Nothing Will Ever Be The Same

Claudia Ashley Black grew very attached to Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley. They were by each other's side 24/7. Ashley was really glad that her daughter had a place to be so often because she didn't like the thought of the kids being in the house. Ashley was almost back to her original weight. She had ten more pounds to lose though. It was October 15th, and Ashley had sat down with Molly explaining what was going on, with Dumbledore's approval, of course. Molly was more than happy to watch Haley, Lizzie, Harry, and Lance. Ashley felt really guilty about pinning her with ten whole kids. Ashley really admired her and had no idea how she dealt with so many children. She knew she would be eternally gratetful to Molly.

Soon enough, it was the day before Halloween. Ashley, Sirius, Lily, James, Alaina, and Remus had the kids at Ashley and Sirius' house. They wanted to spend one day together incase anything happened to anybody. The women were crying and the men were even tearing up a bit. Alaina and Remus took Lance over to Molly's at around 9:00. Mr. Benedettis had come over to drop off some toys he bought for the girls. They were having some tea in the family room when they heard a noise. The five of them shot up and ran into the sitting room, and right before their very eyes, Lord Voldemort himself stood before them.

"Ashley - Lily - The children! Run!" Mr. Benedettis shouted. The girls sprinted to the sitting room, and stood before the crying children. Harry, Lizzie, and Haley were crying uncontrollably. But where was Claudia? "Lily! Where's Claudia?" Ashley shouted, running her hands through her hair furiously.

They could hear the men in the family room dueling. Voldemort had come with two death eaters. They heard Mr. Benedettis shout the killing curse, and one death eater was down. James yelled "Avada Kedavra" and with a flash of green light, the second death eater was dead. Now it was just Voldemort himself. Mr. Benedettis ran into the family room, and blocked the door. The killing curse hadn't been fired by Voldemort or any of the death eaters, but it was obvious that Sirius and James were knocked out.

"Step aside, you foolish old man!" Voldemort hissed at Ashley's father.

"No!" Mr. Benedettis cried, staring death in the face. Ashley felt tears forming in her eyes. She blinked them back though.

"Don't you see, you don't need to die you twit! Just move out of my way!" Voldemort was sparing him, and he held his ground.

"Never!" the man shouted bravely.

"Have it your way - AVADA KEDAVRA!" With another flash of green light, Mr. Benedettis was dead. And in a puff of smoke, Voldemort was gone.

"DAD!" Ashley sobbed, running over to her father. She held him, and cried like a two-year-old. Her father had died to spare her life, and the life of her children. He was a hero, and she loved him more than ever. "Daddy please! You c-can't die! I-I love you! NO!" Ashley was sobbing uncontrollably. This was the man who always stood by her side. The man who spoiled her rotten as a kid. The man who taught her wrong from right. He had always been there for her, and now he was just torn away. How was this in any way fair? It wasn't. It wasn't fair at all. Lily watched as Ashley clung onto her father. She felt tears brimming down her cheeks. Lily walked over to Ashley and wrapped her in a hug.

"It's going to be okay. Your father just saved the entire Wizarding World. He's a hero, and that's the best possible way to go," Lily said, brushing away her own tears. "I'm going to try and fix the guys. Then, I'll write Dumbledore. It's all going to be okay."

The ceremony was held three days later. All of Ashley's brothers and sisters were present. Her dad's friends and co-workers. Her own friends too. But even through all of the sadness, she stil lfelt relief. It was finally over. Voldemort was gone. The press was after everyone who was there that night. Ashley, Sirius, Lily, James, Haley, Lizzie, and Harry were all heros. After Dumbledore got there, Ashley had pulled herself together, and remembered that she couldn't find Claudia. Then, she fell apart all over again, claiming that he got her. When it reality, she was in the cradle in the family room.

Ashley knew that things would never be the same. Things had changed for the better, and she was glad that the children could grow up in a safe world. The effects of what happened on that fateful night were on the foreheads of the three children. Each one was branded with a lightning bolt shaped scar. Lily and Ashley had tried everything to get rid of it, but it became apparent that those scars were permanent.

In the end, Ashley realized that they had managed to change the future. She exchanged the lives of Lily, James, and Sirius and the well-being of the entire Wizarding World for the life of her father. Ashley hated to admit it, but it was a fair trade. She knew her dad would have deffinitely sacraficed himself for that. It was the kind of man he was, and Ashley would miss him terribly. But there was a whole world ahead of them, and Ashley was not going to live in the past. She was going to live in the present and make each day count.

The End.

I'm done! So what did you think? I already wrote the first chapter of the sequel, so I'll create my new story as soon as this gets posted! I had a lot of fun writing this, so I'm kinda bummed that it's over, but hey, I have two more stories to write: