Lily pointed her wand at the enchanted Christmas tree. Lights shot out the end and covered the tree as April made the tree spin in the air. Both were enjoying themselves and were dancing slightly to the music that Lily had put on. Lily stopped putting the lights on and April lowered the tree. They both shot baubles at the tree from their wands and the baubles magically attached themselves to the tree. After half an hour they both stood back and admired their work. The tree was glittering and sparkling. Lily and James had left it a bit late to put up the tree but they had been working hard trying to repair their relationship to remember anything else.
"Two days until Christmas." April said excitedly.
"I know, I can't wait." Lily said. Lily wasn't really expecting anything for Christmas, there was nothing she wanted because she had everything she wanted except for Jenny to come back from the dead but that was never going to happen so why try and wish for it?
"You all done girls?" James asked walking in with three butterbeers. Lily grinned and took a cup of butterbeer off him.
"Yep." She said. "It's all satisfactory." She said.
"Big word," April said, "The old, old, old Lily is coming back. Run!!" April pretended to run for her life. James and Lily started laughing and April grinned.
"Well it's nice to see Auror training hasn't mucked up your sense of humour." James said. April had been incredibly busy over the past few months, so busy she'd spent nearly all her waking hours studying. The Ministry was getting dangerously short of Aurors and were frantically trying to train new ones. Several Aurors that James and Lily knew had already lost their lives.
"It's great getting out of that small stuffy classroom. All day it's 'the perfect way to brew polyjuice potion' 'how to create a whole new persona' and 'why stealth is best' god it's starting to drive me crazy." April said. April rarely talked about Auror training but usually she sounded as though she enjoyed it. "I'm doing three years of work squashed into a year." Lily pouted sympathetically at April. April narrowed her eyes and pointed her wand at Lily. James stepped between them.
"Be careful of the baby!" he warned. Lily and April both started laughing. April pocketed her wand and turned to Lily.
"Are you sure you don't mind me staying for Christmas?" April asked.
"We've spent five Christmases together why break the record?" Lily asked proudly. April grinned,
"True, but you realised what Christmas eve and Christmas day are anniversaries of?" April asked.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm visiting my parents graves on Boxing day." Lily said. "I might go and visit Petunia but I think she'll probably just scream at me kick me out." Petunia was Lily's snobbish older sister. They each pretended each other didn't exist and generally led their own lives but Lily did think of her occasionally even if they hated each other.
"Yeah, Petunia." April said. She got her wand out and flicked her wand. She suddenly turned into an identical replica of Petunia, her thin lanky frame, short brown hair and hateful look.
"Lily get out of my house you freak." She said. She tried to keep a straight face but started laughing. Lily started laughing as well as April turned back into herself.
"That was really good." James said. "When did you learn that?"
"Oh it was one of the first things I learnt." April flicked her wand again and became James. "See, I can do anyone." April said in a deeper voice, exactly like James. "Lets see if James is properly equipped?" April looked down and started to pull at the waist band of her trousers when Sirius apparated into the Living room. He turned to April. Sirius had grown a small goatee like beard in the last few months and it actually suited him.
"Hey, James, you know the Ludo Bagman trial?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah." April said uncertainly.
"Well, He's been freed of all charges so that's good news isn't it?" Sirius said looking at April. April looked confused.
"Yes." She said slowly. Lily and the real James both started laughing at Sirius' mistake and his shout of surprise as April turned back into herself. She was laughing as well.
"You're face was so funny." April said. She put her arms around Sirius and kissed him lightly. Sirius was looking at her slightly scared.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked.
"April Marsden." April said.
"Prove it?" Sirius said.
"Fine." April said smirking, "you remember the fifth year of Hogwarts when James suddenly got the courage to ask out Lily you suddenly felt jealous because you fancied Li-" Sirius put a silencing charm on April and April looked at him annoyed and started shouting at him silently.
"Ok, that's the real April." He said uncomfortably.
"You fancied me?" Lily asked.
"Just a bit." Sirius said, "I mean who wouldn't fancy you, you're sexy and hot and amazing and…oof" Sirius doubled over as a jet of light shot out of April's wand. Lily lifted the silencing charm casually.
"You ungrateful cheating boyfriend" April said. She was smiling and was trying to look angry. "You like my best friend."
"She's mine." James said putting a protective arm around Lily. Lily put an arm around James and leant her head against James' shoulder.
"I know. It's just at the time." Sirius said. "Anyway, I'm not your boyfriend," Sirius said to April.
"What do you mean?" April asked genuinely annoyed. Sirius dropped to one knee.
"April Marsden, Marry me." He said. A ring appeared in his hands. April dropped her wand in surprise. Lily and James grinned at each other and watched April for her reaction.
"April?" Sirius asked uncertainly when April hadn't responded for a while.
"Yes." April said suddenly smiling. Sirius punched the air in joy and stood up quickly and put the ring on April's finger.
"You're catching up with me." Lily said to April. "You were always the slow one." April looked at Lily and smiled.
"Well, you were the one all the guys wanted. I got the leftovers." April said. She turned to Sirius and kissed him.
"We'll leave you guys alone." James said smirking. Lily and James left the Living room and went to the kitchen. Other then her work everything had been getting better for her. For some reason she was facing an enquiry at work for no reason at all. James was on the verge on going to the people direction the enquiry and beating the living daylights out of them but that thought was far from his mind now. He looked at lily's belly and lifted her shirt up slightly to see if there was any bump. He had a habit of doing that recently.
"James, the bump isn't going to develop yet." Lily said to him.
"Why? I want to see my baby. How long will it be?" He said pouting. Lily thought that sometimes he was more excited about having the baby then she was.
"Only about seven months." Lily said happily. She had recently found a potion that would calm the symptoms of Pregnancy so Lily knew she was in for a rather smooth pregnancy.
"Oh, Mum and dad are coming for Christmas, you don't mind do you?" James asked.
"Of course not." Lily said. "As long as I get some help cooking."
"Oh, we can get the house elf round." James said. "He's a brilliant chef."
"I remember." Lily said smiling. James stood up properly and smiled.
"I think I'm the luckiest man in the world." James said. "I have you as a wife, I'm going to have a child and we're going to live happily together as a happily family." Lily smiled but a sudden thought came to her as she remembered Dumbledore's words about how Voldemort would try and kill her and her child. Lily frowned.
"What?" James asked. Lily looked at him, she still hadn't told him about what Dumbledore had told him.
"I haven't told you this before but I think that I should tell you now." Lily said. "We're in serious danger from Voldemort. He's going to try and kill me and out child." James looked at her, not believing her.
"That isn't funny Lily." He said.
"I'm not lying." Lily said, "Dumbledore told me. We've both escaped Voldemort twice, if we managed to escape a third time then there is a high possibility that we could be killed. Haven't you wondered why Deatheaters keep targeting us?" Lily asked James. James thought about it for a while.
"How long have you known this?" James asked seriously.
"Since the day after I discovered I was pregnant." Lily said. "I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how or when." James looked at her seriously.
"Then, starting Boxing day you'll stay indoors and not travel on your own." James said.
"I can't do that. I have to work."
"You're facing an enquiry for something you didn't do though. They won't mind if you miss work."
"James, don't force me to hide. I won't hide it'll just fulfil Voldemort's suspicions." Lily said seriously. "I'm not going to stay in and hide when I know that you're in danger as well."
"Lily-" James started.
"We're ready to have dinner" Sirius said coming into the Kitchen with April. April frowned at the serious looks on Lily and James' faces.
"Did we interrupt anything?" she asked worriedly. Lily and James looked at each other and Lily shook her head.
"No, you didn't." Lily said. "The dinner is nearly ready." James shook his head.
"We'll finish our conversation another day." James said.
"Fine." Lily said. She didn't really want to speak about it again. The thought depressed her too much. She thought of a slightly happier thought and she was smiling again quickly.
* * * *
After dinner James and Sirius went to go and visit Remus, it was a full moon that night and they went to keep him company. Lily sat down in the living room reading a book while April finished off a few papers that she had to write for her Auror training.
"You know, this is just like school only I don't have anyone to copy off of." April complained.
"Well, that's why Jenny and I tried to break your habit of copying." Lily said not turning from her book.
"Good job you did as well." April grumbled. She flipped through a book and scribbled down a few notes then closed them. "I can't do this." She said. She flicked her wand and everything disappeared. "So how's work?"
"Enquiry." Lily said, "Apparently I haven't been working to standard when I work twice as hard as everyone there." Lily said annoyed. She closed her book. "But I think I really know why there's an enquiry"
"You know why?" April asked.
"Yeah, the deputy Minister, I told him I was muggle born and he didn't seem to like that and now I think he's trying to kick me out because everyone who works in Muggle relations is…surprise, surprise…magic born." Lily said sarcastically. "It's really annoying me how shallow some people are."
"It's the whole business of Voldemort, you know." April said.
"Oh, don't get me started on that bastard." Lily said. April frowned at Lily's tone of voice and decided to drop the subject.
"Did you hear from Jenny's brother the other day?" April asked. Lily nodded.
"He thinks his daughter is going to become a seeker." Lily said, "It's ridiculous, how can he tell, she's less then six months old."
"I know." April said, "But it would be cool, following in Jenny's footsteps. He's hoping to move back to England if Voldemort ever goes away." April instantly regretted saying that because Lily picked up her book angrily and started reading it.