"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but Ashley's about eight months along now, right?" Scorpius asked as he and Lily sat, waiting for the wedding ceremony of Albus and Ashley to begin, which would be any moment.
Lily nodded, holding one-year-old Cecilia in her lap. "Yeah, she is."
"So, why did they decide to have the wedding a month before the baby was born? Why not earlier?" Scorpius inquired with a bit of a confused scowl.
Not wanting to tell Albus's true story, and how it was the reason that both he and Ashley had pushed the wedding back out of hesitation, Lily just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because her hormones were so rampant a few months ago," she said vaguely.
Scorpius straightened out the hem of Cecilia's dress a little. "Oh but the hormones just seem like the best part of pregnancies," he muttered sarcastically.
Despite the overly pregnant bride, the simple ceremony was beautiful to Lily. It was short and sweet, which fit their secret situation. The attendance was small to their request, so it was mainly family and very close friends. But of course, there was a bit of media there that also stayed into the reception.
"You know, I sometimes wish Albus would actually tell me how worried he is about being a father so young," Rose commented at the reception. The two of them sat together at a table, enjoying a simple drink together.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"Well with our jobs . . . kids can be difficult, especially right when you start. A lot of the men on my team worry about their kids, or wish they could see them more. And more women in our department don't have kids than ones that do. It can be difficult," Rose mentioned.
"Does that mean you don't plan on having kids?" Lily questioned.
"Well no, but I wouldn't right away. It wouldn't be practical for Lorcan and me. He always travels for the team, and who knows when I'll have to go out on missions. But Al . . . well I imagine it's hard for him, but he won't talk to me about it. I'm not used to that," she said with a bit of a dry chuckle.
"Use to being the comforting shoulder?" Lily teased lightly.
Rose nodded. "For him and Tyler. I mean, when Lucy told Tyler about her and Zack, he still talked to me and Al about it. But Al won't open up about this."
Lily looked over at her cousin, her curiosity too strong. "What did Tyler say about Lucy and Zack dating again?"
"Well, he didn't tell me what Lucy had said to him, but he told me how he felt. And while he said it hurt, he came to the decision that if this was going to make her happy, then he couldn't interfere. And to make things up to her, he was going to stay away. Take away any confusion out of the picture, and let Zack raise Colin as if he really were his son. Tyler plans to just act as an uncle, but secretly support him through Lucy," Rose explained. "I guess he's been giving her a piece of his salary to help pay and financially support Colin."
"That sounds . . . so unlike Tyler," Lily mumbled. It was way too . . . mature of him. Tyler had been fighting for Lucy all through the pregnancy, and apparently before that. So now he was actually conceding to Zack . . . for Lucy?
Even Rose nodded. "I know. Albus mentioned that too, and all Tyler said was that he had to stop making decisions for others, so he wasn't going to fight Lucy's decision. He was going to accept it, and make one that concerned only him, but helped her and his son."
"I wonder what they're going to do if Colin ever finds out," Lily said with a small sigh.
"I know. Unintentional big mouths run through some of the people in our family. Namely my father," Rose agreed. "I just hope for Colin's sake that he never hears about the truth of it all."
"What are we talking about, ladies?" Hugo inquired as he came to sit with them. He looked very nice for the occasion. While he'd refrained from shaving, dedicated to "growing it out a little," he'd also cut his curly hair a bit short again. The length practically hid his curls, but still looked good on him.
"About how big of a mouth Dad has," Rose joked teasingly.
Hugo chuckled openly. "At least he's not like Mum, who not long ago loudly asked me when I would be getting married," he laughed.
Lily smiled at the two siblings. As rare as it was, it was nice to see the two of them getting along, especially now that the two of them seemed to put the past behind them. Of course they still argued. After all, they were their parents' children. But they had more moments when they got along, and their anger wasn't as long lasting.
"How the hell do you save your girlfriend from your own mother?" James questioned as he joined them at the table. "Because Mum practically trapped Elizabeth while I was in the bathroom, and I don't know how to help her now."
Hugo scoffed. "Man, there is no saving her now. She's doomed until Aunt Ginny lets her go."
"Now you know how Lily and I felt when it came to bringing boyfriends home," Rose pointed out. "And Dad having known Lorcan all his life did nothing to help."
"Yeah but Dads never fill thoughts of marriage and kids into the heads of boyfriends," James argued. "In fact they do their best to scare the idea of sex right off their world of thoughts. Mothers do nothing but fill their thoughts."
"Yeah but mothers don't scare the girl away," Lily retorted. "Fathers aim to scare boyfriends off. If Dad would have had his way years ago, I wouldn't be married right now."
"Yeah, but you were with Scorpius for how long . . . practically a year, before you finally brought him around for dinner with the family?" James countered. "I haven't been dating Elizabeth that long."
"Scorpius had been over before that though, and as my boyfriend," Lily disagreed.
"But you knew you were in love with Scorpius," Hugo defended. "James's relationship is new."
"Thank you!" James said.
"I had hardly been dating Lorcan when Dad sat him down and talked to him about me and sex," Rose now argued. "And I was only fifteen."
"But you both got married to the loves of your lives," Hugo said with a roll of his eyes. "So it obviously had no effect."
"And you love Stacy, and she loves you, so why should you be worried about anything your mum says affecting your relationship?" Lily mocked. "Or are you just afraid of getting married?"
"Hey! I'm only nineteen! I'm not even twenty! Not everyone has to get married as young as you two did," Hugo defended.
"Well Scorpius and Lorcan had no problem with it," Lily quipped.
"It must be a little boy thing," Rose teased with a slightly smug grin.
James rolled his eyes, bringing his glass to his lips. "I am all man, cousin," he mumbled before taking a drink.
September continued on after Albus's wedding. But Lily personally found nothing good about the continuation of September. And it had nothing to do with the weather getting a little cooler and damp. It didn't have to do with the new quiet that went around areas like Diagon Alley now that kids were back at Hogwarts. It had more to do with two other friends that were leaving. But unlike kids going to Hogwarts, they wouldn't eventually be back for an entire summer.
The last few days leading up to Lola and Jace moving away had been spent with all of their friends spending time together, or having girl nights and guy nights. But this early afternoon was spent at the Leaky Cauldron with the two of them, and Lily and Hugo. Once they had all finished eating, they lingered at the table, knowing that once they got up, it would be time to separate.
"Man, you guys should have seen how empty the flat looked after we'd packed up the last of our stuff," Jace commented lightly. "It was weird."
"I thought the same of my room when I moved in with Scorpius," Lily agreed just as lightly.
Lola stared at Melody, who sat in a small highchair, oblivious to the bit of tension in the air. "I just think it's going to be really crowded at your uncle's house, what with us and a baby now, and all our things."
"Won't be for long. I mean, you're going to start looking for a place once you get the chance, wasn't that your plan?" Hugo pointed out almost a bit awkwardly.
"Besides, Uncle said he was a bit excited to have more than just himself in the house," Jace joked weakly. "According to him it gets awfully lonely."
"But your uncle has also never dealt with a baby in the house," Lola said with a bit of a laugh.
Jace leaned over to pull Melody from the chair, and into his lap. "Well we all experience new things all the time. It's his turn to experience something new, huh, cutie," he murmured the end to a lightly babbling Melody.
"What are your plans for Christmas?" Hugo asked curiously. "You guys coming back here?"
Lola nodded. "Yeah of course."
"We thought it'd be nice to come back, let the family fuss over how big Melody will have gotten by then," Jace chuckled. "We'll probably be staying with Lola's family, so we'll definitely make time to spend with you guys too."
"So . . . this it?" Hugo mumbled. They all knew what he meant, even if they were all still hesitating.
Lola sighed, obviously still hesitant herself. "Yeah. I guess so."
Slowly they all stood up, and with Jace still holding on to Melody, they all made their way out to the cool but comfortable air outside. Hugo gave a shrug of his shoulders as he sighed now. "Well take care, guys." He pulled Lola into a hug.
Lily looked at Jace and gave a small smile as she carefully gave him a hug, careful with him still holding the baby. "Take care of my best friend, or else I'll kill you," she teasingly warned.
Jace chuckled as he tightened their hug before taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I will, promise. You be sure to take care of Scorpius and yourself. And just stay happy. After all you've done for us and for others, you deserve it. Thank you, Lil."
Lily next found herself hugging a very teary-eyed Lola. "You're going to write, aren't you?"
Lily nodded with reassurance. "Of course. You asked me that before very break while we were at school, do you really think my answer has changed?"
Lola gave a small laugh as they pulled away from their hug. "Good point." Then she took in a deep breath. "If you're ever in town, be sure to stop by. I know we will."
Hugo sighed loudly. "Ok, you guys should get going. Especially before I start to cry," he said with a humorous chuckle. But Lily could see that bit of sadness in his eyes.
Jace nodded as Lola took Melody into her arms. "Yeah, you're right." He looked over at Lily and Hugo. "Well . . . we'll see you guys around."
"Bye, guys," Lola whispered, obviously doing the best to repress the tears in her eyes.
"Later, you two," Hugo said with a nod.
"Bye," Lily said softly with a wave. Lily and Hugo stood on the sidewalk, watching as their two friends walked away toward their Apparation point. A sadness sat in Lily's stomach as she stood there. Two friends, who had stuck with her all the way through their time at Hogwarts, were now finally leaving her to walk on her own. They had their own paths to walk down. As they turned the corner, she almost laughed at the thought that came through her. When she'd first really met them, they'd been fussing and light-heartedly bickering at each other. Now at the end of their journey together, the two of them were married with a child.
"I'm going to miss those two," Hugo admitted openly.
"Tell me about it. After practically a decade of close friendship . . . it's not easy to just part ways," Lily sighed.
Hugo threw an arm around her shoulders. "Well, you've still got me. I may not be much, but I'm here," he said with a grin.
Lily smiled as she placed her hand on his. "Well you may not be much, but you do perfectly for me."
Hugo chuckled. "You're not bad yourself, cuz."
The feeling of sadness that Lily felt with the departure of her friends was still there, but after a few days, it was something that she was easily able to put aside. Especially after she'd received a letter from Lola after just two days of being in Greece.
October came with a cool air to it, and with anticipation throughout the family. Ashley would be due to give birth in just a few weeks, so they were all excited for the new addition to the family. And as scared as Albus was, it was obvious that he was excited too. According to her father, it had been difficult to get Albus to go on a simple mission, even though there was still about a week before the baby was due.
It was either a joke by fate, or instincts that should have been followed.
Lily sat in her study, flipping through a book of potion ingredients. It was her recent area of study, and figuring out what would be best to use to tweak potions for immune systems. She had chosen to look over commonly used ingredients in healing potions, with the plan to move on to strengthening ingredients.
There was then a sudden and frantic knock on the door, which confused her. Who the hell was that? Scorpius still had to be at work, and it wasn't like Hugo ever knocked either. She had never made her study seem like a private room.
Lily got up from her seat and went over to open the door, and was surprised to see James there. "Oh, hey. What's up?" she asked.
James looked oddly confused and panicked. "Um, I brought Ashley here. She . . . she showed up at my place . . . and her water broke, I guess."
Lily raised a brow. "What?"
James was bouncing on the toes of his feet, obviously uncertain on what to do. "She came to me and said her water broke. I know what that means, . . . but I'm not a woman, I don't know how to handle this."
Lily pushed past her brother and hurried down the hallway. She found Ashley sitting on the couch, obviously a bit uncomfortable. But she gave a weak smile to Lily. "Hey, Lily. I didn't know where you lived, so I went to James."
Lily nodded. "Ok. And Albus is . . ."
"Still on that mission," James answered.
Lily gave another nod. "Perfect. Ok, well let's get you to the hospital and go from there, ok?"
Ashley nodded, a bit of a pained look on her face. "Ok. That sounds fine."
So the two siblings quickly ushered their sister-in-law to St. Mungo's, where, thanks to Victoire, she was quickly taken to a room to relax as contractions started. James took the responsibility of holding her hand, letting her practically break it with every contraction. Lily gave James credit for showing no pain on his face.
"Ok, so by the timing between contractions, there's still some time, but it won't be all that much longer either," Victoire told them. "A couple hours, maybe. Then we can start pushing, ok?"
Ashley nodded, squeezing James's hand as a contraction came. Lily looked at her. "Do you need anything? Do you want us to get your parents?"
Ashley shook her head. "They're away visiting my brother," she spat out as she squeezed James's hand even harder.
Lily sighed, now a little unsure herself. She'd never helped someone through a birth either, so she and James were really in the same area. "Is there a way to get in contact with Albus? Because he'd want to be here."
James eyed his reddened hand. "He deserves to be here," he muttered. He looked at Ashley. "Would you like me to see if I can get him?"
"I don't see how you could. He's on a surveillance mission," Ashley said through short and breathy pants.
James slipped his hand away from hers. "Just leave it to me." He walked around the bed, patting Lily on the shoulder. "Take care of this, sis. I'll be back."
Lily felt like glaring at her brother, who was basically leaving her here, but nodded. "You'd better hurry," she muttered back as he left the room. Lily turned back and offered her hand to Ashley. "Here, squeeze when it hurts."
Ashley nodded, holding lightly onto Lily's hand. "Lily, . . . have you ever been around a woman giving birth before? Because I'm . . . I'm kind of clueless about this."
"No, I've always left before the final showdown," Lily joked with a mumble. But then she took in a breath and gathered her courage. "But we can do this, no matter if Albus shows or not. I'll be here . . . and we'll get through this."
"I don't know what I'm going to do when this baby comes out," Ashley admitted suddenly. "I never imagined that I would have a baby at this age, especially Albus's baby. That is that last thing I'd imagined!"
Lily was the one to give the reassuring squeeze to her hand this time. "I know, but it'll be ok. Despite the initial problems between you two, you both have been really excited about this child. You have that in common, and neither of you want to screw it up. You'll be ok."
Ashley groaned as another contraction started and she squeezed Lily's hand. "Oh damn!"
Lily bit back a moan of pain at the pressure Ashley placed on the bones in her hand. "Just breathe. Relax."
"I do not find breathing relaxing!" Ashley cried as she dropped her head onto the pillow.
"Then talk!" Lily retorted. "Tell me about how you and Albus have been? What else you have in common."
Ashley panted as she slowly loosened her grip on Lily's hand. "We're both a bit impatient. We've had rocky relationships with siblings before."
Lily nodded, thankful the contraction had seemed to end. "What else? Just keep talking and distract yourself."
"Well, your brother has this habit of taking off his glasses and then always dropping them, so they always break," Ashley said, almost like she would laugh. "It's so weird, but it makes me laugh every time, because he always seems so surprised when he drops them."
Lily smiled and did give a small laugh. She knew about that habit of Albus's. Dropping his glasses was nothing new. He did that as kids. "What else?"
"He taps his pointer finger whenever he's just sitting and thinking, or when we're eating dinner. It makes me want to smack his hand each time," Ashley said, finally giving a little laugh. "And his hair! There are so many times that I just want to sit him down and straighten every strand of hair on his head, just to fix that mess."
"You'll get used to dealing with Potter hair," Lily assured, thinking of how her own hair could easily become a mess. "My mother said after having kids, she quickly got used to dealing with taming Potter hair."
"He sometimes can be really indecisive and have no confidence, and you just want to smack him upside the back of his head," Ashley mentioned. Lily noticed that she had started to squeeze Lily's hand again due to a contraction, but she seemed a bit more relaxed as she continued to speak. "And he seems so hesitant sometimes, like he doesn't want to screw anything up ever. I can't get him to understand that mistakes can be ok."
"Albus has always been like that. I think it might be a middle child thing," Lily commented, biting her tongue on how much her hand was beginning to hurt.
"But he is a quick learner," Ashley admitted. "He learned quickly that if I was just being hormonal that I needed space. He knew that we'd always argue during those times, because we did a few times, so he quickly understood that he just needed to back off. And he can be dense about girls and the whole pregnancy thing, but I will agree that he does his best."
Lily was able to keep Ashley relaxed through the contractions, and just kept her talking, which really did seem to do better for her than just breathing. But as time passed, Lily felt her own nerves start to jump and get hectic. Where was James? Where was Albus? Where was someone that actually knew how to deal with this situation? But the moment of truth came when Victoire and a small crew of her own came into the room.
"Ok, we're going to check to make sure, but I think we're probably ready by now," Victoire stated as the three Healers, her included, seemed to get ready for the delivery.
Lily felt her own heart ready to explode. "You mean now?"
Victoire nodded. "Most likely. Like I said, we'll check to be sure."
Why couldn't Victoire have been wrong for once? And in the hustle of all the preparation and getting ready, Lily stood there by the bed, completely confused. "Um, what should I do?"
Victoire did her best to give her young cousin a comforting smile. "Just relax, hold her hand, and reassure her."
Lily would like to say she did her best. She didn't make a sound when she was sure a bone in a few of her fingers broke due to Ashley's crushing grip. She just went with the flow, giving what she hoped were comforting words to Ashley as she went through the delivery of her baby. And on the side, she wanted to curse and hex both of her brothers. James for leaving her here, and Albus for not following his instincts and refusing the mission.
But after what must have been hours upon hours, at least it felt as such, a small and soft wail sounded in the room. Lily flexed her fingers as Ashley finally, panting, relaxed into the bed again. And Lily watched as the other Healers in the room cleaned up a still whimpering infant that was hidden from sight. One came and whispered to Victoire, who immediately walked over to where the child was, and then all three Healers were whispering in quiet tones.
A bit of fear entered Ashley's eyes. "Is something wrong?" she asked, still panting in her exhaustion.
Lily wiped a bit of sweat from Ashley's forehead. "I'm sure it's all fine."
Victoire came over, peeling off her gloves with a bit of a smile. "You did great, Ashley."
"Is the baby ok?" Ashley asked immediately.
But thankfully, Victoire's smile stayed, and was reassuring. "The baby is a little smaller than expected, but that may just be due to a slightly early birth. We think that by the next week or so, he'll be the expected size and weight."
"He?" Ashley whispered.
Victoire nodded. "You have a baby boy."
"One that needs a name," a male Healer said with a chuckle as he walked over with a small blue bundle. He set the baby into Ashley's waiting arms. "Maybe seeing him will give an idea."
Like Ashley, Lily immediately looked down at the small infant. He was tiny, but there was a bit of color to his cheeks. His eyes were closed, and a few small whimpers still left his mouth.
"He's so . . . beautiful," Ashley whispered, tears in her eyes.
Lily smiled as she looked down at her little, tiny, nephew. "He absolutely is." She looked at her sister-in-law. "What's his name?"
Ashley seemed to think about it as a small tear finally fell from her eye. Then she smiled even brighter. "Well, even though he wasn't here, how about Severus Al Potter?"
Lily gave a small laugh. "I think that name will make Albus have the same face he gets whenever he drops his glasses," she joked, making Ashley laugh, though obviously tired.
Ashley then held out the small infant to Lily. "Here. My arms are shaking, and dropping my son would not be a good start," she said with a chuckle and joke.
Lily nodded and took hold of the baby, seeing the obvious exhaustion taking over Ashley's face and entire body. "Ok. I can do that."
Lily wasn't sure how long she sat alone with Ashley in the room, and she wasn't sure how long it took for Ashley to fall asleep, but soon the door opened in a silent flash, and she saw both of her brothers hurrying in, James barely having time to close the door. Both men were panting, and their hair wild. It was obvious that they had ran. But Albus was stunned into a quiet calm as he eyed the bundle in Lily's arms.
She watched Albus gulp. "Is that . . .?"
Lily nodded as she got up from her seat, walking toward her brothers. She held the baby out to Albus, guiding him on how to hold him. "This is your son, Al. He's a little small, but he's healthy."
Albus looked stunned at the infant that was now in his own arms. He quickly moved to sit on the end of the bed where Ashley slept. Her brother just looked . . . so amazed.
James moved so that he could look at the little face too. "What's his name?" he whispered.
Lily smiled at them. "Ashley named him Severus Al Potter," she told them. She watched Albus suck in a breath of shock.
Albus, hardly able to look away from his new child, was finally able to look at Lily. "You were with her the whole time?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah, I stayed through the entire mess. She needed someone while we waited for you."
Albus's shoulder sagged as he looked down at his son. "Thank you so much. Both of you."
Lily just gave a small smile as she playfully made the feeble attempt to smooth down a bit of his hair. "You're my brother. She's your wife. And that's my nephew. Of course I'd do it."
James put an arm around his brother, giving Albus's shoulder a squeeze. "She's right. And I'm proud of you, little brother. A beautiful wife, and an adorable son. What else could you need?"
Now a small smile surfaced over Albus's lips, and he looked at both his siblings. "Well, great siblings, but I've got that too."
The entire family all took time to come and see the new baby, who Victoire had stay for an extra week and a half, just to make sure that he reached a proper size and weight. And he did. Lily was sure that Albus had never been happier than every time he looked at his son. Lily had brought Scorpius to see the new baby as well, and was surprised when he and Albus even shared a few cordial words with each other.
"So, I was thinking that maybe one day soon we could have dinner with my brothers, and with Ashley and Elizabeth?" Lily suggested as she watched Scorpius prepare to leave for work.
A normal and thoughtful scowl came over Scorpius's face as he thought about it. "I don't know. I'd have to force myself to be nice."
Lily rolled her eyes as she came to sit next to him on the couch, where he was slipping on his shoes. "Oh come on! You like Albus now."
Scorpius shrugged. "I don't mind Albus. Doesn't make us friends."
"But this could be a great time to try and . . . I don't know, maybe be friends. Get to know each other, tolerate each other," Lily stated.
"Princess, no offense, but I'm sure that I will never like James," Scorpius said with certainty.
"Well I used to think that!" Lily retorted. "But . . . he's different. He's grown up, and he knows what he's done wrong. Just give him a chance."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine. Just let me know what day."
Lily smiled. "Perfect. I'll talk to them about it."
Scorpius looked at her, and a smirk came over his lips. "Well good luck. Maybe they'll put up a bigger fight than I could." Then he leaned forward to kiss her. "I'll be a bit late tonight, but not much, ok?"
Lily nodded. "Ok. I'll start a bit late on dinner than."
Later that day Lily found herself studying potion ingredients again. But as she instinctively looked over her supplies again, she found herself lacking a few things she normally had. Seeing it as the perfect time to also pick up a few new things as well, Lily took the chance to go to Diagon Alley and take as much time as she wanted to browse around the apothecary. But she found a surprise when she entered the shop.
"Christian?" she called out, surprised to see her friend.
Christian turned at the sound of his name, and a smile came over his lips when he saw her. "Hey, Lil! What are you doing here?" he asked, giving her a short hug.
"Just a bit of shopping," Lily replied with a smile of her own. "What about you? Of all the places to find you, this surprises me."
Christian chuckled. "Well I have the day off today, and Izzy mentioned that she was needing to pick up a few things to make a solution for headaches, so I thought I'd pick them up so I could go to her place and surprise her."
"How are you two doing?" Lily asked curiously as they both moved around to pick up a few things.
"Good," Christian said with a small smile. "Happy. Actually, I haven't been able to see her for a few days due to hectic schedules, hence the surprise."
"Been busy?" Lily teased.
"Well since my brother went back to school, I've been going back to my parents house a few times each day to check on the puppies," Christian mentioned offhandedly.
Lily raised a brow, confused and curious. "Puppies?"
"Our family dog had puppies. But for some strange reason, she just stopped feeding the puppies, which was bad because at that time they were so young. So while my parents were at work, I was taking time to go over and feed each individual puppy. Now that they're able to survive without their mother, I just go to give them water, food, bathe them when they need to be," he explained.
"How many puppies did she have?" Lily asked.
"Six, which means we have to get rid of four," Christian said with a bit of a sad sigh.
"You mean your family is only keeping two?" Lily questioned.
"Actually, my parents didn't want for the dogs to have puppies. So they aren't keeping any. I'm going to take one, and they're keeping one for Riley. But the other four . . . they're getting rid of," Christian sighed. He looked at her. "I'm heading over after I'm done here. Want to come along?"
Lily nodded. "Definitely."
"They're so cute!" Lily gushed as she looked at the tiny puppies now stumbling around the room. It was the first time she'd been at Christian's childhood home, and she had to admit that it was modest but very tasteful and clean. It was obvious that his parents were probably too . . . "clean" for so many puppies to stay in the house for long. Not to mention that the puppies were obviously Great Danes, which were notorious for ending up as big dogs.
"Aren't they?" Christian said with a small laugh as he held one of the puppies. "Four boys and two girls."
They were absolutely adorable to Lily. They were small, some grey and some black. A few even had a little bit of both. While she understood that eight dogs would be way too many, Lily wondered how his parents could bear to part with them.
Lily picked up one that for her was the cutest dog she'd ever seen. It as a male, and he was obviously the runt. He was almost completely black, except for a bit of grey on his chest, chin, and the tips of his ears. His paws were a bit too big for his body, and his ears looked ready to stand up straight, but then flopped over at the ends. He had looked so clumsy, but still so cute.
"This little guy is so cute," Lily murmured as she stroked the puppy's side. In return, he turned his head and licked the back of her hand.
"Really? The runt?" Christian joked.
"I think you or Riley should keep this one. He's a sweetie," Lily said softly as she continued to pet the small Great Dane.
"Do you want him? Because my brother and I have ours picked already," Christian teased. But although it was a joke, Lily honestly did consider it. She always loved pets, and she'd always wanted a dog. But Christian seemed to notice. " . . . Do you want him? Because you can have him. My parents told me that if I could get one of them a home, then to do it."
Lily bit her lip momentarily. "It's tempting. He's so cute, and I love dogs. But I don't know if Scorpius would go for it."
"Well if you can figure it out in the next two or three days, then let me know," Christian told her. "The ones that they don't get homes for before then are going to a muggle farm in the next few days."
Lily looked down at the puppy in her arms, her heart going out to the big blue eyes that sweetly looked back at her. "I don't think he'd mind," she whispered, already certain and entrapped.
Lily made a really nice and big dinner that night, adding in a dessert she knew Scorpius loved. She wanted him happy . . . before she told him that she'd gotten them a dog to keep. Said puppy, whom she'd named Padfoot after her father's godfather, was in their room, playing with a few toys she'd picked up before coming home. With Christian's help, she'd gotten him a good sized bed of his own, knowing how big Great Danes got, food, two bowls, and a few toys. Not to mention his own collar for when he got just a tad bit bigger.
Salazar hadn't been a fan of the puppy when she'd brought Padfoot home, so the little dragon was now resting on the couch. Lily herself was buzzing around the kitchen, making sure everything was perfect.
When Scorpius walked in, she did her best to seem completely relaxed. She knew Scorpius would pick up on it if she didn't do her best to hide her unease. She smiled as she kissed him. "Hi," she greeted sweetly.
Scorpius smirked, but then raised a brow when he noticed all the food on the table. "We're not having dinner with your brothers tonight, are we?"
Lily laughed and shook her head. "No, just us. But I thought you deserved a good meal to come home and relax to."
Scorpius kissed her forehead as he slipped off his shoes. "I like the sound of that."
Lily took his hand and brought him to the table. "Good, because I want you to relax and enjoy yourself tonight."
Scorpius raised a brow as his smirk became a bit smug. "Do I have to enjoy just myself, or can I throw you in that mix too?"
Lily blushed lightly and bit her lip. "Anything you want." After all, she did get a dog without talking to him first.
Lily thought she did really well being relaxed and not hinting at the impending secret that she had to reveal. And as the night continued and Scorpius relaxed, Lily was sure that she could pull it off.
"So what did you do all day?" Scorpius asked casually, not knowing that his question made Lily hesitant and uncomfortable.
"Oh, I went and did some shopping. I picked up a few potion ingredients. I also ran into Christian," Lily said as casually as she could.
"Really? How's he?" Scorpius inquired.
"He seemed to be doing pretty well. He said his schedule had been a bit hectic, but he was happy," Lily replied. Lily hoped her unease was hidden well.
But it didn't matter. Because just as she was about to say that she had made dessert as well, there was the sound of padded feet on tile, and they both watched as the Great Dane puppy ran, and then slid around the kitchen, before only stopping due to running into the counter.
While Scorpius stared in complete shock at the dog, Lily picked up her glass. "By the way, I got a dog." Then she took a long drink.
Scorpius blinked a few times as he watched the puppy play with a small toy and stumble around on the tiles. Then he looked at Lily. "You . . . you got a dog?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah. Christian's dog had puppies. And he said I could have one."
It almost seemed as if Scorpius was too shocked to be mad, which was something Lily could work with. "So you just got a dog without talking to me?"
"Well his parents are giving the ones they don't get homes for to some muggle, and I didn't want to risk not being able to keep him," Lily replied.
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. "Lily, it's a dog! And a Great Dane! They're huge dogs! Have you thought about this? We both work!"
"I don't work every day. And I could take him with me when I do. He's a puppy," Lily said weakly.
"What about when he's tall enough that his head is almost to your shoulders? You can't take him then!" Scorpius argued.
"A photo shoot doesn't take all day!" Lily countered. "And I'm sure Brandon could always watch over him for me if needed. He's really cute!"
"It's a huge decision and responsibility! And it's a breed of huge dogs!" Scorpius insisted.
Lily leaned down to pick up the puppy, then moved to stand next to Scorpius. "He's adorable though! How could you not want to keep him after seeing him?"
"You see, this is obviously something we should discussed before you confirmed it!" Scorpius pointed out.
Lily pouted. "How can you say no to such an innocent puppy though?" She held Padfoot out to Scorpius.
Scorpius obviously hesitated as he looked at the puppy. But regardless, he took the puppy into his hands. "I'm not sure about this, Lil."
"Great Danes are sweet dogs, no matter how big. They're gentle dogs, and great with people. They're not mean or aggressive dogs. We can handle this," Lily assured.
Scorpius just stared at the dog he held in front of him. Said dog leaned forward and swiped his tongue across Scorpius's nose, making him blink, and making Lily laugh. Scorpius handed Padfoot back to Lily, and then wiped his nose. "He's not sleeping on the bed," he stated firmly.
Lily smiled as she placed a kiss on Scorpius's temple. "I bought him a dog bed of his own. So, can we keep Padfoot?"
Scorpius raised a brow. "Padfoot?"
Lily nodded. "After Sirius Black's nickname."
Scorpius shook his head and sighed. "Yes. We'll keep the dog."
Lily giggled as she ran her fingers through his hair, then leaned down to nip as the top of his ear. "Good. Because that means you can still enjoy dessert and me."
Lily found that bringing a puppy into the house didn't add that much stress, no matter what Scorpius's attitude was. Sure he was a bit rowdy as a puppy, and of course there was the task of house training him, but she still loved it. She took him out a few times each day, and he generally went with her wherever she went. She generally just demanded that Brandon hold him while she did her photo shoots.
As time moved along Padfoot got obviously bigger in size, even if he was just a puppy. But Lily still took him places with her. She started walking him at least twice a day. And she had been right. He was such a gentle dog, who loved anyone he came in contact with. Cecilia, who she still babysat often, loved having a puppy to play with. And no matter what he said, Lily was sure that Scorpius loved having a dog too.
"Are you seriously bringing Padfoot to your grandparents' house?" Scorpius questioned as he stepped back into the bathroom. He'd just showered, and had at least slipped on a pair of jeans. His beard was growing out, and his hair was smoothed down, although still a bit damp.
December had come, and Christmas would be tomorrow. That meant the entire family would be gathering at the Burrow tonight. And Lily herself had been ok with the idea of leaving Padfoot home. After all, he was getting big and the Burrow was crowded enough just with the family. "Grandma insisted. She thought the little ones would love having a puppy to play with, and Pad is great with kids," she replied as she brushed through her hair.
Padfoot, easily noticing his name now, was laying on the end of the bed, his ears perked and his eyes alert. He jumped off the bed, and trotted after Scorpius. While Scorpius washed his face, Padfoot sat at his feet, making Lily smiled as Scorpius instinctively reached down to pat his head. Even if she was the one to bring Padfoot home, and Scorpius had been hesitant about it, they were already buddies. Padfoot followed Scorpius around whenever he was home, sitting by his feet, or sometimes even resting his head on Scorpius's knee.
Scorpius just sighed as he stepped out from the bathroom, and grabbed his shirt off the bed. "Well I'll walk him later then too." He slipped the shirt on, then looked down at the big puppy. "Besides, you know Pad will love being around so many people." Again he patted the dog's head as he now sat on the edge of the bed, and began to slip on a pair of socks.
Theodore and Gabby were quick to head to the door when Lily and Scorpius stepped inside the Burrow with Padfoot trotting behind them. They had both been in love with the dog since they'd first come over to their flat after Lily had gotten him. According to Teddy, they were now both begging for a "doggy" of their own.
"You couldn't have gotten a bigger breed of dog, Lil?" Hugo mocked as he scratched Padfoot's head affectionately. Padfoot tilted his head a little, but then moved follow Scorpius, who went to sit with her father and uncle Ron. Her dad immediately gave the dog a pat. Lily suspected he had become a fan when she'd mentioned what she'd named their new puppy.
"He's adorable," Lily defended with a soft smile.
Hugo nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked at the dog. "Scorpius made friends with him quick despite being hesitant about having a dog," he joked quietly.
"I don't care what he says, he got sucked in fast," Lily said with a bit of a laugh.
"I should have brought Harlen over," Hugo chuckled. "See how cats and dogs really do get along."
"Pad is such a gentle giant. I think Harlen would terrorize him," Lily joked.
"Most likely. That cat is such a dick," Hugo agreed with a grin.
"He's your cat," Lily pointed out.
"Doesn't mean he isn't a jerk," Hugo retorted.
Lily had to admit that out of all the Christmas Eves she'd spent at the Burrow since she'd started Hogwarts, this one was obviously the most relaxed. While there were still a few small tensions, cousins (Fred and James) who weren't talking, or siblings (Fred and Roxanne, and Molly and Lucy), or in-laws (mainly James and Lorcan), the majority was calm and relaxed. Those who had not yet made up or fixed internal problems simply avoided and ignored each other in polite ways.
Theodore and Gabby had fought for who got to sit near Scorpius and Lily, mainly because Padfoot was obviously laying patiently and obediently behind their chairs. Most of the aunts fussed and cooed over the new babies in the family. Ashley sat between Albus and Ginny, allowing the two women to smile over baby Severus, who was technically Ginny and Harry's first blood grandchild. Colin sat on Percy's lap, because although he was born out of wedlock, Percy was wrapped around his grandson's finger, generally amusing Audrey. Baby Fleur sat on Grandpa Weasley's lap, because apparently she was becoming a big fan of her great-grandfather.
"So, there are still some of my grandkids that have not given me great-grandchildren yet," Grandma Molly teased with a mocking look of seriousness.
Quickly, all the grandchildren that had no children of their own looked away from their grandmother. Then each began to come up with an excuse.
"I'm not married."
"I have yet to settle into my job."
"I'm only nineteen!"
"I haven't been dating that long!"
"I'm still young!"
"I don't want children."
"I have work."
Louis just shrugged. "I'm gay."
"You know, Louis is the only one with a valid excuse," Teddy mocked.
"Oh, so I should knock up Stacy, regardless of the fact we aren't married?" Hugo countered, catching Teddy's teasing tone.
"Hey, I'm a father already, so I'm the good kid," Teddy joked.
"Yeah, a father of three kids, and one on the way," Hugo said, motioning toward a once again pregnant Victoire, something that was becoming less of a surprise and mild news in the family. "And this is all because you don't know the meaning of being safe like the rest of us."
"Hey, they are wonderful surprises," Teddy laughed. "Besides, I'm not a Weasley by blood, so it's not ingrained into my head as much."
"Unlike you I could make the hit with one shot," Hugo countered.
"Boys, we are eating dinner!" Grandma Molly scolded lightly, making both boys look away but still grin. But then she looked at the others. "Besides, I'm still just waiting for a bit of news from my married grandchildren. Lily, Rose, Roxanne, and Freddy."
Lily avoided her grandmother's gaze. "I have a dog. That's good enough for now."
"Do you think so, Scorpius?" Ginny said, throwing him into the conversation now.
Scorpius looked hesitant between the three women. "Um, there is no safe way for me to answer that, so I pass."
"Smart move," Albus complimented casually. "When trapped between these three, no word from a man is safe."
"And what does that mean?" Lily demanded.
"That you are just as terrifying as Mum," James stated in agreement. "And Mum gets it from Grandma. All down the line, you three are terrifying women. Honestly, I'll be even more scared if you ever have a daughter, sis. Because then there'll be four."
"Yeah, you strike fear into the hearts of the men in this family, you three," Albus said with a nod.
"I have noticed the similarities of mean and scary anger between you and your mother," Scorpius mumbled before taking a drink.
"You know, Malfoy, you can't complain. After all, you did marry into the family. We were born having to deal with them," Albus mentioned, and although he still didn't say Scorpius's name, his tone was casual and not at all hostile.
"Point taken. I had seen a lot of that anger before we ever got married," Scorpius agreed with a smirk.
"Wait until she throws something at you," James warned. "She threw a simple box of candy at me when we were kids. It left a bruise that stayed for a month and hurt like hell! She's got the aim and strength of a Beater!"
"Trust me. I'm amazed that I've avoided being hit after all these years. I'm hoping that I can be favored long enough to keep it that way," Scorpius commented.
"After this you'd better dream harder," Lily retorted with an eye roll.
"James, what the hell are we doing?" Lily demanded as the three Potter siblings trudged through the snow in Godric's Hollow. It was late, and in the middle of the night, James had dragged both his siblings outside, and Apparated them to their childhood home. The neighborhood was silent and dark, the snow hardly glistening in the night.
Each Potter sibling huddled in their coats as they each hopped over the fence to their old backyard. James led the way to the old treehouse. "Come on. Let's see if Dad's old heating charms are still in place up here."
"James, those spells are probably as old, or older, than Lily. I doubt they're still in effect," Albus replied as James began to climb up to the treehouse.
Lily shook her head and followed. "This better be for a good reason, James Sirius!" she complained as she followed him, Albus coming up behind her. As soon as James disappeared inside, she saw a light flicker on inside. Lily climbed in to see the Deluminator in James's hand, something that had been a gift to Hugo from his own father.
James caught her curious look. "I borrowed it from Hugo for this very occasion," he said as he sat cross-legged on the floor. He patted the spot next to him. "Now sit."
Lily sighed as she climbed fully in, Albus behind her, and both came to sit with James, forming an awkward triangle. "Ok, so what is this about, Jay?" Albus asked, a little tired himself now.
James grinned at his two younger siblings. "Ok, ok. I was thinking about the time Sev was born, that I really missed the three of us spending time up here. It was fun, and we had a lot of great, fun, and sometimes serious moments up here as kids. So I thought we could take a private moment to do it again."
Lily couldn't help but smile at her brother, just as Albus did. Despite the fact that James had picked too late of an hour in the night, the intentions and plan were sweet. Lily looked around them, thinking of a few of those moments they shared. While they hadn't really been much, they had been important as children.
"Remember when Mum and Dad fought that one night, and we came out here?" James asked suddenly.
Flashback
Five-year-old Lily sat in the dark of her room with tears in her eyes. She could still hear the arguing of her parents, their voices getting louder, while their words were hardly understandable to her at this point. It scared her. She'd seen her parents disagree, but she'd never heard them fight like this.
Slowly her door opened, and the voices got a bit louder as the light poured in through a sliver. Lily looked up from her lap to see James poke his head into her room. He held his finger up to his lips, giving the common signal to be quiet. Then he and Albus silently slipped into her room, closing the door, then flipping the lights on. Lily, although still upset, was confused. They both had jackets on, and their shoes in their hands. And James had Lily's jacket and shoes too.
"What are you doing?" Lily whispered, her voice cracking a little.
James handed her the jacket. "We're going out to the clubhouse. Put on your jacket. It's cool out. We're putting our shoes on in the kitchen," he explained. "This way Mum and Dad won't hear us."
Lily sniffed as she got off the bed and slipped the jacket on over her nightshirt. "But don't they know we're going outside?" she asked.
Albus shook his head. "No, and you can't tell them. They're too busy anyways."
Lily felt a small tear slip over her cheek at his words, but she nodded in a silent promise to be quiet as she took her shoes into her own hands. Then she followed her brothers, letting James turn off the light and shut her door behind them. Then he quietly led the way down the hallway, and their parents' voices got just a tad bit quieter as they made their way down the stairs.
After they made it to the kitchen and put their shoes on, James held Lily's hand as they stayed in the shadows of the yard, making their way toward the treehouse. When they made it up into the clubhouse, it was pitch black, with only a little moonlight coming in. But it was quiet, and Lily really appreciated that.
"Why are they fighting?" Lily asked tearfully. "I don't like it!"
She heard James sigh. "Grownups fight sometimes. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron do it a lot."
"But ours don't!" Lily argued as a few tears fell. "They never do!"
"We just don't hear them," Albus mumbled from the dark corner he sat in. "It's been a long time since I've heard them like this too."
"It's been awhile," James agreed.
"But why?" Lily demanded.
"I don't know," James admitted. As the oldest, he usually knew everything there was to know. "I guess for the same reason that we all sometimes fight."
"We're never that loud," Lily whispered.
"They're older. Their voices are louder," Albus said. "But it is scary. I don't like it neither."
"Well whenever they do this, we can just come out here," James said firmly. "Then we won't have to hear it."
"But they shouldn't do it!" Lily said firmly. "It's too scary!"
"We're just kids," James commented. "Once we're grownups, we might understand, and it might not be so scary."
"That doesn't matter. It's scary now," Lily insisted. "If what you said is true, then I feel bad for Rose and Hugo!"
"They're probably used to it by now," James muttered. "We're not." She heard him sigh. "But that does settle things."
"What do you mean?" Albus asked.
"I mean that whenever things get a little rough or hard, we'll come up here," James stated. "This place will be a sacred area of truce." Then he laughed, and the other two joined him.
End of Flashback
Lily nodded. "Yeah, I do remember that night."
"It seems like a really long time ago," Albus said as he scratched his head a little.
"If there's one thing I wish I had done, it's that I wish I'd made us all keep that promise, and brought us up here when things got rough between us years ago," James stated. "But by that time I saw it as just a childish statement, and it was just a distant memory. But lately, I really think we should have done it."
"Who knows? If we'd done that as soon as Christmas came instead of avoiding each other, things might have been different," Lily admitted honestly.
"Very possible," Albus sighed. "The dumbest thing we did was let it sit and fester, then continue to fight."
"So . . . I want to do that now," James said firmly. "I want to clear the air. I want us to do what we should have done years ago."
Lily almost laughed. "And how are we going to do that?"
"I'll start," James assured. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then he turned and looked at Lily. "When you first got Sorted, I felt like I'd been cheated. Like you had been cheated too. And then I was afraid that I'd lose my sister, but I never realized that I was the reason that we were growing apart."
"I never cared about old rivalries," Lily said. "I know I had always said that I wanted to be a Gryffindor, but I was a kid. When the time came, I just wanted to be where I really belonged. It didn't matter to me that I was in Slytherin. What scared me was how the two of you were going to react."
"While I was surprised," Albus suddenly spoke, "I was honestly kind of happy that you weren't in Gryffindor. I felt like I wouldn't have to compete with you in order to hang out with James."
"Why would you have to compete to hang with me?" James asked. "You're my brother."
Albus shrugged. "You always chose to hang out with Lily. At your first pick, you chose her. For once, I wanted to be the one you picked."
"I was never trying to compete with you," Lily said quickly.
"I know," Albus said with a small nod. "I know that now. Maybe I knew it then. But I felt like I had to compete. I was stupid and a child. But it made me do a lot of stupid things."
"I'm sorry," James apologized. "I do know that I hung out with Lily more. But . . . it was never because I liked her better. But I wanted her to be around so I could protect and take care of her. I always thought that guys should know how to take care of themselves, so I just assumed that you could. I was never choosing her over you, but I'm sorry you felt like I did."
"And I'm sorry for taking all my anger out on you, Lil," Albus apologized. "For all our lives, not just at Hogwarts. The more stupid things I did . . . the more I hated myself and the dumber I felt."
"I know I stupidly pushed you to do some of those things," James admitted. "I never meant for the bad things to happen, but I should have taken more consideration when it came to protecting you. And I know I did a lot of stupid things that affected you."
"I felt abandoned at first," Lily said. "Like you were ditching me, and I was really seeing the two of you the first time. But I realize I was only seeing a piece of you guys, and I judged quickly. I got defensive, and I pushed practically the entire family away. I pushed everyone away so much that soon I felt myself becoming awkward at home, and became a piece of another family. I hurt Mum and Dad immensely. I became the reason that they fought like they did all those years ago."
"I was arrogant and weak."
"I was stubborn and defensive."
"I was angry and a coward."
The three Potter siblings sat in silence for a moment. Andawkward air hung about them, along with their recent confessions to each other. But Lily didn't feel tense as she sat with them. Her body was relaxed, even though her nerves were a little jumpy from all that had been said. Her heart had picked up a little, and her mind weighed heavy with all the new information she had. She herself didn't know what to say now, after all had been said.
But James, the common and natural leader among the three of them, shifted where he sat, and rubbed his shoulder. "I think we were kids. And as kids, we screwed up. Maybe as adults . . . maybe we can do better."
"If there's one thing I can do, I hope it's that I can never scare my son like how scared we were when our parents argued," Albus said quietly.
"When I have kids I hope I can get them to understand that I just expect them to be themselves. To respect themselves and others," Lily mumbled. "I think loads of expectations . . . they can be damaging."
"I hate expectations being placed on kids like they were with us," James replied. "Stereotypes, cliches, they're not right, even if they're seen as good values. For the kids involved . . . they're awful. They create . . . well kids like we were. And yeah, we turned out ok at this point . . . but we hurt a lot of people, ourselves included, to get here."
"How do we do that though?" Albus wondered. "I mean, Mum and Dad were great parents . . . but somehow we all completely screwed up."
"And we all spent so much time together growing up. But once we got older and had one simple disagreement . . . it was over," Lily agreed. "How do you stop that from happening?"
"Bad things happen to good things, just like good things happen to bad things," James stated. "But I think I know what we need in order to prevent a repeat of what we did."
"What's that?" Lily asked.
"A place like this," James answered. "Somewhere where we stick them when things get bad, and let them solve their problems. A sanctuary for when things are hard and when times for them get rough. Only we'll make it real for them, instead of just a childish notion like it was to us."
"So, we all build a treehouse?" Albus questioned.
James shrugged. "Yeah. Something like that. As long as they have a sanctuary of their own, it could be anything. As long as it's a place for them to go and get away from things so they can figure things out."
Lily smiled a little. "And if anything, we can just send them here too."
Even Albus chuckled a bit. "Ok. As long as they have somewhere, because you are right. They might need somewhere to go. Everyone needs a moment and place to escape."
James's own grin was a little wry. "You know, I think sometimes adults don't really think that kids' problems are as big as their own. But . . . I think that, when a kid has a problem, it may be short or small, but it can leave a long-lasting effect or scar. That's when you get kids like us. Crippled, awkward, and outcasted."