Lily poked the log in the fireplace with her wand, and a warm, crackling
fire immediately appeared. She had removed all the Christmas adornments
just in time for New Year's Eve, and the living room was now back to its
non-decorative state. Crossing over to the window and watching the thickly
falling snow for a few moments, Lily suddenly felt a pair of muscular arms
wrap themselves around her waist. Turning around and facing her husband,
she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Come help me in the kitchen before they arrive."
James groaned audibly, but followed his wife to the small but cozy kitchen anyway.
"Take the roast beef out of the oven, and put it on that platter - no, don't do that," Lily said reprovingly, slapping James' hand good-naturedly as he tried to take a bit off the roast. "Now, turn the oven down, and put it back in, then pour some of the mulled cider into that pitcher."
James stiffened at the word cider. He couldn't say anything to her, really, but Lily's cider was, in a word, dreadful. She was generally a very good cook, but if there was one thing she couldn't make, it was cider. James peered suspiciously at the mixture as he poured it from the pan into the pitcher, while Lily bustled about, trying to do ten things at once, but actually accomplishing nothing.
"I think that's about everything done," she finally said, pushing aside some pots to make room for a dish of peas, and making a broom tip over and a skillet fall off the counter in the process.
"Small kitchen syndrome, again, Lil?" laughed James from the corner, where he was munching on leftover Christmas cookies.
"Humph," was all Lily would say.
"Allow me to remind you that you're the one that didn't want to use any of my parents' money to get a house.wanted to use our own savings. Er - dear," James added, quavering beneath Lily's murderous glare.
"Well, it wouldn't have been as special for us if we'd bought a mansion, and had a house-elf to do everything. I much prefer it this way," said Lily flatly.
"Of course, who wouldn't? Listen, why don't you go get yourself tidied up? I'll finish up here," he said helpfully, privately thinking he would attempt to improve the cider in her absence.
"Will, or attempt to?" said Lily mischievously, her mood taking an unexpected turn for the better as she trotted out of the kitchen, kissing James lightly on the lips on the way, and narrowly escaping being pelted with a cookie in the shape of a Christmas tree.
James leaned back in his chair for a moment, allowing himself to think about how altered things were now in accordance to when he had first kissed Lily. Or rather, attempted to, he contemplated to himself, with a rueful smile. During the Christmas holidays of their seventh year, it had transpired that Lily and James were the only two Gryffindor seventh years that stayed at Hogwarts. Indeed they had settled their long-lasting feud at the end of sixth year, but friends was what they had remained.
. . .
After the three third-year girls had gone to bed, the common room was empty, save Lily and James. Nothing could be heard but the whistling of the wind outside. Lily had the Christmas present she had received from an anonymous admirer (aka James) in her lap. It was really quite an extraordinary thing, if James did say so himself. An orb made of the finest crystal, attached to an ebony stand; it contained what looked like hundreds of tiny, bouncing stars. The colour of the stars changed to reflect the owner's mood. If you tapped the surface with your wand, a haunting, arcane tune floated out of it.
Enjoying watching the little stars bounce off the surfaces of the globe, Lily took out her wand and tapped it, and the melody swept through the air. James suddenly stood up, rumpling his hair as he did.
"Want to dance?"
"Here? Now?" queried Lily, gazing at him as though he were mentally unsound.
"Sure, why not?"
She stood up also. James took her right hand in his left, and put his other hand around her waist. He had never been this close to her before; she was so beautiful.
"I didn't know you could dance," grinned Lily.
"Me neither. Careful of your feet," James laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind!"
They span around to the flutey music and finally stopped, James having inconspicuously lead her right beneath a bunch of mistletoe.
"Look, mistletoe," he said, feigning mild surprise.
Lily laughed, but was stopped abruptly as James kissed her. She had started to kiss him back before she broke away. Taking one look at the horror-struck expression on her face, James knew he had made the wrong move.
"I - I'm sorry, Lily," he muttered fiercely to his feet.
"Yes, me too," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Lily flew up to the girl's dormitory, leaving James standing by himself. He peered down at the orb, and saw that the stars were a fiery-red colour, and bouncing about madly. He pulled out his wand, and tapped it, making the music stop, and trudged up to his dorm.
. . .
"Hallo!" came Sirius Black's cheerful voice from the hallway, startling James out of his reverie.
Lily clambered down the stairs to greet their first guest.
"You're looking fine tonight, Lily!" said Sirius appreciatively, lifting Lily up off her feet and twirling her around.
"She's my wife, Padfoot!" James called out. "Lil, a little help, please?"
Lily laughed as she entered the kitchen, and found James standing at the open oven and poking at the Yorkshire puddings with a ladle, as if hoping they would leap to life and tell him that they had been baked adequately.
"Take them out, they're fine," she told James, as someone knocked at the door.
"I'll get it!" yelled Sirius, speeding out of the kitchen and down the hall.
"Can we tell them tonight?" James asked Lily eagerly as soon as Sirius was out of hearing proximity.
"I think so."
Remus Lupin regretted Apparating into the rather shoddy kitchen when he did, finding Lily and James wrapped in each other's arms. He tried to tiptoe out into the hallway to give them a bit of privacy, but tripped over the broom that had previously fallen over, and tumbled to the floor.
"Evening, Moony," James said in a salutary tone, helping his friend off the floor.
Meanwhile, Lily, with an ineffectual smile on her face, loaded the pitcher of cider and four cups onto a tray.
"Let's go, boys, that must've been Peter at the door."
"Let me take that for you, Lily," Remus said, holding out his hands for the tray. "Is it cider?"
"Thanks, Remus. Yes it is."
Remus covered his dismay by remarking that she was missing a cup.
"Oh, you know that I never really fancied mulled cider," Lily said, averting her eyes. Remus glanced at her, and saw that her cheeks were rather pink. When she looked up again, he gave her a knowing smile.
* * *
"Happy New Year's, Lily," said Peter to her when she came into the living room.
"You too, Peter," Lily answered, enveloping him in a warm hug.
The cider having been passed around, they all took a sip - though James and Remus quite reluctantly. Low murmurs of how delicious it was came from all corners of the room, except from Sirius'. Gagging, he spat his mouthful into the fireplace, nearly extinguishing the fire.
"Trying to poison us all again, Lily?" he said genially.
Lily frowned, and James, recognizing the signs, turned to Remus, who usually understood such things, silently asking him to change the subject.
Remus cleared his throat. "Did you know the Longbottoms are going to have a baby?" he asked, carefully looking at James as he said this, who immediately became occupied with tugging at a loose string on his robes.
"Good for them!" roared Sirius.
Lily brightened. "I'll write to Alice and ask her over for tea!" she said. "Would you get some parchment and a quill, James?"
James pulled a piece of parchment out of the desk drawer, and then rummaged about for a quill.
"Where are the quills, Lil?"
"In the box that says quills."
"Looks more like pills," James said sceptically.
"Well, try taking one with your morning pumpkin juice then, and see what happens," Lily said, grabbing one of the quills, and penning a quick invitation to Alice Longbottom for tea one day. "I'll send that off later."
"All this talk of ickle babies reminds me, I have a present for you two!" Sirius said, leaping forward and pulling a large square package from the pocket of his cloak, which had been draped over a chair. He tossed it to James who gingerly removed the biting bow, then handed it to Lily, who unwrapped it.
"The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. Wow, Sirius, this is -er- great," uttered Lily, trying to conceal her amusement through a look of precariousness.
"There's also The Couple's Guide to Fertility," said Sirius, gesturing to another book beneath the first one.
James, with a horrified expression on his face, took the books from Lily and flipped through them.
"Thanks, Sirius. That's really -er- thoughtful of you," he finally said.
Remus noted a silent interaction pass between Lily and James, where James looked over at his wife inquiringly, and Lily nodded her head slightly, turning pink again. Remus chuckled to himself as he leaned over and poured the contents of his cup into a potted plant.
"Why don't you tell them, James?" Lily was saying, winking in Remus' direction conspiratorially.
"Well, as you know, Lily and I have been trying, and -er- not long ago, we found out -" James stopped for a moment to clear his throat gruffly, then let the words fall out of his mouth in a rush. "We're going to become parents."
The warm and happy ambience of the room swelled as the announcement was greeted with cheers and hugs all round.
"I want my books back!" yelled Sirius joyfully over the din.
"It's -yes, it, Sirius. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl - due sometime in late July. No, we haven't told anyone yet, you're the first to know."
"I still remember the night you proposed to her, James," Sirius said dreamily.
"Yeah, you ruined it didn't you?" James laughed.
"Not quite. She still said yes, didn't she?" said Sirius, looking at Lily, the memory flooding back.
It had been the Leaving Ball in their seventh year.
. . .
Sirius escaped for a few moments to take a stroll, and, upon hearing the muttering of a voice that sounded exactly like James, decided to investigate.
"James! You out there?" his voice rang out into the darkness.
Without warning, someone grabbed his shoulders - James.
"Oh, there you are! What are you doing? Where's Lily?"
"She's right back there. What are you doing?"
"Looking for you two. We were wondering where -"
"Sirius," James said fiercely through gritted teeth. "We're kind of having a moment here."
"Oh! Ohhh." Sirius suddenly comprehended. "Did you give her the ring yet?" he asked in his usual resounding voice.
"No, not quite, Sirius, but thanks for the heads-up!" came Lily's voice cheerfully from a few feet to the right.
"Ah, sorry, Prongs," Sirius muttered.
"Shove off, Sirius, you pillock," James said.
. . .
"Come help me in the kitchen before they arrive."
James groaned audibly, but followed his wife to the small but cozy kitchen anyway.
"Take the roast beef out of the oven, and put it on that platter - no, don't do that," Lily said reprovingly, slapping James' hand good-naturedly as he tried to take a bit off the roast. "Now, turn the oven down, and put it back in, then pour some of the mulled cider into that pitcher."
James stiffened at the word cider. He couldn't say anything to her, really, but Lily's cider was, in a word, dreadful. She was generally a very good cook, but if there was one thing she couldn't make, it was cider. James peered suspiciously at the mixture as he poured it from the pan into the pitcher, while Lily bustled about, trying to do ten things at once, but actually accomplishing nothing.
"I think that's about everything done," she finally said, pushing aside some pots to make room for a dish of peas, and making a broom tip over and a skillet fall off the counter in the process.
"Small kitchen syndrome, again, Lil?" laughed James from the corner, where he was munching on leftover Christmas cookies.
"Humph," was all Lily would say.
"Allow me to remind you that you're the one that didn't want to use any of my parents' money to get a house.wanted to use our own savings. Er - dear," James added, quavering beneath Lily's murderous glare.
"Well, it wouldn't have been as special for us if we'd bought a mansion, and had a house-elf to do everything. I much prefer it this way," said Lily flatly.
"Of course, who wouldn't? Listen, why don't you go get yourself tidied up? I'll finish up here," he said helpfully, privately thinking he would attempt to improve the cider in her absence.
"Will, or attempt to?" said Lily mischievously, her mood taking an unexpected turn for the better as she trotted out of the kitchen, kissing James lightly on the lips on the way, and narrowly escaping being pelted with a cookie in the shape of a Christmas tree.
James leaned back in his chair for a moment, allowing himself to think about how altered things were now in accordance to when he had first kissed Lily. Or rather, attempted to, he contemplated to himself, with a rueful smile. During the Christmas holidays of their seventh year, it had transpired that Lily and James were the only two Gryffindor seventh years that stayed at Hogwarts. Indeed they had settled their long-lasting feud at the end of sixth year, but friends was what they had remained.
. . .
After the three third-year girls had gone to bed, the common room was empty, save Lily and James. Nothing could be heard but the whistling of the wind outside. Lily had the Christmas present she had received from an anonymous admirer (aka James) in her lap. It was really quite an extraordinary thing, if James did say so himself. An orb made of the finest crystal, attached to an ebony stand; it contained what looked like hundreds of tiny, bouncing stars. The colour of the stars changed to reflect the owner's mood. If you tapped the surface with your wand, a haunting, arcane tune floated out of it.
Enjoying watching the little stars bounce off the surfaces of the globe, Lily took out her wand and tapped it, and the melody swept through the air. James suddenly stood up, rumpling his hair as he did.
"Want to dance?"
"Here? Now?" queried Lily, gazing at him as though he were mentally unsound.
"Sure, why not?"
She stood up also. James took her right hand in his left, and put his other hand around her waist. He had never been this close to her before; she was so beautiful.
"I didn't know you could dance," grinned Lily.
"Me neither. Careful of your feet," James laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind!"
They span around to the flutey music and finally stopped, James having inconspicuously lead her right beneath a bunch of mistletoe.
"Look, mistletoe," he said, feigning mild surprise.
Lily laughed, but was stopped abruptly as James kissed her. She had started to kiss him back before she broke away. Taking one look at the horror-struck expression on her face, James knew he had made the wrong move.
"I - I'm sorry, Lily," he muttered fiercely to his feet.
"Yes, me too," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Lily flew up to the girl's dormitory, leaving James standing by himself. He peered down at the orb, and saw that the stars were a fiery-red colour, and bouncing about madly. He pulled out his wand, and tapped it, making the music stop, and trudged up to his dorm.
. . .
"Hallo!" came Sirius Black's cheerful voice from the hallway, startling James out of his reverie.
Lily clambered down the stairs to greet their first guest.
"You're looking fine tonight, Lily!" said Sirius appreciatively, lifting Lily up off her feet and twirling her around.
"She's my wife, Padfoot!" James called out. "Lil, a little help, please?"
Lily laughed as she entered the kitchen, and found James standing at the open oven and poking at the Yorkshire puddings with a ladle, as if hoping they would leap to life and tell him that they had been baked adequately.
"Take them out, they're fine," she told James, as someone knocked at the door.
"I'll get it!" yelled Sirius, speeding out of the kitchen and down the hall.
"Can we tell them tonight?" James asked Lily eagerly as soon as Sirius was out of hearing proximity.
"I think so."
Remus Lupin regretted Apparating into the rather shoddy kitchen when he did, finding Lily and James wrapped in each other's arms. He tried to tiptoe out into the hallway to give them a bit of privacy, but tripped over the broom that had previously fallen over, and tumbled to the floor.
"Evening, Moony," James said in a salutary tone, helping his friend off the floor.
Meanwhile, Lily, with an ineffectual smile on her face, loaded the pitcher of cider and four cups onto a tray.
"Let's go, boys, that must've been Peter at the door."
"Let me take that for you, Lily," Remus said, holding out his hands for the tray. "Is it cider?"
"Thanks, Remus. Yes it is."
Remus covered his dismay by remarking that she was missing a cup.
"Oh, you know that I never really fancied mulled cider," Lily said, averting her eyes. Remus glanced at her, and saw that her cheeks were rather pink. When she looked up again, he gave her a knowing smile.
* * *
"Happy New Year's, Lily," said Peter to her when she came into the living room.
"You too, Peter," Lily answered, enveloping him in a warm hug.
The cider having been passed around, they all took a sip - though James and Remus quite reluctantly. Low murmurs of how delicious it was came from all corners of the room, except from Sirius'. Gagging, he spat his mouthful into the fireplace, nearly extinguishing the fire.
"Trying to poison us all again, Lily?" he said genially.
Lily frowned, and James, recognizing the signs, turned to Remus, who usually understood such things, silently asking him to change the subject.
Remus cleared his throat. "Did you know the Longbottoms are going to have a baby?" he asked, carefully looking at James as he said this, who immediately became occupied with tugging at a loose string on his robes.
"Good for them!" roared Sirius.
Lily brightened. "I'll write to Alice and ask her over for tea!" she said. "Would you get some parchment and a quill, James?"
James pulled a piece of parchment out of the desk drawer, and then rummaged about for a quill.
"Where are the quills, Lil?"
"In the box that says quills."
"Looks more like pills," James said sceptically.
"Well, try taking one with your morning pumpkin juice then, and see what happens," Lily said, grabbing one of the quills, and penning a quick invitation to Alice Longbottom for tea one day. "I'll send that off later."
"All this talk of ickle babies reminds me, I have a present for you two!" Sirius said, leaping forward and pulling a large square package from the pocket of his cloak, which had been draped over a chair. He tossed it to James who gingerly removed the biting bow, then handed it to Lily, who unwrapped it.
"The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. Wow, Sirius, this is -er- great," uttered Lily, trying to conceal her amusement through a look of precariousness.
"There's also The Couple's Guide to Fertility," said Sirius, gesturing to another book beneath the first one.
James, with a horrified expression on his face, took the books from Lily and flipped through them.
"Thanks, Sirius. That's really -er- thoughtful of you," he finally said.
Remus noted a silent interaction pass between Lily and James, where James looked over at his wife inquiringly, and Lily nodded her head slightly, turning pink again. Remus chuckled to himself as he leaned over and poured the contents of his cup into a potted plant.
"Why don't you tell them, James?" Lily was saying, winking in Remus' direction conspiratorially.
"Well, as you know, Lily and I have been trying, and -er- not long ago, we found out -" James stopped for a moment to clear his throat gruffly, then let the words fall out of his mouth in a rush. "We're going to become parents."
The warm and happy ambience of the room swelled as the announcement was greeted with cheers and hugs all round.
"I want my books back!" yelled Sirius joyfully over the din.
"It's -yes, it, Sirius. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl - due sometime in late July. No, we haven't told anyone yet, you're the first to know."
"I still remember the night you proposed to her, James," Sirius said dreamily.
"Yeah, you ruined it didn't you?" James laughed.
"Not quite. She still said yes, didn't she?" said Sirius, looking at Lily, the memory flooding back.
It had been the Leaving Ball in their seventh year.
. . .
Sirius escaped for a few moments to take a stroll, and, upon hearing the muttering of a voice that sounded exactly like James, decided to investigate.
"James! You out there?" his voice rang out into the darkness.
Without warning, someone grabbed his shoulders - James.
"Oh, there you are! What are you doing? Where's Lily?"
"She's right back there. What are you doing?"
"Looking for you two. We were wondering where -"
"Sirius," James said fiercely through gritted teeth. "We're kind of having a moment here."
"Oh! Ohhh." Sirius suddenly comprehended. "Did you give her the ring yet?" he asked in his usual resounding voice.
"No, not quite, Sirius, but thanks for the heads-up!" came Lily's voice cheerfully from a few feet to the right.
"Ah, sorry, Prongs," Sirius muttered.
"Shove off, Sirius, you pillock," James said.
. . .