Two Turtledoves

Author's Notes: This is in response to the 12 days of Christmas Challenge by SwissMiss. The plot bunny also belongs to SwissMiss.

Much, much thanks to my beta, NoScrubs12345. You have my eternal gratitude.

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To most people, James Potter and Lily Evans were, put quite simply, the perfect couple. Both had been outstanding students, had achieved the status of Head Boy and Head Girl, and were extremely popular while at Hogwarts. They already had promising careers lined up after leaving school--James as an Auror and Lily as a teacher. The two were often seen holding hands or sitting on their couch, just holding each other and occasionally exchanging a very loving but discreet kiss.

Sirius didn't buy any of it, though. He knew something was wrong.

For several weekends now, he had watched his best friend plunk himself down at a barstool and get drunk. It wasn't just an I'm-very-happy-and-will-laugh-at-anything-right-now drunk, but an I'm-so-completely-smashed-I-can't-even-conceive-walking-let-alone-walking-in-a-straight-line drunk. And it didn't just happen on the occasional Friday or Saturday. This happened every Friday, Saturday, and sometimes on Thursday or Sunday as well.

At first, Sirius wasn't bothered by this. James was still young and the young were foolish. The two had often snuck out of Hogwarts when they were in school to get wasted at the Three Broomsticks. But for the past two-and-a-half months, Sirius hadn't been drinking with James. Hell, he hadn't even known that James was like this until he and Remus had walked into the Flamboyant Flobberworm and seen their mutual friend attempting to walk to the bathroom. Since then, he'd been observing James closely.

Something had happened to James and it was driving him to drink.

Sirius had also started paying attention to Lily. She had been acting differently too.

He noticed most nights that, when she thought no one was looking, she would lock herself in her room or a bathroom and cry. She had been discreet about it, trying not to let anyone know. Sirius hadn't even been able to figure it out without some help. He had asked his friend, Peter Pettigrew, to use his animagus form and spy on her for a couple weeks.

According to Peter, every night he had spied on her, she had gone into the room and sobbed, often crying out "James!" or "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" The two had also noticed that the nights she cried were often the nights when she and James seemed the most in love. They would be holding each other while watching their son, Harry, play with his toys. They would smile at each other, kiss, and hug. She would then politely excuse herself, go into the bathroom, and cry. This worried Sirius.

He had once confronted James on one of his sober days and asked him if he and Lily were all right. James had smiled crookedly back at him.

"Of course we are. I mean, we fight occasionally, but so do all couples. I love my wife. She's my world."

Sirius had nodded, noticing how James's smile never touched his eyes. His eyes looked...sad. Even when he was laughing, he looked sad.

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Months passed and James was getting worse. He was drinking considerably more. Lily knew of his drinking. She had to. The two, along with Harry, had been hidden away from You-Know-Who under the Fidelius Charm. Sirius didn't know where they were, as they had chosen Peter as the Secret Keeper. He had only been able to communicate with them via owl post, but Lily's letters told him everything he needed to know.

Their marriage was falling apart. James was drinking almost every night and Lily wasn't happy. She had told Sirius once it was her fault but she wouldn't tell him why. She only told him to not blame James for his drinking. It was his way of coping.

Sirius sighed. It would be the first of November in a week and he would be able to see James, Lily, and little Harry then. Albus Dumbledore was working on a spell that would allow Peter to Side-Along Apparate someone through the protective wards of the Fidelius. This would keep the location secret as only Peter would know where they were apparating. Sirius was determined to find out what was wrong with his friends.

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Lily smiled as she watched Harry play with a child-safe broomstick. It was his favorite toy and James, being the Quidditch lover that he was, fully encouraged every minute of the boy's playtime with the thing.

The thought of James and Harry made Lily's heart drop and stomach clench. She could feel her throat close as the tears threatened to fall once again. She quickly stood up and asked her husband to watch Harry for a minute before disappearing up the stairs.

Once in the safety of her bedroom, she locked the door and let the tears fall. Her heart twisted with every sob and every fiber of her felt the regret as it washed over her once more. There was so much she wished she could take back. There was so much she wished she had never told James.

She wished she had never told him about her one night of weakness, the one that had robbed her of her marriage, her happiness, her life. She hated seeing the look of pain in his eyes when he they fell upon Harry. But the guilt had been eating her from the inside out and every time she had seen James with her son, she had to fight to stop the tears. Even now, with everything out in the open, the tears still came. It was all because of the one night she had spent in the arms of another man, the only other man she had ever loved in her life.

She wished she had never told her husband about Severus Snape.

The tears were slowing down. She conjured a damp cloth and wiped her face. Sometimes, she didn't know why she bothered. James knew she cried just like she knew he drank.

She smiled though. Tomorrow was Halloween. Sirius and Peter would be visiting them in two days. Sirius's humor and Peter's honest affection for the small family were bound to cheer up the unhappy, imperfect couple.

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