Minerva appeared at the front door to the Potter cottage at Godric's Hollow. The door was blown off its hinges. She gripped the Elder Wand in her hand as she carefully entered the room. The room was a mess with items strewn about it. She saw James' crumpled form near the stairs. She moved to him and was startled when she realized he was unconscious yet still alive. "Cookie," she called quietly.

James' personal elf appeared immediately. "Yous called Cookie," he asked politely.

Minerva nodded her head yes. "James is still alive," she revealed quietly. "Take him to Poppy Pomfrey immediately. Do not leave his side until another Potter elf is present. We shall not leave him unprotected." The elf nodded her head and did as ordered.

Minerva inwardly sighed and then stood up determined. She quietly made her way up the stairs where she could hear Harry's painful wails. The nursery door had been blown away. Debris littered the hallways. She carefully sidestepped it as she neared the door. Voldemort or what she assumed had been Voldemort was nothing more than a dark puddle of goo, bones and robes. His wand laid nearby. She sidestepped him and looked on in the room. Lily was ashen and lifeless in front of Harry's crib. Her wand still gripped in her hand. "Oh Lily," she whispered emotionally as she saw her broken body.

Harry was standing in his crib sobbing pitifully as he looked at his mum. "Oh my love," she offered as she moved towards him. He held his hands up in a pick me up gesture. A movement in her peripheral vision had her grip her wand tightly and turn around quickly. "What do you want Albus," she questioned angrily.

"To settle the damage you did," he answered angrily. "Things must be sacrificed for the Greater Good!"

Minerva stared at him hard before questioning, "Your Greater Good?"

"Magical Britain's Greater Good," he retorted angrily. "The Purebloods must be brought around to my way of thinking for the betterment of our society. We both know Muggleborns are the future. The Old Ways need to vanish completely before that can happen!"

Minerva stared at him horrified. Old Ways vanish? The betterment of our society? Albus has went insane! "I cannot allow that to happen Albus," she said firmly as she shifted into a fighting stance.

"Can you not see the Greater Good?" he questioned calmly. "Have you gone dark?"

"Me gone dark?" she asked incredulously. "You provided Lily's sisters address to Voldemort. You watched as James and Lily battled against Voldemort and you did nothing to assist them. You have stood there who knows how long and have yet assisted an obviously distressed toddler. It is you who has gone dark Albus!"

"Nonsense," he retorted angrily. "Once you are out of the picture, I shall be the guiding light in Magical Britain once again!"

Minerva allowed her magic to flare as Albus sent a spell her way. Her blood red and black magic swirled violently as it rushed to protect Harry. A cloud of protection cloaked Harry's crib. She returned spellfire as he used darker and darker spells. "You think you can defeat me?" she asked coldly as she felt an icy bolt run down her spine.

"I shall," he answered confidently. A wandless hex sent an invisible knife across her cheekbone but she ignored it. "I shall be victorious!"

Minerva gritted her teeth before sending a chain of spells towards Albus. He had apparently freshened up on his little known spells since their last confrontation. She had to use more power this time when casting and she used some of the Morgan Ley Fey spells. She lost track of time as they exchanged spellfire. Albus was tiring and his spells were weaker. He became enraged and sent a series of spells that forced her to take cover.

Minerva screamed out in suprise as he grabbed her by the hair and slung her into the wall. She groaned as she fell onto the floor in a crumpled heap. Her shoulder throbbed painfully but she pushed it from her mind. Before she could get up, Albus kicked her in the side. She gasped for breath as he pinned her to the floor with his own body. He sat straddled across her hips as he smacked her over and over again. "You shall die tonight Minerva," he gloated. "I shall have Magically Britain eating out of the palm of my hands again."

"Min," Harry sobbed.

Minerva turned her head and saw the devastation, the pain on his face, at not being able to protect her. He needed her, he depended on her now. She would not fail him. With a strength she wasn't aware existed within her, she bucked Albus off of her. She moved quickly and kicked him forcefully. He sailed across the room and crashed into a shelf. "You shall not destroy me," she declared heatedly. "Harry needs me and I shall not let him down."

She felt Harry's magic mingle with her own, far more intensely than she ever felt before. Her black and blood red magic swirled faster and wilder than she ever experienced. She allowed the magic to turn and twist its way to Albus and hold him against the wall. She chuckled darkly at the fear she saw on his face! She sashayed slowly towards him and sent another strand of magic and allowed it to wrap around his neck. She tightened it effortlessly as she neared him. "How does it feel to be helpless Albus?" she taunted coldly. "How does it feel to know you have no control over yourself? To know I could do anything I pleased to you?"

"He's not worth it Min," Sirius called from the doorway. "You don't need his blood on your hands!"

Minerva nodded her head in agreement. "I have no plans on killing his sorry arse," she answered then allowed her purple Morgan Ley Fey magic to flare to life.

The purple mist surrounded Albus and she smirked when she heard his screams of pain. "If you are not killing him, what are you doing to him?" Fleamont asked curiously.

"Draining his magic," she revealed calmly. "The purple mist will absorb it."

Albus screamed out in agony as his magic was taken forcefully. Minerva walked closer to him and met his gaze. "You will never hurt another again," she informed him. "I told you to leave me and mine alone. You chose to ignore my warning and now you will pay the price. You should be glad it is me that has dealt with you. I have spared your miserable existence. Harry wouldn't have been so kind."

Albus glanced over at the toddler standing in the crib holding the rail. His forehead bled from the killing curse he had survived. His emerald eyes glared at Albus angrily. "Min is mine," he proclaimed.

"He's rather possessive," she uttered with a smile at Harry. She turned back to Albus and instensfied her magic. Within minutes, the once powerful wizard became a squib. His vibrant eyes and white haircolor deminished from his lack of magic. He fell in a heap on the ground unconscious.

Minerva moved towards the crib and allowed her black and blood red magic to return to her. She frowned when she felt a foreign magic near Harry. "His wound is cursed," she whispered emotionally. "It must be removed."

"Horcrux?" Sirius asked, silently begging her to tell him no.

"It is," she revealed sadly. "I need a dagger."

Sirius drew one from his inner robe and handed it to her without hesitation. She accepted it and removed a jewel off her jumpsuit. She dipped the tip of the dagger in the hidden Basilisk venom before placing the jewel back to contain the venom.

"You wear a bloody jumpsuit with Basilisk venom in it?" Fleamont asked horrified for his future granddaughter in-law. Did she not realize the dangers in that?

Minerva smiled at him but didn't answer. She looked back at Harry and smiled sadly at him. "This will bloody hurt," she warned him.

"Okay Min," he answered back and then kissed her palm.

Minerva smiled at the gesture. She looked back at Sirius. "If the parasite isn't destroyed by the Basilisk venom, contain it and then burn it with Fiendfyre."

"I will," he promised with a determination rarely uttered from him. I will never fail my pup again!

Minerva turned to Fleamont then and spoke. "Once I put the dagger away and call the magic back completely, can you manage to apparate us back to Potter Manor?"

"I shall," he promised emotionally. "Will this hurt you like last time?"

Minerva offered him a sad smile and nodded her head yes. "Probably more so," she admitted. "Harry has already survived a killing curse and I have drained so much energy dealing with Albus. Harry and I will both probably lose consciousness. Don't allow them to separate us. Harry's emotions will be high and he will need to feel me close by until we recover."

"I promise," he said heartbroken by her admission. She had to suffer so and it hurt him to know she gladly done it to protect Harry.

"Sirius," she got his attention. "When Fleamont takes us to Potter Manor, I want you to go to Poppy's home. James was unconscious and barely alive when I arrived tonight. Cookie took him to Poppy for help. Will you see his condition? I am uncertain if he survived but there's a slim chance."

Fleamont let out a sob at that but reigned in his emotions and focused on the task at hand. He would ensure his grandson and his future granddaughter in-law would make it safely to Potter Manor and then he would find out about James. Sirius gently grapsed Fleamont's hand in his own to seek comfort. The elder wizard smiled gratefully at the son of his heart.

Minerva laid her hand on Harry's cheek and held him steady as she moved the dagger towards his open wound. "I'm sorry love," she whispered as she eased the tip in his lightning bolt wound.

He bit down hard on his lip but he didn't show no other sign of pain. Toddler Harry refused to cry out in pain because of Minerva. He refused to cause her unnecessary guilt or pain. He met her teary-eyed gaze and sought to relieve it. "Love you," he managed and laid his hand ontop of hers on his cheek.

Tears fell rapidly down her face at that. She watched as the wound on his forehead smoldered and a hissing sound errupted. A black orb burst free from Harry's wound and gave a shrill scream of frustration. Minerva pushed her magic out and surrounded the orb, preventing its escape. She gripped the dagger and stabbed the orb violently over and over again until a deafening scream filled the air. The orb oozed black goo, almost blood like substance, and burst apart.

Minerva fell to her knees painfully but extended her hands up. She called the black and blood red magic back to her. The purple tendrils of her magic still floating around the room slammed into her forcefully knocking the wind from her. The blood red and black magic swirled around the room like a whirlwind. She tried to call it back once again. She felt her tired body struggle with the powerful magic and cried out in agony as it wounded her in its forceful return. She raised her hands shakily as she focused on the magic once again and called the remaining magic to her. She screamed as it rushed back to her forcefully and then she knew no more!