Marauders - Always - Part One

The Lavender Vial

Sirius followed, stopping in the walk-in-closet room before the more private bathroom, sitting on her school trunk, and biting his lip.

Lily came out of the bathroom after a couple minutes, holding the plastic vial in her hand. Inside the vial was a potion that was a very dark shade of purple. She was shaking slightly and set it down on the vanity on a tiny stand. She looked at Sirius and grabbed her hair brush, shakily coming to sit beside him. They sat there on her trunk, staring at the vial. 

"How long does it take?" Sirius whispered.

"About half an hour," she answered.

"That long?"

She nodded. "It's quicker than the muggle ones. Some of those take up to two hours."

He stared at it. "How's it work?"

"Well in a half hour the potion will turn lavender as it processes and then turn either pink or blue with the result."

"And which do we want it to turn?"

"Blue for a positive result," Lily answered.

Sirius nodded.

Lily stared at the vial across the room for several moments, then looked down at the small space between them and she grabbed onto Sirius's hand, twisting her fingers through his and squeezing tight. "Did you feel me?" she asked, "Is that how you knew?"

"I got sick, too."

"You did?"

Sirius nodded. "All morning. Then I got up and I go to the kitchen and we had a bowl of oranges on the table and I thought I was going to throw up just smelling them and I remembered you last night --"

"Oh!" Lily gasped. 

"Yeah.

"And I remembered the - the way you were sensitive to the cigarette smell... and how both Remus and I were thinking you smelled different lately and --"

"Do you really think --?" Lily waved her other hand at the vial.

Sirius shrugged.

Lily's voice shook, "I'm afraid to get excited. What if it turns red again?"

"Then you'll try again."

Lily nodded.

Sirius squeezed her hand reassuringly.

They both sat on the trunk staring at the vial.

"I'm sorry you got sick when I got sick," Lily said.

Sirius said, "I'm sorry you were sick." He paused. "I'm surprised James left you."

"I told him I was better so he'd go. He has a quidditch game he's refereeing tonight at Hogwarts."

"Ohh right," Sirius said. Then, "Lily."

"Yes?"

Sirius looked down at her stomach. "You could have a Pronglet-Fetus in there."

Lily's palm splayed over her belly and her breath caught. "Oh my stars, I could," she whispered. She rubbed her stomach gently. She stared at her palm as she moved it over her pyjama, smiling. Sirius watched her smile. She looked up and met Sirius's eyes, "Oh Sirius!" she threw her arms around him and pulled him close. "Oh I'm so nervous," her cheek was pressed against his chest as she hugged his torso, her eyes trained on the vial.

Sirius stiffened at first at the hug, then slowly melted into it, as he always did, and finally rested his cheek against the top of her head and hugged her.