Author's Note: Crap. Crap, crap, crap. I made a mistake in the date. I'm going to go back and fix it ASAP. The bit about August is staying the same, but January is not the month the baby was conceived in. February. I was one month behind.

They're still in school, by the way. If one reviewer wanted to know, I'm sure others do too. They're about to enter their seventh year.

Alsoa friend of mine mentioned this to me last night, and I figure I might as well give you a fair warning. She commented on how having the baby conceived in January would throw off his birthday; July 31.

But this is NOT Harry! If you have some sort of problem with this, I advise you to press Alt F4. (But for those of you interested, don't try it unless you know how to get back here!)

I'm not going to tell you what happens to this baby--at least not yet--or whether this story is AU or canon. You'll find out the answers in due time.

Dedications: They're just so wonderful to give!

Erika (Ricky): Since she's going to have to suffer through even more torture of not knowing the end until it comes, I figured I'd give her a dedication.

Brody: Because he felt left out.

Will: Because once he sees Brody got a dedication, he'll want one.

Chapter 2: Miserable Morning

(August 31. 8: 32 a.m. Evans Residence. Surrey.)

Mr. Evans came stomping noisily down the staircase the next morning, still feeling the effects of last night's event. Daphne greeted him at the breakfast table with a muttered, "'Morning," over the rim of her mug. He grunted in reply, pulling the seat from the table rather harshly and sitting down. He took the plate his wife offered him and glared at the envelope tucked to the side of his toast.

"What's this?"

"Letter from the Potters," she answered. "They want us to come over to see Lily."

"So she went home with them, did she?" he muttered, giving the parchment a look over. "I can't believe they're okay with this."

Mrs. Evans set her mug down sharply, sloshing some of the coffee onto the morning paper. "What were they supposed to do, Cynric?" she snapped. "Take her to an abortion clinic? Is that what you want?"

He was taken aback by her outburst. "No, but--"

"I can't believe what you said to her last night!" she continued on, not bothering to lower her voice. "'How does it feel to have your future ruined?' What kind of message are you sending to her? That we think she was a mistake?"

"No, Daphne, I--"

"That's exactly what my mother said to me when I got pregnant! 'You've gone and ruined your future!' Can't you be supportive?" she demanded, exasperated. "I thought you, of all people...." She collapsed into her chair, and cradled her face in her hands, massaging her temples.

Feeling guilty, Cynric crossed the table and knelt down beside her, tilting her head up by her chin. "Why are you so upset?"

She wiped her eyes. "Because I know how she felt to have her father reject her! Didn't you feel bad at all? Watching her sob in the middle of a restaurant?"

"Of course I did," he snapped. "But I couldn't just pretend that everything was okay....I had to say something."

"You didn't have to yell at her!" Her voice was muffled by her palms.

He urged her into his arms and she obliged, slipping from her seat to his lap. His hand stroked her hair comfortingly and he kissed the top of her head.

"I just don't want to lose our daughter," she sobbed, nuzzling into his robe.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. "We'll go over there and see her. I'll apologize. Everything's going to be alright."

CREEK.

James cringed, frozen in place. He had been trying to go downstairs without waking Lily, but obviously the floorboards had other plans. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Lily stirring in bed, stretching and making murmured waking-up noises. He crept back to his messy spot beside her and kissed her in greeting. Lifting her head from the pillow, she searched the room.

"What was that noise?" she muttered, half-asleep. "My head's already killing me."

"It was just the floorboard," he whispered. "I tried not to wake you." She turned over, mumbling something that sounded like, "Don't worry about it."

He glanced nervously at her belly. "Are you sure you should be laying on your stomach?"

"'S fine." It was obvious that she wanted to go back to sleep.

"Would you like me to get you anything? Eggs? Toast? A muffin?" he offered, rising to depart.

"Not now," she replied. "I just want to sleep. Hopefully my headache will be gone when I wake up."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

She pulled the covers up over her head. "Love you," came her voice from inside.

"I love you too."

"'Morning, James," came Sirius's greeting, mouth full of eggs. He sat at the breakfast bar where Lily had just the night before and Mrs. Potter was again positioned in front of the stove, preparing breakfast. James took the adjacent seat, swiveling to face him.

"How's Lily?" he asked, setting down his strip of bacon. "She get to sleep alright last night?"

James nodded. "She's fine. Just really angry with her dad." At the stove, Mrs. Potter chewed her bottom lip, simultaneously flipping a sausage patty.

"He was a bit of an ass," Sirius agreed, downing the strip in one bite. "He told the whole bloody restaurant you'd slept together!"

Mrs. Potter gave him a sour look. "Alright, Sirius." She scooped a few patties onto James's plate and she dumped the pan into the sink. "Tell me when Lily wakes up," she said to her son, "I want to make her something special. To make sure she's eating well."

James nodded, rolling his eyes inwardly. Mothers. She seemed satisfied enough, however, and left the kitchen.

"How'd Moony take it?" asked James once she was out of earshot. "He stay with you last night?"

"Nah," replied Sirius. "Full moon's tomorrow. He's making preparations." James mumbled 'oh.' "He wasn't too shocked at Lily's news, though. He said it looked like she'd been gaining weight. Said it was suspicious. Plus, you two have been spending a lot of time together."

James snorted through his eggs. "Don't you dare tell Lily he said that. She'll take it too harshly. She's been very sensitive lately; I've been trying to be as nice as I can to her."

"Good man," said Sirius approvingly, "you wouldn't want to upset a pregnant girl."

James's eyes wandered to the floor. "Any more than her father already has."

Sirius sobered. "They'll make up. It'll just take a bit of time."

James looked up at him. "Sirius, she was sobbing in my arms last night saying that she never wanted to speak to him again. I doubt there's going to be a reconciliation."

"He'll want to see the baby, you know," said Sirius, cramming a bit of toast into his mouth. "When it's born. I'm sure they'll patch it up."

"Lily said she's not letting him see it," informed James. "And who am I to stop her? I didn't particularly like the way he handled the situation either."

After chewing thoughtfully on a piece of sausage, Sirius said, "Why didn't you tell us about any of this? We're your friends. Your best friends, James."

"I know...I know. But Lily didn't want me to tell anyone. We were going to tell you all sooner, mind you," he added quickly, "until we found out she was pregnant. She didn't want to chance it getting out."

"She's gotta face it sometime, mate," conceded Sirius. "What's she gonna do tomorrow? Robes can only hide so much, you know. And during the summer it's too hot to keep them on all day. She'll have to become a hermit to keep it a secret."

James tossed his hands up in defeat. "I don't know. Talk to her about it. I'm sure she'll figure something out."

"Does Dumbledore know?"

"Not yet."

"You might want to let him in on this," his friend advised. "He'll be able to help Lily hide it. Or at least warn the other students about teasing her."

James's eyes widened. "Don't you dare tell him to do that! She would have your head! The last thing she needs is for the entire student body to find out she's having a baby."

"They're gonna find out sooner or later...."

"Yeah, well, later rather than sooner," said James shortly. Sirius cocked his head.

"You're not embarrassed of her, are you?"

"Embarrassed?" he piped, shocked. "Of Lily? Merlin, no. I just want to respect her wishes. I mean, if you were pregnant would you want strangers and enemies knowing? If it meant constant rumors and remarks?"

"I guess not," admitted Sirius. "Look, mate...if anyone says anything, I've got her back."

James grinned. "Thanks. It means a lot. Really."

"Of course. You know I wouldn't let anyone pick on Lily."

Intruding on their warm moment came the ringing of the doorbell. James hopped from the stool and ran to the door, squinting out the peep hole to see who was outside.

Scuffing her shoes idly on the front mat was Mrs. Evans, her husband standing, hands in his jacket pockets, right beside her.

Sirius popped up beside him. "What are they doing here?" James asked, alarmed.

"Back to scold her?" he suggested. James glared at him. "Sorry. How would I know?"

The click of Mrs. Potter's shoes echoed through the foyer, growing louder with each step. "Move aside, you two," she said with a sweeping hand motion.

James stayed put. "What are they doing here?" he demanded. "Lily doesn't want to see them."

"It's just her father she's angry at," his mother reminded him. "Besides, they've got to make up sometime!" Sirius gave James an, 'I told you so' look from behind her.

"It doesn't have to be today," said James stubbornly. The doorbell rang again. Mrs. Potter pushed him aside.

"I don't have time for this, James. They're waiting. Go wake Lily," she ordered.

As the door was pulled open by Mrs. Potter and her cheerful greetings filled the room, Sirius and James rushed upstairs to warn Lily. Once they reached the second floor, however, they took their sweet time in walking to James's bedroom.

"I wonder if she'll come down," said Sirius. "You think she'll want to see her mother?"

"Not if it means seeing her father as well," replied James.

"You think the Evanses even know why they're here?" asked Sirius. "Your mum could have tricked them into coming."

"Nah, mum wouldn't do that," reckoned James. "She's very straightforward and honest. Her dad probably just felt guilty and agreed to ease his mind."

"You say that like he doesn't care about her."

"I never...." he trailed off. "Well, I...who would say that to their daughter, anyway? 'How does it feel to have your future ruined?' Who acts like that? I know I wouldn't make a fool of my daughter the way he did!"

"Well...he was a bit out of line with that remark, I'll give you that," agreed Sirius, "but everything else was just anger at having it kept from him. And shock. That's all. I think you're just miffed at the 'deadly disease' remark." Sirius grinned.

James narrowed his eyes. "I don't have any bloody STDs....Lily's the only one I ever...." He went on mumbling.

Sirius chuckled. "So that is why you're angry!"

"And because he hurt Lily," added James.

He laughed again. "You were always protective of her." James smiled.

They'd finally reached the door to James's room down at the end of the hallway. He knocked before entering, giving her a moment for anything she might need to finish doing, namely changing. Her soft call beckoned them inside. She hadn't moved much since he'd left her around twenty minutes ago, still tucked up beneath the blankets, looking sleepy. James sat down on the bed and leaned over her, smiling down at her flushed, freckled face. She returned the smile, and he ran his fingers gently over her belly, an act he knew would bring a giggle from her. Her laughter lit up her whole face from her curly--though now messy--red locks to the smallest freckle on her nose. He bent down and planted his lips on hers.

Leaning on the door, arms folded, Sirius watched the couple with reverent admiration. Never had he seen them show affection to each other. As far as he had known--up until last night--Lily was disgusted at the thought of sharing any sort of intimacy with James.

Smiling as he watched them kiss again, he thought, apparently not. He vaguely wondered how they'd gone from 'I'd rather go out with the giant squid than you, Potter!' to a pregnant Lily snogging James on his bed.

"Okay, James," chuckled Sirius, "you can stop sucking face and tell her why we're really here."

Lily unwrapped her arms from around James's neck. Her forehead crinkled in confusion. "What's going on?"

James cut his eyes at Sirius, but looked back down at her. "You have, er...visitors, love."

She scooted into a sitting position, motioning for him to move aside. Glancing back and forth between the two of them, she said, "My parents aren't here, are they?" Sirius and James exchanged worried looks.

"They are, aren't they?" She pulled her legs toward her chest, chin propped on her knees. "I'm not going down there."

"You have to, sweetheart," said James, cupping her cheek gently. "Either that or they'll come up here."

She fixed herself with a stubborn expression. "I don't want to speak to him."

"You don't have to. But please go down there. Mum'll be disappointed; she just wants to help you."

Lily sighed. "Why'd you have to make me feel guilty? You know I hate that."

James fluttered his eyelashes, grinning. "Please, Lil? Do it for mummy!"

She rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder, swiveling to dangle her legs over the side of the bed. "Alright, alright. Give me a minute or two to get dressed." She hopped onto the floor and walked over to the bathroom. Before closing the door, she stuck her head out and said,

"Man, you're pushy."

Lily had a hard time deciding what to wear. She didn't want to wear anything that showed off her growing belly too much, because that would just be spiting him--although the idea wasn't so unappealing--and embarrassing herself; she wasn't too open to parading her pregnancy--even though everyone present was well aware--about.

After rummaging through several pairs of the clothes Mrs. Potter had lent her, Lily decided on a baggy 'Busch Gardens' T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. She left her hair down, the way she liked it best, to pool around her shoulders.

Taking something between a deep breath and a sigh, she pushed the bathroom door open and walked through James's empty bedroom, into the hallway, and down the winding staircase.

"Lily! There you are!" cried her mother, rising from the couch to embrace her. Over her mother's shoulder Lily could see her father seated at the couch, hunched over, sipping at his tea, saucer in his spare hand, and James and Sirius sharing a smaller couch beside the armchair, where Mrs. Potter had again made herself comfortable.

Her mother pulled back, hands on her shoulders, to observe her. Smiling, she tucked a stray bit of Lily's hair behind her ear and ran her thumb over her cheek. Lily couldn't help but return her smile.

"Come, sit down," said Mrs. Potter, setting her cup and saucer aside on a small table. She straightened in her seat. "We have a lot to discuss."

Insides squirming uncomfortably, Lily maneuvered around the coffee table and took a seat between James and Sirius on the small couch. Almost instantly, James's fingers intertwined with hers. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze of acknowledgment.

"Lily," said Mrs. Potter, directing her gaze in her general direction, "I've asked your parents here to talk with you about your pregnancy. If you're willing to."

Lily said nothing. She only wanted to talk with James. Focusing on anything but her father, she tucked her free hand in her lap, cradling the base of her belly.

"Lily?" asked her mother uncertainly. She looked over at her mother, who looked close to tears. Lily considered that her mother had tried to help her, had tried to stop her father from making such a scene. She hadn't said any of those things. Clearing her throat, she said,

"I'll speak to my mother about it."

Lily and her mother excused themselves to the downstairs study to speak. Both Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans had tried to convince her to let her father come along, but they soon saw that she wasn't going to give in.

So Mr. Evans remained in his position on the couch, sipping resignedly at his tea, obviously hurt by his daughter's decision. Not that he didn't hurt her.

In the study, Lily made herself comfortable on top of the large wooden desk in the corner, beside the L-shaped bookcase. Her mother took no seat, preferring to lean against the wall. Lily picked up a ruler to keep her hands busy.

"Your father wanted to apologize to you, you know," said Mrs. Evans.

Lily slapped the ruler into her palm a few times before answering. "I don't want it," she decided. "If he's going to act that way, fine. I don't have to take it. He only offered to apologize to make you happy, I bet."

Mrs. Evans teetered guiltily on her feet. Lily cocked an eyebrow at her action, as if to ask, 'I'm right, aren't I?'

Her mother sighed. "Lily, please don't cut him out like I did to my father. He's...he's gone now. We never made up. I don't want that to happen to you and Cynric."

Lily set the ruler aside and pushed herself from the desktop. "What did he say to you, exactly?"

"About the same things your father did."

"Did he make a scene in public?" asked Lily, hoping so. Even though she wasn't particularly angry with her mother, she wanted to bring someone down with her.

"If you call a few family friends and your uncle public," she replied. Looking sad, she added, "He was furious. He broke my mum's favorite tea set smashing his fist into the china cabinet; had to get it stitched that night. Called your father and me dreadful names, as well."

"Like what?" inquired Lily, half smiling at the image of her grandfather punching out the china cabinet.

Her mother narrowed her eyes in mock annoyance. They both smiled. "Oh, I dunno. I think the phrase he used was 'easy, street corner slut'."

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "No wonder you never made up."

Her mother pocketed her hands. "Yeah. I let him come see you and Petunia, though. I didn't want our fight to affect you. I suppose it wasn't really the baby he was angry at. Children grow up too fast and parents aren't ready for it when it happens."

"I didn't mean for a baby to signal my growing up," muttered Lily. "James and I didn't plan this, you know. Honest." Her eyes beseeched her mother to believe her.

Mrs. Evans's expression softened. "I know you didn't. I don't think any young couples do." She paused, giving the appearance that she was deciding whether to say something or not. "Why didn't you tell me about James? Or the baby?" Her mother sounded hurt, as if she were feeling left out.

Lily leaned back against the desk, eyes drifting to the green carpet. She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I didn't feel comfortable talking about him with you." Looking over at her mother, she could tell that she wasn't helping. "Or anyone," she amended.

"I'd guess not, if he's sharing your bed," quipped her mother.

"Mum!" cried Lily, half laughing, half shocked.

A grin crept across her mother's face. "I'm only teasing."

"That didn't happen for a while!" she assured her, red in the face. "It took a few months."

"I suppose you knew each other well enough?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "I've been in his classes since first year. We talked--mainly competing in our subjects--all the time."

"Isn't James the one you fought with a lot?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Only when he picked on other students," explained Lily. "But he's stopped that completely now. He's changed so much during the past six months."

Her mother smiled, looking warm. "A baby can do that to a man."

"He's so much more thoughtful," continued Lily, smiling slightly, "He's always offering to help me, always holding me, kissing me....I love it."

"He wants to make sure you're happy."

"I am." Lily smiled, contented. "At first I hated the idea of having a baby. I was so scared and even a bit depressed. But James helped me a lot; he's so comforting. And after doing a bit of research, reading the odd pregnancy book here and there, having a baby doesn't seem so scary. I've always liked kids. It won't be so bad at all."

"Is he excited too?"

"Very. You know..." Lily went on after a short pause, "he asked me to marry him."

Her mother inhaled sharply, eyes widening a tad. Lily beckoned her over, pulling a thin, golden chain out from underneath her shirt. On the chain was a platinum diamond ring. The design was simple enough, the traditional circular shape of course, with what looked like two arms extending upward, joined by a triangular diamond. If one viewed it from the side, it looked like a small, round person making an offering.

Mrs. Evans whistled, impressed. "That boy must really love you. Either that or he's loaded."

Lily gestured around the room. "He has a study, mother! How many normal homes have a study? Look at this place; it's practically a library! Of course he has a lot of money."

"Wonder how he managed this without his parents finding out....Must have had some money saved up."

"I guess so."

"So are you going to accept?" questioned Mrs. Evans tentatively. "You do love him, don't you?"

Lily's hand flew to her stomach. "Does it look like I love him? Honestly, mum, I wouldn't be pregnant if I didn't love him. Of course I said yes."

"Why don't you wear it on your finger, then?" she asked. "You'll get fewer nasty looks in public. More people are going to start noticing, you know."

Lily sighed, looking both worried and saddened. "I know," she said darkly, "That's why, for the first time ever, I don't want to go back to school tomorrow."

"Dumbledore won't let them bother you, honey," said her mother, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Just tell him to mention it to everyone before you arrive. In fact, I'll tell him if you'd like."

Her eyes widened in fear. "No! Don't say anything! Let them notice on their own!"

Her mother shrugged. "Just trying to help."

"Making sure the whole school knows is not helping," snapped Lily. "He can't stop them from making snide comments."

Her mother nodded. "You're right. And they will, Lily. You've got to be prepared for that. But you can't let them get to you. You're better than any of those nasty...what's that house name, again?"

"Slytherin."

"Right. Any of those nasty Slytherin boys you always talk about who're rude to you. You complete your assignments, your Prefect--and now Head Girl--duties, get top marks, and now you'll have a baby. If you can juggle all of that and they still look down on you, it's they who are pathetic, not you."

Grateful to have her mother on her side, she engulfed her in a hug.

O O O

Yay! Long chapter! Ricky'll be pleased. I hope the rest of you were pleased with this chapter as well!

A big, enormous thank you to my reviewers!

Fanfiction. net doesn't seem to want to let me view my reviews, so I'll come back later and respond to you individually, I promise!

If anyone's interested in seeing the ring Lily's is based on, here's the picture I used: (The link might not show on HTML

Megan