A/N: We're back! We're front! We're sideways! And it's an all new chapter. I've really decided to get into some troublemaking fun with these girls, because hey, you can't just go to classes and behave all the time, can you? So I decided to wrap up the Christmas holiday a bit quicker than I had initially planned, so that we can get some some fun adventuring in the next chapter. Enjoy!

Season's Greetings

The Burrow was quite the sight to behold at any time of year, but when Lily arrived there for the Christmas holiday, she found it to be particularly amazing. The entire exterior was enchanted to look just like a Christmas tree, even if it looked a bit lopsided.

Harry and Ron were in the garden, throwing gnomes across the fence while Ginny and Hermione sat and watched, joking the whole time. A few other redheads that Lily hadn't met yet were playing a game of Quidditch high above.

When the cars pulled into the small driveway, all activity seemed to stop. Lily and Rachel stepped out and were quickly surrounded by people, all offering hugs and holiday cheer. It seemed that nobody cared about the cold weather until Mrs. Weasley at last shooed everyone into the house.

"Now, Lily dear, you and your friend will be rooming with Ginny. I hope that's okay, but it seems we're a bit tight on room this holiday," smiled Mrs. Weasley.

"Sure, that's great! I'm sure that Rachel won't mind. Will you, Rachel," Lily shot a glare to the blonde girl, whom she could just tell was planning on how to make mischief.

Though, it seemed that one of the redheaded boys noticed Rachel's devious look, and he very elegantly swooped in, as if a butler with a serving tray.

"Methinks I may be able to help with your plight, young miss," he beamed. "Ah, forgive me. I'm George Weasley, prankster, joker, merchant extraordinaire. I'm always here to aid in magical mischief and any other sort of trouble-making that can drive my mum up a wall. Would you care for a sampler?"

Both girls' eyes went wide, but for very different reasons. Lily had never seen such a display of magical items. Candies to make classes more "bearable", powder that would completely extinguish most light, and a group of tiny little plush creatures. Rachel, though, immediately recognized the merchandise.

"You're from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! I love your products!"

"Well I'm glad the name is spreading, for sure," smiled the redhead as he took a bite out of one of the candies. Immediately, his nose began to bleed all over the floor.

"Oy! Mum," he cried out. "It's happening again!"

"Not this time, Georgie. I'm afraid you'll be cleaning that mess up yourself! And be quick about it! We're all trying to get ready for dinner!"

George's smile quickly faded as he ate the other half of the candy. His nosebleed stopped immediately. "She's getting wise to us... me. Gonna have to come up with some new things," he said with a bitter smile on his face.

Rachel looked down at the tray and then back up to the man. "I'm sorry about your brother. I saw his name when they listed those that... didn't make it."

"Thanks. But it just means I'll have to create enough bedlam for two now." He turned to Lily. "And you must be the gal that my darling mum told us all about. I want you to know that I'm creating a special line of beauty products, that will be for your use only. I don't want people to get wild over test products."

He shook his head when Rachel's eyes lit up. "And the result on females has been untested, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be too pleasant. Then again, if you want to see what it'd be like to have warts all over your face, be my guest. I don't think my dear mother would approve, though."

Lily gave the man an uneasy look. "I don't know if I should be taking test things. What happens if I end up all wart covered?"

George chuckled and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry. It won't do any of that. I tried it out on myself and became a woman for a solid five minutes before going back."

Lily blinked a few times. Sure she had been learning magic, but to be able to eat something and just become her dreams seemed to be way too good to be true.

"I... I think I'll pass for now, George." She smiled kindly to the jokester. "I'll definitely take you up on your offer soon, but I think right now, it's just too much for me."

Not looking affronted at all, he nodded and packed away the items in his coat pocket. "More than okay! Consider it a gift whenever you're ready. Friends of the Weasleys always get their first nibble for free."

And with a wink, he was gone to the kitchen to help with dinner.

"Are you insane?" Rachel gawped at her friend. "He was giving you a way to be what you've always wanted to be! Wouldn't that be awesome, Lily? And you passed it up!"

Feeling a slight twinge of regret, she maintained her attitude. "Yeah, but I just want to see results of my own doing before I start using the perfect cure."

"Muggles," Rachel muttered as she rolled her eyes. "Always needing to take the hard way out."

Lily giggled and ruffled her friend's hair. "You know, for someone who likes to make as much trouble as you, you sure like the hard way as well!"

"That's different," Rachel insisted as they were called to dinner. There were still a few days before Christmas, but with her parents, her surrogate family, and plenty of friends there, this was sure to be the happiest holiday yet!

Lily found that all everyone wanted to talk about were the courses at Hogwarts. The Weasleys and other wizards seemed to want to chat about all of the different professors, while Lily's parents just wanted to be sure that she was studying and actually furthering her education in something worthwhile. When she tried to explain that she couldn't perform magic outside of school, her father became immediately suspicious.

"So just what ARE you learning then?"

"Oh, they learn a ton, Mr. Andrews," nodded a longer haired Weasley named Bill. "In fact, I work for Gringotts, the wizards' bank around here. It's a great job with an excellent pay, and it's all thanks to my Hogwarts education."

Lily's father seemed to be satisfied by this response. The trans* girl just couldn't help but walk on eggshells when she knew that her enormous secret was being kept by everyone at the table, just so that her parents wouldn't find out. As she saw everyone laughing and eating, Lily wished she could just blurt it out and confess, but she swallowed it down, her fear of her parents' reaction too great. And besides, she thought, wouldn't it be better to just talk privately, just me and them?

As dinner went on, Lily was regaled with stories of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's school days, where it sounded like they did more adventuring than actual studying. Lily did get to learn just how brave Harry was and caught up a little more on the history of the wizarding world, but it wasn't until dessert that she received her license to start her own adventures.

"Here," muttered Harry as the adults moved to the living room to stretch their legs. "A gift so that you and your friends can actually do something fun."

He slipped a seemingly ordinary piece of parchment into her hands. George walked over to them with a mile-wide grin on his face. "Ah, yes. The Marauder's Map. I think explaining it once is enough, Harry. Why don't you go on ahead?"

With the mantel being passed, Harry looked down at it and tapped it with his wand. "Now here's what you have to say... 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"

The map instantly burst into life, showing the name of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. That quickly faded into a map of Hogwarts. It seemed that most everyone was gathered in the Great Hall for dinner.

"Pretty nice, isn't it?" He grinned and tapped the wand once more. "Mischief managed."

Rachel walked back into the room just as the ink was fading. "What the heck is that?"

The rest of Christmas break seemed to fly by. On the holiday morning, Lily received a wide range of gifts. Her parents got her a number of different Muggle devices that endlessly fascinated Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley knitted Lily a sweater with a quite unique charm, that could switch from "A" to "L" through a particular enchantment. Of course, this wasn't revealed until later.

George had stealthily slipped his "Feel Like a Girl" beauty kit into Lily's stocking with a note simply reading that if she should change her mind, Weasley's Wizard] Wheezes would be happy to help. Rachel had also received a treasure trove of presents from her family that were enchanted to appear underneath the Weasley's tree when the girl fell asleep. However, she seemed to be more focused on the Marauder's Map.

After Lily had explained the map to her friend, it had heightened her own sense of adventure. She knew that Rachel was the troublemaker, but she couldn't help but feel her own rebellious streak when she looked down at the little dots as they roamed the hallways.

The holiday break came to an end a day before classes were supposed to resume, allowing a little bit of flexibility for the two Hogwarts girls to relax after a long week of family and friends. The last day of the break was filled with a tinge of bitterness, as Lily had to say goodbye to her parents for the summer. Their temporary Floo pass was hand stamped by Minster of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt himself, and after he enjoyed a jolly New Year's Eve at the Burrow, he escorted Lily's parents back to the United States. With a quick hug and kiss, Lily waved to her parents as they disappeared into the green flames.

When Lily and Rachel arrived back at the castle, they were greeted by Tonks, who was floating around their dormitory upside down on the ceiling.

"Umm... Tonks? We're back," called Rachel.

The ghost swooped down and tried to wrap the two girls into a hug, which only flooded their already cold bodies with even more chills.

"Wotcher, girls! It's so great to see you! You have no idea what my week has been like. The Fat Friar is nice and all, but all he wanted to do was pray and repent and do all of that holy stuff that only monks understand. I never stayed for the Christmas holiday, so I had no idea he could be so... boring!"

"I heard that," called a deep voice that made Tonks jump. Though when the girls looked around, Lupin appeared into view with a sheepish grin on his face. "Once a Marauder, you know. Did you girls have a good Christmas?"

Lily nodded. "One of the best ever, probably! The Weasleys are amazing!"

Lupin chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, they're quite lovely people. And before you go thinking that our holiday was as miserable as Tonks made it sound, we actually had quite a lovely time. We were able to listen to music, spend some quality time together, and we took a look at some of the secret entrances and hideouts that she didn't even know about!"

Tonks beamed, but Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out the piece of parchment that Harry had bestowed to her. "You mean the Marauder's Map?"

If it was at all possible, Lupin grew paler. "How in the world did you get that?"

"It was Harry. He seemed to think that I could have some wonderful adventures with it," Lily explained.

"Yeah, and we're definitely going to be taking advantage of it too! Lily here hasn't seen any adventure here yet!"

Remus folded his arms in his most stern professor look. "Well, as one of the creators of the Marauder's Map, I will be watching you very carefully to make sure you don't abuse the privilege too often."

The two girls exchanged puzzled looks before Rachel spoke up. "YOU? You, the rule follower, made this?"

Lupin gave a hearty laugh and gave a nod. "Indeed I did! Along with Harry's father, Sirius Black, and another friend at the time."

"Sirius Black? The murderer?"

Lupin heaved a sigh, but Tonks interrupted. "Nah. He didn't do any of that. Framed. He's my second cousin once removed or some weird thing like that. But he was really an awesome bloke. Wish he was around here sometimes! He and Rachel would get along quite nicely, don't you think dear?"

"I think expulsion would be the only way to remedy that particular problem."

The reminiscing was cut off first by Megan and then by Theresa as they returned from their holiday breaks. After swapping stories of family functions, gifts received, and the typical post-Christmas banter, Lily officially showed off the Marauder's Map to the rest of the girls.

"So," said Theresa in an unusually devious voice. "Tomorrow's a day off. Shall we try some of these out?"

Postscript: Adventure time, ahoy!

Thanks so much to starfighter69 for another sweet review! Hope to see some more. Please let me know what you think! I promise that the next chapter will be a little more interesting. Just had to set things up for mischief!