Previously on What If-

Lily waved her wand over the cup as she said this last line. When she finished speaking, she det down the cup and her wand and looked at harry. James looked with her and, before their eyes, Harry's pale skin gained a pink tinge and his eyes changed to a deep green, just like Lily's. His hair, as well, turned a shade lighter to match James's.

"Okay. now that that's finished, why don't we go shopping?" said Lily, clapping her hands together for emphasis. James looked at her.

"You mean that's it? That's all we have to do?" he asked.

"That's all. Let's hurry and get to the store so that Harry can finish his nap."

"James! They'll be here any minute. Are you done yet?" shouted Lily from the kitchen where she was pulling a meatloaf out of the oven. James old school buddies were coming over for a Christmas party the Potter's were hosting. It would be the first time their closest friends met Harry and both James and Lily were nervous about it.

"Almost, Lily!" he shouted back.

James was in Harry's bedroom, dressing him for the party. He had changed Harry's clothes at least five times before giving up and deciding on a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers outfit. In the last two months, he had become much closer to his son and spoiled the boy as much as he could.

He finished tying Harry's shoes, picked him up, and threw him in the air. Harry laughed at the attention and James carried Harry down to the kitchen. Ever since the Blood Adoption, Harry had stopped transforming into a wolf, but his teeth were just a bit sharper than normal and if you parted his hair in just the right way, you could see smaller, fur-like hairs growing just above his scalp.

James set Harry in his baby chair at the table with a few toys and walked over to Lily, who was removing the meatloaf from its pan to cool. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"James, you're going to make me drop something," she laughed.

"That's ok. The floor's clean. It'll still taste great. You're cooking always does," he replied.

Lily didn't get a chance to give him a retort for, at that moment, the door bell rang. James sighed.

"Here we go," he said and walked to the front door.

Standing on the door mat were two scruffy men, one taller than the other. The tall man had black hair even more unruly than James's and a healthy amount of muscle while the second man was rather skinny and had scraggly brown hair.

"James! Merry Christmas. It's good to see you. Where have you been these past few months?" asked the tall man, reaching forward to shake James's hand and they slapped each other on the back.

"Good to see you too, Sirius," said James. He turned to the second, quieter man.

"Merry Christmas, Remus. How's life treating you?" James asked.

"Better than some, worse than most," replied Remus.

"Come on in, guys. Lily's just finishing up in the kitchen," said James, ushering them through the door. Only then does he notice the rather short, mousey man standing behind the first two.

"Ah! Peter, you made it. Welcome," said James and closed the door behind the three.

"Nice to see you, James," squeaked Peter.

The four of them walk into the living room just in time to meet Lily coming from the kitchen with Harry in her arms. "Hello, boys," she said, reaching forward with her free arm to give each of them a hug.

Sirius stared at the baby in Lily's arms.

"Well, who's this?" he asked.

"This is Harry," replied Lily, bouncing Harry on her hip.

"Are you babysitting him or something?" asked Sirius, reaching forward with a finger to touch Harry. Harry grabbed on to it enthusiastically and held the finger tightly in his tiny grip.

"No, he's our son."

"Oh. Wait, what?" Sirius looked up in surprise, jerking his finger out of Harry's grip. Harry began to gurgle, upset that his new toy had been taken from him.

"He's our son, Sirius," says Lily, laughing, and reaching to brush Harry's cheek to keep him from crying.

"Oh, wow. Oh my gosh, James. You have a kid," and Sirius hugged Lily lightly again before turning to slap James on the back several more times. Remus repeated the sentiment, although less wildly; he shook James's hand and hugged Lily. Peter just stared silently at the group.

"Can I hold him, Lily?" asked Sirius and Lily gently handed Harry to him. Sirius cradled the baby, who smiled up at him.

"He has James's hair and Lily's eyes and smile," said Sirius and began tickling and blowing raspberries at Harry.

"How old is he?" asked Remus.

"He's five months," replied Lily. One of the less-popular spells which Lily had had the pleasure of learning on her own in Hogwarts was one which revealed the birth date of any person.

Remus looked puzzled. "But how—"

"I was unable to get pregnant, so we adopted him and performed a Blood Adoption," interrupted Lily nervously.

"Oh."

"James, your kid is too cute," said Sirius. "Here, Remus. Want to hold him?"

Remus took Harry, who was still laughing, and cradled him in his arms for a moment, then handed him back to Lily.

"Would you like to hold him, Peter?" she asked. He had faded into the background of the merry party and Lily had nearly forgotten about him.

"No, thank you, Miss Lily," he replied quietly.

"Well, then. How about we get started on dinner?" said Lily and walked into the dining room. Sirius glanced at the magnificent spread Lily has made for them and his mouth watered.

"Lily, you didn't have to do all this for us," said Remus.

"Yes, I did. You're our dear friends whom we haven't seen for months," replied Lily, setting Harry in his high chair. Everyone took their seats at the table and they began to eat, conversing about school and recent events. Soon they were finished with dinner and had moved back to the living room.

"Lily, you've outdone yourself tonight," said Sirius.

"Thank you," replied Lily, bouncing Harry on her knee. The group continued conversing and laughing together, but soon Lily excused herself to put Harry to bed. She walked up the stairs, rocking the sleepy baby and singing softly to him. She walked into the guest room that they had transformed into a baby room and changed him into a onesie. She spent a few extra minutes alone with him before she laid him down in his crib. She started rocking the crib, still singing. She pulled his blankets up to his chin and kissed his forehead. Lily softly closed the door and walked back down the stairs.

In the living room, she noticed that there was an extra person in the room.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore. I wasn't expecting you to be here tonight," remarked Lily.

"Neither was I, Mrs. Potter, but something urgent has come up," replied Dumbledore.

James stood up and took his wife's hand, leading her back to the couch.

"Lily," he said, "there has been a prophecy."

"Oh. What about?"

"According to the prophecy, a child born from a Light family at the end of July will defeat Voldemort," explained Dumbledore. "I had originally come here to discuss the protection of Neville Longbottom, who I believed to be the only childe born in July. However, James has just informed me of young Harry."

Lily sucked in a breath. "But Harry wasn't born to us. We adopted him," she argued.

"We don't want to take any chances, Lily," said Dumbledore.

"And Voldemort won't know that he isn't your child unless you go straight up to him or a Death Eater and tell them," said Sirius.

"Then print it in the newspaper! Tell him that Harry has nothing to do with this prophecy!"

"I don't want to do that, Lily," says James. "The best way to keep you and Harry safe is to keep him a secret. And they probably won't believe us anyway. They'd just think we were making excuses."

"But what if he finds out, James?! What if he finds out we have a child, but he doesn't know that he isn't our legitimate son?!" Lily was shouting now, beginning to rise from her seat.

"Shhh, Flower," said James, using his pet name for her. "You'll wake Harry." He pulled her back down to the couch and started rubbing her back. Lily placed her head in her hands and started sobbing.

"What are we going to do, James. I want to keep him safe," she said.

"We will. Don't worry," he replied and glanced up at Dumbledore.

"I have a solution that may help with that," said Dumbledore.

Lily looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "You do? What is it?"

"We need someone to be a Secret Keeper. If we keep the people who know about Harry to a minimum and your location a secret, the chances of Voldemort finding you are very slim."

"Ok," said James. "Who do you suggest to be the Secret Keeper?"

"Perhaps Sirius," replied Dumbledore. "He is the least likely to give it up."

"No," said Lily. "Have Peter do it. He's very good at blending in."

"You have a point, my dear," said Dumbledore gently, "but if Voldemort catches him, I fear he will not last long under the Cruciatus Curse."

"I agree with Lily," said Sirius. "Peter should be the Secret Keeper. Hardly anyone notices him and those that do will not know that he knows the Potters."

"I think so too," said Remus.

Lily looked over at Peter. "We all want you to do it, but the final decision is up to you, Peter. Will you do it? Will you help keep my family safe?"

Peter fidgeted uneasily for a bit then answered, "Yes. I will become your Secret Keeper."

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "Peter will become your Secret Keeper."

Short chapter, I know, but this seemed like a good cliffhanger to leave you on. I know the timeline is different from the books, but I can't think of any other way to write it right now.

Again, I changed the verb tenses from present to past (I think), so let me know if you spot any I've missed. This includes any grammar/punctuation. Thanks.

Don't forget to Review! It makes me so happy to get that notification that says so-and-so reviewed. A huge thank you to Willofhounds and the guest that reviewed!

See you all next time!

-GH

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