Elise Clarke walked aimlessly down Privet Drive. Her boyfriend of three years had just dumped her, calling her all sorts of names and hurling anything within reach in her direction. After she came all the way home to surprise him no less. She fought back angry tears. Apparently the girl he'd been seeing behind her back was who he chose in the end.

Being that she was a witch, she was surprised her magic hadn't lashed out at him, but she supposed she should be grateful. The last thing she needed was assault counts on her record. Elise was twenty-two and a fresh graduate of Hogwarts. Well, she liked to think of it that way, except that was five years ago. Her plans for the future had all but vanished right before her eyes, one after the other.

She had wanted to be a teacher even when she was in primary school and since she was muggleborn, she applied to a university to get a teaching license. But, she was young and inexperienced, and her boyfriend didn't want to move to a place that had openings for work. Of course, she could have been apparating there and back, he did know of her magic after all, but it was the principle of the thing. Now, her boyfriend didn't matter, seeing as they clearly would not be getting back together.

She kicked a loose rock in frustration, letting out a strangled groan. "Why doesn't anything go my way…" she mumbled, watching the rock skip and roll, landing in the lawn of number 4 Privet Drive. "Oh shoot…"

She hurriedly removed the rock from their lawn, knowing Petunia Dursley would be in an absolute tizzy over something like that. The Dursley family always made her want to vomit. The husband was, to put it plainly, ginormous. Petunia was a real witch, and not the magic kind. The two made quite the grotesque pair, and their one-year-old glob of a son was no picnic either. Her boyfriend had often complained of their antics, though she supposed now she wouldn't have to hear about them anymore. Elise shook her head as she put the rock back onto the sidewalk.

As she got up to continue her angry walk, a cry caught her attention, the unmistakable sound of a small child. She looked around. No baby should be out in this weather, it was freezing and about to rain. She walked a few more paces, waiting for another cry.

"Baby…?" She called out, unsure of what else to say.

There it was again, coming from the Dursley's house. She disillusioned herself and crept up the driveway. She gasped, bundled in a tiny basket with a letter placed neatly on top was a small baby. She cursed under her breath. What psycho leaves an infant in these conditions? She could tell there had been a warming spell or something placed on the basket, but it had definitely worn off entirely by now. Harry Potter was written across the blanket. She recognized that last name, but from where? She couldn't recall.

She grabbed the letter addressed to the Dursleys. Reading other people's mail was illegal, but some cases called for a little bending of the law. She read it quickly, disgusted by its contents.

First of all, there was a compulsion charm on the letter, she could tell because she currently wanted nothing more than to pick up the child and take it inside. Secondly, Albus Dumbledore had dropped off a magical child on this muggle doorstep, presumably the boy's aunt and uncle, but still! What if they didn't have the means for a second child? Or what if they were like most muggles and despised magic people if they even knew about them. No, she wasn't going to allow this to happen. Something, some force was calling her to take the baby herself.

"Is this kidnapping…?" She wondered aloud, picking up the shivering baby and cradling him into her warm jacket.

"Elise." A woman's voice called out, making Elise jump.

She whirled around, looking for the mystery woman.

"Elise, that is my son." She could see her now, just barely, a misty outline of a woman with fiery red hair.

She recognized her as Lily Potter, a year younger than her at Hogwarts. She'd heard of her passing but hadn't looked into the details. If Harry was here then that meant her husband, James if she recalled correctly, must also be dead. A sadness washed over her.

"Please take him and go far away from here. You can do whatever you must to hide him but keep him away from that old meddling fool. My sister hates magicals, he should have never been left here." Lily's voice was serious, she was not to leave this boy at this house. "Elise…please take care of my Harry…"

With that, the misty woman disappeared. Elise blinked. She was never a drinker, but this felt like a vision only alcohol could give her.

Having a baby was not in the plan at this point. She was missing quite a few steps indeed, but…well she couldn't leave him anywhere else. She shrunk the basket he had been in and stuffed it in her pocket, then vanished the letter. The bundled baby had long since fallen asleep, so she carefully apparated to her flat.

A small crack boomed and they were in the living room of her small flat in magical London. She took out the basket and set it on the ground. He needed a place to sleep. One quick transfiguration later and a dark wooden bassinet took up the space the basket had just before. She set the baby down carefully. Vanishing his soaked clothes and transfiguring new ones out of towels.

She would need to go shopping tomorrow. She mentally ran a list of all things she would need, cringing at how much she knew it was going to cost. She would have to visit Gringotts and exchange some galleons for pounds.

Just as she had that thought, a letter appeared on her kitchen counter.

"What the…" she muttered, walking over to it.

A letter from Gringotts, her vault manager sent it. Apparently a large sum had just been placed in her vault, it was addressed to "Harry Potter's Guardian". Ironmalice was her vault manager, he left a short message at the bottom, requesting a meeting tomorrow. She wrote a quick acceptance note and sent it off.

"What a night…" she sighed. "Baby Harry, you are quite the interesting little man."

She sat next to the bassinet, watching him sleep peacefully. She brushed back his messy hair, revealing a nasty lighting-bolt scar.

"Oh my God, what the hell?" She traced it gently, feeling the evil energy radiating off of it. "You poor thing…what happened to your family?"

Of course, Elise must have been one of the only magicals to not have heard the story, although it had happened just yesterday. She spent all her time in the muggle world, so why would she have known? Still, her heart ached for the little boy in front of her. His chubby hand clasped her finger, holding on tight as if he were afraid. She fought off tears thinking about how he would have to go on with life without a mother and father, doomed to never know that kind of familial bond. She thought of her own childhood, her loving parents, though muggle they always made an effort to understand and support her every step of her life.

"I suppose…" she trailed off. "I suppose you don't have to go about life not knowing about family…" a determined look set about her face. "I may not be your mother, but I'll do my best to take over what Lily cannot, you will never know loneliness if I'm around, I'll make sure of it."

The mission was made with utter confidence, and the spirits of Lily and James nodded sadly. They could not be there to be his parents, but they trusted this young woman to be the mother he needed. With that, their spirits finally moved on, settling with heavy hearts.