AT THE POTTERS'

It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless

Dear Mum, Lily wrote.

I know you really wanted me to be home for the holiday, but James' parents have invited me to their place for Christmas, and I really thought it would be polite to say yes. Also, I didn't want to hurt James' feelings. He may act confident and cool, but he's really quite a worrier, he over-analyzes everything, you know?

Not to mention I've never been to James' house and I really want to meet his parents, after all, he is coming to our place for Easter.

I love you, Mum, I hope you like your gift (I can't tell you what it is, of course, but I think you'll like it!). Tell Dad and Petunia hello and I love them from me, okay?

Thanks, Mum. I'll write you all from the Potters'.

Love from,

LILY

Smiling dreamily, Lily folded her letter in two and slid it into a thick parchment envelope, scrawling the word 'Mum' on the cover in hurried writing. Then she tied it to the waiting leg of her large gray owl, Sova. Sova was a handsome gray owl with inquisitive yellow eyes so wide and curious that Lily sometimes wondered if they were intelligent as well.

"Take that to Mum, please, Sova. I'll have some lovely treats for you when you get back, I promise." Sova nudged Lily's cheek with her beak before turning to the owlery window and taking off, spreading her majestic wings wide in the fall sky. Lily watched Sova go for a while before leaving the dim, smelly room to join her friends Mary and Jessica in Gryffindor Tower before the Charms class they had in half an hour.

On her way to Gryffindor Tower, Lily ran into Sirius. Quite literally, too, she had been thinking fondly about James and staring at the floor and she had bumped right into him as he was headed down to the owlery. "Lily!" Sirius said, beaming widely. "Just the girl I was looking for. So, listen, James wants to know if you've written your Mum yet about the holiday. If you ask me," Sirius said knowingly, "he's quite keen."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course I've written her, I've just send Sova off now," she replied breezily, eager to return to the common room and discuss the holidays with her friends before class. "I expect Mum won't be too happy about me not being home, but Petunia will no doubt be thrilled," she added sadly.

Sirius nodded. "Well, I'll tell him that, then."

The two headed back to Gryffindor Tower together, not talking much, each in their own realm of thought before Lily burst out, "How're things with you and Mary?"

Sirius bit his tongue, not sure how to answer. "They're... all right. Not great. Not like you and James. All over the school it is, clever Lily and talented James, Head Boy and Girl dating, both in Gryffindor. You two are quite the subject of interest. I've heard quite a few girls plotting your demise, though, Lily," Sirius joked, laughing. "I'd keep my guard up if I were you!"

They had reached the Fat Lady's portrait. "Fiddlehead," Lily said smartly, and the Fat Lady swung open. Sirius and Lily clambered inside the common room, Lily joining her friends and Sirius joining his.

Two weeks later, James and Lily were sitting together on the train with Mary, James' friend Remus, and a ratty boy named Peter whom Lily thought looked as though he needed a good cup of her Mum's strong tea.

"Anybody fancy a game of LeviCorp?" Remus suggested. LEviCorp, a popular game among young wizards, involved levitating objects as high as you could for as long as you could. As most levitation spells fizzled out after less than fifteen minutes, the game wasn't particularly long, and it usually involved quite a bit of snap talk and good-natured banter.

The group all nodded and brought out their wands. James sacrificed a set of marbles for the game, even though James pointed out that objects often didn't survive being levitated by Peter, who flushed scarlet and murmured something indecipherable.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lily cried, not bothering to do a non-verbal spell. The large round marble lifted easily off the seat and floated up to the ceiling until it was bumping against the roof, trying to float higher. Peter's marble strained to soar about half as high, and then struggled to remain airborne as the other's levitated their marbles, most climbing nearly to the roof, but only Remus' joining hers.

All too soon, the Hogwarts Express pulled in to King's Cross Station, and the crush of Hogwarts students pressed out of the train. Less than a tenth of the school had remained for Christmas holidays, and so there was great care taken in getting everyone into the main train station without the Muggles noticing.

When James, Lily, Mary, Remus, and Peter finally got out, they all said their goodbyes and then parted ways, Peter following a mousy-faced couple, Mary going off toward her parents, her little sister Bertha trailing behind her, and Lily awkwardly following James toward a tall brunette with wide eyes like James', and a tall thin man with James' black hair.

When they reached the couple, James said, "Mum! Dad! Happy Christmas," and threw his arms around his mother's neck. After hugging had finished, he stepped back. "Mum, Dad—meet Lily. Lily Evans. Lily, this is my Mum and Dad."

Lily smiled and shook hands with Mr and Mrs Potter. "Call me Tabitha," James' mother said. "And this is Walter."

"Nice to meet you," Lily said rather shyly.

The group trekked to the parking lot, where a decent-sized car stood, ready to take them back to James' home. It took a while, but when they arrived, Lily gasped. She knew James' family was fairly wealthy, and their house was much larger than the one that she shared with her parents and Petunia. James beamed as they pulled up in front of the snowy yard.

"Welcome to my place!" James said, putting his arm around Lily. Lily grinned. She'd made the right choice coming to James'.

Over the next few days, Lily was welcomed warmly in the Potter household. Mrs Potter was very fond of baking, and she seemed to enjoy stuffing both her son and Lily full of cookies, pies, cakes, and squares.

The Potters' had given Lily a cosy room on the second floor, with a large, comfortable bed with a thick white-and-green quilt and pillowcases on it, a hardwood floor with a rug, a window that gave a beautiful view of the snow-covered street, and pretty yellow-and-green wallpaper decorated with little tiny butterflies that Lily enjoyed making flutter around. She relished being able to use magic outside school, and watching the butterflies often kept her awake long into the night.

Meanwhile, James was thrilled to be home. In between sweets and jokes and time with Lily he would sit thoughtfully gazing out a window or have long talks with his parents. During these times Lily would feel awkward and retreat to her room, reading her school books and catching up on homework.

Christmas Eve came quickly. The sky was bright white with clouds, from which snow floated down happily. The day was bitterly cold with wind, but the Potter's house was warm and the family and Lily spent the day talking, listening to wizard radio and playing violet games of wizard chess. A happy fire crackled in the fireplace and the delicious smells of Mrs Potter's cooking spread throughout the entire house.

Sometime in the late afternoon, Lily and James retreated to the backyard. It was one of their first moments alone since arriving.

Snow drifted down and landed on Lily's shoulders as James said, "My parents love you, you know." Lily beamed.

"That's good," she replied sleepily. "They're really nice. Your mum's an amazing cook, and your dad's real clever." James grinned proudly.

"Thanks. Dad was in Gryffindor like us, but he says the Hat nearly put him in Ravenclaw, can you imagine!" He laughed.

Lily leaned her head on James' shoulder. "What about your mum? She seems like a Hufflepuff to me—really nice, really kind, loyal."

James shook his head. "Gryffindor, too. Guess it was no surprise that I ended up there."

They were silent for a moment, watching the falling snow and the warm lights of the big house in front of them. The bench was growing cold under James and Lily's legs, but neither one of them moved. Finally, Lily asked, "Why do you like me, James?"

For once, confident James Potter hesitated before answering. "Well, you're smart. And brave. And you stand up for what you believe in. You're not afraid to work for what you want, and you're determined—or maybe stubborn is a better word. You're unimaginably pretty." Lily blushed. "But mostly? It's just because there's a light inside you, Lily. And I can't ignore it, really." Lily fell silent, shocked. Even in the past two years when he'd matured, Lily had never heard something so deep come from James.

"What about you?" he asked her. "What made you stop thinking I was a conceited, arrogant bastard and start thinking I was someone worthy for you to date, hmm?" He looked at her expectantly.

Lily thought for a moment. "You were always really immature, but in fifth year... you hit rock bottom you know? You were a bully, frankly. Especially to Snape. You got so much better in sixth year. Stopped calling me Evans, for one, and you stopped just hexing people. I guess I could see beyond the antics and I realized: you weren't just arrogant. You were funny, and clever. You were athletic. Attractive. And—and—" Lily was almost crying, her voice was thick with emotion. Alarmed, James sat up straight.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. You were just so amazing, James. You were strong. You protected Peter and Remus when they were in trouble. You were brave, true, and loyal. And—and I love you."

Lily didn't know what to expect when she said the words she'd been thinking for months, but whatever it was, it wasn't for James to lean in abruptly, and kiss her.

They sat for Lily didn't know how long, lips pressed together, snow melting on their shoulders, until they finally had to stop—because both Lily and James had started smiling.