Eyes as Green as a Fresh Pickled Toad

Chapter Two:
The Box

"He--had--no--idea!" Melody said, clutching her stomach and laughing
hysterically. Lily smiled rather halfheartedly, disappointed that she'd
missed seeing the effects of her charm, and also still angry with James for
what had happened at breakfast.

After pouring the pitcher of pumpkin juice down the front of James's robes,
she had stormed out of the Great Hall, so angry that splotches began
appearing on front of her eyes, clouding her vision. Upon retreating into
her dormitory, Lily found herself wondering why she'd gotten so mad in the
first place. It hadn't been that big of a deal, really, what James had said.
But James...

Lily always seemed to lose herself whenever she was around James. All her
control, her manners, her normally docile personality, and her common sense
flitted away like the Golden Snitch whenever she saw him. And she hated him
for it.

"It's too bad you missed it!" Melody howled. "His thoughts were broadcast
like a radio program, and there was this big purple bubble over his head
spelling out his thoughts--like in Muggle funnies--and he had absolutely no
idea!"

Madam Pince, who had just come back from delivering Dumbledore a book, heard
Melody's laughter immediately. She walked over and looked sternly at Melody.
"Get quiet or get out!" She snapped.

"Sorry," Melody said, much quieter, and got up to leave. "I'll talk to you
later," she said to Lily, and left the library still laughing.

After Lily had retreated up to her dorm, she'd realized she had a History of
Magic essay she still needed to finish. She only had one more inch left, and
so far she hadn't been able to come up with any more information on the
wizard pirate raids of Ireland in 1582. Unless she was going to write a very
long closing paragraph in big, loopy writing or reiterate several facts
she'd already mentioned, it looked like she'd be stuck in this library
forever.

However, at that moment, the last person in the world she wanted to see
strolled in--James Potter. He wasn't carrying any books with him, and Lily
was immediately suspicious. She hoped he wasn't coming to talk to her.

Her suspicions were confirmed when he spotted her and started walking over.
She groaned inwardly and began to pack up her things. She was nearly done
shoving her supplies in her backpack when James sat down across from her.

"Hi," he said. He sounded normal; not cocky or angry or taunting or anything
like the James she knew at all. She looked up, a tired expression on her
face, and was surprised to see his face look rather...guilty.

"Hi," she said, and finished putting her quill and ink bottle in her pack.
She slung it over her shoulders and gathered up the books she intended to
borrow from the library, getting up from her chair. James stood with her.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said.

"So talk," Lily said simply, walking up to Madam Pince's desk with her
books.

"I'm sorry about this morning," he said as Madam Pince filled out the cards
in the front of the books.

"For what? You're the one who got pumpkin juice poured down your front,"
Lily reminded him, taking the books back from Madam Pince and thanking her.
They walked out of the library side by side.

"Yeah, that's true. But I think I deserved it."

"Oh really?" Lily said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah. I was being a git."

"What, are you asking me to forgive you?" Lily said, laughing. James looked
at her, giving her a lopsided smile that, for some odd reason, made her
blush. She looked away and hugged her books tightly to her chest.

"Of course not!" James said. "Just thought I'd let you know I'd have done
the same thing myself. Bye!" He gave her a cocky grin and strolled off,
whistling to himself. Lily stared after him, blinking.

"Did that just happen?" she asked to the thin air.

"I believe it did," said a voice, and Lily jumped and turned to see the Grey
Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost, hovering in the hall behind her. Lily smiled.

"Hey, Lady," Lily said, using the nickname she had given to the ghost in
first year. They had become something of friends in the last five years,
and, as Lady was now over 600 years dead, she always gave good advice.

"So, who is he?" Lady asked. Lily sighed and leaned back against the wall,
hugging her books to her chest.

"A git," she replied. "Just like he said."

"Are you sure?" Lady asked. "He seemed very nice to me. Just a little shy."

"Shy?" Lily sputtered. "Please! That guy has an ego big to fill two World
Cup stadiums!"

"That as it may be, don't you see he was trying to apologize for being
a--what did you call him?"

"A git," Lily supplied.

"Yes, a git. He was trying to apologize for it, but at the last minute he
lost his nerve."

Lily snorted. "Please. If I ever seem James Potter apologize for anything,
I'll die of shock." Lady just shrugged.

"He does seem proud. But he likes you. And he is rather handsome."

Lily rolled her eyes. "So they say," she said. "But I, personally, don't see
what's so great about him."

By this time, the Grey Lady had a knowing smile on her face. "All right,
Lily flower," she said gently. "You should probably continue studying."

Lily nodded, bid her good-bye, and left.

* * *

"Chicken!" James reprimanded himself. "You are never going to make any
progress if you can't at least be nice to the girl!"

"So, how did it go?" Sirius asked, bouncing out of a secret passageway on
James's left and spotting him immediately.

"I must be possessed," James said. "Every time I get near her, I act like a
complete git."

"Well, maybe you are a complete git!" Sirius said. James glared at him.

"You are not helping."

"Sorry," Sirius shrugged. "Maybe you should send her flowers or something.
Girls like that."

James laughed sharply. "Yeah, right. She'd think I was a psycho. Besides, I
don't think I like her that much anyway." Sirius shrugged again.

"Whatever. But you better be sure, because someone else is gonna snag her if
you don't."

"Oh, I'm sure," James said. "I don't give a damn about what happens to Lily
Evans."

* * *

"Who do you think I should ask out first?" Mimi asked, flopping down on her
bed, which was right next to Lily's. Lily looked up from her copy of Witch
Weekly at her.

"Out of who?"

"James, Remus, and Sirius, silly!"

"Oh, them," Lily said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know,"

"Oh, come on!" Mimi whined. "You've been hanging out with them almost every
day for like, three weeks. Give me some advice!"

"Fine. Then, James," Lily said.

"Yeah, he is pretty cute," Mimi said, eyes dancing. Lily snorted.

"That's not why I picked him," she said.

"Well then why did you?"

"Because he's the biggest jerk. You'll be able to get him out of the way
first." Mimi shot Lily an annoyed look.

"What?" Lily said defensively. Mimi just rolled her eyes. After a few
minutes of silence, with Mimi filing her nails and Lily flipping through her
magazine, Mimi gasped. "What?" Lily asked.

"You don't like him, do you?" Mimi asked.

"No! Don't be ridiculous," Lily said, her cheeks turning pink at the mention
of it.

"You do, don't you!" Mimi said, her eyes widening in shock. "Oh my God! I
can't believe I was about to go after a guy my best friend has a crush on. I
feel so stupid!"

"I don't have a crush on him!" Lily insisted, throwing a pillow at Mimi,
her flaming red cheeks not at all helping her case.

Mimi couldn't respond; she was laughing to hard at her best friend's face.

* * *

"Lily! I need to talk to you!" Lily turned as she exited Study of Ancient
Runes about a week later to see Remus Lupin jogging after her.

"What's up?" she asked as he caught up to her.

"We need your help."

"'We'? Who's 'we'?" Lily asked, not sure she wanted to know, while at the
same time sure she already knew who he was talking about.

"Me, James, Sirius, Peter, and Melody." Lily groaned. "What's wrong? You
sound like Thorne just assigned you a forty-inch essay on the importance of
evenly chopped Potions ingredients or something."

"That would be better than spending forty seconds in the same room as
James," Lily said.

"You try so hard to dislike him it hurts to watch," Remus said, shaking his
head.

"Who's trying?" Lily shot back.

"Touche." Lily smiled and took this moment to give him a once-over. Mimi was
right--he was rather cute. But he had pale skin, and heavy bags under his
eyes, as though he hadn't slept for weeks. Which, Lily reminded herself,
considering his crazy friends, he probably hadn't.

"So will you help us?" Remus asked.

"Depends," Lily said, coming to a stop in front of the Transfiguration
classroom, where she had to go next. "What do you want me to do?"

"None of us really understand that new Charm Professor Flitwick's been
trying to teach us--you know, that Teleportation Charm--and we wanted some
help." Lily rolled her eyes.

"You all do realize, don't you, that I don't really like Charms that much?"

"We know. You like Potions. But so what?" Remus shrugged. "You're good at
them. So will you help us?"

Lily sighed. "I suppose," she said. Remus smiled.

"Be at MHQ tomorrow at the end of class. We can spend the afternoon on it."

"What's the password?" Lily asked. "You haven't changed it, have you?"

"Oh, that's right. Yeah. We changed it."

"So what is it?"

"'Flowers are annoying'. Bye!"

Lily looked after him as he walked away, mouth open in shock. 'Flowers are
annoying'? Was that, in any way, directed at her? If it was, Lily would have
bet a million Galleons it was James who had come up with that password.

* * *

It was nearing the end of November, and, as such, was getting closer to
Christmas. Lily needed to start thinking about Christmas presents. She
would, of course, get presents for her parents, her older sister Petunia,
her younger sister Daisy, and her younger brother Dean.

Then she would buy for her friends at school: Melody, Mimi, Susie, and Matt
were first on her list...Lily considered whether or not she should buy
presents for the Marauders. After many minutes of thought that led her
around in circles, she decided to buy presents for Remus, Sirius, Peter,
and...James. She'd have to get something really stupid for James, but not
too stupid, since it was, after all, Christmas. Then there was the other
thing about Christmas--where was she going to stay?

Would she stay at Hogwarts, like she had last year, or would her parents
want her at home. She had rather liked the Christmas last year--but then,
there was nothing like a good Christmas at home. However, Christmases at
home had been rather awkward ever since Lily had started attending Hogwarts.
Petunia and Daisy had gotten rather cold with her, though Daisy wasn't quite
as bad as Petunia. Lily wasn't especially looking forward to seeing her
sisters. However, there was always her parents and her dear old brother
Dean--they were just the same as ever. Dean was always interested in
Hogwarts and constantly asking her questions about it. Her parents were ever
so proud of her, too, and she did miss them over the school year.

Lily, who was up in her dormitory, sighed. She decided to write a list of
all the people she was giving gifts to and what she planned to give them.
Melody would, of course, be the easiest to shop for. Lily was thinking some
nice jewelry or a book of hair and makeup spells might do the trick, but
then, she could go out on a limb and buy her some nice dress robes. Melody's
family was rather poor, and she adored nice things. She'd find something for
her in Hogsmeade next weekend; she was sure of it.

Mimi always appreciated jewelry and make-up, but most of hers was of the
Muggle variety, since she was a Muggle-born. Lily decided to see if she
couldn't find some magical make-up for her.

Matt was rather loud, and he had a rather odd obssession with socks. He
always cut his robes off at the bottom so people could see his unique socks.
Lily had seen some interesting socks in Hogsmeade last weekend, and thought
several magical pairs would keep him occupied for a while.

Susie was kind of like Lily--quiet, reserved, and rather studious. She would
appreciate a book of some sort.

Her parents would appreciate anything magical she gave them. The same went
for Dean. She would probably get them some candies or joke products.

Petunia and Daisy would appreciate something that looked as non-magical as
possible.

Those were the easy ones. Now came the hard part--what in the world could
she come up with for the other four Marauders? Lily figured they already had
every joke product ever invented--and possibly some they had invented
themselves. She wondered briefly if Zonko's or Honeydukes sold gift
certificates like some Muggle stores and made a mental note to check.

If not, Sirius looked like the kind of person who valued hair gel--but she
figured he already had a supply. Lily laughed as a brief image of Sirius in
a leather jacket flashed across her mind. But a leather jacket would be an
impossibility--first of all, they were too expensive; and second, she
figured next he'd want a motorcycle to go with.

Peter...well, Peter was nice enough. He just needed to be a little more
secure in his own right and stop trying to be someone else--like Sirius or
Remus or James. She thought of maybe getting him some magical stress balls
that magically soothed and lifted your mood.

Remus was probably the nicest of them all, and the most serious, at that. He
might like something more practical, and she figured a visit to a bookstore
would sort everything out.

And then there was James. James...well, James...there really were no words
to describe James. Maybe she should just get him a box. Lily giggled at the
thought of James opening his unusually light Christmas present from her and
only finding a very fancy, very empty, box. She immediately felt guilty and
wiped the thought away. She couldn't give a gift that mean to anybody.

But still, she had to admit to herself, it would be funny...

* * *

Lily reread the letter for the fifth time, then set it down and leaned back
against her headboard, groaning. A school owl had just delivered her a
letter from her parents. "Dear Lily," it read.

"We hope you're having fun at school! You better not be getting in too much
trouble. ^_~ This James fellow you've been writing about does seem rather
teasing, but he is only a fifteen-year-old boy.

"We've decided that it's your choice whether you'd like to come home for
Christmas or stay at Hogwarts this year. We'd all like for you to come home,
but if you don't want to...we understand. ^_^

"'Owl' us back!

"Love, Mom and Dad."

Lily reread the sentence "We'd all like for you to come home, but if you
don't want to...we understand" several more times before folding the letter
up and putting it away. She groaned again and covered her face with her
hands.

That sentence felt like a weight on her chest. "We'd all like for you to
come home, but if you don't want to..."

"If you don't want to..."

How was she supposed to make a decision like that? It should have been easy,
but it wasn't. If she chose to stay at Hogwarts, she would disappoint her
parents. If she chose to go home, she'd face her two sisters and disappoint
her best friend. (Melody always stayed over Christmas holiday at
Hogwarts--she said Christmas at home was too depressing.)

Lily rubbed her eyes, which were beginning to feel heavy. It was late, and
she needed sleep. Burrowing down under her covers, Lily became oblivious to
the world around her. She was oblivious to the crickets chirping outside,
the spider crawling on the ceiling outside her bed, Mimi's snores in the
next bed over, and she was oblivious to the fact that, several floors above,
James Potter was becoming oblivious to the exact same things.

Except he was becoming oblivious for a different reason.

He was becoming oblivious because he was thinking about Lily.

* * *

It was Friday. Lily was supposed to meet the Marauders today as soon as
classes were out. 'Flowers are annoying'...she still couldn't believe the
password. And she couldn't believe she was actually going to get James
Potter a Christmas present. She would bet anything he wasn't planning on
getting anything for her.

She was on her way from Potions to Arithmancy when James Potter sidled up to
her in the hallway.

"We've never had a class together, have we?" he said, as though continuing a
long conversation they'd been having.

"What?" Lily asked, surprised.

"I mean, I've been thinking about it, and wondering why I'd never noticed
someone as annoying as you before, and how it was possible that, in five
years, we haven't had a single class together. But I don't think we have."

"You've been thinking? Well that's a shock," Lily muttered. James heard her,
but he ignored it.

"I mean, it's hard to believe the Gryffindors haven't had any classes with
the Ravenclaws. Well, there are Ravenclaws in my Care of Magical Creatures
class, but you're not. I don't think we've had any classes together."

Lily, who had been thinking during all James's ramblings, suddenly realized
that they had, in fact, had a class together. "Yes, we have," she said
suddenly. "Flying class. In first year. You and Sirius kept trying to
dive-bomb me because I wasn't such a good flier. My hair was a lot browner
then."

"Oh, was that you?" James said thoughtfully. "Now I remember! Yeah, you were
annoying. You kept whining to Madam Hooch. 'Professor! He's going to kill
me! PROFESSOR!'" James imitated in a really bad falsetto voice. Lily whacked
him on the shoulder and tried to keep from laughing. He was being stupid and
making fun of her, and it was a really bad impression, but he was funny.

Unfortunately.

* * *

Lily couldn't pay attention in Arithmancy. The Professor was droning on
about something or other, but all Lily could think about was her parents'
letter. She had so much to think about...should she go home for Christmas,
or stay here? What should she get everybody for Christmas? Why did Mimi have
to keep talking about James, Sirius, and Remus? For that matter, why did
Mimi think Lily had a crush on James? Why did James keep bugging her? Why
was Melody so ga-ga over Sirius? Why had she agreed to help the Marauders
with that stupid charm in the first place?

By the end of Arithmancy Lily had herself so worked up she was close to
tears. She hurried to the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory and threw her books
hastily on her bed. She rushed back out again just as quickly.

She had to get away--fast. She needed to go somewhere where she could think,
and no one would bug her. The dormitory was out of the question--Mimi would
come up and start babbling about Remus and Sirius and James. She knew she
was supposed to be going to MHQ, but if Mimi babbling about Remus and Sirius
and James was bad, seeing them in person would be even worse.

There was only one place she could think to go to get away from everyone and
everything--and she'd need a broom to get there. Lily walked out of the
castle, not caring who saw her, and went out to the broom shed. Grabbing the
most promising broom she could find, Lily shakily flew up into the air.

She flew up above the school and landed on the roof. From here she could see
all of the grounds and the Forbidden Forest, stretching off into the
distance. She wasn't sure where it ended or why it was there, but she knew
there was a reason for its existence, if not just to protect another side of
Hogwarts.

She set her broom down and magically bound it so it wouldn't roll off and
leave her stranded. She sat down, brought her knees up to her chest and put
her head on them, willing all her troubles to just go away. When she lifted
her head up, her mind seemed miraculously clear.

The sky was incredibly blue. She couldn't see a cloud in it as her gaze
drifted back over the grounds. The lake sparkled like diamonds in the
sunlight. Lily sighed contentedly and wished she could stay right here
forever. It was perfect. Just as she was thinking to herself that nothing
could be better than feeling as at peace with the world as she was now, she
suddenly felt a pang of sadness, or...maybe it was emptiness...no, it really
wasn't either of those things. It was...longing.

Longing? What was she longing for? Lily was suddenly confused. What was
there that she could possibly want--besides time alone? She had her friends,
her family, her school...
But as she looked over the lake, she saw two seventh years kiss, and felt
the pang again. She hugged her knees to her chest tighter and looked at the
couple with even more longing than before.

Closing her eyes, Lily imagined herself as one of those people. She had
never had a boyfriend before, and, though she'd kissed a couple guys, it was
nothing special. She wanted something special. Suddenly a picture of James
popped into her mind, and she opened her eyes, upset. That was the problem,
right there---people like James. With all of those idiots running around the
school, how was she ever supposed to find someone special? How was she going
to find someone who understood her and loved her--and that she cared about
equally?

It was impossible. She already knew pretty much all the boys in her
year--and she couldn't imagine falling in love with any of them. She
supposed she'd have to wait until she was out of school to find anyone she
really cared about.

She suddenly felt eyes watching her and twisted around to see James Potter
on his broomstick, looking at her. Her stomach fell. She turned back around
with a stony expression on her face. Nobody would be able to tell, but
despite her hard expression, she was just about to cry.

"Go away," she said bitterly.

"What's wrong?" James asked, actually sounding concerned as he landed on the
roof and got off his broom.

Lily looked over at him, ready to tell him off, but she stopped, words at
the tip of her tongue. He looked very...different. The sun was shining
behind his head and the wind was blowing his hair. At that moment, Lily
actually thought he looked...well, handsome. Her heart skipped and started
beating faster.

She tried to knock some sense into herself, but it wasn't happening. Her
heart continued beating faster and faster, and she kept staring at him.
James smiled at her. The smile was having a strange effect on her breathing,
and her legs...she was afraid if she stood up she would just fall right back
down again.

What was wrong with her?! She felt like screaming, but she couldn't. Her
throat had tightened and she felt she could barely speak, even if she tried.

"You're looking at me funny," James said, still smiling irresistibly.
Irresistibly!? WHAT?! Since when was James Potter irresistible? Ha! Yeah
right. Like she'd ever be attracted to James Potter. It was all this fresh
air...it was starting to get to her. Immediately all her strange feelings
left.

"You!" she said furiously. "You are harder to get rid of than a--a--popcorn
kernel or--or--a--Milk Dud or--something--stuck in my teeth!"

"What's a Milk Dud?" James asked, looking confused, a weird little grin on
his face. It was not cute at all, Lily was relieved to notice.

"You don't know what a Milk Dud is?"

"No."

"Your parents were wizards, weren't they?"

"Yeah."

Lily nodded. "I thought so."

"So, what's a Milk Dud?"

"It's a Muggle candy. It's chocolate, and really chewy. It gets stuck in
your teeth a lot. I think it's part caramel, too...I'm not really sure what
else is in them." Lily shrugged, and smiled. "I like 'em."

James nodded. "Why're you up here? We've been waiting for you."

Lily sighed and looked back out at the lake. James sat down next to her. "I
couldn't come. I..." she sighed again and dropped her head down by her legs.

"You what?" James asked, reaching over and pushing Lily's hair behind her
ear.

Lily looked over at him, surprised. He was looking at her very seriously and
she was surprised to find herself looking just as seriously back.

"I had too much to think about. I...oh God, I am so stressed you wouldn't
even understand."

James laughed sharply. "Try me."

"What, your life as a prankster and Quidditch captain is so tough?" Lily
asked, expecting a smart remark like, "Oh yes, dungbombs are more technical
than you think!" But she didn't get what she was expecting.

"Lily, do you know who my father is?" James asked, and this time it was him
looking out at the lake.

"No." Lily said. "Who is he?"

James just shook his head. "I don't want to tell you. It's nothing
embarrassing, it's just..."

"You're not ashamed of him, are you?" Lily asked, actually starting to feel
sorry for him if he was.

"No, not at all. I'm very proud of him. But he..." James sighed. "His job
takes a lot of responsibility. He expects me to be just the same. I'm
fifteen, and he expects me to act like I'm forty-five. I don't know if I'm
ready for that."

Lily looked at him, blinking. This was a side of James she'd never seen
before. In fact, there were a lot of sides of James she bet she'd never seen
before. He was not at all what she'd been expecting.

"I just want to be a fifteen-year-old boy while I'm still fifteen, you
know?" He said, smiling wryly at her.

Lily gave a small smile. Here she had been, thinking all he cared about was
where he was going to pull his next prank, but, as she had just discovered,
he wasn't that simple. No one's that simple, Lily, she reminded herself. You
of all people should know that!

"So what are your parents like?" James asked, leaning back. Lily shrugged
and started playing with the bottom of her robes.

"They're cool," she said. "They're Muggles, but they're really happy for me.
Always interested in school," she sighed and let her robes fall out of her
hands. That letter was still bugging her. She was fifteen--you'd think she'd
be able to make a simple decision like where to stay for Christmas!

"What's wrong?" James asked, seeing the expression on Lily's face.

"This letter," she said. "My parents wrote me this letter, and--augh!" Lily
groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"What did the letter say?"

Lily sighed again and dug into her robes for the letter. She had been
carrying it around with her. Now she couldn't believe she was going to share
this with James. She hadn't even told Melody!

James read the letter. "So...can't decide where to stay for Christmas, huh?"

"It's stupid, I know. I don't know why it's bugging me so much."

"It's not stupid," James said. "I have to make that decision every year.
This year I'm staying at Hogwarts."

"Well that settles it, then," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"What?" James asked.

"I'm going home for Christmas!" she declared, smiling at him so all her
teeth showed. James laughed.

"Come on, let's go." James said, standing up again. Lily groaned and stood
up, taking off the charm binding her broom to the roof. She looked over at
the couple down by the lake and felt another pang in her heart.

"You know what, I'm not ready yet." Lily said. "I still need some time to
think. I need to be alone."

James nodded. "Well, when you're ready, we'll be at MHQ, waiting for you."

Suddenly Lily felt angry and bitter. She didn't know why, but looking at the
couple was making her sick. "And I'll be up here, not caring," she said
bitterly. As James was about to fly away, she caught sight of his face. And
he looked hurt. Lily suddenly felt guilty.

"James, wait!" she called after him, standing up suddenly. She lost her
balance for a moment and dropped her broom, windmilling her arms to keep
from falling herself. A strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her
onto a broom. James.

"Thanks," Lily breathed, her heart beating like a bass drum in her ears.

"I'm taking you hostage," James whispered into her ear. It tickled, and she
giggled, goosebumps springing up on her neck.

"Just don't drop me," Lily whispered back. James got an evil grin on his
face. He dipped the broom almost vertically and immediately righted it
again. Lily screamed. James laughed softly and wrapped his arm around her
tighter.

"I won't let you fall," he promised. She felt safe, but she still didn't
like hovering so many feet above the ground. She leaned as far back as she
could and put her head back on his shoulder, scrunching her eyes up tight.
She heard James laugh again but didn't care. She felt his lips brush her
forehead and her eyes flew open. He wasn't even looking at her, just
concentrating on flying to the ground. She must have imagined it...

They landed and got off the broom. "Now, off to MHQ!" James said, turning
back into his old self.

"Oh, goody," Lily muttered. Then she realized something--she had actually
told him about the letter, and she didn't want to tell anybody else. "James,
about the letter--" she began, but James cut her off.

"I won't tell anybody," he said. Lily almost smiled.

* * *

"You can't go home for Christmas!" Melody cried, overreacting as usual.

"Why?" Lily asked calmly.

"What am I going to do without you?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know!"

"Please stay at Hogwarts! Pleeeeease!" Melody whined. Lily sighed. Here she
was, stuck again.

"I don't know, Melody...I..." Lily trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I promise I won't make you hang out with the Marauders," Melody said.
"Pleeeeeease?" She begged.

Lily smiled and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "What am I going to do
with you?" she said.

"Are you staying?"

After a moment of internal struggle, Lily spat out an answer. "Oh, fine!"

"Yaaaay! Now go sign up!"

* * *

Lily had hit almost every store in Hogsmeade, and she still hadn't gotten a
present for James. She had owled her parents this morning with her decision,
which hadn't been easy. She had been shopping with Melody most of the day,
but they had split up for about an hour to buy presents for each other.

Lily checked her watch--it was time to meet Melody in the Three Broomsticks.
She hurried in, her cheeks rosy from the bitter wind blowing outside, and
looked around, taking off her hat. James and Sirius were at the bar, talking
to a pretty waitress, who was laughing. Remus and Peter were at a nearby
table, having a very heated discussion about something. Mimi, Susie, and
Matt had a table in the corner. They waved at her, and she waved back, but
declined an invitation to join them. She finally spotted Melody in the
center of the room.

"So, how'd your shopping go?" Melody asked as Lily sat down.

"Great!" Lily replied. "But I still don't have a present for James,"

A waitress came over and they ordered two butterbeers and some cheese fries.
(a/n: Who knows what kind of food they serve at the Three Broomsticks--or if
they serve food at all?)

Melody raised an eyebrow. "James? Since when are you buying presents for
your enemies?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "He's not exactly an enemy, Melody. Just extremely
annoying. Besides, I told you I was buying presents for the Marauders."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that included James. I mean, according to you,
James is worse than Snape."

Lily groaned. "Don't ever say that James is worse than Snape. I mean, James
is bad, but he's not that bad."

Melody laughed. Their food came and Melody pounced on the cheese fries. Lily
took a few gulps of butterbeer and set her mug down again, still wondering
what in the world to get for James.

"So, do you have any idea what you're gonna get him?" Melody asked, mouth
still stuffed.

"A box," Lily said. Melody almost spat out the cheese fries. She swallowed
quickly and started laughing, while at the same time half-choking. Lily
smiled and picked up a fry. "Really, I have no idea," she said.

"Well how much do you really know about him?" Melody asked, drinking some
butterbeer. Lily shrugged and bit off the end of a fry.

"Not much," she admitted. "I know he's a Prefect, he's a Gryffindor, he's a
prankster, he's Quidditch captain, he doesn't bother to try at Charms, he
likes Transfiguration, he hates Snape, and he feels like his father puts too
much pressure on him to be responsible."

Melody froze. She had been nodding along as Lily had said all she really
knew about James, but when she had gotten to the part about his father
putting on too much pressure--where had she heard that? Melody didn't think
she'd ever heard James say anything about his father. She shrugged and let
it slide. If Lily and Jaames were getting close, she didn't have a problem
with it.

"Well, none of that's really very good for picking out a Christmas present,
unless you want to get him some Quidditch stuff or a Transfiguration book."

"Yeah, I thought about it," Lily said, "but it was just too boring."

"Well, I promised the marauders I'd spend some time with them today because
I'll be hanging out with you for all of Christmas holiday."

"You don't have to hang out with me exclusively," Lily said. "Don't be
silly! I don't care if you hang out with Sirius a lot."

"But you'd care if I hung out with James."

"I don't care if you hang out with James's whole family, just as long as you
don't make me go with you."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Hey, I was the one who begged you to stay, and I'm
not gonna desert you over Christmas. I'll see you later, okay? Good luck
finding a present for James," she said, finishing her butterbeer, dropping
some money on the table, gathering up her bags, and waving good-bye. Lily
waved back and finished her drink. She paid for the rest of it and left a
tip, then resumed her shopping.

On the outskirts, by the bottom of the hill where the Shrieking Shack stood,
she spotted a small shop she'd never really noticed before.

Flitwick's
Magical Bags, Boxes, Wrapping Paper, and Containers.
-All sizes!
-Bottomless
-Shape-shifting
-Shrinkable/Expandable
-Musical
-Color-changing

Lily laughed and pushed her way into the store. So she was going to end up
getting James a box after all.

"Can I help you?" A rather small wizard asked, coming up to her. Lily did a
double take on him.

"You--you look like one of my Professors!" she exclaimed.

"Professor Flitwick?" the wizard asked. Lily nodded. He smiled. "That's my
younger brother! Excellent at Charms, you know...our whole family is,
really. Which is why we charmed all these boxes and bags and opened a shop."

Lily smiled and looked around at the shelves and racks full of boxes and
bags.

"So, is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"I'm looking for a box," Lily said.

"What kind? Bottomless, shape-shifting, color-changing, musical? A
combination?"

"Umm..."

"Would you like to customize a box?"

"That would be nice." Lily said. "How much?"

"It all depends," he said. "They can range anywhere from 5 Knuts to 15
Galleons."

Lily looked in her money purse and saw she still had 5 Galleons, 17 Sickles,
and 12 Knuts left. That would be enough to buy a box. "I think I will," she
said, and the wizard helping her got very excited.

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful!" He said, and scurried into the back room, where
he brought out a very plain brown box. "Come, come, over to the table!" he
said, walking over to a table, which had chairs on both sides. He sat down
in one, and Lily sat across from him.

"Is this for you, or will it be for someone else?"

"Someone else."

"Would you like any engravings? A name on the box? Initials, perhaps?"

"How much?"

"One Knut per letter."

Lily considered. "A name," she decided.

"First or last?"

"First. It's James."

"Gold or silver?"

"Silver."

"Where would you like it?" Lily pointed to a side of the box. "How is it
spelled?" Lily told him.

"Choose your lettering," The wizard said, waving his wand, a display popping
up in front of her. She chose a very basic block lettering.

The wizard performed a charm, and five silver letters appeared on the box.
Lily smiled. They looked nice, but the colors didn't match. "We need to
change the color."

The wizard smiled. "Would you like one color, color-changing, color changing
with limited colors, patterns, changing patterns, patterns and colors to
change at will, or something else?"

Lily's head was spinning. "Uh..."

"Would you like to hear them again? An explanation of each, perhaps?"

"Explanation, please."

"Certainly. And I can demonstrate each if you like." Lily nodded.

"Very well! First, we have the one-color option. You may choose any color
you wish, but the box will stay that color forever. It will not fade." He
demonstrated by turning the box blue. "You can have any color effects on it
you wish. Glossy, metallic, pastel, et cetera." Lily nodded. "You can also
choose or create a pattern that will stay permanently. Colors for this
option will be one sickle, and patterns are one sickle, two knuts.

"You can have constantly changing colors on the box. You can have unlimited
colors, or a specific number of colors for the box to change to. There are a
number of different transitions to choose from, such as fading, melting,
glowing out from the inside, etc. You can also have a certain set of colors
or an unlimited range of colors which the owner can change at any time. The
exact same is true for the patterns. Although I find the changing patterns
are much more interesting." Mr. Flitwick demonstrated. He was right.
"Unlimited colors are five sickles, limited up to twelve is three sickles.
Unlimited patterns are seven sickles, limited up to six is five sickles.

"Or you could have the box enchanted to change from patterns to solid
colors, either on its own or at the will of the owner. This option is one
Galleon. Or you could suggest something of your own."

"Could I have the box be both changing unlimited patterns and changing
unlimited colors, but with the option of choosing whether or not you want
the pattern or solid color?"

"Yes, you could."

"How much would that be?"

"Two Galleons. Would you like that?"

Lily bit her lip. Two Galleons...for James? But she nodded anyway. "I'd like
that."

Mr. Flitwick took a few minutes and performed several complicated Charms on
the box. "Are you sure you want this before I place an irreversible charm on
it?"

"I'm sure," Lily said after a few seconds of hesitation.

Mr. Flitwick put on the charm. "All right, now we can discuss depth, size,
shape, etc. We have bottomless, shape-shifting, shrinking & expanding..."

"What's shrinking & expanding?"

"It can shrink or expand to any size or dimension within limits. Smallest
dimension would be 1 cm in all directions. The largest is 10 meters in all
directions."

"That sounds good." Mr. Flitwick nodded and put the charm on. He explained
how to control the dimensions of the box.

"Would you like a musical box?"

Lily considered for a fleeting moment, to get James a really pretty box with
a really annoying song, but then decided it was stupid. "No," she said. Mr.
Flitwick nodded.

"Almost done. Would you like any anti-theft, alarm, anti-loss, or other
charms?"

"What's anti-loss?" Lily asked, curious. She'd never heard of it before.

"If the box is left in a certain place designated by the owner and is
removed from that place by anyone but the owner, it will return to that
place automatically after 48 hours. If it is left alone, and out-of-place
for a week it will return to its proper place. The designated place can
easily be determined by the owner by using a simple Placement Charm. Do you
know how to perform one?"

"Yes."

"I thought you would. Your friend would as well?"

"Yes."

"How do you like the sound of anti-loss?"

"I like it." Lily said. "How much for that?"

"Four Sickles."

"I'll take that." Mr. Flitwick put the charm on.

"Anything else you'd like?"

"No, thanks."

"That'll be two Galleons, seven Sickles, and five Knuts."

Almost three Galleons for a BOX?!?! Lily thought, but she shrugged and paid
up. He put it into a bag for her and waved her from the shop. She waved back
and started walking down the street, back towards Hogwarts.

As she walked, she thought about what she had just done. She had just paid
nearly three Galleons for a magical box. She had seriously considered size,
colors, and security options. And she'd had James's name put on in silver
lettering.

Walking down the street, carrying Christmas presents and her very expensive
box, Lily Evans burst into hysterical laughter and couldn't stop for nearly
five straight minutes.

* * *