A/N: Hey everyone! So it's that time of year again! Merry Christmas! Hope everyone's having a great one! Moving on from the holiday greetings, this is a little one-shot that popped into my head. You know how it is with those plot bunnies. They just won't go away. I had to write it down. Anyways, on with the story.
I sat at the breakfast table half asleep. I had stayed up late last night studying. Sometimes I wished I didn't care about my grades then I could go to sleep early.
"Evans? Are you alright?" Sirius Black asks from across the table. He looks genuinely concerned for me. I had surprisingly become friends with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew this year. They seemed to have changed so much. Plus James was Headboy. Remus Lupin, the other Marauder, was so sweet. I don't know how he put up with James and Sirius. We have been friends since fifth year when we had prefect duty together.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Sirius," I reply.
"Whoa, ok someone needs to take her to the hospital wing, she just called me Sirius," he says sarcastically.
"Shut up," I tell him, trying to keep the smile off my face.
"Are you sure you're ok Lily?" Remus asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. "I just stayed up late last night studying."
"Of course, you did," Sirius says. "That's all you do."
"Well, unlike you, I like getting good grades," I snap at him.
"I got an 'O' on every O.W.L. I took!" he replies, indignantly. "Except Divination and History of Magic and that's it!"
"Yeah, I'm sure it is," I say sarcastically. "Where's James, anyway?"
"Oh, you actually like Prongs now?" Sirius asks.
"No, we need to plan out the prefect duty for next semester," I reply.
"Hey," Marlene says, sitting down next to Sirius.
"What's up, Marley?" he asks her, buttering a piece of toast.
"Not much," Marlene replys, grabbing the toast.
"Hey! That was mine!" Sirius whines.
"Too bad," Marlene says, taking a big bite of the toast.
"Hey, guys sorry I'm late," James says, sitting down next to me.
"You ok?" I ask. "Where have you been! You need a shower!"
"I'm sorry I don't smell like roses," he says sarcastically.
I roll my eyes and turn to my food. Suddenly a two big owls land in front of me. I take the Daily Prophet from one and a letter from the other. After glancing over the newspaper and seeing no deaths of any of our friends, I open the letter.
Dear Ms. Evans,
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
The center of my world
begins and end with you.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I've never
experienced a love so true.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I'm seeing
a future filled with me and you.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
The depth of my love?
If you only knew...
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
The first time I saw you,
my heart knew.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You the only one
my heart desires.
Love your,
Secret Santa
I stare at the letter confused. What? How did wizards know about Secret Santas? How did they know about Santa Clause at all? Unless it was a muggleborn. That made more sense. I looked around. How many muggleborns were there in the school? They make up the majority of the school so there's quite a few.
I sigh and put the letter into my pocket.
"Marlene!" I yell as I come into the common room.
"Over here!" she calls, waving at me. I walk over to the corner where she's sitting.
"I need to talk to you," I say.
"What about?" she asks.
"This," I say pushing the love letter over to her. She scans it once then her face lights up in smile.
"Lily! You have an admirer!" she shouts.
"Keep your voice down!" I scold her.
"Sorry," she says. "Oh this is so sweet."
"Why would someone write to me?" I asks.
"Believe it or not, you're pretty, Lily," she says.
I can feel myself blushing. "No I'm not."
"Yes, you are," she tells me.
"Back onto the letter," I say.
"Right, well I think that if he sends you another on, then you should write him back."
"You think?" I ask.
"Yep," she says.
"Ok, thanks, see you later," I say then get up and go up to my dormitory.
When I get there, an owl is sitting there already. I snatch the letter from its beak. "Give me a second," I tell him. I open it quickly.
Dear Lily,
Just to say I love you
never seems enough.
I've said it so many times
I am afraid you won't understand
what I really mean when I say it.
How can so much feeling, so much adoration
possibly fit into those three little words?
But until I find some other way
of saying what I feel,
then "I love you" will have to do.
So no matter how my times is say it
never take it lightly.
You are my like and my only love.
I love you now more than ever before.
Love,
SS
I grab a quill and start to write.
Dear Secret Santa,
I find your poems really sweet. Especially for a guy. You are a guy right? I'm really interested in the person behind these letters. I never had anyone take the time to sit down and write me a love letter. It's really sweet. Tell me a bit about yourself since you seem to know everything about me.
Lily
I walk over to the owl and give him the letter. "Take this to the person who sent you," I say. I give him the letter. He takes off and is out the window before I can even blink. I sigh and collapse onto my bed. Who are you Secret Santa?
"Hello? Earth to Lily," Sirius says, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Stop that!" I snap. Annoyed, I pushing his hand away.
"Sorry," he said. "You looked like you were in a dream world."
"Whatever," I say and start to eat my porridge.
"Hey, Lils," James says, sitting down next to me.
"Hey," I say.
"Do you wanna do that prefect stuff tonight?" he asks.
"Sure, whatever," I reply.
"What's up your arse?" James asks.
"Excuse me," I say, turning to face him. "That's no way to talk to the Headgirl!"
"Well, excuse me!" James says, sarcastically. "Threw me in Azkaban for it!"
"You're a prick!" I shout and storm out of the Great Hall.
I sit up in the Astronomy Tower later that day. I shouldn't have yelled at James, I know that. I wish I could go back and change it. Just as I'm thinking this an owl flys in. I grab the letter from its beak and tell it to wait.
Dear Lily,
That's nice to know. I really don't know too much about you. I know enough. I know what you're thinking. How can you love someone if you don't know everything about them? Really I don't think that you need to know everything about someone to love them. And to answer your question, yes, I am a guy. I'm surprised no one has ever written you love letters. You're a beautiful girl, after all. Anyways, my roommates are being rude so I have to go know.
Write me soon,
SS
I smile. Then I hear someone coming upstairs so I stuff the letter into my book bag. James appears at the top of the stairs. "Hey," he says, sitting down next to me.
"Hi," I say. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was just in a really bad mood."
"It's alright, I should have backed off," he says. "I didn't mean to be hatefully."
"It's ok, I would have done the same thing," I say. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go ahead," he replies.
"Well, I've been getting these letters," I say. "I don't know who they're from but, I really like this person. He's sweet. I don't know what to do." I don't even know why I'm telling James this. He used to like me, after all. I just feel like he would understand in some way.
"I think you should let it play out," he tells me. "Just go with the flow, I guess."
"You don't think it's a stalker, right?" I ask.
"No, Lily," he laughs. "I don't think a guy taking time to write his feelings down is a stalker."
"Ok, thanks, James, you've really changed this year," I say. "You're not an arrogant toe rag anymore."
"Gee, Lily, thanks," he says, slinging his arm around me. "Let's go get that prefect stuff, ok?"
I nod.
Later when I enter my room I lay down on the bed and think. How will I get my letter to SS when his owl isn't here? As if reading my thoughts his owl flys in and lands on my bed. I grab the letter and start to read.
Hey,
Are you ok? Did you get my letter? Are you just tired of talking to me?
SS
I smile and grab a quill.
Dear SS,
I'm fine. Yeah, I got it. No, I'm not tired of talking to you. I want you to tell me something about yourself. Something that might give me a hint to who you are. What's your favorite color? What is your favorite game to play? Are you staying here for Christmas or going home? Tell me everything.
Lily
I quickly give the letter to the owl and go to bed.
"So?" Marlene asks.
"So what?" I ask.
"Any more letters from him?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes, if you must know everything," I huff.
"So do-" I never get hear what she says because Sirius comes up behind her and taps Marlene on the shoulder. She turns around; Sirius gives her a look that says, 'Can we talk alone.' She stands up.
"Sorry, Lils, gotta go," she says. Strange, I think. Usually she just tells Sirius to piss off.
As I'm finishing off a chicken, an owl lands in front of me. I grab the note and smile.
Dear Lily,
It would take a 15 page letter for me to tell you everything about me! As for my favorite color, it's green. (No I am not a Slytherin.)I like Quidditch and Exploding Snap. I'll stay for Christmas, if you will. Deal?
SS
I sequel and grab a quell and parchment.
Dear SS,
I would love that! Maybe we could talk in person? I really want to know who you are. Please. How about on Christmas at 12AM? Out in the courtyard? I know it would be late and all, but it would be kind of cool, you know?
Write me soon,
Lily
I smile at the note and give it to the owl.
I sit in the common room waiting for an owl to arrive. Finally I hear a tap, tap, tap, on the window. I run over and open it.
Dear Lily,
I think that would be a lovely idea. I don't know if you will like me though. You never showed any interest in me before. Oh well, I guess we'll see what you think of me then.
SS
I quickly scribble down a reply.
Dear SS,
I don't care what you look like or what you wear. I just want to meet you. You've become really special to me now. I wish we could have been together sooner.
Lily
P.S. Can't wait for Christmas.
I wait for Christmas. Ever day I fidget in my seat. I can't help it. I want to meet him. Why didn't he just tell me he liked me before? I would have listen to him. Oh well, I can ask him that later.
At 15 to midnight I get up, careful not to disturb Marlene. She insisted on staying with me through break. I smile. I make my way out to the courtyard. It's still 5 to midnight. Time passes slowly. Finally I look up and it's a minute to midnight. He is coming right?
Then as the clock strikes midnight, I hear a voice, "Looking for me?"
"You're here!" I shout, turning around. Darn it, I think. Too bad it's not a full moon then I could see his face.
"Of course, I'm here," he replies.
"Well, tell me you're name," I say.
"I-I can't," he says.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because you'll hate me," he tells me.
"No, I won't," I say. "I won't because, I-I'm in love with you. I don't know how or when, I just know I am. It's crazy really. I don't even know who you are, but I don't need to. Heck, you could be some crazy person or a convict or-"
I was cut off as he stepped forward and kissed me. I stood there shocked. Coming to my senses I kiss him back. I find myself pushed up against the wall and my hands tangling in messy hair. Messy hair? Messy hair! I pull away. "What?" he asks, breathless.
"James?" I ask.
He freezes, then takes a few steps away from me. "I-I-I," he can't seem to form coherent sentences so I decide to speak for him.
I do just what he did me. I lightly kiss him. He stands there shocked. I pull away. "I meant every word of it," I say. "I love you, James Potter."
"Well that's the best Christmas present I ever got," he says.
"But how did you know about Secret Santas? It's a muggle thing," I say.
"I asked Remus," he replies. "He knows everything."
I smile and kiss James again.