Chapter 20: Happy Christmas

Lily Evans awoke the next day in James Potter's strong, worm and secure arms. She snuggled up against his bare chest and matched his breathing perfectly, their chests rising and falling together in time. "Happy Christmas James" she smiled and kissed the hallow of his neck, it was really one of the only places she could reach with his arms encircling her waist.

"Lily" he mumbled and turned over so that his free arm, the one that had recently been hanging over the side of the bed oh so lazily now rested across her stomach—she took the moment to determine her surroundings. By the looks of it, they were no longer in number Eleven Grimwald place, and by the looks of the large four-poster bed with black satin sheets and matching black satin pillows—and not to mention the quidditch posters pinned to the wall, and the nameless amounts of snitches sketched on parchment pinned around the room she was in James's room.

"Lily?" James smiled and lifted his head, looking softly, dreamily, and surreally over to her lifting his hand he brushed her hair from her face and smiled softly. He looked as though his world was complete as though she were everything as if she were the world.

"James" she smiled and leaned against him once more.

"Oh god your not wearing anything" he mumbled and pulled her even closer to him, burying his head in her hair, his warm breath tickling the hallow behind her ear. "Happy Christmas Lily" James whispered against her neck before leaning in and kissing her softly upon the neck. "Do you want anything for breakfast love?" He asked and smiled softly his eyes twinkling with delight, longing, and they just burned into her like a thousand suns. They were tantalizing, fathomless, perfect.

"Mmmm" Lily mumbled, "Anything really" she smiled up at James as he got off of his bed and walked over to his dresser where he pulled out a pair of clean boxers and a white tee-shirt. He pulled on a pair of dark-gray and red plaid pajama bottoms.

"Anything eh?" He asked and smirked cheekily at her, "I could think up some brilliant things—but how about I make you something now—but you must promise to go to hogsmeade with me, or you will miss a once in a lifetime experience, James Potter cooking you Christmas breakfast." James batted his long eyelashes slowly, tantalizingly at Lily, he knew it was her weakness his eyes were always her weakness.

"Hogsmeade with you? Sounds brilliant—what's the catch?" Lily asked and stretched out, as she thought of the possibilities, unaware that she had uncovered her bare chest.

"Lily" James spoke in a somewhat strangled voice as if he were fighting an urge—and that just served to make Lily smile.

"Yes" she asked and looked innocently over to James as he was pulling on his tee-shirt, the tee-shirt clung to his chest and everywhere in all the right places. He looked like he was a godsend.

"C'mon get dressed love—my mum and dad are downstairs and its Christmas…" He said with a smile and paused a moment before continuing, "You don't need to wear full clothes, just something to make me not want to well…" he trailed off but raised his eyebrow at her signifying in one simple effortless movement that she should know what the final world was, and she did. The final world also happened to be what she figured his urge had been.

"Fine James—but don't attack me…I kind of need to go into your bathroom then." She quietly moved to get off of the bed and placed her feet on the floor, looking up she noticed that James was running his hands through his hair.

"Quickly, please? Otherwise there will be only you and me and a much needed shower?" James closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards on the large window behind him—he couldn't see that Lily stood naked next to his bed, her hair resembling that of make-out hair and bed-head combined.

The shower Lily thought and felt herself half smile in thought, she sighed softly and took a deep breath. Slowly, ever so slowly she made her way to into the bathroom—she turned to the mirror and paused. She looked horrid, turned on the faucet she washed off her face and made to go to her room pausing momentarily to check, to see if anyone was coming, and to her dismay no one came.

She quickly looked through her room for some clean clothes. She quickly pulled on a clean light blue bra with a teal striped and polka dotted pattern and matching knickers. Standing there she looked around for her green knee-length Bermuda-short style sweats, she quickly grabbed a pale-green tee shirt. She walked back through the bathroom trying to find her bra that she had been wearing the night before, she had to get her favorite night dress back the one she transfigured into full clothes just the day before. When she opened the door her eyes immediately fell upon a piece of parchment that lay upon the floor, it looked as if it had fallen off of the wall. She quickly walked over and picked it up, as soon as she unfolded the parchment she felt herself gasp as she looked at what she found on the paper.

It was a beautiful, a seemingly perfect drawing of a snitch—the wings even were beating on the page it was perfect, what had taken her aback was not the drawing it self, no it was the date on which the drawing had been made, and the name that had been written below the snitch. Her name, Evans. The drawing had been made years before, she put the drawing back where she had found it and quickly made her way downstairs. When she made her way down into the kitchen she saw that James was by the stove—she couldn't help but smile. "Hello love." He whispered to her without turning to see that she had come in. This made her smile even more, they spent the day together in each other's arms, not fawning over eachother, just simply sitting together. At times Lily was found to be leaning against his shoulder, lying across his lap, or just held close in his strong arms—held close to his warm chest.

Around nine o'clock in the morning Eliza Potter, Harry Potter, James Potter, and Lily Evans found themselves sitting around the small Christmas tress opening their assorted presents. Lily hadn't expected much of anything, then again the necklace about her neck was quite a something, and so was the beautiful dress hanging in her room waiting to be used later that night. Still, she had a small pile in front of her, things from family, friends, and no doubt something from the Potters. James had probably told them that she had gotten them little gifts that she felt encompassed their personalities, gifts that really scream them.

"James, Thank you. I love it!" Eliza said in a happy and cheerful tone as she took out a beautiful golden sweater from the beautifully wrapped bag it looked strikingly beautiful against Eliza's dark brown hair.

"Lily helped me out with the style of it" James said with a chuckled and squeezed her hand, smiling softly at her as he said this. She had helped only because the other sweater was positively atrocious.

"Well, thank you Lily—you don't know what I've gotten in the past, but this is really nice, and a hell of a lot better than the sweater he tried to get me last year. But it's the thought that counts." Eliza smiled softly at Lily.

Lily began to open a small gift from Laura and smiled to herself as she got the 'everything potions book' "Ah a book on Potions for the one and only Potions-Wiz" James teased and placed his head on her shoulder, his chin digging in to the hallow of her collar bone, but she didn't mind she didn't care much at all. "Lily" he whispered upon her neck and tipped his head down slightly kissing her collar bone.

"Oh one from my mum" Lily said though a slight chuckle and smiled. Lily began to open the package and found a small letter and a bracelet that looked much like the necklace that James had given her.

"Happy Christmas Lily,

This bracelet is now being given to you. It was my great-great grandfather's wife Lillian's bracelet. I know it just so happens to be your house colors at school, still it belongs to you. This is a family heirloom, so please do be careful, Love.

Marin L. Evans."

Lily read the note aloud, in her mind she could hear her mothers velveteen voice as she wrote out each line and read each aloud to make sure that they all worked. "Its beautiful" Lily smiled as she pulled out the delicate bracelet. James nodded in agreement that it was beautiful; he probably was thinking that she was beautiful.

"Beautiful—it does rather look like a bracelet a friend of mince once had. She was forced to move, but sent me mail none the less." Eliza smiled and sighed somewhat, "We called her Mari, but her real name was Marin Elizabeth Laughlin." Eliza smiled and paused as she heard a very audible gasp pass though Lily's now open mouth.

"Marin Laughlin?" Lily asked and nodded swallowing as she spoke. "Sh-she's my m-mother," Lily looked up to Eliza to see her smiling knowingly. "Did you kn-know?" She asked and Elizabeth simply nodded.

"We still write—she know I am a witch" Eliza smiled, "But Lily she's no muggle. I was at her house when we both gout our acceptance letters to Hogwarts—her parents couldn't afford to send her there so my mum who was head of the education department at the ministry of magic paid for her to be trained as a witch. We work with Marin actually, but she goes by Eleanora Edgemont in the ministry." Lily nodded and smiled.

"So—you knew all along?" Lily asked and Eliza Potter simply nodded, "Then would petunia be a squib?" That was where things got somewhat hazy.

"No, Marin dind't think she was right fro the magical world—and with how she was a right bit snide you, your mum decided against it. She was never accepted to Hogwarts, they got a letter saying that Marin who worked sometimes in the Department of Education thought her eldest daughter was unfit for the magical world." Eliza explained in a soft voice that was like caramel.

"But my dad—he's a muggle right?" Lily asked Eliza and she nodded, "Well now, I know who my mum was talking about when she spoke of her friend Eliza of Potter." Lily smiled and nodded at this, she now understood everything.

They spoke for a few more minutes, soon they continued to open and exchange gifts until noon when they stopped opening gifts to talk and just be. And they also stopped for lunch.