January 12, 1980

"Are you feeling better?" asked Sirius as he helped himself to tea in the kitchen.

Lily sat cross-legged on the floor; multiple pictures were spread out in front of her. She tucked a loose, auburn tendril behind her ear, "I was feeling ill all yesterday; but, I've been taking the potion Waters gave me. It helps."

Sirius joined her on the floor, being careful not to spill his tea on their beige carpeting. "I'm glad it's working for you." He picked up a picture and said, "You were looking pretty dreadful there, last week."

She sighed and leaned forward to grab a couple of pictures in front of her. Tilting her head at the few in her hand, she gave them over to Sirius.

Laughing, he plucked them from her fingers, "Ah, of course. I was hoping all evidence had been destroyed."

Lily smiled. "Sirius, I think you're a fine dancer." She saw him blush. "Well, your partner seemed to agree."

"She was nice." He saw Lily shake her head. Quickly, he added, "She was too nice." Thankfully, he noticed, the photos in his hands did not move. "I'm growing to like these muggle photos."

She took another couple of pictures from the floor. She stared at herself in the gown and got an uneasy feeling. Looking down at her wedding pictures made her realize how quickly her life had changed over the past year. One picture in particular, caught her attention, James stood with his groomsmen, Sirius on his right side; the two grinning widely like young children. The next picture of herself, she skimmed over. The delicate, white dress flowed down to the grass where she stood—it had taken multiple stain removers to take the green out from the underside afterwards.

"James seems excited."

She looked over to Sirius, inquisitively.

"Well, the baby's all he talks about." Sirius handed her back the photos and reclined onto his side. "We were at the Hog's Head the other day and Remus was telling us about the western werewolf packs when, all of the sudden, Prongs brings up Hogwarts." He takes a sip of his tea sideways, to Lily's amazement, without spilling a drop. "We don't think it that odd, so we humor him, and he asks us how students get signed up for school. Of course, Remus and I had no idea."

"How students get enrolled into Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I've never even thought about it." He props up his head with a fallen throw pillow. "After that, Rosemerta pipes up—"

"She was sitting with you?"

Nervous, he murmured something about Rosemerta just finishing her shift and wanting to waste time with the marauders. Regaining his story, "She tells James that parents send in birth records or can go to the school itself and sign up."

"At birth?" Lily goes off in thought, "What about . . ."

Sirius's eyes narrowed, "Hogwarts a History says all medical records are intertwined between the Hospital Wing and Saint Mungos; so, I would assume it would be simple for notifications." Noticing her tone, he asked, "What are you worried about?"

She shook her head immediately.

"Lily," he said gently, "if it makes you feel any better, James is nervous as well. He spent the majority of the night talking to Rose about children." Sirius sat up and paused before mentioning, "Naturally, she was curious and asked James if you two were expecting."

Lily sighed and folded both arms over her stomach absentmindedly, "Does everyone know, now?"

Smiling, he nodded, "If not now, by next week."

"Great."

"You still have that look on your face." He took another sip of his tea. "You're much prettier when you smile Misses Potter. Now, what are you so anxious about?"

She looked to the pile of pictures again. She saw her own smiling face alongside James; holding hands by a maple tree. She had almost forgotten how happy she had been. The pregnancy brought on a whole new slew of possibilities for them. All Lily could think about were the possible tribulations. "There are so many things that can go wrong, Siri."

He looked concerned. "Your baby will be fine. It will have all its toes and little fingers and be healthy—"

"What if it's born without—like a—"

"A squib?" asked Sirius, holding his cup in his lap.

"I'm nervous. With a muggle-born parent, the odds are—"

"Prongs will love the little tyke, magic or no magic. You know that." Sirius grinned again. "I haven't seen James this excited since the Stratus Eleven came out in fifth year."

"But—"

"If you're worried, talk to James. You two have the same number of sickles in the pot, here." He leaned over his knees and scanned the pictures. "So," he said picking one up, "Which of these are mine?"

Smiling finally, she laughed, "You pick."

He scrunched up his face, thinking hard over the scenes on the floor. "My place needs more color on the walls."

"Oh, how is the house? Coming together I assume."

"Slowly." Sirius grabbed the photo of him and James before the ceremony. "I'm not lucky enough to have a woman's touch in the decorating."

"What about Rosemerta?"

He picked up a picture of the entire wedding party overlooking the orchard, "She's not my type."

Lily scoffed, "What exactly is your type, Sirius?"

Smiling, he simply said, "Complicated."

"So hard to please—"

"Me?" Sirius held a hand to his heart, "Why, Misses Potter, I'm astounded."

"Why do you call me Misses Potter so much?"

"Because I cannot call you Evans anymore." He began again, "Going on, I am not that hard to please, as you say. Your husband was one of the most selective blokes at school."

Lily smiled; she knew James had only dated a few girls while at school.

"We had to persuade James, on numerous occasions mind you, to go on group dates with us. He refused so many times; saying the girl wasn't 'Evans' enough."

She suppressed a grin. "I can only imagine the girls you tried to set him up with."

"I could have put Amelia Gail from the Three Witches in front of him and he wouldn't have noticed. They were pretty girls. But they were never Lily Evans." Sirius laughed, "He would be so jealous when you and Remus met in the library. Some days he would drag me down there to spy on you two."

Taken aback, she asked, "Are you serious?"

The infamous Sirius grin spread over his handsome features, "You know how I have to answer that, don't you?"

Lily groaned in despair, realizing her pun.

"Of course, I'm Sirius." He paused and then continued, beaming, "But yes, we kept a close watch on you. Especially after we could transform."

She narrowed her eyes. "What? When?"

"Makes you nervous, doesn't it?" Sirius laughed again. "How many times have you seen a lone stag in the trees? Or a black dog wondering the streets?"

Lily's eyes widened.

"I'm joking, Lils." He waited, "Well, sometimes we would just see you doing rounds from the forest."

She shook her head. She did remember one night while doing rounds as a prefect in her sixth year. Walking the perimeter of the castle after hours was always a little unnerving. One night, she did catch a stag cantering parallel with her through the tree line of the forest. Now, it all made sense.

The popping sound from the front foyer told them James had returned from Diagon Alley. Lily gathered up the rest of her photos, stacking them on top of one another, taking one last look at James's grin.

"Oi, mate!" Sirius called, "Your wife's been interrogating me!"

Laughing, James replied, "Did you give me up, Padfoot?"

"She figured out why we went to the library so often during OWLs!"

James's voice got closer as he walked down the hallway. "I guess it's a good reason I brought something back with me then."

Lily sat up straight. She did appreciate his surprises. "Please tell me it's edible."

James let out a bark of laughter. "Well, you probably could eat it, if you want to."

"She's pregnant, Prongs. She'll eat flobberworms if presented them."

"Lils," James called out from around the corner, still snickering from Sirius's comment, "Close your eyes."

She obliged, hearing Sirius getting up from his spot next to her.

"Oh, Prongs," Sirius whispered, "Padfoot has a problem with this one."

Lily heard James's footsteps sinking into the carpeting and could hear his breathing as he sat down next to her.

"Not yet," he said, his voice giving away the broad smile on his face.

She felt something close to her face and giggled. "What are you doing?"

He cleared his throat, "You can open them, now."

Lily held her breath and opened her emerald eyes. She gasped aloud and put a hand to her mouth. She was nose to nose with a black and white, spotted kitten.

James peered into her view. "I figured you could use something cute and fluffy right about now."

Her mouth hung open as she looked from James to the kitten. Its tiny paws hung from his large hands. The kitten could have only been a few months old and straight from Diagon Alley's pet shop. In her first year, Lily would have given anything for a kitten to take to Hogwarts and to follow her up and down the corridors. She found her voice, "James!"

"The clerk said that it's a girl and that her eyes will change color after a few months; but, she reminded me of you."

The kitten's eyes were a light green that stuck out against the white of its face. "She's precious."

James handed her the tiny ball of fluff, its claws sticking into her shirt and clinging on tightly. "I thought it would be nice to have a pet in the house. Plus, you've been through a lot lately." He added, "You can pick out the name."

"Her ears are so big," Lily said, still smiling wide. She used a delicate few fingers to stroke the fur atop the kitten's tiny head watching the bat-like ears flicker with every sound and touch. "I didn't know you liked cats." The demeanor of the kitten began to grow restless.

"I don't mind them," said James. Impatiently, the kitten scrambled from Lily's grasp and onto the carpet, the little body swaying with its steps. "My great aunt had one when I was younger. I always wanted a pet."

Its tail straight up in the air with delight, the kitten scampered across the room and right up to Sirius who stood leaning against a wall. The small cat put a paw to his trouser leg and let out a quiet and high squeak. Sirius bent down, his arms crossed over his chest, letting out a sigh that sounded more like a guttural growl-

"I don't think so, cat."

Later that night, Lily found James sleeping on the sofa. Holding Rose over one of her shoulders, she went to the couch and lightly brushed his fringe from his forehead. His glasses had gone askew. "James," she whispered, "Let's get to bed."

He opened his eyes and, for a second, wondered where he was. He saw Lily standing above him, a white tail hanging by her chest. He coughed, "Oh, alright." He threw his legs over the cushion and sat up. Seeing Lily walking towards the kitchen gave him a view of Rose, strewn over her shoulder. The kitten peeked at him and batted once at Lily's pony tail that dangled just within reach of its paw. "Lils," James said, getting to his feet, not wanting to put off the conversation any longer, "Sirius said you had some concerns."

She stopped and turned to him. She looked surprised, "I'm alright."

"He said you were worried about the baby."

"I'm fine, James." She took Rose from her shoulder and cradled her against her chest.

He pushed up his sleeves past the elbows and shoved his hands anxiously into the pockets of his trousers. "Come on, Lils." He sauntered to her side, seeing her begin a retreat to the stairs. "He said that you were really troubled. Talk to me?"

She headed upstairs, one step at a time, still cradling Rose who started to meow softly.

"I do find it interesting," said James, getting irritated and following closely behind her, "that you are always able to talk to my best mates; but, never to me."

Stopping on the upper landing, she twisted around to him. "What? That's ridiculous."

"You've always done that." Without the last step, James was nose to nose with Lily, a rarity. "You're always talking to Sirius and Remus about—well almost everything."

She huffed, "I do not."

"You do!" James got to the height of the stairs and stood squarely with Lily. He thought of all the times Remus had to be the mediator between them while Head students. She had spent so much time talking with Remus; that was all they did. It was then that he noticed her stare.

Lily always had a way of silencing him with a single look. This look told him to stop talking and to stop advancing on her. He ignored it.

Taking another step toward her, he continued, "You're scared."

She opened her mouth and then shut it.

"I love you, Lils." He took another step. "I know when you're happy and I know when something's bothering you. I just want you to talk to me like you do them. I'm your husband. Can't you trust me to understand?"

"Understand?" She stalked to their bedroom, setting the kitten onto their duvet.

He chased after her.

She pulled back duvet and sheets, making room for herself on the bed. "James, please, I just want to sleep."

"Lils, I'm frightened, too." Seeing the avoidance in her eyes only encouraged him. "I'll admit it. I know a child is not what we had planned nor what is best for people in our situation; however, it's happening, I'm accepting it and, quite honestly, I'm growing more and more excited as the days go on." Confronting her again, he backed her up to their armoire.

She refused his eye contact, glancing sideways at Rose.

He went on, placing both hands on her shoulders, "This will probably be the most distressing time in our lives; but, we have something special here. Don't you feel it?" Lightly touching the side of her face, "I'm so scared, right now, Lils. But, listen to me when I say: We will be fine. The baby will be fine."

Snapping her attention to his genuine tone of voice, she said, "What if it's a squib? What then?"

"A squib-?"

"Or what if there's something wrong? A defect—or a difficulty with the birth?"

"Lily—"

"Oh, James I couldn't handle it!"

"Lils!" James took her cold hands in his. "There couldn't be anything wrong with our baby. It will be perfect; boy, girl, or no magic."

She let out a long breath, getting more comfortable, "But, how would we coexist with a child that couldn't share this world?"

"Couldn't share this world? There are tons of non-magical people that coexist here. And, you've shown me how prosperous the muggle world is. You've shown me that there is a beautiful existence without magic; that simple things are enough."

"I'm just so scared, Jay." She squeezed his fingers. "I don't know what to do."

He didn't have any answers for her. Her concerns were legitimate enough. James embraced her, the only natural reaction he had. Pulling her from the cold wall, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her still thin waist. After a moment he clutched her tighter, burying his face in the thick hair falling down her neck.

She whimpered lightly and hugged him back, resting her head on his chest.

"We'll be alright. I promise." It was all he could say to make her feel safe. She nodded against him, clinging to the fabric of his shirt, taking a deep breath. Trying to lighten the mood, he pointed out the kitten's new position. "Rose has claimed her spot on the bed."

Lily lifted her head away from James to peer over at the cat. Over the large duvet, she saw Rose curled into an adorable ball on top of James's own goose-down pillow. "Well," she confessed, "I won't be able to move her; she's already asleep."

James thought, "If you spoil a kitten like this, I hate to see what a baby will do to you. I might not have a space on the bed by next year."

"Did Sirius say anything about Caradoc's lesson?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "He said, both Kingsley and Caradoc are running the next session for you. It looks like I'm invited to it as well."

Lily grabbed her long hair in one hand and twisted it multiple times. "What are we training on?" She bent over to Rose on the bed, picking up the pillow she was curled up on and gently maneuvered it into the center of the mattress. "Did he say what our project will be?"

"He said that Bones thought we were almost ready. Dumbledore's going to speak with us next week on auror training. Apparently, the Ministry came to him looking for permanent officers. I'm not sure what they'll be expecting of us."

She sighed and climbed into their bed. "Nothing under extraordinary."

My thanks go out to all of you for reading! I thought some much needed dialogue needed to get out in this one. Enjoy and review! -aksarben