Two months passed since that incident. Snow covered the Hogwarts grounds. The corridors were cold and drafty, and Herbology was often canceled due to the weather. Christmas was in the air; teachers were giving less homework purely out of holiday spirit, Mrs. Norris was wearing tinsel around her neck, and even Filch could be seen whistling Christmas carols while mopping the floors. Everyone was excited and happy to go home and spend Christmas with their families.
Everyone, that is, except for Lily and James. They would both be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. They would be the only Gryffindors in seventh year that were staying. Peter went to visit his sick aunt in Scotland. Sirius, Shayna, and Remus were all invited to Jocelyn's house for Christmas break. James and Lily declined the offer, as both needed to watch for any suspicious behavior.
Lily was dreading spending an entire week with only James for company. Sure, they had become friendlier than they had been in the past, but James was still very distant with her. They had only talked once or twice about what was happening outside of Hogwarts; there had been five more attacks much like the one from the first week of school, and three families had been found dead in their homes. Lily found herself worrying about James and his parents on numerous occasions, but never said anything to James for fear she would make him upset or angry with her.
Lily walked into the Heads common room (after patrolling the corridors) the day term ended to find James sitting on the couch by the fire, reading a book entitled The Aura of an Auror. "What are you reading, James?" she asked. As a response, James held up the book and showed her the cover. Lily sighed. He had been like this for ages now. She knew that something was up. "Oh," she said, walking up the stairs and to her dorm. "Well, good night," she called down the steps. She didn't receive an answer.
That was how it was every day leading up to Christmas. The same icy indifference that was driving Lily insane. She pretended it didn't bother her, but inside she was hurt that he could change so much in so little time.
James wasn't at the feast Christmas Eve. Lily, after dining alone to one corner of the one table the staff and students were using during the holidays, walked into the Heads common room expecting to see James reading a book and ignoring her completely. What she found was an empty room with a note on a nightstand.
Dear Lily, it said, I am sorry I left you to eat alone at dinner tonight. I couldn't stand facing anybody. If you want to talk, I'm in my room. James.
"He can't stand facing anybody?" Lily wondered aloud. "What could he mean by that?" She ran up the stairs that lead to James's dormitory and knocked on his door. "James," she said softly, "can I come in?" She didn't hear an answer, but she opened the door anyway. Tears sprang into her eyes.
James was sitting on his bed, staring out the window. His eyes were swollen and red, and he was holding a letter with an official-looking seal on it. "Oh Merlin," Lily breathed, and she ran up to James and hugged him with all her might. His arms wrapped around her. For how long they stayed like that, they never knew. It could have been a second, a minute, or maybe even an hour. It didn't matter to them. It seemed to Lily that James was holding on to her for dear life.
"James," Lily whispered, brushing a piece of his hair out of his eyes with a shaking finger, "what happened?"
For an answer, James handed Lily the letter, which was crumpled and tear-stained. As Lily read the letter, her eyes filled with tears and her hands shook so she could barely read it.
Dear James Harold Potter,
It is with deepest remorse that I write to you now. As you know, your parents were top Aurors working for the Ministry of Magic. They were sent to destroy Voldemort in the beginning of September, along with a band of other wizards and witches. Your house was found in half-ruin at five o'clock this evening with the Dark Mark over it. It is with sorrow that I inform you that both of your parents were in the house doing research on Voldemort when the attack took place, and that their bodies were found. The funeral will take place on January first. It is then that a Ministry official will meet with you to discuss their wills.
With deepest sympathy,
Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of MagicThe letters became blurred. Lily's vision was obscured by a vast amount of tears glistening in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She turned to face James again, dropping the letter to the floor, and hugged him tight, sobbing into his shirt. She heard sniffling and looked up to see James, his face stained with dry tears. "I'm so sorry, James," she whispered when she calmed down. "So, so, so sorry."
"They were good people," James said, his voice cracking as a few lone tears trickled down his nose.
Lily hugged him again, moving closer so that she was practically sitting on his lap. "I—" Lily said, hiccupping slightly, "—I—well—is there anything I can do?"
James didn't answer, but held her close, so that she moved into his lap. Her arms were around his neck. She made to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned his head. Their lips met. The kiss was soft, sweet, and tender, and told of years of love. "Go out with me, Lily?" James asked, a small smile on his tear-stained face.
Lily kissed him again, running her fingers through his hair as his hands snaked around her waist, pulling her a little closer. When she pulled back, she blushed. "Please don't take this as rejection," she said in his ear, kissing his cheek lightly.
"I doubt anyone could, Lily," James said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She felt goose bumps erupt on her arms as his finger brushed lightly against her forehead. "Who would've thought," James whispered in awe, more to himself than to Lily. "Lily Evans actually saying yes to me!"
"James, you really talk too much," Lily said, her amusement apparent in her voice. "In fact, I'd say you talk more than any—mmphf—" James cut her off with a kiss that began gently but deepened rather quickly, leaving both of them slightly breathless when they pulled back.
"Lily," James whispered, "I'd say you talk too much, too." He tried—and failed—to stifle a yawn. Lily looked at the clock on his wall just as it chimed twelve.
"You should get to sleep, James," Lily said, ruffling up his hair.
"I thought you didn't like it messy," James said, raising an eyebrow at her and ignoring her comment completely.
"I changed my mind," Lily said softly. "James, you should really get to sleep." She stood up and kissed him on his cheek.
"Don't," James said quietly.
"But I thought you just asked me—" Lily started, thinking he meant that she shouldn't kiss him.
"No," James said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back onto his bed, "Don't go."
Lily smiled. "Oh," she said. "That's what you meant." She crawled under his covers and so did he.
"You would have liked them," James said wistfully, putting an arm around her waist. "My parents, I mean." He pulled out his wand and waved it; all the candles went out and they were left in semi-complete darkness, broken only by the half-moon shining through the window.
"What were they like?" Lily asked him softly, bringing her arm around his shoulder and making circles on his back with her finger.
"Well, my mum was a clean freak," James said, laughing. "She always made sure that the rooms were clean. She even cleaned up after the house elves, complaining about dust that only she could see. Sometimes I wondered what she would do if there was nothing to complain about. But she was really good about Sirius's family problems. When he came looking for a place to stay, she took him in no problem. And she cooked as good as the house elves in the school. Her cherry pies were the best things in this world, other than you, Lily."
James paused and kissed her cheek. Lily was glad it was dark so that he couldn't see her blush. "She sounds like a nice person," Lily said quietly.
"She was," James said reflectively. "She gave me everything and more. We had a pool in our backyard that was so big it was almost like swimming in a small lake. We had a mini Quidditch pitch. We had brooms, quaffles, bludgers, beaters' bats, and snitches. You name it, we had it."
"Wow," Lily said in awe. "What was your father like?"
"My dad was the best. He was actually a lot like Sirius. He had this really loud voice that you could hear from one end of the house to the other, and he used to make jokes all the time. His favorite one was about the hag, the warlock, and the acromantula."
"Oh, I've heard of that one!" Lily said enthusiastically. "It's one of my favorites!"
"Yeah," James said, "mine too. Anyway, he would always play pranks on my mum, who would yell a bit and then laugh it off. He couldn't cook at all. One time, he tried making a salad, and managed to somehow burn a hole in the roof. I've no idea how he did that." Lily chuckled and James paused. "It's just so hard, knowing that I'll never see them again."
"Well, I don't know if this is true or not, but my mum once told me that when a person dies, a new star appears in the sky. That star will watch over you, sort of like a guardian angel. And when you make a wish, it goes to that star." Lily paused. "It sounded like a nice thought at the time," she said bashfully, embarrassed when James didn't say anything.
"I think it's wonderful," James whispered. "Lily, we should get to sleep."
"Alright," she said.
James fell asleep shortly after that, and Lily was comforted by his deep, even breathing. His arm was still around her, and hers around him. They stayed like that all night, arms around one another.
A/N: OMIGOSH I'm sorry it was so sad. Again. Anyway, if you want to read another interesting story that makes my story seem like dog doo-doo, check out my friend's story: Love Throughout Time by SilverwingsJP…she's amazing. Her story kicks my story's butt. No joke. But, before you read that, REVIEW PLEASE:-) no matter how mean I am with my morbid chapters…sorry again, by the way.