The Truth Of The Heart
Summary: Lily Evans has always, ALWAYS hated James Potter. So when they become Head Boy and Girl, nothing could be worse. But could working with him change Lily's opinion? Has she been ignoring the truth in her heart all along?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this….except a few minor characters, so please don't sue me, JKR, 'cause I have nothing you want….unless you're into human flesh (you're not, are you?)
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Chapter 34: Presents Galore
"I love Saturday evenings," Emma said lazily, from the floor. She was sitting in front of Remus, who was reading a book on the sofa while James and Sirius played chess.
Lily lifted her head. "You do realise it's not Saturday evening?" she questioned.
"Yep," Emma said cheerfully. "But I like Saturday evening the best."
"As opposed to…Friday evenings?" Remus asked. He looked carefully at his girlfriend, the expression on his face suggesting that he was wondering if she was quite alright in the head.
"Of course," Emma said. She placed the brush back in the bottle of nail polish, and wiggled her toes to make them dry. "Think about it. On Friday night, you're tired after school, and you know you should get started on the weekend homework. On Sunday evening, you've just spent the day doing homework, and have the prospect of another week to get through. But on Saturday evening, you've spent a day relaxing, and you've got a whole twenty-four hours before you go back to school. That's why I like Saturday best."
Lily regarded Emma for a long moment. "Em," she said slowly, "that was a very random thing to say. Are you aware of that?"
"I was just making a point!" Emma said defensively. "It's so qui -"
"Dammit!" James groaned in frustration. Sirius was watching smuggle as his queen dragged the white knight off the board.
Pretending to buff his nails on his t-shirt, Sirius inspected his nails modestly. "Never challenge a master, my friend."
"Oh, so that doesn't include you then," James retorted. He stared hard at the chessboard.
"Move your castle to C5," Lily said, raising her chin from her knees.
James rolled his eyes. "I think I know how to play chess, Lily," he said, moving a pawn instead.
"Sirius, bishop to F7," Lily said offhandedly.
Sirius stared at the board, a faint line of concentration appearing on his brow, before looking up. "Lily, you're a genius!" he exclaimed, as he ordered his bishop, which razed straight through the square James' pawn had just vacated to take down his queen, and drag her, kicking and screaming, off the board.
The white king turned around. "Unhand us, foul sir!" he bellowed at James, who looked taken aback, "and allow yon fair maiden to direct our battle!"
James turned. "Fine, Lily, you come sit here with me."
For a second, Lily looked as though she was going to contest him, but then she shut her mouth and moved over beside James – a little too meekly.
"Castle to H2," she said, and the piece moved. Sirius studied the board. Suddenly he let out a whoop.
"Queen to F4," he said jubilantly. "Checkmate." The white king was forced to throw down his crown at the feet of the black queen.
James turned to Lily in disbelief. "I thought you were helping me!" he said.
"Oh, I was," Lily replied innocently. "I was helping you deflate your ego. It needed a pinprick."
Sirius burst into fresh laughter. "Thanks, Lil! I owe you one!"
James scowled. "I demand a rematch," he said. "Without the Chessmaster's help."
"Done." Sirius smirked. "Just don't expect to win."
Lily rolled her eyes and moved back to where she had been sitting as James and Sirius began setting up the pieces again.
"So," Emma said chattily. "Who's everyone going to the ball with?" When no one answered, she pressed on. Lily would have thought it an innocent conversation…had she not seen the gleam in Emma's eyes. "Well, Remus and I are going together, obviously." She smiled up at Remus, whose arm was draped casually around her shoulder, and he gave her a brief squeeze back. "How about you, Sirius?"
"Madhura," Sirius said absently.
Emma screwed up her nose. "That pretty Ravenclaw? The one whose friend just got her leg out of the cast?" (It had been a school joke when the girl in question had broken her leg by falling off her chair and then tripping over a table, two chairs and her own bag, one after the other. She was notoriously accident-prone.)
Sirius nodded, and Emma carried on. "And Saffy…Saffy isn't going with anyone, as far as I know…she's turned everyone down…" She stole a glance at Sirius, whose head was bent. "I can't understand why."
"And Lily? What about you?"
"Tom," Lily answered easily. "He asked me two weeks ago."
There was a cry as a chess piece was knocked off the board by James' elbow. It plummeted to the floor and James dived down to retrieve it, taking his time under the table.
"Okay," Emma said thoughtfully. "So…that leaves you, James. Who's the lucky girl?"
Perhaps it was a trick of the firelight, but James' cheeks looked almost glowing as he removed himself. "Uhm…er…ouch!" He cursed as his head hit the table, and backed up until he could stand up. "Well, there is none. I'm going…alone, so to speak. Stag."
For some reason, Sirius snorted with laughter at this, and tried to turn it into a loud coughing fit as everyone stared.
"What's so funny?" Lily asked, watching curiously as James glared daggers at his friend.
"N – nothing," Sirius, failing to control himself, got out, in between spurts of laughter.
Lily opened her mouth to ask more, but just then, a figure ran down the stairs and tripped over Lily's legs, landing on top of Emma.
"What on earth's going on?" Lily asked, raising herself to look across at the whirlwind that was Sapphire, now sprawled across Emma's lap.
Sapphire got up sheepishly. "I…er…need you and Emma…in the dorm," she said vaguely.
"What for?" Emma asked, wriggling her toes again to make the polish sparkle.
"Just…uhm, homework…but I need you really soon…like, now." Sapphire grabbed her friends' arms, and without further ado, began to drag them off, ignoring Lily's cry of, "But it's the middle of the holidays. You don't do work in the hol -" Her voice was cut off as they reached the stairs, and the boys had no choice but to shrug and return to what they were doing.
When they reached the dorm, Emma and Lily tugged their arms out of Sapphire's and stared at her expectantly, as she knelt down and picked something up, before shaking it in their faces. It wa s a small crystal ball.
"Uh…Saffy? You might need to give us some verbal clues to go with that," Lily said carefully.
"This!" Sapphire hissed. "How am I supposed to give this?"
"What?" Emma asked.
"You're going to have to be clearer if you want us to respond," Lily added.
Sapphire took a deep breath. "Okay. Lily. Remember I was having problems with a present for – for - " She hesitated.
"Sirius," Lily finished for her. "Yeah, I remember."
"Well…well I went into the shop, and I didn't know what to get him, but the lady said just to close my eyes and pick so I closed my eyes and picked this thing and it's totally inappropriate because – because - Idon'tlikehiminthatway," Sapphire ended in a rush.
After pausing for a moment to try and understand the garbled mess that Sapphire had just given them, Lily regarded the crystal ball, which was still foggy.
"It looks harmless enough," she said. "I mean, what's the worst it can do – display 'Sapphire loves Sirius' inside when you look in?"
Emma sniggered.
Sapphire scowled heavily.
"I do NOT like Sirius!" she said petulantly. "But…in terms of the…the thing, you're uhm…not far off." She turned around to pick up a piece of parchment, and handed it to Emma, who read it with raised eyebrows, and then handed it back.
"Okay, so what we have here is a crystal ball which reveals the feelings of the giver towards the receiver. Supposedly, it goes through various stages of…fogginess…before displaying the word 'Love' at the centre, in 'full clarity'." She sounded diplomatic, but Lily could see the glint in her eyes.
"Well, I'm beginning to see where your…predicament is," she said delicately.
"Exactly!" moaned Sapphire. She stared wildly at the innocent-looking crystal. "I cannot give this to him! Not if it's the last thing on earth!" Picking up a bottle of perfume, she examined it. "How about this? I'm sure he's always wanted a bottle of…Dolce and Gabbana?"
"No, he doesn't," Lily snatched the bottle off her, "because that's my perfume, and I practically paid half my bank account for it."
Groaning, Sapphire sank to the floor, clutching the ball as if by squeezing it she could change what it was.
"Look," Emma said sensibly. "We might be – okay, you might be – worrying over nothing. For all we know, this could be a piece of cheap crap, which'll never work anyway."
"It better not be cheap crap!" Sapphire protested hotly. "I paid good money for that!"
Then she realised what she was saying.
"I mean…I hope it doesn't work. I can always…" she sighed, "forget the money."
"Well," Lily said pragmatically. "There's only one way to check it. We should test it."
"On what?" Emma saw the look on Lily's face, and looked down at herself. "Oh."
"Look at it this way, Em. You're the only one of us with a boyfriend who can be completely trusted."
"Well, no time like the present." Sapphire jumped up. "Come on." She walked out and down the stairs, leaving Emma and Lily to follow hopelessly in her wake.
Sapphire walked straight up to Remus. "Remus, can we borrow you for a moment?" she asked innocently.
All three boys turned round, and Remus frowned in suspicion. "Am I likely to get hurt or humiliated?" he asked.
Sapphire put her hand to her heart. "I swear that none of the above will happen."
"What's in your hand?" Sirius asked curiously, gesturing at the hand she held behind her back.
"A bomb, specifically designed to dispose only of you," Sapphire answered sweetly. "Remus, coming?"
Remus lifted himself slowly off the couch, but Sapphire grabbed his arm and towards the girls' dorms. For the second time that night, James and Sirius were left to shrug hopelessly.
Remus stopped short when he saw where he was being led, but Sapphire pulled impatiently.
"Come on, I'm not actually taking you up there."
They came to a stop just before the stairs, and the girls crowded in close, making Remus look unnerved.
"Have you got it?" Lily asked breathlessly.
Sapphire took her arm from behind her back, and gave the crystal to Emma. Remus raised his eyebrows as he saw its swirling depths.
"You're thinking of trying to be a Divination Professor?"
"No!" Sapphire said. "Just please…don't ask questions?"
Emma held the ball for a moment, and then passed it to Remus, who took it as if expecting it to blow up in his face.
"It's not going to work, it's not going to work…" Sapphire muttered hopefully.
Slowly, the orb began to pulse gently, and the mist seemed to dissolve into itself, getting thinner and thinner. A soft red glow began to emanate from its depths.
"It's getting warmer," Remus said, looking slightly bewildered.
Eventually, the crystal became suffused with a warm light. A golden sparkle appeared in the middle, and traced a pattern, which became, in glittering gold cursive, the word Love.
"It's beautiful," Lily said in awe.
"It works," Sapphire said, shoulders slumping. Lily made a slashing motion to tell her to shut up, and all three stood, thinking of the implications.
The silence was broken by Remus. "Uh, sorry to interrupt you, but my hands are sort of burning off. This thing is hot."
"Sorry," Sapphire said, taking it. "Well, thanks Remus." She made for the stairs and disappeared, Lily following swiftly behind. Only Emma remained to give Remus a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said softly. "Do us a favour and keep this under wraps, ok?" She walked off, and Remus (still as confused as before) returned to his book.
Back upstairs, Sapphire sank back to the floor, clutching the crystal. "So what do I do?" she asked despondently.
Emma shrugged. "I don't suppose you could swap it with any of your other presents?"
Sapphire thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope." Suddenly, she looked hopeful. "Couldn't I switch it with any of yours?"
Both Emma and Lily shook their heads. "It wouldn't work," Lily said.
Sapphire glared down at the ball, and its instructions. She picked up the instructions again. "Maybe there's some way to turn it off." Scanning through the instructions, her face darkened. "Okay, maybe not." She flung the sheet haphazardly and set the ball back in its box. "You know what? I'll deal with this later. I probably won't get him anything at all."
Seeing that there was nothing to do about it, Emma got up. "Suit yourself." The three girls began to get ready for bed, discussing the merits of a new song.
None of them noticed the instruction leaflet, lying innocuously where it had been thrown under Sapphire's bed.
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Slowly, the hours passed by, minute by minute, until it was finally Christmas Eve. The only topic of conversation in the entire student body seemed to be the ball next day – Lily had never seen the school so engaged. From Gryffindors to Slytherins, from third-years to seventh-years, it was possible to predict exactly what was being discussed in every conversation. There seemed to be no exception to this rule, and most people were bustling around cheerfully, getting themselves ready with outfits.
The key word there was "most".
Two people in particular were not wholly able to join in the Christmas spirit. Sirius and James were both uneasy, although for different reasons. Had they confided in each other, they would have found a willing listener, but for James, communication was impossible due to the nature of his worry, and for
Sirius, it was just too humbling.
Sirius had been watching, over the past few days, with a deep sense of self-mistrust, the number of boys trailing after Sapphire. It wasn't that she was extremely pretty, he convinced himself, or that she was surprisingly nice to people who weren't him. She had nothing outstanding in the way of personal attraction, he told himself sternly. But then why did boys follow her like flies? It wasn't as if she even wanted the attention – more often than not she sent them packing with her sharp tongue…or a sharp punch.
It must be the idea of forbidden fruit, Sirius decided. She refused every boy that asked her so vehemently that it just increased her appeal. That was all.
It still didn't explain why she was turning everyone down, though. Aside from the usual pack of scavengers (seemingly headed by Leon Wilkes), there were several boys whom he was fairly sure Sapphire would have a good time with. Yet all got rejected, regardless of everything in their favour.
Sirius couldn't understand it at all.
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Meanwhile, James was toying with a very different concern…or perhaps not so different after all. A tiny part of his mind was nagging at him, telling him that he owed it to Lily to tell her…and yet, every time he had had an opportunity, he lost all courage, and had chosen to remain silent.
So much for being a bloody Gryffindor.
He looked up. She was sitting opposite him right now, attacking her pasta voraciously. He didn't want to be the one to have to upset her, as he knew his words would…or worse still, what if all his hears were ungrounded, and she ended up hating him?
Why was it so damned difficult to make a choice?
On the other hand, he reasoned with himself, what if he just cautioned her…just warned her, so to speak?It couldn't do too much harm, right?
He would have to hope. Waiting until she finished her dinner, he asked if he could speak to her alone. With a look of surprise, she agreed, and followed him out of the hall. They stopped just past the doors, and James turned to face her. He tried to think of the best way to put it.
"Lily, I…I need to, uhm, warn you about something…" Seeing her look of alarm, he hastily elaborated. "It's nothing serious…just…as a close friend – I thought I should tell you."
"What is it?" Lily asked curiously.
"It's…" James exhaled, and ran a hand through his hair. He avoided her wide eyes, choosing instead to focus on the floor. "It's just that you should be careful of - "
"Lily!" Tom was walking down the stairs. He smiled at Lily, and then regarded James with only the slightest hint of distrust… which James did not miss.
"I'll catch up with you later," Lily called. Tom nodded slightly, his eyes still on James, who was attempting unsuccessfully to keep his expression as unhostile as possible.
Unfortunately for him, Lily turned round sooner than he expected, and saw his face. She pursed her lips and looked back at the doors through which Tom had passed, then back at James, clearly putting two and two together.
"Oh no, not this." She sighed. "James, Tom is totally safe, he is not about to do anything that I don't want him to do, and we are perfectly happy together."
"It's not -" James bit his lip, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself. It was no good now. Anything he said would be taken the wrong way, no matter what it was about.
"Never mind," he said at last. "It doesn't matter."
"You sure?" Lily scrutinised his face carefully.
"Yeah. See you around."
As Lily headed back into the hall to find Tom, James was left with the sinking feeling that as good as a chess player as Lily was, she was fast coming up against a player whose moves she would never foresee.
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"Wake up, wake up!" Sapphire jumped onto Emma's bed. Emma mumbled something and turned over, but this did not faze Sapphire.
"Wake up!" she repeated cheerfully, bouncing on the bed. "It's Christmas! Presents, food, chocolate!"
"Did someone say 'food'?" Lily sat up, suddenly wide awake.
"Yep!" Sapphire sang out. "And presents and chocolate!"
"Well I'm up," Lily said, grabbing a towel.
Emma groaned, opening her eyes. "It's…six-thirty in the morning. You two kids go down…I'll follow later."
"Nuh-uh!" Sapphire protested. She pulled the quilt off Emma, and then, pulling her arms, raised her to her feet. "You're coming with us!"
With much grumbling from Emma, the three of them got showered and dressed, and tumbled down to the common room, presents in hand. Conveniently, they gained a corner by the warm fire.
Just thirty seconds later, Sirius bounded down the boys' staircase, followed by three weary-looking boys.
"Presents, food, chocolate!" he sang out happily. "Merry Christmas, all!"
"He woke you up?" Lily asked, casting an eye at Sirius.
"Bounced on my bed and then pulled me out," Remus affirmed.
"Join the gang," Emma said. She rubbed her eyes.
"Presents!" Sirius called cheerfully. "Give everyone your gifts!"
Soon enough, everyone had a stack of parcels in front of them, of different shapes and sizes. Oddly enough, though, James' four all looked exactly the same, even in different wrapping paper, except for one – Peter's. James looked up curiously.
"Am I that hard to shop for, that you all had to buy me the same gift?"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Well, if they all bought you what I did…" He looked around. "Open them, James."
James opened them one by one. They were all the same: a book. By twisting her head, Lily could read the titles, How to Overcome Your Shyness.
"You think James is shy?" she asked quizzically.
"Uhm…" Sapphire mumbled. "Well…it was more about a specific case…" She watched as James opened the book to the first page. He read the inscription, and flushed red.
"What does it say?" Lily asked.
"Never mind," James said quickly, snapping the book shut. He opened the front page of each of the remaining books before slamming them all shut, his face growing redder with each one, until he looked almost ready to explode.
"What do they say?" Lily asked impatiently.
"I'm guessing yours were along the same lines as mine?" Remus asked Sapphire, Emma and Sirius.
"Yeah," came the general reply.
"Well," Sirius cut in briskly, "now that we've seen what James got, how about the rest of us?"
Much laughter was heard as the rest of them opened their boxes. Peter had bought everyone chocolate, and was rather surprised to find that everyone had bought him exactly the same, right down to the type.
"I might as well have just kept the same things and saved myself the three hours it took to wrap these," he grumbled.
"It took you three hours to wrap six square boxes of chocolates?" Lily asked incredulously.
Peter looked uncomfortable. "I, er, got a bit…tangled…in the spellotape."
Everyone snorted as Emma looked at her present from Remus. "Oh Remus, you bought me…shoes?"
Lily had to admit, the blue box did look a lot like a shoebox.
"Not quite," Remus said, with a smile. "Open it."
Emma carefully lifted the lid and gasped. "Remus!" With the utmost care, she reached in and lifted out a single, hand blown, glass rose.
"It's beautiful," she said reverently, watching it catch the light. "Remus, you're amazing!" She leaned over to kiss him.
The girls' presents to each other were also surprisingly similar. Emma had bought her friends a mood stone bracelet each, with all their initials linked together in an intricate design inscription on the inside. Sapphire had chosen rings, which warmed when the person thought of the other wearers, and Lily had bought them each a necklace. When put together, the three pendants formed an unbroken ring, each with a different stone set into it; a sapphire for Sapphire, ruby for Emma, and an emerald for Lily.
Sirius, as Emma put it, was set to be a downright menace after he had opened all his presents. Lily, after wondering what she could buy in the joke shop that he didn't already have, had presented him with a card that gave him a twenty percent discount at any joke shop (Sirius nearly kissed her when he worked out what the "little piece of plastic" could do). In addition, Remus had given him an assortment of prank necessities, including a large bag of Dungbombs (Lily decided then and there to confiscate them as soon as humanly possible). Not to mention the pile of vouchers for free Butterbeer that he had received from Emma, which clearly ensured that he would deprive Madam Rosmerta of her profits from him for a while to come.
Sapphire's present, however, was more of a puzzle. Sirius looked surprised when he realised who it was from – he clearly hadn't expected anything from her, although he had given her the same present as he had given Emma; a framed photo of the seven of them, all squashed on and around the sofa in the common room. Carefully, he unwrapped the box and picked up the crystal ball.
"It's very…nice," he said. He examined it for a moment. "Uh…what is it?"
"Isn't there - " Sapphire began. She looked cautiously at the mess of wrapping. With a sudden movement across the floor that startled Sirius, causing him to jump back, she reached for the wrapping, and began searching through it, untwisting it all, and even shaking out the clear box.
Having decided that there was clearly nothing to be salvaged in the mess of shredded paper, she looked back at her friends with an expression that clearly screamed, What the hell do I do?
Emma jumped in. "Have you forgotten, Saffy? There was no…uh…gift tag with it. That's what you're looking for, isn't it?"
Sapphire picked up the hint quickly. "Uhm, yeah. Oh well." She moved away. "It's just a…a,uh, crystal ball. You know, in case you ever want to take up Divination."
Remus was frowning. "Isn't that -"
Emma turned around, and with a surprising presence of mind, leaned over Remus. 'Remus,' she muttered sweetly. 'If you don't say anything now, I promise I'll…reward…you later.'
Remus obligingly shut his mouth.
'Ok…' Sirius said dubiously. 'Well, thanks.'
Strangely enough, Sirius' presents seemed to be devoid of tricks themselves. His most suggestive one, as far as Lily could see, had been a cologne he had given Remus: Dangerous Obsession. That was, of course, until Lily got to her own from him.
It was a fairly small rectangular box. As Lily looked at it, it seemed to jump slightly, and she put it quickly down.
'Sirius,' she asked warily, 'is there anything…alive in there?'
Sirius smiled. 'Open it.'
Slowly, Lily unwrapped it, keeping her fingers clear of the openings she revealed. Eventually, the green paper was off, and inside was a small plastic box. Within it was a statue of a fairy. It looked like a Muggle version, delicate coppery waves spilling over pale shoulders against an orange and pink dress. A tiny length of gold tinsel was tied around its waist, with a small bag dangling, and it carried a sprig of mistletoe in one hand.
Lily lifted it carefully out. 'She's pretty,' she said wonderingly, looking at the realistic face, perfect even down to long, fluttery eyelashes.
As she held it, the ceramic seemed to warm up from the heat of her hands. Lily turned it to a side to examine the delicate wings behind, when she felt a sudden movement in her hand. Startled, she loosened her grip, but instead of falling to the floor, the fairy seemed to give a little kick, and its wings fluttered free, bursting into life. It soared upwards.
'Merry Christmas, all!' it trilled.
'It's real?' Lily gaped upwards in disbelief.
'So to speak.' Sirius smiled again, but there was a hint of mischief in his eyes.
'Merry Christmas, all!' the fairy sang again. Putting one hand into its little pouch, it showered Lily with a handful of green glitter.
Lily shook her hair. 'What is it?'
'A mistletoe fairy.'
Everyone watched as the fairy tossed another handful of green glitter over her hair.
'A what?'
'A mistletoe fairy.'
'Okk…" Lily said uncertainly.
'Merry Christmas, all!' The fairy threw another handful of glitter over her. Lily began to look annoyed as she shook green specks out of her hair.
'Ok, that's enough now,' she said. 'Go and Merry Christmas someone else.'
The fairy did not budge. 'Merry Christmas, all!' it said, and threw another handful.
Irritated, Lily got up and moved away, but the fairy simply fluttered until it was hovering above her again, showering her with glitter until the ground was littered with it.
'Sirius,' she said crossly. 'How do I get it to stop chucking glitter?'
'You don't,' Sirius said simply.
'What?' Lily stared at him. 'There's no way to get rid of it?'
'Oh, I didn't say there was no way to get rid of it,' Sirius said smugly.
'Merry Christmas, all!' the fairy said cheerfully.
'How, then?' Lily demanded.
Sirius mock-sighed. 'It's a mistletoe fairy, Lily. Use your brain.'
'I have to…I have to kiss someone?' she questioned, narrowing her eyes.
Sirius nodded. 'Right in one.'
Lily stared again. 'Ok, fine.' She turned around, as (conveniently), Tom walked down the stairs.
'Tom!' He stopped, startled, as she got up. The fairy fluttered energetically to keep up with her as she strode over.
Briefly, she kissed him on the lips. Tom looked shocked (although rather pleased) at the sudden action, but Lily had already stepped away, and was looking expectantly up.
'Well, nice knowing you,' she said upwards.
The fairy just giggled, and flipped her hair, dangling the mistletoe. 'Merry Christmas, all!' she trilled.
'Sirius…' Lily said, in a warning tone. 'Explain.'
'Uhm…' Sirius was wearing his most angelic expression. 'I might have…added…a few charms to the ones on it…'
'Such as?' Lily's voice was steely.
'Like that…you have to kiss a, uh, particular person…'
'Who?'
'Do you want me to announce it to the world?'
Lily sighed and walked across, bending down. Sirius muttered something into her ears. Lily leaped backwards.
'Sirius,' she said dangerously. 'Tell me you're joking.' Sirius shook his head vigorously. 'Oh God. This is not happening.'
'Merry Christmas, all!' Another handful of glitter went into the air.
'Shut up!' Lily yelled at the giggling figure. She turned to Sirius. 'Is there no other way of doing this?'
'Well, you could just live with Tinkerbell for the next year or so,' Sirius said innocently.
For a moment, Lily looked as though she was actually considering this…until the fairy delved into its pouch once more.
'For heaven's sake,' James said impatiently, 'who are you supposed to kiss? Snivellus?'
Lily stalked up to him, until her face was no more than an inch from his. 'It's not Snivellus,' she hissed. She yanked him to his feet. 'It's you.'
Before he could say anything, she had pulled him over and out of the portrait hole. She let it swing shut, then looked up.
'Ok, I'm really sorry…I know I make it sound worse than it is…I'd rather it was you than someone like Severus…'She swallowed, and then, ignoring the smirk on the Fat Lady's face, stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, as another wave of glitter cascaded down (the fairy had just managed to follow her out).
The fairy giggled – again – as Lily gave the password, and the two climbed back into the common room..
Getting back to her friends, Lily looked almost surprised (and more than a little frustrated) to see glitter still falling.
She looked up. 'Why aren't you going?' She looked back at Sirius. 'Why isn't it going?'
'There might have been…something else I forgot to mention,' Sirius mumbled.
Lily looked like she was about to explode. 'What more is there that you can make me do, Sirius?' she yelled, annoyed. 'Make me undress and do a lap dance for him in my knickers?' The entire group snorted, and James flushed bright red.
'No…' Sirius said innocently. 'Just a little thing…'
'Just spit it out!'
'You have to…kiss him on the lips. In public.'
Lily looked deadly, and she wasn't the only one. James was sinking lower and lower in his chair, his face drained of colour.
'Sirius,' he muttered. 'I am going to kill you.'
'This is one of your worst present ideas ever,' Lily confirmed.
'Really?' Sirius questioned. 'I thought I deserved a Nobel Prize for it!'
'In your dreams,' James mumbled.
'Merry Christmas, all!' The fairy seemed to decide that the best way to dispel the murderous look on Lily's face was to throw an extra-large handful of glitter over her. Lily let out a scream of frustration.
'That does it,' she said firmly. 'James, I'm sorry, but get up.'
'No -' James began to protest, but a glare from Lily silenced him, and he got up reluctantly.
Lily stepped closer to him, trying her best to ignore the looks of anticipation on the others' faces.
'James,' she said softly, so that the others couldn't hear. 'I'm really, really sorry. If there was a way without all this...embarrassment, I would use it.'
James shrugged, and then shook his head as some of the glitter that the fairy was throwing landed on him.
She put her hand on his arm, telling her brain fiercely to shut up, and he bent his head towards her. Their lips brushed for only a second before Lily pulled back, fearing that it could turn into a repeat of last time. Even so, she could feel a spark shoot up her spine, making her shiver. As if to emphasise it, a blinding flash of white light erupted, and she blinked as she backed away from James.
Thinking it was the fairy, she looked up to smirk, only to see the fairy staring back down.
'Oh pooh!' it said indignantly, before it disappeared in a puff of green smoke, leaving a trail of glitter in the air.
Lily looked puzzled. 'But if that was the fairy going, what was the white -?'
She and James turned slowly…only to see Maddie standing next to Sirius, wearing a grin of the uttermost wickedness…and holding a camera.
It took a moment for what had happened to sink into Lily's mind.
James, however, was quicker on the uptake. 'You – you -' he spluttered.
'Nice doing business with you, Sirius,' Maddie said, smirking as she shook hands with him. 'This is possibly one of your best present ideas yet.'
'You – you collaborated with his little sister?' Lily asked in disbelief.
Maddie simply looked smug.
'What can I say?' Sirius grinned. 'We're partners in crime.'
'Give me that camera!' James yelled, and leapt after her. Maddie dodged him and darted round the table.
'Hello? Help!' James called to Lily, who snapped to her senses and moved over the other side. For a moment, the three of them were frozen in a stalemate, Maddie feinting this way and that while the two older students started and stopped. Finally, they both closed in at the same time. It looked likely to be successful…until Maddie slipped under the table and crawled out of the other side, going round Remus, Emma and Sapphire, who were all helpless with laughter.
'Why did I ever teach you to play Quidditch?' James moaned, running after her, but it was too late. She pushed through the portrait hole, and they heard the pounding of her footsteps down the corridor.
'That girl is too fast,' Lily said, looking at the closing hole.
James rounded on Sirius. 'Padfoot, what the hell are you planning to do with the photos?' he demanded.
'No-thing,' Sirius said, in a sing-song voice.
'Sirius…'James said warningly.
'Nothing that involves the public, alright?'
James subsided, but shot him such a mutinous look that Sirius backed away to the window. He looked out.
'Hey!' he cried. 'Snow! Let's have a snow fight!'
There was a pause, and then, slowly, a general consensus of agreement.
'Sounds fun,' Emma said.
'Boys versus girls?' Remus suggested.
'But there are four of you and three of us,' Sapphire pointed out.
'Well, Lily has enough aggression for two people, so really, we're even,' Sirius said, earning himself a face from Lily.
'Okay,' Emma said. 'Meet back here in ten minutes with cloaks and stuff.'
Agreed, all seven people trooped upstairs to retrieve extra clothing against the cold. Lily was one of the first back down, and walked back to where they had been sitting to tidy up her presents, and the pile of wrapping paper she had discarded. As she put all the jewellery into the empty fairy box, her eye fell on James' four copies of How To Overcome Your Shyness, and she remembered how odd it was that he had got the same book four times, and his strange uncomfortableness when he read the inside page…and yet she still didn't know what was in them…
A quick peek couldn't hurt, right?
She flashed an apprehensive look at the doorways to the dorms, and then hesitated, before, overcome with curiosity, she reached out to take the top book and open it to the front page. She cringed with embarrassment as she read the inscription:
Dear James,
Merry Christmas! You'd better use this book to deal with your issues about Lily!
Sapphire
Quickly, she closed the book and reached for the next one, her face burning. Surely they couldn't all be this bad?
Dear James,
Stop being stupid and get a move on! Lily won't be sharing a common room with you for much longer! Merry Christmas!
Yours,
Emma
James,
I know you usually ignore my advice, but here's something for you that it would be in your best interests to consider. I want you to listen carefully, my friend:
Use this book with regard to a certain Miss Evans!
Remus
Prongs,
Only one thing I want to say: GET OFF YOUR LAZY ARSE AND STOP BEING SO SHY, GODDAMIT! You KNOW who I'm talking about!
The one and only,
Padfoot
As she read the last message, a shadow fell over her. Hastily, she slammed the book shut and turned, only to see James looking down at her, hands in pockets.
'Sorry,' she said guiltily, standing up. 'I just wanted to know what they said.'
'Well now you do.' James' face was red.
'They can be such jokers, can't they?' Lily babbled, trying to fill the awkward silence that fell. 'They obviously haven't picked up on the fact that we're just – we're just friends.'
'Yeah,' came the weak reply.
He looked rather odd, Lily thought – a mix between embarrassment and slight despondency, although she wasn't entirely sure why. To cheer him up, she reached into a pocket.
'This is for you,' she said, handing him a small box.
James looked surprised, but accepted it, and she watched him smile as he unwrapped the box and opened it…only to find a smaller box inside instead.
'I know where this is going,' he said, laughing as he lifted the lid off to find an even smaller box.
'Bet you don't know what's in the middle, though,' Lily returned, eyes sparkling with a hidden smile as she watched James pull away two more boxes.
Finally, James was left with a parcel no bigger than the size of his palm, with twirly ribbon tied around it. Pulling the ribbon apart, he lifted the lid to reveal a small scroll of parchment. He looked puzzled as he unrolled it, but as he read the top, his expression changed to both shock and…well…hurt. Lily knew what he was reading.
Three Hundred Reasons Why I Hate James Potter.
He scanned right the way down the list, which hung down to his knees, right the way down to number 300 (He thinks he's in a constant competition with every other boy in school to look good in my eyes, and it doesn't work), and the final words, Signed, Lily Evans, aged fourteen.
When he looked up, his voice was quiet. 'Is this what you really think of me?'
Lily shrugged, and placed a finger on the parchment. 'Lily Evans, aged seventeen,' she said clearly.
The messy script of a fourteen-year-old morphed into the smooth cursive of a seventeen-year-old. The scroll lengthened until it was trailing onto the floor.
'What the -?' James started.
Lily smiled. 'Look at the title now, James.'
James looked down. When he turned his hazel eyes back on her face, they were full of a joyful surprise.
Six Hundred Reasons Why I Like James Potter.
And down at the bottom:
Signed, Lily Evans, aged seventeen.
'Lily,' he said, his face breaking out into a grin. 'How can I – Thank you.'
'It's nothing,' Lily said. A part of her was hoping for something more in return, but at that moment, Sirius and Remus clattered down the stairs, and James put the scroll back in the box carefully and turned away, laughing, to them. Nothing more was said, and despite the warm glow it had given Lily to see James enjoy his real gift, a sinking feeling was fast settling in her stomach. He hadn't given her anything – not even a hug of acknowledgement.
He doesn't consider me a friend.
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A/N: The next chapter is IT. The Big One. The Winter Ball. And ooh, the things that are planned... So, to honour it, I decided to leave you with some teaser lines of what's coming. It'll be interesting to hear what you think of them! Don't forget to leave a review, pretty please!
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Maddie sighed and shook her head. 'Honestly, James. I've known you fifteen years, I spent eleven of them being one of your only friends at home, and yet you still think you can lie to me and I won't realise. I know the truth. I can see it in your eyes.'
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She looked searchingly at Sirius and shook her head. 'Sirius, if you felt this strongly, why didn't you do something useful about it, instead of acting like you did?'
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'I'm not the one for you. I realise that.'
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Emma's voice had taken on a note of real panic. 'Boys, where is she?'
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