"You ready for this?" Dalton asked Savannah as they stood in front of the house their parents called home.

"Never," Savannah replied, sighing as she reached over and squeezed his hand.

"Same," he muttered before taking a step, preparing to go in first.

Savannah glared at the house one last time before following Dalton up to the door, shaking slightly as Dalton lifted up the rusted lion door knocker and let it drop twice. Savannah always thought that it was quite ironic how the door knocker was the symbol of their house at Hogwarts. Of course, she never told her parents so, as they would probably slap her or refuse to give her a meal.

"Come in," growled a gruff voice the twins recognized as their father's. Savannah could practically hear the sneer on his face.

Dalton opened the door, putting his hand behind him in an effort to protect Savannah. He didn't know where to expect either of their parents to pop out at.

"That you, freaks?" Came their mother's high-pitched voice from the kitchen.

"Yes, Mother!" Dalton replied, as he didn't have as much of a fiery attitude as Savannah. If she would have answered, they'd already be sent to their rooms without dinner.

"Go put your shit up and get back down here and help me," She yelled, already back to the normal jabs she gave the twins.

"Yes, Mother," Dalton responded again, grabbing Savannah's arm and pulling her to their tiny rooms at the back of the decrepit townhouse.

Savannah shot him a grateful glance. He always managed to keep her reined in when they were around their parents. If he didn't, then she'd most likely have been out on the streets a long time ago. Some days Savannah wondered if that would really be such a bad thing.

Savannah took her own sweet time putting her trunk up, though there wasn't much that she had to put up. She really just had to drop her messenger bag on the bed and open up her trunk after she put it at the foot of her bed.

She was definitely not looking forward to weeks of hearing everything from her parents that she had spent most of the year so far trying to ignore. She still couldn't believe that people weren't as bad as her parents or as bad as they said they would be. They are the reason she never socialized before.

"You freaks coming or not?" Their mother, Suzanne, screeched again. Savannah could practically hear the sneer in her voice. To the twins, the only face their mother had the ability to make was a disgusted sneer.

"Yes, Mother!" Savannah heard Dalton call back from his own room.

Savannah sighed, walking to her door and meeting Dalton there. He shot her a look that said 'it'll be okay.'

Savannah but her lip, thinking that he couldn't be more wrong. She nodded nonetheless.
——
Two days later, the twins woke up on Christmas Day. They didn't bother going to their parents, as they wouldn't have gotten them anything anyway. They wouldn't take too well to being woken up either.

There was no Christmas tree in the Stone household, just like every other year, so the twins met in Dalton's room to exchange gifts.

Whereas Savannah's room was bare save for her bed and trunk, Dalton's was decorated with wizarding posters advertising Hogwarts and various wizarding bands. He had a black bean bag chair in the corner, with shelves above it that were decorated with things such as a snitch, various candies, and books on wizarding history and potion making.

Savannah sat on Dalton's tiny bed, with him beside her. "Do you want to go first or should I?" He asked, shifting the wrapped box in his hands.

"Whichever," Savannah replied, holding onto the wrapped box in her hands.

He sighed, smiling softly as he expected this response. He handed her the box that was in his hands, saying, "You can open it first."

Savannah smiled, taking the box and slowly unwrapping it so as to not make a mess.

She grinned when she seen two more charms to add to her bracelet. She already had two paw prints with Brady and Zuko engraved on them, along with a wave, crescent moon, and a star.

The new charms were the Gryffindor crest and the Hogwarts crest. She happily smiled, adding them to her bracelet.

"Thank you, bub," she murmured, admiring the new charms.

Dalton grinned, "No problem, sis."

Savannah took one last look at the new charms before handing Dalton her box.

He opened it, not as gently as Savannah did. He grinned when he seen that one book was on proper broom cleaning techniques, and another was on Ancient Runes.

He had always had an interest in Ancient Runes, finding them fascinating. Sirius did as well, so the only reason they went to the library was to read about and learn more runes.

"Thanks, sis. My broom has been needing a good cleaning," he laughed, getting up to add the books to his shelf.

She smiled back before she got an idea. "I've got another idea."

He raised a brow, "And what's that?"

"Hold on, be right back," she said over her shoulder as she went to her room to retrieve a book.

She dug through the stacks of books in her trunk, moving books such as To Kill A Mockingbird, The Secret Garden, and Pride and Prejudice aside. She finally found the one she wanted, Rare, Odd, and Unknown Spells.

She brought it back to Dalton's room, setting it in between them on the bed. Dalton picked up the book, scrunching up his face as he read, "Rare, Odd, and Unknown Spells?"

Savannah was beaming with pride.

"How did you manage to get a book like this?" Dalton asked as he flipped through the pages, glancing up at her every few pages.

"A trip to Knockturn Alley before school began," Savannah replied, still beaming.

"Seriously? How did I not know?"

Savannah shrugged. "A magician never reveals her secrets."

Dalton stopped at a page, reading it. "You don't..." he trailed off, looking up at her. If he knew his sister, this was what she was thinking.

She smirked. "I do."

It took a moment, but Dalton smirked too. "Wanna give me one too?"

"My brother wants me to give him a tattoo?" Savannah asked, mocking shock as she put a dramatic hand on her chest.

He smirked, replying, "Yep."

"Wicked," she smirked.
——
Four hours and many drawings of the tattoos they wanted later, Savannah and Dalton were both proudly sporting new tattoos.

Dalton's was a lion on his back, which Savannah was able to animate it so that it looked like it was roaring. The lion, which he named Griffin for Gryffindor, covered most of his back. It was a very proud looking lion, with a full mane and prideful eyes.

Savannah sported a beater's bat and bludger in honor of Dalton on her left shoulder. Her other new tattoo was an even more intricate-more intricate than the one on her middle finger-wave on her right shoulder.

Their parents were still in their drunken stupor from the previous night, so they slept most of the day. Savannah and Dalton didn't complain, as it actually made their Christmas more enjoyable.

In fact, once Savannah went to her own room she was quite surprised to see a stack of presents on her bed, along with seven owls. She let out a surprised squeal, granted it was a joyous one.

She opened the neatest one first, as she was sure it was from Lily. It was another muggle book, called Romeo and Juliet by a man named William Shakespeare. She set it aside before reaching for the letter that was tucked inside the box.

Dear Savannah,

I wasn't sure whether or not we were going to get each other Christmas presents, so I got you one anyway.

I've seen you reading various muggle books, and this is one of my favorites so I'm sure you'll quite enjoy it.

Don't worry if you don't get me anything. I know you have trouble trusting people, so I understand.

Know one thing, Savannah: I consider you one of my closest friends.

Much love,
Lily

Savannah smiled, glad she had went ahead and gotten gifts for the Marauders and the girls. While she wasn't as close to the Marauders as she was to the girls, she still thought it would be quite rude not to get them anything given how kind they've been.

The next one she opened was from Marlene. Savannah was quite surprised to see one from Marlene, as she had been distancing herself from the other girls recently. There were two nail polishes, a scarlet red and bright gold. Again, there was a letter.

Savannah,

I know I've been distancing myself lately. I promise to explain my actions to you all on the train when we come back from holiday.

I know you're not as into makeup as I am, but I figured you would like some nail polishes in Gryffindor colors so that you can support Dalton at quidditch matches.

See you soon,
Marlene

The third gift Savannah opened was clearly from Alice, as it had a neatly tied bow on top. She slid open the top of the small box to reveal a shiny gold colored quill. Alice's letter conveyed her personality accurately, making Savannah feel as if she was almost talking to her in person.

Dearest Savannah,

Happy Christmas! I hope your holidays are going well so far.

I seen this quill and couldn't help but think of you; it captured my attention much like you did.

Don't worry about sending me a present. I don't need anything, nor do I want anything. Well, there is one thing I want. I want us girls to have a girls' night before we go back to school!

I'll send you another letter letting you know when our girls' night will be as soon as I hear back from the others.

Happy Holidays,
Alice

Next, Savannah opened the messiest wrapped one, as she figured it was from Sirius. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to open it the most.

After she got it unwrapped, she couldn't quite believe what she saw. It was a clearly expensive necklace with a bludger, quaffle, snitch, broom, and beater's bat charms on it.

She hastily put it on before picking up the letter, excitedly scanning the words.

Vannah,

I know how much you love muggle bands, but I unfortunately couldn't find a necklace like that in Hogsmeade. So instead I figured you'd appreciate one paying tribute to Dalton just as much.

Regulus got me some records, so you have to come back so we can play them together.

Happy Christmas, Vannah. I hope it's a good one.

Sirius

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks when he mentioned that they could play his new records together. No, you are not developing feelings for Sirius Black. You're just friends. You can't even fully trust him yet!

Why not? He hasn't done anything!

Remember what Mum and Dad say.

Savannah broke out of her mental argument, setting Sirius's letter down and picking up the next present. It was more neatly wrapped than Sirius's, making her think it was from Remus.

It was. Inside his box was a couple of chocolate frogs and a book on rare charms. She smiled and picked up his letter, eager to read it.

Savannah,

I hope your holidays are going well. I've seen you with many muggle books, but with as odd as you are I thought that you might enjoy a book on rare charms.

Don't take that as an insult. Being odd is a good thing. And I don't mean it in a bad way.

I feel quite odd, as I got my homework done. I don't have anything to do! Get back so I have someone intelligent to talk to!

Sincerely,
Remus

His letter made her laugh, as he basically called the others dumb. They are! She thought with a chuckle.

The next present was from James, made clear by the wrapping that was just the tiniest bit better than Sirius's. When she unwrapped it, she was quite pleased to see a journal with the Gryffindor crest engraved on it.

Savannah,

I don't know if you think we're friends, but I do. If you really opened up and trusted us, you could be quite an asset to the Marauders.

And you could help me with Evans.

See you soon,
James

Well he is the reason Sirius and I are friends now, Savannah thought after reading his letter

The last present was from Peter. She opened the box to see an assortment of Sugar Quills, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and a couple bottles of pumpkin juice.

His letter was quite short. It read:

Savannah,

Happy Christmas. Hope your holidays are good.

Thanks for the advice about that tattoo, by the way. It helped.

Peter

Savannah got up and hurriedly sent out the presents she had already wrapped for everyone.

She had gotten Lily The Secret Garden and Treasure Island. For Marlene she got brightly colored eyeshadow and bright purple lipstick, since she was obsessed with makeup and was so beautiful that she could pull it off. Alice's present from her was a quilt made of various boxes of shades of pink, red, and gold. She had gotten Sirius two shirts, an AC/DC one and an Aerosmith one, along with a bottle of broom cleaning potion. She gave Remus a couple of muggle books she thought he would like: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Charge of the Light Brigade. For James she got a muggle cassette player and a couple of cassettes to go along with it. She gave Peter many Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

While she still didn't completely like Peter, he had grown on her since that night when he asked her about her tattoos.

After she had opened all of her gifts, she sent her gifts for the others with their respective owls. Savannah knew who's was who's because she recognized them from Hogwarts.

And so the Christmas of 1976 was the best Savannah Stone had had in her entire life.