Disclaimer: Not mine, J. K. Rowling, Chiho Saito…

A/N: I do believe this is the last chapter! Well, I'll have another epilogue, probably, to explain certain things after I write "Cupid's Night." I know I've left a few things unexplained (for example, "Who's the baby's real father?!"), but no worries—it'll come clear in "Cupid's Night" and the epilogue. And…yeah, too tired for anything else tonight. Comments? Questions? Fire away!

Chapter 9 – Prophecy & Resolution

"Uggghghhhh…" moaned Lily, covering her mouth with one hand as she rose from the breakfast table and hastened toward the nearest bathroom.

"Uggghhghhgh…" moaned James, as he put his cup down and turned a putrid shade of green. "Why do I feel sick, too?" He followed Lily to the bathroom and held her hair out of the way, his face blanching with her every heave.

"They're like sympathy pains," chortled Terrence delightedly, as he finished his toast. "They say when a couple's relationship is very close, the man will start experiencing the things his wife feels during her pregnancy…" He chortled some more as he left the room. "I'm glad you two are getting along!"

Later, James sighed into Lily's hair as he held her on the sofa. "I'll be home early today," he said.

"Again?" asked Lily, cuddling closer. "I love having you here with me, but…is it really all right for you to be spending so much time away from work?"

"You're more important than work," James said fondly. He tipped her face up to kiss her sweetly on the mouth. "Baby's due soon…I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with you before the baby's actually born." Lily's eyes popped open and she pulled back slightly to look at him as he spoke. "I can't concentrate on work, now, anyway…"

"Are you afraid that the baby will come between us once it's born, since it's not yours?" Lily blurted, flushing as she spoke. Her eyes were averted.

James looked at her closely for a moment before replying. "Well…" he sighed. "To be completely honest with you—yeah, a bit."

"Oh—" said Lily, looking worried. "James—is it really all right—I mean, I don't know what could be done about it now, but—I feel like—that is—"

"Oy!" James pushed Lily away from him a little, holding her at arm's length and staring, aghast, at her belly. "He kicked me!!" His wide eyes met Lily's. "He heard what I was saying, got mad and kicked me!! Why that little—" James burst out laughing, his expression full of joy, as he placed one hand on Lily's abdomen and the other round Lily's shoulder.

"I—I'm…sor—" Lily stammered, confused.

James pulled her to him suddenly and held her as close as possible, smiling as the baby continued to move between them. "How could you ask if it's really all right?" He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through her hair. "Lily—the contract is over and forgotten…and I don't want to get a divorce after the baby is born…I'll be a good father—the best you've ever seen…"

Lily's eyes widened, her chin propped on James' shoulder. Then her expression softened, and tears blurred her vision as she turned her head to meet James in a kiss.

Just then, Terrence rushed into the room, banging the door open so hard it smashed into the adjacent wall and knocked a picture from the wall.

"I've just had news from Dumbledore!" he cried, wringing his hands as he eyed Lily. "Oh, it's not good…not good at all…"

"What's happened?" James and Lily said simultaneously, jumping up and apart as though they'd been burned.

Terrence tried to speak, but clutched at his chest and fell to the ground.

He was revived in St. Mungo's and requested that Lily and James be brought to him at once.

James had been trying to contact Dumbledore from the fireplace, to no avail. The Headmaster seemed to be traveling somewhere at the moment.

Lily dragged him back to the hospital with her as soon as Terrence woke. The two of them went cautiously into his room, treading lightly around his prone form on the immaculate hospital bed.

"Has there been another attack?" asked Lily.

"No…that is…not yet…" Terrence managed, as James summoned an aide and got a glass of water for him.

"There's a planned attack?" James said, brow furrowing.

"Sort of…" Terrence took a deep breath after drinking his water and lay back down. "There's been news of a prophecy…Dumbledore heard it himself."

"Aren't true Seers extremely rare?"

"Well, yes," Terrence said, nodding vigorously. "But even Dumbledore believed this one…it has to do with the Dark Lord's downfall."

"Why were you so upset?" asked Lily. "That's brilliant news!"

"It's not so simple," Terrence said. "Basically, from what Dumbledore's told me, the one who has the powers to vanquish him hasn't been born yet…"

"…'yet'?" A dawning look of comprehension was spreading across James' face as he turned to look at Lily.

"You see," Terrence said softly, looking at James.

"What does that have to do with—" Lily noticed the two men staring at her—or staring markedly at her swollen midsection—and stopped, her mouth falling open. "No! You don't mean—"

"Well, perhaps…" Terrence said, slowly. "The prophecy wasn't exactly clear. It didn't specify the child's name, simply said it would be born at the end of July…"

"That could be anyone!" exclaimed James, beginning to pace the floor as well. "Why ours? For all we know, the child the prophecy speaks of could be a Muggle-born!"

"There's more." Terrence tugged at his graying hair with both hands. "The child must be born to parents that have escaped from the Dark Lord three times…"

James snorted. "Well, I don't know about Lily, but I haven't escaped from the Dark Lord any more than…" He thought for a moment, and his face fell.

"Thrice…" Lily finished, holding up three fingers in wonder. She shared a silent look with James, who nodded and shrugged as though to say the decision to speak was entirely up to her. She turned to Terrence. "But Terrence…" she began, moving forward to clasp his hand in hers. "The baby…it's not…it's not really Jam—"

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," called Terrence, as James opened it.

Morgan strode in, with a tiny white parcel in his hand. He handed it to Terrence, saying simply, "Dumbledore again, sir," before walking out of the room once more.

Lily and James were both silent as Terrence unfolded the parcel, which was actually a piece of parchment folded into a tiny cube. His eyes scanned the page and then, as he dropped it to the side of the bed, it puffed into a bit of dust and disappeared.

"Looks like they've narrowed the choices down," Terrence said finally, after another sip of water. "The child in question has got to be either yours, or the Longbottoms'. And this is only if both your children are born at the end of July…when is your baby to be born?"

"The projected birth-date was July 31st, last time I had a check-up," Lily said.

"And they're never wrong…" Terrence murmured. He closed his eyes tiredly. "I need to rest now…come back a little later, James…we've got to talk about the two of you going into hiding as soon as the baby's born…"

"But—" began James. Terrence waved a hand weakly in dismissal. Exchanging worried looks, James and Lily reluctantly left the room.

They arrived at home in silence and sat together in the study, not doing anything.

Finally, James spoke up. "Lily…I know…you don't like me asking this, and I wouldn't, if it weren't so important…but…surely you should find out…about the baby's real father. If he's faced Voldemort—"

Lily simply gazed into the fireplace unseeingly.

James sighed. He rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Listen, I'm going to go to the office…there's probably chaos there…"

Lily barely nodded her assent and James apparated away.

As it happened, there WAS chaos at the office. It seemed there had been an even greater number of attacks than usual that day, and the trend continued through the subsequent days, forcing James to spend almost a week straight at the office. He hardly laid eyes on Lily during this time, as she seemed to be occupied with the baby's approaching birth-date and her own share of work.

When there was finally a brief lull between cases, Morgan ordered James home for a rest. "You look dead on your feet," he said, patting James on the back. "Go home and take a nap…things are under control here."

"Oh, Merlin," James said, pulling off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. "And there's still that to worry about…I can't go home now, I still need to find out more about…"

"No, you don't." Morgan steered James toward the office door. "Whatever it is, it can wait."

"No, you don't understand—" James tried to pull away from Morgan's grasp. "It's so important—I've got to find a way to protect Lily, and the baby—the baby—"

Sirius cast a temporary silencing charm on him, and threatened to tie him up and escort him home. James, finally owning to himself that he couldn't think properly on so little sleep, told them all right, all right, he'd go home—but to call him if anything came up.

He apparated home and called for Lily.

After James had asked her about the baby's real father, Lily had come to a decision—she had to find out whether the father of the baby had indeed faced Voldemort three times, whether he had been a threat to the Dark Lord in the past…

After some hunting, she found a little golden key and went to a small Gringott's vault, from which she retrieved several slips of tattered parchment. Then she went home.

She locked the door to her room and sat down in front of her fireplace. She threw some powder into the flames and whispered something.

A young witch's head appeared before her, looking startled. Her expression settled into a cold mask and she lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, Mrs. Potter?"

Lily smiled softly, meeting the woman's gaze fully and fearlessly with her own. "Miss Rouchard, I have a few questions that I must ask you…"

"I don't know why I should help you!" Cèline scoffed. Then, a trifle more seriously, she asked, "Are things all right with James?"

"Yes, for now," Lily replied. She folded her hands before her. "Actually, the reason I'm asking is for James' sake…James' safety is at stake…more than it usually is…"

Cèline looked incredulous. "I didn't think that was possible."

"I'll tell you what I can, if you'll answer some questions for me."

The French witch nodded. "Speak."

The ink was just drying on the parchment Lily had finished writing on, when James arrived at home and began calling her name.

She went to meet him in the corridor and sent his cloak to the closet. He looked so tired that for a moment she was afraid he'd collapse in the hall before she could get her wand out. She took his hand and led him toward the bedroom.

"James, you look awful," she said gently, closing the door and leading him to the bed. "Go to sleep."

"I can't…not yet…I will, after we talk about—" James exclaimed incoherently, as Lily pushed him onto the bed. "The prophecy, Lily. Whether or not the father's—the thing is, everyone thinks the father's me. Which must include Voldemort and whatever death eaters he's using to spy on us…meaning the baby will be targeted anyway. We'll be targeted, as well. Not that I wasn't before. We've got to think about going into hiding, Lily, after the baby's born…"

"Shhh," hushed Lily, tucking the blankets around him as his eyes drifted shut against his will. "Sleep now…we can think of the rest later…" She bent over him and kissed him gently…and when she straightened, James was sound asleep. A tear glistened for a moment on her cheek, and then landed soundlessly on James' face. He didn't stir.

Lily pulled her cloak carefully around herself and placed a piece of official parchment carefully on James' desk. Then she tucked her hair beneath a hat and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

James woke several hours later with a horrible pain in his stomach area. Clutching his side, he managed to crawl out of bed—and found the room dark and empty about him.

"Lily?" he called, and the sound of his voice echoed from the walls. It was unnaturally silent, except for the faint patter of rain outside.

He got to his feet and walked to the door, calling her name softly into the darkness of the hall. Still no response.

He went back inside the room and noticed something sitting on the desk. It seemed to be an official parchment of some kind, and a letter…

James—

I've contacted someone who knows about the baby's father—and it turns out he, too, had been threatened by Voldemort many times, and had escaped from him three times…

This means, of course, that the baby might still be in the one in the prophecy…the prophecy which also said that the Dark Lord would "mark" the child as his equal. He'll be coming for my baby, James.

I know the contract doesn't matter to us anymore, and that you weren't planning to follow through with the divorce after the baby is born. James—I must ask you to reconsider.

The baby and I—we're not your responsibility. This baby isn't yours, and you shouldn't have to hide away because of it, wondering each day whether Voldemort would appear on your doorstep, along with certain death…I know you would make it your responsibility, and that you would give up your life for the baby or myself…but I would never be able to live with myself if I knew that you—that something happened to you, and that it was all my fault…

Please, please...do this for me, James.

Lily

Next to the letter was a large sheet of parchment bearing Lily's signature. Divorce papers.

James stared at them for a little while, unbelieving. Then he ripped them into tiny pieces and threw them into the fire.

"Noppy!"

The house-elf appeared immediately, as though she'd been waiting to be summoned. "Yes, Master James?"

"Did you see Lily go out?"

"Yes, Master James," she answered tremulously. "She said she was going for a drive, she did, and took the little red Muggle machine…"

"Did she say where she was going to go?!" demanded James, his voice rising in spite of himself.

"N-no," Noppy answered fearfully. Suddenly she began beating her head against the floor. "Noppy is sorry! Noppy would never have let Miss Lily go if Noppy knew Miss Lily shouldn't go…Miss Lily said she felt fine…Noppy is so—"

"There, there, Noppy," James said soothingly, patting her head. "Never mind punishing yourself—it's not your fault. I'll find Lily and bring her back. Don't worry."

He made sure Noppy had gone back to her room off the kitchen before grabbing his favorite broom from the closet and leaping off the bedroom balcony into the gray summer rain.

James groaned and barely swerved in time—he'd been a few inches away from slamming into a tree. He clutched his side. Why was he hurting so badly? It wasn't as if he'd eaten anything bad—

And that was when he remembered. Sympathy pains!

Oh, Lily, please be all right…please be all right…I don't know what I would do if—

"OW!" cried James, and was forced to land clumsily in the opening into an alleyway just off the main street. That had been the biggest wave of pain yet…

He turned, ready to kick off again, when he noticed a glimpse of red across the street. Was that—?

He left his beloved broom lying in the alley as he rushed across the street to the red sports car that was sitting wearily, half-in and half-out of a ditch, at the side of the road. He could see a shadowy figure sitting in the driver's seat…a glint of bright hair pushed against the seatback…his heart was beating so hard he could barely hear anything above the pounding of blood in his ears…

James yanked the door open and found Lily huddled in one corner of the front seat, her cloak twisted about her and tears in her eyes.

"It hurt too much," she whispered. "I couldn't drive properly…tried to park…wheel…stuck in the ditch…no one around to help…"

Before she could say another word, James had her wrapped tightly in his arms. He was almost crying with relief.

"Don't ever leave me again," he mumbled, burying his face in her hair. "Don't say anything about divorce…don't leave me…don't scare me like this…"

"I had to, don't you see?" asked Lily, through her tears. "I couldn't let you—I knew you'd say—"

"No," James said strongly, holding her face in his hands. "It doesn't matter what happens. I've already been targeted—Voldemort has no reason to leave me be, even if we separated. And…Lily, I can't live without you. I'd rather—die defending you, than live without being with you every day…"

The tears were streaming down her face. James kissed them away.

"It doesn't matter," James said. "As long as we're together…with the baby…and even the prophecy won't matter in the end, you see…our son will have the power to vanquish Voldemort…and then—not just us—the world we live in…will be free."

Lily gasped, and pulled his head down to hers. "I love you," she whispered.

James smiled at her, giddy with relief, and pulled her closer.

They sat together in silence for a little while, simply enjoying being together—despite the rain, and the deserted, muddy street.

"James," Lily said, breaking the silence. "What was your father's name?"

"Harold," James replied. "Why?"

"Harry James Potter," tried Lily. "It has a ring to it, don't you think?"

James didn't say anything for a few seconds. When his voice finally came out, it came as a croak. "Don't you think you ought to name the baby for his father?"

"No," Lily replied calmly. "I've thought it over—and—I really think I want to name the baby after you and your father…" She smiled up at him. "I'm glad he had you…and I'm glad I have you…. To me, and to the baby, you're the only father..."

Just then—she cried out, and bent over her stomach. "James—James!!" she cried. "I think—it's time!!"

James paced the corridor outside Lily's room in St. Mungo's with an energy that was a bit frightening to see—to be outdone by anyone, not even Terrence, who was pacing the opposite end of the hall.

The sun had risen and the day outside had heated up. The halls of St. Mungo's were bustling with people, who threw James aggravated looks when he bumped into them and walked on without apologizing.

Suddenly James plopped down on a seat and groaned. "MERLIN! THE PAIN!"

Must be about time. James clutched his midsection and closed his eyes. This baby…it's really the baby that played the role of Cupid and brought Lily and me together, isn't it? He smiled. I wonder if he'll look like Lily? Or…

A medi-witch emerged from the room triumphantly and James leapt to his feet. "Congratulations!" she cried, smiling widely at everyone waiting. "You've got a new baby boy!"

…On the off-chance, James thought, as he started for the room, will the baby look like me??