CHAPTER 3

3 November 1981 - St. Mungo's - 7:15 AM

The pervasively numbing scent of analgesic caused Lily to grimace, groaning slightly as she awoke. She was firmly tucked in a white hospital bed, with multiple vital tracking orbs beeping intermittently. Blinking her eyes open, she found the room's occupants gazing at her in varied expressions of relief, James' the most obvious of all. He was standing on one side of the room with Dumbledore, while Tom and Severus (who'd arrived while she was unconscious) stood quietly in another. Severus gave her a small nod, dark eyes shining with relief upon seeing her awake. Next to her was a double bassinet with Jim and Harry, gurgling happily at Sirius who was busy entertaining them with animated balloon bubbles. He looked upon seeing her awake, granting her a bright smile before he returned to his task at hand.

"Albus? James? Tom? What happened? Did I faint?" Lily slowly rose to sit, wincing lightly from stiffness. James immediately came to her side and began fussing over her, much to her amusement. A gently placed hand on his arm caused him to stop, sighing and standing next to her. Lightly chuckling, Albus responded.

"Yes my dear you did faint, gave us quite the fright. According to the Healers you experienced the most unusual plummet in your core, causing the dizziness and subsequent loss of consciousness. You've been hospitalized for the past three days to allow the Healers to run the necessary tests. They were unable to detect any magical influences or curse damage, so they don't believe it to have been caused by any spell of the Dark Lord's doing." Dumbledore paused for a moment, granting her a small smile. Lily sighed in relief, happy to be alive and relatively unharmed. James squeezed her hand in a gesture of comfort, which she returned.

"Are the twins alright?" At this Dumbledore's expression became slightly grave as a noticeable wave of discomfort passed through the group, making Lily's hackles rise.

"What is it, what are you not telling me?" She looked around at each person, growing pale at James' flinch.

"Be calm my dear, the twins are fine. But… well… as our muggle friends say, there's good news and bad news! The good news is that I think… no, I am quite certain that the mark on Jim's head is a curse scar, the result of a backlash from the Dark Lord. If you look closely, it is in the shape of an "L", clearly marked for "Lord". It is clear to me now that Jim was the child spoken of in the prophecy, which named a child born a quarter-hour before the seventh month dies, and whom the Dark Lord would mark as his equal. Jim was born at 11:46 and Harry at 11:52, and now Jim is marked with an "L" for the Dark Lord." Lily looked acutely dubious, wondering how on earth he'd come to that conclusion. She was secretly relieved that Dumbledore didn't suspect anything else regarding the runes on her children's foreheads. She was not obliged to share details of her probably-quite-Dark ritual, and quite frankly, she didn't think he'd be amenable to any explanation she had, maternal instinct or not.

"Our Jim did it, Lily! He did it! He drove the Dark Lord away, just like that! It's… it's… it's a miracle Lily!" James beamed delightedly at her, which she quietly returned. Over his shoulder, she saw mirroring looks of patronizing amusement on Tom and Severus' faces. Upon making eye contact, she saw Severus mutter 'dunderhead' with a pronounced eye-roll.

"That's wonderful you two, really. Our son vanquished the Dark Lord, he is no more. Thankfully all this will be over soon." She gave an almost convincing smile. "Now Albus, tell me, what is the bad news?" That same noticeable wave of discomfort passed once more through the group, her hackles rising even higher.

"What is it?" she asked frantically. "What are you lot not telling me?!"

"Well… Lily dear…according to the Healers, Harry's core is completely depleted. There's no detectable magic, there hasn't been for the past days when his core should have regenerated. I-I'm sorry Lily, but Harry is a squib." Lily's face completely drained of color, her stomach turning to lead. 'What had she done? She'd turned her poor baby boy into a squib! What had she done?!' she choked out a cry and jumped from the bed, reaching past a saddened Sirius to grab Harry, cradling him to her bosom while she fought back tears.

"How on earth did this happen?! He was fine a few days ago, completely fine! What kind of tests did those Healers run?! I don't believe this, it simply can't be true!" In spite of her best efforts she could feel herself growing hysterical, her guilt growing in kind. She just had to perform an arcane ritual to preserve her sons lives from an insane murderous wizard, only to end up making her precious boy a squib. As if sensing her mood, Harry began to fuss and cry, causing Jim to do the same. Lily forced herself to calm, rubbing soothing circles on her son's back. She planted a kiss on his forehead and placed him back in the crib beside Jim, casting a powerful Silencing Charm to ensure they would not be disturbed.

"We believe in fending off the Dark Lord, Jim's magic drew on Harry's, ostensibly using him as a magical battery. Jim's core is at level and functioning, but Harry's has not yet replenished, at all. It has been almost four days, and the Healers have run every imaginable test feasible. I'm sorry, but Harry is in fact a squib." Dumbledore looked down regretfully, his forlorn expression mirrored (in varying degrees) by everyone in the room. Lily allowed a few tears to escape, before straightening her spine.

"That's alright, not having magic doesn't make Harry any less our son or otherwise. He'll be with us, we'll raise and protect him as needed, he won't ever want for anything." At this James and Dumbledore looked away uncomfortably. Tom and Severus remained impassive, while Sirius leveled an uncharacteristic glare in James' and Dumbledore's respective directions.

"What, why those looks? What are you not telling me?"

"Lily, if Jim used Harry as a magical battery to this degree, it is entirely possible for it to happen again, and that could very well kill Harry if he has no magic of his own. There's also the possibility of.. Well… jealousy on Harry's behalf against his brother. A non-magical child raised in a magical home, with a magical sibling who can do things he'll never be able to would cause serious issues. As a squib, he may be a target for You-Know-Who's followers or any insane pureblood extremists who may target him." Dumbledore paused, becoming uncomfortable at the growing rage simmering in Lily's eyes. He was startled to discover that in this particular moment, her eyes glowed with the eerie light of the Killing Curse.

"So you're telling me because my baby boy is no longer magical" - she spat the word with enough venom to sting - "that he is no longer worthy of having a childhood with his family, to know our love and protection? Is he no longer worth that in your eyes?" James flinched at her accusatory tone, leveling a pleading look in response, to will her to understand. Sirius glared fiercely at James, moving to stand besides Lily in a surprising show of solidarity against his best friend and brother-in-all-but-blood.

"Lily is right James, I cannot believe you're even considering this madness! Harry is a baby, forced to endure a situation entirely out of his control. He needs the protection and love of his family if he's to have a chance at any kind of a life. He'd be safer in a magical household that can protect him from magical danger, or do you think he stopped being your son the minute you discovered he could no longer do magic? He's still my godson for Merlin's sake!" Sirius' infamous temper came to bear, and it was only a matter of time before curses would be leveled at James' head.

"Please, you two, please! I'm begging you! I don't want this any more than you do! But Dumbledore is right! This entire occurrence is unpredictable, and it could happen again! If Jim unintentionally siphons from Harry he could kill him, is that not a terrible enough fate?! And Merlin forbid Harry were to become jealous of his brother, would you want him to go through that? Living his entire life in his brother's shadow through no fault of his own? Merlin's beard! He could get desperate enough to perform rituals to steal Jim's magic and-"

"Oh that's a load of complete bollocks James and you know it! Circe's sake you sound like those pureblood bigots always moaning about 'magic-stealing squibs and muggles' and all other manner of rubbish!" Sirius had angrily taken a step in James' direction, absolutely fuming. Before the two could really butt heads, Tom softly cleared his throat to garner their collective attention, effectively silencing the room.

"If I may interrupt, I believe you're being entirely premature here James." Severus snorted indelicately, Tom's brow rising in response.

"As I was saying, you are being entirely premature. While there are rituals - in the darkest of grimoires - that do exist that can siphon another's magic unwillingly, it is exceedingly presumptuous to believe that Harry would be inclined to use them in a pique of would-be 'jealousy'. And I agree with Sirius' point that Harry would be considerably safer in a magical household which would shield him from magical dangers much more effectively than a muggle abode lacking any of those protections." Sirius smirked viciously at Tom's response, daring either James or Dumbledore to respond. Lily started at the mention of 'muggle', not liking the direction this dreadful conversation was taking.

"Muggle? What do you mean by that? Muggle what?" James flinched at her sharp tone while Dumbledore sighed.

"Lily dear, we think it best for Harry to go to the Dursleys, with your sister Petunia. Harry is still a baby and it would allow him time to become accustomed to living in the Muggle world as a squib. It would be easier…" She heard nothing as Dumbledore's voice faded to a dull roar, even at Sirius' indignant shout, and Tom and Severus' quiet hisses.

No, she heard none of it as long-repressed memories sprang to her mind, terrible secrets known to no one save Tom and Severus, not even James. Her religiously devout parents' usually warm eyes, growing alarmed at her first act of accidental magic when she'd caused the much-hated cauliflower to disappear off everyone's dinner plate. Panicked and terrified when they caught her playing with her dolls in her room, all animated by her childish magic to sing and dance alongside her. Fear growing to shocked horror when they found her levitating all the fallen petals from her mother's prized rose bushes, a mystified Petunia gawking as she made the petals cycle around them in a gentle breeze.

Increased whispers of 'demonic possession', 'devil-child', 'evil', 'freak' thrown at her by hateful school children, the wounds of their words cutting deeper when she overhead her parents whispering it behind the closed doors of their bedroom, their disgust and dread so evident in their hushed voices. She'd cried herself to fitful sleep that night, unable to chase their cruel words from her mind, wishing, begging God to take her ability away, to make her parents love her again.

The terrible sensation of drowning, strong hands holding her underwater while she struggled to breath, to tear her father's unyielding hands from her throat while mother and sister chanted bible verses over her, their daunting voices sounding all the more terrifying underwater. Seeing a cross placed ominously above her as she lost consciousness, falling…falling…falling… Like a rubber band snapping to place Lily came to, her decision made.

"No." It was said with such absolute authority, causing the room's occupants to start in response.

"Lily-flower, please be reasonab-"

"I. Said. No."

"Lily my dear, please consider-"

"I have considered Albus, and my answer is No. Harry is my son, and I will not abandon him to the terrible fate of the unknown in the muggle world. Squibhood be damned. Prophecy be damned. His life is not worth less than Jim's, and I will not be made to change my mind. Ever." Severus, Tom, and Sirius stared with identical looks of pride, with Sirius nodding in agreement. James exchanged a quick glance with Dumbledore and released a deep breath. In the blink of an eye his entire countenance changed, pleading expression turning to steel.

"As Lord of this House, my decision is final. I cannot knowingly risk the fate of the Wizarding World, the fate of many for the fate of one. The sanctity of the Boy-Who-Lived, the Heir of this House - my House - is tantamount, and it cannot, will not, be compromised. Harry does not carry the magic of my House, no longer carries magic at all. He will be sent to live with the Dursleys, as is intended. It shall be done to my will, therefore, it shall come to be." James' eyes blazed, meaning every word he said. Sirius and Dumbledore gawked in shock, while Tom and Severus glared in varying degrees of viciousness, Severus' most palpable of all. Lily remained impassive, eyes cycling through a range of emotions that secretly broke James' heart.

"Indeed? And if I were to still disagree, to walk away with Harry to safety. Would you keep me from my other son? From the fruit borne of my womb?"

"Lily please! James, stop this nonsense at once!" Dumbledore's stricken voice interjected, his tone pleading. Neither James nor Lily would concede

"My Heir will remain in the hearth of House Potter, to one day take the mantle of Lord in my stead. That is immutable." His use of overly formal language meant business, tone brokering no argument. Likewise, Lily rose to the occasion. With a sharp flick of her wrist her wand flew from the bedside table to land in her hand with a quiet thwack. She strengthened her shields and straightened her spine, reciting words the late Dorea Potter had drilled in her head some few years ago, to be used in this exact moment of need.

"So be it. By the power vested in me, I hereby invoke Clause 13 of our marital contract. I declare our differences irreconcilable, rendering this union broken. Our love no longer holds, the difference of our paths is now the death that does us part. The name Potter will no longer be mine to hold, no longer our second son's to bear. The gifts entailed in this clause are hereby so:

Half the gold from your vaults to provide for the standards of mine and my son's needs. An abode from thine lands to be mine and my son's sanctuary, and the tokens of the second born's inheritance to be granted to my son's boon. To serve in your stead of pater familias, I invoke the oath-named Godfather Sirius Black, to grant succor in my son's time of need, to grant sanctum in the hearth of his abode, and to fulfill all duties demanded within the sacred vows of his Godfather's Oath. So I say and will it, so mote it be." The sensation of a gong ringing washed over the entire group, all rendered speechless by Lily's declaration.

"L-L-Lily! What have you done?!" James gasped, his expression completely shocked and heartbroken. Lily was unmoved, her expression like stone.

"What needed to be done. We are finished James Potter."

AN 1: DUN DUN DUUUNNNN! There you have it, James & Lily's official divorce. Granted there's still some paperwork to be completed (logistics and all that), but they are truly over. An unstoppable force vs. an immovable object and all that :)

AN 2: One trope I'm definitely seeking to invert is that Lily Evans grew up in a supportive and loving home that embraced her magical ability, with Petunia's jealousy being the only pushback. I wanted to explore how endurance is a religiously abusive household would shape Lily's bold and stereotypically Gryffindor nature to become a Slytherin badass. More flashbacks will be referenced as the story progresses

AN 3: Snape is back! One of my favorite characters, very excited to be exploring him some more. Now as mentioned, this is a Snape that grew up with a loving and attentive mother who was able to escape (with some help from a certain you-know-who *wink wink*) Tobias' abuse and fully recognize his potential as an academic and Lord of House Prince. His appearance will be that of canon-Snape, with the Die Hard movie goatee/beard combo, with a lightly feathered layered haircut for his trademark inky locks