A/N: Here is the third and last part of Chapter 14, I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to write it once more?

Chapter 14 ~ The House Party

~ Merry Christmas ~

Snow fell overnight, the windows were frosted and the air seemed chilly. But inside the house the fireplaces were lit and the rooms were warm and cozy. Each member of the house party woke up with a feeling of expectation. Mrs. Potter had thought they would stay in bed until late, but she was wrong. The young people woke up early and enjoyed waking up their parents in order for the opening of the presents to commence.

The rooms of each member from each family were connected by a sitting room. Soon each sitting room was filled with laughter as the customary exchange was made.

Servants brought in trays of food to each sitting room before retiring to the kitchens were Mrs. Potter had asked the elves to prepare a special breakfast for the servants. Each seat was decorated with greenery and a present for each stood on top of each empty plate.

In the Evans' sitting room a trio sat around the decorative Christmas tree. Lily was sitting on the floor, while Mr. and Mrs. Evans sat in armchairs beside the tree.

"This is for you mum." Lily extended a golden wrapped gift to her mother. "Here dad."

The Evans smiled at their daughter. "You will find yours right by your feet dear." Said Mrs. Evans.

The next minutes were spent in opening presents. Giggles and exclamations of surprise were heard as the presents were unwrapped and shown.

Lily received a set of pearl chocker and matching earrings from her parents. Remus had given her books on Charms, Sirius a box full of the best candy from Honeydukes, Emma a set of magical stationary (the quill was golden, the ink changed color, and the parchment was of the finest quality), and Katie gave her a set of golden brushes. Lily was a little upset when she noticed that James had not left a gift. But then figured that he would most likely give it to her himself and cheered up.

"I see that your friends were very generous." Mr. Evans said as he saw the pile of gifts Lily had accumulated beside her.

Lily smiled brightly. "They certainly seem to be so."

"This is a nice stationary, you must let me use it sometime Lily." Mrs. Evans exclaimed as she looked over the presents had received.

"Of course mum."

The phone in the bedroom rang. Mr. Evans got up and entered the bedroom to answer. Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter, who was still dressed in her silken nightgown with the matching robe. Lily sat on the floor with her arms around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. She was looking at the fire deep in thought. Mrs. Evans frowned as she watched her daughter, I wonder what is on her mind. Could it be the missing gift of a certain boy that has her so deep in thought?

"Lily dear, is something the matter? You seem so quiet."

Lily smiled sweetly at her mother. "Nothing is wrong mum, just something on my mind."

"Does it have to do with James?" Lily turned a surprised expression toward her mother. How does she know? She wondered.

"Why do you say that?"

"You two seem to be getting along very well. Susan told me that she hired you to tutor him when he was sick."

"Yes she did." Lily warily said. She knew that now was the time to tell her mother about her relationship with James, but the closer she got to tell her the more nervous she became. Butterflies were doing summersaults in her stomach.

"Was he really that bad of a student that you don't want to talk about it?" Mrs. Evans laughed.

"Oh no mum, he was perfect." Lily exclaimed.

Mrs. Evans smiled. "Do you love him?" She said in a soft tone.

Lily looked at her mother with a look of trepidation. Mrs. Evans scooted over in her chair and patted the seat for Lily to join her. Lily quickly joined her mother on the chair and rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"I don't know if what I feel for him is love mum, I like him and I enjoy spending time with him. And when he kisses me I feel a shock of electricity run throughout my body. Is that love mother?" Lily turned to look at her mother with a hopeful expression.

Mrs. Evans smiled and said: "It certainly sounds like it to me. Does he feel the same way?"

"I think he does. He hasn't said anything about it. Mum?"

"Yes Lily?"

"James and I are a couple."

"I thought you were." Mrs. Evan said hugging her daughter close to her. They grow up so fast. My baby is in love. She thought with a smile.

"Do you think I should tell daddy? He is so scary sometimes." Lily whispered.

"I'll tell him dear, I know how to deal with your father. Why don't you go to dress, I'm sure that James is eagerly waiting for you to show up to give you his gift." Lily kissed her mother's cheek and happily walked to her room. Mrs. Evans looked as her daughter left with a wistful smile.

Some time later, Mr. Evans returned to the sitting room and noticed that Lily was no longer there.

"Who was that dear?" Mrs. Evans asked the moment her husband entered the room.

"Petunia. She wanted to know if she could stay longer with Vernon instead of joining us here for New Year's."

"Why didn't you tell me that Petunia was on the phone? I wanted to talk to my daughter."

"She didn't want to stay on the phone, said that she would call you later. Where is Lily?"

"She is dressing. Edward, I need to speak with you." She said in serious tone. Mr. Evans' brow lifted, his wife only used that tone when she was sure that whatever she was going to say he wouldn't like it.

Lily had finished dressing. She had chosen a plaid two piece suit and was now sitting in front of the dresser putting up her hair, when she heard something that made her drop her comb and go pale.

"LILY VIVIANE EVANS COME HERE THIS MINUTE!!"

James woke up very early that same morning. He eagerly run to his parents' door and knocked.

"Mum, dad wake up!" He knocked very loud.

"Calm down James, you are not a child, remember that!" Yelled his mother thru the door. She wasn't a morning person and didn't like being woken up so abruptly the morning after a major event.

The Potters heard James shuffle off to the sitting room. Mr. Evans sighed and got up from bed, he knew that James was too excitable the mornings of his birthday and Christmas and he would never go back to bed in such a state.

"You might as well get up Susan. Our son won't allows us to go back to sleep." He whispered in her ear before he kissed her cheek.

Mrs. Potter groaned, she really didn't want to leave her warm bed but knew that her husband was right. James had inherited traits from both parents and the fact that both were very excitable and stubborn meant that James was born with twice the dose. She rolled off the bed and reached for her robe. She might as well join her family and open the presents.

James was waiting impatiently by a table laden with food. He frowned as he saw his parents walk into the room.

"What took you so long?" James grumbled.

"Really James, you need to be patient. I don't know how Lily can stand you." Snapped Mrs. Potter.

James promptly sat up straight and stared warily at his mother. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Just that the two of you are spending a lot of time together, she is bound to see you at your worst one of this days." Said Mrs. Potter startled by her son's reaction.

"Is there something we should know James?" Asked Mr. Potter. He wasn't an advisor to the minister for nothing. Aliaster Potter was well known for his power of perception.

James sighed and put the core of the apple he had been eating aside. "Nothing important, but I guess you are bound to find out. Lily and I are a couple that's all." James said with a shrug.

"And why weren't we told before." Mrs. Potter put her hands in her waist and glared at James. "You know we liked this girl, we wouldn't have said anything against it."

"You might not be against it, but her father might. Lily just wanted him to get to know me better without any prejudice."

Mrs. Potter snorted and Mr. Potter chuckled. "Edward is a bit too protective of his girls, especially Lily, she seems to be the apple of his eye." Said Mr. Potter.

"Well at least that girl has common sense, she is bound to be a good influence to you. We haven't received any owls from Dumbledore so I suppose you are starting to behave yourself." Grudgingly said Mrs. Potter.

"Really mum!" Exclaimed James. "Can we open the gifts now?"

"Yes James, we can opened them now." Replied Mr. Potter shaking his head, he remembered how excited he got about the holidays in his younger years.

James whooped and threw himself on the floor and dived for the gifts. He then divided the presents into piles, one for him, one for his mother and the other for his father. He then pushed the piles to their respective owner and turned to unwrap his own.

Remus had given him a pile of books about the history of Quidditch and Transfiguration. He laughed when he opened the gift that Sirius had given to him, a pile of prank sets had fallen to his lap. His parents shook their heads.

"Seriously, that boy needs some talking to."

"Susan don't get involved. You know it's not his fault." Warned Mr. Potter. James kept silent he had heard this before, so he just continued with his gifts.

"All right, that woman needs some talking to then. Honestly doesn't she know how dangerous it is to favor an only son?" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. James snorted. She did just the same to him.

James opened the gift Katie had given him, it was a golden set of wizard chess. He smiled and turned to the next one in the pile. A set of Quidditch robes fell to his lap. Emma certainly knew how to make somebody happy, he thought. Lastly he saw a squared box, it was from Lily.

He quickly opened it and saw a round silvery ball.

"Where did she find that?" Exclaimed Mr. Potter who had been looking over James' shoulder.

"What is it dad?"

"It's a pensive."

"But I thought pensives were like basins with fluid in it."

"They usually are, but these are very rare." Mr. Potter said as he took the small ball in his hand.

He took it between his middle finger and his thumb, there were small grooves were they should be placed. The moment he placed his fingers in these indentations the ball started to glow. Both James and Mrs. Potter gasped and surrounded Mr. Potter to see what happened next.

The ball glowed for a minute or so, then started to turn to crystal. It now looked like a Remembrall as a silvery fog filled the ball.

"How does it work dad?"

"Have you seen how the other kind of pensives work James?"

"Yes, the fluid in the basin glows, you take your wand point it to your head, say the spell to retrieve memories and then you point it to the basin."

"Well it's pretty much the same with this. You take your wand and point it to your head, say the spell and point it to the ball. The fog inside should start to glow once the transaction is complete. To recall a memory you turned the ball like this." Mr. Potter turned the ball upside down. "You point your wand to the ball and try to recall of who or what the memory is about it should appear before you instantly."

"Wow. This must be very valuable." James exclaimed. How did Lily get this? He thought.

"It is very valuable, they are even more rare than invisibility robes. They are also very old, they haven't been manufactured since two hundred years ago when the pensives we have today were invented, they were more easy to do you see, thus allowing the manufacturers to do more at a time. Usually these are kept within families, just like invisibility robes, they are handed down from generation to generation."

"How did she came by it then? She certainly likes you James to spend so much money on you." Said Mrs. Potter as she saw the ball in her husband's hand in awe. "I hope you got her something that would be as worthy as this."

"Now I'm not sure, I certainly spent a lot of money in it, not that I really cared you understand. But still, I thought she would like it." James was getting nervous. He hadn't put his gift underneath Lily's tree because he wanted to give it himself. But what if it wasn't good enough? She spent so much for him, what if she thinks his gift isn't worth half of what she had given him?

"Don't worry James, I'm sure she would like it." Said Mr. Potter giving the pensive to James.

"Let me see what you got her James. I'll tell you if she will like it." Said Mrs. Potter. She didn't have a clue of what Lily would like, but she was curious on seeing what her son got. She also wanted to make sure it wasn't anything of bad taste. Not after what Lily gave him.

James thought about it and decided that he would like to hear what his mother had to say about his gift. He nodded and went to his room. He promptly returned and presented a long box to her. She opened the box, Mr. Potter standing behind her to see the gift as well, and both gasped when they saw what was inside.

"Oh James!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed.

"Daddy!"

"Really Edward, Lily is old enough to have a boyfriend. She is past the age when girls go out and meet boys." Mrs. Evans was exasperated. How can an intelligent man like her husband be so bullheaded?

"But she is too young! If that young puppy has dared to touch my daughter I will take him apart." Mr. Evans was yelling and Lily's eyes had started to fill with tears.

"Honestly Edward! You are being pigheaded and insensitive. She is seventeen for goodness sakes, soon enough she will be eighteen and ready to leave home to take life on her own. Are you telling me that she isn't ready to have a relationship? Honestly Edward! I was sixteen when I met you, eighteen when you proposed and twenty when Petunia was born. Don't tell me that she isn't ready! She can have a bloody boyfriend if she wants and you better be nice to that boy if you know what is good for you." Mrs. Evans was now yelling, her gaping husband out of words and Lily surprised to hear her soft spoken mother stand up to her father in that way. She was glad her parents loved each other and fights had not been prevalent during her childhood.

"All right, I'm overreacting. But that boy better be good to my daughter if he wants to continue to live." He grumbled. He knew when he was bested and he also knew that he didn't want his little girl to return to school mad at him.

"Oh daddy!" Lily squealed and hugged her father.

"There, there, Princess. You better get ready if you are going to meet this boy of yours downstairs." He smiled as he hugged her back. When had his little girl grown up?

It was two in the afternoon when the Potters and their guests left their rooms and finally went down to join the rest. Most had just returned to their own beds after the gifts were opened and didn't got ready until much later.

The servants had laden the side table in the dinning room with all types of foods ready for those who were hungry to serve themselves.

The Potters were the first to arrive, they were soon joined by the Lupins, the Evans arrived a few minutes later, and they were followed by the rest of the party. The dinning room was soon full and laughter filled the air.

James noticed that Mr. Evans kept looking at him and started to get nervous. Obviously Lily had told her parents about their relationship and as expected, Mr. Evans wasn't too happy about it.

Lily was sitting beside James and noticed her father looking menacingly toward them. She frowned but brightened when she noticed her mother getting her husband's attention. This is going to be difficult, she thought. She took hold of James' hand underneath the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. James turned to look at her and smiled.

"I have something for you. Should we meet in the garden after luncheon?" He asked.

"If that's what you prefer." She replied with a smile. She knew it, she knew that he hadn't forgotten her.

Lily spent the rest of luncheon in a state of curiosity and expectation. What had James gotten her? And why did he prefer to give it himself instead of leaving it for her underneath the tree?

Soon, luncheon was over and the guest went to do as they please. Everybody wanted to spend a relaxing day, to regain their energy from such a vigorous day as the one before.

Lily slowly made her way to the garden after making sure that her father was occupied somewhere else, she didn't want to give him cause to get angry and she knew that even though he had accepted her relationship with James he was still not happy about it. But at least he didn't react as bad as the day when Petunia brought home her first boyfriend at the age of 15. Lily was sure that the poor boy was probably still in therapy after such a traumatic experience. But the scene also served to sever the relationship between Petunia and her father. Lily loved her father and didn't want that same thing to happen to her, she was glad that her mother had been there, she knew how to get through him.

Lily patiently waited for James, wondering why he had chosen the garden. It was barren, covered with snow and cold. Not a very romantic place in her opinion. Lily heard somebody nearing the garden, snow crunching beneath heave footsteps.

She smiled as she saw James appear with a basket in his arm and warm blankets in the other. "Need help?"

"No it's fine, I can handle it. Follow me, I have something to show you." He said with a sunny smile that made her forget about the cold and the snow and brightened her day. She nodded and followed him toward an end of the garden.

They stood in front of a door. The garden was enclosed by walls covered with ivy, and the door was well hidden underneath it that if somebody didn't know it was there it wouldn't have been seen. James put the basket and the blankets on the floor and took out a key from his pocket. He turned the key and the door swiftly opened.

"After you my lady." He bowed allowing her to enter.

She gasped at the site that met her eyes.

"Oh James this is beautiful!"

"I'm glad you like it. It made reminded me of you when I was here the other day helping mum." He said with a sheepish smile.

She turned to smile at him and kissed him softly before entering to peruse the greenhouse. The greenhouse was similar to the one in Hogwarts and understood why it had reminded him of her. It was in a greenhouse when they finally understood their feelings for each other and their relationship had commenced.

As Lily walked around the greenhouse tasting a grape here, a strawberry there; James took the blankets to a clearing in the middle of the glass building. He smoothed one of the blankets on the floor and put the others at one end so they could use it if they felt cold or as pillows. He then started to empty the basket. Cold meats and sweets came out; James figured they wouldn't need any fruits as the greenhouse was full of them.

Lily walked up to the blanket and smiled when he saw what James had brought.

"Really James, we just had luncheon, we don't need any more food." She laughed.

"Oh I know we are not hungry now, but maybe a little later. I want to show you the place first." He replied.

James took her hand and led her through the greenhouse to show her around. They spent an hour just walking around. Lily exclaimed at every piece of exotic fruit found in there and was quite delighted when James took her to one end of the building and opened the door to show her the Potter personal aquarium.

"Oh James, this is extraordinary." She exclaimed as she walked by the glass aquarium looking at all the exotic fish in the collection.

"Mum likes plants and dad likes fishing, looks like a nice way to combine their hobbies."

"I must say! Oh James look, water lilies." She smiled.

"I thought you might like those." He laughed.

They spent another hour or so in the aquarium. Lily wanted to know where each fish had come from and James patiently answered her questions. When they arrived at the end of the aisle, Lily noticed a large tank with dozens of fish swimming, but unlike the other tanks (that had been combined and allowed the fish to swim from one to another) this one was separated from the others and the fish couldn't socialize with the rest.

"Why are these fish separate James?"

"Because these are specially bred for the pond. When the right time comes, they will be released into the lake and the river that borders the northern part of the state and father will have enough for fishing. These are trout see, and the water hereabouts has been treated to be right for them."

"Oh. What does your father do during the winter?"

"Like any other aficionado, he ice-fishes. There is a small shack on one corner of the lake where he goes off once in a while and tries to catch something." Laughed James.

"Does he catch something?" She smiled.

"Occasionally, the fish that was served last night came from his efforts, and some of the servants as well. He doesn't believe in just coming in here and catch the fish with a net, he says it's unsporting. He says that the fish should be given an opportunity to make their own choices, if they fall for the bait, that was their choice."

"That seems fair."

"I think so as well."

They laughed and returned to the greenhouse and made their way to the food that James had brought in.

"I'm starting to feeling a bit hungry now." Lily laughed as she settled down onto the blanket.

"So am I. Here let me serve you. What do you want?"

Lily instructed him and he served. Soon both were laughing and chatting as the food was slowly consumed.

When the plates were empty and the chilled cider had been drunk. Lily and James fell into a companionable silence. Lily watched the fruit trees, while James stretched on the blanket and watched Lily looking around the place. He was glad that he thought of this excursion for them. Since they had arrived they didn't have a single minute to themselves. But now, their parents knew about their relationship and they could have a few stolen moments alone.

"I haven't given you my present yet." He suddenly said.

"I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten." She smiled.

"I would never forget about you." She said in mock hurt. Lily laughed and James smiled. He retrieved a thin package from the pocket of his jacket and gave the box to Lily.

She quickly unwrapped it and gasped. "Oh James, this is gorgeous."

Lily stared at the contents in the thin box. A golden bracelet rested in the satin lining. Golden strands entwined loops falling down. At the end of the loops small charms twinkled. They were in the form of small lilies with a sparkling diamond in each base.

"Oh James, you shouldn't have. This must have cost a small fortune." She exclaimed

"No more than what you obviously spent for me. I never thanked you properly did I?"

"I'm glad you liked it, I wasn't sure if you would." She smiled shyly at him. They had been going out for only a month she thought she still had lots to learn about James.

"I liked it, but I must tell you, I'm afraid father might want to keep it, he was very impressed by it." He laughed remembering the expression on his father's face the moment the pensive had been unwrapped.

Lily laughed and leaned in toward James. A long kiss ensued. Some minutes later they emerged to get some much needed air.

"Here let me help you to put it on." Said James as Lily reached for the bracelet which was still resting in the box that she clutched in her hand.

James took the delicate bracelet and reached for Lily's right wrist.

"Hold still," he laughed, "you're going to make me brake it."

"Sorry, I just wanted to see." She answered.

"There, done."

Lily shook her arm and watched the small lilies twinkle in the light. She smiled at James and leaned in to kiss him once more. "Thank you." She whispered against his lips.

The young couple stayed a little longer in the greenhouse before putting away the plates and gathering the blankets and returned to the house.

Lily wasn't surprised when she opened the door to her room and found Katie, Emma and her mother waiting for her.

"What took you so long? What kind of a gift would've lasted so long?" Exclaimed Katie in an exasperated tone.

"Lily dear, I hope you didn't do anything that you might regret later." Said Mrs. Evans in a worried tone.

"Don't worry mum, we didn't do anything of that sort. James took me to the greenhouse and prepared a picnic for us. Did you know that the Potter have their own private aquarium? It's exquisite." She reported.

"That was sweet of him. I still remember the first time your father took me for a picnic." Said Mrs. Evans with a wistful smile.

"What did he give you Lily?" Asked Emma expectantly.

The three women knew that James had asked her to meet in the garden where he would give her his Christmas gift and they were all eager to see what it was.

Lily extended her arm and they saw the sparkling golden bracelet that graced her arm.

Katie squealed, Emma gasped and Mrs. Evans clapped with laughter.

"Oh it's perfect." Mrs. Evans exclaimed.

"Oh it's gorgeous."

"Do you think I could borrow it sometime." Asked Katie with a wistful tone. "Why can't Sirius be as sweet as James?"

"You would get bored of him in a matter of days." Chuckled Emma. But she was thinking of the same thing in regards to Remus.

Mrs. Evans laughed. "Don't worry girls, I'm sure that those boys of yours will not appreciate James making them seem so unromantic and will try to outdo him soon enough." The girls brightened and turned to tease Lily unmercifully about her afternoon with James.

"How did it go?" James was asked the moment he entered his room. Sirius and Remus were sitting in the couches near the fireplace with a bottle of cider on a table beside them.

"Quite well." He said with a serious expression. He wasn't going to make it easy for them to find out he decided. Besides, he wanted to keep the memory of his afternoon with Lily to himself for a while longer.

"The question I have is, why did it take so long?" Said Sirius with a leering smile.

"It wasn't that. Honestly Sirius, you have a bloody dirty imagination, do you know that?" Said James in exasperation.

"Yes, I know."

Remus shook his head and asked once more. "How did it go? Did she like it?"

"She loved it." Smiled James.

"You know that you put us in a difficult position now." Grumbled Sirius.

"What are you talking about?" Asked James in surprise.

"Well, you planned a very romantic afternoon for Lily to give her your gift. We just put their gifts with the rest. Now the girls will be mad at us and expect something else form us." Said Sirius.

James laughed. "It's your own fault, don't blame for your deficient nature."

"Hey." Two voices exclaimed.

The afternoon had a calming effect for those in the house party. The young women stayed in their rooms doing their own thing and the young men stayed either in their own rooms or joined others in the game room. But of course the Marauders couldn't do the common thing and do the same as the others.

Sirius had gotten hungry and just couldn't wait like the rest for dinner to be served, they still had to wait for two more hours!

The Marauders were sitting in the kitchen at the moment. The cook elf had made them his official tasters and they were eating a little of all the dishes that were being prepared.

"Now Master James, take your hands out of my pudding!" Warned Otty as he caught James trying to reach for the Christmas pudding that was cooling off on one side of the table.

"But Otty, I thought we were your tasters, how would you feel if the pudding needs a little more and you don't know until it's time to serve it, you know that it doesn't take the same way if you magic it." Exclaimed James. He then turned a hopeful and wistful look toward the elf, who was standing on the table in front of the stove.

"Oh very well, just a small taste Master James." Said Otty and carefully served a bit of pudding into three plates and put them in front of the boys.

"Thank you Otty." The three said.

Unlike most house elves in the rest of the magical world the Potter elves were relatively free. They could leave the house whenever they wanted (but they never did). The Potters had also given them allowance for them to use however they wanted (they never spent it, as a result there was a vault in Gringotts that kept accumulating). Even though they had all that and much more they preferred to stay at home and work for the Potters, they had done so for generations and nothing would change that. They were also very fond of the family, especially of James, he was such a rapscallion as a child and brought them hours of entertainment. As a result James had been spoiled by the elves and he always got what he wanted from them.

"Otty, thanks for the basket you packed for me, it was great." Said James as he licked the plate clean.

"Oh Master James, Otty was glad to do it, Otty likes Miss Lily Master James." Exclaimed Otty. Like in all families, servants and elves found things out faster than their masters. And James' relationship with Lily had been known in the servant's quarters before the Potters did.

"Thank you anyways Otty." James pushed his plate away and got up ready to leave the kitchens. "We must leave you to finish our dinner Otty and we must get ready to meet the rest of the party in the parlor." He nodded to the others and together walked to the door.

"Bye Master James." Otty said before he immersed himself into the preparation of the ham and the fish that he was about to prepare.

James led the others up the servant's stairs toward the guests' wing.

"I'll leave you here, mum will have a coronary if I don't change now." Said James rolling his eyes.

Remus laughed, but Sirius frowned, he obviously had something on his mind. "Right, we'll see you later." He said and quickly walked toward his room.

James and Remus stayed where they stood looking as Sirius closed the door of his room behind him.

"What's wrong with him?" Asked James with worry in his expression.

"Don't know." Said Remus with a shrug. "Should we follow him and ask him?"

"No, let's leave him for now, if he continues to act so we'll intervene." Said James.

Remus nodded and after saying a 'see you later' to James he walked on to his room. James followed the corridor that connected the guest wing to the family wing.

James found Minnie putting his laundered clothing into his dresser and closet.

"Thank you Minnie." He said when he came in.

"Minnie is here to serve Master James. Does Master want his gray suit or the black Master James?"

"I think mum said to wear the black."

"Minnie will press it for Master James." Minnie quickly entered the walking closet on one side of the bedroom and disappeared underneath all the hanging suits.

James started to discard the clothes he had been wearing. He remembered when he first was given Minnie as his personal elf. He was very self conscious and refused to get dressed in her presence but after his mother threatened to undress him herself he gave up and allowed Minnie to help. He was used to it now, but he still preferred if Minnie had been a male elf instead of female. He couldn't wait until he had his own son and then Minnie would go to him and he would inherit his father's personal elf, Lotty, who, to his relief, was male.

Minnie had returned with a black suit and a bow tie in one hand.

James groaned. "Minnie I don't want to wear a bow tie."

"Mistress Susan wants you to Master James, makes you look smart." Said Minnie as she placed the clothing on the bed and turned to James to see if he needed something else.

"Oh very well, but I still don't like it." He pouted and stepped behind the screen to change.

Because that night was Christmas night, the Potters had planned a formal dinner for their guests. Everybody was going to dress formally and then would retire for a little entertainment in the parlor.

Half an hour later, the Potters sat in the parlor waiting for their guests to arrive.

"How did Lily like your gift James? I didn't have a chance to ask earlier." Said Mr. Potter watching his son. It was uncanny how similar James was to him. He hoped that when James had his own son he would take after his mother, it would be too confusing to have all the men in one family to look so alike.

"She liked it, she was quite happy about it." Said James with a smile.

"I'm so glad James, I quite like this girl you know. Wonder how Edward took it, I must speak to Rose." Said Mrs. Potter with a frown.

"I don't think he was too happy about it." Responded James with a grimace.

"I can understand, I wasn't too happy when Elizabeth started dating, especially when she got engaged." Laughed Mr. Potter.

"I don't think I will have a daughter if I'm going to be like that." Said James shaking his head.

"Oh no, you'll have a son who will be twice the trouble you were. See how you will like that." Retorted Mrs. Potter.

"Don't worry mum, I'm sure the lady I marry will know how to take care of us just as you do." James said kissing his mother's cheek.

Mrs. Potter was prevented to answer by the entrance of her guests. The parlor was soon full, refreshments had been served while they waited for Roberts to tell them that dinner was ready to be served. They didn't have long to wait. The doors to the dinning room soon opened and Roberts appeared. There was a collective sigh of relief. Even though luncheon had been served late nobody ate as much as they regularly did. But now they were famished and were really looking forward to the elaborate dinner the servants were serving tonight.

Mrs. and Mr. Potter led the group into the dinning room, James followed with Lily, the rest paired off and followed.

Usually Roberts and the footmen walked round the table serving the food, this time the platters were set along the table and golden plates were set in each seat. The young people turned to look at each other with the same thought 'just like Hogwarts'.

Everybody settled into a seat and soon were relishing their food.

There wasn't too much talk as there had been on previous occasions. Everybody was just too busy eating as much as they could without looking like pigs. As a result, dinner lasted longer than usual and Roberts and his footmen had to refill drinks and bring out more platters of food as soon as the original were empty.

When dinner was over, the Potters and their guests moved to the parlor, where they sang carols, told stories and the Potters gave a small gift to each of their guests. The others had also something for their hosts and fellow guests, thus, a second wave of gifts exchanges ensued.

The party broke up soon enough, and everybody retired to their own beds. It had been an exhausting day and they looked forward to making up for lost sleep.

Christmas was now over and New Year's was soon upon them. There were hunting expeditions, skating parties, shopping expeditions, and the rest of the guests were taken through a tour of the greenhouse and the aquarium which became a regular place to visit.

Everybody in the party now knew that James and Lily were a couple and Mr. Evans became more comfortable with the idea as he noticed how much they got along. But he still made sure that James knew that if he ever did something to hurt Lily, wizard or not, he would take him apart piece by piece. Needless to say James had nightmares that same night.

Soon it was time for the house party to end. The muggle guests went back to their jobs and hectic lives, while the magical folks returned to their ministry jobs and worry about the dark times that their world was going through. The young people stayed behind, their parents thought they might as well be together as they only had a couple of days left of their break left and would soon be returning to Hogwarts.

The young people were left to their own devises. James moved to a room in the guests' wing so he could be near his friends. It wasn't so surprising, for those few adults left in the house, when they were suddenly awoken one night by an explosion coming from the guests' wing. It was decided that it was a waste of breath to try to silence them and a silencing charm was summoned for the wing.

James and the others had tried improvising a set of exploding snaps, but it backfired on them. The girls had too much fun teasing them about it for the rest of the break.

One day, the adults woke up with a sigh of relief. Today the youngsters would be returning to Hogwarts.

Pandemonium ensued during the first hours of the day as everybody went around picking items and making sure nothing was forgotten. Three black cars were brought out front of the house and servants brought out the trunks and bags that would accompany their owners on the train.

A couple of hours later, Mrs. Potter led the small group through the barrier where the scarlet engine awaited its passengers.

"Now behave yourself James, I don't want to hear from Dumbledore this semester unless it's good news." She was saying as she tried to straighten his hair and his clothing.

"Mum! My friends are watching. Honestly!" He exclaimed as he tried to get away from her. The girls giggled in the background and he turned to glare at them. This only caused them to laugh more.

"Now, make sure that you eat well and please try to do much better in Charms, you did well last semester but I really know you could do much better. And please try to prepare for the N.E.W.T.s, they are very important." She had finally given up trying to tame James' wild hair, and now stood looking at her son. How fast he had grown, she thought, her baby was almost done with his training and would soon go out in the world on his own.

"Don't worry Mrs. Potter, we'll take care of him. Lily here will train him for the tests." Said Sirius with a smile. Lily hit him softly in his arm and James just rolled his eyes.

Mrs. Potter saw the young people board the train with a smile. She stood on the platform waiving until she lost sight of the engine and dissaparated.



A/N: There you are, the holidays are over and they are back in school. The next chapters will be a bit darker, and in some cases sad, but I'm sure you might enjoy it.