Author Note: I'm glad to see you all enjoyed Chapter 13! The last few months have been a pain in the you-know-where and of course, that is my excuse for not updating during that time. Of course, now I've got the entire summer to write and hopefully you'll get a lot more of this story within these next few months! XD There's only a little more left to go… I still can't believe it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 14, and let me know what you think. I apologize in advance for the entire snow scene – if anything seems unrealistic, it's because I live in Florida and haven't seen snow in almost fifteen years. Hopefully that won't seem too obvious!

Chapter Fourteen

"James, wake up!"

Lily stood over James's bed, a grin on her face. Nudging him gently, she beckoned him again. "James, wake up!"

"Let me sleep!" James retorted groggily. "We're on holiday!" He squeezed his eyes tightly shut to avoid any light that could possibly enter the room.

"James, you're going to sleep the entire day away!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you really want that?"

James groaned in response. "I need my beauty sleep!"

Lily sighed, and kneeled down beside him. "You've left me no choice, Potter. I'll have to resort to Plan B." Following this, she leaned in and kissed him lightly.

James blinked several times out of surprise. "Mmm," he said simply before deepening the kiss. "All right," he conceded finally, opening his eyes wide. "You've got me."

"Good," Lily responded, smiling. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed toward the window. "Look!" she commanded, opening the curtains completely.

James shrugged, still tired. "The ground," he said simply. "It's white."

Lily smacked his arm playfully. "That's because it snowed last night, you dolt."

"Now, now." James shook his head, a lopsided grin appearing on his face. "Is that any way to speak to the father of your future children?"

"Now, now," Lily mimicked, crossing her arms, "at the rate you're going, that man will be Severus Snape."

James shrugged. "If you truly dig slimy-haired gits, then who am I to stop you?" He smiled. "But let's be honest. You would have me any day of the week over him."

Lily nodded, thus admitting defeat. "That I would," she agreed, inwardly shuddering at the thought of Snape in her future.

James moved closer to Lily, not taking the smile off his face. "You have good taste, love," he told her, his voice softer, his breath nearly touching her skin. He looked as though he were about to move in even closer, but Lily quickly stepped back.

"Er, want to go for a walk outside before breakfast?" she asked, trying not to blush. She had finally admitted to herself that she harbored feelings for James, but she still felt uncomfortable when thinking about it. She had resolved to herself to keep things as light and carefree as possible; she did not want to plunge headfirst into a relationship that probably would not last for long. Lily knew she was falling more and more under James's spell, but if anything seemed too serious, it would jolt her out of her reverie.

James shot her a puzzled look. "Er, sure, Lily. Why not?"

Lily smiled awkwardly. "Wonderful, Go put on something warm so you don't freeze. I'll wait for you downstairs." And with that, Lily left the room.

Now alone, James sighed. What's going on with her? He wondered. Lily had always been somewhat of a mystery to him, but for all of this time, he'd always assumed that once she finally gave into him, he would be able to read her like a book.

She fancied him, obviously, or else she would not have kissed him in front of the entire school. And she certainly would not spend more time with him than necessary unless she'd had a change in heart. Why, then, was she acting so strangely, whenever he tried to get closer to her?

He pulled on his warmer clothes with a frown, and checked the mirror as he rumpled his hair. James smiled slightly at his reflection before he bounded down the stairs.

"You ready, my snow queen?" he asked Lily, who had apparently been engrossed in one of his Quidditch magazines for the past few minutes.

Lily set down the magazine and stood up. "Of course," she answered, having regained her composure from earlier. "Shall we?"

The two headed downstairs and outside, continuing their usual banter.

"This time last year," James told Lily, "if I so much as looked at you, I would earn a good slap." He grinned. "And now, here we are, alone together in the courtyard, where I bet you'd let me snog you senseless if I tried."

Lily cocked an eyebrow. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Potter… I'm not a fan of public displays of affection."

"Right," James said with a smirk, thinking of a certain kiss Lily had initiated the day before. "Which is why you kissed me in the Great Hall yesterday."

Lily smiled. "That was different."

"Who says that's stopping me now?"

Lily shook her head triumphantly. "You wouldn't," she said matter-of-factly.

James laughed. "And how do you know that?" he asked, now genuinely curious.

"Because I know you, James, and I know you love to torment me, but remember – you've got what you wanted. I'm yours now… and therefore I've got you wrapped around my finger."

James contemplated this. He slid his arm around Lily's waist as they followed the path around the courtyard. "You're right," he admitted with a grin. "You're absolutely right."

The two continued down the path in silence for a while, until Lily spoke up again, this time more serious.

"You know something?" she said quietly. "I love the snow. The color, the texture… to me, it's one of the most beautiful things in the world. My sister Petunia and I used to make snow angels at home when we were little. Mine always came out looking more like snow trolls, but Petunia's were perfect. You know, we used to be the best of friends, my sister and I, until I started to attend Hogwarts and we realized we were worlds apart." She sighed. "Last year, I came home for Christmas. I was hoping things would change between us. It had already snowed the night before I arrived home, and a part of me was hoping that by the end of the holidays, the two of us would be sneaking out at night for snowball fights and snow angels like we used to."

"Well, did you?" asked James.

Lily smiled weakly and shook her head. "No… as soon as I arrived at the house, I saw my sister finishing a snow angel, and this boy – this really plump boy – helping her to her feet. Turns out he was her boyfriend… and a total prat. He visited almost every day for the holiday, and all he ever did was eat and complain. He and I didn't really get along, either. I didn't think he treated my sister well. I told Petunia how I felt about it."

"Let me guess," James said. "She didn't take it well?"

Lily crossed her arms. "Not at all. We got in plenty of rows over it… and we haven't actually spoken since. Now she and Vernon are engaged to be married, according to my mum."

"Vernon?"

"The future brother-in-law." Lily wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Vernon Dursley… what an ugly name, hmm?"

James laughed. "I'm afraid Petunia Dursley doesn't have much of a ring to it either," he told her. "Not the way Lily Rose Potter does, at any rate."

Lily smacked James on the arm. "You're adorable," she retorted. "My middle name is Grace."

"I know that, love. I was just testing you."

"Testing me?" Lily snorted. "Maybe Lily Grace Snape would sound the best."

James winked at Lily. "Now who's being adorable?" He laughed. "I can imagine the children now. Beautiful green eyes, greasy skin…"

"Don't forget the luscious red hair."

"You know what?" James gave Lily the once-over. "I think that the luscious red hair would look simply spectacular with some white in it." He stepped away from her slightly and bent down toward the ground.

"What in Merlin's name are you ---?"

Before Lily could finish her sentence, she was pelted with a snowball. "No fair, Potter!" she shrieked, running her fingers through her now-wet hair.

"Just as I suspected," James said, laughing. "Snow really does the trick."

Lily gathered some snow of her own. "I'll show you tricks!" She tossed her own snowball at James.

And for the next few moments, the two teenagers ran around in the snow, laughing and tossing snowballs at one another. To an outsider, James and Lily seemed completely carefree and happy, as they let loose and enjoyed each other's company. And they were happy. James had waited years to spend real time with Lily, and Lily had finally opened up to him.

I am happy, Lily thought to herself, amidst all the snowballs. For once there are no worries on my mind.

Catching her drifting into deeper thought, James found his opportunity. He threw a snowball from behind her. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed.

Trying to dodge the snowball, Lily dove to the ground laughing. She held out her foot to trip James, who fell laughing beside her. The two lay in the snow, perfectly content with everything around them.

Lily spread her arms and legs and began to form a snow angel. As she repeated these motions, she thought more about the situation. I can have fun when I'm with James, she thought to herself. He makes me happy. She knew she had been worried about things getting serious between them, but now, as she lay here, she realized that a real relationship with James would be a good thing. She stopped moving.

James gazed at the girl who lay beside him. "What a beautiful snow angel," he told her with a wry smile, rolling over onto his side, more referring to Lily than to the actual snow angel she had formed (which, indeed, resembled more of a snow troll as Lily had mentioned earlier).

Lily rolled over onto her side as well, and laughed. "You're full of it," she replied. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. James, caught by surprise, fell onto his back and returned the kiss.

And as the two rolled around, laughing and kissing in the snow, Lily knew that at that moment, there was no place she would have been happier.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank rubber-duckiesofdoom, m-girls, maraudersminuspeterarehot, sorrybut, GoldenLocket14, Auriela, fudge-butter, -Jeisa-, Yuki Asao, Super Smexy Snuffles, iluvreading, KJ COLLECTIONS, CurryCurran, RavieGrint, hermy permy, x-Midnight Sun-x, rika, Mrs Claire Potter, PinkKittyMeow, and RonLover6789 for your reviews on Chapter 13. Hope you enjoy!