[A/N: Alrighty ladies and gentlemen! Here we go for the much anticipated and highly requested second half of 'There Will Be No Foolish Wand Waving! Please leave a review and let me know if I'm on the right track.]

Book 2:

The Aftermath

Sunday 1 November, 1981

'Harry? My god, NO!' Petunia frantically screamed in her mind. 'This couldn't be true! Where were Lily and James? Who dropped Harry here and when?' These were just some of the questions whirling in her mind as she lifted the toddler from the basket. Despite her handling and her vocalization of her thoughts, Harry didn't wake up. That got her worried as no child could remain asleep unless under a potion or something. As she lifted him, a letter dropped from where it lay between the boy and the basket. She bent down and grabbed everything she could and ran back inside.

Petunia gently placed Harry on the couch then ran into the kitchen where her communication mirror hung on a wall near the phone. Jamming her finger onto the big, red emergency contact button; she impatiently waited for the connection to the others to be made. A trio of very sleepy faces appeared in split sections of the mirror's surface. 'Why didn't Lily's personal mirror connect?' came her worried thought.

"Pet-Petunia? What's going on?" yawned a still not quite awake Sirius.

"Everyone wake up and get over to my place now. Harry's here and he's hurt! I have no idea as to where James and Lily are," Petunia barked into the mirror. That got everyone else's attention quickly.

"We'll be right there," declared Remus while Severus and Sirius were seen to be grabbing a robe off-screen.

Petunia closed the connection and turned back to her nephew who was still asleep on the couch. She made careful note of every square inch of his face, looking for any injuries. She easily spotted the weirdly shaped scar on his forehead that in the back of her mind, appeared to be shaped like a rune of some sort. Petunia forced herself to take some calming breaths to slow her frantic heartbeat, 'Now is NOT the time to panic!' She grabbed a notepad and pen and began writing down everything she observed about the boy from his heartbeat to the smudges on his forehead. Leaving her sleeping nephew where he was, she hurried over to the cupboard under the stairs where she rummaged around and located the family camera. She checked to see if it was loaded with film and fresh batteries before snapping off as many pictures of Harry. She barely glanced up to the sounds of her husband going about his morning routine and was grateful that her own son, Dudley hadn't woken up yet.

Three loud cracks of sudden apparition were heard coming from the backyard right before the door was wrenched open as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape strode in with worried expressions on their faces.

Severus was the first to reach Petunia and asked her what had happened.

"I had just walked out onto the porch to get the morning paper when I spotted a bundle on the step. When I examined it, I discovered Harry asleep in a basket with only a thin blanket, a scar on his forehead and a letter. I grabbed him and everything you see there and brought him back inside then called all of you. Lily's personal mirror never connected and I'm not sure why. I was just about to try and reach Potter Manor when you arrived." Petunia hurriedly explained before heading back in to the kitchen to grab the mirror off the wall.

Sirius and Remus in the meantime were examining Harry for any other injuries other than the one on his forehead.

"I'm detecting something that sort of registers as Dark Magic," commented Remus.

"Same here," agreed Sirius, "I think it's from that scar, though aside from that it appears that Harry is just fine. We'll need to take him to Saint Mungo's though to be sure."

Petunia returned carrying the mirror. She took a deep calming breath and called 'Potter Manor.' There was a brief shimmer as the pair tried to connect. Next thing that Petunia could see was the inside of Potter Manor's kitchen and a couple of the house-elves busily working. Petunia tapped on the mirror to get their attention.

A young, blue-eyed elf's face appeared, "Hello, how can Lucy be helping you?"

"Hello, Lucy. I'm Petunia, Lily's sister. Can you go find my sister and have her come to the mirror? I think they may be in trouble." Petunia barely kept her voice calm through sheer determination.

"Lucy will be right back." The elf replied before popping away. It took a few minutes before Petunia and the others saw the elves suddenly stop working and developed a look of fear on their faces.

Lucy popped back into view, "Lucy is sorry but we elves cannot be finding Master James or Mistress Lily anywhere!" she wailed.

Petunia nearly dropped the mirror as she started to cry but Severus saved it. He turned to the panicking elf and told her to put the manor on lockdown until help arrived and that he, Remus or Sirius would be by as soon as they could.

Just then Vernon arrived in the middle of the commotion carrying his son in his arms.

"What the heck is going on here? Petunia?"

Petunia jumped at the sound of her name and hurried over to where a surprised Vernon stood at the base of the stairs. Dudley in the meantime was busy gnawing on his chubby fists.

"Oh, Vernon! It's terrible! Harry's here and hurt, James and Lily are missing and…and I…" she trailed off into tears. Vernon shifted Dudley in his arms and took his wife into an embrace while awkwardly patting her on the back.

"Shhhh…easy there Pet. Why don't you go sit down while I get Dudley here his breakfast then we can talk."

After getting Dudley set up in his high chair and giving him a bowl of dry cereal, Vernon returned to the assembled group of adults in the living room. Remus was stroking Harry's hair while Sirius and Severus were quietly discussing what to do next.

Gesturing to Harry, "I'm surprised he hasn't woken up, what with all the noise from everyone."

Remus replied, "There's a sleeping spell that was put on him, supposedly by whoever it was that dropped him off here. We want to leave that in place just in case there are any other injuries that might cause him pain. Plus, the magical signature is something that the Aurors will want to identify."

"How long until they arrive?"

"Severus? Did you call for the Aurors yet?"

Severus looked chagrinned that he had not before turning to the fireplace and making the call. A moment later and an Auror stepped through the floo and into the living room. He was quickly brought up to speed of the events as they had transpired before he asked to see the letter that was still laying on the coffee table unopened.

"Thank you for not touching the letter, ma'am and sirs. It would've disrupted my scans to see if there were any foul magics embedded in it." The Auror scanned the letter but found nothing illicit. Upon opening it up, he scanned the contents but found nothing in the way of compulsions or other mind magics.

"I'm going to make a copy of this. I'll be keeping the copy while I will give you back the original. Was there anything else you wished to tell me that might be pertinent to this case?"

Sirius spoke up about how James and Lily were missing as well and that they had contacted Potter Manor and spoke with the house-elves there. The elves couldn't find their Master or Mistress anywhere and had been instructed to lock down the property until one of them arrived with help.

"Ok, when you're ready we'll head over there and investigate further." Sirius nodded in compliance and stood to retrieve his coat. He gave Harry a gentle kiss on his forehead before escorting the Auror to the backyard where the two disapparated away.

In the meantime, Petunia had recovered her wits and began making plans to get Harry to Saint Mungo's and to coordinate with any other departments necessary to investigate the events.

"Severus? I'll need you to go with me to Saint Mungo's. Remus? Would you be so kind as to contact James' and Lily's friends and inform them of what's been going on?" Both men nodded their agreements. She turned to Vernon, "Vernon, I'm sorry to rush off like this but I just need you to hold down the fort here and take care of Dudley while I'm gone."

Vernon got a pleased grin on his face, "A day with just me and my boy? Yeahh…I don't think that'll be a problem." Petunia chuckled weakly before giving her son and husband a kiss on their cheeks before hurrying off to get dressed.

When she returned a few minutes later, Remus had already left while Severus was finishing up a cup of water. With an eyebrow quirked up in unvoiced question, Petunia merely nodded and took a fortifying breath before lifting Harry up into her arms. The three then flooed to Saint Mungo's in a rush of green flames.

Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies

The two adults and one sleeping child arrived in a rush of green flames to the waiting and arrival room of Saint Mungo's. They hurried up to the Welcome Witch and asked for the directions to the Casualty Department. The witch on duty asked what was wrong and was told that the infant had been left on Petunia's doorstep sometime early that morning by persons unknown and with a scar on his forehead. Petunia and Severus were quickly directed to the emergency room and they rushed down the hallway.

The Healer on Duty greeted them with a calming demeanor and had them go through the known circumstances once again and also to identify themselves.

"My name is Petunia Dursley and I'm the Deputy Director of the Muggle Liaison Office. This boy is my nephew, Harry Potter. All I know is sometime this morning; Harry was dropped off on my doorstep in a basket with only the clothes he's wearing, a thin blanket and a letter that I still haven't read yet." She held up her camera and notes, "I took multiple photos and wrote down everything I could think of once I got him inside. Now that I think of it, I should've also taken photos of the porch too." She paused to take a breath, "According to Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape here, there is a faint sign of Dark Magics embedded within the scar on his forehead. I-I need to know… I need to know that Harry's going to be okay." She said all that and ended with a bit of hopeful whimper.

The Healer turned to Severus who concurred with what he knew of the morning's events adding only that Petunia had called her sister and husband at their home but were unable to find them and that Aurors were now at the scene.

The Healer nodded as he wrote all of this down on a form and included a copy of Petunia's notes into his report, "Okay, thank you. I'll have the duty nurse send for the film to be developed. I'll have you place the child down here on the examination table. Do you know what the child's previous medical history is like?" He called for a nurse and repeated the instructions regarding the camera and film. She left in a hurry carrying the items in her hands.

Petunia had slipped into a sort of daze and slid rather heavily into one of the room's chairs after her explanation so it was left to Severus to fill in the Healer to Harry's medical history.

"As far as I know, Harry has had all of the usual shots and potions for a child of his age. No known colds or fevers and developmentally, he's been on par with others of his age."

The Healer pulled out his wand and waved it over Harry. He quickly picked up on the Somnulus charm and canceled it. As he continued his examination, Harry's eyes fluttered open and he gave a slight whimper of fear. That noise grabbed Petunia's attention and she jumped up to maneuver herself so her nephew could see her.

"Hi, Harry. Remember me? I'm your Aunt Petunia," she cooed gently. Recognition took a moment before the cutest smile slid over Harry's face and his eyes lit up. Petunia grinned back and nodded, "Yeah, you do remember me." She tickled the tip of his nose with her finger, which caused him to giggle.

"Mama?" Harry burbled.

Petunia got a sad look briefly on her face before shaking her head.

Harry took on a look of puzzled thought momentarily before asking, "Dada?"

"Mama and Dada are sleeping," Petunia made the noise of loud snoring causing Harry to giggle once more. She turned to the Healer who'd just finished his examination.

"What's the good news?"

The Healer replied, "Well, as far as I can tell, you were correct in assuming there's a trace of Dark Magic and I'm curious as to the nature and shape of the scar. It almost looks like a rune but I can't be sure. Medically, he's fine and in the picture of health so it'd be my recommendation that you can take him home today after we have the onsite cursebreaker take a look at him." Both Severus and Petunia sighed in relief.

At Potter Manor…

Sirius and the Auror appeared in the arrival room for Potter Manor with a minimal amount of noise. Lucy, the Potter's Head-Elf was waiting for them.

"Lucy? The Manor is on lockdown?" Sirius inquired of the diminutive being who was twisting the hem of her uniform nervously.

"Yes, Master Sirius. It being just as you ordered it."

"Does the Manor have any sort of central security system other than the elves that I can examine?" The Auror asked as he pulled a quill and notepad out of a pocket.

Sirius looked pensive for a moment, "Yes, it'd be in the basement. I remember James telling me about it. I'm not sure as to its current arrangement though. James and Lily never got around to modernizing the security setup before now."

"Okay, then I'll need to see the Wardstone."

Sirius guided the Auror to where the Wardstone was located. The Auror ran a general diagnostic over the stone and examined several sections that appeared to be burnt out or degraded all the while taking notes. The next stop was the main floo to run a check to see who had traveled last and if there was anything in the security traps.

"Do you know a Peter Pettigrew, Mr. Black?"

Sirius looked surprised at the name, "Pete was here? I mean, yeah I knew him. He was in Gryffindor with James and I. Lost contact with him during that dust-up with Voldemort."

"Hmm…according to the floo's records, Mr. Pettigrew arrived sometime in the past week multiple times; sometimes as short as just a few minutes until the day before last night when he appeared to stay for about an hour."

Sirius gestured widely, "News to me, pal. I never found out what had happened to him after we graduated. I had heard rumors that he'd fallen in with the Death Eaters and was killed during one of the battles. That he survived is not all that surprising, he's good at getting himself in and out of trouble."

The Auror finished taking his notes while Sirius started giving Lucy instructions on what to do now that the Manor had been examined.

"When we've finished in here, I suspect that the grounds will need to be examined. I want you and the other elves to put out word through whatever network you have with each other to keep an eye out for James and Lily, okay?"

"Yes, Master Sirius. Lucy will be doing that," she acknowledged before popping away.

Back at the Dursleys…

When Petunia and Severus returned, they found Vernon on the floor playing with his son. All sorts of brightly colored toys were scattered between the two of them as Dudley babbled in a childish sort of way while Vernon made the appropriate noises to the various things that Dudley had pointed at. At the sound of their return, Dudley squealed in happiness and climbed to his feet and unsteadily lumbered towards his mother.

"Mama! Da 'orsie!" he cheerfully yelled.

Petunia smiled indulgently as she ruffled his hair, "That's nice, Dudley. Have you been a good boy?"

Dudley nodded then continued to describe his day using his baby words. Vernon turned and welcomed them back

"How'd it go at the hospital?"

Petunia handed Harry over to Severus while she went into the kitchen to fix up something to eat and drink. Severus sat down while cuddling Harry and replied to Vernon's question.

"According to the Healer, everything appears to be fine other than the cut on his forehead. The onsite cursebreaker detected a faint reading of Dark Magic but can't make heads or tails of it. As far as he's concerned, it appears to be nothing more than a residue and that the scarring ought to be minimal. I can whip up a cream that can help with that."

He shifted Harry in his arms as the toddler became intensely curious about the necklace Severus wore.

"After the hospital, we stopped by the Ministry to let her boss know that she'd be out for a couple of days while the investigation was ongoing."

Harry decided then to squirm and demand to be let down. Severus loosened his grip and helped him down to the floor. Harry then wobbled his way over to where the toys were and began a babbling baby conversation with Dudley over the joys of the color blue and the inherent differences of dinosaurs versus dragons.

Petunia came back in with a tray of breakfast wraps and a pot of tea then settled in her favorite chair. She pulled the mysterious letter that had been left with Harry that morning and opened it up to read. A pall fell over her face and what color she did have slid towards the greenish variety.

"Pet? Are you okay?" Vernon asked worriedly. Petunia silently handed him the letter.

'To Whom It May Concern;

I'm not sure that you may remember me but my name is Peter Pettigrew. I was in school with your sister and her husband James in Gryffindor. I wanted to let you know that…well, they and their son were the guests for our illustrious and glorious leader, Albus Dumbledore. They will be taking part in a ceremony that requires a bit of sacrifice on their part so that the Great Lord Dumbledore can continue his work for the Greater Good!'

The letter then rambled on with a load of hogwash about how great, wise and powerful Dumbledore was before finally getting to the reason why Pettigrew had left Harry on their doorstep.

'While James and Lily have fulfilled their part; their son, Harry caused a bit of a disturbance. I don't know the reason why but there was a magical backlash and it caused the ceremony to fail. I am unable to care for both the boy and our Glorious Leader at the same time so I figured that you'd be better off with the child. With any luck, I will restore my Master to his full health so that he may continue to reshape the world in his image!'

The letter signed off with Peter's signature. Vernon glanced up at Severus whose face had gone unnaturally still.

"Severus?"

Severus merely held his hand up before standing and starting to pace as he thought about what had been read aloud. Sirius and Remus arrived a moment later and were given the letter to read. They grew pensive as they read through the message; Sirius growling while Remus glared murderously.

After a moment to collect her wits, Petunia sat up and wondered aloud as to what would happen next. The remaining Marauders sat up with a determined air about them as the planning commenced. It was decided that until James and Lily were found, Harry would be staying with the Dursleys. Sirius looked pensive about this but then nodded his head as reality set in.

"I'm Harry's godfather but I know very little on how to properly care for him. I can easily provide a place for him to live but…well…." He just spread his hands helplessly.

"I think it would be better to keep him here. He obviously recognizes me and is comfortable with my son," Petunia commented as she glanced over at the two toddlers who were now wrestling over a plushie, "Well, sort of at least. Dudley is just about the same age and developmental level as Harry."

Remus sat down next to Harry and reached over to ruffle up his hair to which said boy giggled and squirmed out of the way before reaching for the plushie again, "I too, can assist in raising Harry. One thing I think is important is to not hide him away from the general public. Eventually word is going to get out that Harry was taken by Dumbledore and somehow got away. You know how folks are when rumors get started. I think a gradual introduction will be beneficial to both Harry and the public."

"I got a question regarding all of this," Vernon commented, "why did Dumbledore target them in the first place and what did Harry, James and Lily have to do with it all?"

"Well," Sirius began, "Before they went into hiding, James had told me that the Department of Mysteries had informed him that a prophecy had been given that spoke of a child that would be born that could potentially be the one to rid the world of a Dark Lord. I don't know the specifics of the prophecy but from what James did say was that the child would be born at the end of July."

Severus slowly shook his head as he scoffed, "Prophecies are just a bunch of waffle. No one with any sense should take them seriously."

Remus shrugged, "I don't know about that, Severus. It's obvious that someone does take them seriously; otherwise this whole thing never would've happened." Severus merely grunted in agreement and gestured with his hand in acceptance of the remark.

Vernon turned to his wife, "Is there any way to track this Pettigrew bloke? Don't you magicals have ways of finding hidden people or things?"

Petunia slowly nodded while waggling her hand, "Sort of, kinda. A Point Me spell is the most commonly used but if they're under protective wards, it won't work. We might be able to use an owl tagged with a tracking charm but even then… it depends on the wards around wherever they might be."

They were silent for a while as each thought about what else could be done. The toddlers had eventually abandoned their fight for dominance over the plushie and switched to holding an in-depth conversation about the hidden benefits to applesauce being used as an adhesive.

After a while, Severus made some noises about needing to get back home to check on some potions he'd been in the middle of brewing the previous day while Remus and Sirius were quietly making plans on where and how to raise Harry. Sirius had wanted to take him back to Potter Manor, as that's where the elves were and where Harry was most comfortable. Remus reminded him of Petunia's offer to raise him with Dudley, pointing out that it would get awfully lonely for the toddler and also potentially traumatizing if he called out for his parents and they never answered.

Sirius finally relented, "Let me know if you need money or whatnot from the Potter vault to offset the expenses of having another child here, James gave me partial access to the vault." Sirius offered, "Oh, that reminds me. We, or perhaps just I, should go to Gringott's and see if they have any knowledge of whether or not James and Lily are still alive. Also and regardless of their status, I need to let them know that I'll be taking up guardianship of Harry."

"Sounds good to me and I'll let you know if financial assistance is needed. Thanks, Sirius." Petunia replied, "I need to contact the Aurors and update the case agent in charge of our ideas and suggestions. I think they should be informed as well."

Standing up; first Sirius then Remus and finally Severus gave Petunia a comforting hug as well as Harry though the toddler just squirmed and giggled from all the attention before they headed outside and disapparated to their self-appointed tasks.