Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the Property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and Scholastic Books, no infringement is intended.

Chapter 25

The air was thick with smoke as James hid behind a large rubbish container outside his family's favorite restaurant in Godric's Hollow. He could hear the screaming of curses as well as cries of pain from those getting hit with curses. He could see the brightly colored flashes of light accompanying each spell cast. He could hear his mother and father fight vigorously. Then he heard the worst sound in the world. He heard his mother cry out in pain and then the sound of a body, his mother's body, hit the wooden porch in from of the restaurant. He heard the agonized yell of his mother's name in his father's voice, then a second cry of pain and a second body, his father's body hit the same wooden porch. There was silence for a moment as James was trapped inside his own head, not being able to believe what had just happened. When he awoke from his trance, the attackers in masks and black cloaks had gone. He made his way over to the bodies of his parents, his father laying near his mother's feet, obviously he had tried to make his way to her when he heard her fall. James left his hiding place from behind the rubbish bin and knelt down, cradling his mother's head in his lap. They were both already dead, but her eyes were open, seemingly staring into his face, begging him to help; to do something. James' scream echoed in the night.

James sat up in his bed in the Evans' den a scream dying on his lips. He was covered in sweat but was shivering and nauseous from the vision of his most disturbing nightmare. More like a memory. The door to the den cracked open and Lily peaked her head in and saw James bent over the side of his small bed with his head in his hands and his face very pale.

"James are you alright?" Lily asked with great concern as she made her way over to him. She sat down next to him and put an arm around him. She immediately felt the sweat, as well as the shivers of his body. She grabbed an extra blanket her mother had placed in the corner of the room and draped it over both of their shoulders snuggling into his side.

"Just had a bad dream." James said shakily. It didn't seem to matter what Lily did, he still felt like he was freezing.

"What was it about?"

"The night my parents died. Just reliving what happened that afternoon." He said and pulled Lily closer to his side.

"Do you think it was because of our trip earlier?"

"Probably. What are you doing up?" James asked, realizing how late it was.

"I woke up earlier and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd come down for some tea. I was in the kitchen when I heard your scream."

"Oh. I'm sorry." James said. He still felt cold but the nausea was slowly dissipating.

"Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep?" Lily asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Well then, I'll be right back." Lily left the cocoon of blankets and went to the kitchen and came back with two cups of tea. She made her way back next to James, helped him dry his pajamas and rearranged him so they were propped up against the pillows and under the covers. They spent the next hours talking quietly before the comfort of the tea and the company of each other calmed them enough to fall asleep curled up together.

Rose awoke somewhat early the next morning. She was concerned, because she thought she heard a noise last night, from downstairs. The fact that it was Christmas morning meant that she was up early anyway. She decided to check on James. Lily had told her that James occasionally had terrible nightmares about the death of his parents and assumed that it was him last night. She peeked inside the den and saw Lily and James curled up, comfortable on the bed asleep. She saw the two empty mugs on the side table and the missing blanket from the corner and realized the Lily must have been up with a bit of insomnia she was prone with and heard James cry out. She hoped Lily was able to help James, and judging by the fact that he was sleeping meant she probably had. She left the den as quietly as she entered and made her way into the kitchen to begin breakfast.

James woke up first. He couldn't remember ever waking up being so warm and comfortable before. When he felt the weight on his side, he remembered what had happened last night and realized that he and Lily must have fallen asleep. He stayed as still as possible, not wanting to wake Lily, remembering her trouble sleeping and instead alternated between watching Lily sleep and staring at the ceiling remembering the vivid picture of his dream. He sighed, wondering if that dream would ever go away. Lily stirred next to him and eventually slowly opened her eyes. Lily stiffened briefly but relaxed once she remembered it was James.

"Good morning." James said to her sleepily.

"Good morning. How are you?"

"I'm okay; better thanks to you. Thank you for staying with me. Having you here with me helped me relax enough to fall asleep peacefully. I've never been able to do that before."

"I'm glad you were able to get some rest. But it was a two way street. I was able to fall asleep too, it usually takes me hours. So thank you." Lily said with a crooked smile. They both chuckled.

"We should probably get up, I think I can smell breakfast cooking. I love the smell of cooking bacon. Oh! Happy Christmas Lily!"

"Happy Christmas James!" The two exchanged a Christmas kiss then made their way into the kitchen to see Rose cooking away at the stove.

"Good morning you two. Are you alright James?" Rose said. Lily had to admit that she was surprised that her mother wasn't upset that she had just left James' room, having obviously been sleeping there.

"I'm alright Rose. I had one of my nightmares last night." He told her.

"I was up and couldn't sleep and heard him cry out when I was making tea. I went in to help him and we must have fallen asleep." Lily explained.

"I figured as much. I'm glad you were able to help each other. You both look quite rested."

"Yeah, we feel rested." Lily said and hugged her mother. She whispered a thank you in her mother's ear knowing the level of trust her mother had in, it her meant a lot. Her mother's response was simply to squeeze Lily's shoulders.

"Happy Christmas you two, now dig in, breakfast is up." Rose said as Charles and Petunia made their way to the table and they all ate a big breakfast. Lily and James exchanged looks and would occasionally grasp fingers under the table. They were both glad that the other was there to help the night previously. They also couldn't ignore how good it felt to wake up in each other's arms. The warmth and comfort the other provided was irreplaceable. The family made their way to the living room and spread around the room, Lily and James on one couch, Rose and Charles on the other and Petunia on the chair in between. It was time to open presents.