Hey! I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter! Thanks for the reviews! So now the Potters take a little trip to Diagon Alley, but things don't exactly turn out as plan. If you're the emotional type, break out the tissues. This is going to be sad. Please review! I'll love you forever (and update faster). Onto disclaimer! I do not own Harry Potter. Like many Potterheads, I simply grovel at the feat of the almighty J.K. Rowling, who does own Harry Potter.

Callista Potter, affectionately known as Callie, was sitting in the clubhouse her dad and uncles built in one of the big oak trees on the Potter estate. After Voldemort had tried to kill her brother, her parents decided into move into the more isolated, heavier warded family manor. It was the only home Callie and Arthur, whom she (and only she could) called Artie, had ever known and the only one they ever wanted to. It was big, yes, bigger than her four people family really needed, but it was homier than places like Malfoy Manor. There were plenty of rooms for her uncles to stay in, which they often did, and places for her mother to experiment with charms and potions with Aunt Selene and for her and Artie to play and go on adventures (usually Artie's idea).

Artie's room was on the top floor of the manor, close to the attic. It was red and gold, Gryffindor colors, with Quidditch poster plastered everywhere. There was a huge bay window right across from his bed, and Artie had told her that Dad was teaching him how to summon his broomstick from his bed so they could play late night Quidditch.

Callie's room was in the back of the house on the ground level. It was painted purple, her favorite color, and there were flowers everywhere. Callie loved her room because she could open the bay doors and step into the garden. She loved flowers, and they seemed to love her in return. Flowers, no matter how droopy or ill-looking, seemed to brighten a little extra under her care. Her Uncle Padfoot liked to joke that Callie was so similar to sunshine that flowers couldn't tell the difference between them. This bonded her to Neville, who had also shown an affinity for plants. The pair could gab on about Herbology for hours on end.

Callie's favorite place in the manor, however, was the clubhouse. Her dad, Uncle Padfoot, and Uncle Moony had built it for her and Artie's birthday last year. Her dad had said it was necessary for budding Maruaders to have a secret meeting place, and Uncle Padfoot added that it was also far enough away from the house that Lily wouldn't notice any pranks gone bad. Uncle Moony, seeing that Callie was disappointed that the present was aimed more towards her rambunctious older brother, said that it could also be a quiet place, one for reading and thoughts. To everyone's surprise, that's what it became. Lily was immediately suspicious of the clubhouse and monitored Artie whenever he was in it. As a result, he kept away from the clubhouse, and Callie took it over. The standard answer to the question "Where is Callie?" became "The clubhouse". Arthur, seeing how much his sister loved the only truly quiet place at the manor, never tried to reclaim it. He was a good brother that way.

The clubhouse itself was not extravagant. It was made of light wood, big enough for a couple people to sit. Her father and uncles couldn't to stand up completely in the small clubhouse, and Uncle Padfoot had bumped his head on the ceiling quite a few times. There were pictures of her family pinned up on the wall. Some were of the whole family, some of just Callie and Artie, and some of Callie and her uncles. There were also a couple of Callie with her two best friends, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley, and Neville. Luna and Callie had been friends practically since they were babies, their moms being close friends at Hogwarts despite being in different houses and later going on to do research together. Callie's parents knew the Weasleys from their days in the Order, and when Ron and Artie became friends, Callie had pulled Ginny into her and Luna's twosome. The girls were inseparable, and it was usually a bad idea to mention they would be separated when Callie went off to Hogwarts since Luna and Ginny were a year younger. The only furniture in the room were two plush chairs, a tiny table, and a small bookshelf. All of Callie's favorite books were there: The Tales of Beetle and the Bard, the Chronicles of Narnia (all of them), and a couple other fairy tales.

Callie currently had a book open and was immersed in another world. In contrast to Artie, who was boisterous and adventurous, she was calm and imaginative. She preferred the adventures in books to those in real life, but sometimes Artie managed to rope her into his.

Just when she got to the good part where the prince saved the damsel, Callie heard Artie calling for her. "Callie! Mum says it's time to go!" She sighed and closed her book, heading down the robe ladder. She would just have to wait until later to finish the story.


Lily smiled as she saw her two children approaching. She would've never imagined she could love anyone as much as she loved them. Arthur was an exact replica of James, always pulling pranks and making everyone laugh. Though Lily and James had told Arthur that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, they made sure that he knew it was purely chance that he survived that night. As a result, he didn't care that much that he was the Boy-Who-Lived. He was just a normal six year old boy who liked to play Quidditch, hated eating broccoli, and loved his twin fiercely. The twins were close despite their contrasting personalities. Often one would be able to respond to what the other said before they even said it. It was amusing to watch them and the Weasley twins in the same room. Callie was a person of her own mixture with some of James's humor and Lily's love of books. Lily never tired of her daughter's dreamy smiles and simple kindness.

"Earth to Lily, Earth to Lily!" James said, bringing her back into reality and causing their children to laugh. Lily smiled. Though he still grated on her nerves occasionally, James had grown into a good man, a devoted husband, and a wonderful father. She never imagined she would love him this much, but she did. He was only second in her heart to their children.

She smiled at him before turning to the twins. "What do you two want to look at first?"

Arthur answered, "Brooms," the same time Callie answered, "Books." The twins then looked at each other and muttered, "Of course," in perfect union. It took all of their parents' efforts not to laugh.

"I promise we'll see both," Lily said, motioning for her children to step into the fireplace, which they did.

James grabbed a handful of Floo powder and said, "Leaky Cauldron." The family was soon transported to the always busy spot. Luckily, Artie was wearing a hat and had a slight Notice-Me-Not charm on him courtesy of his mother so the family was not harassed. They soon decided to split up, the boys going to Quality Quidditch and the girls to Flourish & Blotts, agreeing to meet up at Fortescue's for lunch.

Not even five minutes after they stepped into the shop, Lily and Callie ran into the Lovegoods. The two little girls were soon off exploring the store, gabbing and giggling the whole time. Lily took the opportunity to catch up with Selene. Before she knew it, it was time to go meet the boys for lunch. Callie was waiting eagerly by the checkout, a book of fairytales sitting on the counter. Lily didn't think Flourish and Blotts had a fairytale that Callie didn't already own, but she paid for the book anyway. She also picked up an interesting Potions study recently published. She felt a slight pang in her chest when she saw Severus's name on the list of contributing authors.

Severus had once been her best friend, her first friend, but there were certain things she could not forgive. She could not forgive the slur he had hurled at her all those years ago. Mudblood. In the end, after years of friendship, that was all Severus thought of her in the end. She especially could not forgive the way he had delivered the prophecy to Dumbledore, endangering both her family and the Longbottoms with a second thought.

Lily and Callie said goodbye to the Lovegoods and headed towards Fortescue's. The boys were already there, each enjoying a cold glass of pumpkin juice. Lily rolled her eyes when she saw a broom box, but her husband returned that look with a raised eyebrow when he saw the Flourish & Blotts bag hanging from Callie's fingers.

The lunch was mostly enjoyable. James regaled them with funny stories from the office, and Arthur talked about how Fred and George blew up the small bathroom upstairs at the Burrow. There was a minor spat between siblings when Arthur tried to get Callie's attention when she was delving into her new book, but it was quickly resolved when their ice cream sundaes arrived.

It wasn't until James had paid their check and they were heading back to the Leaky Cauldron that things went south. There were quite a few screams, and Lily and James turned around to see people in Death Eater masks throwing curses at everyone they could. It was a sight that made James's blood boil. He had done all he could to make sure most of the Death Eaters were in Azakban so that his kids could have a safer life. He had been mostly successful, but there were always people like Lucius Malfoy who would walk because they had money and influence. He got out his wand, ready to defend these people. It was his job, and he would be damned if he didn't do it.

"Get to the Leaky Cauldron," he said to Lily, who was looking at him worriedly. "Use the Floo there to get home if it's open." His normally stubborn wife didn't try to argue, simply nodding and clutching Callie's hand tightly.

"Be safe," was all she said before leaving with their children, trying to avoid being trampled by the panicked crowd.

Even though she couldn't hear him, James replied, "Promise."


Diagon Alley was frantic, the air practically racing with panic. There was screaming and evil laughter and a constant stream of traffic. Lily tried to keep moving, her hand clutching Callie's and Callie's clutching Arthur. They were halfway to Leaky Cauldron when Lily was stopped by a heart-wrenching cry.

There was a little girl backed into a corner, a Death Eater tearing off her clothes. Lily wanted to ignore this, take her children, and run, but the mother in her refused. Instead, she turned to Arthur. "I need you to take your sister and run," she instructed. "Use the Floo to get home. Don't turn around for anything, okay?"

Arthur nodded, trying to look braver than he was. He was the oldest, the stronger twin. Callie's eyes were darting everywhere, her face clearly frightened. He gripped her hand tighter and took off. Callie's head whipped around to see their mother one last time, but Arthur pulled her forward.

It was almost impossible to make their way through the panicked crowd. Callie tried to hang onto her older twin's hand, but it proved impossible. Her palms were too sweaty, and so she had to let go. She tried to grab his hand back, but she couldn't. Someone knocked her down, and she went down on her head. Arthur, no longer able to see Callie, tried to get back to her, but the crowd kept pushing him forward. He promised himself to get to the Leaky Cauldron and wait for the crowd to go down. Either she would make her way to him, or he would go out and try to find her. He promised himself he would find his sister. He promised himself she would be okay. There was no way he could know he wouldn't see her again for eleven years.