When they got back to her flat, he immediately went to her record player and put on a Christmas album. She hadn't even seen him grab it.

She wanted to tell him to turn it off, but he was being so sweet, she couldn't bring herself to. She could always get rid of everything tomorrow, if it really bothered her. At least then he could feel like he'd made her holiday better.

She looked over at him, struggling to get the tree into the stand.

"Here," she said, kneeling down next to the tree to guide the stump into the stand. "There," she said. He straightened the tree and released it gingerly.

"Lovely," he decided. "Thanks."

"Yeah," she responded, awkwardly tucking her hair behind her ear. She hadn't realized how close he was. Or how good he smelled.

"Ornaments first?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Always lights first," she said, laughing when his eyes lit up. She didn't realize until he finished twining the first strand around the tree that he had no idea how electricity worked.

"Right," he said. "How do I make it light up?" he asked.

She tried very hard not to laugh. "Well," she said. "Generally people start by plugging the lights in. So that they don't," she gestured to the plug, which hung from the top of the tree, "end up with it too far away to reach."

He nodded. "That's a problem," he said. "I see that now." He turned to her. "What's a plug?"

She smiled. "Here," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the socket. She took another strand of lights and demonstrated plugging it in.

He grinned. "That's fantastic. How does it work?" he asked.

She shrugged. "No idea."

He raised his eyebrows.

"It has something to do with power and electricity. But I don't really know. It's just something muggles take for granted."

He nodded. "Like wizards do magic."

"Exactly," she agreed.

He turned to the tree. "I guess I'll have to take that down," he said, not sounding the least bit bothered. He unwound the strand, plugged it in, and twined it back around the tree. He then proceeded to add far more lights than any reasonable person. Lily began to fear he would blow a fuse with it all.

"Alright," she said, when he reached for another strand. She laid her hand over his. "I think that's probably enough."

He didn't look convinced, but he nodded after a moment. "Ornaments?" he asked.

"I think that's a lovely idea," Lily said.

They decorated the tree, singing along with his Christmas album. Halfway through, they took a break for some hot chocolate. He seemed delighted when she suggested adding some candy cane bits.

By the time they were down to the final ornament, Lily had forgotten she didn't want to do this in the first place. She had forgotten that all the season had been doing up until tonight was making her miss her parents.

He lifted the star she had picked out. "Do you want the honors?" he asked.

She shook her head, feeling melancholy set back in. "No," she said. "I think tallest gets the right."

That hadn't been the rule when she had still had her family, she thought. When she was little, she and Petunia had taken turns. Her father would lift one of them high into the air and they'd get to place the little angel they had made right on the very top of the tree.

He nodded, either not recognizing the lie or deciding not to pursue it. Standing on his toes, he gently placed it on the top. "There," he said, turning to her. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think it's lovely," she said, missing her old Christmas tree topper. Missing her family.

He smiled. "Good." He watched her for a moment. "You know, you'd be more than welcome at mine for Christmas," he said. "You could come over Christmas Eve and stay for Christmas dinner the next day."

She shook her head. "That's sweet," she said, rising on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "I just . . ."she trailed off, unable to explain her feelings.

He nodded, pushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. "I know," he said. "I just didn't want you to miss out altogether."

She looked at him for a long time, long enough that it should have made them both uncomfortable. Then she leaned up and kissed him on the lips. After a moment, she felt his arms come around her back, pulling her closer. She wrapped hers around his neck, letting one hand slide up into his hair.

She blinked in surprise when he pulled away.

"I should go," he said, not really looking at her. He messed up his hair with one hand. Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Lily."

"Yeah," she said. "Merry Christmas."

She watched him walk to the door. With a wave, he strode out, hustling down the stairs. She stared at the door blankly. She had just kissed James Potter.

And he hadn't wanted her. Merry Christmas indeed.