James was more tired than he had ever been in his life. Cassy was teething and miserable. Maggie was eight and a half months pregnant and miserable. The quidditch draft was the next day, he and his staff had been up late for weeks reviewing prospects.
James had gotten his wife propped sideways and asleep just as Cassy had woke with a fever. He was now rocking his baby girl and watching the moon rise.
Yes he was the more tired than he had ever been and the happiest.
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Six months later found James in the same rocker with a different little girl. Mary Jo Potter was just as perfect as her sister. Red headed with striking green eyes and a temper to match. Mary was the yin to Cassy's yang.
Cassy was a calm patient child who hardly caused a ripple of concern. She sailed through life laughing and alert.
Mary was already making her presence known. She wanted everything now. A dirty nappy or an empty stomach were both announced at the top of her lungs. If made to wait for anything she would hold her breath until she turned blue.
James was afraid that she was his punishment for the trouble he gave his folks.
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Al was holding his eldest, attempting a cleaning spell. Henry Albus Potter was just a month older than his cousin Mary. The two year olds were inseparable. What Mary didn't think to get in to Hap did. James was currently scraping mud from the ceiling of his kitchen. Mary and Hap had decided to make mud pies. Unfortunately when James had tried to clean up the mess with magic the mud had flown everywhere.
Al was certainly happy that the his new son , Nathaniel, appeared to be as calm and easy going as Cassy.
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James was running franticly through the lobby of St. Mungo's. In his arms limply lay his eldest daughter. Just minuets before they had been having dinner at his cousin Fred's. Suddenly Cassy had grabbed at her throat and fainted. Maggie had tried the Heimlich maneuver thinking Cassy had something stuck in her throat, but nothing had worked.
Fred had tried to do CPR but not air would pass in to Cassy's lungs. James had scooped up his daughter and apperated directly to the hospital.
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Lilly was working quickly to establish an airway in her niece. She did not stop to think who she was working on, she did not have that kind of time. Cassy had been without oxygen for far too long.
A tracheotomy, (technology she had borrowed from her study of muggle medicine), in place she could now begin to figure out what had happened.
Cassy's mucus membranes were all swollen and her eyes were swollen shut. Her hands and feet were the size and shape of balloons. Lily immediately administered a potion. Cassy was having a catastrophic allergic reaction.
Within minutes Cassy was breathing better and the swelling seemed to be subsiding. Lilly felt it was safe to go and talk to her brother and Maggie.
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The waiting room was packed with Potter's and Weasleys. It had been two days since the dinner at Freddy's. Trey, Freddy II's son and Cassy's best friend, was waiting patiently to see her.
At least they knew what had happened. The fish had been fried in peanut oil. It appeared Cassy had developed a life threatening allergy to peanuts.
Trey vowed to be a second set of eyes for Cassy. He had already started reading all he could about legume allergies. He was going to be sure she was not ever exposed again.
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James was sitting in the old rocker that still lived in the girls room. His girls were sleeping soundly in their beds. He knew he should go to bed with Maggie, but he had come so close to losing Cassy that he just wanted to sit and watch her sleep. He fell asleep thanking God for all his blessings.