Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling, so I only own Nikki.
Nikki POV:
I can't believe it; it's Christmas!! The school year has been flying by so fast that the next time I blink I will have graduated already! I get out of my dorm and walk up the boy's staircase. I go to Fred and George's room, pull open the door, and shout. "WAKE UP LAZYBONESES, IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!" They shoot up.
"Alright, Nikki!! We're up!!" I skip downstairs. If you can't tell, Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's so beautiful with snow on the ground! In Harry's first year, Fred, George, and I hexed snowballs to repeatedly hit Professor Quirrell in the back of his head. However, I heard from Harry that Voldemort was possessing Quirrell, so really we hexed snowballs to hit Voldemort in the face. That was hilarious!
Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, Fred, and I are all downstairs seated in a circle. Percy walks in, and I run over to him. Grabbing his arm, I drag him over to the circle and force him down. I start to open the present from Mum and Dad. I tear open the wrapping paper and see a maroon and gold jumper with the letter N knitted on it.
I put my jumper on. Percy got me a book on famous Healers throughout the world. I give him a big hug because that is what I have wanted since fifth year: to be a Healer. I love to help people. Fred and George got me a box of sweets. There's a note inside saying that they'll give me my real gift later. I'm pretty sure that the gift is Zonko's products. Harry got me a picture of the seven of us all sitting around doing nothing in particular. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all laughing at Fred and George picking me up and spinning me around. Percy is reading a book, but I can see a faint smile on his face as he looks at us. This was taken at the Burrow last year. Ron gave me some chocolate frogs while Hermione gave me a book called So You Want to Be a Healer? (A/N: This is not a real book).This is amazing! I see two other presents for me. I don't know who they are from, so I start with the one that looks like a book. I open it, and the title of the book is The Fault in Our Stars. A small piece of parchment falls out of it. It says:
Dear Nicolette,
Merry Christmas!
From, Remmie-pie (I can't believe I just wrote that)
I laugh. I look at the other package. It's smaller and it looks a little messy. Is it from Sirius? When could he have gotten to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade without being recognized? I open it carefully as opposed to the way I have ripped open all of my presents so far. There's a jewelry box. I open it and gasp. In the box, nestled in purple velvet cushioning, is a necklace. It is silver with diamonds and has an amethyst on it. The engraving reads, "I love you always and forever."
I smile at the necklace. Percy looks over at me to thank me for the book I got him on the Ministry of Magic and sees my gift. "Nicole, who gave you this? Who loves you 'always and forever?'"
I smile at him. "Percy, it's okay. I'm not telling you who it is; you'll have to guess. And by the way, I love him too." Fred and George are close to bursting with laughter. I clasp the chain around my neck, and move the heart on the outside of my jumper. I'll have to visit Sirius soon. I hear Harry and Ron gasp. "What is it, boys?" I spin around and blink for a couple of seconds. I can't believe my eyes. Sirius, the idiot, got Harry a Firebolt! "Is there a card?" I ask. If Sirius added a card he is even more of an idiot than I thought.
"Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?" I groan silently. Hermione's looking at the broom suspiciously, like she expects it to be from Sirius. She's right, but not in the context she's thinking of. I need to see Sirius today. I excuse myself under the pretense of getting hot chocolate from the kitchens for us. After checking the hallway to make sure nobody could see me, I transform into my Animagus and start to run down the halls to the castle grounds. Luckily, I don't run into anyone on my way there.
I run towards the Whomping Willow deftly avoiding the branches. I place my paw on the stump and wiggle my way through the hole. Why is it so hard as a dog? I shift back into my human form and open the door.
"Coley! Merry Christmas!!" Sirius says, excited that I'm here. Well, he's not going to be excited anymore.
"Sirius Orion Black you idiot!! Why in the world would you send Harry a Firebolt? And don't say because he needs a new broom!! I know that he does, but can't you see that it was dangerous? You could have been seen, recognized, or maybe even Kissed! I've been worrying the whole run down here!!"
"I'm sorry, Coley. The only reason Harry's broom broke was because of me. The dementors are here because of me. He recognized me from Privet- Shit, I shouldn't have said that."
"From PRIVET DRIVE?!?! You went to Harry, visited his house, and didn't tell me about it? You need to stop being so reckless! What would happen to me if you went and got yourself killed or Kissed or both!? I wouldn't be able to be happy without you!!"
"Coley," he walks over to me and takes my hand, wrapping it into his. "I have to take care of Harry. I'm his godfather, and I plan to be one that he will be proud of so that James and Lily didn't choose me for no reason. I love you, so much that it kills me slowly every time that you leave me here."
"It kills me too. I don't want to ever be separated for this long ever again. Thanks for the necklace. My twin, Percy, got all overprotective on me about it."
"You're welcome, Coley. Not for the part about Percy's overprotectiveness, but for the necklace." I step closer to him until we are a centimeter apart. He leans his head down and I lean up. We meet in the middle and then I forget all rational thought. My hands, with a mind of their own, move up to Sirius's hair and get tangled in it. His hands move to my back and pull me closer to him until the only things separating us from each other are our shirts. His hands leave my back and start to run his fingers through my flaming red hair, causing it to become messy. We break apart, panting.
"Sirius, I have to go. Everyone's probably worried about where I've been. I'll miss you. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I turn to leave, and then he grabs onto my hand. Bringing my hand up to his mouth, he kisses it and lets it drop. I smile at him and turn to leave.
"Wait!" Sirius exclaims. "Here. Take it." He hands me a journal. I take it, perplexed. "It's connected to mine. We can write each other and plan meetings together. The password is what it is to open the map, but the closing is 'always and forever.' Please use it?"
"I will, Star-boy." I turn around and walk towards the exit, trying to not turn back and stay with Sirius more. I close the door.
I transform into a dog and start moving out of the Shack. I sprint towards Hogwarts, trying to not be suspicious. I don't think it's working. I get all the way to the kitchens and then turn back to a human. I tickle the pear and enter. "Ms. Weasley!! Mimsy is so happy to see you!" A female house elf says as I walk in.
"Hi, Mimsy! Can you get me and my friends some hot chocolate and some of those delicious sugar cookies you make? We need seven mugs."
"Yes Ms. Weasley!! It will be ready in a jiffy!" I sit on the Gryffindor table and wait. Five minutes later, Mimsy comes staggering under the weight of the serving dish. "Here you go! Merry Christmas!!"
"Thanks, Mimsy. You too." I take the dish and walk back to the common room, trying to think of a lie I could tell about why it took so long. I know! The house elves were too busy making Christmas dinner to make the hot chocolate. As I say the password, Sir Cadogan (the new Gryffindor portrait after the stabbing of the Fat Lady) asks me if I want to partake in a quest. He actually used the word partake. "Sorry, Sir Cadogan, but I have to get in the common room." He swings open and I walk in. "Here's the hot chocolate!!"
"What took you so long? I was starving," Ron asks as he crams a cookie in his mouth.
"The kitchen workers were too busy making Christmas dinner to make the hot chocolate, so I waited there for a while." I go to sit in between Fred and George, who smirk at me.
"That's a good excuse," George whispers to me so that only Fred and I could hear.
"What do you mean 'excuse?'" I question, grinning coyly.
"Well, I would have believed it if I didn't see how your hair is a little messed up and you have that lovey-dovey expression on your face. Did you say thank you for the necklace?" He winks at me.
"No! Well, I did say thank you, but not in the way you think. You have a dirtier mind than I do, and I'm older!! We just snogged; that's it."
"Ewww. I did not need to hear the details about my older sister's love life!!"
I smirk. "Well, then why did you ask? By the way, what's Hermione going to do with the Firebolt?"
"Well, she said she would report it to Professor McGonagall, but she might not."
"Oh no. And yes, you-know-who," Fred and George snicker, "not that You-Know-Who, gave it to Harry." I take a sip of my hot chocolate, garnished with whipped cream, cinnamon, and marshmallows.
"Wait, Voldemort gave Harry a broomstick?" I laugh so hard hot chocolate comes out of my nose.
"Did you hear a word I just said? No, Voldemort did not give Harry a broomstick. If he did, it would probably be cursed. Actually," I lean closer to them so nobody could ever overhear no matter what. Just in case, I cast the Muffliato spell on us so that nobody could hear us. "Sirius gave him the broomstick. We had a row about it-actually, I just stood there and screamed at him for a good minute." George and Fred chortled.
"Well, there's no way to deny that you are Mum's daughter. She can scream for hours!!"
"Believe me, I know that. She screamed at you two for all of our pranks. I wonder if I should reveal that I was part of the Terrible Trio at graduation and then apparate away before Mum catches me. Hopefully Sirius is out by then, I could go to his place. Well, technically it's his parents' place, but they're all dead. Sirius never considered that building his 'place' or 'home.'" I was still close to Fred and George. Nobody could hear anything we were saying because the spell was still in place.
"Okay then. We think-" George starts.
"That this plan of yours-" Fred continues.
"Is a great idea!!" They chorus together.
I take down the spell and then I stretch. "Well, I'm tired for some reason. I'm going to go take a nap. Wake me when it's time for dinner." I walk upstairs to my Head Girl dorm, saying the password in an undertone so that only the portrait could hear it. I get in bed, pull the covers up, and my eyes flutter closed. I dream of Sirius's laugh and smile. I dream of Sirius running to me, picking me up, and twirling me around as I laugh giddily at my graduation. Nobody is afraid of him and he isn't getting arrested. Just happy dreams. Just Sirius and me.
Author's Note: I love this chapter so much!! I feel like Sirius could have a romantic side, which I enjoy writing. Their relationship is getting more sirius. Pun intended. I like writing these stories. What would you guys say if, when Sirius gets his trial, I make Elle Woods from Legally Blonde his lawyer? It would be hilarious! Also, should I keep Remus until the end of the year? I saw this thing on Tumblr where Remus stays. Parents are sending him mean Howlers about him being a "monster" and how he shouldn't be around children. Some students don't like that and send him nice Howlers like, "You are the best teacher we've ever had!" or "You are the sole reason why I'm going to pass my Defense OWL/NEWT!" I love that scenario so much because it proves that Remus is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry and the people in his year had. Maybe everyone else as well, as we don't know who the teachers before Quirrell are.
QOTD: Kiss Marry Kill: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Poe Dameron, and Boba Fett
AOTD: Kiss Obi-Wan, Marry Poe, and Kill Boba Fett (I can't kill either Obi-Wan or Poe).
-GryffindorPadmeEaton