Living And Loving In Times Of War
Chapter 6: Childbirth
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The following months went by rather calmly, at least, as calm as it can get in the middle of a war.
The spy still wasn't found, though Dumbledore seamed positive it was someone close to Lily and James. This lead to much suspicion as they didn't know who to trust anymore. They couldn't believe any of their friends to turn to Voldemort, but as more information got to Voldemort, they had to face the truth.
In the mean time, Lily's stomach was getting larger and larger, much to the owners chagrin, as she was having increasingly more difficulty getting around. James was spending ever more time ensuring Lily she wasn't ugly and dealing with her mood-swings. He'd learned well to carefully choose his words, as the disaster was still fresh on his mind.
It had been a Friday in March and James had convinced Lily to stay home for a day. He himself had to go to work as it was very hectic at work. He was an Auror, partnered with Sirius. He'd had a disturbing nightmare that seemed very real and that's why he woke up rather worried. In his dream Sirius had been thrown into Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit, though he couldn't remember anymore what the reason was exactly.
As he walked down to the kitchen he heard a sob coming from the bathroom.
Worried, he ran to the bathroom and found Lily sitting in a corner, eyes tearstreaked, red and puffy. He rushed to her side.
"Lily, love, what's wrong?" He asked, wiping a tear away with his thumb, but Lily pulled her face away from his hand. Utterly comfused, he asked. "Lily? What did I do? Please tell me..."
"You think I'm ugly, don't you?" She sobbed.
"What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Then why don't you touch me anymore like you used to? Why do you ignore me? You think I'm fat, don't you?!" Lily cried.
"Lily, hunny, you're not fat! You're just as gorgeous as ever!"
"Liar! I'm a whale!"
Surprisingly fast for a pregnant woman, Lily got up and locked herself into the bedroom.
After he'd recovered from the shock, James followed her and tried to open the door.
"Lily! Please let me in!"
"No, leave me alone!" Came Lily's muffled voice from the bedroom.
"Please let me talk to you, open this door so I can see you!"
"No, I'm ugly!"
"Alohomora." Muttered James, but still the door remained locked.
"You're not ugly Lily, but please let me in, I'm getting later for work!" Immediately after he said it, he knew it was a big, big mistake to say that...
"Then go! Just leave!"
"I'm sorry, Lily! I didn't mean to say that! I would never leave you when you're miserable! I love you!"
A faint click was audible and James pushed the door open.
"How can you love me when I'm so ugly and fat...?"
"I love every part of you, Vixen. And I don't care how you look. You're still as beautiful as ever! How could you be ugly bearing a product of out love? You're gorgeous, believe me!"
"Do you really mean that?" Lily asked turning to him.
"Of course, Vixen!" James said then, wrapping Lily into a hug. Letting her cry on his shoulder.
Eventually, James had decided to take a day off to spend with Lily.
Another month passed and Dumbledore had send another message to Lily and James, telling them to come to Hogwarts. Curious, the two made their way to Hogwarts and when they arrived there, only Frank and Alice Longbottom were present. Alice, like Lily, was six months pregnant by now and the two woman talked animatedly with each other, while James and Frank had a conversation about work. Frank was partnered with Remus as Alice, who was his usual partner wasn't allowed to do so anymore, as he magic was off because of her baby. They quieted when Dumbledore arrived.
"Good morning." Dumbledore greeted. "You're probably wanting to know why I called you here, and why not the rest of the Order."
"Has it got something to do with the spy?" Frank asked.
"Yes and no. The information I'm going to tell you is already partially known to Voldemort, but for him to know the entirety could be very well the downfall of the Light side. Yesterday night, I had a conversation with Sybill Trelawney, concerning a possible position at Hogwarts as Divination teacher..."
"Trelawney? Is she a descendant to the famous Cassandra Trelawney?" Lily asked.
"Yes, she's her great-great-granddaughter. Just when I had decided not to hire her, she made an actual Prophesy, concerning Voldemort."
Dumbledore got up and picked up his Pensieve from a closet. He put his wand to his temple and pulled white string from his head, letting it swirl into the Pensieve. He whirled the substance in the Pensieve with his wand and then a misty figure with a kind of bat-like appearance emerged.
"The One With The Power To Vanquish The Dark Lord Approaches... Born To Those Who Have Thrice Defied Him, Born As The Seventh Month Dies... And The Dark Lord Will Mark Him As An Equal, But He Will Have Power The Dark Lord Knows Not... And Either Must Die At The Hand Of The Other For Neither Can Live While The Other Survives...The One With The Power To Vanquish The Dark Lord Will Be Born As The Seventh Month Dies...."
Nobody spoke after the voice died down.
"So this means...?" James said.
"This means that at the end of July, a child will be born who will have the power to defeat Voldemort. And his of her parents have escaped Voldemort three times. I'm positive it's one of your children that will be the one mentioned in the Prophesy. The four of you have fought him at your wedding, Lily, James, and also at Diagon Alley, with the attack of Gringotts, you four were there. You, Frank and Alice, have also encountered him once in a fight as Aurors. And Lily, James, you will surely remember the happenings of your graduation."
Lily nodded. Not unlike their wedding, Voldemort had managed to get into Hogwarts to attack the graduating students...
"I must urge you not to tell anyone outside of this room, for it is indeed very important information. Not even your closest friends."
The four impending parents nodded solemnly.
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Four three months later, Lily found herself in the Hogwarts infirmary, almost crumpling James' hand in her own as let out a cry of pain, pushing hard.
"I can see the head." Poppy Pomfrey said triumphantly. "The babe's got it's fathers hair! Push, Lily, just one more time!"
"It's almost done, Vixen!" James said with a smile. "Just push, love."
"Easy for you to say!" Lily said through gritted teeth, before summoning her strenght again for the final push.
Soon a clear cry resounded through the infirmary.
"It's a boy." Madam Pomfrey announced.
She then proceeded to show James how to tie off the birthcord with his wand.
Carefully, James took his son from the nurse. He handed the boy who was wrapped in a blanket to the tired mother.
"Look, he's beautiful!" He said proud. "Our son is beautiful!"
"He's got your hair." Lily whispered. The boy silently looked up at his parents, after the first cry he'd been perfectly quiet.
"And he's got your gorgeous eyes." James added.
"He's perfect."
Without them noticing, the nurse had left them alone for a while.
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Half an hour later, James stepped out of the infirmary, a bundle of blankets in his arms. He was immediately swarmed by his friends.
"And?" Sirius asked.
"The baby's perfect!" James said.
"Is it a girl?" Hallie asked.
"It's a boy!" James said proudly, lowering the blanket a bit to show his son.
After everyone had gotten a good look at the boy, everyone looked expectantly at the new father.
James did as if he didn't notice, untill he said: "Oh! You probably wanna know his name!"
Dumbledore, who stood in the back, chuckled. Once a prankster, always a prankster.
"Of course not." Remus said mock-serious. "We're waiting for the little fellow to sprout antlers and a fox' tail!"
Everyone laughed at that.
"Well, if you don't want to know, I'll just go back!" James said, half turning around.
"Just tell it already!" Sirius said.
"Because you ask so nicely then. His name is going to be Harry James Potter!"
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I'm back again, though not I'll certainly won't be updating very frequently, as school's hell this year.
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