Tales > The Perfect Gift

Just a little thing I thought up when I was supposed to be coding for my final project. Fluffy holiday fun. Maybe I'll even make this a part of a larger story some day. But for now it's just a little one shot. Enjoy!

Four boys walked through the throngs of holiday shoppers, the task before them not one to be taken lightly. A lovely young lady would be expecting some sort of gift the morning of December 25th, which was approaching too fast for one boy's comfort.

"I don't know what you're supposed to get her. Prongs, you've had more experience in this area. Why don't you think of something?"

"Ha, just because you've never had a long-term relationship doesn't mean I'm going to be better at the gift thing that you, Padfoot."

"Guys, fighting about this isn't going to make it any easier," Remus sighed. "This is the one time I think having a sister would be a good thing...."

"Their annoying traits outweigh their good ones....." Peter mumbled to himself.

"Just because your sister refuses to speak to you doesn't mean that all girls would be mean like that."

"Moony, let it go. Those two never got along to begin with, so why would anything you say fix things?" That earned James a brief glare, but the matter dropped.

"I'd say get them jewelry, but I don't know if we'll find anything good. Everything's pretty picked over already," Sirius said, poking through a basket of brooches.

"Besides, all of this stuff looks pretty tacky. None of the girls would like these things," agreed James, holding up a rather hideous pin as proof.

"I don't know. This looks sort of like something my grandmother would wear. Or maybe McGonagall," Sirius snickered, examining a large gaudy cat pin.

"Well, all girls like cute fluffy things, so why not just get her a stuffed animal or something?" Peter wondered outloud, picking up a small stuffed mouse.

The other three turned and stared at Peter.

"He....he had an idea..."

"A GOOD one...."

"The world is ending!"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Peter glared at his now-laughing friends.

"But seriously, that is a pretty good idea. But what kind of animal would be good for something like this?"

And so the search began. Stuffed toys filled the air and the piles next to the overflowing bins were steadily growing, much to the shopkeeper's dismay. After several minutes of furious searching, Sirius waded through the "carnage" and held up a single toy, a smile dancing across his face.

"Prongs, I don't know what the others think, but if you don't get this one for Lily, you're nuts," Sirius smirked, holding up a small plush stag, complete with little plush antlers. James stood there gawking at the plush toy for five minutes before he regained the ability of speech.

"How....where did you find that?!"

"There's a bin of reindeer over there. I just tweaked it a little with some transfiguration so it wouldn't look so much like Rudolph."

"That really would be cute if you gave that to Lily, Prongs. Go for it," Remus smiled.

The trio pushed James towards the cashier, ignoring his complaints, and made him pay for the small toy. The four left the store relieved that the major purchase had finally been handled. They were trying to come up with a good "gift" for Snape and Malfoy when an idea struck Sirius.

"Hey Moony, I've got the perfect gift we can give to Lily for Christmas!" he whispered as James was trying to get Peter to eat some Cockroach Clusters.

"I don't know, I don't like that look you've got Padfoot. Whenever you have that look, something usually blows up and we get detention..."

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad! Besides, I know better than to mess with Lily. I don't need both her AND Prongs after me."

"Alright, then what is this BRILLIANT plan of yours?" Remus said, sighing in defeat.

"Simple. In case Lily ever lets go of mini-Prongs long enough to lose him..." he began whispering in Remus' ear. As he explained his idea to his fellow Marauder, a small smile spread across the other boy's face.

"Okay, for once you've actually come up with something good. I'm proud, Padfoot."

"Thanks Dad..." Sirius rolled his eyes.


Several days later, Christmas morning dawned crisp and clear, with flurries clouding the chilled air. Presents were quickly torn open and delighted yells and squeals rang throughout the castle. Breakfast was equally joyous, with everyone that had stayed at school for the holiday break chattering about what they'd received and plans for the day. Then Lily walked through the doors of the Great Hall, clutching her new plush toy in her arms. She walked up to James and kissed him on the cheek before sitting down next to him.

"So you liked your present?" James said, a goofy grin spreading across his face. Lily just smiled in response.

"She'll love ours, too," Sirius grinned. He and Remus pointed their wands at the toy and in a shimmer of gold sparkles, a crimson ribbon appeared around the plush's neck, with a gold tag hanging from it.

"What did you two do?!" James said, a trace of worry in his voice.

"Hang on James, look what it says," Lily said, giggling. Still glaring at his friends, James took the toy and glanced at the tag.

"'My name is Prongs. I belong to Lily!'" he read aloud. It took a moment for the words to sink in, producing what Sirius called 'the best blush they'd gotten out of Jamsie yet!'

"Sirius...."

"Yeah James?"

"Remind me to kill you later."

"Duely noted," he smirked.