Hello, folks! Sorry this came out so late tonight! It's a few hundred words shorter than the last chapter, and heavy on the set up. I was a little emotional writing it. I hope you all enjoy!

This chapter is entirely dedicated to my mother and everything she has done for me – including edit tonight's chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

The Beginning of a New Life

November 6th, 1981

Lily woke up to the distinct feeling of a slowly moving bowling ball on her belly. As she opened her eyes, she looked over at the scraggly black-haired man next to her. He was smiling mischievously.

"Sorry, Lils. I couldn't keep Harry away from you for too long."

She smiled and looked down at her son – he was crawling his way up her body. The new, red and angry-looking scar on his forehead filled her eyes. She mentally noted her need to research as soon as this was over. Her eyes moved to the smile on her son's face, the smile that was reserved only for her.

"Oh, Harry. Come here."

She picked him up by his armpits and wrapped her boy in her arms tightly and sighed. When he was born, he had quickly become her whole world – she hadn't thought he could possibly mean even more to her someday. Love was an inexplicable thing.

"Where is Remus?" Lily asked after looking around.

"He's seeing what he can do to find us some place to stay until this is all over. It sounds like the way things are playing out, I'll be staying with him at the cottage. With the full moon coming though…" Sirius said, the light tone that his eyes had finally been showing disappeared.

"I understand, but what's wrong with going home?"

"Lily, Godric's Hollow is all but destroyed. And it's become a monument. For them, the war is over."

"But Godric's Hollow has been the primary Potter residence for a hundred and fifty years. We can't abandon it!"

"They have already started to erect a statue of the three of you in front of the home, Lils."

She quieted. He placed a copy of the November 4nd Daily prophet on top of Harry's now sleeping head so she could read the headline.

THE BOY WHO LIVED

Benjamin Johnson, Senior Writer

As the wonderful news hit us on November 1st that You-Know-Who was defeated by the 15-month-old Harry Potter, we took a few days here at the Prophet to celebrate – as we know you did as well! Today, we are dedicating the front page to informing you of the boy that will, no doubt, fill our minds with mystery for as long as we shall live.

Harry Potter's parents, Lily Potter and James Potter, met at Hogwarts. As Head Boy and Head Girl, they began dating in their 7th year, according to friend and fellow Gryffindor, Mary McDonald. She stated that they were perfect for one another – a match that took a long time to make, but in the end was one that everyone looked at to "see what love truly was in those dark days". They graduated in 1978, and Lily was the best in their year. Lily's favorite subject was Potions, and she used this talent to become a healer at St. Mungo's, working in the Medical Maladies department. She specializes in poison and potion reversals, as well as spells gone wrong through her talent in charms. James Potter, who we have mentioned numerous times in 1979 and 1980 in articles detailing the war, was an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, graduating class of 1979 in the accelerated program. His partner was Sirius Black (more about the ongoing search for Peter Pettigrew, Black's release from Azkaban and the apology from the Minister of Magic herself on pages 3 and 4). Lily and James married in spring of 1979, and Harry was born on July 31st, 1980. The family of three went into hiding in late 1980 for reasons unknown, and our line of information on them ends there. We are continuing to gather information as we can on their history, and will continue to update with more as we are able.

Now for the facts we have on the night of October 31st, 1981. You-Know-Who came to the Potter residence alone that night. According to the Auror report, James Potter was found on the stairwell of their family home, but signs of a struggle were not found. You-Know-Who tried to use the Killing Curse on young Harry, and a nasty-sized Reducto curse on his Mother resulting in serious life-threatening injury. He is now the only known wizard or witch to survive the Killing Curse. The two have been recovering at St. Mungo's in the company of Auror Sirius Black, according to our sources there. We have been told the two are alive and well.

The final and most curious fact we have for you is that the Boy-Who-Lived now has a lightning scar on his forehead from where Voldemort attempted the curse and failed.

This is where our knowledge ends. How did he survive the Killing Curse? What is it about him that stopped You-Know-Who that night? Why did he attack the Potters in such an unusual fashion to his typical attacks? Why did James, a known Auror, not fight a man who was clearly attempting to attack his wife and child? How was Lily, a Muggleborn, not on the receiving end of a Killing Curse herself? I doubt we will know the answers to many of these questions. In fact, I am certain they will be the backbone of research done by those much more brilliant than I. The one thing I know for sure is, as a Muggleborn myself, I am immensely grateful that he stopped You-Know-Who that night. Without a doubt, I will be watching Harry Potter as he grows up into an unquestionably famous and talented wizard. Until then, I hope you will join me in the coming months and years in raising your glass to him and his parents for their sacrifices that night.

ATTACK ON THE LONGBOTTOMS

Rita Skeeter, Junior Writer

Alice and Frank Longbottom appear to be the final casualties of a long-fought war. In the early morning of November 1st, Bellatrix and Radolphus Lestrange…

"I know you probably want some time to think."

Lily stared back up at Sirius. She didn't know how much time had passed since she had stared at that last paragraph. Lily's mind was blank. Some of the questions she had answers to, and some of them she was just as blind to as the rest of the wizarding world. She knew that in the coming weeks, Dumbledore would do his best to explain everything further, but that did not change the fact that her world would never be the same. She thought the worst thing that would have happened was James dying – now, she also had to deal with her son being the hero everyone needed after almost a decade of war. She knew what she needed to do.

"No, that's okay." She said quietly. "But you're right, we can't stay at Godric's Hollow."

"I know, I'm so sorry, Lily. But we will find you and Harry something out in the country, maybe. Away from prying eyes. There's only two of you now, so anything would really do. There are other Potter properties – there's the old 17th century Potter Mansion. It's a bit stuffy, but Fleamont took us there once the summer of our 6th year to show James so he knew about it when he inherited it. And there's the summer cottage on the beaches of Normandy. And finally, there is the old Stinchcombe house… it's a bit medieval, but I bet we could fix it up in a pinch. I've never been there, so I really don't know how bad it is. You know, the Godric's Hollow house has been in the family almost as long as the Stinchcombe house, but in the 1800's they did some really great work repairing it. I bet we could do the same for the Stinchcombe house…"

"Sirius you're talking too fast. And I said we."

Sirius looked at her with large eyes.

"We?"

Lily swallowed. She and James had talked about this more times than she could count. If something happened to one of them, surround Harry with those who love him. "I want you with us, Sirius. It's what James would have wanted. And it's what I want. It's what I need. I need Harry to know how loved and supported he is. I could do this on my own, but I don't want to. I want Harry to know he can rely on those who love him – his life won't be easy now, not that I think it ever could have been." She stared into the green eyes of the child she was holding and looked back at the man she now called her friend. "You don't mind, do you?"

She could see tears threatening to fall out of his eyes. "For Prongs, and for you, Lily. I'd be happy to help you with anything I can. Maybe we'll find something next to a forest. Or something surrounded by Muggles. Something James would have loved to call home. Maybe we can get Remus to join us…"

Lily smiled. This may not have been the life they had planned, but it sure as hell would be the best life she could make it be for her son.

November 10th, 1981

Lily had wanted to wait longer – she knew she was strong enough to now carry Harry, and if worst came to worst and she fell she could always use her magic to help her, but the last time she was outside of these walls her world had shattered. She had a secondary reason for leaving the safe recovery rooms of St. Mungo's, though. It was Sirius' birthday, and although it still killed her to think about it, James would have wanted them to celebrate. So, she began to pack up the last things in her room and shrink them into the small handbag she'd be taking with her. Last, she grabbed the wand that Remus had been so kind to retrieve from the wreck of a house they had left behind. The wand that she was so incredibly angry with herself that it had been left in their bedroom.

Sirius and Remus had already left for Remus' cottage. Their original plan had been to stay with them in the immediate days following their release, but with the full moon tomorrow, Dumbledore had offered her and Harry a place to stay at Hogwarts for a few days, and she had accepted. There were extra rooms in the teachers' corridors. Sirius was happy with that – he reminded her to say hi to Peeves and Minnie. And to take pictures, so he could finally see what a teacher's room looked like. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she tightened the 15-month-old to her hip.

After saying goodbye to her former colleagues and caretakers, she flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. She had a plan of action – stop at Gringotts to access the Potter vault and find out about the responsibilities she'd have to take over for Harry until he was of age, set enough money aside to transfer over into pounds to pay for a Muggle house (Sirius and Lily just wanted some peace and quiet at this point), and find Sirius the best birthday gift she could. She knew James had already had something in the works, but at this point it was lost to time.

She said hello to Tom and attempted a brisk walk to the back to enter Diagon Alley. The key word was "attempted".

She found herself bombarded with patrons attempting to catch a glimpse of her son. The whispers of "is that Harry Potter? Is that the Boy-Who-Lived" rang through her ears as she started to break into a sprint. She opened up the passageway without much difficulty and continued her quick jog. She didn't want to garner attention to herself, but she needed to get to Gringotts fast. There was now a crowd of people following her, and with her son attached to her hip, they would continue to follow her until she got to Gringotts.

The first flash shocked her. It almost pulled her out of her jog. Her fiery hair couldn't be missed, and she knew that, but she still did her best to cover her son with her jacket. He was innocent in all of this. She kept her eyes on the rackety bank at the end of the street and ignored the hoard of people now trying to get her attention.

When she finally got to Gringotts, the photographers were stuck outside. Even the goblins looked up at her and her son due to the commotion, if only for a moment, before returning to their work. She knew they had become famous but the extent to which that was true was a sight that even she had difficulty comprehending. While their fame would never go away, but Merlin she hoped that at least some of it would be temporary. Collecting herself with a deep breath, she held Harry tightly to her side, glad that he was a relatively quiet baby. At least for now, that meant less attention on them.

A much less exasperated Lily now moved towards the desk of goblins. Their quills seemed to move synchronously, and every single pair of eyes were now focused on their work.

"Ahem." She said, walking up to a goblin.

The goblin glowered at her. "Yes, Madam? How can we help you?" His tone was a bit snarky, which she did not appreciate.

"My name is Lily Potter and I am here to collect a few things from my vault."

The goblin brought up his head to look at her and his eyes grew larger. Now realizing who he was talking to, he grinned. "Mrs. Potter, what a pleasure to meet you. My name is Bogrod. Do you have your key?"

Lily smiled back at him. "There was an unfortunate situation that occurred at my home on October 31st, and as such I shall be needing a new key. Will my wand do for now?"

Bogrod smiled as she offered him her wand. "Of course, Mrs. Potter."

After ensuring her wand was hers, he asked, "Will you be visiting the Potter Vault or the trust fund left to the Potter Heir?"

Lily's smile faltered. She supposed she had only ever been to Gringotts with James when he was the Potter Heir. While James had told her multiple times that once his parents passed that they would have access to the main family vault, they hadn't had the time to come and see the family vault as a married couple before they were hidden in Godric's Hollow.

"The Potter Vault, please. And is it alright if I bring Harry with me?"

Bogrod got up from his seat as he said, "Just make sure he doesn't go wandering around the hallway of the vaults when we get there. The vaults further down from you do have dragons protecting them, after all." Lily gulped. James had never mentioned that. The goblin, appearing amused by her reaction, began to show her the way to the trolley that would take them down to the vault. "When we get to the vault, we can discuss the greater details of your husband's will. That is why you are here, correct?"

Lily pursed her lips. In the chaos of James' death, she had forgotten she needed to go to Gringotts to see the will as well. She had barely begun to plan his funeral, let alone discuss his financial matters. It appears there was much James hadn't mentioned, but she supposed that was water under the bridge for the moment. Right now, she needed to be practical. She needed to plan. There would be ample quiet time later to mourn. "I suppose we can do that as well, but I would also like to see our current financial status and take some gold and perhaps other things from the vault with us when we go."

Bogrod nodded as he opened the trolley door for his two passengers. Lily decided to watch Harry's face on the long journey down to the Potter Vault. She couldn't help but smile as Harry seemed to enjoy the ride down. It felt like ages before the cart finally stopped, although Harry seemed to be sad that it did. As she looked around, she realized just how deep down they were. Lily was surprised the Potter vault was so far down – as James had explained to her, the Potters were an old pureblood wizarding family but weren't on the list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight for their lack of purist views. In her brain that had always meant they weren't as old of a house, but clearly, she had been wrong. As she picked Harry up to place him on her hip, she asked, "How old is this vault exactly, Mr. Bogrod?"

Bogrod spoke, pleased to show off his knowledge of his bank. "This floor of the bank pre-dates Gringott's itself. My ancestors began protecting gold in London for wizards long before Gringott founded the bank in the floors above us in 1474. This particular vault was originally the Peverell vault, one of the oldest known wizarding families, going back to the late 900s. As families inherit vaults through their heir, when Hardwin Potter, the eldest son of Linfred of Stinchcombe, married Iolanthe Peverell, granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell, the vault went to them and their future Potter heirs. It was thusly renamed the Potter vault and has been used by the Potter heir and his family ever since. It now contains James' will, which shall describe how your son is to inherit its contents."

Lily blinked. She was about to enter a room that was well over a thousand years old, and the gravity of it did not escape her. Bogrod walked ahead of her, past five vaults. They finally reached one at the end of the hallway. She could hear the sound of chains moving down the hall but decided not to dwell on it.

Bogrod placed his full hand on the door, and Lily's jaw dropped. The vault went further back than she could have imagined, and it was filled with so much more than just gold. Jewels, silver, ancient brooms, ornate furniture, and more. To her right, she saw a massive tapestry with the Potter line on it, beginning with the Peverells. "The majority of the gold you see was made by James' father, Fleamont. I remember him fondly – he quadrupled the Potter fortune. A quarter of which is in the trust vault. Very well known in our community for his intelligence in deal-making when he sold his company." Bogrod pointed to the rolled-up parchment on a pedestal near the door. "Both yours and Mr. Potter's official wills are there. I shall read through his, if you give me a moment."

All heads-of-houses had to have wills, James had said when his father died. She had made hers when they went into hiding. Just in case.

Lily looked over at her son. He was wiggling to be put down. He had been so good since they had left St. Mungo's that she decided to let him walk next to her, his hand in hers. She couldn't help but chuckle while they walked towards the tapestry – all toddlers reminded her of tiny drunk adults when they walked.

"This is your family, Harry." She smiled at him as they approached the tapestry, intrigued to see her husband's family history. Sure enough, the tapestry went back to the 900s, with a long line of eldest-son Peverells before reaching three brothers. Only the youngest of them had had children, and the other two had appeared to die young. Looking at the youngest Peverell's line, he saw it end with a beautiful portrait of a young woman, Iolanthe Peverell. She had fiery red hair, and unsurprisingly married a man whose portrait not only began the Potter last name. but the line of unruly black hair as well.

Lost in her train of thought, she hadn't noticed that Harry was staring at the last three portraits on the wall. His hand meeting the cold stone brought her out of her reverence. Looking down, he had managed to place his hand on his father's face. "Dada?"

Lily's heart felt like it had shattered. The resolve to focus in the moment, focus on their future crumbled with those three small words.

She looked at the portrait he was grasping at. Every portrait on the wall had seemed to catch its subject at their prime time in life. James' must have been when he was no older than 17. That beautiful smile grinned at her, moving yet lifeless.

"Daddy isn't coming home, Harry. He's gone away."

Harry looked up at her. "Dada home?"

She bent down to her son, meeting his green eyes at the same level as her own, now. "Daddy had to go away. He won't be coming home, Harry."

She gave the toddler a tight squeeze. Lily knew that at this age, there was no chance for him to fully comprehend what she was saying. Somehow that seemed to make her heart feel even tighter.

Before she could focus on her toddler any longer, she heard a cough followed by an "Ahem." She unwrapped the toddler from her arms, stood, and lifted him onto her side.

She turned around to see that Bogrod was facing her, James' will in his hands. "Would you like me to read the will in full, or should I just read you the highlights? There is a separate note in here for your son that is not to be opened until he has reached the age of 17, as well."

"Leave the note untouched but the rest in full, please."

With a clear of his throat, Bogrod started.

"I, James Potter, leave 1,000 galleons to my friend, Remus Lupin. I would like to leave an additional 10,000 galleons to research for the betterment of the lives of Werewolves. 1,000 shall also go to my friend Peter Pettigrew, and an additional 10,000 will go to the study of wizard's dementia, of which his mother ails from. I would also like to leave my brother in life, Sirius Orion Black, our father's watch and cleensweep broomstick collection, which are currently being stored in the Potter Mansion. Of what is left, the contents of my vault shall be left to my son and Heir of the House of Potter, Harry James Potter and my wife, Lily Evans Potter. Until the age of 17, my wife, Lily Evans Potter, shall be in charge of the account and properties. At the age of 17, they will both take charge of the account. The cottage on the beach of Normandy shall be left to Lily Evans Potter alone until the time she wishes to pass it onto our son, Harry James Potter. In the event of both of our untimely deaths, Harry shall receive all of the contents of my vault under the charge of Sirius Orion Black. As our son's Godfather, Sirius Orion Black shall be our son's Guardian as well. If Sirius also meets an untimely death, Remus Lupin shall act as our son's Guardian. If Remus is unable to be reached, please contact Albus Dumbledore as he is aware of our wishes for Harry's care

I love you, Harry and Lily. I know how strong you two can be."

Lily sighed. It was exactly what they had discussed.

"Shall you sign the paperwork and we can complete the transfer?"

With a heavy hand, Lily signed the Gringott's paperwork. She put as much gold as she could fit in her Gringott's bag and took a mental inventory of the vault. She was again appreciative that Harry was a generally quiet baby, as he stayed quiet during the entire process.

"Bogrod, I am planning on buying a house with Sirius Black. I will need at least two hundred thousand pounds to do so. Can that be arranged?"

"Of course, Mrs. Potter. Is there anything else?"

She sighed. "If you can, we would like to directly floo to Hogwarts for the night due to the amount of scrutiny we got on the street on our way here. We would, of course, be willing to pay a small fee for using your private network. Additionally, I was hoping to buy my friend a birthday gift while we were here, but the chaos we experienced earlier seems to be preventing that. Give me just a few moments and we will be ready to go."

Bogrod acknowledged her with a smile. She looked around. The idea of going to the Quidditch supply store now horrified her, but she still had to make sure Sirius got something. Remembering where she was spending the next few days, an idea popped into her head.

Finally, with a smile on her face, her son on her hip, and a bag of gold in her hand, she left the Potter Vault hopeful for what the next few days would bring.

Again, a heavy set up chapter. But the reward will pay off later, trust me! This is not an powerful Harry story necessarily, but we will definitely be utilizing the Potter and Black titles in a way that I think were woefully underutilized in the Cannon.

I will be updating regularly now on Sundays. As always, let me know what you think and I am so glad so many people seemed to enjoy chapter 1!