The Weather Outside Is Frightful
But the Fire is so Delightful
Snow blanketed the ground along Grimauld Place. Flakes of it were falling softly in every direction. Sirius Black stood in the snow glaring deeply at Number 13. At sixteen years old he so greatly resented his supremacist parents that he didn't even want to go home for Christmas. Alas, that was the way it worked among pureblood families. Sirius huffed and kicked some snow with the toe of his left boot. The worst part of it was that while he was in the Black family's ancestral home he could have no contact with the pretty little sixth year muggleborn witch that had recently captured his attention. She was a pretty little thing with fair hair and sparkling green eyes. Her voice was high and clear, a soprano when the Hogwarts school song was sung always to her favorite tune of "Baby It's Cold Outside". Named Raven after the black bird of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem by a bookworm mother and a gentle-soul of a father she was raised among muggles and had a great love of the Christmas season, since her birthday fell on the holiday itself. She held to muggle traditions and took part in wizarding ones too, and she always sent gifts to the special people in her life. Sirius had left her a little treasure hunt, worthy of her Ravenclaw wit in order to find the present he'd procured for her. When he'd explained to her after dinner on the last day of term that he wouldn't be able to write her whilst at home she'd begged him to wait and rushed to her dormitory to fetch his present. Wrapped in bronze paper and tied with an indigo bow was a long box that Raven presented to him.
"I noticed that yours was damaged." She murmured to him. "I know you can afford to replace it on your own of course, but when I was shopping and I saw this... Well I thought of you." Sirius tenderly took the gift from her and noticed that it was rather heavy. Pulling off the paper and opening the box he saw the glint of silver, when he looked down he saw that nestled in some tissue was a silver knife. Used in both Herbology and Potions it was a useful, and school related, gift. The handle was black and carved into the shape of a fierce looking dog.
"Sirius is the Dog Star." Raven said in almost a whisper. At that moment he looked up and saw the mistletoe hung magicially above where she'd been standing, it hadn't been there a moment before, but the castle had odd little ways of fulfilling what it deemed fit. In that moment Sirius leaned forward and gave her a kiss. She replied to it enthusiastically, allowing to continue for a few moments until the distinct sound of Professor Slughorn clearing his throat broke them apart. The next morning before boarding the train, and with the help of the other Marauders, Sirius hid her present in the castle. Under the table that he knew she favored in the library, with the aid of a sticking charm, her present waited for her. He'd also set up the instructions of the scavenger hunt, hoping that he'd made it difficult enough for her to enjoy it but easy enough for her to find it.
Sirius was glaring at the snowflakes that fell were gracefully dancing to the ground. If he hadn't been looking up at them he would have missed the large eagle-owl that was flying towards him. He frowned at it's appearance, not knowing who the majestic bird belonged to but perked up when it landed and stuck it's leg out for him. As soon as he saw the familiar writing across the parchment his heart warmed despite the chill outside. Upon opening it he discovered a long letter in Raven's flowing script. She apologized for sending her owl, Charon, to him when he was with his rather judgmental family. Then she went on to express her gratitude at such a thoughtful. She'd had no idea that a watch was a traditional present upon reaching majority in the wizarding world and the fact that he went to such lengths to find one that fit her so well was unbelievable. Explaining that his scavenger hunt had kept her truly occupied for several days as she searched high and low for clues all over the castle, she then went into detail about how much she adored the black pocket watch with silver filigree atop of it and a crafted raven atop the filigree. Raven also raved about the inscription that he'd had put into for her. A quote from the very poem she was named after.
The letter filled Sirius with a kind of joy that he had never experienced by giving a gift before. To know that he had done so well in finding something for the young woman who he could very well see himself loving was important to him. He folded the letter and tucked it gently into a pocket of his robes. His hand brushed against the knife at his belt and he thought of her once more. Sirius could not wait to get back to Hogwarts, but this time it wasn't just to escape the prejudice and hate of his bigoted parents nor to see the friends he so cherished. No, this time he was excited to go back to Hogwarts to see this beautiful witch. To hear her laughter and observe her smiles.
Yes, he thought to himself as he turned away from the snow and started to head into Number 12 Grimauld Place. Raven was definitely a woman he could see himself loving for a very long time indeed, especially if he could manage to make her so happy with small gifts like this every year. Dusting the snow off of his boots Sirius walked back into his ancestral home unable to wipe the smile off of his face.
"I noticed that yours was damaged." She murmured to him. "I know you can afford to replace it on your own of course, but when I was shopping and I saw this... Well I thought of you." Sirius tenderly took the gift from her and noticed that it was rather heavy. Pulling off the paper and opening the box he saw the glint of silver, when he looked down he saw that nestled in some tissue was a silver knife. Used in both Herbology and Potions it was a useful, and school related, gift. The handle was black and carved into the shape of a fierce looking dog.
"Sirius is the Dog Star." Raven said in almost a whisper. At that moment he looked up and saw the mistletoe hung magicially above where she'd been standing, it hadn't been there a moment before, but the castle had odd little ways of fulfilling what it deemed fit. In that moment Sirius leaned forward and gave her a kiss. She replied to it enthusiastically, allowing to continue for a few moments until the distinct sound of Professor Slughorn clearing his throat broke them apart. The next morning before boarding the train, and with the help of the other Marauders, Sirius hid her present in the castle. Under the table that he knew she favored in the library, with the aid of a sticking charm, her present waited for her. He'd also set up the instructions of the scavenger hunt, hoping that he'd made it difficult enough for her to enjoy it but easy enough for her to find it.
Sirius was glaring at the snowflakes that fell were gracefully dancing to the ground. If he hadn't been looking up at them he would have missed the large eagle-owl that was flying towards him. He frowned at it's appearance, not knowing who the majestic bird belonged to but perked up when it landed and stuck it's leg out for him. As soon as he saw the familiar writing across the parchment his heart warmed despite the chill outside. Upon opening it he discovered a long letter in Raven's flowing script. She apologized for sending her owl, Charon, to him when he was with his rather judgmental family. Then she went on to express her gratitude at such a thoughtful. She'd had no idea that a watch was a traditional present upon reaching majority in the wizarding world and the fact that he went to such lengths to find one that fit her so well was unbelievable. Explaining that his scavenger hunt had kept her truly occupied for several days as she searched high and low for clues all over the castle, she then went into detail about how much she adored the black pocket watch with silver filigree atop of it and a crafted raven atop the filigree. Raven also raved about the inscription that he'd had put into for her. A quote from the very poem she was named after.
The letter filled Sirius with a kind of joy that he had never experienced by giving a gift before. To know that he had done so well in finding something for the young woman who he could very well see himself loving was important to him. He folded the letter and tucked it gently into a pocket of his robes. His hand brushed against the knife at his belt and he thought of her once more. Sirius could not wait to get back to Hogwarts, but this time it wasn't just to escape the prejudice and hate of his bigoted parents nor to see the friends he so cherished. No, this time he was excited to go back to Hogwarts to see this beautiful witch. To hear her laughter and observe her smiles.
Yes, he thought to himself as he turned away from the snow and started to head into Number 12 Grimauld Place. Raven was definitely a woman he could see himself loving for a very long time indeed, especially if he could manage to make her so happy with small gifts like this every year. Dusting the snow off of his boots Sirius walked back into his ancestral home unable to wipe the smile off of his face.