Disclaimer: I own my imagination, who has given me the gift of April and several other characters in this fic. Meanwhile, the rest belongs to J.K Rowling, wonderful lady that she is.
A/N: If anyone is a beta here, preferably is a Perfect Imagination beta, please contact me if you are willing to beta this fic.
Prolouge
Lily was enjoying a quiet Halloween evening with her husband, James, and two children, Harry and April. Things couldn't have been better.
Oh, yes, except for that tiny bit about Voldemort trying to find and kill my family. But besides that, everything's fine.
The redhead took a moment, gazing lovingly at the wonderful scene of her husband cuddling her two beautiful children. But then, all of a sudden, it was ruined. They felt the wards coming down around the house and a high, chilling laugh.
Oh my god. He's here.
Lily, eyes round in terror was momentarily frozen, but swiftly moved into action.
James, Lily's husband, picked up his wand- hers was already in her apron, and cried, "Lily, take the kids and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
How had he found them? Only Peter knew . . . Peter!
Her heart raced with fury and panic as she held the twins in her arms like one would hold two Quaffles.
They look so frightened….. My poor babies…
She hurtled up the steps to the Nursery, the only Apparition point in the house, the one that they had put there for emergencies.
Ones like this. I f I can only get there….
Just then, a voice said calmly, "Avada Kedavra," and Lily stumbled to her knees on the last step as she heard a body thud to the ground.
No! No, not James, not my husband…
Lily's head snapped back and she started to weep. A part of her screamed with rage and demanded that she turn and face the monster that had ripped apart her life, the monster that had killed her soul mate. She felt empty without him now, as if her soul registered that it's other half was gone.
Must… get children to safety.
If anyone else had been there at that moment, then what they would've viewed was a spectacular scene- the woman's vivid red head flowing all about her head in a nimbus, crackling with magic and blown by an invisible wind. Lily's eyes glowed, making the emerald coloring glow.
Must save …my... CHILDREN!
And her mental scream was heard in the heavens, as two siblings looked pityingly at the woman, knowingly that helping her would change fate and incur the wrath of their father, but now….. maybe they could help. If she would sacrifice herself, they could help; they would be able to bend the laws. The redhead knew the ritual, they could only hope now…
Oh goddess, he's coming, he's coming!
She reached the Nursery and slammed the door shut behind her, knowing that it wouldn't and couldn't stop the oncoming of the monster that had killed her husband. She held April and Harry close in preparation for Side-Along Apparition, envisioned Headquarters, and –
Oh my god. He's put up anti-Apparition wards.
And so, acting quickly, Lily put down her children on the floor behind her, and turned around, holding herself in a defensive stance with her wand pointed at the door.
At that moment the door was blasted inward, wooden shards grazing Lily's cheek.
"Expelliarmus," tall, imposing, albino- like figure hissed, catching and snapping Lily's wand in one motion.
Lily stood her ground.
"Not Harry! Not April! Please, I'll do anything!" Tears streamed down her face. James was gone, and now Voldemort was here to kill her babies. He would not have him, not without a fight.
Once again all of her magic welled up, hair crackling, eyes glowing.
I'll teach him to mess with my family- it'll be the last thing I'll ever do- but I'll make him pay.
And she started to chant. "Hear me Selene hear me Helios, I cry for you now. Take my life take my blood make me the protector. Hear me Selene and Helios and protect my children. Hear me, filia de luna, filia de solis, and take me in their stead.
Please, let them hear me now, let them protect my babies, let them-
"AHHH!" Lily cried as light burst from her chest, head thrown back. The sound mixed in her ears – her own yell, her children crying, wind howling, and Voldemort's tortured screams as his Avada Kedavra met a shield that turned it back on him threefold, but most of all, the sound of someone speaking to her, two persons, saying,
"You have done well, daughter..."
And then she heard no more.
Helios and Selene looked downwards at the body of the woman who had just made the ultimate sacrifice for her children. She had invoked an ancient ritual- calling upon them to protect her children and destroy the abomination that threatened them. It had worked, but left its mark upon the two children, though a small price to pay.
On the boy, Helios had left a lightning bolt, for that represented the ultimate light, and on the girl Selene had left a scar in the shape of a crescent. They had done their work, now they could only watch for a time when one of the Marked Ones needed them.
April was scared and she wanted her mommy and daddy. Her head hurt. She wished she was anywhere but here, the place that smelled yucky and the bad man's smell.
Her mind conjured the warmest recent environment- the park. She closed her eyes and thought of the park, and suddenly heard a pop.
April opened her eyes and squealed happily. She was on a bench in the park. She felt sleepy, and after a few drowsy minutes, the redheaded baby fell asleep.
Selene came down in a whirl of wind from where she and her brother had previously been watching the mortal world, to gaze down at the sleeping daughter of the late James and Lily Potter, and a Marked One. Her Marked One.
She gently lifted the sleeping infant into her arms and covered her face with a corner of the pink blanket she was wrapped in to protect her delicate-looking face from the icy wind. Then, looking down tenderly at the child, both the mysterious-looking woman and the child she held disappeared.
Sirius appeared with a pop at the place formerly known as Godric's Hollow. The expression on his face was one of confusion and anger- one that quickly turned to despair as he viewed his wrecked surroundings.
No. No, this can't be happening, no no no NO! Not James, no please not Prongs… Lily…. Oh my god! April! Harry! He's killed them!
Sirius looked around frantically and, noticing a body, rushed over to it.
By now the sun was coming over the horizon, and Sirius could see the black, messy hair and broken glasses.
Prongs, James, Prongs…. Brother……
"NOOOOO!" Sirius yelled, voice full of despair.
He might still be there he might still be alive I have to save him
Sirius rolled James over on his back and, trying not to register the empty, glassy stare, put his ear to the other man's chest, listening for a heartbeat. Deep down he knew it was hopeless, but he had no control over the situation whatsoever…. He needed James back.
Come on James, come on… BREATHE!
Sirius performed the CPR that they had learned in one of the many Auror seminars, breathe into the mouth, once, twice, listen to the heartbeat three times, and repeat. Somehow, part of Sirius was sure that if he could get James to breathe, everything would be OK- Lily, April, and Harry would all be alive and well.
Finally, after about three minutes of Sirius' fruitless attempts to revive James, the black-haired man collapsed beside James Potter's body, sobbing, pounding the ground with his fist.
Why? WHY! Why did you leave me?
But all Sirius could get out was a tortured, "Why!"
However, his hysterical sobs were cut off by what Sirius would later recall as the most blessed wound he had ever heard- a baby's cry.
Sirius' head shot off from the ground, choking back his sobs and holding his breath, waiting for the sound to come again.
Could it be… Please…
He didn't have to wait long, as once more a child cried out, and Sirius stumbled to his feet, scared to hope, scared that he might be hallucinating.
My god, goddess, please let the twins…. Could it be?
He rushed over to the sounds' source, only feeling a twinge of disappointment at the fact that there was only one child there.
He picked up the child in one swift motion, identifying him as Harry from his blue blanket. Sirius closed his eyes and a minute feeling of bliss passed over him as he held his godson close and whispered, "Oh, Harry, Harry,"
Thank you…
The baby quieted, soothed, and Sirius looked at him, registering the slightly bleeding cut on his forehead. And then, as Sirius saw the body that he hadn't seen before draped next to where Harry had been, silent tears fell down his cheeks. The red-haired woman's body induced in him such anger, such fury, that his eyes literally lit up with the burning rage he was feeling. For Peter. The rat. And at himself, for trusting the motherfucking little tagalong enough.
It's all my fault- Harry has to grow up without a mother and his sis…
Anger forgotten for the moment, Sirius looked around for April, hope and panic warring inside him for dominance.
She's not here… She might still be alive… Peter…
Neither emotion won out, as Sirius was again flooded with fury for Peter.
He might have taken April… he might have her.
And just then Hagrid popped into existence at the other side of the Godric's Hollow property.
"S'rius!" Hagrid cried.
Sirius turned to the big man, his face now a mask.
I can't tell anyone where I'm going. Only Remus. Maybe. Anyone else would just try and interfere.
Hagrid crossed to where Sirius was standing much too quickly for someone of his size, and as Hagrid came closer Sirius could see the tears running in streaks into the groundskeeper's beard, his usually merry black eyes dull with the pain the surroundings were causing him.
"April?" Hagrid croaked. The big man had a soft spot for the little girl, and Sirius knew that it would break the man's heart.
"Gone," Sirius answered gruffly.
Hagrid burst into a howl of pain worthy of a werewolf whose mate had been killed.
Once Hagrid calmed himself, wiping the back of his hand across his eyes, he said numbly, "I got ter take Harry. Dumbledore's orders."
I'll get Harry after I finish with Peter. Dumbledore will keep him safe until then.
Sirius nodded, and then handed Hagrid the now-sleeping Harry gently, and said, "Take my bike. I won't be needing it."
And before the big man could ask any questions, the black-haired man disappeared with a pop.
Where Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore stood on Privet Drive, there was suddenly a loud roaring heard to all awake. It was a flying motorbike.
The bike, with a wild-looking man sitting on it cradling something, screeched to a stop on the ground.
"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding panicked for the first time in- well, a long time.. "Where is April?"
Hagrid, who had tear tracks running down his face, simply answered in a choked voice, "Gone- she jus'- she jus' was'n there."
Professor McGonagall was aghast. How could this have happened?
Professor Dumbledore was shaken to his core. Without April, half of the prophecy would stand unfulfilled! He tried to calm himself with the fact that according to the prophecy, April would have to be alive, it by no means meant she was well.
But of course Dumbledore couldn't tell anyone else that- they would all panic if they knew that he himself was panicking. And so Albus put on a grave, serious face and said, "Very well. But where did you come by that motorcycle?"
"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, wiping his tears gruffly with the back of his hand. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me."
"No problems, were there?"
"No, sir -- house was in ruins, but Sirius got him out all."
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.
"Is that where --" whispered Professor McGonagall.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have the scar forever."
"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"
"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."
Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.
"Could I -- could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.
"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"
"S - s - sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily and James dead – 'an no one knowin' where little April is- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles without 'is sister --"
"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm, though greatly saddened herself.
As Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.
"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."
"Yeah," said Hagrid in a muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."
Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.
"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.
Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.
"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.
A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up, dreaming of all the fun games he and April could play together when morning came. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley ... But most of all, that he wouldn't see his sister again in a long while, and never again his parents. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying, "To Harry and April Potter- the Ones who saved us all!"
A/N: And so here ends the first chapter. I just have to let you guys know, that I was inspired by The Dangerverse series, starting with Living With Danger, and get a lot of ideas from Harry Potter and Fate's Debt (th aforementioned ideas I got from that fic will be later in the fic!). But I did NO plagiarizing. So, drop a comment and give me a critique- I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.
Oh yes---- And in case you noticed, I used some lines from HPSS/PS