Hi lovely people! Boy was this a monster. This will be a multi-chapter fic, I am part way through typing up and editing the next chapter, so you can expect that around the end of the month. The following chapters I want to go back and cross-reference to the books so that I am not diverging from canon more than necessary; that will take quite a bit of time, time that I do not have in the run-up to exams, so that will be a task for the summer. Hope you all enjoy, please leave a comment at the end - even if it's just to say hi and have a chat - because they seriously give me life. (Characters and relationships will be added as chapters are added and they become relevant)
OoOoO
Wed 24th Dec 1980
James sighed crawling back into bed, it was sometime after 3 in the morning and he had just been up to feed and change Harry. Don't get him wrong, James loved his son but when he was waking them up in the middle of the night it was kind of hard to like the kid. He was just waiting for the night his Prongslet would sleep through the night, they were getting close but were not quite there. Pulling the cover over himself he lay on his back willing himself to sleep, they had to be up early in the morning so they could get to Lily's parent's house for Lunchtime. Despite her strained relationship with her sister, her parents had insisted that both sisters come for the Christmas period so that they could celebrate both their grandsons first Christmas' together as a family.
He was slipping into dreamland when he was jolted awake by the sound of apparating, but it didn't sound quite right - must be a house elf - supplied his tired sluggish mind. Sitting up he grabbed his glasses and wand of the nightstand before the sound of an infant wailing permeated through the house. His heart stuttered for a moment fearing for Harry but relaxed almost instantly - those were not Harry's cries. Lily groaned and rolled over, burying her head in her pillow as he got out of bed. He was halfway to the door when she mumbled "Stay, it's my turn." her voice still laced with sleep.
"Not Harry Lils, someone's in the house," he whispered causing her to jolt fully awake, similarly to James just moments before she grabbed her wand jumping out of bed. "You go check on Harry and I'll look downstairs."
"James," he paused hand on the doorknob, "please be careful, no heroics." he could hear the fear in her voice.
He shot a lopsided smile over his shoulder, "I'll try my best." she sighed knowing full well that, that was the best that she was going to get from her husband.
The wails trailed off leaving the house eerily quiet in their absence, Lily headed across the hall to Harry's nursery whilst he took the stairs two at a time. He was only halfway down the stairs when the hammering started on the front door breaking up the silence for a few moments before Harry's wails joined the mix. James swore under his breath. Sticking his head into the living room on the way past his earlier assumptions were proved correct when he saw the house elf stood in the middle of the living room cradling a bundle of cloth to its chest. Without much time to think about it, he continued on to the hoping to dispatch the unwanted visitor as soon as possible.
Swinging the door open, wand raised, he came face to face with Severus Snape. The other man was clad all in black but lacking his outer robes, a clear indication that he had left in a hurry. Several snowflakes had already started to settle in his hair and on his shoulders standing out in stark contrast to the black, a typical sneer on his face.
"What do you want Snivellus," his tone harsh, "Kind of in the middle of something."
"Let me in Potter," he growled shouldering past James to gain entry into the hall, "This is serious. It's James and Narcissa."
"No," muttered James, he felt his heart plummet to his feet and the blood drain out of his face. Turning on his heal he ran to the living, slowing down on his approach to the skittish elf, getting close he was able to identify the bundle as a baby wrapped in a blanket. Turning he looked Snape dead in the eye "No, don't tell me, that, no." he stuttered in denial, seemingly unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Sev?' asked Lily from behind the other man, who stepped aside to reveal her balancing an awake but sleepy Harry on her hip. Stepping into the room fully she looked between her husband and childhood friend. "What's happened?"
"Lucius and Narcissa," whispered Snape in a broken voice, his eyes were red and puffy, a clear indication that he had been crying before arriving in Godric's Hollow.
"Oh," her tone was soft, understanding dawning in her eye's, walking to James she handed Harry over giving him a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder, "go sit on the coach," she instructed the two, "I'll go make us all some tea and then you can tell us all what happened." Snape nodded numbly and Lily had to gently guide him to the couch.
Quite whimpers drew James' attention to the house elf, the infant - Draco was squirming in its arms. Looking over at Snape he realised that the other man wasn't about to do anything as the other man stared into nothing, "Hey!" James snapped getting the other man's attention, "Here," he said approaching Snape where he sat, "hold him for a sec while I check on Draco." he said handing Harry off. Harry whimpered at being handed over but quickly settled.
James approached the house elf, it moved so it shielded Draco from James with its body, "Hey," he said, tone soft and getting to his knees to place him at eye level with the skittish creature, "I'm James, I don't want to hurt you. Do you think that I could take a quick look at Draco to make sure that he is alright?"
The elf regarded him with wide watery eyes, "Dobby is unsure, Dobby is to protect young Master Draco. Dobby will lay down Dobby's life to protect young Master Draco." Dobby rambled.
"I don't mean Draco any harm. I just want to make sure that Draco is alright, that he isn't hurt." he held his hands out in a placating manner/
"Dobby is unsure of Mr James." Dobby drew Draco closer to its chest "Dobby is to protect young Master Draco."
James could feel the frustration building in his chest, his patients slipping through his fingers. He was struggling to stay calm with the elf. Something had gone terribly wrong, that much was clear by the presence of Snape, Draco and Dobby in his living room. As much as it pained him, James could only assume that the worst had happened and that Lucius and Narcissa were dead, if they weren't they would be here as well.
"Look," he said to Dobby, "Lucius is my cousin, I care for him very much and that extends to Draco as well, so could you please let me make sure that Draco is alright?"
The house elf regarded him for a few long seconds before handing the squirming bundle of Draco over to James.
"Oh!" exclaimed James as Draco's hair changed from White Blonde to black to match James own and similarly his eye's morphed from silver to James' hazel.
"He does that," muttered Snape from the couch. "We're unsure to whether or not he can control it, he just copies whoever is holding him and we don't know whether it is intentional or not.
James nodded distractedly heading towards the couch, it was unnerving, seeing his own eyes reflected back at him from a child that was not his own. A child that up until a few seconds ago had white blonde hair and silver eyes. He placed Draco on the couch next to Snape unwrapped the blanket, he was surprised to see how small Draco was. Harry at nearly 5 months was bigger than Draco currently at 6 months - then again Harry was a big baby. With the blankets removed James checked the small child over for signs of physical injuries - thankfully there weren't any, next he cast a few diagnostic charms. James was not a healer but being in the middle of a war and a prominent member of the order meant that he had field medical training, similar to what the Aurors had. The charms indicated that Draco was clear of injury and merely suffering from slight dehydration.
Lily entered the room carrying three steaming mugs on a tray which she set down on the low coffee table as James got rid of the diagnostics with a flick of his wand. James picked Draco up balancing the child on his hip, turning to face the worried but expectant face of the house elf who was wringing his hands. "You did a good job Dobby, Draco is a perfectly healthy little boy with the exception of some slight dehydration which can be easily rectified." with his words the tension seemed to drain out of the small body of the elf.
Noticing Lily, Dobby's eyes widen and his posture straightened, "Oh, Mr James, Dobby must apologise, Dobby is being negligent in his duty," exclaimed the elf moving towards the coffee table, "Dobby is sorry, Dobby must resume Dobby's duty."
"No need," said Lily attempting to wave off the elf, but Dobby merely straightened to his full height - which admittedly was not very tall - and placed its hands on its hips.
"Dobby is not wanting to overstep Dobby's bounds, but Dobby must insist that Dobby is allowed to carry out Dobby's duties as a house elf." Lily looked like she wanted to say but she was cut off by Harry gurgling and reaching out towards her making grabby hands.
"Oh, very well," she sighed moving to retrieve Harry from Snape's lap and sitting in the wing back armchairs. James headed for the armchair opposite, once he had Draco settled the small child rested his head on James' chest letting his eyes slip closed and sticking his thumb into his mouth.
Once Dobby had distributed the tea with milk and sugar it mentioned something about finding somewhere to clean before disappearing with a crack.
"So," started Lily after a few tense moments passed where they sipped on their tea, "can you tell us what happened Sev?"
The other man nodded, "I'm really sorry James, I don't know who it was, but uh…" he trailed off knowing that James would not like what he had to say next and at the same time not wanting to admit it to himself either, "Someone revealed Lucius to the Dar… Voldemort," he paused again trying to get past the lump in his throat, " He can be cruel, instead of killing Lucius right there, he wanted for Lucius to watch as he tortured and killed Draco, he wanted to force Lucius to watch whilst he ended the Malfoy bloodline. He didn't care about Narcissa but she got in the way, took an 'Avada Kedavra' to the chest, but her sacrifice allowed Draco the chance to escape. He was furious, cast a ' patiens acerba funera ascriberet.'" Snape put his mug down on the coffee table, burying his face in his hands, "I can still hear Lucius' screams," he whimpered. "I had to just stand there, I couldn't do anything without blowing my cover. I got out of there as soon as I could but he wouldn't let anyone leave until he was sure that Lucius was dead." Snape looked up, tears spilling down his cheeks, eyes bloodshot and puffy, he fixed his broken gaze on James "I'm sorry, I know you were close."
It was true, as an only child growing up James was extremely close to Lucius. As first cousins, they spent a lot of time together during their childhood, sometimes with Sirius and Narcissa. Once they got to Hogwarts it was only natural and to be expected that they started to drift apart due to house factions. However, despite all odds the pair remained close throughout their Hogwarts years, spending as much of the holiday together as they could. It was only in the recent post-Hogwarts years that the rift had truly started to develop due to Lucius having to play the devoted follower to the Dark Lord; making it hard to stay in contact with such prominent dissenters. Their relationship had devolved to the extent that the only contact that they had, had in the past year were pregnancy announcements and the subsequent birth announcements that got sent to the whole family.
James felt like there was an elephant sat on his chest, he could barely draw in one breath after the other, whilst something hollow settled in his chest. Looking over at Lily she looked just as bad as he felt, she had gone sheet white and the expression on her face indicated that she might be sick at any moment. He looked down at Draco sleeping in his arms, blissfully unaware of how his life had changed forever, who's hair had returned to its white blonde during his sleep. Hair that was so much like his fathers, James noted with a pang of grief.
Snape cleared his throat drawing James attention back to him, "Dobby's instructions were to flee to Spinner's End first so I could get this," he said pulling an envelope out of his trouser pocket, "before coming here. It names you and Lily as Draco's guardians in the event of Lucius and Narcissa's death." he handed the envelope over to James.
The envelope was made from expensive cream parchment, in the left-hand corner was the embossed logo of the Inheritance and Family Affairs department at the Ministry and in the other corner the embossed logo of Gringotts. The front was sealed with the Malfoy family wax seal, the letter was official.
"Not that I object, but why not Pandora or Andromeda, both of which are closer relatives and older than us?"
Snape smiled ruefully, "Pandora has still not recovered from having Luna, she's still sick and Lucius didn't want to give her added pressure and Andromeda is living in the muggle world limiting the strength of the wards that can be put in place. Plus she's married to a muggle who wouldn't be able to defend himself or others but rather be a target himself in the event of a death eater attack. However, you and Lily are highly skilled in defence and being such prominent members in the order means that you have some of the best wards put in place. Lucius and Narcissa were determined that Draco would be safest with you and I must agree with them.
James nodded in understanding, "Have you informed Dumbledore yet?"
Snape shook his head, "It's too risky for me to contact him at the moment, we will all be under suspicion for the foreseeable future." He stood up, "Thank you for the tea." he said addressing Lily, "I should be getting on my way. My absence will have already been noticed and I should get back before anyone gets suspicious." he disapparated with a crack.
"Are you alright?" asked Lily the picture of concern.
He shook his head, "No," he muttered, "but I can't focus on that right now, there are things to be done."
With a crack Dobby reappeared, "I will be clearing that for Mr James," declared the elf, snapping his fingers the tray and empty cups disappeared, "and if Dobby may Dobby can be putting young Master Draco and young Mr Harry to bed so Mr James can be getting on with important things."
With reluctant sighs, James and Lily handed the sleeping infants to the elf who disapparated with a crack.
"First fire call Dumbledore," said James, Lily nodded in agreement, "so the Order can be informed, there will probably be an emergency meeting. Then we must pay a visit to the Inheritance and Family Affairs department and Gringotts to sort out the paperwork."
"I guess we won't be making it to my parent's house for lunch." quipped Lily, James groaned.
OoOoO
James was barely suppressing laughter listening to Lily on the phone with her mother.
"No mum," she sighed in frustration, she had been on the phone nearing half an hour and kept going round in circles, "It's not because of Petunia and Vernon, James and I want to be there."
She glared at him whilst her mother spoke, pointing at the door she mouthed out. "Something came up that was out of our contr…" she was cut off by her mother.
"Let me try." he offered, holding out his hand for the phone, she handed it over sagging in relief.
"... are more important than spending time with your family at Christmas?"
"Hi Violet, it's James," there was a sharp intake on the other end of the line, "What Lily has been avoiding saying - because she doesn't want to ruin the holiday spirit - is that the ' issue ' is that my cousin and his wife have just died leaving behind a little boy slightly older than Harry."
There was a shocked gasp on the other end of the line, "Oh, the poor dear and at Christmas. Where will he go?"
"We've been up since just after three attempting to work out the logistics as we have been granted custody and there is still more to be worked out."
"So will you not be able to come at all? Not even for Christmas day? It's just I think that it would be good for little Harry and little Dudley together."
She sounded so hopeful and surely it would be best for everyone involved for them to attempt to carry on as normal, "Lily and Harry will be there for Christmas dinner." Lily grimaced, wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him, an action that he returned in kind.
"Oh, but James you must come too, and bring your cousin's son with you."
It was his turn to grimace "I will try my best to get there Violet." After goodbyes were exchanged James hung up the phone returning it to its cradle. Lily snaked her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest, he returned the embrace resting his chin on her head.
"Both the boys are asleep, we should grab a nap whilst we can," she mumbled sleepily into his chest.
"Mmm, I think your right."
It had already been a long day and it was only eleven thirty. By the time Snape had left it was nearing four, they had immediately informed Dumbledore and as suspected an emergency order meeting was called. The atmosphere had been bland and heavy, no sign of Christmas cheer.
Lucius' loss was a huge blow to the order, although they still had Snape as a spy it was not the same. During his time as a spy Lucius had managed to work his way up to Voldemort's number two. Now Voldemort would be suspicious of all his followers now that one of his closest followers had been outed as a spy and less likely to share his plans with his followers. Furthermore, he was likely to become suspicious of Snape, who had always been close to Lucius and with his proximity to Dumbledore as a member of Hogwarts faculty. There was talk about possibly having a new spy, but was deemed too risky as all new followers would be under scrutiny. Similarly, the risk was deemed too high for the order to attempt to convert a current follower.
After the conclusion of the order meeting, it had been time to pay a visit to the Ministry and Gringotts. The caseworker in the Inheritance and Family Affairs department and the goblin account managers were both disgruntled at being called in on Christmas Eve. It was a long laborious process that was slowed by bureaucracy that left both Lily and James feeling both physically and mentally drained.
As it turned out Dobby appeared to be quite the godsend when it came to looking after the two boys while both Lily and James were busy.
OoOoO
Thankfully everything seemed to settle down fairly quickly, Draco easily assimilated into Potter family life. The first forty-eight hours were plain sailing, that was until he seemed to notice the absence of his parents, which just so happened to coincide wonderfully with the 4 ½ hour drive home from Lily's parent's house. Draco had been inconsolable for hours. It left James and Lily with the unshakeable feeling that they were failing the small child, not only were they unable to provide the child with the comfort of his parents but they were unable to provide him with something as simple as his favourite stuffed animal. Surprisingly it was Sirius who was the one to finally get Draco to calm down although in large part due to shifting into his animagus form. Aside from the occasional wobbly, crisis averted.
Harry took an immediate shine to Draco, whereas on the other hand Draco was initially wary of Harry, however fleetingly and short-lived and soon the pair became inseparable. Draco immediately took a liking to his mother's cousin, following Sirius around whenever the man came over and by extension he got close with Remus. Peter was a completely different kettle of fish with Draco remained wary of, never warming up to the dumpy man despite his best efforts.
One small mercy is that Draco had already started sleeping through the night, however, he had already started to crawl, meaning that unlike Harry if you put him down he would not always be where you left him; making for some heart-stopping moments, especially that time he got his hands on the invisibility cloak. It didn't take long for Draco to start using furniture to pull himself up and to start toddling about and it took even less time for Harry to copy.
Early march Draco started to refer to James and Lily as ' Mumma ' and ' Dadda '. The first time it happened Lily was out with Dorcas and Marleen, James broke down crying in the middle of the living room. Lily came home hours later to find him in the same place, Harry and Draco screaming, whilst Dobby tried to calm them down with little success. From then on James became ' Pongs ' and Lily became ' Ily '. They weren't trying to replace Lucius and Narcissa. In the following days, Sirius became ' Padda ', Remus ' Mooey ' and Peter ' Ormy '.
Draco also seemed to have gotten a handle on his metamorphmagus abilities with the help of Sirius. He would spend hours sat in Sirius' lap as Sirius used charms - he had learned in Auror training - to change his own appearance for Draco to mimic.
All in all, things were good, to bad the good can never last.
OoOoO
Tue 2nd June 1981
"Albus? What a welcome surprise." James followed the sound of his wife's voice to the dining room where the floo was located.
"I take it this is not a social call?" he asked, more as a statement upon noticing the grim set of their former headmasters features.
"I'm afraid not my dear boy." there was pity in his eyes as he spoke and James felt the all too familiar icy grip of fear seize his insides. "Maybe a drop of tea to settle one's nerves would not go amiss if it is not to much trouble."
"Not at all," replied Lily, who had turned frightfully pale, "Please take a seat." she gestured at the dining room table before disappearing into the kitchen
"How are those two boys of yours?" asked the old wizard sinking into one of the high back chairs that surrounded the large oval shaped table.
James felt the familiar swell of pride whenever someone brought up his boys - because yes, Draco is one of his boys and James will not let anyone tell him anything different. "Just gone down for their afternoon nap. Both of them are doing well, bright as a button the pair of them. In fact, Lily and I were considering enrolling them in a playgroup in the new year so they can interact with more children their own age."
Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling, "Wonderful idea my dear boy but possibly not to wisest considering the state of the war that we find ourselves in."
"Mmm. Perhaps you are right." agreed James. If the wise old man didn't think that it was a good idea then it probably wasn't.
The conversation was paused when Lily returned, swiftly serving the tea before she and James expectantly turned their attention to Dumbledore.
The old man took a deep breath to steady his nerves before beginning in a low tone, "I'm afraid I am the bearer of bad news. There is a prophecy that was delivered to me by Sybil Trelawney at her interview for the position of Divination Professor. It relates to a chosen one, whose parents have thrice defied Voldemort and was born as the 7th month dies. He and he alone has the power to defeat Voldemort when the time comes.
"As far as I was aware only three people knew about the prophecy, myself, Trelawney and Lucius who was acting as the representative of the school board.
"As I am sure you have already worked out the prophecy could relate to Harry or the Longbottom's son Neville. I am here because Severus has just informed me that it would appear that Voldemort has decided that the prophecy relates to Harry. I am aware that you are already in hiding and laying low but I advise you to make it official under ' fidelius charm '. I am sure you are already aware but it involves you choosing someone that you trust to act as Secret Keeper. This will put them at risk of anyone attempting to obtain your location. Furthermore, you will have limited contact with others, including your family and friends."
The tea sat in front of them, untouched and cold. James' heart seemed to sit heavy in his gut, his insides clenching and unclenching making him feel nauseous, he could almost taste the bile rising. " Why did this have to keep happening, when would enough be enough? Hadn't they already been through enough? Especially poor Draco. "
Dumbledore slowly rose from his seat "I am sorry that I could not be the bearer of better news. Now you have a lot to think on, take your time but not too long, the sooner we act the better."
James sat numbly and watched as Dumbledore left through the fireplace.
OoOoO
James sat on the couch, Lily curled into his side, idly watching Harry and Draco play in the middle of the living room. The warm late afternoon sun streamed in through the bay windows giving the room a faint golden glow, a complete juxtaposition to the sombre atmosphere. An atmosphere that Harry and Draco seemed to have picked up on as they played abnormally quiet without the usual babble.
"We should probably talk about it." murmured Lily breaking James out of his thoughts. After Dumbledore had left the house had been filled with awkward silence until the end of naptime as both James and Lily attempted to avoid talking about it.
"I know," he shifted his position so that he was more upright, "We need to do it, don't we? No matter how much we dislike the idea. It's the safety of our family at stake and I'm not taking any chances."
"I agree, as much as I dislike the idea, it is necessary to protect our family…" she trailed off and they took a moment to watch Harry and Draco play.
They looked so happy, without a care in the world. Draco entertaining Harry by changing his hair colour - flashing through the colours of the rainbow - and giving himself various animal features. He was clutching Agon - a stuffed dragon that acted as a replacement for Rabba the stuffed rabbit who never made it out of the manor - by the tail in his tiny fist.
"The next question is who do we get to be our secret keeper? I just don't want to be putting one of our friends in danger in order to protect ourselves." James could feel the pressure building behind his eyes - a sure sign of a killer headache to come.
"It has to be one of the Marauders at the end of the day, doesn't it. As much as I trust Dorcas, Marleen and the rest of the order I do not feel close enough to them to be asking them to put their life on the line to protect ours."
"It can't be Padfoot, that would be too obvious."
"And it can't be Mooney, he already has a target on his back for being a werewolf."
"So that just leaves Wormtail."
OoOoO
Sat 6th June 1981
James walked into the dining room, holding Harry on his hip and holding Draco by the hand. Lily disconnected the floo call and when she turned to face James there were tears tracks making their way down her face. Immediately the all too familiar pit formed in his stomach, "Lils?"
"My Parents," there was a hiccuping sob, "He couldn't get to us so he went after my family."
"Oh Lily!" he exclaimed, placing Harry on the floor so he could wrap his arms around his wife instead. "I'm so sorry." As much as it made him feel like a bad person James was suddenly glad that none of his family was left to be targeted.
"That was Dumbledore and McGonagall, they said that they would put blood wards to protect Tuney and her family."
OoOoO
Sat 31st Oct 1981
No sooner had Snape's head disappeared from the flames the wards shattered. Snape had just fire called from spinner's end to inform them that Peter had ratted them out to Voldemort who was on his way.
"Lily you get Harry, I've got Draco. See you at Grimmauld place." he pressed a quick kiss on her brow.
Lily headed upstairs to get Harry who had been put down early as punishment for a day full of temper tantrums. James wrapped his hand round Draco's who had come to stand beside him. Bending down he looked Draco in the eye. "We're going to apparate," he told the frightened child, "That means that I need you to be really still just like we've been practising." Draco nodded, eyes hazel with wide with fear and messy black hair. Rising to his full height he pulled Draco along behind him -almost not caring that the small boy was stumbling behind him in order to keep up - so that he could retrieve his wand from the living room.
He never made it.
Before he could reach his wand the front door was blown off its hinges. There, standing silhouetted in the doorway was Voldemort. Pushing Draco behind him James tried to keep his head held high not wanting to show his fear. His only hope was that Lily could flee with Harry accompanied by the gut-wrenching feeling of failing Draco.
It only took a split second for the ' Avada Kedavra ' to wring out in the eerie silence followed by a flash of green.
Whoever told you that an 'Avada Kedavra ' was an instantaneous death was lying. Yes, his heart had stopped but that still left his brain active. To watch Draco tremble with fear, with wide eyes and tears preparing to fall, Agon clutched tightly to his chest as if the stuffed dragon could protect him. To have Voldemort step over him to approach Draco, who's hair neatened and eyes turning Scarlett. Voldemort presented him with a floppy, brown stuffed rabbit, hesitantly Draco reached forward to take the rabbit muttering "Rabba." To witness Voldemort smiling down on Draco, nodding reassuringly before bending to pick him up.
To hear Voldemort coo, "Don't fear little one, I have you now and I will mould you into my own image." Throwing one last cruel smirk over his shoulder he took Draco upstairs.
The last thing James saw before his world faded to black was the flash of green illumination upstairs, Lily's cries falling on deaf ears.
TBC…