A/N: This story was written for Slytherin house in the Houses Competition round 5 as a themed story using the prompt potion. Enjoy!
Word count (not including A/N): 1,385
Discovery
Lily woke groggily feeling like crap– like she hadn't showered in weeks. As she sat up, a wave of nausea passed through her, and it wasn't a false alarm. Thinking quickly, she grabbed her wand (which she now kept under her pillow at all times just in case) and conjured a bucket just in time for last night's dinner to come up.
Her retching woke James. He sat up, grabbing his glasses from the bedside table as his protective instincts kicked in. Turning to his right, he saw a mass of red hair falling over his wife's face as she bent over a bucket. James was instantly next to her, stroking her back, holding back her hair, and generally just hovering around, because he didn't really know what to do.
"Hey, Lils," he whispered when she took a deep, gasping breath between retching. "Not feeling well?" She shook her head, turning away from him to cough into the bucket once more. He made a noise of pity as he wrapped his arms loosely around her. "Do you need anything?"
"Water," Lily croaked. James grabbed his wand (also under his pillow) and conjured a glass, filling it with a deft Aguamenti. Lily drank and washed her mouth, spitting back into the bucket. When it became clear she'd finished retching, James vanished the mess and she sank back into the pillows with a groan.
"Do you need anything else?" James asked, filling the glass for her again and pushing it into her hands. Lily shook her head. "I'll bring you some toast in case you get hungry." Lily smiled at her husband as he got up and went downstairs, squeezing her hand goodbye.
Lily barely ate any breakfast, but she recovered fairly quickly and was able to get out of bed for a small lunch, despite James' protests that she stay in bed. James would not stand, however, to let her go to that day's Order meeting, insisting that she rest and recover.
"Maybe we should make a trip to St. Mungo's, just to be sure," James suggested nervously as he pulled on his over-robes to Apparate a block from the Order's headquarters.
"James, I'm sure it's just a small bug, nothing more. Stop overreacting and go to the stupid meeting. I'll be fine right here – I can Apparate and I know how to get to you," she told him. "If it gets worse, I'll go to Mungo's, okay?"
"Okay," he sighed. "Get some rest."
"And you be careful."
"When am I not?" Kissing his wife goodbye, James vanished with a pop.
Lily bit her lip, turning over a small worry that had only festered when she had set it aside. She had woken up like this a few days ago as well, but James had been on a mission. He couldn't have made a connection yet. There was only one way to ease her mind.
Standing up quickly, Lily went to their room, dressing without noticing or caring what she wore. Grabbing her wand, she checked the security wards before disappearing with a smaller pop– but she wasn't going to St. Mungo's.
.oOo.
Apparating was a mistake. Lily's stomach lurched unpleasantly as she reappeared in the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, she managed to keep her meager lunch down. Making a mental note to floo home, she tapped the correct brick and stepped through the archway as if nothing had happened, breathing in the crisp air of Diagon Alley. Lily made her way to the apothecary with a business-like stride; no one stopped to talk and catch up with each other anymore – you didn't know who you could trust.
The smell of the shop alone was enough to make anyone cringe; beetle eyes, newt organs and rat tails sat in their own barrels for mere knuts a pound, while more the more expensive wares such as dragon blood and unicorn hair were stationed in the front window. Lily suspected that the workers didn't change out the old ingredients for the fresh ones very often. But she wasn't looking for ingredients.
In the back of the shop, a display of pre-brewed potions sat proudly on their dusty shelves, while the store's newest, most wanted, and most expensive additions sat in the front window along the bottles of dragon blood. The one thing that Lily liked about the musty apothecary was the wide selection they offered: dreamless sleep potions, cheering solutions, warming potions, hair potions, pepper-up potions, wit-sharpening potions – and, the concoction Lily was after: pregnancy test potions.
Concealing herself from anyone she might know with a notice-me-not charm, Lily swiped one of the black vials off the shelf and walked back to the front of the store to pay. She took off the charm as she got in line, concealing the small bottle in her hand and curling the hand into her sleeve. When she got to the register, a bored-looking girl with pin-straight, dull brown hair stood in a slouch behind the counter. Lily put the potion nervously on the table, embarrassed. The girl simply look at her with a raised eyebrow that made Lily go red; she knew she was very young. Thankfully, the silent employee rung her up quickly, waving away Lily's murmured "thank you".
Stepping out of the fireplace into her and James' cottage, Lily found herself getting cold feet. What if she was pregnant? Only one way to find out, she thought to herself. James was probably right; it's just a stomach bug and you're freaking out. Just take the potion and be done with it so you don't have to worry.
But once she was in the bathroom, it took several tries for her to actually drink the brew. She knew what she had to do; there was a little tag tied around the neck of the bottle with simple instructions: Drink the potion and gargle for 30 seconds. Spit into a cup. If the potion is red, you are pregnant; if it's blue, you're not.
Finally, Lily compromised with herself by deciding she would close her eyes before she spat. Nodding resolutely, she summoned her Gryffindor courage and drained the bottle. She began to gargle, counting in her head.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
It's a false alarm – it has to be.
17, 18, 19, 20…
Please be blue, please be blue….
24, 25, 26, 27…
What if James freaks out?
28, 29…
It's nothing, right?
–30.
I'm not ready for this.
She spat. She took 10 deep breaths and opened her eyes.
A reflection in a smooth, shiny Gryffindor-red liquid stared anxiously up at her.
Lily Potter was pregnant. Lily and James Potter were going to have a baby.
Lily dropped the plastic cup, putting both hands on her stomach and sinking to the floor. Leaning against the bathtub, a million thoughts raced through her head.
I'm going to be a mother!
James and I are so young; we can't take care of a baby!
Will it be a girl or a boy?
What will James say when I tell him? Will I tell him? Yes, of course I will; don't be stupid.
I think it's a boy.
What will Sirius and Remus and Peter say? What will the Order say? I'm not ready for this, I'm only 19! We're barely married; our honeymoon was three weeks ago!
What would we name him?
I can't be a mother– I'm gonna screw up this kid's life! I can't have a baby! I can't be a mother! It's too much!
Lily didn't notice she had been crying until she tasted salt in her mouth. Weirdly, it brought her back to earth.
I have to be strong. James and I, we'll figure it out. We can get help, from the Order. Molly Weasley's pregnant, and she already has five kids, I can talk to her. Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to her.
Hiccuping a little, Lily got up slowly and cleaned up the mess mechanically, her mind far away from her body. Eventually, she decided that she'd get some rest, like James suggested. She crawled into bed, silent tears still streaming down her cheeks, pulling the covers up to her chin, but she didn't sleep. Lily just stayed awake, staring at the ceiling, imagining herself in the mirror with a swollen stomach.
