It was Halloween night, 1981. Julia Potter lay on her couch, staring blankly at her ceiling. She thought of all her close friends and family she'drecently lost. She hadn't lost James and Lily, but for now, they were in hiding. Even though they'd only been gone a week, she missed them terribly.

James was her cousin, but they were as close as brother and sister. He'd been there when her parents and sister died, and she had there when his parents died.

He was one of her closet friends.

He's safe now, she told herself. This is good. He, Lily and Harry will be fine.

Harry. Sweet, innocent, baby Harry. Smiling at the memory of James holding Harry for the first time, trying not to cry, with Lily in the bed next to them, wiping away her own tears, she fell asleep right there, on her lumpy old couch.

A few hours later, Julia was shocked awake. Outside, she thought she heard bombs and yelling. She grabbed her wand and ran out into the street, anticipating an Death Eater attack.

Wizards and witches were shooting stars into the sky, hugging, and shouting to each other, "He is gone! We are safe! He is gone!"

There was only one 'He' who they could be talking about. Julia didn't dare believe it. Him, gone at last? She could have James back! And Lily! And Harry! And James!

She ran up to Fiona, an old friend from Hogwarts, (Well, friend is to strong a word. More like, Person-One-Year-Below-Whom-Julia-Tolerated). "Voldemort-" She ignored the shudder "-is gone? Fiona, he's really gone?"

But Fiona wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, she looked uncomfortable.

"Um, Julia, maybe you should sit down..."

So she sat down on the sidewalk.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Fiona took her hands, and they both tried to ignore the celebrations going on around them.

Fiona took a deep breath.

"Yes, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has gone."

Before Julia could smile, or shout her happiness, Fiona added,

"But, well James and Lily...It cost them..."

Julia felt all the color drain from her face. Her head was lighter than usual. She gripped Fiona's hands with such a force that she winced.

"Are they okay?"

Nothing.

"Fiona! Are they okay?"

She took another deep breath.

"No, they are not. James and Lily are... They're... Gone."

She couldn't believe it. Not James too.

"Gone?"

"Gone... Forever."

The world was suddenly spinning much faster. Her parents... Her sister... James' mother and father... Now James and Lily and-

"Harry! Where's Harry? You didn't say anything about him!"

Fiona smiled ear to ear.

"He's alive! He beat You-Know-Who!"

Julia dropped her hands.

"Harry? He's only one! How did he beat Voldemort?"

Fiona picked up her glasses (She flinched terribly at Voldemort's name) and said,

"Nobody knows! But he did it!"

"Where is he?"

Fiona shrugged delightedly, sent her thin light brown hair flying to her back with her hands, and grinned.

"Probably with Dumbledore, or someone from the Ministry."

Julia stood up very fast- there was still hope, not everyone was gone, she still had someone to hold on to...

She reached the Apparation point, and set off for Hogsmeade.

She ran through the village, and through Hogwarts- everyone everywhere was celebrating. She got to the stone gargoyle and silently cursed. She didn't know the password.

But she wasn't outside long. Just as she was thinking about going for a teacher, the gargoyle lept aside and out walked a short Ministry woman.

She was a little fat, but very young; she might be an intern. She wore a lot of pink. He face was very toad-like, and when she saw Julia, she gave a very forced smile.

"I wouldn't go up there if I were you," she said in a voice so sweet, Julia knew she'd been kicked out of the room. "They're only talking about where to send a recently orphaned little boy." She searched Julia's face. "He looks very much like you."

Julia smiled sadly. "I'm his Aunt," she explained. She didn't feel like talking to this woman, but she stood on the middle of the first step, so she'd have to move so Julia could go up.

If she doesn't shut it in the next five seconds, Julia thought, I'm shoving her into the wall.

As though she read this thought, the toad lady gave another forced smile, and walked down the hall.

Julia ran up the steps as fast as her legs would carry her, though her heart ached to slump onto the floor and cry for days.

Not yet, she told herself. First, I need Harry. I need him.
She stopped at the door and knocked as politely as she could muster.

An old man in a gray suit opened and started to say-

"I toldyou, Dolores, busy yourself elsewhere! This is-"

He looked at Julia for the first time.

"My apologies, madame. I thought you were someone else."

Julia could feel her body start to break down. Although as she was trying to deny it, the thought had hit her while she was running up the steps. She would never, ever see James again. Her brother was gone forever. And so was Lily, the only friend of hers that was a girl. The type of girl whom she could tolerate, and hang out with.

Dumbledore stood up in from behind his desk.

"Miss Potter. You've heard?" She felt herself nod. "I am extremely sorry. Truly, I am. I can understand that this is a very difficult time for you. But I take it you are not here to listen to an old man talk about death." Her throat was beginning to close. "Are you here for Harry?" He looked to a young women sitting at a chair next to his desk. She was another Ministry women, but looked much kinder. In her lap, was a sleeping one year-old with a mess of black hair just like Julia's.

Her throat was so tight, she might choke if she didn't open her mouth soon. So she did was every self-respecting women would do. She wailed loudly and ran to her nephew and took the baby boy, hiding her sobbing face in his hair. Julia cried as silently as she could, trying not to wake Harry. She wasn't aware how long she sat like that, but when she picker her head up, the sun had risen and someone had Magicked a glass of water next to her. The women was gone, but the man who opened the door remained.

"Are you his next-of-kin?" The Ministry man asked after she'd drank the entire glass of water.

Dumbledore spoke first. "No," he said. "The baby's mother had a sister. Julia was his fathers cousin."

The man nodded.

"Very well then. The boy will go to Mrs. Potter's sister."

Somewhere in the back of Julia's mind, she remembered Lily on the train ride to Hogwarts. 2nd year and on, (Julia hadn't sat with her First Year) every time, she was crying...

Mary had her arm around Lily's shoulders. The red head was sobbing. Julia sit down on her other side.

"Lily?" she asked. "Lily, what's wrong?"

After another few minutes of crying, Lily wasn't so sad. She was angry. She threw her long hair behind her shoulders and said,

"I have an dense, shallow sister!"

She went on to tell everyone about Petunia. She thought being a witch was a bad thing. That it meant Lily was abnormal. That she was off to Hogwarts to protect Muggles from her dangerous self.

"My mom's a Muggle, my dad's a Wizard," Julia told her. "Maybe my mom could talk to Petunia?"

Lily shook her head. "No use," she said. "Petunia's to unlettered. She doesn't want to listen. She doesn't want to learn. She hate's magic."

She hates magic.

"She hates magic!" Julia burst out, making Harry stir slightly in her arms. "Petunia can't take him! He's a wizard!"

"How do you know of this?" The Ministry man asked. "I'm sure Miss Petunia won't mind. After all, it's her nephew."

Julia shook her head and tighted her grip on Harry protectively. "Petunia hated Lily! Jealous of her being a witch, I think! You can't send Harry to her, Dumbledore! She wont treat him right!"

Dumbledore was looking weary. "Why don't we meet with Petunia, and ask her if she will take her sisters son? We will tell her about him being a wizard. But, Miss Potter, you understand, if she agrees to take Harry, she gets him. You can't fight for him. Understood?" She nodded and hugged Harry close. "Thank you. Now, please, go home and get some rest. A lot has happened." She stood to go, and Dumbledore held out his arms. Reluctantly, Julia kissed her nephews forehead and handed Harry to her old Headmaster.

The trip home was a blur. But the next thing Julia knew, she was waking up on her couch with puffy red eyes. She knew she'd got home and cried for quite awhile, before falling into a fitful sleep. For a second, she wondered what woke her. And then, she heard another knock at her door. Not even stopping to brush out her hair, she went to answer it.

Dumbledore stood in front of her, with the same Ministry man. In the Headmasters arms was her last bit of hope. Her loveable nephew, Harry.

"May we come in?" asked Dumbledore. She nodded and held out her arms, Harry was placed gingerly in them.

Sitting in her living room, she listened to Dumbledore's story.

"We reached Petunia's home to find her alone with her own son. Her husband was at work. She immediately told us to leave, worried that the neighbors would see us, I think, and when we refused, she quickly ushered us inside. We told her about your cousin and her sister, and she looked extremely upset. She didn't say anything for several minutes-"

"And when she did," Interrupted the Ministry man, whom Julia forgotten was there, "She said, 'I always knew being a witch would do her in - just like it did my parents!' The nerve!" he cried.

"And when we asked if she would take in her nephew," Dumbledore continued, as though the Ministry man hadn't spoken, she told us-"

"She told us she had her own family and didn't want a wizard messing it up! Oh that horrible woman!" The Ministry man was looking extremely angry. "That fat son of hers- oh, Miss Potter, you should've seen him! He's like a pig!"

Julia grinned. It wasn't hard to, she knew what this meant.

"So I get Harry?" She asked. Dumbledore beamed.

"Yes, he's in your care now."

She smiled down at the baby in her arms, with his mop of black hair and startlingly green eyes, the only part of James and Lily she would get to keep for herself.

Um... Yes? No? Good? Bad? Let me know!:D