I'm cuddled up with James on the couch, him spooning me. He whispers things into my ear making me laugh. Across from us are sitting Remus and Sirius on another couch.
"Please, not in front of other people, have some decency." Sirius complains as James kisses my neck. James grins and climbs on top of me pulling a blanket over our heads that was covering our bodies earlier and gives me more kisses trailing from my neck to my mouth. "Is this good Padfoot?" He asks.
"Noo," Sirius whines making me laugh. "We don't need an accident number two right now."
Remus snorts. "You're acting like the so called 'accident' isn't someone who you're obsessed with."
"That is true, you're always with Harry. And then you complain when me or James take him." I call out from under the blanket.
"You should be thankful, I'm leaving you and Prongs free time." Sirius remarks. "
Thank you!" Both me and James shout from under the blanket.
"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" James smirks.
I roll my eyes "No it's not just you, we're under a blanket.". It does feel hotter than it was before.
"Don't you think you have too many layers of clothes on?" He questions while keeping eye contact.
I swallow nervously "No ,I don't think so."
He smirks "Do I still make you nervous?"
"Good evening." I hear someone say.
James quickly climbs off of me and throws the blanket to the side. Dumbledore is standing behind the couch where Sirius and Remus are sitting. Both of them are trying to keep themselves from laughing. I feel my face grow hot as I clear my throat. James runs his hand through his hair and gives Dumbledore an awkward smile "Uh hello sir, didn't see you there."
Dumbledore takes a seat in the armchair between the two couches "I have told you multiple times, you don't have to call me sir anymore. You're out of Hogwarts and helping me with the order, think of us as friends, all four of you." He gestures to all of us with his hand.
We all nod.
"Did you want to talk to us about something?" Remus asks.
"Actually, I wanted to ask for a favor from James," He began "could I borrow your invisibility cloak? I can't tell you what for right now but it won't be for more than a week."
I look at James who looks confused by the request.
"I think you can. I guess that I don't really need it right now." He shrugs.
"With all due respect sir- uh Dumbledore," Sirius sits forward "but don't you think it would be kind of dangerous for James to give his cloak away? I mean, I would never tell Voldemort anything about their or anyone else's location, but just in case. They have a baby, better safe than sorry."
Everything is suddenly getting blurry and all the voices start to seem distant. I try to say something but I can't.
I wake up with a jolt and sit up in my bed.
Godric, another dream.
I quickly scramble out of my bed and check myself in the mirror. In the reflection I see myself with messy hair and a sleepy face, but other than that, I'm still my age. I look over to the calendar.
December 25, 1974
So, everything is still right.
I stand there for a minute and then start brushing out my hair with my fingers. Thoughts are running through my head, trying to make sense of the dream. It was weird. Everyone looked at least 5 years older. And it all happened somewhere that I didn't recognize.
Someone named Harry, an accident and James kissing me.
Wait
James kissing me?
I feel butterflies in my stomach. The way he slowly kissed my neck and moved up towards my mouth. His gentle touch-
No, no and no.
"It was just a dream, stop thinking about that!" I say to myself.
I hear sudden tapping against my window which makes me jump. I look over to see a brown owl standing there with two boxes. I open the window and the owl flies in dropping the items on my desk. I open my drawer to take out some treats for the owl, I stretch out my arm for it to land on.
The owl lands on my arm and waits for the treats. I give it the treats and take a good look at it. The owl is light brown with specks of black and has big black eyes. Maybe it's the new owl that James's parents had gotten few weeks ago. James told me about them getting a new brown owl.
"Wait here for a minute." I mumble to the owl and let it fly on top of my bookshelf.
I take one of the boxes and examine it, it feels light. I open the box and gasp. There is a F/C dress in the box. The same dress I had been looking at Hogsmeade last time we visited it. I really liked the dress and wanted to buy it but it was too expensive to even think about.
On top of the dress was a letter from James.
Dear, Y/N
First, Merry Christmas! I know that Christmas is one of your favorite holidays and it sucks that we can't spend it together. But I decided to give you a gift that you would really love. I saw how you admired the dress at Hogsmeade and how sad you were when you couldn't buy it. So me and Sirius snuck back to Hogsmeade one day and I bought it for you! Sirius thought that the dress needed something more so he bought the earrings and necklace to match it.
I place down the letter and open up the other smaller box. There is a note that I lift up and under that there are earrings and a necklace. The jewelry has F/C gems that make it sparkle.
I admire the gifts. Are these two out of their mind? I don't even want to think about the money that they paid.
I place the box down and continue reading the letter.
I know that you're probably going to say that it's too much or that we spent too much money, but please don't. You've been our best friend for almost four years and helped us through a lot. You deserve it. Can't wait to see you again, I miss you and I know you do too. Because you love me so so much. And I know that I'm your favorite marauder.
Love, James
I smile at the words and take out my parchment and quill.
Dear, James
Thank you so much for the gift! I can't express my happiness in words. Although, I would love to complain about the price I won't, because your words convinced me not to. But know that you're still an idiot for buying such an expensive gift. I hope that you like your gift too. Maybe now you won't steal the golden snitch since you have your own. Yes, I miss you also but I don't know about the favorite marauder part. I think you're over exaggerating.
Love, Y/N
I put the note into an envelope and place it on top of one of my books. I take the second letter that is from Sirius and start reading it.
Dear, Y/N
So, how'd you like my and James's gift? Bet you loved it but called us idiots for spending too much or whatever. But all jokes aside, you deserve it. You've been the most amazing friend someone can be to me and that means a lot. Thank you for being there for me. I can't wait for this break to be over so we all can be back at Hogwarts again. I miss all of you. Hope you're doing well, Merry Christmas!
Love, Sirius
I smile and place his letter on top of James's one and grab another piece of parchment.
Dear, Sirius
I loved the gifts, they were perfect! And yes, you both are stupid for spending that much money but I appreciate both of you. I hope that you like your gift also. Thought that a leather jacket would suit your personality. I miss all of you too and can't wait to see you again. Merry Christmas!
Love, Y/N
I put the letter in an envelope and take two packages from my shelf. For James I got a golden snitch because he loves quidditch and he also planned on stealing the school's golden snitch. For Sirius I got a leather jacket. I think it matches his personality. I add the letters to the gifts and close them. I give the owl a few more treats before tying the gifts to his legs. I tell it which gift to send to Sirius and which to James.
I admire the gifts for a moment. The dress is a beautiful shade of F/C and has long sleeves. It has kind of a flowy skirt that is almost to my knees. I think I'll wear the dress and jewelry at today's dinner.
-
It's almost dinner time and I'm struggling in my room to zip up the dress. The zipper is on my back which makes it hard to zip it up.
"Y/N, the guests have arrived!" My mum shouts from downstairs.
"I'll be down in a minute!" I shout back. Well, I will definitely take more than a minute.
I hear chatter down stairs as my parents welcome in the guests. I groan as all my attempts of zipping the back fail. I give up and put on the earrings and necklace that Sirius got me.
There's a knock at the door "Yes?" I call out. "Can I come in?" I hear Lily's muffled voice from the other side. "Yes, the door is unlocked." I tell her.
Lily opens the door and steps in. She is wearing a beautiful red one shoulder dress that reaches right above her knees. Her red hair has some light curls in it. Over all she looks gorgeous.
"Oh Lily, you look amazing!" I gush as I admire her dress.
She smiles "Thank you! Oh Merlin, your dress is absolutely gorgeous! And the earrings and necklace are stunning as well!" She takes a closer look at my dress.
"Thank you so much but can you help me with the dress? I can't zip it up." I point to my back.
"Sure! Your mother sent me upstairs to get you. According to her, you've been up her for quite a while." She claims while zipping up my dress.
"Yeah, I've been trying to get this dress on but it's been a nightmare." I complain.
"All done!" Lily announces.
I admire myself in the mirror. The dress is stunning and makes me feel incredibly beautiful.
"Isn't that the dress that you wanted from Hogsmeade?" Lily asks. "It actually is. The dress is a Christmas gift from James and the jewelry from Sirius." I smile at her.
"Wow, maybe Potter and Black aren't that bad after all. That's a pretty expensive gift." Lily admits.
I laugh "I've told you before that they're not that bad. You just need to know them more, that's all. They can be the sweetest boys."
Lily rolls her eyes "'The sweetest boys'? I doubt that."
We both laugh and head downstairs. We have dinner which is really fun. My and Lily's parents ask us about Hogwarts and people there. At the same time Lily's sister Petunia scoffs and rolls her eyes.
Lily has told me about her and how she hates everything that is and is associated with magic. She calls people like us freaks and hates us. I really don't understand why, is she jealous? Probably.
Right now, we're handing out and opening gifts.
I gifted Lily some vinyls and cassette tapes of her favorite bands.
"Here, this one is from me and Remus." Lily hands me a heavy box. "Oh, it's pretty heavy." I mumble and start ripping off the paper. I get rid of the paper and open the lid of the box. I gasp when I see the inside.
I pull out a camera. Not a regular camera, it's the one that wizards and witches use. "No way!" I turn to Lily and give her a big hug "Thank you so much for this, I've always wanted a wizarding world camera! I need to write to Remus later and thank him."
"You're welcome, you've always talked about wanting one so we thought with Remus that it would be a perfect gift." Lily smiles.
"Is that a camera that makes the pictures move?" My dad asks in awe.
"It is!" I state proudly. "Well give it a go, try it out!" Lily's mother insists.
I show my dad how to work the camera and let him take a picture of me and Lily under the tree smiling and hugging each other. The photo starts printing out "Take another look at the box." Lily points towards the box. I give her a confused look but pull the box back towards myself.
I take a look inside and see a book with a dark brown cover. I take it out and open it.
It's a photo album.
I smile and look through the photos that are already in there. There's few where I'm with Lily, Marlene and Mary or alone with either one of them. There are photos of the marauders and me. All sort of photos throughout the years.
Me, Remus, James, Sirius and Peter have a tradition to take a picture at the last day of school every year. All the three photos are there. The five of us standing and smiling in all of them. Every photo you can see how we have grown over the years.
I turn the page and spot a certain photo. "How and where did you get that one?" I stare at Lily. She smirks "Oh, I just happened to have a camera and thought that you two looked cute." She waves it off.
The picture is me jumping into James's arms and then kissing him on the cheek at the last quidditch match. For the first time I can see James's reaction. He is surprised by the kiss but recovers quickly and hugs me back.
My mind drifts back to my dream.
I hear someone gasp behind me. I turn around to see my mother peering over my shoulder staring at the photo "I absolutely love this picture of you two!" She has a big smile on her face. I quickly close the album "Thanks mum..." I stutter out embarrassed.
"You have one last gift from me and your mother." My father stands up and leaves the room for a moment. He comes back with something in his hands.
My eyes widen "No it can't be." I breathe out. My dad removes the cloak and under that there's a black owl. I jump up from the floor and run towards my dad. "Thank you, I love you so much." I hug my dad. He smiles and kisses the top of my head. "You're welcome, honey."
-
I'm at my desk writing a letter to Remus. Lily and her family left around an hour ago.
Dear Remus,
Merry Christmas! I wanted to thank you for your and Lily's gift. It's amazing and I love it so much! I also hope that you like your gift. I was wondering if you maybe know something about dreams. You know if they can predict the future or something like that. If you remember then back in autumn, I had this dream. It felt so real and weird. Today, well I didn't have that kind of a dream but similar. In both of my dreams I and others including you, Sirius and James have been older, at least five years. They're so real and in detail. Maybe I'm just overthinking and being silly. They're just dreams, right?
Love, Y/N
I put the letter in a box where I have Remus's gift - a sweater and a few books.
I also put Peter's letter in a box that has all sort of sweets in it. He had sent me also some earlier.
I call for my owl who is sitting in her cage. Still haven't chosen a name for her. I tell her where to go and which box is for who.
I get changed and get into bed. Million questions are running through my head.
But no answers.
Edited 7/19/2022