Chapter 1
Had anyone looked out of their window, they would have immediately snapped the curtains shut and phoned the police. An odd group walked down the street. A tall broad shouldered man and a petite woman with a young child in her arms; all three were dressed in black cloaks, which covered every inch of them. It was nearing midnight, and on this particular street, no one ever walked the streets at night, let alone right down the center as this group was. So many things made this group odd, and on this street odd was frowned upon. They stopped at a corner. Privet Drive read the sign. The lady shifted the child as they waited, then out of no where appeared another man. He was identifiable. Long white hair and a long white beard hung from his face. Half-moon spectacles sat in front of his twinkling blue eyes. He nodded towards the couple, and they continued walking. Two houses later, they stopped once more. At Number 4, Privet Drive.
"Are you sure?" The old man asked.
"No one can be sure in these times, Albus, and I'm not sure which of our friends we can trust, so this is the only way, much as I hate to admit," the man answered.
"Alright," he said, and led the three down a pathway to the front door.
The woman stepped in front of the men, and knocked. A tall thin woman answered the door, squeaked, and tried to slam it shut; only the young man's foot was in the way.
"Petunia, just listen, please," The young woman's voice was soft.
"Lily," Petunia started, "Fine, but be quiet, Vernon just fell asleep."
Petunia opened the door and allowed the four inside, where Lily put down the small child, and removed his hood, to reveal messy jet black hair, and brilliant green eyes that matched Lily's. Lily Potter was next to reveal herself to Petunia, letting her long wavy red hair to fall out of the cloak, and her pale skin to shine in the darkness. The man was next, and the child was an exact replica of him, except the older man had hazel eyes.
"Petunia, you know I would only ask this if you were our only hope, and you are. And I know that you don't trust me or James for who we are, but I'm still your sister, and we really need you, or all three of us could die, and it wouldn't be long until you are in danger as well," Lily begged her older sister.
"Lil, I don't understand."
"It's something called the Fidelius Charm," James started. "It's complicated. But, with the use of it, we will be able to hide, in plain sight, and he will not be able to find us, as long as you don't tell. But, we've managed to find a way that we can use it on you too; therefore he won't be able to get to you."
"Will my family be in trouble?" Petunia asked, glancing toward the stairs.
"No, I will be your Secret-Keeper, and I promise you I will not tell," Albus assured her.
"I don't know why, but okay," Petunia agreed.
An hour later, both charms were in place, and Petunia now understood fully how it worked. The Potter family put their cloaks on once more, and went to exit the house. Lily turned around right as they were about to go through the door.
"Petunia, I'll never be able to thank you," she said, hugging her sister.
"Just stay safe, Harry too, that's enough thanks."
"Thanks, Petunia," James said, as he ushered his wife into the darkness once more. Once the door was shut, the Potters and Albus were gone, and Privet Drive was once again a quiet street, with nothing odd going on.
Life for the Potters went on. They lived in their old house in Godric's Hollow, James was able to go to work, and stay hidden from Lord Voldemort, Harry played all day, and Lily was once again pregnant. James waited on her hand and foot, with the help of his three best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. That was until one night in late October.
"Lily, James, there's to be an attack on Godric's Hollow tonight," Albus's voice came from the fireplace. "Severus just warned me."
"But Petunia-" Lily started.
"She never told. Peter is the traitor."
"Peter?" James asked "Chubby little Peter, who can barely do a first year spell?"
"Afraid so."
"He can't tell them where we are though," Lily said.
"But he can lead them to you. As long as you don't step outside of your house, you will be fine. Order members are already arriving at your house. Don't open the door, once the attack starts. I would recommend putting Harry to bed, and staying in the nursery, therefore you are all together. I promise they will not be able to get into the house," He finished and his head disappeared from the fireplace.
"What now, James?" Lily asked, scooping Harry up in her arms.
"Do as he said," James said, as he looked out of the window, and saw his friends preparing for battle, right in his front yard.
"It'll be okay, I trust them to protect us," Lily said, and pulled the curtains shut, and led James upstairs to the nursery.
They laid Harry down in his crib, and waited.
It wasn't long before they started hearing curses being shouted, and spells being released. Harry was asleep, and James and Lily stared at the ground, they stayed that way for over an hour, not wanting to glance outside for fear that they would see one of their friends hurt, and want to run out to help. Then they'd be reminded that they can't, and in this battle, they were helpless. That was the one thing that James hated, not being able to help in an attack.
All of the sudden, there was silence outside. Lily and James looked up and right into each others eyes. James nodded. Lily got up and went to the window. She slowly opened the curtains, fearing that she would see the black robes of the Death Eaters swarming her yard, the yard she worked so hard on, and the flower beds she spent so much time perfecting. A sigh came from her mouth when she saw deep red tramping through her flowers. The deep red robes that the Aurors wore. As well there were dark blue robes that were worn by the Order. James let out the same sigh, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Harry will grow up safely," James whispered in her ear.
"Are you sure this is over, I mean how did they kill him? The prophecy-"
"For now, he is gone, we can worry about the prophecy later. Let's go see our friends."
James took Lily by the hand, and led her downstairs, and waited for a knock on the door.
"Jamie-poo, it's your lovable mutt, and our furry friend, requesting entry into you marvelous house," came James' best friend's voice.
"How do we know it's you, Sirius?" Lily asked smirking.
"Well, my little Lily-flower, how else would I know that I walked in on you and James having a bit too much fun in the Charms room one night while-" He never got to finish as the door flew open and Lily smacked him across the face.
"You were not supposed to mention that to anyone Sirius Orion Black."
"James, save me."
"You got yourself into this one, mate, get yourself out."
Sirius groaned. "Lily I just saved you and the little munchkin, can't you spare me one day of teasing."
"Only because you just saved us," she said, and allowed him and Remus to enter the house.
"How are you feeling, Lily? This pregnancy as bad as Harry's?" Remus asked.
"Actually no, I'm joking around saying it must be a girl, since only men like to torture us twenty-four seven."
"I bet you would like another girl around here," Remus said, pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen.
"Yeah, maybe some annoying bachelors shouldn't be hanging around here so much, and go get themselves wives."
"Maybe someday, Lil, but right now, this war takes up all our time."
"I know," Lily said, as the doorbell rang. Lily looked through to see Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape standing outside, and opened the door, to let them in.
"Lily, we need to talk," Albus said immediately.
"About?"
"Just get the boys into the study, we'll meet you there," he said, and led Severus through the door on their left, followed shortly by Lily and the three men.
"What are you doing in my house, Snivellus?" James asked, immediately after seeing him.
"He is here on my invitation, as he needs to hear the same information you four need to hear. Take a seat," Albus said, motioning to the sofa and chairs. James always felt weird when Albus offered him things, while in his house, but quickly go over it. "As I am sure you have all assumed, Voldemort, is indeed dead, but not gone."
"How?"
"By the use of horcruxes."
"Horcruxes? As in plural?" Lily asked, "How many times did he rip his soul?"
"I want to say seven-"
"Seven?" exclaimed the three marauders.
"Seven is a powerful number, and a lucky number. But, since we destroyed one part tonight, all we have to do, is find the other six, before he is able to access one."
"Well that's easier said than done," Remus said.
"Exactly, why I needed the five of you. I have my ideas on four of the horcruxes. But, I doubt I will get to them all in time. And, in the end it has to be Harry to destroy Voldemort for good."
"Are you kidding me? You want my fifteen-month old baby to fight a dark lord?"
"Not at the moment, Lily, I want you five to train him, so that when he gets older, he will be able to destroy him."
"He's not going anywhere near my child," James said, nodding towards Severus.
"Severus is the best potions master in the country, and I feel that it will be to all of your advantages to allow him to teach Harry. Maybe, you will learn something about each other."
"Harry doesn't need potions to fight him, he needs defense," James argued.
"He needs full time training, which will keep him out of school; therefore we still have to give him a good background in all types of magic. Severus will teach Harry Potions. I suggest you all forget past grudges and tolerate each other. Maybe you will become friends, but I am not forcing that."
"When should we start, surely not now?"
"Around age 8," he said, and left the five mentors staring at each other on disbelief.
"Truce?" James asked, and held out his hand to Severus.
"Truce." He agreed, and shook all three hands.
Life was normal, again, at the Potters, and life went on. Seven months after the attack, Lily gave birth to a baby girl, which she named Sophia, after her mother. A year after that came Kyle, and then two years later came Emily, after James' mother. The Potters had their four children, and they were happy. They grew up in the house that James grew up in. James went off to work each day as an auror, and Lily stayed home with the kids. Her flower beds were soon fixed up, and no one could tell that an attack had happened there. As the kids grew up they got very close to their uncles, Remus, Sirius, and Severus. The four males actually forgot about their past differences, and while in private they were very close friends. The years flew by, and before they knew it, Harry was turning eight.
"MUM! DAD! SOPH! KY! EM! WAKE UP! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" Harry's voice echoed throughout the house, at 5:30 in the morning. He ran into his parents' room, and jumped on their bed, until he was caught, and pinned down by James.
"Harry, I understand you are excited, but let us sleep, and if you don't give mum and dad about 2 more hours of sleep, it won't be a very happy birthday for you," James mumbled, and let go.
"This is the one time I want you to listen to your father, Harry," Lily said, and pushed him off the bed.
Harry sulked off to find something to do, because he very well couldn't sleep. It wasn't everyday you turned 8. He decided to try to find his father's broom, and attempt to ride around the house.
Two hours later, James walked downstairs, to find the under the stairs closet emptied, and an eight-year-olds legs poking out.
"What are you doing?" James asked, and the head switched positions with his legs.
"Nothing," Harry said innocently.
"You should know I changed the hiding spot for my broom since the last time we found you flying around the library."
"Dad, you never let me do anything fun," he whined.
"What do you do all day?"
"Mum makes us clean, all day, every day," he said, exaggerating, just a bit.
"Is that why this place is a pigsty?"
"Uh huh," Harry said, and followed his dad into the kitchen for breakfast.
"JAMES!" Lily's voice screeched from the hall. The two boys ran from the kitchen to see what the cause of it was. Lily was standing in front of the pile of junk that Harry pulled out of the closet, looking for the broom. "Why is my hallway a mess?"
"Apparently the kids don't clean enough during the day, perhaps, we should give them more chores, therefore they will become more disciplined," he said, winking at his wife, who understood, where the mess came from. Harry stood behind him, shaking his head furiously.
"We're plenty disciplined," Harry argued.
"You're right, James, these kids never do help out around the house, we'll double the chore amount, starting today. Well-disciplined children don't like parties anyway. And since that's what our kids are, we are canceling the party. James, call everyone up, I'll go toss the cake."
"Wait, no, we're not disciplined, we like parties, and I'm sure we don't need to clean anymore, and no more chores," Harry blurted out, and started throwing things back into the closet.
Lily and James laughed. "Stop, Harry, you know the rules. No chores on your birthday. We were just kidding; go help your father make breakfast," Lily said, and started organizing the closet.
"I know that rule, that's why we all hate your birthday, mum," Harry said, and ran into the kitchen.
"Boys," Lily muttered, and continued cleaning up.
"Mum, what happened?" Sophia asked coming down the stairs.
"Boys,' she repeated, louder.
"Oh,"
"Are Kyle and Emily up?"
"I think so,"
"Want to go tell them that breakfast is almost ready, then stay and make sure Emily makes it down the steps okay,"
"Okay," she said, and went back up the steps.
Lily finished cleaning up Harry's mess, and joined the boys in the kitchen, to find a bigger mess. "This one is your job, James," she said, and sat down, as James served breakfast.
"When are Sirius, Severus, and Remus coming?" Harry asked, in between bites, once the rest of the kids got downstairs.
"Around 11, why?" James asked.
"I haven't seen Uncle Severus in so long," Harry whined, "I just wanted to know." James hated it, as did Sirius; Severus was Harry's favorite out of all the men. He would always go to him, if he was available, for help. Sirius felt betrayed, because that was supposed to be his job as godfather, but then put it off because Kyle usually came to him.
"We actually have to discuss something with you, before they get here, so once you're breakfast is done, meet us in the study," Lily said, and got up and left, James slowly behind her.
"Did they just leave us alone?" Sophia asked. She was the goody-two-shoes of the group, at the moment, always did whatever Lily and James asked. "What'd you do? Why do they want to talk to you?"
"It's probably important eight-year-old business that six-year-olds can't know about" Harry said, taking his last bite, and disappeared behind the door that his parents did.
He walked into his father's study, and sank into his favorite chair.
"I'm not in trouble, am I?" he asked, he was letting his sister's words get to him.
"No," Lily started, "But this is important."
"Do you remember the Lord Voldemort stories we used to tell you guys?" James asked.
"Yeah, they were interesting, why'd you stop?"
"We didn't want to scare you," Lily said. "Because if you knew of everything, what we have to tell you right now, would scare you a lot more than those stories use to."
"I was never scared," Harry insisted, really confused right now.
"Of course not, sweetie, but, before you were born, there was a prophecy made, saying that a little boy born in the end of July, with parents who defy the Dark Lord, will have to be the one to kill the Dark Lord," Lily told him.
"Oh," Harry said, he thought of his birthday, and the stories his parents told him, that description fit him, "Am I that little boy?"
Lily nodded.
"So, what does that mean?"
"It means that your mother and I, along with your uncles, will be training you in what you need to know to defeat him."
"You mean, I get to learn magic, before Hogwarts?" Harry asked, now excited.
"Yes, though, you won't be going to Hogwarts."
"Oh," Harry had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts, since he could remember, his father and uncles always had good stories to tell about their days at Hogwarts, and he wanted to make his own, so that maybe someday he could tell his kids. "I guess that's okay."
"Is it okay, if we take a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, so that we can get you a wand?" James asked.
"Yes," Harry said, and his face immediately brightened. "What will you be teaching me?"
"I'll be doing Transfiguration," James said, "Your mother will be teaching Charms, Remus defense, Severus Potions, and Sirius combat."
"I get to fight?"
"Yeah," Lily answered, thinking this is easier than she thought.
"Will I be doing all five every day?"
"No, not at first, but as you get older, probably. Then, once Voldemort comes back, you'll have to start going on training missions."
"This is gonna be fun," Harry said, and walked out of the room to enjoy his party.