"Hello, James."
"Hello, Lily. You're looking well."
Lily smiled, "So are you."
James stood there, awkwardly, "Would you mind if I sit?"
"No, not at all," Lily said and went back to staring out the window.
James sat down across from Lily. The waitress came over and took his order. James sat there staring at Lily; it had been two years since he had seen Lily, but she still looked amazing. If anything, she looked more beautiful now.
"So, how have you been," James asked.
Lily turned to face him, "I've been good, and you."
"As good as can be expected with the war and all."
Lily nods.
James studies Lily's face for a bit longer. She looks incredibly sad and troubled; Lily's eyes are swimming with tears. James reaches out and takes her hand, "Lily is something the matter?"
"No, why would you say that?"
"You look very sad. Please tell me; I'd like to help you if I can."
Suddenly, tears begin to spill from Lily's eyes. She grips on to James' hands, "Oh, James, it's horrible. I think my husband is dead."
James' eyes widen, "You're married?"
"Yes, although I may be a widow now."
James grips Lily's hands, "Tell me what happened."
Lily tells James about Logan how she met him when she first got to America, how it was a whirlwind romance and that they were married on New Years after only knowing each other for six months. Lily explained to James the bond that she and Logan have due to being mates. That she usually can feel him, but now there was nothing.
"And the worst part is that I'm pregnant."
"And you don't want the baby," James asks.
Lily gives him a horrified look, "Of course I want my baby. It's all I have left of my husband. What is horrible about this is that my baby will never know who his or her father is, and I'll have to raise him or her on my own. Oh, James, what am I going to do? I miss Logan so much."
James thinks for a moment, "Marry me."
"What?!"
"Lily, marry me. I can provide for you and your baby. This way, you don't have to raise your baby alone, and the baby will have a father. I'll even blood adopt the baby and make him or her my heir."
"James, I can't let you do that."
"Why not? If I can help you in any way, I will."
"But, James, I don't love you."
James sighs, "This isn't about love, this is about providing for you and your baby and making sure that your baby is not considered a bastard."
"The baby isn't a bastard!" Lily says, getting upset.
"Yes, but in the Wizarding World, since there is no proof of your marriage, it will be assumed the baby was conceived out of wedlock."
"I don't give a damn what they think!"
"Then think of your child, do you want them growing up without a father?"
Lily sighs, she knew James was right. Her baby needed a father, "James, if we do this, and Logan isn't dead…"
"Then, of course, our marriage will be invalid, and you can go back to him."
"James, this isn't fair to you. You know I will always love another man."
"That's fine, Lily, I can accept that."
The only thing that James wanted was for Lily to be in his life, as his friend or as his wife. Maybe someday she would learn to love him.
"Can I think about it?"
"Of course, send me a Patronus when you decide."
With that, James got up, kissed Lily on the cheek, and left.
It took Lily three weeks to decide what she was going to do. It was the hardest decision she ever had to make. But James was right; Lily couldn't let her child grow up without a father. Though she would never give up hope that Logan would come back to them, Lily had to think of the real possibility that Logan was dead.
Lily cried for hours when she finally calmed down; she conjured her patronus, "Expecto Patronum."
Lily smiled when a large wolf appeared. The wolf threw its head back and howled, then walked over to her, "Hello, Wolverine, I need you to deliver a message to James Potter."
Her patronus growled, sounding just like her husband. Lily gave the message to Wolverine and watched as her patronus disappeared through the wall. A few minutes later, James' stag appeared telling Lily that he'd meet her at the same cafe.
Lily got dressed and apparated to the apparation point close to the cafe. She walks to the next block over and goes inside the cafe where James is already waiting for her.
James stands when he sees Lily. He smiles and kisses her cheek, "I'm so happy that you decided to marry me," James tells her, "I know this is difficult for you, Lils, but I promise I'll do my best to make you happy."
Lily gives James a smile that doesn't reach her eyes, "I know you will, James."
"Well, I hope you don't mind, but I've already made all the arrangements just in case you said yes. I even created a back story for you saying that you and I have been dating for a while but that you had been living in Muggle London. That way, no one will be surprised when they find out you're pregnant."
"Thank you, James; I appreciate that."
"So when would you like to get married?"
"Whenever you want," Lily tells James.
"How about this Saturday? This will give me enough time to inform Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail. If you want, we can invite McGonagall, Dumbledore, Marlene McKinnon, Frank, and Alice Longbottom as well."
"That's fine, James," Lily said with a half-hearted smile.
James was so happy he didn't even notice how sad Lily was. James stood up, kissed Lily on the cheek, and left the cafe. Lily sat there for a while longer staring out the window; a single tear ran down her cheek.
When Saturday rolled was in her room at the Potter mansion getting ready. She had arrived the night before with all her things and was shown by one of the house-elves to one of the guest bedrooms. Lily had cried herself to sleep that night when she took off the wedding band that Logan had given her.
As Lily stared at herself in the mirror, she looked at the two wedding bands that were lying on the table, her's and Logan's. When Logan disappeared, and Lily activated the tracking spell, all she found was his ring and a puddle of blood. She picked up the rings and held them close to her heart. A tear ran down her cheek; Lily couldn't part with her rings. So, she transfigured a chain and charmed the rings to look like the infinity symbol. She would love Logan forever, and no one would ever take her mate's place. Lily put the chain on and made sure that the infinity symbol rested on top of her heart.
Down the hall, James was happily getting ready for his wedding with his Lily flower. James was quite aware that Lily didn't love him, but he was positive that her feelings would change in time. While he was changing into his dress robes, Sirius and Remus came into the room. Peter couldn't make it; his mother was sick again. Sirius clapped James on the back.
"So you finally got the girl, Prongs, are you happy?"
James smiled, "Yes, Padfoot, I'm delighted."
"I can't believe that you kept your relationship with Lily a secret from your best mates."
"Yes, I can't believe it either," Moony says a little suspiciously.
Neither James nor Sirius notices his tone.
"Well, I wanted to have Lily all to myself for once."
Sirius nods.
"I do want to let you both in on a little secret," James says
"What's that Prongs," Remus asks.
"I'm going to be a father."
Sirius' eyes widen, and he looks over at Remus, who has his mouth hanging open.
"Is it yours?" Remus asks.
"Of course, it's his, Moony, who's else would it be?" Sirius says, "Congratulations, Prongs."
Remus also congratulates James; then both men hug him.
"Alright enough with the sentimentality, let's get you married," Sirius tells James.
James takes a deep breath, "I'm ready."
James makes his way into the back garden. It's still fresh for spring, but with the warming charms in place, no one notices. He goes and stands in the gazebo where the ceremony will take place. Sirius is standing next to James as his best man.
Alice and Marlene knock on the door, "You look beautiful, Lily, are you ready?"
Lily takes a deep breath and lets out a shuttering sigh, "I'm ready."
Alice and Marlene give Lily a sympathetic look. Alice and Marlen are the only people besides James that knew the truth about her pregnancy. While Lily was in America, Alice and Marlene were the only people she kept in touch with. So, Alice and Marlene knew all about Logan and his disappearance.
Alice walks over to her friend, "It'll be alright, Lily, you'll see."
"I hope so, Alice."
After giving Lily a fierce hug, Alice and Marlene led Lily out to the back garden. As soon as Lily stepped out, the music started. James looked up and smiled at her. Lily returned the smile and made her way down the aisle.
Lily honestly didn't remember anything about the ceremony; it was all a blur. In her mind, all she could see was her wedding to Logan. As she recalled, tears began to run down her face, which was mistaken for tears of joy, but Alice knew better. Lily vaguely remembered kissing James and the official pronouncing them, Man and wife.
After that, Sirius, Remus, and the others came over to congratulate the newlyweds. McGonagall told them she was happy that her two favorite students were finally married. James beamed at McGonagall while Lily smiled politely. For the reception, They had dinner then a little bit of dancing afterward. Lily danced with her new husband then was passed around to Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, and Frank.
The reception lasted long enough for everyone except Alice and Lily to either get a little tipsy or incredibly drunk. When everyone went home, Lily and James retired upstairs. Lily went to the bathroom to take the pins out of her hair, remove her makeup, and change into her nightgown. When she came out of the bathroom, she found James already in bed, waiting for her. Lily gave him a timid smile and got in bed with him. James leaned over and gave Lily a kiss causing her to tense. He smiled down at her.
"Lils, I know you're not ready. And I'm more than happy to wait until you are."
Lily looked up at James, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Lily pecked James on the lips then rolled over to go to sleep. She had to admit it felt nice to have someone else in bed with her to help chase her nightmares away. Even if it wasn't the person she wanted.
The weeks flew by; Lily was relatively happy with James. But her greatest joy was the life that was growing in her womb. She would rub her belly and talk to her baby. She kept telling him or her all about their daddy. How strong and wonderful Logan was, how he would have loved them to death, and would have protected them with his life. Lily couldn't wait to see her baby. She hoped with all her heart that the baby would be a boy that looked just like Logan. Lily, of course, never told James that she didn't want to make James feel bad.
For his part, James was just as excited about the baby as Lily was. He kept telling Lily that he would teach the baby how to ride a broom and how to play pranks so that they could be the next Marauder when the baby goes to Hogwarts. James told Lily that this baby was definitely going to be in Gryffindor. So James had the nursery decorated in red and gold with moving lions painted on the walls, and he enchanted the ceiling to look like the sky. Lily thought that it was nice that James was excited about the baby and felt that he would make a good father to her son.
Lily went into labor on the morning of July 30th. She was rushed off to St Mungo's maternity ward where Sirius, Remus, and Peter met them a few minutes later. Lily was in labor for 14 hours; her screams of pain could be heard in the waiting room by the other Marauders. James sat diligently by Lily's holding her hand, giving her encouragement. Lily was squeezing James' hand so hard that the healer had to heal it a few times as she had broken his fingers.
Finally and midnight on July 31st Harrison James Potter was born. The healer took the baby, cleaned him up, and handed him to his mother. The minute Lily saw Harry, she burst into tears. There in her arms was a miniature Logan. Harry had everything about his father. His hair, his ears, the shape of his mouth and eyes. The only thing that was Lily's was Harry's green eyes. Lily cuddled the baby close to her while the tears ran down her cheeks.
"You look just like your daddy," Lily whispered.
James sat there and watched Lily with her baby; his heart broke for her. Eventually, Lily looked up at James and asked him if he wanted to hold his son. James jumped at the chance to hold Harry. He looked down at the perfect bundle in his arms and cried.
"My son," Lily gave him a sad smile.
James held Harry for a bit longer then handed him back to Lily, "We need to perform the blood adoption now before anyone else sees him. Otherwise, people will know Harry isn't mine."
Lily reluctantly agreed. James quickly performed the ceremony, and he and Lily watched as Harry's features were altered to look like James though he kept Lily's green eyes. Once the transformation was complete, James went outside and called his friends to come to meet their newest addition.
Sirius walked over to Lily and stared down at the baby. He smiled and turned to James, "He's you're spitting image, Prongs, but with Lily's eyes."
James smiled proudly, "Yes, he is."
Lily handed the baby to Remus who took him reluctantly, "What did you name him," Remus asked.
"Harrison James Potter."
Remus smiled down at the baby, "Little Harry."
After Remus held Harry for a while, he was passed on to Sirius, but Sirius was too nervous about holding Harry for too long, so he handed him back to James.
James laughed, "You need to get used to it, Padfoot, because Lily and I want you to be Harry's godfather."
Sirius' mouth fell open, "Are you serious?"
"No, you are."
Sirius rolled his eyes, "You really want me to be Harry's godfather?"
"Yes, and I want Remus and Peter to be his honorary uncles."
"I'd be honored, Prongs."
"Good."
After that, James handed Harry back to Lily so that she could feed Harry. James and the others left to give Lily some privacy. While Lily fed Harry, she saw a light out of the corner of her eye, turning her head, Lily noticed that Harry's birth certificate was glowing. She reached for the birth certificate and gasped. Harry's birth certificate now read, Harrison James Howlett and had Logan listed as the father. Lily smiled. Once Harry was fed and had fallen asleep, Lily put him in the bassinet. She then grabbed her purse and put Harry's new birth certificate in her bag. This was something that James didn't have to know.
Life was going good for the Potters. Little Harry was thriving and had become the apple of his parents' eyes. Never had a little boy been loved so much. While James was training to be an Auror or out doing missions for the Order, Lily would stay at home with her son telling Harry all about Logan. Showing the baby pictures of his father and telling him how much his dada loved him.
Harry turned out to be an exceptional child. By the time Christmas had rolled around, he was already pulling himself up by holding onto the furniture and walking around. Lily thought it had something to do with the fact that Harry was a Mutant, but she wasn't sure. James just thought that his son was a genius. By eight months, Harry was already trying to say his first words. Until one day, when Lily was showing him pictures of Logan, Harry took the picture from her and pointed at Logan.
"Dada," Harry said with a proud look on his face.
Lily squealed and hugged her son, "That's right, Harry, that's Dada."
Lily had also been calling James Papa so that Harry could distinguish between the two men. So when Lily showed Harry a picture of James, she asked him, "Harry, who's that?"
Harry was quiet for a moment, "Papa."
"That's right, Harry, aren't you a brilliant little boy," Lily tells him then tickles Harry.
Later that night, when James got home, Lily walked into the living room and kissed James on the cheek, "Harry has a surprise for you."
James looked at Lily curiously. Lily walked over to Harry, who was happily playing with his Padfoot doll and kneeled next to Harry.
"Harry."
Harry looked up at his mother and smiled. Lily pointed at James, "Who's that?"
Harry squealed, "Papa!"
James' mouth fell open; he rushed over towards Harry. James picked up the baby and tossed him in the air, "That's my boy!" James said with a laugh. Lily smiled at the sight. James held Harry to him and pointed at Lily.
"Harry, who's that?"
Harry looked at his mother and squealed and began babbling in baby gibberish. Lily crossed her arms, "He can't say Mama yet."
James laughed, "Ha, I knew he'd say Papa first." It wasn't until a month later that Harry finally said, Mama.
But Lily's happiness could not last forever. When Harry turned ten months, Lily and James got a visit from Albus Dumbledore. He arrived with some troubling news that while interviewing someone for the new divination position Sybil Trelawny had a premonition about the one who would defeat Voldemort. And it concerned Lily and James' son.
"How do you know the prophecy is about Harry?" Lily asked.
"It could either be him or Frank and Alice's boy, Neville," Albus tells them.
"What was the prophecy," James asked.
*The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.*
"Unfortunately, a spy of Voldemort's heard the first part of the prophecy and informed him."
"But that doesn't apply to Harry, I've never fought against Voldemort," Lily tells Dumbledore.
"Yes, but James has, and three times, he was able to defy him," Dumbledore points out.
Lily looks at James; she knew that the prophecy didn't apply to Harry, considering that James wasn't Harry's father. But since James did blood adopt him, maybe that changed things.
"So, what do you want us to do?" James asked.
"I would advise you and Lily to go into hiding as I advised Frank and Alice Longbottom."
"But the Potter Mansion's wards are strong enough to withstand anything," James tells Dumbledore.
"Yes, but this is the first place that Voldemort will look for you. What we can do is use the Fidelius Charm to hide you. All you need to do is pick a secret keeper."
"Alright, we'll go to the cottage in Godric's Hollow. And make Sirius our secret keeper."
Dumbledore agreed. James had the house-elves pack up all of his, Lily, and Harry's belongings and take it to the cottage. A little while later, James, Lily, and Harry took a portkey that Dumbledore made to the cottage. Once Lily and Harry were settled in, James went to talk to Sirius about becoming the secret keeper. He went to Sirius' apartment.
"Prongs, what are you doing here?"
James walked further into Sirius' apartment, "I need your help, Padfoot, my family is in danger."
"What's going on?"
James proceeded to tell Sirius that Voldemort was targeting him and Lily and that they needed to go into hiding. James didn't bother to tell Sirius about the prophecy, but James did explain that he wanted Sirius to be their secret keeper.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Prongs."
James was shocked, "Why not?"
"Because I'll be the first person they suspect to be your secret keeper."
"Well, what about Moony?"
"He isn't here, and besides, I don't know if we can trust him anymore. I thought Wormtail would be a better choice."
James thought for a moment. He knew that Lily didn't like Wormtail all that much, and for some reason, Harry would always cry when Wormtail tried to hold him. But James had complete in his fellow Marauder. So, James agreed, he would inform Lily about it when he got home.
It took James and Sirius a while to get a hold of Peter, but when they finally did, they informed him of their plan. Peter readily agreed. So, James went back to the cottage and told Lily that he and Sirius thought Peter would be a better choice. Lily was skeptical but agreed. James performed the Fidelius Charm and made Peter the secret keeper. The only ones that knew of their location other than Peter were Dumbledore and Sirius.
For two months, James, Lily, and Harry were sequestered in the cottage until Harry turned a year old. At which time, James thought that they would have a little party for Harry. Of course, the only people that came were Sirius, Dumbledore, and Peter. Even though there weren't a lot of people, Harry's party was still extraordinary. He received several presents from those that could not attend. Sirius gave Harry his first toy broom. Lily took several pictures of Harry zipping around the room on his broom with James running behind him.
When the cake was brought out, Lily helped Harry blow out the candle. She made a wish for Harry, 'I wish you could have seen this, Logan,' Lily blinked back tears as she watched her son take a handful of cake and stuff it in his mouth. Those were happy times, even though the little family was hidden away.
One day, a month after Harry's birthday, Lily went upstairs to bring her son down for breakfast. She walked into the nursery and saw Harry sitting in his crib, playing with his toys. Harry looked up when he heard his mother enter the room. When Lily saw Harry, she gasped. Lily was no longer looking at an exact copy of James but of Logan. Lily picked up Harry and studied his face. Harry did, indeed, resembled his father.
At that moment, James came into the nursery, "Is something wrong, Lily?"
"James, look at Harry."
James took Harry from Lily. He looked at his son, then James' eyes widened, "What happened, Harry doesn't look like me anymore."
"Maybe the glamour wore off?" Lily asked.
"That isn't possible."
"Then what else could have happened?" Lily asked.
"I don't know, but let me cast it again."
James pulls out his wand and casts the glamour again on Harry, but nothing happened. The spell washed over him like it was water. Lily and James looked at each other.
"I don't understand, with the blood adoption, Harry should have taken on my resemblance, why isn't it working anymore?"
"I don't know, James, maybe I should do some research to see if there is a way to glamour Harry, so he looks like you."
James nods, "Okay, why don't you do that?"
Lily goes to the library to do some research, but she's pretty sure that whatever spell she finds isn't going to work. It would seem that Harry has inherited Logan's Healing Factor. And if Lily had to guess, she would say that Harry purged himself of James' magic.
It took several weeks and several tries for Lily and James to realize that whatever they were trying on Harry to change his appearance was not going to work. The next best solution was to go to Dumbledore, explain to him the situation, and see if he can help. James decided that he would go the first week of December to talk with Albus, but that opportunity never came as James and Lily were attacked on Halloween.