Disclaimer: On my wish list for Christmas is Harry Potter. Do you really think I would put that if I already owned him?
Midnight Snack
James crept down the corridor, checking the map periodically, and reached the entrance to the kitchens. He reached out a finger and tickled the pear, waiting for it to laugh and swing open so he could step inside. As he pushed open the portrait, he noticed a figure sitting on the rug by the fire. He tiptoed closer noting how the fire reflected off her red hair, making it seem like her head was on fire.
"Lily?" James asked, hesitant.
The figure jumped. She twisted around, revealing that she was indeed Lily Evans, Head Girl and strict enforcer of rules, which did not include sneaking out in the middle of the night to go to the kitchens. A half finished plate of cookies sat in front of her.
"James? What are you doing here?" Lily asked, surprise evident in her face.
James smirked "I could ask you the same thing. Last time I checked, students aren't supposed to be out of bed at night, let alone in the kitchen."
"If that's true, why are you here?" Lily inquired, blushing.
"Well I've never been one for following the rules, but you, you always follow the rules. So Miss Evans," James said coming closer, "Why are you down here?"
Lily shifted, turning away from him, and didn't say anything for a few moments. "I was hungry," she said gesturing to the plate of cookies, "and it's Christmas Eve. Nobody's here, I'm Head Girl and I'm not going to get in trouble." She looked at him, her eyes searching his face, before looking back at the fire. "So why are you here?"
James sat down. "Well I figured we're going to need food in the morning to celebrate Christmas, so why not get some now and bring it up for all the little first years to enjoy when they wake up and think Santa brought it. Besides, it's more fun to sneak down here when you're not supposed to be here."
Lily snorted, turning back to face him again. "You would think that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked defensively. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lily, daring her to tell him. She laughed at the expression on his face, making him glare harder. Catching her breath she straightened up.
"What I mean is that only you would incorporate breaking the rules with doing something nice."
"Are you insinuating that I can't be nice without also doing something wrong?" James asked affronted.
"Not at all, simply that you've found a way to be nice that suits you. And that last year you would never have dreamed of being nice to anyone unless it benefited you in some way." Lily explained.
James stared at her. "I was nice when it didn't benefit me."
Lily laughed again, "No you weren't. You picked on people who didn't deserve it, pulled pranks mercilessly and annoyed me to no end."
"I didn't annoy you." James said meekly. Lily just stared pointedly. "…much"
"I think that's the understatement of the century" said Lily, a smile forming on her face. By this time they were facing each other on the carpet and the fire had started to die down. The plate of cookies was nearly empty, as they had been unconsciously eating them throughout the course of their conversation.
"Fine so I annoyed you a lot." James conceded, "But I don't annoy you anymore, do I?"
Lily fidgeted, picking up a cookie and crumbling it. "No you don't." She looked up to see a smile forming on James' face. "But sometimes you come close." The smile did not fade; if anything, it grew bigger. Lily met his gaze, a smile starting to form on her face.
James picked up the last cookie, "Do you want to split it?"
"Sure" Lily said and accepted the half he offered her. They finished in silence and stood up to leave.
"If you wait one minute I'll walk back with you" James offered, stretching.
"Okay" Lily said, and stood by the portrait door. James picked up some cookies, milk, and other sweets, stuffing them in a rucksack to bring upstairs. He went over to Lily and opened up the door, allowing her to step through first. They started to walk down the corridor, drifting closer together until they couldn't take a step without their hands brushing. At first they both jerked away, as if they had touched something hot, but the next time their hands brushed Lily grabbed James' and didn't let go. He looked down at their entwined fingers, smiled, and continued on in silence. They walked like that the rest of the way up to Gryffindor tower, letting go when James wanted to check the map and then immediately lacing fingers again.
"Cornish Pixies" Lily said when they reached the entrance to the Tower. The portrait swung open and Lily extracted her fingers from James' to climb through the hole. Walking forward to the fireplace she looked at the clock above it.
"We still have some time to sleep," she said, turning around to see James clambering into the common room. "It's only two; people won't be up for hours."
James nodded in agreement. "Why don't we just set up the food now and go back to sleep? We can put a charm on the food to keep it fresh."
"Okay" Lily said as she helped James unpack the food, setting it on the coffee tables in front of the fire. James placed the last plate of cookies on the table as Lily put a charm on it. They stepped back to admire their handiwork.
"You know, if you really want the first years to believe Santa left all this, you might want to leave a letter" Lily said, a mischievous smile on her face. James grinned back, summoning a quill and some parchment.
"Dear Students of Gryffindor House," He began. "This year you were all so good that I decided to bring you a delicious feast of sweets. But shhhh, don't tell the other house;, they weren't as good. I hope you enjoy your meal and have a very Happy Christmas. From, Santa Claus. How's that?" James asked, placing it by the cookies and looking up at Lily.
"Perfect" she said, yawning. "Well it's time for me to get to bed." Leaning down, Lily kissed James on the cheek. "Happy Christmas James" she said, turning and walking up to her dormitory. Dazed, James picked up his hand and touched his cheek. Shaking his head, he went up to his dormitory to try and sleep.
Christmas morning dawned bright and clear, with enough snow to keep even the Abominable Snowman happy. Shrieks of happiness were heard throughout Gryffindor tower as the inhabitants found the array of treats spread out for them. Walking down the stairs, Lily saw that the other ten students who were staying over break were already downstairs, eating sweets and waiting for her to arrive so they could open presents. The Christmas tree had piles of presents underneath it, and a fire was crackling in the hearth. The couches and chairs had been pulled over to create a semi-circle in front of the fire and tree, with students sitting on the floor to fill in the gaps.
"Hurry up!" a first year yelled, bouncing up and down in his chair in excitement. Lily jumped down the last few stairs.
"You didn't have to wait for me," she said, looking around and meeting James' eyes.
"Yeah well James made us," Sirius said, munching on a cookie and looking as impatient as the first year. Lily laughed and sat down next to James on the couch, entwining their fingers and giving him a small smile.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked, "Open your presents!"
The first years and Sirius shrieked and dove for their presents, while the older, more mature students laughed and waited for the crowd to clear. James leaned over a kissed Lily on the cheek.
"Happy Christmas" he whispered. Lily smiled before reaching over to grab her presents. She passed James his, and they began to open their respective piles. As Lily reached the bottom of her pile, she noticed a long, thin box. Opening up she found a silver necklace with a lily pendent. She looked at the tag to see who it was from. It didn't say.
"Do you like it?" A voice whispered in her ear. Twisting her head, she saw James staring at her, his eyes twinkling and a smile on his face.
"Yes," she whispered back before leaning over and kissing him.
A/N: To review or not to review, that is the question. To review, that is the answer.