"when i'm feeling alone, you remind me of home"
*
Lily smoothed out a few wrinkles on the dark green dress she chose for Christmas Eve dinner and contemplated her reflection. Her hair seemed a tad frizzy, so she pulled her wand out and used a spell the girls had recently discovered in Witch Weekly so that her red locks fell sleekly past her shoulders.
"Can you not do your hair like a normal person? You've got to rely on your freak stick instead?"
Lily turned around, trying and failing to control the fire in her voice. "Can you not do your hair at all?"
Petunia's dark eyes flashed at this. She glared at her younger sister, but Lily could tell she wanted to check her black curls in the mirror again. In the corner of their shared bedroom, Lily's barn owl, Lennie, hooted loudly.
"Wish you'd keep that animal of yours quiet," Petunia grumbled, pushing her sister over to get a better look in the mirror. Personally, Lily thought she had too much blush on for someone with a complexion that made paper look tan, but pointing that out would be a dangerous game to play. "In my opinion, it shouldn't be allowed inside of the house."
"I'll let him out tonight," Lily said shortly. "He'll be on delivery duty for Christmas presents."
Petunia pursed her lips as her gaze swept over her younger sister. "That dress... it's a little too-"
"Petunia!" Mrs. Evans called from the bottom of the stairs. "Vernon's here!"
Petunia let out a very un-Petunia-like squeal and ran past Lily before saying what exactly was so terrible about her outfit. In some ways, it was a small mercy.
Alone at last, Lily moved in front of the mirror again and ran her hand down the dress, frowning. A little too what? She had the strong urge to switch outfits into something plainer, but why? At the prefect Christmas party, James told her she looked really pretty in it when they were dancing. Merlin, that made her smile.
No. She'd wear the dress.
By the time she arrived downstairs, Petunia was too busy kissing her fiancé obnoxiously in the foyer to criticize or even notice her, which Lily didn't mind in the slightest. She walked into the kitchen and found her mother busy with plates of food.
"Hullo, Lily. You look beautiful, darling," she said warmly, kissing her daughter on the forehead as she hurried by with a tray of desserts. "I like your dress. It fits you nicely."
"Thanks. Can I help, Mum?" Lily picked up a bowl of noodles and brought it over to the elegantly set table.
Mrs. Evans smiled at her youngest and shook her head. "Young lady, you should be in the other room with your sister and father, getting to know her fiancé. They are getting married this summer whether you like it or not."
Lily scoffed at this. Because Petunia wouldn't know excitement even if it bit her in the bony nose, Lily always expected her to get married as soon as it was socially acceptable. Her sister wanted a perfectly average life in a perfectly average home with a perfectly average husband. Lily understood that there would be no changing her, but why oh why did her future brother-in-law have to be to someone who was about as interesting as an overstuffed pillow? That's what he looked like, too. An overstuffed pillow with a bushy mustache shoved into a perfectly tailored suit.
"He's just so... blah." Lily pretended to throw up into the green beans, but she grinned up when her mother turned a laugh into a cough. "You don't like him either!"
"Lily Jane, that's neither here nor there," Mrs. Evans rebuked softly, but a smile did grace her face. "I've never seen your sister so happy. My personal opinions won't stand in the way of her joy, even if Vernon is a bit of an... acquired taste."
"If by acquired taste you mean boring, then I agree." Lily winked, but her thoughts drifted to someone who would immediately run to the kitchen to help her mother instead of lounging in the living room bragging about how perfectly lovely his finances were to no one.
No. Stop it.
Everyone settled down at the table for dinner soon after. Petunia and Vernon dominated the conversation, alternating between wedding planning and that stupid company of his. Lily tuned them out once he started discussing drill commissions and focused on her mashed potatoes, wishing she had someone to bring home for the holidays, too, someone that would crack jokes through the entire meal.
A name flashed in her mind, the perfect person for a time like this, but she shoved it out of the way.
No.
She didn't like him.
Nope. Not at all. Never. No way.
"Lily, whatever happened to that boyfriend of yours?"
Lily looked up at her sister, confused. "What?"
"That boy you used to spend time with when we were kids. He was obviously infatuated with you. The greasy one from Spinner's End." She laughed lightly at the address, showing her disdain for it.
The redhead stiffened. "Sev? He was just a friend, and he's not even a friend anymore. We had a bad row last year."
"Good. He smelled like rotting sewage and all of his clothes were too big."
Lily's hand clenched under the table.
Mr. Evans sensed an impending argument between his daughters and quickly jumped in to diffuse the situation. "Lily, how are your friends from school? Eva and Marlene and Kriss?"
"They're good," Lily said, grateful for the change in subject. She took a sip of her drink. "Marlene went to visit her brother for the holidays, Kriss is with her parents, and Eva's spending Christmas with James. I think Sirius went with them."
"Funny name, Sirius is," Vernon commented through a mouthful of ham.
Lily thought 'Vernon Dursley' was a whole lot funnier.
"James and Sirius..." Mrs. Evans thought out loud. "Are those the two loud boys from the train station?
Lily giggled. "Yeah, that's them. Eva's been staying with James since this summer and Sirius has his own place now, but I think they all just like hanging out." While she loved her parents, part of her wanted to be at the Potter cottage messing around instead of sitting through a stiff dinner with the future Dursleys and company.
"His own place? That's impressive at his age," Mr. Evans praised. "Good for him. And Eva's doing all right?"
Lily knew Eva spent the last weeks of the semester buried in Quidditch strategy, distracting herself from the idea of her first Christmas without her mum, but they won the match and she refused to sink into depression again.
"Mhm. She stays with James on holidays and we've been talking about being roommates after graduation. Maybe renting an apartment in London or something."
Petunia sniffed judgementally at her sister's friends.
"I think that's immoral and disgraceful," she said, assuming a holier-than-thou air that Lily despised. "Living with a boy you're not even engaged to is disgusting. Shameful, even."
Lily felt her temper flare up again. "They're like siblings. She's dating Sirius, and she's not living with him. If you'd care to remember, she's staying with James because her mum died this summer, Tuney, so shut up."
Petunia closed her mouth and her already-pink cheeks reddened. Lily felt proud of herself for a few blissful seconds. Unfortunately, Vernon decided to break the awkwardness with a new rant about his drill company, and Lily wanted to bang her head on the dinner table.
*
"Two threes," Eva said, placing the cards down in the center with a triumphant smirk. James leaned back against the couch, contemplating her move. The group had been playing games for a few hours, just sitting in the Potter's living room in their pajamas. The house smelled like gingerbread cookies, the live Christmas tree, and Mr. Potter's pipe, a combination Eva thoroughly enjoyed for some reason.
"You're so tough, Blondie," he complained. "I can't tell if you're lying or not."
She quirked an eyebrow up, daring him to say something. "Go ahead. Call me out."
James sighed and sifted through his own deck, shaking his head. "Four fours."
Sirius jumped up from the ground and pointed at James. "BULLSH-"
"Sirius Black, what's that you're saying in my house?"
Sirius flashed Mrs. Potter a cheeky grin as she set cups of hot cocoa in front of the three friends. "Bulls should celebrate Christmas."
The elderly witch hummed with sarcasm, not buying it. "My boys don't have foul mouths."
"Really? You should hear James talk at school." He picked up a mug and sipped it innocently.
"Padfoot! I do not!"
Mrs. Potter whacked James in the back of the head with a newspaper, causing Eva to laugh and nearly spill her drink.
"Mum!"
She whacked Sirius next.
"Oi, you've got an arm," Sirius chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Do you lift weights?"
"Mum, you should hit Eva too! She looks left out, the poor thing." James patted her on the head.
"James, you'll mess up my braids!" She swatted him away. "And I'm perfectly fine with not being smacked."
"You did drop the f-bomb last year, love," Sirius reminded her. "Cheers."
"You boys will be the death of me," Mrs. Potter grumbled with a smile, but she raised her newspaper up and tapped Eva on the nose with it. "There. You've all been punished."
"Mum, you can't play favorites!" James called after his mother, grinning.
"She isn't," Sirius said resolutely. "I'm her favorite."
A brown barn owl tapped at the window. James walked over and opened it, letting in a gush of icy air that sent half of their cards flying into the fireplace. Eva covered herself in a Gryffindor blanket as snow blew into the living room.
"James, you're ruining the game!" yelled Eva. "And it's cold!"
"Close the bloody window, mate," Sirius grumbled, shaking his hair out. "Unlike you, I care what my hair looks like!"
Eva gave him an amused look. "It's almost midnight on Christmas Eve. What do you care?"
"You're sitting next to me. I can't look like a ragamuffin."
She giggled. "Well, I like you windswept."
"Ah, shut up, will you? Minimum snog-worthy behavior in my house," James said as he walked back over, eyes still on the letter. "Lily would like everyone to know that she hates her sister's fiancé because he, and I quote, 'has the personality of a wet sock.'"
Sirius laughed. "Wouldn't be Christmas without someone having family problems."
"Oh, so you two have been exchanging letters?" Eva asked with a knowing smile as she began to pick up the remaining cards.
James chuckled at her question before he realized the implications. "No, it's not like that."
"Sure it's not." Sirius clapped James on the back and went to set his already-empty cup of cocoa on the table. "Just saying, she could have mailed any one of us about her sister's walrus of a boyfriend, but she sent a letter to you."
"We're just friends, okay?" James said, stuffing the letter in his pocket when Eva tried to snatch it from his hands. "It's taken seven years to even call us friends, so I'm not messing with that."
Sirius and Eva exchanged knowing glances but knew not to continue the conversation.
James shuffled the last few cards between his fingers and let his thoughts wander to the prefect Christmas party, how it felt holding her in his arms even for a short time. Despite his insistence on treating her as nothing but a friend, he couldn't help asking her to dance. She looked like an angel that night. No, a goddess. She had pulled her hair into a high bun. It was his favorite of her hairstyles, so he could see as much of her gorgeous eyes and face as possible, and that dress made her green irises look brighter than ever.
Meanwhile, Eva burrito-ed herself in the thick blanket and stared at the clock, snuggling in between the two boys.
"You look like a fuzzy worm," James informed her. She wanted to hit him, but her arms were trapped under the blanket, so she just stuck out her tongue instead.
*
Remus stared up at the stars, watched them twinkle against an ink-black sky. Ever since he was a child, he liked the idea of space, liked that it was endless. That he would never know everything about it, even if he spent his entire life trying to learn. Something about that understanding fascinated him.
The cold wind chilled him to the bone, but he hadn't bothered to grab a sweater when he ducked out the back door. Minutes ago, Lily and Sirius decided to perform a compilation of ABBA's greatest hits in his living room, and while it didn't sound terrible, he needed space to think.
Thinking and the Marauders generally didn't go together.
As much as he loved his friends spending New Year's Eve with him, he couldn't help feeling a gap when he looked at them.
"Are you trying to catch pneumonia? Good Godric, Remus." Marlene appeared next to him, wrapped in at least three thick quilts.
"It's not that cold," Remus muttered with a smile. "You don't like karaoke?"
"I like karaoke. James screeching and calling it Simon and Garfunkel is not karaoke," laughed Marlene. "What about you? Are you doing okay?"
Remus nodded, then shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"
"No." His head whipped over to her, but Marlene shrugged, unapologetic as always. "You did the wrong thing for the right reasons. It's different, but not necessarily bad."
"Thanks."
"That being said, you've got to commit. You made a choice, so act like it."
He nodded, then braved a question. It wasn't often that Remus ended up alone with Marlene, but he trusted her knowledge when it came to relationships. "Do you think there's any possible way for us to stay friends?"
"No," Marlene answered like the word was whiplash. "Absolutely not."
Remus frowned. Girls are so confusing. "Why not? You and Sirius-"
"Were nothing but snogs and laughs," she said, effectively cutting him off. "You two had something real. When you care for someone that much, you can't just pretend it never happened."
Remus' coffee-colored eyes found the stars once again. The galaxy made him feel insignificant, small, and above all else, normal. Truth be told, that was what he wanted more than anything. A normal life. With her.
"Thanks, Marls."
"Anytime."
"YOU GUYS! IT'S FIVE TO MIDNIGHT AND COLD ENOUGH OUT HERE TO FREEZE FIREWHISKEY!" Peter yelled from inside, causing the pair to crack up.
They walked back in to find Sirius chasing Eva around the living room with a sprig of mistletoe. She shrieked in laughter when she tripped backward onto the couch and he tripped on top of her, finally getting the kiss he fought so hard for.
"Moony! You don't even have a coat on, you idiot!" James scolded, yanking him into the ground. "You're going to get sick, and then you'll get us all sick!"
"Easy, Prongs," he replied, chuckling.
"Guys, it's almost time!" Peter exclaimed, pointing to the tiny television sitting on the Lupins' mantle. They all piled onto a too-small couch, a tangle of limbs and blankets as they all counted down.
"Three... two... one... HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Eva kissed Sirius again, smiling against his lips out of pure happiness, and the feeling was reciprocated. They didn't separate until Marlene shoved the couple off of the couch, sending the rest of the group into hysterics another time.
"Don't you have a room you could do that in?"
"Jealous, McKinnon?" He kissed her again.
"It's officially 1978!" Peter cheered, hugging everyone close enough to hug. "We survived another one!"
Over the laughter, Lily heard the familiar boom of fireworks. She slipped off of the couch and out the back door, her face splitting into a grin as the sky lit up with colorful explosions. Snowflakes fluttered down from the heavens, making the moment even more perfect in her opinion.
"Think fast." A bundle of red fabric hurtled at her through the dark, and she caught it. James winked and walked over, ruffling his snow-dusted curls. "Nice reflexes. You should play for the team."
Lily smiled and glanced down at the ball of fabric. "Nah. What's this?"
"You forgot a coat. It's cold out here," James said, smiling shyly as he breathed warm air into his hands and rubbed them together. After holding it up, she recognized his Quidditch hoodie, the word Potter embroidered in gold on the back. She slid it on, and the sweatshirt dwarfed her small frame, almost reaching her knees. "Here, let's help with that."
He cuffed the wrists up a few times. Merlin, she wanted to melt into that hoodie. Soft and warm and comforting. Like him. "Thanks."
"Anytime. No one takes care of themselves around here, I swear."
As much as she tried to deny it, Lily found his genuine concern for his friends incredibly endearing.
"You're not as idiotic as you used to be."
"You think?" He grinned and reached his long arms up to the midnight sky, stretching out. "Well, you're not as mean as you used to be."
"I wasn't mean! I was just annoyed," claimed the redhead. "You just don't give me as many reasons to be annoyed anymore."
James laughed loudly, but stopped seconds later, perking up as he thought. "Blimey! I've got your Christmas present inside, I wanted to give it to you in person! Hold tight!"
He ran back inside, returning seconds later with a little green gift bag. To tease him, she started to tear out the tissue paper as slowly as possible until he began to rip it out for her and she slapped his hands away.
After what felt like an eternity and a half to James, she pulled out what looked like a small box with a bright red button on top.
She bit her lip, then looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I don't get it."
"I found it at Zonko's on the last Hogsmeade trip. and I thought you might find it useful. Here, say something I don't think is true." He took the object from her and waited expectantly.
Lily, still confused, said, "um... I'm ugly."
Bzzzz!
He hit the button, and a loud buzzer wail went off, similar to the ones in game shows. After a second, she burst out laughing.
"You're too much!"
"I thought you could use it when we say dumb stuff instead of yelling," James said, smirking as he tossed it back to her. "It's kind of stupid."
Bzzzz!
She'd never seen him wear a bigger grin.
Another firework went off, fizzling in gold and purple. The colors reflected in his glasses, and he grinned up at the sky in a child-like way.
"Happy New Year, Lily."
She leaned into him. "Happy New Year, James."
this chapter makes me happy
i just finished watching the office and i am EMOTIONAL
jily owns my heart
no qotd because i don't have one :) A+ creativity, i know