Lily Evans's Pregnancy (Jily)
In this timeline, Lord Voldemort killed Albus Dumbledore in early September 1979. The Marauders, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Dorcas Meadowes stay with Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts to prepare for the Death Eaters' upcoming invasion. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin reaches new extremes. James and Lily have an intimate moment in the Room of Requirement, resulting in Lily becoming pregnant at the mere age of 19.
Full story: "Lord Voldemort and the Lost Decades, " by Birger, ao3
Guard duty at Hogwarts had changed Lily and James more than either realized. Every night, they patrolled dim corridors, extinguished duels before they became bloodshed, separated snarling Slytherins from furious Gryffindors, and comforted frightened younger students who didn’t yet understand the weight of Dumbledore’s death.
In all that darkness, Lily and James found themselves clinging to the one hopeful thing still left to them: each other. They had talked, sometimes in whispers in abandoned classrooms, sometimes openly in the quiet hours after curfew, about what kind of future could possibly exist. A future where Voldemort hunted them. A future where Hogwarts itself felt ready to crack.
One night, after breaking up a particularly vicious hexing incident outside the library, Lily pulled James aside.
“We need… somewhere quiet,” she whispered. “Just for a little while. Please.”
James nodded, equally exhausted, equally aching for a moment without fear.
They wandered the seventh-floor corridor searching for an empty room. James even checked the Marauders Map twice.
“There should be something here,” he muttered.
Lily turned a corner and gasped. A door had appeared in the blank stone wall.
“James,” she whispered. “This wasn’t here.”
They stepped inside the hidden room. The room was impossibly enormous, filled with forgotten things: crates, dusty cabinets, half-collapsed bookshelves, tarnished armor, stacks of broken cauldrons, caged artifacts, weapons, and glittering objects half-buried in shadow.
“The hell is this place…?” James breathed.
“It feels ancient,” Lily said softly. “Older than Hogwarts. Like it’s been waiting.”
James moved through the clutter until something glinted at eye level. It was a silver hilt embedded in a wooden case. He wiped off the dust and stared at it.
“Lily.” His voice shook. “It’s the Sword of Gryffindor.”
He took the sword and began playing with it, and pretended that he was a medieval knight in shining armour.
"Look at me! I am Godric Gryffindor. I'm here to rescue you!" James said, waving the sword as if he fought a dragon.
Lily laughed at her boyfriend's silliness. "Stop it, silly. "
As James started to look for more toys to play with, Lily wandered deeper into the room, toward a high shelf where a delicate tiara carved with the words Wit Beyond Measure.
She lifted it. “It’s beautiful.”
Once she placed the diadem lightly atop her head, she froze. Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened. James stepped toward her.
“Lily? Are you all right?”
A vision slammed into her: A dark forest. A young man screaming in agony and terror. She felt colder as calculated malice pressed against her mind. Lily ripped the diadem off, shaking.
“I—I don’t know what that was,” she whispered. “There’s something wrong with this thing. Something dark.”
James took it from her immediately and set it far back on the shelf.
“You’re okay,” he murmured while pulling her close. “You’re okay.”
Lily trembled, still feeling the echo of something vile. James kept his arms around her. Slowly, very slowly, the fear disappeared and in its place came something else. A desperate, human need for warmth in a world collapsing around them.
“James…” she whispered. “Stay with me tonight.”
He kissed her, and all the exhaustion and fear melted into something fierce and tender. In that hidden room, unknown, unrecorded on the Marauders Map, they held each other until dawn.
Lily waited for James in their shared quarters. She was extremely nervous and shaking as she didn't know how to deliver the news. When he arrived, she grabbed his wrist.
“James. I have to tell you something.”
He saw her expression and his heart dropped.
“What is it? Are you hurt? Did someone—”
The world stopped. James stared at her, breathless, as everything inside him turned weightless.
He had imagined many terrifying things since Dumbledore died: Death Eaters breaching Hogwarts, werewolves in the halls, and Voldemort himself tearing the castle apart. But this, this tiny spark of a future he had never dared imagine.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” he admitted, voice cracking. “Lily, I don’t know if I’m ready to be a father. I don’t even know if I can protect you, protect us, while all of this is happening.”
Lily nodded as tears fell down her cheeks.
“I’m scared too. But James, this child is ours. Something good. Something innocent. Something worth living for.”
James took a long, shaking breath. Then he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her hands.
“I’ll try,” he whispered. “Whatever happens, I’ll try. I want to do this with you. Even if I’m terrified.”
Lily held onto him tightly.
For the first time in months, hope flickered. It was fragile, and small, and surrounded by shadows but it was theirs.
The Knight Bus screeched to a halt outside the familiar row of brick houses in Cokeworth, tilting dangerously before settling with a shudder. Lily stepped off, one hand protectively resting over her stomach. The autumn air smelled of damp leaves and chimney smoke. For a moment, she stood there, staring at the house she grew up in. She had faced werewolves, Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself without trembling half as much as she did now.
They deserve to know. Mum and Dad will be happy. Even Tuney… maybe…
Lily pushed the gate open and walked up the path. The door swung open before she could knock.
“Lily!” cried her mother, pulling her into a tight embrace. Her father followed, smiling broadly at the sight of her daughter again.
“You’ve been gone for months,” he murmured. “We’ve been so worried, darling.”
Before Lily could answer, Petunia appeared in the doorway. Vernon Dursley loomed behind her like a particularly unpleasant thundercloud.
“Well,” Petunia said sharply, “look who finally decided to show up.”
Lily swallowed. “I—I have news. Can we sit down?”
Her parents ushered her into the living room. Petunia sat rigidly in an armchair, Vernon perched beside her, looking as if he expected the furniture to bite him.
Lily took a breath. “I’m pregnant.”
Her mother gasped, then burst into delighted tears. “Oh, Lily! That’s wonderful! Oh, Harold! Did you hear?”
Mr. Evans beamed. “That’s marvelous news, sweetheart. Congratulations.”
Petunia’s face drained of color. “You’re what?”
Lily flinched. “Pregnant, Tuney. James and I, we love each other. We’re going to have a baby.”
Petunia stared at her as though she’d announced she’d joined a cult. “You disappear for months, no explanations, no calls, nothing, and then you show up saying that?”
“Mum and Dad knew I was safe,” Lily protested, though her voice wavered. “I wrote when I could. Things have been… complicated. Dumbledore is dead, Hogwarts needs protection, and—”
“Oh, here we go again,” Petunia snapped. “That world. You’re always running off to it. You think any of us understand what you’re talking about? ‘Dark Lords’ and ‘aurors’ nonsense! And now you’re bringing a child into it? Are you insane?”
Lily’s eyes filled with hurt. “I’m doing everything I can to protect people. Voldemort—”
“Stop it!” Vernon barked. “Don’t bring your freakish business into this house!”
Lily’s temper finally flared. “This isn’t about magic, Vernon. This is about family. I wanted to tell you all because you are my family!”
Petunia stepped closer. “You think you can just flounce back into our lives and act like everything is normal? You left us behind, Lily! You always do! And now you’re dragging a baby into a war instead of doing the sensible thing and staying out of it!”
“That ‘war’ killed my headmaster,” Lily whispered. “People are dying. Children are in danger. I can’t turn my back on the school that protected me.”
“And what about your child?” Petunia demanded. “What kind of mother puts her baby at risk like that?”
Lily felt as though Petunia had slapped her.
“My child will be loved,” Lily said softly but fiercely. “My child will be brave. And I will keep him or her safe, no matter what it takes.”
Petunia’s expression flickered with fear, jealousy, something Lily couldn’t place but it hardened again almost instantly.
“I’m pregnant too,” Petunia said coldly. “But at least my baby won’t grow up in a madhouse of spells and monsters.”
Lily froze. “You… you’re pregnant?”
Her mother placed a trembling hand on Petunia’s arm. “Girls, please—”
But Petunia ripped her arm away. “Don’t look so surprised. Unlike you, I actually care about raising a child properly.”
Lily stood. Her heart felt like it was splintering.
“I came here because I wanted to share something beautiful,” she whispered. “I didn’t come to fight.”
Lily turned toward the door, unable to hold back her tears.
Her mother tried to pull her into a hug. “Lily. Darling, don’t go like this—”
“I’ll write,” Lily said, though she wasn’t sure it was true. “I just… I need to go.”
Vernon muttered something about “unnatural nonsense” as Lily walked out. Petunia didn’t say goodbye.
Outside, Lily wiped her tears with shaking hands. The Knight Bus reappeared with a bang and screeched to a stop beside her. As she climbed aboard, she pressed a palm to her stomach.
“You’ll be loved,” she whispered. “Even if the world is falling apart… you’ll be loved.”
The bus shot forward into the night, carrying her away from Cokeworth and from the sister she feared she might never understand.
Lily stumbled off the Knight Bus onto the outskirts of Hogsmeade, wiping angry tears from her cheeks. The night air was cold, sharp, almost metallic against her skin. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, heart heavy not from fear of Voldemort or the war, but from the sting of Petunia’s words. The echoes clung to her like a curse.
She made her way through the gates of Hogwarts, past the half-lit torches and the flickering silhouettes of patrolling ghosts. The castle had always been her sanctuary. Tonight it felt like the only place left that loved her unconditionally.
James was waiting for her the moment she stepped into the Entrance Hall. He saw her tear-streaked face before she could even speak. His smile faded instantly.
She collapsed into his arms before answering. Sirius, Remus, Dorcas, and Marlene hurried over, sensing something was wrong, but James held up a hand. This moment was hers.
“Petunia,” Lily whispered. “She… she said I was irresponsible, that I shouldn’t bring a baby into this war. That I’m reckless for disappearing, for fighting, for… for everything.”
James pressed his forehead to hers. “Lily, look at me. You’re doing more to protect people than she can even imagine.”
Lily’s breath shuddered. “She’s having a baby too, James. We could’ve shared that… But she hates that I’m part of this world. She always has.”
Sirius crossed his arms. “Tuney calling someone irresponsible? That’s rich. Bet she’s never saved a village from a pack of werewolves.”
Remus gently elbowed him. “Not helping, Padfoot.”
“No, it is helping,” Lily whispered with a faint, watery laugh.
Dorcas placed a warm hand on Lily’s shoulder. “You’re going to be an incredible mother. We’ll all make sure your baby grows up safe.”
Marlene nodded firmly. “And loved.”
For the first time since leaving Cokeworth, Lily felt the ache in her chest lighten.
James placed a hand on her stomach, tentative but full of wonder. “We’ll make a home for them someday. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere far from Voldemort.”
She looked up at him. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
James gave a nervous smile. “No. I’m terrified, but I want this. I want you. And our child.”
Sirius grinned. “Good answer, Prongs. Ten points to Gryffindor for emotional maturity.”
Lily wiped the last of her tears and laughed, a real laugh. One she hadn’t felt in months. Later that evening, McGonagall summoned Lily and James to her office.
“I heard about your visit home," she said softly. “I am… very sorry.”
Lily nodded, grateful but exhausted.
McGonagall went on, voice steadier now. “I must be honest with both of you. A child born during wartime will be a target. Voldemort will not stop at schools or villages. He will burn down the world if he feels threatened.”
James swallowed hard. “We know.”
“But,” McGonagall added, her voice surprisingly gentle. “I also know Albus would have supported you. He believed in life even in the darkest times.”
Her gaze flicked to Lily’s stomach.
“When the time comes, Hogwarts will be here for you. Whatever protection this castle can give, you shall have it.”
Lily felt her throat tighten with gratitude.
“Thank you, Professor,” she whispered.
McGonagall nodded curtly. “Now off you go. Get some rest. Both of you.”
That night, Lily and James returned to the hidden room, drawn to it by instinct, by memory, and by something darker neither wished to name.
The diadem still rested on the shelf where Lily had left it. Its silver-blue glow pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat. Lily felt its pull, a whisper at the edge of her consciousness, but she forced herself to look away.
James noticed her discomfort. “Let’s leave it alone,” he said quietly.
“Yes,” Lily replied. “Some things… should stay lost.”