Chapter 4

A/N: I own nothing.

I woke up on Christmas Day with James shouting up the stairs too me.

I rolled over in bed, trying to block out his constant screams.

"LIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLYYYYYY"

Rolling my eyes, I slipped on my bathrobe and slippers and headed down the spiral staircase. Once I reached the bottom, James appeared, a big smile painted on his face.

"Happy Christmas Lily" James said wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.

"Happy Christmas" I replied, not wanting to leave his warm embrace.

I yawned as I walked over and collapsed into one of the chairs by the fire.

"You're not even going to open your presents?" James asked, staring at me with a shocked expression plastered on my face.

Yawing again, i took my wand out of my robe and made my presents fly onto my lap. I took the card of the smallest gift and flipped it open. My eyes bulged as I read the note.

It couldn't possibly be from him.

It was.

It was from James.

Lily,

Happy Christmas!! I'm really glad I've gotten to spend some time with you these past few days. You're an amazing person. I wish I had gotten to know you sooner then our last year at Hogwarts. Anyway, Happy Christmas! Hope you like your present. It used to be my grandmothers.

Sincerely, James.

Still shocked, I set the card aside and unwrapped the gift. I gasped as I saw what was inside. It was a gold locket shaped like a heart, hanging from a long gold chain. I stared at it, my jaw hanging open.

"You like it?"

I jumped as I realized James staring at me from across the table.

"Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

"I thought you'd like it" James smiled at me.

"But I didn't get you anything" I told him.

James shrugged, "It's ok. You being here is enough"

I busied myself with the rest of my presents, not wanting James to see me blush. I finished unwrapping the rest , receiving something from my parents, Charli, Gabby, and a few of my other relatives before heading upstairs to get dressed. As I reentered the common room with the book my parents had given me, James and Sirius were there, wearing hats, coats, gloves, boots, and scarves.

"What are you doing?" I asked, sitting down in my favorite chair by the fire.

"Going to have a snowball fight," Sirius said, practically bouncing up and down with excitment.

"Want to come?" James asked.

"No thanks" I refused.

"Ok, we'll be back later" James said as they climbed through the portrait hole, as I started reading.

James and Sirius returned to the common room 20 minutes later, their faces pink and their clothes covered in snow.

"That was a short snowball fight" I told them, closing my book.

"Yeah well it's not as much fun with only two people" James said, unzipping his coat and throwing it onto an empty chair.

"Plus it's super cold" Sirius added plopping down in a chair next to James.

"Wanna go get some hot chocolate to warm up?" James asked.

Sirius jumped out of his seat, "Yes! I'm still freezing."

"We'll be right back Lily" James said and the two left through the portrait hole.

James and Sirius emerged from the portrait 10 minutes later, carrying hot chocolate and a plate of Christmas cookies each.

"Here Lily we brought you some hot chocolate" Sirius said, handing me a third cup.

"Thanks" I took the cup from Sirius and took a sip, feeling the warmth rush through my body.

"So," James said, sitting in the seat across from mine closest to the fire. "How's your book?"

"It's really good," I told him, "It's the newest one in my favorite muggle series."

The afternoon dragged on, the three of us playing several games of wizards chess and exploding snap. Finally, it was time for the Christmas feast. James, Sirius, and I headed down to the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table, sitting across from the first years who had already filled their plates with food and began eating. I loaded turkey, mashed potatoes and almost everything else in sight onto my plate and took a bite.

Once everyone had finished eating, the food disappeared and was replaced with several kinds of pies. I decided to try one that was chocolate frosting with whipped cream. I looked to the left at James and Sirius and saw them taking a piece of every pie within grabbing distance.

"How are you going to eat all that?" I asked between bites.

James sighed, "There's so much you need to learn about us Evans"

Later that night, the three of us sat in the common room, across the room from the first years. James was looking at a quidditch magazine and Sirius was stuffing his face with more Christmas cookies, while I continued my book.

"Guys what do you want to do? Want to sneak around the castle? Want to have a snowball fight? Want to play quidditch? Huh huh huh?" Sirius bounced on his heels, the sugar from all the cookies finally kicking in.

"How about we play a game?" James suggested, trying not to laugh at his friend.

"Ohhh a game!?!?!?!!" Sirius squealed.

"Yeah. It's called stop eating Christmas cookies" James told him.

Sirius stopped bobbing up and down and stared at James, "That doesn't sound like a very fun game Prongs"

James rolled his eyes.

A couple hours past and it was close to 11:00. Sirius had passed out on the floor after his sugar high wore off and the first years had gone to bed. James and I sat on the couch, talking about ourselves and our families and what we wanted to do after we left Hogwarts in 6 months.

Before we knew it, it was 10 to midnight and James and I decided to go to bed.

"Well, goodnight Lily" James said as we both stood up.

"Goodnight" I told him.

We both stared at eachother for a couple moments. Then, James took a step closer and his lips touched mine in a soft, passionate kiss. I felt myself melt, as he moved his arms onto my shoulders as we continued the kiss.

After what seemed like days, we separated.

I stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"What was that?" I asked.

"A kiss Lily. I thought you were smart enough to figure that out" James laughed.

I smiled. "But why? I didn't think you even knew who I was until a couple days ago"

James stared at me and then he slowly began to smile. "Lily I've liked you since the first day we got here. You were always so shy that I never got the chance to tell you."

"Really?" I asked.

James nodded.

"I've always liked you too but-"

"But you didn't think I knew who you were" James finished my sentence.

I laughed, "Yeah"

"How could I not notice someone like you?" James asked.

There was silence for a couple minutes, both of us reliving the last 10 minutes. Finally, it was James who broke the silence.

"Well, I'm going to bed."

"Ok. Me too" I told him.

"Good night"

"Night"

I headed for the staircase up to the girls dormitories as James lifted Sirius onto his shoulders and carried him up to their room.

When I reached my dormitory, I closed the door and collapsed onto my bed, unable to believe that I had just kissed James Potter.

Finally, still in my clothes, I fell asleep with a smile planted on my face.

I had kissed James Potter.

A/N: I know I know. It's been awhile. And I'm so sorry. I had this written out at school a few weeks ago but tried to email it to myself and I ended up only sending the first couple lines and I've been too lazy to retype it. Anyway, read and review. 1234. There's only a few more chapters to go.

Ooo00ooO

Emma