Author's Note: I'm writing this just for you Elen.  Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything below. If I did, Harry would be named Charlie. Charlie Potter... It's a cool name.

Chapter One


"Scared?"

"Sort of." Lily smiled nervously, feeling her hand twitch. James grabbed in slowly, his thick skin rubbing against her own. For a moment, she forgot she was lying in a tasteless, paper dress on a very uncomfortable bed. No, right now, she was lying on a sandy beach far, far away from St. Mungo's, feeling the crisp water wash over her feet. The sun sank on the horizon, drowning calmly into the sea... illuminating the back of James' dark black hair, and the rims of his glasses. Today, she would just relax...

"Lily?"

Her mind came bounding back into her head. "What?"

James smiled, squeezing her hand lightly. He sat on the hospital bed beside her, dressed sloppily. They hadn't been here long; Lily's water broke only two hours ago. Now was the very impatient wait for the baby to arrive. "We still don't know what we're naming it."

Lily chuckled softly. "Just because we don't know it's sex doesn't mean we have to call him or her an 'it'."

James sighed. "Well, constantly saying 'him or her' gets tiring. They could of told us the gender before.. why didn't you let them?"

"Because," she said, poking his nose playfully with a finger, "then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"It would have been a surprise four months ago too. This is just a waiting game, isn't it?"

"Yes dear," said Lily. A small breeze ruffled her messy, pinned-up hair. "Can you close the window, honey?"

James nodded, letting her hand fall soundlessly onto the mattress. As he walked over to the window, Lily leaned over, peering closely. James stopped with his hands on the window sill and turned around.

"Are you checking me out?" he asked slyly. Lily shook her head like a little girl.

"Liar," James said, sliding the window shut. He leaned against the warm panes, letting the hot July sun warm his back. Lily giggled, but cut off quickly. A sharp kick pounded her stomach- the small baby inside was impatient.

James came over, sitting again on the bed, placing a hand on her rounded belly. "Shh," he hushed, putting a finger to his lips. "That's rude," he whispered. "We don't kick mommy."

Lily grinned. "But we kick daddy. Don't we?"

"That's ri-" James' eyes narrowed. "Hey.."

The two were silent for a few minutes, appreciating the little time they had left as a recently married couple, and the time they had left until the arrival of a newborn child.

"..How different is this going to be? How much will our lives change?" James asked suddenly, eyeing Lily's belly.

Lily smiled faintly. "Lots of things change.. Lot's of them don't. But the fact that I love you.. that will always stay the same." She gripped James' hand, soft fingers entwined around his own. He smiled back, his eyes behind those wire-rimmed glasses shining in the only way Lily could make them. She knew without asking he felt the same for her.

At that moment, the door opened with a small creak. Remus and Peter peeked in through a small crack, looking at the two. "Can we come in now?" asked Remus, eyeing the two.

James nodded, glad his friends were here. Then he spotted a small problem. "Where's Sirius?"

The other Marauder burst in through the door at the mention of his name. "Guys!" he cried. "Guess what, guess what!"

James looked thoughtfully at the wall. "Hmm, I don't know… the fifth dentist caved and now they're all recommending Trident?"

"No," said Sirius flatly. He held up a small note of paper, beaming. "I got a date," he said coolly. His face fell quickly. "I just wish I knew how to use those telefoos.."

"Telephone," Remus corrected. Sirius shrugged.

"Anyways. I figured after this, I'd pick up a bottle of wine, go over to her place, and try to.. woo her."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you know what you should do? Take her back to the 1980's when that phrase was last used."

Sirius struck out his tongue. "Aren't you the sarcastic bunch today. I just hope that poor kid of yours doesn't have the same mind."

"As long as you don't get to it," said Peter, "it'll be just fine." He paused a moment. "It?" he asked himself. "How about him? Or her?"

"Because we don't know the sex yet, Peter." James scowled as Sirius started to chuckle. "What did I say? Sex?"

Sirius began to laugh harder.

James sighed. "Oh come on, Sirius, you're probably going to have s-e-x the second you meet this girl."

He stopped. "True. But still, you don't understand!" Sirius cried. "She makes the women I dream about look like short, fat bald men."

Peter groaned. "I'd be glad to take one of them out of your subconscious, Sirius. Really, I don't know how you do it. I'm so bad at even looking at girls.." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I have to get a snake."

Remus frowned. "Uh huh. Why is that?"

"If I'm going to be an old, lonely man," started Peter, "I'm going to need a thing, you know, a hook, kind of like that guy on the muggle subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, you know? Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies. When kids pass my place, they'll run. 'Run away from Crazy Snake Man!' they'll shout."

Remus, Sirius and James took an uneasy step away from Peter.

"You know what?" said Peter to Remus. "We're, single, but not sad. And we're just not seventeen anymore. You know? We're older, but so what if we only want to spend our time sitting in a comfortable chair and going to bed at a reasonable hour?"

"True," said Remus. "So what if I like to hang out in a quiet place where I can talk to my friends?"

"Yeah!" said James. "So what if I like to go home, throw on some Kenny G and take a bath?"

Sirius frowned. "We're twenty-five, James, we're not women."

"My point is," Peter interjected, "that we'll get to grow old and lonely, but we won't really be lonely, because we will all have each other."

James blinked. "What are you on about, Peter?"

"Never mind," Peter sighed.

For several minutes, they were silent… until…

The heart monitor by Lily began to beep faster as she groaned in pain, clutching her swelled stomach. She grabbed James by the tie, pulling him towards her. He choked and yanked on his collar. "Get me the bloody Healers," she hissed.

"I'm going to need you to let go of the tie, Lils."

Lily released him, falling back onto the mountain of pillows.

James jumped excitedly, heading for the door. "I'm having a baby!" he yelled, punching the air with a fist as he left the room, calling for a Healer and cheering at the same time.

Peter peered out the door after him. "…James does know that the Healers' office is the other way, right?"

"Apparently not." Sirius chuckled. "If you get the Healers, Remus, I'll go grab us some coffee."

"Oka-"

"GET ME A BLOODY HEALER!"