Chapter One

Lily's Idea

Lily Potter rather enjoyed her work as an Unspeakable. She loved the variety of the things they studied, deep in the Department of Mysteries. To a bright and eager young witch, it was the ultimate challenge. A smaller, slightly more devious, part of her also enjoyed keeping her work from her husband, James. Not that Lily didn't like telling him about her work, but… well, after all the trouble James and his friends got up to during their school days, he deserved a little payback.

Sorting through the rolls of parchment outlining different fields of study, Lily ran her hand idly over her rounded stomach. Her little one (she had deliberately chosen not to be told if it was a girl or boy) would be born in a matter of days, if the Healers were to be believed. Soon, there would be a whole new little person, a combination of herself and James…

"Mornin', Lils!" chirped a disturbingly cheerful voice.

Lily turned to see her husband's best friend and fellow Auror, Sirius Black, beaming at her. "Must you always be so loud, Sirius?" she asked.

His grin turned slightly wicked. "Of course, Lily-flower. How goes the secret secret-ness you so happily keep secret down here?"

The redhead laughed, if only because Sirius was still beaming. "It goes the same, as always. You know I can't tell you."

He dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "Of course not, Lils. No, I must confess, I have an ulterior motive for disturbing your important duties."

"Those are rather big words," Lily observed. "Remus may make you responsible yet."

Remus Lupin, who worked as an author writing mostly Defense Against the Dark Arts texts, was Sirius's partner, and also one of James's closest friends.

Sirius smiled. "Actually, Remus sent me. He wants to know if you and James can make it for supper next month, the twenty-second, end of August. We'd love to have you over sooner, but the deadline of Moony's Defense book is two days before the full moon."

Lily patted his shoulder. "You tell Remus not to worry, Sirius. James and I would love to come. We'll even bring the little one."

"Any day now, huh, Lils?" asked Sirius. "A good thing, too. You look fit to pop."

"Thank you," she said sarcastically. "You sure know how to make a woman feel good about herself."

He grinned again. "I aim to please. So, we're on for the twenty-second, right?"

Lily smiled back. "Yes, and tell Remus not to go overboard. We're family, Sirius."

The dark-haired man nodded. "Sure thing, Lils. You have fun with your secrets, now!"

With that, Sirius grinned again and vanished. Lily shook her head and turned back to the stack of parchment, sorting them into piles. Suddenly, the title of one caught her eye. Lily read the document carefully, making sure she understood what the- she checked the name at the top- Healer was suggesting. After several long minutes, she was sure she could not be mistaken.

"This is wonderful!" she said aloud. "Oh, I almost can't believe it!"

"Lily, is that you?" One of the more senior Unspeakables, Bode, stuck his head around the corner.

"I'm going home," the redhead told him. "I need to take care of something!"

At that moment, Remus was bustling about the kitchen of the house he shared with Sirius. It was not a large house, scarcely more than a cottage, but it suited the two men wonderfully. A large dish was cooling on top of the stove, an appliance that looked perfectly ordinary, but ran completely on magic.

From the sitting room, a door banged open; Sirius always Apparated onto the front step, to avoid colliding with anything Remus might have left in the sitting room.

"Honey, I'm home!" Sirius cried, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

Remus frowned at him. "I don't know why I let you get a Muggle telly," he said, kissing him anyway, "and I certainly don't know why you watch those awful American sitcoms."

Sirius grinned. "Because having a telly means you can watch those boring historical things you like so much. How was your day, Moony?"

"Uneventful," the werewolf replied, "but productive. Did you speak with Lily about her and James coming for supper?"

"You thought I would forget, didn't you, Moony? I'm hurt, really."

Remus merely arched an eyebrow, and Sirius smiled. "Yes, I talked to Lily. She's really getting round, she is."

"You didn't tell her that, did you? You really should be more careful around a pregnant woman, Padfoot."

"Oh, we all know Lily loves me."

Remus shook his head, moving the dish to the table. "I thought your ego would have deflated sometime, but I see that point hasn't arrived yet."

Sirius rummaged in the silverware drawer for forks and knives. "Just keep hoping, Moony. What are we having?"

"Shepherd's Pie. Padfoot, will you get the butter?"

Both hungry after working all day, the two men ate in silence until Sirius asked, "Have you ever thought about kids, Moony?"

Remus frowned thoughtfully. "In what way? Like teaching?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, I mean being a father. Having a kid of your own."

"Oh." The werewolf set down his fork and folded his hands on the table. "Well, first off, Padfoot, that's simply impossible. You may not have studied Muggle science, but two men just can't make a child."

"We could adopt," said Sirius quietly.

Remus smiled, suddenly thoughtful. "I… Merlin, you're right, Padfoot. But do you think we're really ready?"

"Is anyone?" his partner returned. "Are James and Lily? You'd make a fantastic father, Moony."

"I'm not saying yes straight away," said Remus, then added quickly, "but I'm not saying no, either."

Sirius grinned. "That's all I ask, Moony, love."

"Sirius!" James Potter's head appeared suddenly in the kitchen fire, startling Remus so much that he sloshed his tea.

"Merlin, Prongs, what's happened?" he asked, moving to kneel beside the hearth. "It's not even seven yet."

"It's Lily, Remus," said the bespectacled man, nearly in panic. "She's-"

"James!" cried Lily's voice, much calmer than her husband's. "We're Flooing to St. Mungo's. Remus, dear?"

"Here, Lily."

"Have Sirius tell the Aurors James won't be coming to work, please," the redhead told him. "Come on, James."

"Right," said James, and his head vanished from the fire.

Remus shook his head. "Sirius?" he called up the stairs. "Are you dressed yet?"

The dark-haired man came pounding down the steps, still fastening his robes. "Was that Prongs?"

His partner nodded. "Lily's having the baby."

"Merlin!" Sirius muttered. "We have to-"

"-go to work," Remus finished for him. "Tell Moody that James won't be in today."

"But the baby…"

"These things take time, Sirius. I'm sure Lily will have James tell us when the baby's born. Now, sit down and have some breakfast."

Sirius sat reluctantly. "All right…"

Sirius had returned from the Auror office, and Remus had started supper before their kitchen fireplace turned green and James tumbled out, announcing that on July 31, Harry James Potter had been born.