"Push, Lily, push," James encouraged soothingly, despite the pain he felt from her clutching his hands in a death grip.
"What do you think I'm doing, you bastard?" she ground out, her eyes still welded shut in pain. She yelled several curses to the medi-witch, who seemed mildly amused as she continued to whisper encouragement.
"Just a little more, Lady Potter, the head has come out!" the medi-witch encouraged. James flinched as his hand was crushed, but after a piercing scream, the medi-witch gave a triumphant hum, quickly wrapping the infant in a blanket before handing it off to James. "Push! Just one more, Lady Potter!"
"Argh!" she screamed, and a second baby emerged into the world, wailing. Quickly cleaning her off and wrapping her in a blanket, she handed the child to Lily, who took her delicately. "Rose Lily Potter."
"And Harry James Potter," James smirked, planting a kiss on the infant he cradled. Lily mimicked his actions on her own. The medi-witch nodded in acknowledgement before leaving the room to offer them some privacy.
"They're beautiful," Lily whispered softly, cooing as Rose fell asleep. Harry on the other hand, looked up curiously, his green eyes wide and observant. With a happy gurgle, his tiny finger reached out, grabbing at James' hair, causing the man to duck his head to allow a strand to fall into the infant's tiny palm. Harry let out a happy gurgle tugging.
"Shall I let the others in? I'm sure they're impatient," James asked delicately, as though afraid of provoking her ire. With a bemused smirk, she nodded her acquiescence, causing James to happily bound out of the room.
Outside, Sirius and Remus both immediately stood up, rushing to his side and eyeing the baby Harry with unbridled curiosity. Harry merely stared at the two curiously before gurgling happily, causing smiles to break out on all three.
"Ah, the first in the next generation of marauders!" Sirius exclaimed happily, raising baby Harry in the air and causing him to laugh happily.
"In your dreams, mutt," Marlene chuckled, emerging from behind and hugging Sirius from behind, perching her head on his shoulder. "He's adorable."
She stuck out a finger, allowing Harry to play with it amusedly. The others watched the interaction contently. A woman emerged from the next door over, causing him to frown. "Alice, shouldn't you be in bed?"
"And miss the first moments of my godson? I think not," she scoffed, despite the unease in walking, waddling over and taking Harry into her hands. "He's so well behaved."
Harry gurgled happily as though understanding this, causing a soft chuckle to emerge from the others. Frank smiled affectionately, merely watching his wife play with baby Harry. "He and Neville will grow up like brothers, I'm sure."
"So sure it's a boy?" James teased, causing the man to frown good naturedly.
"Yep. Alice's intuition. It's never been wrong, or so I have to say," he chuckled, accepting the light smack she gave him. "Whether it's a boy or girl, they'll still be loved all the same."
"Hear hear," James agreed, before turning to Sirius. "When are you and Marls having your kid?"
"She's eight months and coming along," Sirius replied happily, while Marlene unconsciously ran a hand over the large bulge in her belly. "Think about it, all the mischief they'll get up to together in Hogwarts!"
Both Alice and Marlele rolled their eyes exasperatedly, while the men merely chuckled in agreement. The floo flashed, and all turned to see Albus Dumbledore appear, with a dim twinkle in his eyes. "James, Sirius, Marlene, Frank, Alice, Remus."
"Headmaster," they all greeted in turn. "What brings you here?"
"Bad omens, I'm afraid. James, Frank, Alice, I need to speak with you three and Lily in private."
"Of course, hand Harry over, James, Marls and I will take care of him." James nodded gratefully, trooping into Lily's room, who looked up with a fond smile before frowning at the sight of Dumbledore.
"What's the meaning of this, headmaster?" she demanded. Albus merely chuckled, not offended at all.
"Straight to the point, I see." He waved his wand in delicate motions, and a feeling of eggshells cracking engulfed all those present as a silencing ward permeated through the room. "I was interviewing Sybil Trelawney for the position of divination professor when a most peculiar thing happened…she gave a true prophecy."
"Are you sure?" Lily asked dubiously, her disdain for divination known to all in the room.
"I'm afraid so," Albus nodded. "Worse yet, a spy for Voldemort was able to hear part of the prophecy."
"And what were its contents?" James demanded firmly. Albus hesitated for a moment before deflating slightly.
"Thrice defied, thrice defied, the herald comes
Thrice denied, thrice denied, the darkness loom
Born as the stars align, born as the sun shines
The final hope, the die is cast
The end of an era, an equinox approaches
Born to the death of July, the herald comes.""That's very vague, headmaster," James proffered, seeing Lily's frown of disbelief. Albus nodded solemnly.
"Indeed, but, if you'll forgive me for saying, there are very few that have survived Voldemort thrice, and I believe the only two with children that are to be born in July are in this room," he answered gravely.
"What will we do? What can we do?" Alice questioned. "Headmaster, surely you have a plan, right?"
"I believe...for now the two of you remain safe," Albus assured, causing the four to sag in relief. "Lily, Alice, I believe that you will have to retire from duties in the order for now. The care of your children is now a priority."
"I won't allow my child to be a weapon to some prophecy," Lily growled. James look taken aback, but she didn't back down, meeting the aged wizard's eyes. "We've given enough for the greater good, I won't sacrifice my family."
"Nor will I," Frank agreed, causing Alice to smile fondly at her husband, clutching his arm in support. Albus merely nodded tiredly.
"I would never ask that of you," he assured, privately disappointed in the slight disbelief he sensed from four of his favourite students. "Regardless, I wish you all the best with your children."
Dipping his head, he left the room, robes billowing to an invisible wind, leaving the four in the room to contemplate silently. Guiltily, each set of parents prayed it was the other's that was chosen by the prophecy.
"Frank," James prompted softly. "If anything happens to Lily and I…"
"Harry and Rose will be raised as if they are our own," Frank promised resolutely.
"Just as Neville will," Lily returned. The four offered each other smiles, before Alice hunched over slightly from a contraction, causing hasty goodbyes to be exchanged as Frank helped Alice out of the room
-Break-
Harry waited in his crib, quietly watching over his sister sleep. Even at scarcely fifteen months old, he displayed a remarkable aptitude for learning. While most infants would still be babbling or gurgling happily, Harry already had the ability to speak in, albeit broken, sentences.
"Is my baby watching over his sister again?" Lily cooed, brushing aside a strand of red hair in her way as she picked up Harry. The boy merely smiled pleasantly, nodding his head, and Lily chuckled fondly, still amazed at how her son was somehow able to understand her at such a young age. "You're such a good brother! Would you like to come down and watch some tele?"
"No, stay with sister," Harry shook his head insistently, causing Lily to chuckle in bemusement once again. She wondered if this is what James saw when she was protective of her infants right out of the hospital. Misunderstanding this as teasing, Harry gave a frown, causing Lily to immediately coo.
"Mummy isn't laughing at you, dear," she assured, rocking him gently as she tried to get him to sleep. "Would you like to go to the library?"
Harry lit up happily, before frowning. "We take Rose."
"Well I…" seeing Harry's unwavering expression, an odd look for an infant, she sighed fondly. "Alright, it couldn't hurt, I suppose."
Scooping up Rose, she carried her two children through the lonely corridors of the manor towards the library, the only sound present being Rose's light snoring. Entering the room, she set him down, turning to get Rose settled.
Harry happily wandered through the library unsupervised at this distraction, his tiny feet moving surprisingly quickly and his movements deliberate and with familiarity as he waddled towards a dusty shelf in the back of the library. He could hear faintly mother's calls for him, though he cared little, instead, crawling carefully up the shelves until he found the tome he wanted, a frail, leather covered journal that could most accurately be described as a collection of parchment loosely held together.
Opening it, he began reading, tuning out his mother's increasingly frantic calls for him.
There are many layers to occlumency and legilimency. At this point, I assume you have completed the basic exercises and have a decent grasp at both. If this is not the case, be warned that attempting these without a strong foundation can cripple the mind.
There are seven established tiers to occlumency. We have established the first two tiers: that of clearing the mind and that of organising the mind. While both are critical, it actually makes any intrusion into the mind easier. The third tier is where we first establish the tenants of defense.
Each mind is unique, and thus the comments I make should only be considered in generality. The third tier is the ability to detect an intrusion into the mind. While this seemingly has little distinction between itself and the second tier, it is an important one. One cannot defend against an attack one is unaware about. Awareness should not be misconstrued as an ability to defend. It is only the difficulty in achieving this from the previous tier that most would consider this separate.
Common convention states that one must be repeatedly attacked by a legilimency to develop an awareness of this skill. I disagree. With sufficient awareness of one's own mind, one can learn to detect abnormalities. The advantage to this approach is its greater success and reduced strain on the mind. Such a skill is passive, and thus takes very little toll on the mind, whereas most occlumencers either practice a constant active defense, tolling their energies, or assume they are ready to raise their defenses when needed.
The fourth and fifth tiers are extensions of this, with various types of defenses. Generally, the fourth tier is considered to be solid defenses, easier to construct but also more vulnerable, while the fifth tier consists of fluid defenses, more abstract but also more potent.
The sixth tier of occlumency is a culmination of all the prior aspects. While individually they may be achievable to most with decent competency, layering them together in an efficient manner takes precision and patience. It is a skill few will master.
The seventh tier, one still speculation at best, is that of mental augmentation. Given occlumency's penchant for increasing control over emotions, some believe, myself included, that the manipulation and even changing of the mind is possible. Increasing recall ability, reflexes...the possibilities are endless. I myself have only scratched the surface, fearful of irreparable altering myself, yet I cannot help but wonder what secrets of the mind remain undiscovered.
It is important to establish that tiers need not necessarily be completed in order. Some gifted individuals may be able to skip training for select tiers individually. There are also skills and abilities which branch over several tiers. Most individuals are content with reaching the third or fourth tier, as anything beyond is not strictly essential to defend against anything but the most advanced legilimency attacks.
Legilimency is equally separated into tiers. The first tier is one most individuals, practitioners or not, subconsciously do, which is perceptive analysis. Reading body language and cues can give much insight. Yet legilimency can enhance this much further.
The second tier involves the sensing of emotions. While thoughts are relatively easy to protect for even a basic occlumencer, projecting emotions is a natural characteristic we exhibit as social creatures. A significant advantage of the second tier of occlumency is its difficulty to detect, even by masters, for it is sensing the projections of another, rather than an intrusion of the mind.
The third tier is where active intrusion on the mind takes place. The third tier involves exclusively latching onto the mind of another. For most, this requires a wand, incantation and direct eye contact. Yet with sufficient will and ability, none of the three are truly essential. I myself have not accomplished all three, thus one should not feel discouraged by the difficulty of such a task. The mind is quite an abstract concept, yet equally it is finite and defined. Most legilimency attacks involve latching onto emotional projections and tracing them back to the source, yet a development on this branch bypasses this entirely, directly attaching onto the mind. The latter is crucial when facing an advanced occlumencer.
The fourth and fifth tier, mirroring occlumency,-
"Harry there you are!" the relieved and exasperated voice of Lily Potter interrupted. Harry looked up to see she had her arms on her hips, foot tapping as she stared down at him, though the upcurl of her lips betrayed her failure to be truly angry at him. "What did I tell you about running off?"
"You suggested it was bad," Harry shrugged. "I never agreed to stop doing it."
Lily gave an eye roll, picking him up despite her protest. Looking at the book, she frowned slightly. "A picture book? Really Harry? You could have just asked me to look for it at the front rather than running off."
"I like this one," Harry protested stubbornly. He had been confused as to why no one else but him seemed able to read it, but had learned to accept it as a quirk of magic.
"If I let you keep the book, will you stop running off?"
"Isn't the library dad's?" Harry questioned innocently. Lily gave a petulant huff.
"What he doesn't know can't hurt. Merlin knows he never comes in here anyways. Well, do we have a deal?"
"In the library, yes," Harry nodded. Lily narrowed her eyes, but seeing her son's stubborn streak rising up sighed, taking his little hand and shaking it bemusedly. "We go back?"
"Yes, your sister has woken up and is demanding to see you," Lily sighed. A part of her was jealous that her own daughter seemed to always want her brother over anyone else, though this was quickly quashed under motherly love. Carrying him back to the main part of the library, Rose gurgled happily at the sight of her brother, waddling uneasily over. Lily set Harry down, allowing the two to hug and communicate in their own language while she watched contentedly.
The empty seat on the sofa caused a pang of sorrow to rise in her heart. James was off on yet another mission for the order. The last time had been home was two weeks ago, and only for a brief dinner before he was off again. If she were less certain of his love for her, Lily might have been inclined to believe he was seeing a mistress.
Sighing once again, she chuckled as Harry levitated his giggling sister in the air.
"Up! Up!" the little girl exclaimed happily, and Harry complied, before dropping her slightly, causing her to squeal. Lily suppressed her motherly instinct to catch her, knowing that Harry was, somehow, in full control. It amazed her the amount of accidental magic, if it could be called that, which Harry displayed. She had tried to get him to show James, and yet Harry never did when his father was around. It had caused James to look at her strangely, and she had stopped bringing it up.
"Sleep with me," Rose demanded after Harry set her on the ground. Lily chuckled slightly as the two had a staring contest in which neither backed down. Eventually, Rose's pout and watery eyes won out, causing Harry to reluctantly follow as she waddled back to their crib, an amused Lily following them behind.
-Break-
Voldemort sneered at the cowardly form of Peter Pettigrew kneeling in front of her.
"Mi'lady, the Potters are hiding in house 31 of Godric Hollow," he assured. Voldemort felt the knowledge wash over in her mind and smiled, a sight that caused many of the death eaters to flinch. Bellatrix merely looked aroused, sighing dreamily, much to her hidden amusement.
"Very good, Peter, you shall be rewarded for this," Voldemort assured with a melodious voice. The sniveling coward bowed deeply, kissing the hem of her robes before retreating to the outer circle. Turning to her Death Eaters, she proclaimed triumphantly, "Tonight, the war shall be won. Tonight, the final light shall be snuffed out. Tonight, we hunt!"
"Hunt! Hunt! Hunt!" the Death Eaters chorused, and Voldemort indulged in this for several moments before raising her hand for quiet. It descended upon the room immediately, all those present enraptured. "I shall deal with the Potters myself, Bellatrix, take your team and dispose of the Longbottoms. They have defied us long enough."
"Yes mi'lady," Bellatrix bowed deeply. Voldemort disapparated straight through the Lestrange manor wards, a display of power that cost her reserves, undoubtedly, but she had enough strength left to deal with the Potters.
Advancing on the quaint little building, she raised her wand, layering several wards to prevent them from escaping easily. She would not be denied her prey. Once satisfied, she silently cast a blasting curse that ripped open the door from its hinges. She sneered at their arrogance; did they not bother to layer on any wards beyond the fidelius?
"Lily, take them and run!" he heard the voice of James Potter exclaim. As she entered the door, she was forced to flick her wand to deflect a blasting curse, which rebounded onto the mantle and obliterated it.
"Stand aside, Potter, I have no desire to waste blood like yours," she instructed lazily, batting away several cutting curses with ease before growing impatient. The killing curse was briefly on her lips, before she thought better of it. What better way to punish a defiant parent than to take away their child? With that, she banished James onto the wall, causing him to slump down unconscious, blood trickling down the back of her head.
Lazily, Voldemort ascended the stairs, reaching out with her senses and feeling the door at the end of the corridor being layered on with a patchwork of wards. Were she not Emily Riddle, she might have been impressed. As it were, she merely raised her wand and fired a blasting curse, quirking an eyebrow when the door only dented, as though a metal sheet had been pounded. With grudging respect, she fired a second blast, which finally broke apart the door, relishing in the surprised scream from Lily Potter.
Stepping through, she immediately had to shield from a torrent of flames pouring out of the Lady Potter's wand. Annoyed by this, she conjured up a ball of water which grew larger and larger, drawing from the moisture in the air, before sending it hurtling towards Lily, forcing her to abandon her fire spell and cast a hasty shield.
It bore most but not all of the impact, leaving her soaked but otherwise largely unhurt. Voldemort sighed, perhaps disapparating through the Lestrange wards had been a mistake. "Stand aside, Lady Potter, I am not here for you."
"Never!"
"Severus was wrong, I suppose," she shrugged, relishing in the confusion them horror on Lady Potter's face.
"No...Sev…"
"Yes," Voldemort hissed, unable to help the slight gloat to her voice. "Severus was the one to deliver the prophecy to me. He wanted you for himself, you see."
"Then he is dead to me," Lily shrugged, regaining her composure with surprising speed. "Take me, not my children, please!"
Unwilling to delay any longer, Voldemort flicked her wand, banishing Lily onto a wall and knocking her unconscious as well. Now turning her attention to the crib, she saw a young infant staring at her with curious green eyes standing protectively in front of his sleeping younger sister. Most would have found this touching, but alas she was not the sentimental type.
"Harry Potter," she whispered, reaching out with a finger and brushing the boy's hair. To her surprise, the boy had neither flinched, nor leaned into her touch, merely observing her curiously.
"Emily," he greeted softly, causing her to nearly drop her wand in shock as she reeled back. Double checking her occlumency, she found his slight intrusion and quickly knocked it out, causing the boy to stumble back slightly before pouting at her. Whether she was more surprised he was speaking for one so young, unafraid of her or able to breach her occlumency most, she could not be certain.
Instead, she stowed her wand, observing the boy with newfound curiosity. "You're not afraid."
The boy nodded, even if both knew it wasn't a question. Voldemort nodded, picking him up and kissing him on the head before setting him down on the crib.
"I am truly sorry," she admitted, genuinely feeling sorrow at having to kill such remarkable potential. She had no doubt, given the chance, young Harry could equal, if not surpass her. How could he not, with such a mental prowess and a determination to live that was almost palpable in the air. "Goodbye, Harry. Avada Kedavra."
She was almost amused when he closed his eyes. Only in a split millisecond before the impact of the curse should have killed the boy, did she realise he was not flinching, but rather concentrating, manifesting his will to survive. Frightened, she tried to raise her wand to finish him off, but before her arm had reached halfway, the curse shattered, rebounding onto her and tearing her body apart.
Voldemort let out a blood curdling scream as she felt bit by bit of her body, so perfectly balanced through rituals, collapse with a cascading effect, until her body disintegrated into ash, no longer able to sustain itself.
Her wraith hovered over her disintegrated body in disbelief, staring at the crib in which Harry had fallen unconscious and her sister was now awake, wailing. A piece of debris from the collapsing roof fell, striking her on the head and knocking her unconscious.
In the corner, Voldemort noticed a rat dragging her wand away and smiled, one which quickly disappeared when she felt two pops of apparition at the edge of the wards. Sparing one last glance at Harry, she floated away into the night, already plotting to regain a body and complete her destiny, delayed but not desisted.
-Break-
"James!"
Sirius ran frantically into the room, slumping in relief when he felt the faint breathing from his best friend. Casting a rennevate on the man, James staggered up, seeing Sirius' face and smiling before exclaiming, "Lily! She's up there with the kids."
"Stay with James, Sirius, I will see to Lily and the children," Albus reassured, ascending the steps and raising a shield to deflect some debris falling down. He frowned at the dark magic palpable in the air, but tarried on, walking down the corridor, through the destroyed door frame, to see Lily in the back wall unconscious.
His attention, however, was on the children in the crib, to which he saw both were soundly sleeping. Observing Harry, he reached out, only to sense a depleted magic core, barely existent, and sighed. Turning to Rose, he reached out with his senses, only to reel back in slight shock before a grim smile emerged on his face.
Brandishing his wand, he waved several delicate patterns over his head, thinking over the results before nodding satisfied. Levitating Lily and the two infants, he descended back down the stairs to the two waiting men, with a smile on his face.
"It seems the prophecy has come true, Lady Voldemort has been vanquished."
"It's over then?" Sirius asked hopefully. Albus shook his head.
"Alas, vanquished, but not destroyed," he lamented, before brightening. "But I present to you, Rose Lily Potter, the girl-who-lived."
-Break-
James cradled Rose protectively in her arms, eyes darting around the room looking for any potential source of attack. Harry entered the room, ducking the curse that a panicked James sent. Frowning at James' glare but walking forward unperturbed, sitting beside his father.
"Can I visit mom?" he asked with cheer. James frowned, shaking his head.
"And create a security vulnerability? I think not? Do you not remember what happened when we almost used the floo last time? It was trapped!" James yelled, startling Rose and causing her to cry. "Daddy wasn't mad at you, go back to sleep baby girl."
He continued cooing, attention no longer on Harry, causing the boy to slump and walk out the room, entering the kitchen. He startled slightly at the sight of Albus appearing out of the floo, before smiling happily. "Uncle Albus!"
"Harry, how are you doing?" the aged wizard asked kindly, a twinkle in his eyes that disappeared at Harry's slight deflating.
"He's still unwell. It's been over a week since he's slept, uncle. He won't take me to see mom, either," Harry lamented. Dumbledore frowned, before smiling.
"Why don't I take you, then? I'm sure James won't mind."
"I doubt he'll even notice," Harry ground out bitterly, causing Albus to frown, kneeling down to look the young boy eye to eye.
"James is...going through a tough time. Without Lily...he's not been himself. And with the attacks on Rose...he's not well."
"What can I do to help, uncle? Dad's getting worse. It can't go on," Harry pleaded desperately. Albus sighed, deeply troubled by the burdens one so young had to face. "Please, you're supposed to have all the answers."
"I'm afraid not, young Harry," Albus chuckled, taking his little hand. "You're remarkably intelligent for a three year old."
Harry merely shrugged, blushing slightly. "The books are my only company. It's not like I can get close to Rose."
Albus frowned, before feeling a tug on his hand, causing him to look down. "You're blaming dad, you shouldn't do that. He's facing a lot, I understand."
Forcing a smile, one he wasn't sure fooled Harry, Albus led him towards the floo, instructing, "No matter what happens, hold on to my hand tightly, ok?"
"Yes uncle Albus," he promised, following the man as he called out for St Mungos.
They appeared in the lobby, where Albus made the obligatory greetings to many of his students as he led Harry through the various wards until they arrived to the one that contained Lily Potter. When he opened the door, Harry let go of his hand, running towards his mother and sitting by her bedside, clutching her unmoving hand in his own tiny one. Dumbledore closed the door, remaining by it as he watched Harry get lost in his own world.
"Hi mom, it's been a while, I wanted to come back sooner, but dad wouldn't let me. He's really unwell, you know, I hope you come back to us soon. We really need you, mum. I need you." Albus's heart clenched as Harry looked up hopefully at Lily's unmoving body before slumping slightly in disappointment.
"Anyways, dad nearly cursed me this morning when I went to say hello, but I managed to dodge it so it's alright," Harry said with forced cheer. Albus could feel his hand twitch involuntarily. "I'm glad he protects Rose so well, there are many bad people attacking us. Dad is on potions, he hasn't slept for over a week. I'm worried for him, mum, but he won't listen to me. Maybe he'll listen to you, but I need you back. Please mum." Harry once again looked up towards the serenely still face of Lily Potter, and Albus wiped away a tear from his eye.
"It's okay, I know you were hurt badly and you need to heal. Your hand is warmer than last time, hopefully that means you're getting better soon. I'll be here waiting for you, just like Rose and dad. Anyways, that's all I have for you." Harry climbed onto the bed, placing a kiss on Lily's forehead before climbing back down, giving her one last look."Bye mom."
Albus quickly composed himself, forcing a serene smile on his face as Harry took his hand once again and walked with him out of the ward.
"Harry," Dumbledore's voice wavered, before finding strength, "perhaps it would be best if you to go with some other relatives for a while."
"But dad needs me! He barely takes his potions anymore!" Harry protested. Albus shook his head, for what reason Harry could not decipher.
"I will ensure James and Rose are taken care of, but I'm far more worried for you, Harry. The environment you're in...it's not healthy. Perhaps it would be best if you lived with your relatives for a while, to allow James to recover."
"Would it help dad?" Harry asked almost pleadingly. Albus nodded sadly, causing the young boy to light up. "Then I'll do it! Where am I going?"
"To your aunt Petunia and your uncle Vernon. They're muggles, so you'll have to restrain your magic around them, but I'm sure they're a loving family who would be happy to take you in."