Warning: A lot of swearing, because James and Sirius both have potty mouths…

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

The Blank House Filled With Memories

Lily and James Potter opened the door to their new house, gifted to them by James' parents, and smiled at the sight. It was a blank canvas. That was what they loved about it. If they wanted to, they could colour it pink and add polka-dots. They wouldn't, of course, but the point was that they could make the house theirs. Make it nice and comfortable and lived-in. The house was in a fairly good neighbourhood (nothing but the best for the son of a Potter), with quite a few magical families beside them.

The house was blue on the outside, with many windows and a white door. A small flower garden had its place outside of the master bedroom, brightening up the place with white and yellow posies.
The light flooded in to the cream-painted living room from two big windows that took up a lot of the wall, colouring the room with pale hues from the early morning sun.
Dust circled lazily through the air, only visible in the sunlight, and small cracks ran through the mottled grey concrete that was the floor. Lily's heels clicked on the concrete, noise echoing throughout the empty room, as she walked through to the kitchen. James' trainers didn't make a sound. Their friends had disliked the ground, but the young couple thought that it gave the house character. There they were, always putting a positive spin on things.

The rest of the house was even blanker. The kitchen had the barest appliances, and the bedrooms were small but cosy. The bathrooms were tinier. But really, they both adored the place.

"Do you like it?" James asked anxiously as Lily glanced around, looking like, in her opinion, quite an adorable puppy.

She walked to the first door on her right, peered in, and gave him a huge grin, putting him moderately at ease. She shut the door with a small click. "I absolutely love it, James." And she wasn't even lying.

!

"Merlin, how many more boxes need to be unpacked?" James said with a groan as he pulled out yet another box of books from the delivery truck, the weight almost making his knees buckle. "Actually, better question, how many bloody books did you need to bring? I don't want the entire library of Hogwarts in my home, I'll only be able to see you at mealtimes."

"Oh, sod off," Lily said laughingly, giving him a small shove that probably could've been enough to topple him over. "Just because I like to read…"

James laughed with her as he righted himself. "Why aren't the delivery people helping us, again? Wait- No. Different question. Another great one. Why aren't our friends helping us?"

Lily grabbed onto a couple of lamps, letting the cords drag along the ground as she walked to the house, James going a bit slower behind her because of what he was carrying. He might've done some Quidditch, but that didn't mean that he was that strong. It didn't help that all of Lily's books were at least three hundred pages each.

"Because Remus is still recovering from the you-know-what, Sirius is at work, Peter couldn't leave his mother, Marlene is on holiday in Greece and Alice is on her honeymoon," she listed, for what felt like the tenth time.

"Selfish pricks," he muttered, ignoring Lily's 'look'. "What about those- What are they called? Truck people?"

"I believe that they prefer the term 'workmen', but you can go with truck people if you want. As for your other question, they're not allowed in the house because it hasn't been Muggle-proofed yet, and Lord knows how many moving photographs we have."

"Well, that's just silly, isn't it?" James dropped the books onto the ground as soon as they got inside, ignoring Lily's cries of, 'James!'

"We're moving in to our first house- I don't even care about the truck people, but you'd think that out best friends would be here!"

"James, their lives don't revolve around us," Lily said, putting down the lamps on top of the books, before inspecting the boxes carefully for any breakages or openings.

James wrinkled his nose at her. "Oh, be quiet."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Make me."

At that, he full out grinned. "Gladly."

Their unpacking of boxes was a little bit delayed after that.

!

"James, sweetheart, did you get the paint?" Lily called from the living room, where she was adjusting the new, bright yellow couch.

"'Course I did, are you doubting my… Damn. Make that a no," James said after rustling through his bags, looking for the paint which had been there about ten minutes ago. He swore inwardly, wondering where the cans had disappeared to, because he was sure that he'd bought some. Lily laughed at the disgruntled look on his face.

"It's fine. I'll go later and find some so we can start on the kitchen. Remember, we've got your parents coming over tomorrow, and I want the house looking at least half-way decent, because you know what your mum thinks of me-" James had tried to protest to her many times that his mother adored her, but she never believed him. Honestly, he wouldn't believe him either, were he in her situation.

"Looking for these, lovebirds?" Sirius Black said as he walked across the threshold, holding the cans up in the air with a grin. James let out a cheer, while Lily sighed, shaking her head with amusement.

"Padfoot, you fucking git! You got me worried, you idiot," James said, clapping Sirius on the back. "It's been bloody ages!"

"Eh, I couldn't be bothered coming over here," Sirius said. "I've only come because I ran out of food." He sent the paint cans sailing through the air with a flick of his wand into the kitchen. Everybody cringed when they heard the tinkling sound of breaking glass.

"Heads are going to roll if those were the crystal," Lily said warningly, standing up and brushing herself off, joints cracking as she stretched. "But you know that you're always welcome here, Sirius."

"Good to know, love," Sirius said. "It'd be a shame if I wasn't, being Prongs' best mate and all that."

"Go and repair those glasses, you prat."

"Aww, loosen up, Evans, I'm sure it's nothing a quick Reparo won't fix," Sirius said with a shrug. "At least I got you the paint, right?"

"You wouldn't have had to have gotten the bloody paint if you hadn't stolen it from me in the first place!" James said, almost exasperated.

"Borrowed, James. Borrowed, with every intention of returning it."

Lily snorted, and entered the kitchen, groaning when she saw the shower of crystal littering the ground. "Sirius, come and repair this, right now. My wand's upstairs and you know the saying. You break it, you buy it. Or rather, in this case, you fix it."

"What'd your last slave die of?" Sirius grumbled, but he went to do it anyway.

"He got hexed after he refused to repair my new crystal glasses, actually," she said in reply with a sweet smile.

James guffawed loudly, and Sirius sent a scowl her way, trudging into the kitchen.

"Wasn't Peter meant to be coming? I could've sworn I invited him along for lunch as well," James said, plonking the plastic bags filled with groceries and tools onto the bright yellow kitchen bench.

"Don't worry Prongs, Wormy probably just got lost on the way here. You know that he's not the best at apparating. We all remember 'The Ocean Incident'." Sirius set the good as new glasses on the table with a flourish. "Ta da! All fixed, my lovely Lily. What'd I tell you?"

"Thank you, Sirius, but I'd be happier if you hadn't broken them in the first place."

"Ah, details." Sirius waved his hand around in the air. "Lighten up, Evans."

"Potter," both Lily and James reminded. Sirius scowled at them.

"Shut it, you two. I'm calling you Evans until I get bored of it." He nodded to reinforce his point, jutting his jaw out stubbornly. The couple rolled their eyes.

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?"

James held his hands up in the air, as if he was surrendering. "Didn't say anything."

"I could sense you thinking," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm onto you, James Potter."

"Are you really? Did you hear that Lily? He's onto me."

"Is that right? He's onto you?" Lily giggled, her mind coming up with something way dirtier than was insinuated.

"Wha- No! Mind out of the gutter, Evans!" Sirius said, eyes wide.

Lily just shook her head, still giggling.

"That's it," he said, moving towards her, hands out, fingers wiggling. "I'm going to tickle you now."

She squealed, body shaking from laughter as she ran and hid behind James. Sirius followed her trying to get past his best mate, but James wouldn't budge.

"It's alright Lily, I'll protect you," he whispered loudly to her, making her laugh even harder, bent over with her arms clutched to her stomach.

"Move it, Prongsie, Evans is going to get it," Sirius said playfully.

"Leave my wife alone," James said with a grin. "You'll traumatise her."

"Her own bloody fault," Sirius said. "Her and her dirty mind."

"Oi, remember who's feeding you tonight, mutt," Lily said. Sirius made a face at her. Lily stuck out her tongue.

"You're both such children," James said with a shake of his head, an amused glint in his eye.

"But you love us."

"That's debateable."

!

"Tea, sweetheart?" Lily asked as James plonked down onto the couch, exhausted from his night of running around with Moony.

"Thanks, love," he replied, yawning widely as she went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. "I'm bloody exhausted. Moony was a little bit more playful than usual last night, and- fucking hell, his version of playful..."

"How're your friends?" she said, sitting down next to him, cautiously looking over him for any injuries. When she found nothing but a few scratches and bruises, the worst having been healed, she relaxed into the couch, leaning into his offered embrace, careful not to hurt him.

"Paddy's a little worse for wear, but Wormy's fine, like always." James sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Does Remus need anything? Food, medicine…?"

"I don't think so. He's pretty safe, Poppy's taking care of him for a bit, just until tomorrow to make sure he heals properly."

"You're so brave," she said, tracing the logo on his T-shirt with light fingers.

"There was a reason you married me," he said in reply, eyes crinkling with his smile.

"And there I was thinking it was for your good looks."

"Those too. They help."

"Git."

"Minx."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Then Lily heard the kettle begin to whistle and she heaved herself up to get it. By the time she got back, tea in hand, James was fast asleep.

!

"Guys, we've got something to tell you."

Remus, Sirius, Peter, Marlene McKinnon and Alice Longbottom were spread around the Potters' small dining table, squashed together so tightly that their elbows were touching. Plates scattered with remnants of their dinner were lying on the table, cutlery neatly placed on top. Glasses of butterbeer and firewhiskey were in many of the guests' hands, either being swirled around or leisurely sipped at.

"We've been meaning to tell for a while, but there's never been a chance to get you all together-"

"Hurry up with it!" Marlene yelled. "I'm not getting any younger, here." Her proclamation was met with a cheer from Sirius and Peter, while Alice and Remus just rolled their eyes.

"Fine!" Lily laughed. "We only found out a few months ago, that I'm pregnant." They had decided to keep it short and simple, so as not to overwhelm their friends.

There was a moment of silence as that sank in to their minds, before they started to shout over each other to let their congratulations and awe be heard.

"You bloody twat, why didn't you tell us earlier?" Peter asked hugging the couple.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Alice questioned.

"Doesn't matter! Either way it can be called Sirius," Sirius said gleefully. That comment made everyone pause, confusion etched on their faces.

"How do you feminise 'Sirius'?" Marlene said, looking curious, verbalising what everyone was thinking.

"Erm… Add an 'a'?" James suggested. Every frowned as they contemplated that.

Remus looked thoughtful. "I think you could change it to 'Siria' instead of 'Sirius'," he said. "That would probably work."

"Yes! Good on you, Remus." Sirius clapped him on the back. "There you go," he said to Lily and James. "There's evidence right there."

"It really doesn't matter, because either way, the baby won't be named Sirius," Lily said firmly, putting a protective hand on her stomach.

"Aww, c'mon Lils, don't you think that the kid deserves a really cool name like that?"

"I don't know what you've been drinking, but it's gotten your mind a little bit addled, I think," she said with a grin. Everyone began to nod in agreement.

"You're just jealous because your name isn't Sirius."

"Sure we are, mate, sure we are."

!

James walked into the living room of his house (now amply furnished) to see Lily glaring down at a bowl of ice-cream that was resting on her very pregnant stomach. This was odd because it was about two o'clock. He wiped sleep from his eyes, blinking a few times as he adjusted to the bright light.

"Is that some ice-cream you've got there, Potter?" he said with a tired grin, plopping down onto the couch beside Lily. She poked at the ice-cream with disdain.

"What's wrong, love?" he said, stealing the silver spoon from her fingers and scooping up some of her dessert, before licking it clean.

"You're stealing my dessert," she said, snatching her eating utensil back from him. He just smirked and kissed her cheek, not looking at all remorseful.

"What're you doing up at two o'clock in the morning?" he said, a slightly stern look on his face as he glanced at her stomach.

"Cravings," she said. "I want to eat something."

They sat in silence, Lily stirring her ice-cream into a thick soup and James continuously glancing at her moody expression. It only took about a minute before he had to ask again.

"Lils, what is it?" He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, and she frowned.

"I don't want ice-cream," she said, dropping the spoon to rest on the side of the bowl.

"Alright love, you don't have to have ice-cream," he said, reaching for the bowl to take it away. "Just have something else."

"But I don't know what I want!" Lily complained.

James pulled her into a hug. "Let's play a game," he whispered into her ear. "Junk or healthy?"

She gave him an incredulous look, as if doubting his sanity, but played along. "Junk, definitely. Really, James, it's as if you don't even know me."

"Just checking," he said with his hands up in surrender. "You can never be sure, and we need to tick all the boxes. Sweet or savoury?"

"Sweet. What savoury junk food is there?"

"Chips?"

"No, they're not- Oh. Yeah."

James grinned and kissed her on the cheek when she flushed with embarrassment. "Getting a bit forgetful there, Potter?"

"Shut it, or you're sleeping on the couch tonight," she said laughingly.

James decided to continue on with his questioning. "Soft or hard?" he said, giving an immature little snicker at his words.

She rolled her eyes at him, before saying, "Hard."

"Erm… Biscuits?" he offered.

"No," she said firmly. He couldn't think of anything else after that.

"Urgh… Work with me here, love. What do you feel li-"

"Chocolate!" Lily exclaimed with a relieved and excited look on her face. "I want chocolate."

"Yes!" James let out a cheer. "We found the elusive food. And it's even better 'cause we've got some chocolate in the pantry. Honeydukes," he said with a wink. "Best there is."

"Not Honeydukes," she said with a frown. "I don't want Honeydukes."

"Merlin's ruddy arse, what do you want, then?" he said exasperatedly, rubbing his forehead.

"I want… Belgian chocolate!" Lily said excitedly. "That's it! We've found it."

"Fuck me. Where are we meant to find Belgian chocolate here, at this time of night?"

She shrugged, and then widened her green eyes adorably. "Pretty please get me some Belgian chocolate, James?"

He took off his glasses and fisted his eyes, sighing. "Fine. But you're the one who's explaining to Sirius why I'm not going out with him tomorrow because I'll be too bloody exhausted."

"Fine by me," Lily said with a huge smile. "Thank you, James." She went to kiss him on the cheek, but he instead caught her lips, pulling her into a full on snog. Her stomach got in the way a bit, given that it was getting bigger and bigger, but they made it work.

"Now, off you go, these cravings aren't getting any better over here."

!

"Prongs, this bird is- Are you really serious about her? You're- You're twenty years old, mate, and you've got a fucking baby on the way," Sirius said seriously. He and James were sitting at Florean Fortescue's, an ice-cream parlour in Diagon Alley. Sirius had ordered chocolate with chopped nuts and hot caramel on top, while James got pistachio with white chocolate chips and sliced apple. Sirius had come and dragged James out of bed in the morning, ignoring requests to let him sleep.

"Padfoot, don't start," James sighed. "I love Lily with all of my heart. She's not just some bird. I want this baby, I want a big family, I want her."

"That's all well and good, mate, but this is getting ridiculous. You went to- what was it? Fucking Paris-"

"Belgium," James said, a bit sheepish.

"I'm sorry, fucking Belgium, to get Evans chocolate for her cravings. Bloody ridiculous, I'm telling you."

"Pads, she's pregnant with my child. If she wants the moon and the fucking stars, I would go and yank them from the sky and give them to her tied with a bow," James said, eyes glinting from behind his rectangular glasses.

"Listen, I'm just worried." Sirius took a huge spoonful of ice cream and stuck it in his mouth, chewing slowly and wincing when the cold sunk in.

"Yeah, well, stop. Thanks, but that's my job, git."

Sirius nodded, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Give Lily my best when you see her, and keep on petitioning for the name 'Sirius'."

"Will do, Paddy."

!

"I'm gonna miss this place," Lily sighed, glancing around at the once-again blank walls of the house that James' parents had gifted them with before.

"Same here," James said, heaving a box filled with fine china and a lot of bubble wrap into the moving truck. Lily wasn't really doing anything because it was just too difficult- she was mainly waddling around the house, seeing if there was anything they had missed in their rather thorough inspection before loading up the truck. "So many good memories. I wish that we could've stayed here, even just for the baby." He cast a wistful look towards the garden in front, imagining a swing set, the baby smelling the flowers, playing a mini-Quidditch match without magic…

"James, this is for the protection of our baby," Lily said, putting a hand up onto the wall, feeling the coolness sink in. "It's for the best."

"That's what Dumbledore said," he grumbled, picking up another box, this time filled with records.

"That's the truth. We're going to move to a new house, and it may even be better than this one! We'll do the you-know-what and we'll be safe." Lily reached onto her tip-toes to kiss him. "It'll be fine."

"Yeah," James said, nodding, though a crease was still resting between his eyebrows. "Yeah. Okay."

"Great. Good. Where've Remus and Peter gotten to? I could've sworn that they went to get us lunch…"

"Smoke break, probably," James said with a laugh. Lily wasn't as amused.

"They'd better not be," she said. "Not when I'm like this. If they are, I swear I'm going to…"

"Aww, leave them," he said. "Maybe we'll have time for one last rendezvous in the bedroom." He waggled his eyebrows.

Lily thumped him on the arm. "Oh, be quiet, you."

"Why don't you make me?" James grinned.

"I'm not falling for that, Potter. We need to get this all packed up! What're you standing around for?"

"Sir, yes, sir."

!

Woot woot! I think I've gotten this in on time for Round Two of the Canon Pairings Competition (Are you guys proud? ROUND TWO!), with the pairing Lily/James, obviously :D Can't wait to hear what you think! It's rather refreshing getting back to Lily and James…

What do you guys think of me making a new profile for more stories? Because with this one, I'll have forty six, and I think that that's a bit much, especially with more coming. Maybe when I reach fifty…

Also, what'd you guys think of Iron Man 3? Live up to expectations?

Love,

Silvs