Under The Nose of a Foe

In the distance, there was a tiny little window that illuminated the ebony night of October 30th, 1981. There was a swishing of cloaks. It was the only sound that could be heard, aside from the constant chirping of the crickets. A jagged nose pressed against the window of Godric's Hollow and chuckled in triumph. "At last," he muttered.

Inside a couple laughed merrily while telling stories about the Headless Hunt and the origin of Merdiva, an ancient witch that intruded dreams and caused nightmares. They were busy carving pumpkins, oblivious to the fact that just outside their home their death was being plotted.

Lily and James were running around their house in circles. James, being the prankster that he was, was chasing Lily with a pumpkin that he had charmed to follow her around. Lily conjured a hammer and attempted to smash the pumpkin to bits, but its grin seemed to grow even wider at the prospect. James smirked. In an act of retaliation, Lily muttered a charm that turned James's skin orange and a goofy-looking stem to sprout from his head.

"Lily! This is completely uncalled for! That pumpkin only follows you around. I have a stick emerging from my head," James whined. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Whatever happened to the Marauder Code of Honor, James? Rule 14.720 clearly states that if one is done an injustice, retribution must be made that is even worse than the original," Lily stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "An eye for a head, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're not a Marauder," replied James. He realized what he had said was wrong after he saw the look of melancholy overcome Lily's face. She had always considered herself a Marauder, even though the boys had never officially inducted her into their "society". He had never intended to make Lily feel left out, but it was just a guy thing. There was no way she wanted to go through the silly induction ceremonies and such.

There was a silence between them that could've pierced a hole into the atmosphere. Lily gazed into James's eyes. Oh, how she could get lost in them. They were the color of burnt firewood, with specks of gold near the center. They were so wide and hypnotizing. They held the past, expressed the present, and looked toward the future. A stranger could look into his eyes and see his desire for mischief. His eyes were certainly the window to his soul. She could tell he was regretful about what he had said, so she jumped into his arms and he twirled her around the room. Lily giggled as the feel of Cornish Pixies danced in her stomach.

A high-pitched giggle sounded throughout the room. Lily and James looked admiringly at one another as they both rushed to Harry's pumpkin seat.

"You like that, Harry," James asked. His voice hinted that if Harry even so much as smiled he would probably tickle Lily until she cried.

Harry beamed at his father and his olive eyes twinkled throughout the candlelit room. James' infamous crooked smiled appeared on his face and he turned toward his wife, who was reaching for the wand she had left behind. Before she could even utter the word "Accio", James had already hurdled on top of her and began to tickle her mercilessly. She beat her fists against his chest.

"Get off of me you great oaf! I can't breathe," she bellowed. Her face was turning a miraculous shade of crimson and James had to resort to the body binding charm. Once she was immobile, he leaned down and kissed her passionately.