"Oh Merlin. One day apart?" Rose said in surprise. She jogged over to her potions cabinet and pulled open the drawer labelled "Lily".
Rose pulled out all of the potions she would need and put them in her bag. She especially made sure to grab the draught of peace.
"I'll let you know how everything turns out, my love. I'll be home tonight hopefully," Rose informed Marlene, giving her a kiss before running out of the apartment building and apparating to Godric's Hollow.
She appeared and was already moving, ripping open the front gate and pushing open the door to the house. Rose heard sounds of struggle from upstairs and quickened her pace, running to the bedroom.
James was standing in the hallway pacing. "Oh thank Merlin. Took you long enough!" He exclaimed.
"Prongs, it took me 5 minutes. Why aren't you in there?" Rose questioned. Was Lily doing it alone?
"That bloody woman won't let me in," James said with a touch of anger.
Rose looked at him in confusion before opening the door. She first saw Lily in pain on the bed. And then Shaw Bathilda Bagshot. She was a neighbour of Lily and James.
"Ah, good. Are you the doctor?" The old woman asked as she was preparing warm towels and dabbing Lily's face.
"And sister. Why is James out there?" Rose asked, putting her bag down on the bed and pulling potions out of it.
"Birth is a woman's practice. He'd make things worse. But now that you're here, I can let you get to work and take care of him," Bathilda said, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder.
"Oh! This is for him. Draught of peace to calm him down," Rose said, handing Bathilda a blue potion.
"Smart girl," she said, smiling as she walked out of the bedroom to join James.
"How are we doing, Lil?" Rose asked, replacing Bathilda at her sisters side. She used the towels to wipe away the sweat pooling on her forehead.
"I'm okay. Just really want him—" Lily paused as her face screwed up in pain. "Out of me!" She squeezed out through deep breaths.
"Okay. Take these two, they'll help with the pain. We aren't quite ready to push yet but let me know when you need to," Rose said as she set up towels and her wand on the side of the bed.
It was another three hours of labour before Lily grabbed Rose's hand to crush during another painful contraction. "Do you need to push?" Rose questioned, prepared to get this baby out.
Lily nodded through another contraction. "Then give me what you got. Your body will tell you what you need to do," Rose assured, smiling at her sister.
With a deep breath Lily began pushing. She strained for a couple of seconds before letting her breath out and breathing rapidly. Her face was red but determined.
Once again, Lily pushed. At the end of this try she yelled, to try and get more momentum. She stopped and breathed again. "You're doing great, Lil. Just a little bit more," Rose said, being able to physically see the baby.
Lily was crying and exhausted but hearing that her son was close gave her the strength she needed. One last time, she yelled and pushed with all of her strength.
Everything happened in quick succession after that. That last push did it and the little boy was now in Rose's arms.
She immediately began rubbing his back until she hears the loud crying begin. Ros eplaced the baby on Lily's chest and retrieved the warm towels.
Rose began wiping the baby off, getting all of fluids off of him. Lily's tears were now joyful as all of the pain was forgotten when she looked at her son.
"James, get in here!" Rose called loudly. The door burst open almost immediately, James was ready.
When he saw his son, he was crying too. He was shocked, that his son was alive and in the world. He went immediately to Lily's side.
"Meet your son," Lily said through tears, looking at James with nothing but love. Rose was still finishing up, as Lily still wasn't completely finished.
"Come here and cut the cord, dad," Rose said cheekily. He came with his wand and cut the umbilical cord that still connected Lily and her son.
Bathilda also came back into the bedroom with new towels. She smiled at the couple and pat Rose on the shoulder. "You're a good sister. I best be off and leave them to it," she said, taking the old towels out of the room with her.
"Thank you for the help," Rose said as the old woman nodded, walking out.
Rose got Lily cleaned up and sorted. She weighed their son and did the regular tests on him, making sure he could hear and he could see.
Lily was ecstatic when she saw his eyes. They were green, the same shade as hers. The rest of the boy was James to a tee, even the full head of hair he already had.
"Have you guys thought of a name?" Rose questioned, looking at the small baby lovingly.
"No, not yet. Though Sirius suggested Roxen to me the other day," Lily said, laughing. James looked at her hopefully but she shut him down. "I am not naming my baby Roxen, James Potter."
Rose chuckled at the couple as she vanished the dirty towels. She let Lily and James have time with their son, James doing skin to skin with the boy for a couple of hours after ha had been born.
Lily called Rose up as she was washing the dirty dishes for the new mom. "Do you want to hold him?" James offered quietly. He had already adapted to being a dad so fast.
Rose nodded quickly and James carefully handed the baby over. She carefully cradled the boy in her arms, subtly rocking back and forth with him.
The baby looked up at her. She knew he couldn't see her, newborns couldn't focus their eyes well. But it felt like he could, like he was looking right into her own green eyes.
"You are going to have the best life. Your parents will make sure of that," Rose said softly to the baby. He would be so loved.
Eventually Rose handed the baby back and Lily made a request. "Rose, do you want to invite the others? Padfoot, Marlene, Moony, and Wormy? Just let Alice know, I'm sure she's still recovering," Lily said.
At first Rose nodded and walked out but then she stopped. She never knew Lily to use the nicknames. It was cute.
Rose walked into their living room and summoned her red panda. She gave it the message that Lily had her baby and wanted everyone else to meet him.
She sent it off and headed back upstairs to look at her nephew. He was perfect. Those green eyes and that hair.
The first to appear was surprisingly Sirius. He ran up the stairs, stopping short of the bedroom. He walked in and everyone laughed.
Sirius had put on a suit to meet his nephew. "Padfoot, what the bloody hell are you wearing?" James asked as his friend crept closer to the new baby.
"I wanted to make a good first impression!" Sirius exclaimed quietly while Rose watched the interaction fondly.
"Do you want to hold him?" Lily asked Sirius softly. His eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"Me?! What if I.. break him," Sirius asked worriedly. Lily laughed.
"You won't break him, Padfoot. Here," she offered, carefully handing the wrapped baby to Sirius.
At first Sirius was unsure, Lily corrected his holding position and Sirius was nervous. But when the baby took hold of Sirius's finger, all of that worry washed away.
Rose saw the camera sitting on the dresser and couldn't help herself. She snapped a picture of Sirius and the baby, smiling when she saw the film develop.
The rest of the Marauders and Marlene arrived quickly. Lily asked for help to move to the living area so there would be more space for everyone and Rose assured it was actually recommended to walk around after giving birth.
Lily let everyone hold the baby, Marlene was excited to hold her nephew. She already loved him.
Remus was extremely nervous and tried to refuse holding the small baby but Lily forced him. He eventually caved and took hold of the small child. Rose could tell he instantly fell in love.
"What's his name?" Marlene asked as she sat on the couch with Rose, her arm draped over the latter's shoulder.
"Well... we think we're going to call him Harry. Harry James Potter," Lily revealed with a smile, looking at her son.
It was a perfect name. It fit the small boy. "And little Harry is going to be the best cared for boy in the world. With all of his aunts and uncles, he'll never be alone, even if he wants to be," Lily added, tickling the baby.
"You better be a good quidditch player. You've got four star quidditch players at your disposal," James said jokingly to his son. Marlene looked proud.
All of the guests had brought a gift for the new parents. Sirius, of course, brought alcohol. Rose went a different route and gifted them some things she knew moms in Italy liked to use for their babies.
Alice had their owl fly and being Lily and James their gift while also inviting everyone to come and meet Neville the next day.
The guests were careful not to overstay their welcome, letting the couple cherish their first night with their sweet little boy.
***
The next day the group gathered once more to meet a newborn Neville. He was a sweet little thing, Alice even swore the child used magic to make his blankets more comfortable.
With the two new babies, Rose spent a lot of time at each household. Of either boy so much as had a sniffle Rose was called immediately to make sure they were okay.
And Alice and Lily loved to have play dates with their sons, letting them roll around on the floor with each other. It was truly amazing to watch.
The Marauders were also enlisted to help babysit when either couple needed a break. They had a rotation they would take, with each person taking a shift to watch the small babies.
Order missions for James soon returned and with that, it left Lily at home with a baby. Rose and Marlene often visited the girl, making sure she wasn't too worried about her husband while he was away.
The order still had to come first if they wanted Harry to grow up in a safe world.
The last half of 1980 was relatively tame, no one had been seriously injured and it was nice, because Rose was becoming more and more afraid to leave the house as a muggleborn.
In January the twins celebrated their birthday with a small party, just their friends and significant others, Lily complained about a horrible vase Petunia had sent her for Christmas.
She also told everyone how James had wrapped Harry in the invisibility cloak to play a game with him and then set him down. They couldn't find the boy for an hour before he started crying.
But at the beginning of June, Rose and Sirius were helping babysit Harry while Lily and James relaxed. And someone came to the door.
It was Dumbledore.
Rose answered it and was surprised to see the man. She still had the urge to call him headmaster but she didn't. "Albus, what a surprise! Come in," Rose offered, letting the man in the house.
He didn't carry his usual kind smile, he was serious.
Dumbledore entered the living room and everyone straightened when they saw him. He looked uneasy.
"I'm afraid I have not come with good news. Lily, James, do you trust those in this room with us?" Dumbledore questioned. That made Rose's blood run cold. What could this possibly be about?
"With our lives," James said immediately, not a shred of hesitation. Dumbledore nodded.
"Then I must divulge something terrible to you. I was witness to a prophecy last year. A prophecy that spoke of someone who could defeat Voldemort. That a baby born at the end of July, to parents who had defied him thrice, could defeat him," Dumbledore began explaining. Lily and James were immediately on edge. Harry was born on the 31st of July.
"You had not had your child then and there was no other child to think of. But someone from inside the death eater cult, someone close to him, came to me. They told me that Voldemort thinks the prophecy refers to Harry, your son. And Voldemort plans to hunt and kill him," Dumbledore revealed.
Lily gasped and held her son close. James, Sirius, and Rose were all angry and afraid at the same time. Voldemort planned to kill a baby.
"Harry's just a boy. He's no threat... Voldemort can't find us. He can't," Lily said with determination. She was not letting her son die.
"That's the only bright side. Voldemort does not know where you are. I want to keep you all safe. So I would recommend the Fidelius charm. Are you aware of it?" Dumbledore asked and everyone in the room nodded.
"Good. Then I would only use your most trusted as a secret keeper. With that in place, no one can ever willing tell Voldemort about your whereabouts except for that secret keeper. And if that person is one you trust with your life, you would have no problem," Albus explained further to the Potters.
"But shouldn't they get out of Europe? Voldemort is a powerful man, Albus. Are we sure they should stay?" Rose asked the headmaster. She thought a secret keeper, no matter who it was, was a risk. It was never 100% secure.
"I feel that by the time they made it out, Voldemort would be able to hunt them. The Potter's would be alone in a new country. I feel this is the best way to keep them safe. As well as minimal visitors, to keep this house under the radar and staying inside at all times," Dumbledore said. Lily and James looked afraid but they were ready to protect their boy.
"These protections should be set in place soon. I'll be on the look out for any trouble. Stay safe," Dumbledore finished, walking out of the house.
It was silent for a moment before Rose spoke. "It's obvious, isn't it? Choose me," she said simply.
Lily and James looked at each other but Sirius spoke first. "No. No way. Make me the secret keeper," Sirius said, arguing with Rose.
She was offended at first. "You think I would betray my own sister and nephew?" Rose said angrily.
"Red! I've got nothing to live for except for James and Lily! No family that cares about me, no boyfriend or girlfriend! I've got nothing to lose. You've got Marlene and for gods sake, you're Neville's godmother," Sirius yelled as Harry began to cry.
Sirius winced as Lily hushed her baby, looking between the two people arguing to protect the Potters.
"Let me do this, Red, so my life doesn't mean nothing. I'll protect them, I wouldn't tell a soul," Sirius added quirky this time. Rose was torn.
"Your life doesn't mean nothing, Padfoot. It never has. But this doesn't fall to you, you don't have to do this," Rose said sadly. It wasn't his burden.
"I want to do this. James and Lily are my best friends in the world. I'd do anything for them," Sirius responded with a sad smile.
Lily and James looked to each other before James spoke. "Are you sure, Padfoot?"
"Of course I am. I'll always be ready," Sirius responded.
"We'll do it tomorrow then," Lily said with finality. Rose was disappointed and afraid but she nodded.
"You two go home. We'll be okay," Lily added, forcing her friends to go home.
***
When Rose arrived home she was down. Marlene noticed immediately.
"What happened at Lily's?" She questions, pulling Rose into herself in bed.
"Dumbledore told us. Of a prophecy that involves Harry. Voldemort wants to kill him," Rose said matter-of-factly.
Marlene sat up in bed. "What do you mean Voldemort wants to kill Harry?"
"The prophecy told of a boy born at the end of July to parents who had defied Voldemort thrice. He thinks it's about Harry and wants to kill him," Rose explained further.
"Are they okay?" Marlene questioned, looking at Rose.
"Yeah. They're going to perform the Fidelius charm tomorrow. Dumbledore said that should keep them safe."
***
Instead of going straight to Godrics Hollow the next morning, Sirius went to visit Peter. The boy had never gone on an order mission and rarely left his house. But Sirius needed him, as he'd had a revelation.
Sirius was too obvious of a choice. Lily Evans was known for her empathy, she would never put her sister in danger like that, make her a secret keeper. Sirius was the most obvious choice, which meant Voldemort would come for him.
So when everyone though for sure Sirius was the secret keeper, he switched it last minute.
Sirius told Peter about the prophecy and the protection the Potters needed. And Peter agreed to the ruse.
Peter Pettigrew would become the secret keeper for the Potters. No one would ever think the cowardly boy would agree to it, he would never even be a target.
So if and when Sirius was captured there was no physical way he could ever tell anyone where the Potters were, because he wouldn't. And he would never reveal the real secret keeper to anyone.
Not even Rose knew about the switch. She was sure it was Sirius.
The morning of the charm, Sirius revealed his plan. And the Potters agreed to it. So they cast the charm, making Peter the secret keeper. Their life was in his hands.