Chapter Text
“James… James.”
Lily’s voice cut through the fog of his sleep, urgent but hushed. She shook his shoulder where he lay slumped on the couch.
“What?” James muttered, startled awake. His hand twitched instinctively toward his wand. “Has something happened?”
The words were automatic, drilled into him by years of tension. Ever since Voldemort’s shadow had darkened their lives, every knock, every sound in the night was a threat. Lily had grown paler under the constant strain; James often caught her staring out the window as if expecting Death Eaters to appear.
“I think I heard crying,” Lily whispered.
James blinked at her. “Crying?”
“Yes. Like a baby. Please, let’s go check,” she urged, wand already in hand.
James scrubbed his palms over his face, trying to banish the fog of exhaustion. He’d been running himself ragged with Auror duty - too many sleepless nights, too many funerals. Weariness clung to his bones like a second skin, but the edge of alarm in Lily’s voice snapped him upright.
Together, they padded to the front door, bare feet whispering against the wooden floorboards. James raised his wand, muttered, “Homenum revelio.” His chest tightened when the charm pulsed faintly - someone was out there.
Lily drew in a sharp breath. “Lumos.”
Light blossomed at her wand tip as she pulled the door open.
And there...
A small bundle rested on the doorstep, swaddled in soft cloth, fragile against the summer night’s chill.
Lily gasped and dropped to her knees, hands trembling as she peeled back the layers. A baby. A tiny baby, with black curls plastered damply to his forehead, a button nose, and fists the size of knuts. His cries were weak, uncertain.
“James,” Lily whispered, her voice breaking. “It really is a baby.”
James crouched beside her, heart hammering. A slip of parchment was pinned to the blanket. Lily read it aloud, her voice wavering: “Harry James Potter. You are his parents now.”
As if on cue, the baby blinked open his eyes.
James froze.
They weren’t dark or grey or blue - they were the purest green. Lily’s green. Her breath hitched audibly, and she pressed a hand to her mouth.
“Lily…” James whispered, awe filling his chest until it hurt.
They had spoken, in wistful fragments, about children. About someday, when the war was over. Lily had longed for it, though James had tried to hide his guilt at denying her that dream. He had promised her “later” so many times, even as he caught her watching other mothers with aching eyes.
And now… this.
Lily cradled the baby close, her tears catching the light of her wand as she bent to kiss his forehead. “Welcome, Harry James Potter,” she whispered fiercely. “We will both love you.”
James rose, wand still raised, his body tense and protective as he guided them back inside and shut the door firmly. He didn’t know who had placed the child there, or why fate had chosen them - but he knew, without question, that Harry was theirs.
Outside, the summer night fell silent again. Inside, the Potters’ home was forever changed.
It was July 31st, 1980.