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A/N: A million apologies for not updating in what seems like years (not that many people care anyway). I havea couplemore chapters written out already, but since most of my stories got deleted from here, I haven't been onthis sitelately. I'll be posting at least 3 more chapters in the next week, so look out for those!

Holidays at Hogwarts

As the first term came to an end, and as everyone around me spread their holiday cheer, I was to be found in the library trying to hide my anxiety over the Christmas that I was inevitably going to have to face. It was the first holiday season without my parents, and Sirius seemed to have been feeling the same way. He didn't ask too many questions when he noticed I began spending more time alone, and I appreciated his actions a lot. I had a great deal to think about at the time, but I didn't want anyone else to know how badly I was hurting inside. I chose to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday because I couldn't bring myself to go back home. It would be too hard to stay in an empty house full of memories of a once happy family. Sirius had no objections to it seeing as how it would be the first time we would be spending time in Hogwarts without having to go to classes. This of course meant that we would have plenty of time to plan many new pranks for the new term which would in turn keep me occupied and keep me from thinking about my parents.

Lily and I were in the library one evening going over the Gryffindor list of students who would be staying over the holiday, and right when I was about to move on to the Slytherin list, I noticed that Lily's name was the last name Gryffindors staying. I looked at her for a moment as she was looking over the list for Ravenclaw list and then interrupted her.

"How come you're not going home for Christmas?"

She looked surprised at my sudden inquiry and then looked down at the list I was holding.

"I didn't want to go home this year," she said with a tone of indifference.

"How come?" I pressed.

"Because my sister and her awful fiancé will be there and I don't want to deal with them."

"Does her fiancé know you're a witch?"

She looked a bit surprised by my question before answering. "Unfortunately, yes. He found out by accident last summer when I left some of my school books out in the dining room and he's just like my sister, if not worse. He treats me like I'm some sort of freak and Petunia never does anything to stop him from insulting me," she said sounding a bit angry.

"Well, who needs them, right? I bet Hogwarts is a lot more fun during the holidays than having to spend the time at home. Just think. We can do all the magic we want, and we have the entire castle practically to ourselves. It's a Marauder's dream come true really," I said with a broad grin.

She laughed a little just then and slowly got up.

"I guess it should be fun. At least I won't be here alone. Are all of your friends staying?"

"No, just Sirius, Remus and I. Peter's mum can't bear being away from him for so long. He begged and pleaded for her to let him stay, but she just didn't think it was wise. Poor bloke."

"Alice was forced to go home too. Her mother is really ill and she needs to go spend time with her."

"Well then you're welcome to join us in our activities anytime," I said with a voice that sounded a bit too eager.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer. I'll see you later."

"Bye," I said watching her walk away.

xxx

Lily Evans had just agreed to spend time with us over the holiday. Did I imagine that entire conversation or did she really just agree to it? Never in a million years would I have imagined that Lily Evans would want to willingly spend time with the Marauders. She was already friends with Remus because they had been prefects together, but anytime she saw the rest of us, she immediately went in the opposite direction as to steer clear of us. All those years she avoided me on purpose to get away from me, and now she was actually agreeing to spend time with me and my friends? I still couldn't believe my luck.

A few days before Christmas the other Marauder's and I found ourselves walking out of the castle to join Remus at the Shrieking Shack. It was a night like every other, but instead of roaming the grounds or the Forbidden Forest, we stayed in the confines of the Shack. Remus and Sirius were playing around on the ground trying to pin each other down while Peter was asleep on top of a broken stool. I was sprawled out on the floor on the opposite end of the room thinking about everything that had happened to me that year. Everything was so different. I was different. I couldn't explain it, but I had changed more than I thought was possible. If my father could have seen me, he would have been proud. Although I hadn't lost my sense of humor, I had definitely grown up a lot this year. I was taking my duties as Head Boy very seriously, and I was working a lot harder in my classes.

Lily had definitely noticed the change because she no longer felt uncomfortable around me. She and her best friend Alice would often join us during meals and we often had long conversations that nearly made us late to class on more than one occasion. Besides becoming my friend, Lily had become quite close to Remus and they often studied together while Sirius and I were at Quidditch practice. Sirius was warming up to the idea of becoming friends with a girl, while Peter still seemed very shy around her and almost reluctant to speak to her sometimes. Lily and I would often walk to our classes together, and we also spent a lot of time just talking in the common room after doing our homework. We often told each other stories about our childhoods and stories about our summer vacations. I hated talking about my childhood so I always had stories to tell her about the Marauders and the different pranks we pulled around the castle when we were supposed to be in our dormitories. At first she was a bit taken aback because we had broken an incredible amount of rules over the years, but she then began to laugh at some of the stuff we did. I also told her a lot about myself, being careful to leave out some less than perfect facts about my childhood, and I told her about my plans to become an auror after Hogwarts.

I learned a lot about Lily that year and I was getting to know her in a way I never imagined. I discovered that she wanted to be a healer after Hogwarts, and that she was planning on getting her own flat right after graduation too. She lived with her aunt and sister during the summer break, but she hated living there with them. Her aunt was a bit more tolerable about magic than her sister, but she still didn't like to see anything magic related around her house. Lily wasn't allowed to receive owls from her friends because it made her sister uncomfortable, and she wasn't even allowed to receive any news from the wizarding world unless it pertained to school. Lily's parents had been very proud of her for being a witch and their support for her only made her sister jealous. After her parents died, Lily's sister stopped speaking to her altogether and it pained Lily to live like that because she still loved her. Overall, Lily's life as a muggle was quite miserable, much to my surprise.

Sirius began noticing the way I stared at Lily when she wasn't looking and he teased me about it every chance he got. Remus I think understood the situation a little better and was always willing to talk about it while Peter often pretended that nothing was going on. I had the feeling he didn't like talking about Lily and I of course, didn't like to talk about it much either; at least not with them. As much as I liked Lily, I wasn't prepared to talk about my feelings towards her with my friends. Sirius would have a heart attack the day I began sharing my feelings, and I for one wasn't going to do that to him. It was an understanding that we had between us. A pact. We came to this understanding early in our friendship when I caught him crying in our first year at Hogwarts after his parents sent him a nasty howler telling him he was a disgrace to the Black family for landing himself in Gryffindor. He tried to wipe away the tears as I walked in, but I knew what had happened. I didn't embarrass him by trying to talk to him about it; I simply began talking to him about Quidditch to change the atmosphere and he had been forever grateful.

xxx

Christmas had finally come upon us and the weather outside mirrored my mood. There was a terrible blizzard when I woke up that morning and I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed until the day was over. I hated Christmas more than ever that year. Unfortunately, Sirius had other plans, and he was not going to allow me to wallow in self pity on Christmas day. I got a rude awakening from him when he snuck into my room and jumped onto my bed as Padfoot and began licking my face. I had a hard time getting him off me before I finally pinned him down to the ground and he transformed back into Sirius. He was laughing at me as he had left my head entirely wet. I quickly washed up before going down to the common room to open my presents with the other Marauders.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that Lily was talking very animatedly with Remus. Her hair was left completely loose and it was amazing how it fell on her shoulders. When Remus saw me walk into the common room, she also turned around and smiled at me.

"Good morning, we didn't think you were going to make it," she said pleasantly.

"I had a bit of a hard time getting up, but I'm here now, right? Let's open some presents!" I said trying to sound cheerful.

Sirius gave me a concerned look, but I shrugged it off and began to open my presents. Peter got me a box with assorted sweets, while Remus gave me the latest Quidditch strategy book by Kennilworthy Whisp. Sirius gave me a new broom servicing kit along with a bag full of assorted items from Zonko's Joke Shop. I gave him a devilish grin before opening a small package that I almost overlooked. As I began to read the name on the card, I hoped that I wasn't showing my surprise. The present was from Lily. Sure, we had become close friends since the beginning of the term, but I didn't really expect her to get me anything for Christmas. As I tore away the wrapping paper, I was taken aback by what she gave me. It was a necklace with a small crystal in the shape of a shield with many different signs and symbols on it. I opened the small note that was enclosed with the crystal and read: "To the world's greatest auror to be." It was a very thoughtful gift and I couldn't help but ask myself why she had given to me such a thing. I looked at her in awe of what I was holding in my hands and she simply smiled at me. Remus gave me an inquiring look just then, and I quickly pocketed the gift and asked him what he had gotten from everybody else. Once everyone had opened their presents, Sirius and Remus ran up to their dormitories to pack away all of their things. Lily was about to go to her dormitory when I stopped her.

"Lily, I haven't given you your present yet."

"Oh James, you really didn't have to get me anything," she told me as a blush crept up her neck.

"Of course I did. It's not as good as what you got me, but I thought you might like it," I said handing her a small package. After what she had gotten me, I didn't' feel that my gift was suitable. I had bought her a small charm bracelet that was specific for storing several charms that might be needed in case of emergencies. It looked suitable when I bought it for her on the last Hogsmeade trip because I knew she loved charms, but at that moment I wish I would have gotten her something more expensive and much more thoughtful. As she opened the small box, I saw a huge grin spread across her face.

"James, I love it!" she yelled leaping up and enveloping me in a hug. I was speechless. She had caught me so completely off guard that it took me a couple of seconds to hug her back. When she broke away, she looked up at me with those gorgeous green eyes. "Thank you," she said staring at me in a way that I would never forget. I could have stayed that way forever. She was stunning and she was possibly the most compassionate person I ever knew. At that moment, I felt an overwhelming need to hold her in my arms again. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her, I wanted to kiss her. I leaned a bit closer to her and just as I was about to do what I had been thinking of doing for years, Sirius and Remus walked into the common room laughing loudly. I quickly took a step away from her, and she smiled at me.

"Hey Prongs, you ready to go down to breakfast?"

"Yeah, let me just put my stuff away. I'll meet you guys down there."

"Alright," Sirius said before they walked out of the portrait hole.

"Let me take my things up to my dormitory too, and we'll walk down together," Lily said to me.

"Okay," I responded in a small voice as I turned around I ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. I was so close to kissing her that I felt her breath on my face. What if she had gotten mad at me? I was losing it. I had never worried so much about kissing a girl as I had with Lily. If Sirius ever found out, it would have cost me my reputation. When I got back down to the common room, Lily was already standing there waiting for me.

"Sorry I took so long," I said looking at her.

"It's okay, let's go, I'm starving."

"Thank you for the necklace, it's brilliant"

"Don't mention it. I thought you might find it useful when you become an auror," she said modestly.

"Not just any auror, the 'world's best auror to be,'" I said in a mock Lily voice.

I smiled at her as she smiled back at me and I pulled her into a hug in the middle of the corridor out of sheer happiness. She was slightly taken aback by my sudden actions, but then I felt her small arms wrap themselves around my waist. She stared at me for a few seconds before looking up at the ceiling and giggling at something above my head.

"Uh-oh," she said.

"What?" I asked her.

She pointed up and whispered, "Mistletoe."

I looked up at the ceiling and then back down at her thanking every god I could think of for putting me in that situation. Her eyes were glazed over as she continued to look straight up into mine. All those feelings I had earlier in the common room came rushing back to me as I looked at those beautiful emerald orbs. Life around us seized to exist when I finally bent over, my face only inches away from hers. I felt her warm breath on my cheeks as I leaned in closer still, when our lips finally met. It was a very soft, tentative kiss and I could sense she was taken aback at first, but then relaxed into my embrace. As I was about to pull away from her, she reached up and put her arms around my neck. She was amazing. That moment was exactly how I always hoped it would be and much, much more. The kiss lasted about a minute before both of us drew away from each other and smiled. She then began to walk towards the Great Hall, whereas I remained rooted to the spot. I was still in complete shock and unable to speak or even move.

"You coming?" she asked, blushing beet red.

I looked at her and nodded with what I hoped wasn't a goofy grin. Seeing that I was still unable to move, she reached out, grabbed my hand, and led me towards the Great Hall.

Not the greatest of chapters, but eh, feedback would be appreciated.

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