The scent of roasting pumpkin drifted through the walls of the Potter house, gently ensconced within warm rooms, where fires cackled merrily, warding off the impending chill of winter.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, filtered by the oranges and reds of autumn leaves so that the light danced off surfaces in gentle shades of gold.

Lily worked diligently in the kitchen, her frame rigid with concentration. The sleeves of the beige knitted sweater she was wearing (because she thought it reflected to mood of the day) had been shoved up to her elbows in effort.

Her wand was pointed directly at the large pumpkin residing atop her kitchen table, her hand barely quivering as she intricately carved the shape of a face into the vegetable.

A muffled snigger from the doorway alerted her to the presence of her husband.

"Keep up the good work Lily, and I'm sure you'll have that pumpkin finished by next Halloween!"

She flicked her head around so quickly that her hair caught the sunlight, sending a fiery blaze of red light in James' direction.

He squinted back at her, whether a result of temporary blindness, or in fear of the icy glare emanating from her angry eyes, it was impossible to tell.

"It's harder than it looks, okay?" she huffed, shoving the hair from her face and turning around to the table so that her back was to James, shoulders hunched in determination.

"Apparently so" James countered impishly.

Despite his over confident exterior, he still took a step backwards when he saw his wife's wand hand twitch infinitesimally in his direction.

Deciding that it might be a bad idea to hex her husband, Lily turned her attention back to the pumpkin, and had almost carved a full two centimetres...when the silence was punctuated by an almost-but not quite silent enough- snort.

"Okay, that's it, let's see you do better!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and moving away from the table.

"Only if you promise not to hurt me afterwards..." He said as he drew his wand, an excited gleam dancing in his eyes.

"Hurt you? Why would I hurt... Oh".

Lily's sentence trailed off in astonishment as she watched James take the pumpkin she'd been working on for hours, and turn it into a fully fledged jack-o-lantern in about three seconds flat.

"...and there! Finished!"

With a final flick of his wand, a carved pair of rectangular glasses appeared over the jack-o-lanterns eyes.

"See? A James pumpkin!"

He looked up at Lily and grinned triumphantly when he saw her face.

Not taking his eyes off hers, he reached over and grabbed another pumpkin from the pile, flicking his wand quickly, mischievous grin planted firmly on his mouth.

After a moment, he turned the it around to reveal the pumpkin's obviously scowling face.

"Now we have a Lily pumpkin too!" He said with a wink.

"Hey!" remarked Lily, recovering the use of her voice.

Before she could protest about her grumpy lookalike, James had snatched up the smallest pumpkin.

With an over enthusiastic wave of his wand, he created a small face that was grinning cheerfully.

"...And here we have Harry pumpkin, too!"

He lined them up carefully in the table, and stood back to proudly admire his work.

"Behold...The Pumpkin Potters".

There was a moment of silence in which Lily stared flabbergasted at her husband...before a smile lit up her face and a peal of laughter escaped her lips.

"At what point in our relationship were you going to tell me that you're a master pumpkin carver?" she inquired.

James just laughed, and picked up the vegetable family, carrying them outside.

"Just another one of my many talents" he called back over his shoulder.

She scoffed in amusement.

"Next year," she called to his retreating figure. "Next year I'll carve the best pumpkins you've ever seen in your life!"

"Oh is that so?" He questioned, turning back to meet her eye with a wink. "It's on Evans. It is so on!"

"Oh for goodness sake James, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

An indistinguishable garble drifted down the stairs in answer.

"I asked you to dress him, not give him a full body makeover!"

Lily tapped her foot impatiently, as the clock hands moved further and further away from the time they had planned to leave.

She'd just planted her foot on the first stair, ready to march upstairs and drag the boys down herself, when James appeared on the landing, an unidentifiable lump under one arm, eyes glinting playfully.

"James..." Lily began slowly. "...Where is our son, and why are you holding a small hippogriff?"

He descended the stairs quickly, and presented Lily with the small, squirming creature which grinned up at her, green eyes twinkling.

Incredulously, Lily reached for Harry and lifted him in the air.

"What...on...earth..."

Her three month old son wiggled in her grasp, almost unrecognisable in his very realistic costume.

Laughter bubbled in her throat, and she spun Harry around, listening in delight to his happy gurgles.

"Couldn't let our son spend his first Halloween without a costume, now could we?"

Lily just shook her head.

"...where?"

"Padfoot" he replied, by way of explanation.

Still grinning, Lily ushered them to the door.

"C'mon, we really are running late now".

James groaned as Lily opened the door, cold air rushing in and wrapping itself around the little family.

"Oh shush!" Lily said playfully, pulling Harry more securely to her chest as James locked the door with his wand.

"Mrs Bagshot is excited to have us! She knows we can't be out late with Harry, so we'll have an early dinner, and be home in no time!... Besides, I'm pretty sure she told me she was making treacle tart for dessert".

James' complaints were silenced immediately.

They trudged up their cobbled street, boots crunching on the stones.

Lily smiled fondly as they passed muggle children in various states of costume and sugar rush, sharing sympathetic looks with the parents who bustled after them.

"Feels just like yesterday that I was doing this" she said fondly, as two white sheet-ghosts ran by.

"I'd dress up as a witch every year...every year".

She laughed at the irony.

"It was a sign".

James grabbed her fingers to warm them in his own, and they continued hand in hand up the street.

"Have I mentioned you how lovely you're looking today, Lils?"

Her green eyes immediately locked with his hazel, hers burning with suspicion.

"...No..."

She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Really!" he continued. "Just seeing you out here in the Autumn air, with your hair complementing the colours of the leaves so well, and your eyes gleaming and..."

"What do you want?"

Lily came to a standstill and waited expectantly for her husband.

"Can't I just comment on how beautiful my wife is?" he said, feigning indignation.

"Sure you can. Now tell me what you want. You are not getting out of this dinner, for the hundredth time..."

" But all she does is waffle on and on and on..."

"James, you're coming!"

"No, wait, that's not it" he said, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh, so there is something?"

She placed her Harry-free hand on her hip.

James looked sheepishly at his feet.

"I...well...don't flip out, okay? But... I'mgoingoutwithSiriustonight!"

"You're what?"

James could've sworn that the temperature lowered about ten degrees with the force of her icy stare.

"I'm...going out with Sirius...to The Order Headquarters...for a few drinks...tonight...After dinner, of course!" he added hastily.

There was a moment of freezing silence in which Lily glowered at her husband, and then she said simply, and eerily calmly;

"No".

"No? What do you mea..."

"Are you crazy?!" she shrieked, calm facade crumbling away, so loudly that a little zombie and his parents looked back in alarm.

"It's just for a few hours, Lils!"

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Evil dark wizard intent on killing wizards just like you? No worries, go to the most dangerous building in England for drinks, because I'm invincible James Bloody Potter!"

"To be fair, I'd say that Voldemort's headquarters are probably more dangerous than the Order's... Shutting up now..."

He stammered out under her furious gaze.

"What on earth makes you think this is a good idea!?" Lily demanded, turning on her heel and striding ferociously up the street.

James scurried up alongside her.

"Lily, it's been quiet for weeks. No attacks, no rumours...nothing".

"Oh, and you think Voldemort's just given up, do you? Don't be so naive! "

"Of course not!" He remarked, the volume of his voice increasing slightly. "Merlin Lily, I'm not stupid. He's lying low, planning something obviously...which means it's the perfect time for me to do this!"

"Perfect time to, what? Go out and risk your life!"

"I think you're overreacting!"

Lily spluttered disbelievingly.

"It's just drinks Lils" he said, his tone softening, becoming more pleading. "I haven't been out for...for weeks. It's driving me crazy. I need this".

Lily had come to a standstill again, and was surveying her beseeching husband, fire slowly fading from her emerald eyes. She pulled Harry up into her shoulder, and nuzzled her face into his hair to calm down.

When she looked back up at James, he was shocked to see tears glistening in the corners of her eyelids.

"It's just...so dangerous James. So scary, to think about something happening to you..."

He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead.

"Nothing is going to happen to me Lils...Nothing".

He pulled at her hand and continued to lead her up the laneway, silence between them.

They'd just reached the gates of their destination, when Lily spoke up again, voice small.

"I really have a bad feeling about this, James!"

"Shhh" he whispered, gently prying a dozing Harry from her arms. "Let's not talk about this now".

He lead the way into Mrs Bagshot's house, suddenly much more eager than he had been ten minutes ago.

"See, I told you it wouldn't be too bad!" Lily whispered happily, as she pushed her way into the dark landing of their house, careful not to wake the raven haired baby sleeping in her arms.

"The costume was a great idea..." she whispered to James, waving her wand to turn on the lights, and shrugging gingerly out of her coat so that Harry stayed asleep.

"...she spent the first half of the night oohing and aahing over Harry, and only talked for the second half...and even I could appreciate how wonderful the treacle tart was..."

She looked up happily at her husband, smile slipping instantly from her face as she saw him hovering in the doorway, coat still firmly in place.

"C'mon, Lils, let's not fight about this again!" He said quickly, when he saw the fire igniting behind her eyes.

"You're really going? Really?"

He nodded.

"I'm going, and it'll be fine, and I'll be home by midnight!"

"Eleven" said Lily immediately.

"Eleven forty-five?"

"Eleven".

"Eleven thirty?"

"Eleven".

Her expression didn't change.

"Eleven fiftee... Oh, alright. I'll be home by eleven!"

He stepped inside and kissed his sleeping son on the forehead.

"See ya later little man, you take good care of mummy while I'm gone, okay!"

"You could stay home and take care of me yourself!"

James ignored this, and pulled Lily into a hug, which she seriously considered resisting.

Once she found herself in his arms however, she felt the fight ebb out of her, and she leaned heavily against him.

"I have a bad feeling. Don't go" she whispered into his chest.

Instead of replying, he pressed his lips gently to hers.

"I'll see you in a few hours, okay? I love you".

He moved towards the door.

"Love you too" she whispered, and she found herself unconsciously pulling Harry closer.

There was a loud crack, and then, James was gone, leaving behind the last biting traces of the freezing night air.

So a seriously belated Merry Christmas and Happy ew Year to everyone! Hope it's been a great festive season for you all!

Just in case anyone was wondering... Yes, I changed my pen name! I'm now IllusionaryEscapement, so say goodbye to Paralove :P

Basically, I just felt like a change, so there we go! Sorry for any confusion.

Hope you like the new chapter, let me know if you do... or even if you don't!

-xxx-