A/N: At this point, Lily is about five months pregnant.

Someone knocked on the front door. Lily quickly threw down the yarn she was attempting to crochet to answer it, happy for the excuse to stop. She stood up and stretched backwards, hands on her hips. Her petite frame was unused to the recently developed weight at her abdomen. She padded into the foyer and tugged open the heavy oak door. There on the other side of the screen door was Remus Lupin , standing on her front porch and carrying a shopping bag full of food items. To his right and slightly behind him stood . . .

"Is this her? Oh, Remus, she's lovely."

His mother.

"Hullo, Mrs. Lupin," Lily greeted cheerily through her blush. She had actually never met Remus' mum before, but recognized her from the caring chocolate brown eyes and light reddish brown hair that Remus seemed to have inherited. Lily thought it a bit sad that both mother and son's hair was flecked with grey, though Mrs. Lupin's was due to the fact that she was now in her mid-forties. "Come in," Lily added, remembering her manners.

"She insisted on coming," Remus whispered out of the corner of his mouth as he brushed past Lily.

" It's all right; it's great, actually, to finally be able to meet your mum," Lily responded earnestly. Then asked louder, "What's with the shopping bag?"

Mrs. Lupin heard that. "I thought you might want a fresh, hot meal for lunch, Lily dear. Now, do you mind joining me in the kitchen?" Lily must have looked worried, because she added, "Don't worry a lot of new wives and mothers are terrible cooks. It's a skill honed over time."

Fifteen minutes later, however, Lily was shooed out of the kitchen after dropping the pan, spilling the salt and the flour, and breaking the porcelain saltshaker by letting it slip into the pan. She went to join Remus in the sitting room to whence he had retreated. She found him asleep in an armchair with a book lying open on his chest. "Oi," she called sharply, "You look like me."

Remus started and the book slipped to the floor. Bending down to pick it up, he asked vaguely, "What?"

"You. Sleeping. It's my new favorite pastime," Lily explained as rubbed her stomach for emphasis.

"How'd the cooking go," Remus smirked.

"Do you have to ask," Lily whined as she plopped down on the sofa next to his armchair, "I'm going to be a terrible mother."

"No, you're not," Remus argued, looking affronted by the thought.

"Yes. I. Am. I can't do anything motherly. I can't cook, I can't bake, I can't crochet, or knit, or sew. I can't make birdhouses out of macaroni-"

"Why would you need to be able to make birdhouses out of macaroni?" Remus interrupted.

"That's not the point," Lily mumbled.

"What is the point?" Remus prodded.

"I'm just not domestic, ok!" Lily exploded, her temper rising suddenly. "Sorry," she added a moment later, "it's the hormones."

"It's quite all right," Remus insisted, before continuing, "You don't have to be domestic to be a great mother. Merlin knows, my mother wasn't-"

Lily snorted, "She walked into the house and into the kitchen."

"Believe me, cooking is a skill she honed over time. I have first hand experience," he countered, effectively stopping Lily from arguing. He started again, "Lily, you have so many wonderful traits that your child is going to value and love you for. You're smart, funny, talented, creative, and, above all, you're very loving. And I'm sure, that with all those traits combined, you'll be able to figure out how to make a macaroni birdhouse, should your child insist on having one."

Lily laughed and felt better. "I think I sometimes feel bad, because James is just such a natural father," she admitted.

He is, isn't he?" Remus consented, looking highly amused.

"Oh, yeah," Lily nodded emphatically.

"And Sirius is going to be that really cool uncle that's a bit of a bad influence," Remus mused, laughing a little.

"But of course," Lily agreed throwing up her hands. "You know what that makes you, then?"

"The family werewolf?"

Lily snorted, "No, the mentor uncle." Remus looked confused, so she elaborated, "You know the one that sits and listens to all your problems patiently and guides you and stuff. Like a teacher."

Remus was flattered and blushed slightly, before saying, "I would love to be a teacher."

"You'd be great," Lily exclaimed, "Who knows, maybe Dumbledore will hire you someday!"

"Lunch is ready!" Mrs. Lupin's voice echoed through the house before Remus had a chance to give Lily a skeptical look.

The three of them sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy the wonderful soup that Mrs. Lupin had made. "So," Mrs. Lupin began once they were all settled, "is it a boy or a girl or a surprise?"

"It's a boy," Lily piped up immediately.

" That's darling," Mrs. Lupin replied.

"I know," Lily continued excitedly, "James was overjoyed about having a son. I mean he would have been excited if it were a girl, too, but I think he wanted to have a boy first. Can't say I disagree; it's nice for a little girl to have a big brother."

"I always wanted more children," Mrs. Lupin said sadly, "but after Remus was bitten, it would've been too much to handle." She grabbed her son's hand and squeezed it.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lupin," Lily said.

"Eleanor, please," Mrs. Lupin insisted, before adding, "besides, I have a wonderful son."

"That you do, Eleanor," Lily agreed heartily.

"Have you got any names picked out, yet?" Eleanor asked.

"Why, yes we do . . ." and the conversation continued in that thread for sometime. Lily's willingness to talk about such things only confirmed Remus' belief that Lily would indeed be a fantastic mother.

Before they left, Mrs. Lupin gave Lily some tips on crocheting, which Lily lapped up eagerly.

"Why do you want to crochet?" Remus asked Lily.

"I thought it would be nice to make the baby a blanket," she shrugged.

"See you're domestic; you just haven't honed the skills yet," Remus insisted.

Lily smiled and walked the two of them to the front door. As they stood in the foyer, Eleanor turned to Lily and looked her over. "Beautiful, beautiful," she muttered. Lily couldn't hide her disbelief, well aware, that she was swollen and had a stomach the size of a quaffle. "You are," Mrs. Lupin insisted, " You have that glow."

That's because I'm blushing, Lily thought skeptically.

"She's right, you know. You're radiant. Always have been; always will be," Remus joined his mother.

"Thank you," Lily whispered. They said their goodbyes, and Lily shut the door behind them before going back to the living room to take up her crochet.

A/N: I accidentally erased this entire chapter and had to write it again. So tell me how it turned out. Hope you enjoyed it.