a/n1: Here it is, my new story! This plotbunny bit me quite unexpectedly one evening and now we have the first chapter of a new story! I hope you enjoy it! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters you might recognise. Any quotes from the books I use belong to J. K. Rowling.
I: Adventus
When Lily opened her eyes she saw the beautiful domed ceiling of the morning room in Potter Manor. She frowned. They hadn't been there since the death of James' father . It had been too painful for both of them. Charlus Potter had been an amazing man and a loving father. Not just for James, he had been happy to call all four Marauders his sons. After Dorea's death the Manor had seemed quite dreary and neither Lily nor James had wanted to visit it at first. Then they had been in hiding.
Sitting up Lily scanned the room. It looked exactly like it had the first time she had seen it. Rose coloured walls were accented with white stucco and pale golden curtains. The room looked like a sunrise which was one of the reasons Lily loved it. It glowed in early morning light and she was able to see the green tree tops.
It really was her favourite room in the Manor and she wanted to show it to- Harry!
Lily gasped. How could she forget her own son?! She had sacrificed herself for him and now- Oh, sweet Morgana, please let him survive!
The redhead furiously tried to remember what she had read about ancient protective wards. Of course she hadn't researched whether her death would protect Harry. But there had been something...
Sighing Lily had to admit that she had read too much about wards in general to remember something she had only read two or three sentences about.
She moved to stand when she remembered that James must have been killed as well. If they were both in their favourite places in the Manor he was probably in the conservatory. Something nobody appreciated was James' love for flowers. Lily remembered being incredibly annoyed by it at first. It was hard enough being named after a flower.
Stepping out of the morning room Lily realised that this Manor was the version from the time when she and James had fallen in love. They had taken down some of the pictures after Dorea's death.
She was currently on the second floor in the East Wing and the conservatory was on the ground floor in the West Wing. Starting her journey down and to the other side of the house Lily remembered why she hadn't wanted to live here after school. It was so big!
On the first floor in the East Wing Lily heard the quiet meow she had learned to love over the years. Looking around she spotted the source soon.
"Freya!" Lily cried walking towards the bundle that was huddled behind a decorative table and kneeled down.
The cat latched onto her, rubbing her face against every part of Lily she could reach and purring loudly. Contrary to Sirius' belief Freya was a completely normal cat. But being part Norwegian forest cat she looked a bit like a kneazle. The cat was mostly white with a tabby tail, ears and a spot on her back. The redhead petted her gently.
Standing up again Lily carried the normally very independent cat all the way down to the conservatory. She wasn't as big as one could think with all her fur but still no kitten anymore. Lily was still used to carrying Harry around. Well, Freya was still heavier than a toddler, but the purring was definitely a positive thing. It calmed Lily's frayed nerves down.
A few steps from the conservatory Lily heard heart-wrenching sobbing. She opened the door, trying to hold Freya at the same time.
"Who is there!" a voice raw from tears and grief demanded to know.
"It's me and Freya, James," Lily answered gently and let the cat down. Her heart broke at the sight of the black-haired, bespectacled man. Freya walked straight up to him and since he was sitting on the floor and settled on his lap. James started petting her absent-mindedly.
"Didn't think afterlife would look like this," Lily said trying to gauge her husband's mood. He hadn't even really reacted to her walking in.
"Is Harry safe?" James whispered. He looked at her and the pain in his eyes was so clear and strong that Lily felt tears stinging in her own eyes.
"I think so. He isn't here with us," she answered settling down next to him. She put her head on his shoulder and suddenly the redhead felt a sob rising inside her throat.
"We are all dead! Not even Freya is there for Harry!" Lily choked out and James looked at her startled.
"Freya attacked Voldemort.," he said with a sad smile and scratched the cat under her chin.
"Still..." Lily trailed off, her eyes starting to leak.
"I know. I hope Sirius doesn't try to take revenge on Peter," James rubbed her back soothingly and let her cry all over his shirt. Having to comfort her seemed to calm him down.
"Remus and Sirius will be wonderful uncles for Harry, I am sure," Lily said trying to sound confident. But they both knew Sirius' temper and Remus alone wouldn't get guardianship with the current anti-werewolf sentiment. Lily shuddered. Hopefully Dumbledore didn't think it would be a good idea to give Harry to her sister Petunia.
When they were younger she had been jealous and frightened of Lily's magic at first. That had turned into full hatred towards the whole magical world. It probably hadn't helped that she only ever met the Snapes. Severus' mother hadn't been a pleasant woman. Somehow Petunia had managed to find a man who resented everything 'abnormal' just as much as she did. Lily feared that they would treat her son extremely bad.
"What do you think, why are we in the Manor?" James asked after a long silence.
"Remember the summer after sixth year? I visited you because of our course project and we fell slowly in love. The Manor looked just like this back then."
James nodded thoughtfully. "So basically a place where we both felt safe? I wonder whether Mother and Father are here as well."
"It would be a bit lonely if we were all alone," Lily had to admit. She stood up and reached down to pull James up as well.
Freya jumped from his lap with an indignant meow. They chuckled.
"Let's explore our new home," Lily smiled up to him and he hugged her fiercely.
"I am so glad we are in this together, even if it means that neither of us can care for Harry."
"James, do you have your wand on you?" Lily asked, suddenly frowning in thought. She remembered that he said he didn't have it against Voldemort.
James pulled the stick from its forearm-sheath with an automatic movement. The war had trained them well.
Lily reached for her own wand which she had in a sheath at her back where it was harder to reach for a curious toddler.
"Should we try if it works?" James asked eying his wand skeptically.
"Definitely. Maybe with something easy and harmless, like the Levitating Charm?" Lily proposed and James nodded.
They turned towards the flower pots, each searching for a leaf they could practice on. They easily found some and put them on an empty table.
"Wingardium Leviosa," they chorused and both leaves rose as smoothly into the air as they should.
"At least something," James commented drily and stopped the charm.
Watching the leaf tumbling down Lily was reminded of something else. They died on Halloween, but in the morning room she had seen green tree tops. Now looking out Lily noticed that it was definitely summer.
"I think we should find out whether we can floo somewhere," James said at her side and she nodded. They linked hands and walked into the entrance hall.
The pot with the floo powder was full and a short incantation later a little fire was lit in the fireplace. James looked at Lily uncertainly.
"I don't want to be separated just yet. Shall we floo together?" he looked at her a bit sheepishly and she laughed.
"Alright, where should we go?"
"I have an idea where my parents could be, if they are here." James grabbed a fistful of floo powder, threw it into the fireplace and stepped in. Lily followed him. "Coral Cottage!"
Dorea Potter had been very upset when she arrived in the afterlife. She hadn't been able to see her sons graduate and she was alone. That was until she found out that the floo worked perfectly well and everyone who had died in the last roughly fifty years shared an afterlife version of Great Britain. She was saddened by the many children and babies that were living here. They grew up and could decide to stop aging when they reached the age of seventeen. They were homeschooled because there weren't enough people for Hogwarts.
Two years later Charlus joined her in the afterlife. At first she didn't know how to feel, but finally settled on happy. They lived in their favourite cottage at the sea, since they had always planned to retire there.
Dorea soon found out about the war her sons were fighting. About the marriage of James and Lily. About the many people who had gone missing. The terrorist attacks.
She hadn't been very surprised when she met the whole McKinnon clan in Diagon Alley one day. Marlene had been a good friend to Lily, a great girlfriend for Peter. While he had been shy and often unsure how to act in social situations, Marlene was an open and life-hungry girl and was just too happy to pull Peter along. He had been completely devoted to Marlene and always managed to get her anything she wanted.
What would the poor boy do now? Without Marlene to make him strong? Hopefully her sons would help him!
Dorea's train of thought was interrupted by the ring of the floo. She stood up from her rocking chair and put her book down on the side table.
"Charlus, did you expect guests?" she called into the garden.
"No, I don't think so," Charlus answered standing up from a patch of flowers. "I will be inside right away."
Dorea turned to the floo and had only time to smooth down her dress before green flames shot up and two people stumbled out of the fireplace. One was a young man in his early twenties and the other a young woman of the same age. She had fiery red-
"Lily! James!" Dorea cried out and stepped towards the couple. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?!"
"Hello, Mother," James said vanishing the soot from his and Lily's clothes. "We died fighting Voldemort."
"What?!" Charlus said. He had just entered the living room and was staring at his son with big eyes.
"We probably should sit down and discuss this over tea," Lily said calmly and Dorea nodded.
"Right, tea," she said and left for the kitchen. Why did her son have to die?! Why, gods, why! At least Lily was with him.
When she returned to the living room, the tea tray floating behind her, the couple had settled down on the couch. Charlus sat on the loveseat and Dorea joined him there.
"Now, tell us everything," she commanded and her son started to speak immediately.
"Last winter someone made a prophecy," James said sounding very serious. "Someone with the power to vanquish Voldemort arrived. Born at the end of July, to parents who thrice defied him. There were only two children born to parents who fought Voldemort. Our son Harry and Neville Longbottom."
"Frank and Alice went to a small Longbottom chateau which was unplottable. James and I chose the Fidelius Charm and made Peter our Secret Keeper," Lily said with a choked voice. "Peter betrayed us."
Dorea gasped and Charlus flinched. "No, he wouldn't! Why…" Dorea trailed off. "The McKinnon's."
"What?" Lily looked up in confusion.
"The whole family was wiped out. Marlene said she and Peter were thinking about marriage," Dorea said, her eyes wide in shock. "He didn't tell them where you were and Voldemort killed them."
"Soon after his aunt fell ill. The one who raised him," James whispered understanding visible on his face.
"This time he wasn't strong enough to withstand the pressure, because he already lost Marlene," Dorea concluded and felt tears rising into her eyes. "This is awful!"
"Mother, you talked to Marlene?" James asked after a while.
"Yes, just yesterday actually," Dorea said straightening up. "I meet her mother for tea every week and this time she accompanied her. What happened to your son?" Dorea asked, suddenly remembering them mentioning him.
"He survived, I think," Lily said. "Our cat was with us in the Manor, but not Harry."
"Maybe..Charlus, what do you think?" Dorea turned to her husband.
"They will only be able to watch him until he is eighteen," he answered stroking his beard. "But I think they should do it anyway."
"What are you talking about?" James asked looking between his parents in confusion.
"There is a charm that lets parents watch their children until they turn eighteen," Charlus explained. "It's just…many parents find it hard to let go, once their child turned eighteen and you can't intervene at all."
"Why eighteen? I thought you come of age at seventeen?" Lily asked confusion written all over her face.
"I honestly don't know," Dorea said. "Maybe to grant the parents a glimpse of their children as adults?"
They contemplated the revelation for a few minutes. Finally James spoke up.
"I want to see what happened to Harry," he said with determination and Lily nodded.
"Alright. 'Demonstra meus puer' would be the incantation for you. You can cast it on any smooth surface," Dorea advised.
James levitated the tea tray to the floor beside the table, which was definitely safer as he tended to be clumsy, and cast the charm on the surface.
They leaned forward and saw a scene unfold.
-0-0-
"Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"
"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"
"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."
"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"
"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."
-0-0-
"Is this man insane?!" James shouted jumping up and kicking over the table by accident. The scene vanished and the young man ran from the room, presumably to kick a tree or another.
Lily looked just as shocked and speechless.
"He sent him to Petunia? What happened to Sirius? Why isn't Harry staying with him?" she finally whispered still staring at the table.
"I guess nobody was there to catch him in his grief." James reappeared in the doorframe. Tear streaks on his cheeks and his voice hoarse. "You remember Regulus? He only didn't go rampant because Pete, Remus and I managed to constrain him."
Lily nodded mutely. Dorea and Charlus exchanged a look.
"James do you still have the mirror?" Charlus finally asked.
"It's probably still in Godric's Hollow. Why?" James watched his parents closely.
"We heard that some people managed to scry the living world with communication mirrors. Maybe that would be a way to get answers," Dorea suggested tentatively.
James nodded in determination and stretched his hand out to Lily. "Come on, let's check Godric's Hollow."
a/n2: Alright, tell me what you thought! Just like my story 'Arbitrary Jurisdiction' this story will be updated irregularily, but steadily. I thrive of reviews and would be delighted to find some in my inbox ;)
translations: postumo - coming after | adventus - arrival | demonstra meus puer - show my son