He shifted back into Padfoot and flopped down to rest. From this angle, he could
see the Whomping Willow. He remembered his first year at Hogwarts when some of the
older students—the Prewett twins if he remembered correctly—thought it would be fun
to try and decorate the violent tree for Christmas. It landed several of them in the hospital
wing in the end, much to the amusement of the rest of the student body. Christmas was
coming. Sirius sighed at the thought, wishing that there was something he could do for his
godson to make up for all the Christmases and birthdays that he missed over the years.
But short of buying the boy a new broom to replace the one that the Whomping
Willow destroyed a month ago, Sirius could not think of anything worthy enough.
He looked to his left where the orange kneazle appeared at his side, pawing curiously
at the small bag of Galleons sitting on the cold ground. Padfoot inwardly smirked as he
wondered whether Broomstix still offered mail-order services.
December 25th, 1993With his most vivid memories of Mia being kept safe by Dumbledore, Remus could
put more effort into his lessons as well as helping Harry. Hermione's presence was always
a distraction; though, without the constant string of nostalgia, he had hoped to be able to
better separate his young student from the best friend he knew she would become. And
while he tried to keep an eye out for both Hermione and Harry, it was the boy who needed
his help more.
Remus sat in his chambers, nursing a headache thanks to the approaching full
moon, trying to distract himself by reflecting on his most recent conversation with Harry.
"When the dementors get near me, I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."
He had not realised that his own hands had started shaking at the revelation, and it
took all of Remus's strength not to pull Harry into his arms and offer him what little
comfort he had to give. But he had to keep his distance, at least for now. Harry was much
too inquisitive, and he knew that when he discovered just how close Remus had been to his
parents, the boy would have questions. Questions that Remus did not know if he could
answer, thanks to Dumbledore's insistence that Harry be kept in the dark about several