A/N….Okay, this chapter hasn't been betaed yet cause I feel bad that it's taking my beta so long. So there may be mistakes, and it may suck. Just warning you.

About my reviews…thank you guys so much.

I have no clue about Latin, I'm using an online dictionary, which isn't very good as it is. I hope it's not annoying enough to discourage people to stop reading. If anyone is really good at Latin and wants to help me out with it, give me an e-mail, destyne76@yahoo.com

Blue Rain Child…LOL, I love the idea of Love the Road, it cracked me up. As mentioned above, I don't know Latin, but as I understand it Via also means journey. What Amere Via is meant to say is Love Journey. Sorry for confusion. :P

Once my beta gets off her keister (hehehe) and has this chapter done, I'll repost it, and it probably will be a lot better.

Chapter 6

Harry

DECEMBER 1979

Over the next two years the attacks grew worse. Now even the Muggles were starting to be threatened, though they didn't know it. Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Harold Prewett was taken and tortured as his wife and son were killed. He was killed also, but not before having the Imperius Curse preformed on him and killing two more Muggle-born witches. Voldemort seemed to be in an uproar that the Potters had been so well protected, he now would go after anyone that stood in his way. Auror Thomas Bones was killed, leaving behind his wife who was only just pregnant.

The four remaining Potters spent summers at Hogwarts and winters moving from secure location to secure location. This should have been more traumatic for Melly Potter, James' 11 year old sister, but last September she started her first year at Hogwarts, and her safety was assured.

The work with Dumbledore was going well, so well in fact that the gang was starting to think the Ministry wasn't pulling their share of help, and James and Sirius quit there to help Dumbledore full time. They met in an abandoned classroom at the top of Hogwarts in top secret.

Among those who were involved were, Arabella Figg and her husband Henry, Mundungus Fletcher, Frank and Estelle Longbottom and of course Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter and an older warlock Jonas McKinnon. They had been equipped with a mechanism inside their bodies that allowed each one of them to communicate with the other at any time and from any distance. It could be disabled if it needed to be, but it was recommended that it was on when the user was not having "personal issues", as Dumbledore called it. The last thing anyone in the group wanted was to hear Remus and Sirius having sex. An idea which, of course, intrigued Sirius.

Things seemed to be going all right with Sirius and Remus. Of course things were still strained occasionally, but they reached a point where they were able to talk about it, and if they couldn't talk it out they could shag it out. At least now they were working together, but in different departments. Remus and Lily were the cleverest in the group so along with Arabella Figg, they looked up potions, came up with spells and tried to mix and match whatever they could.

James, Sirius, Dumbledore, Mr. Potter and Mundungus Fletcher worked on defense. They're job still required a lot of secrecy, and they were away from Hogwarts most of the time, but at least it could be talked about to some extent with the others.

Henry Figg, McKinnon, the Longbottoms and Peter worked on intelligence. Though for some reason their plans always seemed to be foiled. They were the brightest witches and wizards in the community. There had to be a reason Voldemort always seemed a step ahead in the area of intelligence.

Sirius sat across from James on a blanket in a snowy field where they were preparing their defenses. They were working a plan Lily came up with inspired by what the Muggles call a gun. They would make an explosive fly out of their wand, but instead of killing the person, but a spell on them that would make the person tell Dumbledore alone where the rest of the Death Eaters were. There were still quite a few kinks they were trying to get out, and so far the dummies they had enchanted to act like real wizards had all exploded from the initial impact. But if they could get this to work, it could be a major step toward stopping Voldemort.

They had a few short minutes before they had to get back to work. James looked pale and concerned about something. He and Sirius were both exhausted and overworked, but it looked like something more in James.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked biting into a turkey sandwich Remus had made him.

"Lily's pregnant," James said.

"What?" Sirius asked his mouth full. "I thought she had the birth control charm in her."

"She did. I guess it didn't work. I tried to talk to her about taking a fetal expulsion potion, but she wouldn't. She said the fates want us to have a baby otherwise she wouldn't have gotten pregnant."

"What does that mean?" Sirius said. He thought it wasn't such a bad idea, but he could tell James did.

"It means that for the next seven months she has Potter blood in her and that makes her a target." James looked down at his container of soup. He didn't feel like eating.

"Well, we'll just have to keep her safe until then. Lily is a lot stronger then you give her credit for." Sirius smiled, "Plus think about it, soon you'll have a little thing who's a mixture of you and Lily. What an amazing person it will be."

James forced a little smile, "I know. That's what keeps popping into my head." He stopped and looked at the floor. "I can't live without Lily. What if they get her?"

"They won't. Stop thinking like that. We'll never get the better of Voldemort if you don't keep your hope strong."

A small pudgy man interrupted them. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need you back again," Mr. Fletcher looked tired and overworked as well.

Sirius looked down at his sandwich that had only two bites taken out of it. He took another big bite, stood up and walked toward Dumbledore, James not far behind him.

Lily squatted over the toilet and retched. Outside the bathroom Remus stood concerned. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

"No, thanks, it just comes with the pregnancy," she said back, the retched again.

Remus turned to the living room of his flat and looked at the Christmas tree. It was still lopsided, even after magic was used to straighten it. Glancing back at the bathroom door he decided there was nothing he could do for Lily and went to the kitchen where a turkey sat in the oven roasting. James and Sirius were due home from work anytime.

A loud crackle got his attention as Peter stumbled out of the fireplace. He wiped Floo powder off him. Remus walked to the living room to greet him. "When are you going to get your Apparation license?" Remus asked.

"I don't need one. Everywhere I need to go I can Floo to," he sniffed the air. "Oh, smells good. When do we eat?"

"Soon as Sirius gets here," Remus pulled out his wand and summoned his broom to sweep the ash off the floor.

Lily stumbled out of the bathroom wiping her mouth. She looked happily startled to see Peter. "Hello, Peter. Happy Christmas." Lily embraced him.

"Happy Christmas," he said distantly.

"Well, James will probably want to tell you, but since he's not here. We have news," Lily smiled. "James and I are having a baby," she glowed.

"Really?" Peter seemed interested in this news. "I thought you weren't having children until after…" he stopped.

"Well, I guess the fates had something else in mind. But we're excited. At least I am, James is working on it." Lily laughed and winked at Remus. That's an understatement, he thought. James rarely let Lily be alone. If he couldn't be with her Remus was to keep an eye on her. If Remus couldn't then someone else had to constantly be with Lily. She took it like a trooper, but it didn't seem necessary.

"Hello wife," James called as he and Sirius Apparated into the room. He kissed her cheek.

Sirius looked exhausted, Remus thought. He didn't say anything and walked to the couch. He collapsed on it. "You alright?" Remus asked.

"Just tired. They said tomorrow we wouldn't have to go in. But I don't know." He sighed then saw Peter in the room.

"Wortail? It seems like you've been avoiding us." Sirius said in an only half joking tone.

"Work," he said noncommittally.

"Ah, well, we were beginning to think you didn't like us anymore." Sirius laughed.

A bell sounded in the kitchen and Remus hurried off to get the turkey out of the oven. Then moments later the table was set and the group sat down to a Christmas feast.

After the food had been devoured and Peter had to go back to his mothers for more turkey James and Lily sat Sirius and Remus down.

"We've thought a lot about this," James said, looking at Sirius. "You are like my brother," he said. "I think sometimes we think the same things. That's why we've decided to make you and Remus godparents to the baby."

Sirius smiled, "Really?"

"Wait, you have to understand what that means," James said seriously. "If anything happens to me and Lily you need to take care of the baby. There is a real possibility that…" he stopped and looked at Lily. He whispered, "we may not make it out of this war."

"Don't talk like that," Lily said firmly.

"It's true," James said to Lily. "Anyway," he continued, "Don't take on this responsibility if you aren't prepared to take the baby."

Sirius looked at Remus. Remus looked concerned. Why were they choosing both of them? Of course they didn't see the strain on Sirius and Remus' relationship. They couldn't both take on this responsibility, and he could tell from the look in Sirius' eye that he was thinking the same thing.

"I don't think it would be the wisest idea to include me in that," Remus said, sadly. In fact he would love to be near a child constantly.

"Moony?" James looked blankly at him.

"I'm a werewolf. What if something was to happen to Sirius? I can't raise a baby. I don't think it would be a good idea."

Lily, it seemed, was catching on to the tension between Sirius and Remus. "He has a point," she said.

James looked confused. He had hoped everyone would think this was a great idea. "Padfoot?" he asked.

"I would love to be the baby's godfather," Sirius replied with a sideways glance at Remus.

"Good," James smiled. "We'll get the papers drawn up with the Ministry as soon as the baby's born then."

Remus stared at his hands. He had hoped Sirius would make some sort of comment or make any kind of reference to what he'd said. But Remus felt he'd treated the situation as if he hadn't heard anything he'd said.

"Can everyone hear me?" James spoke into the magical device they each had placed in their lips.

"Yes," they heard Remus say. He was at the other end of a giant mountain. They were going after three Death Eaters with the hopes of getting to Voldemort. They had figured out a way to weaken the spell Voldemort had in him, making him immortal, but they needed Voldemort's flesh and blood for it. It was tricky and everyone involved was scared, but it had to be done.

"Loud and clear," Arabella Figg said. She stood in the center of a cliff. She was going to be their lookout. Arabella was a few years older then Professor McGonagall. They went to Hogwarts together. She was one of the cleverest witches of her class.

"I hear ya," Sirius smiled, standing two feet away from James. They were positioned at the mouth of a cave where the Death Eaters were last rumored to be.

"I can hear you," Lily said taping her bulging belly with the hand that wasn't holding her wand. James was not impressed when Lily insisted on coming on this mission with them, but after much argument he realized he wasn't going to talk her out of it.

"Remus, you have you eye on Lily, right?"

"Yes, James," Remus said rolling his eyes at Lily who was standing next to him. She laughed.

"Peter? Can you hear me?" James asked.

"Um, yeah, I'm here. Sorry," Peter sounded unsure he wanted to be in this situation. He stood by himself at the top of the mountain; an owl had just fluttered out of his hand. On the owls leg was a note. It appeared nobody else noticed this owl leaving Peter's hand.

"Alright, keep everyone updated. If you get into trouble holler and either Sirius or I will come," James spoke to everyone, but meant specifically Peter who seemed least interested of anyone else. "Good luck," James said. He looked concerned and gazed up at Sirius.

"I wish Lily wasn't here," he said to Sirius after covering up his speaking device with his hand, so Lily wouldn't hear.

"She's safe with Remus. You know that. And they are far enough out of harms way. Don't worry. You ready?" Sirius held up his wand and got ready to enter the cave.

"Let's do this," James said, copying Sirius. James pulled his invisibility cloak from his rucksack and threw it over him and Sirius. They entered the cave trying their hardest not to make noises with their feet. "Lumos," Sirius whispered. A ray of light shot out of his wand and from outside the cloak looked like it was coming from mid air. Sirius knew this would be a giveaway to their whereabouts, but they had to be able to see. He shined his light down the open wet cave. They saw nothing. It was silent. They walked a little farther until Sirius' light hit the end of the cave. They could tell that someone was there, probably very recently, but they weren't there now. Just as Sirius was about to say something to James a voice fell into their ears.

"James," the frantic voice of Arabella Figg shouted, "They are heading toward the back of the mountain." She took a deep breath. "I can't see Lily or Remus."

James ran as fast as he could out of the cave, leaving the cloak only covering Sirius. Sirius pulled the cloak off and ran behind him. "I knew she shouldn't have come. Dammit!" James shouted.

"Arabella, are they still in your view?" Sirius asked.

"I'm moving across the path now, but I can't see them. Do you think they could have Dissapparated?"

"Not with Lily and Remus," Sirius said, stumbling as he ran.

"Peter?" Sirius yelled. "We need you to head them off." There was nothing but quiet for a moment. "Peter are you there?"

"Yeah. I'm here. I can't see anyone," Peter said.

Only moments later James was at the spot where Lily and Remus were standing earlier. James looked helpless like his brain had forgotten how to work. He just stood and stared at the spot. "Nobody knows where they went?" He yelled.

"James," Sirius put his hand on James' shoulder.

"I told her not to come," James said. He turned away from Sirius and began to sob. Sirius felt odd, it wasn't like James to lose his cool. He was the one who always kept his head.

Only moments later Arabella was at their side, followed by Peter. Arabella and Sirius searched the area looking for any kind of sign of anyone. There was nothing.

Lily looked panic-stricken at Remus. "Now what?" she mouthed to him. They were each bound to a masked Death Eater. There were three in all. Lily's arms were bound behind her back with invisible ropes and Remus' had a curse put on him that made only his legs mobile, everything else was petrified. They walked along a hidden path only feet from where they were taken. But this path seemed to only be visible to the people who knew it were there. Genius, really, thought Remus. This way nobody could find them. Lily's pace slowed and she began to bend over as she walked. The Death Eater she was bound to stopped. "I think she's going to be sick," he said. Lily leaned farther down and vomited on the ground. She was over six months pregnant by now, she thought, why was she getting sick? This part of the pregnancy had ended months ago. The sickness wouldn't stop. For minutes the group stood and watched as Lily retched and heaved on the ground.

"Do something," The masked man who was bound to Remus shouted.

"It'll pass," another masked voice said. It took Remus by surprise. It was a female voice.

As Lily seemed to be vomiting everything she'd ever eaten in her life the female Death Eater, who had nobody attached to her, put a leglocker curse on Remus and took the Death Eater attached to him farther down the path. "The stench is unbearable. We'll be back in a few minutes." They left the group. It seemed Lily had finished and she stood up, gasping for air. It was now that Remus, unable to move any part of his body, noticed the way the Death Eater she was bound to was looking at her. Even though he could only see his eyes there was something in them. Something familiar. And they were looking at Lily with a sort of sympathy. He leaned into Lily.

"Curse me," he whispered so low Remus couldn't hear.

Lily looked up and recognized the eyes. "Severus," she whispered.

"Curse me then get out of here. Hurry they'll be back soon," he whispered again, taking an extra moment to linger in her smell.

Severus unbound her and Lily grabbed her wand. Remus looked on confused. "Petrificus Totalus," She said forcefully.

Severus fell to the ground and Lily turned to Remus, pointed her wand and said, "Relashio". Remus was able to move. "Thank you," Lily said to the petrified Severus who lay on the ground.

"Who is that?" Remus asked.

"We need to hurry," Lily said, ignoring his question and running back down the path. "They will be back in a second."

Remus didn't need telling twice. He sped behind her and ran as fast as he could.

"Come over here," Peter said to James, motioning toward a rock. "Sit down."

"I'm not going to sit," James said. "I've got to find Lily."

"Sirius and Arabella are doing that. Sirius wants you to sit and rest," Peter pulled James toward the rock. It was then that James noticed the rock seemed to lead to an unseen path.

"Peter, look," he said pointing to the path. "I think that goes somewhere, we should check it out."

Peter got a mischievous grin on his face. "Alright. I'll follow you," he said. James started toward the path when he saw two figures running out of it.

"Lily!" He shouted as she reached him and fell into his arms.

"We have to get out of here. They'll be coming back," she said pulling away from James and starting to walk again. James followed closely behind her.

Remus glanced at Peter. They had found the pathway. Remus had assumed someone who knew it was there could only find the pathway. Maybe he was wrong, he thought.

Sirius and Arabella hurried to the rest of the group at the sound of the commotion and ran to keep up with James and Lily. Once all six of them were together they ran out of the area, towards Hogsmeade where they knew they'd be safe.

"How did you escape," Sirius asked breathlessly to Lily.

"The baby's on our side," she smiled, holding her belly.

The next few months were spent in hiding. James and Lily went on a holiday to an undisclosed location. Only Dumbledore knew where they were. Hogwarts had let out for the summer so the remaining Potters were brought back there, though there hadn't been any attacks since the one on Lily and Remus.

Even Sirius seemed a little nervous. He couldn't figure out why they would take Remus if they hadn't wanted Sirius to come after him.

"I told you, they thought I would be better bait for James," Remus said. He didn't really know, but that seemed to calm Sirius down slightly. Sirius was obsessed and thought of nothing else.

When James and Lily returned from their holiday in the middle of July Lily was already expected to deliver. They arrived at Hogwarts to greetings of excitement from James' parents and sister who were anxious to welcome the newest Potter. Lily looked miserable. Her stomach had grown so big in the past month that she couldn't do almost anything. She had been given early maternity leave from work due to the fact that she kept knocking things down in Dumbledore's office with her oversized belly.

The east wing on the fifth floor was filled with laughter and joy, something that had been foreign to the Potter and Black family for years. A classroom had been transformed into a make shift kitchen, as it seemed silly to make the house elves work harder then normal during their summer. Mrs. Potter was more then happy to cook for her family. Sirius and his mother were expected as well as Remus and Peter. It would be a great celebration for James and Lily's anniversary.

"Three years," Sirius said, falling out of the fireplace. "Can't believe you made it this long." He laughed and kissed Lily's cheek.

"Where's Remus?" James asked.

"Full moon," Sirius replied. He walked to Mrs. Potter. "This smells wonderful", he said.

"Should we put some in a Spell-tight container for Remus?" She asked cheerfully.

"If there's left-overs," Sirius said. "My mum should be here any minute, she Flooed me right before I left and said she was running late. Big surprise," he said.

"You don't have to stay very long if you want to spend time with Remus," James said pulling Sirius aside.

"It's okay. He's a big boy, Prongs, he can take care of himself." Sirius looked at him condescendingly.

James was about to retort with some remark when a whirl of green flames shot out of the fire and Peter stood before them.

"About time," Sirius said striding toward him.

"I'm not late am I?" Peter asked.

"He's just giving you trouble," James said helping him out of the fireplace.

The three men walked to a corner and started a casual conversation. Lily was talking to Melly Potter who had just turned 12 and was getting ready to start her second year at Hogwarts.

Only moments later two more figures popped out of the fireplace, one right after the other. Sirius' mother and older sister, Tara, were there. Mrs. Black joined in to help Mrs. Potter and Tara engaged in conversation with Lily.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Lily.

"Like he's never going to come out," Lily sighed.

"Well, it's a lot easier to take care of them on the inside then when they come out," She said smiling. She should know. She had three of her own.

"Where's Dad," James asked, sitting down at the table with Sirius and Peter.

"He's with Dumbledore. They should be here any minute. They're talking. Top secret stuff," Mrs. Potter said in a sort of annoyed tone. "Like the Potter women can't be bothered with top secret information."

"Yes, what is it with that?" Lily said to James. "Do you think we are helpless?" She gave a small laugh and felt something move in her tummy. It made her smile more.

The door opened and Dumbledore and Mr. Potter joined the rest of the group around the table. It was a wonderful feast with roast pork and potatoes. The house elves couldn't have done better. When everyone was finished they adjourned to the sitting room that had been used at Hogwarts as a large storage space. Now it was furnished with a couch and chairs.

Lily sat next to James and was so quiet nobody noticed her breathing getting deeper. Nobody noticed her hand clutch her belly. She reached for James and he looked over at her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I think the baby's on his way," she said.

After moments of careful consideration, it was illegal to Apparate or use Floo powder after 7 months of pregnancy, Lily was transferred to the hospital wing, and the medi-wizard was brought to Hogwarts. All this careful rushing seemed pointless; however, when 20 hours later Lily was still pregnant.

"He's never going to come out," Lily shouted through a particularly painful contraction. The potion they gave to ease the pain had worn off hours ago and they were wary to give her more for fear of harming the baby.

Remus had been notified and joined the group after he'd had enough sleep that day. He still looked tired though. "I brought this for the baby's memoir," he said to James. He was holding up that day's issue of the Daily Prophet, dated July 30. "I'm not sure it's going to be for the right day now," Remus looked at Lily who was squirming in pain.

Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Black, who had never left, paced back and forth like expectant fathers. "Is it natural for her to be in labor this long?" Mrs. Black asked.

"Maybe it's a Muggle thing," Mrs. Potter responded.

"It can't be much longer can it?" James asked the Medi-wizard.

"She's only dilated four centimeters in the past 24 hours. First babies take time. We could be here a while," the doctor. Lily looked furious.

Moments later, Lily's parents arrived with Dumbledore and Mr. Potter. They were the first Muggles to be at Hogwarts in a century. The Evans' seemed overwhelmed by all the magic in the room. There were water basins floating in mid air, helping the Medi-wizard keep everything sterile. There were a couple of house elves hustling around bringing blankets and ice chips. And there were suddenly familiar faces swarming around them. "Isn't this exciting?" Mrs. Potter said to Mrs. Evans.

"Yes it is." Mrs. Evans smiled, still a little overwhelmed by her environment.

"Your first grandchild?" Mrs. Potter asked again.

"No, my second. I have another grandson, who was born just a few months ago," Mrs. Evans smiled, seemingly more comfortable as a chair magically appeared under her.

"Oh, I wasn't aware Lily had any siblings," Mrs. Potter said.

"Yes, a sister." The smile faded from Mrs. Evan's face. She didn't really want to explain to everyone how her daughter Petunia felt about witches and wizards.

Luckily James strode over at that very moment. "Mother Evans," he said smiling.

Mrs. Potter tutted as she smelled liquor on his breath. "James, you are about to be a father. Have you been drinking?" She glanced over at Sirius, Remus and Peter who were snickering; they too appeared to have drunk a bit.

"Just a little, Mum. We have to find some way to pass the time. Sirius summoned it."

"I can't believe you," came a reprimand from Lily, who seemed to be forgotten in all the excitement. "Your son is about to be brought into the world. And you," she shot to Sirius, "encouraging him." She wanted to continue, but got interrupted by a rather large contraction.

"Come on Lil," Sirius retorted after the pain seemed to pass, "We've been here for a whole day. We needed something to pass our time. It's a celebration. Another Potter," Sirius smiled.

"I'll drink to that," Peter said. They got three glasses and drank deeply from them again, amidst disapproving glances from nearly everyone else in the room.

By 10:00 that night, the room was so filled with people you would hardly notice that a woman was giving birth. Out of sympathy that Lily still hadn't had the baby, the Medi-wizard gave her a numbing potion that made the pain go away, but now she couldn't feel anything.

Sirius, Remus and Peter, now effectively drunk were playing poker with Mr. Potter and Mr. Evans who seemed to be taking advantage of their state and winning every hand. Mrs. Black, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans were engaging in labor stories.

"Really, you mean they had to take the baby by cutting your stomach open," Mrs. Black asked, fascinated by the story of Mrs. Evans cesarean section. In the wizarding world, if the baby were upside-down, as Mrs. Evan's older daughter was, they just used a charm and flipped the baby over in the mother's stomach.

"Then what happened," Mrs. Potter asked, sipping her tea. They listened intently.

James was sitting beside Lily, stroking her hair and talking casually. "Like one big party isn't it?" James said motioning toward all the people in the room.

"Yes. Well, we're about to bring another great wizard into the world, we should be having a party," Lily said, groggily. She hadn't slept at all.

"A great wizard? We don't know that for sure," James smiled kissing her forehead.

"He'd better be great. After all this trouble he's giving me and he isn't even born yet."

"He'll be worth it," James said. He looked at his younger sister who had managed to fall asleep in all the excitement. It looked to James like Remus wasn't too far behind. He couldn't keep his head up.

Lily patted her large belly, "I wish he'd hurry. I can't wait to see him."

James stared at his wife as she caressed their unborn child. He never loved anyone more at that moment then he loved her. He could never imagine loving anyone else. Even in a room filled with excited people, James felt it was just he and Lily.

Three hours later, the Blacks had finally gone home. Sirius and Remus leaned into each other, asleep in the hallway. Peter had left after drinking so much they were afraid he'd Floo to the wrong location. Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Evans lay half awake in the hallway in cots conjured by Dumbledore, who had given up on thinking the baby would ever be born, and returned to his quarters. The only noise that filled the castle was a cry from a baby. It was small at first, making the sleeping people think it was just a dream, then got louder as footsteps thundered and the doors to the hospital wing flew open.

"He's here," James said. A mix between exasperation and fatigue on his face.

Lily sat on her bed, tears in her eyes as she looked at her tiny black haired bundle. "It's about time you come," she kissed his forehead. "Harry Potter."