☽☽☽
"WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR DAY OFF?" Remus asked. They were sitting in the garden with cups of tea in hand. The sun was dangerously warm as august approached. July had been slow. Order meetings had been cancelled for the time being and work was just work at this point. Athena was back to everyday feeling the same.
"I think I'm going to go to Godric's Hollow" Athena replied, "see Lily and James"
"Sounds like a plan" Remus nodded,
"Will you come?" She asked.
Athena turned to Remus to see him gazing at a few birds that were chattering in one of their trees. She turned to see a red squirrel winding its way around the tree and she smiled to herself.
"Yeah I'll come, don't have anything better to be doing" Remus shrugged as he finished his tea. Athena looked back at him and felt guilty for many reasons. She felt bad for lying to him about the true fate of Lily and James, for giving him hope where there wasn't any. However she had a new guilt that had started recently.
Athena had started reading into becoming an animgus. This was something she had wanted to do for years. Remus had always shut her down whenever she mentioned this because he knew exactly why she was doing it. Athena wanted to accompany Remus on the full moon knowing that when the marauders did this he'd always been better.
Remus hadn't been especially bad on the full moons recently however she knew that he'd be better if he had company and Athena knew that she could be this company. She wasn't going to tell him until she'd done it. Becoming an animgus wasn't easy, it took a lot of skill, effort and concentration. Athena wasn't sure how she was going to keep a mandrake leaf in her mouth for an entire month without him noticing however she was sure that she'd be able to figure it out.
"Everything ok?" Remus asked and Athena noticed that she'd been staring at him,
"Yeah course" she nodded in return, "I'll go and get ready"
Athena took the two mugs off the small patio table and walked back into the house which was cooler than the outside air.
She enjoyed summer days, Athena was the kind of person who loved all seasons. As a child Summer had always been her favourite, this was because she could go out running around and playing without the prospect of cold or rain (except it would often rain being England and all).
Athena placed the two mugs in the sink and wandered up the stairs to go and change into something nice. She'd been determined to spend a lot of time with Lily and James recently for obvious reasons. Of course she didn't want them to catch on but seeing their smiles and hearing their voices was a comfort to her even though she knew that these things were limited.
☽☽☽
The couple apperated into Godric's Hollow instead of using floo powder as this would often startle residents and startling Lily was the last thing anyone needed. Athena entwined her arm with Remus' as they walked. She'd never really seen the village properly however she knew that it had been the original residing place of Godric Gryffindor, hence the name.
It was a very appealing town with a warm looking church surrounded by a curving graveyard. Athena liked seeing the many flowers littering graves showing that people were still remembered. The streets were cobbled and Athena saw many people loitering around with smiles on their faces. It seemed the exact opposite of where Snape had lived, this place was alive and welcoming.
They reached Potter cottage and knocked a few times before the door opened. James opened it only moments later and stood there grinning sheepishly.
"Hi!" He grinned, "come in"
Athena loved how normal it was in the group to just show up at each others houses uninvited. It seemed that no one was especially busy at the moment. Athena and Remus stepped into the house and wandered through to the living room.
Lily was sat there reading the paper. Her stomach was nearly as large as her.
"Little Potter's taking a while isn't he?" Athena asked with a light laugh.
"Isn't he just" Lily rolled her eyes, "he's late now"
"Do you two want something to drink?" James asked,
"Yeah actually I'll have a lemonade please" Athena smiled and James jogged away.
"I thought he was due at the end of July?" Athena asked, "so you've got a few days yet?"
"Today is the last day of July Rena" Lily pointed out and Athena frowned.
"Then why aren't you at hospital?" She gasped,
"Because he's not coming" Lily replied, "I haven't felt anything yet"
"Lily!" Athena exclaimed,
"What?"
"The prophecy!" She continued, "speaks of a big born at the end of July!"
"That's what I was thinking but maybe this proves that Voldemort was wrong, that the prophecy isn't about our son at all... did you know that Alice gave birth yesterday?"
"Did she?" Athena's eyes lit up in excitement, "I had no idea"
"Yeah a boy... they called him Neville"
"Neville?" Remus asked,
"Neville is a sweet name" Athena replied, "so what? You think the prophecy could be about him?"
"Well why not?" Lily asked, "I would never wish this on them of course but there is a very large possibility that Voldemort could have been wrong"
"The prophecy said that Voldemort would choose which child he would mark as his equal" Athena pointed out, "I'm sorry Lily but he chose your son"
"Ok but if he hasn't been born by the end of July how can the prophecy be about him?" Lily asked,
"Well" Athena sighed, "that's what I was saying, there's a very strong possibility that you could give birth today"
"That's ridiculous" Lily laughed, "I would know by now if I was going to give birth"
James walked back into the room holding a glass of lemonade which he passed to Rena,
"What's this about giving birth?" He asked.
"Lily's going to give birth" Remus replied simply,
"Yeah I know that" he laughed.
"No I mean she's going to give birth today!" Athena called,
"Is this because of the prophecy?" James asked, "I think that Voldemort just got it wrong"
"He didn't get it wrong" Athena sighed loudly,
"How do you know?" James asked,
"I just do!" Athena knew that she didn't sound convincing in the slightest.
"Rena I appreciate the concern but I'm not going to give—"
Lily paused as the three of them stared at her.
"Give birth?" James finished the sentence warily.
Lily was frozen as she kept her hand on her stomach,
"Lily?" Remus asked tentatively,
"Yeah I'm fine" Lily nodded, "I just need... give me a minute"
She somehow managed to get herself up off the sofa and started walking towards the door when James yelled out.
"What?" Lily turned. Where she had been sitting was now a very prominent wet patch and it seemed this had followed her as she went to walk out of the room.
"What's going on?" Remus whispered awkwardly,
"Lily your waters broke" Athena told her, "your son is coming"
"Shit!" James yelled, "what the hell do I do? I'm not prepared for this!"
"You've had nine months to prepare for this" Remus pointed out,
"Do we have time to get her to St Mungo's?" James asked. Athena's attention was on Lily who was now leaning against the door.
"Call a healer" Athena replied, "or call Marlene, she'll know what to do"
"Do we have time to get her there?"
"It'll be less stress for her if we don't" Athena replied simply before dashing towards Lily, "come on let's get you upstairs".
"What do I do?" James asked,
"Call a healer!" Remus and Athena both exclaimed at the same time. Athena took Lily's arm in hers as they worked their way up the stairs.
"Rena I can't do this" Lily cried, "I'm not ready"
"You are ready Lily" Athena smiled, "you're going to be an amazing mother—"
The end of her sentence was cut off by Lily yelling out loudly in pain. She almost fell to her knees at the top of the stairs but Athena caught her as they hurried into Lily and James' room.
"Is the healer coming?" Lily gasped in agony as she lay back against the bed. Athena placed some cushions behind her back as her mind began to whir. The healers better be coming. Athena had no experience with this at all and she certainly didn't want to be helping Lily give birth in this moment. She hadn't even realised it was the end of July, the month had gone too quickly she'd lost track of the date.
"James is calling them" Athena replied gently. Lily yelled out again and Athena looked around the room looking for some help.
"Maybe we should to St Mungo's" Athena continued, worried that she'd made the wrong decision.
"No I don't want to move" Lily shook her head, her skin now paler, sweat forming over her brown as she scrunched it up in pain.
"Lily!" James called as he dashed into the room, "how are you?"
"In pain!" Lily yelled. James looked nervously at Rena before he darted forwards and held onto his wife's hand.
"It'll be ok" James murmured,
"You're not the one about to push a baby out!" Lily cried.
"James is the healer coming?" Athena asked,
"I don't know, I called them by patronus" James shrugged, "I called Marlene too, Remus is waiting downstairs in case they arrive"
"Right" Athena nodded, "Lily do you think you can hang on?",
"No!" Lily screamed out,
"I read that contractions usually start ages after someone's water breaks" James recited smartly, "I read a book"
"Well they're coming now!" Lily cried loudly,
"Oh" James frowned, "that's not good"
"It's because he's late I think" Athena shrugged, she'd never act had experience with childbirth and wondered what on earth her and James were going to do.
"You should count how long they are" James suggested,
"I'm not in the mood for counting!" Lily snapped,
"Ok well just scream when you get one and we'll count" Athena looked at James in worry.
Lily screamed loudly and both James and Athena started counting in their head as Lily squeezed onto both of their hands.
"Seven seconds" Athena and James said in unison,
"I think the babies coming right now" Lily sobbed, "where's the healer?"
"Don't worry" James kissed her head lightly, "we're right here"
"James" Athena hissed, "have you ever delivered a child before?"
"Well no but—"
Lily screamed again and both of them snapped their attention back to her.
"James get Lily ready, I'll get what we need"
"Get her ready?"
"To give birth James!" Athena called as she dashed out the room.
She'd read books before where the protagonist gave birth however it was always glamourised to an extent. This was anything but. Athena ran into the bathroom and picked up a bundle of towels before she ran downstairs.
"Rena?" Remus jumped up from the sofa as he saw her, "what's happening?"
"Lily is giving birth" Athena replied simply,
"Right now?" Remus frowned in shock,
"Yes right now",
"Do you need help?"
"Are you a trained midwife?"
"Well no but—"
"Then stay down here and if the healer or Marlene comes get them upstairs stat"
Remus nodded as Athena continued into the kitchen and began filling a tub full of warm water. She watched until it was halfway, placing her hand in to make sure it wasn't to hot. The plan was to clean the child with it as she'd heard this was the right thing to do. Truthfully she had no idea.
Athena ran back upstairs where Lily was still yelling. James had now gotten her into a better position with her knees up in preparation. She felt like she was invading Lily's privacy right now but she supposed this wasn't the time to stress about things like this.
"Right" Athena began in a shaky voice, trying to be strong for Lily who looked very scared, "Lily you have to calm down ok?"
"Thats not easy!"
"I know it's not but for the boy Lily, take deep breaths after me ok"
Lily nodded and followed Athena's breathing,
"James keep doing that" Athena looked to James who nodded, evidently happy about having something to do. He darted to Lily's side and held tight to her hand as Athena knelt nearer the end of the bed. She laid the towels out and sat looking at the floor feeling rather uncomfortable.
Lily screamed louder than ever and James' looked to Athena for some reassurance.
"Oh my god" Athena gasped and James' looked even more panicked.
"What?"
"He's coming" Athena grimaced, "he's crowning... I can see the head"
This was possibly going to put Athena off childbirth for life. She couldn't imagine the pain that Lily was going through and (no offence to the woman) but it was one of the most disgusting things she had ever seen.
Taking a deep breath she moved forward and stared at Lily,
"You have to push"
"I can't" She shook her head through tears, "it hurts Rena I can't"
"You can, I promise you can" Athena nodded.
Lily nodded before she let out a cry of agony. Athena prepared herself again as she looked at the top of the babies head. Trying to not be sick, Athena lightly placed her hand under it, wishing that it was not her here doing this. Why has she decided to come here today?
Lily continued to let out screams as James held tight onto her.
"It's alright Lily, you can do it" James breathed lightly.
"The heads out" Athena murmured.
"Shouldn't he be crying?"
"Not yet" Athena replied, "Lily this is the hardest part"
"You're kidding" Lily cried loudly, "this is already terrible"
"I know but you can do it" Athena told her confidently.
Lily yelled again and Athena bit the side of her mouth to stop herself from crying out too because this was completely disgusting. The baby was nearly all out now. It wasn't cute, at least not at the moment. The child was lightly covered in blood and had a few screwed up wrinkly face.
"James, do you want to cut this chord thingy?" Athena asked,
"What chord thingy?" He asked as he moved his head, "oh my god it's a baby"
"It's your son" Athena smiled gently. James moved his wand forward gently and cut the chord that was connecting the baby with Lily.
Athena looked down at the child who still hadn't cried. Babies didn't open their eyes until a few minutes after birth however Athena knew they were supposed to cry.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, "is he alright?"
"Yeah" Athena nodded, blinking back tears. She knew this child was going to survive, she knew it.
Then he cried. A welcome sound that caused James' to break out into a smile. Usually Athena hated the sound of children crying however she sighed in relief as she held the child in her arms.
She moved to the water and gently washed the blood off him before she wrapped him in one of the clean white towels.
"Here" Athena smiled lightly as she handed the child to Lily, "you did it"
"My son" Lily beamed.
The door opened harshly and Marlene, Remus and Dorcas came running in.
"I'm here!" Marlene called, "I came as soon as I could"
"I did it" Lily smiled happily.
"Oh my god" Dorcas gasped, "that's a baby!"
Rena was standing nearly out of breath realising what she had just done. She'd just helped deliver a baby which was something she'd never imagined herself doing.
"I'm a dad!" James called in joy, "I'm a dad!"
The door opened again and Sirius and Kennedy darted in.
"Remus called" Sirius told them, "he said— oh my god he's here!"
"He's here" Lily grinned,
"My godson" Sirius gasped,
"My son!" James added.
"Sirius I know you're already godfather but I'm making it official" Lily grinned, "you are officially our sons godfather"
"Get in" Sirius laughed,
"We wanted a godmother too" Lily continued, "some people just have one godparent, others have about three but I think two is perfect"
"Who's godmother then?" Dorcas asked curiously,
"I hadn't decided until today" Lily replied, "it was a hard choice but now it's obvious... Athena will you be his godmother?"
"Me?" Athena gasped,
"Yes you" Lily laughed, "you just helped me give birth to him, you were the first to hold him... I think it's only right"
"Of course" Athena nodded, "of course I will... thank you"
"Godparent gang" Sirius nodded towards Athena who laughed,
"Don't worry you lot" James grinned, "you'll be first in line for the next one"
"The next one?" Lily laughed, "give me a year at least to recover from this"
Athena felt her skin grow cold slightly at the prospect of them planning the rest of their future. She clenched her fists but didn't show any sign of breaking. Not now. This was a happy moment, one she'd never forget.
"Have you thought of a name?" Remus asked,
"A few" Lily nodded, "but I think that I've decided"
"You have?" James frowned,
"I'm going with your choice James" Lily smiled, "I think it suits him best"
"Really?" James beamed,
"What was your choice?" Sirius asked,
"Harry" James spoke lightly.
"Harry Potter"
☽☽☽
A/n
Words - 2929
Published - 5th April 2021
I have no experience with
Child birth nor do I
ever want to have an experience
with child birth so if this is
factually wrong just pretend it isn't