PROLOG

He smiled down at his beautiful wife and brushed a stray hair away from her sleeping face. It was about two in the morning and James Potter had just woken up from a nightmare, but seeing his spouse's calm expression he instantly relaxed. He could lay there forever and stare at her. Her round face was framed perfectly by stunning red hair and there was a light spray of freckles on her high cheekbones and nose.

Everyone said this was never going to happen. That James Potter was never in a million years going to marry Lilly Evens. But look were they are today, married and with two babies to take care of.

The oldest was Harry James Potter. Harry was born on the last day of July at about one in the morning. 'Perfect timing' as Sirius - his god father and James' best mate - had said. That had been a little more than a year ago. He has the same brilliant green eyes as his mother, but other than that he was a carbon copy of James. He even had a tuft of jet black hair on the top of his head.

The other child is Rose Lilly Potter, and even though she was only a few months old, you could already tell see looked just like her mother, except for the glowing pair of brown eyes with a ring of gold around the iris. She has James' eyes. She was born the same day as Harry, only a year later. James could not wait to see what would happen on their first birthday. Twice the cake and twice the presents, that's what.

(A/N: Iris is the color part of your eye. I didn't know this so you might not either :D)

Currently both children were sleeping in their respective rooms. It was nice, one of the few nights that both the parents were not awaken by the noise of a screaming infant. James could not wait until tomorrow, his birth day. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew had all said that they would come over for cake and amateur quidditch in the back yard. With happy thoughts of seeing his friends again soon and lily's delicious cake, James fell back to sleep. Only this time his dream was pleasant. If only things could have stayed that way.

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"James!" Lily shrieked at the top of her lungs.

And that's how he woke up. Some thing was wrong, and the raven haired man didn't think he wanted to know what it was. As quickly as he could, he untangled himself from the white sheets on his bed and ran to down the hall, pushing open doors as he went, looking for his distressed wife. Finally, at the end of the hall James pushed open the door that led to little Rose's nursery to find the troubled red head crying, and clasping a piece of parchment to her chest.

"Lily what's wrong?" he asked.

Then he looked passed his wife to the cradle where a baby was suppose to be sleeping.

"Where's Rose?" he asked another question "What's the paper for?"

Lily just seemed to cry harder. James walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her. Rubbing her back in small circles and whispering words of nonsense and comfort, he wondered what had happened. Where was Rose? Where ever she was, was she okay? What was on that parchment Lily has? The questions buzzed around in his head, driving him near to insane. He could not have been more relieved than when he was finally let go, and with a sob, was handed the note. What was written in that scratchy print angered him and saddened him.

She is gone. You're not going to find her. By the time you find the note I may have already killed her. Maybe not though. But there is no hope for you.

Enjoy your day.

How ironic, the note wishes us a good day, but the action that accord just moment before, and what is written on the note completely ruined it. James could feel the prick of tears forming in his eye and he let them fall freely. There's no shame in crying. He wrapped his arms back around his wife and cried into her hair while she cried into his shoulder.

Harry! James let go of Lily and ran out of the room. He rushed into the other baby's room to find him snoring softly, surrounded by stuffed animals and wrapped loosely in a blanket, oblivious to the horrible event that had just accord. James let out a sigh of relief and silently made is way over to the sleeping one year old.

"I failed, but I'm not going to loose you to, Harry." He vowed.

Around noon Sirius and Remus arrived. They said they stopped by Peter's house but couldn't find him. James could not enjoy his birthday, and when asked why, he showed his two best friends the note.

Sirius was determined to track down Rose and who ever took her, beat the bad guy to a bloody pulp and return Rose safely back home. Odd enough Remus liked that idea. Sensible Remus wanted to set caution to the wind and rescue his goddaughter. It was probably a deatheater. But how had they gotten through the words? Was the potter family still safe? Was Peter okay? He was their secret keeper after all.

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There it is, the Potter's home. He concentrated for a second and the man transformed into a large gray rat. He scurried up the muggle like drive way and into the house through a hole in the wall just barely big enough for him to squeeze through. He ran up the stairs to a long hallway. The rat could not help but feel scared. On his masters orders he was to steal his best friend's daughter, Rose. He did not understand why a powerful dark lord would ever care about a small insignificant child, but a wise man is not one to argue with the dark lord, or stand in the way of some thing he wants. The first door on his right was left ajar. Once inside the nursery he changed back into himself back into the rat faced, watery eyed man he was and biked up the baby from her cradle. Leaving only a sinister sounding note he had written earlier.

Looking down at the sleeping child in his arms he knew that he could not fulfill his master's wishes. Surprisingly silent, Peter left the house; he left the neighborhood, as far as he could get on foot. Then he had an idea on how to save the girl in his arms. And he quickly apparited away to a place he had only heard about in muggle books. A place of stars and stripes.

Peter did not know were exactly he was but there was a neighbor hood nearby. So he conjured up a warm blanket, a quill, an inkwell and some parchment. He wrapped Rose in the blanket and set her on a door step, the quickly wrote a note begging for the people to take care of her. Then to make sure that they would, he put the note on rose's chest and cast a powerful mind charm, forcing the people to have some goodness in their heart. Then with a sorrowful glance at the small sleeping figure and a warming charm just in case, he turned in his heals and apparited once again. He did not know what would happen, but if he did know that when the child was found crying on the door step, she would receive a slap on the face for making to much noise, he would not have left her there.