"It started out on a dark and stormy night. A beautiful princess - a redheaded princess - had been kidnapped by evil sorcerers and was to be sacrificed to a giant dragon. Princess Lily thought she was going to die. She'd given up all hope of ever surviving, but then, out of nowhere, the charming, handsome, and absolutely brilliant Prince James came riding along on his trusty steed. And he drew his sword and faced the dragon and the evil sorcerers…"

"James, what are you doing?"

James started, whipping around in surprise to find his wife standing in the doorway of the nursery. She had her arms folded over her chest and her eyebrows in an expression of bemusement and curiosity. Her lips were quirked into a slightly teasing smile.

"Lily," he said, a sheepish look in his eyes. "I… ah… I didn't see you there." He took a few shuffling steps away from the crib, his gaze darting back and forth between his wife and infant son.

"Hm… I gathered as much," Lily replied, still smiling. "But you didn't answer my question, James. What are you doing?" Her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall of the nursery as her smile turned into a frown. "It's long past Harry's bedtime."

James nodded and glanced down at his son. The boy was gazing up at him with wide green eyes, clearly hanging on every word uttered. His expression was one of rapture, as though the story James was telling was the most important thing he had ever heard.

Of course, he was only a few months old, so it was entirely possible that James was just imagining all of this.

But the child was awake, and it was past his bedtime, and Lily wasn't happy about that.

"I'm telling Harry about how we met," James replied, lifting his chin in a defiant manner. "I figured it was important for him to know how his mother and father fell in love."

At this, Lily's expression turned from one of disapproval to one of complete bewilderment. "I see," she said slowly, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "And your recollection is that we met when you were saving me from a dragon?"

"And evil sorcerers," James said pointedly. "Don't forget the evil sorcerers." Lily continued to stare at him, and he sighed. "I just wanted to spice things up a little," he said with a shrug. "All the great stories involve dragons and damsels in distress…"

"Do I look like a damsel in distress, James?" Lily asked sharply.

"No, no," James said hurriedly, backtracking as best he could. "I just wanted Harry to really enjoy the story, so…"

"So you felt it was necessary to lie to our son?" Lily pressed, eyes narrowing.

"What? No!" James protested immediately. Then he paused and said reluctantly, "Well… yes. But not really. It's not really lying. I just wanted it to be interesting in the beginning." He ran a hand through his hair nervously, messing it up. All he had wanted to do was tell Harry about how Princess Lily and Prince James had met. He hadn't really expected an innocent story to cause any trouble.

"I didn't realize that the truth of our relationship wasn't interesting," Lily said sarcastically. "Do you really find me that boring?"

"No!" James said again, his tone even more emphatic. "Oh, Merlin, this isn't going well," he muttered.

Lily laughed lightly, the irritation leaving her features. She came to his side and wrapped her arms around him tightly, resting her head on his chest. He returned the embrace automatically, and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

Her red curls tickled his nose.

"I think telling Harry about how we met and fell in love is a brilliant idea, James. I just think that we should tell him the truth. And possibly we should wait until tomorrow so that he can actually sleep tonight."

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today," James said sagely.

Lily tilted her head back and looked up at him. "I seem to recall you always putting off everything - homework, Head Boy responsibilities - when we were at Hogwarts. You turned procrastination into an art."

"I've changed," James said in a mock serious voice. Then he nodded to the still wide awake Harry and said, "He's only a few months old. It doesn't matter what version of the story we tell him, he won't remember it."

"Then why are you telling it to him at all?" Lily countered.

"You're going to question everything I say, aren't you?" James grumbled good-naturedly.

Lily smirked and stood on her tiptoes so that she could press a kiss against his lips. "Yes. And yet you love me anyway."

"I do," James agreed, his voice somewhat muffled by her lips. It was a bit difficult to talk as she continued to kiss him, and some part of him felt like he needed to stop the kiss so that he could continue to defend his decision to tell Harry a less than true version of how he and Lily met. But the part of him that just wanted to continue kissing Lily seemed to be winning the internal battle.

Lily finally broke off the kiss and pulled away from him. "I love you, too," she said seriously.

He wondered vaguely if she had any idea how much those three words still meant to him. He knew that Lily loved him, and didn't have to hear her say the words to know that they were true. But some part of him still felt like that fifteen-year-old boy, desperately attracted to a girl who couldn't stand him, and just hearing her say that she did love him, that he'd finally managed to win her heart…

It meant more to him than he could really explain, at least without sounding like a sentimental... well, girl.

He also kind of just wished she hadn't stopped the kissing.

But Lily stepped away from him and walked over to the crib. She bent down and ran a hand lightly through her son's uncontrollable black hair, and said, "And I love you, too, Harry. You and Daddy are the most important people in the world to me, and I would do anything for you." Then she straightened and said in a brisk tone, "But your father is a horrible liar and he never once saved me from a dragon."

"Fine," James said in a huff. "You want the real story. I'll tell Harry the real story."

He walked over to the crib and reached down, his arms wrapping around his son. He carried Harry over to the rocking chair near the window and sat down. Lily pulled a stool over and settled it across from him, then perched on the edge and waited for him to start speaking. Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a pale light over the small family, and in that moment, James felt more contentment than he thought he could possibly deserve.

"Well?" Lily prompted when James didn't start speaking right away. "Aren't you going to tell him the story?"

James grinned. "Of course. I just need a moment to compose myself. This is a very important story, Lily. I don't think we should rush into it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Indeed," she drawled. "Then by all means, take your time. I mean, we're already hours past Harry's bedtime. What does it matter if he gets any sleep tonight?"

James heaved a sigh and shook his head. "This, Harry," he said to his now bleary-eyed son, "is why you should never get married. Girls are all mental."

"Is that so?" Lily asked in a low voice. "I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch for the next few weeks, James."

James laughed. Then he turned his attention back to Harry once more and said, "It was September 1st. Our first day of Hogwarts. Your Uncle Sirius and I were sitting in a compartment on the train, and this beautiful, fiery, red-haired personification of energy came running into the compartment. And I looked at her, and fell instantly in love."

Lily frowned. "Really?" she asked skeptically. "Because that's not exactly how I remember it."

"It was love at first sight," James said firmly, shifting Harry's weight in his arms. "I know you felt it, too."

"I hated you until sixth year, and I certainly didn't love you until maybe even after seventh year," Lily countered logically. "And you didn't start asking me out until fourth year. I don't think you even really noticed me before then. So you can hardly claim that it was love at first sight."

James gave her a stern look, trying to hide the amusement in his eyes. He didn't think he quite managed it, though, and what was supposed to be a strict reprimand of "You're ruining the story, Lily," came out sounding full of mirth.

Lily, who had long since mastered the ability to put reproach into any statement, replied, "You're not telling it right."

"Fine," James said huffily, holding Harry out to Lily, "you tell it then."

Lily slid off the stool and took Harry into own arms. "Alright then, I will," she said. She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, and Harry reached up with one chubby hand and wrapped his fingers around her hair.

"He likes redheads," James said.

Lily carefully disentangled her hair from Harry's fingers and said, "That's very nice, Harry, but Mama would like her hair to stay attached to her head."

"Killjoy," James muttered under his breath.

Lily slanted a glare in his direction, then smiled at Harry and said, "It wasn't love at first sight. Your father didn't even notice me until fourth year."

"That is not true!" James interrupted in protest. "I noticed you at the end of third year. I spent the entire summer trying to come up with the perfect way to ask you out."

Lily dissolved into laughter. "Oh, yes. And what a brilliant plan you concocted."

"It was brilliant!"

"James, you walked up to me on the train on the first day of our fourth year and demanded that I go out with you," Lily explained, still chuckling softly. "You… you actually said I needed to go out with you or else."

"I was fourteen!" James defended himself, flushing pink at the memory of that disastrous attempt. "I didn't have a lot of experience talking to girls that I actually liked."

Lily shook her head, her eyes still dancing with amusement, then lifted Harry up so that she was holding him directly in front of her and said in a mock-stern voice, "Now Harry, I want you to promise me that when you are older you will not go to your father for dating advice."

Harry responded by reaching out and grabbing Lily's hair again.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" James argued, giving Lily a very pointed look. "You agreed to go out with me."

Lily furrowed her brows and shifted Harry so that he was sitting on her lap, his back resting against her stomach. "Actually, I seem to recall turning you down. Several times," she replied.

"Yes," James pressed, "but you eventually said yes." He gave her a triumphant grin. "And that is what matters, right?"

Lily's lips turned up into a small smile. "Yes," she agreed softly, "that is what matters." They were both silent for a moment, staring at each other, and then Lily cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, Harry, I thought your father was an arrogant prat for a long time."

"Way to ruin the moment," James grumbled. "And, actually, I believe you used the words arrogant toerag."

"I believe I used a lot of words," Lily corrected.

"Hm…yes, you did," James agreed. He reached over and took Harry from Lily's arms. Harry didn't seem particularly thrilled to be forced to let go of Lily's hair, but he soon replaced the loss of the red strands by grabbing onto James' hair and pulling sharply.

James winced, and Lily giggled. "I guess he likes your hair, too."

"He'd better like it," James replied, "because he inherited it."

He carefully dislodged his hair from Harry's hands and then bounced the infant up and down in his arms. Harry looked up at him and opened and closed his mouth several times, as though trying to make some kind of noise. But at only a few months old, he hadn't learned to talk yet, and he only succeeded in spitting bubbles of saliva onto James' shirt.

James wrinkled his nose.

Lily hid a grin behind one hand.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" James accused.

Lily shrugged, entirely unapologetic. "You're the one who wanted to keep him up so you could tell him all about how we met. Never mind the fact that you're completely butchering the story."

"Well, let's get on with the story, then," James said. "Where did we leave off?"

"I thought you were an arrogant toerag," Lily supplied helpfully. Harry made an odd gurgling sound, and Lily continued, "But don't worry, Harry. My opinion of your father changed in our sixth year."

"When she fell hopelessly in love with me," James explained, picking up the story from where Lily had paused. "She realized just how irresistible I was, and threw herself at me, begging me to take her right then and there. So we went back to my dormitory and…"

"James!" Lily cut in sharply, giving him a disapproving look. "Even if that was remotely close to what happened, it would still not be an appropriate part of the story to tell to our infant son."

"Ah… yes. Sorry, Lily, I got carried away in the moment," James said with an abashed grin. Glancing at his son, he added, "Forget what I just said. Forget all about it. There is no such thing as sex. Babies come from storks. Girls are all loony, stay away from them."

"I thought we were trying to avoid lying to our son?" Lily chided. James just smirked at her, and she sighed and said, "And I did not fall hopelessly in love with you during our sixth year." Her eyes moved from James to Harry and she said firmly, "Did you hear that, Harry? I absolutely did not fall hopelessly in love with your father during our sixth year."

James narrowed her eyes at her. "Well, you don't have to be quite that firm about it." Then he got a wicked gleam in his eyes and added, "And, anyway, you did throw yourself at me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I had ingested a love potion, James. I wasn't myself when that all happened."

"You mean when you showed up in the common room wearing a silky red nightgown and asked if I wanted to take a stroll somewhere… ahem… private?" James clarified with a cheeky smile. "Or when you kept running your hands up and down my chest and commenting on how strong I was from playing Quidditch? Or when you kissed me? Because that was quite a kiss."

"I had been given a love potion!"

"Sure you had…"

"Don't listen to your father, Harry," Lily said with a very put-upon sigh. "He's got it all wrong. I was absolutely, positively, one hundred percent not in love with him then."

"Still… that was one of the highlights of sixth year for me," James said dreamily. "You should have seen your mother, Harry. I mean, she has always been beautiful, but in that nightgown… wow."

"James!"

"What? It was a highlight."

"Well, my highlight from sixth year was you falling off your broom outside my window," Lily shot back, glowering at her husband. Then her expression softened and added, "But I do have to admit that my opinion of you did change a little bit after the whole love potion incident."

"Because you realized how irresistible I was?" James suggested with a wink.

"Not even close," Lily answered wryly. She looked at Harry and explained, "You see, I threw myself at your father, Harry, and he said no. He refused to take advantage of the fact that I was under the influence of a love potion. He was very noble."

"Well," James said, blushing slightly, "I am a Gryffindor."

"Yes, you are," Lily said, standing up and closing the space between them. She kissed him on the nose. "My brave, noble, chivalrous Gryffindor."

He caught her wrist and kissed her passionately, still holding Harry between them, then drew back and murmured, "Well, if you weren't in love with me during that whole love potion incident, maybe you should tell Harry about when you did fall in love with me."

Lily smiled for a moment, but then her expression darkened. She closed her eyes briefly and said in a voice thick with emotion, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

It took James a moment to figure out why his comment had earned that reaction, and then his face fell. "Ah… I didn't think… It was then? Really? The attack on Hogsmeade?"

The attack had occurred at the end of their sixth year and had come without warning. His participation in it - his determination to stay and protect the younger students - was generally assumed by all of his friends to be the reason Dumbledore picked him as Head Boy. It had earned him a position of responsibility and a chance to get closer to Lily, to prove that he really was someone she could respect, and like, and maybe even love.

It had also almost gotten him killed.

He sighed.

"When I saw that Death Eater torturing you…" Lily whispered, her eyes brimming with tears, "I was just… I panicked. It physically hurt to think of anything happening to you, let alone actually witnessing it." She brushed the tears away quickly and forced a smile. "It didn't take much to realize that maybe I didn't hate you as much as I thought I did."

James raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked disbelievingly. His wife was many things, but self-aware was not always one of them. He sincerely doubted her stubbornness would have allowed her to let go of her hatred quite that easily.

"Well… Cynthia and Marlene pointed it out to me over the summer," Lily said, blushing.

Harry had started to fall asleep in James' arms, but he abruptly began to fuss. He reached out for Lily, shaking his arms and legs and screwing his face up into a miniature grimace.

"Uh oh," Lily said, taking Harry and kissing him on the forehead. "I don't think Harry likes it when Mama and Daddy are so sad."

"Oh," James suggested, "we should tell him about our first date. That was fun. It should cheer him up."

Lily stared at James for a moment, then said dryly, "Really? Because my recollection of that date is that it ended with me covered in coffee and fur and coughing up slugs."

"How was I suppose to know the spell would go so wrong?" James replied defensively.

Lily shook her head and said, "You know, in retrospect, it's actually a miracle you managed to convince me to go on a second date."

"Okay, so maybe we shouldn't tell Harry about our first date," James admitted.

Harry continued to fuss, and this time tears welled up in his eyes.

"Oh, don't cry, Harry," Lily murmured, swaying back and forth in an attempt to calm him. "Your father was able to plan better dates. I promise it wasn't all fur and slugs."

This seemed to calm Harry a bit.

"We should put him to bed," James murmured. "We can tell him about our second date tomorrow. I seem to remember that that one went quite a bit better."

Lily gave him an incredulous look. "You took a Bludger to the head and ended up in the Hospital Wing."

"No, that was our third date," James replied. "Our second date was the one in the Great Hall right before Halloween."

Lily's expression scrunched together in thought, and then she asked slowly, "Is that when Sirius and his brother got into a fist fight and Sirius accidentally set the table on fire? My eyebrows got singed off."

"Right… Okay, so maybe not that one. What about our fourth date?"

"You fell down the stairs and broke your ankle."

"I did not fall. I maintain that something invisible pushed me. There is simply no way I would have made that much of a fool out of myself."

"Something invisible?" Lily questioned. "Something that wasn't on your charmed map of the school? Something that nobody else saw or sensed?" She smiled teasingly. "Face it, James, you were just clumsy. Or maybe you were distracted by that kiss we shared...?"

James sighed. "What about our fifth date?"

"We got caught out after hours and McGonagall gave us detention."

"That wasn't so bad…"

"Our detention involved cleaning the loo without magic."

"Ah…" James frowned thoughtfully. "You know, when I think about it… why in Merlin's name did you keep agreeing to go on more dates with me?"

Lily walked over to the crib and placed Harry in it. He yawned as he stared up at her, his eyelids already beginning to close. She ruffled his hair and gave him one last kiss on the forehead.

Then she turned and walked back to James, wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him deeply.

"You," she murmured into his lips, "were very persuasive."

James responded quite enthusiastically to the kiss, pulling Lily up against him and folding his arms around her. He did have to break off the kiss eventually to murmur, "I'm still persuasive."

"You are," Lily agreed.

She was still kissing him. And he was rather impressed by the fact that she was somehow managing to talk and kiss at the same time. It really shouldn't have been possible, but he had never doubted that Lily was able to do the impossible.

"Every day," Lily whispered, "I think I love you as much as humanly possible, and every day you persuade me to love you just a little bit more…"

They were still kissing. Part of James wanted to ask Lily to teach him this particular trick, because, really, how was anyone able to talk while still doing the things she was doing with her lips and her tongue…?

The other part of him told his brain to shut up and enjoy the kiss.

It stopped soon enough, and Lily stepped away from him. "We should go to bed, too," she said, stifling a yawn. "We can finish the story for Harry in the morning."

James smirked. "So which date do you want to tell him about? Fur and slugs, burned eyebrows, Bludger to the head, broken ankle, or detention?" he asked casually.

"You know what?" Lily said with a sigh and a soft smile, turning to leave the room. "Just forget it. Tell him we met when you were rescuing me from a dragon and evil sorcerers and I fell in love with you because you saved my life. I think that one might actually be more believable."

James laughed and followed Lily from the nursery.

The moon continued to shine brightly in the cloudless sky, illuminating the child in his crib. And the little boy with the uncontrollable black hair and bright green eyes yawned and rolled over, drifting off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that he was loved.