Serendipity

Chapter 12: Twelve Nights of Christmas

By: Ruth3

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling's brilliant mind.

Author's Note: Here is another chapter after a month's delay. I had finals, play performances, dance recitals, and other schoolwork. I hope this chapter is satisfying, I really want to finish this fic within the month, whether that actually occurs or not – I guess I will just have to leave it to fate.

To my FAITHFUL reviewers:

DarthRoden – Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

EboniteEvans – I think the chapter eleven is the best as well. However, I hope this chapter turns out all right.

Green Animelover – Thank you for all of your kind words. I hope this chapter is up to par with your expectations.

"James," Lily breathed as she pushed him away. "We can't. I – I can't."

"Lily, why the bloody Hell not!"

"I-I have to go. I'm sorry."

James went to grab her hand, but Lily had slipped passed him. All that he was left with was a tingling sensation in his lips, and a view of beautiful red, auburn hair dancing in the wind.

November had finally passed, and it was almost mid-December. Lily had avoided James at all measures, she was too frightened to face him. Lily, to put it simply, was confused. Confused about everything. Confused about her family since she had yet to receive an invitation to come home for the holidays. Confused about her friends since recently they did not have a lot to say to her. Confused about her future since she still had yet to make her decision on what she wants to be once she leaves the safe and comforting grounds of Hogwarts. And most importantly, confused about her true feelings for James – whatever they may actually be.

The one thing that was comforting to Lily was the fact that December always brings snow. It was one constant in her life that she could always rely on, no matter what. She also liked the feeling of Christmas approaching, even if her family has yet to invite her home. She enjoyed staying up late in the common room just so she could sit on her favorite chair by the fireplace as everyone sleeps. It was a routine that she had done religiously for the pass few weeks. She would take her blanket, a book, and sometimes even conjure up a mug of hot chocolate just so she can let the warm flames consume her body and soul.

It was on one of these nights (December 14th, to be exact) that she was suddenly startled by a tapping noise on the window. She slowly got up with her blanket around her shoulders, and walked towards the window. She quietly opened the window, and allowed the owl to come in. However, instead, the owl just simply perched on the window sill and stuck out its foot. Lily saw that attached to its foot was a piece of rolled up parchment. She hesitantly removed the parchment from the owl's foot, and as soon as she did the owl let out a soft hoot and flew away. Lily then closed the window and resumed her spot by the fireplace with the piece of parchment tightly held in her hand.

After several moments of Lily trying to figure out why on earth an owl delivered a piece of parchment at night instead of at breakfast was over Lily's head. And more strangely, why the owl had delivered it right to the Gryffindor common room – it was something that she had never witnessed before.

Lily slowly unraveled the parchment and read,

Dearest Lily,

I assumed, since you are Muggle-born, you are familiar with 'Twelve Days of Christmas' that Muggles (so I've read) sometimes do before (and leading up to) Christmas.

I have recently observed you, and it saddens me to say that I have seen a very cheerless and bothered Lily Evans. So, in honor of the upcoming holiday I have decided that I will participate in this Muggle tradition, if you will, and send you something on every night leading up to Christmas. And on Christmas, well, let's just say I have a surprise for you.

So, here you are Lily Evans; a sickle for your thoughts and these little trinkets.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily read the letter over a few times before even attempting to make sense of it. Someone, she decided, was obviously out of his (or even possibly, her) mind. And her 'True Love' actually included a sicker for her thoughts! And, twelve tiny drummer boys who were enchanted to drum their drums for her. She couldn't help but laugh at this, how desperate this person must be. Yes, it might have been a sweet gesture to cheer her up but actually expecting her to write back was just absolutely absurd. Although, she decided, the charm work was incredibly brilliant.

For the rest of the night, Lily twirled the coin between her fingers and stared absent-mindedly into the dying fire. As she gathered her belongings to go up to the girls' dormitory, she couldn't help but just realize that she wasn't even curious to the slightest of who the person may be. For once, she was looking forward to the surprise.

The surprise, she imagined, that would never come.

The next morning, Lily woke up to sun beams softly peaking through her curtain hangings. She got out of bed, took a quick shower, grabbed her books and materials, and walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She seated herself between her friends, and helped herself to some toast and jam.

"What is with those drummer boys, Lily?" Sadie asked with every ounce of annoyance to her voice.

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

"The drummer boys who constantly DRUM!" Haylee bellowed.

"Oh," Lily replied. "They were a gift?"

"A gift?"

"Well, I guess," Lily said as she shrugged, "It's sort of complicated. I am sorry that they bothered you. I didn't realize they had been drumming so loudly…"

"Yes, well," Sadie said. "They were quite maddening, really. If you don't charm them tonight or stuff them in a sock then I am going to have to take extreme measures."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe throw them out the window?"

That night, Lily sat in the same spot she had been sitting at for the passed few weeks curious to see if she would receive another letter tonight. It was getting close to midnight, and she assumed that whomever it was obviously had no more intentions to send her anything. Maybe it had just been a joke, Lily thought.

No sooner than that thought crossed her mind, did Lily spot something sitting on the fireplace ledge that she could have sworn wasn't there minutes before. She got up, looked at the parcel that read, To: Lily Evans, Gryffindor Common Room and carefully lifted it up. She noticed that it was heavy as she sat back down on her comfortable chair.

As soon as she had opened the package, a letter dropped out. In the same handprint as the night before the letter read,

Dearest Lily,

I hope you liked the gifts I sent you last night. If the drummer boys begin to annoy you or your dorm mates (which I'm sure they will) then just simply stuff them into an old sock or something. The charm will wear out soon enough anyways. Also, I did not expect a reply from you, so do use that Sickle to buy some sweets the next time you're in Hogsmeade, okay?

I am sorry to inform you that I am unable to give you eleven items tonight. Instead, I leave you with just one. I hope that when you see it you will understand.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily delicately folded the letter and stuffed it into her robe pocket, and then spotted what she had been looking for. There, in the parcel, remained a slender object that was carefully wrapped. Once she undid the wrapping she realized why, the person had given her a semi-miniature mahogany pipe. Although she did not play the pipe, she could tell that it was a very delicate piece. It also looked quite ancient, something that would belong in a family for generations.

Once again, Lily gathered her things and went upstairs. She fell asleep with a smile on her face because somebody out there actually cared and that's all she really needed right now.

The next day was Saturday. Lily had done what she was advised to do about the drummer boys; shoved them into an unwanted sock. She kept the pipe on her nightstand, and she put the two letters in her drawer. She was tempted to send a letter to this giver, but decided that it was more interesting to keep it a one-way thing. Besides, the giver had specifically said he or she did not expect anything in return.

So, Lily decided that she would make the initiative to send her family a letter to make sure that everything was okay back home. She went to the Owlery and scribbled a quick, but concerned, note and sent it off with one of the school owls. After she spent a few minutes watched the owl soar off into the distance, she turned around. She spotted a familiar looking messy-haired boy that was hastily sending something as well.

Lily decided that she did not want to talk to him, so she sped off. However, just as she was about to pass him, he had turned around and they both collided. His letter went flying, and quite frankly, so did Lily.

"Watch where you're going!" He spat as he gathered his letter.

Lily, physically and emotionally hurt, mumbled a quick, "Sorry" as she rubbed her now tender arm.

"Lily?"

"James?"

"Oh, Lily!" James cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you! Here let me help you…" He reached out his hand, and Lily surprisingly took it.

"Well, I better be off," Lily stated as she smoothed out her robes. She then noticed a piece of parchment laying on the ground so she picked it up and was about to examine it when it was snatched out of her grasp.

"Er, that's private, you see," James stated as his free hand shot right up to ruffle his hair.

Lily smiled unsurely at him and then walked out, not understanding anything about what just had happened and why James lost his sangfroid.

For the third night in a row, Lily sat by the fire. Since she had been staying up so late the passed few days, she was actually asleep by the fire. Similar to the first night, a loud tapping began and it immediately woke Lily up. She groggily walked towards the window, opened it, removed the parcel from the owl, closed the window, and plopped herself back into her chair.

Dearest Lily,

I am sorry that I send these letters so late, I am sure you are losing quite a lot of your beauty sleep – but you still look beautiful to me, so maybe I am dreadfully mistaken.

Tonight's gift, if you will, was hard to come up with by following the Muggle tradition. I hope it still (hopefully) puts a smile on your face though. I did try my hardest. I actually had to ask my mum what she recommended doing.

Anyways, I am looking forward to Christmas… aren't you?

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily looked inside the parcel and saw another package that read: Ten Greeting Cards (Blank Inside!) – Men that Magically Leap! Lily couldn't help but laugh because sure enough on each card had a picture of a different man that magically leaped across the cover.

Lily couldn't help but think that whoever's mother it was, had to be extremely clever.

For the next six days, Lily had accumulated the following letters and gifts:

Dearest Lily,

I am going to give you specific directions that you must follow to find tonight's gift:

First, walk towards the back of the common room. There, you should see a chair that has three golden colored pillows. When you reach the chair, look underneath it. You should see a large package that holds tonight's surprise.

I would have sent it via owl, but it would have weighed the owl down so much that the owl probably would have been killed.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

As the person had instructed, there had been a package. When Lily opened the package she let out a gasp. For inside, was a music box that had nine dancing figurines and the music box just happened to play the most beautiful song she had ever heard.

Dearest Lily,

This is an absolutely terrible gift. I had no idea what-so-ever, and my mum has yet to reply to my rushed letter.

I hope this gift doesn't cause you to hate me. Yes, it is that bad.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Although the gift was different than the rest, Lily still found it to be beautiful. It was a drawing of eight maids milking. It was something she knew her grandmother would appreciate because of its detailed lining and shading.

Dearest Lily,

I actually had this one from the beginning. I think it was one of the reasons why I started this whole idea. Not the main reason though, that I will tell you on the first day of Christmas – so, Christmas itself.

Please don't feel like you have to actually make use of this, but I hope you do. It would give me the impression that you did not loathe the last gift too much, and therefore you do not loathe me.

You looked beautiful today, by the way. Your eyes seemed to sparkle a little more today. It was something I missed seeing.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily did not know whether to feel flattered by the last paragraph, her frightened. Lily couldn't help but think this person might be stalking her. Then again, why would he or she? And yes, Lily had been happier that day – she finally received word from her family. They had not sent her a letter due to the fact that her sister, Petunia, was planning for her wedding. Lily's parents thought it would be best that Lily stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays so Petunia wouldn't ruin her holidays since Petunia would be at the house every day and every night. Lily completely agreed.

When Lily saw that night's gift, she first thought to send it back. It was a beautiful silver bracelet that had seven charms – each one of them a beautiful swan. Lily immediately put it on her wrist and vowed to never remove it, it was too beautiful to not be worn; even if the person sent it to her was a murderous criminal that just happened to be stalking her.

Dearest Lily,

I know this gift won't be the most flattering, but hopefully it won't be totally wasted. Please try to find some use out of it.

I take the fact that since you wore the charm bracelet today that that means you liked it. I'm glad it fit well. I must say it looked stunning on your tiny wrist.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

And although the giver had a point of that night's gift, Lily knew that she would use them at some point. For that night, he or she had given her three pairs of earrings that had geese on them; for a total of six geese. It was clever, but Lily wasn't too fond of geese, especially since she had been attacked by one as a young girl. However, the golden egg that was placed on each earring was simply beautiful. A girl could never turn down jewelry.

Dearest Lily,

Whatever your first thoughts may be, do not worry – I am not asking you to do anything. Not yet anyway.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

There, on the fireplace mantel, had sat five maroon boxes. Lily assumed the first thoughts the giver was talking about had to do with marriage. Lily opened each one to find a golden ring, but each one held its own texture, design, and elegance. She was beginning to wonder how much this person was spending on her.

Dearest Lily,

I have a feeling that this gift will confuse you. But Lily, in due time it will make sense – that I promise you.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily was given four objects that resembled birds and looked like keys. She was, indeed, confused. When she went to bed that night, she put them in her drawer not knowing what else to do with them.

By this time, most of the students had left school to visit their families for the holidays. All of Lily's friends had departed the day before, and it seemed so did most of the other Gryffindors. She thought it was because this would be the last year that parents would be able to force their child(ren) home for the holidays before they faced the world themselves.

Dearest Lily,

We are getting closer to the closing of this ordeal! I just wish I knew how you felt right now. I feel terribly nervous and excited all at once.

Anyways, here is tonight's gift. I thought you would find some use for it.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Although that night's gift wasn't as ravishing as all the rests, it was still very sentimental. The person had enclosed three bookmarks; each one had a silver charm of a hen that dangled from a string. The person, obviously, had to have known that Lily loved to read and she was constantly bending down pages to bookmark her spot in a book. She was happy to see that someone actually noticed.

Then, there was the most recent letter that had come that night at Lily sat by the fire reading a book and using one of her new bookmarks:

Dearest Lily,

Tomorrow's letter will give you instructions to your big surprise. I am now quite nervous, and as I write this my palms are sweaty and my hands are shaking. How will you react tomorrow? What will you say? What will you do?

I hope you enjoy this gift. I think it's my favorite so far. I guess I will find out tomorrow if you liked it or not.

I have been watching you for eleven days now, Lily Evans and you fascinate me – there is no other way to state it. Your every movement, sound, facial expression, gesture… you just simply amaze me.

And I hope that I will be able to amaze you, too.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

When Lily finished reading the letter, something light landed in her lamp since it must have fallen from the contents on the parcel. On a silver chain hung two small, silver doves, and in between the two doves was a tiny, diamond heart. Lily stared at it for a few minutes – it was beautiful. She gathered her hair into a loose bun and carefully clasped the necklace around her neck. It slid gently down her collarbone and the doves dropped all the way to the middle of her chest – directly center from her actual heart.

Lily went to bed that night with pleasant dreams of what would happen the following day.

Lily awoke early to see presents at the end of her bed. She opened them quickly and received quite a lot of nice new things. She had received a matching knitted hat and scarf from Clara, a box of Chocolate Frogs and The Creation of The Sweetest Sweets from Sadie, a new bottled-green cardigan from Haylee, a few clothing articles from her parents, and a new quill from Petunia. It wasn't a lot, but Lily didn't need a lot. Besides, she had been getting a gift every night for the pass eleven nights.

Lily decided to spend Christmas outside by the lake. Although it was snowing, she felt like she needed fresh air that she had recently been neglecting. She spent the entire afternoon reading the new book that Sadie had bought her.

After a few hours of reading, Lily walked to Hagrid's house to say a quick hello and wish him a Happy Christmas. He returned the greetings, and offered her some of his fudge but she knew better than to accept. So instead, Hagrid walked her to the Great Hall for the Christmas feast.

The Great Hall was decorated quickly extravagantly this year. There were four Christmas trees that were over twenty feet high and each one was directed to resemble each of the four houses. There were reefs everywhere and random mistletoe. The decorations were just beautiful, and Lily realized that she felt more at home here at Hogwarts than at her own home at Christmas-time.

After dinner, Lily went up to the common room to find it completely vacant. For what seemed like the thousandth time, she decided to curl up with a book by the fireplace to await her surprise – if the person would actually follow through.

Sure enough, at about eleven o'clock there was a tapping on the window. Lily removed the letter and was too excited to go sit down to read it, so she unfolded it right on the spot and read,

Dearest Lily,

So, tonight's the night. You must be wondering what the surprise is. Well, I would tell you – but it is, after all, a surprise. If you follow these simple directions then you will soon discover what it is:

Find the largest tree in the common room and walk towards it. Once you approach it, look for a large ornament that resembles a pear. (Sorry I had to improvise on this one). Remove the ornament from the tree, and I trust that you will know what to do from there.

Sincerely,

Your True Love

Lily slowly scanned the common room to spot the largest tree. However, it seemed that the four trees that were in the room were all close to size. Realizing that this must be a joke, she decided she would have to search each one. The first two trees had nothing remotely like a pear. However, when she reached the third she saw it glistening in the candlelight. How she didn't spot it before, she had no idea. She stepped forward, unhurriedly removed the ornament from the tree, and stared at it intently for what seemed like hours.

She let out a breath of air since it seemed that she had been holding it for the entire time. She noticed that there was a lock on the ornament, and realized what exactly the purpose of the keys were. She put the ornament back on the tree and ran up to her dormitory and grabbed all four keys. When she came back down, she slowed her pace and approached the tree once again.

Inhaling (but not exhaling) she removed the ornament for the second time that night. She tried each key and finally the last one worked. The ornament opened and there was a piece of parchment. Confused, Lily read it under her breath,

"'Dearest Lily,

This is the final letter from me. I am actually sad as I write this knowing that I will probably never be able to do this again. I only have one last thing to tell you:

Turn around.'"

Lily slowly turned around and saw a bouquet of lilies being held by none other than James Potter. He looked nervous and seemed like he was fighting the urge to ruffle his already untidy hair.

"James?" Lily questioned, awed.

"Lily?" James said as he seemed to have found strength that had momentarily left him because at that precise moment, he started walking towards her. "These, these flowers are for you."

Lily took the flowers and stared at them, not knowing what to think or say.

"They reminded me of you – with the whole sharing the same name, and their simple yet complex elegance and beauty."

"Thank you, James," Lily quietly whispered as she finally met his gaze. "For everything."

James smiled at her as he noticed that the charm bracelet was still around her wrist, and he saw the silver chain of the necklace which meant that she was wearing it too.

"I see you like your gifts."

"Yes, they're lovely."

They stood there for a while just staring into each other's eyes – where soft hazel meets emerald green. Lily was trying to put her emotions in place, and at the same time she saw James Potter in a completely new light.

"Come here," Lily whispered softly as she set the flowers down so she could grab James' hand. She led him to the Portrait Hole.

"Lily, it's after – " James stated, confused.

"Shh," Lily breathed. Once they were outside of the common room, she all of a sudden stopped and locked eyes with James.

"Look up," she commanded.

James continued to stare at her for a few seconds and then finally looked up. And he finally realized why Lily had led him there even though it was after hours for she had kissed him. She, Lily Evans, had kissed James Potter as they stood together under the mistletoe. And this time, she didn't stop him or tell him that they couldn't or that she couldn't. She kissed him passionately, yet delicately; savoring each moment her lips made contact with his.

It was the best Christmas she ever had. And it was all thanks to James Potter, James Potter who she had romantic feelings for. So finally, she wasn't so confused after all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another chapter. Only a few more to go until it is complete! Finally, I must admit. This chapter took me all night to write, I'm not even exaggerating. So sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors, I was too lazy to check. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was cute; then again I'm easily impressed. Well, sometimes. Happy February! Much love, Ruth xoxo.