***The Marauder Chronicles; The End of Innocence is a fan fiction. Events taking place are not to be taken as true to events prior to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This story isn't to be duplicated or sold, no copyright infringement is intended upon J.K. Rowling.***
Author's note: If you're going to leave a review, please do not use profanity. If you do I will remove it or report you to abuse and block you. While I appreciate many of you coming to my defense when I've been attacked by another user, please respect others opinions and do not use vulgarity. If you are a reader who finds this story boring and you leave a review after reading 26 chapters telling me it's boring....it doesn't make sense. Please be aware of your contradiction when you leave a review on chapter 26 or 27 and you tell me I'm boring and unimaginative. Sorry this one took so long.
Four: The Winds of Change
Well I just heard the news today;
It seems my life is going to change.
I close my eyes, begin to pray,
then tears of joy stream down my face.
~Creed
Lily's heart started to beat out of control. A sudden heat wave overtook her, sweat started to pour down her face, and her head began to swim. Never in her life was she filled with these kinds of emotions, but she couldn't even describe them. There was some kind of warm complete feeling in the pit of her stomach, but at the same time she had a nervous fear that seemed to eat away at her heart. All of these strange feelings hit her like a freight train.
She had to relax. She had to. She tried taking deep, soothing breaths, leaning back to help her. But so much information, questions about the future, questions about the present, questions about the tiny person growing inside her, popped into mind. She wished she could stop the inflow of these thoughts. What about medical school? How would James handle it? Would she be a good mother? What would he be like? Was he healthy? Would he be smart? What about all that was going on? What kind of person was she to bring a new person into a world so full of turmoil and terror?
She couldn't sit here and relax. Lily got up very suddenly, the carnation still glowing blue in her hand. She started pace her apartment. Stop thinking, she shouted in her head.
"What am I going to do?" she asked herself, pulling the hair out of her head. Nineteen. She was nineteen years old and pregnant. "James," she said. "He has to know. We're having a son. A son," she said, beginning to cry. She held up her carnation to the light, then rubbed her stomach where her baby resided. Should she laugh, cry, or run around the city flailing her arms in the air? She didn't know what she should do.
James walked out of his office, out of the War Room, and into the main hallway. He and Sirius had planned on having lunch, but Sirius wasn't known for his punctuality.
It was a very strange few minutes as he stood there. At least seven people, whom he had never spoken with, grinned at him. A few of them slapped his shoulders in a congratulatory kind of way, though he didn't know why.
"I'm so hungry I could eat an ox," Sirius said, coming out of his office.
"That's a nice mental image. Hey, have people been saying things about me?" James asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of. Why?"
"Nothing I guess."
He and Sirius walked to the dining area to find that James received some moderate applause. A few people even shook his hand.
"That is weird," Sirius said. "Did you do something praiseworthy but didn't tell me?"
"I don't think so. Maybe it's because the holidays are coming, and I've said no to my in-laws coming over?" he said with a wrinkled nose.
"Somehow I just don't think that's it. Very brave though it was, it's not that significant." James spent the most of his time at lunch thinking about what he could have done to deserve such accolades from people he had never seen before. They appeared, mostly, to be from the Intelligence Sector, to which he didn't belong, so maybe they knew something that he didn't. Then again, it could be a prank Sirius had founded.
James was interrupted in his thoughts by Guy Burgess, his acquaintance in the Intelligence sector. They had met a few times a week to discuss various Quidditch teams, family, and politics on the world stage. James had come to enjoy the time he spent with Guy; he was pretty easy going and had a fairly quick wit about him.
"James, how the hell are you?" he asked.
"Pretty good. Hey, is there any news about me in your neck of the woods?" James asked.
Guy gave him a funny expression. He cocked his head to the side and made a half smile. "Not exactly. There was a rumor going around, but no one knows if it's true. But I doubt very much that you want to hear it from me."
James raised his eyebrows. "Is it good news?"
"I think it might be. I'm sure you'll learn about it soon enough. But I was thinking about something else, to be quite frank. Have you noticed that people have been watching you a little more closely?"
Sirius, who had remained uninterested in the conversation, suddenly tuned in. His job had made him very acute when it came to human behavior, a tool that would never really leave him.
"Yeah. I think it's because I'm going to be on my own. Amin has been voicing the fact that I may be ready to be cut loose. Maybe they want to watch me, see how I act, make sure I'm stable."
"Hmmm," he said, bringing his hand to his mouth.
"What's the problem, Guy? Getting a little paranoid in your old age?" Sirius asked. He tried to read the body language, look into his eyes, and see if there was something there, but he detected nothing serious.
"No," he laughed. "I've noticed that the security team is getting a bit anxious around here. It's been a while since we've had a double agent so they're probably getting bored. And I'm not old, Sirius," he said.
"What are you doing for the holidays?" James asked, trying to be polite.
"I'm seeing family in San Francisco," he said. Sirius started listening again. "My girlfriend wants me to meet her parents, and they live there, but so does my brother so it kind of evens out."
"Oh, that's not fun. I remember when I met Lily's parents. Ouch," James said with a laugh.
"San Francisco, huh?" Sirius asked. "California, right?"
"Yeah," Guy said, as though it were completely obvious.
"I can't remember my history correctly, but wasn't that the state of the gold rush in the 1840's?" he asked. Sirius put his cup down on the table and stared back into Guy's eyes.
"Yes, it was. Quite the historical breakthrough. It led to California's being one of the most populated states. People flock where money is involved. Why do you ask?" he said slowly. James also gave Sirius a piercing look.
"Curiosity, I guess. They say it's a lovely place," he said casually, but inside he was jumping for joy.
"Some of it is. Weather sure is nice. Very distinct seasons, not like England. Thinking of visiting?"
"Perhaps. I've gotta run, I have some files to look at. I'll see you later, James. Till next time, Guy." Sirius got up, took his cloak, and did his best not to sprint out of the room. He had to be cool, had to be calm...yeah right. Sirius, he thought to himself, if you were any cleverer you'd outsmart yourself. You got him, baby.
Remus never thought of himself as smooth, or Mr. Popular. In school James and Sirius were considered just that, and maybe, because he was associated with them, some people thought of him in that way. But it wasn't until now that he actually believed it.
He found himself one morning in a very strange room, part of an odd house behind a shop in Diagon Alley. It almost glowed, probably because of the many crystal balls lining the walls. But the effervescent glow wasn't the only thing he liked about it.
He looked over to his right. There she was, napping at the moment, but there. Remus rolled over on his side then stroked her multicolored hair. She murmured through her smile then snuggled up to him.
"Hi," she said, though her eyes were still shut.
"Hello, Sonja," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"You're fun," she said lightly. She raised her head then put her mouth to his. Remus welcomed this; he liked how seemingly gentle and tender she was. "And cute," she said, as she rolled to be on top of him.
"Have dinner with me tonight" he said.
"Again?"
"Yes. It's a human requirement, so you might as well do it with company," he told her.
"I know," she said shyly. She ran her hands over his bare skin and laughed to herself.
"What is it?" he asked.
"What you must think of me," she said. "This isn't common for me. Though I realize you've never done this before," she said.
"You're right about that, but I don't think anything's wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with a free spirit. I think we might be talking a little too much, though," Remus said as he placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her toward him.
"I have to go to work," she said before kissing him. "I have a shop to run," she said again.
"Can't you look into the future and know when your next customer enters?"
She giggled but eventually got up and started looking for her clothes.
"I want you to meet my friends," Remus said.
"Why, so they can put in their two cents worth?" she asked.
"No, I just want you to meet them. We usually convene at James's place, seeing as how it's the nicest. I know they'd love you."
"Everyone loves me," Sonja said with a perky smile. "You can stay as long as you want, but I have my shop to keep. Why don't you leave your friends' addresses, and I'll drop by sometime."
"Alright. I'll see you tonight?"
She answered with a giggle. "Goodbye, you," she said before giving him a deep kiss.
"Bye," he said faintly, watching her leave.
Jade flipped through her expandable file, looking for her report, when her timer went off. "Time for lunch," she said, throwing her file on her desk casually. She was having lunch with Lily and Liz today, something she hadn't done in a very long time.
The door of apartment three on the second floor announced her name and allowed her to enter. Lily was pouring drinks at the table, and cooking something in the kitchen.
"You're early," Lily said with a smile.
"I'm stubbornly punctual," Jade replied. She entered, deposited her attaché by the door, and went to help Lily with the lunch. "You didn't have to cook anything," Jade said, in more of a fearful tone rather than gratitude.
"I didn't," she said. "I just came back from the store. I got us bacon burgers."
Jade almost laughed. "Bacon burgers? Wow, that's a surprise."
"Why?" Lily asked.
"Well, you're miss health conscience. Especially now that you're going to med school.... bacon's a little greasy. I love it, but I can feel my arteries clogging with each bite. Isn't Liz a bit of a vegetarian?"
"Yeah. I made accommodations. This is just for us," Lily said.
Liz came in not too long after, pinching her nose to keep the scent of the meat out of her nostrils. "I'll never understand how people like the two of you can eat dead cow. They are just so cute with their little brown eyes and cute faces."
"I might listen to you if you didn't wear leather," Jade said lightly.
"It was so nice of you to have this," Liz said, ignoring Jade's remark.
"Well," Lily said, "now that I'm out of school, I just thought it would be nice to get together and talk about stuff."
"I don't have anything to say. My life is really, really boring. The whole world is in a tailspin, and I'm bored. It's a very strange feeling," Jade said.
"Still no boyfriend yet?" Liz asked.
"Of course not. This is me we're talking about here. Sometimes I think I'm still not over Sirius. I hate the fact that he's so damn good looking and charming, not to mention smart, witty, and so sweet at times. I hate that."
"He is a charmer alright," Liz said, flipping her hair out of her face.
"How would you know about it?" Lily asked. She put a large salad in front of Liz and a burger for her and Jade.
"I went to school with him for seven years," Liz said.
"No, no," Lily said. "I picked up some tension with your statement, didn't you Jade?"
"Yes. Is there something you're not telling us?" Jade asked.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the door announced that Sonja Woods was at the door.
"Who is that?" Jade asked. Lily felt uneasy. She supposed that with her condition she would be a little weary about strangers; she didn't like that. Still, she was curious about Sonja, especially after what Sirius had said about her.
Lily got up, looked through the peephole, and opened the door.
"You look like Lily?" Sonja said, pointing at her.
"Yes, that's right," Lily responded.
"You're married to the tall, skinny guy with the glasses," Sonja said, still pointing.
"I guess. He's not that skinny, though, really. Um...is there something I can do for you?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm Sonja, I know Remus. He said he comes over here a lot. He really wanted me to meet his friends...so here I am," she said.
"I see. Well, James and Sirius are his best friends, but you can come in if you want. We're having lunch, but there's plenty to go around."
"If you don't mind eating cow," Jade said from the background.
"I like cow," Sonja said. Lily smiled and held the door open for her. "You're Jade," she said pointing to her. Jade, whose mouth was rather full, nodded and winked. "So you're Liz," she said, like it was a huge revelation.
"What did he say about me?" she asked.
"Ex boyfriend stuff. Okay, I'm Sonja Woods. I own 'Future's Eye' down in Diagon Alley. My hobbies are fortune telling, palm readings, and playing the guitar," she said.
The three women looked at her with shock. "Thank you," Lily said finally. "Sit down, please."
"I'm sorry I came without sending an owl, but Phoebe hasn't been feeling well," Sonja said.
"That's fine, we were just talking about school stuff," Liz said.
"Actually we were discussing your relationship with Sirius," Jade said, looking back to Liz.
"I didn't have one with him."
Sonja leaned over and asked Lily something, then she proceeded to the bathroom. Liz and Jade suddenly changed the topic.
"Was that a dragon tattoo?"
"Five piercings?"
"What color hair would you call that?"
"She was kinda cool, kinda weird."
"She seems really nice, though. She looks older than us."
"Remus is dating an older woman? I never saw that coming."
"Do you think he told her about him being...?"
"Not likely. Let's not bring that up."
"So what have you been keeping secret, Liz?" Lily asked.
Liz considered them for a moment. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you can't tell Sirius that I told. When we were fifteen, at the end of our fifth year, we kinda had a little thing."
"What's a 'little thing'?" Jade asked.
"A thing. Please don't make me say more," she said.
Jade let her mouth drop. "Elizabeth Banks!" she said. "You slept with him, didn't you? Fifteen? That's so young, and so very wrong! And with Sirius! My Sirius!" she said.
"I know. It was a terrible mistake, and we both knew it afterwards, but I can't go change it now can I? We were stupid and young-- " Liz said.
"That's no excuse," Jade said.
"I know it's not," Liz said, pounding her fist on the table. "But what's done is done. I wish I had never done it but you can't cry over spilt milk. Anyways, it was a really long time ago, and there's nothing going on with us," she said, starting her salad.
"So now that all of the awkwardness is out of the way, what was it like?" Lily asked. Jade couldn't believe Lily was taking it so casually, but Liz laughed at Lily then grabbed her hand.
"I have a friend I can talk to about sex," she said. "About bloody time."
"Hey," Jade said, "don't leave me out even though I'm good law abiding virgin," she interjected.
"So it's not your pregnancy test?" Sonja asked as she came back into the room, carrying the empty pregnancy test box in her hand.
Lily flushed purple. How could she have forgotten it was still in the bathroom? She knew that both Liz and Jade had their gaping mouths wide open, though she wasn't facing them. Lily stood up and took the box away from Sonja.
"I'm sorry," she said to Lily, and she looked it.
"It's really not your fault. I'd be curious too," but Lily didn't know why she said that. This woman had just invaded her privacy and told her friends about her current state of health that even her husband didn't know about. She should kick this woman out!
Lily turned back around to face her friends, and sure enough they were both stunned.
"You're..." Liz started.
Lily bent her head, tossed the box on the table, then slid back into her chair. She ran one of her shaking hands through her hair and sniffled. "Yeah," she said quietly, "I am."
Jade leaped out of her seat and hugged Lily tightly, smiling joyfully. "Oh my gosh!" she said, almost jumping. But Lily wasn't showing any signs of elated emotions. "Aren't you happy about it?" Jade asked. "Don't you want children?"
Lily looked into her friend's dark eyes which were full of the happiness that she should be feeling, as the new mother, but wasn't. Lily's mask fell down to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. She could feel the pressure mounting behind her eyes, and soon the dam of security sprung a leak; she began to cry, one tear at a time. Liz got out of her chair and hugged her.
"Oh sweetie," Jade said soothingly. "It's going to be alright."
"I wish I could be happy about this," Lily managed through a sudden sob. "I wish I could be happy."
"Did you find out today?" Liz asked. Lily nodded into them. "Does James know?" She shook her head. "Why are you so sad about this?"
Lily pulled back and stood up, wiping the moisture off her face. "It's so selfish. But I know that because of this I won't be able to finish school. I've wanted to go to med school for a long while. I'm doing so well and now this. We planned to have kids after I got my license to practice medicine, not before."
"Lily," Jade said, "you're not doing this alone. You have such a great man to help you take care of this baby. James is so perfect. He'll be a great father, and you'll be a great mother."
"Yeah," Liz said. "You can still go to school. James will be there as much as he can and you still have your parents to help you. You can finish school with a baby. I bet people do it all the time."
Lily knew that wasn't true. Married couples often divorced as they went through, which Lily had been told, had personally seen, but that little statistic was never written in the fancy catalog the school had sent her (not that she would have given it credibility). She was already having arguments with James about how much time she spent studying. She was at the top of her class because she studied so hard; she wanted it desperately. The pregnancy came at a very bad time.
"It's so weird to feel like this. I want my school, I want to be a doctor, but I want him too," she said, touching her tummy.
All talking ceased. "Him?" they all said. Lily nodded.
"Yes. I really shouldn't have told you any of this. I need to tell James. He needs to know he's going to be a daddy. God I'm so scared. I'm so scared," she said, dissolving into tears again.
Sonja moved in for the group hug. "I don't know you, but you seem really nice," she said.
"I'll help take care of him," Jade said, grinning. "I'll be your most frequent visitor. You can always call me to help baby-sit. Gosh, Lily, you need to see the good side like you normally do. You're going to be a mother! You're going to have a little baby boy. He's going to be smart, curious, and brave like his parents," she said to her. "I envy you. I wish I had this, though I know it doesn't matter. But look at the bright side; you and James are bringing a little person into the world, a little Potter. And he'll love you so much," she said, watching Lily's face brighten ever so slightly. "He'll love you so much, Lily. Everyone does. And if they don't it's because you're so perfect, and they just want to smack your pretty face because you're beautiful and talented. Damn it, Lily, you're good at almost everything. You'll be able to handle this, I know it."
Lily dried her eyes with her shirtsleeve. "There are so many things," she said, "so many variables. I can't help but look in the paper and wonder what kind of people we are, to bring a new person into the world. Granted we didn't plan this, we actually took measures against it."
"You guys broke the charms?" Sonja asked. "Wow."
For some reason that made Lily grin. "It is a bit amazing," she said.
"I'll say," Sonja replied.
"So maybe this was meant to happen," Jade said. "Maybe you were meant to have this baby, for a reason we don't yet know. Don't worry so much; everything is going to be fine."
Lily looked at the three of them and nodded, trying to smile. "Thanks," she mumbled. She reached for all of them again, her heart a little lighter.
Sirius drove his motorcycle to the local library, parked under a tree, then jogged inside. "History," he said to the librarian. She pointed to the appropriate section then went back to her work. Sirius walked briskly past the stacks, into the section he wanted, and started to scan the book titles.
"United States History," he mumbled to himself, moving his finger along the titles. He finally stopped at a rather large volume, which he took off the shelf and examined.
"California," he said to himself, flicking the pages until he landed on the page he wanted. He grinned as he read the state trivia, but at the same time felt a disappointment inside him. He slammed the book shut, checked it out of the library then went back to the IWBI where he met with Ashika Narayan for a small conference.
"What do you have?" she asked.
"Oh no you don't, not this time. I need to be involved in this as much as you need to know about it. Let's step into that very secure office of yours and discuss it," he said.
Ashika frowned, but led him to it. "Alright, here we are. Now what is so important that you had to interrupt me?"
"I know who the mole is, at least one of them."
Ashika sat down at her desk and folded her hands. "I'm listening."
"There is always something to a name, and I assume you have tried finding meaning to each of the code names but most of them are so vague. But Eureka isn't."
"I know all of this, Black, tell me who Eureka is."
"Guy Burgess."
Ashika stared at him, shook her head, then stood again. "No, no, no. Burgess is one of our best Historians in the Intel division. He's been with us long and most people trust him."
"Eureka is Greek for 'I have found it,'" Sirius explained. "Eureka is the state motto of California, given to it after the gold rush. Burgess was born and raised in California. He said today that he was visiting family there, and that's when it hit me. It's him."
"There are a number of people from California," she said. "It's heavily populated. I find it hard to believe that Burgess is a double agent especially with his record of service."
"Do you think I want to believe this? He's a great guy on the surface, but inside he's a spy. Though he's not married, and the clue said he was."
"No, it didn't. It wasn't talking about him. I'll have tighter security around him from now on. Don't tell anyone about this because it might not be true, but even if it is I want to catch him. I'll have a check on everyone born and living in California. Here," she said, hading him a file. "These are the code names for the agents we know about."
Sirius opened it. It was a short list of names; all of them had just one word. "Queen," he said. "Could that be a woman? Or is it someone who's second in command like Wilhelm Canaris?"
Ashika went a little pale. "God it could be," she said. "We might be on to something here. Wilhelm is the vice director of the Bureau, so it'll be near to impossible to get surveillance on him, which makes it hard for us to capture him. Black, you're good," she said.
Sirius grinned.
After a long and pressing day at work, James headed home. It had been a long time since he had been this tired; all he wanted to do was go to sleep for ten years.
He found the apartment in semi-disarray, but he didn't have the energy to think too much of it. "I'm home!" he called through the flat, but no one answered. "Lily? Are you here?" Still no response. He closed the door behind him, looked at Artemis perched on his shoulder, then sighed. "Women," he said to his falcon. "What's with the flowers she's got going on?" he said, touching the petals of a blue flower sitting in a vase. "Lily, are you here?"
Artemis launched off James's shoulder and flew through the apartment to her perch for a nap. "Good idea." He took off his tie and robes, unbuttoned his shirt, and was just about ready to hit the sofa when Lily came back.
"You're here," she said, surprised.
"I do live here, you know. Why, are you hiding some stud under our bed?" he asked, laughing at his own joke. "Where were you?"
"I went to my school for a little while. I talked to a professor, asked some questions, took a few tests."
James sat up and pinched his nose. "I thought you were done for six weeks, until January. Please tell me you're not taking any more classes," he said sternly.
"I'm not taking any classes," she said. She lowered her eyelids, smirked, and started walking towards him in a seductive way. She pulled her jean jacket off and threw it across the room.
"Lily," he said in a sing song sort of way, "are you sure you're feeling alright? You've been acting very weird lately."
"Mmmm." She sat beside him and ran her fingers through his hair.
He grabbed her wrist and turned to face her. "What's the matter? Something is very different about you, and I want to know what it is."
"Something happened to me," she said.
"Oh my God, what? Did someone try to hurt you?" he asked urgently.
"No. Nothing like that, it's far simpler actually. We're going to have to change...everything."
James tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "I'm not following you."
Lily got off the sofa and went back to the kitchen to get her carnation. She put it in James's hands. "This. You and I discussed this and having this. However we didn't plan on it so soon. But we're going to have to do it. And quite honestly I don't think I'm ready for it, and even though I've been thinking about it all day, and going back and forth on the issue each hour, I know for sure that I am too young, too inexperienced, and too busy to handle a commitment of this magnitude."
James set the flower on the coffee table, then slowly turned back to face his wife. "Are you saying that..." he stopped. He heaved a heavy sigh then put his hand to his eyes. "You're..."
"Yes James. I know this is sudden, but I obviously can't help it."
James got up suddenly then kicked the table.
"You're really upset," she said, trying not to cry. "I didn't think you'd be so...livid."
"Why wouldn't I be, Lily?!" he yelled. "I put up with you being gone all the time for your school, try to have a good team player attitude about it, and now this? How can you do this to me? What about me? I didn't ask for this kind of treatment from you!"
Lily stood up, but her knees were too weak. "I was hoping you would be the happy one about it," she said, near tears. "I thought you would want this? What am I supposed to do?"
"What!" he yelled. "You're the one who wants the divorce!"
"Divorce?" she said.
"That is what you're talking about, right? Commitment of such magnitude? Our marriage!"
"No," she said in shock. "I'm not talking about that at all."
James stared at her, stopped huffing and puffing, then suddenly felt very stupid and horrible for bringing something like that up. "Oh," he said, looking quite humiliated. "I'm sorry," he said, seeming a bit confused. "I'm tired and my mind is going to the worst case scenario." He sat back down beside her and took her hands.
"We've never talked about separation or divorce, James, but I'm flattered that you'd be so upset about it," she said, crying a little. "But that's not even close to what I'm going to tell you."
"Alright," he told her, taking deep cleansing breathes, "what is it?"
This was it. She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and tried to prepare her mind for what she was going to say. "You're going to be a father."
Whatever kind of reaction she expected from him, she didn't get it, nor was it the way she had reacted.
James's eyes widened, his cheeks went pink, the corners of his mouth drew up into a grin, and Lily could feel the squeeze of his hands on hers.
"You're having a baby?" he whispered, his eyes bright.
"Uh huh," she whispered back, finding herself starting to smile about it for the first time.
"I'm going to be a dad?"
"Yeah you are. We're going to have a baby."
When she said it like that, and when she saw his face, it was as if the light suddenly switched on in her head. This wasn't anything to be upset about, her conscience told her. You want to have a baby, sure you wanted it later on, but you can't always pick and choose the timing of life's little events. Go with it, Lily, see where it takes you. Jade is right; there's a reason for it, you just have to let it come through.
She tried not to think about how it would mess up her school schedule. Cross that bridge when you come to it, her brain whispered.
James seemed to know it was real, but at the same time he couldn't believe it. He couldn't stop smiling, nor stop saying over and over 'I'm going to be a father.'
"Do you want to know what it is?" Lily asked.
"You know?" he asked.
"Accidentally," she said. "I took the wrong test so I know the sex."
James thought for a moment. He would find out eventually, so why not right now? "Okay," he said, "tell me."
Lily took up the carnation, held it in front of him, and grinned. "They only turn two colors: pink and blue."
It took a while for James to react; he seemed to be trying to get the colors matched up with the right sex. But Lily knew when he had pieced it together, for he beamed with happiness, and then Lily thought she had seen something she'd never seen before.
A glistening glow glossed over James's blue eyes, which were crinkled in a smile. She could hear him take a small breath, almost a gasp. It didn't take long for a single drop to roll down his flushed cheek. In seconds, another one from his left eye trickled down. He was crying. Lily had never seen him cry, not in the eight years she had known him so well. He had cried because he had been laughing so hard, but everyone did that. This was different.
Without saying a single word, his face now quite moist, he gently kissed his wife on the lips, a kiss so light and tender, she barely felt it. It was as if he thought she was made of glass, so precious and fragile. She could have sworn he whispered 'I love you,' when he touched her, but her ears did not hear it.
She leaned her forehead on his, framing his face with her small hands, which he covered with his own. It was one of those moments when words were simply unnecessary. Lily still had that strange feeling inside her, something she couldn't describe. But to her it felt as if maybe her baby was trying to reach for her heart, and tell her it would all be fine. As if he knew more about her emotions than she did. Being a medical student, she knew there was probably a scientific reason for the emotion, but logic didn't want to play today--maybe later.
Still weeping, James went to kiss her again, which she welcomed. It wasn't the sexual animal kind of kiss, the drunken happiness type of kiss, nor was it one you would see on the street or even in a wedding. This kiss was trying to send a message, not only to Lily, but also to his son growing inside her with each passing second. He wished he could speak to him, for nine months seemed so far away. He wanted his son to know that he loved him. I'll be good to you, he thought. I'll show you the world and I'll give you so much love.
Lily cried as she kissed him. She never really knew that her husband could be like this. She had never imagined how wonderful a man, who had just been told he was going to be a father, could really be.
After scheduling an appointment with the Diagon Alley obstetrician, discussing the plans for the spare room to be turned into a nursery, and debating over "Julius" and "Merlin" and their meanings, James got ready to go to work for the day. He would tell Amin about the news and request a half day, so that he could take Lily to the doctor later that afternoon.
There was a part of him that still couldn't believe it. He assumed he would feel that way for a good nine months before the reality finally clicked. There was something peculiar about it all. Not peculiar in a bad way, just peculiar.
He sensed that Lily felt the same way. She was more cautious about everything, and took better care of her person and her actions because she was no longer alone.
Last night, James could have sworn he saw his son, staring up at him through Lily's eyes. He didn't tell her about it, nor would he tell anyone. He supposed he was being silly and sentimental, but he didn't mind it.
One thing he wished, however, was to have his father around and ask him for advice. He knew parenthood was a huge responsibility, but just not how huge.
"Have a great day," Lily said as she walked him to the door. "Be safe out there."
"I will," he said softly, grinning. "I love you," he whispered, then gently kissed her.
"I love you back." She hugged him tightly, fighting the tears that were sieging her eyes.
"I'll see you this afternoon," he told her.
"Okay," she replied. Then James bent down and put his hand on her stomach.
"Goodbye, Merlin," he whispered. Lily rolled her eyes but smiled as she held his head. "I'm really happy that you're here."
"I was thinking that while you're gone, I'm going to go look at cribs. Just to look," she added, seeing the panic on his face, "not to buy. I won't buy anything without you."
"Good," he said. "I'm off for work."
After Apparating into the IWBI, James started for his office, meeting people all along the way, congratulating him. Now he knew why.
When he entered the War Room, everyone cheered and applauded. James tossed his hands in the air as if he had been recently elected king of the world. "Thank you," he said to them all as he continued to his office. "The Potter name will go on!"
"Congratulations," Amin said. "I thought we'd open some wine and celebrate," he cheered.
"It's nine in the morning," James said.
"In England maybe. So, you're going to have a son. How does it feel?" he asked, pouring the wine in paper cups.
"Surprisingly exhilarating" James said. "We're going to see the doctor this afternoon."
"Terrific. I don't have any children, but I admit I've been curious about them. Got any names planned out?"
James laughed. "Yeah, but we don't agree on any of them. She likes Julius, which I hate with every fiber of my being, and I'm kinda fond of Merlin."
Amin took a sip of wine then shook his head. "They're both terrible," he confessed. "Do you want the kid to think you hate him? Maybe you should try something more common to your country."
"You just said you didn't have kids, and now you're giving me advice?"
"On the name, yes. I think a good name--" but he didn't finish. A loud pulsating alarm sounded at that moment. James recognized it as an emergency rescue alarm, which he had heard only during his training. Both of them dropped everything and rushed into the War Room.
"Sir, we've got agents captured in Romania," a young man said to Amin.
"Who's got them?" he asked urgently.
"Death Eaters, sir."
"Damn!" he said under his breath. "James, we need to assemble a rescue team and go in there. Get agents who are familiar with the forest landscape. Where are they holding them, junior?"
"We don't know. The beacon on agent seven went off, and that's all we know. We know it happened here," he said pointing to the map, "but as of yet we don't know where they are."
James turned on his heel and ran to the field agent safe house, which was next door to the Operations office.
"I need," he started, but the woman stopped him.
"We're on it," she said. "I've got you five so far, how many do you need?"
"The more the better," he said.
"I can get you seven, eight at the most."
"Send them over when you've got them, and hurry!" James said, running back over to his sector. "They're on their way. What's the game plan?"
Agents sprinted over to the Counterintelligence Operations sector, awaiting their orders.
"Here's the plan," Amin said, pulling up a map for all of them to see. "We Apparate here," he said pointing to a riverside. "We know that an anti-Apparation charm has been used on the forest, so we think that's where the five agents are. The Dark Lord loves this charm; it's damn impossible to break. Once we all meet up, we walk inside. I don't know whether or not we'll be able to use magic or not, so remember your training, and don't get killed. We separate into teams and form a perimeter. Death Eaters don't negotiate; remember that. To them this is a game. I don't know how our agents were caught, but I have a feeling someone uncovered this mission. So be safe.
"Are there any questions?" he asked.
No one said a word.
"Let's go," he said. All ten of them rushed out of the War Room to a concealed Apparation chamber embedded in the CI operation sector.
Artemis flew across the room and landed on James's shoulder, which trembled with nervousness.
"Good luck," Amin said. In seconds all ten of them Disapparated.
Though it was mid-day, the forest of Romania was eerily dark and annoyingly silent. There wasn't much in they way of ground cover, only tall trees which formed a canopy.
The ten of them pulled their wands out and moved forward, following Amin's hand signals.
James had never been in the field before. He had always been away in a safe house, conducting the mission from afar. He wondered if he should stay behind...but what was there to do? It was a rescue. There were no cameras to watch, no agents to conduct with rationality, no real plans.
"What's that noise?" a female agent asked.
James heard it too. Screams.
They quickened their pace deeper into the forest. James instructed Artemis to fly into the area; she would keep a safe distance.
"Schrooder, Datson," Amin said, pointing to two agents, "go left. Erickson, Parker, you take the right. Go far out, and report by amulet on what you see. The rest of you stay with us. We'll set up here for now."
James waved his wand in a square pattern, forming a screen of what Artemis was seeing. So far, however, all he saw was forest.
"Give her time," Amin said.
"What are we supposed to do?" James asked. "We have no idea how many Death Eaters are in there, or if it's just them. What if Voldemort is in there with them? What if this is a trap?"
"I've already considered that. We'll have to hope for the best and try to get our people out of there."
"Someone finked on us."
"I know. That's why the counterintelligence sector exists."
James suddenly looked down at his observation screen. "We've got images," he said. Amin and the remaining agents gathered around.
On the screen were about thirty people: five of them were on their knees with cloaked and hooded wizards standing by them, wands pointed at the heads of the hostages. The twenty other wizards made a large circle around the five hostages with their five captors. One of the twenty, a tall thin man walked into the center.
He too was hooded, but as soon as he entered his circle, he looked straight into the screen, as if he could see the eyes of the six IWBI wizards. He raised his index finger and shook it from side to side.
"Is there anyway we could get audio?" one of the agents asked.
"No," James said, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the image.
The same thin man who seemed to admonish them then made a second hand signal, this time to the Death Eaters. He brought his finger to his throat, then moved it quickly across it. What happened next was one of the worst things James saw in his life.
The five men with wands pointed at the captured agents, raised their wands, then thrust them back down. The scene lit with a blinding green light. James had to shut his eyes to keep from blacking out.
"My God," Amin whispered.
James opened his eyes and looked back into the screen.
The five agents they came to rescue lay lifeless on the ground. James sat down before he fell down; he wasn't the only one.
"They knew we were coming," James said. "They knew we were coming for them."
But Amin was determined to make his mission a success on one level or another. "We're going to kill those sons of bitches," he said, his teeth gritted. He pulled his wrist up to his mouth and gave orders to his four agents around the perimeter. "We're going in. Use force. They've killed our team."
"We're going in?" James asked.
"Yes. I'm calling for back-up."
"That's suicide. There are twenty five Death Eaters in there," James said, trying desperately to sound calm, but what he was saying didn't call for relaxation. "They know where we are, they probably know how many of us there are. It was a set up, and they got us. Ten against twenty-five Dark wizards who know this area better than we do are not good odds."
Amin stared at him but didn't answer. Instead he called the Bureau. "This is Amin Mohammed requesting back up. This is a code five."
"You're playing right into their hands," James told him. "They want you to do this, don't you see that?"
"What are you going to do, James? Sit around here and watch? Those agents died so that you could be safe. Are you going to let those monsters walk free with the blood of our men on their hands? That's probably how your father died. He died trying to save the rest of the world from people like them, the least you can do is take some of them out."
The others responded vehemently.
"You want to stay here and watch, that's fine James. No one will think less of you. I know you're not a coward. But I'm going."
James stared into the fiery eyes of his superior, seeing the determination in his face, the same determination which plagued the others. It was true; Voldemort had killed his father. He had died trying to rid the world of that evil. Why join the IWBI if not to combat it?
"This isn't rational," James told him.
"Very few things are," Amin replied. "Ready?" he said to his other agents.
"Yes," they all responded.
"Kill as many as you can," he said. With one last glance to James, he moved forward, the remaining agents behind him.
James looked back at the screen. The twenty-five Death Eaters stood patiently, as if waiting for an ambush. James wanted to do something, but he didn't know what. He half felt like he should join in what would be a bloody battle, but his other half held him back.
There was a delay in the time the agents left to the time the Death Eaters on the screen started to move. James had a sneaking suspicion that Voldemort was the tall, thin leader of them, but he didn't know for sure; the only people who had actually lived to tell of his appearance were his supporters.
Then there was a clash. Spells spewed out of wands from both sides, but James couldn't help but notice that the Death Eaters looked far more prepared, as they should be. Many of them took cover behind trees to fight the agents, but the tall one paced in the center of his circle while the others blocked the stray fire.
James could hear the battle faintly, as it was up ahead of him and down a hill. Every once in a while the ground shook beneath him.
He hated this. Watching his fellow men fight a pointless battle was too much to bear.
"Zoom out," James said to his screen. Instantly, the view screen backed out so he had a broader view. There were already dead, but none were the enemy. He could see a few of them struggling to get away, injured.
James ran toward the battle; he could watch it no longer. He hid behind trees as he approached the area. He made out some of the injured, cowering behind some kind of cover. James raced to them.
He had never seen a struggle like this one, or wounds such as these. Of the three who had crawled away, two were bleeding badly around the head. James wasn't sure that they were going to live much longer.
"Stay with me," he told them, ripping at his robes to wrap it around their heads.
All three of them were groaning; one was shaking violently.
James did his best to stop the bleeding, but he feared his efforts were not good enough. "I'll be back for you two," he said to the others. He picked up one of them, the one who looked to be in critical condition, and ran to his previous location where he knew it was safe. It took much longer to get there, as his legs were aching with the extra weight. The man he carried was closing his eyes.
"Don't you dare die on me," he told him. Once James reached the base point, he propped the man up against a tree, then started back.
Upon his return to the sight, one of the men was dead, and the other was still shaking. James had to hit the deck to keep from being hit by stray spells, then he dragged the living agent to a safer location so James could pick him up.
"You're going to be okay," James told him as he ran back. "You're going to make it."
He lay him down next to the other agent, who was still alive, though only just. James activated his emergency communication amulet and beacon. "I need back up. We're in the Romanian forest, I have one I know to be dead, two others are seriously wounded, and the other six are unaccounted for. Send back up!" he yelled.
A scratchy response came back. "We can't do that. No one is able to Apparate to your location. We have charms experts trying to break-in, but they need another five minutes."
"In five minutes we'll all be dead!" James yelled. "Send people the traditional way!"
"We'll be there as soon as possible," the voice came back.
"Damn it!" James yelled. He looked down on his two agents whose conditions worsened each second. He gazed back at his screen and saw that most of the other agents were not moving. He commanded his screen to show friendly life signs: there was only one. Mohammed. James could see him on top of a hill, trying to kill the Death Eaters below, but he was badly wounded.
James sprinted around the battle scene, and ran up the small hill where Amin lay.
"Come on," James said, trying to hoist him up.
"No, just leave me," he said weakly.
"You don't mean that."
But he was very heavy. James turned him over so he lay on his back, then James saw his injuries. His robes were soaked in blood, in the area of the stomach. His injuries had to be massive.
"I can help you," James said, but before he could do anything, Amin threw his arm out and knocked James sideways.
A Death Eater was standing behind them. James stood tall, and raised his wand to duel him.
"Potter," the Death Eater said. He was hooded so James couldn't see his face. "Drop your wand and come with me, or I'll kill the both of you."
James hesitated, then looked down at Amin, whose wand was grasped in his hand, but laying limply by his side. James looked into his face; Amin winked.
"Alright," James said calmly, "relax." He set his wand down on the ground and raised his hands.
"Avada Kedavra!" Amin yelled, hitting the Death Eater in the chest. In a flash of green light, he fell.
James picked up his wand them went back to his mentor. "I should be able to fix this somewhat," James said.
"Don't," Amin said, pushing him away. "I can hear them coming closer," he said. James could hear them too. The battle was over, but a group was definitely walking towards them. "Go, James."
"No, I can take you with me," James said, slowly picking him up. But Amin wouldn't stand for it.
"Damn your nobility," he whispered. "Just go. Tell my wife I love her," he said, his eyes sagging. "And spoil your boy whenever you can. Be a good father to him, James. Be good to him."
"Stop this," James said silently. "We can get out of here."
"You can." He spoke so softly that James could hardly hear him. "I'm ordering you to go."
"No," James said firmly.
He went to pick him up, but just as he did, Amin let out his last breath.
"Over here!" a Death Eater yelled, coming up the hill. James couldn't see him yet, but he knew he and the other Death Eaters were close. Something told him to run. He got up, looked down on the body of his boss, then turned and ran. He was sure that as soon as they overcame that small hill, they would be able to see him. Figuring the forest was the perfect backdrop, James transformed.
Prongs skidded to a halt, made an about face, then walked to a patch of grass and bent his head. No less than ten Death Eaters came over the hill shouting "He went this way!" Prongs lifted his head and watched them, keeping very still.
The Death Eaters glanced at him, but quickly looked away. Prongs then galloped back to the temporary base.
Miraculously, both of his agents were still alive.
He transformed back and briskly walked to them. "Can you stand?" he asked the one with the wounded head.
He nodded. James put the man's arm around his shoulder and the other man around his other shoulder. Both leaned on him, dragging their feet as they walked the other direction to get out of the forest.
* * * *
Lily walked down Diagon Alley, a slip of paper in her hand reading, "Tiny Tots." She had taken down the name when looking in the directory that morning. It was a bit windy and a little chilly, her breath froze in the air.
Tiny Tots was a cute little building at the end of a small cobbled street. The bell tinkled softly as she entered. There were two sides of the small store: one with products in pink, the other in blue. At the opposite end of the store were cribs, mobiles, changing stations, and other such items.
It was impossible for even the most bitter people to not smile when they looked around. Tiny shirts were hung with their tiny matching pants with patterns of soft sheep, sleeping lion cubs, and stars. Lily took a left for the boys section and started cooing when she picked up a very small pair of pajamas, a light pastel blue in color with a picture of a fluffy owl on the front; there was a place for the little feet.
"Is there something specific you're looking for?" the saleswoman asked.
"Oh," Lily said, hanging up the pajamas, "I was just looking."
"Is it for a friend?" she asked.
"No. It's for me, well, not really me, but for him," she said, patting her stomach.
"Is he your first?" the lady asked.
"How old do I look?" Lily said with a smirk. The lady laughed then led her to the infant section of the store. Another woman was there. She had long, shiny black hair. "Jade?" Lily said quietly.
Jade turned around and hid something behind her back. "Lily? What are you doing here?" but before Lily could answer, Jade rolled her eyes. "Never mind, stupid question."
"What are you doing here, and what's behind your back?"
"Well, I was getting you this," she said, pulling an item from around her back.
"Oh how cute," Lily said. Jade was holding a very tiny hat with an embroidered sheep on the front.
"And," Jade continued, pulling her other hand from behind her back, "baby socks!"
They both dissolved into coos. "They're so little," Lily said in baby talk.
"For the wittle feeties," Jade said back. "You have to see the things they have in here. My mother said that you could never have enough blankets or socks."
"Jade," Lily said, "I'm not allowed to buy anything without James."
"Okay. So I'll buy some stuff. I don't mind," Jade said, seeing the expression on Lily's face, "because babies grow out of this stuff and then you can give it back to me when I have my baby. Deal?"
"Deal," Lily said smiling at her. They started moving to the back of the store to look at more truly adorable baby clothes, when startled voices reached their ears.
"What's going on?" Jade said, looking to the front. She saw that the Daily Prophet had put out an extra, something they rarely did, and it was being passed around and read by everyone out in the street.
The woman who owned the store was also reading one. Her face went from wonder to shock in seconds. Lily walked forward, Jade right behind her, to the sales counter.
"What is it, what's happening?" she asked.
"An attack, in Romania. Twelve secret agents are dead, including some of the superiors, according to this."
Lily felt her knees go very weak. Her head felt like it was going to float off, it was so light and dizzy. "Can I see that?" she asked in a soft whisper.
"Sure," the lady said, handing it to Lily.
Lily took the paper and backed into a chair before she collapsed. Jade sat beside her and read along.
YOU KNOW WHO STRIKES AGAIN
In an attempt to rescue uncovered spies, seven secret agents from the covert agency of the International Wizard Bureau of Investigation were killed. An anonymous source tells the prophet that a group of ten Operations wizards, including directors, went in search of five uncovered spies in You-know-who's supporters. The location of this attack is thought to be in some part of Romania, but the source wouldn't confirm. The rescue attempt, however, proved in vain as the five uncovered agents were executed, and six agents from the rescue squad, including one director, were killed in action. Names have yet to be released as the IWBI wishes to inform the victims' families first. As more information comes in, the Prophet will report. Our deepest sympathies to the victims' families.
Lily didn't even sense the tears coming, she was only aware of them when she felt them trickle down her cheeks, cold as ice. The paper fell out of her hand, and she didn't try to catch it. All at once she felt her heart beat out of control, yet all color vanished from her body.
"Lily," Jade said. That was all she said.
"That's," Lily said quietly, trying to process the thoughts in her head. "He works there," she finished.
"James is fine," Jade said, though she didn't know that she believed it herself. "I'm sure that wasn't him they were talking about. Come on," she whispered, taking Lily by the arms, "let's get you out of here."
Lily couldn't resist her even if she wanted to. She was blinded by tears of trepidation and could hardly see anything around her. Everyone in the street was talking about how severe this was, though hardly any of them had heard of the Bureau.
"He's getting smarter," an old wizard said of the Dark Lord, as Lily and Jade passed him.
"James is fine," Jade reassured. "I know he is."
Lily couldn't say anything; but she hoped it was true, yet there was a nagging in the back of her head that couldn't stop thinking of the worst.
"I can't breathe," Lily said, clutching her chest, starting to hyperventilate.
"Relax," Jade told her, but it sounded very distant. Lily's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her breathing becoming faster, all at once she felt herself slipping out of consciousness.
"Stay with me Lily," she heard Jade say faintly, but she couldn't hold on.
"She just fainted in the street?" the voice of a familiar man asked.
There was a scraping noise.
"Yes. I'm so glad Remus came along to get her to the doctor's office."
A door opened. It sounded as if someone sat in a stool with wheels then rolled closer.
"Still not awake?" a new voice said. "She should come around very soon."
"Can't you give her something to help her wake up?" the man's voice asked.
"No," Jade said urgently. "Lily's pregnant."
"What!" the man yelled.
Lily opened her eyes. Jade and Sirius sat at her right side, and a doctor was hovering over her left side. Lily tried to sit up but the doctor pushed her back down.
"It's alright, miss," he said to her. "You'll be fine, but I need you to lay down."
Lily did so, but looked to Sirius and started bombarding him with questions. "Sirius, was it James?"
"James was there, but he's fine, Lily. He's one of the three who made it out. As soon as the doctor says you're okay to leave, I've got permission to take you to see him. He's fine, Lily, he's not even injured."
"Are you sure? Have you seen him?"
"Yes I'm sure, but they won't let me see him yet. When can I take her?" he asked the doctor.
"In a few more minutes," he told Sirius. "Relax, dear," he said to Lily. "I need you to take some deep breaths, alright? You need to breath regularly, and don't hyperventilate, it's bad for your baby."
"It's not like she chose to do that," Jade said, a little more loudly than she would have liked. The doctor gave her a face. "Well it's true," Jade said.
The doctor left the room so that Lily was alone with her two friends. She sat up quickly, kicked the sheets off of her, and got out of bed so quickly the other two couldn't stop her.
"I want to see him," she told Sirius, unable to hold back her tears.
"Okay," he said. His eyes were very understanding. "Jade, could you go out there and charm the doctor you like so much, with your wits?"
"I'm the distraction?" she asked.
"Right," he told her.
"No problem," she said, then left.
Sirius turned to face Lily again, who looked terribly worried. "You have to hold my hand, and then we'll Apparate there. I'll take you to the safety house, and you can see him. Is that good?" he asked, smiling at her.
"Thank you," she managed to say.
Sirius cupped her cheeks with his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. Lily walked to him and hugged him tightly, burying her head in between his neck and shoulders. Sirius encircled her with his arms, and kissed her temple. "Everything's going to be fine," he whispered to her. "I'll try not be insulted that neither one of you told me about the baby," he added.
Lily let out a small giggle and drew back. "Let's go," she said.
Sirius nodded, took her by the hand, and they Disapparated. Lily, who had been to the Bureau before, had never seen the rest of the place, just the one conference room. She, like Sirius and James, was taken aback by its magnificence and how it was much different than how she pictured it.
Sirius led her down the hallways, wizards from all over the world passing them, to the "Field Agent Safe House." There wasn't a door but a portal, as she had seen before. Taking her by the hand once more, Sirius led her inside.
Inside was a small rectangular room, which was a bit dismal. A number of portals led off to different places, Lily assumed. Ashika Narayan, whom Lily hadn't noticed at first, was pacing the room. She looked up when Lily and Sirius entered.
"Mrs. Potter," she said. "How nice to meet you." She put out her hand, which Lily took, though it was quite strange to meet someone she'd already met. "James is being questioned right now, but he'll be done in a few minutes. You can sit down if you'd like," she said, motioning to a chair.
Lily had seen Ashika a few times before now, and each time Ashika had always maintained a sense of composure, even during a crisis. But right now she was losing some of her cool.
She pulled a cigarette out of her robe pocket, but Lily prevented her from smoking it.
"Why?" she said, putting it in her mouth.
"I don't need you're fumes infiltrating my body and harming my son," Lily said.
Ashika didn't look surprised to hear the news, but she did put away her lighter and cigarette. "He rescued two others," she said to Lily. "Your husband went in and carried two men out of the battle and saved their lives. You should be very proud of him."
Lily looked at Sirius to see his expression, but it remained calm. "I knew that," he told her. "It's not such a surprise, is it?"
"I guess not."
Moments later, the center portal opened. Two strangers walked out, then came James looking shaken. Lily leapt out of her chair and ran to him. He scooped her up and held her very close. She, of course, started crying again and mumbled incoherently into his ear.
Sirius saw James look at him from over Lily's shoulders, but he quickly looked away and started talking to her. "All I could think of was you and him," he said in her ear, barely audible to the rest of the people in the room. "I was so scared," he whispered to her.
Lily pulled back and started to kiss his face, not caring that others were watching. "Don't you ever leave me," she said. "Ever."
"I won't," he told her, looking into her eyes.
"James," Ashika said from the corner, looking at the transcript of his report, "you can go home. Come back in five days. Amin's funeral date will be sent to you by falcon, as well as the location."
"He's...?" Lily said, looking back to James.
He nodded. "Let's go," he mumbled, taking her by the hand and walking out of the room.
James sat down on the sofa, a pad of parchment on his lap, a quill in his hand. So far the only thing he had was "Dear Prethna." He didn't know what to tell Mrs. Mohammed, other than he'd seen her husband die. He had never really spoken to her, didn't know her well, and Amin rarely discussed her.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked, setting laundry down on the coffee table.
"Trying to write a letter. I'm afraid I'm not much when it comes to the written word."
"A letter to his wife?" Lily asked, tapping her wand on the towels so they folded themselves.
"He told me to tell her that he loved her. I don't know where he lives, but even if I did, I don't know that I could say it to her."
Lily smiled. "Yeah you could." She stared at him for a long while, and he stared back. "It's terrible," she started, "it's really quite horrible to think what I thought today."
James set his pad and quill on the table. "What's that?" he asked.
"The Prophet reported what happened, claiming that one of the directors was dead. I hoped that entire time it was Mohammed, as if he didn't have family, or friends. I almost didn't care that twelve people had died, just that you lived. I just didn't care. All I could think about was getting you back. Only now can I rationalize that those other twelve agents were sons and daughters, husbands and wives..."
"Mother and fathers," James finished after her long pause.
She nodded. "I never knew that your job could be this dangerous. You never tell me what goes on when you leave this apartment. But today I realized that you're out there fighting evil, for real. Out there in the field, and while you may be at some safe house directing the others, you're still there."
"I know…Most of the time," he began, "I am far away from it. Today was very different because everyone got hyped up, ready to go in there and save our guys. The only reason I didn't go with the rest of them was because I knew I wasn't...alone. I'm not some single guy anymore. That's why I didn't go in. I felt like a coward not going with them. I sat and watched them go into that battle, feeling the entire time like I should have been with them."
"But you saved two of them, James. If you had gone in there, it would be fifteen casualties."
James pondered for a short while. "He saved me."
"Mohammed?" she asked.
"He stopped someone from..." he suddenly stopped, realizing that he was not only breaking the confidentiality of the mission, but also making her go into a worried state. "Well, he really pulled me out of a jam," he said, but he knew she didn't buy.
But Lily didn't want to think about it. "I'm glad you're back, and I'm glad you're safe," she said, picking up the now folded towels and taking them to the linen closet.
James took deep breaths, preparing what he was going to say next. Lily came back into the room and sat next to him. He leaned back into the sofa, Lily rested her head on his chest and sighed.
"It got me thinking," James said, in a tone she hadn't heard before. "About us."
Lily propped herself up and looked at him. "What about us?" she asked.
"Well," he began, "we never really talked about it, we sort of avoided it, I think, or at least I did. It's that chat we all have to have, as married people. You know that one about...well if something were to happen--"
"Nothing's going to happen," Lily interrupted.
"But if something did, Lily, if I die I want you to go on."
"Can we not talk about this right now," Lily said, sitting up.
"No we have to talk about now. Lily, if something happens to me, I want you to move on. Date other people because I don't want you to be alone."
Lily got up and went into the kitchen. James followed. "Lily," he said, "it's important that you agree to this. If there's an accident or something I need to know that you'll be taken care of."
Lily whipped around. "I don't have the hormones to be doing this right now," she said, her voice shaking. "Don't you dare start talking about dying when I'm three weeks pregnant! It's one thing to start talking about my husband dying, but another when we're discussing the father of my baby."
James held up his hands to stop her from continuing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he sobered. "I just want you to be okay."
"I appreciate that. Just not today, all right? Maybe later on in the week, or...well."
"We've already discussed half of it."
"So what do you want me to say? That if something happens to me, you should see other people? Is that what you want me to say?"
James stared at her, leaning on the counter. "Is that how you feel?" he asked.
"I don't know. It's hard to think about that right now. The line is 'till death do you part,' so I guess that sums it up, right?"
James made his lips go thin. "Yeah it does."
"So then it's settled, isn't it?" she said, but it wasn't a question. "What happens if something..."
"Well I've been thinking about that, too," James said before she could finish. "It's not very likely, but all the same, we should start looking into that kind of thing."
"I was thinking that Sirius--"
"Me too."
* * * * *
Ashika paced around the conference room, looking calm as she normally did. Her thick, shiny black hair was up in a bun at the back of her head. Her thin face showed her pulsating vein in her temple.
"Someone," she said in a spooky voice, "is telling names, and squealing to the press. Someone told Voldemort who our spies were. Someone told Voldemort we were coming to rescue them. Someone leaked to the press that we had twelve dead agents, including secret spies. I want to know who is hiding. The Counterintelligence sector exists solely to find moles in this Bureau, and others in other departments around the world." She kept pacing, remaining eerily calm. "And so far we have yet to find any of them. What does that mean? What does that mean?"
James kept watching her, as did the others in the room. For such a tiny woman, she knew how to hold attention and give an impression of danger.
"New management, I think," she said. "Potter, you're taking over Mohammed's position. You were the one that had brains last week."
James didn't say anything; instead he looked around the table at the others seated there.
"Black, I want you up a position in Analysis. Both of you get pay increases. And if someone has a lead on who these people are, you will get rewarded. Because right now I have nothing. I have no eyes inside! No eyes! Voldemort has people in here and we have no one in there! No one! No one!" she yelled.
Sirius looked across the table at James, feeling very uncomfortable.
"I don't remember being this desperate before in my life," Ashika continued. "Do any of you have a clue as to how long it will take to get another agent in there? Do you?"
No one answered, and no one was meant to. James shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"I want results. I want this stopped. I don't want to lose any more spies, any more directors. I want to lose moles. I want to lose them now." Ashika looked into each of their faces, then left the conference room. Everyone sighed and relaxed, but tensed at the same time.
"She was ticked," Sirius said.
"Can you blame her? The entire department has lost everything. We're going to find that mole," James said. He stood up and started to leave, as others at the table did the same.
"They're covering their tracks real well," Sirius said, leaving with James. "We've got absolutely nothing in the way of evidence, no hints about anything."
The two of them started to walk down to their sectors. "Can I tell you something?" James said.
"That would be nice...for a change."
"Do you think this is wise? For me. Do you think that maybe, at this point in my life, this job isn't right?"
Sirius stopped him in the middle of the hall.
"You're thinking about quitting?"
"Maybe not quitting, but turning down this position. I can't help but thinking something might happen. What if I don't get to see my son being born?"
"You will. Nothing's going to happen. You heard what she said in there. You've got brains. I've looked at that film you took, James. The others completely forgot their training and let their emotions get the better of them. I don't know if I could have done what you did. You stayed rational out there while the others went to fight."
"I probably would have if it was you he killed. They executed them."
"I know. But I still think you're right for this job. Not to get all mushy, but you're the bravest person I know and no one could do this job as well as you. You can't let Voldemort terrorize you like he is with everyone else. You have to go on with life. Someone has to stop that bastard."
"Yeah, I know. You're probably right," James said.
"Damn straight I'm right. I'm always right."
James chuckled softly as he started back for his office.
"So, I was thinking," Sirius said, clearly changing the subject.
"Not again," James said.
"I know. Dangerous things work in this brain," he said, tapping his temple. "Anyways, I was thinking that a really good name would be Sirius. It just sounds good."
James rolled his eyes. "You want my son to be called Sirius Potter?"
"Hey you can't deny good taste in names," Sirius said.
"How did you find out about the new addition?"
"Not from you," Sirius said, socking James in the shoulder, "that's for sure. Thanks for the owl, by the way. You know, that note you didn't send me saying 'Hey Sirius, Lily's pregnant. Have a great day!' Nice. My best friend of nineteen years can't tell me he's fertilized an egg."
James laughed again. "Well that's a nice way to word it. I'm perplexed with how women are so attracted to you when you talk like that."
"I don't talk that way with women," he sniggered. "And it helps to have good hair, a nice smile, two eyes instead of four."
This time James hit Sirius. "I never did get that insult. I'm going to laugh if you get into a freak accident and lose that face."
"Yeah, this fatherhood thing is changing you. You're worrying too much," Sirius said, shaking his head. "So I found out from Jade who told the doctor that Lily was pregnant. Jade knew about this before me! I'm noticing a trend here. It would have been nice if you could have told me."
"This conversation is making a circle," James said.
"I was thinking Sirius as the name," Sirius said in response. James laughed.
Jade visited Lily late that afternoon, bringing with her various baby materials, all of which deserved cooing and fawning over. She had purchased them herself but told Lily, when she complained about the expense, that they were merely on loan.
"Remember, I'm living vicariously through you until I have my own baby," Jade would tell her.
"Thanks," Lily said, smiling at her. "You're really great about this."
"Well, I'm baby crazy, what can I tell you?"
"There's nothing wrong with that," Lily told her.
Jade picked up a pair of infant socks and fiddled with them in her hands. She took several deep breaths and started walking around the room. "I wish," she began, "I could have what you have," she said, not looking at Lily. "You really don't know how lucky you are."
Lily cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"
"You've got everything," Jade said, turning around to face her. "Everything you want. You always have, Lily. It sounds petty for me to be saying this, when I have nothing but time on my hands to fall in love and get married, but I really envy you. You have the perfect life."
"No I don't. If it was perfect then James wouldn't work in such dangerous conditions and have me worried sick like last week."
"Maybe," she responded. "He's perfect, you know. You've got the perfect man. I'm not saying what you think I'm saying," she explained as she watched Lily's face, "because he's yours and always will be. He may not be the most physically perfect, or have the best hair, but I wish there were more of him out there. I bet his eyes went all misty when you told him about your baby, didn't they?"
Lily smiled and nodded. She watched Jade curiously, never remembering a time when she had been like this.
"He comes home right after work, doesn't go to the bar with the boys like so many other men. He treats you like a queen, always says he loves you," she whispered, looking again at the socks in her hands. "You'll never have to be alone because he won't allow it."
"Jade," Lily said, "what's this about?"
Jade shrugged her shoulders. "I get like this about once a month, all teary eyed and thinking that I'll die an old maid."
"You're not going to die and old maid," Lily chuckled. "Why are you even saying all of this? You'll find someone, and you'll have beautiful babies. Our kids can go to school together!"
"Yeah," Jade said, clutching the socks, "they can. Granted they won't be friends because how many underclassmen were we friends with, but together certainly."
"Right. Don't get all down in the dumps over this because it's a little silly. We need to hook you up with someone."
"Okay," Jade said feebly.
"Now give me those socks before you touch them so much they're not soft anymore."
Jade handed them over then started to examine the pool table. "Rumor has it that you're parting with this," she said, running a finger along the edge. "Why would you do such a horrible thing?"
"I'm afraid that there might be a freak accident, and I'll impale myself with a cue-stick."
Jade gave her a quizzical look. "Alright. I can see how that might happen, if you jousted with the cue-sticks."
"We'll just give it to Sirius or Remus and play it at their place if we want."
"Or it could stay with, gosh I don't know,' she said, tapping her fingers on it, "me?"
"It's yours," Lily said.
The door opened a few moments later, while Jade was taking measurements of the table. James came in with bags of food and a specialty bag from "Tiny Tots." He went over to Lily and kissed her, then bent down to kiss her stomach.
"Hello Maximus," he whispered.
"Oh so it's Maximus now?" Lily asked, looking into the bags.
"Well you don't like Merlin so I picked a new name. Hey Jade," he said. "Oh, so you're taking Tabitha home with you?"
"You've named the pool table?" Jade asked them.
"No," Lily said, "James did. He's been naming everything recently. It's really quite annoying."
"I love you too, Lily. Oh, you have to see this," he said, pulling something out of the Tiny Tots bag. "Can you believe they make these for babies?" He had very small robes in his hands, scarlet in color, with a gold lion on the front. The inside lining of the robes were pale yellow, and on the back it read "Quidditch Trainee."
"That is so adorable!" Jade said, rushing over to touch it.
"We said we wouldn't buy anything without each other!" Lily told him.
"Yeah, that's what we said. I just saw this in the window and I had to get it. Besides, where did you get those?" he asked, pointing to the socks and baby blankets.
"Jade got them for me," Lily replied.
"Why?"
"Because I'm pathetic," Jade answered.
"Well whatever, you aren't getting me to take it back. Oh, and I also got a mobile," he said with a giddy tone. The mobile, as it turned out, had a small red ball, two black ones, and several golden ones with wings, which looked life size to their real counterparts. The objects were all plush.
"I'm noticing a trend," Lily said with a smile as she spun the mobile around. "Why are there more gold ones?"
"It's a Seeker mobile," he told her, as if it was completely obvious. "He needs to get used to seeing the snitch, so he'll be better when he plays Seeker."
"Seeker?" Lily asked.
"Yes."
"Seeker?" she asked again.
"Right."
"Seeker?!" she said for the third time.
"Is there a point to this?"
"They get clobbered! I saw how many times those players got knocked out and sent to the hospital wing! I am not giving up caffeine, alcohol, and my pool table to make our baby perfect so that he can get knocked around in twelve years or so. No. I won't have it."
James stared at her with thin lips. "He's playing Quidditch."
"Not Seeker," she said, her eyes popping.
"What then? They all get hurt."
"The Keepers don't. He can be Keeper."
James rolled his eyes and his head. "Lily, we are having a Potter boy, not some pansy kid who's afraid of getting hurt all the time. He's going to be Seeker, and there's not a whole lot you can do about it."
"You're going to make his obsessed with this game, aren't you?" she asked, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.
"That's impossible," James said.
"No it isn't. We broke up because of that stupid game. I don't want him getting hurt or you pressuring him to reach impossible standards. That will ruin him."
James didn't see much point in arguing with her. She looked angry, very angry, and it was frankly a very stupid thing to be angry about, in his mind.
James reached into a different bag and removed delicious looking brownies, which he offered to her. "I picked these up for you. Do you want one?" he asked.
Lily's eyes started to water, and very soon she was crying. "Thank you so much," she said, putting her hand to her heart.
Jade gave James a grin. "So Lily," she said, "how are those mood swings going?"
"I actually haven't noticed any," she said, taking a large bite out of a brownie.
Remus and Sonja came by later on, bringing they're contribution to the dinner. Sonja embraced Lily as if they'd been friends for many years and said "how's my pregnant friend?" as a greeting. Somehow it made Lily laugh. Sonja also offered to give a fortune telling, but Lily declined saying she didn't want to peek into the future; she didn't actually believe in that sort of magic.
"You will not believe what I have just done," Sirius said as he made a dramatic entrance into the apartment. He was wearing his bomber jacket, light blue jeans, and his sunglasses, as well as his handsome smile showing his shiny white teeth.
"You stuck your head in a volcano," James suggested, noticing Sirius's red face.
"No, even better," he said, closing the door behind him and walking into the kitchen to get a drink.
"You tried a sunless tan?" Remus suggested. "It didn't work."
"No, but I did spend some time in the sun."
"But it's cloudy outside," Sonja said.
"An astute observation," Sirius hinted.
"Sirius," Jade said, "just tell us."
"I, Sirius Black, master of all that I command, creator of...well nothing yet. But, ladies and gentlemen, I have boldly gone where no one has gone before. Today, my friends, I have entered a new realm of adventure."
"You're very poetic," Jade said, "please tell us what you did!"
"I'm getting to that," Sirius said, holding his finger to her. "So I was looking through a spell book today and I found something very interesting. I took down this spell and I performed it on a certain item I hold in my possession."
"Sirius," James said, his hand on his forehead, "could you just tell us so we can get on with the evening."
"I flew my motorcycle. I got her to about one-fifty, and I hit my aviation booster. That's right," he said, looking at their impressed faces, "I went above the clouds. It was the best feeling ever, I'm telling you."
"Isn't that illegal?" Lily asked.
"See, Lily, you have to stop thinking about legality all the time. It's not illegal if you don't use it for dark magic or drug trafficking. Besides, no one else is going to know about it because none of you are going to squeal on me."
"Sirius, that's the cleverest thing you've ever done," James said. "I've gotta see this."
"It's incredible. I've got it downstairs, you want to go now?"
"Sure," James said.
"You notice how I told about this. You notice that you didn't hear it from somebody else?" Sirius said, taking off his sunglasses, leaving him with a racoon-like face.
"Sirius," James started, but Sonja cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Oh, well James and I have been best friends since before time, and for some reason he didn't inform me of kissing his long time obsession."
"Sirius," James interjected.
"Then, he doesn't tell me that he's going to propose marriage in the middle of a train station. Didn't even mention it to me, or ask me about it. And last week I find out from my ex-girlfriend that he's going to be a father. Didn't even let me know."
James smiled placidly, Lily stood by his side, smiling in the same way, but turned to whisper something in her husband's ear, to which he nodded.
"Sirius," Lily said, "James and I have been talking about stuff and--"
"What now?" he asked. "Is there more to this?"
"Yes. Sirius, James and I want you to be his godfather," she said, holding James's hand. "That is if you are willing."
Sirius's mouth opened slightly and his shoulders sagged. "Me?" he said in a weak voice, pointing to himself as if to narrow it down.
James and Lily nodded. Everyone else in the room remained unusually silent.
"Godfather?"
James chuckled. "Yeah. If something were to happen, then you would be..."
"I know what it is, but...wow," he said, smiling. "Me, really?" he asked, his face lit with happiness.
"Of course you. Sirius I may not tell you everything, though you only brought up three things," James started.
"Three big things, James," Sirius pointed out.
"Three big things, yes, but you're my best friend, since forever. It would mean so much to me and so much to us, the three of us, if you would do this. You're part of our family, you've always been a part of mine at least. That will never change. So what do you say?"
Sirius couldn't stop grinning. "What do you think I'll say, of course I'll do it. I'd be an idiot to pass this up. I'm so honored," he said, touching his chest. As his eyes started to redden, he went to the both of them and hugged them. "I love you guys," he said.
"Awwww," Jade said.
"We love you too," Lily said, kissing his cheek.
"So that hostility you had against me for a while was...?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, yeah well it's a new psychological thing. I guess I felt threatened that you would take James away, and other such silly nonsense. Nothing personal."
"Got it," Sirius said, still grinning like a fool. "So, I'm like a second father, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm always going to be the first so don't get any ideas," James said, pointing a finger at him. Sirius laughed and pulled him in for another hug.
"Congratulations," Sirius said to him. "I'm so happy for the both of you, and for myself now. I feel so involved already. Thank you so much."
"I expect some reciprocity," James said, grasping Sirius by the shoulders.
"Absolutely," Sirius said.
After much more hugging from everyone, in what turned out to be a very sappy kind of scene that is rarely seen among adults, the next process of the new Potter's initiation was discussed: names. It wasn't the most civil of ceremonies, especially if you consider the hacking cough interjected occasionally from Sirius's direction which sounded less like a cough and more like a muffled "Sirius!"
Sonja was happy to suggest foreign names for the child, many of which had powerful meanings of strength, but Lily wasn't much interested, though James was fascinated.
Lily thought something more common might be a better way to go. She suggested Alexander, Brandon, Justin, and Michael. James flinched at each one of them complaining that they reminded him of people who studied far too much and would therefore be likely to be "pansies." Lily didn't bring up the fact that James graduated at the top of his class.
James, however, seemed to favor names that suggested great power. He was quite fond of Maximus, Brutus, and Kilroy. Lily wrinkled her nose in protest. She voiced her opinion that with a name like that, the child would be asking for ridicule. James did not agree, saying that if their son had such a name and the power that came with it, the other children would be foolish in mocking him. Besides, James would say, I'll pound the idiot that mocks Maximus.
When going to the peanut gallery with these names, all were turned down. Jade suggested they might want to go for something a little more mainstream with a powerful meaning. She added that such a task would require some research.
Remus seconded the motion. "He won't need a great name to stand out; he'll be great with whatever name you give him." This made Lily go emotional again. She had to blow her nose several times and get a new box for her eyes.
Still, the coughing from the newly appointed godfather continued to interrupt the proceeding. It somehow came to a halt when the father told him to discontinue in this behavior, though those were not the exact words.
James and Lily came to an agreement that names ending in "us" would not be used simply because they sounded too Roman. It also put an immediate stop to the coughing, which was replaced by a sultry behavior which turned out to be more comical than it was sullen.
Lily asked Jade for some suggestions, but she didn't want to share. Lily berated her for she knew she had names already planned out for her children. "I'm having one before you are," Lily would say, "please, just one name."
Jade finally caved in, for the new godfather started to sing (off key) into her ear and threatened to go over to her small apartment and serenade her in the middle of the night.
"My favorite boys name," she said, pushing Sirius a little more roughly than he would have liked, "is Clayton."
Both Lily and James perked up to this, then James shook his head.
"What's wrong with that?" Lily asked. "It's perfect!"
"Nope," James said. "Don't you see a problem with Clay Potter?"
"Oh," Lily said, slouching back down into the sofa. She went on to complain about the last name, which didn't go unchallenged.
Sirius added, at long last, a realistic suggestion of naming the child after kin. However, neither of them could agree on which family member or whose family. James pointed out that Lily had no brothers and had never met one of her grandfathers so this left her with only two names. James hated both.
Lily didn't hesitate to tell James that he too had no brothers, though Sirius started coughing again, and didn't know his grandfathers very well before they died. They decided that they wouldn't go with family.
After coming do a decision about the middle name, "James," the group discussion concluded with frustration and anxiety. Instead they turned to a more social chatter about their absent friends. Jade said that Liz was on a business trip, but when Remus pressured her, Jade admitted that Liz had a new boyfriend and was out on vacation with him.
Sirius voiced some concern about Peter, complaining that he hardly heard from him and wondered if he'd done something to upset him. Remus added to this also noting that Peter had been in and out of contact. They determined that this might be because he was looking for a new place of residence and his overbearing mother certainly wasn't happy with that. Sonja was curious about Peter and asked to hear about him. This led to stories about their years at Hogwarts, most of them which brought tears of laughter. Sonja especially enjoyed "Operation Slytherin Destruction" which was implemented in year three. James, Sirius, and Remus were careful to avoid the suggestion of any magical material being used in this operation.
Then there was much talk about relationships. Everyone had something to say about the incredibly annoying behavior coming from both Lily and James in the five years before their eventual hook up. Sirius insisted that the annoyance of their disgusting display of emotions never stopped, which brought laughter. And since Jade and Sirius were on friendly terms, for their separation had been months ago, they didn't mind in sharing some of their stories. But both seemed a little saddened when they reached the end.
When the clock told them it was late, everyone packed up and went home, thanking Lily and James for a good time.
But they didn't go to sleep. Though both were in bed, under the warm covers, they couldn't keep from talking. They sounded very juvenile, and looked like it, chatting with the covers pulled over their heads.
"I wonder what he'll be like," Lily said.
'He'll be smart," James replied.
"Well he'll have to be," Lily said with a smile.
"Do you think we're ready for this?" James asked.
Lily shrugged. "No," she whispered. "Do you want the truth?"
James squinted at her. "Yeah."
"When I first found out about this, I cried my eyes out. I've never been so scared before, and I've been scared real good. My mother would always say that 'having a baby sends you down a road of change, and you never know which way the wind will blow.' I want this baby, I wanted him when I found out, but at the same time I worry that I won't be able to continue with my own plans."
"I think that might be normal," he told her, remaining much more calm than she expected. "We decided we would do this in a few years, but since you and I are so good together," he said with a devilish grin, "we found ourselves on that road. Sure, it's a bit inconvenient for us, but as my father used to say, since we're talking old phrases, 'Life doesn't always go the way you plan it. Life's not meant to be planned out. You can't control what it does for you, you can only take what she gives you and prepare for it.' I don't know that I've said it, but I'm so happy about this. Look at what we've done, Lily. We created life because of our love. That's so special, who cares if the timing is off a bit. We'll manage it just fine. Money won't be a problem, we have a great, loving relationship with each other, and we're both good people."
Lily snuggled close to him. "I hope he's like you," she whispered.
"You're just saying that because I'm dashingly handsome and incredibly suave," he mused.
Lily snorted with laughter and kissed him. "Not exactly, sweetheart."
"Is it because I'm naturally brainy and very witty?"
"Not quite but I do believe you're getting warmer."
He made a mumbling sound then grinned, but he didn't talk anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed, feeling comfortable with the touch of her hand on his face. He gently kissed her neck and jaw, but didn't go any further.
"I love you," she whispered, running one hand through his hair, the other wrapped around his neck. He put his right hand on her stomach, and she could feel him smiling. "I love you back," he mumbled.
* * * * *
Mr. Evans surveyed his daughter with a proud smile, which she returned. He couldn't stop patting her hand and occasionally saying, "I'm so proud of you," then kissing her cheek. "My little doctor."
"Not for a while," Lily said, but that didn't seem to make much of a dent.
"And a grandson," Mrs. Evans saying, her face bright.
"How many more months do you have left?" Mr. Evans asked.
"Well, six. Our doctor says he's due around the twenty-third of July, give or take a few days. But it's about six months left."
"So James," Mr. Evans said, looking down the table at his son-in-law, "has she been real moody? You can be honest. Amanda was so blasted emotional during both pregnancies."
James cleared his throat. "She's been great," he lied. "Every once in a while she'll get a little moody, but for the most part she's her radiant self."
"Well," Mr. Evans said with another pat on Lily's hand, "that's my little princess, always radiant."
"Have you decided on a name yet?" Mrs. Evans asked.
James and Lily both shook their heads. "No," Lily said. "We sort of gave up on that for a while."
"Lily shouts out a name when she comes across one she likes, but I say no," James said.
"He needs something powerful," Mr. Evans stated.
"That's exactly how I feel," James said, leaning across the table.
Lily rolled her eyes to her mother, who sniggered. "Your sister isn't having this problem," she said to her. "They don't know what theirs is so they haven't even started thinking of names."
"She's over four month's done, right?" Lily asked.
"Yes. She's starting to show a little bit, and you will too very soon. You're both so thin so you'll show before many other women do."
"I'm just glad morning sickness is over," Lily said, taking a sip of her water. "Every single day I was puking my brains out. And the doctor said some women don't get it bad and I hoped that would be me, but it wasn't."
"I want to see you're nursery," Mrs. Evans said.
"We just finished it, actually. But as I think about it, I don't want to raise him in an apartment. We've talked about moving, but not right now. School is really demanding and James's job is kinda hectic for the time being."
"My father's name was Maximilian," Mr. Evans told James, "but I'm not to fond of that name. And I wouldn't recommend Amanda's father."
"What a pig," Mrs. Evans said suddenly, rejoining the conversation. "Whatever you do, don't name your son Thomas."
"We won't," Lily said quickly. "I like Cory," she said.
"Why not?" James asked Mrs. Evans.
"He left my mother. You see, I was born out of wedlock. My father was married to another woman when I was born, nice guy, huh?" she said, taking a long drink of wine.
"I never knew that," James said. "So you never knew him?"
"Nope. Mum never really liked talking about him. I can't say I blame her."
James looked over to Lily to tell her something, but he couldn't remember what he was going to say when he saw her expression. Her face had gone almost rigid into a fixed and indescribable position. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
She nodded then immediately jumped into her curriculum at school, which changed the subject. Curious, James started to ask Mrs. Evans about her father, but he was cut off by Lily, who stood up abruptly to take her plate into the kitchen.
"Would you like to help me, James?" she asked, her eyes bugging out.
"Alright," he said. He grabbed his plate and walked into the kitchen with Lily.
"Don't ask her those questions," Lily whispered.
"She brought it up," James said.
"Mother is very sensitive about her father or lack thereof. She doesn't need you interrogating her."
"I wasn't!" James said. "We were having a civilized conversation. I think you're getting a little paranoid about this. You're mother is just fine about this conversation, you're the one who changed the sub--" he stopped suddenly. "Hang on," he said, "is there something you're not telling me?"
"Don't be ridiculous," she said, putting both their plates into the sink.
"Are you afraid that I might leave you, or something?" he asked.
"Of course not," she said. "I just don't like hearing that story about my grandfather, alright?"
"Why?" he asked. "Aren't you curious about him?"
"No. I've heard enough about that bastard. His relation to me is very...Star Wars," she said.
"What is 'Star Wars?'" James asked.
"It's not important, alright? I'm nothing like my grandfather, and my mother isn't either, and that's all you need to know about him."
"That's not what it sounds like to me, Lily. You want to tell me about him, I can see it in your eyes. Do you want to meet him, or something? This isn't making much sense."
"He's dead. And even if he were alive I wouldn't want to meet with him. I don't want any connection with him or his family. It's not a big deal."
"You're making it one," James told her. "This is bothering you, I can tell. Why don't you tell me what it is?"
Lily opened her mouth, then shut it abruptly. "It's not important," she mumbled, looking down at the floor.
James went to push the matter, but at that moment Artemis, his falcon, slipstreamed into the manor. The blue amulet on her chest was glowing-she had a message. She perched herself on his shoulder so he could read the coded message.
"What is it?" Lily asked.
James read the small letter. "I've gotta go," he said urgently.
"Why?" she asked, walking with him to the door.
"I can't tell you. Something happened, and we might have someone in custody. We'll continue this conversation later. Tell your folks I'm sorry about this."
"James, can't someone else handle this?"
"No. I love you, Lily," he said, kissing her.
"I love you too," she told him. He Disapparated seconds later.
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I know, not enough Sirius. Next chapter, I'll get more of him in there. Ciria, leave me your email address please.
