Disclaimer: All people and places are property of J. K. Rowling.

Life Had Just Begun

By Terra

Chapter Five: Family Ties

When I had worked out the details with Sirius about his "job", I returned to my house. The next part of my master plan was to not make it look like Sirius was protecting Lily from evil psycho Death Eaters; we were doing Sirius "a favor". I also had to make it look like it was her idea and I just happened to read her mind through some psychic link.

So, I returned home (sober, thank you for asking) and found Lily sulking on the couch, staring at our fireplace with a vengeance. Something was wrong.

"Lily? How did it go?" I asked meekly. She turned her face towards me, a huge frown on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Petunia's pregnant," she growled.

"Oh," I replied dumbly.

Lily threw her arms back in mock laziness. "Been pregnant for simply ages! Isn't that delightful! Our children will almost be like twins! Isn't that just swell?" Lily clutched a cushion in fury.

"How far along is she?" I asked then instantly regretted it when I saw Crookshanks go flying across the room behind her.

Her eyes flashing, she answered, "Two months along!" She mimicked her mother, "'Did I forget to tell you? You know I don't understand that owl post business. Vernie and your sister are so excited! This is just wonderful how both my little girls are having children at the same time! Aren't you happy for Petty, Lily?'" She reverted back to her natural voice, "Oh, yeah, I'm thrilled that Petunia got pregnant before I did." She started to wail from fury, "She stole my thunder! That was my special thing and she ruined it!"

I sat down beside her, and rubbed circles in her back. "It's okay, Lily."

She wasn't really listening to me. "It's always Petunia, Petunia, Petunia. It's always her first and me last! Just because she was born first, it doesn't mean she has to beat me to every little thing! Why did she have to be pregnant first? Now, no one's going to all excited for our little one because their little one will be getting all the attention! That happened during our wedding too! She deliberately planned to have her wedding before mine so everyone would compare! Now my baby is going to be constantly compared to their kid for the rest of its life, just as it was for me and Petunia. I swear, she did this on purpose!"

"Lily," I said calmly, pulling her into an embrace, "aren't you being a touch irrational?"

"No," she mumbled.

"I seriously doubt Petunia planned this all out. She's not that intelligent. Neither is Vernon. Besides, who cares if Petunia and Vernon beat us? It's like Quidditch; catching the Snitch doesn't always win the game."

"How is this like Quidditch?"

"Simple. Okay, they'll have this baby but look at its parents! Yes, people will compare but they'll be comparing their baby to ours. 'Why can't you be like Aunt Lily's kid? Why can't you be as smart or pretty or athletic or magical or perfect as theirs, hm?'"

Lily giggled. "Yeah, ours is going to be perfect, isn't it?"

"Perfect."

"Mm-hm." Lily nodded. "I feel better now. How was Sirius?"

Funny you should ask, my darling wife. "Oh, he got fired again."

"Again? What now?"

"He complained about the lack of heat so he got fired."

"Oh, Sirius, the poor thing," Lily sighed. "I'm sure he's very upset."

Time to reel her in. "Yeah. He doesn't think he'll be able to find another job."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll find one."

"But not before his money runs out."

"Runs out? How much money does he have?"

"Well, he didn't say that in so many words but his food supplies are dangerously low. And his rent is due soon."

"That's just awful! What's he going to do? I wish there was something we could do…"

"If only Sirius could find a job, but I'm stumped."

Come on, Lily. This is an easy one. Think.

"What if…? No… he'll never use his parents' money…" Lily sighed. "And he'll never take charity from any of us."

"If only we could offer him a job, then it wouldn't be charity, would it?" I suggested then shook my head, "But, no, that's silly, forget it…"

"Wait! James, that's brilliant!"

"What is?"

"That was what I just thinking! We could offer Sirius a job! This is perfect. I'll need someone to help me out and you have to work all day. We could just hire Sirius to help me out. He could even live here in the meanwhile! He's strong enough to lift heavy objects and he could help decorate the baby's room. He could do a million things while you're out!"

"Lily," I said, "you're a genius. I would have never thought of that. Why don't I contact Sirius now?" Lily nodded and got up.

"I'll start dinner. Sirius should come tomorrow, so he can pack tonight."

I waited for Lily to busy herself with pots and pans while I called Sirius to inform him that our plan had worked and he was expected the next day.

*** ***

I went to work the next day with no word on whose body parts I found. By the time I came home, Sirius had already settled in. Lily had decided to let Sirius sleep on the proposed baby's room on a cot so the room would be "lived in". He was also serving a hapless tester of the room's conditions, whether Sirius liked it or not.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Lily eating a bagel with butter on it. Sirius was also sitting at the table but his head buried in his arms.

"Hello, Lily," I said as I kissed her, "What's wrong with him?"

"He doesn't like my choice of food," Lily explained.

"You call that food? I wouldn't," Sirius voice explained.

"I'll try a bit," I remarked. Lily tore off a bit and handed it to me as Sirius groaned, "Ugh, I wouldn't."

I ate the piece of bagel but I noticed that the butter had an awful taste. I swallowed it but my head shivered at the unpleasant taste. "There's something wrong with that butter," I gurgled.

"It's not butter," Lily answered calmly, still eating it.

"What? Then what is it?"

"Mayonnaise."

"Mayonnaise? On a bagel?" I demanded, trying to wash the taste out with water from the sink.

"It's got protein!" Lily replied. Sirius began to shake with silent laughter.

"I told you not to eat it," Sirius commented, looking up.

"You could have said why."

"You could have asked first."

Lily had finished her bagel and said without missing a beat, "I'm still hungry."

"What disgusting concoction are you going to eat now?" Sirius asked.

"It was good!"

"Mayonnaise on a bagel?" He returned.

"I want some potatoes!" Lily decided, ignoring Sirius' sigh of relief.

"That sounds good," I answered and Sirius' head went down into his arms again as he said, "Sure. I like potatoes."

The dinner passed without too much incident. It could have been a simply marvelous evening if there hadn't been a knock on the door.

While Sirius was in the middle of telling an experience at Mr. Gallagher's, there was a knock on the door. Conversation ceased. Knocks on the door had become frightening events because of the Reign of Lord Voldemort.

Yes, I said it. Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort.

Anyway, I slowly got to my feet. Everyone was silent. I held my breath. The visitor knocked again. I gulped. I crossed into the receiving hall and opened the door, my right hand going into the pocket of my robes for my wand.

"Are you Mr. Potter?" a wizard in an Auror uniform inquired. I relaxed slightly.

"Yes, I am."

"Is this a bad time?"

Behind me, I heard Lily and Sirius rummaging around in order to clean up.

"No, we just finished dinner."

"I need to take you with me."

"Will I be long?"

"I cannot say for sure." I nodded. The Auror grabbed my shoulder and Apparated us both away.

*** ***

I clearly identified my new locale as St. Mungo's Hospital. My mother was sitting on a cold-looking chair in what I assumed was a waiting room. Frank Longbottom was waiting at her side. Suddenly, I knew. I shivered. I didn't want to have proof. I wanted to be paranoid. I wanted my father to be, I don't know… in Peru by an Apparation mistake or something. Not this. Never this.

"James," my mother implored me, her eyes red. I went towards her. She seemed to have aged centuries. She appeared weak, trembling, and fragile. Her hand seemed like powder in mine. Longbottom nodded at us and we followed him. My mother could barely walk on her own. We were led through countless hallways. It was so surreal, so quiet, so peaceful.

We were finally led down a hall with a sign reading, "Dark Arts Activity Related Injuries and Deaths". My mother let out a sharp, ringing wail that died quickly. We passed by other corridors branching off from ours, "Emergency", "Curse Therapy", "Mental Health Residential Area", countless others, and finally we turned into "Morgue".

My mother gripped my sleeve tighter. I felt a bit dizzy. There was a strange buzzing my ears. Longbottom, cool as anything, stopped in front of an iron door. He pressed a button and the doors slid open. My mother sounded like she was choking on her tears. He led us inside. There were two chairs in the room. And a table. A single, ordinary table with sanitary paper covering it. My father's remains, correction: the remains of his remains since it was clear that parts were missing, were arranged on the table.

"We tried to assemble his remains," Longbottom explained, "in a human form. However, as you can tell, some areas of his body we were unable to locate."

My mother wailed. I stepped towards the mass on the table as Longbottom made my mother sit in a chair. The bones were missing, I noticed, making my father's body floppy and loose. They also had taken a part of his upper arm, a chunk of his thigh, both of his wrists, nine of his fingers, one ear, one eye, and half of his nose. The Death Eaters had not been satisfied with merely killing him. They had sought to humiliate him as well.

"Harold, Harold," my mother moaned, in tears. I turned my attention to a pile of bloody mess near my father's head. Pointing to it, I asked, shaking, "What is that?"

"That… is your father's internal organs." My mother screamed in pain when she looked up to see what I had been inquiring about.

"His heart... his lungs… everything… Harold! Oh, God, Harold!" My mother ran to the table, throwing herself on my father's remains. "Don't leave me here! Don't leave me!"

"They just... mashed his organs together? Like potatoes?" Longbottom nodded. Wishing strongly that I hadn't had potatoes beforehand, I patted my mother's shoulder.

"If only… if only…" my mother cried, "I hadn't asked him to go to Diagon Alley for more Communication Powder! We had enough for another day! I should have gone myself! He would have never been there!"

"Mother, it's not your fault," I said. No, I thought, it's mine. Mine and mine alone.

"Harold! My dear Harold!" My mother's words dissolved into frantic sobs. I couldn't bear to look at her but I couldn't turn my eyes away from my father's… body wasn't even the proper term.

"How did you identify him?" I choked out.

"Finger prints from the remaining finger. I believe the Death Eaters clearly wanted him identified and his death known." Longbottom expression darkened. "I believe that they enjoy the reaction more than the kill sometimes. Especially with a family like yours." My mother screamed and sobbed behind me. I could do nothing except stand there, my arms at my sides, and watch my mother cry.

It was three hours before my mother had worn herself out. We discussed funeral arrangements briefly, deciding that cremation was best. I would be in charge of scattering the ashes over the ocean. My father, I learned, couldn't swim but had always wanted to learn how. "So envious he was," my mother explained tearfully, "you took to water like you were born in it. He loved the ocean but he always had to watch it from afar."

"Mother, will you get home all right?" I asked, standing outside the hospital.

"Yes, I don't want to bother you, Lily must be waiting for you. I received your owl," she smiled briefly and continued, "Congratulations. Your father... would have been very pleased." She sniffled and broke out into tears. "Your birth gave him so much joy," she stuttered. I hugged her awkwardly, letting her cry. The wind moaned quietly around us and blew softly, as if not wanting to interrupt. "I must be going, James," she said.

I pulled myself away, feeling embarrassed. Public affection was never big in our family.

"Yes," I agreed. Then with a final glance, I Apparated.

*** ***

Lily and Sirius were sitting in the living room, obviously waiting up. Sirius was bent over on the couch, taking up the full length of it, doing a crossword and Lily was flipping through a catalog of baby furniture in the overstuffed chair.

"Sirius, what do you think of...?" Lily started but saw me and said, "James? What happened?"

Sirius lifted his head. I walked over to the couch and sank into it beside Sirius. At the same time, he lifted his legs to the floor and sat up straight, tossing the crossword to one side. "You okay?"

I shook my head but said nothing. My vision was blurring. There were no words to express it.

Lily practically dove over and Sirius rolled off the couch like they had rehearsed this. I leaned into her shoulder, glad to have someone to care. My mother was completely alone. I opened my mouth to speak but only a gargle came out. Lily shushed me, saying, "Don't say anything. There's nothing to discuss."

There was silence except for the foul, haunting wind crying outside.

To Be Continued.

Author's Notes: This was short! I'm shocked! I'm writing this on my brand-new computer! Yay! It took forever to write this, you know. Almost did what Rowling said she was going to do with chapter nine ( I think) in GoF in an interview, just post "This bit was too hard. Use your imagination. Here's chapter six". But I got it down. It's high time for a review, pal! I have to prove to myself that I'm terribly lame. Tell me how stupid my story is with either a review button or e-mailing me at destinyplot@lycos.com! See ya!