Loverboy

You look breathtaking.

The Potter family tradition, as luck would have it, was a big party the night before Christmas. And because it was a party and a gathering of friends and family, the exchange of gifts happened then instead of the next morning. Christmas day was reserved for a more private celebration, with leftovers from the feast of the night before, and a much quieter home.

So, at four o'clock on December 24th, Ollie had just stepped off the stool she was using to hang another pine garland above a window when there was a firm knock on the Potters' door.

Since she was a room near the foyer, she peeked out the window to see Lily Evans, her long red hair done up in a big, curly bun. Under her long coat, white stockings and brown shoes stood on the brick porch. Her eyes seemed swollen and her makeup only barely covered the red tinge around them.

James rushed to the door and opened it, since he was supposed to be in charge of greeting guests for the first part of the night.

"Hello, James," Lily said, smiling softly, clutching her brown coat around herself as she stood on the porch, surrounded by snow.

"Evans," James said, stuck in awed stammers. "Erm, come in, here, I'll take your coat."

Lily stepped into the foyer and James carefully slipped the coat off her shoulders, unveiling a delicate green and white dress. The bodice was a rich emerald green with white lace trim, and the skirt was the same emerald color, with a white petticoat peeking out under the hem. A string of pearls rested on her neck, and she looked like a Christmas tree turned into a girl.

"You look..." James faltered, staring into Lily's twinkling green eyes. "Breathtaking."

A slight giggle escaped Lily's lips. "Thank you, James. You look quite nice yourself."

He was in a crisp white shirt, with a black waistcoat his mother insisted on, and a pair of nice black trousers to match. His hair was still a mess, but he looked far more put together than usual.

"Oh, yeah, thanks. Erm, why don't you come into the living room? We're not quite done preparing things, but..."

His voice grew quieter as he led Lily deeper into the house, and Ollie could no longer hear them talking.

Another knock came, and Ollie scurried to the foyer to open the door.

"Ollie?" Alice Fortescue said, releasing Frank Longbottom's arm and bounding forward to embrace her old friend.

She and Ollie tightly held onto each other for a minute, then Ollie showed both of them inside, exchanging hellos and excitement at seeing each other. She gestured to them down the hallway James had led Lily through, and the couple strolled through.

Soon James came back around, and he and Ollie sat on the ornate chairs in the foyer, waiting for more guests to arrive.

After another ten minutes or so, someone else came and knocked on the door, and James opened it to reveal Mr and Mrs Sato.

"Mum, Dad!" Ollie said excitedly, bounding over and hugging them both tightly. "Oh, hi, hello! Come in, come in!"

She helped her parents into the foyer, and she and James took their coats and hung them on the hooks near the door. James moved to shut the door but Echo came out of the Muggle car the family had come in, holding a stack of wrapped boxes, with a wide grin. Behind her, her husband, Solaris Huxley, gently guided her toward the house.

"Oh, Echo, I didn't know you were coming!" Ollie exclaimed as her sister stepped onto the porch then into the foyer.

James took the boxes out of Echo's arms and she shed her coat, revealing a flowing dark blue dress, and her stomach seemed shockingly bloated, the fabric stretching over the bulge, but Ollie and James didn't ask, partly because it didn't matter, and partly because it would be rude to comment. "Ollie," she said, squeezing her baby sister tightly. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas!" Ollie said, grinning while embracing her sister. "You guys go hang out in the living room while me and James keep up being door service."

Echo finally released Ollie, and pulled her husband along as she and her parents waltzed down the hall. It was hardly noticeable but when she took up Solaris's hand, her excited grin faded into a sort of half-grimace.

As soon as they were out of earshot, James said, "Kinda shitty to make your wife carry all those boxes."

Ollie nodded in agreement. She had never liked Solaris, even if he'd been with Echo since they were in their fifth year at Hogwarts. But she always held her tongue because he made her sister happy.

As the pair ruminated in the quiet, another knock came to the door, and so they once again greeted the guest at the door.

It was some friends of Mrs and Mr Potter, so James shook the men's hands and exchanged brief hugs with the women, pointing down the hall so they could reconvene with the other guests.

And so it went for the next hour and a half, of opening the door to either their friends, or random adults they didn't know, and once to a mailman dragging a wagon full of packages to their house.

Then six o'clock came, and finally, after hours of waiting, a knock came to the door, and James and Ollie opened the door to Pierre, and the couple practically pounced on each other. And finally, everyone who was supposed to come had arrived, and the party could start, for real.

im so excited to write the next few chapters i'm gonna explode and die bruh

942 words