Jingle Bells
By
Miracle Angel Summers/AHewlett
Summary: While putting up stockings, decorations, and bells, James and Lily Potter listen to the all time classic – 'Jingle Bells.'
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't anything since the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K Rowling and the lyrics belong to whoever wrote them.
Note: This was done for the PotterShare Holiday Contest
Beta: Thanks to Elizabeth (SiriusMarauderFan) who helped co-write and beta this story.
It was the winter of 1978 and already it was only three days until Christmas Day. Lily and James Potter had decided to decorate the house now before one Sirius Black would arrive and distract them from the job which had already been put on hold since the first week of December.
The couple were married in the summer of that year, a few weeks after they had finished their Seventh Year at Hogwarts, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even though Lily had never paid any attention or even liked her future husband, James couldn't help but fall in love with her and soon enough during the last months of their sixth year, the couple were finally drawn together.
The house that they had chosen to live in was in Oxfordshire, bordering near Wiltshire. Stockings Farm Cottage was originally two period cottages dated back to 1850 and was sympathetically converted about 40 years ago. Constructed of brick and flint under a clay tiled roof, the property has a wonderful feeling of seclusion and tranquillity. Even though it had only three bedrooms, each room was big enough to hold a party of twenty people.
In the living room, in the left hand corner near the window was a large Christmas tree, decorated in red and gold items. A simple star lay at the top, and plenty of presents were around the bottom of the fake tree.
On the fireplace mantel sat garlands tangled around photos of the couple together. And hanging in front of the roaring fire were two stockings, each with a name written elegantly on it. Through the window you could see the snow falling on the front yard of the house.
A Wizard's Wireless sat on the coffee table and Celestina Warbeck's voice filled the air as she sang Muggle and wizarding Christmas carols. Right now it was Jingle Bells.
In the front hall Lily stood on the staircase while she wrapped garlands around the railing and added bows of red and gold. James, broom in hand, continued to go in and out of the house while hanging lights on the outside of their house. At the moment he was coming in.
"How's it going?" Lily asked, putting the finishing touches on the railing.
"Not so good," James replied, out of breath. "My glasses keep falling off, hence the reason the lights are slanted. And my broom isn't flying well in the storm."
Lily sighed as she approached him. Taking off his glasses, she said a few words and then gave them back to him. "They should stay on now. And I thought you had the best broom ever made. Or at least that's what you told me last year."
"That was last year, now they're coming out with better and faster brooms that are meant to withstand snow storms. Sirius just told me about one last week, called the Nimbus 500. I've even seen the ads, it's beautiful!" James said all this in one breath and stopped to find Lily laughing at him. As she rolled her eyes, James quickly kissed her cheek and went back out to straighten up the lights as best he could with a wonky broom.
He finally came back, freezing cold and stood in front of the fire, warming up his cold bottom. To say the least, it was a sight to see. Lily was finish off at the stairs, hanging up a few bells before taking a step back to view what she had created. Once she was satisfied, she sank into one of the couches and put her feet up onto the coffee table.
On the front door was a berry wreath and on the back door, which led out to the snow covered garden, was a wreath covered in bells. To James' odd look, Lily had simply said 'that it would alert us if anyone came in. Good or bad.' It had seemed reasonable to her. Glancing over at the radio, James couldn't help but chuckle. "A bit ironic when our house is full of bells. All we need now is for Sirius to arrive on a sleigh."
Half an hour later, while Lily and James were dozing off in front of the fire, one Sirius Black arrived with presents on a sleigh…covered in bells.