Unofficial Portkey Archive

Last Son of Krypton

A Harry Potter/Superman-Smallville crossover/fusion/whatever

By Dragonlord

C&C welcome!

E-mail: valheru_2002@yahoo.es

Consults, chats, all kinds of advice and banter: yahoo messenger valheru_2002

Disclaimer: It's easy. You recognize something it's not mine. Still if you want it all, Harry Potter and character related are the propriety of JK Rowling. Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, D.C. Comics.

Author's Note: a big thanks for Nappa and Dauphin, for their help and kind words. Thanks to Nappa that didn't stop pestering me to finish this in a way that is only his. Thanks to Dauphin for everything, for using some of her precious time in this little fic of mine...

This is for you two, because without you this (and what is to come) wouldn't be possible.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

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Chapter One: From beyond the stars

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James Potter was a lucky man.

No one could say anything against that, as it was true.

The only thing that could be seen against that belief was the tragic demise of his parents when he was in his sixth year at Hogwarts. That had been a hard blow to the leader of the so called Marauders, but with the support of his best friends (said pranksters) and his love interest, Lily Evans, the young man had overcome it and, in opinion of those that knew him, like Hogwarts' headmaster Albus Dumbledore, became stronger from the ordeal.

James had everything a young wizard would want.

He was well off - his family being one of the most influential amongst the pure-blooded families of Britain, though few were able to claim as much nobility as the Potter family could, giving James a large amount of respect in the wizarding world.

Along with that he was without a doubt one of Hogwarts' most brilliant students, almost as intelligent as Tom Riddle who was by far the most intelligent and clever student to ever grace the halls of the millennia old school. And that was no mean feat, made greater by the fact that Riddle was a direct descendant of one of the Hogwarts Four, maybe the more powerful of the four founders; Salazar Slytherin.

If that wasn't enough he was popular amongst his peers, and would be so even without his exceptional Quidditch skills as a chaser. Through the years his popularity did nothing but increase, especially after he was selected to play for the England national team of said sport, helping significantly in their victories during the single World Cup he took part in.

He had no problem in matters of the heart, for girls simply adored him. Being dashing, with raven black hair that seemed to have a will of its own or had never met a brush, only served to make him appear more adorable amongst the girls at Hogwarts.

He could have easily been a womanizer, like his friend Sirius was (that still left to be proven) but he was so in love with Lily Evans that no other woman had crossed his mind (to the enormous indignation of his female admirers - the wailing was horrible, I tell you!) ever since he had discovered the difference between boys and girls. Since that moment Lily was the one for him and, as things would be, his feelings were reciprocated.

In fact it was a love so great and so pure that, to those that knew the Potters, it was enough to brighten those dark times, with You-Know-Who on the rampage, his mad quest for the extermination of the Muggle-born wizards and witches what would grant him the total dominion of the world swiftly blossoming to fruition.

Not minding the dark times they were in, James and Lily married a couple of years after finishing Hogwarts, and for their honeymoon they chose to visit the United States, their first destination being Hawaii where they would spend the first part of their time as newlyweds. From there they would move through the states of the union to reach Canada before moving back to England where James would start working as an Auror while Lily would work in the field in which she excelled at Hogwarts; ancient languages, both magical and Muggle for the Ministry of Magic as one of their foremost experts.

The trip had been a blast and that had brought them to his current situation, some years later.

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"You're doing it again?" asked Sirius as he helped his best friend prepare his luggage. James was good in many things but in others he was helpless. Normally Lily would be helping him, but as she was busy with a late project that she had to finish before her holidays with James, she had entrusted the task to him.

She had done so... even if she continually suspected that Sirius Black, known prankster and all in all unreliable man, was about to pull one of his so infamous pranks, like when he had somehow managed to take James to a Veela stripping contest in Bulgaria.

How he had managed that particular task was still beyond Lily. As far as she was able to put things together it had demanded a lot of Butterbeer and some underhanded tricks which, of course, were Sirius' specialty.

James would say nothing and when she pressed the issue her husband would turn as red as her hair which, in her book, was extremely suspicious.

James sighed as he looked, annoyed at his best friend, nay, his brother-in-pranks.

"How many times do I have to tell you that? Of course we are doing it. Why would I be preparing my baggage if I wasn't going?"

Sirius laughed "Come on, Prongs, don't get so sour... it's just that there are many other things more amusing than crossing a country so huge in a Muggle car, of all things, when you and Lils could be doing something better. You should just leave it to me..."

James backed away from Sirius, worry starting to creep trough his system.

"Oh no. I know you Padfoot, old man, and I know that your idea of fun isn't at all like Lily's. You would get away from it but I would be forced to sleep on the couch again for a week instead of being in my comfortable bed with my loving wife."

Sirius snorted "That's just because you don't know how to deal with Lily. Take it from someone that has seen you at your worst regarding our pretty friend. You're helpless and that's the truth, while I could guarantee you to see a stripping Lily swearing and drinking like a Muggle sailor. *That* would be real fun."

James threw his friend a warming look. "You stay away from Lily, her food and her things."

Sirius waved his hand in an dismissing notion, his face solemn. "Of course. I would never even dream of doing something to Lily's... things." A grin split his face. "I would make Moony do it of course."

"Get serious, will you?"

"Serious? My name's Sirius. Honestly, James after all these years and you still make that mistake, tsk, tsk..."

"Whatever. And don't you dare use Remus in your hare-brained schemes..."

Sirius sighed dramatically. "Okay, okay…bloody hell, Prongs! You take all the fun from an old man like me..."

"Old man? Ahem…As if! Mangy flea-infested dog now that..."

"Hahaha... very funny! All right, no Remus... I'll use Peter then!"

"Sirius Asdrubal Black! You..."

Sirius winced, shooting his best friend an annoyed look. "Cut it James! You know I hate it when you call me by my full name!" At seeing James's triumphant grin, he relented, "Oh fine, if you want to go then do it... you will come begging for my help once you realize what you have missed."

"Sure... and that will be the day Snape comes here confessing his love for you. I can see it…Sirius come here, you stuffed muffin! Let's do the horizontal!"

"Ugh! Don't even joke about that!"

"Then stop being a git and help me pack!"

"You're no fun."

"Bite me."

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Far away from there...

The small ship coursed trough the void of space, surrounded by what could only be asteroids or fragments of some planet.

The journey had been long, very long, crossing galaxies and solar systems and yet the craft had resisted everything to bring its passenger to its destination. His aging had been slowed from its natural curse, the body feed by the energy reserves of the ship as it educated and formed the last son of a now long gone world as it was his programming.

Soon they would reach the third planet of the small star system, where its passenger would meet his destiny.

Soon...

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Three weeks later

United States,

Kansas

James and Lily had followed their plan despite Sirius whining that they would be better off with him in good old England. They were currently moving from state to state, enjoying their free time and not really caring about their destination as long as they were together.

From time to time they changed cars, James leaving the driving to Lily. He may have been a genius when it came to racing brooms but he had no illusion about his skill behind a wheel. The ruddy contraption was already intimidating enough for him to not risk trying to move it.

On the contrary, Lily had a natural talent for driving and the pleasure she took from driving at high speeds was comparable to the one her husband had mounting his beloved broom. She couldn't stand flying on what for years she believed to be no more than a cleaning tool, but behind the wheel of a car with her gleaming red hair whipped by the wind, the sun making it sparkle like living fire, she felt powerful and free.

"Will you slow down, you bloody maniac?!" yelled James as his grip on the safety belt and other life-saving items had tightened considerably. "I don't fancy dying young!"

Lily's bell-like laughter was the only answer, clear even with the wind roaring in their ears. James looked to his wife, to her sparkling emerald green eyes that blazed in the sun and automatically relaxed.

Gods, how he loved her!

"Where is your sense of adventure, James? Where is the Marauder?" she teased him.

"My sense of adventure is all right, thank you! As for the location of the Marauder, he is currently drafting his will because at this rate he is going to die from a heart attack and not from crashing in this infernal creation!" he shouted back laughing.

Lily grinned. "Well we wouldn't want that right?" she said as she decreased the car's speed.

That saved their lives.

As soon as her foot rose from the gas pedal, blinding light filled the couple's eyes as something huge streaked just before them, impacting with the road; tearing it apart, the sound pure chaos that left them deaf. The shockwave slammed against the front of the car as all sorts of debris hurtled against them at the same time, sending the car flying, then spinning madly in the air and crashing into the now-smoking crater formed by the collision even as all around other meteorites impacted in the country side, raising walls of dust and burning fields, taking lives in the cities nearby.

No sound came from the wrecked car.

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The first thing he was aware was of the pain coursing through his body and how difficult it was to breathe. Opening his eyes was something that James regretted immediately as the light hurt considerably.

<Okay... not one of your best ideas, Prongs, old friend.)

Feeling his face and head, he could feel a hot liquid slipping through his fingers. It hurt like hell so he supposed that it was blood coming from some open wound, maybe in his face or scalp.

His mental scan reported that his whole body hurt, but... something was missing, something important.

James fought with his muddled mind, trying to remember what was missing; what was that important to him.

Suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks, clearing his mind from everything else.

"LILY!"

With a jolt James was back to his senses, his body sending an overpowering message, the one of pain, not unlike the Cruciatus.

But that wasn't enough to stop him, not by a long shot, not when Lily needed him.

Groaning, he tried to rise only to find his body failing and sending him crashing onto the dirt. Letting go of some swear words that would have made Sirius proud, James tried it again, using all his mental strength and Auror training to keep back the painful sensations of his body's injuries.

Bit by bit he moved, his eyes blinking furiously to chase the dirt that was making his already failing vision worsen away. Once that was achieved he started looking around him, taking in the devastation he was currently surrounded by.

Smoke filled the air, burning his lungs and the trench in the ground added more to the pandemonium in which he had found himself in. Snapping out of the trance of looking at such devastation he started looking for any signs of his wife, trying not to pay any attention to the pain coming from his legs.

Fortunately he had not long to search as he soon found that the car wasn't that far away. Without a doubt he had been propelled from his seat through the top of the roofless car, the violence of the accident enough to snap the restrain of his security belt.

Rushing to the car he started looking for Lily like a maddened man.

His madness bore fruits as he found her soon enough...

And almost wished that he hadn't.

Somehow in the car crash Lily had been thrown from the car, but to James's horror the Muggle machine had crashed upon her. The only thing that had prevented his wife from being cut in two was the trench the meteor had made in its impact. Somehow it had lessened the force of the crashing car upon his wife.

Still it wasn't pretty, with more than half of Lily's body trapped under the wrecked car and her blood running freely from a deep cut in her brow... for all he knew she could be dead.

Kneeling near her he reached to find her pulse and it was with relief that he found it, even if it was faint, very weak. Taking sight of her body James chose to think the worst, but not giving up on hope as long as she lived still... she could have internal trauma or some other wound that he wasn't aware off, not with her body partially hidden.

<I have to move her from that thing... and fast!>

With only that driving necessity in his mind James tried to move the wreck that was the rest of the sport's car but soon found that to be near impossible. Maybe if he had his wand he could do it but it was in the baggage he had Lily had stored in the car and with the it's actual state (not to mention the one of their belongings) finding something was as difficult as moving the car by strength alone.

Still James refused to surrender, forcing his body as much as he could in his own wounded state. He wasn't sure but it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe and a dull pain was rising from his chest. If he wasn't mistaken, he would guess that one (or many) of his ribs had broken and one of them was damaging one of his lungs.

Grunting, his perspiration mingling with his own blood, James pushed all he could, knowing very well that it would hurt him even more, but thinking nothing of it. Lily was the only one thing in his mind, compared to her, his suffering was nothing.

Lily.

She was his world, a million memories without her would be meaningless, dull, incomplete.

How the light of the sun played with her flame like hair, gleaming like the embers of a still, living fire. How her unmatched green eyes looked at everything around her, and when they looked at him. Each time they crossed their eyes a thousand caresses were exchanged, him finding the perfect match for the fire that burned within his heart, body and soul that was his love for her.

To him she was perfection even with all her faults and qualities.

From her temper to her compassion, feeling nothing more than pure adoration towards her and each of her little gestures... as when her small nose moved, wrinkled, in distaste when she discovered something that she didn't like but chose to say nothing for his sake; how the delicate features of her gorgeous face always lit up when she gave him one of her breathtaking smiles...

How those pink, perfect lips felt upon his, the feeling of completion that assaulted him each time that they closed the distance separating each other only to disappear when the contact was broken, leaving him shaking and breathing hard... but craving, needing more of that feeling than the very air his body required and as such kissing with a growing passion that could never been satiated, only demanding more.

For her, for his very life he struggled with all the might he could muster...

Pushing...

Grunting...

Cursing...

Swearing...

He couldn't know how many time had passed since he started trying what he now knew to be impossible without magic, even after switching positions that allowed him to use more of his waning energy. But in the end, with his vision blacking in and out he collapsed, his back supported by the car.

Weakly his right hand reached to one of Lily's, its stillness breaking his heart. Someone as full of life as Lily couldn't be that lifeless.

It was a sin, an aberration, a mockery of the light in her marvelous emerald-like eyes.

Rising it, James pressed the limp hand to his cheek, now wet with tears and his own blood as he quietly sobbed. The only comfort was the knowledge that he wouldn't survive much longer than her. He knew very well that if he didn't get any medical help soon he would die, and yet, right now, he couldn't find the strength to care about it.

He was about to close his eyes when the car shook, the sound of protesting metal filled the air as the car was lifted by an unknown force. The surprise was enough to make James fall, his back no longer supported by the rests of the car crashed in the ground.

With a reaction based purely on instincts he looked from his downed position and what he saw was enough to make his mouth open and blink in disbelief.

There, holding the car in the air was a boy, barely an infant that couldn't have more than four or five years of age. His black hair was in disarray, not unlike his own some part of James' brain supplied him. The young boy was grinning and his deep blue eyes, shining like sapphires under the light of the sun, twinkled with some repressed laughter.

And from what James could see had no problem in keeping the car up in the air.

The impossibility of the situation almost froze James but at that moment Lily groaned slightly. That was enough to snap him back to his senses. Yet before he turned to his wife something else caught his eyes, something that made his heart swell with hope.

It was a shiny little red suitcase, rather simple in its appearance but to James it was one of the most beautiful things he had seen in his life. He knew it was where they had put their magical belongings; from wands to his ever present special Portkey, and inventions of his own that today could make the difference between life and death.

He moved to reach it just when the boy threw the car away before dropping on all fours and crawling towards Lily. For a moment James looked as the infant reached his wife and gazed at her with something that the young man believed to be concern in the small child's big blue eyes.

Then the toddler looked at him with imploring eyes and James could only smile a little, even that small act hurting. " I know, little guy, I know..."

He literally tore open the suitcase that opposed with but scant resistance to his frantic efforts and it was with a growing desperation that his hand reached his wand. The connection with it, the familiar warmth to be again connected to his magic was like a phoenix song, filling his being with mad hope.

His hand flashed and magical light streamed from the core of his wand, enrobing the crashed car with ribbons of crimson energy, transfiguring it into a stretcher. Then with the same expertise he applied to all his acts, his wand moved to point at his comatose wife.

"Mobilicorpus." white light flashed, the boy giggling as he witnessed the whole show of light with a glee that in other circumstances James would have found endearing. Lily's motionless body rose and, with James controlling the flow of magic, was laid on the stretcher.

Panting, James tucked his wand in his belt and took another item from the crimson suitcase. It was at first sight nothing more than an Muggle identity card that hung from a golden chain, but in reality it was a Portkey that James had created with the help of Lily and some members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Different from other Portkeys, this one could switch destinations to suit its user's needs and registered all sorts of data from both the user's status, the point of departure and so on. Yet, what was more useful to James in his present situation was that the magical item had a feature that allowed transcontinental displacement.

Taking his wand he pointed it to the magical object and with a command started to infuse the Portkey with more energy. The image in the identity card faded living only a blank, dark, area upon which red letters formed, conveying James' mental orders transmitted through his wand. Numbers started to appear as well, counting down the seconds as James put it on, his neck passing easily through the loop of the chain, the Portkey bouncing against his chest.

Without losing more time, James rushed as fast as he could towards Lily and put himself upon the stretcher, quickly grabbing the infant that seemed to found everything extremely funny. With his free hand reached to take Lily's hand on his, making sure to be in contact with them both.

Suddenly James felt like a hook had slammed against his middle and soon found himself, his wife and the mysterious boy taken at high speeds towards the only place James could feel totally safe.

Hogwarts.

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James groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

Blinking, he rose up, his body responding normally even if he was feeling quite tired and stiff. He blinked as a familiar scent reached his senses. It was one that he knew very well and at the same time, filled him with contentment and dread as he tried to pierce the haze that prevented him from understanding what he was doing in Hogwarts' hospital wing.

As he turned, he noticed that he wasn't alone.

Albus Dumbledore looked at the young man, his eyes twinkling but James could feel that they weren't twinkling as much as they used to do and that bothered him. Not even in those dark times, with Voldemort gathering followers by the dozen with each passing day, had Dumbledore lost that particular light that kept those around him going on.

Still Dumbledore smiled, rising to put a restraining hand upon the younger man's shoulder.

"Easy, James. You took quite a beating before you reached us. Madame Pomfrey has patched you up but she is adamant that you take it easy."

James nodded, sinking back in the soft bed. He knew that the Hogwarts nurse was right but keeping quiet and unmoving had never been his forte.

"Sir... what happened? I'm not too sure... it's like if my mind is full of cotton wool."

Dumbledore's face grew serious. "You don't remember anything? Anything at all?"

James closed his eyes trying to gather his stray thoughts "I... I... no sir. I'm not able to."

Albus nodded as if he had expected something like that. "Madame Pomfrey told me that it could be a possibility. It seems that besides three broken ribs, one leg and arm broken, a perforated lung and numerous cuts of different consideration you had a nasty contusion in your head. She was impressed that you had been able to perform magic at all..."

"Sir do you know what happened? Wh-where is Lily?"

Dumbledore's silence filled James with fear.

"What happened to Lily?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Lily is as well as she could be... taking in consideration the circumstances. As for what happened I have some clues. Normally I would wait to Pomfrey's advice but this is something that cannot wait."

"Sir? Was it You-Know-Who?"

Dumbledore's lips thinned as he considered his words - what was about to freak James out. "No James, it wasn't Voldemort's job - even if I expect him to be happy about the news if he ever learned about what happened - which is a situation I will do all within my power to prevent."

He paused.

"I have but some ideas of what exactly happened on a whole, but what I know for sure is that you suffered from a rather nasty car wreck while you were in your holidays."

Suddenly everything cleared in James's mind. All that happened, the light, the car crash, him waking up and struggling to save Lily, the mysterious boy that somehow saved them, the Portkey...

Opening his eyes he noticed that Dumbledore was looking at him intently with those eyes that always seemed to know what you were thinking.

"I assume you have remembered it all, isn't it James?"

James nodded "How is Lily? Was I fast enough? I..."

Rising a hand, the old wizard stalled him. James stopped speaking but it was clear that he was dying to know what happened.

"First of, yes, you were fast enough to save her life..."

"Thank Merlin!" said James, relaxing, feeling like if a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart.

"However..."

James's eyes snapped back towards the school's headmaster. "However what?"

Dumbledore's eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and pity. "However, we were unable to heal some of the internal damage that she suffered from the crash. In that you were much more lucky than Lily..."

James face had turned ashen. "What sort of damage?" he asked, his voice sick with worry.

"Lily will be able to live normally but the accident has left her barren. James... She will never be able to have children."

James felt as if the world had ended. Considering how he was feeling he would have been surprised to know that it hadn't. For a long time he was speechless, unable of any coherent thought as his heart shattered, not only for him but more for Lily.

"Oh gods..." James buried his face in his hands, hot tears falling from his closed eyes as sobs wrecked his body. He was aware of Dumbledore moving and gathering him in a fatherly hug, sharing whatever comfort the old wizard was able to give to the younger man. James clutched the robes of the headmaster, weeping unashamedly within Albus's embrace.

After a while James was able to compose himself enough to feel embarrassed by his breakdown.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, James." The young man looked up to the old wizard's unfathomable eyes and gentle smile. "It a terrible thing I know... and to both you and Lily hard times are ahead."

He paused.

"But no matter how difficult things are, or how terrible this moment seems to you, never lose hope, James."

James laughed, a terrible sound full of sadness and bitterness. "Hope? How can I hold on to hope when I feel like if some part of me is dead? How, when I will have to face Lily and break her dreams? How?" new tears crossed his cheeks as he contemplated that grim future.

Dumbledore stood silent as he watched the young man's prayer of despair, a young man that for many others was a sign of hope in those dark times...

"Do you want to see her?" he asked gently, a hand offering comfort and support trough the simple contact.

Silently James nodded.

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Some hours later....

Dumbledore entered the room to find Lily and James in a desperate embrace, the young couple offering each other the strength they so needed. Lily's head was pressed against James' chest and tears fell from her closed eyes.

From time to time she shivered even with the charms keeping the room warm, making James embrace her more tightly as his hand carefully caressed her hair that in the dim light of the room had lost some of its inner brightness. Such a simple gesture indeed, but so full of love that looking at it, at the silent communication going trough the two of them, Dumbledore could feel his heart swell.

"Excuse me?" he asked softly, somewhat reluctant to interrupt the moment of intimacy between the younger couple, but that was something that needed to be done.

Startled, both looked up, their eyes full of sorrow - only asking to be left alone. Yet as they continued to look at him without speaking, Albus took the liberty to enter the room. Sitting down in a nearby chair, the school's headmaster looked at them, his face cast in a thoughtful expression.

Then he spoke softly and slowly, silent respect for their grief intertwined in his first, few words "First of all I want to excuse myself from disturbing you both. Believe me I would not have done so if it was unimportant..."

Lily moved slightly away from James in order to face Dumbledore better, but her hands remained within James's. He could do little but squeeze her hand more strongly, giving her his full support with such small gestures.

She smiled slightly. That was one of the things Lily loved about her husband.

When it came to her each and all of James's gestures were a proof of his love for her. She knew that James would prefer that Dumbledore kept away from them for the moment but Lily wasn't one of Hogwarts' smartest witches for nothing. She knew Dumbledore and she had never seen him inflict pain to someone if there wasn't an option left.

If he needed to speak to them then it was important.

"What can we do for you, Professor?"

Albus paused a moment before talking.

"To begin, I would like to know how you are feeling, my dear Lily..."

"How I feel? I'm not feeling too great right now, Professor." As much as she respected her old headmaster, she couldn't help the huge load of sarcasm in her statement. As soon as those words were out she realized to *who* she was speaking with and paled.

To her surprise Dumbledore laughed and the sound of that laughter was like warm Butterbeer, warming her from inside out. Still she could not help but blush in embarrassment.

"So-sorry, Professor…I..."

Albus' smile grew wider. "There is nothing to be sorry about, dear child. I understand that my question has been, let's say, hmm... misunderstood?" He asked with a slight chuckle before speaking again "So I'll ask again; do you feel well enough to follow me? There is something... or rather yet, someone that you should meet."

"Who?" Asked James. "It's not Sirius, right?"

Dumbledore chuckled, clearly amused. "No it's not Mr. Black. In fact I doubt he even knows who he is. Now if you'll be so kind as to follow me..."

That said he exited the room. Exchanging a glance James and Lily rose from the bed and hurriedly followed the headmaster.

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"Damn it James! Leave me alone!"

"But, uh... dear,"

"Don't "dear" me! I will not break down nor will I drop down exhausted! But I swear if you continue acting like if I am made of glass it will be you that will need to walk out of here in a wheelchair! Got it?!"

"Got it!" James nodded furiously, eyes wide.

"Good." That said, Lily turned towards Dumbledore who was acting as a silent and quite amused witness of the antics of the couple. His humor would be greater if he didn't understand that it was a way to take their minds off the consequences of the car crash.

Shaking his head slightly, but still with a smile upon his lips, he proceeded to guide them trough the maze of corridors of Hogwarts' less known sectors. The place they were going wasn't too far away but for security's sake a string of charms and other less known protection spells had been placed to prevent anyone but he and Pomfrey from accessing the room.

The trio made some more twists and turns arriving soon enough at a dark blue door with a silver handle on it. Dumbledore's hand reached for it and as he touched the metallic handle, the door glowed, turning pale blue. Dumbledore opened it and entered the room, closely followed by James and Lily.

The room was not that big, in fact it seemed pretty ordinary as far as rooms go, but there were details that set it apart.

Mostly it was a sense of relaxation and peace that seemed to flow from the walls. The roof was painted a deep blue and from time to time dots of silvery light appeared, as if the roof was trying to copy a starry night. Each wall was of one color representing each of the houses of Hogwarts. Upon each of the walls paintings of people and wild nature could be seen, moving as if they were alive, as the pictures in the wizarding world did. As for the floor it was covered with all sorts of pillows, each of a different color as if they were transfigured Bertie Bott's All-Flavor Beans spilled on the ground.

Stuffed animals and toys lay on the ground in haphazard positions as if a twister had been unleashed upon the room, leaving a chaos of colors in its wake.

And in its middle, clad in soft blue was a young boy that couldn't have more than five years, maybe even three or four at all, his short dark hair wild, deep blue eyes shinning in glee as he pushed a stuffed ball back and forth only to go after it.

Then, as if he had just noticed them, he looked up at the trio as if he had just noticed them and waved his small arms playfully, looking at them as if he wanted them to play with him. That look was enough to make Lily go near him and take the infant in her arms, her green eyes shining with a strange light.

The baby reached to take one of Lily's red tresses as though he wanted to pull them, but instead started caressing it, as if its color fascinated him. Then he looked up, smiled and reached up to Lily's face, all the time making sounds of happiness that could only but make Lily laugh... she couldn't help it - he was simply too adorable.

Albus beamed and James looked at the couple with a look that wasn't that different from Lily's, a look of tender wonder.

The old wizard gestured for the younger man to go to his wife and the child. Once James had joined Lily, Dumbledore indicated an empty space in the corner of the room.

"Let's sit," he proposed making his wand appear.

With a wave of his wand, three cushions morphed to take the form of three red-leather bound chairs, big enough to mold themselves to the three adults' body. Lily and James's chairs were side by side while Albus' was in front of theirs'. Once they were comfortably seated, he started speaking.

"I suppose that right now you are asking yourselves why I have taken you two to this room and who is our young friend here." He said as he pointed to the boy that was resting comfortably against Lily.

"Very Well. Yet before I speak I would want to ask you, James, what happened after the crash. I believe that with the stress of bearing those terrible news to Lily you may have forgotten part of what happened, something totally understandable of course."

Nodding James closed his eyes, summoning his memories.

"I remember a bright light just before the crash, then darkness. I remember awakening and feel pain... then I realized that I was out of the car. As soon as I realized that Lily wasn't there I started searching for her but with all the smoke it was difficult and yet I found her. I..." he turned to face his wife and the young boy that was now asleep. "I found you under the car. I believed you to be dead but I couldn't accept it. I just couldn't have lost you."

Lily smiled sadly as her hand reached to her husband's, giving him her support.

"But you found me and you saved me. That's all that maters."

James looked at Lily, his eyes shinning. "But that's it. I wasn't able to save you. I couldn't. I-I didn't have my wand. "

Lily threw him a puzzled look. "But then, how? You wouldn't have been able to lift the car by yourself in your state."

James gaze moved from his wife to the toddler in her arms. "I couldn't... and yet he could."

Lily eyes grew wide as she looked at the boy resting against her chest. "That's not possible. You must have seen things James. Maybe in your desperation you willed it with some emotion based magic. It couldn't have been him. it's simply not possible for a baby to lift a car."

James reached to the boy's head and carefully ruffled his hair.

"Not in that state. I was too weak, feeling too much pain and anguish. I remember that I had given up... I could even feel how life was slowly leaving me. I sat next to you and took one of your hands, telling me that at least we would die together. My back was resting against the car when..."

"When what?"

James hand moved to the boy's cheek, caressing it softly with the back of his fingers. "When he lifted it."

Lily's face paled, moving, looking between her husband and the boy resting against her chest "James that's not... possible"

"I'm afraid that in this case it's very possible." Said Dumbledore quietly, making the couple look at him.

Lily looked at him in surprise "How? It's just an infant and he is so young..."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes he is very young... and he is not human."

James and Lily were speechless for a long time. Then James spoke. "No disrespect meant, professor but, are you sure? He looks very human to me. And if he is not human then what is he? Some sort of magical manifestation? An evolved magical creature?"

Dumbledore seemed terribly amused, looking at both James and Lily's face and growing more by James suppositions.

"Oh no, nothing that far fetched. I think that you being a pure blooded wizard has limited some of your imagination for all that is not magical. Lily, you are my last hope to broaden your husband, let's say limited views..."

Lily looked for a long time at the young boy before shaking her head. "I'm afraid that I'm no more able than James to give you an answer. He seems so... normal to me."

Dumbledore seemed slightly disappointed. "Ah, maybe some corrections to our teachings could be integrated in the Hogwarts curriculum." Then as if noticing for the first time the strange looks James and Lily were giving him, he smiled, his amusement still there. "But I digress. Let me put it this way - the reason why he was able to do what he did was because he's not from here."

"Not from here? You mean another dimension?" asked James.

"No, not an alternate dimension. Something more simple." answered Dumbledore

Lily's eyes shone as she worked around what Dumbledore was trying to tell them. Then an idea crossed her mind.

Not from here.

"It's not possible..." she repeated more to herself than to the other two adults in the room. She looked at Dumbledore, who was now grinning.

"Indeed Lily... Our little friend here was able to do that because he is not human - not from this planet. In short, for James to understand, we have here a full blooded alien; an extra-terrestrial being."

"From another planet? But Professor, that's impossible... and even if it was what chances are there that we came across one of those?" asked James; not so sure if he understood or whether he had heard correctly.

Dumbledore nodded. "The chances are greater than you think. I know that wizards in general have a hard time believing in other forms of life from outside of our solar system. But when they don't automatically close their minds to that possibility.... As you do, James…"

"That's not fair, professor!" said James, blushing and sounding like a little school-going boy who had been scolded by his teacher for not finishing his homework.

Still Dumbledore's smile was nothing but one full of understanding. "Of course. But the fact still stands that, to wizards, life, in all its limitless magnificence, is bound to this green earth and other dimensions that are connected to this world. Silly as that sounds it's how things stand in our beliefs."

"In that Muggles have showed more wisdom than us. Life is not confined to this small planet, lost in the infinite extension of the universe. We wizards grow complacent with our magic, with our abilities, so much so that considering the possibility of something even more vast and mysterious than our power is seen almost as blasphemous, as unnatural, as was the concept of wizards and witches to those that put Europe trough fire and death in this world's Dark Ages."

His face grew suddenly serious.

"We don't know very much about our young friend here. And yet I fear to think what someone with evil intentions could do with him."

James' eyes narrowed. "Are you referring to You-Know-Who, professor?"

Dumbledore sighed, sinking into his leather chair, looking old for perhaps the first time in Lily and James' life. "Sadly, nowadays, there is little not connected with Tom in some way or another. Let me tell you what happened after you reached Hogwarts."

"As you know, you both arrived here with our young friend through James' special portkey. Now what you don't know due to your unconscious state was that as soon as you arrived I led some of the Order's operatives along with some Aurors to the coordinates your Portkey was displaying, believing that you had fallen in some Death Eater ambush."

"What we found wasn't the result of some Death Eater attack - no wizards could inflict that much damage. As soon as the lack of dark magic was discovered we gathered your things in order to make a hasty retreat before any Muggle authorities popped up to make any queries. We were about to Apparate back to Hogwarts when something caught the eye of one of the Aurors in our group."

"At first I believed it to be one of those Muggle contraptions... what's its name... ah yes! Satellite, but soon I was pulled out of my mistake. As unbelievable as it was, I had to acknowledge the evidence that proved that whatever that metallic object was, it was not of human manufacture."

"Indeed as soon as we returned I connected to the Muggle news channels to find some information about what had happened, and that gave me the missing piece of the puzzle. It seems that Kansas, where you two were passing by, had been earlier under a meteorite shower causing in their wake the death of an untold amount of bystanders and great deals of destruction, especially in a little town nearby from where you had your accident that goes by the name of Smallville."

Dumbledore paused, sighing and James and Lily understood perfectly that it was out of sorrow that he had done so. The old wizard knew the terrible price of the loss of any human life and it was something hard to him, no matter the reasons or the victims.

"Sadly that is something that the inhabitants of that town and the authorities of the United States will have to deal with. If it was up to me I would send some wizards to help but we are already stretched in our means. Voldemort is increasing his strength and attacks grow more frequent even as we speak. Already there have been outbreaks of dark energy that we haven't have been able to prevent."

"Still that isn't related to our little story. Returning to what happened we removed all evidence of our young friend's arrival. Once back to Hogwarts I had to take the necessary measures to prevent Tom from learning of this boy's existence."

"Why?" Lily asked the Headmaster. "I mean, I understand the necessity of keeping this secret but what would You-Know-Who do with him? He is so small, he couldn't possibly be a threat to him..."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm afraid that it is the contrary. This boy is the most direct threat to Voldemort and his plans. We may not know what abilities or gifts this young boy may have but one day they may represent the difference between our victory or the one of the Dark Side."

This time it was James who interrupted Dumbledore once he believed it was the right time. As an Auror he knew very well the powers of the Dark Lord and his ever-growing number of supporters. The dark side was spreading like a seemingly unstoppable black plague all around the world. For those reasons and more it was rather difficult for him to see this seemingly innocent child as something even more terrible than the dark wizard that was turning the world into a gory battlefield.

"How do you know that professor? What makes you believe that this boy could be so important, so... dangerous?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard, his eyes shining. "If the little feat of strength you mentioned wasn't enough, the day you arrived, bleeding and unconscious on the brink of death, Cassandra had also just popped in for a visit."

"Cassandra? Who is she?" asked Lily quickly, her natural curiosity overcoming her. "I'm don't remember anyone with that name from the Order or the ministry, as I doubt you are speaking of the Cassandra of Illion." she added with a slight smile.

Dumbledore smiled. "No, Lily she's not that Cassandra, although it would be interesting to know what such a woman could tell us with her gift of foresight granted by the gods."

Lily snorted. "A gift that in the end was a curse. She refused to give herself to the god Apollo as the price of such power, and for that refusal the god cursed her, making those who heard her disbelieve her visions, which in the end meant the destruction of Troy."

James snorted, mimicking his wife mindlessly. "Can we forget about people who have been dead for three thousand years and more, please? And like Lils here, I don't remember any woman by the name of Cassandra."

Dumbledore laughed and Lily shot an annoyed look at her husband. She would have snapped at him if Dumbledore had not begun speaking again.

"Cassandra is an old friend of mine who, of course is not related to Priam, the last king of Illion." He paused his face gaining an introspective cast. "We met, let me think... more than seventy-five years ago in North America as I was studying transfiguration with the shamans of several of the native American tribes. Cassandra was also there, but seeking to learn from the Wise Women of the remaining tribes. Her presence was a step of her journey to find a way to heal all around her, to cure what is rotten and decayed, what is sick and weak, what hurts and saddens. In fact that's her self-imposed mission; to heal the world."

"Heal the world?" asked Lily.

Dumbledore nodded and for a moment Lily believed she had seen a flicker of sadness in the famous blue eyes, but it was gone too fast for her to be sure of it. Then he spoke and nothing in his words or tone of voice betrayed that he had some hidden issue that made him upset.

"That's what she does. Cassandra has an extremely developed gift of empathy and through it , she feels those things more acutely than other men or women, magical or not. With that ability she is able to connect with the very world. Still that sort of skill is rare and she has never been able to harness it totally. Still, to what interest us, that highlighted sensibility allows her to feel someone destiny's and true potential, not unlike reading one's future even if that is an incorrect use of words to express it."

James remained silent for a moment before speaking. "So, if I understand correctly, this friend of yours saw the kid's potential."

Dumbledore nodded a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You can understand it in such a, and I apologize for expressing it this way, James, crude fashion, (Lily couldn't help but laugh) but basically you are right."

He paused, his face reflecting the wonder he was feeling within. "I have never seen such happiness in Cassandra's face, never have I see her eyes light up with such hope and wonder. She looked at me as if she was holding the very epitome of the Light Side in her arms. She looked at me and spoke words that will forever be etched in my mind -

"This is hope made flesh, Albus. This is salvation given to mankind. This is the light of the future brought to us."

She refused to say more as she departed but what she said is enough for me."

"Of course, I asked Madame Pomfrey to run a basic set of tests on our young fellow. She hadn't found anything like him in her whole career. As human as he appears to be he is radically different from any other living thing in the world. Still she was able to determine that the differences between him and us will become more apparent as he grows and matures. Already he has displayed super human strength and his reflexes are also way beyond those of a child his age. As for that part our dear nurse believes him to be around three years old and yet he seems older."

He paused, sighing, all signs of his smile gone.

"And now we have a problem. What to do with this boy. No one must be allowed to know the truth of his origins, as shadowed by our ignorance as they may be. No one must know. No one." His blue eyes flashed and some of his enormous power radiated from him. It was quite rare to see Albus Dumbledore so worked up as to display his vaunted power, those near him knowing well enough that when he chose to do so it was only in extreme situations.

James and Lily understood it quite clearly. No one had to know, not even their best friends or family.

No one, as Dumbledore had said.

Still James believed that he had to speak on their behalf in this... matter. If the situation was that critical he knew that old wizard would be open to all suggestions.

"But sir, what about those Aurors and order members who took part in rescuing us and that ship? With that many people there the news of our little friend's arrival will reach the Dark Lord one way or another..."

Albus nodded. "Measures have been taken, measures that apply also to Poppy."

"What sort of measures, sir?" asked Lily as she embraced the sleeping infant tighter as if protecting him, something that Albus didn't miss. That made him smile slightly.

"Obliviate spells. Of the strongest magnitude. The tests conducted here have been deleted and all samples have been eradicated."

"But what about him? How do we explain his presence? As you implied we can't leave him with the first wizard to present himself and with what you did to Pomfrey you seem to have excluded the Hogwarts staff."

Albus nodded, pleased of the young woman's quick thinking "You are quite correct my dear Lily. To put to rest your concern for good Poppy, I will tell you that those obliviated agreed when they realized the seriousness of our present situation. Pomfrey helped me to destroy all proof of his presence at Hogwarts while the Aurors and members of the order have hidden the spaceship before the charm was applied on them."

"As for what doing with him..." his blue eyes bored into James and Lily. "How do you feel about our little friend?"

James and Lily looked at each other, not really sure of what to say. Both had known what the headmaster had been implying with a sudden flash of hindsight, even if they were not able to explain how they knew it.

What he asked of them... they didn't know if they could do it.

James was at a loss, and that wasn't normal to him, being naturally quick-witted. Even if he was able to discern the true reason of his doubts stemmed from the fact that Lily would never carry their child, their own flesh and blood, and yet here their once-headmaster asked if they would take care of him.

Could he do that much?

His suffering, the same force that seemed to shatter his soul when Dumbledore told him the bad news concerning Lily demanded a refusal. It denied with mad ferocity to even accept the possibility Albus gave them.

Why should he care about someone -something- that wasn't even human?

Then something came to his mind.

The first time he saw the small boy, standing on his small legs, holding the car that until then trapped his wife, smiling at him even as he performed something that was so beyond humanity that it was mind-boggling.

Ashamed, he realized that despite their situation, despite their sadness they were still alive... alive when he had given up on hope, a hope this boy had given back to him.

James would have been surprised to know that his wife's mind was going over almost-identical lines but in a more powerful and basic level.

Lily looked down at the child that was snuggling closer to her, a feeling of peace and contentment seeming to radiate from his small body, those feelings stirring something deep within her, a sense of protectiveness that hid something deeper that she couldn't name.

Still, could she care about another's child when not even two hours ago she had been told that she would never have children of her own? Could she care about someone that close to the reason why she was barren? Could she care about the one who was indirectly responsible for her own misfortune? Care for something not even human?

Care for a freak...

For a moment her mind was blank. That was what Petunia had liked to call her ever since her first year at Hogwarts and that pain remained raw within her each time she thought about her sister. Those words, taunting her and hurting her, were something that made her defend those who were picked on or those who were called names by those who believed they had the rights to do so.

She remembered her pain when Lucius Malfoy first called her mudblood, another synonym of that thrice damned word. She remembered when tears had threatened to fall when she had been called in that way by the Malfoy heir and his cronies of Slytherin....

Until a kind hearted, dark haired and kind hearted boy jumped to her defense along with his three best friends and quite clearly told Lucius and his goons to go stuff it or they would curse them all into next week.

Like the coward that he was, Lucius backed off.

She would never forget what James Potter had told her that day, as it was the first time she would realize that she felt something more for the boy.

"Ignore them."

"But..."

"Malfoy and his lackeys can only call you names because they know that they are too pathetic to do anything else. For them, if they see you hurt calling you things that aren't true, it's enough... They hate anything that they see different or that they find threatening. They will lash out, calling you freak, calling you anything their sick mind will come with because they are too stupid to know that they are the ones with the problem."

"But he called me mudblood..." she had said, her eyes watery.

James' face had flushed red but even so his voice was even, more for her sake than anything else.

"Only a git would use those words... We all have our differences, yeah, but underneath it all we are the same. We have the same blood under our skins, behind our differences. No one deserves to be called that, no one deserves that pain but no one should believe them either."

"Still..."

"Still nothing! Words like those are meaningless unless you believe them yourself. You are not a freak, no one is. It's just a rotten idea someone scared came up with. And those who use them…Well, they are as pathetic as the one who thought of it in the first place."

"Like Malfoy."

"Like Malfoy," he nodded. "He's nothing more than a slimy Slytherin git. Don't mind him, and if he ever says something like that hex him, make him lose his hair or something like that...

That had been pretty deep for a fourteen year old.

And she had just done that, to an innocent boy who was seeking comfort between her arms, trusting her with his life.

A rush of shame crossed her soul, searing it.

She knew that it was her pain speaking but that didn't excuse her. She had no excuse for thinking in that way. And, to make it worse, as far as she knew this little boy was all alone. What had happened to make his parents send him to the immensity of space? And what would happen to him once he grew and developed whatever abilities he may have? Would he be left alone, seen by all as a freak if his true nature was discovered?

And what about the fact that he saved her life and James'? If what her husband told her was true, if Albus was right then she -they- owed him their lives...

Her cheeks flared crimson in embarrassment and renewed shame, new tears falling down her rosy cheeks. How could she have thought that way? She didn't know, but even now she had trouble in burying the part of her that screamed in pain for her loss.

She once again looked at the sleeping boy. It seemed that they were made for one another, both having lost something that couldn't be taken back.

She closed her eyes trying to calm her mind and raging feelings, drawing the strength and tenderness she needed so desperately from the feeling of the boy in her arms even as pristine tears continued to fall even from closed eyelids.

Then she suddenly felt small hands reach to her, making her eyes open in surprise only to see a pair of small blue eyes looking at her in wonder and something like sadness in them. She noticed how some of her hot tears had fallen down on his raven locks, some remaining there gleaming like diamonds while others continued rolling down to his face, giving the illusion that the cherubic boy had been crying with her.

Lily looked up, not able to keep staring into those blue orbs, only to find herself gazing into another pair of deep blue eyes, those over half moon glasses, which looked at her sadly but also so full of love and tenderness, mingled with profound wisdom.

"Dear, dear Lily..." his voice was so full of compassion and understanding that it warmed her up and paradoxically made her cry even harder, to the great ill ease of her husband and of the boy in her arms that each in their clumsy ways tried to cheer her up.

Dumbledore could only smile sadly at this, seeing how James had closed his arms around her and the young boy between them stroking her cheeks and from time to time pulling her hair slightly.

He would have said something or continued with what he was planning to say, perhaps display some kind of gesture of comfort but somehow he knew that his words would never reach Lily as much as what those two were doing - giving her love, a love so pure that it filled Albus Dumbledore with contentment.

He was looking at one of the most beautiful and breathtaking sights he knew.

He was looking at a family.

---------------------------------------

Once again the three adults sat, the young boy once again asleep after they had been able to calm Lily enough.

Now Dumbledore was looking at the three of them, deep in thought. "I guess that you both know the question I was going to ask you. So, can you give me an answer? Of course if you need more time to consider..."

James shook his head "No, professor, we don't need more time." He looked at Lily who nodded and spoke, her voice soft and caring. Yet, all could hear the sadness barely hidden behind her words. "We will take care of him. We will raise him as if he was our biological son."

Dumbledore nodded, a wide smile on his face. "Fantastic! I knew I couldn't expect more from you both." His smile faded away as he grew suddenly serious, locking his blue eyes with a set of emerald green "Now let's change the subject. Lily, I know how hard it was for you to hear that you could never bear a child of your own..."

Wordlessly, her face as white as chalk, she nodded.

"Now that is true... but there is a way for you to bear a child, this child."

If it was possible, Lily's face turned even whiter, her eyes wide as if she was about to faint on a moment's notice. James wasn't faring much better, his brown eyes moving from the old wizard to his wife, the knuckles on his hand turning white as he closed and opened his fist.

In a weak voice, he spoke. "Why are you asking this of us, Albus? Isn't it what we have agreed to enough? Haven't we suffered enough?"

Dumbledore looked tenderly at the young man in front of him before speaking, his voice gentle. "James, I ask this precisely for your and Lily's sake. On your own you will never have children - something that I know you both desired immensely; that you wanted more than anything else. The child being your shared love made flesh to raise and care about with your love and kindness."

"Life has dealt you both a terrible blow, but at the same time given you the way to overcome it and become even stronger in your love, raising someone who will always be alone without the love of a father and a mother. If what we suspect is revealed to be true, his differences will set him apart from us mere mortals. He will be alone and he will suffer from it, always wondering why and how he came to be, wondering about his very identity, questions that we will not be able to answer and that will hurt him."

Dumbledore moved and neared Lily, who was holding the boy. His aged hand moved to brush the infant's cheek. "As you may have noticed, he is a very loving boy, with a heart bigger than his destiny. What I am proposing to you is to make the bonds that are already between you tangible."

He looked at Lily. "I am offering you the chance to know what is now denied to you dear one, the feeling of a life being a part of you, of your love. Please, for your sake and his, consider it."

Lily remained silent for a long moment, her eyes staring into nothingness. James remained as silent as his wife but for different reasons. He didn't know what to feel or to think, but he knew that it was Lily's decision, not his. He had long known that Lily's wishes were orders to him. He may have bickered and complained as a kid but whatever Lily wanted or desired was to be supplied, fulfilled. She was his life and for her he would do anything.

Finally Lily blinked and her eyes met Dumbledore's.

Then she spoke, her voice tired and soft. "You are asking me to be his mother in all ways possible, aren't you?"

Abus silently nodded. This was followed by another long moment of silence. And then she spoke again, as quietly as before.

"I will do it."

Dumbledore rose and softly kissed her brow as tears fell from her closed eyes, a gesture that was more fatherly than anything else only to move away from her gently. As James saw this he moved to hug her, but he was stalled by an imperious gesture from the older wizard that kept him from moving.

Even if he burned in desire to offer his support to Lily, James did as he was bidden. He knew that the headmaster was about to summon powers that were totally unknown to him and as such moving, or doing anything but staying immobile could mean dangerous consequences.

Under his watchful eyes Albus moved backwards, his wand appearing in his hand in a swift movement that betrayed his mastery in each aspect of his magic. Then he started chanting softly, his voice low, almost like a lullaby, in a language that was unknown to James but filled him with soft, aching sadness.

Lullaby indeed.

Soft.

Tender.

Comforting.

Beautiful.

Haunting.

Ethereal.

As Dumbledore's words filled the air, the tip of his wand started to glow silver. The glow grew before it spilled from the tip of the wand, moving like a ghostly cord, reaching towards the sleeping boy, and warping around him gently forming a misty sphere, all while Albus' chant continued as the magic was at play.

Lily released the boy who rose in the air, still asleep before his clothes were stripped from him. Then his eyes opened and, looking at Lily, smiled a last time before returning to sleep.

The magic then moved around him, forming a cocoon as he curled into a ball. Under the eyes of Lily, James and Dumbledore the boy started to grow younger and younger as well as smaller, the silvery light that surrounded him grew brighter until he disappeared from their view.

The silver-like mass hung in the air still connected to the wizard's wand, before moving gently towards Lily, the glowing ball reducing its size. For a moment it hovered in front of Lily's lower abdomen before sinking into her.

The chanting voice dropped and the light streaming from his wand dissipated. Breathing deeply, Lily's hand reached to her abdomen even as James gathered her between his arms, hugging her fiercely. The old wizard looked at the young woman, gazing into her green eyes and, as he hoped, found suffering recede slightly leaving place to something else, something that he knew would help her.

It was pure wonder, and that sort of feeling after all that had happened was a sign of hope.

Silently Albus exited the room, leaving behind the couple. They would speak again and, hopefully soon their lives would return to normality.

But for now the old wizard knew that it was time to give them some well earned solitude.

---------------------------------------

The next months passed in a rush with Lily becoming happier every day as her "pregnancy" followed a normal course... which was what sometimes put James on the edge as Lily was passing by all the hormonal changes that marked pregnancies.

It was quite funny to see James rushing from one side to the other as Lily's whims grew more and more strange and exotic.

Still even with all that and the changes Lily's state brought to their lives the couple could honestly say that they had never been happier.

Lily's love for the child growing in her womb was stronger each day as she could feel that wonderful life growing with her, within her, and James was not only sharing her happiness but seemed to have forgotten that the baby wasn't his. In fact his brown eyes glowed with a pride that his best friends found sometimes downright scary when it wasn't testing their patience with James and Lily's antics.

Still as happy as the couple was the situation in the magical world was becoming more dangerous by the day. Voldemort and his followers were creating havoc and mayhem on a planetary scale with raids in the five continents, the dark mark appearing in every magical community throughout the world almost daily.

Soon enough, few places through the world were said to be safe. Hogwarts was recognized as one of them, being guarded by Albus Dumbledore himself.

But the old wizard was but one and the forces arrayed behind Voldemort's many and numerous. Aurors in Britain (and in the rest of the world) soon had to use the Unforgivable to stall the advance of the darkness and to keep it from spreading to the Muggle world, something that was becoming increasingly difficult.

To the memory of the wizarding world, never before had the Dark Side been so powerful and the future seemed so helpless.

But for the Potters, and even with James working as an Auror, thus putting him in contact with the international situation in a more direct fashion, life was sheer bliss.

Until one day, near the end of Lily's pregnancy, when Dumbledore paid them a visit - he had simply appeared at the door, a grave expression on his face. James had known something was wrong.

The Hogwarts Headmaster was quickly led to the house's dining room and forcibly sat down for lunch with the couple. The food was provided by the house elves who as always prepared a feast worthy of a king. Soon it was all pleasant chatter around the food, followed by the dessert that was served along with the tea, or in Dumbledore's case hot chocolate of a Muggle brand that Lily favored.

After the lunch the couple and their old friend moved to the study where they sat, James and Lily on the sofa while Dumbledore chose a high chair which faced them.

The study had the clear mark of belonging to a Gryffindor, the all red and gold decoration along with a touch of blue and other minor colors showing lion courage. The fire in the heart gave the room a cozy feeling, the flames giving off a dancing light that turned Dumbledore's silvery hair golden and his blue eyes an arresting shade of purple.

For a moment they continued talking about anything but the reason why Dumbledore was in the house, all from Quidditch to the new professors who would arrive at Hogwarts for the new scholar term.

Yet soon those matters were spent and Dumbledore moved to the reason of his presence, his voice unusually grave, but definitely apologetic.

"As I said before I am sorry to intrude in your lives, but some disturbing news reached me through my net of spies, something that was important enough to command my immediate attention."

He paused. "I fear that somehow Tom may have learned about the existence of our young friend and now he is seeking him."

"But professor, how could he?" asked James his face betraying his concern "If what you told us is true, then those who took part in the events that day were Oblivated."

Dumbledore nodded. "True, James. But if we can say something good about Tom, he is one of the most intelligent beings to walk upon this land. That coupled with his cunning and determination puts few things beyond his reach."

"He may not know of the details of that day, but he may have monitored the displacements of Aurors stationed in the continent and found that some of them had taken part in something that they don't remember. Something that someone, that is me, wants to keep hidden. That would be enough to draw his attention and have connected that speck of information with other pieces of the mystery and that in turn with other unusual happenings.

"Happenings like the meteor shower that came with our young friend. It could have granted his attention simply with the cost of so many Muggles' lives, something that would fill his dark heart with pleasure."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Anyway, he knows something and already his Death Eaters are moving through the world gathering information and bringing him anything they believe would keep them safe from his wrath, a more than powerful source of motivation I might add."

Lily swallowed her hands resting upon her swollen belly as if to protect her unborn child "Wh-what does he know?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Thankfully, not much. We have to be grateful to the fact that few people knew the secret to begin with. Still as we knew thanks to Cassandra that our friend's destiny is going to be important for the world then so does Voldemort through some still unknown source."

"What can be deduced from the information he may have is enough to make him furious as he would draw the conclusion that someone more powerful than him is bound to appear sometime in the near future. In Tom's mind no one can be stronger or more powerful than him. He would drown the world in blood before allowing anything to rise and challenge him for dominion."

"Still as mighty as he is and even with all the recourses he has at his disposition we have a large lead that he doesn't have. That give us the time we need to plan some counter to his moves."

"What do you have in mind, Professor?"

Albus stroked his gleaming beard. "For starters, let things remain as they are. As long as we act normally Tom may not suspect the truth. Still, once your son is born we will take more drastic measures... personally I would use the Fidelius charm but you must find a worthy secret-keeper."

James and Lily nodded before James spoke. "I would trust Sirius with my life and I know he would do the same... I can't think of anyone better for our secret-keeper but I would only ask him if You-Know-Who is really after us."

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. Still I will take some precautions just in case. As Muggles say - better safe than sorry and that's something I intend to follow. As for now I will strengthen the charms around the house and the land around it. I will ask Arabella to assist us in this task as soon as tomorrow. We will just have to be ready if ever Tom finds the truth. With some chance this will be later than sooner."

For a while the room was plunged into silence as darkness fell outside. In the house only the flames gave any sound.

---------------------------------------

In those dark times even the most innocent thought soon found a darker reflection bound into reality.

As Dumbledore feared, soon Voldemort had his attention fixated on the Potters.

All of the Order's spies were sure of this, without a doubt. It was as if the Dark Lord had become obsessed with the young couple and their newly born son, Harry.

He commanded his Death Eaters to search for the hiding trio, the Dark Lord's men and women not leaving anything without having checked it thrice. When one of those evil wizards checked some place you knew that another would check it again just in case.

Still, thanks to the Order of the Phoenix the couple and their baby were always out of Voldemort's grasp which enraged the Dark Lord beyond belief. But as the weeks passed by the attempts had come too close for Dumbledore's liking.

In his office at Hogwarts, and under the gaze of all past headmasters that looked at him worriedly, Dumbledore sat, writing in a parchment with his green ink to the Potters. It was time to use the Fidelius charm if only to gain more time to come up with new ways to sabotage Voldemort's plans concerning the young family.

He quickly finished the letter before sealing it with red wax and affixing the seal of Hogwarts. Then he motioned to Fawkes to come to him, the golden and red bird flying from his perch only to land on the wizard's shoulder.

Dumbledore petted the magnificent bird that purred sounds of aching perfection.

"Ah Fawkes, what would I do without you? Ready to make a little trip to the Potters? I need you to send them this letter."

The magical fire eagle bobbed its head up and down in agreement even as it sang soft tunes that filled the room. Albus could do nothing but smile, Fawkes' fondness for the Potters, especially for little Harry, never ceased to amaze him.

"Good. I know I could count on you. Now take this and be careful."

The phoenix reached the rolled parchment with a golden claw before taking off with incredible speed.

Dumbledore remained looking at the window until the phoenix was but a speck of gold in the dark sky. Then he turned his attention to the flames in the heart, letting the mesmerizing dance sooth him.

---------------------------------------

A few hours later Sirius Black Apparated into the house of his best friend's family.

He was one of the few beings who were allowed there, part of the defenses the Order had put up to guarantee the protection of the young family.

Sirius as one of the Order's operatives within the hit wizards corps knew very well the danger James, Lily and young Harry were exposed to... even if he couldn't understand the reason behind Voldemort's obsession for the Potters. Of course having James out of the way would be something positive for the Dark Order but that was also true for a good dozen of families, families way more involved in the war against the Dark Side.

Sirius called at the door and soon enough the oak door opened, James meeting him in a hug that he returned. It was common in those times to display your feelings in any way you could as no one knew when you would lose the people you care about.

They exchanged some words and more greetings before entering the house and moving towards the living room. There Sirius was greeted by Lily who hugged him tenderly, a hug that Sirius returned eagerly... it was like hugging a younger sister, someone that you loved but that you couldn't help making fun of, as was the case when they had been at Hogwarts.

Then Sirius turned to see a quite strange view.

There, sitting upon a blanket was Harry, his godson, and playing with him was Dumbledore's red-golden phoenix that seemed immensely happy to share its time with the baby. From time to time young Harry giggled, his blue eyes seemingly shooting sparks, all the while the phoenix hummed some tunes that somehow the baby found even more amusing, his laughter following the magical notes of the red bird.

"Now that's something..." said Sirius with wonder in his voice. He had never seen a magical animal, more so a phoenix, that taken with a human. A good sign if he ever saw one.

Lily noticing the curious look in the boy's godfather eyes laughed softly.

"Here you have your godson with his inseparable friend..."

Just then Fawkes jumped and landed on the boy's shoulder, but the weight of the magical bird was too much, sending the two of them rolling in a tangle of golden wings, legs, beak and black hair, only to make Harry finish face first in the blanket, covered by the wings of the phoenix which was shaking its head, without a doubt trying to regain its bearing. Young Harry slowly managed to get up even if it was to sit and look at his magical friend before laughing. Fawkes seeming to share the fun, its head moved to press itself against Harry's cheek, causing the boy to throw his little arms around the bigger bird and hug it with uncanny gentleness.

Laughing, Sirius turned just as Lily gestured for him to follow her. They departed silently, leaving the two friends behind and moved towards the study. James was already awaiting them, his eyes gazing in the flames that heated the room. Still his eyes turned to his best friend and his wife once they entered the room.

As one they sat, Sirius looking at Lily take James' hand and how each one returned the gesture, as if to give each other support and strength. Finally James took a deep breath and started speaking.

"As you know the Dark Lord is after us..."

Sirius nodded.

"What you may not know is how near he has been to getting us. One of his spies has found the information about us that he needed and would have delivered it if it wasn't for one of Dumbledore' undercover agents. From what Albus tells us, You-Know-Who's fury about that failure was so great that those agents had to be moved out of the Dead Eaters' ranks or else they would be dead by now. That of course presents another problem."

Sirius nodded. "I can see. Without those spies we lose vital information, information we need to keep you and others safe."

"That's it. We are blind to the Dark Lord's movements and that, in our case, may prove fatal."

Sirius once again nodded even if a light of interest flickered in his brown eyes. "Still one must wonder why old snake face wants to see you dead so much. Sorry to say it, Prongs, old man but even as mighty a wizard you are, you are no match for him."

James glanced at Lily, his wife closing her hand slightly. James sighed as his eyes returned to his friend.

"Who knows? He doesn't need any reason to do evil that's for sure."

Sirirus nodded as if he had accepted James' explanation. Still he knew that they were keeping something from him and a small part of him felt slightly hurt.

<Get a grip on yourself, Padfoot. They must have their reasons for not telling you the truth.>

"Right. But apart from that charming situation why do you need me here?"

Silence

"Out with it James. You were always too bloody obvious when you wanted to ask something that you didn't really want to. If not ask the pretty lady here. She will say that you are hopeless."

"Am not!"

Giggles.

James threw an annoyed gaze to his wife. "Are you making fun of me?"

Smiling she patted his head. "But of course dear. That's my job that I fulfill with the help of that shady character we know as Sirius Black, man when he wants, dog when he needs."

James snorted even as his best friend snickered. Then, with a weariness that Sirius had rarely seen before in his friend, James looked at him, his soft brown eyes troubled, holding all the fear he refused to feel, keeping it away from Lily and young Harry. But it was clear, by the way James held Lily's hand, that he knew that his wife knew of his fear.

That was one of the things that humbled Sirius even after all those years in contact with the couple.

The love that they shared that, if it was possible, grew day after day, awe-inspiring even. When younger, he had taken some pleasure in teasing James about what he thought was but a crush that his best friend had since the end of the fourth year, a crush that was born out of a single, simple gesture from Lily.

She kissed him on the cheek.

That was before running away, her laughter silvery music. James had stood there, under the rain with a hand on his cheek, eyes lost even as a monstrous blush settled upon his cheeks. He had remained there for a while, unresponsive to the outside world even as rain pelted and drenched his clothes.

After that everything was said and done for the de facto leader of the marauders.

Sirius kept in check the grin that was coming a mile away. That had been a day to remember and years after, when the girls at Hogwarts finally understood what was keeping James away from their tender mercies... well it wasn't a pretty, nor quiet, picture. Not to forget the few dozen blokes that had the beautiful Lily Evans as their yet so far away paramour...

That had been one of the few, if not the only one time both Lily and James had been hated each by their gender group.

Well that had been also a good time for him, with all those lonely witches to comfort...

As the years progressed and the feelings between James and Lily grew stronger and stronger Sirius slowly understood that that kind of love was reserved to a few. He had met and intimately knew dozen of women, magical or not, but he had still some hope to find the one girl that would complete him, like his friend had found.

Maybe it was a lost cause, maybe that wasn't what was in store to him and sometimes, rarely, mind you, he had felt some bangs of sadness at that thought. Still those bouts of emotion were rare, with the world they were in sucking all time for him to think of a possible stable love life. Indeed a war was one of those things that through their horror was able to snuff out the flame of love and heartfelt romance.

But he knew that as long as his friends continued living, as long as they continued loving each other, and now with young Harry to make that love even more complete, Sirius would always keep hope for a better future, a future free of the shadow of Voldemort.

Blinking Sirius looked at his two friends, noticing how they had started to look at each other in that unique fashion of those sharing true love and politely coughed, drawing their attention back to him.

Smile teasing, Sirius couldn't help it. "Seriously you two, responsible adults and all and you *still* act like love-struck teenagers... tut tut... how embarrassingly gushing! Have you two no shame?"

Lily's green eyes blazed and Sirius swallowed. The only time she had spoken with fire in her eyes, Lucius Malfoy had had to stay in the hospital wing for a straight week. The only thing that prevented him in hitting the ground and beg for his sad life or even running away as if the very Dark Lord was after him was the teasing smile upon her lips.

James' smile helped some too, but who cared about that? No one paid any attention when Lily's eyes were upon oneself... no mater if you were a friend or a foe, Lily's eyes were arresting in their intensity.

"Uh... that's... ah..." he tried to say but those damn eyes kept him from it.

Lily's stiff finger poked him in the ribs, making him back off slightly. "Nice going, mangy mutt... one would wonder where you come from with such expressive words."

Sirius blinked "Who are you calling "mutt"?"

Lily sighed dramatically before looking exaggeratedly around her "Is there any other flea-infested dog Animagi around here?" She looked at James, eyes wide. "Do you see another half-witted wizard that would become a dog around here James?"

James grinned, shaking his head. "Nope. No one would be that dumb."

Sirius threw him an exasperated mock glare "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

James' grin grew wider. "More than you would believe."

Sirius snorted, a sound so like the ones he did in his dog persona that both James and Lily laughed. Unable to hold it back, Sirius soon joined them. But soon the laughter died and seriousness settled down again, the three adults realizing that it was time to speak about Sirius's summoning.

Not of those to beat about the bush, Sirius leaned back on his chair, his dark brown eyes in full Auror mode.

"All right, what's the reason why you wanted me here? I know it wasn't to speak about my fleas." The last comment was aiming to relax the situation but it failed.

James threw a last look at Lily before speaking. "Dumbledore believes that things are starting to become too dangerous for us, even with the actual protections, to remain in the open. The last time it had been a really close call. Too close. We were lucky but you know that such luck is not going to repeat itself."

Sirius nodded, face grim. "Lightning never strikes twice in the same spot."

James nodded. "Let's face it, Padfoot, we all knew that this had been a blessing. We knew that sooner or later we would have to go into hiding or face the fate of some many others... You-Know-Who doesn't forgive those that have meddled in his plans. Nor does he forget."

The Lost Ones, those that had opposed the Dark Lord and had paid with their lives their desire to live in peace, to defend what was right, all what the Light represented. Many of them had been friends and comrades at Hogwarts and even beyond its walls.

Sarah and Paul McKinnon, both close friends of Lily and their two daughters, Clara and Michelle who used to play with baby Harry... the image of their mangled, tortured bodies, found only few days after that moment of happiness was still fresh in their minds, their home burning as the Morsmordre filled the sky. They remembered it as if it had been yesterday, that horror forever etched in their minds.

Four names to be included in the thousands of deaths all around the world, claimed by Voldemort and his followers' desire to rule above all forms of life even if they had to purge the world of life to achieve that mad end.

Sirius was the first to come back from their memory trip, both through the bad and good memories.

"We all know that the dark bastard would drown the world in blood to have it," his voice was hard and cold but James and Lily could feel the cold fury hidden behind the words. "I swear that monster is going to pay someday..."

James nodded.

That was a feeling that he could understand perfectly. Voldemort wanted his son more than anything else in the world, but that wasn't going to happen as long as he breathed air. It did not matter if Harry wasn't really his. It mattered not that he wasn't human. Those concepts had no real meaning in his mind. He loved him as if he was his own flesh and blood since the first time he saw him resting within the loving comfort of Lily's arms.

And if Dumbledore was right, if the key to defeat the Dark Lord was really within his son he would give his life before harm touched even a single strand of his raven dark hair.

But that wasn't it

Sometimes the sheer intensity of the feelings he had for his "son" left him winded, almost afraid, as if he couldn't understand how he could love someone as much as he loved Lily. But it was enough looking at them both, at his family to understand why, even if it was in an abstracted fashion.

James sighed. He would sacrifice his life if needed. He knew it, as he knew that he loved Lily and Harry, but he also knew that it would be in vain, a fool's hope to stop someone -something- that could not be stopped.

He wasn't powerful enough.

No one was except Dumbledore and, if the situation presented itself, he knew that the old wizard wouldn't be there to protect what he loved the most.

He spoke aloud, putting his fears into words "If things continue this way he will find us."

Sirius's eyes narrowed, his mind quickly catching on with his best friend's. "That will not happen. If I know Dumbledore he must have some crazy plan up in his sleeve. Am I right?"

James nodded, drawing comfort from Lily's silent presence. "Yes. He proposes that we use the Fidelius charm."

Sirius nodded. That was common practice in those dark times, but it had the downside of putting the secretkeeper in danger if this one was known... and as things were no secret was kept from the dark for a long time, not with a being like Voldemort tracking you. "That's a good plan, the best option really. Where is the problem? It can't be the charm itself. It may be complicated but with someone as Dumbledore helping..."

Lily nodded. "That isn't the problem. Dumbledore offered to be our secret keeper but we feel that there is already so many things that he is doing that adding this to his burden would be too much."

James continued. "We can't ask or even allow Albus to take this burden too... Merlin knows that You-Know-Who would have won a long time ago if it wasn't for Albus. Between his work at Hogwarts, leading the order, coordinating the efforts of half the ministries around the world and a dozen other things... he may be the most powerful wizard in the world, he may be the only wizard You-Know-Who fears, he may be the wisest wizard since Merlin but one thing Dumbledore isn't is young."

Sirius chuckled, clearly amused. "Right... but I'm sure that he will outlive us all, Prongs."

James allowed himself to smile slightly. "Maybe. But the point is we can't ask him to also be our secret keeper. Even if all we said about him wasn't true he has done too much for us to ask him anything else."

Sirius frowned. He didn't like it but his friends had made a good point about Dumbledore. He also knew enough about the eccentric Hogwarts headmaster to know that he wouldn't try to change James and Lily's decision... even if he thought it to be unwise.

James looked at Lily a moment before looking back at Sirius. He had never seen such seriousness in his friend's brown eyes. He knew that what came next would be deathly important. "Lily and I, after thinking about it would like you to be our secret keeper."

"What?"

But James continued, not relenting, paying no heed to his friend's surprised outburst. "If you don't then we will ask Remus. We couldn't decide who to ask... you two are our closest friends, our family... both Lily and I would trust you with our lives but we also know that it would put you in great danger."

"Whoa, whoa, James, boy, slow down." Once he was sure he had their undivided attention he resumed. "You know that I wouldn't refuse you anything... but what are you not saying to me?"

James' eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?" Sirius smiled slightly teasingly. "I know you and I know the way you think. Ditto for you Lils. If I was to guess I would say that something is going on with old Moony. If not why call me and not him too?"

James swallowed and his hand closed more tightly around Lily's. In a broken voice he spoke and his words shook Sirius to the core. "For some time both Dumbledore and the ministry have believed that someone near us is feeding information to the Death Eaters, working as a double agent for the Dark Lord. Some of the Ministry's intelligence corps believe that Remus is working for You-Know-Who.

"James, that's bull! Remus would never betray us!"

James' eyes glowed for a moment, his anger clear. "Don't you think that I know it? Don't you think that I was ready to hex the first person that said such a thing?"

Lily's tone was as harsh as James'. "And you know why he didn't Apparate in the Ministry and blast the one who said it into next week? Because he was restraining me! I will believe that Remus is the betrayer the day the Dark Mark is branded in my skin - as if that is going to happen!"

Sirius rubbed his temple. What he had just heard wasn't possible. Remus Lupin, a Death Eater? That would be the day Voldemort decided to work for global peace and use pink robes with fluffy lace as his uniform. "What does Dumbledore think about this? I know you must have asked him about that..."

James and Lily relaxed as one, but still seemed unhappy about the whole deal. Lily spoke this time, her voice tainted with slight bitterness. "He believes in Remus too, but while he doesn't like to, he reminds us that he is a werewolf, so he is ultimately a dark creature."

James nodded, his eyes boiling with badly repressed anger. At what, Sirius could only guess. "To make things worst, reports have reached him through his spy net that some of the wizards working for You-Know-Who have found a way to control all kind of dark creatures...Werewolves lose their will once a month. They will be directly under his control on that night."

"That sucks."

Sighing, James spoke, eyes closed. "It's too mild a way to speak of it Sirius. We can't do anything about that and Dumbledore himself can't do anything about that. So there you have it, we can't trust Remus... something that I wish never happened."

Sirius nodded, his face showing the sadness he felt. "I know that... I mean, I never believed that something like that would happen one day. I would never doubt you two, or Remus or even Peter. It would be like not trusting my family..."

"We know," said Lily. "It's something that no one should go through but it's how things are. Still as much as we refuse to think of Remus as a... traitor, I will never risk Harry's life." she looked away from Sirius' dark chocolate brown eyes. "Sirius... what we didn't tell you but I think you deserve to know is..."

"Sirius," continued James. "The dark Lord is not after us, but after Harry."

Sirius' eyes widened. "What? But..."

"Please, Sirius, don't ask us why that is so, but trust us. The Dark Lord wants Harry, not Lily or me. We are but the bonus should he discover our whereabouts... Harry must be protected until he is old enough... at all costs, even if the price is our lives."

"Now James," Sirius' voice had a steely edge to it. "You know that I love Harry like if he was my own son but never say that again. Don't even joke about that. Harry will live until he is old and toothless if I have anything to say, but *never* ask me to choose him over you and Lily."

James' eyes flashed, his free hand turning into a fist. "Damn it, Sirius! He is our son! If we have to give our lives to ensure that he will live then we will do so! And if you're my friend - my brother - then you will do as I ask you to do!"

"That was low, James." Sirius said in a quiet voice.

That seemed to calm James somewhat. "I know. But I didn't say it to hurt you but to make you understand how things are, what Lily and I feel. We want you to be prepared for the worst, Sirius, for your own good as much as ours."

Sirius sighed deeply. "All right, I got it... but that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Gently, Lily looked at Sirius and once again, as many others, he was left breathless by the life one could find in those emerald like eyes. "We know that, Sirius, and that's why we want to ask you to be our secret keeper."

For a moment Sirius remained silent, pondering... until he spoke.

"Who knows that I'm going to be your secret keeper? Does anybody know yet?"

Relief in their faces, the couple looked at each other before James answered his best friend. "No one but Dumbledore..." He frowned. "But it will be known in the ministry - that I'm sure of."

Sirius nodded. "Good. The more people know, the better it will be."

Blinking in confusion, Lily and James exchanged concerned looks.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

Sirius gave them a half smile. "As we mentioned before, James, the information will leak somehow, making easier for You-Know-Who or one of his spies to learn about the Fidelius. That's what I want. We make everybody, even Dumbledore, to believe that I'm the secret keeper. That will make You-Know-Who's attention shift to me, thus hiding the true secret keeper, making you impossible to find."

James almost jumped from his seat, whole body tensed in rebellion only restrained by Lily's hand on him. "No, Sirius, that would be too dangerous! I will not allow you to sacrifice your life in such a way..."

"Look, James, the cold fact is that whether I'm the secret keeper or not I'm also on You-Know-Who's list. I'm also hunted by the Dark Side... a dead man walking. Me being the secret keeper or not being will change nothing but it will buy you time. For you, Lily, and Harry. Even if in the end I get but days before the truth is out it will be worth it."

"I don't like it, Sirius..." James spat.

Sirius nodded. "Maybe. But you don't have to like it... you only have to go along with my plan."

"Oh? And who will be the Secretkeeper, wise arse? Got that covered too?"

Sirius smiled thinly. "Oh yeah... in fact it will be the one person that no one would ever suspect. Peter."

James' eyes widened in disbelief. "Peter? You have got to kidding me!"

"Not in the slightest. I'm dead serious here, James. Peter adores you both and no one would think that he would be your secret keeper, there are too many more powerful wizards who would be asked instead. That will make Peter pretty invisible. He would be the perfect man for that."

"I still think that a bludger hit your head too many times. There is no way I am going to agree to this. Peter may have been a Marauder; he may have kept Remus' secret; All three of us may have been Animagi, but I don't trust him with this."

Sirius looked at Lily and could see that his idea had interested her. She nodded as he sent a silent plea to her.

"But don't you see it, James?" she said, drawing her husband's attention away from his friend. "Precisely because you wouldn't choose him is what would make Peter such a good secret keeper. Think about it. Sirius is too obvious and we know that we can't trust Remus. Why don't you trust Peter? He's our friend, a part of the family."

James remained silent, his brown eyes gleaming, dark by his emotions. Both Lily and Sirius knew that his mind was in a storm, thinking and rethinking, battling with his emotions, weighting each possibility in the coldest mind he could achieve even with his blood pounding in his ears and heart.

Finally he sighed, lying back against his chair. "Very well. You win. I don't even know why I bother. I can't refuse anything you ask me when it's the two of you. And when you make sense of course... we will owl Peter first thing in the morning."

What he didn't say was that something hadn't felt right, that when Sirius proposed Peter as their secret keeper his heart had stopped for a moment, frozen in dread... and that feeling of disaster looming above them did nothing to help.

And still he couldn't find fault in their reasoning, for all they said made sense... The plan despite its simplicity was a good one and after the horrible possibility of Voldemort controlling Remus even against his will, the rush of distrust against Peter was disturbing, so unlike his usual feelings towards the little man.

So he surrendered putting aside his fears that he hoped were unfounded. They would do as they he said, owling Peter as soon as possible. Right now James only wanted to go and hold Harry in his arms, as strongly as he could, feeling his paradise with him in his arms and Lily by his side.

As long as he could.

As long as the world outside his house allowed it.

What no one could know, what wouldn't be known until it was too late, was that they had already been betrayed.

And that betrayal would shatter James' paradise.

---------------------------------------

She landed softly, her death soundless.

No cry of pain, nothing.

From her now lifeless eyes tears still streamed even as the one-year-old boy pushed her with his little arms, searching for some comforting sign from that source of warmth and the love and comfort she usually offered. His mind, still young, had to realize what had happened but that was impossible for now. He would understand it years later and then he would realize that what happened was evil, wasn't meant to be, that it was something that should have been prevented.

But as for now the mind couldn't name it, couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with his mother but his instinct was screaming that something had gone awry, that something really bad had happened.

And the tall man in dark robes was the source of that wrong.

His young mind was still free of the concepts of good or evil but it could, in an abstract fashion, recognize that figure as something that had taken from him something needed, something... something that he had already lost before... something that the mind knew was now lost forever. It determined that it was angry at that figure, at the source of that sense of wrong.

Very angry.

As that was happening in the mind of one Harry Potter Voldemort admired the scene in front of him.

Potter was dead, something that wasn't that important - one more death that would show the futility of opposing him and his might. It would make people realize that no one was safe from him, not even under the protection of that fool Dumbledore. The Potters' death would be a mighty blow against the hopes of the wizarding world and that would but hasten the day of his victory.

The girl, that mudblood was of little importance, her death was but one out of thousands. One of thousands. Her death at this point was nothing he cared about, something that to him was now as natural as breath yet those that believed that Lord Voldemort killed thoughtlessly were wrong.

Death was final. Deliverance from the suffering he alone was allowed to impart. He preferred to see his enemies wither away under the Cruciatus curse than a relatively painless death caused by the Avada Kedavra. Where was the point of showing kindness to his enemies when he wanted them to suffer beyond the limits of their bodies, beyond the limits of the mind to keep itself whole?

He would have preferred to have her living, knowing that her husband's sacrifice had been a waste with her living on as the main witness of the way he transformed an innocent child - her son - into a mindless weapon. He would have preferred that torment than ending her life.

And yet, with a glance he had known that she would have never released her son, her love preventing it. She would have never let her son go, not even under the Imperius curse or any other form of torture. That would have been but a loss of time.

Of his precious time.

Voldemort snorted, something that he *never* did in front of his followers.

The woman, even in her death, refused to let go of her son.

With a kick he shoved her body away and even if there wasn't much strength behind the movement, it was enough to make her turn, making her lifeless eyes look at the roof of the room, her arms sprawled, her body in a position like that of a cross.

The baby's hand lost contact with his mother's and slowly, silently the infant's head rose until his wide blue eyes locked with Voldemort's green ones.

The older man, a being who was feared all throughout the world, a being whose name people not even dared to say, stepped back under the force of that stare, suddenly feeling something that he had almost forgotten, something that he believed to be beyond since a long time.

Fear.

Pure, unadulterated fear.

Up to that point he had planned to take the boy and discover what was so important about him. He knew that the boy was special. He knew that Dumbledore's efforts were more for protecting that boy than the parents themselves. He knew that the boy was a key to powers untold; that only his mind could find a way to utilize them to their full potential; a potential that he would use to his gain.

Up to that point he had believed that he could tame those powers, that he could use them to reach sovereignty in the world. He would have distilled that power for himself or had the boy turned into one of his followers, raising him, brainwashing him to have only him, Voldemort, as master and lord... turned him into a perfect, mindless Dead Eater as his own followers were doing with their sons and daughters.

But those deep blue eyes held a totally different message.

Hate.

Hate burned into them, or at least what passed as hate in a seemingly one-year-old boy. That and something that Voldemort couldn't name but could understand perfectly. It was a feeling of challenge, a taunt to him, a way the boy had to tell him that he would never serve him, at least not willingly. A feeling that was mocking him, telling him that he would never tame him no matter how hard he tried.

Voldemort soon had a grip on himself again, his ego giving him the boost he needed to crush down the feeling of fear that had been born in his dark heart. Muttering, he looked at the boy who hadn't made a sound, not even when he killed his mother.

"So this is what you feel when you have a mortal enemy.." he mumbled silently.

But as much as the boy was his enemy, as much as he felt that this toddler was a danger to him, the boy was defenseless.

Stealthily, he pointed his wand towards the boy, aiming at his head as he summoned his full power, the darkness in the house becoming alive. The tip of his black wand glowed emerald green and kept growing until Voldemort, the Dark Lord, the most feared wizard in a century shouted two words that meant immediate death.

"Avada Kedavra!"

That was a mistake that Voldemort would learn to regret in the years to come because with those two words he lost it all.

Green light blasted from the wand and connected with the boy's forehead but instead of killing the boy upon contact as was normal, the skin split open with a loud "crack", blood flowing freely even as a chain reaction started building with explosive results.

The Avada Kedavra, also known as the Killing Curse, was a terrible weapon, rightly feared by the magic community world wide. It killed upon contact and so far no counter curse had been found. It mattered little if the victim was human or animal, Muggle or magical. To the ones hearing those two words it was the end of the road, their bodies not showing any mark but empty eyes, where all light of life had been snuffed out.

Still as powerful as this curse was it had never encountered anything like what it was trying to kill.

Harry Potter, Kal-el of the now gone planet of Krypton, was far beyond humanity even in the early levels of his maturation and the curse, had it some sort of intelligence, would have been driven insane as it fought something that in all its centuries of existence it had never encountered.

Not only the physiology of the Kryptonian was totally alien to the forces at work in the casting of the curse but that wasn't the only thing at work to prevent the destruction of the life of the last member of an almost extinct race.

Kal-el had been bathed in the radiation of the yellow sun as soon as he had entered our solar system and, even with the magic at work that regressed him to allow Lily to carry him, he had continued to store the energy that one day would make him something almost god-like.

And if that wasn't enough there were other forces even more powerful than Harry's that were protecting him.

In years to come Harry would believe that it was Lily's love that had shielded him from the Dark Lord's curse that fateful night and it was true...

But it wasn't the *whole* truth.

What Harry wouldn't discover until a long time later was that his true parents, his Kryptonian parents, Jor-el and Lara, had also loved him; loved him enough to save him from a dying planet; loved him enough to give him a chance to have a future even if they would not live to see it. That love that was already within Harry had been joined by Lily's.

Against all that, the curse didn't stand a chance in fulfilling its original purpose. But such a powerful spell would leave some aftereffects that would shape Harry's life in the years to come.

Even as it was rejected, the curse was sent back towards its caster who had been watching with growing fear how the boy's little body glowed bright green for a moment when the curse touched him. Then a bolt of emerald energy shoot from the boy's bleeding scar to impact against him, searing pain shooting through his chest, where the reflected curse hit him.

Voldemort could feel the curse cutting through the threads that held him connected with his own body, he could feel how life was slowly stripped from him, how he started to lose the connection to the mortal plane and he could feel how for a timeless moment he was connected to the boy, but even that came to an end as his body's life force waned, even as a pain even worse than the Cruciatus overcame him.

Anyone else would have died or turned crazy by the sheer suffering that was rending asunder his body and soul but Voldemort had his own dark magic trying to fight back the power of his Avada Kedavra along with a willpower made of tempered steel, a will that had plunged the world into shadows for more than a full decade

For years he had searched all around the world for a mean to defeat death itself and, even if he hadn't found the way to achieve that much, he had enough knowledge extracted from his experiments to prevent death from taking him totally.

He sunk to his knees and his body was consumed to ashes, as the world around him and the boy started to shake due to the power being unleashed from his decaying body. He could feel his sprit escape from death's cold fingers, his drive to survive this struggle more powerful than even the pull he was feeling in his spirit's core, in the deepest depths of his dark soul.

The last thing he was aware of before the house exploded and he was propelled away by his own magical power unleashed was the baby screaming in pain and his eyes following him as he fled. Once again he was able to admire those eyes and he knew that one day they would face each other again... and when the time came he had all intentions of getting his revenge.

It was but a matter of time really.

Still those two eyes, those two eyes which now shone like gleaming emeralds due to the Avada Kedavra, promised him the same thing.

The house crashed around them and only darkness reigned around them.

---------------------------------------

The wailing of a baby was what directed the big man through the rubble of the Potter house at Godric's hollow.

All around him was blackened, wood turned to charcoal, still flaming. A scene of despair and the man could feel the tears falling from his eyes into his beard. He would have dropped to his knees and joined the wailing if it wasn't because he had a mission to fulfil. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and gamekeeper at Hogwarts, preferred kissing a Dementor before failing a task given to him by the school's headmaster.

The cry was coming from a section of the house that had collapsed, bearing the same signs of destruction as the rest of the house. With barely any effort the giant lifted the piece of the house only to take a step back at the scene in front of him, more tears falling from his eyes as he felt his heart break.

There, lying unmoving, was the body of Lily Potter. The unique vibrancy that had set her apart was gone as her empty eyes looked at the starry sky without really seeing anything. That was enough to bring forth another round of tears to Hagrid's dark eyes. The sight of Lily's body was almost a joke to him, a sick joke that seemed to mock the young girl who had always been so full of life, with a desire to enjoy it to its fullest.

Slowly, as if to not disturb her, Hagrid's big fingers reached Lily's eyes and with a gentleness that belied his size closed her eyes. Like that she seemed to be only asleep, no mark marring her beauty and even between his tears, Hagrid almost had the impression that she was smiling lightly.

Passing his hands roughly upon his face to wipe away his tears, Hagrid turned to look at Harry.

The boy had stopped crying once he saw Hagrid tend to his mother and was looking at him, his eyes wide.

It wasn't the first time that Hagrid had seen the boy but he couldn't help but inhale sharply as he took in for the first time the boy's face.

Gone were his deep blue eyes and now they seemed to be a set of gleaming emeralds, identical to his mother's in an uncanny way that Hagrid found disconcerting.

But it was the wound on the boy's forehead that demanded all his attention, despite the fact that it was covered with what could only be blood.

From one of his numerous pockets, Hagrid produced a grubby handkerchief and tenderly washed away the dried substance from the boy's face leaving the forming scar free.

As a being who was part-giant as well as wizard, Hagrid recognized things that most wizards generally overlook and right now one of those was the power that was leaking from the strange scar, not unlike the blood that had flown from it before. The magical energy had a clear dark signature that was fading but that Hagrid found rather disturbing as he *knew* what had produced that wound... and if that was true then it was impossible that the young boy remained alive.

And yet...

Shaking his head, Hagrid produced a clean blanket and with the same care as he had closed the eyes of the infant's mother wrapped it around the small baby. The boy looked up at him with those now green eyes, those eyes that seemed to hold something that was older than his young frame, eyes that seemed to ask him what would come next.

Hagrid sighed as new tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

"All will be fine, lad... all will be fine...I swear... all will be fine..."

And under the darkness of the night the scar glowed, it too promising something.

Something ominous.