July 31, 1989
Lily Potter was pregnant. That meant she was sick in the morning and wanted to eat strawberry ice cream with dill pickles.
"James! We're out of ice-cream!" She said glaring at the freezer like it was the freezer's fault she ate all the ice cream. "I'll go buy some more." James sighed. "And buy some pickles!" she called after him. "But you hate pickles!…okay, I'll buy pickles."
Lily was having her first child, Mary Lynn Potter, and James was going crazy pacing in the hallway. Sirius was doing all he could to make him relax. "James, look, Artemis is perfect, stop worrying!" Baby Artemis Black was pushing buttons on a keyboard piano she'd gotten for her birthday a few weeks earlier, or was it months…Oh well.
" 'ton, 'ton, 'ton, pwetty 'ton, 'ton he, he, he," ('ton means button) James looked at Sirius in that "Yeah right stupid" way. "Okay, so she has an obsession with buttons, so what?" Suddenly the six-month-old baby girl started playing Mozart. Sirius and James stare, amazed.
"I love this song!" Sirius said as he turned to James, who was again pacing. "But what if…" "See, you can't even think of anything! Relax!" "But he's a few weeks early! There could be something wrong!" A short, plump nurse came running out followed by a baby's cry. "See, whadid I tell ya? Everything's fine!"
A minute later the doctor came out, talked with the nurse and then turned to James. "I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but there was a problem" The entire hall froze. "It's a boy!" And with that, James fainted. The shock on Sirius face at the sound of supposedly bad news changed immediately. "Just like I told you!" he said, nudging James with his foot.
Sirius and the doctor awoke the unconscious man and told him to go see his new son. "er…hey Lils, how're you feelin'? James asked, sitting on the foot of the bed. "Peachy…what are we going to name him?…We can't name a boy Mary." She smiled. "How about Alphard, after Sirius's uncle?" "No." "Charlie, for my dad?" "…hmm…no…I like Scott or Logan…How about Logan." "We are not naming my son after your favorite comic book character!" James insisted. They were both quiet as they thought of names the other might like. "Harry?" They both said simultaneously.
After the birth certificate was signed, the Potter family returned home.
"We're going to have to repaint Harry's room. He can't sleep in a pink room. And buy new clothes. He isn't wearing a dress." "Tomorrow James." Lily said, climbing into bed. "It's late, and we're out of paint anyways."