A/N: This fic will be slow going due to spoilers.
Disclaimer: Most characters belong to JKR. Then there are those that belong to anyavioletta, from The Good Morrow.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
- Seneca
Chapter One
Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End
"What are we going to do?" Lily Potter asked her husband, James, as she held her newborn baby girl.
"Well, she'll have your name for a middle name," he responded thoughtfully, keeping an eye on their one year old son, Harry.
"I mean where will she go?"
"What do you mean?" He turned to face her, thoroughly perplexed.
"She can't stay with us, not when we're in hiding. We need to give her to someone we care about."
"But she's safe here!"
"You don't know that. She's safe now because no one knows about her, not even Dumbledore. But what if he came... she wouldn't be safe anymore."
"Well, who could take care of her? The Marauders-"
"James, no; we can't trust Remus or Peter right now... one of them betrayed us once before, we cannot just give one of them our child and hope we picked right." The logic oozed out of her but James could see the pain in her eyes at having to talk about her friends like this. "Sirius hasn't been the same since he sent Helen away," she added in a whisper. "He would be a danger to the child."
"I think you're wrong," James said sharply. "I think if he had to take care of her he would clean up his act."
"Well... I guess. If anything happens to us he could have joint custody," she conceded. "But I think you know who I have in mind." James nodded sadly. "I mean; you don't have any family on your dad's side and I wouldn't want anyone on your mum's side to raise her. And I can't exactly ask Petunia to take care of her."
"But France is so far away," he whimpered. They looked at their little girl; she was so much smaller than Harry had been when he was born. Speaking of Harry, the little one year old toddled up to his mother and held out his arms as if holding a baby. Lily smiled at him.
"Yes, Harry. This is a baby, your sister. Can you say sister?" Harry just gurgled happily as he took the baby girl in. "I was thinking," Lily said to her husband, "maybe Violet would be nice."
"Violet," he repeated. His eyes widened. "My grandma, on my mum's side, is called Violetta." Lily laughed and Harry copied which made Lily and James beam; they loved hearing their son laugh. James picked his son up and sat down next to Lily, Harry on his lap. Harry leant over to look down at his new sister. He gently patted her head and smiled.
"Vyla," he said incorrectly. Lily and James stared at him; this was his first word.
"Violet it is, then," James said, ruffling Harry's already messy hair.
*
"James! I missed you so much," Helen gushed.
"How's everything?" he asked her as he welcomed her into the living room. "How's Anka?"
"She good; Mark and Nicole are taking care of her today. You said you had something important to tell me?" she prompted.
"Well, you see..." he stalled. "We've been hiding something from you; from everyone." Helen raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"For how long?" she asked.
"Nine months," he told her. He watched as realization dawned on her face.
"Congratulations," she managed to choke out before grinning and giving him a hug. "Is it a girl or boy?"
"Girl," he said. "But the thing is she can't stay with us right now; not while we're in hiding. As soon as we can leave she can come back but until then we need her to stay with someone we trust."
"But... Remus or Peter or..." She trailed off leaving Sirius' name unsaid but hinted.
"Remember; Remus or Peter could be-"
"The ones who betrayed us the first time. A spy."
"And Sirius isn't really father material," he added. "So..."
"I was the logical choice," she said dryly.
"Not just that," he insisted adamantly. "You're family, Helen."
"Can I see her?" she asked excitedly. James nodded and led her into his bedroom where a beautiful vintage white crib was resting.
"Her name is Violet," James said softly, careful not to wake his daughter. Helen frowned.
"Isn't your grandma-"
"Yeah, yeah – I know. It was just a suggestion but then Harry said his first word."
"What was it?" Helen asked, assuming he had said something like 'yes'.
"It was 'Vyla'."
"Wow."
"I know."
"Where's Lily?"
"Sleeping." There was a pause where they just watched Violet breathe.
"When?" Helen whispered.
"Soon," he responded gravely.
"I guess I better go home... tell Theo... prepare a cot..."
"Here," he quickly dashed out and returned with a notebook. "Lily wrote it." She gave James a comforting hug before leaving.
*
Dear Helen, the first page of the notebook started. I cannot believe that I have to write a letter to help you take my daughter away, but this is what happens in war. I need you to know now that this was not Dumbledore's idea – it was ours. I know you do not trust him and I do not want him to get the blame. I would like to talk to you about Violet Lily Potter, as she is named; we want you to take care of her as if she were your own but we want her to know who her parents are. We don't want you to keep any secrets from her; she should know about the War and about Harry. We want you to tell her funny stories about us at school. We want her to know the truth. If anything were to happen to us then she can go to Beaxbatons with Anka. I will let you decide if you want her to stay a Potter or become a Laurent.
Helen, I can't stress this enough; we don't want you to lie to our daughter. Say whatever you want to your own but if Violet asks you a question we want you to answer it to the best of your ability.
She was born on the 18th of August, 1981, and the best way to calm her down is to play Beatles music - unknowingly discovered by Sirius. We want her to know English and we are happy for her to know Greek as well, if you plan to teach it. We do not want her kept away from people (Harry, Sirius, Remus, Peter) unless it is too dangerous.
Sirius is the godfather and when the time comes we are happy for him to have joint custody. At the moment he is incapable of taking care of a child.
I hope you won't have to take care of her for too long; James is going to bring her to you. I have enclosed a letter that you should give her (please do not read it), written by me and James, including a drawing by Harry. I wish I could give her more. There will be some money set aside for her and I want her to have my jewellery; it's in a safe buried in the backyard so please retrieve it and give that to her along with the letter; she will know how to open it.
Thank you, Helen. Thank you so much.
*
Helen sobbed next to Violet's crib; James, Lily and Peter were dead, Sirius arrested and Harry was sent to live with Lily's Muggle sister, Petunia. She looked at the small child that was now completely in her care. She was awake but silent, as if she knew how dire the situation was. Her face was wet with tears which made Helen pause; she had never seen a baby cry before. Sure, they wailed and screeched and screwed up their face but they never truly cried.
"You're a special one, aren't you?" she asked the child softly. She picked Violet up and cradled her to her chest. "I'm going to make sure you have the best life, ma petite lis."
So I wasn't really going to post a new story because I thought that would be a bad idea, since I already have 3 ongoing ones, but w/e.. I caved :P Review and tell me what you think!
Also, I wanted your opinion on a story I am plotting in my head atm;
"Nearly Famous X Ballet Shoes X Driving Lessons X Harry Potter X Twilight"
A multiply crossed fic. Not yet named. Welcome to Salinger School for the Performing Arts where we meet four promising new students; Pauline Fossil (Ballet Shoes), an actress from a poor background, Ben Marshall (Driving Lessons), a writer suffering the effects of his parents divorce, Gabrielle Delacour (Harry Potter), a dancer in the shadow of her sister, and Edward Mason (Twilight), an orphan who has dedicated his life to music.
Have not written anything as of yet.
The thing is I kinda don't want to use any Harry Potter or Twilight people. I need more suggestions for characters in different fandoms that can sing, or dance, or work with film, or excel in costume design; anyone come to mind?
Love Sarah
