Here we go, the first chapter in months. 25th Chapter- mostly on Christmas- ironic much? Anyway, tell me what you think of it. :)
"This is just. Wow." Lily's voice caught in her throat as Frederic pulled the limo up in front of a humungous courtyard.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" James grinned at Lily's appalled expression. The mansion loomed out in front of them, giant and gleaming in the sunlight, the reflection of the sun in numerous windows blinding Lily's eyes for a second.
"In simple words, yes,"
"Too amazing for normal eyes to behold, hmm?"
"Don't flatter yourself," she snapped, and he just winked at her.
"We'll take it from here, Fred," he said and Frederic nodded as he got out of the limo and helped her out as well.
"I'm taking it you underexaggerated," Lily said, staring at the orchard to her right and the woods to her left. "It's more of a… chateau than a mansion to be honest."
"Alright! Quit gaping, Mum'll love to see you," he slipped his arm through hers and led her across the yard (more like a field, Lily thought).
"Hey, wait just a second!" she yanked her arm out of his grasp and he looked at her in such a queer way that it made her blush.
"I, uh…" she fluffed up her hair a bit so as to not appear nervous or anything. "Wanted to, uh- look at the, um-" her face began to redden steadily as a roguish grin crept up his.
"I see what this is!" he said loudly with a slight laugh to his voice and Lily looked up regretfully, her blush reaching a strange cherry color. "You're stalling, aren't you? You don't want to meet my mum, do you?" he walked straight up to her with a superior air.
"What? Urgh, you really think- that's not something I would do! Honestly, James-" she said really fast, and attempted to say more but he just laughed even harder.
"Really?"
"That's stupid though! I mean who would be afraid of- I mean, that's wimpy, and-" she broke off, his lopsided grin and narrowed eyes making her want to chuck a brick at his face. "Good Lord, SHUT UP! I'm not scared, if that's what you think! Just wanted to… admire the scenery a bit more, that's all."
"Come on Lils, I think its kinda cute," he closed the space between them and kissed her on the cheek. She felt herself relax but it lasted only for a second as her anger built up more.
"SCREW YOU AND YOUR RIDICULOUS CHARM I HATE IT!" she meant to yell inside her head but the words came tumbling out of her mouth in a gush as she pushed him away. Seriously, could he try not to look at her like that? Ugh, it just made her stomach melt and her brain slow down. "You know what? I'm going to go up to that house- no, mansion, and I'm going to knock on the door-"
"You don't need to,"
"Whatever. And I'm going to go up to your mother and I'm going to show you that I'm not scared!" she screamed at his face in fury, but the way he looked at her just made her feel clammy. "I hate you, you know," she said as loud as she could, running towards the mansion before he could say anything.
"The heck was that," he muttered to himself in a puzzled manner, watching Lily knock on the door, even when he told her not to. He caught up to her in a flash, just before the magnificent door shot open. A beautiful, black-haired woman (wearing what Lily thought was too expensive for hers and Hestia's family combined) beamed at them with wide, bulging eyes. Like Lily's mother, who had not acknowledged James at first sight, Caroline embraced Lily, ignoring her son.
"Lily! Heavens, I've heard so much about you!" she hugged Lily so tight her face went red. "It's so great to finally meet you," she released her and stood up straight, sizing her up, with a strange look on her face.
"Mum, uh… I'm here too, you know," James lifted a hand so awkwardly that Lily laughed.
"Of course you are," Caroline winked and he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Lily, come on in… Evie has been absolutely dying to meet you." Lily smiled and followed Caroline into the 'house'.
Words could not explain what she saw.
"Like it?" James whispered in her ear and she felt a shiver run down her spine.
"It's… I don't know." She said truthfully. The enormous hallway stretched out in front of her and the furniture was, as she could say, to die for. There was a stairway towards the far end of the hall, and Caroline was already to climbing it.
"What are you waiting for? Come on up, I'll show you your room." She called.
The second floor landing was even better. Highly decorated with royal colors the walls seemed to stand out particularly. Numerous doors opened to her left and right as Caroline waved her wand.
"This is the library… might be of an interest to you? You're welcome to use it anytime you want. Oh and this is the swimming area. And here on the left is my bedroom… and over there you can see our billiard room. You can use that too. And over here, we have your room. Evie's is over there, and James' is all the way at the end. Questions?"
Lily had billions of questions whizzing through her mind but she shook her head anyway. "None."
"Okay then, I'll leave you two to it, have fun!" she whipped around dramatically, her robe dashing through the air, and descended the stairs.
"Wanna meet Evie or…?" he grinned and even she smiled a bit.
"Don't even think about it. We're here to spend time with Evie… oh stop!" she pushed him playfully as he had that glint in his eye. "Goodbye." She walked straight across the passageway and opened the door to Evie's room before he could say anything.
"Lilyyyyyyyyyyyy!" it felt like a rocket was launched into her stomach as Evie came flying out of nowhere and hugged her tightly.
"Woah!" Lily exclaimed as the both of them started laughing and James was once again standing by the door awkwardly.
"You're finally here… I was waiting so long for you… wait excuse me I think I'm gonna cry," Evie released her and actually ran a finger from under her eye as if she were crying.
"And once again…" James trailed off. Evie grinned suddenly.
"No one really notices you, do they?" she asked, and he shook his head in mock sadness.
"Evie, it's been… wow, I can't believe I've finally met you," Lily said in disbelief. So many letter conversations, even through the fire, she'd even seen Evie's pictures, but now here the girl was, standing right in front of her with a wide smile.
"You promised we'd play chess," she said. Lily laughed and James groaned.
"C'mon Eve not as soon as we get here… for heaven's sake. Please." He pleaded.
"But… I've already set everything up, look-" Evie pointed at her fluffy pink bed where a fully set up chessboard lay. Her face was pitiful.
"Oh fine," he said with a sigh. "I'll be in my room if any of you need me. Not that you would, but still." He smiled and left the room. Lily felt like going after him but Evie looked like she had been waiting years for Lily to play chess with her, so she sat down and their game began.
Lily creaked open the door to James' room around an hour later. Evie had won the game, but just narrowly; Lily had immediately shot off to his room as soon as it was over. Biting her lip, she entered the magnificent bedroom and saw him sitting in a navy blue armchair near his four-poster.
The evening light streamed in through the window and fell across his face. He was wearing a casual black shirt and jeans, a book in his hand. He appeared to have just come out of the shower. He looked up as soon as she entered, sending shivers down her spine for some reason.
"Hey," she called. He looked so unlike James that she wanted to fall down. James Potter reading a book? When the world ends.
"I read, you know," he grinned at her expression. "Who won?"
"Evie."
"Like expected."
"What have you been doing this entire time?" she asked in curiosity.
"I was in the shower," he pointed at a door to his left. Lily suddenly felt the urge to run forward and kiss him. Finally they were alone… no Sirius, Remus, or Hestia. No Caroline or Evie. She had been longing for this though she tried not to show it, for ages. He didn't flinch though, as if he didn't care.
"I, uh… like your room," she said awkwardly, playing with the ends of her hair. She had never been this stiff around him before.
"Yeah," was his short reply.
"Honestly, James, what's the matter?" she asked suddenly, walking forward and sitting down on his bed. It was soft and fluffy, like a kitten's fuzz. Their feet nearly touched.
"Nothing,"
One word answers. Lily hated them. "Stop it! I might as well leave. Maybe play some more chess. I came here instead, though, so just please,"
Silence.
"I guess I don't like being a second choice, haha," he said. Lily could tell he was blushing in embarrassment, but she didn't think it was embarrassing. It was understandable. "I know it's sort of despicable but it's always Sirius everyone sees first. Even you, Mum loves you, so does Evie, and it's like I'm always second in line. And even you, you came here and you dashed off to see Evie first. Damn it I'm a jealous idiot. It's stupid, forget it."
"Oh…" she sighed, and climbed onto the arm of his comfy armchair. He was staring at the ground with his cheeks flushed a deep red. "Who said so? Dumbledore didn't see Sirius when he made you Head Boy. When he made you Quidditch captain. Evie cries for you, you know? Because she worries about you. She told me. And me? I… I just-" she broke off, not knowing what to say. He said nothing though, just fiddled with his thumbs.
"I know… forget I ever said anything. It's not important."
"No," she said. "I'm not going to forget. And in the hall? I wanted to see Evie because I didn't want to keep her waiting. She's a girl, James. And you have no idea, no idea, how much I wanted this. I mean, to be alone, just the two of us, without me tripping over my own feet and just being myself."
"What?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't answer. Right now she felt like exploding. It was him, curse him, he made her explode. The atmosphere just seemed to rain down on her in a great wave of longing and she took his face in her hands and kissed him. She could tell that he was so surprised that he didn't move for a second but then he started kissing her back. She felt so lost, her mind went so fuzzy that she wasn't conscious of her hands or her legs and just that they seemed to be moving themselves. Of course, it took no more than five seconds before she slipped from the armchair and fell flat on her back on the floor of his room.
James started to laugh so hard that he nearly fell as well.
"Well, Lily, way to ruin a romantic moment," he wiped tears from his eyes. She was laughing too, but out of hilarity or embarrassment she didn't know.
"Shut up," she mumbled. "Honestly, my back hurts to the heavens and you're sitting there laughing!" even as she said it she started laughing as well, and he actually did fall off his chair. It took the both of them five whole minutes before their laugh-boxes wore out, and then they were still on the floor smiling weakly.
"Well… I guess if your back still hurts… I can fix that…" James made his way to her, watching the color come back to her face.
"Ooh, that'll be helpful," she grinned. But, taking her completely by surprise, James jumped to his feet and yanked her up to hers.
"There."
"Somehow, that's not what came into my mind when you said you'd offer to help me with my back," she said.
"I know," he grinned. "I like being unpredictable."
"And I like the fact that you're unpredictable,"
They stood in silence for a bunch of seconds, neither of them knowing what to say. Somehow, Lily had hoped to have more of a talking time but now that they weren't speaking a word, she liked it even more.
"What say we, um, jump out the window together. Would that be romantic?" he asked awkwardly, and she smiled.
"Very much so."
"I wasn't being sarcastic," he said cautiously.
"I know."
"And… there comes Frederic. We could-" he looked out of the window and she saw a glint appear in his eyes as an idea hit him as fast as a lightning bolt flashes in the night sky.
"What- oh please no, we are not jumping out of the window James, no-" she sighed, feeling as though she could read his mind a bit better now. She didn't like how he tried to act superior in this way.
"Yes, we are," he said firmly. "You never have any fun, Lils, I'm making you do this."
"No."
"Look at it this way- to him, it'll be like two angels are floating down from the heavens bestowing their blessings on him. It'll be cool. You have to try atleast!"
"You're anything but an angel," she teased.
"Okay, let's make it one. Then you're the angel."
"Am I really? That's so sweet, James, thanks."
"Yeah,"
A moment of silence.
"We suck at these lovey-dovey moments, don't we,"
"We do."
"Oh well," he shook his head. "I guess we're not cut out to be one of those cute couples we've seen at school. We'll try."
"Then everyone will love us," she jumped. "Oh, James, we have to try. Sirius and Hestia look ten times better than we do together though."
"Ha! No way, I'd say it was Padfoot and Moony. They will rule the kingdom of cute couples," he laughed, and she made a face as if to say 'that's disgusting'. "Anyway, the window. Frederic's in jumping shot. We could do this."
"Have you done it before?"
"Uh, to be honest, no," he ran a hand through his hair and she narrowed her eyebrows. Suddenly, though, she changed her expression and grinned from ear to ear.
"Then we have to!" her exclamation surprised him completely, but he nonetheless grabbed his wand from his bed and leaned over the windowsill. Lily closed in behind him, and watched as he cast a spell at the lawn beneath them, making it soft, so that they wouldn't fall hard.
"Okay, ready?" he asked, and she nodded. Grasping hands, They both took a deep breath and then they jumped. The fall was instantaneous; an amazing feeling, but instantaneous. Plummeting towards the ground to where Frederic stood, the both of them wondering about what his reaction would be, they didn't let go of each other's hands as they fell. The wind hit them like knives but it only lasted for a second. And they would have smoothly landed in front of the chauffeur's face, had someone not apparated right underneath their feet when they were barely four feet above ground.
"OH, MY GOD, HESTIA!"
"Good Heavens, what happened?" Caroline said with a shocked expression as Lily and James limped into the living room carrying Hestia by the arms. The girl looked bashed to a pulp; unfortunately, she looked as though she had worn her best sequined dress for the occasion, which had now been torn in places. She even housed one black eye. After a second, Frederic and another man (the person who side-along apparated with Hestia) walked in behind them, a strange look on his face.
"We, um, never mind," James shook his head, placing a groaning Hestia on one of the chairs. He was sure that if she were up to her strength, she would have been looking murderous.
"Lily, Hestia, you all right? Frederic? And you, whoever you are? " she got up from her seat at once, bustling over to take a look at them all in turn.
"I was just told to bring her here," the man bowed. "And I have done my job. Thank you for your concern, but I should be going now, goodbye," he didn't even stop for a reply before he strode majestically straight out of the house.
"What an uncivilized man," Caroline muttered to herself.
"Well, moi, I'm quite all right, Madame, it's just this poor girl…" Fredric rushed to Hestia's side.
"Oh, was it Chomper? I've told Mr. and Mrs. Banis absolutely not to let that dog out of the house at any cost… oh, you poor dear!" Caroline set to waving her wand around at once, conjuring bandages out of thin air.
"No, actually Mum, it was us, I mean it was our fault. Mine and Lily's." James confessed, a guilty look on his face, wincing occasionally as his legs throbbed from contact with Hestia's head. It was horribly painful. Caroline continued to address Hestia's bruises, and the only acknowledgment she gave to James' sentence was a slight glance in his direction. An irritated glance.
"Lily too? There's more to you than I thought, girl. Isn't this your best friend?" his mother said. Lily was speechless.
"Oh yeah, uh, we actually didn't mean to land on her, Mrs. Potter, we were kind of aiming for…" she trailed off, realizing that she wasn't supposed to say anything about Frederic. Caroline raised her eyebrows but Lily just looked at the floor.
"Me," Frederic completed her sentence with a heavy exhale. He didn't sound angry, which was what Lily expected, but he sounded more of a sense of amusement mingled with expectancy.
"Lily-Petal, I can't believe you. Our friendship is over," Hestia said quietly, although as loud as she could, whilst folding her arms. Most of her broken bones had been healed, at least enough to enable her to talk a little.
"Gosh Hest, I'm so sorry, we really didn't mean to-" Lily blushed.
"I'm pretty sure you meant to frighten me out of my wits nonetheless," Frederic muttered. James patted him on the back extremely blameworthy.
"Sorry," he bit his lip.
"Okay," Caroline straightened up. "James, I want you to take Hestia's baggage upstairs right now. Without magic. If I can't stop you from jumping out of windows I'm going to make you do something worthwhile. Get to it."
"No, Mum, please…" he begged. He'd seen Hestia's bags (notice the plural) and was one hundred percent sure that most of them were filled with cosmetics and at least ten extra pairs of clothes.
"Go. Right now." Caroline ordered, and with a heavy heart, he left the room to fetch the luggage.
"Mrs. Potter, I should do something too, after all, I jumped there along with him," Lily said, shuffling her fingers over one another, cursing herself for making such a bad first impression.
"No no no no no no no," Hestia cut in sharply, in a high-pitched voice. Her lips curved into a sly smile, and Lily was sure that she was nearly crying inwardly. Hestia's punishments were unbearable. "Leave it to me, Mrs. Potter. I've got this. I think I know just what to make her do…"
"As you wish," Caroline grinned, and Lily sagged her head. "Anyway dear, you feeling better? Up for walking?"
"Yeah yeah, thanks a lot for everything Ma'am, I'm feeling ten years old!" Hestia gave a feeble laugh but that was enough for Caroline. Getting to her feet slowly, she passed Lily a devilish glance, making her best friend's stomach drop fifty feet.
"Lily-Petal, lead me to my room, I'll need to change into something more suitable," Hestia said.
Dejectedly, Lily gestured for Hestia to follow her up the stairs, her heart sinking with every step she ascended. With one last brilliant thought of hope, she longed that Evie would be able to protect her against her best friend's harsh ways, and almost laughed. She was asking for help from a seven-year-old girl. Right now, she probably needed Evie more than anyone else in the world did. Little did she know that upstairs, a so-called James Potter really did need her more than Lily did, being struck with one of those horrid memories of his haunting dreams, as crystal-sharp as ever.
They were all sitting at the table for dinner. Lily at one end, Hestia at the other, Caroline and Evie on one side with James and his father opposite to them. Daniel Potter had come home from work at least an hour previously, and Lily and Hestia had been courteously introduced to him. He was a fine sort. Like Caroline, he took every opportunity to poke fun at James, while being overly nice towards Lily.
"Sirius and Remus won't be coming today," Caroline said sadly. Evie, who had been chatting animatedly with Hestia until now, perked her ears in curiosity. "I just got a call from them. They said they'd be coming tomorrow instead."
"Oh! Why?" asked Lily.
"I have no idea. They wouldn't say. They sounded serious though, so I doubt it was for spending more time with Sirius' cousin," she replied.
"Why are we worrying about this? This is them. They must have probably blown up Andromeda's house and have to fix it all up again. Honestly," Daniel snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Oh stop it, Daniel. I don't think it was that. They would have been looking at least a little bit abashed," Caroline said irritably.
"When are they coming?" James cut in.
"Sometime tomorrow afternoon. That's what they said," she smiled. "Evie, please, you'll get to meet them, so what if it's not today? They'll be here for two whole days afterwards. Christmas is coming!" she added hastily as Evie struggled not to burst into tears.
"I've got the best presents for you." Hestia patted her head while swallowing a mouthful of hot soup.
"Gee, thanks Hestia, I'm going to pick out something amazing for you too," Evie wiped her eyes. Boy, that girl is sensitive, James thought.
"So! Hestia, I heard something about you making Lily do something for you because of the accident. Am I right? How did that go?" Daniel changed the subject.
"Please don't ask," Lily groaned, but Hestia's eyes glowed brightly.
"Oh yeah, it was perfect. I mean, I haven't told her to do anything yet, because I'm saving it for Christmas, but I've got something wonderful planned." she said cheerfully. Both Lily and James looked at each other with a nauseous expression.
"Christmas is a season of joy," James stated.
"And happiness," continued Lily.
"You can never do something mean to anyone on Christmas," he concluded. Hestia just raised her eyebrows.
"Whatever you say," she said, standing up from her seat. "Anyway, the food was great, Mrs. Potter, Caroline," she added by a questioning glance by James' mother. "I'm going up to bed now. Good night!" she gracefully walked out of the dining hall and made her way up the stairs to her room. A few minutes later, Lily, James, along with Evie, followed her.
"Eves, have you planned anything for Christmas?" James put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh you bet! You're going to be surprised. No wait, I mean dazzled. I'm gonna be decorating the entire house. You'll love it," Evie bounced.
"Can I help?" asked Lily.
"No thanks, I want to surprise all of you guys," she said brightly.
"Sure," Lily replied. "Here's your room though, goodnight, Evie," Evie hugged Lily and James tightly before bounding into her room and shutting the door. "And here's your room, goodnight, James,"
"Yeah," James gave her a swift kiss and retreated into his room, though he didn't shut the door. Lily hesitated for a second, but then she gave up and started walking towards her own room, not daring to think about Sirius and Remus, or James, or Christmas, but just wanting to sleep.
They only lounged around the next day. Lily and Hestia seemed to have made up, and returned to being best friends once more (although the punishment had not yet been cancelled), and James spent more time with Evie than he did with Lily. It was probably because of his dreams; last night, he had gotten another one, but this time, for the first time, Evie had bled, and he had felt like he could almost touch her blood. It was horrific. He thought that if he spent more time around her then the memories would go away, but they didn't. They only stayed at the back of his mind while he was with his friends, and returned in full force once he was alone.
Sirius and Remus had kept true to their word and had returned that afternoon, at roughly three o' clock. James along with Hestia tried to coax them into telling them why they were so late, but Remus only said 'Dromeda didn't want us to leave', and left it at that. None of them bought it but they knew better than to say anything.
In the evening, they all left their separate ways to go shopping. Things were still a little foggy between Sirius and Hestia (which didn't please Evie too much), and they barely even spoke throughout the day. Buying Christmas gifts proved to be enormous fun for all of them though, and by nightfall, most of them re-entered James' house with bright, glowing eyes and grins on their faces.
"It's CHRISTMAS EVE!" Sirius screamed, just before dinner. Caroline had prepared a magnificent feast; Wreaths of aromatic steam wafted through the mansion, screaming of French bean au gratin and an entire roasted, glazed chicken (which probably took Caroline around four tries to perfect); a humungous bowl of stew mixed with noodles of pasta, butternuts, and little pieces of chopped vegetables; a dish of marinated leeks steeped in a creamy white turnip.
"We're going to have fun," Evie grinned. The Christmas tree nearly touched the ceiling, and truly looked flashy. Lights were suspended from every branch, ornaments decorated it from top to bottom, and a live, moving angel sat at its apex, humming to herself. The only thing that looked strange was the wide, empty space at the bottom of the tree, which, the next morning, would house tons of presents.
"Merlin, Carrie, this looks brilliant," Remus opened his eyes wide and he walked along the dinner table. Sirius didn't even say anything and at once had sat down in a chair closest to the most tasty-looking plate he'd ever seen, waiting for the notion for everyone to start eating.
"All right, Sirius, we can eat," Caroline laughed, and everyone sat down immediately. They were starved; no one had eaten anything since lunch.
By the end of the meal, none of them could move for their stomachs had undergone a downslide. It took them all a good ten minutes to get up from their seats, and by then, they were all too tired and sleepy to do anything. Humbly walking upstairs, they all went to their separate rooms and fell asleep almost at once.
James was the first to get up the following morning. He woke to the sunlight streaming through the window across his face, and got up reluctantly. Snow had blanketed his lawns and everything solid during the night, and it was still falling in slow, soft drifts.
Not bothering to change, he rubbed his eyes and started to walk downstairs. Half-asleep and yawning, he looked a pitiful creature, but as soon as he reached the landing, he received the surprise of his life.
"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered to himself, wide awake now. Evie had outdone herself. She was standing there at the far end of the hall, side-by-side with their house-elves, Addie and Archie, a cute smile on her face.
"Like it, James?" she called. Of course he liked it. He loved it. Automatic music was playing from- the walls? Yes, the walls. It seemed to reverberate across the very walls of his house. Floating bells chimed quietly but very spirit-liftingly. Colors flashed across the ceiling. A makeshift Santa's sleigh actually flew across the room, and he had to duck so it wouldn't crash into his face.
"I think it's perfect," he said in awe. "You did this?"
"I had some help though." Evie pointed to the house-elves, who blushed modestly.
"Ooh, presents," James said, eying the heaps of wrapped gifts under the branches of the Christmas tree.
"We have to wake everyone else up first," Evie ordered, telling Archie to wake up her aunt and uncle and Addie to wake up all her friends. The elves set off at once.
"Evie, I…" James walked up to her with a couple of tears in his eyes. Sophia and Paul would have wanted to see this. Their daughter… he didn't… argh. "I have something to tell you."
"Yeah?" she quirked an eyebrow.
"It's about your mum and dad," he began. "They'll be, uh, coming back in a few days. Around Saturday."
He inwardly cursed himself a thousand times for saying this, but some part of him lifted as he saw the joy in Evie's eyes.
"Oh! Wow! I can't wait, oh, I should have bought them some presents too, I'll get them later, they're really coming?" she asked in a fast voice.
He nodded with a half hearted laugh. Just as she was about to say something though, Sirius and Lily came waddling down the staircase, and James watched as they, too, became subjected to the wonder of Evie's creations. He also had to wait as Hestia and Remus underwent the same thing. And then his mother and father.
"Merry Christmas, you guys!" Evie shouted, and was answered with hoots of laughter and a few 'Merry Christmas!'s back. Most of them went and hugged Evie at once, complimenting her decoration and creativity, and she just stood there awkwardly accepting their hugs and kisses.
"So these are your house-elves," Lily exclaimed, as Addie came forward in a low bend, formally saying 'Miss Lily,' while Archie did the same to all the others.
"Yeah, they're great, aren't they?" James smiled.
"Present time, everyone!" Hestia screamed, and was accompanied by bouts of agreement as everyone dived simultaneously at the piles of gifts and began to search for their own. It was a complete rucus. Caroline and Daniel stood a little way back, just shaking their heads.
"Ouch, geroff me, Moony!"
"That's my present, Sirius! Get your filthy hands off!"
"Good Heavens, Hestia, an eyeliner set? You told me you'd get me something different this year!"
"I did! I gave you a lipgloss set last Christmas,"
"Oh, forget it."
"Oh, thanks, Moony, you got me Quidditch Through the Ages. I've wanted this book since first year!"
"I know. You're welcome, James."
"I can't believe it. Around ten presents and not one person got me chocolate," Remus huffed, folding his arms. Everyone ignored him and continued to tear open their gifts until the entire floor was strewn with wrapping paper and ribbons.
"Hey. Anyone noticed that none of us got a present from Evie?" James announced, and everyone nodded in agreement. Evie grinned, and they all looked at her questioningly.
"The sleigh," she only had to say the word to have them all look upwards at the huge Santa's sleigh which was still whizzing through the air. A sack had been kept at the back of it and it was overflowing with gifts of all kinds, and Sirius, especially, stared with excitement. "You're going to have to get them yourselves."
They all knew what it meant. Brooms.
We have to fly.
"Evie, I love you," said James, giving her a kiss on the cheek and then bolting upstairs to fetch his broomstick.
"Wait for me, Prongsie!" Sirius ran after him.
"You guys do know we have extra brooms in the shed," Evie pointed, and Lily sighed. "Oh hush, they can't get your gifts for you, don't you see? You have to get it yourself."
"I officially hate you, Evie," she groaned, and along with Hestia and Remus, she went to fetch the extras.
The next fifteen minutes was full of swishing brooms as they all tried to close in on the sleigh, but it was impossible. The contraption was just too fast. Hestia even fell off a repeated number of times, and Sirius even crashed into Lily thrice. It was chaos.
"Here. Got mine. Finally." James said triumphantly, holding a wrapped box in his hand. The others took ten more minutes to get their hands on their own, but got them nonetheless. "You've gone crazy this year, Eve," he smiled.
"You have to admit you had fun."
"If you didn't count Sirius smashing me against the opposite wall, then yeah," Lily narrowed her eyes at him. And he put his hand behind his head in a playful way.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Open them!" Evie said excitedly.
The opened them. James uncovered a brand new solid gold broom handle, Sirius a watermelon hat ('don't ask', Evie had said, but Sirius had loved it), Remus a chocolate frog box(finally!), Hestia a couture designer handbag.
"Oh My God, Evie, you… wow," Lily mumbled, as she held her present at arm's length. Over the Floo a few days ago, Evie had personally told Lily that her gift wasn't going to be a chessboard, and it was true. It's wasn't. It was… a book.
"But it's on fire," James said in awe, as the book burst into flames in Lily's hands, although they didn't get scorched at all. It didn't even feel hot to her. It just… ignited. Just like that.
"And it's purple fire," Hestia exclaimed. "Aw, don't get me wrong, this bag is absolutely wonderful, Evie, but a flaming book? Come on."
"Did you like it?" Evie grinned.
"It's amazing," Lily pulled the little girl into a bone crushing hug, the book still in her hand. "Anyway, what's in it, Eve?"
"Check."
Lily propped open the book on the floor, but all she could see were blank pages. "A diary?"
"I know you already have one, but… I really liked this."
"No, you're right, I'll ditch that other measly one and use this instead," Lily smiled.
The rest of the morning went on in somewhat peace. They each inspected their presents again, and played a bit of Quidditch along with some chess, and just before lunch, Hestia pulled Lily over to her room in eagerness.
"Lily-Flower, your punishment awaits," she said.
"Pray tell," Lily rolled her eyes.
"Come here," Hestia walked over to her bags and opened one up, unsheathing a beautiful glittery-blue dress. It was too astonishing to behold. It started off with a navy blue color towards the top, and like a peacock, it unfurled into sea-green frills at the bottom.
"Oh Gods, Hest, please no!" Lily yelled, and covered her eyes, as if the dress were going to hurt her.
"Oh yes," Hestia brought it over and measured it against her friend's shoulders. "It's a perfect fit. You are wearing this for the whole day today, Flower, and I'm going to do your hair up in a jiff too. Aha! No whimpering. This is what you get."
"I told you, it was an accident," Lily begged. "Please don't make me wear this."
"I'm not listening," Hestia whistled. "Now get into the bathroom and change into this. Lunch is in half an hour, and I want you to be ready." Lily reluctantly snatched the dress from Hestia's hands and stomped over to the bathroom, slamming it shut. Curse the world.
"Gosh, Caroline, you really outdo yourself. I love this," Remus stuffed his face with some funny-looking purée. Everyone was at the table, everyone except Lily and Hestia.
"Where'd they go?" James asked.
"Oh, Hestia told me that she was busy with Lily's punishment. I wonder," Caroline became lost in thought.
"I know what it is," Evie giggled. "Just wait.
They didn't have to wait for long. Only a few minutes later, Lily came trotting down the stairs, hand-in-hand with Hestia, blushing her fiery red face off. She really looked beautiful, with that peacock dress and the white gloves that she was made to wear, along with her glossy red hair which was tied up in a delicate bun (only Merlin knew what Hestia had done to it). James nearly fell off his chair.
"This is your punishment?" he yelled, while everyone else 'Ooh'ed and 'Aah'ed. Sirius even cat-called.
"Isn't she a beauty?" Hestia puckered her lips as if speaking to a dog. "And she stays like this till sundown. Not even taking off those heels, Petal,"
"HESTIA!" she screamed, as she sat down at the table. Daniel shoved some carrot on her plate as she sat fuming. "I SWEAR, WHEN I GET THE CHANCE-"
"No yelling at the dinner table," Caroline said loudly.
"But I think you look great," James couldn't get his eyes off her. She blushed even more.
"Even so," she muttered.
"Flower, you're really stuck in that all day?" Sirius grinned through a mouthful of potato. "All I can say is: have fun. Very devious mind there, Twat. I must applaud you."
It was probably the first time he had spoken to Hestia since they came there. The awkwardness was incredible; the entire table fell silent, with the exception of James' parents, who had no idea what was going on.
"Thanks," Hestia mumbled, not wanting to explain anything to Caroline.
They spent the rest of the meal very quietly. The only sound was of the house-elves, running around here and there, trying to keep everything tidy.
"I'm done," Evie stood up suddenly, as Addie took her plate over to the sink. "Sirius? Hestia? So are you. Can you come upstairs to play with me? Gosh, I haven't played chess with you at all, have I?"
Unfortunately, neither of them could refuse her, so they both stood up unwillingly and allowed her to lead them upstairs, keeping their heads down all the while. Remus', Lily's, and James' eyes followed them until they disappeared over the landing, and Daniel began to look at them curiously.
"Okay, what's happening here?" he asked, his spoon clattering to his plate
"Nothing," Remus sighed. "It's just, they hate each other, and Evie doesn't like that one bit, so she's trying to make them resolve their differences. No big deal."
"Hmm," said Caroline. That explanation was good enough for her. Standing up along with Daniel, she allowed Archie to take their dishes and walked up to their rooms, followed by Remus after a few minutes. Lily and James were left alone at the table, Addie and Archie awaiting them eagerly.
"You really do look great," he assured her.
"I think I look like a fashion model," she snorted.
"Does that mean you look bad?"
"It just means that I feel heavy," she said sadly. "I can't even walk in these things. I feel that if I scrunch up my eye then all this black stuff will get washed right in it. Not to mention I can't lean my head back on a wall or anything, of fear that I'll get a pin sunk into my skull."
"It can't be that bad,"
"Oh wait a second, you don't want me to take it off, do you?" she asked intriguingly, and then started to laugh a little. "James Potter. You know what, how about I lock myself in my room for the rest of the day, so that way, no one will ever notice that I've gotten rid of all this. Perfect."
"Oh please don't!" he pleaded. "Or if you do that then at least take me in there with you!"
"Hmm, well, maybe that can be arranged," she winked, as she handed her plate over to Archie and he smiled.
"Great."
"I'm not taking these off, you know, I don't like breaking my word,"
"Well then, you don't have to," he winked back.
"Great." She said, and they made their way up the stairs together. Everyone had retreated to their respective rooms, except for Sirius and Hestia. They could hear yells and banging sounds coming from the room behind Evie's door, so they could expect very angry people letting their fire out inside there.
However, Lily took James over to her room, wanting to just sit by the window seat, watching the horizon until the sun finally set, signaling the time when she could take that dress and makeup off and spend the rest of the night in his arms, Just staring.
The next morning was a busy one indeed. Everyone started to pack their bags in haste, having woken up extremely late, because they were to go back to Hogwarts that afternoon. Evie was dejected throughout; not one person could console the poor girl. Crying hysterically, she hugged everyone at least twice, begging for them not to go, but of course, they had to.
"Hey," James smiled as she entered his room with bloodshot eyes. "I'm going to be coming back. Don't doubt it. I'm going to be back in no time, and so is Lily, and you're going to meet everyone again, okay?"
"Yeah," Evie leaned her head against his knee, and began to wipe her eyes. "Mum and Dad will be coming though right? You said! They'll be here by Saturday. Does Auntie Carrie know? And Uncle?"
"No, no, they don't know." He gave her a weak smile. "But don't you go and tell them. It'll be a surprise. You want to surprise them?"
"Yeah, that'll be fun," she said. "Mum… Dad… they're going to be here… finally… I won't be alone anymore,"
"You won't," he ruffled her hair and zipped his bag close. He was done packing. "And I'm going to be back anyway. The only reason I'm going back to Hogwarts this early is because of my N.E.W.T.s. I have to study. But once they're over, we're all going to be back home."
"I can't wait,"
"So, Eve, why don't you tell me what you were doing with Sirius and Hestia yesterday?" he changed the topic quickly. "Me and Lily heard a lot of noise behind your door. What was that? And it looks like they're back on talking terms. You're a marvel."
"Yeah. Oh, I just made them talk to each other… a lot. And they did. And it turned out okay. Sirius promised never to talk to Phillipa, whoever she is, again, and Hestia promised never to get mad over something stupid again, and yeah. That's that. And then they thanked me and left and I think they went over to Sirius' room afterwards and didn't see them again for the rest of the night,"
"You're great," he gave her a tight hug. "But it's time to go now. Want to come with me to the fireplace? I'm sure everyone's there by now."
"Sure," she said, and they walked out of his room together, down the staircase, and into the living room towards the fire. Everyone was already assembled there; Lily was sitting by an armchair, Remus talking to Caroline and Daniel, and Sirius and Hestia chatting very enthusiastically with each other. Addie and Archie were gathering all the luggage into one big pile at the corner.
"James, you're here. Finally. It's time to leave," Caroline clapped her hands together, and everyone began to shuffle around trying to get hold of their bags.
"Yeah, I'm ready," he breathed in deeply, and looked down at Evie. "Goodbye, squirt, I'm gonna miss you," he picked her up by one arm and hugged her to him, set her back down gently.
"Bye James, I hope to see you soon!" she grinned through teary eyes.
"See you at Easter, Kiwi," Sirius mumbled, patted her on the back. This was probably the first time, James noted, that Sirius had ever come close to crying.
"Bye Caroline, Daniel," Remus shook hands with them as Lily and Hestia bed farewell to Evie with sadness.
"Too bad Peter couldn't come this time," Caroline wiped a tear from her eye. Remus smiled a bit.
"Goodbye!" he snatched up some Floo Powder from its case and chucked it into the fire. "Hogwarts!" he yelled, stepping boldly into the flames and vanishing in an instant. Sirius went next, followed by Hestia, followed by James.
"Evie, one thing," Lily called just before she took the powder in her hand. "That book you gave me, that's not only a diary, is it?"
"No," she grinned. "I didn't want to tell you when James was around, though. I mean, you can use it as a diary too, but the cool part is that when you write the name of a place on any page, it'll be like a screen, you can see right through it to that place you wrote. That way, we'll be able to talk whenever! Isn't that amazing? Because I have a book which is exactly the same. And James and Sirius have that mirror, right, so I kinda got the idea from there."
"That's what I was thinking," said Lily as Caroline and Daniel looked at them with bright faces. "Because yesterday night, I wrote The Potter Mansion in it and then it felt as though the page was dissolving, until I could see the mansion right in front of me. Evie, thank you, I love you, and we are going to talk as soon as I get back to Hogwarts. We'll even play chess through this thing. Deal?"
"Deal," Evie hugged her swiftly. "Goodbye, Lily,"
"Goodbye," she said, as she threw the Floo powder into the fireplace. Stepping through the emerald-green fire, she didn't even chance a glance back at the Potter family and the seven-year-old girl who was about to get her heart broken two days from now, when she would figure out that her parents were never going to come back to her, ever again.
Okay! So the next chapter is going to be INTENSE. And it'll probably take a long time to edit. I've got the base and everything ready though, so it'll mostly get up by next weekend, but if not then I'll guarantee you that it will not take more than 10 days. I'm not going back on my word this time, you can be sure of that ;)