The Potters and the Choices Made

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, but to J. K. Rowling and WB. I'm making no money out of this.

A.N.: Snape lovers, I'm sorry for this chapter, you'll hate it. There's more to him than this, and things and opinions are going to change, but this is it for now.

Albus Dumbledore lived through a lot, and he was grateful for that. After all, when you had experience, things became a bit clearer to you, things did not surprise you as much. But then, there's the negative side of it, when you are as experienced as Albus Dumbledore and you do get surprised, people ought to feel terrified. And that's the reason why the old Headmaster's wide eyes and gaped mouth was scaring Lily Potter so much. It hadn't at first, but after a few minutes, it started to get unnerving.

"Dumbledore, what are you thinking about?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore focused his gaze on his former student's face. Normally, he would have asked her to call him Albus, but he knew it was a fruitless battle. Even if the Potters still believed in him and they were still somewhat friends, they no longer saw him as a leader to be followed blindly, nor did they trust him one hundred percent. It was sad really, but Albus still hoped one day they might understand he's only after the greater good.

Lily, Dumbledore and Snape were in the Headmaster's office, and she had just told them about everything that had happened (or rather, she had just told Dumbledore what had happened, while Snape listened). As she stopped talking, silence reigned as the headmaster got lost in his own thoughts and Snape kept staring at her, while she pointedly ignored his presence.

"I am indeed familiar with the so called Poe's Rites, my dear." Dumbledore said, effectively reducing the uncomfortable silence settled between them. "I myself have studied them for a while when I was young." The old man seemed to reminisce, as he used his hand to stroke his long beard. "The stupid things we do for love..."

Lily lifted an eyebrow at this, while Snape winced. "What does that one mean, then?" She asked, a bit dryly. Dumbledore seemed to think for a while, his gaze focused somewhere between the two occupants of the room. He inhaled and opened his mouth, only to close it again. Then, he inhaled once some and finally spoke.

"I don't know." Lily groaned, but didn't interrupt him. "But I think I might have a few books that can give us an idea. I'm willing to research a bit, and then tell you and your husband what I find about it."

Lily nodded, oblivious to the disgusted look settled on her former best friend's face at the mention of her husband. "Is it a library book? Remus tried to find something in our library, but he didn't find anything. But again, if it is dark magic, the Potters wouldn't have much on it."

"It's not a library book." Dumbledore said with a smile. "It's a present I got a long time ago. I'll also inform you of the name, you might find a copy if you know where to look. I should warn you, though, that it might be in another language, as Poe's Rites were forbidden both here and in the U.S.A."

"All right then." Lily said, standing up. "Thank you for your help, Dumbledore, I'll be waiting for you owl." Nodding towards the old man, she made her way to the door and left the room, only allowing herself to stop once she was on the corridor outside the stairway she had just descended. It was only then that she let go a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Her feelings towards Snape were conflicted. Knowing that he was no longer a faithful Death Eater but a possible member of the Order, if it were ever to come back, made her think about all those moments of friendship they spend together when they were kids. He had been a brother to her, someone she loved to spend time with.

But then she remembered the other side of him. The one which made her stop being friends with him. A lot of people believed that she had stopped being friends with Snape for what he had called them on their fifth year, but those who knew her a bit better knew that she wouldn't give up on her friendship just because of that, no matter how revolting that word is or how much people really believed she could ignore him for it. No, what really made Lily stop being friends with Severus was deeper. It was because of that word that she could no longer ignore all the little things that proved to her that Snape was no longer the person she used to know.

So many things showed her that he had changed, and that he had chosen his side, but her loyalty kept her from really seeing any of those. She chose not to see how much he liked to study dark arts. She chose not to see who he started being friends with. And she particularly chose not to see what he did to others. She ignored all the times he used younger students to practice his dark spells on, she ignored how badly he treated other muggleborns, she ignored how he, sometimes with his friends, sometimes alone, threatened those younger than him, and she especially ignored how he pretended he wasn't her friend when other Slytherins were around.

The moment he called her that name in front of everybody, she could no longer pretend. She could no longer pretend she didn't know that he believed all that blood crap, that all that 'Half-blood Prince' was a façade, as he said only she knew about it and that she couldn't tell anybody about it. She couldn't pretend that she didn't see that a lot of muggleborns and halfbloods and so called 'bloodtraitors' looked at him and his peers with disgust and anger. She finally saw that, despite her friendship with him, a lot of people had tried to warn her about him. Her friends didn't stay around when he got close (she even found out later that HE made them not stay around). They told her to be careful with him, but Lily always dismissed it thinking it was the old Gryffindor/Slythering rivalry. It was only after the incident that she paid attention that most of her friends weren't Gryffindors at all.

She had to deal with all this in her sixth year. She finally saw what the other students said about Snape and his nasty friends. She saw what they had done to people like Mary Macdonald, who, bless her, tried to make Lily believe that Snape hadn't been an active part on her assault, but Lily recognized his doings immediately because of his characteristic curses. For some time she found comfort in thinking he wasn't as bad as some others, but after a while she also realized that the existence of worse human beings didn't exactly redeem the actions of another.

But, despite all this, she still missed her best friend. The calm boy who had had more patience than she would ever be able to have to explain to her what the Wizarding World was like. She missed their talks, she missed the way he used to calm her down all the times her sister was nasty to her... And then she remembered how laced with disgust for muggles his words were, and she stopped missing him so much.

You should now understand why Lily chose not to acknowledge his presence. How could she? She couldn't even decide if she wanted to hug him or strangle him!

She only stopped in front of the entrance to the Headmaster's office for a couple of seconds to breathe properly, but then she started moving again. She was happy that she had made it safe again-

"Lily!" She almost groaned with frustration. She didn't stop and she didn't acknowledge him. Maybe this way he would leave her alone. "Lily!" The voice was too close.

"What, Snape?" She said, coldly, without even turning to look at him. She only answered because if she didn't, he would grab her arm, and she didn't want that. But of course, she had somehow upset the Fates today, as he still gripped her arm, stopping her and making her look at him. "Let GO of me!" she hissed, pulling her arm away from him. She had no choice but to look at him.

Severus looked out of air for probably having run down the stairs. His greasy hair was a mess, but it was not even close to the kind of messy hair she loved so much.

"I just- I just want to- to talk to you!" He tried to catch his breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"Do you know anything about Poe's Rites?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Wha-? No, it's not..." He replied, surprised.

"Then we have nothing to talk about." She turned and started to walk away.

"Lily, please, wait, give me only one minute! Just... give me one minute, please." He pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. It was such a foreign sound in his voice, that Lily stopped. Severus had never been one to beg for anything, but yet there he was, practically begging her for one minute. Slowly, she turned back to look at him. She was sure she would regret this, but...

"You have one minute, Severus." She crossed her arms. He looked a bit lost at first, but then his eyes hardened with resolution.

"I miss you." His words seemed to constrict her heart painfully, and the emotions that filled his eyes made it hurt even more. "I really miss you. All of this, changing sides and all, I did it for you. Please, forgive me. I have said it many times, but I am sorry, please, forgive me." his voice seemed pained, as if he didn't know what to say and was struggling to get the words out.

There was silence between them after he spoke. He looked at her but didn't meet her eyes, even if she was staring into his. He seemed on the verge of crying, while she seemed expressionless, and this was the way they stayed for almost a whole minute.

"What are you sorry for, Severus?" She said, her voice lacking any kind of emotion. This seemed to take him aback.

"F-for w-what I c-called you." He stuttered.

"That's the problem, Severus." she said, narrowing her eyes. "You are sorry for what you said to me, but you are not sorry for what you did to other people, nor are you sorry for what it means."

"But what does that have to do-" he sounded genuinely surprised, which only angered Lily.

"Everything, Snape!" She yelled, making him wince. She was glad there weren't any students around the court. "You don't care about others! You don't care about your mistakes, what you did wrong!" she moved so she was closer to him, lowering her voice into a deadly whisper. "You don't see what was wrong with what you did, and that's what I can't forgive you for, Severus."

"I don't understand-" He seemed a bit peeved, but once again, she cut him to it.

"No, you don't, do you?" She said, disgust evident in her voice. "You don't understand what's wrong with torturing defenseless people, right? With killing muggles?" Her anger was getting the best of her and he just stared. "You really don't see what's wrong with what you did to the Merrythoughts. What you did to those muggles from Somerset. And worst of all, you don't see what's wrong with what you did to the Mckinnons, do you?"

When Lily said names and places, Snape couldn't pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. He no longer looked at her, but he didn't look exactly ashamed. Lily felt like she knew what his attitude told her, but she couldn't really put her finger on it.

"You don't understand." He said with a low voice.

"I don't, I really don't, but you know what, I don't want to. Ever." Her face was red with anger, and she had to control herself not to hex him. "When I saw those reports, Severus, I got sick! I cried! I wanted to rip my eyes off just so I couldn't see those things again!"

"What reports?" He said, sounding suspicious, but pointedly ignoring all that she said.

"The auror reports." She said. If she weren't so angry, she wouldn't have said that. She had read those reports without James' consent, and he had got a bit upset when she told him she had done it. However, the former Death Eater was getting on her nerves, and she couldn't control herself. Snape scowled.

"I knew Potter had done this!" he spat angrily.

"He did NOTHING!" Lily yelled. Oh, she wanted to slap him so hard! "James brought them home and I read while I was cleaning his office, without him knowing!" Snape's frown deepened.

"He took them there because he knew you would read and find out what I had done!" He said.

Lily laughed humourlessly, but then stopped and glared at Snape again. "He didn't even know you had done it, you stupid git! I recognized that nasty curse of yours. Sectumsempra, right? The aurors didn't know all the Death Eaters behind it, but I know better. You are the only one to use it, so I know it had to be you, and now you just confirmed it!"

Snape paled considerably after this. He had just admitted he had killed some of those people.

"That was before, Lily!" He shouted. "I'm on your side now! And that arrogant swine wants you to hate me!"

At this, Lily finally took her wand out, sending a hex towards him. He managed to dodge, despite their proximity, but a second one came and hit his leg, successfully cutting it deep.

"Don't you dare talk about my husband like that." She whispered lowly, her fury could be felt around her. He winced at her words. "You'll never be half the man he is. After we weren't friends anymore, James NEVER said anything about you to me. That's much more than we can say about you, right?"

After the incident, Lily started spending much more time in her common room. That's when she saw the other side of the Marauders. That's when she understood the reason why almost everybody from Gryffindor (and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too) liked them so much. Even if they often pranked their housemates, it was always something funny, intelligent and amusing, so nobody got really angry at them. She also saw that almost every prank they pulled was well planned, including how to undo the effects. On the rare occasions in which they couldn't undo what they had done, they did apologize, and tried as best as they could to make it up to the person. That's when Lily saw that, despite their façade of bad boys, they were excellent people.

It was also then that she realized that her hatred towards the Marauders was because of Snape's venom. He repeatedly told her they were evil, arrogant gits who didn't care about anybody else, strutting around like they owned the school, damaging properties and being hated by the other students. When she didn't have him breathing on her neck, telling her lies, she could finally see that her hatred was fueled, not filled.

"Oh, yeah, now you believe that Potter is a saint!" Severus spat. He was too angry to maintain his controlled attitude. "He tortured me as much, and you didn't seem to have a problem forgiving him for all that!"

"He paid for it. You made me spend five years of my life hating the man who loved me the most. The man I love the most." She retorted. His face became a mixture of disgust, hatred and pain when he heard her words, which only angered her more. "He paid for what he did, suffering all those detentions I put him through, all the foul names I called him. And then, when he grew up, he became sorry for what he had done. He said that he thought he could do that to you as a way to pay back what you did to other students. I heard him tell Mcgonagall that, otherwise I wouldn't have forgiven him either. That's the difference between you two, he regrets what he did and you don't, and while he might have humiliated you and your friends, he never physically hurt you like you did to him and to so many others. You killed, Snape, while he took your trousers off." She was panting heavily, but he just looked disgusted. "When I saw how much he had matured, I realized that his mistakes had been made by a teenager who eventually grew up. He stopped soon after he turned 16, and he only did those things because he thought you deserved them for meddling with dark arts. And you know what, Snape? He thinks he was wrong and I think he was right, and that's why I love James so much." Snape flinched spectacularly at this.

It angered her that the simple mention of James made him like this. "You know what, Snape? You don't seemed to hear this enough, so let me repeat that for you: I MARRIED JAMES POTTER." She said, carefully pronouncing every syllable loudly. Snape looked as if he had been slapped, his mouth gaped while he stared at her. "James Potter is the love of my life! I sleep with James Potter every night, and I'm happy for it! James Potter and I have a beautiful son! James Potter is mine, and I belong to James Freaking Potter! My name is LILY POTTER!" She yelled her name at the sick-looking Snape. His face looked green and his eyes were impossibly wide. It made her almost pity him. Keyword being almost.

"I know you hate him, Severus. I'm not asking you to like him, I understand why you don't, really. I'm just asking you to respect him as a grown man and not to get so... affected because of him!"

"Because of him!? B-Because of him?!" he wheezed. "Lily, there's no him! There's only you!" He closed the distance between them with three long steps, effectively surprising her. "I don't care about him! I care about you! He took you from me! And I love y-"

"Don't!" She yelled, interrupting him. She tried to give a step back, but he held her arm with impossible strength. She tried to pull it from his grip again, but this time he didn't let go, which just hurt her.

"Lily, I love y-"

"Stop it!" She shouted, struggling to get herself free. Instead of letting her go, he forcefully brought her closer, sealing her lips with his own.

His courage left him as soon as their lips met. He was in heaven, but he wasn't a Gryffindor, so he was never one to make hasty decisions. So, when he realized what he had done, he panicked, letting go of her. Lily quickly took a step back, lowering her head as she used the back of her hand to clean her mouth.

"I love you, Lily." Snape said, as his heart thundered inside his chest. "I always have. Why didn't you choose me? Why don't you choose me?"

When she finally looked at him, her eyes were expressionless. She no longer looked angry, she no longer looked hurt. Snape couldn't help but feel hopeful. Maybe... just maybe, she could choose him! He knew some love potions could be broken with a real love kiss, and he loved her. Had Potter used a potion on her?

"I told you not to. I told you to stop." She was still dull, but somehow, something inside her eyes made Snape lose hope fast. "I didn't want you to say that, Severus, because I didn't want to do what I, now, have to do." She took a step closer.

"I don't love you. I once loved you as a brother, but never anything more than that. If you hadn't chosen the Dark Arts, I maybe would have grown to accept you as a partner if I didn't have other options, but I would never love you as a man. I didn't choose you, Severus, because you were never an option. And you would never be an option, I'm sorry. You'd never be an option as long as James Potter was an option, because I did, I do, I will and I would always choose him. Even if I had had the feeling that we two could have become something, I would still have chosen him, Severus. As long as he is willing to be an option, he will be my option."

Snape had never been so close to tears. He felt his world crashing around him. He had lost, and this time he was forced to understand it.

"If you are fighting on our side because you love me, Severus, stop. Go back to your Lord, to your friends, because you are not going to get anything from me in that area." During everything she said, her face was still blank.

"N-No." Snape managed to croak. "I-I mean, y-yes, I came because I l-love you." This time, she didn't react, and that only crushed Snape's heart more. "But I chose this side now, and I'm sticking to it, even..." he trailed off, looking down.

"I'm glad, then, Severus, that we can, maybe one day, be allies. We might even be friends if you understand what's wrong with what you did and regret it all." She said. Hopeful, Snape snapped his head back up and stared into her eyes. "But you are not allowed to get close to me. And if you ever think about kissing me again, you'll be in a worse condition than the one I'll leave you today." She closed the distance between them and slapped him with as much strength as she could find. When he managed to stand up the right way again, Lily barely had time to register the red mark on his face, sporting drops of blood on some points where her fingers and, principally, her wedding ring had hit, because she then punched him on the nose, making the sound of a bone breaking resound.

She turned around and left, not staying long enough to see him trying to stop the blood that was flowing from his nose.

Considering James had gone to Harry's school, Remus was teaching and Lily was trying to find out more about the whatever had happened, Sirius had been asked to take care of Harry, which he always looked forward to doing. So, as soon as the clocks from the Ministry announced it was midday, the dog animagus called it a day, leaving for Potter Manor to spend the rest of the day with his godson.

They had lunch at Potter Manor and then took Snuffles, Harry's pet crup, for a walk on the woods around the house. Harry loved the time he spent with his dogfather, and it was nice to have something to distract him from the fact he wouldn't be going to school anymore, and that his parents still didn't let him go Hogsmeade on Friday.

"Why don't you take that thing from Snuffles' neck, and let it run a bit, Harry?" Sirius suggested, eyeing the dog collar sourly. Harry laughed but did as he was told. The large dog-like creature barked and started playing around, leaving Harry and Sirius sat on the grass of a clearing they normally had picnics in.

"Sirius, do you think I'll go to Hogwarts?" Harry said, trying as hard as possible to sound casual, but even he could hear the fear that permeated his words. Unbeknownst to him, Sirius already knew of his concern, as James had talked to him not many days before about Harry's fear.

"Of course you will, kiddo!" Sirius said with a smile. He reached his arm so he could side-hug his godson tightly. "You will go and you will be the best wizard ever! You will play Quidditch and your mum and dad, Remus and I will be there to watch every single one of your games, to see you kick the Slytherins' greasy arses!" At this, Harry giggled madly.

"Uncle Padfoot!" he screeched with glee. "You said a bad word, mum will scourgify your mouth!"

Sirius looked at his godson with his face full of fake-horror. Then, he started to pretend he was crying.

"Prongslet! I can't believe you would tell on your godfather like this!" he said, hiding his eyes with his hands. Harry hugged him on his chest.

"Never! I won't tell her, I promise!" he said, his voice a bit muffled by Sirius' shirt. The dog animagus laughed quietly and hugged his godson tightly. "But you need to give me a sundae!" Harry added, making Sirius bark out a laugh.

"Oi, this is called blackmail, Harry!" he said, breaking their hug so he could look at his godson. "And you know the punishment for blackmail, right?" Harry's eyes widened while Sirius yelled, "TICKLES!"

The little boy fell on the ground laughing as Sirius tickled him mercilessly. In one of the times Sirius gave Harry time to breath, the little marauder called Snuffles, which, being the loyal crup it was tackled Sirius and started licking his face. Sirius promptly became Padfoot, and the two dogs (who weren't really dogs) ganged up on Harry, licking every single bare part of the laughing boy's body.

It was mid afternoon when they returned to the Manor, all three of them covered in dirt. Sirius, the responsible godfather he was, sent Harry upstairs to give Snuffles a bath and to bathe as well. When the boy climbed the stair, Sirius used his wand to clean himself and went to the kitchen, thinking about having a glass of juice.

When he entered though, he met Lily crying copiously, sat on the head of the table. Upon seeing him enter, Lily tried to hide her face by turning around, but Sirius had already seen her.

"Lily! What's wrong?" he rushed so he could kneel by her chair. His heart was beating so fast it hurt. "Lily, look at me. Where is James?"

"James is okay, Sirius. It has nothing to do with anybody being hurt, I promise." she said, her voice rough from crying. Sirius visibly relaxed.

"What's the matter, then? Why are you crying?" he asked softly.

Lily had an internal debate if she should tell him. Sirius had never been much in control of his emotions, and she had just seen how protective over James he was (not that she didn't know before). So what if he doesn't believe she had nothing with Snape? Or what if he decided to go there and kill her idiotic former friend? Even considering all this, though, Lily already knew it was a battle whose winner had already been declared. She needed to get it off her chest, or she would explode.

"Sirius, I'm going to tell you, but only if you promise you'll listen everything, and then you will not do anything about it, unless I ask you to, is that okay?" Lily said, trying to clean her face with a towel that was on the table. She knew she must be looking terrible, but she couldn't force herself to stand up and go to the washroom to properly wash her face. Sirius only nodded and stood to see on the closest chair.

"I talked to James' parents and they had a lead on that howler. They also suggested that I talked to Dumbledore, so I went to Hogwarts." She managed to get it all out of her chest. Everything that Snape had told and done to her. When she finally got to the kiss she didn't know what to say, so, before she lost her courage, she just blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "So, he said he loved me and he kissed me."

Sirius let go of her hand, which he had been holding since she started the story, and looked at her with narrowed eyes, his face stony and his jaw clenched. "What did you do, then?" His glare was burning a hole in the middle of her face, but she held his eyes. She knew she was being tested, that he was expecting her to give the correct answer, otherwise she'd have hell to pay. She had told him about the way she had declared her love for James in front of Snape, and that had made Sirius smile, but this was something else. A kiss changed things.

"I told him he didn't stand a chance next to James and then slapped and punched him hard enough to draw blood." Lily let go a breath she didn't know she had been holding when Sirius threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Serves him right, Snivellus the greasy git." he told her left hand and saw it was a little bit sore. "But use your wand the next time, woman! You cut your hand, what if his grease gets into one of the cuts? Imagine how infected it will get!"

Even if that was a bit cruel, Lily laughed. She could punish herself for it later, but she was just too damn angry at Snape to care at that moment.

"Do you honestly think that what we did was right?" Sirius asked softly. Not even he believed that. Lily thought for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Not really." They both chuckled humorlessly. "I mean, you found reasons for doing it, but I think you guys overdid it a couple of times."

He just nodded. Sirius then used the tip of his fingers to lift her sleeve gingerly. She winced when she heard a slow growl coming from his throat.

"I'm going to KILL that son of a..." He started hotly, but Lily intervened.

"Please, Sirius, don't..." She said, looking at him pleadingly. She knew she had more chances of getting things from Sirius begging than being bossy like she had been before. "I know he deserves it, but I beg you to be content with how I hurt him." Sirius stood up, mad.

"No, Lily! He can't- He did- He hurt you!" he yelled. "I can't let him do this to you! And when James finds this out, he'll do worse than kill him!"

"I know, but I don't want any of you to have trouble. "Please, just... Just leave it for now. Don't make the same mistakes again." She looked at him sadly. He seemed to think for a while with a frown, but nodded. He may have agreed, but he surely wasn't happy about it. When she opened her mouth to thank him, an owl flew into the kitchen through the open window.

It was a black owl from the ministry.

Hours earlier

When the door opened, the first thing that James saw was a bush of brown hair not too below his waist in height. As he looked at it, it moved and he was met with beautiful chocolate-brown eyes on a creamy white face. 'So, this is little Hermione,' he thought. Before he could say anything, the girl blushed strongly and the door was fully opened.

"Hermione, dear, haven't we told you to wait for us to open the door?" Behind the little girl was a thirty-something woman. She had the same colour of hair, but her skin was a bit clearer and her hair a lot tamer than Hermione's. She had green eyes, but they weren't as dark as his son's. She turned to James as Hermione quickly hid behind her mother, still blushing terribly with her eyes fixed on the man. "May I help you?" Dr. Granger said, not exactly serious, but not quite cheerful either.

"Dr. Granger?" James said, trying not to sound very nervous. He had planned what to say, but his anxiety got the best of him and made him forget basically everything he had planned. "My name is James Potter, my son studies with your daughter at St. Tiagus, and I would like to discuss some things that happened yesterday with you."

James didn't know what Dr. Granger's reaction would be. At first, she seemed surprised by what he had said. Then, she eyed him suspiciously before relaxing a tiny bit and nodding. "Why don't you come in, please." She said, stepping aside to let him in. She then turned to Hermione and said, "Hermy, dear, go call your father, tell him we have a... guest, and he should come to the living room as soon as possible."

As James entered, he noticed Hermione still had her eyes fixed on him. He tried to smile at the little girl, but as soon as she noticed he was looking at her, her face, which was still surprisingly blushed, became even redder. Her eyes widened and she let out a squeal before quickly running to the stairs right next to the entrance. Dr. Granger sighed watching her daughter run upstairs and turned to close the door. James took the chance to look around and found that he really liked the Granger's house. It was really cosy, with wood furniture and floor and beige walls. He followed Dr. Granger to the next room, which was a warm living room. It had a fireplace, a coffee table, a couple of armchairs and a sofa. Somebody seemed to like sculptures, as there were quite a few decorating the ambience. There was also a telly, something James had always liked, despite being a muggle device. Dr. Granger motioned for James to sit on the armchair across from the entrance of the room as she herself sat on the sofa.

"May I offer you some tea?" Hermione's mother offered politely, albeit a bit stony. Cursing inwardly, James remembered how early it was, and he had gone there without knowing them and without talking to them first.

"No, thank you, Dr. Granger." He answered sheepishly, a bit embarrassed under the woman's cold gaze. "I am really sorry for being here so early and unannounced, but this is of extreme importance." Dr. Granger nodded curtly.

"Please, call me Jane." She said. If she was going to say anything else, James didn't get to know, as a man entered the room just then. He was adjusting his tie, clearly having finished dressing up minutes before. His eyes were wide with surprise, but, as soon as he saw James, he frowned a little.

"Good morning." He said, his voice a little low. James noticed that a red faced Hermione was behind her father, trying to take a peek at him. Her father moved to sit on the other armchair and Hermione hid behind it, her big eyes still focused on the Potter man who looked so much like her classmate.

"Good morning, Dr. Granger." James replied politely. "My name is James Potter, I was just apologizing to your wife for being here so early and without notice."

"What can we help you with, Mr. Potter?" Hermione's father said.

James sighed. This wasn't going as expected. He could sense the two adults were a bit uncomfortable with his presence, and what he was about to tell them was sensitive information. Normally, he would have created a plan so he could meet them first, then build a relationship and finally find a way to break the news to them. But, considering what had happened the day before, he didn't have time for that.

"My son, Harry, goes to school with your daughter. They are classmates." James started, trying to get any reaction from them other than the stony looks they were giving him. "I came here to discuss what happened yesterday."

It was a good thing James had been trained to notice subtle changes on people, and that he was paying close attention to both of them, otherwise he would have missed the surprised and concerned look that the two Dr. Grangers shared, before refocusing on him.

"The gas leakage that caused the students to be sent home?" Jane asked, her voice a note higher than normal. At that, James nodded. He knew there was going to be a cover story.

"We are not interested in pressing charges, if that's why you are here." Dr. Granger said wearily.

"Oh, no, that's not why I'm here," James was quick to reassure them. "No, I'm here because... I was there when it happened."

Whatever Hermione's parents were expecting, that wasn't it. They both looked a bit shocked at that piece of information, but didn't say anything. Instead they seemed to wait to see where James was trying to get with that.

"The thing is," James bit his lower lip. "it was not a gas leakage that happened yesterday."

"It wasn't?" Dr. Granger asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"It was a monster!" A low voice came from behind the armchair the man was sat at. At that, both Jane and Hermione's father (whose name James had yet to discover) frowned.

"Hermione, we have already discussed these stories." Jane said, looking at her husband's armchair, as she couldn't see her daughter. But then, she turned at James. "We are sorry. Our Hermione has always been down to earth, but since yesterday, she has been telling these stories..."

"We think the chemicals might have affected her, creating delusions." Her husband continued.

"Hum..." James tried to control his shaky hands. It was time for the truth. "Like I said, it wasn't a gas leakage. I was there, and also saw what Hermione saw. The monster is called a dementor and-"

"Excuse me!" Jane interrupted angrily. "A demented? Calling it a monster, and using that word is extremely inappro-"

"Dementor, Dr. Granger, nor demented." It was James who interrupted this time. "I'm quite sure you are not familiar with what a dementor is. It is a dark creature that sucks happy thoughts from people."

The older Grangers had a shocked expression on their faces, their mouths gaped. "That's absurd!" Dr. Granger said, his eyes sparkling with fury. "You come to my house to tell me about some sort of Bogart? You're a grown man yourself, that's ridiculous!"

James took out his wand. Being an Auror gave him the permission to expose magic to muggles if necessary, although that was rather frowned upon. But there was no other way to prove he was not insane.

"This is going to sound unbelievable, and even borderline insane, but I promise this is true." He watched as the other grown ups eyed him as if he was indeed insane. Little Hermione had finally moved to stay beside the armchair to watch what the strange man was doing. "I am a wizard." At that, he flicked his wand at the coffee table, effectively transforming it into a platypus. Both Drs. Granger jumped up, and Jane Granger let out a shriek that scared the poor platypus, which quickly hid itself behind James' long legs.

"H-how did you d-do that?" Hermione's father asked, pointing at the docile animal with his eyes wide.

"Like I said, I am a wizard." James replied matter-of-factly.

"So," Hermione's mother scared face would have been comic if it weren't such a tense situation. "You came her to offer us a pact with a demon or something?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"What? No, of course not, I'm not a dark wizard!" James answered, trying not to laugh. He focused on using his wand to put the platypus in the middle of the room and turning it back into the table.

"Wow!" Hermione looked impressed as she stared at the coffee table as if it were something incredible. When she noticed James watching her with a smile, she blushed furiously and hid behind her father's armchair again. Jane had her head on her hands while Dr. Granger looked pale. They sat again, each one whispering something different.

"I must still be dreaming." She was saying.

"I need a drink." He was saying.

"I know it is a lot to take in," James said, trying to make his voice as soft as possible. "and that it may seem crazy, but it is really important that you believe me."

Both Drs. Granger looked at him. They seemed a bit shaken and pale, but James was happy to see they didn't seem scared or skeptical. 'Not that much, that is' he thought. After some good minutes, it was Jane who broke silence.

"S-so... So what Hermione told us, about the b-black cloaked m-monster," She said, seemingly not able to believe she was saying those words. "is real?"

"Yes," James said, with a nod. "They are what we call a dementor."

Both Grangers seemed to be thoughtful. "Okay..." Hermione's father finally said. "Thank you for telling us, but, is there a reason for this?"

"Yes," James said before sighing deeply. "Dementors are dark creatures, like I said, and they feed on happy emotions." The other two nodded, encouraging him to continue. "When they are around too many people, they tend to try to find a wizard or a witch to feed from, as somehow magical people seem to be... tastier to them than muggles." James said, disgust clear on his voice.

"Muggles?" Dr. Granger asked.

"Non-magical folk." James explained. "We have reasons to believe that the dementor was sent there." The Grangers seemed scared at that. "And it is quite possible that my son was their target."

"Why would they set a dark creature against a child?" Jane asked, worry clear on her voice. "Is that something common in your... folk?"

"Not at all." James' expression darked considerably. "In fact, dementors should be controlled by our Ministry. It was probably a powerful dark wizard or witch who did this."

"So," Dr. Granger bit his lower lip. "Is your kid ok?"

"Yes," James said, relaxing again. "We were late, so he wasn't there for the beginning of the class. He was afraid of being told off by his professor, so I walked him in. That's when I heard Hermione's scream."

The Granger parents covered their mouths with their hands and paled. "Why would it attack our daughter?" her dad said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," James started.

"Call me Phil." Hermione's father interrupted him.

"So, Phil and Jane." James said, looking from one to the other. "I believe your daughter will be a witch as well. In fact, I'm almost sure. Only magical people can see a dementor, so she obviously has magic in her."

"Is that even possible?" Jane asked, as Phil tried to get to see his daughter, who was still hiding behind his armchair. "We are not... m-magical, I guess, so how can she be one?"

"It happens," James explained. "Wizards who were born to muggle parents are called muggleborns. My wife is a muggleborn too."

"So now our daughter will have a wand and will be able to do magic tricks?" Phil asked, giving up on finding his daughter and focusing on James.

"Not exactly now," James clarified. "Muggleborns are generally informed of their powers when they are 11 years old. That's when they get a wand and they go to a Wizarding School, Hogwarts, where they will learn how to do magic."

"So why did you decide to tell us now?" Phil asked. James wasn't happy with having to do this.

"Like I said, I have reason to believe my son Harry was the target. But then, when this dark wizard sent the dementor there, my son was not in the classroom, which caused it to turn to the first magical person it found."

"Hermione..." Jane's voice was shaking with fear for her daughter.

"Yes." James said, solemn. "It was a good thing I had accompanied my son to the classroom, otherwise there would be nobody there to help those poor kids and your daughter." Both Granger parents nodded as if thanking him, but he didn't give them the opportunity to say anything, choosing to continue. "The problem is, I believe that whoever sent the dementor there had someone spying for them. It's normally how these things happen. So, it is possible that they know of your daughter, and that they might try to hurt her." He hoped they wouldn't ask why. Explaining the prejudice that purebloods had against muggleborns would be exhausting.

"What do you suggest we do?" James was grateful they didn't question him, but Phil almost looked sick, and Jane wasn't much better. "Should I call the Police?"

"Well, the muggle police wouldn't help much..." James said. "But I am an Auror, which is the police of the wizarding world. That's why I am here, I-"

Whatever James was going to say was interrupted but the loud Ding-Dong of the door bell, followed shortly by a loud shriek from Hermione saying "I GET IT!". The bushy haired girl ran out of the living room before the grown ups could even jump up. Jane tried to call her daughter, but she was already opening the door.

James was the first to get to the entrance hall. They all heard Hermione scream loudly but only James saw, with horror, the green curse that hit the little girl on her chest. She fell to the floor and didn't move anymore while Bellatrix Lestrange cackled on the other side of the opened door.

A.N.: I'm really, really sorry. Please, remember that not everything is what it seems.