The Houses Competition

House: Slytherin

Class: Herbology

Prompt(s) [Action] Discovering a secret

Word Count: 933

Beta: Hope, Dhrish, Ash

Warning: discussions of abortion

Remus discovers a secret that Lily been keeping.

Christmas Secret

Lily loved Christmas; the bright reds and greens, the sharp smells of peppermint and evergreen trees, the sound of Christmas music in the air. The whole affair was humble, homely. It was the stuff great memories were made of, the kind of memories that kept many warm at night, not to mention the incredible smells that came with cooking a feast. Smells of turkey and mashed potatoes, highlighted by the pumpkin pie that she had just taken out of the oven. Everything smelled so wonderful.

Lily did want everything to be perfect today, with everything that was going on in the magical world, with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as well as the three wizards and witches that disappeared this month. Everyone was in a panic, some even saying that it was the end of the world. Lily just wanted one day to be with her friends and family, in order to pretend that everything was fine and that things weren't going to hell before her eyes.

With those thoughts in mind, Lily mixed up the dried rosemary, sage, garlic, and onion powder with a few other spices before rubbing them on the turkey. Lily couldn't help but to smile to herself; cooking was a lot like potions, especially when you mixed spices together to create something wonderful.

Once Lily was finished with the rub, she started to stuff the turkey with some homemade stuffing she made earlier in the day, before tying the legs together and placing it in the oven.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she grabbed one of the dish clothes and cleaned her hands off before moving onto the cranberry sauce she was planning on making for tonight. It was her grandmother's recipe, a side dish she always looked forward to as a little girl; it was one of the many things she loved about Christmas.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up from what she was doing to see Remus standing just inside the kitchen. "Get out," she ordered. She warned him with a small smile, "I already had to chase Sirius out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon, don't make me do the same thing to you. If you two keep snacking on everything we won't have anything for dinner."

"I'm not here to steal food," Remus spoke as he stepped further into the kitchen and placed a positive pregnancy test onto the kitchen table. "What is that?"

A guilty expression washed over Lily's face as she looked down at the test, the two parallel blue lines hunting her "You were supposed to take the trash out, not go through it."

"I wasn't going through it," Remus defended himself. "The bag broke...Is it true?"

"It's true," Lily confirmed hesitantly. "I was late this month and I got a little worried," she explained.

"Why are you hiding this? Isn't this supposed to be good news? You're pregnant," Remus said excitedly. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

"Keep your voice down, I haven't told James," Lily said harshly before lowering her gaze. "Remus…" Lily was hesitant at first, not sure if she wanted to admit her feelings to Remus. "I don't know if I'm going to keep the baby," she admitted, brokenhearted, unable to stop herself from crying.

Remus didn't say anything, only stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Lily and holding her tight in his embrace.

"I can't help but think…" Lily sobbed. "We are in hiding, I haven't been able to leave the house in months because a madman is out there killing muggle-borns because we are deemed unclean. What kind of world is that for a child to grow up in? I don't want my baby to be afraid of being hunted. I want my baby to have a good life, for them to have friends and go to Hogwarts, and I don't know if that's possible at the moment," Lily explained. "Wouldn't it be kinder, wouldn't it be merciful...I can't help but to think that my child would be better off not being born into this world."

"I know it's scary, I know that things seem hopeless at the moment, but we can't let fear consume us because if we do, then he wins. I know you are trying to save James's feelings from being hurt, but you have to put your trust in him," Remus said softly.

Lily shook her head into Remus's shoulder as she cried harder. "I can't put this on James...he wants a child...I can't do this to him." Lily weeped.

"I can't imagine how scared you must be feeling right now, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But I am going to be here for you whatever you decide, and if you decide to have this baby, then I will be there for them too." Remus consoled Lily.

"I'm just afraid."

"It's okay to be afraid, but we can't let fear win. After all, we are Gryffindors. Courage isn't not being afraid; it's being afraid but still doing it anyways. Isn't that what you told me?" Remus said with a small smile. "This child would have all of us standing by it, just like we stand by each other. We have to have hope that tomorrow will be a better day."

Lily nodded before pulling away from Remus, bringing her hand up and clearing the tears away as she gave Remus a small smile. "I'll talk to James...and I will think about what you said," Lily said just above a whisper.

Remus nodded before bringing Lily in for another hug. "We are all here for you, Lily."