DISCLAIMER :- I don't own Harry Potter universe and any entities within it.
Elara sat down in the drawing room of the Potter house situated in Godric's Hollow. She had never thought that any house with James Potter residing in it could have such a solemn atmosphere. But then, they were at war. A war whose only hope seemingly lied on the shoulders of one of two fifteen months old boys. Had it been up to her, she would have completely disregarded the prophecy, and so would have James and Lily. But you could not possibly be daft enough to assume that some Dark Lord who seemingly thought muggles and muggle-born were dirt would have coherent sense of logic and ignore the thrice-damned prophecy. And then there was Dumbledore. Just why he thought that conducting a staff interview in the most shady bar ever in middle of a brutal war where he was the only one whom the Dark Lord was afraid of was also beyond her.
"Elly!" a childish squeal was heard and Elara, or Elly as she was addressed by a certain green-eyed 'child of prophecy', brightened up. She stood up and met Lily at doorway to the kitchen who was holding the said child.
"Hi Harry, Dad is still giving you rides on his back then?" Elara asked smirking and Harry nodded grinning quite enthusiastically. James scoffed in the background and Elara turned towards him, raising an eyebrow.
"What's the matter with you Prongs?"
"He is probably still sulking about the fact that Harry likes the stag rides more than his toy broomstick." Lily answered barely concealing a giggle.
"My my, we can't have that now, can we? A potter, James Potter's son moreover, having more faith in his father than an enchanted wooden stick! Scandalous!"
James snorted and Lily started laughing freely. The fifteen month old looked at the happy expressions on his parents' face and if possible grinned even wider
"What brings you here though Elly? I thought you were off researching something with DOM." James asked and noticed Elara's expression changing from amusement to seriousness.
"It wasn't a DOM research. I was actually researching the prophecy you guys told me about." she answered running a hand through her hair.
"Is it a wrong one?" Lily asked, hope in her voice barely concealed.
"That is a moot point now Lily. Whether the prophecy is true or not, whether it is absolute or self-fulfilling, none of it matters now. We might not believe in the prophecy but that bigoted idiot does and is acting upon eliminating the threat to his life."
"But is it Harry?" James asked. Elara knew that James was not asking this in hope of getting 'No' for the answer. The other child was his godson after all. He asked so that the Order could concentrate on protecting one house instead of two.
"Quite sure it IS Harry." Elara replied quietly. As much as she wished it was not so, she knew it was the truth and with all her will she said that in front of people who would surely take it worse than her.
"Why?" was the only word Lily was able to speak after a silence that seemed to have stretched for an eternity.
"Dumbledore said his spy told him that Voldemort has decided that the prophecy refers to Harry. Whether this decision is what the prophecy referred to when it talked about marking equal I don't know. But he will come after Harry first. He might go after Neville after Harry just to make sure. But he knows what he is doing. Harry was born on 31st while Neville on 30th. Since the thing said that the one to vanquish him will be born as the seventh month dies, thus giving a lead to Harry. I guess you two already know that Neville has not know as much magic as can be expected from even a normal magical child while Harry seems to be in need of blocks so that he stops using magic every hour. If the Order is indeed infiltrated, then its quite possible that the Dark Lord knows of the progress shown by both of them."
"So he will come after Harry?" James asked with a seriousness that Elara would have never believed had she not witnessed it first hand.
"Yes, and that is when i decided to research upon protection spells. I know what you are going to say Lily. Fidelius is a wonderful protection. But have you thought what would happen if Sirius was caught. I don't think he will ever betray the location even under extreme torture. Knowing that mutt, he possibly will fight off veritaserum for you." Elara said fondly. "But, what if they kill Sirius? The Fidelius will shift so that everyone who knows the secret actually becomes the secret keeper. What if one of the people who do know the secret are actually a traitor? Have you thought about that Lily?" Elara finished.
Lily shook her head while James kept looking at his son in his wife's arm who was now sitting on the couch beside Elara.
"That is why I searched for methods that might help if Voldemort actually comes at your threshold. I found two methods. One will surely guarantee that Harry remains safe but that method might result in him losing one or both of his parents." Elara said not quite meeting the eyes of the two people who mattered to her more than her own life.
"And the other?" James asked still staring at his son.
"You remember I told you once about a technique that muggles use when a bear comes?"
"Pretending to be dead? Yeah I do. You are not suggesting that we hold are breaths and pretend to be dead? He is a wizard! All he has to do is to cast a single diagnostic spell. And even if he does not do that how the help are we supposed to create that effect with Harry?" James asked incredulously.
"Exactly what I am suggesting except remembering that we can perform magic too. There is a spell. The books don't say much about it. Hell even the incantation is not clear! But the spell makes a person temporarily dead. You can cast it on yourself or someone else too. Once the spell is spell is performed, your spirit needs another magical source equivalent or more powerful than the caster of the spell to gain a new body. I am quite close to confirm the incantation. But if one of two casts it on all three of you, all you will need is to reach Hogwarts. The magic within the walls will help. Or you can reach Albus. I will contact you as soon as I confirm the incantation, but till then I want you two to know the first method too." Elara explained to the young couple in front of her. She then looked at the child who was close to sleeping in his mother's arm. She felt a her throat closing upon realizing just what was stored in the future of this innocent child.
"What if you cast it?" Lily asked cautiously.
Elara thought for a second and then shrugged. She really didn't know the answer to that, and she told her so.
"If I cast it on someone else, they can always comeback using my magical signature. But I were to cast it on myself, I would be good as dead. Except I would be able to haunt James and Sirius for the rest of their sorry lives." Elara stated nonchalantly.
James glared at her and then sighed.
"What is the first protection then?" James asked.
Elara hesitated for a second and then explained.
"Its an ancient ritual, used amongst kingdoms fighting for dominance. They would send a warrior from their kingdoms to establish a quarrel. The fight was till death. Each kingdom however conducted this ritual. As the custom dictated, A rune was drawn on every citizen's body depending upon the kingdom they belonged to which then disappeared. This meant the warrior had also undergone this death. If the warrior lost, even though the other kingdom won, all the people who shared the same ruin as the fallen warrior could not be harmed by the winner party unless one of them chose to fight willingly against the same or another opponent."
"You want us to undergo this ritual, right? We both will be the warriors while Harry will be the citizen oblivious to the war of dominance." Lily said, her voice thick with emotion. But exactly what emotion, Elara was not sure. So she did the only thing she could. She nodded. Next thing she knew she was surrounded in a bone-crushing hug from a certain emotional father who shall remain nameless.
"James..."
"Thank you, Elly." James said while releasing her from the hug. "If this means that Harry will remain safe no matter what, I don't think there should be any problem with ritual." James glanced at his wife with an enquiring look who firmly nodded along.
"I am sure all of you will make sure that Harry gets all the love he needs if anything were to happen us." James continued.
"It is just for a day or two James. I am sure I will get the 'bear' spell. I just came here because no one knows what might happen the very next hour nowadays. Don'tell anyone, and I mean anyone else. We don't know who is the traitor. If you want I will tell Sirius and Remus about the ritual, not that you are performing it though." Elara said quietly.
James shifted awkwardly. The prospect of not trusting his friend whom he considered as brothers was a sore thing for for him and Elara knew it.
"I know what you are thinking Prongs. But there is a reason I am saying so James. This is a very sensitive piece of information. Possibly Harry's only chance of survival. While Padfoot and Moony are accomplished Occlumens, Peter was never able to do so. If by any chance the spy knows Leglimency, the whole plan will fail."
James nodded. He did love his friends, but he had to admit that the black-haired boy in his wife's lap was his top priority.
"Shall we perform the ritual then?"
"Yes"
Elara was ecstatic. She had finally devised the incantation she wanted. Tomorrow was Halloween and it would be a perfect opportunity to tell James and Lily. That and it was already 11'o clock at night. She went to her bedroom when it happened. She felt the wards warning her that scores of people had surrounded the the little house she lived in. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Only the Potters, the Marauders, Albus and Minerva knew where she lived. Sure the house was visible but it was not known to be her residence. She immediately ordered the wards to keep everyone outside. She didn't even bother checking the Floo then. It would be obviously shut. She did want to know who exactly had betrayed them. She peeked out of the window and looked at the figures in front.
There was one wizard in front of everyone, looking at the house. To his right was one certainly a witch. It was not the way she held her or her hair which told Elara who she was. It was her maniac laughter that assured Elara that it was indeed dear cousin Bella. The figure to the left of the leader(maybe Voldemort) was the person who had betrayed her. A short balding man, shaking a bit and hiding behind his master just like he used to hide behind his 'friends' when he was at Hogwarts. It was Wormtail.
Her blood boiled and her body became cold. She was there when Sirius had suggested the switch of Secret Keepers yesterday. The doom of Potters was now certain. She was glad that for some reason she had performed the warrior ritual. At least Harry would be safe. And then it dawned on her.
He won't be.
She was sure to die tonight. And with James and Lily dead sooner or later, Sirius would go mad with grief and guilt. As much as she loved him, she knew Sirius was hot-headed. He would rather chase the rat than explain to everyone that he was not the secret keeper. With Crouch as DMLE head, it was certain that things won't be good for the mutt. And no one would give Harry to Remus, not even Dumbledore.
There was only one thing in mind of Elara now. Protect Harry.
She could have taken many of those bastards out there, but it was idiotic to assume that she would make it out alive. Not when only Harry could finish Voldemort. She reached for her wand and gripped it tightly. If not as a human she might as well accompany the boy as a spirit. Sure he won't be able to see her. But maybe she could help him someway, anyway. That was what steeled her resolve. She pointed her wand at her head and whispered.
"MORTA TEMPUS!"
'Wormtail, No! Pettigrew! Pettigrew did this! He was the traitor!' Sirius thought as he stared at the lifeless body of James at his own doorway. Tears fell from his eyes. In the span of twenty four hours he had lost everything in his life. The love of his life died the night before, in her own home. Nobody knew what happened. Peter betrayed them. James was dead. And he had betrayed Moony. How could he have thought so? But it was done. Everything was lost. The woman whom he considered his sister in every manner was surely in the same position as her husband. And his godson...
No! He was not even able to think about it. Why did this happen to him? What was the fault of a mere fifteen month old boy who could not even speak his name properly? A painful cry brought back the Black heir back to land of living. He could not believe his ears. He ran upstairs towards the nursery of his godson and froze at the door.
There she was, lying in front of her son's crib. Lily Potter was no more. Sirius didn't understand how the world was still working. He could not imagine a world where there was no Lily to scold him about his actions, no James to encourage Sirius and even participate in the same acts that Lily disapproved of.
He looked at the crib and his breath hitched. There sitting in the crib was his godson. The boy who had become a constant source of happiness in his life. And near the crib was another body. Body of a certain Dark Lord the world had feared for the last decade. Sirius picked up Harry who looked up at Sirius and immediately cheered up a bit.
"Siri!"
"Yes Pup?" Sirius croaked.
"Boo-Boo." Harry pointed at his forehead sniffing.
Sirius looked past Harry's hair and looked at a deep gash in shape of a lightning bolt. He gasped as he realized the meaning of the gash. Elara had told him about a ritual that might save Harry's life. He never got full details but remembered what she had said.
"If someone does attack a protected person, a gash in shape of a ruin is supposed to appear on the victim's body but nothing more."
"So you are going to tell James and Lily?" Moony had asked.
"Maybe. But you two promise me that you won't tell anyone about this, no matter what happens."
Sirius Black understood many things in just a single moment. Harry was safe. His friends died to save their son. Nothing could harm him now.
Assured of his godson's safety, Sirius swore one thing. He will avenge his friends no matter what.
