There was a long tradition in Gryffindor Tower of sneaking in liquor on the night before Christmas, and partying until the wee hours of the night, when most young children would be sound asleep in their beds in wait of a fat man to squeeze down their chimney.
Lily Evans agreed that Christmas Eve should be a jovial time, filled with joy and cheer. However, she did not agree with the tradition of Firewhiskey in order to ensure that joy and cheer.
She never joined in the tradition, but that did not maker her leave the festivities. Her eyes would grow tired of rolling though as she was witness to all of the shenanigans that her fellow students got up to around her. Even Alice and Marly were partaking some.
"Don't you dare say I'm drunk or getting drunk, because it won't happen," Alice warned, taking another sip from her glass. She shivered as the heat spread through her, nearly scalding her throat.
"I wasn't even thinking of saying that Al," Lily assured. Alice had promised she was having only two small glasses, and by her reaction to every sip, she would be keeping her promise.
Marlene on the other hand…
"Did you guys hear about the one with the old witch and the banshee?" She howled with laughter over the punch line, even though Lily and Alice never got to hear the joke in the first place.
"I never knew she was such a fan of booze," Lily muttered.
Alice just shook her head. "She's not. She happened to see Sirius sneaking off with some 'harpy of a fifth year', as she put it before. She's just fueling her anger."
The redhead watched her more than tipsy friend fill her glass up again, and take a large swig.
"It's amazing that she still keeps courage in him. I would have given up on him a long time ago."
"I know," Alice scoffed, taking another sip.
Lily started at the comment, turning to stare at her. She never would have said something like that normally. She may not be drunk, but Lily wondered if the Firewhiskey hadn't loosened up her tongue just a little bit.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" Sirius Black's voice rang out as he came to lean over the worn out maroon couch the girls were sitting on.
A deep glare buried itself in Marlene's forehead at the sight of him. She made to drink again, but then she only glared at her glass as well. There was no sign of the girl Alice had mentioned, but if Marly was acting this upset, she must have existed.
"You need a big white beard to have the right say that." Remus joked. With a flick of his wand, Sirius' long dark hair grew ivory, and hair sprouted from his chin. Sirius froze for a moment, a hand coming up to feel this new addition to his face. With a guffaw, he easily stepped into his role as Santa Claus, pulling people into his lap to inquire what their deepest desires were.
Marlene shouldn't be too angry, Lily thought to herself. He's so drunk, he won't even remember tonight. With a roll of her eyes, she looked back behind the couch at the remaining Marauders, the ones who had snuck the liquor in from Hogsmeade. Remus was still standing upright, balance in check, but the liquid had begun to go down in his glass. Peter was completely sloshed. Every time he would bring his glass up for another drink, half of it would dribble down the front of his sweater. The three in front of her were making the most noise in the already loud common room.
But there was one missing from their four-man act.
Black continued asking people what they wanted for Christmas, with a surprisingly long line forming to speak with him, (mostly females, to Marlene's chagrin), but Lily had tuned out. Her green eyes raked over the different laughing faces throughout the room. None of them had bright hazel eyes behind thick glasses, or unruly black hair falling into those mesmerizing eyes.
Where could he be?
Now, Lily knew she shouldn't think too hard over the boy's absence. Being slightly anxious was acceptable. He was her friend; it was only right that she should worry just a little bit.
But she wasn't worrying just a little bit. She was worrying a lot. What if he was stranded somewhere outside of the common room in a daze of alcohol? Lily had never known the boy to drink, but he had been one of the deliverers of the product into Gryffindor Tower. What if he'd gotten caught by someone? He would be the one to take the blame for it and let his friends go free.
"Lily?" Alice's question followed her as she stood up, pushing through the crowd of people. Some leaned into her, losing their footing. Others tripped around her determined feet.
Not actually sure where she should start looking for him, Lily found herself standing just outside the portrait hole, staring into the dark hallway. It was much chillier out here than it had been in the room she'd just vacated, but the air was clearer too. She could finally take a deep breath without a whiff of alcohol.
Rubbing her arms for warmth, she regretted not slipping on her shoes before coming out here. Her head hadn't exactly been clear though. Why should she go looking for him? It wasn't her responsibility; he was a big boy and could take care of himself. A blush blotched her cheeks at how silly she was acting, and she was ready to turn right back around and immerse herself in the insanity of the party again when she caught a few strains of a song.
"The moon is bright, the spirits up. We're here tonight, and that's enough,"
Staring down the corridor again, she couldn't see anyone that could be singing. A ghost may have been caroling and floated through a wall, but singing that song? Not likely. The Hogwarts ghosts always sang the traditional English carols.
"Simply having a wonderful Christmas time,"
No, there was no way that baritone voice echoing off the walls could be a ghost. It sounded far too alive. With footsteps whispering across the stone floors, Lily slowly made her way down the hall.
"The choir of children sing their song. They've practiced all year long,"
A small movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, and her eyes flashed to one of the indents in the wall that housed a window.
"We're here tonight, and that's enough. Simply having a wonderful Christmas time."
James Potter was leaning against the wall, standing at least a meter above the floor on the window ledge, holding a small glass of Firewhiskey lazily in his hand. He eyes met hers, lighting up with a spark, but he did not cut off his song.
Lily could feel a smile cover her lips as he sang, keeping his eyes on hers, swirling the dark red liquid in his glass in time with the tune.
As soon as he finished, Lily rewarded him with a small round of applause, which he responded to with a low bow.
"I never knew you to be a party pooper," she teased after his last bow, hoisting herself up to sit on the ledge by his feet.
"How did I earn that label?" James chuckled, glancing outside the window, down at the glittering snow that had covered the usually lush school grounds.
"You're out here while the party is in there." She indicated the end of the hallway, where the Fat Lady was dozing in her frame.
With eyes still taking in the landscape, James shrugged, switching his drink from hand to hand as he pulled his sleeves up to his elbows.
"It got a little crazy in there. I'm more of a calm 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' sort of guy. So if that makes me a party pooper, than so be it."
Lily might have been surprised that he knew the Muggle Christmas story, but he'd already been singing Paul McCartney, it wasn't worth questioning.
"So why are you out here? Aren't you enjoying babysitting a drunk Marlene?" James maneuvered himself down so he was sitting beside her in the window. There was not exactly a large amount of room on the ledge for two seventeen year old bodies. James' side completely melded into hers, leaving their other sides pressed hard into the stone wall. But Lily couldn't bring herself to mind.
"You noticed her attitude, did you? Too bad Sirius didn't," She tried shrugging, but their situation in the window ledge made that impossible. "I'm sure Alice can handle her." Lily knew that she should have delved more into the topic, and see what James knew about the supposed tryst for her friend, but she wasn't too keen on bringing a third member into this conversation.
Usually, James and her would be able to have their private conversations nightly. Since as Head Boy and Head Girl, they had to patrol the castle in the evening, and the two of them would chat the entire time. Sometimes it would be silly talk with shared laughter. Other times it would get more complicated, their voices dipping low as they spoke of Death Eater activity happening out in the wizarding world. Lily had began to look forward to these conversations. But being Christmas Eve, McGonagall had reported that they had the night off.
"Are you going to drink that?" Lily prompted, pointing to the glass that was held only by his fingertips now. He gave the drink a thoughtful look, swirling the liquid into a whirlpool again.
"I guess that depends," The smirk that always meant he was up to no good painted his lips as he sent her a sideways glance.
"On what?" She laughed, punching his leg with the small amount of movement she did have, and some tingles ran up her arm.
With the expectation that some sort of joke would exit his lips, she was surprised when what did come out was: "On that." He nodded his head upwards, his eyes catching on something above the squished pair.
"Wha-?" Lily cut off as she tilted her head up. A small sprig of green was sprouting above them, with some white berries poking from the branches.
Mistletoe.
There were many things that Lily could have said, many excuses and questions she could have made. I only came out here to talk. We're only good friends right? Is this some sort of a trick Potter?
But she did none of those things.
James had apparently been waiting for a comment similar to those though, for he did not immediately respond, staying frozen and wide-eyed when Lily had snorted a bit, then leaned forward to make their lips meet.
Lily was fairly sure that he had been the culprit who had conjured the mistletoe in the first place, that would be something he would do. She'd make sure to hex him later for tricking her into this, but at the moment she was a bit distracted. The glass fell to their feet, spilling the traditional Firewhiskey all over the stone floor, and James brought his hands up to gently hold the sides of her head, bringing her even closer than she though possible, even with the silly window. But she let him kiss her, more than let him, as she'd been the one to initiate it.
Who was she to break tradition?
A/N: One can never go wrong with Lily and James and some mistletoe. Haha! Another Christmas Jily! They're always fun to write! Hope you guys had great holidays!
The song belongs to Paul McCartney, the characters to J.K. Rowling, and the end scene is roughly inspired by a scene from Gilmore Girls between Jesse and Rory.