From the playlist:

Till There Was You - The Beatles

Son - Sleeping At last

Ch. 38 - Harry

July 31

Emmeline called out sick from work and had been pacing about the front room on and off for hours now. Humorously, she'd been treading the same exact path: around the coffee table, behind the armchair, through the kitchen, up to the sink where she'd momentarily stare out the window, then back again.

If Remus were here, he would've thought this amusing; but he was still gone. This fourth assignment for Dumbledore had been no less anxiety inducing than the last one. Remus sent her a Patronus whenever he could, but after that frightful ordeal in May, they did not do much to quell her concern. She wouldn't sleep well again until he was home safe.

Marlene, however, did not find the pacing amusing at all. "I am this close to a leg-locker curse Emmie, I swear to Merlin," she snapped from her seat at the kitchen table. "You're driving up my blood pressure."

"Like it wasn't already going to be up today," Emmeline countered, abandoning her course and flopping onto the sofa.

Her anxiety was at a peak. Early that morning, she'd received a Patronus from James letting her know that Lily went into labor. Emmeline had already been over to the house to drop off a small breakfast for them, and James (though nervy out of his mind), assured her that all was going smoothly. Marlene floo'ed over from her parents' shortly after nine, and now, at two in the afternoon, nearly seven hours into Lily's labor, Emmeline was beginning to worry. She wondered if she should drop back in to see how things were going, but at the same time, she did not want to disturb the soon-to-be parents. So, she got back up to pace again instead.

"Sweet Rowena, you'll have marched the distance of the West Highland Way before this is over," Marlene quipped derisively.

"I'm sorry, I'm going mad over here."

"Sirius will let us know when we can go over. Until then, we just have to wait. Patiently."
Emmeline rounded the corner of the armchair and went back to her spot by the window. "Does it normally take this long?"

"I don't know. You'd think with magic, they would've figured out a quicker process for this by now. Can you imagine? Trying to expel something the size of a quaffle from your lady garden for hours?"

Emmeline shuddered at the thought, recalling the physical and emotional trauma that had come with passing something the size of a strawberry. Birthing a quaffle was unfathomable. "...I just hope Lily's alright."

"Ach, Lily's tough as nails, she'll be great. Honestly, I think I'm more worried about James," Marlene chuckled. "Have you ever known James Potter to be patient? If you're going mad from all the waiting, imagine how he is. I hope Lil had the forethought to dope him up on draught of peace."

"I suppose-"

They were interrupted by Sirius, who had just apparated into the entryway. The sudden intrusion startled Emmeline, prompting her to whip out her wand and instinctively lob a stunning spell. Sirius narrowly dodged the blast and stared at her, wide eyed.

"Fucking hell, Em!"

"Sorry!"

Marlene rose from her seat. "In hindsight, you probably shouldn't've-"

"The baby?!" Emmeline blurted impatiently.

"...You do remember that you almost knocked me on my arse just now, don't you?"

Emmeline flung her hands towards him. "Sirius!"

"Lily and the baby are fine! I came to tell you, he's just arrived a little while ago!"

He.

"Are the enchantments still up?"

"I'm about to go put them back in place- where are you going?" Sirius watched with mild amusement as Emmeline dashed past him and ran out the front door without another word. He turned to Marlene. "Did she forget how to disapparate?"

"Let her run," Marlene chided, shuffling past him to chase after Emmeline. "It'll do her some good to get the nerves out!"

Scoffing at the prospect of choosing such a primitive means of transport, Sirius shut the door behind them and began to run too.

Emmeline sprinted all the way to the Potters' cottage. When she reached the door she reared her pace, not wanting to cause a ruckus with a dramatic entrance. Instead, she took a moment to catch her breath, giving Marlene and Sirius the opportunity to catch up to her.

"He's a tiny little thing," Sirius panted. "Small as a mandrake, but far cuter. I don't think I realized how small they were, babies."

Emmeline got a good look at Sirius's face. "Have you been crying?"

"Of course he has, ye big softy," said Marlene, pinching his cheek. He recoiled from her grasp.

"Arsehole."

"Crybaby."

"Okay- protective spells first, flirting later," Emmeline requested impatiently, taking out her wand.

Once they'd run down the list of all the protective enchantments, both Marlene and Emmeline followed Sirius up the stairs. The door to Lily and James's bedroom was slightly ajar, so he knocked lightly before entering. When the midwife opened it and stepped aside, Emmeline got a good look at the new parents.

She'd heard it said that new mothers look radiant. Emmeline did not know how utterly true this statement was until she saw Lily Potter with her baby boy, hardly aware of anyone around her, wholly fixated on the newness of life she held in her hands. Even with her complexion glowing bright crimson and her brow dampened with sweat, she was incandescent. James sat behind her, supporting her exhausted body with his, enshrining the Madonna and child. And just like that, two became three.

When Emmeline entered the room, James looked up at her with a massive, stupid grin, his face still wet with tears. "He's perfect," he gushed adoringly, kissing Lily's head.

Marlene remained glued where she stood, taking in the scene before her. "Oh Lily, you absolute wonder," she breathed, leaning into Sirius's embrace. "You've done it."

Delicately, Emmeline crept towards the bed and sat on the edge so that she could get a better look. Lily had her lips pressed against the infant's forehead, whispering "You are so loved, you are so loved," over and over like a mantra. It wasn't until she felt the new weight on the mattress that Lily really registered Emmeline's presence. She beamed at her.

Resonating James's assessment, Emmeline simply whispered: "He's perfect." She was in awe of him, and could do nothing but stare.

"Told you so," James said proudly.

"We've named him Harry," Lily informed her, gently stroking the top of her baby's head with her thumb.

"It's perfect," Emmeline reiterated. "He looks like a Harry."

"That's what I said too," Sirius concurred from the doorway.

Lily looked back up at Emmeline. "Do you want to hold him?"

Her smile vanished instantly. Emmeline suddenly felt the most unqualified she had ever felt in her life, and did not know what to say. Of course she wanted to hold the baby, but in her mind she was not equipped to take such a precious thing in her arms.

Sirius sat down beside her. "If it makes you feel better, I held him a bit ago and there was no catastrophe, so I think you'll be just fine."

"Except Sirius made my poor son cry," Lily teased him.

"Did not!"

"Then he cried," James added.

"You're both still loopy."

"If you're not gonnae hold him first, I will," Marlene offered, eagerly leaning over Sirius.

"...Alright." Emmeline agreed to take the baby with excited apprehension, holding out her arms as Lily leaned forward to hand her the swaddled bundle.

"Just be sure to support his head and neck," James instructed, repeating the midwife's directions to him like a parrot. Emmeline resisted the urge to poke fun at his newfound fatherly authority.

Goodness, he was small. The weight that was placed in her arms was far less than she had expected. Harry wriggled in opposition to being passed off, but grew more peaceful as Emmeline drew him nearer to her. "Wow," she exhaled aloud without realizing, marveling as he latched onto her index finger with his little hand.

The infant in her arms dredged up a pang of remorse inside of her, and she became misty eyed. "Remus would be absolutely smitten," she convinced herself. Harry merely kicked his small feet in response.

It was then that Emmeline realized just how abundantly impressed she was with Lily Potter. For giving birth, yes; but also for her valor. She'd intrepidly brought this beautiful child into a world that had made Emmeline turn and run when she learned of her own expectancy. Emmeline reached out with her free arm and clasped Lily's hand tightly. "You're extraordinary, do you know that?" she asked, letting her tears flow freely.

Lily smiled graciously and squeezed her friend's hand. "All I know is that I'm glad he's here."

"Godric, I wish your mum and dad could've seen him," Sirius lamented to James.

James drew a shuddering breath, but smiled. "I think they do."

"Canna see the bairn now?" Marlene asked, squeezing herself between Emmeline and Sirius.

Emmeline held Harry up a few inches so that Marlene could get a better look at him.

"Oh," she squealed. "Aren't you just a magnificent wee thing?"

James and Lily looked on lovingly as their friends fawned over their son.

Marlene's bottom lip began to quiver. "...Can I?" she asked, extending her arms towards him. Obliging her, Emmeline gently handed Harry off to Marlene.

"Make sure you support his head-"

"Don't be daft James, everyone knows that," Marlene snapped, overcome with emotion. "Oh, you two made a very nice baby. They're not all this bonnie you know!" she blubbered. Emmeline wiped the tears from Marlene's cheeks before they could plop down onto Harry's forehead.

"We've asked Sirius to be his godfather," James reported, still admiring his son. Marlene just melted into a further puddle of tears.

"Merlin help us, he's doomed," laughed Emmeline.

"Hush," Sirius chided as he leaned over Marlene's shoulder to supervise. Emmeline had not expected Sirius to be so fond of children, and was pleasantly surprised by how he looked down at Harry with such love in his eyes.

"James?" called a meek voice from the doorway.

"It's alright Peter, you can come in," Lily beckoned him.

Strangely, Peter wore an expression as though he were attending a wake rather than the aftermath of a birth. He inched cautiously towards the bed to peek at the newborn in Marlene's grasp, but kept his distance.

"Well?" said James, "He's handsome like his dad, no?"

"...He's quite small."

"Wormtail, have you ever actually seen a baby?" Sirius derided him as if he hadn't said the same thing just minutes before.

"Not this close."

He was hardly close - while Marlene and Emmeline made silly faces at the newborn, Peter stayed away from the group, his hands in his pockets and his eyes daring only skittish glimpses of the baby. Not that he would have otherwise been comfortable with such an intimate situation, but he seemed purposefully detached.

Sirius was far too absorbed with his new title to be privy to this. "I'm the godfather, did you hear? Just like Marlon Brando."

Emmeline lifted her head from the baby and cast a judgmental glare in his direction. "Bloody hell Sirius, I hope not like Marlon Brando. Did you even see that film?"

"No, but the posters were wicked," he replied, which earned an exhausted chuckle from Lily.

The midwife must have interpreted this as a pity laugh. "Alright, baby and his mother need a rest. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to wait downstairs."

Sirius led the throng to the kitchen where there was already champagne waiting to be toasted.

He picked up a glass for himself and raised it high into the air. "To Harry James Potter, a boy who is sure to be very bright, very skilled on the Quidditch pitch, and very, very loved."