"This is a terrible idea," Ron said nervously.

"It's creepy," Fred agreed, grimacing.

"Shut up, you," Hermione said. "We can't wait until Snape can smuggle the venom out of the castle and drive it here. It will take too long, and the locket is causing us all to go crazy. We have to get rid of it."

"Can your dad even drive?" Ron looked at Elizabeth.

"He thinks he can," Elizabeth said, her voice high. "Don't look at me like that." She nervously tucked her hair behind her ears and folded her arms. "It's weird," she said. "No chest."

"That's because you're 11," Hermione said, tucking the vial of Youth Solution back into the cupboard. "At least, you look it."

"It's creepy," Fred said again. "Makes me feel dirty."

"Yeah, don't kiss or anything," Ron said. "So what's the plan?"

"We all Apparate to the Forbidden Forest. We stay there while Elizabeth gets into the castle and down to Snape's personal lab. She destroys the locket." Hermione handed Elizabeth a pile of clothes. "Put these on."

"You have a Hogwarts uniform in that bag?"

"I'll charm it to be Slytherin colors and the Slytherin crest," Hermione said by way of answer. "Don't put on the locket until the last minute."

Elizabeth went into the pantry to change. "I'm so short!"

"Because those Muggles starved you," Fred growled.

The effects of the locket's presence were clear. Elizabeth had never heard Fred say 'Muggle' like that.

She emerged from the pantry, dressed in the uniform. "It's too big."

"That's because it's yours from when you were 16," Hermione set to work altering it. "You're sure you can get into Snape's quarters?"

"There's no way he changed the password. He hasn't in years."

"Alright," Hermione stepped back to look at her. "Put some concealer on your scar. No need to advertise."

Elizabeth nodded, going into the bathroom and looking at herself in the mirror. A skinny, dark-haired girl stared back. "Fred?" she called, gripping the edge of the sink.

"Hey," Fred appeared behind her, pulling the door closed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "But…" she pulled her engagement ring off. "I can't wear this today, and I want you to keep it for me."

"Sure," Fred pointed his wand at a piece of floss, transfiguring it into a chain. He put the chain through the ring and fastened it around his neck, dropping it down his shirt. "The only time I'm wearing a necklace."

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled awkwardly.

"What?" Fred put his arms around her.

Elizabeth relaxed into him. "Feels weird, being so much smaller than you."

"You've always been shorter than me," Fred shrugged. "And you'll be back to normal as soon as we get rid of the locket. You mean it's weird to be so much younger than me."

"This is not a good thing for our relationship," Elizabeth laughed softly. "I usually don't date men eight years older."

"You'd better not," Fred grinned, then sobered. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Elizabeth nodded into his chest. "You'll be waiting in the Forest?"

"Hippogriffs couldn't drag me away," Fred promised.

Elizabeth hugged him hard, then turned back toward the mirror. "Hopefully I don't get stuck like this."

Fred smiled. "It wouldn't be ideal, no. But I did fall in love with you… when you looked just about like this." He stood behind her, his arms locked around her shoulders. "Want me to take some of that potion? Become a 13-year-old boy again?"

Elizabeth snorted. "We need to go right now before you get any more bright ideas."

*S*S*

The Hogwarts grounds were quiet. The autumn air was turning cold, but Elizabeth doubted it was chilly temperatures that kept the students inside.

They'd planned their arrival during a First Year Slytherin free period. Elizabeth needed to have a reason for being in the halls if caught.

She slipped through the door, and was a mere ten steps or so inside when a voice snapped out of the darkened hallway. "Shouldn't you be in your dormitory?"

Elizabeth glanced up to see Professor Vector, the Arithmancy professor. She thanked Merlin that it was a professor who didn't know the First Years.

"Yes, sir. Just heading there now."

"Be quick about it. Professor Snape has made it very clear that wandering is not permitted."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth used the man's words as an excuse to scurry away, down the nearest set of stairs.

When she reached the familiar portrait that led to the rooms she'd spent so much time in over the years, she had a moment of doubt. She had no idea if her father still stayed there, or if he'd moved into the rooms that Albus and Minerva had used.

She should have known that Severus was not a man of change. The portrait swung open at her word, and the rooms inside looked exactly as they'd always looked. On her way to the door that led down to the lab, she stopped and peeked in the door of her bedroom. It had only been a few months, but it seemed like a lifetime ago that she'd slept there. She had a sudden desire to lie down on the bed and go to sleep. She could wake up the next morning; Severus would be sitting at the table, and she could go to class. Everything would be back to normal.

Somehow, she thought that the despair she was feeling at the moment had little to do with the locket around her neck.

She went downstairs to the lab and looked at the locked ingredient cabinet. She was certain that Severus would keep the venom there, it was too valuable to leave sitting out. She knew the password, of course. Severus didn't speak as quietly as he thought, but Elizabeth would never have used it. Until now.

"Lily Rose," she said, pointing her wand at the lock.

The door sprung open immediately, and Elizabeth started her search.

"What do you think you're doing?" Severus' voice cut across the room.

Elizabeth spun around to see him standing at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed.

"A member of my own House!" Severus said sharply. "Stealing is grounds for expulsion, young lady."

"Dad!" Elizabeth cast Muffliato to block anyone who might be listening to the professor yell.

"Pardon me?" Severus glared at her.

"Dad, look at me," Elizabeth tried again.

Severus scowled, examining her face for a moment before a look of recognition passed over his face. "Hatchling? What happened to you?"

"Youth Solution," Elizabeth said. "It's the only way we could think of to get in."

"I told you that I would bring the venom," Severus narrowed his eyes.

"But that was going to take ages," Elizabeth protested. "And the locket has us at each others' throats."

Severus frowned. "I should have taken in myself," he muttered.

"You couldn't," Elizabeth said softly, looking at him. "It's… powerful."

"And it preys on the injured," Severus pressed his lips together. She was right, of course. His soul was wounded by the Dark Mark. Being alone with the Horcrux was ill-advised at best.

"It was extremely risky to come here," Severus scolded, going to the cabinet and removing a tall vial. "And Youth Solution isn't to be played with. I can only hope that Miss Granger remembered to temper it with ground pearl, or you could very well be a child for longer than you'd like."

"Just because I look like I'm eleven, doesn't mean you can yell at me."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "If I was yelling, and I was not, it would be justified not by how you look but by the fact that you are my daughter. I reserve the right to be annoyed by your impulsive schemes."

He pulled a beaker from a shelf and placed it on the countertop. "Put it in here," he ordered, pointing to the beaker.

Elizabeth slipped the locket off her neck and dropped it, with a load clink, into the glass container. Severus unstoppered the vial and tipped it carefully over the locket. The venom hit the locket, smoked at bit, but caused no damage, other than a bit of tarnish on the metal.

"We need it to open," Severus said thoughtfully. "Slytherin's locket…" He looked at Elizabeth suddenly. "Speak to it."

"What?"

"Tell it to open. Like when you opened the Chamber."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You can't even say 'Parseltongue', can you?"

"Elizabeth," Severus said warningly.

"Alright, alright," Elizabeth took a deep breath. "On three then… one…two…three…open."

The last word came as a hiss and a snarl and the golden doors of the locket swung wide with a little click.

Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned them scarlet.

Severus poured the venom over the frantically swiveling orbs, and the room was filled with a loud, long, drawn-out scream.

"You don't think he can… feel it, do you?"

Severus shook his head. "While it might do him good to feel such pain, he won't. There's too many pieces, he's held together by the thinnest of threads."

Elizabeth inspected the smoldering locket. "It's gone."

"Yes," Severus nodded, putting his arms around his daughter. "So you knew the password to the cupboard, hmm?"

"I've never used it before," Elizabeth promised.

"I believe that," Severus said gently. "We've been though a lot since you were this size."

"You don't think… if I went to sleep right now, I'd wake up and actually be eleven again?"

Severus snorted. "Sorry, I've tried to de-age you via sleep. It doesn't work."

"I have to go," Elizabeth said unconvincingly. "The others are waiting for me in the Forest."

"I have an appointment out there as well," Severus sighed, releasing her and pointing his wand at a bag on the floor. Shrinking it, he tucked it into his robe. "Come, I'll walk you."

They walked in silence out onto the grounds and toward the forest. Just inside the tree line, Ron, Hermione, and Fred waited.

"It's done," Severus answered their questioning looks. "Miss Granger, you tempered the Youth Solution—

"Ground pearl, yes sir," Hermione broke in.

Elizabeth looked at Fred, who was suddenly focused on something behind her. She turned around, just as they all heard, "Oi! Fred! Ron!"

George Weasley came bounding toward them, grabbing one brother in each arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just visiting," Fred said. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking up a book shipment," George said. "Hopefully, anyway." He looked at Severus.

"It's a sad looking lot," Severus said, handing over the bag he'd miniaturized. "But it's better than nothing."

"We appreciate it," George said gratefully. "The Ministry's been restricting the purchase of textbooks, can you believe it? Purebloods and Half-bloods only, and you can't buy multiple copies."

"Why do you need textbooks?" Ron looked at his brother in confusion.

"Snape didn't tell you?" George looked around. "Angelina and I are running a Muggle-born school in the basement of the joke shop."

"Really?" Hermione lit up, launching herself at the wizard, hugging him hard.

"Yeah," George laughed, looking a little embarrassed by Hermione's sudden physical attack. "The Headmaster here has been smuggling supplies."

"Dad?" Elizabeth looked at him. "That's so… rebellious."

"The Order was formed long before you were even thought of," Severus reminded her. "We were the original rebels. You lot are just copies," he smirked. "Besides that, it is just good business. Our word would be poorer if we'd never had many brilliant Muggle-born witches and wizards."

"So you an Angelina are serious?" Ron asked.

"Actually, yes," George nodded. "Not that it will do us much good. Have you two heard about the new restrictions?" He looked at Fred and Elizabeth.

"What?" Fred looked at Elizabeth, who looked back helplessly.

"They've passed legislation 'protecting' Pure-blood. Pure-blooded witches and wizards are no longer being given marriage licenses to marry half-bloods or Muggle-borns. Or Muggles." he sighed. "I looked for a bit of Muggle-blood in our background, but our blood is pure as spring water."

"Dad?" Elizabeth looked at her father for confirmation.

"Never mind," he shook his head. "The Dark Lord tried to force this type of thing though during the first war. Controlling Ministry members and whatnot. When this is over, you'll be married."

"If Vol—

"Stop!" George and Severus shouted, the latter clamping his hand over Elizabeth's mouth.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, shaking herself loose. "I thought we were going to use his name."

"There's a Trace," George said. "On his name. It's how they've been tracking members of the Order."

"That's how they found us at the Dursleys'," Fred went pale. "I said it. I was angry about that shrew of a woman and her husband, and I said I'd save my anger for… Him…"

"It doesn't matter," Ron shook his head. "You didn't know."

"Now you do," Severus said shortly. "And I must be going before I'm missed. The rest of you should get out of here. There are too many eyes."

"Before we go," Hermione leaned forward, whispering in George's ear.

"He's got a girlfriend, Hermione," Fred teased.

"Just filling him in on our secret," Hermione rolled her eyes.

Severus shook his head. "Goodbye, Hatchling," he kissed his daughter and turned back toward the castle, purposefully striding across the grass. George took his leave as well, Disapparating with a pop after giving his brothers one last slap on the back.

Elizabeth watched Fred carefully, catching the pain in his eyes as his other half disappeared. It was a bond she'd never fully understand; never share. She put her hand in his and squeezed, and he squeezed back. They stood in silence for a moment while Ron and Hermione were distracted by some kind of strange pink mold on a nearby tree.

"I think it's moving!" Ron said, poking at it with his wand.

"Don't prod at it, Ron!" Hermione batted his hand away.

"Let's go," Fred broke in, looking at Elizabeth. "Whereto?"

"Godric's Hollow," Elizabeth said, decidedly.

Fred raised an eyebrow, but Elizabeth pressed on.

"You Know Who was only afraid of Dumbledore, right? Maybe he visited his hometown in order to figure out how to defeat him. He loves psychological warfare. He used you against me in the Chamber," Elizabeth looked at Fred. "He would have loved to find out about Albus' sister."

*S*S*

The headstone was made of white marble. Elizabeth did not need to kneel or even approach very close to make out the words engraved on it.

LILY EVANS

BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

Fred stayed by the entrance to the cemetery, waving the other two on up the road toward the houses. He stood there, waiting, until he couldn't stand the sight of her, standing alone, anymore.

When he reached her side, she was looking at the headstone beside her mother's.

"What is it?" Fred stood behind her, folding his arms over her collarbones.

"I never… thought about it," she said quietly.

"Thought about what?" Fred asked. "The actual grave?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "That she'd be buried next to James. That she's spending eternity next to a man that isn't my father."

"She's not there," Fred said gently, tightening his hold. "And neither is James Potter."

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," Elizabeth read the inscription on the headstone. She took in her breath sharply. "Isn't that a Death Eater idea? Why is that there?"

"It doesn't mean defeating death like that," Fred soothed, rubbing one thumb on her arm. "It means… living beyond death. Life after death."

"But she isn't living," Elizabeth said, tears coming to her eyes before she could stop them, boiling hot, then instantly freezing in the night air. She tried to wipe them away, but Fred's arms were pinning hers down, and so she turned and buried her wet face in his shoulder.

"I know," Fred said softly.

"I should have brought something," Elizabeth said, muffled by his shirt.

Wordlessly, Fred raised his wand, moved it in a circle through the air, and a wreath of roses blossomed before him. He plucked it from the air and handed it to Elizabeth, who gave him a watery smile, wiped her eyes, and laid the wreath on Lily's grave.

"It's late," Fred said gently. "We can come back tomorrow, but it's dangerous right now."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said suddenly, turning back into his embrace.

"No need for that," Fred whispered, rubbing her back.

"I mean for making us come here without a real reason."

"I know what you meant," Fred rocked her a little. "And I meant what I said. There's no need to be sorry."

"But—

"Hey," Fred interrupted. "You've never seen it. You needed to. I get it." He kissed the top of her head. "We've got to find Bathilda's house if you want to ask her any questions."

"How are we going to find it?" Elizabeth looked at the row of houses up the street. "We can't very well go knocking on doors."

"Maybe there are names on the postboxes," Fred said, keeping one arm around her as they joined Hermione and Ron out on the road.

The foursome started walking up the street, Hermione whispering about disillusionment charms, and how they should at least put Elizabeth under the invisibility cloak.

"It's not like it keeps you from moving. Elizabeth?" Hermione looked at her friend, who was suddenly staring down the street. "Elizabeth?"

"Look," Elizabeth said pulling away from Fred and heading to a dark mass that stood at the very end of the row of houses.

"What?" Ron squinted as they followed her. "I don't… oh!"

They saw it. The Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily. The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Elizabeth from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Elizabeth was sure, was where the curse had backfired. The group stood at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it.

"I wonder why nobody's rebuilt it?" whispered Ron.

"Maybe you can't rebuild it?" Elizabeth replied. "Maybe it's like injuries from Dark Magic and you can't repair the damage?" She put her hand on the rusty gate.

Fred put his hand over hers. "You're not going inside," he said firmly. "It looks unsafe—"

He was interrupted by a sign that rose out of the ground in front of them, wooden with golden letters that said:

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,

Lily Evans and James Potter lost their lives.

Their daughter, Elizabeth, remains the only witch or wizard

ever to have survived the Killing Curse.

This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left

in its ruined state as a monument to their sacrifice

and as a reminder of the violence

that tore apart their family.

Elizabeth read the words over and over again. "It was torn apart before that," she said quietly.

"Snape knew what he was sacrificing when he sent you into hiding," Hermione said. "And by now, everyone knows he's your father. The sign is just old."

"Besides, it's not like he was a bad guy," Ron piped in. "He did sacrifice himself trying to save you and your mum."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I know. But what if they'd never been found? Would I have eventually been Elizabeth Potter? Would I have lived in hiding forever with my Mum and James? Would I have called him Dad and had brothers and sisters? Jane and Harry Potter?"

"Harry is a terribly common name," Hermione wrinkled her nose. "There's so many wonderful names, and you pick Harry?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "It's a fake child, Hermione."

"Well, then name him something interesting. Like Hugo."

"How about we fight about children's names another time," Fred said, pointing toward a house a few doors away. "Isn't that what we came for?"

"Bathilda Bagshot," Hermione said. "You think it's late enough to go without being seen?"

There was a general consensus that there was never a good time to go into a woman's house and ask if she remembered seeing the Dark Lord hanging about, and so they headed in the direction of the house.

"By the way," Fred whispered in Elizabeth's ear, "we'll name our baby 'Hugo' over my dead body."

"We can probably talk about that later," Elizabeth whispered back, as they arrived at the front door. "But we're also not naming a baby 'Bathilda'."

*S*S*

It turned out that there was more than one reason not to name their first-born 'Bathilda'. Other than the fact that it was, in Elizabeth's opinion, a god-awful name, the vision of Nagini pouring out of the old woman's neck would be enough to ruin the name for several generations.

"Hermione, watch out!"

Elizabeth saw the snake falling from the rafters, hissing wildly. Everything was chaos: shelves smashed from the wall, and splintered china flew everywhere as Elizabeth jumped over the bed and seized the dark shape she knew to be Hermione.

"Betsy!" Fred was at the door of the bedroom now, and Elizabeth screamed at him to get back, even though the fever pitch of her voice brought the pain in her forehead to a staggering level.

Suddenly, the scream was not her own, it was His. Her head hurt so badly that she felt ripped from her body, as if she was dying without the release of pain she thought she'd feel.

They had not drawn the curtains; Voldemort saw them quite clearly in their little sitting room, the tall black-haired man in his glasses, making puffs of colored smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of the small dark-haired girl in green pajamas. The child was laughing and trying to catch the smoke…

The door opened and the mother entered, saying words he could not hear, her long red hair falling over her face. Now the father scooped up the girl and handed her to the mother. He threw his wand down upon the sofa and stretched, yawning…

The gate creaked a little as he pushed it open, but James Potter did not hear. His white hand pulled out the wand beneath his cloak and pointed it at the door, which burst open.

He was over the threshold as James came sprinting into the hall. It was easy, too easy. He had not even picked up his wand…

"Lily, take Elizabeth and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

Hold him off, without a wand in his hand!

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light filled the cramped hallway, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut.

He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear… He climbed the steps, forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes piled against it with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Not Elizabeth, not Elizabeth, please not Elizabeth!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now."

"Please no, take me, kill me instead—

"This is my last warning—

"Have mercy, please! Not Elizabeth!"

"Stand aside!"

The green light flashed around the room and she dropped like her husband. The child had not cried all this time: She could stand, clutching the bars of her crib, and she looked up into the intruder's face with a kind of bright interest.

He pointed the wand very carefully into the girl's face: He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger. The child began to cry. He did not like it crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones whining in the orphanage—

"Avada Kedavra!"

And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away, far away…

"No,"Elizabeth moaned.

The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the girl, and yet she was the girl…

"No…"

And now he stood at the broken window of Bathilda's house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet the great snake slithered over broken china and glass… He looked down and saw something… something incredible…

"No…"

"Betsy, it's all right!"

He swooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief, the thief he was seeking…

"No… I dropped it…."

"Elizabeth! Wake up! Wake up!" Fred's voice was clearer now, strained with fear.

She was Elizabeth… Elizabeth, not Voldemort… and the thing that was rustling beside her was not a snake. She opened her eyes.

"Betsy," Fred breathed, relief on his face. "Merlin's teeth." He put his hand on her forehead. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible, actually," Elizabeth said, blinking. "I feel like my whole body is sunburned, and… like my organs have been frozen, then thawed out in the microwave."

"She's fine," Ron said from her other side, clapping her painfully on the shoulder.

Elizabeth looked at Fred's hand, seeing a small sponge he'd obviously been using to wipe her face. "You've been… quite ill," he said quietly. "But we got away. Everything's all right now."