Disclaimer: Don't own the story of Harry Potter. You would know if I did.

Betaed chapter now done by eyechange, who I owe the world to for reading this entire thing and fixing and polishing it up for me! Also, I edited the entrance scene to make it more canon and take out some of the useless side characters.


Chapter 4: Persuading the Midgets

When the turning stopped, the children turned to look around. This was certainly Grimmauld Place, but it was different. The portrait of Mrs. Black still hung on the wall with the curtains. The entire place was dirty. The lighting was dim, and the door was of a different kind. The coat rack was gone, and was replaced by an umbrella stand.

"Where are we?" whispered Victoire to Teddy, who was holding Hugo on his hip. The poor boy's fever was getting worse.

"I think this is Grimmauld Place in the past, but I have no idea what year it is," he whispered back, putting Hugo down to ascertain his surroundings.

Suddenly, the curtain to Mrs. Black's portrait swung open, and she began screaming foul curses at them. Mudblood! Stains on my ancestors! Besmirching the house of purity! Bewildered, Dominique slammed the curtain shut, in her attempt to shut the lady up. By then, Molly, Lily and Hugo had burst into frightened squawking, and were on the verge of tears, while Rose and Albus shook like leaves on a chilly autumn day. The cousins turned to face each other, unsure of what was going on.


Mrs Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Harry hadn't noticed her return from taking Ginny upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

'I want you in bed, now. All of you,' she added, looking around at Fred, George, Ron and Hermione.

'You can't boss us - ' Fred began.

'Watch me,' snarled Mrs Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. 'You've given Harry plenty of information. Anymore and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway.'

'Why not?' said Harry quickly. 'I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight.'

Before anyone could respond, they heard voices from the entrance way. Unfamiliar voices. Everyone turned to the door, unsure of how to proceed. Mrs. Weasley's eyes were bulging from her eyes. Arthur harshly turned to Bill and said, "Call for back-up. The rest of you lot, get to the fire-place! Now!"

Finally, Remus stood up and headed to the door, his wand drawn. Arthur and Sirius followed suit, as Bill rushed to call for aid. Mrs. Weasley picked up her wand and followed carefully, her hand trembling. From the Floo, Severus Snape and Tonks had already responded to the call, emerging and pushing the teenagers back as they followed the group of Order members, with Bill bringing up the rear-end.

The teenagers, not to be left behind, had their wands at the ready, though only Harry really looked stern and ready for combat. The rest of the teens looked uneasy, and were silently staring with wide-eyes at the door-way.

"Damn, let's head upstairs and see if we find something," said a voice from the corridor.

The Weasley boys all tensed as the voice carried. Their little sister was upstairs. Alone. They moved without guidance, despite Hermione's hissed 'No!' and stampeded to the front. Harry was quick to follow, wand drawn and hex prepared in his mind, a grim expression on his boyish face. It made him look old and weary. Ahead of them, Mrs. Weasley's gasped in horror; Ginny was upstairs, all by herself, because of her. Before anyone could stop her, she burst through the door, only to see a large group of teenagers and children. The rest of the group came up behind her, wands at the ready.

Victoire gazed at the group standing in front of her. She recognized her father, his brothers, Uncle Fred and Uncle George, as well as Uncle Ron and Harry, alongside Aunt Hermione. She swept her gaze over towards Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Her eyes rested upon Remus and Tonks, and she took a step back in horror. They were alive. She looked over at Teddy, who had paled considerably and Lucy had already taken Hugo from his arms, placing the feverish boy on the ground.

As this occurred, Victoire's mind was racing with the possible spells and charms that could have done this. Her eyes, however, had already settled on the culprits, standing just ahead of her, and holding a gold chain in their hands. The hour-glass was tipped slightly, with sand that looked whiter and sparklier than regular sand. Her temper rose as she made the connection, and she turned and glared at James and Fred. The minute they saw her face, they blanched. This was not going to be good. Besides Lucy, Victoire was the only person who could frighten them this bad.

"You complete- totally horrible- Merlin! I'm going to bloody kill you!" she screamed, pulling out her wand to hex them with whatever curses she could. Teddy and Louis grabbed her before she could do something stupid. Louis managed to grab her wand out, while Teddy held her waist, preventing her from hitting them.

"Vic, now is not the time," said Teddy trying to calm her.

"Those bloody brats! What the hell were they thinking?" she said screeching like a banshee.

"Not our fault, it was your bloody phoenix tears," they muttered under their breaths. This only caused her to howl louder.

Harry, Hermione and Ron watched as the beautiful blond girl was being held by the Remus look alike. They had their wands ready to fight, but this was not what they were expecting. They glanced up the stairs to see Ginny. She had slipped out of her room with her wand to see what the noise was about. She looked down at the large group in fright.

No one however, had been keeping an eye on the youngest of children. Before they could stop them, Lily, Molly and Hugo ran to the adults in the room, seeking warmth and compassion after the fright they had received.

Lily squealed in delight, moving to jump on= a startled Severus Snape. She had grabbed him around the waist in a tight hug. The two toppled over and Snape's wand slid out of his hand, prompting Sirius to reluctantly point his wand at the little girl. However, when she began talking, all the curses running through his mind vanished.

"Uncle Sev! It's really you!" cried Lily, smiling up at the shocked Severus Snape.

Snape felt millions of thoughts swarm into his head as he looked at this little girl, with warm green eyes and fiery red hair. She was familiar in an unfamiliar way. All the right sentiment, but all the wrong looks. There was something in the tone of her voice, the way she smiled, that made him feel like was seven years old, in the park where Lily had been playing with Petunia, and he watched from behind a bush. This girl looked at him with a brilliant smile, just like his Lily had, before he had messed up. The same adoration was on her face. As though he could do no wrong. She was talking about a million things, but he couldn't keep up, and it was like he was a boy again, talking to Lily Evans. His heart clenched, and he was unsure of how to proceed.

"Do you like my braids? Mum made them for me! Can we play tea party? Or the princess game? Oh Uncle Sev, I've always wanted to play like this!" cried Lily, ignoring his bewildered face.

Everyone was shocked at the little girl's reaction to Snape, and was unsure of how to respond. They were even more startled at Snape's reaction, having lost his harsh sneer, and attitude, he sat there looking bewildered, bewitched by a girl who was no more than seven. She had called him her uncle, but that wasn't possible, Snape had no siblings.

Little Molly ignored her cousin's reaction to Snape, and saw someone who she adored. Immediately she bounced over to him. She stopped at his feet, and gave him her most adorable smile. This smile of hers always made melt. She watched his eyes soften, and knew she had him where she wanted him. Within minutes, he would scoop her into his arms, and he would begin to educa-mate her.

"Gramps!" she yelled, as she hugged him the best she could.

Arthur Weasley was taken aback, to say the least. He had no grandchildren, unless Bill or Charlie were hiding something from him. Judging from her size, this was a secret they had been keeping for a while. However, this little girl seemed to believe she was his grandchild. She looked so similar to Percy, that he could almost believe she was Percy's daughter, but Percy wasn't dating anyone, and Percy loathed him right now. He wouldn't let his secret love child near his father any time soon. And of all his sons, Arthur had the hardest time believing that Percy would have a secret love child.

"Grandpa, can we play with the muggle radio? You know the grammy-fone, that muggles put giant records on, and then can we read the muggle bed-time stories? Mum said she bought you a dozen new ones!" she asked him expectantly, already holding her arms up and ready for him to pick her up. Arthur was unsure how to proceed.

Hugo, meanwhile, was feeling sick, and having seen Lily and Molly bound off, was feeling a little lonely too. That's when he saw her. She was looking shocked, which made sense; Hugo hadn't been this sick ever. He walked slowly over to her, and nobody saw him until he tugged on her robe and she jumped slightly. She looked down at him with surprise, and then concern seeing the redness in his cheeks and the obvious nausea. That made Hugo happy; she would take care of him. Maybe she would make him some honey porridge; it was his favourite meal when he was sick.

"Grandma, I feel bad, can I have some of your magic better porridge?" asked Hugo to Mrs. Weasley, with big expectant eyes that so resembled her Ron's at that age.

Mrs. Weasley was taken aback to say the least. This little boy looked so much like her Ron, but with brown hair. It was obvious he was running some kind of illness, and she just wanted to hug him and make him feel better. He was looking at her with such expectant eyes; she felt a tug at her heart. She almost scooped him into her arms, if it wasn't for the look she got from Bill and Sirius.

"Oh bloody hell, why wasn't anyone watching the midgets?" hissed Dominique, her blue eyes crackling with anger, seeing the three bound off, not a care in the world.

"James, Fred, get your sisters back!" whispered Victoire, her anger fading into concern, seeing the less than happy looks on the faces of the Order.

"How!?" snapped Fred back.

"Follow my lead," interrupted Lucy, before the two could snark at each other. She had already thought of a plan.

With that, Lucy stepped forward. The Order pointed their wands at her. She pulled her own wand out, almost getting hexed in the process as Harry shot an expelliarmus in her direction. Gently, Lucy laid her wand on the ground. Slowly she stood up, her arms above her head, and walked towards Hugo very, very slowly. She kept her eyes level with everyone in the room, hoping her plan would work.

"Hugo, Gran is feeling tired right now, why don't you let me make you some porridge?" asked Lucy to Hugo, who was holding his Grandma's robe tightly in his hand.

He glanced back over at Lucy, his nose starting to run. The fever was getting worse, and he felt dizzy. The kind look in Lucy's eyes made him feel comforted. However, Gran would be upset if he just left. He turned to look at his Gran, unsure of how to proceed.

"You feel tired, right Gr- I mean Mrs. Weasley?" asked Lucy, looking at the younger version of her Gran.

"Oh? Ah, yes, I do," she said uncertainly. She watched the little boy's face fall, and that familiar tug at heart happened again.

"So'wy Gwan, I di'n' mean to bother you," said Hugo, stepping over into Lucy's arms as he rubbed his eyes. She scooped him up, and stepped back with her cousins.

Mrs. Weasley had never felt so upset in her life. That boy was obviously sick, and here she was, unable to help him. He looked just like Ron, it was scary. She just wanted to hold him and hug him and make him feel better.

Meanwhile, Fred and James were scowling at Lucy. She had taken the easiest one. Hugo was too sick to be stubborn and put up a fight like the girls would. With one look from Lucy however, the scowls were wiped of their faces. Gulping, they stepped forward to receive the girls.

Fred went first. He put his wand down like Lucy had, and nobody tried to hex him. Then he stepped over to Molly. He walked slowly, as to not upset anyone in the room.

"Molly-dolly," said Fred gently, causing Mrs. Weasley to look over at Fred in surprise, and then at the little girl in her husband's arms.

"Yes Fred?" asked Molly, turning to look at him. This caused the twins to look over at their tanned triplet in surprise. Everyone was a little taken aback by the appearance of the boy who looked just like the twins, only tanned and younger. The fact that he was named 'Fred' added to the shock.

"Gramps is a bit busy right now, how about you get him to play with you later?" suggested Fred, trying to coax Molly away.

"Why?" asked Molly, looking at Fred, frowning.

"Urm, well, he's got some stuff he needs to do," said Fred, tensing at the look he was receiving from Bill. Who knew his uncle could be so scary?

"B-bu-but I want to p-play! Grandpa always makes time for me!" said Molly, clutching Arthur's leg, and burrowing her face into his leg. Arthur could feel her tears on his robes. He felt a sudden pinch at his heart.

"How about you play with me instead?" asked Fred, still tensed.

"Grandpa?" asked Molly, looking up with tear-stained eyes.

Arthur felt something tug at a corner of his heart. This little girl was looking up at him with such earnest eyes, she couldn't be a Death Eater, and he just knew it. A part of him wanted to scoop her into his arms and tell her all the muggle facts he knew, but judging from the people around him, that would not be wise. Instead he bent down, as to reach eye level with her, and smiled.

"Maybe we'll play later, um, Molly, but right now your um- g-gr-grandpa has to do some work," said Arthur, choking slightly on the word grandpa.

Molly looked at him with big solemn eyes, trying to hold back her tears, and then nodded. She let go of her grandpa's leg with a slight pout. Then she ran to Fred's wide arms, and buried her head in his shoulder, put out that her grandpa didn't want to play. Why didn't he want to play with her? He always played with her when she went over to visit!

Fred's demeanor visibly relaxed when Molly jumped into his arms. The people from the past felt their eyes bulge as they saw the twin's look-a-like smile a gentle, caring smile at the little girl in his arms. People were used to seeing the twin's faces with flamboyant, cheeky grins, not this gentle expression, so tender and soft that it could melt stone. Fred and George shuffled a bit, unsure of how to react to their look alike displaying this expression that even they didn't recognize. The watched as Fred slowly carried Molly back visibly relaxed. Once they were back at the stairs, Fred sat on the stairs with Molly in his lap, comforting her from her rejection. Arthur watched the scene unfold, and once again he felt the pinch at his heart. He looked over to his wife, who was gazing sadly at Hugo, and knew she felt the same.

James cursed a long string of curse words under his breath; of course Fred would take Molly. He should have known. Molly would be easy to coax away from a grandfather that she had seen on a regular basis, one that could hold her and play with her. Lily, on the other hand, would drive him crazy before he could tear her away from Professor Snape, who was still looking dazed. He threw a panicked look at his cousins and brother, however, they had no pity. He could see Albus sniggering, and vowed that he was going to pay back his brother double. He dropped his wand and stepped forward.

"Lily-kins," began James, trying his best to keep his nerves in check.

Lily, who had been babbling away to Snape, stopped after hearing her brother calling out to her.

"What James?" said an exasperated Lily, giving him a pointed look suggesting that she was busy and would not like to be disturbed.

"Umm, I think Professor Snape is a bit overwhelmed," said James, wincing at the glare his little sister was giving him. Merlin, she was like mum when angered.

"So?" asked Lily, doing her best to imitate her mum.

Snape snapped back into reality seeing the James Potter look alike. He began to try and get up, but Lily's hold over him was strong. Using her entire body, she clung to Snape, refusing to let him go. Snape looked at James, and felt like he was back in Hogwarts, watching James slowly draw Lily away from him, and he felt his heart pinch. However, he amended, after catching the stranger's face with the spirit of his Lily, this situation was different. His Lily was dead, and James Potter had gone with her. These children were different people.

"Well, maybe you want to give him some time, you know, to relax?" suggested James, doing his best to sound relaxed.

"But, I never get to play with Uncle Sev! Like his real self!" said Lily, her voice shaking, almost has though on the verge of tears.

"Well, you can play with him later, I promise," said James, trying his best to reason with his little sister.

"But I don't want to! I want to play now!" howled Lily, breaking into tears as she clung to Snape with all her strength. James was bewildered. He knew Lily had developed a close relationship with the portrait of Snape behind his father's desk, but this was beyond all his expectations. Lily thought of this man as a surrogate brother and father, to tear her away would be a real challenge.

"Lily Luna Potter, good little girls do not throw tantrums," said James, trying to be as intimidating as he could, however, his eyes channeled his fear and uncertainty.

"S'not a tantrum! I'm a goo' girl!" said Lily, wiping her tears away. She didn't like it when people said she was a bad girl.

Snape looked at the crying little Lily; she too, was a Potter. Snape felt a familiar anger burning inside of him. He wanted to push her away, but the sight of this little girl crying for him, it shook all the bitterness inside of him. He wanted to hold her tight and stop her wails. He wanted to be there for her like he hadn't been for his Lily, he wanted to protect her. The sight of the James Potter look-a-like trying to take Lily away was rekindling old wounds Snape had not felt in a long time. He winced at the memories drudging their way up.

"Why don't you come here, and you can play later," said James, opening his arms for Lily.

Lily hesitated, and then began to walk. Snape watched her walking away in horror. He suddenly grabbed her sleeve, unaware of the action. The little girl turned to look at him, a small smile starting to build on her strange lips, and he let go. This was not Lily Evans, he mustn't confuse the two. He stood up and picked up his wand and looked away. He saw from the corner of his eyes that little Lily looked so hurt, that he felt all the pangs to his heart rising up again. However, with a new set of tears in her eyes, Lily walked over to James, and then fell into his arms, sobbing.

"I know Lily, I know," James whispered softly, patting the back of her head as she sobbed into his t-shirt, upset at being denied this rare opportunity to play with Uncle Sev.

Once the children had been rounded up, Teddy stepped forward.

"We mean you no harm, I give you my word," he began slowly.

"Oh really? And how good is your word?" asked Tonks politely.

"The best," choked Teddy, and then he looked away, unable to meet his mother's eyes. His dead mother's eyes.

"Well, I'm certain you don't mind sitting through some questions then, do you son?" asked Arthur, not taking his eye off of little Molly.

"Fine, however, there are some things that I cannot tell you, so Victoire will ascertain whether or not you can ask those questions, deal?" asked Teddy.

"Are you trying to strike a deal kid?" asked Sirius, slightly amused at this boy's courage.

"Sirius! Their just children for crying out loud!" cried Mrs. Weasley, aghast at his behaviour.

"We'll see about that Molly," Tonks replied softly, her eyes still lingering on the blue of Teddy's hair and his pale face, "Snape, could you Floo Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall please? I'll go fetch Mad-Eye from his house. I think the professors are in a board meeting, but they'll want to see this. Get some Veritaserum while you're at it please!"

"Ah, yes," said Snape, not even ready to put up a fight at being bossed around by a former student. He spun around, his cloak billowing as he exited, longing to be away from the crying Lily.

This was going to be a strange night indeed.