The Perfect Present
It was perfect. He was absolutely sure that she would love it… Ok, so maybe James Potter wasn't sure that Lily Evans would love it… or even like it… Actually, James had never been so unsure in his life about anything.
The young woman behind the counter wrapped the gift carefully, putting a classic looking Christmas bow on top.
"Is that all you need for today?" she asked, fluttering her eye lashes at him. James didn't bother looking up before looking at his watch and realizing what time it was.
"Yes, fine, fine. Could you please just ring me up? I'm really in a hurry," James said, giving the girl his most charming smile. She gave a heartfelt sigh and quickly rang James up for his purchase. Before James even left the shop, the girl tittered over to another young woman behind the counter and began talking about the "handsome stranger." James just shook his head, as the bell above the door tingled and he entered the cool outside air of Hogsmeade.
James maneuvered his way through the crowded streets, hoping he would make it back to Honeydukes before the sweet shop closed. Of course, it wouldn't be too bad to walk all the way back to the school… Save for the fact that the bitter cold winds would surely numb… And he would have to find a way in because the entrance to the school would most certainly be closed and locked by the time he would make it back. He would have to risk one of the secret entrances from the Hogwarts grounds and hope that Filch or his cat wouldn't be wandering around the more open yet still secret passages.
However, James had nothing to worry about when it came to Honeydukes. The sweet shop was back with people doing some last minute shopping before Christmas. This was good for it made it easy for James to slip behind the counter and down the stairs to the cellar and the secret door to Hogwarts.
After his lengthy walk through the secret passage, James poked his head out from the hump of the one-eyed witch, peering around to makes sure that no one was around before fully emerging.
He carried his Christmas present for Lily in a plain brown bag, hoping to get to the head dorms as fast as possible without being seen by-
"Potter, what are you doing in the halls at this time of night? You usually are with your friends in the Gryffindor common room about now…" came the worst voice he could hear right now from behind him.
James turned around to see one Lily Evans, hands on her hips, giving him a questioning look. James Potter moved his free hand through his hair nervously before putting on his calm, cool and collected face, complete with a smile he saved for Lily.
"Just taking an evening stroll. Nothing troublesome if that's what you are thinking." He gave her an innocent smile which placed a skeptical looking on Lily's face.
"What's in the bag?" she asked, eyeing the innocent parcel.
"Nothing," James said quickly. Too quickly Lily's taste but James didn't realize that till a split second too late.
"I don't think it is nothing, Potter. Show me what's in the bag or I'll have to tell Professor McGonagall about your nightly stroll." James couldn't believe this was happening. He was being blackmailed by Lily "Perfect Prefect" Evans (at least, that was how it looked from his perspective). The last person he wanted to see what was in the bag in hand was Lily, at least, until Christmas day.
"Now, now Lily, don't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?" he said, putting on an egotistical grin in hopes of distracting Miss Evans from the package in his hands. Lily gave James a glare, tapping her foot all the while. James gave a small laugh before beginning to back away from Lily.
"Well, I'm sure drained. Off to bed with me then." With those words, James turned and bolted in the direction he has originally been heading. He quickly muttered the password to the Heads' common room and scampered into his room. He panted lightly, not usually needing to run that fast and that distance without a proper warm up.
James walked over to his bed and carefully placed the gift underneath. After releasing a sigh of relief, James plopped down on his bed, hoping to get a good night's rest. Although he hated to say it, the day had been tiresome for he had spent the entire time in Hogsmeade trying to find Lily's Christmas gift.
The idea was short lived when Sirius Black came barging into the room.
"Prongs! Where have you been these past few hours?! We've been looking all over but couldn't find neither hide nor hair of you, mate!" The fellow prankster plunked down beside James, making an overdramatic gesture to show how exhausting his task had been. "By the way, when I saw Evans on the way here, she looked a little miffed and I wonder if she had run into you or something."
James sighed, as he pushed his glasses up his face a little and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, she caught me as I was coming back from Hogmeade. I had just shut the entrance to the one-eyed witch when Evans came around the corner behind me. Managed to get away from her thankfully." James sighed again.
"What?! You usually are dying for a chance to talk to Evans. What reason do you have for having given up such a chance?" Sirius asked, turning to face his best friend. "The apocalypse! That must be it!" Sirius shouted, jumping off the bed. James laughed at his friend's antics.
"No, no… Nothing like that… I went to Hogsmeade for Lily's Christmas gift. She wanted to see what was inside but I didn't want to spoil the surprise, Padfoot." Sirius just stared at his friend for a few moments, expecting James to read his mind and answer his question. Of course, James knew exactly what the boy wanted to know but didn't say anything. He just looked up at the canopy over his four poster bed.
"Well mate, what did you bloody get her?" Sirius asked, as though it was completely obvious, which to James, it pretty much was. James just let a smirk appear on his face and said nothing. "Come on, Prongs. You can tell you best mate, Padfoot, now, can't you?" Sirius tried using his puppy-eyed dog look, transforming into his cute, cuddly self (well, at least that is what he always thought).
James laughed and shook his head. "You know that doesn't work on me, Padfoot." He patted his transfigured friend's head. Sirius changed back and huffed not unlike a five year old who didn't get that big slice of cake he wanted. "You can find out at Christmas. Just wait."
Christmas time was always wonderful when spent at Hogwarts. Lily loved to walk around the school at Christmas time, even though this was only her second and last year of doing so. Lily had no reason to go home for the past two years after her parents had passed away. Who would want to go back to a horrible sister like Petunia?
So, Lily opted out of spending Christmas in the "home" that she shared with her sister.
Lily was just entering the Heads' common room when she came upon a strange sight inside. There was James Potter, standing on a step stool, decorating the common room tree… In Muggle fashion, no less.
James clearly wasn't expecting Lily to be back so soon because when he turned around, he was clearly startled by her appearance, causing him to topple off the stool and fall on the other side of the couch and out of sight.
Lily giggled and walked casually over to where James had fallen, as though it was a regular occurrence.
James was just sitting up and rubbing his head by the time Lily had gotten to him. James looked up at the read-head, smiled and stood up, messing up his hair like he tended to do whenever she was around.
"Hey Lily," he said, goofy smile in place.
"Good morning, Pott- James," Lily said, correcting herself to fit the deal they had made about using first names. "What are you doing?" She asked, looking at the barely decorated Christmas tree, wondering if the house elves had forgotten to decorate their tree.
"Oh, well, you see, I wrote a little note to the house elves asking them to leave out the decorations for the room on Christmas Eve…" James trailed of from there.
"And why would you do that?" Lily asked, still looking at the tree.
"Well, my parents and I use to decorate the tree at home the Muggle way on Christmas Eve before they died… And since I'm not going home this year, I thought maybe we could decorate our tree…. Together… But when I went to look for you, I couldn't seem to find you. So I decided to start and hope you'd get here before I finished." James' smiled at Lily's surprised expression.
He wandered back to the stool and placed the little decorations in his hand (which miraculously did not break) on the Christmas tree. "So, want to help me decorate?" James asked, looking hopefully over his shoulder at Lily.
Lily thought for a moment before breaking out into a big grin, loving the idea of decorating a Christmas tree again.
Strangely enough, or so Lily thought, the pair had a complete blast. Lily was laughing hysterically when she turned to see James covered from head to toe in tinsel later on after he lost his battle against said tinsels wrapping.
The two had such a good time that they accidentally missed lunch.
Of course, James remedied that by taking Lily to the kitchens, where they had their own private mini feast (well, as private as one can get with many little house elves asking if they needed anything more).
After their late lunch, the head boy and girl went back to their common room and finished decorating, including putting some magical decorations through the room.
It was ten o'clock at night before the pair had finished. Exhausted, they fell contently into the comfy chairs by the fire place.
Then, unexpectedly, the portrait door opened and the heads of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Dae Potter popped in.
"Hello, hello! What have we here?" Sirius said, smirking. "As much as we'd love to leave you two be, we thought you could use some food, seeing as you both completely missed dinner… and lunch for that matter." Sirius held up a bag of chestnuts when he was suddenly pushed into the common room.
"Hurry and get in," Dae hissed, having been the one to push the boy in. "We don't want a teacher or Filch to see us." Dae hopped over Sirius when Lily and James noticed she was hold a few shaven and pointed sticks along with a bag of marshmallows. Sirius stood up as Remus entered and closed the portrait door.
"Thought we could spend Christmas together, roast chestnuts and make s'mores," Remus said, cheerfully holding up some Honeydukes' chocolate and a box of graham crackers.
"I just wanted to try these "s'more" things that Remus kept ranting about," said Dae with a shrug, laying herself down on the couch. "Said something about his American pen pal telling him about these things.
"Oy!" shouted Sirius. "Where are Remus and I supposed to sit?"
"On the floor, of course," Dae said nonchalantly. Lily and James watched in amusement.
Sirius and Remus shared a mischievous look before walking behind the couch and then proceeding to jump over it and onto Dae, who grunted at the sudden force of two seventh year boys on her.
Dae groaned as the two Marauders got off of her, letting her sit up so they could have places on the couch.
The evening continued with laughter, roasted chestnuts and, as Dae put it, yummy s'mores.
Unknowingly, the five Hogwarts students fell asleep in the cozy common room, surrounded by the warmth of the fire and friendship.
It was the bright sun peaking around the curtains over the window the next morning that awoke Lily.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes in an attempt to wake up. She looked over at the couch to see if the others were still there. She had to stifle a laugh as she looked over at the trio on the couch. Remus and Dae were sitting up, leaning against each other for support, snoozing softly. Sirius, however, had taken a different position. His head was resting on Dae's legs while his own legs were draped over the arm of the couch.
Lily looked over the James' chair only to find that he was not in it. She looked around the room only to see James sitting close to the Christmas tree, placing gifts underneath it. As though sensing someone watching him, James turned around to spot Lily watching him. He smiled and gave her a little wave.
"Good morning and Happy Christmas, Lily," he said cheerfully.
When Lily finally realized exactly what James was doing, she jumped to her feet and darted to her room. Five minutes later, she emerged from her room, a small pile of gifts in hand. James was still sitting beside the tree.
The head girl sat next to the head boy, placing wrapped gifts underneath the tree. James watched before noticing a particular one and quickly snatching it up from where Lily had placed it.
"Is this one for me?" James asked, shaking the box to try and figure out what was inside. Lily shook her head, trying to restrain herself from giggling at the boy's antics. He had a foolish grin on his face.
"That one isn't for you," she said in a teasing voice. His smile dropped to a puppy dog look. That time, Lily couldn't contain herself and giggled for a good five minutes before shaking her head at James. She pulled out another gift from behind. "This one is for you. Thought that since we are sort of friends now, I might as well get you a gift."
'And,' Lily thought to herself. 'I knew you'd be getting me one like you had been and I would have felt guilty again for not getting you one.' Lily tossed the gift over to James, who looked at the present in shock. Of course, he had been getting Lily Christmas presents for the past 3 years but he had never received or expected to receive one in return.
It took the young man a moment to realize that Lily expected him to open it now.
James opened the package carefully and then the box his gift was in. Resting in the box was a journal. The cover was decked out in Gryffindor red with gold lining along the side. Just to make it even better, there was the Gryffindor lion on the front cover. It was on its hind legs with its front paws moving in the air.
The Head Boy opened the journal to look inside when he saw a little note written in the inside cover:
James
In all honesty, I had no clue as to what to get you when I decided to get you a Christmas gift. It had taken me a while to find this but I knew it would be nice the moment I saw it. It practically screamed you (well, maybe not the journal part but the Gryffindor part). I don't know if you'd need or would use a journal, but it is the thought that counts, right?
Happy Christmas!
Love, Lily
James read the note a few more times before finally looking up at Lily.
"Well," came the nervous voice of one Lily Evans. James had never heard such a nervous tone from the Head Girl. She was usually composed and confident while in his presence… But at this point, it seemed like she really cared what he thought of the gift she got him.
James smiled at Lily, who seemed to be holding her breath. "I love it," James said, smile not leaving his face but it did change to a mischievous one.
Then, so quickly that Lily didn't realize how it happened, James gathered her into a hug. Unseen to James, a blush rushed across Lily's face as she awkwardly patted James' back and released the breath she had been holding. It wouldn't have been as awkward if James had not accidentally pinned Lily's arms to her sides so she couldn't return the hug.
James pulled back a little and whispered into Lily's ear, "I doesn't matter what you would have gotten me. It is the thought that matters and the fact that you thought of me makes me happier than any material item that I could get today." The blush on Lily's face darkened as James fully pulled away with a smile from ear to ear.
James suddenly turned from Lily, looking through the gifts he had placed under the tree. When he turned back to Lily, he had a little parcel in hand. He took a deep breath before holding it out to Lily.
"I didn't write a card or anything… Hope you don't mind." James said, not really looking at Lily so much as he was looking at the floor. Lily took the gift out of his hand and looked at it for a moment. When glanced up at James, she saw that he was looking at her expectedly, just like she had done to him a few moments before.
She gentle tore the wrapping paper of the gift and pried open the box. Inside was a beautiful little jewelry box. It was clearly made with a fine wood and carved into the top was an elegant looking lily flower. The crafter of the box had without a doubt taken much time and effort into making this piece. The front of the box had a little clasp in the same shape as the lily on top.
This had to have been the most beautiful thing Lily had ever seen. She was so enthralled by it that she did not notice James still waiting for her response.
"Open it up," he whispered, almost causing the Head Girl to miss what he had said. She glanced at James before slowly opening the box. There, resting in the middle was a simple but pretty necklace. All there was to it was a golden chain and a ruby red tear drop.
At this, Lily gasped, almost dropping the gift all together. At this point, James was getting nervous.
"You remember that day that you saw me in the hall with that bag? Well, the thing was, I had been buying part of your gift and I didn't want you to see it. I had just gotten back from Hogsmeade when you saw me. I didn't want you to see the jewelry box, so I had to run for it… Hope you aren't too terribly mad at me." Lily looked up to see James staring back.
"And the necklace," Lily whispered, as if to break the almost peaceful silence. James smiled gently when she said this.
"It's a bit of a family heirloom. My grandfather bought this necklace for my grandmother when he told her he wanted to court her. My dad did the same thing with my mum when he wanted to court her… And this is kind of my last ditch effort to get you to go out with me… I mean… I don't mean that you have to go out with me or anything. I'll let you keep it either way, but I guess I kind of wanted to show you that I am serious about having a relationship with you. I'm completely head over heels in love with you, as silly as that sounds…" James trailed off, still looking at Lily for a reaction.
"Well…" Lily paused. "I can't say that I'm head over heels in love with you, James…" His face dropped at those words but she continued on. "But I do want to give you a chance… And maybe with some time…" She left the idea hanging in the air. James' eyes widened when he registered what she just said. He looked at her in disbelief for a few moments before looking at his hands that were placed in his lap. "Um…" Lily certainly was not expecting this kind of reaction from the boy who had just professed his love for her.
However, one minute, James is looking like he is in utter disbelief; the next minute he has Lily in another hug. He picked them both up off of the floor, spun around and laughed so happily that Lily broken into the same laughter. This time, Lily's arms weren't pinned to her sides and she threw them around James' neck as he twirled himself and her around.
Unknown to the new couple, the trio, who had been sleeping on the couch, was not really sleeping anymore. They hadn't moved from their sleeping positions, though, in order to keep the moment in the air for James and Lily.
Eventually, Sirius had to start rubbing his leg in order to regain feeling seeing as it had fallen asleep. Now, Lily and James probably wouldn't have noticed if Dae hadn't decided to shove Sirius off of her legs when he wasn't paying attention. Sirius, being startled by the moment, fell off the couch with a loud bang.
Dae looked over at Sirius, who was sprawled on the floor, attempting to keep from howling in pain. Remus just rolled his eyes at the two before noticing that Lily and James were looking at them.
"Way to ruin the mood, Padfoot," Remus said, tapping Sirius' side with his foot.
"It wasn't my fault!" He pointed at Dae. "She shoved me off the couch! They wouldn't have noticed anything if Dae hadn't done that!" At this point, Dae was standing up, stretching out.
"Not my fault you're a dunce, Sirius," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Dae looked over at James and Lily, both of whom she just noticed. "Oh… Sorry about sort of ruining the moment."
Lily and James looked at each other and then looked back at the other three people in the room. Then, out of no where, the pair burst out laughing again. This time, it was a "you all are kind of dunces" laugh.
A/N: I don't know if anyone else got this kind of thought but I think this story will continue on into a second part (maybe the first date or something). I feel like this short is a little incomplete but I can't find a proper ending...
Anyway, enjoy. Yeah, I noticed I haven't updated in over a year... It's been so long that I forgot about Remus' party... So, I'll finish that one soon along with this one...