Chapter 14: The Magic of Christmas

A/N Ah yes. Another new chapter. I feel like I was meant to wait this long to post this chapter now. I mean the fact that it is December now and Christmas is actually coming up, it just seems fitting to write this chapter (as well as the next two) now. Anyway, I would like to warn you all that this chapter is now very dialogue-heavy at times. I just felt it better to describe their Christmas gifts than to use dialogue to do so. But I am sorry if you wanted more dialogue. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters or anything Harry Potter related. I do own the OC Jasmine and the plot of this story.

When Jasmine woke up the next day, she was surprised to see that she was in her room in her bed. The last thing that she remembered was that she was enjoying her boyfriend's warmth and hold, which probably meant that she fell asleep on him. She was thankful that he had taken her to bed though. She didn't know what she would have done if she had woken up on the couch still asleep on Sirius. It would have been nice, sort of like her dream, but it also would have been a bit embarrassing. She wasn't embarrassed by Sirius, but more the fact that she had fallen asleep on him. He was just so comfy and warm, and she couldn't help herself in the end. Well, it all worked out in the end anyway.

Once Jasmine got her thoughts collected, she realized that it was Christmas morning. This realization caused her to shoot out of her bed. She rushed down the stairs and completely forgot that she probably should have checked the time before she got out of bed. Luckily, it didn't matter because most everyone else was already up. They were all in the kitchen eating breakfast. Sirius was the first one to see her.

"Mare!" Sirius exclaimed when he looked over to see who had entered the kitchen. Then Sirius got up and left James in the middle of the story he was telling in order to properly greet his girlfriend, which was with a peck on the lips and a hug.

"Good morning, Pads." Jaz greeted her boyfriend. "Happy Christmas." Then she gave him her own peck on the lips before escaping his embrace in favor of getting some food for herself. Sirius pouted a bit when she left him, but he knew that he couldn't keep her in his arms all morning. She needed breakfast at some point obviously. Also, they wouldn't open their presents until after everyone had had breakfast. And since Jaz was the last one to get up, they would have to wait until she finished her food so that they could open their gifts.

While Jasmine went and got some breakfast (it was homemade chocolate chip pancakes), Sirius retook his seat next to James, who was glaring at him. Sirius didn't notice the stare, or more like he ignored the stare. "So, you were saying?" Sirius asked James encouraging him to pick up his story from where he left off.

"No." James was still pissed that Sirius left in the middle of the story. Don't get him wrong, he is so happy for his best mate and Jaz (who was basically his sister), but that didn't mean he was okay with Sirius getting up with no warning in the middle of a story that James was telling him. That was not okay. He could have at least excused himself to say good morning to his new girlfriend. But really did James expect anything different from Sirius. That boy was already whipped, and they had only just started dating. Though James knew he was whipped before they even got together, or at least as "whipped" as he could be while still keeping secrets from Jasmine.

Plus, James knew that continuing his story was pointless. Once Jasmine came and sat next to Sirius, James would lose his best mate's attention. It was a fruitless action to try and continue his story when he knew Sirius would stop paying attention once Jaz came and sat with them.

"No? What do you mean no, Prongs?" Sirius was a bit stunned that his best mate was still mad about his actions. He knew him better than anyone, so what he just did should not have really surprised James but yet it had. Or at least it had pissed him off. Sirius wasn't about to apologize though, well until Jaz came and sat next to them. Sirius hadn't originally noticed the girl because he was so focused on why the hell James was still so pissed at him.

It wasn't until Jaz finally spoke up that Sirius finally noticed his girlfriend sitting next to him at the table. "Hey, Prongs, Pads. What are you guys talking about?" Jaz didn't seem to notice the glare that James was sending Sirius right away. That was because she hadn't actually looked at the boys when she sat down. She was focused more on her food than she was on them at the moment. She was pretty hungry after all. Jasmine only looked up from her delicious chocolate chip pancakes when she didn't get a response from either boy. She was at least expecting Sirius to greet her with a kiss and an acknowledgment from James but none of that happened, so she looked up at the two boys to see what the problem was. That is when Jaz saw the glare that James was still directing Sirius's way, while Sirius was just staring back confused at his best mate's anger.

Jasmine decided to intervene in their "argument." She figured it was probably about something really stupid that she could easily fix if she got one of their stubborn asses to apologize to the other one. That was usually how she fixed their stupid arguments. She tried her best to be the peacemaker, but there was no way that she would be able to manage it without Remus helping her sometimes. He was like her backup peacemaker, especially when she wasn't around. Anyway, Jasmine figured that it would be Sirius this time that she would have to get to apologize because it was clear that James was mad at him for something. Whatever that was, Jaz didn't necessarily want to know. She didn't really care anyway. They were usually really stupid arguments after all.

Jasmine leaned over to Sirius and whispered in his ear, "Hey, Siri, do you think that you could just apologize to James for me? You don't want to ruin Christmas, do you?" Jasmine said in the best seductive voice she could muster.

This only managed to cause Sirius's face to become bright red, evidently embarrassed. He was mainly embarrassed because of the new nickname that Jaz had decided to give him. To save himself from further embarrassment from his girlfriend, he leaned and whispered back, "I would happily do that Mare, but I can't seem to figure out why Prongsy is so angry at me. Also, please for the love of God never call me Siri again."

Jaz let out a little giggle after the last part. The first part though confused her, but it made sense why he had looked confused earlier when she saw James was glaring at him. Though, usually, when they had arguments, they were both aware of the stupid topic they were arguing about.

"This is going to be more complicated than I originally thought," Jasmine thought. Then Jasmine turned her attention away from Sirius toward James to ask him why he was so angry with his best mate. But when she turned toward him, Jaz saw that James was glaring at both of them, which didn't make sense since Jaz was sure that she hadn't done anything recently to upset the boy. So, instead of asking him why he was made, Jaz turned her attention back to Sirius. She leaned in and whispered, "Don't look now, but Prongsy is glaring at both of us now."

Of course, Sirius immediately turned around and saw James glaring at them both. He also heard a groan come from his girlfriend. Then he turned back around to face Jaz. It was at that moment that he realized why James was probably angry, or actually more like jealous. Whispering to Jasmine, Sirius told her quietly, "I think James might be a bit jealous." Jasmine pulled back from him, wide-eyed to say something back, but Sirius pulled her back. "See when you came into the kitchen and I came to greet you, I left James in the middle of a story. Now James is used to this by now. I have gotten distracted several times before when he would tell me a story, but he usually isn't mad at me for this long. He just expects it from me now. It's not like it's something completely new to him. He usually just sighs and is just annoyed with me. Then when my attention is back on him, I will prompt him to continue the story and he will. When I did that after I let you go get food, he told me no. He has never done that before. Plus, now that he is glaring at both of us, mainly me, it makes sense that he would be jealous."

When Jasmine was sure Sirius was done with his explanation, she pulled back a little and stared at her boyfriend. It hadn't even occurred to her that James might be jealous of their relationship because he was definitely not jealous of Sirius being with her since they were practically brother and sister. That is when a plan begins to formulate in Jasmine's brain, and Sirius notices right away. He whispers in her ear, "You have an idea. You better let me in on it. He is my best mate after all." Then he pulled back so that he was looking into her eyes.

Jasmine nodded her head then whispered quiet enough that no one would overhear, but not so quiet that Sirius wouldn't be able to hear her. "Yes, I do, but I'll tell you about it later." Sirius pouted. "Pads, I would like to open the rest of my presents first. Plus, this way I can tell you without a chance of James overhearing my plan. For now, just apologize to him so that we can move on and enjoy Christmas."

Sirius nodded and turned away from his girlfriend. Now Sirius was facing his best mate. "James, I'm sorry for leaving you in the middle of your story." Sirius gave him an apologetic smile.

James was surprised, and it showed. It didn't last long though. "It's all good, Sirius. I get it. She's your girlfriend and you wanted to tell her good morning." Although James did see sincere about that he forgave Sirius, he said the last part a bit bitterly, something that James himself didn't seem to realize he had done.

With the argument somewhat behind the two boys, they engaged in a new conversation as Jasmine finished up her chocolate chip pancakes.

It wasn't much later that all of them (the Potters, Sirius, Lily, and Jasmine) were all sitting around the same Christmas tree that they had last night. They were all sitting in relatively the same places that they were last night. Each of them, especially the "kids" had several presents sitting in front of them. None of the teens were willing to wait for each person to open up their own gifts, so they tore open their gifts without waiting.

By the time they were all done unwrapping all the presents, there was a collection of wrapping paper and other various trash that was sitting in the middle of the room. Soon it was gone because Mr. Potter had cast a spell and it all disappeared. Now in front of each person were several unwrapped presents that they had all just opened.

In front of Sirius were various treats and other such stuff from both Peter and Remus. There was nothing from his parents in the pile of presents in front of him, but surprisingly, Sirius get something from his brother, Regulus. I wasn't really much, but Sirius absolutely loved it. It was a magical photo of them together when they were younger (and his parents didn't absolutely hate him). It was a good memory and Sirius really love the present. It even came with a note that read:

Brother,

I am sorry about what our parents have done to you over the years, but don't worry about me. I'm fine. And now you can be fine too.

Your brother,

Regulus

It wasn't really much, but it did put Sirius at ease a little bit. He wasn't so worried about his brother being hit by his parents anymore, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't worry about the path his brother was willingly taking. He knew that path led to messing around with the dark arts and such if Snivellus was any indication. But for now, he wouldn't worry so much about his brother.

Also among Sirius's gifts was a beautiful new toolset that James had got him. It was an amazing gift that made Sirius question where he got it from. It wasn't something you would find in the magical world, so James must have help, but Sirius wasn't sure if Jasmine were the one who helped him. Anyway, it was just what Sirius needed to be able to finish fixing up the motorcycle that was still sitting in what could sort of be considered a garage but not really since it wasn't one. The Potters didn't need a garage especially since they didn't need or want a car. There was no real reason that they would need a car since they could apparate. So, the motorcycle was actually sitting in a downstairs room in a deserted corner of Potter Manor. It was the best that the boys plus James's parents could come up with when Sirius came home with the motorcycle. He planned to show the motorcycle to Jaz and Remus tomorrow since that is when Remus would be coming over. He was only allowed to stay for a couple of hours, but Sirius thought it was better than nothing.

In front of Jasmine were the same sort of treats as in front of Sirius from the other boys that were not with them. Although, Jasmine had also gotten a copy of one of her favorite Muggle books from Remus, which she really appreciated. Besides the gifts from Peter and Remus, Jasmine had gotten a seemingly empty notebook from James. When James noticed the confused look, she was giving him, he told her that the writing was just invisible and that she could only see it with the revealing charm. Therefore, she would have to wait until they got back to Hogwarts to see what was actually written in the notebook. Or Jaz could just ask her amazing, of-age boyfriend to do the spell for her, something that James seems to have forgotten about since he teased her when telling her she would have to wait and see. Unlucky for James, Jaz would just ask Sirius to do the charm for her when she talked to him later about her plan for James and his jealousy.

One other gift that Jasmine had in the pile in front of her was her gift from Lily. Last year's Christmas gift that Jaz had gotten from Lily was really special, but this year's gift was even better. It may have just been a simple friendship bracelet, but to Lily and Jasmine, it was so much more. It was actually a replica of the original friendship bracelet that Lily had made Jaz before she moved away.

Flashback (of sorts)

Originally, before either girl knew they were witches, they were still best friends and practically sisters. They used to live closer to one another as well. Anyway, one day the girls had been hanging out with each other when one of them, Jaz couldn't remember who brought up friendship bracelets. They both loved the idea, especially since this idea came soon after Jasmine found out she would be moving to France because her dad got a job there. So, they made each other friendship bracelets to remind them that they would always be best friends and sisters no matter what. They also made a promise to each other that they would tell each other everything no matter what it is, which meant no secrets.

They knew it would be hard to keep the no secrets thing up since they were going to be living in different countries now, but they believed they would manage. And they did manage to do it through the many letters they wrote each other and each time they were able to see each other. It was all going great for them. They were making their friendship work even though they were countries apart. And through it all, both girls never took off their friendship bracelets, even when they were mad at the other girl. It was just something that they just wouldn't do. That is until tragedy struck when Jasmine lost her father. It was an accident really, but Jasmine had somehow managed to accidentally lose the friendship bracelet.

Jasmine hadn't noticed until a week after she got the news about her father's death, but when she did, Jasmine flipped out. She had looked down at her wrist for comfort because just seeing the bracelet usually cheered Jasmine up. It reminded her she wasn't really alone. Lily would always be there for her even when she couldn't be there in person. That was when Jasmine noticed that the friendship bracelet was no longer on her wrist. She completely flipped out and started looking everywhere in Beauxbatons for the bracelet, but after looking everywhere in the castle, Jaz couldn't find it. She knew she had to tell Lily, even if she knew the girl would be a bit mad about it. But they had promised not to keep secrets and Jaz was not about to start now.

So, Jaz wrote a letter to Lily at Hogwarts explaining that she had lost the friendship bracelet. She got a response back almost immediately, or as immediately as it could be. Lily told her that she wasn't mad at her cousin. Lily told Jaz that she completely understood, especially given the circumstances. Jaz was glad that Lily wasn't mad about the loss of the friendship bracelet, but the girl still couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about losing it in the first place.

End of Flashback (of sorts)

Ever since then, the girls still kept in contact and such, but Lily never found the opportunity to make another friendship bracelet for her cousin. She just didn't have the time anymore. And sadly, Lily felt that they were actually drifting apart for some reason (that reason happened to be a secret in the form of Jasmine's mother). Though, they didn't really drift too far apart, especially after Lily had first seen Jasmine after Jaz's father died. It still wasn't the same though because one of them had a constant reminder of the promise they had made to each other while the other didn't.

So, when Jasmine had opened her gift from Lily and saw the friendship bracelet, she couldn't help the tears that started to form in her eyes. She looked up at her cousin and was able to catch her eye. Jaz gave Lily a watery thankful smile. She was so grateful for the gift. Jaz absolutely loved it, but with the bracelet came a reminder of the promise they had made to each other. And suddenly Jasmine started to feel guilty. Sure, she had kept the secret about her mother a secret from Lily at one point, but not Lily knew everything. No, Jasmine wasn't feeling guilty about keeping that a secret. Instead, Jaz felt guilty about the secret that she was currently keeping from Lily. She was currently keeping a secret from Lily about herself and the Marauders. Though Jaz was glad it was just the one secret and not two. It had been two at one but now that Lily knew about Remus and his furry little problem. But technically the animagus secret wasn't entirely her secret to tell, just like the werewolf secret involving Remus. Because if she told Lily that she was an animagus, Lily would pry and ask a bunch of questions. That would then lead back to the Marauders somehow, which Jaz couldn't let happen. She wasn't about to betray their trust like that, which Jaz is sure Lily would understand but for now, Jaz would just have to keep it a secret.

Anyway, Sirius and Jasmine had gotten some amazingly touching gifts from their "siblings," but James and Lily also got some pretty touching gifts. Lily's gifts included a gift from Remus which was a few treats (same as Jasmine and Sirius) as well as a magical book that Lily had told Remus she had always wanted to read one night on their rounds. She was touched that he had remembered, so Lily decided she would make sure to thank the boy tomorrow when he visited the Manor.

Also in front of Lily was a gift that Lily had been expecting to get. What she hadn't expected was what the actual gift was. The gift was from James, who Lily knew would be getting her a gift, especially since he had gotten her those chocolates last year. It wasn't really a surprise when she saw that he had gotten her a gift. Her surprise came once she opened the gift up. It wasn't a very big gift, but Lily assumed it was just some more chocolates. Boy was she wrong. After removing the wrapping paper, Lily found a little box that she recognized came from a jewelry store, which shocked her, but not as much as what was in the actual box. Inside the box was probably one of the most beautiful necklaces that Lily had ever seen. It was so gorgeous that Lily audibly gasped upon seeing it. The necklace wasn't really much. It was a simple but elegant necklace with a single green gem on it, but it was exactly something that Lily would wear. She wasn't one to go over the top, so this necklace was perfect for her.

Lily was about to put on the necklace, but when she picked up the necklace, something fell out of the box. It was a note from James say:

Lily,

I hope you like the necklace. I saw it and it reminded me of your beautiful eyes. I knew I just had to get it for you.

Love,

James

Lily was pulled back down to earth by the note. It was at that moment that Lily remembered that the necklace had come from James. Now Lily was torn on whether she wanted to wear it though because it was from James who she still doesn't like, but it was still an amazingly thoughtful gift that she loves. She decides that for now, she is going to put it back into the box and decide later. "Maybe Mina will be able to help me decide later." Lily thought to herself. Then she happened to glance over to see her cousin was opening her gift. The happy tears in Jasmine's eyes had reassured Lily that Jasmine remembered the meaning of the bracelet.

Meanwhile over in James's pile of gifts was also a variety of treats from both Peter and Remus. There was also some quidditch stuff from his parents. There was also some prank stuff in there from Jasmine. There wasn't anything entirely sentimental about most of James's gifts. Well, all except for one gift that came from Lily. When James had seen that the girl had gotten him a gift as well, he was really touched by the gesture. He wasn't really expecting anything from her, which he didn't really mind. So, the fact that there was even a gift at all really meant a lot to the boy.

The even more touching thing was what the gift actually was. It was a quidditch new banner that he was definitely bringing to Hogwarts to hang in his room. It wasn't just any quidditch banner, though, it was a banner from his absolutely favorite quidditch team. James was sure that the only way Lily could have possibly known that was because she asked Jasmine. There was no other way that she would have known what his favorite quidditch team was otherwise. He had never mentioned it around her. So, unless she had been eavesdropping on one of his quidditch discussions with Sirius, which he highly doubted, Lily had to have gotten her information from Jaz.

James had to thank the girl for the wonderfully thoughtful gift that she got him, so he got up and walked over to where she was sitting. James took a seat next to the redhead before expressing his thanks. "Lily," he started to get the girl's attention. Once she was looking over at him, he continued. "Thank you for the gift. I love it. I needed a new poster anyway. The one in my room is falling apart."

"It was really nothing Potter. I just wanted to get you something for letting us stay here for Christmas. Jasmine is actually the one who came up with the idea in the first place." Lily turned away from the boy to hide the blush she was desperately trying to keep down. Lily couldn't help it, but she was glad James liked her gift.

Technically the first part of what she said was true because that was her original reasoning for getting him a gift. Well, that and the fact that she knew that he would be getting her one as well. Though that second part of what she said was Lily stretching the truth a little bit, well actually she was stretching it more than that. It was actually Lily's own idea to get James something quidditch-related since she knew he liked the sport, everyone at Hogwarts knew about his love of quidditch. Lily had made a list of different quidditch things that she could get the boy from Christmas. On her list was something from his favorite quidditch team. Lily had been trying to decide what she wanted to get him when Jasmine had come into the room.

Flashback

"Hey, Lils. What are you doing?" Jasmine asked as she entered their dorm.

"Oh, just some last-minute revisions and such. Nothing really."

"Great. Then you can listen to my story." Jasmine said cheerfully. "You could probably use a break anyway."

Lily could have argued that she didn't, but really, she could use the distraction. Plus, maybe Jasmine's story would inadvertently help her to decide what to get James.

It turns out that Jasmine's story actually did help Lily to decide. Jasmine told her about what had happened in the Marauders' dorm earlier that day. They had been messing around and one of James's favorite quidditch posters got all messed up. It was a poster with his favorite quidditch team on it. It had disappointed James to see that his poster was now ruined, but he had told them that it was getting old anyway. He was planning on replacing it anyway. And with that Lily knew exactly what to get James for Christmas. But before she could get him the poster, she would have to ask Jasmine what James's favorite quidditch team was.

End of Flashback

So, Lily had found out what James's favorite quidditch team was without her cousin even knowing about the Christmas gift she was going to give him. And though, Lily kept telling herself that she got the gift to thank James for letting them come over to his place over the break, Lily knew she wasn't completely being truthful with herself. She wasn't about to admit it yet, but James Potter is not an entirely awful person when you start to get to know him. He isn't always a toerag, or at least as of late, he hasn't been. That did not mean under any circumstance that Lily had a crush on him at all. There was no way that she would ever like him like that.


The rest of the morning seemed to pass by in a blur. After opening all of their presents, the teens went up to their respective rooms to get dressed for the day. They were all still in their pajamas of course. But once they were all dressed, James went to go hang out with his best mate only to find him already hanging out with Jasmine. James was disappointed but he could understand that the new couple needed their time together. Little did James know, but he was actually the topic of discussion for the couple this afternoon.

While James headed back to his room, the new couple continued their planning. They were planning on how to best get James and Lily together. Jaz was the one to come up with an idea. She told Sirius about it when he came into her room to discuss what she came up with earlier.

"Sirius, my idea is to get James and Lily together finally!" Jasmine exclaimed.

Sirius wasn't as excited over the prospect at first. Actually, he was more skeptical than excited as Jasmine was. "Mare, you do realize that even though we already know that James is absolutely in love with Lily, that doesn't mean Lily feels the same way. Lily has made it clear that she does not like James at all, especially not romantically."

Jaz gave her boyfriend a look that clearly said Really, you think you know my cousin better than me before responding. "Oh, but you are mistaken, my love. You clearly don't know my cousin as well as I do. And I know that although she is still denying it, Lily is starting to warm up to James and the rest of you guys. She has probably also noticed the change in the two of you this past term. You guys have really grown up and matured to an extent. You haven't been acting as childish anymore, and clearly, Lily has taken notice."

Sirius started to interrupt, but Jasmine wouldn't allow him to. "Nope, you can't interrupt me yet, Sirius. You haven't even heard the best part." Sirius leaned in now intrigued at what the best part was and motioned for Jasmine to continue. "The best part is that she actually got him a really thoughtful Christmas gift. I found out that she was at least getting him a present when I saw her working at her desk one day during the semester. I knew she wasn't working on anything for her classes because of her facial features. The concentration that she had was not the usual one she had when she was studying. Anyway, I told her about how James's quidditch poster got destroyed and she practically lit up like she had just come up with a great idea. So, when she then asked me what James's favorite quidditch team was, I knew what she was thinking. I haven't told her that I knew yet because she is still in denial, but I'm hoping the ball will help her realize that she actually likes James. So, what do you think Sirius? Do you think you can help me come up with a plan to make that happen?"

Sirius gave her the best devilish grin he could manage. "I think I can manage that. Let's get to planning, my sweet." And with that, the couple began their scheme to get their respective best friends together.

A/N Okay, so originally this chapter was going to be about the days leading up to the Christmas ball and then go into some of the Christmas Ball itself. I was planning on splitting up the Christmas Ball chapter into 2 parts, but that didn't end up happening. What actually happened is I began to write this chapter and as I got more ideas for it, it became longer and longer. So, I had to change my plans a bit in order to not make this chapter super long (I want to be at least semi-consistent with my chapter lengths). Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this lovely chapter I wrote.

And I hope to see you all soon,
Knk6700