Lily and James the Prequel

Five minutes later Gina dragged an irate Lily down the common room.
"Gina! It's 11:30. I should be asleep now, and you're babbling about my teddy bear pajamas."
"Lily! My brother is going to steal them from you if you don't watch out. He even has shorts to go with them."
Lily rubbed her eyes, and flung one braid over her shoulder. "I doubt he's going to try to steal them while I'm still wearing them, and if he tries it while I'm not, well good riddance to them."
"I don't know, it's extra incentive for James to steal them while you're in them." Gina said.
"What?" Lily asked blankly.
"Pay attention!"
"I heard you, but I don't see what you're talking about. I'm going back to bed. This is nonsense, I need to sleep." Lily said, and turned back to her room.
The next morning Lily almost overslept, so ended up putting her hair in a ponytail and wore a pair of running pants and a t-shirt. Since today was Friday (Halloween was therefore on a Thursday) and it was the day after a ball uniforms weren't required and it was free dress day. She ran down the stairs, and jogged into the great hall, sitting between James and Remus.
"You guys would never believe this dream I had last night." Lily said, " I dreamed that you were going to steal my teddy bear pajamas away from me, James." Sirius and Remus burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked, around a mouthful of blueberry pancakes.
"That wasn't a dream! He really was!" Sirius laughed.
"I was NOT!" James said, "You made that up on your own."
"Whatever Jamesey." Sirius said.
"Don't call me Jamesey."
"Okay, whatever you say Jamie"
"James is my name. Just plain old regular James."
"Sorry, plain old regular James."
"Shut up Sirius, we'll be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Let's go."                    They all took their seats and Professor Evans started lecturing. "Today we will be studying Dementors. They are heartless creatures that currently guard Azkaban. Dementors have the ability to suck the soul out of somebody. They also have varying effects on people. Even Muggles feel the presence of Dementors, even though they don't see them. On magicals they make a person feel sad. The more pain you have had in your life, or are destined to have, the worse your reaction to the Dementors. Some people have the talent of protecting those they are close to from the affects of a Dementor. These are usually people who are very happy and generally powerful. They remove the sadness from their friend, and absorb it themselves. I have conjured a fake Dementor. A spell has been cast on it to make it cause sadness, but it cannot harm you. The spell you need is Expecto Patronum!"                                                                                                                Everybody worked on the spell for a while, and then Professor Evans brought out the fake Dementor. Lily and the marauders were at the back of the line, watching everybody else. James was in front of Lily, who was followed by Sirius, Peter, and Remus. James and Lily had both left their wands at their desks since they were near each other. Only a few people had managed to make the Dementor retreat so far, then it was James's turn. He walked up and saw the Dementor. He felt cold like ice running through him and an intense pounding in his head. He could hear yelling and screaming and crying. He was about ready to pass out when he felt warmth spreading through him. He yelled "Expecto Patronum!" producing a silver stag, causing the Dementor to retreat. He turned around and saw Lily. He realized the warmth was coming from his shoulder blades, where Lily's hand was.
"Okay, class stop. Everybody freeze!" Professor Evans said. “Lily, that's amazing. You can take away the fear." Professor Evans said.
"Really? I didn't really know what I was doing. I just had this instinct, so I followed it."
"James, go back and face the Dementor again, let's see what happens. Lily, back him up if he needs help."
"Great" James muttered. He didn't care much for these ignorant Dementors. He faced it once again, and felt the ice running through him. This time he heard sobbing and loud blasts. 'I'll hold him off....' he was about ready to pass out again, but the warmth came back. Lily was holding his arm this time, looking concerned.
"Good, Lily, you obviously have the talent. Now you may face the Dementor."
Lily took James's place. There was an awful screaming sound, and she felt sad. Worse than she had ever felt before. It seemed so detailed. She saw her dad in the living room. In came a wizard with cold eyes dressed in black. 'Because of your daughter, you shall perish. She as well as her family is a threat to my darkness. AVADA KEDAVRA!' Lily started shivering uncontrollably. Tears started streaming down her face, the Dementor forgotten. She sunk down to the floor and started crying. Her uncle called the Dementor off, and said, "Lily, what's wrong?"
"My dad. He's going to die because of me." Lily wailed.
"Yes, Lily, he will. It's fate though. You cannot stop it without upsetting the world. Your father's death will shape you, and the person you become will save us. Make the best of your time with him."Lily stood up, walked over to her desk, and laid her head in her hands. She tried her best not to cry. Her dad might not die for decades. Lily quickly bounced back, satisfied with her made up delusions that he wouldn't die for many years. James on the other hand, looked like his dog just died. Lily went over to him, and took his hand, sending the warmth through him. He felt happier instantly, and a smile even played on his face. "Cheer up, buddy." she said, taking on Sirius's tone of voice, "There's always chocolate. I still have some left from Halloween, I'll share if you quit dragging."
"It's a deal, partner." James said with a laugh. As soon as Lily released his hand, however, the melancholy returned full force. "I don't like this one bit." he said.
The months flew by, and soon it was the Christmas season. James and Lily had worked a deal out with their parents, every other year they would come home, and they had to go home this Christmas. When December came, so did the Christmas decorations. Mistletoe was hung in the corridors, catching many unsuspecting couples. James maneuvered Lily there more than once a day. She was beginning to think he had the mistletoe arrangements memorized. Gryffindor trounced every team in quidditch, putting them well ahead for the house, and quidditch cup. This was partly due to the excellent members, the wonderful captain, and the excellent teamwork of Lily and James, scoring as many as 100 points a game each.   One morning at breakfast Severus Snape came walking over to the Gryffindor table, no scratch that, he came strutting over to the Gryffindor table, and zapped a chair next to Lily. He was holding a camera and said in a silky voice, "Lily, can I take your picture?"
"Why?" Lily replied.
"I want Santa to know exactly what I want for Christmas."                                           "Severus" Lily laughed, "Where do you get those pick up lines?"
He pulled out a book entitled, '101 Pick-Up Lines: Guaranteed to get you your girl'.
"You're joking? You don't believe it, do you?"
"Why not? If muggles can make them work, so can I."
"SEVERUS! Most muggles don't really use them. Only extremely stupid male muggles use them. I wouldn't suggest trying them seriously again." Lily told him.
Snape looked rather crestfallen. "Well, Lily, I'll find a new way to declare my affection. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Dump Potter. Marry me. Actually, we're too young to get married, we can be betrothed. When we turn 16 we can get married."
"No thank you Severus. I don't plan on getting married for a VERY long time." Lily said as politely as possible.

"Think about my offer. I'm a pureblood. You're not going to find many pure-bloods who will marry you."
"Severus. That. Was. The. Wrong. Thing. To. Say." she said frostily, and slapped him across the cheek for the second time.
"Are you implying my girlfriend isn't good enough for you Snapey?" James asked coldly.
"I'm just saying most purebloods won't mix with muggle-borns."
"I'm a pureblood. I don't have a problem with her. And if I ever hear you talk about her like that again, you will regret it." James said icily, rising to come toe-to-toe with Snape. "Oooh, what are you going to do Potty?" Snape asked. James stared at him, his blue eyes turning scary silver. Suddenly Snape was levitated off the ground ten feet, and then dropped with a THUMP!
"POTTY!"
"Yes Snape? Did you say something?" James asked, turning his still silver eyes on his enemy.
"Nothing. Enjoy your meal with your girlfriend. It won't last forever. She'll be mine someday."
"Whoa, James. That was scary." Sirius said.
"What happened?" James inquired.
"Your eyes turned silver." Lily said.
"They always do when I'm really mad. I usually don't get mad enough for them to turn that color, but they did then."
The marauders and Lily were still working on the animagus spell, and they were making only a small amount of headway. Soon, though, Lily, James, and Gina loaded onto the Hogwarts Express to go home. Lily was riding home with James, and her parents would bring them back. Their parents had worked this out the last summer. When Lily got home she discovered her dear older sister had planned a slumber party, and unfortunately she was invited. Actually she was obligated to attend. Lily luckily got to invite Kathleen, her friend. So, when people started coming, Lily had to hole herself up with them in Petunia's room. They talked about boys, painted their nails, talked about boys, gave facials, talked about boys, waxed their eyebrows, and talked about boys. It was going better than Lily honestly expected until Kathleen opened her big mouth. "So, Lily, whatever happened with that cute boy you live next door to?" "WHAT?" Lily asked in a squeaky voice.
"That boy you were with in the movies?"
"You mean James Potter?" Lily asked, hoping the answer was 'no'. This could be very embarassing.
"Yes."
"Wellll, we're friends." Lily said.
"They're going out. Lily even smacked his butt." Petunia said, her voice tinged with jealously.
"PETUNIA!"
"Well, it's true."
"Fine. We are going out. Anything else?"
"Yes!" was the excited replies of all the girls.
"So what does he look like?"
"Have you kissed him?"
"Is he nice?"
"Does he play sports?" they all asked.
Lily said, "Cute, yes, yes, and yes."
"Hey! That's not a good enough answer." Kathleen said. Luckily, Lily was saved by her mother's shout, "Lily! James is here to see you!"
"OOOHHHHH! He's here!" several girls squealed.                                                          Lily was please to hear her mom's saving voice, but despaired at her words. She was happy until she said, 'James is here'. Oh yes, those little words, her death. Oh well, maybe she could escape the psycho people here. Lunachicks as Sirius would call them. Maybe she could outrun them she thought. She kept formulating plans in her mind. What if I ignore her? Maybe I should introduce them to James? Nawww, forget about that. I should just make a run for it. "LILY!" her mother shouted again. She realized that the other girls thought she was making James wait on purpose. She closed her bottle of fingernail polish, jumped up, and ran downstairs as fast as she could.
As she came down the stairs she shouted, "James, run! Hurry, they're coming!" He looked at her quizzically, so by the time she was down the stairs and near him she was forced to grab his arm and start dragging him towards the door.
"I'll leave if you want me to, Lily. I was just going to visit you for awhile." James said.
"No, no. I'm glad you're here. But there are other people here. Believe me, we need to leave." Lily said, and had almost got him towards the door when she heard the shout; "There he is!" from Kathleen.                                                                                          "Who are they?" James whispered in Lily's ear.
"They're Petunia's friends. I also have the distinct impression that they like you." Lily whispered back.
"Ohhh. You'll have to protect me from them Lily." James said with a smile.
"I'll fight them off James." she said with a laugh.
"Hi, I'm Kathleen." Kathleen said with a shake of her hips and holding out her hand to be kissed. James shook it instead and said, "Hi, I'm Lily's boyfriend, James."
Several of the girls scowled at his obvious put-down towards Kathleen. Kathleen had blended right into Petunia's friends. Each one of them introduced themselves to James; none of them trying Kathleen's stunts when it became obvious James wasn't interested in them. James felt rather uncomfortable, he felt like he was being eyed like a piece of meat at the market.
"Lily, you and James may go in the TV room. Leave the door open." her mother said.
"Yeah, mom." Lily said, and escaped with James away from the girls.
"Boy, you can say one thing for him. Besides being cute, he's obviously faithful." one of the nicer girls said after they had left.
"By the time I leave, I'll have him as my boyfriend, not Lily's." Kathleen said with a snarl. She was invited to stay with the Evans's until the day before Christmas Eve, and she was taking them up on this offer.

Lily and James flopped down on the couch, neither of them saying anything for a moment. Lily grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.
"What's that? Can I see it?" James asked with awe.
"No. It's a muggle tradition. Only girls get the remote control. Guys never get to have it. NEVER." Lily said.
"Really?"
"Really. I'm sorry about those girls. Petunia is having a slumber party, and I had to go. I got to invite Miss-Shake-My-Hips-So-Hard-I-Almost-Fall-Over-Kathleen, because she was supposed to be my friend."
"It's okay. She was incredibly rude though. And she's staying the night at your house!"
"Actually, she's staying for the next week unless she changes her mind." Lily said, "It will definitely be an experience, let me tell you."
"You can stay at my house." James said with a grin.
"That would be better than with Kathleen." Lily said, "But, somehow, I doubt neither of our parents would like that. How about I just visit you often?"
"Sounds fine to me." James said, and they fell into a comfortable silence watching 'Becker'. They were laughing at re-runs an hour later when Gina came in.
"James, Mum said you have to leave now. It doesn't matter if you can tear yourself away from Lily or not."
"She didn't say that." James said.
"You're right, she just said you just have to come home. I made that other part up."
"Okay, I'll be right there." James said with a sigh.
"I'll walk you to the gate." Lily said, not eager to go back to the slumber party. Her mom would make her too. James and Lily walked to the gate, where James kissed her goodnight. He walked through the gate, and Lily turned back to the house. When she looked up at Petunia's bedroom window she saw the girls with their noses pressed against the glass.
"Oh, great" Lily muttered, and resignedly walked back into the house.  Lily reluctantly went back to Petunia's room, and immediately she was bombarded by Carol, "Is he a good kisser?"
"Umm, that's sort of private." Lily floundered.
"No it's not. We all saw you two down there." Kathleen said snottily.
"Okay, I'll rephrase it. It's none of your business."
"Well, I'm making it my business, I want James."
"Well, do you honestly expect to get everything you want?"
"Yes. He will drop you so fast your head will spin."
"So what's your secret?" Lily asked sarcastically.
"The same thing that all guys want."
Lily snapped. Lily looked right at her, and Kathleen was thrown against the back wall. Lily never touched her. She realized she had used magic, but it couldn't be traced since a wand hasn't been used.
Lily turned and walked out of the room. She went into her room and called James on the phone.
"Hello" his father answered.
"Mr. Potter, this is Lily. May I talk to James please?"
"Of course dear. Just a second."
"Hi, Lily." James said moments later.
"Hey, James. I had a problem. I got really mad at Kathleen. I just sort of lost control. She flew against the wall."
"Lily, come over here right away. My father knows a lot about Sinnients, and he can tell if there is something wrong."
"Okay, I'll be right over." Lily said, hung up, and went to talk to her parents.  Lily went to find her mom and dad. She located them n her father's office. "Mum, Dad. I need to go over to the Potter's. There's a magical emergency. They can help me."
"Okay dear." her mother said, while her dad gave her a probing look. She walked over to James's house anyhow, and James's dad immediately opened the door.
"Good to see you Lily. Please go into the library. You will find that James is already there, along with my wife. Just tell James to leave if it's private."
"No, it's fine." Lily said, and followed him into the library.
"I understand you and my son are both half-sinnients, and can do magic without wands when you're near each other. But you say you did magic without your wand, and James wasn't there?" Anthony Potter questioned her.
"Yes sir."
"Let me see your eyes then." Lily walked over to him and he closely examined her eyes.
"What color are her eyes usually?" Anthony whispered to his son.
"Emerald."
"It wasn't the powers of a Sinnient that came through my dear. It was your own anger. Powerful witches and wizards who get riled enough sometimes have their eyes change colors, and objects fly or grow or change. Your anger was directed at a person, and she was thrown across the room. It's very hard to control this anger. You are too young to control it anyhow. I suggest you avoid this girl. What is her name?"
"Kathleen, and I can't avoid her. She's staying at my house for the next week. She was supposed to be my friend, but she's more my sister's friend. That's why I think she'll stay, besides another reason that I won't mention."
"You definitely can't live with her for a week. You are a powerful enough witch to do serious damage to her person without intending to."
"She'll have to stay with us, Anthony." Meredith Potter said, "Kathleen won't survive Lily's wrath. I can tell how angry she is, even now."
"I-I can't stay here." Lily protested.                                                                                 "Of course you can dear, there's nothing stopping you." Meredith said happily.
"Only a rampaging dad and an overprotective mother." Lily muttered.
"We'll go talk to them. I guarantee you though, you will be able to stay here."
"Why are you so sure?" Lily asked with bewilderment.
"Lily, you're dangerous to Kathleen. That's why."
Lily stayed silent.
"Come on dear. We'll talk to your parents. James, you carry her suitcases." Anthony said.
"Ddddaaaadddd!!!" James groaned.
"Come on four-eyes. I'll only put twenty pounds of lead in each one." Lily joked.
"Go ahead and try it inferno." James laughed.  The Potter's, excluding Gina and including Lily went over to the Evans house. Once Lily opened the door for them they heard the sound of blasting music. "DUKE, DUKE, DUKE OF EARL, DUKE, DUKE, DUKE OF EARL" was blaring throughout the house from Petunia's room, making it impossible to hear.
"SILENCIO" Anthony Potter shouted, stopping the racket. "We shall speak to your parents now, Lily."
Lily went up to her room, James trailing after her. "You can go visit Petunia and Kathleen if you want."
"No thanks." James said firmly.
"Then have a seat." she said, motioning to her butterfly chair. She pulled a suitcase and a garment bag from under her bed and disappeared into her walk-in closet. Ten minutes later she emerged with the filled luggage.
"Here bellboy." she said, and gave her suitcase to James while she carried her garment bag.
"Lily, you're really lucky. Not every guy would carry your suitcase for you" he said good-naturedly.
"I know, you're an angel." she said, and led him out of the room.  They started down the hall, and as they passed Petunia's room the door opened.
"What are you two doing?" Kathleen asked in an insinuating voice.
James started laughing, "Boy Lily, you really got a hold of her!" he said, looking at her bruised arm.
"She is so violent. And cruel. And mean spirited..."
"Can it. Come on Lily." James said.
"You two didn't answer my question, what are you doing? Moving in together?"
"Yes." Lily said. Kathleen fainted. They kept walking. James and Lily walked down to their parents, and Lily's dad said, "Lily, you may stay with the Potters. Be good. Don't get into trouble. Think before you act-"
"I get the point Dad. See ya later. I love you." she said sweetly, hugged him, then moved on to her mom. "Bye Mum. I love you, see you in a few days."
"Bye dear."
"MOTHER! DON'T TELL ME LILY THE FREAK IS STAYING WITH OUR NEIGHBORS THE FREAKS." Petunia ranted as she went down the stairs.
"Yes she is, and neither of them are freaks."
Lily walked over to Petunia and whispered mockingly in her ear, "Yeah right Petunia. I know you're jealous you don't get to stay with James. Yes, I know you like him."
"YOU YOU YOU ABNORMALITY, YOU BLEMISH ON THE HUMAN RACE!"
"That is enough Petunia." Debbie Evans said.
"Bye Mum, bye Dad." Lily said again as she was about ready to walk out the door.
"Stop a minute!" Anthony Potter said, "James, I thought I told you to carry her luggage. That includes the garment bag."
"Yes Dad." James said, and took her garment bag.  Lily was shown to her room, and she unpacked her clothes. She put on her pajamas and went to sleep. The next morning she woke up with a creature sitting on her, staring into her face. It had huge yellow eyes.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Lily screamed. The creature fell back onto her stomach, and Lily was panting with fear. The door to her room swung open as James came running in.
"Whasss wrong?" he asked
"T-t-this t-th-thing!" Lily stuttered.
"Minky!" James said sternly. "I thought I told you not to disturb her."
"You did Master James. Minky is sorry Master James. Don't be mad at Minky. Minky just wanted to see the young lady who has captivated Master James."
"Why don't you leave the young lady alone now?"
"Yes Master James. Good day Miss Lily. Minky is sorry for scaring Miss Lily."
"It's okay Minky. Nice to meet you."  That morning Lily received some bad news. Her parents came over about eleven, in a hurry.
"Lily dear, there's a terrible problem with Minting's in America. We're going to have to go there to sort it out. We probably won't be home for Christmas. I've already sorted it out with Meredith and Anthony. They said it would be okay for you to stay here with them. Your presents were sent over here. We have to leave now. Merry Christmas princess." her dad said.
"Merry Christmas Daddy, Mummy." Lily said tearily, about ready to break down as her parents walked out the door. Lily went into her room, curled up into a little ball, and cried. Cried like there was no tomorrow. After about twenty minutes there was a knock at the door. "Come in." she said quietly.
"I heard about your parents. I'm sorry Lily, but you'll have fun with us. Besides, maybe I can scrounge up some mistletoe for us."
Lily smiled at this, "Don't trouble yourself."
"It would be no trouble at all my dear." he said gallantly.
"Why did they have to leave? Why can't I have a normal life for once?" Lily asked, and broke down again, this time crying into James's shirt.
"Go ahead and cry all you want Lily." James said quietly. After awhile, when Lily had no more tears left, she fell asleep. James left her lying on the couch, and went to the library, wondering what was happening.  Lily woke up from her nap in time for supper. She was more than a little embarrassed to face James after she had cried like a baby. She would probably die of humiliation if he said anything about it. She smoothed her wrinkled clothes, brushed her hair, and washed her face, with a half decent result. She walked into the family dining room, and sat between Gina and James.
"Hello Lily, we will be visiting Hogsmeade tomorrow to do Christmas shopping. You may go with us if you want." Meredith said.
"And it's a Hogwarts holiday too, so everybody ought to be there." Gina said.
"That sounds fun." Lily said, still not looking at James.
Gina leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Are you ignoring my brother, because he looks worried, and nice for once?"
Lily turned to look at James, who smiled at her.
"Thanks" she whispered.
"You're welcome, feel free to call upon me anytime."  The next day they went to Diagon Alley, and by mutual consent, James and Lily split up to get each other's Christmas presents. They used floo powder to get back at the house, and James and his father got there at about the same time. Both of them had an armful of little green plants.
"James, that isn't by chance mistletoe, is it son?"
"Yeah, that's what you've got too?"
"Yep. I guess great minds think alike. We probably ought to start hanging this stuff so we can ambush our ladyloves. I warn you though, don't get too carried away with Lily. I would hate to have Logan Evans on our backs."
"Sure Dad. He scares me too." James agreed, and both Potters started hanging the mistletoe, hoping to catch their `ladyloves' underneath it. James made a point to memorize where it was hung so he could lead Lily there often.  He was waiting on the couch in front of the fireplace. He had hung mistletoe there in hopes of catching Lily right off. Sure enough, she came through the fireplace and was unsuspectingly standing under his new best friend: mistletoe.
"Hey, James, how's it going?" she asked brightly.
"Great. I've already caught you under the mistletoe." he said, and kissed her.
"Let me guess, you have it hung everywhere?"
"Oh yes. I have it memorized too. I know exactly where to lead you."
"I think I'll walk by myself. It's safer." Lily joked.
The days flew by for Lily and James. They became even closer to each other and they made some progress with the animagi transformation. They were ready to start brewing the potion, but it would have to set for 8 months. On Christmas morning Lily woke up at nine, and ran downstairs still in her pajamas, as was her family's custom. She found out it was a Potter family custom too, because everybody else was wearing green or red pajamas. Lily had gotten through all of her presents except for one. It was from James. She looked up and saw him looking at her. She smiled and started unwrapping the present. Inside was a beautiful silver-backed brush set in a mahogany box.
"James! Thank you so much!" Lily said, and hugged him. That was her restrained reaction because his parents and Gina were still there.
"You're welcome, and thanks for the present." James said, hugging Lily back. She couldn't really decide what to buy him, so she got im a cologne set.
"LILY! Thank you soooooooo much!" Gina squealed. Lily laughed and said, "You're sooooo welcome Gina."
"This is the greatest thing ever!" Gina said excitedly. Lily had given her a trip to the beauty salon for a makeover. Gina had been saying she wanted one all year.
"Children, go put your presents up, and breakfast will be served when you come down." James's mom said.  Lily dashed up the stairs with her presents, dumped them in her room, and headed back downstairs. She was still wearing her pajamas and house shoes, and she tripped on her house shoes as she went down the stairs, sending her rolling down them.
"Ooooouuuuccccchhhhh!" she hollered as she went rolling, knocking James down as she landed at the foot of the stairs.  Lily started laughing. It hadn't really hurt that bad, but it was fun. Maybe she ought to do it again with a helmet.
"That wasn't funny Lily." James said.
"Yes it was."
"No it wasn't." James said grumpily.
"What's your problem? I was the one who fell."
"You fell on me. It hurt."
"AAAwwwww. Poor Jamsey-wamesy got hurt." Lily said mockingly.
"Lily, please don't call me Jamesy-wamesy. I'm not going to argue with you however. It's Christmas. Let's go locate some mistletoe." James said.
"How about we go find some breakfast instead?" Lily asked.
"If you say so. But we could definitely stop under some mistletoe along the way."
"I'll pass" Lily said. They headed towards the breakfast room, Lily dragging James away from the dozens of mistletoe hangings. They had almost got to the breakfast room when music started blasting. 'Have a holly, jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year. I don't know if there'll be snow, but have a cup of cheer. Have a holly jolly Christmas, and when you walk down the street, say hello to friends you know, and everyone you meet.'
"What's with the music?" Lily asked.
"My parents always play muggle Christmas carols on Christmas Day. They're kind of obsessed with Christmas. We will have to go caroling this evening, then there's a Christmas dance an hour after that." James answered.
"COOL! That's neat!" Lily exclaimed as they walked into the breakfast room. She was looking forward to caroling.  At five o'clock, the Potters met the neighborhood carolers, and they were ready to sing. All the men were dressed in old fashioned suits and overcoats. The women were all suited in 1800's hoop dresses. Meredith had magiced one for Gina and Lily earlier. All the dresses had to be either red or green. Gina's was a red silk longsleeved dress. Lily's was green-plaid dimity over hoops. She thought it was gorgeous. It was something straight out of Gone With the Wind. She had curled her hair, pulling back the upper portion with the barette James had given her her first year Christmas. Gina had a red velvet cloak to go over her dress, while Lily had an emerald green one. They were all paired up, and given a songbook per couple. James and Lily naturally shared a songbook, and Gina with a neighbor boy.

They walked around about five blocks singing 'The 12 days of Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Winter Wonderland, Silent Night, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angel Sings, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa and dozens more. As soon as they got done, Meredith, Lily, and Gina all ran up the stairs to their respective rooms to change, leaving James and Anthony looking at each other with expressions of disbelief. Lily had decided to leave her hair in the springy sausage curls and barette, but changed into a sea mist green satin dress. She loved that dress. Lily had gotten it, along with all of her Hogwarts stuff and some more clothes since she would be staying with the Potters until she left for Hogwarts. Lily got ready in record time, meeting James at the stairs.
"I'm supposed to escort you so you don't get lost." he said.
"Okay, who's going to be here?"
"My family, and lots of neighbors, and some Ministry people, but they'll be wearing muggle clothes too, to blend in."
"Alright, are you ready?" Lily asked, starting to walk in the shortest route to the ballroom.
"Yeah, but let's go this way, there's more mistletoe. You look very pretty by the way." James said, attempting to lead her the long way.
"How about you forget about that mistletoe. You're obsessed with it." Lily said, and kept walking the shortest way.
"You really take the fun out of things Lily."
"Somebody has to keep you in line." Lily replied
"That's my mum's job."  About this time they entered the ballroom, cutting off Lily's reply. "Wow" she breathed. The ballroom was draped in green and red velvet, Christmas trees, holly, ivy, and candy canes.
"What? No mistletoe?" James asked, disappointed.