((sorry it took me forever guys... lots of stress going on at my end... bleh...))

Weeks passed. It was getting colder very quickly. Despite the tension of everything that was happening in the crumbling world around them, soon everyone was in a Christmas mood.

"I freaking love this time of year!" Sirius shouted one night, walking home with James. They had been out for a couple of hours and were just a little tipsy. It had started to snow and it, as Sirius so elegantly put it, 'made everything look freaking awesome as hell.'

"You only love it because it's easier to catch pretty girls off their guard when they're in a good mood!" James said, laughing at Sirius.

"Amen to that! It's so awesome! I mean in the summer, you see their legs and everything, which is equally awesome, but they get made when they catch you lookin' or whistling! In the winter, they're all covered up, so when you're looking at them, they take it as a compliment and they get all flirty because they think that when we can't see skin we're not perves!"

"You are a pervert…. And you're rambling…. This is why I am walking you home."

"No. You're walking me home because you've got no one else cool enough to hang out with…. That and you're drunk too."

"Amen to that!" James said, leaning his head back and catching some snow in his mouth like a child.


"Lils?" James said, quietly, knocking on the bedroom door.

"Well there you are. Did Sirius get home alright?" Lily was in bed reading by the time James got home. She never was able to get any sleep when he was out. She always stayed up until he got back.

"Fine, he's a little silly but he's fine. I kept him in line, I promise." He said and sat on the bed next to her.

Lily laughed a little, "It seems to me that you're a bit silly too, my love."

"No… no I'm fine." He slurred slightly and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Go to bed." She said firmly, but still smiling.

"But… I want to kiss Lily." James said getting closer to her on the bed.

"Then come here and kiss Lily… then go to bed. You need to sleep this off, we've got a busy day tomorrow."

James fell onto a pillow and groaned.

"Oh it's not going to be that bad…." Lily said throwing at pillow at him for his childish behavior. She laughed again as James made to block the pillow attack and failed as it hit him straight in the face, causing his glasses to go askew.

"Lily, in all honesty, they don't like me very much…." James said sitting up in bed next to her.

"That's just ridiculous! Of course they do!"

Tomorrow, the Potters were planning on visiting the Evans; Lily's parents. It would be the first time they got to really visit with their grandson and Lily hadn't seen them in a long time, what better time to see them than during the Christmas season?

"Really? Because… I think the last time I saw your dad, he tried to kill me…."

"He did not! That is a load of crap, and you know it, James Potter!"

"Well… if looks could kill… I'd be dead." James said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, shush! We're going tomorrow and you need to sleep."

Apparently, their discussion had been getting a little too loud; Harry started to cry in the next room. You got just make out the little boy's audible cry for, 'Mama!' Lily stood out of bed, grateful for the excuse to discontinue the argument.

James was glad for it too, feeling incredibly sleepy and fatigued from that night's adventures. He fell asleep within moments without even undressing or taking his glasses off.


All too soon, everyone was dressed, Harry was in his stroller and Lily had put the present in the car and it was time to go. James swallowed his pride and put Harry into his car seat in the back of the car they were borrowing from Remus.

"Now when they tell you how cute you are, you just burp and be a man about it, alright?" He told his son as he buckled him up. Harry just looked at him strangely and started to stare at his fingers as though perplexed that they could wiggle like that. James laughed.

"That's my boy." He said and went to the front of the car.

"James?"

"Yes, my love?"

"You might want to start the car if we're going to get anywhere."

"Right…"

Again, time went by too quickly and they were in front of the house at Spinners End. In all honesty, James didn't hate his in-laws or anything, but her parents didn't really trust him. They knew he was the type of guy who got himself into trouble and James didn't like that they judged him like that… especially since they had let her hang around Severus Snape when she was a child…. Still, they had been kinder toward him since the wedding and especially so since they heard about Lily being pregnant. James thought that becoming grandparents softened them up a little. But… there was always that slight tension before going to visit. He could just imagine the glares he would get because it had been so long since they had seen their grandson and daughter. Oh well, Lily was smiling excitedly as they pulled up the drive of her childhood home… and that was good enough for him.

James stopped the car and looked up at the house. He knew something was wrong almost immediately; the front door was wide open and it was ominously dark inside. Lily saw this too and rushed from the car.

"LILY, NO!" James tried to grab her arm, terrified that whoever or whatever was in there was still there.

He had no choice but to jump from the car and take Harry with him into the house after her.

James stepped over the threshold, holding Harry close to him. The lights above him were broken and shattered glass glittered on the carpet in the half light pouring in from the open door.

"Lil's?" James said softly in the dark. The silence pressed against his ears with a tension he hadn't been expecting. He stood completely still, waiting for any sign of movement. Suddenly, there was a scream from the living room.

"Lily!" James shouted back and raced toward the sound. He reached the end of the hall and turned the corner sharply. Soft sobbing broke the silence and James groped the walls for a light switch. He found it and found Lily on the floor, crying over a body.

"Oh god…." James's stomach lurched as he recognized Lily's father.

"No… no…. God, please NO!" Lily cried harder and held her father's icy hand.

James rushed to her side and tried to pull her away, but she didn't want to let go. But, when Harry started to cry, she came to her senses and stood. She stumbled slightly and James caught her in his open arm. She cried so hard, gripped at James's sleeve.

"Shhh…. It's okay… it's okay." Was all James could do as he own eyes burned. He looked down at the man with red hair like his daughter's; His pale eyes, wide and staring. James knew what this was. The Avada Kedavera curse had done it, and he had no doubt that his wife was somewhere in the house, dead also. He knew why too. He could practically picture the struggle; Deatheaters coming in trying to torture the location of their daughter and grandson out of them. They must have refused….

A huge wave of affection washed over him as he thought of how hard that must have been for them. Still, they didn't tell. Not that they would really be able to, but James knew even if they could have, they wouldn't have.

He held Lily tightly as she continued to cry. James knew they had to leave. He knew she wouldn't want to, but they would have to get out of the house, whoever did this wouldn't be too far.

This was getting serious. Things were changing quickly and it was getting scary. Dumbledore had been right. And now, not only were they the ones in danger, but everyone they cared about was too….


"SIRIUS!" he pounded on the front door. "Sirius, open up! It's James!"

There was the sound of rushing footsteps and the door was thrown open.

"What's wrong? What's happened? Is everyone alright?" Sirius searched James's anguished expression for any explanation. He found none, but James began ranting anyway.

"I can't let you do this! I can't let you be our secret keeper."

"Why the hell not? James, what are you playing at? I won't let anything happen to you guys!"

"I know… that's why I can't let you do it…. Sirius, they'll kill you! I know they will… They'll kill you… I can't let that happen."

"James…. What's going on? Why are you freaking out?"

"Lily's parents…. We just got back…. They're dead, Sirius. Deatheaters… they're dead and it's because they want to find us. I just know they'll go for you guys next. They'll figure out who our secret keeper is, somehow and Sirius- don't you understand? They'll murder you!"

"James…. Listen to me." Sirius put a hand on James's shoulder making him look at him. "I knew the risk when I took it. I promise… I won't let anything happen to you guys. And they can't kill me…. I'm from the noble house of Black, remember?" He smirked and his joking seemed to calm James a little.

"Are you sure? You can't die on me, Siri...alright? You can't die on me."

"I don't plan to."