HARRY POTTER AND THE POWER OF TWO

AN: I have read several Wrong BWL stories and I can't help but feel disappointed. Why is it that James and Lily are always portrayed as bad parents? Sure, there are those rare one or two fics where at least Lily tries to redeem herself, but James is vilified in nearly every one of them! James is a pureblood; why would he be ready to give up his own son like that when wizards emphasize on family? I really don't get it. James and Lily are said to be smart and highly intelligent, so that doesn't explain their behaviour. Dumbledore tells them to leave Harry with Petunia and they readily agree! I don't understand that at all and usually, this follows with Harry becoming a Dark Lord or joining Voldemort. In the end, what does Dumbledore gain out of this? Not really sure.

This isn't the typical wrong BWL story, though it might include the occasional fanfiction clichés, but at least it isn't anything like the stories I have read before. I hope you all enjoy it! By the way, I have made James and Lily older. It won't be much of a problem as I won't be writing about their Hogwarts years, but instead of the canon 21 years, they are 26 years old – five years older. Everything else remains the same.

Description: How would Harry have grown up if James and Lily had been smart and prepared for their encounter with Voldemort? Harry has a twin brother, but what if his brother's love and support is the 'power the Dark Lord knows not?' Smart and supportive James and Lily; Harry/Daphne

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. IT BELONGS TO JK ROWLING

HP*POWER OF TWO*HP

Chapter 1

31st October, 1981

A tall, pale man Apparated in the middle of the high street of Godric's Hollow and smiled under his hood. So, this was the village where that muggle loving fool Godric Gryffindor was born. Well, it certainly explained why those filthy animals still infested the place. With long strides, he walked to the place where he knew his target was located. He was quite amused about this latest development. Just a few weeks back, the family was under heavy, impenetrable wards at their ancestral manor. But now, the fools had listened to Dumbledore's idiocy and they were going to die as a result. He didn't care that he was going to wipe out another pureblood family as old as any; after all, it's not he actually believed in blood superiority. No, he hated muggles, sure, but he knew that power was the only thing that mattered. After all, he himself was a half-blood and he was more powerful than any of the purebloods in the country. He mentally snorted; how foolish the people were! He knew that power rested with the old families and other influential people; he had used his power to charm and intimidate them and he was now the most powerful and feared man in the country!

His thoughts went back to the family he was soon going to wipe out. The Potters were one of the oldest pureblood families in the world and he knew that should there be a boy who was destined to defeat him, it would be from them. He had come to personally take care of them, but he had instructed Bellatrix to take care of the Longbottoms as well – just as a precaution. They were probably observing the wards around their Manor now. It would take some time, but he was confident that the Longbottom boy would be disposed of as well.

When dear Severus had informed him about the prophecy, he had been shocked. Who had the power to defeat HIM? He was Lord Voldemort! He had learnt magic and pushed boundaries of magic which no other witch or wizard ever had in history. He had immediately confirmed it with his trusted spy, Rockwood and had started searching for a potential candidate – that was when he was informed by Peter Pettigrew that both Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom were pregnant. More than a year ago, Alice had given birth to Neville Francis Longbottom on the 30th of July, while Lily had given birth to the identical twins Hadrian James and Alexander Charlus Potter on the 31st. From what Wormtail had told him, the twins were powerful babies, which was why he had decided to target them first. Besides, he figured that since he was a half-blood himself, it stands to reason that another half-blood would be his foe.

He could see the house now since he knew the secret. The windows were charmed in such a way that a person on the outside couldn't see what was going on inside the house, but it didn't matter. He knew the wards that were placed around the house from what Wormtail had told him. How ridiculous to think that only a Fidelius Charm would protect them! He found it distasteful that the Potters were so stupid as to trust someone else with their lives. What a fitting end to the once all-powerful family. With a flick of his wand, the gate opened and he stepped into the small courtyard. With another flick, the front door was blasted open. It was time to eliminate the threat of the child of the prophecy.

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James Potter sat in the family living room on the ground floor of their new home and sighed. He still wasn't used to this place and he didn't think he ever would. For a person who grew up in a large and expansive manor, this cottage was too cramped. But he didn't care about that; after all, he would gladly live on the streets if it was to protect his family. Speaking of family –

"Dada!" said a voice. James turned and smiled as he saw his eldest son taking a few steps slowly as he walked to the couch. He kneeled down on his knees and said, "Come on, Harry. You can do it. Come to me slowly."

Harry smiled brightly as any fifteen-month-old baby could do. Just as he reached his father, James grabbed his son and spun him around, making the baby giggle excitedly.

"You want to fly on your broom, Harry?" asked James as he positioned his oldest son on his lap.

"Yay! Brum!" said Harry, clapping his hands in happiness.

"I don't think so" said a voice, entering the living room. James looked up and saw an astonishingly beautiful woman with dark red hair and gorgeous green eyes. His eyes immediately lit up when he saw his wife, who was holding an identical looking boy in her arms.

"It's too late to flying on the broom, James" said Lily shaking her head as he handed Alex to her husband. "Why not wait till tomorrow morning?"

"Mama! Brum!" said Alex, clapping alongside his brother. James grinned and said, "Oh, come on Lily. They are both natural fliers! Didn't you see how they flew around the manor the last time?"

Lily glared at her husband. "Yes, and I didn't mind then. But we are in a new place and I don't feel as safe here as I did at the manor. It's late in the night and I don't want them to get hurt."

James chuckled as he went over and gave his wife a deep kiss. "Don't worry, Lils. I wasn't going to do so anyway. Stay optimistic, love. We have taken precautions. I don't like this arrangement any more than you do and had my parents been alive, they would have thought we were idiots, but that doesn't discount the fact that the Fidelius is an excellent idea."

Lily hugged her husband tightly as James stroked her hair. "I feel too vulnerable" she whispered into his chest. "I wish we could place it on the manor, but none of us is powerful enough to do it. The place is way too big, but -"

"But nothing" said James, looking at her lovingly. "We are prepared for any danger. You know what to do if it comes to it."

Lily's eyes brimmed with tears. "I can't lose you" she whispered. "I've already lost my parents and I can't ever count on Petunia to be my family. You, Harry and Alex are all I have left."

"I know how you feel" said James, as he pulled her to his lap; Harry and Alex were content with playing with each other. "But we have to do it for these two. But don't worry Lily. I'm sure it won't -"

James stopped in mid-sentence, his heart beating faster. The wards alerted him that someone had crossed the Fidelius charm threshold and the secondary wards informed him that it wasn't anyone they knew.

"He's here; we have been betrayed" he whispered, pushing his wife off him. "Lily, take the boys and go! I'll hold him off! Plan A!"

"No!" said Lily, shaking her head angrily. "Plan B!"

"Lily this is no time to argue!" said James angrily as he started casting wards at the door. "Plan A; GET OUT!"

"I'm sorry, James" said Lily, taking her two boys in her arms. "It's Plan B. I never agreed to Plan A. I am a muggleborn; it just won't work. Execute Plan B or our children could end up orphans! I love you."

With that, Lily Potter quickly made her way to the stairs with her children just as the front door was blasted open. James snarled; why couldn't his wife listen to him for once? It was rather stupid of him, really. He should have known that Lily would never agree to Plan A just like he would never agree to Plan B. She had always planned to execute Plan B; she just never planned on telling him until the last moment. But since they were under attack, he had no choice but to go ahead with it. He didn't want to leave his boys orphans.

"James Potter" said Voldemort silkily. "How nice to meet you again; step aside."

"We meet again, Vodemort" said James with utter fury on his face. "If you think I'll just step aside and let you kill my family, you're more self-deluded and insane than I thought."

Without waiting for a second longer, James slashed his wand in the air as curses flew from his wand. Voldemort laughed as he started duelling with the younger man. While James Potter was an accomplished Auror, he was no match for Voldemort. James's face was blank as he fought with everything he had. He used his talent in Transfiguration to the best as Voldemort upped his attacks. He knew it was time. . .

Just as Voldemort fired a killing curse, James activated the rune set which was on the floor. With an explosion, the living room was partially destroyed, throwing James Potter behind debris, as he lay there unmoving. In the confusion and smoke, Voldemort didn't see the killing curse impact a thick block of marble and the broken pieces impacting James. The Dark Lord looked at the still heap of debris, no doubt containing the dead body of James Potter. He laughed at the man's foolish bravery as he made his way to the first floor; a fitting end to the line of Gryffindor.

In the meantime, Lily Potter had quickly taken her boys to the nursery. She shut the door and cast the standard silencing wards and any others which barred Voldemort entry. She knew it wouldn't work, but it wasn't as though she was trying to stop the Dark Lord; she was laying a trap for him. She placed the boys on the crib; both children now knew that something was wrong.

"Mama?" asked Alex innocently. Lily chocked back a sob as she kissed Harry and Alex on their foreheads.

"Alex, Harry, mama loves you very much" she said softly. "Whatever you do, never let each other go. You are both powerful as a team; don't ever forget that. I want you to know how very much I love you. Daddy will take care of you from now on."

With that, she pointed her wand at the crib and started hissing slowly. She knew that she was going to die very soon, but she really hoped that James was still alive. She didn't want her boys to grow up orphans. The parseltongue chant got louder as she walked around the crib. The entire crib glowed an emerald green as she finished the final chant of the ritual. Just as she stepped back, the door of the room was blasted open. Returning her wand quickly to her holster, she stood in front of her children, with defiance shining in her eyes.

"Not my children" she begged as Voldemort entered the room. "Please, spare them. Take me instead!"

"Step aside, woman" said Voldemort silkily. As much as he wanted to kill the mudblood, he had promised Severus that he would spare her and let him use her as his toy; after all, the Death Eater had reported the prophecy to him. He deserved some kind of reward. Ah, Severus was such a good dog . . . if only the others would learn from him.

"No, please have mercy!" said Lily, shielding her boys with her hands arms and standing defiantly in front of them, as though she was trying to protect them physically.

Voldemort rolled his eyes and let loose a scarlet stunner. The shock on her face as Lily saw the stunner was still visible as she hit the floor, unconscious. Voldemort was amused. Now, which one should he kill first? He looked at the boys. They certainly were twins alright; he couldn't tell who was the elder or younger. One of the boys had started sniffing and crying while the other looked at him with anger apparent in his green eyes. Voldemort smirked.

"How adorable" said Voldemort, looking at the boy. "I can sense the power within you, boy. Your eyes reflect it. You will be the one die first and then your brother will follow. I wonder what your name is."

"Hawwy!" screamed the boy as he glared, as much as a baby could. "Eu 'ad man!"

"Yes, I am the bad man" said Voldemort as he laughed. "Such bravery for a one year old child; your ancestor would be proud, Hadrian Potter. Get ready to die!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The Dark Lord watched with satisfaction as the green jet of light of the killing curse flew towards the child who had now positioned himself in front of his brother, attempting to shield him. But to his shock, the curse struck the boy's forehead and bounced back at him. He didn't have time to dodge as he was frozen in shock as the curse hit him. PAIN! It was pain beyond pain! He felt his soul being ripped from his body, but he knew that he couldn't die. He fled the house immediately. He had failed; he was furious at his failure. But he knew it was only a matter of time before his servants tried to find him.

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Peter Pettigrew looked at the house with trepidation. Had his master been successful? When he heard an explosion, he went over to investigate. The living room was a mess and he guessed that James was buried under the debris, dead. His heart ached for his once best friend, but he knew that it was pointless in rebelling against the Dark Lord. He quickly made his way to the nursery and he gasped. The ceiling had been blasted off as had one side of the wall. Lily was lying on the floor and the children were unmoving on the crib as well. But where was his master? His eyes went wide as he saw the cloak and wand on the floor. That was his master's wand! But how? Had he been defeated? Without hesitating, he took the wand and stuffed it inside his robes. Without wasting another second, he left the house.

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James Potter woke up with a groan. He was aching all over and had a massive headache. His eyes went wide as he realised what had happened. He immediately got up and pushed the debris away. He found his wand and with quick steps he ran to the nursery and stopped dead in his tracks. His wife Lily, the love of his live, was lying on the floor. James went over to her and hugged her body as he cried, grief clouding everything around him. Just then, to his shock, she moved! He looked down and Lily opened her eyes with a groan.

"LILY!" he shouted in happiness as he hugged his wife tightly.

"James?" she asked confused. "Are we dead?"

"No, love" he said with a smile. "We're alright, we -"

His eyes went wide as he let her go and went to check on his boys. "Harry, Alex, wake up!" he said desperately as he cast a charm to verify if they were alive. Plan B had been a failure. He had survived, but so had Lily; which meant that the protection didn't work as it should have. But to his shock, the boys were still alive.

"My babies!" cried Lily as she hugged both unconscious boys to her chest. "They're still alive! How? Oh, Alex, Harry!"

James had tears of happiness flowing down his cheeks. He looked around the room and spotted Voldemort's robes lying on the ground.

"Lily, we have to get out of here. Voldemort seems to have disappeared, though I'm not sure how it happened. This place is a mess; let's head back to the manor."

"How could Peter betray us?" she snarled, taking Harry in her arms as James carried Alex. "We trusted him with our lives!"

"That's something I want to know as well" said James coldly as they climbed down the stairs. Just then, they hear a familiar voice.

"James! Lily!" said Sirius, shouting frantically, as tears rolled down his face. He spotted the couple safe and sound, along with their children and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Merlin you're alright" he said, giving them both a brief hug. "I thought – I thought -"

"We're alright, Padfoot" said James. "But Voldemort did attack us. The rat seems to have betrayed us."

Sirius went red in the face, but before he could say anything, they could hear loud crying. All three of them pointed his wands at the door in case they need to defend themselves, with Sirius moving in front of them both. Just as a curse was on their lips, they saw Hagrid walk into the house.

"Hagrid?" asked Lily incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

The half-giant looked at the people in the room and stopped in shock. He looked like he wasn't able to believe his eyes as he said, "James, Lily! Yeh guys are okay! I though' yeh were dead!"

"Thank you for your concern, Hagrid" said James carefully. "But again, what are you doing here?"

Since both Plans A and B involved blowing up the small ward stone that was set directly below the living room in a small compartment, the Fidelius charm had come unravelled. James was on edge; something was not right.

"Professo' Dumbledore asked meh to bring Alex and Harry to yeh sister's, Lily. We though' you were dead!" said Hagrid.

Lily went red in the face. "You what?" she screamed, just as the boys woke up, crying. Handing Harry over to his godfather, Lily went forward and said, "You were going to take my babies to Petunia? Who gave you the authority to do so?"

Hagrid looked confused. "Professo' Dumbledore said to bring them there immediately. He said the boys would beh sent there to live with your sister's family."

"EXCUSE ME?" screamed James, Lily and Sirius at the same time. "My children live with those magic hating bigots? What is Dumbledore thinking?" roared James. "Our Will says that they should never be taken anywhere near them!"

"Why did Dumbledore think James and Lily were dead while Harry and Alex were not?" asked Sirius angrily. "Besides, why should they be taken to Petunia when I'm still here? I'm Harry's oath sworn godfather!"

"B-but yeh betrayed them!" said Hagird angrily. "Yeh were their secret keeper, Dumbledore said so!"

"Peter Pettigrew was our secret keeper!" yelled Lily, her green eyes blazing with fury. "Dumbledore knew that as he was the one to put up the Fidelius charm. Just what he is playing at? GET OUT! Tell Dumbledore to come talk to us himself then! My boys aren't leaving my sight!"

A scared Hagrid quickly backed out of the living room and went out of the cottage. James was now trying to calm his boys down and that's when he noticed an angry red mark on both the boys' foreheads with blood around the wound and minor cuts on their arms and legs as well from the falling shrapnel in the room. The scar on Harry's forehead was the shape of a lightning while there was an odd 'V' shaped scar on Alex's forehead.

"We'll need to get these looked at" he whispered as Lily cast sleeping charms on them. Just as they were about to leave, a hook nosed man in black robes entered the house. James' eyes went wide when he saw the man.

"YOU!" he shouted in anger. "What the hell are you doing here, Snape?"

Snape stood slack jawed as he looked at the people in front of him. While he had wanted Lily to live so that he could have her for himself, he had expected the Dark Lord to have killed James Potter and his two brats. What had happened? He was curious, but he knew that this was not the place to be, if the furious expressions on their faces were any indication. He immediately ran out of the cottage.

Sirius took out his mirror and said, "Amelia Bones"

After several seconds, he saw the face of a woman with red hair and grey eyes. "What is it Sirius?" she asked to her fiancé.

"Amy, James and Lily were attacked by Voldemort" said Sirius, making the woman gasp in horror. "They're both fine, as are the kids, but Dumbledore is playing some funny games here. Voldemort seems to have disappeared somehow, and Peter Pettigrew, the secret keeper is probably on the run. I need you to inform Mad-Eye about this so that he can come here and take care of it."

"Understood" she said firmly and the mirror went blank.

James turned to Lily and said, "Lils, take the boys and go back to the manor. You'll be safe there. Sirius and I will remain here to take care of the situation."

Lily nodded. She took the babies in her arms as James made a portkey. Since the ward stone was destroyed, he disabled the secondary anti-portkey wand and sent her on her way. With a flash of light, Lily Potter disappeared along with her children.

Sirius turned to his best friend. "James, how – how is that you're all alive?" he asked as he hugged him tightly.

James smiled and said, "We had a contingency plans in place, Sirius. The ward stone was rigged to explode with a smart array of runes, see?" he asked, showing the damaged runes on the floor. "Lily and I came up with two plans. We knew that both of us couldn't survive if the worst happened, so we decided to form a plan where one of us survived. Plan A was the ward stone exploding, creating an almighty explosion, killing Voldemort and me at the same time while Lily and the boys could escape through the concealed back door. The second alternative was for Lily to use an ancient sacrificial ritual to save the boys while I faked my death. She didn't listen to me at the final moment so I was forced to execute Plan B. Voldemort was too overconfident and didn't sense the trap. I made the ward stone explode, though not with the same intensity as Plan A, and that knocked me out. Voldemort seemed to have gone after Lily and for some reason, he didn't kill her. That's what is confusing; how did the boys survive when the sacrificial ritual was not completed? I don't understand!"

"How does the ritual work?" asked Sirius curiously.

James paused. He didn't want to reveal that his wife was a parselmouth. He himself had taken some time to comprehend and accept that and he didn't want anyone to call his wife a dark witch. Merlin knows she was in danger enough without more publicity.

"As I said, it was a modified sacrificial ritual, the original which we found in the Potter library. She had to die to protect Alex and Harry. Not sure what happened as she is alive and so are the kids."

Just then, Alastor Moody and a group of Aurors entered the house. James took a deep breath. This was going to be along night. He just hoped he could handle it.

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Albus Dumbledore looked at Hagrid in shock. James and Lily were alive? How was that possible? The prophecy had come true; Voldemort had been vanquished, but he had expected James and Lily to die in the attempt. He had wanted to place young Harry and Alex with their aunt so that they would be safe until they were old enough to go to Hogwarts.

"B-but you said they were dead, Albus!" said Minerva McGonagall in shock. "Are you telling me that you didn't even go to check up on them?"

"I thought they were dead" said Albus gravely. "It is better if you both returned to Hogwarts. I'm sure I have a lot of work to do tonight."

With that, he turned on his heel and Disapparated and appeared in the middle of the high street of Godric's Hollow. To his surprise, the place was swarming with Aurors. Just what had happened here? News still hadn't broken out that Voldemort was vanquished, so no one knew about it. Mentally, he sighed in relief. Tom had destroyed too many lives to count and it was a relief that he was finally defeated. He wasn't sure if the twisted man had been killed, but even temporary peace would do the country good right now after more than a decade of war.

As he walked to the front steps, he saw James and Sirius talking to Alastor. He quickened his steps and entered the living room of the cottage.

"James" he said smiling, eyes twinkling. "I'm glad you are alright. Where are Lily and the children?"

"Away from you!" spat James. "Just who do you think you are in trying to take our children and place them with Petunia?"

Albus paused. This question wasn't a good one to answer. The truth was that he wanted to keep the children safe and ensure that they came to Hogwarts as normal children and not as spoiled brats. He didn't know which twin was the child of the prophecy and he wanted to keep a close eye on them. He knew they would have suffered had he placed them there, but it was for the greater good. At least they would be safe from the Death Eaters once he erected a strong blood ward. After all, their protection was the biggest priority right now.

"I thought it was a perfect decision, James" said Dumbledore. "I wanted to keep the boys safe and Lily's sister was the perfect person for it."

"Except I mentioned specifically in my will that Harry and Alex were never to go there!" said James angrily. "She and her fat husband are magic hating bigots, Albus! My boys would have been abused by them! If you were so concerned for their safety, why didn't you give them to Alex's godmother? You should have taken them to Longbottom Manor as was stated in our will! If not, Sirius is Harry's oath sworn godfather. Why didn't you contact him? Speaking of which, Hagrid told us that you told him Sirius was our secret keeper. Care to explain?"

Albus thought furiously and replied, "A slip of the tongue, James" he said with a smile. "I meant to say Peter, but in my shock, I said that it was Sirius. My apologies. Now, do you mind telling me what happened?"

"Voldemort's robes are in the nursery, Albus" said Moody gruffly. "Go see for yourself."

James and Sirius looked at each other and followed. Dumbledore took out his wand and started scanning the room, muttering in a strange tongue. After a minute, he stepped back and said, "Extraordinary"

"What is?" said Sirius testily. He was still pissed that Dumbledore had nearly had him a target for the Aurors by claiming that he was the Secret Keeper, even if it was by accident. He hoped that rat got what he deserved.

"It seems Voldemort has been vanquished. I can detect a stunning spell and a killing curse. There is some other magical residue that I cannot recognise" he said, making James stiffen involuntarily "but one of your sons is clearly responsible for defeating Voldemort and surviving the killing curse! One of them is the Boy Who Lived!"

"Oh, how convenient" said Sirius sarcastically, his face haughty as he looked at the Headmaster. "A nice title, Albus. Did you have time to work on it? Besides, there were two babies there, not one. Both of them survived. How can you say that only one of them was responsible? Besides, I find that fifteen month old babies surviving a killing curse and destroying a Dark Lord plain ludicrous!"

James frowned. They knew about the prophecy even if they didn't know the full wording; Albus had refused to tell them the whole wording of the prophecy, must to the annoyance of the Potters and Longbottoms.

"My scans do not lie, Sirius" said Dumbledore mildly. "May I see the children, James? It would be prudent to see who the Boy Who Lived is."

"I don't think so" said James flatly. "What you are trying to do is bring unwanted attention to my family. I'm not going to let that happen. We don't know what happened to Voldemort and my sons had nothing to do with it."

"But that would be lying, James" said Dumbledore with a frown. "Besides, all the Aurors here know the story. Don't you think the public deserves to know what happened? They need to know who their hero is."

James went red in the face. "I won't let you glorify one of my sons just because the public wishes to know" he said dangerously. "This isn't a game, Albus. Harry and Alex are my children and I will protect them with any means necessary. Stay out of it."

"Come on Sirius, let's go."

With twin cracks, both of them Disapparated, just as two House-Elves appeared in their place. The elves snapped their fingers and all the personal items in the house disappeared and they erased the runes that were drawn on the floor. With another twin cracks, they disappeared.

Albus Dumbledore frowned. Why were James and Sirius acting like this? He was only trying to determine who the child of the prophecy was! It's not like he had done anything wrong. He was only doing what was best for the country by finding out which child was the one marked by Voldemort. With a huff, he Disapparated too, not noticing the suspicious look being sent his way by Alastor Moody.

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James and Sirius appeared in front of the large gates. The Potter crest, which were two Griffins facing each other, with a shield and two joined swords on a red background were proudly looking at them. James flicked his wand at the gates and they went inside. The modified shrinking and distance distortion charms placed on the path from the front gates to the manor reduced their time in walking there by a large margin; otherwise it would have taken them hours to reach the place. A minute later, a beautiful and enormous manor was visible. The lightning charms were all turned on, no doubt by Lily because of the paranoia that no doubt followed after what happened tonight. Even after so many years of growing up here, the sheer beauty of the manor captivated him every time. They quickly passed by the water fountain and entered through the front door. They found Lily in the informal drawing room, pacing.

"Lily we're back" said James, but he found a wand being pointed at his face.

"Who did I agree to go out with in fifth year instead of James Potter when I called him an arrogant toe rag?" she asked, sparks flying from her wand. "Answer me!"

"You said that you would rather go out with the giant squid" said James, confused as to why she was doing this; the wards wouldn't have given him access had he been an imposter. But then again, paranoia was something all of them were facing at the moment. Lily sighed as she threw herself on one of the plush sofas. "What happened?"

Sirius began explaining what had happened to Lily when she said, "He wants to declare one of them the Boy Who Lived?" she asked incredulously. "That is just asking for trouble! That would drive them apart! Petunia hated me after she found out that I was a witch and she wasn't. The same is going to happen to Harry and Alex if one of them is declared the hero while the other isn't. It will essentially destroy our family no matter how much we try to be fair to both."

James sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What do we do? We can't silence it. Voldemort being defeated by a mere baby would make the public flock to them. I don't want it at all, but we all know that Albus is instant on doing it. I'm at a loss."

"Maybe not" said Sirius, as a slow grin formed on his face.

"What do you mean Sirius?" asked Lily curiously.

"Well" said Sirius. "We can't stop the boys from being dragged into this; we don't have a better theory and clearly no one is going to doubt Albus Dumbledore's word on the matter. Currently, he doesn't know who the child of the prophecy is, which is why he wants to see the boys. What if we declare to the public that they are both the saviours? That they both defeated Voldemort and the public would brand them the Boys Who Lived."

James and Lily looked at each other. With a start, they both ran over and gave Sirius a big hug.

"Uff! Get off!"

"Padfoot, you are a genius!" exclaimed James.

"You really are!" said Lily grinning. "Who knew you actually had a brain?"

"Hey!" said Sirius indignantly as they all laughed, releasing their pent up emotions. Once done, they left immediately, not wanting to waste another minute.

"What's the plan?" asked James.

"Oh, come on Prongs, you know what we're going to do" said Sirius grinning. "The Marauders ride again."

"Act as though we're drunk and announce it in different bars all over the country while changing the glamour charms on us each time?" asked James.

"Exactly"

"Well then, let's get started. I could use a drink or two after what happened."

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Lily entered the master bedroom where the twins were sleeping on the bed. She sighed as she looked at them.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you both" she whispered, looking at her children. "But I'm more useful to you alive than dead. We won't let you down again. I promise."

She then leaned down and kissed the boys on the foreheads.

Hadrian and Alexander Potter slept peacefully in each other's arms, not knowing the chaos that was going on all over the country. While Lily hadn't been able to save them, she couldn't stop fate from taking its course. The prophecy had taken effect and Old Magic itself had intervened, protecting the boys from harm. No one could change destiny as Voldemort had to be vanquished at this time. Fate demanded it and Magic complied.

"To Harry and Alex Potter – The Boys Who Lived!" said several people as they raised their drinks in celebration.

"May Merlin bless the Potter twins!"

"Long live Harry and Alex Potter!"

HP*POWER OF TWO*HP

AN: Here we are! The two children are now the heroes of Magical Britain. As you can see, this Dumbledore isn't like the one in Lightning Lord. He isn't the evilish delusional mastermind, though he certainly is manipulative. Sorry about the rant, but again, James and Lily are said to be very smart in canon (James did become an animagus at 15 and that is no small feat!) Why would they not be prepared? I really hate the way James Potter is made to look like a fool in Book 7 where he doesn't even have a wand in hand when Voldemort attacks. Making James a villain and Snape a hero is something that bothers me greatly.

As for how the Potters know that Peter betrayed them, well, that's how the Fidelius charm works. You can't get the secret by torture or coercion or even through Legilimency or Veriteserum from what I have read. The Secret Keeper has to give up the secret willingly and directly.

For the reviewers of the last chapter of Lightning Lord, thank you! I will upload another chapter there, just to let you all know when I post Part 2 if that's what you would like, but it won't be anytime soon as I'm working on this story for now.

Cheers!