Omg, I am so, so sry that I haven't updated in a while. If you check out my
xanga, you'll see that everything is so crazy and I barely have time to
sleep. Its insane. This is my first weekend in a while that I have been
able to sit down and actually write. I found a page of this chapter that I
wrote at school so that's gonna help me. I also have the flu. ( No, not
good at all. Anyways, if there are some problems in this chapter, I
apologize in advance. Actually this sort of turned out good cuz this
chapter is all about the holidays and the holidays are upon us! My laziness
has good timing it seems.
Arien Eledhwen- Don't worry. I've been thinking about that too. See, my thinking is that for Lily to have gone out with James in year seven of Hogwarts, he would have had to change some what drastically to get Lily to stop hating him. He did loose some of his edge but he will regain it soon.
Angelxd14 reviewed my story. I was in shock when I read the e-mail. Seriously people, if you like this stuff, read hers. It is by far one of the best fanficts I've ever read. Forgotten Dreams made me cry. Read Forgotten Dreams immediately after reviewing this cuz you know you want to review. I love hearing from my readers.
I want you to know that I miss you I miss you I miss you so
I'm writing again, these letters to you. How much I know But I'm not sleeping; you're not here. That stops my heart.
"Letters to You" Finch
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Letters to You
It was mid-December and a week after Lily's big date with Amos. Christmas spirit was in the air and everyone was in an all around good mood. It seemed like everything was perfect for James Potter. Well, almost everything.
It was December 13th and Sirius and James were sitting on Lily's couch waiting for Lily to serve them their hot chocolate. Sirius rubbed his hands together and shivered. "Goddamnit Lily, how long does it take? Are you doing it the muggle way?" Asked Sirius peering into the kitchen.
"Yes. I think it tastes better this way." She replied from the kitchen. Sirius and James both groaned.
"Lily, pweeease can you just heat it up with magic? You're killing us out here." Said James whining like a child.
"Please James, leave the cooking to me and I'll leave the maundering to you two." Retorted Lily with a smirk. James smiled and sighed.
"Fine, fine."
"No!" Shouted Sirius deligently. "It may be 'fine, fine' with Prongs but not with me!"
"Will you please stop complaining!? Before you know it, it'll be done." Lily once again shouted from her spot in the kitchen.
"That's what you women always do to us men." began Sirius going off on a tangent. James shook his head at his friend's childish behavior and looked over at Lily who was doing the same thing. They caught each others eyes and they smiled at each other. Sirius stopped for a moment but none of them seemed to notice that the rambling had ceased. "Excuse me but your dear friend Sirius is talking."
"Oh shut up and have your cocoa already." Lily said brining the two mugs. Sirius and James both took sips.
"This is really good!" Exclaimed Sirius. Lily sighed and gave him the infamous "I told you so" look.
"So what is everyone doing for the holidays?" Asked Lily.
"Going to my mum's and making dinner with her." Said James.
"James, that's adorable! I never knew that you made dinner with your mother." Lily said in admiration.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, believe it or not." Responded James.
"Oh really?" Lily asked in a faux-seductive voice and making a look that made both of the men in the room uncomfortable.
"Uhh, Sirius what are you doing?" Questioned James trying to remain as cool and collected as he always was.
"Don't know mate. Seeing as my family is a bunch of dark supporters and I'm training to be an Auror, it may be a little uncomfortable to go back home even if I wanted to." Said Sirius.
"You're welcomed to come to my mum's house like last year Padfoot." Offered James.
"Nah, I couldn't impose."
"Bull. You're going with me to my mum's for Christmas and that's final." Sirius sighed.
"Fine, fine. It looks like there's no getting out of it with you. Lily, what are you doing?"
"Oh I thought you'd never ask!" Exclaimed Lily jokingly. "I'm going back home to spend Christmas with my parents and my sister."
"Your sister Petunia?" Asked James in disgust. "And you're happy about seeing her because?"
"Because I want to try to patch things up with her." Said Lily. "She's my sister, you know? We're family. We should be able to have a civilized conversation with one another without her telling me what a foul creature I am."
"Oh, is this the sister who hates magic?" Asked Sirius trying to comprehend what his friends were discussing.
"Yup, the one and only Petunia Evans." Said Lily with a sigh. "Oh well."
"Since we're all going somewhere for the holidays, I think we should have a Christmas party or something of the sorts." Suggested Sirius.
"Great idea Padfoot! When shall we have it?" Asked James.
"That depends. Lily, when are you leaving for your mum's?"
"The twenty-third." Said Lily.
"Alright then, the party will be on the twenty second, 9pm, our flat. Sounds alright with all of you?" Prompted Sirius.
"Sounds alright with me mate." Said James.
"Oi, this sounds like fun! Who would be coming?" Questioned Lily.
"Basically our friends from the ministry, all of our old friends from Hogwarts that are in the area, and whoever we want to invite." Said Sirius.
"Ooh, this will be so much fun! I can't wait to tell Amos about it!" Exclaimed Lily. James and Sirius looked at each other. Lily noticed. "What? Was it something I said?"
"No, no," said James, "we just remembered that we have to clean the flat today."
"Yes," agreed Sirius, "cleaning. That's what it was." Lily eyed the two men suspiciously.
"Hmmm." She looked at her watch quickly. "Bugger, I have to go do my Christmas shopping now!"
"Shopping for who?" Questioned James.
"My mum, dad, sister, even though she's going to throw away whatever I get her, Marlene McGibbon, you, Sirius, and Amos. I've really got to be going now. See you all later!" Said Lily with a snap as she dissapperated from the apartment.
"Since when are we exchanging Christmas gifts?" Inquired Sirius. James shrugged.
"Got me. What should I get Lily?" Asked James.
"You're getting her a present?"
"Sure. She's getting me one."
"Yeah but knowing you you're going to get her something ridiculous."
"Why would I do something like that?"
"Because Prongs, I know you. You're thinking that this is the chance to show Lily how you really feel." He said in a feminine voice.
"So? What's the harm in that?" Sirius sighed.
"Do what you want mate. I can't stop you."
~*~
A few hours later when Sirius fell asleep reading the Daily Prophet on the couch, James headed off to Diagon Alley to look for the perfect gift for Lily. He walked down the cobble streets full of witches and wizards of all ages and sizes looking for the right gift for the right person.
He looked around at all of the different shops. The first to catch his eye was of course, his favorite, Quality Quidditch Supplies. James had the sudden urge to go inside and look at some of the new selection of broomsticks when he remembered why he had come to Diagon Alley in the first place, Lily. He walked past Quality Quidditch Supplies and tried to think of a store that would have the perfect gift for Lily. James walked along the cobblestone road peaking inside the different stores and looking at their stock. He finally came to the jewelry shop and decided that he could definitely find something for Lily in there.
James walked in a noticed all of the brilliantly glimmering jewelry all over the store. He started looking inside one of the jewelry cases when a small, stout witch approached him.
"Need any help?" Offered the witch in a scratchy sort of voice.
"No, thanks. I think I can manage by myself." Replied James. He turned back to the jewelry case and looked at a particular ring that had caught his eye. The little witch followed his eyes and looked back up at James.
"Oh that's a beautiful one, that is. Are you looking for your girlfriend?" James felt suddenly awkward.
"Er, not exactly." Said James with uncertainty. The witch smiled and nodded.
"Oh I see. Trying to win her over, eh?" James smiled and nodded. "What's her name?" Asked the witch.
"Lily." Said James. He wasn't afraid of telling the witch seeing as all of Lily's family were muggles.
"Lily." Repeated the witch. "Lovely name. Just as lovely as the woman I suppose." Said the witch laughing. James chuckled.
"Right. Now I supposed you want to see the ring." The woman muttered a spell and the glass disappeared. The witch reached in, pulled out the ring, and the glass reappeared. The little ring was glimmering in her hand. The ring was gold with tiny diamonds encrusted around it. James knew he had to give it to Lily. "How much?" Asked James. The witch looked at the ring and then back at James. "Its originally 115 gallons but for you, for you let's say 75. I can tell a good man when I see one." James smiled. Five minutes later, James left Diagon Alley with the ring he was going to win Lily over with.
~*~
When James arrived home, Sirius was still snoring on the couch. He went to his room silently hoping not to disturb his sleeping roommate. He closed the door gently and pulled out the ring. He prayed that Lily would like it. But what if she didn't, he thought. James sighed. He moved across the tiny room to his desk and sat down. James was bored. He set the ring down next to him and started to think. He thought about his future with Lily. He imagined them together laughing, walking down the isle, and playing with their children. James smiled. He stared down at a few blank sheets of paper and noticed a quill near by. He reached over for some ink and dabbed the quill into it. Before he knew it, he was writing all of his inner most feelings on to his parchment. Page after page filled with his feelings for Lily. After a while, he stopped writing and fell asleep on his desk.
About a half an hour later, Sirius was up and wondering where James was. He opened up the door to James's bedroom, and peaked in. He saw James fast asleep on his desk and walked in the room. "James." Whispered Sirius shaking his friend, getting more and more fierce as time passed on. "James!"
Suddenly, Sirius noticed what was all over his desk. He picked up one of the parchments and started reading it. He laughed out loud and grabbed for another one. These were too priceless, he thought to himself. As he laughed again, sleeping beauty, aka James Potter, woke up. "SIRIUS! What in the hell are you reading?" Yelled James trying to grab the papers from Sirius. Sirius ran out of the room and around the flat as James chased him.
"James, I had no idea you were such a poetic man! 'Your eyes are like emeralds deep in a pure white pool.' That's classic Prongs."
"Give them back! They're mine! You have no right reading them."
"Oh yes I do!" Shouted Sirius back at his friend. James sighed and tried to calm down.
"Please, give them back to me Sirius." Said James. Sirius looked at his friend and saw the desperation on his face.
"Fine, fine." Said Sirius reluctantly handed the love notes back to James. "They are good though. They come from the heart."
"Tell me about it." James said heading back to his room.
"No really, I think Lily would really like to read that." James didn't turn around. "Maybe you should give them to her for Christmas." James stopped and turned around.
"You think so?" He asked. "Because I already got her a ring."
"A ring!? Jesus Christ Prongs, you haven't even slept with the girl and you got her an engagement ring?" Exclaimed Sirius.
"It's not an engagement ring, just a ring." Said James. "But do you really think that I should give her the papers?"
"Of course! Women love romantic crap like that!" James thought about it for a while then smiled. "Yeah.then maybe she'll get rid of that asshole Amos."
~*~
The twenty-second arrived in full blast. At nine o'clock pm, about 35 people crowded into James and Sirius's magically enchanted large flat and partied their asses off. Everyone Lily, James, and Sirius knew were there. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew came and partied it up. Peter got so drunk, he took off his shirt and ran around screaming "PARTY HARDY! PARTY HARDY!" Amos came, as planned, and talked with Lily touching her and putting his arm around her whenever possible. At about midnight, the party was just starting to show its age and James and Sirius actually had a chance to talk.
"Hey Prongs!"
"Padfoot, how's the party treating you?"
"Like a thirteen year old boy in a porno shop."
"I'll drink to that!" Said James as he and Sirius both took a swig of their firewhiskeyes. James scoped the room and quickly found the delightful redhead he had thought about so often.
"Okay, here it is. The moment of truth."
"Huh?" Questioned Sirius.
"I'm going to give Lily the letters!"
"Ooh. Right, right, right." Said a some-what druken Sirius.
"Wish me luck Padfoot."
"James! Wait!"
"What?" Sirius looked at his best friend abruptly.
"Don't give her the letter." James looked blankly back at his friend.
"What?"
"You heard me. Don't give her the letter. Not yet anyway. Just go back to your room and give her some money or something so she can buy something she likes." James pulled out the folded letter from his pocket and looked down. "Trust me Prongs. Have I ever steered you wrong?"
"Yes! How about that time that you almost convinced me to bring Snape to see Remus when he was in werewolf form? You almost got Snape killed?"
"Number one, that was a long time ago."
"It was back in Hogwarts!" Ejaculated James loudly.
"Okay then, not so long ago. But still, think of a time when it involved women." James considered his best friend's words for a moment and couldn't think of anything to come back with that would contradict Sirius's statement. "That's what I thought. James, look at her." James did as he was told and looked back over his shoulder at Lily chatting merrily with Amos Diggory with a smile on her face that he had yet to see in months. "Do you see that?" Asked Sirius following James's eyes.
"Yeah." Said James in awe of Lily's radiance. James smiled and looked down at his paper. He knew what to do.
~*~
An hour later, the party had cleared out and everyone had left. Sirius and James were walking around the flat after just cleaning it, magically of course, as Lily sat on the couch napping. James looked over at Lily and couldn't help thinking of how beautiful and peaceful she looked while sleeping. "Hey mate, don't you think you should wake her up?" Asked Sirius noticing Lily on the couch for the first time.
"How come we can't just let her sleep here?" Retorted James.
"Because that couch is uncomfortable. She should be in her own bed." Said Sirius.
"Well, well, it seems as if Sirius Black does in fact care about me." Said Lily sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"When did you wake up?" Asked Sirius almost sounding frightened.
"As soon as you two prats started talking about me." Lily stretched and yawned. "And thank you Sirius for not wanting me to sleep on the couch. It is terribly uncomfortable."
"Yeah, well no one deserves to sleep on that thing. Its as old as Dumbledore." Said Sirius trying to regain his "coolness". Lily got up off the couch and ran over to Sirius and embraced him jokingly
"Aw, ickle Sirius loves me!" She exclaimed starting to squeeze tighter.
"Ah, Lily! Get off!" Sirius said trying to push the red-head off of him.
"Alas, it's the Black charm, eh Padfoot? Women just can't seem to keep their hands off of you." Interjected James as he came closer to his friends.
"Ew! Thank you James for reminding me of all of our dear friend's sexual mishaps. Merlin knows what sorts of sexually transmitted diseases could be crawling all over him." Said Lily as she let go of Sirius and brushed herself off. James laughed as Sirius took defense.
"Excuse me but I'll have you know that I have never had a sexual transmitted disease in my life." Said Sirius crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Ha!" Exclaimed James. "What about that night after Fay Greer? From what I remember you told me that she gave you--" Sirius quickly put his hand over James's mouth.
"Now, now. That's enough of that." Said Sirius quickly.
"I'll let you boys be. I'm going off to bed. Happy Christmas! See you in a week!" Said Lily excitedly as she headed out the door. James smiled and Sirius noticed.
"What are you smiling about?" Asked Sirius.
"Oh nothing."
~*~
Lily dug into her pocket and pulled out her keys. She was still not fully wake and dropped her keys on her welcome mat. Grudgingly, she bent down and expected to see her fallen keys but did not. Instead what she saw was a box, a tiny velvet jewelry box. Still not knowing what the jewelry box was doing at her doorstep, she picked up her keys and unlocked the door. Lily entered her flat, closed the door and opened the box. Her eyes widened at the sight. It was a ring. A gold ring encrusted with tiny diamonds around it. Just when she was about to touch it, Lily slammed the box shut. "No," she thought to herself, "someone in the building must have dropped it. I'll ask around tomorrow." And with that, Lily set aside the ring on her table and headed off to her room.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed and ready for bed. She pulled back the covers and slipped in trying not to ruin her perfect, wrinkle free bed. She tucked herself in tight and faced the direction of James and Sirius's apartment, seeing as it was the most comfortable position Lily could put herself in. She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. That night, she had a dream about the ring she had found and a certain messy haired boy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Again, I am so sorry about the long wait. I truly apologize and I am going to try to get chapter 9 up as soon as possible.
Arien Eledhwen- Don't worry. I've been thinking about that too. See, my thinking is that for Lily to have gone out with James in year seven of Hogwarts, he would have had to change some what drastically to get Lily to stop hating him. He did loose some of his edge but he will regain it soon.
Angelxd14 reviewed my story. I was in shock when I read the e-mail. Seriously people, if you like this stuff, read hers. It is by far one of the best fanficts I've ever read. Forgotten Dreams made me cry. Read Forgotten Dreams immediately after reviewing this cuz you know you want to review. I love hearing from my readers.
I want you to know that I miss you I miss you I miss you so
I'm writing again, these letters to you. How much I know But I'm not sleeping; you're not here. That stops my heart.
"Letters to You" Finch
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Letters to You
It was mid-December and a week after Lily's big date with Amos. Christmas spirit was in the air and everyone was in an all around good mood. It seemed like everything was perfect for James Potter. Well, almost everything.
It was December 13th and Sirius and James were sitting on Lily's couch waiting for Lily to serve them their hot chocolate. Sirius rubbed his hands together and shivered. "Goddamnit Lily, how long does it take? Are you doing it the muggle way?" Asked Sirius peering into the kitchen.
"Yes. I think it tastes better this way." She replied from the kitchen. Sirius and James both groaned.
"Lily, pweeease can you just heat it up with magic? You're killing us out here." Said James whining like a child.
"Please James, leave the cooking to me and I'll leave the maundering to you two." Retorted Lily with a smirk. James smiled and sighed.
"Fine, fine."
"No!" Shouted Sirius deligently. "It may be 'fine, fine' with Prongs but not with me!"
"Will you please stop complaining!? Before you know it, it'll be done." Lily once again shouted from her spot in the kitchen.
"That's what you women always do to us men." began Sirius going off on a tangent. James shook his head at his friend's childish behavior and looked over at Lily who was doing the same thing. They caught each others eyes and they smiled at each other. Sirius stopped for a moment but none of them seemed to notice that the rambling had ceased. "Excuse me but your dear friend Sirius is talking."
"Oh shut up and have your cocoa already." Lily said brining the two mugs. Sirius and James both took sips.
"This is really good!" Exclaimed Sirius. Lily sighed and gave him the infamous "I told you so" look.
"So what is everyone doing for the holidays?" Asked Lily.
"Going to my mum's and making dinner with her." Said James.
"James, that's adorable! I never knew that you made dinner with your mother." Lily said in admiration.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, believe it or not." Responded James.
"Oh really?" Lily asked in a faux-seductive voice and making a look that made both of the men in the room uncomfortable.
"Uhh, Sirius what are you doing?" Questioned James trying to remain as cool and collected as he always was.
"Don't know mate. Seeing as my family is a bunch of dark supporters and I'm training to be an Auror, it may be a little uncomfortable to go back home even if I wanted to." Said Sirius.
"You're welcomed to come to my mum's house like last year Padfoot." Offered James.
"Nah, I couldn't impose."
"Bull. You're going with me to my mum's for Christmas and that's final." Sirius sighed.
"Fine, fine. It looks like there's no getting out of it with you. Lily, what are you doing?"
"Oh I thought you'd never ask!" Exclaimed Lily jokingly. "I'm going back home to spend Christmas with my parents and my sister."
"Your sister Petunia?" Asked James in disgust. "And you're happy about seeing her because?"
"Because I want to try to patch things up with her." Said Lily. "She's my sister, you know? We're family. We should be able to have a civilized conversation with one another without her telling me what a foul creature I am."
"Oh, is this the sister who hates magic?" Asked Sirius trying to comprehend what his friends were discussing.
"Yup, the one and only Petunia Evans." Said Lily with a sigh. "Oh well."
"Since we're all going somewhere for the holidays, I think we should have a Christmas party or something of the sorts." Suggested Sirius.
"Great idea Padfoot! When shall we have it?" Asked James.
"That depends. Lily, when are you leaving for your mum's?"
"The twenty-third." Said Lily.
"Alright then, the party will be on the twenty second, 9pm, our flat. Sounds alright with all of you?" Prompted Sirius.
"Sounds alright with me mate." Said James.
"Oi, this sounds like fun! Who would be coming?" Questioned Lily.
"Basically our friends from the ministry, all of our old friends from Hogwarts that are in the area, and whoever we want to invite." Said Sirius.
"Ooh, this will be so much fun! I can't wait to tell Amos about it!" Exclaimed Lily. James and Sirius looked at each other. Lily noticed. "What? Was it something I said?"
"No, no," said James, "we just remembered that we have to clean the flat today."
"Yes," agreed Sirius, "cleaning. That's what it was." Lily eyed the two men suspiciously.
"Hmmm." She looked at her watch quickly. "Bugger, I have to go do my Christmas shopping now!"
"Shopping for who?" Questioned James.
"My mum, dad, sister, even though she's going to throw away whatever I get her, Marlene McGibbon, you, Sirius, and Amos. I've really got to be going now. See you all later!" Said Lily with a snap as she dissapperated from the apartment.
"Since when are we exchanging Christmas gifts?" Inquired Sirius. James shrugged.
"Got me. What should I get Lily?" Asked James.
"You're getting her a present?"
"Sure. She's getting me one."
"Yeah but knowing you you're going to get her something ridiculous."
"Why would I do something like that?"
"Because Prongs, I know you. You're thinking that this is the chance to show Lily how you really feel." He said in a feminine voice.
"So? What's the harm in that?" Sirius sighed.
"Do what you want mate. I can't stop you."
~*~
A few hours later when Sirius fell asleep reading the Daily Prophet on the couch, James headed off to Diagon Alley to look for the perfect gift for Lily. He walked down the cobble streets full of witches and wizards of all ages and sizes looking for the right gift for the right person.
He looked around at all of the different shops. The first to catch his eye was of course, his favorite, Quality Quidditch Supplies. James had the sudden urge to go inside and look at some of the new selection of broomsticks when he remembered why he had come to Diagon Alley in the first place, Lily. He walked past Quality Quidditch Supplies and tried to think of a store that would have the perfect gift for Lily. James walked along the cobblestone road peaking inside the different stores and looking at their stock. He finally came to the jewelry shop and decided that he could definitely find something for Lily in there.
James walked in a noticed all of the brilliantly glimmering jewelry all over the store. He started looking inside one of the jewelry cases when a small, stout witch approached him.
"Need any help?" Offered the witch in a scratchy sort of voice.
"No, thanks. I think I can manage by myself." Replied James. He turned back to the jewelry case and looked at a particular ring that had caught his eye. The little witch followed his eyes and looked back up at James.
"Oh that's a beautiful one, that is. Are you looking for your girlfriend?" James felt suddenly awkward.
"Er, not exactly." Said James with uncertainty. The witch smiled and nodded.
"Oh I see. Trying to win her over, eh?" James smiled and nodded. "What's her name?" Asked the witch.
"Lily." Said James. He wasn't afraid of telling the witch seeing as all of Lily's family were muggles.
"Lily." Repeated the witch. "Lovely name. Just as lovely as the woman I suppose." Said the witch laughing. James chuckled.
"Right. Now I supposed you want to see the ring." The woman muttered a spell and the glass disappeared. The witch reached in, pulled out the ring, and the glass reappeared. The little ring was glimmering in her hand. The ring was gold with tiny diamonds encrusted around it. James knew he had to give it to Lily. "How much?" Asked James. The witch looked at the ring and then back at James. "Its originally 115 gallons but for you, for you let's say 75. I can tell a good man when I see one." James smiled. Five minutes later, James left Diagon Alley with the ring he was going to win Lily over with.
~*~
When James arrived home, Sirius was still snoring on the couch. He went to his room silently hoping not to disturb his sleeping roommate. He closed the door gently and pulled out the ring. He prayed that Lily would like it. But what if she didn't, he thought. James sighed. He moved across the tiny room to his desk and sat down. James was bored. He set the ring down next to him and started to think. He thought about his future with Lily. He imagined them together laughing, walking down the isle, and playing with their children. James smiled. He stared down at a few blank sheets of paper and noticed a quill near by. He reached over for some ink and dabbed the quill into it. Before he knew it, he was writing all of his inner most feelings on to his parchment. Page after page filled with his feelings for Lily. After a while, he stopped writing and fell asleep on his desk.
About a half an hour later, Sirius was up and wondering where James was. He opened up the door to James's bedroom, and peaked in. He saw James fast asleep on his desk and walked in the room. "James." Whispered Sirius shaking his friend, getting more and more fierce as time passed on. "James!"
Suddenly, Sirius noticed what was all over his desk. He picked up one of the parchments and started reading it. He laughed out loud and grabbed for another one. These were too priceless, he thought to himself. As he laughed again, sleeping beauty, aka James Potter, woke up. "SIRIUS! What in the hell are you reading?" Yelled James trying to grab the papers from Sirius. Sirius ran out of the room and around the flat as James chased him.
"James, I had no idea you were such a poetic man! 'Your eyes are like emeralds deep in a pure white pool.' That's classic Prongs."
"Give them back! They're mine! You have no right reading them."
"Oh yes I do!" Shouted Sirius back at his friend. James sighed and tried to calm down.
"Please, give them back to me Sirius." Said James. Sirius looked at his friend and saw the desperation on his face.
"Fine, fine." Said Sirius reluctantly handed the love notes back to James. "They are good though. They come from the heart."
"Tell me about it." James said heading back to his room.
"No really, I think Lily would really like to read that." James didn't turn around. "Maybe you should give them to her for Christmas." James stopped and turned around.
"You think so?" He asked. "Because I already got her a ring."
"A ring!? Jesus Christ Prongs, you haven't even slept with the girl and you got her an engagement ring?" Exclaimed Sirius.
"It's not an engagement ring, just a ring." Said James. "But do you really think that I should give her the papers?"
"Of course! Women love romantic crap like that!" James thought about it for a while then smiled. "Yeah.then maybe she'll get rid of that asshole Amos."
~*~
The twenty-second arrived in full blast. At nine o'clock pm, about 35 people crowded into James and Sirius's magically enchanted large flat and partied their asses off. Everyone Lily, James, and Sirius knew were there. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew came and partied it up. Peter got so drunk, he took off his shirt and ran around screaming "PARTY HARDY! PARTY HARDY!" Amos came, as planned, and talked with Lily touching her and putting his arm around her whenever possible. At about midnight, the party was just starting to show its age and James and Sirius actually had a chance to talk.
"Hey Prongs!"
"Padfoot, how's the party treating you?"
"Like a thirteen year old boy in a porno shop."
"I'll drink to that!" Said James as he and Sirius both took a swig of their firewhiskeyes. James scoped the room and quickly found the delightful redhead he had thought about so often.
"Okay, here it is. The moment of truth."
"Huh?" Questioned Sirius.
"I'm going to give Lily the letters!"
"Ooh. Right, right, right." Said a some-what druken Sirius.
"Wish me luck Padfoot."
"James! Wait!"
"What?" Sirius looked at his best friend abruptly.
"Don't give her the letter." James looked blankly back at his friend.
"What?"
"You heard me. Don't give her the letter. Not yet anyway. Just go back to your room and give her some money or something so she can buy something she likes." James pulled out the folded letter from his pocket and looked down. "Trust me Prongs. Have I ever steered you wrong?"
"Yes! How about that time that you almost convinced me to bring Snape to see Remus when he was in werewolf form? You almost got Snape killed?"
"Number one, that was a long time ago."
"It was back in Hogwarts!" Ejaculated James loudly.
"Okay then, not so long ago. But still, think of a time when it involved women." James considered his best friend's words for a moment and couldn't think of anything to come back with that would contradict Sirius's statement. "That's what I thought. James, look at her." James did as he was told and looked back over his shoulder at Lily chatting merrily with Amos Diggory with a smile on her face that he had yet to see in months. "Do you see that?" Asked Sirius following James's eyes.
"Yeah." Said James in awe of Lily's radiance. James smiled and looked down at his paper. He knew what to do.
~*~
An hour later, the party had cleared out and everyone had left. Sirius and James were walking around the flat after just cleaning it, magically of course, as Lily sat on the couch napping. James looked over at Lily and couldn't help thinking of how beautiful and peaceful she looked while sleeping. "Hey mate, don't you think you should wake her up?" Asked Sirius noticing Lily on the couch for the first time.
"How come we can't just let her sleep here?" Retorted James.
"Because that couch is uncomfortable. She should be in her own bed." Said Sirius.
"Well, well, it seems as if Sirius Black does in fact care about me." Said Lily sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"When did you wake up?" Asked Sirius almost sounding frightened.
"As soon as you two prats started talking about me." Lily stretched and yawned. "And thank you Sirius for not wanting me to sleep on the couch. It is terribly uncomfortable."
"Yeah, well no one deserves to sleep on that thing. Its as old as Dumbledore." Said Sirius trying to regain his "coolness". Lily got up off the couch and ran over to Sirius and embraced him jokingly
"Aw, ickle Sirius loves me!" She exclaimed starting to squeeze tighter.
"Ah, Lily! Get off!" Sirius said trying to push the red-head off of him.
"Alas, it's the Black charm, eh Padfoot? Women just can't seem to keep their hands off of you." Interjected James as he came closer to his friends.
"Ew! Thank you James for reminding me of all of our dear friend's sexual mishaps. Merlin knows what sorts of sexually transmitted diseases could be crawling all over him." Said Lily as she let go of Sirius and brushed herself off. James laughed as Sirius took defense.
"Excuse me but I'll have you know that I have never had a sexual transmitted disease in my life." Said Sirius crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Ha!" Exclaimed James. "What about that night after Fay Greer? From what I remember you told me that she gave you--" Sirius quickly put his hand over James's mouth.
"Now, now. That's enough of that." Said Sirius quickly.
"I'll let you boys be. I'm going off to bed. Happy Christmas! See you in a week!" Said Lily excitedly as she headed out the door. James smiled and Sirius noticed.
"What are you smiling about?" Asked Sirius.
"Oh nothing."
~*~
Lily dug into her pocket and pulled out her keys. She was still not fully wake and dropped her keys on her welcome mat. Grudgingly, she bent down and expected to see her fallen keys but did not. Instead what she saw was a box, a tiny velvet jewelry box. Still not knowing what the jewelry box was doing at her doorstep, she picked up her keys and unlocked the door. Lily entered her flat, closed the door and opened the box. Her eyes widened at the sight. It was a ring. A gold ring encrusted with tiny diamonds around it. Just when she was about to touch it, Lily slammed the box shut. "No," she thought to herself, "someone in the building must have dropped it. I'll ask around tomorrow." And with that, Lily set aside the ring on her table and headed off to her room.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed and ready for bed. She pulled back the covers and slipped in trying not to ruin her perfect, wrinkle free bed. She tucked herself in tight and faced the direction of James and Sirius's apartment, seeing as it was the most comfortable position Lily could put herself in. She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. That night, she had a dream about the ring she had found and a certain messy haired boy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Again, I am so sorry about the long wait. I truly apologize and I am going to try to get chapter 9 up as soon as possible.