A/N: Ooh… for fear of being hunted down for not posting this more quickly… here is chapter six… enjoy it! It is a lot longer (almost 4k words) and maybe it should have been broken up, but it all fits together nicely, so… read, and review! Oooh, I made it under my 12-midnight personally set dead line. And to those of you reviewing, I LOVE YOU!!! Keep it up, and so will I!
Lily grumbled as she put together the nightly spread of whatever she could find in the ice box. Cold chicken, left over from the night's dinner was piled onto a plate with a few pieces of thick toast, buttered and warm. Lily was exhausted and it was evident on her face, but it was part of her duties. She frowned, knowing that though this was her night to do it, she would have to probably take over every night until Mrs. Miner's ankle healed. She liked the old woman, definitely, but that didn't keep her from secretly grumbling her name in silence.
"What took you so long? I am starving," Sirius asked crankily as Lily entered hauling the heavy tray. She glared at him as she placed it by his bedside. The television was on low and he was currently wearing just a pair of shorts.
"It is like three in the morning," Lily told him crossly. "So, I am sorry if I didn't just spring from bed merrily with a smile on my face and a tray ready and waiting."
"Ooh, you are a bit of a moody little night owl, aren't you?" Sirius joked. He laughed at his own joke.
"You know, Sirius, you aren't nearly as funny as you think you are," Lily said as she stood there. Sirius cracked a smile.
"You know, you are supposed to call me Mr. Black," Sirius said. Lily raised an eyebrow at him.
"I gather that you are done with me, sir. May I go now, Mr. Black?" Lily asked scathingly. Sirius smirked at her and patted the bed beside him.
"You ought to come watch the monster movie marathon with me, Lils. Mrs. Miner always does," Sirius said. Lily looked to where he was patting.
"Maybe some other night, Mr. Black. I have to get up in a few hours and get ready for another glorious day of being a servant to you and your chum," Lily said as she crossed her arms. "If there is nothing else, I will be leaving now."
"You know, Lils. James and I both agree we would rather you just call us by our first name. It is less weird," Sirius said sincerely. "I was only joking before."
"Rules are rules, and I thank you for reminding me," Lily said. "Now, may I go?"
"Only if you promise me one thing," Sirius said. Lily looked at him skeptically, her eyebrow rose critically. "You have to give James a breath of a chance."
"Why?" Lily asked despite herself. "He's been pulling pranks on me since our first year."
"Actually, most of those were meant for your little friend, Snape," Sirius said grinning. Lily did not look amused. "Anyways, James really does like you, and he does care about you. He asks you out so much because he is determined that you would like him too, if you gave him a chance."
"I don't want to date him," Lily said. For a moment, the vision of James' naked rear end flashed in her head and heat crept up her neck into her face. Sirius shrugged.
"Just think about it, ok? It would make him very happy," Sirius said.
"I am not in the market of making James Potter very happy, and why am I still standing here discussing this with you?" Lily snapped crankily. She turned and headed toward the door.
"Next time, then. You, me, and perhaps James'll join us. We will stay up all night long watching monster movie marathon, ok?" Sirius said as Lily exited his room. She gave him a little non-committal wave and headed back down to her small living quarters. She stripped back down and pulled her night gown over her head before climbing back into bed. Hopefully, she could get a few solid hours of sleep before she had to get up and start her day.
Lily knew she had been asleep when she heard the tinkling little bell. For a moment, she thought that she might just ignore it. Her sense of duty, though, had her pulling herself out of bed and dressing in a new uniform. She looked at the clock; it was already seven in the morning. She had overslept. She never overslept, but today she had. Grabbing her wand, she shook her head and pulled her hair up. Today was one of those days that she was going to need to use magic, that is if she was to make it through unscathed.
"I am so tired," Lily grumbled at her reflection as she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. She lifted the tray for Baby Potter and Nanny then stacked the one for James and Sirius on top. The weight of the two combined was great but she handled it with ease once she tapped her wand on the trays. Lighter than a feather, she carried them to their prospective owners. Nanny looked thrilled that she would have an entire afternoon of the three year old tornado. Lily resented that she would not.
Lily nodded as she left, to signal that she would return to get the details on how to keep Baby Potter under control while out shopping for a tiny tuxedo. Lily knocked once on James' door before pushing it open. He groaned from his bed, throwing the covers over his head. Lily shook her head and placed his food on the table, spreading out the fair on the wood. She glared at him as he grumbled about it being too early.
"It is after seven," Lily told him as she headed to the large, draped windows. James growled loudly, much like a wild beast.
"Seven, just seven? Wake me this afternoon," James hollered from under his covers. Lily shook her head and pulled back the drapes, letting the early morning sun pour in through the tall windows. He groaned from under his covers in protest.
"You have to get a suit for your parents' charity dinner," Lily told him impatiently. She headed into his bathroom and tapped the faucets with her wand. Perfect temperature water poured from the shower head, filling the bathroom with steam. Lily laid a towel out on the toilet cover and headed back into James' room as Sirius bound in, fully dressed.
"Ooh, thank god it is breakfast time," Sirius said. "I am starved."
"You ate a bucket of chicken four hours ago," Lily said as she walked over to James' bed.
"And about a pound or so of cookies, yes, but I am starving! I am, after all, a growing boy. If you had stayed and watched the marathon with me, you would have been able to make sure that I had eaten more healthily," Sirius said.
"What, without James? Whatever would we have done alone in your room, in your bed in the middle of the night together watching old B-rated monster movies," Lily quipped as she pulled the covers off James' head. She peered down at him, his eyes squinting against the bright morning light. "Can you believe this, James? He wanted me in his bed last night."
"What?" James asked as he began to sit up. He pushed his glasses on his face and looked at Sirius accusingly. "You tried to get her in your bed last night?"
"No, it wasn't like that," Sirius said as he looked at Lily. She had a devilish smile on her face.
"You're right, Sirius. It wasn't. It was this morning, and me half asleep and carrying a heavy tray of cold chicken for him," Lily said. She laughed at James. "Now that you are properly awake, you can go take your shower and eat breakfast. I want to leave her in an hour, no later."
"Wait, he requests you in his bed, and I don't even get a good morning kiss?" James asked as he climbed out of bed, scratching his stomach sleepily.
"Awe, sorry James," Lily said with feigned pity. "I passed out all my good morning kisses to those who were up before seven. Maybe next time?"
"Great," James growled as Lily laughed and headed out the door. Lily headed down to the kitchen to drop off the tray and to get the details she would need from Mrs. Miner. Lily headed out into the garden, shielding her eyes from the sun while she spoke to the woman whose ankle was elevated on a stool.
"You will need to make sure that each boy has two suits, the way they wear the knees out on them, make sure that they go with one of the designers on this list," Mrs. Miner said as she handed the list to Lily. Lily nodded and took the list.
"Yes, ma'am." Lily said.
"Now, you can't go out in your uniform, the idea is to blend in, so you will need to put some regular clothes on, ok?" Mrs. Miner said as she looked at the black garment that really did seem to be a bit snug in the breast region.
"I will wear something decent, don't worry," Lily said quickly as the heat rose to her cheeks. The way that the woman was looking at her made her a bit nervous.
"That's fine, dear," Mrs. Miner said. "Bring me your uniforms, will you? I may be laid up, but at least I can start trying to let them out a bit to give you more breathing room."
"I would appreciate that," Lily said. Lily quickly headed back to her room and pulled off the uniform. She stood in her underwear in front of her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear. She settled on a simple sundress, not wanting to give anyone the wrong idea. She liked the way the simple white looked with her auburn hair. She smiled, and pulled part of her hair back, pinning it to keep it out of her face.
"Ok, here is his bag of snacks, and he takes his nap at two, if you can manage to get him to take a nap," Ms. Joy said practically skipping out the door with a wave. Lily looked down at the little boy with long, wild brown hair and big brown eyes.
"Wait! Ms. Joy! What's his name?" Lily called. The woman was long gone and Lily looked down at the kid.
"What's your name?" Lily asked hopefully. The kid blew a raspberry at her.
"Poop!" He squealed at her. Lily rolled her eyes. Yeah, he was James's cousin for sure. Lily held threw the bag over her shoulder and scooped the little boy up in her arms.
"Ok, Poop," Lily said quietly. "Let's go find James and Sirius."
James and Sirius were dressed and read, their clothes neat for a change. Lily forced her smile into submission. She would not smile at them just because they managed to get their khakis and shirts on without staining or wrinkling them. James decided not to live by that rule and grinned as Lily and Poop (Baby Potter) met them in the drive way.
"Ok, so I was thinking we could take the sports car, but then I remembered we'd have his car seat thingy to deal with, so I guess we are taking the van truck thing," James said as he looked at the choices of cars to choose from. Lily made a face.
"The stores we are heading to are only a couple of blocks away, and it is a nice day out. We should walk. Does he have a stroller or buggy or something?" Lily asked James as she let the boy down. James looked at Sirius for back up.
"You want us to walk?" James asked, clarifying.
"That's correct," Lily said. She smiled this time and looked away disinterested. "That is unless you don't think you can keep up with me and a buggy."
"Oh, I can keep up," James said. Sirius shrugged at him when James looked to him for support.
"Always a fun time to walk with a kid, you know," Sirius said quickly. He smiled devilishly. "But, you have to give us something in return."
"What?" Lily asked as they headed to the garage to find Poop's stroller. It was folded neatly by the door. She looked at them over her shoulder while she buckled Poop into his stroller.
"No, not now. We have to think about it," Sirius said. He saw her look of hesitancy. "Its not going to be anything bad, Lils. Trust me."
"Right, trust you," Lily said. James and Sirius both gave her their most charming smiles ever. "Oh, I am going to be kicking myself for this, but fine."
"Woo-hoo!" James cheered. Sirius laughed.
"We'll determine it later, but for now, lets get going, ok?" Sirius said. The group of four headed down the driveway to the sidewalk and took the sidewalk north into town. James and Sirius let Lily lead, and for a while Lily forgot that they were even behind her.
"I thirsty! I thirsty!" Poop said from his stroller. Lily continued walking, pushing the stroller with one hand while digging in the bag for a sip cup. She found one quickly as the passed the park. "I wanna play!"
"If you behave in the store, we will stop and let you play," Lily promised. The child looked up at her frowning.
"I wanna play now," Poop said.
"Listen here, Poop," Lily said as she kneeled down in front of him. "I know shopping is no fun, but we need to get you a really cool disguise to wear for the party. Then we will get James and Sirius a really cool disguise. Once we are done, we will head back to the park."
"But I want to play now," Poop said.
"And I want to be the most famous witch ever, but things take time," Lily said. She smiled at him. "We will play after we complete our top secret mission."
With that, Lily began pushing the stroller down the street. She continued walking and stopped only at the crosswalk. While she waited for the light, she looked back to find out why Sirius and James were so quiet. They stood there, a few feet back, whispering to each other. Curiosity got the better of her.
"What are you up to?" Lily asked. James looked at her guiltily.
"Nothing," James said. Lily shook her head.
"I doubt that," Lily said. She proceeded to cross the street. Once safely on the other side she looked at them. "What?"
"Did you call him `Poop'?" Sirius asked with a ridiculous grin on his face. Lily laughed.
"Yes. I asked him what his name, and he said it was Poop," Lily said. James laughed.
"His name is Christopher," James said. Lily laughed and looked over the top of the stroller.
"Poop, your name is Christopher. You are such a little devil, aren't you? Must be the Potter gene that Sirius seems to inadvertently inherited," Lily laughed at the little boy. He looked up at her, grinning with all of his tiny little teeth showing. His little eyes were squinted closed.
"Hey, I am not a devil," Sirius said. He thought a moment. "But I can get the girls calling out for God, though."
"Oh, seriously Sirius," Lily said rolling her eyes. "I don't really need to know that about you and Potter."
"Hey, I never said I do that, and I am standing right here," James said as Lily stopped short on the sidewalk. James stopped in time not to run her down.
"We are here," Lily announced as she ignored him. She pressed the buzzer. A woman appeared at the door and saw James and Sirius standing there.
"Ah, Mister Potter. Mister Black," the woman said in a rather airy sort of way. She ushered the four of them in, her nose turned up as she looked down at Lily. "And this is?"
"Don't mind me," Lily said smiling curtly. "I am just the hired help. We need two suits for each boy. They need to be of these brands, and absolutely nothing in green or purple."
"How about prison jumper orange?" Sirius asked as he held a rather violent shade of neon orange looking trousers.
"I was just told no purple or green," Lily said smartly as she sat in the chair. "I personally think it would be good practice for your days in Azkaban."
"Hey, my pranks are endearing, not imprisoning," Sirius laughed as he put the suit back on the rack. Lily didn't reply, just crossed her legs, and picked up a magazine. She began to absentmindedly flip through it.
"Aren't you going to tell us what to wear?" James asked.
"Nah," Lily said as she looked up at them. "I think you can manage it alone. You are, after all, of age now."
"Mrs. Miner helps us," James said hesitantly. He glanced at all of the choices.
"If I were you, and I wasn't trying to be a pompous arse, I would choose the midnight black," Lily said as she bent over to pick up Christopher's cup. Sirius nudged James and Lily's face flushed pink as she pulled up on the collar of the dress.
"Black is so funerally," James said. Lily looked up at him scowling.
"That isn't even a word," Lily said making a face at him. "And anyways, black is always in style."
"Yes, I am," Sirius said as he poked his head out of his changing room. Lily rolled her eyes.
"You can't go wrong with black," Lily said as she stood up and picked James a suit.
"You are singing my praises," Sirius laughed from inside his changing room. James and Lily both rolled their eyes at this and laughed. Lily glanced away quickly when she realized she had been looking at James a little too intently there.
After what seemed like forever, James and Sirius both settled on two different cuts of black suits. Lily hated to admit it, and she would never admit it out loud, but they both looked really good in the suits. Especially James, and that part made Lily a little uncomfortable. Jealousy of his date crept up un-expectantly. Christopher's suits hadn't needed to be tried on, as he was just a baby, but the six were purchased and would be delivered to the Potter's house on Monday for Tuesday's charity dinner.
"The park," Christopher reminded her as he swung his feet back and forth in the stroller. Lily certainly remembered and was happy to let the tyke loose on the playground. She parked the stroller by a bench where James and Sirius tried to laze on as she followed the little boy around the playground.
"Do you want to slide?" Lily asked the child. He shook his head, his wild hair looking wilder.
"I want to swing," Christopher said emphatically. Lily nodded.
"Ok, let's find the swings," Lily said. The two walked a little, hand in hand, until they came to the swings on the far end of the play ground. All of the toddler swings had been damaged, leaving only the older sling seat swings. Without hesitation, Lily lifted Christopher and sat on the swing, his legs on either side of her. She kept on of her hands on his back so he wouldn't fall back and she pumped her legs.
"Weeee!" Christopher squealed wildly as the two of them swung higher and higher. "Higher Lily! Higher!"
Lily laughed with the little boy, swinging him higher. This was something she would have to remember to do when she became a mommy one day in the distant future. She laughed. She had to finish Hogwarts first, then Auror Training Academy. How she was even going to pay for ATA, she had no idea. After ATA, she would have to find a man, date him, and hope that he was marriage minded.
`James is,' Lily thought blushing. Heat rose up her neck, as if she was slowly slipping into a hot bath.
"Hey, Lils, need a push?" Sirius asked as he came up to them. Lily looked up at him, startled. She had realized that she had stopped swinging. Christopher was looking at her impatiently.
"No, I have it, thanks," Lily said as she began swinging again.
"Why don't we trade, and you go keep James company while. Me and Poop will swing a bit," Sirius offered. Lily frowned. "Christopher and I are best buds, aren't we? And I promise to be careful, Lils."
"Ok," Lily said hesitantly as she handed the boy off to Sirius. "But just for a little bit. I have to get home and get started on lunch and get him down for a nap."
"Ok, I can manage," Sirius said as he swung the boy up into their air, delighting the little boy. Lily watched him carefully as she headed back over to the bench where James was sitting, trying, and failing to look disinterested.
"Your cousin is a doll," Lily said as she sat down. "I don't understand why he runs off so many nannies."
"Some people can't handle him when he puts on his Potter charm," James said. Lily looked over at him and grinned.
"You two were cut from the same page, then," Lily said smirking as he laughed. He shrugged.
"Yeah," James said. He laughed. "So, do you think you want to try going out with me? I mean now that we can have a civil conversation."
"No, what makes you think that?" Lily said looking at him in disbelief. She stood up, hand on her hip. "Jeeze, Potter. Anytime I try to be nice to you, you go and act stupid and actually ask me out. I am not interested in you like that."
"But, you are interested," James said as a smile spread across his face. She scowled.
"You are so frustrating, James Potter. So terribly frustrating," Lily said huffily as she marched toward Sirius and c Christopher.
"Uh-oh," Sirius said to Christopher as Lily came into striking distance. "Looks like James went and rushed things a bit."
"It is time to go, Christopher. You have to eat lunch and go take a nap," Lily said to him firmly but sweetly.
"I wanna play," Christopher whined.
"I know, but we can't always have what we want, kiddo," Lily said as she scooped him up. She placed him in the stroller and thought on this. It was true, you can't always have what you want. The thing was, what did she want. James' stupid, cocky grinning face appeared before her and she felt like slapping him, or herself. She didn't want to think about James in no uncertain terms.
`I do not like James Potter that way,' Lily snapped at herself silently as she pushed the stroller back up the drive way to the Potter's house. `I just can't like him that way, or anyway. What am I going to do? What if I do like him that way? Oh, I just can't have feelings for him! I just can't! I can't! I can't!'
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