November came by, bringing with it cold winds and dry leaves. Clear skies were seldom seen, and drizzles were observed more often. Trees shed their leaves, preparing for hibernation.

Winter was approaching.

To Emery, this was her favorite part of the year. The time between autumn and winter. She loved jumping in the piles of leaves that Filch tried so hard to rake. She enjoyed dancing in the rain when it fell. She adored watching all the animals preparing for winter. But best of all was the first snowfall of the year.

And so, every morning, Emery would stare out the window, looking for the slightest chance of snow. She was impatiently waiting for the first snowfall, so she could go outside and play, a habit she developed since she was four, much to her mother's dismay.

Another thing November brought, was Sirius Black's seventeenth birthday, which took place on the third of November.

Of course, him being a Marauder, he had to have a massive party, especially since he was becoming of age, but since his birthday was on a Monday, the party was scheduled to be held on Friday night, right after classes in the Room of Requirement.

On Monday third of November, Emery wished Sirius a happy birthday in form of a prank. 

She bewitched him to have antlers, and charmed a rain cloud to follow him all day and shower him with rain.

The Marauders had refused Sirius to open any of his presents, as well as forbidden anyone else from giving him presents until the party. 

The whole week was spent in secret preparations. Invitations were given out, party planners were thrown everywhere, decorations were smuggled in, and the whole of sixth year was buzzing with excitement.

Even the teachers had to pretend there wasn't something going on. 

Sirius Black's birthday was a huge event, as always. Naturally, it required planning. 

Since he was so popular amongst the student body, it was no surprise to him that there was going to be a party. 

Unlike the other birthday parties held in Hogwarts, Sirius Black's birthday was a huge deal, mainly because the Marauders knew how to party, as well as the fact that they'd sneak in Firewhiskey, despite being underage.

Girls were looking forward to dressing up in particular, just to impress Sirius; it was no surprise, he was extremely good looking and was quite the flirt.

Boys just looked forward to the music, the dancing and the drinks.

Not to mention the chance to let loose after a whole two months of schoolwork and working hard.

This year, was special, for both Sirius and Emery.

Emery was invited for the first time. She had never been to any of the Marauders events before, and had always heard how great they were. She was surprised when she received the invitation, and she promised Sirius she'd be there.

Sirius was looking forward to hanging out with Emery at the party. She was unlike any other girl he'd seen. She was mischievous, naughty, and extremely fun to hang around with. So when she accepted his invitation, he knew that this birthday would be different from the rest, not to mention memorable.

And so, for the first time, they were both waiting in anticipation for the party, just to spend more time with each other, and not for any other reason.

***

The week passed by extremely slow, in Emery's opinion, and when Friday ended with Herbology, she spent twenty minutes rejoicing by doing the 'chicken' dance in order to celebrate the arrival of the weekend. 

Another thing Friday brought was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year.

In Emery's opinion, this could not come at a better time, since she needed to buy Sirius a present for his party that evening.

Not to mention that Cecilia had promised Emery a box of ice mice. 

When four o' clock arrived, Emery and Cecilia left hand in hand for Hogsmeade, both laughing and making jokes all the way, since they were both in high spirits. 

It came as a stress relief for them, and when they reached the village, they're cheeks were pink due to the cold.

"I'M SO EXCITED!" yelled Emery, running past the shops, as she swung Cecilia's hand up and down while walking in the busy streets of Hogsmeade. 

"Em, slow down," said Cecilia, laughing as she jogged to keep up with her hyperactive cousin. 

"But then Honeydukes will run out of Ice Mice," she whined, looking at Cecilia with her wide eyes. 

"Oh, alright," sighed Cecilia, hiding a sly smile. "You go on ahead, wait for me." She gestured to Honeydukes Sweet shop in the distance.

"YES!" cheered Emery. "HONEYDUKES HERE I COME!"

Cecilia buried her face in her hands. Emery had now taken to do some sort of jig, and she looked extremely funny, especially since she was wearing such fancy clothing.

"CHAAAAARGGEE!" she yelled, then sprinted to Honeydukes at top speed, leaving Cecilia laughing behind her.

By the time Cecilia got to Honeydukes, Emery's hands were already full. She was holding two boxes of Ice Mice, six packets of jelly slugs, a can of blood-flavored lollipops, three jars of sugar quills, eight boxes of every flavor beans, and a crate of chocolate frogs.

Cecilia's eyes widened. 

"You're not buying all of that," she said, looking at the boxes in Emery's hands with bewilderment.

"I am too," she said, hugging the boxes in her hand. 

"No way," sighed Cecilia. "I mean, you don't even like half of these stuff. Why buy them?"

Emery shrugged. "Because then they're out of stock, so nobody else can buy them."

Cecilia laughed at Emery's mentality.

"Oh, well, it's your choice, anyways. But know this. I only said I'm paying for one box of Ice Mice, not the rest of this stuff," she said with a knowing look in her eye.

"Aww, man," Emery pouted. 

Cecilia took one box of Ice Mice and paid for it at the counter, then headed towards the door to wait. 

"It's too crowded in here, I'll wait in The Three Broomsticks for you," she said, looking around. 

Emery nodded, and continued ransacking the shelves, imagining herself as a dinosaur wrecking the shop.

Cecilia turned around and waved as she rushed out of Honeydukes.

Emery was suddenly stuck with a mad idea. 

She switched the places of a few boxes then watched the havoc spread as students yelled for what they wanted, but couldn't find.

While she enjoyed watching the chaos unfold, she heard a familiar voice behind her. 

"Aw, man, they've run out of Every Flavor beans..."

"Yeah, I guess we were late," said another voice.

"Maybe we'll get some next time.."

Emery turned around, only to see Sirius Black and Remus Lupin hunting for Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans on an empty shelf.

"Hey, Sirius," she called.

Sirius turned to see who called him and smiled as his eyes fell on Emery.

"Hi," he said, walking up to her.  His eyes travelled down to her hands, which were carrying a large box overfilled with treats.

Emery held out the box to him. 

"I've got loads of beans in here, take em all," she said. 

Sirius' eyes widened. He let out a nervous laugh. 

"No, I can't. It's alright, really," he said.

Emery raised her eyebrows. "Jeez Mister, I'm telling you to take them. I literally emptied the shelf and put them in here," she insisted, pushing the box towards him.

"No, really, it's fine. You enjoy them, I don't want to..." he trailed off after Emery interrupted him.

"Merlin's grandma!" Emery exclaimed. "I don't even like them," she argued. 

"You don't?" Sirius questioned. 

Emery shook her head. "Not one bit."

Sirius chuckled. "Why would you take so many?" he questioned.

Emery leaned forwards. "It's a secret," she said softly, whispering. 

"Oh, really?" said Sirius, also whispering.

"Yeah. I took them so Honeydukes runs out of stock and then there's drama," she said, still whispering loudly.

"Of course you did," sighed Sirius. "I don't know why I expected something else," he laughed.

Emery gave him a wide smile. "So," she said. "Are you going to take them?"

"If you don't mind," he said cheerfully. Emery smiled and nodded, and Sirius took the Every Flavor beans from her box.

"Thanks," he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Emery nodded contentedly. 

She was waiting in line when Sirius caught up to her once more. 

"I'll pay for you," he said. 

"No, it's alright," she protested. "I'll pay myself."

"Shh," he argued. "Consider it as a gift for a friend."

Before Emery could argue further, he'd already handed in the money to the saleswoman and watched Emery bite into a chocolate frog-chocolate frog sandwich, which was basically a chocolate frog in between two chocolate frogs.

"Fankth," she told him, biting into her wiggling sandwich, chocolate smeared all around her mouth. 

"Er, no problem," he said, looking at her devouring the chocolate. Feeling hungry, he too opened a lollipop and slipped it in his mouth. 

There was a short silence between the two, as they walked together to The Three Broomsticks, where Emery would meet with Cecilia, and Sirius with the Marauders.

"Did you know ducks have three eyelids?" asked Emery out of the blue.

Sirius snorted. 

"I didn't know that," he admitted. "Where did you learn it from?"

She shrugged. 

"Dad told me."

"Oh," he said, remembering that her dad was a touchy subject. "Sorry," he added awkwardly.

"Not your fault," she hummed. 

Again, they fell into a comfortable silence. 

"So," Sirius started. "Are you excited?"

"Hmm?" asked Emery. "For what?"

Sirius chuckled. "For my party, of course."

"What?" asked Emery, bewildered. "Ohhh, yeah. I am," she said, looking up at him.

"Good, because I wanted to tell you something," said Sirius, looking at Emery. 

"Shoot," she said.

"Your cousin, Cecilia," he started. "If you want, she can come with you to the party," he said. 

At this, Emery's face brightened up. "Really?" she said, her eyes widening.

"Sure," said Sirius. 

"Oooh, thank you," she sighed, looking up at Sirius and giving him a big smile. 

"Cecy would be delighted... I think," she added unsurely. "I mean, I'm not sure if she'd want to come, or maybe she'd want to come but she can't come, because parties aren't her kind of thing, but she'd probably like them, so I'll ask her anyway, maybe she'll say yes, and..."

She never got to finish, because at that moment, Sirius grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side. 

"Wha-"

Seconds later, Sirius let go of her. 

"Sorry about that," he murmured. 

He pointed in the distance behind Emery. "Those boys were running this way, you were about to be knocked down," he explained. "So I moved you out of the way."

"Oh," said Emery unsurely, staring at the floor as she shuffled slightly, her fingers playing 'thumb war' behind her back. "Thanks."

He smiled. 

"Anything for a friend." 

a/n: here's a nice long chapter for y'all. but long chapters come with long author's notes... so here goes:

to be honest, i never expected we'd come this far.. we're already at chapter 15..

a question for you: should i add names to the chapters??

let me know your thoughts, and feel free to share your ideas.

love, elsie.