December 31st, 1979
Beaufort Estate, Paris, France
The month of December was passing quickly. By now, all of our close friends know about the Potter baby that's on the way. We made an announcement at the Order meeting last week, and a six month pregnant Molly Weasley was over the moon for us.
About a week after telling the rest of our friends: Lily, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, Alice, and Frank, Alice and Frank broke the news that they were also expecting, but Alice was due about a week and a half before me.
It was nice having a friend who was also pregnant. We drank juice and fizzy drinks and complained about how annoying morning sickness is while everyone else was drinking at parties.
The loss of Euphemia and Fleamont felt fresh because of the holidays, and Christmas brought our memories of my fathers death, so we decided to spend two weeks in Paris hoping to avoid any painful memories.
Of course, where James goes, Sirius goes.
Which is why Sirius, Remus, Jolie, and Regulus spent the holidays with us in Paris.
None of us, except for Jolie, really had families anymore, let alone parents.
I was about three fourths of the way through my trimester, a was just barely starting to show. If anything I look bloated, not pregnant.
"I can't believe that this is the last day of the 70s," Sirius complained, "This was my decade!"
James furrowed his brows, "You can't call dibs on an entire decade."
"Uh, yes I can."
Regulus laughed, "The better part of the 70s kicked my arse."
"Damn right," Sirius muttered.
Remus, who was holding a purring Romeo in his arms, spoke, "I'm just pissed that I have to start the 80s out with a full moon tomorrow."
"Sorry that I can't go, Moony." I added.
"Don't be," Remus shrugged, "You're pregnant and none of us are going to let you get yourself into any danger."
I grinned at Remus.
Sirius, completely oblivious to everyone else's conversations, pulled on Romeo's tail, making the cat hiss at him. Sirius frowned, "How would you feel if I barked at you?"
"Bloody idiot," Jolie uttered, "How would you feel if someone pulled your tail?"
James' face lit up, "I did that once and he nipped me."
"You are all idiots," Regulus confirmed.
I laughed softly, "I have to agree, you're like the Three Stooges sometimes."
"Thank you?" Remus teased, continuing to cradle James and I'd cat like a baby.
Regulus took a sip of his bourbon, "So what you're saying is that I'm the only intelligent one here?"
"Reggie, darling, let's not start something that you can't finish." Jolie replied, patting her boyfriend on the cheek.
Sirius laughed, "Haha, burn!"
"Same thing goes for you, Sirius."
"That's bullshit," Sirius denied.
I looked over at the clock and read the time. 11:59 pm.
"Oh stop arguing," I demanded, "It's almost midnight."
We counted down from ten, until the clock struck midnight, bringing an end to the 70s.
I grabbed James's face, and brought him in for a kiss. He held my cheek as we kissed.
"Happy New Year, Daphne."
"Happy New Year, James."
• • • • •
March 1st, 1980
I hated not being able to be there for Remus during the full moon's. He insisted that he would be okay because he had James and Sirius, but I still felt bad.
Another thing that I hated about the full moon's was being alone in the house.
With the war escalating, being home alone during the night scared the me.
That's why every full moon, we had girls night.
This month, Jolie, Lily, and Marlene came over just before the boys left, and were planning on spending the night.
Being almost 18 weeks pregnant, I actually looked pregnant, not just bloated. James and I get to find out the gender of our baby tomorrow, and James has been anxious about it for the past week.
Lily walked into the living room carrying a big bowl of popcorn, "Okay, now we can start the movie."
The four of us were lounging about the couch in front of the tv.
Marlene, who was in charge of the remote, hit play, and the opening credits of Breakfast at Tiffany's appeared on the screen.
"I love this movie," Jolie admitted is she reached over me to get some popcorn.
"Will it make me cry?" Marlene asked.
I shrugged, "It depends, if you're already in the mood to cry then yes."
Jolie grabbed the box of tissues from the side table and handed them to me. "These are for you," She stated, "Because, you know, hormones."
I hit her in the arm with the cardboard tissue box, making Lily laugh.
"Shut up," Marlene whisper yelled, "It's starting."
I pulled the blanket that Jolie and I were sharing over my baby bump, resting the bowl of popcorn on top of it.
Lily gave me an odd look.
"What?" I asked, "It's like a tray table. Very convenient."
Marlene leaned over, "Yeah it's con isn't except for when you won't be able to see your feet anymore."
"Fuck," I muttered, "I forgot about that."
We sat for the next two hours and watched the movie. I cried, but it's not like I wanted to. Marlene thought it was funny.
By the time the movie was over, it was already last eleven, and I was excused. I changed out of my clothes into loose pajama pants and one of James's jumpers. Lily had braided my hair during the movie, so I pulled the jumper carefully over my head as I got ready for bed.
Everyone else was getting tired as well, so we all had a cup of tea before heading to bed.
Jolie was going to stay with me in the master bedroom, and Lily and Marlene were staying in the guest bedroom which wouldn't remain a guest bedroom for much longer.
James and I were planning on changing the guest bedroom into a nursery sometime within the next month before my stomach gets too big to do anything.
I tried not to worry about the boys as I fell asleep, and ended up finding myself anxious for my doctors appointment tomorrow.
• • • • •
By the time I woke up the next morning, the boys were all home safely, and Lily had made breakfast for everyone.
Remus's transformation hadn't been bad, but he went straight home to go to bed, and Sirius went with him to make sure that he was there if Remus needed anything.
Jolie and Marlene were still sleeping, and James, despite having stayed up all night, was full of energy.
"Good morning, love," James exclaimed as I walked into the kitchen.
I kissed him on the cheek, "Morning, you have a lot of energy."
"Lily made me coffee."
I looked at the almost empty coffee pot on the counter, and Lily who was rolling her eyes at James.
"Well, that's good."
"What time is your appointment?" Lily asked as she handed me a plate.
I began filling my plate with food, "It's at eleven."
"It's nine right now, and we should probably leave around quarter to eleven-"
"James, darling," I sighed, "I love you so much, but I just woke up."
My husband huffed, "Fine, I'll try to tone my excitement down while you eat."
I quickly kissed James on the lips, "Thank you."
There was a soft sound of foot steps on the stairs, and Jolie came into the kitchen. Her thick, curly hair was tied up into a messy bun, and she had her arms crossed in front of her, looking at all of us with tired eyes.
"Good morning," Lily chimed.
Jolie went over to the coffee pot and poured the last bit of it in her mug, "Morning, Lils."
"Hey Jo, guess what?" James asked.
Jolie gave James an annoyed look, "What?"
"We get to find out if we're having a boy or girl today!"
Jolie smiled sarcastically, "So excited for the both of you, I really am, but you have so much energy right now, and I'm a bit hungover."
James rolled his eyes, "You're no fun."
My eyes went wide, and I slammed my plate onto the counter quickly so I didn't drop it.
"Daph?" James asked, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
I pressed my palms flat against my round stomach. "Yeah-, I just felt the baby kick for the first time," I replied, still taking in the soft flutters of the baby moving.
James's face lit up, "Really?"
Lily squealed in excitement, and even Jolie was smiling despite being annoyed at being awake before noon.
"Yeah," I breathed.
James pressed his hands against my stomach, grinning ear to ear.
"You won't be able to feel it yet," I said, "It feels so weird."
Jolie's eyes widened, "Does it hurt?"
"No, not at all," I responded, "It feels like little butterflies."
James and I were still trying to get over our excitement around twenty minutes later when Marlene finally woke up.
Today was going to be a good day.
• • • • •
The familiar halls of St. Mungo's greeted us as James and I stepped out of the Floo in the lobby.
I quickly gave my name to the receptionist before heading to the elevator with James. He was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt in the elevator while we went up towards the fifth floor.
"Boy or girl?" I asked James just as the elevator doors opened.
My husband intertwined his fingers through mine as we sat down on one of the many couches in the siting room.
"Well," He began, "I'm happy with either, but I think it's going to be a boy. What about you?"
I smiled, "I don't care if the baby's a boy or a girl, but the wive's tales that Alice was telling me about say that it's a boy."
Healer Diana appeared from one of the hallways, "Daphne Potter."
"I guess we're about to find out," James whispered as he helped me up from the couch.
I kept my eyes on the bright checkered tile as the Healer led us into an exam room.
Marlene was right, I won't be able to see my feet for much longer.
I sat down on the examination table, and James sat in the chair beside me, holding my hand.
"So you're seventeen, almost eighteen weeks?" Healer Diana asked, "Any movement?"
I nodded excitedly, "I actually felt them flutter for the first time this morning."
She smiled, "Good, you should be able to feel the baby move externally in couple more weeks."
"Wait really?" James asked excitedly, a small smile on his face.
Healer Diana laughed, "Yes, really. You must be getting pretty excited?"
James and I both murmured agreements as the Healer got the ultrasound set up.
"If you could just pull your shirt up," She asked as she got the gel and the transducer probed ready.
I let go of James' hand momentarily to pull up my shirt, exposing my baby bump, before my hand found its way back to his.
The gel was cold against my skin, making me shiver for a second before Healer Diana began to move the transducer probe around.
Her eyes were glued to the screen in concentration as the sound of our baby's heartbeat played through the monitor.
"Your baby is the perfect size and looks very healthy for almost eighteen weeks," Healer Diana said, "Did you want to know the gender?"
"Yes!" James and I both chimed in unison, making the older woman laugh.
The looked at the screen one last time before moving the transducer probe from my stomach. She handed me a paper towel, and I wiped the gel off, pulling my shirt back down as she printed out the sonogram.
Healer Diana handed the sonogram to me with a smile, "It's a boy."
"I knew it!" James yelled.
I laughed as James kissed me on the forehead.
"We're having a son," I exclaimed.