I'm literally in the world's best mood ever in the whole entire universe because I don't have to sit another Chemistry GCSE for 12 months! Unfortunately though, I do have a Physics Exam in the morning D:
I hope you are all as happy as me and, in response to a question - Yes, Jily is DEFINITELY my OTP :-)

x

The Sunday before Hogwarts was due to break up for Christmas, the first real snowfall of 1977 came about. Every morning of the following week, students woke up to a fresh blanket of snow covering the grounds.

Lily Evans was cold. Her hands stung, her nose was numb and her cheeks were pink as she pushed the front doors open and walked over to the bottom of the Grand Staircase, where James Potter was stood, his hands deep inside his pockets and both shirt sleeves rolled up.

"Your uniform is despicable." She told him, as they began to walk.

He grinned, pulling off the tie that hung, unfastened, around his neck. With a small flick of the wrist, he whipped her with it and laughed.

"Potter." She said, going to grab it but missing "I'm really not in the mood."

"Oh, lighten up." He laughed "We go home in two days!"

"Yes, I know." She said, without smiling.

"You don't want to go home?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I never said that."

"Maybe not, but you're giving that impression."

She shook her head "I don't get on with my sister."

James frowned - he'd heard about Lily's family from Marlene, but never quite understood "She's a muggle, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why?"

Lily looked at him sideways "She's jealous...I suppose."

"Ah." He said "Understandable, I suppose. Then why don't you stay here - or go to Alice's or something?"

"I want to see my Mum and Dad - it's just Petunia."

"Oh," He smiled slightly "I ate a petunia when I was seven and spent the night throwing up - never really been fond of them since." He paused "I prefer lilies."

She smiled at him "That's possibly the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Bollocks - I'm always nice to you." He grinned proudly "I wrote you a poem in fourth year!"

She laughed out loud and winced "I'd blocked that out."

"Roses are red,
So is your head,
I'd kiss your friend Snape,
If you'd get in my bed." He recited, laughing. "The best bit was - I'd lost my virginity about a week before I wrote that and I was acting like some kind of pimp."

"You lost your virginity t the age of fourteen?"

"Fifteen." He correcte "Dorcas Meadows."

Lily shook her head "Merlin, it took me forever."

"So that was your fist time?" He asked, eyebrows raised "I thought so but..." He trailed off and ran a hand through the mess of raven hair on top of his head.

"But what?"

"Well firstly, look at yourself - you're gorgeous, Evans. I'm mightily surprised you managed to keep it that long."

She shook her head, a small smile on her lips "Thanks, I suppose."

"You're welcome."

"Secondly?"

He smiled slightly, stopping to itch the back of his calf with the toe of his trainer before saying simply "You were good."

She looked at him for a moment "What?"

He laughed softly "Good - I would say in bed, but it was up against a bookcase and then on a table so it doesn't really apply."

"I - I was - what do you -"

"It's the best sex I've ever had." He stated honestly "And I've had sex with an impressive number of girls."

She rubbed her forehead "Is that a compliment?"

He laughed "It's a fact."

"Well thank you, I suppose...again." She smiled "It wasn't exactly a horrible performance on your behalf, either."

He grinned "Oh, I know. Although I never really believed I'd ever hear you compliment me on anything - least of all that."

"Me neither." She said, and then looked at him and laughed.

They walked comfortably for a while until the castle was very dark, any light from the moon blocked by thick clouds.

"I like snow." James said quietly, coming to a stop and looking out of a window. They were very high up and a druaght blew up and down the corridor.

"Me too." She said, shiverring slightly.

James shrugged off the grey jacket he had on over his school shirt and passed it to her "Put this on."

She looked at it for a second or two and then began to protest "I'm fine-"

"Evans, just put it on - you're cold."

She did as he said, feeling the weight of the thick material drop onto her shoulders. It was warm and soft and, as they walked and she breathed in, she inhaled the familiar smell of bonfires that she'd grown slightly accustomed to over the past few months. The realisation made her wince as she followed James down a corridor.

A noise from a cupboard interrupted her trail of thought. They both stopped and took several steps backwards, before glancing at one another. From behind the wooden door came a second sound very similar to the first, only slightly lower in pitch.

James frowned, pulling out his wand and flicking it slightly, causing the lock to release with a small snap. Using his other hand, he reached and pulled the door, revealing two fourth years in a very compromising position.

The girl, her blue and bronze tie askew, jumped up and fixed her skirt. The boy, a small smile on his face, glanced down at his un-tucked shirt and wiped his mouth.

"Erm.." He said slowly "We were just-"

"I have a fairly good idea of what you were doing." Lily said "Get to your common room."

He grinned gratefully, a pink tinge creeping up his neck as he jogged away "Thanks."

"Go on," James inclined his head and the girl blushed bright, beetroot red.

"Okay."

"And do try and hide it better, next time." Lily called after her quickly retreating silhouette.

"I'm impressed, Evans." James said, smirking.

"Well, I'd be a bit of a hypocrite, telling them not to do it." She bit her lip, smiling.

James grinned "Yeah, you would."

Lily laughed and, after a few seconds of watching her, James joined in. Somewhere inside, Lily thought it strange to feel such a swooping happiness in the presence of a person she had once despised. However, that place was located in a deep, dark corner of her brain and wasn't worrying her as she leant against a bannister and hiccuped slightly.

That was, until they both looked up. Hazel met emerald and suddenly, Lily was concerned. Not because she was laughing, not because she was happy, not even because she was having what could be described as a dangerously good time with the boy beside her. No, Lily was concerned because all she wanted to do, at that moment, was to feel him against her. She wanted him to bite her neck, kiss her stomach - she wanted him to do everything he had done on that October evening when she had given in for the first time in her life. Lily Evans was concerned because she wanted James Potter.

He moved towards her, instinctively, the ghost of a smile still on his face. The silence between them rang through the empty corridor, the darkness was a vacuum - trapping and containing them, unwilling to let the pair leave.

"We should go." James said quietly, not moving.

"Yeah." Lily said, wanting to do anything but.

He inched forwards automatically, looking down so that their lips were millimetres apart.

"Do you want to?" He whispered, and Lily wasn't sure whether he was referring to leaving the secluded spot or what they were about to do.

"I don't know." She breathed, virtually into his mouth, sending a wave of goosebumps down his body.

Suddenly, a door banged shut, forcing the pair back into reality. Lily jumped and James stepped backwards quickly, ensuring that he was as far away from her as the corridor would permit.

Peeves flew overhead, cackling "Oooh, did I interrupt something?"

"Piss off, Peeves." James practically growled, and the Poltergeist flew off, humming a few bars of a crude song.

The walk back up to the Common Room was short but silent.

"Mistletoe." Lily muttered, her voice strained.

The Portrait swung open and they climbed through, into the circular room.

They turned to look at each other once more, before nodding and going their separate ways.

x

As the snow was so thick, all students who were supposed to be doing subjects that required the use of the grounds were trapped inside the castle, making the corridors hell - even when you knew as many short cuts as the Marauders.

"Slow down!" Panted Peter, attempting to consume the last of his bacon sandwich.

Remus laughed "Oh, come on, Wormtail!"

Sirius paused for a moment, before leaning down and snatching the food away, stuffing it into his mouth.

"Padfoot!" The blonde, chubby boy exclaimed "That was mine!"

"No shit," Sirius responded, swallowing the entire thing in one gulp "It's not slowing you down any more, is it?"

Peter muttered something and Sirius walked to join James.

"Sup?"

"Nothing." James responded, looking ahead.

"Liar."

James glanced at his best friend - the one person to whom, before this year, he had told everything. "What? I'm fine."

"Clearly not." Sirius said, but did not push the matter. "Hey - guess what?"

"What?"

"I got a my first Christmas present last night."

"What was it?"

He grinned "Let's just say, I think Marlene McKinnon might miss me after all."

"Why, what did she give you?" James asked absently.

"Fucking hell, James," Sirius stared "Has it really been that long since you last had sex that you can't even get my innuendos any more?"

"Oh," James smiled "I get you."

Sirius shook his head in dismay as they approached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

James walked in and sat down, unusually early. After a few minutes, Lily, Alice and Marlene walked in, taking their own seats.

"Morning." Lily said politely, sitting down.

"Yeah - Hi." James responded, opening his book.

Slinkslope arrived next with a few Ravenclaws, waving his wand and saying "No need for books today - we're having a Practical lesson!"

Sighing, James kicked the textbook back into his open bag under the desk and stood up. Lily got out her wand, ten and a quarter inches of swishy Willow, and looked expectantly at the Professor.

"Potronus Charms," He spoke smoothly "Have a simple enough theory but can be extremely difficult to pull off correctly." The class listened intently as he continued "A Corporeal Patronus is literally an imprint of your soul and can protect you from the likes of Dementors. They act as a guardian and take the form of a kind of creature - for example, my Patronus is a Ferret." He glanced around before continuing "Many Wizards have to make do with a Patronus that simply takes the form of a silvery mist - it does the job, but will never be quite as strong. It will take weeks of practice to perfect so do not lose your patience. Now, does anybody know how to conjure a Patronus?"

Lily raised her hand "The incantation is Expecto Patronum. It literally translates to I await a guardian."

"Good - ten points to Gryffindor. However, the incantation will not work alone - and this is where it gets tricky - for a full fledged Patronus to emerge you need to think of the happiest memory you can muster whilst saying the incantation. and by happy, I do not just mean something that made you smile - I need ecstasy!" He grinned "So, have a go!"

Lily frowned, turning to Alice as Marlene closed her eyes and grinned.

"What are you thinking of?"

Alice shook her head, her eyes wondering to the back of Frank Longbottom's hair "No idea."

Shrugging, Lily closed her eyes, seeing herself at the age of eight, baking with her Mother and sister. "Expecto Patronum!"

She looked up expectantly but saw nothing - not even a glimpse of silver. Slightly put out, she tried again. And again. And again. And again.

Half an hour later, still nothing.

"Sir!" James shouted, grinning "Look!"
The class turned around to see wispy silver streaks erupting out of the end of his wand.

"Excellent!" Slinkslope shouted, gesturing wildly "It's definitely a start!"

James let his wand drop, still smiling as the Professor walked to the front "Right - for homework - practice!"

Lily shoved her wand back inside her robe and trailed out of the classroom, only half listening to the conversation Alice and Marlene were having about their 'happy thoughts'.
x
Lily dunked her head under the water in the Head's Bathroom and opened her eyes, the whole world filling with a shimmering, glinting light as she waited for her hair to rinse. After a few seconds of this, she emerged and climbed out of the bath, wrapping a towel around herself and leaving her hair to drip onto the floor.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and observed herself for a moment. She supposed, really, that she was lucky. Her skin was blemish-free, her nose delicate and her eyelashes thick. She was slightly shorter than average, making her chest seem slightly bigger than it really was. Her wet hair was dark but still red in the light and she was slim, with good legs and size five feet.

Before she had any idea what was happening, the door swung open and James Potter emerged.

"Potter!" She shouted, stepping out from behind the mirror and staring "What are you doing?"

James' eyes widened for a moment and then traced over her body "Evans." He looked at her "It didn't say anybody was in here."

"Well, it should have done-"

"It isn't my fault."

"I never said it was." She replied.

"You were about to."

"No I was not."

"Fine," He shrugged "Would you like me to leave?"

"Well I'm clearly not ready yet." She answered, her voice echoing around the arced ceiling as she walked towards him.

"Right then," He said, not taking his eyes from hers

"Okay." she said quietly, now only a metre away.

"About last night-" He started

"It was stupid." She said quickly.

"Yeah - yeah, it was." He nodded and then turned to leave "Are we okay?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good." He turned away and his fingers were on the door handle when she said the word that made his heart stop.

"James."

Every muscle in his body seemed to freeze at the use of his first name. Somehow, he span around and stared at her, seeing the hungry look in her eyes for the second time in his life. He dropped the bag that was on his shoulder and reached out to her, pushing her roughly against the cold brick wall and crashing his lips down onto hers.

She kissed him back with twice as much force, his lips burning. Hands shaking from all the adrenaline, she hastily unfastened his shirt as he ripped the towel from her body. They moved backwards, still kissing whilst simultaneously taking off the rest of James' uniform.
Just as the final piece of clothing dropped onto the floor, the pair tipped over the edge, plunging into the still filled and bubbling bath without letting each other go for a second.

Spitting the warm water out, James looked Lily steadily in the eye, panting slightly "Evans-"

But he couldn't finish, because her mouth was once again on his.

x

I hope you like it! Please review :)