Lily was happy to be home, but she could not shake the thought of her mind that she was also missing Hogwarts already. In the past three months the castle was her home and it felt like she belonged somewhere more than ever. She had friends, she was the best of her year in several classes and she knew a lot more about the wizarding world nowadays. She told her parents everything, the classes, the flying lessons she had followed (even though she had not liked it that much) and about her friends. Her parents listened in awe and were asking a lot of questions. They were impressed with everything that Lily learned and were excited for her. Petunia on the other hand was less impressed. She still had one year to go from elementary school, before going to high school. The sudden disappearance of Lily had not gone unnoticed and there were a lot of questions asked. Petunia would definitely not tell anyone what Lily was, so she stuck with the story her parents came up with. Lily could start high school earlier somewhere else since she was so bright. This satisfied most of the people, since it was common knowledge that Lily was indeed very smart.
Severus stayed at Hogwarts and Lily did not blame him. She was a little bit disappointed, since she hoped that he would return to their hometown as well. There were no different common rooms, tables and classes here, so they could spend some time together. But Lily knew that his situation at home was not good at all and it was an escape for him to stay at school. She visited some of her old friends from elementary school. They were very happy to see Lily again and they bombarded her with questions. Lily stuck to the same story her parents had told everyone. She had gone to high school already in a big city, for advanced students. "But Lils, what about that Snape boy?" One of her old friends asked. "He disappeared just like you. Is he in the same school as you are?" Lily nodded. It was probably the safest way out. "Yeah he is. He is in different classes though. They needed you to sort into some kind of, eh, group. He got into a different group. But tell me more about here, what did I miss?" Lily wanted to distract them and the only way was probably with gossip. And she was right. She sighed in relieve and listened to all the stories about her old classmates, teachers and people in their village.
However Lily's Christmas break was not as good as she hoped it to be. After three months of being away she kind of expected that Petunia would have changed her mind about their last fight. Surely she must have missed Lily. Lily had missed Petunia for sure. Hogwarts had given her a great distraction, but sometimes when she was in bed she thought about their fight. Lily did not even wanted an apology from Petunia, she just wanted to go back to how they were. But instead Petunia was ignoring her. She spend a lot of time in her room or at a friend's house. Lily felt a little afraid about Christmas. They were just going to be with the four of them. Her parents tried to keep the peace, but they had no idea how to handle the situation. So things were a little bit tensed in the Evans family.
On the morning of the 25th of December Mrs. Evans was busy with their dinner. Lily woke up with the smell of Turkey and it was mouthwatering. She got out of bed and dressed herself to go downstairs. "It smells delicious, mum!" She said. "How can I help you?" Mrs. Evans smiled. "Well honey, you can help me as soon as you eat some breakfast. That is the most important meal of the day." Lily snorted a bit. "Yes, mam!" She said army-like. She took some yoghurt with some fruit, since she wanted to have enough appetite for dinner. The door of the kitchen opened and Petunia walked in. "Good morning sweetheart." Mrs. Evans said to Petunia. "Good morning, mum." Petunia answered. "Hi Tuney." Lily said softly. "Morning." Petunia said briskly without looking at her. "Is there any porridge let?" She asked her mother. "Yes, dear. It should be in the usual cabinet. When you are done with breakfast, would you want to join Lily and me with preparing dinner?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Hmpf, maybe. I might go to Julie's and come back before dinner." Lily's stomach had some knots in them. Was Petunia fleeing for her? "Well, it is Christmas. Probably Julie her parents are also busy. Would you mind staying at home and just help us?" Petunia shrugged. "Fine." She took her breakfast to the living room and Lily heard noises of the television coming out of the room. Lily washed her bowl and her hands. "How can I help you, mum?" Mrs. Evans handed Lily the ingredients to make the stuffing. "Well, maybe we can start by making the stuffing? And once you are done I will see what the next step is." After five minutes Petunia joined them and started to cut vegetables. There was some small talk, but nothing major. Lily was quite happy, at least Petunia did not call her a freak. But then again, she was barely speaking to her. They were done around three in the afternoon. "Okay girls, thank you both very much. I will now get your father so he can set the table. I want you two in the shower and then in your nice dresses. We will make our family photo before we will have dinner." Lily and Petunia went upstairs. "Do you want to shower first? I can wait!" Lily offered Petunia. "Yeah, fine." Petunia said without looking at her. She stepped inside her room and closed the door. Lily stood there for a few minutes. Should she knock and try to talk about it? But she turned around on her heels and walked to her room. At that moment she decided that she was not going to be the one to reach out first. Petunia started the fight, Petunia called her a freak. So it should be Petunia that would have to make the first move. Two can play this game, Tuney, Lily thought.
She decided to make some homework before hopping into the shower. She took out her quill, her parchment and her potions book. She still had an essay to write during this holiday. After 30 minutes she heard the bathroom door open and Petunia walking back to her room. Lily grabbed her hairbrush and rushed to the bathroom. The shower was quick and warm. Lily brushed and braided her hair. She went back to her room and put on the dress her mother had bought for her. It was a green dress that matched her eyes and complimented her white skin and red hair. She went downstairs and her father was just about to finish setting the table. He looked at her and whistled. "You look amazing, honey. You are beautiful!" Lily blushed. "Cut it out, dad." Her mother was still upstairs dressing up. Petunia came down in a similar dress, but blue. It looked pretty with her dark hair and blue eyes. "And there is my other beautiful daughter. You both look bewitching!" Petunia's eyes grew big. "Never call me that again!" She hissed. She turned around and marched into the living room. Her father was a bit shocked. "But Tuney, I did not mean it like that!" He yelled after her. But Petunia slammed the living room door shut behind her. Lily looked down at the ground. "Do not mind her, Lils. She has not been herself since you left. I know she is mean to you right now, but she misses you." Lily nodded, still looking down. There were tears in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. At that moment her mother came back and she looked breathtaking. "Honey, you look incredible!" Lily's father said. Her mother smiled while she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, my dear! Where is Petunia? We should take that picture soon before the food gets cold." Mr. Evans walked to the living room and called Petunia. When they came in they posed in front of the Christmas tree and started dinner. All with all it was a good night. There were no fights, everybody talked with each other. Between Lily and Petunia it was kind of forced, but at least there was no arguing. Late in the evening Lily fell down on her bed in her pajamas. She felt so stuffed and full, almost like exploding. She closed her eyes and slowly she drifted away into a dreamless sleep. This Christmas could have gone worse, was the last thing she thought.
James was excited to be home. On the way back in the car James talked about his first few months at Hogwarts. He told his parents about the classes, his friends and the Halloween party. He left the part with the alcohol out of the story, just to keep his parents sane. He knew they would freak out if they knew he had drunk some alcohol. "James, honey. This all sounds so lovely and I love listening to you. But you also send us several owls with this information. I am for one, just really curious why your friends Sirius is not with you? You told him he was welcome, right?" James nodded. "Yes mom, I did! But he wanted to stay at Hogwarts." Euphemia nodded. "Well, it is maybe a bit weird for someone to celebrate Christmas at another family." James looked out the window. It was approximately another fifteen minutes before they were home. "Are you tired, honey?" Euphemia asked. James shook his head. "Nah, I am fine! It just feels weird being back. I love spending Christmas at home, but I kind of regret not staying Hogwarts somehow." His father smiled. "Son, that is normal! I still miss Hogwarts sometimes! I am happy that you enjoy yourself so much. I love having you back home, but if you want to stay at Hogwarts in the future, please feel free to do so." James knew that his parents must be missing him enormously, but he was happy that he said that. He missed his parents as well, but now he knew that he would not have to feel guilty if he wanted to stay for Easter. At that point they drove up the driveway of Potter Mansion.
James enjoyed being back home. He slept in really late, he played some games with his parents and enjoyed being back on his broom again. And before he knew it was almost Christmas. His mother was working in the kitchen all day on the 24th of December, while James and Fleamont put up the tree and decorated it. His dad put James his presents underneath the tree after they were done. "You know the drill son. One present tonight and the rest tomorrow morning!" James nodded. This was, together with the food, the best part of Christmas. That night James was in his Christmas sweater with some hot chocolate with some marshmallows. His parents gave him his first gift and it was a new robe. "You are growing so fast right now. So you will need this probably sooner than you expect." His mother said. "But for now, finish your hot chocolate and get yourself ready for bed, honey. Tomorrow you get to open the rest of the gifts." James sprung up, kissed both his parents on the cheek and went upstairs. He was too excited to sleep, so he wrote Sirius, Remus and Peter a letter to wish them a happy Christmas. He got his owl, tied the letters to his leg and told him to visit Peter first and then go to Hogwarts to Remus and Sirius. After that he fell down on his bed with a smile. Slowly he fell into a deep sleep where he dreamed about Quidditch.
That following morning, Christmas morning to be precise, James woke up with a shock. Presents was the first thing he thought about. He looked at his clock and it was 8.30 in the morning. His parents were probably already awake, but he would wait until he was called by his parents. At 9 in the morning his mother called his name and James jumped out of bed. "You were already awake, were you not?" She asked. James grinned. "Yes, for about half an hour!" She gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Well, your father and I will not keep you waiting! Go ahead and open the rest of your presents. What would you like for breakfast, dear?" Euphemia asked. "Some eggs, bacon and toast please, mum." "Coming right up!" James walked to the tree. His father was sitting in his chair with the Daily Prophet. "Good morning, son!" "Good morning, dad!" James answered. James sat down next to the tree and grabbed his first present. He opened all of them the following 20 minutes and he was happy with what he got this year. He got some owl food, candy for himself, new quills and parchments, new gloves, a book, a cd and a kit to maintain your broom. "Thank you mum and dad! I love all of it!" James hugged and kissed his parents. "You are welcome, honey!" James ate his breakfast and the rest of the day he played games with his parents. Around 5.30 in the afternoon Euphemia went back into the kitchen to heat the food and James and his father set the table.
Dinner was amazing. Euphemia had outdone herself and James was full! He flopped back on the couch. "Mum, this was the best one yet!" Euphemia smiled. "Thank you, James!" The three of them listened to some radio with Christmas songs. James yawned. "I am so tired. I am off to bed! Sleep tight." His parents wished him the same and James went to bed. It was a dreamless sleep and James woke up completely rested. The rest of the holiday was filled with food, playing with his presents and sleeping in. Before he knew it James was in his parent's car back to London. He was excited to return to Hogwarts, but he would miss his parents for sure. But James was now at that age that he would never admit that out loud, not even to his parents. But they knew. They knew by the way how James hugged them goodbye, how James waved while the Hogwarts Express slowly started moving and by the look in his eyes.
James had a carriage with Peter again and after a few minutes they were joined by the same girls as on the ride from Hogwarts. James his eye was caught by Lily. He was curious what her holiday was like. She looked a lot happier on this train ride to Hogwarts then the last one. "Hey, Lily is it, right?" James asked while sitting next to her. She looked up from the book she was reading. James was speechless for one moment. Those eyes caught him off guard. He remembered them being green, but not this green. "Yes, why do you ask?" She said blankly. "Eh… Well hi, I am James." James said quickly. "I know, you have quite the reputation." She looked back at her book. James had no idea why she was this distant. "Did you had a nice Christmas break?" He tried to be nice. "It was fine, thank you for asking." She still looked at her book. "Mine as well. In case you want to know." James was still trying to figure out why she was so cold to him. "Well, I was not really. But thank you for letting me know. Why are you asking me this? You never paid attention to me before." Now she looked at him. "I was just trying to show interest. We are in every class together and we both belong to Gryffindor. And I do pay attention, sometimes. For example I know that you look happier than the last time you were on this train to Hogwarts." James hoped to prove her wrong. But her green eyes started to spit fire. "I am what now?" She asked. "Happier! Because the last time you were crying!" James desperately tried to explain. Why was she being so difficult? He just proved to her that he knows when she is around. "You are such a jerk! Thank you James, for pointing out that I was crying. You have absolutely no idea what is going on in my life and I would rather keep it that way. So excuse me if I was crying and that disturbed you. You have absolutely no idea how you make other people feel with your comments now, do you? You even bully people, like the Slytherins. I hate bullies. So if you want to pay attention to me, maybe you should change your behavior first." Lily looked down at her book again and refused to look at him.
James was stunned. What just happened? He only tried to be nice. At that point he saw that the rest of the people in the compartment were looking at him. "Come on Peter, let us play some exploding snaps." James had no idea what he had done wrong, but it was obvious that Lily was mad at him. There was no use in trying to calm her down. He tried to forget about their conversation, but the comment about being a bully kept stinging him. Peter kept winning from him and this never happened. "Oy, mate. Pay some more attention, will you? You are not even trying to win here!" Peter said to him. James shook his head. He was not a bully. Who was he bullying then? Nobody, so he was not a bully. He focused on playing again and managed to win this time from Peter.
When they arrived back at the castle they found Remus and Sirius in the common room. "Oy! How was your holiday?" James asked. "It was fine! The feast was amazing!" Remus answered. Sirius nodded. "Remus did all of his homework and I just wandered in the castle. I have to show you guys something tonight! I found this short cut behind a tapestry on a wall." Sirius stood up. "I am really tired. I just want to take a shower and go to bed." Peter said. "Same for me! I am almost done with the last chapter we had to read for History." Remus said. "Booooooring! I will join you!" James sprung up to his feet. Sirius high fived him.
They climbed through the portrait hole and outside they ran into Lily, Marlene and Mary. Sirius said hi, but only Marlene and Mary said hi back. Lily ignored the both of them and marched to the portrait hole. "What is up with her?" Sirius said. James told him about their fight on the train. "Weird, mate. Just weird. But then again, women are weird! I would just forget about it. You never said anything that was not true to anyone. The Slytherins deserve those name callings. They do the exact same thing to us as well. It is just what Houses among each other do. She needs to relax." James laughed. "Yeah, you are right. Well, show me that secret short cut of yours now! I am really curious."