CHAPTER 2

31 October 1981 - Godric's Hollow - Potter Nursery - 11:35PM

Lily Potter slowly picked herself from the nursery floor, groaning all the way. She was covered in all manner of debris, cuts, and bruises, wheezing through burning lungs and aching limbs. Her chest and abdomen throbbed something fierce, self-carved runes lightly glowing with residual magical energy. Dazedly, ears ringing with vision blurred, she took in the resulting damage the Dark Lord had left in his wake. A massive hole had been blown through the east wall of the nursery, the result of a titanic explosion that covered the entire room in bits of imploded brick and layers of dust. She could see the night sky, the stars and moon uncommonly bright and beautiful as they bathed the room with their glow.

Soft mewling cries broke her survey, spurring her to action. Grimacing, she determinedly shuffled over to the surprisingly intact crib. While peering down, tears of joy raced down her cheeks. Her babies, her previous twin boys, were alive. The runes painstakingly carved on their foreheads lightly glowed, slightly marred with drops of their blood. Whispering softly, Lily wandlessly cast Episkey to seal the cuts, leaving faint but noticeable scars in its wake. An intricate Glamor Charm of her own making was subsequently applied, obscuring any further attention that would be paid to the rune scars. She repeated the same on her own person, breathing a sigh of relief once healed. With pained movements she reached into the crib and lifted her sons with both arms, cradling them tenderly against her.

"It worked! By Circe's grace it worked! My precious boys you're alive. You're safe." The warmth of their mother's arms gently soothed their cries to soft sniffles. The boys grabbed fistfuls of her fiery red hair to anchor themselves. Lily closed her tired eyes, muttering her relief repeatedly. Her complex (and highly illegal) ritual to protect her sons from being murdered was a success. As practical a Slytherin as ever, she had absolutely refused to place all her eggs in James' (and Dumbledore's) Fidelius basket, and devised her own contingency plan (with much assistance from Tom and Severus) to ensure that her children would not fall victim to the Dark Lord's murderous mania.

Gazing around the ruined room Lily spotted her wand under a pile of broken dresser wood, and with a sharply muttered Accio, she summoned the wand back to her hand. The willow wood thrummed softly in her hands, pleased to be reunited with its mistress. A slew of cleaning and healing spells later returned them to their previous visages, interwoven with undetectable concealment charms that would obscure all evidence of her ritual, especially from the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. Wand in hand and sleeping babies in tow, Lily wordlessly cleared a path to the door, making her way downstairs.

A groaning James met her near the bottom of the stairs, his crumpled form blocking the bottom step. His left wrist was bent at an awkward angle, the visible parts of his body covered with cuts. With a vicious eye roll Lily sidestepped him to enter the living room, pausing to survey the chaos. The entire room was a disaster; broken furniture strewn about, shards of broken glass everywhere, and evidence of spell damage marring the walls. It seemed James had put up quite the fight before the Dark Lord overwhelmed him. Sighing, Lily transfigured the broken sofa into a comfy crib, gently laying her sons down to rest. A powerful Silencing Charm was placed over the crib to not disturb them.

Turning to glare at her still rousing husband, Lily took some time to reinforce her battered Occlumency shields and calm her frayed nerves before she confronted him. The house could only sustain so much spell damage. A few deep breaths later, her expression smoothed into a blank mask and her posture relaxed, perfect form for calmly chewing her husband out.

"Lily… h-h-he's here… t-t-the b-babies … ugh my head… L-L-Lily… Lily!" James jerked upright, his wand immediately coming to bear. Broken glasses hung askew on his face. His hazel eyes were panicked and frenzied. He sharply turned to find a very-much-alive Lily staring blankly at him in a manner frightfully reminiscent of Severus Snape. His frantic heart calmed upon seeing her relatively unharmed, and he huffed a sigh of complete relief upon seeing his sons safe and sound. His relief, however, would be short-lived.

"I warned you James. I warned you about Peter Pettigrew." She spit the name with more venom than James had ever heard from her, though her placidly calm expression never changed.

"I warned you, warned you, that he could not be trusted. No sooner than he is made our Secret Keeper, and You-Know-Who shows up to our home?! We could have died! Harry and Jim could have died!"

"Lily-flower, please consider what you're saying! He would never willingly betray us! This is Peter we're talking about; he was probably kidnapped and tortured for the Secret! He-" Lily's furious snarl cut his statement short. His eyes widened as she strode to stand directly in front of him. Her eldritch green eyes burning in anger.

"That's not how the Fidelius works, James." A finger poked hard in his chest emphasized her clipped statement. James visibly swallowed, bracing himself to weather the storm of his wife's temper.

"The Secret is stored in the Keeper's very soul; torture can't force it to come tumbling from your lips and into the ears of You-Know-Who. It is a choice to share the truth of the Secret. Peter told the Dark Lord the Secret, he came to our home, and very nearly murdered us and our sons! And you stand there, making excuses for the little rat?!" James' face took on an odd expression at 'rat', but he quickly shrugged it off before tiredly running his hands through his perpetually messy hair.

"Lily do you hear yourself?! This is Peter we're talking about! He's…Peter! He's not an Auror who's capable of even remotely holding off the Dark Lord or any of his Death Eaters! Hell, he even drops his wand if he gets too anxious or startled! Of course he was captured and tortured for the Secret; it's the only way!"

"Do you hear yourself?! Seriously, James! Because you think him to be a lowly coward, you believe he is not capable of betrayal? Unbelievable! And pray tell, just how would a Death Eater or You-Know-Who know to capture Peter hm? How would they know he was our Secret Keeper? We told no one, not even Dumbledore, of the change. Just how would You-Know-Who know to take Peter instead of Sirius?" James looked momentarily dumbfounded at that possibility, forcing Lily to huff in exasperation.

"Honestly, it's not a difficult conc-" A series of sharp pops stopped Lily mid-sentence, her wand out in a flash. Likewise, James came to her side and brought his wand to bear. The door flew open to admit a grim-faced Albus, outfitted in his usual flashy robes, this time an eye-watering marigold. His resplendent Phoenix Fawkes perched firmly on his shoulder, feathers glowing in the dimness. His eyes (lacking their usual sparkling warmth) surveyed the damage, and his expression grew more grim.

Right behind him marched Tom Riddle, navy blue robes billowing imperiously. He looked impeccable as always to the untrained eye, but Lily (as his years-long mentee and third best friend) noticed the more pronounced frown lines on his skin and the tightness of his mouth. His bone-white yew wand was clasped gently in his hand, his deceptively relaxed posture poised to strike at a moment's notice.

Dumbledore set upon the couple, making his way over only to pause suddenly when Lily raised her glowing wand, expression stony.

"What was the creature Lily Potter transfigured in her 6th year NEWT Exam?"

"An occamy as I recall. Made for a rather interesting afternoon when the creature expanded to fit the entirety of the classroom, rendering the entire class unusable. Fortunately you were the last student of the day to be tested, so all's well that ends well." Lightly blushing, Lily nodded and turned to Tom.

"What were the last words spoken to me by Tom Riddle?"

Lips quirking in response, Tom responded in his usual sotto voce: "The game's afoot, follow your spirit, and upon this charge, cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'" Satisfied Lily lowered her wand, while Dumbledore gave Tom an odd look at the given quote. Tom ignored him, choosing to stride over and gently embrace Lily, who visibly relaxed. Sharp eyes swept over her form, seemingly checking her over for any injuries. Satisfied, he turned to find a scowling James, whom he promptly ignored as he made his way to the crib, keen eyes checking over the sleeping babies.

"It would seem the Dark Lord discovered you after all, in spite of the trouble we went through to ensure that possibility wouldn't come to pass." Dumbledore looked pained and disappointed as Tom snorted indelicately. James scowled and sighed, running a tired hand through his hair, wincing as he brushed over a particularly sore spot.

"Yes Albus, we were discovered. Poor Peter was-"

"Peter? Peter Pettigrew? What do you mean Peter?! Sirius Black is your Secret Keeper." Dumbledore was all but yelling while James shuffled guiltily, feeling like a Fourth Year being reprimanded for pranks in the Headmaster's office. For her part, Lily crossed her arms and glared at the side of James' head.

"W-Well y-yes Professor that was the initial plan, but Lily, Sirius, and I decided it would be too obvious if he were Keeper, given our relationship. We figured no one would even suspect Peter; it wouldn't be obvious at all, but it seems like You-Know-Who was still able to get to him." James rubbed his arms uncomfortably, looking to Lily to assist. She let out a frustrated huff at his statement.

"Yes, You-Know-Who did get to Peter. However, my dear husband here refuses to even contemplate that poor little Peter may have willingly gone to the Dark Lord, and willingly shared the very Secret we'd entrusted to him." Dumbledore's face paled at the implication, truly looking his age.

"Lily, please listen; this is Peter we're talking-"

"And this is war James Potter. It changes people. We've seen too many we love and hold dear lose their lives to this madness, and we've seen too many we thought incorruptible succumb to their fears. Just because he's your friend doesn't mean-" Lily suddenly clutched her head, a powerful wave of vertigo overcoming her, sending black spots across her vision. She heard voices raised in alarm but she couldn't respond, her tongue turning heavy like treacle in her mouth. She stumbled and swooned even as strong arms grabbed her, and a few seconds later, she succumbed to darkness.

AN 1: As I said, this Tom Riddle will be markedly different from the one in PoS (note him being Lily's mentor and definite 3rd best friend). He's unmarred by the trauma of Myrtle-gate with a whole soul (no horcruxes), so he will have a distinctly different (but nonetheless very debonair) characterization. We'll have several flashbacks to see how his character came to be.

AN 2: James' naivete regarding Peter's true loyalty and identity will be further explored in the following chapters. We'll see why Lily is (rightfully) so suspicious of him whereas James is not

AN 3: I almost forgot, casting! Lily Potter will be played by Sophie Skelton, James Potter by James Marsden, Tom Riddle by Christian Coulson, Peter Pettigrew by Dan Stevens, and Albus Dumbledore by Michael Gambon