Disclaimer: This oneshot is for my Jily Secret Santa Partner Julia! I tried to incorporate everything she requested! I hope she likes it :) Also, my apologies for poor editing and typos etc.. I was rushing to meet the Christmas Eve deadline so the writing and editing isn't exactly perfect. Again, my bad.
Lily paused in front of the mirror holding Marlene's red jumper up to her chest. She tilted her head to the side and considered her reflection. No, she thought shaking her head. No matter how hard she tried to make it work, red would never be her color. But it was almost Christmas and she was in a rather festive mood. Lily loved to dress for the holidays, but today it didn't seem to be working in her favor. She scanned her closet for something else and her eyes lingered on her green dress. Lily crinkled her nose as she considered the piece of clothing. It was rather pretty and brought out her eyes like nothing else could. It also had the added bonus of the festive theme. It was almost too pretty though. She wasn't trying to get too dressed up; she didn't want to give him the wrong idea.
With a sigh Lily picked up the offending garment and slid it over her head. It did look pretty good. Lily twirled around in front of the mirror and decided she would just have to wear it. She pulled on a pair of cream-colored tights and examined herself again. Yes, this will have to do. Lily hastily pulled Mary's brush through her tangled hair and tossed on her brown boots and cloak. One last look in the mirror and she decided her attire was acceptable. A quick glance at her watch told Lily that she was already five minutes late.
Cursing her last minute outfit change, Lily moved quickly to get out of her room and down the stairs. As soon as she stepped out of the dormitory Lily found that instead of placing her feet on the firm solid ground of the staircase, she went tumbling down a slide. With a small yelp she slid ungracefully and landed knocking into the boy at the foot of the staircase.
"Sorry," she mumbled getting to her feet and dusting herself off. So much for brushing her hair. That had clearly been a waste.
"I should be the one apologizing," James smiled at her guiltily. "It's my fault those ruddy stairs transformed themselves into a slide."
"Your fault?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow at him. "I have a hard time believing that after seven years at this school you've forgotten that the girls' staircase doesn't allow boys." James blushed under her scrutinizing gaze. He thrust his hands awkwardly into his pockets and stared at his feet.
"Well, er, I may have forgotten in a moment of excitement you see, you were five minutes late!" James tried to hide his mistake but Lily wasn't having any of it.
"Five minutes," she said evenly, "What could possibly happen in five minutes that would require you to come upstairs and fetch me?"
"Well you could have fallen down or unconscious or something," James suggested.
"Or I could have been brushing my hair," Lily replied. "Honestly, it's like you thought I would have changed my mind in five minutes." Lily said it as a joke but the look on James's face let her know she'd guessed correctly. "You thought I changed my mind?" she exclaimed.
"In my defense," James interrupted her. "You have a history of doing so." Lily crossed her arms and fixed him with one of her infamous death glares.
"That was not me changing my mind. I really did have Charms tutoring," Lily defended herself trying not to let her temper get the best of her.
"You had Charms tutoring," James laughed, "You're the best in our year!"
"Not me you prat. I had to tutor someone else," Lily explained rolling her eyes. "Why do I even bother," she muttered to herself.
"Hey, hey," James cut in. "You're not backing out of this one!"
"There's nothing to back out of," Lily reminded him, "This isn't a date." James just brushed her protest off as if she hadn't said anything.
"You seem pretty dressed up for a not-date," he pointed out gesturing to her ensemble. Lily blushed to the roots of her red hair. She knew choosing the dress was going to come back and get her. It was definitely too formal for a not-date.
"I'm trying to be festive. It's almost Christmas and I love Christmas," Lily defended her outfit choice. "Besides," she added, "the only other festive thing I had was Marlene's red jumper and that would have clashed horridly with my hair."
"And we wouldn't want that for our not-date," James mocked her nodding his head. Lily knew he was teasing her but she felt uneasy about it nonetheless. She didn't want him thinking that she considered this a date. They were friends. Just friends. "Dress drama aside, are you ready to go?" James asked dropping his bantering mood. Lily nodded her head in assent. The two seventh years made their way out of the common room. It was rather early on a Saturday morning and there were hardly any students awake yet. But that didn't stop James from whisking out his trusty invisibility cloak.
"What? What are you doing?" Lily wondered when she saw James pull out the shimmery fabric.
"Just a precautionary measure. Nothing to worry about Evans," he smiled down at her before throwing the cloak over both of their heads. Lily was about to pull the stupid thing off her head when she realized that her arm was no longer visible.
"James—what?" she was in shock. How had he done that? "What is this?" she wanted to know. It was times like these when Lily hated being a muggleborn. If she had grown up in a wizarding household she probably would know what the magical item was.
"It's an invisibility cloak," he told her. "My dad gave it to me." Lily let out a loud laugh when she heard this. What kind of parent hands the key to trouble making over to their child? The parent of James Potter apparently.
"What?" James asked her when she didn't stop laughing.
"Well, it's just—now I know the secret to your success. This explains so much!" she exclaimed gleefully. Her smile was contagious. Even though James wasn't sure what she was talking about he found himself smiling back.
"What makes you say that?" he wanted to know.
"This makes so much sense. It explains how you don't get caught anywhere near as much as you should," she declared. Lily couldn't believe it. James Potter with an Invisibility cloak. The poor professors didn't stand a chance.
"There are several reasons I don't get caught as often as I should. This may or may not be one of them," he shrugged.
"You're trying to be mysterious," Lily observed, "but I've got you figured out now!" James just shook his head at her.
"I'm going to turn around and lead the way," he told her, "but you're going to have to follow pretty close behind. If we walk to far apart the cloak will rise up and our feet will show." James began to walk and Lily hastened to follow him. She struggled slightly to keep up with his much longer strides. However, eventually they fell into a rhythm.
"I can't imagine you trying to walk around under this thing with Sirius, Remus, and Peter," Lily half laughed. The very thought of all four boys huddled together was enough to make her giggle.
"We can't anymore. Two of us can barely fit these days. Back in first year, all four of us could fit so well," James was smiling at the memory but Lily couldn't see his face. She could hear it in his voice though. She was also acutely aware of how close their bodies were. For some reason it made her a bit uncomfortable. But not in the way she expected it might. Lily disliked how much her body was enjoying the proximity.
"I don't get why we need this. There's nothing wrong with walking around the castle on Saturday morning," Lily wondered suddenly very curious as to why this precaution was necessary.
"Sure, but I don't want anyone following us to the secret passageway. It's secret for a reason," James explained. "And going to Hogsmeade on a non-Hogsmeade weekend isn't exactly approved of. Even if you are Head Boy and Head Girl."
"Alright, alright," Lily conceded his point. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," she muttered.
"You said you wanted to see Hogsmeade like you've never seen it before," James reminded her as they rounded the corner and began the difficult task of walking down the stairs under the cloak.
"Yes but I didn't realize that meant seeing Hogsmeade like a fugitive," Lily replied sarcastically.
"How is this like a fugitive?"
"Well we're sneaking around invisible, trying not to get caught…"
"It will be worth it. I promise."
Lily and James eventually made it down to the first floor. James had led them all the way to the dungeons and stopped in front of a very inconspicuous looking wall. After taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, James whisked off the cloak and pocketed it in his robes.
"Miss Evans, I'm going to let you do the honors," James said with a mock bow. Lily just stared at him.
"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Lily asked blankly.
"You know how to get into Diagon Alley right?" he prompted. Lily nodded her head waiting for more of an explanation. "Well here, it's the same thing." Lily was still not sure how tapping a bunch of bricks was supposed to get them to Hogsmeade. "I can do it if you want," James offered, reaching into his robes to pull out his wand.
"No!" Lily exclaimed rather suddenly. She blushed at the outburst, "Er, I mean, I think I'd like to try." As much as she would hate to admit it, the fact that she could open a secret passageway inside of school seemed pretty cool. For all her straight-laced tendencies, Lily did like to do something rebellious every once in a while. She took a deep breath and pulled her wand out of her pocket.
"Just like Diagon Alley?" she asked James while holding her wand over the bricks.
"Just like Diagon Alley," he repeated with smile. Lily began the tapping pattern that she'd often used to get into the wizarding shopping center in London. Part of her didn't think that this was actually going to work. However, once she hit the last brick the others began to shift and move. After about a minute or so they'd rearranged themselves into a small entrance.
"Ladies first," James gestured for her to walk through, so she did. The corridor was dark and poorly lit. As soon as James came through the entrance, the bricks slid shut behind them. It became even darker, if that was even possible.
"Lumos," Lily whispered and the tip of her wand lit up.
"Oh come on Evans. That takes all the fun out of it," James laughed but lit his wand as well.
"So where exactly does this take us?" she wanted to know.
"Hogsmeade. I told you I would take you to Hogsmeade," James reminded her.
"Yes but what part?" Lily wondered.
"You're just going to have to wait and see. I like the element of surprise," James declared. Lily shook her head at his antics, but decided not to press the issue. She kind of liked the idea of a surprise. It wasn't every day that you disappeared off down a secret passageway without knowing your destination. Today was turning out to be quite the adventure and it was barely even ten o'clock.
The dark corridor was actually quite wide so the Head students were able to walk side-by-side. At first, Lily was silent. She wanted to take everything in. It was very dark, and a bit damp, which made sense. They were in the dungeons after all. If she had to guess, Lily would say that this corridor eventually led to a tunnel under the lake. She had half a mind to ask James whether she was right in that assumption, but Lily figured he would refuse to tell her anyway. Instead, she went with the other question that was plaguing her mind.
"How did you discover this place?" James wrinkled his nose as if remembering something very unpleasant.
"It's a long story," he said vaguely.
"Yes, well I'm assuming this is a long walk," Lily pressed. The corners of his mouth tilted up in amusement.
"Fine, if you must know I will tell you. Do you remember third year, when the Slytherins kept winning all their Quidditch games?" James asked.
"Um," Lily tried her best, "No not really, James you know I don't follow Quid—"
"DO NOT finish that statement," James interrupted and Lily laughed. "As I was saying, the Slytherins were on this awful winning streak and Malfoy kept throwing them parties in their common room."
"How do you know he was throwing parties?" Lily interjected.
"Lily, everyone knew they were throwing parties. And besides, Peter went to one," James said shrugging his shoulders.
"Peter went to one?!" Lily exclaimed. Her voice echoed loudly in the endless corridor.
"Yes, but that's not the point," James tried to continue the story.
"How did he get in?" Lily was curious to know. The idea of Peter Pettigrew, a boy who bled Gryffindor pride, in a party in the Slytherin common room was beyond absurd.
"Someone thought he was a Slytherin and brought him along. That's not the point," James tried one more time to keep talking but once again Lily cut him off.
"How could someone just think he was a Slytherin? How can you not know who is in your own house?"
"Not everyone takes the time to get to know all the people the way you do Lily," James tried to explain. "It's what makes you such a great Head Girl. You really do know everyone. But some people just don't care. Anyway, as I was saying…Lucious Malfoy was throwing these insane parties and we wanted to figure out where he was getting all the Butterbeer. So Remus and I followed him under the cloak one day."
"REMUS?!" Lily practically yelled in shock.
"Yes, Remus," James confirmed nodding his head. "Not the perfect prefect you thought he was?" James asked with a laugh.
"No, it's not that," Lily shook her head. And it wasn't. No one was perfect. Lily knew that. She also knew about his lycanthropy but that was neither here nor there. She just hadn't thought he was the kind of person who would be following people around in an invisibility cloak. Lily had always figured Remus was the tamest of them all.
"Quit interrupting the story," James scolded her mockingly. "We followed him down here and he stopped in front of the wall and it just let him in. We tried to follow but it wouldn't let us. I think that maybe the original Slytherin might have built it for all the others to get in and out of the school. I'm almost ninety percent sure he figured out a way for the wall to be able to tell if you are a Slytherin or not. So Remus and I hung around the wall all afternoon before he finally figured out how to get it to open."
The way James gave Remus credit for figuring out the trick to the wall struck Lily. Two years ago James Potter would have told that story quite differently. It probably would have been something along the lines of how he had figured out the trick all by himself in under ten minutes while simultaneously dueling Malfoy. It was nice, to see that James had finally grown up. But Lily didn't dare say anything because James was still telling the story.
"So once Remus got the wall to open, naturally we had to do some exploring," James continued.
"Naturally," Lily laughed.
"And we figured out where it leads. Needless to say, we found out how Malfoy was getting all that Butterbeer."
"And you're still not going to tell me where this lets out?" Lily prodded.
"It's a surprise Lily."
"Fine," she sighed, admitting defeat. They were walking for what felt like an eternity. The bottoms of her feet were starting to hurt. As they moved further down the corridor the walls started getting noticeably more wet. It pretty much confirmed Lily's suspicions that they were somewhere underneath the Great Lake. Which was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
Eventually the ground started sloping upwards. The further up they walked, the less cold and damp Lily felt. If she had known they were going to be doing so much walking she would have gone with different shoes. After a bit more walking, they reached a stone staircase. Lily glanced up. The steps were incredibly steep and there were at least five flights.
"Do we have to go up all of those?" Lily asked, dreading the answer.
"Err, yes we do," James stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled around a bit, "Sorry probably should have warned you about this bit. But I didn't want to—"
"Ruin the surprise I know," Lily finished for him. She laughed. It was kind of cute in a weird way. How desperately he wanted to maintain the element of surprise. "It's fine. We might have to go a bit slower than you'd like though. I'm not sure I can keep up with those long legs of yours."
"You'll be fine," James declared as he began his ascent. Lily took a deep breath and followed him up. At first, it wasn't that bad. The stairs were steep but that wasn't anything Lily wasn't used to. Some of the staircases at Hogwarts were absolutely brutal. However, after the second flight her breathing got heavy. Lily's feet were already exhausted from the very long walk and now the climbing was about to do her in. On the first foot of the fourth flight Lily didn't think she could make it anymore.
"James," she panted leaning against the wall to catch her breath. "Let's take a break." It seemed like an excellent suggestion. Unfortunately, James didn't seem to think so.
"But we're almost there!" he protested not even looking back.
"Fine, you go on without me. When you reach the top call for help. I'll be down here having a bloody heart attack." Lily declared, her voice raspy.
"Don't be so dramatic Lily," he called down. James finally looked back at her and he almost burst out laughing. She looked rather comical leaning against the wall glaring at him, refusing to move. Eventually, James started to feel bad for making her climb so many stairs. "When we get to the top it will be worth it. You'll see," he assured her more gently. The laughter hadn't completed faded from his eyes.
"You'll have to levitate me if you want me to make it any further in the next five minutes," Lily told him firmly.
"Sorry Evans. No can do. We haven't all mastered the art of human levitation like yourself," James shrugged his shoulders.
"That's not true!" Lily burst out incredulously. "In second year you levitated Professor Flitwick into Sirius!"
"How many times do I have to tell everyone?!" James exclaimed in frustration. "That was one hundred percent an accident." Lily snorted, half in amusement, half in disbelief. "Hey, we aren't all perfect at charms like you." Lily blushed.
"I'm not perfect," she said immediately, resenting the compliment that sent girlish butterflies dancing around in her stomach.
"No definitely not. You can't even climb a bloody staircase!" James said smirking. The butterflies ceased their dance. Instead she found herself trying not to laugh.
"Hey!" Lily cried out in mock indignation. She actually found him quite humorous but she wasn't about to let James know that. As if to prove her point, she marched up the stairs past him. Lily could feel herself sweating but she didn't care. She was going to make it to the top. She could hear James chuckling to himself behind her but it didn't bother her as she flew up one step after the next. When she finally reached the top there was nothing but a solid dark wall.
"I thought getting to the top was going to be worth it," Lily muttered when James finally appeared next to her.
"It is. Do the same pattern that we used to get into this place," he instructed. Lily took out her wand and tapped the wall accordingly. The darkness began to fade away and Lily was blinded by a sudden white light.
"Come on," James said grabbing her arm and guiding her through. It was so bright, it took their eyes a while to adjust. When she could finally see again Lily realized that they were outside, very high up in the mountains. The blinding white light was simply snow. If she hadn't been sweating from her death climb Lily might have been cold.
"Wow," she gasped taking the view in. The entire town of Hogsmeade stretched out below them. Snow was falling in light, thick flakes and mountains rose up all around them. They were standing in the mouth of a cave. "This is incredible," Lily observed.
"Worth the struggle?" James asked with a hint of a smile.
"Definitely," Lily replied grinning. She took in the gorgeous sight in front of her for a bit longer before turning to James and asking. "So how do we get down there?"
"Well we can apparate," James suggested.
"Boring," Lily rejected the idea before she even thought about it. James laughed.
"Alright, well we could walk," he offered. Lily wrinkled her nose in distaste. If she had to take another step her feet might just fall off. "I don't see you coming up with anything!" James said laughing at her.
"How about we sled down?" Lily proposed with a grin.
"I don't know what that means," James replied blankly.
"You've never gone sledding?" Lily yelled out in outrage. Her voice echoed in the high altitude.
"Er, no. Is this some sort of mad muggle thing?" he wondered.
"It's not mad! Everyone does it when it snows. You use a sled to go down the hills. You sit in it and it's a lot of fun," Lily did her best to explain the cold weather tradition.
"Sounds dangerous," James commented eyeing her warily.
"Says the boy who flies around on a broomstick from 500 kilometers in the air," Lily scoffed. She picked up a rock from around the mouth of the cave. Concentrating her utmost, Lily began to try and transfigure it into a sled. It worked—sort of. She had to do some quick Charms work to fix it.
"Here!" she exclaimed proudly holding up the make-shift sled. James shook his head at her.
"I'm not getting in that thing," he told her crossing his arms defiantly.
"Fine," Lily shrugged her shoulders, "I'll just go down by myself." Turning away from him she climbed into the sled.
"Ugh fine!" she heard James cry out from behind her. He reluctantly joined her in the sled. "What happens if we fall out?" he asked Lily. She thought that maybe, he almost sounded a little bit scared.
"That's the best part," she reassured him. "It's fun. I promise."
"If you say so," James mumbled under his breath.
"Do you trust me?" Lily asked, mostly in part to reassure him.
"Yes, of course," James replied instantly.
"Then just hold on tight," she laughed as she tilted the sled forwards and they raced off down the hill.
It was different than the other times Lily had gone sledding. This was a very steep mountain. They sped off very quickly and snow flew past them. James was hollering in her ear due to the immense speed and Lily couldn't help but laugh. It was completely exhilarating. Lily figured this must be the feeling that James got when he was flying. The sled bumped and hopped down the mountain slope and on several occasions. The sled careened down and down and after several minutes of James's yelling, he and Lily were finally thrown from the sled as it crash-landed in the valley at the foot of the mountain.
Laughing, Lily climbed to her feet and brushed the snow off of herself and her clothing. She looked around and saw James lying down in a heap in the snow. Giggling to herself at the sight, she walked over to him and extended a hand to help him up.
"So?" she asked hesitantly as he finally rose.
"Lily Evans you are completely mad," he told her shaking his head. Lily laughed and took the comment in stride.
"Tell me that you didn't have a little bit of fun," she prodded as he too attempted to rid his body of snow.
"That was—different," he finally decided on a word. "You never told me you were a thrill seeking daredevil," James sighed.
"It's usually not that intense," Lily explained, "That was just a very steep mountain."
"Well, now that we've almost met our deaths before noon," James muttered and Lily hit him playfully, "Where do you want to go?" Lily looked out in front of them. Their sled journey had taken them down into the outskirts of the village. The Hog's Head was barely a five-minute walk from where they stood, but Lily had very little desire to go there.
"Not sure, what did you have in mind?" she asked him instead. James had barely opened his mouth before Lily spoke again, "Wait—don't tell me, it's Zonko's." James laughed and Lily rolled her eyes playfully.
"You know me so well," he joked. "But we don't have to go there. I know it's not exactly your favorite place."
"No, it's alright. We can go. But if I see you buying anything Filch doesn't allow in the castle!" she warned, half joking, half serious.
"Alright, alright," James agreed. Lily started to walk into down but James stopped her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off in the opposite direction.
"What! What are you doing!" she exclaimed in shock. James shook his head at her.
"This way is faster," he assured her. It was a less travelled path but they took it anyway. Lily resigned herself to the fact that no one knew the castle, the grounds of Hogwarts, and now apparently the village of Hogsmeade better than James Potter and his friends. Somehow, they seemed to know everything. Before she knew it, they were standing at the front door of Zonko's.
James made the trip to this particular store short. He knew it wasn't exactly Lily's favorite shop but he wanted to show her that not everything in there was a troublemaker's tool for terrorizing teachers.
"Come here and look at this," James said motioning for Lily to join him besides a giant snow globe.
"Wow, this is really very pretty," Lily acknowledged. Inside the globe was a replica of the village of Hogsmeade. Complete with miniature figures of the shoppers and everything. They were even moving around. It looked very real. "I have to wonder why Zonko's would have something like this in their shop."
"Well," James began, "It's not exactly for sale. It's mostly Mr. Zonko showing off what he can do. Watch this." James tapped his wand to the globe and said, "Show me Zonko's." Instantly, the scene inside the globe changed and they were looking at the inside of the shop. Lily pressed her face closer to the glass to get a better look. Inside the fake Zonko's shop was a tall, messy-haired boy with glasses and a small red-head looking very closely at a snow globe.
"That's us!" Lily cried out in awe. James nodded his head.
"It's sort of us. The globe doesn't recognize that it's James Potter and Lily Evans. Just that a pretty girl with red hair and a boy with glasses are here looking in the shop."
"Still, that's very impressive magic," Lily mentioned. James just smiled as if he were sharing some inside joke.
"I've seen this kind of magic taken to the next level," he laughed.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked curiously.
"Er, well I can't really say," James shoved his hands in his pockets. Lily noticed that he tended to do that when he was uncomfortable. "Maybe I can tell you some other time. When you actually agree to come here with me on a date." He smirked at her as they exited the shop. Lily chose not to comment. She didn't want to spoil the day by arguing over something as stupid as a date. They were friends. She wasn't sure why James kept trying to ruin their friendship with dating. That would just be a disaster. They fought way too much, they had a rather volatile history, especially that incident in fifth year, and they were both Head students and had to keep a somewhat working professional relationship. They were good friends now and dating would just ruin everything. But she didn't want to get into that argument when they were having such a good day. So Lily chose to say nothing.
"You get to pick the next shop," James told her, "since I picked this one."
"Well," Lily began hesitantly, "I do really like to browse through Scrivenshaft's." Lily was reluctant to admit that rather nerdy fact about herself.
"The quill shop?" James asked raising an eyebrow at her.
"They have some very nice quills," Lily replied shrugging her shoulders.
"If you say so," James smiled and headed off in the direction of that particular shop.
Once they were inside the store, Lily got a bit distracted. There were so many gorgeous quills. She had always found it funny that wizards wrote with quills instead of pens and pencils. It was weird how the wizarding community seemed caught in such an old way of life. Quills were very, very outdated. It had taken her quite some time to adjust to writing with such an implement. However, Lily found that she really enjoyed it. There was something about the fresh ink flowing from the tip of her quill that Lily found to be incredibly satisfying. With the right quill, Lily felt like she could write all day. The ink too made a difference. One year for Christmas, Mary got her color changing ink and Lily had never had so much fun taking notes in class.
As Lily strolled through the shop, glancing every so often at different quills, she happened upon the most gorgeous one she'd ever seen. According to its label, it was from the feather of a Phoenix. Lily picked it up and held it in her hand. It was as light as air. She could tell that it would write perfectly. She instantly became attached. It was just so perfect. But a quick glance at the price tag ended Lily's attachment. She could never afford something like that. To her, it didn't make sense to spend a lot of money on something like a quill that would probably just get crushed in her book bag.
"That's pretty," James said coming up next to her to look at the quill.
"Yeah, it really is," Lily sighed placing it back down.
"You like quills a lot?" James asked her casually. Lily nodded firmly.
"Having a nice quill makes a world of difference," she told him, "It can also make note taking in classes ten times more fun." James laughed loudly.
"Only you could ever find taking notes for class fun," he sighed shaking his head in amusement.
"You just haven't found the right quill yet," Lily declared.
"Why don't you get that one," James wondered, motioning to the gorgeous Phoenix Feather quill Lily had been holding.
"Oh no, I couldn't. It costs way too much. I don't have that kind of money to spend on something like a quill," Lily shook her head.
"But it's something you would really like and use a lot isn't it? Wouldn't it be worth it?" James wanted to know. "If you used it and valued it?"
"I suppose," Lily sighed considering it. "But it's a lot of money. It's a very nice quill. I can't." Not wanting to dwell too long on the beautiful quill she couldn't own, Lily moved on to look at inks. However, when she wasn't looking, James quickly grabbed the quill and bought it. By the time Lily was done testing out different inks he'd already had the quill deep within the pockets of his robes, with Lily completely unaware of the transaction.
"Well, I'm ready to go if you are," she said joining him near the front of the store.
"Excellent," James replied with a smile, "Where would you like to go next?"
"I chose this one. I believe it's your turn," Lily reminded him playfully as they headed back outside.
"In that case, I think a trip to Honeydukes might be in order," James suggested. Lily smiled inwardly. It was no secret that James had a giant sweet tooth. She herself was never one to turn away sweets either.
"Do you reckon they've got any new shipments since last Hogsmeade weekend?" Lily wondered as they began to walk towards the store.
"I'm sure they did. Sirius was here the other day and he came back with pockets full of different fudge flavors," James recalled Sirius hoarding all the chocolate, only sharing when he felt particularly generous.
"Yumm," Lily muttered as her eyes rested on the familiar candy shop. "I should buy some and send it to my mum. She loves Honeydukes fudge."
"Is it any better than muggle fudge?" James asked curiously. Lily shook her head.
"I think she just likes the packaging," Lily confessed with a giggle. The Honeydukes wrapper was gold with a cauldron and for some reason her mum really liked it.
"It's a great wrapper," James chortled.
"Oh shut up. Let's go inside," Lily led the way. As soon as she entered the shop, the delicious sugary scent filled her nose.
"I love this smell," James commented, a pleasant expression on his face.
"Me too," Lily agreed closing her eyes and taking it in. Walking around the store, Lily made sure to pick up a bit of treacle fudge for her mum, and a chocolate wand for her dad. He found those incredibly amusing. For herself she grabbed a few cauldron cakes and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. She met James at the register who was also purchasing some cauldron cakes.
"Did you get enough of those?" she asked laughing. He was buying ten.
"Nah, I reckon I'm going to need to eat yours as well," James mused. Lily laughed again and James just shrugged his shoulders. "Can't help it, they're my favorite."
"Mine too," Lily responded, "Well, actually second favorite if you're counting Bertie Bott's, although for some reason no one ever seems to."
"Of course no one counts Bertie Bott's!" James chuckled. "They're the absolute worst. You never know what you're going to get! It could be troll brains in that little bean."
"But that's all part of the fun," Lily protested as she went to pay for her items.
"Lily, I never would have expected you of all people to like the most unexpected and surprising candy," James admitted in a more serious manner.
"Why not?" She replied.
"Because you're so neat and organized and that candy is the exact opposite. If you were a candy you would be something like treacle fudge. Looks like chocolate, is chocolate, the name reflects the flavor. I would be something like Bertie Bott's. Crazy, all over the place, disorganized, never know what to expect!" James explained.
"Maybe that's why I like it," Lily remarked with a sly smile. She instantly wanted to take that comment back as soon as she said it. It was a genuine flirting response. She hadn't meant to do that. In all honesty, it was why she liked the candy. The element of surprise was what made it so great. But she hadn't meant to imply that James was like the candy and that's why she liked it. Oh well, there was no going back now. She'd said it. James just shook his head at her.
"First you take me on your death by sledding ride, now you're praising the most ridiculous candy of all, who knows what's going to happen next!" He exclaimed dramatically. Lily snorted in laughter.
"Shut up you," she scolded him. "Let's get out of here yeah? All these sweets are making me hungry."
"Wanna head over to The Three Broomsticks and grab something to eat?" James suggested. Lily glanced down at the watch the McKinnons had given to her for her seventeenth birthday. It was already past one in the afternoon. No wonder she was so hungry.
"Yes, let's do that," she consented happily. The pair headed back out into the cold. The snow was coming down hard and fast now. It was still pretty, but Lily could barely see two feet in front of her. On their way to the Three Broomsticks Lily almost slipped on a dangerous patch of ice. James grabbed her hand to steady her.
"Thanks," she practically had to scream in order to be heard over the wind.
"Let's get inside," James yelled back. Lily nodded her head in assent and allowed James to guide her by the hand through the snow. Finally, they reached the sanctuary of the bar and shuffled inside. James had to push the door shut behind them. The weather was absolutely fierce. Lily headed towards her favorite table and James joined her only a minute later. The door just didn't want to close.
"You want to see a menu?" James asked skimming his.
"Nope," Lily grinned, "I get the same thing every time I come here."
"That's no fun!" James protested.
"Sure it is," Lily shrugged her shoulders. When the young Madame Rosmerta came over to their table they each ordered a Butterbeer and some fish and chips to start.
"Can I interest you in a snack Mr. Potter," Lily joked pulling out her bag of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans.
"Ugh no! Get those things away from me!" James crossed his arms over his chest.
"Are you sure?" Lily continued as she popped one into her mouth.
"Definitely sure I don't want one," James declared stubbornly.
"Yumm, strawberry," Lily gushed picking out another.
"The answer is still no Evans," James shook his head.
"Cheesecake oh yumm," Lily exclaimed as she ate another one.
"Cheesecake?" James repeated with interest.
"Are you sure you don't want to try one? I think this is a pretty good bag," Lily insisted shaking it in front of him.
"That's practically unheard of. I'm pretty sure those things are full of only bad flavors like spinach and dirt," James sighed.
"I kind of like the spinach one," Lily shrugged her shoulders shoving the bag across the table towards James. Hesitantly he reached in and came up with a nice looking red one.
"Ooooh that should be good!" Lily encouraged him. "All the good flavors are red!"
"You think so?" James wondered eyeing the bean warily. Lily nodded her head. James closed his eyes as if preparing for the worst and slowly placed the candy on his tongue. Lily laughed as he made a spectacle of himself.
"What's the verdict?" she wanted to know. James finally stopped chewing and opened his eyes.
"Cherry," he informed her with a small smile. Lily cheered triumphantly.
"See! I told you. They aren't all bad," She proclaimed.
"I have to hand it to you Evans. I think you managed to discover the only good bag of Bertie Bott's in the history of ever," James said decidedly.
"Or perhaps you have terrible luck in choosing them," Lily proposed smirking. Madame Rosmerta brought their drinks and food over. Lily happily sipped the warm Butterbeer. It was absolutely delicious.
"Oh that reminds me," James hesitated reaching into the pockets of his robes. "I got you something."
"James!" Lily protested.
"No, here, at least open it," he pulled the box out of his pocket and slid it across the table. Lily eyed it dubiously. "Please," he added.
"Okay, okay," Lily consented removing the lid from the box.
"James!" she gasped in surprise. Inside was the beautiful Phoenix feather quill she'd been looking at in Scrivenshaft's. "I can't keep this!"
"Sure you can," he entreated her.
"No! I can't accept this. It's far too expensive. You can't just buy people things like this," Lily shook her head stubbornly.
"Please, I want you to have it," James implored. The expression on his face was genuine. One look into his eyes and Lily found herself starting to give in.
"I really can't," Lily refused again. It was such a beautiful quill though, part of her wanted to keep it very badly. If she kept it though, that would be giving James the wrong idea, yet again.
"Lily, please. I bought it for you. I know you want it," he sounded almost as if he was teasing her.
"I do really want it," she admitted with a small smile. "NO! James I can't."
"Yes," he implored, "You can. I want you to have it. It's my Christmas gift to you. You can't turn away a Christmas gift."
"But I didn't get you a Christmas gift," she reminded him.
"Sure you did," James replied. "You're paying for lunch." Lily swatted him playfully on the arm.
"Stop it," she laughed.
"I'm serious. Keep it Lily. I want you to have it," he continued.
"Fine fine fine fine!" she submitted with a grin. "Thank you." James opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a loud shout.
"Oi Head Prats! Fancy meeting you here," Sirius Black proclaimed as he entered the bar with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
"Oh Merlin's pants not them," James groaned hitting his head on the table. Lily was confused. Usually James and his friends were inseparable. It didn't make sense to her why he wouldn't be happy to see them. "I apologize in advance for their behavior," James whispered to Lily as the three boys approached their table.
"He forced us to come," was the first thing Remus said to James, to Lily he simply said hello.
"I told you guys that Lily and I were coming here today," James frowned at his friends.
"So naturally we had to make an appearance," Sirius declared, seating himself next to Lily. He leaned back in the chair and threw his arm around her. Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "Just had to say hello."
"It couldn't wait until we got back to the castle?" James remarked sarcastically.
"Sirius made us do it," Peter put in. Remus nodded his head.
"Come on Wormtail," Remus led Peter away, "If we're going to be here we might as well get a Butterbeer out of it." The two boys seated themselves at the bar. Sirius winked at James and then left to join his other friends.
"Well that was weird," Lily commented.
"Yeah, listen, do you mind if I sit on that side of the table with you?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure that's fine…but why?" Lily responded; her voice showed her confusion.
"Because I don't want to be able to see those gits," James admitted frowning in the direction of the bar.
"Are you guys in a fight or something?" Lily wondered.
"No no, it's just—I told them we were going into town today. I asked very nicely for them to not. And what do they do? They come into town." James vented his frustration as he got up and sat next to Lily on the other side of the table. "I just didn't want them doing something stupid that would muck this up, you know?"
"Yeah, sure," Lily understood, "But they're your mates. Plus, Sirius practically lives to annoy me so naturally he couldn't resist the chance right?" Lily added in a joking manner.
"Don't you know it," James shot back with a grin.
"Still, it is weird," Lily went on. "Sitting here with you. Laughing, joking, having a generally very nice time. A year ago, if someone said I would be sitting here with James Potter enjoying myself just to the two of us…well I probably would have laughed in their face."
"Me too," James admitted mirroring her smile. "Except, I'm not surprised. We actually have a lot in common. We have very similar personalities you know, I expect that's why we used to fight so much."
"We are both pretty stubborn," Lily consented.
"And you have to admit, we make a pretty good team," James added. "As Head Boy and Head Girl, I think we do a pretty good job."
"Oh god but those prefect meetings are always disasters," Lily shook her head.
"They are not!" James disagreed enthusiastically.
"No, you're right," Lily laughed. "Between the two of us, we hold it together pretty well. Although, I have to admit. At first, I was afraid none of the prefects would take you seriously. No offense, but you don't exactly have the best track record."
"I know," James didn't blame her for thinking that way. "But it's all thanks to you that they do."
"What?" Lily responded not quite understanding what he meant.
"Well you took me seriously from day one. You thought I could be a good Head Boy and everyone else trusts you, so they listened to me. If it wasn't for you, I doubt any of them would listen to me. I know Diggory wouldn't for sure. But you keep him in line." Lily smiled.
"Well of course I took you seriously. Dumbledore made you Head Boy. He had his reasons, he thought you would be the best one for the job and I trust Dumbledore. And so far, you've done a pretty good job living up to the expectations." Lily explained her line of thinking. James smiled brightly and Lily couldn't help smiling as well.
"Like I said, we make a good team. You make me want to be a better Head Boy," James disclosed part of his motivation for "living up to the expectations".
"Oh come on," Lily chuckled.
"No, I mean it. You're such a perfect Head Girl. You're so nice and helpful to all the younger students. You're incredibly organized, you know the schedule of the rounds like the back of your hand. You know every prefect by name. You get amazing marks; all the teachers love you too. But you also have friends in every house. You're an incredible role model, the epitome of what the Head Girl should be. I just do my best because you do such an amazing job. You make me want to be a better Head Boy," James reasoned. By the time he was finished talking Lily's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. She was never one to take compliments well. In a desperate attempt not to meet his gaze, she knew if she looked him in the eye those butterflies would start waltzing around in her stomach again, Lily looked up.
"Oh," she emitted a soft gasp as she saw the green mistletoe dangling above their heads. James followed her glance upwards and he too spotted the plant. Without realizing it, Lily found that she was leaning forwards, towards James. They were already sitting so close. She could swear he was about to kiss her, and she wasn't going to stop him but then James pulled away.
"Gits," James glowered in the direction of his friends at the bar. "I told them not to pull any ridiculous stunts like this. I told them! I didn't plan this Lily, I swear. I know it's not a date to you. I didn't ask them to do this." Lily suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She was experiencing the very unwelcome emotion of disappointment.
"It's okay. I believe you," she assured him softly. However, Lily wanted to get out of there. She needed to get away from James as quickly as possible before her feelings got even more complicated. "Do you mind if I run to the loo?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," James consented. Lily excused herself and practically sprinted to the bathroom. She walked over to the sink and splashed some water on her supremely flushed cheeks. Get a grip! She scolded herself for acting so silly. There was mistletoe, and it really seemed like James was going to kiss her. Lily didn't find that too surprising. He was also dropping some not exactly subtle hints that he had feelings for her. What did surprise her was that she didn't intend to stop him. She'd always been in favor of preserving her friendship with James rather than starting up a romantic relationship. And then there was the disappointment she felt when he didn't kiss her. Now that was completely unexpected. There was no denying that disappointment. The way her stomach just sort of dropped. It could only mean one thing. She wanted James to kiss her. The very thought made her dizzy. Just as Lily thought she might explode due to her sudden revelation she heard a knock on the bathroom door. That was weird. Everyone knew that there were multiple stalls inside the bathroom. There was no need to knock. Lily went to open the door and inform whoever was knocking of that fact when she found herself face-to-face with Sirius Black.
"Evans," he drawled, "May I have a word?"
"Err," she stumbled, "Now isn't exactly the best time."
"Yes, yes it is. In fact, now is the perfect time. Tell me Lily Evans, would you care to explain what just happened?"
"Sirius I don't know what you're talking about," Lily felt flustered and confused and helpless. Sirius was practically glaring at her and Lily had no idea why.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb. But in case you are dumb and you're not just playing at it, let me spell it out for you. You almost kissed James."
"Sirius!" Lily cried out in surprise. "Lower your voice," she hushed him.
"No," he refused crossing his arms. "Wormtail and I thought it would be funny if we conjured up some mistletoe. We figured James would try to kiss you and you would yell at him or hex him or something and we'd all get a good laugh. But you, Evans, you were going to let him kiss you."
"No I wasn't," Lily lied through her teeth. She had barely just started to come to terms with her newfound feelings and Sirius was already questioning them.
"Don't lie to me. We all saw it," Sirius rolled his eyes at her and Lily's cheeks reddened even more. Her face was hot; it felt like it was on fire. She was maybe even sweating a bit. "You told him that this wasn't a date."
"It's not a date," Lily reminded him.
"Then why the hell were you going to kiss him?!" Sirius demanded to know. "You don't kiss people when you go out to eat, unless you're on a date. So what gives Evans?"
"I don't know," Lily moaned leaning over the sink for support. She eagerly splashed more water onto her face in a desperate attempt to cool down. When she looked up into the mirror, Lily could see that Sirius was leaning ever so casually against the doorframe. How he could appear so nonchalant was beyond her. Lily envied his cool demeanor when she was so obviously flustered.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sirius scoffed. "Evans, you're a smart bird. Use that overly large brain of yours and figure it out. Do you like him or not?"
"Sirius it's not that simple!" Lily tried to reason with him. She spun around to face him. Sirius wasn't having any of it.
"Sure it is," he insisted.
"We're friends. We work together. We've come so far! Why take a chance that could ruin everything!?" Lily exclaimed. She desperately wanted Sirius to understand. To justify her rationale. If someone else understood that meant she was right. But Sirius just shook his head at her.
"Lily, why does anything have to get ruined?" He spoke more softly and less aggressively.
"Feelings complicate everything. They can ruin the best of friendships," Lily sighed looking at the ground.
"Listen, I'm not telling you that you have to go for it. I'm just telling you make up your mind one way or the other. Prongs is my best mate. I'm not going to sit by while you trample all over his heart. No mixed signals. If you don't like him, that's fine. But don't go kissing him and confusing him." Sirius advised.
"I didn't kiss him!" Lily retorted.
"No," Sirius shook his head. "But you were going to. And that's not the point."
"I know," Lily whispered. Finally having gotten his point across, Sirius turned to leave. He hesitated, and turned back around to face her.
"Lily?" Sirius began. She looked up. "If you do like him. Do something about it. I know you're afraid of messing everything up. But Godric Gryffindor is rolling in his grave at your cowardice." With that Sirius left her to her thoughts.
Was he right? Was she, Lily Evans, a coward? No, she was practical. Friendship first. Feelings are messy. They get in the way. People get hurt. Deep down inside Lily knew she was lying to herself. As she exited the loo and walked back over to where James was sitting she still hadn't made her mind up. Lily had only just recently discovered that she potentially had feelings for James and now here Sirius was demanding that she act on it. James looked up when he heard her footsteps. He flashed her a crooked grin and Lily could feel those stupid butterflies again.
"Hey," she said inclining her head towards the door, "Do you wanna get out of here?"
"Yes," James nodded, "Yes I do." He threw some money down on the table and Lily let him. She could have fought him on it. She could have pleaded with him to let her pay but a small part of her was starting to give in. This was a date after all. Who was she kidding with her not-date nonsense. The two of them spent the entire day together, he bought her a present, and they went out to eat. It was a date and they both knew it. Lily appreciated that James pretended otherwise for her sake. But Sirius was right. It was time to own up to her feelings.
By the time they got back outside the snow was nowhere near as bad. It fell in large, soft, light flakes. The wind had calmed down and the streets and houses were coated in a picturesque white blanket of snow.
"The snow looks pretty in your hair," James observed as they walked back towards the castle. Lily smiled to herself, and then turned to face him. The look on his face just about made her heart jump out of her chest. James was looking at her like she was the most beautiful person on the planet. And who was she kidding? Lily loved it. Her face broke out into a brilliant beaming smile. She lightly took his hands in her own and leaned in close. Then, Lily Evans kissed James Potter. And those butterflies in her stomach? They were practically singing with happiness. But then James pulled away.
"Lily," his voice was thick with emotion. She looked up at him.
"Yes?"
"Did you mean to do that?" he asked. She almost burst out laughing. Lily was feeling rather giddy at the moment.
"Yes, yes I did."
"Oh," James grinned at her. "Then by all means, do continue." She laughed again and James silenced her by bringing his lips to hers. As the snow fell around them, Lily realized that kissing James was rather enjoyable. There were worse things in the world than throwing caution to the wind and risking a relationship with someone like James. If his kisses were any indication, she knew the risk would be worth it.