A/N: Written for the ficathon on kolms' livejournal... Like. A year ago. I don't even know, yo. Prompt: "You gave birth to a war."
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its incredible characters. If I had, James and Lily would be happy with all their children forever and ever and- okay I'm done.
Lily isn't surprised about the prophecy, not at all. After he opened his eyes, when they changed from baby-innocent-blue to oh-my-god-Lily-he-has-your-eyes-green, she did not say anything, just gave everyone and her son a small smile.
She knew. She may not have known exactly what was going to happen to her child, but there was a depth in his eyes that she couldn't look at for long or she would grow panicked. No, these were not the same eyes she looked at in the mirror every morning, the eyes that he had-according to everyone else- claimed from his mum.
When they are officially informed of the prophecy, her face is a blank mask. Calmly, she tells James that she'll start packing what they need and get Harry while he plans with Dumbledore where they will flee. Her husband doesn't say anything, just nods; but before she leaves he gives her hand a quick squeeze. She smiles gently and squeezes back because although James is generally level-headed and determined and arrogant and self-assured- he needs her to be calm, collected enough to tell himself that yes, everything will be all right.
Lifting Harry out of his crib, she is actually quite terrified.
Not of her son himself, but of what his very existence brings to the world. He has not even reached his first birthday and he is already deemed a hero to those who've heard; but they do not know like she does of what will come with that sort of future- death, torture, sacrifice, blood, war. Many will die for him, for a mere prophecy. She is both calmed and frantic about the weight of her baby, what now seems to be the very mass of the world resting in her arms. Her son is the modern day Helen of Troy, she realizes hysterically. And she is his mother.
But what did she and her husband do? Math was one of her best subjects in muggle primary school, so she tries to equate how this happened to she and James, how a once-git plus a teacher's pet plus a normal lifestyle on both's parts minus truly dreadful family history minus experience (they are just twenty years old, for Merlin's sake) somehow equalled war-torn hearts and tears-
And then she remembers: she can't. She will never be able to figure out why; all she can do is accept that she has given birth to a war(hero), because regardless of who or what he is... She is his mother. And mothers abandon reason and equations and predictions to see their baby's smile, always. (She wonders if this is how Voldemort's mother felt about him, wonders if when she was pregnant and the Devil clawed at her insides if she smiled through a wince, thinking it his adoration for her.)
She buries her nose into Harry's soft baby hair, breathes in death and exhales love.