Chapter 1

Sirius Black lounged back in his chair and placed two cards on the table. "Two, please," he said to the dealer. He had been winning all night, not even bothering to use magic. The dealer studied him, trying to get a read on him, but Sirius' face remained impassive. Inwardly, he smiled. He was really enjoying hanging out with these muggles. When James had suggested it as a way to hide from Voldemort, he had resisted, protested even. But he had to admit he found it quite fun. These blokes were rather a seedy lot, but his landlady was a kindly old bird, and the girl he had been dating was absolutely lovely.

Suddenly, he felt a prickling on his skin, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up. He felt a twisting in his gut. He wasn't sure of the source of the BAD FEELING, but to be sure, he felt he should check on Lily and James. He folded, excused himself from the rest of the game, picked up his winnings, and left.

When he apparated behind the Potters' house in Godric's Hollow, he immediately knew that his worry wasn't just paranoia. He rushed through the back door and into the house. "James!" he called out, "Lily!"

No answer. He stopped, and felt frozen in place. His breath came in ragged gasps, much more from fear than from the short run to the house. A baby's cry broke the still, eery quiet in the normally bustling household.

"Harry," he said, and he rushed up the back steps to Harry's room. Harry continued to cry, and Sirius tried to keep himself from wondering why Lily or James hadn't picked him up and comforted him. When he reached the doorway to Harry's room, the sight that met him confirmed his unthought fear. Lily Potter lay lifeless in front of the crib. The room was dark save for the illumination from Harry's little wand night light. Sirius knelt by her side and felt for a pulse. Nothing. His stomach churned, and tears sprang to his eyes. If Lily was dead, that meant that James…

Harry had continued to cry, and now he was trying to say Sirius' name, which he hadn't quite mastered yet. Sirius stood and scooped up the small boy. He whispered comforting sounds and took the boy from the room. He had to get Harry out of here. The boy had obviously witnessed the death of his mother, and the danger might not yet be over. He had to find James, but if James was…

His limbs went weak, and he nearly dropped Harry. He walked into the hallway and turned on a light. Harry had quieted some, and Sirius looked into the little boy's face. What the hell is that? There was a zigzag wound on Harry's forehead and a trail of blood seeping from it. Sirius went to the bathroom, cleaned the wound, and healed it with a charm. Or tried to, at least. The bleeding stopped, and the wound had sealed up, but the zigzag shape remained on the boy's head.

He heard someone coming up the stairs, and he turned so that Harry was shielded by his body and aimed his wand in the direction of the noise. "James?!" he called out, his voice breaking with grief.

"Sorry, no," a familiar voice said. The thin form and greasy hair was the last thing that James had expected to see.

"Snivellus?"

"Really, Sirius, now is not the time for childish names. Where is Lily?"

"She's, she's—. Snivellus, did you do this? Did you kill her?"

Sirius had never seen an expression of pain and grief on Severus Snape's face before. In fact, he would have thought him incapable of such emotion. Snape turned from Sirius and began looking in the rooms. When he found her, his wail of grief was so raw that Sirius knew that Snape had nothing to do with her death. He stood in the doorway of Harry's room and looked in to see Snape on the floor with Lily's head in his lap. Tears flowed down his sallow cheeks and he continued to wail.

"He said he would keep her safe! He promised! He promised!" Snape sounded like a child railing at an injustice. And, of course, it was an injustice.

"Snape, we've got to get out of here. I've got to find James! I've got to keep Harry safe!"

"He's dead! His body is in the living room! How is the boy alive?" Snape's words hung between them, and Sirius could not process what he said. It felt like a nightmare, two of his best friends killed, and Harry, poor Harry, with hardly a mark on him. What could have killed them but left Harry alive?

"You were the secret-keeper! You did this!" Snape yelled accusingly.

"It was Peter." The guilt washed over Sirius as he realized what had happened. He had convinced Lily and James to make Peter secret-keeper, since everyone would assume they would pick Sirius. It was all his fault. If he had been secret-keeper, Lily and James would still be alive.

A cry from downstairs broke through his remorse. Remus! He ran downstairs, still shielding Harry. He did not want Harry to see. Harry shouldn't have to see this.

Remus was bent over a body lying in the living room floor. He reacted quickly to the sound of Sirius' footsteps on the stairs, and he shot off a hex. Sirius dodged it and called Remus' name.

"Remus, we have to get out of here! We have to get Harry somewhere safe!"

"Harry's okay? And Lily, is Lily okay, too?" The hope in Remus' voice made Sirius begin crying again. He shook his head slowly.

"She's dead, mate. Voldemort must have—Peter, oh, I am going to kill Peter." Rage unlike any Sirius had ever felt overtook the grief, and he felt strengthened by it.

"Not now, Sirius," Remus said. "Later, yes, but for now, we have to get Harry somewhere safe."

"We need to get to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore," Severus said as he descended the stairs.

"Snape?" Remus' voice questioned.

"We have no time to lose. We must get Harry to Albus. He'll know what to do." Snape led the way out the door, and Sirius and Remus followed. Out in the road, Snape took three deep breaths, then grasped hold of the other two men's wrists. He apparated them all to Hogsmeade.

"Expecto Patronum!" Snape said, and a doe patronus pranced through the night to the castle. The three men began walking in the same direction as the doe.

"Why were you at Lily and James' house tonight?" Remus asked.

"I had a bad feeling, an awful feeling," Snape replied.

"I did too!" Remus and Sirius said as one.

"But why did you have a bad feeling? You hated James!" Remus didn't even try to hide the accusation in his voice.

"But he loved Lily," Sirius said quietly. "Remember, they were friends once. You were in love with her, weren't you, Severus?" Sirius didn't think he had ever called Snape by his first name before, but after seeing him grieve Lily's death, he could no longer think of him as an enemy.

Snape nodded as he buried his face in his hands. He seemed on the verge of collapse, and Remus put an arm around him to keep him upright. "Come on, man," Remus said. "We have to get to Dumbledore."

Snape had regained control of himself by the time they reached the headmaster's office. "Licorice wand," he said offhandedly, and the door to the revolving staircase opened. The three men stepped on.

Dumbledore stood up from his desk as they entered his office. If he was surprised to see Snape with Remus, Sirius, and Harry, he did not show it. "Tell me," he said simply.

There were a few moments of silence, then Sirius began, "I had an awful feeling that something was terribly wrong-"

"So did I." Remus and Snape interrupted him together. They looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to Sirius.

"When I got to Godric's Hollow, I found Lily. She was lying in front of Harry's crib. Harry was crying. He has a wound. It wouldn't heal properly. And then Snape showed up. He said James was dead. And then Remus showed up." Sirius realized he sounded like an idiot, but his thoughts were just as choppy as his speech.

"How could Harry have survived?" Remus asked Dumbledore.

"I have an idea how it could have occurred, but I need to be sure." He turned to Snape. "Severus, I know you must be shattered by what has transpired tonight, but I must ask you to look inside Harry's mind to see tonight's events. Are you up to it?"

"No bloody way," Sirius yelled as he held Harry tighter to himself. Harry woke up and began to whimper.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said calmly, "I understand your reluctance, but Severus is the most skilled Legilimens I have ever seen. Harry will be quite safe, I assure you."

"I would never do anything to harm Lily Evans' son." Snape said simply.

Lily POTTER, Sirius almost corrected him, but he stopped himself. Now was not the time to antagonize the man.

"So, I ask again, are you up to the task?" Dumbledore asked.

"I will need a few moments, but yes. I understand the importance. Please try to make sure the boy is awake and calm." Snape sat in one of the armchairs opposite Dumbledore's desk, closed his eyes, and began taking deep breaths. Sirius hummed a little and danced Harry around a bit.

After ten minutes or so, Severus opened his eyes and said, "Sit here, with the child on your knee. I need to maintain eye contact in order for this to work."

Sirius did as Snape instructed. Harry reached out and grabbed at Snape's hair. Snape caught the child's hands in his own. "I will need silence." He stared into the boy's eyes.

Carefully, slowly, calmly, Severus moved through Harry's mind. Images of the boy's room, of his parents, floated past. He saw James and Lily smiling at Harry, Lily feeding Harry, James making sparks appear out of his wand for the boy's amusement. He went further into the child's mind. A memory shuddered a bit, and Severus directed himself nearer. He breathed deeply and evenly. Harry was being carried up the stairs. Lily smiled at him and sang a lullaby as she took him to bed. Suddenly a voice cried out, "Lily, he's here, take Harry and run. I'll hold him off!" The panic in his father's voice and the horrorstruck expression on his mother's face made the child afraid. Lily moved more quickly up the stairs. She ran into Harry's bedroom and locked the door. A crash came from below. Then there were footsteps coming up the stairs, not hurrying but moving deliberately. Lily placed the child in his crib and stood in front of it. She didn't have a wand. The door opened, and the Dark Lord said, "Step aside, silly girl!" Lily cried, "No, not Harry! Kill me instead!" There was a flash of green light, and Lily fell. The Dark Lord raised his wand again, and there was another flash of green light. The baby cried out as something struck his forehead. The Dark Lord fell. Severus stilled himself, and waited for what came next. The child continued to cry for what seemed like a very long time, then there were more footsteps. Pettigrew appeared, and the child recognized him. "Pe-er," the boy said, happy to see him. Peter did not look at the child, but turned his attention to the lifeless body of Lord Voldemort. He placed a hand on the body and vanished. Severus had to struggle to control himself, but control himself he did. He would not risk injury to the child's developing mind. He withdrew slowly, and as he did so he had an almost tactile sensation of residue, residue of the Dark Lord. It seemed to permeate the child's mind. Severus forced himself to keep his own mind blank and only observe as he exited the boy's memories.

Snape sat back. The boy's hands were still in his own, and he absently stroked the child's butter-soft skin. A few tears trickled down the man's pale face, and his jaw was tense. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He held the breath longer than the other men would have thought possible before exhaling completely. He repeated this action three more times, then opened his eyes again.

Complete quiet and stillness still claimed the room. It seemed that everyone was afraid to speak. Finally, after several more minutes, Harry started to babble, and that seemed to break the spell.

"Severus," Dumbledore said softly, "what did you see?"

Snape described what he had seen in the child's mind in a calm, dispassionate voice. He willed himself to report only and walled his own emotions off in a corner of his mind. Later, when he was alone, he would feel. For now, he needed to think without feeling. When he got to the point about Pettigrew, Sirius and Remus cried out in shock, but Dumbledore shushed them.

"There was something else," Snape said. "Something I have never experienced before. It was different. It's hard to describe, but it was like part of the Dark Lord remained inside Harry's brain."

"That's impossible," Sirius protested. Remus looked equally disbelieving. The men looked at Dumbledore. He sat stroking his beard, lost in thought.

"Albus," Remus said after several minutes. "What happened? How did Harry survive?"

"Lily protected him." Dumbledore said, as if it were self-evident.

"But she died! How did she protect him after she died?!" Sirius was distraught, and yet his need to understand was paramount, because in understanding how Harry had survived he might find the answer to continue protecting the boy.

"Yes, Sirius, she did. But, you see, this wasn't some random violence to sate Voldemort's malice. Harry was the target. Harry was the one Voldemort was there to kill. Lily's sacrifice, though noble, would not have been enough except for the fact that Harry was the intended victim."

"Love," Remus said.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "Mother's love, fiercely protective, and in order for that love to protect Harry, Lily must have had not even the faintest glimmer of a doubt that she would give her life to protect her son. Even among the most devoted of mothers, I think that is remarkable. She had to have been completely devoid of self-preservation."

All four men were weeping silently as Dumbledore's words sank in. Harry continued to babble, "Mum, mum mum, mum mum mum." It was hard to tell if the boy was just making noise or if he was calling for his mother. He didn't seem at all insistent, but rather was babbling and playing with Sirius's earring.

"What about the other thing Snape felt?" Remus asked. "The feeling that Voldemort was still in Harry's head."

"It was probably just that Harry was so frightened," Sirius said. "Or Snape imagined it."

"I did not imagine it, although I wish that were the case. It is unfathomable, and it leaves me with a feeling of dread, as though the Dark Lord is not truly dead." Snape looked worried. "But how could that be, Dumbledore? I saw his body. I saw Pettigrew remove him from the house, and I have no doubt by Pettigrew's reaction that he was dead."

"Let me ponder that for a while," Dumbledore said. "But, for now, I think we should all take some rest. Please, everyone, stay here at the castle tonight. I have plenty of room. Your old dormitories are occupied, of course, but you're welcome to stay in the guest suites."

Sirius looked at Remus, who looked every bit as tired as he felt. Remus nodded. "Thank you, Professor," Sirius said.

"Very well, I will have one of the house elves bring in a crib for Harry. Good night."

The next morning, Sirius awoke and looked up at the bed curtains in the four-poster bed. It was so familiar a sight that for a split second, he thought he was back in school. If that were the case, though, he'd have awakened to activity and noise. He was always the last of his friends to rise when they had been roommates. He sighed as he thought about the events that occurred the previous night. He wished he could pretend that it had all been a nightmare and go back to sleep. He couldn't, though. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and went to take a shower. Harry was still sleeping peacefully. Remus had just begun to stir.

When he came back, Harry was sitting in Remus' lap. Remus was making bubbles come out of his wand, and Harry was clapping his hands on them and popping them. He giggled in delight.

"Dumbledore sent a message asking us to join him in his office for breakfast," Remus said. "I'll just grab a quick shower and we can go."

"Okay," Sirius replied. It seemed so odd to be talking about breakfast. To be going on with their lives as though nothing had happened. But what else could they do?

When they entered, Dumbledore was waiting for them. He gestured for them to sit. Snape, Minerva McGonagall, and Hagrid were also seated at the table. Remus and Sirius nodded to Snape and greeted the others. Hagrid was crying softly, and McGonagall wore a pained expression. Apparently, Dumbledore had told them what had happened.

"I've just been talking to the others about Harry's upbringing," Dumbledore said. "I think it's best that he go to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Little Whinging."

Rage and shock left Sirius speechless for several moments. He glared at Dumbledore, but Dumbledore held up a hand asking for his forbearance.

"Before you say anything, I want you to know why," Dumbledore began. "You see, when Lily protected Harry last night, she performed an incredible bit of magic. I think, by placing Harry with a blood relative, I can extend that magic to protect Harry as long as he resides with his Aunt."

Sirius gave it some thought. Harry's protection was tantamount. And was he really up to the task of raising a baby? If Dumbledore could use Lily's sacrifice to keep Harry safe, shouldn't he let him? Then he thought of all of the times he had seen Lily crying after visiting her family. The things that her sister Petunia had said to her, had called her. "Freak" had been among the nicer names Petunia had called Lily. And James had said that Vernon was worse—a large, boorish bully who wanted nothing to do with magic. Then he thought about the day James and Lily had asked him to be Harry's godfather, and how much it meant to him when Lily said that there was no one else she would entrust her son to.

"No," Sirius said. "I'm sorry, Dumbledore, but Harry will stay with me."

"Try to see reason, Sirius. The magic I can invoke by entrusting Harry into his aunt's care is unbreakable. It would guarantee that Voldemort could not touch him."

Sirius gritted his teeth. He knew that Dumbledore was just trying to do what was best for Harry, but at the same time it angered him. With effort, he kept his voice level. "It's not that I don't see the wisdom in what you say. Professor Dumbledore, you know I hold you in the highest regard, and I would not carelessly cast aside your advice. But do you have any idea what it would be like for Harry to grow up in that household? Petunia completely withdrew her love and acceptance from Lily after she found out that Lily was a witch. She made Lily's visits home torture!"

"Well, I understand that it might not be the most idyllic of childhoods for Harry to be raised by his aunt and uncle, but at least he would be safe," Dumbledore argued.

"I want more for Harry than safety," Sirius said. "I want him to be safe, and happy, and loved."

There was silence in the room for a few moments. Sirius could tell that Dumbledore was trying to mount another argument.

"I agree with Sirius," Snape said. Sirius and Remus looked at Snape in shock, but Snape continued. "Albus, you do not know the woman. I do. She is nasty, spiteful, vindictive, and hateful. If we allowed her to rear the child, who knows how he would turn out?"

"I'll help you raise 'im up, Sirius," Hagrid offered. "I'd protect Harry with my life."

"Well, you know I will help you with Harry," Remus said.

"As will I," said McGonagall.

"And I," said Snape.

"I still think-" Dumbledore began.

"With all due respect, Albus," Remus said, "Sirius is his godfather. Legally, he is responsible for the boy."

"Well, yes, that's true," Dumbledore admitted. He twisted his face this way and that, as though arguing with himself internally. Finally, he gave Sirius a small smile. "In that case, I place myself entirely at your disposal, Sirius. If it is in my power to aid and protect Harry, I will do it."

"That's settled, then," said Remus. "We need a plan of action. A way to keep Harry safe from any of Voldemort's followers."

"I propose we go on the offensive." The quiet determination in Minerva McGonagall's voice gave Sirius a shiver.

"Really, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked.

"Absolutely, Albus. The best defense is a good offense," she replied.

"I think the muggle expression is actually the reverse of that phrase," Remus commented offhandedly. "But I rather find myself agreeing with my esteemed professor."

"I have spent the last several years with the Dark Lord and his followers," Snape said. "I would imagine the information I have could prove quite useful."

"I will assemble the Order of the Phoenix at once," Dumbledore said. "Sirius, we need to find a safe place for you and Harry to live. I would permit you to stay here longer, but I can't put the students at risk."

"Why would having them here put the students at risk?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Dumbledore, and why was Harry the target? Why did Voldemort want to kill him, specifically?" Remus asked.

But it was Snape who answered. "There was a prophecy. In essence, it identified Harry as the one who would be able to bring down the Dark Lord."

The occupants of the room sat in stunned silence. How could Harry possibly have the power to kill Voldemort? He was only a baby!

"I will summon you all when I have convened the Order," Dumbledore said imperiously. "Severus, stay behind, if you please?" The others rose to leave the room.

As they walked along the corridor, McGonagall sighed heavily. "There are arrangements to be made, Sirius," she began. "Of course, if you want to handle them yourselves, I would never think to intrude. You and Remus were their closest friends, after all, but if you should want any assistance, I am more than willing to help."

At first, Sirius didn't know what she was referring to, and then it hit him. The funeral. Oh, bloody hell, and they had just left last night. Had left Lily and James lying there!

McGonagall seemed to know what he was thinking. "Professor Dumbledore went to Godric's Hollow last night before he retired. Their—well, they are here, at Hogwarts, with stasis spells upon them."

Sirius felt a great rush of gratitude towards Dumbledore in that moment. He had been so tired and so worried about Harry that he hadn't thought to retrieve the bodies. Grief overtook him again, and he buried his face in his hands.

"Your help would be much appreciated, Minerva," Remus said.

"Very well, then," McGonagall said. "If you would care to accompany me back to my office, we can begin making the necessary arrangements."

Remus and Sirius nodded their agreement, and they went to perform the sorrowful task.