THC, Round 2, Gryffindor, History of Magic (Stand-in), Standard.

Prompt: [Spell] Accio.

WC: 1387

Betas: VeeGrahams; Daryldixonsgirl1985; WhiteTiger91.

Lily felt her heavy eyelids close as she enjoyed the peacefulness of the silence that radiated around her. The minutes after James' friends left were always blissful for her, and this time, her husband had gone out, too.

Bang! The front door opened barely a minute after it had closed and Lily tensed at the sudden sound.

"Sorry, Lils! It's raining," her husband called, followed by an, "Accio Umbrella." The door shut again.

Lily loved James and his friends, but right now, she was struggling to deal with their high energy when she currently had none. All she wanted to do was relax in the evening, not put up with Sirius running around knocking things as he chased Peter, both in their Animagus forms. If they wanted to act like animals, they could do so outside and not make a mess, especially, when Lily wasn't fully capable of clearing it up herself.

As she listened to the soundless room, her hand curled around the freshly made tea. Bringing the hot cup to her lips, she took a deep breath before taking a sip. The hot tea wasn't hot enough to burn but left a warmth down her throat and in her chest.

Unfortunately, this peaceful tranquillity didn't last as long as she wanted. While she was theoretically by herself, the baby in her stomach meant she was never truly alone. Right now, he was kicking on her bladder. The one she had emptied merely an hour ago, but it already felt like it was about to explode.

Now she wished James was here. Getting up at eight months pregnant wasn't an easy task. Her legs tensed as her hands clawed the sides of the chair. She pulled and pushed and manoeuvered herself until she was standing up, a hand holding her stomach that threatened to fall; Lily knew that wasn't possible, but it was just so heavy!

Her legs remained tense under her current weight, and she struggled to move them quickly or stretch them out in front of her like she used to. She still managed to make it to the toilet before an incident occurred. That'd happened once when she'd ignored the urge, and she wasn't about to let that happen again. Losing control over one's body made Lily shudder in memory—it wasn't nice.

Once again, she felt her body relax and her muscles ease as she remained seated on the toilet longer than necessary.

However, fate wasn't in her hands today.

"I'm gonna kill James," she muttered as she looked at the empty toilet holder. With a huff, her eyes slid over the sides to find a single toilet paper roll out of reach.

It was hard enough getting up off the seat in general, but now because of James' actions, she had to do it twice... to wipe? He was so getting hexed.

With a deep breath, she readied herself to stand, the thought of hexing her husband reminding her that she was a witch. Her brain was a mess right now—her friend Marlene had said she had 'baby brain'. She reached for her wand, which was always on her person, and cast a quick accio.

With a triumphant smile, she caught the roll of toilet paper. She would still hex James later, though.

It was only when Lily had decided to retire to bed, that she began to miss the company of James. It was strange how difficult it was to do simple things that she used to take for granted. This was the first time in five weeks that she and James had been apart for so long.

Washing up hadn't been too bad, though. She was still in the habit of washing up the Muggle way—things just appeared cleaner to her. She nearly soaked her stomach from the backsplash and was barely able to reach the sink. A knife had slipped onto the floor, and at the time, in her tired state, she hadn't thought to accio it. So, it remained underneath the dining room table for James to deal with later.

Every time she wanted to stand up, she found the tension in her body built up with the strain. Her weakened and tired stature and her growing heavier every day wasn't a good combination. She had taken James' attentiveness, his realising when she had been struggling and offering to help her up, for granted; Lily couldn't think of a single instance when she had requested his help.

But, he wasn't here now. So, Lily spent the majority of the evening in the same chair, in the living room, reading a book—and falling asleep holding the book. The only times she got out of the chair were to use the bathroom twice, and then when she decided to go to bed.

Undressing wasn't too difficult; she usually lounged around in a dress and slippers. She tossed her dress off, kicked her slippers to one side, and slipped the nightgown over her head. All was good as she settled down in the comfortable double sized bed.

"Nox."

Barely three minutes of silence passed before Lily let out a sigh.

"Lumos."

As tired as she was, with the war raging on outside, she couldn't sleep until James was home. She had forced those thoughts out of her head. Why wasn't he back yet? He never used to stay out until this time, or had he? Did he say when he'd be back? Was he coming back tonight or crashing with Sirius? Was he injured, or caught up in trouble?

The stress built up inside her. Her legs shook with an unsettled feeling as she wiggled uncomfortably. A shudder went up her spine. A cold breeze touched her arms.

Shaking off the feelings, Lily looked for a distraction. After all, James was with all three of his friends; they'd keep him safe. As her mother always said: no news is good news.

"Really, James?" she muttered to herself. "You can clean up the bedroom, but no other room."

Slowly, Lily took a deep breath in and then released it even slower. She had to remain calm. No… she had to distract herself.

"Accio book: The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

The book flew towards her. Dropping her wand onto her lap, she caught the hardback book and instantly flipped open to the page she had been on. Yes, this would distract her nicely until he came home.

Where was she… Ah. At once there came a loud…

Lily paused. She shook her head and then continued. Well, restarted. At once there came a loud clanging and banging in the kitchen.

Another pause from the witch. Did she hear clanging and banging in the kitchen? Or was she taking the words too literally, making her believe she had heard something? Her eyes drifted back to the book, but she simply couldn't shake the unsettled feeling in her stomach that somebody was downstairs. Her right hand took a firm hold of her wand, just in case.

She was just paranoid.

Until she wasn't.

Until she heard another noise, this time, gentle footsteps coming up the stairs.

Logically, she knew it would be James.

But what if it wasn't?

A Death Eater?

Or worse… somebody to tell her that something had happened to James.

A shadow appeared as Lily felt bile rise in her throat. She aimed her wand, a spell on her lips.

The second James came into view, he smirked and raised his arms in defence. "Just me, Lils."

The sick feeling instantly faded as her eyelids felt heavy and her arms lethargic. "James."

He kicked off his shoes and sat on the bed beside her. "Are you okay?"

Rubbing a hand over her stomach, she smiled softly at the kicking of her baby and the concern from her husband. "I'm just tired."

James leant down and dropped a kiss onto her lips as he took her book. "Get some sleep, Lils."

"When you come to bed, I will."

Lily watched as James stood up and stripped to his boxers in a matter of seconds. He disappeared out of the room for half a minute before returning and sliding straight into bed next to her.

They both got comfortable—Lily as comfortable as her stomach would allow.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, my only."

"Nox."