Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, only any OC's that might turn up, I say might because there are so many character's that it's not hard to find someone to fill a role, though a few suggestions for Death Eater flunkies (for the outer circle members that get bossed around) would be appreciated.

I don't know how long this idea is going to stay lodged in my head, but until I finally hit that writers block, enjoy.

Edit: So many small details to change, little mistakes that don't make sense or are inconsistent :(

~~BREAKLINE~~

Prologue: The End of the Dark

Everyone knew, word spread from person to person, hushed whispers, excited proclamations, but it was only when the newspaper headlines confirmed it, did people come out of their hiding holes, to celebrate the end of the Wizarding War.

YOU-KNOW-WHO DEFEATED, HARRY SNAPE NAMED BOY-WHO-LIVED

Severus Snape sneered at the headline, Boy-Who-Lived, they were proclaiming his son a savior already, and it was only due to his old house in Spinner's End being virtually unknown to the Wizarding community that he didn't have nosy reporters on his doorstep, demanding interviews and snapping pictures of him and baby Harry. The child missed his mother, as if he knew his mother would no longer be there to rock him to sleep, coo as she fed him, give him goodnight kisses. Currently, only Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin had access to his location, though he insisted they walked to his neighborhood, having cut his floo and set up anti-apparition wards, not trusting the Ministry to not be monitoring for him specifically.

It had been difficult, Lily had always been better at expressing emotion then he had, and while he had lost much of the bitterness he harbored from his youth, expressing emotions other then contempt and distain had always been a struggle, even while he was alone, away from any observing eyes. That was not an environment a child should grow up in, he needed a mother, he needed someone in his life that could express affection for children, and while he loved his son very much, it was Lily who always made sure little Harry knew it.

"How will we both survive now, little one?" he asked the cooing child on his lap, who looked up at him with eyes the reminded him painfully of Lily, with the exact shade of emerald as Lily. While Peter and Remus had been a big help in looking after Harry, the three were still pretty clueless about looking after a toddler, and unlike Lily, Severus had very few friends to rely on for help, having cut ties with many of the Slytherins he knew when it went public that he was dating Lily Evans, though his knowledge of curses and hexes kept most of Slytherin from voicing their dislike.

That didn't stop the Gryffindors, who were far bolder about their dislike, though that also quickly stopped when the younger Macdonald was sent to the hospital wing in such a state that Poppy had considered sending the poor boy to St Mungo's. They had assumed it had been him at first, as Macdonald had managed to anger him greatly, via a curse that had hit Lily instead of him, but Poppy had confirmed he had been by Lily's bedside all day, and besides, the culprits were rather obvious from the glimpse he had gotten while he was by Lily's bedside. Sirius Black was rather vicious when it was personal; though he was pretty damned sure James had managed to get a few decent spells in too. Still, disliked by Slytherins and Gryffindors alike, it had been hard keeping friends in his last year of Hogwarts. While he didn't regret anything, it made times like this (when he was willing to swallow his pride and ask for help) difficult as the ones he could ask were already helping.

He was pulled from his musings rather abruptly, when the fireplace flared to life, and Dumbledore's face appeared in it, looking rather solemn instead of his usual cheer (he had temporarily allowed the floo to work, the news Dumbledore was bringing worth the risk). "Ah, Severus, just the man I needed to see. I have a letter two gentlemen insisted I pass to you, it's very urgent you read and reply apparently," as the fire spit out a letter with labeled Severus Snape in curly beautiful handwriting, though one he didn't recognize, onto the floor.

Hesitantly, Severus opened the letter, reading the contents quickly, before summoning new parchment and ink, writing a hurried reply, even as Dumbledore waited patiently. Normally, Severus had no care for those who were being tried in court, but this particular trial was more important than the slump he was in right now. For the first time since Lily's death, he felt alive again.

"Come on Harry, let's go save your silly Godfather and your equally silly Uncle,"

~~BREAKLINE~~

The trials following the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort, You-Know-Who, were a flurry of accusations, condemnations and desperate pleas of innocence, as Death Eaters were rooted out from their hiding holes following the supposed death of the Dark Lord. They both knew better, if the Dark Lord had truly been defeated, the mark that was branded onto their forearm would have faded, instead of being still as black and visible as it had been when they were first branded.

Frankly, neither of them had particularly cared whether or not the Dark Lord was dead or not, unlike some of his more fanatic supporters such as Bellatrix, their reasons for joining had been influenced purely be family and the notion that they were protecting those dear to them, though they both knew as soon as either of them got their hands on the traitor that had sold out Lily and Severus Snape, as well as baby Harold James Snape, they would quite happily tear him limb from bloody limb under the pretense of being angry at him for causing the Dark Lords downfall.

If Peter had been just a minute slower to warn the family…as it was, he had made it in time, so when the Dark Lord appeared on the Snape's doorstep in Godric Hollow (a secret wedding gift from the Potter family), they were prepared to fight to the death. Somehow, little Harry had heard the commotion, and crawled his way downstairs to investigate. His target right in front of him, the Dark Lord had tried to kill the child only to have Lily jump in the way. The rest of the fight was hard to tell, both Peter and Severus' angered grief fueled fighting, and the Dark Lords increasing irritation and the situation, he finally turned his wand on Harry, only to have the spell backfire on him.

Everyone had heard that night; Harry James Snape had survived the killing curse, the first to ever survive the killing curse, and that the Dark Lord was gone, his own spell reflected back at him. The tides had turned, the end of the war was once again visible and as Death Eaters were rounded up, they too, had been captured, though they didn't really put up a fight, letting Longbottom take them to be tried as they had what they expected was their last drink as free men.

They had spent the long days and nights in the same cell, any attempts at separating them had been met with fierce fighting and a multitude of hidden weapons being used, the Aurors stationed as guards had been woefully unprepared for wizards that had training for the event that they would be without wands. Dumbledore had visited once, just once, had stood there staring, at them with an unreadable expression, before walking out again without a word. Neither's family visited, which was fine with both of them, they had cut contact with family for this very reason.

And now, a week after they were brought to the Ministry, they were seated in front of the entire Wizengamot, looking like they didn't have a care in the world, as the court scribe rattled on about their crimes, which from what he heard every so often, was missing a lot of content. One did not become part of the Dark Lords inner circle in three short years by doing the bare minimum that was expected of a Death Eater. There was a good reason they were part of the Dark Lords favorites (he even refrained from torturing them needlessly) despite the Dark Lord knowing just how much loyalty they had.

Bracing himself for the inevitable guilty verdict and damnation, James Potter shot his companion a look that promised he would follow him to Hell and beyond. Sirius Black, despite the multitude of chains holding him down (far more than necessary, but they weren't taking chances after Sirius mutilated two Aurors for trying to separate them) smiled a bright heartwarming smile at him, and that was enough to reassure James that he had made the right choice after all.