After breakfast (and the clean-up) was over, everyone retreated to the living room where the Christmas tree was. And, of course, underneath the Christmas tree were tons of presents. It was then that Lily noticed a vital member of her family missing.

"Mum, where's Beast?" she asked.

"There's a beast? Where? I'll fight it!" exclaimed a suddenly excited James. He spun around in circles, searching for the unknown beast. Lily laughed hysterically.

"No, no. Beast is my dog. I was so caught up in all the excitement of being home I completely forgot about him!" Lily explained.

"Right. Beast is staying over at Aunt Victoria's house," said Rhea, finally answering Lily's question. She then added in a whisper, "Vernon doesn't like dogs."

Lily looked at Vernon. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would like dogs. Oh well, if Petunia loved him, Lily could… well, at least put up with him.

"Do you think Aunt Torie would mind if I visited both her and Beast today? I really do miss him terribly," Lily asked. James looked at her. Was he just supposed to stay with Rhea, Thomas, Petunia and Vernon by himself? That would be a little awkward. Thomas suddenly said exactly what was on James' mind.

"I don't think Victoria would mind, Lily. But you have to bring James with you. You wouldn't just leave him here with us would you?" Thomas knew that Lily didn't trust James enough not to spill tons of little details about her life to her parents.

"Uh… yeah. Don't think so. Potter, you're coming with me this afternoon," Lily commanded.

"Yes, your majesty," James replied with a smirk.

"Oh shut up, Potter." But Lily smiled while she made this second command.

After this brief interruption everyone continued to proceed to the living room to open gifts. Each person opened all of their presents at once while everyone else watched. Vernon went first, as he was used to. He received an expensive watch from Petunia, a silk neck tie from Rhea and Thomas and a promise from Lily for a belated present.

"Sorry, I had no idea that Tunia was engaged," she mumbled as an excuse.

The opening of presents continued as Petunia took her turn next. Lily had given her sister a paisley-print scarf and matching umbrella, her parents had given Petunia an antique clock to hang in the new house that Petunia and Vernon had just bought on 4 Privet Drive, Vernon gave his darling a delicate pearl necklace with matching earrings, and James gave Petunia a hug. To say the least, Petunia was a little flustered.

"Oh… erm… thank you?" Petunia stuttered.

"Sorry, but I didn't know Evans had a sister. So, happy Christmas," smiled James.

Rhea opened her presents next. Well, Thomas was the only person who had gotten her a present. Everyone else had just gotten the couple a gift. Thomas gave Rhea a beautiful diamond necklace from an American jewelry store called Tiffany's & Co. As a return gift Thomas received a big kiss from Rhea. Then he received his real gift, an expensive set of golf clubs, balls and a bag for them all.

"These are some strong sticks," James commented.

"They're golf clubs. Dad loves golfing," Lily told him.

"Golf," James repeated trying to wrap his tongue around the foreign word. "Is that a sport? Because it seems like it would be kind of violent."

"Yes, son," answered Thomas trying in vain to keep from laughing. "But, it is not violent at all. I'll teach you sometime."

"That sounds great!" replied James. His face was beaming and he seemed to be very grateful. But what the rest of the family took as a love of golf was really a love of someone else. And this promise was also a promise that James would be returning to the Evans' household, hopefully soon.

Rhea and Thomas took turns opening gifts from everyone else. They received a waffle iron that converted into a pancake frying pan from Petunia and Vernon; Lily gave them some films including Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Blues Brothers, and some others. Rhea and Thomas loved them because they were huge film buffs. James, of course, had no idea what a "film" was. But he too had gotten Lily's parents a present for Christmas. He had had little to work with because all Lily had told James about her parents were that they were doctors, which were like Muggle healers. So he got them each a very fancy pen, which wasn't much to them. Lily had also told James how Petunia didn't like magic so he explained in the card that the pens would write what you say or think, depending on if you held it in your left (for thinking) or right (for speaking) hand. They were both very grateful after they read the card.

It was now James' turn to open presents. Rhea and Thomas had surprised both Lily and James by getting him a few presents. James didn't know that they knew he now had no parents to receive presents from. From Lily's parents James received a case for his broom, his own special snitch with his initials carved on it and new pair of glasses. James was very pleased and thanked the Evans profusely. He then got to the present he had been waiting to open all morning. His present from Lily. He unwrapped it and started noticing… that his "present" was a book.

"Hogwarts; A History," James exclaimed. "Thanks so much, Evans. This is really the best present ever." He said it with as much enthusiasm as possible; he didn't want Lily to realize that his was a very dull present. It seemed to work; Lily seemed very happy and pleased.

It was finally Lily's turn. She had been patient all morning but now she tore through her presents like… well, like a little kid at Christmas. Her first present was from Petunia. It was the score from "Beauty and the Beast." (A/N: I know that "Beauty and the Beast" wasn't actually out yet so this is a tiny bit A/U)

"Oh my god! Potter, this is my favorite film of all time!" Lily explained.

"That's umm… nice," responded a perplexed James, who still did not understand the concept of a film.

Lily opened the gift from her parents next. It was a picture of Lily with Thomas, Rhea and Petunia at the beach from the previous summer. On a Post-It note was a quick scribble that read, "Tap it with your wand and whisper 'I Love You'" and Lily ran up to her room and did just that. She was astonished when she and her family started smiling and waving and looking lovingly at one another. Her muggle parents had managed to give her a magic picture. That way she wouldn't miss them as much while she was at school. Lily ran downstairs and gave them a big hug.

"Thanks so much, Mum and Dad! I love you!" she exclaimed.

Then she turned to open her last present, from James. She was a tad nervous because she didn't know what would pop out of that present. She looked cautiously from the unopened present to James and back again.

This box is awfully small, Lily thought while she delicately opened her gift. If there is something bad in it, I guess it can't be too horrible.

She was correct. Not only was the something not horrible, it was magnificent. Lily gasped as she opened the velvet box. Inside was a gorgeous emerald bracelet. Lily was speechless. Rhea rushed over to see what was in the box because no one else could see from their varied positions around the room.

"My word, Lily! That is… is beautiful! Here, let me put it on you," Lily's mum said as she took the precious bracelet out of the box and put it onto Lily's pale wrist. It looked lovely on her, everyone agreed.

"Potter, this is… it's…. amazing. It's too much really," Lily whispered.

"No, no really. I want you to have it. It was my mother's." James added the last part softly, thinking that no one could hear him. But Lily heard and looked up at James with a look that almost said she understood.

"Thank you, Ja-Potter. Thank you so much."

It was later in the afternoon. Lily had called her aunt to confirm it would be alright if they came to visit. So off they went, in the snowy coldness of winter to visit Aunt Victoria and Beast.

James would never admit it to Lily, but he was a tad bit nervous about meeting a dog named "Beast." It didn't help that as soon as they showed up to Lily's aunt's house, a huge black dog rushed to the door.

"Hey, sweetie! Did you miss me?" James was amazed to hear Lily… cooing?

"Glad to know you cared. I missed you too, Lily," said a woman who suddenly appeared at the door alongside the furry monster. James almost gasped as the woman slowly turned the knob to open the door. But he would never let Lily see his fear… ever. The door opened and Beast ran out to greet his Lily. He jumped on her and she immediately grew stern

"No, Beast. Sit!" she commanded. Beast did as he was told. Lily rewarded him by bending down to his level and giving him a big hug. "Good boy."

"So now I see where you get your commanding nature from," James said.

"Be careful, Potter, or you'll be sleeping in the dog house outside while Beast sleeps in the house." James shut his mouth, he wasn't sure if Lily was joking or not but it would be safest to think that she was serious. Hey… Sirius. That was who this dog reminded him of.

Of course, James thought, this dog looks EXACTLY like Sirius' animal form.

"Hey, Aunt Torie," Lily exclaimed, finally letting go of Beast to give Victoria a bear hug.

"Well, hullo to you too," responded Torie. "Would you guys want to come in for some tea?"

"Sounds great," answered Lily, grateful to be going inside after nearly freezing to death walking to her aunt's house.

"Yeah, thanks," agreed James. They all went inside, drank, laughed and talked. Beast finally calmed down and was lying across James' and Lily's laps. Everyone was getting along fabulously and James and Lily were BOTH having a great time in each other's company. Victoria suddenly realized the time (it was 6:30) and immediately sent Lily and James home.

"Bye, baby boy," said Lily as she bade farewell to her canine friend.

"Bye, Beast," said James rubbing the dog's head. "Maybe I'll see you again soon," James whispered into Beast's fur. James might have been seeing things but he could have sworn he saw Beast look into his eyes with hope that they would see each other soon.

"Thank you so much for having us, Victoria," James said.

"Yeah, thanks Aunt Torie. It was fun!" added Lily. "Well, I'll see you next break."

"Oh, no problem. Bye, Lily. It was a pleasure meeting you, James," said Victoria as she waved them good-bye from the door. The pair walked quickly home and changed into warm clothes. Just as she was about to go downstairs, Lily walked pass James' open door. He was shirtless and Lily couldn't help but admire his body, well-sculpted from years of playing quidditch. When he put on a t-shirt, she almost found herself disappointed but quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind.

What am I thinking? I HAVE a beautiful boyfriend. Danny… Danny… wait what was his last name? Oh right, Kinglsey.

Lily was drawn from her internal monologue when she saw James pull out the book she had given him for Christmas. Lily thought it was hilarious, she couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out yet. Lily watched as James looked at the book and was about to put it down when Lily decided maybe it was time to intervene:

"Do you like your present, Potter?"

"Oh, Evans, yeah… it's… it's exactly what I wanted," James lied. Lily wasn't convinced.

"Really? Because I don't think I've seen you open it once."

"Well, that's because I was… reading it in my room."

"Cool. Show me what part you're at."

"Oh. Right. I'm right here," said James opening the book to show Lily some phony place in it where he supposedly had read up to. But as soon as he opened it he noticed that there were pictures of his favorite team, the quidditch Cannons. Under each picture that had only one player was that player's autograph.

"Holy Merlin! Evans, this is FANTASTIC! It's bloody BRILLIANT!" James screamed. Lily just smiled and laughed.

"I thought you would just figure it out on your own. But it turns out you would probably have never opened it." Lily never knew that making another person so happy would make her feel this elated. She was so pleased that James loved her gift. "You really thought I would give YOU a book for Christmas?"

James decided to push her a little bit.

"Well, I thought you hated me."

"I… well, I don't."

James moved a little closer to her.

"Do you like me then?"

Lily blushed.

"I never said that."

James moved even closer.

"Do you fancy me, Evans?"

Lily looked up at him. In James' eyes, she saw it; his pride.

Why in the WORLD would she ever fancy a prat like Potter?

Apparently, by the changed look in James' eyes, she had said that thought out loud. She quickly pushed James out of her way and rushed to her own room, and she didn't leave until she had to go eat dinner. For the rest of the night, Lily never once talked to or even looked at James. And he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what on Earth he had done to make her so angry at him. And there it was, staring him in the face, his pride had made her angry. But what really made her angry was that she DID fancy him. She just hadn't realized it yet.

The next morning Lily walked into breakfast, where the Evans parents and Petunia and Vernon were discussing going out shopping that day. Lily was invited to go along, but she declined. She grabbed a bagel and went back up to her room in order to avoid any and all contact with Potter.

James awoke to Lily's footsteps coming up the stairs. He quickly opened his door to ask her what the hell he had done wrong. But she walked right by him into her room, slamming the door in his face. James sighed. He went downstairs to join the rest of the family for breakfast. Apparently, they had been talking about going out shopping that day.

"James, would you like to join the rest of us today? We're going out shopping," Thomas asked James.

"Uh… sure," replied a very sleepy James. He had been rather upset about Lily hating him again and hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

Thomas leaned closer. "Thank God. I thought I was going to be the only guy," he whispered.

"What about Vernon?" James asked.

"Oh… yeah… right… Vernon," Thomas mumbled.

Lily had heard the whole conversation from upstairs. Great! Now she was going to have the whole house to herself. She loved being home alone. She decided to stay upstairs until the whole group had left.

James returned upstairs and changed into jeans and a polo. He pulled on a jacket and went back downstairs to go shopping. As he was about to get into the car, he noticed someone missing.

"Where's Lily?"

"Oh, she's not coming. She wanted to stay home," answered Petunia.

"You know, I'll stay with her. I don't want her to get lonely," James responded, casting a smile to the rest of the family.

"Ok, thanks a lot," muttered Thomas sarcastically.

"See you later," James waved.

James went silently back into the house. Maybe, Lily wanted some alone time. Well, he needed to owl his friends anyway. So James went up to his room and sat on his bed with quill and parchment.

Lily had no idea that James had stayed. She thought she was home alone. So she went downstairs to do what she always did when she was home alone.

James was just about to start a letter when he heard music. It was coming from downstairs. He crept downstairs to see Lily, playing the piano and singing. It wasn't a song he recognized. But her voice was so lovely and he loved watching her skillful fingers fly across the piano.

Tale as old as time,

True as it can be,

Barely even friends,

Then somebody bends unexpectedly,

Just a little change,

Small to say the least,

Both a little scared,

Neither one prepared,

Beauty and the Beast,

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

Ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

James was tempted to start clapping. It was beautiful. Why didn't he know that she could sing and play the piano so well? Did anyone else know that? Did Kingsley know that? In the event that no one did know, James decided to keep it to himself.

Lily continued to play the next song in her book which was something about her not marrying a guy named Gaston and that she actually wanted to do something with her life. And that she wished someone would just understand. She played this song well enough, but her heart just wasn't in it as it had been with that other one.

What James really wanted to do was go congratulate her on playing and singing so well but he contained himself again. He reluctantly returned to his room and wrote his letters to his friends.

Hey, Padfoot!

How's life? No, I have not asked Lily out. And, for the last time, I don't plan on doing that. I have accepted the fact that she will never love me. So I will wallow away the remainder of life in self-pity. Happy Christmas.

-Prongs

PS: Enclosed is your present.

Hi, Moony

How has your Christmas been? Mine has been absolutely splendid. I hope Sirius isn't driving you mad. Well, I actually do have a little problem. Lily's angry at me and I don't know why. Things were going great. And we were getting along fabulously. She got me a great present and when I mentioned that I thought she would get me a bad present because she hates me, she said "I don't." So I asked her if she liked me. She said "I never said that." But she was blushing so I took it that she did. So then I said, "Do you fancy me?" and she looked up at me and all of the sudden she screams "Why in the WORLD would I ever fancy a prat like Potter?" Then she pushed me away and now she's not speaking or looking at me. It's insane! HELP ME, REMUS!

-Prongs

PS: Happy Christmas.

Dear Peter,

Hi. Happy Christmas. Hope it's going well.

-James