A/N: I originally had this attached to Slytherin's Littlest Potter. It received such horrendous reviews that I decided to remove it from the original and to do what I always planned to do with it (once I started writing it). Frankly, I write this for myself and not anyone else. If you don't like it, don't read it. I plan to write this between my shifts, so it might be a bit delayed. The following was all posted previously.

Disclaimer: Oh, please. I've written some things, made some money, but this would not be something I could stake claim to as creating. But man, if I could!

Prologue

She stood dressed in white, her gown an intricate piece of art. Silks and lace, decorated with what Lily suspected might have been actual pearls hand plucked from their oysters and diamonds twinkling in the pale light of the room. Knowing the Malfoys, dwarfs in diamond mines had picked the diamonds fresh, as well. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at her reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror in the bridal suite. She was doing it, really doing it. Somewhere below, in the chapel perhaps, everyone was slowly being ushered to their seats. Her father would have arrived by now, her brothers, everyone, and they'd be filing into their seats.

Dressed as a little man, her beloved Theron was probably fiddling with the rings on the pillow. Lily hoped that someone had remembered to tie them tight. It would be a better hesitation to have to fight the pillow for the rings than to try and figure out where the precocious two year old had hidden them. TC had taken to hiding things as of lately. Lily had found more than half a dozen toy cars dropped down the vent in his bedroom, her keys were constantly lost at the bottom of his toy box, and that was just the day to day stuff she noticed.

"I'm doing this. I'm really doing this," Lily whispered to her reflection. Her hand slid to the front of her gown. It was a long time coming, and several postponements, but this time, it was actually happening. Her heart raced. After tonight, there would be no more secrets between her and Scorpius. He could confess his whole job life, and in turn, Lily would tell him about the life that grew beneath her hand.

"Lily?" a voice pulled her out of her thoughts with a knock and an entrance. Lily pulled her hand away from her dress with a blustered feeling and looked at her father in the reflection. She smiled.

"Hi, Dad," she said as she turned to look at him. He beamed at her.

"You look so beautiful, Lily," he confessed. Lily's fingers went to the delicate crown of curls, pinned beneath her veil. She touched one of the many tiny flowers woven in to the auburn tresses.

"Thank you," Lily said. She glanced at the clock, swallowing back a sigh.

"He'll be here soon," Harry said with a nod and a grin. "James swore he'd get them both back in time. Your brother's never let you down before now; he's not going to start now."

"I know," Lily said with a smile and a nod as another knock drew here attention from her father dressed to the nines. Nina entered the room, followed by Shale, Kate, and Albus. Lily laughed.

"Any more of us in here, and we might as well just invite Scorpius up to the bridal suite to have the ceremony," Harry teased. "The rest of the wedding party be damned."

"Is he here?" Lily asked unable to hide her excitement as Damon entered.

"Oh, no, not yet," Damon said. "I left a note at the apartment, Lils. I'm sure they probably arrived right after I left and are on their way now. You know they wouldn't let you down."

"I swear, if there had been anyone else to send," Harry apologized to his only daughter.

"Daddy, it's okay," Lily promised with a nod and a forced smile. "I know this is the way it's supposed to be."

"Just think," Nina laughed. "After tonight, there will be no coded messages and meaningful looks that you have to ignore. You'll be one of us."

"And that, almost more than actually making it official, is what makes this all worth it," Lily laughed as she smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. She peered out the window to the door of the chapel. It was flung open to let the cool breeze of spring flow through. It looked like a full house, packed to the rafters, though Lily couldn't be sure from where she stood.

"Oh, come on," Kate giggled. "As much as you love Scorpius?"

"Oh, okay, I admit it," Lily confessed with a grin. "I'm looking forward to being his wife."

"It's about time you said yes to him," Damon said.

"Yes, yes it is," Lily said quietly as she looked away from the group that had congregated in her room. She looked at herself critically in the mirror. "Is Theron behaving himself?"

"Oh, yes," Harry snickered. "Draco's having a ton of fun with that boy. Poor Narcissa is going out of her mind trying to get Draco to act his age. Can't blame him. TC's a great kid."

"Yes, yes he is," Lily beamed at her reflection. The boy looked more like Scorpius than he looked like her, his eyes had turned that same steely gray that Lily had grown to love. He had the same shaped face, similar colored hair. His expressions were similar, but what really hammered it home for Lily was Theron's smirk. Even at two years old, he had mastered Malfoy's smirk.

"He'll be here soon," Harry promised, resting his hand on her shoulder lightly. "Let me get these people back to their seats and check on Theron, then I will be back."

"I'm not going anywhere," Lily said closing her eyes. Her heart raced as she pictured him two nights ago, standing at the foot of her bed, packing.

"I'll be back," Scorpius promised. "I promise, Lily."

"I know," she had said as she leaned back against the pillows.

"If anyone else could go, if anyone else could finish this," Scorpius stopped and dropped his bag, scooping Lily up in his arms, bed clothes and all. Pain was etched in his face. "It hurts me to leave you, ever."

"You'll be back," Lily said with a slight smile. He kissed her deeply. "You always come back."

"I love you," he whispered, sealing that promise with one last kiss. "I always love you."

"And I love you," she breathed as he placed her back in bed. "Now hurry up and come back to me, so we can do this up right. I have something I want to tell you, but not until our wedding night."

"Oh, Lily," he chuckled shaking his head as he retrieved his discarded bag. "You are the cruelest."

"Just hurry home, Mr. Malfoy," she said coyly.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked touching Lily's arm. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at him, confused.

"Didn't you go back down to wait with the others?" Lily asked. He smiled and shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. He held out a box to her. "Scorpius wanted me to give this to you just before the ceremony, since it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

Lily took the box and opened it. Inside was her locket. She smiled slightly and turned it to Damon to look. He grinned and stepped forward, removing the delicate chain and pendent, looping it over her neck and latching it at the back. It fell into place and Lily sighed.

"Blot your eyes, girl," Damon said handing her his handkerchief. "Don't want to smudge your make up."

"Thanks, Damon," she said as she dabbed at her eyes. "Who knows why these things are so emotional."

"It's a wedding, Lily," Damon reminded her needlessly. "Why else?"

"I know," Lily said sighing as she looked back at her reflection.

"Are you scared?" he asked her and Lily shook her head slightly, the curls around her head bouncing in motion.

"Just ready," she said with a deep, content sigh. "I love him so much, sometimes it hurts."

"A good hurt, though?" Damon asked and Lily nodded.

"With him, love always hurts a good hurt," she said. Her hands slid to her stomach again, almost protective of the life force beneath. "Always."

Something in her ached something fierce though she couldn't put her finger on it. Her heart raced under her breast and she felt light headed. She kept her eyes closed and focused on breathing. She wouldn't allow a panic attack ruin this day for her. She and Scorpius deserved a perfect day.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked again.

"I don't feel very good," Lily confessed. "Could you get me something to drink?"

"Sure, yeah. No problem, Lily," Damon said as he headed over to the wet bar. He fixed Lily a drink and turned back to her. "You look really pale. Maybe you should sit down."

"Something's wrong," Lily murmured as something felt as if it slashed from within. She groaned as a loud crack split the air in the room. James fell forward, covered in blood. Damon rushed forward as Lily stood there in shock. He dropped to his knees, holding the man up as blood poured from his face.

"James?" Lily breathed as Damon held him. James pushed away from Damon, stumbling to his knees as he held out two pieces of wood, covered in blood.

"I'm sorry Lily," he gasped sending blood spraying down the front of his clothes. "I failed."

"Lily, you're bleeding," Damon nearly screamed. Lily's hand went to the front of her dress , pressing the fabric against her. She pulled her hand away to see the blood that was blossoming on her dress.

"The baby," Lily said flatly. She looked at her brother, dying at her feet and she fell to her knees, stripping his shirt from his skin. She sobbed. "Damon, get help."

Damon was already scrambling to his feet as Lily pulled James into her lap. James' head flopped back and he looked at her as if he didn't even see her. Blood trickled out of his mouth and Lily pressed her hand against the gaping hole in his chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered over and over as a tear escaped his eye, trailing down his cheek and disappearing from sight. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."

"Shut up, James," Lily sobbed as she held him closer.

"Scorpius… there were too many of them…" James gasped as Lily clamped her hand harder on the bleeding wound. "His wand…"

Lily knocked the broken stick from his hand and shook her head. She brushed his hair out of his eyes and shook her head again. She could hear the people nearing, the screaming and the shouting. Help would be there soon.

"Don't you dare leave your children, James," Lily whispered as her father breached the door first. "He's dead."

Lily remained on her knees, leaning back on her heals in shock while the flourish of activity to take James to St. Mungo's spun around her. She didn't register the touches or movement, just cradled her brother in her lap brushing his too long hair out of his blank and staring eyes. After they removed James from the scene, she still remained on the floor. She didn't say anything, just stared down at the crimson stain that covered her dress and the floor before her.

"Lily, you have to get up," a voice called to her as if from a far off place trying to bring her back. It made her think of times that she'd been unwell and just unwilling to wake. Her mouth turned down and she continued to stare. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up from the ground.

"Let's just apparate her back to the house," another said through stressed voice. Lily could see them, Damon and Marshall, talking about her as if she wasn't even there. It wasn't that far off. She didn't feel like she was there.

Damon slid his arm around her, supporting her, and Marshall caught her other side. Together the three of them aparated back to Lily's apartment; the same one that was down the hall from Scorpius and Damon's apartment. Lily didn't move. She just stood there. Damon looked to Marshall bewildered. Lily wasn't like this, ever. Even when she was going through the worst, when she thought that Scorpius had left her pregnant and alone, she'd never become unresponsive. Marshall sighed.

"Oh, Lily," Marshall said as he took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom. Damon followed, stopping just inside the doorway of the room.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked as Marshall began to tug at the zipper of her dress.

"I can't very well leave her in a bloodied wedding dress. I'm going to clean her up," Marshall said quietly. "If you'd rather us meet you at the hospital when we're done."

"I'm not leaving you alone with her," Damon said frowning. "She's my best mate's girl."

"I'm a professional, for Merlin's sake," Marshall retorted hotly. "I've bathed hundreds of people in my time as a Healer. It's part of my job."

"Yeah, but I'd dare say you've never had a history with one, not like you do with Lily," Damon said. Marshall frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marshall asked. He shook his head and waved his hand in the air. "Never mind, it doesn't matter right now. What matters right now is getting Lily cleaned up and getting her to her family's side."

"Fine, what do you need me to do?" Damon asked after a second. Marshall glanced at the bathroom and Damon immediately went to work, flicking on all the taps and getting the shower going.

"Shit, Lily," Marshall whispered quietly. Damon turned to see her standing before them, wearing a strapless bra and a pair of panties. Both were covered in blood. Marshall turned to Damon. "It's not all James' blood."

"What do you mean, is she hurt?" Damon asked, ignoring the near nakedness of his best friend's fiancé.

"I think… no… I know she's pregnant," Marshall said. "And I think she might be losing it."

"Oh, oh God," Damon said quietly. Marshall grabbed Lily's shoulders and shook her hard.

"Lily, you have to snap out of this," Marshall yelled. Damon took a step back in shock. He'd never heard Marshall yell, and certainly not at Lily. "Lily, damn it. Are you pregnant?"

"Yes," she whispered so faintly that Damon more saw her mouth move than hear the actual words. Her hands went from her side to cradle her stomach. "But not… not anymore…" A giant tear welled up in Lily's eye and rolled solitarily down her cheek. Her hands fell away and she turned her head.

"You need to take a shower so we can go to the hospital, to see your brother and to check on your baby," Marshall said sternly. Lily glanced from Marshall to Damon.

"Where's Scorpius? Is he already there?" Lily asked quietly.

"We…" Damon looked to Marshall for guidance.

"Get cleaned up, Lily, and we'll find out together," Marshall said. She looked lost.

"Where's Theron?" Lily asked frowning.

"Draco has him," Marshall piped up. Lily nodded once and seemed satisfied with that. Still she stood there, unmoving. Marshall took a deep breath and glanced at Damon before circling his arms around Lily. In one swift motion, he unclasped her bra and removed her final shred of clothing. Without looking at her body, he put his hands on her upper arms and propelled her to the shower.

"How do you do it?" Damon asked, his eyes still wide with shock.

"Do what?"

"You know what. Everyone, except Lily of course, knows that you're utterly in love with her. You just undressed her like she was nothing to you," Damon said shaking his head. Marshall and Damon headed out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and back to the living room.

"It's my job," Marshall said with a shrug.

"But you do love her," Damon said questioning.

"I like her a lot," Marshall admitted. "Enough that I offered her marriage when she was pregnant with Theron."

"But do you love her?" Damon pressed. Marshall threw his hands up.

"Why does it matter to you?" Marshall asked angrily.

"It doesn't," Damon said as he forced his hand through his hair. "I just wanted to know."

"Doesn't matter," Marshall said. "She's Scorpius'. Nothing is going to change that. Not even death."

"We don't know that he's dead," Damon said hotly. He clenched his jaw and fists. "We don't know anything. We won't until we get to the hospital to check on James."

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but James had more blood on him than one whole body carries. Assuming it's not all his, it's someone's blood, and it was just the two of them out in the field," Marshall said quietly.

"You don't know what you're-"

"I don't feel very good," Lily said quietly as she walked into the room, interrupting the heated argument between Marshall and Damon. Her hair was wet from the shower, make up gone. She stood wearing a long tee shirt that ended between her hips and knees. She looked surprised to see them standing there in her living room. "Marshall? Damon? Why are you in my living room?"

"We brought you home to clean up," Damon said frowning. "Don't you remember? You were in your wedding dress and James collapsed and bled all over it."

"Oh my, is he okay?" Lily asked as her eyes widened in panic. Damon shot a look to Marshall.

"Lily, honey, are you okay?" Marshall asked as Lily winced and her hand went to her stomach.

"I don't… I don't know," she said hesitantly. Damon and Marshall saw the rivulets of blood gushing down her legs and pooling at her feet. She looked down before she doubled over in pain and cried out. Marshall ran to her side while Damon went to alert St. Mungo's to send help. Whatever was happening to Lily was more than a simple miscarriage.

"Lily?" Marshall asked as he lowered her to the ground.

"It's the baby," Lily gasped in pain. She grabbed her shoulder, gripping it. "Something's wrong with the baby."

"Do you know how far along you are?" Marshall asked. "Does your shoulder hurt too?"

"Helps on the way," Damon said as he brought a towel. He kneeled beside them and handed it to Marshall.

"I think she's bleeding out," Marshall said.

"No shit, there's blood everywhere," Damon said. Marshall shook his head.

"No, this… this is nothing compared to what I suspect is going on inside. Her shoulder hurts, which points to blood pooling in her abdomen and pushing on the diaphragm. She could die," Marshall whispered to Damon. Damon when sheet-white.

"Merlin," he whispered.

"Hey, Lily? Lily? How far along are you?" Marshall asked slapping her cheek firmly.

"I don't know," Lily gasped as she tried to double over from the pain.

"Guess," Marshall implored.

"Seven… eight weeks," Lily said. "I'd guess. But last time I thought I was only four or five weeks, and I was closer to eleven."

"Honey," Marshall said really quiet while he checked her pulse. "You're in serious shape."

"It's okay," Lily choked out. "It's all going to be okay."

Lily was taken to surgery right away. There was no stopping to chat or to call her dad in on the decision. No time at all for anything. The healers took her off to carve her up and try their best to save her life. Marshall and Damon sought out Harry, to see how things were going with James. Albus looked up first and he looked angry.

"What the hell took you guys so long? Where's my sister?" Albus demanded. Damon took a step back, but Marshall was familiar with the anger.

"Albus, where's your father?" Damon asked as Marshall stood strong to Albus' stare down. Albus whipped his head to the glass door beside him. Damon pushed forward, Albus stepping in front of the door.

"Where's my sister?" Albus demanded.

"She's in surgery," Marshall said flatly. He was used to delivering these bits of news to waiting family, having switched to the emergency medical ward from the critical curse ward. Albus looked as if Marshall had gut-punched the wind out of him.

"Surgery?" Albus managed. He looked to Damon who nodded once. Albus looked down at the blood on Damon's knees. "Her blood?"

"Yeah," Damon said after looking down. He looked as if he had waded in it knee high. Funny, until that moment he didn't feel the sticky way his once butter colored dress pants adhered to his legs.

"Merlin," Albus said collapsing back into the stiff back chair, covering his eyes with both of his hands. It was in that moment that Harry stepped out of the room, leaving behind his son.

"Damon?" Harry said frowning. He glanced to Albus crying into his hands, and then to Marshall. "Marshall, where's my daughter?"

"Harry, there was a problem," Marshall said leading him a few feet from the door. He quickly skirted over the finer details and left it all clinical. Lily was up in surgery, bleeding out from a ruptured tube, and if they could save her, they would.

Harry stood there in shock, unable to move or even breathe for a moment. It was that sock to the gut feeling all over again, the hopelessness etched into his rapidly aging face. He closed his eyes for a moment, unable to formulate his thoughts into spoken word.

"My son is dead, and my daughter is dying," Harry breathed, his eyes still closed to the room. He shook his head, over and over, as if to try and unsuccessfully shake the thought from his mind. He could picture that beautiful baby that Ginny had delivered all those years ago, the little girl that took her first tentative steps toward James to steal a cookie that the preschooler had been eating.

The memoires flooded over him a tidal surge of emotion. He fell to his knees, hands covering his eyes. It was one thing to bury his wife, but the very thought of burying one of his child was more than he could take. He had had visited these fears when Lily had almost drown when she was thirteen, and she'd pulled through. But the old fears haunted him, still, and now in his mind's eye, there were two caskets, James still as sleep in one, and Lily in the other.

It was too much for one father to bear. His chest tightened, cracking under the immense pressure of it. He'd lost so many and managed to pull through, but this time he couldn't. He couldn't do it. Hand to chest, eyes clenched as tight as his chest felt, Harry slumped forward.

Dead.

Be it heart attack or broken heart, Harry Potter was dead.