect her luggage she brought with her to the Evans' household.

She felt slightly out of place when Lily was immediately taken into a hug by her doting parents. However, right after she was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, she felt completely comfortable after receiving the same greeting as Lily did.

When Barbara walked out of the station and into the Muggles' King's Cross Station, Barbara asked the parents their ways of transporting from one place to another. "I mean, I never grew up around Muggle things, save a television set my dad managed to get working with the use of some potions, so sorry if my confusion seems odd."

"Don't be silly, little flower," Mrs. Evans said with sincerity, "we feel the same way with your world! I guess we'll be teaching each other about our differences worlds when you and Lily aren't up to any mischief."

"Just make sure, girls," Mr. Potter said heartily, "that Petunia isn't feeling too left out. Remember that this is new for her as well and she needs to accept that she is not a witch and you two are. Barb, do you mind me asking if you have any siblings?"

Barbara smiled sadly at Lily. It was heartbreaking to watch her best friend become so close to tears in the matter of a couple minutes from the mention of her sister. She knew Petunia called Lily a freak in multiple occasions and knew how much it hurt her.

"Yes, Mr. Evans, I have a twin brother named James. He's a bit annoying but I've put up with him long enough to see his good traits." The Muggles and the girls laughed together as they headed to the Evans' household.

Just as promised, Barbara made sure Hercules knew where he was going without telling James any information on her whereabouts. She was pleasantly surprised with how intelligent Hercules was; but she was equally surprised with how calm and curious Lily's parents were with basic things in the Wizarding World.

Barbara never ended up meeting Petunia as the girl had run off to her friend's household for the break. She had to comfort Lily when the news was broken and made sure Lily's parents knew it wasn't their fault. Even from a young age, Barbara told herself others came before her before she could tend to her own needs. It had been drilled in her mind, no matter how much her parents and brother had told her to shake off the feeling.

This Christmas had turned out to be one of her favorite ones. Her parents managed to send the Evans magical gifts that couldn't be misread by even the most ignorant Muggle. The Potters had given Lily's parents one potion to help exterminate weeds immediately and another potion to make the sponges clean the dishes spotlessly whenever in use. They had given Lily a book on potions for her to enjoy and use during school while they gave Barbara a singing Howler, which scared Lily's parents due to the mere shock of a letter singing very off-key.

Valerie and Angel had sent Barbara a small bracelet with a terrible pun Barbara could barely get past saying to Lily without wanting to smash her head into the wall. Lily laughed as she read it for herself: We are V-A-B-ulous! With Love, Valerie and Angel.

James even have Barbara a small booklet full of pranks and ideas he wanted to implement with her. Barbara took them as a sign of warning rather than a sign of peace between the two prankers.

Nevertheless, Barbara was extremely grateful to have such a loving family and friends.