Sooooooooo. I'm super sorry that I haven't updated in multiple years. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for it.

Waking up, I pushed myself into a sitting position, yawning and stretching as I did. I had totally knocked out after getting back to the dorm last night. I smiled, remembering that today was Christmas Eve. Grabbing my clothes, I hurriedly got dressed once I realized I had overslept. The staircase had been redecorated overnight. The garland was more intricate, with a larger amount of berries and added icicles. It also had an overpowering smell. Hopefully, it won't smell like this in the common room. Slamming the door open, I closed it violently as I gasped in a breath of fresh air, thankful that the commons hadn't been polluted by the smell.

"What the hell, Evans?" Potter asked.

"It didn't smell like gingerbread hell in the boy's staircase?"

"No," Sirius replied, innocent look on his face.

"Potter!" I yelled.

"Hey, it was his idea, not mine! I had nothing to do with that one!"

That one? "What the hell have you two done, other than that bullshit in the staircase?" I asked, sitting down.

"Ohhh, Evans, you better watch your language, with your being a Head Girl and such," Sirius said, a glint of laughter in his eyes.

"Good Lord! You four can't even take a break on Christmas?"

"It's Christmas Eve, Lily. And I haven't done anything. Peter's been too lazy to. So it's just the two of them," Remus replied. "If you look up, you'll see some of Jamesies' handiwork."

I looked up. The celling was coated in mistletoe. "What? Why, Potter, why?"

"Longbottom and Alice."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We might as well just say 'Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. We all know what's gonna happen once school is over."

We all giggled. "Yeah, they've been dating since beginning of third year, right?" James asked.

"You can actually say they have longer than that. They've liked each other since first year, and were almost always hanging out. Our first trip to Hogsmead was their first date, and it's been an official relationship ever since," Remus answered.

I rolled my eyes. And right as I was about to reply, Alice and Mary walked through the portrait hole, with Frank right behind them. "Their ears must have been burning," I whispered to James, remus, and Sirius.

"What'd you say, Lily?"

"Nothing important, Mary," I smiled.

"Why are you hanging out with these three?" she joked. "And where's Peter?"

"I was going to find you, but I got sidetracked by these three. And Alice and Frank, James put a present on the ceiling for you."

Slightly puzzled looks on their faces, they looked up. I smiled as Alice turned pink, Frank holding back his laughter.

"Are you sure that wasn't for you and Lily, James?" Alice said, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why do you ask?" James replied.

Alice just looked at him, a deadpan expression on her face. I sighed, rolling my eyes. I grabbed my wand and vanished the mistletoe, eliciting a sound of disappointment from James. "Oh, hush," I told him. "Sirius, could you please get rid of the gingerbread hell on the staircase?" I asked, using my puppy dog eyes.

"No."

I flipped him off. I would get him to do it, one way or another.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Evans; you're not going to get anywhere with manners like that," he said, awe in his eyes.

I grinned, knowing that I had won the argument. Just a few more pushes throughout the day, and the staircase's pollution would be gone by bedtime. We all settled into a pleasant silence, soaking in the warmth of the fire, only speaking now and then.

"Any of you ready for lunch? I just realized I forgot to get breakfast." Cue stomach growl.

"Jeeze, Lily, it sounds like a werewolf is in your stomach!" Sirius shouted.

"Christ, Sirius, we're RIGHT HERE," Remus replied.

"Whatever, Sirius," I replied.

"I want lunch, too," Remus said, standing up.

Sirius jumped up, running to the portrait hole. He flung it open, causing the Fat Lady to shout in protest. We all followed him, some of us rolling our eyes. James apologized for Sirius's behavior, but she just turned her nose up, replying with a 'hmpf' as we walked away.

Reaching the great hall, we all sat together, chatting idly as we fixed out plates and began to eat. "This treacle tart is really good," I said.

"Of course you'd think that," James snorted. "You always eat an entire plate."

"I do not!"

"Okay, okay, only half a plate."

Huffing, I replied, "Oh, shut up, James."

"So you're admitting he's right, Lily?" piped a voice behind me.

"Hey, Wormtail," Sirius welcomed. "What kept you so busy? Sleep? Something else?"

"I was waiting for an owl. My mom said she'd send me a special one."

"What, to our dorm room?" Remus asked.

"Oh. Um, yeah. That's why it was special…"

"Hush. Don't lie; you were just sleeping," James said, chuckling.

"It wasn't a lie!" Peter exclaimed.

"Fine, whatever you say," Sirius said, shoving a biscuit into Peter's mouth as Peter sat beside him. Peter grabbed on to it, nodding a thanks.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Boys.

"I know. Boys are dumb," Mary said. She, Alice, and I were constantly of the same wavelength. It freaked out some people, but we didn't care.

Frank, smiling, warmly replied, "I'll take that as a compliment, Mary."

Mary smiled back. "You weren't included, Frank. Unlike those four—no, wait, three—you're actually mature. Sorry, Remus, I didn't mean to include you."

Remus just waved his hand, brushing of the comment like he was batting away a fly. "It's alright, Mary. I still choose to hang out with them," he smiled.

After lunch, we went back to the dorms, excluding Peter, who went to the Owlery for some reason. I guess he was still waiting for that 'special owl' he had mentioned. The afternoon flew by, with Peter returning to the commons around two hours after lunch. Around eleven, we all retired to our respective dorms. Wondering what presents I'd wake up to, and how my friends would react to theirs, I fell asleep almost immediately.

. . .

I jumped up, suddenly awake. I hate waking up like that. It's happened plenty since You-Know-Who has gotten so powerful. However, it didn't lessen my desire to become an auror. I took a deep dreath, eyes closed. It was just a nightmare. You can deal with having nightmares. Letting the breath out, I opened my eyes and crawled to the end of my bed.

"Morning, Mary. Morning, Alice. Merry Christmas!"

Alice, a concerned look on her face, asked, "You okay? I heard the way you woke up."

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I smiled, grabbing a gift. It was from Mary and Alice. I opened it; smiling when I saw it was the robe set I'd seen at Madam Malkin's. "You two remembered that this is the set I loved!" I said joyfully, running my fingers over the navy blue fabric of the hat and robe. The miniscule golden stars on it almost glowed in the soft light fin the room.

"Of course we did, silly!" Mary replied, opening her gift from Alice and me. She gasped, staring at the set of gobstones. She was talented at the game, and had started the Hogwarts gobstone club. Squealing, she bounced onto my bed and crushed me with a hug.

"You guys! This must have been super expensive! More than both of your gifts!" Alice said, Staring at the necklace we had gotten her. She toyed with the red teardrop shaped pendant and its golden chain. "It's beautiful! And I love how it's in the House colors," she smiled.

"What did Frank give you?" I asked.

"Right now, all I have is a note telling me I'll get my present in the commons."

James and I had actually decided to give each other gifts this year, so I reached out for the package with his name on it. I had gotten him a pair of high quality chaser gloves, despite the fact that his last Quiddich season had ended. I had seen him use his beat up pair outside of the Quiddich pitch many times before, so I knew they'd get used. But when I opened what he had gotten me, I suddenly felt kinda embarrassed about getting him those gloves. He had given me a bracelet. It had a small silver chain with a small, star-shaped amethyst charm. I smiled, slipping it on, taking note of how the chain was sturdy, despite its delicate look. Then, noticing that Mary and Alice had stopped talking, I looked up.

"Who's that from?" Alice asked.

I blushed. "James," I whispered.

"It's really pretty," Alice replied.

"Yeah," Mary added.

"Well," I cleared my throat, "do you want to get dressed and head down to the commons? Even I'm ready to see what Frank got for you."

"Of course!" she smiled.

"We all got dressed, Alice wearing the necklace we had given her; I was wearing the hat they had given me. And I hadn't taken off the bracelet from James. Walking down the staircase, I touched the star on the bracelet.

We opened the door, and saw the boys fooling around, tossing wrapping paper at each other, or enchanting it to fly back at whoever had thrown it at them; all doing their best to know off one another's Father Christmas hats off. Frank stopped as soon as he saw Alice.

He jolted up. "Hey, Alice. Good morning." He smiled nervously.

We got over to the couch, and just as soon as we began to sit down, Frank grabbed Alice's hand. Then, he knelt down on his knee. I widened my eyes, wondering if what I was thinking would happen, would actually happen.

"Alice," he started, "we've been together since our third year, and we've been friends since our first day here at Hogwarts. You're the most important person in my life, and I'm hoping you feel the same. And if you do," he pulled out a box, opening it to reveal a ring, "will you give me the honor of becoming my wife?" he gulped, face flushed.

Everyone was frozen, surprised, waiting to hear Alice's answer.

Looking shocked, Alice started crying silently, tears running down her face. She covered her mouth; tried to wipe away all her tears. "Yes, Frank," she said, her voice wavering. "I love you. I always have, and I always will. I will marry you."

Frank slipped the ring on her finger, beginning to cry himself. He stood up and kissed her, holding her in his arms. The rest of us sat in silence, gaping at the couple.

Finally, the silence was broken. "Wow. I knew that this was going to happen, but I didn't think it was gonna happen THIS SOON. I thought it was gonna happen after graduation," Sirius said, voice filled with surprise.

"I've been planning to since Halloween," Frank replied. "I've been communicating with her parents, asking for their blessing, and they helped me pick out the ring."

"Well, congratulations, mate!" James shouted, grinning.

"That's great!" Remus said. "Why'd you decide to go ahead and do it now, though? If it's okay for me to ask."

"The world's going crazy outside these walls. So I decided I'd do it at a peaceful time; graduation would be too hectic,' he said, eyes brimming with joy. Alice hugged him once more, and they sat, holding hands. I hugged her, Mary leaning over me as she did the same.

When James came over to shake Frank's hand, I saw that he was wearing the gloves I had gotten him. Without thinking, I touched the charm on the bracelet he had given me. I smiled. He must have seen me do it out of the corner of his eyes, because he spoke to me next.

"You like what I got you, Lily? I really like these gloves. Thank you," he smiled, his voice soft and warm.

"Yes," I blushed. "It's beautiful."

He smiled, and it lit up his entire face. Seeing that it made him THAT happy, I started blushing deeply. "I'm really glad you like it," he said.

I was interrupted before I could tell him I was glad he liked what I had given him. "AWWW! LOOK AT YOU TWO! HAVING A SPECIAL MOMENT! It wasn't as sweet as Alice and Frank's, though," Sirius yelled, sticking out his tongue once he finished it.

"I think it was cute," Alice grinned.

"Whatever." I smiled, and then stuck my tongue out at both of them.

After the excitement of the morning (and lunch—the professors had seen Alice's ring), the rest of the day was pretty calm.

Turns out, we all sat in commons, talking until past eleven. Everyone but James and I went to bed. I was too comfortable in this smooshy chair to get up. I have no idea why James didn't, unless he just wanted to hang out, which was fine with me. I smiled, wondering what my first or second year self would think of this. Most likely, it would be a mix of disbelief and irritation.

"What's making you smile like that?" James asked.

"Just thinking of what my younger self would think of me willingly hanging out with you."

He grinned. "My younger self would be surprised that you were willingly hanging out with me, and he'd be on cloud nine about your liking the gift. I am right now, actually."

"I think my younger self would be surprised, too; just not in the same way as younger James.' I smiled sleepily. "We've all changed so much since then. It's pretty awesome."

"Yeah," he agreed.

We sat in silence for a while. I was turning around a decision in my head, think up a storm. What if he laughs? What if that isn't what he wants anymore? I hope that if I ask, he won't laugh. And if he turns me down, I hope he does it gently. I took a deep breath. "Hey, James?"

"Yeah, Lily?" he replied sleepily.

"Um…" I took a deep breath. "If that offer for a date from all these past years still stands, I… Uh…" I gulped. "…I finally accept."

Silence. I begin to feel uncomfortable, so I sit up and look at James.

"Yes," he replied softly. "That offer is still valid. And I'm glad you accept." His face broke out into a giant grin. We can go to Hogsmead together, once next semester starts! Or we can hang out on New Year's Eve!"

I grinned back. "New Year's Eve sounds amazing."

"Awesome." He smiled, looking a bit dopey. "Well, it's been a really long day, so I hate to cut it short, but I'm ready to go to bed."

I held back a snort and an eyeroll, knowing he wanted to wake the others and tell them I had finally said yes to a date. "Okay, James. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he went to his dorms, almost running. I just smiled, and curled up in the chair even more.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. :) If you enjoyed reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it, I'll be a happy girl. Please review. :)