Chapter 41 – Stupid French Barbie Doll

James dragged himself into the Auror meeting with minutes to spare, and Sirius couldn't help but snicker. He looked like a zombie. His hair was even more wild than usual, his clothes were rumpled and his eyes looked a little crazed behind his typical black framed glasses. He could only imagine what the poor bloke was going through right now. Red was a firecracker when she wasn't pregnant. She now was probably close to a four scale alarm going off at random times throughout the day. When James finally slumped into the seat next to him, he couldn't resist baiting him gleefully, "Did you even shower this morning, Jim?"

James glared over at his best mate. Sirius enjoyed teasing him way too much. The only thing that kept him from issuing payback presently was the idea of Sirius on babysitting duty in the near future. That soon would be payback enough after all of the tricks he planned on teaching his future child. "What kind of question is that? And don't call me that."

Frank nudged James from the row behind him and rolled his eyes at Sirius. "Leave him be. He's having it rougher than most." He turned back to James with some concern. "I take it Lily is still feeling ill then? Alice told me she doesn't come up for lunch anymore since smells drive her bonkers. Is it true she really has a spell warding off scents around her desk?"

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had a hard time remembering the last morning Lily had not been sick. Lily had morning sickness—or rather all day sickness—practically since the moment she had found out she was pregnant. That was three months ago now. Although he hid it well, he was worried. The Healers had found nothing unusual and said everything was going alright in her pregnancy even if she was slightly underweight due to her constant throwing up. She was drinking anti-nausea potions daily and had even looked into muggle medicines, but she could still barely keep down any food. At almost five months pregnant, he was hoping she would get a break soon. Just the scent of food usually sent her running for a bathroom. She ate bites at a time throughout the day instead of a structured meal since she could only stomach small amounts of food before gagging.

That wasn't even the half of it really. He had been keeping the other details as quiet as possible since it was beyond abnormal, but Lily had been doing a lot of accidental magic. A LOT. It was unheard of, and so they had lied to her Healer saying that it had dissipated when the hospital was starting to be concerned, but it really hadn't. She especially kept setting fire to random things so he and the house elves had to fireproof the entire Manor over the course of the last month. It wasn't only because she was angry either. One time she had been crying because she had gotten sick when they had been having a nice, quiet evening for once and flames burst from her almost singing off his eyebrows. That had caused even more tears, but eventually he had calmed her down and they had christened a new area of the house.

The definite upside to her pregnancy was James benefitting from Lily's hormones—thoroughly. He was most definitely enjoying that aspect of her pregnancy. So long as she wasn't being sick, she really just wanted to touch him. All the time. Anywhere. He shook his head so he didn't think about sex when he was with the guys and tried to answer Frank's question instead, "Yes, she is still sick and yes it's true, she can't handle smells well at all. The only thing I can get her to keep down for an hour is milk and eggs—don't ask me how either. Eggs smell worse than most other foods, in my opinion, and dairy is supposed to make you queasy! I have had breakfast foods at breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a snack for the past two months. I am desperate for just regular steak and potatoes. Reeny has been great and gets me other things so long as I'm far away from Lily. I thought she'd be more like Alice, trying tons of new foods or indulging in sweets. How can they both be going through the same thing and having a completely different experience?"

Frank laughed. "You're telling me. At least you aren't being dragged around to every restaurant in London every day to try new food. I would love a quiet night at home really, especially after a long day here. My only break is if I get sent out on a mission. I hate leaving Alice alone, more so now, but my Mum has been really great with her. I think they have officially turned a point in their relationship now that Alice is having the 'heir to the Longbottom family line.' They go out to dinner all of the time together when I'm away. I suppose I should now be scared that they are both getting along and probably talking about me."

Sirius smirked. "So glad I don't have to deal with that, you cads. Christina and I are happy just being together. I'm assuming Red must be well enough to be here at work or you would look much more haggard than you already do."

James rolled his eyes, but made no further comment. Alastor and some of the other Senior Aurors were beginning the meeting. He tried to listen to the updates from the other teams, but he was still distracted and wondered how Lily was fairing down in the Department of Mysteries. He typically always thought about Lily, worry or no, but he now worried about her 24/7 once he had found out she was pregnant. Arielle Lovegood and her mystic, magical tea had him concerned too, but Lily told him every day that she would never make it through her workday without it. He had no idea what was in it, but he thanked Merlin she wasn't sick somewhere when he couldn't be with her. He owed a lot to Arielle Lovegood for being there for Lily while she was at her office. No one else even came close to being a friend in her department since Lily was female and so young in comparison to her peers. It didn't help that Rockwood still watched Lily like a hawk, more so now it seemed since she announced she was pregnant. Someone still always met Lily promptly after work if he was unable to do so himself. Sirius randomly slapped the back of his head. James hissed at him, "What?"

That's when James realized everyone was looking at him. Alastor raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. He was aware of Lily's troubles with her pregnancy so he often let it slide if James was not all there at meetings so as to not bring attention to his wife and for the whole world known as the Ministry to be aware of any issues. "Hey Laddie, we need your report on Mulciber. You said you saw him."

"Right." James cleared his throat. "Paul and I checked out the location you gave us the other night. I think he was meeting a few other potential Death Eaters there, but it was dark. We didn't recognize any voices, but it was clearly Mulciber leaving. We sent another team to watch the location last night and there was another meeting, but it wasn't clear who was present this time. I would suggest we try again tonight and stun/disarm all present if another meeting occurs. At the very least, we can say there is probable cause to warrant the attack as there has been suspicious activity in the area."

Alastor looked grim, but gave him the go ahead. "Okay then—take Black, Raspen and Longbottom there tonight. Bring whoever they are in for questioning if there is another meeting tonight. If Mulciber is there, take every precaution. We want to speak with him. While we can use lethal force, I would like to get somewhere instead of killing off the people we would like to question."

James nodded at him, but internally sighed. He grimaced and hoped Lily wouldn't mind having a girls' night…again.

. . .

Lily was close to tears, but she refused to let them fall. Her emotions tended to get away from her and magic was literally brimming at her fingertips lately. She didn't want to have an episode with Christina here at the Manor. She glared angrily at the mirror in front of her. Her shirts didn't fit right anymore. Merlin, nothing fit right anymore!

While she was slightly underweight at almost five months, she had still put on weight regardless. Everyone including James constantly told her that she had the tiniest little bump, but it didn't feel tiny to her. She had purchased some new things a few weekends ago, but after waiting as long as she could to actually wear the items, she was now starting to try a few since she had made herself sick this morning after getting upset when a pair of her pants no longer fit the way they were supposed to. The shirt she was wearing just didn't look right on her changing figure. She wasn't so vain as to want to hide the fact that she was gaining weight or was pregnant to begin with—she kind of was loving it even if she was miserable and nauseous most of the time, but it was still a completely different thing to actually watch the body you were used to change opposed to just thinking about it changing.

James still told her she was beautiful every day and if their sex life was anything to go by, he was thoroughly enjoying the fact that she wanted to jump him every time she didn't feel sick. In fact, she would have preferred to be doing that now instead of standing at her bathroom mirror in her bedroom with Christina trying on these maternity clothes she had bought. Her hormones were wreaking havoc on her, and she felt ridiculously out of sorts. James had yet another overnight with the Aurors so Christina had come over to keep her company since Sirius was with James anyway. She turned and looked back into the mirror more seriously trying different angles to see if it would make her like the top more. She huffed and pouted at herself which made Christina giggle. She looked over her shoulder meeting her best mate's eyes in the mirror when Christina spoke, "Lily, this top looks amazing on you. Look at all those curves in the right places. I would literally kill for your boobs right now. Stop it. Now, who are you pouting at? Me or the maternity top?"

Lily stuck her tongue out at her through the mirror. "Neither. I'm pouting at Harry. He's the one who is causing all of this ruckus anyhow."

Christina rolled her eyes playfully as she sat on the countertop next to her. "You still think it's a boy, huh?"

Lily shoved her lightly. "I've told you it's a boy. Everyone here says so. I find out in a week or so for sure though, Ms. Doubtful."

Christina shrugged and went back to going through some of the tops, trying to see which ones would work best with the maternity leggings for her friend. Clothes could obviously be magically altered, but spells tended to wear off on items you used regularly so it was easier to purchase clothes that actually fit the first time around. Either way, Lily wore her cloak to work but that didn't mean she shouldn't look great and be comfortable without her cloak on. "I just am weirded out by the whole Potter 'You have boy first, not girl' Tarzan-like way of deciding the sex of my future Godchild."

Lily sighed. James and she had discussed the matter of Godparents thoroughly over the last three months. Ultimately, it was her decision. James knew this and pretty much gave her the decision, especially after it was assumed Sirius would be Godfather. Instead, he had only offered his thoughts when she had asked and had brought up good points for her to think over. She was loathe to break the news to her best mate, but she had many reasons why she was going to say what she had to say. She had been trying to figure out a way to tell her for a while now, but no time had ever been right. Best to do it like a quick spell, "Chrissy…James and I think we are going to make Lauren the Godmother."

Christina immediately stopped sifting through the tops. Her pause made Lily bite her lip. The rest of her thoughts spilled out of her, "Please don't be mad, Chris. You know I love you, and I know you and Sirius are together, but if something happened to him, it could maybe happen to you at the same time, and then where would Harry be? And I know you guys are together and everything is great—dare I say, you may just make an honest man out of the boy we thought was impossible to tame someday—but right now, with everything going on and uncertain, I…I felt this was right."

Christina turned toward her and sighed. "Okay."

Lily gnawed on her lip some more. She felt tears again too. Damn her hormones. "Just okay? You're freaking me out right now."

Christina gave her a small smile. She was disappointed, but she understood. "No, I get it. Your reasoning is sound. I just claim round two then, you know?"

Lily burst into tears and threw her arms around her best mate, so happy she wasn't angry with her. She had been worried Christina would take it wrong. "What in the world would make you think I would do this again?"

Christina's laughter was muffled by all of their hair that was hanging about from their fierce, impromptu hug. "Of course you will. You know my Godchild will be nicer to you and will be more like me." She pulled back and whispered with mischief, "Besides, now I can corrupt young Harry and make him drive Sirius crazy! I can still claim favorite Aunt."

Lily started to laugh through her tears. "You and Sirius are perfect together. I can't wait for him to man up and start a life with you too."

Christina rolled her eyes. "I don't know. It might be a while, but I'm in no rush. I have a feeling when we moved in he thought it was something I wanted, considering how long we talked about the move, but I knew he wasn't there yet so it was never my expectation. He's not ready to be a husband yet, but he is the best boyfriend to me. That's all I need for now."

Lily snorted. "A part of you wants more though, right? We talked about weddings when we were little first years if I remember correctly."

Christina giggled and picked up a few tops. "Of course I remember, and I do want it…just not right now. I mean, I want Sirius to be fully on board first and it would be nice for all of the fighting to be done and over with. I guess I am just enjoying that I have someone to love in all of this mess. It's hard to explain, but it just isn't something I'm ready for right now. Does that make any sense?"

Stealing one of the tops from Christina's hands, she pouted again. "Yes. I guess I should be grateful I won't be Matron of Honor looking as big as a house either."

Christina threw her head back laughing. "You know you will be pregnant with your second or third one during my wedding. I know it."

Lily pulled off the top she was wearing and tried on the next one. "Shut up, even if you are probably right."

They giggled and talked until the keep pile of maternity clothes was larger than the discard pile. Lily had just asked Reeny to bring them up some tea so they could sit and relax a bit before turning in for the night when Christina's work bracelet went off. She scowled at the flashing and vibrating colored thing. "Really? The one time our department actually gets a case after hours, and I am one of the two people on call! That is just the pits. I'm so sorry, Lil. I have to go meet Hailey at the Ministry before we head off together to handle whatever magical accident happened this late. Are you going to be alright? Do you want me to floo call someone to stay with you?"

Lily forced a smile. She was always wary of work occurring after hours after hearing about some of the things James had shared with her lately. "I'll be fine. I can ask Reeny to help me if I get sick in the night. She has before. Be careful though, alright?"

Christina waved her hand at her. "Seriously Lily, it is probably an old lady who got frustrated because she couldn't see and enlarged her glasses too much that now she can't walk or hurt herself somehow. Don't fret or you will make yourself sick. Promise?"

Lily nodded and gave her a quick hug before her friend disapparated. She was just about to call Reeny to cancel the tea when the little house elf appeared with a tray. The moment the scent of Earl Grey tea hit her nose, she ran for the bathroom. She could hear Reeny apologizing profusely behind her and helping to make sure she was comfortable, but all Lily could think was it as going to be another long night. Hopefully, Harry would let her rest some too.

. . .

James had stayed with Sirius for the mission, and they were hunched together leaning against a tree trunk, wand at the ready. Both were disillusioned and had already silenced the area around them, waiting for something to happen. He was leading the mission so he sent Martin and Frank over to the opposite side, and he imagined the two of them were doing much of the same as he and Sirius—a whole lot of nothing.

After expecting a third meeting or at least Mulciber to return if the uncharted home near them was his private residence, no one had come or gone at all. It was now closing in on midnight. The first meeting had been pretty early—maybe around 9pm, but the meeting the night prior had occurred closer to 1am. It looked like they were in for a boring watch if nothing happened in the next few hours.

Sirius sighed irritably and shifted. "I'm so bored. I hate stake outs."

James shoved him with his shoulder. "They aren't so bad. It could be worse. You could be here with Alastor."

Sirius snorted. "I reckon that would be a dismal time. Constant vigilance! They could be right behind you!"

James chuckled. "We have a tree behind us. What about the time—" He cut off abruptly when two distinct cracks littered the air. "Apparition. Go time."

They were up on their feet and ready to go until they saw the two women walking toward the home in powder blue robes, both talking quietly with the other. James inhaled sharply when he recognized one of them, but Sirius was instantly alarmed. "What the hell is Chrissy doing here? I thought she was with Lily. She can't be here James—what if—"

He cut off when spell fire started coming from the home at the two women. Both women threw shields and James saw Christina smartly pull the other witch closer to the home so they would not be in their line of sight. Sirius wasted no time and began firing back where the spells had come from. James tried to get the two of them closer, but they only moved up one more tree due to more spell fire. The tree wouldn't keep them safe for long either. He saw both Martin and Frank running to the rear of the house to see if they could get access or coax out whomever was inside. Going inside an uncharted home wasn't safe when who knew what spells might lock you inside once you entered uninvited.

Sirius tried to launch tiny spelled detonators into the broken parts of the home which would randomly stun people within a few feet, but they all bounced harmlessly off of the home due to an unseen barrier. What bothered James more was they bounced near Christina and her partner that night. He had no idea why the two of them were even there, but he didn't need them to get stunned outside the home or possibly within the barrier. James shouted at them, "Run, Christina!"

Christina began running. She tried dragging along the other woman, who was shell-shocked and moving awkwardly, but the stunning spell hit her and she fell limply forward. The momentum pushed Christina closer to the building, just outside the front window. The window shattered out of nowhere and Christina was grabbed and roughly pulled inside. Sirius screamed, "NO!"

He immediately ran forward so James rushed to cover him. They both made it safely to the side of the house. Sirius was muttering to himself, "Why were they here? Why were they called? Was she targeted?"

James had no answers for him, but he had a plan. "She obviously was taken inside despite the barrier we saw and we are standing where she was, close to the house. We should be able to get inside too."

Sirius glared at him. "Yeah, and then what? We could all get stuck inside now!"

James didn't look at him and moved toward the front door. "Well then we'll have to find a way back out."

He heard Sirius following him and once they were both on either side of the front door, he held up his fingers counting down before he used a spell to blast open the front door. They both ran in using basic spells to prevent any unwanted attacks, but the entryway was deserted. A revealing spell indicated only two people were there in addition to the two of them. They shadowed one another as they inspected the bottom floor. There was no sign of a visible basement, but when a piercing scream rang in the air upstairs, they wasted no time going for the stairs. The scream was abruptly cut off so James feared the worst.

They both positioned themselves on either side of the first open doorway and Sirius growled ferociously when he saw Christina dangling in the air from an invisible rope, her head thrown back and mouth open wide in a continuous silent choking scream. Her whole body was flailing around wildly as she tried in vain to escape whatever was holding her there. The spell he was holding her with needed to end fast. Sirius' wand immediately turned to the only wizard in the room, Charles Mulciber. "You let her go, and you let her go now!"

Mulciber just tossed back his head laughing. "You think I didn't know you Aurors have been watching me! You think I didn't know she was on call tonight! I knew she would draw you all out. Such a pretty little thing, isn't she Black! We would've shared her if you had been brought up a proper Black!"

Sirius was about to blow, but that was when James struck. He had snuck in the room under disillusionment and once he was out of Mulciber's peripheral, he stunned him. Mulciber blasted into the wall harder than necessary. Christina crumbled to the ground, having passed out from whatever spell she had been held with. Sirius' jaw clenched, and he looked as if he would kill Mulciber. James scolded him, "Enough, Sirius. Focus. You can get your revenge later in questioning. I don't sense a house ward. Help me carry her. She needs medical attention now. I'll take care of him."

As soon as his grey eyes met Christina's limp form, he crumbled. She was unresponsive and appeared as if she was in deep pain, her eyes closed tightly. Her lips were continuously moving fighting something no one could see but no sound was coming out. His voice was devastated as he breathed out only her name, "Chrissy."

James said his name sharply once more, and something must've clicked for Sirius because he suddenly started using basic healing spells to stabilize his girlfriend in quick succession. She was soon levitating and ready for transport by the time James had finished securing Mulciber. James nodded and pulled out a portkey to St. Mungo's before handing it to Sirius. "Go. I'll find Martin and Frank and have them assist her partner. I'll be there as soon as I can after I take him back for questioning and give a de-briefing."

Sirius was gone before James even finished speaking.

. . .

James scowled inwardly as he stood sentinel near the food tables at the International Ministry Gala. Only Minister Brady would have a ballroom event when Voldemort was probably out terrorizing local muggle villages. The guy was trying, he would give him that. With all of the horrible news in the Daily Prophet over the past few weeks, the Minister was trying to actively draw people's attention to more normal things, namely something like Quidditch.

Ludo Bagman, Captain of the Wimbourne Wasps and one of the best Beaters of all time, was retiring after the current Quidditch season. Of course, they were a few months shy from the end of the season, but they were the team expected to take the Quidditch World Cup that summer for the third year in a row. However, to draw attention away from the most recent catastrophe in the London Underground at the end of March and all of the attacks James and the other Aurors had been privy to in the last month, the Ministry was hosting an International Gala in his honor since he would be taking a Lead position in the Department of Magical Games and Sports in the fall where he would oversee league match commentating. That meant Witches and wizards from multiple countries and delegations had been invited as the Quidditch League spanned all of Europe. It was quite the affair, and as the event had been thrown together very last minute, it meant there were definite gaps in security and tons of potential for chaos.

One would think people would be worried about Voldemort, considering the elevated attempt at security that evening and the events happening all throughout England, but the carefree attitudes and amounts of money being tossed around made him rather concerned. People seemed to be trading money, favors and who knows what else at every turn. He was sure the Ministry had the wrong people hiding in plain sight too, but there was not much he could do without obvious proof. While this night was supposed to be about happier times, it also had the potential to be a recruitment arena for Voldemort and his cronies. There were already two wizards that had been escorted off the premises for being drunk, when it had been more likely to him that they had been imperiused unsuccessfully. Both had been babbling incoherently about werewolves.

As the werewolf population had vandalized Diagon Alley the past full moon, causing a bunch of drama for the Ministry, this was highly suspect. There had been over five injuries from that night and one of the injured wizards had been bitten and would become a werewolf next month. Remus had disappeared practically the whole month as well and after the werewolf crisis, he became all closed off when all of the Marauders discussed it the other day. Sirius had been giving him shit about it to be funny, but Remus had taken it personally. It didn't help when Sirius called Remus out for disappearing so much. No one had any idea what Remus was doing for some income, although Peter had mentioned that he saw Remus often enough in Diagon Alley when he was working at Gambol and Jape's. James assumed his disappearances had something to do with a job, but his lack of discussion surrounding employment left him wondering why he was being so secretive about his life. Peter was worried about Remus and every time he brought up his worries, Sirius tended to get away with himself and confront Remus which led to even more bickering between all four of them. Sometimes being an adult made him wish they were all back in school when things were more relaxed and worry free.

He gave another perusal of the room at large, narrowing his eyes when he saw Lauren flirting obviously and talking avidly with a large conglomerate of men near the bar. She was still in training, but she had been placed undercover that evening. Her beauty was both an asset and a curse, especially for her older brother figure. She was dressed in far too revealing blood red dress robes with the intent to draw the attention from every unsuspecting male in the room. She was beyond enchanting and was interested in everything and everyone. The men, and even some women, were hanging on her every word and she was probably gaining more intelligence than any Auror working that evening. Alastor had planted her well tonight, even if James hated having her be so open and vulnerable.

Aurors from all across Europe were stationed at every entrance and throughout the Grand Ballroom, himself included. Half had taken the opening shift, and he was scheduled to be relieved soon. Arrivals had taken forever and now he had been standing guard over the spiked punch bowl for the past two hours listening to all of the private deals and possible corruption between all of the foreign governments. Lily decided she would rest at home and show up late so she wouldn't be here technically alone while he was on duty. They could both get intelligence for the Order during the second half of the evening. He had to make rounds, as it were, due to being a Potter. Sirius was there on duty somewhere for the first shift as well, but he was going to be leaving at the earliest opportunity to be with Christina back at their place.

Christina had been released within a day of being admitted to St. Mungo's after the Mulciber ordeal, but she would never be the same. The multiple curses they had discovered Mulciber had used had damaged her vocal cords so severely that the Healers were unable to repair them. Both Sirius and Christina were grieving over the fact that she would never speak again in their own way. Sirius wanted her in his sight always, becoming way more overprotective, while Christina wanted to curl up away from everyone and was clearly depressed over her newfound lack of communication. Needless to say, they were fighting and hashing things out in their own way together. It certainly hadn't helped when Sirius cast a charm on Christina so her thoughts were visible above her head in thought bubbles. Both he and Lily were scarred for life when that whole fiasco began with Christina freaking out and ended somehow with the two of them snogging passionately and attacking each other. He and Lily had flooed away in a hurry and left them to it. He knew they would eventually be ok after seeing that at least. Mulciber, of course, was another dead end. Voldemort made sure none of his followers had anything incriminating to say if they were captured.

He was distracted from his musings when he heard a feminine, airy voice to his right, "Eh bien, bonjour, beau."

James sighed internally at the flirty words when he noticed the tall, statuesque French blonde standing at his shoulder. She was eyeing him in a way that made him feel violated and she conveniently ran her hand over his forearm likely to draw his attention to her obvious cleavage. Using his left hand to blatantly show the French woman his wedding band, he picked up her hand and removed hers from touching him. "I'm sorry, but I'm on duty. You will have to step away."

She giggled in a way that made him cringe nor did she step away. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, showing off her bare collar bone and a fancy yellow fairy hairclip that matched her dress robes. "Oui. I am disappointed I have to take your place, Monsieur. We could have had some fun, non? Anything exciting for us Aurors tonight?"

He cringed at realizing she was a French Auror and his replacement. He ignored her advances as best as he could and maintained a proper distance while he debriefed her as was required. She seemed much more interested in him than that of her job, which didn't say much for the rest of the Aurors that were helping out that evening. He didn't understand the appeal some females had with him anyhow. He wore glasses, his hair was always a mess and he was wearing black like most men in the room. He supposed his last name meant something to certain pureblooded types, and sure, Lily had jumped him before he had left the Manor that evening. While he still had no idea how he got so lucky as to have Lily fall in love with him, he definitely didn't understand the draw she had sometimes either, especially after how she had despised him for so long while they had been in school.

He stopped talking mid-sentence though when he noticed Lily standing near the main entrance to the Grand Ballroom. He was—without a doubt—the luckiest wizard alive.

. . .

Lily took a deep breath and ignored the few stares she noticed as she made her way across the Atrium of the Ministry. She mentally stopped herself from running a hand over her empire-waist dress robes and her growing stomach. She had made a quick restroom stop to make sure she still looked alright after coming through the floo. She felt self-conscious when she was exposed and alone like this. She was also trying to remain calm. There would be nothing more shocking than her lighting something on fire at the Ministry due to her nerves that evening. She told James she would arrive around 9pm when he was due to be relieved from working the first half of the night. It was odd, not arriving together. They were hardly ever apart unless it was for work, and even then, they usually went to work together each morning.

She checked herself and her wand in with the Aurors near the main entrance to the Grand Ballroom. She watched some of the foreign Aurors give her a double take when they learned of her last name. She inwardly grimaced. Her husband's last name, prominence in the wizarding community and wealth often led to awkwardness for her on occasion. She quickly placed her wand back in her hidden arm holster before making her way inside. Her eyes widened at the lovely décor. The Minister had spared no expense for this International Quidditch Gala. There were magical champagne fountains and floating trays of hors d'oeuvres. There were flickering fairy lights flying high above them seemingly playing quidditch themselves as they danced lightly between tiny glimmering quaffles, snitches and bludgers. There was a band onstage and dancing. There were deep discussions taking place all throughout the enlarged room. There appeared to be hundreds of wizards and witches present. She had no idea how she was going to find James. As she noted the lack of red haired people present, she smiled faintly thinking he would likely find her first.

Her dress robes were quite vibrant too, even though she would have preferred something more understated. Madam Malkin had insisted she have dress robes made with the shimmery blue-green-gold material. The color varied as she moved and the light hit her dress. Madam Malkin had advised Lily that no one could make the material look as good as she could with her vibrant green eyes and dark red hair. She had charmed her hair to be partially pulled back with a matching butterfly clip that fluttered gently in her hair. Most of her charms lately tended to become animated even without her meaning to. Her magic seemed to have grown exponentially since becoming pregnant. She wondered if it was Harry's influence more so than her own. She couldn't stop the smile that came to her face when thinking about her son. It was official. She was having a little boy. She couldn't wait to really start decorating his nursery now.

She noticed a few glances her way so she quickly schooled her expression to be more neutral as her eyes scanned the area for James. She hoped she would be able to find him quickly despite the crowd. She scouted the obvious Auror-like individuals watching the magically enlarged room and eventually found him standing near the large tables of food looking all sexy James Dean in black. She frowned though when she also noticed the incredibly skinny and scantily clad blonde standing close to him. They were even talking to one another, and the woman had the nerve to briefly touch him! She had seen enough French girls at their vacation home to know one when she saw one. Stupid French Barbie doll! She bit her lip as she thought about how different she looked with her growing belly. It was silly of her to feel insecure and fat, she knew, but she did at times, now being one of them as she watched some skinny, beautiful woman stand next to her husband. She knew James loved and adored her; however, she sometimes hated how handsome he was and his naiveté over that fact. Those French girls were drawn to him—she knew why of course—there was nothing sexier to her than hearing James speaking fluent French. She literally tackled him when they got back to their place after a dinner out when they had visited Paris.

Before beginning to daydream about her wonderful time in France with James, she decided to go over there and show the little French whore what's what. Her green eyes darted back up to where her husband was, but she stopped short when she found that James' dark eyes were blatantly gawking at her. Blondie was trying to get his attention again, and he was not responding. Lily rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't help the tiny smile over his reaction to her. In her opinion, she didn't look that great in comparison to some of the witches she had seen around so far. James just smirked back at her in that annoying Potter way of his before abruptly cutting off the French tart and walking toward her. She waited where she was since it seemed James wanted her to. He stopped in front of her, his eyes admiring her every feature obviously, and her heart fluttered with the intense way he was watching her.

"You look ridiculously gorgeous."

Lily blushed obviously at the compliment. "You have to say that."

James shook his head and clasped her hand, bringing it up to kiss it. "No, I don't, and I know I'm not the only wizard staring at you right now thinking the exact…same…thing."

Hearing this, Lily broke eye contact with him and her blush deepened when she noticed more than a handful of wizards look away from her quickly when she glanced their way. James' eyebrow rose when she met his eyes again. "Agree with me now, beautiful?"

Lily still wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being right. She replied saucily, "They were watching you make a spectacle. That is all."

James laughed at her wit and stubborn resolve. He loved a challenge. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful witch in the room. "Dance with me, Lily love."

She let him lead her onto the dance floor. Her arms comfortably wound around his neck as his arms effortlessly pulled her closer to him. He was an excellent dancer and she easily followed his movements. She felt him wave his hand behind her so she knew they could speak freely. He nuzzled her hair and inhaled deeply. He kissed her exposed neck, causing her to shudder slightly. "I missed you. You smell amazing. You have no idea how long this night has been since I left you earlier. How are you feeling?"

Lily smiled and pulled him closer. Trying to forget they were in the middle of a ballroom was hard, but she knew they both would be schmoozing with the aristocrats soon enough. This would probably be their only reprieve for a while. "I'm fine, James. Anything I should know so far?"

James sighed and his head tilted just slightly to his right. Lily looked carefully in that direction and she could see Lauren sitting at the bar. She had her head thrown back in laughter as she casually swatted at one of the older men near her. She then randomly touched the arm of the man sitting on her other side and leaned forward, showcasing her cleavage as she spoke to them both with a smile twisting about her red lips. There were also a handful of more men and a few couples listening to her discussion. Lily bit her lip to hide her own smile. "Merlin, she's good."

James growled under his breath as he spun them both around, causing her to laugh in his arms. "I'm kidding. You know she has this night well in hand. She learned from the best."

James couldn't help the tiny smile as he thought about Lauren growing up with him and Sirius. He had to agree his little sister was a devious one. "She did, didn't she?"

Lily smirked at him when she knew he assumed she had meant him and Black. She played with the hair at the back of his neck. "Yeah, she did. Me."

His eyes popped out of his head. "What?"

She giggled at his incredulity. "I gave her some pointers when she asked. Well, that and some choice charms just in case. You know those men will be no trouble for her. She knows how to transfigure drinks and has thought through the whole night, including how she plans to make it home alone in the end."

James shook his head, but the fact that she spoke to Lily oddly made him feel better. If there was a woman he felt could handle herself, it was his wife. "I suppose she really will be fine then. You are a force to be reckoned with, my love."

Lily rolled her eyes, although she was mildly amused by his comment. "Perhaps. However, if Harry has any say, I will just light any assailant that comes near me on fire."

James looked her over more carefully then, now concerned. His arms tightened around her like he could hide her from anyone that would dare try to harm her. "You didn't. What did you light up this time? Are you really feeling alright? I was wondering why you don't feel sick with all of these scents in the ballroom. You can't smell anything can you? You did that blocking senses charm you found?"

Lily rubbed her hand soothingly over his shoulder to calm him. "Shhhh. I really do feel ok. I promise. I lit a few small things in our room while I was getting ready, but nothing happened. Everything is fireproof now. Of course, I can't smell anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to come otherwise. I miss your smell actually. It soothes me. The charm isn't selective though so I have to suffer."

James sighed. He should have figured she would need to use the charm for cutting off her sense of smell. She used it all of the time now since she found it. His lips quirked up slightly. "I'm glad we fireproofed the place then."

Lily nodded and snuggled closer to him to hide her wide smile in his shoulder. She could tell they were being watched and probably had been for their entire dance. Their moment was going to come to an end here soon. They now had to play nicey-nice with all of the Ministry types. Prior to this event, James had told her all about how deep the Potter family was into the Ministry bureaucrat nonsense and gave her a crash course in magical politics. She had no idea he occupied five seats in the Wizengamot through the use of Goblin-approved, carefully selected barristers let alone all of the families and Ministry departments that paid him regularly for use of various magical patents his family owned. It was ridiculous how important he was and she seriously had had no idea. "We can make sure Harry's nursery is the same or we might not have a home when he becomes upset. You ready for this, sweetheart?"

James shook his head and gave her a rueful smile. When the dance finally ended, he released her and brought both of her hands back to his lips again. "Not in the least, Lils. Let's do this."

He tucked her hand into his arm as they began to make their way over to their first crowd of the evening to get a read on as many people as possible to find out which side they were on. It was going to be a long, long evening.