The Last Potter

Two days had passed since Sirius had visited the hospital and when he entered Lily's small ward, he could see that something had changed in her expression and in the way she was holding herself.

Clad in jeans and thick, roll-neck purple and green jumper that clashed hideously with her hair, which was drawn back in a ponytail, she was sitting on the bed with a photograph album in her lap.

Dumbledore was sitting beside the bed in one of the half-dozen chairs, watching her look through the pictures, his expression one of sympathy and understanding as she occasionally pointed out a face.

"All right, Lils?"

Looking up, Lily smiled faintly at him. "Hello, Sirius," she said, patting the space on the bed beside her. "Professor Dumbledore brought one of the old photo albums from the wedding. You look daft."

"At least I wasn't voluntarily wearing a meringue," Sirius countered, crossing the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her, looking at the pictures where a miniature Lily promptly stuck her tongue out at him.

"No," Lily agreed giving him a wan smile. "But at least I didn't end up wearing a trifle by the end of the reception."

Beside the bed, they heard the chuckle of Dumbledore. "It was a rather chaotic day, wasn't it?" he said. "You were the most sane person present, I believe, and I count myself among that number."

Lily looked down at the album. "I wish everyone could be here, Professor," she said sadly, pausing at the picture of her and her bridesmaids, some of them muggles, some of them witches.

"Everyone?" Sirius inquired.

Green eyes turned to him. "Helena and Annabelle aren't allowed to know," she said, a melancholy look filling already heart-rending eyes. "After what happened to Lizzie and what this baby is going to mean..."

"It's safer that they don't know," Sirius finished, nodding, sliding an arm around her shoulder and hugging her against him. "You've still got us, though, you know. You have Moony, Greaseman and me."

Lily nodded, her head resting on his shoulder. "I still wish they could know that it's not their fault," she whispered, her hand spreading on the photograph. "I mean, they are my friends..."

Helena Brady, Annabelle Donohue and Elizabeth McKinnon were three of Lily's closest friends from Hogwarts and they had been close right through until their final year, where they had vowed to stay in touch forever.

They had managed for nearly a year and a half. Elizabeth had been named as Harry's godmother, then the threat of Voldemort had reared its ugly head and the Potter family had been forced into hiding.

Elizabeth McKinnon and her family were warned to get out of the public eye, because of her friendship with Lily, but word reached them too late and Voldemort wiped out the whole family, when they refused to say where Lily and James were.

From then, contact with Helena and Annabelle had been scant, in case they were traced and captured by Voldemort as well. Sirius and Remus should have done the same, but stubbornly refused to leave James and Lily to harm.

"If you like," Dumbledore suggested quietly. "I could contact both of them for you, very discreetly, and let them know that you have been forced out of sight due to the extensive publicity about you and his defeat. If they know you as well as you believe, they will understand why you have to do this."

Nodding, Lily wet her lips. "I-I just don't want them to think I have forgotten about them," she said, looking down at the quintet of bridesmaids battling over the bouquet in the photograph.

The smallest of the group of pretty young women rugby-tackled Lily from behind, actually wrestling the bouquet out of her hands and racing off with it, her skirts hiked up to her knees. Lily's lips rose in a slight smile.

"What's the plan, professor?" Sirius asked, resting his brow against Lily's as they continued to look through the pictures. "I mean, there's only a few of us from our world that will know about it. What about muggles?"

Dumbledore exchanged looks with Lily. "We are trying to keep everything as quiet as possible at the moment," he replied. "Only a few of Lily's friends will be informed and they will be the ones who will be of greatest help to her, in the muggle world."

"`They' being anyone we know?"

Lily nodded, tapping one of the photographs. "You've met the two of them," she said. "Jane and Rana. They were at the wedding, although I can't guarantee that you'll remember them, though."

"Are you saying I was blotto?"

"I'm saying nothing," Lily replied primly. "Although drunk as a monk comes close."

"I resent that!"

Lily raised her brows. "I though you might," she said.

***

By the time Severus Snape arrived at Lily's ward, there were several people sitting around the bed, every face turning to him expectantly when he pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

Outside, the sky was still dull and grey, but Black was sitting on the window ledge anyway, the window raised to allow a light breeze to filter the room with the sweet, cold smell of the rain that had just fallen.

"Snape," he acknowledged, before turning back to flicking tufts of damp moss off the windowsill.

"Severus," Lily smiled at him. It was more natural than any smile she had worn since that night, but he could still see the heart-breaking sorrow in her green eyes. Nearing the bed, he was pleased to see a chair close to her.

"How are you?" he asked as he sat down beside the bed, though he knew it sounded hollow and pointless.

Her shoulders lifted a little. "I-I've been worse," she said half-heartedly. "You?"

"Same as ever," he replied, taking a chance to look around the trio of faces that lined the bed.

Lupin was there, apparently very interested in the back of his right hand. Beside him, a blonde-haired woman shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny, bowing her head and the last person present was Dumbledore.

"Severus," Lily said. "Meet Jane Benwell. Jane, this is Severus Snape, the friend from school that I told you about."

The blonde woman lifted her face, giving him a timid smile. Bright blue eyes blinked at him owlishly behind thick-framed glasses. "H-hello," she said before ducking her head again. "Nice to meet you."

Severus arched a brow at Lily.

"She's shy," Lily murmured, leaning close to him. "She changed a lot in appearance very suddenly when she hit her late teens and she still hasn't adjusted to it. She's not used to having people, especially men, looking at her."

Looking back at her, the dark-haired man wondered what it was about her that made people study her. Perhaps if she didn't have those awful spectacles on, then maybe she would have been pretty, but they were horrendous, they really were.

She was wearing dungarees with a thick jumper that was almost as garish as Lily's and her hair was braided and hanging down her back in a thick rope. She really looked like she would be more at home hidden away in a library.

This was one of the muggles Dumbledore trusted to help Lily?

This weak, frail, delicate-looking individual?

Dear Merlin, was the old man mad?

"Miss Benwell," he said. "Are you certain you will be able to aid Lily?"

Jane Benwell's head snapped up, her lips pursed and he saw fire flashing in the eyes behind the glasses. "Of course I can look after my friend!" she stated, pointing an angry finger at him. "And if you imply that I can't, I'll have to... to..." She looked at her red-haired friend. "Lily, how much damage can I do him?"

Lily was biting on her lip to hide a smile. "No damage to this one, Flops," she said, reaching down to squeeze Jane's hand. "He's on our side and I'd like to keep him intact as long as possible."

The look that the slim young woman shot at him was one of pure malevolence. "If he does anything, Cot, anything at all, you say the word and I'll teach him not to mess with the bunnies!"

And clearly, Severus thought dryly, the woman was quite mad.

"I though you might say that," Lily replied, then turned to the dark-haired young man on her other side. "And Severus, don't try and test my other friends. They might look nice and gentle, but they have teeth. Sharp ones."

Severus flashed a warning glower at Jane, who met it and matched it with a glare, her nose scrunching up and her lips pursing.

"It's a she-grease-man," Black dryly noted from the window, making the pair break off their glaring match, to direct a look at him. Raising his hands, he flashed them a half-smile. "What? You're exactly the same. Apart from the female, blonde and pretty thing that Miss Benwell has as an advantage."

"Sirius!" Lily groaned, one hand pressing against her forehead. "You had to make them both bad-tempered. This isn't going to help."

"I'm not bad-tempered," Benwell sharply voiced the thought that had been going through Severus' head at that moment, making him blink at her. "Lily, can I push him out the window?"

Lily raised her eyebrows at the other woman, who looked a little sheepish and shrugged helplessly. "That time of the month?"

"Would I normally want to push friends of yours out of the window?"

"Do I have to remind you about that trip to Barcelona?"

"At least he bounced when he hit the ground," Jane said, with a look over at Sirius, who made a pained face. Benwell smiled primly at him. "You would think he would learn not to annoy me. Especially when we're above five storeys."

Severus wondered if he had maybe been a little hasty in forming his opinion of the young woman. After all, if she had pushed Sirius Black out of a window, she could hardly be all bad.

"It was six storeys," Black corrected, apparently choosing his words very carefully so as not to annoy her further. "And a balcony and how much would I have to grovel to ensure it doesn't happen again in the near future?"

Benwell gave him a measured look, her glare actually making Black recoil. "You did try and spy on us when we were changing into our swimming suits," she said. "And that's enough to make me not like you. Ever."

"I was seventeen! And male!"

Benwell said nothing further, sniffing and turning away from him.

"Lils! Tell her!"

Lily had a hand pressed over her mouth and looked like she was desperately trying not to laugh out loud. "Can't tell her, Sirius," she finally managed to squeak. "Flops does what she likes. She doesn't listen to me."

"Flops?" Severus inquired, wondering if there was some physical deformity that the blonde woman had, which had earned her that nickname.

"Long story," Lily replied. "Now's really not the time for it."

Severus felt the line between his brows deepen. "What are we waiting for?"

"One more person," the wolf answered.

"One?" Lily's head turned sharply and Severus could see the sudden flare of panic in her eyes, the terror that she might have lost someone else flooding her face, which had drained of colour. "But Rana... and Roger... you said..."

The wolf raised a hand in a calming motion. "Don't worry, Lily," he said, his voice as quiet and calming as ever. "Roger is on his way, but Rana, though, is in America at the moment and we couldn't catch her. Nothing happened to them."

One of Lily's hands pressed, shaking, to her mouth and she slowly nodded. "I-I just was worried," she stammered, lowering her head. "I-I thought perhaps..." A weak, forced laugh escaped her. "I'm being silly..."

In a heartbeat, the blonde woman on the other side of the bed had scrambled up next to Lily, her arms wrapped securely around the red-haired witch. "S'alright, Cot," she murmured, Lily clutching at her arms. "You don't get rid of us that easily."

"Rana is all right?"

"As right as she can ever be," the blonde soothed, a hand smoothing Lily's hair, her cheek resting against Lily's forehead. "I mean, with Mopsy, you can never really tell what's all right and what's freak of nature."

Laughing faintly, Lily smiled weakly. "I-I suppose so."

Watching the blonde woman embracing his friend, helping her in the way Severus knew he couldn't, the dark-haired young man felt oddly relieved to know that Lily did have such friends.

After all, if she was meant to get by with just him, the wolf and Black for company, she would lose her mind within a month.

"Do you live near Lily?" the wolf asked gently.

"She will be close enough," Dumbledore interrupted, giving the blonde a small smile. "However, I think it best if we wait until Mr. Billings arrives, before you are all informed of all the details pertaining to the situation, as it will be easier to tell everyone at once."

"I thought he was meant to be here by now," Black remarked, swatting at his hair with a growl of frustration. "Bloody insects!"

Severus knew it was a low blow, but he couldn't resist. "Well, you do know what they say about flies being attracted to faeces..." he remarked, one side of his mouth lifting.

Lily muffled a snort of laughter, hiding her face in the chuckling Benwell's shoulder, a hand clapped over her mouth. The wolf and Dumbledore exchanged amused looks, while Black narrowed his eyes.

"Snape..."

"Severus," Lily chastised, although it was punctuated by choked giggles. "That was rude of you."

"I know," he replied candidly, as she extended a hand for his and squeezed his bony fingers. "But it was also amusing and strangely accurate."

"That's where you're wrong," Black muttered darkly. "I'll have you know it wasn't a fly. It was a beetle."

"A... dung beetle, perhaps?"

"Severus!"

Giving the woman on the bed an apologetic look, he inclined his head. "Forgive me, Lily," he said, her fingers still wrapped around his and squeezing them in caution. "I will attempt to restrain myself and remain civilised."

By the window, Black snorted vehemently, as he flicked what had to be his insect assailant off the ledge and pulled the window closed with a solid thump. He looked like he was trying to find some come back that wouldn't earn him a glare from either Lily or her friend.

Fortunately, the arrival of the last of their group prevented any verbal duel between the two from beginning.

Mainly, because the four men - Dumbledore included - in the room couldn't help staring at the elusive Roger Billings.

While Severus had refused to attend Lily's wedding on principle, Billings had been out of the country, so Black, the wolf and Dumbledore had never had the chance to meet Lily's closest male muggle friend.

She had informed all of them that he was naive, sensitive and was not to be teased for his somewhat innocent outlook on life, but she had somehow forgotten to mention that the muggle was model-material.

Standing in the doorway, he looked like he had been pulled out of a poster for the ideal Oxford or Cambridge Graduate, his pin-striped suit impeccable, his dark brown hair sweeping back over an annoyingly perfect forehead. His nose was straight, cheekbones ideally positioned to give him a dignified and refined look.

Severus was one hundred percent and bitterly positive that if the man smiled, a flash would twinkle off his teeth, which were no doubt straight and perfect as the rest of him looked.

He was the kind of man who, with his looks, made the mere mortal sick with envy and Severus knew that he was no different.

"Ey oop, love!" the man exclaimed in an utterly absurd Yorkshire accent, completely shattering the image that he presented and making Severus snort with amusement into the front of his robes. "Ow aah ya?"

Was that English?

"Gerbil! You didn't get lost after all!"

Walking briskly across the ward towards he bed, the man pushed past Severus with a brief apologetic grin - and he really did have the twinkle, damn him - then dropped himself on the bed beside Lily and flung his arms around her and Benwell.

"You know me," he laughed, the bizarre accent of moments before vanishing, as he nuzzled her hair. "My big baby calls and I come running." One manicured hand lifted her chin and he studied her. "How are you?"

"As well as can be expected," Lily replied, snuggling against the man she had called Gerbil. Enclosed between her friends and ignoring the protesting squeaks of the bed frame, she pressed her lips together, squeezing her eyes shut. "I miss him, Ger."

"I know, Lily, but you have to keep living. You know your Jimmy-lad would want that," he said, nudging his forehead gently against hers. "We're all going to be here as well, so you don't have to get through it on your lonesome. Or at least, when Rana gets her posterior in gear, we would all be here."

"You shouldn't call him Jimmy," Lily's voice cracked. "You know how much it used to annoy him and he..." A muffled sob escaped her and she buried her face in Roger's chest. "H-he isn't here to throw a pillow at you."

Billings and Benwell both hugged her comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, love, I'm sorry... that was stupid of me."

Lily's face lifted slightly. "I-I wish he was here," she said unsteadily. "With me."

"We know," Benwell said softly, her chin resting on Lily's shoulder. "But you've hauled us all in here for an important reason. I don't want to sound like we're all in a hurry, but we are and I want to know how we can help. Maybe we...?"

The red-haired witch nodded, resting her head against Roger's shoulder in an attitude of utter fatigue. "Jane, you know everyone. Roger, to your right, Severus," Severus dipped his chin in a nod of acknowledgement as brown eyes swept over him. "To your left Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin."

"And Sirius, I've met before, although I doubt he'll remember it," Billings finished, nodding towards Black, who was still leaning against the window ledge, his palms braced on the edge of the frame. "So, Lily, what's the plan?"

"Professor Dumbledore has told me what he has in mind," she said, her voice nearly breaking. "I-I have to leave the wizarding world entirely. For my safety and the anonymity and safety of the baby."

"Entirely?" Black pushed off from the window, suspicion mirrored in his eyes. "How entire is entirely?"

Dumbledore motioned Black back, once more impressing Severus with his utter authority in all situations. "Sirius, what we have in mind is a charm somewhat similar to the fidelius charm, which will conceal both Lily and her child's identity from both the muggle and wizarding world."

"Including us? If that's what you have planned..."

"Padfoot," Lupin murmured, shaking his head slightly at Black, who fell back a little, looking chastised. "Let him finish."

Ever the voice of reason, the wolf.

Dumbledore nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Remus," he said, then gestured Black closer to the group. "What we have in mind will conceal Lily and the child from all but a select group, who will know the truth and aid her where and when necessary, as I would not wish to utterly isolate her."

"And this select group features all of us, correct?" Billings inquired, not looking up from Lily, who was still resting her head against his chest, her eyes closed, silent tears sliding down her pale face. Shaking fingers were toying with his lapel pin.

"That is correct, Mr. Billings," Dumbledore acknowledged. "Sirius, Remus and Severus have all proved their loyalty. Yourself, Miss Khalil and Miss Benwell have a similar affiliation with her and she trusts you more than any other friends."

The look Black shot at Severus made the dark-haired young man wish he could curl in on himself and never be seen again, the venom and distaste he felt towards Severus more than apparent.

"However," Dumbledore apparently noticed as well and Severus saw the dangerous flash in the bright blue eyes. "For this charm to work effectively, all of us will have to work as a unit. Dissention will only cause problems. Therefore, you must place your enmity behind you."

Severus flashed a wary look at the other black-haired individual, who was looking mutinous. His own distaste, he knew, would probably be just as apparent, his upper lip curling of its own accord.

"Sirius... Severus..." Lily's broken whisper reached them both. "Please... don't make this harder than it already is... just for once... for me..."

Black eyes met blue, the dislike crackling between them like electricity.

Slowly rising from his chair, Severus felt every muscle in his arm scream in protest as he raised and extended a hand towards Black, who - with a look of distaste that matched Snape's own - approached the bed and briefly clasped the extended hand, for as short a time was possible.

"Now," His tone becoming brisk and business-like, Dumbledore clasped his hands together. "Once the charm is cast, a masking spell will be immediately invoked, which means that Lily will no longer appear as she presently does. The changes will be subtle, but will suffice to disguise her from recognition, should she be passed by a witch, wizard or old friend who may recognise her."

"What's she going to look like?" Billings demanded, asking the question that each of them was no doubt longing to ask. "I mean, if you turn our Lils into a hideous old hag, I'm certain I will find some law that says I can bash you."

"He said subtle, Gerbil," Lily said tiredly. "My eyes and hair will change colours. I think my skin tone will be different and my features might be altered a little, but you'll know it's me."

"Will you still be Lily, though? Or will you have a different name?" Lupin was the one to pose the question.

"Professor?"

Dumbledore nodded. "She will have a new name and identity," he replied. "I will not give it to you, until the spell is cast and she is secure. Similarly, her home will be under equal levels of protection. It is unplottable, which means, should her identity be uncovered by the enemy, even you would not be able to give specific directions to it."

"We won't be able to get there?" Benwell sounded puzzled. "But how are we meant to help?"

"You misinterpret me, Miss Benwell," Dumbledore corrected gently. "You will know how to get there instinctively, much like students at my school know how to get there, but you will never be able to say exactly where it lies should you be asked, especially in relation to any landmarks or streets. It will be undefinable."

Billings raised a hand to his brow, which was creased in confusion, his expression puzzled. "I think my head is hurting," he said in the tone of one who had been forced to think far too hard.

"Don't worry about understanding it," Black said. "I studied the stuff for seven years and I still don't understand it. Just trust that he knows what he's talking about and the spell will work."

"Is it assured, sir?" Severus asked, folding and unfolding his hands.

Dumbledore nodded. "It will work as intended," he replied. "It is to be cast within a matter of days and Lily will be transferred to her new home upon that day. From then, she will live as muggle a life as possible."

"What about making a living, though?" Benwell asked. "I mean, Lily would only have qualifications in the magic world if she needed to work. What is she going to do for a living? I'll help where I can, but I'm only a nurse and I don't know how well the new position will pay."

"I-I have enough to last me a while," Lily volunteered. "James... he... we weren't exactly poor. It'll do for a while, but one of you will have to get the money for me... put it in a new account. A muggle one."

"I'll sort that out for you, Lily," the wolf said. "I've made withdrawals with James before. The Goblins will remember me."

"They're like tiny elephants for remembering things like that," Black noted, then shuddered. "Elephants with sharp, frightening teeth at kneecap-level."

Smiling slightly, Lily nodded. "I'll need just enough to get by," she said. "And you'll have to do it after I know what my new name is. If I run out, I can always find some kind of unskilled labour that I can manage."

"But not while you are pregnant," Severus interrupted. "You are not to put yourself at risk."

"Are you telling me what to do, Severus?" Lily gave him the small questioning half-smile that he remembered so well from their early years at Hogwarts. The smile that said that he might have just made a mistake.

Apparently Black and Lupin recognised it too. Judging by Benwell's snickers and the smirk on Billings' lips, they were also aware what it meant.

"I would never dream of such a thing," he hastily said. "I would never impose my ideals on you. You know that."

Lily laughed softly. "You know me too well, Severus," she said. "And I wouldn't dream of working until this baby is at least old enough to go to a nursery or something like that, where I know it will be safe with other children."

Quashing the urge to comment on the fact that children were quite possibly the most dangerous and awkward things he had ever come across, Severus nodded. "How are we to maintain contact with you?"

"By muggle mail or the muggle telephone will be all if we wish to maintin the concealing spell, I believe," Dumbledore said. "Floo powder is not allowed, as it has to be registered as a connection and we do not wish to have any questions posed about the home, where Lily will reside. Her identity must be entirely anonymous to the wizarding world."

"How long will this be for?" Lily asked, sudden anxiety flitting across her face. "I-I will be able to come back to the wizarding world some time, won't I? I don't want to leave it completely."

"It is simply a precaution until the furore about the Dark Lord fades and your child is old enough to join the world. Your location, though, ought to remain anonymous as long as it can be maintained. I do hope we have a future Hogwarts attendee."

"Of course!" Lily exclaimed. "I couldn't send him... her anywhere else." A worried look flooded her eyes. "Professor, how much can I tell it about our world? It wouldn't be fair for it to know nothing."

"When the child is old enough to understand the importance of secrecy, you may inform it of what you deem necessary," Dumbledore answered gravely. "You must be cautious, though. As your magic must be used in moderation from now, so must your knowledge. Too much information could ruin all."

Lily nodded in comprehension.

"You are being incredibly brave, my dear," the Professor said. "Many others in your place would have not been as courageous as you have been in the past few days and I commend you for it."

"I'm not brave," Lily replied sadly, lowering her eyes. "I'm just doing what I have to so my baby can have the chance that Harry didn't get. It's what James would want for both of us."

"Lily, if you don't class that as brave, then I don't know what you call it. You're the bravest woman I've ever met," Black said and for once in his life, Severus Snape was horrified to realise that he agreed with exactly what Black had said.

***

Standing by the window of her new and unfamiliar bedroom, the lace curtain drawn back with one hand, the woman now known as Rose Johnstone let the buttery light from the streetlamp outside her window wash over her face.

She released the thin, near-transparent fabric and turned back to face the room, which was now to be called hers, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, which made her start.

Her once-radiant red hair was dark brown, almost black, and shone reddish when struck by the right light. She also had, despite protests from Beth, Sirius and Remus, agreed to have it cut from waist length into a chin-length bob, which framed her face in a totally different way.

Skin that had always been white as it could be, unless struck by the sun which caused it to go vividly lobster pink, had taken on a rosier hue, a few freckles popping out here and there.

The biggest change, though, came in her eyes. She had been known by her green eyes, one of her most distinctive features aside from her flaming mass of red hair. For them to be dark brown, a colour she saw every day in random faces that she passed...

It was hugely disconcerting to go from having such exotic colouring to being so very normal in looks, even though her features had not changed in shape or size. She was still Lily, just in a slightly different shade.

It was a strange feeling, having a new appearance, a new life, a new identity and a new home, all in a matter of minutes.

Folding her arms over her chest, Lily Potter couldn't help shivering with unease as she looked around the room. There was nothing wrong with it, but to be moved there, to a new place so suddenly was disconcerting.

A door stood open on the opposite wall, a broad double bed to her right, a bedside lamp on the nightstand casting a pale corona of light up the walls and across the not-so-large room. The walls were ivory with a border of red and gold, reminding her with a pang of longing, of her days in Gryffindor at Hogwarts.

Otherwise, the walls were bare of decoration, a dark wooden wardrobe and matching set of drawers and dressing table taking up much of the space on the floor, which was covered in a deep red carpet, which her toes sank into.

The house that had been provided for her had surprised her.

While it wasn't exactly enormous, it had two generous-sized bedrooms and a blue-tinted bathroom upstairs, with a large storage cupboard on the landing, where most of her possessions were currently stored.

Downstairs, there was a fairly large kitchen with a living room that matched it in size, both opening off from the small lobby that the front door opened into, the stairs immediately to the left of the door.

There was a patch of grass in front and a larger one behind the house, which served as a garden. The house, itself, was a semi-detached, joined to one house on the Close that they lived in, which was somewhere in Kent or thereabouts, if she was to guess.

Furniture had been provided as well, meant to make the house as comfortable as possible, which Lily was grateful for. Sirius and Remus has obviously helped, as the colour schemes were much more muted than those Dumbledore - with his somewhat eclectic tastes - would have chosen.

It was going to take some getting used to, she knew.

Then again, a lot of things were.

Being pregnant again.

Being a widow.

Being alone.

No.

Not alone.

Walking over to the bed, where a large, dark and furry mass was curled up on the middle of the blankets, Lily sat down on the edge of the mattress and reached over to ruffle Sirius' fur.

Since he couldn't remain in human form, as it would draw far too much attention to Lily because he was known as James Potter's friend, he had shifted into his animagus form as soon as the oblivious Dumbledore had disapparated.

"Hey. Move it," Poking him in the ribs, Lily couldn't help smiling as the huge dog, which had happily taken up more than half of the bed, snorted and ignored her, clearly quite comfortable where he was. "Sirius, do you want me to pull the ear?"

Sirius made a little barking sound, which she recognised.

"You're being awfully rude to the pregnant and very hormonal person, Sirius."

Another snort was the only reply she got.

Reaching over the dog's broad, shaggy side, she reached down towards his head and grabbed hold of his ear and yanked, which appeared to get Sirius' attention, a yelp of protest escaping him, his head lifting off the blanket.

"Shift your shaggy tail and let me get into bed and I'll think about letting go," she said in a tone of mock-sweetness. Whining in protest, the large dog moved slightly, so she could tug the blankets free and crawl under them, letting go of his ear. "You're lucky I don't make you sleep on the floor," she muttered sleepily.

The bed squeaked in protest as the dog's hefty form shifted and he settled against her back with his own, as she curled on her side. The warmth of his fur spread through the blankets and Lily smiled faintly.

"You're like a king-sized hot water bottle," she said sleepily, yawning and reaching for the lamp, switching it off. A broad muzzle nuzzled her shoulder affectionately, in a gesture of comfort and she patted Sirius' broad side. "Thank you for staying, Sirius."

No reply came.

"Sirius?" Turning slightly, Lily nudged him.

That was when the massive, black dog, which could easily rival a tiger in size started to snore with the same volume and rhythm of an outboard motor.