Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling.
CHAPTER ONE
Kassandra
James was in shock. Everything had happened so quickly. Lily wasn't due for another month, but it was due to complications that he found himself sitting outside hospital wing, while Lily was unconscious inside and Madame Pomphrey had rushed his child away directly after giving birth. He was seventeen; nothing was supposed to happen like this. It was hard enough convincing his parents that he could raise a child at such a young age, but now he might lose that child.
"James? What happened son?"
He felt a large hand clasp his shoulder and turned to the worried face of his father. He hadn't even heard anyone coming down the hall. He shook his head, unable to form words and turned back to staring at the doors to the Hospital Wing.
"James?" His father said again as he sat next to him.
"Madame Pomphrey kicked me out," he said hoarsely.
He felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders and he gratefully leaned into his father's side, not caring that he was acting younger than his age. The two of them heard more footsteps rushing towards them and they turned to find Rose and Gerald running down the hall, fear evident in both their eyes. Professor Dumbledore was following closely behind them.
"What happened?" Rose asked, slightly hysterical.
James looked at Lily's parents dejectedly and shook his head. "It all happened so fast," he all but whispered.
"We were in the common room, just messing around. Lily hadn't been feeling well all day, but she said it was just a stomach bug. But she kept getting worse…." He trailed off, not sure what to say.
"It appears that Lily had gone into premature labor, although she wasn't aware of it. Poppy said she was unconscious when she arrived at the hospital wing and she had to perform a Cesarean section," inputted Dumbledore, his voice gentle.
"Will they be okay?" Gerald asked pleadingly, turning to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore smiled kindly, "I will go and check in with Madame Pomphrey and see how they are both doing," he said.
After Dumbledore went into the Hospital Wing, James dropped his head into his hands while his father rubbed his back soothingly. He heard his father and Mr. Evans start talking, but couldn't focus much on what either of them was saying as his own thoughts plagued his mind.
Nothing was supposed to happen like this. James' mother had died the year previously, shortly after the New Year, because of Dragon Pox. He had grown a lot that year already but losing his mother had made him grow even more. Along with his three best friends, Lily had also comforted him and they continued to grow close. It was a couple of months after that incident that they began to date. Their relationship grew quickly; well that's what Lily would say anyways. James thought it was too slow, then again he had been chasing after her for six years. It was summertime when they did 'It' for the first time and it was only two months after that, that they returned to school and Lily announced she was pregnant.
James choked out a laugh and shook his head, which was still buried in his hands. He had been so excited when she said it. It seemed ridiculous that his first reaction to the news that he would be a father was excitement, not fear. Then again, he had never claimed to be normal. When the news finally sunk in he still wasn't scared about having a kid, he was more worried about his father's reaction. Now here he was, sitting outside the hospital wing, praying that his child would survive.
After what felt like hours, although in reality, he supposed it might have only been a few minutes, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened again and Madame Pomphrey came out, a small smile on her face.
James jumped to his feet, looking at her pleadingly.
"Lily and the baby are fine," she said with a gentle smile "Why don't you come in and see them," She said glancing at the three people standing behind them.
James glanced quickly at his dad, before walking through the doors and quickly making his way to Lily's side. She was in a back room of sorts, one that was just outside of the main wing, it was a room to provide more privacy for patients when necessary. Remus would usually stay there after his monthly transformation.
Thinking of Remus, James turned to the headmaster after grabbing Lily's limp hand.
"Where's Sirius? And Remus?" he asked. They had followed him to the Hospital Wing originally, but Madame Pomphrey had sent them back to the dorms.
"I will give you and your family some time alone, Messer's Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew will be along shortly," said Dumbledore kindly. James simply nodded in response, looking back towards Lily's pale face.
The four of them stood around Lily's bed and James took comfort in the strong pulse he felt in his hand. She was obviously just sleeping now and he was grateful.
"James?"
Hearing a light gasp James turned towards Madame Pomphrey who was holding a small bundle in her arms. Wide-eyed, he glanced back at Lily before letting go of her hands and reaching out to tack his child out of Madame Pomphrey's hands.
"James, I'd like you to meet your daughter," she said kindly, handing the baby to him.
"Daughter?" he asked, looking at his baby in awe. He and Lily had decided to be surprised with the gender.
James smiled brightly, his daughter in his arms. He couldn't believe how tiny she was. She didn't have very much hair yet, but the little that she did have was red, and although he couldn't see her eyes because she was sleeping soundly, he had a feeling she would look just like her mother.
"Do you have a name?" Rose asked from the other side of the bed, where she was holding Lily's other hand.
James smiled "We decided on Kassandra Grace Potter if it was a girl," he said, not taking his eyes off his little girl. "We chose Kassandra because it's my mum's middle name and because Cassie is a flower. This way it honor's both our families."
"It's a beautiful name," said Rose, staring at the bundle in James' arms.
"Your mother would love it. She would have loved to be here," Said Fleamont.
James just smiled sadly; his mother really would have loved to be here. She had always wanted grandchildren. She used to say that it was because she would be able to spoil a grandchild in a way that she could never spoil her own child (although James was fairly spoiled).
James' eyes snapped up from his little girl when he heard a groan coming from the bed. Lily was stirring, slowly opening her eyes, a small grimace of pain forming on her face.
"Lily, darling are you okay?" asked Rose, gripping her hand a little tighter.
Lily opened her eyes but looked a little dazed. Her memories seemed to catch up to her because her eyes widened in shock and her hand rushed to her stomach. She looked frantic and was attempting to sit up, but in too much pain to actually do so.
"Where's my baby?" she gasped out, her hand still on her stomach. She looked wildly to her mother, who was trying to calm her down.
"Lily love, she's right here," said James softly, sitting beside his girlfriend on the bed.
Lily looked at him when she felt the bed dip and her eyes grew even wider when she saw the bundle in his arms.
"She?" she asked breathily.
James nodded, a wide smile spread across his face. "Kassandra Grace," he said, holding out the bundle for Lily to take.
"She's okay," Lily whispered, a few stray tears falling down her face. She reached out and took Kassandra into her arms and held her close.
It was only thirty minutes later when Rose, Gerald, and Fleamont went to the kitchens to find food and the Hospital Wing's doors opened with a snap to reveal James and Lily's closest friends.
Sirius and Remus were the first in the room, followed closely by Peter and Natalie. Sirius strode over to James and clasped him on the shoulder. The worry in his eyes grew to a look of shock as he stared at the baby that was laying between James and Lily. Remus went directly to Lily's other side, he was in a similar state of shock as Sirius but got over it quickly.
"We were really worried," he said, kissing her on the forehead. Ever since their first year at Hogwarts, the two of them had always had a relationship like siblings, rather than friends. After Remus' mother died, he and his father didn't have much of a relationship, but Lily's parents were happy to take over where they could.
"Do you want to hold her?" She asked, holding out the small pink bundle.
Remus nodded and took Kassie out of her arms. His eyes widened when he held the little girl, awe taking over his face. "She's so small," he said breathlessly.
Sirius made his way to Remus' side and looked at the baby over his shoulder. He was also looking at the baby with awe.
A small cough brought both of their attention to James and Lily, both of whom were smiling brightly.
"We uh… Sirius, we were hoping you'd be her godfather," said James.
Sirius's jaw dropped open in shock. "Me?' he asked.
James nodded, but Sirius couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
"Me?" he asked again.
"Yes Sirius," said Lily, slightly exasperated. "We want you to be her godfather."
"But… But Remus would be much better," he said, pointing to Remus who was holding Kassie with eased comfort.
James smiled "Normally we would have chosen both of you since you're both brothers in all but blood, but the ministry would never let Remus adopt a kid," he said, giving Remus a sad smile.
"Now, if Natalie and Remus got married, then they could totally take her in," Mentioned Lily, lacking subtlety.
Both Natalie and Remus blushed, they had only been dating for a month and neither of them had marriage on their minds.
Remus turned and handed Sirius his goddaughter. As soon as Sirius had her in his arms, his face lit up into a wide smile. "I promise, I'll take care of her if anything happens to you," he said.
Sirius was reluctant to let go of his new goddaughter, but the pleading from Natalie, he relinquished her into Nat's arms. "Just don't drop her," he said softly.
James and Lily looked at him amusedly, while Natalie glared at him. After Natalie had her fill of the baby, she handed her to a reluctant and fearful Peter. As soon as Kassie was in his arms, she began to cry.
Peter's eyes widened and he looked at James helplessly. "I don't want her, please take her," he said in a squeaky voice.
James just grimaced and took his crying daughter into his arms, she calmed almost instantly when she was away from Peter.
"Sorry mate," said James with a shrug.
"Not everyone can be good with kids, right mate?" said Sirius, slapping Peter on the shoulder jokingly.
"I suppose not," Peter mumbled bitterly so nobody was able to hear him.
The professors had been kind enough to give James, Lily, their family, and friends the first day with Kassandra alone, but by the second day, they couldn't refrain from visiting the hospital wing to meet the newest addition to Hogwarts.
Professors were in and out of the room all day, some of the professors came in together, while other professors like Professor McGonagall, came in alone. They all gave their congratulations and well wishes, briefly, before retreating and letting the small family have their time together.
Their strangest visit, however, came in the afternoon, when Professor Dumbledore decided to pop in. like the other professors, he came in, asked the new parents how they were doing and then asked to hold their daughter.
James had trouble holding back a snicker at the sight of the headmaster holding a small baby, making faces at her. He glanced at his girlfriend and noticed that she too seemed to be having trouble.
After a few minutes of cooing at the baby, Dumbledore's demeanor of smiling and laughing changed to surprise.
"Goodness," he said, staring at Kassie with a mixture of wonder and curiosity.
"What is it Professor?" Lily asked politely, but James noticed the worry in her voice.
Apparently, Dumbledore had as well. He smiled kindly at her "it's nothing to worry about dear Lily… You have a very powerful little girl here," he said.
James and Lily looked at him confused.
"Professor, she's not even a full day old, how can you tell?" asked James.
Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes twinkling madly. "You can see it in her eyes, James." He handed Kassie back to Lily "Good luck on this journey that even I have not been on," he said kindly.
James wasn't sure if he simply meant parenthood or something beyond that. Dumbledore wasn't a seer, but he did seem to know everything about everything.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," said Lily kindly.
James wanted to ask more questions but knew that there wasn't a point. If Dumbledore felt that you needed to know something, he would tell you. Often it seemed that he let you find out on your own, something about building character.
With one last glance at Kassie, Dumbledore left the room, leaving behind two curious parents.
Godric's Hollow Five Years Later…
"Happy birthday munchkin!"
Kassie blearily opened her eyes and looked at the person who woke her up. "Uncle Paddy." she shouted flinging herself off her bad, flying a few feet before landing in his arms.
"How's my favorite goddaughter?"
"I'm your only goddaughter silly," she giggled, "daddy say's that nobody else in their right mind would make you godfather."
He gave her a hurt look "what? You don't think I'm a great godfather?" he asked with puppy dog eyes.
Kassie just giggled and kissed him on the cheek squirming a little bit trying to get down. He put her on the ground and she ran out of the room towards the kitchen with Sirius following closely behind.
Before she made it to the kitchen she was picked up and thrown into the air and caught by her laughing father. "Happy birthday princess. You look old, you must be what four now?" said James seriously.
Kassie laughed, "nooooo… I'm five," she said while holding up five fingers.
"No, no I'm pretty sure that you're four."
Just then Lily had come into the room and kissed her daughter on the forehead before slapping her husband playfully on the shoulder. "If you are done being in denial of your daughter's age, breakfast is ready."
The four of them sat down for breakfast while Sirius joked with Kassie and Lily and James talked about the plans for the day.
The last five years had been difficult. Both James and Lily found it strange that only five years ago their biggest concern was having a child while still in school. Now they were in the midst of war trying to keep each other and their family safe.
They had faced many struggles, mostly caused by the war. Death Eaters killed Lily's parents when Kassie was only two and James' father died less than a year ago. After Fleamont passed, James quit his job as an Auror and both he and Lily dedicated their time towards the Order of the Phoenix. Because Lily was currently five months pregnant, she never did any active work.
Another struggle that they faced was Kassandra. They loved their daughter more than anything, but she had proven to be a rather difficult child. It wasn't that she was disobedient, she usually does what was asked of her without complaint and she was a relatively happy child. She was a mischievous little minx, but Lily would blame Sirius and James for that. No, the problem that they had with her was her powers.
She was a very gifted little witch, just as Dumbledore had predicted, and as she grew older they knew she would be powerful. Dumbledore, who had spent a lot of time working with Kassie, said that she could even be more powerful than Merlin was. Lily and James were happy about her power, it meant that she'd be able to take care of herself, but whenever she was emotional, she couldn't control it. There was a constant flow of accidental magic, things would explode when she was angry or excited. If someone made her angry and she pushed them, they would go flying across the room. It got to the point where they could no longer take her to muggle playgrounds or for the most part anywhere with muggles. But, that was something that they were learning to deal with.
Everything else was going well for the Potter family and friends. Remus and Natalie were getting married that summer and Lily was due in July with her second child, all three of the Potters, and Sirius and Remus, were ecstatic about the new addition to their little family. Sirius was still an Auror and had yet to meet someone to settle down with. When anyone asked him about it he would say he's dedicated to his goddaughter and soon to be godson. So despite the fact that they were at war, life was good.
It was early afternoon when the doorbell rang and Kassie, who had been playing with Padfoot, jumped up and ran to the door with the dog bouncing behind her. Sirius transformed just before she reached the door and hopped in front of her.
"Munchkin, are you supposed to answer the door?"
Kassie smiled guiltily "no."
Sirius just smiled at her and turned and opened the door. The entire Weasley family had come to celebrate her birthday. Kassie led them all to the backyard where her dad was setting up the BBQ (with Lily patiently giving him instructions). A few minutes later Remus and Natalie arrived, closely followed by Peter.
"Uncle Moony! Guess what?" Kassie asked bounding towards Remus as soon as he stepped into the backyard.
"What?" he asked with a large smile, holding Kassie in his arms.
"I was talking to Harry the other day and I was touching mummy's belly and I felt him move! Mummy said he kicked me, but I don't think Harry would kick me, I'm sure he likes me." She said with a bright smile, her arms wrapped tightly around Remus' neck.
Remus chuckled "that's just what it's called when the baby moves, I'm sure Harry likes you a lot and can't wait to come out and meet you," he said, rubbing his free hand through her auburn hair.
Kassie sighed cutely, giving the best puppy eyes without even meaning to. "I suppose so, I wish he'd hurry up though," she said.
Remus kissed her forehead "only four more months, he'll be here before you know it," he said before putting her back on the ground. "Why don't you go say 'hi' to Pete," he suggested, glancing at the short, round man standing by the food, looking like he didn't belong there.
Kassie wrinkled her nose, "do I have to?" she asked.
Remus sighed and nodded "He came all the way here just for your birthday, it's polite to say thank you."
She nodded grimly, wrinkling her nose again. She had never really taken to Peter in the same way she had her other uncles and Natalie. No one was entirely sure why, but she was polite enough around him.
She gave Remus one last hug before running off in the direction that Peter was.
Other than a few other order members, the people at this party were the people that James and Lily trusted with their lives (and their kids' lives). They didn't get to see each other often, but for occasions like birthdays and some holidays, they would find a way to celebrate together.
"I think your daughter is excited to be a big sister," said Molly when she reached James and Lily. They all looked over to where Kassie was cooing at baby Ron.
Lily smiled "yeah she's been talking to her brother quite a bit and keeps asking me when he's going to come out."
"Bill was the same way when I was pregnant with the twins."
The three adults watched as Kassie ran over to where seven-year-old Charlie and nine-year-old Bill were sitting and sat between them, looking up at Charlie with a flirty smile.
Lily couldn't help but laugh, "I think she has a crush on him."
James just frowned "what are you talking about? She's not allowed to like boys! She's only three!"
Lily raised an eyebrow "Are you still in denial about her age?"
James pouted and Molly and Lily laughed.
"Just wait James, in six years she'll be off at Hogwarts where you won't be able to keep guys from chasing after her," said Molly.
"Yeah, guys like you will be chasing her around, asking her out three times a day," said Lily with a smirk.
James pouted more "I've already decided she's not going to Hogwarts. We're locking her in a tower just like in those muggle stories you read her."