I do not own Harry Potter! Enjoy!
Preface
A man walked through the wards, bouncing the small, crying girl. She held him tightly, tears running down her cheeks and confusion clear in her grey eyes.
"Papa?" she asked. "Papa, where momma?"
"Shh, my star. Everything will be alright," Papa promised her, holding her close and shushing her a few more times before she closed her eyes, her head on his shoulder.
Molly Weasley watched the man approach, also confused by what was happening.
"Please, Molly," he begged, passing the one-year old over to the motherly woman. "Can you watch her for a night or two? I have to find him and make sure he's alright."
"Of course," Molly nodded, taking the baby in her arms.
Papa looked down at the girls sleeping face, seeming content as she dreamt.
"I'll be back, my little star," Papa promised. "I love you, Stella."
No one, not even he, knew that he wouldn't be back any time soon. He kissed her head and left the wards around the Burrow, racing through the countryside on his motorbike until he reached the hiding place of one Peter Pettigrew. The house had burn marks all over it and half of the ceiling was now missing, a dark mark floating in the air above it.
"Pete!" he yelled, rushing into the almost destroyed home. "Wormtail! Dorcas!"
He stopped when he saw her body on the ground. Dorcas Meadows lay under a bit of rubble and he fell to his knees. After moving the rubble aside, a few tears escaped him before he stood, continuing his search but unable to find his old friend. He needed to get to Godric's Hollow. After a quickly sent patronus to Albus Dumbledore, he climbed on his motorbike again, getting to Godric's Hollow an hour later to find the Potter's home. There was a great hole in the house on the second floor where little Harry's nursery should be, causing him to gasp before he ran inside, stopping at the front door and falling to his knees again.
"Jamie?" he asked, staring down at the body of his best friend, unmoving on the floor.
A child's cry got him moving again, causing him to carefully move around James' body and rush up the stairs. Lily was dead on the floor as well, but little Harry was crying in his crib, blood dripping from his forehead. He let out a small sob before moving forward, lifting Harry from his crib.
"Pa'foo," Harry cried, arms wrapping around his Godfather's neck tightly. "Mum sleep."
"Mum's asleep," the man nodded.
He grabbed the emergency bag with enough supplies to last Harry two weeks from the closet. Lily always did prepare things just in case. He carried Harry carefully down the stairs, not letting him see his dead father's body as they went before finding Hagrid waiting by the motorbike.
"Hagrid?" he asked, confused.
"Albus sent me," Hagrid explained, tears running down the half-giants face and into his beard. "James and Lily? They're gone?"
"Yes," the man nodded. "I need to get Harry somewhere safe."
"Albus said to get Harry and take him to him," Hagrid explained.
"Yes," the man nodded quickly. "Albus will protect him."
Pa'foo kissed the top of Harry's head a few times before placing him in a basket in the sidecar of his bike. He passed the keys to Hagrid, assuring him that it was fine that he take the bike. The care bag was also in the sidecar and the man whispered his love to the small boy before nodding to Hagrid and watching him go. He stepped back into the house, covering the mirrors in the house with a sheer black cloth before closing James' and Lily's eyes and taking a few deep breaths. He still needed to find Pete.
It was three days later that he found the man. He screamed about Padfoot's betrayal before blowing up the street, causing so much confusion to pass over Padfoot's face before watching Peter cut off his finger and turn into a rat before disappearing. Padfoot could do nothing but laugh, understanding finally dawning on him. He laughed and laughed and laughed as he was dragged away by aurors, telling them it was his fault between gasps of breath.
Sirius Black was thrown into Azkaban without a trial.
At the Burrow, Molly and Arthur Weasley vowed to tell Stella about her father when she was older. They vowed to protect her as one of their own children, raising her along beside them, giving her a toddler bed in Ginny's room. She grew up with six brothers and a little sister who followed her around everywhere she went. Stella, Fred, and George got into trouble together every chance that they could. She and Ginny snuck into the broom closet and flew around, practicing Quidditch when no one was watching. Ron beat her at chess a few times a night. Percy let her read books once he was done with them, giving her a soft smile when no one was looking before he'd move on to something else. Charlie and Bill tossed her in the air between them, causing her to laugh as she flew. Molly and Arthur smiled at the little girl with black hair and grey eyes, promising to make sure she didn't turn out like the rest of her family had.