Hello Everybody! This is my first fanfic, but I've been working on this story for several years. Please review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is helpful too! This is the first time I'm writing it all down, so please point out any writing errors that need to be fixed. And please let me know if I screw up any book details. I tend to have a selective memory and may glance over points in the books that contradict my story.
This is the story in between the lines of the Harry Potter books. We follow Heather Potter, Harry's older sister, from that fateful night in late October through the end of Deathly Hallows and beyond to when Heather and Harry's kids are grown up. Everything that happens in the 7 books will occur alongside this story. Forgive me if I don't get all the lines right as I don't have any of the books with me. I've had to just tweak James and Lily's age by a few years to make it realistic for Harry to have an older sister. And that obviously makes Sirius, Remus, Severus, and Peter older too.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or storyline. J.K. is the genius behind that. I did come up with the character of Heather Potter as well as some of the Weasley kids' kids and some plot points. Bottom line: If it's from the books, I didn't come up with it!
Chapter 1: The Sorrow of Parting
As James Potter looked out the window of his home in Godric Hollow he felt a chill down his spine. It was dark out even for the late hour, but he had been feeling a sense of foreboding for months. This night would pass without consequence and tomorrow would bring a nice break in the monotony of daily life trapped in this house. Tomorrow was November 1st, his daughter's birthday. As if to remind him, a shrill 3-year-old voice called him from his thoughts.
"Daddy! I wanna go outside! Susan gets to go Trick-or-Treating. I wanna go?"
"You know you can't go outside Heather," sighed James as he turned from the window.
"Not fair!" Heather yelled before stomping off.
James wanted nothing more than to go outside and play with his children, but the spell keeping their house hidden from the world didn't continue onto the lawn. They had been cooped up here in this house for over a year. As soon as his son Harry had been born James and his wife Lily had taken their two children and disappeared from the world. His friend Peter "Wormtail" Petigrew stayed with them, as he was their Secret Keeper. Peter had been an integral part to the magic that kept their family hidden from Lord Voldemort. James wished that one of his other friends had taken on Peter's role. He had grown bored of Peter's presence after only a month. Sirius would have been a blast and made the time fly by. And even Remus' furry little problem would be a welcome challenge compared to this absolute boredom.
James still didn't understand why Voldemort would bother killing his young son, but the Potters weren't taking any chances. Harry's safety was the most important thing to Lily and him. If only Heather understood the real reasons she had to stay inside. If only she knew how Voldemort had tortured her grandparents, James' parents, to death for information about Harry's whereabouts. James tried not to think about it.
"A penny for your thoughts," said a smooth voice from the doorway to the kitchen.
"I was just thinking about my family," James answered, trying to mask his pain. But Lily knew him too well.
"It's harder around the holidays when we would normally be spending time with them."
"Yeah, it is," admitted James.
"I have an idea about what might cheer you up. Why don't we send Wormtail out to fetch Moony and Padfoot," Lily suggested. At the mention of his two best friends' nicknames James perked up.
"But we'd need to get an auror to go with him, and it's a holiday and definitely not an emergency."
"Peter doesn't need any babysitters," said Lily, "besides Remus and Sirius are sure to be together for the holiday. Its only an Apparation there and then Remus and Sirius will make sure he doesn't get lost on the way back."
"And they can stay over to help us celebrate Heather's birthday tomorrow," suggested James.
"Now you're thin—" but she was interrupted by a piercing cry from the next room, "Harry? Are you alright baby?" Lily and James ran into the drawing room to see Peter picking up the screaming baby, trying to comfort him.
"I think he's okay. Heather threw a block at his head, but I don't think it did any damage," explained Peter.
"Heather Jane Potter, did you throw a block at your brother's head?" demanded James, as Lily went to get Harry from Peter.
"He's fine," said Lily, relieved, "Well Heather, your father asked you a question."
"He took my doll," explained Heather.
"It doesn't matter what he did, we do not throw blocks at our brother. Now go to your room and think about what you've done," demanded James. Harry stopped crying as Heather stomped up the stairs to her room. James turned to Peter, but Lily beat him to it.
"Wormtail, how would you like to get the gang all back together tonight?" she asked him.
"Well I'd love to see someone that doesn't still need toilet trained," admitted Peter. This made James laugh.
"We were thinking that you could just Apparate over and get Remus and Sirius for a nice holiday together."
"I'd love to Lily. When do the aurors arrive?" asked Peter.
"They don't. C'mon Wormtail you don't need babysitters just to go get Moony and Padfoot," said James. Wormtail looked at them and after realizing that they were serious he stood up to get his cloak.
"You are completely right. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I'll be back in a jiffy," he said as he opened the front door.
"Alright, just be careful," called Lily. Wormtail pulled out his wand nodded that he had heard her and vanished on the spot a little ways down the garden path leading to the house. They turned back inside and James shut the door behind them.
"Well Harry, your Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius are coming over. Isn't that just so exciting?" cooed James as he played with Harry's foot and Lily swayed back and forth. Harry smiled as his parents took him back to his favorite toys in the drawing room.
These would be the last happy moments for the three of them. As they sat on the floor enjoying each other's company, Peter was running down underground tunnels, passing through what appeared to be solid walls in search of the one man who could ruin their happiness.
As he approached the final doors to Lord Voldemort's domain Wormtail was surrounded by death eaters emerging from the shadows. His beady eyes shifted nervously around the group in search of a friendly face. Seeing none, he held up his left arm to show them the dark mark branded there.
"I'm here to see the Dark Lord," he said as he mustered up the courage to do what he was about to do, "I can finally reveal the Potter's location."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" asked a man to his right.
"Or if its really him for that matter," added a woman standing near Wormtail. He could barely make out her face in the dim light, but he knew her voice immediately. Bellatrix Lestrange stepped even closer to him, peering into his eyes as if to search for a lie. Wormtail swallowed hard and went on.
"If I can give the Dark Lord the information he wants most and you stop me, how do you think he will react?" He knew that time was of the essence. If James and Lily noticed that how long he had been gone, they would move and Wormtail would certainly be killed.
"He's right, unfortunately," said the first man, "Let's take the traitor to the Dark Lord." As the man stepped forward to usher Wormtail into the room, Wormtail could make out his features. Malciber had gone to school with Voldemort, but despite this, the Dark Lord never trusted him with important tasks. If Malciber could deliver the Potter's whereabouts the Dark Lord would trust him at last. He led the way into the next room.
The Dark Lord sat in the center of the room in a great chair with half a dozen snakes slithering around his body. Wormtail shuddered at the sight. Voldemort spoke to them in a strange language and they seemed to understand him. Seeing the group approaching he dismissed the snakes and stood up to his full height. Malciber and Bellatrix bowed low, and seeing them Wormtail clumsily did the same.
"Wormtail, this had better be important. What information do you have to share with your master?" Voldemort's voice was so snake-like, Wormtail almost didn't realize he was being asked a question.
"Yes, my Lord. I have come to tell you the Potter's location," said Wormtail as he bowed low.
"You are their Secret Keeper?" asked Voldemort.
"Yes. They wanted to use Sirius, but switched it to me in the end," answered Wormtail nervously. They had to hurry. Didn't anyone understand that?
"Malciber, Bella! Leave my presence!" ordered Voldemort, "Our friend here wants to tell me where I can find the boy who is supposedly greater than me! I will kill him and show the world that no one is greater than Lord Voldemort!"
As Malciber and Bellatrix left the chamber, Severus Snape appeared, walking towards the door. It slammed behind them and Malciber pushed Snape away from it.
"Where do you think you're going, Snape?" demanded Malciber bitterly. Malciber thought very little of these new death eaters. They were barely out of school and already found more favor with the Dark Lord than he did.
"I've come to speak with the Dark Lord," answered Snape in a tone that implied Snape knew something that Malciber had not been entrusted with. Today, Malciber wasn't going to let anyone ruin his moment.
"The Dark Lord is busy at the moment Snape. I've just served him the Potter's Secret Keeper on a silver platter," said Malciber gloatingly.
"What makes you think he will talk?" asked Snape incredulously. He knew Sirius Black would never betray the Potters.
"The Dark Lord doesn't need people to talk in order to get information out of them," Malciber reminded him, "Not that it matters, but he's definitely willing to talk. He came here on his own." Snape couldn't believe that Black would do something like that, but before he had time to think about his possible motives Voldemort came out of his chamber.
"Stay where you are for now!" he called over his shoulder to Wormtail. Snape couldn't see in the chamber, but he was too preoccupied to worry about who had betrayed the Potters. Lily was his friend, and Snape even had a crush on her. He had asked Voldemort to spare her life as soon as he discovered that Voldemort was after the baby boy. Now, Snape ran after the Dark Lord as he made his way outside intent upon killing.
The Dark Lord was too busy to notice Snape following him, but Malciber did. He wasn't about to let a rookie like Snape take any credit for this.
Lily was laughing hard as James helped Harry guide his toy broom all around the room. She could never get over how much Harry looked like James. Their hair even stuck out at the same weird angles. Harry didn't have James' eyes though; those eyes could pierce her with all the intensity in them. Harry had her eyes as everyone who had ever seen the baby had pointed out. The green orbs were so similar to her own, right down to the very last fleck of copper. James, breathless, looked at her from his place on the ground where he and Harry had finally landed.
"We should probably get Heather now," he panted, "She's been up there long enough to think about what she did."
"You're right," agreed Lily, "I'll go get…" Lily stopped short. Peter should have been back before Heather had finished her time out. What if something had happened to him?
"You're not moving," stated James.
"Where's Peter?" asked Lily, trying to control her panic. James jumped up surveying the room and peering out the window for any sign of Wormtail returning.
"He can't have been taken?" asked James now catching his wife's panic. "We should have called the aurors." James didn't know what to do. The safety of his family was in jeopardy. If they stayed there for much longer, Voldemort could come bursting through the door to kill them all. Maybe Wormtail had just been sidetracked. Remus and Sirius would insist that Peter make the most of his one night out of the baby house. They might just be worried about nothing. Before they could think about what to do an alarm sounded in the kitchen. It was designed to detect any wizard stepping foot on their property. The only wizards capable of stepping foot on the Potter's property were people that Wormtail gave their location to. Knowing that Peter wouldn't have been that easy to crack and give away their secret, James breathed a sigh of relief.
"That must be them now," assured James looking out the window. And that's when he saw the cloaked man making his way down the garden path with quick and deliberate strides.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" yelled James. Lily picked up Harry and ran up the stairs looking behind her as she reached the top. James stood in front of the door; wand raised high, waiting for Voldemort. Lily ran to Harry's room searching frantically for her wand after placing Harry in his crib. She realized too late that her wand was still in the kitchen from cleaning up after dinner. There was a crash and a shout from below. Voldemort had blasted his way into the house. Lily left Harry's room heading for the stairs to the kitchen. She ran into Heather in the hallway. The sound of the crash had pulled her out of her room.
"Mum, I'm sorry I hit Harry," Heather apologized. Lily gazed at her little girl with tears in her eyes. She had forgotten the incident earlier. How trivial it seemed right now, but she knew her daughter needed to hear that everything was going to be all right.
"It's alright sweetheart," Lily soothed, patting Heather's head. "I need you to go back in your room and stay there. Don't make any noise. Okay?" Heather looked up at her, confused. Just then came the worst sound Lily could have ever imagined. She heard Voldemort cast theAvada Kedavra curse and heard a body drop to the floor. Her husband was dead.
"NOW!" yelled Lily. Heather ran into her room closing the door behind her as Lily ran to Harry who was now crying. She tried to soothe him while letting the tears fall freely from her own eyes. Voldemort made his way up the stairs and threw open the nursery door.
"Now to finish this!" he exclaimed victoriously.
Severus had followed the Dark Lord from his hiding place to Godric Hollow. He could see it because a year ago Lily had asked him over for lunch. In order to see the house he had read a slip of paper with the address on it written by Black, their Secret Keeper. He went to follow Voldemort into the house when Malciber emerged from the shadows and hexed him.
"I don't think so Snape!" said Malciber with his wand still pointed at Snape. "You are not going to get any credit for 'helping' the Dark Lord. I delivered the Secret Keeper to him and I alone will get the credit." As he was talking Snape reached for his wand and quickly cursed Malciber before he could react. They dueled for several minutes until Snape saw a flash of green come from the house. Still worried about Lily's safety and Heather's as well, Snape knocked Malciber unconscious with another hex and ran towards the house.
"No!" yelled Lily, "Not Harry! Please! Take me, not Harry. Please not Harry!" She stood in front of his crib, guarding him with her body.
"Stand aside you silly girl," demanded Voldemort.
"Please! No, not Harry! Have mercy!" pleaded Lily
"Avada Kedavra," yelled Voldemort, and with a flash of green light Lily was dead. Voldemort's high, cruel laugh persisted as he moved closer to the crib to peer at the little baby. The little baby who has power I do not? Voldemort scoffed at the idea. He was the most powerful wizard in the world, except for maybe Dumbledore. Dumbledore would die soon, but first Voldemort had to kill this boy to show the world that no one could have the power to vanquish Lord Voldemort.
"Avada Kedavra!"
There was a flash of green light and the house began to buckle. Snape was at the top of the stairs having passed over James body. He had heard Lily pleading with the Dark Lord and the curse that had ended her life. Snape almost fell down the stairs when the house started moving, but somehow managed to make it to the hallway. He heard screaming coming from the opened nursery. Glancing inside made him feel sick. Lily was lying on the floor dead next to the crib. Harry was standing in his crib screaming for his parents, but Voldemort's body was nowhere to be found. Snape stared at the boy with loathing. He was the reason Lily was now dead.
"What's wrong with Harry and the house?" asked a quiet voice behind Snape. He turned around to see Heather staring at him, unaware that her parents were dead. As he gazed at the little girl he saw how much she looked like Lily. They had the same reddish locks and freckles.
"Heather, do you remember me? I'm your Mum's friend Severus," asked Snape. The girl nodded. "Well, we need to go get Dumbledore. Will you come with me?"
"What about Harry and Mum and Dad?" Heather asked.
"It's okay with them if you come with me," answered Snape.
"Okay." Snape stepped into the hallway and shut the door to the nursery. He went over to Heather and grabbed her hand. They walked all the way down the hallway together before Snape remembered James' body lying at the bottom of the stairs below. Using his wand, Snape moved James to the drawing room out of Heather's sight. They made their way out to the street where Snape could Apparate them to Hogsmeade and from there they would go to Hogwarts to alert Dumbledore of that night's tragic events.
A/N: I hope you liked it. I plan on posting once a week, so check back. Please Review!
