Chapter 43: Parents

The winter passed by slowly, a confused blur of attacks, teaching and visits home. The frequent blustery snowstorms made the conditions nearly unbearable. On top of everything else, there was a nasty bout of the flu going around; nearly everyone was sick in bed. The infirmary had overflowed with sick patients, and Madam Pomfrey had to occupy an extra corridor with cots to treat all of her patients. For nearly three weeks, there weren't more than about thirty students well enough to come to come to classes.

One afternoon, Lily and James made the announcement that they were going to have a baby. Sirius and my initial reaction was to laugh at the absurdity of Prongs raising a child.

"You, a father!" laughed Sirius. "I can picture it now! The kid will be three days old flying around on a broomstick dropping dungbombs everywhere!"

"Don't you give him any ideas!" said Lily sending a pillow sailing in Sirius' direction. James shook his head and looked at us with a solemn face.

"I might have screwed up a lot of things before, and I may have made jokes out of things, and acted immature, and pulled pranks, and done a lot of things I shouldn't have, but I swear, I'm going to do this right. I am going to be a good father." Lily beamed at him, looking incredibly pleased, Sirius rolled his eyes and Peter stifled a laugh.

"You don't believe me?" James looked a bit insulted.

"Sure we do," said Sirius. "But you're not going to able to be around the baby constantly, so that will call for a baby-sitter. And who better to do the job than your old pal Padfoot?"

"Believe me, we'll find someone," said Lily.

The days brightened with the coming of spring. The number of attacks dropped drastically from what it had been, and with the fresh green grass and warm sun, it was easy to believe the world was a peaceful place once again.

Sirius and Mari were married in a tiny park on a beautiful May afternoon. The service was very small, especially since there was some tension between Mari's family, especially her father, and Sirius.

Even our old Padfoot got nervous on his wedding day. We had to give him the same speech I recalled him giving James just a few months earlier. I guess it's something that's a lot easier to talk about than it is to actually do.

All of our hard feelings about Mari had gone. Ever since the night I told her about Erin, I had accepted her as a part of our friends. I'm not quite sure what happened to James. I think he just came to the realization that she was there to stay and there was nothing he could do about it. Whatever the reason, all of us were thrilled for the two of them that day.

It wasn't long after the wedding that Sirius and Mari also decided to move out of our flats and get their own place to live; a small house just outside the city. Peter had long since declared that he was moving out to live nearer to his work. He still visited occasionally, but I sensed a sort of distance growing between us.

Addi decided to move in with me in our old flat so that we could sell the other; we saw no point in having two large flats for just the two of us. Besides that, I think Addi was expecting that we'd be getting married very soon after.

We hadn't picked a date for our wedding. I saw no need to rush into it; we were nineteen years old. We had the rest of our lives to spend together. I wasn't certain that James and Sirius had done the right thing by marrying. The way things were then, there was no time to spend as a family, and raising children wasn't safe because of the attacks. I assumed as soon as things calmed down, then I would get married. I think Addi understood my thinking as well, because she no longer questioned me about it, and seemed content living just the way things were.

Lily's stomach was beginning to look quite round, and James discovered he had his work cut out for him. One Saturday afternoon we all paid a visit to the tiny tudor cottage.

"James, you're going to cook dinner! My feet are swollen!" Lily bellowed, from the couch where she was relaxing.

"Fine, darling, just one tiny problem. I can't cook!"

"You're so helpless!" Lily moaned, attempting to get to her feet. Mari and Addi were at her side in an instant.

"You're not doing a thing. You need rest," said Mari.

"Yeah, we'll take care of the cooking," said Addi. James and Lily both looked relieved.

"So, what are we cooking?" asked Mari.

"Ham," replied James.

"Ham? I could really go for some chicken," said Lily. "And chocolate. I need chocolate!"

"Would you stop this?" James moaned. "You're always wanting things we don't have, and instead of going and getting them yourself you always expect me to do it for you!"

"I'm sorry, James," Lily apologized, looking teary-eyed. James' face softened.

"Oh, Lil, it's all right. I should be the one who's sorry." He sat down on the couch and put his arm around his wife. "I'll go get what you want, and then we'll make dinner, all right?" Lily nodded, still looking upset.

"Wow, I pity you Prongs, putting up with this all the time," said Sirius. Addi glared at him.

"I may be pregnant, Sirius Black, but that doesn't mean I won't make you miserable just like I used to in school!" Lily threatened. Sirius took a step back without a word.

"And besides," Mari spoke up quietly. "You'll soon be putting up with it to."

"What?" asked Sirius a moment later. "You mean...?" Mari nodded.

"We're going to have a baby, Sirius," she said, almost as though she was afraid of his reaction.

"I'm going to be a father!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down like a child. He hugged Mari, who looked extremely relieved. "Oh, and Prongs and Lils, I'm sorry." We congratulated them.

"I've got an idea," said Addi. "To celebrate, why don't we forget cooking and go out for dinner?" No one objected, and we spent the rest of the night in peace at the Three Broomsticks.

All went smoothly until the last day of July, actually, more like the night before the last day of July. I became faintly aware of someone tapping my shoulder.

"Addi?" I mumbled sleepily, not bothering to look up. Someone yanked on my arm.

"Ouch!" I grumbled, looking up. A large shadow filled the room. Addi was still asleep next to me.

"Who the hell..." I began.

"Relax, it's me, Padfoot," I heard Sirius' voice.

"You're an idiot! What do you think you're doing showing up here at this hour?" I demanded, climbing from bed.

"What?" Addi yawned.

"Hi, sis," said Sirius in an overly friendly tone.

"Sirius!" Addi jumped up at once. "It's the middle of the night! And besides, you shouldn't just come walking into our flat!"

"Well, believe me, finding my sister and best friend in the same bed wasn't something I wanted to see either..." He received a pillow in the face from Addi, who had turned slightly red.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?" I asked calmly.

"I'm here because Lily went into labor. Everyone else is already at the hospital, and they sent me to get you two."

"Oh," I replied. "What hospital?" Sirius shrugged.

"Some Muggle one. Lily insisted. Now hurry up and get ready. I'll go back with you."

"How's Addi getting there? She can't Apparate."

"We'll take floo powder to a James and Lily's house. It's not far from there." We threw some clothes on and were quickly ready to leave.

Several minutes later, we arrived at the hospital. We found a pale and nervous James pacing a hallway.

"James! How's the father doing?" I hit him on the shoulder. He shrugged.

"They won't tell me anything. How am I supposed to know if she's okay!" he cried.

"I'm sure Lily's just fine, James," said Addi. "Why don't you sit down and try to stay calm?"

"Stay calm, right. Stay calm," James repeated, wandering off looking dazed.

Sirius, Addi and I went out in search of a coffee machine. It wasn't hard to find. James and Sirius always told me I shouldn't be allowed to have caffeine. I guess that day proved they were right. Between all the caffeine, and being nervous for James and Lily, I was a wreck. I sprinted and paced hallways, demanded that nurses told me if everything was okay; half of them looked at me like I was insane, and even went skipping in and out of patients' rooms, giving them quite a scare. Addi, James and Sirius had long since joined Mari in a waiting room.

Several hours and ten cups of coffee later, Addi found me making faces at a little kid with a broken leg, and dragged me away, insisting that from then on I had to drink decaf, before telling me that Lily had had the baby.

He was an adorable baby boy, with James' messy black hair and Lily's sparkling emerald eyes. Harrison James Potter. They called him Harry. Never had any of us seen Lily or James as happy as when they held Harry in their arms.

Harry became the center of everyone's attention. We were amazed how much like James he was too. Only a week after he was born, he'd taken James' wand from his robe pocket and turned his hair pink.

"He's better at that than you are, Prongs," joked Sirius.

Little Harry grew fast, and as he did, he also grew more and more like James. Soon, he was learning to speak. Not only could he say Mama and Dada; I was Mooy, Sirius was Pafoo, Peter was Tail, Addi was Di, and Mari was Maw. All of us adored baby-sitting Harry, although Lily was just a bit concerned, especially when it came to Sirius. She couldn't have been too worried, though, because she and James made Sirius Harry's godfather. James explained that the reason he didn't ask me was because of full moon, and I understood completely.

Several months later, Mari gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, with Sirius' jet black hair. They kept the Black family tradition of naming people after stars and called her Cassiopeia; Cassi for short. Whenever we all visited, Harry loved trying to talk to Cassi, who couldn't answer back, but laughed at her 'big cousin'.