James
"What is it, Sirius?" I was exasperated.
"It's Evans!" He hissed, looking around fugitively.
"What about Lily?" I asked, emphasizing her first name.
"She—she doesn't actually like you, mate!" Sirius looked at me with the air of someone who just imparted a great secret.
"I know, Sirius." I said irritably. Why was he telling me this? I knew Lily didn't fancy me. She didn't fancy me; I didn't fancy her.
Really.
Sirius looked very relieved. "So—you know her plan, then?"
"What plan?" I sighed. I was getting rather annoyed with Sirius, to tell you the truth. He'd been acting like a moody git, getting moodier and moodier as it drew closer to Christmas.
"She fancies Snape, mate!" Sirius practically yelled.
"What?" I initially tried to shrug it off—Sirius was just jealous that we were friends, unlike he and Aliya. Lily didn't—couldn't—fancy Snape. "You're lying."
"Wha—no!" Sirius protested. "Not only is she using you to make Snape jealous, she's turning you against me! You haven't been the same since Halloween! What did you see?"
"I'm not the one acting like a bloody git, Sirius!" I yelled back. "What is your problem?"
"Why do you care, Potter?" Sirius was enraged. "You don't! You don't care anymore; not after Lily took up all your time! Anyway, you've made it quite clear you don't fancy Evans, so it doesn't matter!"
"I'm eleven, Sirius! I like Lily, but as a friend! I'm not girl-obsessed, like you!"
"I'm not girl-obsessed! I like Aliya, but she doesn't like me! Just because I flirted with Emily Diggens in front of her—"
"And that brunette, Monica or whatever, the blond, Allie!" I point out, breathing heavily.
"So? I'm eleven! I can do whatever I want!" Sirius said cockily. I narrowed my eyes at my friend.
"I can't believe you! Those girls probably didn't know what you were doing, Sirius. You're just toying with their feelings!"
"So? Face it, James, a month ago you would be cheering me on!" Sirius was defiant.
I opened my mouth and hesitated. It was true, but I couldn't bear thinking of Lily in the same situation.
"That's what I thought, James. When you're done acting like my mum and start acting like my friend again, we can talk." Sirius glared at me, spun on his heel, and stalked out of our dormitory door.
I sat down heavily. Was he right? I recalled how Snape and Lily had interacted during Potions the other day…
**
Lily laughed, using one slender hand to keep her hair from falling in her bubbling cauldron. From the back of the room, where I was secretly observing her, I grinned as the scent of her flowery shampoo reached me.
"Lily, don't add that," Snape said, reaching over and catching her wrist. "That would blow up the potion, and you'd get boils over your face."
"Thanks, Sev!" Lily rewarded Snape with a radiant smile. "How are you so smart?"
"Me? Uh, no…" Snape looked embarrassed and a faint tinge of red came across his pale cheeks. "You're so much smarter then me, Lily."
"You're so sweet," Lily said. "Can you hold up my hair while I add this?"
Snape looked pleased. "Anything for you, Lily." I watched with envy as he gathered her silky hair in his hands. When Lily was done she hugged Snape, blushes gathering on both of their cheeks.
**
No—Lily didn't like Snape…did she?
Nah.
Right?
••••••••••••••••••••••
Lily
I looked after Black and Pot—James' backs uncertainly. Black looked angry and rigid, and he had sent me a particularly nasty glare before he had approached P-James.
"Wonder what that was all about," remarked Aliya.
"I think someone's in love," sing-songed Lizzie. I looked shocked.
"What? No! I don't like James!" I said, not noticing this was the first time I had said his name properly.
"Oh, so it's James now?" inquired Aliya.
"No! Guys! I'm only eleven! We're just friends!"
"Riiiight," even Alice was against me!
"Alice!" I pleaded.
She grinned at me. Lizzie nad Aliya were obviously a bad influence on her.
"I left my Potions essay in the library," sighed Alice, groaning. "It was horrible! Slughorn obviously hates us."
I nodded in fervent agreement, happy to change the subject.
Alice stood up from her squishy armchair reluctantly, opening the portrait hole. She walked out almost all the way before turning around abruptly. "Never mind Potter, there's another boy out here for Lily. My, aren't we popular?"
I ignored the trio's smirks before I walked out.
*****
"Sev!" I cried. "I haven't seen you outside classes in months!"
"Yeah," Sev managed a small smile. "Sorry about that."
"Why are you avoiding me, Sev?" I asked him.
"I was avoiding Potter," he told me. "And he's always watching you."
"What's wrong with James?" I questioned.
"James?" Severus raised an eyebrow at me. I flushed.
"Potter."
"Well, after Halloween I wasn't sure if he was going to prank me," Severus explained bashfully. I grinned at him and gave him a hug.
"He won't."
"Anyway, Lily—I was in detention the other day with Professor Sprout, and at the end some plant got entangled with another, and I untangled them, and Sprout gave me this as a present." Severus blushed slightly and walked down the corridor, returning with a bunch of red roses.
"Aw, Sev that's so sweet!" I said, accepting the roses.
"She had thirteen, so you can have one and give the rest to your mum—isn't her birthday tomorrow?" He explained, looking at the floor.
"Oh, and her name's Rose! That's brilliant, Sev!" I grinned radiantly at him. He could be so sweet sometimes, and he barely ever realized it.
"They change colors depending on your mood—Sprout cast a Statis Spell on it—if you want, tell your mum that when they start to wilt she can send them back and we can renew it," Severus looked so vulnerably embarrassed and sweet that I impulsively hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. For Sev this was a big deal. The fact that he didn't flinch was an even bigger deal…
"WHAT?" A loud cry made us break apart. I turned and saw an enraged James and a smug Black standing there.
"James?" I asked, confused.
"What are you doing with – with – with – that?" He asked. "I thought—"
"What? James, Sev just gave me these," I showed him the roses, "For my m—"
"He gives you roses?" James looked, strangely, heartbroken. "I trusted you! You said you didn't like Snape!"
"I don't!" I cried, and Severus drew away from me sharply. "What—Sev! Sev! Severus!"
"I thought we were friends!" Severus said, before running down the hall.
"What? We ARE friends, Sev! Sev?" I called desperately after him, but he disappeared around the corner. I stared after him, the roses in my hands. "Sev?" I whispered.
Black sniggered. "Guess he doesn't like you anymore, Evans."
Enraged, I whirled on him. "What is your problem, Black? Sev gave me these for my Mum, because it's her birthday tomorrow! I was thanking him!"
"Wait—those weren't for you?" Potter put in.
"No!" I thought it better not to mention how he got one for me.
"Oh, damn, Lily—I'm sorry," Potter ran a hand through his hair haphazardly. He offered me a sheepish smile. "Friends, then?"
I stared at him, shocked he would even suggest such a thing. "Friends?" I hissed. "FRIENDS? You just scared off my best friend in the entire world, other then Aliya, Alice and Lizzie, and you think you can make it better by saying, friends?"
"I didn't do anything!" Potter protested but I laughed derisively.
"Don't give me that, Potter. We're off, okay?" I glared at him once before whirling on my heel and stalking swiftly away.
But, before I could get far, I heard Black say, "I was right, mate."
And Potter replied with, "Sometimes, I really wish you weren't." I frowned as I got out of earshot, wondering again what they had been talking about.
But I didn't care. Really. Potter was a jerk.
••••
James
I ran down the stairs and promptly ran into Remus, who was looking around the Common Room in amusement.
It was a circus: there was a group of seventh years who were amusing themselves by Conjuring rainbow bubbles and making them pop into hearts above someone's head, with their 'soul mate' written above it. Two third years were desperately trying to make fire, while a third stood by with water. Sirius was trying to impress two blonds in the corner, while Patil, Donnels, and Winters were talking to a stammering Peter.
Hang on… "Hey! Patil! Winters! Donnels! Where's Lily?"
Patil and Donnels spoke simultaneously, the former saying,
"So it's Lily now, huh?" while the latter said in a hurt tone,
"So it's Donnels? I have a name!"
I waved my hand at her dismissively. "Ok, so Lizzie, where's Evans?"
"I don't know," remarked the menace.
"I really need to know!" I pleaded.
"Too bad."
"Tell me—Patil? Winters?"
Patil just looked amused while Winters took pity on me.
"She's outside, talking to some boy." She said with a slight smirk.
My eyes widened as I shot a glance to Sirius in the corner (he sniggered at the look on my face and came to join me) and I raced out of the door like a madman.
What did I see? Well, I walked in on a very tender scene: that absolute git, Snape, was locked in an embrace with my Lily. As I watched, a sense of déjà vu came over me, furthered by the look of Lily kissing him. On the cheek, maybe, but I barely had a moment to think how this – this strange feeling was how Lily must've felt on Halloween, before an enraged shout left my throat and they broke apart guiltily.
I unknowingly echoed Lily from Halloween, "WHAT?"
"James?" The look on surprised innocence of her face should've warned me that something was off, but I ignored that feeling.
"What are you doing with – with – with – that?" As a look of hurt passed over their faces, I felt an ultimate sense of betrayal I could barely understand, let alone explain, "I thought—"
Lily's—Evans'—look of hurt morphed into one of anger. "What? James, Sev just gave me these," She revealed a bunch of color-changing roses and a vein above my eye twitched. "For my m—"
I didn't hear the rest of her sentence, only the, "Just gave me these" and the, "For my" parts.
"He gives you roses?" For some odd, unexplainable reason (I. Do. Not. Fancy. Lily. Evans.) I felt—heartbroken, almost. "I trusted you! You said you didn't like Snape!"
"I don't!" Lily burst out, and I watched with satisfaction as Snape drew away from her sharply. "What—Sev! Sev! Severus!"
"I thought we were friends!" 'Severus' said, before running down the hall.
"What? We ARE friends, Sev! Sev?" The look on Lily's face crumbled my resolve. "Sev?" The whisper was so faint I could barely make it out.
Sirius sniggered. "Guess he doesn't like you anymore, Evans."
"What is your problem, Black? Sev gave me these for my Mum, because it's her birthday tomorrow! I was thanking him!" Lily exploded, and I closed my eyes in shame. So they weren't for her; I overreacted. As usual, I thought bitterly. I thought about my gift for her upstairs and wondered if it would be enough to make her warm to me. Probably not, a voice that sounded irritatingly like Remus sounded in my head.
I groaned. Now Remus was my conscience. Damn it! "Wait—those weren't for you?"
"No!" Lily looked thoroughly exasperated.
"Oh, damn, Lily—I'm sorry," I offered her what my cousin called my "Wet Dog Look" and gave her an embarrassed smile. "Friends, then?"
For a second, she hesitated, and I prepared to smile in relief. So she was being reasonable—
"Friends?" Lily practically hissed like a cat, "FRIENDS? You just scared off my best friend in the entire world, other then Aliya, Alice and Lizzie, and you think you can make it better by saying, friends?"
That was so unfair! She was so—ugh! She was so immature, and annoying, and—"I didn't do anything!" I feebly protested.
"Don't give me that, Potter. We're off, okay?" Lily narrowed her beautiful green eyes—focus, Potter—at me, and gave me a scorching glare before stalking off. I watched her go with a glare. She was such a bi—brat!
Sirius told me casually, "I was right, mate."
I grinned ruefully. "Sometimes, I really wish you weren't."
He laughed and held out his hand. "Friends, then?" He mocked me.
"Friends," I shook his hand and we headed inside. "I can't believe she fooled me. I guess she didn't want my friendship after all."
"S'okay," Sirius tossed me a chocolate frog from the depths of his pocket. "Now that you're done pining after her—"
"I wasn't pining!" I shoved Sirius and he shoved me back, laughing.
"Yes you were! Imagine," Sirius shuddered. "Imagine what would've happened if I let you keep pining after her! What if you gave her roses?"
I shuddered, though my heart wasn't entirely in it. "Or wrote poetry?"
Sirius pretended to vomit. "Lily, your eyes sparkle like emerald jewels in the sky. Your red hair burns like fire and your body—"
"Sirius!" I shoved him again, and he leaped on me. We went down in a tussle while Remus looked on with that maddeningly condescending look of his.
It was good to be normal.
******
Seventeen Days Later: December 17th, 1971
"Please, James? Please?" begged Sirius, sticking his lower lip out childishly. "I'll—I'll do anything! I'll do your laundry—"
"The house-elves do that, stupid." I remarked as I threw pieces of clothing haphazardly into my trunk.
"I'll do your homework!"
"And fail? I think not."
"James! You're sounding like Remus!" Sirius threw a sock at my head. "C'mon—Snape's staying! We'll prank him every day and the teacher's can't do a thing about it!"
"I'll owl my mum," I conceded, and Sirius punched the air in celebration.
"Now we need to convince Remus and Peter to stay over Christmas Break—Peter will be easy; just mention his Uncle Berry or Barry or whatever and he'll cave, but Remus—" Sirius planned while I rolled my eyes, scribbling a quick note to my mum.
Sirius had been begging me for months to stay for Christmas at Hogwarts. I kind of wanted to go to a Christmas at home, but Sirius had pleaded and begged, and I knew that it was more then wanting to prank Snape:
December 3rd, 1971
"Mr. Black! Mr. Potter!" McGonagall came walking up to us, a long scroll in her hands. "Are either of you staying for Christmas?"
"I am." Sirius immediately said. I frowned.
"I dunno—can I tell you later? Uh, Ma'am?"
"I'll put a mark by your name, Mr. Potter. Please tell me before the—"
"I'll tell you on the eighteenth," I told her, knowing that was the day everyone left.
"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall looked shocked. "I'm afraid I cannot do that—"
"Thank you, Professor," Sirius said charmingly before dragging me into an empty classroom. "James!"
"What?" I wondered what I did this time.
"Why aren't you staying?" Sirius was scandalized.
"Why are you staying?" I countered.
"Trust me, mate: Christmas with my family is not something you want to attend."
*
Ever since that argument Sirius had been pestering me, but I couldn't decide.
"Mate? James? James!" Sirius broke into my thoughts by chucking another sock at me.
"What?"
"What were you thinking about?" Sirius pestered, and I rolled my eyes before a smirk lit upon my face.
"What I'm going to get Aliya for her birthday," I grinned in anticipation of his reaction.
I was not disappointed. "WHAT?" Sirius screeched. "When is it? Why didn't anyone tell me? What are you getting her—damn! What am I getting her? How am I going to get her something by—When is it, James?"
I shook with silent laughter upon seeing Sirius all flustered. "It's tomorrow, mate. I heard Evans and Winters planning a surprise party."
"You what? When was this?"
I grinned at him. "The day McGonagall asked us if we were going home for Christmas."
Sirius furiously pelted me with all manners of clothing. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"Because you were annoying me," I said smugly, ducking out of the way as one particularly nasty pair of underwear—Peter's by the smell of it—was thrown at my war.
"James!" Sirius threw one final shirt at me before flopping back on his bed. "At least tell me what you got her."
"I got her candy," I told him. It was a simple, informal, casual gift.
"Damn! That was my idea!" Sirius looked defeated. "James, what do you get an eleven year old girl?"
"I'll ask my mum to get you something when she returns my owl," I took pity on him and scribbled a P.S on my letter, before I coaxed Remus' owl down from her perch on Sirius' wardrobe and attached the letter to her leg.
•••••
Lily
"Are you staying for Christmas?" Remus came up to me, blushing slightly. I grinned at him, feeling a tickle in my stomach. I liked Remus. Not Severus, not Potter, but Remus. He was cute and smart and funny and shy…a lot like me, actually.
"No," I sighed. "Unfortunately I have to go home."
Remus cocked his head and looked at me. "Why?"
I grimaced and sat down on a nearby couch, motioning for him to do the same. "My mum and dad are forcing me to come home, in hopes Petunia and I will 'reconcile'."
He looked sympathetic. "That sounds…interesting."
I nodded in agreement. "What're you doing?"
"I'm also going home…my mum wants to see me."
I shyly grinned at him. "Maybe I can owl you."
His answering grin was bright. "Maybe you can."
*****
December 18th, 1971
"Ok—so, presents?" I hurriedly asked, looking warily at the portrait hole.
"Check!" Remus counted all of Aliya's presents and swept something over them, and they disappeared. I gave him a questioning look, and he just smiled at me.
"Cake?"
"Check," Potter walked into the room, avoiding my gaze—well, glare. "The house elves were happy to make it."
I turned my back on Potter. "Decorations?"
"Check," Alice called out, Levitating banners and magical streamers around the Common Room from a tall stepladder in the middle of the room.
"Ok, everyone—" I began, but Lizzie burst in the common room.
"She's coming!"
With a flick of his wand, Frank Longbottom, who had just entered the common room, turned off the lights.
Aliya walked in, then—
"SURPRISE!"
The lights flickered on and the streamers shot out confetti. "Happy Birthday, Aliya!" I said, going over to my friend and hugging her.
"Lils—ohmigod!" squealed Aliya. "You guys planned a party? I didn't even know you knew when my birthday was!"
Lizzie hugged her as well, handing her a piece of chocolate cake. "We're full of surprises!"
•••••
James
I watched as Li—Evans led Patil around the room, the four of them giggling and talking. I felt a pang when Remus joined them, and Evans put a chocolaty finger on his nose, causing him to blush. Damn!
To mask my strange feelings, I shouted out, "PRESENTS!"
Evans looked pleased, before whispering something in Remus' ear. Remus blushed again (he was looking like a tomato) before going over to the hidden presents and revealing them by waving his wand wildly while discreetly pulling the Cloak out. Aliya grinned at Remus (my isn't he popular with the ladies today) and opening…mine?
Huh.
"Thanks, Potter!" Aliya smiled hesitantly at me. I gave her a cheeky grin in return, and she turned to the next one.
"Aw, Lils—that's so sweet!" Aliya held up a pretty necklace with color changing jewels.
"If any Muggles ask what it is, tell them it's like mood ring," Evans said and they exchanged smirks.
I stifled a yawn as Aliya went through all the presents—Remus gave her some Muggle "gift card" or whatever, Sirius (or my mum) gave her a ring, Peter got her some Sugar Quills, Lizzie gave her something that made Patil blush furiously and hide it from the rest of us, Winters gave her a pair of earrings (they looked normal to me, but judging by the way Patil squealed so loudly it was obviously special).
FINALLY it was over, and Evans, Patil, Lizzie, Winters, Peter and Remus dashed for the train, leaving Sirius and I. Well.
I looked out of the window to where they were going towards the train in a line of carriages, and saw the six of them—and a familiar greasy haired git—all get into the same carriage.
"Sirius!" I whined. "Snape left!"
"Are you serious?" Sirius ran to the window and cursed.
"No, you are," I muttered automatically, flinching away from his punch.
"Mate, we're practically the only first years!" Sirius moaned.
"It's your fault!" I turned on Sirius, Levitating a pitcher of water over his head.
"What—James! James! Hey, put that down! That's not fair—augh!" a soaked Sirius glared at me, and I began to run, hoping there was a carriage left for me.
••••
Lily
The train ride home was relatively pleasant—Severus had hesitantly joined us in our carriage to the train station, and had actually given me a smile before sitting with his Slytherin friends. Meanwhile, Remus, Peter, Lizzie, Aliya, Alice and I squeezed into one compartment on the train.
We talked and laughed and joked around (well, Peter sat in the corner and mostly listened), and Remus and I had a very interesting conversation about Charms while the others ate candy from the trolley.
We finally arrived, and I gave all my friends a hug and my phone number (Lizzie and Alice looked at it dubiously) and I turned to Remus.
"So—will you owl me at least once?" I blushed as he did.
"Um—ok," Remus looked at him feet. I spotted my parents looking at me, so I shoved a wrapped present in his hand and blurted out,
"This is your Christmas present, I hope you like it," before I began to make my escape.
"Wait," Remus stammered. He grabbed hold of my hand before he blushed furiously and dropped it like a stone. "I, uh, got you a present, too."
He handed me a present before he gave me a quick hug and escaped.
I willed my bright red cheeks to return to normal as I found Severus in all the steam and we made our way over to my parents.
"Lily!" my mum enveloped me in a choking hug while my dad winced at me sympathetically. "Who was that handsome boy?"
"Hey, mum," I gasped, before escaping her grasp (and avoiding the question).
"And—Severus! You're looking so much better, but you're still so thin! What do they feed you at that school of yours?" fretted my mum, treating poor Severus to the same treatment. I grinned at his shell-shocked expression.
"Well, come on, then, my car's out here," chattered my mum as Petunia gave me a glare and Dad fell back to talk to me.
"Hey, princess," he said affectionately, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I smiled at him. I was a perfect blend of my parents, looks and personalities: I had Mum's wavy red hair and slim figure, my dad's nose and eyes. Both of my parents were tall, my dad had long legs that I inherited.
Now, my mum was a chatterer. She loved dinner parties and social events, and had the sort of personality that immediately invited you in, and you couldn't help but like her. She loved to learn and we would travel all over the world in the summers. My dad, on the other hand, was quieter and more bookish (which I definitely inherited), and preferred to have a small, closely knit group of friends.
"How was your first term?" My dad asked me.
"It was…interesting," I answered truthfully. "The classes are fascinating—my favorite is Charms or Arithmancy! Arithmancy is so interesting: you can predict the future, and it really gives you insight into someone's character. My Character Number is two, which means I'm imaginative, creative, and sweet natured, and I value peace, harmony, commitment, loyalty, and fairness."
My dad looked interested; as I knew he would. "Really. How do you figure this out, and what does it mean? What am I?"
I grinned at him and launched into an explanation of Arithmancy and how it worked. Even with Petunia there, it was good to be home.
••••••
James
"But, Professor!" I pleaded. She looked sternly at me, and a bedraggled Sirius, before her expression softened. We were standing in her office begging to be able to go home for Christmas.
"Are you sure Mrs. Potter will allow Mr. Black to accompany you?" She asked sternly.
"Absolutely," I nodded. "She said, uh…" I drew my letter from my pocket and scanned it. "She says, 'Instead of staying at Hogwarts with your friend, invite him over instead, if his parents allow it. I'm sure that your friend, Sirius, would enjoy Christmas at our house.'"
"Please, Professor! You can't let me go home for Christmas, and we don't want to be the only first years left!" begged Sirius.
"We'll do anything! We'll turn in our essays on time!" I bargained.
"We won't cause trouble for a month, Professor!"
"We'll work extra hard!"
"We won't sleep through your lectures—ow, James! That hurt! Damn! Oh—sorry, Professor." Sirius tried to look repentant while rubbing his arm where I had hit him.
"I see," McGonagall's lips twitched slightly, and she stood up. "You have exactly one hour to gather all your things and return to my office. You can use my Floo."
"Thank you, Professor! Don't pay any heed to Sirius—he's not right in the head." I dragged Sirius out of the office.
"Hey!"
"It's true! Ow! Sirius!" I narrowed my eyes at Sirius, who fled. I heard McGonagall sigh back in her office and I scampered after Sirius.
********
"Jamesie! How are you?" I whirled out of our fireplace into the arms of my mother.
"Mum—gerroff!" I groaned, wriggling out of her grasp. "I'm fine."
"James, m'boy!" Dad entered the room and gave me a one-armed hug. He dropped his voice to a whisper, glancing at Mum, who was introducing herself to Sirius. "Was that, ahem, item I gave you of any use?"
I smirked mischievously. "Oh, yeah it was. Oh—thanks for the tip about House Elves."
"House Elves?" questioned Mum. Dad grinned sheepishly and cleared his throat—he was a complete pushover when it came to Mum—so I intervened.
"Yes, sometimes before big tests when we skipped dinner to study they would bring us dinner," I 'lied'…well, not exactly. I omitted certain truths, such as the fact that I haven't studied once, but the house elves did get us food.
So, it wasn't a complete lie, and it got the attention off of Dad (he winked at me), but I got subjected to the normal Mum questions about classes (snore), homework (shudder), teachers (guilty smile), whether there was any "nice girls"…wait, what?
"Mum!"
"Oh! So there were! Tell me their names!" Mum said eagerly and I rolled my eyes at Sirius. Mum was a big gossip.
"Mum, there weren't any girls," I tried, but she shook her head.
"Well, tell me all the first years, then," Mum said slyly.
I shared a Look with Sirius, before listing them all off. "Ok, so there's Remus Lupin—"
"Is he a nice boy? Is he your friend?"
Sirius held in a laugh. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Oh, none of that! It makes me sound old! Call me Elizabeth." Mum fretted, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Ok, Mum. So, there's Remus, Peter Pettigrew—yes he's a friend of ours —and the girls are Alice Winters—"
"A nice family," approved Mum. "As I remember, Alice is quite pretty and very sweet and shy, you should make friends with her—"
"Mum!" I was scandalized. Mum would always encourage me to 'make friends' with various girls—but to do it in front of Sirius! Well, that was embarrassing.
"Sorry, Jamsie," cooed Mum, before catching sight of my Look. "Ooh, sorry, uh, James. Go on."
"Then there's, uh, Lizzie…Donnels," I said, reddening when I recalled Halloween. Lizzie had had been rather flirtatious to me ever since then.
"Oh, is she pretty, James? I bet she's nice. Did you get anything for her for Christmas? It's only proper, if you fancy her. We can go to Diagon Alley if you like…"
"MUM!" I moaned, noticing how Sirius was nearly doubled over in mirth and how Dad had discreetly sidled out of the room, the coward. "I don't fancy Lizzie!"
"Whatever you say, dearie."
Sirius snorted, and I shot him a nasty look. "Well, Sirius here thinks Aliya Patil is pretty, Mum."
Sirius shot me a betrayed look. It was his turn to get pestered with questions and my turn to laugh.
"And then there's, uh, L-Lily. Um, Lily E-Evans," I stuttered over her name, my cheeks reddening even more.
"Oh, do you fancy her?" Mum turned to me with a predatory air.
"No! She's my worst enemy!" I gave Mum a 'you're-embarrassing-me-in-front-of-my-best-friend' look, and she backed off.
"Why don't you show Sirius your room, sweetie?" Mum allowed us to escape, but I saw the smirk on her face. My shoulders slumped. We were in for a long summer.
••••••••
December 24th, 1971
Lily
"Lily, dear—will you and Petunia make salad?" Mum called from the kitchen. I groaned from my room upstairs, pausing in writing a continuing four-way letter to Aliya. The letter had been circulating between our respective homes every day.
"Mum," I whined. "I'm busy!"
"Lily Autumn Evans!" The dreaded full name came from downstairs and I wrinkled my nose, resigning myself to an evening of cooking with Petunia. No doubt this was one of Mum's endless schemes to make us reconcile. I would happily make up with Petunia—well, make up is the wrong word. I didn't do anything. I'd been friendly to Petunia for the past seven days; it was her who had been nasty!
"Don't worry, mum—I won't complain," a haughty voice came from down the hall, "I know that freaks sometimes have trouble with manners, but normal people don't."
I capped my ink and put two books on either side of the parchment so the ink wouldn't blot, and I went downstairs reluctantly. Petunia was already in the kitchen, and I was about to enter when I heard my name.
"…be nice to Lily! It's not her fault she's special," Mum lectured. I winced; calling me special would not help her case.
"Oh, so if she's 'special', what am I? The Ugly Stepsister?" Petunia hissed.
I heard Mum sigh loudly. "No, Petunia. You know I don't love one of you more then the other! You're top in nearly all your classes this year, and I know for a fact that that Nicholas boy thinks you're pretty."
I felt hurt. Last year I would've had a full report on 'Nicholas', with pictures and detailed accounts of every conversation that they had. This year, well, Petunia didn't even mention it to me.
Petunia sighed a little, and nodded. "Fine."
"That's my girl," Mum undoubtedly hugged Petunia before, "Now, go get your sister. Christmas is tomorrow, and wouldn't you two getting on be a wonderful present for your father?"
I paled and quietly sprinted to my room, just managing to sit down before Petunia appeared in my bedroom doorway.
I knew she was there, but I wanted her to say the first word, so I pretended to read my Transfiguration book quietly.
"Lily?" Petunia finally ventured.
I looked up and gave her a hesitant smile. "Yeah?"
"Um—Mum wants us to set up the presents," Petunia told me. She flashed me a familiar conspiring grin. "I got us out of salad duty."
I stood up and gave her a smirk. "You'd think Mum would've learned by now."
"I know! Mother's are so clueless!" Petunia answered automatically, before stopping and looking down. "Um…Lily, I'm, uh—"
I grinned at her. "Whatever, Tuney. So tell me: is there any cute boys at your school?"
Petunia blushed, still looking at my carpet. "Well, there is this one…"
I walked towards her, impulsively giving her a hug. She stiffened before slowly relaxing. "What's his name?"
"Nick," answered Petunia slowly. She smiled a little. "He's really nice. Oh! And the last day of term he gave me a present and a petunia! He's so sweet…"
Petunia began to chatter like she used to as we made our way downstairs. I inserted gasps and laughs at the right places, and I saw Mum peeking at us from the kitchen. She caught my eye and her gaze told me she knew I'd been eavesdropping…I swear she could see through walls!
Mothers.
••••••••
James
"Shhhh!"
"Where's the damn chocolate, Lionheart?"
"I do not know; I repeat, I do not know, Snake Basher."
"Damn! I hear footsteps!"
"Where?"
"Twelve o'clock! I repeat; twelve o'clock!"
"My twelve o'clock or your twelve o'clock?"
"Yours and mine, damnit—Oh, hi, Mrs. Potter. Have you seen James anywhere?"
I tiptoed down the kitchen corridor, holding my a pair of earmuffs in my hand. Dad, after telling me, "If you get in trouble I had nothing to do with it", had enchanted them so that Sirius could hear me, and vice-versa.
We were on a very important mission: to recover the chocolate Mum "confiscated" yesterday when we broke her vase. Really, it was an unnecessary punishment: one flick of her wand and a "Reparo!" had fixed it right up. So, in retaliation for the unjust punishment, we vowed to recover the chocolates. Unfortunately, after a lengthy argument about our code names (Sirius was "Snake Basher" and I was "Lionheart"), Sirius proved to be horrible at stealth.
That or he got lost very easily.
I perked up as Sirius' voice filtered through our earmuffs (his was his Gryffindor scarf) saying, "I'll go through towards the dining room, Mrs. Potter. I thought I saw him earlier, but then I thought he might have gotten hungry."
Mum's voice was faint because she was far away from the scarf, but I heard her say, "I'll go through the kitchen corridor."
I hit my head at Sirius' stupidity before I ducked into the hallway that would take me to the dining room, where I met up with a grinning Sirius.
"You idiot!" I rolled my eyes at Sirius, mimicking his voice, "'Twelve o'clock! I repeat, twelve o'clock!' Like I knew where you were! You could've said, 'She's coming up the living room hallway'!"
Sirius grinned at me. "At least I did my job! You were supposed to be a look-out and stall!"
"Prat."
"Git."
"Idiot."
"Gimboid," retorted my friend. I looked at him oddly.
"Gimboid? Where the hell did you hear that one?"
"What? I heard a seventh year say it."
"Wow, Sirius—just wow."
"Shut up."
"You're a 'gimboid' and are a terrible actor."
"So are you!"
We argued the whole way to the dining room, where we sat down for dinner.
"James Potter, where have you been? You had Sirius practically in tears trying to find you!" Mum admonished. I gave a wide grin to Sirius.
"You cried? Aw, that's so sweet! I didn't know you cared so much," I teased Sirius in a girly voice, while he wrinkled his nose at me.
"Not a good actor, huh?" Sirius whispered into his scarf, and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"James Potter, behave!" Mum admonished, and Maddy, our head house elf, popped in.
"Dinner is ready, Masters!" she announced, and with a snap of her fingers an elegantly prepared meal appeared on our table.
I loved Christmas Eve.
••••••
Lily
"Careful with that—it's hot!" Mum cautioned, shoving the salad bowl at Petunia.
"Here, Pet—take this."
I shared an exasperated look with Petunia as we carted item after item to the table. Mum had gone all out with the dinner: there was turkey and chicken and gravy, shepherd's pie and steak-and-kidney pie, salad and pudding, fruit and three vegetables…
Dad walked in to the dining room, saw all the food, and rolled his eyes fondly at us.
"We'll be eating leftovers for days," he fake-griped, before walking into the kitchen and planting a kiss on Mum's lips. "Which is a good thing, because I love your food."
I rolled my eyes at their sickeningly sweet display; before we sat down to eat the delicious dinner.
We talked and laughed, and even Petunia joined in, and I thanked the heavens that she had seemed to forgive me…until a tawny owl swooped in our open window and perched on her head.
She gave an ear-splitting shriek before throwing the bird at me. "That's it!" She yelled at me. "I've had enough of your—your—your abnormalness! Owls in the middle of Christmas Eve! Freaky barriers only you can go through in the middle of King's Cross Station! I'm through with you!"
She grabbed her plate of food and stomped up to her room, before slamming the door.
"Lily, dear," began my mom. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Lecture time! "You know I understand there are different ways of communication in your world, but I really must insist that all owls either go straight up to your room or wait outside. It's unsanitary and it disturbs our family time together, and it upsets Petunia."
"Mum, I can't control the owls! If someone tells it to go to Lily Evans it will go to exactly where I am. I can tell everyone to tell them to go to the Evans Residence, but I really can't stop them," I told her, untying the letter.
It said "Lilykins" on the front and I narrowed my eyes. There were two people who would call me that, and they were both utter prats.
I opened the letter and scanned it.
'Hey, Lilykins,
Guess who! It's your favourite person, other then Jamesie, here!
So James' mum is having a Christmas Party tomorrow, and she wants to know if you can come. It starts at seven, wear "semi-formal" clothing, whatever that means. Just send the owl back with a yes or no and we'll give you the address.
James says hi and he really wants you to come! Give the poor bloke a chance, he's pining after you over here'
The first handwriting stopped in the middle of the sentence, and Potter seemed to have grabbed the quill after a brief scuffle (the ink stains and blots proved that).
'That's not true! Evans, you can stay home, we really don't need your know-it-all-ness over here. Ignore Sirius.
Lizzie, Patil and Winters can come—Remus and Peter are coming.
Yours not-truly,
James and Sirius'
I rolled my eyes, a faint smile playing on my lips in spite of myself.
"Well, what is it, princess?" Dad prompted me.
"James Potter's mum—Mrs. Potter—are having a Christmas Party tomorrow at seven and they want us to come," I told my parents.
Mum looked interested. "A party, you say?"
"Yeah, you'll get to meet my friends and their mums—Aliya's parents are like you. I heard Mrs. Potter likes baking and gossip—" I added slyly, knowing the last two secured a "yes" from Mum. The three things she loved most—parties, cooking and gossip—all rolled into one!
"Well, it would be nice to meet everybody, won't it, Richard?" Mum asked Dad hopefully. He looked slightly apprehensive so I told him,
"There will probably be Wizarding beer—called Firewhiskey—and you can learn how to play Quidditch…" I knew my dad had a fascination with Quidditch, so I knew the answer would be a—
"I think we should go," Mum said and Dad grinned.
"Who am I to go against orders of the women of the house?" he said, and it was settled. Tomorrow I would see my friends again and escape Petunia. Merry Christmas to me!
______________________________________________________________________
Hope you all like this chapter—Merry Christmas in July!
So James and Lily are back to hating each other—which will last a long time (pre-adolescent—and adolescent—girls can hold a grudge a long time. Trust me; I know from experience). Next chapter is the Christmas party, and Lily decides to do something about Petunia! Hot chocolate can fix anything!
Thanks to my beta, siriuslydangerous!
Review!
-Zanna
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