Disclaimer: Harry Potter is made by the great JKR
Method to My Madness
Chapter 1: The Opposite Façade
On July 31, 1980, a baby's cry rang out in the silence of Godric's Hollow. Lily Potter looked down at her daughter in her arms. Verdant green eyes flashed brilliantly in the dark and the baby giggled at her mother. A sound between a sob and laugh escaped Lily's throat.
"James, she is beautiful." The new mother whispered.
"Yes. She is our beautiful daughter." Her husband replied.
As if knowing what her mother was saying, Harriet Potter started making cooing noises and laughed. Seeing her daughter laugh, Lily felt a warm feeling was over her. But as soon as it came, it was replaced by dread. Lily's face suddenly turned serious. This precious baby, her little girl, will have to grow up in a time of war with the possible weight of being the savior. It was not the future Lily had imagined for her child at all, and it was certainly not the future that Lily planned for her child to have.
"James, the prophecy, we have to protect her. She is our baby girl." Lily stated quietly. She knew the future for them was bleak, and a dark premonition hung in the air.
James sighed.
"You know I will never put our child in harm's way Lily. But both you and I know the prophecy. She will be the one to defeat You-Know-Who."
"You mean Voldemort." Lily replied bitterly.
"Yes, him."
"She doesn't have to, didn't the Longbottom family also have a child? That child could be the one! We just have to hide her, no one has to know about her. We could say it was a miscarriage. There are so many ways, James –" Lily was getting increasingly hysterious, her voices getting higher as she talked.
Feeling her mother's distress, Harriet Potter suddenly started crying. Loud wails reverberated through the room. Lily quickly lowered her voice and began calming the baby.
"Shhh, shhh. It's okay little one."
"Lily, I'm obligated to talk to Albus about this. You know that."
Lily stiffened. "You are under no obligations to talk to him James."
"Lily." James' voice contained a hint of exasperation.
"James." Lily replied coldly.
"It's for the greater good."
"Isn't it always? You have been around Albus so long that you are even talking like him. I will not put my child in danger."
"Don't you see Lily? Albus may be able to save our child. He is after all, the most powerful light wizard."
"Really?" Lily asked suspiciously.
"Yes, I'm sure he can help."
"Fine. But I will be the one to tell him and negotiate the terms."
"That's alright." James conceded. "We can head out once you have recovered from the birth. Perhaps in two weeks."
Lily's eyes hardened.
"No. I will go in one week. Two weeks is too long. The future is so unpredictable that no one will know what might happen in two weeks."
-One Week Later-
Soft moonlight shined from the windows into the nursery of Godric Hollows. Lily Potter slowly opened the door and stepped inside, careful not to wake her husband who was sleeping soundly in the next room over. She had her battle robes on, her hair tied back and green eyes full of determination. In her hand was her husband's invisibility cloak. Quietly, she crossed the room to the crib in the center. Baby Harriet Potter was awake, as if she expected her mother. She stared inquisitively at her mother when she arrived at her crib, but was thankfully silent. Lily quickly put on her invisibility robe and reached to carry Harriet. The infant let out a soft gurgle and Lily apparated with a soft pop.
The two appeared at the edge of the forbidden forest. Since Hogwarts had anti-apparition wards, Lily would have to walk through the forbidden forest to get to Hogwarts grounds. Although she was invisible, Lily still drew her wand as she began walking into the forest, Harriet Potter clutched close to her chest. She threaded softly and silently across the dense foliage, taking care to not give her position away to any of the creatures lurking within.
When Lily had estimated that she was about halfway through the forest, she heard the sound of hooves in the distance. It could only mean one thing. Centaurs. And centaurs were not friendly to intruders. Lily quickened her pace as much as she could without making a ruckus. However, the sound grew steadily closer. As Lily ran, suddenly she realized that the sound of hooves stopped. Carefully, she turned around. It was dark behind her, the moon's light blocked by the leaves of the massive trees.
"Lumos" Lily casted.
A soft light emanated from the tip of her wand. There was nothing behind her. Giving a sigh of relief, Lily turned around and ran straight into a hard wall. Her eyes widened as she stared at the centaur in front of her. The centaur looked down at her calmly, Lily could've sworn he saw through the invisibility cloak if not for the fact that it was an invisibility cloak and the centaur was blind.
"Human, I can feel you. You have no need to fear me. I give you my word." The centaur stated.
Magic rippled around the in the air and Lily took of the hood of the invisibility cloak.
"Who are you and what do you want?" She asked tersely.
The centaur smiled.
"I see many things little one. Things that were, things that are, things that will be. It is all written in the stars."
Lily scowled.
"Stop talking in riddles. I have no time for this."
The centaur chucked. "And yet your daughter will become the master of all riddles. I came to give you an advice and a warning. Should you heed them, I can guarantee the safety of your daughter."
Lily eyed him suspiciously.
"Well? Get on with it."
The centaur looked to the moon and began chanting softly.
A child is born as the seventh month dies,
No one knows the truth she must hide.
Her natural state is of great peril,
Until the time of her reveal.
Seek safety in the opposite façade,
The scars will heal but never fade.
Born with the power the Dark Lord knows not,
A prophecy broken a prophecy wrought.
Flee, flee, flee through the times.
To the place where church bells chime.
The centaur looked down at Lily who was wearing a very confused expression on her face.
"That is all I can say to help. The future changes every second, but this should guide the young child onto the right path."
"You can't expect me to believe that." Lily retorted. "All you gave me were more riddles."
The centaur sighed, exasperated.
"Turn your child into a boy." The centaur stated calmly.
Lily looked at him blankly.
"Seek safety in the opposite façade." The centaur repeated. "Her identity as a girl will put her in danger until the time she is to reveal it. That is all I can say. I stand by my earlier words, if you heed my advice and warning, your child will be safe."
"Wait what was your warning? All you gave me was a riddle telling me to turn my precious girl into a boy."
"Not into a boy. Disguise her as one."
"But I don't know how thought. Polyjuice only last for a little while, and I don't think I should feed that to a baby."
"Which is why you won't. I have a specific method to disguise her. Tell me first, have you decided to accept my advice?" The centaur asked.
"Do you guarantee her safety?"
"Yes."
"Alright. I accept. What do I need to do?"
"You will need to bring her to the fairies. I will accompany and guide you to them. They will be able to disguise the child. After all, they will be quite close with her in the near future."
Lily raised an eyebrow at the last comment but the centaur did not explain himself.
"And the warning?" she prompted.
"Tell Dumbledore and everyone to beware the tales that dead men tell. There is a traitor amongst you."
"What do you mean?"
"I cannot say more. I apologize."
Lily accepted his answer and tilted her head.
"Alright then. When do I go meet the fairies?"
"Now."
The centaur began walking away from her. Lily hastily pulled up her hood and began following him. They did not walk far before they stopped. In front of them was a circle of Toadstools, their bright red cap with white spots seemed out of place in the otherwise dark forest.
"A fairy ring." Lily whispered.
"Indeed, human." The centaur confirmed.
"They are dangerous." Lily exclaimed.
The centaur gave her another look that seemed to see through the invisibility cloak.
"No, not when I am here. They will accept us. I have known these good fairies for a long time. We have been expecting you, or more specifically, you child." The centaur gave a pointed look at Harriet. He extended a hand to Lily.
"Come."
Taking a deep breath, Lily took his hand and they both stepped through the ring.
The first thing that Lily saw was the colors. It was bright and vibrant. Curiously, the sun was shining although Lily knew for a fact that it was night time. Blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the light, Lily began to look around. Going across the fairy ring was similar to traveling across an imaginary portal. Behind, her, she could still see the forest, but in front of her was a robust village full of people in colorful attire with wings. What was even more surprising was the several goblins that Lily spotted in the crowd.
The village was circular in structure, the toadstools that had seemed very small at first was now very large, and they formed the circular perimeter around the village. Between each toadstool was a small portal that was very similar to the one Lily traveled across. She could see the forest through them. The center was an elaborate market, with the residential areas built around it. Idly, Lily wondered if she shrank in size, but decided that it didn't really matter as long as her child was safe.
Lily glanced at the baby in her arms. Harriet had fallen asleep sometimes after she entered the forbidden forest, and had been sleeping through Lily's discussion with the centaur. Quickly running her hands through the child's curls, Lily smiled lightly. The centaur besides her began moving and Lily followed.
They walked to a small house at the edge of the town. It was inconspicuous, but Lily could feel it radiating magic. The centaur knocked on the door and two fairy children opened it, their wings flapping quickly in excitement. They had white hair and gold eyes uncommonly seen in children, even for fairies. Upon seeing the centaur, one of the yelled into the room.
"Grandpa! They are here!"
A much older fairy dressed in white appeared. He had a long white beard, and long eyebrows. Wrinkles adorned his face, and a set of golden eyes peered at them.
"Yes, yes, the human and the centaur. I have been expecting you. Do come in."
He indicated for the children to widen the door and the two stepped inside.
"I have been expecting you." The fairy stated.
"I know elder one, I have brought the human as you requested and I have told her the riddle from the stars."
The fairy nodded.
"Then you know what needs to be done." He said to Lily.
Lily nodded.
"Come, follow me."
The fairy began walking into the house. Despite its outside appearance, the house was very spacious inside. The fairy lead them to a large room with a spell written in the middle of the ground. Two the sides, there were bookcases filled with books, and tables filled with herbs and writings. To the corner, a cabinet was tucked away. Another table had potions flask and cauldrons on it, to the side, there was a small workspace. Lily concluded that it was used as a potions lab and a study.
"May I see the child?" The fairy asked.
Lily handed him Harriet and the child woke at the movement. She opened her eyes and looked directly into the fairy's eyes. They held eye contact for a minute before Harriet apparently lost interest and began sleeping again. The fairy looked at her in wonder.
"A very, very, special child indeed. Remarkable" He muttered as he set the child down on the table before using a pair of scissors to cut off a lock of Harriet's hair. Before Lily could make an objection, the fairy spoke.
"A lock of your hair please Lily Potter."
Lily looked at him in surprise. "How did you know my name?"
"Nargles. A lock please."
The fairy handed Lily the scissors. Lily cleanly cut off a lock and gave it to the fairy along with the scissors. He hummed his approval and set the hair aside.
"What are doing with it?" Lily asked.
"I'm making what you came here for Lily Potter." The fairy replied.
"Children!" He bellowed.
The two fairy children quickly flitted into the room.
"Yes Grandpa?" They answered simultaneously.
"Come here." He motioned for the children to come.
When the children were in his vicinity, the old fairy neatly clipped a lock of hair from each of their heads. Once he was done, he looked at the array of hair in front of him and put it all in the cauldron. Then, he grabbed a few flasks from his shelf and began pouring the contents in. After stirring it for some time, he looked at Lily again.
"I need your blood." He stated bluntly. "Think about Harriet and how much you love her when you give it. Just a drop will do."
Lily stepped forward.
"What is this for?" She asked.
"Love." The wizard simply replied.
Lily shrugged and bit her thumb. She thought about the first day that Harriet was born, her happiness for her child, and how she wanted to protect her.
A drop off blood ran from her finger and sizzled in the cauldron. The fairy began to stir it again. Seven times clockwise, seven times counterclockwise. The solution inside became a light pink color. The fairy poured it into a small bottle and gave it to Lily.
"Have her drink this. It will keep her growth as a girl to the minimum until the time it is right to release it. Once the spell is released, your daughter will gain her true form."
"How will I know when to release it?" Lily asked.
The fairy chuckled. "You won't be the one to release it Lily Potter. Your daughter will. When she experience love and the love is returned, the spell will release itself."
Lily accepted the explanation and began waking baby Harriet who was sleeping on the table. Using her wand, Lily transfigured a pacifier and placed it on the bottle. Harriet Potter only stared at the bottle in front of her but refused to drink it. When Lily tried making her dink it, the infant kicked up a fuss.
"Here, my dear child. Drink this. It will protect you." Lily urged. Harriet Potter paused and looked at her mother. Lily smiled, "It's alright Harriet."
Slowly, the baby started drinking in the potion. When the last drop was finished, a pink glow surrounded the baby before fading inwards.
"Harry Potter." Lily whispered. "A name where truth and lies cross."
"We are done here." Said the centaur who had been waiting for the door.
Seeing the old fairy nod, Lily gathered her child up and began walking towards the door. Before she left, she turned to the fairy, a frown marring her face.
"I understand somewhat about my hair and Harriet's. But what about your fairy children's?" She asked.
The old fairy smiled mysteriously. "A protection charm, Lily Potter."
Giving him one last stare, Lily Potter turned and left. The night grows old, and she still had Albus to meet.
A/N: So I know I should probably be writing my other fanfics instead of this one, but plot bunnies. Anyways, this chapter is like a prologue (kinda) I'm planning for this fanfic to be quite long, but we will see how it goes. R&R. Hope you enjoy!