The Warning

Tomes of What is to Come

The Potter home was a lovely one. It was nestled on an isolated hill top some miles south of the border of Scotland. There were a wide assortment of brooms and vehicles in the garage. The walls were covered with pictures of family and friends. One large one of four school boys seeming to cheer to whoever passed by. A picture hung on the wall of a rather large man and a woman who was obviously his wife. The wife was boney and horse-faced. The picture did not move. Its placement was such that it was obvious that the picture was only there as a common courtesy. There was a picture of weddings on the wall, one of a man with unruly black hair and a woman with long red hair. Then another picture showed a man and a woman with blond hair and round faces.

"Love?" James called to his wife. "Are you sure you don't want some help?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm just walking into the living room to sit down James," she replied drolly. Sadly, her husband was a nervous father. He wasn't allowing her to do the littlest bit of housework, though she did rather enjoy that, or leave the house (unless she got Sirius to distract him for her). She was seven months pregnant with her son, and she was waiting for her husband to be less annoying so she could make her announcement; she'd decided on their son's name.

With the sound of ripping fabric and a flash of light, there were seven thuds on the ground. James came tearing into the room, afraid Lily had fallen. He found her on her knees staring at a book, with six others lying around her. "Lily, are you okay?"

"James..." she said in a scared voice. "These books..." She turned the one in her hands. The title was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "The name..."

"What about it?" he asked. He was a little freaked by his last name on the book.

"I decided today..." she told him. "The baby's name... I decided to name him Harry."

James took a moment to process that information.

Lily opened the book. "James," she said, holding the open book in her hands. "Look at this copy write date."

"The whatty-what date?" James asked, looking where she was pointing.

"Copy write," She repeated. "It's when the book was first published... I swear, should have married the werewolf."

This was hers and James' constant joke. She and Remus had been very close, being quite alike. She would often joke she had flipped a coin to decide which one she would date.

"Its... well, that makes it obvious it's a fake," James said.

"If it were a fake, they would try to make it believable, not like they were from... from the future. James, these are books about our son."

"Maybe we should... we should read them..." James suggested.

Lily was not about to argue. Lily, being the faster reader, read them first, and then would hand them off to James. Several times she had to restrain him and make him finish the book. It was a hard read for them, to learn the truth of what was to come, what would pass. To learn harsh truths about their friends and about those they thought were their friends. James swore to himself to buy many gifts for certain people, and that he would reap great vengeance upon others .Many days, and many tears later they had completed the books.

James set aside Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and turned to his wife. "What... what do we do now?" James said, drying his eyes. The things his son would go through... he had to stop them somehow.

"I know what we have to do," Lily said in a sad tone as she patted her swollen abdomen. "First thing is first, we go see Prof. Dumbledore... We'll need him to work with us."

Later in the Headmaster's Office

"I see," Albus said, after having read the books in a remarkable short amount of time. Tears had leaked down his face at the end of almost every book. He looked at himself in these stories. Was this really what he would have done to the poor boy? "They are real," he sighed simply. "I have to agree with your decision Lily."

"What decision?" James asked. Lily seemed to already have a plan ready, and somehow, in that way he always did, Dumbledore knew about it. James knew enough to trust his wife, but also knew enough that when she didn't tell him what would happen, it meant trouble.

"We're going to continue on as if nothing has happened," Lily replied, her voice cracking.

"What do you mean?" James asked, standing from his chair looking scandalized.

"We're going to give birth to our son, he's going to be named Harry, We're going to name Sirius his godfather," Lily paused. James was nodding. Then she continued. "We're going to make Peter our secret keeper, we're not going to tell anyone, we're going to act like we know almost nothing."

"But Lily... That means you die..." James pleaded. James was the sort of person to give anything and everything for those he cared about, but he was also the sort of person who couldn't not try to fix things.

She nodded. "Our deaths are necessary," she whispered, taking her husband's hand. "Harry needs the protection it will provide him."

"But... but that means your horrid sister and her beastly husband," James argued.

"The blood protection is what is necessary," Dumbledore explained. "If it weren't so powerful, I would never allow it."

"Blood..." James whispered. His eyes suddenly lit up. "There is another option. If I give him the blood protection..."

"You don't have any living relatives," Albus interrupted.

"Sirius," Lily whispered in awe. She struck the heel of her palm to her forehead. "of course!" She had the same realization that James had just had.

"Please explain," asked Albus intently. He'd always known that James and Sirius were quite close, but to his knowledge the Potters and the Blacks were only related through a few marriages, not by blood.

"Well," James began, energetically. "Sirius and I heard about this muggle custom called 'blood brothers', and we wondered how well it could work for wizards... Long story short we created a ceremony where in we share our blood. My blood runs in his veins and his blood runs in my veins." James held out the palm of his hand to show a scar. "This scar is one be both bear on our palms. It is healed, but will never fade. It is the sign of our bond."

Albus smiled. "Well, it seems fate smiles. Once again James you prove to be clever enough and just reckless enough to be a hero. If you switch positions that should work... Your son will live, posses the blood protection, and he will need to live with Sirius."

"Is there anything you can do to protect Frank and Alice?" Lily wondered. "What happened to them in the books… and their poor son?"

"I shall do what I can," Albus promised. "However if it becomes apparent that we know of what is to come… if they suspect that we have a source inside their ranks. I know you don't like Severus, James, but he has been a loyal member to the order since he joined."

James looked at the desk. "Just remind him… he's a member of the Order, which means that if he's in trouble, I come running to save him. I don't like him, no, but he is a brother-in-arms."

"And to think," Dumbledore said, almost playfully. "Some of your teachers credited you as being immature,"

Many plans went into effect. Albus had already heard the prophesy that the books informed him of. He sent both the Potters and the Longbottom's into hiding. Albus had the books burned so that no one else could benefit from them. He also had yet another long discussion with his friends Nicolas and Pernelle about that stone. Best to nip that one in the bud early.