A/N: A new fic…
Disclaimer: Thank you JK Rowling for leaving a sandbox behind after writing all seven books. I like playing with it and watching what many others had came up with. (#suck-updisclaimer)
.
I. A Question of Time
.
July 31, 1980 (Thursday)
.
James Potter was nervously eyeing his wife as she lay in the hospital bed, gripped by the pangs of labor. She looked so pale with her dark red hair tousled and bathed in sweat. She looked like she would faint any moment but she's still fighting – pushing with all her might just to deliver their firstborn into this world. James' heart constricted at the thought that he caused her this much pain. He held her hand tightly and whispered sweet nothings into her ears, hoping that it could sooth her. He's not usually this melodramatic but they're facing hard times right now with the real possibility that the madman calling himself Voldemort would just go barging inside this Muggle hospital, directly into the delivery room…James immediately halted the morbid thought before it can take root in his consciousness. With trembling hands he wiped the sheen of perspiration on his forehead, once more eyeing his wife and then to the clock hanging on the wall. '11:56' James thought with trepidation. Don't get him wrong; he badly wants to end his wife's misery but if only...if only their child would be born a few minutes later. But his wish seems to be immediately crushed as the Muggle doctor said that the baby was coming out. James smiled sadly, quickly glancing at the clock; it now reads 11:58 PM.
"I want to see him James, I want to see our Harry!" said Lily, as the wave of contractions seem to all but cease. James was about to walk towards where the doctor was, worried that he did not hear his child cry. As he neared, he saw the doctor still guiding his son out of the birth canal. Looking closer, he could see the head of his infant son covered in blood and a layer of whitish substance. His eyes were shut tight and he seems to not be breathing. This caused to James to panic especially when he saw that the umbilical cord was tightly wounded on the infant's neck.
"He's going to be alright Mr. Potter." The doctor said as she guided the infant's torso halfway out. She adjusted the infant's angle so that the cord won't choke him further as there is a possibility that the cord is also wound around the lower extremities as. She immediately cut the umbilical cord as the torso was fully revealed. Unwinding the cord from the infant's neck, the doctor checked the infant's airway for any obstruction.
"James…" Lily whispered. James nervously looked at her. She was breathing deeply, too tired to speak further. When suddenly, he heard the infant loudly gasped for air. James felt like the heavy weight on his chest lift. "He's alright Lils" he said to the now fully awake Lily.
"Time?" the doctor asked as she pulled the infant fully out from the birth canal, the rest of the umbilical cord and placenta coming out with his legs. One of the nurses and James looked up simultaneously. "12:07 AM, August 1, 1981" the nurse said, writing the information down on her clipboard. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Potter your baby boy is the first baby born this month. What would you want to name him ma'am, sir?" the nurse asked but James wasn't paying attention; he was still staring at the clock as if time had stopped.
"James, are we still going to name our baby Harry?" asked Lily in a hoarse voice. This seems to wake James from the trance he was in. "What…Lils?" asked James dumbly. He immediately sobered up as the doctor handed him the baby. He was very careful and gentle as he cradled his firstborn. He smiled fondly as he saw the baby open his eyes.
"He has your eyes." James softly said to Lily as he placed the baby on Lily's chest. Lily's smile was so radiant, eclipsing the tired circles on her eyes. She gently combed with her fingers the thick tuft of black hair on the infant's head. She and James shared a chuckle at the private joke. It was then that Lily looked up at James. "What would we name him? The nurse is actually waiting. They need to put it on our baby's ID bracelet and for his registration of course." James sputtered, totally forgetting about the other people present in the room. James profusely apologized to the young nurse who just smiled indulgently at him. Suddenly James became serious; he eyed Lily as if afraid that she's going to blow all over him. "I want to name him Mirus. I know it sounds quirky and that...but I like how it means. It means extraordinary and I think our baby is quite extraordinary. You can change it of course…" James blabbered. "We can call him Miro as a nickname!" he quickly added as he saw Lily quirking an eyebrow.
"You gave this much thought" deadpanned Lily.
"Of course! It's…" James had a wild look as if he's grasping on straws already.
"James, calm down! I actually like it! How about Mirus Ezekiel? Ezekiel was my dad's second name."
"Yeah…I like it. Mirus Ezekiel Potter." James said the last part to the nurse who immediately wrote it down before leaving the room. Another nurse relieved Lily of her hold on Miro. The couple was hesitant on leaving their newborn son to strangers at first but the doctor explained that Miro needs to be cleaned and dressed while Lily needs to recuperate in the recovery room.
"Why don't you break the news to your gang?" said Lily with a hint of humor, righting James' askew glasses. James' eyes immediately brightened and with a quick kiss to Lily's lips rushed out of the room to see the rest of the Marauders.
.
ST. ANNE'S HOSPITAL, OBSTETRIC DEPT. WAITING ROOM
.
"What's taking them so long? I want to see my godson already!" said Sirius Black in an annoyed tone, messing his long black hair as he paced back and forth in front of his two other friends. Remus Lupin was looking at him, amused while Peter Pettigrew was very antsy, looking at the clock every minute.
"Are you sure that Prongs will make you the baby's godfather? I heard him say last week that Frank would make a good godfather."
"Wha- what? That's not possible!" sputtered Sirius. He looks more sad than outraged at the suggestion. "But I'm…" he said uncertainly until his features changed into one of annoyance. "Wait…you were in the US last week! Moony! I'll really hex you."
"Sirius, we're in a Muggle hospital!" It was Peter who surprisingly warned Sirius as the latter made a move to pull out his wand that he stupidly shoved on his jean back pocket.
"Right Sirius…" said Remus with a laugh. Sirius shoved him to the wall and tried to pull on the werewolf's untrimmed hair when they heard a familiar voice calling from the hallway.
"Prongs! What happened?" asked Sirius as he rushed to the sliding glass door but realized that he doesn't know how to open it. Remus wanted to laugh at him if not for his worry for James and Lily. He helped Sirius out and they both looked out of the hallway to find James still a meter or two away from them.
"It's a boy!"
"We know that! Where's Harry? Can we see him now?" asked Sirius impatiently. "I'm the godfather right?" he added.
"Yes but we named our baby Mirus…"
"What? Why didn't you named him Harry?" shouted Sirius, scandalized. Remus laughed behind his hand at the thought of the toy broomstick that Sirius ordered with the name Harry Potter engraved on the handle.
"Mirus is a special name! And you won't believe this…" said James with wide eyes as he looked at them individually. He went in the waiting room as he saw that Peter was still inside. He only continued speaking when they were all seated.
"He was born seven minutes after twelve. He wasn't born in July 31 but August 1!"
"Duh, we know the days of the month Prongs!" said Sirius indignantly but he suddenly started when he realized what James really said. Remus and Peter seem to have the same realization.
"Does that mean…"
"Miro isn't the one on the prophecy! He wasn't born on July at all!" said James exuberantly that he was almost in tears. Remus and Sirius laughed, Remus with tears in his eyes. They both hugged James. "Pete, join us! We won't try to crush you this time, we promise!" said James as he noticed Peter silently shedding tears, still on his seat. They all laughed, so did Peter who joined the group hug. They then jumped up and down like loons with their arms still around each other. It was the happiest they were since after their Hogwarts years and they rightfully had the reason to rejoice because they had just narrowly escaped from the fate that could've destroyed them all. But behind the shadows, someone was closely watching them before leaving, disappearing further into the shadows with the gentle billowing of black robes.
.
August 1, 1980 (Friday) Early dawn
UNPLOTTABLE LOCATION
.
"What did you say Wormtail?" hollered Lord Voldemort from his throne on a raised platform in the huge domed hall. His many followers filled the hall, all clad in black but right now his attention is solely on the trembling form of one Peter Pettigrew aka Wormtail.
"Mm-My Lord, the Potters' child was born to-twelve minutes after twelve."
"It's actually seven minutes after twelve, said here in the birth announcements" cut in a sharp female voice. Everyone turned to the direction of the voice that could only belong to the sole female member of the Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange. Said woman was lazily browsing a page of the Daily Prophet's morning edition.
"Let me see Bellatrix" said the Dark Lord which Bellatrix gladly followed, mockingly wagging her tongue at Peter as she went. The Dark Lord grabbed the paper non-too gently and read it before throwing it away carelessly.
"It seems that Potter's halfblood spawn is not the one…so that means…" The Dark Lord dragged on, eyeing Peter speculatively. "…that I no longer have use of you!" the statement was said with a sickly yellow light of the Cruciatus Curse. Peter convulsed violently and dropped on the floor, twisting in spasms even after the Dark Lord had ended the spell.
"My Lord…"
The Dark Lord sharply turned to whoever spoke, wand at the ready with another Cruciatus Curse for the fool's insolence but he withheld the spell at the sight of one of his Inner Circle members, Severus Snape.
"I'm sorry for interrupting…"
"Well, you should really be Snivellus!" shouted Bellatrix from the Dark Lord's side. With just a movement of his wand, the Dark Lord flung Bellatrix across the hall, back to the throng of his other followers. Some of the Death Eaters flinched upon hearing a crack as Bellatrix landed face first on the floor. Her husband Rodolphus just watched her fearfully, knowing that if he as much as move a finger, there would be a dire consequence.
"Continue Severus, I want to hear what you have to say." 'And if it is nonsense you know what will happen', seem to be the unspoken command. Snape bowed and went down on his knees, bravely looking at the Dark Lord eye to eye as he spoke.
"My Lord, I know a lot about Potter and his gang…" there was some snickering but just a minute movement of the Dark Lord's wand ceased any noise. "…I know that James has a passing friendship with Frank Longbottom and Lily is Alice's only remaining friend. Frank doesn't have any friends. We can use his friendship with Potter as a foil. Even with the realization that his son is the subject of your special interest…" said Snape, making the mystery of the prophecy sound enticing for those not in the know (only him, Peter and Dark Lord knows). "As a foolish Gryffindor he would continue his service as an Auror in an attempt to thwart your actions before it could even begin." The Dark Lord laughed at this, encouraging his followers to do so with a gesture of his hand. When the laughter subsided, Snape continued. "Potter also being a penultimate Gryffindor would volunteer his services to help as much as he can together with the…Order. But only Potter will be trusted that much because they suspect that a spy is in their midst and it is through Potter that we can use Pettigrew to locate the Longbottoms."
The Dark Lord was silent for a moment, before he looked down to Peter who was now kneeling on the floor.
"I think we do still have uses for the rat…for now."
.
HOGWARTS Late dawn
.
"Why did you help me?" asked Peter in a small voice. He seems to be mimicking the mannerisms of his animagus form; he was hunched over with his hands cupped against each other and his fingers erratically bending and straightening. Snape stopped in the middle of the path leading to Hogwarts. The castle was still a distance away and Snape seems to be in a rush to get there first. Snape turned to Peter, annoyed.
"Don't flatter yourself Pettigrew. You're just one insignificant rat whose death is actually a welcome event. I did not do it for you – I never would."
With a swish of his cloak, Snape turned away from Peter and continued his brisk walk towards the castle. He was almost ten meters away when Peter spoke.
"You…you're the spy that the Dark Lord speaks of. You work for Dumbledore!" shouted Peter. Snape only looked at him sharply before turning back again. Peter was still rooted on the spot, now deep in thought on the implications of Snape being Dumbledore's spy.
"Who were you talking to Pete?" asked Benjy Fenwick who ambled to Peter's side. The man was just as tall as Peter and even with only the waxing moon illuminating them, Peter could fairly see that Fenwick was flushed red.
"I was just…" Peter did not finish as he found the path empty except for him and Fenwick. "Never mind, you're drunk anyway. Let's hurry up; we'll surely be late for the Order meeting."
"Oi! Pettigrew, Fenwick! You're late!" coughed out Gideon Prewitt amidst the laughing of his twin brother Fabian. Peter had to duck as the twins swooped down on their brooms. Fenwick on the other hand was whacked on the head and was now lying unconscious on the ground which seems to only amuse the twins more.
"I swear!" Peter shouted with a rude gesture of his hand. "If I get you two I will put you under the Cruciatus until your brains melt." With that thought in mind, Peter heaved Fenwick up and slung the drunk's arms around his shoulders. He's just too tired to cast any spells right now.
.
UNUSED TRANSFIGURATION CLASSROOM, HOGWARTS
.
"Is everyone already here?" asked Dumbledore as he surveyed the assembled members of the Order of the Phoenix. He just sighed when he realized that a considerable number of people were absent. He can't blame them; it's almost morning and almost everyone here has day jobs to fulfill but he still looked sadly at the empty seats that the Marauders usually occupy. "I'm sorry for the hasty summons but something had came up that could turn the tide of war towards our favor" said Dumbledore, making sure that he makes eye contact to everyone. He reveled at their expectant faces and then continued speaking. "I have acquired a spy from Voldemort's Inner Circle" announced Dumbledore to a very silent congregation but after a moment, chaos ensued. Dumbledore was busy answering everyone's questions that he did not notice a contemplative-looking Peter standing by the doorway.
.
LONGBOTTOM MANOR
.
"Franklin, was that Dumbledore again? Is contacting you every day part of the being "safely hidden" plot of his?" asked Augusta Longbottom acerbically. She followed Frank with a look as he walked away from the small fireplace.
Frank did not answer; he just heavily sat down on an easy chair, tiredly rubbing his face with the palm of his hands. Alice stood up from the queen-sized bed where she was seated, feeding their two-day old son, Neville.
"What's wrong Frank?" asked Alice worriedly.
"Neville's the one." Frank deadpanned. Augusta narrowed her eyes while Alice looked faint, instinctively hugging Neville close to her person.
"What do you mean that Neville's the one? I swear that old coot…"
"Mom, I just firecalled the headmaster to confirm this" said Frank, handing her a copy of the Daily Prophet. Augusta looked troubled after she browsed the page; Alice dared not look – she was looking straight at Frank instead, her brown eyes filled with worry.
"Lily gave birth just after midnight. It means that Neville is the only magical child born at the end of the month. I asked Dumbledore to check if by chance a Muggleborn…" Frank halted; the look of desperation on Alice's eyes was too hard to watch. He looked away, out of the window. "He said that no Muggleborn was born in July…"
"No! It can't be! Neville…"
"Alice calm down… Frank, give Alice some calming draught. Here Alice, I'll hold Neville for you. I won't go out of this room." But Alice was adamant that she keep Neville by her side. Augusta relented and let Frank help Alice back to her bed, Neville still on her arms. When Alice was settled, Augusta calmly whispered to his son.
"We should perform the Fidelius Charm as suggested by Dumbledore, but I will be the Secret Keeper."
"Yes mother."
.
August 4, 1980 (Monday)
.
"We're here!" Sirius shouted loudly as he came out from the fireplace, lugging some balloons and presents. The twenty plus house elves cheered only to quieten when they saw that it was only Sirius. "What, not happy to see me?" asked Sirius but by then the cheering resumed as James came out, covering Lily with a quilt. As they emerged from the fireplace, James threw the quilt in one corner which was immediately picked up by a house elf. Remus came after Lily and James, looking nonplussed.
"Wow, we've got quite a reception here James!" said Lily in good humor. She'd never seen that number of house elves before.
"Well, they just miss my really good looks."
Remus snorted and said, "They miss you all right because you like ordering them around. You're a good slave master." James immediately slammed into Remus and caught the werewolf into a headlock. It was a good thing that Lily did not hear what Remus had said as the elves pestered her to have a look at their young master.
"Master James, Mistress Lillian, we is prepared food in the dining hall for little young Master's coming" said an elderly elf, See, the chief elf of the estate. The other elves bowed and popped out of the foyer as James, Lily and Remus headed to the dining hall.
"Where could Sirius be?" asked Lily which was answered shortly as Sirius peeked from one hallway, a plateful of food in hand.
"Padfoot! You should've waited for me to formally welcome my son into the family and manor before helping yourself!"
"I know that! That's why I'm waiting for you to arrive; took you long enough. I just put food on my plate first."
"Gives that back Mr. Sirius!" shouted a young elf who suddenly popped in sight and had to play tug of war with Sirius for a while before it succeeded and immediately popped out of existence, not even sparing a morsel of food that dropped down on the floor.
"I hope he won't put that back on our food" said Remus with a chuckle.
"Who was that Prongs? It's such a bad-mannered elf! Took away my food!"
Lily snorted at Sirius' words. James just chuckled, hugging Lily to him.
"Don't you remember him? That was Rubby and Slip's elfling, Ripby."
"That was him?" said Sirius with a feral look on his face. James just laughed and prodded Sirius towards the direction of the grand staircase. After a moment, they arrived at the huge dining hall where the elves strung the balloons and placed the gifts by a small table with a moving sign that reads, 'Welcome Home Mirus!' James sighed as he saw the banquet that the elves prepared.
"It would be nice if all our friends could attend" said James sadly as he kissed his sleeping son's forehead. "But let's just be happy that we're still able to come back here." James added solemnly. The deaths of James' parents still fresh in their minds.
"Dumbledore won't be happy once he found out that you returned here James…with Lily and Miro" said Remus.
"It's none of his business! The manor is safe if not for my mother dear betraying her own aunt!" Sirius gritted his teeth as he said that.
Walburga contacted Dorea just before Sirius' seventeenth birthday, saying that she wants to make amends with her son and asked for Dorea's help. Dorea let her come into the manor but Walburga sent Regulus instead. What they didn't know was that it was Regulus' test before he becomes a full-fledged Death Eater. Bellatrix and two of her Rosier cousins were also there. Regulus wasn't able to do anything with Bellatrix immediately sending the Killing Curse to Dorea. Charlus was able to activate the manor's internal defenses, trapping the Death Eaters in one room, only giving them a chance to escape from where they got in – the fireplace but it was Charlus' Gryffindor folly that had done him in. He rushed into the room to fight the intruders, killing the Rosier cousins who were guarding the door but Bellatrix was able to throw him a fatal cutting curse. The manor then began to totally lock down. Bellatrix and Regulus immediately rushed to escape but not before Charlus was able to send a curse that would end both their lines. In Sirius' opinion, Charlus should be made a hero for his one final act that did the world a lot of good.
"My great aunt Liana sent the best warders after my parents died. The manor has very specific wards" said James as he looked around, touching his Lordship ring with his other hand. "I just didn't feel like coming back here…" James smiled as Lily hugged him. "But it was so foolish of me to let my family stay in that cottage. If something happened I can't really forgive myself."
"Hush James, we're here to celebrate; enough with these kinds of thoughts. C'mon, let's do this Pureblood mumbo jumbo Sirius is already drooling."
"Hey!" Sirius interjected with a hurt look on his face which was answered with laughs all around. The simple ceremony started and soon the mood became lighter as they celebrated a wonderful day.
.
Later that day…
.
"I'm sorry that you'd had to endure Dumbledore's wrath Pete. I'll talk to him after I dropped by at work tomorrow" said James as he talked to Peter through the two-way mirror that all the Marauders had.
"I think you did the right thing, James. You will be all safe there and since the manor is unplottable…"
"Thank you Pete. I'm sorry for the strain we put on you by making you the Secret Keeper. It's so unfair what you had to endure just for us when I know too well that there's a better solution. I hope you can forgive me."
"Of course, it's nothing James. You're my friends! I'll do everything…I'm sorry if I cannot stay with you though - in the manor and accompany Moony during his transformation. Dumbledore insists that…"
"I understand Pete. I hope Dumbledore isn't sending you into dangerous missions."
"I'm just alright James. I'll need to cut the connection since I'll be early tomorrow."
"Of course. Have a good night Monsieur Wormtail!" said James with a laugh. Peter just faintly smiled but as he put down the mirror, he can't help the tears that welled from his eyes.
"I'm sorry James! I almost sold you out to that monster! I'm sorry. I'm sorry Frank but you're not James. I'm so happy that it's Neville and not Miro…I would die if that happened! I would have been the most evil man…I'm sorry! But I need to do this for everyone. Dumbledore won't be able to save me… he's far too late." Peter squeezed his eyes tight before he stood up and headed to a corner of his medium-sized room with stacked boxes and a wicker chair. On the wicker chair sat a portrait of an old woman that has a passing resemblance to Peter. "The things we do to dead people." Peter said bitterly. "But don't worry mother, it's only a matter of time before you can finally say that you did have a son named Peter."
.
MASTER'S BEDROOM, POTTER MANOR
.
"Is Peter really okay, James?" asked Lily as she slipped under the red silk sheets. James just nodded and gestured for Lily to scoot nearer to his side in the king-sized bed.
"Did you like the place so far? We didn't have time today but I'll give you a tour tomorrow. Sirius has a lot of funny story to tell though about his embarrassing moments with some of the portraits" said James with a chuckle. Lily frowned, knowing that James couldn't clearly see her without his glasses.
"I don't know James. The cottage was comfortable enough and I'm really used to doing the chores…" James cut her off with a chuckle. "You'll get used to it Lily-flower. Besides, you need to rest…"
"I'm okay James" said Lily, annoyed. She removed James' arms from her waist and looked up at him. "I'm actually quite relaxed now. I did not realize that I was too stressed about our son's birth but now that it came to pass…I'm so relieved."
James did not comment on that and just snuggled closer to his wife. Lily leaned back to James' chest, her hand playing on the buttons of his pajama top but after a while, she spoke once more. "I think I don't want to have another baby James." Lily laid still as she waited for James' response; she expected an explosion but James just sighed and looked down at her. "Me too Lily-flower. I was so scared when I saw that Miro wasn't breathing and you were having a really hard time. It would be so selfish of me…I'm satisfied with our life now, with Miro and especially without the prophecy above our heads. It feels like we can breathe freely – we can have a life and I want to enjoy every moment of it with you and our son. I know it's so selfish of me, Neville after all…What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're rambling" laughed out Lily. "You've really matured James. You're no longer the overgrown toddler that I detested."
"Hey, I resent that!"
"But seriously, I also share that guilt. I really felt happiness well on me the moment the doctor said that Miro was born seven past midnight. That's why I ask you if we'll still name him Harry. It felt like Harry was a different child – the child that was supposed to carry the burden of the prophecy. He's gone..."
"I understand Lily. I think Frank and Alice can also understand why we want to forget everything about that prophecy. I just hope that Dumbledore would be the same" said James with a sigh.
"He's mad right? He had not even considered the manor as an option before."
"For the right reasons love. The Fidelius can't cover the entire estate but it still won't matter; the manor is Unplottable since its construction…"
"What do you mean by specific wards?"
"I'll explain it to you once we have more time. It's rather complicated."
Lily breathed deeply before she spoke once more. "Do you think that the Dark Lord will really leave us alone?"
"Peter said that Dumbledore's spy reported that Voldemort has his sights directed to Frank and his family but it always pays to be vigilant. I want to see Miro have a happy childhood and grow up to be the wizard he's destined to be and when Voldemort would attempt to destroy that, I'm ready to face him any hour of the day."
.
.
A/N: I'm sorry if you got annoyed with the constant scene shift. I really write that way. I'm trying to tame it down now (imagine how it could be like before).