A/N

To my new readers: Thanks for checking my story out, if you have time (and feel like it) tell me what you think. I am always happy about feedback. Also english is not my first language.

To my older reader/followers: Sorry doesn't quite cut it with more than a year of radio silence, but be assured that I had my reasons. Reasonable reasons. This story will be completed, maybe not as fast as I (or some of you) would like it, but it will be completed.

I do not own Harry Potter, I am not making any profit with this story, I am merely playing in JK's sandbox.

I thank Iwillrunforever very much for being the beta-reader of this story.

Without further ado: Enjoy

30th October 1986, hidden residence of the Potter-family, presumably somewhere in the United Kingdom

"Draco! Come here at once!" Lady Narcissa Malfoy was a woman of perfect manners. And now she was yelling after her son, a telltale sign that she had lost patience with the boy's mischief. One quickly cast spell later, she picked her son off his petrified broom. "Caught you," she tried to use a strict tone, but her loving smile betrayed her.

"You cheated, mummy!"

Draco cuddled up against her fur-lined robes anyway, watching his sister in everything but blood flying another round through the living room.

Lily Potter was having a tad more trouble with her daughter. "Rose!"

She was tempted to freeze the damn thing in midair, as Narcissa had done. But she feared that Roslyn might fall off at a sudden stop. It was a toy broom, but somehow the child managed to set a downright terrifying pace. She had a talent for flying, one of the traits she had hoped James would not pass on to their daughter.

And... The girl was at the other side of the house. Again.

She stopped running, already feeling a stitch. "'It's just a toy. What could go wrong?'" she mimicked Sirius's words. He had said that when he had gifted his goddaughter the flying nightmare of doom for her last birthday.

She looked at her friend, who still cuddled happily with her son. "Cissy, do something!"

Narcissa watched, an unladylike smirk on her face, as Rose flew by, waving at Draco.

"She will have no problems joining her Hogwarts Quidditch team."

"You're not helping here."

Lady Malfoy shrugged, in a very similar way her cousin Sirius would do. "You can't suit everybody, darling."

Lily huffed and used her last resort. "Roslyn James Acacia Potter!"

The six-year-old stopped instantly upon hearing her full name. She flew to her mother, showing her most innocent smile. "Yes, mum?"

The smile was every bit her father's. Charming and all: 'Me? I never misbehave in any shape or form!' And Lily could not bring herself to be angry or even annoyed with them, not when they looked at her like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, despite knowing better.

Her musings were interrupted by the front door being opened and James Potter announced his homecoming. "It's me, my fair ladies! Peter is here as well, and there's a mutt we can't get rid of."

"That joke is getting old, prongs," Sirius chided him while they took off their dirty battle robes.

"Just as old as you are, Padfoot?" Peter asked slyly and Sirius did them the favour.
"Exactly! That's what... Wormtail, you -" his friends' laughter fortunately drowned out his next words.

"Dad! Sirius! Uncle Peter!" Rose flew with minimal braking straight into the arms of her godfather. He barely avoided falling to the ground under the impact. "Are you training for the World Cup again, Bambi?"

"I'll be the best seeker of like all time!" Roslyn announced proudly and then gave a yelp when Sirius threw her playfully over his shoulder.
"I would never dare doubt that," he said, following James into the living room.

"Hello, Uncle Peter," Rose grinned at the only marauder in her field of view.

"It's nice to see you. Did you have fun today?"

"So much! Aunt Cissy and Draco are over and we played 'Enchanted Orchard' and Quidditch and Aunt Cissy made cookies for us and -" she happily bubbled on about her day, not noticing how his friendly expression had turned into a pained grimace.

In the doorway to the living room, Lily stood with her arms crossed, exhaustion showing on her face, but she smiled warmly at her husband. And how could James do anything but beam back at her? He hugged her tightly, still enjoying their difference in height. Easily he rested his chin on her head. "Long day?" he murmured the question into her flaming red hair. His grin grew wider when she made an indignant huff, but he knew she was happy, too.
"She will never be able to pass off as anything but your daughter."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," he teased.

"We'll leave now," Narcissa announced - in her wisdom she had her son still in her arms.

Neither child was particularly fond of the idea. "Can't we stay longer, Mum?"

"Or Draco could spend the night!" Rose added hopefully.

"Pleeeeaaaase!" They had long ago mastered the art of whining as one, along with pouting lips and puppy dog eyes misting over.

Sadly the performance was useless because while the men melted on the spot, Lily and Narcissa were unimpressed. "The two of you spent the whole day together, Draco. You'll see each other again soon."

"But -"

"No buts, Roslyn." Her mother said sternly. "Grab Draco's toys from your room and then you say goodbye."

"Yes..." both children murmured, sounding resigned.

"You and Draco are not only welcome in our home to keep my wife and daughter company, Narcissa," James remarked, his tone unusually soft after the kids had left.

"I know and I am always grateful for your kindness and hospitality - But you three should spend some time together as a family." The last part was uttered so low that both Potters could've decided not to hear it.

The little group moved to the kitchen, where the fireplace was, to see them off.

"You... are probably right," Lily's smile was contrived. "Thank you, Narcissa - See you soon."

"Goodbye."

Once they had disappeared with a blaze of green flames, Peter announced his own departure.

"We haven't spent an evening together in weeks!" James looked a bit crossed. "Come on, buddy!"

He shrugged in a what-can-you-do way. "I'm sorry, but it's important business."

"Let him, Prongs - At least he knows what he's missing," Sirius ruffled his best friend's hair, ignoring his indignant yelp.

"Are you doing phoenix-stuff?" Rose asked curiously, making the adults chuckle.

"Yes, I have to do phoenix-stuff," he gave the child a goodbye-hug before he seemed to remember something. "But I got this for you," he handed her a plush toy, a phoenix. Rose ran circles around them in excitement, jumping and laughing.

"It's from Professor Dumbledore - As a belated birthday present," Peter grinned at her shenanigans. "I will tell him she likes it, then."

After he too had left through the green flames Rose turned to Sirius. With tilted head and her special smile, she asked. "But you stay, right?"

"Of course," he said as he scooped her up again, leaving Lily and James alone in the kitchen. "Let's go play and give your parents the chance to have couple time."

"Couple time?" Rose wondered.

"Well, when people really, really like each other and…" he started to say until he was interrupted by a yell from the kitchen. "SIRIUS!"

"They spend time together and have fun." He smirked, then said a little louder. "What did you think I was going to say?" He didn't even try to hide the teasing tone in his voice.

"So Draco and Neville and I are having couple time?" Rose asked confused.

"Well...No," Sirius realized his mistake with starting that topic.

"Why not?" the little girl inquired.

"You're only allowed to have couple time when you're at least... thirty."

"Mum and dad are not thirty."

"Well... do you want to play a game? Parcheesi?" Sirius asked trying to get off the subject.

"Yes!" He acknowledged her excited reaction with a sigh of relief.

o ~ O ~ o

Back in the kitchen Rose's parents sat together while Lily started to prepare dinner by charming the knife to cut the vegetables. "How was the day? - You three looked like you were in battle."

James hesitated for a fraction of a second. It had been a usual day, meaning horrible and life-threatening as they came nowadays. "Voldemort attacked London - The Houses of Parliament, but the wards withstood until we arrived."

"I see... Losses?" Lily asked, hoping for the best despite knowing better.

"Gideon took a bad hit and... Fabian is dead. Bellatrix Lestrange killed him." James hated that maniac so much. Out of Voldemort's lieutenants, she was the most unpredictable nightmare.

"Poor Gideon - And Molly! Losing one brother and having the other hurt badly..."

"Dumbledore will tell her tomorrow - But Moody and Remus managed to capture Rabastan Lestrange. He won't see the outside of Azkaban ever again."

She was silent, looking out of the window, a grim expression on her face. And the knife suddenly rammed itself through the cutting board and into the worktop where it stuck trembling.

"Petal?" he approached her carefully, like one would do with a wounded animal.

"How much longer can we fight this?" She asked more herself than her husband. "It's been almost 17 years!"

Softly James placed an arm around her shoulders, offering her comfort. "The war will end, love - And we will survive it."

She leaned into his touch, but was still tense. "I don't want to raise Rose like this anymore. I can't even let her play in the garden for fear that…" Lily finally looked at him; there were no tears in her green eyes, only righteous fury. "Damn the prophecy! And damn You-know-who! She is a child!"

"And we'll protect her, nobody will harm our little princess," he reassured her with all the confidence he had. "I won't let that happen!"

"I know," Lily finally smiled at him. "I love you, James."

"I love you, too. I love you so much," he murmured into her hair.

"And tomorrow we'll go together again," she told him firmly.

He would prefer if she stayed at home where it was safe. Even if that meant he had to go into battle without his partner - which she was in every sense of the way. "Maybe you should stay here with Rose for a few days - Narcissa is right about how little time we spend with her."

"Don't try to guilt trip me, James Potter - You know as much as I do that neither of us can win such an argument." It was no accusation, but her smile was slightly rueful. Today she had played and taken care of her baby girl for the whole day. For the first time in over a week. But she couldn't and wouldn't allow her husband to fight without her more than absolutely necessary.

James tried to reason with her, despite knowing he had lost. "But -"

"I'm a member of the Order just like you," she reminded him. "And the Death Eaters were still more afraid of me than of you."

"Well that's not surprising," he murmured lowly, vividly remembering the last time Lily's legendary anger had been directed at him. "What about Rose?"

"She will be very happy to see Severus again."

Her husband made a face. "Shouldn't you add a good thing after telling me the bad news?"

"He is her godfather and she adores him."

"I don't like her being around him so much," James snapped, crossing his arms. He couldn't stand the sarcastic potion master. It was not that he distrusted the former Death Eater. The past few years he had proven his loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix time and time again. Voldemort had nearly killed him for his treachery and it was not for the maniac's lack of trying that Snape was still breathing.

His wife could practically hear his thoughts and snickered.
"I should be glad you get along with Narcissa, shouldn't I, love? - But is it really too much to treat Severus like her?"

Lily had been downright floored when James and Narcissa had become friends around half a year after she had joined the order.

"She was never a Death Eater. And Lucius died fighting You-know-who."

"To protect Cissy, Draco, Rose and me. And who was the person stood right beside him?" Lily pretended to think hard. "Do you remember, dearest?"

"Yes, yes, I know what Snape did," he admitted grumpily. "But that doesn't mean I have to like him!"

"No, of course not," Lily replied, a little snippy. "But not everything is about you."

"It's not?" James looked at his wife, wearing a mock horrified expression, a hand over his heart. "But... then my whole life has been a lie!"

She was trying hard to glare at him, but it just wasn't convincing when her shoulders shook with silent laughter. "You idiot!" she managed to say that, but it sounded more like an endearment.

"I'm hurt," James smiled widely. "I'm far cleverer than you give me credit for!"

"Sure thing, love," She kissed him. "Don't worry, I only married you for your looks."

o ~ O ~ o

Redstone Manor, ancestral home of the ancient and noble house of Nott, environs of Inverness, Scotland.

"I forbade you to ever cross our doorstep again!"

The patriarch of the family was well into his sixties, but his magic was evidently powerful enough to throw the much younger Allen Nott through the entrance hall and several yards down the road.

"Now crawl back to your so-called 'Dark Lord'!" The word was spoken with pure contempt. Very similar to the look Lord Nott sent the Death Eater who was staggering to his feet.

"I want to see my son! You cannot keep him here forever!"

"Of course, I can," he turned around, only to see his six-year-old grandson staring wide-eyed and scared at his father. The family house-elf tugged on the child's pyjamas, a clearly worried expression on her face, trying to coax him further into the house.

Lord Nott was thankful that Allen could not see his son from his position.

"Please!" Allen was unmistakably begging now, "Just for a moment! I have not seen him since Berenice -"

The giant doors slammed shut behind the Lord's back, which cut off the rest of the rambling.

"You should be asleep, Theo," he chided his grandson softly and scooped him up in his arms.

"I heard screaming. Is the werewolf back?" Theo was close to tears, hiding against his grandfather's robes.

"No, child," he stroked the shock of tangled hair, trying to soothe him. "You don't need to be scared."

"... I miss Mummy, grandpa"

"I miss her too," he thought a moment, knowing sleep was out of the question for a while, and then asked, "Should we listen to some music? Or we could paint? You did not finish the picture with the pony yet."

"It's a unicorn!" Theo's indignation made him smile. "It even has two horns! How can you miss that?!"

Of course he didn't miss that. And he had refrained from telling Theo that the second horn made it a bicorn, not 'extra magical'.

"So? Shall we give it a mane and proper tail?"

"Can we paint and listen to music?"

"Of course, child."

It was not an hour later that Theo started to fall asleep over his drawing, a smile on his face. His grandfather waited for the final tunes of 'Wasser Musik' to end and picked him up, trying in vain not to get even more colour on his robes.

o ~ O ~ o

Laburnum Manor, home of the Bulstrode family, Dublin, Ireland

Millicent sleepily toddled after her sister. "Where are you going?"

"Shh! – Go back to bed." She was nearly five years older than Millicent. And she really wanted to know why her parents were meeting up with the Flints and Mrs Davis in the middle of the night.

"But I don't want to!" She whined and Cecilia quickly clapped a hand over her mouth before the noise could alert the adults.
"Fine! But be quiet!"

Only when Millicent nodded vigorously, she removed her hand and went further down the corridor towards the living room. Luckily the door was slightly ajar.

"We will remain neutral in these matters," she heard her father say.

"You are in a precarious situation, Stanton," that had to be Mrs Davis, the mother of Millicent's friend Tracy. Cecilia could not stand the woman. "You cannot evade this decision forever."

"That you actually approve of this war is disgusting!"

"Oh? Maybe you should join Dumbledore? Are you suddenly fond of Muggles and Mudbloods? I had no idea!"

Cecilia could hear the fire cracking over the following silence and knew there had been more said than she had understood.

"You cannot be on their side!" Mrs Flint sounded furious. "What about your daughter?!"

"I am doing this for Tracy. The question is what kind of world do you want for your children to leave behind? One where those of noble blood have to bow?"

It was Mrs Flint who answered that. "How about a world not built on corpses of the innocent?"

"Trust a healer to be so sentimental."

"Sentimental? Are you out of your -"

Cecilia's mother interrupted before Mrs Flint could finish. "I ask you to leave us now, Mrs Davis,"

"But, my dear -"

"Please," She insisted firmly, "And tell your Lord we won't join his cause."

"I hope you will not regret this decision."

A few stiff pleasantries later, and after the distinct rushing sound of someone using the floo silence filled the room again.

"Who wants Firewhiskey?"

"A double!" Mrs Flint's immediate answer drew a chuckle from her husband.
"I'll take the same. – But what shall we do now? You-know-who does not take kindly to rejections."

Cecilia flinched when Millicent audible gasped behind her, but the adults were too preoccupied with their talk to notice.

"We cannot go to Dumbledore either..."

"Why not?" It was Mrs Flint again. "He helped Severus. And if I have to choose between him and... You-know-who, I will take my risk with him in a heartbeat."

"But joining his 'order' will make us targets! The Death Eaters attacked the parliament just today! I am not like the Potters or the Longbottoms. I want our children safe from that monster!"

"They will not truly be safe from him until he is dead!"

Cecilia and Millicent never knew how her parents had decided. One of the house-elves doing late-night cleaning spotted them and shooed the girls back to their shared bedroom.

Thankfully without telling the master or the mistress of the misbehaving.

o ~ O ~ o

Potter Manor, former home of the noble house of Potter, Cardiff, Wales

In the days of Lord Fleamonth and Lady Euphemia, the manor had always been lively and filled with guests or various family members visiting them. After the death of her husband, she had moved into a smaller house. Her son, James Potter, had sold the magnificent estate a few years back.

It filled Lord Voldemort with a vicious glee to live in the former home of one of his most annoying enemies. Even more so as he was planning the death of the little family this very moment. The pieces were falling together perfectly.

His Inner Circle knew not why he was in such an elated mood, despite the fact that they had lost Lestrange and several recruits. But none would question it. A night without the Cruciatus Curse hurled in their direction was a good night. And ever since the betrayal of Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort kept his plans and secrets even closer, only his three lieutenants were in the know.

No one took notice of the small boy sitting on the topmost stair, watching with avid interest what happened down in the main hall.

He was scared of the Dark Lord, but it was fine, because every adult was afraid of him, too. He knew that even his adoptive father feared him. And he was a Death Eater. Whatever the word meant, but it was something they were proud of.

"Richard!"

He flinched at the low, hissing voice of his mother and a moment later she dragged him away from the staircase.

"What have I told you?" As sharp as she spoke, it was out of fear and worry. She could not imagine something worse than Lord Voldemort taking notice of her six-year-old boy.

"Not to leave my room when he is here," he answered sheepishly.

"Precisely! Why are you even out of bed?"

"I can't sleep. You-know-who laughs so loud, like an evil mastermind."

Marian had a hard time not to chuckle at the fitting description.

Gently she grabbed her younger son's hand, leading him to his bedroom.

"Come on, I'll put up a silencing charm and we can read a little bedtime story."

It was one of the nights where she would fall asleep in one of her children's rooms again.