Saturday, October 31st, 1977 – Halloween
At half-past-ten, Lily and James walked out of the front entrance of the castle, and headed in the direction of the carriages. As she approached the carriages, Lily realized she could see the black, skeletal winged horses hitched to each of the carriages.
"Thestrals," Lily breathed, "James -"
"I can see them too, Lily," James said, softly. "They can only be seen by those who have seen Death. At least it is good to know Death has a sense of humor, huh?"
"Yeah," Lily said.
She tore her gaze from the Thestrals, and climbed into one of the carriages. James followed her in and sat down beside her.
"James?" Lily asked, "You never told me what was bothering you at breakfast."
"Two things were bothering me," James said. "The first – Wormtail. He was sitting there, without a care in the world. If Death is correct, he'll join the Death Eaters sometime next year. Voldemort attacked us, because Peter gave him the Secret. We trusted him, Lily."
"It won't happen this time," Lily said.
"Which part, Lily?" James asked, "Wormtail giving Voldemort the Secret of our location? Damn right it won't happen. What about Wormtail joining the Death Eaters? Are you sure that won't happen?"
"We can stop it, James," Lily said. "We can help Pete. We can help him keep from going down that path."
"How?" James asked.
"I don't know yet," Lily said. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," James muttered.
"What was the other thing that was bothering you?" Lily asked.
"What happened on our first date, Lily?" James replied, "What happened on this day?"
Lily thought back to the first time she had experienced this. She and James had spent much of the time walking around the village, exploring the shops, but not buying very much. James had bought her some candy at Honeydukes – it had been her favorite, and she was rather surprised he had picked her favorite the first time. They had a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks. James had planned on bringing her to the Shrieking Shack. But they never made it. Why hadn't they made it? Something had happened that prevented them from going.
It was then that Lily remembered. She knew exactly what was bothering James.
"Voldemort, Death Eaters," Lily said, her eyes wide, "They attack Hogsmeade today! James, we have to warn everyone!"
"How?" James asked. "Someone is bound to ask us how we could possibly know Death Eaters are attacking today. How can we answer that question, without telling them the truth? That is what was bothering me, Lily. We know there will be an attack on Hogsmeade today, and we can't do anything to prevent it."
"No, we can't," Lily said, "But we can fight them."
"Lily," James said.
"Don't, James," Lily growled, "Don't say it. I know I'm pregnant. I already told you, I'm not delicate. You and I – we're the only two on our side of the battle who knows what is going to happen today. I promised you once that I would always be by your side if I could manage it. I can manage it today."
"If anything happens to you," James said, "To our twins. I swear to Merlin, I'll -"
"I'm not going to let anything happen, James," Lily said, "And neither will you. Right?"
"Of course," James said.
"Then I'll be fine," Lily said. "When does the attack take place? Do you remember?"
James adopted a look of concentration. "Half-past-three. I think they timed it to arrive exactly at that time. I remember, because I had planned to be with you at Hogsmeade until five-o-clock, and those bastards stole over an hour of that from us."
"Half-past-three," Lily said. "Plenty of time. We can have a regular date, then meet our friends in the Three Broomsticks. After lunch, we'll hatch a plan of attack."
"We could set up a few traps," James said, "I can purchase a few things from Zonko's to assist us."
"And I'll purchase some rune-stones," Lily said.
"I do love your rune traps," James said, grinning.
"Last time, the attack was devastating because it was a surprise attack," Lily said. "This time we can be ready. We can surprise them."
"A good opening attack to the eventual end of the war," James said.
Their conversation was cut off as they heard giggling. A laughing Amelia Bones stepped into the carriage.
"Beat you, Black!" she exclaimed.
"I let you win, Bones," Sirius said, outside the carriage.
Sirius stepped into the carriage and sat down beside Amelia, across from Lily and James.
"How did you know we were in here, Sirius?" Lily asked.
"Marauder secret, Evans," Sirius said, "Maybe if you become James' official girlfriend, we might let you in on some of those secrets."
"Extra incentive, huh?" Lily asked.
"Exactly!" Sirius said.
"I see," Amelia said, "Putting up with your shenanigans has its own rewards, does it?"
"More than you can imagine, Bones," Sirius said, "Maybe I'll show you sometime."
"Maybe I'll let you," Amelia said, smiling. "If you behave."
"An impossible challenge, that one," Lily said.
"Hardy har-har, you're a funny one, Evans," Sirius said; he turned to James. "Remus and Pete are getting another carriage, James. Told them this was a couples-only carriage. They did promise they'd meet us for lunch at the Three Broomsticks."
The carriage jolted into movement and started its journey to Hogsmeade village.
"So, James," Amelia said, "You've finally gotten the date you wanted for years now. Now that you got it, what are your plans?"
"If you recall, Lily was the one who asked me," James said. "It is her call what we do."
"We'll just see where the day takes us," Lily said.
"Hopefully it will be a date to remember," Amelia said.
"I'm pretty sure it will be," Lily said, thinking about the upcoming Death Eater attack.
Sirius barked out a laugh. "Lucky bloke you are, James."
James smiled at Lily. "Don't I know it."
"What about you, Sirius?" Lily asked. "You're the one that asked Amelia."
"I figured we'll just play it by ear," Sirius said. "Plans are overrated anyway."
"I agree," Amelia said, "At least when it comes to dates. More exciting that way."
Sirius grinned. "Always up for some excitement."
While the carriage made its way to Hogsmeade Village, Lily and James enjoyed some random, innocent conversation with their friends. At one point, Amelia asked Lily if she was ready for the Defense exam on Monday. It was only then that Lily realized she had forgotten one crucial detail of the reality she and James now found themselves in: they had to experience classes, lessons, and ultimately the NEWT exams, all over again!
When the carriage arrived at Hogsmeade, the two couples parted ways. Lily took James' hand and they started making their way down the cobbled pathway of the village.
"Looks like we know what we're doing tomorrow," Lily said.
"Hmm?" James asked.
"Focusing on our education," Lily said, "You can't tell me you remember everything concerning our classes at this moment in time."
"Right," James said, "I suppose we should figure that out, huh? We can focus on that tomorrow. Between our date, lunch with our friends, the Death Eater attack, the Halloween Feast, meeting with Madam Pomfrey again, and the Full Moon Run, we have plenty to do today."
Lily chuckled. "Well, I can't argue with you there."
"So what should we do?" James asked. "You lead us around, but I'm paying for everything."
"James," Lily said.
"What's mine is yours, Lily," James said, smiling, "Remember?"
Lily could never refuse when James gave her his charming smile.
"Alright," she said.
The first stop they made was at the Three Broomsticks. They spoke to Madam Rosmerta, and reserved a private room for a group lunch at one-o-clock. Madam Rosmerta accepted the reservation and James paid for the room.
For the next couple of hours, Lily and James explored the village. They visited Honeydukes, where they each bought a bag of assorted chocolates and candy. They also visited Zonko's Joke Shop, where James bought several items, many of which would assist them with defending Hogsmeade from the Death Eaters. Among other shops, they also stopped by a quaint little shop called Roslyn's Runes, where Lily bought several different versions of blank rune stones, as well as a knife designated for carving runes into the stones.
Every time they encountered one of their friends who were invited to the group lunch, they informed them of the private room number, and the time to be there.
When it was nearing one-o-clock, Lily and James returned to the Three Broomsticks. As they passed by Madam Rosmerta, she informed them that the room was ready, and she would be with them shortly to take their lunch orders. James thanked her, and led Lily to the room. As they arrived, they found they were the first there. The room was simple, but elegant. There was a large table with wrap-around seating, in case couples wanted to sit close to each other while they ate. Several menus were positioned on the table. Lily and James sat down at the table. Lily remained at the edge of the seat, just in case her pregnancy symptoms appeared and she had to go to the bathroom.
"James?" Lily asked, "Do you think we should tell our friends about the situation we're dealing with? Maybe not today, but eventually."
"Before or after the mission is done?" James said.
"Whenever," Lily said, shrugging. "If the timeline remains the same in the near future, Albus will likely invite us into the Order of the Phoenix before we leave Hogwarts. The Order could help us."
"Death didn't forbid us to get help with our mission," James said.
"Yet," Lily said, "He said he might contact us again."
"Until he tells us otherwise," James said, "We assume we can ask for help with our mission. But as you said, we shouldn't do it today. Eventually we can. If we feel we need help."
"Alright," Lily said, nodding.
At that moment, Marlene, Alice and Frank arrived. Soon followed by Sirius and Amelia, then Remus and Peter. As they arrived, they sat down at the table.
"Feel free to choose what you want to eat," James said, "It's on me."
When their friends started saying he didn't need to do that, James raised his hands to quell them.
"It's on me," James repeated.
A couple minutes after everyone started looking at the menus, Madam Rosmerta walked in. She took their orders, and summoned their requested drinks. Then she promised their meals would be ready in fifteen minutes, and left the room.
"Alright, Lily," Marlene said, "You invited us all here for a reason. Care to tell us why we're here?"
"We're starting with that, huh?" Lily said. "Alright then. Contrary to what any of you believe, this isn't mine and James' first date together. We've been keeping secrets from all of you."
"All of us?" Sirius asked, "James! We don't keep secrets from one another."
"Would you please listen to the story?" James asked. "You'll understand by the end."
"It better be good," Sirius muttered.
Lily winced slightly when their friends agreed with Sirius.
"At the end of July," Lily said, "on the day the book-lists arrived for this school year, the day I found out I was named Head Girl, I also received another letter later that same day. It was from James. He told me that he was named Head Boy. He said that since we would be spending a lot of time together this year, we should get to know each other better. So he invited me to dinner at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Couldn't pass up another opportunity to ask Evans on a date, could you, James?" Sirius asked.
"I never specifically said it was a date," James said. "I knew if I did, she would probably decline. I made it perfectly clear it was just a sit-down dinner, where we could discuss our duties as the Head students. However, I was honest with you when I said that Lily asked me on a date."
"What can I say?" Lily said, "I enjoyed myself that evening. So I asked James on a date. However, I gave him an ultimatum. He could not brag about it to his friends. I could just picture him visiting you, Sirius, immediately after and announcing he has a date with me."
Sirius laughed. "She does know you, doesn't she, James?"
"Sometimes I think she knows me better than I do," James said.
"If I was going to start dating him," Lily continued, "I wanted to know it wouldn't be a waste of my time. Back then, I thought the same thing I was thinking every single time he asked me out. That I was just a notch on his belt, a checkmark on his bucket list or something. I told James that, if we started dating, he couldn't tell his friends until I was comfortable enough with it. I even promised to tell none of my friends."
Marlene huffed. "You enjoyed yourself. I told you so, Lily. I told you if you gave James a chance, you'd find you'd like being with him."
"Yes, yes, you earned your 'I told you so'," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway. Over the month of August, we had two dates a week. Neither of us used any labels like 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'. We were just testing the waters. Then I decided Hogsmeade weekend on Halloween would be the proper time to reveal our relationship."
"Okay," Remus said, "I distinctly remember James bragging to us about him finally getting the opportunity to date you, Lily. But you just said you didn't want him to do that."
"James and I planned that," Lily said. "I gave him permission to be his usual self when telling his mates about his date. If he was calm and cool about it, you might have noticed something. After all, he finally got what he wanted all these years. Why wouldn't he be thrilled?"
"Why did it take you so long to finally decide to tell us?" Alice asked, "You've been dating for what – three months now?"
"We could have told you on the first of September," Lily said, "But we wanted to have some time to ourselves. We knew that once it became news in Hogwarts, we'd be dealing with all the gossip about us. We wanted to wait as long as possible."
"Today is the first Hogsmeade weekend, and we knew we'd spend it together," James said, "So we decided today would be the right opportunity."
"There's something else," Marlene said. "Something you're not telling us."
Once again, Lily winced. There was not just one thing they weren't telling their friends but two. Two very big secrets.
"Perhaps," James said, "But we're allowed to have our secrets, aren't we?"
"Oh, let them have their secrets," Alice said, "They're finally together. Let them enjoy it."
"Yeah," Frank agreed with his girlfriend, "Lily's right after all. The rumor mill will get hold of it before too long, and they won't get to enjoy the exclusivity of their relationship."
"Oh, alright," Marlene said. "I just can't believe you were able to keep it secret so long. Usually I can read you like an open book, and I would never have guessed this. I mean, you could have kept this a secret, and I would have thought you'd have started dating today."
Lily smiled. Given that the story was entirely a fabrication, she wasn't surprised Marlene had said that.
Over the next hour, as the group of friends ate their meals, they discussed several topics. When their friends tried to get them to give up some more details, Lily and James reminisced about some of their real dates. Only, those dates originally took place many months into the future from that moment in time.
An hour into the lunch meeting, Lily felt another wave of nausea rising from her stomach. She excused herself from the table, left the room and headed for the direction of the nearest bathroom. When she found it was empty, she hurried into the stall, and shut the door behind her. She knelt down at the toilet bowl, and vomited into it. When she finished, she sat back on her haunches.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps enter the bathroom.
"It's occupied!" Lily said.
"Lily? It's Marlene," Marlene said, "Are you alright?"
Lily groaned under her breath. This is exactly what she didn't need. "Yeah, I'm -"
Before she could continue, another wave of nausea overwhelmed her, and she vomited again.
"Lily?!" Marlene said, concerned.
Marlene opened the stall's door, as Lily finished, flushed and moved to sit down on the toilet. Lily took a wad of toilet paper from the roll and wiped off her mouth with it.
"I'm fine, Marlene," she said. "I'm – ah –"
Marlene looked at her, questioningly. Lily groaned, cursing her friend's ability to read her like an open book. She needed to tell Marlene, especially if she was going to have any control over whether Marlene kept it a secret or not.
"The truth is," she said, "I'm pregnant, Marlene."
Marlene's eyes widened. "Bloody hell, Lily. Really?"
"Really," Lily echoed; then she started the other tale she and James had fabricated. "Middle of August, James and I – we started having sex. Between mid- and late-August, I guess I forgot to use Contraceptive, and well – here I am. Roughly two months pregnant."
"Does James know?" Marlene asked, "He's the father, right?"
"Of course he is!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you really think I'd – really, Marlene!"
"Sorry," Marlene said, with a wince, "Stupid question."
"Yes, James knows," Lily said. "He was there with me this morning in the Hospital Wing when we found out. I took a Pregnancy Test Potion, and it was the correct color. We're supposed to meet with Madam Pomfrey tonight to discuss more details. Probable due date, and other stuff."
"Pregnant," Marlene said, "You're the last person I expected to be in this situation while still in Hogwarts, Evans!"
Lily merely smiled. "I know. Goody two-shoes Lily Evans. Marlene, I didn't intend for you to find out this way. James and I wish to keep this a secret for now. Besides you, only Madam Pomfrey knows. Nobody else. We're not telling our friends nor Headmaster Dumbledore nor our Professors yet. Not until I start showing, or my symptoms become noticeable."
"I noticed, didn't I?" Marlene asked.
"Did you?" Lily replied, smiling.
"No," Marlene said, sighing, "I came in here to gossip. Ironically, I wanted to know if you and James were having sex yet. I thought that might have been what you weren't telling us. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted if you promise to keep it secret," Marlene said, "From everybody."
"Only discuss it with you and James," Marlene said. "Got it. I probably would have noticed sooner rather than later, you know. My older sister's pregnant. I think I told you that. I was witness to her symptoms all summer."
Lily nodded, as her eyes became misty. Marlene's sister, her husband and her little boy were killed with Marlene and her family in the middle of 1981.
"You alright, Lily?" Marlene asked.
Lily wiped her eyes. "Yeah. Hormones."
Marlene giggled. "You're going to be a Mum, Lily. Have you thought about that? Ooh, maybe not yet, since you just discovered it this morning."
"No, I've actually given it some thought," Lily said. "I think I'll be a good Mum. And James will be a brilliant Daddy."
"Have you two talked about things?" Marlene asked. "You know... marriage?"
"I'm sure it will come up soon," Lily said.
"Right," Marlene said, "Sorry. I'm gossiping, aren't I? No more questions. I promise."
Lily chuckled. She stood up, situated her clothing, and checked herself over. She cast Cleaning and Breath-Freshening Charms, then followed Marlene out of the stall. When they left the bathroom, they found James leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. James looked at Marlene for a moment, then looked at Lily.
"Bugger," James said, "She knows, doesn't she?"
"She knows," Lily said. "Walked in mid-vomit."
"Sorry," James said, "She excused herself, and it took me a moment to realize where she was going. I realized what you might be doing and – she was in the bathroom before I could do anything. Damn gender-exclusive privacy charms prevented me from following her."
"I'm sorry," Marlene moaned. "I promised her I'd keep it a secret."
"It's alright, Marlene," Lily said. "Really. But we need to go back before the others get curious."
Marlene nodded, and they headed back toward the private room. Lunch ended less than half-an-hour later, and the large group started to split up. Marlene, Lily and James were the last ones in the room. Lily waved her wand toward the door, and cast a silent Muffliato Charm.
"Alright, Marlene," Lily said, "I can tell that you want to know more. I placed privacy charms on the door, so there is no risk of anyone eavesdropping."
"I promise I won't tell anybody until you give me permission," Marlene said.
"Good," James said, "Because we were planning on keeping this a secret for a while longer."
"Until she starts showing," Marlene said. "Lily told me. What else can you tell me?"
"Well," Lily said, "As I said, we won't know much else until we speak with Madam Pomfrey. However, I can tell you this. When I took the Pregnancy Test Potion, my – you know – pee turned green. That means I'm pregnant with twins – a boy and a girl."
"Twins?" Marlene asked, grinning. "Bloody hell. Well, at least it is one of each. If you're lucky, they won't be complete pranksters like the Prewett twins. Wait – scratch that. Given who their Daddy is... you're doomed, Evans. You should have torn up James' letter before you read it."
"Nah," Lily said, "I wouldn't have changed anything. The path we've gone down led us here."
James smiled, obviously seeing the hidden meaning in that statement.
Marlene swooned. "You two are so cute. Oh! I call dibs on being godmother!"
"Do you know what it means to be a godparent?" James asked. "Godparents become guardians if the child's parents die. We have no intentions on dying, McKinnon!"
Lily grasped James' hand under the table and squeezed it. She could tell he was titchy about dying in the first place.
James sighed. "Sorry, Marlene. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"No, it's alright, James," Marlene said, "I shouldn't have said that. Besides, I'm probably better as the crazy Aunt, right? You two are being very... calm about all of this, you know. Due date will likely be around May, if my calculations are right. You two will still be students! Not to mention teenage parents. Of twins! I'd be going mental, if I was in your position."
Lily admitted that Marlene had a good point. From Marlene's perspective, this was Lily and James' first time as parents. When in reality, they had already been parents for fifteen months, and had most of Lily's original pregnancy to prepare for it.
"Maybe that just means we'll be brilliant parents," James said, "Because we're not going mental."
Marlene snorted. "Or maybe you're just in shock. I'll see how you feel after you have your discussion with Madam Pomfrey."
"Ten Galleons says we're still calm and cool," James said.
"You have yourself a deal, Potter," Marlene said.
Lily rolled her eyes. She then glanced at the clock. It was nearing two-thirty. The Death Eater attack would happen in an hour or so, and they still needed to prepare a counter-attack.
"Look at the time!" Lily said, as she got to her feet, "Come on, James. We have a few more things to do in Hogsmeade before we're done."
James' eyes widened slightly as he looked at the clock.
"Right," he said. "Things to do. We'll see you later, McKinnon."
James and Lily grabbed their shopping bags and headed out of the private room. James paid the bill to Madam Rosmerta, then he and Lily headed back out into the village.
"One hour until showtime," James said.
"Plenty of time," Lily said, "Let's get ready. But we need to be careful, James. Can't let anyone discover us setting up the counter-attack. Especially Junior Death Eaters."
"Right," James said, nodding. "Let's do this then."
Lily inhaled and exhaled. The mission was about to officially begin. This would be the true beginning of the end of Voldemort's threat.