25th of December, 1979
He grinned, waving his wand at the candles for the finishing touches. The room was lit up by the flickering of orange flames, slowly dancing through the air as if they were performing before an audience. They took the attention away from the delicious food on the table, but then again, she had always appreciated ambiance more than she had food. He secretly even hoped she would be so taken away by the beautiful Christmas tree, the dozens of candles floating around and the soft music playing in the background that she wouldn't notice it was his mum's cooking.
"James, m'boy, you're a bloody genius," he told himself, patting himself on the shoulder and grinning widely. He jumped as he heard the familiar sound of someone Apparating in the hallway, quickly glancing around the room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
"James, are you home yet?" she called as she entered the kitchen, still oblivious to the state of the living room. She stumbled around the room, following her usual routine of pouring herself coffee after arriving home.
"In here, Lils," he answered as casually as possible, a self-satisfied grin threatening to escape. He leant against the wall, his arms crossed, watching her as she finally entered the room. Her eyes widened, her hand flying to her chest in surprise, dropping her cup. He smirked as he saved the cup from shattering to pieces with a flick of his wand. "Surprised, are you? You always think so little of me, Lils." He raised his eyebrows teasingly as he walked towards her, kissing her forehead. "Merry Christmas."
"Apparently so," she whispered back in awe, looking up at him. "James, you really didn't have to do this."
He grinned and pointed over his shoulder to the tree. "Got you a present and everything."
She laughed, throwing her hair back over her shoulder as she raised an arm to push a candle in the opposite direction. She smiled at him, "You put a lot of work in this then."
"I should get a 'thank you' kiss from a certain pretty redhead, don't you think?"
She pretended to ponder that for a moment, sliding her arms around his neck slowly. "Well, maybe just a small one." She caught his lips in her, losing herself in the romantic atmosphere.
"Presents first?" he murmured against her lips, slowly pulling away from her. He led her over to the couch before ducking his head in the corner of the room, underneath the tree and reappearing with a small box in his hand. "I thought it would go nice with the ring," he admitted sheepishly, gesturing towards the wedding ring on her finger. He tossed it to her, laughing when she caught it clumsily.
"Did you honestly just throw my present at me?" she asked, grinning, carefully ridding the package of the paper.
"To you, Lils, not at you. There's a difference," he answered simply before sitting next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulder.
"I'm sure," she whispered back as she took of the lid of the box, holding back a gasp as she saw the silver necklace. It was simple, just a chain, but made of the most delicate-feeling metal and it fit her ring perfectly. "James, thank you." She looked up at him with a sweet smile and leant in for another kiss, placing her free hand on his cheek. She felt him grin beneath her lips.
A pop sounded in the kitchen, frantic footsteps following it before the door was slammed against the wall. "Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley! Stop smooching and get going," a deep voice ordered, the roll of the eyes that followed obvious in his voice.
They both jumped up from the couch, the necklace falling to the floor as they hurried to join Sirius in the hallway. He was tapping his foot impatiently, but greeted them with a wide smile as they entered the kitchen. "Having a good Christmas?" he asked, grinning.
James grinned back as Lily rolled her eyes, trying to hold back her own smile. "We were, Sirius, thanks."
"Alright then, let's go."
As they appeared in Diagon Alley, they were met by the roaring of fire and the shattering of glass windows. The smoke made them cough and the cracks of the glass underneath their feet as they walked took away the usual chipper mood that hung in the street. Something was wrong, though, they realised. There was destruction everywhere, shops ruined, brooms broken and clothes and cloaks ripped to shreds... but no people. They would have thought the fight was already over if the remaining windows had not been seemingly shattering on their own. Something had to be there, waiting to take them by surprise.
James carefully took Lily by the arm and put her between him and Sirius, sending her a look that told her to be on her guard. Sirius' eyes flickered from one building to the next, up to the rooftops and peering into the shops, trying to find someone or something, anything. His knuckles turned white from clenching his wand and the vein in his neck throbbed.
Then, all of a sudden, it was as if all hell broke loose. First, they heard numerous people Apparating, and then there was screaming. The screaming was followed by calls for help and fierce battle cries. The Death Eaters were duelling the members of the Order of the Phoenix. It was a battle field, surrounded by fire, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.
Sirius cursed under his breath before heading into the mass of people himself, leaving James and Lily alone near the door of Flourish and Blott's. He sent her a determined look and took her hand, dragging her into the battle.
He shouted curses at every hooded and masked figure he encountered, hearing his wife do the same next to him, never letting go of her hand. Breathing in the smoke made his lungs ache and he felt a burning scratch on his temple. He wasn't going to complain about a scratch when people were dying, though.
He jumped over a body, not realising whose body it was until Lily screamed and stopped him by pulling at his arm. "What?" he asked, panicked, immediately searching her for any injuries. He reached her face, taking in the horrified look in her eyes as she stared down at the woman at their feet. He swallowed thickly as he recognised the face. Dorcas Meadows. He tore his eyes away from the shocked face of the woman they had known for years, who had been with the Order from the start and who had helped teach them everything they knew.
He tugged on Lily's hand, making her look up, and then dragging her away from the body, his wife heavily protesting behind him. "We can't just leave her there, James!"
"We're sitting ducks in the middle of the street. We'll get her later!" He stubbornly continued to pull her away from the body, until he suddenly lost the grip on her arm. He turned around quickly and saw a flicker of red hair disappear back into the mass of people. He didn't think twice about it as he ran back to where they had encountered the body of the woman who had meant so much to both them personally and the Order.
As he reached her, he saw Lily duelling with a Death Eater, protectively standing over the body of Dorcas Meadows. He snarled angrily, shooting a spell directly at the mask, shattering it and most likely killing the person behind it.
"Lils!" He ran over to her, and took her by the arm. "What the hell where you thinking?!" He pushed her to the side as a misdirected spell flew towards them, hitting a Death Eater not far behind. He missed the terrified look on his wife's face as he shot several spells in the direction where it had come from.
"James," Lily whispered, squeezing her husband's arm.
He looked down at her, the look on her face making his heart jump as he turned to watch where her stare led. "Oh, shit," he cursed. "Shit."
"He's here," she whispered back.
He heard the high-pitched laughter in the distance and shuddered. He could recognise that laugh from anywhere. After hearing it once you could never forget it again.
Trying to make her feel better, he grinned weakly. "Just as ugly as last time, isn't he?"
They noticed he was watching the battle, not even trying to participate. He was just looking, watching with a sadistic smile on his face, loving the death and destruction his minions brought upon the magical world. They didn't realise his eyes landed on them before they were dragged forward, towards him, by some unspoken magic. They tried to struggle, digging their heels in the ground as she tried to undo the spell, but it was a useless attempt. Before long, they were not five feet away from him as he looked at them with disdain, his eyes holding the same evil glint they did the last time.
"You shouldn't stare at your superior," he said slowly. He smiled maniacally, pointing his wand at Lily. "It's rude. Crucio!"
As she collapsed next to him, screaming and curling into a ball, James knelt down next to her, touching her cheeks and watching helplessly as she begged him to make it stop. "Stop torturing her, you son of a bitch!" He glared up at him, shouting a spell he knew would be useless. It was deflected easily and the Dark Lord tutted disapprovingly.
James looked back down at Lily as he realised she'd stopped screaming, her muscles relaxing and tears still streaming down her face. He kissed her eyelids and whispered apologies, asking her if she was okay. Somehow he was able to shut everything out: the battle, the exhaustion, the smoke, the screaming, the heat, and even their enemy just a few feet away. He concentrated fully on touching every part of Lily's body, making sure she was okay and making sure she knew he loved her.
"I'll be right back," he whispered before gently laying her down on the ground and standing up, looking up defiantly. He lifted his wand and he could have sworn he saw fury cross Voldemort's features as James decided to put up a fight against him.
At the same time James' spell was supposed to hit, another came flying from the side, striking the Dark Lord in the side, making him stumble.
He looked up and relief filled him. Dumbledore.
~*~
James let out a deep breath as he Apparated into their bedroom, Lily in his arms. He carefully put her on the bed, gently stroked her cheek, and dropped down next to her. He closed his eyes and draped his arm over his face, hearing the thump of his heartbeat in his ears.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked next to him.
Taking another deep breath, he opened his eyes and sat up with a small smile. "We're alive."
She frowned and rested her head on her arm. "That's not what I asked." She placed her free hand on the side of his face, reminding him of the deep cut there.
"It just stings." He shrugged, pushing himself up to press a reassuring kiss to her forehead before sitting up.
"What are you doing?"
He turned around with a big grin on his face. "I hope you like Mum's heated up food with necklace on top."