AN: Hey peoples! Sorry I haven't gotten a chappie out in a while…kinda thought that nobody loved me (sniff sniff tear tear). But then I got SodaFizZz19's review, and I was instantly motivated! If anyone out there is reading, and not reviewing, you are putting this entire fic in jeopardy! It doesn't take much…just type a 'good job' or an 'it sucked' and I'm satisfied. Kay? Kay. Anyway, this chap is dedicated to SodaFizZz19 for being an awesome reader!
"And this," James concluded, "Is the kitchen. And now…food!" Lily laughed as Mrs. Potter came in, bearing a huge platter of food. Pastry, soup, chicken, pie, treacle…she had never seen so much food, except at Hogwarts. She was a bit shy, and noticing this, James' mum came over and hugged her tightly, saying," You poor, poor girl. Don't you worry about, a thing; you can stay here as long as you want. You will never have to go back there, ever again. Ever!" Lily blushed red, and James grinned at her.
"Erm…" Lily said timidly, "What happened to…to…to my dad?" James proudly produced a clear potions flask form his pocked and handed it over. Inside was a large, repulsive-looking slug. Lily crinkled her nose in disgust. "That's him?" At James' nod of confirmation, she said decisively, "Good. What are you going to do with him?"
"I dunno. He's your dad," James replied.
"You children can think about that…thing…later," Mrs. Potter said. "Although, if it were me, I would drown him in a fish tank, dry him out, stomp on him, and feed him to a hippogriff. If one would even waste it's time on him. What?" she asked defensively, noticing Lily and James staring at her, not without a little fear in their eyes. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Within minutes, they were seated at the circular kitchen table, eating everything in reach. Lily mulled over everything she had seen since waking up. The Potter Mansion was small for an estate, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in charm. There were four bedrooms: one each for Kelsey, James, his parents, and a guest room. There were also two bathrooms and a kitchen, library, dining room, study, and living room. Although it was winter, the lovely garden in the back looked beautiful, just right for taking a stroll in. To Lily, the Potter Mansion felt like home.
She and James spent the rest of the day inside, doing their homework in the spacious and warm library. They went to bed at ten, and as Lily looked through her window before closing the curtain, she saw a single flake of snow drift down, clear against the black night sky. Climbing into bed, she snuggled deeper into the sheets, completely forgetting that tomorrow was Christmas.
'Lily! Lily, wake up! Presents! Come on, Lily, wake up! It's Christmas!" Lily opened her eyes sleepily to find a hyperactive nine-year-old girl bouncing on her bed. She groaned and rolled over, only to have an 'Ooomph' escape her as the breath was knocked out of her lungs. Kelsey had decided that since bouncing on the bed wasn't working, she should bounce on Lily instead.
"All right, all right, I'm up! I'll be down in a minute," she grumbled, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed as Kelsey skipped happily out of the room, probably to go wake up James in a similar way. Lily walked over to the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Her eyes had returned to close to their normal vibrancy, and although she still had some bruises (and the scars on her back, arms, and legs would probably never go away) she was fine otherwise. She shrugged on a dressing gown and went downstairs, seeing Kelsey, James, and their mother and father waiting for her. Mr. Potter was a tall man, with untidy hair likes James', and glasses. Lily ran the last few feet and settled herself next to James, becoming part of the circle around the tree. It was beautiful; at least ten feet tall and decorated with a hodge-podge of ornaments. When her mom had still lived with them, they had rarely had a tree, and when they did, it was decorated with only a few ornaments, which usually fell off after a few hours, being the cheap plastic ones you could buy at Wal-Mart (not sure if they have those in England, but oh well. You know what I mean). Lily had never opened presents as a family before, so she watched carefully to see how it worked. James solved her dilemma by reaching over and grabbing a present from the top of the pile.
"This one's for you," he said shyly. Lily opened it slowly, savoring the crisp newspaper it was wrapped in, evidentially a Potter tradition, since all of the presents were wrapped in that fashion. It was small, about three inches square, and once the paper was off, it looked like a jewelry box. Lily opened it carefully, and her face glowed as she pulled out the contents. A small, silver fox was supported on a fine silver chain, with bright green emeralds for eyes. While James' parents looked on with confusion as to why their son would give such an odd gift, James leaned over to Lily. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he whispered, "Look at it more closely." Lily lifted it up to her eye level, and gave a muffled gasp as the small fox seemed to yawn and flick it's tail. The green eyed blinked. "Oh. My. God!"
She flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I love it," she whispered in his ear, and felt, rather than saw, him smile in relief.
The morning continued like this; Lily received a beautiful new silvery cloak from James' parents and a box of homemade treacle, and Kelsey gave her a photo album, which Lily later filled with pictures of her year at Hogwarts. She gave the Potters a rare wizarding plant; James had told her that they were into gardening. She gave Kelsey a small broomstick; it was a child-sized one, and wouldn't fly more than 10 feet off the ground. Kelsey squealed in delight. Lily had done all of her shopping in Hogsmeade, except for one present: Jamses'. She had already given him a bag of Bertie Botts, but he was slightly disappointed that that was it. But he shook it off, and tried to be happy for the sake of Christmas.
The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. They had a small breakfast, and bypassed lunch. Mrs. Potter explained that they were going to have a large dinner, and James later elucidated that Sirius, Remus, and the werewolf's family were coming over. It was going to be a bit formal, until they could get away from the adults. Lily grinned; this would be the perfect end to a perfect day. Around five, on their way back from a walk in the wintry garden, she pulled James into a small room near the library, which was filled with small magical trinkets.
"This is for you," she whispered softly, pulling a small brown pouch from her jean pocket. "Marauders forever" she murmured distinctly. To James' delight, the pouch expanded to about 10 time s it's size. Lily handed it over to him, and as he examined the exterior, he realized something. The pouch was not made of fabric, as he had thought, but of twigs, bark, leaves, and…moonlight? It glowed slightly, and James was amazed to find that it was supple, like fine linen. Lily, watching anxiously, saw him reach inside and pull something out. It was a small wooden disk, about three inches in diameter, with carvings all around the edge. The engravings featured a fox, dog, wolf, stag and an herb. Heather, it looked like. James raised his eyebrows quizzically, and Lily said, "It's Rhia. Since she's not 'mangus, I just put down what I think of when I'm near her. Beautiful, but tough. Does that make sense?" James nodded.
"The disk symbolizes…well, all of us. As well as being a bit of a souvenir, each of our symbols will glow when one of us is near to whoever is holding it," Lily explained nervously. James looked at the disk more closely, and noticed that the fox and the stag's outlines were glowing faintly. He looked solemnly up into Lily's eyes, grinned, and then flung his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Bloody hell, Lils! I can't believe you! This is…this is amazing! Wow." He ran his hands distractedly through his hair and let out a breath. "How in Merlin's beard did you make this?" He gestured at the small bag and wooden disk.
"Well, Mr. Potter…the foxes know a lot more than you'd think," Lily replied saucily. She laughed. "I'm glad you like them!"
"Like them? Are you mad? I love them!" James exclaimed. He hugged her again. Just then, a shout came from the kitchen.
"Lily! James! Mum says dinner in half an hour!"
"Got it, Kels. Thanks!" James hollered back. Lily said, "I'm gonna go get changed, kay?" James nodded, and replied that he should probably do the same.
Up in her room, Lily realized that she had nothing to wear. She opened the wardrobe near her bed hopefully, and was astonished and relieved to see that is was full of beautiful gowns. Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were all her size. Grinning, she thought happily to herself, wizards. Lily took a shower, and felt the pounding water cascade down her back, massaging kinks out of it she hadn't realized she had. She toweled dry her hair and swept it up on top of her head, in an elegant updo. Lily slipped on the dress that she liked the best, and after applying a bit of eyeliner and slipping on a pair of dangly, silver earrings, she looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a floor-length, strapless black dress that fit her shape perfectly, and elegant black slippers. Her coiled hair looked slightly messy, the way she liked it, and bits of it hung loose and curled about her neck. All in all, elegant. But still…there was something missing. Suddenly, Lily realized what it was. Walking over to the dresser, she lifted out of its box the necklace James had given her, and fastened it around her neck. There; it was perfect.
10 minutes later, she made her way down to the dining room. The Lupins were already there, as were Sirius and all of the Potters. As she walked in, Sirius whistled appreciatively. Lily just stuck her nose in the air and walked airily past, spoiling the effect by turning her head at the last moment and sticking her tongue out impishly at him. Sirius smirked.
The dinner was a huge success; Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius kept the adults busy with tales about their teachers at Hogwarts, and when it was over, they gratefully escaped the confines of the table and ran outside. Lily used a simple spell to split her dress horizontally, so that it only came down to mid-thigh. She felt like running. Besides, the dress could be repaired with a wave of her wand.
"I'm gonna go run for a bit. Anyone want to come?" she asked. James said he would, but Sirius and Remus declined. Lily took off, relishing the wind whipping through her, and the feeling of floating rather that running. James found it different to keep up, and when they decided to rest, the two teens tumbled to the ground in a tangle, laughing. Lily hadn't paid much attention to where they were going; now that she looked around, it was a small glade of trees surrounded by the night sky. She looked over at James, still restless from the run, and aught him looking at her. She suddenly felt more breathless than before. Soon, they were kissing, although Lily couldn't tell exactly how it had come to pass. All that mattered was happening now.
Half an hour later, they decided that they should head back to the mansion. As they entered the wide entryway, they heard voices coming from the library, and looked in to find the rest of the family, Sirius, and the Lupins there, talking and playing chess. Kelsey had been sent up to bed an hour earlier. Lily and James settled down and soon were warm and sleepy from the fire. At about one in the morning, they got up and prepared to go to bed. Remus and Sirius would be spending the night, so they got up too. That was when they all heard the front door blow off its hinges, and saw hundreds of men in dark robes and masks pour into the Mansion.