The muffled sounds of a baby whimpering may have been too quiet for most people to hear while they lay sleeping, but it seemed that Lily's ears had become hyper sensitive to every noise that came from her little son's mouth. His cries, though soft, woke her from her well-deserved rest and however much she may have wished for nothing more than to stay in the warmth of her bed, they beckoned to her as they began to increase in volume. Lily sighed and heaved herself up. Crossing the room tiredly, she glanced back at her husband as he stirred, blinking blearily up at her.

" 'sit Harry?" he slurred, not quite awake.

"I've got him," Lily replied softly. She padded down the hall to the nursery where little Harry squirmed in his crib. With practiced movements, she lifted the baby and held him to her chest. His tiny fingers immediately grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled as if to signal his distress.

"Shhh shhh," Lily soothed. "I'm here now." She lifted him a bit higher to check if he needed to be changed but he was dry. A tad confused, Lily continued to rock him gently in her arms.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" she whispered in his ear. Harry yanked on her hair again and his babbling became a repeated word.

"Da da da da da da," Harry used one of the few words he had mastered.

"You want Dada?" Lily looked into his flushed face. His green eyes, bright with tears, stood out starkly in the gloom of the nursery. Lily sighed.

"Okay then, let's go see daddy." Harry still fretted and whimpered a bit as she carried him down the hall to the master bedroom. James must have heard them coming because he was shifting into an upright position, groping for his glasses on the bedside table.

"Somebody wants to see you," Lily said as she leaned over to deposit Harry into her husband's arms.

"DADADADA," Harry cried as he settled against James' shoulder.

"Hey, little man, it's okay. Dada's here now," James murmured. The sound of his father's voice rumbling through him quickly calmed Harry and soon he was drifting off to sleep. James continued to hold him close and buried his face in his son's downy hair, breathing in the scent of him. Lily watched the two of them and felt her heart fill up at the almost identical looks of contentment on their faces.

Having a child at such a young age and in such terrifying times had caused her no small amount of stress. She was scared of what could happen not only to her family but also the many people targeted by Voldemort and his followers. Sometimes she felt like the worry was eating her alive and there was nothing she could do, trapped in their hiding place as she was. She knew James felt it too. Sometimes she caught him staring out the window wearing a solemn expression that looked so out of place on his normally carefree face. Sometimes she looked into her son's eyes, so similar to her own, and wondered what kind of world they would see when he grew up.

But in this moment, her husband's face relaxed as if he hadn't a care in the world. Harry slept peacefully as though he would always be safe and protected. And the surge of love Lily felt for the two of them made all the stress and worry of the past few weeks seem worth it. Lily smiled and sat next to the drowsy pair, slipping an arm over where James' were holding Harry and breathing in his sweet baby scent as he had done earlier.

She didn't know what the future would bring, she could only be grateful for this moment. This precious moment, where they were the family she had dreamed of all her life.

And just for this moment, that was all that mattered.