Ours To Hold- A Lily and James Fanfiction

Lily- The Marauders Add a Member

Sometimes, life seems to have a funny way of changing all of your plans. Like the last few years- I didn't plan for any of it. I sure as hell didn't plan to have my house packed with three men, barely out of their teen years, sitting at the island in the middle of my kitchen with famished looks on their faces, acting like they haven't seen food in a long while.

Shaking my head in good natured disapproval, I say, "you lot act like you haven't eaten in weeks."

Sirius points to his empty plate. "At this rate, I won't have eaten in a month!" He whines with a horrified expression.

"Remus and I agree," Peter confesses with a tired look on his face. "That mission took a lot longer than we expected."

I nod as my smile slips into a slight frown. "Any thoughts on when James might be home?"

Remus shakes his head slowly. "I don't know, Lily. Albus sent him pretty deep into the known Death Eater territory. He'll be fine. Frank won't let anything happen to either of them. Frank is determined to live to his child born."

"Is Alice still coming over?" I ask.

"As far as I know. Frank's mom is staying with her, but I think she needs an escape," Sirius says with a tiny grin. "Marlene is going to grab her on her way here from work." Alice needing an escape must be close to the understatement of the century. Mrs. Longbottom could be a little...intense at times.

I dip my head in response and turn back to my cooking. I was supposed to be on that mission. The morning we were set to leave, I got sick. James refused to let me come with him. Secretly, I knew that James was overjoyed that I couldn't come. He didn't want me in danger. And as much as I hated that, I respected that. He might be overprotective at times, but he does it because he loves me. And I felt the same way about him.

There was another reason that I was almost okay with staying behind. The sickness- the flu like symptoms. I didn't think much of it at the time, but slowly the hope grew inside of me that just maybe I was carrying a child finally.

"I think the roast might be a little overdone," I confess with a frown, gingerly poking at the large lump of brown sitting on the platter. "I can't quite remember how my mum used to make it."

"Lily, I haven't had a home cooked meal in months. Anything you've made will be better than a whole bowl of chocolate frogs," Sirius announces with a silly grin.

"Well, I should hope so," Remus declares with a twist of his lips. "The chocolate frogs would hop away. I certainly hope Lily's roast is cooked enough that we won't have to worry about that."

"Arse!" I exclaim as Alice and Marlene bustle through the door.

"Sorry, we're late! I thought she'd never let us leave!" Alice exclaims, referring to her scary-as-hell mother-in-law, fondly known to all as Mrs. Longbottom.

"I borrowed a bottle of Firewhiskey!" Marlene says proudly as she produces a fancy bottle from her enchanted bag.

"Merlin! You didn't!" Alice accuses with a wicked smirk. Her eyes gleam with nervous excitement.

"Ah, but I did. This drink is on Mrs. Longbottom. She owes me at least this much. Gave me a really good lecture on my dating of one troublesome Sirius Black." Sirius gives her a wink in response.

"You know, in the cellar, there's plenty of nice wines and whatnot," I point out hesitantly.

"You mean I risked my life for nothing!" Marlene's voice jumps at least an octave in tone.

"The more the merrier?" Peter offers.

"The more the merrier," Remus agrees cheerfully.

"Let's eat!" I say as I start serving the roast.

.................

"That was excellent," Marlene chimes in as she helps me clear the last of the dishes off the table with a wave of her wand.

"Magic is a beautiful thing," I muse with a grin.

"I dunno how muggles live without it."

"They don't know about it," I laugh. Looking up from the dishes, I spot two figures standing outside in the snowy garden. I run for the door.

Once I'm outside in the cold, I fling myself into James' arms. His arms come around me, strong and safe. "You're home," I declare with pure happiness.

"I'm home," he agrees with a smile. His face is covered in stumble and his nose looks a little more crooked than I remember, but he's home. He leans down to kiss me long and hard.

"I've got some good news," I whisper, forgetting about every elaborate way of telling him that I've come up with in the last few days. "I'm pregnant, James."

The dazzling crooked smile that I've fallen in love with appears on his face. "I'm going to be a dad!" He declares loudly, his voice full of excitement. Picking me up, he twirls me around.

"Yes!" Sirius shouts triumphantly. "Prongs and the flower are having a baby! I call godfather!"

"Not a chance!" Remus retorts. "Lily and James should never entrust you with their child! Most days, I'm still convinced you're a child!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Lils, I think we've got our work cut out for us. A duel for godfather is heating up. And we've got a little Potter growing," James muses with a laugh.

"Our child's going to be trouble, aren't they?"

"Love, they're already a Marauder," James states proudly. "Besides they've got you for a mum."

"That's laughable. They have you for a father."

"Okay, so they'll get the best of both of us. Like: your brains, my Quidditch skills, our ability to get into trouble, and hopefully our stunning good looks."

I roll my eyes. "A little arrogant, much, love?"

"I'm a Marauder after all," is all he says to that.

...................

AN: 1003 words! Not bad for someone who barely has time to sleep most days!

Anywho, I figured this update was a little (a lot) overdue. I just haven't had to do much writing unless it was an assignment.
On the bright side! The story's nearly over. It's actually going to stop at Harry's birth. I've decided that that seems to be a reasonable place to end this epic tale. There may be a few "oneshot" scenes from the events after his birth- maybe. Strong maybe. We will see.
My wrap up goal for this book is May at the latest.

Thanks for reading. Keep a weathered eye on the horizon!