Disclaimer...these characters belong to JKR
21st of December
Lily may have gone slightly overboard. Maybe. Possibly. If she had, she wasn't going to admit it aloud. In front of her, on the kitchen table, was a stack of Christmas cards that must've been a foot high. Lily wasn't even sure that they knew that many people. She had put off the inevitable Christmas-card-writing for as long as she could, but she was a grown-up now, (it seemed to Lily that if you were a person that still said 'grown-up', you probably weren't one yourself) and it was the proper thing to do.
She was married, she had a house, and she was going to write Christmas cards.
"James?" she called, not looking away from the stack of cards.
"What?"
"I need some assistance"
"Is it assistance with taking a bath, cause I'm kinda cold and that sounds fun… Oh. You need help writing hundreds of cards" James poked his head through the kitchen door and made a face at Lily, who made an even worse once back.
"I'll make you a deal" she said, beckoning him closer. "We'll have a bath after you help me with the Christmas cards"
James dithered on the threshold.
"I bought gingerbread scented bubble bath" Lily persuaded.
"Fine" he sighed, sliding across the floor in a pair of knit socks and dropping into a seat. "Who d'you want me to write to? "
Lily shoved two pieces of parchment across the table. "I've divided the list evenly" she said busily, "and I've drawn up a template of what you should write to people that're just acquaintances. We'll do the more personal ones together"
"There is such a thing as a duplicating charm" James told her, picking up a quill.
"It lacks that personal touch"
"Oh of course. How silly of me"
Without looking up from her stack of cards, Lily shoved a bottle of red and green alternating ink across the table. James had found it in Diagon Alley one day, and it alternated red letters with green ones.
He glanced at the template Lily had drawn up.
Dear Blank,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It's been quite a year, and we hope you and your family are in good health. (Insert appropriate personal comment.) We're both doing very well, and enjoying our first Christmas together. Wishing you the very best,
James and Lily
"What sort of personal comment?" James asked.
"Something like – 'I hope Buster the dog got over his stomach infection!'"
"We don't know anyone with a dog called Buster"
"It was an example"
James consulted his list. "You've given me Slughorn, can I tell him that I hope he stops being a little bitch and joins the Order?"
"Nope" Lily said, busily writing. "Just tell him that you enjoyed his latest contribution to Potions Pot"
"Alright"
They wrote in companionable silence for a while until Lily got up to fetch them a plate of mince pies and some eggnog.
"Eggnog is peculiar" James said, staring at his glass.
"Eggnog is delicious. Have you ever had eggnog in hot chocolate? It's amazing"
"That sounds really sweet?"
"It contains enough sugar to send a village into a diabetic coma but it's worth it" Lily told him, licking an envelope and sprinkling sand over an open card.
James was about halfway through his list and looked at Lily's tall stack of neatly addressed envelopes in amazement. She'd found thick creamy parchment envelopes printed with blue snowflakes and candy canes and it looked like her list was finished completely.
"Are you already done?" he asked.
"Mm hmm. I'm going to start Mary, Marlene's and Camilla's cards. I'll leave the boys for you and we can do the teachers together"
"Which teachers?"
"I thought we'd do Dumbledore and Minerva since they're both in the Order" Lily said, picking up a fresh Christmas card.
James shuddered. "I can't call her 'Minerva', she'll always be McGonagall to me"
"You used to call her 'Minnie" Lily said with a fond smile at him.
"We were in her Transfiguration class just six months ago"
"Aah memories"
Lily snorted at him and started to write, her hand writing neat and tightly controlled, every letter rounded perfectly. James craned his neck to read over her arm and ended up just propping his chin on her shoulder.
Dear Marlene,
Merry Christmas! I know we saw each other last week and you're coming to stay for Christmas but I bought too many Christmas cards in a glitter-induced moment of weakness and I need to use them up because else my kitchen will have a pile of cards on the table for perpetuity. I hope you and your family are well, and I hope Sammie's enjoying Hogwarts so far. Christmas is so lovely there; I almost wish we were still at school. Except I have a house and I'm married and there's no homework so I think I'll stay here. Anyways, lots of love from both of us!
Lily and James
"How sweet" James told her. "'I bought too many Christmas cards, that's the only reason I'm sending this'"
"Yep" Lily said, sucking the end of her quill happily as she sprinkled sand over the wet ink and addressed the envelope. "Keep writing, we ought to have these all out today"
"Yes ma'am"
Lily pointed the quill at him. "You can forget the bath if you sass me anymore"
"Of course" James said hastily. "I'm sorry, my love, I didn't mean it"
She set down the quill and took his face between her palms to kiss him, before pulling away for a second and smiling at him in a pleased way. "That's a good one" she decided. "Make a note of it"
"Of course, I have a list of all the endearments you approve of"
Lily picked the quill up and James groaned quietly. His wrist was cramping. To buy himself some time, he took a few gulps of eggnog.
There was a whisper from Lily, and suddenly all the letters he still had to do were written and folded into neatly marked envelopes and piled at his elbow.
"Thanks" he told her, kissing her on the top of her head.
"Don't mention it, I'm cold too and that bath is sounding better and better"
"Merry Christmas, Lily"
"Don't push it, dear. I hold the power of the gingerbread bubble bath"
A.N. Thanks for reading!