My fifth fic for littlerose13writes's 12 Days of Shipmas! The prompt for day 5 is "Christmas carols" :)
"I SANG YOU A BLOODY CAROL, YOU STUPID LITTLE TIN MAN. LET ME THROUGH–"
Most people would flee in the opposite direction when they heard Lily Evans go off like that, but James Potter took great pride in the fact that he wasn't 'most people'. He therefore changed course, moving away from the stairs that would lead him to the kitchens and towards the source of the noise. It took no time at all to spot her standing outside the library. A suit of armour that had tinsel wrapped around it like a scarf was blocking the entrance, and Lily appeared to be seconds away from challenging it to a fistfight. As he approached her, he actually saw her stomp her foot in frustration and had to suppress a grin.
"All right, Evans?" he asked casually.
She whirled around, her hand diving into the pocket of her robes to grab her wand. She relaxed a bit when she saw it was just him, but her eyes narrowed nonetheless. "What are you doing here, Potter?" Her hand was still in her pocket.
He quirked an eyebrow. "I should ask you the same thing. Going to the library at nine o'clock in the morning? That's tragic."
"Not all of us like living on the edge and doing all of our work at the last minute," she countered.
James supposed that was reasonable, but he wasn't going to stoop that low; even thinking about school during the holidays was sad.
"It's Christmas, Evans!" he said exasperated. "You know, that time of year when it's illegal to study or do homework?"
Lily folded her arms. James was pleased to note she hadn't taken out her wand. "Illegal, is it?"
He nodded seriously. "Very illegal, according to wizarding law."
"Mm-hmm." Lily didn't look impressed. "Well, speaking of wizards, I suppose this is your handiwork?" She gestured towards the suit of armour.
One of his finest ideas, if he did say so himself. Just a little harmless fun, a prank to spread festive cheer and allow his fellow students to refine their vocal abilities and appreciate the beauty of wizarding carols.
"Do you have proof, Miss Prefect?" he asked with a charming smile.
Lily rolled her eyes. "No, and I wouldn't take points if I did, if that's what you're worried about. But this has your name written all over it." She scowled at the armour, as if even that little bit of tinsel offended her.
He beamed at it fondly. "It is rather brilliant, don't you think?"
"Is it really?"
"Oh come now, Evans, even you have to admit that's some pretty advanced Charms work."
For a second, she looked like she might attempt to deny it, but gave up. "Brilliant as it may be, I detect a fundamental flaw, Potter," she said, standing up a little straighter.
A flaw? A flaw? James didn't do flaws.
His indignation must have shown on his face, because Lily's eyes flashed; whatever it was he'd done wrong had certainly annoyed her. A lot.
"It only recognises wizarding carols, Potter," she said dryly. "And I only know bits and pieces of those. Muggle-born, remember?"
Oh.
Oh, damn.
"I didn't think–" he began, dismayed.
"Clearly."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I just… assumed…"
"That we all know wizarding carols?" said Lily, raising an eyebrow.
"You've lived here for over five years, Evans. How can you not know at least one?" he protested halfheartedly; he knew he was in the wrong here.
"Not everyone is as much of a Christmas freak as you are." Well, she wasn't wrong. "And, again, I'm a Muggle-born. We've got our own carols, thank you very much. Please keep that in mind for future pranks – not that I encourage them," she added hurriedly.
He sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and ducking his head a bit. "I'm sorry, Evans. That was… pretty bloody stupid, actually."
"Yep."
"No, really," he said, more seriously this time. Merlin, what if some Muggle-born first-year had wanted to go to the library? They would've been locked out, just like Lily. And it was a silly oversight in an even sillier prank, but it said a lot about him, and he'd thought he was better than that. Red-hot shame crept up his neck. "I should've taken Muggle-borns into account. It wasn't fair on you, and it was wrong, and I'm sorry. Please don't think that I'm… y'know…"
Lily gave him an appraising look. "Apology accepted." She hesitated, then went on. "I know you wouldn't do something like that on purpose. It's not your style. You're an idiot sometimes, but you're not… evil."
He felt his heart lift. "Thank you?"
"Don't let it go to your head," she said flatly.
"Me? Never."
For a second, he thought she might smile, but then she didn't. An awkward silence fell between them. What now? Should he leave and spend the day mentally kicking himself for making a fool out of himself in front of her yet again? He kind of deserved it this time. But if Lily still wanted to get into the library…
Squaring his shoulders, he marched up to the suit of armour and cleared his throat. "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, ring the Hogwarts bell…"
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Singing, Evans." He turned to her. She was staring at him as though he'd sprouted a second head. "Or have you come to your senses and decided you want to go back to the common room like any sane human being would?"
She was still giving him that weird look. "But you don't have to… Can't you just undo the charm?" she said, frowning.
He shook his head. "I took precautions. It'll wear off in a few hours, though." And he could scribble down the lyrics to 'I Cast a Spell On Father Christmas' on some parchment and stick it to the wall in case anyone need it, he supposed. Not that he believed any other student would want to visit the library that day, apart from Remus, perhaps. "But if you really need to get in there, Evans, then sit back and enjoy the rare privilege of hearing my dulcet tones. They're rather pleasing to the ear, according to feedback I've received over the years."
"Oh." Lily blinked. She pursed her lips for a moment, brow still furrowed as she thought hard. She really was unfairly pretty. "Well, you might as well teach me while you're at it."
He must have heard wrong. "Excuse me?"
She shrugged. "Teach me wizarding carols, Potter. Now's as good a time as any to learn."
He obviously couldn't say no to Lily Evans, so James found himself sharing an alcove with her and slowly going through the lyrics of 'Ring the Hogwarts Bell'. He'd never thought he'd get the chance to serenade the object of his affection, but he wasn't about to complain. And Lily wasn't angry anymore; she even laughed a few times, because apparently wizarding carols were more ridiculous than James had thought.
"So there's one called 'God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs'…"
"Is that a bastardised version of 'God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen'?"
"I'm fairly certain the wizarding version is the original one."
"Yes, because wizards never copy off Muggles. Do you have your own version of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', too?"
"Is that like 'Norbert the Red-Nosed Niffler'?"
"You're joking."
"I never joke, Evans."
"Well, it's my turn now."
"What?"
"If I have to learn your ludicrous wizarding carols, Potter, then you have to learn mine. It's only fair."
She had a point.
And everything she said was fascinating to James, who didn't know much about the Muggle world beyond what he'd learned from his occasional rebellious escapades to London, Muggle Studies, and Sirius's obsession with Muggle music and automobiles. However, he found himself distracted by little things, like the way Lily's eyes lit up when she laughed, the way she scrunched her nose when she found something odd, how lovely her hair looked in the firelight.
Their little music lesson culminated with a duet of 'Ring the Hogwarts Bell' that was interrupted by frequent snorts and giggles. It seemed to do the trick, however, and the suit of armour stood aside to let them pass.
They looked at each other.
They weren't friends. Not yet. But it had been nice, just talking to each other for a little while. Talking, not arguing. Had they ever done that before? Had Lily ever looked at him as warmly as she did now, as if she'd genuinely enjoyed herself? Had he ever made her laugh before? He wasn't sure. He hadn't tried to impress her half as much as he usually did – perhaps that had helped.
And maybe he was overthinking this too much.
'Get a grip, Prongs.'
"Well… See you, Evans." He lifted his hand in an awkward half-wave that immediately made him want to smack himself.
Lily simply gave him that weird look again, as if he'd done something she couldn't understand. Fascinating as it would be to stay and try to work out what that meant, and whether or not it was a good thing, James decided it would be prudent to leave before he had a chance to ruin this miraculous encounter by saying the wrong thing. Again.
He hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when she called his name.
"Potter!"
He turned on his heel. "Yes, Evans?" He tried not to sound too hopeful. Merlin, she had him wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even know it.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. And then, as if she couldn't help herself, she blurted out, "How did you do it? The suit of armour?"
James grinned at her, then tapped the side of his nose. "Ah, a wizard never reveals his secrets."
"Be serious, Potter."
"I can't be Sirius, I'm James," he replied innocently.
Lily rolled her eyes, but he could have sworn he saw her lips twitch.
"Well, if you really want to know, Evans…" He looked around furtively, then walked over to her and leaned in until he was so close he could count her freckles. "Magic," he whispered.
She stared at him in disbelief for a second, her green eyes wide, then burst out laughing.
And he knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he didn't care, because Lily smiled right back, tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and said 'see you, Potter' before marching into the library, and he was so elated he felt he might just float away like a balloon.
The suit of armour stepped back into place with a few unpleasantly creaky sounds.
James ran a hand through his hair, lost in thought, his smile fading. Yes, that had been a thoughtless prank that had backfired spectacularly, but the concept… Surely he could turn things around and still spread some festive, musical cheer? And maybe teach some of his fellow students a thing or two?
A few hours later, that very same suit of armour refused entry into the Great Hall to anyone who couldn't sing it a Muggle carol.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!