Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/TV-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.
Chapter 2: Plans and Precautions
Privet Drive was a place where houses were made from the same cookie cutter model, where individuality was strictly regulated by the neighborhood's gossips managing to paint anyone different in a very dark light usually. It was a place where the only immediate difference between houses was the state of their garden, and the number sign they each held. It was a place where anything unnatural or different from normal was frowned upon and gossiped upon for weeks.
If it hadn't been late at night when the old man in robes covered with the symbols of moons and stars moving quietly by themselves in the outfit, and wearing half-moon spectacles, he would have been the source of gossip for the next week at least. The fact he held a silver-colored lighter in the air and caused the streetlights to go off, one at a time, would have made that a month at least, and the shortly following transformation of a nearby feline that had been sitting on a wall into a stern looking woman would have made people doubt their own eyes and endangered the secrets of the Wizarding World.
Some might call it fortunate that Dumbledore arrived so late, but for anyone that knew the old grey-bearded man, it was apparent that Dumbledore had chosen the moment for a reason. "Ahh, Minerva. I must admit I had not expected to see you here this evening."
The stern woman looked at him in a scolding manner that would have made a naughty schoolboy bow his head down in shame, but it had little effect on the old man who simply chuckled good naturedly. "I've been watching this family the entire day after I heard what had happened at the Potters. Is it really true?"
Dumbledore nod, and she let out a heavy sigh while emotions warred within her. "So he is finally gone. It's too high of a price though. Poor James and Lily. What about their son, Harry, what will happen to him?" She looked at him, and saw Albus casting a look at the number four Privet Drive, causing her own eyes to widen.
"No, Albus, No. They are the worst sort of muggles! I saw the child kicking his own mother demanding sweets until she promised to get him some, and that's the least of my concerns about this family." Her protests fell on deaf ears as Dumbledore shook his head. "They are his only living relatives, and the boy needs to stay with them. In our world, he would be raised as a hero, someone constantly hounded for his fame and fortune. Here, he can have a real childhood before he has to step up to face his fame eventually."
Minerva frowned but held her tongue. She believed that some of Albus' decisions were hard to accept or even understand, but he was a great man, and she owed some respect to him. She still didn't like it. "Where is he though, I would have thought you would have taken care of him personally?" She asked, but Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "I had to take care of the immediate chaos after the news had broken out. I sent Hagrid to pick the boy up."
"Hagrid? You sent- By Merlin Albus, he is loyal to the light but are you really sure he's the best one for an important matter like this?" Her shock was evident, Hagrid wasn't known for his tact, and he was certainly not going to blend in, and without a wand any dark wizard he faced had a great advantage over the big man already. She didn't want to hear that poor Harry had been killed or that Hagrid had lost his life protecting the young lad either.
"I trust Hagrid, and I had to act quickly. The news were breaking out and i had to speak to the Wizengamot quickly. Already I heard that the Malfoys were making a motion of taking young Harry in under their roof, and if they had not been stopped they would have been holding regency on the Potter family the way Bagnold listens the side that makes most coin fall into a minister's retirement fund." Albus' frown was evident but Minerva wasn't pleased.
Just then they could hear a banging noise nearby, before the Knight Bus appeared nearby, and Hagrid's somewhat motion-sick figure stepped out of the bus looking hung over and staggering their way. Albus smiled at the time, thinking that seeing Harry and Hagrid would settle Minerva down. Besides, he wanted to see how the boy was.
"Evenin' professor McGonagall, Dumbledore sire." Hagrid nod his head respectfully while looking almost constipated, and nervous. It was the fact he was clenching his hands together, and didn't appear to be carrying a child with him, either in his arms or in one of those dreadful pouch-bandoliers he occasionally had on when going out in the woods.
"Hagrid, where is Lily's son?" Minerva asked, causing Albus to frown slightly too as he came to notice that little missing detail as well. What could have happened, he wondered to himself briefly. "Uhm, there was a bit o' problem there you see. When I got t'ere, the house door was blown open, an signs o' struggle plenty there. No bodies tho, so kept going to the nursery, saw the door blown apart and found big portkey traces but kinda faded, didn'a tell where they went. Place was trashed an abandoned, but didn't see Harry anywhere."
Albus wasn't a happy man about hearing those news, and Minerva looked like she was going to lecture him in a way that would make Molly Weasley look like a shy little first-year, and what was worse he had no idea what may have happened. He needed to get to Gringotts fast, he had railroaded the order to have the Potter will sealed during his day at the Wizengamot, to prevent the boy's safe location from being spread out to the public he claimed, but now that effort might be going to waste.
This would have been a lot easier if he had just insisted that James get him a vial of Harry's blood for the sake of making sure they would all be safe. He would have been able to track the boy down a lot easier then, and have him with his loving relatives in no time. It wouldn't do that anyone else raised Harry, oh no, Albus Dumbledore needed to make sure Harry would grow up with the Dursleys, away from magic and his fame, and away from the expectations his Lordship would place on his back. It was for the Greater Good.
==== Plans and Precautions ===
Given that Gringotts had already closed its doors for the night it was not until the next day that Albus Dumbledore marched into Gringotts carrying the official documentation naming him Harry Potter's magical guardian and proxy, in the absence of his mother and father. The will in the ministry had already been sealed, and the papers he carried would have it sealed in Gringotts as well. The documentation he had already had a scribe send late yesterday was an order to keep the will frozen until he came to speak with the senior account manager himself.
Besides, as the Potters guardian he would be able to request a new account manager and he knew the right goblin for the job, who would help make sure that Albus Dumbledore would have access to everything he needed. It was good to have friends and allies among different people, after all. Making his way towards the head teller, Albus cleared his throat while waiting for the old goblin to pay him attention. The goblin seemed to barely give him a glance while continuing his writing, making Dumbledore clear his throat again.
"You really should get that looked at, Wizard." The goblin commented in a deadpan manner, but then set his quill aside. "What can I do for you?" He asked in a polite manner though watching Albus like a hawk. Not that it was unusual, he was an important man after all, and Goblins knew to respect someone like him. "I am here in my capacity as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and have documentation with me to seal the Potter will, as well as naming me the Potter heir's magical guardian and proxy. I assume everything is alright and proper?" He smiled while holding out the documentation to the goblin.
Taking the documents and casting them a look at the time, the goblin seemed to consider something seriously for a moment, before ringing a small bell that seemed to bring a younger goblin running to his side. "This is Mr. Dumbledore, and he is here with important documentation. He needs to be taken to see the Potter account manager." The goblin nod and headed off with the old wizard, leading him along while the head teller caught the faint smirk on the old wizard's face for just a brief moment.
Once they were gone, he set down 'at lunch' sign on his own window, hurrying off himself. Ragnok needed to be told about this, right away.
Albus Dumbledore smiled as he entered the account manager's office, but his smile froze as he saw a group of six goblins packing things into a magic trunk, with two armed goblin warriors standing nearby casting a glance at him as the goblin boy had lead him in the room. "Mr. Dumbledore has some documents of importance for the Potter account manager."
There was a short pause as one of the goblins knocked on a side room's door, before an older, more respectable goblin man walked out wearing a breastplate, carrying a sword at his both sides, and having a helmet under one arm. He cast a look at Dumbledore appraisingly before nodding.
"I am Sharpblade, you catch me at a bit of a bad time though Wizard, I am preparing for a ceremony and my office is being moved." He spoke seriously at the time but looked at Dumbledore who chuckled slightly. "Ahh, I assure you this should not take up too much time. I am here with the Wizengamot's official documentation that the Potter will be sealed, and identifying myself as the magical guardian of Harry James Potter, as well as the Potter proxy. I simply need your confirmation that everything is in order and I shall be out of your hair shortly." He smiled in a calm fashion, if the goblin man was retiring with fanfare then getting a new goblin in place would be a lot simpler. Things were looking up for Dumbledore.
"Let me see that." The goblin demanded, waiting to be handed the documentation and looking them over one by one. "This one is legit and stands." He said, handing the first one over to a nearby goblin who bowed. The Potter will designating who James and Lily named as Harry's guardians in the event neither of them lived through the war would be sealed, and that was half a victory for him already.
"This, however, is invalid and cannot be accepted." The goblin stated while holding the documentation naming Albus Dumbledore as guardian for Harry James Potter. He looked at the document with annoyance evident on his face, while Albus blinked in surprise at this turn of events. "What is wrong with it, I assure you it is from the Wizengamot's own scribe and perfectly legal, in the interest of the poor orphan boy's safety I have taken him under my own wing-"
"I am sorry, Mr. Dumbledore, but Gringotts cannot accept your claim of guardianship as we have already verified another in that position alongside Potter proxy." This in turn made Dumbledore turn pale. Someone had managed to cut in, and try and keep him from the boy? That wouldn't do, they obviously didn't know who they were messing with.
"Who has claimed that role?" Albus Dumbledore asked sharply, but the goblin smiled faintly in amusement. "I am afraid banking secrets are not privy even to Wizengamot, suffice to say the person has a superior claim to Heir Potter's guardianship, and Wizengamot cannot overrule it. The Goblin Nation has recognized the prior claim and the paperwork has already been sent forth. The current Guardian has named a proxy to present Potter interests in the Wizengamot due to being unable to attend personally. You will be notified along the rest of the Wizengamot in due time."
"I am afraid I must insist you share this information with me now, along with who has laid claim on Harry. As the Chief Warlock it is my duty-" He started, only to be silenced as the doors were pushed in by a group of armed goblin guards surrounding their leader, Ragnok, who cast a sharp look at Dumbledore.
"Mr. Dumbledore, I am going to have to ask you to leave. You are inquiring on a client who has requested their matters be kept private, and presented documentation that could be considered an attempt at usurping a role you have no prior claim to. These gentlemen will see you out, I would assume a man of your stature would rather walk out than be seen thrown out?"
==== Plans and Precautions ====
Lily drew a deep, long breath before letting it all out in a heavy, relieved sigh. Gringotts was overseeing the vault transfer and she had a decent amount of currency, both muggle and magical, to spend up until the transfer would be finished and all the final checks completed sometime next week. Goblins were meticulous with such large transfers, of course they were getting a nice service payment out of it but they prided themselves on being exact with their clients money, and she had earned some measure of respect from them, and hadn't been acting like a total jerk to them.
Looking around the house she considered the fact that James would have found it awfully muggle and small, but she saw no reason to spend money on some ten-bedroom mansion when it was just her and Harry living there. It was a beachside property, allowing her and Harry to enjoy the beach as he grew up, and hopefully stay out of sight of the witches and wizards for most part. Harry would learn magic from her until it was time for him to join one of the schools of magic.
Of course, by the time that came around, she hoped to have finished her studies on a topic she had initially considered a mere joke. There were many laws in the wizarding world that had her wanting to tear her hair out at times, though it was better in some countries than others. It was a joking saying that she heard from one of the half-bloods during her last year that stuck with her. 'If you don't like it, make your own country'.
It sounded like a muggle saying at the first half, then causing her to blink at the later half. It took a bit of searching, but eventually she did uncover the fact that there had been a lot of small wizard nations that started with a small island raised from the ocean floor and hidden under the right spells, they went unnoticed by the muggles. Most famous of them was Atlantis, although the mad king of that isle eventually doomed all the inhabitants of that isle by destroying the capstone to which many of the spells had been tied to, causing the isle to collapse and crumble to the ocean floor.
It took a lot of power to create a whole new island, and took a fair variety of spells to pull off. She imagined she would be able to learn all the necessary spells in a couple of years, but she was not certain she would have the necessary power. Worse, it could not be done by a gathering of people, it took one powerful witch or wizard to start the creation, because their vision of the place helped shape it.
Of course, the original method mentioned in the books caused her to scoff slightly. The method had the benefit of being able to shape the land exactly as one wanted from the start, but the reliance on a capstone that could be broken made it a dangerous option to consider, especially as the magical history appeared riddled with tragedies when a capstone was broken on such isles.
Going back to the thought of volcanoes and thinking about tropical isles, Lily Evans had a feeling she had a better way to pull this off in her mind, and she was willing to bet it would take a lot less power too. Of course, that method might mean it would take a longer time to get everything ready, but she was willing to wait. The home by the ocean front would let Harry get used to the sea, and besides, she hoped he'd grow to enjoy the water as much as his father had enjoyed the sky.
Looking at her sleeping son resting nearby on a comfortable bed, she felt a sad smile cross her lips for a moment, before allowing a sigh to leave her lips once more. Poor Harry still didn't know that he would never see dad again. Lily felt a clench around her own heart. Despite the fact she and James had been growing distant he had shown her he genuinely loved her, and she had fallen for him as well. Despite needing to stay strong she felt the hurt beneath the surface. She knew she had to stay strong for now though, and kept her mind occupied with other matters as much as she could.
The wind blew outside, and Lily gazed out of the second-story window. The waves hitting the shore in their calm rhytm washed away the footsteps in the sand from her earlier wandering. The ward stones were in place to keep the property safe from the natural disasters, as well as offer it a modest amount of protection. Those wards were hardly unusual, and would not draw attention from magical community, they would identify it as a magical home but not particularly important one, which was exactly what she aimed for.
One of the best ways to hide was being in plain sight. Heavy wards and obfuscation would only work as long as nobody gave the area more than a cursory look. Such magic would leave a huge imprint for someone that knew what to look for. Someone like the veteran auror Moody would be able to notice the presence of such intense magic and it would only draw his interest to note the sheer amount of magic used to hide a home like that.
Of course, besides the active wards that would already give a fair measure of protection and warning in case someone would approach them, there were secondary wards stones she had laid out much closer to the property, which remained inactive for now but if the situation would call for it she would activate them. They would certainly prove a nasty surprise to any would-be intruders, and should either help fight off any attacks or at the very least buy her the necessary time to get Harry and get out of there. She was not going to let herself be trapped in a corner again.
A couple of contingency plans were already being implemented, and she had actually impressed the goblins with her preparations. Of course, it cost a fair share of gold to carry out all the preparations that she wanted, but she had paid it from the interest of her own investments, which said something about her ability with the money, the purchases were not cheap but she had covered them without decreasing that which would belong to Harry in time.
Stepping out onto the balcony to gaze out at the warm waters, Lily Evans breathed deeply and shivered. She had not had any premonitions of immediate danger after throwing that tosser Voldemort to the volcano and leaving Britain had made her feel more secure about both her and young Harry's future, but she had a feeling it was not over. Her preparations were not just because Dumbledore might come looking for the boy. While Voldemort should be dead, she did not consider his threat over. The psychotic maniac had inspired frightening loyalty among his followers, and had claimed to be immortal during the war in the many duels he'd taken part in.
Lily was inclined to believe in the old wisdom of not believing someone was truly gone until she saw the body. Dropping the tosser into a volcano made that a difficult thing to ask for, but it only meant taking the warnings her visions of possible threats gave her all the more seriously. She was not going to hide herself and Harry under fortress-level wards and shelter him all his life, but neither was she going to just relax on a French beach having Harry surrounded by a group of Veela from early age onwards.
That might have happened if she and James had both died that night and Sirius managed to escape Britain with Harry. Somehow, she wasn't doubting the fact Sirius would have tried to instill his 'devil may care' attitude to Harry, as well as his playboy tendencies towards women. Lily was just glad Sirius had taken her warnings about looking at her seriously back at Hogwarts. If he hadn't, she and James might well have stayed apart given that he would've blamed her for cursing Sirius in a severe manner.
Even if their romance had not lasted, without it there would not have been Harry, and she had come to love the little boy from the first moment on in a way that made her willing to defy Dumbledore and everyone else. The power of mother's love could be frightening sometimes, and with a cunning and selectively vicious woman such as Lily it could polish her determination to a level where even the Marauders would have dreaded to face her glare and wrath.
==== Plans and Precautions ====
The pulse in the wards alerted Alice that something was wrong. Ever since they heard that Voldemort had gone and attacked the Potters she had felt some comfort in the sad thought that now their Neville should at least be a little safer. They had agreed to let their own Fidelius fade after Dumbledore assured them it was safe. Yet now their border-wards were shaking, and based on the impacts they would not last for even a minute.
Alice called out for Frank only to see him already pulling on his dragonhide vest. They had both felt the wards snapping in place. Portkeying or apparating away wouldn't work anymore, and the floo had apparently been blocked, based on the fact the handful of green powder rested on the flames without reaction. She knew that meant someone was going to strike at her family now, and little Neville was at risk.
"Frank, we have to get to the basement. Remember Lily's warning!" She hissed sharply, causing Frank to frown but nod, following after her. They hadn't thought it could really happen, but it seemed they were wrong. They hadn't been willing to invest a great deal of money on better wards in the middle of the war, nor had they thought they would be at risk if Dumbledore said they should be safe, but Lily had insisted, going as far as bringing them the backup plan along with her warning.
With Neville in her arms, Alice dashed down the steps to the basement as Frank sent his Patronus out to the Ministry of Magic, then dashing off after Alice. The plan would be risky, and it could backfire horribly, but it should buy them enough time for Aurors to swarm the place and stop the death-eaters or at least drive them off. As she made her way downstairs she cast a look up at the stairs waiting for her husband. She shook her child in her arms frightened that they had already broken in and coming, but seeing Frank rushing down the steps a moment later closing the door behind him made her at least sigh in some relief.
The two of them cast each other a look, before Alice handed Neville to Frank and moved to disillusion a trunk at the back of the room, opening its lid to reveal the steps leading down below. It was a small room they had in the trunk but it was a room that wasn't apparent in any plans for the house, and as Frank followed Alice inside a moment later, the closing lid let the disillusionment snap and the trunk once more vanished into the shadows of the cellar's corner.
The blasting noise upstairs alarming the couple in the trunk that their front door had just been breached, the cackling of the mad witch letting them know they had definitely taken the right choice in following after Lily's plan. Looking at the thick stone walls providing perfect cover to bottleneck a foe trying to enter the trunk, and strong enough to shield even from any blasting curses, they knew if it came to it they could make their final stand a bloody one for the death-eaters.
Alice moved to set Neville down to a small crib set behind a corner at the back of the room, casting a glance at the bed left there as well as the nearby set of 'rations' as Lily had called them. They were supposedly just in case but she really didn't know how Muggles could eat the disgusting stuff. Still, since food could not be conjured but water could they would be able to subsist with the rations for a far longer time than they could without, if it ever came to that, but neither of them thought it could take that long. It was just another precaution.
"Albus said we'd be safe, he guaranteed it. I am going to let him know just how 'safe' I felt having Voldemort's chief witch breaking into our house and having to retreat without a fight." Frank growled angrily but felt Alice's arm on his own, offering some comfort. The taunting words above carried to their trunk perfectly, a charm to make them aware of what went on nearby. They waited, hearing their household being searched and vandalized, and the infuriated screams.
Recognizing the bickering voices, the names spoken, and the shock that the last one created they held quiet wondering what to think about the news they now had if they made it through, when they heard Rodolphus shouting in anger. "Aurors, we have to-" A massive blast could be heard before Moody's familiar voice rose high.
"Lethals only, I see one stunner and I'll shove the caster's wand up their arse, these scum don't deserve no second chances to rape and murder!" The shrieking and spell casting rose to a new height, and Frank moved to open the trunk with the intent to join the fray. He wasn't going to stand down and let others fight for him without helping, now that the odds weren't entirely against them anymore.
Alice, however, remained behind considering how close they had come to dying. The two of them wouldn't have been able to fight off Bellatrix Lestrange while also fending off Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange as well, and hearing the fourth voice had been a nasty surprise. None of them had known that Barty Crouch Junior was a death-eater, but based on the shrieks above the Wizengamot would soon hear about it, and be presented evidence in the form of a cooling corpse with a dark mark on the arm.
Dumbledore could say what he wanted about second chances, but inwardly Alice was just glad hearing the death-eater death-screams above, although the cursing from Moody was not something she would have approved Neville to hear. Still, better that than being left an orphan, or worse having the entire family die out because of a few pureblood bigots needing to act superior and slaughter people to compensate for their own massive failings.
End Chapter
Not one of my best work, but hopefully tolerable enough to explain a few things and get some look around. I considered writing the battle from Moody's point of view but I am not too confident in my skill in writing action scenes, and had already focused more on the people whose lives are different this time around.
I never really saw the sense of the Longbottoms coming out of hiding so soon after the events that lead to Voldemort's downfall, being told its safe and not having any precautions seems negligent to me. I would think on their guard, noticing the wards are flaring they would have time to at least react, especially if a friend of theirs had reminded them about a very real threat, a friend who they might well assume was dead despite her precautions.
I am going to do a bit of a time-skip ahead for the next chapter, though Harry has a better life not being raised by the Dursleys. Doesn't mean he's a picture perfect prince that's secretly the Heir of Merlin, owning all of Magical Britain and having the perfect answer to every problem. That is for crack and attempts to be humorous for being just plain overpowering to a point of making fun of it. No, I hope to have a Harry who's been raised by an intelligent mother and grown up differently.
I considered a comment left in an earlier review, and though I had considered European countries, I am seriously considering something else now.
Also, I am shamelessly stealing a very cool idea from Rorschach's Blot who is a lot better writer than I am, but that I feel that idea could be used nicely here too, and I hope to give it my own Spin in this. "On an Island in the Sun" if you are curious. Highly recommended.
