Christmas came upon the castle with all of its usual merriment. The halls were decorated with ivy, tiny fairies fluttered past the students as they walked. The Great Hall stood with its twelve Christmas trees.
"So what are your plans for the holiday?" James asked as the Marauders and Lily sat in a group at dinner one night.
"I'm going to go home." Lily replied. "What about you lot?"
"The same. We're staying at James's place." Sirius explained. "Care to join us?"
Lily hesitated. "I don't want to crash your party…"
"It won't be crashing. It'll be grand, Lils. You've got to come." Sirius wheedled. "Say yes."
She looked at James, who smiled and shrugged.
"Alright, I'd love to." She answered.
Sirius whooped and grinned at her. "It'll be great, Lils. We're having a huge party on Christmas Eve, all the neighbors are invited. It'll be filled with everyone from his neighborhood. James's parents are going to the Ministry Ball so we'll have the time of our lives."
Lily returned his bright grin.
---
"We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" The four boys caroled, arms around each other's shoulders as they proceeded down the main street of James's birthplace, a town called Godric's Hollow.
Lily walked beside them, laughing. She walked with them as they sang at the top of their lungs. "You're too much," she said with a wide smile.
"No, Evans, you're too much!" James separated himself from the others and grabbed some snow.
"Don't you dare, James Potter!" Lily screamed a moment too late. The snowball had already hit her. "You're so dead!" She bent over to grab a handful of snow.
She didn't have time to throw it, though. Peter Pettigrew's voice broke through. "We're here, everyone."
Lily gasped when she saw it. It was the prettiest house she'd ever seen. It was tall, four stories high, with beautiful half circle balconies. Ivy, covered in snow, clung to it while smoke billowed out of its many chimneys. It was made of stone, though it barely shone through.
James grinned when he saw her face. "This is home," he said simply. "Come on in."
He led them through two double wooden doors. They stood a good fourteen feet high. She looked around the entrance hall, taking it all in.
There was a golden fountain in the center of the hall, with tiny crystal fish leaping out of it. Sun shone through huge windows, catching the fish with light. The floors were a dark oak wood, panels arranged in shapes. The walls were white with the doorframes framed in gold. There was a double staircase that met with a landing in the middle, also dark wood. The staircase, she was told, led to the ballroom and the guest bedrooms. It was the formal stair.
James led an enchanted Lily through the other rooms. Sirius, Remus, and Peter had already dispersed to their own rooms, which the Potters had given them years ago. "This is the kitchen," he said with a grin as he walked in.
It was nearly the largest kitchen she'd ever seen. If she hadn't known the Hogwarts kitchen's size, it easily would have been the first. The floors were again dark wood, only this time a shade lighter. The walls were a deep burgundy, a rich color. There was a fireplace big enough to sit in, in fact there were seats built into the walls. House-elves bustled around, grinning and bowing to James as he entered. A huge chandelier hung over the stoves. Near one of the three sinks stood a small woman with bright blonde hair, her back was to them and Lily watched her working for a moment.
"James!" She cried when she saw him. James dropped everything and ran across the huge kitchen to her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "Oh darling," she whispered.
"Hi Mum!" James exclaimed. He looked over his mother's shoulders at Lily with a smile. When she released him, he led her by the hand to Lily.
"Hello," Lily smiled at her. She was an extremely beautiful woman, with her blonde hair framing her face.
"Hello darling, you must be Lily." Mrs. Potter hugged her. "I've heard so much about you that I feel as if we've already met ages ago."
Lily hugged her back with a smile. She was so similar to her own mother, who she hadn't been able to hug in nearly three years.
"Where are the boys?" Mrs. Potter asked after the greetings.
"Off in their rooms, I bet." James replied with a grin. "Sirius is so excited about being back. I think he's doing handstands on the bed."
Mrs. Potter laughed. "That's Sirius for you." She looked over at Lily and James. "Have you shown Lily her bedroom yet?"
"Not yet, Mum. I wanted to say hello to you first."
"Well darling, go show her!" Mrs. Potter smiled at them.
With a quick wave, James led Lily from the warm kitchen to another hallway. Along the way she passed a dining room, two studies, three bathrooms, and one living room. There were countless portraits and statues.
They climbed up two staircases with relative ease, passing many more rooms.
"How big is this house?" Lily asked incredulously as she passed another smaller kitchen.
"It's around a hundred rooms," James answered. "It's got eleven guest bedrooms, not counting those of the Marauders. There're two mini-kitchens and the big one, a ball room, four studies, a billard's room, and no one knows how many bathrooms. It's pretty big."
Lily nodded as they passed another wing. "I'm going to be so lost."
"Don't worry. There's a map in your room."
"Are you serious?" Lily's eyes widened. "A map?" She thought of her small one room flat.
"Don't sound all surprised, Lily. This house has been in my family for generations. It's been added on to for centuries."
She fell silent as they passed a small pond on the third floor. More crystal fish swam in the waters.
"This is the Marauder suite." James pushed open a huge wooden door with a golden doorknob.
Lily gasped as she saw it. The room was painted a warm golden yellow, with huge armchairs crowding around. It was a circular room with bookshelves built to fit. There were countless books, thousands of them about Quidditch. There was a roaring fire in the middle though there was no fireplace or chimney. There were five doors in between the bookshelves. Each door had a painting above it, framed with burgundy curtains.
"This is our sitting room," he explained. He pointed to the door with a painting of a single lily above it. "That's your room. Mine's over there." His painting was of a Snitch.
He led her into her bedroom with a small smile at her reaction.
Lily literally cried. She was so surprised at the beauty of the room she'd call hers for the next two and a half weeks. The walls were painted a delicate shade of jade. The floor was the same dark wood they clearly favored. There were vases of lilies and roses spread out upon the furniture. There was a small oak table with a circular mirror upon it. Laid upon the table was a golden brush and hand mirror. Her wardrobe was beautifully and carefully decorated with small stars and lilies.
Her bed was the most spectacular. She'd always thought the bed she had now was something but this bed put it to shame. It was a huge four-poster bed, bigger than the one she had in Hogwarts. The curtains were ivory, held back with emerald colored ribbons. Five large pillows lay upon it. A single lily in a matching emerald lay upon it.
"It's… it's… it's beautiful," she whispered. She turned towards him.
"It's really nothing, Lily." James replied happily.
"No, it's definitely something." Without any prior notice, she placed her arms around him. "You're really something, James." She hugged him tightly.
He held her close for a moment before backing away. "Well… er… I'll be… uh… off. Yeah. I'll be off." James gave her one fleeting grin before leaving her in the prettiest room.
He walked into his bedroom with a grin. He jumped onto his bed and spread himself out. The familiar Gryffindor theme made him feel so comfortable that he promptly fell asleep.
Next door to him, however, Lily was wide awake. She had looked in all the drawers in her room, discovering a hidden surprise in each. There was a silk nightgown, a pair of golden slippers, a beautiful short black dress. She giggled with delight when she found her favorite book, the infamous Muggle novel Gone with the Wind. She found the map James had spoke of and looked at it with awe in her eyes. The entire house was nearly as big as Hogwarts.
Three hours passed quickly and before she realized it, a knock at her door reminded her it wasn't a dream.
"Come in." She settled herself upon her bed, looking at the door with interest.
"Hullo Kooky," James greeted her. "Like the room?"
"Love it." She smiled at him.
"Have you seen the best part yet?"
Lily looked at him with shock. She had thought the entire room was the best part. She wasn't expecting more.
James grinned at her, walking towards the walls. Lily realized that the walls weren't painted jade; instead they were covered with jade silk upon which tiny lilies had been painted. She was amazed at how much effort had gone into doing this room up for her.
He leaned against the wall, pushing onto one of the lilies with his hand. In a moment a portion of the wall vanished, leaving a door framed in gold. James flung open the door and Lily gasped at what she saw.
There was a semi-circular balcony with a view of the most amazing gardens she'd ever seen. They were the winter gardens, James explained as he led her out. She could have stood there forever, gazing at the fountains that shot water that glittered like diamonds.
After a few minutes of listening to Lily's teeth chatter, James led her back inside. She was terribly quiet and for a sickening second he thought she would rebuke him for the waste of money.
"I want your house." She said simply, grinning at him.
"Marry me and you'll get it," he teased.
"When's the wedding?"
"Tonight."
"Eager, aren't you?"
"Quite."
"I want this house," she repeated, looking around. "I love this house."
James rolled his eyes at her reaction but was pleased. He had worried she'd hate it, thinking it was too formal.
"It's all wonderful, James. All so wonderful."
---
Author's Note: So I'm finally home in SC and I'm ecstatic to be back. I won't be updating as much because school starts soon and I've got a lot of work to do, college apps and finishing the IB program. But enough of that. Here're are my replies to the reviews! )
Pyromaniac-Girl: Don't worry, your review made total sense to me. I'm glad you like my story! Thanks for reviewing!
Naughty-sphinx: Yeah, I'm a canon stickler, unfortunately. Sometimes I'd so much rather leave the canon and go off on some crazy whim and let everyone live but I can't. The prank I'd have described better but I wanted to move on to a few different things. That and I'm not too good at describing pranks, I think. P Thanks for all the reviews!
Harryyypotteerr: Wow, you know how to make a person feel GREAT! The best JL story out there I doubt is mine but I'm really honored you think so! Thanks for reviewing!
GlindaFied26: Updating as quickly as I can, I promise! I wasn't really studying abroad. I was just on holiday with my family. I spend a lot of time in Europe because that's where I'm from and that's where all of my extended family is. I wish I was studying abroad though! I was in Poland and France. ) Thanks for reviewing!
Wingsofire: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like it! I'm all for Lily and James too. P Thanks for reviewing!
Jessiquie: Ooh I'm so glad you liked my last line in that chapter. I thought I liked it too but it went through a time of me deleting it and trying variations. But in the end, it won out. So I'm glad you thought it was good! Thanks for reviewing!
ReadingRobyn: Aw just plain toast? I'm glad you support my cause though. French toast is love. P Thanks for reviewing!
StArZiLL: Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. ) Thanks for all the reviews though. P
Stardust718: Ooh yes, two months is long. It was lots of fun though. Thanks for reviewing! )
Katie-koo: I'm glad you love my story. )
xSiriusxPotterx: Deeper plot? Hm… it goes a bit deeper but I'm keeping this one more lighthearted. My other story, Sleeping on the Job, is definitely much deeper than this one. It addresses a lot more issues. However, I wrote most of it before Book 7 so the names aren't canon. Speaking of names, I'm glad you like my crazy names. I just think that having names that all mean something keeps in line with JK's books. And it's easy for an author to do that. All you have to do is use Google. ) Thanks for reviewing, David!
Daisychaingirl: I love your name! ) I'm glad you like my storyline. It probably sounds bad to admit to this but I just wrote without really having much of an idea on how to get from Point A to Point B. It's more fun that way, I think. P Thanks for reviewing!
twinglesMeMeMe13: More is on the way! Thanks for reviewing!
Lexie-H: Thank you for all of the reviews. )
Okay so I'm done with my thank-you's, for now. ) Enjoy these two chapters and I'll try to update Sleeping on the Job soon!