The Canis Major

C h a p t e r 2 2

I was already ready with my trunk when I woke up on Christmas morning. Christmas at the orphanage usually didn't involve more than a large dinner at the end of the day, so I figured I wouldn't be missing much if I left early.

James had sent an owl yesterday telling to come at any time, along with his address. James lived just outside of London, so I would have to take a train. This was not preferable considering my large trunk, but it'd be worth it in the end.

Almost everybody was already up on Christmas morning. Everybody was still in their pajamas. The kids were running around and playing games when I lugged my trunk downstairs. They ran around me excitedly.

"You're already leaving?" One of them said while I set my trunk by the door. I turned and nodded my head. "John said he didn't want you to leave." John. I hadn't seen him again. I think Ms. Charles got rid of him, but I haven't been able to tell.

"Del!" I turned to see Ms. Charles rushing up to me. "You're not leaving without sitting with all the others. Come, at least one Christmas movie? I'll let you pick. You can flip through the channels." Sitting in a room with a bunch of peers who didn't like me was not my idea of fun, but I couldn't deny her.

"Fine. I don't care which movie," I told her. Her face brightened up. She dragged me to the living room where the other kids my age were waiting. Most of the smaller kids were running around or outside in the snow. The living room wasn't very big, and there were about 10 of us trying to squeeze in.

The girls I shared a room with gave me an annoyed look when I awkwardly sat down beside them. The boys had taken up all the furniture, leaving us girls to sit on the ground. Ms. Charles shuffled around us all to set up the film.

It was about an hour of sitting awkwardly before we heard a knock on the door. Everybody turned towards the sound, but Ms. Charles was the only one who made any attempt to get up and get it. She disappeared around the corner to get the door, so we all turned our attention back to the TV.

"Del." I turned my head towards the archway. My eyes widened when I noticed she was standing there with Sirius Black. He was much taller than her, making her looking even younger than she already was. "You didn't tell me he was accompanying you."

"I didn't know he was," I said. I glanced at the TV for a second. When I did so, I could see everybody looking at Sirius in a bit of confusion. Most of the girls had wide eyes and were blushing because they were still in their pajamas. Sirius paid them no mind and looked at me with a small smirk. I glared softly at him.

"Well," she turned to look at Sirius. "It is still early. If you'd like, you could finish the movie with us." Sirius looked confused before he glanced at the TV. A look of recognition flashed across his face before he looked at me. I nodded slowly, so he smiled at Ms. Charles.

"I'd love to." Ms. Charles grinned and motioned to the spot on the floor next to me. Sirius walked over and sat next to me. "Hello," he whispered. I could feel eyes on us after Ms. Charles sat down. Sirius was wearing Muggle clothing. He seemed to like it a lot more. His had on black jeans, black leather boots and a light black coat.

"What are you doing here?"

"Escorting you," Sirius said sarcastically.

"What if I had already left?"

"Then I would have gone by myself," Sirius said with the roll of his eyes. "We're going to the same place and we live close to each other, so I decided 'why not?'" I didn't say anything. "I've never had this experience. Do you do this every year?"

"Yeah, since we got the TV." Sirius watched the TV with interest. I looked around and could still see the girls staring at him. I wasn't expecting anything different from them. Sirius was obviously handsome, especially for his age. His dark hair that grew past his ears wasn't a very common style, but still managed to draw many in. He had handsome, dark features that seemed to allure all that walked passed him.