~Jen's POV~

I was, officially, the worst girlfriend ever. Hale kept going on and on about Christmas plans and how he already had my gifts, but I'd barely given any thought to what I was going to get him. My thoughts lately had all centered around Regulus. Not exactly proper, I was well aware, but I couldn't help it.

"You should come," Hale was saying, and I was totally lost. He'd started talking about his family's Christmas traditions twenty minutes ago, and I had immediately zoned out and thought about Regulus' words to me when he'd thought I was unconscious. That's not okay, is it? Girlfriends are supposed to be attentive when their boyfriends are speaking to them, not thinking about something a different guy said to them. (No matter how sweet and/or enigmatic the aforementioned other guy's words were.)

"Come where?" I asked him, hoping that I wouldn't have to admit that I hadn't been paying attention. I didn't want him to feel like I didn't think he was important. Because he was, and I was glad that he was my boyfriend. He walked me to class, opened doors for me, treated me exactly the way that James had outlined (minus the no physical contact part), and was altogether perfect.

He laughed as if he thought I'd just told him a joke (which was better than him honing in on my lack of attention to his words). "To meet my parents. Spend Christmas with us, since you said that your parents won't be home for the holidays."

My heart began to pound in my chest, so loudly that I wondered how its echoes weren't sounding in the nearly empty corridor. Hale and I had been patrolling for a while, but it seemed as though everyone was in their common rooms, seeking shelter from the cold. "Um, what?"

"Meet my family," he said and smiled at me. "I've written them letters about you; they'd love to meet you."

"I…" I knew that I had to play this well so as not to hurt his feelings. Thankfully, I'd grown up around a group of manipulators and I was sure that I could play this off very well. "I'd really love to meet them, too, but don't you think we should wait a little bit? I mean, that's a really huge step and…"

He cut me off. "I'd be willing to take that step." His voice rang with sincerity. "But, I mean, if you aren't ready for something like that, I can understand."

I let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Hale. Maybe sometime over the summer."

He brightened considerably. "That'd be great. You could come with us to my grandmother's house in Ireland! We go there for a couple of weeks every summer and it's really pretty out there. She lives on the top of a hill that overlooks…"

I zoned out as he went on to describe exactly where his grandmother lived. Good girlfriends listened to their boyfriends when they talked, I knew, but perhaps I just wasn't a very good girlfriend. Reluctantly, I accepted that fact and moved on to thinking about the plans for the full moon (which was coming up, only a few days before the last few days of school preceding winter break). In all fairness, though, I did make a few plans to get Hale some presents for Christmas, even though I was unsure about what the "perfect" gift would be. I'd never been a very good shopper for other people.

Finally, an hour later, our patrol shift ended and we found ourselves near the Great Hall, where the last of the lunch crowd was gathered and finishing up their plates of food. Hale and I sat beside each other at the mostly-empty Gryffindor table and I tried to make up for earlier by participating in the conversation and paying close attention to everything that he was saying.

Jen Potter, a voice in my head mocked me in a snobby voice. The girl that's perfect at everything is a horrible girlfriend.

It hurt.

But I couldn't even begin to deny it, because I knew that every single word of that statement was spot on.

~James' POV~

I was thankful that they were acting normal.

At first, when I had brought Lily over to the corner where the other Marauders had been sitting, I'd been nervous that they would scare her away. But, I knew that I couldn't keep my best friends and my girlfriend separate for too long, so I had chosen to risk it.

And it was going well.

Peter was too nervous around any girl to try to say much of anything to Lily, so he kept his nose in the book that he was attempting to study and only spoke up when he needed to ask Remus a question. Remus, as always, was polite and asked Lily about her grades and the upcoming holidays. Sirius, surprisingly, hadn't said very much and was instead intent on giving me sly grins. Remembering the picnic incident when he had shown up as a dog, I shot him glares back.

When Professor McGonagall came in, everyone fell silent and gave her their attention immediately. She was old, yes, and she commanded a lot of respect from the students at Hogwarts. Especially Gryffindor, as she was our Head of House. "Attention," she said and cleared her throat. "Any student wishing to remain at Hogwarts over the holidays must sign this sheet, please."

"Not me," Sirius said with a yawn as he stretched. "Peter and I are staying with Moony."

"I guess I'm alone, then," I said as I moved to stand up. "My parents are going to visit one of their friends over the holidays and I am not about to go on that little trip."

Lily's hand was suddenly on my arm and she blushed as she spoke. "Actually, James, I'd like for you to come with me and meet my parents, if that's alright with you."

I was speechless. Meeting your girlfriend's parents was a huge deal. Even Peter looked up from his book at this.

Finally, I cleared my throat as I settled back into my seat. "That would be great, Lily. I'd be happy to meet your parents. Are you sure?"

She relaxed just a bit and nodded, the blush fading slightly. "Yes. I've already written them about you and they're really excited to meet you."

"Excellent." I grinned, already making a mental note to ask Jen for her advice. Sure, she was my younger sister, but people loved her, as a general rule, and she would know just what to say.

"Jen is more than welcome to come and stay with me, too," Remus said. "My parents wouldn't mind; they love her."

Point confirmed. "I'm not sure what she's planning to do," I admitted. "She might want to stay."

"Or go meet Hale's parents," Sirius said with a grin at me. "I think things are getting pretty serious between them."

That did seem to be the general consensus among students. Jen was popular, so obviously news of her relationship with Hale had gotten around and a lot of people were speculating about it. From what I'd heard, most everyone seemed to think that they were a very serious couple. And I didn't like that one bit. She was too young to be in a serious relationship.

"Don't go there," I warned him.

Lily laughed at me. "You need to get over whatever it is that keeps you from liking Hale. As far as boyfriends go, your sister could do a lot worse."

"He just doesn't like thinking about her with him," Sirius said with a grin. "He's her older brother, and he considers it his personal mission to protect her from all of the evils of the world."

"And guys are the ultimate evil," I finished with a nod.

Lily rolled her eyes. "For Merlin's sake, don't you think your sister can take care of herself?"

"She can," a new voice interrupted. Jen came into view and plopped down onto the couch beside Peter. "She's just never really allowed to."

"What are you doing for the holidays?" I asked her.

She twirled a strand of her wavy black hair around her finger and shrugged. "Staying here. Might do that extra credit essay for McGonagall or something fun like that."

"You can come stay with my family with Sirius and Peter," Remus offered kindly.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "That's alright, Remus. I already signed up to stay. Besides, who knows what pranking opportunities might be available over the holidays?"

Sirius laughed. "That's our girl!"

Lily smiled kindly at Jen and began a conversation about Potions, which both she and Jen excelled at. I watched them talk for a while and, with surprise, I noticed that something was wrong with Jen.

I could tell because she was fidgeting an awful lot.

And because, well, brothers always know.

And if Hale had done anything to her, I was going to make him pay.