Thanks to: HPFan, Potterhorse-Spirit, ErectoPatronum, CookieSpells4 and MiraclesHappen94 for your reviews. (Where are all the reviewers gone?!)

Songs for this chapter:
Isabel's Theme [See Tumblr]
Isabel and Remus' Theme [See Tumblr]
Video Games by Lana Del Rey
White Christmas by Lady Gaga
O Holy Night by Lea Michele
Too Late by M83

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

"Hey, Fairfax." I turned to my right to see James sitting down next to me. "How're you doing?" I sighed and looked into the fire in front of us. To say I was a mess was an understatement. I just wanted my family back...and this wasn't where I should be. I didn't belong in this time. "Isabel, I get it. Well, no, I don't, but at least talk to me. This pain won't get any better if you don't open up to us. Tell you what, how's about you come around to my house for Christmas?" I was shocked to hear that not only did James invite me to his house, but it was Christmas time. I had completely lost track of the months. How did Christmas come around so soon?

"Thanks James, but - "

"Lily will be there, so will Sirius and Remus. You're not staying here all on your own."

"Is it okay with your family?" I asked James.

"Of course. I want you to be around us." He put his arm around me and squeezed me tight. It was like a big brother hugging his younger sister, protecting her. "You may have lost your family, Isabel, but I think we all want to be here for you, and nothing will ever replace your real family, but maybe we can all fill the void somehow." He smiled and then rose from his seat. "We leave tomorrow morning. Make sure your bags are packed!"

I don't know how I ended up on this train, in the same compartment as Lily, James, Sirius and Remus. I regretted not speaking up to James, telling him that this was not what I wanted. Maybe it was what I wanted? And what I needed? I had just lost my family, and now I had to make sure they would be my new family, and I had to change the course of history, starting with keeping Lily and James alive, and Sirius out of jail. I just had to shake all the negative thoughts that were in my head. This was my home now. This place. And these people were my home.

"My parents are going to love Isabel." I looked up to see James grinning at me. "I sent them a letter to tell them that you were coming, and you're...circumstances. They're quite excited to spoil you and make you feel at home."

"Oh, they don't have to do that," I told James, forcing a smile. I was grateful for the hospitality that was being extended to me, but I didn't want a fuss made over me. I was scared I wouldn't be able to hold myself together.

"Don't be silly, Isabel," Lily said. "Trust me, the Potter's are about the best family you'll ever find. They're absolutely the most compassionate and caring people, and they'll make sure they take care of you. You honestly deserve it, Isabel. Don't go thinking that you don't." I looked over at Remus and Sirius, who both looked somewhat enthusiastic. Well, I wasn't in a position to throw away any generosity. I'd have to take this and use it for all it was worth. These were the first foundations in building a new life in this world - a new family.

We stepped off the train to see two people waiting, their arms open, their smiles wide. The man looked so much like James and Harry, except he did not wear glasses. This had to be James' parents. The woman looked so happy that we were here. I assumed she was James' mother. I had never seen two people seem so joyful, but then again, Severus Snape was my father and I hardly got to see my mother as a teenager.

"James, my boy!" The woman threw her arms around her son and hugged him tightly. This was definitely Mrs. Potter. The man, who I assumed was Mr. Potter, patted his son on the back, and then ruffled Sirius' hair. Mrs. Potter released her son and began to greet the others. I stood there awkwardly as this big, happy family all said hello, smiling and hugging. Once Mr. Potter and Mrs. Potter were finished saying their hello's to Sirius, Remus and Lily, they turned to me.

"You're Isabel Fairfax?" Mr. Potter asked me.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you for having me for the holidays," I replied, trying to be as polite as possible.

"My dear," Mrs. Potter began saying before she pulled me in for a hug. "I heard about your family, and I just wanted to let you know you're welcome with us at anytime." She pulled back and placed her hands on my shoulders. "If there is anything that I can do for you, you just name it, alright, sweetheart?" I smiled at Mrs. Potter's display of affection. She reminded me of Andromeda - she hardly knew me, but she was willing to do anything for me, just as Andromeda did all those years ago...when I was young...in the old world.

"Alright, kids, lets get moving! Mum's put on a lovely feast for you all tonight!" Mr. Potter said joyfully. As we were leaving, I noticed two people in the corner of the station. It was Father...Severus. And he was with a woman. I couldn't make her out at first, until she looked up and made direct eye contact with me. I gasped as I looked into my grandmother's eyes. It was Eileen. I still could remember the day I found her body.

"Grandmother," I whispered. "I am so sorry this happened to you." My hand swept over her eyes, closing her eyelids. "I'm so sorry." I should have protected her. I should have taken her away from Tobias when I had the chance. I should have had Tobias locked up when I had the chance. I put my wand to her neck and wiped a tear.

"Tergeo," I said softly. The blood began to disappear from her neck. I moved my wand down from her neck, to her shoulder. From her shoulder, to her chest. From her chest, to her stomach. From her stomach, to her thigh. And from her thigh, to her lower leg. She had been stabbed in multiple places. It made me feel ill to think about how much pain she would have been in. She had bled to death. If Tobias hadn't been a cowardly bastard and killed himself, I would have killed him instantly without thought. The blood had been cleared from my Grandmother's body.

"Isabel, are you alright?" Sirius asked. My eyes opened and I found myself snapping out of my mood. I couldn't remember such things, they'd drive me into the ground with guilt and hurt. I just had to focus on now. The past didn't matter anymore, not here anyway.

"Yeah," I breathed out, nodding. "Fine."

"C'mon, lets get moving."

Their house was larger than I expected it to be...a lot larger. It was beautiful though. The only way I could describe it was like a large homestead, with horses and a lake, not that we saw much of either considering it was snowing outside and the lake was frozen over. I walked up the stairs into the room I was sharing with Lily - it was wonderfully large, with its own ensuite. I was very lucky that James invited me to be here with them.

"You look surprised," Lily said, walking into the room and throwing her stuff down on the bed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Not to the boys but to me. You didn't expect James to come from such a well off family?"

"Don't be offended, Lily. I just never expected him to be this well off. There's a difference between being well off and...well...this." Lily laughed and opened her trunk.

"I'm just stirring you up, Isabel. Relax." I sighed and shook my head at myself. I was being absolutely ridiculous.

"So this is where you spend most of your holidays now?" I asked with a smile.

"Yep," she replied, nodding, sitting back on the bed. "It's become more like home. But I don't think I'd want to live here when I leave Hogwarts. James and I were talking, we think we'll buy a small cottage or something at Godric's Hollow, have you ever been there? It's a beautiful little place, especially to raise a family and all." Knowing that she was killed there made me feel absolutely horrible, but now that I knew I was staying here, I knew that we could avoid it. I knew everything - Harry could have a life with his parents now. I could stop Voldemort from killing Lily and James. "Is everything alright, Isabel?"

"Yes, fine," I told her with a smile. "Just overwhelmed by everything."

"Well, don't be. It's Christmas, it's time to be happy and joyful and just have a good time with all your friends." She got up from the bed and hugged me. "I'll see you downstairs for tea soon, yeah?" She left the room and left me by myself to unpack.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head! Merry Christmas!" I opened my eyes to see Lily Evans looking down on me, a massive grin on her face. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed. She then took hold of my hands and started jumping around. "CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" She was like a five year old child, who knew they were getting a shiny new bike for Christmas. I'd never seen a grown person act this way.

"COME DOWN STAIRS! PRESENT TIME!" She began to pull me out of our bedroom, then stopped, her eyes widening. She'd obviously just realised what I had on. "Who sleeps in that? Especially in winter? Especially when they don't have a boyfriend? Or have you been sneaking out to see Sirius?" I hit Lily in the arm and grabbed my dressing gown. "What'd you hit me for?" She took hold of her arm, glaring at me playfully.

"You say I've been sneaking out to see Sirius again and I'll hit you twice as hard."

"I don't know why you don't go out with him, he's interested in you and all the girls love him! You'd be the envy of the school!"

"Lily, I don't like him like that. Just as a friend." Lily shook her head at me, then pulled me out of the room and down the stairs quickly. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was Remus, Sirius and James. They all had the biggest grins on their faces. Christmas...it never failed to make everyone happy.

It was the day after Christmas, and here I was, sitting by myself whilst the rest of them were talking happily by the fire. I still yearned for my family, knowing they'd just spent their first Christmas without me. I missed my children so much, and my husband. I missed being Isabel Snape. I still wasn't used to living in this world. I looked back at Lily, Remus, Sirius and James and realised I needed to get out, have a little bit of time by myself. I grabbed my coat, scarf and beanie, and then threw on my boots. I opened the front door and walked into the field covered in snow. I found it funny how snow could be so cold, but make everything instantly look so much more beautiful than it was in the first place. I looked up to the cloudy sky and sighed.

"I have to move on," I whispered to myself. Constantly wanting my family, my old life and my old self wasn't going to get myself anywhere. I wasn't a Snape anymore. The old me isn't coming back - I'm this completely new person, with a new look on the world. I'd have to accept this and start looking towards the future. Maybe back home, my family were doing the same thing? Maybe they'd accepted that I was gone and never coming back?

"You know, normal people don't usually go for walks in the snow unless they have to." I jumped at the sound of Remus' voice. I thought I was alone.

"I like the snow. It's beautiful. It makes everything seem so pure and fragile, even the trees. But that's not what you followed me out here for, is it, Remus?" I stopped and turned towards him. He seemed shocked that I knew he had an agenda. Like I said, normal people don't usually go for walks in the snow unless they want to - he was the norm in this situation, I was not.

"I saw you and Sirius kissing," he said bluntly.

"Oh." I really did not want this to happen. For one, I didn't feel that way about Sirius in this world, and I had made that clear. "We didn't actually kiss, though, Remus."

"I saw it, Isabel. He learned in and that's when I walked away. It's okay. You look good together, and you're lucky. So many girls want to be with Sirius. Marlene McKinnon would absolutely throttle you if she knew."

"No, Remus, Sirius and I...I told him I couldn't. I pushed him back when he leaned it. I didn't want him to kiss me, so we didn't kiss." Remus stared at me, nodding. It was like he had never heard of a girl rejecting Sirius - and that was probably because they hadn't ever rejected him.

"I am an asshole," Remus said, hitting his forehead with his hand. "What is wrong with me?"

"Remus." I reached out for his hand and gripped it tightly. "Don't be silly. You just interpreted what you saw. I get it. But I don't think I'll ever go there with Sirius." I found it slightly humorous that I used to say to Sirius that I'd never go there with Remus. "It really is beautiful out here. It reminds me of home." I closed my eyes and remembered the snow that used to fall down on our house near the sea. So beautiful during winter.

"So what's France like?" I opened my eyes, remembering in this world, as Isabel Fairfax, I was from France.

"Really beautiful, especially in the countryside, where I used to live. The grass is green, the air is fresh, and in summer the sky is the clearest blue."

"Maybe I'll see it some day," he said with a smile. "You know, we should go inside." He looked up at the sky. "It looks like it'll snow again soon, and we don't want you getting sick, especially during your holiday. If you get sick, at least get sick whilst at Hogwarts." He put his arm around me as we walked inside. I snuggled up to his side, trying to get warmer. I was upset over what had been taken from me, but I could get used to this.

Lily, Sirius, Remus and I sat by the fire whilst James helped his parents prepare dinner for us. We'd talked about almost everything about our life at Hogwarts - Quidditch, Gryffindor, the teachers we had, people from other houses, and what we were going to do with our lives after we left Hogwarts. Lily's plans were so family orientated, I knew she would have made a brilliant mother to Harry if she survived. And now that I was staying here, I'd see to it that she was a loving mother to Harry and that the two were never separated by anything.

"Hey, Isabel, where abouts did you live in France?" Sirius asked. I was surprised by his sudden, out of the blue question.

"Around 20 miles west of Tolouse. Why?"

"Oh, I was thinking of going to France one day, might head past your home town." I thought it was a strange question to ask, but I just let it pass. Sirius was a little strange like that sometimes. "C'mon, lets go set up the table for James and his parents for dinner, we need to help them out for something." I got up and walked past Sirius to go to the table, and I could feel his eyes on me the whole time. Something was up, and it wasn't good.

A/N: I am so sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, I feel horrible, but Summer holidays are coming up soon here in Australia and I promise to update more and faster!

Reviews are love, guys!

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Sirius then sat down by my side and pulled my head into his chest. "Isabel, please, please calm down."

"I can't," I shook my head and sobbed onto his chest. "I can't calm down. I can't." I couldn't get past the images in my head...the people that I had lost. Sometimes it felt like I had no one left. I was in this world, but the Remus and Sirius that I knew had already died. Remus died in my arms in 1998. Sirius died in battle in 1996. They were already dead, and this was like being with their ghosts.