Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter! Ahh, yeah, I'm a compulsive liar.

Mornings, a Christmas Tale

Sixth Year

Christmas dawned, bright and cold. The snowflakes drifting past the window were lighter than the night before, which was good as everyone was afraid there would be snowstorm on Christmas day.

Sitting up, Lily pushed her tangles of red hair away from her eyes and looked towards the foot of her bed.

It was lucky, she thought, that the house elves had thought to put her presents on her trunk rather than their customary place at the bottom of the bed as she would surely have kicked them off considering how tall she'd become.

Lily pushed the curtains back from around from her bed and she was glad to see that Alice had already left, probably to see Frank. I t wasn't that she didn't like Alice, after all the brunette was her closest friend, but she did get a bit annoying going on about Frank and how Lily should just say 'yes' to Potter and have it over with. Especially on Christmas morning when there was sure to be an extravagant gift from him present at her feet.

She went and sat by her trunk and slowly began to unwrap the mound of gifts there. There were the usual sweets, books and other Muggle trinkets from her unsuspecting cousins, a beautiful ruby ring from her parents along with some new clothes, a horrid beige scarf from Petunia and the usual odds and ends that her friend knew she needed.

The obvious gap in the list was an extravagant present from Potter. After all, in the past years he had given her a diamond and emerald hair pin which she loved, and although she'd never admit it she wore quite a lot in the Muggle world. In second year he gave her a delicate scene of tiny, moving figures entrapped in a snow globe which she found later to be a perfect miniature of Hogsmead, detailed down to what each person was doing that exact second.

Those two were her favourites, but they still were enclosed in the shoebox under her bed with all the rest.

Eventually, after looking underneath all the discarded wrapping paper, she found a card addressed to her in Potter's neat cursive. The picture on the front was very simple, a single, perfect purple water lily, wreathed in spiky green leaves floating in a dark river.

The message inside was also very simple, yet it still managed to strike a chord deep within Lily's chest.

Lily,

Have a very Merry Christmas.

I will be thinking of you.

Yours, always,

James. X

Seventh Year

Lily rolled over in bed.

Curse the sun, curse Christmas and most of all curse Alice.

Lily did not see the need for her to barge in here, open the curtains and yell to the entire world,

"Merry Christmas, Lily!"

Lily groaned in her direction.

"Fine, be like that, but it is eight in the morning so I'm taking it upon myself to introduce you to the wonders of Christmas morning. So I'm getting you a coffee."

And Alice left, kissing Lily on the forehead as she passed, and Lily wondered dully why Alice had to move through everything so quickly, she had only been in the room half a minute at most, that girl was a whirlwind. Snuggling deeper into her blankets, content that the annoyance was gone, Lily was just drifting back into oblivion when she sat bolt upright, clapping her hand to her forehead.

"Damn, I forgot James' present!"

Throwing the covers away she scrambled around, pulling on her dressing gown and fumbling with the draw she'd hidden said present in.

She crept across the carpet on light feet and eased the door to the Head Boy's room ope.

Breathing a sigh of relief she strode further into the room and placed her carefully wrapped gift on the covers, glad she didn't have to explain it at that particular moment.

When she arrived back at her own bed she was surprised to see a present enveloped in lurid purple paper with a horrible fluro pink bow on top. The tag read; To Lily, Love James.

Shaking her head at his choice of paper (it was a joke between them that purple and pink should never be put together) she opened the package and found two new books that she wanted, one Muggle and one wizarding, and green socks with snitches knitted into the pattern, another standing joke between them (Lily had insulted James' socks and he immediately had told her that her plain white socks were boring). A/N See Sunlit Days' Socks for full story. Funny, because along with the crocodile tooth necklace she had given him a pair of white socks.

Christmas after they have left

Lily wondered how such a joyous occasion as Christmas could continue in such dark, dismal times as these, but she supposed they needed something to keep their hope alive. Yes, it was that, and it provided an excuse to let your guard down, she smiled, remembering last night's activities.

She turned over and started to gently shake her husband awake.

"James, James, honey, you have to get up soon, Sirius said he'd be here at ten, but knowing him he'll turn up at nine."

James grunted and searched wildly for his glasses.

"Whaa..?"

"C'mon, gem, you have to get up."

Lily swung out of their bed and walked to her cupboard to fetch the special present she had stashed there.

"I got you something"

"Hmmm..?"

She handed him a small black box and sat back down on the bed next to him.

Carefully, he opened the box and looked at her, confused.

"They're connection rings, if we both wear them we'll know when the other is in trouble."

"Merlin, how much did they cost? Not that I don't like them, of course not, thank you, they're perfect, something that makes both of us feel better."

"That's the point," she replied with a slight laugh.

"Thank you, Petal," he said and promptly cut off her air supply with his lips, "I love it, but not as much as I love you."

A/N So a very Happy Christmas to you all, dear readers, and spread the Christmas cheer.

Love,

Sapphy, xoxo xoxo