Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening?
In the lane
Snow is glistening

It was the brightest time of the year in Lily's opinion. Sure, the days were short and the weather cold, but in the blinding white of the snow, nearly everything looked perfect. It was this time of year that the shops of Hogsmead were glowing yellow light, with small displays of dolls, candy, new books, and cauldrons in the windows, freshly dusted and polished to rope in more customers during the heavy holiday season.
It had been six months since she had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a year now since she had finally fallen for James Potter. The boy in question walked beside her, cheeks glowing with a boyish quality that seemed to make him all the more attractive. Unruly black hair that Lily had learned to love was hidden beneath a knitted red and white cap, with the rest of him covered in jackets and pants and scarves and mittens and boots. There were snowflakes dusted across his nose, melting just as quickly as they fell. His warm brown eyes were lit with excitement at his surroundings, she expected, for they hadn't been back to Hogsmead since they had started working for The Order. It had been, she recalled, a favorite pranking place for the Marauders.

A beautiful sight
We're happy tonight
Walking in a
Winter Wonderland.

Lily Evans was wrong, however, on the purpose of her companion's joy. It wasn't that he was happy to be back in Hogsmead, though that may have played a part. There was, however, a large part of this that was not affected by the Hogsmead trip whatsoever. It had been a year, one glorious year that he had spent with his Lily. Sirius had lost his bet with Remus and Peter, because James had managed to snare the red-headed beauty before their last year's end, and hadn't been fed up with her in three months. He had proved that it wasn't the thrill of the chase that lured such sweet tendencies, but the character of the women herself that suggested his attentions.
Every so oft, Lily would stop in front of a shop window to examine the merchandise indoors. When he wasn't looking up and down the streets for his fellow Marauders, James was studying the woman that had captivated him for so long, a tender smile upon his face. The most distinctive feature of the girl was her fiery red hair that fell in waves down her back. Her head was covered in a green and white knit cap, with a matching green coat, pants, and boots, toped with a white scarf and pair of mitts. Her cheeks were rosy in the cold air, and her eyes seemed to soften when she saw something particularly adoring.

Gone away
Is the bluebird
Here to stay
Is a new bird

They had already been to The Three Broomsticks for butterbeers and to most of the shops for trinkets and gifts. Their stay lasted until Thursday next, and Lily was still trying to discover why it had been so important that they stay an extra week, even though she only needed a week and a half to do her shopping. They were coming to the outskirts of town now, near a clear field next to the candy shop. James was continually looking around, ahead, and behind them in an almost paranoid manner that she was finding increasingly annoying. Taking his hand, she squeezed it lightly, focusing his attention back where it ought to be.
"Just because you're looking for someone doesn't mean they're here, you know."

He sings a love song
As we go along
Walking in a
Winter Wonderland

James' features softened at the sight of the women beside him, and he bent his head to steal a quick kiss from the girl before continuing to lead their stroll.
"Maybe they are there," he replied, wrapping a long arm around her. She couldn't know, of course, that they were being followed, for that would ruin the entire surprise.
"Shh, listen."
He stopped short at Lily's bidding, leaning forward even to listen carefully for whatever it was that she had stopped them for. It was silent at first, with the soft hum of activity from the village in the background.
"Lily darling, there's nothing-"
"Shh!"
Then, there it was. As though someone had turned up the volume on a television, it was soft at first, and then grew with each passing minute. Two different birds, whistling messages to each other back and forth. In the soft silence, it was the perfect soundtrack for a lover's walk in the woods. He stood straight, pulling Lily a little closer to him as they continued on through the snowy wood, until they reached a clearing; a perfect circle of trees with absolutely nothing in their middle except drifts of fluffy white snow.

In the meadow
We can build a snowman
And pretend that
He is Parson Brown

"Its beautiful here, James," Lily said, turning slowly in a circle. She was standing in the middle of the clearing, and all James could do was stand against one of the trees, watching and recounting how very lucky he was.
"The scenery has improved immensely with your company," he said, walking forward to stand exactly in front of her. Lily looked up, taking his hands and smiling shyly.
"Stop that... you're making me blush."
"Good."
Sharply reminded of those same words said a year ago, Lily pulled away, hotly embarrassed by the pink glow on her cheeks.
"Let's build a snowman."
James' smile was almost eerie, but Lily could find no double meaning in her words.
"A fantastic idea, my love. Excellent, in fact. I was just thinking the same." And thus he started, shoving and gathering snow until it formed a large ball, which he rolled to the middle of the clearing.
"Are you going to help, love, or do nothing but stand there?"
"Oh, hush you," Lily replied, and started up on her own ball.

He'll say, "Are you married?"
We'll say, "No, man. But you can
Do the job when you're in town."

In no time at all, they had a snowman, with all the fixings, and a bit of bark wrapped around his neck that didn't exactly come together in the middle.
"He rather looks like a priest," James said, nodding towards their creation. When no reply came he frowned, turning away. "Lily?"
Before the name was out of his mouth, his face was met with a large handful of snow, and a musical laughter was moving away slowly. Grinning under the cold mask, he wiped away at his eyes until he could see the source of his torment edging away. Like a predator after his prey, he ran forward, catching Lily around the waist and pulling her into the snow with him, issuing a shriek from the girl.
"Ah, young love."
The voice was strange, and both looked up, though James looked more amused than shocked.
"Who said that?" Lily asked, picking herself up off the ground, to which James quickly rose as well, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.
"I did dear." The voice came from the snowman. "Is this your husband, dear?"
Lily blushed again, putting her hand up on James' and squeezing it lightly. "We do make quite the couple, don't we? Can you imagine I avoided the thing for six and a half years?"
"The priest has a point," James said, cutting off whichever clever answer Sirius and Remus were planning on throwing out. "Would you marry me, Lily?"
She spun around, and he caught her in one arm, reaching the other into his coat pocket.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," he replied, drawing out a small black box out of a pocket. "Suppose hypothetically this was an engagement ring." The box flipped open to reveal a silver ring with a diamond in the middle, flanked on either side by a smaller, pinker diamond.
"And suppose hypothetically I slid it onto your ring finger," he continued, taking advantage of her shock to pick up her left hand and slid the band onto her fourth finger.
"And suppose, hypothetically, I asked you to marry me."
Lily swallowed the lump in her throat three or four times, and when it cleared, the only thing she could say was, "You'd have to ask correctly. Hypothetically."
With that, James was down on one knee, with her ringed hand in both of his.
"Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Later on we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plans that we've made
Walking in a winter wonderland

Lily sat comfortably on the couch, gazing at the engagement ring on her left hand. It sat under her wedding ring: a band of gold set with a diamond in the middle. Both had belonged to James' grandmother, and they were as happy a couple as the ones before them had been. Their son was asleep upstairs, and James was just closing the door and turning out the porch light. Coming up behind her he placed a kiss on her forehead before sitting on the couch beside her.
"Harry asleep?"
"Yes, dear. I can't believe he's already a year old."
James wrapped his arms around his wife, pulling her against his side. The fireplace was lit, and it was just as it was all those years ago in the Room of Requirements.
"I can't wait until he goes to Hogwarts, James. I'll miss him terribly, but..."
"It'll be worth it. Watching him come home during the vacations, talking about secret passageways and Peeves..."
"Mmmhm."
The couple sat in comfortable silence until the clock struck eleven.
"Happy Halloween, James."
"Happy Halloween, Lily."
Their kiss was one of a couple, tried and true throughout the years. Soft and simple, as though their lives would last forever.
No one would have thought to peek outside to see the shadowed figure on the doorstep.