“Do you think he’s alright?” Lily had been pacing around for the last half hour. Her hair was frizzed to the ends from every time she ran her fingers through it and her bottom lip had been so abused with chewing it should have been red and raw.
“He’ll be fine, Lils,” James grabbed her hand as she passed him, and pulled her into his lap. “Quit worrying.”
“How can I not worry? He’s my son! He’s our son.” She turned on him, eyes burning. “How can you just sit there and pretend like everything’s okay? He’s about to go sacrifice himself for the world! What if it doesn’t work out right? What if he actually dies?”
“Then we’ll get to see him that much sooner, eh?”
Sirius chuckled from his usual seat by the common room fire as Lily smacked James across the back of his head. James sent him a stern expression that quickly turned to laughter. Lily huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, leaning back against James.
“Didn’t you two grow up at all? I think it’s this room that’s eating away at your maturity levels.” Looking around the room where they all waited, Lily couldn’t help but smile, despite her annoyance. Hogwarts had been a second home to all of them, an only home to some. It just seemed so natural that they would choose to spend their afterlives there.
“C’mon, Lils,” James begged. “Live a little.” But even before he could get his words out he burst into another fit of laughter.
“Good one, Prongs.” Remus finally spoke up from his seat in the corner where he was curled up with a book in his lap. “No, really. Living jokes. How original.” Try as he may, Remus could not keep the smile from his face either.
They were all together, exactly how it should have always been.
“Hurry it up, Harry.” Sirius stretched out in his chair, examining his nails in boredom. “My arse is getting sore.”
Just then, a doorway appeared against one wall of the common room where there wasn’t one before.
“Time to go!” Sirius jumped up from his seat, striding toward the door. Remus closed his book, setting it down carefully before joining Sirius. Lifting Lily as he got up, James followed suit but as he neared the door he noticed Lily was no longer by his side.
“Coming, love?”
“James, I’m scared.” Her bottom lip was pulled beneath her teeth again.
“There’s no need to be!” James was by her side in seconds. “Everything is going to work out just fine.”
“I know, but...he’s just a boy.”
“No.” His face was suddenly set as stone. “He isn’t just any boy. He’s our boy. He’s brave and strong and kind and everything I could have ever hoped for.”
“Yes, he is.” Lily smiled, placing her hand into his. He always had that way of calming her when everything seemed hopeless. “I’m ready.” James’s lips split into that grin of his as he led her toward the doorway and they both disappeared.
“You’ve been so brave,” Lily breathed, taking in her son before her as he looked up to all of them. He looked frightened but determined. Even with all of his fears, she knew he would push forward. He would be the hero he'd been born to be. She couldn’t help but grin. Every worry washed from her and she knew Harry, her son would not fail. He would save the world.
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