Disclaimer – I, like countless others, owe a great debt to J K Rowling. Part of that debt is the world, characters and over-arching plot of this story. I am not the creator of Hogwarts or its characters.

As it says in the summary, this is a prequel. The main story, A Currency of Secrets, spans all of Term Three and will be posted from mid-April until June.

Most of this story is told from Lily's point of view.

Term three will also include the Marauders' points of view, as well as that of Andromeda Black, including her own hate/love story with Ted Tonks.

Fire and Ice at Christmas Time

Tuesday December 14, 1976

- Lily -

"Potter!"

"Yes, Evans?" A sweet smile.

"Don't you play innocent with me."

"What would you like me to play with you?" A suggestive smirk.

"Why don't you play dead, Potter."

"Only if you stop playing hard to get… Ow!"

Lily Evans had punched James Potter hard in the chest.

"As if that hurt. Now give me that salamander!"

"What are you going to do with it?"

"What do you think, Potter? I'm putting it back into the fire."

"No, I'm liberating it. That's the sort of guy I am." A self-appreciative grin.

Lily had lost her patience with Potter. Again.

"Accio."

A glowing fire lizard soared out of Potter's pocket, sailed neatly over the heads of their sixth year Care of Magical Creatures class, and landed gently in Lily's hand. It was hot, so she quickly tossed it back into the flames of the class's bonfire.

"Miss Evans." It was Professor Kettleburn, having appeared as he so often did, from nowhere. And he was frowning deeply at her. "Would you say it is appropriate to levitate magical creatures?"

Lily flushed, less with embarrassment, more with anger at Potter.

"No Professor, I was just-"

"I expect better of all the students in my classes, but especially the prefects. The magical creatures we study are to be treated with dignity. Five points from Gryffindor."

The professor abruptly turned away to circle the class once more. He seemed abrupt with any creature possessing less than three legs.

The students were meant to be making labelled diagrams of the salamanders as they crawled over the glowing coals, but most were merely warming their chilled hands or covertly toasting marshmallows. Professor Kettleburn, more intent on the salamanders than the students in his charge, didn't seem to notice.

Lily turned her glare on Potter who not only didn't look appropriately guilty at getting her into trouble, he didn't seem to have noticed her predicament at all. He was now on the opposite side of the fire, trying to coax a new salamander onto his dragon-hide glove.

Clenching her fists, Lily had just started towards him when the bell rang for the end of the period. Professor Kettleburn announced, without looking at the students, "Okay, completed sketches to be handed in on Thursday. If you need more time, I'll be keeping the fire going until dinner."

Potter and Black had started jogging back to the castle before the professor had finished speaking.

The rest of the class, who had begun packing away their things, settled back onto their logs and cloaks with a whisper of contented sighs. Almost all of the sixth years had a free period next. If it was a choice between being indoors or huddled around the bonfire, the choice was easy.

"Lily." Greta Catchlove, a slim half-Indian girl with a long black plait, pulled on Lily's arm.

Lily was still busy glaring at Potter's retreating back. A trail of sparks was spouting suspiciously from his back pocket.

"Earth to Lily." Lily frowned and turned her attention to her friend. "Good. She emerges from her Potter-trance."

Lily scowled at that. "What, Greta?"

Greta frowned. "You said you'd help me with my Charms essay."

"Oh." Lily cleared her expression with an effort. "Right. Yeah, we should go."

"Seems a shame to leave the fire behind, though."

They both stared wistfully at the flames for a moment. Lily sighed.

"Come on, we'll get some eggnog on the way."

Greta brightened. They grabbed their bags and headed back up to the castle through the chilly December breeze.

The entrance hall was not only warm but welcoming – complete with the usual twelve Christmas trees and enticing smells of Christmas baking: cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, turkey.

The frown finally melted completed off Lily's face as she took a moment to survey Hogwarts in all its Christmas glory. Apart from the trees, garlands of holly, chains of glowing gold bubbles, and sprigs of mistletoe adorned the walls and the bannister of the marble staircase.

"You coming?" Greta said, already headed for the great hall. Lily followed her friend to the table where warm eggnog was available all day in the week leading up to the Christmas holidays. Most students were in class so there was no queue either. Greta ladled out a steaming mug for each of them. Lily cupped hers in both hands to warm her fingers and sipped gratefully, closing her eyes to savour the taste. A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla consumed her attention for several moments.

"Did Black and Potter spike it again?" Greta asked, sniffing her own drink.

"No, its fine."

"Darn." Lily raised an eyebrow. "What?" Greta said shrugging. "I could have used something to help me get through all of this Charms homework."

"I don't think a shot of rum will improve your concentration."

"No, but it might make the whole thing more fun." Greta grinned. Lily rolled her eyes but smiled.

"As a prefect, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"You're a lot more fun when you're not being a prefect."

"Tell me about it. Want to trade?"

"No way!"

Greta led the way out of the great hall and up the marble staircase.

"Is it that bad?" Greta asked. "Being a prefect."

Lily frowned. "Mostly no. Apart from patrol duty, and supervising wet weather lunches, and little bratty Slytherins." She paused. "And big bratty Gryffindors."

"Ah come on, live a little. Black and Potter are alright. Some of their pranks are funny."

"And some of them are downright dangerous."

"Like what?"

"Like turning the third floor corridor into a frozen lake."

"What, they never did that!" Greta protested.

Lily halted and pointed. In front of them stretched the third floor corridor, now more akin to an ice skating rink than a hallway. Black and Potter were at the far end, slapping each other on the back and clearly admiring their handiwork.

"Potter!" Lily called, glare rapidly returning.

Black's 'Uh oh' was audible even over the distance. The two black-haired pranksters exchanged an obvious glance. Then Potter stepped onto the ice, gliding gracefully over the pristine surface. Lily glanced down. He'd added steel blades to his shoes.

As usual, Potter was unable to resist showing off. Lily was determinedly unimpressed as he executed several sharp turns and a flawlessly smooth figure eight before stopping sharply in front of her, sending a smattering of shaved ice over the girls' feet. Lily shook out her shoes, scowling.

Potter bowed gallantly, taller than usual due to his skates. His hand, magnetically attracted, mussed his already messy black hair.

"You called, Miss Evans?" Potter's trademark charming grin was firmly in place. Lily presented him with her usual glare.

"And might I say," he added, glancing her over appreciatively, "you're looking beautiful as usual. And very Christmas-y."

"Potter-" Lily cut off at his last words, eyes narrowing. "I beg your pardon?"

"Your hair is its usual lustrous red, your eyes a sparkling green, and your soul so golden it shines from within."

Lily, recalling her promise to never gape at Potter, no matter how much disbelief he caused her, snapped her jaw shut. He scowl deepened.

"My soul?"

Beside her, Greta snorted.

"He's right Lily. If there's one thing I've always admired about you, its your golden soul." She burst into another snort of giggles.

"See, even Catchy has seen it." Greta rolled her eyes at the nickname but was beyond protesting by now.

Potter, a generous bestower of nicknames, had made Greta Catchlove one of his first victims. When she'd joined the quidditch team as seeker in third year, he'd tried to get everyone to adopt his clever nickname. Luckily, it hadn't caught on, but this didn't stop Potter enjoying its use.

"Potter," Lily said, her voice hard, "remove this ice."

"I will if you go out with me." Another automatic reflex. "Come on, come to Hogsemde with me this weekend."

Lily put her hands on her hips and stared him down. She'd long since stopped dignifying his requests with a response.

"Awww, Lily, come on," Greta said, looking longingly at the ice. "It looks like fun." Lily shot her a look.

"You have excellent taste Miss Catchlove," Potter declared, his voice gallant once more. He reached for his wand. "Allow me to assist in your enjoyment."

A wave of his wand later and Greta had her own skates. Grinning, Greta stepped out onto the ice, almost as graceful as Potter, and skated off, leaving Lily alone with her glare and a now triumphant Potter. Some friend, Lily growled in her head.

"Potter, this is dangerous," Lily said loudly, crossing her arms and standing her ground.

"Dangerous?" Black barked from the ice. He was skating backwards in a wide circle with alarming speed. "What's dangerous about a little ice?"

"If you're scared of the ice, Red, I'll hold your hand," Potter said, changing gears to his smooth deep voice.

"It's Evans, Potter, not 'Red'," Lily snapped, sick of shooting down the nickname.

"Evans Potter?" Potter repeated, head tilted to the side in amusement. "That doesn't sound right. But Lily potter? I like the sound of that." His smile broadened.

Lily all but growled in response.

"James Potter, if your ego was a mountain, it would be Everest. There is more chance of a hippogriff flying to the moon than me ever even holding your hand."

"Okay, Evvy, relax, it was just a joke." Potter paused, looking thoughtful. "Though, just so you know, I'm open to the idea of getting engaged. I know it's a bit soon and all, but…"

Potter grinned again, this time his 'I'm so funny' smirk.

Lily shoved him in the chest, hoping to catch him off balance and send him sprawling on his butt. Instead James grabbed her hands and skated backwards a few steps, pulling her onto the ice with him. Lily's feet slid and stumbled on the slippery surface. James transfigured her shoes into skates, still holding her firmly under the elbow to keep her upright.

"James Potter," Lily shrieked, hating how her voice rose in panic. "Put me down right now."

"I can't let you go now," Potter told her calmly, "you'd fall. You've never skated before, have you?"

Lily tried to push him away again, but only succeeded in losing her balance. Potter caught her easily and pulled her in close to his side.

"Why is it," Lily panted, breathless with anger and shaking with nerves, "that you are utterly incapable of comprehending a refusal?"

"I love that you use big words when you're mad," Potter said, his low voice somewhere near her ear.

"Potter, this is harassment! Take your hands off me or so help me I will hex you!"

This made him frown. Potter's eyes turned wary, especially when he looked and saw Lily's wand in her hand.

"Okay, Red, settle down. It's no big deal."

Potter glided them both back to the edge of the ice. Lily tripped the last few paces by herself in her hurry to get away from him and the slippery ice. When she reached the safety of the wooden floor, Lily took a deep breath and transfigured her shoes back with a wave of her wand. The she turned a frighteningly deep scowl, and her wand, on James Potter.

This time Potter had the sense to look somewhat ashamed – though knowing Potter it could just as easily be a very convincing act. Lily had seen him use the same tactic countless times on their professors.

"Don't," Lily breathed, face red with rage, "ever touch me again, Potter. Other girls might not care that you don't know the meaning of 'personal space' but don't you dare confuse me with one of them for an instant."

"I'm sorry Red-"

"Evans!"

"Evans," Potter amended quickly. "I just wanted to teach you to skate. Its why we-"

Potter had begun gesturing to the frozen corridor but Lily was beyond listening.

"This is exactly what's wrong with you, Potter! You don't listen, you don't stop and think, you refuse to see how other people feel. If you ever opened your ears dust would fall out from lack of use! It's all about you," she shoved him in the chest with her finger, "and what you want! Well leave me out of your stupid ego trip or I'll-"

Lily was cut off by the sound of a door banging open halfway down the corridor. Greta and Black, who'd been trying to out do each other with their spins, paused to look. A third year, still looking back into the classroom, stepped out into the frozen corridor. In a flurry of whirling arms and robes, she slipped, fell, and knocked her head on the ice. She didn't move.

Black swore loudly and skated straight over. Lily stood on her tiptoes to see but couldn't get any closer without venturing onto the ice. Potter seemed torn between heading over and staying with Lily.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall appeared in the same doorway. She bent over the student for a minute, then magicked her onto a stretcher. The professor glanced at the hallway with distaste, vanished the ice (and the skates) with a casual flick of her wand, and peered at the students in front of her.

"Evans, Catchlove," she said sharply. "I assume you don't have anything to do with this?"

"No Professor," Greta said quickly, casting a guilty glance the corridor where she'd been skating a moment before.

"Good. Please escort young Pandora to the hospital wing."

Lily hurried to join Greta but pulled up short when she saw the prone Pandora Page. With her pinched cheeks and straight blonde hair, the young Ravenclaw looked for a moment like a young Petunia. Lily, who hadn't heard from her sister in months, felt her heart leap into her throat. Normally excellent at repressing her fears, Lily was struck by a sudden reminder that something terrible could have happened to Petunia, and Lily would be the last to know.

Lily felt a sharp nudge from Greta's elbow and looked up. Professor McGonagall was watching her impatiently.

"Miss Evans, can I trust you with the care of Miss Page?"

Lily had the sinking feeling it wasn't the first time the professor had addressed her.

"Of course, Professor," Lily said, regaining her composure as thoroughly as donning a mask.

"Very well. Miss Page is merely unconscious, but please ask Madam Pomfrey to check her spine for damage before moving her further."

Lily nodded and, using her wand to steer the stretcher, guided the prone Bell up the corridor.

"Now," Professor McGonagall's voice cracked like a whip as she turned to Potter and Black, "which one of you wants to explain the dire foolishness I just witnessed."

Lily would have found it amusing to hear Professor McGonagall dress down Potter if the sight of the unconscious Pandora hadn't been so real and worrying. Greta's previous glee had also disappeared. It was a sombre walk to the hospital wing.

Halfway there, Greta broke the silence.

"Where'd you go before?"

Lily glanced sharply at her friend.

"When you didn't hear McGonagall," Greta clarified.

"Nowhere," Lily said shortly. The topic was not open for conversation. Not only had she and Greta only become proper friends at the end of last year, Lily had been badly burned by the last two people she'd trusted completely – Petunia and Severus Snape.

"Really? Because you've been going 'nowhere' a lot more lately."

Lily didn't answer. She'd been waiting on a reply from Petunia since the start of December. Of course, she knew Petunia was just ignoring her. But occasionally doubt crept in.

Greta watched Lily closely for a moment, then let the subject drop.

They reached the hospital wing and knocked on the door. Madam Pomfrey frowned at first when they delivered her patient. Lily and Greta hovered in the doorway while she completed her examination. Within minutes it was over.

"No lasting damage," Madame Pomfrey declared. She prodded Bell gently with her wand and the girl stirred, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. Lily bit down hard on a memory of mornings when she'd shared a room with her sister. Madame Pomfrey glanced across at Lily and Greta.

"Off you go girls, what Miss Page needs now is some rest."

- Sirius -

"So," Sirius began, as he and James finally left McGonagall's office, with a detention a piece and fifty points lost for Gryffindor. "That went well."

"Yeah, I'd better win this next match or we'll lose the house cup this year. We probably need to stop losing points, eh?"

"I meant with Evans."

"Oh. Yeah, well."

Sirius waited but James didn't elaborate.

"I didn't see everything, but I distinctly heard her shout the word 'harassment'. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound like things went well."

James rubbed the back of his neck and scowled at the floor.

"It's possible I over-stepped a bit."

"What did you do? Drag her along with you?"

James didn't answer.

Sirius gave a low whistle.

"I thought you knew how to handle girls, Prongsie?"

"I do! But Evans is just… different. She messes with my head. I… like her."

"Sounds like you like her too much."

"Well that's not something I can fix, is it?" James snapped back.

"Whoa, don't take my head off." They strolled in silence for a minute.

"Have you tried just talking to her?"

James stared blankly at Sirius as though he didn't recognise him.

"You do know what talking is, right?" Sirius asked tentatively.

"I'm just looking at Sirius Black suggesting holding a conversation with a girl. Since when is that in your repertoire?"

"Ah, I slide it in there sometimes, between snogging and flattery. But usually I don't need it. You on the other hand," Sirius declared, wrapping an arm around James' shoulders, "probably need to try something new. You can't force her to spend time with you, but could try having her not hate every interaction you have together."

James shrugged out of Sirius grip, rolling his eyes.

"Great idea, genius. Any idea how to get her to sit still long enough to listen?"

Sirius shrugged and grinned evilly.

"Maybe show her the real James Potter that I know and love."

Sirius thoroughly spoilt the statement by ruffling James' hair in a motherly fashion. James' slapped his hand away, then punched him in the arm for good measure. Sirius slapped James' cheek lightly and danced out of range. James' pounced on him, missed, and chased his friend all the way back to the Gryffindor common room, narrowly missing colliding with two first years and a fifth year on the way.