A/n; Sorry for the lateness! It's no longer really a Christmas-time fiction! It's an… um… belated Christmas fic! * grins * Anyway, enjoy yourselves on this lovely Christmas day!

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"Aren't you pleased with the way Secret Santa turned out, Lily?" Arabella asked, whistling as they shoved through crowds in Hogsmeade.

Lily kicked some snow off the sidewalk in anger. How could Arabella be happy about all of this?

Late last night, after almost three hours of writing every single solitary person's name in the 7th year on little pieces of parchment, they had the drawing. Lily, of course, had been stuck with James and Arabella paired with Sirius. 

And now Lily was strolling around with an ecstatic Arabella in the student-clad streets of Hogsmeade.

"Try to look on the bright side: every girl is jealous of you! And of course I'm helping you pick out the gift, because knowing you you'll get him some rainbow suspenders." Arabella said matter-of-factly.

"It's better than anything, because that's probably all he'll ever get from Lily Evans." Lily said, still steaming about how unfair her life was.

"Lighten up, would you Lily? It's the day before Christmas, the least you can do is be happy!"

"I don't want to be happy! I've got James to go shopping for!" Lily shouted earning several uneasy looks from 5th year girls. Lily stared back at them, sticking out her tongue.

"Was that necessary?" Arabella said with a disapproving glance at Lily as they entered a store entitled Odds and Ends.

"What is this store? Prank central?" Lily asked, as a magic candle kept going out and then lighting itself up again.

"It's an odds and ends place! It's probably full of junk that people don't need but buy it anyway!" Arabella snapped.

Lily yelped as a jack-in-the-box sprang out at her, yelling Merry Christmas in tongue.

"Arabella, I don't want to be here." Lily said, eyeing a mysterious-looking purple flower oozing pink goop.

"Lily, I'm not leaving here until you've got a present for James in your hands, so get shopping!" Arabella said firmly, pushing Lily into the heart of the store.

"What does James like?" Lily called back to Arabella. She pretended not to hear Lily and went along looking at various items.

Lily sighed loudly. "I'm on my own with him, aren't I?"

Arabella grinned.

Lily sauntered over to a section she assumed was for the young gentleman's. Thought she had doubts about shopping there, because James was most certainly not a gentleman.

"Excuse me!" Lily said quietly when she spotted a salesman. A tall, spectacled man came running over.

"Can I help you?" He asked, huffing and puffing.

"Yeah, I'm erg… looking for a present for a friend." Lily sounded strained by calling James a friend.

"A gentleman, I take it?" He asked, a glint in his eye. Lily wondered if he thought James was her boyfriend.

"Well, I'm only buying him a present because I have to." Lily explained shortly, annoyed with the salesman's attitude.

"Of course, Miss. Well, follow me! We've got everything imaginable!" He cried gaily.

 He led her over to a row of strange-looking orbs. "These orbs are perfect for the silent, poetic boys. They're filled with different adjectives and all you have to do is say a word that you want to describe more in detail!"

Lily glanced at a blue and white checkered one with words like 'blasphemy' and 'acerbically' floating around. She thought they looked really stunning and unique, but stopped her from purchasing one because she knew James wasn't the poetic type. Unless it came to burping the ABC's or something repulsive like that.

"I take it from the lady's look that they aren't going to suit the young lad?" The salesman inquired.

Lily shook her head, and he quickly whisked her off to a shelf full of stained books. "These would be perfect for the straight-A potions student, perfect if you plan on replacing the Potion's Master!"

Lily turned her head sideways to read one of the titles, 'Ways To Transfigure Your Enemy's Guts Inside Out' by Yolanda Yackstein. She couldn't buy something like that! James would definitely find some interesting ways to use his book.

"Tricky customer, is he? Well, don't worry. Old Newt's never had a customer come out of this shop empty-handed!" He said jovially.

I wish he'd let me get out of the store empty-handed. Or at least with his head on a nice, enchanted silver platter. Lily thought menacingly.

"Here, this may tempt you to buy." He said. Scattered out were different sorts of quills and inkwells in many different forms. Creatively, some inkwells were shaped as witches' hats or an owl. The quills were extravagant and flourishing with peacock feathers, phoenix feathers or just about anything you could imagine. One thing in particular that caught Lily's eye was a Golden Snitch-shaped inkwell and a quill that had three red curly feathers creatively arranged.

"I'll buy those two…" Lily said and picked the items up, taking care so she didn't drop them.

"EXCELLENT CHOICE!" He bellowed and dragged her past Arabella who beamed at her.

A Few Moments Later:

"James is seriously going to love that! He now can flick ink out of a Golden Snitch inkwell!" Arabella positively gushed.

Lily couldn't help but grin. She'd actually gotten a boy a practical and at the same time, cool gift.

"Ok, it's almost 4. We should get back for the little exchanging gifts party." Arabella said, switching into serious mode as fast as she flips her hair.

When they returned to the castle, Arabella ushered Lily into the girl's dorm and shoved her into the joint closet that all the girls shared.

"Quick, find something that isn't distasteful or already in use! I have to do your hair!" Arabella said fretfully, and pulled on a skirt.

"Why the rush?" Lily asked impatiently as she grabbed from a hanger a charcoal-gray pencil-line skirt and a navy blue tank top.

"Because we're late as it is! As you can see, the pink nylon open-necked dress is gone." Arabella remarked dryly. The dress she was talking about was the slut dress that everyone always wanted to wear to parties, and it was usually a fight to get it.

"Ew! Watch Hallie Burhman get it!" Lily said, wrinkling her nose as Arabella pulled on a pale yellow miniskirt with matching cardigan and white sling backs. She muttered something and pointing her wand at her hair, it made a simple French twist. Arabella ran over to Lily, who was trying to pull her disheveled hair into a messy bun. Arabella waved her wand over Lily's hair that suddenly fell into tiny ringlets.

"How in the world did you do that?" Lily asked incredulously, picking at a strand of fiery red hair.

Arabella shrugged. "You learn these things around four other giggly girls."

Lily shrugged. Whatever worked.

"Ok, remember. We're fashionably late so just kind of go along with it. Don't forget to sway your hips." Arabella instructed. Lily looked repulsed as she grabbed her present for James off of her bed.

Downstairs, what Lily expected to see was a quiet, peaceful party but instead was a wild, noisy and terribly out of hand festivity!

"What happened to the nice, quiet activity planned?" Lily shouted over the din.

Arabella tried to say something but words failed her so she just shrugged and motioned for her to follow her. Arabella lead her to an unused spot in the common room where James and Sirius were sitting.

Lily bit back a cry of frustration. Was she supposed to give him his present in front of everyone?

"James, Lily has something to give you!" Arabella shouted over the blaring music that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Lily shot Arabella a nasty look.

"WHAT?" He yelled, getting up from his chair and walking towards Arabella. She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He suddenly understood and wordlessly, he walked through the crowd to the Gryffindor Balcony. Lily, grumbling slightly about having to go through the dancing crowd again, followed him.

A light breeze floated around her, playing with her hair. It was silent outside except for the crickets chirping.

"It's silent out here." Lily said generally.

"So it is." James replied, leaning against the rail of the balcony.

"Um… I guess Arabella told you…" Lily said, thrusting the parcel suddenly into his hands. His eyebrows shot up slightly.

"Told me what? You're my Secret Santa?" He asked incredulously.

Lily nodded miserably. "Don't you just hate it when stuff like this happens?"

James was too preoccupied opening up the complex wrappings to answer. He finally opened up the package.

"Lily… did you get this? I mean this is…really nice. Considering it's from my enemy, anyway. Are you sure Arabella didn't pick this out?" He asked, examining the inkwell.

"No. I did it all by myself." Lily said shortly. Her fingers were itching as though they wanted to curl themselves around the doorknob so she could get away.

"This may come as a complete shock but I was also your Secret Santa. Talk about coincidence, right?" He asked, running a hand through his raven-black hair.

Lily's eyes could've dropped out of her head. "No way!"

"They set us up, isn't it obvious?" James said.

"Duh Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "So you got a present for me or what?"

James looked uncomfortable. "See the thing is…" He broke off and instantly wrapped her in his arms and kissed her soundly. Lily had never been kissed before in her life, and she was taken by absolute surprise that she couldn't pull away. His kiss was so sincere and innocent that she found herself loosing feeling in her legs. Girls had always come back to the dorm from dates with him, claiming his kisses would skyrocket you to the moon. They weren't kidding. She suddenly found enough strength to push him away, her cheeks flushed and both of them panting.

"What-what-what was that?" Lily spluttered, straightening her shirt.

"It was an absolute impulse, I swear. I didn't mean to do that… I'm so sorry…" He said, staring at the ground.

"Was that my present or something?" Lily asked, cringing at the thought.

"It could be, since I didn't get you one." He said, grinning.

Lily couldn't believe what she said next. "Well… um… two kisses wouldn't do you or me any harm, would it?"

He grinned and their lips met for a second time, lacking the initial shyness of the first one.

"Merry Christmas, Lily Evans." He said.

"Merry Christmas, James Potter." She replied.

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a/n; Geez, was the fluffy or WHAT?