DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

Note: So… here the cliffhanger ends.

"James."

"Lily"

There was an awkward pause.

"I'm so sorry" Lily blurted

"It's all my fault." James cut in

"No really, I—"

"Honestly…" They stumbled over each other.

Lily drew in a deep breath.

"Thank you… for the sneakoscope. It's really lovely."

"No." James said.

Lily stopped short. "No… what?"

"No, it's not lovely. It was dumb of me. I'm sorry. It was… arrogant and presumptuous."

Lily stared at him. "No. It was a wonderful gift. I was the dumb one. The candy… its not like it looks… I didn't know what to get you… I tried, honestly I did!" she reached out and squeezed his arm.

"No! You did perfectly! I tried too hard!"

"Enough!" Lily burst out laughing. James stared at her for a second, then joined in.

"Listen to us!" she giggled.

"Friends?" he held out his hand.

"Friends." She affirmed, taking it and hugging him.

"Happy Christmas, James!" and she left him there once again.

Going downstairs, Lily sat at the Gryffindor table alone and ate a giant Christmas breakfast of waffles and bacon and many goblets of pumpkin juice. A few owls swooped in to deliver Christmas wishes to the few who had ventured down so far. One dropped a letter in front of Lily and proceeded to steal her bacon.

"Oh al right!" she fed it a piece. "shoo!" it flew off.

Turning to the letter, she recognized Amos's neat handwriting.

Dear Lily,

Happy Christmas! Thank you for the quills. A very thoughtful and practical gift, I must say. Remember what I said before holiday? Watch out for Potter. Did he get you anything?

Yours, Amos.

Lily glared at the letter, then tucked it away. Amos could be a bit over-protective sometimes.

"Hi, Lily. Happy Christmas." Remus sat down next to her.

"Hi. You too."

After thanking each other for the gifts, they proceeded to discuss the homework, which they had both finished.

Their other friends, who insisted on a snowball fight, soon joined them. Remus followed the group as Lily ducked out and fled to the library.

Nodding to Madam Pince, she sat in a corner of the History of Magic section and picked out a book entitled "A Duel for the Greater Good" by Aralia Waggs. She had read it once before, in third year, but current events brought her back to the book.

The book was about the rise and fall of Grindlewald. It wasn't that informative, actually. No one really knew how he'd gotten so powerful or why… the book did speculate that he was mad, which didn't help Lily much. But certain words struck a familiar chord with her: "Grindlewald rose to power rather quietly. He kept in the shadows until the last minute, causing fear. By the time he revealed himself, he had raised an army of supporters. After committing seemingly inhuman acts of power, he succeeded in securing power, officially beginning his reign of terror."

The keeping to the shadows and raising an army were very familiar, and struck a feeling of dread into Lily. There was another wizard, a very dark one it seemed, who was currently in the shadows, killing who-knows-how-many people, and was recruiting. Sitting back, Lily wondered how long it would take Severus to join him.

Lily didn't need to read further. She knew the rest of the story well enough: Dumbledore had defeated Grindlewald in a duel. Could he do the same for He-who-must-not-be-named?

Leaving the library and wandering through the empty halls, listening to the echoes of singing armor and laughing student, Lily contemplated her future as an auror.

"Ah, Lily Evans. Our very own head girl." Lily had nearly walked right in to Dumbledore.

"Professor. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Quite understandable. The holidays are always distracting. But tell me, what is it on your mind?"

"I was just reading in the library-" Lily stuttered.

Dumbledore smiled but said nothing.

"I found the book I was reading…"

"Thought provoking?" put in the headmaster.

"Yes. Exactly."

"I too have been thinking deeply about a book recently recommended to me by a dear friend. But your thoughts seem troubled."

"Well, the book was about Grindlewald…" Lily told him. She had never had such a casual conversation with the headmaster.

"Ah. I see. Not a very happy topic." Dumbledore didn't seem too troubled. His blue eyes still twinkled. "Especially in light of recent events."

"Exactly, sir."

"Professor McGonagall tells me that it is your ambition to become an auror?" Dumbledore changed topics so fast that Lily blinked.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm… then I have a proposition that might be worth your while. But now is not the time or place. And now, I really must be off. But we must continue this lovely conversation later. Keep reading!" And with that, he swept off.

What an odd man he was, Lily thought, as she walked on.

Her feet led her to the courtyard where her friends had started a snowball fight. Clearing snow off a bench with a flick of her wand, Lily sat down and watched. Occasionally, a stray snowball would find it's way in her direction, and she had fun charming them out of the air.

She sighed, content.

Note: Sorry. Really short chapter. I figured I might as well post it. The next chapter, Amos will come back and then it will all hit the fan blah blah blah.