All Was Well.
31st July.
8:45 pm.
Longbottom's residence.
There was nothing special about July thirty first but for some reason James found it suspiciously quite. He felt like a bomb was about to be dropped, like they will announce that Voldemort has won the war, like Sirius would suddenly turn into a traitor. Something...Anything... His intuition was alarming.
Half of the Order was at the Longbottom's today for a celebratory dinner in honor for little Neville. Sort of a baby shower, one could say. It was a Sunday and somehow they had managed to extend the walls of the dining room to fit everyone as it was raining heavily and their original plan of having dinner outside was ruined. The storm seemed like a rather obvious harbinger to him. Heavy rain and gusts of wind rattled the windows. At one point, he saw lightning going straight for him but that could have been his overactive imagination.
"James, don't just stand there! Go help Dorcas set the table," His wife bellowed as the air around her sharpened with magic. She was angry as both Alice and she had gotten pregnant at the same time and now even Neville had come out of his Mama's womb but Harry or Clemence refused to even let them see if it was a girl or boy.
James was sure it was a girl. She was so shy about it. He was so sure that they were going to have a little Clemence soon but Sirius wouldn't budge; he bet he was going to have a godson. Son! Yeah a son would be fine too, James thought. He would love to have a son to play quidditch with but if it was a girl, then she would be daddy's girl. A junior Lily and god help him but he wanted more of Lily in this house than anything.
He made his way to Dorcas Meadows who was setting up the cloth on the table but she wasn't able to put it properly as her hands were not long enough and didn't extend two foot to the other side of the table and thus James picked it up from the other side. Dorcas looked up and gave an appreciative smile as he helped.
He returned her smile.
9:45 pm.
Once the dinner was over and Mad Eye had checked every other beverage for poison, they all stood up and waited for the desert. The Longbottom's were talking to thier guests, the Diggle's were chirping like annoying birds of positivity and Lily Potter had hexed Mad Eye three turns for startling her.
The storm was still as heavy as before and the Ministry had blocked the floo network and shut down the Knight Bus. Only apparition was allowed and even that wasn't possible as the Longbottom mansion was heavily guarded with anti aparrition ward's by Dumbledore's own wand and of course they couldn't risk it by removing it. Nor was it possible for Lily to Apparrate as she was pregnant and likely to splinch herself and the baby if she tried.
She sighed sadly and took a bite of the strawberry jelly she had just taken out of Alice's kitchen. She had a sudden craving for strawberry and that was the only thing close to it. Lily rubbed her stomach, her heavy round stomach which made her look like a waddling duck because he/she refused to come out of her.
"Will you stop huffing? You are giving Mad Eye jitters." Alice teased as Lily looked sideways at Mad Eye who was doing a minor surgery of the cake he was given. She huffed again and saw his body going alert as he gave her a withering glare. Lily just rolled her eyes and looked back at Alice.
"I dunno why but I am tired."
"You are always tired. You are pregnant."
Lily growled, "I don't even know why the hell am I angry? I am just angry."
Alice laughed and slumped in her chair then put a hand to her heart, "relax. Repeat after me. All is well, all is well."
"All is we–" but Lily stopped in mid sentence as the baby gave a hard kick which sent her in to a world of sweet pain. She took deep breaths and looked at Alice who was watching her quietly with a secretive smile, "kicked."
"Yeah, I saw."
"Mhmm...What was it? All is well–" and it kicked again. "Honestly!" Lily said frustrated and looked at her stomach. "We don't kick mommy. Do you understand? Bad baby!," and she received another kick.
Alice laughed as she saw Lily taking deep breaths to calm herself and to not to yell at the nearest person and reduce them to a puddle of tears. Last time Lily was angry she had made poor Peter cry. Alice, though, was brought out of her thoughts as she saw Lily's eyes going wide. She stopped breathing, goosebumps evident on her pale skin. Alice gripped her hand sensing something was wrong. "Lily? Lily? Hey..."
Lily looked up at her, eyes wide, she breathed. "The water broke."
Alice's eyebrows disappeared in her hairline as she heard the wind rattling the windows of her dining room and saw that the rain had nearly flooded her lawn. She looked back at Lily and they both, for entirely different reasons, let out a blood curling scream.
9: 50 pm.
The shrill voice coming from the dining room made James jump in fear as he recognized Lily's voice. He looked back at Sirius and they both decided running towards it blindly would be the better option. As they entered, wand raised, they found nothing but Lily screaming and crying at the same time. While Alice was wailing like a madwoman clutching both her cheeks; staring wide eyed at his wife.
"What? What happened, girl? Why are we screaming?" Mad Eye asked as his magical eye roamed around the house looking for intruders.
"She is having the baby!"
"I am having the baby!" Lily managed to choke out as she clutched her stomach while Alice jumped around in panick muttering "oh my god" constantly under her breath.
James' wand left his hands and settled on the ground with a clatter drowning the whole room in mounting tension. "There is no floo?" He asked, quietly.
Alice shook her head.
"No other means of transportation?"
"No," Alice whispered.
"No."
Oh.
James screamed which made Sirius scream which made Alice scream which made Lily break the table with accidental magic.
Mad Eye stomped his foot and Frank tried to get everyone to calm down and Remus, he saw, automatically shuffled back so as to not get caught in the chaos while Peter was jumping with Alice in panic. James, since nor he or Sirius had an ounce of brain for these things, pulled Moony forward by the collor and asked "What should we do?" gripping both of Remus's cheek in his hands as he shook the poor guy.
"How would I know?" Remus asked, wide eyed.
"I don't know! You are the sensible one." James yelled.
"But I am not a healer!" Remus yelled back.
"Will you two stop it! She is having a motherfuckin baby!" Sirius yelled in between them.
"Don't swear In front of my child!"
They all turned around to find Peter grasping Lily's hand and telling her to breathe. He looked startled to be in the position he was much like everyone else and in very much pain. Remus noticed Lily practically breaking his hand in the process of breathing. He shuddered.
"What do we do ? What do we do? What do we do?" James asked pushing Peter aside who looked relieved to go.
"Get her here!" Dedalus shouted from the door and Mad Eye almost blasted off the door in an attempt to help before Remus, Sirius and Peter jumped him.
"You don't use Magic around a pregnant woman, Alastor!" Remus screamed in Mad Eye's ear.
Mad eye grumbled something but they hardly paid attention since they saw James and Frank carrying Lily out of the room as she screamed bloody murder.
10:25 pm.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"All is well, Lily. All is well."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"All is well. All is well."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"All is–" THWACK!
Remus clutched his cheek with one hand as Lily slapped him right across the face.
"It's not well!" she let out a heinous scream and then clutched her pillow with one hand and nearly broke his hand with another. Remus spluttered and looked around to find half of them watching in horror. James had fainted on the sofa from shock while Sirius and Peter were trying to wake him up. Everyone else was running here and there sending patronuses while carrying things to help Lily.
Remus Lupin did not understand why he was sent for comforting her. It was the last thing he knew but the moment James had fainted from shock; Lily had clutched his hand tightly as he was the closest to her and he hadn't been able to run away after that.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" this time Remus heard the scream in capital letters as he searched his memory to see if he had ever accidentally read a book on the subject of child birth.
"You!" Lily snarled looking at him then yelped in pain and then looked at him again with anger in her eyes. If her glares could murder people he would be a dead man. She looked like she was going to breathe fire soon. "It's all your fault!"
His fault?
"My fault?" Remus squeaked.
"Yes!" she seized his tattered collar. "James never had been good at Romance. You are the one who taught him poetry, all MY favorites!" she screamed. Remus shuddered. "I noticed him, I liked him and married him and Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She collapsed as tears leaked out from her eyes. Her eyes ablaze, she continued, "and then I got pregnant! and then Alice got pregnant and Neville came out and they had a party and I had to come and I had to endure this!"
She seized him close to herself. Sweat broke on Remus' face from fear. "You are a dead man if I survive this." Lily left his collar and went back to screaming. Remus swore that he would never help anyone get pregnant. Or get a girl. Or even look at a girl.
10:30 pm.
Sirius threw fire in the floo. "Healer Madison." No one.
"Healer Elizabeth!"
No one.
"Healer Coldbreath!"
No one.
"Healer motherfucker."
Still no one.
Sirius sighed and looked back to find Remus trying to calm Lily down while James still lay faint from shock. Petrified to his core.
He tried the name of one of the last person he wanted to see, emergency does make kings out of morons, but he knew that she would be the only person who could help.
"Malfoy Manor." He shouted. When no one responded he thought of closing it but then he heard Lily screaming. Peter shivering with nerves and Remus' white face. He went in.
Sirius put his head in the fireplace; on the other side was Narcissa Malfoy nee Black pressing a wand to his nose."Hello, cousin." She smiled, sweetly. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Indeed, Cissa," Sirius said, pretending to be amused. "It is. I didn't expect it myself." Sirius noticed that there was no one around. Not even a wretched house elf and considering this was the living room and either Draco's nanny or Lucius were always here doing something... Sirius smirked, Narcissa wouldn't agree but she was never the one to choose a side properly.
"I would ask you to tea but you wouldn't drink something from a pureblood, will you?" Narcissa asked, coyly. Always for the dramatics, this woman.
Sirius' tone was almost saint-like,"for the love of Merlin's saggy left testicle–"
"Don't use that kind of language in my house!"
"I need help." Sirius said quietly, getting to the point and then added, very sourly, "please."
For a minute he thought Cissa was going to laugh but then she opened her mouth. "From me? Why? Where are your itty-bitty friends?"
"Itty-bitty? Merlin's beard. You sound like Trixie."
Cissa grimaced, "we are sisters."
"So are you and 'Dromeda."
She glared, "why do you think I will help you?" she said 'you' like she was talking to filth but Sirius knew better than to take that to heart. He had better things to take to heart. Like his dear sister being related to Lucius Malfoy. Eww. Black or not, being related to Malfoy so closely was a insult. "And what were you thinking, entering like that? Did you really thought I wouldn't curse you into oblivion?"
Sirius couldn't help it, he grinned, "well, you haven't."
"I am tempted."
Sirius tried to be as conversational as possible. "Well, frankly, I have faith in you as a Black. I know you embrace the Black family roots to your heart. I just remembered one of them, that my mother actually managed to drill into me."
Narcissa rolled her eyes and made a face, "blood above all else."
He smiled.
"This doesn't mean that you are not a traitor."
He frowned and asked coyly, "I still bear the name, Cissa. You never get away from family, do you?"
She tensed. Sirius shut up. "What do you need?" She seethed.
"Uhm... James' wife is–" whatever he was saying was cut off as suddenly lots of water from the chimney gushed down and he had to pull his head out fast. When Sirius was back or his head was back at Longbottom's, he saw the whole order still running around like headless chickens. Oh why couldn't they have a healer or an old woman with them? He would have to go again but he doubted that Narcissa would have dried the fireplace. She loved to irritate everyone, didn't she? He had just started to sprout so much nonsense from the bottom of his arse and finally when she looked like she was going to cave in the heaven gushed down on him.
He dried the Longbottom's fireplace and went in again only to find that Cissa had actually dried it for him to floo. He couldn't travel though. Bloody storm.
"The blocking charm broke," she explained as he popped up to find Narcissa still glaring at him. "What about the mudblood?"
Sirius glared back, matching her haughty tone, "she is pregnant."
Narcissa wrinkled her nose but didn't say much.
"And is at the Longbottom's, screaming and scaring the shit out of everyone. No one knows how to deliver a child."
"And why do you think, I do?"
Sirius grinned, "like you didn't know that I was listening through the keyhole when mother was giving you three lectures on fertility and bla bla–" He stopped seeing that Narcissa had actually turned a little red, her eyes wide.
"You imbecile!" Narcissa snarled. "I am not helping you. Get out of my house."
"She is dying in pain–"
"I don't really care, Sirius."
"Cissa," he hissed. "I am requesting you."
"Why," she hissed back with same vengeance. "Don't you ask Dromeda?"
"Like I know where she is."
"Oh, precious little Sirius does not know where his favorite sister is."
"Now you are sounding like kreacher." He grimaced. Cissa rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I cannot floo there for obvious reasons and I'm not apparating"
"Then how are you supposed to–"
"I will help. You are going to deliver the mudblood's brat."
"Don't call my godson–"
"Tsk Tsk."
"How can I?" He asked, through gritted teeth.
"Go away, I will floo in there. But they will be obliviated or I will have your head with Trixie in line, of course."
"Sure you would," Sirius mock saluted.
"Now go, shoo." She waved her hand as if telling a dog off.
10:40 pm.
He grudgingly went back only to find James awake looking at him with wide eyes. "Did you find help?"
"kind of."
"What do you mean kind of?" Lily asked, breathing heavily. Sirius grimaced.
"Okay, don't be angry. She will just help." He said as Dorcas narrowed her eyes at him.
"Who?"
And that's when Narcissa's head appeared in the fireplace, "I hate floo–"
But before she could continue several hexes flew towards her and Sirius effectively cast a shield charm as he sensed them before they even came."WILL YOU BLOODY LISTEN!"
""She is a Death Eater, Black!" Diggle jingles in his place terrified.
"Right,"Sirius rolled his eyes. "But she is helping–"
"I am not taking help from her," James grimaced.
"Oh, good. See you, cousin." Narcissa smirked and tried to duck but Sirius grabbed one of her locks in panic. She glared at him for trying to even touch her hair—her silky, slekeezy, hundred galleon per lock hair. Narcissa nearly bit his head off as he took two steps back from the fireplace. He wasn't scared of course. He had done this thousand times... Through Regulas was there to save him at that time.
"C'mon James–"
"She is a Death—"
"I DON'T CARE, POTTER! IF THIS ISN'T OUT OF ME SOON I AM GOING TO DIE AND THEN HAUNT YOU ALL WITH A BIG FAT BELLY!"
Sirius noticed James shiver at that and he turned to Sirius for assurance. Sirius tried to reassure James but their precious brotherhood moment was interrupted by Narcissa's laughter. "What?" James snapped.
She shook her head, laughing and looked around, her eyes landing on the startled face of Alice. "You, go look how many centimeters she is." Alice stood there like that, not moving. The whole order was silent for a minute before Lily screamed again.
Cissa groaned, "at least ask your friends that they need help. I have work to do, Black. I don't have time for this. Good d–"
"Please!" but it was james this time who pleaded. Narcissa stopped and haughtily examined James' face and then turned around.
"Well, what are you looking at?" She growled. "Go, I don't have whole day. Nor does the mudblood."
"Hey–" someone exclaimed but James waved them off.
"Okay, you–" Narcissa pointed at Dorcas. "Get as many clean towels as you can find. You–" she pointed at Diggle's wife. "Go find the sharpest scissors."
"You–" she growled at Peter, "go bring a sheet to cover her. Should be big enough to cover a hippogriff. Others go close the windows and get out of the room. You, Potter give the Werecub a break and go comfort your wife! I knew Severus would have done better tsk tsk." Narcissa's remark left James angry but he didn't snap instead made way to his wife.
10:45 pm.
"I think it's the seventh contraction ," Alice said, nervously.
"Oi, Lily oi! She is fainting." James frantically patted Lily's cheek.
"No, no, no. Keep her up. You–" Cissa ordered Remus. "Go bring some water and keep sprinkling it on her face. You Potter, try to keep her awake. Encourage her. Black, go help her push."
Sirius looked bewildered. Narcissa sighed, a suffered sigh. "Put your hand on her stomach and push, slowly. Go!"
Sirius did as Cissa told him.
"She is coming Lily, get up. Just a little more push. Just a little more." James was muttering frantically but Lily was already closing her eyes, loosing conscious.
Remus came running in and sprinkled some water on her face while Sirius tried to be encouraging. "Don't die on me, Lily. Don't die with my nephew. You owe me a stripper remember? C'mon you have to give me that!"
Peter gives him a weird look and asks, "stripper?"
"She does!" Sirius told him then going back at Lily again.
Diggle's wife came in. "I can't find it!"
"Wait, I will come!" Alice said and before Cissa could stop the idiot she had run far away.
"Okay, Black!"
"Huh?" Sirius asked exasperated pushing slowly on Lily's stomach, while Lily had just gained a little consciousness and was screaming again. Remus was muttering something about 'jesus' while Peter was promptly fanned her.
"Go look if the baby's head is coming."
"He can't look my wife in there!" James screamed
"I can't look his wife in there!" Sirius screamed the same.
"Well, then you can. Go look! but I am telling you won't be able to look ever again." Cissa snapped, Sirius looked scandalized, James went pale.
Sirius looked back at Lily, who was struggling in pain to keep awake, trying to push. She may have heard Cissa as she looked at him and screamed,"Goooooo!"
And Sirius, not knowing what to do, looked at his friend. He shouldn't have asked Cissa. Sweat broke on his forehead as he walked towards his doom. It was interesting how that place was his doom but he was sure he was going to swing the other way after this.
10: 47 pm.
Sirius goes in and comes out in a second. Narcissa glared. A questioning glare. Do people have questioning glares? James looked torn between killing him for looking at his Lily flower and for thanking him that James didn't had to do it. Remus wrinkled his nose but then went back at encouraging Lily. He won't show much disrespect. Good man, Moony. Peter looks proud though, you can always count on him.
"Didn't see the head–" he says but Narcissa is already shouting at Lily to push harder. Peter goes to help her push out and Alice walks in with Mrs. Diggle and Dorcas. Dorcas puts the water and towels down and the scissor gives Sirius chills. Why do they need scissors?
"Push. Push. Push. Push."
"PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH."
"Sirius!"
"The head is not here."
10:48 pm.
"PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH."
Sweat breaks on Lily's forehead. She breathes hard like a angry bull making James jump. She looks at him with such an angry expression. Her expression says "you! you did this to me."
10:49 pm.
"Push. Push. Push. Push."
It's Lily doing it. But it's Peter who is tired. He looks at Lily and thanks god that he isn't a woman. Woman are the most strong and most angry and most powerful...(he sees Lily glaring at James) and most scary creatures...
10: 50 pm.
"PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH."
Remus feels like he was going to faint. Lily has one of his hand still in hers. The bones are cracking. He is going to come out of this without a hand.
What was he thinking while befriending James?
10:51.
PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH.
"Sirius!" Narcissa snarled.
Sirius ducks in to check again,"okay yeah there is this ball of skin, with blood...Eww–"
"Don't call him that!" James snaps.
"Grip it and pull it out slowly, very slowly." Narcissa draws in a breath. "Push, potter, push!"
"Push, love. Push. Just a little. It's going to be okay." James says, kissing her forehead and hugging her hard. "Love, you can do it." He encourages in his best quidditch captain voice.
10: 53
"Sirius!"
"I am doing it. You can stop hissing my name!" Sirius grumbles at Cissa. "The neck is out!"
"Potter, calm down. Siri, see if it has something around the neck!"
"Uh...No. It's just neck. Oh wait! There is this little cord thing..."
"Keep an eye on that and make sure doesn't strangle him!"
Sirius looks back at Narcissa. "How do I do that?"
"Just see to it that the cord doesn't wrap itself around the neck!"
10: 55
"PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH."
Everyone shuts up as Lily screams at the top of her lungs and Sirius squeals in triumph as he pulls his godson out. In flesh and blood. Everyone laughs and gasps at the same time. James is crying, clutching Lily. Remus is nursing his hand. Peter is dancing with Alice. While Frank and others are dancing outside, looking from the keyhole. Dorcas and Mrs. Diggle are waltzing in happiness.
"Cut the cord, so I can go." Narcissa disrupts the celebration.
Everybody glares but Sirius asks, surprised. "how?" Cut something of Lily's from her. This is his hypothetical death day.
"Oh, I know. I kind of paid attention to this during my second time." Mrs. Diggle said and took the scissors to baby. Sirius almost backed away but Dorcas came and held him in place while Mrs Diggle did the work and Sirius closed his eyes in fear."Done."
And they all cheer. But suddenly, Alice asks,"why isn't he crying?"
Narcissa looks tense and Lily goes wide eyed.
"Oi...Harry...Oi," Sirius slapped the quiet baby lightly. Lily broke into sobs by James' side and no one else dared to breathe. Even Cissa had a hand covering her mouth. But Sirius hadn't given up. Harry couldn't be...that. No. No. No. Sirius shook his head and looked at Lily. Tears welled up in his eyes slowly as he saw Lily hiding her face in James' shoulder, while James himself wept freely. Moony looked shell-shocked and Peter seemed to have stopped mid-breath. "Harry! Harry!" Sirius muttered frantically, slapping Harry a little harder this time and checking for a heartbeat.
There was no sound, no reassuring thump of life in the baby's chest.
Dorcas started crying by his shoulder. Frank came in to hold Alice, both emotional and clearly thinking of their own child, born just the day before. Mad-Eye quietly held everyone else outside. The thunder in the background made them all aware that they weren't alone in this room, all looking around like scattered pieces acknowledging each other and James and Lily.
"C'mon, it's going to be alright." James said hoarsely, hugging Lily and rubbing her arm lightly. His voice cracks. "All is well. C'mon Lily, it–"
And suddenly a bloody little kick made its way to Sirius' cheek. He jumped, hardly daring to breathe. James noticed the motion and stopped midsentence. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their collective breath.
"All is well, say 'all is well'," Moony said, placing a hand to his heart, and Sirius remembered how Harry used to kick on those words, safe within Lily's skin. And they all started saying it, reassuring Harry that all is well, and suddenly Harry gives another kick and the next thing they knew, he was a crying mess. Harry's first cries made their way in to the sudden sharp silence, and everyone in the room practically squealed in excitement.
James came up behind Sirius and hugged him, looking teary-eyed at his baby. "All is well. All will be well with you," he said, kissing his son's forehead quietly. Beside him, Lily had practically fainted from happiness. Dorcas and Alice cleaned Harry and put him in the crib beside Neville while Sirius, watching, tried to cope with the thought that he'd just delivered a child. Merlin, he thinks. I did that. Suddenly, though, he remembered that it wasn't him; that he had just followed the directions given to him. And so he makes his way around the sea of people who had entered the room to the fireplace, searching for the face of his family—only to find Narcissa gone, leaving nothing except a note on the fireplace by which he had seen her last. He picked it up.
Siri, the note read.
It has been an immense pleasure to know that you remember me only when a friend of yours is in pain. It was a relief that the Mudblood brat wasn't yours, though, or Merlin knows the guilt would have eaten me.
Maybe someday you or the world will repay me in kind. Don't scrunch up your nose, brother. I am a Slytherin, and I don't do favors for fun. For now, I just want to inform you that your nephew is named Draco. His godfather is Severus Snape. His father is Lucius Malfoy, whom I love very much, despite whatever you like to think. Hah, I love it when you make that face. Do not be an idiot and contact me like that again.
~ Cissa
Sirius went a little green at the thought of Snivellus being a godfather or Lucius being a father, even if it was to Narcissa's child. He was just debating which thought was more disgusting when he saw the last line and narrowed his eyes.
Women.
1st August.
10:00 Am.
St. Mungo's~
James had held baby Harry for a few seconds earlier in the day, but had handed him quickly to a nurse, insisting that someone more qualified than he do the finger-and-toe-counting. He'd done it twice and somehow kept coming up with twenty-one. They had shifted Harry and Lily to the St. Mungo's ward numbered 397 for a proper checkup after the storm had calmed the next morning, and the ward was full of hospital personnel.
For some reason, all said personnel were giving James funny looks.
"They act like that's all there is to it, like the kid automatically has the requisite ten fingers, ten toes, and one nose. It's not all right. What if he had an extra nose? What if my son had a tail?" James was sure he'd spotted a tail in the six-month sonogram. He'd kept a copy of the memory!
"He doesn't have a tail, Mr. Potter," the Healer told him irritably. "And it's ten and ten, we've all checked. Perhaps you should go home and get some rest."
"I'll still love him, even with his extra nose."
"He's perfectly normal."
"Or toe."
"We really do know what we're doing, Mr. Potter."
"Or a tail."
The Healer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was short, wide, and had a tattoo of a snake up his right arm that showed through every time he bent forward to retrieve something. Clearly a Slytherin. He was not leaving his wife with a Slytherin.
"There's no goddamn tail, you idiot! Look!" Lily pulled down the blanket and aimed baby Harry's bottom at him.
James jumped back. Once he realized that the baby wasn't loaded, he straightened the lapels on his tweed jacket in a gesture of righteous indignation. "He could have magicked it, you know. Don't worry Harry," he said looking at Harry with a determined expression. "If the healer's removed your tail while I wasn't here, I will get it back. He'll want it when he gets older."
"Harry, your Papa isn't really insane. He just hasn't slept for a couple of days." Lily said, cooing at Harry and throwing James an exasperated look. One day and James was already the less loved male in this room, not counting the healer, of course. "You need to go home and get some sleep," she said to her husband.
James mumbled something under his breath. When Lily looked up, there were tears in his eyes. "He feels warm."
"He is warm. He's supposed to be. It's a mammal thing. Goes with the breast-feeding. Why are you crying?"
"You're both so beautiful." He began arranging Lily's red hair across the pillow. "It'll be okay if he can't grow a tail."
"James! Go home!" Lily grabbed her wand from the blanket and held it up like it was wired to a bomb. "James, if you don't go home and get some sleep right now, I swear I'll curse you and have the nurse throw you out!"
She sounded stern, but she was smiling. James liked looking at her smile, always had; it felt like approval and permission at the same time. Permission to be James Potter.
"Okay, I'll go." He reached to feel her forehead. "Do you have a fever? You look tired."
"I just gave birth!"
"I'm just concerned about you."
"Sweetheart, go. Now. So I can get some rest."
James fluffed her pillows, checked her water pitcher, tucked in the blankets, kissed her forehead, kissed the baby's head, fluffed the baby, then started to rearrange the flowers that his mother had sent, moving the big stargazer lily in the front, accenting it with a spray of baby's breath -
"James!"
"I'm going, I'm going." He checked the room, one last time, then backed toward the door. "Can I bring you anything from home?"
"I'll be fine. The ready kit you packed covered everything, I think. In fact, I may not even need a bathroom."
"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it—"
"Go! I'll get some rest, the doctor will check Harry out, and we'll take him home in the morning." Lily's eyes were warm as she looked at him, her tone tinged with love and exasperation.
"That seems soon."
"It's standard."
"Should I bring more propane for the camp stove?"
"We'll try to make it last."
"But —"
Lily held up the wand. "Love you," she said.
"Love you, too," James said. "Both of you."
"Bye, Daddy." Lily moved Harry's little hand in a wave, as though she was the puppeteer and her son the marionette.
James felt a lump rising in his throat. No one had ever called him Daddy before, not even a puppet. (He had once asked Lily, "Who's your daddy?" during sex, to which she had replied, "Richard Evans," thus rendering him impotent for a week and raising all kinds of issues that he didn't really like to think about.)
He sighed and finally blew a kiss in his family's direction.
And left.
James took a deep, thoughtful, energetic, finalish and a heavy heavy sigh. "So..."
Sirius looked determined. He pushed his sleeves up and looked at James with the utter grace he had been plummeld with when he was seven. "So..."
Remus coughed and looked at both of them calmly. Amused as he was he didn't wanted to ruin the moment and looked at both of his friends encouragingly. "So."
Peter collected the burgers and fries from James' kitchen and took out the latest issue of Wizard Weekly. Thea Charmick winked at him and turned around draping the bed covers to her naked chest. He clutched it under his arms and left the kitchen to find two of his friends looking at each other rather intimidatingly. "So?"
James and Sirius looked at him. James ruffled his hair and Sirius bit his lip.
"Let's just skip it..."
"Oh. Yeah. Right."
And with that they left towards their respective rooms. Peter rolled his eyes and made way to where Remus was sitting and threw the magazine at Remus.
"3 minutes," Remus smirked.
Peter shook his head and took out a galleon from his pocket and gave it to Remus. Remus put it in and then they looked at each other.
And laughed...
And laughed...
And laughed...