Chapter Text
Christmas time is here
Families drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
-Vince Guaraldi Trio-
By the time Mrs. Potter and Sirius came back, James and Mr. Potter were playing wizard's chess while Lily read a book in the library. She was used to reading in a room full of people, so Lily wasn't fazed at all by the two men verbally sparing as they made their moves. Though occasionally, she looked up and caught James smiling at her which only made her smile at him in return.
"Who's winning?" Sirius asked Lily.
"Not a clue," Lily told him, "I think, Mr. Potter..."
"It is Mr. Potter," James's father grinned proudly, looking alarming like his son as he did it.
"OH CHECKMATE!" James raised his arms. "WHAT NOW DAD?"
Mr. Potter shook with laughter. "... You got lucky."
"He always says that when I win," James scoffed.
"James, honey, can you help me with something?"
Sirius stood up and went with him. "You stay put Evans."
Lily laughed, "okay."
Mr. Potter said, "you play Lily?"
"Poorly."
"Excellent, come along, let's build my self-esteem back up," Mr. Potter teased her as he reset the board.
Lily laughed, setting her book down before she took James's seat. "Do you two always do this?"
"We do. My wife doesn't care for the game. She gets too frustrated and quits halfway through."
"I find that highly relatable," Lily admitted before she made a move with one of her pawns.
"Well, tonight there will be a snowman building contest, a snowball battle before we watch Christmas movies. I hope you are prepared."
"I will do my best," Lily laughed lightly. "Do you do this every year?"
"With some variation. My wife and I made it a priority when we finally had James to make every holiday special since we finally had the family we had wanted," Mr. Potter explained, "Mrs. Potter was widowed to her first husband, and I was so focused with my company I never settled down until it was too late. Then one day we were both invited to a dinner and … sparks."
Lily beamed, "that's adorable. What company?"
"…. James never mentioned? I invited the Sleekeazy's hair solution."
"You invented it?!" Lily gaped at him, "and your son's hair looks like that?"
Mr. Potter snickered, "every child has their rebellion. I suppose that's his. Not as bad as other children's."
"No, I suppose not but… still."
"Yes, well, since my wife and I were older we didn't think we could have children and then we were blessed with James and then a few years later we stole Sirius. So now we try to make the most out of every holiday."
"That's sweet."
"What do you typically do?"
Lily said, "um… well when my mother was alive we would decorate the tree together and listen to Christmas music on Christmas Eve, then we'd open presents on Christmas day. But since she died it's been less and less every year… last year I went…" Her stomach clenched up, "sorry, um… I went to my friend Mary's house after we did the presents…"
"Mary McDonald?" He asked softly.
She nodded, "Sorry, it's been months but I still cry about it. I don't know why." Lily admitted, wiping her eyes with a sheepish smile.
"Grief is circular. You are great some days, fine others and then some it feels like it happened all over again."
Lily sighed, "no, and I should know that with my mum but..."
"Not every death hits the same way. Grief is our body's way of processing a loss we will never fully accept. Was your mother's death sudden?"
Lily shook her head. "She had cancer. We knew it was coming."
"So you had time to wrap your head around it. It still hurts and there will be days when you can't accept she isn't there but a friend is harder to accept. You're supposed to outlive your parents. You're not necessarily supposed to outlive your peers. That only makes it that much more important to make the most of the time we have."
Lily said, "No, I agree… I guess it's just weird. I know my father misses my mother and I'm sure even my sister does but Mary hits differently because I've learned to not have my mum, and I went to school so I got used to a different routine. But I haven't done that with Mary yet."
He nodded, listening intently.
"I don't know."
"The holidays bring up a mixture of emotions for everything," he reassured her kindly. "There's no shame in feeling those emotions whatever they may be. The real shame is when we shut down our feelings entirely because then we miss out on everything."
"You're right."
"I know."
Lily laughed, wiping her face. "You sound… exactly like your son."
"I would love to say he's like his mother… and in some ways he is, but unfortunately, he got more of me than he bargained for."
"I think he could do worse," Lily told him honestly.
"You say that but full disclosure, I've cheated twice in this game…"
"MR. POTTER!" Lily gasped in outrage. "You cheated?!"
Mr. Potter shook with laughter.
"Oh my god…" Lily shook her head at him before she reset the board. "Okay this time, I'm playing seriously and I'm watching you… I can't believe you cheated."
Mr. Potter snickered to himself before the two of them went into a heated game.
"I know, I should have warned you. He cheats, he flips the board… he's awful," James apologized to Lily as they settled in for dinner.
"You should have. I'm still … whatever I won when we played for real," Lily said.
"I was very generous in letting her win," Mr. Potter teased with a wink.
"Monty," Mrs. Potter scolded him with a smack to his arm, which only made him laugh harder.
"What did you have yesterday?" Sirius asked James
"They were serving venison," James said, with a sickened look on his face.
Sirius nodded in understanding but Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "Do you not eat meat? I've seen you eat meat."
"No, I mean I'm not a complete vegetarian. I eat chicken and fish but I don't eat beef and I'd never eat deer."
"They are very cute, I can see why you'd feel that way," Lily told him.
James glanced over at her and felt a little guilty that she didn't know but when he shared a look with Sirius he knew he had to tell her after dinner. So once dinner was over the two of them went outside with her to the forest.
Lily gave them both a look. "Now, I wouldn't say this if I wasn't positive it wasn't the case… but you both are acting shifty like one of you is taking me out here to murder me."
James snorted, "I'm not going to kill you."
"That wasn't that convincing," Sirius teased him.
"Yeah, now I definitely think it's you, Potter," Lily said though she didn't let go of their intertwined hands.
James laughed and said, "okay Sirius show her."
"Another terrifying comment…" Lily laughed under her breath. "What-? OH GOD!"
Sirius transformed into his dog self and waggled his tail excitedly before rubbing his nose against her hand.
"This… this is so weird…" Lily half-laughed, and half-groaned as Sirius bullied her into petting him. "You are cute and I want to pet you but I know you're Sirius and that feels weird… okay fine!" She huffed, squatting down to pet him. "But when you're human I want to talk about this!"
James smiled before he walked a few yards away and transformed. This time Lily wasn't as thrown but James didn't get as close to her as Sirius did. A dog was after all more friendly than a stag typically was but once Lily looked up from Sirius and saw him, she got a smile on his face that made him take a step closer to her.
She ruffled Sirius's hair before she walked forward and tentatively pet James. "You can even see where your glasses are," she whispered tracing the marks next to his eyes as gently as possible.
James stayed perfectly still as she gently traced his fur before she touched his antlers.
"This is so… soft… it's kind of as soft as your hair is…" Lily mumbled before she stepped back and said, "okay can I have human Sirius and James please?"
James shifted back and her hand was in his hair. He smiled as she giggled and shook her head. "That's… trippy. Now explain to me … you're Animagus's. The nicknames make sense now but how… Because you'd have to keep that leaf thing in your mouth for a month, which means you two couldn't talk for a month which feels next to impossible…"
"Werewolves only hurt humans, not other animals," Sirius explained simply.
Lily put her hand over her heart. "You guys did that for Remus?"
"It helps him stay sane during the full moon," James told her.
"Peter too?"
"Peter too," Sirius said.
Lily put her hand on their shoulders and said, "that was really sweet of you boys."
Sirius laughed, "thanks, mum."
"I am taller than Mrs. Potter," Lily laughed back before she said, "god… I can't believe you two did that. Wasn't it hard?"
"We could have done it earlier. It was more work because Peter isn't the best at Potions," Sirius said honestly. "But we managed it 5th year."
"5th year?!" Lily shook her head in disbelief. "What year would you have been able to do it if you weren't helping Peter?"
"… 3rd year?" James guessed.
Sirius nodded. "He kept swallowing the leaf or forgetting to recite the incantation so that delayed us a bit."
"How bummed is Remus that he can't do it too though?" Lily asked them.
"A little but obviously excited about the rest," James told her.
Lily said, "okay so Prongs, antlers, Padfoot, your paws, Moony, obviously… Wormtail… is he a mouse?"
"Peter's a rat."
"Huh… do you get to choose what you are…?" Lily asked them. "I don't think you can but…"
"No, it's just what you are," Sirius told her.
Lily nodded, "bummer for Peter then, but I guess he can sneak around easier than you two… especially you James…"
"Would you do it?" James asked her curiously.
"No," Lily scoffed, "I wouldn't want to have a leaf in my mouth for a month."
"Not even for Remus?" Sirius teased her.
Lily laughed at him, "I would much rather focus my energy on finding a potion to help him, which is what I have been doing. There is a wizard in Belgium that is close to finding a version which makes the user keep their mentality."
"Hmmm," Sirius noted.
Lily said, "also what if I was like a Flamingo or something else equally as useless? That both wouldn't be helpful to Remus and would have been a giant waste of time… not to mention embarrassing…"
"What's your Patronus? They line up," Sirius asked her.
James said, "she doesn't know. She hasn't been able to do it."
"I've never tried to," Sirius said before he set his stance and tried before nothing happened. "I guess it is hard…"
Lily said, "James can get a wisp, I can't get anything…"
"I'm telling you, you just haven't picked the right thing," James said, wrapping his arm around her as they headed back to the house.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lily sighed before she scooped up a snowball and threw it right in Sirius's face. "That's for assuming it was easy."
James laughed and dramatically dropped her hand to step away from her. Then Sirius and Lily started throwing snowballs at each other viciously while James laughed from the side before Sirius and Lily suddenly started throwing snowballs at him.
"HEY! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" James laughed, ducking and dodging the pair of them as they all ran around trying to stuff snow down each other's coats.
When they were finally done, all of their faces were bright red, and they were half-frozen, half-sweating as they headed back to the house.
Lily loved being at the Potter's. It was how she imagined Christmas should have been. There were endless activities but also plenty of time where they were all just gathered around with no expectation. Lily found herself laying with James on the couch, reading one of Mrs. Potter's books while James and Sirius debated what the best Christmas movie was.
By the time it got late, James slipped his arm around her, and they went upstairs for bed. It felt so natural like they'd done it a thousand times. She kissed his shoulder as they walked, hugging his arm before they went into his room.
"Did you have fun today?" James asked her, cupping her face.
Lily smiled and leaned into his hands, "yeah, I did. Your family is so… I like them. Your dad is funny, and your mom is so nice. I love what Sirius did with the drawing-room. It feels so festive."
"I'm glad you like it," James told her with a smile before he stole a soft kiss.
Lily leaned into his lips, his hands, everything. Then she drew back and said, "come on, we have to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. Your parents have a whole room filled with presents for you. I can't wait to see what they got you."
James nodded, kissing her again before they changed into pajamas and went to bed. Lily woke up first the next day. Then she snuck in a shower and got ready while James slept. After she went downstairs and helped Mrs. Potter set everything up while everyone else slept.
"Okay, now we have the food all set up. The decorations and I've charmed the tree to start giving out presents once we're all sitting on the couch," Mrs. Potter listed, tapping her finger to her lips thoughtfully.
Lily said, "I think we did everything. I set up the drinks too so the hot chocolate, eggnog, and water are all ready to go."
Mrs. Potter smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm so glad you came early. I'm not glad it wasn't for a happy reason but we love having you here. We always wanted more kids and thankfully James always brings more home."
Lily laughed softly, "he has that way about him."
"You love him, don't you?"
Lily nodded, sheepishly. "He made it hard not to."
"Potter's have that way about them," Mrs. Potter smiled.
"I've noticed that," Lily said before she heard the footsteps and laughed as Sirius and James came running down the stairs.
"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Sirius yelled, lifting Mrs. Potter in the air.
"OH! SIRIUS! Put… Put me down!" Mrs. Potter laughed, "you're going to hurt yourself."
"Mum, you weigh like 36 kilograms," James scoffed before he leaned down and kissed Lily.
She smiled against his lips before Mr. Potter came down and they all settled into the drawing-room. They ate some cinnamon buns and drank some hot chocolate before the presents started going around. Lily loved watching what they all got each other. Mr. Potter got very practical presents, new slippers, cardigans with elbow pads and his favorite type of brandy. Mrs. Potter got very personalized presents. James got her a new coffee maker and personalized mug that matched her kitchen, Sirius got her a horde of soft socks and a blanket that adjusts to the wearer's body heat.
"That's such a good idea," Mrs. Potter gasped, "I'm always cold."
Sirius pointed to his temple with a smirk.
Lily laughed and then watched as the boys went next. The Potter's got James new shoes, which he actually needed since she'd seen he'd worn out a lot of his current pairs. Then they also got him a glasses cleaner set and a shaving kit.
"Is this a subtle reminder?" James asked them, holding up the shaving kit.
"Not subtle," Mrs. Potter scoffed at him teasingly.
When James opened Sirius's present, he threw up his hands at the beard trimming kit. "I will shave!" He laughed at all of them. "Merlin."
Then the last present for James, Lily's present, flew over to James. She watched him open it and said, "You said the other day that you wished you had a pocket watch like your grandfather did but his was lost. So I-"
Lily's speech was interrupted by James's lips. She giggled and drew back. "Do you like it?"
He nodded. "Thank you."
Sirius went next with his presents appearing in front of him. He got some new t-shirts since Mrs. Potter said he didn't seem to own any anymore because he was always shirtless. The Potters also got him candles, a murder mystery game, a pack of mad libs and other word games. Then James got him a perfectly fitted leather jacket.
"It's supposed to shift with you," James told him.
Sirius put it on with a dramatic sigh, "Yesss…" Then he grabbed the last present and gasped,"A knife-making kit?"
"I thought you'd like that. You seem to like to take one random skills," Lily said.
Sirius smiled, "thanks, Evans."
A few presents started floating over to Lily next and she was surprised. She knew she was getting something from James and Sirius had mentioned he'd gotten her something on the train, but she wasn't expecting more than that.
Lily beamed when she opened the first present and found a matching necklace and earing set from James. "Ohhh… it's my birthstone…" She cupped James' face, "thank you, James." Then she kissed him softly before she opened the next one and saw a camera.
"You should take pictures again," James told her warmly.
"How did you even get this? I was with you the whole time…" Lily kissed him a few times before she opened Sirius's present and shook with laughter. "What… what is this Sirius?"
"It's a sandbox, it's supposed to be good for anxiety and stress."
Lily couldn't control her laughter as she took it out carefully and started to play with it. "I love this. This is so weird. Thank you, Sirius."
Sirius winked at her.
Lily then saw the next two were from Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Oh, you didn't have to get me anything."
"It was a gift to me to be able to buy presents for a girl, believe me," Mrs. Potter told her.
"It was really fun," Sirius nodded.
Lily laughed and unwrapped the present to find four presents in it.
"It's still only two because they were all wrapped together," Sirius told her with a smirk.
"That's not… that's not how presents work," Lily laughed, opening the first one to find a Red Panda stuffed animal. "Oh, I love Red Pandas! They're so cute!..." She read the card and read, "oh it's a conservation stuffed animal. I love that! Thank you so much!" Then she opened the next one and smiled when she saw it was the softest blanket she'd ever felt. "This is so soft…" She teasingly pushed James, "I'm not sharing." Then she opened the last one and gasped at the wood jewelry box. "This is beautiful."
"I have one just like it and it helps organize everything."
Lily stood up and hugged Mrs. Potter, "thank you so much." Then she shifted over and hugged Mr. Potter. "Thank you."
They both smiled and hugged her back. Then Lily grabbed her new camera and said, "okay we have to test this out…" She got a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Potter, then one of Sirius and James before Sirius stopped her.
"Lil, we have magic, you can rig it up so you can be in them too," Sirius said.
Lily said, "okay but I want to be under my new blanket."
James teasingly tried to sneak under it.
"You cannot steal this," Lily teased him, laughing as he yanked her waist and kept her close so they could both use the blanket.
"He gets that from you," Mrs. Potter teased her husband.
"I know," Mr. Potter said proudly.