A/N: I'll keep this short - thank you for reading, I'm sorry if you don't like it, have a good day and do something that will make you smile or better yet, make someone else smile.

Enjoy!

OCTOBER 1979

THE HOG'S HEAD INN

SEVERUS' P.O.V

Well this is a fantastic way to spend a weekend, spying on Dumbledore at a deteriorating and disgusting bar. The Firewisky smelt cheap and repulsive so I haven't touched it. In any case, the Dark Lord insisted, he seems to think something important is going to happen soon so I've been following Dumbledore around for a while. I suppose being in here is better than being out there, in the cold and the wet. He's meeting with some woman - Sylvia Tawny or something- about a teaching position at Hogwarts.

"Delightful to meet you Sybill… ah yes of course, Divination is certainly intriguing… really? I never knew… I don't think they serve tea here… of course, of course… absolutely, Hogwarts is perfect for that… I was wondering…"

Mindless drivel, why the Dark Lord sees this man as a threat, I really don't know. Has he got nothing better to do with his Saturday evenings than discuss the best place to buy liquorish allsorts? And this Sybill Trelawney, she's an eccentric to say the least. Tea leaves, omens, stars… Dumbledore doesn't seem very impressed, no surprise really, this one's obviously unfit for a teaching position. It's odd; I seem to distinctly remember Dumbledore saying that he was planning on discontinuing Divination.

"Well I think that's all, thank you Sybill, have a pleasant evening…"

Thank Merlin for that, Dumbledore's about to leave and it looks as though she won't be at Hogwarts any time soon. Wait, he's paused and sat back down again. What's wrong with that Trelawney woman? She's suddenly pale and her eyes are glassy. I strain my ears, trying to listen to what she is saying; her voice is raspy and quiet, thus making it difficult to hear anything with clarity.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, borns as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will –"

"Oi, you," the barman marches over to where I'm eavesdropping, "What do you think you're doing?"

He abruptly shows me out. I'm a little dazed. Finally, something of interest! Oh the Dark Lord will be pleased once he hears this… Lily will be safe; I have uncovered something at last. Now, what exactly were her words? The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches but then she said that the Dark Lord will do something. What will he do? Will he die? Will he kill the One? At any rate, it looks as though a child born at the end of July to parents of the Light side will be able to defeat the Dark Lord. This is quite worrying… the prophecy is unfinished. Oh but Dumbledore thinks he's so clever but he's played right into our hands.

LILY'S P.O.V

A WOOD SOMEWHERE IN SCOTLAND

1980

30TH JANUARY (LILY'S 20th BIRTHDAY)

"For the last time, it was a Vereor! I was possessed by something evil – that doesn't make me evil or mentally unstable!"

"Alright, alright," James yelps as I kick him in the shin, "now close your eyes."

"James this is stupid. I hate surprises, especially during a war."

"You'll like this surprise," he assures me.

When I woke up this morning, in my tent, I found that the rest of the Order were gone. We held a meeting here in a different wood to discuss the recent turn of events – more and more wizards and witches are being attacked, tortured and murdered. The Ministry is corrupt with workers under the Imperius curse and now we don't know who's good and who's a Death Eater. There's chaos left right and centre. The Muggle world is in turmoil, the death rates have never been so high and we're as close to finding a way to stop Voldemort as we are to discovering where Sirius left his game of exploding snap.

After a good ten minutes of angry and outraged argument, Albus managed to settle them all. He couldn't solve our problems just yet, we would simply have to be patient, keep studying, keep looking for patterns and if we only had a little faith and fought as hard as we could, we would be victorious. We have love on our side, we are the stronger force.

However, Sturgis Podmore had something to say (no surprise there). He said:

"If we're supposed to be the 'stronger force' then why haven't we got many supporters? Why has he got hundreds on his side? Why are we so Merlin-damned outnumbered? Hmm? If we've got love and the moral high ground or whatever you called it, then why aren't we getting anywhere? People are dying faster than we can recruit them. We're in the same place now as we were a year ago, worse perhaps."

There were murmurings of agreement and indignation from an unsettling number of Order members.

Then Hagrid spoke up.

"That's unfair, if yer don't mind me sayin' so. It ain't our fault people are easily misled," Hagrid said, a determined look in his eye though he kept his glance down, "some people are just afraid and some want a bit o' his power. I don't have any answers but I think whilst we 'aven't got a lot o' supporters, there ain't any other people out there I would rather have fightin' by my side."

We looked around at each other, our differences, failures and fear forgotten for a moment. Hagrid is right, of course. In the middle of all the blood and death, a lot of us - myself included- have forgotten what exactly we're fighting for. We have each other, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a hell of a lot more than Voldemort's got. He doesn't have friends, or love and one day, that weakness will get the better of him. One day, he will vanquish because of it. I just hope that that day comes soon because I don't know how long we can fight for before we fizzle out.

JAMES' P.O.V

The Order meeting was depressing. There were a lot of reports detailing deaths and disasters and not a lot of success. Padfoot's hedgehog encounter has been retold so many times; he's now the punch line of a lot of jokes within the Order. Padfoot is sour and doesn't talk much – which is unusual and slightly unnerving. However, despite the doom and gloom of last night's meeting, today is Lily's 20th birthday!

She wouldn't let me buy her a present, despite my incessant whining so I settled with a small celebration in the woods with all our friends and the Order members. Hagrid made the cake and Dumbledore provided the party hats. I'm leading Lily there now but she's not enthused with the mention of a surprise. I think it may have something to do with the fact that she didn't sleep well last night – probably the hormones, now that Lily is three months pregnant.

"Lily," I whine, "just close your eyes."

"Fine, but if you do something horrible to me, then you will seriously regret it for the rest of the foreseeable future, even if it doesn't sound like a very long future from the way that meeting went."

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up and embrace the surprise."

"It's not for my birthday, is it?" she asks, somewhat reproachfully.

"No, it's for Christmas," I say sarcastically.

"James, I told you, I don't want a birthday present –"

"Open your eyes," I say and she does. I'm surprised she even kept her eyes closed at all but then again, Lily is one of the most trustworthy people I know.

"SURPRISE!" the Order choruses. McGonagall sets off a party popper. I grin and look at Lily, for once in what feels like forever, she's genuinely smiling with happiness – glowing with happiness, even.

"James!" she exclaims, "I can't believe you did this…"

She kisses me hard on the mouth; I feel light-headed and can't think straight for a few moments. She pulls away and goes to talk to some of her friends. I notice Molly and Arthur with the Weasley brood sat down in the glade.

McGonagall, Dumbledore and Hagrid did a brilliant job with the decorations. The glade is lit by candlelight that doesn't get blown out by the wind; the food floats around on trays – a special spell cast by Remus and banners of all colours have been strung in the trees. The party is lively, with dancing and songs (I think Dumbledore may have been a little tipsy, I won't go into detail but it turns out that squirrels and one man bands are not a good idea when next to fire). Lily stands in the middle of it all, her eyes lit up in delight and love. I'd do anything to see that look on her face more often. It's a look that says I've done something right, a look that tells me I've succeeded in making her happy – which is all I've ever wanted, for her to be happy. It doesn't matter to me anymore if she likes Snivellus, has a passion for collecting hideous teapots, can't make a cup of tea correctly (who puts the milk in first?) and has a slight obsession with knitting – she's my Lily and I love her for her quirks and imperfections – and certainly not in spite of them. I suppose that's what love is, knowing that somebody isn't perfect, knowing who they are truly, when they've let their guard down but loving them for it anyway. I know that I'd do anything for her, help her through grief, and give her somebody to lean on, listen to her intently and love her always. The best part is that I know she'd do the same for me.

SEVERUS' P.O.V

5TH JUNE 1980

MALFOY MANOR

Narcissa has just given birth to a boy – Draco Lucius Malfoy. As you can see, we are all thrilled. He has only been alive a few hours and he's spent every waking moment of them crying. I do not envy Narcissa in the slightest. Bellatrix, it turns out, loves babies. Although I do not think it wise to entrust a child into Bellatrix's care. She would probably lose it, or kill it, purposefully or accidentally. Narcissa doesn't seem to mind, she is overjoyed. I have been forced to hold the little slime ball twice, both occasions have been deeply unpleasant. No, I do not think he is cute, he is not adorable - he's an irritating ball of fat and snot. What could possibly be adorable about that?

Narcissa sits down next to me on the sofa, the baby cradled in her arms. He is, at long last, silent and sleeping.

"I'm happy you could come, Severus."

"Thank you for inviting me," I reply curtly.

"You're not still angry with me, are you?"

"Of course not," I say, a little more warmly.

"Good," she sighs with relief, "I hate how we left things. I shouldn't have tried to meddle –"

"Don't worry about it, Narcissa. I was a little too harsh – your help would be welcome, I know you mean well."

"Good. How are things? Lucius mentioned a prophecy –"

"I assure you, everything is quite alright."

"How's Lily?"

"I don't know - I haven't seen her in quite some time."

"Then maybe you should organise something. A trip to the Order, perhaps…"

"I wouldn't want to be too hasty; our last encounter doesn't bring warm emotions to mind."

"Does Dumbledore suspect?"

"Of course he does, he just doesn't know where my loyalties lie – he's taken a gamble with me. I think I have kept him effectively fooled."

"You know Dumbledore; he thinks love is the answer to everything. Find a way to make yourself credible beyond question. What you're doing right now isn't enough to make him trust you."

"I know that, I'm biding my time, leaving hints… he's still considering me for a teaching position. Not in the Defence Against The Dark Arts though, in Potions, would you believe it?"

"I can absolutely believe it, he would be a fool to turn your talent away."

"And yet because he knows that I am a Death Eater, he continues to turn me away. A teaching position at Hogwarts would be invaluable; it's no secret that most of the teachers are part of the Order."

"We'll see soon enough, won't we?"

"Indeed we will."

"You're welcome here any time, Severus. Now that we have Draco, I could use some company from time to time."

"Why? Are you under house arrest?"

"It feels like it. Lucius is just… over protective."

"And so he should be, goodnight Narcissa, goodnight Draco."

JUNE 1980

JAMES' P.O.V

POTTER'S COTTAGE

"Well I can't believe it, our Prongs a dad," Padfoot says.

"The baby's due towards the end of July."

"Have you thought about names?" Moony asks.

"Have we?" I snort, summoning a roll of parchment, "I listed hundreds, hundreds but Lily doesn't like any of them."

"How about Sirius Jr.?"

"Somehow, I don't think so."

"Well what does Lily want?"

"She doesn't know. If it's a girl, then she'll have a flower name to carry on the Evans tradition but other than that…"

"What about an old Wizarding name? Keep it in the family –"

"Lily's already said that she will not name her child Fleamont."

"That would be cruel," Padfoot agrees.

"Technically I get to choose, I won a bet ages ago in Hogwarts – if I could convince her that soul mates were real then I could name our future child."

"Great, just choose a name then and be done with it."

"I want Lily to like it; I thought it would be a nice idea for it to be a Muggle name. My name's a Muggle name so, you know."

"How about Jeff? Or Kevin?"

"I am not naming my child Jeff or Kevin."

"They're Muggle names, aren't they?"

"That is not the point."

"How's Lily?"

"Tired…she should be home soon, she's been at the Longbottoms' new house all morning - she and Alice are both pregnant so they've been seeing a lot of each other recently. She was with Molly all of yesterday, I practically never see her."

"Aren't you excited?" Moony asks.

"I am very excited. I have everything ready, we've been decorating the nursery, and we've got a layette, books, toys…"

"I'm betting it's a boy," Padfoot says.

"I think it's a boy."

"Where's Wormtail? He was supposed to be here an hour ago," Moony says.

"He's usually late; it's nothing to worry about."

24TH JUNE 1980

JAMES' P.O.V

"I've just received a birth announcement."

"Oh?"

Lily eases herself into the chair on the opposite side of the dining table, helping herself to some toast.

"Petunia."

"Petunia?"

"I know. She and that red faced buffoon now have a son – Dudley who was born yesterday."

"That poor child."

Lily grins, her hand moving to her own pregnant belly. She looks down at it fondly and then at me.

"How about the name Harry?" I say.

"Hmm… a form of the name Harold… What does it mean?"

"Home ruler, leader, that kind of thing. I'll understand if you don't like it, I know it's a bit of a popular one but –"

"Harry is perfect."

I smile, relieved. She reaches for my hand over the table and squeezes it gently.

"I really hope this baby isn't born on the 27th July."

"Why?"

"That's the full moon."

"Ah," Lily nods, "I hope so too. I've never actually seen Remus on the day of a full moon."

"You wouldn't want to," I say darkly.

"Not you too. Dumbledore's getting very insistent that I stay in the house, don't do anything, don't help… I'm pregnant, not paralysed."

"But he wants you to be safe and so do I. I don't think it's safe for you to be out there."

"It's never been safe for me to be out there!"

"Lily… you know what I mean. You can't be taking those kinds of risks when you're eight months pregnant."

"I know. I just feel so useless. I know you think Patrols are boring –"

"Boring is an understatement."

"But at least you're doing something! I'm stuck here, at home, with nothing to do but stare into space and worry about seeing my friends' names in the Prophet obituaries."

"What if I got Padfoot to come round tomorrow? Moony as well… Moony's got this week off (full moon on Saturday) and Padfoot's banned from Patrols so maybe they could keep you company."

"No, you don't have to do that. Just forget I said anything," she says, getting up and taking the now empty plates with her.

"Lily," I sigh, following her into the kitchen, "what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, you don't have to do anything," she kisses me, "I was having a selfish moment."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Me? Stuck here all alone with nobody but this child I'm carrying my womb, my record player and my crime novels? I'll be fine. Have a good day."

"I will, you too."

"Hex some Death Eaters for me," she calls after me.

Oh don't you worry Lily, I'll hex those Death Eaters into oblivion.