"Will your parents know you spent the night in here?" I asked around my toothbrush.

"I don't think so. They probably wouldn't have thought to check in the first place," James said, walking over to me. I could see his naked reflection as he walked up and hugged me from behind. I giggled, and he kissed my neck. His arms roamed, one hand cupping my breast, the other down the front of my knickers…

"James," I said warningly as I felt something hard pressing against my lower back.

"Hm?" his lips were on my jaw, at my ear.

"I think at some point today we will have to come out of my room," I said as I tilted my head back to give him a better angle. I put my toothbrush on the edge of the sink before it dropped.

"Mmm," James said. Was that agreement?

I pushed myself forward, and rinsed out my mouth, spitting into the sink. "You know, lunch won't be for another half hour," he said, his voice deep and husky.

"Oh?"

"Well, before you shower…" I finally looked at him, his body telling me he was clearly ready for another go.

"Multitasking, James," I replied as I stepped into the shower. Before I even reached for my shampoo, his hands were on me. I let out a laugh and kissed him under the hot water.

oO0Oo

"So you still believe in that curse?" I asked as we walked towards the dining room.

"I suppose not. I can think of four different times since the sun came up, which that damn curse didn't kick in," James said with a smug look at me. I could feel my face deepening in colour. "Hey, don't be embarrassed," James said. "It's healthy."

"That's right," an easily recognizable voice said from behind us. "It's very healthy for two young adults to shag like bunnies under the same roof as their parents."

I groaned and James grinned, running a hand through his hair. "At least I'm getting some," James replied. I swiftly elbowed his hard abdomen, and he let out an "Oomph."

"Touché, mate." Sirius was now walking beside us. "So what's our plan to get out of helping today?"

"I'm not sure yet. I think we should make it centered around Lily, though, so my parents would definitely let us."

"I noticed," Sirius said with a nod. "No matter how much they worship over their little Jamiekins, they seem to adore Evans more." They both glanced at me.

My face grew redder. "I'm sure that's not true," I said.

"Oh, it is. They love you. I'll bet they're already thinking of you as their daughter," Sirius informed me.

"Shut up," James said. "You're making her uncomfortable."

"Well, there's an empty room right there," Sirius said as we passed yet another bedroom. "Go shag her brains out, and she'll forget about the whole thing."

"That's it," I said loudly. I pulled out my wand and concentrated very hard, nonverbally cursing him with a clear jet of magic shooting out of my wand.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Sirius asked, bored.

"Oh, not at all," I said amused. I noted James trying to keep a straight face, but letting out a snort.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said suspiciously as we passed a mirror. "Fucking Merlin, Evans, you'd better fix this!" he shouted as he inspected his reflection. But I already had James' hand and we were running down the hallway.

"How did you know that spell?" James said, his body shaking with laughter as we entered the dining room.

"Over the past year, I've grown as accustomed to cursing Slytherins as you," I said, still giggling. "I'm simply less obvious about it." Ever since my fallout with Snape…

"Brilliant," James murmured. He kissed my cheek sweetly, and before I could even ask why he hadn't gone for my lips, the reason presented itself.

"Oh, aren't you two adorable," Mrs. Potter practically cooed. I jumped, having not realized she, or Mr. Potter, for that matter, were in the room.

"Mum," James complained as he guided me to a seat, his hand still in mine.

"If you don't want a comment about it, don't do it in front of me," she said with a laugh. "Or stay in her bed for half the day." My face was positively beet red, and I was mortified. I couldn't look up as I took my seat.

"Mum!" he protested, sounding embarrassed as well.

"Don't worry about it, honey," I heard from Dorea. Her hand patted mine. "You two were less obvious than Charlus and I when we first stayed at either of our parent's houses. It's sweet, really. Reminds me of my younger days," she continued.

"Okay, are you trying to get me to leave?" James spluttered. "You could just ask."

"Oh, hush up, you," Dorea said. "Where's your brother, so we can eat?"

"Right here," a miserable voice said. His arrival brought a whole new round of laughter, including both Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "It's not funny!" he insisted, which made us all crack up even more.

I played on Sirius Black's vanity. He took deep pride in his long, dark, silky locks of hair. He took the time each morning to style them perfectly, claiming that's what got him laid. So that was the obvious choice for me to target. I put the ultimate curling curse on him; he now sported a very healthy-looking afro. It's considered a curse because it is not reversible; you simply had to wait it out. Unless you put the opposite curse, the one for straightening, on top. But I wouldn't mention that part. He'll figure it out on his own, after searching in the Potters' library, I'm sure.

"Evans, put it back!" he whined as he took a seat.

"Sorry, it doesn't have a counter curse," I informed him with a smirk.

"Slytherin," he jibed.

"Oh, if only you knew," I said with a wider grin.

"Children, if you'd all like to stop bickering, we'd love to eat," Mr. Potter said.

"Sorry, dad," Sirius said, still glaring at me.

"Sorry, Mr. Potter," I chimed in.

"Either Charlus or dad, even Chuck, but never Mr. Potter, Lily."

"Sorry, Charlus," I replied.

"Let's just eat, shall we?" James said, the shadow of a laugh still on his face.

We dug in. Mrs. Potter, who liked to do most of her own cooking despite having three house elves, was brilliant. She put together an amazing meal, and I couldn't get enough. "What are you lot doing today?" Dorea asked.

"Well, Lily wanted to show us some of her favorite Muggle places," James said.

"Yeah, like the neighbourhood where she grew up," Sirius chimed in. "We get to see muggles." He sounded oddly excited about that.

"That sounds alright," Dorea said. "Have fun, and stay out of trouble. Be careful not to do magic in front of the muggles. That means you, Sirius," she said, pointing her fork at him.

"Yes, mum," he said with a mischievous grin. She shook her head, but I noticed the prideful glint in her eye. As if he were her own son.

oO0Oo

Marlene, I scrawled on a piece of parchment, meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at three, would you? I'm supposed to be taking James and Sirius to muggle London…I need backup.

I dropped some floo powder into a fireplace, declared "Ivy Cottage," and dropped the letter into the green flames. Marlene would probably be itching to get out of her house by now.

I went back to my room and set the place straight. The bed had been piled with pillows, and now they were scattered about the room. I made a face and cast cleaning charms at every part of the bed I could, ensuring that they held no trace of the past twenty-four hours on them.

I unpacked my bag into the wardrobe, carefully hanging my beautiful dress. I couldn't help but unzip the garment bag and gaze at the most expensive thing I'd ever owned. It was just…so beautiful.

I jumped back onto the huge bed among the pillows, closing my eyes and trying to imagine what the ball tomorrow would be like. It started at 7 on Christmas Eve, going well into Christmas morning. James told me that growing up, his parents would make him go to bed at Midnight; they'd still be up in the next morning, in their dress robes, directing many people to guest beds they could stay at. He would wait until everyone else got a bed, then opened presents with his overly tired parents.

I simply couldn't wait. It was like a muggle fairy tale.

An hour later I wondered around Potter Manor, looking for either James or Sirius. I successfully found Black in the library.

"You thought you could outsmart me," he gloated, showing me his hair, perfect once again.

"No, actually, I thought you'd figure it out sooner, with your knowledge of hair charms," I replied honestly. "You should think of opening a salon after Hogwarts," I continued, grinning at his facial expression. "I'm sure girls would be lining up to get their hair done."

"Whatever. You're just jealous," he said with a grin once again.

"Oh, yes. I want short, stubby black hair. Which, in fact, describes Snape's hair as well," I informed him.

"Take it back," Sirius said.

"Never, Black," I said joyfully.

"You leave me no choice, then," he said with a wicked smirk. He promptly shot me with a tickling hex.

I screamed, my whole body withering under the tickles. I focused all my energy on grabbing my wand and reversing the hex as my eyes watered. "I hate you," I huffed out as the tickling stopped. I shot a leg locking curse at him.

"Really, Evans?" he asked. I disarmed him with another neat flick of my wand, having his soar over to me.

"You have a problem?" I asked innocently.

"I'll show you a problem," he replied. He took a giant hop, and another immediately, until he was tackling me and wrestling me for a wand.

"Sirius Black!" I shrieked as he gripped a wand. I really didn't know which hand held his, or which one we were currently fighting over. And then I felt the tickles once again. I screamed in frustration and laughter all at once.

I was withering under him as the hex took its toll. But if I do say so myself, I was doing a marvelous job of keeping the wands away from him… "What's going on here?" a voice demanded.

"Aah!" I shrieked as Sirius successfully pinned my hands over my head.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" His voice was calm, level, cold…it was unsettling.

I looked through my tear filled eyes at James, unable to stop my squirming. Then I looked to Sirius, his legs locked together, lying between mine, which were spread open, him pinning my hands above my head, and I just couldn't stop moving… "Sirius!" I exclaimed, breathlessly as I tried not to laugh, trying (unsuccessfully) to stop wiggling beneath him.

"Er…yeah." He let go of my hands and rolled off me, grabbing his wand in the process. He undid his curse, and laughed at me, still twitching from the tickling as I undid the hex once again.

I gulped air into my system as I recovered from the tickles, laying sprawled out on the floor. "Would anyone care to explain?" James spoke once again.

I turned my head sideways, looking past my arm to see James, looking coldly at Sirius. "I was getting revenge for her curling curse," Sirius said, "but she was holding her own."

"And what type of revenge was that, may I ask?" Cutting, sharp…I'd never heard him like this.

"Tickling hex," I growled, sitting up.

"Stealing my wand? Really, Evans," Sirius chided.

James' face took on an expression of understanding. After a deep breath, he said, "I see."

I studied his face for a moment. "You didn't think we were…"

"No."

"You did!" I exclaimed.

"Not for a second."

"Liar."

"Minx."

"Hold up," Sirius said. "You thought Evans and I…were going at it…in your bloody library?"

"No, I didn't," James insisted.

I let out a laugh. "No offence, Black…but James, I wouldn't ever. Not knowing where that mouth has been."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You really thought I'd go for your bloody girlfriend, in your bloody house?" James didn't answer. "You've got some serious trust issues, mate."

I walked over to James. "I wouldn't ever cheat." I looked him straight in the eyes.

"I know. It's just…the situation I walked in on wasn't ideal, love," he replied with a smile.

"I suppose not," I said with a light laugh. "How about I just promise not fight with your best mate?" I offered.

"That would be nice," Sirius grumbled.

Ignoring him, James said, "I suppose I could go for that." In a lower voice, "Though it is highly amusing." I laughed.

"Agreed."

oO0Oo

"Marlene!" I called. She glanced up from the newspaper she was reading and acknowledged our presence. Downing the last of her butterbeer, she folded the paper and got up, tossing it down. She strolled over to us, looking magnificent in her tight muggle clothes. "You look sexy," I said to her with a wink.

"I know. Was I the only one smart enough to wear muggle clothes?" she asked in exasperation.

"I'm not that dim," I replied as I unclasped my robes. Beneath them was an outfit almost identical to Marlene's, but different colours. I waved my wand and vanished my unwanted clothing.

"Yeah, Evans said she'd take us shopping first," Sirius said.

"We'll just stop quickly," I explained to Marlene. "There's a small place on the corner that has awesome clothes, I used to go there all the time," I said, looking at it in my mind's eye.

"Well let's go," she said. We held hands and I spun, concentrating hard on an alley within walking distance of my favorite town. My feet hit solid ground and I opened my eyes, blinking into the sun reflecting off of the snow, which covered everything.

I walked with them down the surprisingly busy street, directing them into the small store where I put James and Sirius safely into the hands of the well-dressed man behind the register. Fifteen minutes later, they looked hot in their new jeans and t-shirts, walking down the street in the frigid air. We arrived in a roller rink.

"What's this?" James asked mildly, looking around at all the people skating around.

"We're roller skating," I said. "Remember, don't use magic."

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said. "Can we try it now?"

"You need to go over there to rent some," I explained. Another ten minutes later, and I was helping my friends stand up. "Just stay in place," I ordered.

"Muggles do this for fun?" Marlene grouched. "I'd say this is torture," she practically growled as she grabbed a table to steady herself.

"Once you get the hang of it it'll be more fun," I said. I got the pleasure of watching them attempt to skate, for hours on end. Marlene was best; within an hour she could skate passably, without being a safety hazard to herself or others; Sirius and James, however, were another matter.

They kept trying, though. They probably were bruised like old fruit, however, from how often they fell. And if they stayed up for more than two seconds, they tried to be cool and go fast, resulting in another spectacular wipeout. Marlene and I skated in circles around them.

And we were finally kicked out when Sirius had the brilliant idea to charm his skates to go on their own; he ran into over a dozen innocent skaters and made some serious scratches to the rink.

"That was fun," James told me as we ran through the cold air across the street to a small restaurant.

"Yeah, it actually was," I said with a laugh. "It was nice seeing you fail at something in life," I told him. "it makes you seem more human."

James laughed. "If you want to see me fail at something, just toss me your arithmancy book."

We went home after that, and I took a healthy dose of sleeping drought; I wanted to sleep until three, so I would be able to stay up all night. Marlene slept in the room adjacent to mine, since she was invited as well. I curled up into a ball in my warm bed and let the potion drag me under.