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X

The Days leading to Tragedy in the New Universe.

While Lily cradled her gently as she took her seat at the table of the Order of the Phoenix meeting - she didn't know why her mother was dragging her to this thing, but it was better than being in Godric's Hollow - Holly briefly looked around the table of the place Dumbledore was using this time around.

It was totally different from the grim place at Grimmauld Place. There was no dark and depressing furniture and decorations, so that was a plus, and being in the arms of her mother more than made up for the woman in a baby's body.

She had never liked being anywhere near the Order of the Phoenix. They believed themselves to be the saviours, the defenders of the light. They would be too, if they got off their backsides and collectively did something constructive with their time, and seeing the younger versions of people whom she had not liked the first time around after discovering Dumbledore's schemes made Holly wish she had the means to curse all of them into their grave plots.

Lily sat down, holding onto her gently. Holly noticed while Lily was not happy about her admission she had travelled back into the past to see to the deaths of three wizards, two of which happened to be highly intelligent, magically powerful people while the third was a politician without much in the way of sense, she was making plans to get them out of Britain.

But the way she was doing it made Holly wonder if her mother's counterpart from this universe was trying to make up for the failure in Holly's universe; she wasn't going to say anything because Holly did believe her parent's failure to escape and put their faith in the hands of Dumbledore, Sirius and Pettigrew had been a big mistake.

Okay, Sirius had been the best candidate between him and Pettigrew, but Holly was remembering her Sirius Black. This one was an alternate counterpart; she had gone through the facts of parallel worlds, and while they were fundamentally the same as one another in having much the same basic building blocks of history, the people themselves could be extremely different. For all Holly knew the Sirius in this world was Voldemort's right-hand man who'd been pretending to be on the Light to fool Dumbledore.

That was why she hoped her mother got them away.

"This meeting of the Order of the Phoenix is now in session," Holly was broken out of her thoughts by Dumbledore's familiar deep, wise, and sagely voice although she knew deep down he was a manipulative egotist. "Lily, I see you have brought your daughter here to the meeting. Is there a reason for that?"

"Yes, Albus," Holly knew it must have been killing her mother to even address the man by his name, and in such a calm way as well. Her occlumency and acting skills were great. "I didn't want to leave her behind at that damn cottage."

"I see, but bear in mind it isn't safe for her. Still, we should get on with the meeting," Dumbledore's voice became puzzled. "I see James isn't with you. Do you know where he is?"

Holly was surprised. Her father in this world had been going off on his own without telling Lily about what he was doing, except it was 'Order business,' which was suspicious in itself since it had sounded more like an excuse, something that her mother hadn't been fooled by for a moment. But if Dumbledore was publicly stating his surprise….

No, it could mean that Dumbledore had given James a mission that he had privately discussed with her mother in order to make a small little play of it so none of the other members got suspicious themselves, but with Dumbledore, it was impossible to be absolutely sure.

Lily herself was clearly not in the mood to pander to Dumbledore's mind games today. "I suppose he'll be coming soon," she said casually.

"Yes, my dear, I suppose he will. In the meantime, anything to report?" Dumbledore turned to the other members of the Order.

"The Death Eaters have been quiet for a week now, Albus. There haven't been any more new attacks in 8 days," Moody growled. Some things really did transcend universes. "They are up to something, mark my words."

Holly tried not to whimper. With it being so close to Halloween, she was counting down the time they had left before Voldemort attacked. But at the same time, she wondered what he was playing at. The only time in the last universe Voldemort had ensured none of the Death Eaters attacked was after his resurrection; he had spent a whole year rebuilding his forces, making plans and having some of his more politically-minded followers set up the groundwork to bring down the Ministry, but was that what Voldemort was doing in this universe?

If this Voldemort was anything like his counterpart then he was just as crazed and at the same time, he was smart and determined enough to find ways around specific problems. Was the Ministry proving more troubling in this universe than in her original world? Lily hadn't given her any indications to think so, but anything was possible. But something was going on, and that worried her. Nothing ever good came out of Voldemort being silent because he was planning something.

Dumbledore seemed perplexed as well. "What are they doing?" Holly frowned internally, somehow getting the feeling he actually meant it. Clearly, something wasn't going according to one of Dumbledore's schemes. "Has there been any intelligence from the Ministry?"

"Nothing."

"That's not entirely true," someone Holly didn't know corrected before they addressed the rest of the Order at once. "A friend of mine in the international relations department states known dark wizards are launching leaving the continent, and there's some speculation they're coming here."

Holly groaned internally listening as the Order members muttered amongst themselves, others swore or cursed, while her mind raced as she tried to remember if something similar happened in her own reality, but it was not ringing any bells.

"Do they know this for a fact?" Dumbledore's quiet voice was troubled and it was enough to shut everyone up.

"No. But the fact some of them have been reportedly vanishing is worrying in itself."

Moody's growl was darker, angrier, and more pronounced. "If that's true we'll have a fight on our hands."

"I'm sure it won't be so bad," Diggle squeaked.

"What would you know? You don't know how to hold out in a fight despite your age and experience. If these wizards are gonna come, we're gonna be in for a fight."

"How bad can it get, Moody?"

"Arthur, some of the wizards in Europe who go dark have the backing of a very good knowledge thanks to more consistent teaching at their schools. Our wizards cower at the sight of a Death Eater, even when they haven't uttered a spell."

Holly frowned. Holly had never encountered many foreign witches and wizards in the Death Eater ranks when she was fighting Voldemort, but that was mostly because the Second War was blissfully short, but the wizards she had encountered were from Britain. Moody had every reason to be worried. Holly had learnt thanks to her time with Fleur and Viktor during the mess that was the Triwizard Tournament the ratings for Hogwarts were in the toilet thanks to the poor teaching practices. It was so bad that anyone educated in Britain's premier magical school was forced to redo their exams because the previous results were beyond shoddy. Holly herself had been forced to do it herself, and it had pissed her off although it hadn't truly surprised her since Dumbledore was a terrible Headmaster who didn't care about the students or their future.

Dumbledore spoke at last. He had clearly been giving the matter some thought. "I shall speak to Barty about seeing if we can access the wards of Britain and find the magical signatures of the worst kind of people on the continent who would be interested in becoming Death Eaters," he promised gravely. Holly hoped he was telling the truth. Dumbledore was the kind of man who preferred talking to acting. In the meantime, she racked her mind for anything in the history of the previous universe coming close. But nothing sprang to mind. Was this meant to be happening?

"Do you believe that will work?" Arthur Weasley asked. "Barty is becoming increasingly hard line."

Oh, just because he knows how to fight a war compared to your precious Dumbledore doesn't mean such measures won't work, Holly thought to herself with a mental sneer. Not for the first time she wondered what Arthur and Molly did for the Order. They didn't seem to have anything substantial to contribute.

"It might be too late for some since they will be here already, but it should prevent more from coming over," Dumbledore replied. "In the meantime have there been any developments with the Death Eaters beyond what we already know?"

"No."

And the meeting dragged on. Holly had never sat in an Order of the Phoenix meeting before, but she could sense her mother's frustration even as the Order went over the same points over and over again.

Death Eater recruitment was shooting up and up.

More people had died.

Families torn apart.

Attacks on the muggles (that one had Holly worried; the news of the first wizarding world war had been one of the primary reasons why the Prime Minister had declared war in the first place. He had told the public during the unveiling of magic's existence about the wars, the losses of life, the evil of magic, and the public had been stirred up into a frenzy when he revealed old deaths were explained so rationally at the time were down to magic, but people like Dumbledore still stupidly believed muggles were harmless or de-evolved humans and not the danger they should be regarded as).

Members of the Order being slaughtered.

Death Eaters being freed from the Ministry, either because of bribes, corruption where the prisoners would be mislaid or set free on technicalities, or from Azkaban.

The frustration of Moody who was tired of constantly stunning the bastards.

And all that time Dumbledore continued to make life harder for everyone by refusing to do what they felt was necessary, but they didn't know their glorious leader was as bigoted as the worst of the Death Eaters; he would gladly slaughter muggle-borns than raise a wand against the Death Eaters.

X

Holly giggled and babbled as she spent the day with her mother in the park, both of them relieved to be away from the cottage in Godric's Hollow. Both Potter girls loathed the cottage for different reasons. For Lily, the place had become essentially a prison. For Holly, it was a reminder of how flawed her parents were to trust Dumbledore and Pettigrew and not their best judgement.

Lily was laughing as they went through the park. It was a muggle park full of people who were blissfully unaware of the war, although that could change within the next few decades if Holly didn't find some way of ensuring it didn't happen. As she was held by her mother while Lily fed her - Holly had found hundreds of memories of herself being cared for by her mother back before she had travelled into this reality, and she treasured them all as memories from a time before Dumbledore and Voldemort tore it all up. But being with a counterpart of her mother in this universe seemed different. It seemed that Lily, after hearing of what happened to herself in Holly's home universe, was trying to make up for something, but it wasn't needed really. Holly didn't feel that her mother needed to blame herself for what happened or how she was raised. That was all down to James's poor decisions and Dumbledore's overbearing need to play god.

Seeing the old man again…. Holly had forgotten how self-righteous and sanctimonious the old wizard could be, but while she was aware of how good a leader he could be, Holly truly did not think Dumbledore should have anything to do with a war. The man's delusions about not killing any of the Death Eaters because it would make the Order as bad as them….what a bunch of sanctimonious, self-indulging crap. The only reason he kept holding everybody back from properly fighting was that he didn't want pure magical blood to be spilt.

Holly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She wanted to enjoy the time she spent with only her mother, who seemed to be the only parent she had right now in the run-up to Halloween. It wasn't far off, and she hoped to be as far away from this fucked up country by the time 31 October came. She felt nothing for Britain. The country had always brought her nothing but pain and grief. The sooner she and her mother were away from Britain, the better.

At the same time saving her mother would have consequences. One of the biggest was that with Lily Potter still alive, she would have changed the course of history in a positive way which would have more hopeful outcomes in the future. If she was lucky then she might be able to stop Voldemort from causing too much damage further down the line. And then again, Holly knew there was a chance she might fail. She had read enough muggle science-fiction was changing history, even in an alternative world could have tremendous consequences. But if she could just save one of her parents….

She wished she could feel more confident about the outcome and what she was planning to do further down the line, but while she was chalking it all up to nerves since the day when Dumbledore's plans came to fruition and he ensured she was spirited away at the Dursleys, Holly had started wondering if she could even change some parts of history, or if she would be doomed to repeat all the mistakes made.

Holly didn't let the thoughts she had crowding her mind stop her from having fun with her mother. This could be a once in the lifetime opportunity for her. And it was fun, especially when they were just mother and daughter visiting the hottest tourist spots in London instead of being two witches held under house arrest for 'their own protection by an old man who seemed more interested in creating monsters than actually dealing with them long term.

X

The loud gong of the wards falling woke Holly up, and she wailed out of reflex. She sat up in her cot looking around in horror when she realised what was happening as she came out of her sleep-softened state. They were under attack. But as she consulted her mental calendar she realised she was a few days out. It was only the 27th of October. Why was Voldemort attacking now?

Lily came rushing in, dressed in a jumper and trousers and slippers. Judging from her mussed-up hair and bleary eyes she had been asleep as well. The clothes had likely been transfigured out of whatever nightwear Lily had been wearing.

"Holly, it's okay, it's okay," Lily did her best to hide her fear, but it didn't work with Holly.

"It's too early. Voldemort attacked on the 31st. We should have had plenty of time," Holly sent to Lily.

"I know, sweetie."

"Where's dad in all of this? I know I haven't seen him for days, but surely there's been some trace of him?"

Lily huffed as she thought about her useless husband. "No, I haven't seen him, Holly. I don't know if he's been coming back to the cottage or not, his bathroom things haven't been disturbed and I haven't touched them. James has been acting weirdly lately, sullen and secretive. Do you think he has something to do with this?"

Holly hoped it wasn't the case. James Potter was an arrogant twat, but was he really capable of betraying them like this? Pettigrew had betrayed them to Voldemort in the last reality because the wizard was a coward and believed Voldemort was going to win thanks to Dumbledore's lack of proper action. But would James…?

It was unthinkable. But somehow she wasn't surprised by her mother's concern; she had heard of the story of what happened with Pettigrew, so it made sense that Lily would jump to that conclusion.

But this was not the time to work out how Voldemort had found them. "Don't worry about him, mum. We've bigger things to worry about right now. Is there any way out? I told you to have a route out."

"Yeah, I have an emergency portkey. I made it days ago. It will take us directly to Brighton, a place I visited when I was a kid."

Holly frowned. She had visited the lovely coastal city a long time ago, but it had lost its lustre when she was older. "Why Brighton? Surely you visited dozens of places in the past?"

"I did," Lily smiled at Holly despite the mess they were both in. "But the place has some amazing memories for me. I thought it appropriate."

"Okay. We'd better go. Don't forget your wand, but don't bother with anything else. We can replace them unless they're too precious," Holly told her mother.

Lily wasn't sure about being bossed about by her own daughter, but she accepted the logic presented to her. She just held onto her daughter and she prepared to go through with the escape. She flicked her wand, summoning the grimoire from downstairs and putting it in her trunk; Voldemort was infamous for his habit of stealing family knowledge from his victims, and the spells which prevented outsiders of the family from peeping through the pages were rendered useless when Voldemort was finished with them.

She didn't want the same thing to happen to the Potter family after so many innocent people were murdered by that psychotic animal.

Lily tapped her wand on the portkey to activate it….and nothing happened.

"What?" Lily somehow managed to wrestle with the baby in her arms and the portkey in her necklace.

"The Portkey's been blocked, hasn't it?"

"How do you know that?" Lily asked distractedly while she valiantly tried not to panic. It didn't work.

"It's a common habit among dark wizards or people attacking someone; put upwards that prevent any kind of escape, it usually only occurs to more experienced and intelligent wizards. Is there any other way out?"

"No…Oh, I don't know!" Lily was a moment away from exploding in worry, but Holly recognised the panic in her mother's voice and she quickly went to stop it.

"Mum, stop panicking. I know this is terrifying; I don't know what's going on any more than you do, but I know panicking and getting angry is not going to help. Does dad own any broomsticks?"

"What?" Lily didn't get the question or the point.

'Dad, does he own a racing broom and is it here?"

"Yes, he does, but I don't see-."

"Attack wards are usually made to stop Floo, Apparition, and Portkeys. They're more advanced forms of magical travel, but they don't stop anything like broomsticks. All we have to do is take the time to get through the house, and we can escape on the broomstick," Holly's mental voice was a calm one as it got through Lily's panic.

Fortunately, it worked.

Lily finally got the message and she started to smile. "Yes. Yes, I see."

Quickly she summoned the broomstick, but her smile fell. "I-I'm not good at flying."

"Don't worry, mum," Holly was relieved their ability to communicate had gotten better, "I am."

Lily snorted. "Of course you are."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it, buster. Now you just have to blast a hole in the wall. Once that's done we can fly through the debris before anyone out there realises what we're doing."

"And then what?"

"And then we escape as fast as we can. They can't use tracking spells on us because the broomstick will be travelling super fast."

Lily didn't have time to argue because what sounded like a mini-demolition ball crashing downstairs boomed throughout the house. She quickly lifted her wand, even as the sound of people stampeding up the stairs to get to them while Holly paid close attention to the voices overlapping.

One voice stood out and it made her blood turn to ice.

No.

No, it's not possible.

"Don't let them escape, Sirius!"

"Mum, hurry!" Holly urged her mother, who'd heard the shout. She managed to blast the hole in the wall, just in time while she fixed herself on the broomstick. But just before the Potters could escape, there was a bright flash of light, and Holly screamed.

X

Until the next time.

I know many of you will be upset by what I've written but it's always been part of the story plan. This is an alternate universe where the world is the same but different, and Holly was and always would be an orphan. I've read stories where Lily is a cool, smart witch, and she is but I wanted an event where she panics to adjust her character a little.

Also if you would like to support me and my work, please visit my pa-treon at pat-reonDOTcom/timetraveller2022