Hi! This story goes to all the L/J shippers out there (like me)

It's not really a story but a collection of one shots, that go from funny, to fluffy, to sad, to pointless, to romantic and so on. If anyone would like to see a special one-shot, just tell me:)

This one is the first one-shot. Called "Holidays", it is fluffy and dramatic, and sad! But don't worry! Not all my shots will be angsty, NOT AT ALL! most of them will be really funny. So plz R&R! This is a pretty LONG one-shot really, but I wanted to post it in this collection. I never get really inspired to write this kinds of stuff...I normally write more funny things but, oh well, everyone needs a angsty fic from time to time, right?

So I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: DON'T OWN! NOTHING! AT ALL!

"Oh, Merlin. Is this a hallucination?"

It was a chilly, snowy Sunday morning that announced that Christmas was near. Lily Evans walked through the Hogwarts's empty corridors that leaded straight to the Library. The red headed intended to finish her homework before going home for the holidays; with her heavy school bag hanging from her shoulder, she entered the old, vast room full of shelves and books she so well knew.

She strolled down to the section of History of Magic, and when she turned the corner she was surprised to see in one of the wooden tables a black haired boy, doing his homework with his head low, close to the parchment he was scribbling on.

James Potter raised his head, and a playful smile spread through his features when he saw who had just arrived.

"Well, Evans, I assure you it is not" he said, rumpling with a large hand his mane of messy, jet hair.

Lily let her bag fall on the table, just beside James's possessions. Without a glance to the boy, she turned her back to him and started looking around the shelf for a specific book, her index finger rolling through the rough spines.

"It's Sunday morning, Potter" she said, while her long, thin finger stopped at a particular red book "I never thought I would live to see this day come" she took the book out of the shelf and placed it right in front of his. She sat and opened the copy of A History of Magic.

James stared at her for a moment, his eyes contemplating the line of light freckles scattered along her cheeks and nose. Her head and eyes were bent low; she fixed a strand of auburn hair just behind her shoulder. Her eyes rose and met his, and her cheeks turned suddenly pink. He looked away and scratched his neck awkwardly, feeling the heat rise to his own cheeks.

"I just wanted to finish this before tomorrow" she heard him say. She stared at the yellowish piece of parchment she had now pulled out of her bag.

"I forgot my quill" Lily muttered, her deep, green eyes rising "left it on the common room"

"You can use mine" James placed his long, white quill near her hand.

"Thanks" Lily grinned for a second and took it. She dipped it on his glassed bottle of ink and started writing her essay.

There was a long silence, in which Lily's look just traveled from the open book to her parchment. She seemed so absorbed in her work, that James started to think she had forgotten he was even there, right in front of her. In the meantime, he took the chance to just stare at her, like he used to. He used to just have a moment in the day to look at her, and most of those times he got caught and ended up annoying her. She would always tell him to stop staring at her, or following her. She wouldn't even talk to him sometimes, just because she didn't want to. And when she did, it was to remind him of what an idiotic prick he was.

But now things had changed. He didn't followed her anymore, or stare much at her either. She had stopped insulting him, and they now had more civilized conversations; but just a few.

"Sad isn't it?"

Lily jumped on her seat. She had been so focused in her Goblins' War essay, she had forgotten about James being just there. But the quill didn't stop moving as she kept writing word after word "What's sad?" she asked.

There was a short pause before she heard James say "it's sad that things never worked between us"

After almost an hour of writing, Lily's hand stopped scribbling. The narrow tip of the quill frozen in the last 's' she had written. She didn't look up, and felt her cheeks gaining a bit of heat.

"There…there was never anything between us, Potter" she said simply, but felt a fluttering sensation in her insides. She resumed writing her essay, not daring to look at him now.

While she rolled up carefully the parchment, James's voice reached once more her ears. His voice sounded less like him; it was softer than it usually was.

"I…I always thought that if I would ever end up with someone" he said. She stood up and gave her back to him, the red book in her hands "it would be you"

She bit her bottom lip as she felt a sudden weakness on the knees. She carefully placed the book back into the shelf, and stood there, staring at the spines of all the History of Magic related books.

James stared at the red hair falling to the middle of her back, sparkling with the morning sunlight from the window beside her. He silently scowled and took his bag from the floor, throwing his books and parchments in it.

"I'll leave the quill" he said walking away slowly "in case you need it"

Lily was frozen in the spot she was standing, staring blankly at the old, dusty books. Her stomach jolted. James and Lily had fallen apart, not that they had ever been good friends. From all the times he asked her out, complimented her, confessed his undying love for her, or just look at her, it had to be now it moved her.

"I never understood something, Potter" she said, turning around and facing the walking figure of James. His steps ceased and his hazel eyes met her green ones "Why me?"

He frowned "What?" he said, putting his bag on the table where Lily's possessions now lay.

"Why me? From all the girls…why me?" she said, as she grabbed a strand of auburn hair from the back of her head "I was always so hard with you, I wanted you to stop. To get over it"

They stared at each other for a split, silent second. Lily lowered her head and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Happy Holidays, Potter" she said, and walked past him, brushing slightly his shoulder with hers. He saw her leave, her locks flying behind her, with a quick pace. Her steps were long and she finally disappeared from view.

Lily sat across her sister Petunia on the dining table. Her mother placed the roasted turkey in the center of the table as her father sat in the main seat. The snow was falling thickly outside, and the fire lighted the dinning room entirely. The flickering lights in everyone's faces made Lily feel warm inside.

"So, Lily, darling, how's school going?" Mr. Evans said, raising his fork and smiling. His green eyes shone.

"It's wonderful, Dad" she said, putting a slice of roasted, delicious turkey on her plate "I can't believe I'll soon graduate"

"It seems like yesterday, right, dear?" Mrs. Evans said from the other side of her table, looking at her husband "the day we got the Hogwarts letter"

"Absolutely" he responded, and placed a lettuce on his mouth.

Lily smiled, as she moved the various vegetables from her salad around the plate, using her fork. She looked at her sister, who hadn't taken her eyes off her plate since the dinner began, and hadn't said a word either.

"Petunia" Lily said, putting her fork down. Her older sister rose for the first time her look, her bony features expressionless "how's Vernon?" she grinned, trying to sound friendly toward her sister, who had never been very friendly to her in their whole life together "mum told me on a letter, you two seem to go pretty well"

"He's okay. We're happy" she simply said. She grinned for a moment, but it faded almost instantly.

"Well, that's good! I want to meet him" Lily said before eating a mouthful of salad.

"You will" her mother said, suddenly. Her soft voice seemed full of excitement "he's coming after dinner, right Petunia?"

Before Petunia could say a word, the doorbell rang. Everyone looked in the direction of the entrance door, and then at each other.

"That can't be Vernon" Petunia said, as she checked her wrist watch.

"It might be carol singers" said Mr. Evans "would you get that, Lily, please?"

The red haired stood up and walked to the entrance door, fixing the oversized Christmas sweater she was wearing. She cautiously opened the door, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw a pair of hazel eyes looking right back at her from the other side of the door. She stared for a moment, like realizing what had just happened. His lips were tightly pressed together, and he was clutching his arms in front of his chest. She noticed he was slightly trembling, and remembering the hard weather outside, she opened a bit more the door, without saying a word.

James Potter understood, and without hesitation he walked into the warm house, feeling all the hairs in his spine stand up, and a rush of heat run from his head to his toes. After a moment, in which he rubbed his hands and forearms to get a little warmer, he took a good view of her.

She was wearing a ridiculously big, knitted sweater, with a snowman on the chest. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, with little strands falling out of it and on her face, her expression was of confusion and concern.

"Lily is everything alright?" a woman's voice said from other part of the house.

"Yes…Yes!" she called, her voice squeaked slightly. She stretched her hand, and grabbed his arm, pulling him to an empty, dark room. She pressed a peculiar button in a wall and lights suddenly turned on; they were standing in the middle of a living room, the walls full of still pictures and paintings. There was a brown, old couch, and a black box with a kind of screen. James looked at a particular picture of a red haired little girl, smiling broadly.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, looking unbelievingly at the man standing in front if her. His face was different; it was paler than usual, and his eyes looked swollen. His shoulders and hair were sprinkled with snowflakes.

"It's –"

His voice trailed off, and his look traveled to the entrance of the living room. There, standing tall was Lily's father. Frowning, he examined James from head to toes. Hi crossed his arms over his chest and opened his mouth to say something, but Lily interrupted him.

"Dad, this is Po…James" she said quietly, standing beside the black haired "James Potter…a…friend…from Hogwarts"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Evans" he said, his voice remembered Lily of the ones he used with the teachers at school; he politely stretched his hand, and he shook it.

"Nice to meet one of Lily's friends" Lily's father smiled, and looked sympathetically at the younger man "would you like some diner, son? Some dessert?"

Before James could answer, Mr. Evans turned around and walked to the dining room, making a gesture with his hand to follow him. Lily pushed James's shoulder slightly, and they both followed the dark haired man.

When the three of them entered the room, Petunia and Mrs. Evans's eyes widened when they saw the new person that came along the entrance. Lily's mom stood up and smiled broadly, walking toward James.

"Well, well! Who's this?" she said, looking at him as her smile became broader.

"This young man is one of Lily's friends from Hogwarts" said Mr. Evans, patting him on the shoulder.

"This is my mom, James" Lily said.

James took the woman's hand, and kissed it. Lily stared at this with wide eyes, but her father seemed actually pleased.

"Now I know where Lily gets her good looks" he said as a playful smile appeared in his features.

Lily rolled her emerald green eyes, and looked at her mother, whose cheeks had turned pink and chuckled.

While the Evans couple introduced James to Petunia, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly he was doing in her house on Christmas Eve night. She fixed a strand of her behind her ear and faced her family and him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you Potter" she said, putting her hands on her hips, feeling the soft cotton of the sweater between her fingers.

Nodding to her parents, James walked toward Lily, putting his hands on his pant pockets.

"Oh, darling is that how you address your friends? By their surnames?" Mrs. Evans said, but Lily ignored her comment "James, dear, it would be a pleasure to have you here for dessert. Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon, will come too!"

Lily scowled silently, and before James could say anything, she pulled him back to the living room where they had been before.

They stood silently for a moment, as their hazel and green eyes interlocked. Lily stood far from him, all across the room. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. James's look became once again the one it had been when he first arrived.

"What are you doing here?" she said fiercely "I don't think you just came all the way here to over compliment my parents"

She expected a cheeky, arrogant reply from him, but instead he lowered his head until his hair covered his face from Lily's view. Her expression softened, and she took a step closer to him.

"Potter?" she said, taking slowly another short step. He didn't reply, his head kept hanging down "James?" she addressed him softly and sweetly by his name. She got worried; she had never seen James Potter like this.

She extended her hand to pat him on his broad shoulder, but he suddenly raised his head, making Lily lower her arm at once. His eyes were bloodshot now, and puffy, he had a sad look that made Lily feel bad for him. She wondered what could be troubling him so badly; she had never seen James Potter, in seven years, in such a state.

"James, please tell me! What's wrong with –"

"The Dark Mark, Lily" he said coldly. Lily gasped, and her fingertips touched her soft, thin lips. Horror spread through her whole body and bones, without knowing what to do or say; her eyes had a priceless look of fear, looking directly at James "over my house" he paused, and let out a tiny sob. He pressed his lips, and Lily froze "Aurors were already there… they wouldn't let me in" by now thick, salty tears were covering his cheeks. Lily just stared unbelievingly at him; the thought of him crying had never crossed her mind for a second "I had nowhere to go, I'm so sorry Lily!"

"James, don't be!" she said, and without thinking or planning, she flung her arms around him, placing one hand on his head protectively.

James felt a pair of warm arms around him, and a hand running through his hair softly. He buried his face on her shoulder and felt the warm, fuzzy cotton brush his wet, salty cheeks, a sweet scent reached his nose.

"It's okay" she whispered a moment later, her hand still playing with the soft hair James had "everything will be alright…you'll see"

"It's my fault, Lily" his muffled voice said. Lily backed away slowly, and putting her hands on his shoulders fiercely, she made him face her. His face was red and wet, and his swollen eyes were full of tears; his glasses were blurry.

"It's not! How can you say that?" she exclaimed, her expression had a mix of pity and bewilderment. Without letting go of him, she continued "it's not your fault Potter!"

"If I would just have gotten there a minute earlier –"

"They would have killed you too" she finished coldly. She lowered her arms and stared at his crestfallen expression, an expression that she never thought he would wear. But now he did, and her insides twisted with sadness "where's Sirius…Remus…Peter?"

"School" he said before giving a faint sniff.

She bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms and feet, staring at the floor, at her black and white sneakers, at the dirty shoelaces, the wooden floor beneath her. It seemed like hours passed in which neither of them said anything, but stared at the floor without knowing what to do next. James's head was swirling, his insides twitching every time he remembered the green, glowing mark upon his house, the group of Aurors already around the place, and nosy neighbors glimpsing and murmuring around. He hadn't even been able to see them, but for sure, his parents were already gone.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and made both youths jump and look up at each other.

"Vernon" she said weakly, uncrossing her arms and feet. She fixed a strand of hair from her face and walked toward the door. She placed a hand on the doorknob and looked back at James with concerned eyes "are you sure you want to stay?"

Putting his hands on his pockets, James shrugged and gave another faint sniff that made Lily cringe inside. She heard steps coming from the dining room and cheerful chatting voices. She turned the golden doorknob and the door opened and creaked.

Standing in front of her, was a tall, corpulent man; he had small, black eyes like two marbles pierced into his face, black, perfectly combed hair covered his head. He was holding gift wrapped with red and green paper between his large, white hands. Lily gaped unconsciously at the man for a second before stepping aside so he could come inside.

"Good night" he said politely, and greeted Lily's parents, walking directly toward them without a glimpse at her. Then she kissed Petunia on the lips, and handed the gift to Mrs. Evans, who smiled happily and thanked Vernon.

Lily silently stood beside James a few steps away from the quartet. They looked at each other, she getting a glimpse of his still swollen face, and then looked back at them.

"This is my youngest daughter, Lily" Mrs. Evans suddenly said, walking toward her and placing a soft hand on her shoulder "and her friend from school, James Potter"

Vernon unwrapped his arm from Petunia's waist, and smiling faintly, he walked to where Lily, James, and Mrs. Evans were now standing. He extended his hand to the youths, which they shook briefly.

"Lily goes to boarding school" Lily's only sister suddenly said, making all of them look at her. A nervous smile spread on her bony face and her hand was twisting the end of her sweater "a stage school, right?"

Lily stared at Petunia for a moment, in which her sister widened her eyes at her and didn't stop smiling. Lily frowned, but her features turned into an understanding smile and nodded.

"Yes, James and I go to stage school" she said, and was extremely surprised to not get a denying comment from James, asking why she had told them that. But he just frowned, and opened his mouth for a second, but then closed it and nodded weakly.

Petunia, Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans and Vernon all walked to the dinning room, talking and chuckling with such an enthusiasm she couldn't understand. James and her stayed behind, and just when the others were about to disappear into the room, Mrs. Evans turned and said "Wouldn't you like dessert? There's cake, ice cream, and hot chocolate"

"No thanks very much, Mrs. Evans, really" James said, smiling.

"Oh, dear, don't you worry" she said sweetly, and they turned back into the dinning room. James's face went back to a bitter expression.

"Potter, I'm so sorry" she said when she was sure the others were away. She ran her hand softly down his right arm and then crossed hers on her chest "do you want to stay? What will you do?"

"I want to go to my house" he said firmly, his hazel eyes glinted "I want to know what happened"

"I'll go with you" she said instantly. Their eyes met and she felt for the first time in days heat rise up to her cheeks. She looked away abruptly and scratching the back of her neck she said "if you need company"

James grinned, and it made her feel relieved. It was a true, small grin that had suddenly appeared across his face, the ends of his lips were slightly arched upward.

"I'd appreciate it, actually"

They walked out of the house, Lily closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and faced each other. She wrapped more tightly the black, long coat she was now wearing and shuddered. Thick snowflakes fell between them.

"Ready?" he said. She nodded, feeling her nose numb.

She felt every hole of her body close, and being pushed from all directions. She couldn't breath and her feet had left the floor. She was about to groan when she suddenly felt air reach her lungs again and a cold breeze caress her face.

She opened her eyes, and a green light hit her. She rubbed her face with her gloved hand and gasped with the sight she witnessed; an enormous, green skull, shining above a house. It had a disgusting snake coming out of its mouth. The house was shining green, and her stomach cringed just by the sight of it. Her heart beat quickly, and her knees felt week.

She glanced at James whose face was lighted with the green glow, his eyes widened and his hands turned into tight fists, but his expression kept motionless. Lily bit her lip as she took a deep breath. Her eyes focused on the mark upon that simple house, its roof covered with white snow that had a bright shade of green. There were just a couple of Aurors now, and the place was clear of nosy muggles.

James walked with long, quick steps forward to the house, and Lily followed him right at his heels, wrapping her coat more tightly around her, and feeling her nose go numb. James's sneakers and hers left deep footprints along the path.

James was going to walk through the entrance door, when a tall, black haired Auror stood in front of him, and his steps ceased. He felt a warm body bump into him from his back. It was Lily who had been staring at the mark, and hadn't noticed James stop. She looked at the Auror and stood beside him.

"Sorry, son, you can't go inside" the wizard said sadly.

"I need to get inside. You have been here for hours, and you have done nothing" James said angrily, and intended to push the man aside and walk inside, no matter what he said. He felt his blood pumping hard on his forehead and his heart beating quickly against his chest, but when a loose grip got hold of his forearm, he breathed and looked down. It was like she had been reading his feelings, and had calmed his urges to throw himself at the Auror.

"Sorry but –"

"You have to let us in" Lily interrupted the man. James's heart lighted and he looked at her; her delicate features, glowing with the bright mark upon them, staring at the wizard in front of her. Her hand was still holding his forearm "this is Christmas. That is his family inside that house. Please, sir"

The Auror's eyes looked at Lily for a second, and then they traveled to James. He seemed to be considering it and having a hard time at it. After a few moments of glancing back at him, and back at the couple in front of him, he stood aside, nodded, and walked away to meet up with other Aurors.

James took a step into the house, and Lily let go of his arm as her stomach jolted suddenly. She sighed and looked at the wooden floor of the porch she was standing on. A furry rug lay a few inches away from her feet, with the word "Welcome" printed on it. The electric light bulb above her, as well as the muggle Christmas lights decorating the house, flickered and buzzed in her ear. She felt that twisting sensation in her insides as she thought of James's family, and how terrible it must be to lose one's parents. She felt scared, it could happen to her parents, it could happen to herself. It could happen any day, with no warning. No one was safe with Lord Voldemort and his dark, murderous followers on the loose.

"Hey, wait" she called, making him turn around. She shook her hands graciously and then walked through the door, toward James who was already inside. She could only see him by the buzzing lights that turned on and off, making her feel sick "I'll wait for you outside okay?" she said, not daring to look around the house, just directly at his hazel, sad eyes. She was scared to see a corpse, or something that wasn't hers to see. His face came in and out of focus, sometimes just glowing green thanks to the light coming from outside, but she stared at him nonetheless "no matter what you see, or feel, or realize after this, I'll be right there" she pointed over her own shoulder to the sidewalk "waiting for you"

He nodded silently, and embraced her. She hugged him back warmly, leaning her chin on his shoulder, her warm breath tickling his neck. She pulled back, without taking her hands from the back of his neck, and leaned slowly her head against his. Their lips met for a split second, and chills ran through James's spine, making his insides flutter. She backed away slowly, and without believing what she had just done, she looked down and walked away.

Feeling a chilly air embrace her face, she wrapped her brown scarf around her nose, lips and ears, until the only visible part of her face was her emerald green eyes. She sat on the edge of the sidewalk, with her feet on the muddy snow. The Dark Mark was beginning to fade, and a weak, green glow was left lighting up everything around her. Snowflakes fell slowly around her as she stared blankly at the pavement under her dirty sneakers. The voices of the Aurors reached her ears but she couldn't understand anything they were saying, just a distant chatting.

She lived up the kiss she had given James Potter every single second, but she didn't care anymore. She didn't care he was the prick from Hogwarts, or the flirty, smug boy that followed her everywhere and did nothing more than annoy her. She didn't care about all the times she had ended up in the Hospital Wing in a ridiculous situation thanks to his pranks, or the times she had gotten stuck in detention with him, or how she hated patrolling the school with him.

She rubbed her face and kept waiting for him, her parents were probably worrying about her by now. She took a glance at her wristwatch; it was almost Christmas. She sighed, and a puff of smoke formed ahead of her. The Dark Mark was gone completely, and everything looked significantly darker now. The flickering of the electric lights of the Potter's home became more evident, and the buzzing sound annoyed her.

She felt scared. It had happened to the Potters, and they were purebloods. It could happen to her parents any time soon. They could even kill her. Maybe when she got home later she would find the Dark Mark glowing gorily above her own house, with Ministry Aurors around that wouldn't let her see her family for the last time. The thought of it just made her feel worse.

"Please, God, don't let that ever happen" she muttered quietly.

The sound of feet stepping on the brittle snow made her jump. She got up and turned around, lowering her scarf so her whole face was visible.

James was chugging back his sobs, but he was clearly crying. His face was swollen as it had never been, and his eyes bloodshot. He just stood there, paralyzed on the snow, sniffing loudly.

"I'm sorry" Lily said, and embraced him

She looked at her watch; it was already Christmas. But she decided to keep quiet, with the buzzing sound and the distant chattering voices around them.

So? R&R!