If Something Should Happen
A/N: This story was inspired by the song "If Something Should Happen" by Darryl Worley. It got me to thinking about James asking Sirius to be Harry's godfather, and all that that would imply. So I wrote this. I placed the lyrics to the song at the end of the story, since I couldn't form it into a song fic as so many names and details are put into the song, making it impossible to morph into something I could truly relate to Sirius and James line by line. I truly hope you enjoy this, because I put a lot of hard work into it.
On the day of July 31, 1980, Sirius Black burst into St. Mungo's, looking a bit ragged. He was wearing jeans that had obviously seen better days, and an oil-stained white shirt. A worn baseball cap covered his mass of tangled black hair. He had oil smudges on his face and he had a dirty rag hanging out of his back pocket. He had been in the middle of maintanance on his motorcycle when he'd received word that Lily Potter was having her baby.
He searched the lobby over with his eyes as his feet carried him toward the help station. He turned his head just in time to spot that he was about to run into the desk a kindly-looking witch was sitting behind, grinning.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely.
"Yeah," Sirius replied, slightly out of breath. "Is James Potter here?"
The woman smiled outright at this. "You mean the tall bloke with the glasses that looks like he hasn't combed his hair in a week and is about to pace himself a hole right through the floor?" At Sirius' nod, she chuckled. "He's waiting outside of room seven."
Sirius nodded his appreciation and took off at a run toward room seven. He knew St. Mungo's layout very well, having visited there often for varying reasons, such as after some rather unfortunate experiments and pranks gone wrong, and after a few missions he had went on for the Order of the Phoenix. He darted around a corner and saw a small group of men clustered near the wall. He hurried over to them.
James Potter looked up just in time to catch sight of his best friend running right at him. He broke into a smile and took a few steps forward to meet up with Sirius. The other three men did not seem to notice that there was a new arrival among them.
"Have I missed anything? Has Lily had the baby yet?" Sirius' voice was somewhat frantic, and James was internally grateful that he was not the only one having a massive panic attack.
"No, the baby's still in there," James replied. "Thanks for coming in such a hurry, mate."
"Of course, of course! I wouldn't miss this for anything... except perhaps an all night party at the Leaky Cauldron." His mischievous grin gave him away, and James clapped him on the back. "But seeing as that won't be happening tonight, I thought I may as well come here. Hi Remus. Peter. Dumbledore."
The other three men that had been quietly discussing one thing or another, finally seemed to realize that Sirius was present. They broke into smiles and greeted him excitedly, alternately hugging him (Remus), shaking his hand (Dumbledore), and nodding toward him (Peter).
"What took you, Sirius?" Remus asked jokingly. "We expected you to be the first here."
Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head at the werewolf. "I was mid-motorbike-maintanance and couldn't apparate seeing as all the neighbor children were out and about and I was in my front yard. Not all of us happened to be strolling past St. Mungo's when James came dashing up the street shouting that he was going to be a father."
James tinged red at the jab but retaliated as only he could. "You'd have done the same thing. You ran shouting through the Great Hall that you'd made the quidditch team."
"Quite entertaining, if I do say so myself, Sirius," Dumbledore said cheerily.
As the hours wore on, the conversation drifted from names James and Lily had considered ("Really, Prongs-- Athol? Don't you think that has a rather unfortunate rhyme associated with it?"), to whether or not James had finally figured out how exactly to put the Muggle crib together, to when the child would be old enough to fly a broomstick. James finally wore himself out pacing, which was quite the monumental task, and he took a seat next to Sirius. Sirius bent to tie his shoe, and James took the opportunity to wave the other three away for a moment.
"Oy, Padfoot," he began.
"Hmm?"
"I was... err... we need to... we need to talk," James tried to finish out in a determined way, but just as any other man, he was not sure exactly how to go about this. Was he supposed to get all teary eyed or something?
Sirius straightened up in his seat. "Look, if this is about me replacing that fern in your kitchen with one that bites, I was going to switch it back before the baby was born."
He waved Sirius' words away as if they were an annoying fly. "No! I... need to ask you something."
In all the years that Sirius and James had known one another, they had only had two serious discussions: one involving the decision to become Animagi, and one involving James thinking about asking Lily to marry him. Aside from those, neither had been able to endure a mature conversation without making at least one quip, jibe, joke, or smartass comment. However, both could sense that this would be a conversation in which minimal jokes, if any, would be appropriate. Sirius braced himself and James did his best to steel his nerves.
"Ask away, mate," Sirius said with the slightest hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Err... Lily and I were talking... about... umm..." James scratched at the back of his neck. How was he supposed to do this? "About... you know... you being... the... uh... godfather."
Sirius inhaled sharply, though it wasn't so sharp that it could be called a gasp. He absorbed James' words, trying his best to calm himself down. He had been wondering who would be asked to be godfather. It was a touchy subject. If there had been no war going on around them, Sirius would have been absolutely thrilled-- being godfather would be more of a title than anything. Yet, there was a tumultuous war being fought, and the reality that "godfather" could possibly be more than a way for him to boss the kid around if ever given the line, "You're not in charge of me," was heartwrenching.
James was asking him to act as a parent in the case of his and Lily's deaths.
"James... I... I'm honored," Sirius said quietly. He was not sure what else to say.
"We thought we'd ask you since... well... Remus has his furry little problem to deal with, and Peter's... let's just say I could not rest if I knew my child was being taken care of by someone who repeatedly runs into doorjambs even when he's looking where he's going." James shook his head.
"Check, no doorjambs," he muttered as if going down a list of to-do items. He couldn't even force himself into a joking mood at the moment.
"I mean, I'm just asking you to do this if something should happen to Lily and I--"
Sirius snapped to attention and whipped his head around to look at James. "Nothing's going to happen to you and Lily."
James looked down at his muggle sneakers, a solemn look on his face. "We don't know that. These are uncertain times... at any moment... something could... any one of us might..."
"No, James," he said, his voice hard and determined. "People like us have always been survivors. We've seen our share of bad times, sure-- but we're going to make it through this. All of us."
No matter how hard Sirius tried to assure his bespectacled pal that the tightknit group would emerge from the war unscathed, James would not hear it.
"Just listen to me," he said. He sounded so steeled in his conviction to be heard that Padfoot fell silent and did not interrupt. James looked up, directly into Sirius' eyes. "Things are uncertain now. People die every day. We're not exactly running away from the fight, either, to hide in a dark corner and wait until it all passes us by. I refuse to do that.
"But in a little while, I'm going to be a father. A father, Sirius. That's a whole new world for all of us. I'm going to be laden with new responsibilities and fears. And even though I'm going to have a family now, a real family of my own, I'm not backing away from the fight. And I know Lily won't either. My first priority will always be my family and friends... but this war is as important as anything else I've ever known. If it isn't won, it will not be worth trying to raise a family in a world of terror.
"Now, listen to me carefully. Should something happen to Lily and I, I want you to take our son. I want you to watch after him as if he were your own."
Sirius nodded, not a glimmer of humor anywhere inside him. "Of course, James. You're like my brother."
James nodded and looked straight ahead at the wall. "Promise me something, alright?"
"Anything, Prongs."
A single tear drifted down James' cheek. He fully understood what might happen to him, and while that caused a pang of fear to twinge in his heart, he knew that his fear would be nothing compared to the pain felt by an orphaned son or widowed wife. He trusted Sirius more than anyone. Remus would be able to help, but only so much. Peter would be of limited assistance. Dumbledore would be busy running Hogwarts and leading the Order.
"If I die, I want you to look in on Lily and make sure she's alright. I don't want her to raise a son all on her own. I don't want her to be lonely. Take her out sometimes and get her out of the house. Help her live and have fun."
Sirius nodded gravely. "Absolutely."
"If both of us die, I want you to take care of my son as if he were your own. I want you to play games with him and tell him jokes no matter what happens, but I especially want you to do that if Lily and I both die. I want him to know you were my best friend and that we had some great times. I want you to tell him about our days at Hogwarts and all of our adventures. Teach him right from wrong. Make sure he eats his breakfast and pulls out chairs for girls and does all of his homework." Tears were dripping from his eyes steadily, and James tore his stare away from the wall to address Sirius directly.
"Be a real father to him, will you? I don't want him to miss out on anything. Teach him how to fly and how to play quidditch. Throw him birthday parties and help him buy his things for Hogwarts. When he gets older, I want you to talk to him about the birds and the bees. I want you to laugh about how girls make no sense whatsoever. I want you to tell him all about how things are between Lily and I. And when he gets old enough, I want you to share a mead with him. I want you to sit in my seat at his wedding." He paused long enough to regain his composure. "Please promise me, Sirius... promise me that you'll do everything I've ever dreamed of doing with my son... if I... if I don't make it."
Sirius reached out and grasped James on the shoulder. He forced every fiber of his being into seriousness and allowed his eyes to convey the intensity of the emotions he was feeling. He was not going to let James think that there was any room for interpretation: should James die, Sirius would do everything he possibly could to make sure his best friend's son knew a life as relatively normal as could be expected.
"I swear on everything I am or ever will be that I will do everything you've asked, and anything else that can be done. You have my word. I promise you, James."
The two friends embraced for a few heartbeats. When they pulled back, James frantically wiped at his face and Sirius casually brushed his hands over his own to make sure his cheeks weren't damp. They shared a brief glance of understanding just before a nurse came bustling out of room seven.
"Mr. Potter?"
James slowly stood up, bracing himself for her next words. The emotions dancing in his eyes and winding through his frame spoke of excitement, nerves, and fear. He appeared as any expectant father would, and the nurse could not help but grin at the lanky, bespectacled, messy-haired man standing in front of her.
"Congratulations," she said as three other wizards came around the corner. "You are the father of a healthy boy, who, might I add, is a spitting image of you."
He broke into a smile that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame, and turned to address his friends. "Did you lot hear that? I've a son! I'm a father!"
Many hugs were exchanged in between cheers and congratulations. The drinks that Remus, Peter, and Dumbledore had gone to fetch sat forgotten on the table of magazines near the seating area as they congratulated James. They were all on their feet and excitedly milling amongst themselves until James turned back to the nurse.
"How's Lily?"
"Marvelous, Mr. Potter. You can go visit with her and the baby whenever you'd like. Your friends are welcome as well." She bowed her head slightly and took her leave to room eight.
The group filed into room seven, James in the lead. Sirius hung back for a split second.
"If something should happen..." he whispered to nobody, "I'll be there. I promise."
Artist/Band: Worley Darryl
Lyrics for Song: If Something Should Happen
Lyrics for Album: Darryl Worley
Buddy, you and me go way back
Camp all June, all through highschool and before that.
So I don't mind tellin you I'm scared to death.
The doctor is goin in on the 25th
It's the same thing my daddy had
Thank God they caught it fast.
But if something should happen
Stop in some time and say hello to Catherine
You and Marianne could always keep her laughing
Because shes gonna need a lot of that
Take her out to a movie
It's gonna take some time before shes back on her feet.
I know you think I'll be fine and I'm talkin crazy
But theres always that chance
That's why I'm askin
If something should happen
Little Nathan is growing up so fast
This November he'll turn 10
He wants to play quarterback.
I'm supposed to coach his team this fall
But I may not get to afterall
He's gonna need someone to catch a pass
And to throw it back
If something should happen
Oh promise me you'll take that boy out campin
Throw a line out in the water every now and then
Answer any questions that he has
Maybe once he gets older
You can sit and have that first cold beer together
And tell him a couple stories on his father
He's always known you're my best friend.
That's why I'm askin
If something should happen
I hope I live until I'm 80
And I get to see my son get married
And have some babies
And make a million more memories with my wife.
Yeah buddy I pray alright
But if it's my time to leave
Could you watch over them for me?
Fini.