It was a peaceful December night at the Potter house. The snow fell softly across the yard, coating the grass in a blanket of white. The flakes swirled in the tentative breeze, sparkling through the air as the sun fell farther below the horizon. James had never seen anything so peaceful. Just sitting by the grand window in his room with a mug of hot cocoa always warmed his soul like nothing else could. He loved watching the snow fall. He always sat there when it snowed at home. He felt like he could sit there for hours in the silence doing nothing but staring at the graceful snow.

"James!" his door banged open with such intensity that James jumped and splashed his hot cocoa all over his lap.

"Padfoot! Don't do that!" he groaned looking up to see Sirius striding into the room.

"Sorry mate!" Sirius said jovially, waving his wand and vanishing the spilled cocoa as he sat across from James on the window seat, "I am absolutely bored out of my mind, and you are just sitting here staring at the snow?"

"I always stare at the snow," James sighed, looking out the window again, "It's sort of a tradition."

"Well you've been staring for long enough. Do you realize Christmas is only three days away?" Sirius asked.

"Of course I do."

"Have you bought any of your gifts yet?" Sirius asked slyly.

James' face paled at once.

"That's what I thought," Sirius laughed, "Come on, let's go shopping!"

Diagon Alley was crowded as usual with all the holiday shoppers still looking for that last minute gift. James and Sirius meandered down the street, weaving between the crowds and little carts that always filled the ally at this time of year.

"Where should we stop first?" James asked Sirius, who was briefly glancing at the shops as they passed.

"Well we need stuff for Moony and Wormtail, your parents, Professor Dumbledore of course, each other, and anyone else you want to get something for," Sirius rattled off while inspecting the barrel of glittering beetle eyes outside the Apothecary.

"Okay, I guess we will have to split up to get everything," James said, looking at his watch, "How about we meet up at seven at the Cauldron for some butterbeer and then we can go pick out Dumbledore's gift together like we always do, and make it home before nine for that snowball fight you planned."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sirius smirked, already heading farther down the alley.

James walked into the nearest shop, which happened to be Flourish and Blotts, and started looking. A book with a pure black cover caught his eye right off. It was called Fighting Magic Most Evil writtenin spidery silver letters on the front of the book. He picked it up and flipped through a few pages. It seemed mostly useless except for a few spells that looked slightly promising.

Remus would find this interesting. He would probably be able to get something useful out of it. James thought, taking the book up to the front desk.

Finding a gift for Peter was just as easy. A box full of chocolate frogs and some sugar quills were all he needed to be completely happy till new years.

Sirius was much harder to shop for. What do you buy your basically-brother-best-friend-in-the-world for Christmas? They just didn't make a card for that. Finally something caught his eye as he passed one of the many stalls in the alley. There were bright shiny dog tags, like the ones James had seen Muggles wear, hung on black cords.

"Would you like one of these tags, young man?" the stall owner asked as soon as James showed the slightest interest, "They are normally worn by Muggle soldiers so they can identify one another, but they have become very popular with the general Muggle public. You can personalize them with a simple engraving charm. They make a great gift for anyone!" the man finished his pitch with gusto, holding out one of the necklaces for James to see.

"How much are they?" he asked, fingering the two silver tags with curiosity.

"Just two sickles and a knut," the man answered, smiling.

"I'll take it," James said, pulling out his coins.

"Happy doing business with you young man," the man smiled as he handed James the tags in a black box, "And happy Christmas!"

James took the tags and headed toward a small table outside a café, trying to decide what to put on the tags. After a lot of thinking, he pulled out his wand and engraved Padfoot on one of the tags, and the dots of the stars in the constellation Sirius' name came from, on the other tag. Turning the tags over, he wrote Brother on the back of the second tag. Pleased with his work he tucked the cord back into the black box and continued down the alley.

He found a beautiful pearl necklace for his mother, and an eagle feather quill that never ran out of ink for his father. He had started heading back towards the Leaky Cauldron when he stopped dead in his tracks. His eye had been drawn to the crystal shop next to Madame Malkins. There in the front window was a set of beautiful silver bracelets, each with a different kind of perfect crystal flower hanging off the delicate chain. One of the bracelets in particular made his heart leap in his chest. He rushed into the shop without a second thought.

"What took you so long?" Sirius asked as James walked into the Leaky Cauldron.

"I was having a hard time finding the right things," James said, sitting across from Sirius and nodded at Tom the barman, who promptly brought them over two mugs of steaming butterbeer.

"I found it to be pretty easy to me," Sirius laughed, sipping his butterbeer.

"Well whoop-dee-doo-dah for you," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Well now we just have Dumbledore and we will be done for the day," Sirius said once they finished. He stood up and James followed after him.

They headed straight to Madame Malkins like they did every year. Shopping for Professor Dumbledore was their favorite part of Christmas shopping. They could wander around that shop for hours finding him the perfect gift. Last year they got him a bright yellow wool hat with ear flaps that tied itself and always kept your head perfectly warm. This year they settled on a pair of thick woolen socks knit with stripes that flashed each of the Hogwarts house colors one after the other.

"Mission accomplished!" Sirius whooped as they walked out of the shop, "Time to go beat Moony and Wormtail in the most epic snowball fight of the century!"

ooo

That morning had been horrible. Lily sat on her window seat with a mug of hot cocoa, staring out at the softly falling snow, her eyes red from her now dried tears. Petunia had tried to kick her out of the house because she had come home for Christmas instead of staying at her 'freak' school. Lily hadn't imagined her Christmas morning going this way. She had gotten sweets from Honeydukes for her parents, and they loved them, but as soon as the first chocolate frog card moved just a little bit, Petunia jumped up screaming and tried to throw Lily out the front door.

I should have stayed at Hogwarts. Lily thought sadly, Even without any of my friends there it still would have been better than this.

Lily could feel the tears start to bubble up as she continued to stare out at the snow. It was truly beautiful out there. The snow painted a picture of pure perfection. It was the only good thing about this morning. The flakes swirled in the slight breeze and filled the sky with white. Suddenly a dark spot appeared above her tree. It was heading closer to her, and after a moment of staring, Lily realized it was an owl.

The barn owl flew gracefully towards Lily's window, and she could see a small package tied to its feet. She swiftly opened the window and let the owl in, then shut it quickly behind so as not to let the cold air in. The owl perched across from her on the window seat and held out its leg. Lily took the package as she stood up to find the owl a treat. After giving it some leftover chips she had found, she looked closer at the package.

It was a simple brown package tied with string. It didn't have any markings on it other than her name written neatly on the side. She ripped the paper and found a small pearl colored box inside, and a little note.

Dear Lily,

I know you probably didn't want to hear from me this Christmas, but I couldn't not say anything. I've loved you for too long to simply ignore you completely. I know you don't like me much, and I know that you would rather I not say anything, but you are the most beautiful witch I've ever met. I couldn't think of anything to get you that would match your beauty and fire, so I came as close as I could. Happy Christmas Lily. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

-James

When Lily finished reading the note, the first emotion she had was annoyance. Would he please just give up already? But after she read the note again, she started feeling a warmth inside her. As annoying as Potter was, he had still remembered her. And right now, when her world felt like it was crashing in around her, he told her she was beautiful, in a sweet little note. She smiled as she looked down at the note again.

After a while she finally turned her attention back to the little box. When she opened it she felt like she couldn't breathe. Inside the box was a bracelet. It was just a simple silver chain, and it was beautiful, but the thing that took her breath away was the little charm attached to it. It was a little lily, carved perfectly out of sparkling crystal. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Lily pulled it out of the box, and marveled at how the light caught in the flower. She slipped it onto her wrist, surprised that it fit perfectly.

Suddenly the barn owl hooted softly and made Lily jump. She had almost forgotten that it was still there. Now that he made his presence known, Lily decided she needed to send it back with something. She grabbed her notebook and a pen off her desk and started writing.

ooo

"Thanks mate! This is great!" Sirius' barking laugh sounded through the house. James looked over from his seat by the tree to see Sirius wearing the tags he bought him with a big grin on his face.

"Yours is great too!" James laughed, pulling out the little red haired doll Sirius had gotten him. It looked surprisingly like one Lily Evans.

"I know! It was just too perfect!" Sirius laughed again, then abruptly grabbed a pillow off the couch and started hitting James.

"Stop it you crazy person!" James yelled, grabbing his own pillow. Soon they were in a full-fledged pillow fight, jumping all over the room, dodging behind the tree and the chairs and the couches.

"James, you have an owl," Mrs. Potter said, walking down the hall. She hadn't noticed what was going on till just then, "Boys! Those are my nice pillows!" she reprimanded, shaking her head, while trying not to smile.

"Sorry mum," they both chorused, grinning at her.

"It's okay, just try to be gentler next time, like use your own pillows," she smiled at them, thinking to herself, nobody who saw these boys would think they are both of age. She rolled her eyes before turning to James, "James, you have an owl in the kitchen."

James eyes suddenly lit up, and he rushed into the kitchen. Sirius exchanged a confused look with Mrs. Potter, who just shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the parlor where Mr. Potter was playing the piano. Sirius decided it wasn't worth worrying about, and turned back to keep opening his presents.

James saw his barn owl, Atlas, sitting on the counter, and tied to his leg was a small scroll. James heart leapt in his chest. It had to be from her. He ran over and pulled off the scroll as fast as he could. His fingers fumbled over the simple bow, why was it tied so tightly? Finally he managed to untie it and unrolled it as quickly as he could.

Dear James,

Yeah, I just called you James, don't have a heart attack. Anyway, thank you for the present. It is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given to me. I like it a lot. And thank you for the note too. I've been having an absolutely horrible holiday, especially this morning, and your note made me feel a little better. I'm starting to think maybe I've been judging you unfairly. I wanted to say sorry. Thank you again, and happy Christmas.

-Lily

James felt like he would explode from pure joy, right then and there. His heart was soaring in his chest. He felt as light as a feather. She liked his present! She said sorry! She wished him a happy Christmas! In that little note, Lily had given James the best Christmas present he had ever received.

"Mum!" James yelled, running into the parlor. Sirius, with a confused expression, followed him in when he heard the shout.

"Yes dear?" Mrs. Potter asked, looking at her son who was red in the face and panting hard.

"Mum, can I invite a friend over for dinner?" James asked hopefully.

"Of course," she smiled, "Remus and Peter are always welcome at our home."

"No, not them," James said, glancing at Sirius, who still looked completely befuddled.

"Then who?" Mr. Potter asked, looking interested.

"Um...Lily Evans," James said quietly, looking nervously back at Sirius who had frozen in shock. Slowly he seemed to be thawing, and a grin was spreading across his face. When it finally sunk in completely he gave a loud WHOOP! and thumped James on the back giving him a brotherly hug.

"Ah, the Lily girl we've been hearing about for years," Mr. Potter smiled knowingly.

"Of course she can come to dinner," Mrs. Potter said, smiling as well, "I've always wanted to meet her."

James didn't need to hear any more. As soon as those words came out of his mother's mouth he had turned on the spot and apparated away.

ooo

"I was going to bring Vernon over for dinner, but now I can't because we have a freak like her in the house!" Petunia shrieked for the twelfth time.

Lily sat quietly in the corner, tuning out her sisters ranting. It just wasn't worth worrying about anymore, she had decided. Petunia wouldn't ruin her Christmas more than she already had. Lily had, instead, been admiring her bracelet all morning. It was really the most amazing gift anyone had ever given her. She loved the way it caught the light and reflected it back in bright rainbows of color. It was flawless. Absolutely perfect. Lily felt like she could stare at it for hours.

A soft knock on the front door woke her from her trace-like state. Petunia, still fuming, went to answer it. Lily heard a man's voice responding to her sisters questions. Who would be visiting on Christmas day?

Petunia suddenly stalked into the room. She looked furious.

"The door is for you, freak," she said swiftly, and then stormed away.

Lily curiously got off the couch, walked toward the front door, and saw the last thing she was expecting. Standing right outside was none other than James Potter. Lily stopped dead in her tracks, and just stared at him. Until today she had never noticed how handsome he was. He stood tall and thin, but he was well built. His years of quidditch didn't leave him unchanged. His hair was messy, but it stuck out just perfectly for him. His eyes were a deep hazel, and Lily had never noticed the slight golden flecks in them.

James saw Lily walk up to the front door and he thought he had never seen anything more lovely in his life. She was wearing a knee length green dress that flattered her figure perfectly. Her hair framed her face like soft flames, it seemed to have a certain glow that lit up her whole face. He had always loved her emerald eyes, but today they seemed to shine brighter. Maybe it had to do with the dress, but James wasn't sure. Then he looked down at her wrist and saw his bracelet there. He felt like his heart was soaring.

"Um…sorry for showing up so suddenly but I just wanted to talk to you and I had some free time and I was wondering if you would come to dinner at my house tonight but you probably don't want to do that you probably want to stay with your family I shouldn't have been so hasty I didn't really think about this since its Christmas and all but I just really wanted to see you and talk to you and—" James spoke so quickly Lily just stood there amusedly before finally cutting him off.

"It's okay, slow down," Lily laughed. She never thought she would ever laugh at anything James Potter did or said. Today was turning out very odd.

"Would you like to come to my house for Christmas dinner tonight?" he asked softly, looking at his feet.

"I never thought I would say this, but yes, I'd like that very much," Lily said smiling as she moved closer toward him.

James looked up, a new light shining in his eyes. He stepped forward a little and reached out toward Lily. She rushed forward into his arms, and he held her tightly. Lily felt so protected in his embrace, like he would never let anything happen to her.

"Happy Christmas Lily," he whispered in her ear.

"Happy Christmas James," Lily whispered back, "And thank you for thinking of me."

They started playing Christmas music on the radio here, and it got me in such a Christmas mood that I just had to write something! Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment!

I haven't given up on Hearts Knit Together, I'm just having the worst writers block. I think writing this one-shot got me back into the writing mood again, so hopefully I will have the next chapter up within the next week. I'm so sorry for taking so long on it!

Again, thanks for reading, and please leave me your comments, they help so much!

-Yvonne