Another Christmas One-shot!

Title: Seriously? Or Siriusly?

Summary: The Marauders are playing in the snow with their friends Lily Evans and Rachel Levaque. Companion piece to Simply Cutting Strings. This is not part of the original plot!

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: LilyJames SiriusRachel


"Heads up!"

"Duck!"

"Sirius! Dammit! What's with the snow?!"

"Two words for you, Rachel: enchanted snowballs," Sirius Black said in a husky voice as we swaggered up to her. He plopped a handful of snow on her head and kissed her swiftly on the cheek. She pretended to gag and swiped at Sirius's head.

"Dumb ass! Lily! Team up with me! We've got to defeat these boys once and for all!" Rachel looked around the snowy grounds, scanning the area for her no doubt snow-covered friend. "Lily? Oh, Liiiiiiiileeeeee!"

Sirius and Rachel looked at Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew quickly. They shrugged and pointed behind the couple. A giggling was heard from behind. Sirius and Rachel spun around and looked at two lumps in the snow a ways away from them in pure disgust.

"Lily! Stop snogging the poor man and help me kick the rest of the Marauders' arses!" A bright red head stuck up in the air and laughed at Rachel.

"No!"

"Lily! What are you doing over there?" Sirius asked, squinting his eyes. He grabbed Rachel's arm and started to drag her over.

"Sirius! What are you doing? We don't want to...erm...interrupt them!" Sirius stopped and turned back to look at her.

"Why? What are they doing?"

"Are you daft?!" Sirius growled in response and just dragged her farther into the snow. They stopped when they were looming over Lily and a bedraggled boy that was somewhat under her. Sirius peered at the boy and then drew back very suddenly, a stony expression on his handsome face.

"James?!" The lump under Lily shifter until his face was visible. He lifted a hand and waggled his fingers in greeting. Lily blushed and rolled off of him and they both got up. "James? What were you doing...with...with Evans?"

James chuckled and glanced at Lily.

"Nothing, Padfoot, nothing." Lily looked down at her shoe to try and keep the giggles in. Sirius raised one coal black eyebrow.

"James," Lily said, nudging him in the side, "We might as well tell Sirius. Gosh, he'll know someway or another. And we weren't exactly, hmmm, obvious about it," she said sarcastically. James grinned.

"Padfoot, question. Why so curious about two people kissing in the snow two days before Christmas...when you still have a pretty good hold on Miss Levaque?" James and Lily sniggered and Rachel blushed. Sirius looked livid.

"I do not...I...what are you...saying...listen, mister!" Sirius said, getting right in James's face, "I do not fancy Rachel Levaque, okay?" he ground out. Rachel wrenched her arm free from his grip.

"Fine, Black," she snarled. Sirius turned back to look at her, stunned. She brushed a strand of black hair out of her eyes and glared at him. "Lily, come on. We're going inside. You two had better work this out or else we're returning all your Christmas gifts." Lily stepped next to Rachel quietly and looked at the snow-covered trees behind James and Sirius. Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked them out of the way. "Sirius Black, if you ever want a chance with me you are going to have to try a little bit harder, you hear? If you really like me, you're doing a pretty poor job of showing it. Let's go, Lily. We can wrap all of the presents for our unloving friends by hand!"

"Sirius, mate, even I wasn't that stupid to make the same mistake with Lily. I agree with her." James clapped his friend on the back. "You're going to have to make it up to her, seriously and siriusly."

Sirius paced the Gryffindor common room, thinking hard. He had only begun to fall in love with Rachel Levaque at the end of last year, when she became more friendly towards the Marauders. That was when Lily started to reciprocate James's feelings towards her.

When did this become so complicated? Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes. She would be coming down any minute. He had promised to take her somewhere special, to make up for what he had done to her earlier.

Rachel took cautious steps down the stairs to the common room, scanning it with her eyes. They locked on to one Sirius Black, who seemed to be pacing madly.

"Sirius." He looked up at the sound of her voice, concern showing in his eyes.

"Rachel." He moved towards her and stopped at the bottom of the steps, extending his hand to take hers. As soon as they were set with coats and the Marauder's Map, Sirius and Rachel set a course for the lake on the grounds of Hogwarts. They stopped by the edge of the lake and Sirius sat down in the small snow bank. Rachel settled in next to him.

"So, I--"

"Rachel, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that earlier." She nodded curtly and refused to look him in the eye. "If...if it helps, I'd like to mention that I do like you."

"Yes, but I don't like you. Don't you understand that, Sirius? I could never...never be with you," she said, tears staining her voice. It was the second time she cried that day. She never cried.

"Yes, you could, Rachel. Don't give me that. We're both on the same side of the war...and it shouldn't even matter. It's Christmas, Rach, give me a chance," he said painfully. Rachel looked at him and wiped a tear from under his eye with the pad of her thumb.

"O...okay, Sirius." He clasped her hands in his and brought them down between them.

"Good."

He leaned in a caught her lips in a loving kiss, moving them down onto the picnic blanket he had laid out earlier. He pulled back quickly and stared down into Rachel's passion and lust-filled eyes.

"Good, because I might just be madly in love with you, seriously...and...." He chuckled. "....Siriusly, too, if that's okay with you."

"That would be perfect." She brought his head down to hers again and they spent the rest of the night in perfect bliss, content just to kiss and hold each other until late into the night.