Author: Swishy Willow Wand

Title: Birthday Presents for James

Summary: It's their last year at Hogwarts, and it just happens to be James' birthday. After a fun day of presents, cards, and parties, James gets one final gift from a certain Lily Evans...

AS OF MARCH 26, 2006:

I'm so sorry to all of you who asked me to write another chapter, but it only took me about a week after writing this to decide to keep it a one shot, because I honestly don't think I could out-do this chapter. And don't you think it's good enough?

But anyway, I had thought that it would be obvious that I had decided not to write another chapter, but even recently, after almost two whole years, I've still been asked for another chapter, so I'll say it to you here, officially: There will not be another chapter! So, so sorry!

Disclaimer: I only own the plot, Sam, Bella, and Casey. Nothing else.

Birthday Presents for James

James Potter walked unnoticed up the stairs that led to the seventh year boys dormitory, carrying a cart-load of presents.

It was May 28th, and it was James's seventeenth birthday.

He walked into his room, and dumped everything onto his bed.

He surveyed the room, and was surprised to see stacks of gift wrapped boxes all over the room. Then again, it had been happening since about fourth year. Girls that he didn't know kept sending him more and more gifts.

Except for one...

James shoved a pile of junk off of his bed, and flopped down, thinking.

Lily Evans was one of the only girls who had never sent him a present. She was one of the only girls that had never flirted with him. She was the only girl that had never went out with him when he asked.

Basically, she was the only girl that mattered to James.

Lily was an easily angered person, and she had never liked him, no matter how hard he had tried.

And let me tell you, he had tried. Since fifth year, actually.

It had first started as a sort of game, something to do when he was bored. He had enjoyed the reactions he had gotten when he simply asked, "C'mon Evans, will you go out with me just once?"

And then he had gotten a bit intrigued, wondering what it was that made her say no.

So he paid close attention to her, and gradually developed a bit of a crush on her.

But she would never relent, always saying he was 'a bullying, arrogant, pathetic excuse of a human', or some equally stinging insult.

But he never stopped bugging her.

Until this year. Actually, it had happened on the last day of sixth year, the day she told him that she hated him.

That was a first for James.

He had never actually been hated by anyone other than a few Slytherins.

And so he spent the whole summer analyzing himself, and realized that Lily had been right.

He was an ass.

So over the summer, he became a little quieter, a little nicer, and a lot less arrogant.

And when he saw her on the train on September first, he realized he had a small problem...

He was in love.

So he had strived to show her that he was a different person.

He tutored first years, he was nicer to others, he even apologized to Snape!

But Lily had just looked at him suspiciously, occasionally accusing him of planning something.

He would pay attention in class, study in the Library, and tell others to be quiet when he was doing his homework.

But Lily would just roll her eyes and say he was only concerned with himself.

He volunteered to help in the Hospital Wing, he helped Prefects patrol when others were sick, he wrote 'Get Well Soon!' cards to patients in the Hospital Wing.

And that Lily had just plain ignored.

And James got frustrated. But can you really blame him?

So he just continued with his good deeds, and started to ignore Lily.

He wasn't desperate, after all.

Lily Evans sat in a corner of the Gryffindor Common room, looking around her in amusement.

Basically everyone from Gryffindor was there, drinking Butterbeer, eating various snacks, and just talking to everyone.

It really amazed her how all-out everyone would go for James Potter.

She rolled her eyes, and turned to her friends Samantha Kilmer, Bella Waters, and Casey Williams.

"Hey, Sam-"

But she was to disturbed by the sight she saw to continue.

Sam was currently involved in snogging Sirius Black, James' best friend, senseless.

She groaned. "Get a room, you guys."

They ignored her.

She sighed, and looked for Casey.

And for the second time in ten seconds, she groaned.

Casey was standing in a corner with Remus Lupin, another one of James' buds, doing three things: Talking, blushing, and holding his hand.

'What is up with the world today?' She thought exasperatedly.

She looked around, hoping to spot Bella, and then rolled her eyes.

Bella had left about fifteen minutes ago to 'study' with her boyfriend, Amos Diggory.

She flopped down on the window seat, and started people watching again.

She waved to a few people she knew, such as Alice Neff, Frank Longbottom, Serena Clorsh, Olivia Johnson, and Joshua Ingles.

She looked around once more, and was shocked to see James walking up the stairs to his room.

Positive no one was watching, she allowed herself to smile slightly.

When she had first met him seven years ago, she had immediately had a crush on him.

It was before he became a Quidditch freak, a pranking prat, or the object of most girls affections.

She had liked him when he was just James.

And she had liked him until third year, and then she got pranked by him.

He had turned her skin pink (of all things!), which had clashed horribly with her dark red hair.

And so her crush had turned slowly to annoyance, then to dislike, then to hate, and finally to loathing.

And she was perfectly happy that way.

So imagine her shock when she came back for her seventh year to find out that he had pulled a complete 360, and was now the same person she had liked.

At first, she had been suspicious, and she had criticized him nonstop to her friends.

When he tutored first years, she had said he made her absolutely nauseous, although in all truth, she thought it was adorable.

When he had started being nicer to everyone, she had accused him of plotting evil, even though she actually considered it to be positively sweet.

And when he had apologized to Snape, she cracked. She insulted him in front of the entire school, saying he was a coniving idiot.

And then she realized she liked him.

A lot.

So she asked her friends what they thought, and they told her she was stating the obvious: James Potter and Lily Evans were just simply made for each other.

And she had rolled her eyes, and charmed pillows to attack them, but finally admitted that she had 'a small crush'.

And so it began.

She had started talking about him constantly.

She said it was so cute that he had started caring about his grades. It was so considerate of him to help Madame Pomfrey. Helping the Prefects just had to be the sweetest thing on the planet. Writing cards to the sick was incredibly precious.

Soon, he was the only thing she thought about.

Which was kind of pathetic, really, considering he had taken to ignoring her.

She sighed sadly, and turned around, and gave a startled shriek when she saw Sam and Sirius staring at her triumphantly.

"What?" She asked huffily, angry that someone had been paying attention.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Well, Lils, it's kinda obvious."

Lily blushed, and shrugged. "Whatever."

Sirius grinned. "You know what you have to do, right?"

She stared at him, confused, until an idea popped into her head.

Her eyes widened in horror, and she said, "I can't do that!"

Sam quirked an eyebrow. "C'mon, Lils! There're only three days of school left. What do you have to lose?"

And with that, they turned away, and returned to their previous... Activity.

Lily looked back towards the staircase, thinking.

She couldn't.

She wouldn't!

Or would she?

James was sitting on the floor, organizing his presents into piles, when he heard a sharp knock on the door.

He was confused.

Sirius and Remus wouldn't knock, but who else could it be?

He stood up, and carefully made his way through the maze of wrapping paper to the door, and opened it.

"Lily?"

Lily Evans looked up at him, glaring at for apparently no particular reason. "Hello, Potter."

"No offense or anything, but what exactly are you doing up here?"

She sighed. "Well... Since there are only three days left. And since it's your birthday... I-um.. I-"

"Yes?" James asked, bewildered by the fact that she was nervous. (This from the girl who smiled all through NEWTS?)

She frowned. "I have a present for you, okay?"

He looked down at her, shocked.

"You actually got me a present?"

She nodded resentfully.

"Cool!"

She rolled her eyes. "Close your eyes, Potter."

He looked at her suspiciously.

"Why?"

"It's a surprise, Potter. Now close your bloody eyes!"

He reluctantly closed his eyes, a little nervous about what was about to happen.

So you can understand his shock when he felt arms wrap around his neck, and soft lips press against his mouth.

He stood there in shock for a few minutes, and then began to kiss back.

Unfortunately, as soon as he did, she pulled away.

She grinned wickedly up at him

"Happy seventeenth birthday, James."

And with that, she walked back down to the party, leaving James to try to sort out what that had meant.

"Hey, Lily... Wait up!"

And he raced down the stairs to find her.