Book I

Chapter 1

A Mother's Love

"We all know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

It was a quiet Halloween night in Godric's Hollow that found Lily and James Potter alone in their cottage. The festivities of the holiday had come to a close and their one year old son Harry had been put to sleep. The young couple sat together in their living room, the only source of light coming from the fireplace that had them transfixed like moths. The silence between them was tense and each had a look of anxiety on their face.

The silence was broken suddenly as three sharp knocks sounded at the front door. James jumped from his seat and drew his wand. Lily reached out and grabbed his wrist, looking up at him with worry in her eyes. James tried to give her a placating smile, but the muscles in his face refused to move correctly. Instead he nodded, a silent a gesture that he hoped would let her know everything would be alright. Lily slowly let go of his wrist and nodded back to him. James attempted to smile again, failed, then turned and made his way to the front door.

The entrance hall was completely dark and James had to be careful not to step on any of the toys Harry had left laying around. He crept to the door as silently as possible and kept his wand out in front of him, half-expecting the door to fly off its hinges. He pressed himself against the door and looked through the peephole. There was no one there.

"Who's there?" he called anyways, tightening his grip on his wand in case the answer was unsatisfactory.

"Elvendork," came the response and James smiled. He let out a deep breath and the tension he'd been carrying melted away. A wave of his wand unlocked the door and disabled the security charms. He opened the door and was greeted only by the cold October air. He stepped to the side and felt something move past him and into the house. Not wanting to look suspicious, he made a show of stepping out onto the front porch and extinguishing the Jack O' Lanterns Lily had decorated the outside with; all the while surreptitiously checking the neighboring cottages to make sure no one had seen anything. Satisfied, he stepped back inside and closed and locked the door. Once the lock slid into place there was a shimmering in the darkness of the entrance hall as an Invisibility Cloak slid to the floor and revealed two men.

"Moony, Wormtail!" James greeted, stepping forward and wrapping his two friends in a tight embrace. He pulled back and smiled at them. In the darkness he could barley make out their faces. "Where'd Sirius get off to?"

Remus opened his mouth to answer, but James cut him off.

"Actually, Lily will want to hear the whole story. She's waiting for us by the fire."

The two visitors, already familiar with the layout of the cottage, walked to the living room. James picked his Invisibility Cloak off the floor before following after them. The two visitors settled themselves in chairs by the fire and James sat next to his wife.

"So, how did it go?" he asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. "Don't tell me Sirius abandoned you. Out celebrating already, eh? That old dog, I'll have to-"

"James," Lily interrupted his excited ramblings quietly but forcefully, placing her hand on his knee. She was looking intently at Peter and Remus and as James studied his friends in the firelight he realized that they weren't laughing or smiling or even looking at him. Remus' head was bowed, his vision focused solely on the floor while Peter's eyes darted about looking anywhere but at James or Lily.

"Did something go wrong?" James asked slowly, a weight settling in his stomach.

There was a tense silence that lasted a moment before Peter had apparently had enough. With a high pitched wail he threw himself at James' feet and cried, "We're so sorry! It wasn't our fault! I promise! Please, James! It wasn't our fault!" From there on his cries became incoherent as the only sounds he produced were high-pitched, squeaky sobs.

James looked from Peter's groveling form to Remus, who finally met his eyes.

"They were waiting for us, James," he said softly.

James swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.

"Who?"

"The MRS," Remus' response elicited a gasp from Lily. "It was a trap. They waited until we were in the house, then they surrounded the place and demanded we give ourselves up. Sirius, he went out and distracted them, he gave himself up so we could sneak away under the Cloak." As Remus told the story, his voice became strained.

James felt numb. He barely registered Peter's continuous cries coming from the floor, barely registered Lily's hand on his knee squeezing tightly. The only thing he could think about was the fact that his best friend, his brother, was dead or worse. When he finally managed to speak, his voice was lifeless.

"Get off the floor, Peter."

The crying little man shot from the floor and practically threw himself down into his chair, as if afraid of James' retribution if he didn't comply.

"We wanted to help," Peter said, a pathetic kind of pleading to his voice. "But Sirius insisted."

An odd sound ripped itself from James' throat. It was quick and loud and startled those around him. It took him a moment to realize that the sound was a laugh, loud and barking like Sirius'. The realization made him laugh more, this time in his own quiet chuckle. His two best friends and his wife watched him with varying looks of worry and fear which made him laugh even harder. He had to bury his face in his hands to smother the sound, and when he finally got all the chuckles out of his body he spoke:

"Of course he did," He practically spat the words out. "Self-righteous bastard always had to play the hero."

Remus began to laugh as well, albeit in a more subdued manner. "You're right," he added around his chuckles, his voice still strained, "I'm sure if he got to choose a way to go, this would have been it. Going down in a blaze of glory to protect his friends. He always did fancy himself a hero."

Peter joined in with a few giggles of his own, but the way his eyes nervously scanned the the room made it look like he was ready to bolt at any moment.

"You shouldn't be laughing," Lily said quietly, drawing the attention of the three males and silencing them. "Your best friend is dead, or worse he could be in Azkaban."

There was a deep sincerity in her eyes that nearly broke James' heart.

"Sirius wouldn't have wanted us to mourn him," he explained with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"He was actually quite adamant about it," Remus added with a sad smile of his own. "He made us swear a Marauder's Oath that we wouldn't cry at his funeral. Even tears of joy were forbidden."

"He also wanted us to light him on fire," Peter said. Everyone regarded him curiously and he quickly explained himself, "He wanted a Viking's funeral! Remember?"

As the memory of Sirius making them swear to burn him with his favorite possessions upon his death surfaced both James and Remus began laughing again.

"We'll have to go back on that promise," James said, wiping tears from his eyes. Even he wasn't sure if they were from mirth or sadness. "I doubt the MRS left enough of him for us to burn!"

Suddenly, the laughter died, and James realized he had gone too far.

Remus cleared his throat and said, "We should go. The MRS will probably be coming by soon to perform an investigation. They shouldn't be able to link us to the crime, but we were his only friends, so they'll suspect our involvement."

James nodded and tossed him the Invisibility Cloak.

"You can keep if for now. Just in case."

Remus nodded and he and Peter stood. Lily and James rose to meet them and the four friends shared a hug in front of the fire.

"Stay safe," Lily whispered as they broke off the embrace.

Remus smiled and said, "We'll do our best," he gave James a silent nod before he tossed the Cloak over himself and Peter and they disappeared. "We'll let ourselves out."

James followed the shuffling sound of his friends' feet and then watched as the front door opened and closed itself. A flick of his wand locked the door from afar and he was alone again with his wife. He collapsed heavily onto the couch and buried his face in his hands. Without the presence of his two best friends, the only friends he had left, he was finding it much harder not to cry. He wasn't the only one.

A sob ripped itself from his wife's throat, causing him to raise his head in surprise. Lily practically collapsed in front of him, falling to her knees and burying her head in his lap. James watched in shock as his wife cried so hard she was in danger of not only waking up their son, but the entire village.

"I'm so sorry!" she managed to say between her heaving sobs.

Gently, James rose her head from his lap and cupped his hands around her face. He stared into her brilliant, tear-filled eyes and spoke softly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

His words only made the situation worse, as they seemed to make Lily angry with him.

"How can you say that? You can't make this go away with jokes and laughter or sweet words, James. Your friend, our friend, is dead or worse and it's all my fault! I asked him to do this!"

She was shouting now, and James wished she would wake up Harry so he could have an excuse to get away from her. A part of him did blame her for the loss of his friend, but he hated that part of himself. He squashed it down with all his might and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sirius had a hero complex," he explained, as much to himself as to her, "He would have done something like this whether you had asked him to or not."

Lily didn't have a response to this, but it seemed she didn't want to admit he was right. She seemed set on blaming herself for what had happened. She picked herself off the floor and turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself and staring into the fire. James stood and put his arms around her waist from behind. They stood together like that for several minutes, the light from the fireplace dancing across their skin.

"I can't stop thinking about them." Lily finally said when her tears had stopped.

"Who?"

"Petunia and her family," She nearly choked on the words. "She has a son now, just a bit older than Harry. Did I ever tell you that?"

"You did."

"That's why..." she paused to swallow the lump in her throat, "That's why she wanted to flee from the country. She wanted a better world to raise her son. Now, her family will probably be split apart and Sirius is..."

The tears came again, this time quietly. James continued to hold her, suddenly feeling selfish for how he had been feeling just a few minutes ago. He had lost his best friend but because of the botched mission Lily's only living realities would have their lives ruined, and they didn't have very good lives to begin with. She shifted in his arms until they were standing face to face. She looked up at him earnestly, her eyes bloodshot.

"Ever since I talked to Petunia, I can't help but keep thinking. Should we be trying to do the same thing?"

"To get out of the country?" he had never considered the idea before, even though he had helped multiple people do it in the past.

"This place is just...it's filled with so much suffering," the raw emotion in her voice sent a chill down his spine, "And I don't want to raise my son here. I don't know if I can raise my son here."

Lily couldn't sleep. Today had been her son's eighth birthday and it had ended terribly. The problem had started months before when James, against her wishes, had taken their son for a ride on his old broomstick. Harry had fallen in love with flying from the moment he and his father had kicked off the ground and for the next couple of months leading up to his birthday he had begged them to buy him a broom of his own.

Lily was opposed to the idea and James halfheartedly supported her decision. She allowed Harry to go on flights with his father, but made it quite obvious that he wouldn't be given a broom of his own anytime soon. He had assumed that this was a joke, or that his parents were trying to make sure he would be surprised on his birthday when he actually got a new broom.

He did end up surprised when he opened his presents that night because there was no broom amongst them. When Lily had once again made it clear that she didn't think he was ready for his own broom, the eight year old threw a tantrum that ended with his birthday party being called off early and he was sent up to his room without eating cake.

Being a mother wasn't easy. This was readily apparent to Lily as she sat alone in the dining room, staring bitterly at the chocolate cake she had baked for her son which still had eight burning candles in it. She heaved a depressed sigh and blew the candles out, extinguishing the only source of light in the dining room. The darkness only lasted a few seconds before the candles relighted.

With another sigh, Lily pushed the cake away from herself and stood from the dining room table. She walked out of the dining room and made her way up the stairs intent on going back to bed. As she passed by Harry's room she noticed that his door was slightly open and she stopped in front of it. She debated internally with herself for a moment before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to check on him. She quietly pushed the door open and poked her head in. What she saw made her heart sink. Harry's bed was empty.

She threw his door open the rest of the way and frantically began searching his room. She searched under his bed, in his closet, in his trunk; all the while shouting his name hoping he would pop up and reveal that he was just pulling a silly prank on her.

"Lily."

She spun around quickly and saw James standing in Harry's doorway. His hair was ruffled and he had to squint at her because he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"What are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"Harry's gone!" she cried. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands as the tears finally came.

James rushed to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What do you mean he's gone?" he asked urgently, "Where's he gone to?"

"He's just...gone!" she screamed, "I wanted to check on him before I went to bed, and he wasn't in his room! I just came from downstairs, so he can't be there! Oh god, James, what's happened to him?"

"You...you're overreacting," James replied quietly, his voice hollow, "I'm sure he's just in the bathroom or something. Come on."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. He pulled her out of her son's room and together they searched the rest of the house. They searched every room and closet but still their son was nowhere to be found.

After having searched the entire house and finding no trace of Harry, they stood together in the living room. Lily had stopped crying, but her body shook horribly as her mind focused on all the horrible things that could be happening to her son.

"The important thing is to not panic," James said, running a shaking hand through his hair, "Harry's probably mad about what happened at this birthday party. He probably just ran away to get back at us."

Lily nodded slowly, but her mind kept replaying the worst case scenario: her son badly hurt or worse.

"I'll get on my broom and look around the village," James continued, "He couldn't have gotten far. You should get on the floo with Bathilda. See if she's seen anything. Okay?"

Lily just nodded again. James grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. When she did, he gave her his best Gryffindor grin, full of confidence and courage.

"Everything's going to be all right."

When he looked at her like that she couldn't help but believe him and the shaking of her body lessened a bit. She tried to smile back at him, but it looked more like a pained grimace. James accepted it though, and drew her in for a brief hug. Once they parted from the embrace, James made for his broom closet while Lily turned to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder, all the while James' voice repeated in her head "Everything's going to be all right".

Just as she was about to hurl the powder into the fireplace, there was a knock at the front door. She turned to James who had just pulled his broom out of the closet. They both dropped what they had been doing and rushed to the front door, James with his wand out and Lily wishing she hadn't left her's in her bedroom. James unlocked the door and threw it open without pause and the sight of the person standing on their welcome mat took Lily's breath away.

It was Albus Dumbledore dressed in a blue-with-white-polka-dots nightgown. James quickly bowed to the man and Lily hastily followed his example.

"Lord Dumbledore, sir," James greeted as he rose from his bow, "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

The old man didn't respond. His blue eyes trailed down and focused on James' wand, which he still held at his side. James quickly stuffed his wand in the waistband of his pants and offered an apologetic smile.

"Er-sorry, sir. Can't be too careful these days...you know?"

Dumbledore regarded the nervous couple with a silent stare for a moment. Lily's heart was racing as she waited for the man to speak. What was he doing here? Did he know something about Harry? Had he found out about what they had done in the past and was coming to deal with them directly? All these questions raced through her head during that silent moment. Finally, Dumbledore smiled at them.

"Of course. Constant vigilance, as an old friend would say," Lily had to hold back sarcastic laughter at that, as if Alastor Moody was any friend of Dumbledore's, "The reason I've come to our lovely home at this horrid hour is because I've happened across something I think belongs to you."

He stepped aside and revealed Harry to be standing behind him. The boy had his head hung and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pajamas. Lily rushed forward, knelt down and wrapped her son in a tight embrace. She pulled back from the hug and held him at arms length. His vision was still focused on the ground so she lifted his head up and forced him to look at her.

"What were you thinking?" she admonished with a strained voice. "Your father and I were so worried about you."

"Sorry, mum." he said, not sounding at all like he meant it.

Before Lily could scold him, Dumbledore spoke, "I'm afraid it's not all Harry's fault," he said, "It seems he was quite angry with you after an argument and he performed a bit of accidental magic and ended up in my backyard."

"I didn't mean to mum, I swear!"

Lily barely heard him. Her mind was still stuck on the words accidental magic. Her son had been so angry with her that he had performed accidental magic and transported himself to somewhere he would have rather been. Her fear for her son's well being had disappeared but now it was replaced with an even stronger fear, one that made her sick to her stomach. She was afraid that her son hated her, that he didn't love her, that he loved Dumbledore more than he loved her. Accidental magic took incredibly strong emotions, this was more than him just being angry at her for not getting him a broom.

James strode forward to shake Dumbledore's hand.

"Thank you so much, sir," he said sincerely, "I-er-I hope this never happens again."

Dumbledore chuckled, "As do I. Though I must admit I do enjoy Harry's company."

He reached down and ruffled the boys hair with a grandfatherly smile. Harry smiled back with complete adoration and Lily felt her heart skip a beat.

"I bid you farewell, Potter family," Dumbledore said with a grand sweeping gesture that made Harry giggle, "Hopefully, we can all get together soon at a much more acceptable hour." He offered Harry a wink before turning and Disapparating with a pop.

Lily still knelt on the ground before Harry, and when the boy turned away from the spot where Dumbledore had been standing she could see fear in his eyes.

"Are you mad at me, mum?"

"No, I...I'm just glad you're safe." she answered truthfully. She pulled him into another hug and this time he hugged her back, though she couldn't help but think he was just happy she wasn't punishing him.

"Don't think you're getting off easy," James said, though he tousled Harry's hair with a smile on his face, "Your mother and I just need to time to think of a suitable punishment."

Harry jerked away from Lily's hug and looked up at his father with a mortified look on his face. When he saw James' smile his expression eased, but there was still a hint of worry in his eyes. He turned again to Lily with that pleading look in his eyes.

"We'll talk in the morning," she said, "For now you need to sleep."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Lily let him know that she wasn't in the mood with a sharp look. With a defeated sigh, the boy marched into the house and up the stairs towards his room. As Lily watched him, she couldn't help but worry if he would stay in his room for the rest of the night.

"Come on," James said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "We should get to bed too."

Lily agreed and together the couple followed their son up the stairs, watched him get into bed, and then made their way to their own room. Once there, James sat on the edge of their bed and Lily sat next to him. She placed her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh.

"I'm surprised you let him go to bed without punishment." James said.

Punishing Harry had been the farthest thing from her mind. Last time she had punished him he had Apparated to Dumbledore's house. She didn't want that to happen again.

"I can't punish him. It wasn't his fault."

"It certainly wasn't your fault. Accidental magic happens. There was nothing-"

He was cut off as Lily abruptly stood.

"Accidental magic doesn't just happen, James!" she hissed, wanting to yell but knowing that Harry would hear if she did, "Accidental magic only happens when a child is under extreme emotional duress! Harry didn't just happen to Apparate himself to Dumbledore's house! He did it because he was so angry with me, hated me so much that he subconsciously transported himself somewhere he would have rather been!"

James stared at her in shock, "Harry doesn't hate you."

"Of course he does, James, I'm a terrible mother. He would rather be with Dumbledore. He loves Dumbledore more than he loves me!"

James stood up from the edge of the bed and put his hands on his wife's shoulders. "I know you're upset about what happened. But you're overreacting."

Lily pushed him away and he stumbled and fell back onto the bed, "Did you see the way Harry looked at Dumbledore? He adores him. He's never looked at me that way!"

"Lily, please. You're overre-"

"Don't tell me I'm overreacting!" she screamed. She clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had done, "This is your fault," She continued in a hiss, "I told you couldn't raise my son here, but you wouldn't listen!"

"You think it would be better if we had fled the country?" James retaliated, feeling his anger welling up, "We would have gotten caught. We would have been sent to Azkaban like Sirius and Harry would've be an orphan. Probably would've gotten adopted by some pure-blood scum and raised to be a muggle hating loon!"

Lily laughed derisively, "You're so afraid of what could have happened that you're ignoring what's already happening. Harry adores Dumbledore, he'll believe anything the man says. He's already being raised to be a muggle hater. A faithful servant to the Greater Good!"

James stared at Lily for a long moment, his jaw clenching and unclenching, "I can't deal with you when you're like this."

He stood up and gathered his pillow and stalked passed her without another word.

"Just keep running away from the truth, coward!" she mocked.

James stopped at the door and turned to face her. She could clearly see that her insult had stuck him hard. If there was one thing James Potter didn't tolerate it was being called a coward. He didn't retaliate as she had expected. He simply turned away from her again and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Alone, Lily began to feel the first inklings of regret bubbling up inside of her. She had lashed out at James just because he was there and she knew she shouldn't have. However, her regret was quickly drowned out by the anger and hurt she was still feeling. She knew things would be different in the morning but for now she had to deal with her rage by herself. Without James to lash out at, she threw herself into her bed, buried her face in her pillow and hoped it would be enough to muffle her cries.

Lily smiled affectionately as she watched her son blow out the ten candles on the birthday cake she had baked for him. They were gathered in the backyard of their cottage on a fair July day. It was Harry's biggest party ever. Both James and Lily were there of course, along with Remus and Peter. Bathilda Bagshot, the kind old woman who lived down the block, was there as well as a few other neighbors who Lily wasn't too familiar with but she was glad they were there all the same.

Lily was happy to note that Dumbledore had politely declined the invitation Harry had forced her to send, but he had unexpectedly sent someone else in his stead: the Longbottom Family. Frank, Alice and their son Neville had showed up for the party and simply explained that Dumbledore had forwarded them his invitation. Lily couldn't help but be wary of Frank and Alice as she knew they were both high ranking members in the Empire, but Harry had finally found a new friend in their boy Neville, who had just had a birthday the day before, and she couldn't help but feel happy at that since Harry had no friends his own age.

The plump, round-faced boy sat next to Harry with a look of excitement on his face and Lily couldn't help but wonder if he had any other friends his own age. His parents stood off to the side, stoically watching the going-ons of the party looking more like sentries than guests.

After finally blowing out the candles of his birthday cake which insisted on staying lit (a prank his father never got tired of) Harry turned to his mother with a huge smile on his face.

"Time for presents!"

Lily crossed her arms in faux indignation, "Oh, so I guess your presents are more important than the cake I slaved over?"

Harry rolled his eyes and giggled, "Of course they are, mum."

"You heard the boy," James said with a grin. He strode forward with a small, square package and placed it in front of Harry with a wink. "You get to open mine first."

Harry held the package with a look of pure joy on his face. Just as he was about to tear through the red and gold wrapping paper a loud screech cut through the anticipated silence and distracted him. The entire party turned their eyes to the sky to see a group of six owls flying towards the Potter's backyard. Between them the six birds carried a long, thin package.

Lily watched in confusion as the six owls swooped towards Harry and released their package. The package landed in front of Harry, right where he had pushed his cake. The impact sent bits of frosting flying and the entire party got splattered.

His bewildered face flecked with chocolate frosting, Harry reached out and grabbed the letter attached to the package. He opened the envelope and read the letter out loud to the frosting-covered party.

"Dear Harry. I apologize for not being able to make your party. Running an empire keeps me quite busy, you know," With mounting dread, Lily realized who the present was from. Harry read on with increased enthusiasm, "I hope my present arrives on time. I was never much for flying myself, but I hear you've got quite a knack for it. However, remember to not fly too close to the sun. Sincerely yours, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Harry tossed the letter aside and gazed upon the long thin package with the utmost want. He was practically salivating. He tore into the wrapping paper and opened the long, thin box underneath it. What he saw inside made him gasp.

Lily didn't need to look to see what Dumbledore had gotten her son. The rest of the party crowded around Harry and got a look at what was in the box themselves. What they saw inside produced varying looks of shock.

"It's a Nimbus!" Neville exclaimed.

"A Nimbus Two-Thousand." Harry corrected breathlessly.

"These aren't supposed to hit the shelves for another year." James added, his eyes wide.

Harry reached into the box and gently lifted the broomstick out. He held it before him like it was a sacred object, and the look on his face said he believed it was. He turned away from the object only to look towards his mother, who was watching him with a barely disguised look of disgust on her face.

"Can I ride it, mum. Please!"

Lily wanted to say no. She wanted to take the broomstick away from him and break it in half. She wanted to light it on fire and bury the ashes. But she couldn't do any of those things. If she denied him the broom it would just drive him further away from her. Further towards Dumbledore.

"Okay. Just don't go too-"

Harry didn't wait to hear what else she had to say. He was already in the air on his new broom performing a variety of tricks he had learned from his father. The party looked up and watched him with awe.

"He's good." Peter said as Harry performed a perfect figure eight.

"He's great." Remus amended as Harry flew in a tight corkscrew.

"He's the best," James said with adoration in his voice, "He's going to be the best seeker in Hogwarts' history. Mark my words."

Lily loudly cleared her throat and all three men turned to face her. James gave her a grin, but when she didn't return it he frowned.

"There's no way you can blame me for this."

He was right. That didn't mean she had to be happy.

"You could at least show some anger at the fact that Dumbledore went behind our backs and bought our son a broom instead of drooling over it like a school boy."

"I'm very angry," James said, putting his hands on his hips in an imitation of his wife, "But, we did agree to get Harry a broom when he turned eleven so-"

"We agreed to get him a broom when he turned twelve. And you're completely missing the point."

"I get the point. But what can we do? You're not going to take the broom away from him, are you?"

Lily sighed, "No, of course not."

She cast her gaze skyward just in time to catch her son perform a loop-de-loop that made her protective maternal instincts go crazy.

Seeing his wife so distraught, James quickly tried to think of a way to distract her, "Didn't you have something important you wanted to ask Moony?"

It was true, she had mentioned she'd wanted to talk to Remus about something, and now was as good a time as any since the party had taken a pause while Harry enjoyed his new gift.

Lily turned away from Harry's high flying antics and focused her gaze on Remus, "He's right, Remus, I did have something I wanted to ask you. If you don't mind, of course."

Remus seemed confused by the sudden focus on him, but he smiled anyway. "Of course not," he said congenially, "What is it?"

"Not here. It'd be better if we talked in private."

Remus turned to James, who just shrugged. "Okay." he said slowly.

Lily smiled at him. She led him out of the backyard and back into the house. They settled down at the kitchen table, "First of all, how's your job at the Ministry?" she asked with a smile.

"Alright. There's some new legislation we're trying to push through about muggle werewolves and..." He trailed off as he noticed Lily didn't seem interested, "But you don't really care do you?"

She offered him an apologetic smile, "I do care, it's just I think you could be putting your talents to better use," Remus raised an eyebrow in curiosity but allowed her to continue, "Not that I don't think you're work is important. But I know you've always been interested in teaching, and the Defense post at Hogwarts just opened up."

"And you think I should take it?" Remus asked.

He didn't seem offended, but Lily imagined he couldn't be happy with her trying to intervene in his life.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do," she said, trying to assure herself as much as him, "I just think it could be a good job for you is all."

Remus nodded thoughtfully, "I had been thinking about it, of course. But I get the feeling you're not just looking out for my interests here."

Lily looked down, ashamed of herself for having to ask this of him, "It's because of Harry. He's going to Hogwarts next year, and…I would feel much better if I knew you were there to look after him."

He obviously hadn't expected her to say that, "Hogwarts is the safest place on earth. Headmaster Riddle would never-"

"Headmaster Riddle used to be the top enforcer of the Muggle Regulatory Squad," Lily interrupted hotly, "I don't think I need to remind you of the things he was responsible for in his days."

He winced and shook his head.

"Please," she begged, "I need you to do this for me. For Harry."

Remus' expression was placid, but Lily knew that an internal war was brewing beneath the surface. She knew about his condition, and how afraid he was to be around anyone else, especially children.

She remembered how tentative he had been when he first held Harry.

He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, "If you're really that worried about Harry…"

"I am."

"Then I guess I've got no choice," he said with a smile, "I certainly wouldn't want you worrying all the while Harry's at Hogwarts. James would never let me hear the end of it."

"Thank you so much," she said with utmost sincerity. She reached across the table and grabbed his hands, "You're a great man, Remus Lupin."

He smiled down at her for a second before loud cheers from the backyard caught his attention, "Guess we better get back to the party."

They stood together and walked back outside. They found James and Peter with the rest of the party-goers staring up at the sky watching Harry fly around on his broom. When she stood by his side, James wrapped his arm around her without taking his eyes off his son.

"I know you're still mad," he said, "But you have to admit, our son is very talented. He's got a bright future ahead of him."

She had never been one for flying, but even she could appreciate her son's talents. He had been interested in Qudditch since he was old enough to understand it and had loved flying since he first flew with his father.

"I know," she said softly.

"What did Remus say?" he asked, pulling his eyes away from his son.

"He said yes."

"You don't sound very happy about that."

Now she pulled her eyes from the sky to look at him, "I just can't help but think of what happened the last time I asked one of our friends for help."

James frowned, "How long are you going to blame yourself for that?"

She cast her eyes to the ground. James pulled her close., "It wasn't your fault," He said, not for the first time and probably not the last. He lifted her face up until their eyes met. He grinned and she couldn't help but grin in return, "Plus, what's the worse that can happen to Remus at Hogwarts?"

Lily lay in bed wide awake. It was early on a summer morning, and she knew it was going to be a special day. The post would be arriving soon, and with it Harry's Hogwarts letter. She was excited for her son, of course, but she was also deeply saddened. It seemed like time had been passing by too fast. It felt to her like just yesterday Harry had been learning his first words and now he was beginning the part of his life where he would no longer need her. She couldn't help but think of this every time she saw him, and every time it made her want to burst into tears. James had made fun of her for this.

Just as Lily had expected, a pitter patter of excited feet came rushing down the hall. The sound stopped at the door to her bedroom and Harry exploded into the room shouting.

"Mum! Dad! I got my Hogwarts letter!"

He then ran and jumped into bed with them.

Lily made a good show of pretending she had just woken up while James, who really had just woken up, lifted his head from his pillow in an alarmed fashion. When he saw it was just Harry he laid his head back down.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Harry shouted as he bounced on the bed. James yawned and pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Got a bit of important news, did you?" he asked groggily.

"My Hogwarts letter!" Harry exclaimed, shoving the sealed envelope in his father's face.

"Well, open it up and read it!" Lily said with an encouraging smile.

With shaking hands, Harry split the wax seal on the envelope and pulled out the folded parchment within. He read the letter to his parents and then turned to them with an expectant smile. Lily couldn't help herself; her eyes were beginning to water.

"What's the matter, mum?"

"I'm just so proud of you!" she said and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Not that we thought you wouldn't get accepted." James said, giving his son a pat on his back.

After Harry managed to pry himself from Lily's hug, he bounded off the bed and pulled the comforter off his parents.

"Come on! We have to go to Diagon Alley!"

"I don't know, son," James said, "It might be a bit too early. I don't think Diagon Alley will be open until noon."

With the look on Harry's face, James might as well have said that Hogwarts itself was going to be closed. It wasn't until James started laughing that Harry realized he hadn't been serious.

"Very funny," he said, sticking his tongue out. "Now, hurry up and get dressed."

With that said he sped out of the room leaving Lily and James to share an amused looked. The two of them got out of bed and got dressed, though they took a more time than was absolutely necessary. When they finally got downstairs they found their son impatiently bobbing on his toes in front of the fireplace.

"Took you long enough." he said sourly.

Lily and James simply shared a smile. James was first through the fireplace, and Harry went second, Lily went last and when she emerged from the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron she was instantly meet by a muggle man, dressed in a ratty vest and an equally ratty pair of pants. His body was skinny, almost to the point of looking unhealthy, and what little hair he had left on his head was greasy and stuck to his scalp. He bowed deeply to her family and offered a yellowed smile.

"Greetings and welcome to the Leaky Cauldron. Can I be of service to you this day?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Lily said instantly. She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver sickle, "Here, thank you for your offer."

The muggle slave pushed her hand away, though she noticed the gleam in his eye at the sight of the coin.

"No thank you, ma'am."

"I insist," she said, forcibly depositing the coin into his calloused hands.

"If you insist," the muggle relented.

He flashed a grateful smile, thanked her, bowed and shuffled away to help the tavern's other customers. Noticing the distraught look on her face, James wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"There's nothing else you can do for him." he whispered.

Lily nodded and they made their way to the back of the tavern with Harry excitedly leading the way. The encounter with the muggle slave had had no effect on him. The Leaky Cauldron gave way to the magnificent golden arches which lead to Diagon Alley and Harry took off before Lily had a chance to rein him in. He had been to Diagon Alley before, but now with his Hogwarts letter in hand he was overwhelmed with all the choices. However, it didn't take him long to decide on his first purchase. He came to stop outside of Ollivander's Wand Shop.

"I'll head up to Gringotts to withdraw some gold," James told Lily. He patted his son on the head and said, "Make sure you pick a good one!"

Lily grabbed Harry's hand and led him into the wand shop. It was just as she remembered it; small, dark, a little cold, and with a slightly musty smell. Old man Ollivander came shuffling from behind a shelf filled with boxes of wands. Lily strode forward to introduce herself, but was surprised as Mr. Ollivander not only remembered her, but the exact wand he had sold her (10 1/4" Willow, Unicorn tail, swishy and good for Charms work). She introduced him to Harry, and after looking the boy over with an appraising look, the wand maker took out a magical measuring tape and set it to work on him. Once the measuring tape was done, Ollivander handed Harry a wand and Harry excitedly waved it around with no results. The process continued for some time, Harry waving a wand and Mr. Ollivader quickly snatching it away from him when it produced no results. Before long, Lily could see the excitement originally present on Harry's face give way to frustration as the pile of failed wands grew higher.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," she said with a reassuring smile, "It took mummy a long time to find the right wand too."

Though it was true, it hadn't taken nearly as long as it was taking Harry. Harry still hadn't found a wand when James returned from Gringotts and he too was surprised to find Harry still trying out wands. Even the usually placid Mr. Ollivander seemed surprised.

Finally, Harry grabbed a wand and his face lit up as it shot out gold sparks.

"Eleven inches, holly with a phoenix tail feather," Mr. Ollivander murmured as Harry excitedly waved his wand around and caused more sparks to shoot out, "Interesting. Very interesting."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked absently as he continued to wave his wand and shoot out sparks.

"The Phoenix whose feather that wand contains only gave up one other feather," Ollivander said, "And that feather went into the wand that belongs to one Thomas Riddle, Jr. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Harry stopped swishing his wand about and turned to Mr. Ollivander, "Really?"

The old man smiled and nodded, "Indeed. I remember every wand I've ever sold."

Harry turned to his parents, beaming, "Isn't that cool? I've got the same wand core as a really powerful wizard!"

"Of course, dear," Lily said, but inside she was worried. The idea of her son having anything in common with that monster Riddle made her sick to her stomach. She turned to James who merely shrugged.

They paid the price of seven galleons for the wand and Harry dragged them out of Ollivander's shop and to Flourish and Blotts. From there, they made short work of the rest of his school supplies; buying his books and then his potion ingredients and his cauldron, and then a telescope. It was as they were making their way to Madame Malkin's Robes For All Occasions that they encountered a problem.

A mob of witches and wizards had gathered around something Lily couldn't see. They were shouting and cursing and making rude gestures at whatever it was, but Lily was content to walk along and leave them to their devices. It wasn't until she was close enough to understand what the mob was saying that she stopped.

"Don't you muggles know you're not supposed to be here?"

"Our daughter's a witch; we have every right to be here!"

The shout made Lily's blood run cold and drug up old memories she'd rather had stayed buried. Without thinking her actions through, she left James and Harry and fought her way through the mob until she arrived in the center, where a muggle man bravely shielded his wife and daughter from the mob's insults. She placed herself between the muggles and the mob.

"These people have every right to be here!" she shouted.

"If she's a witch, then let's see her do some magic!" shouted a man at the head of the mob. The rest of the he mob shouted its agreement.

"Of course she can't do magic yet," the muggle man responded, "But I've got this letter that proves she was accepted into that school!" He pulled a Hogwarts letter out of his pocket and showed it to the mob.

The man from the mob snatched the letter from the muggle and read over it. "It's a forgery!" he shouted, and the mob once again began yelling and cursing.

Lily grabbed the letter from the man and read over it herself. It was a genuine Hogwarts letter.

"This is not a forgery!" she shouted, "Now, I suggest you let these people continue on with their day or I'll alert the authorities."

The mob slowly began to disperse, but a few diehards remained, glaring daggers at her. James and Harry showed up to at her side.

"You heard the lady!" James said. "Bugger off or there'll be trouble."

He not so subtly drew his wand. The remaining members of the mob wandered off, though not without giving Lily another dirty look or muttering something very unkind.

Once they were gone, Lily turned and handed the Hogwarts letter to the muggle man. He was thin, as most muggles were, and short. His skin was pale and he had a full head of thick brown hair. His face was sharp, almost gaunt and he had a pair of well worn glasses perched over his brown eyes.

"Thank you so much," he said, shaking her hand, "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't came along."

"Happy to help," Lily said with a smile, "I'm a muggleborn, so I know what you're going through. I'm Lily Potter, and this is my husband James and my son Harry."

James shook hands with the muggle man, but Harry had his gaze focused on the ground.

"I'm Thomas Granger. And this is my wife Jean and our daughter Hermione." He pointed first to the woman standing behind him, who strode forward to gratefully shook Lily's hand. She was healthier looking than her husband. She had black hair that was cropped short, almost haphazardly so, and pearly white teeth that belied the general disheveled appearance both she and her husband had.

His daughter stepped forward cautiously. Her hair was thick and brown just like her father's. She smiled at Lily and exposed two front teeth which were just a bit too large, and Lily had a feeling the smile was forced. Still, she took the girls hand with a friendly smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Hermione. I promise not all wizards are as bad as that."

"If you say so, ma'am." Hermione replied politely. She stepped back behind her father and received an admonishing look from her mother.

Lily turned her smile back to Thomas. "Do you need any help?" she asked, "With finding school supplies, I mean. We could show you around the alley and make sure there are no more incidents, and we have more gold than we need, so if you needed some help affording things…"

Thomas shared a look with his wife, and Lily could tell what they were thinking. They didn't like charity, but they knew they needed it. She knew the Ministry issued stipends to the parents of muggleborn witches and wizards, and she also knew how meager that stipend was.

After communicating silently with his wife, Thomas turned to Lily, "That would be great." he said.

So, for the rest of the day, Lily and her family helped the Granger family buy Hogwarts supplies. They backtracked to Flourish and Blotts to get a Hermione her books, and then to the potions supply shop. They made another long trip to Ollivander's so Hermione could get her wand and then went to Madame Malkin's so both kids could get fitted for their uniforms.

Lily was disappointed to note that Harry kept quiet once the Granger's joined up with them. She had been hoping he and Hermione would strike up a conversation. She assumed that Harry was just being shy, or maybe he was upset that they had to go to all the same shops again with the Grangers. It didn't matter, though, as it seemed Hermione didn't want to talk anymore than Harry did.

After Harry and Hermione had gotten fitted for their robes, Lily offered to treat the Granger's to dinner. Thomas turned down her offer with a firm shake of his head.

"We'd love to really, but we've got to get back to work." He told her grimly.

Understanding, Lily and her family walked them back up to the Leaky Cauldron and watched them take a muggle cab back to their home. Then, her family flooed back to Godric's Hollow, first her, then Harry and finally James came through levitating all of Harry's school supplies with him.

"I'll take these up to your room." he said and headed up the stairs with Harry's school things floating along behind him. Harry stayed down stairs with Lily.

"Mum, why did we have to help those muggles?" he asked, and she instantly realized what had been bothering him after they had met the Grangers. She did her best not to panic, knowing that she had to handle his question very carefully.

Thinking quickly so Harry wouldn't notice how much his question had bothered her, she answered by asking a question of her own.

"Why wouldn't we help them?" she asked with a sweet smile.

Harry gave her a look that told her he thought the answer was obvious, and instantly she was dreading his response.

"Because we're wizards and they're muggles, we're better than them."

She had been expecting something like that, but it did little to reduce the impact. Hearing those words come out of his mouth felt like something icy had wound itself around her stomach. She reacted without thinking, her hand flew through the air and she slapped her son across the face.

He looked up at her in disbelief, his eyes watering and his glasses knocked slightly askew. He held his hand up to his face where a red mark the size of his mother's hand had blossomed. He worked his mouth up and down, but no words came out.

Lily couldn't believe she'd done it, and she was barely able to stop herself from breaking down and apologizing to him. She hadn't wanted to hit him, but now that she had there was no going back, and perhaps it was better that she had hit him.

"Go to your room." she ordered, her voice much more shaky than she wanted it to be.

"Bu-but, mum-"

"Go to your room, Harry!"

He quickly ran past her and up the stairs. She collapsed onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands. James came running down the stairs.

"Harry just ran into his room crying."

She told him what Harry had said and what she had done; somewhere in the middle of her explanation she began crying in earnest.

"I didn't mean to," she explained, "But after seeing the way those poor muggles were treated in Diagon Alley, and to have my son showing the same attitude. I just got so angry and before I knew it I had hit him!"

James had no reassuring words or gestures for her.

"I'm a terrible mother!" she moaned.

"It's...It's not your fault." James said, but he didn't sound very convincing.

"It never should have come to this! I was supposed to raise him right. I was supposed to make sure he grew up to be a good person. Instead, he's a...a muggle hater!"

"It's not your fault."

"I'm a terrible mother!"

"He's going to be fine." James reassured Lily as they stood on platform Nine and Three-Quarters and watched the scarlet Hogwarts Express pull out of the station.

"But what if he's not?" Lily asked with tears in her eyes, "What if he can't make any friends? Or worse, he gets picked on? Or if he gets homesick, or-"

"None of that's going to happen," James said. He wrapped his arm around her waist and turned her around. Together, they walked out to the muggle area of Kings Cross, "Harry's a great kid and he'll have no trouble making friends, and he'll be so busy having fun that he'll probably never want to leave."

"You don't know that." Lily accused. They had arrived at the parking lot and found their car. It was a sleek black 'muscle' car that Lily hated, but Harry had insisted on driving to Kings' Cross instead of Side-Along Apparition.

"I do know, actually," James responded as he unlocked the doors of the car with a tap of his wand. Lily slid into the passenger seat and watched as James tapped the steering wheel with his wand and the engine roared to life, "This may surprise you, but even I was a little nervous on the first day, but once you get sorted and meet your dorm mates and you start going to classes things just take off and you don't have time to be nervous."

"But things are different from when we went to school." Lily said. She wiped her eyes as James shifted the car into gear and took off flying into the air. Looking out her window, she saw other cars taking to the air.

"It's nothing Harry can't handle and you know that," James said, "You've just got empty nest syndrome. Now that your baby boy is out of the house you don't know what to do with yourself. Well, I've got a few things in mind…" He trailed off with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, James." she said, keeping her gaze focused out the window.

The smile fell off his face.

"Right," he deadpanned, "Of course not."

Lily was suffering from more than just empty nest syndrome. Raising Harry had been a steady battle against the outside world. A battle to make sure her son grew up with the right set of morals and beliefs; to make sure he didn't become a senseless muggle-hating drone of Dumbledore's 'Greater Good'. She was losing that battle.

Now, Harry was leaving her, even if only temporarily. She couldn't fight the battle for him anymore. He had to make his own decisions, choose his own morals. Unfortunately, the deck was stacked against him. He was leaving the shelter of her embrace and entering a dark world ruled by two power hungry old men.

All she could do was hope that her son would make the right decisions.