Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews, I deeply appreciate them and I am happy to know that you like my story. Just to answer some of your questions:

First of all – YES, I know I made a mistake when I spoke of internet and laptops a few chapters back, I'm so used to the technology today, that I subconsciously added it in my story – thank you for letting me know of my mistake, please stop reminding me, as I'm pretty much embarrassed, LOL!

Second of all – to all my readers that wanted Caius to meet Lily before she died, believe me I wanted that to, but there was no way that he would be able to meet her without knowing of Arianna; besides I cannot imagine Caius knowing his daughter is in danger and leaving her be, he would take her to Italy and there would be no Girl-Who-Lived.

Third of all – I love, love, LOVE Dumbledore, and I hate how everyone always disses him, making everything seem his fault and evil in most fan fictions, in my story I find a reason to all his actions, so you'll be seeing different events taking place as the story unfolds.

Fourth of all – some readers asked me if I will be going through all of Arianna's childhood or just skip to her Hogwarts years; my answer is that we will be seeing a lot more of her childhood, but it won't be too many chapters, mostly skimming as I've got many things planned for her before she enters Hogwarts. But don't worry, her Hogwarts years are going to be much different, as we are dealing with Arianna Potter, part vampire and not Harry Potter from J.K Rowling.

Fifth of all – now there won't be any spoilers, but just because I have Jasper's name put up in the summary, it doesn't mean that he would be Arianna's mate, but it is a possibility.

That's all for now … sorry for all the blathering but I wanted to answer most of your questions as you all took the time to read and review my story, which I really appreciate. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 10:

Surrey, Little Whinging,

4 Privet Drive,

Petunia Dursley woke up to the shrill crying of her one year old son, Dudley, and hastened to get up, lest he wakes up his father, Vernon who had been acting quite odd since last night.

After changing Dudley's diapers and giving him a bath, she set him down on his high chair by the kitchen table where she would be able to keep an eye on him, and worked quickly in making breakfast before her husband had to go off to work at Grunnings Company.

Petunia opened the fridge, deciding on bacon and eggs, toast and jam, and a pitcher of some freshly squeezed orange juice, she set herself to work.

Fifteen minutes later, she set the table properly for Vernon and herself, and took the toast out of the toaster. Making coffee for her Vernon and tea for herself, she bustled around happily thinking of how proud she was that her son said his first word the other day, 'Won't.'

Petunia's thoughts turned dark, slightly befuddled by her husband's behavior last night, and hating him for bringing up her sister and that spawn of hers, Arianna – disgusting name. It was so Italian, almost as if Lily was ashamed of her British roots; Petunia inwardly scoffed.

Dudley was a fantastic name, after all.

She was better off without her younger sister in her life. Let her stay away with her rich, snooty, show-off of a husband, and her little brat of a daughter.

Petunia didn't even know who her niece looked like; whether she took after Lily or that Potter, she didn't know.

Vernon finally barreled his way downstairs, shaking Petunia from her horrid and despairing thoughts, kissed her cheeks as per their good morning ritual, and sat down to begin eating his breakfast before he would have to head off for Grunnings.

Petunia smiled as she saw her Vernon add second and then third helpings; being Mrs. Dursley meant that she had the job of being the perfect housewife, and fill her husband up – she didn't mind that Vernon was slightly overweight, it just meant that she was doing something right, and that her husband loved her cooking.

"Pet darling, you forgot to put out the milk bottles from last night for the milkman," said Vernon matter-of-factly as he popped in the last bit of bacon into his mouth.

"Oh dear, I knew I forgot something," Petunia tittered awkwardly, chastising herself for such a colossal mistake in her daily routine. "I'll go do it now."

Standing up to grab the empty bottles of milk, Petunia smiled affectionately at her husband who was currently scooping little Dudders into his arms.

Opening the door, Petunia looked down the doorstep to place the bottles, expecting it to be empty – instead, Petunia screamed a shrill, piercing noise that had most of the neighbors looking at her in bewilderment, and Vernon galumphed as fast as he could, mistaking his wife's screaming to her being under attack or in danger.

Suddenly, the streets of Privet Drive and the house number four, was filled with the wailing sound of a baby crying.

"Pet, Pet, what is it? Whoever's baby is crying, shut it up!" he roared at the neighbors, not noticing that his wife had failed to answer him yet, her gaze locked down at the front doorstep.

"Petunia, talk to me, what is-" whatever Vernon was about to say got caught in his throat, as Vernon audibly snapped his mouth shut with a loud pop.

Sitting at their front doorstep, was a little baby girl.

She had tufts of fiery red hair that was already beginning to grow nicely into curls all over her tiny heart-shaped face, huge doe-like emerald green eyes were swarming and shining with tears, and plump, petal-shaped lips that were currently formed into a round 'o' as her lungs wailed loudly.

"Whose blasted baby is that?" he demanded wildly, not caring that he was currently making a scene in the perfectly normal neighborhood of Privet Drive. "If this is anyone's idea of a joke, then it is not funny!" he proceeded in yelling, "Do I look to be amused?!"

Finally, Petunia was able to find her voice; her arms were trembling as she took ahold of Vernon's wrist, effectively shutting him up from embarrassing them even more in front of the neighbors.

"Vernon," she choked, "Vernon, I think she's … I think she's Lily's child."

Vernon gaped at his wife. He did not expect that to come out of her mouth after staring in silent shock at the girl for so long, "What do you mean, Pet? Why would you even think that? We told them long ago we want nothing to do with their sort!" he growled towards the end.

"Look at her eyes and her hair! Their Lily's! It's her distinctive features, Vernon! I think I would know my own sister, I did grow up with her after all," she snapped over the little girl's loud wailing, shocking Vernon even more.

Petunia was usually very timid, and only managed to snap or get angry when Lily's name or anything to do with her and that Potter, was drug up.

Suddenly another set of crying lungs joined Lily's daughter, snapping the two Dursleys back to the present. They looked inside and saw their little Dudders seemed to have been disturbed from the entire racket they had been making.

Petunia finally noticed that they were making quite the scene, now that two babies were crying from number four in the usually quiet and normal neighborhood of Privet Drive.

All the nosy housewives faces were pressed out of their windows or against the glass looking in on the scene, and all the usual morning joggers, and men that were headed over to their car for work, were frozen in their place watching the two Dursleys and the baby that was still currently crying on their doorstep.

Completely embarrassed, Petunia glared at their audience, and without another word, she hastily placed the milk bottles outside, grabbed the little girl and rushed inside to her son as Vernon slammed the door behind her, trailing obediently behind his wife at a complete loss at what to do.

Placing the girl and her bundle of blankets on the still dirty kitchen table without a care in the world, Petunia hastened over to carry her son in order to stop his crying.

After Dudley had calmed down, she looked over to Vernon, who had been staring in slight disgust at the little girl who was still bawling her lungs out.

"Shut the girl up Petunia!" he growled out. "I'm heading over to work, I'm nearly late … we'll deal with her when I come back."

And without another word, Vernon rushed outside, escaping the usually peaceful confines of his house and sped down the road to Grunnings, putting all thoughts of that blasted girl out of his mind for the time being.

As Vernon sped out of the house, Petunia glared at the little girl.

"What am I to do with you?" she muttered.

Seeing no other solution but to carry her, she grabbed the bundle and rocked her in her arms, and to Petunia's amazement, the girl instantly stopped her incessant crying.

Petunia blinked twice in shock as she stared at the girl she was sure to be her niece. Usually when Dudley cried, it took around half an hour for him to stop.

Placing the little girl cautiously back down on the kitchen table, she noticed a letter that must have fallen from the bundle of blankets, and she moved over to pick it up.

Dear Petunia Dursley,

I'm sorry to have to tell you this in a letter, but I'm afraid no matter how I break the news, it will still come as a shock to you.

I don't know how much your sister, Lily Potter née Evans informed you of the situation in the Wizarding world, but we have currently been in the midst of a war.

I speak slightly in the past tense, because last night it had ended.

Let me start from the beginning; a man who fashioned himself the title of Lord Voldemort and known as the Dark Lord, had been gathering a group of followers, dubbing themselves, Death Eaters, and they have been intent on killing muggles – non-magicals, Muggleborns such as your sister who were witches and wizards born from non-magical parents and blood-traitors, all those that marry non-magicals and Muggleborns and the purebloods that hold no ire against blood purity.

Your sister and her husband were in the front row of the war, trying to stop the dark side from winning over.

However, a prophecy was made that spoke of a child born at the end of July to parents who have thrice defied Voldemort himself, and I'm sorry to inform you, but Arianna was one of the two children that fit the description.

James, Lily and Arianna went into hiding, but they were betrayed by a friend, unknown to them, and last night Voldemort blasted into their home and murdered them with the Killing Curse – one of the three unforgivables, and it would cause an instant death.

However, when Voldemort went to kill Arianna with the same curse that ended her parents, it rebounded, effectively vanquishing the Dark Lord, leaving her with nothing but the scar on her forehead – she is now famous in our world, and everyone has taken to calling her the Girl-Who-Lived as she is the only person to have ever survived the Killing Curse.

If you would like to visit their graves, it is located at Godric's Hollow cemetery.

I am truly sorry for your loss, and I hope you can find it in your heart to take care of your niece and treat her as your own, seeing as you are the only family she has left.

I am afraid to admit that I have another motive for leaving Arianna in such a way as I did on your doorstep; you see, Lily was worried about your safety and she cast blood magic over your property, number four Privet Drive.

She placed a protection charm over your roof, so that you and your family would never be harmed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

I believe that Lily placed a protection spell on Arianna, saving her life against Voldemort, and with her under your roof and under her mother's protective blood magic charms, she would be safe from future harm as she is to have a hard life in the future and I fear that Voldemort's Death Eater's would not give up and will search for her to kill her for bringing about the downfall of their master.

I cannot force you to accept the responsibilities of taking in a magical child, it must be of your own free will in order to activate the protective charms set on her and keep her safe.

Please do not let any of the residing hate you have towards your late sister and her husband or the magical world effect your decision or how you treat her.

If you agree to take her in, there will be an account set for you to pay for all her needs,

Her birthday is July 31st 1980 and her full name is Arianna Salvatrice Potter.

Again, I am sorry for your loss,

Albus Dumbledore,

Headmaster of Hogwarts,

Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards

Robotically, Petunia placed the letter down on the table next to Arianna, and stard blankly at the wall opposite to her, lost in thought.

Her sister, Lily … is dead?

Dead … dead …. Dead?!

The last words she spoke to Lily was during their parent's funeral, when she told her that she wanted nothing more to do with her or her family and their freaky ways, and that if she ever saw her again then it would be too soon.

In a trance, Petunia made lunch for herself, Dudley and Arianna and after she had fed the two babies, she went back to her seat, lost in her thoughts.

Thoughts of her sister, and how their relationship used to be before that accursed letter from Hogwarts came, and before she knew it, Vernon got home from work and she hadn't even started on dinner yet.

"Pet? Why didn't you cook dinner, is everything oka-, why is the brat still here?! Why didn't you dump her in an orphanage?" Vernon demanded.

Petunia ignored him as she made quick sandwiches for Vernon to eat, dumping it in front of him and sitting down in her regular spot she had been in since reading the letter and stared at little Arianna, who happened to be awake and her emerald eyes were unblinkingly staring back at her.

Petunia felt a shiver run down her skin; it was as if the little girl knew the decision Petunia had to make.

Arianna suddenly smiled a bright, dazzling smile, her full gum showing and her eyes were twinkling, eyes so much like her sisters when they used to laugh and play and joke around before she had left her for Hogwarts … and Petunia knew.

Her decision had been made.

"The girl stays, Vernon."

Vernon spat a huge chunk of his sandwich on the tabletop, causing Arianna to giggle slightly.

"What do you mean – staying?" he blurted out, his mustache quivering with rage.

"Exactly what it meant, Arianna is staying … James and Lily are dead … they were murdered Vernon!" Petunia yelled, her eyes bulging slightly, "I am the only one Arianna has left, she stays Vernon!"

And without another word to her husband, Petunia grabbed Arianna and placed her and her basket inside the cupboard under the stairs before going up and locking herself in her bedroom.

None of the residents of Little Whinging noticed number four Privet Drive glow with magic except for an old woman, who coincidentally happened to have moved into the neighborhood that exact morning into number five, Privet Drive.

The old woman smiled triumphantly as she witnessed the pure white, gold and silver lights dancing merrily for a full five minutes before settling down and disappeared altogether.

"It worked," the old woman muttered in awe. "He would be pleased."

Peeling her eyes away from the window, she sat by the table to write a letter to send for the next day speaking of the recent events that happened next door.

Before the old woman tucked herself into bed, she made sure that all her many cats had enough food to tide them over until the morning.

The old woman went to sleep with a smile on her face and hopes to a better future.

***Affari Nascosti***

Italy, Tuscany, Volterra,

Volturi Castle,

Caius sat in his throne besides Aro staring impassively ahead – something he had been doing for over twenty years.

Aro, Sulpicia, Marcus and Didyme hated seeing him like this, a lifeless shell of his past self without a care in the world anymore – but it was to be expected, he lost his mate before her time.

"Caius brother, perhaps you should go take a walk … maybe some fresh air would do you good," suggested Aro tentatively.

Caius snorted, "The last time I did that, I found my mate and lost her nine months later, so no thank you."

"I assure you, you do not have another mate –"Marcus began to say; only to flinch as his hand began tingling, the same tingle he had felt two times before.

"Brother?" asked Aro, his eyes narrowing in on the hand Marcus seemed to be favoring.

"What do you see? Is it something to do with me again?" demanded Caius unsurely, sitting up straight on his throne and getting ready to pounce Marcus for answers, if he decided to evade him again.

Marcus ignored his two brothers and their incessant questioning as he studied the palm of his hand carefully.

It was exactly like it had appeared over a year ago; the golden line that used to indicate the bond between Caius and Maia which was now a charcoal black, the white line stretched next to a blank space that used to house the letter 'D' but had a white line connected to a letter 'J' – and much to Marcus' frustration there were no other letters hinting what the names were supposed to stand for, and then finally, a pure white line stretching from the blank space and the 'J' to another empty space.

Marcus waited, knowing that something was about to change with those confusing bonds that lacked much information, rendering his gift useless, when it happened – the white line connecting the blank space and the 'J' turned a charcoal black as well, signaling death.

Marcus gasped, wondering who those bonds belonged to for the hundredth time since they appeared – but it was too late, they were dead, and the only thing remaining to the confusing bonds was the small pure white line that stretched out from the two charcoal black lines.

"What is it Marcus?" asked Aro, yet again.

Marcus stretched out his hand, grabbing onto Aro's hand and waited. A second later, Aro gasped, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Before Caius could begin yelling and demand answers, Marcus turned to face him.

"Remember when we informed you of the white line appearing next to the charcoal black one that symbolized you and Maia?" at Caius' quick nod, Marcus went on, "Last year, I told you that a pure white line emerged from the blank space and the 'J'. Now, the white line for the blank space and the 'J' seemed to have turned a charcoal black as well."

"Indicating that they have died," Caius finished for him impassively.

"Yes, but by the looks of it, from what I can tell, they died last night," said Marcus as he examined his palm again, "The pure white line is all that is left now."

"And you still have no idea what it all means? What it has to do with Maia?" asked Caius, Aro listening intently for the answer as well.

Marcus sighed, "No, I feel so inadequate, my gift has never failed me before; yet ever since Caius met Maia – it has been all muddled up when it has anything to do with her."

"I'm sure we'll find the answers soon brother," said Aro soothingly, just as the huge doors opened and Demetri entered.

Demetri bowed to his three masters, waiting for permission to speak.

Once Aro waved his hand for him to proceed, Demetri looked over at Caius nervously before he began to speak in a confident voice, betraying no fear.

"I have information about the McKinnons."

Caius sat up straight, not expecting those words to come out of Demetri's mouth, "What about them?"

"Twenty years ago, you informed Jane, Alec and I to keep an eye out for any news on Britain – we subscribed for their newspaper, and checked every day for any mysterious deaths, or anything at all related to what we overheard –"Demetri handed over a folded newspaper that was in his hand the whole time.

Aro motioned for Caius to read it first, as it had something to do with his mate's family.

Looking down at the newspaper, he saw that Demetri had marked a page from the obituary section.

Feeling dread in the pit of his stomach, his eyes roamed downwards, finding the highlighted names of Jonathan Michael McKinnon, Evangeline Ella McKinnon, Michael Jonathan McKinnon, Estelle Erica McKinnon, Alexander Michael McKinnon and Marlene Maia McKinnon – died on October, 16th 1981 in McKinnon Manor at 11:50 P.M.

The cause of death is a private matter, but they seem to have been murdered in their house. May the McKinnons rest peace.

Caius handed over the paper to Aro without a word, and once Aro and Marcus were done, they stared at each other in shock.

"All six McKinnons murdered in one night, there seems to be a mass murder," stated Aro.

"Remember how worried they were that they would be the next to die?" asked Marcus, recalling the conversation they overheard at the Ritz hotel twenty years ago.

"It seems that whoever they were scared of, got to them in the end," growled Caius, "The same people that killed my Maia!"

"Peace brother," said Aro calmly, "We haven't given up into twenty years."

"Her whole family is gone, Aro," boomed Caius, standing abruptly from his seat.

Reading Maia's name in the obituary section brought all past feelings of losing her, feelings that he had been trying to burry, come all out in one go – Marlene Maia McKinnon, she was named after her aunt, after his angel.

Aro dismissed Demetri, but not before telling him to keep checking in on any more suspicious news in Britain for them.

The three brothers sat in their respective thrones, pondering the new information they had found out and coming up blank.

The same thought was resounded in all three of their heads:

What is happening over in Britain? Who is responsible for all these mysterious deaths? And was the McKinnon's death a coincidence?

***Affari Nascosti***

Garrett was back in England to visit his friends, the Potters and Sirius.

It had been nearly ten months since he last visited; the problem with being a nomad vampire was that he was constantly on the move, never staying in one place for too long, and forgetting the dates at times.

And so, that was why Garrett found himself away from Britain for ten months, when he usually visited the Potters and Sirius every month or two months.

He knew that once Lily saw him, she would give him the biggest tongue-thrashing of his life. She would yell at him and berate him for worrying her. Yup, Garrett knew that the fair Lady Potter was going to kill him for making her worry, and not keeping in touch for ten months.

He wondered if Arianna got any bigger as he entered Godric's Hollow, his eyes searching for the right cottage, and just as he reached the right one, he froze in place, his eyes widening entirely at the sight in front of him.

Most of the cottage seemed to be standing, but that wasn't what caught his attention. His eyes were fixated on the right side of the top floor – it looked like it had been blown apart.

And Garrett could tell that it was where Arianna's nursery was situated.

He felt faint, in all his immortal life, he never felt such grief before; what happened to the Potters?

Garrett held onto the gate to support himself – even though he was a vampire and didn't need to, he felt that he needed to fix his composure. However, the second his hand made contact with the gate, a sign had risen out of the ground in front of him, causing him to back up slightly.

The sign seemed to be made of wood, with golden letters upon it; moving closer, Garrett read:

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their daughter, Arianna, remains the only witch ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.

Dead?

James and Lily were dead?

Someone tried to kill little Arianna?!

He growled internally, James and Sirius had mentioned to him before about the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius, Cruciatus and the Killing Curse – he knew that James and Lily died due to that curse, but he had no idea how little Arianna managed to survive it.

Looking back down, he saw that there were scribbles added by visiting witches and wizards, writing words of encouragement, such as Good luck Arianna, and Our hearts go out to the Potters and Long live Arianna Potter.

Garrett knew that when he touched the gate, magic recognized him as a friend of the late Potters, which was why the sign was allowed to be seen by him; he was after all a Muggle vampire, according to Lily.

A man came to stand next to him, he looked to be a wizard since he was dressed in a shabby maroon cloak, he took out a quill and left a note on the sign. The man had red hair that was slightly balding, an oval face and warm blue eyes that looked sad when his eyes set upon the house.

"Did you know the Potters well?" the man asked him kindly – he looked to be in a great need for a distraction, and Garrett was more than happy to comply as he didn't want to think about their deaths either.

"Yea, I'd visit them every month or two … this time I lost track of time in my travels, it's been ten months since my last visit, I … I didn't even know they were dead," replied Garrett, his eyes never wavering from the burned part of the nursery.

"I'm sorry for your loss then … they died a month after you left, it must be hard," said the man apologetically.

Garrett merely nodded, "Do you know where Arianna might be?"

"I'm sorry, no one knows. Albus Dumbledore placed her somewhere safe, somewhere where none of the remaining Death Eaters would be able to find her," said the man.

"What do you mean?" snapped Garrett, peeling his eyes away from the nursery to look the man straight in the face. Garrett noticed the man seemed a bit surprised at the color of his eyes, before shrugging it off and answering him.

"When You-Know-Who tried killing Arianna, the curse rebounded on him, vanquishing him … she's famous, we all call her the Girl-Who-Lived, she has a scar on her forehead for proof … the remaining Death Eaters might try to avenge their master's death or sway her to their side, so Dumbledore hid her away with her last remaining relatives."

"Do you know where Sirius Black is at least?" asked Garrett, he needed to find Arianna and protect her, it was the least he could do now that James and Lily were … gone.

The man's kind demeanor changed instantly, replaced with cold ire as he said, "You'd be better off staying away from him, he's a bloody traitor – betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who he did, turns out he was a Death Eater all along."

"No he isn't!" snapped Garrett, staring at the man in anger – Sirius was a good man, he was anything but a traitor, he loved the Potters more than anything. "I was really close with James, Lily and Sirius – believe me, no one despised the dark side more than him, he doesn't even have the Dark Mark!" he growled.

The man looked a bit uncertain, "I hope you're wrong young man … because if you're right then there's been an innocent man rotting in Azkaban prison for nine months now."

Garrett was shocked at the wizarding world … aren't there supposed to be trials in this damn world?!

It seems that Garrett had a lot to do; there would be no more adventures and running off on his own like the nomad vampire he was.

"Well thanks for the talk, it seems I have a lot to do in Britain now … by the way, I'm Garrett," said Garrett politely, turning around, and getting ready to leave Godric's Hollow.

"Arthur Weasley, it was a pleasure and good luck," the man … Arthur smiled back, before taking one last sad glance at the cottage and disappearing with a pop.

Good luck … he'll need it.

Garrett had a little girl to find and a friend to break out of prison.

A/N: I always wondered how Petunia and Vernon must have reacted when they found their niece on their doorstep and I decided to add it.

How did you like this chapter? Garrett's back!