the_debt_of_time

"Amos?" Remus rose a brow. "Aren't Hufflepuff's generally a little on the...
pacifist side?"
"They are." Sirius nodded as he filled his plate with an assortment of breakfast items,
and then, being the doting friend that he was, did the same for James, pushing the plate in
front of him. "Prongs asked Lily to go to Hogsmeade."
"So? That's not unusual. He asks her to go to Hogsmeade anytime he's allowed to
and every other time he's not." Mia took a seat beside her brother, affectionately ruffling
his messy black hair, and smiling a bit—she could just imagine a bird taking up residence
right in the centre of it.
"He bought her a gift," Sirius said, gesturing to the small velvet box on the table.
Mia gasped at the tiny, unwrapped gift and snatched it up. "Jamie, please tell me
Grandmother Black's opal ring isn't in here? You know Mum said if you tried to steal it
again she would put a hex on it, and all your hair would fall out." She shook her head,
unable to stop herself from thinking that the hex might be an improvement.
When she opened the small box, she smiled a little at the sight.
It was a pair of silver earrings, similar to the pair Sirius had given her for Christmas.
Instead of a fox and a cat, the silver silhouettes were of a stag and a doe. Mia's heart warmed
at the sight.
Though she had known what Lily's Patronus would be long before her friend ever
actually cast it, Mia smiled in the Room of Requirement the moment Lily completed the
charm. A brilliant silver doe had emerged from the tip of her wand and pranced around
the room, exciting the eyes of every member of the A.D., but no one more than James
whose eyes lit up in obvious joy at the sight before immediately casting his own Patronus,
a noble stag.
James had been beyond elated at the pair. Lily had looked positively confused and
took extra steps to avoid him at all costs in every subsequent meeting as well as class. Mia
knew the gesture her brother was trying to send was amazingly sweet, however, she could
understand why Lily might react poorly.
"Oh, Jamie, these are beautiful, but you should have known how she'd react."
"She didn't get them," James mumbled into the table followed by a string of swears
and other unintelligible words that she struggled to make out.
"What?"