Choices

Summary: There's power in all of the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

Disclaimer:Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

Last Chapter

Lily just hugged him. He sighed and got Harry. Remus got one of their bags and Sirius the other. They walked out of Hogwarts, facing the horizon, facing a new future.

A new, but not so bright one.

Potter manor was somewhere near a great beach, but James wasn't good enough at geography to know exactly where it was. And the fact that it was unplottable didn't help it either, of course. But what he did know was that it was close to a cozy small muggle village, and it was one of the oldest wizarding family manors in Great Britain. The protective wards were ancient, but still very powerful. In fact, as far as James knew, few additions were made to them in the last few decades, and that meant something.

They arrived there soon after one p.m.. James, Lily, Harry and Sirius had gone to Gringotts to retrieve the keys of the house, but that ended up taking longer than expected, as the goblins weren't very happy to open the vault that James said he wouldn't open anymore. It took them the whole morning to prove to the goblins that, no, James wasn't another person in disguise, yes, they understood that, if he said it would be closed, it should be closed, and no, James didn't think goblins were short clowns.

They weren't in the best of the moods, but James knew the black cloud over their heads was solely his. The only problem was that he couldn't ignore the invisible hand that was crushing his heart. They had just entered the big lobby, but memories were already flooding his mind.

It was warm and large. The whole decoration was red and yellow, and it had been this way as fas as James could remember. His parents were very proud of the Potter family, so they had little interest in changing the original characteristics of the manor. Some few additions were made, of course, but nothing that erased the air of antiquity in it.

The floor of the house was made of wood and the walls were made of white stone, but the decoration reinforced the high standard of the house: Paintings by famous wizard artists, carpets and flags (Including Gryffindor's as well). Standing on the lobby, they could see the two main stairs, one each side, which took people to the same place, the corridor of guest rooms. That was not the last floor, as on the end of the right side of the corridor there was a set of stone stairs that took people to the other two levels.

Back on the first floor, to the right of the entrance, there was the huge living room that had doors for both the library and the study room. To the left, there was the dining room, next to the enormous kitchen.

Lily's awe never ceased. She knew James' family was rich. Hell, she even knew she was rich because of him, but the fact that James never dealt with his former wealth sometimes made her forget about it completely. She was still dumbfounded when Sirius finally spoke.

"Hem-hem... Er... Guys, why don't we go upstairs and... well, try to settle in?" he said.

James simply sighed and got the suitcase with the things they had, and started going upstairs. Lily and Sirius exchanged looks. Both of them knew that it wasn't time to deal with him, so they followed him to the last floor, which was basically two rooms with bathrooms and a corridor that ended up in a door which was the stairs to the entrance of the attic.

James entered the master suite, the room that he and Lily would stay, while Lily took Harry, who was fast asleep, to the nursery. Sirius went back to the guest rooms. Lily was impressed by the cleanliness of the house. She knew the elves were hard-working, but she shivered just imagining the amount of work it would take to clean the whole manor.

The nursery was big. Big enough for it to be larger than the living room from Godric's Hollow. There was a golden crib, almost large enough for an adult to use it as a bed, a set of chests of drawers, all of them empty, except for a few very old baby clothes that had belonged to James, a changing table, two armchairs and a fireplace.

Lily checked the crib and saw it was completely dust free, so she laid Harry in it and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She then turned to the door that she knew that would take her to the master bedroom.

The master bedroom was something else entirely. A huge bed, big enough for five people to lay down comfortably, a sofa and armchairs, a fireplace and, incredible enough, a small fridge (or rather, a white cabinet magically cooled). Lily knew it was Harold Potter's deed. He hated going all the way to the kitchen to grab a bite, but he hated asking the elves to get food for him even more.

James was sat on the end of the bed. His eyes were red, his gaze was somewhere but not really there and his hands were helplessly resting on his lap. He was so... hurt, that Lily felt like hugging him and never letting go. Actually, if she weren't already madly in love with him, she would probably have fallen for him right there. Is there anything cuter than a strong, virile man who needs some cuddling?

She got to the middle of the room and sat beside him, looking at his face. A slight movement to her direction showed her he knew she was there, but he kept silent. She put her arm on his shoulders and he rested his head on the curve of her neck. And this way they stayed for a while.

Sirius remembered Potter manor very fondly: that was probably the first place he felt he could call home. Hogwarts was cozy and inviting, and he loved it, but it was never 'Home'. And of course, Grimmaud Place, even when his parents didn't loathe him too much, was terrifying at best.

But the manor was so homey-like, and Sirius had been so well received, that he felt this was the place he thought about when somebody mentioned 'home'. He could easily remember the Potters around, laughing, playing, having fun with him and James. Of course Remus and Peter came to visit, but James and Sirius were always there.

Sirius quickly visited the room besides James' old room that was prepared solely for him. It was as big as the rest of the other rooms of the house, and Sirius loved it. Just this bedroom alone was bigger than his apartment, he was sure of it. He still found some stuff he left behind when he moved to his apartment, mostly prank stuff that were too big for his tiny flat.

He stood there for a while, drowning in happy memories, when he heard someone entering the room. His auror instincts made him grab his wand and turn fast, ready to hex the person at the first attempt of attack. But, instead of a person, there was a wide-eyed house elf. Her eyes were gray, and she wore a small but very clean white top and a pink skirt. She was Blinx.

"M-m-mr. Padfoot?" She managed to stutter. Sirius smiled. The marauders had taught the elves to call them the nicknames, something both James and Sirius were very proud of.

"Blinx! It's so good to see you again!" He said, getting to her and giving her a hug. Normally, Sirius didn't like this kind of proximity, even with people, but Blinx was another case. She adored Sirius. James would say that she had a crush on him, only to be reinforced by the fact that Gally, the elf's husband, seemed to be very jealous of him.

She giggled, if elves could do that, and got out of his hug. "What are you doing here, mister?" She asked, her eyes bright with glee.

"Well, Blinx, I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but..." He started.

"What are you doing here?" Came a voice from outside the room. Sirius moved his head a little so he could see outside the room and saw that Gally was there. His eyes were completely black and he always wore a marron T-shirt with the name 'Potter' on it, and red shorts. His face was closed in a frown.

"Gally, you old cat, how have you been?" Sirius asked, animated. Gally could act like he hated him, but in fact he didn't. Sirius and the elf had a much like, love-hate relationship, but if things got serious, they stopped the acting and showed people that they actually got along very well. Sirius loved the elf, he was witty, and even knew how to be rude, if necessary. Sirius didn't push him into it, though, because the elf always spanked himself after it, and if there were two elves Sirius didn't want to see suffer, they were Blinx and Gally.

"Gally! How can you be so rude to Mr. Padfoot?" Blinx asked, indignant, her little hands on her waist, face a frown.

"Because Mr. Padfoot should be gone never to come back!" The elf said. But he was smiling, and it was obvious he didn't mean it. Blinx just shook her head and left the room. Sirius smiled warmly to the elf. The elf's smile got bigger, showing some of his bright teeth.

"It's good to see you sir. But Mr. Padfoot shouldn't say this to Blinx, or Gally will lie and say that he never said it!" Gally said, as Sirius got out of the bedroom and into the corridor. Sirius laughed a bit.

"It's a deal, Gally." He said, still giggling. But then, he stopped laughing. "Gally, listen... Have you seen Prongs?"

"Gally hasn't seen Mr. Prongs since the... funeral" Gally said. The Potters were so loved that even the elves suffered because of their loss. They had been excellent people even to the elves. James' mother had spent years teaching both of them how to speak, read and write in proper English, something Sirius had never even heard of before.

"Yeah, I imagined so." Blinx was the one that went to James to discuss the things from the manor afterwards. "But listen up. James and Lily and little Harry are going to live here for a while, okay, Gally?"

"Gally thought Mr. Prongs hated it here!" He said, his eyes wide.

"He doesn't hate it, Gally... But the memories... Are probably too painful for him for now, do you understand?" Sirius said, calmly.

The elf lowered his head. "Yes, Gally understands." he said. "It's good to have Potter family back, sir. Gally prefers working for people, sir, not for paintings."

"What do you mean for paintings?" Sirius asked, curiously.

"Gally's old masters paintings, sir." Gally said, proudly.

"Gally... Are there any paintings of... James' parents?" Sirius asked.

"No, sir. Mr. Prongs has to produce the magic, sir." Gally answered.

"Hum..." Sirius thought for a while. "Gally, do you have any idea how I can discover how to prepare the painting myself?"

"Mr. Padfoot can read the book, sir. The Potter book. Gally saw Mr. Potter reading the book when he created his father's painting sir."

"Can you show me where it is, my old friend?"

And thus, they left for the library.

After some time hugging each other, James and Lily finally parted ways. James had some tears in his eyes, but he kept his composure. Finally, he spoke, his voice rough.

"It's so hard, Lily..." he said. "I love them so much, I wish I could just talk to them again, I could tell them how much I love them, and that I'm sorry for everything I did that hurt them... That they were the best parents I could have wished for..."

Lily looked at her heartbroken husband. It was difficult for her to see him in that situation, but she knew what he was feeling. She had lost her parents too, after all.

"Baby, I know what you are saying, and believe me, I know what you're feeling." She said. She reached his hand and held it on his lap. "When my parents died, I felt the same way... It hurt me to know they were gone... But what kept me moving on was the fact that I had started dating you, and you were fantastic. Always there for me. And I'm here for you too, you know?"

"Yes, dear, and that's what made me hang on. I think that if I didn't have you and Harry and Padfoot and Moony, I-I... I would have lost it." James said.

Lily knew her situation wasn't that similar to James'. Lily's parents got sick, both of them together, the same disease, and everybody knew they would end up dying. But because of this, she had had time to thank them for everything, and properly say goodbye.

James' parents, on the other hand, died because of the war. Both of them were Ministry workers: His father an auror, just like James himself, and his mother was an unspeakable. They were attacked and died in action just a year after their graduation.

"Love... Keep in mind that they always loved you. That means I'm sure they didn't remember anything bad you did. And you know it's true. How long do you manage to continue angry when Harry wakes you up by pulling your hair?" James half smiled. "Or for how long did you care when Harry set fire to your quaffle with my wand?" James laughed, albeit a little bittersweetly.

"You know, that's your fault!" He said with a smile that didn't really reach anywhere near his eyes. "If you hadn't let him grab it, he wouldn't have done it." He laughed a bit more, as if to show her he was okay. Lily could see right through it though.

"Okay, okay, let's forget this then." She said, also smiling. "The point is, they didn't care about what you did, as long as you came for them if you needed help... Jamsie, I've seen you telling them you loved them more than I can remember! Surely more times then I told my parents I love them!"

James kept smiling, staring at the floor. Suddenly, they heard a cry coming from the other room. Lily sighed.

"Well, it seems his nap time is over." She said, looking at James. "Are you going to be okay, Jamsie?"

"I will, love... I guess I'll get used to it, eventually. And it doesn't hurt that much anymore... As long as you're here, I'll be fine..." He said, turning to her and kissing her softly.

"Will do." She said giggling. Then, she left for Harry. James continued sat on the bed. He sighed deeply and stood up. It was time to grow up and let go.

After the initial shock, the first day at Potter manor couldn't have been better. James talked to the elves who were thrilled to have him back. Then, he took Harry for a tour around the house. He showed the baby all the interesting rooms, including his old bedroom. He also talked to Harry about some rooms he wasn't supposed to go in: the dungeons, the attic, Harry's grandfather's office on the second floor, and the room at the end of the corridor of the third floor. Of course James understood Harry didn't understand anything, but he wasn't worried. He himself locked his father's office, the boy was too little to open the doors to the stairs of the dungeons and the attic, and, as far as he could say, the door on the third floor was locked in such a way it would never open. (He and Sirius had tried, of course, but they didn't manage to open it.)

Lily went to the dungeons to check on the stock of potions material. Before going into hiding, she had agreed to replace her old Potions professor, Slughorn. As she couldn't, she didn't know what Dumbledore had decided, but she wasn't interested in the position anymore, as she didn't want to stay far from Harry, and James would probably go back to the auror program.

Sirius stayed in the library the whole day. When he finally left, it was dinner time already. He arrived in the dining room looking tired, but happy.

"Hello, family!" He said, opening his arms.

"Pafoo!" Harry screamed with joy from his baby's chair, smiling and clapping his little hands.

"Padfoot, what were you doing in the library the whole day?" Lily asked, looking at him with curiosity.

"I saw lots of interesting books there..." He said smiling and sitting in from of her. James was sat on the head of the table, as now he was the family's master.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Padfoot!" he said, pouting. Lily and Sirius laughed, and then she slapped her husband's hand playfully.

"He's finally growing up, James, don't say anything!" She said smiling.

"So this is how it feels, to grow up?" Sirius said, jokingly thinking. "Well, it sucks, I got really bored at some point." Everybody laughed and they started to eat.

Little did they know that, no as far away as they would like, there was another family having dinner. But this dinner wasn't nearly as happy as theirs.

Bellatrix Lestrange didn't suffer. She didn't feel pain. She was above all this mundane feelings that she knew would bring nothing but weakness to herself. And so, she expressed her... grief for losing her husband, her brother-in-law and principally her Master with anger. And desire for revenge, of course.

How could those filthy blood traitors, and bugs under her shoe, those miserable garbage pieces DARE to try to take her Lord down? Oh, she knew this was only momentary. But still, having to wait...

"Bella, would you like more potatoes?" Narcisa asked, snapping her sister out of her own thoughts, and bringing her back to Malfoy Manor. They were having dinner, and, as Bellatrix looked around, she saw everybody who was there. All of them were Dark Lord's servants: Lucius Malfoy on the head of the table, her sister Cissy across from her, Mulciber, Macnair, and some others she didn't even care about. And between his parents sat Draco. Another stupid baby, on his little baby chair, his little arms and little legs moving around.

Bellatrix was never fond of babies, of course. Helpless, little brats, all of them. Crying all the time, taking her attention away from what was really important. And now, because of another filthy dirty-bummed mudblood little pest, her dearest Lord was gone.

"No, I don't want any potatoes." Bellatrix said, her eyes sparkling, still staring at Draco's direction. Narcisa, sensing the danger, got Draco on her arms. Bellatrix, of course, noticed this. She smirked in her sister's direction, now looking deep into her eyes.

"What's up, Cissy?" She said, with a hoarse voice, sounding like a maniac. "Do you fear I would do something to your son? To my beloved nephew?" Her smirk widened, as her eyes did also. "You know I love him. And you, don't you, Cissy? We are family, so we love each other, right, sis?"

Narcisa just stared, poker faced. No, she didn't, she feared her sister. She had always had some hesitation when it came to Bellatrix. Hell, everybody did! And principally now that Bellatrix had lost both her husband and her lord? She was psychotic.

"Of course I trust you. And I love you." Her eyes were emotionless. "But I think Draco ate enough. I don't want him to get fat. I'll take him to bed." She then stood up and left. Bellatrix nostrils widened and her smirk fell to some face that made her look as if she were showing her teeth.

"This tastes like crap!" She shouted, throwing the dish to the wall. She then turned to her brother-in-law. "Lucius, would you mind lending me one of your elves?"

"Of course, Bellatrix. Can I ask you what for, so I can get a good one for you?" He said, his face serene.

"Vent some anger." She said, her mischievous grin back. Lucius smiled as well.

"Very well then..." he said. "Dobby!"

A house elf wearing nothing but a very dirty pillowcase appeared with a somewhat loud pop, on the side of Lucius' chair. His eyes were round and frightening, but his expression was full of fear.

"S-s-sir?" He asked, a voice a squeak. It couldn't be old, probably had just started working, it was visibly still very young.

"Ah!" Bellatrix screeched madly. "I know this one! Cissy got it for her wedding, didn't she?"

"Go with Bellatrix, and do everything she says. And don't disrespect her, I still want you working after she's done with you." Lucius said, still grinning. Bellatrix laughed like a madwoman and kept looking at the elf. This would do just fine.

"Let's go, you little shit!" She said, leaving the dining room, leading to the dungeons. As soon as she entered the dark, cold room, she used her wand to produce a whip made with branches of roses, their thorns sharp, and started slashing at the elf. "Scream!" She shouted. "I want to hear you!"

The elf started screaming. Each lash, its voice would go even higher. And Bellatrix laughed like a maniac, her eyes bulging.

Soon enough, she started to drift off. She didn't want to spank the elf just for pleasure, she also wanted to think. And she couldn't think about any better moment to think other than when torturing someone, even if it was just a house elf.

She needed to think about how to attack her enemies. She produced the ritual out of anger, without thinking. She knew she could die, but she actually didn't regret it. She regretted the fact that it was such a powerful spell that it had gotten her sort of worn out, which was mainly the reason why she had to use such... rudimentary techniques of torture.

Even though she wanted to think about the Potters, her thoughts kept going back to that freak of a cousin she had. "Stand up, you insect!" The elf had fallen, but soon it was on its feet again, and she continued.

Sirius Black. He could be a thorn. Not enough to be a problem, but still... She had to do something to scare him, take him away from his 'friends'... She had some ideas but none of them would show her cousin with whom he was dealing... She had discovered his apartment, it wasn't that difficult. She could trash the place around, but he was rich. Richer than her, almost as rich as the Malfoys and the blood traitor Potters. He had his old house, Grimmaud Place, now that his poor old mother was about to die at St. Mungos...

The elf fell again. Bellatrix felt the anger boiling inside her. She threw the whip away, pointed her wand at the elf and screamed "Crucio!". Instantly, the elf started screaming louder, and Bellatrix started laughing again.

What was she thinking about before being interrupted by the stupid elf? Ah, Grimmaud place... Grimmaud place... Suddenly, her eyes flashed. Her mind was illuminated by a brilliant idea. She laughed again, craziness palpable around her.

A.N.: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to post something new, but this chapter (and the next) will have some... interesting information that we're going to use throught the series, so I wanted to double check it, and be sure I mentioned everything...

It's a short chapter and all, but the thing is, I wasn't going to stop at this point, but I noticed this chapter was too long already, and I still have a lot of things to say. The next chapter we're going to move a little forward a few weeks, and finally we will get to see the reaction of the Wizarding world to the fact that James, Lily and Harry Potter vanquished the Dark Lord. Ah, Quinthar, I said I'd focus on James, but that's only in the second part... Sorry =\

I'd like to thank everybody who's reading again. You're the ones who give me courage to keep on writing. I've been working on this idea for quite some time, but without your support, I wouldn't feel encouraged to move on. so THANK YOU for your kind PMs, reviews, questions... I really appreciate your attention, and hope you continue enjoying the story! I'll try to update on Sunday.

MSupernatural