Chapter Nine: Letters from their Boys

BRIGHT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS DECORATED THE EVERGREEN TREE that was in the Evans living room. It was early in the morning and everyone in the house was excited for Christmas. There were presents already under the tree in many different colored boxes. The clinking of glasses and bowls echoed in the kitchen as Octavia pulled out dishes to use for breakfast. She was ready to make a delicious breakfast for her family like she always did every year.

She pulled down pots and pan from the cupboards, grabbed produce from the fridge and looked for the proper utensils to cook with. She planned on cooking a large, hearty breakfast for the rest of the Evans clan. She knew how her husband and Iris could inhale their foods at a fast pace which meant that she had to cook mounds of food just to appease both of them.

She quickly grabbed some slices of bacon and put them in a pan. She pulled out flour, milk, and eggs and mixed them all together to make her infamous, fluffy pancakes. She worked around the kitchen gracefully as if she was a dancer.

Craig stretched his stiff back as he entered the kitchen from the hallway. His hair was a complete mess and looked as though he had just stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He yawned loudly and stumbled into the kitchen towards his wife.

He wrapped his arms around her waist as soon as he stood behind her. He sighed contently and kissed the side of her head. "Good morning, wife."

Octavia giggled as he hugged her waist tightly, "good morning, husband."

Craig stood with his wife in his arms as he watched her work her magic on the food. Despite having been married for over twenty years, Craig could never get used to the fact that he was able to call Octavia his wife. He was always on cloud nine due to the fact that he was living with his one true love who he never thought would say yes to him. Not only that, but he also had three lovely daughters with her that were just as beautiful as their mother. Most days, he would have to pinch himself to make sure that this wasn't all some elaborate dream.

"Would you like some help?"

Octavia laughed and looked over her shoulder with a teasing smile, "and let you burn something? I'd rather not have my kitchen go up in flames today, Craig."

Craig pouted but didn't object. He may love to eat, but he couldn't even make toast if he tried! The entire Evans family have forgotten the number of times Craig had nearly burned the house down when he tried to surprise his family with home-cooked meals. Of course, after a while, everyone decided that he was never to be left alone in the kitchen, ever.

Craig buried his head into Octavia's neck and kissed it lightly. "I suppose that's a good reason." He chuckled along with her as his heart swelled at the sound. God, he felt like a teenager in love sometimes with his wife.

Their daughters had been home for a few days at that point. Craig and Octavia spent all of their time listening to Lily talk about her classes and their upcoming exams, the dreaded O.W.L.s. At the same time, Iris was complaining loudly about them and how she didn't want to take them, at all. They did have to remind her that she needed to take the exams in order to not only pass her fifth year but also get a job after her schooling. Though most of the time they were able to stop her whining by asking about her pranks(especially the one that she had done at the begging of the year. Octavia just about chewed her ear off over getting a letter from the school about it. She nearly had a heart attack because she thought Iris had gotten herself expelled once again.). Petunia also barely gave them time to themselves as she would talk to them about her newest beau and their plans with each other (which always cause Craig's blood to boil).

The two of them hadn't had a moment to themselves in these past few days. They wanted to savor the short time they had together in that early morning without having to worry about any of the girls who were currently sound asleep in their beds. They did love their daughters unconditionally, but, every once in a while, they really wanted to enjoy just each others company.

Amidst their lovey-dovey moment, a constant tapping echoed in the kitchen. The two abruptly turned to the window that showcased the backyard. In the window was a moderately sized burgundy owl with two letters held in its beak.

The two glanced at each other before looking at the owl that held, what was no doubt, letters for Iris and/or Lily. Octavia walked out of her husband's arms and over to the window. She opened it up and let the poor owl who had to fly through the cold weather into the house where it fluttered over to the kitchen table. With the owl, a gust of frigid air bombarded the kitchen which caused Octavia and Craig to shiver.

They stared at the bird for a moment as it hopped around the kitchen table while hooting. It extended its neck towards Craig who stared at the bird worriedly. No matter how many times owls had flown to their house during the years the girls were at school, he could never get used to a domesticated animal such as an owl. He plucked two letters from the owls awaiting beak. It hooted once again and nipped lightly at his hand for attention. It was obviously looking for some sort of payment.

Craig disregarded the owl and instead looked down at the letters. "Looks like the twins have mail," he commented towards Octavia who was giving the tired owl some snacks.

She hummed, "I'm surprised that the girls hadn't gotten mail sooner. Who are they from?" He observed the letters and pouted. He didn't recognize the handwriting as any of the girls' friends. They weren't from anyone who attended Beauxbatons for Iris, however, they could be from a new friend that Iris made. Though now that he observed the one that was written with Lily's name on it, he groaned. "What?"

"Oh. They must be from that Potter boy…" He grumbled unhappily. He had half the mind of shredding the letters to tiny unreadable pieces. He had grown tired with the number of letters that Lily received from the boy since her first year at Hogwarts. He had half the mind to march up to that castle and find the boy who most certainly was obsessed with his youngest daughter. Though his wife was always there to reassure him that despite the boy writing an abysmal amount of letters to Lily over the vacations, it most likely didn't mean anything. Though he was still on edge about a boy being infatuated with his little girl. He didn't think she was ready to date a boy as he knew what boys got up to when they were teenagers.

The one addressed to Iris was not written in the same handwriting he had come to despise, and Craig could only dread the thought that another boy had become infatuated with his other daughter. It was bad enough that Lily was being pursued by some toe-rag (her words) and Petunia was head over heels with a man who Craig barley approved of, Vernon Dursley. Now Iris was being dragged into the drama with boys!

Yes, he had a feeling that Iris did have a thing with boys and tended to pal around with them more often than girls. However, he at least hoped that Iris wouldn't bother with boys for a while. By a while, he meant when he was long gone, so he wouldn't have to see some strange boy take her away from him. He knew Petunia was dying to get out and live her own life with a husband and he wished that wasn't true. The Potter boy also seemed to be trying to sweep Lily off her feet and he dreaded the day she told him that they were a couple. If Iris was stolen from him by a boy as well, then all of his little girls would grow up quick. He didn't want his little girls to grow up yet!

"James?" Octavia laughed lightly as she heard the loathing tone in her husband's voice. It didn't matter that it was James Potter, another boy could be courting any of their daughters and Craig would be just as upset about it. She was okay with her daughters dating. It would be quite hypocritical of herself if she didn't allow her own daughters to date as she used to date at their age. She approached him and peered over his shoulder to see the letters. She raised an eyebrow, "is he writing to Iris now, as well?"

"No, it looks like someone else is writing to Iris."

Octavia shook her head and plucked the letters out of Craig's hands as she could tell he was on the verge of tearing them apart. "They are getting to that age, Craig. Boys are starting to notice them and I would think they're starting to notice those boys."

Craig just about screamed at her words in horror as he didn't want to accept that fact, "no!"

"Merlin," Iris cringed as she stumbled into the kitchen with her hand over her ears. "What's wrong, dad?" She heard her father's shout and nearly fell over at the abrupt sound. For once she had actually woken up early due to it being Christmas Eve when her mother cooked a large breakfast. There was no way she was going to miss out on her mother's homemade meal!

Craig stared at her with wide eyes as if he was just caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He chuckled nervously, "nothing, nothing at all, Iris!"

She eyed him skeptically with pursed lips, "right…"

Octavia rolled her eyes at his dramatics and approached her daughter. "You and Lily got mail," she handed the letters to her while motioning to the owl who was hopping around the kitchen table.

Lily's eyebrows furrowed as she took the letters, "must be from Marlene or Wendy, I was suspecting they would be writing to us…" He sentence stopped when she saw the handwriting on the outside of the letters that were distinctly James' and Sirius'. "Oh," she smirked.

"'Oh'?" Craig asked almost urgently as he didn't like the expression on her face, "so you know who's writing you?"

Iris nodded her head and smirked at her father's alarmed state at the letters that he must have realized were from a pair of boys. "Yes, obviously Lily's is from her admirer… and mine is from my own." She shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal and turned to head back to her bedroom.

She was able to hear her father's slightly angered, annoyed, and shocked shout of; "admirer!" before she disappeared down the hall with a snicker.

She would have gotten to her room scot-free if it wasn't for the milky white door of her older sister room being thrown open. Petunia's hair was a birds nest as her pajamas were completely disheveled and obviously showed that she had just rolled out of bed. Iris flashed a sarcastic smile, "well, good morning, sister dearest. Don't you look beautiful this morning!"

Petunia scowled at her freaky, younger sister and almost growled at her appearance. She held her nose high in the air to display her superiority she thought she held over the younger girl. Iris rolled her eyes at her attempt of trying to show that she was better than her as she was used to it at that point. Honestly, Iris would say that all three of them, her, Lily, and Petunia, had a close bond when they were younger. Even when the girls found out that they were witches, Petunia was just as excited for them as their parents. She even liked reading some of the books that Lily had and the eating the sweets and playing jokes that Iris would bring home.

Then after the twins actually did go to their respective schools, Petunia became cold and distant. Iris did miss the close bond that she had with her older sister but after she had constantly insulted her and Lily so much, Iris didn't bother trying to have a civil relationship with her. If Petunia wanted to act like a child and call them names, then Iris had no problem with retaliating by the means of pranks and snide remarks.

"Stuff it, freak!" Petunia exclaimed.

Iris smirked in amusement, "oh. Good come back, sure as hell scared me!"

Petunia huffed and clenched her fists. She stared at the amusement that danced on Iris' face with a frown. Iris infuriated her to no end. She hated the pranks she pulled, she hated the jokes she told, she hated the stories she told of her other freaky, little friends, she hated the gifts she would bring back from her schools… Maybe it wasn't really Iris fault that she hated her, but Petunia didn't want to blame herself for her own emotions…She hated her sister!

She shoved past Iris and pushed her into the opposing wall before stalking away towards the kitchen. Iris watched her go with a glare as she adjusted her band t-shirt and brushed it off as if Petunia had just whipped something onto it.

She straightened herself and continued to the end of the hallway to her shared bedroom. She wouldn't let Petunia get her into a bad mood like usually. It was Christmas Eve, after all. Plus she had these wonderful letters still clutched in her hand that herself and Lily had to read.

Iris sauntered through the door of her bedroom to find that Lily was wide awake and making her bed. The more mischievous twin snuck up behind Lily and jumped on her as soon as she had made her bed neatly. Lily yelped as she and her twin tumbled onto her nicely made bed. "Iris!"

The older girl only laughed in response as they bounce on the cream white bed as she could tell her sister was annoyed with her disturbance. "Lighten up, Lil. I've got a present for you!" She sang happily with an underlying tone of teasing mixed within her words.

Lily eyed her in confusion, "it's Christmas Eve, Iris. You're supposed to give me a present tomorrow morning…"

"Yes, yes, I know," she waved her hand dismissively before smirking, "but I'm quite sure James would rather you open it now."

At the mention of the annoying boy, Lily instantly stood up and regained her wits, "Potter!?"

Iris laughed at her sister's frightened look, "calm down," she pulled Lily by her arm and back onto her bed with a satisfying bounce. "It's not as bad as the others, I promise." Lily glared at her skeptically and Iris shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, well, I don't exactly know what it is, but what harm can a letter do?"

She handed (more like shoved) the letter to Lily and looked at her expectantly to open it. Lily eyed her a moment longer before turning her suspicious gaze to the letter in her hands. She knew that she would get a present from James at some point either before, during or after Christmas. She had gotten many presents from James ever since first year. Birthday presents, Christmas presents, Valentines Day presents, you name it. If it was some sort of holiday, James never missed the opportunity of giving her something. Most of the time the presents were of some sort of Quidditch team that Lily never cared about or something to do with Gryffindor. She never did like his presents, as she never liked him. Though she didn't expect James to write her a Letter. Just a letter.

With each present she received, she did always get a letter or some sort in which James would profess his love for her and ask her out. However, this was something new to her. It must have meant something bad, for James to only send a letter like this. No doubt in her mind it would just be an extensive list of reasons why she should go out with him and how he loved her so dearly. But from the expectant look on Iris' face, she was just as curious to know what James had to say.

They both knew James was more of a materialistic type of person and not so good with his words. So for him to only rely on writing something… was suspicious to say the least. "Oh, come on, you must be a little bit curious," Iris asked as she crossed her legs and leaned towards Lily.

Lily bit her lip in contemplation, "there must be something else that he sent… He couldn't have just mailed one letter…"

"Nothing else came with his owl," Iris said with a smirk. She gripped Lily's shoulder and shook it, "Now open it, I want to see what James had to say this time!" She cleared her throat, "Oh, my dear, lovely, beautiful flower! I shall love you for all eternity!" She mimicked James' voice the best she could, "date me!" She brought her sister into an embrace while squishing her tightly.

Lily squirmed and tried to break free of her sister's hold as she not only grew uncomfortable but also flustered at her teasing. She finally escaped Iris' hold and huffed in annoyance, "stop it, Iris! You're just as irritating as Potter."

"Oh, admit it, you love all the attention he gives you." Iris smugly said as she crossed her arms over her chest in triumph. Although, while she was blinded by her smugness, she hadn't realized that she just showed Lily the letter that Sirius had sent her.

"Did your precious boyfriend send you a letter as well," Lily pointed at the letter in her hands which caused Iris to instantly try to hide it from view.

"Nope!"

Lily tilted her head with a teasing expression as she tried to give Iris a taste of her own medicine. "Come on, you don't have to hide what Sirius gave you."

Iris rolled her eyes, "why do you suspect it's from Sirius? For all you know it could be from James." She really didn't want to let Lily know about Sirius' letter. Of course, Iris had yet to even take a peek into what was written on the parchment though she was slightly giddy to know what he had to say. She would never admit out loud about her emotions as she was slightly confused as to why she wanted to know what he wrote. She tried to pass it off as her missing his presence and messing around with him. She just missed seeing the embarrassment that would paint his face when she was able to flirt with him in front of people. Come to think of it… She missed staying up late with him and confiding in each other with their thoughts and problems… She missed seeing his mischievous grey eyes, his contagious smirk, his laughter… She shook her head out of her confusing thoughts and gulped slightly. Just because she missed certain aspects of Sirius didn't mean anything! Lily's words were getting to her! There was no way that Iris Evans fancied… Sirius Black…

"First, Sirius is staying with the Potter's for the break, second, he would not pass up the opportunity to have some sort of interaction with you, and third, that's his horrendous handwriting." Lily puffed out her chest in accomplishment as she stated how she knew Sirius wrote to her sister. She suspected that now Iris had started… some sort of relationship with Sirius that would no doubt become something more than just friends, Sirius would write to her and send her presents just like James did. The two boys were like twins themselves and did everything together. Yes, they were their own separate people, but there were times where they acted like the other. Lily had no doubt that in another life, the two were twin brothers.

Iris was silent as she considered her words and, yes, those were valid reasons. Iris also expected for Sirius to write to her because she was able to grab onto Sirius' emotions like she had to others in the past. The only difference was that Iris was… how would she describe it… anxious? Nervous? Perhaps that's what it was. She was… excited for his letter. Oh, Merlin! Something was seriously wrong with her!

"Just read your letter Lily, I'm quite sure you don't want to read the more… crude things Sirius has written to me." Iris smirked as she watched Lily pale at the implication she was trying to say. Iris only winked while letting the notion sit and fester in Lily's mind before hopping over to her own bed and getting comfy.

Iris watched as Lily hesitantly opened up her letter. Lily's delicate hands pulled out the multiple papers that were painted in ink. Iris had wondered if James had written her a novel with the amount of parchment paper Lily pulled out of the envelope. Lily's face scrunched up in distaste as she started to read the first few words. After a moment, her face instantly was flooded with red as the dark hue swallowed each of her pale cheeks. The embarrassment that consumed her body was quite evident to Iris who could only snicker at her expression.

"What's the letter say, Lil?" She sang in amusement. Lily only glared back at her, however, it lost its intimidation because of her flaming cheeks.

Iris snickered while shaking her head and tore open her own letter in order to pull out the parchment. Compared to Lily's letter, it was far shorter than what James had written to her. Instead of about five lengthy pages of his declaration of love, Sirius had only written one page to Iris. She was at least grateful that SIrius wasn't that obsessed with her to write something as long as James had.

'Dear Princess,

I hope that your Christmas is going well so far. I know mine has been quite boring without seeing you. James has started to get annoying and has been begging to see his 'precious Lily' ever since we arrived at his home. Though I want to see you as much as he wants to see Lily. I can barely wait for the party you invited us to. I wish I could see you now because I can barely spend any longer away from you. That sounds cheesy doesn't it? Doesn't matter, it still stands. I miss pulling pranks with you and talking with you at our midnight rendezvous. It's been quite lonely without hearing your voice, even if James is here. I guess… I just miss you. I suppose I can survive a short time longer without you though it will be hell. Especially with James going on and on about your sister. However, he does say I do the same with you… We'll see you in a few days. Then we can finally have some fun together.

Love,

Sirius

Iris gnawed at her lip as she tried to keep the smile off of her face. She was already having a hard trying to keep the rosy paint of a blush off of her cheekbones. Merlin, if Lily saw her flustered state, Iris knew that she would tease her mercilessly. Who knew that Sirius was going to miss her so much… Iris had an inkling feeling that Sirius would miss her a tad bit, but she never imagined that she would miss him just as much…

"What did Sirius say?" Lily pulled her sister out of her thoughts as she tried to peer at the letter. Iris quickly folded the letter back up with care before Lily could catch a glimpse of what Sirius had written.

Iris flashed her the best smirk she could muster in order to hide her flustered appearance. "nothing that you would wish to read, Lil. It's far to private for even you to know." Hopefully Lily would just focus on the possible lewd letter that Sirius had written Iris and not notice the fact that Iris was becoming increasingly flustered by Sirius' letter.

Lily cleared her throat and rolled her eyes. Of course, even though Sirius and Iris were separated they were both still flirting like they weren't apart. Although she didn't have to know that the letter itself was a tad bit more… heartfelt than it was flirtatious. Iris only chuckled under her breath and took one long glance at the letter before standing up to put in away in her desk neatly. She wanted to make sure that the letter wasn't tampered with at all as she knew Lily would try to read it.

She didn't want to admit out loud that she felt warm and fuzzy inside due to Sirius' letter. She didn't want Lily to rub in her face that she was right about either her or Sirius falling for each other. Honestly, Iris didn't want to be proven wrong. Damn her pride and her inability to admit she was wrong. For now, she would just intentionally drown herself in denial. At least, until someone dragged her out of the rushing waves.

---

The smells of a delicious breakfast flew through the Evans house that beckoned the entire family into the small kitchen. Iris' mouth watered as she gazed on the table that was overflowing with succulent looking foods that she had missed while at school. The Evans family were huddled around the small kitchen table that had six seats at it. As the man of the house, Craig sat at the head of the table as he stared at the food just as hungrily as his daughters.

Octavia sat across from him on the other side of the table as she finally sighed in relief as she finished placing the last piping hot plate of sausages onto the mahogany table. Petunia glared at nothing in particular as she sat next to Lily on the left side of the table. If she had it her way, Petunia would have taken her plate, piled it with some food, and disappeared into her room so she didn't have to be anywhere near her freakish sisters. Iris was drooling on the other side of the table across from her sisters as she looked about ready to tear into the food in front of her like a starved Hippogriff.

Octavia laughed lightly at the longing looks on her daughter and husband's face, "you both look quite hungry."

Iris nodded her head in a trance, "yeah." She licked her lips in anticipation, "I've really missed your cooking, mum."

Octavia could see how Iris was holding herself back from lunging across the table and stuffing her face full of food. She swatted her daughters hand as she reached for a biscuit, "not yet. We've got to wait for Quinn."

She watched as Iris' bottom lip was jutted out as she pouted, "but mum! Quinny wouldn't mind!"

"She'll be here soon," her mother fondly chuckled at the impression that consumed the girl. This caused Iris to huff hotly as she crossed her arms in hopes of stopping herself from potential reaching out for the food. She could only gaze on them as they taunted her with mouthwatering smells. Her father wasn't doing so well either as he sat on his hands to stop himself. What could they say… They loved Octavia's cooking! "What about school, girls?" She asked in hopes of distracting them.

Iris sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "it's the same old same old, Hogwarts is smaller than Beauxbatons and whatnot. And to be honest, the classes are easier."

"That's not all," Lily interjected, "Iris has gotten far too many detentions this year!"

Iris glared at her sister for revealing that, but she didn't think it would really matter as it was nothing that their family wouldn't have thought would happen. "How many?" Craig asked with a sigh.

Iris tilted her head back and forth in contemplation, "Nearly one every night and weekend."

"Iris Evans!" Octavia exclaimed with only a small hint of shock and disbelief. It didn't matter if she reprimanded or punish Iris, she was going to continue to get into trouble.

"It isn't always my fault, honest!" Iris yelped in hopes that her parents wouldn't punish her by not letting her eat something.

"Oh? And who's fault is it that you constantly keep getting detentions?" Caig raised an eyebrow as he started to speculate. He had a slight inkling feeling that he already knew who the culprits were…

Iris' eye twinkled with trouble as she smirked, "the Marauders, of course."

Octavia turned to Lily, "isn't that the group of troublesome boys in your year?"

Lily nodded her head, "yes."

At the same time, Craig's eyes darted between the women at the table, "boys? Like that Potter boy?"

"Yup! They're some of my new friends," Iris explain as she could see the panic seemingly consumed her father's entire body. "Though I have to say that it's more James and Sirius' fault than anything."

"Sirius?" Her parents asked at the same time. Octavia's tone was more in curiosity and Craig's was obviously in alarm.

Lily couldn't help herself, "oh, yes, Iris' precious boyfriend."

Craig just about had a heart attack at his youngest daughters words. Boyfriend!? Iris' boyfriend!? He had a hard time stopping himself from falling out of his chair and passing out at the notion of his little girl already having some sort of boy claiming her. Oh God, he didn't think he could take it!

Iris grumbled, "he's not my boyfriend."

Octavia leaned on her elbows and leaned towards her middle child, "really?" She heard the flustered tone behind Iris' words and instantly became intrigued by the possible emotions that her daughter decided to keep hidden.

Iris rolled her eyes at the hopeful look on her mother's face as she realized what her mother wanted to hear. "Yes, he is not my boyfriend and never will be."

Craig slumped in his chair and held his hand over his chest in relief, "thank God." He cleared his throat as he saw the looks he was earning from his family. Both Lily and Iris were staring at him with blank expressions, Petunia was scowling, as always, and Octavia was looking at him in amusement. "You shouldn't be dating at this age, girls. You should be focusing on school and getting a job before getting involved with a relationship."

Iris let out a laugh, "I'm pretty sure that you just don't want me to date."

"No, no, you have far more important things to worry about, is all."

All of the women nodded their head sarcastically save Petunia who was still sulking at the table. Octavia turned to Iris, "are the… Marauders," she found the name to be somewhat strange, but what did she expect from a group of wizarding boys, "coming over on New Year's Eve?"

Iris smiled, "of course they are!"

Before Craig could protest about letting these boys who were constantly going after his daughters into his home, the front door burst open. Cold air rushed through the open door as a few quick snowflakes fluttered to the ground on the carpet which effectively started to dampen the red carpet. Quinn Adams, bundled in a thick coat and covered just about head to toe in snow. She shivered and shut the front door while pulling off her hood to show her rosy, aged face. Her smile lit up the already bright room as she sighed in pleasure.

"Oh, it's nice in here!" She unbundled herself from her layers upon layers of coats, scarves, and mittens. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas!" The Evans family exclaimed as they all got up from the table to greet the woman in the living room. Hugs were shared, cheeks were pinched and kissed, and soon enough all the seats at the table were occupied.

Without anyone saying anything, both Craig and Iris dug into the large breakfast and started to savor the food that they had been dying to eat. Laughter was shared between all of those at the table as they devoured Octavia's magnificent cooking. Of course, all talk about magic had ended due to Quinn's arrival but she had decided to man the conversation as she complained about the youth of their town not taking the time to read books.

Though the house was still filled with Christmas spirit despite Quinn's complaints and Petunia's refusal to talk to her sisters. Yet Iris couldn't wait to see what would happen when all of their friends finally arrived for the New Years Eve party in a few days. She had no doubt that things would become hectic around their home.