Sirius Black apparated onto the road in front of the kirkyard in Godric's Hollow and had barely gained his footing before he was running across the street, splashing through puddles and to the little gate that closed in the garden wall. It creaked as it opened. He ran across the garden, feet hitting the stones that lined the walk to the stoop, and without bothering to knock, Sirius burst into the Potter cottage, slamming the door behind him.
"Lilith?!" he yelled, looking about.
Dora was in the kitchen, cooking, and Sirius could smell chicken and spices and she was humming as she waved a wand and a series of spices shook over a large pot on the stove. Sirius bounded over as Dora called, "Hi sweetheart!"
"Hi mum," Sirius said and he stood on the opposite side of the large bar counter, looking over the things laid out. "Chicken soup?" he asked.
"Yes for Lily. She's not feeling so well today," Dora explained.
"Yes I know..." murmured Sirius. "Where is she?"
"She's upstairs resting."
He spotted some lemons there on the counter top. "What're those for?"
"All part of the recipe. Lemon-ginger-turmeric soup - knocks an illness right out!" Dora chirped.
"Nix the citrus, mum," Sirius said, turning quickly to head for the stairs. "We're sensitive to it right now."
"Pardon?" Dora asked, confused, but Sirius had already launched himself up the first part of the flight of steps. Dora stared at the lemons, then shrugged.
Sirius ran up the stairs and bolted down the hallway to the Potter's bedroom. He pushed the door open without knocking and found Lily laying in bed, having nodded off, a book laying across her chest. It was one of the books about magique amour she'd been given by Professor Laurie titled Loving Your Enemies and her mouth was slightly open, hair splayed over the pillow. He rushed up to her and knelt beside the bed, shaking her shoulder gently. He could feel she was still nauseous and extreme motion might set her off again.
"Lilith?" he said quietly.
Her eyelashes fluttered and he shook her shoulder again.
"Lily? Lily. Lily. Lily. Lily. Liiiiilllllly."
She opened her eyes, blinking against the light that silhouetted him. "Sirius? Honey?"
"Wake up, I need to talk to you," he said urgently, his eyes bright and face flushed. "Lily.. Lily wake up. Wake up."
"Are you alright?" she asked, trying to press past her own nausea to check on what Sirius was feeling - but all she could feel was her own nausea reflected back and a streak of nervous, energetic excitement that she could see clearly on his face. "Oh I'm sorry, are you ill, too, honey? Did you catch it?"
"I don't think it can be caught," Sirius let out a low version of his barking laugh.
Lily, still waking up, groaned and sat up slowly, the book falling onto the empty side of the mattress. "What?" She was clutching her stomach which felt as though it had flipped when she sat up, the nausea returning. She winced and half leaned over the bed, afraid she might throw up without warning.
"Morning sickness," Sirius said lowly.
She looked up at him.
He stared at her, eyebrows raised.
"Oh my stars." She shoved the blankets back, rolling her legs quickly over the side of the bed, and pushing up from the bed quickly. Sirius leaped to his feet, jumping out of the way. She wobbled and caught herself against the dresser, a bit dizzy, and moved as quickly as she could, palm against the wall, headed for the bathroom.
Sirius followed, stopping in the walk-in-closet room before the more private bathroom, sitting on her school trunk, and biting his lip.
Lily came out of the bathroom after a couple minutes, holding the plastic vial in her hand. Inside the vial was a potion that was a very dark shade of purple. She was shaking slightly and set it down on the vanity on a tiny stand. She looked at Sirius and grabbed her hair brush, shakily coming to sit beside him. They sat there on her trunk, staring at the vial.
"How long does it take?" Sirius whispered.
"About half an hour," she answered.
"That long?"
She nodded. "It's quicker than the muggle ones. Some of those take up to two hours."
He stared at it. "How's it work?"
"Well in a half hour the potion will turn lavender as it processes and then turn either pink or blue with the result."
"And which do we want it to turn?"
"Blue for a positive result," Lily answered.
Sirius nodded.
Lily stared at the vial across the room for several moments, then looked down at the small space between them and she grabbed onto Sirius's hand, twisting her fingers through his and squeezing tight. "Did you feel me?" she asked, "Is that how you knew?"
"I got sick, too."
"You did?"
Sirius nodded. "All morning. Then I got up and I go to the kitchen and we had a bowl of oranges on the table and I thought I was going to throw up just smelling them and I remembered you last night --"
"Oh!" Lily gasped.
"Yeah.
"And I remembered the - the way you were sensitive to the cigarette smell... and how both Remus and I were thinking you smelled different lately and --"
"Do you really think --?" Lily waved her other hand at the vial.
Sirius shrugged.
Lily's voice shook, "I'm afraid to get excited. What if it turns red again?"
"Then you'll try again."
Lily nodded.
Sirius squeezed her hand reassuringly.
They both sat on the trunk staring at the vial.
"I'm sorry you got sick when I got sick," Lily said.
Sirius said, "I'm sorry you were sick." He paused. "I'm surprised James left you."
"I told him I was better so he'd go. He has a quidditch game he's refereeing tonight at Hogwarts."
"Ohh right," Sirius said. Then, "Lily."
"Yes?"
Sirius looked down at her stomach. "You could have a Pronglet-Fetus in there."
Lily's palm splayed over her belly and her breath caught. "Oh my stars, I could," she whispered. She rubbed her stomach gently. She stared at her palm as she moved it over her pyjama, smiling. Sirius watched her smile. She looked up and met Sirius's eyes, "Oh Sirius!" she threw her arms around him and pulled him close. "Oh I'm so nervous," her cheek was pressed against his chest as she hugged his torso, her eyes trained on the vial.
Sirius stiffened at first at the hug, then slowly melted into it, as he always did, and finally rested his cheek against the top of her head and hugged her.
Beyond the vial was the vanity mirror, reflecting them back to Sirius as he held her. Sirius stared at Lily. "I suppose this means everything is going to change, doesn't it?" he asked.
Lily smiled, "Yes," she said, "I suppose it does... but in the best way."
Sirius smiled, too. "Yeah?"
"Oh yes," she whispered. "Oh can't you just imagine it? What a grand adventure we're all about to have! We get to hold him and teach him how to walk and you can tell all your clean jokes to him now and your dirty jokes to him when he's old enough - oh Sirius, you're going to be the funnest uncle. He'll love you so much." She drew back out of the hug and stared into Sirius's face, her eyes wide with excitement. "His Uncle Padfoot."
Sirius grinned, "Uncle Padfoot, ey?"
"Yes." Lily nodded. "And Uncle Moony and Uncle Wormtail... And he's going to learn how to laugh and smile from you lot."
"And how to get into mischief."
"Merlin help me," Lily laughed, but she nodded.
"One thing's for sure..."
"What's that?"
"He'll be loved more than any other little lad on the planet," Sirius said, eyes sparkling. "And have the best parents that have ever lived. The best Mum." He stared right into her eyes.
Lily reached up and lay a gentle hand on his face, her eyes searching his. "What if I'm not?"
"Of course you will be."
Lily bit her lip. "You truly think so?"
"You already are."
Lily's eyes welled up. "He isn't even here yet..."
"He might be." Sirius's hand hovered near her stomach and then dropped away, not daring to touch her. He bit his lip and said, "You already love him more than Mother ever loved me in my life. I mean my Mother, not Mum. Not Mrs. P."
"I know." Lily paused, then, "I'm glad that you met James and that you got to have Dora in your life. She's such a good mum."
"Your mum was a good mum, too."
"She loved you."
Sirius smiled.
"All the mums love you, sweet heart. Yours is the anomaly. Remember that. Remember that you're lovable and loved and it's your parents who were wrong."
Sirius hung his head, bit his lip, then smiled a sad little smile. He nodded, looked her in the eyes, and said, "See? You're already doing brilliantly, Lilith."
"I hope so," Lily said.
There was a quiet knock on the door. "Lily? Sirius?"
"You can come in," Lily called.
The door opened and Dora Potter looked 'round the frame. She was holding a tray with two bowls of her soup on it. She looked at them. "What are you lot doing in here? Were you sick again, duckie?" she asked gently.
Lily shook her head, pointed to the vial on the vanity, and said, "We're... waiting."
Dora looked, saw the vial, and gasped, stepping into the room. Her fingers tightened on the tray and she looked from the vial to Lily and Sirius, then back again.
"Ohhh..." Dora's voice was quiet and shivered with nervous excitement.
Sirius got up and took the tray, waving for Dora to have a seat next to Lily. She sank slowly onto the trunk, and Sirius put the tray down on the vanity, grabbed the chair that went to it and turned it so he sat on it backwards, chin on the metal seat back. Dora and Lily were clutching one another's hands and they all just stared at the vial for several moments. Then Sirius took up one of the bowls of the chicken soup and started eating it. He pointed at it with the spoon. "This is really good mum."
Dora's eyes were full of tears.
The only sound in the room was the clinking of the spoon on Sirius's bowl.
Then, "Mum?"
Dora looked at Lily.
"What's it like?"
Dora considered for a moment, and Sirius put his bowl down on the tray, and stared at Dora, resting his head on his arms, which were criss-crossed over the back of the chair. Lily looked up at her expectantly. "It's more magic than proper magic is," Dora answered, "Everyone focuses on the ending and on the pain, but there's nine months of magic first... Nine months of - of holding your baby as close to your heart as he'll ever be --" she was thinking ofJames and her eyes went far-off, "-- and he's just... growing... so small and helpless, and so much a part of you and yet so... separate..." Dora shook her head, "It's impossible to describe, really. But the pain is nothing compared to that magic and the amount of love you feel."
Sirius looked away, eyes on the vial.
Lily hugged Dora and Dora smoothed her hair, "You'll never love anyone or anything as much as you love your baby," Dora whispered. "No matter how big he gets... even when he's go grown he goes and has his own family started." She smiled toward the ceiling as she patted Lily's hair. "You just love the whole family he's built with all your heart, that's all. They're extensions of him, just... all a part of that tiny little thing you spent nine months protecting and growing." She shook her head, "It's impossible to explain until you've felt it." She drew back and smiled at Lily. "But it's everything."
Silence fell over the lot of them.
Then suddenly Sirius let out a gasp.
Lily looked up.
The purple potion was bubbling, slowly lightening, turning from blackish-blue to a crisp shade of lavender like the morning sky and Lily's stood up, reaching for Sirius's hand with one arm and Dora's with the other. All three of them stared at the vial as the bubbles popped feverishly at the top and the color slowly changed from lavender to ---
Pink.
Her knees gave out and Sirius caught her, holding her up as she stared at the test vial.
Dora's eyes welled up with tears.
Lily's hand splayed over her belly.
"Oh -" she gasped.
Sirius shook his head, and looked at Lily. "No," he said, "No, it's wrong."
Lily sank into the vanity chair he'd vacated.
"It's wrong," Sirius said firmly.
Lily closed her eyes, tears forming under her lashes and she swallowed back the emotions that were bubbling up in her just the way the results had bubbled up in the little vial. Her shoulders shook. "I really -- I thought --"
"It's alright, duckie," Dora whispered, and she scooted across the trunk to be closer, leaning over to hug Lily's shoulders. "It's alright. Another day. It will happen, just another day is all..." She petted Lily's head and got up, stepping around Sirius and Lily.
Sirius shook his head, "No, it's wrong," he persisted. "Take another one."
"I'm sorry, Sirius," Lily whimpered. "I - I suppose we both just got a touch of food poisoning from -- something. I --"
"No, it's wrong!" he persisted. He pointed at the shower, "Your shampoo smells exactly the damn same as it has for years and yeares and all these things, all these make ups and perfumes and whatever else - they're all the damn same as they've been for years. It all smells the same. Even the clothes in here smell the same as they've always done. YOU smell different. And I was sick at the fruit! At oranges! Me! I fucking love oranges, Lily! I love oranges! They were from Costa Rica and I threw them out because they made me sick, just like they'd done you!"
Lily's lower lip trembled.
"I'm telling you... that potion is wrong!" he said passionately. "I'm telling you." He knelt down before her. "Lily so bloody help me, that potion ought to have turned blue, it --"
Dora cleared her throat, interrupting Sirius.
Both Sirius and Lily looked up.
"Which of you read the instructions?" Dora asked.
"I - I did," Lily stammered.
Dora looked down at the box. "After fifteen minutes, the potion will process your answer," Dora read from the back of the package, "Lightening from purple to lavender, the potion will then change to blue or pink. Blue for a Negative, Pink for a Positive result."
"W-wait. You m-mean? That's - but that is pink," she stammered.
Sirius laughed - a nervous little chuckle at first that then deepened as he threw his head back and let out a loud howling "ARRRWOO!!!" of a sound, pulling Lily back to her feet. She stared stunned at the vial as Dora let out a cry, too, running forward and wrapping her arms around both Lily and Sirius so that Lily was in the middle of a great big hug as they both yelled joyfully. And then she sank into the vanity seat again as Sirius as Dora were dancing about and Sirius was congratulating Dora on being a grandmum and she congratulating him on being an Uncle and all the while Lily sat, staring in awe at the little pink vial on her vanity counter, tears glistening in her eyes.
She looked down at her stomach. She whispered, "Hullo Harry."