Ch. 59 was edited so go re-read it for those who are still salty over the "unexpected" plot :v

It was Boxing Day, and Regulus Black pursed his lips as he tried to stifle his yawn on having to work so early in the morning before narrowing his grey eyes at his patient for the day.

Lily Evans-Potter.

When Severus Snape brought her into St. Mungo's Hospital on October, he wondered if they had reconciled (however low the chance was) only to be ordered to report the redhead's condition to him or the Dark Lord on a regular basis. So far, the woman was still unconscious but Regulus didn't want to miss a single thing, relegating the news whenever there was a Death Eater meeting. He too, was curious on what actually happened to her.

Working at the hospital right after his graduation was perhaps the right thing to do, especially when the Dark Lord himself wanted a spy there. Stationed at the Janus Thickey Ward, Regulus often acted as the trainee Healer and even though he sympathized with some of the patients, he still thought those who fought against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters were foolish. Surely the Dark Lord himself had had some awful experiences with those Muggles for him to remove them from society, why would the others dare to oppress the one who only wanted the best for the wizarding world?

After checking Lily Potter's vitals on any changes, he deemed everything was as usual and prepared a few potions to be spelled into her systems when he heard a low groan, his eyebrows rising in mild surprise. He had heard talks and tales of a Christmas miracle however this one sure took the cake.

"Morning, Potter," he groused while Lily blinked her green eyes open.

"Sirius…? W- Where am I…?"

Regulus sniffed. Even years after his brother's death, people were still reminded of the poor boy that was killed by his own werewolf friend. He had some inkling it was actually a murder set up by Snape for the Fiendfyre incident and as much as he was saddened to be left alone in Grimmauld Place afterward, he couldn't say he was sorry at Sirius.

"Let's just get you checked up, shall we?" Picking up his wand once again, he began to medically scan the woman but by the time he got to her chest in search for her magical core, he frowned.

There was no aura emitted from her. He then tried several times however the results remained the same, which puzzled him since a few minutes ago, he could sense her core; pulsing in attempt to heal her. For some reason, Lily Potter had lost her magic the moment she woke up. Could Severus Snape be involved with the cause somehow?

"…Black? W- What happened?" she queried, wringing the seams of her patient gown, "Is there something wrong?"

Regulus glanced at her minutely but not saying anything; he wondered if this information was enough to gain Snape's or the Dark Lord's attention. However, being a Healer meant he had to let his patient go first before hunting her down and sighing, he went to send an owl to James Potter to come over as soon as possible.

Albus Dumbledore was dismayed by the news he received from his godson.

Ever since the Order of the Phoenix got the news that Lily Potter was in St. Mungo's, he was puzzled on what caused her to be there especially when upon returning from one of their lessons, James informed Harry was left with Augusta Longbottom. And now, after months since the incident, James told him tearfully his wife's magical core had disappeared.

"I don't know what happened, Albus," the bespectacled man sobbed the moment he arrived at the hospital with his friend Peter Pettigrew was beside him, "She ain't telling me, a- and some guy from the Ministry is coming t- to see if her name's still in the registry book."

At that, Albus stroked his bearded chin. The registry book James mentioned was almost the same as the book in Hogwarts, which would show the name of those who possessed magical abilities so that they could be integrated into the wizarding world starting from Hogwarts. "Well, perhaps it's only temporary," he tried to comfort James but the young man only continued to howl in anguish.

The door of the Janus Thickey Ward was swung open and Albus furrowed his brows upon seeing Regulus Black strode into the room with another man beside him.

Severus Snape.

"Snivvy!" James exclaimed out of sudden which caused Peter to jump in surprise.

Snape went sour at once, "Potter."

Albus only observed as James begrudgingly pleaded with Snape about Lily's strange case, eventually thinking that there must be no lost love between Snape and Lily with how the man smirked as he flicked open the registry book and mused rather mockingly, "Well, it seemed there is no such name of Lily Evans-Potter here, and being an Auror yourself you would have known that this book cannot be altered by any other means."

From the corner of his blue eyes, Albus could see Lily's face turned deathly white at the news.

"You gotta be lying, show it to me!" James tried to reach for the book only for it to fly into Snape's hands with a quick wave of his wand.

"I am entrusted to bring this book here and to return it safely as well, and if you're willing to pay up for any damages, Potter; be my guest," Snape hissed before leering at Lily, "But if I were to take a guess, perhaps she had done something dangerous or illegal that cost her magic. Go on; give her a wand and see."

Albus could tell everyone in the room was skeptical by Snape's statement, but he too wanted to know if the young man's words were true and gave Lily his wand. "Any spell will do, Mrs. Potter," he smiled encouragingly at her before stepping away.

The five watched as Lily took a deep breath and waved the wand, but nothing happened. "Perhaps verbal spells might work?" Peter suggested, however it too failed and Lily was close to bursting into tears.

"I'm done here," Snape spoke exasperatedly, black eyes narrowed at James. "Maybe you should stay with your wife and child at home, Potter; I doubt they will do well without you around." He then left with a billowing of his black robes and Albus supposed Severus Snape had a point.

After all, James and Lily Potter were parents of the possible prophesized child that would defeat Lord Voldemort – Tom Marvolo Riddle – and he couldn't risk losing them so early in the war that still raged on, especially to the mysterious man mentioned in Sybil Trelawney's prophecy.

The Rogue Prince.

Lord Voldemort tried his best to refrain killing the sleeping black-haired boy a few feet away from him.

He and Severus Prince were in the Dursley house, having been invited by Vernon for a quick dinner before the year ended. While Severus was chatting with Vernon in the living room, he and Petunia were in the kitchen, helping to set up the dining table.

"Who's that?" he tried to make a polite conversation, but his teeth were gnashing to stop himself from doing anything suspicious.

Petunia rolled her eyes at the figure swaddled in cloth on the couch and sniffed, "Someone unwanted here." Then she launched on a rant on how James Potter coming to their house in October and begging them to take in their son until Lily woke up from a mysterious mishap, how she felt uneasy with her nephew and was practically convinced there was something wrong with the boy.

(After hearing the news of Lily Potter losing her magic from both Severus and Regulus Black, he supposed the woman got what she deserved for trying to hurt one of Severus' cherished people.)

"He's… quiet, I'll give him that," she said disdainfully after taking out the roasted beef from the oven, "but to see that awful man's face on him, even his eyes wouldn't do much to me."

Lord Voldemort only hummed in silent agreement and the four adults then had their meal; Dudley playing with his toy trains while the Potter boy remained asleep until he and Severus took their leave. He wondered what Severus think of the child but his musing were stopped when Severus held his hand and with a whoosh, they appeared at Prince Manor.

The nearby church's clock tower chimed to mark midnight and the Dark Lord barely realized as Severus led him into the mansion, the numerous portraits inside the entrance hall greeting him happily and wishing him well. By the time they reached the dining hall, there was a green box and a slice of chocolate cake on the table.

Lord Voldemort felt his heart stir by his heir's thoughtfulness. Throughout the years he had known Severus Prince (except the year when he hid from everyone), the young man would have a chocolate cake done on his birthday and he even looked forward for it. He was convinced that Severus had known about him looking at his private memories and barred him from entering Prince Manor; and so, this was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise.

"Open up," Severus nudged the green box to him and the Dark Lord blinked, though upon seeing the soft smile in his heir's visage, he shook his suspicions away and tore the wrappings around the box and opened it. His brows furrowed in complete puzzlement when he saw what was inside before they gave way to astonishment.

"Is this…?" he started in awe and disbelief, "…what I think it is?"

Severus' mysterious smile only grew wider. Feeling his chest soar with great delight, Lord Voldemort tore the box apart, took out his yew wand and tapped the crystal orb that held the damned prophecy of his downfall. There was no doubt this was the best present one could give him and he concentrated hard on what was said in his mind.

"The Rogue Prince…" he muttered after the phantom voice concluded. Whoever this Prince was, the Dark Lord needed to find him as soon as possible; no doubt that Albus Dumbledore might be searching for him too.

"Do you know anyone who called themselves that? The Rogue Prince."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps the clue is in the name," he mused with a shrug before yawning and smiled weakly. "Sorry, I can barely hold my eyes open now. Good night."

Lord Voldemort only nodded absent-mindedly; his head was occupied with the thoughts of the Rogue Prince. Why would the Prince be the one to defeat the Potter boy in return? Why couldn't he, the great Dark Lord himself do it? Was there something else in play? He remembered Severus' theory about Harry Potter would have the power that will vanquish him if he were to pursue the child but surely it couldn't be true, right?

And yet, Severus Prince hadn't led him astray for as long as he knew the young man. Maybe that theory made sense in a way; all he had to do now was gaining the Prince's trust, convincing the Prince that the Potter boy was a threat to his plan and if the Prince succeeded, he would be lauded by everyone; perhaps even being on the same rank as his heir.

It was then did he realize there was a piece of parchment amongst the torn box. Frowning, he took it and unfolded the item, blinking upon seeing it was merely a transcript of the prophecy, written in Severus' spidery handwriting. His fingers traced the passage about the Rogue Prince, thinking of what Severus had said about the Prince's identity.

The clue is in the name.

Racking his brain, the Dark Lord knew enough that a rogue was someone whose behavior might be disapproved yet was also likeable by other people. It also meant having unpredictable, destructive tendencies.

…Wait.

Lord Voldemort looked back at the written prophecy with furrowed brows. If he remembered well, Severus Prince's pet raven was named Rogue. The young man too was an enigma; most of the time he was mellow and kind but if someone were to infuriate him… hadn't he seen enough of Severus' powerful demonstrations of magic? Of even when his magical core was nearly nonexistent, it still was enough to choke the life out of him? And how else could Severus write down the prophecy unless he had heard it? That could only mean one thing.

The Dark Lord's red eyes widened at the implications of his thoughts.

His chosen heir, Severus Prince was the Rogue Prince.

But it all made sense, hadn't it? Severus had had a lifelong feud with both James Potter and Lily Evans; Harry Potter's parents. He, Lord Voldemort had nothing to do with the boy to begin with, except for being half-bloods and the Potters had fought against him three times.

With that, the Dark Lord sagged into his seat and grinned in great relief. Yes, his idea of having Severus to kill Harry Potter was just as planned. There was nothing to worry about. He was safe, as long as he remained loyal to the young man.

But he also had to work harder on the flying spell. He was determined to make it came true, like Peter Pan who stayed young and could fly wherever he wanted. If he did well, he could convince Severus that he shouldn't be afraid on being in the air; however the horrible memory of his fifth year might dissuade him.

No matter, Lord Voldemort was nothing but persuasive to his core and he would help Severus Prince to recover from his trauma.

Standing underneath the Invisibility Cloak, Severus Prince was smiling.