"Okay, Prongs, you ready to go?"
"Sure, Padfoot. How about we just apparate back to my house, instead of using the floo? I hate that stuff." James shuddered.
"Fine," Sirius smiled at his friend as he watched him vanish.
When James arrived at Godric's Hollow, landing gracefully on the ground, he looked up to find the worst of his nightmares had come true. He fell to his knees. James's throat swelled up as his heart sank, his eyes watered. He gripped the ground with his hands and felt the grass between his fingers as he pulled himself closer to the ground. It couldn't be real. James lifted his head up, hoping –praying– it would all be a dream. But when he opened his eyes, it was all still there. They were gone. And he hadn't been there to protect them.
Sirius landed at Godric's Hollow just a minute after his friend had. Stumbling as he landed, Sirius looked down to make sure he got back on to his feet. He noticed that James was also on the ground, crying. As he looked back up, he knew why. The top half of James's home had been blown clean off, leaving it completely exposed to the night. Even worse, above his house, was the dark mark. Death Eaters had found their way to Godric's Hollow, and Lily, Rosalyn, and Harry had all been home at the time. Sirius ran straight for their house.
The front door was already blasted open when Sirius got there. He started for the stairs when he heard Harry crying.
"Harry?" he called.
Sirius rushed up the stairs and into Harry's nursery. Lily was lying motionlessly on the ground, while Rosalyn was doing the same, except she was bleeding profusely as well. In Rosalyn's arms, staring up at him, was Harry Potter. Sirius grabbed Harry, and ran over to Lily and took out his wand.
"Rennervate" he muttered through his tears, hoping that Voldemort had decided tonight of all nights to leave a victim alive.
It worked. Lily opened her eyes.
When Lily woke up, she saw Sirius towering over her, holding Harry.
"Sirius? Harry?" Lily looked over at where Harry and Rosalyn had been. She gasped as she saw Rosalyn lying on the ground.
"Lily," Sirius started, "James thinks your dead. He thinks all of you are."
"James! Where is he?"
"Outside. You're probably the only one who can convince him you're still alive."
Lily took a deep breath.
"Okay, Sirius. I'll take Harry and go get James. Take Rosalyn to Hogwarts. Get Poppy's help there. James, Harry, and I will be there soon."
Sirius ran over to Rosalyn while Lily took Harry and ran outside.
Rosalyn will be okay, she told herself. Rosalyn will be safer at Hogwarts anyways. Death Eaters could get into St. Mungo's, anyone could, but Hogwarts is perfectly safe.
"James?" Lily ran up to her husband.
"Lily? Harry? But- the- wait, where's Rosalyn?"
Lily bit her lip. "Sirius is taking her to Hogwarts.. Voldemort… he- attacked her."
James was still in shock. For some reason, Voldemort hadn't attacked Lily or Harry, even though Harry was the one who might fulfill the prophecy, but attacked Rosalyn instead. "Harry…" he moaned.
"Look, James, Harry is right here."
James looked up. He gasped.
"L-look at his forehead!"
Sure enough, there on Harry's forehead was a scar, in the shape of a lightning bolt nonetheless.
"I know, James. We need to get Harry help, too."
"Okay," whispered James, finally standing back up. "Let's go."
Lily and James apparated to the edge of Hogsmeade, holding Harry, and began to run for the castle.
"Is she going to be okay, Poppy?" Sirius asked, biting his lip.
"Maybe, maybe not," came the soft, but still somewhat harsh reply. "The curse itself was pretty bad. Although I've got her mostly patched up, the real question is the damage of the blood loss. I gave her a Blood-Replenishing Potion, of course, but I have no way of knowing whether or not it will be effective. As you should know from the countless times you've been in here yourself, potions work the best when your body isn't under any kind of magical strain. However, the strange thing is, she apparently used some strong force of magic beforehand. It really depends on her whether or not she survives."
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, contemplating all that had just happened. Tom Riddle had just fallen, and although Dumbledore feared this was not permanent, there were issues that had to be dealt with immediately. Issues regarding a certain Boy-Who-Lived, as he was now being heralded as, and his sister, Rosalyn Potter. He knew that Harry was now the child of the prophecy, and that meant he would one day have to stand up to Voldemort himself. However, he also knew that it was an unrealistic expectation to assume that any normal boy would be able to take on this task. Harry needed to have a reason to fight this war. Harry would need to have a first hand experience of what Voldemort can and will do. And what of Rosalyn? Dumbledore tried to tell himself that it wasn't good to leave Rosalyn there, where she would have to be overshadowed by her younger brother, since special attention and training would have to be given to him. No, what Dumbledore needed was a safe place where she could grow up, and not interfere with training Harry needed to receive. Then, Dumbledore realized what he would have to do. Convincing himself it would be better for everyone, not to mention the entire wizarding world, Dumbledore took a deep breath before standing up to do what he needed to do.
A COUPLE OF THINGS:
I haven't fully decided on where to go from here, even though I've got a pretty good idea of what needs to/will happen. But, I'd love to here your suggestions. Write in a quick review, tell me where you think Dumbledore should send Rosalyn. Please? The more people review, the quicker the next chapter will be out! And remember: WHERE DO YOU THINK DUMBLEDORE WILL/SHOULD SEND ROSALYN?
Oh, yes and to Yana5- Yes and no. But it will turn out that way eventually. ;)
