Summary: *ABANDONED. CHECK REWRITE ON PROFILE* Voldemort underestimated Lily Potter's brilliance when he tried to kill the Potters on Halloween of 1981. As a result, James and Lily live and Voldemort is vanquished. This is the story of Harry, Heir Potter, as he grows up the way he was supposed to and takes his place in the Wizarding World.
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Alternate Universe
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2021.06.11
Updated: 2022.03.27
A Different Life by millie
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
Author's Notes: The Boy-Who-Lived
31 October 1981
Little Harry's giggles made his father, James smile. There were very fewer things to laugh at these days and what with being in hiding, and the fear of Voldemort, the atmosphere was subdued and depressing, though Harry always cheered that up with his bright smiles and loud giggles.
"Dada, mowe! mowe!"
James was distracted from his musing when his son tried to catch coloured smoke in his fist. He turned around when he heard a voice and looked to see his wife coming into the room.
"It's Harry's bedtime James. He needs to sleep. Lizzie's already in bed."
"Alright, here you go" He tossed their son to her drawing another giggle from him. Lily didn't say anything but just gave him a disapproving frown showing her displeasure at his actions before leaving the room, to take Harry to bed. He stretched lazily and tossed his wand on the couch behind him as he moved towards the stairs to follow his wife. He checked on their daughter who was fast asleep cuddling a stuffed doe and went into Harry’s nursery to see Lily tucking him in. Lily turned around, just as the alarm for intruders sounded and James gasped in shock. He quickly rushed out to get Lizzie and came back just in time to see Lily tugging on her emergency Portkey with Harry in her arms but it was too late. Anti-Portkey wards stopped them from moving. James tugged on the Portkey hanging around his neck but it was of no use. They were trapped, with no way to escape. Snake-like with red eyes, Voldemort gracefully opened the door, amusement, and confidence in his eyes.
“Lily, take Harry and Lizzie and go! I'll hold him off," commanded James. He had automatically shifted into his Auror persona, though his veins were thrumming with the desire to protect his wife and children. He had never been a coward but right now fighting wasn’t the first thing on his mind. He just had to distract Voldemort enough so that they all would be able to escape.
Fear gripped at James, but he refused to show it. He stood proud and tall, he couldn’t really fight since his wand was still downstairs but he wasn’t going to die, cowering. Lily couldn't leave her husband there alone, like a coward. That went against everything she stood for. But she couldn't let them all die either-
"Avada Kedavra!” James dropped like a stone and Lily felt elated at the thought her plan worked as she felt the heartbeat from the locket she was wearing around her neck. James had given it to her on her seventeenth birthday. It literally carried his heartbeat. James was alive. Her spell worked. But Lily hadn't thought about what she would do if her plan worked. She couldn't use the same thing on herself, she wasn't abandoning Harry and Lizzie.
She dropped Harry and Lizzie in the cot beside her and stood in front of it, pointing her wand at Voldemort, as they started duelling. Voldemort advance on her watching her with his red eyes.
"Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now."
Lily refused to move. As Voldemort moved ever close, she heard a creek from downstairs something that clearly Voldemort hadn't noticed, but her distraction cost her her wand.
"Stand aside, silly girl . . . now."
“Not Harry, or Lizzie please no, take me, kill me instead ””
“This is my last warning ””
“Not Harry! Not Lizzie! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Not Lizzie! Please ” I’ll do anything ””
“Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!”
"Avada Kedavra!"
Atleast the kids would have James. This was her last thought before she collapsed in an explosion of green light banging her head against the cot. Voldemort didn't notice this, he was staring at Harry who was crying along with his sister but Voldemort had never liked crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones whining in the orphanage. He ignored the girl and pointed his wand carefully at Harry's face- he wanted to watch it happen.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The spell hit Harry in the forehead, at the same time that light emitted from the little boy, and the green light of the spell rebounded towards Voldemort who let out a shriek of unbearable pain. The next instant, part of the opposite wall exploded from the spell, and Voldemort's body collapsed leaving behind two small babies and the bodies of their parents.
There was something inside Sirius that was telling him that something was wrong. He had been in Peter’s flat for well over an hour and he was nowhere to be seen when he should have been back from work over an hour ago. He quickly left the flat and Apparated to Godrics Hollow. His heart jumped to his throat when he arrived in front of the Potter Cottage and noticed the wreckage from the second floor.
He went inside the house and whimpered when the ground floor looked exactly like it always did. The open concept kitchen/living room were in a way as if James and Lily had gone out for a stroll or were asleep. He took a deep breath and hurried upstairs. The landing had no signs of destruction but Harry’s nursery was open and he hesitantly stepped inside.
Sirius staggered and dropped to his knees when he spotted his best friend. James’ eyes were open but were staring blankly into space, unlike the warm mischievousness they usually emitted. Lily was on the floor in front of Harry’s cot. Her green eyes, usually so expressive, were empty and one of her hands was curled around the bars of the cot, as if protecting her children, even in death.
He stood up and gazed down at the black-robed body near Lily. With an angry snarl, he kicked the body out of the hole in the wall; that monster didn’t deserve to be next to such a beautiful woman like Lily. He knelt and picked up James’ hand. It was already cold, even though it probably hadn't been that long since he died. He picked up Lily’s hand as well and slowly intersected James’ and Lily’s fingers so that they were holding hands. At that moment, their wedding came into his mind. James and Lily had changed the traditional vows into something different. Instead of ‘till death do us apart’, their vow said ‘till death and beyond.’ It was fitting that they were together even in death.
A cry distracted him from his depressing thoughts and he quickly wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He strode over to the cot and used his wand to gently siphon the blood that was matted on Harry’s forehead. He frowned when the thin lightning bolt-shaped scar refused to heal but he decided he would do something about it later. Right now, he didn't even know how the scar came to be. He picked up Harry and set him on his left hip who snuggled into his shoulder and used his other arm to gently lift Elisabeth (Thanking the heavens at the same time that she wasn't hurt) who snuggled into his right shoulder.
He refused to look at the dead bodies and instead left the room and went downstairs, intending to Disapparate to the safe house James’ had prepared for emergencies. Outside the cottage, the wind was gently blowing and he was glad he had tied his hair into a ponytail before coming to Godric Hollow.
“Hagrid,” he gasped as he stuttered to a halt in front of the half-giant. He had no idea what he was doing here or how he got here. The Secret-Keeper was Peter (he didn’t want to think that Peter had betrayed him and the Marauders) so how had Hagrid known where to come? The Fidelius Charm was still holding up as far as he knew. It should fade in a few days since the caster (Lily) was dead.
“Lily and James, they-” he choked out. What he hadn’t prepared himself for was the look of anger on Hagirds face.
“You!” Hagrid roared, startling the kids in Sirius’ arms.
“Hagrid?” Sirius asked confused. He could hear Harry and Lizzie whimpering and he tucked them into his arms more securely.
“How dare you betray Lily and James! They were your best friends and you sold them to You-Know-Who! And now you want to take the kids too-”
“Hagrid!” Sirius tried to get his attention. It appeared their ‘amazing’ decoy plan failed. Now, everyone thought that Sirius had been the one to betray the Potters when it had been Peter who was a Death Eater. “Hagrid, it wasn’t me, it was Pettigrew-” But the last thing he saw was Hagrids large hand coming down on him to knock him out and he turned quickly to protect Harry and Lizzie from the blow. His last thought was he wished he knew how to do wandless magic, otherwise, he might have stopped Hagrid.
He woke up later to find himself in a dark grimy cell with the memories of failing Harry and Lizzie forever and James and Lily's deaths in his mind. He did not remember his trial, and he was pretty sure he didn’t even have one but it was of no use. He didn’t know who threw him in Azkaban without the courtesy of a damn Veritaserum trial, but he didn’t care. He betrayed James and Lily and failed his niece and nephew. His guilt and memories threatened to haunt him but he stood up shakily and transformed into Padfoot.
Almost immediately, he noticed the difference. It was much easier in dog form and he could feel less cold, the memories of his parents and Harry and Lizzie were still there but they were in the back of his mind, not threatening to engulf him in their crushing embrace. He settled down in a corner and thought about what had happened.
Remus had no idea that they had switched Secret-Keepers and he probably believed him to be guilty. He didn’t know where Peter was or what he was doing, probably somewhere with the Death Eaters, he snorted mentally. Or maybe he was consoling Remus, who would probably accept it gratefully. They would cry together for James and Lily and curse Sirius. Life really was unfair.
He didn't know where Harry and Lizzie were, but he reasoned that they were probably with Alice, since Marlene was out of the country, and Remus would not be able to take custody. But Alice was still in hiding, so maybe McGonagall (Minnie), since she was the next on the list. He just hoped that they didn't get hurt when Hagrid knocked him out. Another thought came to his mind. He had completely forgotten that both James and Lily's parents should be allowed custody. This was a comforting thought, especially since Fee and Monty would make sure Harry grew up in a wizarding way. His mind relaxed and the worry he had been feeling about Harry and Lizzie disappeared. They would be alright.
The tears dripped down the dog's nose and on the grimy cell floor when he thought of his friends. James' warmth, his loyalty, his protectiveness, his leadership qualities, his love. And Lily, sweet, gentle, fiery, Lily. She had a kind word for anyone and a heart of gold. She would cry for friend and enemy both.
The dog slowly drifted off to sleep, the animal keeping away the nightmares from the human mind.
James woke up with his head pounding to the tap tap of an owl. He opened his eyes and instead of finding himself in his bed with his arms around his wife, he was lying on the floor of Harry’s nursery which had a blown-apart wall, and Lily lying few feet away from him. His children were nowhere to be seen and that’s when the memories of last night came to his mind. The air felt stuffy around him and he was finding it hard to breathe, so he quickly dispelled the statis charm and stood up hurriedly, blinking to clear his blurry vision, and bent down next to Lily. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he found a pulse that was interrupted by an owl pecking at his head. He didn’t pause to note the absurdity of an owl bringing him the Daily Prophet after everything that had happened and, instead gave the owl a Knut from his pocket and unfolded the paper. What he saw made him gasp.
SON HAILED AS THE BOY WHO LIVED
SIRIUS BLACK DEATH EATER. SENT TO AZKABAN FOR ACCOMPLICE IN POTTERS DEATHS
This was insane. Deaths? He and Lily were not dead. He had no idea how he survived but it was not the time to think about that right now. Harry was hailed as the Boy Who Lived, what did that mean? And Sirius, a Death Eater? It would have made him laugh if he hadn’t been horrified. There was no way that the information that he was not their Secret-Keeper hadn’t come out at his trial. A groan distracted him and he looked down to see Lily shaking her head blearily as she sat up.
“Lily,” he whispered. He gathered her in his arms and pressed his lips to the crown of her head.
“James,” she said softly. “Where are Harry and Lizzie?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly as he pulled away. That was one of the things he was most distressed about. “How did I survive? How did we survive?”
“I used the Sleep Long Spell on you,” said Lily. “I wasn’t sure if the protection I created would work, so I wanted you to at least be alive if I died. I think my project worked and that’s probably how I survived. I don’t know what happened after that. I have no idea what happened to my babies,” Tears were glistening in her emerald green eyes and her hands were shaking.
Lily had been working on a project to negate the effects of the Killing Curse. It had been an ingenious yet simple idea, really. She wanted to create a magical object that would be able to deflect the Killing Curse and absorb it. It had been an honour for her to work closely with the Unspeakables for this project and it had taken them well over a year to succeed. The Sleep Long Spell was also a creation of Lily’s. It removed all outward signs like breathing and heartbeat and only the person who cast the spell would know if the person was really alive as well as anyone whom they wish to know. If the counter curse was not performed within a day then the person would wake up naturally unless the caster stated otherwise.
“Look at this,” he said, nodding towards the newspaper.
It turns out that James Potter’s best friend, Sirius Black, has been hiding his true colours until now. He was the Secret-Keeper for the Potters and betrayed their positions to You-Know-Who. The Potters were murdered in young Harry’s nursery, dying to protect their son and daughter. Rubeus Hagrid knocked him out when he arrived at the scene of the crime, probably intending to kidnap the children to turn them Dark, Black was taken straight to Azkaban from the Potter’s home to reside there forever on the charges of being an accomplice in the Potter’s’ deaths and being a follower of You-Know-Who
Albus Dumbledore was heard saying: “This is a very sorrowful tragedy, indeed. James and Lily were some of my best pupils and their children are no doubt going to be an amazing wizard and witch when they grow up. I have seen to the safety of the Potter children, as their parents would have no doubt wanted me to do, and sent the children to a safe location. In the events of James’ and Lily’s deaths, there is no one to care for them so I have taken the role of their magical guardian myself. I look forward to when they will rejoin the magical world.”
Barty Crouch was quoted as saying: “Sirius Black has been sent straight to Azkaban. There was no dilly-dallying involved. We are not going to accommodate Death Eaters anymore and it’s about time they pay for their crimes. Lord and Lady Potter would surely be glad that we have put a dangerous criminal where he belongs for life,”
Minister Bagnold was unavailable for comment but her secretary was heard saying that the Minister was upset at the innocent loss of life. It was a mystery how Harry Potter had managed to kill You-Know-Who but she was glad the two children are safe. As for the matter of Sirius Black, she was glad that Barty Crouch had the foresight to send him straight to Azkaban. “It was dangerous to wait to give him a trial. He would no doubt bribe someone to get out of the Ministry holding cells and all would be lost,” said Jessica Vroone, the Ministers Senior Undersecretary.
We are very glad that a one-year-old wizard was able to save us! Thanks to the Boy Who Lived, our world is free of terror once more. We wish Harry and Elisabeth Potter best wishes for their time in the muggle world and look forward to when they will rejoin us. We, at the Daily Prophet, also send our condolences to their friends and express our regrets that the young couple were so ruthlessly killed for no apparent reason.
Underneath is was a large picture of Sirius being carried away and Hagrid holding the two babies. The background was a blur and they could not see the house in it, since the Fidelius didn’t work on pictures. Even if you had the secret, you still wouldn’t be able to see the location.
“No one to care for them, my arse!” said Lily angrily, summing up his thoughts perfectly. “They’ve sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial, judging by what was written, but what about Alice? She’s Harry’s godmother, she has a claim on them. And Marlene? She’s Elisabeth’s godmother. And Remus? He’s her godfather, for Merline’s sake! Come to think of it, why haven’t they said anything? I cant understand about Remus, the Ministry would never grant him custody but what about Marlene and Alice? They are both of high standings in the Wizarding world, there is no way that Ministry wouldn’t have refused them custody,”
“Dumbledore might have done something, he wields a lot of power. And maybe they didn’t know about our ‘deaths’ till they read the newspaper. Dumbledore was quick to act. Do you think he already had all of this in place if we were attacked?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Lily derisively. “But why? What does he need with our children?”
“Maybe it’s more about Harry and the prophecy,” said James worriedly. He didn’t want that old man anywhere near his children. He didn’t know when his distrust of Dumbledore had started, probably a year after they left Hogwarts or something like that. It started when he read a law that Legilimency was illegal to be performed on a minor without their guardian’s consent, and it was illegal to perform on an adult without their consent. He had felt various Legilimency attacks during his years at Hogwarts and the only reason he was able to feel them was that Occlumency was an important part of Heir training, and while Dumbledore was powerful enough that he wouldn’t have felt an intrusion at the age of eleven, the Potter Heir ring warned and protected him against most Leglimency attacks. He had never deemed it as something illegal since he had grown up hearing Dumbledore’s praises and he had thought it was something that was done.
Then there was the Order of the Phoenix. The Marauders and Musketeers (Alice, Lily and Marlene) had joined the Order in hope that they would be able to contribute to the war against Voldemort. But he had quickly discovered that the Order was only defensive and reactionary. They didn’t do anything to prevent the attacks and he felt angry that Dumbledore hadn’t even bothered to send a spy into Voldemort’s ranks since he was so used to doing the same with them. The Order usually arrived after the attack was over or during the attack when most of the damage was already done.
Most of the time spent in Order meetings was wasted due to useless debates about this or that. He also thought that Dumbledore should have made the Order members swear a loyalty and secrecy oath. This way, Pet- Pettigrew would have never betrayed them. He also thought that the Order should have had a better way of communicating with each other. The Marauders and Musketeers and Frank (honorary Marauder) had communication mirrors that they used to have quick contact with each other. James didn’t understand that if fourteen-year-olds could make a communication mirror, why couldn’t the supposed most powerful wizard of all time do the same?
The Marauders and Musketeers had gotten tired of Dumbledore’s inactivity and had created their own group, called, ‘The Grey Brotherhood’. They were a group of well-trained, intelligent and grey (not dark or light) wizards who worked together to fight Voldemort. Dumbledore had never found out who they were, and James would make sure he never did because many Order members were in the group. And they didn’t put any blind trust, like Dumbledore, and instead had the people sign a contract stating they would not betray the Brotherhood and would stay on their side; the consequences were pretty nasty, and only one person had ever tried to betray them. He didn’t live long after that.
The group included the Marauders, Musketeers, Dorcas, Mary, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Fabian and Gideon (They would have been killed had they not called the Grey Brotherhood for help), Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Sirius’ cousin Narcissa Malfoy who was not on the Dark side and a few foreign people that James had made political acquaintances with before; these sort of acquaintances came in handy in these times.
The Grey Brotherhood had fought back and were not afraid to use offensive and borderline Dark spells, unlike Dumbledore, who wanted to give them a chance of redemption. They had cut down the Death Eater ranks by a lot, and while the Order captured a lot of Death Eaters, they always managed to escape. Dumbledore had always been upset that they were being so offensive, though James personally always thought that it was because they always managed to steal the Order’s glory.
The Grey Brotherhood always left calling cards whenever they finished a mission. Their calling card was a plain white card with two circles in the middle, like a Venn diagram. One side was black, while the other was white, and the overlapping part was grey. In the middle of the circle were two hands shaking each other. Underneath the logo were the words ‘The Grey Brotherhood’ written in golden script. The Venn diagram represented the grey part, while the hands represented the brotherhood. They also wore grey robes with the Brotherhood logo on their backs and masks in the form of their Animagus forms or Patronuses and used nicknames, since identity had to be concealed, especially when they rescued Order members from failed missions.
The inventors in the Grey Brotherhood had developed a communication device called the ‘Phone’, named after the Muggle device. It could be fitted inside the ear and was touch activated. All you need to do was touch the piece and say the Brotherhood name of the person you want to talk to; calling more than one person at a time was also possible. This was how they were able to save the Prewett twins. Of course, following that, Dumbledore suspected that there was a Brotherhood member in the Order and watched everyone closely, but their acting skills were too great.
“Well, we need to get Harry and Lizzie back. And free Sirius,” said James after the silence had stretched on long enough.
“Right,” said Lily, sitting up and crossing her legs. “And we can’t do that by just walking into Diagon Alley since everyone believes us to be dead. If we need to free Sirius, we might need Peter as proof since everyone would probably declare us insane or something like that, since everyone believes us to be dead,”
“Good point, ” said James, looking down at the newspaper again. “I think we need to go to the goblins first. They’ll help us and can explain why our Will wasn’t honoured especially since it clearly states that Pettigrew is the Secret-Keeper They can also explain how Dumbledore got hold of the kids, and tell us what to do next.”
“Okay,” said Lily as she stood up. “We’ll go to Gringotts, find Wormtail, free Sirius and get the kids. That’s our agenda. Anything else?”
“Confront Dumbledore?” said James, standing up also.
“We’ll see to that when it comes to it,” Lily replied. They made their way through the rubble to the Master bedroom and James felt it a bit surreal that everything was exactly as it was the previous day. It was as if Voldemort had never come and their lives hadn’t been turned upside down.
They quickly changed their robes into more formal ones that were suitable were Gringotts.
“Where’s your Invisibility Cloak?” Lily asked, as she quickly tied her thick auburn hair into a ponytail.
“It’s-” James paused. “It’s with Dumbledore,” he sighed, sounding defeated.
“What? What does Dumbledore want with your Cloak? He can probably produce a Disillusionment Charm so powerful that he wouldn’t need a cloak to become invisible,”
“I don’t know what he wants with it,” James replied softly. “He asked for it, and me, being the foolish person that I was, gave it to him.”
“It’s not your fault, James,” Lily said comfortingly. “Come on, let's go to Gringotts first, and clear up this mess before we deal with Dumbledore.”
They applied Disillusionment Charms on themselves, left the house and Apparated into the alley that led to Diagon Alley. James tapped his wand on the brick required and they passed through the archway, still invisible. James could hear people talking about their supposed ‘deaths’ here and there; he was amused to learn that most were considering themselves his and Lily’s best friends and were disheartened to discover them dead. Gringotts Bank loomed overhead, James could see the goblins standing guard outside but they bypassed them easily though he was certain the eyes of one of them lingered on their backs as they entered the hall. James led them towards one of the empty tellers and only then did they remove their Charms but still kept the hoods of their cloaks up.
“We’d like to visit our account manager, Ironclaw,” said James in a low voice.
The goblin looked up and gave no sign of surprise other than the rise of his eyebrows. “Bloodteeth will take you to Ironclaw,” was all that he said. A younger goblin was called and he guided them through a door in the wall and to an office that had a plate on it that displayed the office to belong to “Ironclaw, Account Manager”. No matter how many times they had been here, always a goblin came and took them to his office, they never went alone even though he had memorised the direction by now.
James knocked on the door and received a growling ‘come in’. He entered the room with Lily to reveal Ironclaw sitting behind his desk which was piled with papers. Ironclaw smiled when he saw them come in, though it looked more like a grimace and was frightening for those who weren’t used to goblins, unlike Lord and Lady Potter.
“Ah, Lord and Lady Potter,” said Ironclaw, leaning forward in his chair, “I have been expecting you.”
“Expecting us?” said James as he and Lily took the seats offered.
“I knew, of course, that you weren’t dead and it was only a matter of time before you would come here to see everything that Dumbledore has done,” the goblin stated.
Lily let out a slow breath. “What has he done?”
Ironclaw ticked them one by one on his fingers. “He sealed your will for your ‘safety.’ He took up guardianship of Heir Potter and Miss Potter because Sirius Black is unavailable and Remus Lupin would never be allowed to. The fact that the kids have godmothers as well was forgotten and he set up an account for the Dursleys to receive a payment of 500 galleons a month for taking care of your children. He has also taken control of the Potter and Peverell seats and is a proxy for Lord Potter and Lord Black,”
James glanced at his wife, surprised to see her slowly turning red. “How dare he!” she shrieked suddenly, standing up. “How dare he put my children in the care of her and her stupid, arrogant husband! Petunia is totally unfit to take care of my children!” she snarled, her wand was emitting sparks and James was sure that steam was coming out of her ears. “He uses our money to pay for them too!” James’ first thought was that it wasn’t as bad as he had thought but then he was angry. How dare Dumbledore do all of this for his own plans, because James did not doubt that he had some grand plans that needed Harry and Lizzie, probably Harry more. And so what if their children’s happiness and wellbeing were sacrificed? After all, it was all for the Greater Good. James knew that while Petunia might care for their children, her husband would never do that because of his fear of the unknown which would be channelled into anger towards his children. And as for him being proxy, James had made it very clear that Sirius was to be his proxy, and if not him, then Frank Longbottom; apparently, Dumbledore didn’t care and did what he wanted.
James stood up quickly and placed an arm around his wife. “Calm down, Lily.” He said soothingly. He had come a long way from the hothead he was back at Hogwarts, he approached things in a calmer, and more logical way. Lily had improved too, but she was a fierce defender of her family, and that was one point where she lost all logic and calmness. “We’ll fix this mess, I assure you. Dumbledore will not be able to take control of our children or estate” Lily took a deep breath and sat down as her colour slowly returned to normal.
“Okay, so what do we do now? How are we supposed to reveal ourselves?” asked Lily, after a moment.
“Maybe you should have Lord Longbottom do the job for you,” suggested Ironclaw. “You could be seen visiting your home under the guise of being a heartbroken friend and joyfully discover that Lord and Lady Potter are, in fact not dead and their living status had been overlooked. Then you would be brought to St. Mungos for your health to be checked and you would be declared competent to take control of your children’s guardianship. Then you can reveal the truth about your Secret-Keeper and free Lord Black.”
James had to admit that it was a good plan. “Thank you, Ironclaw. I knew I could count on you. We can work out the logistics ourselves.”
Ironclaw nodded and James and Lily pulled their hoods up again and took their leave. They Apparated to Remus’ flat since both of them agreed that he should be made aware of the situation first. They didn’t know if Remus would be back yet from Romania but there would be no harm in seeing him. They Apparated straight into the living room and that was when he registered that Remus was not alone. All conversation had stopped in the kitchen and Remus stepped out, wand in hand along with…..Peter. James didn’t know who did it first. All he knew was that two Stunning Spells hit Peter straight in the chest.
Remus jumped when the spells connected with Peter. He had no idea who was here. He was alert and wary, though there was a thought in the back of his mind that no unwelcome person could enter his wards. “Who’s there?” he called, wand pointed towards where the jets of red light had come from. Two Disillusionment Charms were taken off, and Remus was sure that without the months of constant vigilance he had spent fighting Death Eaters, he would have dropped his wand. Because standing in front of him was the very dead James and Lily Potter. The very people that he and Peter were currently reminiscing about. He sent a Stunning Spell towards the fake James but it was deflected immediately.
“Hey, Moony,” said the man who’s voice sounded very much like his dead best friend.
“Who are you and what do you want?” he asked, raising his wand higher. He didn’t know how these people got in but damn if he was going down without a fight. “Why are you impersonating dead people?”
The man that was impersonating James seemed to find his comment both amusing and sad as he chuckled slightly. “We discovered your furry little problem in our second year. That was when Sirius and I made plans to become Animagi since we needed a tool to sneak around easily and accompany you on the full moon. The Invisibility Cloak was a lot of help but we needed more. You were the one that came up with the idea of a map telling where everyone was at any time. That’s when Peter realized that your name literally meant you were a wolf, what with Remus and Lupin.”
Remus lowered his wand slightly. No one knew that except for the Marauders, then James and the fake-but-maybe-not-fake Lily did something that removed his doubts altogether. They changed into their Animagus forms. Everyone knew that Animagus forms could not be imitated. A noble stag was standing in his living room, along with a red-tinted lioness. The Marauders had taught the Musketeers to be Animagi after leaving Hogwarts. It took about a year and a half since they didn’t have to research all the information as well. Alice was an owl, Lily was a lioness and Marlene was a fox.
“James, Lily,” breathed Remus.
Lily transformed back into a human and stepped closer. “It’s really us, Rem. We didn’t die. Dumbledore didn’t bother checking our bodies properly and only took Harry and Lizzie.”
James transformed back and Remus couldn’t stop himself. He pulled them into a three-way-hug and it was a long time before they let go. Remus wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “Can you wake up Peter? I don’t understand why you Stunned him, but I am sure he would be happy to hear this news,”
James eyes hardened. “No.”
Remus looked up. “I’m sorry?”
“Sirius is innocent,” said Lily softly.
Remus blinked at her. “No, he’s not,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “He betrayed all of us. He sold you to Voldemort, he wanted your children to die, how can you say he’s innocent?” His voice rose with each word and James put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
“Sirius is innocent,” Lily insisted. “We used him as a decoy. Don’t you see? He was such an obvious choice, James best friend, they are closer than brothers and even Fee and Monty consider him a son. We switched at the last second. Peter was not an obvious choice, most would expect us to pick you after Sirius because, whether you would like to admit it or not, Peter was weak. He was selfish and he was a bit of a coward. Who would think that we chose him to be a Secret-Keeper? But he betrayed us. Peter was a Death Eater and he sold us out and left Sirius to be framed in his place. See,” Lily went over to Peter and knelt next to him and rolled up his left sleeve. It was bare, and for one minute he thought they had been wrong, but then-
“Finite Incantatem,” Lily’s soft voice broke the glamour revealing the ugly snake and skull tattoo on their once best friends arm.
“No, no, this isn’t possible,” he whispered. His mind flashed to Sirius, sitting all alone in a dark cell in Azkaban. “But then why didn’t Sirius say anything at his trial?”
“Did you read the Daily Prophet?” Remus shook his head so James continued. “He didn’t get a trial. He was sent straight to Azkaban by Barty Crouch and Milicent Bagnold. I’d like to ask Moody why he didn’t do anything. He knew how much Sirius hated the Dark Arts.”
“Moody’s in St. Mungos,” Remus said softly. “He was injured in the last raid and he has still not recovered. He probably doesn’t know yet.” He looked up at them determined. “How do we free Sirius? And where are Harry and Lizzie? Where did Dumbledore take them?”
James explained everything he and Lily had discovered and added his suspicions about Remus. He knew Remus would be the hardest to convince. He felt he owed the great wizard a lot and was grateful to him for allowing him to work but he knew that Remus’ loyalty would always be with the Marauders. Even at Hogwarts, as a prefect, he had only stepped in when he absolutely had to, his loyalty towards his friends was too great. Perhaps he wasn’t a great leader, but he was a good friend, one of the best.
Remus let out a slow breath. “So what do we do now?”
James grinned. “Here’s the plan….”
Frank looked up when his wife left the room. He didn’t know how to help her deal with her grief. Sure, he had been good friends with the Marauders and had liked Lily but he hadn’t been as close to them as Alice had been to Lily. They had been best friends since day one on the Hogwarts Express along with Marlene. Unfortunately, she couldn’t even share her grief with her since Marlene had taken her family and left England. She had been reluctant to do so because she didn’t want to leave her friends, but her father was old and her mother had cancer. There was no one to protect her younger siblings so she did what she had to. She probably didn’t even know what was going on back in England. Apparently, her niece and nephew were famous now what with Harry being the Boy Who Lived. It was all very confusing.
They had read the Daily Prophet today and it had come as a big shock. All he had known about the Potters was that they were in hiding, just like the Longbottoms. The prophecy could concern both Harry and Neville, but it looked like Voldemort had chosen to target the Potters. However, that didn’t mean they were safe now. Death Eaters were still out and about and the Ministry would probably do nothing to capture them and be the incompetent fools that they are.
There was a knock on the front door and he got up immediately and called for his wife. He had no idea who was here but no one could come inside the Fidelius Charm other than those who had the secret. Still, he was wary and armed. Alice came from the nursery, tear tracks still on her face but with a determined expression. He trusted her to protect Neville. No doubt she had already done that before leaving the nursery.
Lily looked up at the small cottage. It was a property of the Longbottom estate that Frank and Alice had used to hide in and cast the Fidelius Charm on. The only people with entry were James and Lily, Sirius, Marlene, Augusta and for some strange reason, Dumbledore. James stepped ahead of her and knocked on the door. Both she and James kept their wands at the ready. It wouldn’t do for Frank and Alice to curse them before they could reveal the truth. The door was opened and a Stunning Spell was immediately sent their way.
“Who are you and what do you want?” demanded Frank dangerously as he sent another Stunning Spell and James deflected it.
She and James had decided that they wouldn’t try to convince them they were real; instead, they would immediately move to the security questions.
“Alice, your first crush was not actually Frank as everyone believes but it was Anthony Cooper, he was in the fourth year while we were in third, and he was in the Charms Club,” Lily said. The reaction was immediate. Alice’s jaw dropped and Lily knew why. No one knew this other than her since she had caught her mooning over him. Marlene, Dorcas and Mary were kept out of the loop since Alice didn’t want anyone to know.
“What's the nickname the GB gave me?” Frank asked, even as he glanced at his wife.
“Hunter,” replied James promptly.
“Lily!” Alice dropped her wand and rushed to the drive and Lily caught her. The two families hadn’t seen each other ever since they had gone into hiding and she had missed her best friend terribly.
Frank was still standing with a lost expression on his face. “Let's go inside, and please explain what is going on,” he said, after a moment.
Frank led them inside and they settled into the couple’s living room. Then, James and Lily took turns explaining everything. How they survived, their suspicions regarding Dumbledore, Pettigrew’s betrayal, Sirius’ innocence, as well as what they planned to do now.
“OK,” Frank began. “You need me to go into your house as a grieving friend and find out that your bodies still have a pulse. I will take you to St. Mungos to get your health checked, and then we are going to get custody of Harry and Lizzie. Then you will bring out Peter who is currently contained in a room in Remus’ flat to free Sirius. My only question is why me?”
“Firstly, you are a close friend of ours so it wouldn’t seem weird for you to go into the house. Secondly, you are Lord Longbottom, so you have a lot of political clout and people would be willing to believe you at your word,” said James.
“Right,” said Alice. “Did you say that Dumbledore sent your children to your sister's house?”
“Yes,” growled Lily. “I am not going to forgive him for that. While Petunia might care for them, and I say ‘might’, Vernon is never going to.”
Alice let out a hum of agreement. “I wouldn’t forgive him either. Since Sirius was unavailable, and Remus would not be able to take custody, then they should have contacted me and Marlene. Technically, Harry’s guardianship should have gone to me and Elisabeth’s to Marlene. Not that we were going to separate the children had you actually died.”
Frank shivered slightly when he looked at the wrecked house. Behind him was the small team of Aurors that had been dispatched for him when he had told Senior Auror Madam Amelia Bones that he had reason to believe that Lord and Lady Potter were still alive. He had given the Aurors the piece of paper with the Secret on it that James had first given him around a month ago.
The second floor was blown apart on one side but the rest of the house was still standing. The garden looked just as it always did, the trimmed grass and rose bushes and the millions of lilies and carnations planted in a corner, made him want to laugh; James loved gifting Lily flowers, most of which always ended up here under special atmospheric spells that kept them blooming long into the autumn. He opened the front door and entered the house. The ground floor was normal as if the family had stepped out to go shopping, but Frank wasn’t mistaken. He climbed the creaking stairs, footsteps following him and no one said anything, and peeked into the nursery from where the cold air was blowing in.
James and Lily were sitting in a corner, away from the missing wall and the pieces of wood and rubble and the spot where Voldemort had fallen. Frank couldn’t see his body anymore so he had to guess that they had most probably thrown it out the window, he could certainly see Lily doing that while James would have probably just burned it. Maybe they had done both.
“Hey,” he called out as a way of greeting and both James and Lily stood up.
“Hey,” replied James easily, his arm around Lily’s shoulders. Lily looked a little shaken and he thought that she might have been crying.
“My, Lord and Lady Potter,” said Amelia, shocked. “I didn’t believe it when Auror Longbottom told me but it looks like they were correct, how is it that you are still here?”
James exchanged a glance with Lily. “Lily had been working on a project with the Unspeakables, Madam Bones. We believe that is what saved us.”
“I am sure you can understand that I can say too much about it unless it has been tested first,” began Lily. “It was a prototype that I used to protect myself and I am quite shocked that it worked, honestly. We knew there was a possibility that Voldemort would come after us, so I was prepared to take the necessary measures to protect my family,”
Amelia nodded slightly. “And you, James? Lady Potter is saying that the prototype was used to protect her, but what about you?”
“The Sleep Long Spell,” he replied. “It is a spell that Lily invented along with the Unspeakables. In short, it removes evidence of pulse and breathing, making anyone except for the caster think that the person is dead,”
“Quite ingenious,” Amelia murmured. An Auror coughed behind her and she hurriedly pulled herself together. “Right, I assume you would want to visit St. Mungo’s. We don’t know if there are any impacts to your health with what happened and I would recommend you get yourselves checked out,”
Lily nodded. “At the moment, I would like to know where my babies are. I assume that they are with Sirius Black? He was supposed to take guardianship of them both, it was mentioned in our will,” This was planned, it was the perfect opening needed to get back Harry and Lizzie and free Sirius.
Amelia exchanged uncomfortable looks with her Aurors. “I am sorry, Lady Potter,” she began in a gentle voice. “But I am afraid that Sirius is the reason Voldemort came after you, he betrayed you. I am sorry, I know it must hurt but I think you will be glad to know that he is in Azkaban now, he can’t hurt you,”
James put on a confused and slightly angry look. “I am sorry, did I hear you correctly? Sirius is in Azkaban?” Amelia nodded. “Why? Why is he there when he has done nothing wrong?”
Amelia gave him a pitying look. “Look, I know it must hurt but you can't deny that he betrayed you. He gave the Secret to Voldemort, leading him here.”
James shook his head. “That is the thing, isn’t it? He was never our Secret-Keeper. Peter Pettigrew was.”
Amelia gave him a confused look. “I don’t think, Lord Potter-”
“Excuse me, Amelia,” Lily interrupted. “But I think that we would know better than you who our Secret-Keeper was. Sirius was only a decoy, he was supposed to lead Voldemort on a wild goose chase, while Peter would be safe. Apparently, Peter is the one who betrayed us, not Sirius,”
Amelia turned onto her Aurors. “How did this not come out at Sirius Black’s trial?”
The Aurors shifted uncomfortably and one of them bravely spoke up. “Ma’am, Sirius Black didn’t get a trial. He was taken straight to Azkaban.”
Amelia’s face contorted into an expression of fury. “And why exactly didn’t I know about this?” she demanded dangerously.
The Auror seemed to cringe and spoke slowly and nervously as if didn’t want to incur Amelia’s wrath. “Mr Crouch and Minister Bagnold didn’t want you to know. They feared you would interfere with the proceedings and push for a trial when they were no need for it.”
“No need my foot!” exclaimed Lily angrily. “There was a need for a trial, Sirius is innocent!”
“Don’t worry, Lady Potter,” said Amelia soothingly. “I will look into it as soon as I get back to the Ministry.”
“My Aurors will escort you to St. Mungos, and I am going to return to the Ministry,” she said, her voice suddenly brisk.
“Wait, ” said James, exchanging a glance with Lily. “We were hoping, Madam Bones, that this operation could be done with complete secrecy. It wouldn’t do for someone to mess with Sirius’ innocence,” They didn’t know, obviously, why Dumbledore didn’t bother for a trial for Sirius even if he believed him to be guilty, though they had their suspicions. If Sirius had been innocent, he would have immediately taken away Harry and Lizzie and they would grow up with him, Remus and their godmothers, something which did not fit into Dumbledore’s plans.
“Of course,” assured Madam Bones. “It will be done secretly.” She seemed a bit suspicious about the person they were hinting at but didn’t say anything. Amelia motioned her Aurors to leave the house leaving only Frank, James, Lily and herself. “Now, why do I have the feeling that this all is planned?” she asked, turning to face them.
James smiled at her. “Congratulations, Amelia! You got it right, full marks!”
Amelia returned with a wry grin of her own. “I thought so. Now, I am leaving for the Ministry, and I am giving you my word that Sirius is going to be free and Dumbledore will be unable to get custody of your children,”
“How did you know-” asked Lily in a shocked whisper.
“I am an Auror, Lily. Besides, I guessed that you were talking about Dumbledore, I read the Daily Prophet, y’know? I know he is the one who took custody,” Amelia said, then paused. “And besides, I never trusted him and his grandfatherly act,” she added.
“Thank you, Amelia,” said James gratefully. “Thank you for helping us.”
“It’s my job, James,” she smiled and turned to leave before facing them again. “Would you happen to know where Dumbledore had placed your children? That information would help immensely.”
“With my muggle sister.” Informed Lily. “She lives in Surrey and has a son of her own.”
Amelia nodded. “Thank you for telling me, Lily. This will certainly turn the pureblood traditionalists to your side. There is no way they will accept the Heir to an Ancient and Most Noble House being raised in a Muggle household, even if Dumbeldore tries something.”
Author’s Notes: Jame's parents- Fleamont and Euphemia- are still alive as well as Lily’s parents. James and Sirius are both Aurors in this story and both have seats on the Wizengamot as Orion Black died a few months before this. James is Duke of Draiochta and Lord Potter of Glasgow while Sirius is Lord Black of Falmouth. Lily is in the process of getting a Charms and Potions Mastery so that she can open her own Apothecary. In the meantime, she cares for and makes potions for the apothecaries under the Potter name.
Remus owns a book store named "Lupin's Publishing" in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and he had three employees, one of them was Dorcas Meadows, their friend of Hogwarts who knew about his wolf status and covered for him on the full moon. The other two employees were men and both worked in Diagon Alley while Dorcas and Lupin worked in Hogsmeade.
I don’t understand why Sirius had to take his motorbike to Godrics Hollow. Won’t apparition be faster? Many people make a Dark Mark appear in the sky above the Potter Cottage in Godrics Hollow. But has anyone thought about who cast it? Voldemort was defeated, and unless another Death Eater was there, then nobody else would have been able to do it. And if another Death Eater was there, then Harry wouldn’t be alive still.
Alice Fortescue, Lily Evans, Mary MacDonald, Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows are the five girls in James’ year in my story. They are all particularly good friends but their friend group is divided into two more groups with Alice, Lily and Marlene (Musketeers) on one side and Dorcas and Mary on the other. It’s not done on purpose, it's just natural. Like I was part of a four-girl group in my sixth year. We were all best friends, yet I spent most of my time with one of them, whom I considered to be my best friend. Similarly, the other two considered each other to be better friends than they were with us. It’s the same in this way, Lily considered Alice and Marlene to be better friends than Dorcas or Mary, but that doesn’t mean that they aren't her best friends.
I wanted a different animal for Lily since this seems too cliché but then I searched up the personality of a doe/deer and this is what I found. The keywords connected with the deer power animal are grace, kindness, listening to intuition, gentleness, and innocence. If you see a mother deer with its doe, it is a message that family is important. The deer power animal is also signifying that you should act with gentleness and calm. I think that this fits Lily to the core, well, it would if you add fiercely and boldness to it as well.
I actually am a bit confused if I should choose a lioness or a doe for Lily. I have written a doe in the story but If anyone wants me to change that I will do so, just mention it in the reviews. But I will only do it if a majority of people are wanting Lily to have a lioness for her animagus.
The lioness is a magnificent image of strength, passion, and beauty. She stands for a fierce defender of her family and a more than capable provider. The Lioness is a fierce yet tender model for women. The Lioness rises from her slumber, a magnificent image of strength, passion and beauty. Her mere presence commands the landscape, protects her young, and empowers the lion. Lioness spirit animals symbolize activation of creativity, intuitive power, and imagination with a constructive, intelligent, courageous, and activist feminine energy.
The reason Amelia was first calling them Lord and Lady Potter and then switched to James and Lily is that she was in the presence of her Aurors. Otherwise, the Bones house is part of the Sacred 28 and is an Ancient and Noble House, so she already knows James and Lily and is friends with them, but she had to keep professional appearances.
The Grey Brotherhood:
1. James Potter/Prongs (Stag): Animagus/Patronus
2. Lily Potter/Petal/Pride (depends on what you choose) (Doe/Lion?): Animagus, Patronus is always going to be a doe.
3. Sirius Black/Padfoot (German Shephard): Animagus/Patronus.
4. Marlene Mckinnon/Pearl (Fox): Animagus/Patronus is a dog, like Sirius’
5. Frank Longbottom/Hunter (Bear): Animagus/Patronus
6. Alice Longbottom/Talon (Eagle Owl): Animagus/Patronus
7. Fabian Prewett/Canis (Coyote): Animagus/Patronus
8. Gideon Prewett/Euro (Eurasian Magpie): Animagus/Patronus
9. Mary MacDonald/Penny (Labradoodle): Animagus/Patronus
10. Dorcas Meadows/Grass (Birman Cat): Animagus/Patronus
11. Remus Lupin/Moony (Wolf): Patronus/werewolf
12. Andromeda Tonks/Feather (Great Horned Owl): Animagus/Patronus
13. Narcissa Malfoy/Gold (Lynx): Animagus/Patronus is a swan
14. Hestia Jones/Darkness (Arctic Fox): Patronus
Rest are foreign people.
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