-1A/N: Okay, so I'm still in the process of writing my next chapters for my other fics, so I thought I'd do a little L/J Christmas story (same characters, but probably not related to my other fic).
Okay. Now it's a New Year's story cos it's pretty long and I couldn't finish it for Christmas, but there's still a bit of Christmas in it. Okay, a lot.
Why Don't You Give Your Love For New Year's (formerly titled Why Don't You Give Your Love For Christmas)
Lily sat quietly in front of the fire in the heads common room reading A Christmas Carol after completing her homework on the last day of term. The toasty fire crackled merrily, keeping her warm and content. She sighed as she wrapped her fleece blanket tighter around herself. She loved Christmas. It was always her favourite holiday, ever since she was a little girl. She wished she could watch some of her favourite films like she used to, but she knew there was no Christmas like a Hogwarts Christmas. Besides, Petunia was bringing her whale over for the holidays. She chuckled to herself as she thought about them. They really were a funny pair. He was so large and she was so…so…well she was-
"BOO!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She screamed as she toppled off of the couch. "POTTER!" Her muffled voice came from the floor.
"Potter? I'm not James."
Wait. That voice sounded oddly familiar…
"JORDAN SAVARD I AM GOING TO KILL YOU" Lily screeched as she jumped up from the floor and chased her best friend around the common room. That is, of course, until Jordan locked herself into Lily's bedroom.
Lily banged on the door. "Bella! I promise I won't hurt you! Hey! How did you get in here anyway?"
"You gave me the password TigerLily." Jordan replied through the door.
"Oh. Yeah. Well, anyway, can you just open the door please?" Lily replied calmly
"Promise not to kill me?"
"Please. It's not like you forced me to kiss Potter or anything. Then I would kill you."
Jordan unlocked the door and opened it a crack to peek out at Lily. Lily grinned at her and she grinned back and opened it all the way. Once she had emerged Lily pounced on her and began to tickle her.
"OMIGOD! Lils! Stop! -gasp- Lil -gasp- ee! Stop!"
"That's what you get!" Lily said cheerfully, not stopping.
oO0Oo
James Potter walked through the halls admiring the decorations that had been put up the previous week. They really did look good. James loved Christmas. Almost as much as Jordan and Sirius did, those crazy kids. She chuckled to himself as he thought about how in denial they were. Just friends my ass….
Speak of the devil. As James rounded the corner he ran right into the one and only Sirius Black. Literally.
"Bloody hell!" James muttered as he got up from on top of Sirius and brushed off his robes.
"Prongs! Mate, I know I'm hot, but I thought you liked Lily." Sirius said with a cheeky grin.
"Ha ha ha." James said dryly, helping his friend up. "I was just on my way to my common room. Wanna come?"
"You betcha!" Srius said skipping along side James. "So…what'd you get Lily for Christmas?"
"You'll see, Padfoot, you'll see."
"You suck, you know that Prongsie?"
"Sure Sirius. Whatever."
They reached the head common room and James gave the password. They entered to see Jordan on the ground screaming and laughing with Lily pinning her there with her legs and tickling her. They leaned against the doorframe and watched in amusement.
"Well well, this is hot, isn't it, Mr. Prongs?" Sirius said loudly and casually.
"You know, Mr Padfoot, I think it is."
The girls froze and looked at the boys. Their faces, which were red from laughter, deepened to a deep shade of maroon.
"Oh. Don't mind us ladies." Sirius said with a wink. "Continue. We'll just, er, watch."
Lily scoffed. "I don't think so Black."
Sirius grinned. "Why not? I mean, I'm shocked to discover you two are secret lovers, but I'm okay with it."
Jordan rolled her eyes and fixed the buttons on her blouse. She laughed to herself as she looked over at James, who, even though he looked calm and composed on the exterior, had not taken his eyes off of Lily in shock. She looked over at Lily whose cheeks were slightly flushed. Jordan then noticed her shirt had the top four buttons undone from their tickling match.
"Lils." Jordan said quietly. When Lily looked up she indicated that her buttons were undone. Her eyes widened and she looked over at James, who quickly looked away, and did up her shirt.
"Well…Ev-evans." James said awkwardly. "I came up to see if you were ready for the prefect meeting. I take it you'll need a couple minutes?" Lily nodded shyly, before dragging Jordan into her room with her.
"Omigod that was awkward." Jordan said with a laugh as the door shut.
"Just a little bit. They got a nice full view down our tops, didn't they?"
"Oh yeah."
oO0Oo
"Holy Merlin." Sirius said as he and James flopped down on a couch. James merely nodded, at a loss for words.
After a couple minutes of silence the girls emerged from Lily's room, looking as if nothing had happened.
"Ready" Lily said happily. James immediately got to his feet and turned around to look at her.
"Wow." He gasped. Lily looked beautiful. She was glowing from her little 'romp' with Jordan earlier and James thought it just added to her radiant beauty.
"Princess, you wanna go for a walk while theses two bore it up with Remus and Alice?"
"Sure Prince Padfoot. I just need to get my cloak."
The two left Lily and James alone in their common room, where an awkward silence fell over them. Lily smiled sheepishly at James, who grinned back goofily.
"Don't think that just because I smiled at you means I like you Potter." Lily said quietly, looking away as his smile shrank.
The silence between them resettled, and they left to go to the prefect meeting.
oO0Oo
Jordan watched the snow fly out in front of her as she kicked it, walking around the grounds with Sirius. The soft white flakes landed gently on the untouched snow and Jordan smiled softly. She looked over at Sirius who was looking pensive.
"Penny for your thoughts?" She said quietly, shaking him out of his deep state of thought.
He looked at her oddly. "A what for my thoughts?"
"A Penny. it's a muggle coin." She said with a grin. "I think it's sorta like a knut, but knut for your thoughts doesn't quite have the same ring to it."
"Oh." Sirius said. "I was just thinking…we're in our seventh year now. This is our last Christmas and it'll be our last new year and just…our last everything here at Hogwarts. This year is a year we shouldn't hold back, and follow our intuitions."
"Awwwww, it's okay. Let's promise each other right now that we'll do just that. No holding back. I solemnly swear."
Sirius' neck cracked from turning his head to look at her so quickly. Did she know about the map?
"What?" Jordan asked, clearly puzzled. Sirius smiled in relief
"Nothing Princess. I solemnly swear. No holding back."
Jordan grinned. "Well then I guess I'll take my first chance right now." and before Sirius could even reply his face was covered in snow, and Jordan's laughter could be heard as she ran from him.
"OH YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT PRINCESS!"
"ONLY IF YOU CAN CATCH ME!"
Sirius took off after her. He stumbled as he ran onto the ice. After falling on his but he looked over at Jordan, who had transfigured her shoes into ice skates.
"Just because you're fast and strong doesn't mean you're smart and graceful, my dear prince." Jordan said smartly, spraying snow on him as she skated by.
Sirius glared at her, but couldn't help but laugh. He looked down at himself and brushed the snow off. When he looked up again he saw Jordan's retreating figure heading to the quidditch pitch. He grinned and carefully got up off the ice to go after her. He was closing in on her fast and she knew it. As she reached the centre of the pitch he tackled her.
Sirius looked down at Jordan, whose nose and cheeks were tinted pink with cold. her dark brown hair was spread out in the snow. To him, she looked like an angel. She grinned at him. Sirius grinned back.
"Princess, you know what we said about following our intuitions and not ever holding back?" she nodded, and Sirius leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled back and saw the shocked expression on her face.
"Sorry." he said quietly. looking away. "I should've just-"
Whatever he should have done Jordan never found out because she had wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his lips back to hers. Sirius smiled against her mouth. The kiss wasn't long, but it was absolutely perfect.
"You don't apologise for turning my hair purple, or for setting a niffler loose in my dorm, but you apologise for the one thing I've wanted from you since we were thirteen? Sirius, you are one strange man."
Sirius grinned. "So you'll go out with me then?"
"Hmmmmm, well I dunno…" She laughed as the smile slid from his face. "Of course I will. Now, if you'll excuse me…" she said stuffing snow in his face and running back to the castle. He grinned and got up and went after her, but by the time her reached the castle she was out of sight.
oO0Oo
Lily drummed her fingers on the large table her, James, and all the prefects were seated around. They had been paired off by house and year to finalise plans for the New Year's ball next Saturday. She glanced at James and had to do a double take. She found him bent over a piece of parchment working on their assignment. She smiled. That git was making her look lazy.
"Let me see." She said, snatching the parchment from him before he could respond.
She looked down at the parchment. There, in a neat little list, was all the songs he wanted played at the ball. Lily grinned. "You have excellent taste in music, Potter."
James smiled broadly at her, then his expression turned serious. "James."
"Huh?" Lily said, looking up at him.
"My name." James said, looking her in the eyes "is James, Lily."
"Oh. Yeah. Okay. You have excellent taste in music James."
Lily would never ever admit how nice her name sounded when James said it. He made it sound like the most beautiful, precious name he had ever heard.
"Listen, Lily…"
"Yes?"
"I was wondering…I mean, I know you don't like me very much, but I wanted to know if I could take you to the ball with me. It is our last one."
Lily smiled. "We'll see James, we'll see."
James grinned. At least she was considering attending their last Hogwarts New Year ball with him. That was good enough for him. He sat there humming "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" to himself until Lily tapped him. He looked up to see everybody had packed up, and she was holding out his bag to him.
"Come on James. Meeting's over."
James took his bag from her and slung it over his shoulder. He then took hers as well and walked back to the common room with her.
oO0Oo
"Adeste fideles, laeti triumphantes!
Venire, venire, in Bethlehem!"
Jordan wandered the halls singing one of her favourite Christmas song in Latin. People were giving her strange looks; as if she cared. She did a little dance down the hall of the Fat Lady's portrait. It was obvious she was over the moon with high spirits. How could she not be? She had one of the most sought after men in Hogwarts as her boyfriend, and only she knew it.
"JORDAN!" Jordan turned around to see Alice coming towards her, along with Remus. The prefect meeting must have just ended.
"Hey guys! What's up?" Jordan said cheerfully
"Um, nothing." Remus said suspiciously. "What's up with you? Was Sirius practicing cheering charms on you?"
"Oh no, no, no." Jordan said shaking her head. "I'm just spreading some Christmas spirit! Mistletoe!" She added, and the portrait admitted her. She bound up the stairs and Remus rolled his eyes.
"Nutter." he said before going to sit in one of the chairs by the fire with Stacy.
oO0Oo
Sirius, Jordan, Stacy, Remus, Frank, Alice, and Peter joined Lily and James in their common room for Christmas. They all sat around Lily and James' tree with hot chocolate, opening their gifts.
"Oh, SIRIUS! It's beautiful!" Jordan exclaimed, pulling her new diamond tennis bracelet from it's box, and tackling Sirius with a kiss. The others gaped at them openly.
Remus cleared his throat. "Umm, not that we're surprised or anything, but when did this happen?"
"Oh. Um. Couple days ago. Last day of term." Jordan said proudly.
"You and James are such show offs." Peter muttered sulkily to Sirius.
Sirius and James raised their eyebrows at him.
"You two are from the richest pureblood families around and you always have the most extravagant gifts for Lily and Jordan."
James rolled his eyes. What a whiner. "Every year I put aside some of my pocket money per month to save up for the nice gifts I get Lily." Peter still pouted, and James, who was a little ticked, didn't notice the astonished look Lily was giving him. She then turned to the usual green shiny package with the white lily attached to it. So far she had received a necklace, a pair of earrings, a bracelet, a jewellery box, a diamond encrusted watch, and some amazing, personalized perfume. That didn't even include birthdays. She had always thought this was his way of flashing his family's riches in everybody's faces. She never had any idea that he had actually saved for it. She fiddled with the bracelet as she eyed the box, wondering what it could possibly contain. A ring? No. The box was too big, and James new a ring was far to personal. She truly was stumped.
"Open mine next. Lily-flower." Lily mentally shook herself out of her thoughts and pulled James' gift into her lap. It was light. Curious. She slowly, carefully pulled off the ribbon and lily, followed by the wrapping paper. She glanced at James, who looked kind of nervous. Lifting the lid of the box and pulling back the tissue paper she found shiny green material. Lifting it out and feeling the soft silk against her fingers she found it to be a dress. Jordan gasped. Alice and Stacy gaped. James grinned. Sirius smirked. Frank looked puzzled. Remus rolled his eyes.
"I heard you hadn't found anything for Saturday and when I saw this I immediately thought of your eyes. I think it's perfect for you." James said after a while, in which the four girls had just stared at the beautiful dress.
"Omigod. James, it's beautiful. I love it."
"Only the best for you." Lily blushed as he said this. Jordan glanced at Sirius who was smirking at the two. She grinned slyly. Then she focused back on the dress and got excited
"I love the whole asymmetrical hemline, and the halter will show off those sexy shoulders you've got. Omigod. Lils, you have to show me it later."
Sirius laughed. "Calm down Princess. Open some more gifts."
oO0Oo
At dinner that evening the Gryffindors joined the teachers and four other students who had stayed for the holidays seated around the table. They settled into a long conversation about what Sirius and Jordan had come up with out on the grounds on Friday.
"Well, Sirius here got all mushy on me and I thought it would be a great thing for us to all do. A pact of sorts."
"Sounds like a great idea to me." James said, looking directly into Lily's eyes. "So we do things we wouldn't normally do, or refused to do in the past." Lily flushed and looked away awkwardly, avoiding his piercing eyes.
"EXACTLY! Prongs mate, you're one heck of a guy. It's like you can read minds." Sirius exclaimed, attracting a fair bit of attention. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry, you can go back to your meals in peace now."
Jordan giggled. "You are a nutter. Lils, I need to talk to you when you're done eating." Lily looked over quickly and nodded, pushing her plate away. "Excellent. Accio cloaks. We're gonna take a little walk."
The two got up from the table and made their way out into the grounds after a quick kiss for Sirius, complements of Jordan. She led the way, following her and Sirius' path from a couple days previous.
"So Bella. What did you want to talk about?"
Jordan plopped herself down in a snow bank, followed by Lily. "Well Lilykins, my sources tell me that Jamsey-boy has asked you nicely to go to the ball with him, and that one Sirius Black is gonna do his nut if he has to listen to James go on about how beautiful you're going to look in that dress any longer. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is…Lils, it's time for you to give him a chance. He's a REALLY great guy. And I personally think he's grown up a lot. And…yeah." she ended lamely.
"Oh." Lily siad quietly. "Weeeeellll, I have given it a fair bit of thought. I know he has matured a lot. I guess it is time I gave him a chance…" Before Lily could go any further Jordan pumped her fist in the air.
"YES! So you'll go with him then?"
"I suppose, but you keep your fat mouth shut. I'm gonna tell him once we head back to the common room." Jordan nodded fervently and jumped up, dragging Lily back to the castle.
oO0Oo
Back in the head common room they all enjoyed a nice peaceful conversation by the fire. As they sat there a bundled on the cozy loveseats Lily shifted and glanced at James, who sat beside her. Jordan gave her a meaningful look and nodded. She sighed and gulped. Okay. How to do this. She didn't want everyone watching. Okay. It's now or never.
"James?" She said uncertainly, looking over at him.
"Yes Flower?"
"I -um- I forgot to give you your Christmas gift."
"That's okay. You don't have to give me anything. This right here with all of you guys is perfect."
Lily got up out of her comfy position. "I want to give you the gift though. It's in my room." She motioned for him to follow her.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other with raised eyebrows and an evil grin on their faces. Jordan elbowed Sirius in the ribs and hissed in his ear to grow up. Him and Remus blushed as she reprimanded them with only her eyes.
James got up and followed Lily into her room. He was surprised she was letting him in here. When he stepped into the room she was seated on the edge of her bed. He swallowed hard. Sure he liked her A LOT, but he didn't want to ruin their newly formed friendship. She patted the spot beside her expectantly. He acquiesced and sat tensely beside her. She smiled softly.
"Nervous?"
"Uhh, are you- are you kidding? Me? Nervous? Ha!" Try as he might, he couldn't keep his nerves out of his voice. He looked over at her oddly as the sound of her laughter reached his ears.
"James, I'm not going to offer you sex." She laughed lightly once more as he visibly relaxed. "What I want to tell you is that I've decided to give you a chance. I will go to the ball with you. And, if you want it to be, it can be a date."
James' jaw dropped. A date? He had been trying so hard to get one of those from her over the years that it took a second to sink in. "Really?" She nodded. "Wow." She smiled at his goofy grin. He then picked her up and spun her around. He laughed with her as they spun. He was so happy he could kiss her right then and there. But he didn't want to push it. He set her down and gave her a tight hug. when he loosened his grip she kept her arms around him, looking into his eyes. He smiled softly, even though he really just wanted to scream and dance and fly and go skating. This was the best Christmas EVER. She smiled back.
"James?"
"Yeah flower?"
She gazed into his eyes in a sappy romance novel sort of way. He could feel his cheeks heating up. She looked to the ceiling and smiled in an ironic sort of way. He followed her gaze and grinned evily.
"How convenient." She murmured.
"Indeed." He agreed, looking back at her. He inched forward a little, in a questioning manner. She nodded her approval, and he kissed her. Not a hard kiss, not a typical I-wanna-shag sort of kiss. Just a simple, romantic kiss that had been years in the making. He smiled against her lips, and she smiled back before the broke off.
"We should get back." She said quietly, cheeks tinted a lovely shade of pink.
"Okay, but I get to carry you." He said, throwing her over his shoulder.
"JAMES!" She screamed, smacking him lightly on the back as he carried her towards the door.
oO0Oo
"JAMES!" Remus, Sirius, and even Jordan's eyes widened as they heard Lily scream his name. The two men looked over at Jordan in smug satisfaction before the door to Lily's room burst open , and they emerged, Lily draped over James' shoulder. He set her down in her seat and sat comfortably beside her as Jordan returned the smug look.
Throughout the remainder of the night, the group sat comfortably, sharing blankets to keep extra warm. Lily chatted happily with her friends, her ankle interlocked with James. She laughed inwardly at her oblivious friends. The two had an unspoken agreement to keep what they had said and done in her room quiet until New Year's Eve. At the ball it would become quite obvious to everyone else what they had going between them. They talked well into the night and slowly began to drift off. James was the last to fall asleep. he watch Lily, as the reflection from the fire danced over her face and smiled. Finally, he had gotten his Christmas wish.
oO0Oo
"So Lils," Jordan began for what seemed like the thousandth time this week. "Who's the hot date? Do I know him?"
Lily laughed lightly. "Bella, I already told you you'll find out when you get there, and yes you do know him.
Jordan pouted. Lily rolled her eyes. "Zip me up Bel."
Jordan obliged. After fixing the kink in Lily's necklace and handing her her shoes, she ordered her friend to turn so she could see the dress.
"You look-"
"-stunning, as usual." A voice from the door said. "Evans we have to head down for last minute preparations." Lily glared.
"I'm coming." She said, grabbing her wand and using it to sweep her hair up into an intricate updo.
"Perfect." Jordan said happily. Lily smiled and put her wand in her clutch bag.
"I'll see you there Bel."
"Okay. I'll just get ready here. Sirius was trying to sneak up and see what I looked like earlier."
"Alright."
Jordan sat down at Lily's vanity and pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and grinned at the tightly wound dark curls resting on her shoulder. She grinned and got her lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara from her make up bag. Tonight was going to be a blast.
oO0Oo
Lily smiled at James once they had exited the common room, and linked her arm with his. "You're not looking too shabby yourself, Potter."
"Why thank you. I do try you know." He grinned as she rolled her eyes playfully. When they entered the Great Hall they were met by Professor McGonagall.
"Oh you two. You both look very nice. I hope you are ready for tonight."
"What do you mean Professor?"
"You're opening the ball. As head students it is your responsibility."
Lily paled. Sure, she knew how to dance, but did James. She began to panic slightly. This was bad. Very bad.
"Flower relax. I have had ballroom lessons." he whispered from behind. She looked at him queerly. "My parents hold a lot of parties." he said simply with a shrug upon seeing her look.
oO0Oo
Jordan slowly descended the stairs to the Entrance Hall, scanning the crowd for Sirius. When she spotted him she grinned. His mouth was hanging open as he stared at her. She blushed as red as her dress. He met her halfway up the stair and she took his arm. He smiled charmingly at her and she grinned in return. She craned her neck looking for her best friend and the mystery man. Who the bloody hell was he?
"She's inside. Wish I knew who her and Jamesy were going with."
She nodded. "Me too. She wouldn't even give me a clue."
"Same. I think Prongs won't tell me cos it's not Lily. I know if it were her he would've talked about it even in his sleep."
They joined Remus, Stacy, Frank, Alice, and Peter and his date by the door as it bagan to open. As they entered they admired the elaborate décor and beautiful, clear sky.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Dumbledore's voice came loudly over the crowd once everyone had entered. "If you don't mine clearing the dance floor, our head boy and girl will open the ball with a dance." The marauders & co. grinned evily. Thie should be interesting. And it was.
Jordan watched, astonished, as the two swept across the dance floor gracefully. She looked at Lily's face. It was almost as if she were enjoying this. Impossible.
When the dance ended they found a table and waited for Lily, James, and their dates to join them. Only Lily and James came over.
"Where're your dates?" Sirius asked
Remus rolled his eyes. "Think Sirius. Neither would tell who their dates are. They show up here with each other and nobody else. Draw your own conclusion."
Sirius' brow furrowed. "Well they aren't here together…." he looked up in shock. "But - but. When? What?"
Lily grinned. "On Christmas day. I told him I would give him a chance."
Everyone was floored. Except Remus. He was never surprised by stuff like this. They all chatted and laughed and danced the night away. Next thing they knew professors were coming by with noisemaker, tiaras and hats. Five minutes.
"Let's dance." James said taking Lily's hand. They got up and went out to the centre of the dance floor. Four minutes.
Lily rested her head on James chest and sighed. He grinned down at her. This is the girl I want to marry. Three minutes.
Sirius and Jordan joined them on the floor. They talked quietly, watching Lily and James with smiles on their faces. Two minutes.
All their friends were now around them watching them dance. It was a little disconcerting. One minute.
"Lily," James said quietly. She looked up. "I know we've only been, well, together since Christmas day, but I think, well I know actually, that I love you Lily Evans. I have for a long time." Ten seconds.
She smiled. His stomach jerked. Nine seconds.
"I know." Eight seconds "And I think deep down I've always liked you too, James." Seven seconds.
"Really?" Six seconds.
"Definitely." Five seconds.
He looked deep into her emerald eyes. Four seconds.
He slowly began to lean in. Three seconds.
She closed her eyes. Two seconds.
He leaned a little closer. One second.
He puked all over her and her new dress. Haha gotcha!
James Potter gently kissed Lily Evan in the centre of the Great Hall at exactly midnight. Happy New Year. Cat calls and whistles could be heard amongst the singing and cheering. When they broke off Lily looked up at him.
"I think I love you too, James Potter."