AN: I will start by saying that I own nothing and make nothing from the creation of this story. Unless the character is of my own creation they and cannon background information belong to JK Rowling and whoever she's extended rights to.
The main plot of this story has the characters going into their last year of school, the majority of them 17 by this point and able to do magic outside of school provided they follow the rules. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter One: The Meeting
It was turning out to be a rather odd day for Lily, James, Remus and Sirius. They were sat outside under a tree in her front lawn. Lily had been pulled into James' lap at some point. What was odd about this day was the weather. It had seemed fine at one point, but now, as it grew from morning towards afternoon it appeared to be growing gloomy. What was causing the gloom had not been known until Remus had started reacting to it, confiding in them about his sensitivity to magic in certain quantities. This knowledge had unnerved them since they couldn't exactly defend themselves if they were attacked, being in a muggle neighborhood. The gloom hit a crescendo suddenly before tapering off to a steady, low rhythm. They had begun to prepare themselves for an attack when Lily saw something that had her gasping, hand flying to her mouth as her eyes widened in fright. Walking on unsteady legs carrying a bundle was an oddly looking Severus Snape. The closer he got, the more visible he became, the more worried she became for her old friend. Something was not right and it appeared obvious even to three of the people who routinely pranked the poor boy.
Severus had never had a worse holiday as this one. He was sure of that as his father got steadily drunker. The drunker he got the more abusive he became. Today he hit a button in Severus that made him so angry he nearly pulled his wand on the man. The only thing to stop him was the bleeding and dying form on his mother, his pregnant mother who was in labor and bleeding out. That is what led him to where he was now, walking, stumbling his way to Lily's in hope that she would at the least help the bundle in his arms. He had been forced, with help from his mothers last few moments, to cut his baby sister from his mother. He had wrapped her in his cleanest, warmest sweater before spelling his trunk full of his things along with the things his mother had been able to purchase for his sister. It wasn't much, but if he could get help from Lily he might be able to get enough to take care of her till he could try to contact his maternal grandparents. The trunk shrunk and in his pocket he had set out for Lily's. What he had been neglecting since his father had killed his mother was what his father had done to him before his mother had tried to intervene yet again. As he made it to her drive way his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, his hold on his sister tightening as gently as he dared as he twisted his body so as he fell she wouldn't be hurt.
The four teens shot up and over to their fellow classmate as he collapsed to his knees and then his side. They didn't know what was going on, but the closer they got it became apparent to the guys that Lily has some idea as to what was going on. She kneeled beside the downed boy, her voice soft as she spoke to him. "Severus, what happened? Are you OK? Is your mother OK? What are you holding?..." He voice trailed off with the last two questions. Silence rung between the late teens, broken only by the quiet whimpering from the bundle in his arms.
"Lily... He, he killed her. She tried to stop him hurting me and he attacked her. Merlin, what he did to her... She, she had me cut out my sister from her. Her dy... dying words were to seek out her parents and have them claim me and my sister. For me to raise her as my own... Her last breath was used to tell me the name she had chosen for the little one..." He looked down at the bundle in his arms, his voice whispery. "Aislinn Serena Prince." His eyes moved to Lily, his voice more shaky now than before. "Lily, please help my little Asp, I don't care if you don't want to help me. She's innocent... Please..." His voice trailed off as his eyes closed and his body went limp, save for the hold he had on the precious bundle resting on his chest.
Lily called his name nervously, frightened by his sudden stillness. She looked back at the others when he didn't wake, only to find James being shielded by the other two as he sent a patronus to his parents with a single, frightened sounded message from him. "Bring Poppy now. Hurry, not much time." All they could do now as they waited for help was to make Severus more comfortable, preferably getting both him and Aislinn inside the house where they might be able to give magical assistance. They had just straightened Severus out, Lily trying to calm Aislinn when Charlus, Dorea, and Poppy apparated onto the street, Albus not far behind. It looked, from the addition, that they had been at a meeting when the message got to them. Lily could only be thankful when Poppy's shock wore off quickly and she set to work helping Severus inside so she could work on him. She was followed by Lily and Dorea while the boys stayed to explain what had happened. Lily would later be glad that she had been inside when the older men had been told, as the verbal explosion would have frightened and deafened both her and the baby.