A/N: Written for Charlotte at acciowomp on tumblr for the Jily Secret Santa. Hope you enjoy this and have a very very merry and Jily-filled Christmas :)
Lily knew she should've stayed at Hogwarts this Christmas. It was her last year and Merlin, how she loved those magic decorations and the caroling ghosts, spending time with her mates sipping hot chocolate near the fireplace. But she hadn't. Her mother had asked that she come home this year, hoping, she was sure, that more quality family time might mend the broken relationship between her only two daughters. So far they'd only managed to skate through the past two days without saying much to each other even though they were the only two similarly aged people at this very dull and very muggle Christmas Eve party.
Lily found herself standing near one of the terrace doors with a lovely spiked drink in hand, watching the occasional passerby stroll past the brightly lit yard. She couldn't help thinking of the marauders and what trouble they would be up to in the castle about now- no doubt wreaking havoc on the beautifully decorated corridors. She laughed lightly as she imagined one of the suits of armor waltzing down the hall with tinsel and holly dragging behind it- a scene she remembered James telling her about on their last patrol together.
Her sister's horse-like laugh echoed across the crowded hall, shaking Lily from the memory and wiping the smile from her face. She caught sight of her parents dancing together, and she let out a sigh. At least they're happy, she thought to herself. She wasn't going to be the sister that caused a scene.
Nor would she be the one to cause a scene in general, a fact she realized as a loud explosion echoed from outside in the yard and the sky lit up brightly for just a moment. The room went quiet as mouths fell open in shock and people turned to stare out the window just as Lily had done. A moment of silence and another long series of pops, each one accompanied by a bright flash of light becoming clearer and clearer in the night sky. Fireworks. Lily smiled, biting her lip as she tried her best not to hope that maybe her wildest Christmas dream had come true and James Potter was out in this muggle village playing pranks on her, as per usual. Merlin, she wished that was the case.
The crowd of people pushed itself towards the wide windows as the fireworks continued, now beginning to blossom into shapes, stars, trails of glowing sparks that faded into the night as they fell from the sky. She probably ought to have recognized them for what they were, and had Professor Flitwick been standing nearby, he might've remarked at the clever wandwork required to keep the fireworks so bright and playful. But Lily was not thinking any of these things, so desperate was she to distract herself from what had turned out to be a terribly dismal Christmas Eve.
The fireworks ended just as suddenly as they had begun and after a moment of waiting in the hopes of more, the crowd resumed their chatting and dancing, laughter emanating from the room of strangers that left Lily feeling even more strange and distant from them all. She wanted to be back at Hogwarts. She wanted to be chucking fizzing whizbees at James Potter and glaring not so sternly at him when he tried to get her back. With a final glance over her shoulder at her family that seemed just as happy without her present, she stepped out on to the terrace, wrapping her arms around herself as she wandered past a long row of hedges. The music from the party dimmed as she moved further away and she finally paused beside a stone bench when she was positive nobody would be able to see her there.
"Bloody hell, that's cold," she muttered as she sat down, wrapping her arms around herself to counter the chill of the stone beneath her.
"There's a spell for that, you know." Lily gave a yelp of surprise and tumbled off the bench in a mess of waving limbs. She looked up to see none other than James Potter staring down at her with a smirk on his face. She merely stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging open in complete surprise.
"I can't imagine its any warmer on the ground, Evans, but if that's where you're comfortable..." he trailed off, his grin spreading even further across his face as he reached a hand down to pull her back to her feet.
"Have I gone mad?" Lily let him pull herself up, more out of a desire to see if he was actually real than anything else. But it was hard to deny the fact when she suddenly found herself back on her feet.
"Hmmm," he paused thoughtfully as his eyes sparkled in amusement, "not any more than I know of. Unless this isn't the first time you've fallen tonight and the first time happened to be on your head."
"Oh shut up, tosser." Lily shoved his arm playfully, shaking her head as he rubbed at his arm though she knew she hadn't actually hurt him. It was so casual and comfortable that she'd nearly forgotten the complete surprise of finding him there in her muggle village on Christmas Eve of all nights. "What in the world are you doing here, I thought you were staying at the castle for the holidays."
"I was. Well, I was going to. Changed my mind last minute though and Sirius and I came home. Remus and Peter went home too, but they're all around for tonight at least."
Lily raised her eyes in suspicion. Well, that would explain the sudden fireworks. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing here. As in right here, right now, here, in front of me. Unless you make a habit of shocking the pants off unknowing muggles on various holidays? I have to admit, it's rather clever- very anti-grinch-like of you all."
"Er... grinch?" James scratched the back of his neck as he looked down at her awkwardly. Lily couldn't keep the smile from spreading as she looked back at him. He was rather adorable when he didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
"Muggle thing, nevermind. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, right. Well, I heard you talking to MacDonald last week about going home for the holidays and some boring muggle party that your parents were dragging you to. And it doesn't count as eavesdropping if you're shouting about it in the common room, mind you. Anyways, seemed horribly boring so the blokes and I thought you might like a bit more excitement on Christmas Eve, 'specially if your sister was being a cow like I know you say she is."
Lily's face had gone from complete suspicion to amusement to shock and back to admiration in a matter of minutes as James spoke. "So you came all the way out here just to make my night better?"
"Well," he looked away awkwardly, his hand running through his hair as he brought his attention back to her. "When you put it like that, it seems a bit intentional. But truth is, my mum threatened to put a full body bind on us if we got in her way of gift-wrapping and meal-making before tomorrow. Figured we'd get out of her hair and into yours."
"Merlin, when you put it like that, you make me really seem like a pathetic alternative, Potter." She crossed her arms and stared back at him with raised brows.
"What? That's not wha- Lily, I swear, you're not-"
She couldn't hold it anymore and the giggles spilled from her mouth just as Sirius Black rounded the corner of the hedgerow.
"Godric, what did you do to her, Prongs? Slip her a cheering potion?" His question only made Lily laugh harder, the sound infectious as James began to laugh himself.
"Right, okay... Well you two just take the time you need to laugh it all off." Sirius shook his head at the pair of them and turned back the way he came. "Look, Moony and Wormtail are ready to go, just waiting for you. I'll let them know I found you."
"Merry Christmas, Black!" Lily shouted after him as he began to walk away, barely managing to stop the laughter.
"You too, Evans. Tell that cow of a sister to lay off the tarts for the night, I may have laced them with a calming draught." He paused with a smirk. "On second thought, don't. But let me know how she turns out in the morning. She shouldn't be a problem for you after now. Merry Christmas." And with that, he was gone.
Lily turned back to James, the laughter stopped but a pink tinge to her cheeks as she stared happily at him. "Well, this evening has taken a pleasant turn for the better."
"Good, I'm glad." He smiled down at her, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "I do what I can."
"Well you do a good job. Thank you, James. You didn't have to, but you have no idea how much I needed this." Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward, and with a hand on his shoulder she leaned up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.
He looked back at her in surprise once she stepped away, but a smile broke out across his face. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I think I needed it too."
Her cheeks blushed a deeper red. "I- I should get back to the party, I guess. Merry Christmas, James. And thanks, again. If your mum asks, tell her you were performing a Christmas miracle. I'll vouch for you."
"Will do. Enjoy the rest of your night, Lily. And Merry Christmas." He watched as she turned and made her way back to the terrace, smiling widely as she paused once to look over her shoulder at him before disappearing through the doors and into the crowd. He wasn't quite sure what a Christmas miracle was supposed to be, but he thought whatever this had been might just be close enough.