Title: 003 – Christmas
Description: J/L. Featuring a sweet and perfect Lily, and a James who is crabby because she won't pay him any attention. James' POV.
I HATE Christmas holidays.
Call me a scrooge. Call me ungrateful. I'll just call you a loser and hate it even more.
Every year, I stay at Hogwarts for the holidays either because my parents just got into a huge fight and neither one's up to looking after me, or because they're off in Cabo or something trying to figure out their issues. And every year, it's close to just as miserable.
I mean, not that I mind or anything. Home has nothing to offer me anymore. To tell the truth, not many people have much to offer me because I already have everything I want, and the one person who does refuses to give me anything.
Speaking of which. There she is. She just walked through the portrait hole, surrounded by the usual throng. Now she's going to sit in that armchair just to the left of the fire and take off the adorable white cap. Then she'll toast her face and hands and try not to laugh as her friend Mileen whines about the last prank Sirius pulled on her. For a while, she'll sit there with the endlessly chattering crowd, listening to all of them complain about school and obsess over me (as always) and nod as she braids someone's hair or absently picks lint off another's robes.
Eventually they'll run out of steam and trudge up to their dorms, quelled until they find a new debacle to dump on my poor Lily. One by one they'll stand up, stretch, and give her a hug goodbye. Every single one. At this rate I'll soon be the only person in the whole school who's never gotten a hug from her. In fact, I most likely already am.
Once everyone's gone, she'll make some excuse to stay in the common room, pull out her knitting wool or drawing pad, and start feverishly trying to finish the Christmas gifts she's making for her closest friends.
Most people get earrings or money for Christmas. I get broomsticks, clothes, Muggle gadgets, cologne, furniture, you name it – sometimes twice in a row. But Lily's friends? They get handmade scarves and knit hats, portraits and cards she's made herself. She starts on all these things at least two months early, and everybody knows it but won't say anything because they don't want to ruin the surprise.
Nobody would even think of ruining anything for her, no matter how small. She's the darling of Hogwarts. The Gryffindor princess. I hated her on sight because of that. The popularity and love I work so hard to get, she steals in a heartbeat. The condescending teachers I try so hard to charm never take a second glance at me once they see her. For a solid three years, I couldn't stand Lily Evans.
And then I fell in love with her.
Since 4th year, I've been trying to get her to go out with me. The first time I asked her, shook her head and apologized for saying no. I thought it was a joke or something. A display of indifference to show everyone that she wasn't seduced by all things Potter. I thought she'd be a pushover. So after a while, I asked her again. She rejected me again. And again. And again. I tried, I tried, I failed, I failed. One time when I got overly frustrated with it, I tried to insult her for turning me down. For the next two weeks, the only people who would talk to me were Remus, Peter, Sirius, and whatever bimbo he'd picked up at the moment. I'd barely be exaggerating if I told you she fell out of a fairytale one fine day and started handing out those scarves like tissue.
And once again, I'm the only person – along with Sirius – who hasn't gotten one. Earlier this year I told her that she owes me 7, including one for this Christmas, and asked her how much she wants for them. She told me she'd make them all for free if she liked me better, and I resigned myself to another Christmas filled with 150-odd expensive, useless things (stupid fangirls) and not one gift that actually means something to me.
You wouldn't think her capable of it, angel that she is, but she's single-handedly made every Christmas since I was 13 miserable for me. I'd take a single stitch if she gave it to me, but she won't even give me a smile.
I HATE Christmas. If you're not Lily Evans, bugger off and leave me to it.
Endnote: What do you think?
