Sirius held Emery's arm as she hobbled out of the hospital wing, finally discharged after a torturous three days.

To Sirius, Madam Pomfrey only let Emery go because she was tired of having the blonde in there. That was probably the case, since Emery charmed all the bedpans to have legs and mouths. (They ran all over the castle, saying disgusting things..)

She also tied all her sheets together in a knot, and accidentally spilled pumpkin juice on Mrs. Norris, causing Filch to rage into the hospital wing and disrupt the peace.

Before Emery left, she made sure to tie all the beds together using a long piece of cord Sirius found in his dorm.

Behind the two, Cecilia trotted, carrying Emery's clothes and other things. Emery was dressed in a long, loose hospital gown, which she fell in love with, since it had really tiny yellow ducks drawn all over it.

Before, it had bunnies, but Emery made Madam Pomfrey transfigure it to ducks. Only then did Emery wear it. 

She told Madam Pomfrey she was keeping the hospital gown.

Sirius had told Professor Dumbledore what happened, but he couldn't do anything, since he said they had no proof Mr. Snape did it. Moreover, he didn't seem guilty in the least, and still strutted about Hogwarts with Avery, Mulciber and Evan Rosier.

Bellatrix and the other Death Eater had also escaped, and Sirius and Emery could do nothing. They were back at square one.

Because of this, Sirius was a little grouchy, since he had a rough argument with his little brother, Regulus Black.

Things weren't going good for the pair of them.

As for Emery, she couldn't stop thinking of the dream she had. It was unrealistic, sure, but it felt real. All Emery had was the hint.

14041960

Her birthdate.

Still, at least there was the Christmas Holidays to look forward to.

Another positive thing, was that Cecilia had finally been registered as Cecilia Malfoy, and she was happy she would be going home for the first time in sixteen years.

The Malfoys were having a huge ball to celebrate, and all the well known purebloods were included, including the Fowls and the Potters.

Emery already knew what she would bribe James Potter into doing at the ball.

Emery was due to leave for Fowl Manor in a day, and so she spent most of the day packing her necessities into a small duffle bag. 

But she couldn't leave without giving a present to Sirius.

Which is why, at eleven o' clock after curfew, she was waiting for him at the Owlery, their designated meeting place, where they had agreed to meet earlier in the day.

Emery was wearing a baby pink nightgown, which reached all the way to her ankles. It was long sleeved and fluffy, but still not enough to keep her warm since there were holes stitched into the fabric at the sleeves. Sure it looked pretty (Mama chose it...), but Emery really didn't care about that. She cared about being warm.

Sadly, this was the warmest nightgown she owned.

She was standing, looking at the castle grounds as the owls slept so peacefully, thinking whether or not Sirius liked his present or not.

She was so busy watching the snow-covered landscape, she didn't notice she was shivering. She was cold on the exterior, but somehow, inside, she felt warm.

She looked around at the sleeping owls. There was one particularly adorable owl who was whistling softly as it snored. It was white, and just fit the size of her palm.

Emery nearly cried with happiness at how adorable it was.

She didn't notice Sirius had arrived until a heavy mass of leather fell upon her bare shoulders. All at once, a huge wave of cologne, hair gel and firewhiskey hit her nose, and she felt herself go dizzy.

Looking around, her blue eyes met Sirius', and she smiled at him. He was wearing a tight short sleeved white shirt, causing Emery's eyes to widen and her cheeks to turn pink.

Luckily, it was dark, so nobody could see her blushing.

"You'll freeze," she told Sirius. 

"Nah, I'll be fine," he muttered, winking at her. "So, what's up, love?"

Emery found herself blushing at the nickname.

All too soon, she remembered the weeny owl. "Ooh," she said. "I want to show you something," she chirped, then took Sirius' hand and dragged him to the baby owl.

She bent down to the owl's level, pulling Sirius down as well. She placed an arm on his shoulder to steady herself, and she pointed to the sleeping bird.

She leaned to whisper into Sirius' ear, careful not to wake the baby bird up.

"Look," she whispered, pointing to the bird. "Isn't he adorable?"

Sirius couldn't focus on anything besides the close proximities between him and Emery. Her breath tickled his ear, and made his hair stand up. Her hand on his shoulder didn't stop him feeling any better. On the contrary, he felt rather nervous.

"Sirius," she murmured. "Are you even listening?"

Sirius turned to face her. "Yeah, I am," he said softly, ignoring the way her soft hair fell all over his arm and shoulder. "He's so cute," he cooed. 

Emery's face brightened up with happiness when she heard Sirius complimenting the bird.

Sirius caught a glance at her, and in an undertone, added, "Just like you."

Emery wasn't sure if she was imagining or not, but she furiously began blushing and stood up, turning her back towards Sirius and biting her lip shyly.

"So, err," Sirius began. 

Emery turned to face him.

"Oh, erm," coughed Emery awkwardly. "I wanted to give you your present," she said. "Because, you know, it's Christmas, and I always give my friends presents on Christmas, and you're one of my friends, but I'm going home for Christmas, so I won't be able to, and that's why I'm giving it now, because..."

Sirius ignored her rambling, pulling her straight into a hug.

Emery's breath hitched as she was pulled into his warm, muscular arms, despite it being cold around them. She was still wearing his jacket. His hand was at her waist, the other draped across her back.

Sirius leaned towards her ear. 

"You didn't have to get me anything," he whispered. 

Emery blushed further, her heart beating erratically fast. She was sure Sirius could hear her heartbeat, and she quickly pulled away, tucking a strand of short hair behind her ear.

"Y-yeah, but I wanted to," she said quickly. "I- I mean, because you're one of my best friends."

She handed him a bag that Sirius noticed was on the floor only moments earlier. 

"Here you go," she said quickly, tucking her hair behind her ear again, only for it to fall back on her eye. "I didn't know what to get you," she explained. "I hope you like it."

Sirius opened the bag, taking out a large rectangular basket sort of box.

He looked at Emery curiously, mentally asking her what it was.

She shrugged awkwardly, then bit her lip in embarrassment.

Sirius slowly opened the box, taking a peek inside. 

On seeing what rested inside, he let out a huge bark of laughter, clutching his stomach and roaring hysterically.

"I- " he rasped. "I- I can't believe you actually did that," he pealed. 

Emery smiled shyly. "I-"

"You genius," he said, then burst out into another fit out rambunctious laughter.

Emery found herself laughing too. 

"That's not all," she said. 

"What?" asked Sirius, "You mean there's more?"

She nodded. "This was just a prank. It's temporary," she admitted. "You know that."

Sirius looked at her with a funny gleam in his eyes. "No, I like this," he said, then fell laughing once more.

Emery dug into the bag and pulled out another small box. 

"This is for you," she said. "It's not much, but it means a lot," she admitted quietly.

Sirius opened the box, taking out a mug with a collage of moving pictures. Looking closely, he saw that these were memories spent in Emery's presence. From his birthday party, to the Christmas Ball and even in the library.

'Thank you for always being there for me,' the mug was written in cursive. 

Sirius couldn't speak for a moment, his eyes glazed as he looked at the mug.

"I love it," he said quietly. "The moments I spent with you will always be much more worth than anything else," he murmured. "The mug will remind me of you whenever I use it."

Emery smiled, looking down at her yellow socks. 

"You really are something else, Emery Fowl," Sirius whispered, before pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight.

a/n: triple update today cause why not?

OMFG!! THEY'RE SO CUTE, AREN'T THEY??

Also, I know you guys are probably wondering what Emery gave Sirius. But sadly that's a secret that's not going to be revealed. EVER.

hope you enjoyed this.

see you tomorrow (hopefully).

love, elsie.