They Were Never Ordinary
It wasn't an ordinary day, because nothing was ever ordinary with him. His laugh and smile made everything exciting and new, nothing could ever be boring when she did it with him. It wasn't an ordinary day, because she knocked the breath out of him every day with her smile. Even when she scowled at him, or chastised him for swaddling Harry wrong, the promise of a glorious future kept him going.
They rose with the sun, as they had gotten into the habit of at school, when their days were so overscheduled, with him as Head Boy and she as Head Girl, that the only precious time they could spend together, alone, was before everyone else got up. Their hours together now were equally precious, but they had Harry to disturb them at all hours of the night.
They sat at the table, her with her coffee and him with his tea. They read, her with her classics and him with the paper. They shared a special, quiet look every now and again, holding the ordinary promise of "I'm here, I love you, we can get through this.".
They were finally disturbed by Harry's cries floating through the ceiling from his nursery above. James knew Harry had inherited Lily's screaming voice from the moment he emerged into the world, announcing his arrival.
They both went upstairs together, hand in hand, to comfort Harry. They had heard from their own parents, and some of the other parents of the Order, that this time goes by so quickly, and that they should savour it while they had the chance.
James stopped when he reached the doorway, dropping Lily's hand and letting her go to Harry. He marvelled from the doorframe at the depth and clarity of her love for Harry, which he knew was rivalled only by her love for him. James chuckled despite himself. Lily turned, a now calm Harry in her arms, her long auburn hair forming a curtain around him, with a question in her eyes. "Who would have thought we'd be here, now?" he asked.
It could have been a sad question, considering they'd been confined to their home for what felt like an inordinate amount of time. But, their excitement and love always outran the sorrow and despair, and she replied with love and laughter in her eyes, knowing a Fourth Year Lily would have been repulsed by the very idea that she'd be sharing a baby and her happiness with James Potter.
When she had felt herself beginning to fall in love with him throughout Sixth Year, as they gradually became friends – then best friends- she knew she couldn't live without him. She wanted to tell him, show him, that he was her person, her home, her life, but she'd been hurt too many times before. First by her sister, who rejected her for something she couldn't change, the magic in her. Then by her best friend, who ended up hating her for the very opposite reason, the part of her that wasn't magic.
And something that made Lily love him more was the free and honest way in which he loved everyone around him, and fought for them no matter what. He taught her how to love again, how to be loved and most importantly, how to show love.
They spent the rest of the day as they had every other, together in song, in dance, in laughter, in the occasional tear, making the best of a bad situation just as they had learned to do. There were no visitors that day, though there often were. Everyone must have been too busy fighting the darkness that threatened to encompass them.
James and Lily, with a little help from Harry, licking the bowl in his highchair, made cupcakes in the afternoon sun, decorating them with red and yellow icing, their favourite colours. Red for her hair and yellow for his sunshine, and of course for the house colours that brought them together all those years ago.
They only had a change to enjoy a couple of the colourful cakes before Harry doused himself with the red icing and had to be bathed. Again, they took him upstairs together, giggling like the school children they were only a few years ago, and wondering how on earth such a tiny baby could make such a large mess.
Even the most mundane of chores seemed wonderful when she got to do it with him. Lily knew she would have driven herself insane if she had been confined to the house by herself, but he made her heart beat faster with just a look in those beautiful hazel eyes. His incredible wit constantly surprised her, and though she had been told from a young age that her brain worked at a mile a minute, he could always match her pace. The pranks he would construct always kept her on her toes, though her attempts at retaliation were playfully thwarted more often than not. The small gifts he left around the house were always sweet and kind, and reminded her of the days when she wouldn't even give him the time of day yet he spent an awful amount of time coming up with schemes and presents to try and impress her. Their days, although most were almost carbon copies of a routine they had perfected, were a constant rush of excitement and surprise. She wouldn't expect anything less from him.
Dinner was exciting too, as Lily's always were. She loved to experiment with whatever she found in the pantry, which was often a vast array of herbs and spices which Sirius provided them with just to provoke James. But nevertheless, it was delicious, as Lily always was, and they sat at the table, chattering away, with Harry contributing the occasional gargle to the conversation.
Once Harry had been settled in his cot, sound asleep, they sat on the couch together, simply melting into the other's touch. It was a silent acknowledgement that the other was their lifeline, their home, and that their love was all encompassing.
Whilst they were at school people commented on the extraordinary nature of their relationship. The way that they always seemed to know what the other was thinking, even when they seemed to hate each other. The way that their body language was like a mirror, both unconsciously reaching out for the other when they were in the same room. The way that they looked at each other with an incomparable depth of love, and everyone knew, even when they didn't, that they were each other's destiny.
And yet James and Lily were, as anyone who knew them would tell you, incredibly down to earth. Though Lily would be the last to admit it since she had constantly accused him of being otherwise, James was the most humble person she knew. He was always willing to help those younger or weaker than himself, always willing to put in the extra effort to make sure everyone felt included. James would be the first to tell you about the way that Lily bought Christmas presents every year for the house elves who had attended them at Hogwarts, as she was concerned they didn't feel appreciated. So they held each other in the corner of the couch as they always did, allowing the other to absorb all the love they had, because it was all for them, and it was what they always did.
The illusion of normalcy was shattered when they heard the first bang at the door. Just as synchronised as always, they both thought of their wands abandoned upstairs at the same time. Just as synchronised as always, they felt the other's rush of confusion as to how this could have happened, and then the realisation that they must have been betrayed. Just as synchronised as always, they knew that the time had come, and their hearts broke at the same time.
Lily briefly protested, but they both knew she had to protect their beautiful little baby. They managed one last all-consuming, desperate kiss and she fled up the stairs, leaving him to face whatever had just broken down their door, alone and wandless. He was emboldened by the love he knew she felt for him, he was emboldened by the knowledge that he was fighting on the good side, the right side, his only regrets that he should have done more, and that he wished he could have had more time with his wonderful, extraordinary family.
As Lily reached the top of the stairs she glanced one last final glance at her husband. Her wonderful, smart, funny, beautiful husband who gave her their son. How she wished she could have done more, had more time to spend with him and their gorgeous baby.
Racing along the hall to Harry's nursery, she busied herself casting any protective charm she could think of on the room and a crying Harry. Despite being known for being one of the most powerful and bright witches of her generation, without her wand she felt almost helpless. She poured her soul, her love, her last glow of light into her baby, desperately wishing that something she was doing could save him.
The door blew down, landing on the floor with a frightening bang that only made Harry wail harder. The green blast of light brought her to the ground just as she knew it had her husband, just as the front door and the nursery door had both fallen, just as she knew her baby boy would soon fall.
His last thought was of his wife and son, and how, although he hoped otherwise, they would soon be together again. Her last thought was of her husband and her baby, and how they would be reunited in death, just as every ordinary family was. But we know better, for the Potters never were very ordinary.