A/N

Okay, As promised, here is the rewrite of Marauding Influences. I work only for a few hours in the morning, so I will have plenty of time to write. As I said in the authors note, the changes will start after the prologue and first chapter, which have been combined to form the revised prologue. I am going to try to stockpile chapters, so that i could regularly update throughout the year.

Disclaimer: anything recognizable belongs to JK Rowling. Delilah Prince and anything unrecognizable belongs to me.

Prologue

Smoke filled the air, choking him as he ran, dodging spells as he went. He was so close, just minutes away from the last fight, the one that would end it all. He reached the edge of the forest before looking back at the four dark haired people behind him.

These were the ones who had followed him, stood by his side, and showed him the way; the ones who had believed in him; who had always been there when he needed someone, and if he didn't, well, they were there anyway. These four had trained him, encouraged him. They had fought for him, had killed for him, and were willing to die for him.

Turning back to the quartet, he smiled and walked into their open arms, basking in the love emanating from them. Stepping back, he watched as the waved their arms in tandem, and four silver guardians appeared around him, filling him with light and hope.

Facing back toward the forest, he began his solitary journey. He paused just once, looking back at one figure in particular.

The one whose eyes were as green as his own.

Prince Manor

October 31, 1980

England

The floo roared to life, startling the young man sitting in the lounge. He swore under his breath as he used his wand to quickly syphon up the scarlet ink that had been spilled everywhere, then pointing it at the fireplace. Before the connection had opened, the ebony haired twenty year old had been sitting in his favorite black leather, wing-backed chair, reading one of his potions journals and correcting any errors with the scarlet ink.

Now, however, Severus Snape sprung to his feet, wand at the ready. Although only six people knew his floo address, and corresponding pass-phrase, one could never be too careful in such dangerous times. Severus watched with calculating eyes as four very familiar figures stepped out onto his hearth...well, three figures stepped out after the first tumbled out onto the rug. Severus poked at the groaning lump with his wand, checking for injuries.

"Watch where you poke that thing, Sev!" the man on the floor groused, struggling to pull out his own wand so he could hex Severus in return for the none too gentle prodding he had received. Although he was currently sprawled on the hearth rug, it was obvious that the man was tall and lanky. His spiky black hair was in such disarray that it looked as if a pygmy puff were attached to his head. He had an angular, aristocratic face, that was quite fair. There were stress lines marring his mouth and forehead, though they did nothing change the fact that he was extremely good-looking. His warm hazel eyes were dimmed by shadows of seeing too much on the front lines. James Potter.

"Don't mind him, Severus. He's just sore because he fell out of the floo, again, and messed up his hair." The second figure, also tall and lanky, smirked at James as he leaned down and snatched both James and Severus' wands from their hands and placed them on the side table. He glared them into stillness when the two black haired men made a lunge for the table, his eyes flashing. The glare vanished, and he smiled warmly at his host, his big amber eyes glowing under a mop of expresso brown hair. It had been tawny before the Blood Brother's bonding in their seventh year. His face, which was slightly rounder than James' was, with a softer brow and jaw, was sparsely spiderwebbed with faint scars. Remus Lupin

"Come on, Remy, give them back their wands! We could all use a laugh right about now." The third man stepped over to Remus, gray eyes wide and pleading. Remus snorted. Like the other two, this man was tall and lanky. His black hair well with casual elegance, gently waving, until it brushed his shoulders around an aristocratic face, similar to James'. He was very fair, with extremely light freckles splashed across his nose. He was incredibly handsome, though dangerously so in comparison to James' classic good looks and Remus' boyish charms. He moved with a grace that was surprising to most people. Sirius Black.

"Shut it, all three of you. Will you at least give our host a chance to say something?" The last figure snapped, effectively ending the argument between the other three guests without the waking the precious cargo in her arms. "Hello, Sev", she added more gently to Severus. She was tall and willowy, her dark red hair cascading down to her hips. Bright green eyes sparkled out of a fair, heart-shaped face as she smiled down at Severus. Stepping down from the hearth, she walked over to him, her light dancer's step making her appear to be floating above the floor and kissed his cheek. Lily Evans Potter.

Severus himself was tall, good looking, and just as lanky as the other three men. However, he and Sirius were of a more muscular build than James or Remus. Jet-black hair, often greasy due to noxious potion fumes, hung straight down to his chin, framing his angular, aristocratic face, the only flaw of which being the slightly hooked nose, which wasn't nearly as big as his friends liked to say it was. His skin was very pale, almost vampiric, due to the lack of sunshine in his part of England, coupled with the amount of time he spent in his dungeon potions lab. His pasty appearance was accented by the black clothing he always wore.

"Hey, Tigerlily. How's the mini-marauder?" Severus reached down and gently ruffled the sleeping baby's messy black hair.

"He's doing well. He finally slept through the night", Lily said, settling herself on the black leather couch, baby Harry cradled in her arms.

"Where is the little trouble maker?" Remus asked as the rest of the Marauders sprawled out around the room and Severus retook his armchair.

"She's-" a giggle from the cradle beside Severus' chair interrupted him- "right here." Remus leapt from his seat and had crossed the room in seconds. scooping up the giggling baby girl, her bright green eyes matching her mother and brothers'. Severus watched in amusement as Remus retook his seat on the floor leaning against Sirius' legs as he cuddled the baby.

"Are you planning on kidnapping my daughter, Moony?" Severus asked with a chuckle. "If you want children so badly, maybe you shouldn't be with the mutt over there."

"No, even though I love children, I've never wanted any of my own, mostly because I would never take that risk...These two have completely captured my heart. We may not share genetic material, but they're my babies. I love them."

"I agree completely. Hell, I don't even like kids, but these two completely turned my opinion around...at least for Harry, Delilah, Neville and Draco. My opinion stands for others", Sirius stated, looking down at the baby in Remus' arms, an affectionate glow in his gray eyes.

James reached over and plucked Harry out of his wife's arms. "Sometimes I forget that Delilah isn't actually my daughter. She is so easy to love that I consider her to be mine. Partially, at least. I don't want to steal your thunder, Sev."

"Don't worry about it, Prongs. I have the same thoughts about Harry. You're right though, these two are so easy to love that it just comes naturally. If you had told me four years ago that I would be completely in love with two children, I would have sent you to visit Poppy Pomphrey."

James snorted. "Too right, you would, you snarky bastard." Severus merely lifted an eyebrow.

"Snarky bastard? Is that the best you can do, Potter? Tsk tsk, someone has lost their touch..."

"Excuse me? What did you just say, you over grown house cat?"

"I was merely stating that you have been using increasingly lame attempts at insults ever since we graduated Hogwarts. It seems that you have passed the height of your brilliance."

"At least I don't walk around with greasy hair every bloody day!"

"That is an occupational hazard of being a potions master, and you know it."

"Well-" James broke off as Lily reached up and cuffed him over the head- "ouch! Lily, that was uncalled for!"

"Correction, it was very much called for: you were getting increasingly loud with every word that came out of your mouth; you were going to wake Harry, and Delilah just dropped off. Now, James, if you are ready to act your age, there is something that I wanted to discuss with you, and it is something serious."

Lily stood up from the couch, and paced around the room. The four men watched her silently, knowing that she truly was serious; Lily wasn't one to worry about little things. Lily suddenly stopped, and turned to face them. "The probability that all five of us are going to make it through this war alive is slim to none, especially with all five of us being prime targets-all of us because of the Order, James for being a Potter, Sirius for turning his back on his family, Remus for refusing to join the packs, Severus for turning down Voldemort's offer of being his personal potions master, and me, because I'm a muggle born.

The world is in chaos, people are changing sides left, right, and center, and doing anything that may protect themselves. The five of us have somehow managed to guard our family thus far, but I am not sure how much longer we will succeed. What I want to do, and need to do as a mother, is give my children every protection within my power, and part of that includes taking measures for beyond the grave. Biologically, and legally, Harry and Delilah belong to James, Severus, and I. Merlin forbid, something happens to us, Remus and Sirius would have no legal claim, except as godparents. Even then, Remus would have a tough time of it, getting custody of Delilah, because of the lycanthropy. The only way to circumvent that is if she were biologically his daughter. And the only way for that to occur is through-"

"Blood adoption", breathed Severus, his mind quickly catching on to Lily's master plan. "It's bloody brilliant. We would all have a legal claim to them, no matter what happens..."

Sirius looked at them both in confusion. "Would someone please explain the steps that Severus jumped over in his leap of logic, because I, for one, am not following..."

"Siri, please try to keep up", Remus said, a look of wonder on his face. "Think about it, when children are blood adopted, they legally, and genetically become part of the adopter's family. Bloodline traits, and gifts are often transferred to the adoptee."

"If we do this, it wouldn't matter who conceived the children. They would contain all of our genetic material...even if they tried to take them away, a bloodline test would prove it", James mused, his face lighting up.

"Oh...that actually makes a lot of sense...and now I really feel kind of stupid for not coming to that conclusion myself", Sirius said, shaking his head. Lily crossed over to him, and knelt down in front of his chair. "Don't feel stupid, Siri; blood adoption isn't something that is done often."

Remus took Sirius' other hand. "And it is something that's talked about, let alone taught about, even less." James and Severus joined them, joining hands with the others and completed the circle.

"Blood magic is an obscure branch of magic, but it's powerful, and it'll protect the twins."

"We're already a family, so why not make it official?" Severus asked rhetorically.

Remus paled suddenly, dropping Lily and Sirius' hands. "Wait, what about the lycanthropy? I know it didn't when I bonded with James and Severus, but if there is even the slightest chance of it passing over, there is no way in hell that I am going to risk affecting Harry and Delilah."

"It's an understandable fear, Remy", Lily said gently, "but as far as I am aware, lycanthropy can only passed on through infection from a bite, not through blood. Even if that weren't true, all blood magic is influenced by intent. Just as you wanted to protect Severus and James, your desire to protect the twins will shield them from the lycanthropy".

Remus looked at the four who were looking at his face earnestly. He took a deep breath, and said, "okay".

The five Marauders looked down at the two sleeping babies. The blood adoption had been completed little over an hour ago, and the "new parents" still couldn't take their eyes off the twins. They looked completely different, and yet utterly the same. Lily tore her eyes away, and removed the silver daggers from in front of the other four. She hadn't needed to bond with either one of the children. Sirius and Remus had given their blood to both, James had to Delilah, and Severus to Harry.

Before the adoption, Harry had looked exactly as James had as a baby, with Lily's eyes. Now his face was a bit more aristocratic, with the elegance of Severus and Sirius' angles. His black hair was no longer a rat's nest; it was now messy in a casual way. His bright green eyes remained unchanged. Harry's nose was now shaped like Remus' and was a perfect match for his face.

Delilah still looked very much like Lily, by way of her eyes and heart shaped face. Her hair, however had darkened from rust colored to black, with a reddish tint to it. The influence of Sirius and James sharpened her features, bringing her high cheekbones into focus. Remus' blood had filled out her lips some, and like on her brother, perfected her nose.

Lily jerked her head back toward the furniture around the fire. The Marauders sat back down, leaving the twins to sleep in the cradle next to the hearth. Severus crossed to his liquor cabinet, and poured them each a glass of firewhiskey. After downing half his glass in one gulp, Sirius spoke.

"While we were doing the adoption, I was thinking-"

Very sarcastically, Lily interrupted. "You were thinking? Imagine that..." James, Remus and Severus snickered in the background.

"Yes, I was thinking! I have been known to do that you know! Anyway, I came up with another method of protection for the twins: The Unbreakable Vow."

The room was silent for a few minutes. Remus was the one who broke the silence. "Siri...that is actually a really, really good idea..."

"It is", Severus added. "We would vow that we never betray each other, Delilah or Harry, or do anything that would meaningfully cause them harm. The vow would hold even against the Imperius; the vow would kill us before we carried the action out anyway."

"The wording will have to be very specific then, so that nothing would happen accidentally", James mused, running his fingers through his already messy hair. "I think we should do it though."

"I agree", Remus said, recovering from his shock. Lily looked over at the cradle, where her children appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Her emerald eyes hardened, and she turned back to the others.

"I would sell my soul for those two, as would any other mother. I will do anything to protect them, including taking a vow that will kill me the moment I take one wrong step."

With each of them in agreement, they put their heads together to come up with the exact wording of the vow, and how it would be taken. After much debate, and quite a few insults from James, Severus, and Sirius, it was decided that they would sit in a circle, and each person would take the vow with the others, with the person on the left being the binder. The pattern would continue until every possible combination had been covered.

Unbeknownst to the five Marauders, they were being watched throughout the entire process. If any one of them had looked closely at the cradle, they would have seen a baby standing up against the side, observing them with her big green eyes, hearing every word.

Prince Manor

June 17, 1981

England

Severus left his potions lab, and walked toward the kitchen, intent on getting some lunch. The hall was full of photographs, and Severus stopped in front of one in particular. It was from his seventh year at Hogwarts. The five Marauders were sitting on the shore of the Black Lake. Remus and Sirius had their arms around each others waists, and every once in awhile Sirius pressed a kiss to Remus' cheek. Next to them, James and Severus sat with Lily sitting between them. Everyone knew that James and Lily had finally gotten together during their seventh year. What wasn't common knowledge was that Lily and Severus had dated seriously during their sixth year.

Although James was in love with Lily himself, he supported Lily and Severus, because it made her happy, even if it caused him pain. It was during that time that James and Lily truly became friends. It was James that Lily and Severus turned to when they had been careless during a night together, and she ended up pregnant. Lily was firmly against abortion, and refused to even consider it. Together with Remus and Sirius, James came up the with solution: a stasis spell would be cast over the just conceived child. It would halt the baby's development, and Lily's body would continue to run on its normal cycles. The spell wouldn't bring any harm to Lily or the unborn child, and was the best option that the five were able to come up with.

It was toward the beginning of summer that Lily and Severus parted ways by mutual agreement. They shifted back to the best of friends, without any awkwardness. Their child was never forgotten though. With time, James and Lily got together. Their love was strong and deep, and unsurprisingly led to marriage. James was perfectly okay with the knowledge that Lily carried his friend's child. When Lily learned that she had conceived again, soon after her and James' wedding, the two of them, and Severus sat down, and talked about everything. It was decided that at the right time, the stasis would be released, and both children would be carried at the same time, as twins. The entire experience brought James, Lily, and Severus much closer as friends.

Severus was very happy with his life. He had two beautiful children, and four amazing friends. They had always been close, but they were now a family, in every sense of the word. The only blemish was Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and their reign of terror. Looking back at the photo, Severus could see the changes in his friends that this war had wrought. James and Sirius, ever the pranksters, were now uncharacteristically serious, frown lines marring their faces. Remus struggled with his transformations each month. Lily was worried about them, and was losing sleep. Severus himself spent days locked in his lab, brewing as many healing potions as he could for the Order. Good people were dying each day, because no one could kill that monster...

Pulling himself out of those dark thoughts, Severus shook his head, cast one more glance at the photograph and continued down the hall toward the kitchen, his thoughts now only on the sandwich that awaited him there.

Godric's Hollow

October 31, 1981

England

10: 37 p.m.

James stood up from the couch, dragging his fingers through his hair. Another day, locked up in this house, another day they survived. He had just reached the stairs when the front door lock clicked. It could only be one person. James froze, his wand in his hand. Grim determination filled him. He would protect Harry, or die trying. He yelled up the stairs for Lily to take Harry and run. James took a deep breath, turned around, and stared straight into bright red eyes.

James Potter had forgotten to knock on wood.

Godric's Hollow

October 31, 1981

England

10: 54 p.m.

Five figures appeared out of thin air in the middle of the street. As one, they turned to the destroyed cottage, taking in the scene with terrified heartbreak. Despite their advanced age, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall easily kept pace with the three young men as they sprinted towards James and Lily's home. Albus took note of the fact that the Dark Mark had not been cast above the house. Sirius was the first one through the door. The others nearly tripped over Sirius' hunched over form in the foyer, tears streaming down his cheeks. The others followed his line of sight to the source of his despair.

James' body was laying spread-eagle at the bottom of the damaged staircase. He was clearly dead. Minerva rushed forward, even though she knew that there was nothing she could do. Severus and Remus searched the kitchen, living and laundry rooms, but there was no sign of Lily. They gingerly climbed up the stairs, Albus following behind. They had just about reached the landing when they heard a cry from one of the upstairs rooms.

The cry of a terrified child.

The three men leapt to the landing and found the source of the noise.

The nursery was a disaster area. Half the ceiling, and one of the side walls was blown out. Severus gave a cry when he saw Lily, lying motionless in front of the crib. She had died protecting her son, her son, who had miraculously survived the encounter.

"Severus..." Severus turned to Albus, who was holding up a set of black robes, and a white wand. The potions master's eyes widened.

"Is that...?"

"Voldemort's robe and wand? Yes, it is."

"But how-" Severus was interrupted by Remus' sharp cry of "Albus!"

The headmaster hurried over to Remus. While the other two had been talking, Remus had crossed the room, and scooped Harry into his arms. Now, he brushed Harry's fringe back to reveal a lightning bolt shaped cut across his forehead.

"That is a curse scar. Harry was clearly hit with a curse. Knowing Voldemort, it was probably the killing curse. The prophecy..."

"Back up a second, Albus. Are you suggesting that Harry somehow managed to rebound a killing curse at the Dark Lord?"

"That is exactly what I am suggesting, Remus. Harry has beaten the curse that has struck down those just as powerful as I am. This will have to be looked into. For now, though, let us go home." As he was talking, Albus had placed Lily's body into a bag spelled to protect against wear and tear.

Remus handed Harry to Severus, and went to the small dresser. He pulled out Harry's clothes and stuck them in a small duffel bag. Taking one last look around the room, the three walked down the stairs. They met up with Sirius and Minerva , who was levitating a bag identical to Albus'. The group somberly left the house and walked into the street. As they each took one last look at the Potter's destroyed home, every member of the group had the same thought.

Peter Pettigrew would pay in blood...