CH 26

A/N: An early extra chapter just for you wonderful readers! I'll update once more this week, but this was written in haste so if it seems kind of hasty that's why. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE VERY EXCITING. i think.

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"Marauder's meeting" James called as he stepped in to the boys dorm. They were all lying in their beds, having not gotten up as early as James.

"Go away" Sirius groaned.

"What?" James asked.

"GO. AWAY" Sirius grumbled.

"But I have important news"

"Come back later" Remus sneered. He really wasn't a morning person.

"No. It's really important news!" James said, directing his answer at Remus. "Besides, the Hogsmeade visit is in an hour" He grinned at them.

"An hour?" Peter yelped, having just awoken.

"Yup" James laughed "And we all know Sirius uses at least thirty minutes in the bathroom"

"It's sad really" Remus sad, rubbing his eyes, and sitting up slowly. "You'd think being a boy he'd use less time than girls"

"Hey" Sirius exclaimed "I can't help that I'm better looking than you"

James laughed. "Just get ready, girl"

"Fine" He grumbled, getting up. "But I'm not a girl."

Peter had already gone in to the shower, and was finishing quickly. Hopefully, because Remus and Peter didn't use that much time getting ready, they'd have a quarter of an hour before they had to leave for Hogsmeade.

After Peter had finished his shower, Remus jumped in, getting ahead of Sirius who grumbled darkly. When they were all done, Sirius using only 25 minutes (incredibly enough) James settled on Peter's bed and told them the meeting had started.

"So what I was going to say is that we're not going to be just the Marauders at my house this Christmas" James told them smiling.

"Who'd you invite?" Remus asked.

But Sirius cut James off before he could answer "This is breaking the Marauder code!" He exclaimed. "What if I hate them? What will you do then? Hmm?"

"Well, I've only invited Lily so far" He said, eyes lighting up "But I'm going to invite.."

"And she said no as usual?" Sirius snickered, interrupting James, yet again.

"Actually" James said with pride in his voice "she said yes"

He couldn't help but be offended when all three Maruader's opened their mouths in shock. "Thank's for believing in me" he mumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Congratulations, Prongs" Remus laughed, finally getting over the shock. "Too bad you don't like her anymore, yeah?"

"Yeah.. about that" James mumbled "We'll get back to it"

"So Evans finally lost her mind" Sirius snickered "Well, it had to happen someday"

Peter laughed. "Prongs probably forced her into it"

"Whatever." James grumbled, "Do you want to know who the others are or what?"

"Well, yeah" Remus said

"Okay, so I'm going to invite Marlene and Margaret too" James said, then realizing that he should probably invite Peter's "girlfriend" too, he added "and Kim can come if she likes"

"She's staying with her family for Christmas" Peter said, but added gratefully "thanks' for asking though"

"What about my girlfriend?" Sirius pouted.

"You don't have a girlfriend, pads"

"Oh, that's right" Sirius said, his teeth shining as he grinned "Well, never mind then"

"Thanks for inviting Margaret" Remus muttered, before blushing. He was glad James had invited her, and that he wasn't mad that Remus was dating his only long-term girlfriend.

"Aww" Sirius snickered "Somebody's in love"

"Shut up Padfoot" Remus said.

"Anyways.. what I was thinking was that you could meet us in the Three Broomsticks around 2 o'clock? And then I can ask both of them, while you're there" James explained.

"Sure" Remus smiled.

"We should get going if we're going to make it" Peter said, staring nervously at the clock. "Besides, I'm hungry"

With that the boys got up and headed out the door.

"Oh, and one more thing" James said, turning around in the doorframe (he was first up). His heart was beating rather quickly as he added "I might not be as over Lily as I said I was"

"How much over here are you then?" Peter asked dumbly.

But James had already turned and was heading down the stairs, leaving Sirius and Remus grinning at the revelation, and Peter pondering what the answer to his question could possibly be.

If people looked out the windows they could see that the weather was particularly nasty this day. They buried themselves in cloaks, scarves, hats and mittens. Hogsmeade, this particular day, looked exactly like a Christmas card. The little shops and the cottages were covered in layers of snow, and more was falling down. The sharp wind would whisp the snow from the roofs, only to have it replaced by new falling snow. In the trees there were strings of enchanted candles, and on the door there were holly wreaths. Some decorations had been blown away from their places, and if not for the weather, the place had been idyllic.

Margaret and Remus were headed towards the first place they could see. It was a nice little place where they served coffee and cocoa. The place, however, was so little, and so far on the outskirts of Hogsmeade's that few bothered going there. As it was, Remus knew a short-cut. They knew the other pubs would be full of people, and so they figured Mrs. Flumes Cocoa Café (as it was called) would be a good place to go.

When they arrived, they were met with a nice warmth, and after having ordered (and brought their cocoas, supposedly with magical sprinkles that tasted whatever you wanted them to) they settled in a couch by the little fire place in the back of the lighted room. The room was nicely decorated, and had a small counter were you could order food and drinks. The whole room was wooden, and small Christmas ornaments were floating in the air. Some looked like painted gnomes (very ugly), but some were also beautiful angels and even one or two santa's.

"I never knew about this place" Margaret grinned. "I almost thought you were going to bring me to Madam Puddifoot's" She shuddered.

He laughed. "It would be a good excuse to kiss you though. You know, since all the other tables would have couples making out"

"You don't need an excuse to kiss me" She smiled.

"I know. That's why I brought you here instead" He grinned at her "Besides, Madam Puddifoot's creeps me out"

She laughed again, and looked at him contently. She'd never thought she could be so happy. He gave he butterflies just by talking to her , or taking her hand, as he did now. She smiled and kissed him softly.

He smiled into the kiss and drew her body closer to him, so that once the kiss was ended she could lean comfortably on his shoulder.

Remus trailed his hands through her hair. He didn't seem to be able to get enough of her. Margaret shivered at the contact, but enjoyed it. If she could she'd snog him passionately right then and there but she knew that it wasn't very appropriate. She could wait. A little self-restraint was always in order. Or, well, maybe not always. But sometimes at least.

James, Sirius, Lily, Marlene, Peter and Kim had already seated themselves in the three Broomsticks, figuring they wouldn't get seats if they didn't. Kim would be leaving shortly with some of her friends, but had come by to have some time with Peter. Lily thought it was kind of cute (in an odd way). James, Sirius and Marlene thought it went slightly over the top when she trailed her short hands around his middle, but couldn't seem to get to the other side. Yes, they were an oddly mismatched couple. But what the hell, the boys had thought; if Peter's happy, then fine.

The pub was very noisy, and the queue to get drinks was long. Fortunately Sirius knew the inn keeper, and he got them some butterbeers pretty quickly.

"So you're taking the chance on visiting James house for Christmas?" Sirius grinned, ruffling Lily's hair.

She nodded uncomfortably. "I guess" She mumbled, looking over at James. It was weird; realizing you fancied someone. Especially him. She couldn't help but look at him differently, and she was sure he thought about the kiss she'd given him too. Sometimes she just wanted to take his hand and trail her fingers along it, but she knew that she couldn't. She didn't want to ruin their friendship. She really didn't.

Still, he'd kissed her back, hadn't he? But that could all be hormones. He didn't seem affected by her at all, anyways. He'd talk to her normally, ignoring the fact that she would become unusually quiet whenever she talked to him or about him. He'd grin and joke, like nothing had happened. She kind of wanted to yell at him. To tell him something had happened, and he should get his head back on his shoulders and talk to her about it. But she didn't dare. What if he didn't care for her like she cared for him? Besides, he was over her, wasn't he? Sirius had told them when they were doing the potions assignment together (long ago), and if that wasn't proof enough, he'd also dated Margaret for quite a while.

At least maybe he didn't know that she liked him. She'd hinted pretty clearly that it was a dare she had to do, and he looked like he'd understood. Hopefully.

"You're going to James house for Christmas?" Marlene inquired sulkily. She hadn't been asked yet.

"You're going too, you know" Lily grumbled.

"I am?" She blushed now. They wanted her along even though she was a shy, hormonal, completely crazy girl, who got angry for no apparent reason. All the time.

"Thanks' a lot, Lily" James laughed "It was going to be a surprise, but, yeah.. do you want to come to my house for Christmas?"

"Sure" Marlene grinned.

Sirius nudged her, and she glared at her, but he only grinned back telling her there were plenty of broom cupboards at James' house if she wanted to change her mind. It had become his new thing; teasing Marlene about something he knew she wasn't comfortable with. That was Sirius for you.

"I'd rather not" She snapped, although she knew she was lying.

Lily giggled. Kim left with her friends.

"What about you then?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

"No thanks" She laughed. "I'm in love with Dumbledore, remember?"

"Told you she'd say no" Marlene told Sirius smugly.

"Why does everyone insist on ruining my male ego?" Sirius pouted.

"What do you mean male ego?" James snickered.

"I'm a man!!" Sirius cried. "stop trying to insist that I'm a girl" he kept grumbling huffily for a while, and James caught something like "first the shower, now this"

James laughed. Lily did too. He looked over at her and grinned again. To be truthful he was actually very nervous. He didn't want the relationship they'd built up be ruined because he couldn't help himself, and just had to kiss her back. He was just a very good actor, that's all. Still, he could feel the tension every time he looked at Lily. He wanted to confront her somehow. To find out if she'd felt what he'd felt when they'd kissed. If it was possible he'd fallen even more for her. Still, he knew he couldn't confront her. He'd just tell her he knew it was a dare, and no harm done, and that they could continue being friends. She'd agree. He knew she would. He'd keep pining after her, and everything would be normal. But he'd continue trying to get her. That much he was sure of. He'd never gotten as far with Lily as he had this year. Somewhere deep inside, she had to love him back. They were meant for each other. Right?

Margaret and Remus headed out of the Cocoa Café after a while, figuring they should meet up with the others. On the way Margaret just couldn't help herself. "Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember the first time you kissed me?" She'd stopped now. He kept walking. Stupid of him.

"Yeah" He told her.

She laughed, forming a snowball in her hands, and threw it, hitting him square in the head. "Apparently not so clearly" She giggled. "You should have been ready for that one"

He laughed too, and formed a snowball in his own hands. He threw it, but missed. He grumbled as Margaret laughed at him. Then he ran after her (thankfully in the direction of The Three Broomsticks, or they would be late) and tackled her to the ground. "I think this is our new thing" He mused.

She smiled sweetly at him, before grabbing his collar, and pulling him into a kiss.

He couldn't help himself, and the kiss turned passionate. She was just too much for him. His heart was beating erratically, and he just wanted to lie in the snow forever. People would point as they walked past them, and whisper or giggle, but Remus didn't care. He just wanted more of her all the time. He deepened the kiss and told her huskily that she'd be the death of him. She'd laughed, and told him she hoped she wouldn't be. He'd kissed her again then (no, maybe more of.. well, he guessed, this qualified as a snog) and they'd stayed like that until their clothes were soggy, and they knew they were late.

Then they'd ran all the way to the pub (which wasn't that far, thankfully) and gone inside.

"Hey" Remus grinned as they arrived at the table. Margaret grinned with him.

James quickly conjured up to stools, and they sat down. "Why are you so wet?" Peter asked.

The others stared at him oddly. "It's snowing outside, Wormtail" Sirius snickered.

"Well, yeah, but you don't get that wet" Peter said staring oddly back.

Margaret blushed at that, but didn't further explain herself. Lily looked at her and snickered. Margaret stuck her tongue out at her, and Marlene just laughed loudly.

"Anyways, want to come to my house this Christmas?" James asked Margaret.

"Really?" She asked happily. "Of course!"

"Great" James grinned.

"I was only going to be at the Castle anyways" She explained, as she used a heating spell to dry off.

"Well, we're staying for a week, before we leave" James told her.

"That's fine" She smiled "At least I have company"

"Oh, and well I heard Benjy's at Madame Puddifoot's with Sylvie" James told them.

An expression of pain flickered over Lily's features, but she quickly hid it. James saw though. "Sorry Lily" he whispered.

Sirius just grinned. "Stupid. She's trying to make me jealous" He grinned "They always try" he continued arrogantly "It never works"

The others laughed at that.

"My point is" James said, regaining his composure "Since he's such an ass, maybe we should go over there and play him a couple of pranks?"

Lily shook her head, but James insisted that she at least watched. A faint smile lured it's way out then, and she agreed. James smiled, and hugged her, trying to tell her it didn't need to be awkward between her. Lily hugged him awkwardly back, blushing heatedly. Why was he messing with her emotions that way? She really did have to talk to him. She'd do it back at the head dorm.

Sirius and Marlene agreed to come at once. And James said that that would be enough people. He didn't want them to be too obvious either.

After getting on their coats they tramped over to madam Puddifoots. James ran by Zonkos and bought a nose-biting tea cup and a couple of other products.

When they arrived, he paid the waitress to give the cup to Benjy and they all watched in glee as he pulled away from Sylvie, and soon sported a swollen nose, that was bleeding, and red.

James laughed loudly, as did Sirius. They were sitting in a booth (for the more discreet couples) behind Benjy and Sylvie. Sylvie looked absolutely disgusted, and Sirius couldn't help but snicker. Fortunately Sylvie and Benjy didn't spot them, as they hid the moment Benjy looked around. He was looking rather embarrassed and was muttering something about a "reputation to uphold". Lily giggled at that.

Soon people were looking his way, and James threw some stink pellets over by his seat. He was lucky, and they landed beneath him. Sylvie noticed first, and wrinkled her nose at him. "You smell bad" She told him. Sirius howled with laughter, but muffled it with a pillow. Benjy noticed soon after that, and glowed red with humiliation. "I promise you; that was not me" he said.

People were looking his way more and more frequently, some having heard the conversation. As the smell spread, the few that had heard pointed his way and muttered to the others.

But no, it wasn't enough with that. "Will you do me the honor and throw this at him?" James asked Marlene, showing her some bright pink tablets with green dots.

"Sure thing" she grinned wickedly.

As the tablets hit him, Benjy started. The tablets evaporated when they hit something solid, which was good, as Benjy was looking for whatever hit him. Sylvie was getting up to leave, and the people at the tables nearest him had already left, looking at him with disgust.

"No, please don't leave" Benjy said desperately, redder than he'd ever been "This isn't my fault"

Sylvie looked at him for a minute "You're sweating rather badly you know" she said, finally, before turning on her heal and leaving. Most were laughing as they saw her leave.

It was true though. He was sweating like a pig thanks to those tablets. They caused a reaction that made people sweat pretty much everywhere on their bodies. As Sylvie left he gathered a napkin and made a fan out of it, before hurrying out the door; his eyes downcast and his face red with humiliation.

James wasn't done though. He followed him.

Out on the street he put his arm around Benjy's shoulder, thankful that the tablets were wearing off "You know" he said, eyes gleaming "You really shouldn't have done what you did to Lily"

"Lily did it to herself" Benjy answered arrogantly. He could fix what had happened at Madam Puddifoots, for sure, but he really wasn't in the mood for talking to Potter.

"You really shouldn't have said that either" James told him.

Benjy rolled his eyes, and shrugged James off. James just followed after him, and when Benjy turned around to tell him to bugger of, James hit him straight in the face.

Lily, having followed after, gasped. "James!" She exclaimed "You're Head Boy"

"Yes" He said "I know."

Benjy was lying on the ground, his nose bleeding once again.

"Don't tell e that didn't feel good though?" James grinned at her.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Thank's" She smiled.

"Anytime". He answered seriously.

She flushed. Benjy groaned from the ground. She gave him one final look, and as she watched him, she finally let it sink in that she was much better off without him.

A/N: REVIEW!!! PLEASE??? must run. Bye.

Please review(:

~AddictedToPotterAndProudOfIt