Chapter Ten: Christmas Day and a Half-Assed Apology

"GET UP!" A SHRIEK GREETED LILY'S SLEEPY ears as she was shoved incessantly on the shoulder. Whoever was trying to get her attention was trying damn hard to do it as Lily was almost pulled off the bed. She was still covered by the blanket of deep, dark sleep, so she only groaned in reply and pushed away the person who was trying to imitate an earthquake.

"Go away," she grumbled out though it was barely audible due to her stuffing her face into her pillows. Her attempts of pushing off her attacker were futile as they only continued on their bombardment.

"I'm not letting you sleep in, Lil!" That was a first, honestly… No one, in any circumstance, would have ever thought that Iris Evans was complaining about her twin sleeping in late. Though there was really only one time that Iris never slept in on and that was on Christmas. If she did sleep in, she was certain that her family would leave her out of the family activities of opening presents and sitting in the living room sipping eggnog and hot chocolate. Though her family would never do that to her. Christmas was not Christmas without Iris and her rambunctious nature.

Lily groaned loudly and pushed her sister away, "I don't care if it's Christmas, Iris. I want… to sleep… " She trailed off as she started to doze off back into her hazy dreams.

Iris sighed in frustration as she glared at her sister, "is this how you feel when you try to wake me up?" She asked her snoozy sister who only grunted in reply. "Whatever," she shoved Lily's shoulder one last time before huffing and leaving their bedroom. She wouldn't let Lily's reluctance to leave bed weigh her down. If she wouldn't get up, then Iris would just open her presents for her! Of course, she wouldn't be that cruel, but she'd give her about fifteen minutes before she tore open the presents and made it snow wrapping paper in their living room.

She bounced down the hallway to find her father already in the living room sipping on a mug of what she suspected to be hot chocolate. She could smell the sweet aroma of the beverage from the kitchen which instantly caused her to rush in there to get herself a cup. She found the pot of the drink on the counter. There was no possible way that Craig had made it himself, so Iris suspected that her mother had made it.

Iris poured herself a warm cup of hot chocolate and swaggered back into the living room where she plopped down onto the couch next to her father. The soft crackling of wood filled the room as the fire ate away at it while also providing some light. "Morning, dad!"

Craig smiled widely at his daughter, "good morning, Iris!" The man was just about jumping in his seat as it was obvious he could not sit still. Much like his daughter, Craig was itching to tear open the mountain of presents that resided underneath the Christmas tree.

"Is mum up?" Iris asked as she downed another gulp of the hot beverage that just about burned her tongue.

Craig nodded his head, "yes, she just went down the road to visit Mrs. Connelly."

"Oh," she smiled mischievously, "does this mean that we get to raid the kitchen for sweets?" Craig laughed at her question with a shake of his head, "please, dad?!"

"No, no, your mum will have both our heads if I let you do that."

Iris pouted and was silent for a moment, "I'll let you have all the jammie dodgers."

Craig paused and considered her offer. The poor man was a sucker for the infamous biscuits, and Iris knew that she could try and bribe him into it. Of course, before he could even agree with Iris' idea, Octavia appeared through the front door just in time. She noticed her husband and middle child in the living room sipping on some hot chocolate.

"Good morning!" She chirped happily while shedding her fluffy blue coat. "Happy Christmas," she leaned over to kiss Iris on the forehead before kissing Craig soundly which caused their daughter to groan in disgust.

"Come on, I'm trying to enjoy my hot chocolate here!"

The couple laughed at her behavior as Octavia plopped down on the couch in the middle of the two. "I suppose neither Lily or Petunia are awake yet."

"No, you, Iris, and I are the only ones awake." Craig chuckled into his mug and raised an amused eyebrow towards Iris. "I'm always surprised to see you awake in the early mornings, Iris."

Iris pouted, "why is it surprising that I've woken up this early on Christmas?"

"You're a very moody girl in the mornings, we all know that you have a hard time waking up." Octavia commented as she snatched Craig's mug and took a sip, "mm, should we wake your sisters up?"

"I'm not waking up Lily," Iris shook her head, "I already tried, and I don't want to do it again!"

"Fine, fine, I'll wake up the girls," Craig said as he moved to stand up only to have Iris follow him. Craig raised an eyebrow in her direction as she smiled innocently.

"I said that I wouldn't wake up Lily, I'll gladly wake up 'Tunie!" With that said, Iris placed her mug on the coffee table and rushed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. She stopped at her room fist and rummaged through her trunk to find exactly the tool of mayhem she needed. She yelped in completion once she found what she was looking for among the pile of clothes and books in her trunk.

She hopped out of her room and came to stand in front of her older sister's bedroom door. She cracked the door open to see Petunia sprawled out her bed messily. She smirked widely and moved into the dark room. She held the small objects tightly in her hands and snickered as she was ready to hear her sister's distressed screams.

Iris threw the stink pellets at her sleeping sister and bolted out the door. She closed the door loudly which caused Petunia to wake up. She groggily looked around the room to see why her bedroom door had shut so abruptly. She could hear the slight giggles from the other side of her door and rolled her eyes. Of course, Iris was obviously up to something!

She yawned and stretched as she finally decided that there was no point in staying in bed. For one, it was Christmas Day and her family would no doubt come to wake her up at some point. Two, Iris was planning something, she knew it. She sniffed the air. Something was… off.

A putrid smell invaded her nose and nearly caused her to gag. She swiftly placed her hand over her nose and mouth in hopes of stopping the scent from bombarding her senses. She started to taste the smell and her taste buds just about jumped from her tongue in order to get away from the smell.

Her gags could be heard through the door where Iris stood on the other side with her ear to the door and hand over her mouth. Christmas Day was not off limits for pranks. If anything, Christmas day was the perfect time for a prank!

The door was wrenched open and an angry, stinky Petunia was seething. She glared harshly at her younger sister with her fist clenched in fury. She was trying to seem intimidating through her narrowed eyes and long brown hair. Though she couldn't intimidate Iris as she was a tough person to intimidate.

Iris waved a hand in front of her face with her nose scrunched up. Though her smirk was still plastered on her lips, "Merlin, 'Tunie, you really need a shower!" She cackled before bouncing away before her sister could do anything to her. Oh, the day was starting off on a wonderful note!

---

The Evans family were all packed into the living room along with Quinn who had arrived only a few minutes prior. Petunia was sulking in the corner of the room and glaring at Iris. Said girl was currently fixing a red paper crown on her head with a blinding smile. Octavia was passing around presents happily while Craig, Lily, and Quinn spoke animatedly to each other. Everyone was completely ecstatic to see what gifts each of their family members had gotten them.

Iris tossed the presents she got each of her family members excitedly. She got some sweets for her father and Quinn, a few books for Lily and her mother, and a few quills for Petunia(Honestly, Iris didn't know what to get for Petunia and didn't want to get her something. But she knew her parents would reprimand her for not getting her older sister at least something…). Iris got some clothes, posters, muggle books, vinyls, and chocolates from her family members in the room. She was completely content with everything that she had gotten!

Once she saw the posters, she had instantly taken them to her bedroom and hung them up. She placed her books from Quinn on her desk along with the records that her parents got her. She knew the rest of vacation was going to be filled with listening to the Beatles, Queen, The Who, and many other bands/musicians she loved. And despite the fact that Iris wasn't an avid reader, for Quinn, she was happily read Carrie by Stephen King. It seemed interesting enough.

Of course, once the family members that were present finished handing around the gifts they got each other, they started to go through the presents that were mail to them by others in the family and quite a few friends.

Both of the twin's friends from school sent them a variety of gifts. Wendy had sent them some beauty products that she had gotten on her trip to Paris. Marlene sent some pictures from her time in America along with matching rings for the twins. Even Ida and Matilda, Iris' best friends from Beauxbatons, sent a few odds and ends of presents to her.

Though Iris jumped at the gifts she got from the Marauders as she was most excited for them. Peter had sent both her and Lily some sweets. Though Iris had a feeling that Peter had eaten some that he was meant to give them. Remus sent them some books from Flourish & Blotts. Second to last were the gifts that James had mailed to them. Iris got some Zonko products from him and had a feeling that she was going to use them all by the end of vacation.

James sent Lily another sappy letter attached to an expensive looking satchel. There was no way that Lily could complain about the Potter boy and his gift. Iris also noticed the seemingly thoughtful look on her twin's face when she stared at the bag her admirer had chosen for her.

To say that Lily was beyond surprised about the gift the insufferable boy had gotten her was an understatement. She was expecting a gift from him and thought, without a doubt, that she wouldn't like the gift. Lily was certain that James would have sent her some sort of Quidditch memorabilia or Gryffindor themed clothes once again. She was not suspected to receive a gift that James actually seemed to put some thought into. It also seemed that James had heard her complains at school. Lily was in desperate need of a new school bag because her other one was falling apart at the seams!

And to think, James Potter had actually taken into account her grievances and decided to get her a satchel. She also had no doubt that the leathery bag had cost him a pretty penny. She didn't want to admit that her heart had fluttered slightly at the fact that he had listened to her and acted on her words. His gift was actually… decent. Especially compared to the ones she had gotten in the past. It was refreshing and surprising to her. Though she wanted to keep denying the warm feeling pooling in her chest at the idea of James actually being a decent person.

Sirius' was the final presents that the twins had opened. Sirius sent Lily some school supplies like extra quills, ink, and parchment. She was actually grateful for the supplies as she just ran out of parchment due to the last essay that she had to write for Professor Binns.

However, Iris found a small box addressed to her from Sirius. When she picked up the velvety case, she didn't know what to suspect. She never would have thought that Sirius was the type of boy to gift her a piece of jewelry, but she's been wrong in the past. In the little box, a silver chain rested on a small pillow and in the center was a shiny crescent moon charm.

She couldn't help but allow a fond smile find its way onto her face. It was obvious that the charm was to represent the time they spend a night with each other in the common room. It was a heartwarming gift. Now Iris wasn't the type of girl to wear jewelry of any kind, but as soon as she took it out of the box she had put it on immediately. She admired it closely as her parents and Quinn gossiped with each other about some people in town and Petunia gathered her gifts to take to her room.

Lily nudged her as she started to stack the gifts that she had gotten. "Who's that from then?"

Iris bit her lip and spared her a quick glance, "Sirius."

Her sister's eyebrows shot upwards like a rocket as disbelief swarmed her eyes. "Really? Sirius gave you that?" She reached for the pendant and held it gently as it glittered in the light from the sunlight streaming through the window. "It is quite pretty, Iris. I never would have thought Sirius was able to pick out something like this for a girl…"

Iris tilted her head, "he must have done it before, I mean, he has had a few girlfriends." It was surprising to think that Sirius hadn't gifted any other girl with something like this. You would think that Sirius would want to woo a girl by buying her something as precious and, no doubt, expensive like some sort of jewelry. Though she couldn't help but allow the fuzzy feeling in her stomach overwhelm her at the thought. Sirius had gotten her this gift when he hadn't done it for any other girl. They weren't in a relationship, but Iris couldn't help but think that they already acted as though they were. Of course, she didn't want to admit that she may like the idea of being in a relationship with the rambunctious boy. Though that was starting to get harder and harder with all of the sweet things that Sirius was doing for her…

"Iris!" Quinn exclaimed and pulled Iris from her thoughts, "who gave you that?"

The older woman's gushing drew everyone's attention to her and the necklace that she now wore. Iris smiled widely, "a friend of mine from school."

Craig's eyes narrowed at the expression on her face, "and this friend doesn't happen to be that admirer of yours…?"

Iris couldn't help herself but laugh lightly at the overprotectiveness that swelled in her father's voice. She looked away for a moment bashfully, "and what if it is?"

Octavia squealed at the notion of Iris finally showing interest in a boy, "oh, who is it, Iris?"

Before Iris could tell them about the teenage boy who had grabbed her attention during the school year, the doorbell rang. Craig stood up sharply at the sound and moved towards the front door while muttering to himself about his second oldest daughter's admirer. His face was stuck in a scowl as the idea of a boy sinking his hands into his daughter and stealing her away festered in his mind.

He swung the large door open to come face to face with the greasy-haired boy who the twins had known for years. He smiled at the boy, "Severus, we were wondering when you'd arrive." He guided the boy into the warm home in order to shield them from the cold.

They entered the living room and the teenager was greeted by Octavia, Quinn, and Lily. But as soon as his eyes landed on a glowering Iris, he winced. Her eyes were narrowed into slits as her jaw was clenched in angry that she tried to keep bottled up. She didn't want to cause a scene while they were in the middle of opening presents.

"Severus, it's good to see you!" Octavia smiled as she stood up to give the boy a hug. He hugged the woman back half-heartedly as he could still feel the heated glare from the older twin drilling into his skull.

As the newcomer was greeted warmly, Lily looked over in confusion at the furious expression that Iris displayed. "Iris? What's wrong?"

Iris scoffed, "what's wrong!? Oh, I'll tell you what's wrong." She practically growled and stood up from the floor while dragging Lily with her away from the happy conversation between the four in the living room. She didn't want to openly talk about what had happened on the train in the living room. One reason is that she would most likely have to talk about magic and Quinn was in the room. Despite Quinn being like family, they weren't allowed to tell her about magic because of the Ministry of Magic and their stupid laws, as Iris would say. Another was that she didn't want Severus trying to interject on her explanation and possibly try to make himself look better.

"Iris!" Lily squeaked.

Iris ran a hand through her hair as they stood in the hallway, "that stupid, slimy snake is what's wrong, Lily!"

Lily gaped at the way that her sister spoke about their friend. She couldn't count the number of times Iris had reprimanded their friends for using those same words to describe Severus. She was completely baffled to hear those words come from her mouth. The Marauders must have finally corrupted Iris into thinking all Slytherins were terrible people.

"What do you mean? Why are you calling Severus a snake?"

The older redhead huffed and tried to stop herself from exploding where she stood. "Because he is," she snapped before sighing, "when we were leaving Hogwarts, I had the pleasure of running into Malfoy and Regulus." Lily nodded her head with pursed lips at the mutual disdain they had for the boys. "Well, Malfoy graciously decided to call me a Mudblood."

Lily's jaw dropped, "what!?"

Iris shushed her, "yeah, I know."

"But what does this have to do with Severus? What did he do?" Her voice was becoming increasingly louder. To get Iris this worked up, she had a feeling that Severus had done something terrible.

Iris was always protective of Severus who was like a brother to them. No matter what, the both of them were always there to stand up from him when people bullied him. Though Iris tended to be more… forceful when dealing with those bullies. Don't misunderstand, Lily could be just as feisty when it came to standing up to those tormentors. However, Iris had the tendency to throw punches when she got angry enough.

"He was standing right there, Lily, and he didn't do anything about it." She ground her teeth together, "you would think that he would defend me in some way especially after the number of times I've done it for him."

Astonishment washed over Lily's pale features. Severus just stood there as the two Slytherin boys called one of his closest friends a Mudblood? How could he do that!? Her eyes narrowed as they were immediately consumed with fury and a burning in her stomach intensified. Severus was in for a hellish time now that Lily knew. She was unsure why Iris didn't tell her earlier but that was at the bottom of her worries at that moment.

"It must be Regulus and Malfoy," Lily came to a conclusion. "They're… changing him, I'm sure of it!"

Iris nodded her head, "yeah, but that still doesn't excuse his actions. He did it, 'm pretty sure that they didn't make him."

They mulled over their words and the actions that Severus had obviously done. They started to contemplate Severus' behavior and personality over the past few months. He was more skittish than he naturally usually was. Severus also seemed to try and ignore the two of them as of lately unless he was with Regulus and Lucius when they bothered Iris or when he was acting… strange. Iris also couldn't ignore the fact that Severus had been trying to constantly give her things. Perfumes that she had only used and a few drinks in the Great Hall during meals, were mainly the ones that he had given her about once every other week. Now that she thought about it, she always got sick nearly every time after she used the perfumes or drank the beverages. Something was going on…

Lily huffed hotly as she stomped back into the living room to see her parents talking with Severus about school while Quinn went into the kitchen. No doubt she was going to start baking some cookies. She marched right up to Severus and shoved him away from her parents. He squeaked in alarm but didn't fight back against the redhead. He already had a feeling that Iris had told her about what had happened on the train going by the glare that the other girl was shooting him as she followed after them towards the door.

"Lillian!" Octavia scowled as she and Craig followed the trio to the front door. They stared as Iris opened the front door and the pair of twins push him onto the snow-covered ground. They started as shock buzzed through their bodies. They had never seen the girls act like that towards their best friend. Yes, they have witnessed the girls become physical with a few other children who had angered them but never a dear friend like Severus.

Iris and Lily stared down at the poor boy who stared up at them with wide yet guilty eyes, "think of this as punishment, Severus," Lily sneered.

Iris nodded her head firmly, "do something like that again, and next time we'll be throwing you into the Black Lake."

The boy gulped and nodded his head as he hesitantly stood up. "Iris, L-Lily I-"

"Save it, Snape!" Iris barked as their parents shared an uneasy look. They could hear the malice in her voice as the two glared at him.

He continued on, "I'm sorry, really I am-"

"Didn't I just tell you to shut it!"

Octavia looked between the three and sighed, "let's see what he has to say, Iris…" She took slight pity on the boy, how could she not? He looked like a kicked puppy with the expression adorning his face. She wasn't completely sure why the girls were angry with him, but if he had come to say sorry to them then they should at least hear him out.

Severus nodded shakily towards the woman in thanks before taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "I-I just came to apologize, Iris." Said girl stared at him with a hard look as she bit her tongue to keep from saying anything spiteful. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out two small glass vial that the twins were surprised didn't break when he had fallen over. "I wasn't able to give your presents at the station and I wanted to do it now."

The girls shared a glance as Lily took the vial with her name on it from him. She looked at the mixture that was no doubt a perfume with pursed lips. Iris stared at the one that was still held in Severus' awaiting hand with her arms crossed. She didn't want to take the concoction from him at all! She didn't care that it may have been a way for him to say sorry to her, but he had been giving her things like this all year!

Craig nudged Iris in the back and motioned to the nervous boy. "Go on, Iris." Iris turned her glared to her father who was unfazed by it. "He says he's sorry for whatever it is he did."

"He's trying to get your forgiveness girls," Octavia commented, "can't you at least try to do the same?"

There was a moment of silence between them all as Iris looked between Severus and the vial. His eyes looked soft and regretful as he urged her to take the vial from his hand. Iris sighed deeply through her nose and snatched it from him. "Fine," she grumbled out and stared at him intently, "but don't think this means I forgive you in any way."

Severus nodded his head and gulped. "No, yeah, that's fine. I don't really forgive myself for what I did or really, what I didn't do for you, Iris." Yes, he certainly did regret what he did… what he's going to do, and what he's already done.

"Whatever," Iris snapped and stomped back into the house without sparing another glance at the boy. Lily stared at him for a moment longer with a hard glare that softened slightly when he looked at her with regret consuming him completely. She hesitantly left them as anger and sadness swirled in her gut.

Craig cleared his throat, "well, Severus," he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "I suppose you should be heading home."

Severus nodded his head sadly, "it was nice to see you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans."

"Same to you, Severus," Octavia said with about the same amount of depression that swarmed in Severus' gut. "I hope that the three of you can talk out whatever happened."

He nodded his head absentmindedly as he gazed off in thought. He shook his head and mustered up the best smile he could, though it looked more like a grimace, and turned around to head to his own home. He pulled his coat closer to himself and trudged through the snow. Merlin, things were not going well, and they could only get worse.

---

Iris stared at the vial that was placed on her desk. She sat in her shared bedroom at her desk with narrowed eyes. She had been staring at it for about twenty minutes. As her family finished up putting away dishes and scrapes from their Christmas dinner, Iris had ventured into her room to start up some new research. She laid out all of her school textbooks but gave up halfway through.

The perfume that Severus had given her and Lily was obviously homemade. He made them himself just like the others that he had given her before. Though this one was completely transparent in its vial, unlike the past ones that she had received from him. She had never paid too much attention to minuscule things like their color and such, but now Iris was skeptical. Severus had given her ones that were light blue, dark purple, orange, and even red. For some reason, she had a feeling pooling in her stomach that something was off with this one. After she had told Lily about what had happened, she had been contemplating Severus. Every aspect of him she question.

She questioned every conversation that she had with him when he stuttered more than he usually had and spoke quieter. There was an air of uncertainty, mystery, and uneasiness that constantly followed him around now, and Iris wasn't sure why. Lily told her that Severus never really hung out with many students in his house and tended to spend time with her during school. It wasn't until this year that he was constantly with the other Slytherin's, specifically Regulus and Lucius.

She questioned the perfumes and drinks that he had gotten her. He claimed that he either made them himself with his downtime in the potions classroom or bought them at Hogsmeade. Iris had an itching feeling that he wasn't being completely truthful. No matter what he had given her, she always found herself light-headed or nauseous after she used them. Before she had thought that she was just sick whenever it had happened. But now, she started to think that Severus had something to do with it.

How could that be true? Severus is like a brother to her… no, he is her brother! Merlin, Severus was practically apart of her family and was literally the only boy that Craig would allow around his daughters because he felt like he was his son. He wouldn't dare harm the girl that he saw as his sister… would he?

"Iris!" Octavia called as she came into the twin's bedroom with a large smile, "someone's here to see you and Lily."

Iris furrowed her eyebrows at the giddy tone of her mother's voice and slowly stood up as her mother disappeared from the doorway. She sure hoped that it wasn't Severus wanting to apologize more. She honestly didn't want to see him for a long, long time.

Iris exited her bedroom and walk over to the front door. Standing in the entrance to the home was a slightly nervous looking Derek. He brushed a hand through his hair and looked around the cozy home. He fiddled with the shoulder bag that reached across his torso and gulped. Iris tilted her head as she approached the boy, "Derek?"

His head snapped in her direction as soon as she said his name. A bright, toothy smile stretched across his face as he cleared his throat slightly. "Iris, hey!"

The redhead smirked as she sauntered closer to him, "couldn't stay away from me, huh?"

Derek looked away embarrassed as he put his hands in his pocket. His cheeks became slightly redder and it wasn't due to the cold weather outside. He chuckled, "I guess not."

Lily came over to them as the pair laughed with each other lightly, "oh, Derek. It's nice to see you again."

"Same to you."

Octavia came bouncing over to the teens, "so, girls, are you going to introduce your new friend."

"Right, mum, this is Derek Higgs. Derek, this is our mum." Iris told the two as Octavia shook the young man's hand.

The older woman smiled kindly at him, "it's wonderful to meet you, Derek!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Evans," he flashed her a charming smile.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked in curiosity, "not to be rude."

Derek flushed, "I actually came here to give you your gifts!" He pulled out two small boxes from his bag and held them out to the girls.

Lily gasped slightly, "you didn't need to get us anything, Derek. We only just met the other day."

Derek shrugged his shoulders bashfully as if it wasn't a big deal, "doesn't matter to me, you know."

Iris studied the box carefully while chuckling under her breath, "we would have gotten you a present if we knew you were bringing us some."

The boy waved his hand and gave Iris a meaningful look as his attention was now solely on her. "You don't have to get me anything, really, Iris."

Octavia perked up, "I know! Why don't you take some treats as a thank you!" She ushered them into the kitchen where she had just finished up putting leftovers from dinner away. She scurried to the counter and picked up a plate that was decorated in cookies, chocolates and many other Christmas treats. Craig looked up from his newspaper to see his wife, daughters and a boy enter the room. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the young man and he instantly placed down his reading material.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans!" He took a couple of treats from the plate with a grateful smile. Craig stood up to his full height and tried to tower over the boy.

"And you are…?"

Derek looked up at the older man with a prepossessing smile, "I'm Derek Higgs, sir. I'm friends with Iris and Lily."

Craig's narrowed eyes didn't falter. If anything, they only narrowed further at the charming boy. "Hm," he hummed in acknowledgment while assessing the boy's appearance. He was decently and modestly dressed, Craig had to admit. Though looks aren't everything! "Nice to meet you… Derek." The girls rolled their eyes at Craig's blatant attempt at intimidating the boy as he seized the young man up.

"You as well, sir." He looked at the man of the house and didn't falter with his smile as it was quite obvious Craig's intimidation wasn't working. Either that or Derek just didn't notice the fact that the older man was trying to be intimidating. It was most likely the latter. He turned to Lily and Iris, "I guess I should get going. I'll, uh, see you later?"

The question was obviously aimed at Iris more than Lily. Iris bit the inside of her cheek and nodded her own head, "yeah, definitely! You should come over next week, we're having a New Years party."

Derek nodded his head, "of course, yeah, I'll see you then." Once again, the statement was directed solely at Iris. The girls lead Derek back to the front door and with a final smile to the family, a glare from Craig and a wink from Iris, Derek headed out onto the sidewalk and started to make his way home.

"He seems like a nice boy," Octavia observed as she closed the door while the twins went to sit on the couch.

Lily nodded her head, "mhm, he's just moved here from America as well!"

"Oh, an American boy, huh?"

Iris laughed at the raised eyebrow from her mother, "what's that supposed to mean, mum?"

Octavia shrugged her shoulders with an expression of faux confusion, "I don't know what you mean, Iris. I'm merely observing."

The oldest twin laughed sarcastically, "I'm sure."

Lily shook her head as she started to open the neatly wrapped box Derek had given her. As soon as the box was shed of its paper and opened up, Lily smiled at the snowglobe of Big Ben. She took the globe out and shook it, "this is quite pretty."

Iris looked down at her own box and tore open the paper. She opened her box (that was smaller than Lily's, she noticed) and found a glittering bracelet. It was silver, white and the lightest blue that Iris had ever seen. It was a thin chain decorated in a few charms of snowflakes that were both white and blue. It was illuminated by the soft light from the flames in the fireplace as Iris gazed at it with furrowed eyebrows.

Octavia gasped as she looked at the present the boy had gotten for her daughter. "Oh, it's beautiful, Iris."

Said girl nodded her head as she moved it around in her hands. It was a pretty piece of jewelry, there was no doubt. Iris was certain that Derek had spent quite a bit of money for the gift. She wasn't completely sure why he would do that… Sure Iris knew that Derek was most likely attracted to her but that didn't mean he should spend a lot of money for a girl he had just met a few days ago.

There was a feeling in the back of mind that was slowly creeping into her thoughts. She just couldn't help herself but compare Sirius and Derek. The both of them may have given her jewelry for a Christmas present, but Iris had to admit that they were quite different from each other. While Sirius was troublesome, Derek was a rule follower. Sirius was loud, and Derek was quiet. Sirius was arrogant, and Derek was modest. Sirius was childish, Derek was mature. Not to mention, Sirius was a wizard, and Derek was a muggle, They were almost complete opposites. For some reason, Iris had to remind herself of that.

"You must be really special to this boy if he gave you that," Octavia commented as she and Lily gazed at the jewelry. "Really, Iris, no boy buys jewelry like that for just anyone."

Iris shrugged her shoulders, "maybe… but he also got a gift for Lily…"

Lily scoffed and waved around the snowglobe, "yeah, a snowglobe, nothing like this!" She pointed at the bracelet with a sly look, "looks like you don't only have Sirius after you but also Derek."

Iris rolled her eyes, "Lil, you need to stop this. I will admit, I do enjoy Sirius' company and now Derek's, but it most certainly won't lead to anything." Even though I want it to, she couldn't stop the back of her mind from contradicting herself.

Octavia tutted at Iris' denial while shaking her head. She wondered how long it would take for her daughter to finally allow herself to be swept off her feet by a boy. "Right, well, you two best get to bed. It's quite late!"

The twins groaned, "mum!"

"No arguing, bed." Lily and Iris didn't argue further and trudged from their spots in the living room, towards their bedroom.

---

Iris tossed and turned in her bed as she tried to get comfortable. For some odd reason, she couldn't find any way to fall asleep. She groaned unhappily and shoved her face into her pillow as she laid on her stomach. She pulled her blankets over herself tighter and let out a deep sigh as her eyes were wide open. Her bedroom was almost completely dark except for the street lamp that shone dimly through the window.

She turned her head to see the two small boxes that rested on her bedside table. She huffed through her nose and leaned on her elbow while reaching over to the jewelry boxes. She picked up the one that was on top and opened it up to find the crescent moon necklace that she was certain she would grow to love. Also inside the box, underneath the necklace, was Sirius' letter that she couldn't help but take out as well.

Her brown eyes skimmed over the letter as she smiled lightly. Merlin, what was happening to her?

In any other case, she would have read the slightly sappy letter and disregarded it while throwing it into the rubbish bin. However, she didn't know why but she most definitely didn't want to get rid of it at all. It could be because it documented a side of Sirius that Iris had only been privy to at night. Having the letter just proved to her that Sirius wasn't always constantly an arrogant, troublesome teen who was nothing but confident all the time. Instead, it reminded her that he was just like everyone else with insecurities and sentiments that don't just pertain to pranks and jokes. She could already hear his silky, confident voice saying those words to her, 'I guess… I just miss you.'

Merlin, maybe Lily was right all along. Sirius even told Iris that he had never opened up to someone as he has to her. He had divulged in her on topics that he never would have with the boys and he made it quite clear that he was grateful for her. She also was just as grateful for him and the fact that he listens to her complaints and insecurities. They treasured that about each other, she now realized. Well, she wasn't sure if Sirius did treasure their midnight meetings and for some reason that caused a pit to form in her stomach. Was she nervous about Sirius not enjoying their time together and not cherishing it as much as she did?

She bit her lip before tucking the parchment back into the box along with the necklace and placing it back onto her nightstand. Iris burrowed herself further into the velvety duvet as she tried to fall asleep once again. This time, she found herself sleepy and her eyes fighting to stay open. Soon enough, sleep smothered her like a heavy, thick blanket and dragged her into a dream that she would have no recollection of in the morning.