The Gift
Challenge Twenty-One: Winter Holidays Past
Title: The Gift
Author: cheapxdate
Wizard/Witch: Lily Evans / James Potter
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Genre: Romance
Word count: Exactly 500
Prompt: 15. glowing wand light
Summary: Lily Evans gets a gift from a surprise visitor.
Lily Evans lay awake on her bed in the Gryffindor girl’s dormitory silently reciting potion ingredients. She hoped the mundane task would lull her to sleep, but so far her attempts had been unsuccessful. Tomorrow morning she would board the Hogwarts Express and return home for the holidays. To say she was excited would be a gross understatement. Lily adored the Christmas season and couldn’t wait to see her family. She knew she’d catch up on missed sleep during the train ride tomorrow, as she did every year, but lying awake all night made time pass agonizingly slow. She was halfway through the ingredients of Polyjuice potion when, suddenly, a hand clasped over her mouth. Lily glanced frantically around the room, searching for the body that belonged to the hand, but saw no one. The hand, it seemed, ended at the wrist.
“Lumos!”
The spell was whispered right beside her ear and a moment later she heard the rustling of fabric. Removing his hand from her mouth, James Potter pulled off his invisibility cloak, casting the room in dim glowing wand light.
“You!” she spat, eyes widening in contempt. “James Potter, leave the girl’s dormitory right this instant or I’ll get McGonagall!”
“Calm down, Evans” he answered lazily. “I know how you’re all obsessed with the holidays, so I got you a gift.”
“I’m not obsessed,” she said stiffly, “and I don’t want your gift.”
James didn’t respond. He merely rolled his eyes, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red box. He placed it on the bed and shrugged. Lily made a show of looking away.
“Fine. Don’t open it.” James stood, draping his invisibility cloak over one arm and moved towards the door. “Sleep tight, Evans. Merry Christmas.”
xxx
It had taken all of Lily’s self control not to open the tiny box James had left, but it had been impossible not to slip the package in her pocket as she collected her things for the ride home. Now, as she sat in her compartment on the Hogwarts Express, her curiosity was overwhelming.
“Oh, bollocks!” She sighed in surrender and pulled the box from her pocket. She flipped open the top and felt her breath catch in her throat. Lying on a white pillow was the most delicate chain and pendant she had ever seen. She picked it up between her fingers to inspect it closer. It was a golden snitch! The little wings were perfectly detailed and charmed to flutter, just like its real counterpart. After admiring it for a few more minutes she moved to secure it back in its box for safe keeping. That was when she noticed the folded slip of paper in the box’s top. Curiously, she pulled it out. In scrawled penmanship it read:
The boys think I might make a good Seeker next year. Guess we’ll have to see about that, Evans.
Lily rolled her eyes, but was surprised to find a goofy grin had crawled across her face.
Author's Notes: Thank you again to the mods for continuing to run this amazing community! )
Proof Reader: american_halo ty as always, love.