A/N: So many of my reviewers for the last chapter told me that Snape was such a murderous, lying, slimy git! Most of you liked the theory as to why Snape is so mentally disturbed, which I was pleased about. So thanks for all of those people that grr-ed over the greaseball and told me how much they liked the chapter – I hope that Deck The Halls is as good! In this chapter all your prayers to do with this story will be answered, and I can safely say that all your fluffiness urges will be met without one mention of mistletoe. Enjoy, and remember to review…

In our last chapter:

I stare at Snape as he comes closer towards me. I've never been honestly scared of him before, but now I feel the terror clamber hastily up my throat. He brings his hand up to my face and as he caresses it my stomach turns over. I get shivers down my spine, not like the ones I get when James touches me – these are full of dread. I see him close his eyes, his lips lingering just inches from mine. I turn my face away, and his eyes flick open. I wait, feeling his eyes bore into mine, and he withdraws his hand slowly…

'I never did get to finish those questions,' James says softly.

I shake my head. 'You already asked two questions in a row.'

'But this question was important. Please, just hear me out.'

'Okay.'

He grins. 'Would you like to go to the Harmony Ball with me?'

I raise an eyebrow. 'No, I wouldn't like to.' His face falls and I laugh. 'Jeez, Potter, never heard of a cliché before?' I move closer to him and smile. 'I'd love to go with you.'

Deck The Halls

also known as

But You Can't Leave Me With That Vulgar Male All Christmas!

'I wish you didn't have to leave,' I say mournfully from my position in my bed as I watch Alice pack. She just laughs at me.

'It's not for that long, Lily.'

'Do you really believe that?'

She rolls her eyes at me. 'You're just grumpy because you will have James all to yourself this holiday, without your little best friend ready to snatch you away whenever things get ugly.'

'I hope Sirius is feeling clingy this Christmas,' I say darkly.

Alice chuckles, and abandons the search to find her favourite purple jumper for a second. 'I don't think he's feeling particularly clingy – at least not to Mr James Potter. Did you see him last night? He was snogging that sixth year, Harriet whatshername, so hard you couldn't tell where he ended and where she began.'

'Ew, Alice!'

'Just giving you the facts of life. And like you've never snogged a guy that hard.'

'What's making me feel sick is the fact that the next guy I will be kissing like that will be Potter himself.'

Alice absentmindedly flicks her wand in the direction of her dancing shoes, and they give a little twirl before landing in the bottom of her suitcase. 'He's not that bad.'

'You happen to have a boyfriend,' I remind her.

'I know. And I happen to be very excited, albeit slightly nervous, about meeting his family this Christmas.' She smiles. 'And of course, I'm devastated to be missing out on your big night. I'll be the only Hogwarts student not staying this Christmas – excluding Frank, of course.' She shakes back her long hair. 'But to get back to the point, Lily, you have to admit, James Potter happens to be one of the more desirable males at Hogwarts.'

Maybe that's the reason why all I've had in my head recently is his beautiful intense hazel eyes and lovely big hands. I shake my head. James Potter and I are incompatible. Nothing is going to change that. Nothing. Not even my best friend admitting that she too finds him absolutely gorgeous…Which gives me an idea…

'Have you got any idea what to get him, then?'

She shrugs. 'For the fourth time, I have no idea. You're the one spending all the time with him. I just get to look at his beautiful bum.'

'That's wrong, Alice.' I sigh. 'I should have some idea about what to get him. But even though I've spent more time with Potter than I would've ever liked, I'm completely at loss with figuring out his Christmas present. Damn you and your harebrained plans, Alice!'

She just laughs at me.

I've been talking about myself for long enough. I decide that the best idea would be to change the subject. 'So, did I hear this right? You have to go to a ball too?'

Alice waves her wand at her clothes beside her suitcase and they start folding up neatly and packing themselves in the large suitcase. She comes and sits down next to me, watching her clothes contentedly.

'Al?'

'What? Oh, the ball. Right. Yeah, apparently it's a Longbottom family tradition. On Christmas Night everyone gets all dressed up and they have this huge ball with all the wizarding families in the area. And this year Frank invited me.'

I smile. 'Best damn Christmas he'll ever have.'

She blushes, but her attempt at hiding a smile doesn't fool me. She's been the happiest girl in Hogwarts ever since she started going out with Frank, and she deserves to be. I know I should stop being a wet blanket, should stop harassing her with all the details about my doomed romance with Potter, and so I get up from the bed and clap my hands together.

'Let's go and have a farewell hot chocolate before Frank snatches you away.'

She nods. 'Sure.' She pulls on my sleeve as I turn away, and smiles. 'Have a good ball tomorrow night, Lily.'

'And you have a good Christmas, Alice.'

She grins. 'Oh, I will.'

III

I stand in front of the mirror nervously, watching the foreign girl reflected in it bite her lip as she looks at me up and down. I hardly ever spend a long time on my appearance, so the girls that share my dorm savoured the chance of dressing me up. Greta chose my dress – a deep green that is the same colour of my eyes, pulled in tight at the waist and trailing along the floor. Polly convinced me that my hair would look good with ringlets, and then proceeded to take two hours creating the 'perfect' hairdo for me. My long red hair is now pinned up in soft curls, with dozens of Greta's favourite tiny magical diamonds sparkling through. And Sara couldn't resist doing my make-up. My eyes look huge in my pale face, flushed with embarrassment as I watch the others looking at me eagerly for my reaction.

I turn and smile shyly. 'Thank you,' I tell them, and they shriek, clapping their hands and jumping up and down. Greta hugs me and spins me around.

'James Potter will declare you utterly delicious,' she remarks.

Sara laughs. 'Not just James Potter. The whole of Hogwarts!'

'Yeah, lucky I have a boyfriend who is very devoted,' Polly giggles. 'You do look beautiful, Lily.'

I can feel myself blushing even harder. It's the curse of all redheads. 'Thanks. You look amazing too.'

They pick up their clutches and, giggling and looking utterly excited, walk out the door. I turn back to the mirror and take a deep breath. The girl in the mirror smiles a little. Greta is right. James is definitely going to be impressed.

And with that thought in my head, I make my way down the dormitory steps. But I lose my nerve when I get to the first landing, and peek around the stone wall down into the common room. There are hardly any people – the girls made sure that they made a fashionably late appearance. James is smiling and waving goodbye to a few of his friends, waiting for me beside the staircase. He looks absolutely gorgeous in his black dress robes.

Note to self: need to see Molly ASAP to get a cure for this attraction to Potter.

I take a deep breath, deciding that I have to get it over and done with. I walk as confidently as I can down the stairs, smiling as James turns his head and to see me. He follows me with his eyes as I walk down to him. Even with heels on I'm still a head shorter than him. As I stare into his eyes a thought strikes me: when we do eventually kiss he'll get an awful cramp in his neck.

His hand hovers over my face and hair, and he sighs, pulling his hand away. 'You are perfect,' he murmurs. 'I don't want to touch you in case I ruin it all.'

I giggle. 'You won't.' I look him up and down. 'You aren't too bad yourself.'

He's still quiet, taking my hand in his. Slowly he leans in. I stop breathing, and close my eyes as his lips land on my forehead. He seems to rest them there for a long time, and I breathe in his scent and become slightly dizzy.

He pulls away and smiles. 'We should really get going,' he says. 'McGonagall will kill us.'

I nod. 'Okay.'

He holds out his arm gallantly. I take it, and we hurry through the portrait hole down the corridors to the front of the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall is standing.

When she sees us her face lights up with relief. 'There you two are!' she exclaims. 'Where have you been?' I open my mouth but she waves her hand and resumes talking at top speed again. 'Never mind! Now, quick, the band's about to begin, you have to go in there and start the first dance.'

I don't think I heard her right. 'Um, what?'

James tugs on my arm. 'Come on, Lily.'

I stand my ground. 'What the hell is going on?'

McGonagall looks impatient. 'The opening of the ball is to be done by the Heads.' At my still-stunned face she adds, 'You agreed, Miss Evans. I happened to be present at the meeting when it was decided upon, and you nodded your head at the suggestion.'

I look at James, who is smiling slightly. 'This was your idea, wasn't it,' I hiss.

He shrugs. 'You were planning to dance with me anyway, Lily. And besides, it's a nice way to start the ball.'

'But everyone will be watching us,' I whisper. 'They'll be watching me.'

He laughs. 'I'll say it again: they were always going to. You're gorgeous when you wake up with your hair all mussed from the night before, with crease marks across your face. Guys stop in corridors to watch you past like that. But tonight…tonight you're made up, and I think you should be prepared to have guys drop dead at the very sight of you.' He leans in close. 'You look beautiful.'

'Are you two done?' McGonagall asks. 'You really have to begin.'

I let my hand be taken by James, and sighing, I hold the fall of my dress so I don't trip over while I'm walking. I mentally wish that Alice were here to get me out of this situation as McGonagall smiles and, with a wave of her wand, the large doors open.

The hall looks stunning. It has been transformed into an ice palace, with real icicles hung from the ceiling and snow falling gently against a dark blue sky glittering with stars. Four Christmas trees reaching the ceiling stand in each of the Hall's corners, sparkling with real fairies. There are a dozen round tables set with white tablecloths, tiny candles and a bunch of white roses dripping with small icicles towards our end of the hall, to make space for the checkerboard dance floor. And, of course, a large flag with the Hogwarts crest flutters above the teacher's table at the front of the hall.

James smiles at me and we walk through the crowd of people watching us, everyone dressed up and flushed with excitement. I spot Greta and her date, a tall Ravenclaw sixth year, and smile at her waving. The three other Marauders whistle and catcall as we pass them, James chuckling and clutching me a bit tighter. We reach the dance floor, stopping in the centre. I let my dress fall and take his hand as the music starts. He holds the small of my back and we begin to dance, me blushing harder by the second as I can feel everyone's eyes on us. James leans closer towards my ear, and smiling, whispers, 'Stop being so embarrassed. Enjoy the moment.'

I groan quietly. 'How can you not mind all this attention?'

'How did you ever agree to the Head Girl job when you don't like being looked at?' he retorts.

'When they're looking at me that way they're listening to the changes I want to make to the school; they're listening to my brains and not my bust.' I shrug. 'Maybe you don't see the difference but it's important to me.'

'You didn't ever think that as well as listening to your brains they were watching your bust?'

I almost slap him but restrain myself. That would be something everyone would remember till the end of time – the Head Girl slapping the Head Boy during the first dance of the Harmony Ball. That would really stress the importance of trust, love and overall happiness, to quote Dumbledore. So I opt for a loud squeal, which is mostly drowned out by the violins.

'James!'

'What? It's the truth, Lily.'

I shake my head. 'Can we talk about something else now?'

The song ends and James bows dramatically. 'As the lady wishes.'

And so he starts talking about other things, making me laugh and start to enjoy the ball. He can really dance – an accomplishment I never would've thought this Marauder to be capable of, and I have so much fun I'm disappointed when the dance floor clears for dinner. We sit with the other Marauders and their dates, eating roasts and potatoes and dozens of other vegetables. After a dare from Peter, Sirius consumes five full plates of main course and three desserts without being sick; a feat that he announces will go down in history. James pulls me onto his lap for dessert and we get the fudgy chocolate cake that James hand-feeds to me, laughing and every so often directing the spoon into his mouth instead.

The Jackson Twins come on after a suitable digesting time and James and I get right in the middle of the swarm of students screaming and singing along to every single word, swaying along to the beat. When it all becomes too loud we come out to the outer-edges of the mass of people and we slow dance, the music pounding in my ears and into my chest.

The big Hogwarts clock strikes twelve all too soon and the Jackson Twins leave to cries of disappointment. The previous band returns and couples take to the floor, canoodling and cuddling. Needless to say James and I are out there for quite a long time, just moving from side to side, occasionally smiling at each other. People start to disappear back to their dormitories and at two in the morning, when I'm almost falling asleep against his chest, James pulls me away and we head back up to the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady is giggling away as yet another Quidditch player peels grapes and puts them into her open mouth. As we come up she smiles at us contentedly.

'Ah, young love!' she remarks, looking at our entwined hands. She places her hand over her heart dramatically and sighs. She looks behind her at the Quidditch player and giggles. 'And not-so-young love!'

When we finally get through the portrait hole we find the common room completely empty, the fire just a few orange coals in the large fireplace. One of the windows is half open and a cold breeze wafts through, giving me goosebumps. But it doesn't matter – inside I'm warm and happy.

James looks down at me. 'So, did you enjoy tonight?'

I smile back at him. 'I don't think I've had a better Christmas.'

'I'm glad.'

He doesn't make any motion to move away, just stands there with me in his arms, gazing at me.

'James?'

He shakes his head and raises his eyebrows. 'Sorry. Got a bit…distracted.'

I just laugh at him.

'Ah, Lily? Look, you might want to wait until the morning…'

'It is the morning, James.'

He nods. 'Right. Well…would you mind if I gave you your present now?'

I shake my head. 'Not at all.'

He leads me over to the fire and points his wand at it. It flares up, warming the room considerably.

James sighs. 'That's better. Now.' He sits down on the ground and I kneel next to him, my dress' skirt spread out around me. He smiles and reaches into his jacket pocket, drawing out a tiny white package.

'You still wear that chain I gave you for your birthday, don't you?' he asks nervously.

I point to the chain around my neck. It still has James' charm attached to it, as well as a dozen other pieces collected over the year. I didn't want to wear it at first, because I thought it would lead him on, but it is very beautiful and now that we are going out there's not really a problem…

'Of course.'

'Well, here's something else for it.' He hands me the package and with trembling fingers – that potion, Molly! – I open it to discover a gorgeous charm of a silver cut-out of boy and girl holding hands. My mouth drops open. 'Oh, James!'

He smiles awkwardly. 'Do you like it?'

I finger it gently. 'I love it, James. Thank you!'

I take off my necklace and thread the charm onto it, clasping it back around my neck. The silver is cold against my warm skin.

James grins. 'It looks beautiful.'

'Thank you,' I tell him again.

He goes a bit red. 'It's nothing.'

I smile. 'I might as well give you your present now, seeing as though you gave me mine.'

He chuckles. 'I wouldn't say no to that.'

I grin. 'I hope it's up to expectations.'

'I'm sure it will be.' He smiles encouragingly at me and I shuffle closer to him, my heart pounding. 'Do you have to get it?' he asks.

I shake my head. 'No, I have it here.' I show him my closed fist.

He laughs. 'You've certainly made me curious.'

'I should hope so.' I edge even closer to him. I'm almost in his lap now. I hold my fist in front of his nose and smile. 'Merry Christmas, James,' I whisper, opening my hand.

He looks shocked as my palm opens to thin air, but then, smiling at his confused expression, I lean forward and capture his mouth with mine, kissing him with all my might and getting tingles down my spine. His mouth is firm and soft at the same time and it tastes so very good…And maybe this wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be…I mean, Potter may be my mortal enemy but he sure is one hell of a kisser. I pull away breathlessly, shivering at his soft touch on my cheek. I look up at him and wordlessly he draws my face in close. He pushes back my hair and cradles my head in his large hands, kissing me gently but with so much passion I want to melt against him.

He breaks away and leans his forehead against mine. I press my lips to his once more and slowly get up, smiling at him down on the ground.

'Merry Christmas, James.'

Acknowledgements: Heh heh. Fluff. You gotta love it. Anyhoo, thank you to all of my reviewers for my last chapter, Dangerous Affairs (Pt II). I love you all so much for the positive feedback, and keep it up! I'm up to 108 reviews now (I never thought I'd get to a hundred!) and if I ever got 200 for this I would be so stoked…So for all of you out there, if you like this story, review! Even if it's just a word, I'd love you and you'd get your name down here!

Thank you muchly to: Julia or Jamie im not fussy (if you think of a brilliant name then I'll unblock Mr Pickles, I promise); Burgirhig; mean-girl123; GiddyGirlie; ohsnap its potter (who always tells me how she thinks she's running out of words to tell me how much she likes my story, which makes me feel so happy and I want to hug her lots to thank her!); the ever-wonderful embracing; mauraudersminuspeterarehot; mrspadfoot4eva; popkornchicken and shmokey-bear.

PS I'm thinking of writing another James and Lily story after I finish this one – either a chapter fic or even just a long one-shot. Basically I'm thinking that the tables will be turned, so James gives up trying to ask Lily out, which only succeeds in causing her to realise what she's been rejecting all the years. And so then she tries to get him to go out with her using all her feminine charms…Very fluffy, but would you guys read it? Tell me what you think.