Wow guys, thanks a lot for all the reviews. This is really cool. I'm glad you all like it. Well here we go, another chapter in the making
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Christmas time was drawing near in the vicinity of Hogwarts. Everyone was either planning on going home for the holidays, staying at Hogwarts, or going on vacation with their families. These things weren't thought of as of right now, as we join the students while they are vigorously studying for their mid-term exams. Lily and her friends were in the library, studying hard for their potions exam. Of course, Lily really didn't need to study, she knew all the potions from the previous months, and also two to three months in advance. If you were to stereo-type her, most would call her a bookworm, but there is more to her than meets the eye. Lily had a passion for reading. One of her favorite gifts from her mom was a book that she gave Lily for her eighth birthday. She read this book, which was entitled, "Don Quixote" constantly and enjoyed the humorous adventures of this knight and his steed. So, Lily, is in fact, a bookworm, but she knows when to have fun. When not studying, she is always enjoying herself walking outside with her friends, and more than often, arguing with the ever-popular James Potter. She also enjoyed the beauty of nature. There were times when you would find her sitting outside her windowsill watching the stars, or waking up early just to see the sun rise, starting another beautiful day. Jade, Carly, and Penny soon became three of her very best friends. They all loved each other and if you were to ask any of them right now if they would help one or the other, each girl would drop whatever it is that they were doing and help their friend in need. Friendship was very important to all four of them. To others, those four reminded them of their counterparts, the Gryffindor boys.
James, Sirius, and Remus were inseparable. Rarely was there one without the other, except when Remus was "sick." So far, they have managed to get on the nerves of every single Professor on the grounds, except for Dumbledore. They've never really encountered Professor Dumbledore before, and just like everyone else, they were pretty much afraid of him, but with high respect at the same time. Like many eleven year old boys, they increased their fame with pranks and jokes, wreaking havoc on everyone that they felt deserved it. Pretty much, all three have managed to be the top three students with the most detentions in one mid-term. James and Sirius got in trouble a lot more than Remus, because in class, Remus was quiet and studious. The other two, were always goofing off and talking with each other, earning detention after detention, especially from Professor Coggins, potions teacher and head of Slytherin house. Currently, the three boys were serving a detention in cleaning up the potions room, after getting caught the night before trying to sneak into the broom shed to go flying.
"That slimy Snape, I swear I am going to punch his lights in when I get out of here."
"Calm down, Sirius, you know that is highly doubtful. Not only will you get a detention, you'll get suspended."
"Guess you're right, Remi. But he still makes me mad. I think I'm beginning to hate the guy."
"I think he feels the same for us, Sirius." James answered. "It's not like we made life at Hogwarts for him any better."
"Well, it's his fault he's a Slytherin."
"And it's our fault we got caught.. We should've been more careful."
"Haha. Well we better get going, I'm sure these vials have been cleaned enough."
Remus examined his. "Not a speck of dirt anywhere. We're getting good at this guys."
"Detention?? I know… I hope our parents don't write asking how good we work at cleaning rooms. I'll have no summer life when I get back home."
The three boys shuttered at Sirius' remark as they made their way down to the Tower.
"Evans, my favorite enemy. Reading again? Now, now, I wouldn't want to tell everyone back home that my rival is a nerd. It would make the story sound weak."
"Quiet, Potter. Just because I read doesn't mean I know how to have fun."
"And how DO you have fun, anyway, Evans."
"By reading and learning how to do this." Lily said a spell that levitated James upside down floating in mid-air."
"Evans, put me down NOW!"
"You' think I'd listen to you? This is pay back for your little prank in the beginning with my hair."
"That was three months ago!!"
"Well, come to me in three months and we'll see if you're still mad about this. Good day, Sirius. Remus. Good luck trying to get him down." Lily winked and left to the girls' dorm, whle Sirius and Remus were rolling with laughter.
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The holidays were drawing near and everyone was asking what they were doing over break. Everyone was pretty much returning to their houses over the summer. Lily invited Jade to come over to her house during the break as well, and Jade happily accepted. Lily missed home and wanted to tell her mom and dad in person, not with letters, all about her life with Hogwarts. Her wonderful roommates, her top grades for mid-term exams, her first game of quidditch, and her encounters with James. Wait… James?!?! Scratch that. She decided to throw that last thought out of her head. The day came to board the train to return to their homes, and the group managed to grab a compartment all to themselves. They played many rounds of Exploding Snap, as well as mobbed the cart-lady for candy once or twice. Lily managed to turn James upside-down again for cheating in their Exploding Snap game, but James knew he would get his revenge. He enchanted dungbombs in her trunk to explode as soon as she opened it when she got back. When they got back to King's Cross, everyone unloaded their things and said good-bye to one another, or a slight smirk, when talking about Lily and James. Sirius would be staying with James over the break, mainly because of the fact that he hated his home life. That was why he was so close with James. He spend almost every waking moment with James when they were little, and with James' mischievous behavior and outgoing attitude, the two became very much alike. They were almost brothers, really. Remus had become one of them too, and he was planning on dropping by for a weekend at James' house over the break. He was first going to spend time with his family, and also mentioned a seminar he had to go to for some treatment on his back. James and Sirius were confused at this because they knew perfectly well that Remus was very healthy. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his back. Remus was still unsure of telling his secret. He decided to keep it under wraps until he was ready. Peter was just going to stay home with his family, while Frank mentioned a party. He didn't mention, however, that it was a family party which Alice invited him to join. Him and Alice were slowly becoming a couple, though Frank never really made it "official" yet. Carly would be moving over the break, fortunately their new house is about a block away from Penny's house, so they would naturally be spending Christmas together. Carly was happy with her new home, because she now could find someone to talk to about Remus. Penny was a very good listener, and Carly assumed she knew a lot about guys, even at this age, for Penny was a very beautiful girl indeed. She must've gotten the attention of many second or third year boys back at Hogwarts, along with Jade. Carly and Lily were too busy studying to notice that they, too, had admirers of their own. Carly was also not thinking about anyone else other than Remus. She now admitted to her girl friends that she liked him, and decided to ask Penny for advice in what to do.
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Lily passed the barrier back to the muggle station with Jade, and they both greeted their parents with hugs and kisses. Mr. and Mrs. Evans missed their dear daughter so much, and Petunia gave Lily a glare instead of a smile much to the disappointment of the young witch. She figured that Petunia would be proud of her as well, but her thoughts were wrong. All the passing months ever did was make Petunia loathe Lily even more. She knew she was in for a long summer.
When Lily got to her house, she unloaded her trunk, and with the help of her parents, was unpacking everything slowly into her room. She missed her own room a lot over these past few months. Though the girls' dorms were nice and comfortable, nothing could ever compare to Lily's room in her mind. Her bed was neatly folded, and the carpet was renewed to a nice soft beige color. She figured her parents cleaned up a bit before her return, and was grateful to be back home again.She then opened her trunk and the stench of the dungbombs began to spread through the house. Lily's green eyes narrowed and muttered her least favorite word. Potter... During dinner, Lily talked animatedly about her first half of Hogwarts education. She mentioned everything from excelling in Charms to the fast pace game of quidditch. Lily's parents were astounded to hear that their daughter was literally having the time of her life at her new school, and it only made Petunia more jealous of her little sister. Lily didn't mean to make her sister jealous, but Petunia was seriously taking this the wrong way. She didn't even get Lily a Christmas present, and spent the majority of the break tormenting her by calling her a 'freak'. Lily chose to just ignore her sister, though she still was hurt by her harsh words. Even though she was mean and downright rude, Petunia will always be her sister, and she will love her for it. Lily was in her room looking over all her Christmas presents that she got from her friends. After opening them all, she brought them all back to her room, and started on her thank-you letters to her friends.
Dear Jade,
Thanks so much for the drawing that you gave me. The picture was very beautiful. It was as if I was in the picture looking at the sunset for real. You are a very talented artist, and I hope that my present was appealing to you as well. Hope you enjoy the all-night pass to Charlie's!! I know how much you loved that place, now you don't have to worry about running out of tokens!
Your best friend,
Lily
Carly gave Lily new quills, one for every subject, so that she didn't have to keep reusing the same one. Penny gave Lily a new robe to match her starlit green eyes. Lily wrote back to her saying that it was her favorite robe, and that she wished she could wear it to class every day. She got all sorts of candy from Frank, Alice, and Peter. Sirius gave her a prankbook from Diagon Alley, saying that this would make your tormentings of 'Jamesy-boy' a lot funnier than just screaming at him. Remus gave her a picture of her and the girls that was taken by him one day at the Lion's Heart. It was framed in a beautiful oak wood, and Lily decided to keep it with her wherever she went. She was not ready however, for the package that was left unopen. An owl came to her during her letter to Jade, with a small package in tow, and Lily accepted it, but then gasped and left it on her bed. She was very doubtful in opening this, for it said on a tag,
To Evans:
From Potter (I dare you to open this, if you have the nerve)
Lily, scolding herself for even giving in to James' attempt to intimidate her, carefully opened the package. She was expecting for it to explode, or hex her in some way, but it stayed, well, normal. She reached inside and found a book entitled, "The Many Adventures of Chudley Gremschen". She was very curious about this book, and didn't' know who in the heck this Chudley Gremschen was. She opened the book to find a letter folded neatly inside the front cover. She opened it and read it to herself.
Hey Evans,
Merry Christmas, my favorite redheaded nerd. I figured you would like this gift, so I went ahead and bought it for you just yesterday. You should be getting it on Christmas day so sorry for the late timing. I was debating on whether I should get you anything or not. I figured why not, you are one of the ones that has made my life in Hogwarts interesting. Do me a favor and teach me how to do that upside-down thing you did on me twice before break. It seems rather humorous to Sirius, and I want to try it out on him to get back for laughing at me all day and all night. Well to tell you about the book, I've seen you reading a book called "Don Quixote" and I asked Alice what it was about, her being muggle-born like you. Well, this is a sort of 'wizard' version of the knight. It's about a wizard named Chudley Gremschen, and it has many adventures of him and his second, Jester. Pretty funny, I read the first couple of chapters, maybe you'd like it. Well I'm gonna go now. I'm getting tired of this letter. See you in school Evans. Watch you back now.
Your worst nightmare,
James
Lily smirked at this letter and decided to send one back. It was very thoughtful of James to give her such a gift, and she wanted to show her gratitude at least. She didn't really think James paid any real attention to her, so this was very surprising for James to give her a wonderful gift such as a book.
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James and Sirius were out in the backyard, playing quidditch. They were having a little one-on one, playing chaser and keeper at the same time. Right now the score was tied 90-90 and it was the first to a hundred. Although James and Sirius were best friends, when it came to quidditch, they were both fierce competitors. Their friendship remained, but the joys of victory meant a lot to the both of them. It was this determination that would make James and Sirius two of the best quidditch players will ever see in the future. James was in control and happily announced his attack.
"And here's Potter, with a look in his eye, spots the hoops open. He looks, fakes left, rolls right… and…"
"Save by Black!" shouted Sirius, stopping the quaffle. "And now it's Potter on defense, with a doubtful look on his face. Black comes in, ducks down underneath. Gets by and blows Potter away!! He goes, shoots and… hey, where'd it go?"
"And it's Potter on a breakaway!!! What a defensive steal by Potter, popping out the quaffle from under his arm!!" Sirius scowled and desperately tried to catch James, who was looking at him laughing, but then again, not knowing where he was going either. Therefore, he didn't' see the owl fluttering by and when he turned around he had a mouthful of feathers and an angry owl pecking at him fiercely.
"BWAHHAHAHAHAH! And Potter gets stopped by an owl?!? What a break for Black!! Steals the quaffle and scores!! Team Sirius wins!! Jamesy-boy, what happened there pal?"
"You got lucky that's what!! The bloody owl got in my way… pathetic excuse for poultry. Hey there's a letter." James snatched the letter out of the owl's grip and then threw a treat that went into Sirius's shirt. The owl pelted down and started attacking Sirius searching for the food.
"Hey!! Stupid owl… geroff me!!! James!!!!!!! James!!!!!" James wasn't listening however and unfolded the mysterious letter and began to read it.
Potter,
I don't know whether to say thank you for the wonderful gift or to be angry at you for your recent joke you pulled with your stupid dungbombs. I had to endure a lecture of manners from my mother because she though that 'I' was the one who caused that stench!!! I hate you. I hate you. I hope you get that stuck in your head, Potter because you're going to get it when we get back. So watch YOUR back. Needless to say, I think the book is fantastic. I read the first chapter, and already I am hooked. You surprise me sometimes Potty. First you seem all arrogant, and downright impossible to get along with, and then you go and do something like this. Still, I hate you. Just like you hate me. Right?? Right. Well, I didn't get you present, but I figured that this would be to your liking. Here's the charm that you so wanted. Just say 'Topsy Turvillium' and Sirius will be seeing the world from a different perspective in no time. It shouldn't take long for someone as talented as you to perfect. Oh my, look at me giving you a compliment. This is certainly a weird holiday. I'm gonna go now before I inflate more nonsense in that big piece of gunk you call a head. Bye bye Potty-Wotty. Don't let Sirius see that name now.
Til the next time I yell at you,
Lily
James smiled at this letter and put it in his pocket and then turned to Sirius only to find him standing right behind him looking like he was about to burst.
"P-p-potty Wotty?? Potty Wotty!!!!"
"Shut up Sirius"
"Potty wotty, potty wotty, potty wotty…" he yelled this in James' ear all the way back to the house, irritating the living daylights out of James. With this, he sent another treat down his shirt, and once again the owl attacked Sirius leaving James smiling inwardly to himself. A couple of minutes later, they got back to the house to find that Remus and his family have come to join the Potters and Sirius for dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin were quite nervous at first, but soon got to feel comfortable around the Potters. They saw why Remus was so nice and caring, because both of his parents were talking to Mr. and Mrs. Potter with a gentle tone, and listened intently whenever they weren't talking. All in all, it turned out to be a great holiday for everyone, and soon it came time to board again for Hogwarts. Each of the Gryffindor first years met each other back at the school and the ever-running routine came again, as they headed off to their classes in high spirits.
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Well, I'm almost in double digits in reviews and all. Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. I hope this Christmas chapter fulfilled your thirst for more of my story, and I plan on updating two more chapters by the end of the day. Check back laters!! Keep up the reviews! I love it. Thanks again.
Next chapter, we will get our first live encounter with Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy, I have been omitting their presence for quite some time, and they're just as important as the rest of them as well. Can't have a good story without a couple of bad guys ya know….the ultimate baddie Voldemort won't come along till later on in the story, so stay tuned!!!
--Erick--