A/N I've had enough of writing in James's POV, so unless I get complaints, I'm going to continue in Lily's. There ought to be more L/J action [cringe], Animagus detail, and a plot. I hope. Tell me what you honestly think of it, and any suggestions you might have. If you're going to complain about the lack of disclaimer, don't waste your time. Just go to the first chapter. Anyone believing that I own everything is seriously screwed. R/R

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James unlatched the window quickly, and opened it. His owl Twitterdragon swept in with a letter attached to her leg. James picked it up immediately and quickly ripped it open. Lily watched curiously- what was in the letter? James skim-read it. A huge grin appeared on his face.

"Yes, yes, YES!" He said happily.

"What's 'yes, yes, yes?'" Lily asked.

"You, Sirius, Remus, Anna, Jill, Molly, and Peter can come for the holidays! This Christmas! In two days!"

"Won't your mum mind?" Lily asked, but she was happy. She wouldn't be staying at Hogwarts after all!

"If she minded, she wouldn't've said yes." James replied triumphantly.

"Well excuse me!" Lily retorted, but she grinned.

"Don't you want to come?" James asked, with mock sincerity.

Lily sent him a blast of emotion-thought where happiness, excitement and relief were all dominant. James didn't say anything at all in reply to that. Instead, he turned to her and kissed her. A minute later, after they broke apart, he said softly, "There probably won't be much of that this Christmas, what with my parents and all."

Lily nodded in agreement. She didn't know who would be more embarrassed to be discovered by James's parents, James or her.

"I'll go and get some owl-treats for this featherball, and then I'll come back down, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

James smiled wryly and then told his owl, "If you want some treats, you'd better follow me now."

James left, with Twitterdragon on his arm. Lily sat down on one of the couches and picked up her book, but couldn't get into it. She put it back down again. Then, she had a thought.

~* Hey James, does this work long-distance? *~

~ I can hear you from up here. Hey, wait a sec! I have an idea! Will you close your eyes for a minute? ~

Lily did what she was told. There was darkness for a minute, and then Twitterdragon appeared, seated on her arm. She was shocked, because she hadn't felt her land. Then, feeling pretty stupid, she realised that she was seeing through James's eyes.

~ Did it work? ~

~* Yes, it did! I can see Twitterdragon! *~ Then a tap came on her arm, and her eyes flew open. It was the rest of the gang, looking pretty dispirited.

"How'ya doing, Lily?" Sirius asked.

"Not bad." Lily replied. ~* Hey James! Get down here! The others are back *~

~ I'm coming. ~

The group arranged themselves in chairs and on the floor around Lily. James appeared, and he too sat down.

~ I'll tell them now. ~

~* NO! Is Sahi invited? *~

~ Yeah, I guess she can come. Mum won't mind. ~

~* And Sophie? *~

~ Her too. ~

"I've just got an owl from my parents. You're all invited to come to my house for the Christmas holidays."

"I won't be able to come," Sophie said, "my parents always insist that I come home for the Christmas holidays." She pulled a face.

"I can't come either. My parents want me home." Peter told James.

"Too bad." James replied, unconvincingly.

"Well, I can come!" Sirius said. James groaned, and then grinned as Sirius punched him lightly on the shoulder.

James already knew that Lily could come, so she didn't say anything. The others all needed to check with their parents.

"Could you write home tonight, and tell me tomorrow, please? Because we're going on Monday, the day after." They all agreed, and then stayed up chatting for a bit. It was getting late, though, so they all went to bed pretty soon. Lily was standing in front of the mirror undressing when suddenly:

~ Lily! Close your eyes! ~

She did so, but asked ~* Why? *~

~ I had my eyes closed and I saw… ~

Lily blushed. ~* Oops. Sorry! Could you keep your eyes open for a while? *~

~ Okay. ~

Lily turned around and continued changing, facing away from the mirror. She got into bed.

~* Thankyou James. *~

~ That's okay. May I close my eyes now? ~

~* There's nothing to see. *~

~ Apart from your bed hangings. Should I be happy or upset about that? ~

~* James! *~

~ I was just joking. ~

~* Hmm. Okay, I'll forgive you. It would be stupid not to, as you could keep me awake all night if I didn't. *~

~ I wouldn't do that! But it is a good idea…~

Lily's reply to that was just a snort. ~* You wouldn't dare. Or I would sing at you. *~

~ Okay, okay! Forget I ever said it! ~

~* Do you want to chat for a while, or are you tired? *~

~ No, I'm fine. So talk about what? ~

~* Um… I don't know! *~

~ Would you tell me about your parents? ~

So Lily did. She hadn't spoken about them for the last five years, and it was good to get it off her chest. When she had finished, James was quiet for a bit.

~ You're so strong, Lily. I don't know how you cope. ~

~* I don't have much of a choice. *~

~ Well, you have my respect. ~

Lily didn't know what to say. She responded by sending him an emotion- thought to let him know how she felt. Sometimes, a thought was worth a thousand words. This one relayed her deep gratitude, her own respect, her relief, and, for a split second, it included one other strong emotion. One that could only be termed 'love.'

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A/N That was quite short for me. I would apologise, but the next part is going up straight away, so I won't. It just seemed a good place to stop. Review, all you have to say is 'good' or 'bad,' and I would really appreciate it! Thankyou.

~Stef