Deck the halls... {open}

[Katie]

Ah, the holidays. A time where children at Hogwarts are sent home to their families for all sorts of Christmas cheer, and jolly laughing. Well, for most kids at least. This year James' parents decided to take a little vacation with just themselves and go to lovely Bermuda to enjoy the sun and warmth. Meanwhile, James was sitting in the ever-freezing Great Hall, watching the professors put up the huge Christmas tree, and at times lending a hand.

It's not that James had anything against Hogwarts, it was just that he was expecting to see his parents this break but was then sorely denied. Albus and Lily had expected to be welcomed back home as well, but the three Potter siblings had been resorted to a Christmas by themselves. But, James would just have to suck it up and make the best of it. He was sure some of his buddies had stuck around too, so he'd find them later. As of right now, one poor, short professor seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting the star atop the tree.

"Oi! Would you like some help with that?" James said to the professor, slowly standing up from his spot on the benches. He took out his wand and muttered, "Wingardrium Leviosa" and up the star went, settling itself on the top of the tree. He smiled and nodded at the teacher, the both of them admiring the work done on the tree.

[Lily Luna Potter]

Holidays were a time when the youngest Potter was the utmost happiness. Christmas meant that for a week or two, she could be at home - with her family. She loved visiting with all her cousins, aunts, and uncles. Plus, she loved the fact she got to sleep in her own room for awhile. Sharing one room with four or five other girls for an entire term got a bit dull and annoying after awhile. Especially when they all started fighting - that never ended very pretty.

Since Harry and Ginny had sent their three children news that their Christmas would be altered from the norm, Lily had been in the most foulest mood. She almost felt abandoned, something she knew her parents would never do. Lily always thought that children who stayed behind during the Holidays were unwanted, or orphans, or something of that nature. Lily sent her parents about a hundred little notes since they sent the news, trying to find some way to be able to come home. Alas, each time they wrote back they all said the same - sorry but, it's final.

Lily stalked into the Great Hall, not being in a festive mood. Honestly, she didn't know why she came to the hall. She knew it would be decorated for the holiday, and would just put her in a worse mood. Then again, Lily had never really seen the Great Hall around this time - other than the breakfast before they left for the break. Just maybe it could raise her spirits a bit.

As Lily walked in, she was amazed at just how beautiful the hall looked. It was almost unrecognizable. Great, big pines lined the walls. Each one was fabulously decorated in red, green, blue, silver, and gold ornaments. Each were strung with hundreds of twinkling white lights, and at the top, each tree had it's own shining star that seemed to light the room. The ceiling was bewitched, showing a gorgeous, steady powdering of white snow. There were boughs of holly, and even mistletoe streaming all over the place. Plus, each row of table had centerpieces of candles wrapped with pine boughs, and holly.

The sight caused Lily to rise her spirits a little. At least the sight had produced a small, small, smile. She was still, however, in a rather salty mood. Lily's brown eyes scanned across the hall, admiring the decor, when her eyes fell upon a very tall, familiar figure. Lily knew instantly it was James. Her eyes lit up, as she almost forgot that her brothers were stuck here too. As quietly as she could, Lily progressively made her way toward James, hoping she could scare him from behind. Once she was close, she tip-toed the rest of way. In one small leap, she jumped up on his back and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?" she said, suppressing a giggle.

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[Katie]

James absent-mindedly brushed some of the snow that had fallen from the enchanted ceiling out of his hair. It was wonderful. Though snow, it didn't freeze him like it would if he was standing outside in the rapidly falling and collecting snowflakes. Instead it was actually pretty warm, making James feel somewhat comfortable; yeah the snow was warm but little could be said of the atmosphere in the Great Hall. Thinking of the outside caused an involuntary shudder. James had never been one for the cold.

His mind wandered while staring at the star on top of the glittering and shining tree, going back to stories of the Christmases his father had had, and told him. The ones he remembered most were the stories from his father's first and fourth year, because they were the ones James had always asked to be retold. The story of Harry's first real Christmas, and the story about the Yule Ball and how wonderfully awkward it had been. He chuckled as he remembered his father and himself laughing hysterically about his Uncle Ron's dress robes. According to Ron, they were absolutely hideous. What was even better was Aunt Hermione agreed. James had laughed for days.

Thinking of his family caused a slightly tortured sigh to escape him, realizing he wasn't going to be able to hear those stories again this year. Although he'd never admit it because of his pride of being older, he still enjoyed hearing his father tell them over and over again to his younger brother and sister. These thoughts made him remember that he was not quite as alone as he thought he was this year, because he still had his siblings.

James shook himself out of his consuming thoughts and just looked at the tree again. Except, he was instantly interrupted by something small jumping on his back with quite a bit of force, and his vision being impaired by two small hands. Grinning, he answered the all-too-familiar voice. "Hmm...I dunno. Tiny hands, forceful body, and...red hair by the looks of it..." He could see through her fingers kind of. "Could it be...Lily?" He gently removed the hands from his eyes and turned his head around to look. "Aha! I'm right every time."

[Lily Luna Potter]

Lily grinned at him, and nodded. As much as she tried, James always knew it was her. She hugged from behind, partially so she wouldn't fall. "How do you always guess?" she asked, and sighed theatrically. Carefully, Lily slide down James' back, back to solid ground. She hadn't realized how much smaller she was compared to her eldest brother. Lily had to look up in order to see him properly.

"So..." she said with a small grin, completely forgetting that she had been in a sour mood. "What did you get me for Christmas?" Lily had always been a snoop when it came to her presents. When it came to be that time of year, she went searching through their entire house, looking of unwrapped presents. Usually, she'd find them - as over time, she got good at it. Eventually, her parents used magic to hide them from her. Otherwise, Lily would find them, and play with them - if they were toys or something. Since she couldn't snoop much anymore, she tried to slip in little questions here and there, attempting to get either her parents or brothers to let it slip out.

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[Katie]

Mischievously he grinned at his little sister and shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Lily. Maybe when you're older." He laughed loudly and turned around to face her, as she had slipped down his back and onto the ground. "Actually, wait a second. What year are you again?" He joked with Lily. He knew fully well what grade she was in. He didn't wait for her answer, either."Fourth, right. Okay well, to be truthful, your hands never do a very good job in covering my eyes, and I can always see a lock of that vibrant long, Weasley hair." He laughed again. He always found it peculiar that she was the only redheaded Potter sibling.

"What, you don't like surprises?" What and who was he asking this ridiculous question? Of course she didn't like surprises! Lily spent a good part of her Christmas holidays searching anywhere and everywhere for the presents their parents had hid so cleverly. On many occasions, Lily actually found the presents, ruining her Christmas completely, but it seemed she didn't care very much. Now their parents hid the presents with magic, which was the smartest thing they could do in a situation like this.

"Nice try, Lils, but your not getting it out of me this time." She had once actually coerced what her present was out of James, making James immediately regret answering her question. "You'll just have to wait till Christmas Day like everyone else to find out what you got."

[Lily Luna Potter]

Lily scowled at James. How she ended up being the only Potter with red hair was one without an answer. She punched James playfully in the arm, not like it would hurt him. Lily probably couldn't hit hard enough too hurt him. "Well, no one can miss that thing called you're face," she said with a small smirk. OK, that wasn't the greatest of come backs but, it was what came to mind first.

Lily stamped her foot and pouted. She hated having to wait to open her presents. Time just went by so slow, and she could feel them calling out her name. Sometimes she swore those wrapped packages called out her name. A little crazy, yes, but that's just Lily. Normal, but, with a side of crazy once in while. "Aw, come on..I promise I'll act surprised," she whined. Even though she was a grown girl of fourteen, she couldn't help but act a little childish this time of year - especially around her brothers.

"I wanted to get you a new broom but, Daddy wouldn't let me," she said, switching tactics. Lily thought that if maybe she talked about his present, he'd talk about hers. If he didn't' say it outright, she was sure she'd pick up enough clues to figure it out. Horrible and sneaky as it was, Lily couldn't help it. The thought of waiting made Christmas morning seem like ages away.

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[Katie]

James grabbed his arm and feigned pain when the little devil hit him. Then he grinned widely and tussled her hair, causing it to become a bit of a mess. "Hey! My face is flawless." He smirked and closed his eyes, turning his head so she could see his profile. Raising his eyebrow, he peeked at her and then started laughing. "You're getting a bit rusty with those comebacks, Lils. You need to spend a little bit more time with me and the guys. Brush up on your skills."

The way she stomped her foot and pouted reminded him of when she was younger and didn't get her way. "Uh uh uh, Lily. That puppy dog face won't get it out of me. You're gonna wait as patiently as you can. That way you'll enjoy Christmas morning that much more." He couldn't blame her though. There was a time when he was even more impatient than her, and practically begged his mother and father to tell him what they got him. But that was just one year that happened, and he really wanted that broom.

Almost as if she could read his thoughts, Lily mentioned something about getting him a broom. "Of course he wouldn't. He wouldn't let you spend all your savings on a new broom for me, especially when I just got the best broom there is on the market right now." He grinned, realizing he hadn't told Lily about the broom yet, and that the broom was the best. He was just itching to go take it for a spin later. "You wanna go on a ride on it later?"

[Lily Luna Potter]

"Hey..." Lily whined as James tussled her hair. "Do you have any idea how long it takes me in the morning to straighten my hair?!" she squeaked at him. In reality, Lily had quite tamable hair, unlike her brother dearest. She only really spent about fifteen minutes with her hair, if she chose to wear it down like today. Still, you can't go messing up a girls hair like that.

Lily's puppy face quickly turned into a furious frown. "No, I won't. I'm gonna find out what you got me. I'll just go ask Al, he can never keep a good secret from me," she said, and stuck her tongue out at James. That was a bit of a lie, though she probably would go ask Albus later, she just didn't know if he would actually tell her. Lily sighed and crossed her arms, and then groaned, "But, I could enjoy Christmas morning just as much knowing what's under the wrapping paper."

Lily perked up, and looked at James curiously. She had no clue he'd gotten a broom. She should know things like that, it puzzled her as to why she didn't know. "They got you a broom?!" she asked, in a high pitched voice - one she often used when finding out bits of information like this. It was no wonder her parents wouldn't let her get it for him. Instead she had to settle for a broom maintenance kit and some candies. "Of course I wanna ride it," she said with a twinge of jealously in her voice. Lily was a fan of flying, just not a big fan of playing quidditch. She'd play in the family games over the summer holiday but, she never really applied her skills to the Gryffindor team. Lily just didn't think she was good enough to make the team. Plus, quidditch seemed to be James' thing so, she let him have it.

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[Katie]

"Well, I figure it's not quite fair how non-messy your hair is, when mine is like this." He pointed to his hair that was not cooperating and sticking out in all different places, making him look disheveled. Grinning, he ran his hand through his hair, not helping at all to keep it tame. How Lily ended up with the tamable and flaming red hair of the Weasley's, while James inherited the black, disheveled hair was beyond him. Albus was lucky. He had black hair like James but it was a lot more tame than James's.

James frowned at the next statement; he had completely forgotten about his little brother and how terrible he was at keeping secrets. "Damn, I shoulda never told him..." he muttered to himself quietly. His eyes narrowed at Lily and then he smirked. "I'll just make sure to talk to him before you have a chance too." Looking at the gorgeous Christmas trees, he sighed and said, "Really, Lily. Must you do everything in your power to find out what your presents are? That just takes the fun out of it." He fake-pouted at his little sister.

"Actually, baby sister, I got me a broom." With his chest puffed out proudly he remembered the day clearly when he bought the world's best broom...and then he let the air out slowly. Oh yeah, he remembered that day. That was the day he talked to Katherine for the first time. He frowned slowly, remembering how things went with her. He completely blew his chances, and now she was dating his cousin. Shaking his head of the depressing thoughts, he looked at his sister. "I saved up my money and bought it. It took all the money, plus a little help from Dad, but I got it."

"We'll take it out for a spin later. You know, I keep telling you this, but with the way you fly you would dominate the quidditch team. Plus, I think Mum and Dad would just love to hear that another Potter made the team."

[Lily Luna Potter]

"I think it's perfect fair. I got the better genes," she said with a smirk. Without much effort, Lily was able to return her hair to it's smooth state. She quite frankly loved her red hair. It set her apart from her brothers, genetically dominated by Weasley genes. She didn't really care about all that nonsense. Lily knew very well that she was a Weasley and a Potter, and she was really proud about it.

Lily eyes widened in excitement. "Not if I get to Al first," she said with a broad grin. The only problem with getting to Albus first was finding him. Lily frowned at James' pout. "You really don't know what fun it, James. It's twice as fun trying to discover what your presents are - and three times as fun opening them. Even if you know what's under the paper." It was much more fun for Lily to figure out what her presents were - it was like solving a mystery, which were sometimes unsolvable ahead of time.

Lily jaw dropped for a second, but she quickly regained her composure. "Did you happen to buy that broom because you were wallowing over that girl...oh, what's her name?" Lily distinctly remembered hearing something, somewhere, from someone that James had talked to some girl. Apparently, things hadn't gone well for her elder brother. She grinned, hoping to uncover the real story.

Lily shook her head. "I really would like to play, James but, there isn't any room on the team for me. Besides, I don't care for the game as much as you and Albus do." Lily smiled at the thought of playing quidditch with James and Albus. It definitely would make the Gryffindor team nearly unstoppable. Again, there was no room on the team for little Lily. She would just have to wait until next term for a spot, if she decided to.

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