Disclaimer: Characters, setting etc. are not mine.

The Three of Us

...

Lily was not quite sure how it happened, but it was as if once she knew she was pregnant, the whole rest of world took barely a week to find out as well.

First, owls had arrived carrying the congratulations of friends. They had come in a virtual flock a couple of days after she'd sat James down and explained carefully to him that this wasn't something that should be broadcasted or hoped for or needed. Pregnancies aren't for sure even in a peaceful world, she'd said, even without war forcing them to hide away from normalcy.

But James' guilty expression when he saw the owls crowded on their little kitchen table had been enough to allow Lily to dismiss the sudden, jolting fears that somehow, someone had listened in on them.

"I was just so excited," James had mumbled, watching another owl zoom in through the open window. He had still been looking sheepish as slowly his gaze had crawled up to meet Lily's, and then he'd taken a cautious step closer, reached a hand out to entangle their fingers and added, "I am so excited."

So those first few owls hadn't really been so hugely unexpected. It was the second wave of post that made Lily uncomfortable.

Owls carrying things like a Daily Prophet, as per usual, but with the sudden addition of a pamphlet on maternity ward services at St Mungo's. No extra charge, no indication of why the pamphlet was there – it just was. Also things like the package of books that the Muggle mailman delivered to their doorstep: Excellent Potions for Expecting Parents, Special Spells for Soon-To-Be-Mums and Professor Dillywally's Comprehensive Collection of Crucial Parenting Charms.

"Did you order these?" Lily called after shutting the door behind herself, slipping her wand out of her pocket and re-casting all the locking spells.

"Order what?"

James' head appeared at the top of the stairs and Lily waved Professor Dillwally's book at him. His perplexed expression was answer enough, and he joined Lily at the bottom of the stairs so they both could frown at books.

All of a sudden, James bent down and picked up a slip of paper that had fallen out of the package – an ad for the 'Magical Mums Reading Group', who met at one of the private rooms in the back of the Leaky Cauldron every Wednesday at noon.

"They must send it automatically," James shrugged, "Like the trace only... for babies."

Lily looked up at him, face still drawn and worried.

"So I shouldn't be anxious?" she asked.

It was just all this mail. All these knowing all this about her, and they were supposed to be in hiding.

How did the whole world know she was pregnant when only a select few were meant to know where she and James were? The traitor who they all knew existed... was this his doing?

(It had to be a 'he' Lily told herself, because she couldn't bear the thought of it being Marlene or dear Alice, or harmless, kind and caring Dorcas who she'd shared her every secret with, grown up with, thought of as a sister.)

James glanced quickly down to Lily's stomach as if it was automatic. As he already couldn't even help but be concerned for their child. Even now, even so early, when Lily was not even close to showing any signs of pregnancy. But both she and James knew that she was already holding what would soon become their baby. And that seemed to mean something.

"No, you shouldn't be anxious," James finally replied, eyes now back on Lily's face. He moved closer to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close so he could press a kiss to her hair. "Please, Lily. Don't worry about a thing. Be happy now, please. For the three of us, just be happy."