~Knowing that you care always makes me smile

You are what makes living worthwhile.~

***

With Christmas drawing near, the festive spirit was quite evident in the Hogwarts atmosphere. Even in the times when the Wizarding World was at the brink of war, an event like Christmas was considered as a sole source of hope and joy for many. A lot of the students were going back to their homes to spend the merry time of Christmas with their families and so were all the Marauders.

Sirius knew this was going to be the best Christmas he would ever have since he wouldn't have to go to the dreary old Grimmauld Place again. The thought of it all was quite refreshing to him. Being away from the rest of the Blacks had done him more good than harm lately as he had found that now he felt a lot more at ease and rightfully alive.

His Uncle too was nothing short of a blessing to him. And thinking of his Uncle, he was no doubt reminded of Felicity. He didn't know whether she was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas or not, so he decided to go and ask from her himself.

"Hey, Rem, have you seen my annoying little cousin?" Sirius went up to Remus and asked casually, knowing that the other two were probably out of ear shot; with James gone off to find Lily and Peter just not somewhere in sight.

"She was going to Professor Sinistra's office a short while ago," he replied, "just check somewhere on the fourth corridor and if she's not there then she'll either be in the library or the common room."

Sirius nodded and went on his search, however luckily for him he spotted her coming out of Professor Sinistra's office. "Hey, Felicity!" he waved enthusiastically at her.

She was a bit surprised to see him but walked over to him, "hey. What's up?"

"Nothing much," he replied, "just wanted to know if you're staying here for the break or coming home."

"Home... As in, Father's place?" she raised an eyebrow quizzically.

He nodded, scratching the back of his neck a little, "uh yeah... So are you coming or not?"

Her eyes narrowed as if pondering over it, "I already told Mum that I'm staying here for Christmas, as usual."

He was shocked at her remark, "you don't go home for Christmas?"

"Nope," she shrugged, "I like it better here."

He paused for a while because he felt as if her problem was a bit similar to his. She probably didn't go back home for Christmas because she must have had some family issues like he did Then he recalled she had once mentioned how she and her stepdad Stefan seldom got along.

"I understand," his tone was much lighter now as if he had figured out exactly what to do, "but Uncle Alphard would love to have you there for Christmas. Since you've already told your Mum that you're staying here, it won't be much of a problem if you came with me instead."

She thought it over for a while in her mind, "but Sirius..."

"Felicity, wouldn't you want Uncle to have one genuinely happy Christmas?" He knew very well that he had struck right on the mark and that was the best thing to say to her in order to make her agree. Also combined with his adorably innocent pretty please look, he knew she would definitely give in.

And he was right. She sighed, "alright then, I'll come. But it's only because of Father, don't give yourself too much credit because in the rest of the situations, you are still not capable of making me agree to anything you say."

He laughed because he was just about to say that yet it seemed as if she had somehow known his intentions, "are you an Italian speaking Legilimens as well?"

"Not that I know of," a small smile spread on her face as well, "and why so specific with the Italian part?"

"It just seems a bit more dramatic when I put it that way," he winked earning him a playful shove from her.

Laughing herself as well, she remarked, "ah of course, Sirius Black you're such a drama queen!"

He swept up a flamboyant bow, mischief sparking in his stormy grey eyes and the characteristic smirk playing on his lips, "we aim to astound, my lady."

***

During the train ride to King's Cross, the Marauders booked the largest cabin they could find because according to Peter, they were probably going to sit with half the students of their year. In a sense, it was a near approximation because the cabin was full of the Felicity's friends, Lily's friends and the Marauders as well.

For the first time ever, Felicity didn't feel fed up with all the noise and chatter. In fact she rather enjoyed being in the company of these people who had very soon become her friends, much to her astonishment.

And it was then she thought that tutoring James Potter in the fifth year did have some advantages. For starters, her life had changed a lot from how it once used to be, she had changed a lot as well. And also now she actually had a lot of people who cared about her.

She did owe that much to the pathetically annoying toadstool who she initially thought would be the end of her.

At the station, everyone bid farewell and parted ways, in the end it was just the Marauders and Felicity left at the platform.

"Where's your Mum, didn't she come to pick you up?" James asked noticing that no one o=was there to receive her.

"I thought I would give her a surprise so I didn't tell her that I was coming," she lied quite smoothly, noticing that ever since she had made an acquaintance with them, her lying skills had also improved considerably.

"Oh," he nodded, "so you'll take the bus and unwillingly be accompanied by Sirius as well."

She had known by now that James Potter had an exceptional memory so that once she wasn't startled when he mentioned that. She knew he still remembered the first day of sixth year. "Yeah, much unwillingly on my part."

Sirius pretended to look hurt, "I'm not that horrible, Fel."

"It's Latvia to you," her reply was nonchalant, out of habit, and quite appropriate because knowing James if she hadn't interjected at that instant, he would be connecting the dots in his head and arriving on a conclusion that there was something other than just apparent hatred between them both. 

And she didn't want to give fuel to his ridiculous imagination. Not at all. By now she was well aware that out of these four, even though Remus seemed the logical and rational one, still it was James who was most likely to dig deep into stuff and come to the correct conclusions regarding any suspicion he had.

Remus and Peter left together as they lived close by, James's dad too arrived at the last moment as he had got caught in a meeting and as they were all leaving, Sirius once again offered to carry Felicity's trunk to which she refused, "forgot the first day of term, Black? I know you were clearly struggling with your own belongings."

"If you are not going to accept this limited edition offer, it's honestly fine by me," he flashed her a bright smile, "I was just trying to show you that I can be nice as well."

She hid the smile that was threatening to peek through, "if that's the case then I would appreciate more if you save all your niceness and just behave well on the Christmas dinner."

"Absolutely," he touched his forehead in a short salute.

As Felicity accompanied him out to the bus stop, she spoke, "you're not that horrible."

Sirius halted, quite certain that he had misheard her, "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm not repeating that so turn around and get moving. If you continue at such a snail's pace, we won't reach home till midnight."

Sirius had opened his mouth to argue but she jabbed him in the back with her wand warning him to keep his mouth shut. 

After an hour long bus ride, they finally reached Magnolia Crescent. The walk to the house was silent as they were both thinking of what would be Alphard's reaction at seeing Felicity there as well. All traces of Felicity's sourness seemed to have vanished and a beautiful smile danced on her face.

Sirius stepped forward and rang the doorbell. The door opened by itself and both of them walked in. Alphard was seated on the couch in the living room as he had been expecting Sirius to come. But seeing Felicity with him, his face shown radiantly.

"And we're home!" Sirius announced in a loud cheer.

He spoke smiling widely, "it's so good to see you both again. I had no idea you would be coming for Christmas, Fel."

"It was all quite short notice for me too," she replied.

"Felicity, dear, I so love your surprises," he remarked gently hugging her as she sat down beside him.

Sirius's jaw dropped open as if he was shocked beyond limits, "her surprises? It wasn't her idea at all. For starters, she wasn't even coming. I was the one who persuaded her yet still she is taking all the credit. Unfair as always."

Alphard couldn't help but laugh at his expression, "ah Sirius, I'm indeed thankful to you for bringing her here. The credit is all yours."

A relieved grin spread on his face, "now that's what I like to hear."

***

On Christmas Eve, the usually silent house number seven at Magnolia Crescent was also bubbling with chatter and happiness. A Christmas tree had been erected in the middle of the living room with Sirius in charge of all the decorations. As a result of which the whole room appeared to be covered in red and green ribbons.

Felicity was placing all the gifts under the tree, humming an old Christmas carol to herself. She had set the table already and the cake which she and Sirius had made together, amid constant arguing, was baking in the oven.

Alphard came out of his room and was greeted by a loud cheer of Merry Christmas by both of them. A genuine smile spread on his face as he took a good look around and saw the decorations. It had been a long while since he had last been part of Christmas celebrations. After estrangement from his family, he had been a lonely man with no time to spare for the little things in life.

But now with both Felicity and Sirius to keep him company, everything felt a lot more different and a thousand times better than before. To be honest, the Christmas of 1975 was a wholly different experience for the three of them. 

"So, dearest Uncle, what do you think of the decorations?"

"Of course do tell," Felicity interjected, "after all it's just a heap of ribbons bundled up everywhere."

"It's not just a heap of ribbons," Sirius pretended to look offended at her remark, "it's a heap of red and green ribbons, in accordance with the Christmas theme."

She rolled her eyes, "I wish someone would enlighten you on how things are actually decorated. You can't just throw ribbons everywhere and say that you decorated the entire room."

"Well, last time I checked, you said I was the one in charge of the decorations. So even if you don't like these, you'll have to deal with it," he flashed her a bright smirk.

Alphard was observing them with an amused spark in his eyes. He really loved to have them around since they reminded him of his own childhood with his siblings, Cygnus and Walburga. Thinking of his siblings used to make him sad but he knew this once the sadness would be short lived since the two cousins who were constantly bickering like toddlers were a sufficient distraction.

"Alright, just shut up, will you?" Felicity shot him a stern glare and turned to face Alphard, "after we have dinner, it will be presents time."

"Indeed," Alphard nodded thinking all the while of how both of them would react when they got the presents he had bought for them. He had made sure that the Christmas gifts would not be a disappointment. 

After a very merry dinner, in which Sirius surprisingly managed to behave well, they were sitting down by the Christmas tree for the much awaited gift unwrapping. All the gifts sent by their friends had been placed underneath it and Felicity, being the practical sort of person, had sorted the gifts such that all gifts for Sirius were placed together and so on. 

"Now who will go first?" Sirius was quite literally jumping from excitement.

"You start it," Alphard suggested, "then it will be Felicity's turn and I'll go last."

"Okay... Let's see," Sirius unwrapped the first box, "hey, it's from Remus. And guess what he sent me, Fel?" Mischief was dancing clearly in his eyes and she knew it was definitely something that she wouldn't approve of.

"I'm not going to guess."

He showed her a book with the title: 1000 Ways To Annoy Your Siblings, "I so needed this. Fair warning, I'm going to try it all on you."

She shrugged, "I'm not your sibling?"

"You're my cousin, in case you're forgetting," he remarked happily, "and it's nearly the same thing. Merlin's beard, Rem sure knows how to send the most perfect gifts."

"And Rem sure is going to regret it once I get done with him," she remarked sweetly however Sirius was aware that poor Remus would probably get in trouble for sending him the book, "fortunately you don't have enough stamina to actually sit down and read so nevertheless I've been spared the trouble."

Sirius was shaking his head in disappointment, "I have a demonic cousin, how absolutely fantastic."

"Now now, kids, we don't fight on Christmas, right? Sirius, continue with your gifts please," Alphard handled the situation before it could get any worse.

The unwrapping continued. Sirius had received sweets from Peter, Zonko's special prank item box from James, a quill set from James's parents and a photo album from Regulus which contained memories from their childhood. 

It had been decided to not open the gifts given by those already present in the room, saving them up for later. 

Felicity had gotten a diary from Alicia, a new dress from her Mum, a book on Astronomy by James, chocolate eggs by Remus and a hand-knit sweater by Lily.  

Alphard only had gifts which Sirius and Felicity had bought for him so the three of them decided on unwrapping the remaining of the gifts. It turned out that Sirius had bought a coffee mug for Alphard and a rucksack for Felicity. When she had asked what he had in mind before picking that particular gift, he simply shrugged, "I had noticed you put too much stuff in your old one and considering its size it would break soon."

"Thank you," she accepted the gift and when she saw how he swelled with pride as if she was going to actually thank him profusely for the thoughtful gift, she added, "for being observant."

Felicity had bought a woolen scarf for Alphard and a bottle of shampoo for Sirius such that even Alphard was quite amused by the random choice of gift.

He burst out laughing when he unwrapped the box that contained the shampoo, "really, Fel?"

"Your hair stink," she remarked, scrunching her nose as if she was disgusted. However, she was only pretending to be disgusted, just to witness his annoyance.

But Sirius, on the other hand, had something else on his mind. Inching closer to Felicity, he shook his head like a dog does when it gets wet. Screeching, she drew back, "what the hell?"

"Just to show you that my hair don't stink," he replied, a playful smirk dancing on his elated face,  "I make sure of that. All fragrant. But thanks for the shampoo, I'm pretty sure it will get finished in a week just like the rest."

"A week? How much do you use it? Or rephrasing it, how much shampoo do you waste in the shower?"

"Ah come on, Miss Perfect, I pay for my own shampoo so you shouldn't worry."

Alphard had sensed that the banter could turn into a row by the change of shade on Felicity's face, so he quickly intervened, "my turn to give the gifts now. I hope you both like them."

They turned to face him, "of course we will."

"Sirius, your present is out in the garage. Felicity, your present is in the study room."

He let them go off to explore the presents themselves and waited himself. He had put a lot of thought into buying what would be the absolute perfect gift for the two kids that were dearer to him than everything else in the world.

Not long had passed when both of them returned with wide smiles on their faces. Seeing the smiles, Alphard knew they loved the gifts just like he had expected.

"Uncle Alphard, you're the best person I've ever known!" Sirius rushed to give him a tight hug.

"Father, thank you so much," next it was Felicity's turn for the hug.

"A motorbike! A real Muggle motorbike, I can't believe it. No wonder you're my most favorite Uncle."

Felicity nodded, "I agree. How did you know I love books? Honestly, Father, the bookshelf is so so awesome!"

Alphard felt truly happy to see them pleased with the presents. It felt like the purpose of Christmas had been fulfilled and he felt quite complete. A soft smile played upon his lips as his clear blue eyes gleamed with delight, "Merry Christmas, children."

***