A/N: And here's chapter 4! Please review, it'd be nice to hear some feedback!

-Maya

Forever Young

Chapter 4: A Christmas Carol

Christmas was right around the corner, and Hogwarts was alive with spirit. Almost literally, seeing as the ghosts of Hogwarts were flitting around much more than usual, telling tales to absent ears about Christmases in their days. Tinsel and confetti floated around the ceilings, and in almost every hallway and room there was a large Christmas tree. Somehow, the castle seemed to sparkle more than usual, and the festive air rubbed off on students and staff alike. Less homework was assigned, at least to the first years, which James learned the hard way when he pranced around the Gryffindor common room whooping about having no assignments and only just managed to dodge a hex shot at him by Harley. With only two weeks until the Christmas vacation, most of the first years had nothing but time on their hands. Of course, the Marauders spent this time planning their next great hoax, and Charlie Benedict spent most of it alternating between the boys and her new friend Lily.

At the moment, however, Lily was alone, and appeared very interested in a conversation with Nearly Headless Nick in the library just as James walked in. Spotting his target, he smiled and, with as much swagger as an eleven-year-old could muster, walked straight toward her. It was the day the students would go home for the holidays, and James intended to ask Lily if she was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.

"Hey there, Evans," he said easily. Nick looked outraged at the interruption, but James, ignoring him, continued, "What are you working on there?"

She looked up at him with irritation he supposed he deserved, but in a second he forgot what he was saying. The green of her eyes and the red of her hair gave a very warm color to her face, but her pursed lips somehow stole from the effect. James started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she grumbled testily.

"Well, you see, your eyes are green…and your hair is red," he laughed more. He seemed unable to control it.

"And?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"It's…it's…Christmas!"

Even Nick looked unimpressed. "Young man, if you wish to win this lovely lady I certainly hope you have more to go on."

James glared at him. "Win? Lovely? Well I certainly hope you're joking Sir Nick!"

Nick merely shrugged and walked away. Lily looked back down at her books and sighed. "Leave me alone, Potter. I'm trying to get a good majority of my homework done before the holidays."

James groaned. "Only you, Evans. Only you would try to do the joke that calls itself homework when you have a month ahead of you to finish it all."

"Well what brings you to the library then, Potter? Can't be looking for a book?" she snapped.

He grinned widely and said, "As a matter of fact, I actually perform spectacularly in all my classes, without the aid of extra books that you seem to need."

Lily slammed her book shut, huffed loudly, and looked up directly into James's eyes, letting out a hissed stream of insults he didn't really pay attention to. Her eyes were so green.

"Lily," he interrupted.

"Don't call me Lily, Potter," she said brusquely.

James ignored her. "Why are you always so angry at me?"

Stunned, she replied, "What?"

"Why are you always so angry with me?" he repeated calmly.

"Wha…I'm…Potter…are you-are you seriously asking me that? James Potter, not only do you consistently annoy me, you're terrible to my best friend! And a lot of his friends, too. You're an-an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Why is it that you don't see that?" cried the redhead, sighing exasperatedly.

Her answer should not have shocked him, but it did anyway. He chose to bury it and responded with a grin, "Evans, it seems that you're the only person who sees that."

After turning tomato red, Lily took in a deep breath and held it, and then let it out loudly. Without another word, she snatched up her book and bag and walked out of the library in a deathly calm gait.

James ignored the feeling of his heart sinking.

Later on in the day, Charlie found James sitting in front of the fire in the common room with a troubled look on his face. Glad to have something to do other than pull pranks, she sat next to him on the couch.

"This isn't our spot." It wasn't a question, but James knew what she was asking.

"You're friends with Lily Evans, right?" he asked, deflecting Charlie's inquiry.

"Yeah, why?"

"Is she friends with Severus Snape?" James felt bile rise to his throat as he thought about the boy.

Nodding slowly, Charlie answered, "Yeah, she is. Why do you ask?"

With a pause, James replied, "Just wondering."

For a moment, she felt as though she should press the subject, but not wanting to bother her friend, Charlie simply shrugged and moved to get up off the couch.

"Why's she friends with him?" James blurted out.

"What?" Charlie almost giggled at the ridiculousness of his question.

"Lily Evans is a Muggleborn Gryffindor. Severus Snape, that disgusting, sniveling git, is a pureblooded Slytherin. How can they be friends?"

He didn't know that Charlie had wondered the same thing many times as well. "I…don't know," she said slowly. "Maybe he's different? Maybe he only got Slytherin because of heritage, but maybe he's like, I don't know, like Sirius?"

"Or you," muttered James absentmindedly. Despite the truth of his statement, it still stung her a little, though he didn't realize it. Charlie always kept her self-consciousness about her family hidden.

"Yeah," she responded hesitantly, "who knows?" The girl shrugged again, and headed towards her dormitory. At the foot of the steps, she paused. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't like him either."

"That horribly irksome, frustrating, arrogant boy!" Lily fumed.

"Calm down," said Charlie, amused. "He's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" her friend repeated. "How can you say that? He's very much so that bad!"

"Come off it, Lily." Charlie shook her head, laughing. "You're just mad he insulted your friend, and you've judged him since then."

"Judged him? Judged him? I never, ever judge people. My mum and dad always told me to give everyone a second chance, but that Potter's on his fifth or tenth or hundredth chance by now!"

"That's probably true," Charlie acquiesced humorously.

"How can you be friends with him?"

But, because of a soft moan that escaped from a bed next to hers, Charlie was unable to answer her angry friend. They both looked over at one of the other girls who shared their dorm. All they could see under the covers was a mass of blonde curls that cascaded over the blankets as well as her face. This was the only girl in the dorm they hadn't met yet, Lily because she was too shy, and Charlie because she never found the opportunity. Sometimes they spotted her hanging around with a group of large boys, fifth-years, they appeared, but otherwise she was only ever seen in her bed.

"Where are the other two?" Lily whispered.

"I saw Janice in the common room, but I haven't seen the other one today. What was her name?"

"Vix."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I don't know where she is."

Unlike the four Gryffindor first year boys, the girls were not as close with each other. Lily found she got along with Vixen Carter, a short, pixie-like girl with an upturned nose much better than with Janice Mallory, who was sallow-faced and kept to herself. Charlie, on the other hand, conversed more comfortably with Janice, and tried to avoid Vix. She claimed the girl was "a nutter." And as for this blonde girl sleeping in her bed, they didn't see her enough to care.

"Well," Charlie murmured softly. "I should get ready to go."

"Oh, yeah, you're going home. Have fun!" She hesitated for a moment.

Charlie sensed her pause. "What?"

"You're…er…James Potter's good friend, aren't you?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, so?"

"You wouldn't happen to know if he's staying or going home over Christmas would you?" The look on Lily's face spoke pure irritation, and for a moment Charlie felt a pang of regret for James.

"He's staying. Sorry."

Lily groaned, and Charlie cringed, but said nothing more.

At the Christmas dinner, both James and Sirius were sitting quite calmly as Professor Dumbledore gave the Christmas speech. It was, in all honestly, bizarre for the other students to watch the two troublemakers share polite exchanges with their classmates, and sit quietly and respectfully as the headmaster made his speech. Until –

BANG! A deafening explosion preceded the chaos that was in reaction to the streams of red and green (James secretly picked colors very close to Lily Evans's) smoke that issued from the ceiling and walls. Although it didn't prevent breathing, the smoke stained clothes, skin, and hair, and once it had reached the floor, became a very slippery material that seriously hindered those who were trying to escape the pandemonium. Girls were screaming and covering their faces, and many students, and even teachers, were running for the doors. Professor McGonagall, and others who were brave enough to defy the prank, stood and tried to gather order, but unfortunately it was very difficult to follow orders of a person whose entire appearance was stained green and red. And in the midst of it all sat James Potter and Sirius Black, completely covered in red and green and supporting huge grins.

In the common room, everybody groaned as the two walked in.

"Thanks, morons—"

"—useless gits—"

"How am I supposed to get this off my—"

"Oh, just go back to the Great—"

They reacted to all the frustrated comments with smiles and, in Sirius's case, bows. For even though the Gryffindors threw insults at them, James and Sirius couldn't help but notice that each of them wore a smile. They might have been a little worried of the Gryffindor prefect's reaction, but when they approached Gene Fitzpatrick, it was clear that it wouldn't be a problem.

"I'd give you detentions because it's my job, but I reckon McGonagall will handle this one. Great Christmas prank, by the way," Gene said, with a broad smile.

As he walked away, James and Sirius looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Ah, he is too weak, my friend," Sirius said.

"Such a figure of authority must be stronger, don't you think?" James agreed.

"Yes, yes I do indeed. Shall we take it upon ourselves to correct this?"

"Yes, we shall, Sirius. We shall."

Gene Fitzpatrick became the main object of their practical jokes, not so they could teach him to "be stronger," but because he had a genial reaction that inspired them to continue pranking.

"That went great, wouldn't you agree, Peter?" James was grinning so widely, it was quite a feat that his cheeks hadn't burst yet.

"Yeah! It was so cool!" Peter's eyes glowed with awe.

"It's a shame Remus wasn't with us," said Sirius, shaking his head sadly.

"Yeah, that's true, but family's more important, I suppose."

Remus had received notice from his ill mother again, which had swiped him away from Hogwarts for the rest of the month. It had happened a few times before as well, but every time his friends inquired of it, Remus answered their questions curtly and pithily. Bemused though they were, the other three Marauders reasoned that he must be very close to his mother, and would rather not think about whatever illness she had that was so severe.

"We should write to him, shouldn't we?" offered Peter.

"That's a great idea!" Clapping the small boy on the back, James scrambled to take out some parchment.

"Whoa, wait!" exclaimed Sirius. "It's really late. Can we do it in the morning?"

Looking playfully affronted, James cried, "Friendship cannot wait, Sirius!"

With a laugh, Sirius joined his friends in writing the letter.