'By Merlin, James! You didn't tell us she was ginger!'

'Charlus!' James' Mum scolded.

'Or so damnably pretty,' Mr Potter finished, 'It's nice to meet you, Lily, I'm Charlus Potter, James' long-suffering Father,' the grey haired man just inside the door said.

Lily blushed, realising just what James had meant by, "he's a nightmare". James' parents looked a good ten years older than her own; both had completely grey hair, and yet both seemed to sparkle with youthful vivacity.

'It's a pleasure to meet you,' Lily tried to reply as he shook her hand, but James' Mum was appalled.

'I must apologise for my husband, dear, he's worse than the boys sometimes!' She swooped down on Lily and kissed her on both cheeks, 'It's lovely to meet you.'

'The boys? Do you have a brother, James?' Lily asked in confusion as James' Mum tried to sort out her hair for the third time since she had arrived with James to pick Lily up; it was easy to see where James' rumpled looks came from. Mrs Potter though still managed to look elegant; as though she had just been dancing and her hair had got out of order. Not quite the same as James' windswept style.

'What? Oh, no; Sirius lives with us most of the time.' He filled her in.

'Is he here now then?'

'No, he went down to Remus' this morning.'

'Oh, I haven't kicked him out or anything, have I?' Lily asked, still trying to get over just how big the house was. You could have probably fitted most of her house in the hallway and they had chandeliers.

'Of course not, he said he thought you should be able to meet my parents without him hanging around.'

'Enough hanging around here, James!' Mr Potter interrupted, 'Shut the door; it's freezing out there. I'll get Cheery to make tea and you can take her bag upstairs and show her around.'

'That's a good idea, Charlus, go and show Lily around, James.'

James pushed the door shut, picked up her bag and directed her up the sweeping, split staircase. She just heard James' Mum saying, 'He never said she was so beautiful,' as they ascended to the upper floor.

She smiled to herself, somehow feeling comfortable despite her new, grand surroundings. The walls were creamy, the carpet was thick, there were beautiful paintings on the walls and the whole place was, well, massive.

He lead her along a corridor, turning to grin at her every so often as he held her hand in his, her bag in the other, 'This is the West Wing, or "The Children's' Wing" as my Father calls it. My parents never come through here; they basically live in the East Wing and the centre part. You're in the room beside mine, the bathroom is just opposite.'

They climbed another small flight of stairs; just five or six then he stopped and pushed a door on his left open. The room was probably twice as big as Lily's at home; it had a double bed, a huge Victorian looking wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a dressing table and stool, bay windows looking over the gardens, a sofa and its own fireplace.

'Wow,' breathed Lily.

James looked oddly embarrassed as he put her bag on the chaise lounge at the end of the bed. She followed him and slid her arms around his waist from behind, 'Your parents seem nice.'

'See what I mean about my Father though?' He replied, turning around in her arms; it was just beginning to snow again outside.

Lily grinned, 'Yeah.'

'Just give as good as you get, if it gets really bad; call him Clumsy Charlie.' James advised.

'Why?'

'There was a Charity Quidditch match a few years ago now; our Ministry against the French. Well, we were winning by one hundred and forty points. Then the French seeker went into a dive after the snitch, Father was playing Chaser; he was about to score. We needed those ten points to at least draw the game. He missed the goal and the French seeker caught the snitch and won the match. He got the nickname right after the botched goal.' James explained, his eyes shining with mirth.

Lily laughed again, and James helped her out of her coat, putting it away in the wardrobe for her, 'If you don't mind, Cheery will unpack for you; she'll just put your clothes in the drawers and wardrobe. That sort of thing, that alright?'

Lily was a little astonished, it was like being in some incredibly posh hotel, 'I… are you sure?'

'Yeah, totally,' James said, with an easy smile.

'Ok then.'

'Great, let's get rid of your shoes, then I'll show you around?' He suddenly swept her off her feet and he gave a little shriek, as he placed her on the bed, growling deeply, 'It's useless; there's no one to hear you scream.'

Lily giggled at the twinkle in his eyes and he kissed her on the nose, before kneeling down in front of her, slipping off her shoes himself, 'I can do that!' she complained.

'I know, but I bet I like doing it more,' James grinned, putting then to one side and standing up, 'Come on; you get the tour now, hope you brought your hiking boots.'

'Is it that bad?'

'Worse than you can imagine! Though I'm afraid we don't have as many secret passageways as Hogwarts.'

'Shame,' Lily muttered as he led her out the door.

'This is the bathroom, if you don't mind sharing with me? I can always move my stuff to the other one…'

'No, it's fine!' Lily said, wondering at this incredible display of chivalry from James and marvelling at the size of the bathroom; a shower, a separate sunken bath, two sinks, a toilet and a bidet, all in white and sea green tiling. There was also a floor to ceiling mirror behind the sinks, opposite the bath and shower.

'Why two sinks?' Lily asked.

'Sirius couldn't be bothered to walk to the end of the hall to brush his teeth, so we ended up fighting over the sink until Mum got a second one put in.' James replied, his smile exploding into another grin.

'Which one was your room?'

They crossed the corridor again, back to the side Lily's room was on and James opened the next door down. Lily handed been sure what to expect, but this room was a riot of Quidditch posters, Wizarding bands and odd little bits and pieces that crowded the desk which stood instead of a dressing table. There were some clothes on a chair in the corner, but the bed was made and it was a lot tidier than Lily would have expected. It was much the same as her room otherwise.

'It's not always like this,' James admitted, 'Mum must have sent Cheery in to tidy up while we were collecting you.'

They found James' parents downstairs in the sitting room where the huge Christmas tree stood, glittering.

'Oh,' Lily gasped; it was nothing like the stunted little thing in their living room at home, 'I… Are those live faeries?'

'Yes, dear,' James' Mum said from a sofa near the fire, 'Tea?'

'Yes, please. You have such a beautiful house.'

'Thank you, it's been in Charlus' family for several generations, but we've updated the interior a bit. Haven't we dear?' Mrs Potter replied.

'What?' Charlus looked up over a scale model of the solar system, 'Yes, quite,' he muttered distractedly, before going back to examining one of Jupiter's moons.

James' Mum sighed, and gave Lily a look that clearly said, 'Boys…'

After tea James found Lily a pair of wellington boots and some thick socks, suggesting a quick wander round the garden while it had stopped snowing. They moved through to the back of the house and James opened an unremarkable door that led into a little room, there was a skittering sound and several excited yelps, then a flood of small dogs overflowed into the far side of the room.

'It's alright,' James said loudly, as they scrabbled around the boots Lily had just put on, 'They just get a bit excited, well, most of the time really…' he grinned at her and shouted, 'Back ye devils!' as he pulled on a tweed hunting jacket.

The tumbling, furry, mass of bodies around Lily's feet suddenly shot off back into the other room, apart from one which looked around confusedly. Lily felt a little sorry for the small dog, but James scooped it up under one arm, rolled his eyes and said, 'There's always one. Isn't there, Snuffles?' scratching it behind the ears as it tried to sniff his pockets, 'Come on, let's let the others out.'

He strode through the next door. Lily followed and found a panting wedge had formed by a door that obviously led to the gardens on this side of the house, there were piles of old pillows and blankets spread around one side of this room, 'They sleep in here,' James explained as he opened the door and Crups vanished into the garden.

There was a little patio, with a frozen fountain and a sundial just outside on a terrace, then steps onto what would have been a large lawn, but for the snow. An amazing view across the Downs to the cliffs presented itself; rolling acres of undulating hills that extended upwards until… it was almost as if they had been cut off by some mighty knife. The grass and snow just rose gently upwards and then, there was nothing; just sky.

James put Snuffles down and the little dog raced off after the others.

'It looks like the end of the world,' Lily said, gazing across the expanse with wide eyes.

'I know what you mean, it's incredible,' he came up behind her and drew her close with his arms around her waist. Steamy breath froze the air in front of them, but she was warm in the circle of his arms. She leant back into him comfortably and felt him nuzzle her neck through her hair; she suddenly had the feeling that she could quite happily stay like this forever.

'Oi! Carrot-top, leave the poor blighter alone!' someone suddenly shouted in an oddly Cockney accent.

Lily spun round looking for the source of the noise, and found James laughing silently to himself.

'Who said that?' she asked as the bushes at the side of the lawn rustled, 'Don't tell me Black's hiding in there!'

'No,' James said, stifling laughter at the expression of righteous indignation of Lily's face, 'that's the Jarvey; he's probably hiding in the rose bushes; Father nicknamed him Oscar. As in Oscar Wilde?'

'Oh… very amusing,' Lily replied, unsure what to make of it, 'shall we head inside?'

James was brushing his teeth, wondering what on earth to do with himself; he desperately wanted to go and join Lily in her bed. Not necessarily to do anything, but just to be near her; she was intoxicating to simply be around, and imagining simply being able to lie next to her all night, maybe with his arms around her, was almost a dream of James'.

He looked at himself in the mirror; he'd donned some stripy pyjama bottoms for decency's sake, but he'd usually just wander about in his boxers. A girl was in the house though, and that called for etiquette. Still, he'd left off his top and he admired himself while he brushed; Quidditch had given him muscles, but he wasn't exactly a bodybuilder.

The door handle twisted and Lily stepped inside, she looked up, saw him and gasped, 'Sorry,' then began to close the door again.

'Lils, there's two sinks just for that reason.' He pointed out quickly.

'I… you sure?'

'Yes, Lily,' James replied in a sing-song voice reminiscent of Peeves.

She came in, and James couldn't help but admire her; she'd brushed out her hair and it looked like a mixture of burnished gold and polished bronze as it spilled down across her shoulders. James swallowed as he realised that, judging from the lack of usual tell-tale signs across her shoulders, she wasn't wearing a bra under her t-shirt. Her bum sashayed gently past him, clad in flannel, gingham check to the next sink and it was all he could do not to stare.

'James?' Lily said as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush, a slight note of warning in her voice.

Oh no, she'd seen him staring. She didn't say anything more though until she had finished brushing her teeth, and James was just drying his face. She wandered over beside him and watched him in the mirror; he could see the curve of her breasts through the Genesis t-shirt she was wearing. He suddenly felt terribly nervous.

'What awfully big eyes you have.' She said, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

James turned to face her instead of the mirror version, looked down at her and said, 'You know what Sirius' reply to that would be; don't you.'

For a second it was obvious that Lily didn't. Then she realised and a pink tinge spread across her cheeks, she pushed him away towards the door, saying, 'You're terrible, and so's he, even if he's not here!'

James found himself pushed out into the corridor and the door closed behind him, then opened again a second later, 'James, there's no lock on this door.'

'You have to ask it nicely,' he grinned back at her, 'I'll be in my room if you want me.'

The door closed and James waited, listening for Lily's uncertain, 'Lock, please,' before he went through to his room and rolled onto the bed. He turned off the main lights, leaving just a soft golden glow across the room.

For the first time in his life he wasn't sure what to do about a girl. What did he do next; did he stay here and just leave Lily alone? Did he go and say goodnight? Was she going to come to him? A hundred scenarios rushed through his mind, and to try and kill some time, he wandered across to the window. He opened them slightly and looked out; there was starlight glowing white off the snowy lawn and few more flakes fell past the window as he watched.

Then he heard soft footsteps pad across the carpet outside, then a door clicked shut and he made up his mind.

He turned off his light, went out into the corridor, turned off the corridor light too, and knocked softly on Lily's door.

'Yes? Come in.' she called quietly.

Heart hammering in his chest, he turned the handle and pushed the door open, sliding inside to lean against the wall.

Lily was lying under the thick duvet, a book in hand, lit by the same golden glow of a table lamp that lit his room.

'Just thought I'd say goodnight,' James explained his presence.

Lily looked at him for a moment, and then put her book aside. James' mind suddenly went blank and he stood there like an idiot.

'Well, come on then,' Lily said and lifted a corner of the duvet for him.

Something gave a deep sigh of relief in James' chest and he threw her a grin, walking forward and slipping under the covers beside her, 'Budge over, there's not much room with you in there,' he said.

Lily's mouth fell open in a neat 'O' and surprise shone across her face, 'James! With that kind of behaviour you can go back to your own bed!'

'I was just joking!' he said, smiling and leaning over her to kiss her on the nose.

She wrinkled it and shifted away across the other side of bed, turning her back to him, 'Humph, well, I think you should apologise!'

James wriggled after her and nuzzled her neck, murmuring seriously 'I. Am.'

He pushed the shoulder of her t-shirt aside slightly with his nose, 'Terribly.'

He placed kisses down her collar bone, 'Sorry.'

He finished and pounced, holding her down as he nibbled at her ear lobe. She shook her head and started giggling wildly, letting out little shrieks, 'James! No! Stop! Stop right now! Nooo!'

She struggled and James suddenly found himself on his back, Lily on top of him, her chest pressed against his. He could feel her heart hammering, and her breasts pressed against him through the t-shirt. It was suddenly very apparent to both of them she wasn't wearing a bra.

Something that wasn't passion shone in Lily's eyes for a moment, then it was gone and she dipped her lips to James'.

James rolled her over so he loomed over her, one arm supporting himself, the other hand running lightly down the side of her t-shirt until it reached the hem. One leg between hers, her right foot was curled around his left. His fingers toyed with the waistband of her pyjamas for a moment, then ran lightly across the silky skin of her navel, under her t-shirt.

She didn't seem to even notice his hand as he pulled her into an even deeper kiss. His hand ran a little higher up her side, until it reached the bottom of her ribs and his fingertips drew little patterns on her skin. His left leg was between hers, supporting him from putting his whole weight on her, and suddenly he realised that she moving slightly against his thigh as he broke away from her lips. He laid gentle kisses across her cheek and down her neck, feeling the pulse in her neck with his lips. She turned her head to help him and he continued further down, 'It's so hot,' she breathed and he leaned back to look her in the eyes.

He regarded her for a moment, meeting her eyes and then glanced down, questioningly, before returning to her emerald gaze. She was slightly flushed, breathing heavily, her eyes slightly unfocused, but as he looked at her she focused on him, then just as he was about to ask his silent question again she nodded. It was hardly a nod, a tiny incline of her beautiful chin, but her eyes said more and his hands travelled back down to the hem of her t-shirt.

They returned moments later, dragging the material with them, and then it was on the floor beside the bed and James couldn't bear to break his gaze away from hers and look down. He kissed her again instead, feeling her deliciously naked skin against his.

To Lily's surprise, after that first little tickle along her waist when his fingers played with the top of pyjamas, James didn't even attempt to go further down. He seemed content to simply kiss and be next to her, his hands running across her tummy until she was so hot from being so close to him it was uncomfortable.

His eyes held hers, and she realised she'd spoken out loud. A questioning look came over those hazel orbs and he glanced down, she hesitated, scared again, then she threw caution to the wind. The air felt deliciously cool, and she realised he was still staring into her eyes, then there was simply his skin against hers and she almost gasped as his lips met hers again.

Later, they both lay there, tired and semi-naked, James still propped up on one arm, lazily drawing patterns around her tummy-button and somehow she didn't care that he could see her. His finger kept drawing patterns but his eyes turned to hers and watched her thoughtfully.

'What are you thinking?' she asked softly.

'Just how beautiful you are,' he whispered back, 'and wondering what I ever did to deserve you.'