Just a Twinkle

*A/N: This is a little story I started a long time ago and subsequently forgot about. I’m finishing because I am bored and realized how annoying it is to leave a fic unfinished. Hope its ok, I’ve gone back and tried to fix any mistakes I could and added on to places where I had blatantly been lazy before. Please read and review.*

*Disclaimer: Per usual, I don’t own this, not that creative…..*

*Just a Twinkle*

“Jaaaammes….” Lily moaned as she was ravaged by the effects of the powerful climax that was rippling through her. She was completely incapacitated, fixated in the bliss of the sensations that had taken over her. James was also in the throws of a powerful climax, which only intensified by the seductive and needing moan of his wife under him.

After the sensations left them, neither was able to move. They were completely exhausted; any extraneous movement seemed harder than usual. With great effort, James rolled to the side of his wife and quickly fell asleep. Lily, taking one last glance at her sleeping husband, smiled before following suit and drifting off to sleep.

*~*~* Four weeks later*~*~*

“You’re WHAT?” James said excitedly. He wasn’t sure, but he believed that his wife, his gorgeous wife, had just told him that they were expecting their first child.

“Pregnant, James, we’re going be parents. You and I are going to be parents. Can you believe it?” Lily said, excitedly.

She had found out earlier that day after going to the healer. She had been feeling ill for the past couple of weeks and wanted to be checked out. When none of the tests showed any kind of malady, the healer had one last test to run and when she did, the results came back positive. The reason Lily had felt so ill for the past few weeks was because she was a month pregnant with her first child.

“I can’t believe this! I am so…so…excited. And that doesn’t even explain half of what I am feeling right now!” James gushed, reaching out for his wife, who had become so much more beautiful to him in the past ten minutes than anything else he had ever seen. Putting his head to his wife’s still flat abdomen, he whispered softly into her, “I don’t know if you can hear this or not, but I want you to know, even now, how much we love you and can’t wait to meet you. We just love you so much.”

Lily began to tear up, but was soon consumed by a completely different sensation – nausea. She bolted from James, who was still leaning up against her, causing him to almost fall on the floor, and ran for the bathroom. James, bewildered, soon felt the importance of the announcement sink in. He knew that the next few months were not going to be easy for Lily or for him as well.

As he usually did before all of his Quidditch matches and anything tough he had to face, he said a silent prayer to his grandmother. He knew she could hear him and would help in any way she could.

“Help me out here, Grandma. Help me help Lily as best as I can. Help me be a good father to this baby. I need your help. I love them both so much.”

Thanking her in his head, he got up and made his way to the bathroom door.

“Honey, are you ok? Do you want me to get you something?” he asked, concerned.

“No, I’ll be ok. Just give me a minute or two, could you? I’ll be right out.” Lily said. She hated being sick. All she ever wanted when she was sick like this was her mother. Yet, she knew that she was the one going to be the mother and being sick like this would pass. “It still sucks for right now.” She thought in her head. Washing her face for one last time, she opened the door and went to find James.

She found him in the spare room, just down the hall from their own. He was staring at the blank walls intently, as if he were painting in his head, planning all the colors and borders, trying to make it perfect. Wrapping her arm around his middle, she leaned her head on his shoulder.
“What are you thinking?” she asked him softly.
“Oh, just about all the memories that are going to be made in this room. The good ones and the not-so good ones. We’re going to change diapers in here, read stories in here, pull all-nighters in here, and sing lullabies in here, all the things that our parents did for us, even though we didn’t know it.” He responded dreamily. There was a dopey smile on his face that made Lily love him even more than she could have imagined.

“I know what you mean. I never expected this feeling of absolute unconditional love. It’s almost overwhelming, the idea that we are going to be the parenting, rather than just the parented. This little child will depend on us and only us, and for some reason, that is the most amazing feeling in the world. To be honest, I am just a little afraid, what happens if we screw up? It won’t just affect us, but our child as well. That is truly terrifying.” Lily told him. She felt him pull her a little closer to him as he kissed the top of her head and said,

“What was that line from Shakespeare? Oh yeah, ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ I guess that’s what we’re going to find out. I hope that we remember all these things we’ve said when he or she is a teenager and driving us up a wall!”

Lily had to laugh. James always came up with something humorous to say, even in the most serious of times. Sometimes it was annoying, but then again, sometimes it was just the right thing to say.

“We’re gonna be parents. Still can’t believe it.” He said, breathlessly.

Lily’s eyes grew big and she tensed. How could she have forgotten?

“What’s wrong” asked James, noticing his wife’s sudden tension.

“Just that. I forgot to call my parents.” Lily said. “I have to go do that, James. They will never forgive me if I just sprung it on them” She rushed out of the room and down the stair to call her parents - leaving James bewildered and alone.

*A/N: Well, there it is. The first chapter. Sorry it’s short, but as some chapters usually do, it wrote itself. Please read and review!!!*

*A/N: Please take the time to read and review. Most of the story is the same as before, but I really do appreciate any comments! Please remember – Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean. That would be lovely, thanks!*

*Disclaimer: I don’t own this, well, the plot, but NOT the characters….*

*Just a Twinkle*

“Hi Lily! I’m home!” James exclaimed as he walked through the door. “Lily? Sweetie, I’m home!” he repeated when he got no answer. Figuring she must be taking a nap, which she did more and more often these days, he went up to their bedroom to change out of his robes.

James had given up his job at the Ministry when he learned of the incoming baby. He feared something would happen to him or his family if he stayed on, working as an auror. When he owled Professor Dumbledore asking for a job, he was quickly hired as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The job allowed him time at home with Lily, and the ability to keep his skills up, in case a return to the Ministry ever arose.

“Well, it was nice of you to say hello to me when you came home!” Lily sneered, as she walked into the bedroom, where her husband was changing.

“Lily, I did! Twice, actually!” James retorted. He was getting used to Lily’s mood swings and hormone dips, but today was one day that he really could not deal with it. His day at Hogwarts was horrible, and to come home to a bitchy wife, was something he didn’t really welcome with open arms.

“No, you didn’t. I didn’t hear you. I’m not deaf, you know. I would have heard you.” Lily berated. The constant ebb and flow of hormones was sending her on the mood rollercoaster of her life. Every other minute was another mood. She was on the verge of tears one minute, and ready to knock out some teeth, the next.

“Sweetie, listen, I did, ok? I really don’t want to argue about this.” James said. He was tired of arguing over something that was so minute and stupid. He just wanted to take a long, hot shower and wash away the stresses of the world.

“James, I am not arguing. I just would like you to say hello to me when you come home!” Lily exclaimed.

“Ok, Lily, it won’t happen again” James said with a roll of his eyes, and mumbling an “Excuse me”, walked from the bedroom to the bathroom, where he shut the door behind him, shutting out his horrible day and still steaming wife.

*~*~* Later that Evening*~*~*

“I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier.” Lily apologized to James, as they got ready for bed. The mood swings were coming and going so fast these days, that sometimes she couldn’t control their effects before someone got caught in the mix.

“It’s alright.” James replied. “I knew it wasn’t your fault. I just had a horrible day and coming home to that made me snap a little. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings too.” James knew the power the hormones had over Lily, and he was trying to deal with them as best he can. Remembering that in only a few short months, he’d be a daddy, kept him from completely losing his grip.

“Remus called today.” Lily announced, eager to get off the subject. “He said he’d be in town for a meeting later on in the week and wondered if we’d like to go to dinner with him on Friday evening. I said that I would ask you and call him back. Will you be free?”

“ I don’t think I have anything planned, so that would be fine.” James answered, crawling into bed, beside his wife. “Wow, we haven’t heard from him in, what? Two, three months? Did you tell him about the baby?” James asked.

“No.” Lily giggled. “I figured I would surprise him.” She knew that Remus would more than likely notice something askew, but not say anything out of sheer chivalry.

James rolled his eyes, knowing his friend. However, Lily wasn’t really showing yet. She was only two months along. The only true signs of her pregnancy was her aversion to any alcohol and the maternal glow that shined from her.

“Goodnight, sweetheart” Lily whispered, rolling over and kissing her husband softly. “Sleep well and think of me!” She said with a giggle and flipped over onto her side and quickly fell asleep. James smiled, shut off the light and fell asleep.

*~*~*

The next two days fell away quickly, both James and Lily worked incessantly, both looking forward to their evening with Remus with great anticipation.

“James!” Lily called from the bedroom.

“Whaa?” James answered, peeking his head out from inside the bathroom. He had volunteered to teach last period Quidditch lessons and was still picking grass out of his ears after one of the bludgers plummeted into the soft, rain saturated ground, covering him with both grass and mud.

“Are you almost done in there?” Lily demanded. “I roomed with girls that took less time than you!” She was getting inpatient. She had rushed home early to take a shower, only to find her sweaty, muddy husband getting undressed and heading for HER shower.

“Yeah, Yeah, I am going. Blame the idiot who couldn’t slow the bludger down. I’ll be out in just a second.” James called from the bathroom, he had moved onto shaving and was just finishing behind his right ear. Washing off the excess shaving cream, he walked out of the bathroom, wearing just a towel. Bending slightly, he extended his right arm out and said, most elegantly, “It’s all yours.”

“WOO!” Lily screeched, bursting past her husband and slammed the door.

“YOU’RE WELCOME!!!” James hollered from the bedroom, but Lily couldn’t hear him, she was already in the shower.

*~*~*

Two hours after the bathroom power struggle, Lily, James and Remus were all seated comfortably at a local eatery. They were catching up all on that had happened in the past couple of months, all, that is, except for the news of the baby. There hadn’t been a good time to announce it, so it would be revealed in its due time.

“If you two handsome gentlemen don’t mind, I am going to go check out the facilities.” Lily said, getting up and pushing her chair in. After checking the location of the restrooms with their waitress, she made her way in their direction.

“Prongs, I have a question. I didn’t want to ask in fear of offending Lily, but is she alright? There is something off with her. She is just as bubbly, but there is something off.” Remus said concerned.

James smiled at his friend. “She knew you’d notice and would be just too polite to ask. She’s pregnant, Moony. She’s about two months along. Don’t let on that I told you, let her tell you.” He said quickly, noticing Lily making her way back to their table.

“ So, how’s the life and times of Mrs. Lillian Potter going?” Remus asked, casually taking a sip from his wine glass. “Anything interesting?”

Lily rolled her eyes, she knew James had told him. “Well, yes, Remus, there is something interesting, I am sure James has filled you in already, but we will be expecting a baby in mid July.” She said with a blush.

“You know him too well.” Remus said “Congratulations to you both!” Grabbing his wine glass, he stood up and called for everyone’s attention. “EXCUSE ME, EVERYONE! SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION. I WOULD JUST LIKE YOU ALL TO RAISE YOUR GLASSES TO MY FRIENDS, LILY AND JAMES, IN CONGRATULATIONS ON THE EXPECTANT ARRIVAL OF THEIR FIRST CHILD!” A resounding “TO LILY AND JAMES!” resounded around the restaurant, echoing the complete mortification of both Potters.

“REMUS!” They both hissed as he took his seat again.

“What?” Remus asked, innocently. He gave the face that James had seen his friend, Sirius, give far too many times to count. Laughing, they continued with their meals.

When the meal was over, they all hugged goodbye.

“You had better come visit us this summer or you and I will have problems.” Lily warned.

“Uh oh. Wouldn’t want to do that.” Remus joked, hugging her, “You know that thirty hippogriffs couldn’t keep me away.”

*~*~*

A few weeks later, the entire wizarding world was alive with Christmastime cheer. There were Christmas trees going up everywhere and Hogwarts students were eagerly finishing their schoolwork so they could pack and go home for the month long holiday.

James, unbeknownst to Lily, had been working on a little surprise of his own. With the help of his house elf friends from Hogwarts, Moppy and Twinkle, he had been secretly decorating the spare room into a functional nursery for Lily. He had painted all the walls in Gryffindor colors. The main color was a brilliant ruby color, with gold stripes, running horizontally along the top of the walls. When Twinkle had mentioned how much the room looked like the Gryffindor common room, James put little lion cubs all over the walls. They were enchanted to roll around and play when ever anyone was in the room. Moppy thought it looked cute, and so it was done. The floor was covered in a lush, ruby carpet. He hadn’t chosen any furniture because Lily would have killed him for doing it without her. Keeping the room a secret had proven difficult, because he needed to find time when Lily wasn’t home that he could work on it. With permission from Professor Dumbledore, he would apparate home during meals and work on it. Though not much time, he got it all done with time to spare. To completely assure that it would stay a secret, James put a special concealing spell on the room, so when Lily looked at it, it appeared to be exactly as it always was, bare walled and bare floored.

Lily had been rushing around, trying to find things for James. She loved Christmas, but with the baby, she was behind on her shopping. She didn’t have the energy to do the all day shopping marathons she had been able to do the years previous. She was determined to make a basket of everything a new father would need. The men she worked with had given her ideas, as well as her own father and her father-in-law. So far, the only things she had, were three bags of coffee, appropriately entitled “New Fathers blend”, a silver flask of firewhiskey with James’ initials on it, and a “Sleep? Who needs sleep?” t-shirt. She knew she would find more, but was stressing about it in the meantime.

*~*~* Christmas Eve*~*~*

“I knew we’d have enough ornaments.” James said triumphantly, placing the star on the top of the tree. He and Lily had fulfilled their yearly tradition of decorating their tree. They would do all of their Christmas stuff early and then would enjoy the company of Sirius, Remus, Lily’s friend Jane, and James’ parents. In the morning, they would go to Lily’s parents’ house and suffer through the day with her sister, Petunia, Petunia’s husband, Vernon, and their piglet of a child, Dudley, who was only a couple of months old. Yet, they loved it. They loved it all.

“Ok, GIFT TIME!” Lily announced, carrying out her bundle of presents for James.

“Hold on, let me get mine!” James said, running to the hall closet where he had been hiding all his. He knew Lily would look in his bedroom closet, but the hall closet was a completely different matter. He kept his Quidditch stuff in there, things Lily feared most.

After all the wrapping paper had been ripped off, and all praises sung, James thought it time to divulge his secret to Lily.

“Ok, I have one more. But you need to close your eyes.” James said, grabbing Lily’s hands and pulling her to her feet.

“OOOH! What is it?” Lily squealed. She loved, but hated, surprises. Willingly following James up the stairs, she wondered what it was.

Getting to the spare room, James opened the door and told Lily to open her eyes. She looked at him confused.

“Revealhomora” James said, confidently, and the room quickly transformed into the painted finished room he had worked so hard on.

“Oh James…” Lily gasped as she walked into the room.

“Do you like it? Is it ok? I am going to let you pick out the furniture.” James gushed. He was so excited about the room he could hardly speak straight.
Lily was speechless. She loved it, it was perfect. She couldn’t explain how much she loved it to James, so instead she did the only thing she could. Reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a deep kiss. A kiss full of love and gratitude.

Breaking from the kiss, Lily hugged him and placed her head on his shoulder. Silently, they stood in the room, no words needed.

*~*~*

“Ugh, James. Let’s just go back to the bus stop. I don’t want to face these people. Sure they’re family, but some families don’t spend time together. They send a Christmas card with those big long essays about how little Johnny got his license, apparition or otherwise, how little Susie graduated top of her class, or how the dog was hurt in some unfortunate accident. Boring stuff which you end up writing random notes on or putting your tea cup on. That’s what I want – not condescension filled, hostility laced pleasantries!” Lily spewed out in a breathy screech as she and James walked towards her mother’s house. Her speech had caused her face to get red and her hands to flail.

“Lily. LILY! Calm down. You’re depriving oxygen to the baby. Listen, we have to at least try to get them involved. I mean, we’re having a baby and he or she will should at least know who they are! It’s not going to be fun – I know this. They hate magic and me as a result, but just think about all the fun we had with Sirius, Remus, Jane, and my parents last night. They are our real family – the ones who love us and our baby without any prejudice. But we should still involve them, or at least try to as much as they want us to.” James said, trying to calm down his wife. He knew how much her family upset her, but somewhere deep down, he hoped that they would accept them as they were and loved them like his family did.

Lily shook her head, but smiled when she thought of last night. She and James had arrived at his parent’s house to music, laughter and the smell of James’ mother Ellen’s famous pumpkin pie. Sirius was there, subtly charming Ellen and Jane at every point he got. Remus was there, but didn’t stay long as the full moon was two days away and he got fatigued easily. They had eaten a feast reminiscent of the Great Feast at Hogwarts and all sat down to open presents. Sirius gave everyone a bottle of Firewhiskey to which he told Lily was to be put in the baby’s bottle when he or she wouldn’t sleep. Lily threw a candy cane at his head. Remus had given James a gift voucher to the new Quidditch store in Diagon Alley and Lily a voucher to the book store. Ellen and Harold gave Lily a beautiful necklace especially made for new mothers and James some new robes with his initials delicately embroidered on them. After, Lily and Ellen cleaned up, James and Sirius played a game of Wizard Chess and Harold read the newspaper. They said their good byes and each filtered out one by one. James and Lily left last with hugs goodbye and head home happy.

Taking a deep breath, they walked up the steps of Lily’s parent’s house. Ringing the doorbell, James took Lily’s hand. They heard laughter coming towards the door and as it opened, they saw Lily’s sister, Petunia, was the one opening it. Upon seeing them, the smile on her face fell and a soft, but indignant “Oh. You” escaped her lips. Regaining a cheesy smile, she ushered them in.
“Look everyone! It’s my sister Lily and her...uh…husband!” she announced to the crowd. Everyone looked. A few people genuinely smiled, but most looked in their general direction and waved. Lily and James walked into the house, no one bothering to take their coats, and looked for Lily’s parents. Upon seeing her mother in the kitchen, Lily made her way to her. James had taken Lily’s coat and held his as well.

“Happy Christmas, Mum!” Lily said as cheerfully as she possibly could. She was trying not to be so uncomfortable around her own family.

“Oh. Same to you too, dear. And to you as well, John.” Mrs. Evans said, placing cheese cubes on a platter and not looking up at her youngest daughter and her husband. Lily slightly leaned into James and looked him in the eye as to say “I’m so sorry for this.” James knew this was upsetting her and was angering him, but he was steadfast in wanting them to be part of their child’s life in whatever capacity that was.

Taking the initiative, James walked over to Lily’s father Richard and wished him a Happy Christmas. Richard looked up at him, smiled and shook his hand. Looking over to Lily, he gave her a hug. Of Lily’s family, Richard had always been the one who tolerated her magical abilities and her marriage to James the best. Lily handed him the gift they had bought for them – a new teapot to replace the one Lily’s mum had gone on and on about breaking when Lily called last week. Richard looked at it and Lily assured him it was perfectly magic free.

Walking away from her father, Lily walked back into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Petunia was standing there, refilling some champagne flutes in the sink.

“Pregnant, huh. Do you know what you’re having yet?” Petunia asked, a thin veil of care delicately draping over her condescension. Lily shook her head to the negative and told her that they hadn’t figured out if they wanted to find out or if they just wanted to be surprised.

“So you can tell after a certain amount of time, like a normal baby? You don’t cast a spell or something on it to decide if it’s a boy or girl?” Petunia had tired of attempting to care and was now just as condescending as normal.

“No, Petunia. My child is just as normal as every other baby. He or she develops just like any other child in the womb would. They might even be born without magical abilities. Spells have nothing to do with it.” Lily said through clenched teeth. She could stand her family’s hostility to her or even to James. After all, they could defend themselves. However, the baby couldn’t and Lily was determined to fight on its behalf.

“Normal…right.” Petunia replied with a roll of her eyes. Picking up the now filled flutes, she left the kitchen and Lily fuming. She looked at the clock. They’d been there for two hours and she was already ready to leave. Looking for James, she found him sitting on the couch, picking little bits off the napkin he’d taken.She walked over, sat next to him and put her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead in a vague attempt to comfort her.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked him. Looking down at her, he nodded and got up to find their coats. Lily walked over to her father and told him that they were going to head home because she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to be a burden. Richard asked if she wanted to take a plate of food with her. She politely declined and gave him a hug. He gave her a little squeeze as a small apology and gave her a weak smile. James had rejoined them, shaking Richard’s hand, he helped Lily put her coat back on.

They slipped out the door without anyone noticing and silently walked back to the bus stop. The whole ride home was silent too. Lily was too angry to speak and was afraid that her anger in combination with the hormones would cause her to hand James his head. James knew she was angry as her ears always went bright red when she got angry. He didn’t want to infuriate her further by making some stupid banter about the weather or something.

Finally getting home, Lily hung up her coat and walked over to James. Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a hug. “Thank you for doing that with me and not asking any questions when I wanted to leave” she mumbled into his sweater. James kissed and stroked the top of her head.

Breaking away, Lily looked up at him. “I am going to make us our own Christmas Day meal” she said, walking into the kitchen. She’d decided that she was going to make James’ favorite, a pot pie. Taking the left over turkey that Ellen had wrapped for them and pulling out a few vegetables. She prepared the filling for the pie and made a simple crust to go on top. An hour later, everything was ready. She and James ate and cleaned up, just as they always did. Walking over, they turned on the little black and white TV that they owned and watched a Christmas film on TV.

That night, as she lay in bed, she rolled over to James. “I know you want my family to be involved with the baby. But I don’t want the baby to be involved with them. I want this baby to know it’s always loved – no matter who is around. We can mention my family, but from now on, we will not see them anymore.” Rolling back over onto her side, she heard James mumble back – “Ok. Love you.” Smiling, Lily fell asleep.

*A/N: Ok, so I added on to this chapter and I hope its ok. Please to remember to read and review. Thanks!! :o) *

*A/N: Ok. So, this little thing has been a nightly process. I’m still in “university” mode and am awake til 1-2 in the morning and don’t wanna wake the parents by watching TV. I usually reread my work a million times, but please forgive any mistakes! Thanks and please read and review!*

*Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!*

*Just a Twinkle*

“Ughhh!” Lily groaned as she rolled out of bed. Her back hurt and she had hardly gotten any sleep. She was finding it harder and harder to get a good night's sleep recently. Every which way she turned, something hurt or she couldn't breathe. She was trying to be as normal as possible, but she didn't know how long her act would hold anymore. She'd called her mother to ask how to remedy the problem, but all she got was a subtle and not so gentle “Suck it up and deal. Every woman goes through it.” She knew her mother had never been a very accepting person, and still refused to accept that her daughter was a witch and married to a wizard. However, even after the fiasco at Christmas, Lily hoped that the idea that her daughter was having a baby would smooth things over. Unfortunately, it had only caused the rift between Lily and her family to grow even bigger. This baby dashed any hopes they had had that she would “see the light,” leave James, come home and be normal. It caused Lily great pain every time she thought about it, but she never felt alone. She had James and the Potter family. James' mother had become one of Lily's greatest confidantes, and in a sense, her second mother, so Lily knew she could ask her anything.

Picking up the pen next to her, she scratched a little note to her mother-in-law. She tied the note to their owl, Churchill, and petting his head, told him to go to the Potters. The bird cooed softly and flew away obediently. Lily smiled as she watched him leave. She remembered the story behind Churchill. He had been born in the Hogwarts owlery. No one noticed he was there, not even the other owls, until James went up there to send a note one day. James picked him up and brought him back to the Head room. Lily was there studying when she saw James walk in with the little bird. He was tiny, jet black, and quite malnourished. That bird became their project. They brought him to all their classes, under a silence spell, of course, and basically babied him until he was old enough to take care of himself. When it came to a name for him, James knew exactly what he wanted to call him. “Churchill, because I read a book on that Muggle diplomat once and like the name!” he had exclaimed. The name stuck, and Churchill had been with them ever since.

Lily's nostalgic moment was interrupted by a flutter of jet black feathers on the window sill. Churchill had returned with a note tied to his leg. Lily recognized the lettering on the note to be that of her mother-in-law and eagerly grasped the note, ripping it open with the ferocity of a small child on Christmas present. When finally she opened it, she read it quickly.
Lily,

It's nice to know that you two are still alive. Send an owl once in a while, alright? Anyway, about the lack of sleep, there isn't much in the way of advice that I can give you. It's one of the hardest things to come with pregnancy. I figure it's a precursor to the actual child when, instead of getting only a little sleep, you get NONE at all. However, that won't happen to my grandchild. He'll be perfectly behaved and sleep 12 hours a night. Maybe it's a grandmother's wishful thinking, but he'll be a good kid, I know it. Anyway, must be off. I'm trying valiantly to defend a freshly baked pie from the pastry pillager commonly called Mr. Potter. Wish me luck as it's going to be an epic battle! Owl me if you and Jamie are free on Saturday evening for dinner! Love you!

Ellen

Lily smiled. “Oh, how I love my in-laws” she said, scratching Churchill on the head “She's right; he will be a good kid. I promise that.” They had found out two weeks prior that they would be expecting a baby boy in mid-July. James was ecstatic and had set about to make the new nursery a little boy haven. Lily had picked out all the furniture by then; though there seemed like little left to do, James kept finding little things to make it more boyish. All Lily could do was laugh; her husband was like a kid in a candy store when it came to his son.

Suddenly, a large brown owl made her way onto the window sill. Lily knew that the bird, Minerva, named after the famed Professor McGonagle, was James' best friend, Sirius Black's owl. A note, quickly scribbled, basically asked if the couple was free on Friday to have dinner with him at a new restaurant in Diagon Alley. Lily wrote quickly that she didn't foresee any conflicts, but would let him know if something came up later on week. Tying the note to Minerva's leg, she sent her off and made her way to the bathroom to ready herself for the day.

~*~*~* Later that week~*~*~

“That's it! I believe that I am the most despised professor at Hogwarts!” James stated smugly, as he walked into the bedroom. “I gave a pop exam this afternoon, and not a single student told me to have a nice afternoon after class. It's not like it was a difficult exam! If they did the reading, they would have been fine!” He continued, pulling off his robes and throwing them on the bed.

Lily was propped up on the bed, trying to solve a crossword puzzle. She had gotten a book of them the last time she went to visit her parents and did one each night after work. Looking up at James, she giggled. “You are such a hypocrite! You spent seven years at Hogwarts trying to cause the professors as many headaches as you possibly could and now that you are getting a taste of your own medicine, you can't handle it!” She continued to giggle wildly at the good natured glare that James bestowed in her direction. “Don't forget,” she said between fits of giggles, “we have dinner with Sirius tonight. You'd better go take a shower and wash all the professor-ness off of you before we leave” Putting down her quill and crossword, she got off the bed with great effort. The littlest things were becoming a project these days. Trying her shoes, buttoning her skirts, and pulling up socks all took triple the time they normally took.

“Oh, right.” James said, helping his wife off the bed. Taking her into his arms, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead, grabbed his robes, and walked into the bathroom. Lily looked to the closet despondently. She hated getting dressed and contemplated just going in sweatpants and blaming her appearance on the baby. “I could so get away with it.” She muttered, opening her closet.

*~*~*

Lily and James had made it to the new restaurant/bar, “The Three Broomsticks” with five minutes to spare. Looking around for Sirius, they were greeted with a “LILY! JAMES! OVER HERE!” from across the restaurant.

“Since when did my friends become so loud?” James whispered to Lily as they made their way to the back of the room. Both were, again, completely mortified at being named publicly

“Don't kid yourself. You guys have always been like this!” Lily whispered back in a giggle. James nudged her softly in the side and then took her hand.

“Prongsy boy! How's life?” Sirius said jovially greeting his best friend. Not waiting long enough for an answer, he turned to Lily. “Mother Potter! How is my favorite mother to be?” He asked, reaching across the booth to hug Lily. Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius' nickname for her but answered that she was well.

James got in the booth first and Lily followed. This arrangement had been concocted in the beginning of the pregnancy to accommodate for Lily's frequent trips to the restroom. They chatted for a while, catching up on all the local happenings from Sirius when the waitress came over and took their beverage orders. Sirius ordered a butterbeer while James and Lily both ordered large iced pumpkin juices. Upon realizing that he was the odd man out, he quickly changed his order. The waitress rolled her eyes, but hurried off to fetch the drinks.

“Sirius,” Lily said turning serious suddenly, “James and I…well, we'd like you to be our son's godfather. Would you do that for us?” She looked at him imploringly. She and James had discussed this at length. Lily, truth be told, would have preferred Remus, because of his mellowness. However, in her heart, she knew that if anything ever happened to them, Remus, because of his condition, would never be able to take care of a baby. She loved him, but needed to do the proper thing for her child.

“Me? You want me to be your son's godfather? Are you sure? I mean, I would be glad to, but James…Lily…do you really trust me that much?” Sirius asked. He was, for the first time in his life, completely serious. At this, James took over.

“Yes. We would trust you with our lives if we ever needed to, so it was an easy decision. We know that if, Merlin forbid, something ever happened to us, you would raise this baby as a strong and loving human being. So, yes, my friend, we want you to do it.” He looked intently at his now completely silent best friend.

After a moment of silence, Sirius got up from his seat and extended his hand to James. “There isn't anything I would rather do in the world. I am honored you trust me this much.” After shaking James' hand, he walked to Lily, kissed her cheek and embraced her. She turned her head to him and whispered into his ear “And we love you that much too.”

Sirius looked back at her and smiled. By the time all the emotions had died down, their food had arrived and they continued their meal happily.

*A/N: Ok, so this is the last of the rewritten ones. The next chapter is the new one. Please remember to read and review! Thanks so much!*

*Just a Twinkle*

“‘Jamie, this pram has been in our family forever…’” James jeered, sarcastically recounting his mother’s words as he tried desperately to assemble the antique baby carriage. “No kidding, Mum. By the looks of this sodding thing, it was first created around the time of man’s discovery of the wheel.” He continued to grumble as a bolt flew off and hit him in the head. “Why you bloody bastard of a…” he started to hiss at the half assembled carriage when he was interrupted by his wife calling him from the other room. Immediately, his eyes got big and he began to sweat. In three days, Lily would be one week over due. After a small scare last week, he had been on red alert since then.

“JAMES!” Lily called again. She hated when he disappeared into the nursery like this. She had become so big that she couldn’t even go up the flight of stairs without feeling tired. “This has become highly obnoxious.” She thought, as she tried to pick up a rogue napkin which had fallen from the table. After several minutes, she gave up and resigned herself to thinking that it looked better on the floor anyway.

“Lily? Is everything ok?” James asked after he emerged from the baby’s room. His head was covered in light gray dust from the pram’s cloth cover.

Lily looked at him and giggled. “Yes dear, all is well. Dinner’s ready. Good lord, James, all this stress has caused your hair to go gray. Never fear, sweetheart, I’ll still love you.” With that James gave her an odd look. “Just go look at your head.” Lily chuckled as she turned off one of the burners and dished some spaghetti onto one of the plates from table.

*~*~*

“Ok, so if you need me for anything, just give me a shove. I’ll wake up in a second.” James cautioned as he crawled in to bed. Lily rolled her eyes and hummed an affirmative reply. He had given her the same speech every night before they went to bed. She never realized how much of a worrywart James was until recently. Despite it being slightly annoying, she felt secure with him by her side. She knew that he’d do anything for her. Rolling over, she fell asleep, still smiling

James, however, wasn’t asleep yet. He just laid there and stared at the ceiling. He recalled his Auror training years ago and Mad Eye Moody’s voice hissing “CONSTANT VIGILANCE” resounded through his head. He was afraid to go to sleep, afraid that Lily would try to wake him and he wouldn’t awaken, leaving her for those few minutes, alone and in pain. He was afraid that when the baby came, he’d sleep through his cries. Somehow, he soon found his eyes slowly drifting downwards and within minutes he was asleep - lightly, of course.

*~*~*

When Lily woke the next morning, she awoke to find that it was much later than she usually slept and that James had already left for work. With effort, she managed to get herself out of bed and plodded to the bathroom. “I had better get to the store today and pick up the mattress for the crib. Don’t want my son growing up knowing that for the first night of his life home, he slept in a pram.” Stepping into the shower, she proceeded to lather her hair and let her mind wander to thoughts of what the future would be like for James, the baby and herself. Would they have more children? Would they be happy? Sighing, she rinsed her hair and grabbed the razor. But because of some left over lavender shampoo left on her hands, it slipped and went crashing to the shower floor rather violently. That’s when she noticed the little stream of rust colored water making its way from her foot to the drain. “Must have nicked myself when it fell” she thought and finished her shower.

Not long after, she heard a soft tapping from the window. Getting up, she opened it and found the small brown owl that belonged to her best friend Katie waiting patiently with a note tied to its foot. Tossing her a treat, she untied the letter and read it quickly:

Lils,

Have some free time this afternoon. Lunch? I was thinking Hogsmeade @ 1PM. Let me know.

Love ya lots,

Kate

“Oooh. That sounds good” Lily murmured to the little owl, who hooted a soft, patient reply. Lily quickly scratched out a reply that she would meet her at the Three Broomsticks after she went and picked up the mattress for the baby’s crib. Tying the note securely to the owl’s outstretched leg, she tossed her another treat and watched the little bird eloquently fly off. Looking at the time and realizing that she had very little, she gather her belongings and tried, as quickly as a woman 9 months pregnant can, to leave the house.

*~*~*

She just managed to catch the Knights Bus and was in Diagon Alley in no time flat. Hurriedly, she made her way to Evrard’s Enfant Emporium. “Oh lord, I wish James was here to help me” Lily thought “He’s good with this stuff, freakishly good, but good all the same”

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small man with thick spectacles. “Can I help you, Madame?” He asked with a thick Parisian accent. “I am Etienne Evrard, owner of this fine establishment. What can we do for you today?” He asked as he peered up at her with a helpful interest.

“I need a mattress for a baby’s crib. Here are the measurements” Lily said handing him a slip of paper. She was relieved that she had someone who could help her with this.

“Ahh, mais oui, Madame. Right this way, please.” Monsieur Evrard said as he quickly darted towards the back end of the shop.

Trying desperately to keep in pace with him, or at least in sight of him, Lily floundered after. “I feel like a beached whale attempting to get back to the sea.” she muttered to herself.

“C’est bonne.” Monsieur Evrard exclaimed as he found a mattress that fit the dimensions that Lily had handed him. “Here we are, Madame. This is the best mattress we have. Have you any particular color preference?” He asked, again peering helpfully in Lily’s direction.

“Red, gold, or if possible, a pattern with both colors involved” Lily said quickly. She had noticed the time and was due at the Three Broomsticks in twenty minutes.

“Wonderful choice, Madame” the shopkeeper praised. He took out his wand and muttered a charm which instantly turned the pale mattress into a striped menagerie of red and gold. He noticed the smile that came to Lily’s face when she saw it and knew that it was as it should be.

“Would it be possible to have this delivered to my home around 5 this evening?” Lily asked as she paid the little shopkeeper.

“Of course, Madame. We would be very happy to accommodate you. Please leave, if you will, your name and address for the delivery personnel.” He responded, jovially handing her a slip of paper and her receipt.

Lily scratched out the information and bid the man a kind farewell. Looking at her watch, she had 10 minutes to get to Hogsmeade. “I’ll just make it… I hope” she thought as she dashed as best she could to the nearest Knights Bus stop.

A/N: Ok, I know its short, but the rest is covered in the next chapter. I just thought here would be a good place to stop. I’ve never been good at making things long – it’s been an issue time and time again on papers for university. Please bear with me!