Before it Began
By. SkyQuill
Summary
James knew he was in love at first sight, but what would it take for Lily to love him back? Read their story leading up to their deaths and discover the dangers they faced and the loves and friendships they shared.
Disclaimer
I do not own most of the characters and places or anything else that may seem familiar. J.K. Rowling has the exclusive claim to this as well as the general plot that formed this fanfic.
Chapter 37: The Reason I Breathe
A gentle smile painted across her face, Lily stood back and eyed her and James's handiwork fondly. They had just completed putting the finishing touches on the baby room. The hardwood floor had been freshly swept and a fresh coat of paint applied magically to the walls. The colour they had chosen was a light yellow, and Lily had added baby blue stars to the wall, charming them so that they glittered and moved.
Against the far wall stood the holly wood crib James had made. Already it was filled with soft, fleece blankets and a few stuffed animals. A changing table and rocking chair, among numerous other toys also had a place in the room. Even now, there was a distinct aura of peace and tranquility about the room.
James ran a hand through his messy hair, leaving it in even more of a disarray then before if that was possible. Lily couldn't help but smile reminiscently at the action. Years ago that habit would have annoyed her to no end, but now she couldn't help but find it irresistible.
"It's ready." James sighed, oblivious to her staring. He smiled slightly and rested his arm around her shoulders. Lily grinned up at him,
"I know. It's hard to believe that there will be three of us in a few weeks." She commented happily.
"You're going to make a great mum, you know that, right?" James said.
"And you'll make a great dad." Lily replied, relaxing as she rested her head against his chest. James kissed her cheeks and for a moment, the two continued to beam at the room they had readied.
"I guess we'd better get ready for bed." James commented, off-handedly. "It's been a busy day." Lily shrugged,
"Fine by me. You go on ahead though, I just want to check on a few things first. As James ambled off to bed, Lily slowly made her downstairs. She felt impatience at her loss of swiftness, but knew that she would be more then capable again in just a few weeks. The end really did make the pregnancy symptoms seem worthwhile.
Lily moved into the kitchen and pulled a calendar off the wall. Due to it's magical nature, the picture on top was animated and the dates flashed as it arrived on the current time. She crossed off July twenty ninth with her quill and quickly examined the upcoming days.
July 30th-No plans…
July 31st-Lunch with Cadence and Sirius
August 1st-Healer appointment at St.Mungo's
Flipping ahead, Lily took her quill and lovingly circled August fifth, the due date of her baby. She just couldn't seem to shake the anticipation that had plagued her these last few days.
Even as she joyfully thought of the weeks ahead of her, she mentally reviewed all the things the healers had told and recommended to her. Apparating was no longer safe in the weeks upcoming to the birth, nor was the floo network. Flying was strongly not recommended and she had also been warned against using major spells, although minimal magic was permitted.
She thought she would crazy what with all James and Sirius's over protectiveness. They would hardly let her raise her wand for a mere cleaning spell anymore, insisting that they perform the magic instead.
Alice however, was having a much more difficult time of things. Lily having been raised in a muggle home was accustomed to doing things by hand, while Alice was not. Although Frank did all he could to help her out, there was still the fact that he had to work. Consequently, Cadence had been spending most of her recent days at the Longbottom's. Nobody objected for it seemed to keep her mind efficiently off Callidora's disappearance.
Shaking her mind clear of her busy thoughts, Lily tacked the calendar back to the cupboard and headed for the front door. After liberally checking to make sure that all the security measures were in place, she turned to go to bed.
As she crossed the landing at the top of the stairs she hesitated by the nursery. A sense of contentment seemed to emanate from the room, and Lily knew it to be because of the sweet dream, and happiness charms she had placed over the crib.
Inside, she thought she could feel the baby turn over, and she smiled as she rested a hand over her largely bulging stomach. Soon…she thought, leaving her post by the nursery and heading to bed. Perhaps even sooner then she expected.
000
The next morning found James cooking breakfast magically while Lily read the Daily Prophet.
"Anything new?" James asked, his voice mildly peculiar. Lily shook her head,
"A few arrests on suspicion, but don't worry; nobody's dead." James was saved a reply by a sudden tapping on the window. Lily scowled as, typically, the security alarm went off.
"Can't we just get rid of those damned things?" she muttered irritably, unconsciously straightening a pile of scattered parchment and quills.
"No, love." James replied patiently as he turned them off and hurried to let the owl in. "You know they're necessary." Lily merely muttered under her breath.
"Lily!" James exclaimed as he read the letter the owl had brought. "It's Alice! She's in the hospital!" Lily's heart leapt to her throat,
"What?" she gasped, unsure whether this was bad.
"Don't worry," James assured her, correctly interpreting her expression. "Nothing bad. The baby's coming!"
"Merlin!" Lily exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "We have to go to St.Mungo's."
"The letter says that Sirius is coming to escort us. We can get ready though." James explained. Lily eagerly complied, excitement taking charge of her actions. James too was excited, and the two of them quickly got prepared.
"Here," James said, pressing a cloak upon Lily. She gave him a bewildered look which quickly morphed into one of pure annoyance.
"James, for Merlin's sake, it's the middle of summer. The baby's not going to freeze in thirty degree (Celsius) weather." She snapped. James hesitated, before reluctantly setting down the cloak. Luckily, the security alarm sounded, signaling their baby's future godfather's arrival.
"Ready mate? Morning Lily, feeling alright?" Sirius said brightly, greeting them warmly. Lily rolled her eyes,
"Perfectly fine, thanks." She muttered.
"Well let's be off then." James said, taking a step towards the door. Lily patiently grabbed the hem of his robes and gave him a pointed look.
"Er, yes?" he asked quizzically.
"Smell anything?" Lily asked, an eyebrow raised. James sniffed the air, wondering what she was annoyed about now. He eyes widened as the smell of burnt eggs reached his noise. Swearing, he hurried back to the kitchen to turn off the stove. Lily couldn't help but smile, and Sirius laughed outright at his own friend's lack of brain process.
"Ready to go now, then?" James asked as he finally returned, a smudge of soot on his nose. Without further delay, the three of them locked up and strode down the driveway and to the road.
Sirius threw his arm out, wand in hand, and with an earsplitting bang, the Knight Bus appeared out of thin air. A greeter immediately descended from the triple decker, purple bus and launched into a long-winded introduction.
"Yes, yes…" Lily said impatiently, "We know." James helped her up the steps and then they all found a seat on the second level. In less then a half hour, after many hear-stopping turns and perilous stops, they finally arrived at the wizarding hospital.
"What time did she go into labour Sirius?" Lily asked eagerly as the entered the hospital and marched through the lobby full of oddly ill wizards and witches.
"I dunno…Frank owled Remus at like four this morning, and then he apparated over to see me a bit later. So I reckon around three or so." Sirius mused. Lily nodded,
"Did the healers say everything's okay? It's a bit early."
"It's not that early Lils." James reminded her as they began to climb the staircase across from the lobby. Sirius shrugged,
"They didn't say anything was wrong." He answered, "Anyways it's on this floor." He stopped climbing the staircase and gestured down the corridor which clearly led to the maternity ward. Heart fluttering in anticipation, Lily followed Sirius as he led the way down the hall and past many busy healers and hysterical family members.
"Here it is." He announced regally, gesturing to a ward. Lily and James entered ahead of him and hurried to the farthest bed of three. The curtains were drawn, and they could hear Frank's low, rumbling voice giving encouragement.
"Who are you?" a harried looking healer asked them irritably as she rushed past.
"Er, friends of the Longbottoms." James answered. "Bad time?"
"Yes." The witch responded, hurrying past them yet again. "The baby's about to arrive, I'll have to ask you folks to wait in the corridor." Lily smiled broadly as they obeyed, and did a little jog.
"Alice is having a baby!" she said in a sing-song voice, uncharacteristically losing her composure. James smiled warmly at her, before engaging in conversation with Sirius. Lost in her own joy, Lily sortof zoned out until Remus, Peter and Cadence came striding down the hall.
"Hello all." Remus said lightly, his blue eyes flickering merrily.
"Hey Moony!" Sirius and James chimed together, slapping their fellow marauder on the back.
"Hi." Lily said brightly, giving Cadence a quick hug. "How are you?"
"I'm great," she smiled in reply. "I'm so excited for Alice. But anyways, how are you?" Her voice changed to one of concern.
"I'm fine." Lily said, mildly impatient. "Everyone's making such a fuss over me…honestly."
"Sorry." Cadence grinned, not looking the least bit apologetic. A loud scream suddenly came from the hospital room, capturing everyone's attention. Lily winced in apprehension.
"Poor Alice." Cadence muttered, though she chuckled lightly. "Maybe the healers should use a freezing charm for pain."
"Can't," Lily responded automatically. "It would hamper the er…procedure?"
"Oh…right then." Cadence muttered. Turning their attention to the others, they found the boys were lost in their own conversation. Minutes ticked by slowly and Lily took a seat in a chair by the door.
She and Cadence made small talk for about twenty before the flustered healer emerged from the room, weary but smiling.
"You can go in now." She informed them. Lily immediately hastened into the room, avidly followed by the others.
"Alice!" Lily cried softly as she pulled back the curtains to visit her friend. She was rendered temporarily speechless by the tiny figure Frank had in his arms. Alice had shadows under her eyes and her hair was a mess, but she looked happier then Lily had ever seen her, save for her wedding day.
"Congratulations you two." James said happily, conjuring a bouquet of flowers with his wand. He set them on the bedside table as Lily and Cadence moved forwards to embrace their friend.
"How are you feeling?" Cadence asked warmly, peering closely at their peaky
looking friend.
"Fine." Alice said non-chalantly, her voice tinged with tiredness.
"That's good." Lily smiled. "So what did you name, er…"
"Him." Alice supplied, smiling widely. "We've named him Neville." Her tone positively emanated adoration for her new son.
"Aw, I'm so happy for you." Lily gushed.
"Thanks." Alice answered, and they all spent the next little while conversing and taking turns holding Neville. Lily thought she would positively melt when she held the pudgy, little round raced boy. All too soon, however, the healer returned and ushered the lot of them from the room. Alice needed rest, and the healer was going to take Neville to the nursery for a closer health inspection.
"They're so happy together." James commented as he and Lily made their way to the tea room. (Cadence and Sirius had gone to the hospital gift shop with Remus and Peter.) As they strolled up the staircase the afternoon sunshine poured in through the windows, warming their faces.
"Yeah," Lily said wistfully. "That will be us soon." James grinned broadly and took hold of Lily's hand. She closed the gap between them and kissed him quickly as they reached the top floor.
After collecting their tea they took their seat at a small table and drunk in silence, reliving the busy morning. It was hard to believe that the day could get any better, but within moments, Lily felt her stomach fill with butterflies.
She froze, her vivid green eyes widening to the size of galleons as she shakily set her cup of tea on the table. She gazed nervously at James who was staring obliviously into the distance.
"James?" she said tentatively. She hardly dared to believe what had just happened…and yet she was sure… "James!" she said more persistently when he appeared not to have heard her.
"Yes, love?" he asked mildly, still not looking at her.
"I think my water just broke." Lily half-whispered. She brushed her red bangs out of her face and waited for James's reaction.
"That's nice, Lils." He muttered, uncomprehending what she had just said.
"James!" she said sharply, her heart rate speeding up in anxiety.
"Hmm?" he asked, turning his hazel eyes to meet her green ones. She gaze him a pointed look and slowly, a change came across James's face.
"Wait, what?…now?" he asked, his full attention finally on her. She nodded nervously and he led out a startling whoop.
"Lily!" he exclaimed joyfully, jumping to his feet and pulling her to hers. He kissed her quickly then said in a voice breathless with excitement, "We have to get you downstairs!"
"You don't say…" she mumbled, then wincing as a brief, and rather mild contraction swept over her. She felt a distinct difference in her abdomen. James gave her a look of mingled anticipation and concern,
"Come on." He said, taking her arm and helping her towards the stairs. She nodded, speechless, and allowed him to help her down the stairs. They ran into Sirius and Cadence as they arrived back on the maternity level.
"Hey Prongs, hey Lily." Sirius said distractedly. "Check out these cards they have in the gift shop…they cast a giddiness spell on the opener."
"Not now Padfoot." James said as he brushed past them, Lily in tow. "Lily's going into labour." For a moment their was a stunned silence and then Cadence broke it with an excited shriek.
"Merlin, Lily!" she trilled, "You too? Oh, this is the best!" Sirius was wearing an expression equivalent to having just been hit with a stupefying hex. Half a second later he was wearing a grin of raucous joy. Lily managed a small smile as another contraction died away.
"Come on Lily." James said gently, guiding her down the hallway. "Oi, you there. My wife's going into labour!" he called to a passing healer with curly grey hair and kind blue eyes. The witch halted in her tracks immediately. She gave Lily an encouraging smile,
"Right this way then." She said, giving them her full attention. She helped Lily to an empty room and to a bed and then gave her a hospital gown to change into.
"I'll be back in a moment, with another healer. Just make yourselves comfortable." The witch said kindly before bustling out of the room, humming a small tune. Lily settled into the pillows and waited silently as Cadence and Sirius hurried into the room. They seemed to have run into Remus and Peter on the way for they entered the room shortly after.
Lily waited nervously, James holding her hand all the while. The healers returned and after a quick check over, declared her perfectly healthy. They informed her that the baby should come around sometime that evening and that so far, there were no complications.
The others talked quietly around her until evening fell upon them at last. Lily hardly listened to what they were saying, her mind focused on surviving the pain of the contractions and the thoughts of what was finally happening at last. Several times, Cadence, Remus or Peter would flit out of the room to check on Alice but they always returned quickly. Sirius, however, flat out refused to leave the bedside.
As the hours drew on, the healers returned to check on her.
"Hmm, you're moving along a bit slower then we anticipated." The grey haired witch informed her after a few health determining spells. "Everything still looks fine though. We'll be back in a bit," she turned to James, "Call us if anything happens." With a last nod, she swept out of the room.
Lily bit her lip, drawing blood as another wave of pain washed over her. By now, the back of her neck was damp with sweat. Cadence used her wand to tie it up for her.
"Thanks," she gasped and then squinted her eyes as yet another bout of pain engulfed her. She was so distracted by the agony of it all, that she missed James's wince as she mercilessly squeezed his hand.
As yet another hour passed slowly by, Sirius was still practically bouncing in his chair in excitement. While Remus and Peter had been initially enthusiastic, their reactions had somewhat settled and they were now passing the time with a game of exploding snap. Cadence, in the glory of her boredom, went looking for trouble.
"Sirius," she said sweetly. "Maybe we should start a family." Sirius, distracted from his abundant joy gave her a look of astonishment.
"What?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Maybe-we-should-start-a-family." Cadence repeated, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Sirius gave James a look that clearly called for help.
"Cadence…er, are you sure you two are…ready to take that step?" James asked, attempting to help his friend out.
"Stay of it James." Cadence said lightly, but giving him a warning glance.
"Sorr-ow!" James yelped as Lily's grip tightened painfully.
As the clock struck eleven thirty, the healers re-entered to find Sirius and Cadence in a full blown argument. Sirius stopped dead sentence and waited avidly for the healers to give their pronouncement.
"She's ready." A young looking witch reported. She smiled at the rest of them, "You'll have to wait in the hall." Sirius immediately jumped to his feet and darted out the door,
"Good luck!" he called. Cadence shook her head in exasperation and followed him, with a last encouraging smile at James and Lily. Remus and Peter followed them with similar actions.
Within minutes, more healers had entered and were prepared for the birth.
"Just keep pushing." One healer counseled Lily. She nodded with a grimace, her face reddening with the strain. The healers quickly cast a few, mild charms on Lily to numb the pain and then one turned to James. She muttered a quick spell, her wand pointed at his right hand which was stuck tight in Lily's grasp.
"What's that for?" he asked in confusion, feeling a tingle of warmth spread through his fingers.
"For numbing the pain." She said wisely in response. "You'll need it." And sure enough, Lily's grip on his fingers tightened immensely as she gave a groan of effort.
Within minutes, the atmosphere changed rapidly. James did his best to assure and encourage Lily as she faced now constant pain. A quick, half-glance at the clock showed the time to be eleven fifty.
"Any minute now…" the healer said with a smile. James returned it, knowing that within minutes, his and Lily's lives would change forever.
000
"Can we go back in yet?" Sirius asked anxiously, pacing the hallway. It was the fiftieth time since they had been sent out that he had asked that particular question. And for the fiftieth time Remus sighed in response.
"No, Sirius. They'll tell us when. And please stop asking, you're not the only one's that's excited."
"Right. Sorry." Sirius muttered, continuing to pace the hallway.
"I can't believe it," Cadence said, breaking the momentary silence. "Alice and Lily on the same day."
"Not necessarily," Remus reminded her lightly. "It's almost midnight."
"Still." Cadence protested. Everyone lapsed into silence again. Sirius stopped pacing for a moment to check his watch, twelve-o-one it read. Just as he opened his mouth to repeat his earlier question the door swung upon gently. Then elderly witch beamed at them,
"You can come in now." She said in a hushed voice. Sirius nearly bowled her over in his haste to get inside.
Lying in bed, looking positively exhausted, but still grinning ecstatically was Lily and in her arms, wrapped snugly in a soft, blue blanket was the tiny face of their child. The baby's eyes were shut as he had just fallen asleep, and atop his head was a mess of raven black hair. James too was smiling as though he had never been happier, a distinct look of pride in his eyes as he gazed at his child.
"It's a boy." Lily whispered, beaming at her friends. "Our little Harry." Cadence promptly burst into tears and Remus said a quiet congratulations. Peter was expressionless but Sirius…his look was priceless. Grinning like a lunatic he approached the bedside, looking ready to laugh and cry at the same time.
"Do you want to hold him?" Lily asked gently. Sirius nodded wordlessly, totally enamored by the little boy in his arms. He took the baby's tiny, little hand in his own and whispered
"My godson…" As Lily watched the two of them, she shared a look with James. Both couldn't have been happier at their friend's obvious joy. Sirius had been James's best friend forever, and like a brother to Lily. And now he stood holding their son…the first bit of family he could actually love. It meant the world to Lily to see him in such bliss.
It took a little persuading to convince Sirius to let the other's hold Harry, but he reluctantly complied. Cadence held him close, tears still pouring silently down her face, before handing him off to Remus. Although he was polite and held Harry for a short time so that Peter could have a turn, there was clear affection in his gaze. Finally, Peter awkwardly took the baby and held him at arm's length. Almost immediately, Harry stirred and awoke.
"Here." James said, removing Harry from Peter's grasp. He took him, and with a father's pride, began rocking his son in his arms. Lily felt tears spring to her eyes at the sight. There was entire world…the very reason she breathed standing together, not a care in the world. If only things could remain so. But pushing the shadows from her heart she let the warmth of love overwhelm her senses…this was what she lived for.
Author's Note: Okay, this chapter was both later and earlier then I expected. I had computer troubles and initially postponed the date, but then I had access to a different computer and took the chance to type this then. So, hope you enjoyed.:)
This is honestly, the most emotional chapter I've written yet. I apologize for however boring it may have been but…this chapter was purely for emotional purposes. As the nature of this chapter is rather more important then the usual, I would really appreciate reviews. Anyhow, once again, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading. I will update soon.
By the way, this is my longest chapter yet!