James had let the whole trying to get Romi to forgive Sirius thing go and decided to stick to merely trying to keep them in the same room together. Despite his best efforts, it hadn't been going well. Romi would do anything to not be near him. Any excuse she could think of and she was gone.

Remus had ultimately forgiven the boy but he certainly hadn't forgotten what he had done. Their conversations were minimal, consisting of awkward 'good mornings' and poor small talk. So all in all, James was having the time of his life - note the sarcasm.

Romi hated that Remus had forgiven the boy so easily but she had decided it was time he made decisions for himself. If he wanted to forgive Sirius, that was his choice. She certainly hadn't planned to forgive him anytime soon. He has messed up immeasurably and Romi wasn't sure there was anything Sirius could say or do to get her to forgive him anytime in the near future.

Sirius had grown more anxious leading up to the holiday break than he had ever been before. While James kept it brief when he explained it to Romi, apparently Sirius had received a letter from his mother that wasn't exactly comforting. It was always something with his family. Usually some form of a blood purity right or something he needed to be on his absolute best behavior for.

Romi felt bad for him when she found out. She knew better than anyone how poor his relationship was with his family and how much he hated - or more accurately, feared - returning home. He would prefer to stay with James but he never had a choice. The Wizarding World was different from the Muggle world in that an unsafe home was expected for most kids of the pureblood variety. There wasn't much to be done to fix that.

Which truthfully made Romi feel worse because her and Remus would be staying with the Potter's for the holidays while Sirius was stuck with his dreadful family. No one - not even after everything that happened - deserved to deal with those wretched people. Certainly not Sirius.

"Romi," someone spoke up from behind the couch that she laid on in the Gryffindor common room. She had been reading when her mind had wondered. She sat up on the couch and turned to see that it was Sirius. She scowled, though it wasn't as deep as it had been prior and he seemed to notice because he perked up. "I know you're mad at me. You probably hate me, and with good reason, I'm an idiot. No, not an idiot, I'm...Well, I'm something worse than an idiot but I really am sorry."

Romi huffed, leaning her head back for a moment. She shook her head before turning to look at him again, "I don't hate you."

He sucked in a breath, "You don't?"

"No, I don't," she sighed, placing her book face  down on the couch, "I should but I don't. You're my brother, no matter what. But I'm still royally pissed at you and you're not forgiven. Not even close." He nodded quickly in agreement, "What do you want?"

He looked down at his hand as he played with them, "I got a letter from my mom."

She gestured with her head for him to join her and he did quickly, taking a seat next to her, "James told me. Sort of."

"I guess it's Narcissa's and Malfoy's wedding over the holidays," he explained. "I'm supposed to behave myself and not be a disappointment or whatever. I'm not sure I know how to do that."

"Why not talk to James or Remus about this?"

"You always know what to say," Sirius admitted.

Romi let out a sigh, "Just shut your mouth and keep your head down. Make it through the next few weeks with no incidents. If you can do that, maybe I'll think about forgiving you."

He smiled slightly at this, "Really?"

She nodded reluctantly, "But you have to put an effort into not angering them. While I'm aware that your parents are the devil incarnate, don't tempt them. No taunting remarks. No blatant disrespect that's called for or uncalled for. You only have to deal with them for three more years and then you're free. You can't really be free if you're dead."

Technically speaking, death was a form of freedom but she wasn't going to tell him that.

He let out a breath, "Thank you."

She smiled tightly in response, "You're welcome."

Sirius had left a few days after that, leaving James, Remus and Romi alone for a few days. The twins had tried to tell him to go home and that they'd meet up with him later but he refused claiming that it would be rude.

They argued that it wasn't considering they were intruding on his family's holiday and that they were the rude one's but he argued vehemently that they were welcome any time and that they were never intruding. They were under the impression that he pitied them because of the real reason their parents wanted them to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday.

If Lyall Lupin had it his way, the two would remain at Hogwarts over the summer as well.

As soon as the full moon was over and the twins had been cleaned up by Pomfrey, they insisted on leaving immediately. James tried to convince them to stay for an extra day, just to rest a little more but they said no. They had already postponed his time home long enough.

The three of them arrived at the Potter Manor via Floo Powder and Euphemia enveloped them all in a huge hug followed soon by Fleamont. The twins immediately made their way to their designated rooms and fell asleep.

When they awoke, the house smelled of Shepherd's Pie and Treacle Tart. Romi thought she might have sensory overload from the overwhelming aroma of the food.

Remus and Romi exited their rooms at the same time, both of them quickly making their way down the stairs. They rounded the corner to the kitchen where Euphemia stood with a grin, "Hungry?"

"Starving," they nodded in unison.

James snorted from where he leaned against the counter, "Did you even have to ask?" The twins both immediately glared at the boy and he put his hands up in surrender. "Merlin, I forgot how in sync you two always get after."

"Dinner's in the dining hall today," Euphemia explained as she floated the remainder of the dishes with magic. They followed her out and settled down at the table. Fleamont was already there, Daily Prophet in hand.

They all dove in as soon as they were given the okay. The twins opted out of joining in on the table talk while they scarfed down the food. They mumbled apologies here and there but the Potter's didn't mind. They understand and we're quite frankly used to their insatiable hunger both before and after a full moon.

The days leading up to Christmas had been more chaotic than it had ever been in the Potter Manor. James was constantly greeting people and keeping them occupied as his parents talked to other guests.

The twins steered clear of the crowd, opting to stand off the side and awkwardly smile or wave whenever someone acknowledged them.

Apparently the Potter's planned to have a more quiet Christmas Day this year with Romi and Remus joining them so they opted for their normal guests to come the days before. Romi was grateful because while she had been overwhelmed with the occasional flood of guests throughout the day, she couldn't possibly imagine how chaotic having them all there on one day at the same time would be.

When Romi brought this up to her brother, Remus was inclined to agree. They owed the elder Potter's a humongous thank you.

On Christmas morning, Romi was greeted with a grinning James Potter hovering over her. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded and his grin only grew at this.

"It's Christmas, pet," he informed her and she rolled her eyes. "We've got presents to unwrap!"

"You got lucky," Remus muttered and she turned to look at her brother who was half asleep, leaning against the door frame. "He screamed in my face until I woke up."

Romi turned to look at James again who hadn't moved yet, "I'm going to kill you."

"Always so dramatic," he huffed before he moved off the guest bed. "Be ready in twenty or I'll do what I did to your brother!"

She rolled her eyes but ultimately decided to get up and get ready. As soon as she was changed and semi-awake, she made her way downstairs, the smell of bacon and coffee.

"Here," Euphemia spoke up and suddenly there was a warm mug in Romi's hands. She beamed as the coffee scent floated in the air around her. She looked up at the women with a grin, "No need to thank me. I kind of had the advantage when your brother came down as a grumbling mess."

"That would be your son's fault," Romi explained after taking a sip of the bitter drink. While her brother tended to fill his with milk and sugar, she preferred hers black. "He's kind of obnoxious."

"Am not!" James called from the other room.

Romi rolled her eyes, "And there he is proving my point." She looked up at Euphemia, "Merry Christmas."

She smiled in return, "Merry Christmas, dear."

The two made their way to the sitting room where a very impatient James sat eagerly by the tree. Apparently he had sat and organized them into five piles while he waited for everyone.

"You have a problem," Romi informed him after he pulled her down next to him, causing her to spill her coffee.

"Agreed," Remus muttered, clearly still tired.

"You two are just a bunch of Scrooges."

"What the hell is a Scrooge?" Romi asked.

"Romi," Remus scolded.

"Sorry."

"It's from A Christmas Carol," he explained, "We got this set of Christmas movies last year. We can watch some later but after presents."

Romi rolled her eyes before taking the presents that James had pushed in her direction. The Potter's had outdone themselves and gotten her more presents then she had ever gotten when she was at home for the holidays. She had almost cried when James had pointed at her pile.

It wasn't as though she needed presents. No. In fact, she was grateful enough for them allowing her and her brother to stay for the holidays and that was more than enough. But she hadn't expected presents. At home, prior to Hogwarts, Christmas consisted of a rather awkward dinner and no gifts. Though, one year, her parents had bought them both new socks.

The remainder of the day went by without a hitch. James forced the Lupin's to sit through A Christmas Carol and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. Romi had protested watching the latter as soon as it popped up on the screen. Ten minutes in, she had her face buried in James's side, refusing to move until the movie was complete. James didn't seem to mind.

After the movie had come to an end, Remus had decided that he was ready for bed leaving James and Romi alone. James got up after a moment and put a vinyl in the record player. He walked over to Romi and reached his hand out.

She shook her head, "You've lost it, Potter."

"Then you should know better than to say no to a crazy person," he pointed out and she huffed before reluctantly placing her hand in his. He pulled her up and immediately moved her closer to him as what seemed to be a slowed down, instrumental version of Winter Wonderland.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands carefully around her waist. Romi looked up at him and smiled slightly when she found he was already watching her, "What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "It's just nice to see you happy is all."

She raised an eyebrow, "Am I normally not happy?"

"Maybe happy wasn't the right word," he shrugged. "You're relaxed. Not worried about anything."

"Maybe I'm just good at hiding it."

"Hmm, maybe," he replied. His head moved forward slightly and her breath hitched in her throat. Her gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and as though he knew exactly what she was thinking, he licked his lip slightly. She looked back up at him but before they could do anything, there was a loud crash from beside them.

Romi jumped as something rolled into her foot and she gasped when she looked down to see what it was. Or more accurately, who it was.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed and she immediately fell to his side. She enveloped his hand in hers and he squeezed it tightly. She was merely grateful to know that he was alive because from the looks of it, he had been close to not being with them anymore.

"Can you hear me?" she asked and he squeezed her hand again. Romi looked up at James who was staring down at his best friend with wide eyes, "Go get your mother." He remained rooted in place, "James!" He jerked back to life, "Your mother!"

He nodded quickly before taking off toward the other room.

Romi looked down at Sirius again and he opened his mouth. "Don't," she shook her head, "Just, save your breath, okay? Don't speak."

"Sirius," Remus breathed out and Romi turned to look at her brother who was staring at the boy as though he were dead.

"Remus, get over here," she requested and he shook his head. "Now!" He obeyed because of her tone of voice and he joined her on the ground. She moved the hand that held Sirius's and placed it in his, "He just needs to know someone's here."

Remus nodded before she moved to get a better look at the injuries. He had cuts covering his body and it looked as though his nose was broken which led to him having two black eyes. The hand that Remus wasn't holding appeared to be broken. No, not broken. Obliterated. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to it and didn't stop.

Sirius's body twitched and he let out an agonizing scream. Romi placed her hands on his chest and pushed down hard trying to apply pressure to help distract from wherever the pain was coming from. It could have been anything.

"Oh, Merlin," Euphemia gasped and Romi let out a breath of relief as the older woman settled down across from her.

"His hand is broken and so is his nose," Romi explained. "He has cuts and bruises all over his body but I don't know what from. Earlier he-"

The boy twitched again and he let out another shout of pain.

Euphemia's eyes widened at this and she whispered, "Cruciatus."

Romi gaped at this but James was the first to react. "They used an Unforgivable on him?" he demanded. "I'll kill them. I swear, I'll-"

Romi stood up quickly and placed her hands on his chest, trying to grab his attention. "James," she said, her voice commanding. "Look at me." He reluctantly obeyed, "You need to close off the Floo Network. If they track him down through it, we're all dead."

James's jaw clenched but he nodded quickly before he set to work. Romi looked down at her where her brother sat on the ground, still holding onto Sirius and his forehead rested on their conjoined hands.

She let out a shaky breath as she rested her palm against her forehead. She took a moment to focus on her breathing, counting those in the room. Remus and Sirius were there. Euphemia was helping Sirius. James was closing off the Floo Network. Fleamont was on the phone with people at the Ministry. Peter was safe at home and completely clueless.

Her people were safe. Her friends were safe. Her family was safe. Her...her what was safe? The word was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't figure it out. She didn't get the chance either as James returned, "It's done. I disconnected it. They won't be able to get through that way."

Fleamont entered the room a moment later, his face set, showing no emotion. "I talked to the Minister, legally, Sirius is under our care now. He's not going back there." Talk was probably too kind of a word. Knowing  Fleamont, he would have rained down hell on the Ministry if they tried to deny him of his wishes. Especially when it came to Sirius.

Sirius grumbled something but Remus was quick to hush him. Euphemia looked up at her husband, "We need to get him to Mungo's."

"He's going to be okay, right?" Remus asked as Euphemia and Fleamont knelt on the floor on the sides of the boy. Remus moved over slightly, his hand still holding onto Sirius. "Right?"

"We'll send word once we get there," Euphemia informed them. "Remus, you have to let him go."

Remus shook his head, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to argue and Romi stepped forward, placing her hand on Remus's shoulder. Remus released the boys hand and Sirius muttered something before the three vanished, Fleamont having apparated them to the hospital.

"Romi," Remus croaked and Romi was quick to hush him, kneeling on the floor beside him.

"It will be okay," she said, wrapping him in her arms. They both stared at the streaks of blood that smeared the carpet where he had rolled in. The puddle larger where he had been laying. "He will be okay. He has to be."