A/N: Thanks to those of you that reviewed the last one-shot. :) Reviews are actually my absolute favorite part of writing fics, because I love to know what people think (especially constructive criticism) – so leave me one? :D

Last Christmas

December snowflakes rained down on the grounds of Hogwarts, a sign that Christmas was fast approaching. Most of the students were excited, but one girl in particular was dreading the holiday. For Lily Evans, Christmas held the taint of heartbreak for more than one reason. The previous Christmas had been a sad one, and it wasn't something that she was able to forget easily.

Just days after her last Christmas had been the final time that Lily had seen her mother, Grace Evans, before she had been diagnosed with cancer and had passed away mere days later. Her sixth year had been stressful after that, but after having the summer to recuperate, Lily was doing better in her seventh year, more like she had before the hardship. The death of her mother had drawn Lily away from social interactions, and she barely spoke to any fellow students the first few months after Christmas vacation.

Oddly enough, Lily had found solace in someone she would have never expected – James Potter. As fellow Gryffindor sixth-years, Lily had been able to relate to James more than anyone else when he told her that he'd lost his father two summers before. For their first six year of school together, Lily had absolutely detested James. However, his kind words and his insight on what it was like to lose a loved one got the better of her, and Lily allowed herself to give him a chance.

"How do you deal with it?" she asked one evening in the Gryffindor common room after everyone else had gone to bed. If anyone else had still been around, she would have saved her question for another time, when she and James were alone.

James was quiet for a moment, then said, "It might sound awful, but I just try to forget about it. Whenever I think about him, it's almost more than I can handle, you know? I miss him a lot, but I know he'd rather see me having fun than mulling over memories of him."

Lily thought about what he had said, and then answered, "I wish I could just forget about my mum. But she and I were so close, and she's the one that raised me and took care of me for almost seventeen years. It feels like a chunk of heart was taken out when she died. Maybe that's why my chest hurts so much."

"It gets easier," James said softly, catching her eye. "It does, I promise. You just have to remember that your mum wants you to keep living your life as normally as you can."

Lily nodded, but didn't have anything else to say.

The other reason that Christmas was a sad occasion for her involved a boy that she had liked for a very long time. Lily had noticed Derek Miller, a fourth year Gryffindor, during her third year and had liked him since then. In her fifth year, she had finally worked up the courage to tell him how she felt. They dated for less than a month, which had included Christmas. As a present, Lily had made him a red and gold scarf with his initials on it to represent Gryffindor. A little cheesy, perhaps, but she hadn't been able to come up with another idea.

Derek had seemed pleased with her gift, and had given her a kiss that made her heart skip a beat. Everything was going perfectly, better than Lily had dared to hope for. At least, it went perfectly until Lily had found him kissing Melissa Jones, a Gryffindor girl that was in the same year as Derek, the very next day.

Derek had hardly even pretended to care when he explained to Lily that he and Melissa had a 'connection' and understood each other better because they were in the same year. Lily had cried silently the entire time, but Derek had made no move to comfort her. She could hardly believe that she had been so stupid, so foolish to believe that Derek really liked her. What boy would like a plain bookworm?

Christmas that year would be awkward as both she and Derek were staying at school for the holidays. With so few people left at school, it would be harder to avoid him than usual. She spent most of her time in the common room hiding from Derek because she couldn't bear to see him, or have him see how wrecked she still felt. To make matters worse, Alice and Marlene were both going home for Christmas, meaning she would be alone.

Two nights before the break, Lily sat alone in front of the fire in the common room. Both Alice and Marlene had already gone to bed, as had most of the other Gryffindors. Lily had been considering going up to bed herself when James, Sirius, and Remus entered through the portrait hole, each clutching an armful of food.

"Hey, Lily," James greeted when he noticed her on the couch. Remus and Sirius added their hellos, and Lily nodded her acknowledgement.

"What's the matter?" James asked, sitting down beside her. He held a tiny orange cake out to her. "Pumpkin Pasty?"

Lily smiled despite herself and took the food he offered. "Thanks," she said. "I'm just not looking forward to the holidays, I guess."

"Why not?" James asked.

"Alice and Marlene are both going home for the holidays, but I'm not. I don't really want to, but it means I'll be alone."

"Why aren't you going home?"

"There isn't really a home to go to," she said, giving a sad smile. "My dad sold our house in January, but he hasn't found a new one yet. I stayed with my uncle over the summer, but they're going on vacation for the holidays."

"You've always got me," James informed her.

"You're not going home, either?" Lily asked in surprise.

"Nope," James said, and he didn't sound a bit sorry about it. "Mum's going to see my aunt Gertrude. I hate her, so I'm staying here."

"I'd rather stay here," Lily admitted. "I don't think I can deal with my sister on top of everything else."

"You have a sister?" Sirius interrupted, swallowing a Cauldron Cake and sitting down on Lily's other side.

"Yeah," Lily said. "She's a muggle, though. Plus, she hates me. So I don't mention her very often."

"I know how that is," Sirius said grimly. "My brother hates me. But then again, I hate him and the rest of my family, so it doesn't bother me too much."

"Petunia and I used to be best friends," Lily said sadly, recalling all the time they had spent together as little girls. "But when she found out I was coming to Hogwarts... Everything just fell apart. She's hated me ever since."

"She's just jealous," James assured her. Lily nodded as if agreeing, but she knew that Petunia wasn't jealous in the least. She was horrified that her sister had turned out to be, to use her word, a 'freak'.

When Lily finished off her Pumpkin Pasty, she said, "Thanks for the cake. I think I'm going to go to bed now."

"Good night, Lily," James said, touching her briefly on the arm. Sirius and Remus said goodnight as well, and Lily went upstairs to bed.

. . .

That Saturday, most of the Hogwarts students had left. Only seventeen still remained; Four Gryffindors, three Slytherins, six Hufflepuffs, and four Ravenclaws. The Gryffindors consisted of James, Lily, a third year girl named Jenny, and Derek. Lily and James were playing a game of exploding snap, because Lily had nothing better to do, and no one else to hang out with, when Derek approached her for the first time in almost a year.

"Hey, Lily," he said, wearing a friendly smile.

Lily ignored him and put a card down on the table. Derek was not easily deterred, and said, "So listen, I was wondering if you might be interested in... Hanging out." From the way he paused, Lily could tell that "hanging out" did not involve anything like what she and James were currently doing.

"Leave her alone," James said, examining the cards before him and then placing one down carefully.

Derek's face fell. "What are you, her boyfriend?" he sneered.

"No," James said, and then added in a mutter, "But I'd be a better one than you ever were."

"I'm sorry?" Derek asked. He had clearly heard what James had said.

"Nothing," James said, looking up from their game to give Derek a pleasant smile. "Just that I wouldn't have gone around making out with other girls behind her back." He gave a noncommittal shrug and turned to watch Lily place her own card down. Lily tried hard to repress a smile. She probably shouldn't have found this funny, but James' apparent lack of interest in the conversation combined with his needling comments was amusing.

"I didn't do anything like that," Derek growled, looking annoyed now.

"Oh that's right. You'd broken up with Lily before you starting kissing Melissa. You just forgot to mention that little detail to her," James said, looking more interested in the table than Derek as he added his next card.

Being insulted and half-ignored did not bode well with Derek. "It's really none of your business, Potter," he snapped. "Besides, Lily's over that by now."

"No, actually, I'm not," Lily said, speaking to him for the first time, her amusement dissolving almost instantly. "You really hurt me, Derek. And I don't really want to have anything to do with you anymore. So please, just go away and leave us alone."

Derek's face hardened, but he didn't say anything more. He stared at Lily for a few moments, before turning away and leaving the common room. James watched him go with an angry look. "He's a jerk," James said when the portrait had swung shut.

Lily nodded. "But I can't help missing him sometimes."

James shook his head in disbelief. "How could you miss that?"

"He was my first boyfriend," Lily said. "I thought it work out like it always does in books. But I was wrong. I was so stupid."

"It's not stupid to love someone," James said quietly, reaching across the table to rest his hand on her smaller one. "It's hard to forget sometimes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't trust anyone else."

Lily let out a sigh. "I know. But I don't see why it matters, because no guys like me anyways."

"Lily," James said, sounding exasperated. "What have I been telling you for the past six years that made you think I was the most annoying person on the planet?"

"That you like me," Lily said. It dawned on her that James hadn't pestered her to go out with him since her mother had died. This only reinforced the idea that he had never been serious – but what if it was because they had bonded and become friends? He didn't have to pester her when they could hold a normal conversation. "I thought you just liked to make me angry."

James smiled. "That part was pretty fun – but that's not why I said it. I told you I liked you because I meant it. I still do. Sometimes I don't think you realize just how amazing you are. You're beautiful, smart, funny, and the nicest girl I have ever met. I really mean that, and I always will." He went quiet, then added, "I don't think saying that I like you has the proper effect. I can't explain how I feel about you."

Lily gave him a scrutinizing look, which changed to curiosity as the seconds ticked by in silence. Finally, she smiled. "I guess since you've said it about a thousand times, I'll have to believe it."

It took only a few days for their friendship to grow into something more serious, and by the time classes started again, they had begun dating. James had kissed her for the first time the very next day, and Lily had found that she enjoyed it a lot. The attraction between the two of them was hard to resist, once Lily was willing to acknowledge that it existed at all. The day the rest of the school returned, Lily snuggled was into James' side as they snacked on marshmallows and discussed what reactions their new relationship would receive from their friends and the rest of the school. Alice, the first to reach the common room, nearly fell over in shock.

With James by her side, and having rekindled her friendships with Alice and Marlene to what it had once been, Lily was a lot happier than she had been only a year ago. She still missed her mother, and sometimes she still felt a pang in her chest when she thought about what Derek had done to her, but she was moving on, and it felt good.

"You're the best," Lily said one Thursday after classes, as she and James headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Why is that?" James asked with a smile.

"You helped me out of that rut I was stuck in," Lily replied. "I feel so much better now."

"You just needed an extra tug," James said with a shrug, as though he'd had nothing to do with it. He was pleased, though when Lily stood on tiptoe to give him a sweet kiss. Everything had worked out well this Christmas.

A/N: And there it is. :) Let me know what you thought! Leave me a review.