CHAPTER TWO

Halloween

October 31st 1981 – Godric's Hollow

James was sitting at the table with a drink in one hand and his other hand running through his hair. He was worried and restless, not that this was unusual. They had put the house under the Fidelius charm a couple of weeks ago and since then his little family of four had been confined to the house, which is why he was restless. People like him weren't meant to be stuck in one place. But he was also worried, there had been a prophecy made about either Harry or Neville which caused a mad man to be after them, hence the reason they had to go into hiding.

He wasn't the only one feeling like this; tension had been high between him and Lily. She handled it much better than he did, but she still longed to see her friends, Natalie and Remus especially. They hadn't seen Natalie or Remus since the charm was placed over the house. James and Lily trusted them, Remus was after all, practically a brother to Lily and Natalie was her best friend, but Sirius didn't and they did know that there was a spy in the Order and well… James wasn't willing to take the risk.

Kassie was also beginning to get very restless. She may have looked exactly like her mother did when she was six, but she was definitely her father in personality. She wanted to be outside and with kids her own age. As much as she loved her brother, he didn't really do very much. Now James and Lily had to deal with the little pranks that Kassie was setting up, trying to entertain herself.

Flashback

James was staring at the couch. He had put his one-year-old son there. He distinctly remembered putting his son on the couch when he went to find his bottle. But now he was staring at the couch and his son was nowhere to be found.

"Harry? Where are you Prongslette? Come on don't do this to your old man," said James looking under all of the furniture.

"James what are you doing?" said Lily when she saw James' head under the table.

James stood up and looked at his wife with wide eyes, still holding the bottle in his hand. "I-it… I it's not my fault?"

"Where is Harry?" said Lily, her eyes flashing

"He was on the couch, I just left him to get the bottle, now he's not here."

Lily's look turned to one of concern "the wards weren't broken, he's got to be here somewhere."

"I've looked everywhere, he's not in here. Let's go check the bedrooms."

They checked their bedroom first and he wasn't there, then they checked Kassie's room and found that she was missing as well.

James frowned "Kassie? Where are you princess?"

Just then Kassie came out of the nursery and looked at her parents innocently.

"Where's your brother?" asked Lily warningly.

"I haven't seen him mummy," she said with puppy dog eyes.

James looked at her for a few moments before walking back to his room, looking at the bottom of the chest for something.

"Kass, where's my invisibility cloak?" he said, turning back to his daughter before walking past her and into the nursery.

She just smiled at him innocently "I haven't seen it daddy."

He was about to respond when he heard a small giggle come from the closet. He walked over to it and opened it, seeing nothing. He reached around carefully before feeling the silk-like fabric and pulling it off to reveal his son who was giggling, looking at Kassie.

Kassie just pouted, "Harry, you gave it away!"

End Flashback

Kassie really was a little minx and James knew he could only blame himself for it. He found himself feeling bad for his parents and all the trouble he caused them. Sure he usually thought Kassie's little pranks were funny, but sometimes they could be scary, like the time when Harry disappeared. He already knew that Harry was going to be the same way, especially if Kassie was going to be his role model.

Kassie absolutely adored her little brother. It was nice to see and James hoped that they would always stay close. She really was a great older sibling, she would help her mum take care of him and she would read to him and play with him. Harry had a huge effect on her. When Kassie was having an episode where her magic was running haywire, Harry could always get her to calm down enough to control it.

Now James was sitting there wondering what he was going to do tonight. He hadn't left the house in two weeks, but tonight there was an emergency meeting that Sirius, Lily and James had to attend. Of course the meeting only included the three of them and Dumbledore, but he had to find someone to watch his kids, which was problematic since there was only one other person who knew where the house was, Peter.

He was fine with Peter being there, he wasn't great with kids, but he cared about the two of them. Of course he would prefer Natalie and Remus being there, but that wasn't really an option. The only problem with Peter was that Kassandra didn't like him. She would tolerate him well enough when there were other people there, but she had always refused to let him watch them. Occasionally when he would hold her or talk to her, her eyes would flash red. He didn't know why she didn't like him, he would ask her, but she never could answer. Tonight however, he really didn't have a choice, so he called Peter who was due to floo over in five minutes.

James made his way out into the living room when he heard the Floo activate. "Hey mate. Thanks for coming on such short notice," said James when Peter stumbled in.

"It's fine," he said looking a little nervous.

Before James could comment on his nervousness Lily came in holding Harry with Kassie trailing behind her. When Kassie saw Peter her eyes flashed red and she frowned.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Kassie, be nice," Scolded Lily. "Daddy and I have to go out tonight and Uncle Pete was nice enough to come and watch you and Harry."

Kassie looked at her dad with wide eyes that were filled with worry. "You're leaving? You can't leave us here with him! Please don't go," she pleaded.

James felt his heart drop when he looked at his daughter's worried eyes. Even Harry could tell something was wrong since he was frowning at Peter. Despite the small amount of dread, he felt, they were already running late and Dumbledore said it was an emergency, so he walked over to his kids to say goodbye.

"Kassie, I know you don't want us to go, but we have to," he said picking her up. "We'll only be gone for a few hours."

He held her close and kissed her on the forehead. The floo lit up again and Sirius stumbled through the fire. Kassie jumped out of her dad's arms and ran to Sirius with tears in her eyes.

"Uncle Paddy will you please watch us?" She asked, with a small sob.

Sirius just looked at James and Lily who both looked hesitant at leaving their kids. Harry began to cry when he saw that Kassie was crying, so Lily was rocking him.

"I'm sorry munchkin, but I have to go to the meeting with your mum and dad. But we won't be gone for long, then I can come back and see you," said Sirius wiping the tears from her face.

"Kassie we really have to go now, be good to Uncle Peter," said James. "Sorry Pete, I really don't know what's gotten into them, but once we're gone they'll be good."

James walked over and gave Harry a tight hug, kissing him on the forehead. Harry just looked at him pouting slightly "dada stay."

James shook his head "sorry prongslette, I'll be back I promise." He then turned back to Kassie and gave her another hug, even though she was glaring at him. "Come on Kass, don't be like that. I love you and I'll be back soon okay?"

Her face fell a little when she saw her dad's sad eyes "I love you too," she said in a small voice.

Both of the kids said goodbye to Lily and Sirius, who both hugged them tightly and the three of them left through the front door, ignoring the dread squirming in the stomachs.

When the door closed behind the adults, Peter turned to the two kids. "So, should we go get something to eat," he said with a smile.

Kassandra just glared at him before picking up her brother and walking into the kitchen. Peter followed them in and put some macaroni and cheese on the stove to cook.

When they were done eating, Kassie took Harry into the bathroom to get him cleaned up and dressed for bed. When they walked back into the living room, they saw Peter sitting on the couch looking nervous; his eyes kept flickering to the window as if he were expecting something.

"I'm going to put Harry to bed," Kassie told Peter who simply nodded.

She grabbed Harry's hand and walked him into his nursery. She had tears in her eyes; she couldn't help shake the feeling that something was really wrong. She had considered just grabbing Harry and leaving the house, but she didn't know where they would go. She just really wanted her parents here.

She sat with Harry whose lip was quivering. "Kassie sad," he said looking at his sister.

She smiled "I'm okay Harry and I'll make sure you're okay too."

It was then that they heard a crash and a cold voice talking to Peter. "Where is he?" it said. They didn't hear Peter respond, so Kassie could only assume he pointed. She picked up Harry and put him in a cupboard, throwing the invisibility cloak over him.

With tears in her eyes she said "Harry we're going to play a game okay? You need to be quiet and stay in here no matter what you hear okay? Don't come out until you hear mum or dad."

She then closed the door to the cupboard and turned to run out of the room but found her path blocked by a tall figure in a black cloak.

"Where is the boy?" the cold voice said.

Kassie had tears streaming down her face, but she stood her ground. "He's not here, I already got him out."

"Where is he?" he demanded pointing his wand at her face.

"You can't have him!" She shouted, her eyes flashing red and the glass in the room breaking.

He backed her up so she was standing right in front of the cupboard. He saw her eyes glance towards the cupboard and then back at him.

"Move aside you stupid girl and I will spare your life."

"No! You can't have Harry."

"I said step aside."

"Not Harry, please not Harry," she begged through her tears.

"You stupid child, I had use for you, but I suppose I'll just get rid of you too."

Kassie saw a flash of green light, before the world around her went black.

James and Lily were frustrated. They made their way up through the gate and across the grounds of Hogwarts. This was the last thing they wanted to be doing when they were in the midst of war and they were fearing for the lives of those they loved most. Despite the frustration of needing to leave their children, they were hopeful of what the meeting with Dumbledore would bring. They were hopeful that maybe this time he would have some good news.

When they reached Dumbledore's office, James knocked hard, hoping to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible.

"come in," Dumbledore said from behind the door.

James opened the door and entered the office, closely being followed by Lily and Sirius. James hesitated momentarily at the quick look of surprise on Dumbledore's face at the sight of all three of them. The look faded quickly and Dumbledore beckoned them to the chairs in front of his desk. He walked behind his desk and sat down.

"I must say, I am pleased to see the three of you as I get to see you so little as of recently, although I am surprised you came," he said, looking at them intently.

Now it was James' turn to look confused. "You asked us to come Albus," he said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

Dumbledore's look of interest turned quickly to a look of concern.

"I'm afraid I am unaware of calling a meeting," he said quietly.

James felt a lump in his throat and dread in his stomach. Dumbledore hadn't called the meeting, but someone did. The question was 'why' they called the meeting.

Lily who had been thinking the same thing as James jumped to her feet, pushing her chair back causing it to clatter onto the floor. She then bolted towards the door. James heard her whisper "Harry" before he hopped to his feet as well and followed his wife as she sprinted down the steps, through the corridor and out onto the grounds, towards the apparation point. Fear racked his body at the thought that someone wanted him, his wife, and his best friend out of the house and away from their kids. He saw his wife disappear with a pop and he followed closely behind.

He apparated a block from his house and began sprinting. He heard a pop behind him and spared a glance to find that his best friend was following as well, a similar look of pain and fear etched on his face. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw that the Fidelius charm was broken and the house was visible. The house looked like it had been blown up and the dark mark was hovering above the house.

James just stared at the ruined house with his mouth agape and his hands in his hair as though he was going to pull it out. He had tears welling in his eyes. He was frozen; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His two little children were in there and Death Eaters had been there. He was instantly filled with dread and regret. All he could see was his daughter's tear-stained face when he left the house. He could hear his baby telling him to stay.

"No," Lily said quietly with tears streaming down her face. She also couldn't get her limbs to move, but she had dread in her stomach. She didn't want to go inside; she didn't want to see what happened to her children.

Sirius was the first to get a grip on the situation. He began sprinting towards the door. Sirius running towards the house seemed to snap James out of the trance he was in and he began running after Sirius with Lily following closely behind him.

James entered the house and immediately began running from room to room calling out for both of his children and checking under the furniture to see if they were there. Lily and Sirius were doing the same in the other rooms. They had checked nearly every room and had seen no sign of their children. The last room to check was the nursery, which was the one that looked the most destroyed. The three of them stood outside the door; afraid of what they would see when they went in there.

James opened the door and saw that the room looked like it had been blown up, but he didn't see either of his children. One of the walls was blown away and there was a black cloak and a wand on the ground, which looked like they must have belonged to a Death Eater.

The three adults were panicking. Their kids could be anywhere; they could have been taken or they could be dead. They heard someone else enter the house and call out for them.

"We're up here!" shouted Sirius.

James walked into the room cautiously, "Kassie? Harry?" he said with tears streaming down his face. He looked in the crib and the closet when he heard a little sob. Dumbledore had just entered the room and all four occupants paused their looking.

"Harry? Is that you? Come on bud, where are you?" said James.

"Dada," said a little voice coming from the cupboard.

James rushed to the cupboard and opened it to see his son sitting on the bottom of it with a gash on his forehead and the invisibility cloak lying around him.

Harry had tears streaming down his face when James grabbed him and held him close. "Kassie… Kassie… Kassie…" He repeated over and over again looking around the room hoping to see her.

James walked over to the others and handed Harry to Lily who immediately held him close and cried into his hair. James was looking at Dumbledore with a lost expression.

Dumbledore turned to Lily, "Lily, I might be able to see what happened if I can look into his mind. Is that alright?"

Lily nodded turning Harry to look at the headmaster. Dumbledore locked eyes with Harry and it was several minutes before he looked away. When Dumbledore exited Harry's mind and looked at James, the ever-present twinkle was completely absent from his eyes. He looked like he had aged nearly fifty years and looked at James and Lily with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry," he said grabbing James' shoulder. "Harry saw it, she's gone."

James let out a strangled sob as his legs collapsed beneath him. Lily had backed into the wall and sunk to the ground, still holding Harry tight as she cried into his hair.

Sirius looked at James and Lily before anger flashed through his eyes and he growled "Peter! He was the spy. I'm going to kill him. The bloody coward." He started walking out of the room when Dumbledore grabbed him.

"James and Lily need you Sirius. If you go after Peter you will get yourself thrown into Azkaban. We will find him and make sure he is locked up, but right now your best friend needs you."

Sirius looked back at James, his eyes softening. He walked back to James and sat beside him putting his arm around him as he let his own tears fall.

The four of them cried. Three of them cried for the little girl who they loved. The little girl who was always breaking rules and making people laugh. Dumbledore cried for the powerful little girl who gave her life for her brother.