The Legacy of Two Generations

by LadyoftheLake

Lily and James started dating in their last year at Hogwarts, but that is only the beginning. Now, what will happen to their notorious son? Rated PG13 for some language. Harry's 6th year has begun & new adventures. PreHBP. Please r&r :ON HOLD! For the

43. Part III Chapter 8

A/N: Well, this it's almost over for James and Lily. This chapter was a little hard for me to write because I want to keep my story true to the Harry Potter books, but as we don't know much about Lily and James it has been really great having to come up with characters, places and events that might have taken place. I just hope what I wrote won't prove false once the OotP comes out. We'll just have to wait and see.

Disclaimer: HP characters, places and special words are not mine, I gain nothing by writing this story except the opportunity to let my imagination flow.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 8 ~ Into Hiding

September had arrived and the fall along with it.

The days were getting colder and the dried leaves fluttered to the ground with the swish of the breeze. In Hogwarts, classes had started, and in the city families were returning from long vacations on the beach or abroad. A time for new beginnings was near but the Magical World didn't seem to think so.

The summer had been one of fear and darkness. Many families had been hurt and some had ceased to exist. The Ministry was full of people trying to find help, but the Ministry didn't seem able to find the help they needed. The hand of Lord Voldemort seemed to be getting tighter and tighter around the throat of the community.

James didn't like what he saw, he felt helpless and weak against the danger. Dumbledore and his team worked constantly to help but sometimes even that didn't seem to be enough. Sirius and Remus were out at all hours of the day and night, working for Dumbledore. James envied his friends. He wanted to be there with them, but he knew that he also wanted to protect his family. Harry deserved to grow up without the terror of Voldemort, he thought.

He missed the simpler times of his youth, when the name of Voldemort was unknown and when the only thing he had to think about was what candy and broomstick to buy when his mother took him to Diagon Alley every year. There were so many things he wished he could've done then, and so many others that he regretted.

But if he had to do everything again, he would probably do the same.

On this windy September night, James stood by the bookroom windows. The house was dark and the household had settled for the night. Lily had retired early with Harry, who had been fussy after dinner and Lily had decided to take him to his bed. The candles floating around the room behind him lit the chamber. He didn't know what he was waiting for, but somehow he felt that something would happen, and soon.

James wasn't the only one to feel wary about things. People around the Magical World seemed to be waiting for something to happen, things just couldn't continue to be same for long.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A gentle breeze blew through Rowe Square, the sound of cars and pedestrians clashed with the songs of the birds and the laughter of children playing in the park. It was an ordinary day in London, a day like any other, to everybody except perhaps the inhabitants of the Potter House.

"What do you mean they attacked? They couldn't have, there is no way they could've known!" James was yelling as he closeted himself in the library with his three closest friends.

"I know James, but they knew!" Sirius said.

"Only us and Dumbledore knew where he was, how could they have attacked him if we were the only ones to know." James exclaimed.

"It seemed that our knowledge is not safe." Remus said.

"That is saying that one of us is a traitor." James glared.

Peter grimaced and it was obvious from the expression on Sirius and Remus' faces that they didn't like the idea either.

"What did Dumbledore say?" James asked.

"He was saddened, his contacts didn't report to him that an attack was planned, it would've been intercepted otherwise." Peter whispered.

"What is to be done next?" James sighed. The news that one member of their group had been killed by the Death Eaters didn't sit well with him.

"There is nothing to be done for now, all we can do is wait and see." Remus said.

"I don't like that, I don't like it one bit. There should be something that we can do. Anything at all." James exclaimed.

"There is nothing that can be done with no knowledge of what Voldemort will do next." Sirius said.

"What about Dumbledore's spies?" James urged.

"James, we don't know who they are, and even if we knew, if we contacted them and pushed them further we would only put them in danger. Voldemort would find out who they are in no time." Remus said.

James ran his fingers through his hair. His black locks seemed untidier than usual, it was very clear that he was really agitated.

"Will you tell Lily?" Peter suddenly asked.

James sighed. Lily. This bit of news would only scare her. The member that had just been killed was the only member of Emma's family that had remained in contact with Emma since she had left and the only bits of news that Lily could get of her friend came from him.

"I don't know." James said. "She will find out when she reads the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning."

"It would be easier coming from you." Remus said.

"How are you doing?" James asked his friend. Remus was the only other person besides Lily who received news of Emma from her relative. Now that tie that had kept her in their lives was gone.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad that Emma is not here." Remus smiled sadly.

James nodded. He turned to look out the window. The park was full of playing children. The lanes were filled with promenading couples and children running around the bushes and play areas.

The others kept silent, they knew that James was more angry of the circumstances than of what had happened. He felt the same every time an attack was reported in the newspapers. Even the muggles had started to notice a significant rise of deaths in the last year. There was no explication that accounted for it, but it certainly made for interesting news.

The door of the bookroom opened. The men turned to look at that door, there was nobody there. At least, that's what they thought until they heard a gurgle in the floor and they saw Harry crawl into the room.

"How did he get in?" Peter asked.

"The door must have been ajar." Remus said.

"Most likely, the knob is too high for him." Said Sirius.

James frowned and walked around the desk and walked to his son. Harry sat on the floor and watched his father coming toward him. He clapped his chubby hands and laughed. "Up!" He squealed.

The others laughed, while James smiled and reached down for his son.

After Harry was settled comfortably in his father's arms, James walked back and sat behind the desk and sat Harry on his lap.

Harry instantly reached for the quill and parchment on the desktop.

"No Harry, that's daddy's." Said James pushing the items away from him.

Harry looked at his father and tried to reach for them again with a grunt.

"Harry!" Said James.

Harry looked at his father again. His eyes started to tear up.

"Oh lord." Said James.

Sirius laughed, while Remus and Peter chuckled.

"He is just like his father, using his charm to get what he wants." Said Remus.

"I never did that." Exclaimed James.

"Of course you did, both you and Sirius. Why do you think you two had so many girlfriends at Hogwarts?" Said Peter.

"Could it be because we are cute?" Said Sirius.

The others laughed.

Harry obviously didn't like that the attention was no longer on him and started to whimper as he tried to reach for the quills once more.

"No Harry, let's find you something else." Said James.

Harry continued fussing in his lap.

"Where are his toys?" Asked Sirius as they all started to look around the bookroom for something to entertain Harry with.

All seemed to be glad to have something to do other than speak about the latest news of Death Eater activity.

"In his room." Said James. "I never remember to keep something here for him."

"You should, specially if he is going to start crawling into every room." Said Remus.

They searched but nothing seemed to be appropriate for Harry.

Harry started getting bored, just sitting in his father's lap and started to twist and turn.

"Down!" He whimpered.

His father and friends turned to look at him.

"Oh fine, you say 'down' now but won't say 'dad'!" Exclaimed James.

Harry just looked at his father with his chubby finger in his mouth. His eyes were wide and trusting.

James sighed. "Oh, all right." He said and put Harry on the floor.

Harry promptly started to crawl toward the door. He hadn't reached it yet when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh thank God!" Exclaimed Lily at the sight of her son.

"He came wandering in here." Said Remus as he sat on one of the armchairs near the cold fireplace.

Sirius crossed his arms and leaned against the wall watching as Lily picked Harry from the floor.

"I put him down for only a moment and when I reached down for him, he was gone." Said Lily. She seemed really upset and worried.

"I should've thought of letting you know Lily, I'm sorry." Said James. He was attuned to Lily's moods and he clearly sensed that she was unhappy.

Lily just nodded but didn't say anything. She hugged Harry tight, until Harry whimpered with discomfort, her eyes were tearing up and she was fighting hard not to let the tears fall.

None of the men noticed this of course, they all assumed that she had been worried and that she probably pulled the house apart looking for Harry.

But Lily wasn't upset just because of that. Some minutes ago, she had come looking for James, Roberts had informed her that Remus and Peter had come to visit and as she couldn't find Sirius anywhere, she thought that they were probably together in the bookroom. She had opened the door a little, when she heard the discussion going on inside. The news of a new attack saddened her, but the identity of the victim shocked her. She didn't hear anything more. She had put Harry down by the door and flew to the parlor room to recover. She had known that Harry would be safe in the corridor, he would go straight into the bookroom, following his father's voice.

Harry was oblivious to the currents in the room, he was busily playing with his mother's locket, which hung heavily from her neck.

James went around the desk and approached his wife. He took Harry and passed him to Peter, who was nearby, and put his arms around her. Lily leaned against his chest and silently, her tears started to fall. James stroked her hair, letting her cry in silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Similar news were heard around the Magical World. The Death Eaters had picked up their activities. The Ministry had clearly lost control of the situation, and Mr. Crouch, Head of the Magical Enforcement Department, was working overtime trying to make progress.

Lily stayed in the house all day, she had stopped going shopping on her own, or taking Harry to the park, she was scared. She knew that Voldemort had a perfectly good excuse to come after them, only the fact that they lived so near the Ministry was keeping them safe. She feared every time James left the house. He went to the Ministry constantly to find out what was being done.

The Ministry departments seemed to be submerged into chaos. Everybody was working furiously trying to keep control of what was going on, but everybody was ordered to do the same thing while other chores were left undone and brought more confusion. The Minister himself was not helping. He had been so shaken by what was happening he had clearly lost his wits, he wasn't the man that James remembered any more. When James was growing up and his father worked as advisor to the Minister, the Minister was a robust man, easy going and witty, he was always on top of everything and that is what had made the Ministry a strong government. That was not the case anymore. The Minister's office was chaos itself. People were running to and fro doing things that had already been done or that didn't need to be done. The Minister had lost weight and he seemed sickly, there was no laughter coming from him anymore and he sat slumped in his chair, lost in his own thoughts.

James felt sorry for the older man, and at the same time, he was glad that his father was not alive to see his old friend in this way.

When the door opened, the Minister looked up to see who else had come into his office. The room was full of people talking and pacing with maps and newspapers in their hands, discussing the latest reports. When he saw James come into the room, he sighed with relief.

"Well young man, what do you think your father would say now?" He asked gruffly.

James noticed the empty glass on the desk and the half-full decanter by it. The Minister had clearly been drinking, and it angered James that the many people in the room didn't seem to care what was happening to the person who was elected to lead the Magical Community. When the Minister took the decanter to fill his glass once more, James noticed that his hands were shaking, the glass decanter was in danger of falling from the Minister's grasp. James walked to the desk quickly and took the decanter and the glass from the Minister and put it on top of a file cabinet nearby.

The Minister slumped in his chair and covered his face with his hands. James saw his shoulders shake but no sound came from him. After a few moments, the Minister sat up and uncovered his face. His eyes were dry and bloodshot and his hands still shook.

"What is going on Minister?" Asked James.

"One of my aides was attacked last night." The Minister said somewhat sadly.

James sighed, he had heard rumors of it as he crossed the corridors of the building, he had been hoping that it was not true.

"Where is Dumbleodore?" James asked next. The old Headmaster of Hogwarts had a way to make one feel safe.

"He is on his way. There were some things to be taken care of at the school." Mumbled the Minister.

The others in the room had stopped to listen, hoping that the young man, the son of one of the most loved advisors of the Ministry, would be able to help their present leader.

James looked at the silent bunch. "You, go get some coffee in here." He ordered a young man who looked young enough to still be in Hogwarts. "You there, go to the mess hall and bring some foods stuff." He ordered to another.

One by one, each person in the room, had something to do and the office fell silent once more. The Minister seemed more calm and his senses back in place.

By the time Professor Dumbledore arrived to the Minister's office, pots of hot coffee cooled on a table, platters of food were placed on one side, people were coming and going with orders for the Heads of each Department and the Minister was trying to explain to James what the latest plans were and what had been learned from the latest intelligence.

"You made it Albus!" Exclaimed the Minister the moment he saw his old friend standing by the door.

"I did. Good day James, helping I see." The Professor smiled.

"Yes, Professor. How are things at Hogwarts?" James asked.

"As good as they could be. Many students in need of counseling at the moment." He replied sadly.

"Who is taking care of that?" Asked the Minister somewhat concerned. He hadn't thought of the children who had lost their families while they were safe at Hogwarts.

"At the moment, Professor McGonagall is." Professor Dumbledore said.

James had been drinking some coffee, at the mention of Professor McGonagall as counselor to students, he choked.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "I know, she doesn't seem the type."

"You can say that again." Said James.

The Minister shook his head. "That won't do Albus, these children need a professional."

Dumbledore nodded. "They do, but I haven't been able to find one."

"There are a few in the Magical world, muggles have them of course, but we need a wizard or a witch with the training." Said James.

"Or a wizard or witch with a kind heart." Said Dumbledore.

The Minister nodded. "But who could do it?"

"We'll have to find somebody." James said.

The two older men looked at him with a questioning glance.

"What?" Asked James. "You are not thinking of me as a school counselor, I can't do it, not enough patience." He said shaking his head.

"Oh, we know that, the Potter men were never known because of their patience, although their temper is another matter." Said the Minister.

"Good." Exclaimed James.

"But your wife, does have the training." The Minister replied.

"Who? Lily? You want Lily to be a counselor?" James seemed aghast at the thought.

"She has the training James. She took the course when she was with us for her training as a Hogwarts teacher." Said Dumbledore.

"But Professor, you know how things are right now. You yourself said that as long as we were all together, the safer we would be." James said.

"That is true." Nodded Dumbledore. "But it wouldn't be for long."

"And Hogwarts is one of the safest places in our world." The Minister said. "Voldemort would never attack it."

"I don't know." Said James.

"Just talk to her and see what she says." Said the Minister.

"All right, but don't get your hopes up. She would never agree to leave Harry behind." James warned.

"That is no problem, she can take him along."

"Minister, I wouldn't like her to take him along." Glared James but the older men just chuckled.

The hours passed, and people came and went from the office. A meeting with all the Heads of each department took place. During all of this, James sat in the office listening, nobody thought much of it, they all thought he had as much right to be there as they all did, if not more.

By the time James returned with Sirius and Remus (who had spent the day helping in the Department of experimental Charms and in the Department of Magical Enforcement) night was falling and the windows of every home were shining bright in the falling darkness.

Roberts opened the door to them and led them to the family parlor where they could hear Lily laughing.

When the door of the parlor opened, they saw Lily on the floor, with Harry walking slowly toward her. One of his quidditch balls clasped tightly in his hands.

Lily looked toward the door as it opened. She smiled at the sight of the three young men.

"How was your day?" She asked.

"As good as could be expected." Said James.

"Oh?" Lily looked curious about his response.

"I'll tell you later, now, I'm hungry." James replied. Harry had stopped and watched his father and friends as they sat sprawled into nearby couches.

"We all are." Sighed Sirius.

Lily nodded to Roberts, he in turn nodded to one of the footmen, who promptly disappeared from the room.

Harry looked from his mother to his father and making a decision started to walk toward James.

"Hello Harry!" Said James as he picked his son and sat him on his lap.

Harry smiled up to his father and offered his ball to him.

James laughed. "Thank you, I guess."

Harry leaned against his chest and put his thumb into his mouth. Lily and James smiled.

"He is a bit tired. He had a busy day." Lily said. She started to sit up and reach for Harry, but James shook his head.

"Leave him." He said as he started to stroke his son's back.

Harry slowly closed his eyes. Minutes later, he was fast asleep and Minnie had appeared to take him to bed.

Dinner was served and the three young men eat heartily as Lily looked at them with amusement. She could never understand, how after so many years, the three young men didn't seem to change. They were all grown up now, both James and Sirius married, Remus almost married, if it hadn't been for Voldemort and his attack on the Ministry that is, and Peter, well, Peter seemed to be the same as well, taking care of his mother living in a faraway location.

She couldn't believe that so much had happened since they first met in Hogwarts Express on their first year. Lily smiled at the memory.

**~**~**~**~**

It had been an unusual warm day. Lily had gone through the barrier with the help of an older boy, who had noticed the bewildered little girl looking from her ticket to the signs over platforms 9 and 10.

"Do you need help?" He had asked.

"Please. I don't know how to get to platform 9 ¾." Lily had said. She wasn't scared that this boy would look at her as if she had lost her wits, as the guard had done when she asked about the platform some time ago, because she noticed that his cart carried a tawny gray owl asleep in a cage above his trunk. Her parents had gone to look for a map or something to help them.

"Oh, it's really easy." He had said. "All you need to do is walk up to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10."

Lily looked at the spot with bewilderment. Walk to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10? Wouldn't she crash into it?

The boy seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry about crashing into it. Everybody with magical blood will be able to cross it. Are you muggle born?" He suddenly asked.

"Muggle born? Oh, you mean if my parents are not magical? Yes, I am." Lily said proudly and stood up straight. She had met some wizard born children in Diagon Alley that had made fun of her because of her parents and she wasn't about to let this boy do so.

"Nothing to take a pet about, I just wondered because you don't know how to get on. Nothing wrong with being muggle born." The boy said.

Lily smiled at him. Finally, somebody with some sense. She didn't say anything because at that moment her parents walked up to her.

"I'm sorry dear, there doesn't seem anybody who can tell us how to get to the train." Rose Evans had said.

"It's all right mum, he knows how and has told me." Lily replied.

Edward and Rose Evans turned to look at the young man standing nearby with a cart full of luggage, including a sleeping owl.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Thank you for helping." Mr. Evans said shaking the young man's hand.

"No problem, it is my pleasure." The boy said.

"We are the Evans of course, and our daughter Lily." Mrs. Evans smiled down at the young man.

"Weasley, Arthur Weasley." He said. "We should be crossing the barrier if we don't want to miss the train."

"Oh, of course. Take care dear, write to us and tell us all about it." Mrs. Evans kissed her daughter's cheek as Mr. Evans waited his turn to say good bye.

"And Princess, if there is any problem let us know, we will come for you instantly." Mr. Evans instructed.

"Yes daddy. Good bye." She waved to her parents and followed Arthur Weasley to the barrier.

"All you need to do is walk toward it, but if you are scared just run, and don't stop until you see the train." He instructed.

Lily nodded and did as he said. She pushed her cart toward the barrier, she closed her eyes and picked up her pace. She ran and ran; finally, she opened her eyes and stopped in her tracks. In front of her stood a large, scarlet engine. Children stood in groups waiting to say goodbye to their parents, who stood patiently, giving advice and directions to their offspring. Lily looked away quickly, she wished her parents could be there with her and didn't want to feel sad that they couldn't.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Somebody asked from behind.

Lily turned to look back. A young boy, the same age as her, stood behind her looking impatiently at her.

"You have to move, you know. The train won't take you anywhere if you stand there." He said.

Lily was ready with a retort but a woman stood behind the boy before she could say anything.

"James, really! I wonder about you sometimes. I think Sirius is being a bad influence on you." She said. "Now apologize."

"Sorry." Whispered James.

"I didn't hear it James, and I'm sure that this young lady didn't either." Said a stately man as he stood by James.

"I'm sorry." Said James once more, loudly.

"That's all right." Said Lily.

Arthur Weasley came to her. "There you are, I thought I had lost you. Better look for a compartment. Oh, hello there Mr. Potter." He exclaimed as he noticed at the trio standing in front of Lily.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley's son right?" Said Mr. Potter.

"Yes, Sir." Said Arthur.

"Your father was bragging about you the other day. Last year at Hogwarts isn't it?" Mr. Potter smiled down at the shy young man.

"Yes, Sir." Arthur said once more looking down at his shoes.

"Go along now, take this young lady to her friends." Said Mr. Potter, he seemed to notice that he was making the young man uncomfortable.

Arthur nodded and pulled Lily with him at a fast pace.

"Who are they?" Lily had asked.

"The Potters, a very important family in our world." Said Arthur. "Mr. Potter works for the Minister of Magic himself, he is one of his most important advisors. There is nothing that the Minister will not do without speaking with Mr. Potter first. He is also a school governor, and his wife, Mrs. Potter, is one of the most famous hostesses of Magical society. Invitations to her parties are much sought after. The boy was James Potter, only son and heir to the Gryffindor Estate, there is a sister, Elizabeth, she is in her sixth year now. I suppose she must be in the train with her friends."

Lily digested all this with curiosity. She had never imagined that like muggle world, the magical world would also be divided into social classes, although it didn't surprised her that it did.

Arthur had stopped in front of the train. "You better look for a compartment, they are going to fill up soon."

"Thank you for helping me." She said.

"No problem." Said Arthur before walking away to a group of older boys calling his name.

Lily looked around her. She was very excited. This was the first time she had left home and gone on a trip without her parents. She pulled her trunk and the basket with her pet cat and started to look for an empty compartment.

She had reached the end of the train without finding a suitable compartment. Finally, she decided to see if someone didn't mind sharing. She opened one of the doors and found a small girl inside. She was blond, blue eyed and obviously bored as she sat throwing a ball against the opposite seat.

"Hello. Do you mind sharing this compartment?" Lily asked rather shyly.

"Oh, no, I would enjoy it." The girl said. "I'm Katherine, but everyone calls me Katie."

"I'm Lily."

"Well, Lily, what do you say we put your trunk away?"

Lily smiled and the two girls pushed and heaved until they had the trunk and the basket with the sleeping cat in place.

They started talking and it wasn't long when another girl joined them. Katie had introduced her as Emma and Lily was glad that she had made friends so fast.

As the ride progressed, they heard noises coming from the compartment across from them.

"What do you think it's going on in there?" Lily asked to the others.

"Boys." Said Katie.

"How can you be sure that they are boys?" Asked Emma.

"Who else would make such a racket?" Exclaimed Katie.

Lily and Emma couldn't say a thing as an explosion was heard and the door of their compartment snapped open. Smoke started to flow into the compartment.

The girls started to cough.

"Open the windows." Somebody yelled and Lily sensed somebody throwing the two windows of their compartment open.

The smoke started to dissipate and Lily could see around her once more.

Katie and Emma sat on their seat coughing and four boys were trying to clean some green slime from the floors and walls.

"I told you that you had thrown more than what you should've." One of them said.

"You said four sticks, I threw in four sticks." Another said.

"You put eight, Sirius."

"What were you trying to do, kill us?"

"Will you tell us what you were doing?" Katie asked, stopping the quarrel that was clearly starting between the boys.

The boys looked at the girls for the first time.

"Sorry about that." Said one of the boys whom Lily quickly recognized as James Potter.

"We were trying to brew a potion." A sandy haired boy said.

"It didn't work." A portly blond haired boy replied.

"That is obvious Peter." A dark hair boy replied. If Lily hadn't known about the Potter family, she would've thought that James and this boy were brothers.

The girls glared at the boys.

"I'm James." He smiled.

"Remus."

"Sirius."

"Peter."

Lily took pity on the boys as her new friends didn't seem to want to forgive them just yet. "Lily." She said and pointed to the others. "Katie and Emma."

"Nice to make your acquaintance." James said.

The seven looked at each other, and started to laugh. They were all covered in green slime and all looked funny with it running down their hair.

**~**~**~**~**

Lily hadn't noticed that her mind had wandered down memory lane and that she was chuckling while James, Sirius and Remus looked at her with surprise.

"Lily, dear, are you all right?" Asked James.

Lily looked up at him. "Hmm?"

"You are laughing." He said.

"I am?" Lily seemed surprised.

"Yes, what is so funny?" Asked Sirius.

"Oh, I was just remembering the first time I met you." Lily laughed.

James started to chuckle. "You looked so funny with all that slime running down your neck."

"What about you James? Your glasses were dirty with the stuff for days." Laughed Sirius.

"You should talk, you had slime all over your clothes, including your school robes. Professor McGonagall wasn't impressed." Said Remus.

The four started to laugh, the memory of that far away day lightened the mood and made them forget all about Voldemort and the darkness that seemed to be falling over the magical world. But it didn't stop them from remembering what had happened to their friends in the years following that meeting as they lay on their beds late that night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James couldn't sleep. He could hear Lily breathing lightly beside him and he could also hear the snores from Minnie, coming from Harry's room. How Harry could sleep through that was a mystery to James. Mind, he thought, I slept through it when I was Harry's age.

The soft moonlight permeated the room, it was mid September now and things didn't seem to be getting better. He was angry at what was happening in his world. There had been a lot of talk about war and attacks, and he didn't like the idea that innocent people would be hurt by what was being planned.

"We need to take action!" One of the Ministry members had said. "We cannot just seat here and wait for them to cripple us."

"But we cannot just attack. That would make things worse; besides, we don't even know where to attack." Somebody else had replied.

"Well, what about those agents that had been deployed to go undercover?" Some one else had asked.

"Nothing came of it. There was nothing they could do. The Death Eaters seemed a close-mouthed lot and sent our agents on their way, and those that could get through were found dead some days later." Mr. Crouch reported with some anger.

"How did the Death Eaters know they were spies?" Somebody asked aghast.

"We don't know. But it seems that we didn't take enough precautions." Said Dumbledore sadly.

"We have spies on our own." Whispered James.

"It is a possibility." The Minister said.

Argument broke out among those present. James shook his head at the memory of it. How could things get so bad in so little time?

He looked at Lily as she slept peacefully beside him. He remembered that Dumbledore wanted her to go to Hogwarts and counsel the students there. He hadn't mentioned it to her yet, and he was dreading her response. He knew that Lily would want to go, how could she not? But, he was also sure, she would like to take Harry with her.

He knew that it would be for the best, they would be in the best protected place in the world and nothing would happen to them as long as they stayed there, but for how long would they be gone? James didn't like the idea of being separated from his small family, in fact, his only remaining family. He felt they were safer as long as they were together, but his instinct was telling him to let them go.

He sighed. It made no sense getting troubled by something that hadn't been decided yet.

He turned on his side. He couldn't sleep. He heard Harry fuss and promptly left the bed. He didn't want Lily to wake, she needed the rest, he thought.

Harry was sitting up on his crib, Minnie was nowhere in the room.

Harry smiled at the sight of his father. "Up!" He said.

James smiled. "You are getting a bit spoiled, Harry. I don't want you to turn out like that cousin of yours." He said.

Harry looked at his father, who stood by the crib with his arms crossed and looking down at him.

"Da - da!" Harry squealed.

James laughed. "Such underhanded tactics!" He exclaimed as he leaned down to take Harry.

Harry laughed up at his father.

James walked to the window, a rocking chair stood beside it.

They were silent for a moment. Harry had reposed his head against his father's chest, the beating of his heart lulling Harry to sleep.

"I'll protect you Harry. Nothing will happen to you." Whispered James kissing his son's head as Harry was falling asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The light was bright when Lily woke up the next morning. She turned to look beside her and saw that James wasn't in bed with her.

She could hear Minnie in Harry's room and the sound of Harry's laughter; he always seemed to laugh when Minnie was around.

Lily groaned and fell back onto the pillows. It wasn't that she felt tired or lazy, but it seemed to her that her days had become routine.

Wake up, eat, play with Harry, consult with Mrs. Nichols about house chores, eat, wait for James to return from the Ministry, play with Harry, eat, and sleep. She needed something to do!

She was thinking about it when the door opened and James entered the room.

"Good morning, love." He said, giving her a quick kiss.

"Morning." Smiled Lily. "What are you doing today?" She asked even though she knew that he was going to go to the Ministry again.

"Ministry." James said simply. "But I wanted to discuss something with you first."

Lily sat up on the bed. This sounded serious.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"No, nothing like that. It is just something that Dumbledore and the Minister wanted me to ask you." James quickly said.

"What is it?" Lily was curious. What could the Minister and Dumbledore have for her to do?

"Well, you see, there are many students at Hogwarts that need a counselor, with all the attacks lately, many of them have been affected. So far, Professor McGonagall has been doing it." Lily giggled at this. "Yes, not her style is it?" Smiled James. Lily shook her head. "Anyway, Dumbledore and the Minister thought that you might want to do it. Dumbledore said that you had the training when you were at Hogwarts as teacher assistant before you came to us."

"Indeed, I did." Exclaimed Lily. "Oh James, I would love to do it."

"I thought you would." Smiled James somewhat sadly.

"Aren't you happy for me?" Frowned Lily in consternation. She couldn't understand why James would be sad about such an opportunity, and they would all be safe in Hogwarts.

"I'm just going to miss you." James whispered.

"Miss me? But, surely you are coming along. Harry would love it there." Lily said.

"I know he will, and you will take him along with you, of course, but I can't go. I have much to do here in the Ministry." James said.

"Oh James!" Exclaimed Lily.

"It won't be for long." James said even though he wasn't sure how long they would be separated. "You'll be back soon. I dare say that you will be back by the end of the month."

"Do you think so?"

"I do." James smiled.

Lily seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Very well, but you will owl me everyday, won't you?"

"Of course I will, and you will tell me all the latest gossip from Hogwarts." James laughed.

"When do they want me to go?" Lily asked.

"We didn't discuss it. If you want, I can invite Dumbledore and the Minister for dinner so they can discuss it with you." James offered.

"Certainly, I'll talk to Mrs. Nichols and prepare a menu, let me know if they accept." Lily left the bed in a hurry and ran to the dressing room.

James smiled as he heard her order Lotty to prepare a bath and to bring fresh towels. He was still smiling as he left the house and started crossing the park toward the Ministry. Sirius and Remus had left earlier, but James didn't mind walking on his own.

The leaves were turning brown and the breeze was cool. He smiled at the sounds of children playing and couldn't wait until all this trouble ended so he could bring Harry out and play. But above all, he wanted to go back to the Manor and see winter arrive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry was silently playing in the floor under the watchful presence of his mother, who sat in an armchair close by.

Night was falling and the setting sun turned the sky crimson as it said goodnight for the day.

Roberts stood by the door, waiting for any orders from the lady of the house; out in the corridor, an army of footmen was lined up. The household servants and elves were very excited this evening. Even though the Potter family was considered one of the most important families in the Magical World, they didn't entertained as often as their ancestors did, when the Ministers and Kings were constant visitors and parties took place twice a month. But tonight, it was different, the Minister of Magic would cross the threshold of the Potter house, an event that had not taken place since the death of Aliaster Potter, some seven years past.

Lily had received a note from James earlier in the day, with the news that Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic had accepted his invitation for dinner. The note had been brought to the house by a Ministry official in uniform, something that had been noticed by many a passerby crossing the park.

Lily knew that many members of their local society had noticed it as well, and many had invented excuses to call on the Potter House that afternoon. Lily was circumspect and dealt with their curiosity well enough. Many of the afternoon visitors left the house in disappointment.

Everything was quiet now, and the servants were ready to receive the Minister.

Lily had dressed for the occasion, it had been a while since she had been in the presence of the Minister and the fact that James was in speaking term with him didn't mean that the Minister should not be received with the protocol that his position required. Even Harry was dressed for the occasion, something that he clearly didn't like as he fussed with his clothing as he played in the floor.

The formal parlor room at the front of the house was lit with long tapers, and the candlelight let an atmosphere of warmth and cheerfulness to the room. Lily sat on one of the armchairs in front of the windows that faced the Park. Other armchairs were set on the opposite side of the window while a long sofa was set against an adjacent wall. Small tables stood throughout the room, a colorful, flower arrangement stood on each and small figurines were set among the mantel and tables. A large table was set at the far corner of the room, where it stood almost invisible in the shadows. On top of this table stood a variety of drinks and fruits for the refreshment of the visitors.

Lily sat peacefully watching her son play. She smiled and looked around her, the house certainly looked pleasant, not that it didn't look so every day, but it was nice to entertain for a change. Since their return from the Manor some months past, their life had been quiet and quite boring in her point of view. The only outing she could remember was their trip to Diagon Alley to buy Harry's birthday presents, and not until today had she had any visitors to entertain. She had reveled in the sight of many visitors that afternoon. Many of the Magical Upper Society had kept themselves from the Potters, in the mistaken idea that the family preferred solitude after the attack on Gryffindor Manor. At the beginning, James and Lily would have agreed with them, but as the time passed they had started to feel that their solitude was not as good as they had previously thought. James had started to go to the Ministry and use his talents aiding the Minister himself. Lily on the other hand, was left with nothing to do but play with Harry and stay indoors the whole day. She didn't feel safe leaving the confinement of the house.

She was lost in thought when, suddenly, the sound of a car nearby broke through her thoughts. She looked out the window and saw a Ministry car stopping in front of the house. The servants took their places and Roberts walked quickly toward the front door, ready to greet their visitors.

Lily turned back to the room and with a swish of her wand Harry's toys disappeared from sight and everything looked tidy.

Harry looked at his mother with surprise and hurt in his eyes as she reached down for him.

"I'm sorry Harry, you will get your toys back later, now we have visitors." Lily said in a soothing voice.

The parlor door opened and Roberts appeared.

"Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Trent, the Minister of Magic."

Lily stood and greeted her visitors with a smile as James, Remus and Sirius walked in.

"Very nice to see you, my dear. Your young man here, tells us that you will help us in this little matter." Mr. Trent said after all greetings were over.

"Indeed Sir, it will be my pleasure." Lily replied.

Harry was quietly looking at the visitors from his mother's arms. One of them he knew, but the other one was somebody new and he looked with curiosity at the portly older man.

He leaned his head against his mother's neck and put one of his chubby fingers in his mouth as he looked intently at the visitors.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Curious are you Harry?"

Harry smiled at Professor Dumbledore.

"Say hi to professor Dumbledore Harry." Lily said.

"Dowe!" Shouted Harry.

The others laughed.

"Well, he got part of it right." Chuckled Sirius.

"Siwis, Siwis, Siwis." Harry squealed happily.

"Not Siwis, Harry, Sirius. Say, Si-ri-us." Sirius said.

"Siwis." Harry clapped.

"You have to be careful what you say around him, you know that, right?" Said Remus as everybody took seats around the parlor.

"Papa!" Harry yelled and strained his little arms toward his father.

Lily promptly passed Harry to James.

"At least he says papa now." Said James with a smile. "It seems that after his initial silence he just decided to talk as much as he wants." He laughed.

The Minister looked at the small family with a smile. He could remember the time when he first entered the Potter House more than twenty-five years ago. He had come as a secretary to the Minister of the time to talk with the young Aliaster Potter about working for the Minister's staff. The scene that was engraved in his mind was that of Aliaster with a five-year- old Elizabeth playing in the floor with her mother, Susan, and a toddling James in his arms. The scene was so alike to the one before him now that he could swear he had gone back in time, except for the fact that this time there was no five-year-old girl hanging around the young Mrs. Potter.

It was during this moments, that old Mr. Trent missed his old friend, Aliaster Potter. The young couple before him had stood great grief on the last year, and he was saddened to think of the danger that they were in.

Mr. Trent sighed. There was no need to think of such things, he thought, it would do no good at all.

"Any refreshments Minister? We have, wine, cider and pumpkin juice of course." Offered James as he followed both, Sirius and Remus, to the refreshment table.

"There is no need, dear boy." The Minister said. Even though James was the same age as Aliaster had been when he had first met the Potters, the Minister still thought of James as the same boy that accompanied his father to the Ministry and caused many headaches to the secretaries and agents assigned to keep an eye on him.

"Professor? Anything to drink?" James turned to Dumbledore while he gave a small piece of bread with jam to Harry, who promptly put it in his mouth while leaving sticky residue all over James' robes (not that he had noticed).

"Just some cider, thank you James."

James nodded and motioned to a footman standing nearby to serve Professor Dumbledore some cider.

"Dinner should be ready in a few minutes." Lily said as a way of warning Remus and Sirius who seemed to get ready to fill plates with everything that had been served in the refreshment table.

"Oh, no need to worry Lils, I can eat dinner too." Said Sirius with a sly grin.

"How are things in the Ministry, Mr. Trent?" Asked Lily as they all settled comfortably.

"Bad, my dear lady, very bad. You cannot imagine how this Voldermort person is bringing chaos into our departments." The Minister shook his head with sadness. "Nothing we do seem to do any difference and our agents are not being as successful as we had hoped."

"But surely, there is a way to stop him." Lily exclaimed.

"We hope so." Murmured the Minister.

"There might be, but it will take time to find it." Professor Dumbledore said. "He seems to have been able to surround himself with powerful magic that had made it impossible for us to find him and his followers."

"What kind of magic is that? I didn't think it was possible." Lily replied.

"Dark Magic allows you to do the impossible, Lily." Said Remus.

"Unfortunately, that is the reason why so many are willing to delve into it." The Minister said. "Dark Magic gives you powers that are usually dormant in wizards, and it is this power that makes many want it."

"What is the Ministry to do now?" Lily asked.

"There are many programs that have been in service since the beginning of Voldemort's emergence. Their purpose is to find a way to combat these dangers." Dumbledore reported.

"Have they come with anything?" Asked Sirius with curiosity. They all new of course of such programs, it was her work in one of them that had put Emma in danger from Voldemort and his followers.

"Unfortunately not, it seems that our programs have had a string of bad luck and have not been able to progress much." The Minister said.

"Either that, or sabotage." Said James.

"It is a possibility." Said Dumbledore.

There was silence in the room (except for the noises Harry made as he ate his bread), everybody was lost in thought. The idea of having spies within the halls of the Ministry was something that they were not too happy about.

Roberts came in at that moment. "Dinner is served, Ma'am."

Everybody stood and quickly walked toward the dinning room. They were happy that they didn't have to think about spies and Voldemort, even if it was for an hour or so.

Dinner was cheerful. No mention of Voldemort and his Death Eaters intruded on their meal. Harry had been taken by Minnie to the kitchen for his dinner, where the elves were only too happy to get him to eat anything. There was laughter and good will as they talked and shared stories among each other.

Roberts stood behind the Minister, ready to serve him anything he wished. Footmen stood around the table ready to serve any of the dishes that had been prepared for the occasion by a happy Otty.

Food and wine flowed around the table until it was time for dessert to be served.

After everybody was finished, they all walked back to the parlor.

"Well my dear, I think it's time to say what we came to say." Said the Minister with a satisfied countenance.

"What we really want, my dear, is for you to come to Hogwarts and be a counselor for our students. There have been so many that have been affected by recent events and we have not had anybody with the training to help them." Dumbledore said.

"We thought, that as you had the training when you were at Hogwarts, you would be perfect to take over the job." The Minister finished.

"Well, yes. James and I discussed it, and we agreed that it would be a perfect time for me to go." Lily said. Dumbledore and Mr. Trent nodded their understanding. "I would be taking Harry along with me, of course." Lily quickly added.

"Without a doubt." Smiled Dumbledore.

"When do you want her to go?" Asked James. He seemed calmed and resigned about the upcoming separation, but inside, he was dreading it. There were many things that could happen in a matter of weeks.

"As soon as possible. Our students have been without proper help for far too long." Dumbledore explained.

James nodded. Lily was looking at him thoughtfully. She knew that he wasn't happy about their decision but it was the best thing they could do to help with the present events, and it was something that she was looking forward to.

"Hogwarts Express will await for you at the Station and you can have a Ministry car to take you there if you wish." The Minister offered.

"Thank you Minister, but I think I will take one of ours." Lily responded.

"Well, if this is settled, we better go." Said Dumbledore. "Owl me when you are ready to go and I will send hogwarts Express for you." Both he and the Minister stood, ready to end their visit.

"Very well Professor. I'll see you soon." Lily said as she started to say goodbye to both men. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Trent, it was a pleasure."

"The pleasure was all mine, my dear." Mr. Trent smiled. "I'll see you later, my dear boy. You have been of great help." He shook hands with James and turned to Remus and Sirius, who had stayed in the background during the discussion. "You too, of course, we appreciate all the help we can get at the moment."

"Good bye Minister, Professor Dumbledore." Sirius and Remus said.

The two men left the house. The Ministry car was waiting for them at the front of the house and Roberts stood by the front door ready to lead the men out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lily was ready to leave by the next morning. Trunks were piled in the front entrance, along with some boxes full of toys for Harry's entertaining. Minnie also stood by the boxes, she would be going along to take care of Harry while Lily worked. One of the Potters' cars stood waiting to be piled with the luggage and Lily and James stood with Harry by the windows in the parlor waiting to leave.

"I'm going to miss you. Both of you." Said James putting his arm around his wife and son.

"I will miss you too." Lily said. "Remember you promised to owl me everyday."

"And I will. Remember to tell me about everything that Harry does while you away. I know it will be just for a little while, but I still want to know if he does something new." Urged James.

"Of course. Oh James, we have never been separated for quite some time." Lily exclaimed. "Are you sure that you can't come with us?"

"It is difficult for me to leave at the moment. With everything that is happening at the Ministry right now, there is no time for me to go. But I'll visit you as often as I can." James said.

"Be sure to do so." Warned Lily.

James chuckled. "Don't worry, I will." He kissed her brow and kissed Harry's cheek, who was calmly sleeping in his mother's arms.

"The car is ready, Sir." Roberts said from the parlor door.

"Thank you Roberts. Shall we go, my dear?" James turned to Lily.

Lily nodded, and they promptly left the room.

Sirius and Remus waited for them by the car, they would be going along with Lily and James to the station.

The drive to King Cross Station was not long. Lily couldn't help but remember the times when she was taken to the Station by her parents every September 1st, and the presence of James, Sirius and Remus just made those memories more clear.

The Station was not busy and it was quite easy for the small group to cross the barrier with no problem. The scarlet engine stood before them, with only one carriage attached to it.

James and Sirius took the luggage inside while Remus helped Lily with all the boxes that had been marked with 'Toys for Harry'. Minnie was already inside. She had hidden in one of the trunks so not to scare any muggles while they were in the Station.

There were only six compartments in the carriage, three on each side of a narrow aisle. Lily would have need of only one compartment.

After everything was settled and the whistle of the train sounded through the platform, James, Sirius and Remus left the train. Lily rolled down the window with Harry in her lap.

"Remember to write." Lily yelled to James.

"I will." James yelled back. "Be careful."

Lily nodded and the train started to move. Lily waved goodbye and held Harry up until the platform was left behind and the three figures could not be seen anymore.

The trip was uneventful. The rhythmic sound of the moving train lulled Lily into relaxation. Harry had fallen asleep and a tray of tea and biscuits had been brought for her refreshment.

So different from the trips she remembered. Every year, the trip to Hogwarts was filled with laughter and merriment. It had to be, with the Marauders on board pulling every trick in the book.

The only trip she remembered that was different from the rest was the one when she was injured and left Hogwarts to return to London with her parents. She had been away for a few months, but to her, it had felt like an eternity. Her return trip had been full of expectation and dread.

Lily looked at Harry, as he slept in her lap. He looks so much like James, she thought; except for his eyes, he has my eyes. She smiled at the thought. She could imagine what the future could hold for them. She was looking forward to starting his early education at three. She knew that James would say that it was too soon and that Harry just needed to be a kid, but she wanted Harry to have every advantage. Home school seemed like the best thing. He could study his lessons in the mornings and join his father for trips around the estate in the afternoon. As heir to the Gryffindor Estate, Harry needed to know what to do.

She was looking forward to the coming holidays. Halloween was six weeks away and then it would be time for Christmas. The Harvest Festival would've been taking place in a couple of weeks if they had been in the Manor. She didn't know if the tenants would decide to go ahead with the celebrations even if the masters of the Manor House were not in attendance. She hoped they did, it was a tradition that had taken place for centuries in their small town and it didn't seem fair to cancel it. Death was part of life, and there was nothing that could be done against it.

Hogwarts Express passed through silent villages. The rhythmic sound of the train lulled Lily into a sense of well-being and sleepiness. Harry slept calmly in her lap, she didn't want to relinquish his familiar weight, even though a small place was made on the opposite bench for his commodity and Minnie was traveling along with the driver waiting to be called upon if needed.

Soon, darkness started to fall and Lily knew from experience that they were getting near Hogwarts. She looked eagerly out the window to get a good look at the town of Hogsmeade. It had been quite a while since she had seen it from Hogwarts Express.

The town was alight, every person in every house and business in the area seemed to be up and about. She could see people coming and going from the Three Broomsticks, people were still walking up and down the main street in the middle of town and she could see people sitting, chatting on the porch of their homes looking around themselves and gossiping about the latest news. Lily smiled. She certainly had missed this sight.

The train pulled up in Hogsmeade Station. A horseless carriage waited at the entrance. People around the station peeked from their windows to get a good look at the person Dumbledore seemed to be expecting. Not many recognized the young-looking woman stepping out of the train, with a sleeping child in arms. She was obviously someone of status as a personal elf followed closely behind carrying some of the luggage. The conductor himself was helping to load the luggage into the carriage as the lady waited patiently inside. Everybody was curious, who could this be and why was Dumbledore expecting her?

Lily, of course, didn't have any idea of the curiosity her arrival created in town. She was happy to be back in Hogwarts, with everything going on in the world, this was the one place where she could feel safe.

The cottages passed by as the horseless carriage drove toward Hogwarts Castle. Night had fallen and the stars were shining brightly against the darkened sky. Lily looked out the window. Everything seemed calm and dream-like, it was easy to imagine that there was no trouble to their safety and that times were as calm as they had been in past times.

The castle finally loomed in front of her as huge gates opened to let the carriage into school grounds. Lily sat back and smiled. She was back in Hogwarts.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James sat behind his desk in the Potter House in London. The night was clear and warm. His two friends were drowsing off in some of the couches nearby. The room was lit by long candles set in the big chandelier hanging above him and by some torches set against the wall. James sighed. It had been many hours since Lily and Harry had left for Hogwarts, and he missed them. He had missed seeing Lily's smiling face at the end of the table across from him during lunch and dinner, and he missed playing with Harry at his return from the Ministry.

He sighed once more.

"Will you stop doing that? You are getting on my nerves." Said Sirius sitting up and turning to look at his friend. "If you miss them so much, why don't you go to Hogwarts as well?"

James glared at Sirius. "You know I can't do that. There are so many things that have to be dealt with. Specially now, with all the latest reports that have started to come in."

"Stop moaning then, they will be back soon enough." Sirius said.

James just glared at his friend as Sirius returned to his previous position. Remus was looking at him in silence.

"Troubles in the Ministry?" He eventually asked.

James sighed, he knew his friend was trying to keep his mind of Lily and Harry, and he was grateful for that.

"You could say that." Said James. "We have found that a pack of reports were stolen from the Minister's office."

"How the devil did they do that?" Sirius exclaimed bolting up from the couch.

"That's the trouble, according to security, nobody without clearance has gone into the Minister's office in the last weeks." James replied.

"So there's a spy in the Minister's inner circle." Remus said.

"But who?" Wondered James.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It is great to see you, my dear!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed as Lily stepped down from the carriage. Dumbledore stood smiling at her side.

"Indeed it is. Minerva can't wait to give up counseling." He chuckled.

Lily laughed and hugged each of her former teachers, trying not to disturb Harry sleeping in her arms.

"Oh, is he sleep?" Professor McGonagall whispered as she moved aside the blanket to get a look at Harry.

"Yes. He slept through most of the trip." Lily whispered back as all three looked down at the slumbering child.

"He has grown so!" Exclaimed Professor McGonagall. "I remember him being much smaller than this."

"He has grown quite a bit in the last few months." Smiled Lily.

Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore led her through the darkened corridors up to the staff room.

"You have missed dinner, but we have prepared the staff room for you until your room is readied." Professor McGonagall said.

"That is kind of you. Thank you."

"There is no need my dear, we know that the food in the train leaves something to be desired." Dumbledore replied.

Lily chuckled, it was true that the train refreshments were lacking in nourishment. "I didn't mind it, I enjoyed being in the train once more."

Dumbledore opened the door to the staff room and allowed the ladies to enter before him. The room was lacking in furniture. At one corner of the room stood a large wardrobe, where, she knew, the teachers left their spare robes. Tables were scattered around the room, each with four chairs around them; it was here were the teachers worked in their papers and graded the students' work. But something was different this time. A large table was set in the middle of the room. Large platters of various foods stood in the middle and large candles floated above. Pitchers of water and pumpkin juice were seen among the plates and a large flower arrangement stood in the middle among all the platters.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Lily as she looked around. "There was no need for this."

"Never mind my dear, we were only too happy to do it and the elves were thrilled to be asked." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled down at her.

"Thank you." Lily said. "But you know I won't be able to eat this much, I think you have me confused with James or Sirius." She laughed.

"Well, to be frank, we thought that James and the others would be coming with you to see you settled." Said Professor McGonagall with a sheepish expression.

Lily shook her head. "James was called to the Ministry early and the others didn't want to leave him alone."

"Well no matter, the other professors will be here soon and join us." Said Dumbledore as he eased a chair back for Lily to sit.

"I thought you said dinner was past." Lily asked.

"It has, but we decided to partake dinner with you." Professor McGonagall said. "Only a few stayed in the Great Hall to see that the students go to bed in time."

"I see." Lily said, happy that her former professors held her in such esteem that they would wait for dinner just to spend time with her.

Harry started to fuss in her lap.

"It's all right Harry." She whispered as she peeled back the blankets to allow Harry to sit up.

"Yum!" Harry tried to grab some of the food in front of him.

Lily laughed, while Dumbledore chuckled and Professor McGonagall smiled indulgently. "No Harry, we have to wait for a bit." Lily said.

Harry looked around the strange room with wide eyes. He frowned when he didn't recognize anything, specially the stern woman sitting beside his mother. "Papa?" He turned to look at his mother.

"I'm sorry, darling, Papa is not here with us." Lily said, trying to take the blankets from around his small body.

Harry pouted and turned to look around once more, this time he saw somebody he recognized. "Dowe!" He squealed.

Dumbledore laughed. "Great memory, Harry, it will serve you well when your time comes to return to Hogwarts."

The door opened once more and people started to arrive.

"Welcome back, my dear!"

"You were missed!"

"Will you look at him, he looks just like a Potter!"

The teachers exclaimed as they started to pile into the room.

The room started to fill, Harry looked curiously at everybody as they talked to his mother, some of this strangers smiled at him and some even pinched his cheeks, something that he clearly didn't like much and made it known to everybody.

Eventually, everybody settled around the table, it had looked small in the center of the room but it was enough for everybody.

Chatter and laughter filled the air. Lily smiled, somehow, she felt as she had returned home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James didn't sleep that night. He missed having Lily there with him, he even missed the sound of Harry fussing in his crib. Everything was so quiet and dark that it seemed eerie to him. The night was dark and the stars shinned brightly above. James sighed. He felt that something was wrong.

He thought back on the day. It had been quite a shock to him and the Minister when a folder of documents were found missing. They hadn't told anything to the rest, they wanted to see if they had been misplaced first. When they hadn't been found by late afternoon, James started to make quiet inquiries to the security agents in the floor. It was quite baffling, and scary, to think that somebody they had complete trust in, had betrayed them.

James felt a surge of anger invade his body. Those documents could mean the difference between life and death and to have them stolen from right under their noses, had made it very personal.

Life could be so complicated, James thought and wished they could be a charm that took them all back to a time when it was much simpler, a time turner couldn't be used for that, it was a complicated type of magic that nobody was qualified to do.

James turned and moved around the bed without falling asleep. Horrible images passed through his mind, the thought of what could happen next worried him. Perhaps, he thought, it had been a bad idea to let Lily and Harry go to Hogwarts after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The days were turning cold and the leaves were turning golden in the trees. Lily had been in Hogwarts for a week now and she was loving every minute. She woke up very early in the morning to spend some extra time with Harry. By mid morning, she was found in the small office near the Transfiguration room that had been prepared for her. There she spent hours talking to students, trying to help them deal with the sorrow and anger that they felt at the loss in their young lives. It made Lily sad to see all the young faces looking at her with hope in their eyes. In some ways she didn't feel qualified to help them, but there was a bond that had united them all, and that was the many people that Voldemort and his followers had killed.

On this cool afternoon of the last week of September, Lily walked down the corridors toward Dumbledore's office. She had just finished with the last of her morning appointments and lunch was not far off, she wanted to talk with the Headmaster before then.

She stopped in front of the statue that led to Dumbledore's office. "Butterbeer." She said and the door promptly opened. She walked up the stairs and knocked on a door. "Come in." She heard Dumbledore's voice. She pushed open the door and smiled at the sight that met her eyes.

Dumbledore was behind his desk, papers and books open upon his desk. On his lap, was Harry, who was quietly playing with one of Dumbledore's sneakoscope while the older man read his papers.

Lily coughed a couple of times to attract their attention.

"Mama!" Squealed Harry and threw up his arms reaching for her, almost dropping the sneakoscope as he did so.

Dumbledore passed an ecstatic Harry to Lily as he put his things in order. "Done for the morning?" He said as he watched the young lady before him trying to keep her infant son in control.

"Yes. I hope he wasn't a bother for you Professor." She said as she sat on one of the chairs placed before the desk.

"No bother, my dear, I rather enjoyed it. It hasn't been long since I held an infant in my arms." He said.

Lily looked at him with surprise, she had never thought that Professor Dumbledore would have many young children to deal with, after all, he stayed in Hogwarts for most part of the year. But then again, nobody knew what he did during the summer.

"Anything on your mind?" Dumbledore said rather suddenly.

Lily blinked in confusion for a couple of times before she remembered that she did in fact had something on her mind.

"Yes Professor, you see, I'm rather worried about James. He writes everyday, but I have a feeling that something is bothering him." Lily said in a rush.

Dumbledore nodded his understanding. "I know things have been rather bad in the last days, and the Ministry have had their hands rather full trying to put things in order."

"That's just it Professor!" Lily exclaimed, Dumbledore seemed rather taken aback by this. "I know that there are things happening out there, but James will not tell me what, and the only things I have been able to gather is from conversations I have overheard. It's rather worrisome."

"I understand my dear, being in Hogwarts has cut off us from everything our there." Sighed Dumbledore. "But I cannot say that I'm not glad about it. Our students need to feel safe, and I'm glad that we can do so here."

"Oh Professor, I'm not saying that it's a bad thing. I'm glad as well for the same reason as you, but I can't help but feel helpless when I don't know how things are going." Lily said.

"I know, my dear. And I'm sure your young man feels the same way." Dumbledore said. "Do you want to return?"

Lily sighed and stayed silent for a moment. "Do you think I should?" She finally asked.

"That is up to you, my dear. Only you can make that decision." Dumbledore looked at her behind his half-moon shaped glasses.

Lily thought about it for a moment before answering. "I'll wait one more week, if things don't get better, perhaps I should return to London."

Dumbledore nodded his agreement.

Harry started to fuss in Lily's lap. "He must be hungry." She said. "I'll take him to Minnie before I get ready for lunch." She said and started to walk out the door. "Thank you Professor." She said before she stepped out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James felt very tired as he threw himself into a couch in his bookroom. He had spent the whole day trying to help the Minister to put things in order, but nothing came of it.

After the report had been made that rather sensitive documents had disappeared from the Minister's office, the Ministry fell into chaos, and the fact that proof was found that they had fallen in Voldemort's hands brought terror to the hearts of many.

Thank God the press doesn't know of this, James thought as he stretched himself upon the couch.

The house was rather quiet, Sirius had decided to return to his own house after spending many months in the Potter household, he thought it was safer for them all if he did. Remus had similar thoughts and had left as well, of course, the fact that it was a full moon could have something to do with it as well. Peter had come to visit, and had seemed surprised to learn that Lily had been in Hogwarts for a week. He didn't stay long.

The house was too quiet, James thought, things should be livelier, only a month to go until Halloween. He had always liked Halloween, but he had loved it in Hogwarts. He smiled at the many happy memories he had of that day, and he was really looking forward to celebrate it with Harry. Last year he had been too young to be attracted by everything that happened, but this year it was different. His son was very curious and he would love decorating the house on that day.

He lay on the couch feeling more relaxed than when he had returned. Things had to get better, he thought, there was no way that worst was yet to come.

He was woken abruptly some time later. Somebody was knocking on the front door, and by the sound of it, it was very important. He heard Roberts walking quickly to answer, mumbling about rowdy people who bothered others when they should be at home resting after work. James smiled, he could not remember when he had seen Roberts so perturbed.

There were loud voices in the entrance, one of them clearly upset.

James waited, he heard Roberts telling their visitor to wait and walk toward the bookroom.

The door opened and James looked toward Roberts. James was surprised to see Roberts frown, like any good butler, he had always made sure to serve without showing emotion, no, it was better said that Roberts tried to serve without showing emotion, he failed whenever he was glad or happy about something.

"There is a person looking for you Sir." Roberts announced.

"Indeed?" James was curious, what had his late visitor done to make Roberts look so disapproving? "Show him in, will you Roberts. Oh, and bring refreshments, perhaps my visitor would like something."

Roberts sniffed with disapproval but didn't make his thoughts known, it was no business of his whom his master wished to speak with, he thought. Roberts walked back to the entrance and told the man who had been pacing the floor to following him.

The two men walked rapidly to the bookroom, the stranger looking around with awe, it was very clear that he had never seen such luxury before. They finally stopped in front of a large wooden door. Roberts knocked and they heard a reply. "Come in." Roberts opened the door and motioned the man to go in.

The man was wearing a set of shabby robes that had once been sharp and clean. He seemed to be a Ministry agent, even if his clothing left something to be desired, he was wearing a shiny Ministry badge on the collar of his robes.

"Please come in. Would you like something to drink?" James said from his seat behind the desk.

"No thank you Sir. What I have to say is of the outmost importance." The Ministry agent said.

"Roberts, please leave us." James nodded to his butler. Roberts bowed and the door closed after he left the room. "You were saying."

"Sir, something has come to our attention and the Minister wants to see you as soon as possible, but it seems that your wife is in trouble." The Ministry agent said in a rush.

"What?" James exclaimed jumping up from his seat. "How can that be? She is at Hogwarts, for goodness sakes, that is the most safest place in England."

"I'm sorry Sir, I don't know." The agent said.

"Oh very well. Tell the Minister I'm on my way." James said with exasperation.

The agent left in a hurry, feeling very relieved that he had gotten through the interview, it was not news that he had been happy to deliver.

James cursed the moment he had been left alone. What was happening now?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lily was feeling very tired. She had spent hours trying to soothe a young first year after news had arrived that her parents had been killed in a recent attack.

Lily sighed with fatigue and sadness. She heard Harry giggle in the room adjacent to hers followed by Minnie's squeaky voice. She smiled. Harry was the bright light in her life now and she was happy to have it so. She walked to the room that the house elves had prepared for her son. It was very cheery, with walls painted in bright colors (a rather unusual choice, she had thought, as rooms in the castle were never painted before). Toys had been cluttered at the corners and a very large crib had been brought in.

At the moment, Harry was on the changing table and Minnie had obviously finished with his bath.

"He is ready, Mistress Lily." Minnie said when she caught sight of Lily.

"I see that, thank you Minnie." Minnie bowed and with a blink she was gone.

Lily walked to the table and took Harry in her arms. "Mama!" He said and giggled. Lily laughed along with him. "Ready for bed, are you." She said and walked to the rocking chair at one corner of the room. She sat and started to rock the chair while waiting for Harry to fall asleep.

Harry slowly got drowsy and started to yawn. Several times he rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. Lily hummed and Harry slowly started to close his eyes. He tried one last time to hold them open and looked up at his mother. "Papa?" He said.

"He'll be with us soon. You'll see." Lily whispered and continued with her humming and rocking.

Eventually, Harry fell asleep.

Lily stood up and walked to the crib. Carefully, she placed Harry on the mattress and covered his small body.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James had run across the park to arrive quickly at the Minister of Magic's office. The room seemed in total chaos. Members of his cabinet were shouting and pacing around the room. It took a while for James to get through to the Minister.

"What happened?" James asked.

"Another attack. A town of muggles was completely destroyed. The agents who had arrived at the scene first were also killed. Kosescher was also killed." The Minister said.

"Good God, but what was Kosescher doing there? There was no need for him to go, as Head of the Unspeakables and member of your cabinet, he didn't have to be there." James exclaimed.

The Minister nodded sadly. "We know that, but we had received reports that the spy who stole our papers was there."

"He wanted to catch him." James said. It was clearly a statement, not a question.

"That fool got himself killed, and what good did that do?" Somebody yelled.

James turned to look at the speaker. The others had kept silent and looked at Mr. Crouch with anger.

"At least he did something. What good were you when reports started to arrive of the planned attack? If you had dispatched your men earlier, people would've been saved." Another man said.

"We weren't sure, they were only hearsay not proof." Mr. Crouch tried to defend his actions.

"Anything that has to do with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters should be treated as fact." Another cried.

"Bah! We are bound to catch the whole lot of them without going on a wild- goose-chase every time we hear that they are planning something." Mr. Crouch said.

"Hundreds of people died tonight, and it is as much your fault as it is the Death Eaters." Somebody screamed.

"Are you calling me a Death Eater, I'll have you know that more Death Eaters have been apprehended in the last months by my special squad than on previous years." Mr. Crouch looked on the verge of having an apoplexy.

"Much good that does, when more Death Eaters spring anew every time. You have not been able to make these Death Eaters talk have you? Not even by those performances you call a trial."

"How dare you question my actions? I'll catch everyone of those monsters, you'll see." Screamed Mr. Crouch and thundered out of the room.

James had kept silent during the argument, he didn't have a good opinion of Mr. Crouch, but it didn't seem right that the others antagonized him so much moments ago.

There were grunts and mumbles throughout the room.

James turned back to the Ministry, he had sat behind his desk lost in his own thoughts, and paying no attention to what had been going on in the room.

"Sir, your messenger said that Lily was in trouble." James said. He didn't care what errors Mr. Crouch had committed, he only cared to know what was happening with Lily and Harry.

The Ministry told the rest to leave them alone. Minutes passed until the room was silent once more and the door had been closed behind the last cabinet member.

"Kosescher was alive when reinforcements arrived. It was too late by then. He was taken to St. Mungos straight away. I was called to his side, saw him for a minute only, and he said only one thing. He said that Voldemort knew that Lily and Harry were at Hogwarts and they were planning an ambush." The Ministry said.

James was horrified. "But how did they found out where she was? We took care that nobody knew where she was and for how long."

The Minister shook his head. "Dunno, but this makes things a little difficult."

"We have to bring her back. Tomorrow." James said.

"Yes, it would be for the best. Voldemort thinks she is returning next week. It seemed that someone was privy of your latest correspondence." The Minister peered at James to see how he took this piece of news.

"Do you think my correspondence has been intercepted?" James asked with horror. He had never thought of that.

"It is a possibility, but then, you would've noticed, wouldn't you." The Minister said.

James nodded, but he wasn't sure. With Voldermort anything was possible.

"I sent a carrier to Hogwarts, didn't think an owl would be a good idea now. Lily will be back by tomorrow night, next day at the latest." The Minister reported.

"What happens now?" James asked.

"Voldemort is clearly ready to make his last stand. You and Lily are in the way of what he wants. I asked Dumbledore to come with Lily, it's time we plan." The Minister said. James nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lily was woken up with a start. Minnie was at the edge of her bed, peering down at her.

"What is wrong Minnie? Is it Harry? Is he ill?" Lily exclaimed and quickly left the bed. She started running toward Harry's room, but Minnie's squeaky voice stopped her.

"No Mistress Lily, Master Harry is well." Minnie said.

"What is wrong then?" Asked Lily with confusion.

"Professor Dumbledore, Mistress, he wants to see you." Minnie said.

Lily nodded and started to order Minnie to help her to get ready.

Minutes later, Lily walked down the corridors, slowly making her way to the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore sat on his chair behind his desk. The old gentleman in the portraits waited patiently, some of them had fallen asleep, and Lily had a premonition that things were not as good as they all wished.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Lily said as she entered into the room.

"Yes, my dear, please take a seat." Dumbledore motioned to one of the chairs before him.

Lily sat gingerly on the chair. She didn't like the tone on Dumbledore's voice.

"Something wrong?" She asked, dreading the answer.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, looking at her with his dark eyes- "I received a message from the Minister this morning." He said.

"Did something happened to James?" Lily was startled.

"No, he is fine." Dumbledore quickly said.. "But there was an attack on a Muggle town last night, several Ministry agents were killed, including a member of the Minister's cabinet." He explained.

Lily listened in silence, she didn't see how this should affect her in any way.

"The cabinet member was Mr. Vincent Korsesche, he was the Head of Department of Mysteries. Before he died, he relayed a message. Voldemort knows that you are here, and he knows the day of your planned returned, there is going to be an ambush." Dumbledore said.

Lily gasped. "But how can that be? How could he have known? Nobody knows."

"We don't know, but we must do what we can to protect you and Harry. The Hogwarts Express is being readied at this moment, it will leave in an hour, and you are going to be there." Dumbledore said. "We must not tarry, we need to get you back to London for the moment, there we will make plans on what to do."

Lily nodded in silence and quickly left the room.

She ran down the corridors, not caring whom she knocked to the floor nor bothering to excuse herself. The students and staff looked at her with surprise, they had never seen Mrs. Lily Potter act in such a way.

Lily made it to her room without breaking down to cry. She didn't have the time to think of what was happening, all she wanted was to get ready and get Harry and herself out of Hogwarts.

"Minnie! Minnie!" She screamed once she got to the room.

Minnie ran into the room. She looked frightened and worried.

"Get everything ready, we are leaving in an hour." Lily ordered.

Minnie nodded and hopped back into Harry's room.

The next half hour was chaotic. Clothing, toys, blankets, books and many other things flew around the room, shrinking and folding themselves into the various opened trunks on the floor.

Nobody said much, Lily worked frantically around the room making sure nothing was forgotten and Minnie worked diligently from among the trunks making sure everything in sight was packed. Harry lay sleeping on Lily's bed.

They were done with fifteen minutes to spare. The trunks were left the room for the house elves to take to the carriage along with Minnie. Lily took Harry in her arms and quickly made her way to the entrance hall.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were waiting for her.

"You are ready, I see." Dumbledore said.

"Yes." Lily nodded.

"I'll be accompanying you on your trip, my dear. Minerva will do nicely on her own for a little while." Dumbledore smiled down at the stern looking woman beside her.

"Nothing to worry about." She glared at her companion. "Take care my dear." She said to Lily and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you. Hopefully, it won't be long until I return." Lily said.

Professor McGonagall smiled sadly, unfortunately, she didn't believe so.

"Come along, my dear." Dumbledore said as a horseless carriage made its appearance around the corner.

Lily nodded and followed him to the carriage. They climbed inside and the carriage started with a jerky movement.

Lily looked out the window at the castle. Professor McGonagall was waiving them goodbye from the door. Lily waved back as silent tears started to fall down her face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James had woken up very early. His friends, Sirius, Peter and Remus had made a surprising appearance at his door and had waited for him in the dinning room.

"What are you lot doing here?" He asked when he entered for breakfast.

"Hear you had a late night meeting with the Minister last night." Sirius said without preamble.

James looked surprised. "How did you hear that?"

Sirius shrugged.

James sighed, it made no sense in saying otherwise, they would soon find out anyway, he thought. "Yes, I received an urgent message from the Minister." He said.

Remus nodded. "It was about that attack last night." He said pointing to the front page of the Daily Prophet upon the table. A large title flashed across the page, "Horror in Muggle Town: Ministry agents dead."

"Partly." James said.

"Partly?" Asked Peter curiously.

James nodded as he started eating some of the food piled on his plate.

"Korsesche was killed." He said in between bites.

Sirius nodded. "Heard that this morning as well."

"Well, it appears that he lived long enough to leave a message." James said.

"W-what, why?" Exclaimed Peter, he seemed nervous and scared at the thought.

The others didn't pay him any attention.

"He had gone with the belief that there would be a spy there, and he was planning to capture him." James said.

"And was killed instead. Seems that he saw who this spy was." Remus said.

"What did he say?" Peter asked abruptly.

"Don't have all the details, the Minister wanted to wait until Lily and Dumbledore get here, but he did tell me that there was a threat against Lily and Harry. An ambush on their return trip." James said.

The others gasped.

"What is going to happen now?" Peter asked with worry.

"They are returning today. She and Dumbledore are coming in Hogwarts Express. Much faster than by road." James said.

Peter fell silent. While Remus and Sirius nodded their agreement.

"And Voldemort doesn't know about the change of plans." Sirius said. "They should be safe."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The train traveled swiftly down the country side. Lily and Dumbledore sat quietly, sharing a compartment. Harry was awake and playing on the floor with his toys. Minnie had brought in a tray with tea and biscuits.

"This is much better than what used to be served when we were at Hogwarts." Lily said as she pour some tea for Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled and reached gratefully for the cup. "Indeed. Candy and butterbeer would not be sufficient for us. But it certainly is for those much younger."

Lily laughed. "It is indeed."

Harry pulled himself up and pulled on Lily's skirt. "Yum!" He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry Harry, of course you must be hungry." Lily exclaimed. She put aside her tea and reached for her son. She gave him some biscuits, which Harry munched on happily while his mother continued with tea.

The sun was sinking lower and the sky was turning red. From experience, Lily knew that it would be a couple of more hours until they reached the outskirts of London.

They were crossing through a barren piece of land, no houses, cottages, farms, nothing was in sight. It seemed calm and eerie.

Lily was looking out, while Harry lay sleeping in her arms. Dumbledore sat in the seat before her, lost in thought.

Suddenly, the train gave an abrupt thrust and the steel beneath them squealed in protest. Harry woke up crying, Lily peered outside trying to see what was happening. Dumbledore stood up and took his wand out.

"Prepare to leave." He said.

"Professor, what is happening?" Lily gasped, trying to grab as much as she could with her arms heavy with Harry and bags.

"It seems that somebody betrayed our plans." Said Dumbledore.

Lily was worried, that meant that Voldemort knew she was here and would be after them, considering how little security was on the train while in motion. In an essence, they were sitting ducks, ready to be plucked.

Minnie came screeching into the room. "Mistress Lily! Mistress Lily! Those men they killed the others in the Manor, they are here! Mistress Lily!"

"Take them out Minnie." Dumbledore ordered.

Minnie nodded while trying to dry the tears that were falling down her face.

"Where are they Minnie? How many are they?" Lily felt the train slowing down, they would stop in a matter of minutes.

"In front Mistress, in front of the train. There are many of them Mistress, many." Minnie whispered with fright.

"Here Minnie, take Harry, make sure he is safe. I'll stay and help." Lily passed a whimpering Harry to Minnie.

"You shouldn't my dear, I can take care, it is you and Harry they are after." Dumbledore said.

"They are after Harry, he is the one they want, I'm not going to let them hurt him." Lily exclaimed.

Dumbledore nodded and Minnie started to leave the compartment in a hurry.

Lily took out her wand. She had never used it in battle before, and duels were not her forte, but for the safety of her son, she would do anything.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James was sitting behind his desk. Night was falling and Lily and Harry would soon arrive at Platform 9 ¾ , he would be leaving soon to pick them up, but for now, he wanted to read over some of the latest reports the Ministry had gathered.

Sirius and Remus entered the room, they had been playing in the pool room after they returned from a shopping expedition in Diagon Alley, that afternoon.

"Where is Peter?" Remus asked as he fell into one of the couches in the room.

"He left after you did, said he had somebody to meet in the Ministry." James said with a shrug.

"Meet with whom? Who could Peter know in the Ministry?" Asked Sirius with surprise.

"He knows us for a start." Remus said.

"But we are not really up the ladder are we? Well, except James, he is at the very top." Sirius said.

"Doesn't have to be some Head of a department, or such, it could be lower officer, maybe he needs a license for something." Remus said.

"Well, yes, that is true." Sirius said.

James was looking out at the darkened park while his friends argued behind him. "Something is going on." He said suddenly.

"What? Why do you say that?" Sirius exclaimed.

"There is too much activity from the Ministry. Something happened." James frowned. What could the Death Eaters have done now?

An owl was seen coming at great speed toward the window. James opened it and stood back quickly. The owl swooped through the window and after circling the room a couple of times, dropped a letter on the desk and flew back out.

James reached for the letter and opened it. It was short and abrupt.

"They know. The train is being attacked." It said and a set of coordinates were scribbled at the bottom.

James swore and started to gather his wand and robes.

"What happened, what is it?" Sirius and Remus asked.

"Our plans were found out, Hogwarts Express is under attack." James said before running out of the room.

Sirius and Remus said no more, before running after James.

They ran across the park toward the Ministry where they would use the special apparating room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The train had stopped and was quickly surrounded by black cloaked figures. Minnie had hid herself and Harry among the luggage in a dark compartment at the very end of the train, but she knew they couldn't be safe for long if Mistress Lily and Professor Dumbledore didn't succeed. She hoped the Ministry had gotten the note that the conductor had hastily written when he first saw the Death Eaters waiting for them. She wished Lotty was with them, they could get Master Harry out if he had been, just like they did the day the Manor was attacked, she didn't have enough strength to do it on her own.

Harry started fussing, and she started to hum, trying to make him fall silent.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lily was tense. The waiting was killing her. The train had stopped and she could see the dark figures starting to surround the train. She hoped Minnie had found a safe place to hide, they needed to hold out as long as they could, the Ministry was bound to find out. She hoped they did.

She prepared herself, she heard people starting to board the train, she stood with her back against the side wall, well away from the window. Dumbledore stood by the door, prepared to attack whoever came through the door.

They started to hear yells and screams, flashes of light appeared from all sides.

"We are not alone." Dumbledore said.

Lily breathed with relief. But no, she thought, I mustn't let my guard down.

The screams were getting louder, but the steps coming toward them had stopped somehow. The flashes of light continued around the train. She could see the shadows of people outside, running and stumbling as they fought.

She gasped at the sounds of steps coming toward them started again. She heard doors open and close, somebody was looking through the compartments.

She held her breath as she heard the door opposite to their compartment open and close, they were next. Dumbledore stood quietly by the door, she went to stand next to him. Both their wands were held in readiness.

The door opened.

"Expelliarmus!" They yelled. They heard somebody grunt and crash the door of the opposite compartment. They were surprised to hear chuckles on the other side of the wall. Lily peered cautiously out the door and gasped.

"Oh James! I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you." She exclaimed and ran to James as he lay rubbing his head against the wall. "Oh my darling, I'm sorry." She whispered as she knelt at his side.

"I'm all right." He said.

Remus and Sirius stood by the door.

"I'm glad I didn't argue with you about taking the lead." Said Sirius.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Remus asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry dear boy, didn't meant to hurt you." Dumbledore said to James.

"I understand." Said James as Sirius helped him up. "Where is Harry?"

"Minnie took him." Lily said. "They must be hiding somewhere."

A young man came panting into the compartment. "Gone, the Death Eaters are gone." He panted.

"Anybody hurt?" Dumbledore asked.

"A few scrapes here and there, no fatalities." The young man said.

"What about the Death Eaters, were any of them caught?" Asked Remus.

The young man shook his head. "None, they were too fast for our lot."

"I don't care about that, I want to make sure Harry is safe." Lily exclaimed.

"Go, look for them, I'll talk to the others." Said Dumbledore.

Lily, James, Remus and Sirius dispersed around the train calling for Minnie and Harry.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Minnie hugged Harry against her. She could hear the yells and screams coming from around the train and crouched with fear. Then silence. She sighed with relief, but what could it mean?

For several minutes she stayed silent, trying to hear what was happening outside. She started to hear voices, somebody was calling to her and Master Harry, but who could it be?"

"Minnie!"

"Harry!"

"Minnie!"

"Harry!"

It was Master James and Mistress Lily! Minnie scrambled from her hiding place. She hid Harry among the luggage, just in case it was a trick and opened the door, inch by inch. She peered outside with care. She could see two people coming toward them, but could not see their faces.

"Oh James, what if the Death Eaters found them, what if that was the reason they left so quickly, because they had him." Lily exclaimed.

"Don't worry Lily, I'm sure that Minnie found a great place for them to hide, she is probably waiting to make sure it's safe." James said.

Lily nodded. "You are probably right."

They turned back to look in the compartments.

Minnie saw them. It was them, Mistress Lily and Master James!

Minnie squeaked with happiness and returned to Harry. She gathered him in her arms and opened the door.

"Master James! Mistress Lily!" She exclaimed.

"Oh Minnie, James, Minnie is here." Lily screamed with happiness.

Harry woke up and started to cry. Lily reached for him and Minnie quickly passed him to her Mistress' arms.

"Oh, Harry dear, you are safe." Lily said and hugged her son.

James smiled with relief.

"Come, let's go home." He said.

The small family, slowly made its way out of the train.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry slept peacefully on his crib. They were back in the Potter House in Rowe Square, London, and his parents stood by watching him sleep.

"What is going to happen now?" Lily whispered.

"We'll see. But it is obvious that we can't stay here for long." James said.

"He is determined to have him." Lily stated.

"But we are more determined to keep him from our son. Don't worry Lily, everything will turn out for the best, our son won't fall into Voldemort's hands." James hugged Lily tight. He had been so scared at the thought that he could've lost them both.

"I hope you are right James." Lily leaned against him, where she felt safe and loved.

Lily didn't sleep well that night, neither did James, for that matter. Both were kept awake by thoughts of what had happened that day. They were not looking forward to their meeting with the rest on the morning. Things looked very dark indeed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Morning brought uncertainty and fear. Lily and James got ready in silence and gathered Harry from his room before going down to breakfast.

Remus and Sirius were waiting for them at the table. Both had decided to remain with them in case they were needed. Peter was also there, he had appeared early in the morning hoping to see how his friends were after the past day.

"Hello." Said Lily as she came into the room. She sat Harry in his high chair and smiled brightly at their friends.

Remus, Sirius and Peter looked intently at her, hoping to see if her ordeal hadn't done any damage to her spirit. But they didn't find a sign of concern, in fact she looked quite as calm as she had always seemed.

"Morning!" They said.

"You lot are up early." Said James entering the room after Lily.

The others shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"When did you arrive Peter?" Asked Lily as she settled herself to enjoy the meal that Roberts and the footmen were serving.

"Early." Said Peter. "Apparated very early in the Ministry for news, but they didn't give me much so I came here."

"Well, you know you are welcome at any time." James said as he looked down at his plate with satisfaction.

They ate in relative silence, only Harry's mumbles and laughter could be heard as the food eventually disappeared.

"Dumbledore and the Minister will be here at noon." Said James once everybody was done and were ready to leave the table.

The others nodded, except for Lily who was frowning with worry.

"I'm going to be in the family parlor." She said as she took Harry and walked out of the room.

The others stood and watched her leave with worry in their eyes.

"How is she doing?" Asked Remus once Lily had disappeared down the hall.

"As best as could be expected I suppose. She is worried." James said.

Peter shuddered. "I would be too." He said in a hoarse voice.

James sighed. He was worried too.

They dispersed throughout the house. James closeted himself in his bookroom, trying to lose himself within the pages of a book, but he wasn't having much success with it. Remus, Sirius and Peter had gone to the game room, trying to pass the hours with a game of billiards, unfortunately, all three were too worried about their friends that their game was rather poor.

The house was silent, even the servants walked around the big house in silence trying to do their chores while they worried about the outcome of their master's meeting with Hogwarts' Headmaster and the Minister of Magic.

The strokes at noon from the old grandfather clock in the entrance hall took everybody by surprise. The doorbell rang soon after.

Roberts walked stately toward the door and opened it to allow Dumbledore and The Minister with a bow.

"Mistress Lily is in the parlor waiting." Roberts said. "If you come with me please." Roberts led them through the silent corridors to the family parlor. "Ma'am, Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Trent, the Minister of Magic." He announced.

"Thank you Roberts. Welcome Professor, Mr. Trent, please make yourself comfortable." Said Lily with a welcoming smile. Harry was crawling on the rug beside his mother's chair, but stopped and looked up with curiosity as the two men neared to greet Lily.

"Thank you my dear, you seemed to have recovered from the scare of last night." Said Dumbledore as he kissed Lily's cheek in greeting.

"Indeed yes, you look as beautiful as ever." Said Mr. Trent with a smiled.

"Thank you. I'm calm now. James and the others will come in a moment." Lily said as they took their seats.

"No hurry, we can wait." Said Mr. Trent.

"Do you wish for some refreshments?" Asked Lily as she motioned to Roberts, who was standing by the door.

"Thank you my dear, I'm sure we would enjoy some." Dumbledore said.

Lily nodded to Roberts and minutes later, footmen came into the room bearing trays of drinks and a pot of tea along with plates of small sandwiches and pastries.

James, Remus, Peter and Sirius followed them in.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." Greeted them James.

"Afternoon, young man." Said Mr. Trent as Professor Dumbledore shook hands with the others.

The footmen set the trays on a tea table placed beside Lily's chair. Harry was now in his father's arms being made much of by the other men.

"He is growing very fast, isn't he?" Said Mr. Trent after Harry had slobbered all over his robes.

"Indeed he has." Dumbledore chuckled after being greeted by the usual "Dowe!" from Harry.

Harry was chuckling and playing with the tassels in Sirius' robes now while the others settled themselves into their seats.

"Put him on the floor, he likes to walk around." Said James as he noticed his son starting to fuss in his godfather's arms.

Refreshments were quickly served and Harry happily munched on a pastry while the adults made small talk as they ate and drank.

Soon, the teacups and plates were empty and Roberts was leading the footmen as they cleared the trays from the room. As the door closed after they left, silence fell into the room, the time had come to discuss the reason for Dumbledore and Mr. Trent's visit.

"Well then, to business shall we." Said Mr. Trent.

The others nodded, the tension in the room was heavy and Harry seemed to feel it as well as the others as he slowly crawled to his mother wanting to be held.

"It is very clear now that Voldemort has you in his sights. Rowe Square may not be safe anymore." Said Dumbledore.

"But why, why is he so eager to get to them. I don't understand really, the reason for it." Said Remus with a frown.

"Indeed, it seems that he is attacking systematically really. If you look at it, he has attacked at moments when he knows that there is less security and most of the time is to women and children. What is he after?" Asked Sirius.

"All I can say is that James and Lily did some work for us that may have placed Harry in grave danger." Said Dumbledore.

"So it is Harry they are after. I wondered you see, it seemed strange that he was the common link among the attacks." Said Peter with uncommon insight that made the others stare at him for a moment.

"Yes, he is. He has been really lucky so far, and let's hope that it will continue that way. But, we must now keep him safe." Said Mr. Trent.

"What can we do? It is obvious that no matter where we are, we will be in danger. Magic shields, unplottable sites, nothing will be out from Voldermort's hands, not for long at any rate." Said James.

"How is he doing this? How can he know so much about us and what we do?" Lily asked as she rocked Harry in her arms and he fell slowly to sleep.

"How indeed." Exclaimed Dumbledore, he was afraid that someone very close to them had decided to change parties, and for all he knew, it could be one of the young men there with them.

The thought was not far from the others. They all had the same idea, but they just couldn't believe that one of them could be a traitor to their cause and their friendship. Except for one, that is, who fought energetically to keep his worry of being found out under control. He simply must complete his mission, there was no other way to keep his mother safe and if losing friends by doing so was what came of it, so be it.

"What is to be done now?" Asked James once more.

"There is to be one thing that can be done." Said Dumbledore. "The Fidelius Charm."

"James, you cannot say no to it this time." Urged Sirius.

"Indeed, it is the perfect thing." Said Remus.

"What must be done?" Said James with a sigh, he knew there was no other choice, they had tried everything within their power.

"You must choose a secret keeper." Said Mr. Trent.

"Well, that is easy, Sirius, of course." Said James looking at Lily who nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure about this James?" Sirius asked.

"You are the stronger of the lot, it would be much easier for you to protect yourself than the others. Remus is unavailable three days out of the month and Peter has his mother to consider." Said James looking at his friend.

"That's right Sirius, it is the perfect choice." Said Remus, he didn't mind that James had not chose him, for the same reasons that James had mentioned. He didn't want to think that by being what he was, he could place their friends in danger.

"Very well, what must be done?" Said Sirius.

"Let's not go into details at the moment, the less people that know, the better." Said Dumbledore. "But you must be sure that this is what you want. I volunteer myself as your secret keeper if you wish. Once the Charm is performed, it cannot be undone."

"This is what we want Professor, Sirius would never betray us." Said James.

"Very well, you must do preparations to leave, I will return later with the details. We have less than two weeks to prepare." Said Professor Dumbledore.

Mr. Trent and Dumbledore stood up and prepared to leave. Everybody said goodbye. The room was silent as their visitors followed Roberts to the entrance hall.

Remus, Sirius and Peter quickly left the room, they thought James and Lily needed to be alone for a moment.

"Oh James, isn't there another way?" Sobbed Lily.

"I don't think so Lily. Dumbledore is right, it is our last hope." James gathered Lily into his arms trying not to bother their sleeping son in her arms.

"I don't like the thought of raising Harry in hiding, how can he possibly understand what is happening? He is too little." Lily whispered.

"But he will be safe this way, Lily. We must keep him safe." James whispered back.

"I know." Lily said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* A/N: I know, you don't want me to leave at that, but don't worry, you'll find out what comes next soon enough. I still have much to write before the next chapter is done, but I promise to upload it as soon as it's ready. If you want to get ahead of everybody else, you might want to check the thread at harrypotter.com, the half I've written so far is already posted there. Now, this chapter is very hard for me to write because it's sadder than all the rest. I don't like the thought of not having Lily and James to write about. But don't worry, the story doesn't end there. Thank you to all of you who reviewed, I truly appreciate your kind words. Enjoy and don't forget to review.