I haven't forgotten you. This takes place in Magic Alternate Universe Land, which is basically the world of my real fanfiction, except Lily and Sev aren't together just yet.

And, without further ado, HAPPY CHRISTMAS, LOVELY READERS!

As promised, Lily turned up on Severus's doorstep at half past seven, beaming, bundled in her Gryffindor scarf and a long overcoat. Severus couldn't help but smile thinly, stepping out of the house and closing the door quickly to muffle his father's drunken shout and the sound of breaking glass. "Let's get out of here," he said, nodding in the direction of Lily's house. She nodded, her smile dropping, but didn't dwell on the scene she knew was playing out in the dingy house.

They shuffled down the street, hunched against the cold, walking close enough so that their gloved hands brushed against each other even though neither went the extra mile to grasp the other's. "It's a miracle mum's letting us do this," Lily commented after a while, not liking the silence that had ballooned between them. "All of us packed into the one room and she's not even home, it's going to be a disaster."

"You know your mum, she'll let you because she figures you'll be able to fix all the windows, furniture and precious family heirlooms Potter breaks with magic," Severus said, smirking, and Lily laughed. By the time they reached the Evans's house they were talking and joking as usual.

"About time, we've been freezing our bollocks off out here," James growled, straightening up from where he had been leaning against the garage. The other Marauders, along with Mary and Dorcas, were all there as well.

Lily rolled her eyes, taking the spare key from the post box and unlocking the front door. "I did say not to come until eight."

James didn't answer.

"The loo is down the hall and to your right, feel free to raid the kitchen -" at this, Sirius scampered off "- and stay the hell out of my bedroom," Lily rattled off, "Other than that, have fun - oh, and no magic!"

"It's not a proper New Year's Eve without magic," Sirius protested, returning from the kitchen with a mouthful of what looked like yesterday's leftover chicken.

"Somehow I think a visit from the Ministry would dampen the holiday spirit, don't you?" Mary said dryly, flopping onto the couch and snatching a pack of crisps from the coffee table.

It wasn't long before the others arrived - Frank Longbottom with Alice on his arm, Marlene McKinnon, Emmaline Vance, and Sirius's brother Regulus, the only other Slytherin besides Severus. Remus got the radio playing and most of the boys crowded around the television to watch a football match, James constantly asking what the point was of a sport that didn't even use brooms.

"Sev?" Severus turned away from a conversation with Regulus, only to find Lily standing there looking nervous. "Come here a second." She led him out of the living room, away from the main party, out into the hall. With a shy smile she pulled a rectangle wrapped in shiny green paper from behind her back. "Before you protest, because I know you're going to - just don't. Happy late Christmas, Sev."

Severus took the package, and under Lily's encouraging gaze he unwrapped it carefully. Inside he found a dark leather book. Lily was still beaming, so he let the cover fall open. His eyes widened as he flipped through the book; every page was full of photographs of either him, Lily or both of them, grinning and waving up at him. There was a mix of Muggle and wizarding photos - Lily frozen in the air, jumping off a swing with her face split into a broad grin, both of them roaring with silent laughter in the Evans's backyard.

"It's not a whole lot, I just thought it was kind of nice," Lily mumbled bashfully, and before she could say any more Severus had her in a tight hug.

"It's brilliant, Lils, thank you," he said sincerely. Lily grinned.

The party wore on, and after a while Lily found herself sprawled in the living room with the others. Sirius had gotten his hands on an empty Butterbeer bottle and Marry had insisted on playing spin the bottle. Lily watched them kiss two by two - it wasn't too big of a deal, seeing as most of them were paired up already, but every now and again Regulus would snog Marlene, or Peter would have to kiss Emmaline (much to Dorcas's dismay) and everyone would roar with laughter.

"Your turn!" Alice said brightly, tossing the bottle into Lily's lap. She pulled a face.

"Absolutely not, I'm not having my first kiss in a game of spin-the-bottle," she insisted, smirking and passing the bottle off to Remus. She and Severus shared a sideways look - it was a lie, it wouldn't be her first kiss. She could vividly remember the day she and Severus had kissed, hidden away in the shelves of Flourish and Blott's. They were about to start their fourth year, and they were curious - it was awkward and quick, leaving them both blushing like mad afterwards, but Lily would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it, if only a little bit.

She reached across to a jar full of candy canes on the side table, taking one and sucking on it thoughtfully as she watched the spin-the-bottle game deteriorate into a game of truth-or-dare. Severus was paying no attention to the game; instead his dark eyes were fixed firmly on Lily. Absently he wondered if she would taste like mint if he kissed her then, right in front of everyone. He shook himself, remembering that she would probably never speak to him again if he did, never mind the fact that the way she was eating her candy cane was overwhelming enough, thank you very much. Her eyes flicked over to him and she gave him a small smile, nodding towards the others and miming a rapidly-speaking mouth with her hand. He smirked in agreement and jerked his head upwards, to where he knew Lily's bedroom was right above, wanting to escape the mindless chatter around them. Her eyes shone with mirth and she raised a questioning eyebrow dramatically. He shook his head, grinning, and it wasn't until then that he realized the others had stopped.

"That is really freaky, you just had an entire conversation and your mouths didn't move once," Alice marvelled.

"You've got us, we can read each other's minds," Lily said, pretending to grimace with worry.

"For example, right now Lily knows how hungry I am and how much I would love a candy cane of my own," Severus said smoothly.

Lily laughed and broke off the end of her own, throwing it at Severus as hard as she could. "And right now Severus knows that I think he's a right git for stealing my food."

Marlene giggled. "Honestly, could you two please just snog and get married and live happily ever after? It's killing us."

Both Lily and Severus pulled faces, but neither could hide the faint blush that crept into their cheeks once they had looked away from one another.

"Oi, what time is it?" James said suddenly, springing up.

"Eleven fifty-eight," Mary reported with a grin, and immediately everyone perked up, their attention fixed firmly on the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

"Sixty seconds," Sirius said happily.

Lily caught sight of Alice and Frank, closely intertwined on the one-person armchair. "You aren't supposed to kiss until the new year," she reminded them. Frank made an indifferent grunt, his mouth never leaving his girlfriend's.

"Forty-five seconds," James announced.

Lily couldn't help but glance back over at her snogging friends, feeling a hint of jealousy. James and Mary were standing close together now, looking lovingly into each other's eyes.

"Thirty," Regulus chirped.

"Oh, sod it," Peter growled, and he grabbed Dorcas by the shoulders and kissed her hard. Her eyebrows shot up but she kissed him back nevertheless - finally, Lily thought, she's only been gushing over him for the past year and a half.

"Twenty."

Between Mary and James, Alice and Frank, Peter and Dorcas and the way Marlene and Sirius were eyeing each other, Severus was starting to feel sick. He looked over at Lily, who had her lips pressed together firmly and was watching the couples with nothing short of pure envy in her green eyes. He frowned, and for a wild moment he considered kissing her just to put her out of her misery - and his. She could feel his eyes on her and met his gaze, her face relaxing into an expression of mild surprise as she recognized a hint of desire in his features.

"Ten!"

"Sev?" she asked incredulously. He threw his guard up as quickly as possible, trying to look nonchalant but failing miserably. His eyes flicked away to watch the clock.

"Seven!" Emmaline said enthusiastically.

"Severus, look at me," Lily said softly, not daring to believe what she had seen. Ever so slowly, Severus's head turned, and there it was again. There was no use hiding it, he decided, and now his emotions were plain on his face for the first time in the eight years she had known him. And what she saw thrilled her.

"Three!"

"Sev."

"Two!"

"Lily," Severus replied, his voice low.

"One!"

Lily rose up on her toes and pressed her lips against his as Regulus and Marlene chorused, "Happy new year!" The other couples broke apart, wishing each other the same around the room, but the expressions were cut short when nine pairs of eyes fell on Lily and Severus. He kissed her back, his heart exploding with joy in his chest, his arms snaking around her waist and holding her close. She did taste like mint, just the way he thought she would. She brought a hand up to his hair, waves of relief washing over her at the fact that he hadn't pulled away immediately.

"I knew it," Mary whispered.

"Don't be daft, everyone knew it except for them," Remus replied, smiling.

Severus finally pulled away after they began to sway on the spot. Lily only had eyes for him, a beam splitting across her face. "Hi," she said, because as far as she was concerned it was an entirely new Severus Snape standing before her with that punch-drunk grin and the swollen lips.

"Hi," he replied.

Dorcas muffled a giggle behind her hand. Suddenly noticing that they weren't alone, Lily blushed a brilliant shade of red, making the others laugh out loud. Severus couldn't take it any longer - she had kissed him, and he knew she meant it, and he was positive he didn't want to do anything else for the rest of his life, so he seized her burning face and kissed her again. Sirius wolf-whistled.

The rest of the party dwindled away, Lily and Severus sharing shy smiles. No-one stayed much longer, it was getting to be late and Sirius had eaten the rest of the food, in any case. Emmaline was the last to go, giving Lily a significant look before Disapparating. Lily closed the door behind her and leaned up against it, studying Severus.

"Happy new year," she offered, still feeling light-headed from the sudden change in events. Severus beamed and strode closer, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I love you," he said, the words falling from his lips effortlessly.

"I love you too," she replied, pulling his mouth to hers again. The sound of a car door slamming broke them apart - Lily's parents were home. She sighed in disappointment, and then started, remembering the mess in the living room. Quickly they scrambled to set the room right again, and by the time her parents stumbled in, brushing the snow off their coats, Lily and Severus were sitting in the relatively clean room, chatting animatedly.

"How was your night, did anything exciting happen? What did we miss?" Mrs. Evans asked interestedly.

They shared a look. Yes, mum, apparently I'm in love with my best friend and he's in love with me and everything is absolutely fantastic, and if I had it my way you'd still be on the road and we'd be snogging each other's brains out.

Yes, Mrs. Evans, your daughter and I are in love and if I had it my wayyou'd be far, far away and I would never leave her side as long as I lived.

"Nothing," Lily said innocently.

"Not unless you count Sirius Black the food vacuum," Severus agreed with a smirk.

Mrs. Evans frowned. "Are you feeling alright, Lily? You look flushed, you're all red," she said, sounding concerned.

Lily smiled to herself. "Trust me, mum, I'm feeling absolutely brilliant."

HAPPY HAPPY CHRISTMAS YAY :3

or Hannukah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate...