For the Love of Lily

Chapter 13

November flew by, and before Lily knew it, it was Christmas time. Hogwarts castle was bustling with holiday preparations. Like she did every year, Lily was staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. To her delight, James was staying too. The past month had brought out a side of James she had never seen before. He had been doing little things for her. One day when they were in Hogsmeade, he bought her a fake wand that when she waved it, a bouquet of flowers burst out the end. He also opened every door for her. Even though he never admitted it, she had an inkling that he'd been the one responsible for filling her room with daisies earlier that year.

A soft knock on her door woke Lily up on Christmas morning. James, Remus, and Sirius were on the other side. Their arms piled high with presents.

"Come on, sleepy head! We've been waiting for you so we can open our presents," Sirius said.

They'd begun a tradition their first year, that they opened their presents together in front of the fire in the common room.

"I'm coming, just let me grab my bathrobe, and I'll be down."

She grabbed her robe, piled her presents in her arms, and headed downstairs. The guys had already pushed the armchairs aside and were sitting in a circle in front of the fire. When they saw her enter, they all stood up, ran over to her and kissed her on the check. Lily was so taken back by this new show of affection by her friends that she dropped her packages on the floor and quickly brought her hand to her cheeks that were now flaming red.

James, Remus, and Sirius bent down and scooped up the presents that Lily had dropped. Lily, still in a state of shock, followed them to the fireplace. She realized that she still must've had a shocked look on her face when Remus said, "We're sorry about the kisses, but Peter Pettigrew hung mistletoe above the staircase and you were standing under it. We had to kiss you!"

Lily turned around. Sure enough, there was mistletoe hanging above the stairs.

They spent the next half an hour opening and exchanging presents. Sirius got her a box of chocolate frogs. Remus got her Perfecting Your Charms Technique, the book she had been reading in Flourish and Blots the day before school began. James gave her a potted red poinsettia.

"I think we better head down to the Great Hall for breakfast now," Sirius said after they had finished opening presents.

Everybody nodded in agreement and ran upstairs to their dormitory to change into their robes. Five minutes later, they were dinning on coffee cake and coffee in the Great Hall. While everyone else was discussing their gifts, Lily slipped away to her room. I need some time to think, she thought as she walked to Gryffindor tower.

She couldn't help but remember that when James had kissed her earlier today he'd kind of missed her check and his lips had brushed hers. It was just an honest mistake. It didn't mean anything. James and I are just friends.

While Lily was sitting on her bed trying to figure her life out, a brown owl flew in her window. He was carrying a single orange rose. She took the rose from it's beak and patted it's head. Then he flew out the window. The note attached to the rose said,

" Lily,

You are the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts. I wish I could

reveal myself to you now, but the time isn't right. I will reveal

myself in due time.

Sincerely,

Your Secret Admirer

Lily couldn't help but hope that the flower was from James. She placed the rose on her nightstand and went back down to the Great Hall.

For the Love of Lily