Christmas Treasures

The weeks flew by in a rush for James, and soon, it was the week before Christmas break and he was thinking of what to buy his friends. Remus had suggested that they all go visit Hogsmead sometime, and take advantage of the fact that 7th years were allowed to go to Hogsmead any time they wanted, as long as it wasn't during class time. Peter was going home for the holidays, but the rest of the 7th years were staying at Hogwarts over break. James tried to feel a bit more pity for Peter, but in his opinion, it was partly Peter's fault that he had to go home and miss all the fun.
James, Sirius and Remus decided to go shopping on Friday afternoon, since classes ended then. Lily, Bekki, and Melanie were coming along, and James and his friends had decided to buy gifts for all three of the girls, as well as for each other. Then, they had to get small presents for the teachers, because that was what all 7th year students did, and there was no point in not sucking up just a little bit over the holidays. James had decided to only get presents for the teachers that he had classes with.
Friday afternoon came, and soon, James found himself standing next to Sirius and Remus, bundled up in a thick cloak and Hogwarts scarf, walking to Hogsmead, where they were to meet the three girls.

"I was talking to Peter yesterday about all the fun he's going to miss, going home and all, and he didn't seem to care!" Sirius was saying as they walked.
"I dunno about him, sometimes," Remus said, shaking his head. "He's just your basic underachiever, if you ask me. He only hangs around with us cause we're popular, or rather, because James is popular."
"Yeah, but he's okay, once you get to know him, I guess," Sirius said.
"Sure," said James absently.
As they entered Hogsmead, James saw Lily and her friends up ahead and pointed them out to Sirius and Remus. They hurried over to the girls, who were engaged in serious conversation.
"I'm not sure what to do about him," Lily was saying. "He hasn't been eating lately, and he stays cooped up in the owlery all day."
James frowned. "You can't be talking about me, can you?" he asked, tapping Lily on the shoulder.
Lily turned around and giggled. "Of course not, silly!" she said. "It's Emerald, my owl. He's sick."
"Oh," said James, smiling.
"Well, where should we go first?" Sirius asked, looking around.
"I was thinking that we could split up and go wherever, then meet up at the Three Broomsticks for a butter beer in an hour or so," Melanie said.
"Sounds nice to me," said Bekki.
They all agreed, then went off in different directions to buy gifts. James had made mental notes about what all of his friends would like, and he got all of their things first, then browsed around, looking for gifts for the teachers.

When the hour was over, James had gotten all of his shopping done, which was a wonder. He had ended up just getting the teachers books and quills and ink and things like that.
As he walked to the Three Broomsticks, he inhaled the cold, crisp winter air that gusted around and tossed snow everywhere. It smelled like Christmas. He shifted his grip on his packages to open the door to the Three Broomsticks, then went inside and saw Lily sitting at a table in the back of the room, talking to Melanie. He walked over to them and set his things on the floor next to his chair.
"He Lily," he said. "Hi, Mel."
"Hey James," they said in unison. "Did you get all of your shopping done?" Lily asked.
"Yep," he replied, sitting down. "How 'bout you and Mel?"
"We've still got a few things to get, but we're pretty much finished up," Melanie said as Sirius and Bekki walked in the door. Lily waved at them to get their attention and they made their way over to the table.
"Hey, guys!" Sirius said cheerfully. "Did you order butter beer yet?"
"Six mugs of it," Lily replied as Remus joined the crowd.
Remus sat down next to Melanie and dropped an armload of wrapped parcels on the floor next to his chair. "I'm sure glad that's over with," he mumbled as a waitress set a tray of steaming mugs on their table. They all pitched in and paid for their own drinks, and Melanie went so far as to ask the waitress if she would take a picture of them. The waitress smiled and took the picture, then left them to enjoy their drinks.
They all talked about what they had gotten for the teachers, and when Bekki said she had gotten all of them a pair of sacks, Sirius snorted and butter beer came out of his nose. It was rather funny, seeing Sirius with butter beer dripping down his chin, trying desperately to keep from laughing. Melanie got a picture of that, too, before, Sirius got a napkin and wiped off his face. Then, when they were getting ready to leave, Melanie fell backward in her chair and Lily grabbed the camera and took a picture.
It had been quite an afternoon.

Early Christmas morning, Lily was woken up by a voice whispering in her ear, "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! It's Christmas!"
Lily, rolling over and putting a pillow over her head to block out the voice, mumbled to herself, trying to get back to sleep. It felt like it was 3:00 in the morning. The sheets were suddenly thrown back, and Lily lay there on her stomach, with the pillow covering her head, shivering.
"Come on, Lily!" said the voice, much louder this time. For some reason , it sounded oddly familiar. Lily didn't care, though. She just wanted to go back to sleep. She curled herself into a ball, and all of a sudden, her bed tipped her onto the floor, and she lay there dazed for a minute, then sat up and looked around.
"Finally!" The voice said. It was James, Lily realized. "I never could have imagined waking you up in the mornings could be so hard!"
Lily yawned and lay back down on the cold floor. "Night, James," she mumbled and closed her eyes.

Lily felt something wet on her lips. She was being kissed awake!! What a wonderful way to wake up, Lily thought to herself as she kissed James back. When he pulled away, Lily sat up for good.
"Wow," James said, smiling. "Works just like in the fairy tales!"
Lily giggled as she stood up, then went into he bathroom to get dressed and wash up.
She came back out, still running a brush through her hair, and said good morning to Sirius, who was still trying to get Bekki out of her bed.
"Come on," James said, taking her hand as she set down her brush on her nightstand. "We have to go down to the common room! Everyone's eating breakfast that me, Sirius, and Remus brought up from the kitchens. We have to wait for everyone to open the presents, though. Did you know that the 7th years are the only ones in Gryffindor that are staying here over the holidays?"
"Great!" Lily replied, as they stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking the common room. Her breath caught in her throat.
The common room was beautiful! Garland was wrapped around the banister of the staircases leading to the girls' and boys' dorms, and each of the doors at the top of the two staircases had been decorated with rather large wreaths of pine branches, which gave the room a rich, fresh aroma, red holly berries, gold ribbons, and many, beautiful glass ornaments. A tall, sturdy-looking tree had been set up in the middle of the common room, and the dazzling star on the top of it brushed the high ceiling. The tree had been swathed in lights of all different colors, as well as beads, ribbons, and tinsel. Lovely ornaments had been hung on the tree, and it all glinted in the light of the room. Underneath the tree, stacks, upon stacks of elaborately-wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes sat under the tree, and each had a tag on them. Lily was glad she had remembered to put the gifts that she would be giving out at the end of her bed, so the house-elves could pick them up and distribute them to their rightful owners. Lily tilted her head to examine the doorframe above her more clearly, and she could identify a leaf of mistletoe that she and James were standing directly under. The whole of the 7th year Gryffindors had turned to watch by now, and Lily glanced at James, who gave her a brief smile before swooping her up into his arms and kissing her in front of the entire common room. She barely heard the clapping and cheers coming from below as James released her. Her head was swimming and she found it very hard to think straight. The one thing she was sure of at that moment, though, was how much of a crush she had on James.

When her head cleared, she took James's extended hand, and let herself be led into the common room. James received slaps on the back from most of the boys, and Lily noticed a few smiles that looked a little jealous that were given to her from the girls. She didn't blame them. James was so wonderful it almost hurt sometimes. Lily smiled back, even to those who looked jealous, then sat down next to Melanie on the floor. Melanie smiled at her.
"I got a picture of that," Melanie said. "And Crystal got one of me and Remus, since she was right there and I had the camera in my hand."
Lily grinned back. "Where's breakfast?"
"On those tables over there," Melanie replied, pointing to them. "Grab a plate and help yourself."
Lily did exactly that, then went with her plate of food back to where Melanie was sitting. Just then, Sirius and Bekki walked out of the door to the girls' dormitories.
Lily and the rest of the common room watched as Bekki surveyed the room from floor to rafters, then saw the mistletoe on the doorframe. Melanie picked up her camera just as Sirius and Bekki leaned in. The two of them stood there for quite a while, then Bekki pulled away and slumped against Sirius's chest, breathing hard. Sirius looked out of breath too. He took her hand and they walked down to the common room together. The common room burst into applause. Lily and Melanie cheered louder than anyone else. Soon, Bekki sat next to Lily and Melanie, a smile curling on her lips. Lily tapped Bekki on the shoulder and pointed to the tables full of food. Bekki understood and went to get a plate. When she came back, Lily set her own plate in a stack, then resumed her seat. Bekki finished eating a couple minutes later, and did the same. They waited a bit longer, then James announced, "Since everybody's down here, you can all start opening presents now!"

Those simple words sent the common room into a chaotic jumble of voices, ripping paper, thank yous, and laughter.
Lily found the stack that was hers, and picked up a box on the top. She ripped open the card. It was from her parents. The card wished her a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and good luck on her homework.
She opened the box and pulled out a beautiful green, flowing robe and matching shoes. There was also a rather generous amount of homemade goodies from her mother. Lily stood up and showed Bekki and Melanie. Mel took a picture with her camera, and Lily went back to her presents.
She got a card from her sister, and a pair of sparkly green socks from her aunt. Then she got down to the presents from her friends. Lily opened the present from Melanie first. She ripped away the wrapping paper, to reveal a large green book. Or so it seemed. Once all of the paper was ripped away, Lily saw that it was a photo album. She grinned to herself as she opened it up and flipped through the pages.
There were the pictures of the picnic on the beach, of Sirius and Bekki, of everyone falling down, of the train ride to Hogwarts and when James asked Lily out, of the start-of-the-year feast, of Lily and James holding up their Head Boy and Girl badges, of the three boys putting crabs in the beds, of Bekki screaming her lungs out and running around the dorm because of a crab, of Peter hiding under the bad, of Sirius's horror-stricken expression, of James staring, and of Remus trying not to laugh, of Sirius kissing a screaming Bekki, of the first Quidditch match of the season and the Gryffindor team rejoicing, of Melanie covering her mouth after she asked Remus when he was going to tell her that he was a werewolf, of Remus's horrified face, of Lily, James, Sirius, and Bekki sitting on the floor in front of the 7th year boys' dorms with guilty faces, of Peter and his singed eyebrows in Charms class, of them all sitting in the Three Broomsticks, of Sirius with butter beer running down his chin, and every other thing Melanie took pictures of, and a few extra pages for more pictures. The pictures didn't move, because Melanie thought that unmoving pictures captured the moment better, and Lily had to agree with her. The pictures brought back so many sweet memories. Lily ran over and gave Melanie a hug.

Lily opened the rest of her presents and thanked her friends, then James went to the front of the common room and banged his hand on a table to get everyone's attention.
"If you're finished opening your presents, will you please come over here, someone has requested that we play a certain game called truth or dare," James announced. "If you'll just come over here and sit in a circle, we can get started."
Once everyone was assembled (it was a little like playing musical chairs) James motioned for everyone to be quiet. "Since Sirius requested it, he can start."
Sirius grinned wickedly and stroked his chin. When he made his decision as to who he would pick, he cleared his throat loudly and obnoxiously. "Prepare to experience my evil wrath!" he announced, standing up and gesturing to the Gryffindors. He rotated, eying everyone in turn, and finally stopped and pointed at James, who grinned as though he had expected it.
"Truth or dare?" Sirius asked, as though it were a very serious matter.
"Truth," James replied.
Sirius frowned. "That's not fair!" he exclaimed. "I had the best dare for you, and you're not even gonna' do a dare!"
James wouldn't change his choice, so Sirius ended up giving James a truth question.

James confessed to seeing a girl naked before, other than an immediate family member, and the whole common room burst into laughter. Then, it was James's turn to ask truth or dare to someone else.
He leaned forward in his chair, his untidy black hair sticking up all over the place, and looked at Lily. He smiled at her, then said, "Lily. Truth or dare?"
Lily didn't want to confess to some moments in her life, so she said, "Dare."
The room went utterly silent. James just smiled wickedly at Lily, and she wondered if she would have been better off confessing to a truth question, but she couldn't turn back now, she had to face her decision, no matter what the consequences were.
"I dare you to..."