Lily was awoken in the morning by a jet of cold water in her ear. She screamed and flipped over in her bed. James plopped down next to her and smiled cheerily.
"Oh, good, you're up," he said. Lily reached out to slap him, but he rolled off the bed, out of reach. "We've got to get Emily!" he yelled as he bounded out of the room.
Lily groaned and reluctantly got out of bed, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, and Emily was indeed waiting for them. She slowly dressed with her eyes half opened and it wasn't until she was nearly ready that she glanced at the clock.
"Bloody hell, James!" she screeched. "It's only bloody nine o' clock!"
Lily left the bathroom and saw him sitting in the common room, reading a book, and looking like he was bracing himself for her wrath. She pointed her wand at him, said a nonverbal spell, and watched with satisfaction as gold birds pecked at the offending Head Boy.
"Ow! Lily! I just- I didn't want to wait! Ouch- Lils! Gerremoffme!" His limbs were flailing in every direction and was looking quite ridiculous, so Lily Vanished the birds. He looked up at her guiltily.
"I just wanted to get a head start," James said innocently. Lily's eyes narrowed and she went down the steps slowly and dramatically.
"Look. On school days, I am a morning person. I function nicely because I have a reason and time limit. But on weekends, I like my sleep. So if you ever wake me up early on the weekend again, I will cut your balls off. Okay?" She reached him and crossed her arms. He nodded, thoroughly scared of the small redhead now.
Lily nodded, satisfied. "Good. Let's go get Emily now."
She walked out of the portrait hole and James followed meekly.
When they were almost to the hospital wing, Lily broke the silence. "You may speak now."
"I'm sorry, Lily," James said immediately, giving her a puppy dog look.
She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But don't do it again," Lily hugged him and cursed her inability to hold grudges.
James opened the hospital wing door for her and they saw Emily sitting on her bed with her baby, Charlie, in her lap, and making sparks come out of her toy wand.
"Hey, Emily," James said as he and Lily reached. She looked up.
"Hi!" Emily said happily. "Charlie likes pink sparkles better than yellow sparkles," she said in a matter of fact tone.
"Is pink Charlie's favorite color?" Lily asked.
Emily nodded. "Uh-huh. Can we go now?"
Lily and James laughed. "Sure, we just need to tell Madam Pomfrey."
"And guess what we're going to do today!" exclaimed James as Emily climbed out of bed.
"Play with unicorns!" she declared.
"Er… no. Dumbledore's going to come by and fix up your room and then you get to hang out with the Marauders!" James said as if that was a real treat.
"What are the Marauders?" Emily asked as if the name was quite ridiculous.
James gasped and put his hand to his chest in mock shock. "The Marauders are only the coolest kids in the whole entire school! And the handsomest," he added to Lily, who was returning with Madam Pomfrey. She laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Just keep telling yourself that, Jamesie."
Madam Pomfrey checked Emily over and nodded as she was deemed fine. The matron pulled out some clothes from the bedside cabinet and placed them on the bed.
"I took the liberty of transfiguring some things into clothes for her so she won't have to wear those ratty muggle things. Well, she can go," Madam Pomfrey patted the stack of clothes and hurried off to care for a boy with boils on his arm.
"Come on, let's go!" James said, jumping around. Lily rolled her eyes.
"James, she can't go out in her pajamas. Why don't you wake up the boys and have them get the girls up while I help Emily get dressed?" Lily pushed him away and closed the curtains around Emily's bed.
"Okay, what do you want to wear?" she asked brightly. Emily looked at the clothes, her face screwed up in thought.
"I want to wear… this!" She pulled out a flowing pale yellow shirt with spaghetti straps and forest green shorts.
"Very pretty," Lily approved. "Here, let me help you," She waved hr wand and the clothes appeared on Emily's body.
"Awesome," said Lily. "Do you want me to do your hair?"
Emily clutched her hair and shook her head violently. "No, no! Don't brush it!"
"Okay," she said indifferently and pulled back the curtains to see James standing there expectantly.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yup. Did you get the boys up?"
They each took a hand of Emily's so she was walking in between them as the threesome left the Hospital Wing.
"Well, I woke up Sirius, and while he was yelling at me, Remus woke up, so he'll get Mary, Marlene, and Alice up."
Lily and James jumped a trick step and pulled Emily up after them, swinging her high. She giggled.
"Again!" she squealed.
They swing her up a few more steps and her peals of laughter rang throughout the empty passageway.
"Again!"
They made their way to Gryffindor Tower that way and Emily gave the password to the Fat Lady confidently. "Butternut!"
Entering the common room, they saw that no one else had entered it yet, so James, Lily, and Emily sat on the couch.
James looked at Lily thoughtfully.
"We should play a prank on them," he declared.
She glanced over at him. "What kind of prank?"
"I don't know. Something with Emily."
They looked at Emily, who was now styling Lily's hair. Lily's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"We could pretend she's biologically our daughter! She looks like us and we could say I had her in third year after some clandestine affair with you!" she giggled. " Can you imagine what they would do?"
James doubled over in laughter at imagining their friends' faces. "What do you say, Emily? Will you do it?"
"Okay," she agreed happily.
As if on cue, Remus, Sirius, Marlene, Mary, Alice, and Peter came down the stairs.
"Why is it so bloody important that we be down here so bloody early-" Sirius' grumbles stopped as he caught sight of Emily perched on Lily's hip. They all stared in bewilderment at Emily and James wrapped his arm around Lily's waist.
"Guys, there's something we've been meaning to tell you," James started with a grin.
"James and I have a daughter!" finished Lily with a smile to match James'.
Peter fainted and Sirius, Marlene, Alice, and Mary all yelled, "What?" Remus was in shock.
"Lily, you were never even pregnant!" Alice exclaimed. "When did this ever happen?"
Lily looked up at James and almost let a giggle escape. Their friends' reactions were just as they imagined.
"Well, James and I had sort of a… clandestine meeting in third year. McGonagall and Flitwick charmed me to make it look like I was still normal sized."
"Hi," Emily said, smiling and waving at the shocked Gryffindors. Marlene clutched at Sirius' arm and James and Lily burst out laughing.
"Wait, so- she's not really yours?" Mary asked, still befuddled.
"No!" said James, shaking his head. "We found her on the grounds during last night's patrol, and we get to take care of her. Come on, do you really think Lily would have gone into a broom cupboard with me in third year?"
"Maybe not back then," Marlene whispered and Sirius smirked.
"Hi," Alice said, walking up to Emily. "I'm Alice."
"Hi, Alice," she said shyly. "I'm Emily."
"You are adorable," Alice stated, smiling. Emily giggled.
"You look like a pixie," she said and Alice laughed.
"Thank you. That's what my boyfriend calls me."
Emily's eyes widened. "You have a boyfriend?"
Lily and Alice laughed again. "Yep. So does she," said Alice, pointing at Marlene, who had Sirius' arm draped around her.
"You both have boyfriends?" Emily asked incredulously. Marlene and Mary laughed and walked over to them.
"Yup," said Marlene. "But mine's a bit of an idiot sometimes. See? He's the one with th funny looking hair."
Sirius looked up from where he was drawing on Peter's face. "Oi! My hair is not funny looking!" he walked over to the girls and crossed his arms.
"Oh, yes it is, Padfoot," said James said, messing up his best friend's hair. Sirius hit him and fixed his hair. "Come on, Emmy. Who do you think has the best hair?"
"Alice," she said immediately. Alice smiled happily and stuck her tongue out at the boys.
"But you have sparkly hair," Emily continued, reaching out and fluffing Sirius' hair. "And yours is nice and soft," She ran her hand through James' mop. "And his is fluffy, with a pretty swoop," She pointed to Remus, who was trying to wake Peter up. Remus looked up and walked over to them with a smile.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Remus."
"I'm Emily, " She smiled, then turned to Lily. "I'm hungry."
Sirius brandished an invisible sword and took a knight's stance. "Then to breakfast we go, dear Emily!"
Emily laughed and Lily set her on the ground. Sirius and Emily then ran off towards the Great Hall, hand in hand.
"I never knew he was so good with children," Marlene observed thoughtfully.
"Probably because he still is a child," said James, rolling his eyes. "Oi, Wormtail! Breakfast!"
Peter's eyes fluttered open and he sat up. "What happened?"
"We told you Lily and I had a daughter and you fainted. Come on, breakfast!" He grabbed Lily and Alice and ran out of the portrait hole.
Mary smiled at Remus. "Come on, Remus. I need an escort to breakfast."
He held out his arm and walked out of the common room together, leaving Marlene to deal with Peter.
Come on, Petey. Let's go to breakfast," She helped him off the floor and he looked at her through watery blue eyes.
"Lily and James have a kid?" he squeaked.
Marlene sighed and put her arm around his shoulders. "No, Peter…"
QK
James, Lily, and Alice walked into the Great Hall to see Sirius entertaining Emily by doing his best impression of aquatic sea animals.
"Arf, arf, arf, arf!" he barked, clapping the back of his hands together. Emily laughed and threw half of a biscuit at him, which he caught in his mouth.
"Having fun, Sirius?" Alice asked as she sat on the other side of Emily.
"Don't get him too excited, Emily, he's not house-trained yet," said James, sitting on the other side of the table with Lily.
"He's a good seal!" Emily proclaimed, petting Sirius' hair. She turned to Lily and James. "Guess how we got here!"
"Umm… You skipped," Lily guessed.
"No! Sirius turned the stairs into slides!"
"Really?" James asked. "All of them?"
"Yup," Emily nodded. "But he had to change them back because he said Lily would eat him if he didn't."
Lily kicked Sirius under the table and James nodded.
"It's true," he said. "She'll also eat you if you wake her up early on weekends. Unless, of course, you have the stunning Potter charm and looks," He flung his head to the side dramatically.
Lily rolled her eyes. "You're still off the hook for that, you know."
"Yes, I am. You may still get mad when reminded of it, but you'll never do anything because you love me too much," said James, putting his arm around her and smiling cheekily. Lily stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms as Marlene and Peter sat down next to them. Peter eyed Emily warily and she waved at him merrily.
"Hi. I'm Emily. Did it hurt when you fell?"
Peter shifted uncomfortably. "Erm… no. It happens a lot."
"Aw, it's okay, Peter," said Mary, who had just arrived with Remus.
"So, we visiting Hagrid today?" James asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I want to meet him!" said Emily, nodding excitedly. "Lily told me he's really tall," she added to Alice.
Alice smiled. "Yes, he's very tall. But I can't go," she told the others. "Frank's doing something special for me for our anniversary."
"Aww," Lily said. "How long has it been?"
"A year," Alice gushed.
"Aww," Marlene, Lily, and Mary cooed. Alice sighed dreamily.
"So, visiting Hagrid?" Sirius asked loudly, rolling his eyes at the girls' mushiness.
QK
After breakfast, James, Emily, Lily, Sirius, Marlene, Remus, Peter, and Mary all left the castle and went towards Hagrid's hut.
"Well, 'ello!" he said merrily upon seeing them all. "Come on in!" The Gryffindors and Emily entered the hut and sat down at the table and armchairs.
"Why, who's this?" Hagrid asked upon seeing Emily perched on Lily's lap.
"Hagrid, this is Emily. Emily, Hagrid. Lily and I found her on the grounds last night," James answered.
"Well, 'ello Emily," he said cheerily. "Treacle fudge?" He held the tray out to her.
"Oh, no thanks, Hagrid, we just had breakfast," Lily said hastily.
"Hey Hagrid, weren't some baby thestrals just born?" asked Sirius eagerly.
Hagrid nodded. "Yep, two girls. Named 'em Shelly an' Amber."
"Aw," said Marlene. "Do you think Professor Kettleburn will show them to us?"
"Well, I hope so," Hagrid answered. "If it was me, I'd'a shown ye a long time ago. Dead useful, them creatures are."
"I always try and give them an apple whenever I see them," said Remus. "They're actually quite friendly."
"What do they look like?" asked Mary. "I can't see them."
James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily all thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe the creature.
"Kind of like the skeleton of a winged horse, but all black," James finally said.
"Some people think ter bad luck," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "Codswallop. A unicorn's more'n a threat than a thestrals."
"You've seen unicorns?" Emily asked curiously.
"Yep, got a nice right herd of 'em in the forest. Find ter hair everywhere."
"Can you show them to me?" asked Emily.
"Come back at twilight one night. Ter more agreeable with me then," Hagrid promised.
They stayed until lunchtime, chatting with Hagrid, until the boys' stomachs started to growl loudly and they returned to the castle.
QK
That night, James, Lily, and Emily bid goodnight to the other Gryffindors and entered the Heads' dorm. Inside, there was a note floating in midair. James took it out of the air and read it.
"'Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, I inserted a room over the bathroom that you share and can be accessed through your closets, in which there is a door at the back. Try not to let Miss Stafford interfere with your studies and Head duties- Professor Dumbledore.' Cool. Do you want to check it out, Emmy?"
She nodded happily and bounded up Lily's stairs. Lily and James followed close behind and Lily opened her closet door. Behind the sparkling emerald green door in the back of the closet was another flight of stairs with butterflies on the walls.
The stairs opened to a dark purple room. A green, purple, and blue rug covered part of the hardwood floor in the middle of the room. There was another staircase opposite Lily's which they assumed led to James' closet. On the right end of the room was a large window and a bed in front of it, with a purple and green patchwork quilt. On one side of the bed was a rocking chair next to a bookcase, filled with children's stories; on the other side was a large dollhouse and a crib for Emily's baby doll. Facing the bed along the opposite wall was a small dresser with a mirror on top, next to a blue toy box that had butterflies on it, matching the ones fluttering on the walls.
Emily's face adorned a bright smile as she took Charlie over to the baby doll crib, tucking her in nicely.
"Do you like it, Emily?" Lily asked, sitting in the rocking chair. James perched on the bench at the end of the bed and they watched Emily flit about the room, inspecting everything.
"Oh, yes!" the small ginger exclaimed, pulling random books off the shelf and abandoning them on the floor as something else across the room caught her eye.
Soon, it looked as if a tornado had hit the room, and James and Lily were watching Emily play with her doll again, completely oblivious to everything else. Lily glanced up at the flower shaped clock and saw that it was eight o' clock.
"Come on, Emily, you need to take a bath," she said, standing up. Emily looked over her shoulder at her.
"Do I have to?" she asked innocently. Lily walked over to her and held out her hand.
"Yes, you do. But you know what we can do with your bath?"
"What?" asked Emily as the girls walked down James' staircase, which was identical to Lily's.
"We can make the water orange!" said Lily enthusiastically. They entered the bathroom and Lily started turning various knobs around the bathtub.
After Emily was washed and in her red ladybug pajamas, James tucked her into bed, Lily watching the pair from the doorway. He turned to leave, but Emily called him back.
"Wait! Can you tell me a story?" James looked into her large hazel eyes and melted. He walked over to the bookcase and looked for a book.
"You too!" Emily commanded Lily, patting the space behind her on the bed. She settled down on the bed and tucked Emily under her arm as they watched James take a book off the shelf.
"Okay," he said, sitting in the rocking chair and propping his feet upon the bed. "This is called 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune.'"
QK
James and Lily tiptoed downstairs and fell on James' bed. James sighed.
"That was a really long story," he stated. Lily looked at him.
"You do know that she fell asleep about two pages in, right?"
"What?" he yelped. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Shh," Lily chided. "You'll wake Emily up. And I wanted to hear the story."
"You've never heard it before?" asked James incredulously.
Lily rolled her eyes. "No, James. Muggleborn, remember?"
He frowned. "Oh, yeah. Where're you going?"
Lily was getting off the bed and heading for the door. "Transfiguration essay. You know, the one McGonagall assigned today while you and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap in the back?"
"So come do it in here," James offered. "I mean, I know how ghastly you are at Transfiguration, and me being a merciful Head Boy and a wonderful best friend, I am inclined to help you."
Lily stuck her tongue out at him and walked away.
"I suppose you're just as terrible at Potions," she said as she returned with her Transfiguration things.
"So- Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. What do you know about it?" Lily lay on her stomach with her hands under her chin and looked at James expectantly.
He stretched out on his back and ran his hand through his hair. "Well… I know that one point is that you can't conjure food out of thin air."
Lily jotted this down and looked back up at him. "Okay. Why?"
"I don't know. Something to do with it not being in the properties of magic or something."
Lily rolled her eyes and opened a text book.
They really meant to do their homework, but two hours later found Lily curled up in James' arms, both fast asleep.
A/N: I am so sorry for the wait, but I sprained my wrist, which makes it difficult to write, and I've had TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) prep for the past few weeks. But I hope this 13 page chapter makes up for it J Remember to review!