She sat up with him, but her movement was less urgent. She looked exhausted and her body leaned against his a little. Severus' eyes were wide, and he groaned.

"Lily, please tell me you did the contraceptive spell." Her eyes widened and she shook her head, fear in her eyes.

"N-no. James always did it. You did, didn't you?" He buried his face in his hands and groaned again, shaking his head and Lily began to tremble.

"Sev! B-but, what if- if-..."

"You're pregnant?" She nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. That made him snap out of it. As soon as he looked up and saw the absolute terror in her eyes, he remembered what he was supposed to do. He drew his arms around her protectively and whispered.

"What if you are?" he kissed the top of her head, hating how she shook in his arms.

"The-then I'll be pregnant out of wedlock, my parents will kill me- and you -and I'll have to be a single Mum, and- and-...!" she gasped for air and his stomach knotted with worry. Her hands gripped his sides, and her tears felt cool against his skin.

"What makes you assume that?" he purred soothingly in her ear despite how scared he was. "Lily, if you're pregnant, I'll be here. But think about it, love. This was only one time. You probably won't be."

She looked up at him, her eyes incredulous. "You'd really stay with me?" he nodded, his lips brushing her cheek.

"Of course..." She nodded slowly, her eyes locked on his and he gently laid her back down, kissing her softly. She sniffled and cuddled as close to him as she possibly could, whispering against his chest

"I'm so scared." He stroked her hair softly as he nodded, ignoring his own fear for a moment to reassure her.

"Me too, but we'll be ok." She nodded, then slowly pulled away, her eyes trailing down to her own very flat tummy, and she placed a shaky hand over it. The small action made Severus stop for a moment, and he sucked in a breath.

"Lily...?" She looked up at him, and immediately removed her hand, looking embarrassed. Severus shook his head and took her hand, replacing it where she had it, his own hand covering hers.

"Lily, do you want to know a secret?" His heart thumped wildly in his chest. He had never voiced what he was about to tell her. She simply nodded, the innocent look in her eyes making him want to protect her from the world, but he just smiled and whispered

"When I was very little and we had just met, well... You know I don't have a family. Not one that I like anyways. So, every time I'd be bloody and bruised, unable to sleep from all the yelling, I'd make believe I had a lovely family." He kissed her cheek. "One where I was loved, wanted, and-... You were always the Mummy and I was the Daddy." He blushed, but she just stared up at him, and after a few minutes she murmured

"You imagined me and you as a family?" He swallowed, and nodded once.

"Uh-huh. And later, when I was a bit older, I promised myself that I'd be the Father mine never was for me. I wouldn't beat my family like my father does. That's when my imaginary family grew, and suddenly there was a baby. And I proved to myself that I could be a good Dad." Her eyes widened, and a small smile flickered at the corner of her lips, which surprised Severus. "Well, at least to myself." Shouldn't she be terrified? Or yelling at him for being so stupid as to maybe have knocked her up?

"Was the baby a boy or a girl?" He raised an eyebrow, her reaction not having been what he expected.

"A- a little girl." She smiled widely at that and giggled.

"Really?" He nodded slowly and she giggled again. "And did this little girl have a name?"

He swallowed, frowning a bit. She did indeed have a name. The mention of that name brought back such horrendous memories it made him want to sob, but he closed those feelings off and gave her a weak smile. The name was entirely the reason he actually wanted children.

"Yes. Iris." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she smiled approvingly and whispered

"Iris... I like that, Sev." He let out a breath, relieved she didn't ask why he had chosen that particular name.

"Thanks, but remember, you're probably not even pregnant. I'll brew the potion in the morning just to check, though." She nodded, the happy glint in her eyes gone, and she nuzzled into his neck.

"Okay. Promise you'll stay with me?"

"Promise."

And as he held her, and she eventually drifted off to sleep, he though a lot about that little imaginary family and he wondered if it was really imaginary anymore.

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