Just a little fic in aid of the festive season.

It was the night before Christmas, and all through Gryffindor house, not a creature was stirring, not even a common mouse. The Gryffindor's lay nestled, tucked up in their beds, with vision of Quidditch Championships and House Cups dancing in their heads. All except for James Potter that was, who was drunk on Christmas spirit instead.

James lay slumped over his favorite red armchair, pulled close to the fire. The floor around him was littered with empty and discarded firewiskey bottles, drained completely dry of their contents. He twirled a sprig of mistletoe absentmindedly between his finger and thumb.

Merry Christmas he thought a little sourly, even despite his alcoholically induced happy mood. He sat and drank alone, for even Sirius had gone to bed. The fire was dying in the hearth, down to nothing but it's very last glowing orange embers. Even the fairies on the red and gold Christmas tree were beginning to fail, exhausted from shining and twinkling all day and conserving their energy for tomorrow, when it was need most.

'Peace and good will to all men,' well that peace part was right, he had that in abundance. But he thought himself to have been rather cut short on the good will part.

It was at that moment that he became aware of something digging into his side. Getting up rather ungracefully, he dug his hand down the back of the chair, just behind the cushion, to the exact spot where he had felt it, and extracted a small white and brown sweet.

"Ahhhh humbug," he said after a few seconds, realizing what it was. He quickly unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth before anyone else, despite them all being asleep, could claim ownage of it. Okay, so maybe not completely short on good will, but still very close.

It was from his rather unflattering position on the floor, that he had somehow managed to get himself in, and as such, his poor vantage point; that he heard the portrait hole open and close. Barley audible in the silence, followed by light footsteps. Footsteps that James would know anywhere.

"Evans!" He called, stumbling to his feet unceremoniously. A wide grin firmly plastered to his face.

Lily stopped abruptly, turning to glare at the dark haired bispectacled boy.

"Potter," her tone was harsh. Maybe a little harsher than need be.

James looked sheepish, he ran his hand through his already messy hair, but it didn't have the same amount of sophistication as it usually did; so he stopped.

"So. Where have you been?" He looked for any visible evidence that would give him a clue to where she had been, and why she was only just getting back now. But there was none, she looked just as radiant, just as beautiful and just as un-suspicious as she always did.

"Thats none of your business," she answered coolly.

James grinned despite his chastisement, and Lily watched him intently, did that smile never leave his face?! It was infuriating.

"I have mistletoe," he said suddenly, holding his hand above his head, his finger and thumb clenched as if holding something between them, but when Lily looked up, his hand was empty. James after a minute that saw his head in serious danger of falling off since he had looked from his empty hand to Lily's face so many times it seemed impossible for it to not do, he amended;

"I did have mistletoe,"

"Potter, are you drunk?" There was a tone in her voice that James did not quite understand. But it didn't matter really as he concentrated on the tricky little charm he was about to perform. He didn't look up until there was a fresh sprig of mistletoe resting in the center of his palm.

"Potter," Lily demanded again. Would he really be too drunk to remember? Lily hastily pushed that thought from her mind.

"Yes and no," grinned James being deliberately evasive.

"Yes and no?" Questioned Lily, "you know drinking is against the school rules Potter," she sounded slightly incredulous.

"Yes, but I am drunk on the Christmas spirit, not on alcohol," he clarified brightly, laughing.

"Uh-hu, and I suppose all of those empty bottles of firewiskey over there," she pointed to the green bottles surrounding the chair that he had so recently been sitting on, "are just a figment of my imagination."

"Thats right," James grinned.

Lily groaned, why did he always have to be so cocky and sure of himself. It was almost admirable.

"Look. This time I really do have mistletoe," his tone was almost pleading.

"Come on Lily, peace and good will to all men, so far I haven't been shown much." Well aside from the humbug.

"My heart bleeds for you Potter," and it really did this time, and that was what startled Lily the most. Not even James advancing towards her shook her up as much.

He was drunk she reminded herself, he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. She could just do it. No! That would go against everything she has said for the past six years. But right now, none of that seemed to matter.

He moved slowly, perhaps not to startle her, or perhaps to give her a chance to get away if it really wasn't what she wanted. But Lily made no movement, she stayed rooted to the spot, her eyes not leaving James'. He came closer still, so close that she could feel his breath on her face, it was minty. This made her laugh.

"What?" Asked James gently.

"Nothing."

They lent into each other, their lips brushing for a second, teasingly, before they both met properly. James' mouth opened, granting entrance and Lily's tongue obliged. Her hand reaching up for James' face and delicately caressing his cheek. James' hand lost in the red tresses of Lily's hair, winding a lock around his finger. Their smells, their tastes, their hands, all interlocked.

Finally they broke apart, everything felt alien to them in light of what had just happened.

"Wow," was the only word that James could utter before darkness took him and he knew no more.

He woke a little later, stiff from having been laying in the armchair drawn up by the fire for so long. He looked around, blinking bleary at his deserted surroundings. Had it all been a dream? He groaned aloud, the one and only time he had ever kissed Lily Evans and it had been a dream!

"Merry bloody Christmas," he sighed.

It was ironic really, Lily mused, that James had chose that precise moment to pass out from his first indulgence. He had gotten what he had always wanted. Neither of them know how long she had been wanting to do that, but Lily guessed, from the feeling of aching satisfaction resting in the pit of her stomach, it had been long enough. All this time, the feeling she had brushed off as being that of pure loathing for her fellow Gryffindor, had actually been a feeling of love that she had been denying herself for all of these years. Who would have guessed? Not her, that was for certain.

Extracting her wand she levitated his motionless form off the floor where he now lay and back onto his favorite armchair. Delicately draping his limbs across the fabric, as if his body had never left it.

"Merry Christmas James," she said smiling, and with a last flick of her wand extinguishing the light, "don't say I never give you anything."

I know the characters in this are not very detailed and this idea is about as likely to happen as a green pic flying. But hey it's a chritmas fic, show James a little good will :P

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.