A/N: How's this for shocking?? This semester is considerably lighter than last semester at this point, so I'm finding time to write! I'm not going to make any promises about future updates, except the one I made before, that being that I'll update regularly for two weeks beginning 21 March, when I'm on spring break. Until then, you have this chapter to tide you over!

I still don't have much time to read anything by school-related stuff, so if I usually review your story, or if you've asked me to, don't be shocked if it takes me awhile to get to it. I will eventually, I promise!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for staying with me though all this insanity, and for reading and reviewing! You're the best!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Comfort

"Are you ready, mate?"

James nodded slowly, then shook his head. "Sirius, I really don't know how I'm going to tell her this. Lily loves – loved my dad. Ever since her parents . . . my parents have been like a replacement family for her. I don't know how I can put her through this again."

Sirius gripped his shoulder. "Lily is strong, James. With everything that she's dealt with over the course of her lifetime, I know that she's strong enough to deal with this, too." He looked at his friend sharply. "Can you deal with it?"

"I have to, don't I?" James replied, unknowingly repeating the same words Sirius had used earlier. "I have to be strong for my mum. She's the one who's really going to need support to get through this." He smiled slightly. "She and my dad always had this perfect marriage, you know? They were always so good together – they made me want to have that with someone."

"And you do," Sirius said.

"I know. Without them and the example of their marriage, of the love they have always had for one another, I don't think I would have been able to love Lily the way that I do. It's the same way that my parents love one another. And the way that I love her . . . Sirius, I don't think I could make it if something happened to her. How is my mum going to survive this?"

"Your mum has you," Sirius said. "She has you, and she has Lily, and I know that the two of you will help her through this. And, if she'll let me, so will I."

"Sirius," James said slowly. He exhaled, and ran his hand through his hair. "About what I said earlier – I know this wasn't you fault. You didn't ask to have the Killing Curse shot at you, and you didn't ask my dad to jump in front of you. It was wrong of me to even suggest that this was your fault. I'm sorry, and I hope you know that I'm so grateful to you for being here for me right now."

Sirius smiled faintly. "I know, James."

"Good." James glanced around. "What happened to Remus and Peter?"

"I don't know where Peter is."

"And Remus?"

Sirius sighed. "He's with Laura in the medical tent."

James's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"They're still not sure. Laura passed out or something. She's all right now, I guess."

James ran his hands over his face again. He couldn't deal with this. "Remus can fix her," he said confidently. Remus would deal with it, and everything would be fine.

"Right." Sirius glanced at his watch. "We'd better get you home. We have to let Lily know what's happened before the Prophet shows up, asking her for a statement."

James paled slightly. "This can't wind up in the paper."

"James, your dad was one of the Ministry's top-ranked Aurors. It's going to be all over the press."

James sighed, and nodded. "All right, let's go tell Lily."

Lily was sitting by herself when a pop and a crack told her that someone was entering her house. She jumped up off the couch, clutching her wand in front of her. She lowered it with a sigh of relief when she saw the faces of her husband and friend.

"Where have you two been?" she asked. "Frank came to get Alice ages ago!"

Sirius frowned. "Frank and Alice Longbottom?"

"Yes. Alice came over so that we could keep each other company while we waited for our husbands to come back. She left Frank a note at home, so he knew to come here to find her." She smiled, and crossed the room to hug James. "I've missed you. Are you all right? I was so worried the entire time you were gone!"

James responded instantly to her touch, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He bowed his head over her shoulder, and let the tears that had been bottled up ever since he first saw his mother fall down his cheeks, wetting the red strands of her hair. Fear filled Lily, and she held him even tighter, looking at Sirius with questions in her eyes. He shook his head silently.

"James, what is it?" she asked softly, pulling back enough to look into his eyes. She kept her arms around his neck, sensing that he needed to feel physically close to her.

James looked at her for a moment, unable to stop the tears. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words. He had told her that her parents were dead, but now couldn't string a sentence together to tell her of his own father's death. He shook his head mutely, trying in vain to stop his tears.

"James, you're scaring me," she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Please tell me what's happened."

"Lil . . ." The tears fell even harder. He hadn't meant to scare her.

"Please, James," she said, tears filling her own eyes.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't look into her green eyes anymore, watching them fill with fear and tears. He couldn't stand to be the one who made her cry. He released her, and stumbled backwards, out of the room. Lily looked after him in shock as his footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Shit," Sirius muttered as they heard the bedroom door slam. "This is worse than I thought."

Lily looked at Sirius, the tears still standing in her eyes. "Please tell me what's happened."

Sirius ran his hands over his face. "You shouldn't hear it from me."

"Well, I have to hear it from someone!" Lily exclaimed, anger beginning to take over. "Damn it, Sirius! James is an emotional wreck, which is something I've never seen before, and you won't tell me why? What is wrong with you?" Tears slid down her cheeks. "What happened out there?"

Sirius drew a deep breath, and took Lily's hand. "Come on, Little Flower. Sit down with me for a minute."

With a shaky gasp, Lily followed Sirius to the couch. "What's happened?" she asked in a terrified whisper, her eyes open wide.

"It's James's dad," Sirius said slowly as they sat down side by side. "Lily, he – he died tonight."

"What?" she gasped, her hands flying to her face.

Sirius nodded, an incredible sorrow filling his eyes. "I know," he said heavily, "I know."

"He was one of the best Aurors in the Ministry! He's been fighting against the Death Eaters since they were organized. If anyone out there knows what they're doing, it's him! How could this have happened?"

Sirius drew another deep breath. "James and I were fighting a group of Death Eaters. We were seriously outnumbered when Mr. Potter showed up to help us. It was still only three of us, but he definitely helped a lot. Then – I don't know what happened exactly. One minute I'm fighting this Death Eater, and the next James is screaming my name. I turned around, and saw this jet of green light. Well, you know as well as I do what that means. I thought I was dead for sure. All I could think was that I never got to tell. . ." He trailed off, knowing that he'd never tell Lily the thoughts that had gone through his mind – the thoughts of one of her best friends.

He sighed, and continued. "At the last second, this person came flying out of nowhere, and slammed into me. I fell, and the curse missed me. But it hit the person who had run into me."

"James's dad," Lily said. It wasn't a question. She already knew what Sirius would say.

Sirius nodded. "God, Lily, I wish he hadn't done that. I wish it had been me, and that James and his mother could still have their family."

"Sirius," she said gently, laying her hand on his arm, "do you think that's what they think? That you should have died in place of James's dad? Do you think that they're blaming you?"

Sirius shook his head slowly. "James told me that it's not my fault, and I know that his mother would never . . . Well, I know that the person she was before this would blame his job, or the Death Eaters."

"It was the Death Eaters, Sirius. They're the ones who killed James's father. Not you."

Sirius tried to smile and failed. "Yeah, I know that."

"Do you? Do you really?"

Sirius sighed. "I'm not the one you should worry about right now, Little Flower. James is."

"James . . ." she muttered, looking up toward the stairs.

"Get him down here," Sirius said. "I want to take him to St. Mungo's. That's where his mum is now."

Lily flinched. "Did his mum --?"

"No," Sirius said quickly. "She's fine – well, physically, at any rate. But James wanted her to go to be checked over."

Lily nodded. "That makes sense. All right. Wait here a minute, and I bring him down."

Sirius nodded.

Lily stood up, then looked down at Sirius. "Thank you for telling me," she said softly. "You're a good friend, Sirius, both to James and to me. We're lucky to have you."

He smiled. "I'm lucky to have you."

Lily smiled back, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. Then she straightened up, and went to find her husband.

Lily climbed slowly to the top of the stairs, trying to think of some words that she could use to ease the grief that James was feeling. What could she say to him? How could she help him? She knew better than anyone what it was like to lose a parent. She forced herself to think back the worst time of her life. What had helped her the most during those dark days after her parents' deaths?

Drawing her memories and courage up, she knocked on the closed bedroom door. There was no response, which she took as permission to enter. She pushed the door open slowly, wanting to give him a moment to recognize that she was coming into the room.

James was standing by the window, looking outside. He turned to face Lily as she walked into the room; the vacant look in his eyes told her that he had not seen anything of the world outside the window.

"Did Sirius tell you?" he asked hoarsely.

She nodded silently, slowly crossing the room.

"Did he tell you how it happened?"

Again, she nodded. She had made her way across the distance between them, and was now standing close enough to touch him.

"It's not his fault, you know."

"I know. I told him that."

James sighed. "I tried to tell him before, but I guess . . . I hope he listens to you."

"So do I."

"My mum's not taking it well."

"Are you?"

"I'm all right."

She shook her head. "James, this is me. Lily. You don't have to be strong for me."

The gently spoken words were enough to begin breaking down the barriers he had tried to construct around his heart. "God, Lil," he said, tears filling his eyes again. "How am I going to make it without him?"

As his face crumpled, Lily was there. She grabbed him, putting her arms around him to draw him close. The action was enough to break away the last of the barriers. As he felt her arms around him, her cheek against his chest, her hair under his chin, he knew that her kindness was too much. The tears fell slowly at first, and then gathered speed. He clung to her and sobbed, letting the grief drain from his body. Lily held him tightly, gently rocking him back and forth, just as she would have done with a small child.

"It's all right," she said softly. "I'm here. I'm here."

James's only response was to continue sobbing. He clutched her to him, almost as if afraid to let her go.

Lily wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually became aware that James had stopped crying. She pulled back, and looked at him critically.

"I know you're not all right, so I won't ask," she said. "But you know that I'm here for you, right? I'm not going anywhere."

"Between you and Sirius, I'll never be alone again."

She smiled slightly. "That's the idea."

James gently kissed her lips. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," she replied. "You did the same for me."

James's eyes darkened. "Yeah, I guess I did. But you had to endure so much more than me. I still have my mum . . . "

Lily shook her head. "You can't compare the two, so don't even try. Every loss is horrible, no matter who or how many people it is."

James nodded. "We have to go to St. Mungo's. I sent my mum there, and I need to go make sure she's all right."

Lily nodded. "Sirius told me. Do you want to go now?"

"Yes."

"Let's go, then."

Lily took his hand, and led him down the stairs. Sirius was still sitting on the couch where Lily had left him, holding his head in his hands. He looked up when they entered, his eyes skipping from James to Lily. Lily nodded, and tightened her hold on James's hand.

"We're ready to go to St. Mungo's."

"All right," Sirius replied. "Are we Apparating or Flooing?"

"Let's Floo," James said at once. "I don't think I have the mental capacity to Apparate anywhere right now without splinching myself."

Lily crossed to the fireplace, and picked up a sack of glittering Floo powder. "You go ahead first, James. Sirius and I will follow."

James nodded, and took a handful of the powder. "St. Mungo's!" he yelled as he tossed it into the fireplace.

As he swirled out of sight, Sirius took the sack from Lily. "You go next," he said. "I'll be right behind you."

Lily nodded her agreement, and was soon gone. Once she had disappeared from sight, Sirius took a handful of the glittering powder.

"God, give me the strength to do this," he muttered. "St. Mungo's!"

When Sirius stepped out of the grate at the hospital, James and Lily were brushing soot off their robes. Sirius followed their example, trying to remove some of the dust that was now clinging to his clothing. He hated traveling with Floo powder. He should have just told Lily that he would Apparate to the hospital to meet them.

"Do you know where your mum is?" Lily asked James.

He shook his head. "We have to go ask at the desk."

Sirius followed his friends, who were holding hands again, drawing strength from one another. He shook slightly, feeling as though he was trapped in a surreal world. How could this really be happening? What had James done to deserve this? Then again, what had Lily done to have her parents taken away? What had Peter done to merit the loss of his father, and, going back even further, the love of his life? It wasn't right, but neither was it something that could be explained. Sirius shook his head slightly, and clasped his hands together to still their shaking.

They arrived at the information desk, where several people were already waiting to talk to the receptionist. They waited their turn in silence. None of them had the strength to discuss what had happened, or the mental alertness to start a meaningless conversation.

At last, they made it to the receptionist. She gave them a smile, but looked at them a bit warily, almost as if trying to decide what exactly was wrong with one or all of them.

"May I help you?"

"I'm looking for my mother," James said. "She came in about two hours ago."

The woman nodded. "Her name?"

"Margaret Potter."

"Here she is. It says that only family may visit. Your name, please?"

"James Potter."

She nodded as she checked her list, and looked behind him at Lily and Sirius. "Will they be visiting as well?"

"Yes."

"Are they family?"

"Yes."

"Their names?"

James sighed in exasperation. "Lily Potter and Sirius Black."

She frowned slightly, her eyes never leaving the list. "That last one isn't a Potter."

"Yes, I'm aware that he has a different last name, but he's still family," James said angrily. "Are you going to tell me where my mother is or not?"

Her eyes widened. "There's no need to shout, sir."

"There is every need to shout!" James yelled, the last of his tolerance snapping. "I just want to see my mother, and you're bothering me with questions about the two people with me – the two people who are more family to me that some people's blood relatives ever could be! Just tell me where my mother is and I'll leave you alone!"

"James," Lily said softly, stepping up next to him and putting a hand on his arm. She looked at the receptionist, whose eyes were widening with surprise and a bit of fear. "My husband has suffered a terrible loss today. If you could please simplify this for us, we'd appreciate it. Just tell us Mrs. Potter's room number, and we'll be off."

"She's in 1066," the woman said, still looking rather shaken.

"Room 1066," Lily repeated. "Thank you."

James turned to join Sirius, who was standing off to the side. Lily made to follow him, but was stopped by the receptionist.

"It's all for security," she said. "I have a list of people who are allowed to visit Mrs. Potter, and I can't let anyone else have her room number."

"We understand," Lily said.

"They said only family, and I was surprised to see Sirius Black on the list. I know he's not a member of the Potter family."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, intrigued in spite of herself.

"I worked with his mother for years," the woman replied. "When he was little, she always talked about him. Then, she stopped. I asked about him once, and all she said was that he was a blood traitor, whatever that was supposed to mean."

Lily smiled sadly. "Well, thanks."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I wasn't aware you had asked one," Lily said, beginning to get annoyed.

"Why is he listed as a family member of the Potters?"

"Like my husband said," Lily said, "sometimes friendship can be deeper than family."

With that, she followed James and Sirius toward room 1066.

They reached the room without further incident. They paused uncertainly outside the door, not wanting to wake Mrs. Potter if she was sleeping.

"You should go in regardless, James," Lily said. "Even if she is sleeping now, I'm sure she'll want to see you when she wakes up."

"Right," James said.

"You go, too," Sirius said to Lily. "I'll wait out here for you."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" James asked. "I'm sure my mum will want to see you, too."

"I'll wait," Sirius said again. "If she asks for me, come and get me."

"All right," James agreed reluctantly. "Come on, Lil."

Lily took his hand, and followed him into the darkened hospital room.

"Hello?"

"Mum?" James replied.

"James?"

James and Lily crossed the room as quickly as they could in the dim light. Mrs. Potter was lying in bed, looking up at them. Her eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot, and her face was pale, but she looked to be in good health. Lily found herself unconsciously breathing a sigh of relief. She had been worried that something would happen to James's mother. She wasn't sure how he would handle dealing with another tragedy on this day.

"Lily and I are here," James said softly.

Tears filled Mrs. Potter's eyes. "Thank you both so much for coming."

"Where else would we be?" James asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Lily's been taking good care of you, hasn't she?"

James smiled slightly, and took his mother's hand. "Of course. She always does."

"You're a good girl, Lily. I'm so glad that James found you."

"I'm glad he did, too," Lily smiled.

She drew a shaky breath. "We have a lot of arrangements to make . . ."

"I'll take care of it," James said quickly.

"You don't have to do that. I can help."

"Do you want to?"

She looked down, then up again. "I want to, James, but I'm not sure if I can."

"I do it, then," he said confidently. "Don't worry about a thing, Mum. I have it under control."

She smiled, and stroked his hand. "You've always been such a good boy, James. You've made us so proud. You do know that your father was proud of you, don't you?"

"Even though I'm not an Auror?" James said with a slight smile.

"Maybe even more than he would have been if you were an Auror. You followed your own path, even though you knew that it wasn't what he wanted for you. You had the strength to make yourself happy, and the initiative to follow your dreams. You built the life you wanted for yourself, even though it wasn't in his plan for you. And that, James, made him the proudest of all."

James blinked back tears. "I never knew."

"He loved you, James."

"I loved him so much, Mum."

"He knew that. He gave you so much love, James. Now you'll be able to give that love to your little one." She smiled sadly. "He was so excited to meet his first grandchild."

"I think that somehow, he already knew the baby," Lily said softly. "Even though he had never seen the little one, I'm sure he could feel its spirit. I'm sure they were kindred souls."

"Yes, I'm sure they were, too," Mrs. Potter smiled. She reached out with her other hand to take Lily's. "You take good care of yourself, darling. We have to make sure that Harold's grandson makes it into this world safely."

"Grandson?" Lily smiled.

"Or granddaughter. It doesn't much matter, does it? Either way, this baby will have more love that it knows what to do with."

"Yes," Lily said, putting her hand over her stomach. "He will have plenty of that."

When Mrs. Potter fell asleep, Lily stood from her chair. James looked at her questioningly.

"I'm going to walk around a bit," she explained.

James nodded. "I'm going to wait here, just in case she wakes up."

Lily leaned down to kiss his lips. "I love you."

James smiled sadly. "I love you, too."

Lily walked out of the room, blinking in the bright light of the hallway. Sirius stood from the chair he had been sitting in while he waited.

"How is she?"

Lily ran her hands over her face, and through her hair. "All right, all things considered. She's sleeping right now."

Sirius nodded. "I need to get out of here, Lil. Will you and James be all right without me?"

"I suppose. Where are you going?"

"To Rebecca's."

Lily's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"She's my girlfriend, Lily. Is it that odd that I want to see her? She probably thinks I was killed in that battle at this point."

She smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to her being your girlfriend yet."

He sighed, unaware of the sadness that crept into his eyes. "Olivia and I are over, Lils."

"I know that." Lily noticed the sorrowful look, but chose not to comment on it.

"I'm allowed to have another girlfriend."

"I never said you weren't."

He looked at her for a moment. "You don't like Rebecca, do you?"

"Well, that's hard to say, since I've never met her."

Sirius grinned for the first time since the battle. "We'll have to fix that. I'll bring her over sometime soon so that you can meet her."

Lily smiled. "If she makes you happy, Sirius, then I like her. Get out of here. Go let her know that you're alive."

Sirius grinned and winked, then Disapparated.

"Rebecca?"

"Sirius?" Rebecca came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Thank God!"

She dropped the towel and launched herself across the room, throwing herself into his arms. Sirius smiled as he held her tightly.

"Are you all right? I was so scared! I was in France with my father when the battle started. I hadn't heard anything about it, but when I tried to come back, I couldn't Apparate in. I had to go around by the longest route possible, still not knowing what was going on. When I finally got here, I saw all these Aurors, but I couldn't find you. I was so scared, Sirius! I thought you were horribly injured, or dead, or . . ."

"I'm fine," Sirius replied, kissing her forehead. "I'm right here, see? I'm fine!"

"Were you in the battle?"

"Yes."

"But you weren't injured, were you?"

"No more than cuts and bruises," Sirius replied.

She looked at him critically. "What's wrong, Sirius?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Your eyes . . . they look haunted."

Sirius sighed. "My best friend's dad died, Rebecca.

She gasped, her hands flying to her face. "What happened?"

"A Death Eater shot a Killing Curse at my back, but he took it for me."

"What?" she whispered, her hands falling slowly.

"He pushed me out of the way, and the curse hit him. It was supposed to be me, Rebecca. I'm the one who's supposed to be dead, not him." He pounded his fist into the top of the couch. "This is more than just my best friend, Rebecca. James Potter has been my brother since we were eleven and met on the Hogwarts Express. His parents have been more parental to me that mine ever were. And now I've torn apart their family."

"It wasn't –"

"I know it wasn't my fault!" Sirius yelled. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who's supposed to be dead right now!"

"You're not dead," she said softly, touching his face. "Don't think that way. You're right here with me."

Tears gathered in his eyes. "I shouldn't be."

She kissed his lips hard. "Yes, you should be. I need you here with me, Sirius. I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you."

"Why are you so good to me?" Sirius whispered, feeling the tears press against the back of his eyes. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I love you."

Sirius looked at her in wonder. No one had said that to him since the last time Olivia had said it the night of Remus and Laura's wedding, when she had ended their relationship and broken his heart. He didn't stop to think or to analyze his feelings. He let his jumbled emotions take over, and kissed her again, this time deeply and tenderly.

When they broke the kiss, Rebecca looked at him in surprise, a smile tugging at her lips. "No one kisses quite as well as you do."

"Shhh," he whispered. He kissed her again, then let his lips trail down her neck.

She moaned softly as he continued to kiss her, his hands moving all over her body, caressing her. She grabbed at his hair, then splayed her fingers across his back, holding him close.

"Please, Sirius," she whispered.

"Is your father here?" he asked.

"No," she said breathlessly. "He won't be here until next week. We're alone."

"Good." Sirius began kissing her again.

She broke the kiss, and looked at him with eyes full of desire. "Let's go to my room."

Again, Sirius didn't stop to think. All he knew was that he desperately needed a physical connection with another person, to prove to himself that he was still alive, that he had survived this horrific night. Rebecca wanted to share this experience with him as much as he wanted to share it with her. Without a word, he let her take his hand and lead him to her bedroom.

Lily wandered aimlessly around the hospital for a while, not sure of where she could go. She didn't know anyone there other than James and his mother, for which she was grateful. She couldn't bear to think of any more of her friends in this place. But still, she needed a destination, or she would find herself in some restricted section of the building.

With a smile, she redirected her steps to the maternity ward. She was surprised she hadn't thought to go there sooner. Just seeing the babies, the new little lives, would help her. It would be as therapeutic for her as the conversation about her baby had been for James's mother.

She stopped in front of the nursery, and looked in at the babies. There were ten of them, all sleeping peacefully, wrapped in pink or blue blankets. She smiled, realizing that as long as they were wizards, these children would be her baby's classmates.

"What do you think?" she whispered to her child. "Who will be your best friend? Let me see . . ."

She looked at the babies, smiling as her eyes fell on one little boy. Red hair peeked out from under his blue blanket. She wondered if her baby would have red hair as well. Picking up a strand of her own hair from her shoulder, she acknowledged the likelihood of it. Perhaps this little boy and her baby could bond over their red hair as children. She stepped closer to the window, trying to read the baby's name.

"Ronald Weasley," she whispered. "What do you think? Does that sound like someone you'd want to befriend?"

"Talking to yourself?"

Lily jumped, and looked at James in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. I knew I'd find you here."

"You were looking for me? Is something wrong with your mother?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just decided something, and I wanted to run it by you."

"All right," she agreed.

He smiled, and looked at the babies sleeping in the nursery. "I think this is the perfect place for this conversation, too." He ran his hand through his hair, his face forming into the same nervous look that had accompanied the gesture when he had asked her for dates at Hogwarts. "I've chosen a name for a boy."

Lily's eyes widened. "Oh? What is it?"

"Well, after what happened today, I want to name him for my dad."

"Harold?"

James made a face. "Here's the problem. That's an old man's name, not a baby's."

Lily smiled. "I think your dad would have had a problem with you calling him an old man."

"Well, all my life, I've associated it with him, and he's always been old in my eyes."

"I know what you're trying to say. So, not Harold?"

"Well, I want to do a variation of it. So, I thought that if we have a boy, maybe we could call him Harry."

"Harry," Lily smiled. "It's perfect."

"You really think so?" James asked, his face relaxing into a relieved smile.

"I really do. Harry is a brilliant name."

"Excellent!"

"Did you choose his middle name as well?"

"Well, I decided that since you left the girl's middle name up to me I'd leave the boy's up to you."

Lily looked at him for a moment, thinking. "Well, I want to give him the name of the man I admire the most."

"If you say Sirius . . ."

Lily laughed, relieved to hear James joking. "No, not Sirius."

"Who then?"

"You."

James's eyes widened. "Me?"

"Yes. I want him to be Harry James."

"Harry James?"

"Harry James Potter."

Tears sparkled in James's eyes as he pulled her to him. For the second time that day, he found himself incapable of speech.

Lily smiled against him. "You shouldn't be so surprised, you know. I love you and I married you. Of course I admire you."

James kissed her forehead. "I hope it is a boy. I think that Harry James Potter is a brilliant name." He smiled, and touched Lily's abdomen. "But if you're a girl in there, Brenna Elizabeth Potter is brilliant, too."