By: SotMoon*
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Authors Note: Hello everyone, I promise I will try to make this chapter bigger, but I cannot tell how big it's going to be, or what may stop me from typing this Chappie. Lol. Here goes nothing!!!
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The Days of December rolled by quickly, the temperature dropping dramatically as it plummeted to fifteen degrees, and everyone was getting giddy. It was two days until Christmas, and the Christmas ball. The ball came as a shock to everyone, for it was not expected, Lily thought it was because Voldemort had begun attacks all around, and Dumbledore wanted to smooth over the mass panic that had grown over the school.
Lily had begun to panic on the 20th because she had yet to find James' Christmas present. She felt quite nervous, and horrible because James had already been telling her how she'd love her gift, and time flew and she still hadn't found him a present.
Today was a Hogsmede day, and Lily really needed to get James' gift. She grabbed her cloak, and stepped out into Common Room, looking around she saw that it was deserted. She swung on her cloak, and quickly walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room. Walking down the halls, she looked around for any sign of James, or any of the other Marauders. As she opened the big oak doors she saw no sign of them, she stepped out into the cold air, and breathed in. Snowflakes tickled her nose as she began her walk to Hogsmede Village.
As she reached the borders of Hogsmede Village she wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, and shivered. She went through each store, trying to find something perfect. She went into an old store, hardly noticed when walking down the beautiful village. She let her eyes adjust to the dim candle-lit store, and began looking around. The store was old, and many of the books and things in the store were covered in dust. Lily went down the back row of the store, and went to the very end of the store; there she found a small black book. She picked the book up, and blew the dust off of it. She squinted her eyes in the dim light, trying to read what the book's name was, finally she figured out it said: "Book of Pranks, and Enchantments."
Lily looked at the back of the book, and then finally brought it up by the window, so she could read some of the contents of the book, when she looked at the window, which was dusty, and grimy. She brought up her cloak sleeve, and wiped a circle on the window, a few rays of the sun filtered through into the room, casting an incandescent glow about. She opened the book to the first page and read:
Ah, I see you have found my book, very good for you. If I were guessing correctly I would say that you are from Hogwarts. I was a founder there many many years ago. If you do not know my name, or the name faded from the front of the book, I am Godrick Gryffindor. Founder of Gryffindor house. If you did not know before, or you haven't learned so, I was quite the trickster in my day.
Here are some of my key spells, and pranks. In this book you will learn the key details of the school, passageways, the trick stairs, and the way into the kitchens if you haven't found them out already. Have fun with this book, and may you have many good pranks…Yet, do not let this book get into the wrong hands, for it holds great power, and secrets to many things in the Wizarding World. Happy Prankings!
Lily looked at the book, a little shocked, and slowly a grin spread across her face. She knew this book was perfect for James, and that he would love it. As she walked up to pay for the book, she began cleaning the dust off of the book with her cloak again, when she scrubbed enough she saw that the book had silver lining.
When she got up to the Register, she saw a bent old hag sitting in a chair behind a desk. Lily cleared her throat, and the hag looked up, her purple eyes surveying Lily as Lily handed her the book. The hag's old hands grabbed the book, and Lily noticed long sharp nails. The hag began to speak in a low raspy voice.
"Ahhh… You found the Book Of Mischief, you have. I'd be careful with this one, it holds great power within its pages… be very careful." The hag smiled at Lily, showing stained yellow teeth. Lily felt a chill up her spine, and she smiled nervously. Lily handed her the money for the book, and stepped outside.
As the cold air hit Lily's face, she sighed in relief to be out of the shop. She shivered as she realized she was outside, and it was quite cold. She jogged to the Three Broomsticks to have a butter-beer before her cold trip back to Hogwarts. As Lily stepped into the Three Broomsticks she looked around and only saw a few people sitting in the chairs. It was still morning, and Lily thought that people were still asleep or eating breakfast.
Lily made her way to the bar, and sat down, a pretty lady walked up and asked what she needed, "A butter-beer, please." Lily said politely as she handed the woman her money for the butter-beer. The woman handed Lily her butter-beer and she thanked her and began to sip on it, as she looked around the room.
A few Goblins sat about in a dark corner, talking in hushed whispers, and Lily glanced over a few chairs, and saw that a few Slytherins were sitting in a booth, one of them looked back at her, and sneered. Lily looked away, towards the door and saw James Potter enter the pub. Lily's eyes widened, and she hid the book in her pocket. She smiled guiltily as James came over and sat by her.
"Hello, Lils." James said, as he ordered himself a drink. Lily smiled, nodded and sipped her butter-beer. "Hey," Said James looking down at her cloak. "Did you get a new book?" Lily was in the middle of taking a sip when James said this, her eyes grew wide, and she choked on her butter-beer. She quickly sat her glass down, coughing. She nodded through her coughs. James' eyes grew wide with worry, as he patted her on the back. Finally Lily could breath normally again.
"Yeah, a new book. Just picked it up today…" Lily stood up, and put her cloak back on. "I've really gotta go, James. I need to wrap presents, and such." James stood up, and kissed Lily on the lips and whispered good-bye, Lily put her hood on, and walked out the door.
"God, that was close," Lily mumbled as she began her way back to the school.
*~*~*
Lily flopped down on her bed, when she got into the Dormitories, and took out the small book. She slowly began to clean on the book, and the more she cleaned, the more she saw. When she had the front of the book cleaned, she saw that the front of it had the Hogwarts Crest in the middle. She tilted her head sideways, and saw a small inscription: 'Sterces Era Neddin Nihtw eraweb.' Lily wrote the words down on a sheet of paper, and reversed the words, and she read aloud: "Secrets are Hidden Within, Beware."
Lily arched an eyebrow, and flipped open the book. The page landed on information of the Four Houses of Hogwarts, Lily's eyes widened when she started reading down the page. Suddenly a slight breeze went through the room, making the pages in the book flip, until it landed on a page on how to Enchant Maps, Compasses, and other things.
"James would like the map Enchantment," Lily mumbled reading how to enchant maps. "He'd like this so he could sneak around Hogwarts when needed…this is the best present I could ever give him, even though it will help his trouble-making…"
Lily closed the book silently, and flipped the book over to it's back, which was still a musty brown color from dirt. "Ugh." Said Lily as she began scrubbing gently at the book with a washcloth. After awhile, the dirt came off, and it showed a plain black back to it. Lily arched her eyebrow, and looked at the book more closely. Thin silver calligraphy began to appear on the back of the book, Lily squinted up her eyes, and the letters began to form into the name "Mr. James Potter."
Lily traced her fingers over the letters, and studied the book awhile longer before wrapping it in Green Wrapping paper. After she had wrapped everyone's presents—Raven's was some small robes for the baby, and Sirius' book was 'How to get rid of your Food Fetishes.' Lily thought Sirius' present was the most humorous. She decided to go down to eat dinner.
When Lily got down to the Great Hall, and sat down at the table, she saw that hardly anyone was still there, with the exception of Raven, who was sitting at the Gryffindor table, still eating. Lily sat down beside her, and waited for Raven to notice her. After awhile, Lily cleared her throat, and Raven jumped. She swallowed the chicken she had been chewing and said: "Hi, Lils. Didn't see you there."
"You sure have gotten an appetite." Lily remarked, as she put some food on her plate. Raven snorted while she drank from her Goblet.
"Well, I'm eating for two, you know." Raven reminded her, and Lily nodded. "so… what did you get for James?" Raven asked in the silence. Lily sat down her fork, and shrugged. "What?? Have you gotten him something?"
"Yes, I have." Lily said, grinning, as she took a bite of her chicken leg. Raven just rolled her eyes, and continued to eat. "I can't wait until Christmas."
*~*~*
On Christmas morning, Lily woke up, also waking up Raven who yelled: "It's too early!" but didn't wake up the snoring Tiffany, with her yells. The two girls walked down the stairs, to see all the Marauders waiting for the girls, on the couch. Sirius had a big orange bow on top of his head.
"Well, don't you look Pretty," Raven remarked to Sirius, as she sat down.
"Yep, it's my new fashion sense." Sirius remarked, as he kissed his fiancé on the cheek. "So…we ready to open our presents?"
Everyone nodded, and began ripping open their packages. Lily got a new journal from Raven—Lily had seriously needed a new journal, since hers was very old, and she had run out of pages. Sirius had given her some chocolate from Honeydukes, and she was very grateful, since it was her favorite flavor. Remus had gotten her a book, and she in return had gotten him one.
When Raven saw Lily's present to her, she squealed and showed Sirius saying: "Oh! Won't this look cute on Stephen?" Raven hugged Lily, and Lily smiled. Finally it was time for Lily and James to exchange presents. Lily handed James his present, and James handed Lily a small black box, when she opened the box, she gasped.
It was a golden necklace, with a long crystal hanging from it, the crystal was held onto the necklace by a small golden wave going around the crystal. Lily's eyes watered and she whispered: "It's so beautiful, James!" Lily hugged James in a bone-crushing hug.
When it was time for James to open his present, he ripped it open, and looked at the cover for a moment, and then he opened the first page, and read it for a while. Finally he saw where Lily had put a bookmark in the place of enchanting the maps, and he nudged Sirius in the arm. "Hey Sy, look at this. Isn't this an awesome book?" Sirius, and James began flipping through the pages, commenting on the spells in them, and occasionally saying: "Oh, cool! Why haven't we thought of this prank?"
It was awhile before anyone noticed the large present in the corner of the room, Lily finally noticed it, and said while pointing: "I wonder what that is," Raven looked up from the present she had gotten from her mom, and shrugged. Lily got up, and walked over to and read from a tag: "To Miss, and Mr. Black." Raven, and Sirius both got up, and walked over to the present. They both tore on the present, until the package came off and Raven gasped—it was a beautiful bassinette. Raven walked around the bassinette, looking at every feature, the beautiful craftsmanship, and then asked: "Who is it from?" Sirius found a letter inside of the bassinette and read to everyone:
Congratulations on the baby, may this come in handy for this little one, and hopefully for many more to come.
"There's no name," Sirius mumbled reading over the loopy writing again. He shrugged and hugged Raven. "Whoever it was that sent it must love us."
"Lets go to breakfast." Remus said as his stomach growled. "I'm so very hungry!"
*~*~*
After a few hours, the two girls went up to their dormitories to get ready for the Christmas ball, Lily slipped into her light green dress robes, as Raven put on her maternity dress robes. Raven looked pretty, thought Lily as she looked at her friend, who was wearing a deep blue color, that made her eyes stand out more. The girls put on their make-up, and an hour later they were ready to go to the ball.
"You guys are finally done, man. How much did I age?" Joked James as he took Lily's arm and began his decent to the Great Hall. "I must be fifty by now."
"Didn't you want me to look pretty?" Said Lily sulking as they went into the Great Hall.
"Your already pretty, Lily Flower." James said, as they looked at the new Great Hall.
The Great Hall was now a winter palace, snow falling down from the ceilings, stopping before it hit any of the students; glitter fell also, sprinkling the floor, and everyone on it. Ice-sickles hung from the ceilings, and the tables, Lily felt like a Princess as James swept her off into a dance, she felt at peace in her heart as she danced. By the look on Raven's face, as she danced with Sirius, she felt so, too.
After awhile, one of Lily's favorite songs came on, and the lights grew a dim blue color. James swept Lily off into a dance again, the music slowly playing in the background, and the singers voice sounded like distant bells to Lily, as she sang along.
She sat me down and took me by the hand
She said I'll try to make this painless if I can
She was sorry and then she began to cry
Couldn't look me in the eye
I said baby let me just save you the time...
I can see where this is going
Tears will fall and hearts will break
Loves a game we almost played
So dry your eyes and be on your way
As for me I'll be ok
Well I thought we were that perfect match
It's so hard to say that now without a laugh
There was never ever such a thing
Not as far as I can see
Now that all of love such misery…
You can see where this going
Tears will fall and hearts will break
Loves a game we almost played
So dry your eyes and be on your way
As for me I'll be ok
We gonna be ok
I can see where this is going
Tears will fall and hearts will break
Loves a chance we almost take
So dry your eyes and be on your way
As for me I'll be ok
As for me I'll be ok
As for me I'll be ok
I'll be Ok
I'll be Ok
When the song ended, Lily had tears streaming down her face, James wiped them away with a brush of his thumb, and he looked at Lily questioningly. Lily choked a bit and said: "That song makes me cry!" James smiled, and they sat down at a table, watching everyone else have fun for a while.
One last slow song came on, before the ball ends, and Lily got up, and she danced with James one last time, remembering every moment of the dance, the way everything looked, the way James looked at her, his brown eyes full of love, and she knew she'd remember this day for the rest of her life, and she knew that she would tell her children about it when they were big enough to understand.
After the dance, everyone dragged themselves upstairs, whining that the ball was over, but tired enough to fall asleep standing up. When Lily and Raven got up to their dormitory, they changed their clothes, and fell into bed, completely exhausted. They thanked god that the teachers cancelled classes because of the snow, and they were glad they'd be able to sleep in.
"Good night, Lils." Raven said after she yawned. She lay down on her side, and closed her eyes. Lily lay down in her bed, and whispered:
"Good night, Raven." And turned off the light.
That night in Lily's dreams, she dreamt that she was dancing with James, and all of a sudden the old hag appeared, cackling, showing her yellow teeth, Lily dreamt that she ran, and ran but the hag flew after her. She looked about, and saw that everyone in the Hall was laughing at her, and that James was nowhere to be seen. She ran more and more, and finally she saw James, and she hugged him tight. The Hag jumped on James and began choking him.
Lily woke up in a sweat, panting loudly. She went and got a glass of water, and began to wonder about her dream. What did it mean? Was it a sign?
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AN2: Hey everyone! I hope that someone actually likes this Chappie; I don't know if it's any bigger than the others, but I hope it is. I'm just hoping and hoping. Hee-Hee.
Special Thanks To:
Star- Yes, Raven's dad is an ass, but I think yes, it does give the story more character. Thank you for the Reviews.
Lupus Argenteus Noctus- Yeah, I try to Update daily if I can, and I still have quite a few chapters to go.
ChristinaX- Thank you so much for your Review! I will be sure to e-mail you the italics.
Sugar- Don't you just want to smack Raven's dad cross-eyed? Ooh, something will happen to her dad, don't you worry…~Cackle~
FlameMe- Raven's dad may go bye-bye. Don't worry!
Bic Papermate- Yay! I actually got that Chappie longer. Whoo-hoo!