Beware The Muggleborn
Lily Potter nee Evans was a smart witch. Anyone who knew her could tell you that. Her schoolwork was always exemplarily, her test scores record high. Yes, Lily was a very smart witch. No one however realised just how smart she truly was.
When Albus Dumbledore came to her and James, regarding a prophecy that could involve their unborn child, Lily felt something was off.
'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...'
It was vague at best, indicating either her child, or her friend Alice's as the likely choices. But as vague as it was, if Voldemort had heard of it, then there was a right to be worried. Lily couldn't help the nagging feeling at the back of her head though. It got worse when Albus suggested a fidelius spell over their home in Godric's Hollow. Why use a relatively unprotected house, fidelius spell aside, as a safe house from a madman, when there was a perfectly good, warded to the brim, manor in the Potter family.
She, being the hormonal wife, politely overrode her husband's words and sweetly told Albus that they would consider it. The moment the man was out of the house she turned on her husband and demanded they use the manor instead. James, being utterly terrified of his loving wife when she had that look in her eyes, agreed immediately.
Lily didn't stop there. Potter Manor was protected, but there were loopholes in its warding. The floo was the first thing to sort out, and she promptly had James seal it tighter than a vault at Gringotts. He hesitantly made the, completely valid, point that if it were sealed, how were any of their close friends to get in. Her reply was to rather smugly write a list of people that they would allow through. And when James tried to argue about the lack of certain people on that list, well let it be known that pregnant women are broody at the best of times and downright murderous at the worst. The list remained as is. Ten people, her, him and their parents obviously. Sirius and Remus, and Alice and Frank completed the group. A trusted healer would be added when and only when she found one.
Lily had never liked Peter, nor had she truly trusted him. Her instincts went haywire whenever he was around. Much like they did when Albus was around. She never used to be wary of them. The feelings had crept upon her not long after falling pregnant, and she wasn't about to ignore them. With the floo closed good and tight, her focus shifted to the wards themselves. They were good, very good, but not quite airtight. As Lord to the family, James was the only one who could tweak them. And under his wife's penetrating gaze, tweak them he did. He asked, once, why she wanted to change what he felt was the best protections magic could produce. She answered with a glare, and he promptly shut up and started casting. She wanted a fortress, she wanted people to feel like they'd been hit by a solid steel wall if they tried to breach the manor. James dutifully obliged, wondering if it was just the hormones or if his wife was mentally deranged. He was leaning towards mentally deranged, after all, he'd seen what she was like at school.
Lily still felt there was something missing. Then she remembered Albus' words, and decided a fidelius spell would finish it off. James attempted to suggest that they use Sirius as a secret keeper. Lily wasn't buying it. Sirius would of course guard their secret with his life, but he was too obvious. James, feeling bolder, then suggested they use Peter, since no one would think he'd be a suitable choice for a secret keeper. Lily shot her husband down and hard. Peter would be going nowhere near the manor. No, she had a much better choice to keep their secret, and cast the spell to create their secret. And so, ignoring a protesting husband, she dragged him to Gringotts to speak with the Potter account manager. She stated her case, and the wizened Goblin agreed at once. The Potters were one of the oldest customers they had, and they weren't about to loose them to some crazy Dark Lord. A team of warders would be at the manor the next morning, sharp. He himself would head them, and carry the title of secret keeper.
The same people on the floo list were added to the fidelius. Lily thought about talking to her sister regarding it, but realised that idea would go over like a lead balloon. Instead she vowed to visit and cast as much protective spells over Petunia's home as she was able. Petunia may not like it, her husband even less, but even they would realise the benefit of it, if only to stop unwelcome "freaks" from paying them a visit.
Now that she was satisfied that not even a nuclear bomb could penetrate the manor, she went about contacting the people she trusted. James was left to explain to his bewildered parents what Albus had told them, and why that resulted in his wife going mad, while Lily contacted Alice Longbottom. Her friend had apparently been briefed on the danger to her unborn child, and had taken the exact same course of paranoia. Great minds think alike. A rather jumpy looking Frank had met Lily at the door and escorted her inside where she was immediately accosted by his wife. The two bright minds found refuge in the Longbottom library and schemed, tossing ideas back and forth, making plans for some and outright rejecting others. This Dark Lord didn't know who he was messing with.
She returned to Potter Manor late in the evening, her head cleared and her hormones awakened. James may have had questions about where she had been, but he was too busy getting his organs sucked out through his lips to bother asking.
OOO
Remus Lupin gazed rather fearfully at the woman before him. Any protests he'd had scattered into the wind under that piercing glare. Lily was absolute. He was a Werewolf, yes. He was low on money, yes. He was a danger come the full moon, yes. But there was a perfectly warded basement he could use come the full moon, and wolfsbane stocked up on, meaning he was staying permanently at the manor, and that was final!
Sirius Black didn't have any arguments to protest. All she had to do with him was point and off he scurried. In this case, she made it easy for him. She pointed to his new room in his new home, and like a pup trying not to arouse the wrath of his master, in he went.
The elder Potter couple had at this point decided that Lily was actually doing the right thing, and had more or less left her to it. They certainly didn't mind the new lodgers, nor the changes in the wards. Their new policy was that if Lily decided, then that was it, and had told their son as much.
James realised he had to assert his dominance. He loved his wife, but surely this was taking things too far. She even had his parents under her sway, not to mention her own parents who had arranged to be given special emergency portkeys from the Goblins and had their fireplace set up so they could floo in whenever they wanted. Not that he minded, he wanted them to be just as safe as his own, but still this was getting to be too much. So, head held high, he firmly told her that she was becoming a bit too crazy about perfectly good defences, and asked her why she was snubbing Peter, and why she was avoiding the advice of the powerful leader of the light. She thought his attempts at being manly were cute, as she shot down each and every reason he had for why they should be on the list, and rather firmly retorted that nothing could be considered too much with Voldemort on the loose. He retreated with his tail firmly between his legs, reminded once more who the boss was in this family.
With her closest assets safely behind impenetrable walls, her parent's home warded as much as it could be and them given the escape route they might need, and the headache that was a trip to her sister over and done with, Lily decided it was time she found out more information about Voldemort. And his followers. With a twang of pain she realised that that meant Severus. But perhaps it wasn't too late for her old friend. Heavy hearted, she wrote him a letter. She didn't accuse, nor did she pry. She spoke only of missing him and of forgiveness. She spoke of a friendship shattered by a single word, and wanting to glue the pieces back together, if she could. A House Elf delivered the letter to the bank, where the Goblins would see that any reply would make it safely and securely back to her.
Two weeks later, fingers trembling, she opened Severus' reply.
'Lily
You have nothing to forgive. You did nothing to cause forgiveness.
My path has been chosen, and I choose to tell you that I have done something unforgivable. Please, if not for my sake then for the sake of your family, please leave the country. You are in terrible danger. I overheard part of a prophesy and told the Dark Lord. He is going to come after you. I have doomed you! Had I known that prophesy was about you I would have never told him.
I ask not for forgiveness because I deserve none. But please, I still cherish what we had, even after I uttered that damned word and lost the only real friend I had. Please run, hide, anything to stop him finding you.
I will always remember what we had. Always.
Severus'.
Lily was having none of that.
'Severus
You get your skinny arse to the Leaky Cauldron so that I can hex you in person!
How dare you imply that I can't forgive you. So you tried to prevent yourself getting cursed by reciting a prophecy to Lord Crazy, big deal. You want to be a someone, to have people recognise you as a great wizard? Well I have a newsflash for you, I already did. And I am not about to throw all that away because of some stupid insult. Yes, I was hurt, and yes I said some stupid things back at you. But everyone has to grow up, and I am not prepared to loose you over a school yard argument.
Oh, and your letter implied that you had a choice about me forgiving you. You don't. I forgive you, plain and simple. Time to forgive yourself.
I'll be there, bright and early. Don't keep me waiting.
Lily'.
Layered in protective spells and with her own emergency portkey she was ready for him. Needless to say she was relieved when he found the courage to appear. It didn't stop her from throwing a few choice spells his way, but eventually they were able to sit and talk. After Lily made use of her O in charms and put up a privacy spell so strong even Albus Dumbledore would have problems breaking it. They spoke of her pregnancy, they spoke of the mark adorning his arm, they even spoke of the prophecy and what else it could mean. Severus was wary of knowing the rest, his skills at occlumency not quite up to the task of shielding him from the Dark Lord. But Lily had other ideas.
That mark, it was charm work. Sure, it was done using parseltongue, but that was what made it a challenge. But first, she needed to speak to the Potter accounts manager regarding a new addition to the fidelius list. Severus shivered at her feral grin, and before he knew it he'd been whisked off to who knows where.
When Lily walked in the door with Severus Snape James nearly had a heart attack. His wife merely gave him a sweet smile and asked her darling husband if he would be ever so kind to arrange for a portkey to India. She might as well give him something to do to make him feel useful. Why his wife wanted to go to India was anyone's guess, but no one could say that James was a bad husband, so off he went to order a portkey, effectively distracting him from having his schoolyard enemy appear in his home. While he was gone Lily made use of the library while Remus had the unfortunate pleasure of watching Severus and Sirius circle each other like frothing wolves. He wondered if maybe James' parents had the right idea to dedicate a section of the manor to themselves and leave the youngsters to their own devices. Before a curse war could commence, James returned. Lily, not long in appearing herself, research parchment neatly tucked under her arm and money bag on hand, kissed him lovingly, begged the key phrase, snagged the portkey out his hand, and had left with Severus before Sirius could work out what had happened.
Severus wasn't sure what was going on. All he knew was that they were looking for someone who could speak parseltongue. India thankfully held no prejudice over such an ability and a gentleman was soon found who gave an oath of secrecy when asked, used to people coming to him for help. Severus felt like a lab animal as he was poked and prodded while the man hummed and tutted away. Then with a dazzling smile the dark skinned man looked up at Lily, and proclaimed that this Voldemort was an idiot. Bewildered, Severus looked on as he then proceeded to hiss under his breath, his focus on the mark. Severus tried to protest that it wouldn't work, only to have his jaw hit the ground when the little snake coiled round the skull started to fade away. When the mark was naught but a skull, the man finished, and Lily pounced. Wincing as his arm was nearly wrenched from its socket, Severus watched his childhood friend as she uttered charm after charm. While she did, the man explained that while the spell itself was strong, this Voldemort had been too confident that no one else would know parseltongue, and had foolishly not sealed the mark to his own signature, allowing anyone with the speech of the serpents to take away the protections. Without them, all that was left was a whole heap of charm work. He chuckled as Severus stared blankly at him. Their one sided conversation was broken when Lily sat up exhausted but triumphant. Severus' arm was bare. It took him an entire minute to realise the dreaded mark he had been branded with was actually gone. Not covered over, gone.
He laughed. What else could he do? The mighty Lord Voldemort's powerful tool of control had been taken away, by a random parseltongued man and a school graduate with an outstanding in charms. His sides were aching by the time he composed himself, and he suddenly realised the benefit of their actions.
'I…I know of another who regrets taking the mark'.
Lily all but flew into the manor. She ignored her husband entirely and instead swept into Sirius' arms. He gave James an "I have no idea, honest!" look as she murmured into his chest. When she finally got herself under control she gave him a smile so radiant it would have powered a hundred homes.
'Your brother is coming home!'
Severus had noticed the youngest Black child acting suspiciously. He hadn't asked, but instead did a very careful sweep of the young man's mind. Regulus' secrets were laid bare, and they echoed Severus' own. As he rubbed his bare arm, he told Lily of what he had seen in his fellow deatheater's head.
While Sirius was tasked with writing to the little brother he had once been so close to, Lily chose to concentrate on something else Severus had found in Regulus' mind. Apparently the young man had been chosen to accompany Voldemort to hide something of great importance. Voldemort appeared to have used a ritual to split his soul, more than once if what Regulus overheard was true. Her Ravenclaw's mind was in research mode, and no one would get her out of that library before she was ready.
Severus wasn't sure what had happened. He had simply responded to Lily's letter, and now he'd practically been placed under house arrest within Potter Manor. The House Elves had retrieved his things and Lily had given him a room as far away from the marauders as possible, the manor was thankfully big enough for them to live separate lives within its walls, though taking meals together was a tense affair.
What made it worse was that Lily never emerged from the library to eat. James, when he realised this, had stood to fetch his wife. Help, surprisingly, came from Severus, who quickly prevented him from getting any further than the doorway. He let James in on a secret that clearly the husband didn't know about his wife, interrupting her in the middle of a research project was a sure fire way of getting hexed into oblivion. James immediately sat back down and started eating, he knew that feeling all too well and didn't want any more reasons to get on her bad side. To ensure he remained out of the fire line, he asked Severus if there was anything else he should know about his darling wife. Giving his old enemy a look of sympathy, Severus got into conversation about the quirks and temperament of Lily Potter nee Evans.
Fleamont and Euphemia thought that Potter manor had never been this lively.
Lily finally emerged, a dark look adorning her features. The men were understandably nervous, but they had nothing to worry about. Her ire was for Voldemort. Horcrux making was one of the darkest magic known, and he'd potentially done it more than once. Help was needed, and the first place she went to was Gringotts. The Goblins shared her anger, and she eagerly handed over her research for them to inspect. The item Regulus knew of was a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin. Using that, and what she'd manage to discover about Voldemort, Lily had reasoned that he was using similar treasured items to host his potential soul pieces. The Goblins saw no faults with that, and so assured her they would do everything they could to find these items. Luckily they had a nifty way of removing the taint. The pigs they used wouldn't think it so lucky. They, thanks to Regulus and Severus, already knew the location of the locket.
They'd also given her a hint about two of the occupants the manor was hosting, and urged her to tell them as soon as possible. She did so the moment she arrived home. The two went to the Goblins, curious about the claims, only to find that they were indeed true. They returned to Potter Manor Lord Black and Lord Prince, and totally flabbergasted. Sirius immediately knew what his first order of business was, figuring out why he and not Regulus, who was their mother's favourite, had been made head of Black house.
Severus, who had always had second hand clothes and books, couldn't get his head around how much inheritance he had from his mother's family. He understood why she hadn't told him, she probably hadn't known. Females were apparently not entitled to be head of Prince house. In the privacy of his rooms he sighed and wiped a tear off his cheek. The first thing he would do would be to set up a proper memorial stone to remember her by.
Sirius eventually decided to meet with his little brother. The man was pale and ill in appearance, but gratefully returned the hug. The elder brother could see what having the mark had done to Regulus, and hinted that there was a way out. But first, he wanted to know why his brother had passed the headship to him. Regulus answered by explaining that, as Sirius knew, his becoming a Gryffindor caused their parents, their mother especially, to grow angry with him. Walburga had of course then insisted on disowning him, but their father, Orion, hadn't wanted to make it official, and thus it had been in name only. Walburga hadn't been happy but his word was final. Because of that, had Sirius went to the bank after coming of age, he could have been Lord Black to begin with. As he didn't, Walburga had insisted Regulus do so to cut him off from his inheritance. When their father died though, and after taking the mark and learning of the horcrux, he'd secretly transferred the headship to his brother, confident that Sirius would put it to better use than he ever could. He had planned on switching the locket with a fake, and it was unlikely that he would have survived the encounter. It earned him a manly hug, and Sirius would pretend he wasn't crying.
He, after asking Lily and visiting Gringotts, brought his brother to the manor and let the woman look at him. She smirked and whisked him off to India with a bag of gold. She returned triumphant a few hours later, gold spent and a young man in shock trailing behind her. Amused Severus patted Regulus on the shoulder, been there, done that. As Regulus was no longer a deatheater, and thus in danger from both Voldemort and his mother who would undoubtedly drag him back to be marked again, Lily situated Regulus in a room close to Severus, and no amount of protesting that he would be fine would make her change her mind. Later that evening the boys gathered to explain the Rules of Lily to Regulus. She was so proud that they were getting along.
Sirius organised a meeting of the Black family, and the Goblins agreed to host it at Gringotts. The meeting was formal, which meant an oath of both secrecy and weapon surrender. As head of the family, anyone trying to attack Sirius would be punished by the ancient laws surrounding the house. Regulus sat beside him as they waited for the others to appear. Andromeda arrived first, though no longer officially in the family being personally invited by the lord of the house allowed her to sit in. She greeted Sirius as a favourite cousin should, and giving a short nod to Regulus who she still thought was a deatheater. Sirius would explain it to her later.
Walburga arrived next, and promptly took a hissy fit about Sirius and Andromeda being there. She practically demanded that Regulus throw them out, only to fall into her seat stunned when she found out he wasn't Lord Black any more. She tried to argue that it wasn't his right, her voice rising until she was screeching that they were all traitors and that the Dark Lord would know. Sirius eventually had to order her to shut up and sit down, then used family magic to ensure she wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone. As she sat there fuming, Bellatrix and a heavily pregnant Narcissa appeared, believing Regulus to be the Lord Black they glared at Sirius and Andromeda, before politely nodding to Walburga, who more or less ignored them in her anger.
Before Sirius could do more than introduce himself as the new Lord Black, causing Bellatrix to seethe and Narcissa eye's to widen, the Goblins asked if they could have a word with Bellatrix before the meeting commenced. Curious the group watched as they escorted the woman out the doors. She returned not long afterwards, screeching like a Banshee, and blaming everything on Sirius. In fact she was so angry she did something incredibly stupid, and tried to attack him. The laws of the Black family were iron clad, she dropped dead at his feet. A little more than shocked, Sirius turned to the Goblins for help. They explained that they had done an entirely routine, nudge nudge wink wink, search of the Lestrange vaults, and found something of extremely dark nature. As Lady Lestrange had part control over the vaults, and was already in Gringotts, she was informed then told that almost the entire contents of the vault were taken as punishment for having such an illegal item. The Goblin, while explaining this, was giving Narcissa a significant look. The message to her was clear, anything dark found in the Malfoy vaults, any vault for that matter, would be punishable by a hefty fine. She silently swallowed, thinking about all the questionable items her husband, and his friends, had collected. One in particular.
As the Goblins removed the body of Bellatrix, Sirius called the meeting to order again. Not that it mattered anymore, but Bellatrix's marriage was dissolved and she was struck from the family. He smirked when he realised that the Goblins wanted to drain the Lestrange vaults before he put that decision into effect, otherwise they'd have to talk to her husband. Before he could turn on Narcissa, she made a confession. She didn't have the dark mark, and she wasn't actively involved in deatheater activity. The Dark Lord had given her husband an item of great importance, and reeking of dark magic. Lucius had taken it proudly and swore to guard it. Narcissa didn't like it, didn't want it near the baby, and if it would save her from becoming Narcissa No Name, would gladly get rid of it. Sirius took the offer, and she called upon her House Elf Dobby to retrieve the item. The pitiful thing dressed in rags returned with a diary, looking for all the world as if he wanted to toss it out the nearest window. Sirius looked at the Elf in sympathy, making a decision. Narcissa would transfer the Dobby to his services, her marriage would be dissolved, and she would take back the Black name. And, he thought rather smugly, Lucius would have to return the rather substantial dowry for her. Lucius would not like it, Sirius did not care. Narcissa, after a moment of thought, agreed.
Sirius' business with Andromeda was easy. She was welcomed back into the family. His business with Walburga wasn't as simple. The woman wasn't pleased with anything that had happened, but couldn't go against the head of the family for fear of the same thing that happened to Bellatrix happening to her. After a fair amount of screaming and attempted guilt tripping, she was eventually confined to Grimmauld Place with a communication block in place and no way to leave except in an emergency to which she would be able to portkey to the Black island, and stay there in the same manner. Only her Elf Kreacher would be her companion, who was also given specific orders not to talk to anyone other than members of the Black family and to only take orders from Sirius and Regulus.
Regulus, while he still loved his mother, knew this was for the best. It would keep her safe, while preventing her from letting Voldemort know what had happened.
Sirius on the other hand would have loved to ship the damned woman and her mad Elf away to the furthest reaches of the world and burn Grimmauld Place to the ground, but he knew that despite their madness, his brother did love them and wouldn't be happy if he had. This worked just as well though, Grimmauld Place had become a dreary place and certainly unfit for children. When their mother died, however long that took, it was decided that he would let Regulus, Andromeda and Narcissa handle what happened to the manor. As far as he was concerned, he was done with it.
After the meeting there was discussion on what to do with the new members of the family. All involved would be hunted once word got out, so he needed to get his butt in gear and decide the best way to protect them. He couldn't use his old home, not that he wanted to, and while Lily and James, and of course Fleamont and Euphemia, were happy to have them move in, well a little wary of Narcissa but understanding that she was due to give birth soon and would be vulnerable on her own, Sirius would rather have one of the other Black properties done up. Mostly it would allow for another place to hide out should Potter Manor be attacked, but also it would give the Slytherin members of the group their own space should they wish it. With that in mind he had a look over what was available and decided on a place just outside of Edinburgh. With the help of the others, he had the place warded just as strongly as Potter manor, then went ahead and did the same thing as Lily had done with the fidelius, asking his accounts manager to key everyone in the group into the secret. Lily and Alice had the right idea about that spell.
Lily though preferred for now that everyone stayed in Potter manor. The more the merrier in her opinion. So both Narcissa and the Tonks family were added to their own fidelius list. And to make it even safer, Sirius arranged for the Tonks family home to be warded as well, and also placed under the fidelius. And as attacks on the muggle world were growing, and getting dangerously close to where Lily's parents lived, they too were invited to stay. That gave Fleamont and Euphemia the chance to chat and let the other couple know about the delightful chaos that had been happening lately.
Lily's little idea had grown. She wanted to live in a home that was safe from any intruder, and she got it. So did the Longbottom family, the Black family, the Tonks family, the Evans family, the Dursley family and the Prince family. Between the group they had four heavily warded manors, Severus had just about fainted when he discovered Prince Manor and quickly set about copying the others with protections, and three, the Tonks, Evans and the Dursleys, well warded homes. Each building was linked to an emergency floo network, including the Dursleys just to be sure, and each manor, plus the Tonks home, had a fidelius spell guarded by an account manager at Gringotts. It gave the boys, Frank especially since he'd been on his own with his lovely demented wife, a chance to get together without lingering doom looking over their shoulders. The ladies, seven year old Nymphadora included, used the time to gush over the unborn children, plan showers and debate names. Narcissa liked Draco, with a father like Lucius her child was very likely going to grow to be quite the little Dragon. Alice decided on Neville if it was a boy, and possibly Audrey for a girl. Lily felt simple names, such as Harry and Elizabeth would work for her.
Much of Voldemort's money had been pulled from underneath him with the loss of the Lestrange and the Malfoy fortunes, and one of his best soldiers was dead, three more out of his control for good. To put it lightly, he was spitting mad. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't find the source of his anger. Instead he took it out on the public. Something had to be done, and fast.
The Goblins, using Lily's research and their own, had struck gold. It was risky, but let it be said that Goblins were not ones to run from a risk. Close to the Riddle family home was the Gaunt family shack. Both of these were linked to Voldemort, Riddle from his father and Gaunt from his mother. Rather surprisingly, the all mighty Dark Lord was a half blood, his father being a muggle. Within the shack, practically right under Voldemort's rather deformed snakelike nose, the Goblins retrieved a tiny, insignificant looking ring. Looks were deceiving, and the traps surrounding the ring certainly laid claim to that. They had successfully found another horcrux. Lily had come up with the idea, backed by Regulus and Severus, that Voldemort was heavily into magical numbers. With school record as her guide, she believed he had a thing for the number seven, and as such created horcruxes to match, six of them and the last piece left in Voldemort. However from what Regulus had overheard, Voldemort hadn't created all of them yet. They had the locket, recovered soon after Regulus had told the Goblins where it was, the ring, the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle recovered from Dobby the former Malfoy House Elf, and Helga Hufflepuff's cup from the Lestrange vault. Narcissa confessed that Voldemort had mentioned his desire to use the prophesy child as his last horcrux. Lily was almost frothing at the mouth at that information, Alice not far behind. Voldemort would have the children only when he got past their irate mothers. James and Frank felt the tiniest pang of pity for the mad man. The Goblins, with this information, assured them that the last horcrux would be found, hopefully before Voldemort attempted to make his sixth one.
Once she got a quiet moment to herself, Lily took a long hard think about the situation. Her instincts were playing up, and Albus Dumbledore was in the middle of the chaos. It had been easy, very easy for her to find out more about the so called Dark Lord. Any Ravenclaw worth their salt would have been able to work out from school records that the name Voldemort was an anagram of the name Tom Marvolo Riddle. Surely the great headmaster, leader of the light would have been able to do the same? In fact, he was sure to have known, since Tom Riddle had his schooling at Hogwarts, and was under Albus' eye. He'd become head boy, but it was no cover up for some of the questionable things he had done during his time at school. The more Lily thought about it, the more she was certain than Albus knew which way the young boy was going, and let it happen anyway.
The word was put out to the group. Don't under any circumstanced trust Albus Dumbledore. She could very well be wrong, and he could be the most trustworthy man in the world, but until she was sure, the rule was final. There were protests, of course, but her reasoning was sound and it didn't take long for the rest to see her point of view. The Slytherins in the group were already distrustful of Albus, for too long he had allowed them to be bullied by the other houses and took points when they tried to stand up for themselves. If he truly was up to something, they had Lily's back.
The birth of the children was a terrifying affair, for all men involved. Lily had found a trusted healer, coincidentally the Indian man who helped remove the dark marks, who would allow the woman to have their births at home. Narcissa of course was first, and since her husband was not there, she vented her frustration out on Sirius. Everyone outside heard the words as clear as day.
'I SWEAR I WANT THIS BABY OUT OF ME EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO RAM YOUR WAND IN THERE AND BLAST IT OUT! SIRIUS YOU EVEN CRACK A HINT OF A SMILE AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU WALK BOWLEGGED FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE LIFE!'
A few hours later and she was tearfully cooing over the tiny bundle in her arms, surrounded by the girls. Sirius, who had yet to uncover his crotch, was handed a stiff drink by James' father and comforted by Remus and Ted, while Severus and Regulus were laughing themselves stupid. At least they were until Narcissa called for Severus to come in. As he nervously crept inside, Lily's father reminded Regulus that if he ever decided to marry and have children, he would go through the same thing. He missed the young man's look. Not bloody likely! Severus came out shell shocked, informing the group that he had just been named godfather of little Draco.
James and Frank shared a terrifying glance, it was their turn next.
Alice went into labour first, followed a few hours later by Lily. While the Potters and Evans families gathered in one room, Frank rather fearfully joined his wife in another. For a while it seemed quiet, the healer moving between rooms and giving authorised orders to the House Elves. Then came the screaming.
'JAMES SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN I WILL SNAP OFF YOUR DICK AND MAKE YOU EAT IT! OH GOD GET IT OUT!'
'MERLIN COME OUT ALREADY! FRANK I SWEAR YOU ARE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AND IF YOU EVEN MENTION HAVING SEX TO ME I WILL WEAR YOUR BALLS AS EARRINGS!'
Nymphadora tugged on her father's arm.
'Does having a baby always hurt that much?'
Ted quickly directed his daughter to his wife and left her to it, not up to helping with that question. She gave him a scathing look, but attempted to answer.
'Having a baby does hurt sweetheart. The mummy has to squeeze them out of a very small area'.
The little girl shivered, her hair turning a small variety of colours.
'I never want babies!' she declared.
Andromeda and Narcissa gave her a fond smile.
'It may hurt dear, but it's a very wondrous thing being a mother' Narcissa spoke, tilting Draco's bottle slightly to help him drink.
Ted decided not to comment. It was just as wonderful being a father, especially for the first time, but the father wasn't the one to "squeeze them out of a very small area".
Neville Longbottom was born on the 30th of July, Harry James Potter followed at midnight on the 31st. The proud parents, mothers being moved to the same room, hugged their precious bundles close, and finalised who would be godparents. The mothers decided each of them would be the other child's godmother. During her time spend with the group Alice had formed a close friendship with Remus. The hidden Ravenclaw in him appealed to her. So after a brief discussion with her husband, who quite frankly had no problems with the idea, they were able to tell the flabbergasted Remus that he had just been made godfather to little Neville. He tried to convince them otherwise, but even after giving birth, Alice was a formidable opponent. He should have known, she was friends with Lily after all. Lily and James made a tearful Sirius godfather of baby Harry.
Not long after Lily had Harry, Albus began to contact them. He pleaded with them to consider his idea on the fidelius spell on Godric's Hollow. Strangely enough, he didn't send the same letters to the Longbottoms. Alice told the Potters that Albus had told her and Frank that their child could be in danger from Voldemort, but hadn't mentioned a fidelius spell. Alice had thought of that herself. Lily's instincts were going crazy again. Voldemort was on the move, the Goblins had yet to find another horcrux, and they were running out of locations. Lily was out of options, and agreed to meet with Albus at Hogwarts. She may not trust him, but perhaps he would give her some ideas. A few days later, with Sirius watching little Harry, she and James travelled to Hogwarts to meet with the headmaster. He was busy that day, and part way through the meeting had to rush off to help with an emergency within the school, leaving the Potters in his office. Lily took the time to really have a nosy round the room. James had been called up here plenty of times as a student, but she'd been up only once or twice, and not long enough to look around. The trinkets on his sideboard fascinated her, though she hadn't a clue what they did. Neither did James, for all the times he'd been there.
'Lily Evans and James Potter, aren't you a bit old to be here?'
They both started at the question, believing Albus or another professor had returned and caught them snooping. However it was the sorting hat that had spoken. Relaxing the couple responded, talking about Harry and mentioning that they were, as everyone was, keeping a cautious eye on the activity of Voldemort. The sorting hat hummed to itself, then spoke.
'How are those bright minds of yours? May I have a look?'
Lily was wary, but it assured her that it was only curious, and was under oath to keep any secrets it found. Finding that reasonable, she placed it on her head.
'Hmm…yes, quite a bit brighter. I still say you would have made a strong candidate for Ravenclaw. But Gryffindor has done you well. I see…you have been quite busy haven't you'.
It fell silent for a moment, and Lily swore she could hear a muffled conversation.
'Hogwarts has offered her help. The room of requirement, seventh floor in the left corridor, opposite the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet. Walk past it three times thinking about what you need, and the door will appear. The item you are after, is the diadem of Rowenda Ravenclaw'.
She was horrified. Voldemort had hidden a horcrux in the school itself! The sorting hat had one last statement to make.
'I suggest you use the strongest spell you can on a container to protect yourself from its taint'.
Lily had it on the shelf and was back in her seat when Albus returned. She quickly whipped out a baby monitor that she'd left in her bag and invented an emergency with Harry. Albus was full of understanding. He was baffled by the strange device, clueless to what it did and too busy to ask. If he did know, he would have realised that it was off and too far away from Harry to work. He ushered the two out, apologising that he was unable to escort them to the gates as he had much paperwork to finish, and begging them to consider the fidelius charm. Lily pretended to consider, then asked if he could meet tomorrow to finalise the plan. Albus was only too happy to allow it, and the three parted ways. The next day they appeared, said hello to Hagrid on the way in, and headed up to the headmaster's office. There they chatted for a while, ultimately agreeing to the spell and asking for some time to think about the secret keeper. As they were leaving Lily asked sweetly if they couldn't possibly take some time to walk around the school. Reminisce about their time there seventh floor. Smiling Albus waved them on and in no time they were up on the seventh floor. She took James' hand, kissed him on the cheek, and led the way to the room of requirement. It opened at their instructions, and James peeked inside, then glanced around to ensure no one was in the area.
'Lily, I have stood by all your decisions since Albus first visited regarding the prophesy, even the ones I wasn't happy with. But this time I must insist. You stay here, and let me retrieve the diadem'.
He stopped her protests.
'If anything were to happen to you I would never forgive myself. Harry needs you, if either of us were to go, I'd rather it be me'.
She pulled him into a hug, sobbing quietly. Then she wiped her eyes and pulled away, giving him a glare.
'I'd rather it be neither of us. Don't get killed, or I will bring you back and kill you myself'.
He chuckled and slipped inside, drawing his wand to conjure up a box for the diadem and hitting it with as many protective spells as he could. A shiver went up Lily's spine as she waited. She had a sudden image of Sirius in Azkaban, her and James dead, and Harry living in a cupboard under the stairs under the hateful watch of Petunia and her husband. A whimper escaped her lips, before she shook herself out of it and growled softly. She would not allow that future to come to pass. She smiled with relief as James exited the room, holding up a bag with a grin.
'See, not hard. Don't know why you were so worried'.
A laugh burst out her lips and she playfully punched him.
'Shut up and let's get this to the Goblins'.
A few days later Albus came to Godric's Hollow to perform the fidelius spell. Lily, James and he debated over the secret keeper. James wanted Sirius, but Lily felt it was too obvious. Albus suggested they use Sirius as a decoy and instead choose someone else. He hinted that because Voldemort was recruiting Werewolves using promises of freedom and fortune, that Remus may not be all that trustworthy as a secret keeper. They needed a good friend. Someone who wouldn't appear a good choice for a secret keeper, which would be all the better reason for choosing them. Someone, like Peter Pettigrew. Lily and James agreed, believing him to be the best choice. James went to fetch his friends, while Lily introduced Albus to Harry. Sirius and Peter were brought over and the plan was explained. They agreed, believing it to be the best course. Sirius left and Albus performed the spell, tying the Potter's fate to Peter Pettigrew. Once he finished he wished them luck, and left them to prepare. James turned to his friend and after introducing Harry, apologised for not spending much time with him. Peter hadn't noticed, and that made Lily more suspicious. They bid him farewell and he went his merry way home. Lily shared a look with James as she cuddled Harry close. He nodded, he'd realised too. They'd barely spoken with Peter for close to a year, and he'd barely noticed, that wasn't right.
'Honey, it's time to get started'.
She nodded and placed Harry in his playpen. Together the couple went round the house, calling for House Elves to transport everything irreplaceable to the manor. With very little furniture left, they started conjuring trinkets and photos to make the house looked lived in. Harry's potential room was decorated the most, they went all out to add fake toys and books and decorations. Then, they joined forces and conjured their greatest creation. Golems, perfectly shaped in the form of Lily, James and Harry Potter, animated to copy their movements, powered enough to last a year, and with a little of their blood to tie them into the wards and make them seem real to any attacker. Lily smiled at fake Lily, giving James a nod. He picked up Harry who had been watching them curiously, blew his son a raspberry to make him giggle, and headed to the fire to floo home. Lily followed, but before she flooed away, she paused and looked round the house. One more failsafe, that's all it needed. She gave a smirk, she knew just the thing.
'You took your time'.
'Sorry dear, forgot to do one last thing' she answered, giving him a sweet kiss.
A month later, they got the news they were waiting for. Peter was working for Voldemort. Peter had betrayed them. Voldemort personally visited Godric's Hollow, eager to rid himself of the blasted child prophesised to defeat him. And he felt that the Potter child was the one. He'd sent a team of deatheaters to try and find the home of the Longbottoms, just to be sure. The mad man smirked as he approached the neat little garden and the country looking cottage. This would be easy. He lifted his wand and shot out a series of spells, shattering windows and blowing the door open. James Potter ran out and engaged him in battle, but the Dark Lord easily overpowered the pathetic man and as James was backed into the living room, yelling for his mudblood wife to take Harry and run, Voldemort made the final kill.
'Avada Kedavra!'
Voldemort laughed, the mudblood would never escape, his spells would never allow it. He climbed the stairs and followed the sound of weeping, finding himself outside what he believed was little Harry's room. It was barricaded, but that was of no issue to him, and he blasted it open.
'Stand aside girl and I might let you live!'
'Not Harry! Please, no, not Harry…I'll do anything!'
He had no time for this.
'Avada Kedavra!'
He watched uninterested as she fell, his gaze lifting to look at the child.
'You have caused a lot of problems, Harry Potter'.
The boy gazed at him with his wide green eyes, almost the colour of the curse Voldemort was planning on killing him with.
'Avada Kedavra!' BOOM!
It was harsh, and it just about killed her to cast it, even if he was a fake, but she felt it was worth it. If a prophesy wanted her son to kill the Dark Lord, then her son would kill the Dark Lord. And the power he knew not, was the combined efforts of family and friends, and a blasting charm she attached to the golem of her child, activated when a spell hit it. The house was levelled, taking Voldemort with it.
Albus arrived not long after, one of his trinkets alerting him to the attack. He entered carefully, expecting bodies. It was a high price to pay, but that prophesy needed to come true to allow him to defeat Voldemort. The parents were of no real concern. If the boy died, he would be hailed a hero, if Voldemort died, it would be easy to remove the boy's memories and take the glory. Albus wasn't evil, but he had become used to the fame and fortune of being a hero. He finally found a body in what was left of Harry's bedroom, but it wasn't the one he wanted.
He would later find out that every marked deatheater, and Voldemort had marked them all, had perished in the backlash of his death. Many of the marked were lining Minister Bagnold's pocket, and without their support she quickly lost her position, as did many of her potential replacements for secretly supporting Voldemort's cause. A more efficient minister took her place, and within months had slotted people into jobs and upped the ranks of others. Arthur Weasley couldn't believe his luck when he was approached regarding a new job, wage increase, and better hours to suit his ever growing family. Though he rather hoped this child would be the last, now that his Mollywobbles finally had her daughter. He was thinking more in the lines of future grandchildren.
Slowly but surely the wizarding world of Britain was able to move into a better, less prejudice life.
Lily finished reading the morning paper as her husband fought to feed Harry.
'How do you feel about all of us taking a vacation and travelling the world? Teaching the children how the rest of the world lives? We can come back when it's time for them to go to Hogwarts'
'Will Severus manage? He's been doing pretty well in his new business?'
'He's been working his socks off, it will be good for him to take a break. It's not like he needs the money after all. And if he goes then we'll have a better time of convincing Regulus'.
'Never would have seen that coming. They really didn't want to experience childbirth huh?'
'A bit overboard, but I think they make a sweet couple. Sirius face was priceless'.
'I know! Remus and I couldn't stop laughing! You know we really have to get Padfoot a girl'.
'He'll figure it out in his own time. I'd say try getting Remus hooked up but I don't think young Nymphadora will thank you for it'.
'That kid's so stubborn, I wouldn't be surprised if she does wind up marrying him one day'.
'Who do you think our Harry will choose for a partner?'
'Don't worry honey, I'm sure one day he'll pick out a beautiful, fiery girl to be his own, just like I did'.
'You're such a charmer. I love you James'.
'I love you Lily, to death and beyond'.
Lily Potter nee Evans was a very smart witch. But no one would ever know just how smart she really was.