Eve's POV

I looked at myself in the mirror once before going down to meet James in the main foyer. He was dressed nicely—a conservative button down shirt with a warm jacket and pair of nice jeans. His sneakers were crisp and clean and he looked charming.

"Hey," I said, slightly nervous.

"Don't be nervous," he said. Damnit, he was like a mind-reader. "You look very daughter-ish. And very pretty," he said. I rolled my eyes and took his hand. We walked outside and he turned, apparating straight to Diagon Alley, in front of Flourish and Blotts. I stumbled a bit. We both had passed our apparition tests a few weeks before, but I still had to side-along until I had the baby.

We walked in silence down the cobbled, mostly empty road in Diagon Alley. It was surprisingly empty actually, it being spring break and all. But it wasn't uncomfortable or anything. James and I had gotten along really well actually, and it was because of little JJ here. I put a hand on my stomach and walked along, daydreaming as usual about the little fetus inside of me and what he or she would look like. And then the most remarkable thing happened.

"JAMES!" I yelled out, even though he was right next to me. He jumped up and looked around frantically, his wand out.

"What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he yelped. I shook my head, grabbed his hand, and brought it to my stomach. He looked confused at first but within a few seconds, his eyes widened in excitement and shocked and he was jumping up and down like a kid, inciting curious looks from the few people shopping nearby.

"I felt it! It kicked, oh bloody hell, the baby kicked!"

"I know, I know!" I said happily. He grabbed me, pulled me toward him, and kissed me on the lips. I pulled back and stared at him in shock. JJ kicked again… and vigorously. I looked at James and he looked nervous, pulled a hand back and rubbed his neck. JJ kicked harder. I think I got the message. I pulled him back to me and kissed him—right in the middle of Hogsmeade and everything. When we finally stopped kissing in the middle of the streets, he had a grin to match mine.

/

"Eve," my father said standing up when I walked into The Leaky Cauldron. There were only a few people and I found him right away. I walked toward him and felt James's arm slip away from mine. He stayed a few paces behind me. My dad looked hopeful and a bit scared, but I walked forward, trying to stay steady, reached him, and put my arms around him and laid my head down on his chest.

"Hi, dad," I said. I felt his arms wrap around me and his lips press against the top of my head.

"I've missed you," he said, sounding a bit tearful. I pulled away and we sat down across from each other, joined by James, who greeted my dad like he saw him every day.

"So you're the boy who got my daughter pregnant?" he asked James. James grinned and nodded, taking my hand under the table.

"What can I say, I'm smitten! It was an accident though," he added gravely.

"Well everyone makes mistakes. Have you thought about what you're going to do?" he asked, turning to me. I shrugged.

"Adoption."

"And you've really thought about it?"

"Yes."

"Found parents?"

"Um… no I—" I said, feeling a bit ashamed. Why hadn't I done that yet? I should be on top of my game. This is a person inside of my body. I needed to look out for JJ's well-being, or I should've just aborted in the first place.

"That's okay, we'll talk about it. I know an adoption agency. I have a friend who works as a social services agent who'd love to help you," he said, smiling. I noticed that he had my smile. I think. And his eyes crinkled in the corner a bit. It was a bit unreal—this whole thing. And it was like looking into my own eyes. Which was unnerving in its own way.

We continued to speak for a while, about everything and nothing—mostly catching up. I found out he was working at the Ministry researching wand lore and doing pretty well for himself. I approached the question of him having another family, but he had nothing of the sort, which was a relief. I didn't know if I could deal with something like that. Then the topic of my mother came up and I told him everything, finally able to confide fully in someone. James asked if I'd rather he leave, which I appreciated, but I told him to stay. If I was going to try and pursue a relationship with him, at least I'd make sure it started out with total honesty. And so I told both of them every single detail of my life with my mother in America.

After I finished, James looked uncomfortable and shocked, while my father looked absolutely devastated. He looked like he was going to cry. "And now she's okay?" he asked quietly. I nodded.

"She's been sober since I started school this year," I said, watching him carefully. He looked up with a bit of hope.

"Can I see her?"

"She'll probably come by for a visit at some point." He nodded. "So, James, Eve, do you have any plans? Would you like to come over? I… well it's probably not as entertaining as the Potter house…"

"I can't be there right now," James said quickly. "It's not as entertaining as you may think."

"Then, well, my house is open and within apparition range," he said happily. He told us the address, he paid (after a tug-of-war wallet game with James), and all three of us apparated to the address he told us.

When we entered, my heart dropped a bit. The house was beautiful, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I had grown up in such terrible terms when I could've been growing up here—where the lights didn't flicker and there were actually paintings and leather sofas? It felt weird and I had to control the little bit of anger I felt. Well it was a lot of anger, but James had a hand on my arm, as if he knew what I was thinking. He gave me a comforting look and I tried to smile back at him, but I'm pretty sure it came out a grimace.

James's POV

She was totally on edge. And it was frustrating because I didn't know how much I could be there for her before she realized that she actually didn't want to be with me. In retrospect, I suppose I should've been thrilled for the kiss and the sudden affection, but I was scared it was because of her father. Point was, I wasn't going to get my hopes up with Eve. I never really could. But I just sat with her, trying to figure out if she could make this thing work with her dad. She might go from not having parents to finally having parents. And there was a bit of selfishness behind it.

Whenever Eve talked about not keeping the baby, I thought that there was a reason for it that she never could say. Her parents. They weren't parents, and she was scared she couldn't be one either. And there was this desperate part of me that wanted her parents to be parents again, so she could get some confidence—because there really was no other way I would be able to keep my baby. My baby—our baby—not anyone else's. It was kind of killing me to think that someone else would be my kid's parent.

Eve and her father were talking about adoption and so I started looking around the room, trying not to listen to plans of giving my kid away. I noticed a baby picture on the wall and got up and discreetly went over to it. It was Eve—I could tell from the eyes. She was adorable, happy and smiling, in a woman's arms, which was probably her mother. Her mother looked beautiful—nothing like a drug addict. The picture was probably taken before she started. She was waving at me, her eyes twinkling, and her hair the exact shade of the baby in her arms.

"Dad… is that me?" I looked over and saw Eve standing next to me, looking at the picture. Gary came out of the kitchen and saw what we were seeing and looked sad when he nodded yes.

"I love that picture. You both are so beautiful," he said.

"Mom looks so different," she said quietly, staring at her mother. Gary approached us, a towel still in his hands.

"That was before she… well, you know."

"Dad, why did she start?"

"Her mother, father, and both twin brothers died in a car accident about a month after you were born," he said. "There was nothing I could do or say and she withdrew completely. She would leave the house for days at a time, and I took care of you, always worried. It was a while before I knew that she had gotten mixed up with some drug dealers and by then, she was hooked. I tried everything, but nothing worked until I left, promising to take you back. But… you know the rest," he said.

"She's better now dad."

"I know. And I hope she might have some place in her heart left for me, because she's all I ever wanted and the only girl I've ever loved, except for you of course," he said, putting and arm around Eve.

Eve had decided not to stay and come home with me. She promised she'd come back to her dad's though, much to his delight. What's more—she gave him her mother's address for him to write. This was going better than I hoped. The only thing in the way—we were scheduled to meet adoptive parents tomorrow.

/

Eve's POV

"We're coming with you and that's final. You two are not ready to handle things like this. We want to meet these potential parents ourselves," Ginny said firmly, although no one was arguing with her. To be honest, I was actually relieved to have someone who was an actual adult with us. I didn't want my kid to end up with an axe murderer. I'm pretty sure if Harry Potter couldn't tell, no one could.

James, Ginny, Harry, and I all climbed into Harry's car and headed out toward the suburbs. It was far away, but we got there in half the time because as Head Auror and Harry Potter, he can basically magically enhance anything he wants to. We climbed out and I looked at the house Dad's social service agent sent me the address to. It was a big house, very suburban-y. The agent had included in the letter that these two parents had been waiting for a child for a very long time, but nothing had quite worked out. I tried to picture little JJ running around this house and I almost saw it. But James and I were with him. I shook the picture out of my head and headed to the door, with the Potters behind me. James hit the doorbell and we stood around, and I could tell James was as nervous as I was.

A pretty woman opened the door. I looked at her closely. She looked like nice—with warm eyes and a genuine smile. I looked around for her husband as soon as I walked inside, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I decided not to question it and sat down on her beautiful leather sofas.

"Harry Potter!" I could hear her saying, "it's so wonderful to meet you, in the flesh!" I looked over at Harry, who was still at the door, shaking this woman's hand, looking extremely awkward. "And Ginny Potter, you're just as beautiful as you are in the papers." Ginny looked this woman up and down and I could almost see the skeptical look in her eyes. But she was polite and shook her hand, putting on a smile.

"My name is Carly, as you know, and my husband, Jim, is actually gone out to get some snacks. He should be back any time now," she said. She sounded nervous, and kept running her hands up and down her pant legs. In some weird way, her nervousness was calming be down, so I didn't mind it that much. It made me feel more in control.

The door opened and a man entered, wearing a soft yellow cardigan (matching his wife's soft yellow dress), wiped his shoes on the door mat, placed his keys methodically on the key-holder next to the door, and turned to us with a very sweet smile. His hair was perfectly in place and everything about him seemed… well, perfect. He looked like his wife. I turned and unwittingly looked at James and noticed his untidy hair and a bit of dirt on his shoes and smiled inwardly.

"Hello everyone! Mr. and Mrs. Potter," he said, turning to shake their hands. They stood, so I stood too, and shook his hand.

"So shall we talk logistics then?" Carly asked, once all the snacks were laid out. "Eve, is it?"

"Yes," I answered.

"How far along are you Eve?" Jim asked, his hands folded in front of him.

"Four months."

"Do you know the sex of the baby?" he asked. I shook my head.

"That's up to us, Jim," Carly said. "I mean, no offense, but if we're adopting this baby, obviously it's our decision to know the sex of the baby."

"Yes, we know," Harry said, sounding a bit annoyed. "And she hasn't found out so can we continue?"

"Uh—" Carly said, but quickly regained composure. "And have any health complications arisen since conception?"

"No."

"Okay then. Obviously, we know the parentage is fine on the paternal point of view," Jim said. What the heck was he talking about? He nodded at Harry, who looked uncomfortable once again. "What about your parentage Eve? Are your parents…"

"Well my mother is in rehab getting over a drug addiction and I just met my father, who lives here and works in the Ministry," I said, understanding what they were getting at. They both stared at me in shock, and James nudged me. I looked over at him and he looked a bit confused. "Well you want me to be honest right?" I asked, to the general room.

"Yes of course, honey," Carly said. She turned to her husband and gave him a look.

"Excuse us for one moment," Jim said, before getting up and walking to the kitchen, Carly behind him. I stared down at my knees and tapped my foot a few times, before getting up and marching toward the kitchen. I could feel James tensing but Harry gestured for him to sit back down.

"Look," I said, addressing the two of them, who were whispering fervently with one another. They turned to me in surprise. "If you have a problem with my parentage, then just say so. We'll be out of your hair, don't worry. I don't want you to hold anything against this baby. So if you're in, you're in."

"We…want to adopt you baby, Eve," Carly said, coming over to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "We're just going over everything. But we know that you can't control who your parents are. I'm sure the baby will be perfect."

"Then you want this baby?"

"Do you find us acceptable?" Jim asked. I looked at the two of them and realized how perfect they were. It was eerie, but they weren't unkind people. They would make good parents, the both of them, and JJ would teach them how to get a bit dirty themselves.

"James has to agree," I said. "But from what I've seen, you'd be great parents." They beamed at me and I went back to the parlor, feeling strange. James agreed with me, but no papers would be signed without Hermione there for the next meeting. She was going to be our lawyer, to make sure I was represented fairly. It was nice having the head of Defense as my lawyer, to be honest. Not that I didn't trust Jim and Carly, but just because I felt more secure. This was JJ we were talking about.

/

James's POV

We got back to the house and Eve went to her room, as usual. I looked after her, trying to figure out whether I should go up behind her. I really wanted to know where I stood.

"James?" I turned to see Dad watching me from the doorframe. It was the first time he talked to me since the fight. I raised an eyebrow and he looked a bit sheepish. "Will you come to the study?" I nodded and walked with him to his study, sitting across from him. "I'm sorry," he said. "About all of this. And what I said."

I stayed silent.

"My Aunt died, James, your Uncle Dudley's mum." I looked up, surprised.

"I didn't know. Grandma Lily's sister?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"I thought you weren't exactly the closest—"

"We weren't. But she was the only thing I had left of my parents till Sirius—and then he died and once again, she was there. She was the only one who understood what it meant for Voldemort to be back—or Voldemort to finally be dead. She was nothing like a caregiver, but at least there was someone to understand."

"I'm sorry dad."

"Me too. James, I would never kick you out. I was just mad and overreacted. I let my temper best me."

"I figured."

"And James, I will always be proud of you." I looked at him and he seemed honest, but I didn't know if I believed him. I wasn't even really proud of myself. But I nodded. "Are you and Eve…," he started to ask, before trailing off.

"She kissed me in Diagon Alley the other day. But she hasn't said anything or—"

"She's going through a lot. Don't expect her to just come to you. Go to her. She needs you."

"Dad, I hope she changes her mind about the adoption thing."

"I do too, James. But in the end, it's her decision. Because you can't have only one person committed to a baby for it to work out."

"I know," I said, sighing. "I'm going to go up to her now and see if she's okay."

"Do that," he said. He stood up with me and I walked toward the door. I turned back and he seemed sad. I walked back to him and he opened his arms and gave me a hug.

"There's a scout coming to the last game," I said. "He's mostly there for the seventh years, but I'm hoping I can impress him."

"I'm sure you can," dad said, pulling out of the hug and patting me on the back. "You're an excellent Quidditch player. Almost as good as me," he added, with a wink. I rolled my eyes and grinned.

/

"Eve?" I asked, coming into the room. She was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, her hands on her stomach.

"Hey James," she said quietly. I lay down next to her and watched her. She didn't look at me, but just continued to stare at the ceiling.

"What you thinking?"

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," she said, "that's all." I took her hand.

"Trust your instinct. You can't be wrong," I said. She turned to look at me.

"When did you get so wise, Potter?" she asked.

"I was always this wise, Martin." She scooted closer to me and my heart did a very weird unmanly somersault when she pressed her lips against mine. I pulled her closer to me and we spent the rest of that evening kissing and whispering. It was pretty much everything I wanted.

A/N: Yeah, there's no Rose in this, I realize. Don't worry-entire next chapter-ROSE! Read and drop the ol' review! :) And I'll probably update pretty fast, considering finals for the next three weeks, and I write my best when I have other things I should be doing ;)