Jily Secret Santa 2013

Welcome to the Jily Secret Santa Art Exchange, now in its second year! What is Jily Secret Santa? Basically a big fanfiction/art/graphic exchange with your fellow Jily fandom friends here on Tumblr! We are Mina and Zay. If you ever have any comments/questions/concerns, send us a message either here or on our personal blogs and we will get to you as soon as we are able. Art by: viria13.deviantart.com

[jilysecretsanta]

ATTENTION, FRIENDS: Jily Secret Santa is NOT happening for winter 2014.

We've gotten a few asks to this end-- which is mind-boggling, honestly, thank you for remembering us!-- but unfortunately, Mina and I are all kinds of busy at the moment and not prepared to take on something like Jily Secret Santa, which requires a lot of coordination and the ability to stay on top of the ask box during pretty much the busiest time of year.

If any of you lovely folks want to take the initiative to run Jily Secret Santa this year, you have our full permission to do so. Otherwise, we're so sorry, but we can't do it this time around.

Hope your holidays are the merriest, though-- and keep on with the fic and the artwork, because whether or not it's organized, fandom is the gift that keeps on giving and I think I can speak for all the shippers when I say that we are so grateful for everyone who takes the time to honor our adorbs OTP, whether it's for Secret Santa or not.

Thank you for understanding-- and again, happy holidays!

-Zay

[jilysecretsanta]

For peppermintoswald; Kiana

Here it is! Finally, after the lost luggage saga. I'm so sorry it's late, but better late than never? Please? Hope you like it :)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9987077/1/Firewhiskey-and-Tea

[jilysecretsanta]

For Zinnia (icriedwhenjilydied) I'm so sorry dear. Hope you enjoy it and get a more attentive secret santa next year!

The sky looked like it was on fire. As Lily crept down to the forest, the sun exploded over the trees and she scowled even harder than she had been before. She furious. There had been one too many snide comments today, one too many little digs about James-fucking-Potter and why didn’t she just give in anyway? She arrived at the edge of the long grass and prepared herself for the wet strands in anticipation. Something rustled in the distance and she shivered.

James ran in a blind fury. The twigs and branches brushed his flank but there was a deeper hide to his animal form that ignored his physical pain. There seemed no end to his extensive expression of energy or rage; maybe nothing could stop him this time. He couldn’t believe he’d reached this low again. Bloody-Lily-Evans. It was unbelievable! He’d promised himself and the boys that he’d stopped this now. That Lily didn’t motivate his movements any more. But still even in his primal state he felt her presence. Goddamnit. And who was entering the forest? Oh for gods sake. Was there no escape?

Lily spotted a flash of silver. Surprisingly to the Gryffiindor, she did not turn away. Something about the presence didn’t scare her away. She felt at ease.

James relaxed and tensed simultaneously as his eyes registered who was entering the clearing. Red hair, clumsy movements, perfect form. Of course it was her.

To her strange unsurprise, a stag appeared in front of her. Dreams mixed with her vision, as did a lazy day in autumn when she’d run into another male deer who felt no fear for her. She edged closer, reaching out. 

He smiled involuntarily. She fancied that the creature was smiling at her. He tried to growl but he just wanted to laugh.  She laughed at the thought, but James would like this.  James did, she was so damn beautiful at dusk.

She grinned and she began to speak, 'My patronus is a doe, you know.' She half whispered, starting to kneel and put her hand on his snout.

Her proximity to him felt electric and he wanted to grip her with human arms and spin her round and round. But her smiling at what she thought was a noble stag would have to be enough for now because Lily didn’t want the real him. ‘I don’t like him!’ He’d heard her say that, talking to her friends. It could only be about him. ‘He’s just too much for me.’ He was too much. 

She couldn’t take her eyes off his silver hide, it was mesmerising. There was a light in his eyes that sparked energy in her and she felt exhilarated. ‘Shall I tell you a secret?’ She bit her lip.

His heart beat at butterfly pace.

'I really like him! Mr Stag, oh my gosh I really like James Potter!'

[jilysecretsanta]

Tied Again

For Shannon (littleapollyon) Sorry it's late! 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9966332/1/Tied-Again

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Fic: Jigsaw Puzzle (for Brigid/infearofblankpages)

This Jily Secret Santa 2013 fic is for Brigid (infearofblankpages)! I'm so sorry that this is so late, but I hope you like it! Happy holidays!

Jigsaw Puzzle ( FF.net | AO3 | LJ )

It's Lily and James' first time exchanging Christmas presents, but Lily's gift leaves her feeling uncomfortable.

“If it’s a strap on, I might have to murder you.”

Lily says this with a smile, finishing off her bottle of butterbeer and prodding the massive red and gold box at James’ side.

“Hey, you were the one who was so fixated on that rag,” James points out. He’s got a lopsided grin to match the lopsided spliff resting behind his ear. “What was it called again?”

“East Bloc Bush,” Lily says. “Who would have known that a magazine full of Ukrainian vaginas could inspire so many gift ideas.”

“Sirius was joking when he said that,” James assures her. They’re in a cozy alcove hidden off a sixth floor corridor, legs brushing against each other—his smart, dark green trousers, her mustard yellow knee socks—as they eyeball each others presents. They’ve only been dating for two months, but Christmas and its obligations arrived with as much awkward significance as it could for the new couple.

“I swear,” James continues, noting Lily’s—healthy, she thinks—skepticism. He picks up the box and sets it in her lap. It weighs heavily on her skirt glad thighs. “Happy Christmas!”

Lily grins, fingers quickly working at the wrappings like a toddler on Christmas morning. Inside there are three additional boxes.

“Fuck’s sake, James,” Lily laughs, small and sightly hollow. This is already more than she bargained for. She picks up the medium-sized, violet colored box first. She breaks out into a grin as she spots a collection of five books, collections of essays from her favorite witches of the age, all activists, all actively pissing off the powers that be. “Blimey!”

“Knew you’d like it,” James nods, as if he was proving someone otherwise. “Open the others!”

Lily reluctantly sets the books aside and spots the largest of the interior boxes. She gives it a shake before opening the sleek black box. Her eyes widen as her fingertips graze the lip of the gold cauldron before her. The sturdy smoothness of its body almost sends chills down her spine and her heart leaps when she grazes the engraving along the cauldron’s heavy underside: Plumroses, the most renowned cauldron makers in the country. Plumroses, used by some of the best potion masters in the world. Plumroses, which must have cost a fucking fortune.  “It’s—“

“Goblin forged gold,” James says, giving the cauldron a firm pat of inter-matter solidarity. “One of the toughest you can get. It’s got a high melting point, too, or something like that. You were complaining about yours getting old—“

“I can’t believe you got me a gold—I just, I don’t know what to say!” Lily says, turning it over in her hands in a daze of disbelief. This has to be well over 150 galleons…

“Oy, don’t forget, there’s another one in there!” James says, handing her a golden box.

The cauldron joins the company of Burke, Rosenberg, Smith, Ahmed and Nash before Lily grasps the small, cubed box. When she opens it, her stomach lurches and her heart seems to stop at the sight of them: Earrings…big, bold ones.

“Rubies,” James says, unnecessarily. “They, er, match your hair…and Gryffindor, obviously. But mostly your hair.”

“I…James, these are,” Lily’s tongue grasps for he right words. Expensive comes to mind first…then amazing, and excessive, and unnecessary, and really fucking unnecessary…if she were honest she’d say all of these things, but instead she smiles and says, “This is amazing.”

“S’nothing,” James says, lopsided smile returning in full force. His cheeks are tinge pink as he runs his hand through his hair.

A beat of silence passes between the two, and Lily forces her gaze away from the earrings.

“I’ve got a gift for you as well,” Lily says, handing over a cube shaped box wrapped in Muggle green and red wrapping paper with reindeers scattered throughout. She feels her cheeks burn as she watches him handle the small box with a smile far larger than warranted. Suddenly she’s struck by the idea of him being disappointed in the far less impressive gift. “It’s…it’s not much but…” He opens the wrappings. “I know that you were complaining about your broom handle so I made this salve that’ll help better your grip and it’ll also help keep the broom more in tune with your movements. See, since so much of the steering relies on the handle, the potion will, you know, penetrate the wood and help make your movements a little more seamless, you know? It’ll help make the broom feel like it was made for you. Oh, and, er, a bar of Cadbury’s. The Muggle chocolate you fancied?”

“Nice one!” James says, peering at the container of blue substance with interest. She was proud of that potion earlier, but now all she can think of is how much of her pocket money she blew on the premium ingredients…the Shrivelfig and the backorder of Red Myrrhe. How she nearly cried when she discovered that the price of African Sea Salt increased and was completely out of her budget, and how only some proper coaxing and charming convinced Slughorn to lend her some. It was a two week long labor of love—love?—that she was excited to churn and heat up every evening after classes and before patrols, and now…now it seems as interesting and thoughtful as a tube of toothpaste. How the fuck, she wonders, can she possibly compete with expensive books and cauldrons and jewelry?

“I can’t wait to see the look on Hopkirk’s mug when I show him,” James continues, opening the container and sniffing it.

Lily blinks as the inadequacy claws at her stomach. “Sorry, what?”

“Hopkirk.”

“Why would Hopkirk care?”

“He’s been a right pain in the arse, always going on about how special that broom of his is. You’d think they were lovers, the way he goes on about it. Well, now I’ve got one better.” James says, breaking off a piece of the chocolate and handing her some. “Also, he’s proper jealous of us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, he’s been a right cunt ever since we started going together,” James says, shrugging with as much nonchalance as he could muster. But James is never one for nonchalance. She reckons she has more nonchalance in her left tit than he does in his entire body. “He fancied you, you know.”

“I never noticed.”

“You never do.”

He smiles and leans into her, planting a kiss square on her lips. It’s a familiar dance by now, but it it doesn’t make her toes curl any less in her Mary Janes, especially as he deepens it. He’s always been a smooth kisser, but his hands are never as tame. They brush her sides, tickling her, and she laughs against his lips until it dissolves into a gasp as his fingers dip into the hem of her skirt, tracing the waistband of her knickers.

Lily pulls away slightly, trying hard to look admonishing and failing miserably. “You’re a right randy bastard, you know that, yeah?”

“Don’t suddenly pretend to be so modest,” James mutters, moving his lips down her jaw until they brush against her pulse point. “I still remember what you said in truth or dare last term.”

“And what was that?”

“That bit about how you’ve fantasized about getting shagged in a corridor.”

Lily scoffs. “You still remember that rubbish?”

“I don’t think I could forget it if I tried,” James says, tickling her sides again. “I was hard for a bloody week after that.”

She slaps his chest and laughs again, loud and heavy. Her left hand runs through his messy hair as he continues to work on that spot right under her jaw. And she almost forgets that sinking feeling, almost forgets what she was upset about as warmth fills her stomach with each brush of James’ bold hands against her arse. But right as his hand creeps up her inner thigh, and as his lips mouth filth against her neck, her eyes catch a glimpse of the earrings. They’re still secure in her left palm, bright red facets catching the nearby torch lights, illuminating her hand like stage lights. And just like that his kisses and wandering hands don’t matter; just like that she remembers to feel numb.

—

“You’ve been weird.”

James says this during their rounds of the seventh floor corridor, the night before they’re set to head home for hols.

It’s not an unfair observation, Lily notes, biting her bottom lip. The cauldron never made an appearance in Potions class that week. She wondered if James was shooting questioning stares at her back, if he was getting antsy with the expectation that each day will the debut of the new cauldron that he, James Potter, certified best boyfriend on the fucking planet, gave her. She wondered if he’s noticed her continue to use her crummy pewter model that she’s had for five years. Apparently, he did.

“I’ve always been a little weird.”

“No, I mean you’ve been acting weird. Quiet like. What gives?”

“I don’t know what you’re going on about.”

“It’s freaking me out.”

“You’re imagining things, I’m fine.”

“And you’re a shit liar.”

He stops walking and crosses his arms, a move that would have been intimidating in other men men of his height. But James is all sharp elbows and skinny chest. He pushes his glasses more securely on the bridge of his long, pointy nose and this, more than anything, confirms that he certainly isn’t an imposing figure. It’s his imploring glare with those hazel eyes behind those massive frames that do it, that make her stop and feel compelled to fess up.

“It’s your presents.”

James body visibly relaxes. “The broom stuff? I just used it today, it…what’s it that Muggles say? Worked like a charm? It’s fucking brill.”

“No, no…I meant the ones you gave to me,” Lily explains.

James frowns. “What’s wrong with them?”

“Nothing, I just—“

“Is it platinum with the higher boiling point?” James asks, looking slightly pained.

Lily blinks. “Well, yeah, it does but—“

“Shit. Thought so. Look, I can get you the platinum cauldron if that one—“

Lily groans. “James, just shut up for five fucking seconds, yeah?”

James’ eyes widen, but he definitely shuts up. His lips twist like a pretzel.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“ Lily shakes her head. “Look, I love the cauldron and the earrings and the books. They’re all really lovely.”

“Then what are you going on about?” James asks quietly.

“It’s just…” Lily stops, almost regretting bringing any of this up at all. “It’s just fucked when you can give me all these things—these really expensive things—”

“That’s what you’re so stroppy about?” There’s laughter in James voice because it’s inconceivable, it’s a bad joke. “The fact that I bought you something?”

For a moment she second guesses herself, her doubts, her late nights laying in bed, staring at the ruby earrings sitting on her bedside table, keeping her distance like a scorned lover. But she can’t shake the weirdness. She can’t.

“No, James,” she starts, voice strong and steady. “It’s the fact that you can spend so much on me and I can’t do the same. All I’ve got to give is a potion and some sweets.“

“I don’t care about that,” James insists, his words spilling out through a frustrated snicker. His lips are curled into an easy smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He runs a hand through his messy hair more aggressively than usual. “It doesn’t matter to me!”

“But it does to me!” Lily cries, sounding more petulant than she intended.

“So what are you saying? We can’t go together because of money?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.”

“Then what’s the problem? You’re not making any sense.”

“It’s just…” Lily stares at James’ slightly wrinkled, crisp white oxford shirt, his shiny gold watch that he loses every other day, the dragonhide shoes. With a sigh, she braces herself against a nearby wall and slides to the floor. She crosses her legs and tugs on James’ trouser leg, urging him to do the same. “I feel weird.”

“You’re a lot of things, you know,” James says, settling next to her. “Never reckoned insecure was one of them.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it, though?” James asks.

“Trust me, I don’t think you’re too good for me,” Lily says, features softening as a small smile tugs at her lips. “And definitely not because you’ve got galleons pouring out of your arse.”

“You shouldn’t take the piss out of my medical conditions. I’m a sensitive lad…with a sensitive arse,” James says, nudging Lily with his shoulder. He finds her hand and plays with her fingers, spreading them apart and curling them against his. She can feel the calluses of his palm, contrasting with the smoothness of her own. And that’s what they are, a contrast, trying to fit into place in a mad jigsaw puzzle, the pieces never quite fitting. So what should be done about this puzzle of theirs, Lily wonders, as she considers his money and his blood, his birth. She can either throw it against the wall in fury, sending the mismatch pieces flying, or accept that the puzzle will never be solved.

“I guess it was just a shock,” Lily says, fingering the calluses of his palm. “Honestly, I usually just get a record for Christmas, maybe a jumper. Not…solid gold and book sets and jewelry that costs more than my house.”

“Suppose I was a little over the top,” James admits slowly, offering a humble shrug as his olive branch.

“A bit…but I know you didn’t mean to come off like a dickhead.” Lily runs a hand through his hair before resting it against his cheek. “For once.”

He lets out a breathy chuckle and leans in to her touch. His hazel eyes bore into her green ones, imploring her before he even opens his mouth to speak. “I just wanted to make you happy.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t mean to—“

“Remind me of how poor I am?”

James winces. “Lily…”

She leans in and gives him a quick peck on his lips. “You’re a good bloke, James. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make me happy.”

His pale cheeks flush and that carefree, boyish smile returns. For now it whisks away the weirdness, the verbal tip toeing, the resentment. Will he ever really get it? Will he evertruly understand how it feels to watch him carelessly drop galleons while a fiver at the bottom of her purse is enough to make her sing? No, she decides, probably not. But he’ll try, and that’s what matters. But she doesn’t expect him to understand everything overnight, and she can’t hold it against him. Because no matter what he’ll always be that spoiled, rich, golden boy, pureblood, who fell for a working class Muggle-born lass. And she fell for him, despite the money and the power and the differences. It’s those differences, she knows, that make them this fucking mess of a jigsaw puzzle that never quite fits into place, and it’s glorious. It’s defiant. It’s them.

The weight in Lily’s chest dissolves, and the night is suddenly brighter, full of possibilities—they’re full of possibilities. With a surge of something she can’t place—like, admiration, adoration, love—she kneels and wraps her arms around him, her spoiled, rich golden boy with his messy hair, posh shoes and devilish smiles. He returns her embrace and smiles in her hair.

“Just one problem,” James says, voice muffled by a sea of blood red.

“What?” Lily replies, tensing.

“I guess I can’t get you that ruby encrusted, platinum cauldron for you birthday now.”

“Prick.”

[jilysecretsanta]

Testing (Gift for Angel)

For Angel (angeldiangelo). I'm sorry it's late, but I hope you had an awesome holiday and that you enjoy! =)

            If he thought about this critically, James reckons he’s spent the better part of three years planning this date.             Well, not this date exactly. He’d only just concocted this version a scant week ago, after Lily had perhaps taken too many hits to the head, or maybe sampled a few of Slughorn’s illegal potions, or was possibly acting under the influence of some kind of Christmas miracle—but certainly something along terribly similar lines. Those first dubious contemplations of James-at-fourteen had not amounted to anything much more than a semi-private area, easily disheveled clothes, and a bunch of body parts doing entirely questionable things, so the plan certainly had had room for improvement. Not that he still wouldn’t like this version to include such events, but James-at-seventeen was well aware that a more properly concocted prelude was required if he had any hope of accomplishing that. And if there was anyone who deserved—nay, demanded—such a proper prelude, it was Lily Evans.             It really was a damn shame that Sirius seemed determined to cock it all up.             “Evans! Prongs! Fancy meeting you here!” Sirius's bright grin and boisterous bellow rang loud even amidst the swarms of students milling about the carriages. There was snow on the ground and holly lining each cozy vehicle, and someone had started up a garbled sing-along to “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” down the way. Sirius looked surprised to see them, except he couldn’t possibly be because he’d been the one coaching James down the dormitory stairs ten minutes earlier when James’s feet had been putting up quite the nervous fight at making the ever-anticipated trek to meet Lily for their date. Still, pre-prelude James had no reason to be alarmed by a best mate greeting. He waved back quite readily.             "Haven't you your own witch to see to?" Lily asked, eyebrows raised. "I heard some intriguing fifth-year chatterings from a few I think would be more than willing."             "Fifth-years." Sirius shuddered. "Can't fight off the mad hens today, Evans. I have things to see to. But you’re enjoying yourself, yeah?"

            "The walk down from Gryffindor Tower was positively riveting."

            Sirius's grin widened. "Excellent. Nice work, Prongs."

            "I do what I can," James said. A carriage pulled up before them. "Best see what I can do to make a thrilling trip out of a carriage ride. Later, mate."

            "Cheers!" Sirius called, waving them off as they piled into the carriage.             Once inside, Lily turned to him with twitching lips. "Thrilling, you say?"             James tried not to fidget as a few third-years piled in across from them and Lily’s thigh pressed against his. "Did I ever tell you about the time we accidentally-on-purpose locked Remus in a broom cupboard with Mrs. Norris and a 1961 Nimbus Star?"             "No."             "Then you're about to be thrilled."             She laughed.             And though James knew that story had been a winner (had been saving it, in fact, for a moment like this, with a witch like Lily), he was still somewhat surprised by how well the whole thing was going off. She had laughed at all the right places, swatting him playfully and burning holes through the thick layers of cloak and clothes. She'd in turn begun to tell a story about an uncle of hers called Roy who apparently had imbibed a bit too much at last year's Yuletide festivities and was—rather inexplicably, for Uncle Roy was no small chap—found dangling from a neighbour’s spruce tree by the seat of his trousers around midnight. James was fairly clutching his sides at that one. As they descended from the carriage, Lily threaded her arm through his and James thought he couldn't possibly beam any brighter.             "So?" He motioned around the snow-caked streets of Hogsmeade. "Where to first?"

            "Scrivenshaft's," Lily answered definitively. "I need new ink."             James swung an arm forward. "Lead the way."             They'd weaved through the crowds of students towards Scrivenshaft's, still arm-and-arm and still somehow perfectly content. Once inside, Lily took him on a grand tour of what could only be described as the most swottish example of ink snobbery he had ever encountered, and he watched with no small amount of amusement as she chose between inks like some people chose plans of war.             "This," he'd said, observing as she rejected yet another perfectly good batch of ink for no conceivable reason he could see, "is terribly enlightening."             "This," she replied, wrinkling her nose at one batch of ink she’d been contemplating on the shelf, "is terribly important. There's a right ink and a wrong ink, you know."             "No, I hadn't done. But now—"

            "Evans! Prongs! Still together, I see. Excellent prospects!"             James turned round, unable to hide his rather prominent confusion as Sirius ambled along the Scrivenshaft aisles towards them. What the bloody hell was this about? He couldn’t even remember the last time his mate had even stepped foot into the place.             "Er, quill shopping?" James asked, sticking Sirius with a questioning look.             "Naturally," Sirius replied, barely even glancing his way. "Having fun, Evans?"             "There's no fun to be had when one is choosing inks," Lily replied, still hunched over her possible selections. "It's very serious business."             "But at least the company is good, yeah?"             Lily's eyes flickered up, darting between Sirius and James. "The company's good," she confirmed.             James couldn’t even bring himself to be delighted at that. Sirius was grinning again, and slapped James on the back. "Excellent. Good showing, mate. Terribly proud."

            "Right. Pad—"

            "Cheers!"

            He quickly left the shop, giving a short wave as he went. James watched his retreating back, frowning.             "Is it just me, or is he acting more off than usual today?" Lily asked.             James nodded. "Definitely more off. Settled on an ink yet?"             "Patience," Lily chided, clicking her tongue. "Good company doesn't rush."             "Good company reckons present company is a bit mental."             "Mental keeps things interesting."             James laughed, but dutifully waited the proceeding ten minutes until Lily finally decided on just the right ink.

            They had a bit of a tour of Hogsmeade after that, making the perfunctory stop at Honeydukes for sweets, the Post Office so Lily could post a note to her parents, and even a quick stop into Gladrags where Lily assisted James in picking out a Christmas gift for his mum. As far as date activities went, he reckoned it was all rather mundane, but that was the thing about Lily Evans—nothing ever seemed mundane with her. The various conceptions of this long-awaited outing had included numerous events and undertakings, but it seemed the classics were playing off rather spectacularly. James would have been elated by that turn of events, if it weren’t for the small hiccup that was his best mate.

            Inside Honeydukes, Sirius had poked his head over a nearby shelf and called a happy greeting over the chocolate frogs.

            At the Post Office, he had stepped in line behind them, inquired whether Lily was still having a grand time, then suddenly recalled that he’d forgotten his letter and rushed off.

            It would apparently take more than temporary insanity to get him inside Gladrags, but he stood outside the storefront windows and shot James decidedly conspicuous thumbs-ups hand gestures from behind the frosted pane.

            “Be back in a moment,” James had muttered to Lily while the saleswitch in Gladrags wrapped the brooch they’d just picked out for his mum in fancy red tissue paper. Lily hadn’t spotted his daft mate yet, and James intended for things to stay that way. Still, she stared at him curiously as he made for the door.

            “Everything all right?” she asked.

            James nodded. “Just spotted someone I need a quick word with. Won’t take long.”

            At Lily’s tentative nod, James hurried for the door. Sirius was already speeding away from the shop, but James would not be deterred. He quickly closed the gap between them, grabbing hold of Sirius’s arm and jerking his mate into the nearest alleyway.

            “What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed, propelling Sirius away with a jerk of his hand. “Have you completely lost your sodding mind?”

            “What are you talking about?” Sirius asked, straightening his cloak innocently. “Where’s your date?”

            “I left her in Gladrags before she spotted you again and decides your particular form of daftness is catching.” James took a menacing step forward. “So you have exactly thirty seconds to tell me what in the name of Merlin’s hairy bollocks you’re doing before I bloody strangle you—”

            “Oh, keep your kettle on, would you? No need to get your knickers in a twist.”

            “Sirius—”

            “It’s just a little test, all right? Harmless.”

            “Test? Harmless?”

            “Entirely.” Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, his expression all stubbornness. “If Evans can’t handle a bit of interference from a friendly, supportive mate, then she’s not really in this with you anyway, yeah? And that’s better to know now, isn’t it?”

            “No!” James cried, fighting the urge to thrash his head against the nearest wall. “Not better to know now! Not better to know at all! What the bloody fuck is wrong with you? Are you trying to ruin this? I’ve just barely got her to agree and you’re already scaring her off!”

            Sirius snorted loudly. “Evans? Scared off? Please.”

            James gritted his teeth. “Padfoot. End this. Now.”

             “Mate, you’ll see—”

            “Now.” James left the alleyway.

            When he returned to Gladrags, Lily was already waiting outside the shop, a small gift bag swinging from her fingers. She passed it over as he stopped before her.

            “All right?” she asked, eyeing him carefully.

            James forced a bright smile. “’Course. Feel up for some butterbeer yet? S’getting bloody nippy out here.”

            This time, Lily did not thread her arm through his. “Lead on,” she said, following along beside him. James tried not to sigh.

            The pub was crowded and decked out from ceiling to floor in holiday decorations, but James reckoned some cosmic entity had felt sorry for the trials he was clearly needlessly being put through and offered a recently-freed table in compensation. As he slid into the small booth next to Lily, watching as she pulled the knitted cap dusted with snow from her bright hair and shrugged off her thick cloak, he told himself to relax, to focus on all the things that had so far gone right rather than the mess of wrong his best mate seemed determined to wrought. James knew that in his own entirely nonsensical way, Sirius was only doing what he thought would be best in the end, but the blighter couldn’t be more off. Still, he was correct that Lily Evans was not one to scare off easily. And despite the madness of it all, James could guiltily admit that maybe it wasn’t so horrible to know that Lily clearly fancied him enough to put up with his best mate’s daft antics. And at least he had finally put an end to them.

             Or so he had thought.

            “You can’t honestly believe that!” Lily laughed, her head tucked close near his. The pub was loud, so the vicinity may have been necessary, but James still had a warm feeling brewing in his stomach as any part of her brushed against him. “The Appleby Arrows have had a terrible season. One change in the line-up is not going to make the slightest bit of a difference. You’re daft if you think so.”

            “You’re wrong,” James insisted, grinning. “Trading Harrows for Burton changes the entire dynamic in the air. If you played—”

            “I don’t need to play. I have common sense. There’s—”

            Lily’s mouth abruptly closed, her eyes catching on something just beyond James’s shoulder. Confused, James followed the path of her gaze to the pub door, where—oh bloody flistering hell—Sirius has just crossed over the mistletoe-laden doorway. Shucking off the snow, he seemed to be scanning the pub, and despite the fact that James dearly hoped their talk in the alleyway had made some kind of impact, he knew Sirius too well to live in that delusion. Turning away from the door with a grimace, his eyes met Lily’s again.

            “I imagine he’s looking for us again?” James didn’t even have to answer before she continued, “So what’s it all about then? Did you tell him to follow us about in case of trouble? Reckoned you’d have the easy out in case things turned dull?”

            The bottom dropped out of James's stomach as Lily stared at him with a teasingly rueful but nonetheless undeniably disappointed face. That face, he thought in panic, marked the beginning of the end, didn't it? The date was finished, ruined. He'd failed. She was through--perhaps not scared off, but certainly now dubious and disinterested. He could scream, weep. He could flip over the wooden pub table and dash over to his best mate and just start pounding. All seemed entirely plausible options.             But weeks later, James would recognize the hushed conversation that immediately followed--and the not-so-hushed bit that followed after that--as the first moment when he realized that he could quite easily fall in love with Lily Evans. (If, Merlin help him, he wasn't halfway there already).             And it all started with another grating greeting from Sirius.             "Prongs! Evans! How—"             Lily darted to her feet, and slapped James hard across the cheek.             "You're a right prat, do you know that?" She grabbed up her cloak from the booth bench, throwing it around her shoulders. "I don't have to sit around and let myself be mocked like this!"             James jumped to his feet, as well. "Lily, I didn't--"             "Oh, spare me your rubbish explanations. I'm really supposed to believe you weren't somehow in on this stalking expedition?" She waved an agitated hand at Sirius. "That this is all some sort of farce out of your control?"             "Yes! I haven't—"             "You know, I really thought you'd grown past all this. I thought we were proper mates and could try to do this thing for real. Apparently I was wrong."             "Lily—"             She strode past a sputtering James and an owlishly blinking Sirius, her chin held high and her cloak billowing out behind her. In the moments after she left, James only stared after her. Then, looking at Sirius, his face fell into a furious scowl.             "Harmless, was it?" James grabbed his own cloak from the booth, fumbling as he slipped it on. "Thanks, mate."             Sirius's face cracked into a grimace. "James—"             Shoving past his mate, James followed Lily's route out the door, realising he didn't quite know where she'd gone. He stood outside the pub, looking up one side of the road, then the other. Blindly, he took the road left, striding quickly through the snow. He'd almost decided to go back towards the right when a hand darted out from around the side of Dervish and Banges, tugging him into the darkened alcove.             Lily's widely grinning face was the first thing he saw.             "Do you think he bought it?" she whispered, curling her fingers into the front of James’s cloak and peeking round the corner of the building. “Dear Merlin, did you see his face? He looked like someone had just clobbered him!”

            “Speaking of clobbering.” James rubbed at his cheek. “Couldn’t you have slapped a bit more playfully?”

            “Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Lily chided, but her hand lifted to his cheek to stroke with his. “I was trying to make it believable.”

            “It was.”

            “It is a bit red.”

            “Mm-hm.”

            Lily tugged him forward and lifted herself on her toes. Before James could even so much as prepare himself for it, she dropped a quick kiss against the abused cheek.

            “There,” she said, her own cheeks dusting red. “All better.”

            James couldn’t stop the grin. “All better.”

            Lily pulled her lower lip into her mouth. “You know…we probably shouldn’t get back out there right away. He might still be looking for us. It would probably be better if we stayed out of sight…somewhere private…quiet…”

            James’s eyebrows lifted. “Private? Quiet?”

            “This lovely alley could do.”

            “Lovely?”

            “Of course, we’ll have to find something to do…”

            “Ah.”

            “Mm.”

            James had been planning this date for the better part of three years. It had gone perfectly, then not-so-perfectly, then perfectly again. It had been three years, but it looked like James-of-fourteen was getting his version, anyway. And not shockingly at all, James-of-seventeen did not feel the need to complain at all.

[jilysecretsanta]

To goongprincess.

Dear Nafisa,  Wishing you very happy Holidays. Sorry for the delay <3

Here's your gift :) 

[Submitting again, coz last time the link didn't attach or something!]

[jilysecretsanta]

A Day Before Christmas

This is for Ellie (followingtheyellowbrickroad)

I am so sorry, this got delayed! But I hope you enjoy this. Have a great Holiday season!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9964766/1/A-Day-Before-Christmas

[jilysecretsanta]

This is for Christine at ji-ly. So so sorry for the late submission! I hope you had a fabulous Christmas!! 

-Emily (truthisnoonecares)

p.s. Thanks Mina and Zay! This was really fun! 

[jilysecretsanta]

A Precise Moment

Happy holidays Peggy (onceuponachrismas)! Sorry this is late, but I wish you the very best- From Mena (scarlahontas)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9961045/1/A-Precise-Moment

It was a late Thursday evening, a fateful day out of three hundred and sixty five others, past the common hour of bedtimes. A blanket of luminous stars covered the indefinite sky above Hogwarts, with the pale moon casting a soft light upon the grounds. Somewhere in the enchanting castle, hidden away from the prying eyes of muggles, there lay the sleeping souls of students and professors alike. They slept in their dormitories, stirring this way and that, with restless dreams dancing beneath their eyelids. 

Deep in the heart of the castle, there lay a boy, wide awake. He stared up at the scarlet curtains of his dormitory bed, unable to fathom his unruly mind to fall asleep. Endless possibilities and thoughts swam around in his head, making it impossible for his conscience to drift off. 

"Bloody hell Prongs," the boy in question murmured to himself. "Now is not the time to be getting all philosophical." 

The boy blew out a frustrated sigh and sat up, running his hand through the dark and unkempt hair he was so blessedly born with. Reaching over for his rimmed glasses, he adjusted them onto his face, and carefully crept past the deep snores reverberating from his roommates. Once he was safely outside of his dorm, he climbed down the marble steps, until he had reached the welcome sight of the common room. 

Aged, but stable furniture was scattered across the room. Forgotten books and scarves sat on the various tables, giving the place a casual feel. The boy's eyes scanned the room, stopping in surprise when they saw a pale figure curled by the fireplace. 

"Lily?" He asked. 

She jumped in surprise, and turned around to see who it was. Despite the distance between them, he could still so clearly see her emerald eyes widen, as her auburn hair spilled past her shoulders. When she recognized who the voice had come from, she smiled, and unknowingly to him, her heart sped a little faster. 

"Evening there Potter. Or should I say morning?" She teased with a soft voice. 

He strolled towards her, feeling the heat of the fireplace as he neared. "What're you doing up so late?" 

Her smile widened ever so slightly. "The question is mutual." 

He scratched the back of his neck. "I couldn't really sleep," he sheepishly replied. 

She stared up at him in careful thought, the firelight causing specks of gold to dance unto her sea green orbs. Finally, she patted her hand on the carpet beside her. "Well then, come on and join the party."  

He sat beside her, very aware of the close proximity of her body to his. The heat of the hearth and crackling blaze of the fire warmed him instantaneously. At least, James Potter tried to convince himself that it was the fire, and not the object of his affections, that made him feel all warm, all alert and dizzy with a sense of euphoria. 

They sat without talk for a few moments- neither of them thinking about the passing time, whether it was a handful of seconds or a smattering of minutes. They each sat and brewed in their thoughts. 

James Potter tried to ignore his hidden feelings, his mind advising him to move on and accept the fact that they were now mates- and wonderfully so- while his heart refused with every aching beat and second that passed.  

Bloody hell Evans- even after seven years of an endless crush, I can't get over you.  

But James Potter was very blind to the secret thoughts of Lily Evans. 

She was curled up in the common room, unable to find any sleep, when he had wandered through. She had tried to keep her heart from jumping around in excitement, childishly afraid that he could hear its loud beating from across the room. She had teased him, and she had drunk in the sight of him, with his disheveled hair that she so strongly wanted to run her hands through. 

It figures, she thought with a deep sigh. I start to fall for you right when you get over me. 

They remained in comfortable silence, lost in amorphous thought, until Lily decided to speak.  

"Congratulations on your Quidditch win, by the way," she said, her voice soft and laced with a hint of pride. 

He chuckled and turned to face her. "Thanks. Had fun at the afterparty?" 

She nodded. "Yeah, it was alright. You weren't there though- how come?" 

She noticed I was gone? 

James shook his head and  looked down sheepishly. "It just didn't seem right." 

"What?" 

"You know." 

Lily reached over and gave his shoulder a light flick. "No, I really don't. How come you've been so down lately? What's eating you?" 

The question took him by surprise.  

She's your mate, of course she's going to worry about your sudden mood plummet. 

"It just doesn't seem right to be celebrating with the war out there, with people dying. I mean, everything that I ever thought mattered- quidditch and friends and school.. they just seem so pointless. They're just so stupid and they don't make a difference because there are people out there fighting and just-" 

"Hey," she said softly, cutting him off. "Those things are not stupid." 

He gave a light snort. 

"They're not," she firmly repeated. "James, you don't have to beat yourself up over what's going on out there. You can't just jump into the middle of the war and start battling your way through." 

James ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Well, why not? I don't understand Dumbledore- we've learned enough from our classes. What's the point of strategizing on what best way to get the quaffle through the hoop, or planning the next yule ball, when we could be out there actually doing something? What's the point?" 

He stared at her, waiting for her to say something- to scold him, or to argue with him, maybe even reason with him. 

For some reason, Lily Evans wanted to cry. To tell him everything that she felt and to let him see that there was more to their lives than the war.  

So she did. 

"James, that war doesn't control us. It doesn't shape who we are- Voldemort doesn't shape who we are. This war is happening because he wants there to be no more love, or happiness, or those small things that make our lives so memorable." She yearned for him to understand her. "So don't let him win, James. Not caring anymore about school, or quidditch, even locking yourself away from your friends- that's giving up." 

"Then how do we win?" He whispered. 

"By fighting him with the things he doesn't have- happy memories, friends... love." 

James Potter stared at the small auburn girl sitting beside him, so incredibly strong and beautiful. There was something about her, from the first time they met, that had inexplicably drawn him in. At first, it was the challenge. Then, as he grew older, it was her beauty. It had grown bigger than that though- admiration for her morals and qualities. The way she stuck up for her friends, with a fierce loyalty. The way she was dedicated to her studies and work, and yet never failed to have a smile on her face and a laid-back attitude, filled with teasing and jokes, when needed. She was strong, and she was brave. She was beautiful and smart and understanding. 

The truth was, in James Potter's opinion, there wasn't a single word out there that could describe Lily Evans as a whole. No word, no combinations of ordinary letters could encompass her exuberant energy. 

And suddenly, all those restless thoughts that had kept him awake no longer bothered him so much.  

Nothing like a Lily Evans pep talk to cheer you up. 

"Or, you know, maybe you're just having a mid-life crisis," she suddenly said. 

James cracked a smile and reached over to ruffle her hair. "Watch it there, Evans. I'm not even old. I'm a young and handsome bloke, for your information!" 

 "Pshh, you just keep thinking that." 

He pretended to be offended, putting his hand over his heart and giving a dramatic gasp. Lily giggled a little, and reached over to flick his shoulder once again. 

Their comfortable silence ensued as they stared at the dancing flames in front of them. 

"How are you dealing with all that conflict going on out there?" James asked her. 

"I told you- doing the best I can... happy memories, friends, being in love..." 

Those last words intrigued James Potter more than he'd care to admit. Being in love?  

Oh bugger, Lily thought. That slipped out. Oh buggerbuggerbugger. 

"Uh," she stammered. "I mean just love. You know, in general." 

James raised an eyebrow. 

"Loving other people. Like your friends and stuff. And people. And things. And yeah." 

He squinted at her. 

"I didn't mean in love with somebody. Or well maybe- oh bugger." 

He tilted his head and stared at her. 

"I mean, how can you even be in love with somebody who doesn't like you back?" She stammered on. "That's ridiculous- that's setting it up for doomed failure, that's what it is." 

He gaped at the ginger that sat rambling in front of him. 

"Yeah, okay, nice conversation we had- it was a pleasure. Glad you're feeling better. I think I'm going to go sleep now- ah yes, good old sleep. Sleep is nice, eh? Sleep is-" 

James Potter leaned forwards and kissed her. He felt her gasp of surprise against his lips, and then felt her hands move to his hair and run through it, and he didn't ever want to stop. 

When they broke apart, his hair was rumpled and his glasses askew. Lily's face was flushed, and her emerald green eyes were fixated on his. 

Bloody hell. 

"I'm so glad you got that signal," she finally managed to say. 

Bloody hell. 

"You're smarter than you look, Potter." 

Bloody hell. 

"Because that would have been embarassing if you didn't get it, I mean-" 

"Lily," he interrupted. "Shut up." 

And they were at it again. 

~~~ 

It was a late Thursday evening. All throughout the castle of Hogwarts slept professors and students alike, each one dreaming of infinite possibilities. The hallways were dark, the classrooms empty.  

If you'd ask anybody why that specific day was special, they would shrug and say that it wasn't. It was a normal day, just like the three hundred and sixty five others.  

But deep in the Gryffindor common room, safely cocooned from the dangers of the outside world, there sat a boy and a girl. They shared their first kiss on that night, and suddenly their fates were perpetually entwined.

[jilysecretsanta]

Barking Mad Tequila for Jules

Here it is, sorry for the lateness of the posting, I was stuck in a place with no internet and didn't expect that >_<

Hope you like it! it has a little bit of both prompts!

[jilysecretsanta]

Present

Sorry for the late submission guys! really really sorry.

my gift is for Nafisa (goongprincess).

I made a private post, and giving you it's URL. You can copy/download the gifs from there and upload it on this blog along with the note. That way it shows on your blog first :)

Thanks.

[jilysecretsanta]

There Arose Such A Clatter

To roryclaus

Hope you had a great Christmas and apologies for it being a bit late! Hopefully this is what you were looking for!

From lady-sybil-branson 

(24th December 1979)

(1)

The air was still, frigid, heavy that Christmas Eve; the landscape blanketed by a thin layer of snow which seemed to reach every crevice imaginable. Muggles and wizards alike closeted themselves inside their warm homes to avoid the freezing night air, the fire crackling noisily as families celebrated the impending holiday.  

One such family was laughing jovially as they warmed themselves by the fire after a rousing game of Quidditch. The group of young men clustered around a table as they watched a tall, handsome man with long dark hair chuckle as he commanded the game of chess in front of him to take the Queen. His opponent - a stouter man with watery blue eyes - groaned good naturedly but looking thoroughly unsurprised by the result. “I’ll never be as good as you.” 

The group paused as they heard their names being called from the kitchen. They stretched and slowly got to their feet as a pretty young woman filled the doorway, beaming. She was wearing a vibrant christmas jumper which contrasted greatly with her long red hair. A bespectacled young wizard appeared behind her shoulder holding a steaming pan in his hands. The men groaned in approval as the smell wafted into the room. The party moved into a bright kitchen where a large wooden dining table dominated the surroundings, completely covered with an array of dishes filled to the brim with all sorts of succulent foods. 

An owl hooted as she swooped lower towards the house, a letter attached to its leg. A man with dark circles under his eyes and a faded scar across his face looked out the kitchen window at the noise and hurriedly opened the window. The owl swooped in around the toasty kitchen, dropping the letter into a large bowl of punch. 

James Potter extracted the now-purplish letter and quickly waved his wand to wipe it clean. He ripped the envelope open. His eyes blurred slightly as they raced across the page.

“Looks like we’re needed at headquarters,” he sighed, with a regretful glance towards the feast that would have to be left behind uneaten. 

(2)

It was pitch black. The lone cottage sat dejected at the outskirts of a dark wood. The loping countryside showed no signs of any kind of life, human or otherwise. The cottage looked like it hadn’t been inhabited for years, with foliage creeping up the walls reaching the roof while weeds grew rife in the small garden, hidden behind a low garden wall surrounding the cottage. The door on a small green shed at the edge of the garden had half fallen off its hinges, opening and closing in the wind. The snow covered the ground as if Mother nature herself had tucked the earth in with a quilt. 

A sudden crack filled the air and disrupted the tranquility, as some nesting robins hastily thrashed out of the branches where they had settled down for the night. Two figures abruptly appeared out of nowhere in the shadow of the wood a  few metres away from the garden wall, hand in hand. 

“This is turning out to be a great Christmas,” grumbled James as he took in the scene before him. “Look at this place!” He ducked beneath a branch as he moved to get closer to the property. He stopped right in front of the stone wall, kneeling to get a better look without drawing attention to himself. 

“Cheer up,” said Lily affectionately to her irritable husband. She kneeled down beside him, her hands reaching out to touch the overflowing vegetation growing on the wall. She reached into her pocket for her wand and waved it in a complicated fashion, muttering words under her breath. The sharp cold air made her shiver a bit, frosty clouds of air leaving her lips every time she drew breath. James smiled as he noticed she was still in her Christmas jumper. 

“Well?”

Lily frowned. “No signs of any recent magic activity. They’re definitely not here now, regardless.”

“That’s odd... Dumbledore said this is a frequent spot for Death Eater meets - well, according to his source,” James said as he tapped his fingers off the freezing wall in thought. 

“It’s still early. They mightn’t have visited for a while in case this place had been discovered by the Order?”

James smiled lazily at her. “I personally think we should give this up as a bad job. Clearly Dumbledore got an outdated tip and the Death Eaters have already cleared out of here. If we leave now, we can be home in time for pudding!” he coaxed as he leaned forward to kiss her. 

Lily giggled. “Come on, eager beaver. We’re not finished yet. They might still come tonight. Dumbledore seemed definite that a meet was scheduled for a hour’s time here.” She started to move around the boundary, occasionally flicked her wand, as James trodded reluctantly, but alert, behind her.

After several minutes, Lily stopped abruptly. She huffed in frustration. “It makes no sense. All the other dens we’ve located are loaded with charms and defensive magic.” 

A rustle in the thicket of bushes behind them caused them to quiet sharply and raise their wands. However they lowered them moments later as Remus came into sight, wrenching his body away from the bush where his clothes had been caught. “Found anything interesting?” The couple shook their heads. “It’s an odd place, isn’t it? A bit out of the way, even for them.”

“Maybe the Death Eaters purposely planted it to try to distract the Order,” Lily suggested uneasily. “They’ve done it before.” 

“It’s possible,” mused Remus. “But it’s all a bit obvious, isn’t it? The lack of enchantments, the obvious lack of human presence anywhere nearby... If this is a false trail, they haven’t even attempted to make it seem like a plausible location.”

“You could argue it’s the perfect place for Death Eater meetings ... Completely off the beaten track,” James pointed out. “They never hang about for long anyways when it’s only small groups of them - it’s not safe to!”

“There are ways to hide traces of magical activity as well. Very time consuming though,” Lily added. “They don’t usually make any effort above the usual heavy concealment spells to ward off Muggles ... well, anyone really.” 

“Well,” said James, as he sat down heavily into the grass and leaned against the wall. “I guess we wait and see whether anyone shows up then.” 

Lily twisted a branch in her hands until it snapped off. She looked down surprised at the sound. This had not been the Christmas Eve she had envisaged. She didn’t understand why this meet had been so important to call them in to scout tonight. They had been expressly instructed to not confront if and when the Death Eaters appeared, just to observe and report back. Surely it could not be that important in that case. It was all very strange. 

The trio sat there for hours on the cold hard ground, playing cards (the muggle kind as the wizard equivalent would be too conspicuous). The first hour passed quickly with no sign of anything suspicious. At one point, an owl had hooted very close to where they were sitting; its proximity had taken them by surprise, causing them to jump and raise their wands. After two and a half hours had passed, Lily could no longer stifle her yawns. She was shocked to see that it was only half one in the morning. 

James looked at her tired eyes and said, “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? We’ll keep watch here and wake you up if anything happens.” Lily smiled gratefully at him and moved around to rest her head against her husband as she drifted off to sleep. 

Lily had just been sleeping for a hour when another owl hooted loudly, drawing her back into consciousness with a sharp jerk. “What time is it?” she groaned as she moved further into James’ coat. 

“Just coming up to three now,” Remus answered from his vantage point, a few yards away from the Potters. He was leaning against a tree, reading the day’s Daily Prophet.  

“Looks like it was a false tip,” James pointed out. “I sent a note to Dumbledore but he told us to stay put for another few hours incase there was a delay. ‘It is imperative that we hear the contents of this meeting if it takes place.’ All a bit mysterious, really.”

Without any warning, there was a loud crack like gunfire. The trio, already thoroughly doused with Disillusionment charms and other concealment spells, curled up into themselves in an attempt to make them even more camouflaged. Their wands creeped out of their coats, poised for battle. 

They relaxed as Frank Longbottom came into view, walking purposefully towards them. “What’s-?” started James, taking in Frank’s stressed manner. 

“There you are! James, we need your help ... Bloody Death Eaters... muggle baiting ... McGonagall’s tied up ... Dumbledore told me to get you ... faulty transfiguration ... this is all we needed!” Frank sucked in air as he tried to explain while hurriedly writing a note on a sheet of parchment. An owl flew down from its perch in a nearby tree and he swiftly attached the letter to its leg. “Dumbledore really wants to keep this out of Mungos - and the Ministry’s attention - so we need to act fast.” 

James got to his feet slowly, rubbing his aching back and strode over to Frank. Lily watched the two of them confer with each other, thinking indulgently how everything had changed so much since the days of Hogwarts. In those days, she had never been particularly close to the Marauders; she would have been flabbergasted if someone had told her what her future would look like in a few short years. Frank had been a few years ahead of them - Head Boy in his time as well! - so Lily had not known him very well either, but they had been in the same house, and his cousin had been in the same house and year as Lily. 

“Moody is sending Sirius over to help here, but you’re off duty in a hour anyways so with any luck he won’t be needed,” Frank assured Remus and Lily as he prepared to leave with James in tow. 

“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” said Remus as he stood up to stretch his legs, yawning widely. 

“Don’t worry about us... I’ll look after Remus,” said Lily, grinning up at James. James chuckled, as he shed his coat and draped it around Lily. He kissed her soundly on the lips as he left with a sigh at the long night it had been. 

It seemed like just minutes after Frank and James had Disapparated, voices filled the woods again, as a small flock of wizards in black cloaks appeared just yards away from them, talking raucously amongst themselves as they moved towards the house, taking no notice of Lily and Remus. 

“Did you see that Muggle’s face when I-” A young witch with dark hair and a threatening smile laughed derisively as she slammed the door of the cottage open. In the dim light of the flickering wands, Lily recognised the woman as Bellatrix Lestrange, well known to the Order as one of Voldemort’s most loyal supporters. 

As the group filtered inside the house, Lily noticed a fifth figure trailing behind them and looking around suspiciously. He watched the proceedings unsmiling, while the rest sneered as they jovially discussed the Muggles they had tortured that night. She ducked behind the wall as his gaze flickered in their direction. 

Within moments, the Death Eaters had moved inside and shut the door. An uneasy silence quickly established itself to the woods once more, as a tense Lily and Remus attempted to reach a decision on what to do now the Death Eaters had materialised. They’d been ordered to listen in but not confront the party, but they would need to get closer to do so. However, Dumbledore had led them to believe it would be a smaller group and Lily was very aware that they were heavily outnumbered if things were to go wrong. 

Remus motioned to Lily to stay back as he inched his way around the wall to the back of the house, taking care to stay out of sight. Lily kept a close eye on the house, noting candlelight in a front room, as Remus found a small gate at the back of the house which had been completely obscured by two overgrown bushes either side. 

Remus hesitated before carefully opening the gate. He couldn’t help the grim smile of satisfaction that transformed his face as he successfully opened the gate without making any clamours of noise, and motioned for Lily. 

Lily was filled with the familiar rush of adrenaline as the pair moved into the garden and crept up to the house. Lily cursed as a weak light appeared in the window directly opposite them. Lily tugged Remus down to hide in the long grass, silently thanking the Death Eaters for their lack of domestic upkeep. She was wary of the fact they were in a particularly vulnerable position as their concealment charms would not hold up to any scrutiny in the blinding white snow around them. 

She sighed in relief as the window grew dark again, and they successfully reached the wall. 

“Where is Sirius?” muttered Remus anxiously, looking behind him. “This isn’t safe, Lily. There’s too many of them and too few of us. James will kill me if something happens to you.”

Lily didn’t answer him as she whispered several incantations under her breath. “Shit!” she breathed out in displeasure. “They must have cast an Imperturbable Charm or something... I can’t hear anything.” 

“Lily,” warned Remus as he watched Lily’s determined face turn towards a door at the back of the house leading off from the kitchen. “We can’t. We need to wait for back up.”

Lily turned to him. “You heard Dumbledore earlier. We need to find out what they’re up to. And you know Death Eaters never linger for long. Especially somewhere like here where there’s no real magical protection set up.” 

“Besides,” she added. “No backup’s coming. They’re all busy dealing with whatever those gits have done to those poor Muggles. I bet they’ve done it to distract the Order from here.”

Remus looked torn, conflicted between his desire to protect his friend from what seemed like inevitable capture and torture, and the thirst for productive action. Just last week, the Prewitt brothers had been murdered and it had devastated the Order, particularly shocking the younger generation. “Alright, we’ll go in. But we are just going to find out what they’re planning and then we get straight out. We’re not going to take any risks... we’ll stay as far away from them as possible ... And I go in first.”

Lily smiled victoriously as she gestured for him to take the lead. She was filled with relief that finally they were doing something; it was not in her character to step back and wait. She muttered an incantation to find out where the Death Eaters were positioned in the house, and smiled in relief upon finding out that all five were sitting in the front room. Lily felt reassured that they could succeed in Dumbledore’s mission - the Death Eaters’ defensive spellwork had been rudimentary at best. As far as she could see, they had just cast a quick anti-eavesdropping spell and had locked the doors. An Alohomora was all that was needed to break into the house. 

Remus lead the way as they silently crept into the empty kitchen. It was no warmed inside the cottage than it had been outside, their breath still visible every time they breathed out. The outdated furniture of the room, and the state of which it was in, indicated to Lily that the house had been left abandoned for a long time. She could hear voices coming from deeper into the house but she could not catch the conversation. As one, they moved closer to a door leading into a hall.

The hallway was littered with animal droppings and old brown leaves. She dodged a smashed photo frame with a - Muggle, she noted- photo of a little boy grinning up through the cracks of glass on the floor. Remus stopped with such sharpness that it nearly caused Lily to run into him. Here, they could just about catch the conversation, without getting too close. Lily mused that if worst came to worst, they would have a clear advantage at getting away. 

“Avery has the list,” they heard a deep voice speak. “It’s not complete, obviously, but it gives us a good idea-”

“As if we didn’t know who would be on it,” scoffed another voice. 

“Regulus,” said the raspy voice Lily recognised as Bellatrix Lestrange’s. Lily squirmed, an instinctual reaction to Bellatrix’s disgustingly sweet tone. “A little birdie told me your brother is on that list.” 

They heard sharp movement as a chair clattered to the floor. “He’s not-” 

Lily and Remus looked at each other in alarm, as the conversation turned hostile and several voices yelled over each other. Remus backed into Lily nervously, leaning into the silly Muggle Christmas jumper Lily was still wearing, setting off the lights on her jumper.

Instantly, chaos ensued, as the lights lit up the hallway. The Death Eaters roared and hurled themselves towards the hallway as they became aware of the intruders. Remus swore in shock and horror, pushing Lily behind him back towards the kitchen. Red sparks filled the hallway. Remus ducked the sparks flying towards them and Lily hurled herself into a door and fell into a large dark bedroom. 

Remus had not been so fortunate; within seconds he was compelled into combat with both Rodolphus Lestrange and another man he did not recognise as he backed into the kitchen towards his escape. A well aimed Stunning spell hit the unnamed man right in the chest and he flew into the kitchen table, breaking it under his weight. Remus heard the familiar loud snap of bones breaking, and the man lay on the floor groaning in pain. “Lily!” Remus called out desperately, hoping fervently she had managed to escape. However, before he could make any moves to go back and find her, Rodolphus had trapped him in a corner. “Crucio.”

Lily looked around her in panic as she rolled to her feet and ran to the window. Her wand swiped through the air and the glass disappeared in its frame. One leg already raised to climb out through the window, she froze in horror as she heard Remus scream in pain from somewhere in the cottage. “Remus!” she shouted, as she turned to save her friend, but stopped as Bellatrix Lestrange stepped into the room, blocking her route. 

“Now who are you?” she taunted. The shining light emitting from her wand burned Lily’s eyes as Bellatrix raised it to her face. She screamed in delight. “You’re the mudblood Potter married!” She spat in her direction. “I wonder what Mrs. Potter is doing here on Christmas Eve? Surely she should be safe at home with her blood traitor husband?” She cackled, encouraged by Remus’ screams. 

Lily stared at her defiantly and rushed to the window. “Oh no, you don’t! Cruc-”

“Expelliarmus!” shouted Lily. 

Bellatrix’s wand dropped to the floor in between the two witches. Both Bellatrix and Lily immediately grappled to retrieve the lost wand. Lily’s heart sank as a second figure filled the doorway. “Accio wand.” Both wands flew out of the witches’ hands. “Crucio,” Antonin Dolohov said darkly. 

Lily felt like she was on fire. Her skin burned, as she cried out in agony. She choked as she tried to force air into her lungs. It felt like a thousand blades were tearing down into her skin. Her insides turned inside out. She clutched her head and curled into a small ball as she suffered the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Seconds felt like years,  minutes centuries, and she tried to clutch to anything in her mind to lessen the pain. She couldn’t think who she was, where she was; her whole being was preoccupied with the excruciating pain. 

The pain stopped abruptly, as if it had never been. She cowered, her hands shaking like leaves, as she tried to get her bearings. She opened her eyes to see Remus duelling with Dolohov. Bellatrix was gasping in pain, as angry boils covered her face, her face swelling up at an astronomical pace. Lily crawled behind the bed while she had the chance when everyone’s attention was diverted away from her. She yelled in shock and pain as she gashed her hand on some broken glass lying on the floor where a framed picture had fallen down and smashed. 

Bellatrix’s eyes found Lily as she screamed maliciously. Remus disarmed Dolohov and sidestepped a curse from Rodolphus Lestrange. The wand landed a few feet from Bellatrix, who hastily lunged for it. Her eyes flickered between Remus and Lily, clearly trying to decide who to tackle first. She got to her feet unsteadily, finding it hard to get her balance as her grossly swollen face became too heavy for her body. Bellatrix shouted a curse Lily did not recognise and a purple blast struck Lily. 

Lily flew into the wall, the strength of the blast causing the wall to collapse inwards. She didn’t move as bricks fell down around her. 

(3)

James wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was sitting in Headquarters after just finishing a particularly onerous piece of transfiguration. The victim lay unconscious in the bed beside him, now blessedly one hundred percent human once again. He had never attempted magic that advanced before and had been proud off his effort. 

An older witch called Marlene stood beside him as she took over to erase the Muggle’s memory of the past couple of hours. 

‘Better not to remember how he had the body of a human but the head of an ass,’ James grinned to himself. He sobered up when he thought about what the Death Eaters had done to this poor man. It was an abuse of power, plain and simple, and he was infuriated by the level of violation this man had endured just to humour some evil wizards. The man had been targated purely due to his blood status and lack of magical ability, and James was filled with passionate anger at the injustice. 

James moved towards the door, waving a tired goodbye to Marlene as he stifled a yawn. Downstairs he found refreshments and several Order members who had just finished with their work and were discussing the night’s events over turkey sandwiches. James walked over to Frank Longbottom who was standing with his arm around his wife, Alice, discussing with Peter Pettigrew the disgraceful behaviour they had witnessed that night from Voldemort’s followers. 

James joined in the conversation passionately, wondering aloud what their motivation had been to do it that night of all nights - were they just trying to ruin a predominately Muggle holiday? Had Lord Voldemort commanded this breach of propriety or had the Death Eaters taken it upon themselves?

James frowned as he looked down at his watch, and asked the Longbottoms if Remus and Lily had gotten back yet. 

“They should be back any minute now,” Frank said easily, apparently unconcerned.

James, however, could not help the bad feeling that coursed through his body, as if he had just suffered a punch in his gut, and excused himself. Peter knew his best friend well enough to know something was wrong by the look on his face and hurried after him. 

“She’s fine, Prongs,” he said earnestly as they walked up the stairs. “I’m sure she’s fine. Moody sent Sirius to replace you. They’re probably just mucking about... I can assure you they are having a lot more fun than we are here!”

James sighed. “You’re probably right. I’m just a bit on edge-”

“Which is completely understandable. We all are. The last month ... We’re dropping like flies!” Peter was trying to be flippant, but his voice broke, breaking the facade as true fear filtered into his words. “It’s just...”

“I know, Peter,” said James with a tired, shuttered look in his eyes. “The Bones, Gideon, Fabian... so many losses. It makes you think. I can’t imagine...” He didn’t finish his sentence. 

“Sometimes I think it would have been better - easier! - if-” Peter started, his tone uncharacteristically fervent. 

“Look at the bright side - at least we won’t have as many Christmas presents to buy next year,” continued James with a dark empty grin on his face, not listening. Peter was frightened and concerned at the shuttered look on James’ face.

“James!” Alice ran after them. “James!”

James turned around and froze at the look in her eyes. “No... no... no.” His heart stopped beating in his chest or maybe he just stopped feeling anything because he knew that look. He had seen it countless times before. It was dangerous times and the Order were particularly perceptible. 

“No, James. She’s alive. They’re alive.”

(4) 

Lily lay unconscious for over fourteen hours as the Healers worked around her in St Mungos. Lily’s injuries were so serious it was decided that it was beyond the abilities of the Order members, as talented as they were, and she had been transferred to Mungos within the hour. Head wounds could be tricky. 

James had refused to be parted from Lily when she arrived at Headquarters in a bloody Sirius’ arms. The Healers had attempted to banish James to the waiting room but, before long, they gave in to his ceaseless demands to see her. The Healers shook their heads at the dramatics of young lovers, but were genuinely touched by the love the young couple shared. 

She hadn’t suffered any permanent damage, from what they could see, they assured the distraught wizard over and over. Yes, her injuries were serious - but not critical at all, Mr. Potter, not anymore - altogether very treatable, and she would be right as rain in no time at all. Besides, witches and wizards had a quicker recovery rate. 

Remus had also been injured in the escape attempt but Marlene had patched him up at Headquarters. The Marauders had set up shop in the waiting area of St Mungos. As they waited for news, they amused themselves with opening their own clinic for the crowded waiting room. It seemed Christmas was notorious for the flare up of family rows with cursed presents being handed left and right. The St Mungo staff were less amused. All in all, it had been a particularly memorable Christmas Day, as they would tease Lily later. 

Of course, a good amount of time was devoted to trying to persuade James that he was being an idiot about feeling guilty for leaving Remus and Lily behind. No one could have foreseen it, and he had been called elsewhere by his superiors. He couldn’t have been aware he was leaving them in a dangerous situation. Sirius finally snapped and told him that he should be solely concerned with Lily’s health, his level of culpability shouldn’t even have entered into the conversation. James thoroughly abashed never mentioned it again. 

One moment Lily had been in a dreamless deep sleep, the next she was aware of a weight lying on her middle section, a pressure around her hand as well as a bloody annoying headache. She frowned behind her shut eyes, and slowly opened them as she adjusted to the light. Lily’s frown deepened as she realised where she was and her hand tightened around James’ who had passed out at her bedside a couple of hours prior. Within minutes, her memory started to come back in flashes, and she began to piece together the events of the night before. 

It wasn’t long before James stirred and opened his eyes blearily to see his wife’s alarmed face staring back at him. “Fuck, Lily...” he sighed, speechless. “You’re awake.” He clutched her head between his hands and kissed her forehead softly. “I was so scared,” he whispered into her hair as they clung to each other. 

He was the one person she could cry in front of and still feel strong. What would life have been if she had said no to go to Hogsmeades with him that long night of Head duties just a few short years ago? She didn’t like to think about it. 

Later she would find out the details about what had happened after she had been knocked out. Needless to say, it was very lucky that she and Remus survived. Immediately after, Lily had been thrown into the wall, Remus had been surrounded by four wizards at once, all flying different spells into the air. Remus had successfully thrown a Hex at the anonymous male Death Eater; he had disarmed Regulus Black (Remus felt compelled to mention that, really, Regulus didn’t put any effort into retrieving his lost wand and had stayed at the sidelines; that sibling loyalty must have counted for something after all). However, anyone could see that it was too much for even a talented wizard like Remus to combat. The odds were stacked against him. 

Fortunately, Sirius had arrived at that point. Within seconds of Apparating to the cottage, he had established the dire circumstances Lily and Remus were in, promptly sending a Patronus requesting backup before intervening as Bellatrix moved in on Remus. 

More wizards from the Order arrived within five minutes of the Patronus, including the much-talked-of auror, Alastor Moody. And within ten minutes of their arrival it was all over. Regulus had promptly Disapparated with Dolohov  when the cottage was infiltrated by more of the Order with the Lestranges following shortly after. Remus’ combatant in the kitchen had been left behind, still clutching his knee. He was already in his cell in Azkaban when Lily woke up.

“So, really, it was all worth it then. One less Death Eater on the streets,” Lily reasoned as James pulled a face and the Marauders all laughed. 

By the time Lily remembered the significance of the day, there was only forty five minutes left off it. “I cannot believe I missed Christmas,” she said woefully to James.

He laughed. “We have countless Christmases ahead of us... I wouldn’t get too upset.” 

“Still, James! It’s my favourite holiday and I missed it!”

“Evans, you are one strange bird,” he guffawed. “You could have died! And you’re concerned about missing - what? A meal? An old fat man breaking into your house and leaving a new cauldron? (What a stupid Muggle tradition anyways. Everyone knows reindeer can’t fly!) Completely mental!”

Lily threw one of her pillows at him. “Shut up, Padfoot. You purebloods would never understand!”

A Healer came to check on Lily, smiling good-humouredly as Lily and Sirius squabbled over the practicalities of Santa Claus and whether it was possible a potion could be found to make reindeer fly. “Congratulations, by the way,” she said, as she reached into her robes to find a potion for Lily. 

“On what?” Lily laughed. 

“Living?” joked Peter. 

The Healer looked around at the obvious confusion. “Oh ... I’m sorry ... forgive me ... I thought you would have been told already ...” 

“I don’t understand ...”

“When we treated your injuries, we discovered you are ... well, nearly 8 weeks pregnant,” she smiled. “Congratulations, Lily. You’re going to have a baby.”

Her pronouncement was met with a room of stunned looks.  

“Well, I think I can safely say that this has definitely been a memorable Christmas,” Sirius commented. 

[jilysecretsanta]

link!

For Ashley (itwasalwaysjamesforlily).

This is actually kind of an AU Pic because I think canon Harry got a toy broom on his Birthday, NOT Christmas. Also, I know one year olds don't wear glasses but I really wanted something to identify him as Harry….so I guess this is way AU, ha ha.

[jilysecretsanta]

For Ashley (itwasalwaysjamesforlily)

From Brittney (sketchy-britt)

(I submitted this last night but just in case the picture is too big I put it in as a link)

This might be slight AU because I'm pretty sure Harry got a toy broom on his Birthday, NOT Christmas. Also, I know one year olds don't wear glasses but I wanted something to identify him as Harry. So I guess it's way AU, lol.

[jilysecretsanta]

Winter Hair (ff.net)

Word Count: 2.3k

Disclaimer: y'all know I don't own things.

A/N: For Katy (dream-sky-high/not-a-car-crash). I didn't have a prompt, so I hope you like this. :3 Merry Christmas, darling! Also, super sorry for submitting this late!

Description: tipsy!jily talking about Quidditch and some kiss stuff in their seventh year. :)

-----

Their conversation was about Quidditch.

It was just after midnight and James Potter and Lily Evans were celebrating their final patrol before winter vacation curled up to the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.

“You’ve never even played the game, how could you possibly understand strategy?”

Due to that part of their nature that they were reluctant to admit that they shared, the pair of Gryffindors were arguing.

“You think that because you’re the Quidditch captain, you’re the be-all, end-all to Quidditch knowledge.”

“Find me the lie, Evans.”

On an incredibly tentative basis, Potter and Evans were friends. As Head Boy and Head Girl, they had an example to set, after all.

“You’re deflecting from the point.”

Exceptions were made for stage-whisper shouting matches in an empty common room.

“That’s because the point is stupid.”

“I don’t understand how – as a chaser, for Merlin’s sake! – you could believe that the point of the game is to catch the snitch.”

Lily wasn’t sure when the firewhiskey entered the conversation, or how Potter had come into possession of it for that matter, but for the time being (and as with most things Potter), she found it best to not ask questions.

To emphasis her point, Lily took a swig straight from the bottle. The drink burned as she swallowed. James had been the last to drink from it. He’d been chewing at his fingernails all night and the residual moisture from his lips clung to the bottle. Lily wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her robe.

“It ends the game! If the point isn’t catching the snitch, why would it be the only way to end the game?”

“But you can catch the snitch and still lose the game!”

“You can lose the game and still win the cup!”

The last thing Lily wanted to do was concede to James. Their tentative friendship was hinged on Lily having the upper hand a majority of the time. It was the only way she saw fit to keep Potter’s ego in check.

“Not all games are played in tournaments, so your extension of logic fails.”

“Fine! But catching the snitch and losing is really rare. And it’s not like it’s a strategy you can rely on. I mean, to go into a game with the strategy of not catching the snitch means you’re hoping the other team has a shit defense and a seeker willing to end the game if they get too far behind in points. It’s illogical.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be the chaser scoring five hundred points than the seeker who caught the snitch and still lost?”

“I’ll have ended the game gracefully and on my own terms.” James raised the bottle in a faux toast before taking a drink.

Lily snatched the bottle back from him. Her words were clumsy, her bottom lip grazing the rim as she spoke. “Without the cup. Enjoy your snitch.”

Each mouthful was getting easier. She felt James’ eyes on her as she swallowed, wiping off the lip of the bottle. She tipped it toward him and he lifted it from her hands.

“I guess it’s a good thing I haven’t caught her yet,” he said, more to the whiskey than to her, but each sip he took, she suddenly felt it for him, the burning in her throat settling into her stomach. His words were smooth and warm.

They hadn’t been talking about Quidditch for what must have been several minutes.

“Anyway, you don’t go into a game thinking that you’re not going to catch the snitch and win the game. They go hand in hand.” James said, effectively ending the discussion. Another sip of firewhiskey in silence allowed for the subject to change. “So, any big plans for vacation?”

Lily shook her head. “Vernon will be joining us for Christmas. It’s their first Christmas since the wedding and my mother is insistent about it being perfect for them.”

“Yikes.”

“Mhm. What about you?”

“Fairly standard holiday with the Potters. The house elves have been caroling since October, so the house is a little sickeningly festive.”

“Did they pick that up from you?”

“I’m not that festive.”

Lily felt a grin crawl across her face. “Last year, you wore antlers and a red nose and insisted that everyone call you ‘Rudolph’ for the entire month of December.”

James hung his head, a crooked smile running across his face. “That was because I lost a bet with Sirius.”

“That explains this year’s lack of antlers. Disappointing.”

“I do look good with horns.”

“Shut up.”

Their tentative friendship developed near the end of last term. Lily and James had exchanged a few letters over the summer holiday – nothing of the “I miss you” sorts, but a steady stream of information on the other’s life. Lily’s were filled with a wanting for anything to do with the magical world and James’ detailed his need for friendship after a falling out with Sirius, if read closely enough (the message was perfectly clear to Lily). They shared everything that the intimacy of letters would allow.

Coming back to school in September meant seeing each other. Interacting as Head Boy and Head Girl. Interacting as friends.

This was new. By Lily’s insistence, this was tentative.

“It seems strange, doesn’t it, to be going home with everything that’s going on?” she mused.

James shrugged. “Some people might benefit from a nice, normal holiday.”

“Yeah, I’m sure You-Know-Who will feel better with a little Christmas spirit. As turns out, his war on muggles is widely misunderstood. He just hates Christmas.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Little did we know, You-Know-Who is simply a modern day Scrooge and all he needs is to find the true meaning of Christmas – one that doesn’t involve killing people for sport.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Evans.”

“Am I?”

“Absolutely.” James closed his eyes and took a drink. “But maybe I should loan Voldie my antlers. Just to be sure.”

The same image of Voldemort wearing James’ reindeer antlers and Rudolph nose must have passed between them, because when the pair’s eyes met, a small laugh fell from both of them. And that laugh erupted into a million others.

Without registering exactly how it happened, the two young Gryffindors were lying on the floor, their lungs aching and tears pooling in their eyes.

“I think you win,” Lily said between gasped breaths.

“Win what?” James’ head was somewhere by Lily’s stomach. The low undertones of his sleepy voice reverberated through her.

“I mean, you’re right. A distraction can help. Clearly.”

He rolled his eyes up against his forehead to look at her. The angle made his big brown eyes look a little bit crossed. Lily hadn’t noticed how long his eyelashes were before.

“So I won. But that real question is did I catch the snitch?”

“Really?”

“C’mon. Did I catch the snitch and win the game?”

James’ hair splayed around his face in wild sections. Lily had always preferred James’ hair in the winter. He let it grow out once school started and by Christmas, his dark hair swooped lazily around his face.

Lily reached down and pushed a stray lock of hair from his glasses and into the rest of his hair. Just for a second, her fingers lingered there, tangled in James’ winter hair.

“I caught the snitch.”

James shot up and Lily remembered that while they weren’t talking about Quidditch, they also weren’t talking about that, about them (Merlin, did she really just think them in regards to her and Potter?) and she needed to rework her answer, fast.

“Come on, Evans! I pointed out that distractions can help and provided an adequate distraction. That’s definitely me catching the snitch and winning the game.”

“Okay, okay! You caught the snitch and won the game. I was wrong.”

“You were what?”

“I was – oh no. No, you’re not going to make this a thing–”

“Lily Evans admitting that she’s wrong,” he said over her protests. “What a glorious gift you’ve given me.”

“Shut up.”

“No, really. This is such a great moment, I was right and you admitted to being wrong. We should commemorate this somehow…”

Without warning, James leapt to his feet and headed up the stairs, leaving Lily alone on the common room floor. She glanced at the nearly empty bottle of firewhiskey, then drained it in one gulp. Whatever James was planning, she’d probably need it.

He came bounding down the stairs a few minutes later, hands wrapped around something small.

“Did you wake anyone up on your one man stampede?”

“Nah, not even after I tripped over a house elf.”

“James!”

“I told it I was sorry!” He landed on the floor next to Lily. She looked at his hands. He was holding a small box, hardly bigger than a muggle credit card.

“I had planned on just mailing you this so you’d get it on Christmas, but I really couldn’t have planned a better time, given our conversation earlier.” He handed it to her and she turned it over in her hands. “Anyway, now I reckon you can look at it and remember the time you admitted that James Potter was right.”

Lily opened the box and found a delicate silver chain. Lifting it, she saw it was a bracelet with a golden snitch charm strung along the chain.

“Here.” James took it from her and fitted it onto her left wrist.

He was right. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

“Do you like it?”

The bracelet was small, simple, beautiful – it was completely Lily in every possible way.

“Yes, I do.” She smiled at him, hoping it showed all of those words she couldn’t manage to say. “Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Lily was staring at the bracelet. It was incredibly thoughtful of James. She wondered for a moment if maybe he’d asked someone for help picking out, but pushed the thought away easily. She didn’t want to ruin his gift by making any assumptions about whether it was entirely from him or not.

“Well, Evans, I think it’s time for bed.” Using a chair for support, James climbed off of the floor and offered Lily his hand. She took it with her left hand and pulled herself up. The room was unsteady and she clung to James until it passed.

“Alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. That firewhiskey didn’t hit me until I stood up.”

“Let’s get you to bed, you lush.”

Their hands shifted from clasped to intertwined and Lily didn’t protest. His hand was large and slightly rough against hers. He lead her up the stairs and to her door, his fingers leaving enough space for hers to pull away if she wanted to, but she held onto his, curious about how they fit together so comfortably.

“Here we are,” she said lightly, in the lingering way that every first date ends. This wasn’t a date; this was Potter, her tentative friend Potter, with his finger laced into hers and yet, she was feeling that panic of a night ended too soon.

He moved first, letting go of her fingers and wrapping his arms around the small of her back, pulling her close. Lily drapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him on the tips of her toes.

“Merry Christmas, James.”

“Merry Christmas.”

All too suddenly, he was pulling away, their bodies separate and colder now. Lily turned to open her door, to spend the night awake in bed, wondering what this was that she was feeling and where they were going to go from here. She would wake up in the morning and talk over the details with Mary or Marlene and inevitably avoid James until they all left for the holidays.

That’s not how she wanted the night to end.

She looked back over her shoulder and then there he was, close enough that she could count each of his incredibly long eyelashes, so close that she was likely the one who looked cross-eyed, so close that she was seeing the freckles on his lips for the first time ever. He pressed his mouth to hers and it was a solid kiss, their lips fitting into the groove of the other’s effortlessly.

James’ hands were in her hair and he pulled away, a fraction of an inch, just to press himself into her again, but deeper this time, with more urgency. She was on her toes, her fingers finding his jaw line, tracing it gently with a palm cupped against his neck. She recalled earlier, how his hand felt with hers around it, and wanted his hands on every part of her.

The kiss slowed and Lily fell slowly back onto flat feet. Their lips were the last thing to part, though together they still occupied the same personal space.

James’ breaths were short and shallow. He broke eye contact with Lily, his eyes panning up to the ceiling. Mistletoe.

“That wasn’t there before.”

“I might have told the house elf I tripped over to put it up here.”

Lily kissed him, this time with less need; a soft kiss through a ridiculous grin. She didn’t even know you could kiss someone so sweetly while smiling.

“I caught the snitch,” she laughed.

He ran a hand through her hair. “I won the cup.”

“I think I can live with that.”

The last kiss came from both of them, a gesture they mastered in minutes, and Lily felt certain that the only lips she’d ever really known were James’. He left a small kiss on her cheek and then he was gone, headed toward his own bed and his own thoughts.

Lily entered her dormitory as silently as possible, slipping quietly into pajamas and crawling into her bed. The moonlight fell through her window and her bracelet caught the light.

She understood Potter’s take on Quidditch. Some things are worth leaving the game for.

[jilysecretsanta]

From: Riley (giinnyweasley)

To: Shanthi (batdude)

Happy holidays! Hope you enjoy :)

_____________________________________________________________

James always stayed at school for the holidays (and never ran into her, until that time in third year).

His parents demanded he come home during Easter break and he complied, but nothing or no one could convince him to spend Christmas anywhere but Hogwarts.

Sirius always stayed because his family refused to celebrate Christmas (one of the largest holidays celebrated by muggles, they hold him in disgust). Remus and Peter, on the other hand, spent Christmas with their respective families, meaning from the twenty-third of December to the third of January, James Potter and Sirius Black had the castle to themselves.

Sure, only half the Marauders were there; but there was also only one-tenth the student population. To the thirteen-year-old boys, that seemed like free reign. They had spent the past two holidays spreading mischief instead of cheer and were most definitely going to take the opportunity to carry on the tradition.

Armed with muggle balloons filled with Zonko’s Never Melting Snow mixed with itching powder along with the obvious array of fireworks, James walked down the hallway leisurely without even bothering with his invisibility cloak, as the small population of students left at Hogwarts were either sleeping or opening presents. He actually jumped a bit when he saw a figure sitting on the floor in a corridor leading the the owlery.

“Um, hello? What are you doing up here?” he asked, casually slipping the shrunken bag into his robe pocket. The girl barely looked up at him, eyes quickly drawn back to the crumpled letter clutched in her fist, eyes scanning it ceaselessly as though in a trance.

“Evans, isn’t it? You’re in my year and house. We’ve spoken a few times. I’m sure you remember me.” he smiled crookedly. It was Christmas, after all. He was allowed to be in a good mood. He had twenty minutes to kill before checking in with Sirius over their mirrors anyway.

“Yeah, I guess.” was her indifferent reply.

Let it be known that James Potter was not used to being ignored.

“Come on then, we’ve had every class together for the past two and a half years. We got into an argument over that greasy kid on the train that one time. I spilled frog guts on you last year in Potions? I’m pretty sure Peter and I were dared to steal a pair of your knickers last term?”

“Yeah, I- wait, what?”

“Nothing. What are you doing out of bed?”

She looked down at her mail again. “Got a letter… my dad…” she trailed off, eyes flicking around the hallway as though she couldn’t comprehend the scenery.

James took a seat next to her on the floor. “I know what you mean. My dad refused to get me the new Cleansweep, can you believe that? Talk about it being the season of giving. It’s my second year on the Quiddich team and I’m not even a reserve anymore, I’m a full on chaser! My old Dustbuster should be illegal to use during a match. I’m considering using a school broom!”

She stared blankly. “He’s in the hospital.”

He looked back at her. “Who, your father? That’s rubbish. What, will he be getting out tomorrow? Not in time for Christmas?”

“He’s in a coma. He’s not waking up. His heart could stop any second so mum wants to pull the plug, so at least she can say goodbye. Aunt Cheryl’s a mess. Gram’s hardly eating. Mum’s pretending she’s accepted it but you can tell she’s going to lose it the second his monitor goes flat. And I can’t even see him one last time.” she whispered in a burst of air whooshing from her lungs without a second thought. Lily’s glazed over eyes suggested she had no control over the words pouring out of her mouth.

James let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s just… wow. Sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“You seem well adjusted. I take it this isn’t new?”

“Car accident. Two nights ago. Hit by a drunk driver.”

He shuffled around for a minute. He let out a sigh. He thrust his hands in and out of his pockets for a bit. Still, he could come up with no words of condolences other than “Sucks. Sorry.”

She gazed at the opposite wall as if looking for patterns in the stone and hugged her small knees to her chest. “I can’t just sit here. He could be taking his last breath right now and I’m just sitting here.”

“Can’t you just ask Madame Pomfrey for a potion or spell or something?”

For the first time all night, the dam of anger broke loose on her stony face. Her porcelain features were twisted in a snarl and the soft features were distorted in rage. “Don’t you think I’ve asked? She bloody won’t let me! Said that muggles have their own way of healing and it goes against some law to heal them magically without some document from the Ministry itself. It’s hogwash! If it were your dad, he’d be back at home by now. Just ‘cause I’m a muggleborn, my dad’s going to die and there’s nothing I can do about it!”

During this rant, James very slowly stood up and backed away. Screaming girls were not his area of expertise. When she was done and had calmed down, however, he slowly approached her and gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Sorry.”

“S’ok.” she mumbled, the fight having gone out of her as she slumped back against the wall and scanned the letter again, as though hoping the words would say something completely different.

He shoved his hands in his robe pockets and dragged his feet. “My dad works at the Ministry. Want me to ask him to give permission to magically heal your dad?”

Her eyes widened. “You could do that? You think you could actually, properly do that? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I think?”

Without warning, she launched herself at him and whispered words of gratitude for about two minutes straight. He was utterly horrified at the entire situation.

“I’ll owl him later. He could probably get back to me by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll find you in the common room. Shouldn’t be hard, we’re practically the only ones here. Well, ta!” he exclaimed, hastily making an exit, putting as much distance from himself and the hysterical girl he’d just encountered.

Pulling the prank wasn’t as fun as he’d remembered, through his spirit was lifted when his father sent him the permission form signed and all, and the next morning too. Noticing himself and Sirius were the only Gryffindors at breakfast, he made it his duty to find her later, which he did, in the exact same spot as the morning before.

She was holding a new letter, tears streaming down her face, and James felt like he was punched in the gut. He was too late.

Lily didn’t talk to James the next day before leaving to go home for the funeral and she didn’t talk to him when coming back to school for the rest of term; but after that Christmas, Lily always stayed at school for the holidays (and always made sure to run into him, if only for a minute).