Author's Note: This chapter is my Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Yule/what have you present to you. I'm definitely not going to be around until after Christmas- possibly not until after New Year's. So I figured I'd go ahead and post this now. I'm kind of upset with myself; I would've liked to have this whole story posted before January. Maybe I can still make that happen, but... it's not looking likely. Ah well.

I hopscotch in time again with this chapter. Mostly because I didn't want to write another chapter or two of constant battles and such. I think I suck at writing battle sequences. But despite the time jump, I like this chapter. Especially James' and Julian's POVs. Hope you enjoy!

20 August 2020
As Alana stepped through the fireplace into the Headmaster's office, she drew her first easy breath in months. Now that she was here, safely hidden away in Hogwarts… now, incredibly, it was nearly over. Her arrival here was only the first step in a plan that would bring down the Death Eaters and their thrice-accursed war.

While Alana had been in St. Mungo's, convalescing from childbirth, she and Harry had been plotting. The birth of their daughter had served only to drive home how urgently they needed to end this business. They were tired, battleworn; their fatigue showed in the shadows behind their eyes and the strain in their smiles. Lily's birth should have been a joyous occasion; instead, it only served to remind them of their startling, frail mortality. Either of them could die at any moment, leaving the other- and their children- behind. The war needed to end, now, so that they could live.

Unsurprisingly, it had been Alana who came up with their plan of attack. For the entirety of their relationship, Alana had always been the planner, the analyzer. Of the two of them, she was the one who could look at a messy situation with a scientist's eye, dissecting it with a clinical precision and reassembling it into a workable solution. Since beginning this undercover mission, she had been reading treatises on military strategy both Muggle and magical, and it was from these studies that she formulated a plan of systematic retreat.

The plan was simple, really. Alana, as Leto, would inform Tisiphone that she and Roman were leaving Spain for a time, to introduce their infant daughter to her grandparents in England before traveling to Greece, where Leto's family supposedly lived. As Roman was such a close friend of Harry's, it made perfect sense that both he and Leto would be invited to a private Halloween party being thrown on Hogwarts grounds. It would be the perfect opportunity for the Death Eaters to get into Hogwarts and attack. It was a trap, of course, with Harry and Alana serving as the bait. Instead of an unaware group of partygoers, the Death Eaters would find a full squadron of Aurors [who would be pulled out of Europe as much as possible] and Order members, ready and willing to fight.

There were, of course, objections to this plan. Mostly from Harry. He was uneasy using Hogwarts as the setting for this battle, allowing the Death Eaters to come so close to his sanctuary. There was also the question of the students' security- he could of course issue orders that the students were to be confined to their dorms for the evening, but how could he ensure that the students would obey? He also didn't like the idea of both he and Alana putting themselves at risk like this. There was a high risk for injury or death with this plan; it was going to be an ugly fight to the death, a desperate last struggle to end the war once and for all. What if one- or Merlin forbid, both- of them was hurt or killed? What would happen to the children? What would happen to them (since there definitely was a them now, even if they hadn't gotten around to discussing what exactly that meant)?

However, in the end, Harry had to admit that not only was it a good plan, but it was the only chance they had. And so here Alana was in the Headmaster's office, her sleeping daughter in her arms and a bespelled trunk floating in midair beside her. Harry's condition for this plan had been that Alana would hide herself in Hogwarts. It was a clever hiding place; no one would expect her to be there. She was free to stay in bed, regaining her strength, and to care for Lily while they waited for Halloween.

Alana bit her lip, glancing behind her as the flames in the fireplace changed from green to orange. There was one part of this plan that she really didn't like, and that was the part Harry had carved out for himself. While she was ensconced in Hogwarts, trussed up like a Christmas goose, Harry would be in Spain, aiding the Aurors and other Ministry soldiers in systematically withdrawing from the area in the hopes of drawing Tisiphone to England. She knew he was the Savior and knew he felt responsible for leading all those fighting against the Death Eaters, but she had still very much objected to Harry putting himself in constant danger like that. His response had been, "You've done so much for this war. Now it's my turn." How exactly was she supposed to fight against a sentiment like that? She couldn't, and he knew very well that she couldn't.

Whoever had taught Harry to play dirty should, in Alana's opinion, be trampled by a herd of angry hippogriffs.

However, said trampling would have to wait. Whether she liked it or not, Harry was in Spain- Majorca at the moment, she believed- and she was in Scotland. She might as well make herself at home; she'd be living in these apartments for the next two months. Waving her wand at her trunk, Alana walked up into Harry's quarters, rocking the baby gently. A few well-placed waves of her wand unpacked and enlarged the baby furniture she'd been carrying in her purse; after setting it into place Alana laid Lily down in her bassinette and got to work unpacking her trunk. It was a good thing she had a baby to look after, she reflected; were it not for Lily, Alana would likely be bored silly being trapped up here, cut off from everyone else in the castle, even her own sons.

10 October 2020
Harry was operating on a countdown, a schedule he'd set for himself. He'd agreed to Alana's madcap plan, because he knew that when it came to strategy and planning, there was potentially no one on earth who could rival his wife. However, he'd put his own time frame on her battle plan. He was going to make sure that all of this- the systematic retreat, the battles necessary to keep the ports, Network fireplaces, and Portkeys open so the Aurors could get out- was over in two days. Harry was going to be at Hogwarts for James' birthday come hell or high water, and so he was working himself to the bone in order to make that deadline.

It was dangerous work, there was no doubt about that. Harry would enter a town under cover of darkness, contact all the Aurors, Order members, or other Ministry warriors residing there, help them pack up, and then help them get the hell out. Quite often, this involved providing a distraction for the local Death Eaters- usually in the form of letting them see his face, and engaging them in battle. It was rare that Harry got out of those battles unscathed; the Death Eaters always aimed to kill. He usually walked away from those battles limping and bleeding, but at least he walked away.

Alana would probably kill him if she knew the extent of the risks he was taking. He had to say that for the former Death Eater queen; for all that she had been Voldemort's premier weapon and the leader of countless raids, she really and truly detested bloodshed. Alana preferred psychological warfare to hand to hand combat. Harry knew full well that she had constructed her plan in an effort to keep the bloodshed as minimal as possible, and the risks he was taking weren't helping. However, Harry didn't see any other way to draw the Death Eaters out of hiding. He was the perfect bait, and he took full advantage of that.

Everything would be worth it once he'd returned home, he reassured himself for the thousandth time. The risks, the injuries, the constant crushing stress, the brutal reality that he could be killed at any moment… it would all be worth it when he came home to Hogwarts. Alana would be waiting there with Lily, and they would throw James a birthday party, and everything would be alright.

In the interests of getting finished by the deadline he'd set himself, Harry had been traveling with Ron for the past two weeks. Hermione was, of course, livid with the pair of them, but after all someone had to stay home with Molly and Sev. Besides, Harry and Ron had reckoning to do. They hadn't spoken much since March, since that awful fight about Alana and the baby. And Harry had grown up enough in the past fourteen years or so to realize that they were behaving like imbeciles. When they were facing death, destruction and utter ruin, arguing like schoolboys was absolutely moronic.

Apparently Ron had been thinking along the same lines, because he began speaking as they trudged down the silent, darkened street.

"I've been thinking," he said softly, his face concealed in shadows. "I don't get why you chose Alana, probably never will. But… I'm happy for you, Harry. Lily's a beautiful little girl, you're lucky."

He said nothing more, but the silence they maintained was easy now, laced with the love that comes of twenty years of friendship instead of fraught with tension, as it had been for the past several months. As far as apologies went, most people would probably find it lacking. But that was how it had always gone for them. Neither of them liked discussing their feelings, so neither of them ever said they were sorry. They made silent concessions to each other in a language that only they understood, and that was enough for them. All arguments and snarking aside, they were best friends, brothers, and neither would let that bond between them die.

Peace restored, they turned their attention back to work, preparing to save the world once again.

12 October 2010
James had always liked his birthday. He loved the month of October- the leaves turning colors on the trees, the frisky breezes, achingly beautiful days turning into cool nights perfect for sleeping. His mother had always made her sons' birthdays into Events, even when it was only the three of them celebrating; cake and presents and the room fit to bursting with decorations.

Last year, James hadn't missed his mother too terribly much; she had sent him a care package of sweets and a book or two as a birthday present, and despite the fact that he was away from home he'd appreciated that his mother had still tried to make it festive for him. This year, however, was a different story. With the world embroiled in a war and both his parents gone, James felt very much alone, and he found himself longing most fiercely for a birthday party. Just a simple birthday party, one where they were all together- him, Julian, Mother and Dad, even the new baby sister he'd only gotten to see a couple of times. He didn't even care if he didn't get any presents [at least, he wouldn't care much]; he just craved all of them being together.

Alas, it wasn't to be. His father was in Europe, doing something terribly important for the Ministry [he knew it was terribly important because no one would talk about it]; his mother was tied up in London doing something or other [which must be even more important, because no one even knew exactly where she was]. His dreams of an elaborate birthday party would have to remain just that- dreams.

At least he had his brother. As it was a Saturday, the two of them had stuck together all day, playing endless games of Exploding Snap in one of the courtyards. James missed Julian these days. Last year, they had sent each other innumerable letters, James crowing about how wonderful Hogwarts was, Julian telling him all about the pranks he'd played on their mother. This year, even though they were in the same building, they hardly ever saw each other. Part of that was because they were in classes and their schedules didn't align; part of that was because James was a Gryffindor and the son of the great Harry Potter, while Julian was a Slytherin and the son of the infamous Draco Malfoy. Most days, their Houses kept them separate. Today, however, they had broken the tradition of Gryffindors and Slytherins being bitter enemies and rivals in order to just be brothers.

"Got you something," Julian said at length.

He sat up off his stomach, digging about in his coat pocket before producing a slightly squished bag of black licorice wands with a triumphant face. He offered it to his brother, a grin on his face.

"I didn't have enough money to buy you a box of Honeydukes," he explained.
"That's alright," James said, accepting the bag. "Thanks."
"We'll have a party on our own, even if Mother isn't here," Julian said. "We can sneak into the Astronomy Tower or something."
"Maybe we could break into Dad's office and borrow the Map," James said thoughtfully. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind…"
"There will be no stealing of my map, James Sirius Potter."
"Oh for shame, Hal. I'm sure your father would be overjoyed if his grandson managed to steal the map, seeing as it really should belong to him now."

Two heads- one dark, one fair- shot up in surprise; two pairs of eyes- one green, one gray- stared in amazement at the sight before them. Because standing in the courtyard was not only Harry, but Alana as well, Lily in her arms. They both looked weather-beaten; Harry's cloak was spattered in mud and Alana looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks. Each had dark shadows under their eyes, both had lost weight. Each looked as though they had accepted the weight of the world from Atlas' shoulders. However, they were here.

James and Julian jumped up at the same time, sprinting forward. James threw his arms around Harry, Julian embraced Alana, and for a long moment the courtyard reverberated with the happy sounds of reunion.

"When did you get in?" Julian asked, a bright smile on his face.
"Just a few minutes ago," Harry replied, taking the baby from Alana's arms so she could hug James. "Professor McGonagall told us you were out here."
"We came to celebrate your birthday, darling," Alana smiled. "It only seemed fair, since we were all together for Julian's birthday."
James looked positively beatific. "How long are you here?" he asked, hope in his shining eyes.
"Until after Halloween," Alana smiled. "Perhaps if we ask nicely, the Headmaster will let you two have meals in his chambers with me."
"I think that could be arranged," Harry grinned.

James and Julian exchanged ecstatic glances while Harry and Alana conjured up a picnic basket for them all to share. Yes, the world had grown very dark lately, but it was wonderful that they could still be together like this. Like a family.

Slytherin House was quiet as its crown prince walked into the common room. After spending the rest of the afternoon and the entire evening with James, Alana, Lily and Harry, Julian had to admit that it was something of a relief to return to his own dormitory, to the world he instinctively understood and effortlessly ruled.

Julian, Malfoy to the core, would have rather died than admit it, but he had been very much afraid since summer. He didn't like knowing that his mother was out in the world, risking her life every day, while he remained helpless in school. The Daily Prophet faithfully reported the staggering amounts of casualties this war was causing, and every day Julian feared that he would see his mother's name listed among the dead. It had been good to see her; her presence had been balm poured on the wound of his anxiety.

At the same time, though, it had been uncomfortable and even painful to remain with them. Watching James and Harry's easy affection, seeing Alana smile at the pair of them while she cradled the baby… it had only been another reminder that this was a family that Julian would never fully fit into. When faced with that all-encompassing truth, it was a relief to disappear into the shadowy world of the Slytherin dormitory, to seek solace in surroundings that hadn't changed since Julian's father [and grandfather, even] had attended school.

Julian sank onto the comfortable leather couch situated before the fireplace, kicking his feet up. The firelight flickered over his angular features as he stretched out on the sofa, lost in thought. Slytherin House was in an interesting predicament at the moment. Most of the Death Eaters had pulled their children out of Hogwarts when the war broke out in favor of Durmstrang. Those few who remained were at once bullied, scorned, and feared by the rest of the student body. Julian had been quick to defend his Housemates against the bullies, the combination of his father's name and his mother's infamy enough to silence most of his opposition. For those who claimed not to be intimidated by his biological parents' legacies, all Julian had to do was mention the name of his guardian to end all discussions. After all, who was fool enough to invoke the wrath of the Savior, especially when said Savior was also their Headmaster [in absentia though he may be]?

The Slytherins, always clannish, had rallied behind Julian, claiming him as their leader despite his young age. And he found that he enjoyed the power that came with being the Slytherin Prince; love of power, after all, came with the territories of being a Slytherin and a Malfoy. It was his birthright; hadn't his father and his grandfather before him both held the title? If Lucius and Draco Malfoy had both led their House, why shouldn't Julian follow their example? Who better to lead the Slytherins than a Malfoy?

When he finally went up to bed, Julian found a letter waiting on his pillow. He grinned as he snatched up Tizzi's latest correspondence.

Jules —

Life is very exciting here. The war has turned everyone's heads; everyone rushes around with an energy that's electric. Something is soon to happen— something none of us kids are allowed to know about, but it must be big, because we're all moving from Madrid to England.

I can't believe it! I've never been out of Spain in my life, and now I get to come to England! Go shopping on Diagon Alley, see the family halls, everything I've wanted for so long.

Best of all, a few of our relatives are bringing me for a visit to Hogwarts. Isn't it wonderful? We can finally meet in person! I want you to show me everything, Jules— Slytherin House, and Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, the Forbidden Forest.

I'll be there Halloween night. Would you let me into the castle? Meet me at the main door at midnight. I can't wait to see you!

Tizzi