Disclaimer: All people and places belong to J. K. Rowling

Life Had Just Begun

By Terra

Chapter Sixteen: Whistle Blower

"Will you marry me?"

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"It's icky," Lily said finally. "The shape is all wrong."

In mid June, we finally found a free moment to go help Sirius buy a ring. For the past hour, Sirius had raided the entire ring display, getting down on bended knee to "propose" to Lily each time, to see how the ring would look in action. Oh, did I say past hour? Let me clarify, the past hour in that particular store. We first went to magical stores but both Lily and Sirius agreed that either the designs were lacking that special something or at the very least, the threat of magical consequences was very clear. Seeing that we had to be in Muggle London anyway, we moved to the jeweler stores within the Muggle world.

Once we entered the store, Sirius realized that he couldn't tell if the rings looked good from just seeing them in the case so he asked if he could remove them. As he was holding each one, he noticed that it was impossible to see how it would look from a receiver's perspective. Furthermore, he wasn't a woman so he had no idea what a woman would want in a ring. So, Lily played Marguerite as he "proposed" with every single one. The saleswoman looked like she wanted to smash Sirius' and Lily's heads in. Frankly, I was close to wanting that myself.

"Let's try this one," Sirius sighed.

As soon as he picked one up, Lily grimaced. "No. Put that back. You're not giving that!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Where are the diamonds on that thing?"

"Right here," Sirius explained, pointing to the line of embedded small diamonds in the gold finish.

"They're tiny, Sirius. I know I said not to have huge diamonds but don't give her something that small."

"They're very high quality," the saleswoman chirped nervously.

"Try the next one," Lily ordered.

Sirius selected another ring that had a diamond larger than the previous ring's diamonds. He got down on his knee, opened the box again and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Lily cocked her head and twisted her mouth in concentration. "I like it."

"Really?"

"It catches the light well. And it's not too big."

Sirius turned the ring back towards himself. "I like it too."

My jaw dropped. "You two have made a decision? Thank goodness." Suddenly, a thought came to me. "Hey, Sirius, how are you going to pay for this?"

"My inheritance."

"You never use your inheritance. Like, ever."

"I use it in emergencies."

"Sirius," I said frankly, "you've have lost your job many times, one time for a full month, you've nearly starved at points, and you've barely made rent at least twice since you got that flat. Those weren't emergencies?"

"No."

"Then tell me what is."

"Well, this situation for example. And also, suppose that you have this kid and he or she becomes a fantastic Seeker. During one dark stormy night, the wind is howling fiercely, and somehow his or her broom goes flying away into the Whomping Willow. For some unforeseen reason, you can not get him or her another one. Therefore, I would have to. That's an emergency."

"Do you realize how stupid that sounds? Rent is not an emergency but our child's broom is?" Lily demanded.

"Well, if our kid's a Seeker, a high quality broom is important since their entire role is dependent upon their speed," I explained. "Besides, if you said yourself that raising a kid is more than base necessities. A broom would provide happiness."

"Buy the ring so I don't have to listen to another Quidditch lecture," Lily moaned, putting her face in her hands.

Sirius got up from the ground, patted himself off, and added, "Actually, the situation can apply to anyone's future kid: yours, Remus', Peter's, mine. Just a little back up for a dark stormy rainy day."

"Buy the ring, Sirius," Lily said, exasperated. "We still have to go get a congratulations card for my sister and I want to make that as quick as possible."

Sirius nearly fell down laughing as he went to the counter as I snickered.

*** ***

Early that week, we had received a strange post. It was slid through our rarely-to-never-used post slot. Lily was upstairs, still getting dressed, when the strange envelope arrived. Sirius and I looked at each other, trying to see if the other knew what it could be. I went to fetch it from the floor.

It was a simple Muggle envelope with a postage stamp on it, our home address neatly in pen. Not bothering to glance at the return address, I shook it. It didn't make any suspicious sounds and I hadn't heard about cursed envelopes yet so I assumed it was safe. Shrugging, I opened the envelope and looked inside. There was a photo.

The photo was obviously Muggle and therefore the subject didn't move. It appeared to be... a beach ball with a bonnet on it. "Sirius? What does this look like?" I showed him the picture.

"A red and white beach ball. Who would send a picture of a beach ball?"

"Must be some Muggle thing."

"The ball's kind of deflated though. See? It's all wrinkled."

"What's all wrinkled?' Lily asked, gingerly making the trip down the stairs. "I can't take much more of this."

"Two more months, that's it. We're getting close," I answered softly.

"It keeps kicking and squirming! There's no more room!"

Cutting her daily rant short, I replied, "Anyway, we got a picture of a beach ball."

"A beach ball?"

"A deflated one," Sirius answered as Lily finally reached the floor we were on. Waddling over, she took the picture from my hands. She looked at the picture, flipped it over, and said in a bored tone, "Congratulations, James, you're an uncle."

"An uncle? Of who?"

"It's Petunia's baby."

"That thing? That's not what babies look like, do they?"

"It looks like a laughing Buddha statue I saw once in an import store," Sirius commented as he did an impression of the statue, "with a bonnet on its head."

"What's his name, then?" I asked.

"Dudley Dursley."

Sirius and I roared with laughter. I fell down and Sirius beat his fist against the table. Lily giggled slightly, whether at us or the name, I couldn't tell, as she prepared some food for herself. It took us ten solid minutes to calm down. Throughout the week, we would just look at each other in moments of silence and one of us would mutter, "Dudley" and we'd just crack up again.

*** ***

Anyway, we were obligated to purchase a card for the couple since Lily felt that her mother was hinting that she should through the picture.

Once Sirius had purchased his ring (after spending forever and a day picking out a box for it), we headed to the card store. It was fairly large with lots of rows and people milling about.

"Are you going to buy flowers?" Lily asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I want to buy Coleur-du-Soleil flowers. They're her favorite."

"Oh, the kind that change colour every hour?" I asked. Sirius nodded.

"Those are pretty," Lily agreed. Sighing, "So, James, funny card or serious?"

"Don't they hate fun and happy things?"

"Most fun and happy things. So, not funny, then?"

"Hm... but those are like, 'We're so happy and your child brings you joy' and blah, blah, blah. I'm not happy. I don't really care whether or not their son brings them joy."

"It's not like I want to buy them a card but we have to look like we care."

"They won't send us a card."

"If we do," Lily explained, "they will, because 'that's what is done'. They don't want to lose face."

"Like their wedding present which was a single teacup?"

"And my mother was upset about that." Lily gritted her teeth. "But, of course, she let it slide because they 'were barely getting by'. My butt! They weren't struggling by any means."

"Are we going to buy this card?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, we are. A sappy card will have to do," Lily concluded.

Before we could begin finding the row of congratulations card, a young girl's voice asked, "Excuse me, why are you fat?"

We turned to face the speaker. The voice belonged to a young girl, about eight years old, with long black hair and green eyes. Her hair was held back by a purple bow which matched her purple tee-shirt and the flowers on her denim shorts.

Lily pointed to herself. "Me?" The girl nodded. "Well," Lily answered slightly startled, "I'm pregnant."

"Does that mean you're going to have a baby?"

"Yes."

"Who's the daddy?"

Lily pointed at me. "Him. This is my husband."

"Oh. I used to have a mummy but I don't anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I don't remember her. She died when I was born. My daddy said that when I was born, there was too much love in the world so one of us had to go."

We didn't really know how to respond to that. "Um... I'm glad you stayed," Lily answered finally.

"She was very young and..."

"Alyssa! Where are you?"

"Right here, Daddy!"

A man turned the corner and came to dead stop when he saw us. Our jaws dropped. It was Oliver Whetstone.

*** ***

Oliver Whetstone was a Slytherin. Not only was he in Slytherin, he was best friends with Severus Snape. The pair of them were obsessed with fighting us, the Marauders. Snape was more concerned with Sirius and I but Whetstone hated Remus and Peter.

We could never figure out completely what Whetstone had against Peter, but the reason for his hatred of Remus was clear. In every year, there is one student that is the best in a certain subject. Every subject has its star student. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Remus was that star student of our year. However, Whetstone received the exact same marks as Remus but he wasn't considered the top student.

This drove Whetstone crazy and his ambition, which placed him in Slytherin, just made it worse. He was determined to best Remus in the class. It never happened but it created a destructive rivalry. So, the two Slytherins waged an all-out war against the four of us. For those odds, looking back I must say, they held up a good fight.

Whetstone was not like the other Slytherins. For example, he was Muggle-born. The last Muggle-born in Slytherin had been one year below my father's year, a boy named Tom Riddle. Second, he loved a Gryffindor.

Not just any Gryffindor. Oh no, that's too easy. He loved Lily. He loved Lily like I loved Lily. Apparently, he had been trying and failing to drum up the courage to tell her so but he never could. That is, until he convinced Snape to make him the highly advanced War Courage Potion. Making such a potion outside of class is illegal but he managed to pull it off.

We didn't even know this was going on. One day, in fifth year, shortly after Lily and I had begun dating, the post arrived. Lily received a red envelope: a Howler. We pondered over this weird situation. Who would send Lily a Howler?

Snape, in an amazing show of speed, dashed over to our House table. Laughing nervously, he claimed that the Howler was blank. It was a practical joke to see how the Perfect Lily Evans would react to receiving a Howler. But once he said that, our curiosity overtook us. What would happen if you mailed a Howler while it was blank? After fighting back and forth over whether or not to open it, Sirius took the task upon himself and ripped it open.

It wasn't blank. Whetstone had taken the potion in the wee hours of the morning, composed a sonnet, and recorded it in a previously purchased Howler, making sure it would be sent to Lily that day. He had not realized that Lily was already dating me. So, the Great Hall was filled with his voice booming this confession of love. Then there was silence. Sirius appeared to have a seizure of sorts before falling on to the ground and laughing until tears ran down his face. Soon, snickers overtook the Hall until the entire population was squealing with amusement. Whetstone, however, bolted out of his seat to be violently sick. Turns out that one of the side effects of the Potion is severe nausea to vomiting, so he spent the next week in the infirmary and Snape spent that same week in detention.

After Whetstone and Snape became the laughing stock of the entire school, they isolated themselves. As far I am aware, Lily did sort the whole thing out with Whetstone but what was actually discussed is only known to the two of them. I doubt even Snape knew or cared, since Snape hated Lily as well.

Before the Whomping Willow prank, during the Christmas season in sixth year, the town hall in Hogsmeade held its annual ball, which students in fourth year and above could attend. All of my friends paired off as I went with Lily. The rest of the school that could attend showed up, including Snape and Whetstone. Snape was escorting Helen Malfoy, Lucius' younger sister, while Whetstone was escorting someone we had never seen before.

It turned out that the girl was a Muggle whom Whetstone had become romantically involved with during the past summer. Her name was Kate and she lived in the same town as Whetstone. When they arrived, the whole group of my friends and I were chatting away when the girl ran up and grabbed Lily.

"Thank you!" she said.

"For what?" Lily demanded warily.

"For not liking Oliver!" she replied, pointing out Whetstone who was rushing over to stop her. "My name's Kate!"

"Hello, Kate," Lily replied nervously, "what school do you go to?"

"Oh no! I'm not a witch like you!" she replied, smiling, "I'm a Snuggle! Or is it Buttle? Shuttle? Nudgle?"

"Muggle?" I suggested.

"Yeah, that's it! Your headmaster let me come to improve some sort of relations. You have a nice town!"

"Thanks," Lily responded. "But why are you thanking me?"

"Oh!" Kate's eyes lit up as she explained excitedly, "Well, he was awfully hurt after he realized that you were already dating someone and I had just been turned down by some bloke at the school in my town, it's not important who he is, and we happened to be moping around the same place and we got to talking! See, if you hadn't turned him down and the jerk hadn't turned me down then we wouldn't have ever met! I believe that every event has a purpose, that every bad thing is leading up to a good thing, you know? Fate and everything."

Lily looked all around at us for a suggestion on how to handle this but Kate noticed me and said, "Oh, are you James Potter?"

Before I could receive a thank-you, Whetstone had managed to finally get over to her and gently lead her away. As he did so, she bombarded him with questions about who everyone was and what everything was for and how it got there. It was amazing how little she needed to breathe.

Later on in the year, after the Whomping Willow incident, we found out the rest of what happened that night because the information about Kate soon exploded: she was pregnant. It didn't take a genius to put together who the father could be and the Slytherins practically hanged him in the Astronomy Tower for disgracing the house like that. I didn't blame them, it was pretty embarrassing.

We found out, through the wonderful rumor mill, that Whetstone planned to finish his schooling and once he left seventh year, marry Kate and raise their child. The plan didn't work out because Kate died soon after their little daughter was born. Whetstone did not come to Hogwarts for his seventh year and only returned to Hogwarts for one day to take the N.E.W.T.s but he left the building as soon as he finished the tests. No one had heard of him since. Most assumed he had simply gone back to a Muggle life.

*** ***

This appeared to be the case. He looked older but it was clear it was same Oliver Whetstone from the Hogwarts days. This meant that the little girl was the daughter of Whetstone and the Muggle Kate. The girl took after her father with his black hair and thin bone structure but I bet someone closer to Kate would have seen similarities between her and her mother but since we had only met once, I really couldn't say.

"Daddy," Alyssa said, stepping over to her father, "this lady is having a baby."

"Whetstone?' Lily stammered.

"Do you know my daddy?" Alyssa asked.

"You can say that," I replied.

"Potter," Whetstone remarked, obviously not believing his eyes. "And Black." Whetstone was obviously searching for Peter and Remus and slightly disappointed that they were missing.

"Long time no see," Sirius responded. "You look well."

Actually, that wasn't quite true. He had an unhealthy air about him, like he was either developing an illness or just recovering from a severe malady. "And you," Whetstone replied.

"Wow! Everyone knows my daddy!" Alyssa exclaimed.

"Alyssa, why don't you pick out a card for your grandmother, okay?" Whetstone suggested.

"Hey, Sirius," I added, "go help her."

"Why should…?" Sirius balked.

"Because you're a sweet and considerate man who helps children."

"Alright," Sirius answered, "come on, do you know where the cards are?"

"Yup! Right over here!" Alyssa practically ran to another aisle as Sirius walked behind her. This left Lily and I alone with Whetstone.

"So, I assume you're married now, am I right?" Whetstone asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Is it your first?"

"Yes, it's our first."

"First in seven years?" Whetstone remarked.

"First in six. We waited a year."

"Ah, makes sense. What do you two do now?"

"Um… Lily works in Muggle Affairs and I work in the Improper Use of Magic at the Ministry. How about you?"

"I'm a teacher. I teach English to secondary school students." He added softly, "Muggles, of course."

"So, you returned to Muggle life, then?" Lily asked.

He nodded. "Even though technically I'm a qualified wizard, no one would take me seriously so I just went back to my roots. Easier that way."

"Alyssa's about eight now, isn't she?" Lily remarked.

"She is."

"I bet she's starting to get excited about Hogwarts then. Lucky her, because she'll already…"

"She doesn't know."

I was stunned. "She doesn't know? Haven't you told her?" I demanded.

"I did when she was younger. It caused serious problems." He sighed, "Have you ever heard of the book The Witches?"

I shook my head but Lily answered, "It's a Muggle book. It's really inaccurate."

"Right. Well, when she was younger, the teacher was reading it to the class and she kept saying how the book was wrong. How that isn't how witches and wizards act. It got out of hand. The school finally had to call me and explain that my child was 'having difficulty separating fantasy from reality' and the Ministry had received wind of it and told me to either remove her from Muggle life or not tell her until she could keep her mouth shut. So, what could I do? I told I made it up as a game."

"What will you do when she gets her letter?"

"Explain it to her. I had no choice. I probably could explain it now but I'm worried that if she doesn't get her letter, she'll be crushed."

"I don't think it's very fair even so..." I answered.

"Don't tell me how to raise my own kid," Whetstone snapped.

"So, anyway," Lily said nervously, "how's Snape?"

"I wouldn't know," Whetstone answered coldly, "I haven't spoken to him in seven years."

"Oh. Sorry."

"How're Pettigrew and Lupin?"

"They're well."

"Oh."

"Daddy!" Alyssa came running over with a card in her hand as Sirius followed behind, a card in his hand. "Is this good?" She handed the card to her father who read the outside, opened it and chuckled as he read the inside. "Is it funny?"

"It is. We'll get this one," Whetstone answered.

"I got this card," Sirius explained, handing us his card, "It was the least sappy one in the place." Lily and I glanced at the card and shrugged our shoulders.

"Good enough," Lily replied. "Let's get it and go home."

The two groups went up to the cash register and queued up, with Whetstone and his daughter in front of us. Alyssa continued to chat idly with her father and the three of us without realizing the hatred that existed between us and her father. Once we had all paid for our purchases and were heading towards the exit, Whetstone waited by the door as his daughter entered the pathway. Lily and Sirius left first and as I passed Whetstone, he grabbed his sleeve, and whispered urgently in my ear, "There's a viper in your nest. Get rid of it before it gets rid of you." With that, he pushed me away and went to follow his daughter.

My mouth gaped open like a land-bound fish. What was that for? What could he mean? Was he just having fun with me? I wouldn't put it past him. "Are you coming, James?" Lily demanded outside the shop. Regaining my dignity, I followed her and Sirius outside. We began walking to the bus stop when Sirius asked what Whetstone had stopped me for. I explained what he had said and the pair of them gave me funny looks.

"Wait," Sirius joked, "he forgot a bit. The whole deal with the moons and planets aligning and a lightning bolt striking you. As chickens sacrifice a human on a chicken coop altar."

"That is the vaguest thing I've ever heard," Lily exclaimed. "I thought you boys were old enough not to play little pranks on each other."

"It sounds like the Divination test in our last year," Sirius added " 'Interpret this prediction.' 'Uh, don't walk around barefoot'?" I snorted. "Come on, James, you've always known he was kind of 'not all there'. I still say he faked that whole thing in Divination class third year."

Back in third year, Whetstone was in Divination along with the Slytherins. When we had Potions class one day, the Slytherins came into class without Whetstone, a few looking a bit shaken. When the Potions master asked where Whetstone had got to, one student explained that in Divination class, they had started crystal ball reading. Everyone was staring into their crystal balls when Whetstone seized up, transfixed on his crystal ball. He cried in horror as a scene only known to him played out. After awhile, the ball rose up and Whetstone quickly brought up his arm and turned his head to shield his eyes before the ball flashed green and exploded. Whetstone was then allowed to quit Divination and switch to Ancient Runes. He never told anyone what he had seen.

"What do vipers mean again? I never took the class," I joked.

" 'Vipers are the sorest of all objects to find,'" Sirius chanted in a breathy voice, waving his hands around, " 'But they're everywhere, hope you don't mind.'"

"Well, let's think," Lily remarked in an amused voice, "Vipers are like snakes and snakes are phallic symbols. And then we have nests, which could mean motherhood or more specifically, a womb."

"So, the great and mighty prophet Whetstone predicts you guys having a boy!" Sirius proclaimed.

"And his name will be Oedipus!" I added, laughing.

"Ew! James! I would like my son not to gouge out his eyes, thanks."

Sirius doubled over with laughter. "When he's got a complex, he's not fooling around!" I snorted and shook with laughter.

"Oh my God!" Lily shouted. Before we could ask what she meant, she was already sprinting down the street. There was construction in Muggle London that day and one of the construction machines seemed to be having problems. It was holding up a long, metal beam, which shook in the air as the vehicle shuddered.

In the middle of street, Whetstone was on his knees, coughing violently. His daughter was standing below the beam, demanding if her father was alright. As I watched and Lily ran, a man in black Wizarding robes, dashed by Whetstone's daughter, knocking her down. At that moment, the beam disconnected. Onlookers screamed as Alyssa looked up at her doom, immobile in fear.

Sirius and I began sprinting after Lily, getting our wands out. We'd all have to pay massive fines for this violation of Magical Law but we had no choice. But something amazing happened. It was like a sharp shiver of the air and the beam began to slow down. The source was Alyssa but the beam wasn't slowing down enough and Alyssa began to scream. As the beam was feet above her head, Lily ran up to her. Lily scooped her up and darted out of the beam's shadow. The beam crashed into the street just as Lily with Alyssa leapt just a few feet away.

People screamed louder as the dust rose higher and then fell. Construction workers in hard hats came running over to see what damage they had caused. "The controls got stuck!" One construction worker protested as the group ran. "I couldn't move the damned things!"

Sirius and I ran over to Lily and Alyssa. To my great relief, Lily and Alyssa were alive but Alyssa was crying for her father and Lily looked a little shell-shocked. "Are you okay, Lily?" I asked, getting on my knees to be closer to her.

"Yeah. Just had a beam nearly crush me to death, I'm grand," Lily stammered. "Baby's kicking."

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, "The baby! We have to get you to St. Mungo's now!"

"Alyssa!" Whetstone shouted hoarsely. "My God! Alyssa, ANSWER ME!"

"D-d-d-daddy!" Alyssa sobbed in reply. She was clearly shaking.

"She's over here," Sirius called. Whetstone stumbled around the beam and nearly tripped to his knees in his effort to make the distance in the least amount of time. Alyssa let out another tearful wail as the workers came over.

"Is she okay?" One of the workers asked.

Whetstone turned on them. "No, of course not! She nearly got smashed by your stupid bit of scrap metal! I can't believe I pay taxes for you people's salaries!" Whetstone started coughing again so the next part of his rant was lost in gasps and wheezes. Drops of bloods leaked from his hand. I suddenly realized how sick he looked.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. "Maybe you should go to hos..."

"I'm fine," Whetstone hissed. "It's Alyssa I'm worried about. Are you okay?"

"This lady helped me," Alyssa moaned, pointing at Lily, who was beginning to sit up. Whetstone's eyes went wide in fear. "Oh no," he moaned. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

"Sir," the leader, I assume, of the workers said in a comforting tone, "we called the hospital. Just to make sure."

"We better head to a doctor, Lily," I told Lily soothingly. "You don't feel anything wrong, do you?"

"No. It's just kicking like normal."

"I don't want to risk it. Can you walk?"

"Look, we called so you just stay put," the worker said quickly, "we can't afford you getting hurt."

"We want to go to our own doctor," I said firmly. "Thank you for the offer."

"Well, if you insist, but the standard hospital is just fine..."

"No. I'm sure. Thank you."

Lily put her hand on Alyssa's shoulder but Whetstone dragged her sharply away. "Don't touch her!" He rasped.

"Hey," I snapped, "my wife isn't actually in the best shape to go around saving people. Show her some respect!"

"Look. You've done enough. Let me be."

"What is the matter with you?! My wife could've died! My baby could've died!"

"Let's go, James," Lily requested softly. "I want to go home."

The sirens of the ambulance could now be heard over the din of London. I gave Whetstone one hard look as I quickly led Lily back to Wizarding London.

*** ***

The doctor said that Lily was fine and the baby was unaffected by the current events. After we could all breathe easier, we returned home where I made Lily lie down just to avoid her straining herself.

Sirius called Marguerite to go to dinner with him and she accepted. Sirius then made reservations at the most expensive restaurant he could think of, the "Ivory Palace". I was amazed on how money was really not an object in this situation. Before long, it was time for Sirius to leave. For the first time since he had decided to ask to marry Marguerite, he seemed truly nervous. He could barely tie his necktie. Lily had to help him. I could hardly hear it but Sirius muttered, "Clarissa used to tie my ties." He sighed heavily, "She would have liked Marguerite, don't you think?"

"I think so," Lily answered as I nodded.

"Marguerite would've like Clarissa too. I wish she could be here." Taking a deep breath, he said firmly, "No point complaining now. I have to go pick her up."

"Good luck!" I cheered.

"I'm sure she'll say 'yes'!" Lily added happily. Sirius gave us a sort of weak, sick smile. I knew what was going through his mind: "I'm not." You never are. Women can say no, after all. There's that flutter of panic right before you set up the scene for the question and then there's the worst moment of fear, the moment as long as a breath, which is between the end of the "big" question and when she answers. It's like the performers in a stage show after the big number when they pose awkwardly, waiting for the thunder of applause. Because the applause may never come and the air might fall dead. She might very well say "no". And what is the line after that cue?

Sirius took another steadying breath and Apparated.

*** ***

"James! James, help me! I don't want to die!"

Lily's screams bolted me awake, ready to strike the attacker but there was no one in the room. Lily was thrashing in the bed. I held her arm and called her. After a second, her eyes flew open and she looked madly about her.

"It's alright. No one's going to hurt you." I laid back down in the bed, ready to go back to sleep now that Lily was awake.

"Oh, James!" Lily cried as she wrapped her arms around me. "I dreamt I had the baby... and, this man came in and... said, 'The quota's filled. One of you's gotta go.' I couldn't let the baby die and I didn't want to die... and I didn't say anything, so... the man... just picked me randomly... and they took the baby away... and you were gone... and... and..." Lily began crying harder.

"Shh... it's okay. No one's going to take you or our baby, it's alright."

"I don't want to die..."

"You won't die. Everything's okay. It was just a dream."

"But what if... remember that Muggle girl that Whetstone dated? She died giving birth! Don't you see? That could be me! I could die! I don't want to die!" Lily wailed.

"This is different. Calm down, you're going to do fine."

"I'm scared," Lily whimpered.

I held her close and rubbed her hair. "It's okay. But nothing will happen. You know the drill. We've talked it over with Sirius, he knows what he needs to do. Everything will be fine. And our baby will be beautiful and everything will be perfect. Just close your eyes. Just relax. Go to sleep."

*** ***

The crowd roared.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Yikes, my life stinks! I have a huge Girl Scout project (yes, I'm in Girls Scouts. A Senior Girl Scout, I might add) that I have to do and a huge research paper on W.S. Merwin, an American poet. Cool poet but I hate having to write a paper about him. That, and the rest of my homework for other classes. But I'm doing this instead. Tells you where my priorities are. Wow, I didn't kill anyone in this chapter, I'm impressed. By the way, if you can't believe that Lily could run down the street and save Alyssa, the mother of a friend of mine (who's a twin and a big twin at that) saved her older son from a river while she was pregnant with my friend and her twin brother, who were pretty big for twins (I think they were seven pounds each ). Adrenaline is a powerful thing. About that stage performer simile, if you've ever watched a stage musical, at the end of songs, the cast gets into these really weird poses for sometimes no reason. I was thinking about that. Now, imagine Sirius singing "All That Jazz". Okay, that's just weird. I'll stop. Oh, the flowers Coleur-du-Soleil are not real, I made them up. It's French for "color of the sun". I can't think of anything witty to say. Terribly sorry. I want reviews! No one loves me! WAAAA!!! Please review!!! Push the button or e-mail at destinyplot@lycos.com and leave your e-mail address so I can write you back!!!