Summary: The Potter's, in a fit of paranoid brilliance decide to move to America upon learning that Voldemort is after them. But will they be safe from destiny? And how does Nostradamus fit into all of this? Read on to find out.
A/N: Please Review, it's my first attempt, and I need all the constructive criticism I can get. Please no flames, I'll ignore them anyway, but I'd rather not waste my time sorting them from the genuine reviews.
Disclaimer: I am an overweight American Man living with his parents. If the sounds like an accurate description of J. K. Rowling to you, send me your name and address and I'll send over some nice men in white suits to keep you company.
Chapter 1: Prophesies and Plans.
July 20, 1980
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and was a stunning sight in summer. It was a massive castle, the core of which traced its roots to the so-called Dark Ages, though no one had been able to find these ancient chambers in almost three centuries. It was believed that the new castle had transferred the original to an extra-planar realm to preserve them for some reason or another. The new castle had been built early in the Restoration Period. It would have been an incredible tourist trap, were it not for the fact that no one outside of a secret society--bound not by oath, creed, bloodlines, or nationality, but by the ability to control magic--knew of it's existence.
If one were to glance through the window of the shortest of the towers on this day, one would see a tall man, pacing a cluttered office. The man was tall, skinny, and dressed in what appeared to be a purple bathrobe. His beard was long enough to tuck into the belt of said robe, and his nose appeared to have been broken sometime in the distant past. The office was filled with fantastic things, most of them inorganic objects, but over by the door a large, majestic, flame-colored bird the size of a swan sat on a perch.
The man was named Albus Dumbledore, and he was worried. Earlier that month, he had witnessed a prophecy, one with very troubling implications. It wasn't the prophecy itself that had the troubling implications. Rather, it was the person who had been caught eavesdropping in the middle of it: Severus Snape, suspected Death Eater, and, as it turned out, nemesis of James Potter, the father of one of the possible subjects of the prophecy.
It had taken two weeks to narrow down the list of possible subjects, but at this point it was down to three families, but that could change as the child had to be born at the end of July, not the beginning of August. He hoped that only one of the three would be born in July, thereby allowing him to focus all of his efforts on just one child.
Two days ago he had spoken with all three sets of parents-to-be, with two of them accepting his plan to hide out in houses protected by the Fidelius Charm. The Potters, however, had not. Lily asked for two days to come up with an alternate plan, after which they would return and present it to him. It would then be up to Dumbledore to decide which plan was the better one.
It had been two days and James and Lily would be arriving any minute now. Albus ceased his pacing of his study when the portrait next to his door announced that the gargoyle had admitted James and Lily. When he saw the Potters approach the door charmed to allow the Headmaster, and only the Headmaster, to see through it, he waited until James was just about to knock, and said, "Come in."
Suppressing a chuckle at the unnerved glance that passed between the two as they opened the door, he motioned for them to sit in a pair of comfortable chairs in front of his desk.
"Lily, James, let us skip the formalities and get straight to business," Dumbledore said as soon as they were seated. "What plans have you managed to come up with?"
Lily replied, in a slightly unsure voice, "We're going to move to America, purchase several properties in populous cities, and several more in rural areas. Many, but not all will be under the Fidelius. We will be taking Peter and Sirius with us, and they will each be Secret Keepers for several properties, to be chosen randomly, as will the property we choose to live at. We will inform you of our final decision as to where we will live, along with who the Secret Keeper is for that Property.
Albus thought for a moment. This was a brilliant plan. He had a feeling that there was more, but that same feeling told him that they wanted to keep this secret.
"Alright, I'll help you, on two conditions. First, your son, and any further children you have, attend Hogwarts."
"That was already our plan. We want them to learn from the best. Right, Lily?" replied James immediately. Lily just shrugged and looked uncomfortable.
The Headmaster looked relieved upon hearing what James's reply, though he seemed to ignore Lily's response, if indeed he noticed it at all. "Second, I would like you to satisfy my curiosity by telling me which one of your brilliant minds came up with the plan."
Lily spoke up, "I came up with the idea of moving to America, but the numerous houses were James's idea." She leaned across the table and whispered to the headmaster, "He's been spending way to much time with Mad Eye."
"Now, how will you be getting to America? Since you cannot use the Floo Network or portkeys at such an advanced stage of pregnancy without hurting the baby, and muggle airlines do not allow women over eight months pregnant to fly, I assume you are going to wait until after the boy is born, am I correct?"
"No, I've recently developed a potion that can delay childbirth by several hours, but does not work once labor begins, and builds up to toxic levels after only a few doses. That combined with a glamour charm, and a few well cast Notice-me-nots, should work to get us to the States." Lily responded
"Excellent."
Over the next three days, James, Sirius, Peter and Dumbledore bought nearly fifty houses, warding all of them, and putting all but ten under Fidelius. Upon returning to the U.K., The four men, plus Lily put the names of every Property they put under Fidelius in a hat and selected one at random.
The property they selected was just outside of a small village in the southeast corner of Missouri.
"Remind me which one that was again," requested James
"The one at the ass end of nowhere," Responded Sirius before Peter could respond.
"It's outside a small village named Kelso, and the nearest Wizarding neighborhood is 120 miles north in St. Louis," specified Peter, the Secret Keeper for the chosen property.
By the night of July 28, The Potters were settled in and beginning their new life in America
Some final thoughts: Right now I'm just winging it, but if I start having trouble I'll work on an outline. I plan on following the books, but that could change.
