It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
It's the hap -happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap - happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When love ones are near
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When love ones are near
It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

1st Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry;

The Evening of December 24, 1971

"Hey Remus, want to go help decorate the common room Christmas tree?" An 11 year old James Potter asked of his friend, Remus Lupin, as he walked into their dorm and spotted Remus on his bed, covered up in blankets with a pillow over his head.

"No thanks...I'm not feeling so good," Remus said coming up from under the pillow. He did look sick. He was paler than usual and he just laid limp on his bed. How many times had this boy been sick? James wondered. "I think I'll go see Madame Pomfrey soon."

"Oh, okay--you sure? Is the blizzard getting to you?" James asked, it seemed a sensible reason--cold=sick Remus...But then again, most everything equaled a sick Remus.

"Yeah, must be all the snow--made me sick." The other boy shrugged.

"I'll walk you to the Hospital Wing," James offered, and Remus nodded mutely and got up from his bed. "If you want I can arrange for Peter, Sirius and I to stay down there with you, so you won't be all alone--I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will understand.

"No! I mean...It's okay, just come see me in the morning...Not too early though--around nine will be nice," Remus said hurriedly. James raised a curious eyebrow.

"...Okay then," he said slowly. "I'm sure all the owls will find you alright for Christmas."

"Yeah, probably," Remus said, nodding as they climbed through the portrait hole.

~*~

Later, James informed his two other friends of where Remus would be staying on Christmas Eve.

"The poor bloke, all alone on Christmas Eve--with Madame Pomfrey!" Sirius said shaking his head.

"What do we do? We can't leave him all alone the whole evening," Peter said, worried over his friend.

"Well...He said to just visit him in the morning..."

"Let's just sneak in and stay the night with him--or at least let him open his presents a bit early," Sirius suggested. "I mean, alone on Christmas Eve with Madame Pomfrey as company!"

They all shuddered at the prospect.

"Yeah, let's hurry--before anyone can miss us." James said, nodding towards the common room, several people had stayed for Christmas, more so then usual. Lily Evans said she stayed because she didn't want to argue over presents with her older sister--but they all thought it was because she wanted to torture the Marauders with her singing and crazy decorations. They'd of course, snuck in the night before and opened all her windows in her dorm--letting in piles and piles of snow from the blizzard--just to get her back for all the annoying singing. A little over done.

They arrived at the Hospital Wing, and stopped when they heard voices. "Let's get moving Remus, it's almost time."

"I know, hold on a second--I can't find my extra pair of shoes..." There was muffled noises as Remus, apparently searched for his shoes.

Something that night, made the three boys jump back and hide in the shadows--not making their presence known. Remus and Madame Pomfrey came out, cloaked heavily.

James, Sirius and Peter shared a look and immediately put their Marauding skills to work, following the two.

The rushed through the maze of Hogwarts' hallways, and out onto the grounds--it was almost dusk, it was very cold and their breath came out in thick clouds. They were shivering a lot because it was far below freezing and they'd brought no cloaks. They stuck to the shadows, hiding around trees and walls, so Pomfrey nor Remus would see them. It was like a hunt, and they were the prey and the hunters at the same time.

They watched Remus and Madame Pomfrey arrive at the Whomping Willow. "What--?" Peter started to say, but James and Sirius immediately hushed him, by tackling his mouth with four hands.

They watched as the tree stilled, and Madame Pomfrey took Remus' cloak, and several layers of his clothing. All three observers were very curious to know what was going on, and their curiosity only increased when Remus went into the tree.

At that point, James, Sirius, and Peter were dumbstruck to speechlessness--but that didn't exactly matter, because it's not like they were going to use this ability anyway.

As Madame Pomfrey left, James took off running--Sirius and Peter right behind him. The tree started moving just as he was at the trap door--he heard Sirius and Peter cry out as they were struck by branches, but James ignored the pain he felt, and made it through the trap door, right before it closed on it's own.

James knew immediately, that this had been a bad idea. Sirius and Peter were trapped outside and he was trapped inside--with several cuts on himself from the beating the Whomping Willow had given him.

"Remus!" He called, wondering what was going on--so many unanswered questions were in his mind. "Remus!?" He yelled, racing through the dark, cold tunnel.

"J-James?" A soft voice met James' ears.

"Yeah, it's James! What's going on Remus!?" James yelled, bumping into a wall--darkness overwhelming the passageway.

"JAMES! Go back! It's dangerous!" Remus screamed, his voice frighteningly loud for the boy who was so quiet and mild tempered 24/7...

"Then YOU should get out of here too!" James said, panic beginning to fill him, his heart pounded in his chest, but he kept moving towards Remus blindly in the dark.

"Please, James! Please! Go back!" Remus' voice sounded petrified now, but farther away--like he was running away from James.

James rushed faster on, and he could have sworn he heard something shut. That's when it came to him--that he had a wand. "Lumos!" A light came on, and a gloomy, dirty tunnel was revealed to him. "REMUS!" James found himself at a closed door, he banged on it for a few minutes, before discovering what he had to do, "Alohomora!"

The door opened and James barged in and found Remus lying on a sofa, curled up in pain. James briefly noticed that the sofa was very mangled up.

"Come on Remus! Let's get out of here!" James urged. "What are you doing here, anyway--."

"James! Please leave!" Remus looked like he was in severe pain, his face was crunched up and his eyes were shut tight. "I...I'm a werewolf James! Go!"

"What--? No! Remus--please!" James didn't know why he was so panicked, but he knew something awful was about to happen, and he wanted to get his friend out of this room. "Let's just get out of here together--."

"Don't you hear what I'm saying!?" Remus cried, his voice hoarse. "I. Am. A. Werewolf! I, will KILL you in about a minute! I'm transforming--It's a full moon!"

"I don't believe you!" James yelled, furious--Did Remus even know what he was saying? James knew quite clearly, that something life threatening could happen--he just wanted his friend out of there, and yet--he didn't even think that his friend could be that life threatening being.

Then James watched--Remus was sprouting hair up and down his body. Remus yelled out in torture as James saw fangs forming in his mouth, blood spewing from the boys gums.

James' eyes bulged out of his head, and he stumbled back in fright--so Remus really WAS a werewolf. James looked about and saw a set of stairs. He ran up them two at a time, and ran down the hallway of the house and leaped inside a room and locked the door, casting every securing spell he knew--which amounted to about three, still hearing Remus' cries, and something that sounded like ripping skin...

He then started piling furniture in front of the door, a dresser, a night stand from by a bed.

James then sat on the edge of the bed--terrified.

He heard a bunch of noises--screaming, a lot of screaming, and then stomping as the werewolf that was Remus, tore up the stairs. James pulled his knees up to his chest and started rocking and crying as the werewolf scratched and banged on the door, shaking then entire room.

That was the night, James Potter decided that Christmas was a terrible holiday--he hated it. Everything about it. All that night he ticked off in his head all the down points of Christmas.

By morning he was a full out Christmas hater.

Nothing good ever came from Christmas...He tried to keep good cheer, but how can someone be cheerful, when they've almost been killed on that very day?!

An 11 year old can only have so much logic about them--and it made sense to James Potter, that if he was almost killed on Christmas--and that one of his best friends was in that much pain on Christmas--that he should hate it, and hate if fully and whole heartedly.

The wolf didn't make it through his barrier (though it tried thoroughly) and when James chanced a peak out, when the sun had come out Christmas morning, there was Remus--lying on the ground--bloodied up and savage looking--but human.

James knelt down beside his friend, and bawled like a young child.

Madame Pomfrey came up the stairs and gasped at what she saw. "Mister Potter! Thank your lucky stars you are alive to see your 11th Christmas!" She scolded, but her tone of voice led on to believe that she'd thought James had been murdered in the night.

Later, James met up with Sirius and Peter and they all cried--forgetting to act like 'men'. They'd almost lost one of their best-friends, but through it all, the only thing they really lost--was their love for Christmas.

Logic never made sense to them anyway...