A/N: This is an idea I've been playing around with for a while – a series of 24 unconnected Lily/James drabbles, one for each hour of the day. They won't be in chronological order – well, they will, in a way... The relationship isn't portrayed in order, but the hours will be. If that made sense... Also, the Lily and James featured in each drabble will be the same.

This idea has probably been done before, but I haven't read any stories like this, so I'm not plagiarising (least not intentionally).

MIDNIGHT: Seventh Year

It was almost midnight on New Year's Eve, and the Head Students' Common Room was crowded with sixth and seventh years, writhing and dancing to the music issuing from enchanted speakers hidden some place or the other. Lily Evans, Head Girl, figured she was the only one still sober – the Butterbeer, Firewhiskey and other more or less alcoholic drinks had been flowing freely all night, and it wasn't like Hogwarts students to stay away, especially not if it was a special occasion such as New Year's.

She thought she was the only one still sober, until her boyfriend of exactly one week walked towards her.

James Potter, Head Boy and Quidditch captain, was walking perfectly straight, and Lily knew that while he was an excellent Chaser and all-round coordinated person when sober, the tiniest bit of alcohol could and probably would make him literally dance around. If James Potter was walking straight, he was stone cold sober.

He walked right up to where she was half-hiding on the lowest of three stairs that led to her room and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Lily replied. "Why aren't you partying your guts out?"

"Why aren't you?" he countered.

"I just... Didn't feel like it today. Besides, most of these people are completely plastered – someone needs to watch out for them, make sure no one does anything stupid."

"And you, being Lily Evans, naturally signed up for that role."

"And I, being Lily Evans, naturally signed up for that role," she agreed.

"Well, Lily Evans, there's this one thing I was thinking of doing... And guess what? You can do it completely sober, if you'd like. In fact, it's probably even better that we're completely sober."

"And what might that be?" Lily asked, half dreading the answer.

"My dear Lily," James said, sitting down next to her and taking her hand. "I want to make our relationship public. I want you to come and dance with me, to hold my hand, to let people see us together. And most of all, I want you to kiss me at midnight."

"Is that so, James?" Lily drawled.

"It is quite so, Lils. How about it? We'll have to tell people some time, and this way we don't have to do any actual telling."

Lily was tempted to tell him no, to tell him to wait a while, but even as she opened her mouth she realised she didn't have a single logical reason to keep their relationship to themselves. And so she stood, James's hand still in hers, and started pulling him up. "I guess we have some dancing to do then," she said with a smile.

Grinning like the cat that got the cream, James led her to the middle of the makeshift dance floor, weaving their way through the more or less drunken students. He turned, putting his hands on Lily's waist and relishing the feeling of her small hands winding their way around his neck.

A few minutes later, when they kissed on the stroke of midnight, the entire crowd stopped, turned and stared. Lily, however, didn't notice – she was too busy seeing stars and wondering why the hell it had taken her so long to give in.

A/N: Yes, I had to do the clichéd New Year's kiss thing... It is almost New Year's, after all. And I happen to like clichés.