Jily Oneshots (pt2)

Baby Blues

by Mystic Dodo

James first realised something may be wrong with his wife, Lily Potter, when he could hear her tossing and turning during the night a few months after she had given birth to their son, Harry. She normally got disturbed from sleep when the baby began to cry, and either she or James would take action to sooth him, but once returning to bed Lily would be out like a light.

Not this night, however, after seeing her son.

"Lily?" James mumbled, unable to see anything in the darkness of their room. He reached out blindly with a hand and it came in contact with her side. He pulled her close to him and settled against her warm body. "What's wrong?"

Lily stayed silent for a few moments and James was already dropping off back to sleep. Harry had been rowdy the past few nights. However, he was interrupted when Lily sighed heavily. "There's... something... not quite right," she admitted, and James' hold around his wife tightened.

"About what?" He mumbled.

Lily once again appeared to be struggling with her words. She sighed and decided to blurt it out. "I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right with Harry."

That caught James' attention. "What do you mean 'something doesn't seem right with Harry'?" he asked, feeling more alert, sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp. Soft light flooded the bedroom, and James stared at his wife, one of his eyes closed against the onslaught of the change.

Lily indeed looked tired. Her auburn hair was messy, and her bright green eyes no longer as bright. Around her eyes were the growing shadows of lack of sleep. She was pale, and as she gazed into her husband's eyes, he could detect fear.

"Lily, what do you mean?" James repeated, reaching out a hand to touch Lily's shoulder.

She didn't answer him straight away, gazing at their bedroom door. "I..." She began, before stopping and shaking her head and frowning, trying to gather the words. James began to rub her back, hoping it would sooth the tense muscles, and provide some comfort. "Harry..."

James leaned in, all ears. A few seconds passed in a tense silence.

His wife growled at the back of her throat. "Forget it; it's just me being silly. Maybe he just has a cold or something," Lily finally said, slumping back down onto the pillows and pulling the duvet up.

James blinked as he gazed down at her. The smallest bubble of anxiety was bubbling at his chest, but he turned off the light and lay back down again, staring up into the darkness. After what seemed like ages, he could hear the soft rhythmic breathing of his wife, and he carefully climbed out of bed, mindful not to wake her. She must have been exhausted.

Tiptoeing out of their bedroom, James entered Harry's room. Toys littered the ground, and he was thankful that the boy had some night lights so he could at least be careful where he was treading. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he tripped over the toy cauldron and made a noise to wake everyone up. Maneuvering his way around the association of wizard toys, James approached the crib and gazed down into it, seeing his little boy.

Harry was around 9 months old, and already had a mop of his father's unruly hair. He was clutching onto the blanket wrapped around him, and his face was a healthy colour. James reached down and lightly placed his hand upon Harry's forehead; it felt normal. Aside from the increased wailing he did due to late teething, Harry had been acting completely normal. So what did Lily mean?

With a shrug and a mental note to ask his wife for further details later on, he bent down and kissed Harry's forehead gently before crawling back into his own bed. When Harry awoke crying a short while later, he saw to his son as Lily hid her head under the pillow, mumbling "go see him, James..."