The author of this story is Sara Weasley, a talented Italian girl. We're a mad, enthusiastic group, in love with her story and her characters, so we have decided to try translate "Da chi lo ha tre volte sfidato" (Born from who have thrice defied him) and give you the possibility to read it! We're waiting your comments and your advices!
Hope you enjoy it!
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...
born to those who have thrice defied him,
born as the seventh month dies...
and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,
but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...
and either must die at the hand
of the other for neither can live while the other survives...
the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord
will be born as the seventh month dies"
(J. , Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoneix,
pg. 777, chapter 37, the lost Prophecy)
Born From Those Who Have Thrice Defied Him
First time
"I solemny swear I'm up to no good."
Prologue
Harry cleaned up his glasses with the edge of his sweater, and he remained blind for a moment. Albus was sitting on the carpet, legs-crossed, doing spells with his fingers to make little Lily laugh.
Few centimetres away James was playing with his magic mini-broomsticks, making them fly all over the house and almost destroying the elfic crystal vase that Hermione and Ron had given them the previous Christmas.
« So, dad? » he asked impatiently. James was on an age when he couldn't pay attention at the same thing for more than just few seconds. « What did you have to show us? »
Harry put his glasses on again, sounding out the living room's shelves with his green eyes. He was sure he had put it on the last shelf, so he wasn't so surprised to see it popping up, between the Half Blood Prince diary and the horrific Hagrid's Monster Book.
« Accio Photo Book » he said, and when the red leather folder fell gently in his hands he smiled.
James stretched his neck yearn to observe his dad as if he didn't want to miss not even one of his movements.
Albus -who was more calm by nature- smiled when his father sat among the three, and looked at the Photo Book with a spark in his eyes.
« Is this The Tales of Beedle the Bard? » he asked, excited. « Are you going to read us about the Three Brothers again? »
« I'm not aunt Hermione » pointed out Harry, shaking his head.
Alongside him, James sighed with relief.
« So, what is it? » asked the little Lily, lying down on the carpet and placing his chubby little face on her hands.
Harry' smile was full of promises when he looked at his children one by one. « This is the story of nine heroes » he said, and he felt really proud even though years were passed by now. « It's also the story of a family. »
« Which family? » James asked, ruffling his hair with one hand.
Harry looked at him, vaguely asking himself who James really looked like. « Our family. »
When Harry opened the album, his children were holding their breath. He knew it was the right time to tell them how sometimes teenagers can change the world's future, if they really believe in it.
Framed on the first page there was only one picture: it portrayed a seventeen years old girl of undeniable beauty, who was rolling her eyes to the sky and snorting in front of the lens. The little Lily opened her mouth wide and stretched a hand to touch the young girl's red hair, as to make sure they were real: even though the photo was faded with years, Lily's hair still appeared as they were wrapped by fire.
« How nice... » whispered Albus. « Who is she? »
« Your grandma » said Harry. « Lily.»
«She has my name!» exclaimed the youngest of the Potters, gaping her mouth in a shocked expression. « She has the same hair as me! »
Harry nodded amused, pointing a finger to his sons. « It's a Potter tradition to fall in love with a woman with red hair» he warned them. « As me, my father and even my grandfather. Remus and Sirius said something about my great-grandfather too, but I'm not entirely sure about that...»
James squeezed his eyes almost disgusted. «Like Rosie?» he spotted out, and it was clear that he'd prefer to fight a basilisk to this.
«No, not really like Rosie» grinned Harry, and his thoughts flew immediately to that day of September when, very long ago, he saw Ginny Weasley for the first time, at the foot of the train. « As me and my dad, you'll understand everything in due time. Your grandma had red hair as Lily's and your eyes » whispered Harry, looking at the silent Albus Severus and thinking how life can be strange, sometimes. « And mine too. »
As if she heard them, the Lily in the picture made a gesture of impatience and said something: she was probably complaining to James -who was taking the picture-, and when she threateningly crossed her arms Harry knew why she was considered the scariest witch of her age.
« I've never met your grandma » he said, with a sad smile. « But she was very famous at Hogwarts! »
« Really? »
« Yes: she was brilliant at Potions - ask this to Slughorn when you go there, Jem!- and she was nominated Prefect and Head Girl by the best Headmaster that Hogwarts can remember, Dumbledore. »
« So she was an exemplary student! » clucked Lily in excitement.
« Not really » admitted Harry, making a grimace. « She was a bit hysterical and totally lunatic. When she got angry, she used to scare everybody: she terrified even your grandpa! »
« Our grandpa? » Albus asked curiously. « Why? »
« Because she detested him.» Harry explained, smiling with a mix of happiness and regret at the memory of the parents he has never had the chance to meet. « She hated him for years before deciding to give him a chance: she even said that she'd preferred the giant squid to him, once »
« Was the grandpa so bad? »
« Judge it by yourself » said Harry, while he turned the second page.
When his children saw James Charlus Potter's picture, their eyes darted to James Sirius Potter's face with astonishment: «It's James!» screamed Lily, and her cheeks turned red while she indicated the picture with a thin finger. « It's James older! »
James -almost eleven years old and speechless for once- ran a hand among his messy hair, as if he unconsciously wanted to emphasize the similarity.
Harry shook his head, chuckling to himself. «It's James, but not Jem. This is your grandfather. »
The boy in the picture was about eighteen. He was smiling with the typical awareness of the people who have the world at their feet, as if he couldn't wish for anything else in his life.
When Harry saw him winking he knew that the photographer was probably Lily, and he ran out without words to say for a moment, surprised by the crazy love of that parents who protected and guarded each other until the moment of their death.
His children obviously didn't notice: they were looking at a snapshot which portrayed James, the Quidditch Cup in one hand and the broomstick in the other, surrounded by plenty of excited people. «Was he a Chaser?»
«A Seeker » said Harry, and James gazed at him with sparkling eyes full of interest. «The best Seeker that Hogwarts has ever had. »
« Better than you? »
« Much more better than me » nodded him. «He was unbeatable.»
James pushed himself on the pic till he almost squashed Albus, suffocating him to the carpet only to see better. « I want to be just like him! » he exclaimed excited, looking at his dad like he was asking the permission. «I want to be like this when I grow up!»
« Well » grinned Harry, feeling instantly proud.
« You have to find great friends then, Jem. You can't do anything on your own, you need the Marauders. »
James's eyes lit up immediately. «Marauders? Who are the Marauders?»
Harry turned the third page and a sudden wave of affection invested him when he saw his father, surrounded by the arms of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. This was enough -seeing the friendship enclosed in a piece of creased paper- to make him forget about Peter Pettigrew, the fourth member of the photo. He was a traitor who condemned his parents to certain death and his godfather to a punishment even worse.
«Ooooh » said James again, almost ripping off the album from his father's hands. «Who are they?»
« He's Sirius Black » explained Harry, taming the impatience of the oldest Potter with a gesture and showing the boy in the picture to the others. « The second of which you bear the name, Jem: he was my godfather, you know? »
« He looks so cool! » nodded Albus, closely followed by Lily too.
As if he heard him, Sirius winked: his grey irises sparkled in front of the flash like liquid silver, and Harry could almost see the doggy expression printed on his face -or maybe it's just because I know, he told himself.
«Why was I named after him too? » asked James, logically.
«Because he was your grandpa's best friend, Jem. Even though they weren't blood related, Sirius was fully James's brother» explained Harry, thanking the fact that Ron wasn't around mocking him for the wet eyes he knew he had. «And he was the best Godfather in the world.»
«Better than uncle Neville?» Lily asked innocently.
«Better than everyone else» whispered Harry, recalling the crazy joy that flooded him when, still a boy, Sirius had asked him to move in together and get rid of the Dursleys.
« He used to be James Potter's partner in mischiefs and the most beautiful guy that Hogwarts remembers: those two were inseparable, and there was no girl at school that didn't want to be with them. »
«Wow...»
« They caused a lot of troubles , you know? Miner- I mean, Headmistress McGonagall, can tell you that next time she'll come to visit us: there was no day they didn't end up in detention. But they were heroes, you know? That's how the world remembers them.»
And then, with a lump in his throat, his green eyes landed on Remus Lupin. Harry pointed the boy to his children: even at seventeen years old, Remus had that calm air that had always distinguished him -even at the moment of his death- he thought with a heavy heart.
« He's Remus Lupin » Harry whispered gently, as if he was afraid to spoil his memory. «The father of...»
«Teddy!» chuckled Lily, who adored the boy so much. «Our Teddy's father! »
« Yes, him. »
« But Teddy doesn't look like him at all » snorted the little girl, blowing a lock of red hair from her eyes. «Teddy has blue, purple , green hair, while he...»
Harry shook his head, stopping his daughter's words which flowed like a river.
«Look better, Lils. Look at the way he smiles, look at the way he hugs James...» explained Harry, who didn't need the picture: he just had to close his eyes to see Remus's golden eyes, even though it had been years since he was Harry's Professor. « He was the most responsible among the Marauders, and he often used to be the mother of the group: handing out advice to everyone, and when that wasn't enough, he pulled out of the pockets some chocolate to cheer up his friends.»
«I already like him!» murmured Albus, and this time his green eyes sparkled in admiration while he was looking at the picture.
« Oh, yeah... It was impossible not to love Remus» said Harry, smiling again even though there were too many reasons to cry.
Instinctively, he looked at her daughter Lily. Your name is Luna in honour of Messer Moony- he'd like to say- in honour of the fact that our choices make us who we really are -. But he couldn't say that, yet.
«And who is him?» asked James, the most exuberant of them all, interrupting his thoughts.
Harry thought well what to say, before answering. «Peter Pettigrew» he said in the end. My dad wouldn't want me to ruin such a beautiful story- whispered a voice in his head- my dad would like to give his grandchildren a beautiful memory of them all. «The last of the Marauders and the most shy of the group. He was...everybody was very fond of him: so fond that James and Lily nominated him their secret keeper.»
«Oh» said Albus, and Harry could almost see the gears in his brain spin crazily.
Before his son could make any other question, as logical as impossible, Harry turned the page: this time, the white sheet was spotted by the blonde hair of a cheerful girl who was grimacing in front of the camera.
«Who are them?»
«Alice and Frank Longbottom» said Harry, and despite the several layers of soft wool clothes, he felt the goose bumps running all over any centimeter of his body.
«Like uncle Neville?»
«He was their son» confirmed Harry, not without a smile. «And I am sure they would have been very proud of him, as we all were, if they had the chance to see him.»
«Are they dead?»
Harry shook his head, ruffling his hair more than they already were. «They suffered a fate worse than death» he heard himself saying «But it doesn't matter, because they loved each other during their lives. They loved each other so much, and always, and with intensity and joy. I'm sure that is so.» Harry murmured softly: Remus didn't tell him about this, but he could feel the truth in his own words and he knew that it wasn't a lie.
«Alice -Prewett at the time- was your grandmother's best friend» explained Harry, finding again the carefree tone at the exact moment when his eyes landed on the girl's round face: she was wearing a yellow sweater and her hair were done up in two funny-looking pigtails. «She was the only one able to solve her love problems...well, and everybody else's actually.»
«Like Cupid?» giggled Lily.
«Exactly» Harry confirmed. «But you mustn't make her angry, otherwise you were in serious troubles: she threatened Sirius Black in front of the entire school once!»
«But...what about her boyfriend?» asked James, dazed by the whole affair.
«Frank? He loved her» said Harry, shrugging as if it was a normal thing. Actually, after Ron and Hermione, it couldn't seem that weird. «And to love someone means accepting strengths and weaknesses.»
His children looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language: «You will understand, one day» murmured to himself, turning another page.
This time, the photo portrayed four girls captured in the act of hugging each others. Lily Evans' red hair shone in the sun like fire and Alice was surrounding her by shoulders, holding her close like a mother.
The other two girls couldn't look more different from each other. «Mary McDonald» said Harry, pointing her short brown hair and her saucy smile that winked at the camera. «She was a very good chaser and a really tough girl» explained him, recalling what Sirius had told him once: in his grey eyes, he'd seen shining something undefined and disconcerting. «You had to be careful with her, you know? She was unpredictable as few.»
«Who is the other girl?» whispered Lily, hit by such beauty. «She's so beautiful!»
«Emmeline Vance» said Harry, and his memories of her fought with the girl in the picture: at seventeen years old, the young witch radiated an aura of sweetness that could almost brought him to tears. She was so different from the austere and cold woman that Harry had met many years after! But war changes hearts, and death even more, and I know it very well. «There wasn't a girl more humble, polite and caring than her» he continued, appealing to what he knew without seeing.
Below that photo, another picture portrayed a group of different people: Harry had never understood why Hagrid had wanted to include that one too -which seemed almost alien compared to the familiar faces on the other photos but, by showing it to his children, this time he felt almost happy.
«Those you see here are Xeno Lovegood and Sunny Altair» he said, pointing the only two platinum blonde heads in the picture « Lisander and Lorcan's grandparents.»
«Ohh! Did they know our grandparents?»
«Yes» said Harry, surprised by the coincidences in life and by the way every piece managed to come back at its place. The two of them -probably not in love, yet- seemed completely different from each other: she looked sensible and studious, he...well he was the worthy father of Luna. «Near them there are Megan Vane and Dearborn Caradoc» Harry continued quickly, because it wasn't yet the time to tell all the details to his children. «And those beside them are Rima Zeller and Amos Diggory» and again -as always and forever- his thoughts flew to Cedric, with that mix of proud and regret that he used to associate to him, when he remembered him with affection. «Then...Rose Wood and the McKinnon twins, members of the Gryffindor team.»
«And who are them? The youngest?» asked James curiously. He was about to attend his first year at Hogwarts and seemed eager to know everything.
«Those are Barty Crouch» said Harry through his teeth, trying not to tear the page out of anger.
«Ellis McKinnon and his friend, Quirinus Raptor» finished him with some effort: it was abominable to connect that child full of communicative intelligence to that mad professor who had given a body and a soul to Voldemort, only to allow his reborn.
«And then?» shrieked James, and this time he turned the page by himself with vivid interest.
But the next picture hadn't been taken at the Hogwarts park. The time when everybody was at home must have ended long ago, now. The scenery, this time, was the old General Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Few years after, the life of the young people portrayed in the picture would have changed forever. But them -unaware and strong in their youth- were smiling at the camera, looking invincible as only fighters could be. They were the best wizards and witches at their time -Harry thought- but they had been wiped out anyway. And almost twenty years after, he finally succeeded in what they had failed, avenging their memory.
«Who are them?» asked Lily, showing interest for two guys almost identical with short red hair.
«They look like Fred and Roxie!»
She got really close, but at the same time she didn't.
«Fabian and Gideon Prewett» said Harry. «Two rowdy guys as few, and total troublemakers.»
«And the one between them? That...»
«Beautiful» said James, at the same time as Albus said «eerie!»
Harry didn't feel the need to look at her to know who they were talking about. «Dorcas Meadowes, the best witch of the magical world. The girl with brown hair is Marlene...And the one with the pointed hat is Dedalus Lux. Then there are Mad-Eye Moody, Dumbledore, Edgar and Amelia Bones and...»
With a sad sigh, Harry decided that talking about an army of martyrs wasn't really the happiest argument for some kids, on the Christmas Day: so -right before they could protest- he passed directly to the last page of the album. And a feel of almost childish relief filled his chest.
The last picture -the most beautiful one, the most important of all the pics- portrayed a few of smiling and happy teenagers .
The red-golden colours of the Common Room shone softly as a background.
The picture was so creased as to suppose that its last owner, before giving it to Hagrid, had looked at it for so long and so often to consume the colours: on the edge, in a tidy handwriting, was scrawled "The Amazing Nine" and then "Hogwarts, 1978".
There were all familiar faces, but yet Harry -and his children- couldn't help but observe it again and again: they were all so happy and cheerful that Harry wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
Mary McDonald was between Sirius and James and her feet were bent in the air: the two of them were holding her by the arms, lifting her as if she had no weight. Lily was posing near Remus -trying not to laugh- and Alice was hugging her as if she didn't want to let her go anymore. But with the other hand, she was holding Frank's in that gently manner of the lovers that use to touch lightly each others in that fine, almost invisible touch.
Emmeline Vance was standing by the other side of Sirius and her blonde hair were touching his black-lather jacket as if they were the shades of a drawing. She was smiling in a shy, and a bit elegant way, although in that moment Peter was showing her the funny scene that was happening beside them.
Harry didn't had the chance to meet them at the time the photo has been taken, but yet he could see it as if it was wrote on their faces and in the world all around them: they were a family and for a moment even he -just like his father- thought it would last forever .
«At the time of my first year at Hogwarts» said him slowly, pronouncing every word to make sure that everything he said would be imprinted. «Uncle Hagrid gave me this album to make me remember the parents I have never had, and the people that they had loved in their short life» murmured. «Now it is time that I give it to you. I leave it to you, Jem.» explained Harry, and when his son's eyes sparkled, he knew he has made the right choice. «But it belongs to all the three of you: you are still young, but it will come a day when you will have to make choices bigger than everything else. In those moments remember of Lily Evans and James Potter, of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew; of Mary McDonald, Alice Prewett, Frank Longbottom and Emmeline Vance. Remember all of them, so you will know you made the right choice.»
James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna looked at him without knowing what to say: and although there was nothing to say, Harry knew they had understood.
They were Potters – the fourth generation of warriors- and this was something that you couldn't just erase: it would never be erased, it was something that was in their destiny.
Harry left the album in James' hands. Then he got up with his chest full of proud and the heart rich of joy.
«Dad» called Lily, right before he could make a step. «Wait! If James Potter and Lily Evans hated each other, how did they end up together?»
«And then» continued Albus, gazing at Harry with his gorgeous green eyes. «How did the Amazing Nine become friends? And the Marauders? What about them?»
«Why did you said they are heroes?» finished James, ruffling his hair without a real need. «What did they do? What happened to them at Hogwarts? And after? »
Harry laughed. He knew that the story of their past would have intrigued them, but he didn't expected that much.
But the moment after, he told himself he was a fool. That was also the story of their present, and it would be told in the future and forever. In this way, the Marauders would return to run every night of New Moon; the girls would continue to laugh eternally –and the Amazing Nine would have been a family forever.
«Well» smiled Harry, sitting again near them.
This was going to be a memorable Christmas. «It all started when…»