/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝟑𝟔𝟓 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬

It was a Wednesday night, so the Hog's Head was fairly dead save the usuals. Sirius, Artemis, and Marlene took seats in the back, at their usual table, and ordered a round of firewhiskey. It was the peak of the summer, months after the disastrous deaths of Gideon and Fabian, and Artemis was finally beginning to feel normal. The guilt and constant self-blame of that night had followed her around for longer than even Moody had expected, keeping her up at night, talking to Sirius about everything on her mind.

But the weather was too warm and the evening was too soft for any of that. Besides, they finally had something exciting to look forward to.

"She went into labor hours ago," complained Marlene. "I mean, how long does it take to have a baby?"

"Marly, it's not exactly something you do in an afternoon," said Sirius. "Apparently it took my mum almost twenty-four hours to deliver me."

Artemis chuckled. "I'm not surprised. I bet you caused as many problems in the womb as you do now."

"Well, a man's got to live by a code," said Sirius, sipping his firewhiskey.

"God, I hope Lily doesn't take that long," said Marlene. She put her hands up in surrender at the offended looks from Sirius and Artemis. "I mean, of course she should take her time, but we all took off work today! I want to see little... what the hell are they naming it, anyway?"

Sirius pulled a little piece of paper from his jacket pocket. He'd been carrying around Lily and James's baby name list for a few days now, trying to help them pick the best one. "Well, if it's a girl, Charlotte, Grace, Eleanor, Theodora- that one was James's pick, don't look at me-"

"Oh, not Eleanor, I think that's what Cillian Marks named his daughter- remember him?" said Marlene, pulling a face at the name.

"Heard he went to the dark side," said Artemis. "No Death Eater names for the Potter baby."

Sirius nodded astutely and crossed the name off of the list. "If it's a boy, Jordan, Max, Christopher, Harry..."

"I sort of like Harry," said Marlene.

Artemis wrinkled her nose. "Sounds like an old man's name. And anyway, I know you're not supposed to say this, but I hope it's a girl."

"Yeah, then we can be cool aunts and show her all the best places to steal clothes from," said Marlene.

Sirius laughed. "I'm sure Lily would approve of that."

"Oh, come off it," said Artemis. "She was the one who actually did the stealing while Marlene and I stood watch."

Just then, there was a shimmering thing in the corner. It travelled towards their table, then took the form of a stag. It opened its mouth, and James's voice came out of it. "Ladies and gentlemen... please welcome to the world... Mr. Harry James Potter. The newest addition to the wizarding world. Born at seven fifty-three on July thirty-first, nineteen eighty, Harry weighs seven and a half pounds, and has his mother's eyes-"