fatal love

Chapter 31

December came quickly, and that meant it was almost the end of term. But for once, Sirius wasn't dreading the Christmas holidays - two weeks at Hogwarts, without his mother, or pureblooded socialising, or Imperios, sounded like absolute heaven.

It was only two weeks before the term would be over, and Sirius was in the Common Room, sharing an armchair with Marlene. She was currently telling him about how Eliza and Anna had fallen out, because Eliza had asked Terrence Rudderfield out when she knew Anna fancied him, and Sirius had got very invested in the story, when James came bounding over.

"Sirius! Guess what?" he exclaimed, beaming.

"Snivellus took his monthly shower?"

"Hah! No! I wrote my parents, and you can come back and stay with us over Christmas!"

"James, you know I can't," Sirius sighed.

"But you can!" James enthused, slightly out of breath from all his excitement. "Your parents don't have to know! Just don't put your name down to stay at Hogwarts!"

Sirius' eyes lit up - James was right. "You're being serious?" he asked. "I can really spend the holidays with you?"

"Yes! Mate, it's going to be wicked! Your best Christmas ever, I promise!"

"Well, that won't be hard," Sirius snorted. "But thanks, James, really. Are you sure your parents are cool with me crashing your family time?"

"Of course, they've been wanting to have you over for ages!"

"That's awesome," Marlene smiled. "You guys are going to have so much fun."

"I know right!" James grinned. "Oh, hey, McKinnon, has Evans mentioned me recently, by any chance?"

"Yes, actually," Marlene said, smirking.

"Really? What did she say?" James asked, gazing at her hopefully.

"Yeah, she told me that you tried to open the door for her and ended up hitting her with it. Nice work, Potter."

Sirius barked a laugh as James slumped.

"I didn't realise how big the door was," he moaned.

"Mate, you have no game," Sirius teased. "Like, it's impressive how bad you are."

"Don't you get nervous when you talk to girls?" James implored.

"No - they're just girls, they aren't scary."

"Evans is terrifying," James said solemnly, and, well, Sirius had to give him that one.

"You should try someone else, James," Marlene said. "I know lots of girls who'd go out with you."

James shrugged. "Thanks, McKinnon, but I reckon I can still woo Evans. She likes reading, doesn't she? I could write her a poem..."

Marlene had to lean into Sirius' shoulder to hide her giggles.

"You do that, buddy," Sirius said supportively. "She'll fall for you one of these days, I'm sure."

The December moon fell on the 10th, which was a Monday. So on Sunday, Sirius was in the dorm with Remus, doing his Transfiguration essay that was due tomorrow.

"I've never understood how you can leave all your work to the last minute, and still get perfect grades," Remus said.

"Not perfect, Moony," Sirius tutted. "I'm only averaging an E in Potions."

"Right, sorry, almost perfect," Remus corrected, and his voice was harsh.

Sirius looked up in surprise. "Something wrong?" he asked.