Disclaimer: This story is based off of the wonderfully talented J.K. Rowling's works. I own nothing.

Lily stared out the window at the barren ground. Dead grass, dead trees, dead sky, dead people. Or, well, they may as well have been dead the way they were all lugging themselves around the streets, looking barely awake and barely alive.

She had to wonder where it had all gone. What happened to the white Christmas they had all expected? What happened to the Christmas spirit that should have been engrained in them all? What happened to the laughter and singing, the warm lights and sparkling snow.

It looked like the Grinch had come through town.

She finished wrapping her mother's present, a limited edition collection of poetry she had hinted about since September, and curled the white ribbon sullenly. She had to admit she'd done a lovely job wrapping it—perfect in every way to her own standards—but there was no excitement behind it despite the fact that it was already December 24th.

As awful as it sounded, Lily Evans was dreading Christmas.

The sound of her mother calling her name made her jump. She tucked the present away beneath her desk and headed downstairs.

"Yes, mum?" she asked.

Her mother was bustling around the kitchen, pushing the roast chicken into the oven and then fighting to get the oven door closed.

Lily walked over and removed the oven mitt caught in the door. The oven slammed shut with a bang.

"Thank you," her mum said. "Lily, you just got an—where's your Christmas jumper?"

Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes as her mother looked her up and down in shock. "In my closet I suppose," she replied.

"Well, why don't you put it on?" At the look of distaste Lily wore her mum frowned. "You always wear your Christmas jumper on Christmas Eve."

Lily tucked her red hair behind her ear and shrugged. "Well we're breaking a few traditions this year then, aren't we?"

Her mother's expression shifted from sad to stern. "Lily, you know better than to be so childish. Vernon is joining us for Christmas Eve because he means a lot to your sister. Evans would never let someone spend Christmas alone. His parents are in France."

"Why couldn't he go with them?" Lily muttered.

Her father walked into the kitchen. "Honey, you can do this for your sister, can't you?"

"Oh, we are sisters then?"

"Lily, you know Petunia never means a word of that." Her mother got out the pie trays and flour.

"Boys will come and go; sisters are forever," her dad reminded.

Lily sighed and got the sugar from the top cupboard for her mum. Lily was on the shorter side as it was, but her mother was even smaller.

"Oh, Lily you got post," her mum said.

"Post?"

"By owl," her mother amended. "A package."

Lily couldn't fathom who would send her a package. She, Alice and Frank had exchanged gifts before leaving school.

There was a small burst of excitement inside her as her mother handed her the large, rectangular package. The unknowing really got to her and before her Mum could reprimand her for not waiting until Christmas, she tore the brown paper back to reveal another layer of gold wrapping paper.

"There's a card," her dad pointed out, wandering out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Feeling guilty for rushing to the gift, Lily slowed down and picked up the card. She slid a finger under the wax seal and opened it. The black ink was slightly smudged in places, the messy scrawl slanting in different directions from line to line. Whoever had sent the gift had been in some sort of hurry. The bottom of the note had imprints of words from the top after being folded. Her eyebrows drew together in curiosity.

Dear Lily,

Hope your Christmas Hols are going well. Things are alright here.

I think about you a lot. I miss seeing you around every day. Sirius keeps calling me a sap for it but I've beat him six times now in quidditch so who gives a shite, right?

Anyway, I tried to find you at school to give it to you before the hols but you were avoiding me. So I was forced to send it to your house.

You should come by sometime. The wards are down for you, Lily dearest.

Hope you like it. Happy Christmas.

Love,

James

Lily glowered at the parchment. He sounded so chummy, as if they were the best of friends. They weren't. No, no they were far from friends. Stupid Potter just didn't know when to give up.

She balled the letter up and tossed it into the rubbish bin.

"Well aren't you going to open it?" her mum prodded, standing over her shoulder and staring at the package in interest.

"No," Lily said.

"Why?"

"I refuse to accept anything from Potter," she told her mum stubbornly.

The older Evans gave her daughter a strange look. "Well alright then." She paused. "I need you to go tidy your room and then…would you please wear your Christmas jumper?"

"Fine, Mum," Lily relented she threw out the packaging and tossed the parcel onto the living room couch, heading up to her room.

The gloomy dark sky outside gave her room a gray, dim light. It looked worse than if the drapes were just closed all together. She made her bed and tucked away the parchment on her desk into the drawers.

She went into her closet and dug out her cream jumper with the red patterns across it, reindeer across the bottom. She pulled it on, feeling warm and just slightly itchy in it. Usually the slightly scratchy wool didn't bother her, but this year it did. She wanted to pull it off and shove it back into the depths of her closet. It made her upset; whether it was because she was being forced to wear it or because she didn't like wearing it. Not this year.

She heard the door open downstairs and heard the walrus of a boy greet her father.

"Oh Merlin," she said to herself. "The vermin's here. Lovely."

"Petunia," her mum called, "Vernon's here."

She heard her sister's excited squeal and the thundering of her footsteps as she rushed down the stairs.

"Vernon," Lily mouthed along to Petunia's screech. "I'm so glad you're here!"

She figured if she didn't make her appearance soon her mum was going to demand it. Grabbing her wand, she tucked it into her enlarged pocket. She shut her drapes and went downstairs.

"Vernon," she acknowledged.

"Lily," Vernon returned.

Lily walked past her sister, who shot her a dirty look, and her boyfriend and went into the living room. She sat down on the couch and stared at the telly, her father had left it on a rather boring programme, and then she noticed that the framed family picture above the set was crooked.

She tried to ignore it and got up to try and find another programme on television. She flipped through the channels. She found a Jimmy Stewart movie on and left it.

The picture was bothering her. It was crooked. Tilted a little too far to the left. She stood and went over, standing in front of the telly and reaching up to try and touch the frame. No luck.

She pulled her wand from her pocket, glad she was of age, and pointed it at the frame. With a simple spell she had shifted it back into place. "There," she smiled. She tucked her wand away again and resumed her place on the couch next to the gift she had carelessly tossed aside.

"Petunia!" Vernon yelled. Lily turned slowly and looked over her shoulder to see the large bloke shaking, pointing a finger in her direction. "Petunia! Your sister—she just—she just—"

"Oh my Merlin. No. Crap," Lily swore. She closed her eyes and waited as she listened to Petunia enter the room.

"What's wrong?" her sister asked.

"Lily—she—she—" Vernon mimed what he had just seen and Petunia turned on Lily with a venomous glare.

Lily felt the panic and unease swell up inside her, quick and sudden. Beneath it was a twinge of guilt and remorse. She knew her sister resented the fact that she was a witch and had made it perfectly clear that no magic was to be performed in front of her ever let alone Vernon or any of her friends.

"You did what?"

"I'm sorry," Lily apologized. "It was a mistake. I'm sorry." She began to explain herself. "Vernon…I'm a—"

"A freak," Petunia spat.

"Petunia, I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I didn't mean—I forgot." Lily panicked and Vernon continued to stare at her with widened eyes. "I, um, Petunia…" Lily pulled her wand back out and pointed it at the stunned oaf. "Obliviate," she said.

Vernon looked shocked as he took in his surroundings. Lily shoved her wand back in her pocket. "What am I—how did I get here?" Vernon asked. Charms may have been her best subject, but Lily was only seventeen. She couldn't be dead on with everything.

"Lily, what did you do?" Petunia shrieked.

"I don't remember leaving the house," Vernon said.

"That's ridiculous," Lily remarked. "How do you suppose you got here then?" Vernon shot her a look. "Have you had any liquor?" she asked.

"Vernon go wait in the kitchen," Petunia said. She pushed him gently from the room and he went without protest. "What the hell were you thinking? You 'forgot'? How could you—" Petunia demanded.

"I'm sorry," Lily said again. "Really. He doesn't remember. It's okay."

"Okay? Nothing about using those, those tricks on my boyfriend is okay!" Lily remained quiet. "Why are you here?" Petunia asked with contempt. "Are you trying to ruin things for me? Do you know how hard it is to try and keep a normal life with a freak sister like you? You're so selfish."

"Petunia I—"

"I hate you."

"Do you want me to explain it to Vernon?" she offered tightly. "I can—"

"You want to do something else?" Petunia asked. "Leave."

Lily was speechless.

"Just get out," Petunia told her.

Lily grabbed the parcel beside her and held back tears, she was shaking and she had half a mind to throw the damned gift at her sister's head in sheer anger. She stuck her head in the kitchen. If Petunia wanted her gone, then fine. Happy Christmas to her. "I'm going out," she announced.

"Where?" her mother called.

Lily pulled out her wand and prepared to apparate. "A friend's," she said.

"But when will you be bac—"

But she was gone.

She stood at the side of her house, hidden from neighbours by the fence that closed the backyard off from the front. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she couldn't stay in the house any longer. She leaned against the brick wall with a sigh.

She couldn't hide outside in the cold for long. She'd freeze herself to an icicle; or at the very least catch cold.

Alice and Frank, her two closest friends from school, had chosen to stay at Hogwarts for the hols. Lily was suddenly wishing she had given in to their persuasion to stay back at the castle, however empty it would be, rather than her mother's guilt inducing letters asking her if she'd be coming home. At least the fire in Gryffindor common room would be warmer than her sister's heart or the bitter wind whipping her hair to catch on the bricks.

Lily winced as she pulled her thick red hair from the wall with her free hand, the other still holding the package from one mister James Potter. She stared at it. The all too curious side of her was dying to pull back the wrapping and reveal what was inside while the more stubborn part of her was adamant about not opening the present. It was probably one of his pranks anyway. She'd open it and an oversized chocolate frog would leap out and try to eat her. No. It was better left unopened.

But then her thumbnail happened to tear slightly into the wrapping and she pulled the bit of torn wrapping back and tried to peak through the small hole. It looked like a book spine as far as she could tell.

She realized peaking was probably one of her worse ideas. She was now positively and absolutely intrigued by just what it was. She peeled the wrapping back a little more, but the embossing on the spine was faded and worn, Lily couldn't read the title.

She figured it was already too late; she had torn the paper enough for it to be impossible to hide. Potter didn't have to know she had opened the gift. And she didn't have to keep it. For heaven's sakes, she was a witch, she could rip the paper to shreds and probably still get it back intact and looking like she hadn't laid a finger on it. Probably.

She took her chances as she tore back the wrapping to reveal the front cover of the book. She stared at it. The black ink that had been etched messily on the cover read, 'What did you think it was going to be?' Lily's mouth dropped open. Anger began to boil within her.

She ripped the book out of the wrapping and went to throw the wrapping to the ground, but before she could even feel the paper leave her hand entirely and let it fall to the slightly frosted grass she felt a sharp tug behind her navel.

Damn.

A/N: Okay everyone! So here is this year's holiday fic! Actually, in all honesty, I haphazardly started this last year but couldn't get much done with it. But it's been revived this year and I've written a good seven or eight chapters already and hopefully will be completely done in time for Christmas. Hopefully. But if not, it's worth a shot anyway.

The title of this may be temporary. If you've any ideas let me know!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! I'm so looking forward to hearing from my fellow James and Lily fans! You're all a lovely bunch.

Anyways,

Scarlett