A/N: Thanks everyone who reviewed chapter 13: COSMOPOLITAN (8 Simple Rules To Getting The Ring) IWISHIWASATHOGWARTS (check out Another Lily At Hogwarts, its not your typical fic, i think you'll like it) OLDESTOF3 (check out Mulan), SHETLANDLACE, HEARTOFPHOENIX (I love the story Broken Vow), SERENITY12345 (Accidently In Love is a funny little fic) PRPLESOCKERSTAR read her Oh Teenage Hopes, you'll enjoy it) and ). Really, thanks.
Sirius Black stood over their graves, the tears openly streaming down his face. How could this have happened? They were supposed to be safe. Why did they deserve this? Why did they have to be the ones the Prophecy spoke of? The only people he had considered to be his family were gone, and it was all his fault. He looked at the tombstone; the last enemy conquered is Death.
Sirius Black turned away from those words and the freshly turned earth beneath them, and as dusk was falling, he knew what he had to do, who he had to find. The last enemy conquered may be death, but Sirius wouldn't mind taking a few others down beforehand, namely, a rat.
Watching Sirius from a distance was Severus Snape. Looking at the tombstone, Severus felt his knees weaken under his weight. What had he done? At this moment Severus wanted to be the one six feet under, because he couldn't save her. For you see, Severus Snape had a secret, and now it was one that he would never tell, not until sixteen years later, when a boy bearing Lily's eyes and the Potter name would look down on him as Severus laid dying. Only then, would Severus dare tell his secrets.
Dumbledore stood underneath the darkened streetlights, looking down upon a small baby boy. The boy was too young for such a thing to be thrust upon him, Dumbledore thought. He remembered the day he had met Sybil Trelawney, the day this child, who was not yet even born, became mixed up in this. Dumbledore looked down at the orphaned Harry Potter, and thought that young Harry had gotten much more than he had bargained for. And ten years later, as Harry sat across from a giant man, Harry would find himself thinking the same thing.
The Dark Lord laid in darkness, wondering if he was dead or alive. What had happened? How could he have been defeated by a small, insignificant baby child? The only satisfaction Voldemort had felt was fleeting: Lily Evans had been his last victim. No, not his last, the Dark Lord reminded himself, for the child was still out there. Soon, the Dark Lord thought, Harry Potter will go the same way his mother had.
Thirteen years later, as the Dark Lord looked into those green eyes, he would realize that Harry Potter wasn't going anywhere without a fight.
Alice and Frank sat on their couch just after putting Neville to bed. Neville was safe, the Potters were dead. They couldn't believe it. They had known it could happen; they had known that it probably would happen, but Alice Longbottom could still not quite grasp it. Lily had been her best friend, James had once been her lover, and they were both dead.
She felt a surge of self-loathing as she realized that she had not yet thought once of what was going to happen to their child! Harry would need protection, angry Death Eaters were still running loose. He would need the constant watch of well-equipped people, preferably Aurors. Perhaps, she thought, perhaps Dumbledore would allow us to care fort him, he and Neville get along well together…
She had no way of knowing that Harry was already in another home, far away, and to her, it would feel as if he was as out of reach as his parents.
And all this time, Harry Potter lay sleeping, dreaming of tomorrow, when he would wake up to the voice of his mother and the laughter of his father. He dreamt that there would be no worried glances between his parents, both frightened of some unknown horror. Harry was too young to understand that his parents wouldn't share anymore of those looks, and that now, that didn't matter anymore.
Everything had changed.
Everything was the same.
Author's (final) note: This is it. As you probably know, I sort of tried to make everyone go back to a canon plot, though I would be ecstatic if Alice and Frank lived happily ever after (actually, i was going to end it with something like: her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. That would be the last coherent thought Alice Longbottom ever had, but I couldn't bring myself to do it), Sirius lived, Snape, well, Snape I think is happier dead, so whatever. But I guess that the only way to really tie up the loose ends is to point everything back towards the books. Hopefully, you liked the story, and even I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the Epilogue, so let me know what you think. Once again, thanks and kudos to everyone that read and reviewed!
Stars