Chapter 4 - The Final Countdown

There were quite a lot of Order meetings leading up to Hallowe'en. It gave me more opportunities to see Snape again and I grabbed each and everyone as hard as I could.

On one such occasion I wiggled out of my dad's lap and made my way towards the black man with a decisive waddle. When I reached him in his corner I stared up at him until he took notice of me (he noticed me alright, he just tried hard to ignore me, the big grump that he was).

"What?" he snarked at me with a raised eyebrow, apparently giving up on trying to ignore me since I kept noticing him every time he was at an Order meeting. I haven't spoken to him since I thanked him for making sure I didn't fall and asking him to pick me up. I gave him a friendly smile and pointed my baby finger at myself.

"Thea," I introduced myself.

"I know that," was the reply I got. I ignored the grump and continued, "Who 'ou?"

His other eyebrow joined the raised one in a subtle surprise. What? Did he think my parents, Sirius and Remus would have told me who he was?

There was a pregnant pause as if he was trying to decide how to deal with me. In the end, he gave a small deflated sigh and answered,

"Severus Snape."

It was a week before Hallowe'en when Snape arrived at our house in Godric's Hollow. Lily, James, Sirius and Remus were there as well (because of course they were). At first I was shocked and just stared at him and then I beamed happily at him and ran into his knees.

"Unca Sev!" I squealed as I raised my hands in a universally translated pose of asking to be picked up.

...

You could have heard a pin drop the room was so quiet. I ignored everyone but Snape as I watched emotions crawl on his face and then he must have mustered up his Occlumency shields, sighed again, and picked me up. He was always careful in picking me up, making sure not to hurt me. It contrasted in the way he always looked resigned and grumpy when he did so. But I knew that the dark man has started to like me. Grudgingly, definitely. I was proud I managed to crack his formidable walls at last and find a purchase in his heart.

I knew that he and my parents and Remus and Sirius had started a hesitant dialogue between Order meetings and I assumed (correctly I hope) that Lily and Severus had reconciled and the Marauders and Severus had managed to bury their hatchet.

I mean, would he be here otherwise?

But the aforementioned silence was because this was the first time I addressed him as my uncle - giving him a familial title - which I never gave Peter.

The week before Hallowe'en was stock full of things happening. So much so that I could barely follow along. Lily, James, Remus and Sirius were tense and spent long hours in discussion with Remus and Sirius coming and going a lot more frequently than they had before.

Remus, I could understand, since Dumbledore asked him to talk to werewolves and ask them to at least be neutral in the war if they didn't want to join the Light. But Sirius was an enigma.

It all became clear three days before Hallowe'en when James, Lily and Sirius took me to Gringotts where the filed their revised Will - though I have no idea what they put in it - and then took me deeper into Gringotts to a cavernous empty room.

The room was dark, and the only illumination were torches placed strategically around the walls and candles on the floor. It was the candles that got my attention. There were five candles, all different colours, placed in positions around and inside a chalk-drawn pentagram on the floor. Were we doing some kind of ritual? If so, what kind? The only rituals I was familiar with were rituals written in fanfictions.

There were five goblins in toga-like clothes situated at the cardinal points on the outside of the pentagram waiting for us. The air felt staticky and I could feel the hair on the back of my hands stand up from the saturation of magic in the chamber.

Lily and James placed me on the north side of the pentagram while Sirius took place on the south side, carrying a silver dagger and a white candle. My Godfather whispered to me to kneel and keep kneeling and that everything would be okay. All I had to do was keep kneeling and when I felt magic to accept it. I nodded seriously. I could feel that what happened now would be significant.

And it was.

"By the light of the moon and the stars above, I, Sirius Orion Black, stand before the ancient powers that govern our world, to swear a sacred oath.

I offer my blood, the essence of my being, as a testament to my vow. With this act, I bind myself to protect and guard Anthea Bryony Potter, now and forevermore."

Sirius pricked his finger with the dagger, allowing a drop of blood to fall into the centre of the pentagram.

"Anthea Bryony Potter, from this moment forth, I am more than a friend or a guardian. I am your godfather, your shield against all harm. I vow to stand by your side, through light and darkness, through joy and sorrow.

I promise to remain loyal to you, to uphold the bond that we forge tonight with unwavering faith. No force, seen or unseen, shall deter me from my duty."

Sirius lit the white candle and continued.

"By the flame of this candle, I illuminate our path, guiding us with truth and purity. Let it be known that this bond is forged in love and sealed in magic, unbreakable and eternal."

Sirius cupped my face with his hands, looking into my eyes with sincerity.

"Do you, Anthea Bryony Potter, accept this bond and the protection it offers, acknowledging me as your godfather and guardian?"

I felt Sirius' magic envelop me in warmth and saw my own respond in kind, letting tendrils wrap around Sirius' magic. I gave him a teary smile as I accepted him as my magically bound godfather.

"Then it is done. By the power vested in me by ancient rites and the strength of our mutual trust, we are bound together as godfather and goddaughter, forevermore."

The ritual concludes with the white candle's flame flickering and growing stronger for a few seconds, before it softly goes out and I see Sirius catching his breath as the magic settles. A few moments later he exhales deeply and gives me a warm smile as he pulls me towards him into a hug that I readily return and burrow myself closer to him.

I had hoped that with the changes I had made - mainly Sirius being my sworn Godfather and Severus being included in our little family - that maybe, just maybe I did enough to prevent this from happening. But Fate and Destiny had other plans in mind.

I was just put to bed with my stuffed toys (a black panther joining the chorus) and Lily singing a soft lullaby to me, when he came. I startled at the explosion from downstairs and Lily's startled gasp.

"Lily, take Anthea and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

My eyes started tearing up when I heard those words. Lily gave out a mournful moan when we saw green light flash through the open doors, then whispered to me, "Anthea, shh, it's going to be alright. Mommy's here."

We both listened as Voldemort made his way up the stairs and Lily tensed as she stood in front of my crib. He entered my room and pointed his wand at Lily, speaking softly.

"Stand aside, you silly girl. Stand aside now."

"Not Anthea, not Anthea, please not Anthea!"

"Step aside, woman!"

"No, please, have mercy. Not my daughter. Take me instead."

"This is my last warning – step aside!"

"No! Not Anthea! Please… have mercy…"

"Avada Kedavra!"

And my mother's lifeless corpse fell down as if the strings were cut, collapsing in front of my crib. My eyes started watering and I couldn't even look at Voldemort as he stood there enjoying himself.

My mommy and daddy were gone. I lost them even though I fought so hard to change this outcome. It wasn't enough. I wasn't enough. Why wasn't I enough?

I kept ignoring Voldemort as he monologued and when he started casting the Unforgivable Curse, I finally looked up to look him in his red eyes.

Green washed over me and pain filled my head.