"James, did you hear that?" Lily asked, launching into a seated position. Her hands clutched at her stomach, and her hair fell in her face. She was the perfect blend of exhaustion and panic.
Her husband stirred next to her. "I'm sure it was nothing," he tried to soothe.
She wasn't having it. "There could be a Death Eater in our house, James," she whispered furiously.
"You know that's not possible," James replied, talking to his pillow more than his wife.
"Magic isn't a perfect science," Lily retorted, brushing her hair out of her face. "Someone could have gotten past the wards. If you're not going downstairs to investigate, I am."
As she began to wiggle from the bed, James threw his covers off himself. "Lily, I'm sure there's no need ––"
Something shattered in the kitchen below them.
"James," Lily snarled.
He pressed a finger to her lips, and gave a quick nod of his head. "I'll be right back," he whispered.
She grabbed the front of his shirt before he could leave the bed. Lily pulled James's face to hers, gave him a firm kiss, and then whispered, "I love you."
"I love you, too," he assured her. "I'll be right back."
James disappeared from the room, leaving Lily to remain on the bed rubbing soothing circles onto her stomach. "It's going to be fine, Harry," she mumbled. This was her mantra for the next couple of minutes until James started laughing from downstairs.
"Lily, love," he called, "can you make it down here without help?"
She slowly tossed her legs over the edge of the bed, and then began a rather dramatic waddle down to the floor below.
"Based on the uproar," she panted at him as she flipped on the light, "I'm assuming everything's alright?"
"I'd say so," James said. He was perched upon the kitchen counter with a small cat standing atop his lap. She had patchy fur in varying shades of brown, and was clearly underfed. She was friendly enough though, as made clear by the way her head nuzzled James's chest.
"James, what did you do?"
"Nothing," he said, scratching the cat under her ear. "Someone," he gave his wife a pointed look, "left the kitchen window open, and she found her way in on her own."
"Are you sure it's actually a cat?" she asked, approaching James to get a closer look.
"Lily, c'mon."
"What! You of all people should know why I have to ask."
"Alright, alright," James said, standing up and passing Lily the cat. "Give me a moment." He pointed his wand steadily at the cat. The pair watched as a blue light emitted from the tip of James's wand and enveloped the cat for what seemed to be a very drawn-out thirty seconds.
"Alright then," Lily broke the silence when the blue light faded and nothing changed, "not an Animagus. Just a very hungry looking cat."
"Should we be concerned by the fact that she got in?" James asked, going towards the cabinet to look for something to feed her.
"Probably," Lily replied. "We'll owl the lads and ask them to come help put some extra defense measures in place." As she spoke, her hand scratched behind the cat's ear. "As for this little guy ––"
"She's a girl," James said, confidently strolling over with a can of tuna in hand. He magicked the lid off and proceeded to present the can to the cat.
As she hungrily lapped up the food in front of her, James smiled.
"James Potter, wipe that look off your face. We can't keep her."
"But, Lily, think about it ––"
"James, in another month we are going to have a newborn in this house. We can't handle both."
"Well then, tell Harry to delay his arrival a bit."
Lily gave her husband an unamused glance. "Somehow I don't think that's how childbirth works."
"Think about it, love. We could use something to bring a little cheer to the house. Especially on days when I'm out with the Order and you're here alone. Don't you think a spot of company could be nice?"
Lily turned her focus to the cat, stroking its scraggly fur. "She probably has a family."
"Any family who's letting her starve doesn't deserve our little Winnifred."
"Winnifred?" Lily asked, looking to her husband and shooting him a smirk.
"Winnie, if you'd prefer."
The cat let out a well-timed mew, as though to approve of the name.
"She is awfully cute," Lily whispered.
"So our family grows a month earlier than we were expecting," James said. "Don't you think we should keep her?"
Lily picked the cat up and cradled her against her bulging stomach. "We're going to have to pay to feed her."
"We're good for it."
"And she's probably going to wake us up with strange noises every night."
"Harry will, too."
"You really think this is a good idea?"
"I really do," he said, pressing a kiss against his wife's forehead, and then bending to place a kiss on the cat's fur as well.
"She could do with a bath," he lamented, taking her from Lily's arms.
"Perhaps in the morning ––"
"No, no," James cut Lily off. "I'll clean her up tonight. If I learned anything from living with Sirius, it's that I don't want to live in a house full of fleas."
Lily's lips pulled into a grin. "I appreciate that."
"Do you need help getting back up to bed?"
"I'll be alright," she said, placing her hands on her stomach. "Harry and I are going to get some sleep. Try not to make too much of a mess."