Disclaimer: I may write fanfiction for Harry Potter, but I am not in any way responsible for what occurred in the last two books or any of the movies. That's all JK Rowling's doing. The only money I make is from auditing files.

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"Lily, what are you doing here?"

The redhead in question jumped at Sirius' barked question. The Uses and Methods of Blood Magic fell from her nerveless fingers to the hardwood floor below her feet. She spared a brief grateful thought that the book did not have a title on the front. At least it was Sirius that caught her and not James- - Sirius could be convinced to not question what she was doing in the more questionable section of the Potter library. Lily pressed one hand against her chest as if to soothe her pounding heart.

"Sirius! You scared me," she scolded as she attempted to scoop up the book. It was a sad attempt. Her baby bump did not allow her to bend at the waist anymore and squatting down was a precarious endeavor. She managed to get a hold of the tome, but when she tried to stand back up, she overbalanced backwards onto her posterior. Frustration made tears prickle in her eyes. Oh, dear god, she wasn't about to cry again, was she? Damn hormones!

"Lily? Come on, Lils, don't cry," Sirius said as he squatted beside her and patted her awkwardly on the back. "What would Jamie say if he knew I made you cry again? He still hasn't forgiven me for the firework in the sugar bowl. Mind like a steel trap, he has."

The Black heir gently took the book from her hands. Before Lily could even think of stopping him, he had looked at the spine. Seeing the blankness, Sirius flipped the book open to the title page. Silence reigned for one long moment as it dawned on Lily that she was well and truly busted. She didn't have time to curse before Sirius' grey eyes were staring into her green ones.

"Why are you reading about blood magic, Lily? All blood magic is- -beyond questionable- -it's Dark."

"I was just- -"

"No, you don't 'just' study the Dark Arts, Lils," Sirius interrupted firmly. Their eyes were still connected. Lily could see a thousand memories playing through his mind. Lily knew a bit about his home life before he moved in with the Potters. Neither Sirius nor James wanted to talk about it beyond generalities. Their staunch silence led her to believe that whatever was playing through Sirius' mind now was beyond terrible. "It starts off that way, but then it sucks you in and never lets you go. Why would you even look at things like this? You've got to think about Harry, Lil. Do you really want to hurt him like this?"

"I'm not going to hurt him, Sirius. I would never hurt my child. Everything I am doing is to save him. You have got to believe me, Sirius."

Sirius sighed and looked away finally. He sighed again after reading the title of the book one more time. He closed the book with a snap and set it sideways on the bookshelf. Rising to his feet, he held both hands out to her. Thankful to the assistance and embarrassed that she needed it, she accepted the help to her feet. Inexplicably, the former Gryffindor felt her eyes filling with tears. Sirius pulled her into his arms to give her a hug and held her as she sniffled against the threatening flood.

"It's not that I don't believe that you have the best of intentions, Lily," he murmured against her hair several minutes later. His large hands rubbed her back soothingly. "I just…I've seen what the Dark Arts can do to a person. They're called addictive for a reason. If Jamie lost you…"

"James is not going to lose me," Lily said against Sirius' shoulder. They both could feel the spreading moisture from her tears. Neither of them was choosing to comment on it, just as they could both hear the lie in her words. After all the deaths they had experienced, both were certain that this war would end them. Sirius' hold tightened on her as his forehead came to rest against the top of her head. Defeat clawed at both of their hearts. "James is not going to lose me," she repeated with a firmness that she didn't feel. With effort, she swallowed the tears that clogged her throat. "But if I can protect Harry against Vo-voldemort, wouldn't any method be worth it? Who cares about the harm that comes to those who would dare to attack my son with the intent to seriously harm him?"

"Lily," Sirius sighed. His breath warmed her hair. The auror made as if to move away, but her hands fisted on his shirt. Their eyes met again. The distance between them was far more intimate than they had ever found themselves in before; they had always respected each other's boundaries and kept away from one another. Sirius' eyes were wide with uncertainty and a fear so foreign to him that even James would have said that Sirius was incapable of feeling it. Lily remained strong in the face of it. Now was not the time to give into her similar fear.

"I will protect my child, Sirius. I don't care what laws I have to break to do so." Lily raised her chin defiantly and with false bravado. Sirius stilled at her words. She spun out of his arms with a grace that belied her extremely pregnant body. She didn't go far, but those haunted eyes were beginning to get to her. A few steps away, she reached out one hand to steady herself. Women a week from their due dates weren't meant to do quick spins on their heels. With all the strength of a prophecy, she continued her conviction. Her voice never rose above a furious whisper, but seemed to stab at the space between them like a shout. "I will make that bastard pay for even thinking of targeting my family. The Dark Lord will fall, Sirius, and my son will live. Those are my goals and if you don't agree, you can bloody well shove off!"

"And how do you propose we go about doing this impossible task, Lils?"

She looked at him over her shoulder before slowly turning to face him once more. Her smile, so rare these days, was slow to grow on her face. It was moments like this- -when the little witch looked like that- -that Sirius could see why James would move the Heavens and charge into the very depths of Hell…all for this woman, this breathtakingly beautiful woman. There were a million descriptions of angels, Lorelei, and Veela out there and they all paled in comparison to the beauty of a pleased mother. Sirius didn't know what Jamie did to get so lucky, but he could only wish that he would be so lucky when it came his time to choose a mate.

"I'm still working on that," Lily answered, only slightly less confident. "I have a few ideas of where I would like to go and Al and I have been praying for guidance and strength. I think I'm close though."

"Blood magic?"

"My blood- -possibly James' as well. Alice has volunteered hers as well." She rubbed one hand over her bulging belly. She didn't mention the tiny vial of Severus' blood that she was planning on including. He had given it to on her thirteenth birthday for 'in case of emergency'. She never knew why she had kept it all these years. "I just need to work on the anchor point. I'm think perhaps a rune or rune array."

"You know, Lil- -I think we might just be able to do this."

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Kreacher seemed immune to the tension that filled the study as he continued to hold his prize in the air with a huge grin splitting his face in half. It was not until the house elf began to wilt a little that Harry managed to find the will to move. To the great amusement of Ron, Harry grabbed Kreacher and swung him into his arms, careless of the blood and soot that would stain his clothes. All the while, they were doing their impromptu dance, Harry kept up a litany of praise. He was going over the top and he knew it. Harry also knew that Kreacher would scold him about things becoming of a young lord when he was finally released. The sheer relief that they now had a Horcrux in their possession was fueling his actions. Kreacher deserved a little praise now and again.

But the tension caused by Lupin's presence was dissipating like fog under the heat of the sun. Ron was beating on the table before him as he let out loud booms of laughter. Hermione had both hands covering her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her giggles. Her wand was giving out little bursts of blue light not quite formed enough to be called sparks. Even Lupin had a shy smile on his face.

Finally, Harry allowed Kreacher to squirm out of his arms. The tiny house elf had an expression as if he could not decide between outrage at his treatment and smugness at his success. Harry just grinned at him, causing Kreacher's shallow cheeks to flush a deeper green. The old creature snapped his fingers and vanished, presumably back to his little nest or the kitchen. Harry had noticed that Kreacher cooked when he was upset. Thus Harry found himself standing in the middle of the study with a Horcrux in his hand and all eyes focused on him. He had to swallow hard before speaking.

"Look, Lupin- -just go home to your wife," Harry said. He winced at the words as soon as they left his mouth. Well, no one said this was going to be easy. "It's not that we don't appreciate the offer of help- -we do, very much- -but I can't be responsible for you ditching your expecting wife. This is a time that we need to be united- -"

"All the more reason to accept my help, Harry," Lupin interrupted. It was not as smoothly as what Snape was capable of, nor as affable as what the Headmaster used to do. All the pressure and paradigm shifts that had happened in the last three months chose that moment to make themselves felt. Harry did what any teenager, even the ones who were supposed to be adults, would do under that circumstance. He got angry.

"Oh, really? Are you in that much of a hurry to die? Because that's what happens to those that try to help me! Dumbledore spent his last precious spell making sure that I couldn't interfere with his plans- -he died. Sirius came to save me- -he died. Hell- -even Mad-Eye is gone! I'm leaving a string of bodies behind me and it goes back to my own parents! Speaking of whom- -don't you think it would have been a good idea to actually tell me about the boxes of their stuff in the attic?"

Silence fell after his question. It seemed as loud as his voice had been just moments before when he had been shouting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kreacher phase into the room in the shadows cast by the divan. The old elf looked positively murderous and Harry was thankful that his bulbous eyes were focused on Lupin. Ron just looked baffled at Harry's declaration as did Lupin. It was Hermione that acted first. Which made sense when Harry thought about it later. She was a girl after all.

"Oh, Harry," she said as she crossed the room and took him into her arms. The witch pulled him close in a tight hug that would have put any from Mrs. Weasley to shame. If it weren't for the wand poking him in the side of his head, it would have been the best hug he had ever had. At least the wand was still sparking. That would have been bad. "Harry, you know that none of that was your fault, right?"

"Hermione's right, Harry," Lupin put in softly. "They didn't die just because of you. They died defending what was right. As for the stuff in the attic… well, do you mean the boxes that Sirius had me pull from his vault when he moved back into this place? They're from your parents'? I didn't know that. If you don't mind me asking, what's in them?"

"Stuff," Harry said into Hermione's shoulder. He felt a strange quiver go through his friend as she made a quiet choking noise before tapping him in the ear with her wand. He pulled back to look at her. She was struggling to frown at him. From somewhere- -he wasn't sure where, perhaps his father's genes- -he felt the urge to wink at her. So he did. She quickly turned away to face the former professor, her eyes twinkling suspiciously.

"It was mostly books, sir," Hermione answered, her tone jovial as if she hadn't hit the man not ten minutes ago. "It also contained pictures...of Harry before that Halloween. Sir, do you remember how he got his scar? He has it in a bunch of the pictures which would be impossible if it were a curse scar caused by the Killing Curse."

"James said that he got a hold of Sirius' wand," Lupin replied uneasily. He shifted his weight slightly as if he would take a step back or turn. Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The werewolf held up his hands in surrender. "I swear that was what he told me. Not only did you get that scar, but Lily spent the next while in bed from magical exhaustion. I have never seen James and Sirius so worried before. They took nothing serious, not even the war. Even Frank was worried. Alice wasn't, however. Not even when the Healers had to give you potions due to the blood loss. She just held you through it."

"She did? Where was Mum?"

"Another part of St. Mungo's," the werewolf answered, looking nervous again. Then he looked concerned. "Harry, you must understand that it was an accident. They happen to all children. In the end, everyone was fine. You were cranky for a few days and Lily was on bed rest for about two weeks, but that was all. Children get a hold of their caretakers' wands all the time. You just nabbed one early. That's all."

"How- -how old was I?"

"Seven months."

Harry felt his knees start to give out. Suddenly the chair pushed against the back of his legs. Harry was grateful for something to sink into and knew that it was Kreacher's doing. Especially when the house elf in question asked him anxiously if there was anything he needed in between glares at Lupin. Harry waved off his concern and placed his elbows on his thighs, leaning forward in attempt to still the spinning in his head.

He was seven months old when he had almost killed both his mother and himself. Seven months...most children were only babbling at that age, pulling up on things. He was an attempted murderer. Harry knew that he was ignoring Lupin's reassurances that it was only an accident, but honestly what could have caused such a reaction? He felt warmth settle on the floor beside him before fingers began to card through his hair. It did far more to anchor him to the present than the arguing going on in the background. Her soft words of comfort were really without meaning, but still meant so much to his addled mind despite that.

He almost wished his scar was from Voldemort. Knowing that it came from an incident that almost killed him and his mother was somehow worse...far worse.

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Author's Note: All blood magick is just as Sirius described it: Dark. Even if the blood is given consensually (highly recommended). Doesn't mean evil, just means it draws power from the darker aspects of things. I do not recommend it for dabblers and beginners for that as well as what is its main draw: it's potent. It could just as easily turn against you as work. I encourage al witches to practice safe magick, regardless of their religious creed. /Lecture.

Thanks again to all readers, especially those who have taken the time to review as well. I would to point out again that I am working without an outline and each chapter is written the week preceding its posting. If you suggest something and it's possible within the scope of the story, I will try to include it. You might even inspire a companion story.

That being said, I'm not currently planning on any pairing to occur in this story beyond the obvious Lily/James, Alice/Frank, and Remus/Tonks, however. Any pairing that might occur beyond that is spontaneous on the part of the characters. [tetchy voice] ...please don't involve me in the 'ship wars...