Keywords: Hold My Hand
"I'm scared, James," Lily murmured to her husband as they walked through the halls of Hogwarts, following the route to the Headmaster's office.
"There's no need to be," James replied in a confident whisper as he bounced along beside her. "I'm sure Dumbledore's just going to tell us he's throwing a spontaneous congratulations party. Sure we found out you were pregnant nearly eight months ago but you know he'll take anything as an excuse to hold a party," James smiled down at her but Lily was not impressed – she could tell by the way he kept fiddling with his hair that he was just as concerned as she was. They lived in dark times.
"Coconut ice," Lily muttered to the ugly stone gargoyle that had been guarding the entrance for as long as Hogwarts had been a school. There was a momentary pause and then the familiar sound of stone grating against stone as the gargoyle moved to allow them past. Lily stopped James before he bolted up the staircase and into the office.
"Hold my hand?" She asked and he looked at her for a long time. They were an affectionate couple and people did sometimes complain that they were too affectionate, but Lily usually just did what she wanted – she never asked. James reached out and silently twined his fingers through hers having finally realised just how scared she was.
The two walked into the office together to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, his expression grim. On the other side of the desk were several members of the Order including Sirius, Remus, Frank, and Alice who was resting her hand on her stomach and looking about as scared as Lily felt.
"What's going on, Dumbledore?" James demanded loudly and Dumbledore lifted his head to stare at the dark-haired man in front of him. There were two expressions in his face – expressions that were completely and utterly contradictory. It was impressive they were even on his face at the same time. Albus Dumbledore looked wholly defeated, and yet at the same time his eyes held the fire that meant he was prepared to fight no matter the cost.
"There has been… a prophecy," he announced and the room fell silent. "It was told to me by Sybil Trelawney and it concerns the Dark Lord… and the boy who has the power to defeat him." The tension in the room could have been cut by a knife. "The boy who has the power to defeat him could be two people, as of this moment… The child of Frank and Alice Longbottom… Or the child of Lily and James Potter."
The silence in the room was deafening for several minutes until all hell broke loose. Dumbledore waved his hands for silence.
"It is grim, I know," he conceded and then looked Lily right in the eye. "The telling of the prophecy was overheard by Severus Snape."