You belong with me - Chap. 35

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December's glacial weather made no one wait, and the students swarmed around the Castle, wrapped in wool hats, gloves and scarves, their noses red and their breaths shaped as white trails of fog. The grounds offered a splendid view, with the frozen lake and the grass covered by a thick and spotless layer of snow; apart from being a source of enjoyment for those bold enough to leave the shelter of the school's walls to embark in snowball wars or ice-skating races on the freezing lake.

For the older students, however, December implied a great deal of study and infinite homework, especially for those in fifth or seventh, although the sixth-years didn't stay behind; Christmas holidays, so expected by all of them, would be a good break from the stress provoked by the prospect of the exams.

"I'll never be able to learn this." Peter was saying, desperate, his head buried into a thick Transfiguration book. Lily, sitting right in front of him, looked up and smiled sweetly.

"You still have time, there are a few months before the exams," she said, looking back at her book. "See if you can prove that friends of yours that studying does have a point."

"C'me on Wormtail, I'll ask you a few questions 'bout the text and then I'll help you with McGonagall's essay," said Remus, closing his book and moving a little on his chair as a ball of parchment hit his forehead. He turned his head with a slight frown and met a mischievous brown look that stared at him with her best I-didn't-do-anything face.

Neither Lily, nor Sam, Bree, or Eli had been able to convince Becca to sit and study with them, but Remus, who had only been capable of dragging Peter, had forced her to accept. However, while the rest of them read quietly, Rebecca, fidgety, shifted on her seat, glancing at the Defense book every once in a while, without paying attention to it.

Bree raised her eyes and looked at her reproachfully when a ball of paper hit a side of her head.

"If you're not gonna study, then don't bother the ones doing so," asked Lily in what her friends would call a 'prefect's voice', and Becca stuck her tongue out at her childishly, making Eli chuckle.

"For Merlin's sake, this is so boring," she complained "You, reading silently, and those two all cuddly over there; too much for me to stand for more than an hour."

Sam, her head resting on Eli's shoulder (who caressed the bangs falling on her forehead and played with her braid while they both read) threw her a tired glare.

"You complain so much 'bout Black, and you're so much like him" Samatha said, and Remus laughed.

"Someone's calling me?" A smirk accompanied his voice, and Sirius let himself fall on a chair next to Peter, while James sat next to Becca.

"Like I was saying, you just can't be in peace in this castle." Sam murmured, closing her book and moving closer to Eli, who smiled and kissed her forehead, her nose and finally her lips. Sirius grimaced, disgusted.

"Ugh, it's like you came out of some corny, mushy movie," He said, and Samantha looked at him with a bored expression, making quite an indecorous gesture with her middle finger.

"They're adorable," said Bree, smiling lovingly and leaning her head on her hand. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"That's cause you're a hopeless romantic." He replied.

"I think they're adorable too," Peter interjected, happy to abandon the reading.

"That's 'cause you're a wimp, Wormy." Sirius said. Lily, Becca and Remus looked at him and said in unison:

"We all think they're adorable," Eli roared with laughter and Sirius crossed his arms, frowning at Lupin.

"For Merlin's sake, seems like the only ones here with bollocks are James and I"

"Well, actually, they do look quite cute cuddling like that." Said the boy, and Sirius gave him such a horrified look that Lily burst out laughing.

"I never thought I'd hear a word like cute coming out of a marauder's mouth" he said, outraged.

"Please, tell me you weren't flying with this weather," Bree said, looking at them more carefully. They both had their noses and ears red, and their hair was disheveled (though in Sirius' case, it gave him a look of casual aloofness) and covered in half-melted snow.

"Of course not," they said at the same time.

"They've probably been bothering someone," said Eli, his eyebrows raised, and James and Sirius have him angelic smiles.

"Exactly what I was gonna say," Remus added, considering the study done for the day and puting the book in his rucksack. Lily and Bree did the same thing, and the redhead felt James' eyes fixed on her as she put everything on its place.

"What?" she asked, but the boy shook his head, ruffling his hair and smiling.

"We haven't been bothering anyone," Sirius was saying, toying with his wand. "We've just hexed a few snowballs to make them chase after people."

"Y'know, we just try to relax the stressful atmosphere generated by the exams," James added

"Yeah, right" Sam mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, we just wanted to ask you if you were coming to my place for Christmas," said the boy, adjusting his glasses and looking at Remus and Peter. "My mother's written to know who's coming."

"I'll probably drop by a few days later," said the lycanthrope. "My parents will want me to spend Christmas with them."

"Same here," said Peter, and James nodded, scribbling something on a piece of parchment.

"What are you blokes doing for the winter holidays? Any of you's staying at Hogwarts?" asked the honey-eyed boy.

"I believe we're all going home," Becca answered, getting up and brushing her robes. "You've just reminded me that I should write to my parents," she leant and kissed him on the lips, winking at the rest of them and leaving the library swinging her hips.

"I'm still not used to you dating the nutcase," Sirius commented, and Lily kicked him under the table.

"We're not exactly dating," he replied, smiling at his friend's painful grimace.

"Well, I'm still not used to you having it off with her." This time he earned not only a kick from Lily, but also a strong hit on his nape from Remus.

"Sirius!" Bree and Lily exclaimed, while the honey-eyed boy, glaring at him, murmured:

"You know it's more than that. Besides, we don't- We're taking things slowly."

"I guess I'm spending the holidays at home," Brianna interrupted to keep the boy from the uncomfortable moment, and he smiled at her, thankful. "And Christmas Eve with my parents. Though I'll probably be alone on Christmas Day; some friends have invited my parents over and I don't think I'm coming with them."

"Oh, if you stay at your place, can I come?" Lily asked "Vernon is spending Christmas at home and I really don't want to stand him. Besides, I don't think Tuney would like it that much. I was thinking 'bout staying at Hogwarts, but-"

"Why don't you come over to my place?" James asked, and Lily looked at him a bit puzzled.

"We wouldn't wanna bother-" Bree begun saying, but James took the importance out of it waving his hand.

"My mother will be really pleased," he said, and Sirius nodded. "We've got plenty of room, and there'll be lots of guests. It'll be fun if you come; Sirius and I will be the only ones our age if you don't."

"Maybe you can even stop us from filling the driks with nail-growing potion" the grey-eyed boy said, and Brianna laughed.

"Well, what d'you say?" James asked. Bree looked at Lily, who seemed hesitant. She looked up to the boy, who stared at her through his glasses with those special hazel eyes.

What could go wrong?

"Sure, why not?" said the redhead, shrugging, and Bree nodded. Sirius and James gave them identical smiles, from ear to ear. "Thank you."

"Yaaaaay, Nana is spending Christmas with us!" Sirius exclaimed childishly, making his friend laugh.

"Great. I'll tell my mother," James said, but then addressed Sam and Eli "What 'bout you? You're invited, of course. And so is Becca. Or you can come later, with Moony and Wormtail if you want."

Sam blushed a little.

"We'll be spending Christmas with my mother," said Eli "She adores Sam, and you can't even imagine how annoying she has gotten since we started dating; she says it's been a while since I brought her home."

"And then we're probably coming to my house. My mother is delighted with Eli, just as Jonah, and dad insists in meeting him," she said, making a face.

"And I'm dying to meet him; not everyday you have a chance to have supper with a Quidditch hero."

"What 'bout Becca?" Lupin inquired. Lily grimaced.

"I doubt it. She may be able to escape after Christmas, but her parents will want her to spend it with them; having dinner with family friends and such. They're quite influential, and Becca usually has to attend those reunions."

"Fine, it's only you two, then," said James, finishing the letter and puting it into his pocket. He was so smiling that Lily smiled when she noticed.

In those almost four months that had gone by since the beginning of the school year, it was incredible how much the relationship between her and the marauders had changed; especially with James.

James. It seemed unbelievable that she called him by his first name now. And it seemed unbelievable too how much he had deflated his head. Yes, sometimes he went back to being the bigheaded prat he once had been, but it was clear he was making an effort to fight against it. He was really nice now, fun and witty, very loyal, honest and 'protective'. And Lily could say that she really considered him a friend now; she didn't feel like she had to keep her guard up when he was around anymore.

And that was because the boy, besides struggling with his arrogance, had stopped chasing her around trying to impress her and asking her out. He didn't take that I-am-a-serious-and-mature-boy pose when he was around her anymore, behaving like he truly was. The new James, the real James. James her friend. But, was it posible that she missed his invitations to date? She had felt a slight hole in her stomach when she noticed he had stopped asking her out.

She had also found herself admiring other aspects of James, besides the most recently discovered personality. His dazzling smile. The way his hair stuck up at the back of his head. The agility of his movements. And his bright hazel eyes, the dark spots around the pupil.

Lily liked the new James. Maybe too much.

…

"Happy Christmas," said a sleepy James right after his mother had popped in the room for a minute, waking them up and asking for help with the preparations.

"Happy Christmas, mate." Sirius answered, rubbing his eyes and sitting up on the bed. "We should go help your mother."

The dark-haired boy sat up and reached out for his glasses, puting them on and saying in a childish voice:

"But first, the presents!" Sirius laughed, getting rid of the sheets tangled between his legs and getting closer to the foor of the bed, were a tall pile of packages swung. He rummaged through it a little until he found Bree's, and when he opened it a smile flickered across his face: a box of magical charcoals and pastels that fixed the drawings to any surface without needing a magical fixative. When he looked up, he saw a smiling James holding a pair of fine black gloves as if they were the most precious treasure in the world.

"Lily?" asked Sirius, unable to hold the laughter. His friend nodded briskly.

"They adapt to the shape of your hand and they're perfect for the broom or quaffle, 'cause of the surface of the palm; they're designed for profesional Quidditch players." He explained happily. "Lily has made me a gift."

His friend rolled his eyes and kept rummaging through his pile. James put on the gloves and proceeded to do the same thing.

"What did you give her?" Sirius asked, busy unwrapping Remus' present.

"Gloves as well," he replied, smiling at the coincidence. "Only that hers aren't for Quidditch, but they heat up when you put them on. Plus they match her eyes."

When his friend didn't answer, he looked up and found a indignant Sirius glaring at a piece of parchment, holding pin with the other hand.

"What is it?" James asked curiously. His friend looked at him, still angered "What does it say?"

"Gift from Perks," he said irritably. They were the only ones who still called each other by their surnames, and it was more obstinacy than anything. "I'm supposed to use this to poke my head, see if it deflates a little."

The boy burst out laughing, and only a while later he was able to draw himself together and throw a chocolate frog's box at his friend.

"Thought it was weird that she sent both gifts to me. In the letter she asked me to give it to you after you had opened your present." Sirius was still frowning, but he smiled a little as he caught the box.

"Well, shall we go?" the grey-eyed boy said when everything was unwrapped, getting up and puting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt over his bóxers. "I'll come and change after helping your mum." He said at his friend's raised eyebrow.

"Wait," James said when Sirius had already opened the door. "You're forgetting one."

Sirius eyes followed the boy's look, noticing a sealed envelope that had fallen to the floor. With a slight frown, he approached and took it, raising both eyebrows when he read who the sender was.

"It's from uncle Alphard," He said intrigued, breaking the seal. When he unfolded the letter, a small key fell to the floor, and Sirius took it, turning it with his fingers and observing it with a frown. Then he looked back at the letter and immediately after exclaimed:

"What?!"

"What's wrong?" James inquired with concern, stepping closer. Sirius raised his wide open grey eyes from the parchment. He lifted the hand holding the key and said:

"He's given me gold."

"He's given you gold?" his friend repeated. Sirius nodded, waving the key.

"It opens a Gringotts vault. He's given it to me." Surprise still visible in his face, he looked back at the letter.

"Your uncle?" repeated James, who couldn't believe it either.

"My uncle. He's always liked me, but this…" he cut himself off with a one sided smile and a chuckle "Oh, my dear mother won't like this at all. Bet that a smoky hole will be taking his name's place on the Black's family tree by this afternoon."

James smiled.

"Didn't know there were other Blacks who thought like you. Besides Andromeda, that is."

James remembered Sirius' cousin despite she wasn't at Hogwarts anymore for his first year; a quiet and smart Slytherin who had disowned her family marrying a muggleborn. Some Tonks bloke, from Hufflepuff, who had also left Hogwarts by the time James entered.

"Well, I didn't know it either, " Sirius answered, his eyes glued to the letter. "I mean, I've always got along with Alphard, 'cause he's always been nice to me and I've never heard him talking about blood purity. But I didn't know either that he was… like me." James smiled; he knew that Sirius was happier to know that than to get all that gold, though of course, he would be giving it a good use.

"He says it's for whatever I need; to start my life on my own, to have some savings for the future, which is quite uncertain already with this war," he commented, reading for the sixth time the lines his uncle had written. "Gonna come with me to London, to search for a flat?"

"Of course. Though you can stay here as long as you want, you know that." Sirius smiled thankfully.

"And I'll finally be able to get my own motorcycle." He said exultantly. James rolled his eyes and laughed: he couldn't get how his friend could prefer thing like that one over a broom.

"We should better go help my mother already; everything has to be perfect for Lily." Now it was Sirius' turn to roll his eyes, though as he closed the door, he said:

"Don't cock it up, 'kay?" James nodded and then gave him such an angelic smile that Sirius knew he was anything but innocent. "What have you done?"

James chuckled a little before saying:

"I've only mistakenly told Lily to come two hours before everyone else, instead of one, like you told Bree." Sirius stared at him for a few seconds, bursting out laughing as they went down the stairs.

…

Lily looked nervously at herself in the mirror one more time, unsure if she had dressed appropriately. She figured the party at the Potters' would be elegant, but she didn't want to dress up and make a foul of herself. She straightened the dress, biting her bottom lip.

She had opted for a plain, dark green dress. It was a sleeveless, mid-thigh turtleneck; she found the fabric too thin and tight, but her mother had always told her it suited her nicely. She had decided not to wear any ornament other than the pearl-shaped ears that she wore all the time. She had let her long red mane loose, which brushed her lower back again.

She had an idea, opened the upper drawer and hesitated a little, biting her lip, but finally took the pretty white lily slide and put it on so that it would keep the hair away of the left side of her face. She hadn't used it since her father's death, but she thought that James would like to see her using it.

When she thought about it, she mentally scolded herself. Why did she care what James would like? She was just worrying about her appearance because she didn't want to be out of place at the party.

She tucked her wand in the garter that Becca had given her as a joke along with a tiny, sexy lingerie outfit when she had started dating Aidan. She would have never thought she would wear that thing, but the truth was that it was useful if you were a witch and had to carry a wooden stick everywhere. She went down the stairs, taking one last glimpse at the room to be sure she wasn't forgetting anything.

James had told her the party would start at six, but that they could go at four to chat for a while before the rest of the guests arrived. Bree would go by floo powder, and had offered Lily to go to her house, because, as her parents were muggle, her home wasn't connected to the network; but the redhead had opted to go straight to James' house, as the trip to Brianna's place was longer and she didn't want to spend more time than needed on the Knight Bus. However, she waited until it was past four, to make sure Bree would be there when she arrived.

"Oh, Lily, you're gorgeous!" exclaimed her mother when she saw her going down the stairs. Petunia, busy in the kitchen, turned around for a minute to look at her and puckered her lips without a compliment. Lily smiled at her mother and put on the soft gloves James had sent her: they were exactly the same shade as her dress.

"What's that?" the woman asked, admiring the gloves and stroking them when Lily held out her hands to show them to her.

"A gift from a friend," she answered. Her mother looked at her suspiciously.

"And how's that friend called?" Lily blushed slightly.

"James. James Potter." She answered.

"The one who has invited you over to his house?" Lily nodded and her mother mimicked the gesture.

"And are you sure he's just a friend?" she asked with shining eyes, still holding her hands.

"Mother!" exclaimed the girl, letting her go and folding her arms. "He's my friend. In fact, I hated him until a few months ago." The woman's eyes widened in understanding.

"I knew I had heard that name before! It's that young man who used to drive you barking mad! The one you complained about every time you came back home." The girl gave a start: she had never noticed she talked so much about James. "You hadn't mentioned him in a while."

"Probably 'cause he has stopped messing with me," she said, kissing her mother on the cheek and taking the coat from the hanger, wrapping herself in it before opening the door. "Bye, mum. Bye, Tuney. Happy Christmas, say hi to Vernon from me."

She closed the door before her sister said anything. It was odd to see her there, back at Cokeworth, cooking as if she still lived there. Even though she always visited her mother, she tried to spend most of her time at London (where she lived since she had left to take that typing course), at least when Lily was back home. She had met Vernon there, but she had heard her say she would like to move to a smaller town in the future. 'In the future' probably meant 'when I marry Vernon'; even though she had never said anything, it was clear that Petunia was waiting for him to propose. Lily wondered if, once that happened, her sister would drift away from her for good. Thinking so saddened her, but she knew it was possible, especially since Tuney hadn't told her boyfriend anything about his 'particular' sister-in-law and her lot. Maybe she never would, and if so, Lily could say goodbye to her sister forever.

She raised her wand and immediately after, the Knight Bus appeared in front of her, and a talkative bloke greeted her, asking where she was heading. Lily told him and paid, nodding at Ernie Prang, an elderly man who had driven the bus for years, and who knows for how long he would keep doing so. Lily didn't know if he was the only driver, but until now, it had always been him the one to drive her.

As soon as the bus took off, the thoughts about Petunia and his boyfriend Vernon stop worrying the redhead, who was too busy finding a way to keep balance inside that thing.

Once at Godric's Hollow, she got off slightly dizzy and tried to tidy her hair, walking timidly towards the imposing house that seemed to be James'. It was a huge manor, with windows and windows; she couldn't tell how many rooms it had. It was obvious that James' family was quite wealthy, thought probably it had been that way for generations: the house seemed quite antique, as if it had belonged to the Potter family for years. When she reached the door, she hesitated for a second, but then she grabbed the knocker with her tiny hand, knocked and waited.

Minutes later, the door opened and Lily found herself looking at an older version of James, except behind the man's spectacles were hiding a couple of dark eyes. It was clear he was quite old, with her abundant hair completely gray and those wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, proving the man had laughed a lot in his life. His nose was identical to the boy's and his shining smile was as cheeky as the one the redhead had learnt to hate and like at the same time.

He looked surprised to see her, but then he seemed to understand and made her come in, saying:

"Welcome! And Happy Christmas! Come on in, it's freezing outside." Lily followed the man, and once inside she could feel her frozen nose again. The interior of the house was really warm, and the furniture confirmed the girl that the house was effectively really antique. However, it was decorated in a very simple way that neutralized the exuberance of the furnishings and the lamps hanging from the ceiling. She looked back at the man, who smiled warmly.

"Come with me, I'll take you to the cloakroom so you can get rid of that coat. I'm James' father, I assume you are one of his friends. Nice to meet you." Lily smiled back at him and shook his hand: the man made her feel comfortable.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Potter. I'm Lily Evans." The man's eyebrows raised, recognizing the name, and his mouth gesticulated an 'oh' that he didn't pronounce.

"So you are her!" said the man, and his smile widened. Lily looked at him, disconcerted. "Right, I should have known, with that red hair of yours. Curious, by the way, the fact that you're a redhead. James has told me so much about you."

The girl blushed, surprised that James' father knew about her, and that he talked at her like he already knew her. She didn't understand the comment on her hair, but it didn't seem polite to ask.

"I hope he told you good things," she muttered, trying to joke so that her face's colour would go back to normal. The man let out a guffaw, chivalrously holding out his arm to accompany her to the cloakroom.

"Oh, more than good," he said, rolling his eyes in such an insolent way that it reminded Lily a lot of James "I could swear that since first year he hasn't stopped talking about you. Lily's brilliant. Lily's beautiful. Lily's sweet and kind-hearted. Lily's hair this, Lily's laughter that, Lily's eyes…"

As the man talked, the redhead got redder and redder, but he didn't seem to notice. Or maybe, if he was like his son, he did, and he did it on purpose. Thinking about it made her frown. And anyway, why did James talk so much about her? Did he really do it since first year? Probably Mr Potter was exaggerating…

"You don't know how happy he was you were coming. He wouldn't stop running across the house, helping his mother decorate and saying everything had to be perfect. I believe Sirius seriously considered breaking a broomstick on his head." The man was saying, laughing. He looked at Lily out of the corner of his eye and seemed to believe she had blushed enough, as he changed the subject:

"Maybe you would like to see the house. James could show it to you; the rest of the guests aren't arriving until later"

Before Lily could answer, a breathless boy appeared through one of the many doors, stopping for a second to breath, resting his hands on his legs. When he had recovered his cardiac rythm, he looked up.

"I'm sorry," he said, panting a little. "I didn't hear the door. Hi, Lily." He smiled at the redhead, who returned the smile slightly amused.

"Hi, James." The boy smiled even more widely when he heard his name; it was still strange to hear it coming out of her mouth, and he loved it.

"Don't worry, I've taken care of this charming young lady," his father said. Only then James seemed to notice he was there and frowned with mistrust, analyzing his father and friend's faces, trying to guess what he could have told her, and if that would be harmful to him or not.

"You should take her to the cloakroom. She must be burning in that coat," Mr. Potter commented, looking at his wrist watch. "I will make sure the gnomes aren't back. Nice to meet you, Lily." He said with one last smile, waving at them and heading to the garden.

"Well, Happy Christmas," said James, smiling at the girl. Lily timidly smiled back at him; even if the blush was gone, she still remembered what the boy's father had told her. "I'm really glad to see you."

"Happy Christmas to you too," she replied. "Thanks for the gloves, by the way." She said, raising her hands and showing them to him. James smiled like a boy with a new toy.

"Glad you liked them. Thanks to you too, I loved them." Lily smiled and nodded.

"Great." She said. "Bree hasn't arrived yet?" she asked, puzzled. The boy smiled with such an innocent smile, she didn't believe it.

"Nope, she hasn't arrived yet. Come with me, let's put that coat somewhere," he rushed to say, making a hand gesture and leading her across the hallway. He opened a door and let her in, and Lily's eyes widened at the sight of the enormous cloakroom.

"Wow," she said, looking wide-eyed at all the coats hanging on floating hangers around the place. Some of them were quite close to the ceiling.

"Yeah, the whole house is a tad… exaggerated and extravagant." He commented, slightly embarrased, and then called a hanger, which obediently approached him.

"I think it's really nice," she commented, still looking around as she took off her gloves and tucked them in her pocket.

"Right, but I'd like to live in a smaller place. Probably I will, when I get married and have kids." He commented naturally. Lily stared at him and an affective expression crossed her face: it wasn't hard to picture a grown up James surrounded by a kid or two, teaching them to play Quidditch or change the neighbour's nose colour. She would have punched herself for that thought if James hadn't been there.

"Would you give me your coat?" he asked, and Lily gave a start.

"Sure." She said, unbottoning the overcoat and slipping it off her arms. When she looked up again she found James watching her intently, like always. It made her feel uncomfortable when he did that, as if he was analizing every one of her movements, features and flaws. "Here." She said, giving him the coat a bit rudely. James took it without taking his eyes off her, put it on the hanger and let it go so that it floated to its place.

Lily was always beautiful, but seeing her in that tight little dress that accentuated her curves and made her eyes stand out more than usual, had left him breathless. He run his eyes over her white, shapely bare legs, over the curve of her hips, her narrow waist and flat stomach, the round bosom and the delicate naked shoulders. Then he admired her hair, long, abundant and dark red, and a little smile appeared on his face when he saw the white lily. His eyes brushed her covered neck up to her jaw, and stopped on her little strawberry mouth, then went up her cute nose until they met her green eyes.

It required a lot of self control not to throw himself over her and start kissing her whole body. Besides, the boy reminded himself, it wasn't time for a cold shower.

"Don't stare at me." She spat rudely. She felt he was undressing her with his eyes, and she didn't like it at all. However, James didn't notice her blush, because he was too busy devouring the redhead with his eyes.

"But I like to stare at you." He answered without thinking. The redhead folded her arms across her chest in a defensive attitude and her frown deepened. "You look really pretty." He said.

"Shut it, James." She replied irritated, though she wasn't sure why. Some other time, she would have said that her anger was due to the fact that the boy had made her feel pretty, when she knew that, besides her hair, nothing in her was actually attractive; and Lily didn't like to be laughed at. However, this time, it felt different. He made her feel pretty, and what worried her was that she believed him.

The boy sighed, resigned and approached the door.

"I can show you the rest of the house before Bree arrives, if you want." Lily nodded and followed him.

At first, they were both slightly uncomfortable; Lily because of what the boy's father had told her, and because of the way he had stared at her; James, with his mind still on Lily's body, and irritated by the fact she had rejected him that way. However, the atmosphere soon easened thanks to James' jokes, and Lily laughed enthusiastically at the stories and anecdotes the boy told her as they walked around the house.

"I swear, best thing I've ever seen in my life," James was saying in between guffaws. They had went past an old mirror in which both of them looked bald, and after the girl's scream, he had told her how that mirror used to be in his room and he had hexed it for Sirius. "Merlin, you should've seen his face…" His father, whom as Lily had supposed was a born prankster, had wanted to keep the mirror and placed it there, despite his wife's objections. Sirius, of course, made sure not to walk by that corridor too often.

They kept walking around the manor, entering rooms and corridors, and sometimes James stopped to tell her a story, or to tell her about the different people on the paintings of the walls; all Potters, and all well-known because of this or that. Lily diligently asked questions, and James laughed, reminding her that she wasn't in a History of Magic lesson.

"This is my room," said James once they were tehre, opening the door and gesturing her to come in. Lily hesitated a little. "And Sirius' of course. He could have taken another room, but we prefer to sleep together." The girl chuckled and James' eyes widened with horror. "You know what I meant!"

"I know, I know, I'm just playing with you." She said mischievously. James told her to come in again and she did.

Even if he hadn't told her, she would have known that that room belonged to the marauder. Even though the beds were made, there were clothes all over the place, along with books and Quidditch stuff. The walls were covered with pictures and posters of teams on broomsticks, and there were a few Zonko's open boxes.

The redhead walked around the room a little, making sure not to step on anything, and keeping away from the boxes. James watched her from the door, his hands tucked into his pockets. Lily ran her eyes over the shelves and smiled when she noticed many of those books were children's stories. Magical children, of course, but she had still heard of them.

A snitch came out of somewhere and begun fluttering around her head, making her laugh. James approached and seized it, juggling with it until Lily rolled her eyes.

"Stop that. It reminds me of the James I didn't like." She asked. The boy let the ball go, which flew away from there, and he messed up his hair.

"Right," he said, smiling slightly ashamed.

Lily smiled a little and approached to the photos, ignoring the Quidditch players and focusing on the other ones; the personal photos. In most of the she could see James along with one of the marauders, or with all of them. With only looking at one picture, you could see how great friends they were. There was also one that Eli had taken that very same winter, in which could be seen the whole gang: the marauders, Eli, Sam, Rebecca, Bree, and the own Lily. It felt surreal, seeing that picture there, everyone smiling under the snowflakes as if they had always been friends. She smiled and her eyes went from the wall back to the shelves, where two portraits rested. In one of them there was a fourteen-year-old James with a grey-haired man and a white-haired woman, but Lily's eyes didn't stop there too long, moving on to the next photograph. In it, a man and a woman smiled cheerfully at the camera. He had black, untidy hair and looked a lot like the boy next to Lily, though the man in the picture had a pair of dark brown eyes. The woman was really beautiful, with a smile full of life and two mischievous hazel eyes so familiar to Lily, with brown spots around the pupil. But what caught her attention the most was the fact that she was a redhead. Not orange or flaming red (colours that the famous Weasley family was known for), and not dark read, like her own, but a reddish brown shade between copper and auburn. She looked at it for a few seconds until she heard a deep voice near her ear..

"Seems that us Potter men have a thing for redheads," Lily turned around; James was closer than she thought. He probably had approached to her back while she looked at the pictures. They were too close, and if he leant just a little, their lips would soon brush each other's. The girl felt her cheeks getting warm, feeling that got stronger when James said:

"Is that a blush?" He sounded more mocking that he would have wanted, and Lily didn't like it at all. It was practically a proof of the fact that all he said was meant to see when would she give in to him.

She suddenly pulled away, and James realized about his mistake too late. However, she looked at him with a huge smile and said:

"Let's go," But the smile didn't reach her eyes, and he noticed she was mad. Or maybe hurt.

"Lily-" he started, but she interrupted:

"You haven't shown me the first floor yet, right? And I haven't seen Sirius." James looked at her doubtfully. Maybe he had misinterpreted her expression.

"He must be in the kitchen with my mother. Wanna come?" he asked. The girl nodded, leaving the room and waiting for him. The boy ruffled his hair and went after her.

Was it posible that he always found a way of screwing up?