Beginnings

-Chapter One-

Lily Evans Potter woke one Sunday morning to the sun shining on her face. Seven months pregnant, she was hot from the summer air (and the lack of a fan) and she was sore from sleeping on her back for so many months. Carefully, she rolled out of bed and slipped her swollen feet into the slippers near her night table then pushed herself up and off the bed. She debated for a few moments on whether or not to take a shower, but decided against it once she smelled bacon cooking from downstairs. She smiled and thought, "James."

James Potter had been awake for almost 3 hours on this Sunday morning; he woke up early and could not go back to sleep. He did not want to wake Lily nor worry her about why we could not sleep, so he quietly crept downstairs, made some coffee and examined the Daily Prophet. It was all news he and the entire wizarding world was used to by now: more muggle killings, disappearances of important wizard leaders, sporadic sightings of Voldemort, hysterical readers reporting that Voldemort was after them. James tried his best to laugh off the difficult times he and many others had experienced these past few years, but now that Lily was only 2 months from giving birth, he began to worry about the world they were bringing this child into.

After a couple of hours soul-searching and daydreaming, James decided to make some breakfast for his wife, who would no doubt be hungry as soon as she woke up. And if there was one thing James had learned about being married to a pregnant woman, it was to provide food as much and as soon as possible. He spotted Lily on the stairs just a short while later, rushed to her side and handed her a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

"I've never understood the point of decaf," said Lily. "I always thought waking up was the point of drinking coffee."

"Well, you know you can't have caffeine while you're pregnant," James responded.

"I know; it's just something I've always wondered about."

Lily took a seat at the breakfast table next to James; she could sense something was on his mind. He had been distant over the last few weeks; he was not sleeping, he was calling into work more and more, and his sense of humor that she fell in love with was beginning to dwindle. She never brought it up because she didn't want to upset him, but her intuition told her that she should not stay quiet for long.

"Maybe I should talk to Dumbledore," she thought. "Or perhaps I should get it over with and confront James."

"Something on your mind, love?" James asked his wife.

His inquiry startled her after being so lost in her thoughts. "No, James," she lied, "Just a little sore from the bed. Aren't you going into work today?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, so I took the day off," James answered quietly.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that you haven't been sleeping in the past week?"

James nodded and looked helplessly up at his wife. "I'm sorry, Lily, I was trying not to wake you, but I have had this on my mind since I found out, and it's finally starting to actually sink in."

"James, what are you talking about?" Lily demanded. "Why haven't you spoken of this before?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you! I've been beating myself to a bloody pulp trying to tell you!" James explained.

"Alright, James, alright," Lily said softly, reaching out for his hand. She smiled. "You never were very good at handling stress. I've never seen such a brave man put so much trouble onto his shoulders. The world isn't yours to save, James!"

"Actually, Lily, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," James whispered, slowly lifting his head and looking his wife in the face.

Lily drew back from her husband slightly, as if puzzled but bracing herself for more shocking news. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I had... a dream. It was of a young boy with green eyes fighting a duel. He was about 11 years old, and he was fighting Voldemort... Lily, he looked just like me, and he had your eyes... I think it was our son," James said.

Lily opened her mouth to respond, to tell James he was just overreacting to a dream, but she did not have the chance.

"Anyway, I spoke with Dumbledore alone at the Order's last meeting," James continued, "and Dumbledore reassured me that it must have only been a dream; he said he had no reason to believe that our child has anything to do with Voldemort."

"So, what's the..."

"Dumbledore summoned me at the beginning of last week to Headquarters," James continued. "He said he was interviewing a woman for the position of divination teacher at the Hog's Head. He told me that the woman appeared to be an old fraud, or in his words, 'disappointing', and so he bid her goodnight and turned to leave. Then she had a sort of seizure and made an actual prophecy right in front of him."

"What about?" Lily inquired anxiously.

James hesitated then sighed as he stood up and headed for a cabinet in the living room. He opened the cabinet and pulled out a silver bowl with ruins carved in. Lily followed him.

"Dumbledore's pensive? James, what...?" Lily asked, perplexed.

"You need to see this for yourself, Lily," James answered. He pulled out his wand and tapped the surface of the floating, silver mist hovering in the bowl.

A woman Lily had never seen before, draped in shawls and adorning large glasses that magnified her eyes, rose revolving out of the bowl and spoke in a harsh tone:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

Lily stared for a moment at the slowly revolving figure sinking back into the pensive, then stood up on shaky legs, ran to the sink, and vomited. James rushed to her side.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said. "I should have told you sooner..."

"James, what are we going to do? I mean, we've defied Voldemort three times, and our child is due in two more months... That's the seventh month!" Lily was becoming hysterical. "But we can't just leave, can we? Tell me Voldemort doesn't know about the prophecy, James! Give me some sort of good news; I mean, if he knows, where could we possibly hide...?"

James looked helplessly up at his wife, and she knew the answer before he spoke it. "He had a spy following Dumbledore, and the spy apparently heard the first part of the prophecy, up to the point where she said, the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal. Members of the Order guarding Dumbledore luckily spotted him and threw him from the building before he could take down the rest."

Lily's curiosity got the better of her. "Who was the spy? Did Dumbledore ever find out?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across James' face. "Severus Snape."

Lily rolled her almond-shaped green eyes and, looking down at her defeated and terrified husband, forced herself into a state of calm that James could always depend on. She regained her composure and knew she had to be strong. "We've stood against Voldemort before, James," Lily said optimistically. "I say we stand and fight."

"It's not that simple, Lil," James explained. "Now he will be actively looking for us. Dumbledore figures it will take Voldemort a while to figure out how many wizarding families are about to have a child, so that leaves us some time to hide..."

"My god, James," Lily suddenly interrupted. "What if it's Alice?"

"Pardon?" James asked, astonished at the selflessness of his wife.

"Alice Longbottom, James," Lily explained. "She's due in July also."

"I know," James said, hanging his head. "The Longbottoms have been informed also, and plans to send them into hiding are beginning as well. Dumbledore said we may, at some point, have to perform the Fidelous Charm; he offered to be Secret-Keeper, but I told him I'd have to talk with you. But Lil, we have to pack and get over to Headquarters as soon as we can. It's just not safe here anymore."

Lily wiped her mouth with a napkin and straightened her back. She looked at her husband and said, "I'm scared, James."

He pulled her close and rested his head on hers. "I know. I am too, Lil. I would never let anything to happen to you or the baby. I'd give my life for both of you."