Pre-Author's Notes: This fic is based on the manga, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e also known as For You in Full Blossom. I had to change some elements from the Harry Potter story to make it work, so live with it. Yes, I am aware that some of the facts from the Harry Potter series is off, but I had to change it for the story. ^^
James held Lily until she stopped crying. "Lucas, are you okay?" he asked. He realized that she had gone limp. She fell asleep from crying so hard. He thought as he picked her up in his arms. He soon realized that carrying her on his back was a lot easier and carefully adjusted to avoid waking her up.
James walked through the forest with Lily on his back. He thought of changing into his stag form, but decided against it. For one thing, he wouldn't be able to hold on to Lily, and there was also a chance that she would wake up. James started to think that it would have been better if he had taken the carriage and left Byron behind to rot. He kept going, but it was dark.
Lily was sleeping soundly. James wondered if she was really fine. Lost in his thoughts, James lost his footing and slipped downward. He had hit the edge of a ditch. He couldn't brace himself quickly enough. He couldn't even slow them down, but he tried with his feet.
They ended up at the bottom. It was a long drop. James looked up and became disheartened. It wasn't a ditch really. It was more like a cliff. He looked around and saw that he could walk a long way to get back on the road by going in either direction, or he could attempt to climb back up. The climb would have taken less time, but he couldn't do it with Lily on his back. He didn't want to risk dropping her. It amazed him that she was able to sleep through all of it.
James supposed it was better that she did. He laid her out next to him. There was no point in moving any further. Exhaustion over took James.
He put his arms around her and thought how nicely she fitted next to him. It was as if she was meant to be with him. James dismissed the silly notion as he looked at her. He pulled her even closer and finally went to sleep.
*
"Where the Hell did James go?" asked Frank.
"He must have gone out to look for Lucas and Byron," replied Isabelle. She would have said more, but she heard the sound of the carriage. She went outside to greet it and found that only Byron was coming out of it. She saw that his eye was already turning black. He didn't have to tell Isabelle what happened. She looked at him grimly as she shook her head. "Looks like you've been dealt with."
"I don't know where they went," admitted Byron. He knew how much trouble he was in. He could see it glimmering in Isabelle's eyes. He could only meet them briefly before looking away again.
"My brother is the doctor at Hogwarts," said Isabelle. "He was the one who recommended Lucas, Frank, and James to work here. I agreed. My brother was worried about Lucas' health because he tends to run into trouble from time to time. It's because he looks like a girl."
This was a very sly tactic that Isabelle was using. She knew how smart Bryon was. She was sure he'd catch on to what she was saying. It was a good trick and considering what he had done, he deserved it.
"Wait...your brother's the doctor at Hogwarts," repeated Byron as realization came to him. "That means he's examined Lucas. That means that he'd know if..."
"He'd know what?" asked Isabelle innocently.
Byron shifted uncomfortably. Of course, the doctor of Hogwarts would know for sure if Lucas was a boy or a girl. "Nothing. Never mind," he mumbled before he spoke clearly again. "There's no reason for you to fire me because I quit. I am very sorry for what I did. Would you tell him that? Would you tell him that I'm sorry?"
Isabelle nodded. "I think it's best if you left as quickly as possible before you get into trouble with Frank Longbottom. You left his friends out there."
Byron nodded and told her where he had stopped the carriage. He didn't tell Isabelle the details of what he had almost done, but she could accurately guess. Soon after, she told him to get out of her sight because she was unable to hide her disgust any longer. She went back inside and saw that Lucius and Kat Malfoy were sitting by the fire.
It was an odd scene because Lucius had his baby sister on his lap. The silence was broken by Frank coming in. "Was it them?" he asked anxiously.
"No. We'll have to wait until morning. We may not be able to find them in that darkness. I'm sure they'll be fine," said Isabelle.
"That's not right! We should be out there looking for them!" exclaimed Frank.
"Longbottom, you're proof that Gryffindors are not long on common sense," said Lucius. "Besides, Evans and Potter can handle themselves."
Frank glared at the back of Lucius' platinum blond head. "Who came back just now?" he asked.
"Byron," replied Isabelle simply.
"What?! But, Lucas was with him!" exclaimed Frank. "Did he come back alone? Where did James go?"
"Calm down. Don't panic unless you know for sure you can get something usefully out of it. More often than not, you can't. We'll wait it out until they return," said Isabelle unperturbed.
Kat stood up in Lucius' lap. "Hey, watch where you're stepping! Not that I want to have any children in the future," muttered Lucius. He didn't like children in the first place, yet his parents had saddled him with his little sisters. It was very annoying. He couldn't do anything as long as he was watching Kat. He had no idea where Tara had gone. For some unknown reason, she had gotten depressed and whiny. More whiny than usual. She was upset about something, but Lucius didn't care enough to ask.
Kat was looking at Frank and held out her arms. "Up!" she shouted.
Frank shook his head, but Kat pouted and made her eyes tear up. "Longbottom, just pick her up already. We're the guests," reminded Lucius, eager to rid himself of Kat.
Frank sighed because he saw the look in Isabelle's eye. He picked up Kat who seemed pretty happy about it. He was fast becoming her favorite person. It was going to be a long night.
*
Just before dawn, Lily woke up. Her left ankle was feeling very sore. She wondered if she had twisted it. However, something else made her wake up even more. Next to her was a sleeping James Potter. She noticed how long his eyelashes seemed, or maybe it was his glasses magnifying them. She noticed how his glasses had slipped down the ridge of his nose.
Lily could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and she was sure that her cheeks were bright red because they felt like they were on fire. She held her breath for a moment just as he opened his eyes.
"Good morning," said James quietly. He was thirsty and still tired.
"Where are we?" asked Lily.
"I was carrying you and slipped down the ridge up there. I didn't feel like climbing up or walking out. This was a safe place to spend the night. Are you okay?"
"I think my ankle is twisted. It hurts."
"Let me see."
Lily moved a bit to show him her ankle. He took off her shoe and sock and found that it was indeed a bit swollen. "I don't think it's broke," he commented. "But, I don't think you can walk on it."
"Maybe, I can get a crutch or something to help me walk."
"No, I'll carry you."
Lily shook her head furiously. She didn't want to be carried by him again. She was starting to feel stupid and embarrassed. She remembered what had happened the night before. Her eyes started to tear up in anger. "Aren't you going to tell me?" she demanded angrily.
"Tell you what?" asked James, mystified at the fact that she was crying. He was sure it wasn't from the pain.
"That I was wrong and stupid for trusting Byron," said Lily angrily. "You tried to warn me and I didn't listen to you."
James didn't think of that. "I wasn't going to say that," he said quietly. "I'm just glad I got there in time."
Lily looked down and wiped the tears away, but she tried not to be too obvious about it. She didn't want him to see her cry, knowing this James looked away for a bit. The pain in her ankle was nothing compared to the anger she was feeling towards herself. "Thanks," she murmured.
"No problem. You don't have to thank me," said James. "I just wish you'd trust me more that's all."
Lily looked up at him. His face was still averted. He was looking at the forest they were in. The snow had been falling again. Lily's foot felt numb because James had piled some snow on it while she wasn't paying attention. "But, I do trust you," she said quickly.
"Then, why won't you tell me your real name?" demanded James.
*
"I think we should go and look for them," said Frank the next morning at breakfast. "I'm sure they'll need help by now."
"It's cold out there," said Isabelle. "Take the carriage out and go along the road slowly, but stop every once in a while to look around Frank."
"Are you sure you don't need me here?" asked Frank.
"You are the one who kept bothering me about going out. You're no help like this," said Isabelle exasperatedly. "Go. For Merlin's sake, go already."
"Thanks, Isabelle," said Frank as he ran out to the stable to get the carriage.
Byron had emerged from just behind the corner. He was already packed to go. "Well, I supposed I should be heading out."
"Yes, you should," said Isabelle.
"Thanks for everything, Isabelle. I am sorry I wasn't the model employee," said Byron as he looked away from her.
"You aren't the model human being," muttered Isabelle in an acid tone. She saw the shameful look on Byron's face for a moment before he became stoic again. "However, there are very few humans who are model human beings. I hope you have learned something from all of this."
Byron didn't say anything. His jaw was clutched. He wasn't going to sacrifice anymore of his dignity. Without a word, Isabelle handed him the little jar of Floo Powder. Byron got a pinch of it and threw it into the hearth. The flames became green, he stepped in to them and said in clear voice, "Beauxbatons!"
The flames swirled and Byron was gone. Isabelle started to get to work. She wanted to curse the children for not being there to help her like they were supposed to.
*
James looked at her sharply. He was tired of playing this ridiculous game of pretending he didn't know what her true gender was. He wasn't going to play stupid any longer. She turned pale suddenly, and he immediately felt guilty about scaring her. He kept his face still.
"Um...I don't know what you're t-talking about," stammered Lily. She turned to look away from him, but James grabbed her chin.
"Look, it's just the two of us here. I haven't told anyone. If I meant to tell anyone earlier, I would have already. You would have been expelled from Hogwarts long before your brother came to make trouble," said James stiffly. "Come on, you say you trust me, right? Tell me the truth."
Lily shook free from his grip and tried to stand up, only to feel a sharp stab of pain. Her foot was also numb from the cold. "You can't go anywhere without your shoe and sock. And you're being stubborn. Just sit back down," said James.
"If you knew the truth before, why didn't you say anything? What is the truth?" challenged Lily without sitting down.
James stood up to his full height, which was just under six feet. He was still growing and it was a sure bet that he would be around six feet. He was much taller than she. Lily started to regret challenging him, but her pride prevented her from backing down.
"Maybe, it was because I didn't want you to get into trouble," said James. "I do a lot of things that the headmaster and the rest of the faculty doesn't know about. Even Filch don't have a clue."
"Like what? Sneaking out during the dead of night?" asked Lily.
"I thought you were asleep!" exclaimed James.
"You're not the only one who's smart, Potter," Lily spat back angrily as she put her arms on her hips.
James glared at her. He realized how adorable she was trying to be so tough. He started to laugh. Lily looked at him, getting madder by the second at him. "Well, Potter?"
"Sorry, it's just hard to take you seriously when you look like that," said James.
Lily couldn't suppress the urge to punch him or at least wipe that smile off his face. She attempted to do so, but James ducked and sat back down. Her toes felt numb. James took out his handkerchief and gestured for her to sit down again. He took her foot into his lap and wiped off the snow. He put her sock back on. "It's better without the shoe."
"Come on, I'll carry you back. Today is the day before Christmas," said James.
"Yes. I had to send some owls from town home," said Lily.
"What do you want for Christmas?" he asked.
"I don't know. I don't know what I want," she replied. Being with you is enough of a gift. She pressed her face against the back of him neck, causing shivers to travel down his spine. James ignored it as he pressed onward. He managed to walk out of the place they had landed.
"James! Lucas!" shouted Frank as he stopped the carriage. "I'm glad I found you. I would have gone out last night, but Isabelle wouldn't let me. She made me play with the Malfoy brat," he said as he jumped down from the carriage.
"What happened?" he asked when he got to them.
"He got hurt on the trail," replied James. He really didn't want to explain what happened to Frank. "Let's go back. I'll explain more after we get some more rest."
"Okay," said Frank. "Lucas, are you okay?"
"Yeah, but my ankle hurts," said Lily.
"Here, let me help you," offered Frank as he tried to get Lily off of James' back. Frank received a glare from James for attempting to do so. He backed up a bit in surprise.
"Just get the door for us," said James.
Frank opened the door for them and waited until James was inside before piling inside. "Something happened. I think that Byron got fired," Frank told them.
"He deserves it," muttered Lily angrily.
"What happened?" asked Frank again. He looked to see that James had fallen asleep. His head was drooping on Lily's shoulder. He glared at James then at Lily.
"What?" asked Lily tiredly. "James said that he'd explain when we got back."
Frank didn't say anything more until they got back. James woke up before they arrived. They found that Isabelle was waiting for them. She told them that they had the rest of the day off because all of the guests were returning home for Christmas, except the Malfoys.
Tara was waiting for James. He was far too tired to be polite with her. Frank walked ahead of them. "Come on, Lucas," urged James. "We can get some more sleep." She was slowing them down because she didn't want to be carried in front of that many people. "Let me support you."
Lily was going to say no, but she was too tired to argue with him. She allowed him to support her. Isabelle had already walked ahead of them by that time. She thought that there was something going on between the pair, but she didn't ask.
They had walked under the archway only to hear the very obnoxious voice of Lucius Malfoy saying, "Hey, Potter. Evans. You're under the mistletoe. Aren't you going to kiss?"
Simultaneously, James and Lily looked above their heads. They looked back at Malfoy with twin glares of annoyance. "Shut up, Malfoy," said James.
"I don't care anymore. I just want to lay down," said Lily.
Isabelle came back with the first aid kit. "I can't say that I'm as good as my brother, but I did learn from my mother how to nurse people," said Isabelle. "Let's go to your room first."
The three of them went back to the room. Isabelle put a numbing spell on Lily's ankle before apply a salve to take down the swelling. "I do have to say that you're a bit accident prone, Lucas," she commented. "But, I'm only joking."
"It's just the way he is," said James.
"Would you mind stepping outside for a moment, James?" requested Isabelle.
James nodded and went outside. As soon as he got outside, Isabelle said, "Let me help you change clothes. The swelling will go down right away, but you need to get more sleep. You've been through a lot."
"Thanks," murmured Lily. As soon as Isabelle was done, she called James back in. He went back in and changed his clothes in the bathroom before going to sleep on his bed.
*
Much later, there came a soft knock at the door. "Hey, guys. It's time for dinner," called Frank.
Lily answered. She had already changed clothes. "Okay, but James is still asleep."
"He's starting to be like Remus Lupin," joked Frank.
"I'll try to wake him up," said Lily.
"Fine, I'll see you," said Frank. Lily closed the door to check up on James. He was sitting up, wide awake. "What time is it?" he asked.
"It's almost seven," replied Lily.
"I'll change in the bathroom. You change in here. I'll knock before coming out," he said as he stood up. Lily nodded. James grabbed a change of clothes and went to the bathroom.
Lily quickly changed clothes. She remembered something important. She searched through her coat pocket and pulled out something. It was still intact. She breathed a sigh of relief. There came a knock from the bathroom. "Just a minute," she said as she tucked the object into her trunk. "Okay, I'm ready."
James came out wearing a pair of slacks and a white, long sleeved shirt. "Let's go. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since dinner last night," said James.
"I haven't eaten longer than you," said Lily. "I was more tired than hungry. I guess."
"Yeah, I suppose our bodies thought that the sleep was more important than food," agreed James.
They walked out to the dining room to find that the Malfoys were already sitting down. "How good of you to finally grace us with your presence, Mr. Potter. Mr. Evans," drawled Malfoy in a sarcastic tone.
"How can this truly be Christmas without you, Mr. Malfoy," said Lily coolly.
"Now, now. Let's all put our differences aside," said Isabelle peaceably as she and Frank came in with some of the food. "Let's all forget that we're from different houses. Here, we're all from one house."
Frank took his seat next to Lily, which was across from Kat. James was sitting across from Lucius, leaving Lily to look at Tara. As soon as all of the food was served, everything went by much more smoothly than it would have normally done. Perhaps, it was the holiday spirit. Or maybe it was Isabelle forcing them to get along.
After dinner, everyone gathered around the fire once again. To the Gryffindors' collective surprise, Malfoy actually produced presents for his sisters. Kat and Tara were too impatient to wait for the next morning to open them, so Malfoy let them.
"Wow," said Tara in awe as she pulled out a dress that was white and silver. It was something that would bring out the color of her eyes and make her look like a snow queen.
Kat opened her present and found that it was a stuffed bear. A very expensive, wizard's stuff bear that could talk and dance at her commands. However, Kat found that she enjoyed playing with the box that the bear came in much more than the toy itself. Within minutes, the bear laid abandoned while Kat explored the box thoroughly. This exasperated her brother to no end.
"I can't believe this! That bear costs a fortune, Kat!" bellowed Malfoy angrily. "And you're just playing with the box it came in?!"
"Wee!" exclaimed Kat as she tossed wadded up wrapping paper at her brother.
"You are a brat!" declared Malfoy angrily as he got pelted by wrapping paper. It wasn't just Kat. Frank, Lily, and James were also throwing paper at him.
"Calm down. She will play with the bear as soon as we get rid of the box," assured Isabelle.
"I got you something, Lucas. But, you can't open it until the morning," said Frank.
"I got you something, too, Frank. But, it was in the bags that I had when I went to town," said Lily.
"I put those presents under the tree," said Isabelle. "Here's one more for Kat. Along with Frank's present. Here's mine. Thank you, Lucas. But, you didn't have to get me anything. We'll just leave these for tomorrow."
James noticed that his present wasn't there. "My present for you, Lucas, is there, too," he said.
Lily nodded and smiled. He wasn't sure what she was up to. Lily had left his present back in their room and was going to give it to him later.
"I'm going to bed. The sooner we go to bed the sooner the presents from Mum and Dad will arrive," said Tara standing up and stretching her limbs. Kat stood next to her and mimicked her.
"Yeah, go. You two really annoy me," muttered Malfoy.
Tara fluttered her eyelashes at James before leaving, but he wasn't paying any attention. The four students from Hogwarts sat around the fire. Malfoy decided it wasn't wise for him to anger the three Gryffindors because he was severely out numbered.
"This is the first time I've ever spent Christmas away from home," said Frank out loud.
"Really? Me, too," said Lily.
"What are you two? Babies?" snorted Malfoy.
"Don't blame us if our parents want us around," shot back Lily. "What about you, James?"
"Me? This isn't the first time I've spent Christmas away from my family. Sometimes, I spend Christmas with Sirius and Remus," said James. "Sirius goes back to Japan sometimes because of his father's job. Or I go and stay with Remus' family in France."
"Yeah, right," said James. "Anyway, what about you, Lucas?"
"Um...sometimes it's hard to figure out who I want to spend Christmas with. My sister, Petunia, always complains that things aren't proper enough for her tastes. I don't mind my brother, Eric, too much. He makes everything fun. Everything was wonderful until my parents divorced. I was tired of deciding whose side I was on. So, it's a relief to be away from home, both homes, for Christmas. What about you, Frank?"
"Well, my mum and dad are just as busy as James' parents, but we live in England. I have a huge extend family," said Frank. "There's always a lot of people around. It's so crowded. I can't imagine having a family like that when I'm older. Maybe, I'll only have one or two kids. I don't know."
"I can't stand children. They're all brats, Longbottom," muttered Malfoy. "The whole lot of them. I'm never having children."
"I think there's a clause somewhere in a law book that says you shouldn't be breeding, Malfoy. And furthermore, I doubt that anyone would actually consider helping you. So, I don't think you have anything to worry about," said James, causing the other two Gryffindors to laugh.
"I would say the same thing about you, Potter. You definitely would be doing the world a favor by not breeding," said Malfoy.
"Okay, that's enough," said Lily as she and Frank got over their laughter.
The night dwindled down. After some more hot cocoa, they all went to bed. James and Lily said good night to each other. Just before midnight, Lily woke up again and went to her trunk. She got James' present and as quietly as possible crept out the room.
James' eyes shot open the moment he heard the door shut. He got out of bed and grabbed his glasses. He followed her quietly as she put the present under the tree.
"I thought you'd be down here," said James.
"Ah! Stop that!" exclaimed Lily in surprise. "What are you doing down here?"
"I thought we could continue our conversation from earlier," said James.
Lily laughed nervously. She thought that he had forgotten, but he was too smart to do that. "What? You thought I forgot?"
"No, of course not. I just don't know where to begin," said Lily as she took a sit.
"Why don't you tell me why you came to Hogwarts in the first place?" asked James.
She told him everything. She told him how she admired his Quidditch playing and how much she just wanted to get to know him. She told him how much easier it was to get to know if she disguised her gender and how Bella helped her. James listened to all of it without asking any questions.
"I see."
"How long have you known?" asked Lily out of curiosity.
"You didn't do a good job. I had you pegged after the first day," said James. "Otherwise, how could I keep out of your way when you were changing? I didn't ask questions either because I already knew."
"Oh. You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" whispered Lily nervously.
"Like I said, if I wanted to, I would have already. Not even Sirius or Remus know anything," replied James. "Besides, part of me admires you for being able to get away with it. You fooled a lot of people very well."
"It's hard lying all the time," admitted Lily.
"You're going to have to. Otherwise, you'll get kicked out of the school," said James.
"You don't want me to get kicked out?" asked Lily in amazement.
"Let's just say that I don't want to break in another roommate. I've kind of gotten used to you," admitted James.
They sat there in silence while waiting for the clock to turn to midnight. Lily handed James his present. He opened it and found another good luck charm.
"I hope you like it. I didn't know what to get you. So, I decided to get you a real good luck charm," said Lily.
James looked at it and smiled. To her utter surprised, he reached over and kissed her on the lips. He pulled back and smiled again. "That's to make up for the mistletoe. I heard that it's bad luck if you don't follow the mistletoe. Thanks."
Lily sat there speechless for a moment. It was looking like the best Christmas she ever had.
"By the way, there's one more thing," started Lily.
"What?" asked James.
"Lily. That's my name," she replied with a smile.
Post Author's Note: Lately, I've been too busy to write. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. ^_^;; There was an idiot who flamed the story without reading it, which just really pisses me off. A lot of people assume that I magically write this fic and that it should be easier because I'm drawing from two resources. It's difficult to mold the stories into one. People keep asking the same questions over and over again. Just go to the journal. I have it to answer questions. There is a Q & A after each chapter.
Just review, I don't care anymore about the number of reviews. I only ask so that I have a buffer for how long before I have to the next chapter out. However, people review too quickly or give multiple reviews, so I've decided that I'll update whenever I can. I have more tests coming up then summer school. I hope to finish this story before the next book comes out that way my plotline doesn't get messed by any more information. ^_^ Well, it's not like this plot isn't messed up already.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (For You in Full Blossom). I just borrowed these for my fic.
