Life in hiding was difficult to say the least. While it was true the
family was safe in the confines of their house, they were also suffering
from boredom. They were enclosed in the same building day after day, left
to worry about what the day would bring and find ways to amuse themselves.
James missed work like crazy. He wanted to help wage the war, not hide out until its end. He settled for reading about the latest battles and events in the Daily Prophet. Lily was as worried as ever, especially about the prophecy. She spent most of her time reading and trying to forget about the possibility that she could be killed at any moment.
Danny was withdrawn, not talking much to anyone but Harry, who didn't understand what was going on. The only thing that worried him was he couldn't play outside, and he had no idea why his sister was so sad. At James's suggestion Danny took up drawing, but she mostly found herself sketching gloomy scenes featuring storms or other disasters that reflected her own mood.
Weeks passed in the Potter house. Soon it was Danny's thirteenth birthday. However, the happy occasion felt more like a funeral. There were no presents, of course, because Lily and James couldn't leave the house to purchase any. Lily did make a makeshift cake and rummaged up some half-burned candles. They had a small, silent celebration in the living room before everyone retired to bed. Danny spent her first night as a teenager crying silently into her pillow, while her parents tossed and turned in restless slumber.
Harry's birthday also came and went. The rest of the family tried to be cheerful for him without much luck. He was very confused about the gloomy mood in the house. It was his birthday, shouldn't they be happy for him?
As the summer began to fade, so did the feeling of hope in the house. The war was still going as strong as ever. The number of casualties was in the thousands, increasing by the day. Everyday Lily and James scanned the papers Dumbledore sent them, hoping that they wouldn't find the obituaries of their friends. One Wednesday in late August James was stricken to find the name of one of his school friends, Anthony Bones. He brushed it off, saying he would be fine and he had known this was coming for a long time anyway. Yet that night when Danny crept down to the kitchen for a glass of water, she caught a glimpse of her father crying in Lily's arms. She had quietly eased her way upstairs before either had noticed her presence, but the scene had shocked her. Never before had she seen James cry. She hadn't even thought it possible. James was always so happy and goofy. The war's toll on him was beginning to show.
Danny was still training as hard as ever, wanting to prepare for what the future might hold. She was ready to do whatever she needed to protect her family. And they were most certifiably her family now. James and Lily were now "Daddy" and "Mom" to her. After much talking it was decided she would call James "Daddy", since she had called her biological father "Dad".
August faded and September began. Danny spent hours sitting at her bedroom window like she had everyday when she had been imprisoned. She would watch the leaves fall and the birds fly begin to fly south. She thought a lot about the future and what the prophecy meant for her.
She was to kill someone. An evil someone, but still a person. Although she hated Voldemort, wanted him dead, wanted him to suffer, she didn't want to be the one to do it. The days when she had been imprisoned in this same room she had spent hours envisioning how Voldemort would be defeated, wondering how the wizarding world would celebrate. But she had always dreamed of someone else bringing about that celebration, not her.
Danny also thought a lot about her biological father and the abrupt end of his life. She also had her suspicions that Voldemort had played a role in her father's death. The details she had been given of the crash were very sketchy at best, and he had been a very good pilot. It seemed very unlikely that his plane would crash without a trace.
It was mid-October before any huge news came from the outside world. Voldemort had led an attack on the Ministry. Half the building was now in shambles, over 500 had died, including several very important public officials. That night Lily and James stayed up well past midnight talking in quiet voices near the fire.
"We can't hide forever," Lily whispered. "This isn't a life, not really. None of us are happy. He's going to find us sooner or later."
"Sirius would never tell!" James said fiercely.
"Will you keep your voice down, you'll wake the children," Lily whispered anxiously, glancing toward the staircase.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, that's not what I meant. Of course he would never tell willingly. But what if you-know-who got ahold of him and tortured him? What then? People have been know to break under torture. Remember Agatha Dogston? Sold out her entire family, mother, father, everyone. I just don't know James. Something big is going to happen soon. I can feel it," she shivered.
"Come off it, Lily. You worry too much. Something big just happened at the Ministry. Voldemort surely wouldn't lead such a big public attack so soon after that."
"I wasn't talking about that kind of an attack. I was talking about something big happening to us. I have this uneasy feeling, like something's wrong."
"Everything's wrong Lily! We're hiding out waiting for a war to end, or to be killed, whichever happens to come first. Of course you feel like something is wrong."
"No James, it's different this time. It's almost like I can sense it. And you're wrong. The war won't end while we're in hiding. It can't. Remember the prophecy? Danny is the only one that can stop it. It's written in the stars. I don't know when or how, but our daughter is the only one that can save us."
James lowered his gaze, staring into the crackling flames before them.
"You're right, Lils. Our fate is in her hands. Our lives depend on a little girl who is barely a teenager," he said softly.
"It's late. We shouldn't be talking about such things at night. Lets go to bed and talk about it tomorrow," Lily said.
They slowly stood up and made their way upstairs to their bedroom. Neither of them noticed as their daughter watched from the shadows of her doorframe, where she had just fled to as they came up the stairs. She had heard the whole thing. Her mom wasn't the only one who had a strange feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Danny, too, had this strange feeling, almost like a premonition that something was about occur. Something horrible.
"Just listen to yourself," she thought. "Of course you're nervous. You're being hunted by a crazed killer. Anyone would feel funny."
She glanced once more in the direction of her parent's closed bedroom door before returning to bed to spend another restless night tossing and turning. And still the feeling remained. . .
Author's Note: Okay, next chapter is Halloween. Some things are going to happen like they happened in cannon, and obviously some things aren't. And that's all I'm saying about that. REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! Pretty please????
James missed work like crazy. He wanted to help wage the war, not hide out until its end. He settled for reading about the latest battles and events in the Daily Prophet. Lily was as worried as ever, especially about the prophecy. She spent most of her time reading and trying to forget about the possibility that she could be killed at any moment.
Danny was withdrawn, not talking much to anyone but Harry, who didn't understand what was going on. The only thing that worried him was he couldn't play outside, and he had no idea why his sister was so sad. At James's suggestion Danny took up drawing, but she mostly found herself sketching gloomy scenes featuring storms or other disasters that reflected her own mood.
Weeks passed in the Potter house. Soon it was Danny's thirteenth birthday. However, the happy occasion felt more like a funeral. There were no presents, of course, because Lily and James couldn't leave the house to purchase any. Lily did make a makeshift cake and rummaged up some half-burned candles. They had a small, silent celebration in the living room before everyone retired to bed. Danny spent her first night as a teenager crying silently into her pillow, while her parents tossed and turned in restless slumber.
Harry's birthday also came and went. The rest of the family tried to be cheerful for him without much luck. He was very confused about the gloomy mood in the house. It was his birthday, shouldn't they be happy for him?
As the summer began to fade, so did the feeling of hope in the house. The war was still going as strong as ever. The number of casualties was in the thousands, increasing by the day. Everyday Lily and James scanned the papers Dumbledore sent them, hoping that they wouldn't find the obituaries of their friends. One Wednesday in late August James was stricken to find the name of one of his school friends, Anthony Bones. He brushed it off, saying he would be fine and he had known this was coming for a long time anyway. Yet that night when Danny crept down to the kitchen for a glass of water, she caught a glimpse of her father crying in Lily's arms. She had quietly eased her way upstairs before either had noticed her presence, but the scene had shocked her. Never before had she seen James cry. She hadn't even thought it possible. James was always so happy and goofy. The war's toll on him was beginning to show.
Danny was still training as hard as ever, wanting to prepare for what the future might hold. She was ready to do whatever she needed to protect her family. And they were most certifiably her family now. James and Lily were now "Daddy" and "Mom" to her. After much talking it was decided she would call James "Daddy", since she had called her biological father "Dad".
August faded and September began. Danny spent hours sitting at her bedroom window like she had everyday when she had been imprisoned. She would watch the leaves fall and the birds fly begin to fly south. She thought a lot about the future and what the prophecy meant for her.
She was to kill someone. An evil someone, but still a person. Although she hated Voldemort, wanted him dead, wanted him to suffer, she didn't want to be the one to do it. The days when she had been imprisoned in this same room she had spent hours envisioning how Voldemort would be defeated, wondering how the wizarding world would celebrate. But she had always dreamed of someone else bringing about that celebration, not her.
Danny also thought a lot about her biological father and the abrupt end of his life. She also had her suspicions that Voldemort had played a role in her father's death. The details she had been given of the crash were very sketchy at best, and he had been a very good pilot. It seemed very unlikely that his plane would crash without a trace.
It was mid-October before any huge news came from the outside world. Voldemort had led an attack on the Ministry. Half the building was now in shambles, over 500 had died, including several very important public officials. That night Lily and James stayed up well past midnight talking in quiet voices near the fire.
"We can't hide forever," Lily whispered. "This isn't a life, not really. None of us are happy. He's going to find us sooner or later."
"Sirius would never tell!" James said fiercely.
"Will you keep your voice down, you'll wake the children," Lily whispered anxiously, glancing toward the staircase.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, that's not what I meant. Of course he would never tell willingly. But what if you-know-who got ahold of him and tortured him? What then? People have been know to break under torture. Remember Agatha Dogston? Sold out her entire family, mother, father, everyone. I just don't know James. Something big is going to happen soon. I can feel it," she shivered.
"Come off it, Lily. You worry too much. Something big just happened at the Ministry. Voldemort surely wouldn't lead such a big public attack so soon after that."
"I wasn't talking about that kind of an attack. I was talking about something big happening to us. I have this uneasy feeling, like something's wrong."
"Everything's wrong Lily! We're hiding out waiting for a war to end, or to be killed, whichever happens to come first. Of course you feel like something is wrong."
"No James, it's different this time. It's almost like I can sense it. And you're wrong. The war won't end while we're in hiding. It can't. Remember the prophecy? Danny is the only one that can stop it. It's written in the stars. I don't know when or how, but our daughter is the only one that can save us."
James lowered his gaze, staring into the crackling flames before them.
"You're right, Lils. Our fate is in her hands. Our lives depend on a little girl who is barely a teenager," he said softly.
"It's late. We shouldn't be talking about such things at night. Lets go to bed and talk about it tomorrow," Lily said.
They slowly stood up and made their way upstairs to their bedroom. Neither of them noticed as their daughter watched from the shadows of her doorframe, where she had just fled to as they came up the stairs. She had heard the whole thing. Her mom wasn't the only one who had a strange feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Danny, too, had this strange feeling, almost like a premonition that something was about occur. Something horrible.
"Just listen to yourself," she thought. "Of course you're nervous. You're being hunted by a crazed killer. Anyone would feel funny."
She glanced once more in the direction of her parent's closed bedroom door before returning to bed to spend another restless night tossing and turning. And still the feeling remained. . .
Author's Note: Okay, next chapter is Halloween. Some things are going to happen like they happened in cannon, and obviously some things aren't. And that's all I'm saying about that. REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! Pretty please????