Roxanne crosses her legs, giving me a very pointed stare. I shift awkwardly, all too aware of my under-dressed state. The room has gone quiet ever since Scorpius and I stepped through the door, his arm wound tightly around my waist and a glowing smile painted across my face.

At first when we stepped inside, we could hear the sounds of whispered conversations while Logan was making breakfast, but now the only sound is the soft snores of Morgan, who is fast asleep in her mother's arms.

"So?" Roxanne asks.

I swallow hard, "So?"

Logan offers Scorpius a high five, "Looks like we both had a good night if you know what I mean."

Logan turns to me and winks, leaving Roxanne to roll her eyes. She slowly places Morgan into her car seat, strapping the tiny infant in. Who knew Roxanne would be the paranoid parent?

"You will not be having anymore good nights if you keep it up, Pierce," Roxanne threatens.

Logan looks at her, playfully appalled. He pulls her in for a kiss, "Why I'm terribly sorry, Mrs Pierce,"

Roxanne rolls her eyes as Logan gets back to cooking, but I can see a blush painting across her cheeks. Scorpius looks down at me, and pulls me against him. I bite my lip, anticipating his lips on mine. But, before we have the chance, our two children run from their room.

"Mummy!" Orion exclaims, "I smelled food!"

Scorpius scoops our son up and sets him down on the counter, "Is that right little man?"

Orion nods excitedly and Scorpius adoringly ruffles his hair. Mackenzie less enthusiastically stumbles into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes with the back of her fist.

"Shut up, Orio," Mackenzie grumbles.

Roxanne laughs loudly, "Flash forward Lils, this will be Mackenzie in fourteen years. Except she'll be hungover and knocked up," She cackles.

I smack Roxanne's arm, giving her a warning glare. She laughs and looks at the red handprint on her forearm. Logan seems equally delighted with Roxanne's idea of humor, while Scorpius glares daggers into his best mate's wife. I scoop up my daughter into my arms, settling her on my hip.

"Princess, forget about what Aunt Roxanne said, she's crazy," Scorpius says, then quickly adds, "And definitely do not do any of the things she said."

Mackenzie glares determinedly at her father, "If you don't want me to do something then I'm gonna do it,"

Scorpius looks down at our son in a defeated fashion. Roxanne frowns at the handprint on her forearm, seeming displeased with the outcome of her 'joke'. I hear a soft thump and look for the source of the sound. Orion is sprawled out along the counter, fast asleep and snoring quite loudly.

"Well," Scorpius says, "That's one out of two,"

"Merlin," I roll my eyes. I teasingly look down at my daughter, "Do not ruin your life with kids,"

Mackenzie frowns and crosses her arms. She accuses, "You've been around Daddy too much."

I look over at Scorpius, raising an eyebrow. I don't know what to say to our daughter, but this is his problem with her. He needs to fix it himself. He nods, as if he understands.

"Come here Princess," Scorpius says, seating himself on the counter, "Time for a Daddy to Daughter talk,"

"No," Mackenzie refuses. Merlin, she is so stubborn. "I'm not your daughter, you don't want me."

I look worriedly at Scorpius. I notice that even Roxanne is watching us with worried eyes and raised eyebrows. "Alright," Scorpius says, "This has gone on long enough."

He plucks her from my arms and sits her down on a bar stool. He stoops down to her height, and looks directly into her eyes. She crosses her arms, trying to look anywhere but at her father. The sight alone breaks my heart.

"Princess, you will always be my daughter. And I will never regret bringing you into the world and having you in my life," He says, but our daughter looks at him skeptically. So he continues, "You are one of the best things that has ever and will ever happen to me. I'm sorry, baby, for any immature thing that I've thought or said. You have to realize that I'm a lot younger than most other daddies, and that I'm going to make mistakes. But, I'm always going to love you."

"Always?" Mackenzie asks, scrunching up her nose.

"Always." Scorpius answers.

"No matter what?" She asks.

"No matter what. Even if you kill someone or get knocked up. I'll still love you when you get married and have children of your own. And do you know why?" Scorpius asks her. Mackenzie shakes her head, so he continues, "Because you will always be my little Princess. And all I want to do is be here for you and protect you, sweetheart. Can you please consider forgiving me Princess Mack?"

Slowly, I can see Mackenzie's stubbornness fading away. The hurt is evident on her face, and I want to take her into my arms. But I have to let Scorpius handle this. I have to admit, he's doing a stellar job so far.

After a moment, Mackenzie answers, "I can't forget, Daddy,"

Scorpius flinches back like he's been slapped. I can see the emotion welling up in his eyes, and I place my hands on my shoulders, doing my best to comfort him. He hangs his head, as if he's accepted the inevitable. Logan clears his throat and I hear the sound of Roxanne slapping him away.

But, suddenly, Mackenzie takes us all by surprise. She gets down from the bar stool, and wraps her arms around her father. He looks taken aback, but slowly enfolds her in the safety of his arms.

"I forgive you, Daddy," She whispers.

Scorpius loudly chokes back a sob, and holds her even closer to him. She smiles against his shoulder, and I look upon my fiancee and daughter with so much love. The same blonde hair, the same full top lip, the same nose, the same depth in their eyes. It's nice to see the carbon copy of my favorite person getting along with her father.

Mackenzie glances at me over her father's shoulder. She gives me a strange, appraising look before speaking, "Mama, what're you wearing?"

And then Roxanne loses it.


Mackenzie's laughter fills the yard as Orion and Roman chase her. Orion reaching to pull on strands of her blonde hair, Roman trying to grasp her hand. Roxanne and I are sitting in Uncle George and Aunt Angelina's backyard, having found that I couldn't gather the courage to talk to my family before dinner. This is what Roxanne decided to call the "pre-pep dinner talk". Yeah, real clever. Logan, with Morgan sound asleep in his arms, is inside talking to Roxanne's parents, giving Roxanna and I mostly alone time.

I wish Scorpius was here, he calms me. I ache to feel his warm embrace. Yet, he's determined with his research, and has spent most of his time today doing exactly that. I look down at my stomach as the silence grows between Roxanne and I. I'm just beginning to show, and despite how much I dread getting large again, I'm thrilled to be able to see my baby's growth for myself.

Roxanne clears her throat, "Lily, are you happy?"

I feel a small fluttering in my stomach, it's become so familiar that I've grown used to feeling my daughter beneath my skin. "I think so," I answer.

Roxanne looks at me strangely, "You think?"

I take a deep breath, "I love my family. I love my daughter, my son, Scorpius, my unborn baby. But, it's all clouded,"

Roxanne sits a little straighter in her chair, "Because of your birthday?"

I nod. What are my children going to do without a mother? What's Scorpius supposed to do without a fiancee, a wife even?

"It's just this big, dark, impending thing that hangs over my head all the time. I'm scared, Rox," I say, "Not just for me, I mean I've felt incredible pain and I've faced death. But what about my children and Scorpius? What are they to do?"

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Roxanne speaks. "I used to think that when I died, it wouldn't be a big deal. I mean, maybe to you, maybe to my parents. But they have Fred. Logan and I weren't together, he barely noticed me. Morgan wasn't even a possibility then. But now, I have something to live and fight for. It kills me inside that I might be gone soon, that I might not be able to watch Morgan grow up or grow old with Logan. I can't imagine how you feel knowing it's a very likely reality, Lily."

I swallow hard and look at my two children. Running happily, laughing. "It's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, Rox."

Roxanne blinks, and for a moment I think she's blinking back unshed tears. But before I can be certain, they're gone. "How is Scorpius doing?"

I sigh. Another tough subject. "He promised me he'd live after, but I don't know if he'll be able to."

"Are you doubting his ability?"

"I'm doubting his self control,"

Roxanne looks at me. I think she's had all the serious talk she can stand for the day, so she decides to lighten up the mood. "I can motivate his ass,"

I roll my eyes. If anyone can motivate him, it'd be Roxanne. Once she starts something, she doesn't stop until it's finished. That's basically how she got Logan…. and eventually Morgan.

"You know, I'd rather die how my dad did. He didn't know the day or time he was destined to die. He just found out, and he did the courageous thing and accepted it," I say softly.

"But, he's still alive," Roxanne points out.

"He didn't know that he'd survive though," I reply.

Roxanne looks at the three running children thoughtfully. "Are you ready to die?"

I shake my head, "No, of course not. I've barely lived,"

"Then fight," Roxanne says.

I turn to look at her. I stare at her blankly, as if she's lost all memory of the past year, "I am."

"Fight harder Lils. Listen to you, you're just giving up," She says, "That's not the Lily that I know,"

I bite my lip and turn to look at the children again. Roman's finally out of breath and is sitting down, pouting and tugging at blades of grass. Mackenzie has run to the swing set that Roxanne herself begged her mother to put in when we were children. Orion is crossing his arms and glaring at his sister, probably planning some sneak attack. He's a snake, just like his father and myself before him.

"Roxanne!" Aunt Angelina shouts, "Lily! Children!"

I look at Roxanne confused. Why does her mother sound so frantic? Roxanne looks at me and shrugs then calls out, "We'll be in in a minute, Mum!"

"No!" Aunt Angelina shrieks, "Inside now!"

Something is wrong. I rush to Mackenzie and Orion, ushering them inside. Roman is stubborn, and I eventually have to scoop him up into my arms. When I enter, I'm the last inside. Aunt Angelina locks the door behind me, shutting the blinds.

"What's going on?" I demand.

Mackenzie and Orion look at me confused. I hand Roman off to Roxanne and pull my children to my sides.

"There's been a bombing," Aunt Angelina says. My jaw drops as she continues, "In the town square,"

I shakily put my hand over my mouth and whisper, "No."

"What's happening, Mama?" Mackenzie demands.

I look to where her eyes are fixed. There's a TV in the kitchen, talking about the bombing. A headline is blaring about how our District is finally getting it's well deserved punishment, and I want to cry out. There's now hidden rebel places here, only families trying to raise their children. The people here are innocent. But, I know why we're being punished. It's my fault. It's all my fault.

I look down at my children frantically. I have to protect them.

"Uncle George, is there a TV in the basement?" I ask.

He nods somberly. The war's taken such a toll on my favorite Uncle. I lean down to my two children, "Mackenzie, Orion, Fred's going to take you to the basement," I say motioning towards Roxanne's older brother.

Mackenzie crosses her arms, "Why?"

"Because," I give her a steely, firm gaze, "That's where you will be safe. That's where you will stay, understand? You'll do whatever Fred says."

I press a fast kiss to each of my children's foreheads. I rise to my feet and look at my cousin very pointedly.

"If you let anything happen to them, Fred, I swear to Merlin…" I start.

Fred looks at me, "I got it, Lils, they'll be safe with me."

I nod, and push my two children towards him. Fred takes Roman from Roxanne and Morgan from Logan, carefully holding each. He slowly herds my two children down to the basement. I don't move until I see them disappear fully down the stairs.

I turn to look at Roxanne, and notice she's been doing the same. Her eyes are undoubtedly filled with tears as she looks at her daughter for possibly the last time.

"What's your game plan, Lily?" Uncle George asks, very fatherly crossing his arms.

I make my way through the kitchen, digging through drawers before I find something good enough for what I'm looking for. I find a sizeable butcher knife, taking it in my hands very carefully, before I turn to look at my Aunt and Uncle. Roxanne and Logan look ready to back me up, their wands clutched tightly in their hands.

"I'm going to bring attention away from the house," I say.

I grip my wand in the same hand as the knife. I can feel my heartbeat rising, steadily climbing faster and faster.

"Lils, are you insane? They have bombs," Logan says.

"I'll take my chances," I say. I turn to look at my Aunt and Uncle. A million words come to me. I want to thank them for everything they've done to support me and taught me. But all I can say is, "Under no circumstance do you let anyone in that basement. My babies are in there, Roxanne's baby is in there, Seth's baby is in there, your baby is down there. Don't let anything happen, please."

Aunt Angelina moves forward, cutting off my pleas. She hugs me tightly, her embrace just as motherly as my own mother's.

"We'll protect them, Lily. You worry about yourself, honey,"

I nod. I'll try, but what I'll most be worrying about is the safety of the baby inside me and my two children downstairs. And as much as I hate to admit it, I know what it would do to Dominique if she lost Roman, the boy she considers her own child. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. And Roxanne… what if she lost her little baby girl?

I swallow hard. When Aunt Angelina finally releases me, I see that Uncle George has been embracing his daughter the whole time. I look at my Aunt and Uncle, then at Roxanne. What if they lost her? How could I explain that to them?

"You wouldn't listen to me if I told you to stay here, would you?" I ask Roxanne.

She shakes her head, "No, of course not. When have I ever listened to you? Wouldn't want to break a habit."

I look at Logan, but before I can get a word out he's already speaking. "I'm going. If anything happened to you Scorpius would kill me. And if anything happened to Roxanne…"

We slowly make our way out the front door. I turn around to make sure that Uncle George locks the door after us, but before he can get the chance something happens. Mackenzie, very boldy, dodges the arms of Uncle George and Fred runs out of the house. She runs down the driveway, her blonde hair swinging behind her as a tell tale sign. Anyone who sees her will know who she is automatically.

I chase after her, Roxanne and Logan at my heels. "Mackenzie!" I shriek her name.

She turns down the street, leading us to the town square. I shriek her name again, reaching out to grab her. She's a child, but she's fast. She comes to a halt immediately. I wrap my arms around her, and pull her against me, "Mackenzie, what the hell?"

Her eyes are fixed on something. I look up, and that's when I see it. The town square is covered in fire, a brilliant flame that's growing quickly with each passing second. The air is filled with smoke, making Mackenzie cough. I gasp the last bit of clean air, I don't want my baby breathing this air. Either one of them. I pull my daughter behind me in one swift motion.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I scream at her over a slowly steadily stream of screams, "You can't do that, Mackenzie Luna!"

She lets out a choked sob, "But Mama, what about Daddy?"

I pull her into a tight but swift hug. She can't be here. I look at Roxanne and Logan, "Take her back, she can't be here."

Before they have a chance to respond, I feel the whooshing of something flying around us. My hair billows out around me and I look down at my small daughter in horror. I quickly cover her body with mine. We fall to the ground, my arms wrapping tight around her. I sit up a little, hunching my back and leaning over her protectively.

Mackenzie, now thoroughly frightened, presses her cheek under my neck. I clutch my wand tighter as my hands begin to tremble.

I feel the explosion. The weight of buildings crumbling down around us makes the ground tremble. I hear the explosion. I hear the glass shattering, the sound of rubble and screeching metal. It makes my ears ring. I don't see the explosion. I bury my face in my daughter's hair, my eyes focused firmly on her blonde strands as I whisper soothing words to her.

I feel my body uproot, and I faceplant on the ground. I look down frightened, but luckily Mackenzie is pinned safely underneath me.

Vaguely, I hear my name being shouted.

"Lily!"

"Lily!"

"Shit, she's bleeding bad!"

"Mack, come here!"

"Fuck, Lily?"
"Snap out of it!"

"Can you hear me?"

I blink slowly, startled to see Roxanne only a few inches away from my face. Logan is crouched down behind her, Mackenzie tucked safely under his arm.

"What?" I ask groggily.

Roxanne takes a deep breath. She slowly tilts my head back and I look at her in confusion. What's happened?

"Are you insane?" Roxanne growls, "Merlin you hit your head so damn hard."
Logan rips off a piece of his shirt and hands it to Roxanne. She slowly dabs it on my hairline, and that's when I feel it. Hot, sticky blood oozing down my face and dripping down my lips.

"Mama," Mackenzie very carefully says, "Are you okay?"
I look at her, and slowly open my arms. She runs to me immediately, nestling herself against me. I pull her close to me, my eyes burning from the smoke and the bright light coming from the flames. I nod slowly, "I'm okay, baby. Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head, her eyes tellingly wide.

"You need to go back with Logan or Roxanne now," I tell her.

"No," She weakly protests, "I wanna stay with you, Mama."

I shake my head, and release my tight hold on her.

"You can't. You need to go now, honey," I say.

"I'll take her," Logan volunteers.

"Thank you," I tell him sincerly.

He nods, before he lifts Mackenzie up and out of my arms. He holds onto her, not letting her go for a second. It's decided that she can't be trusted to walk on her own at this moment in time. Mackenzie watches me sadly over Logan's shoulder. I turn away, I can't bear to see her go. She buries her face in Logan's shoulder, her sobs quiet but her tears evident.

Roxanne looks at me, slowly assessing me. "You look sick,"

I shrug, "I've felt better,"

"I'd certainly hope so,"

She helps me to my feet, and we slowly approach town square. There's a wall of steadily building screams. Each one of them speaks thousands of words to me. Horror. Pain. Anguish. Loss.

A woman close to us screams loudly. She's standing outside of what I assume is her burning house. Suddenly, she bolts towards it, her eyes hard set and determined. A burly man grabs her and holds her back, swooping her up into his arms. She fights back, punching and kicking at him. Soon they're both on the ground, and he's trying to comfort the middle aged woman. Her next scream is also a sob, "No! My babies are in there! No,"

Roxanne and I meet each other's gaze. I see the empathy reflected in her eyes. I can tell what she's thinking, because I'm thinking the same thing. What if that was my babies?

The further we walk into town, the worse the smell gets. The scent of rotting flesh fills my nostrils, but it's inescapable. Death. So much death. My ears are still ringing from the explosion, and my eyes are burning from the bright light. A building collapses on the left side of me. I cringe and stumble slightly.

Then a thought occurs to me. As we've been walking through town square, we've seen basically every sight imaginable. We've seen buildings crumbling, people on fire, death. But not once have we seen Death Eaters.

"Where are all the Death Eaters?" I ask.

We finally reach the town square. It smells even worse than all the streets leading up to it combined. The town square, just like the rest of the town, is free of Death Eaters. The only people here are the injured, the corpses, and family members looking to be reunited with people that they are never going to see again.

Except there's someone there that doesn't belong. She stands very out of place, dressed in a deep purple business suit, her blonde ringlets framing her carefully placed glasses. If there was ever a doubt about who she was, once I see the magical quill writing very quickly on a piece of parchment, that doubt disappears. It's Rita Skeeter.

She talks slowly to her quill, as if she's oblivious to everything going on here. I look at her for a moment, reaching over and grasping Roxanne's hand. She looks at me confused, then she sees her too. I'm not hallucinating after all.

As if on cue, Skeeter catches sight of me. Her jaw drops and before I can say a word, a camera is flashing in front of my eyes. By the time I've recovered from the flash, she's standing in front of Roxanne and I.

Roxanne looks at me uneasily.

"Lily Potter! Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, my name is-" She announces all too loudly.

If people didn't notice who I was before, they definitely are looking now. I cut Skeeter off before she can continue. "I know who you are."

"I'm flattered," She says, giving me a toothy grin, "Are you a fan of my work?"

"Am I fan of you lying to the public? Am I fan of you putting my family on display of your column ever since my father was a teenager?" I say through gritted teeth.

Rita has the sense to be embarrassed. Her cheeks flush and she looks down for a moment, but she quickly regains her enthusiasm. Roxanne gives Rita a disgusted look.

"What are you doing here, Miss Potter? In the center of all this!"

The camera flashes again, capturing Roxanne and I exchanging uneasy glances. This won't be good…. or could it be good? What if I could use Rita Skeeter to my advantage? I turn to look at Rita, a cunning smile on my lips.

"I have a proposition for you, Rita," I say.

Roxanne looks down at me like she's shocked. She says very bluntly, "Lily, she can't be trusted."

I hold my hand up to my cousin, and turn back to Skeeter. I raise my eyebrow at her, and she looks at me intrigued.

"I'm listening," She says.

"I'll give you a picture and a story, if you get a message out for me," I say.

Rita looks at me disbelievingly. She cocks her head, "What kind of story?"

I lean in close to her, and wrinkle my nose when I smell her outdated perfume. "A story fit for a front page headline,"

"Deal," Rita extends her hand to me, then withdraws it quickly, "I'd love to do a picture of Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy's rumored children,"

I swallow hard. Of course, what else could I have expected out of a woman like her? She's sly. Absentmindedly, I wonder what Hogwarts house she was in. Can I really put my children on the front page of the Daily Prophet? Do I even have a choice?

I offer her my hand, "Deal."

She looks at me surprised, as if she thought that I would refuse. Quickly, before I change my mind I think, she takes my hand. Her hand is delicate in mine, and something about this woman that has done damage to my family makes me want to break her.

"How many people are dead?" Roxanne quietly speaks up.

Skeeter gestures for her quill to keep writing, "More than two thousand so far are reported."

I take in a quick, choked breath. It's like the wind has been knocked out of me. Roxanne squeezes my hand. She too knows the pain. She grew up here, as did I. We knew everyone in town, and everyone in town knew us. And now most of them are all dead.

Dead because of me.

Rita snaps me out of it. She offers me her business card, "Call me soon to set up when we can take pictures. We'll be taking them here in Godric's Hollow, so I would imagine you would like to wait a while for it to regain some…" She trails off as she looks around us with disgust, "Stability."
I open my mouth. For what? I'm not sure. I want to curse her out and punch her in the face and make her understand that everyone who died today was a human being too and their lives matter and now they're dead. This town matters. But I know there's nothing I could say that would make her stop being a blonde haired bitch and there's nothing that she could say that would stop me from loving and mourning the death of those who were my neighbors.

Roxanne speaks instead, "You foul, disgusting, motherfu-"

"Roxanne," I quickly cut her off, "It's not worth it."

Skeeter looks delighted as the quill writes faster and faster. I glare daggers at her, "Is this the last of the attacks?"

She wrinkles her nose as if she doesn't know what we're talking about.

Roxanne speaks up, ice clear in her voice, "Don't act like you don't know, Skeeter,"

Skeeter sighs, "Yes, for today. In the future, I'm not sure."

Suddenly, a screaming child runs past us. He's wailing for his mother. He runs towards a burning home, a man catching him quickly. Roxanne covers her mouth in shock. The child is soaked in blood. I wipe away a tear, and look at Roxanne, a lump growing in my throat. Rita has left us in our distraction. I tuck her business card in the pocket of my shorts.

"Lily, we have to go. We have to go to your beach house, it's the only safe place."

I shake my head, "There's apparation wards, Rox."

She glances at me like she doesn't know who I am. Funny, I'm wondering the same thing. "We can get out of the wards, then apparate. There's plenty of working cars for the family in between us all."

I nod swiftly. Why didn't I think of that? She grabs my arm and looks me in the eye.

"We have to go back to my house. Dad can spread the word, we'll gather everyone into the vans and we'll leave. Put as much distance between us and this as we can."

I nod in agreement. We run back to her house, smoke filling our lungs and slowing both of us down. We don't stop though, not until we reach the front door. I knock, and call out that it's me.

"Mama!"

Mackenzie opens the door in a millisecond. Her tiny arms wrap around my waist and I look at Fred in confusion and anger.

"Why wasn't she in the basement?" I ask him.

"This is as far as she would go,"

I scowl at Fred, and stoop down to hug my daughter. Orion runs up to me and joins the hug. I kiss both of their foreheads frantically. After seeing dead children, it's a relief seeing my two babies in front of me.

"You're alright," I breathe a sigh of relief.

"That bad?" Logan says.

Roxanne embraces Logan, throwing her arms around him and silently placing her head against his chest. He looks at her stunned, and tightens his arms around her, enveloping her in his protective embrace. Morgan cries from Fred's arms. Roxanne looks at her from Logan's chest, but she doesn't move to grab her daughter. It might be for the best, by the way that she's shaking.

Still looking into the eyes of my daughter and son, I say, "Thousands of people are dead, Logan."

Everyone in the room breathes collective breaths of shock. After a few minutes of stunned silence, Roxanne speaks, "We're going to take a plane to Australia. We're going to stay at Lily's beach house. Fred, can you tell Dad? And for Merlin's sake please bring my daughter here."

Once Fred places Morgan into her mother's arms, Roxanne visibly relaxes. Fred moves, and awkwardly hugs his little sister. She smiles softly at him, and nods her head as they exchange private words.

"Where's Scorpius?" I ask quietly.

Logan looks at me, "He'll come."

Mackenzie and Orion look up at me.

"Mama, where's Daddy?" They ask at the same time.

I bite my lip, and try to stay strong for my children. I slowly repeat Logan's words, although they feel like sludge coming out, "He'll come."

Scorpius is off researching ways to keep me alive. What if he won't be able to get back into Godric's Hollow with the wards? Speaking of…

"Aunt Angelina, why aren't there any medics?"

She sighs heavily, as if it causes her a great deal of pain to see this. "The wards are for apparating out and in."

A lump forms in my throat. Suddenly, a loud boom sounds, loud enough for Mackenzie and Orion to throw themselves into my arms. But it came from outside. Close enough to hear. Far enough to be okay.

"Oh my god," Roxanne gasps.

I shoo my children into the kitchen after Aunt Angelina. I make my way towards the window, in the direction that Roxanne is looking at. Just down the street, fire is engulfing a manor.

Malfoy Manor.

Words fly through my mind at light speed. His father has an extensive library. His mum collects books, as did her ancestors. Scorpius could be there.

Roxanne looks at me, "Lily don't."

I acknowledge her warning tone. After, of course, I race out the door.

Distinctly, I can hear Roxanne calling after me. I'm thankful Morgan is in her arms, she keeps Roxanne from running after me. My feet hit the pavement hard, and I run as fast as I can.

I scream his name as I run down the driveway. I pause to open the front door, and when I do, a wall of smoke hits me instantaneously. I push myself into the house anyway. The smoke fills my lungs and burns my eyes.

I scream his name again. Then I cough, choking on the unclean air. I run through the house, checking his old room. It's empty. I try to open my mouth to scream again, but air is quickly leaving the manor, smoke and carbon dioxide taking it's place.

I stumble up more stairs, towards the library. The once grand wooden doors are burnt beyond recognition and hanging off their hinges. As I step inside, I see that nothing has escaped this room intact.

Several books lay scatter open around the room, their pages licked with flames. A glass display case that once held the oldest books was shattered, tattered remains of the book scattered across the case. I suck in a deep breath. Only a tiny bit of air, enters my lungs.

I run up and down the bookshelves, looking for any sign of him. But he's not here either. I come to a halt as I see the pages of a book. There's a drawing of a beautiful red haired girl and a handsome blond haired boy. Quickly, I scoop the book up. I cough again. There's only a few words underneath the drawing, "The girl destined for death and the man destined for pain".

A bookshelf nearby falls over, causing me to jump. I tuck the book under my arm, choking in a breath. I turn around quickly. The fire has grown tremendously in this room. I take a quick deep breath, before jumping over the flames.

I scream as the fire comes in contact with the bare flesh of my legs. The smell of burning flesh fills the room and I gag. I've had enough of that smell for a lifetime. As I run out of air for screaming, I hear a low noise. It's coming from a distance. I run down the staircase, wishing I had air to scream his name.

But suddenly, I hear it again. Much more clearly this time, he calls out my name, "Lily!"

Sure enough, he's there at the end of the staircase. Standing amongst the burning flames and smoke filled haze, is my messy blonde haired boy. I assess him quickly, looking for any sign that he's been hurt. Burns ravage his arms, ashes are in his hair, and there's a piece of parchment sticking out of his jeans.

He's here. He's alive.

I throw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. He gasps, "You're here. Why are you here?"

"I heard the explosion," I speak through tears, "I thought you could've been in here,"

"You're insane woman," Scorpius says.

Then he firmly presses his lips against mine. It doesn't last long.

There's a loud clanking sound, and suddenly a bed from upstairs falls through the ceiling. It lands only a few feet from us. Scorpius looks at me with urgency. He pushes me forward, out of the house.

I look behind me to make sure he's followed me. We run until we reach the end of the driveway, then we can go no further. I collapse on the grass, pressing my cheek against the cool blades. Coughing profusely, I set the book down. Scorpius stands over me, coughing and choking.

He offers me his hand, "We have to get away from here,"

He pulls me up, and pushes me forward. I stumble forward, but my legs are burning hot and I'm so so dizzy and my lungs feel like they're about to collapse.

Hastily, Scorpius picks me up. He runs with my weight in his arms and he doesn't stop until we reach Aunt Angelina and Uncle George's driveway. I don't know how he does it sometimes.

Gently, he sets me down on my feet. I stumble forward, but he was anticipating that. He holds me steady, and I bend over gasping for air. Suddenly and quite violently, vomit spews from my mouth. I grab at my knees, desperately trying to breathe.

"Shh," Scorpius hushes, "I'm here. Let it out, baby."

He strokes my hair and holds me steady. His movements don't stop when the loud crashing sound comes. He doesn't miss a beat as the Manor crumbles into useless pieces of rubble and a heap of fire.

I look up at him in amazement. And then I black out.

When I regain consciousness, I'm lying on Uncle George's black leather couch. There's a bag of ice on the top of my head and I have a god awful headache. I look at Scorpius, who is stroking calming circles into my stomach. He reaches up to cup my cheek with his rough, calloused thumb.

"Scorpius," I manage to choke out.

"Shh," He hushes me.

My Mum is turning my legs over in her hands, assessing the damage done. I don't look down. Whatever it is, I don't want to see it. But Merlin does it hurt. I groan and Scorpius kisses the top of my head.

Roxanne is sitting next to Scorpius, "Lily, I have to tell them about Calla. You've really been injured and I'm worried."

I nod slowly. But inside, I'm panicking. I look over at Scorpius, and he brushes hair out of my face. He catches my eye and says softly, "Shhh… It's okay. No matter what, it's okay."

I sit up quickly. My Mum, who has been watching the whole exchange, is looking at Roxanne curiously.

"Calla?" She questions.

Before anyone has a chance to answer, my brothers and father walk into the room.

"Lily-flower," Dad breathes out a sigh of relief.

"You're awake," James says quietly.

"Lilsy," Al says.

"Hi Daddy, Jamie, Al," I whisper quietly.

My voice is hoarse. I look around and notice that Logan is standing by Roxanne. His arm is around her waist, and his hand is on Scorpius' shoulder.

Roxanne cuts to the chase, "Lily's pregnant… again."

Mum looks at me shocked, her eyes wide. Dad visibly clenches his jaw. James looks surprised, and raises his eyebrow at me. Al looks at Scorpius like he could kill him.

"You knocked up my baby sister again?" Al shouts.

I groan. James reaches out and pulls our brother back.

"Dude, as much as I want to kill him too, you can save it. Lils doesn't look so good," James reasons.

Aunt Hermione pushes her way out of the kitchen and past all my family members. She places her wand against my stomach and speaks, "Let me see."

After a few minutes, she speaks again, "The baby is fine, for now. But you really have suffered severe smoke inhalation, and that isn't good for a growing fetus. Your legs are quite horrendous as well,"

I breathe a sigh of relief. Scorpius is obviously relieved as well. He kisses my forehead, then places a gentle kiss on my stomach. He looks at me in amazement and says, "I'm going to chain you to the bed, woman. Merlin you really are insane,"

I smile weakly at him. Then I notice how bad his arms really are. I gasp, and he quietly hushes me. He shakes his head, "I'm okay."

"No," I protest, "You're not. Aunt Hermione look at his arms,"

Scorpius opens his mouth to protest, but I give him a firm glance. He sighs lets her examine him.

"That is going to take quite a lot of burn cream. Unfortunately, we don't have any. Hopefully the healing spell I did will help it some, but not a lot." She says.

Scorpius nods. I shake my head in disbelief, "When can we get burn cream?"

"Lily, I'm fine." Scorpius says flatly.

"No. Aunt Hermione tell him-"

"Lily," Scorpius says sharply.

I halt in my tracks and look up at him with wide eyes. He doesn't look at me again.

He says, "We need to leave. Heal Lily, and then we'll go."

Aunt Hermione suggests, "We have time to try to heal your arms more, Scorpius."

He sighs heavily. Incredulously. "I'm going to go get Mackenzie and Orion from the basement."

I tug on his hand, not wanting him to go.

"Scorpius…" I look at him, feeling like a heap of weakness, "Stay."

He takes pity on me. He leans down and kisses the top of my head, "I'll be right back, love."

I close my eyes as my Aunt heals my legs to the best of her ability. I don't bother looking at them, I don't want to know. When she gives me the all clear, I open my eyes again. My family has moved to gather their things, leaving me to myself. I swing my legs over the couch, slightly bitter that I hadn't worn jeans.

I feel dizzy as I stand, but I move to pick up the book. I turn it over in my hands, debating internally if I want to see it's contents. I open to the first page.

"And She Will Fall Again And Again,

The Tale of a Red Haired Beauty Who Fell In Love, and Led Herself to Her Doom"

I turn the page. They are drawing. They show a girl, growing from a cute and chubby baby to a young woman. A red haired, green eyed girl. Me.

When I reach, the drawing of her at the age of seventeen, I turn the page. It starts another child. This time the child is a blond haired, grey eyes baby boy. A baby boy who is smirking in all of the drawings. Over the years, the drawing changes from a blond haired boy to a young man. Then, it stops at the age of eighteen.

Curiously, I look at a detailed drawing of the girl and boy consummating, a ring on her finger. I look at it confused, then turn the page. The girl is holding a baby, and the boy is at her side. There's a tiny blonde haired girl and boy standing by them, and a tiny girl standing in between the two.

But, it's not the four children that attract my attention, it's the blood that is slowly appearing to seep from the pages until the whole page is thoroughly covered. The red liquid soaks the book until the drawing is nothing.

Then the blood disappears, leaving a different drawing in it's place.

The girl is lying on the ground with blood surrounding her. Her body looks mangled. The boy is hunching over her, a jet of green light flying towards him from the corner of the page. Two blonde haired children lie dead in the snow. A few feet from the girl, is a baby, the umbilical cord still attached. The tiny baby's head looks distorted. There's a bloody rock next to the baby, her head has been bashed in. There's a trail of blood leading to the girl. The snow is soaked in blood.

I tangle my hands through my hair and gasp in shock. My dead twins. My baby cut from my womb only to be savagely murdered. Scorpius about to be killed.

The blood.

The torture.

The savagery.

I throw the book as far away from me as I can. It lands in the fireplace, and I quickly switch it on. I watch until the flames have completely consumed the bloody pages. I gasp in a few breaths, before I feel eyes on me.

I turn around to see that Scorpius has entered the room, our twins peeking out from behind his burned arm.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asks.

I nod slowly, not really meeting his eye. He looks at me skeptically. Mackenzie ducks under his arm, Orion quickly follows suit. They race to me, and I engulf them in my arms. I place multiple kisses to the top of their head. I brush their hair out of their eyes and murmur comforting, motherly words to them.

Scorpius interrupts us, "Mack, Orion, why don't you go see Chloe and James? I'm sure Chloe will give you two something to eat."

The twins nod, and follow their father's request. Scorpius quickly crosses the room, and offers me his hand. I take it gratefully, and he pulls me to my feet. He pulls off his shirt, it's dirty and soaked in sweat. He throws it to the side, and moves to tug a new one over his head.

I reach a hand out to stop him. I place my hand against his chest, and whisper, "I almost lost you."

And then I bury my face in his chest. I tangle my fingers in his hair, and inhale his scent. Mostly, I smell smoke. But, there's a hint of his scent, and that's enough for me right now. The tender flesh of his arms tightens around me. He presses a kiss into my shoulder, then up my neck. I let out a soft moan.

"I'm here," He whispers.

I smack his chest, then swiftly place a kiss to the same spot.

"Don't you ever put me through that again," I say.

He sighs softly, and kisses my hair. He holds me firmly against him and I rejoice in his embrace. He looks down at me, and captures my lips in a passionate kiss.

After we break apart, I sigh. "We probably won't get to do much of that for a while, since our families will be staying in our house."

He grins and leans in. He kisses my neck and I bite my lip. Against the sensitive spots of my neck, he says, "I love it when you call it our house."

"Scorpius," I say. I'm weighed down by a million weights and not one of them are easy to let go, "Thousands of people are dead."

He looks down at me in shock. After a few minutes, he's regained some of his composure. He looks into my eyes and I speak again.

"It's my fault."

He shakes his head and wipes away a tear from my cheek. "No, it isn't."

"If I hadn't come back, all those people would still be alive," I say.

He shakes his head, "We grew up here. This is our hometown, we have a right to be here without fear of retaliation."

I roll my eyes, "Do you really think that's realistic?"

He looks at me, "Voldemort would have found another reason to do this regardless,"

I don't want to argue with him. I want to plan our revenge. "We have to retaliate. We can't let him get away with this,"

"Lily-" He starts to say.

I cut him off, "No. I won't let him get away with what he's done."

He smiles, "My little fighter's going to take down Voldemort's entire empire."

I frown at him, "I could."

He nods, very seriously. "I know you could."

We squeeze into three vans. His family, my family, our family. As we drive past the streets of Godric's Hollow, I stare straight ahead. I can't bring myself to look at the destruction of the place I once called home. The crumbled buildings, the dead bodies, the injured trying to find a way to a healer.

Everything is different and gone.

We have to retaliate.

We are fighters.

More of the opposing blood will be shed than our own.

We will show them one hell of a rebellion.