Chapter 14: Mucky Weather

The onset of a particularly muggy summer was upon them. The weather was just short of stifling; it felt like a huge cloak of steaming humidity had draped itself over everyone and everything, and things were generally sluggish and slightly unsettling.  Hogwarts lay lonely and magnificent on its vast tract of land, all of the students having gone home for the summer.  Hogsmeade was more quiet than usual; most of what activity there was centered at The Three Broomsticks, and even that was lagging due to the heat wave.

Strangely enough, Voldemort's attacks had slowed with the mucky weather and in their place an almost eerie calm had fallen. Subsequently, work at the Ministry had slowed down, allowing Lily to work mostly from home as her pregnancy reached its later stages and she found moving about tiring to the extreme.

Apparition in her condition had become too dangerous to attempt, so she had taken to traveling about by floo powder. Lily had always been a dunce at flooing—half the time, she ended up landing on her backside, and a couple times during Hogwarts years James had had to retrieve her from neighbouring households' grates during vacations—so she tried to avoid doing it at all costs. When she had no other alternative, she kept a small sack of extra powder with her at all times, just in case she ended up somewhere disreputable or completely obscure.

She much preferred flying, and she had a cleverly streamlined, beautifully refurbished Silver Arrow that had been rapidly falling into disuse of late, which she'd gotten with her first paycheck after graduation.   She hadn't been using it since she'd found out she was pregnant; James was wary of the idea of her suspended high above the ground at risk of falling. It was only after Sirius had intervened and cast several 'foolproof' cushioning and balancing spells on the broom that James trusted her over short distances on the broom at all. Sirius had had to remind him repeatedly that he knew what he was doing—Adhara, and the fact that he'd never fallen from her while flying at breakneck speeds, attested to the fact. That, and Sirius's constant reminders that he could have been Head Boy at school if he'd actually wanted. It wasn't too far from the truth, as Sirius's magical talent and marks had been about the same as James's at Hogwarts, but his propensity toward mischief and incompetence at gauging boundaries of any sort had discouraged the professors from putting him in anything resembling an authoritative position.

The morning sickness had worn off as the pregnancy progressed; Sirius, Remus, and Peter were amused to no end by the sympathy pains James had been going through, once they'd gotten accustomed to the fact that Lily was pregnant. ("What, already?  Ohhh, our little Prongs all grown up and about to be a Daddy!  C'mere, you!! [insert yells and scuffling of feet]")  It had become an almost common occurrence to find both Lily and James suffering together in the morning—Lily hovering above the porcelain bowl in the water closet, and James hunched over next to her, looking decidedly green in the face.

"I tremble to think of what you're going to be feeling when Lily goes through labor," Sirius often said, earning himself glares and blows about the head from James later in the day, which he casually ducked.

After—and during—the morning sickness came the wild cravings and mood swings. These were difficult, to put it somewhat mildly, to deal with. James often admitted to himself that coping with the pregnancy would have been near impossible if he hadn't had his best mates at his side. The fact that there were four of them at Lily's beck and call (or nearly so) eased the responsibility off his shoulders. By the third trimester, they had all taken to picking up odd outlandish foods to satisfy Lily's limitless appetite at outrageous times of day and night.

Remus left yet again for Albania and some other similarly exotic places around Lily's fifth or sixth month, as news came up around that time about the discovery of an herb, wolfsbane, that was purportedly related to lycanthropy. He didn't neglect his duties, however; even while he was away, large tropical birds arrived with packages of delicacies, addressed to "Lily and Harry Potter (James too)." James didn't appreciate being relegated to parentheses, but postponed sending Remus a Howler so long as Lily was happy with the treats—which she was.

"Remus is my hero," Lily would say jokingly, nibbling at whatever new sweetmeat had arrived that day.  "I love him.  He is such a—"

"Wanker," James would helpfully supply, pouting comically.  He stared hard at the address on the packages again and again, grumbling under his breath.  "I didn't even make the parentheses!!  And now my wife says she loves him?  That's going a bit too far…"

The decoration of a nursery was well underway.  Despite his initial attempts at manly disinterest, James found himself to actually be quite good at choosing and matching interior décor. (Lily was pleasantly surprised when James picked out wallpaper and curtains that not only matched but also did not have a Quidditch motif.)  As Lily's belly grew and the first few kicks were felt and exclaimed over, James abandoned all guise of not caring, and he and Lily threw themselves whole-heartedly into picking out baby toys and making far-fetched predictions about their son's future. Congratulations poured in from the couple's varied acquaintance—they even received an official Hogwarts letter, signed by all the faculty—even Snape. Several of the professors dropped by to visit the expecting couple in their spare time.  McGonagall and Flitwick, especially, were bursting with well-wishes for their protégés and looked forward enthusiastically to the day Harry would be old enough to go to Hogwarts.

The number of Quidditch-related baby products the couple was presented with during the shower was really verging on ridiculous; it seemed James and Sirius had both been going about telling people to invest in toy brooms and toddlers' sets of Quidditch equipment, or gift certificates to Quality Quidditch Supplies, with which ideas confused well-wishers complied eagerly.  There were also Quidditch-patterned baby blankets, bottles, and booties; a Quidditch mobile that went over the cradle and played a tinkly rendition of "Beat Back Those Bludgers, Boys, and Chuck That Quaffle Here" while miniature bludgers spun around haphazardly; and a gigantic stuffed plush quaffle fully equipped with anti-spittle charms.  James was particularly fond of the last gift, which Sirius had so thoughtfully purchased—his exclamations over its preciousness nearly eclipsed Lily's exclamations over the other baby accessories that came pouring in.

Lily found out—James never figured out how—that her sister Petunia had just had a baby boy, named Dudley. Why Petunia had chosen such a strange name neither Lily nor James could fathom.  Lily had taken the time, however, to send Petunia a gift—a set of beautifully made baby's clothing, which she'd toiled over just as industriously as she had over her own Harry's clothing—and a message of heartfelt congratulations. There had been no response; Lily had then taken the opportunity to visit the Dursleys' (Sirius and Peter couldn't stop laughing at the name 'Dudley Dursley,' and even Lily had to admit that it was a bit of a tongue-twister) home in Surrey, in order to find out whether her sister had indeed received the package through the post.

Petunia had been home alone with Dudley that day, and on Lily's arrival had merely given curt acknowledgement of the gift before abruptly telling her sister that she had better things to do than associate with freaks and very nearly slamming the door in her face.  Dudley's earsplitting wails could be heard in the background as Petunia's footsteps retreated briskly from the entry, leaving Lily standing quite stunned on the stoop.

Disappointed and deeply disheartened by the trip, Lily had returned home to James's arms and some chocolate-raspberry steak for consolation. James noted sardonically (to himself, of course) that Petunia, while apparently despising Lily and all things magical, saw fit to keep her gift even though it probably wouldn't fit Dudley, if Lily's description of the fat larva-like child meant anything at all.  James had never gotten on well with Petunia Evans or Vernon Dursley.  He'd always been under the impression that Vernon looked more like a mustached tomato than a human being, while Petunia resembled a platinum-dyed horse.  The couple's rude, disagreeable dispositions didn't make him like them any better.  How Petunia came to be related to Lily was a complete mystery to him, and he took great comfort in knowing that he and the rest of the Marauders had played several pranks on the couple back in their Hogwarts days, several of which utilized to definite advantage Vernon's unhealthy fixation with drills.

The couple finally broached the topic of choosing the baby's guardian one day in the eighth month. The weather was particularly disgusting that day: the sun was obscured by dense clouds, but the heat was nevertheless intense.  Hints of rain hovered ominously on the horizon, and the air was thick with humidity.  The two of them lounged in their backyard swing, swaying slightly in hopes of feeling a breeze.

"I wanted to ask all three of them," James was saying, mopping his forehead repeatedly with an already-drenched cloth.

"Yes, why not?" asked Lily, perspiring profusely as well. "I'm sure they'd all make lovely godfathers. Not sure how responsible they'd be, taking care of a baby, but…yes. Did you ask them yet?"

"Well, I did bring it up last time we met in Hogsmeade," James began, frowning slightly. "But Peter said he didn't know how often he'd be able to be around, the next few years, since it seems his mother's ailing and might need him around. It didn't feel right to ask him to take on extra responsibilities, as things are, so I let the subject drop."

"What about Remus?"

"I owled him earlier this month about it…but he seems to think he'd be a danger to the baby."

Lily made a derisive noise as she lay limply across the seat. "Just because of his…condition? That's complete nonsense! Remus would never hurt a fly."

James agreed with her. "But apparently, he's afraid of any accidents that might take place."

The couple lapsed into silence, each simultaneously casting cooling charms on the other.

"Well…I suppose too many things might go wrong," Lily said thoughtfully, after the pause. "Before Harry's old enough to understand about werewolves, he might accidentally—" she noticed that James was about to interrupt indignantly, and fluttered a listless restraining hand. "I know you boys can control Remus—I'm just saying…we can't possibly be there all the time, and you know the lot of you had quite a few close calls when you took Remus out of the Shrieking Shack. Even after you had already mastered the Animagus transformation perfectly." Her look was gentle, and she caught James's hand in hers. "I don't like doing this, either, but if Remus would rather not, then we'd better not force him…you know how he would blame himself if anything were to happen…"

James couldn't say anything to that, and finally moved on. "At least we've got Sirius. He was thrilled with the idea of being godfather." James burst into laughter before deciding that it was too active an occupation for the sweltering day and stopped. "I think he's already planning on teaching Harry ways to extricate the Marauder's Map from Filch's clutches and to wreak havoc at Hogwarts when the time comes."

Lily chuckled, throwing her head back slightly and flinging wet tendrils of hair out of her face. "Well, let's just hope Harry's a little more responsible than his godfather is."

"Yes, I agree," James said, soberly. "It's going to be hard getting it back from Filch—Sirius couldn't possibly think up a good enough plan on his own. Foolhardy, that would be. No, for plans of this sort I was always the best…"

Lily rolled her eyes, though her mouth quirked into a smile. "And more responsible than his father is."

"Yes, I mean—Eh!" James stopped, tugging playfully at Lily's hair. "What do you mean by that, Evans? I'm perfectly responsible!"

"Yes, perfectly," Lily said sarcastically, smirking at James and wriggling her eyebrows.

The couple laughed, but soon sighed and leaned back languidly—the heat was really too intense.

That evening, the two of them were inside preparing for a light meal—cold cuts for James, with iced raspberry sauce and powdered peanut for Lily—when their fireplace roared and Dumbledore popped in, quite literally, for a visit. They invited the old wizard to partake of the meal with them, which he did—eating exactly what Lily did and enjoying it immensely. James wondered about the headmaster's taste, but said nothing.

Both Lily and James inwardly speculated, as they made light conversation with the professor throughout the meal, whether he had just stopped by for a casual visit, or whether he had something of more import to say to them. Dumbledore rarely made casual visits, and he'd already dropped in a couple of times after they'd told him the news about baby Harry coming.

Their questions were answered as they sat around the table, finishing dessert.

"I expect you have both been wondering why I came for such an unexpected visit," Dumbledore said at last, smiling wryly at the couple.

The two of them exchanged glances, then turned back to the headmaster. James spoke, slowly. "Well, we did wonder if this was to be a casual visit, or whether you had news for us, Albus."

Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Yes…I'm afraid that I have rather—serious—news."

Lily reached for James's hand without even noticing. His warm grasp reassured her, and she slowly relaxed in her seat.

"As you are both aware," Dumbledore said, "Someone in the Order has been passing information on to the Dark Lord. Now, my sources have also told me that not only had Voldemort been keeping a very close eye on our comings and goings, but he's been targeting people lately, having them followed."

"You don't mean…like the Longbottoms?" asked Lily. "James brought it up the other day, didn't you, James?"

"Yes, I'd heard in the office about Frank's thinking of taking a leave of absence. I talked to Frank himself about it, and he told me that they'd been noticing suspicious goings-on, but that he didn't want to take a leave, especially right now, when Aurors are needed so badly. Besides, he says, they aren't really in such great danger, as compared to everyone else. He claims it's only because he's an Auror, and a damn good one I might add, that Voldemort is watching him, anyway."

"That's Frank for you, right there," Lily added, smiling shakily. "Always the unselfish one. I suppose his wife agreed with him?"

"Yes, they're determined to fight, regardless of their own safety. There seem to be fewer and fewer wizards with that sort of admirable mentality these days," James paused, then remembered what they'd been talking about before. "But we're getting sidetracked. To get straight to the point: what does this have to do with us, Albus? Are we being targeted?" he asked bluntly.

Dumbledore chuckled in a somewhat grim fashion. "What little information I've gotten is this: Voldemort has been watching the two of you. I suspect that's one of the tasks of the spy within the Order—to watch the Potters, to report all your news to him as soon as possible. Voldemort may know that you are expecting a child, especially since you haven't made much of an attempt to hide the information."

The couple sat in frozen astonishment. Why—How—What—

"Which is why," Dumbledore continued, "I came tonight. I was going to suggest that the two of you go into hiding—after the baby is born, of course.  Until then, certain new safety precautions should be taken."

Lily had a hand on her burgeoning abdomen now, and was rubbing it in small circles, as though comforting the child within. Her other hand was clasped in James's. James sat, stock-still, staring at Dumbledore. The only thing about him that was moving was his jaw—it clenched and unclenched slowly, rhythmically.

Dumbledore's voice was low. "You know why Voldemort wants you, James. You know how he'll want baby Harry ten times as much as he wants you, as soon as he's born. We need to find the spy within the Order—but for that, we need time. We need to keep you away from Voldemort's direct line of vision until we can find the person who's passing information on to him."

Very, very slowly, James began to nod, as did Lily. "I had hoped this wouldn't come upon us…not so soon," Lily said softly.

"So did I, my dear," Dumbledore replied gently, his gaze softening as he looked at her belly. "So did I."

Notes:

Yaaaaaaay for procrastination!

Boooooo to school!

I actually mulled a bit longer on this chapter than for the others…so…yeah.  I've been editing it over the days in bits and pieces.  Hopefully it reads all together because it's become something like a patchwork quilt to me…

Anyway.  To you darling people who continue to review: :D

rosezgarden – Hello again!  Thanks for reviewing…for about every chapter thus far, isn't it?  :D  Yay!  As for the grapefruit…I wonder if it's good?  I'm really curious about it myself actually…one of these days I'll actually get around to trying it.  I can see myself eating grapefruit and potatoes for dinner.  Then again I have spastic living habits. ;)  Thank you for the applause, thank you, thank you ;D  Immensely flattered and completely undeserving.

everblue3 – Well then…you see the results of this procrastinatory state I'm in.  Mmmm…fondue….chocolate…strawberries.  All right, no more of this food-talk for me—the only thing I've got in my apartment is Spam…and that just doesn't cut it.  Um, I don't have much to say here because er…I was just talking to you.  Lalala, hope this chapter finds you in a good pre-breakfast-boredom. ;D

ta-tiana258 – Here 'tis…hope you weren't disappointed :)  Thanks for the review!

KirbeeDesirae – I just checked out your member profile—I like The King and I with Deborah Kerr, too!  I actually like quite a few Deborah Kerr movies…come on, An Affair to Remember?  What's not to like?  But yes, I really liked "Getting to Know You."  :)  It's not weird.  Well, actually, I suppose I really couldn't be a judge of weirdness…heh.  Someday when I am not sleep-deprived I will check out harrypotter.com's "dialogue center" or whatever it is you post on…hopefully ff.net won't continue to be a jerk to you and will allow you to get your fic up here!  In the meantime, though, thanks for reviewing and hope you like!  There're bits of Sirius and Remus floating around, but not much in this chapter.  Well, not much in the next, either, but definitely more than this.  I will work on that.  I'm happy happy happy that you added this story to your favorites! :D

char – Thanks for reviewing!!  Erm…I didn't write a very detailed response from Sirius about the whole pregnancy…but it's in keeping with the whole rest of the fic, so yes…he will play a bigger part in the next chapter, really he will…:)

Kellie – Yay, you're back on the internet!  Hope you had fun catching up on all your regular reads (I love it when a whole bunch of the authors I like update their work at once…I get very gleeful and feel like I'm uncovering a gold mine and all that other clichéd stuff.)  Thanks again for reviewing!!

J. Hicks – Sorry about the lag in updates!  School is getting to me….and will continue to get to me for a while.  We'll see where procrastination takes me, eh? :D  Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing…hope you liked this one!