Of Mistletoe and Flying Pigs
Lily was on her way to the common room when two sets of hands grabbed her and pulled her into the broom closet.
A voice cursed loudly as she stumbled in and stood on someone's foot; It was a male voice that sounded suspiciously like someone she knew.
What the hell is going on here? She wondered.
Lily opened her mouth to voice this, but a hand quickly covered her mouth. A familiar scent filled her nostrils as she breathed in. She recognized the hand currently covering her mouth as belonging to James.
She bit down on his hand, and she bit down hard. He yelped in surprise.
The other guy in the broom closet elbowed James in the ribs and hissed, in his shock he had removed his hand from her mouth.
She grinned quietly.
"Great, Thanks a lot James! Now those crazy girls will find us and hang us up on walls as to be trophy boyfriends!" It was Sirius, and he wasn't happy.
"Can we at least turn on a lamp or something? I can't see a thing!" Lily whispered.
She could feel Sirius glaring at her. It was a confined space and the three of them were closer to each other than they had ever wanted to be in their lives. James squirmed awkwardly as Lily was forced to press her back into his chest. Lily felt shivers run down her spine and her cheeks flush at the closeness.
She had always said that, the day she said yes to James would be the day pigs fly. Now she wasn't so sure. Not that he had asked her out, in fact, he hadn't been anything other than a perfect gentleman the entire year.
Once upon a time, Lily would have said only the Imperius Curse could have made her say or think nice things about James, now though, she was shocked at how easily they came to her.
She was broken out of her reverie by Sirius's half amused half annoyed comment,
"Evans, are you a witch or not? Lumos." He hissed. She glared right back, unflinchingly until he turned away.
"Now that my mouth is free, can someone please tell me what is going on here?" Lily asked in exasperation
She was immediately shushed by both boys.
Sirius motioned for James to answer, and James responded with glee, "Sirius is trying to hide from the crazy fangirls that keep stalking him. It seems that just because the seven month mark is coming up for Padfoot and Zanna, all these stalkers are expecting a big break up or something. They tried to slip him a love potion yesterday, it was hysterical-"
Sirius cut in, "Prongs, if you know what's good for you, you'll stop talking and start praying, they're right outside."
They held their breaths. Sirius had been dating Zanna, Sirius and Lily's mutual best friend, since the summer of sixth year. It was now December and there appeared to be no signs of an impending break up. Or maybe she was just being, as Zanna often out it, 'Captain Oblivious.'
The giggling of the stalkers died down as they kept moving.
Then the door opened. Unconsciously, they all huddled back as far as possible in an (unsuccessful) attempt to hide from the intruder.
James pulled Lily flush against him, turning slightly so that she was in the middle of James and Sirius. She felt her heart rate pick up at his touch.
She closed her eyes in preparation for the mauling she was about to receive for being in a very small broom closest with Hogwarts's two hottest guys. She quite literally had a fellow on each arm. James was steadying her while Sirius's death grip was a not-so-subtle reminder to keep quiet.
"Well isn't this cozy? I didn't know you guys had secret threesomes together, is this a regular occurrence or just a one off because it's Friday and it's the holidays?"
They all breathed a heavy sigh of relief as Zanna's amused voice floated through the now open doorway.
Sirius slowly opened his eyes, relief etching every single line on his face as he saw who it was.
"Zanna! You made it out of the common room alive then? Those hyenas have been roaming around this castle all day looking for me. I would have thought they'd at least hexed you."
She grinned as he exited the broom closet and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Oh please, you should see the girl I sent to the hospital wing for trying. I gave her wings and a pigs' tail. When pigs fly, aye Lils?"
Lily blushed. She knew exactly what Zanna was implying and she didn't like it. Lily had made a bet with Zanna that when pigs fly, she'd snog James.
"That doesn't count and you know it!" Lily huffed.
Zanna winked. It was then Lily realized just how close she and James had become. She thought they were close before, but now his hands rested on her hips and she could feel his hot breath on her neck and the fast beating of his heart in his chest. She felt her breath catch and she blushed even deeper before awkwardly moving away from James. She was careful not to meet his eyes and she manoeuvred her way out of the broom closet.
"How about we head back to the common room? I think Remus and Grace are waiting for us."
Sirius waggled his eyebrows seductively, "Or, dear Zanna, we could take a detour...stop by an empty classroom, have a little 'fun'...or, if you're feeling daring, a deserted corridor?"
She groaned and punched him in the arm.
"Ow! You hit hard for a girl!" Sirius cried, rubbing the spot where she hit him.
She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her head in her hands as Sirius wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head while laughing.
"It is so easy to make you blush, Zanna."
She groaned. He laughed again.
"Don't worry, I find it endearing."
Lily couldn't see her face, but she would bet anything that her friends face was redder than before, if that was even possible.
Lily giggled, and James held back a grin as he watched his best mate banter with his girlfriend.
James, obviously overcoming the awkwardness of before, smirked and offered his arm to Lily.
"M'lady, would you be so kind as to allow me to escort you back to the Common Room?" James put on all the airs and graces he had acquired from his upbringing as a Pureblood into showing off for Lily.
She smiled, a proper big smile, as she took James' arm.
They walked at a leisurely pace behind Zanna and Sirius, just idly chatting about nothing.
Lily noted that, even though they were friends, this was the first time, aside from patrol, that they had been alone together. It was a tentative friendship, neither one quite sure where the boundaries lay, and neither willing to risk all to find out.
She zoned back into the conversation to find James talking about Quidditch.
"I remember this match once, it was me and Sirius, against my Dad- he was a professional Quidditch player you know, before he met my Mum - and it was epic. Sirius was playing beater-slash-keeper, and I was playing seeker-slash-chaser, mind you, I was pretty great if I do say so myself. Don't tell Sirius, but I was miles better than he was, despite what my parents said at the time." James smirked triumphantly, as if he was trying to impress her.
"Oi Prongs! I heard that! And I'll have you know, you played absolute rubbish. Honestly you dropped the Quaffle left right and centre, the Snitch kept slipping out of your fingers, your broom was flying all over the place...the only reason we won was because I hit a few well aimed bludgers and performed some spectacular saves!"
Lily flicked her wand and muttered a charm.
James opened his mouth to speak a retort that would have almost certainly resulted in World War Three, but only bubbles came out.
Sirius snorted with laughter at the sight of his best mate spewing pink sparkly bubbles.
"Oh Prongs that's one to tell the grandkids, 'The Day James Potter was Silenced by Bubbles,'" He snickered again.
"Watch it Sirius," Zanna warned, "Or you'll be next."
His face immediately sobered, however it was clear he was hiding a grin.
Lily shook her head, shaking with silent laughter. Truthfully, she may have enjoyed charming James to spew bubbles a little too much, not that she'd ever admit it, but there was something appealing about seeing the arrogant boy speechless.
She had a German friend when she was younger, before Hogwarts, and she had taught Lily this word 'Blackpfeifengesicht' and she said in meant 'A face in need of slapping.'
She grinned. That was the perfect word to describe James sometimes, and Sirius all the time.
Lily admitted that James had definitely done some growing up over the summer. Maybe it was he'd come so close to losing his father in an Auror mission gone bad, or maybe it was because Sirius hadn't been as immature as he usually was-Lily thought it was him finally growing up.
Either way, there was one thing Lily never thought she'd miss, and that was James asking her out.
The next morning, Lily was woken up by a very excited dog sitting on the end of her bed.
She was bleary eyed and cranky from staying up until midnight last night- it had been Christmas eve after all- and being woken up at seven in the morning did nothing to improve her temperament.
"Zanna. Why is your mutt on my bed?" She asked calmly, not even bothering to wonder how the hell Sirius Black got up the stairs to the girls dorms.
"Sirius is here?"
"Hmmmm. Apparently. Though why he's on my bed and not yours I haven't got a clue. Get off!" Lily shoved the dog with all her might off the bed and onto the floor.
He landed with a resounding 'thud' and promptly sat up, giving Lily an injured look before stalking off to see Zanna, who apparently thought of him as a welcome addition to the dorm as she petted him.
Lily rolled her eyes, before groaning and sinking back into her bed. Unfortunately for her, Sirius wasn't having any of it. After he was finished nursing his wounded pride, he started barking incessantly.
Lily ignored it as best as she could. It wasn't until Zanna gave an annoyed yell and Lily felt her blankets being tugged off her bed that she sat up at gave Sirius such a ferocious glare that he actually looked sheepish while holding her blankets in her mouth.
"Sirius. It is 7 o'clock in the morning. Give. Me. Back. My. Blankets. Or else." She enunciated every word and laced them with poison. Everybody knew that Lily was the antithesis of 'morning person,' even towards friends.
Sirius barked happily, apparently ignoring Lily's foul mood as he ran around the girls beds then ran to the door, before stopping in the middle of the room to chase his tail.
Grace, who had since woken up, giggled as she headed into the bathroom. Zanna shook her head but smiled nevertheless.
Sirius gave Lily a look.
Lily interpreted the look as, would you hurry up and get your arse downstairs like now?
She glared, "Sirius Orion Black, if you don't get out of this dorm right now I swear to everything that you 'Marauders' value that-"
Sirius barked as if to say, that what, Evans?
She scowled again, resisting the urge to smack the doggy equivalent of a smirk off of his irritating fur covered face.
"I would threaten to castrate you, but that would require seeing your nether region which really I'll save for Zanna. So instead, I'll turn you into a squirrel, that's if you're lucky. If not, prepare to live out the rest of your days as a perfectly preserved Sicicle. A Sirius shaped icicle." Lily said, rolling her eyes at his pout.
It was that Lily didn't like Sirius, because she did, he was her best friend's boyfriend and the brother of the guy she may or may not be falling for. She was obligated to like him. She did like him, they were good friends. He just found amusement out of her I-hate-early-mornings syndrome and took full advantage of his Animagus form to get into the girls dorms and annoy her.
Lily's only problem was, that right now it was too early in the morning for her to put up with his childish games plus she wanted him gone so she could get dressed. But even she couldn't help the small smile that graced her pretty face as she watched the shaggy dog bound up to Zanna and playfully nudge his wet nose into her hands. Zanna grinned and he cuddled next to her as she petted him.
"Aww Lils, let him stay. We can just go down to the common room in our pyjamas. It'll only be you, me the boys and Grace when she finally gets out of the shower!" Zanna called the last bit loud enough for Grace, who was still in the shower, to hear.
Sirius barked happily and licked Zanna's face, much to her annoyance even if she did giggle.
Lily's eyes widened in horror as he came bounding towards her, closing the gap in a few short bounds.
She shrieked and ran out of the dorm before he could get his filthy tongue anywhere near her face.
It was only when she got to the third bottom step of the stairs and saw the presents under the tree that she realized that that was Sirius's plan all along.
James jumped up and smiled when he saw her,
"Padfoot did it! Operation-get-Lily-downstairs-so-we-can-open-presents worked!" He cheered.
Lily fought back a smile as she went for her 'intimidating Head Girl' look involving skeptical raised eyebrows and hands on her hips,
"Operation-get-Lily-downstairs-so-we-can-open-presents? Really James? You could have just asked you know. You didn't need to send 'Padfoot' up there to pull the blankets off my bed. I could have been sleeping nude you know!"
James's eyes widened and he had the grace to look embarrassed, although he was definitely enjoying picturing Lily naked judging by the blush on his cheeks.
Suddenly she felt the ground beneath her give way, almost like the stairs were turning into a slide...
"SIRIUS BLACK YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Zanna's voice screeched from somewhere behind Lily. Lily turned around just in time to see Sirius, holding Zanna, hurtling down the stairs-turned-slide at what seemed like a million miles an hour.
She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of them landing on top of her. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and whisked her out of harm's way.
She tentatively opened her eyes only to blush as she realized that her face was buried in James's chest. She also noted the very loud pounding of her heart, she was sure he could hear it.
She felt his heart beat through the thin shirt of his chest briefly before someone, probably Sirius, cleared his throat. They sprung apart and blushed.
Sirius took a step forward and cleared his throat dramatically before beginning his announcement.
"Now that we are all finally assembled, let the Grand Opening of Christmas Presents begin! Let's start with me, shall we?"
Lily, who had overcome her awkwardness and sat on the couch next to James, bit back a smile as she watched Sirius tear into his gift from the Potter parents. She knew about his home life, and watching him act like a little kid who had just be given a puppy (and in a way he had) was truly adorable.
She turned her attention back to the boy sitting next to her, there was no doubt about how she felt about him. They were close, or as close as newly made friends could be. He had told her about his family, and in return she told him about the problems with her sister.
She was used to the flutters in her stomach now that came from sitting next to James, or being in close proximity to him. He turned his head slightly and smiled at her when he noticed her looking.
She blushed and turned away after returning his smile.
"Alright Lily, your turn!" Sirius cried excitedly.
She laughed and shook her head fondly as he handed her a present. Apparently he was playing Santa.
Her first gift came in (of course) red and gold lion wrapping paper. The flowery card read,
"Dear Lily,
Since Prongs was no longer the bane of your existence, life was getting boring. So I decided, why don't I take his place?
Anyway, Merry Christmas Evans,
Go out with me?
Faithfully yours,
Sirius Black."
"What, Sirius this whole time you were dating me you were really in love with Lily? I thought you loved me!" Zanna cried dramatically, teasing him. He winked back.
Lily snorted with laughter as she read the card out loud. James glared at his best mate, while Zanna pretended to be furious but was really holding back a smile.
Sirius grinned back at James as if to say, Bring it!
Remus shook his head wondering how on earth they got into these sorts of situations as Sirius and James began play fighting in the common room, tripping each other up, and landing a few playful punches.
Eventually he got up and separated the boys, threatening to send them back to dorms if they kept behaving like children.
Lily was amused at how fatherly Remus could be, it was almost like Sirius and James were his children half the time.
She snickered at the thought.
She opened her present from Sirius and inside was a beautifully bound book, the cover a deep purple with peonies and roses and bluebell flowers all etched into it. She realized it was a photo journal, like a diary but you put photos in there.
"Well, someone's gotta keep track of all the memories we made here! And who better than our very own head girl?" The others laughed appreciatively.
She opened the cover to see a picture of the seven of them, Lily next to James in the centre smiling up at him as the wind blew her vibrant red hair in her face; Zanna was next to Lily, wrapped in Sirius's arms, a few flakes of snow had settled in her hair: Remus and Grace were sitting in the front, facing each other their hands and feet intertwined. Last but not least was Peter, somehow he had wormed his way into the middle of everybody. He was standing with Emmeline Vance, his Ravenclaw girlfriend.
She smiled fondly at the memory. It had been taken shortly after the snow began to fall and they were all outside taking full advantage of the winter wonderland.
"Thank you Sirius. It's beautiful."
Lily's best present though, came on New Year's Eve.
Many Gryffindors had stayed behind to witness the traditional, legendary, Marauder new year bash. It wasn't often that they were in the castle for New Years- more often than not they all went home, and so threw the party of the last night of term.
The atmosphere was joyous, the energy levels through the roof. Everybody was dancing and drinking like it was their last night on earth.
For the Marauders, it was their last New Year's Eve ever at Hogwarts, and they wanted it to be the best.
It was 10 minutes to midnight, Peter was with Emmeline, lost in their own world slow dancing even though the song was fast; Remus was with Grace, cuddled up on the couch, smiles crinkling the laugh lines around their lips. Sirius was twirling Zanna around laughing as he occasionally pulled her close for a kiss.
Lily wouldn't be surprised if by the time summer came around, they were engaged.
"May I have this dance, Miss Lily?" An amused voice broke her out of her thoughts. She looked up into a pair of twinkling hazel eyes as she took the offered hand and was pulled up to her feet.
"You may, Master James." Laughter laced her voice as she was spun out in a twirl then back in to James's chest.
5 minutes until midnight.
Lily wasn't aware of the time, or she could think of was how close she was to James, and how amazing his cologne mixed with his natural scent of Quidditch smelled, and how perfectly his messy black hair fell in his beautiful hazel eyes.
Suddenly he spun her out into another pair of awaiting arms. Sirius.
"Lily, you've got one chance to make James's dreams come true. Don't mess it up," He whispered into her ear, before spinning her back to James, who had been entertaining Zanna.
She smiled as his large hand gripped her small one and squeezed it.
30 seconds to midnight.
Some inexplicable force made her look up. What she saw made her heart beat ten times its normal pace, partly out of nerves and partly out of excitement.
It was mistletoe.
"James..." She whispered quietly. "Look up."
She blushed. Part of her wanted to kiss him, this was the boy who she used to hate, who used to ask her out constantly and tease her, but this was also the boy who had stolen her heart.
On the other hand, he hadn't asked her out all year right? Did that mean he didn't like her anymore?
10 seconds until midnight.
A million thoughts swarmed around her head, but only one stood out.
"Lily, you've got one chance to make James's dreams come true. Don't mess it up."
Looking into James's eyes, and seeing her feelings reflected there, she instantly knew what she had to do.
Cheers rang around the room, it was midnight; the beginning of a new year, a time for change.
She kissed him. She placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, stood up on her tip toes and gently brushed her lips against his.
She felt a surge of electricity jolt through her veins at their touch, she shivered slightly and made to withdraw, but James snapped out of his state of shock, cupped her cheek with one hand and drew her closer with the other and kissed her again, longer this time, and her butterflies intensified to a hurricane.
She pulled back, slowly, reluctantly.
She slid her hands gently from his shoulders and down his chest before resting them by her side.
She hesitantly looked up to see a looked of shock, mixed with absolute joy on his face.
"You kissed me back," he murmured quietly, smiling.
She smiled and looked him dead in the eye.
"Go out with me Potter?"
A/N
Samantha (Ginny124) and Lucy (from tumblr) Merry late christmas and a happy new year!
Thank you to Jasmine (Being A Wallflower) my lovely beta, for beta-ing this for me.
Written for: A bazillion different challenges including but not limitied to, The It's a new year comp, the Lily/James christmas fest, the holiday season challenge, The 25 days of christmas competition, the words that don't exist in english challenge,
Prompts used (however vaguely): Blackpfeifengesicht (German)- A face in need of slapping. "With a fellow on each arm.";Purple;Reflection;Lamp;Broom cupboard; Friday; Squirrel; "When pigs fly."; Imperious Curse; Flower; Captain Oblivious.
THIS WON BEST FRIENDSHIP IN THE L&L AWARDS! Thank you to everybody who voted for it!
XO
Liza