/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟏.𝟞.𝟢

Remus shifted on his feet, and then he noticed the small girl curled up in the corner of the couch. Seeing Artemis always made Remus happy. He liked the way her hair sometimes fell in wild curls and sometimes in perfectly straightened wisps depending on the way she was feeling. He liked the way she always had a book as well as a notebook on her, and was constantly writing in the margins or on top of her own writing in the notebook. She was the sort of person who never willingly gave up too much information on herself, which made Remus always want to ask her about a million questions. He held back for fear of annoying her, but every time she spoke he listened closely, enraptured by her words.

That morning, she was wearing an enormous gray sweater that seemed to fit more like a blanket that anything. Remus knew 'oversized' clothes were in style, but the way Artemis wore them seemed a bit excessive. Everything in her wardrobed seemed more fit for a grown man than an eleven year old girl. "No thanks, Peter," Remus said, and then, to Artemis, "Hey," he sat down in his armchair as James, Sirius, and Peter migrated to the other side of the common room to see something Frank Longbottom had in a large box. "What're you reading?"

Artemis put the book down and gave him a small smile. "War and Peace." When Remus raised an eyebrow skeptically, her face broke into a real smile and a small laugh escaped her lips. "I know, I know. And honestly, I don't understand a word it's saying. It's- ahhh- it's my dad's copy. He wrote a bunch of funny things in the margins- well-" she cut herself off, "-It doesn't really matter. The language is really pretty. What've you been reading lately?"

Remus looked at her curiously. He'd noticed in the last three months he'd known Artemis, that she sometimes referred to her father in the past tense, and other times in the present. He didn't know what to make of it. "Finished On the Road, by Kerouac last week. Got any suggestions?"

"The Firm, by Grisham. You'd love it."

Remus noticed that Artemis's voice had turned sort of dull and her face had fallen back down to the pages of her book. It wasn't like her to not get super excited about giving someone a book recommendation. He squinted at her for a second, and then pulled the chocolate bar his mother had sent him in a care package the week before out of his pocket. It was his last one, but he figured he could get more when he went home for Christmas. "Here," he said gently, handing her the little square of chocolate.

When she looked up, Artemis's expression softened and she moved to the other side of the couch to get closer to Remus. She took the chocolate and unwrapped it, looking immediately happier. She broke off a square and handed it to Remus, then took one for herself. Remus watched all of this in wonder, happy that for once he'd been able to give something back to one of his friends.

JAMES

James didn't understand why the others weren't as excited as he was for the holidays. Even Sirius, who James could always pull out of his shell, seemed tense and on-edge the whole time they looked down at the boxes of decorations Frank Longbottom had found in a closet near Gryffindor tower. "You guys can put them up," Frank said, standing and dusting himself off. "McKinnon's still holding practice this afternoon, so I've got to go get ready."

Frank marched off to the boys' dormitories while James surveyed the common room, planning out where to put each decoration. "Here, help me put this tinsel up on the mantle," he said to Sirius, grabbing the green strand first from the box. They went over to the fireplace and both struggled to reach high enough to get the tinsel where they wanted it. "Come on, Loopy," James called over his shoulder to Remus, who looked up mildly and then went back to his quiet conversation with Artemis. James looked behind him, and then remembered that both of them had been acting strange around the holidays as well. Artemis had gone all quiet, even around the girls, and Remus had been sleeping more than usual. James stepped down from the fireplace and went to sit on the arm of Remus's chair. "You two can talk about books all you want over the holiday, come help me decorate. It'll be fun."