A/N: Happy New Year everyone!

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"Is there any point in time where you will tell me where you are taking me?"

As he followed Sirius up the stairs and passed their dorm to travel further up the tower, James couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.

But he didn't really expect an answer as so far his dark-haired companion had refused to answer, just telling him he would see.

"Up Gryffindor Tower."

"Up? There is no further up than the seventh year's dorm," hurrying up his steps a little to keep up, James wondered just what his friend had planned. "There is no accessing the actual top of the tower."

"There is, you just need to be able to know it is there," Sirius opened a door at the very top of the stairs that James would never have noticed and disappeared through it.

Curiosity spiked completely now, James hurried to follow him; staring around in surprise. "Wow."

They were indeed at the very top of the tower, the night's sky completely visible above them and the stars and full moon shining brightly down upon them.

"I like coming here when I can't sleep," Sirius' voice was soft and James turned to find his friend was spreading out a blanket on the ground, his bag opened beside it on the ground. "There is enough cover to not be bothered by rain but the walls don't hide any of the view."

"It's beautiful," moving to his friend's side, he sat down on the blanket and accepted the thick plaid he was handed, wrapping it around himself to fend off the cold despite the heating charms Sirius had applied to the fabrics.

Settling down next to him, Sirius spread a third plaid over them. "You said you just wanted to greet the New Year together, so I thought I would show you this place and perhaps spend it here."

"I'd like that," James untangled himself enough from his own plaid to wrap it around Sirius as well and pull him against his side. "How did you find this place?"

"Tiffy told me about it early on and Peeves showed me how to find the door."

"Does anyone else even know about this?" awed, James leaned back so that he could look at the spectacular view.

"From the layers of cobwebs originally there and the strength it took Peeves to force open the actual door, I don't think many do," Sirius leaned against James' shoulder. "Are you warm enough?"

"I am, are you?" Sirius didn't feel as cold as usual, but he still pulled the plaid a bit more tightly around his friend.

"Hmmm, there is a can of hot chocolate in the basket along with some snacks, if you'd like some."

James wiggled one hand free and magically filled two cups; hovering one over to Sirius, who took it with a laugh.

"Show off."

"Shh, I'm just too comfortable to move," he could feel the smile spread over Sirius' lips as his friend placed his cup onto the ground next to him and did the same with his own cup.

The sounds of night life moving far below them were interesting and James felt himself relax completely as they just looked at the night's sky together.

From the direction of the Great Hall, James could just barely hear the sounds of voices and he thought he could hear Professor Flitwick's high voice occasionally.

Regardless of Sirius' assurance that the detentions had been what he had wanted and been aiming for, James couldn't help but feel resentment for the man for going through with giving them.

The first detention had originally been set the day before Christmas, but Flitwick had cancelled it at the last moment; instead saying Sirius would have to serve them both in one go at noon on New Years' Day.

The entire course of events angered James and he was ready to give the Charms' teacher a piece of his mind, set on accompanying Sirius there so that he could do so.

A sudden explosion in the distance broke James out of his thoughts and he looked up to see colours and shapes suddenly travelled all through the air right before them.

"Happy New Year," Sirius whispered at his side, making him realise it were fireworks he was seeing.

"Happy New Year, where is that coming from?"

"Hogsmeade. Tiffy told me that the villagers set off magical fireworks every year and since you said you like fireworks, I figured this would be the perfect place to watch them from. Do you like it?"

"I love it, Siri," tightening his hold on Sirius momentarily to express his gratitude, James could only stare in absolute awe at the display before them. "Thank you for taking me here."

"Anything for my big brother," the laughter in Sirius' voice was mingled with affection, making James' heart sing in joy.

Looking down at the cup being pressed into his hand, James accepted the hot chocolate and raised the cup towards Sirius' own. "To a wonderful new year and may our siblingness last forever."

"A best friend slash sibling," Sirius corrected him softly, making James blink down at him surprised.

"Are you sure?"

There was no doubt in Sirius' eyes as he looked up to him with a smile. "To favourite siblings and new friendships that may last forever."

He swallowed thickly, readily leaning into the hug Sirius pulled him into. "Forever and always."

The confirmation that Sirius felt the same connection between them was one he had already had, but it still made him feel warm and affection rushed through him.

Wordlessly he smiled at his little brother as they broke the embrace, pulling him back against his side so that they could continue to watch the firework display.

"Don't forget to make a New Years wish," he whispered. "It is tradition."

Sirius nodded and as he covered them both back up with the plaids again to keep out the cold, James realised that the only New Year's blessing he could wish for was for this friendship building between them to last forever.

Eventually the firework display ended again, leaving a fog behind that was too far away to hide the clear starry night for them to look at.

"It's going to snow again soon," Sirius broke the silence after some time had passed, effectively rousing James from a light slumber.

"How can you tell?" yawning, he looked down at his friend.

"Can't you smell it?"

"No," sniffing the air didn't wield any specific smell but did leave his nose very cold. "What do you smell then?"

"I don't know, it just smells like snow again," shrugging, Sirius wiggled out of their cocoon of blankets. "And you are falling asleep so we should return inside."

Nodding his consent, James accepted the hand held out to him and let himself be pulled up, quickly helping his friend gather the plaids. "Did you use a shrinking charm on these?"

"No, an Undetectable Extension Charm. I got the idea from Remus' stories about this program he watches with his mum."

"He hasn't mentioned it to me," James admitted. "What is it about?"

"An alien time traveller who travels throughout the galaxy with a blue box that is bigger on the inside."

"Did you actually understand everything in that sentence?" biting his lip, James had to suppress a chuckle at the bemused look Sirius shot him.

"I had him explain everything in enough detail that I did understand, hence the many stories about the show," Sirius stuck out his tongue. "There are apparently many different kinds and it's the synonym for extra terrestrial."

"That doesn't really clarify it any better," James admitted.

"It's any creature that lives on another planet than our own. They are usually referred to by Muggles as Alien regardless of the species they might have. Kind of how like we refer to magical creatures when talking about the creatures in general instead of naming all kinds individually."

"Ah, and there is a whole program about it?"

"Apparently tons, Peter knew a lot about the subject and the amount of titles he threw at me in both comic and television was slightly scary, but the alien with the blue box one is the only one they both knew well," Sirius shrugged a little embarrassed. "It made me wonder if we had something like that blue box in our world as it sounded quite handy and I found the Undetectable Extension Charm. It allows you to put as much in your bag as you want, without making it heavier or showing how much is in it from the outside."

"So you applied it to your bag. Think you can teach it to me?"

"Of course," Sirius agreed readily as he folded up the blanket and tucked it into the bag without any trouble. "According to the text, you just have to ensure no one sees you putting more into it than should fit and they won't be able to detect it even when looking inside the bag themselves."

"Now you really have to teach it to me, imagine all the items we can keep hidden from Filch that way!"

Sirius only gave him a smile as he picked up his bag. "Shall we go?"

It took them no time at all to quietly make their way back to their dorm and get ready for bed and although James had intended to continue their conversation, he instead quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, they had breakfast rather late; but even so only a few blurry-eyed teachers were present, none of whom looked very alert.

Only Professor Flitwick looked wide awake and alarmingly cheerful as he had made his way over to their table to warn Sirius not to eat too much before his detention as the nature of it would not sit well with a full stomach.

The cheerful words had made James' hackles rise, but Sirius had effectively cut him off by given an affirmative answer before he could open his mouth.

"Don't," apparently James' expression was easy to read on his face as Sirius gave him a warning look. "I asked for this detention and will sit through whatever he has planned for me."

"In this case, he should have just cancelled it altogether since you have not actually done anything to deserve one. And any detention in which you might throw up is wrong on so many levels that I don't even know where to start."

"Physical punishment has not technically been made illegal, you know," Sirius' tone of voice was much too calmly for what he was saying in James' opinion.

"If he even dares to raise a hand at you, I'll..."

"You will what? It is an acceptable punishment according to the board."

"I can't believe such punishments would be accepted here, there must be a rule against it somewhere."

"If it makes you feel better, we could consult the rule book?" Sirius offered. "We won't be able to read it thoroughly enough in time for my detention any more, but it might be wise to know the rules regardless."

The other boy suddenly reached out and placed a hand on James', squeezing lightly. "But I think it is very unlikely Professor Flitwick would use psychical punishments as detention. He probably only meant I will have to scrub cauldrons or clean off the desks of gum, both tasks that leave many nauseous."

"It is still wrong," James muttered, not willing to admit that Sirius' reassurance helped calm his anger quite a bit. "But I am going with you either way."

"It is my detention, James."

"It's not up for debate," it took all of James' willpower not to growl and let Sirius think he was angry with him. "I am going with you and that is final."

Grey eyes stared into his own for a long moment before Sirius sighed. "If that will make you feel better, I won't try to stop you."

He glanced around the mostly deserted Great Hall and leaned forward. "On a whole different subject, I want to ask Peeves if he'd be willing to help us train."

Blinking at the clear victory, it took James a moment to register Sirius' words properly. "You truly think it is a good idea to include Peeves?"

"You haven't seen him fight," Sirius tapped his fingers onto the table. "If we want to ever have a true chance in a real fight, we will need to look beyond the standard duelling rules. Death Eaters won't be fighting by any rules, they'll just be aiming to maim and kill."

"I know, but I don't see what use Peeves would be for that."

"He uses what he can find to target people and will be able to prepare us for all sorts of attacks; making us think of unorthodox methods of defending ourselves. Just knowing a lot of spells and being able to fight like a Muggle isn't going to cut it, not when we are surrounded."

"Peeves would force us to react immediately and without time," James realises. "But will he be interested in helping us out?"

"I think he might, especially if we explain why we want his help. Training between the two of us is going well enough and we are learning new spells every day; but although our stamina is growing, we are not making much leeway in reaction time."

"Then we'll ask," running a hand through his hair, James reached out to still Sirius' fingers. "But after your detention. We will have to get going if we want to return to our dorm before making our way to Flitwick's office."

"Why do we need to return to the dorm?" but Sirius rose to his feet anyway.

"To retrieve a sweater for you. If we're going to scrub cauldrons, your cloak isn't going to be comfortable."

"I can't really keep on borrowing your clothes," Sirius protested. "And yes, I do remember that you said that you don't mind."

"Then what is the problem?" Grinning, James pulled Sirius along. "You rather like Muggle clothing, don't you?"

"Yes," Sirius admitted slowly as they made their way up to Gryffindor Tower.

"But you don't have any aside from the one sweater I outgrew and some old clothes from Remus. I don't mind if you wear anything of mine that I still fit, I have too much clothes with me as it is anyway," James grinned as he gave the password to the Fat Lady.

"But they are your clothes," Sirius protested as James began to toss clothes out of his trunk that he thought would fit his friend's smaller frame reasonably well.

"If that is the problem then I'm giving them to you," holding out a dark red sweater, James nodded. "Or I can buy you new ones if you'd prefer."

"No, I..." Sirius shifted a little hesitant. "I don't want you to buy me clothes."

"Then it is settled that you'll borrow them whenever you want."

The look of realisation on Sirius' face as he understood he had been set up was priceless and James couldn't help but grin as he pushed the sweater into his friend's hands.

"You are impossible," but Sirius did take off his cloak to put on the sweater over the long sleeved shirt he himself had outgrown and faded trousers that had originally belonged to Remus.

"You wouldn't want me to be any other way," James teasing smile faded as he saw the slight tenseness immediately relax in his friend upon wearing the fabric and he placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Why do you argue with me when I can clearly see you get comfort from wearing my clothes?"

"I...I don't want to take advantage of you," Sirius muttered softly, looking down.

"You don't. I am offering them," reaching out to raise Sirius' chin, he forced his friend to look at him. "You are my brother and if you had any flesh on your body that would allow me to fit into your clothes, I might've stolen them at times, too."

"Really?" the expression in those warm grey eyes was much too unsure for James' tastes, but he decided against calling him out on it and simply nodded and let a teasing smile spread over his lips as he poked Sirius' side.

"Really, but that just means I have to do my best to fatten you up as you are much too skinny," he revelled in the laughter that escaped his friend, knowing he had effectively broken the uncertainty that had taken residence in Sirius' mind once more.

Wrapping an arm around Sirius, he smiled as the other leaned into his embrace before slipping a hand in his.

"We should go or we will be late."

Immediately James' good mood vaporised and he grumbled, but let Sirius pull him along.

In comfortable silence they made their way to Professor Flitwick's office and Sirius knocked.

Almost immediately the door opened and Professor Flitwick opened with a smile, not looking the least bit surprised to see James with Sirius.

"Ah, good...good. I hope neither of you ate too much or we will be having a severe problem."

They walked into the office and James' intended objections to the detention died in his throat as he took in the sight before him.

There was a banquet of healthy and sugary sweets laid out on a long table before them, more than one man could possibly ever eat.

"Professor?" Sirius seemed as lost as he was, half turning to look at their teacher.

"Yes, I suppose you would like to know the rules of your detention," Professor Flitwick didn't seem to notice their confusion. "You will have to remain here until four for your double detention, doing various tasks to keep me company and are not allowed to leave before this table is emptied."

"Sir?"

"Are you challenging my authority, Mister Potter? I suppose you will just have to share this detention with Sirius for that," Professor Flitwick sounded stern, but there was an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes. "Now sit down and get to work."

"I...yes, sir."

Bewildered, they both sat down on one side of the table while Professor Flitwick sat down on the other side.

"I think we will have to start with a mind game. I just received this from a friend of mine and although it is originally meant for two people, the two of you may work together to beat me."

James could only stare as their teacher pulled out a small game and began setting it up in the only empty place on the table. "It is called Master Mind and your first task will be defeating me at least three times before I will have to do the same in reverse."

It seemed almost automatically that Sirius listened to the rules Professor Flitwick laid out for them and began playing, occasionally pausing to accept any food the Professor pointed out to him and James.

It was a detention unlike anything James had ever heard of and once their bewilderment died down, they had a lot of fun playing all sorts of Muggle and Magical games the Professor challenged them to.

The man's words of not eating too much took on a whole different meaning as they tried all kinds of Muggle food, Sirius predictably leaning more towards the healthy ones while James almost exclusively picked out sweets.

The Professor joked around with them and tested their Charms knowledge at random intervals and James' opinion of the man rose to new heights when Professor Flitwick shushed them with a wink upon their leaving, making it clear that this form of detention wouldn't be appreciated by the other teachers so they both vowed to keep quiet.

The whole thing had made the Charms teacher into James' new favourite teacher; especially since he knew most of them still made Sirius quite nervous and the man had not only managed to make Sirius laugh, he had actually managed to let him relax.

Both of them carried a package with the last remains of the banquet, the Professor having made good on his threat to not let them leave before the table was empty and James felt incredibly full despite the more than decent package he was carrying.

"Still mad at the Professor?" Sirius teased softly as they had returned to the dorm, placing the packages on the table.

"I'm too full to be mad at anyone," James huffed out, kicking off his shoes and letting himself fall backwards onto his bed. "I think I ate too much."

"I think the Professor was trying to fatten us both up," Sirius chuckled, sitting down beside him and toeing his own shoes off as well.

"I think he succeeded," James stretched out lazily. "Think we could wait for a while before searching out Peeves?"

"I agree. All I want right now is to take a nap."

"That might just be the best idea I've heard all day," reaching out to pull Sirius down beside him, he pulled him close.

"Hmmm," Sirius nuzzled close. "Should we set an alarm?"

"If we're up too late for dinner we can just go to the kitchen for something to eat."

Sirius clearly agreed as he fell silent, making no sound as James toed the comforter into reach to pull it up over them before letting sleep claim him as well.