A/N: Three months later…

"Lily?" James called as he threw his cloak onto the back of a chair and kicked off his shoes. "Lil? Love?" There was no answer and he started to feel the familiar sense of foreboding. She had not gone to the office for the past week and for good reason; she had recently been hit with a strange illness that caused her to vomit whenever she was in close proximity to food. She was looking pale and there were circles under her eyes; it worried James and he tried, futilely, to convince her to visit St. Mungo's. That morning, she was looking better, well-rested, and his worries were alleviated.

Now, however, arriving to an empty (and dark) house where she should have been present was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. It was suspicious and he wondered whether Death Eaters had come for a visit…and dragged Lily away to do God-knows-what to her. He banished the thought right away, knowing that Voldemort's followers would have left some sort of a message for him, taunting him. The Dark Mark would have been present as well, and he knew the eerie green glow of the Mark well enough to know that it was not anywhere near his home.

So why wasn't Lily answering his calls? Growing increasingly uneasy, he made his way through the house, turning on all the lights as he went. When he reached the bedroom, he heard a small sound. He frowned and pulled out his wand before cautiously opening the door, illuminating the area as he did so. Nobody was there but he heard the sound again and assumed, naturally, that it was coming from the bathroom, which was just as dark. Still holding his wand at his side and still ready to attack if necessary, he turned the doorknob and threw it open. There was a loud gasp and the sound of scrambling and his brow furrowed. At that moment, the lights came up and he saw, with a rush of relief, his wife huddled by the toilet, shaking.

"Lil!" he rushed forward to hug her but she cringed away from him. He froze immediately, hurt and renewed worry flashing across his face. "What happened, love?" Taking care to make slow movements, he crouched in front of her. She would not meet his eyes but he saw a tear drip from the end of her nose and heard her not-so-discreet sniffle.

"James," she whispered. He took up her hands in his, frowning deeply when he felt her shaking.

"What's wrong?" His tone was gentle but his blood was coursing through his veins, hot with anger. If someone had hurt her…

"James—we—I-I-I'm g-going to ha-ave a-a b-b-b-baby!" she wailed, suddenly flinging herself into his arms and burying her face in his chest.

"What?" Of all the possible scenarios that had run through his mind, he had expected this least of all.

"A b-baby! You kn-know, a t-tiny little h-human b-b-being!" Her sobs grew more hysterical and he stared down at the top of her head, utterly flummoxed. He generally thought that pregnancy was accepted with joyful tears—not this.

"Lily?" He gently detached himself from her and lifted her chin so he could see her face. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm—I'm pregnant, James! Pregnant!" Her pretty mouth turned down at the sides, in a horrified expression, and her green eyes swam with tears.

"But—but I thought—I thought that—isn't that a good thing?"

"No!" she screeched, pushing him away. "It's not a good thing! This—this is terrible!"

"Why?" he asked, not understanding at all.

"B-because," she gestured wildly, as if searching for words, "because we're in the middle of a war! H-how can we bring a new person into life in the middle of this godforsaken war?! H-he'll be born into a world filled with evil and—oh how could I let this happen?!"

"Now you listen to me, Lil, and you listen well," James said fiercely, holding her face in his hands. "Just because we're in the middle of a war doesn't mean we can't be happy. I'm happy every single damn day because you're with me. Why, why can't this be a good thing?" She didn't answer him but her eyes widened and she hiccupped from the violence of her sobs. "Lil, I'm going to be a daddy." He smiled broadly, unable to convey to her the swelling in his chest that threatened to burst his heart. He gathered her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "We're going to have a baby."

"Oh, damn," she whispered again, "you're right."

"Well, it's been known to happen," he chuckled. She smiled weakly at him and he stood, carrying her in his arms. "You're going to be a wonderful mother. And I'm going to do the best that I can to make sure that both of you are safe."

"Well? What's going on?" Sirius asked, throwing himself into one of the wooden chairs around the large table heavily laden with food. He grinned and reached out to swipe at the frosting on a particularly delicious-looking cake but Lily whacked the back of his hand with her wand. "Ow, damn you, Lily!"

"I love you too, Sirius," she replied, giving him a sweet smile. He responded with an undignified pout and crossed his arms. There was a small commotion at the door and James entered the room with Remus and Peter following close behind.

"Everyone here?" Sirius asked, jumping to his feet. "Yes? Yes! Good, let's get a move on!" He picked up a plate and held it over his head, as he practically salivated over the food, which was sending enticing smells into the air.

"Not yet, you prat," James laughed, clapping the man on his back. "Lily and I have something to tell you first."

"Oh yeah? Could you hurry it up? I haven't eaten all day!" he whined and slumped back into his chair. Peter took a seat at the farthest corner of the table, nearest the door, and nervously drummed his fingers on the table as his eyes darted around the room. Remus sat beside Sirius and leaned back, resting one elbow on the back of the seat and the other on the table.

"We haven't told anybody yet so keep your mouths shut," James warned as he hurried to Lily's side, "or I'll make you regret it." Both Sirius and Remus laughed, not taking him seriously, but Peter squeaked and nodded his head fervently in what was an obvious promise of reticence.

"Ready?" Lily asked, a smile growing on her face. James looked down at her and nodded and the couple turned to face their friends who were watching them with looks of mingled curiosity and confusion. A light of understanding grew in Sirius' eyes soon enough and his face lit up.

"Congratulations, mate. What did I tell you?" he said quietly, joy ringing through his voice.

"What?" Peter asked, his brow furrowed. Remus was smiling now and he shook his head, chuckling quietly.

"We're going to have a baby," James announced, his voice growing louder and stronger. "Lily's pregnant." There was a moment of silence before Remus and Sirius burst into jubilant shouts, jumping to their feet and knocking over the chairs. Even Peter joined in the ruckus and for several minutes afterward everybody was speaking all at once and nobody understood anything. When everyone had calmed down and both James and Lily were a bit worse for the wear after the back patting and handshakes they'd received, the small party sat at the table; James and Sirius fell upon the food with a ferocity that made Lily cringe.

"It'll be okay, Lily," Remus whispered conspiratorially across the table, "Just make sure that you teach that little one of yours to have better table manners than his daddy."

"Hey, heard that!" James said with indignation after he swallowed his mouthful of food. "I have perfectly fine table manners." Remus made a near-silent noise of disbelief in his throat and raised his eyebrows, clearly indicating that he disagreed. James retaliated with a jibe about Remus' "furry little problem," at which point in time Sirius decided that he would join in the conversation. Eventually, the three friends descended into a round of raucous laughter and insult-hurling while Lily pretended to be disapproving and Peter giggled nervously, occasionally flinching when a flying fist came too close for comfort.

"Lily, James," the small, mousy man said eventually, as he pushed back his chair, "I really must be going. Thank you for the lovely dinner and congratulations again!" He shook both their hands in earnest and disappeared out the door. After dessert, the group stumbled into the sitting room and the conversation took a more serious note as they discussed the latest deaths of members of the Order. Sirius slammed a fist into the plushy arm of the chair in which he was sitting and cursed colorfully when he heard that there had been yet another round of Muggle killings somewhere south of London.

"And, well," Remus' voice dropped and he shot a glance at the angry man, "there are rumors that—that your brother was killed too."

"Oh really?" Sirius asked indifferently, though his expression became even more murderously angry and his whole body became rigid. "How?"

"Apparently, he was personally killed by Voldemort himself."

"Stupid git!" Sirius spat, slamming his fist yet again into the abused chair. "Probably got scared and ran away, didn't he? But he was always the hero, wasn't he? Always the proper one." There was a bitter edge to his voice and Lily put her hand on his arm in a placating gesture.

"You don't know what happened. Maybe he did something else to gain Voldemort's displeasure. Something that would help our side," Remus argued half-heartedly.

"There you go again, believing the best of people." Sirius smiled bitterly. "Believe me, the best that can be said about my dear old brother is that he was probably too much of a pansy to actually kill anybody."

"Padfoot…"

"And he's not my brother, Remus, so I'll thank you never to mention him in my presence again." Sirius looked away, his entire body rigid.

James and Lily looked at each other and James sighed, shaking his head. It was useless to argue; his best mate's relations with his family were less than desirable. A moment of tense silence descended upon the group until Remus cleared his throat and asked a question with false brightness,

"Who likes puppies?" (1)

"A toast, to my beautiful wife!" James declared proudly, holding up his wine glass. The room erupted into roars of agreement and Lily ducked her head, blushing. Really, James had had quite a lot to drink already and he was becoming louder as the evening progressed. The crowd in the room raised their glasses and, as one, said in a great rumbling voice, "To Lily." Simultaneously, they proceeded to empty their cups.

Lily had insisted she didn't want a big party. She had said it wasn't practical, it wasn't feasible, it was downright dangerous to have a large group of their closest friends and colleagues in one place at one time while Voldemort was still doing his best to murder everyone who dared to stand in his path to power. Unfortunately, James seemed to have tuned out her reasonable and carefully executed arguments and had gone ahead with the celebration. She ought to have been furious with him, when he dragged her into the building, insisting it was for a quiet dinner—just the two of them, he'd promised—though she'd been greeted with a chorus of cheers and catcalls the minute the door had opened. She ought to have been furious with him for ignoring her wishes—but she really couldn't bring herself to be anything but fondly exasperated with him. He was so damn happy about being a father that she couldn't help but love him even more because of it. After all, it wasn't like he could help that he was bursting with so much pride he had to tell the whole damn world that he was going to be a father.

Absentmindedly, she rubbed her belly, which was very large by now. There were only two more months before the baby was born and the two of them were still undecided about the name. Lily wanted to pick both boy and girl names since they had chosen not to find out the sex of their baby until the actual birth but James was stubbornly convinced their child was going to be a boy and refused to even consider the lovely girl names she brought to his attention.

The party continued until the wee hours of the night and, though Lily was exhausted by the time it ended, she was pleasantly surprised that she had had a lot of fun. It was rather nice to see the friends she'd been forced to stop contacting because it was too dangerous to talk; one must always remain focused and friendly conversations were distracting.

"It's time to get you to bed," James chuckled as he supported her with one arm around her waist. "You're so tired you can barely stand."

"And whose fault is that?" she demanded, poking him in the side. "Whose fault is it that I was kept, against my will, at a party that I didn't ask for in the first place?" She couldn't help but smile as she said it. Once she had readied herself for bed and was settled under the covers, she turned so that she faced James, who was lying on his back.

"Can we talk about it now?"

"Talk about what?" he replied, sounding faraway, as if he was in a distant world. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm, which caused him to look at her.

"You know what I want to talk about."

"Well, alright but let's not fight, okay?"

"I wouldn't argue if you weren't so damn stubborn."

"Yeah? Well…" he stopped himself and shook his head, smiling. "You're doing it again," he informed her as he shifted so that he was lying on his side, facing her. She stuck her tongue out at him, determined as she was to make him see her side.

"I just think it would be nice to have a backup, just in case," she insisted. "Is it so inconceivable an idea that we're going to have a baby girl?"

"No, I just—have feeling it's going to be a boy."

"In any case, we still haven't agreed upon a suitable name for him," Lily said, knowing it would be easier just to continue with the subject of names. "Any new ideas?"

"Michael?"

"No. How about Matthew?" James' face was enough to tell her that he didn't agree. "Umm, Neville?" She threw out the name in a teasing fashion, not really serious. James laughed and raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously?" he asked in a tone that suggested he sincerely hoped she wasn't. She shook her head and he rolled his eyes. "Hm, how about…Harold?"

"Harold?" She pulled a face. "The poor kid."

"How about Harry, then?"

"Doesn't it mean 'ruler' or something like that?"

"Well, all the better then," he smirked, "He'll be a ruler from the start." Lily giggled and smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Harry Potter." She tested the name on her tongue and found it to her liking.

"It sounds perfect."

"I think so too. And we're both agreed that his middle name should be James." He beamed in pride at her pronouncement and nodded.

"Well, since that's settled…" James scooted down so that his face was level with her stomach and placed his hand on it, his face so close that his lips brushed against the thin fabric of her nightdress. "Harry James Potter, this is your daddy. It is a pleasure to meet you." And he launched into a full-blown one-sided conversation that was about nothing and everything at the same time. Lily's eyes began to droop but she fought to listen to what her husband was telling her yet-unborn child; he was sure to say something mischievous and she wanted to be awake to smack him if he did.

She was too tired, though, and the last thing she heard before she dropped off to sleep was James' whisper, full of pride and love, "and your mummy is the most beautiful, most loving person in the whole world. You're going to love her. I know I do."

"I am going to kill you, James Potter!" Lily's tirade turned into a loud cry of pain and her hand tightened around her husband's. He grimaced, at her threat and at the death grip she had on his hand. "This. Is. All. Your. Fault." She panted and threw back head, tears running down her face as she struggled.

"It's okay," he soothed, wiping her face. She shot him a glare that promised him sweet death if he said that again and he offered her an apologetic smile. Her glare turned into an expression of determination and she clenched her teeth, groaning loudly as she pushed. She had been in labor for twelve hours—close to thirteen—and it was nearing midnight. James bit his lip and squeezed her hand, feeling guilty that she was in so much pain while he was helpless to do anything about it. Finally, finally, as the clock chimed midnight, there was a loud, thin cry from the small baby that a smiling Healer wrapped in warm, soft cloth. There was a lump in James' throat when the woman handed the baby to him. He was so warm and soft and, though he had been wailing insistently from the moment he left his mother's womb, he stopped crying the moment he was in his daddy's arms. Not trusting his voice at the moment, so overcome with emotion, James silently handed him to Lily, whose flushed and sweaty face was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen, framed by her curly red hair.

Her eyebrows contracted and she bit her lip as she looked down at him. Slowly, she traced his face with her fingers, touching his tiny lips, his miniscule nose, allowing his hand to wrap around her index finger. A sob left her throat and she looked up at her husband with a smile that was so wide, it would have hurt if she weren't so overcome with joy.

"Happy Birthday, Harry James Potter," she whispered to the baby. Her baby. Her beautiful, perfect baby. There were no words to describe it, the feeling that threatened to burst her heart. So she stopped trying to find the words and settled for pressing her lips against Harry's beautiful, perfect forehead and whisper a few simple words to him, words she meant with every fiber of her being. "I love you, little one."

The next morning found Sirius, bursting into Lily's room where she and James awaited him. His eyes skipped questioningly from her face to James' face and then, to the small one nestled in the crook of her elbow.

"He's here," he breathed and leaned weakly against the doorframe. "Wow, mates, congratulations."

"Thank you." James stood and approached him and they embraced like brothers before he turned to Lily and kissed her on the cheek. He leaned over and stared at little Harry, so closely they were almost nose-to-nose.

"Welcome to the world, Harry."

"Er, Sirius, mate, we—me and Lily—have something we'd like to ask you." Sirius straightened, stepped aside so that James could take his previous spot beside Lily. He looked a bit nervous for some reason but Lily grasped his hand and nodded, obviously encouraging him.

"What?" he asked, almost suspiciously, wondering if they were already going to be asking him to baby-sit and all that.

"Would you be Harry's godfather?"

"His—what?"

"Godfather," Lily replied. "Just in case anything happens to James and I. We want to be sure that he'll have someone to look after him."

"And you want me to do the job?" Sirius was incredulous, not that Lily or James could blame him. He didn't necessarily have the reputation of being the most responsible person in the world but he was sincere and learned quickly.

"Yes, mate. We trust you." James caught his eye and something flowed between the two best friends, something Lily didn't quite understand. Sirius nodded, however, a smile lifting up the corners of his lips.

"I would be honored to." He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed as he took the delicate bundle from Lily. His expression was one of awe as he stared down at the baby for a few moments before James cleared his throat in a formal sort of way.

"Harry, I'd like you to meet your godfather, Sirius Black."

"He's a bit of a scoundrel, so don't you be taking all of his advice," Lily quipped fondly. Sirius' face closed up in an odd way and he made a strange noise in the back of his throat. James opened his mouth to ask if anything was wrong but Sirius shook his head, he seemed to be fighting for words, or for control of his emotions. There was a momentary pause, then, quite suddenly, Sirius leaned down and kissed Harry on the forehead. Then he gave his best mates a slightly watery smile and a chuckle.

"Look at me, will you?" he murmured, half to the sleeping baby and half to his friends, "I'm becoming as emotional as you lot. And you aren't even my kid."

"Well, I expect you to fulfill your godfatherly duty to him," James spoke up, sternly, "and go get him a present." Lily swatted at his arm, laughing. Sirius stood and replaced Harry in her arms.

"I'll be right back," he said and he disappeared out the door, apparently thinking hard about what he was going to buy for a baby.

"Do you know, I reckon he's going to be just as protective of Harry than you are," Lily remarked quietly. "The poor kid's not going to be able to have any fun." James spluttered indignantly.

"Excuse me? No child of mine is going to be so protected he'll grow up not making any sort of mischief!" At that moment, Sirius popped back into the room, carrying an enormous stuffed bear and looking sheepish as he explained this was the best he could do. He placed the bear at the bedside and little Harry awoke with a soft sigh of contentment. As soon as his green eyes alighted on the stuffed animal, however, he opened his mouth into a loud wail, causing Sirius to hastily take the bear away as he offered a stream of apologies. James cuffed him over the head and the two men began wrestling with each other as Lily rocked Harry back to sleep. They stopped only when somebody poked their head in to the room to tell them off for making so much noise, which amused Lily to no end. She shook her head at them and then shooed them both from the room; she was tired and, if they stayed any longer, they would wake Harry again. Settling down in the bed, Harry safely in her arms, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, a smile on her lips.

(1): One of my friends asks this question to cover up awkward moments. I liked the idea of Remus using such a ridiculous ploy to change the subject.