I only found out a little while ago that the Prewett's were Molly's brothers so I had to use it. Enjoy.
"Have you ever had a pet?"
Lily blinked. "Sorry?"
The red haired brothers grinned at each other.
"How do you know you can take care of a kid?" Fabian asked. "Especially if you've never even kept a pet alive."
"I think we'll manage" she retorted, one hand over her stomach. She glanced around and saw James across the room, talking with Benjy Fenwick. How hard could it possibly be to take care of a baby?
"Our sister Molly, she's got five boys already and she's pregnant again. I think she's holding out for a girl. I don't know how she does it." Gideon added, shaking his head admiringly.
He draped an arm around her shoulders and handed her a goblet. Anyway, we'd best be off" he said, eyes on the door as the end of Emmeline Vance's cloak disappeared around the corner. "Happy Christmas!" Both brothers gave deep bows and swept from the room one after the other.
Lily sighed, downed the contents of the goblet and placed it, empty, on a side table. She wished that Alice were there, or someone else who understood just how nervous she was about her first child. She wished that her mother was still alive to talk to, to offer the comfort that only a mother could give. Advice, help, reassurance. Her mother would never have the chance to meet her son. She found herself staring into the flames of a dwindling candle.
"Hey."
She turned and found James standing behind her, looking concerned.
"Are you okay?"
"I think we should get a cat" she told him decidedly.
James froze with his own goblet halfway to his lips, a bemused smile playing across his face. "Umm. Why is that?"
" Because we don't know how to keep things alive and we need to practice."
" Lily, I really don''t think-"
"Third year. Your mandrake died from overfeeding. Mine would have if Mary hadn't helped me. Not our best. Fourth year, Care of magical creatures, you were put in charge of keeping the flobberworms alive over the holidays and they all disappeared. Not a good track record. And how is that even possible?" she asked him. She had always wondered what had become of the poor creatures.
James grinned mischieviously. "I needed them for something."
"I'll bet you did" she replied, rolling her eyes.
"Why don't we just keep Padfoot or Wormtail as a pet. If they're still alive after a few months then we'll know we can do it."
" I don't want a pet that's gonna try to sneak into the room while I'm changing."
James grinned.
The door opened and the room fell silent, every person turning towards the new arrivals. Lily took a step forward.
Alice and Frank stood in the doorway, looking ruffled and exhausted but otherwise unharmed. Snow clung to their torn, wet clothing and they were covered in dirt and debris. Frank looked as if he had been briefly set on fire, his hair and sleeves singed. Alice looked as if she was about to be ill and sunk into one of the chairs that had been pushed up against the wall to make room.
Dumbledore stepped forward to greet them.
"it was a set up!" Frank announced to the room. "Voldemort was nowhere to be seen, and the death eaters were waiting for us. We only just got away unscathed."
Muttering and questions irrupted from the other members but Dumbledore held up a hand and silence fell.
Frank continued. "They knew exactly where we were. There were dozens of them too. The Lestranges, Dolohov, Snape. I don't know who else, there were too many of them."
Lily felt James' arm circling her waist possesively at the mention of Severus Snape, his chest warm against her back. She didn't pull away.
****
"A cat? Well you've come to the right place then. We've got young ones and old ones, whatever you like" the witch told them pleasantly. Lily watched as Peter held out a hand to a big, fluffy black cat that sat, grooming itself on the counter. It gave his hand a sniff, arched it's back and growled low in it's throat, all it's hair standing up as it watched him hungrily.
Peter scurried away quickly, putting James and Lily between himself and the animal. The witch looked confused. "Thats odd. She's one of the nicest cats you would ever meet." She told them, puzzled.
James grinned and gave Lily a sideways glance, eyebrows raised. "Maybe we'll go with a younger one then" he suggested.
"Alright. I've go them all in a back room, not enough space out here. Two new litters, only about eight weeks old. Follow me."
"Coming Peter?" Lily asked innocently. The small man shook his head furiously, small, beady eyes focused on the big, black cat on the counter that had returned to it's grooming.
"I think I'll stay out here thanks."
"Suit yourself."
"Here we are then."
The small, dimly lit room was filled with mewing kittens, gamboling around the room, pouncing playfully at each other. They stopped the instant that Lily and James entered and surrounded their legs, purring and doing tricks that only a magical animal could do and attempting to lure the new people into buying them. Half of the kittens were brightly colored calico's with short hair and perky tails and ears. The other litter was ginger, with long hair and longer legs that made it difficult for them to hold up their bodies and their large heads. They were greater in number than the calico kittens and they didn't look much like cats at all.
"We think that the ginger one's might be part kneazle" the witch told them, confirming Lily's suspicion. "They look a bit odd but it's makes for a more intelligent creature and a longer life span." It sounded as if the witch had repeated this several times and had all but given up hope of ever selling the odd looking cats. "I'll leave you to decide then."
James laughed and Lily looked around as he scoped up one of the ginger cats.
"How about this one?" he asked, clearly amused, turning it for her to see.
Lily bit her lip as the cat gazed at her indifferently. It's fur was thick and fluffy and it was definitely more bow legged than it's brothers and sisters. But it was the cat's face that made it stand out from the others. It was grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. She smiled.
"I don't think so."
James dropped the kitten and they watched as it wound it's way back among it's siblings. Lily reached down and picked up one of the calico kittens and it began to purr instantly, rubbing it's head against her neck and gazing up at her with wide eyes.
"I like this one. What do you think?"
James shrugged. "Whatever you want. It's your birthday. I still like that ginger one though. High entertainment value."
"But thats what I have you for."
What if someone else had bought Crookshanks? What if Lily and James had actually decided to buy him? A lot of things would be different. Maybe Harry would have never have met Sirius. Maybe Peter would still be Ron's pet rat and Voldemort would have had no one to help him with his plan and so he would never have risen again. huh.
