Their Seventh Year

This is not my favorite chapter, but I used it to chivvy the plot along a little.  We are now half way there, this story has 40 chapters total.

Chapter 20- The Best Laid Plans

"Do youthink you're going home for the Christmas holidays?" Sirius asked all of them in general the next day in transfiguration. They were supposed to be conjuring mice, but he was sitting on one of the desks, twirling his wand idly, while Peter examined, with some dismay, his woefully small mouse, which seemed to be lacking its legs and tail. The question sounded casual enough, but James knew quite well Sirius did not want to be the only one staying at Hogwart's for the holidays, which were fast approaching.

"Not sure yet, I haven't talked to my Mum and Dad yet." James replied just as casually. "But I reckon they'd like to see you too."

He shrugged. "Nah, I mean, Christmas is really for family, isn't it."

James raised an eyebrow, although he kept his eyes on his mouse. "You are family."

Perhaps feeling that the conversation had gotten too serious for his taste, he jumped down off the desk and in a particularly impressive bit of magic, transfigured Peter's bag into a cat. A cat in a room full of mice had exactly the sort of effect he had been going for- chaos.

The class then ended with McGonagall vanishing everyone's mice, and the cat, in one swoop of her wand, and giving him detention, although that had never done much good over the past seven years.

======

The talk of holiday plans had brought to James's attention a very serious matter. Should he get Lily a Christmas present, and if so, what? Of course, he had to get her something, as a sign of "friendship", but what would she like? His first instinct was to drop a huge pile of gold for something really expensive and flashy, but upon considering it more, he guessed Lily was really not the type of girl to be impressed by that. No, he could not buy his way out of this situation; he was going to have to think of a "thoughtful" gift. Girls loved that kind of stuff. It was a good thing Padfoot brought it to his attention so early; this was really going to require some thought.

If she was going to stay at Hogwart’s for the holidays, as he recalled some years she did and some years she didn’t, maybe he should stay too.  He frowned and looked in the mirror.

“Am I really the kind of man who re-arranges his schedule based on a girl?”

“Well, yes, I’d say so.”  The mirror replied.

======

“So, what are you doing for Christmas?”

Right, so it wasn’t the most subtle way of bringing about the conversation, but Remus had decided desperate times called for desperate measures, so he tossed it out at Flora the moment she came into the library.  James had been spending every waking moment analyzing whether or not Lily Evans would go home for the holidays and Remus had decided to find out just to shut him up.  After all they had exams at the end of term, and some people had to study. He figured if he asked Flora what she was planning, he could then bring the conversation around to what Lily was doing.  She frowned at him.

“How come?”

He shrugged.  “Everyone’s starting to make plans, I was just curious.”

“I always go home.  My parents insist.  They have this huge party every Christmas, it’s like a tradition.”  She shrugged without much enthusiasm.  “Lily might stay with me.  That would make it far more bearable.  I think she’s really dreading going home, her sister and all.”

“I see.”

She narrowed her eyes a moment.  “Hey, wait a minute…did Potter put you up to asking?”

His pause before denying it was just a beat too long, and she knew.

“That idiot, why doesn’t he just ask her himself?”

“He’s not sure how she’ll react I guess.  Girls are pretty unpredictable, you know.”

She made no comment to disagree with that, just bit her bottom lip thoughtfully.  “I don’t figure she’d mind.  She’s slowly coming around.  She’ll see the light before much longer.”

“You think?”

“Quite sure.”

“I don’t know…”

“Oh?  Well, why don’t we make it interesting with a small wager?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I have ten galleons on them dating by the end of the Christmas holidays.”

“Ten galleons?”  He looked skeptical.

“Well, if you’re too scared…”

“You’re on.”

======

Flora’s suggestion that she stay for most of the holidays had been something of a relief for Lily.  Her parents would insist on her being home on Christmas Day of course, but beyond that she wanted to avoid Petunia as much as possible, and she certainly didn’t want to participate in planning Petunia’s wedding.  Not that Petunia or would want her help.  Staying with Flora was a good compromise, and apparently the party her parents gave every year was quite posh.

The holidays were coming up more quickly than she had realized, and so she took one evening in the common room to write up a list of everyone she had to get gifts for and what she might get them.  She heard someone whistling and glanced up to see James come in, from quidditch practice judging by the mud, looking quite cheerful.  He didn’t see her as he tracked mud through the common room, but she suddenly wondered, should she get him something?  She would never have imagined that she would actually consider giving a gift to James Potter, but she had been spending a good bit of time with him with the dueling club and other head girl duties, and he had been perfectly polite and friendly.  It didn’t seem quite right not to get him something.  Something small and inconsequential and completely platonic, of course.

What then?  What did he like?  Well, quidditch.  Himself.

Lily frowned and turned back to her list, wondering what in the world she could get Petunia, and then decided it didn't really matter, her sister would hate anything she got, no matter how mundane and muggle it was. She sighed again

"Something bothering you, Miss Evans? Something to do with my friend Mr. Potter perhaps?"

She wondered how long Sirius Black had been sitting behind her. Clearly, she had not recognized him because he was not causing devastation, as was his usual form of entertainment.

"Of course not, I wasn't even thinking about James. Why assume that?" She snapped, knowing that she sounded irrationally angry.

"The lad fancies you, of course." He said, as though she were incredibly thick. "And you seem a bit confused about things."

"I am not confused at all. James and I are friends. That's all."

Black jumped up, and gave her a brilliant smile. "Famous last words, Lily. Famous last words."

======

"I have an announcement." James said in a voice that suggested he was about to announce his candidacy for Minister of Magic.

"Let me guess, it's about Lily?"

"Actually, no. At least not directly. Since Moony here has successfully, through sources he will not name, discovered that Lily Evans will not be at Hogwart's for the Christmas holidays, I see no reason for myself to stay. So I am inviting you all to spend the holidays at my house, where we shall all wreak havoc and terrorize my parents, of course." He sat back and crossed his arms, satisfied.

There was a moment of silence, which Peter broke.

"Well, I'm in. I mean, I know my Mum will insist on me being home for Christmas Day and everything, but other than that I'm sure it will be fine."

Remus nodded slowly. "Ditto for me on the actually being home for Christmas thing, but other than that I'm in. We really ought to, you know, it being our last school holiday and all that."

They all turned expectantly to Sirius, who rolled his eyes and sat up. "You lot are so transparent." He struck a highly theatrical pose and mimicked James. "Golly gee, I do sure wish you all would stay with me for the holidays mates, and then you two pipe up in agreement, and you're all really bad at acting. Just something you might want to remember when you consider future careers," he added, with the air of doing them a favor.

"I don't know what you're talking about." James lied bravely, despite the fact that it's hard to lie convincingly to your best friend since first year.

"Look, I see what you guys are trying to do, albeit badly, and I appreciate it. Furthermore,I do hope we spend some time together over the holidays. But I don't want you all to give up spending time with your folks just to keep me company. As it happens, I have some things to take care of over the holiday."

"Some things to take care of? Why does that sound so ominous? What things?"

"I'm wounded Prongs, you always think the worst of me." He actually looked rather proud of it. "But actually I have to get some things and do some work on my house."

He said this carelessly, as thought they wouldn't even comment on it.

"Uh, mate...you don't have a house."

"Actually, I do." He said nothing more. There was almost a full moment before Peter exploded.

"All right fine, I'll bite. What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"I bought a house." He said simply, as calmly as one might talk about buying sweets from Honeydukes.

There was a stunned silence, so he went on. "With the money my Uncle Alphard left me, remember? I mean, I do have to think about where I plan to live after Hogwart's. I can't stay with your folks forever James, and since I'm legal age now, I bought a house. It's not really big or anything, but I kind of like it." He shrugged.

"Oh...well." James didn't like to admit it, but he hadn't realized Sirius thought that far ahead. "Wow, can we see it?"

"I'll think about it, if you’re nice to me."