The Illness
Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are J.K. Rowling's and the only thing of mine is the plot.
"Are you sure, Lily?" James asked his wife. She was pale and seemed tired. The red-head forced a smile and nodded.
"Of course, James. Go ahead. I'm fine..." She led him to the fireplace. "And I promise that if I feel worse I'll let you know or go to St. Mungo's. It's probably just a bug."
James nodded and threw in some floo powder, stepped in, and said, "204 Dog Lane!"
Lily sighed and sat down. She still thought that Sirius's insistence to live on Dog Lane funny. He loved having his own place but still visited the Potters often, along with Remus and Peter. They typically played Quidditch or Chess together at least once a week. Since Lily hadn't been feeling herself James had told them the meeting would be at Sirius's place this week. Lily had resisted, saying she was fine, but now she was glad that James had insisted. She just wanted to relax. Soon, she fell asleep.
Half an hour later, Lily awoke. She blinked and then ran to the bathroom. She was violently sick for a few moments, then it vanished. She looked at herself in the mirror. It said to her, "You need help, dear."
She was much paler than earlier and the mirror usually gave good advice. So Lily went to the fireplace and threw a small amount of floo powder in. "St. Mungo's!"
The moment she stepped out a Welcome Witch greeted her. "Hello, what can I do for you?"
Lily smiled at her and then told her all the symptoms she had. The witch frowned slightly. "How long have you been experiencing this?" Lily told her and the witch nodded happily. "You'll be just fine Miss -?"
"Potter. Mrs. Lily Potter." The witch nodded and motioned for Lily to sit.
"I'm going to go get Healer Mater. She will have you feeling better in no time at all." Lily watched her go and smiled in relief. Soon an elderly witch wearing Healer robes approached her.
"Mrs. Potter?" Lily nodded. "I'm Healer Mater. Anika informed me of your condition. May I see if she was correct to send for me?" Lily nodded again and Healer Mater raised her wand and aimed it at Lily. Lily gasped as a pale blue light surrounded her.
The old witch smiled and released her charm. "Anika was right."
"What does it mean?" Lily asked, nervous.
"You're just fine, Mrs. Potter. In fact, you are in perfect health."
Lily frowned. "That's not possible! I'm sick!"
The Healer shook her head. "You are not ill, you are pregnant. The blue light means that it's going to be a boy."
"Healer Mater - "
"You'd best be calling me Matty, dear. I'll be seeing you a lot."
Lily couldn't help it. She broke into a bright smile. "I'm really pregnant? When will the baby come?"
Matty smiled back. "He will be here around - looks like it'll be towards the end of July."
Lily stood up and hugged Matty. "Thank you! I must go tell my husband!"
"You're welcome, Mrs. Potter," she said as Lily went to the fireplace.
"You can call me Lily," she told the Healer as she whooshed to her home.
She was somewhat disappointed to see that her husband and his friends were not home. She was so full of happy energy that she decided to walk over to Sirius's and give them the news. He only lived three blocks away.
As she walked, Lily pondered what James's reaction would be. They hadn't really discussed children yet. She knew he liked kids, but did James want one right now? Did he want to wait?
Not like he has much choice, Lily thought.
She had arrived. She knocked on the door and then walked in. "It's me!"
James came into the hallway. "Lily? Are you okay? Why didn't you floo here?"
She smiled and hugged him. "I'm fine, dear. I went to St. Mungo's and they said I was fine. I felt lonely and it's a nice day, so I decided to walk over and see what you lot are up to."
"Oh, we're just - You went to St. Mungo's?" He exclaimed. Remus came around the corner with concern filling his face. A large black dog padded in and licked Lily's hand, whining sadly.
"Well, I'm about to become claustrophobic in this hallway!" Lily said. Remus smiled and led them all into the living room where Peter was sitting over a chess board, frowning in concentration. They all took seats, Lily choosing to remain standing. Peter looked up.
"Yes, I went to St. Mungo's. I met a Healer who said I am in perfect health."
Remus frowned and said, "That doesn't make sense. You don't just go from pale and sick to perfectly healthy!"
"I'm not sick, Moony. Potter Junior is on the way."
There was complete silence. Lily was watching James. His mouth had dropped and he was somewhat pale. "Potter Junior?"
Lily nodded. She didn't smile, she didn't do anything. Then, without warning, James stood up and hugged her. When he released her he was positively beaming.
"We're going to have a baby? We're going to have a baby!"
Lily laughed. "A boy. He's due at the end of July!"
"July! That's not much time! We have to make the nursery, buy him clothes, buy him toys..." James started.
"James!" Sirius had stood up, back in his normal form, and hugged Lily. "Congratulaions to the pair of you, but don't you think that Lily needs the most attention right now?"
James stopped and turned to Lily, horror on his face. "Lily, I'm so sorry..."
Lily shushed him. "Don't be. I'm just as excited as you are. But we have plenty of time, and I'm also sure that Sirius, Remus, and Peter will be here should we need anything." The three nodded quickly. "See?"
James smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right." Remus took his turn to hug Lily, then Peter. They all had silly smiles plastered on their faces.
"So, what's Junior's name going to be?" Sirius said. Lily and James lost their smiles as they glanced at each other.
"We - we never discussed names, or anything. We don't know." Lily murmured.
"Well, I always liked James." Lily glared at him.
"Very funny, James. That'll work for the middle name but it would be awful to have two James!"
"Fine. I chose the middle name, you choose the first." James smiled.
Lily thought. "I've always liked the name Harry."
Sirius smiled. "Great. Harry James Potter! Can't wait to meet him!"
