Lily Cathrine Potter was many things. She was labelled the most brilliant witch of her age group at Hogwarts when she was a student. She was a damn good Auror before being drafted as an Unspeakable by the Ministry. Hell, she was Europes female champion duelist two years consecutively before she left the circuit when she found out she was pregnant. What Lily Cathrine Potter had never been, not once in her life before the floo call with Dumbledore, was a guilty woman.

The call saying her son was a sorted Slytherin initially panicked her to the core. She was no biggot when it came to the house system but her baby James was dumb as a dead rock at times to be generous despite his many good points. When the old headmaster said it was not James but Hadrian she had stopped her pacing dead in her tracks.

-flashback to the floo call-

"Hadrian was sorted into Slytherin?" Lily asked with her voice catching in her throat. The thought of her eldest in a den of snakes did not sit well with her. Even if they did push him off on her brother-in-law to focus on James since he was the one to vanquish Voldemort, he bore the scar not Hadrian, she still felt a protectiveness of her son. Even if he felt nothing for them as evidenced by every time they interacted in the past and he called them by their names instead of familial terms.

"I'm afraid so Lily" Albus responded with his expression falling into a grim line. "More so he seems quite...content to be there. He appears to have had a base group of friends in it already, whether they assumed they might be put there or by chance they were I cannot know for certain, and quite taken with a young lady who was sorted in." The headmasters expression became slightly more grim as the line fell into a scowl and even in the fire representation his eyes lost their twinkle. "He has made no attempt to talk to or even look James' way and if I were a betting man I would say he was purposefully not doing so. James does not seem to care, hes taken to the company of Mollys boy Ronald."

Lilys heart clenched at the words but said nothing as her pacing resumed at a quickened pace. She knew why Hadrian would not spare a glance to James and it made the dark feelings in her heart grow. Two years prior she basically all but forced her brother-in-law to bring Hadrian to the big party to celebrate her boys birthday. Sirius, ever the immature man child he was, made the wrong comment around her eldest son and before anyone could blink the elder Black male was on his back with Hadrian on top of him, a dagger he had wandlessly conjured resting against the skin of Sirius' throat and a dragonhide boot firmly stepped on the elder Blacks wand to prevent casting. James, her loveable dolt of a younger child, had come to his godfathers aid and drew the practice wand he used to practice casting only to find his uncle Harrisons wand pointed squarely at his chest with the red hue of a held back stunner on the tip." I see."

Lilys curt answer made the fire version of Albus look curiously at the pacing woman. "Is there something you haven't told me Lily?" he asked. "If there is a divide between the children it could make all our plans for naught."

Lily felt like laughing right then and there. A divide between her children? That was being mildly generous. They did not like each other. They could barely tolerate being in the same room as each for extended periods of time without a fight inevitably coming out, usually started by James. "Albus, a divide is generous. A hundred mile chasm is generous. My sons cannot stand each other. Hadrian is cold, calculating and distant while we both know James is a true Gryffindor through and through- loyal, warm, brave, reckless and as bright as a dead rock to be generous when his anger gets to him" she said with a bitter. empty smile. At that moment James, her husband not her son, walked in.

"Oh, evening headmaster. Has my pride and joy done something miraculous already?" James asked wrapping an arm around Lily.

"No my boy, I'm afraid he hasn't. I was just letting Lily know Hadrian was sorted into Slytherin house. He seemed rather pleased and content with the decision as well."

James looked gobsmacked at the revelation. Sure Hadrian got pushed to his brother but for his eldest son, the scion of House Potter, to be a Slytherin was preposterous. "Thats a good one headmaster, a Potter being sorted into Slytherin. Seriously, what house was my eldest boy sorted into?" he asked hoping it was just one of Dumbledores bad jokes.

"James, he isn't joking" Lily said with a frown marring her lips. "He already seems to have a group of friends in it, is already readily accepted and has a girl he likes in there as well." Turning her gaze back to the fireplace she thanked Dumbledore for the heads up before ending the call abruptly.

James didn't know what to do or say. He was as acutely aware of the divide between them and their eldest son but this, this was a lot to take in at once. Every born Potter, Lord Heir or otherwise, had been a Gryffindor and here was his eldest son sorted as a slippery snake. "Where did we go wrong Lily? What could we have done differently?" His questions were rhetorical so when he got an answer from a younger voice he was surprised and equally saddened.

"You could have kept big brother with us. Raised big brother Hadrian with us and not pushed him away." Rose Orchadia Potter was the youngest child James and Lily had, two years younger than her brothers. Although she was a miniature clone of her mother with flaming red hair and eyes like bright green emeralds she was not her parents child in any other regard. Like her big brother Hadrian she was a reserved and standoffish child to most people, her family included, but her elder brother Hadrian who she adored with all her heart. She was far more studious than her mother ever was in her youth and despised quiditch as a 'idiotic waste of productive time' much to her fathers hurt.

"Rose we have talked about this before. We would have"

"been in more danger. Blah. Blah. Blah" Rose said cutting her mother off with a roll of her eyes. "That" she jammed a finger at the fireplace as an indication of the call that had ended and what it entailed "is your fault for believing a prophecy and choosing one son over another. At the very least big brother Hadrian is happy where he ended up. This house is oppressively stuffy with how much you two suck up to James' ego for what is unprecidented accidental magic to survive the killing curse but still accidental magic none the less." Snorting rather sharply she turned and left, a french magical text of useful everyday charms Hadrian had gotten for her on her birthday and charmed to translate to english for her as she read in her hand.

"Go to bed love. I'll be up shortly" Lily promised kissing her husbands cheek and gently disentangled herself from him. When she was alone she cursed loudly in every language she knew after placing silencing wards and felt her eyes brim with guilty tears.

-end flashback-

They had been wrong to abandon Hadrian but between all that had happened the prophecy had come true. James had vanquished Voldemort and it was apparent to her even back then the psychotic dark lord was not dead. A tough choice had to be made and they made it, they abandoned Hadrian to James' brother Harrison and focused on James Jr. There wasn't a day that passed that she didn't beat herself up over it. "Maybe... Maybe we can still fix this" Lily mumbled to herself ignroing the silent guilt ridden tears that tracked down her face. She could only hope and pray Harrison instilled in her eldest son some understanding of forgiveness and the importance of allowing others to make up for mistakes they have made.

Upstairs in her room Rose sat on her bed softly and smiled a tiny little smile as she drew out a two way journal, one half of a pair that her brother Hadrian had given her before he departed for school that was the sister to the one in his possession. Drawing a quill out she scrawled a quick warning to her brother about James and Lily knowing his being sorted into Slytherin thanks to Dumbledore and what she had heard them say, how they reacted; everything she saw and heard she summarized for him. As an afterthough, as she always did, she told him she loved him and missed him as she ended the small message with a small drawn heart. Her heart fluttered with warmth when she saw the reply form back in her elder brothers elegant script thanking her for the warning and telling her that he loved her too. 'Thank you my crimson princess' appeared a moment after with a small drawn heart topped with a crown made her eyes water with love as she clutched the journal to her chest at the use of the affectionate nickname her brother had come up for her when she was four. Laying down on her bed she fell asleep not letting the journal out of her grasp dreaming of her brother, of being free to not have to deal with the hypocrisy that came with living in this house.

In the master bedroom James shifted around the bed uneasily. Despite his best efforts to calm himself and rationalize Slytherin was just a school house that had slightly different ideals prioritized above others he couldn't seem to succeed for more than a moment. He tensed feeling new weight until familiar scent of Lilys honeysuckle and lavender cream shampoo hit his nose. Automatically drawing his wife into his arms he buried his face into her long hair and breathed deeply trying to force a calm with the familiar smell he fell in love with. "We have to fix this" he said quietly, his eyes sightlessly staring at the wall behind Lily. "Before its too late. If it isn't already too late for all of us but Rose."

"We'll floo call Harrison in the morning since he took all of us but Rose out of the ward permissions for Black Manor" Lily said with a sigh burying her face in her husbands chest. "Pray it is not too late James... Not a day passes I don't kick myself for it but professor Dumbledore has never been wrong or led us astray. I hope this is not the time he has and cost us our son.."