February 04, 2017 (Word count: 3,653)

A/N. Just a sudden idea for a story that I found myself writing. Haven't made a complete concrete plot yet so will write as ideas come. This is AU so I've taken a lot of liberties (particularly with age, relationships, and affiliations), but I've tried to remain true to each character's personality. Feel free to give suggestions. Also, if there are any similarities to other stories, I apologize as my inspiration comes from all the combined fanfiction stories I have read across websites, genres, etc. but I in no way mean to copy another author's work.

Disclaimer: I practically own none of these. My name is not J.K. Rowling hence I do not own the wonderful Harry Potter and his universe. I have sourced numerous names and details (characters, books, shop names, etc.) from the books, movies, Pottermore and even the Harry Potter Wikia. There are certain excerpts that I have lifted directly from the books (marked with an asterisk*). Numerous terms from other magical worlds have been borrowed and redefined to fit what I want.

Onwards.

CHAPTER ONE: JUST ANOTHER PROPHECY

December 1979, England

"My Love,

I'm sorry I had to leave quickly. Rest assured that I… we are safe. I have her with me and we are on our way to the place where we once said beauty flies. Please do not worry as I took every precautionary measure we agreed upon. I will meet up with our blonde friend at the bird's nest once things have settled down. I am sure she will be safe there with me. In the meantime, please do not fret and stay out of trouble. Work with the others and know that we will be together again soon. We'll have our own Christmas family dinner. Just the three of us.

Until then."

"Are you done yet?" Andromeda asks as she leans on the doorframe. The 25 year-old woman who was previously staring at the parchment and going through her letter looks up upon hearing the greeting and puts aside her quill. She her raises an eyebrow at the woman by the door, painting quite an intimidating picture. The 25 year-old woman is was quite short compared to the other woman, standing only at 5"3' versus the other woman's 5"8', but most people never did seem to feel her relative shortness in height as she always stood with grace and confidence that people cannot help but be either jealous of or be intimidated by.

"If you want to sneak up on me, better brush up on your skills Andy. But if you must know, yes I am. I had to make sure that it isn't too long and I wasn't sure that you were coming by so in case I had to deliver it by owl, I needed to make sure it wasn't too direct. You'll make sure she gets this, right Andy?" The woman asks as she turns to look at the younger woman standing in front of her. While the other woman exudes an aura of confidence and strength, Andromeda, on the other hand, was more known for her compassionate side and slightly clumsiness. Despite this and other differences, the

"Of course, you know I will. Is there anything else you need me to bring? A message that needs to be relayed? It may be some time before I return so you'll have to use the owl post again." Andromeda answers while trying to mentally compute when she is actually likely to return.

"It doesn't matter. She will be coming to us soon enough," the woman responds as she hands Andromeda the letter she just finished writing.

"Alright," Andromeda responds as she takes the letter, "I'll be heading off then. Where do I find you after this?"

"Don't worry. I will find you if you need me. Same as whenever I might need you to deliver a message personally, I'll reach out to you," is the quick response. Andromeda chuckles accepting that this will always be the case. The older woman will always be one step ahead.

"As is to be expected of you. Nothing ever changes. You stay safe okay?" Andromeda answers in a slightly worried tone. With a quick a hug to the other woman, she walks out the door. A few seconds later, with a soft pop, she disapparates.

The other woman sighs and plops down on the couch. Thinking about how the wizarding world has been for the past years has been taxing. Even with the Aurors working double time and receiving more funding than they ever have. There are less and less wizards and witches who are passing the qualifications to become an Auror, much less other positions of more prestige.

This is exactly what led to the need for her to do this. And do this she shall she thinks resolutely. With that thought in mind, the woman reaches for her bag and hugs a small bundle close to her chest as she touches a sea shell on the table. Then, without so much as a sound, she disappears.

September 1980, England

In Godric's Hollow

"Lily,do you have everything?" a man with black messy hair questions his wife as he goes around trying to make sure everything they need is inside their large duffel bag that has been dubbed their 'baby bag'.

"Yes, James. I have Harry's change of clothes and he is settled down for the trip. We can go. We should go otherwise we're going to be late." his wife, Lily, responds calmly. Lily has always tried to remain level-headed in the face of any crisis since she knows her husband has a tendency to panic. It wasn't that there was no reason to panic, Merlin knows the number of Wizarding gangs has gone up in numbers after they graduated from Hogwarts three years ago. It was just that James always tries to over prepare for a worst case scenario. One would say he is too influenced by his boss - Alastor Moody.

"That's great! Shall we take the floo then?" says James with a sigh of relief. He grabs the flower pot full of floo powder and eyes it closely before offering it to his wife with a cheeky smile, "ladies first!"

Rolling her eyes at her charming husband, Lily grabs a handful of floo powder and states clearly, "12 Grimmauld Place!"

Less than a minute later, James follows his wife and states the same.

In Ottery St. Catchpole

In another location in England, two oddly shaped houses can be seen across each other, separated by a vast field often used by boisterous boys flying about while tossing around a quaffle.

"Xeno, are you okay over there? We should be heading out. Molly said that we need to be at their house at noon and we barely have five minutes left!" Pandora says with a smile despite the obvious need for haste. She chuckles upon noticing that her sweet husband seems so engrossed with a magazine that he was yet to give a response. Having just recently married, she was now a few months pregnant with their first baby. She hopes to have a beautiful baby girl. Maybe she'll give birth on Valentine's day, wouldn't that be romantic? Her Valentines gift to Xenophilius, a beautiful baby girl. Then again, giving birth on the 13th, as estimated by the mediwitch, probably wouldn't be that bad either. It is still the month of hearts after all. Shaking her head to get rid of her amusing thoughts, she clears her throat, "Xeno, honey?"

"Hmmm? What is it sweetie?" Xenophilius questions as he finally looks up, putting down the latest copy of The Quibbler.

"Time to go honey. Molly and Arthur are waiting for us so we can all head together to the meeting. I received a message earlier that Lily and James are already there. We better get moving as well," says Pandora with a small smile upon noticing a smudge of ink on her husband's cheek. With a flick of her wand and a whispered, "Scourgify" she fixes the mess and proceeds to pull her husband off of the chair.

"Oh thank you sweetie! I was just making a few notes earlier to make sure we include a feature on creatures we need to take better care of so that we can continue getting ingredients for some potions. You know how poaching has been increasing lately in the black market with all those thugs brewing more and more experimental potions," Xenophilius exclaims with a huff, clearly frustrated with the abuse of magical creatures. Not only that, but Xenophilius knew that as a Potions Mistress, his wife definitely needs ingredients that can only be sourced from certain magical creatures.

"Yes, yes. But regardless, we really do need to get going," Pandora replies, "shall we?"

September 1980, France

"I'm here!" The 26-year old woman exclaims as she lands softly on the grounds of a vast garden filled with a wild variety of both magical and muggle plants. It has been almost a year since she left her own country to seek safety and yet, she has been unable to meet with her most beloved. 'Finally some semblance of family life,' she muses with a soft sigh. The woman looks around cautiously given the silence that greets her arrival. Walking forward, she observes nothing wrong with the scene but she takes careful and measured steps; she reaches to draw her wand as a body suddenly collides with her.

"Ooof! Baby girl, what are you doing running around here?" The woman exclaims upon recognizing her best friend's 2 year-old daughter who was now clinging quite tightly to her robe. She looks around tersely, trying to find any potential threats and possibly find said 2 year old's mother.

"Fleur! What 'ave I told 'ou about running off? 'Ou should always stay wiz me!" says a blonde 30 year-old woman. The 2 (nearly 3) year old girl, who looks quite the miniature version of her blonde mother, looks up with her startlingly blue eyes and apologizes with a mumbled "Je suis desole."

"It's okay with, me petite. But 'ou had me worried. 'Ou know you're my little princess," Apolline coos at her daughter, "now let go of your Aunty's leg and let her finally introduce us to our little Mia properly." Apolline looks fondly at the little bundle the other woman has been cradling to her chest.

"'Ou should 'ave come by weeks or even months ago!" the blonde then rounds towards the other woman. It was the first time she was seeing her best friend's daughter despite basically a year having passed since her birth. Sadly, things took time to settle down hence although she was scolding the other woman for not visiting sooner, she understood that precautions had to be done.

Fleur suddenly lets go of the woman's robe but jumps up and latches firmly to the woman's waist and tries to reach the baby's face. The young blonde smiles slightly looking at the baby while the two mothers takes in surprise the scene before them. As a 2 year old, Fleur has always been shy towards other children. While adults was quickly taken by her beauty and natural charm, children was usually not easily won over by the young blonde. It was therefore a pleasant surprise and relief to Apolline that her daughter appears to be drawn to the little bundle of joy that was going to share their home for the foreseeable future.

The other woman smiles softly at the little girl who was undeniably drawn towards her sleeping bundle of joy, "Fleur, this here is our little Hermione."

September 1980, England

"Minerva," Dumbledore calls his most trusted lieutenant. "Are we ready to start?"

"Most of the others are here. The Bones, Lupins, and Longbottoms have been here since noon. The Weasleys and Lovegoods should be here any minute now. Oh, and the Potters just arrived a few minutes ago. I think they were trying to make sure that Harry is sleeping soundly. However, Andromeda is yet to arrive," Minerva states with certainty.

"And of course, we cannot start without Andromeda, can we now?" Dumbledore asks with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh shush you! You know we need everyone here before we start. Stop it with your insinuations," Minerva replies curtly. Truth be told, they can likely start the meeting without Andromeda. She's not about to admit that she would definitely prefer the meeting to start only upon the witch's arrival, if nothing else but to soothe her nerves. But of course, there's no way was she about to give Albus more ammunition to work with. If anything, he should be tight lipped about the whole thing, not anything but. Long-term plans and even lives are at stake here!

Just then, a loud wail could be heard resounding within the four walls of the dark house. As expected, Minerva winces as she is particularly sensitive to loud noises given her sensitive ears - likely due to her enhanced hearing from her animagus status. On the other hand, Albus calmly flicks his wand and the noise stops abruptly closely followed by a loud "Oh shit," exclaimed by the new arrival.

"Andromeda Tonks! Must you always set off the alarm when you decide to enter through the door? I can just imagine the example you will be setting for Nymphadora," Minerva partially grumbles as she tries to shake off the after effects of being exposed to loud noises.

"Sorry, Minerva," answers Andromeda sheepishly, "it wasn't my intention to set off the alarm again. I just tend to forget to disable the alarms before entering the door when I'm in a hurry. I don't know why Lily insisted adding that bloody muggle alarm anyway. It's not like we're short of wards. We have blood wards in this place, for Merlin's sake!" It was a well-known fact that Lily has her ingenious moments. As such, it was her idea to add a muggle alarm especially since most British Wizarding citizens are unfamiliar with such devices, unless of course they have relations to muggles.

"Well, since you're here Andromeda, please dust yourself off as we're about to start the meeting that was supposed to start half an hour ago," Albus says, although without any malice. Andromeda shrugs in apology for her tardiness and proceeds to straighten out her robes. Afterwards, she turns towards the slightly older woman with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I know you've been waiting for a while but…." Andromeda begins to say but was then cut off by Minerva.

"The delay is understandable Andy. I was worried but I knew it would take you some time," Minerva quickly reassures Andromeda. At this, Dumbledore chuckles slightly and proceeds to interrupt the two ladies. "As much as I know that Minerva has been waiting for your news Andromeda, might I suggest to talk about this later? The others are already all settled in the living room so we really do need to get started."

"Apologies, Albus. Let's go."

"As you all know, for the past years, more and more have been joining either the Morsemordre, Slug Club or the Hounds. Even worse, there has been a gradual decrease in law enforcers. It seems that while we have a steady number of Investigators, there are not a lot who push forward to become Aurors, much less become Senior Aurors or Hit Wizards. We need more people who are willing to fight those who are merely driven by greed for control and power.

I know that it has been some years since we last all met but the problem with these groups is slowly rising again. Especially with Tom went on his own and formed the Morsmordre. His group seems to be an even bigger threat than the Slug Club."

"Is he working with or against Horace and his Sluggers?" Molly questions Albus.

"I am not sure yet. From what I've gathered so far, it seems their separation happened because Horace refused to give Tom access to his collection of rare book on the Dark Arts. Presumably, Tom wanted information on old dark spells and rituals which Horace thought would possibly have led to Tom betraying him. While it was good that Horace stopped Tom from gaining access to his library, because Merlin knows some of his books contain such ancient magic and Tom might actually find a way to make himself immortal if he had access to such books... it seems to have driven Tom to form his own group. And I must say his groups seems to be growing formidable."

Albus stops briefly in his explanation and takes a moment to observe the reactions of his colleagues, previous students, and dear friends. The Weasleys looked determine to prove their bravery and worth, as expected from the family who proudly espouses the trait Gryffindor's are known for. The Lovegoods look unperturbed but thoughtful. The Potters look worried, much like the rest of the people gathered with him inside the magically expanded room. 'How I wish none of these faces see darkness, but it's dark times ahead and we need to prepare, especially for the sake of the children,' Albus thinks solemnly.

"Alright then, this means we need to be alert ourselves everyone. We need to be at our best and we definitely need more people who are willing to fight, should the need arise. We should also make sure that all the children are safe but we should also make sure that they are also prepared. And I'm not saying to train them to become Investigators and Aurors and such, but while our Ministry remains stubborn in meddling with Hogwarts to forbid the school to take in students earlier than at 11 years old, we need to make sure there is no accidental magic around muggles. The best way to do that is to start training early," Minerva speaks up after a stretch of silence followed Albus' words. This snaps everyone back to attention as some respond with firm nods and grim smiles. Albus sighs and quietly bids his farewell as discussions quickly rose among those in attendance.

In another corner of the room, Minerva sits with a slight frown on her face thinking on the implications of what has just been discussed. She sighs as she realizes this is likely going take her away from her family yet again. She then stands up in search of Andromeda. She has a message she needs to give.

September 1981, England

In the usually happy house in Godric's Hollow, the Potters can be found pacing nervously in their bedroom. They have just received a post from the current Headmaster that he had important news to give.

"James, Lily," Albus calls out to them from the fireplace.

"What is this about Albus?" James asks with a worried tone. Lily stands by his side with their baby boy, born just a little over a year ago, sleeping in her arms.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid. It seems that Tom has become quite obsessed to finding a way to become immortal and was able to acquire part of a prophecy made by Sybill some time ago," Albus says gravely.

"Sybil? Since when does she give real prophecies? I thought she was a fake! She's always been saying she is just like her great-great-grandmother, the great Seer Cassandra, but no one's heard her predict even the weather for the next day correctly!" Lily exclaims in disbelief.

"While she is no great Seer, my dear, Sybill is nonetheless an Oracle. Hence she occasionally has true predictions, although no prophecies of this magnitude," Albus replies. He pauses and considers if he should withhold the prophecy he just heard.

"You came here specifically for a reason Albus. Otherwise you would have informed all of us at the same time in an Order meeting. So please tell us how this concerns us and should we be worried?" Lilly says softly but firmly.

"The prophecy was given to me Lily. But Tom was able to hear it," Albus replies slowly.

"Unity among humans, creature and hybrids approaches.. Born to merge the lines of the greatest mages… The One to lead and bring peace will be born in the ninth month of the year… She will break barriers with her destined match and her Second..."

"Albus, do we know anyone giving birth this month? Or someone who has already given birth? Do you need our help to find this child?" James asks.

"This was given to me two years past James. I'm telling you this now since the latter part of prophecy was acquired by Tom and this may concern someone we all care about," Albus replies.

"But beware the Eaters of Death are rising and the Dark One seeks destruction… until the One destined to lead comes together with her destined match born to the skies and her Second to be born as the seventh month dies in the new decade…the Dark One will see destruction…"

"This is about her, isn't it? Does she know already? Like she doesn't have enough in her plate already. And the Second.. Is that my Harry? Merlin, Tom has members of the Morsmordre calling themselves Death Eaters!"

"It's about to get worse, isn't it?"

"I'm hoping for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst."