Author's Note: Before we just started, I just wanted to put a disclaimer stating that I do not claim anything in this story — all rights belong the J.K. Rowling, of course. The only exception being Elle, Grace, the Chadwicks, and a few other character I've created and have added to the story.

Secret Relations

Prologue

"Give me the child, Grace!" a high-pitched, daunting voice sang.

Grace Riddle, a young witch, ran quickly through the woods, grasping a bundle of blankets tightly in her arms, her wand clenching in her fist. Wrapped in the blankets she carried was a young child — her daughter, Eleanor Riddle.

"Don't worry, Elle," Grace whispered as she ran. "I won't let them get their hands on you."

However, before she could take another step, a stream of black smoke appeared for her, stopping her in her tracks. Grace came to a halt, clutching the child against her body, and holding her wand out in front of her. The smoke dissipated, and standing there was a slender, wild haired woman with a crazed look in her eye.

"Oh, Gracie," the woman hissed. "I've told you — give me the child!"

"Stay back, Bellatrix!" Grace said, panic rising in her voice. "I'm warning you!"

"She's his child — he'll never stop looking for her!" Bellatrix sneered. "Give her to me, and I'll let you escape, completely unharmed."

"No," Grace said, shaking her head fiercely. "No! I won't let you take her! He'll never have her!"

Bellatrix smiled that same, crazed smile. "Goody — I was hoping you'd want to do this the hard way!"

Bellatrix flourished her wand. "Avada Kedavra!"

Grace quickly spun and dodge the attack, though narrowly. She quickly turned, taking aim at Bellatrix.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Bellatrix cackled as she dodged out of the way of the deadly green flash.

"Oh, the goodie little two shoes used an Unforgivable Curse!" taunted Bellatrix. "How cute! Did you think that you could actually hit me?"

"I will kill you, Bellatrix!" growled Grace. "And I'll hunt You-Know-Who down and kill him myself!"

The smile quickly vanished off Bellatrix's face, and she glared sharply at Grace. "You dare threaten to kill my lord? I don't care if you were the favored follower; I'll have your head! Avada Keda —"

"Stupefy!"

A strong voice rang out behind the pair, startling both Bellatrix and Grace. Then, to Elena's relief, a run bolt of lightning streaked through the dark woods, striking Bellatrix in the chest and sending her flying backwards into the darkness, momentarily out of sight. Grace turned around to find the source of the spell, and she saw Remus Lupin running towards her, breathing heavily.

"Remus!" Grace breathed, running to him. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you were in danger," Lupin breathed. "Sirius — he's been working for You-Know-Who all along. H-he told Him you were a spy, a-and he told Him where Lily and James were hiding."

"Lily and James?" Grace gasped. "Why are you here then? They need you!"

"Because you needed me," Remus said gently. "And Eleanor. . . . I couldn't leave you two to defend yourselves."

"Remus," Grace said with soft smile. "Thank you. . . . But we should hurry, before the spell wears off."

"Right," Remus said with a nod. "Come on, we'll get somewhere safe and contact Dumbledore."

Grace, feeling much safer with Remus by her side, tucked away her wand and held on to Eleanor with both arms, and Remus walked beside her, wand in one hand, and his other hand placed on Elena's back.

"Where are we going to go?" Grace whispered. "He wants her, Remus — she's His daughter after all."

"I know," whispered Remus. "I know. . . . We can go into hiding, Dumbledore can conceal us."

Grace shook her head and held out her left arm, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a black skull and snake on her inner forearm. "It's no use, Remus. . . . I have the Dark Mark. . . . He gave it to me once I was inducted into his inner circle. He can summon me at any time."

"That's no good," muttered Remus.

"That's not all," whispered Grace. "He. . . . He branded Eleanor as well."

Slowly, Grace pulled back the blankets and showed Remus the same mark on the inner forearm of the child.

"He did this to her?" Remus growled, clenching his fist. "I swear, I'll. . . . I'll kill him."

"It's okay, Remus," Grace whispered. "Perhaps Dumbledore knows a way to remove the Mark. . . . If he can, then we can go away together, start our own family."

Remus smiled softly, and the two stopped walking. He caressed the side of her face gently, gazing into her eyes.

"Grace. . . . I can't tell you how much I want that," he whispered. "I promise, I'll raise Eleanor as if she were my own."

"Remus," Grace said softly. "I. . . . I love you —"

"Oh, isn't this just a touching moment?" sneered an unsettlingly familiar voice.

The couple turned and saw Bellatrix standing there, smiling in some manic manner.

"Bellatrix," Grace whispered. "Please — just leave us alone. I'll never show my face again if you just let us escape."

"That's right, little Gracie," Bellatrix sneered. "You'll never show your face again, because I'm going to kill you! Avada Kedavra!"

"Stupefy!" Remus yelled, attempting to counter the curse.

However, he wasn't fast enough, and Remus watched as a blinding green light spurted from Bellatrix's wand, directed towards Grace and Eleanor. Grace, trying to protect her daughter, quickly turned her back, shielding Eleanor from the curse. Remus watched in horror as the curse struck Elena's back, and immediately she fell to the ground, unmarked, but unmistakably dead.

"Gra — . . . Gracie," Remus choked out. He turned towards Bellatrix, his eyes blinded by tears and his mind clouded with nothing but revenge. To his surprise though, Bellatrix laid on the ground, left momentarily paralyzed by Remus's Stupefy.

"You," he growled, clenching his wand in his fist. "I swear, I'm going to kill you!" Remus pulled out his wand, pointing it at Bellatrix. He had never used the Killing Curse before, but he knew that the burning rage and unsurmountable hatred he felt inside would be more than enough to supply the power needed to perform the spell.

"Avada —"

Suddenly, a loud cry from behind him froze Remus in his tracks. He turned his back on the stunned Bellatrix. The source of the crying was coming from the bundle of blankets, laying beside the now lifeless form of Grace. Remus tucked away his wand and picked up the bundle of blankets, moving them ever so slightly to reveal the crying face of Eleanor.

"Shh. . . . Quiet now. . . . It's alright," Remus whispered. "I've got you. . . . I'll protect you now. . . ."

Eleanor quickly fell silent in his arms, and she gazed up at him with her large, grey eyes. Remus couldn't help but smile, his eyes brimming with tears.

"You. . . . You have your mother's eyes," he whispered. He looked at Elena's lifeless form and he knelt down beside her, brushed her hair out of her face. "Grace. . . . I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. . . . But I'll get Eleanor somewhere safe. He'll never get his hands on her."

"I'm afraid," groaned Bellatrix behind him as she slowly recovered from her paralysis, "that you won't get very far. That child is coming with me."

Bellatrix was still partially paralyzed, and she was only able to lift her head and speak; the rest of her body still wasn't functioning.

Remus clenched his jaw, reaching for his wand — he could kill her and be done with it. But he paused when he heard a small giggle come from the baby in his arms. He looked down at her, his heart swelling as he looked down at her. Then Remus looked back to Bellatrix, who was beginning to get more mobility.

"Count yourself lucky, Bellatrix," Remus muttered. "I'll spare you today."

"Give me the child!" Bellatrix screamed, finally gaining control of her arms once more. She reached for her wand, pointing it towards Remus and Eleanor, but before she could even speak a single word, he Apparated in a thick plume of white smoke, disappearing with Eleanor, leaving Bellatrix there, along with Elena's demised form.

Moments later, Remus found Eleanor and himself in Godric's Hollow, standing before Lily and James Potter's cottage, or at least what was left of it. He saw, standing before the remains of the cottage, was Rubeus Hagrid. The large man was standing beside a very familiar motorbike, and in his arms was a bundle of blankets, very similar to the one in Remus's arms. Hagrid was just beginning to get on the motorbike when Remus called out to him.

"Hagrid!" Remus shouted. "Hagrid!"

Hagrid jumped, turning in Remus's direction, and Remus watched as Hagrid's face shaped into a look of surprise when his eyes fell on Remus.

"Blimey! Remus, what are yeh doin' here?" Hagrid called.

Remus rushed towards him. "I came here to check on Lily, James, and Harry. I thought they might be —"

He paused when he caught glimpse of what was inside the bundle of blankets Hagrid so desperately clung to; inside was Harry Potter, the child of Lily and James Potter, and on his forehead was a bloody cut in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"That's. . . . That's Harry," Remus whispered. He looked up at Hagrid, his eyes wide and brimming with tears. "But, if you have Harry, that means. . . . No!"

Hagrid frowned, nodding solemnly. "I'm afraid so. . . . You-Know-Who was here. Killed Lily an' James. Tried to kill poor Harry here, see that?" He motioned to the cut on the young Harry's face with a single, oversized finger.

Remus stood there, shocked — first Grace, and now Lily and James. . . .

Hagrid watched Remus with a concerned expression, but then noticed the bundle of blankets he was holding in his arms.

"What 'ave you got there?" Hagrid said curiously.

Remus, trying his best to keep his composure, cleared his throat, his voice cracking some. "This. . . . Erm. . . . This is Grace's daughter, Eleanor."

Hagrid's eyes widened. "Gracie's daughter? But why do you 'ave her? Unless. . . ."

Hagrid's sentence trailed and Remus slowly nodded his head, looking down at Eleanor, who stared up at him with her beautiful grey eyes.

"I went to check on them, and I found Gracie and Eleanor being hunted by Bellatrix Lestrange. I tried to protect Grace, but in the end, Bellatrix was too fast for me. . . . She. . . . She killed her, right before my very eyes. . . . She was after Eleanor, so I took her and came to the only place I could think of," Remus said.

"Oh, Remus, I'm. . . . I'm sorry," Hagrid muttered. "I know how much yeh cared for her. . . ."

Remus said nothing, instead just nodding stiffly. He opened his mouth to say something, but paused when he took a good look at the motorbike Hagrid had. Once he actually looked closely at it, he instantly recognized it.

"Is that Sirius's bike?" Remus said through gritted teeth — Sirius was responsible for this. He's the reason Lily and James were dead. He's the reason he lost Gracie.

"Sure is; he left not even two minutes before you showed up," said Hagrid. "Told me I could use his bike to bring Harry and Eleanor to Dumbledore."

"Eleanor?" Remus echoed. "What does Dumbledore want with her?"

"Not sure," said Hagrid. "But it seems as though he knew Harry and Eleanor were in trouble."

Remus held Eleanor close to him. "But I. . . . I want to look after her. She's my goddaughter after all."

Hagrid frowned. "Look, Remus, I know yer hurtin', but Dumbledore wants to see her. Who knows? Maybe he plans on sendin' her to yeh. He knows how much yeh care about Gracie an' Eleanor."

Remus smiled grimly and nodded, but he knew that there was no chance of that happening; how could a werewolf care for a child? And who in their right mind would willing give a child to one? He looked to Hagrid, and then down to Eleanor, who smiled brightly up at her godfather.

"You've got your mother's eyes," he whispered to her.

Eleanor smiled and said, in the softest voice, "Mama?"

Remus bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears as his eyes welled up. However, the tears spilled over, and a few streaked down his face.

"Yes, darling, mama. . . . You've got your mother's eyes," he whispered. He bent his head down and kissed Eleanor's forehead ever so gently. "You're such a special little girl, Eleanor. . . . Such a special little girl. . . . I only wish I could be the one to see you grow up."

Then Remus straightened up and looked to Hagrid, who had just tucked Harry into the side car of the motorbike. He then held out Eleanor to him, and Hagrid gently took her and placed her beside Harry.

"I best get goin', suppose Dumbledore will be waitin' for me," said Hagrid. "Where are you goin'?"

Remus sighed, shaking his head — no doubt Sirius would be long gone. But still. . . .

"I'm going to find Sirius," he muttered to himself before Apparating away, leaving Eleanor and Harry in the care of Hagrid, who, with a great roar from his bike, took off into the air, disappearing into the night sky.

A few hours and one long motorbike ride later, Hagrid came riding into Little Whinging, Surrey. He came to a stop right in front of number four, Privet Drive, where he was met by Professor McGonagall, and none other than Albus Dumbledore himself. Hagrid parked the bike and took the two babies in his vast, muscular arms.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got 'em, sir."

"No problems, were there?"

"No, sir — house was almost destroyed when I went to get Harry, but I got them out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around."

"And Eleanor?"

"Remus Lupin brought her, actually," said Hagrid. "Poor bloke. . . . Grace was apparently killed by Bellatrix. Remus had been there to protect her, but he said he wasn't a match for her. She killed Gracie and tried to take Eleanor, but Remus took her and Apparated to Godric's Hollow to check on Lily and James, an' that's when we ran into each other."

"Grace too?" said Professor McGonagall. "The poor girl. . . . She was such a great witch. . . . And Eleanor is so young. . . . Weren't she and Harry born on the same day?"

"Yes, yes. . . . They were," Dumbledore muttered.

"Is it true, Albus? What that say about the girl?" McGonagall said, peering at Eleanor. "What they say about her father?"

"I'm afraid so," said Dumbledore.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundles of blankets. Inside, just visible, they could see both babies, fast asleep. They saw on Harry, under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead, a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.

"Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever?"

"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."

Then they looked over Eleanor, smiling softly. But almost instantly, Professor McGonagall gasped.

"It can't be," she said incredulously, pointing at her left forearm. "That's the Dark Mark."

Dumbledore frowned. "Yes. . . . I was afraid of that. . . ."

"I thought the other followers lost their marks once he was defeated," McGonagall whispered. "Isn't that what Snape said?"

"Yes," Dumbledore muttered. "But she is connected to Him after all. . . . Perhaps —"

"Don't," McGonagall said quickly. "Please don't say it."

Dumbledore nodded silently, not finishing his thought. "Yes, well. . . ."

He pulled out his wand, pressed the tip of his wand to the skull and muttered a few words. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid all watched as the Mark slowly faded, leaving the child's arm barren.

"You'll remove the girl's mark, but leave the boy his scar?" McGonagall questioned.

"Like I said, scars can be useful," said Dumbledore. "But that Mark. . . . Well, the poor girl has gone through enough, and she'll have a hard enough time growing up. . . . The Mark would only make things worse."

Suddenly, much to McGonagall and Hagrid's surprise, the front door of number six, Privet Drive, opened, and a young couple stepped out into their front yard.

"Ah, Henry, Rose, I see you've already arrived," Dumbledore said with a bemused sort of smile. "There were no problems moving in I presume?"

"None at all," said Henry, a young man, no older than twenty-five, with well-kept chestnut brown hair and a beard to match. "Rose used a memory charm, convinced the Muggles living here that they wanted to move to Germany."

Rose, who appeared to be a year or two younger than Henry, smiled softly. "We have a few more adjustments to make, but otherwise, it should be a seamless transition."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Henry and Rose?" McGonagall said, obviously confused — they had both been students of her's a few years prior. "What are you doing here?"

"They're going to be taking care of Eleanor," said Dumbledore. "However, I thought it best that Harry and Eleanor be raised at least knowing each other."

"You really think it wise to have them so close to one another, Dumbledore?" McGonagall said in surprise. "She is His daughter after all."

"I'm very much aware of that, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore. "However, these two are going to have a very hard time growing up."

"They'll be famous — the boy's a legend! I wouldn't be surprised if today was know as Harry Potter Day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name! And the girl. . . . Well, everyone is already talking about who her father is. . . ."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any child's head. Famous before they can even walk and talk! Famous for something they won't even remember, or can't even control! Can't you see how much better off they'll be, growing up away from all that until they're ready to take it?"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then nodded.

"If I may," Henry said softly. "Professor McGonagall, Rose and I. . . . We didn't know Grace well, but we will take great care of Eleanor, I promise. A-and this way, we can also help keep an eye on Harry as he grows up."

McGonagall said nothing, and Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure you will."

Then, he took Eleanor from Hagrid, causing the child to stir some in her sleep. Dumbledore pulled back the blanket some and smiled down at her as she settled once again.

"You're going to have a hard life, Eleanor," the great wizard muttered. "You are connected to the Dark Lord in many ways, and one day, you allegiance will be tested. I just hope you have the power to protect yourself and to stay true to who you are."

And with that, he carefully handed Eleanor over to Rose, who gratefully took the child in her arms. Behind Dumbledore, Hagrid gave a great howl.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an' James dead — an' lil' Gracie too — an' now Harry and Eleanor, without their paren's —"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore took Harry from him.

"Henry, Rose, you two best go inside," said Dumbledore. "I'll leave Harry with the Dursleys."

Henry and Rose nodded and began heading inside.

"I'll be in touch," Dumbledore called after them, watching them hurry inside with Eleanor.

"Eleanor. . . . You have no idea the hardships that await you," Dumbledore whispered as the door closed behind them.

"Dumbledore," McGonagall said quietly. "The boy."

"Right," Dumbledore said, nodding his head stiffly. "Before the Muggles all wake up. . . ."

Inside number six Privet Drive, Henry and Rose laid Eleanor down in her crib. Her small hands were balled up, holding on to her blanket tightly, and she slept on, not knowing she was special, not knowing she was famous. She had no idea that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were whispering to each other in hushed voices about how she was now the only remaining piece of You-Know-Who.