Title: Innocence Saved
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Lily Evans, Petunia Evans
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,115
Summary: Petunia does everything she can to protect her sister from discovering the truth.

Notes: I would like to believe Petunia and Lily had a good relationship once upon a time.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: December Event - Nativity Play - Joseph: (scenario) A child not being able to fall asleep on Christmas Eve (1,000 minimum words) / Character: Lily Evans Potter

Six-year-old Lily Evans sat up in bed. She pouted as she brushed her red bangs out of her eyes. She knew she should be asleep, but it was Christmas Eve. How could she fall asleep with the excitement bubbling inside of her? The very notion of going to sleep that night was utterly ridiculous.

She sighed. Her mummy said that if she didn't go to sleep, Santa Claus wouldn't bring her presents. That couldn't be true, though. She was good the rest of the year. Well, most of the rest of the year at least. One night of naughtiness wouldn't erase all of the good she did, right?

She pushed the covers off of her and got out of bed. She went to her bedroom door and opened it slowly. She peeked out. She looked from the left to the right. The coast was clear.

With a smile, she crept from her room and went to the banister. She looked over it at the gleaming Christmas tree.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Why was her mummy putting presents under the tree? Wasn't that Santa's job? What was going on?

She took a step back as her mind whirled with the possibilities of what her mummy secretly putting presents under the tree might mean. "What's going on?" she whispered.

"Lily!" a voice hissed behind her.

Lily jumped and turned around. She stared unblinkingly at her older sister.

Ten-year-old Petunia Evans had her arms crossed, and she didn't seem too impressed with finding her sister out and about. "What are you doing out of bed?" she whispered.

"I wanted to see the tree," Lily explained, her voice still a whisper.

Petunia stepped to the banister and looked over it. She saw what Lily saw. Lily was ready for a look of confusion to cross Petunia's face, but instead, Petunia looked scared.

"Tuney, what's wrong?" Lily asked.

Petunia looked at her. She grabbed Lily's hand and pulled hard, leading the redhead back to her bedroom.

Once they were in the room, Petunia shut the door. "You should get back into bed, Lily," Petunia commanded.

Lily was stubborn, though, and she wasn't going to forget what she saw. "Why was Mummy putting presents under the tree? That's Santa's job."

Petunia bit her bottom lip. "Well, you see..."

A terrible thought came to Lily's mind, and she asked the question before she could stop herself. "Is Santa Claus not real?"

"Of course Santa Claus is real. Mum and Dad wouldn't lie to us about something like that."

Lily shook her head. "I didn't think so, but Mum had the presents, and she was putting them under the tree..." she trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

"Um, well, you see..."

Lily waited patiently. She stared up at Petunia, certain that her big sister had all of the knowledge in the world.

"Okay, this is what happened. Santa Claus came and must have given Mum the presents to put under the tree, so he could get to the next house that much quicker. After all, Santa Claus likes to stay ahead of schedule."

"But I thought Santa comes when we're sleeping. Why did he come if Mum, and you, and me was awake?"

Petunia put on a smile, but to Lily's untrained eyes, it looked rather forced, especially with all of the teeth she was showing. "Well, Santa made a simple miscalculation. He probably thought everyone was sleeping."

"I thought Santa knows everything, though. Like the song. 'He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.' Why wouldn't he realize that there were people awake in the house?"

Petunia fell back on something she heard her parents say from time to time. "Everyone makes mistakes. Even mystical beings like Santa Claus. All that knowledge doesn't make Santa perfect. It was all probably just one big mistake. It's a mistake he won't make next year. That's for sure."

Lily nodded. She guessed that made sense. Lily made mistakes all of the time. And so did Petunia, and her mummy and daddy. Even her teacher made mistakes once in a while. Why couldn't Santa Claus make a mistake as well? "Okay, I believe you." And she did. Petunia never lied about anything.

Petunia let out a sigh of relief. "Good. That's good. Now, are you ready to go to bed? The sooner you go to sleep, the soon you can wake up and open all of the presents Santa brought you."

Lily looked at her bed but didn't really want to go to it. "I'm not sure I'll be able to fall asleep," she admitted quietly. "What if Santa comes and takes back the presents? Because I didn't go to sleep at my bedtime like a good little girl?" she asked, suddenly worried that he would see that she was awake and decide she didn't deserve her presents after all.

"He won't do that," Petunia hastily reassured her. "Once they're at the house, they're ours for keeps. He never takes back the presents, so don't worry about that."

Lily nodded. Her eyes drooped. Maybe she did feel a little tired after all. She looked at Petunia. "Tuney, can you stay with me until I fall asleep? Maybe tell me a story?"

Petunia looked longingly at the bedroom door but then, she looked into Lily's wide, green eyes. "Sure. I guess," she grudgingly agreed.

Lily smiled happily and ran to her bed, while Petunia followed at a more sedate pace.

Lily climbed into bed and under the covers. Petunia sat down next to her, her back against the headboard while Lily snuggled against her side. Her head was pillowed on Petunia's leg, her red hair fanned everywhere. "Story?" she sleepily asked.

Petunia knew it wouldn't take long for Lily to be out for the night, but she began a made-up story anyways. "Once upon a time, there was this good witch, who always wanted to help everyone. And she had the power she needed to help. She used a wand, said magic words, and made things happen. Do you know what this witch's name was?"

There was no answer. Petunia looked and saw that Lily's eyes were already closed and her breathing was deep.

Petunia smiled. "Her name was Lily," she whispered, even though there would be no finishing the story.

She tried to get out of bed, but Lily's tiny hand clutched her leg even tighter.

Petunia sighed. She had a feeling she was spending the night here. She scooted down and Lily's head automatically adjusted so it was resting on top of Petunia shoulder. Petunia used Lily's currently unused pillow for herself, and together, the sisters finally slept that Christmas Eve.