#minervamcgee

           He made up his mind as he was already standing, leaving Lily to sleep as he crept out into the hallway. It too was dark, a dull light shinning up from the kitchen downstairs. The floors were cold, as was the air in comparison to the master bedroom.

           James passed the hallway bathroom and a closet, pushing on the nursery’s cracked open door once he reached it only for his heart to lurch at the louder cries and hiccups coming from within.

           The carpet was soft, the room warm, lights sluggishly dancing along the walls and ceiling in soothing motions. Fat tears rolled down Harry’s cheeks as James gently, ever so gently, lifted him out of his crib to press soft kisses to his forehead and whisper words of comfort to calm. He bounced Harry slowly up and down, walking towards the padded rocking chair that had quickly become his and Lily’s second bed.

           Harry rarely ever cried, not as much as James had thought he would. Harry was a happy baby, a smiling baby, a baby James would never stop loving even for a moment even if he did cry and scream and wail every day.

           Lily’s eyes (Harry’s eyes) looked up at him blurred over with tears. Harry’s face was flushed, his fists clenched, and his feet trying to kick out against James’ side. James pushed off of the floor with a foot in hopes that the motion would help, but Harry only whimpered.

           “What’s wrong?” James whispered wishing more than anything he could make Harry happy.

           Harry let out a gurgling noise in response, his face scrunching up as he started to cry again. James’ heart lurched. There was only so much he could do. James wanted to do everything for Harry, take away all of his discomfort so he could be safe and warm, so he could sleep through the night without a care in the world.

           “Are you hungry? Did you have a bad dream?”

           The rocking eventually seemed to help sooth Harry’s tears. He instead looked up at James with a wonder all babies seemed to possess. Harry lifted his hand towards James’ chin, fingers curling when his arm was fully extended trying to grab onto something that was still quite a bit a ways away. James quickly moved his head down not wanting Harry to cry again only to smile when a small hand gripped his chin with determination.

           “Much better now, hmm?”

           Harry didn’t answer, instead choosing to focus on James’ chin and the soft skin below it that connected his head to his neck. James could only feel relief that Harry was okay. He let the chair go still as Harry brought his other hand up. Harry didn’t like that either, he let out another noise which made James push off of the floor again.

           “Very demanding,” James only half spoke, Harry’s fingers creeping up towards his mouth.

           James snorted, quickly moving the toddler into a different position so he faced James with their faces closer together. Harry looked confused only for a moment before he went back to grabbing James’ face, going for his cheeks and lips to squish and pinch them somewhat harshly. James tried not to wince, but he must have made a face because Harry (the little devil) laughed before moving his left fist under James’ glasses to try to poke James’ right eye out.

           James, in response, lifted Harry bodily away from him, mock scowling as Harry still tried to grab at James’ face despite not being able to reach.

           “You are a menace, an utter menace Harry James. You’re lucky you’re so cute,” he highlighted this fact by bringing Harry back towards him to press kisses to Harry’s forehead. “Or I might have resorted to drastic measures long ago.”

           Harry grabbed James’ glasses in response, trying to tug them off, only to yawn before the bridge left James’ nose. He was tucked back up into James’ arms, a wandless levitation charm bringing his pacifier over so he wouldn’t suck on his thumb. Or his fist, as Remus discovered Harry was prone to do from time to time.

           “You need to go back to sleep, we have a very exciting day tomorrow. It’s your first Christmas and I am sure you’re going to be spoiled rotten,” James let his tone be soft, soothing, as green eyes began to close. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, so there is no need to cry.”

           And as Harry’s breathing evened out, James felt a weight lift off of his shoulders he hadn’t realized had settled there. Harry was happy, safe, once again. He could only sigh, allowing his glasses to float off to one of the tables nearby. He’d be there when Harry woke up, he had essentially promised, and breaking a promise to a five month old did not seem promising.

           He made sure Harry was secure before letting himself relax, his own eyes drifting closed to block off the twinkling lights of the nursery.

           …

           James remained sprawled upside-down on one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room, his legs hanging over the back his hair flopping towards the floor in a tangled mess. His eyes were trained on the portrait hole that led into the room, waiting for Sirius to return from the kitchens with something warm to drink. Remus and Peter were upstairs getting changed into dry clothes, which James had done in record time to light the fireplace and snag a thick wool blanket to loosely wrap around himself.

           The holidays had only begun and a snowball fight rivaling the previous years had gone on for a good few hours that morning. The four had trudged inside once it got too cold, their cheeks red and hands cold. Sirius had volunteered to grab drinks, and the others decided to change clothes. There were a few younger students in the common room closer to the now closed windows, most likely trying to finish their homework early or reading books to pass the time.

           James knew some of the girls from his year stayed behind for winter break, including Lily, but he had yet to see them. James had originally planned to go home, and to take the other Marauders with him since he knew the wards would keep them all safe, but his parents told James to stay at Hogwarts for the year. It was safe. He could be amongst his friends. He could study for his OWLs.

           No one wanted to mention the elephant in the room. The reason why so many halfbloods and muggleborns were staying in the castle that year. Why Slytherin house was essentially vacant. How students would get letters in the mail then disappear for weeks only to come back hallow, eyes dark and voices small.

           He was startled out of his thoughts when Remus sat down next to him, a thick sweater and worn jeans replacing Remus’ usual pristine uniform. Remus nudged James to see if he would tip over, which he did before falling off of the couch with a thud, laughs filling the room soon afterwards.

           Sirius had to walk in on that. Of course.

           “So Moony is finally getting his revenge after all of these years,” Sirius spoke with laughter tinting his voice. Mugs clinked down on the table to the right of James, Sirius looking down at James’ sour expression with a grin.

           “Shut it Pads.”

           “Remus, you killed his holiday spirit.”

           “I didn’t kill anything. I think he feels betrayed by you,” Remus quickly responded, extending a hand down to help James back up. “Sorry though, didn’t mean to make you fall off the couch.”

           “Remus pushed James off the couch?” Peter’s voice sounded from the stairs, a slightly bewildered expression on his face. “Why do I always miss the good stuff?”

           “Because you’re always busy eating dirt?”

           “That joke wasn’t even funny the first time Sirius.”

           James sat upright, knocking his knee against Remus’ with a mock scowl before reaching out for a mug, the smell of hot chocolate making his heart feel lighter. He took a sip only to pause when he noticed the extra mug.

           “We feeding the ghost in your sock drawer Sirius?” the question earned him a snort from Peter, who had sat down on the floor to be closer to the fire.

           “No, but if a certain redhead walks by and you happen to have an extra mug of hot cocoa to start up a conversation with, wouldn’t that be the best Yule gift of the decade?” he answered with a question, crossing his legs as he sat back as if he had just solved Britain’s problems.

           “I told you that I don’t need a wingman Pads.”

           “I’m simply being a good fellow; you know how it is…”

           “It’s ridiculous is what it is-”

           “Lily just walked downstairs,” Remus interrupted their banter while looking over his shoulder, the before mentioned Lily indeed making her way towards the portrait hole.

           James was up off of his seat with the extra mug in hand in a flash, quickly making his way over to intercept Lily without even fixing his hair for once. Sirius fist pumped while Remus rolled his eyes, letting his legs stretch out on the couch cushions now that James had moved.

           “Evans!” James called out before she could leave, a smile plastered on his face.

           Lily turned to face him, an eyebrow raised as if to ask him ‘what is it this time’ without actually voicing it for once. She too had forgone her uniform, but still had her prefect badge pinned on her sweater as usual.

           “Yes Potter?”

           “Would you like some hot chocolate? The house elves accidently gave us extra and it has cinnamon in it, it’s really good,” he offered her the cup, expression brightening.

           “Sorry, I’m allergic to cinnamon,” she didn’t sound all that apologetic.

           “Oh, uh, sorry, I’ll just,” he turned to leave, practically screaming in his head before Lily burst out laughing. James turned back around to see Lily covering up half of her face, the tops of her cheeks scrunched up the only evidence of how wide her smile was.

           “I was joking, gosh. You’re like a disappointed puppy- thanks, I’d love the cup,” she held out her hand to take it, smile smaller but still present.

           James quickly handed it over, heart pounding in his chest.

           “Want to come and sit with us for a while?” he offered, gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder.

           “I already have somewhere to be, maybe later.”

           James nodded, trying not to feel bitter, “Going to meet up with Sni- Snape?”

           “No,” she held her mug with both hands, fingers seeming to tighten with the word, “No, I’m not. He didn’t stay this holiday. His mother is sick and his father, well, he can’t be trusted to watch after her.”

           Lily was clearly torn up over it, and while James didn’t even come close to tolerating Snape on good days, he couldn’t imagine his mother getting so sick that he would have to watch over her. He didn’t know anything about Snape’s home life either, but Lily clearly did.

           “Oh, well, I hope she gets better.”

           “I do too.”

           James floundered for a second, not wanting to leave the conversation there.

           “So, where are you off to?” he quickly blurted, hoping he didn’t sound desperate.

           “I promised Alice I’d meet her in the library. We’re going to do some revisions for our potions OWL and try to finish up our homework,” she spoke, clearly relieved with the topic change.

           “Alice stayed at Hogwarts too?”

           “Yeah, her parents sent her a letter the night before the train left asking if she could stay at school. We don’t think anything bad has happened, but they’re probably busy with something or another.”

           James nodded, rubbing at the back of his neck, “Well, maybe we could do something later? After dinner maybe?”

           “That sounds fine; maybe we can revise for our transfiguration OWL? You’re the best in our year so, well, I mean, if you want to revise anyways,” she paused, tucking some hair behind her ear, “Sorry for imposing.”

           “No, it’s fine! I’d be happy to. Maybe you can help me out with charms?”

           “Sounds like a deal. Well, good talking with you James. Thanks for the cocoa,” she smiled at him again, before she made to leave as she had been earlier.

           “No problem.”

           The portrait closed behind Lily and James felt as though he should break out into song and dance, jump for joy, shout from the school’s roof top, and explode all at once. He had finally had a non-snarky decent happy conversation with Lily Evans that wasn’t one sided. Things were looking up.

           James walked back over towards the others and flopped over onto Remus’ legs, not caring that hot chocolate splashed onto his jumper or that Remus grunted in annoyance. He didn’t even make a comment about Sirius’ look, he didn’t care because Lily had called him James with a positive tone of voice and he could hear angels singing.

           “Someone just went to cloud nine,” Sirius crooned, earning a look from Remus.

           “C’mon Sirius, let him have this,” Peter spoke up from behind his mug, “I doubt it’s ever going to happen again.”

           “What I’m amazed by is the fact James actually agreed to study.”

           James looked over at Remus with a pout, “I’ll have you know I’m a genius.”

           “A genius, sure,” but Remus stopped speaking when James hit him across the face with a pillow before squeezing Remus’ knees causing the werewolf to let out a cross between a shout and a squeal.

           “Oh shit,” Sirius quickly scrambled to hide behind his chair as Remus tried to tackle James down, multiple laughing and hollering voices finally filling the Gryffindor common room for the first time in what felt like months.

           …

           Lily woke up to find James’ side of the bed empty and cold. She immediately grabbed her wand from the side table, looking for any signs of a fight or struggle as she silently walked out into the hallway. Nothing was amiss, other than the nursery door being open. Lily’s heart began to pound as she feared the worst only for it stop at the sight of James asleep in the nursery’s rocking chair, Harry safely tucked in his arms.

           She tucked her wand into her pocket, leaning against the open doorway with a fond smile on her face. They were all safe. Her worries had been for nothing. Lily could only sigh as she made her way into the room, cancelling the charm she has set the night before to shine dim lights along the walls and ceiling before going to pick Harry up.

           He made a noise, his face scrunching up slightly as Lily repositioned him in her arms, pressing kisses just above his ear. He blinked open his eyes to peer at his mother, his hands going to grab for her hair. Lily could only smile, even if the little tugs hurt her scalp, because Harry was himself as usual.

           “Good morning beautiful, did you sleep well with your dad?” she asked with a coo, carefully placing his pacifier down after he spit it out.

           “Muh,” he put her hair in his mouth, eyes shining, “Mum.”

           “If you’re hungry, I can get you some breakfast. Mummy’s hair is not good for growing boys,” she gently extracted her hair from his grasp, letting James sleep on. “I think there are some bananas down stairs with your name on them.”

           Harry babbled back at Lily as they went downstairs, his head turning all over the place to glance at moving pictures and the snow outside the house’s windows. He made no fuss as he was deposited into his highchair, legs kicking in the air as Lily cut up some banana into slices for him to eat.

           Lily put on tea as Harry grabbed the banana slices to shove them into his mouth. He soon had the fruit crushed on his cheeks as well as his chin, but he was smiling widely at Lily as he ate which made the inevitable cleanup worth it.

           The front door opened and closed quickly as the kettle went off, Lily listening as shoes were hurriedly taken off, followed by gloves and a coat before heavy steps made their way through the living room and into the kitchen.

           Sirius had snow already melting in his hair and a bright smile on his face as he slid across the title to give Lily and hug and a kiss on the cheek before he turned to Harry with his arms open wide.

           “There’s my favorite godson, eating breakfast all by himself. Look at how big you’ve gotten,” Sirius paused to lift Harry into the air high above his head, “Did you miss me?”

           “Pah foo!”

           “Yes, it is I, the glorious pah foo, here to make your first Christmas the best yet!”

           “Paf!”

           Sirius brought Harry back down to give his nose a kiss, putting him back down into his highchair so he could finish his food.

           “Happy Christmas Lily.”

           “Happy Christmas Sirius, do you know when Remus and Peter will be over? Alice and Frank are visiting tomorrow, but I haven’t heard from the other two and I want to make sure they’re going to be coming today.”

           “I don’t think Peter can make it, something about his mother getting sick again, but I know Remus will be over around nine this morning,” he moved to get mugs down out of the cabinets as he spoke, “Where’s James?”

         “Still asleep; he fell asleep in the nursery last night. Harry must have woken him up.”

           They both turned to look at the mentioned baby to see him crushing a banana slice on his head. Sirius began to laugh, but Lily only shook her head as Harry joined in on the laughter like he usually did when James or Sirius started.

           “I’ll give him a bath and a change of clothes; you can wake up the sleeping beast.”

           Sirius moved towards Harry again, mug of tea in one hand lifting the toddler with his free one. Harry grabbed for Sirius’ hair, getting banana residue in the black locks, laughing all the way up the stairs. Sirius didn’t seem to mind the food in his hair at all.

           Lily followed him back upstairs at a much more sedate pace, smiling as she heard running water and more babbling coming from the hallway bathroom. James was still asleep where she had found him earlier, chin tucked against his barely moving chest.

           She moved to shake his arm, frowning when he only let out a mumble and didn’t open his eyes. She opened her mouth to tell him tea was ready, but changed her mind at the last moment.

           “James Potter, you’ve already missed breakfast and if you don’t get up within the next minute you’ll be late for transfiguration!”

           Lily only watched in amusement as he bolted upright, pure terror on his face at the thought of missing a transfiguration class at NEWT level. She burst out laughing when he regained his bearings, especially since he wasn’t a student at Hogwarts anymore.

           “Really Lily? On Christmas?”

         “If you stopped falling for it every time I used it, then you wouldn’t have a problem.”

           James only pouted at her before grabbing his glasses to put them back on his face. A squeal sounded from the hallway, which distracted Lily long enough for James to wrap his arms around her waist from behind and press a kiss against her shoulder.

           “Happy Christmas Lily.”

           “Happy Christmas James. Sirius is giving your son a bath-”

           “Why is he only my son this morning?”

           “- since he crushed banana all over himself mere minutes ago.”

           “Ah, I see,” but his words broke off into a mumble as he pressed another kiss to Lily’s shoulder, then on the side of her neck. “Anyone else here yet?”

           “Remus will be showing up soon, but Peter can’t make it.”

           “Mmm…”

           “You do realize Sirius will be walking in here to get Harry a change of clothes any moment, right?” Lily asked, her voice full of amusement.

           “That moment is right now, so if you both could be fully dressed when I walk in, I’d appreciate it. We only need one naked Potter on our hands.”

           Sirius walked into the room not a second later, carrying Harry wrapped up in a towel and a still full mug of tea. He placed Harry down on the changing table before rifling through his clothes drawers.

           “You could at least act sorry Pads.”

           “But that would be lying my dear Prongs, and I am above such lowly sins, aren’t I Harry?”

           Harry blinked at Sirius before laughing again, most likely at the expression on his face that neither James nor Lily could see from their spot in the room.

           “I rest my case.”

           James snorted.

           “Sure. Is there tea in the kitchen?” he directed his question to Lily.

           “Your mug is on the counter.”

           “Thank you.”

           Lily watched as James left the room only to practically tumble down the stairs in his quest for caffeine. Harry kept moving his legs and arms, making it harder for Sirius to clothe him, which only made Sirius coo and laugh about how Harry was already a trickster.

           She looked on the scene with fondness blossoming in her heart, Harry’s babbling and laughter making that Christmas morning all the more special.

           …

           Lily fought the urge to slam her textbook shut in frustration. She had been trying to finish her essay for defense for well over two hours, on the day of Christmas Eve no less, out of only the one book because Mister-Holier-Than-Thou defense professor had said the students would only need the assigned textbook. What a load of hogwash.

           She fell back on her bed with a groan of frustration, hands coming up to rub at her eyes. Lily wanted to finish the essay today so she wouldn’t have any more homework over the rest of break. She had already spent the entire day in the library previously however, and she didn’t fancy going down there again.

           Still, it was either put it off or get it done, and if she finished then she wouldn’t have to worry about anything else for a good two weeks. Making up her mind, Lily quickly threw her supplies in her shoulder bag before shoving on some shoes. She put her hair up into a ponytail as she walked downstairs into the Gryffindor common room, which was almost entirely empty.

           “Good morning Lily!”

           She turned to see Remus reading a book in a favorite armchair of his, his legs tucked up against the arm rest. Peter was asleep in the armchair beside him, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

           “Good morning Remus, enjoying the holiday?” she spoke while walking towards the portrait hole, head still turned towards the other.

           “Yes, I am. Sorry for keeping you if you’re busy, I hope whatever problem you have you can solve it quickly,” he offered the clean farewell with a soft smile, his eyes drifting back towards his book.

           “It’s fine, just,” she paused in the doorway, letting out a huff of air, “I don’t know if you’ve started the defense assignment yet, but you need more than the text book despite what our professor said.”

           “Charming.”

           “Far from it,” but she paused as footsteps came thundering down the stairway, Sirius shooting out from those that led to the boy’s dormitory to launch himself over the back of a couch near Remus, hitting the warn leather with an auditable wheeze.

           Lily blinked. Remus merely sighed.

           A hand came up over the back to wiggle fingers in Lily’s general direction.

           “G’morning Lily!”

           “Good morning Sirius. You okay?”

           His head popped up over the side next.

           “I am one hundred and ten percent perfect.”

           “Sure you are,” Remus interjected, his book placed to the side without much reluctance for once.

           “I am.”

           “Well, yes, anyways, I should get-” but she, once again, did not get to finish as she was bumped into from behind, a muffled ‘shit’ following her stumbling trip to the floor.

           She looked behind her to chew whoever ran into her out, but paused when she didn’t actually see anyone. Lily frowned, reaching out to feel if anything was there only to hear the scuffling of feet as though someone was reeling back.

           “Oh no you don’t- who’s there?”

           Silence followed her question. She was about to stand up and move forward only for James to appear out of thin air, expression crossed between mortified and sheepish. There was a shimmering cloak now in his hands, as was his wand and a piece of parchment.

           “I can explain,” he quickly went to defend himself, scrambling over to offer Lily a hand up off of the floor.

           She got up without his aid, narrowing her eyes at him in clear disapproval. He smiled uneasily, shoulders shrugging up as if he didn’t quite know what to say but also didn’t want to say nothing.

           “Then explain.”

           “I missed breakfast because I slept in late after staying up last night to finish up the charms assignment, because I wanted to get it out of the way early and didn’t realize how much time ad gone by, so I snuck into the kitchens to grab something to eat, but a bunch of Hufflepuffs were outside of the kitchens when I got ready to leave and they were about to come inside so I had to sneak all the way back up here.”

           “And you have an invisibility cloak for the specific purpose? To escape from Hufflepuff students?” Lily finally asked, disbelief in her voice.

           “Well, no, I use it for a lot of things but that’s how it came in handy this time. So, sorry about bumping into you. I was relieved that I hadn’t been caught by anyone and I wasn’t paying attention once I was in safe territory,” he spoke while finally pocketing his wand and the extra parchment. “You’re not hurt right?”

           “I’m fine James; please watch where you’re going next time, okay?”

           “Can do,” he pivoted to allow her to pass, an arm spread out towards the still open portrait, “Your exit.”

           Lily refrained from rolling her eyes as she moved forward only for Sirius to call out to her again, as he had probably been watching the interaction alongside Remus since the beginning.

           “Hey! Evans, Lily, you need to kiss James before you go.”

           “Excuse me?”

           James’ face flushed a bright shade of crimson at Sirius statement while Sirius only laughed. James made to move towards the other, most likely to ring his neck only for Remus to stop him with a somewhat pitying look.

           “Sirius, you should have let it go,” he told the still laughing teenager, who had already fallen back on the couch.

           “No way! It’s practically Christmas, mistletoe is the law.”

           It was at that point Lily look up to spot the offending decoration hanging from the ceiling almost directing above both her and James. She had already wasted enough time, and Sirius wouldn’t drop something like this for weeks. Lily finally did roll her eyes before walking closer to James, pulling him even closer by the shirt front, to place a kiss on his cheek before turning to Sirius with a bright smile.

           “Have a wonderful day Black.”

           With that, she left, James standing dumbfound for a least a minute after the portrait closed until he let out a whoop, jumping up and down as if he had won a quidditch game.

           Lily didn’t see or hear any of his celebrations though, as her mind was already on what books she could be using to help finish her essay, her own cheeks starting to pink because, well, James skin was rather soft.

           …

           James, Lily, and Remus, who had arrived only moments before, looked up as Sirius finally came back downstairs, carrying a now fully clothed Harry who was sporting a Christmas themed onesie with a reindeer on the front of it.

           “Oh Merlin, he’s adorable,” Remus spoke first, setting his cup of tea down to accept the baby from Sirius, smiling at the quick babbling that hollowed.

           “James picked it out,” Lily chimed in, nudging James’ shoulder with her own. He grinned, lifting his chin into the air at the comment.

           “Quit being a ham, James.”

           “Quit being an untrained puppy, Sirius.”

           “Woah, hey; that’s a low blow.”

           “No!” Harry cut their bickering off from Remus’ lap, his fingers winding up in his mouth soon afterwards.

           “Exactly Padfoot, no.”

           Remus only shook his head, trying to gently pry Harry’s hand from his mouth, which was met with resistance as Harry grabbed onto Remus’ fingers with his free hand in a death grip.

           “This dysfunctional family will never get along,” Sirius finally said in resign, sitting down on the floor near the tree that had been set up only to get over his fake negative mood quickly to make faces at Harry again.

           James and Lily watched as this went on, leaning against each other with warm smiles on their faces.

           “I can’t wait to do this all again next year,” James spoke out of the blue, his voice low so only Lily could hear it as Remus slid to the ground with Harry to join Sirius.

           “We see Remus and Sirius all the time,” Lily spoke, a bit confused at what James was trying to get at.

           “I know that, and I’m happy we still do, you know? Christmas is just special, it’s a time for family and I’m glad I get to experience it with you and Harry every year for the rest of my life,” he turned to look at her, pressing a kiss to her temple, “And, maybe someday, we could have another kid or two. I’m sure Harry would love siblings, and while I may not be the best father, I will love them all with all of my heart.”

           Lily could feel her heart practically burst at James’ confession, even as she kept watching Harry smile and laugh at his godfathers’ antics. She would love to have another baby, one with her freckles and James’ eyes.

           “I think I would like that,” she looked up at him with all of the love she could muster. “When the war is over, I really would.”

           James squeezed her side, tears gathering in his eyes.

           “Me too.”

           “Muh!” Harry called out, making James and Lily break eye contact to watch Harry as he grabbed onto one of his legs, looking at Lily with the happiest expression she had ever seen. “Foo!”

           James laughed, his shoulders bouncing up and down as Lily covered up her smile with her hand.

           “Yes sweetheart, that’s your foot.”

           Harry let his leg go to laugh again, Sirius’ fingers tapping lightly against Harry’s stomach to make him laugh even louder, Remus hiding his own grin behind his cup. Harry truthfully was the light of all of their lives, and James and Lily couldn’t wait to have a baby with soft red curls and bright brown eyes.

           …

            “How much further are we going to walk James?”

           “It’s not too long now, I promise,” he gave Lily’s hand a squeeze as if to confirm his words, continuing to lead the blindfolded redhead through the halls of Hogwarts.

           “Any longer and we’re going to miss Christmas dinner you know.”

           “That won’t be a problem,” he reassured her, voice earnest.

           Lily could only hope he was right as they made another turn before going up another staircase. She was getting a bit antsy, seeing as how James had blindfolded her randomly back in the common room before everyone made their way down to the great hall for the Christmas feast. That had been at least ten minutes ago, and while almost everyone she had been waiting with seemed to know what James was doing she had no idea where this expedition was going to lead her.

           “Okay, I have to let go of your hand for a second, but I’ll be right back. Stay here, and don’t remove the blindfold,” he gave her hand another squeeze before he let go, his footsteps fading until a door opened.

           Lily had lost track of where they were going two sets of stairs previous, so whatever room James had opened and was now ushering her into was a mystery. Which, thinking on it, was probably why James went the longest way possible.

           “Here we are,” and, suddenly, there was light.

           Lily blinked a few times to see a table set for two in a now cleaned abandoned classroom, the decorations festive and twinkling. The food was still steaming and James had somehow gotten a bottle of coca-cola even though he only knew it existed from Lily telling him about it a month previous.

           “So,” the word focused Lily’s attention back to the now slightly embarrassed James. “I figured our first Christmas together as a couple should be special, you know? So, I got some of the others help me set this up. Remus got the soda last Hogsmeade weekend because he knows his way around muggle London, and I got you a gift.”

           Lily didn’t know what to say. What could she say?

           “Sorry if it’s not all that glamorous, but everyone said you’d like it. If not, we can always make it to the feast; I took the long way here-”

           “James, shut up. It’s perfect.”

           James’ mouth actually closed with a muffled click of teeth, his ears going dark. “Th-thanks.”

           Lily only rolled her eyes, stepping forward to press a kiss to James’ lips. James quickly recuperated, arms coming up to hold Lily’s shoulders. They kissed once, then twice, before Lily pulled back with a soft smile.

           “Happy Christmas James.”

           James kissed her one last time, eye shining.