Chapter 50: James' Promise
Lily sighed and rested against the counter. It was getting increasingly harder to maneuver around the house with her increasingly large stomach. Lily was really ready for this baby to get here. She thought James felt the same way. He seemed restless however.
He would reorganize things every five minutes, which was starting to annoy Lily. He'd fix things the Muggle way, just to have something to do. He'd pace the floors when there was nothing left to do. Lily was really trying to understand his point of view, but it was extremely hard, especially when she was hormonal.
Lily held back a scream as she looked for the cereal for the fourth time. All she wanted was a box of cereal. Was that too much to ask?
"James!" Lily called, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "Where's the cereal?!"
"Fourth cabinet over," James answered.
Lily rolled her eyes before reaching into the cabinet and getting the cereal out. Just as she was about to start eating, James walked into the kitchen. Lily fought the urge to yell at him for rearranging the kitchen. Again.
"Hey, love," James greeted her, giving her forehead a quick peck.
Lily nodded, but didn't say anything. She really didn't feel well at the moment. Her back was aching like crazy. Sometimes she wished she was Alice. She'd already given birth to her child.
Lily winced when she thought of that. Poor Alice. Her child was a boy. That meant that Voldemort would go after her. Think of this, Lily's left hand flew down to her stomach. She hoped and prayed that this baby would be ok for many, many years to come.
James noticed her movement. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lily told him. "Just thinking."
"What about?" James asked.
"Nothing really," Lily replied. "The baby."
"How is the little runt?" James asked pulling up a chair to sit down next to her.
"First of all, he's not a runt," Lily corrected him. "Second, he's fine. I just wish he would hurry up and get here already."
"Me too," James said placing a hand on her stomach.
Lily felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She smiled through it, but she felt a wetness between her legs. That was not good.
"James, dear, can you carry me up the stairs?" Lily asked.
"What for?" James replied not really paying attention.
"If you don't want your child to born on the kitchen floor, I suggest you take me upstairs," Lily told
him through gritted teeth.
James scrabbled out of his chair before picking her up. He rushed up the stairs and laid her on the bed.
Lily reminded herself to breath. This would all be over soon. She'd forget all the pain soon.
James rushed down the stairs to send a Patronus to Madam Pomfrey, Sirius, Remus, and Peter about Lily. As soon as he had done this, James rushed back up the stairs. Lily was laying on the bed breathing deeply. Rushing over to her, he grabbed her hand.
"Lils, honey, they'll be here soon," James tried to comfort her.
"James," Lily breathed.
"It'll be ok, Lily," James whispered, kissing her forehead as she squeezed his hand.
"Move, move," a stern female voice ordered. James saw Madam Pomfrey enter the room and start to prepare her things. James watched as Madam Pomfrey spread Lily's legs apart so she could see how dilated she was. "Alright, we've still got a bit of a way to go. Just work through the pain sweetheart.
"You'll have to push when it's time."
Lily nodded as she squeezed James' hand. "It'll be ok soon, love. I promise it will."
Sirius, Karen, Remus, Dorcas, and Peter all sat at the kitchen table waiting for the little baby Potter to come into the world. The screaming they heard on Lily's part was horrible. Everyone at the table winced or made a face every time they heard it. Suddenly another cry pierced the night. Everyone at the table smiled brightly.
About fifteen minutes later, James appeared in the kitchen, beaming from ear to ear. "Do you want to meet him?"
"It's a boy?" Dorcas asked smiling. "Congratulations, James."
"Thanks," James said. "Come on, then."
James led them up the stairs and into their bedroom where Lily was sitting on the bed cradling a little bundle of joy. Everyone gathered around the bed to look at the little boy. His hair was stuck up on all directions just like his father's. His eyes were open and shown with the same dark green his mother's did. His little hands flared around in the air.
"Everyone, this is Harry," Lily told them. "Say hello Harry."
After everyone had left. Lily and James were left alone with their little boy. Harry lay in James' arms while Lily slept. James couldn't be more proud of his family. He had a wonderful wife and beautiful son he could love for the rest of his life. He was more happy in this moment than he had ever been in his life.
"Hey, Harry," James muttered to his son. "Hey, buddy, Daddy loves you. I'm going to take care of you, too. I'm going to protect you and make sure no one ever hurts you. When this war is over, we're going to have so much fun. Daddy's going to take you to a Quidditch World Cup and get you a broom so you can fly with him. Mummy's going to spoil you rotten and make sure you have plenty to eat. Uncle Padfoot, Uncle Wormtail, and Uncle Remus are going to come over and play with you all the time so you'll never be bored. Aunt Karen and Aunt Dorcas are going to come with them and spoil you more than your mother will. You'll be able to play with all the little kids your age and have so much fun. I promise, buddy, I promise you'll get all that and more, if I have anything to say about it. You'll get everything you deserve."
