AN: I started writing a continuation to my sketch of a beginning to a story during NaNoWriMo 2019. It is only one of many possible ways the three chapters of „One Night Stand" could continue. Please go read those first if you haven't already, because without them this will not make much sense. This starts after the cliffhanger I left the other one on.

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Buying Time

Instead of picking up the toddler, who was once again holding up his arms in a clear demand, Tom silently cast a sleeping charm at the green-eyed boy. An equally silent hovering charm made sure that the small child was settled comfortably in his crib.

All this was done without Tom giving much attention to his actions, as his thoughts were racing.

There was no way he could kill his own son. He just had to make sure the boy was safe. And he needed to decide how best to do so, fast. Tom was pretty sure he had tripped some alarm wards when he had entered the house. He turned, and his eyes fell on the unconscious Lily.

Several memories rushed past his inner eye.

The way Rose had laughed at a sarcastic remark from him. Severus begging for her life. Her face filled with bliss, placed there by his own hands. Their lively discussion about society's demands on women and how they had changed over time.

Knowing that he did not have much time left, Tom sprang into action.

With a flick of his bone-white wand, there was a message carved in blazing letters into the wall just over the crib. Tom hoped it would distract the old goat from the truth. At least long enough to come up with a better plan.

Another spell brought paper and a biro up from somewhere downstairs so he could pen a quick note and place it in Lily's pocket before making his exit.

One flick of his wrist shattered the window, and a short burst of flight out of it brought him out of the house, where he could cast the Dark Mark into the sky over the quaint cottage. Satisfied with the impromptu plan, Tom prepared to leave and make a better plan when he had more time, when there was an anguished scream from the house. Seemed as if the Potters had been expecting a visitor, or the wards had alerted someone faster than Tom had thought they would.

Not willing to lose more time just to satisfy his curiosity, he turned on his heel. With barely a sound, the form of Lord Voldemort vanished from Godric's Hollow and landed elegantly, if in emotional turmoil, in his Headquarters.

Using the locket he had reclaimed after learning about it from Borgin, and spelling it to act as a stand-in for a Dark Mark, Tom called for Severus and Peter. Hopefully his two spies would be fast. He needed to warn them, but he also needed a few moments of calm to himself, to order his thoughts and to plan.

This was going to change so many things in his life. And as unhappy as he was admitting this, even to himself, he needed to think on what he wanted to do if Rose – Lily – wasn't agreeable.

And he needed to decide what he even wanted to do for Lily to agree to.

Tom made a face, but swiftly smoothed his features into a controlled mask when the door opened and Severus and Peter arrived in full uniform, masks in place and hoods raised. As spies they needed to conceal their identities, and they both were diligent in doing so.

As usual, Severus' bow was as elegant and efficient as Peter's was clumsy.

Not patient enough to wait through the whole greeting, Tom stood from his ornate throne-like chair and turned towards Peter to address him, sounding pretty harsh. "Go into hiding immediately. Don't return home. Your cover is blown. I'll be in contact. Dismissed."

This duty taken care of, Tom turned towards Severus, not really paying attention to Peter bowing and moving to leave. It was important to warn the spy, but what he needed to talk with Severus about was both more important and more complicated than the warning to the cowardly wizard who had changed sides out of fear and not conviction.

Biting back a sigh, Tom sat back down in his throne, conjured a reasonable chair near where he was now sitting, and waved for Severus to come closer. Only when the man had complied did Tom notice how very tense his spy was.

"Relax and sit, Severus," Tom said, working on maintaining a calm and collected tone. "You probably will learn about this soon. But you need more information than rumours." Severus tensed even more, which hardly seemed possible. "James Potter is dead. Lily and her son live. I need you to be available should Lily contact you. If she needs help, provide what you can. Including information, as much as any recruit would be given. If she wants to pass on a message, or you need my direct involvement, you have permission to come here, unannounced, at any time of the day. Questions?" As Severus was one of his more intelligent Death Eaters, and usually quick on the uptake, Tom hoped that he wouldn't need to repeat himself.

"Only one, my Lord." The man's velvet voice sounded from behind the white and silver mask.

"Which is?" Tom asked with forced calm, folding his hands in his lap in an effort to not go for his wand.

"Am I allowed to initiate contact, or am I to wait for her to contact me?"

That actually was a rather important question, and one Tom hadn't considered. But as he had had his world upended less than an hour ago, he was willing to cut himself some slack. Within the blink of an eye, Tom came to a decision and gave Severus an answer. "Act as you would have, had I not given you additional orders. I only want to make clear that you are not to push her with information she didn't ask for. Any more questions?"

"No, my Lord," was Severus' answer, and Tom quickly dismissed the man so he could sit down with a good cup of tea to calm down, maybe meditate, and get his mind ordered again.

There wasn't much he could do at the moment, besides trying to come to terms with what he had learned and come to a tentative plan on how to act on this new knowledge. Everything else depended on how Lily Potter would react to his note.

Waiting wasn't something Tom was especially good at.

oooOOooo

The moment Lily opened her eyes, she was bewildered that she even could.

Voldemort had found them!

How was she still alive?

"Lily? Can you hear me?" Sirius' concerned grey eyes came into focus before her where he was bending over her. It seemed as if she was resting on the small cot in one corner of the nursery.

She blinked once, twice, and then stumbled to her feet using Sirius to get up from the cot and make her unsteady way over to the crib. She needed to see her little boy.

Gripping the edge of the crib, using it to help her stay standing, Lily looked down on her baby, who was sleeping peacefully.

"He's fine." She was so relieved. Trembling, Lily slid down to the floor, settling with her back to the crib, facing the door. She turned her head to look over to Sirius, who was much paler than usual.

"James?" She dared not think what the answer would be. Dared not hope, she was still alive, Harry was still alive, but what of James? Could it be, please?

When Sirius shook his head, tears welling in his eyes, she knew what she had feared was true.

James was dead.

Voldemort had killed James.

But why only him? Why were Harry and she still alive?

"He's gone?" Lily wanted to ask if Voldemort was still near. If there was still danger, but she couldn't quite find the words.

"You two are the only ones alive, besides me," Sirius answered, face streaked with tears. And then suddenly anger overcame him. "Peter! That traitorous rat! I'll kill him!"

Before Sirius could jump to his feet, wand in hand, to rush out of the house to do just that, Lily had grabbed his arm and held on for dear life. "Don't leave us alone!" She couldn't face this alone, she needed someone nearby whom she could trust.

And after a tense moment, it seemed as if Sirius came to the same conclusion, because the fire in his eyes dimmed, and the grip on his wand relaxed. "Of course," he answered her, relaxing back onto the floor next to her. "I'll stay with you."

Lily later wasn't sure how long they sat there, holding hands, listening to Harry snore, waiting for the Order to arrive. But when a sharp crack was quickly followed by another, both Lily and Sirius were on their feet in the blink of an eye, taking a defensive position between Harry and the door to the nursery.

When Albus' long beard and one of his offensively bright robes became visible, Lily felt tension drain out of her she hadn't realized had been there at all.

They were safe now.

"Oh, my!" The surprise both in Albus' face and voice prompted Lily to turn to the crib and look at the wall behind it for the first time after Sirius had woken her.

There, right over the crib, on the wall in bright red, blazing letters stood, written in a flowing cursive:

I'm not that easily fooled, Professor.

"What does that mean?" Lily asked of no one in particular, almost without intending to ask out loud. Why would Voldemort let the child prophesied to be his downfall, live? Why kill James, the wizard of pure blood in their family, but only stun Lily, daughter of Muggles? It didn't make any bloody sense!

"Is Harry...?" Albus seemed rather reluctant to get any closer to the crib and let his question trail off without actually asking if her little boy was still breathing.

"He's fine," Lily almost snapped, unsure why she felt so defensive all of a sudden. Maybe the stress finally was getting to her.

The headmaster seemed shocked for a fraction of a second, and Lily wasn't sure she had actually seen it, when a smile of sad relief overtook his face. "Then we should see to it to getting the two of you to safety. Maybe you can hide out with your sister for a few weeks? If you move out now, you might just avoid the Aurors sure to arrive soon."

"Wait a moment, Albus," Sirius interjected. "You can't be seriously suggesting for Harry and Lily to move into a muggle house without any wards! She can stay at my flat! Or maybe go into hiding with the Longbottoms! No need to endure that sour woman!" Lily agreed with Sirius but didn't say anything, instead picking up her little boy from the crib, now that there were two adult wizards present who could defend her should any threat make it to the house. Moving in with Frank and Alice seemed the best plan she had for the moment.

"Moving in with her sister, family, seems to be the best in my eyes. Hasn't she a son of her own? She surely has everything Lily will need, and will be able to support her sister in the trying time to come," Albus argued back, all grandfatherly concern and wisdom of the elder.

Lily felt her hackles rise at that casual mention of the mourning she was sure would hit her once she had the luxury to actually feel again.

"I will not go to Petunia. I can't put her and her son and husband into danger. I'll move in with Alice and Frank. They have the wards on Longbottom Manor, and more than one wand to defend those within." And while James had easily gone along with all of Albus' suggestions, she wasn't going to let him push her around, now that she was alone in the world. "And why should I flee from the Aurors? Just because some of them might be on his side? As long as you're here, Albus, I would like to take care of my responsibilities. Giving my account of things is one of them."

She already could see that Albus was willing to argue, but she turned in search of her wand, one hand holding her baby to her side, the other slipping into her robe pocket, checking if her wand was there. Had she left it downstairs in the kitchen? She should have insisted on carrying the wand in a holster all the time, and not agree with James that it wasn't necessary in their home protected by the Fidelius.

She didn't find her wand in that pocket, but she did find a folded piece of paper she couldn't remember putting there. She got it out and unfolded it, reading it with growing confusion.

I was surprised to meet you again. I really did enjoy our talk about old classics back then. Hope we can talk soon. You know how to reach me -Thomas

"A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Where had that note come from? She would remember if she had gotten any mail and hadn't had time to read it. Wouldn't she? But she had to concede that having a baby, a toddler now, around all the time hadn't been good for her sleeping patterns. When Harry had had stomach problems and hadn't slept more than half an hour at a time, both she and James had done some pretty dumb stuff. Could she have forgotten that she had gotten this letter?

Rocking her little boy, Lily paced up and down in the nursery, ignoring Sirius and Albus still arguing, pondering the note. When her gaze drifted over the blazing letters put above the crib by Voldemort, something made the floating fragments of thoughts click in her mind.

Rose. Thomas, that handwriting both on the wall and on the note she had found in her pocket after being unconscious in his presence for an unspecified time…

The nice, friendly, funny, gentle man she had met that one evening, the man who was her little boy's biological father was Voldemort.

But how could that be? She had seen him, nose almost missing, eyes red as blood, and with slits as pupils! The pale skin, patterned with scales… Were those glamours? Or had the attractive man she had slept with been an illusion?

In a daze Lily folded the note back up, and put it back into her robe pocket. How many more shocks would she have to endure today?

"Albus, it's not your responsibility to decide where I will go with my son. Please make sure that the Aurors don't take anything that isn't theirs and that they find me so I can tell them what happened. Sirius, come with me, we'll need to find my wand and pack a bag so Harry and I can stay over with Alice for the next few days." Lily gave her orders, mind made up. She needed to get to a safe place, check her little boy over as she was pretty sure he was under some kind of sleeping spell, and then decide if she should confide in anyone about the identity of Harry's father, or if she should contact the man himself. Now that she had an explanation of why her boy was still with her, she needed to know more.

"Let me at least check you and the boy over, Lily. Who knows what Voldemort might have cast on you both." Albus tried for reasonable and helpful, but Lily didn't want to hear any of it.

"Alice is very good at curse-breaking and her mother-in-law is competent in quite a few healing spells. We will be checked over once we reach their home." Another series of cracks was heard from outside through the broken window and a small weasel-like Patronus came in through the floor. "Albus, Aurors are here!"

"I think you should take care of that. Sirius, come help me pack a bag and find my wand." It was really cold in the room by now and Lily just wanted to take her boy and leave already.

Only once she was safely ensconced in a guest room at Longbottom Manor, her little boy in a crib just next to her bed now sleeping without a spell on him, did Lily break down and cry for her husband. Dead. Killed with a spell cast by the man who was her little baby's real father. Because there really wasn't any other reason for Voldemort to let Harry be.

Her mind was swirling with questions, speculations, and half-baked plans, grief and guilt. She had betrayed her husband that night, as he had betrayed her with the potion given without her consent. But how was this all even possible? What should she do? Could she go and speak with him? What did he mean, with his claim she knew how to contact him? Was that even a good idea? What would happen should someone learn she was the mother of Voldemort's son?

That night and a few after that, Lily cried herself to sleep. Frozen in indecision over what to do next.

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First published 13th of March 2020 on AO3

Published on ffnet on 18th of April 2020

last edited 22nd of April 2020

Thanks to Jordre and Jake for helping to improve my spelling!