Lily was screaming and crying through a sea of blood, she was more than ready to get rid of the baby she had been carrying for so long but god, the pain she felt she was sure she was going to throttle James for putting her in this position, sensing her thoughts he turned to her placing a kiss on his wife's head through the sweat that was now dripping off, she seemed to swallow her fear and gave the hardest push yet and then the room erupted into cheers about a boy, Lily cried tears for what must have been the billionth time that night, the difference being those were ones of absolute bliss from the beautiful baby boy she had just given life to, semi aware of James bursting up to see.

It only took 9 months and what seemed like constant mood swings but she knew she had done it, but while the rest of the room were still celebrating her new born baby she knew there was something wrong. James who was looking over his new baby with the most beautiful smile Lily had ever seen him smile, but as he looked up at his wife he could see the discomfort she was still experiencing despite having already had the baby.

"Healer? Something's wrong, Lily doesn't look any better." He was trying to keep the worry from lacing his voice but she heard it anyway, unfortunately she couldn't tell him she was fine because at that moment she started to feel the same pain as before and screeched in response.

"Jam- James, it's another one, we… we're having twins," she had been gritting her teeth through that whole sentence, trying not to display her fury at not being informed of the extra pain.

God, I should have taken those droughts.

While Lily pleaded with God telling him how she'd pick up his faith, go to church, read the bible every day need be it if it would spare her from this pain, her healers were flustering around her waving their wands doing tests in the heat of the moment while all the nurses were mumbling something in shocked tones.

All the colour that the little baby (who was currently being mopped up by one of the nurses) had given James was currently being drained out.

"Bloody hell, you're sure?" he asked, his voice trembling, but he moved like a rocket to Lily, grasping one of her hands again.

"You bloody twat, of course I'm sure!" Molly had told her how much twins hurt more than your average baby but she should have listened more instead of fawning over the labour of all this toil.

"She's right, you," he pointed to a healer in training, "Get more towels, quickly! Okay Mrs Potter, breathe deep, this will be different from the last time, so I need you to breathe deeply and keep a pace and with each breathe remember to push, think you can do that for me?"

She glared at him but followed his instructions but soon lost it as she sobbed through one of her contractions. She soon consoled herself but had difficulty picking up the pace she had managed for all but 2 seconds again

"Keep trying Mrs Potter, it's vital that you do," James took this time to breathe deeply himself.

"Lily, those babies will be our babies forever, and every time I look at them I'm going to be reminded about how perfect you are and I know you can do this, because of me, because of them and because you're the strongest person I know, and I know it hurts more than I'll ever know but I'll be there after this is over, bringing you hot chocolate whenever you can't sleep, making hideously bad jokes, and scaring you half to death, but it'll be me okay? Plus two beautiful babies who I hope ever so much will make the same bad jokes," he joked, laughing with a husky voice he had acquired from the unshed tears that were threatening to spill over cheeks, however as Lily was somewhat busy she just took his words smiling despite the pain the rocked her body, took a shaky breath and pushed so hard she thought she was going to collapse, the babies whole body moved through in one quick motion then the cry of a baby that after having cut the cord was put with its brother.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Lily whimpered. Not because she minded but in that moment her main concern was the nursery they might need to redecorate however in that moment of disorientation she saw it as the biggest issue.

"Darling," James tears were now rolling down his cheeks, "It's a girl and she's just as beautiful as her mummy, Lily they're both so beautiful…" he took Lily neck and cried tears of joy at the beautiful babies James had imagined since the day he met her.

A healer brought over to bundles of blue and pink over to the exhausted mother,

"Would you like to hold them?" she asked her gently,

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" she was suddenly so much more active –although physically but she hesitated, "I won't hurt them will I?" Looking at their tiny pink faces the thought of anyone hurting them disgusted her beyond belief.

"Oh sweetie no, just be careful, here," she showed the mother how to correctly hold her babies while the father watched in wonder how they took to their mother with such ease.

"Lily they're so beautiful, what should we call them?" asked James over Lily's shoulder.

"We were going to call the boy Harry anyway, but I'm not sure about the girl, what do you think?" Lily asked softly, as not to make them cry.

"Rose?"

"I think not, I don't know if I want another flower in the family."

"Honey?"

"James does she look like a Honey? And really? Honey and Harry Potter? I can just hear the taunting."

"Okay, okay point taken" he smirked, "Winter?"

"I think we're missing a season sweetie, it's only the end of summer" Granted it wouldn't suit this little baby but at least we were getting closer to names that are actual possibilities.

"Harry what do you think?" James asked, picking up his baby but when Harry got a good look at his eyes they were beautiful, the same green eyes he had fallen in love with were displayed on his face but the rest of the baby had an undeniable resemblance to himself and James felt overwhelming proud of the family he was now a part of.

"Talia?" Lily asked the two little babies,

They both frowned and their girl started crying at the thought of being named that.

"Okay, shhh, it's okay darling," Lily looked over at James and thought, "What about Charlotte huh? My little baby Charlotte…" Lily stroked her daughters pink face and the love that emanated from the four of them was so much so that the Healer on hands breath caught, 20 years of doing this job and yet every time it was the same.

The fathers face broke out in a grin and the two babies smiled softly at the name.

"Our baby Lily, our beautiful babies Harry and Charlotte. Lily, I didn't think it was possible to love you more, but here I am, wrong again."

"Hasn't been the first time, probably won't be the last," she jokes.

"Can Sirius and Remus be their godfathers? I would consider Peter but he's awful with kids," James remarks.

Lily takes a deep breath, "Remus can't be their godfather James, not that he wouldn't be a good parent if anything happened but the new laws… I checked, werewolves are not allowed to adopt children, it's unfair but the wizarding world keeps tight reigns on all of their prejudices, anyway I was thinking…" James groaned.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You're thinking about Snivillus for godfather aren't you?" He drawled nastily.

"Don't call him that! Please James, he'd protect them as much as he could, he'd try so hard…"

"Is this really what you want?" he asked her,

She nodded with tears in her eyes at the memory of her old friend and their broken friendship.

"Fine, want to flip a sickle for which one gets Sirius and Snive- Severus?" James corrected himself.

"Thank you James, for what it's worth Remus would have been my second choice too. I suppose we should do Sirius first, heads Harry and tails Charlotte."

James pulled out a sickle but instead of flipping the coin he palmed it first,

"If we do this then that's it. No going back Lils." James stated.

Lily decided it would be better to just nod then to say anything; she had faith that Severus would pull through in the end and become the man she used to see shine through Severus when they were teenagers.

James unclasped his fist and threw it in the air, it turned three times before he caught it one handed, took a deep breath and opened it.

"It's heads, Sirius will be Harry's godfather." In truth James doubted that Sirius would ever be able to deal with a girl the same he could with a boy so the fact that it was Harry was probably safer considering.

"He'll be wonderful James, I need you to send a letter to Severus though while I get clean, okay baby?" she asked, still exhausted from delivering the two babies although less now that before, funny how it's so easy to look back on things that have already happened and think it wasn't so bad.

"Me? Honey I don't know if you've noticed but we have a mutual hatred, one of the guidelines being we don't owl each other." He explained, desperate not to talk to the man.

"No buts, have fun," she waved him goodbye laughing to herself at how uncomfortable it would be for the both of them, "and if you even dare be rude to him I will burn your broomstick, understood?" Grabbing her things for a nice long bath.

"Not like I'll get a choice either way…" he grumbled as Lily just got up to leave, "Oh and Lily?" she turned, both her feet stuck in the middle of the doorframe, "I love you."

"I love you too; you and those little babies are my world now James." She decided to leave the conversation there, eager to be surrounded in soothing warm water.

"Severus, she picked you. We had twins, one boy and one girl. They're named Harry and Charlotte.

You're Charlotte's godfather. If the war takes us then it's your responsibility to look after her and by extension Harry.

-James"

Severus read these words over and over again,

"She picked you," she didn't though. She picked James, because out of all the bastards she could have fell in love with it had to be him. Life always had a way of being exceptionally cruel.

But now he had a person to look after if anything happened, the problem being that that could be an unfortunate reality because of this war, Severus refused to see it that way though, he refused to acknowledge anything would happen, he decided he'd keep up his hatred, after all he was just a formality because that Lupin couldn't be her damn godfather, Lily had made her choice long ago and nothing had changed, all that was left of the Lily he knew were the memories he had, she couldn't even write the damn letter, he obviously was only there as a reminder of a better time.

But Severus cried himself to sleep that night at the blatant evidence that she had truly left him, and it still seemed dreadfully unfair to him that he have to endure the "privilege" of godfather while if he hadn't messed up so long ago he could have very possibly been the children's real father.

He got up in the middle of the night, reminding himself he had to owl them telling them he had been informed and for the sake of the Lily he once knew he accepted, knowing all too well this could be the worst thing ever did but the reminder of flaming red locks and piercing green eyes made the decision for him, he only hoped that one day he would lose his guilt, that one day even if it must be in death, that he could be happy.

"Understood-

Congratulations,"

That was the last correspondence that those two ever had, Snape refused to come to the birthing party, or the christening, or any of the parties, and then later when tragedy would hit he wouldn't even find himself at their funerals.