It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Lily felt wonderful, which was unusual of late, she'd risen early, showered got ready for the day had breakfast then found she couldn't stop, she was just so full of energy so she decided to spending the morning cleaning the house… which she did.
James was just rising as she finished cleaning, so she made them both a light lunch, after which she decided she would have a little time to herself sitting in the sunshine reading the new charms book she'd picked up just yesterday.
James was still hung over from the previous night's drinking after work with the boys, so lunch was a quiet affair. Finishing her lunch quickly, she left him alone to recover.
Grabbing her book, she settled into her favourite chair in front of the window where the sun was warming and welcoming… but she just couldn't settle or concentrate for more than a minute at a time… she needed to do something… What!... maybe change the furniture around, yip, that's it that's what needs doing.
This kept Lily busy for the rest of the afternoon, moving all the living room around and then changing the bedrooms about, finally as darkness closed in she felt satisfied… everything was ready so she sat herself down and James who was finally getting a little colour back into his face made her a sandwich and a hot cup of tea… Yes, all was good with her world.
With everything she'd been doing today she'd completely missed the slow onset of labour as her body prepared itself to give birth but has she sat there quietly drinking her tea there was no mistaking the pain she was feeling right now, nor the gathering puddle of water between her legs…" James… I think my water just broke" she cried…
"What… are you sure? You didn't just pee" he replied hopefully.
"I'm sure but you're welcome to check if you don't believe me" she responded indignantly…
Lily raised and rolled her eyes heavenward as James came over then bent down and took a sniff… "yip, definitely not pee" was his professional determination.
Lily just shook her head and whacked him one across the back of his before he could get out of range.
"Come on, let's get you into bed and then I'll floo Pomfrey" said James.
Pomfrey wasted no time with kicking the irritating James from the room and getting Lily checked over.
A change had also occurred outside, with no sign of what had been a beautiful sunny day remaining, night had taken over and storm clouds now hung low overhead shutting out what meagre lights the stars above could provide, making the atmosphere thick with humidity… and magic…
The only relief from the dark came in the form of silver lightening which rippled with power over the face of the black clouds showing the landscape below with strobe like affect making the manor and grounds appear to be a scene from an old-fashioned movie show. If anyone had been standing there watching they would have noticed the tempo of the lightening slowly increasing as if it was gathering power like an orchestra slowly building towards a crescendo.
Inside the bedroom, Lily was not happy, after 12 hours of labour she'd had enough, she was now sure her first child just didn't want to be born. Slowly though, as if in tune with the storm outside the pains too started to increase their frequency, to peak, it was now time, the child was coming… a head crested… an arm… then another then quickly in a final rush he was there… a quick clearing of the mouth and a prick of his heel, the newborns first gasped intake of air announced its arrival into the world.
Simultaneously with the child's first breath the sky lit up, a mighty surge discharged into the earth circling the entire manor, the very air itself crackled… the house thrummed, from the power surrounding it… silver lightening flicked across every surface and as Pomfrey laid the child on his mother's stomach his eyes shot open and the power discharged in a pulse of magic the swept across the land and putting the three adults into a mild stupor from their proximity.
Muggles and Wizards being to wrapped up in their own affairs never noticed the wave of magic flowing across the land and passing through them but every other race took note and turned briefly towards the centre of the pulse silently acknowledging his arrival…
Three objects also glowed with power and vanished without any fuss as the pulse hit them, a cloak and a wand from Hogwarts and a stone set in a gold ring from beneath a shack in Little Hangleton, with the latter several nasty hex's that the ring had been layered with instantly failed and a black mist was forced from the it screaming and struggling as it slowly faded to nothing…
Back at the manor a folded cloak overlaid with a wand through a ring appeared on top of the child before being absorb into his body welcoming their master's earthly avatar, once again the pale rider, Death walked the earth and this time his name was Harry James Potter…
