I feel like I freaked out a bunch of you with the chapter title, but most of this one is actually quite happy! It's nearly Christmas! Whooopieeee! (Also, I admit, writing in love Jily got very addictive after how hostile they started... but yes. Enjoy it o.O) ** Also, sorry, clearly I'm a terrible gift giver and all I can think of are cookies.

Thanks guys! I love hearing your thoughts :)

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. Art work by the awesome Meg (tumblr: anxiouspineapples)

Laughing at the Devil

Christmas Holiday, 6th Year

"Ugh, my head," James groaned the next morning as he woke up to light streaming in through his window. He blindly reached out next to him, finding nothing but the edge of his sheets tangled around his oddly contorted body. "Lily?" he called out confused, finally cracking open his eyes.

"Right here," she replied from the corner of his room, adding the last few ingredients into a sizzling cauldron. "I hope your dad doesn't mind I raided his supply closet."

James patted down his nightstand for his glasses, slipping them on. "Whatcha making?"

Lily walked over to him and conjured up a glass of water, pushing it into his hands as he sat up. Sobering spells worked great in the moment, but even they couldn't prevent the dreaded morning after. "Hangover Potion. It's a decently easy brew and I made us enough to hopefully last the holiday." James drank his water gratefully. "It's almost ready."

"You're an angel. Thank you," James spoke softly, cupping her jaw.

Lily smiled. She felt herself allowing her tender side to poke out for him. It was a sort of sweetness she'd only ever shown to pets before, really. Their unconditional love was something that had to be shown back in kind. She couldn't believe it was James fucking Potter who was coaxing it out of her now. "Do you remember last night?" She shot him a sly look.

"No. Why am I naked?"

Lily's jaw dropped. "Oh no, Ja—"

James' lips twitched as he set down his glass and lunged for her, dragging her over his lap. "I'm joking, Evans. I could never forget shagging you."

Before they could get too comfortable, Sirius burst through the door, making Lily rush to cover up until she remembered that she was fully dressed. "Prongs! You're alive!" He jumped onto the bed with them, hopping all about childishly.

"Could you please keep it down, Padfoot?" James groaned, holding his temples. "I haven't had my hangover cure yet."

"Oh. You mean like you guys kept it down last night?" Lily felt a flush creep over her entire body. Oh shite… we didn't performed a muffling spell, did we? James was normally the one who cast it, being the better at it between the two of them. They'd both been a little too preoccupied to remember to do it she supposed. "It is nice to know what a generous lover you are though, Prongs." A mischievous look took over his face. "And I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you call out your own name during the act."

"What are you talking ab—" James started, but then looked to Lily even more befuddled when she started giggling. "What? I didn't actually… did I?"

"The way I heard it, you practically yelled it at her." Sirius resumed his happy jumping at the foot of his best friend's bed.

"Lily?!" James was staring at her desperately, asking her to defend his honor while he could not.

"It was a misunderstanding, Sirius. Not a self-congratulatory orgasm," Lily stated.

James slouched back into his pillows relieved. "Oh thank Merlin."

"Well, you young lady," Sirius set his sights on Lily, "I must say, I never took you for quite as loud of a screamer."

Lily thought back to the previous night. After James had gone down on her until her legs had turned into absolute jello, he'd laid down on his back and begged, and begged, her to ride him so he could 'watch my favorite tits bounce in my face until I pass out.' Given the orgasm he'd just given her, as well as how damn cute he looked when he pouted out his lips like that, it was awfully hard to reject his zealous pleas. He hadn't passed out, only ogled and pawed at her the whole time, telling her besotted things like 'I'm the luckiest bloke alive,' 'You don't know how fucking beautiful you are,' and 'I will love you for fucking ever.' Considering he was tipsy and had his cock inside of her, Lily tried not to take he's words too seriously. Eventually, she'd had to put her palm over his mouth just so she could concentrate on how good he felt, and even that he didn't seem to mind so much. When he'd lifted his hips up to help her out, angling himself just right for her, she'd been a goner.

"Well Sirius. I never took you for such a creepy lurking listener, yet here we are."

Sirius didn't have time to do more than smirk before Marlene strolled in, also plopping herself down on the — now much too crowded — bed. "You two are alive."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" James mumbled as he yanking the sheet up despite Sirius' weight, trying to cover up his torso. Lily was very grateful that he was having such a hard time with the task.

"You earned me five Galleons last night," Marlene said, sitting against the headboard next to Lily. Sirius took James' other side, officially making this the most uncomfortable morning after in both the teens' lives.

"What? How?"

"Well, I guess I should say Lily made me five Galleons. It is after all her doing that made it last less than an hour."

"And I could have sworn I knew how whiskey dick worked," Sirius grumbled.

"But, I know how hot and bothered Lily gets him." Lily amusedly accepted Marlene's high-five.

"I hate you all. Goodbye," James whined, pulling the sheet free and wrapping himself up with it as he got up to retreat to his bathroom. At the door, he turned around to Lily, who may just have been checking out his back whilst biting her lip. "Except for you of course, Lils."

"Duly noted."

He winked.

After James was showered and had downed his Hangover Potion, the gang worked relentlessly to finalize all the details for tomorrow's ball. The caterers had their menus, the band had their pre-approved songs, and Sirius had given the photographers a strict shot-list to adhere to. Lily instantly felt bad for all these workers having to bend over backwards for a very particular 17 year old.

The more extravagant it got, the more Lily realized she definitely didn't have anything fancy enough to wear. Marlene assured her that she could just borrow one of her old dresses.

That night, after Sirius had finally released them from their party planning duties, Lily was able to use the insanely well-stocked kitchen. Lily guessed the house-elves must keep it that way out of habit since it didn't seem as though Mr Potter had a very varied diet for them to cater too.

"Can I help?" James asked, leaning against a cupboard as Lily was mixing some batter, her hair up in a messy bun.

"Um, yes, actually, you could measure me out eight tablespoons of butter, please."

"Right on it." James stopped in front of her, wetting his thumb with his tongue and wiping something off of her cheek. "You got a lil chocolate…"

Lily wiped her cheek with the back of her hand bashfully. "Huh. Wonder how that got there?"

"Great mystery," James joked, walking to the fridge.

James took well to being her sous chef, cracking jokes with the eggs and only occasionally holding the batter above Lily's head out of reach until she kissed him for it. Soon Lily had ten neatly wrapped boxes of cookies all labeled and ready to go.

"Sirius, Mary, Mar, your dad, Snitch, Quaffle," James smiled brightly at the names of his house-elves, "you, Remus, Peter, and Adam." They both got a little stiff at the mention of her male friend, but he wisely didn't say anything. She was still a bit annoyed that Sirius hadn't invited him tomorrow. (Sirius had defended himself by saying he wasn't even sure she'd be there when he sent out the invitations weeks ago.) "Awesome, I can't believe we finished them all."

James wrapped his arms around her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Happy?"

"Yes." Lily simpered. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You know if healing doesn't work out, you can always open a bakery. Call it… Lily's Lovely Lickable Loot." She gave him a side-eye. "Evan's Enjoyable Edibles." There was a long beat. "Rose's—"

"I get it, James." Call me Lucky (in) Love Lily.

Lily knew why she had a miserable time falling asleep that night. The next day, it would be exactly one year since her parents had died. It was impossible not to think about, and dread, no matter how good James' warm arms felt cradled around her under the sheets.

"Morning, sleepyhead," James' voice cooed far too soon. He pecked her forehead. "Happy Christmas Eve." James didn't know her parents' exact death date. She'd never told him. Should I? It seemed selfish given the party tonight was in honor of his own dead mother. What a mess.

"Morning," she grumbled, rolling over and hiding her head under her pillow.

"Uh oh… someone's not in the right holiday spirit," he sang, tickling her wildly.

"No, stop!" she cried out, thrashing against him.

"Open your present then."

That got her attention. "We're doing that now?" She pushed herself up and saw her own reflection in the mirror opposite the bed. She looked like a rabid animal that had just escaped a life of crime in the gutter: hair sticking up wildly, eyes puffy, is that dried drool on my chin?! "I have to pee!" she lied, hopping out of bed so she could sneak in a quick shower in James' bathroom. Now she smelt like pine. James' familiar scent brought her a small ounce of comfort.

When she came out, he was wearing a grey henley with the sleeves pushed halfway up his forearms and, damn, if she was ever so aware of her own burning desires before. It was so, so unfair just how badly she was attracted to him, even when she could barely even see a hint of skin. His smirk halted her wandering eyes. "You didn't have to freshen up on my account, Evans. I rather enjoy seeing you… disheveled." He was going to kill her.

"Where's this present," she groused.

"Right here, sunshine." He motioned to a garment bag that she hadn't noticed hanging from the canopy of his bed. She approached it warily. "You got me clothes?" Understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, the lingerie?"

He bit his lip, pleased with himself. "No, that wouldn't work tonight. I got you a gown to wear."

Lily's hand paused on the zipper, turning to him awkwardly. "You didn't need to do that; Marlene's old one fit fine—"

"I wanted you to have your own."

"I can't pay you back—"

"I'm not asking you to."

"James—"

"Lily, please. Open it, see if you even like it."

Lily felt her pulse racing. She knew he was rich, but this felt like too much. She'd made him cookies for fuck's sake, with ingredients his family had paid for! She wasn't ashamed of being poor, she knew it wasn't her fault, but to be this viscerally reminded of it was still jarring. An overwhelming feeling of inadequacy settled in the pit of her stomach. With a deep breath, she opened the bag to reveal the most beautiful gown she'd ever seen. It was a gorgeous sky blue and looked like it would hug her frame with a high slit.

"I know this color looks amazing on you from that jumper you wear. And if it doesn't fit, I can get our tailor to fix it before tonight, but I'm pretty sure I got the measurements right." He was studying her face intently and Lily didn't know what to do with it.

"James, I…" she trailed off.

"You hate it?" he asked sadly.

The hurt made her spin to him. "No! It's beautiful. Really beautiful. It's just…" she searched for the words, "too much." She was starting to realize that she was feeling guilty because of more than just the money he was clearly spending on her; the feelings she couldn't quite verbally reciprocate yet (or at least not as wholeheartedly as him) were also burning a hole in her conscience. What is wrong with you?

He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "I'm sorry?"

"No—" Fuck. Now I feel like a bitch. She stepped up to him, looking him in the eye. Why couldn't she just let this damn prince of a man dote on her like a normal person? "Thank you." She grabbed his hand. "I really love it." She smiled. "And I'll think of something more to get you."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "No need. I may have already dug into my box of cookies, so this dress is more of a 'whoopsies,' than anything."

Lily slapped his elbow. "James!"

"What?" He threw his hands up in defense. "They're really yummy!"

"You're hopeless."

The hours before the ball flew by as Lily and Marlene got their hair and makeup done by professionals that Sirius had hired. The house was an absolute flurry of activity. This is for James, this is for James… she kept reminding herself as the sheer volume of people working all around her overwhelmed her. She tried to help out where she could, her service industry senses tingling, but Sirius reprimanded her, telling her to leave the set up to 'the help.' Obviously, his words rubbed her the wrong way, but he seemed so frazzled that she didn't want to start an argument with him today.

She found solace in the Potter owlery, ready to pet James' snowy owl (she was quite aloof and Lily was determined to win over her affections before the end of the holiday), but got distracted when she found her cuddling with a stately owl — a stately eagle-owl with orange eyes.

"Buddy?" she asked confused. As soon as the owl spotted her, he hooted merrily and flew to her shoulder, nestling against her cheek. Oh my god. She knew Remus was coming today for the gala, but why would his owl be here? Unless… "You're not his owl are you?" she whispered.

"Dear, what are you doing here?" Lily spun to see Mr Potter hobbling into the owlery, Snitch lagging behind, regarding him cautiously as if he may fall over at any minute. "Don't you have a ball to prepare for?"

Lily was so happy Fleamont was in high spirits tonight. She wished she could be right there with him. "I just need to put on my dress, sir." She motioned to her already styled up-do.

"Yes, yes, James seemed quite excited about it." He smiled and shuffled closer, the owl on Lily's shoulder hopping from her to the old man's extended arm. "My boy is quite smitten with you, you know," he said distractedly.

Lily felt completely unnerved. "Sir, is that your owl?"

If Mr Potter thought the topic shift was bizarre, he didn't let on. "Yes." He stroked the owl's chest fondly. "Eros here is the most wondrous of pets. So clever, so clever." He walked to the doorway. "If you'll excuse me, dear. I must make myself presentable for tonight. Some of us require a little more time than others."

Lily laughed indulgently at his joke and he gave her a small wink before disappearing. And then she let it all wash over her: James had pretended to be Remus this summer. James had asked her what her new job was — and then found her. Holy fucking shit. Lily slumped her body against the wall, sliding to the floor (owl droppings be damned) and cradled her forehead (makeup artist: I'm sorry). What was happening?! Had she been basing her friendship with Remus this year on conversations she'd secretly been having with someone else? Did she even have a friendship with Remus? Surely she did, but those letters this summer had meant so much to her — been a fucking lifeline — and they'd been from James. You're such a fucking idiot. How could she not have been able to tell? Pesky forging trick aside, they still spoke differently. How bloody unobservant was she?

And James! And fucking, fuck-your-life-up, James fucking Potter. What was she supposed to do about him? This was exactly the overstepping she'd yelled at him about before… but this had happened before his last infraction… and she'd noticed he actually was trying to behave since. He'd been trying to reign in his psycho tendencies. Was it enough? Could she even yell at him for stuff that happened this summer?

Well, she could most certainly be pissed about it.

Fuck. They'd been on such a good page. The longer she stayed here with him, in their happy little bubble, the deeper she felt herself falling for him, and the more she could see them actually giving, well, them a go. She almost wished she'd never even found out about this. What am I supposed to do? Truth be told, all these things he'd been doing were all things she would have loved from him — had they been together. She would have loved to get letters from him all summer long, had they been dating. She would have loved that he accompanied her on patrols, if she'd asked him to. She would love his gifts if she felt like she was giving him something equally precious in return. He's fucking in love with you, dumbass… and he has been for a while. That was honestly what shook her the most. How could she have been so convinced that he hated her? How could she not have bloody realized that the man that she had so desperately wanted, wanted her just as much back? If anything, it made her feel like a really shitty person. Marlene was almost right: she felt like she had been stringing him along.

Lily really fucking hated Christmas.

"James, I need to talk to you," Lily declared, stepping into his room half an hour later, scaring the shit out of Sirius who was not prepared to see her suddenly appear through a wall.

"Holy fuck, where—"

"Lily, what's wrong?" James' hands froze on his cufflinks.

"Just…" Lily pointed behind her shoulder, letting him know she wanted him to follow her.

Once they got to her room, she quickly said, "Pineapple." If she were in a different mood, she might have giggled when she heard a loud thump followed by Sirius' muffled 'ow,' from the other side of the wall shortly afterwards.

Lily turned to James, trying to ignore just how sharp he looked in his sleek, black dress robes. "Okay, this is really hard for me, but I'm really trying here, so please bear with me."

"Okay…" he answered cautiously.

No more self-sabotaging Lily, just be honest. Well, as honest as you can stomach. She took a deep breath. "I know you pretended to be Remus to write me this summer, it's fucked up, and obviously I don't like it—"

"Lily, I—"

Lily put her hand up. "Please let me finish." James shrunk back, looking terrified but accepting his fate. "Like I said, it's not cool, but I know it happened before our," Lily flapped her wrist, trying to come up with a suitable word, "talk or whatever." She sighed. "And I know you've been working really hard at respecting my boundaries," she gave him a small smile, "and I appreciate it." And I love you. "So even though I now get where you were coming from, I just need you to promise me you'll never pretend to be someone else for me." Because I love you. "You know, so I can trust you." Because I love you.

"Yes." James sounded so relieved. "Yes, I can promise that."

"And you need to show Remus my letters." She knew he must still have them; she was no longer a stranger to his obsessive personality. "And explain what you did."

James winced, his hand flying into his hair. "Is that really necessary?"

"James." She looked him dead in the eye. "You sabotaged my friendship with Remus to further your own. He deserves to know what I thought I was sending him."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Okay!" Lily breathed deeply, super proud of herself. She'd had a problem, she'd faced it directly, and they'd talked about it. She should really try this more often.

James shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. "I really am sorry. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Lily took his wrists, finishing securing his cufflinks for him. "I know." His overstepping was a lot easier to handle when she knew it came from his fear of losing her, and not because he was trying to control her. She felt her face heat up as she spoke the next words to his sleeves. "You just need to give me a little time to catch up." Her eyes flicked up; he was latching on to her every word. "Let me go at my own pace." After all, he had been imagining this relationship for the past year, while she'd been denying it.

"Okay," he whispered. "I can wait."

She took a step back, admiring him, then shook her head to clear it; she wasn't done yet. "Now's the time to come clean. Is there anything else you've done for me that I don't know about?"

"Lily, do we have to do this now? I mean, it's Christmas Eve…" He sat on the edge of her bed.

"I won't be able to relax until you do."

His eyes were extra honey-colored as he begged her to drop it, but she wouldn't budge. He bit his lip. "Please remember that I'm just an idiot who really, really is crazy about you, and I don't know what to do about it most of the time and I know better now and—"

"James." She crossed her arms over her chest.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, keeping them closed. "Well, you already made me promise to stop with the unprovoked spells, but I was hexing people for a while so you could get more practice as a healer, because it seemed like you really liked it… but it was mostly minor stuff!"

Lily's jaw dropped. "Poppy would kill you if she knew! Do you know how overworked she is?"

"I only did it on days I knew you were temping, I swear!" he defended eagerly.

"Oh my god." She started pacing. "What else?"

"Uh… you know about the goat thing. Um… I left out a bunch of food for you last year?"

"What?" Lily turned to him. "That was you? I thought it was the house-elves!"

"Yeah, well, I asked them too. I knew you weren't eating." He grimaced. "I was worried."

Right. I knew that. It wasn't like she hadn't needed it… "Fuck, James, okay. Anything else?"

James looked like she was asking him to prep for a colonoscopy. "I may have sent that cruise guy to your apartment?" he confessed sheepishly.

"Cruise guy?"

"Yeah. I hired an actor to tell your foster parents they'd won that cruise." James stood up. "I know that sounds crazy—"

"It does." Lily couldn't help but feel that uncomfortable squirming sensation in her stomach again.

"Just please remember, we weren't really on good talking terms back then." He stood right in front of her. "But Lily, sending them away is the thing I stand by the most. I couldn't keep watching you show up every week with a new bruise. I tried to mind my own business, but," he faltered, "it sucked. I couldn't do it. I mean, you're clumsy, but not that clumsy." He reached for both her hands. It wasn't the first time Lily noticed how massive they were covering hers. "I'd seen it with Sirius after every holiday in the early years, and I wasn't going to go through it again with you." His thumbs started doing their soothing strokes over her skin as he crouched down to her eye level. "I'll apologize, but honestly, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was either get rid of them or teach them a lesson, and I thought a trip would be the preferable option."

Lily was amazed with how much more she was willing to let him get away with since realizing she loved him. The same actions that would have previously made her see red were now being viewed through rose-colored glasses, making creepy somehow morph into romantic. Without her knowing it, James had been there, trying to make her life more bearable, even when she was treating him with absolute contempt.

"Is that why you got weird about my back bruise? After we did it in the library I mean?" Lily felt like she was finally figuring this man out.

James shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe?"

Lily didn't want to overthink the moment, so she grabbed his face and kissed him. He was clearly a mess — an intrusive, fanatic, sexy mess, but he was her mess. Why can't we be messes together? James started grinning into her lips. "What?" His smile was infectious.

"Nothing. I should just have come clean with you ages ago. Who would have known you'd like it so much?"

Lily wrapped her arms over his shoulders. "You should have. Is there anything else?"

She was standing so close to him that she didn't miss the flicker of hesitation that crossed his face. He masked it immediately. "Well, the gown wasn't your only present, but I didn't want to overwhelm you…"

Lily tilted her head to the side. "Hm?"

James reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black box, handing it to her gently, before fiddling with his hair. She looked up to him, her beautiful eyes impossibly wide. "I can return it if it's too much, I just… I don't ever want you to have any doubts about my feelings again." His eyes bore into hers. "Because I'm in this, Lils. Whenever you're ready. I'll be here."

Ah, fuck fuck fuck fuck. Lily couldn't breathe as she looked down, snapping open the box to reveal a beautiful little sapphire heart on a delicate silver chain.

He whispered on, "I noticed you like necklaces and I thought this may work with your dress tonight. Or you know, every outfit you ever want to wear from now on."

She tittered, gingerly taking out the necklace and handing it to him. "Could you?" she asked him, turning around for him.

He brought it up around her neck, clasping it in place and kissing where the ends met.

She bit her lip. This was too good to be true, something had to be wrong. She looked at them in the mirror — they looked like they belonged together. "It's beautiful." She turned to him, pulling him in for another kiss before she could cry. "I love it." They were forehead to forehead now. "Thank you."

Sirius barged in the door, making James let out a big, vexed sigh. "Phew, I was worried you were going to murder him," the unwanted intruder said, looking at his watch. "Merlin, Evans, you have to go put your dress on! Prongs, we need to go downstairs to greet guests! You know there's always those early freaks." He grabbed James' arm and dragged him out.

"Save me a dance?" James called out over his shoulder.

"Sure." Lily smiled.

As soon as the boys rounded the corner, she collapsed on her bed. She was in so deep.

"Oh Marlene, you look so beautiful!" Lily said, standing by her door, garment bag draped over her arm as she gaped at the blonde. She looked stunning in a red, floor length gown as she put in a pair of sparkly earrings.

"Thank you," Marlene replied, beaming and giving Lily a shy spin. "I may have invited Evan tonight."

Lily quickly shut the door behind her. "You did?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know he can't come to the ballroom because I don't want to start a fight… but I figured I might be able to sneak him to my room?"

"Ooo, yes, like a sexy secret mission!"

"Exactly." Marlene laughed.

"So that's why it's so nice in here…" Lily indicated the fresh flowers littered in vases throughout the room.

"Shut up. I want it to be perfect. You never know," Marlene muttered taking in her own reflection.

"I'm sure it will be," Lily assured her.

"Lily, could you do me a favor? I know Sirius will be way too occupied to notice me go missing, but if James notices, could you cover for me?"

Lily smiled. "Of course. I'll be sure to distract him." She winked.

"Great." Marlene's gaze landed on Lily's necklace as she started changing into her dress. "Oh! He gave it to you!"

Lily reflexively fingered the heart. "You knew?"

"Yeah!" Lily tried not to think about how Mary would have told her if she'd known such a thing. It isn't fair to compare them like that, she chided herself. "He was freaking out about it to be honest. Never seen him act like that before." She shook her head fondly. "Wanted to know if I thought you'd like it or if it was too sappy."

Knowing just how much thought James had put into her gift made it even more special. Lily found that she just couldn't stop grinning to herself.

Lily felt a whole lot like Cinderella when she started descending the stairs in Potter manor not too much later. The dress fit her like a glove, and Marlene had enlarged some of her heels for her so she wouldn't be tripping on the length. Her eyes danced around the foyer with snowflakes floating, carolers harmonizing, and twinkling lights every which way. Sirius had truly outdone himself. But once her gaze fell upon James, she couldn't see anything else. He was talking with his father and the Marauders, but once Remus nudged him and pointed her out, and he turned around, she could have sworn time slowed down. His eyes glowed with admiration as he watched her approach, not even trying to hide how completely mesmerized he was.

"Hi," he said grinning at her lopsidedly as he held out his palm for her at the bottom of the stairs.

She gladly took it. "You got a little…" She motioned to her lower lip, miming drool.

"Haven't you heard? Drooling's all the rage these days." Lily blushed a smidge, thinking back to how she'd woken up this morning. He escorted her to his friends, whispering in her ear along the way, "You look so damn beautiful." Lily knew she was probably now red all over.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," Remus said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Prongs told me I have some scrumptious cookies to look forward to."

Peter squeaked nervously next to him. Lily noticed he wouldn't stop giving awkward looks to her and James' clasped hands. She found a subtle way to untangle herself shortly after.

Marlene was indeed MIA for most of the party, but luckily the Marauders seemed too thrilled to be reunited to take note. Lily took the time to catch up with some of the other Gryffindor girls milling about like Dorcas and Hestia, who were very surprised she'd finally attended a Potter Gala. (Lily didn't point out she'd never actually been invited before.) The latter was very interested in the sparks she insisted were flying between her and the messy-haired host, so Lily found herself downing more than a few flutes of champagne. It seemed to be going straight from her empty stomach right to her head. Meanwhile the former couldn't understand why Hufflepuff Robby Levine kept winking at her. "He swears we had our first kiss a few weeks before my attack… but I obviously have no way of verifying this," Dorcas grumbled.

Well, that fucking blows. "Um, well… do you think he's fit?" Lily asked tentatively.

Dorcas shrugged. "Honestly, I've always had a crush on his twin Rebecca, so maybe I finally just settled on him." Lily snorted at her blunt confession.

"Excuse me, ladies," James interrupted, making Dorcas roll her eyes and Hestia giggle, "Lily, may I have this dance?"

"Course," she replied, slipping away from the group with him to the dance floor. He pulled her in close and Lily tried not to shiver when she felt his hand come to rest on her lower back. As he started slowly swaying her, she felt like so many people were watching them.

"Looked like you needed rescuing from Hestia's gossip grilling."

Lily chuckled weakly. "You could say that."

James clearly picked up on her discomfort and darting eyes. "Come here." He led them through the glass doors to the stone deck overlooking the grounds.

"It's snowing," Lily said wistfully, heart half in the moment, half remembering what snow on this date meant to her. She clutched at her arms but proceeded to the railing, looking up to the sky.

James cast a blue heating flame and joined her. The crisp air still nipped at them, but not as harshly, as the music from the ballroom wafted out softly. He led her into a dance once more. "Snow is sort of our thing, isn't it?"

Lily smiled. "You think everything from our first date is our thing."

He shrugged happily. "I don't see why it shouldn't be." His eyes drifted to her neck as they continued their slow spin. "You kept it on." His voice had turned vulnerable, now having a direct path to her heart strings.

"Of course I did." She watched a snowflake fall and cling to his lashes before disappearing. She perched on her tippy toes, the moment too reminiscent of last year to not get lost in. His lips were just as warm and tender as they had been on the pitch then, and he kissed her just as sweetly and wholeheartedly. Only now, the intensity of her feelings made her feel like glass — glass being filled so full it was about to shatter. Did being in love always feel this way? Did love always feel like it had the power to break you?

She kept her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to regain her breath. One of James' arms unwrapped from around her and for one horrible moment she thought he was pulling away, but then she felt his finger catch a tear that must have escaped to her cheek.

His eyes were so searching that she almost heard the crack of glass as the first fissure tore through her. "Lily, are you okay?"

When did he become so good to me? Why didn't I let him in sooner? She knew she must have had her reasons, but she couldn't remember them for the life of her here, in his arms. "Yes," Lily wiped at her eyes. "I am, and that makes me a shite person, because I shouldn't be. Not today at least." A look flashed over James' face. "I'm sorry, this is your party, I don't want to ruin it." She forced a smile. "We can talk about it later. I don't want to be selfish."

James let out a dry chuckle. "Lils, you're like the least selfish person I know." He removed his robe and secured it over her shoulders in case the flame wasn't strong enough, and then pulled her back into his chest protectively. "Talk to me."

Lily couldn't believe how far they'd come. It was enough to make her head spin. They really had gone from friends to enemies to lovers.

She hugged him tightly, tucking herself under his chin. "They died today. A year ago."

She felt James take in a sharp breath before his arms around her tightened. "Fuck Lily, I'm so sorry. We never should have thrown a party—"

"No! The party is amazing! Your mother would be proud." Lily pulled back so he could fully see her adamant protest.

One of his hands cupped her cheeks. "You're too good for this world."

Lily leaned into his palm, eyes fluttering closed. "Hardly."

"I mean it," he whispered, brushing his lips gently against her forehead. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She opened her lids so he could see she meant it. "Maybe at the end of the night? I want to enjoy this moment with you." She gave his waist a little squeeze with her arms. "Help me keep my mind off it?"

And so he did — gently dancing in the snow, holding on tightly, perfectly content in each other's company. It was unbearably romantic, or it was until Sirius beckoned all the guests out to their previously private deck for the firework display. He did have the decency to throw them an apologetic grimace when he saw what he was interrupting. Lily was happy that he seemed in better spirits now — earlier he had been bummed that there hadn't been any gate crashers for him to refuse entry to (which James told her was the norm).

"At least now we have a front row view," James whispered in her ear as he casually threw his arm around her shoulders facing out to the gardens with everyone else. He looked around. "Hey, when's the last time you saw Marlene?"

"Not too long ago." Lily looked around desperately for a change in topic. She had to look no farther than Brianna, shooting daggers at them from a few meters away. "You know, you never told me why you and Brianna broke up."

Lily didn't think she'd ever seen James look so embarrassed. He was focusing resolutely at a spot right in front of him, as though willing the fireworks to start now. (Any second now… come on…)

She poked him in the ribs. "Oh, this must be good. Spill!"

"She dumped me," James offered.

"Because…?"

James rolled his eyes. "Because…" he took a deep breath, "I accidentally called her someone else's name when we were," he fidgeted, "you know."

Lily's mouth formed a perfect, comical 'o' shape. "James! You didn't."

He ruffled his hair. "Yeah. Not my finest moment." He leaned over to give her temple a quick peck, murmuring into her skin, "But don't worry. I feel like you're much more partial to me moaning out 'Lily,' so future crises averted."

Luckily for Lily, her rambunctious guffaws were soon drowned out by the most insane of firework shows, with the grand finale being a very colorful 'Happy Fucking Christmas!' strewn across the sky that had even Mr Potter frailly cheering. Lily had to admit, she may have watched half the show as it was reflected off of James' glasses.

After an appropriate enough length of time spent mingling, James and Lily finally snuck upstairs, tipsy and ready to act on all the longing stares they'd shot each other's way all night. James was awfully good at angling his body towards her, even when he seemed to be in an animated discussion with Peter, or schmoozing with witches and wizards who looked to be even older than his father. It gave Lily an unexpected thrill to know just how much she was always on his mind that he just couldn't help but keep her in his orbit.

Lily also decided that James could really, truly rock formal dress robes (and no, she was not at all shocked). "Ugh, you look just as sexy as James Bond," Lily whined, already undressing him with her eyes when they got to his hallway. She saw James about to protest, and didn't want him to be accused of another vainglory incident. "Please don't yell out your own name again."

James looked cutely confused before he got distracted by a giggle coming from behind one of the doors. "Wait, is Marlene in here?" he asked, his hand reaching for her doorknob.

Lily had never reacted so fast in her life, whipping out her wand, flinging James back into the opposite side of the hall, and casting a muffling spell all at once. You're bloody welcome, Marlene. "You can't go in there."

James looked up at her as he pushed himself off the wall, a ravenous look on his face. "That was so fucking hot."

"What?" Lily laughed.

"I love it when you push me around, Evans," he growled huskily, swooping down to kiss at her neck.

Lily started herding him back towards his room. "You're so weird," she chided breathlessly, his nips definitely affecting her body in all the ways he intended them to.

"You're the same way, don't lie," he teased as he let her lead him backwards, focusing all his attention on her skin. "It's okay, we can take turns being in control."

Lily stifled a moan as he sucked deliciously just above her collarbone, making her knees weak.

"Fuck," he muttered as he heard her snap the door closed behind her. "You distracted me."

"Pretty sure you're the one who distracted me."

He took a few steps back so they could both focus a little better. "And yet we're in my room." He crossed his arms. "So what's Marlene up to?"

She mirrored his pose. "I can't tell you that."

James smirked and slowly took off his robe, tossing it over a nearby armchair. "And why not?" He got to work removing his cufflinks.

"Because, she's a grown-ass woman who deserves her privacy, Potter." She knew it was a keyword in their relationship and wasn't afraid to push some buttons.

His hands deftly loosened his tie, pulling it lower and lower down his chest in a zigzag motion. Lily watched every single movement. "She's my baby cousin."

Lily started jittering her leg. "She's older than you."

The tie landed on a pile with the robe. Oh god. Now he was unbuttoning his shirt. "Everyone's older than me, Evans." He was halfway down now, his lips upturned so delightfully as he saw how riled up he was getting her. "Well, besides Wormtail."

She sucked on her lower lip. "Is this really your interrogation technique?" Lily leaned back against the door for support. Physical, moral, psychological… I'll take them all. He was slowly peeling his shirt back over his broad shoulders, one side at a bloody fucking time, before his shirt got discarded too. She would truly never get bored of the sight of him half-naked for her.

"Why? Is it working too well?" Lily wished she could tell him his cocky attitude did nothing to her, but she didn't think she could pull off such a boldfaced lie.

She snorted, her eyes finally ungluing themselves from his abs. "You're such a hypocrite."

He got as close as he could get to her while deliberately not making contact. Lily clucked her tongue and looked up to him defiantly. "Am I?" His hot breath tickled her cleavage, his mouth angled just right over her body, making her shiver.

"Yes." She swallowed.

He was leaning in even more now, forearm propped on the door behind her, his mouth right next to her ear. "How so?"

Ugh, just fucking touch me already, Lily's head screamed. She really shouldn't have had all that champagne, it made her so, so unbelievably horny. Suddenly, she knew how she could win this round: "Because you're the one already fucking every day in this house."

James pulled back, the spell broken. "Marlene's having sex?" he cried out distressed.

Lily had to laugh at his expression. "I mean, she's trying to."

"With who?!"

"James, that's none of your business!" Lily responded sternly.

"Like hell it isn't!" James lunged for the door handle, but Lily was too quick for him, sending ropes to tie his arms and legs, making him stumble to the floor.

Even though he was restrained, James still looked like he'd won. "I knew you were into kinky shit!"

"Did you now?" Lily lazily kicked off her shoes and slowly started unpinning her hair, letting it fall in gracefully curls down her back.

"Well yeah. When you left me alone, tied up, for three hours, it was a pretty strong indication. Once could be throw-away occurrence. But twice? Now we have a pattern." He gave her a saucy wink. "I'm so happy I'm here to help you test all your dirty little desires on. You know, in a nice, safe environment."

He was being such a smart-arsed little scoundrel and someone needed to put him in his place. Lily crouched down next to him, eyes glinting with maleficence. "Do you want me to fuck you tonight?" The more under her spell James appeared, the more confidence she felt budding inside of her. She was used to him playing games with her — but now she finally understood just how to compete, and well.

James froze completely, lips parted, staring up at her. "Obviously," he murmured.

Lily smiled devilishly. "Then leave her," she got right in his face, "alone." She stood up and reached for her zipper at her back.

"Wait!" James cried from the floor. "Leave it on."

"Huh?"

"Leave it on. Please."

Her lips curled up as she squinted at him. "Why?"

"Because I want to fuck you in it."

Well damn. Lily tried, oh how she tried, to ignore the stirring inside of her at these simple words. Before James, she had never known just how turned on someone could make her just by speaking. There he goes. Back at it with the zero shame. Lily looked down at James smirking sexily, lying at her feet, bound and shirtless and somehow still in control. No, this won't do. She got down on her knees and yanked open his belt, making his eyes go wide. She shimmied his pants down just far enough so his raging erection could slap free. She flicked her wand again so his toned arms were pinned above his head.

James looked like he was having the time of his life. "What are you gonna do to me, Evans?"

Lily grinned, leaning into him. "Whatever I damn want, Potter."

February? 6th Year

Voldemort yelled, a cabinet at the edge of the room bursting into flame from his unbridled fury as he exited Lily's brain once more. She had lost count of how many times he'd done this now — perused through her memories as though she was a bloody coffee table magazine.

Lily — from a bout of bravery or because she was losing her mind, she didn't know which — burst out laughing. She was bound in very much the same way she'd had James on the floor of his bedroom… before she'd kissed and bit her way down his body, lavishing every centimeter of his skin except the part he had really wanted. She'd gotten him so worked up, he'd ended up begging her to touch him there, just as her teeth had been grazing his inner thigh. She didn't know why the situation was so hilarious (I am after all, probably about to die) but there was something just too good about torturing Voldemort right back with hours and hours of images of her sex life. Hey, if you're digging in there for stuff I really wished you wouldn't see, that's what you're getting. At this point, Voldemort probably knew James' naked body just as well as she did. I have to tell Sirius this, he'll think it's the best thing to ever happen on this planet… if I ever see him again.

Being hit with Crucio brought her back to reality. "Disgusting girl." Lily had gathered through their little sessions that the most evil wizard of all time was extremely repulsed by love and sexuality in all forms. She twitched on the floor, broken and panting. "What is special about you?! Why must I keep you?" he shrieked, uncharacteristically losing his composure.

Why not come take another look, you motherfucker, she taunted in her head, priming up her memories of the rest of that night, ready to go. She wasn't going down without a fight. Lily grunted as she felt him enter her mind once more.

Next Chapter: Keep Your Eyes Open

Next chapter starts off right where Jily was... soooo read when you're in the mood for that? Haha