INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Thirty-Six

There's a reason people call Christmas the most wonderful time of the year. Hogwarts was filled with beautiful decorations, including the most beautiful Christmas tree the school had ever seen (at least, according to Professor Flitwick).

As the castle was filled with red and was given warmth in even the darkest of corners, there was a tower where that was the norm. Gryffindor Tower was almost empty as its students headed home for the holidays, with a few notable exceptions. 

James stood in front of a mirror in his dorm room, testing out which robes looked better on him for Professor Slughorn's Christmas party, which he had been unsurprisingly invited to, along with the ability to bring a date. There was only one girl James could imagine going with though, and he hadn't had the ability to ask her. 

"Why are you even going to that stupid Christmas party?" complained Sirius, who was staying behind at school as he was currently living with James. "You could just stay here and we can split a bottle of firewhiskey."

James turned back to his best friend, grinning widely. "As fun as that sounds, I heard Dirk Cresswell in fifth year was invited and he's planning to spike the punch. I've never loved a Hufflepuff as much."

"Really? Sounds like a hoot," Sirius laughed to himself sarcastically, falling back on his bed before raising his eyebrows at James. "So you're just going to leave me here alone for the night, huh, Prongs? I thought we were friends."

"You did? Oh, how awkward," the Potter boy joked, messing up his hair playfully. He only got a sarcastic look in return. "Besides, I'm only going to this thing because Mum and Dad are in America. If not, we'd both be at home."

Sirius couldn't fight the smile at James referring to the Potter manor as both of their homes. Truthfully, it was more of a home to him than Twelve Grimmauld Place had ever been. "Come on, mate. Can't I at least be your date?"

"Fine!" the bespectacled boy acquiesced as he tried to adjust his tie. But he turned back to look at his happy best friend and sent him a playfully stern look. "But, don't get your hopes up. I'm not going to snog you."

The black-haired boy groaned. "Dammit, there goes my plan for the night."

James chuckled as he finally managed to get his dress robes to cooperate with him. He then threw himself on his own bed, turning his head to face the other boy. "I heard your brother's going home but not Lyra. What's up with that?"

"Well, I haven't really talked to her much due to obvious reasons." They both winced as they remembered how Lyra could have been killed by Remus because of Sirius tipping Snape off to their location during a full moon. 

"But I think I heard someone mention that she's just staying because of the Christmas party and making connections. Slytherin stuff," he explained, before noticing the smirk on James's face. "You can't snog Lyra either!"

James cursed, throwing a pillow at his best friend's face, making them both break into the well-known fits of laughter that often came from their dorm. 

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Looking quite smart, James and Sirius both entered Slughorn's Christmas party. They were both surprised to see just how lavish these occasions were, never having been invited to any of the previous ones. 

It was much more crowded than they could have guessed, being filled with large groups of witches and wizards, many of whom they had never seen before and were far too old to be Hogwarts students. 

House elves ran through the crowds with silver plates of appetizing food. Sirius quickly grabbed something that James didn't recognize and stuffed it into his mouth, only to grimace in clear dislike. They both laughed loudly.