Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize isn't mine.
A/N: This is just a bit of nice, Christmassy fluff. Enjoy!
The air was fraught with the feeling of Christmas.
The Hogwarts grounds were buried under a blanket of sparkling white snow; candy wrappers and tissue paper littered the common rooms and corridors. The occupants of several portraits had formed a little group and could be heard caroling all over the school. The gamekeeper, Hagrid, could be seen dragging large Christmas trees into the Great Hall, which the prefects then decked out in ornaments and tinsel. In the kitchens, preparations were being made for the feast; if walking by, one could smell the wonderful aromas wafting from that area. And the Head Boy and Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans, were in the midst of it all, putting up decorations, planning for the feast, making preparations and arguing companionably all the while.
Christmastime always made Lily Evans a little sad. Not that she disliked the holiday; on the contrary, she was growing quite excited as the holiday spirit came upon the castle. Nonetheless, Christmas tended to make her a little lonely. All around her, love was also evident; everywhere she turned, it seemed, she saw couples, holding hands, laughing together, forgiving each other for fights and hugging happily. Even Lily's friends seemed to be part of this madness. Her best friend Maddie Auclair, a bold, humorous, cheerful girl, had landed herself with Sirius Black, the tall, charming best mate of James Potter and a notorious troublemaker with a sparkle in his eye. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Fletcher, another friend of Lily's, quieter and more demure by nature than Maddie but kind, and possessing a quiet sense of humor, had returned to the dormitory a few nights previously to announce, blushing, that she was going to the Christmas Ball with Remus Lupin, a friend of James and Sirius.
The Christmas Ball was part of the cause of Lily's loneliness. Nobody had asked her to go. More specifically, one boy had not asked her to go, one certain boy with messy black hair and a mischievous smile, and hazel eyes that twinkled behind his round glasses. One particular boy by the name of James Potter.
Nobody knew that Lily had been hoping for him to ask her. In the past, it had been well known that the fiery-tempered redhead had hated him with a passion. She had despised everything about him: his confident demeanor, his prowess at Quidditch, the pranks he played on people, his annoying habit of running his hand through his hair to make it appear windswept, thus increasing his appeal.
But that had all changed this year.
This year, James Potter had been appointed Head Boy. He no longer hexed people just for fun. And Lily began to see him in a different light; confident, but not egotistical, passionate, loyal, caring, funny. And as far as Lily could see, one other thing had changed too: his feelings for her.
Previously, it was known by nearly all the school that James had fancied Lily; it was quite apparent in the way that he continuously asked her out. However, that had stopped, too, with the beginning of their seventh and final year at Hogwarts.
And that was just when Lily started to fall for him.
Perfect timing, Lily, she told herself. Really bloody perfect.
The night of the ball came around a bit too soon for Lily's liking; she was beginning to feel rather nervous about the event. Don't be stupid, she had to scold herself several times. You've got nothing to be nervous about. You just go, sit around for a few hours, and then it's over. Somehow, however, this prospect did not satisfy her as much as usual.
Irritated as she was about the upcoming ball, Lily let her friends pull her into their preparations. The day started with an early snowball fight against the marauders – Maddie and Elizabeth declined the offer, but the redhead was glad to vent her frustrations somehow. She did find it rather dizzying, however, that James was on her team, and she had to concentrate very hard on not looking at him constantly.
The intense snowball war was followed up by lunch, after which Lily's friends dragged her off to the dormitory to get ready, several hours in advance. The boys were very surprised at the amount of time it took for them to prepare.
"Honestly, that's about six hours, and that's just before dinner," Sirius said, shaking his head in disbelief. "What are they doing up there?"
James shook his head as well. "Girls," he said simply. "I don't think we'll ever understand them."
"Too right," Sirius sighed. "Hey, you want to go sledding?"
And so the marauders passed their afternoon sledding down a hill on the grounds, until there was a half hour left. At six-thirty, they left headed back to their own dormitory to get ready themselves.
At seven o'clock, everyone left their dormitories and headed down to dinner. James searched the crowd for Lily, but it was in vain; he saw not a glimpse of red hair amongst the many heads. Frustrated, he walked along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, at last arriving in the Great Hall.
He had to admit, upon looking around, that all the work he had done had paid off; the Great Hall looked brilliant. Lit by the glow of candles, tinsel glittered from every corner of the vast room. The ornaments hanging from the trees twinkled merrily; ice sculptures glimmered in several corners and small fairies fluttered about overhead.
"This place looks nice," Sirius said appreciatively, surprising James. Since when does he care? James thought, a little taken aback, but out loud he only said, "Thanks."
"Should we wait for Maddie and Elizabeth by the stairs?" Remus asked quietly, stepping forward.
"And Lily," Sirius added, winking at James, who sighed.
"You know she'd never come with me, mate."
"But you still want to see her," Peter interjected. It was more of a statement than a question; everyone present knew that James wanted desperately to have invited Lily to the ball, but he had a feeling she might explode if he asked.
James sighed. "I still want to see her, yes."
Slowly, the foursome ambled over to the staircase to wait for the girls. Impatiently, he scanned the crowd for the one face he wanted to see, but to no avail. Feeling edgy and disappointed, James looked away, reflecting on the situation. It's my last year, he thought. My last chance.
"Oy, Prongs!" Sirius's whisper, accompanied by a sharp poke to the side, alerted James. He immediately looked up to the staircase, and saw three figures walking down, looking as though they belonged in a dream. James disregarded two of the figures, training his eyes instead on the one at their left side.
Lily Evans, resplendent in robes of some silky, deep plum material, was descending the staircase.
Lily walked slowly down the staircase beside Maddie and Elizabeth, feeling lightheaded and not-quite-there. Glancing among the throng of people milling about below, she tried to spot James, but could not see him anywhere.
"Remind me why I had to come up with this whole ball idea, again," she muttered to Maddie, feeling immeasurably nervous.
"You'll be fine, Lily," her friend whispered back, winking. "You look lovely enough to charm anyone here."
This statement didn't cheer Lily up much, though – there was only one boy Lily cared about, and she was convinced that he would arrive with some other girl; she knew of plenty that would be delighted to accompany him.
"What are you so worried about, anyhow? We won't abandon you or anything," Elizabeth put in, from Maddie's other side.
"Oh – no reason," Lily said quickly, not quite meeting her friend's eye.
"Is it James?" Maddie asked shrewdly, observing the redhead's expression with interest.
"I – what – how did you – I mean – yes, but how did you find out?" Lily stuttered, shocked and a little anxious.
"It was kind of – obvious," Maddie said, grinning wickedly, as Elizabeth stifled a laugh. Lily looked down, blushing, as they reached the end of the staircase.
"You look nice." Startled, Lily looked up right into the grinning face of James himself. She could feel her face growing hotter.
"Oh – oh, thanks," she muttered shyly, avoiding his eyes. Fortunately, Sirius chose that moment to bound forward and give Maddie a bone-crushing hug, which was enough of an excuse for Lily to look away, wondering meanwhile at the fact that he was alone and feeling a vague surprise.
"Food!" Sirius enthused, after this had been taken care of, and took Maddie's hand, leading her toward the dinner table. Remus and Elizabeth followed, and Peter met up with a small, friendly-looking Hufflepuff and headed toward the table with her, leaving James standing a bit awkwardly with Lily.
"Well – er – should we go eat, then?" James asked after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, I guess so," she mumbled. Smooth, Lily. Really witty.
"It looks nice, doesn't it?" he commented, looking around as they headed toward the table.
"Yeah, it does," she said, noticing her handiwork for the first time. "It came out pretty well."
"No thanks to Peeves," James added, and she laughed, remembering the poltergeist's many attempts to bring down the decorations. Feeling slightly less tongue-tied, Lily smiled for the first time that evening.
"Remember when he tried to dump those ornaments on Professor Flitwick's head?" she said, grinning at the image of her Charms professor submersed in a boxful of colorful ornaments.
James grinned in response as they arrived at the Gryffindor table, where their friends were already seated. Lily sat down next to Maddie, trying to hide her disappointment when James sat beside Sirius. Don't be such a dolt, she chided herself, refusing to believe that James still had any feelings for her. Instead, she turned to Maddie and struck up a conversation about the strange hat Professor Dumbledore was wearing, trying very hard to distract herself.
The sumptuous meal lasted for nearly an hour, by the end of which everyone was feeling positively stuffed. As a lull came upon the general conversation, the band that Dumbledore had booked, a trio called the Sirens. With a wave of the Headmaster's wand, all of the tables and benches flew to the sides of the Great Hall, clearing a space in the center for dancing.
A moment later, the band began to play the first song, a rather slow one. Lily watched wistfully as Sirius and Remus lead her friends away onto the dance floor.
"Mind if I sit here?" For the second time that evening, Lily looked up and found herself facing James Potter.
"No – no, go ahead," she said hastily, and he took Maddie's vacated seat beside her.
For a moment they sat quietly, just watching their friends dance. Then, out of nowhere, James said, "It's funny, isn't it."
"What is?"
"How far we've come, I suppose. How much we've changed. Look at them – a few years back, there's no way Sirius would have danced with anyone."
"Or Elizabeth," Lily replied, considering her shy friend, who now had her arms about Remus's neck, looking quite relaxed and happy.
"But I guess the biggest change of all is us, huh?"
"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.
"Well, we're talking, aren't we? Or rather, you're talking to me – that never used to happen. You hated me."
"Not hated, exactly, just – I dunno…"
"Just yelled at me constantly about how arrogant I was," he supplied cheerfully, looking amused.
"Yes – no! Well, I suppose," she muttered, blushing again, while he laughed good-naturedly.
"It's alright," he assured her. "I don't mind. It's just a bit of a change."
She nodded vigorously. More than a bit, she thought. Look at me now, going all mad over him.
A few moments later, the song ended; Maddie and Elizabeth had returned for a moment to talk to Lily. Peter and the Hufflepuff girl remained on the dance floor for the next song.
A moment later, however, her friends returned to the dancing as well, leaving Lily and James back at the table again. Lily felt a bit awkward, and was very grateful when her companion suddenly struck up a conversation about the pointlessness of bedsheets, startling a laugh out of Lily and leaving no room for awkwardness.
"I mean, you just get all tangled up in them, what's the purpose?" James was saying when their friends returned a second time.
"Well, I can see the purpose in the bottom sheet, it covers your mattress, but I see what you mean about the top one. I mean, you might as well just go under the covers, you'll be just as warm and not nearly as stuck."
"Exactly," James said. "I've never understood it, when you wake up in the morning all twisted up."
Sirius raised his eyebrows at James. "Sheets? As in bedsheets? Where do you get this from, mate?"
James grinned mischievously at his friend. "I guess I'm just a genius, hmm?"
"Some genius," Sirius snorted. "This coming from the person who can't even match his socks properly."
James mock-glared at his friend. "I can match my socks just fine, thanks," he informed Sirius.
"Let's see, then," was his friend's reply. Rolling his eyes, James lifted the hem of his robes to reveal one plain green sock and one striped blue and grey one.
"What can I say?" he said, grinning. "Artistic license." This set everyone off laughing, until they realized another slow song was coming on and hastened back to the center of the room.
"Artistic license, huh?" Lily asked, glancing down at his feet and laughing. "Some artist you are."
"Hey, I never said I couldn't match my socks. Maybe I just don't want to."
Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Alright, so maybe I can't find the match. But does it really matter? I mean, they're socks, no one cares too much."
This carried on for the whole evening, Lily and James chatting on the side, while their friends danced and occasionally visited with them. Lily couldn't help feeling a little happier – if she couldn't dance with James, this was the next best thing. At least she could talk to him, be his friend. At least she could share some moments with him.
When it was nearly midnight, the leader of the band announced the last song. Lily sat fixed in her chair, feeling a little odd. The last dance… her last year at Hogwarts, her last chance to dance with James Potter.
Their friends were back on the dance floor again as the band struck up the first chord. Lily experienced an odd sensation of detachment.
"How come you're not here with someone?" she asked James at last in an attempt to carry on conversation, feeling strangely hollow.
He merely shrugged, watching her face closely. "Because there's only one person I wanted to go with, and I was pretty sure she'd refuse me."
"That's too bad," she said sympathetically, cursing herself for even letting herself think he could have wanted to go with her. See, he wanted to go with some other girl after all, she thought, a bit crestfallen despite herself.
He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off her countenance.
"She must be pretty dull, not to go with you," Lily said softly, trying to ignore the tears that were pricking her eyes. She looked away.
"Nah, she's one of the smartest people I know," he said easily. "I've been waiting so long, I'm used to it, anyhow."
"Sounds harsh," Lily said, fighting back her overwhelming sadness.
"Not really," he said, and suddenly stood. "D'you wanna dance?"
"I – what?" she asked, taken aback.
"Do you want to dance?" he repeated, grinning mischievously and holding out a hand to her.
She took it. Slowly, James led her onto the dance floor, holding her small, delicate hand tightly in his own larger one. Feeling almost dreamlike, Lily lifted her arms to go around his neck, feeling his hands move to her waist.
"I – were you talking about me just then?"
"Lily, you wanker, did you honestly think I was talking about anyone else?"
"Oh, that's nice, so now I'm a wanker."
"You're avoiding the question," he said, grinning broadly.
Lily smiled sheepishly. "Well – I dunno, I just thought – well, you know, you haven't – asked me out or anything in a really long time, so I just thought you didn't fancy me anymore so I thought you were talking about someone else," she said in a rush. James startled her with a laugh.
"Of course, because I just spent six and a half years chasing you and pranking you and all to go fall for some other girl," he teased.
"Well – well, you might have," Lily said lamely, knowing how stupid she sounded and not caring. She couldn't stop the grin that started to spread over her features.
James was grinning too – he couldn't help but smile, after all those years.
"Are you telling me this is the girl I chased after for so long? And I thought you were clever," he said jokingly.
"Oh, sod off," Lily laughed, cuffing him lightly over the head. He merely ducked her hand and laughed as well.
"Quidditch reflexes do you some good, then, hmm?" she asked, smiling happily.
"Too right." They danced in silence for a while, each contemplating their current situation and reflecting on how lucky they were.
"So you actually fancy me, then? After all that?" James asked eagerly after a moment, looking unusually shy.
"No, I just decided to dance with you for no apparent reason," Lily replied dryly. "Of course I fancy you. Wanker," she added teasingly.
They fell silent again. A moment later, they passed by Sirius and Maddie, both of whom were gazing openmouthed at them. Lily and James waved happily at them as they danced past. Lily became aware, passing other couples, that many people were staring; who knew that Lily Evans would ever fall for James Potter?
But Lily, considering this as she felt James' arms holding her firmly in place, felt that she could have gone on dancing with him for eternity.
A/N: Aww…well, a little corny. Sorry; this is my first one-shot and I think it shows. I'm also very tired, and I think that shows too. But regardless, a nice bit of Christmas fluff, no? Tell me what you thought…