James Potter frowned as he walked down the hall, his hands shoved in his pockets as he walked. Then he turned on his heel and walked the other way. Rinse and repeat.
"Prongs," Sirius Black, his best friend, sighed as he watched him pace, "It'll be fine. They're fine."
"How do you know, though, Sirius?" James asked, turning to him and looking at him worriedly.
"James, you're stressing yourself for nothing," Remus Lupin said, standing up and turning to him, putting his hands on his shoulders, "Watch, in just a minute they'll come out and say – "
"Mister Potter?" a nurse asked, making James whirl around and look at her expectantly.
"Yeah?" he asked.
The nurse grinned once there had been confirmation, "They're healthy."
James let out a sigh of relief, a smile slipping across his face. Good. They were safe. No need to worry now.
"Do I have a godson or a goddaughter?" Sirius asked, standing up and frowning at the nurse, "Because I am not playing tea party with a little girl again."
"Again?" Remus repeated, grinning as Sirius turned to glare at him.
"Not one word, Moony," he frowned.
"You'd love her anyway," James told Sirius, "I bet you'd even wear a little hat and change your name to 'Missus Nesbitt.'" He could picture it very clearly. A little girl sitting at a table with bright red curls, or maybe black, pouring imaginary tea into a tea cup in front of Sirius as he "grudgingly" played along.
Sirius thought about it before shrugging and smiling slightly. He would. Anything for a cookie.
"Well," the nurse smiled, "Why don't you go in and see? She's awake." And with that, she walked off, humming to herself.
"Did…did she mean Lily was awake or…?" Peter asked.
"Well…let's find out then," James mumbled before opening the white door and walking in the room. There was Lily, sitting up in the hospital bed and rocking a bundle of blankets, cooing to it and smiling. She looked up when she saw James enter the room, blinking before smiling at him.
They sat there and stared at each other before James took another step forward, then another and another until he was at the edge of the bed. He held his breath as the little eyes opened and bright green ones stared at him in wonder. He released the breath into a smile before looking over at Lily. She looked worn out and tired, a few pieces of her bright hair sticking to her forehead. He brushed them away and kissed her temple, making her smile as she pulled the blankets away a bit from the baby's face.
"What should we name him?" she asked.
James thought about it for a minute. They hadn't decided beforehand. They didn't even want to know whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl. They loved surprises, those Potters.
"Harry," he said.
She smiled, "Harry James Potter."
He looked down at her with an arched eyebrow, "You sure? I thought you'd name him after your dad."
"No," she smiled down at Harry, "James fits better than Charles."
James smiled down at her, "Alright."
"Ahem," Sirius coughed slightly, "Might I add another middle name?"
James frowned, "The boy shall not go through life known as 'Harry James Sirius Potter.'"
"Why not?"
"Because we love him," he said, as if that were enough of a reason.
Sirius pouted, "Fine. But I wanna hold 'im!"
Lily immediately tensed up, narrowing her eyes, "You'll be lucky if you get to hold him before he goes to Hogwarts, Black."
"Liilllyyyyyyyy, pleeeeeeeaaaaase?" he whined, "I'll be good and still and look! – I'll even sit in this chair the whole time!"
"Hey, he's my son," James smiled at him, "I want to hold him next. Remus is after me though."
"Merlin, why?"
"He's not acting like a bloody two year old," Lily said as she shifted Harry to move him into James's arms. Harry looked up at his father before reaching up an arm, clenching and unclenching his fist. James immediately grinned.
"Hey Harry," he whispered to him. "Welcome to the world."
"'Welcome to the world,'" Sirius scoffed softly, still upset about not getting to hold his godson that second, "So poetic."
"Ignore him," James told Harry, "He's just upset that I get to hold you now. They're all jealous, you know. 'Cause we all love you, Harry."
Lily smiled at James and Harry before looking over at the rest of the group. The Marauders. She never thought that she'd marry James Potter. She never thought that she'd consider Sirius Black as her child's godfather. She never thought that her family wouldn't be there for her.
No, she thought firmly, James and Harry are your family. They're there for you. And they always will be.
Remus smiled over at James, then Sirius. Sirius was bouncing his foot up and down rapidly, anxiously awaiting his turn to hold the newborn. He rolled his eyes and turned back to James.
"Prongs? You have to share, y'know," Remus said before slightly nodding his head to Sirius. James smiled and nodded before walking across the room to Sirius, sitting down in the chair next to him and placing Harry into his arms.
"I thought Moony got the next turn," Sirius said in awe as Harry studied his face too.
"Moony's zen. He can wait a few more minutes," James grinned.
"Oooommmmmm," Moony hummed, closing his eyes, "Ooommmmmmmmmm."
Sirius grinned, "Look at 'im. He looks like James." He leaned closer to Harry before saying clearly, "I feel so sorry for you."
"Hey," James frowned at him.
"No, not exactly like James," Remus said, leaning over their shoulders, "Lily's eyes, see?"
"Let's hope he turns out like Lily then," Sirius said, grinning as James full-out glared at him.
"Let's hope he turns out like Harry," Lily said.
"You hear that, Harry?" Sirius asked, "You can be yourself! Your mum gave you the okay!"
"So how does it feel being parents?" Peter asked.
James and Lily looked toward each other before he answered, "Strange…."
"I'll give you a few helpful hints," Sirius said he passed Harry to Remus, "Do the exact opposite of what my parents did, and he'll love you forever."
"Excellent, we have a game plan!" James grinned.
"He's cute," Remus commented with a small smile, lightly bouncing him, "But, then again, all babies are cute."
"Awww," Sirius cooed, "Our little Remi's such a – "
"Not in front of Harry," James frowned, "I don't care what you were going to say, you're not saying it in front of Harry."
"Harry doesn't even understand me!" Sirius said, looking affronted. At this, Harry started whimpering, getting ready to cry and making the new parents jump up and look towards their kid.
"Yes he does," Remus frowned back at Sirius, "And he takes offense at that, thank you. It's alright Harry – Sirius is just an idiot. You'll have to get used to it."
At this, Harry noticeably calmed down, making the adults laugh and grin. Even Sirius was smiling.
Let it go
Let it roll right off your shoulders
Don't you know that the hardest part is over?
Let it in
Let your clarity define you in the end
We will only just remember how it feels
Our lives are made in these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain