Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

—

On the twenty-first of May, Lily rose from bed with a frown, already dreading what the day would bring.

She washed up, struggled into her clothes, and brushed her red hair.

As Lily prepared to face James in court, she sighed to herself.

Dumbledore had been kind enough to order Severus to accompany her to the Ministry under the excuse that her discipline records from her school days had to be delivered by a Hogwarts representative.

Severus was worried that that would be a flimsy reason for his presence, but he had jumped at the chance to support his beloved in her battle against James, and he hoped that Dumbledore's command would allay any suspicion from Voldemort's spies.

Once she was ready, Lily opened the door to the bedroom, dressed in clothes that didn't quite fit her anymore.

When she took a step forward and felt her foot bump into something, she blinked and looked down over her belly.

Lily stared curiously at a large box that had been placed on the stone floor.

Unable to bend down comfortably, she took out her wand, levitated the box off of the floor, into the air, and onto the top of the nearby dresser.

She walked over, undid the bow on the box, and opened the lid.

Lily's green eyes widened at what she saw when she peered down inside….

—

Severus had been waiting on Lily in the living room of his chambers since he had woken at sunrise.

By the time he heard her walk in, he was nearly finished grading the last of the previous week's exams.

Severus glanced up and his mouth instantly went dry as he gazed at his darling.

Lily looked so devastatingly beautiful to Severus as she stood there in the hallway that he could have died right there in his seat.

Her long, red hair was rich, thick, and tousled elegantly over her shoulders, framing her face and highlighting her glowing cheeks, pink lips, and bright, green eyes.

Severus stood up and tried not to lose himself in that lovely, hypnotic, emerald stare.

He wrenched his gaze from Lily's fair face to let his eyes travel briefly over her figure.

The v-neckline of her blue maternity robes alluringly exposed the top of her ample cleavage, which sat proudly above the generous swell of her womb.

Some men would have turned away, but after Severus ignored the fact that it was Potter's child that rested within her, all he saw was beauty, power, and fertility as his black eyes flickered over Lily's curves and the doughy softness of her arms that hung at her sides.

Her hands looked pale and delicate as she laid them over the life that she carried.

"Did you buy all of this for me, Sev?" Lily asked with a happy smile.

"Did I buy…..all of what?" Severus asked as he swallowed painfully.

His mouth was so dry as he stared at Lily that he could scarcely speak.

As Severus stood in front of the beautiful woman he loved, his thoughts were uncoordinated at best.

What…..?

What was she talking about?

Buy what?

…...Something had been….bought?

"My new clothes!" Lily prompted him with a laugh.

"Oh…" Severus replied.

That's right.

Clothes.

People wore clothes, hmm…..and Lily was wearing clothes.

Oh yes!

He had bought-

"Yes, I…..I thought you may have some use for them." Severus replied as he slowly managed to regain a grasp on his rational mind, however feeble, "I estimated your size."

"These are really nice, Sev! You did well! I love them!" Lily said with another grateful smile, "Thank you so much! I've been so sore and achy, it's lovely to have something that fits properly."

Severus swallowed again and felt his tongue scrape against his intolerably parched throat.

Lily was….achy and sore?

Severus would have been more than glad to sit her down on the sofa and help ease her discomfort.

He could rub her back and kiss those pink, plump lips and….

"I suppose we should get going soon?" Lily asked.

"I suppose, but we have enough time for breakfast first. It's important that you have something to eat. You'll need your energy for the day." Severus nodded.

Severus sent for their breakfast and not more than ten minutes later, a few of Hogwarts' house elves knocked on his door.

While Severus and Lily ate their meal side by side, he was completely entranced by Lily as she chatted and laughed with him.

"We should gather supplies, for the child." Severus said at one point as Lily laid a hand on her belly.

"I brought a few things with me, clothes and several sets of cot sheets." Lily replied.

She glimpsed a slight flash of resentment in Severus's gaze as they discussed her unborn baby.

Severus instantly knew Lily had seen the bitterness that he tried to hide and he quickly sought to remind her that despite her baby's paternity, she and her little one were more than welcome in his home.

"We'll still need the cot though, and nappies….and some postpartum items for you." Severus reasoned.

The reality of the situation weighed heavily on them both for a moment and just as Lily had during that first morning in Severus's chambers, she looked over at him sadly.

"I'm frightened, Sev." Lily confessed.

"There's no need to be afraid." Severus reassured his love.

Really, Lily had every reason to be afraid, but as long as Severus was around, he would do everything he could to protect her, from the ills of childbirth, from the clutches of Voldemort, from the schemes of James Potter, and from whatever other trials she encountered.

Severus would see to it that the world failed to harm a single petal on his delicate flower.

As they sat there that morning, it was Severus who felt like crying instead of Lily.

It was a true tragedy, that the baby wasn't his, that Lily wasn't his.

"Sev?" Lily asked, calling him back from his thoughts.

"Yes?" Severus answered urgently.

Lily took a deep breath as she looked at Severus and instead of acting on her more forward impulses, she reached out and took his hand in hers.

Her fingers gently squeezed Severus's palm as she spoke, "Thank you….for the clothes and for having me here and…...for everything! I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"You don't have to repay me, Lily." Severus said honestly as he gazed back at her, already dreading the terrible second when she would let his hand go, leaving him once again deprived of her pleasant touch, "That's what friends are for."

"You've always hated cliches." Lily remarked with a quiet giggle.

"Yes, but this time, it applies rather well." Severus responded as he glanced down at their intertwined hands.

"Sorry!" Lily said as she remembered herself and let go of Severus's hand in mortification.

The frown that imprinted itself on his face at the loss of contact was painful to witness.

As much as Severus wanted to beg Lily to keep touching him, to never stop, to stay there with him forever, after James and Voldemort, and everything else had passed, he couldn't debase himself in her eyes, he couldn't let her think that he was trying to take advantage of her situation or that he was….weak.

As much as Lily wanted to grab Severus's hands again, pull him close, and crush her lips against his, she couldn't degrade herself in his eyes.

She couldn't let Severus think that James was right and she was some kind of….foul tart.

"Shall we…...Shalll we be off then?" Severus asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes…...I guess that we should." Lily agreed with a joyless smile.

—

Severus discreetly escorted Lily out of the castle and down the hill towards Hogsmeade.

Once he and Lily were off of Hogwarts grounds, they traveled together directly to the Ministry of Magic.

Severus kept Lily close to him as they made their way through the bustling throngs of people coming and going down the wide, lacquered halls of wizarding Britain's government headquarters.

Once they made it to the area of the Ministry that contained the courtrooms, Lily checked in at the front desk and registered for her appearance.

The receptionist directed her and Severus towards one of the first doors on the right and they walked towards it together, just as they used to walk to class when they were children.

Severus opened the door for Lily and just before they went in, she cast him one last gaze of fearful hopelessness.

Severus kept his demeanor calm and his expression neutral as he gave Lily a reassuring nod.

It was the same sort of nod that Severus had given Lily years ago, when they had been working on a difficult potions project together.

It was the same sort of nod Severus had given Lily in their early youth whenever she had finished telling him about one of the many arguments she had with Petunia.

It was that same sort of nod from Severus that brought a smile to Lily's face in that moment, as she walked into the Ministry's courtroom, heavily pregnant, to fight James for her baby.

Severus silently followed behind Lily, like a supportive shadow.

The courtroom was already half-filled with spectators and low-ranking government officials, but Severus's eyes immediately fell on…...James.

James Potter glared over at Severus and Lily as he stood by the plaintiff's desk, arrogantly chatting away to a man dressed in a very expensive suit.

Beside that man were two others, also dressed in a similar fashion.

Severus grimaced when he surmised that the flashy trio must belong to the Potters' legal team.

Severus stood unwaveringly next to Lily as James crossed his arms and strutted over to them both while his attorneys whispered to each other where they stood.

Severus remained stoically solemn but Lily looked very apprehensive as James approached them and smirked.

"Morning, Evans." James greeted Lily with a grin as he looked at his wife and made a quick assessment of her figure, "I was right, you are about as big as an elephant now."

Severus clenched his jaw and held his tongue out of respect for Lily, but his grip on the parchments in his hand tightened as his fingers curled into fists.

"The midwife told me there's nothing wrong with my weight, James." Lily calmly retorted.

The sad frown on Lily's lips hurt Severus to see.

James seemed to enjoy the dress that Severus had chosen for Lily and he greedily eyed breasts and smirked, "Tits look nice though…."

"I see mother and father have come, Potter." Severus quipped after his eyes darted behind James to scowl at his enemy's parents, who were sitting close to the attorneys, whispering to each other as they stared over at Lily and Severus.

"That's right, Snivelly. My parents have been very sympathetic about the abuses that I've had to endure." James explained with a huffed sigh.

Severus failed to hold back the loud scoff that left his throat.

….Abuses?

What did James Potter know of abuses?

While they stood there, Lily's back started to ache and she shifted on her feet as she pressed a hand to the side of her belly.

Both James and Severus noticed the subtle action.

Severus let a hand hover over her back worriedly while his brow furrowed in concern.

"Do you need to sit down?" James asked Lily anxiously.

"I'm fine, I want to wait until my lawyer's here." Lily replied. Severus watched her glance around with another frown as she added, "He should be here by now….."

"Peabody?" James asked.

"Yes. You met him at mediation, remember?" Lily replied.

"Just making sure." James sneered, "Has no one told you yet?...He can't make it today."

Severus's jaw dropped.

"W-What…..?" Lily asked in horrified disbelief.

"Peabody can't make it today." James shrugged, "A letter came in a while ago and they notified everyone."

"But….But….." Lily gasped with a worried scowl.

She felt the baby in her womb kick and turn in irritation as her pulse quickened from anxiety.

Severus placed a hand comfortingly on the small of Lily's back.

His mind raced as the presiding judge stepped out from the stone doorway next to the front of the room and sat down in the tall chair.

James and Lily had a private audience with the judge, the Potters had seen to that, and as the upholder of magical law prepared to begin, he looked at James, James' parents, the Potter lawyers, and lastly at Lily, who was still standing next to Severus.

"Mrs. Potter?" The judge asked, "I was informed that your lawyer has failed to appear today. You can choose another representative, including yourself, or the court will appoint one for you."

"I…" Lily gasped as she looked around nervously, "I…"

What should she do?

Lily didn't trust a stranger sitting in the stands of the courtroom to win against James's team.

Lily didn't know the ins and outs of magical law herself, but she decided that she could make an effort at a defense plea, she could-

"I'll be acting as Mrs. Potter's attorney today, your honor." Severus boldly informed the judge, "On orders of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

James narrowed his eyes to slits as he looked at his old rival.

Lily gasped and glanced over at Severus with a look of gratitude and admiration that made him weak in the knees.

"Very well." The judge breathed as he sat down.

James walked back over to the plaintiff's desk as the judge banged his gavel on the podium in front of himself and shouted, "COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!"

Lily sat down but Severus rose up.

He never dreamed that it would happen in a courtroom, but it would certainly be Severus Snape's great pleasure to destroy James Potter at last.