CHAPTER 4

3 December 1981 - The Evans Keep, 6:32AM

From the Front Page of the Daily Prophet, by Rita Skeeter

THE FALL OF HOUSE POTTER!

LORD & LADY POTTER OFFICIALLY DIVORCED!

LORD POTTER KEEPS CUSTODY OF HEIR, LILY EVANS KEEPS SECOND SON!

Yes Wizards and Witches of England, you read that correctly! Since their earth-shattering announcement some weeks ago, James Lord Potter and the Ex-Lady Potter have officially finalized their split!

Details are still unclear about the cause of the earth-shattering news of their separation, but my sources believe it occurred whilst Lily was hospitalized for some unnamed injuries she suffered on All Hallows Eve, the night Heir Potter not only survived the Killing Curse, but succeeded in vanquishing You-Know-Who!

As taboo as divorce is in our world, there are some ancient marital clauses that a desperate Lady may utilize to initiate her marriage's end, with the understanding that she would lose all access to born heirs. So it comes as a major surprise that she was granted full custody of the second Potter son Harry, who was no doubt saved by his brother Jim's miraculous defeat of the Dark Lord. Rumors have been swirling that poor Harry was rendered a squib that fateful night, and was the reason his parents were forced to separate. Some speculate that the poor boy was born a squib, and Lord Potter - in the tradition of many pureblooded Lords before him - cast his son out of the family, along with his muggleborn wife who bore the child.

This untimely separation was further marked by the dissolution of Lord Potter and Lord Black's famous friendship, the latter of whom my sources tell me had to be forcibly removed from the former's home by aurors after a particularly explosive argument. Is it possible the notoriously ambitious muggleborn Lily was leading the two men -"

The paper suddenly burst into flame, the loathsome words fading to ash as Lily scowled, vanishing the offensive contents before reupholstering her wand. Rita has always been a particularly relentless thorn in her side since her Hogwarts years, but her recent coverage was pushing the very limits of Lily's patience. Sighing, she took a sip of her tepid tea, her mind still churning in anger.

Her divorce had been officialized the previous day, a painfully formal and tense affair between James, herself, and their mutual solicitors in a highly secure Gringotts meeting room, which had served as neutral ground between the two parties. Lily and Harry had been staying with Sirius in the Black Hideaway, a small estate that served as a posh bachelor pad for the Black Lords. James - dressed in austere Lord's robes with a matching expression - had absolutely refused to even look in her direction, a favor Lily had been more than happy to return. Obediah Prewett - representing James as House Potter Seneschal - and Artemis Podmore and Hestia Jones - representing Lily - had maintained the utmost of civil decorum throughout the entire proceedings.

A quietly seething Lily had been informed that she would be reneging complete custody and parental rights of Jim over to James, and would be granted zero visitation rights. Likewise, he would renege custody and parental rights of Harry over to Lily. Due to her divorce declaration's invocation of Sirius' oath-sworn status as Harry's godfather, Harry would also be a formal ward of House Black. While Harry could still keep the last name Potter (James wasn't fully comfortable with a formal expulsion) his continued status as a squib meant that James would not be responsible for his financial upkeep, which would fall to Lily (and Sirius) to ensure it was up to par. In the off-chance Harry and Jim would ever interact, it would have to be mediated by a mutually agreed-upon neutral party. With matching stone-faced expressions, both James had signed off on the divorce terms, sealed by a blood-quill.

For her settlement, Lily had been granted all she'd requested in her original divorce declaration. Her new home was a cozy, eight bedroom home in Upper Burford, a small suburban magical enclave nestled within the town of Burford in Oxfordshire. It came with sprawling orchards, a small stable, an idyllic lake, and a fully functioning (albeit small) Quidditch pitch, all kept in pristine condition by the (former) Potter elf Mia, whom James had fully relinquished to Lily to be an Evans elf. Half of the liquid currency in his vault - twenty million galleons - had been transferred to Lily's personal vault, half of which she immediately allocated to a trust for Harry. She'd been granted one small heirloom on Harry's behalf, a fully functioning magical kiln engraved with the crest of House Potter, which had been traditionally used by the Potters of olde when they actively practiced pottery. Any of the useful heirlooms - the Invisibility Cloak, paintings, pensieve, and a suite of enchanted armor - were entailed to the Heir and not eligible for transfer.

Upon conclusion of the harrowing day, she and Harry had been whisked to Castle Basilicus - Tom's home - where she'd spent the remainder of her day oscillating between weeping for her broken marriage, shoving down ungodly amounts of cookie dough ice cream, and soundly cursing James Potter's name. As dutiful as ever, Severus and Tom had been by her side to offer their steadfast support, with Severus eagerly cursing James Potter's name with gusto, much to Lily and Tom's amusement.

Lily mourned the loss of her marriage, the loss of her precious firstborn son, and the loss of any future they could have had as a family. She mourned having to be the one to make the sacrifice, but she knew she'd do it again with no hesitation if required. Harry was just as precious to her as Jim, and she refused to surrender him to Petunia's care. Her once caring and doting sister had succumbed to her parents' religious zeal, and would treat any child of Lily's womb - magical or otherwise - with the hateful vigor their parents had instilled in her.

Her pity party had been interrupted by the appearance of a bruised and bloodied Sirius, his collar in the unyielding grip of a thunderous Alastor Moody, who looked ready to throttle Sirius himself. Apparently, Sirius had stubbornly believed he could convince an equally stubborn James to change his mind about finalizing his divorce with Lily (a feat he'd soundly failed in with Lily). Upon discovering that James had gone through with the deed and officially left his wife and son, an enraged Sirius had confronted James in Potter Manor, a heated duel devolving to violent fisticuffs. Accusations of the other being a 'Supreme Git', 'Stupid Asswipe', 'Useless Prat', and (by Sirius) 'Worse than Walburga-fucking-Black' had been tossed out, the latter of which saw Sirius and James exchanging heated punches, slaps, and kicks, even transforming into their Animagus forms to inflict maximum physical damage. It was only by chance that Alastor Moody was coming by to review case notes with James when he happened upon the (untransformed) pair trying to physically rip the other apart. A well-timed Knockback Jinx had separated the pair before quickly applied Incarcerous and Silencio spells rendered them both mute and incapacitated whilst he confiscated their abandoned wands, eye spinning madly and face pinking in growing anger.

Incensed was an understatement as Moody verbally tore into both their hides, calling them two of the most immature, inconsiderate, and impulsive asswipes he'd ever suffered the misfortune of having to supervise in the midst of a bloody fucking war. And if that wasn't bad enough, he was having to play babysitter to two adult men who were too stupid to let the other be when neither was in a position to be diplomatic. He'd snarlingly warned them that if he ever caught them pulling another stunt like this, he'd have them both immediately suspended and made to do double-time at Azkaban for an entire year!

Properly chastised, both men had acquiesced. Satisfied that they'd heeded his very real threats, Moody had undone the spells and handed both their wands, and made to escort Sirius to the Floo. Never one to not have the last word, Sirius had spat that James Potter was officially dead to him, the Marauder bonds were broken, and that any man who could abandon his son because of a difference that couldn't be helped was no friend of his, and would never be. A rapidly applied jinx spelled 'Supreme Ass-Wipe of the Universe' across James' reddening forehead, as a roaring Mad-Eye grabbed Sirius by his cuff and all but dragged him into the Floo.

Upon arriving at Castle Basilicus' receiving parlor, Moody had further chewed out a completely unapologetic Sirius, officially suspending him from Auror duties for a week, and working a weekend double-time shift at Azkaban, before hobbling to the Floo for his exit. Scowling, Sirius had mumbled a greeting before darting upstairs to go play with Harry. With a practiced roll of his eyes, Tom had directed Sirius to clean himself up lest he frightened the poor babe, and went along with Sirius to supervise as she and Severus exchanged amused glances.

Smiling at the memory, Lily reached into her sweater and pulled out a gold locket embossed with Harry and Jim's initials, along with multiple runes visible only to her eye. Inside were pictures of the boys, both gurgling and cooing at her while she smiled at them. Tears falling down tired eyes, the worn witch gently pressed a kiss to each picture, pausing longer at Jim's photo.

"I love you my precious Jim, never ever forget that. Mummy loves you so much, and one day, one day, I hope you'll understand and forgive me."

A baby's mewling cry caused her to start, and placing the locket back to its resting place, and used her wand to wipe her tears and freshen up. Closing her eyes, she reasserted her Occlumency shields and stood, going to comfort the son she'd chosen.

AN 1: Aaaand we're officially divorced! I think Lily got a pretty decent settlement, Burford is quite plush! This is setting in motion the two divergent paths James & Lily (and Sirius) will take regarding Harry & Jim

AN 2: Harry is still a squib, but that will be changing very soon, as in next chapter soon *wink wink*. Lily's ritual had an unforeseen consequence that she'll soon realize

AN 3: More Tom is coming soon! We'll get to see the prodigious Lord Gaunt in play, with some backstory as to how he came to acquire the Lordship

AN 4: And for casting, Brendan Gleeson as the irascible Mad-Eye Moody, and Ben Barnes (with his Westworld length hair and beard) as Sirius Black