A/N - Wow...I feel so incredibly guilty about how long it took me to post this chapter. And you guys were so nice and sent me so many brilliant reviews....Argh! I'M SORRY!

Alright - time for the inevitable excuses : ). First off, school's kept me busy - I'm taking all honors classes and thus have about 1 - 2 hours of homework a night. Not fun. Then, of course, I've been reading (and writing) a lot of angst lately - not the most helpful thing in the world when you are trying to write humor. That one's entirely my fault, I'm sorry. And, (last but not least), I was attacked by a rather nasty bout of plotless-ness. This story seems to have been getting that a lot lately.

Ok - you guys probably want to read this chappie more than you want to hear me rant, so here you go! The latest, long-awaited installation in TwoWay Mirrors...Chapter 20!

Chapter 20

"Merry Christmas to me, merry Christmas to me, may-I-get-more-presents-than-Sirius, merry Christmas to me!"

"Wrong song, James." yawned Remus, sitting up and rubbing his eyes blearily. James grinned.

"Well, we ran out of Christmas carols to serenade you with about an hour ago. Took you forever to get up."

Remus frowned slightly. "Why, what time is it?"

"Six in the morning." replied Sirius cheerfully, a large pile of unopened presents in front of him on his bed. "We've been up since four."

Remus gaped at them, his light brown hair nearly as messy as James', and said weakly "You got me up at six?"

"Yep." said James, bouncing impatiently up and down on his bed. "Now are you going to get up so we can open presents or not?"

Remus stared at him incredulously. "Why didn't you just open presents without me?"

Sirius looked at him crossly. "Now, would that be a Marauder-ish thing to do?"

Remus groaned and flopped backwards onto his bed. Sirius glanced exasperatedly over at James, then rolled his eyes and began to sing at the top of his voice "GOD REST YE MERRY HIPPOGRIFFS…."

:::::

"You know, I really don't think this is a good idea." whispered Remus, eyeing James and Sirius, both of whom were wearing identical, evil grins, apprehensively.

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius, looking insulted. "It is a stroke of pure –"

"Shut, up, she's coming!" hissed James, backing hurriedly behind a large statue of Emeric the Arrogant and tossing the invisibility cloak to Sirius. "Alright – I'm not exactly sure how to do this, so I apologize ahead of time if I misaim and hit one of you."

"Is that likely?" asked Remus anxiously. James ignored him and, a roguish grin on his face, sauntered out from behind the statue, his wand hidden behind his back as he went out to greet the person walking towards them.

"Hullo, Evans!" he called cheerfully. Lily, who had apparently not expected to see him there, stopped short, an annoyed scowl coming onto her face.

"Why are you here, Potter?"

James' grin widened. "Why, to give you your Christmas present, of course." He whipped his wand out from behind his back, and before Lily could so much as step back he said pleasantly "Stupefy!"

A brilliant jet of red light shot out of his wand and hit Lily straight in the chest – a furious look came onto her face, and a second later she dropped to the floor, her books clattering onto the ground around her. James pocketed his wand, looking exceptionally pleased with himself, and walked over to look down at her. Sirius and Remus walked over to join him.

Sirius threw the cloak over Lily. "Third floor then, mates?"

:::::

"This would probably…," gasped Sirius, staggering slightly as they walked down a low, dank passageway lit only from the light coming from James and Remus' wands, "Be a lot easier if you two would help."

"Oh, stop whining, we're almost there." said James, squinting ahead to try and see where they were. "We've been going up for at least ten minutes, we should – Ow!" He stopped suddenly, rubbing his head and glaring accusingly up at the ceiling. "Stupid door." he muttered under his breath, sticking his wand in his pocket and pushing up on the trapdoor. It swung open reluctantly, and he clambered through, Remus scrambling up after him. Sirius remained in the passageway, glaring up at them.

"You planning on coming up, then?" asked James impatiently.

"And how," asked Sirius sarcastically, "Do you expect me to get up there carrying Evans?"

James, who apparently hadn't considered this, frowned slightly, but a second later his face split into a wide grin and, pulling out his wand with a flourish, he pointed it at Lily, who was lying draped in Sirius' arms, and said dramatically, "Enervate!"

Lily blinked and opened her eyes; for a moment she looked confused, but then, apparently remembering what had happened, a livid expression came onto her face, and she pushed herself away from Sirius, who appeared to be only too glad to be rid of her. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, POTTER?!"

James pretended to be hurt. "Why, Evans, I was only trying to give you a Christmas present."

"THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A PRESENT?! STUNNING ME, KIDNAPPING ME, BRINGING ME DOWN HERE TO THIS, THIS UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAY,–"

James adopted a sorrowful look. "We had no choice, Evans. If we hadn't stunned you you would have told one of the teachers about the passage…."

"….Which would mean we couldn't use it anymore…." continued Sirius, clambering through the trapdoor to join James and Remus.

"….And for some reason they seem to think that would be a bad thing." finished Remus, looking apologetically over at Lily.

Lily's face was nearly as bright red as her hair now. "Then why," she whispered, her voice deadly soft, "Did you bring me down here in the first place?"

James and Sirius both grinned. "Ever heard of The Three Broomsticks, Evans?"

:::::

"Right," said James brightly, pushing open the large wooden door leading into The Three Broomsticks and entering the cheerful looking pub, "Here we are."

"'Bout time." grumbled Sirius, wringing out his long black hair. "We've been walking for at least half and hour…."

"Well, you try finding the place in a snowstorm…,"

"Don't you think the people here will find it a bit suspicious that four first years are here on Christmas Day?" asked Remus, entering after Sirius and wiping snowflakes out of his eyes.

"'Course not." said James dismissively, as Lily walked in after Remus, still looking severely disgruntled.

"Once we get back up to the castle, Potter…,"

James ignored her and walked up to the bartender, a cheerful-looking old man with thick grayish hair and bright, twinkling brown eyes. "Hello, sir!" said James brightly, drawing a few sickles out of his pockets and putting them on the counter. "Four butterbeers, please."

The man looked down at him, amused, and said roughly "Arn' ya supp'sed ta be en school?"

James looked revolted at the very thought. "At school? On Christmas? No, my good sir, we all came back to Hogsmeade for the holidays. This is Sirius Lupin," he said cheerfully, pointing to Sirius, "Remus Evans, and Lily Potter." He grinned as he heard Lily sputter indignantly. "And I," he said solemnly, his eyes twinkling, "Am James Black."

"Ar' ye now…," said the bartender, frowning thoughtfully as he looked at them.

"Yep." said Sirius cheerfully, taking the butterbeers that the bartender had set on the counter and tossing them to Remus and Lily. Lily, who was still glowering furiously at James, didn't seem to have noticed that Sirius had flung a butterbeer at her – with a splintering crash it smashed into the wall right over her head, drenching her with the sticky, sweet-smelling liquid.

She blinked, wiping it out of her eyes, as the entire pub turned to look at her. "Ar' yeh alrigh', Miss Potter?" asked the bartender, looking concerned.

Lily glared at him, then at Sirius and James, who were both laughing silently at the look on her face. "You…," she hissed, her fists clenched as she glowered at James.

"Yes, Miss Potter?" he said, trying exceptionally hard not to laugh. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked as though she would have dearly loved to curse him.

The bartender, who didn't seem to quite understand what was going on, said, after a short pause, (during which Lily was still glaring murderously at James, James was doing an admirable job of appearing innocent, Sirius had given into temptation and was laughing hysterically, and Remus looked rather exasperated at the lot of them), he said "So will yeh be wantin' anothe' drink, Miss –"

"You say it again," said Lily, not removing her death-glare from James' face, "And you will regret it." Turning around, she stalked over to the door, thrust it open, and strode out, slamming it shut behind her.

James gazed mournfully after her. "We should probably go after her before she gets lost, shouldn't we."

"Yeah, probably." sighed Sirius sadly.

They stood silently for a few minutes, staring solemnly at the door and sipping their butterbeers absent-mindedly. "You know," said Sirius suddenly, his face brightening, "We could probably, could probably explore the Shrieking Shack some more, or something, then come back and find E – er, Lily, later. I mean, it's not like she's going to freeze to death or anything…."

James appeared equally delighted with the idea, and, turning to the bartender, lowered his voice conspiratorially and whispered "What do you think, old chap?"

The bartender appeared to deliberate the point. "Well," he said slowly, apparently thinking it over, "Well, she ar' ra'her an irri'able lass, ain' she…."

"You have no idea." muttered Sirius under his breath.

"An' she din't seem teh like bein' round yeh much, so –"

"My sentiments exactly." interrupted James, grinning and clapping his hands. "Right – so we ditch Lily, head to…somewhere else, and come back and find her later."

Remus looked highly skeptical about this plan, but before he could say anything the door to the pub had blown open – instinctively the three boys turned around, then, just as quickly, whirled back, a mixture of shock, delight, fear, and, (in Remus' case), resignation coming onto their faces.

Professor Cattivo stepped inside, shaking snow out of her silky blonde hair and glancing around contemptuously. Walking over to the bar, she sat down next to where Sirius was standing, beckoning the bartender to her with a haughty wave of her hand.

"You know, this probably isn't a good thing." said James, stifling a laugh at the look on Remus' face.

"You think?" said Remus sarcastically. "Have any more 'brilliant' escape plans up your sleeve?"

"No, actually."

Remus groaned and looked over at Sirius, who was grinning as he tried to edge inconspicuously around Professor Cattivo. "We're trapped."

James looked appalled that Remus would even suggest such a thing. "We're the Marauders, Remus! We do not get caught. Especially by evil old hags like Professor Cattivo. Now stop being so pessimistic and start coming up with an escape plan."

"James, we're –" For the second time that afternoon the door leading into the Three Broomsticks gusted open, revealing a rather flushed and annoyed-looking Lily Evans.

"Potter! Black! Where are you, I –" She stopped suddenly, a slow, malicious grin spreading across her face as she saw their predicament. Professor Cattivo, who was muttering furiously about flooded dungeons and blockheaded students, didn't bother looking up as Lily sauntered inside, leaning languidly against the wall and smirking at Sirius and James.

"Help us!" mouthed Sirius, who was trapped between Professor Cattivo and the wall. Lily's smirk only grew wider.

"Isn't she supposed to be the bold, chivalrous Gryffindor, coming and rescuing us from the evil and vindictive clutches of Cattivo?" asked James indignantly, crossing his arms and looking rather grumpy to be at the whim of Lily.

"Well, you did kidnap her and bring her here against her will…"

"She would have had fun if she hadn't insisted on being so prefect-ish."

"…smashed a butterbeer over her head…"

"Well, it's not our fault she doesn't know how to catch."

"…and didn't bother going after her when she walked out into the snowstorm…."

"Just because she gets all annoyed and decides she's going to leave right after we got here…!"

"….And you really expect her to try and get us out of here?"

"Well, she likes you, doesn't she?"

"Did you listen to anything I just said?"

"Well, yes, but still. She had to have had a bit of fun today – you'd think she'd show some gratitude."

"You didn't listen, did you."

"Well, I got the gist of it."

They were interrupted as someone grabbed Remus' arm. Lily was standing there, though neither of them had the faintest idea how she had snuck past Cattivo, and her bright green eyes sparked with a mixture of annoyance, worry, and, (when she looked at James), detestation. "Hurry up, Black's already waiting outside." she hissed, dragging Remus after her as she crouched down and darted behind the bar.

"What do you mean, Sirius is already outside?" said James blankly. "How'd he get past that old bat?" Lily, who looked as though she couldn't believe she was actually helping him escape, growled softly and didn't bother answering.

James sighed melodramatically. "Is this all the thanks we get, Evans? After our generous, self-sacrificing –"

"For the record, Potter," she hissed viciously, "I am only helping you escape because I haven't the faintest idea how to get back to the castle by myself." She straightened as they reached the door – pulling it open, she stepped outside, James and Remus hurrying after her.

"Hullo, mates." said Sirius cheerfully, swatting vainly at the snowflakes that were swirling down to settle in his hair. "Had to have Evans rescue you, did you? Not that that's a bad thing…." he added hastily, as Lily glared furiously at him. "No, er, shame and embarrassment in having to be rescued by her…."

:::::

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of a day." yawned James, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the Common Room fire next to a large box of Chocolate Frogs. "I mean, alright, we didn't exactly do anything, but still…."

"We did get to curse Evans." said Sirius thoughtfully; he was methodically ripping, balling, and tossing into the fire the emerald green-and-silver silk dress robes his mother had sent him. "That was fun."

"But then we had to suffer the humiliation of being saved by her." said James gloomily, as though there were no thing worse on earth than being in the debt of Lily Evans. "She's never going to let us live that down."

"Ah, well." yawned Sirius, stretching and laying down on the ground next to Remus, who was already asleep. "Least it wasn't Snivellus."

A/N - Yes, I'm sorry, but that's it for now. I hope you liked it a bit...not the best chapter I've ever written, I know, but not the worst either. Considering how hectic life's been lately I thought it turned out very well. And now, on to my favorite part of updating - replying to reviewers!

Celebrean - lol. Yes, unfortuantely, I've already had to start school. And, sadly enough, I can never seem to get away with writing fan fiction in class. Annoying teachers. : )

Eagle - Well, needless to say, I felt rather guilty after rereading the end of your review tonight...I'm sorry I couldn't post this earlier! 'Bout your constructive criticism...you were reading me mind, weren't you? lol. I totally agree with everything you said - as you can see from 18 - 20 I've already started doing three or so at a time. Thanks for the advice, and hope you liked this chappie!

hikki116 - Thanks : ). Trust me, the homework load only gets worse. Hope you liked this chapter, and thanks for reviewing 'gain!

mydream - thanks, and I'm glad : )

- well, whoever you were that reviewed Chapter 11, thanks! I'm glad you thought so.

Misthea - Hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. I'm glad you liked the last one so much - so many people in ff-dom make Remus addicted to chocolate that this was kind of a pun on them...nobody seemed to notice it, but oh well. It adds 'depth' to the writing : ) (By the way, incorrigibleness is a word. I checked). And thanks for that lovely compliment - it really made my day. And I'm glad you don't mind waiting too long for my updates - hopefully they won't take as long as this one, but I can't promise anything. Death is Nothing's should prove faster, I'm having more of an...inspiration with that, you could say. As always, thanks for reviewing!

Jenn Black - Yay, a new reviewer! Although, unfortuantely, I don't really get what you mean by the first part of your review (alas, they would have told the truth)...and sorry, but I checked and in the thrid book Remus says "But then Dumbledore became headmaster, and he was sympathetic." Oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

lilroxyn03 - Review-mongering, eh? Can't say I haven't been tempted to do the same...however, before you ask me to read your fic I'd appreciate it if you'd at least read a bit more of mine. Thanks! Your fic was great : )

Alright - I'm pretty sure I got everybody. Thanks you SO much for reviewing everybody, you have no idea how much it helps. Let's try to get to 70 with this chapter, shall we? As always, hope you liked this chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!

Bye, and God Bless America.