HEART OF GOLD ࿐ ͎⁺ ̥ James Potter

twenty

(4 months pregnant)

CHRISTMAS BREAK WAS OVER, AND IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK TO HOGWARTS AND FACE THE MUSIC. The school had now discovered Diana was pregnant, and while it hadn't been established that James was the father, most people assumed he was. Some speculated that it was Sirius, while others speculated that it was Snape, and that he had tried to hurt her in order to get rid of the baby. But, while the school was finding out, Diana had been hiding away in the hospital wing, where she had no one to question her or see the expressions on people's faces as she passed by, which she knew she would get in due time.

Diana and James had become closer by the minute, getting to know each other more and more over the course of their break. They were practically best friends by the time they went back to school; they enjoyed being in each other's company, laughing with each other, laughing with everyone else, sharing stories; Mr and Mrs Potter telling the most embarrassing childhood stories about James, making Diana, Sirius, and Otto laugh uncontrollably while James sat there, unimpressed.

After Christmas morning, when Diana went into James' room reguarly and they awoke together, the pair were blinded about their feelings for one another, both thinking each other thought of them as friends, when in reality neither of them could stop thinking about their feelings for one another. They would never confess it; James thought his feelings were developing since she was the mother of his child; how could he not have some sort of love her, even if just platonic, and Diana couldn't help but think it was simply hormones.

-

Mr. and Mrs. Potter waved all four students off at the train at the station. Diana had now entered her fourth month of pregnancy, and her bump was becoming more noticeable. She observed the many people's looks and conversations. There wasn't much gossip around Hogwarts, but when anything occurred, Diana knew there would be conversation, and she was right, there was chatter; from old friends, students' parents, and others she didn't know. It was overwhelming and difficult, but having others there to support her was very important, especially when Sirius would turn to those who were staring and talking and remark, "At least she's getting laid people, you're clearly not if you have nothing better to do with your life than gossip about a pregnant woman." Of course, it would not be well received, with many staring and becoming angry with Sirius, but he didn't care; they were his family, and he wouldn't allow anybody treat them as if they had done something wrong.

Diana held Otto's hand as they walked through the carriages, Sirius and James in front seeking for Remus and Peter in one of the compartments. As they reached the compartment with the two boys inside, Sirius and James pressed their faces into the glass, making comical faces, leading Otto to chuckle, Remus in the carriage to roll his eyes, and Peter to laugh. Diana smiled; she never imagined that the boys would be the kind of people she would love being around before becoming pregnant. They were the polar opposite of her; she was quiet and introverted, had few friends, and kept to herself. She had come out of her shell since being with the marauders, a version of herself she had never seen before, she wasn't afraid to be silly around them, she wasn't afraid to laugh at their silliness and childish things, they were fun, and they were exactly the type of people she wanted Otto and her unborn child to be raised around. The Marauders had a concept that life was short, and you had to enjoy every minute of it, because they didn't want to look back and feel like they hadn't enjoyed themselves growing up; and Diana wanted to live by that philosophy for the rest of her life, and she wanted to pass it on.

The train had left, and Diana, Otto, and the Marauders talked about their holidays, their gifts, and everything else they needed to catch up on. Diana had just begun to settle comfortably, her back a little sore from the baby's growth, when she decided she needed the bathroom for the 100th time that day. James had offered to accompany her, but she declined, saying it would look suspicious if he followed her all the way to the toilet, to which James agreed, so Diana went by herself, looking at everyone in the different compartments, who were either excited to be returning to Hogwarts or disappointed that the holidays were over.

Halfway down the carriage, Diana had to stop with the sweet trolley lady infront of her, tending to some of the people in one of the compartments wanting to buy some treats. As the person handed the trolley lady the money, Diana saw who it was buying the treats and the rest of those in the compartment; Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett and Dorcas Meadows.

"Diana, hi, how are you?" Lily asked, seeing the young girl behind the older lady.

Diana hadn't said anything to the females who had stood up for her since the incident occurred because she didn't know what to say, particularly to Lily. Diana felt like she had taken something away from the redhead girl; for the last 7 years, all Lily had known was James' attention, and now, his attention was elsewhere, and Diana didn't know how Lily would feel about that, especially since not only was James' attention elsewhere on someone he wasn't dating, but he was having a child, when every day all he had done was profess his love for her, and suddenly that had gone.

"I-i'm okay, how're you?" Diana replied, not quite sure what to say to the girl, who just smiled at her with kindness.

"I'm good, would you like to sit with us for a bit? You're more than welcome to, we all want to say thank you for the gifts you brought us, we didn't know where to send an owl to you to say thank you." Diana couldn't say no since it would be rude, but she didn't want to appear awkward meeting them all again.

Diana nodded, completely forgetting why she had left the compartment with the boys in before. Walking in, Diana saw Marlene, Dorcas and Alice all sitting chatting, not realising that Diana was standing before them. "Sit, sit, you don't need to be so shy with us Diana, we're friends now." Lily said, as all the other girls looked towards Diana, beaming to see her.

"Diana! So happy to see you feeling better, how are you? How is the baby? Was everything okay after everything that happened? I was worried all over christmas, I wanted to send a letter but I had no idea where to send it!" Alice Prewett said, barely taking a breath, pulling Diana in for a hug, as Diana's eyes went wide, not expecting to be so welcomed.

"She won't be okay if you don't let the damn girl breath," Marlene laughed, also smiling at Diana. "We were worried about you, Marlowe, don't scare us like that again."

Diana didn't know what to say, "we just want you to know that we aren't judging you, for anything, i've known you a while Diana, I know what kind of person you are, you don't deserve to be judged, and you definetly don't deserve how Snape treated you."

"you don't hate me?" Diana said quietly, not quite being able to look Lily in the eyes, as Lily just looked confused.

"Hate you? Why in merlin's name would I hate you?"

Diana just shook her head, "I didn't want to take James from you, he still loves you y'know, I thought you'd be angry at me because me getting pregnant might've out a barrier between you. I didn't want that, if two people love each other, they should be togehter, I didn't want to stop that."

Lily sighed, "I never loved James, Diana, you took nothing from me. I genuinely couldn't be happier for the both of you. I am very confused as to how James Potter ended up with someone as good as you, but you make him a better person, you make him happy, I don't think he could've picked a better person to have as the mother of his child."

Lily said softly, calming the girl who had been emotional after hearing the other girl's words. She hadn't expected to be greeted with such lovely words from the girl, but she'd never felt so welcomed; she had no clue how she'd suddenly earned a group of friends so soon, but she cherished it.

"Speaking of which, what's going on with you and Potter? How did this all happen?" Marlene asked, genuinely curious.

"We're just best friends, that are having a baby." Diana said, smiling.

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A/N: what are you guys wanting to see happening in this book! I want your guys input, I want for you all to enjoy it so any ideas would be appreciated!<3