Chapter One Hundred-Three
By mid-August, Lily was starting to experience the unpleasantry of morning sickness. After coming home from work one day, she bolted up the stairs, leaving Severus standing in the kitchen, looking shocked and confused by her behavior. He could hear the retching coming from the bathroom and sighed, but smiled a little. Five minutes later, Lily was heading back down the steps and into the kitchen.
"Ridiculous, bloody..." she muttered sourly. "They ought to call it 'anytime sickness.' I'm sick in the morning, true enough, but also during the afternoon, the evening, and into the night sometimes." Sniffing, Lily asked, "And what are you cooking, Sev? Don't tell me it's red meat-"
Half-smiling guiltily, Severus replied, "Actually..."
He watched as Lily walked across the kitchen and opened the oven, closing it almost the second she opened it. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Lily stated, "Ugh, I don't think I can eat that! The very thought of- ew, Sev!"
"Did you have a bad day, then?" he asked casually, trying not to laugh.
"It's not funny, Severus!" Lily replied heatedly. "If you had to walk around feeling nauseous, worrying you might vomit at any moment... the smells of random things setting said urge to vomit off... and then, then- these stupid mood swings!" She threw her hands up in exasperation.
Severus placed the spoon he had been using down on the countertop and went to his wife. He leaned in and kissed her, cupping her chin in his hand. "Is that a little better?" he posed.
Sighing, Lily dropped into the nearby chair and sighed ruefully. "A little," she admitted. Running a hand through her hair, she frowned. "Looks like I'll need to wash my hair tonight... again. I just did this morning."
"Now you know how I feel," Severus replied. "At least your excess of grease is only temporary."
"I'm going to look disgusting tomorrow," Lily complained.
"You are not," Severus said seriously. "You could never look 'disgusting.' Leave that up to me," he tried to joke, hoping to lighten her mood.
"You don't look disgusting!" Lily protested. "But Mary and James's wedding is tomorrow, Sev, and the day after that-"
"Is our one year anniversary, yes," Severus finished for her. "Do you suppose Potter chose to have his wedding the same weekend on purpose?"
"Mary picked the date," Lily pointed out. Sniffing again, she asked, "Are you making potatoes?"
"Yes."
"I'll have some of those. Potatoes with some pickles sounds good for dinner."
Severus cast Lily a strange look, but knew she wasn't joking. She had been keeping a jar of dill pickles in the refrigerator the past two weeks.
"Dinner's almost ready," he said. "Just relax. I'll be over with the plates in a minute."
Severus returned his attention to finishing dinner. His mind had been battling between normal, everyday affairs like work and family and more serious affairs such as the threat of the war and what the Prophecy held in store for them. Moments ago when he had been trying to lighten Lily's hormone-induced bad mood, he had almost forgotten that there even was a war or a Prophecy. For a few minutes, he could almost believe and live in the delusion that they were normal people about to have their first child, and they could be excited and happy about it.
But Severus was happy about the child. His initial feelings of dread and worry over the baby's future had slowly given way to the fascination of the new life growing inside Lily. In a few short months, they would be parents. His precious Lily was with him, and they were about to celebrate one year together as a married couple, and she was happy to be with him, to love him, to have his child.
His feelings mixed, Severus scooped a plate of potatoes and added some of the pickles, as per Lily's request. He filled his own plate and took the two of them to the table, setting them delicately on the surface and taking his seat.
"I trust it is to your liking?" he asked.
"Yes," Lily replied, finding it in her to smile.
Her mood improved after having some food in her, but Severus's mood slowly grew bitter as his mind drifted back to the Prophecy and the fact that Dumbledore and he needed to make real progress with the Horcruxes... and soon.
x x x x xThe next morning found Lily kneeling in front of the toilet. Severus was awakened to the sound, smell, and sight of vomit. Going toward the bathroom to check on Lily, he leaned against the doorframe, waiting for her to notice him there. When the urge to vomit finally subsided, Lily stood and flushed the toilet, wiping at her mouth with her forearm and groaning. Turning, she saw her husband standing there, and her eyebrows arched inwardly in annoyance.
"Well, you could've at least held my bloody hair back," Lily remarked, turning on the tap to wash her hands. Finishing, she touched her hair and sighed. "Of course, who wants to touch such oil-laden hair? It's disgusting, Sev. I might just cut it all off-"
Severus silenced Lily with a kiss. "No, love, don't do any such thing. You're as lovely as always. It took over a year for your hair to grow out this much, and it's lovely, like the color of leaves in autumn."
Lily sighed. "I wasn't serious," she replied. "It's just... I feel so gross, even if I don't look particularly horrible... yet. How am I going to manage when I'm all fat and waddling about like a duck?"
Shaking his head, Severus said, "You're pregnant, Lily. You're going to be beautiful the whole time; I don't doubt it. If you're feeling up to it, let's get some breakfast."
Lily's eyes drifted to Severus's reflection in the mirror and noticed that he had black circles around his eyes. He was appearing tired and frazzled, and she frowned. "Didn't you sleep well?"
"It's nothing," he said, trying to wave off her concern.
"Oh, Sev, I'm sorry. I've been selfish and letting my problems consume me. What's the matter?"
"It's just this stupid Prophecy," Severus admitted. "My mind won't let me dwell on anything else for longer than a few minutes before it returns to the Prophecy. I never believed such rot before, but now that it concerns us, I cannot help it."
Taking his hand, Lily led Severus into the hallway and down the stairs. "You sit down," she instructed. "You've been an amazing husband, what with putting up with my horrible mood swings and cooking for me. You shouldn't keep your concerns all bottled up like this, Sev. It's unhealthy."
Severus reluctantly took his seat, but when Lily went for the refrigerator, he immediately made to stand.
"No," Lily said sternly, "you relax. I'm going to prepare breakfast... and then a shower, I think."
Severus nodded. "All right, but don't overtax yourself." He refrained from commenting further on his worries, wishing Lily wouldn't fret over him.
Lily actually laughed. "I'm pregnant, Sev, not an invalid."
Lily set to preparing the meal, including making the coffee, and ten minutes later, they were enjoying breakfast. Soon after, Lily returned to the bathroom to shower, leaving Severus to clean up, as he had offered.
The rest of the morning was spent showering for Severus and finding a decent dress robe to wear. Mary and James were having a wizard wedding, so dress was expected to be robes. His dress robes from his school days were too short, so Severus had to lengthen them. He glared at his reflection, not pleased. Lily, on the other hand, was dazzling in her dress robe, a deep green garment that brought out her eyes and complemented her red hair.
"What's wrong?" she posed, coming to stay beside him.
"They're so... plain. Potter comes from a wealthy pureblood family, Lily, and the wedding is being held in his back garden."
"From what I understand, the Potters are nice and decent people. Poor Mr. Potter is quite old and is ailing from what I've heard, but they were gracious enough to offer their home for the location of the wedding. Mary was thrilled."
"Yes, thrilled because she has her eyes set on a large fortune," Severus muttered.
"Severus, that's not a nice thing to say about my friend," Lily said pointedly.
Severus turned away from the mirror. "Forget I said it, then. Anyway, these robes will have to do." Seeing that Lily's hair was down, he asked, hoping to change the subject, "Are you putting your hair up? It's pretty hot outside."
Lily decided it best to just let Severus's comment go. "I guess so," she said, taking hold of her locks and twirling them around until she had a bun at the base of her head. "What about you?"
Severus nodded. "I might as well." Gathering his hair into a low ponytail, Severus was pleased to find that all of his hair stayed back this time. It had grown quite long again.
"I always liked the ponytail look on you," Lily remarked. "It's sexy."
The next thing Severus knew, Lily was leaning into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him fervently. He didn't object. Her crazy mood swings had their advantages, after all!
Some time later, the both of them were redressing and running their wands over the fabric, smoothing out the wrinkles.
"It seemed rather silly to dress so early, anyway," Lily stated, fixing her hair for the second time.
Severus smirked. "Indeed."
Determined to keep his mind on happier things for the rest of the day after a welcome distraction such as the one minutes ago, Severus righted himself. Checking the time, he said, "We ought to be going in a few minutes."
Adding the last finishing touches to her make up, Lily nodded. "All right, I'm ready when you are."
Severus took Lily's arm, and together, they Disapparated to the Potters' garden, where guests were arriving. Several rows of white folding chairs had been set up, an aisle between them with a white runner. The decorations were elegant and expensive-looking, and Severus wasn't surprised. The Potters had the money to spend on a lavish wedding, and Mary was a girl who had a taste for anything fancy and formal. He wasn't jealous in the least, though. His wedding had been plenty elegant and the perfect day until the Death Eater attack. Gazing around, Severus shuddered, hoping there wouldn't be a repeat of that today. It was unlikely, seeing as all of the people were wizards and witches here, but the Potters were considered blood traitors.
"Which side should we sit on?" Lily asked.
"There are fewer people on Mary's side," Severus pointed out. Thinking about his relationship with James over the past several months, Severus had to concede that he could no longer call the other man an enemy, but neither did he feel comfortable labelling him a friend.
"Potter no doubt has plenty of admirers already," he added as an afterthought.
Lily narrowed her eyes at Severus as they took seats on the bride's side. "Severus, must you still be bitter about the past?" she whispered.
Severus glanced across the aisle to see Remus and Sirius off to the side. They were James's attendants. Before he could reply, as soon as he turned his head back toward Lily, he saw that the Longbottoms were joining them.
"Hullo, Severus, Lily," Frank greeted them. "Beautiful day, eh?"
"Yes, very," Lily replied. "How are you both doing?" Seeing Alice's bulging stomach, her eyes gaped. "Wow, Alice! When's the baby due?"
"Just a little over a month to go," the other woman replied, smiling as she ran her hands over her belly. "It's been a while since we've seen you, hasn't it?"
Lily nodded. Severus wondered if Lily would say anything about her own pregnancy, but then Alice stated, "It's a boy, you know. We found out months ago and wanted to keep it a secret from everybody until he arrived, but..."
"Knowing Alice, she couldn't keep her excitement at bay," Frank chimed in, chuckling good-naturedly. "We've come up with a name, in fact."
Let me guess. Neville? thought Severus sardonically.
"Do you care to share?" Lily asked.
"Well, we have to keep something a surprise," Alice laughed, "so no, we're waiting until he's born."
"I'm very happy for you," Lily said sincerely.
"Thank you, Lily," replied Alice, who gazed past Lily at Severus. "You're awfully quiet, Severus. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Severus said. Forcing a smile, he added, "The best to you both."
At that moment, the music began, signaling everyone to quiet. Sirius and Remus were standing at the front, joined by an oddly nervous James. Severus didn't think it possible to see such an emotion openly displayed on the other man's face, but it was evident that James was sweating, as his hair was sticking to his forehead, and he kept taking off his glasses to wipe around his eyes. He shifted from one foot to the other, and at one point, Sirius leaned in and smirked, whispering something into his best mate's ear.
Two bridesmaids came down the aisle, both sisters of Mary's. Severus recognized them from their days at Hogwarts. Glancing at Lily, he wondered if she was put out because Mary hadn't asked her to be a part of the bridal party, but then again, Lily hadn't asked Mary, either. They had agreed on a small wedding, and Lily had deliberated for several weeks on whether to pick Petunia or Mary as her maid of honor. In the end, Petunia had won out. Severus wondered if there was any tension between the girls because of it. He wasn't even sure how close of friends Lily was with Mary, but she had been gracious enough to accompany Mary during her dress fittings and offer premarital advice where needed. Severus frowned, thinking Mary was selfish to not have asked Lily to be a bridesmaid, but he kept his thoughts to himself, as Mary herself was about to come down the aisle.
The music changed, and everyone stood. Mary was a pretty enough girl, Severus supposed, but as he watched her walk down the aisle, his mind drifted back to his own wedding day, remembering how radiantly beautiful his bride had been... and still was. He smiled a little and wrapped an arm around Lily. Lily, surprised by her husband's outward display of affection in public, grinned up at him, then turned her attention back to Mary.
Mary reached the front, and the ceremony began. James seemed to have calmed down some, and as the service progressed, Severus's mind was elsewhere. Despite the promise he'd made to himself a couple of hours earlier not to dwell on the Prophecy, his mind returned to that place.
Before he knew it, Mary and James were announced as husband and wife, and the music began. People stood and clapped as the apparently happy couple recessed down the aisle. As soon as Lily stood, however, she instantaneously felt a wave of nausea wash over her, and she frantically grabbed onto Severus's arm for support. Alarmed, Severus took hold of both of her shoulders, concerned for her, but then Lily was retching... all down the front of his robes. Most people didn't notice, as their eyes were on James and Mary, and the music drowned out Lily's vomiting, but Alice and Frank turned their attention to Lily. Alice was at her side in a couple of seconds, and the people directly in front of and behind them were gazing at them in shock.
"Lily?" Alice asked. "Are you all right?"
Righting herself, Lily stammered, "It's... it's nothing. I'm fine, really." Seeing Severus's front, her face crumpled in mortification. "Oh, Sev, I'm so sorry! Here, let me-" She brought her wand up, ready to clean the vomit off, but Severus stilled her hand.
"Lily, don't worry about it," he said as calmly as possible, wishing people would stop staring. "I've got it." He quickly Evanescoed the vomit away and Scourgified his robes. "There, good as new," he stated.
"Lily," Alice was saying again, "I don't mean to pry, but... are you pregnant? I had morning sickness all the time, too, you see..."
Lily blushed, giving the truth away. Reluctantly, she nodded.
"Congratulations!" Alice practically squealed.
"Hush, Alice," Lily murmured, not wishing to draw more attention to them. "We haven't told anyone yet. It's only been a few weeks, and-"
Alice nodded with understanding. "Don't worry on it, Lily. I'm sorry for my exuberance, but this is exciting." She smiled.
"Yes, Severus and I are very happy," Lily said, for it was true, even if they had a lot to worry about at the same time.
Alice's eyes reached Severus, and she nodded at him. "Congratulations to you as well, Severus. I'm sure you'll make great parents."
Frank gave his congratulations as well. People were starting to be dismissed row-by-row. From behind them, Dumbledore had been watching the whole display. When it came time for the row Severus, Lily, Alice, and Frank were in to greet the wedding party, Severus caught Dumbledore's eye and gazed back at the man, realizing with a jolt that Dumbledore now knew Lily was pregnant. Dumbledore gave him a knowing look and smiled slightly.
Don't smile at me, old man, Severus thought angrily. Always prying where it's none of your business.
Lily and Alice were quietly talking about babies behind him, leaving Severus first to greet the bridal party. He politely shook hands with the parents of the bride and groom. When he reached Mary, he awkwardly shook her hand.
"Congratulations, Mary," he stated rather stiffly.
"Thank you," Mary returned, gushing. "I'm glad you and Lily could make it."
Sure you are. You could ask for Lily's help with your wedding, but you didn't see fit to include her in your bridal party? I dare hope you're happy to be married to pompous Potter.
"Yes, well..." Severus said, trailed off.
Seeing his disdainful expression, Mary replied, "Er... right." She turned her attention to Lily and Alice, and Severus moved on to James, actually relieved to be away from someone else and with him.
"Congratulations," Severus repeated, hoping to end the potential conversation there.
James earnestly shook Severus's hand, and Severus had to wrench his hand away. Laughing, James asked, "Who would've thought we'd be goin' to each other's weddings, eh, Severus?"
"Yes, imagine that," Severus said dryly.
Much to his dismay, Sirius leaned in, smacking James on the back. "This ol' bugger's been dying to get hitched for months now. He's still jealous you beat him to the punch, Snape!" Sirius laughed in his typical bark-like manner.
James blushed at Sirius's comment. Severus shook his head, hoping to move on and be done with the required customs. He was thankful that the two Gryffindor jocks in front of him hadn't witnessed Lily's display of her breakfast all down his front earlier.
Just as Severus was disentangling himself from the crowd, however, a goat Patronus landed in the midst of the guests.
In Aberforth's gruff voice, it announced, "The Muggle Parliament building has been destroyed. You-Know-Who's doing."
Author's Note: Uh-oh! On a happier note, if you want to see pics of Sev and Lily's child (and find out his name), check out my DeviantArt page. My username is sindie11.
