Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story. The people, and the world belong wholly to JK Rowling. I do not wish to copy ideas, or offend anyone.

Two young women were lazily sprawled across a living area in a flat not far from the centre of London. Two minutes walk from Kings Cross Station, and less from a local convenience store, the modern flat was perfectly located for the younger of the two ladies, Alice, and her boyfriend Frank. Although the streets outside were busy, the carpet threadbare and the sound of trains constant, Alice and Frank found themselves excitedly preparing their new flat for the latest addition to the family who would be arriving in approximately two weeks. This explained why the small brunette with the kind, round face, looked ready to pop.

While Alice looked happy in her pregnant state, the other woman was not so docile. She had pale skin, with a piercing emerald gaze and long ginger hair which draped the sofa around her eagle position. Her stomach, also rather swollen, and the length of her beautiful locks made the girl appear much daintier than usual. Her expression however, resembled an angry Minotaur. She was regularly compared in her world.

You see, minotaurs and other myths often turned out to be as real as you and I. That is, in the wizarding world. Lily Potter was a gifted young witch who had always sparked interest in her professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry despite her muggle background - non magical, that is. She was intelligent, enabling her to quickly learn and improve, and she had a good heart. Both of these traits lead her to become Head Girl at Hogwarts which ultimately caused her to be sweating on a second hand sofa at the end of July 1981.

After becoming Head Girl at Hogwarts in her seventh and final year of magical education, she was granted access to her personal dorms specifically tailored to her interests. The minor drawback of this arrangement was that she had to share her dorm with the Head Boy. Five sevenths of the time that Lily knew James Potter, they had harboured a special love-hate relationship. Emphasis on the hate.

For their sixth year, although no romantic interest sparked (in Lily's eyes) the two courageous sixteen year old Gryffindors started to understand one another more. Or perhaps James grew up.

It was that dorm arrangement that finally propelled James and Lily towards eachother (or was it the Firewhiskey?) which resulted in their hasty marriage after graduation. Not even a year later, the couples best man Sirius Black celebrated his birthday with style and it just so happened that eight and a half months later Lily Potter was in this pregnant state carrying James Potter's baby.

Lily and Alice had been friends for almost eight years now, and still found that they gossiped as they had at age eleven. Alice was used to hearing all about James' flaws, and found it quite amusing considering she was practically glowing from pregnancy.

'He tries to understand. He really tries, but it's so bloody annoying to have him quoting pregnancy books at me when he has no bloody clue what he's talking about. And that leaves me, whining to you because I feel like such a bitch telling him to go away when he's only as clueless as I am.' Lily ran her sweaty palms through her tangled hair with anguish.

'I'm sure he must be able to pardon such bitchiness when you have such a hormonal imbalance, dear.' Alice soothingly patted Lily's arm before heaving herself out of the checkered sofa. 'Now how about that tea?' She pottered towards the connecting kitchen. Lily sighed and leant into the cushions, smiling slightly when Alice spilled some water. The brunette had always been clumsy.

'Lily.' a croaky voice sounded from behind the ginger. She turned round to see Alice, with a clean tea pot in her hands and a puddle of water on the floor beneath her. 'That's my water broken.' Eye contact was briefly made before the seated witch pulled out her wand. A spell was muttered before Lily spoke to a silvery doe grazing in the lounge.

'Frank, Alice's water has broken, I'm getting her to St Mungos right away, we will meet you there.' The silver wisp galloped through the wall on the other side of the room, going to find Frank Longbottom, the father of Alice's baby. Lily sprung up from the sofa and rushed over to Alice, grabbing her shaking hands and leading her towards the fireplace.

'Accio Backpack.' Alice shakily summoned her pre set bag with her labour gear in. Together Lily and Alice stepped into the green flames of the fireplace, shouting out at once

'St Mungo's!'

–-–––––––––-–

Seven hours later an exhausted Lily Potter, accompanied by her husband crept into room 394 where they spotted a worn out Alice and a dark haired young man by the name of Frank, cradling a bundle of blue blankets between them. When the Potter's entered, they were greeted by tears smiles and whispers of hello.

The young adults seemed frozen at the door before Alice beckoned to Lily and Frank strode over to give a manly hug to James. After three or four very powerful thumps on the back, the two emotional men made there way back over to the bedside. Lily had sat on the edge of the bed facing her best friend, and now held a slightly above average sized baby boy with brown curly hair and a soft round face. Tears trickled down a freckled nose and were wiped away by distinctly male, but gentle hands.

'Neville. That's what we decided on. Baby Neville.' Franks deep voice was choked but happiness shone from within it. The new parents joined hands and Lily thought about how lucky this baby was to have such a loving family already. Her mind drifted back to her own misshapen childhood memories before a question brought her back to reality.

'We would like you to be Neville's godparents, if you wouldn't mind?'

Alice made eye contact with James and they both smiled slightly. As pureblood's, Alice and James had been friends from a young age, their mothers having arranged play dates since they were tiny. It was remembered that once upon a time, in a world full of toys and laughter, James had asked Alice to be the godparent of his children and vice versa. The amount of trust that lay between the two friends could ensure that Neville would have a safe upbringing no matter what.

Lily's shocked expression turned to one of love as she glance first at James, and then at Neville.

'We would be honoured Alice.' Lily's hands shook as she handed Neville off to James before leaning towards her best friend for a hug. The two highly emotional females exchanged tears instead of thumps and pulled back grinning slightly. Alice's eyes were lit up and Lily sobbed quietly once before giggling.

The red head turned to her husband who had passed off the newborn baby to his father and was now looking at her as if nothing else existed. His hands went to both sides of her stomach which was immediately pummelled from the inside. Lily started,

'Gosh, he's going to be a footballer.' She smiled and held James' hands. The cheeky raven haired man pecked her forehead before lovingly stating,

'Now now dear, none of that muggle trash.' He rested his lips on her hairline while hugging her close to his body, overwhelming her with his scent. She giggle before playfully trying to push away. After it became clear who was stronger she relaxed into him and sighed.

'I want him to come now. How come Alice gets hers and I don't?' She pouted but her eyes were alight with mischief.

'Ahh Lily-flower. All good things come to those who wait.' He winked and pecked her lips.

'Oi! My son is in no way being beaten by a little unborn Potter. We'll see who's better in the end.' Frank pretended to punch James' shoulder and the women quickly split them up before the situation could deteriorate. Lily took James' hand and leads him to the door.

'We'll get the others, okay Alice?' She opened the door.

'Yes please, thank you. Oh and if you should find Augusta, you should mention the fact that little Neville looks so cute in the blanket he's wearing.' Alice's voice followed James and Lily out into the corridor. The couple laughed and held hands down the hallway to the waiting room where they found their friends and sent a couple at a time to meet the new baby. Neville was such a beam of sunlight in these dark times.