So sorry it's been so long since I've updated but as a freshmen in college, I've found my muses have abandoned me. Part of the next chapter is written, if only halfway. I'm still trying to work out the kinks but note that I am NOT going to abandon this. I know where I want this story to go, I just don't know how to get there. Especially since I have yet to decide who's going to die, because it will happen, and whether or not I'll rid the world of Umbridge. Ah well, any thoughts you are my readers might have would be greatly appreciated. Or who you would want to see die.
As a teaser for the next chapter, in it will be a few more revelations to shed some light on the Tsubasas and a few questions will be answered. Since I can't directly reply to your reviews, I've devised a way to directly address them within the story. So if there's something you want to know about the characters, just ask and I'll put it in.
I don't know if there will be another interlude but nevertheless, here's the first. Pay specific attention to the interaction between the characters and their reactions. It goes a long way in showing who I deem redeemable and who I don't. Enjoy!
***
Lily Evans sighed in annoyance, once again asking herself why in the world she agreed to this. James Potter, with a significantly deflated ego, was leading her to one of the castle fireplaces so they could floo to his house. It was a Hogsmeade weekend so the sixth years could elect to go home for the day instead. Only seventh years were allowed to go where they pleased, within reason of course. James had eventually worn her down with begging, pleading, and promises to leave her alone for the next week and a half. It was that promise of silence that broke her in the end. Truth be told, she was rather curious of what a pureblood's family home looked like. As a muggle-born, there was no way she'd have another opportunity to see one. So now here she was, preparing to follow him to his ancestral home.
"Okay Evans." She refused to allow him the privilidge of calling her by her first name. "Here we are. The address is `Potter's Keep' and the password is `slytherins rule'." She snorted in amusement.
Was that honestly the best they can come up with?
"Really now? I'm sure I can name some Slytherins who would love to know that." Almost instantly a picture of Severus sprang to mind, although honestly she'd never tell him something like that, despite how close they were. While James and his friends might be the world's biggest prats, this was something way more private than the password to the common room. Which she had given to Sev on occasion after obtaining an oath that he wouldn't go after anyone but his tormentors.
He grimaced. "We're such public Gryffindors; they would never think that that would be our password. Nevertheless, come on." He threw the powder into the flames, turning them an emerald green reminiscent of Lily's eyes, before stepping in. "Potter's Keep!" he enunciated clearly, disappearing with a whoosh. Letting loose a deep breath, she stepped in as well, calling out, "Potter's Keep!"
The trip was the same as any other floo trip, only a lot tighter. She frowned nervously when she suddenly stopped in midair over the ocean. Forcing herself to keep a level head, she said to the air, "Slytherins rule!" and released another breath when she changed directions and shot towards another grate. With a grunt, she tumbled out of the fireplace, glaring at the laughing James. She ignored the hand he stretched out to her, slapping it away irritably as she drew her wand to spell all the ash off, and rose to her feet, pointing her wand threatening at his face. He stopped laughing so hard in the presence of her legendary fury. Especially since she could see he remembered boasting to Sirius and Remus how he could practice his magic underage at home because of the wards.
"You could have warned me about stopping in midair," she growled out. Observing the room, she noticed it was more of a small sitting room really. Two chairs with a table in between them were pointed at the fireplace, an unfinished game of chess atop it, the black pieces winning. Three portraits hung around her, obviously sentries just in case someone managed to sneak in. James continued laughing, albeit a little more nervously this time as he ran a shaky hand through his hair, subconsciously making it more windswept at the same time. Lily continued glaring; she never really did like it when he did that. If she had to be honest, one of the main reasons why she didn't like the Potter heir was because he was such an attention whore. It didn't matter what kind of attention it was, so long as someone was admiring him. She assumed it was why he kept Peter around. He practically worshiped the ground James and Sirius walked upon.
"Yeah. Sorry bout that. I completely forgot. I'm keyed into the wards so I've never had a problem with it."
"Whatever Potter. Let's just go." She strode forward, walking out the room without a backwards glance but she knew he was following. Besides, she was aware of just how much he liked watching her ass.
The corridor floor had a red rug stretching everywhere. Portraits, windows, and landscapes alternated on her left where doors appeared sporadically on her right. Ignoring James, she walked forward, absently realizing they were at the end of this corridor.
"Um…Lily, this isn't-"
"Stow it Potter," she snapped, emerald orbs glinting at him. It was because of this that she missed the explosion in front of her that knocked a door clear off the hinges. A cloaked form followed moments later, smashing into the wall with a sickening crunch. Lily lifted her wand to levitate the body out the way, not wanting to get closer to whatever had blown the heavy wooden door apart to begin with. She noticed out the corner of her eye that James was glaring rather hatefully at the form, much like how he looked at Severus, and Slytherins in general. Just as she was about to call him on it, the form popped up, laughing loudly.
"Loki! That was brilliant! A little much on the charging but beautiful in the execution!" cried the male. Lily was floored.
"Um…are you okay?" she asked, wand still held loosely in her hand. Either he was very resilient to harm or just insane.
She was leaning more towards the latter.
"I thought mum and dad had you on the other side of the castle. Permanently. Why are you even here?" She turned to James in shock, wondering why he was so vicious to someone who obviously had permission to be here. The other dusted himself off, pulling the black garment away. Underneath, he wore simple blue jeans and a gray t-shirt with black boots. He was just a bit over Lily's height and much less broad shouldered than James. He had easily controllable black hair that was currently tied back in a ponytail and out of his face. He looked just like the single Snape ancestor Lily had heard James talk about that had wiggled his way into the Potter line. His aristocratic facial features helped bring out the vivid amber in his eyes. He blinked at seeing Lily there before grinning. Unlike James' grins, this one was actually charming and almost made her knees go weak.
"Well, hello there. I'm pretty sure you don't know who I am, knowing my family as I do. I'm Anthony, James's younger twin," he said with an extravagant bow. Lily looked between the newly discovered twins in surprise.
"You have a twin?" she eventually screeched. Honestly, one would think James would be only to happy to have an extra hand in the mischief making.
James grimaced, still looking disgusted. "Fraternal, thank Merlin," he added bitterly. In the resulting silence, they all caught hints of what was previously hidden behind the obviously soundproof door.
"What is that?"
Anthony grinned. "Music. In the school I go to for weaker witches and wizards, it's more international. Some of my friends are composers so I have them make me a copy of whatever they've finished. It's generally pretty good, although it takes a while to get used to."
"You still haven't explained why you're here. Or even on this continent," interrupted James, attempting to pull Lily away from his twin. She simply turned her wand on his hand, muttering something lowly, resulting in his now burning limb. Deliberately she took a step closer to Anthony.
"Don't touch me Potter; you have yet to gain that privilege." Anthony shot his brother a smirk over her shoulder. James merely puffed up in indignation.
"Well, the school is undergoing a continuous renovation so we were sent home, if possible. I'll be gone by the end of next week. Mother and father were gracious enough to let me stay here, since it's far away enough from the main part of the Keep that I don't bother them as I pop in and out."
"So what would have happened if you couldn't go home?" asked Lily curiously. He shrugged.
"Dunno. But I'll be outta here soon, so don't pop a blood vessel AJ." James bristled at the nickname. Lily looked between the pair again, fascinated by their interaction. James obviously hated his younger twin with a passion, while Anthony just let it slide off like stinksap. She decided then that Anthony was much more interesting than James and probably easier to get along with too.
"AJ?" He gave her a wicked grin.
"Absolute Jackass." Both of them broke into peals of laughter, much to James's annoyance.
"Well, as unpleasant it is to see you again, Anthony, me and Lily will have to be going now."
"Lily! Dear young chap-ette! It's so good to see you!" announced Anthony, grabbing and pumping her hand up and down, a wide grin upon his face. Lily could only continue laughing at his antics. He was obviously good-natured and very reminiscent of the Marauders, just without their tendency to hurt others with their pranks. She liked him immensely already.
"And good to see you too Tony. It has been too long hasn't it?" she replied, playing along. James watched the two of them act like old friends growing more confused by the passing seconds.
"What?"
"Anyway, what were you working on that started all of this?" said Lily, motioning towards the door.
"Oh! Right! Loki!" he called, grinning when the creature stepped out his room. It looked like a bear dog, although the front paws were shaped more like hands, with smooth black fur hiding the compact steel underneath. It came to about Anthony's waist, excluding the two horns coming out the top of its head. "This is Loki. The Care of Magical Creatures masters like to cross breed different magical and normal animals to see what they get. Loki here is part Cerberus and bear, I think," he scratched his head in confusion before shrugging again, "Oh well. He was a gift from one of my friends. Anyway, the interesting part is that he can shoot fireballs from his mouth. That's where the explosion came from. He was practicing."
"Is he yours?" said Lily, surprisingly not afraid of the rather massive, if short, beast. He tilted his head to the side, considering her. After a moment, he walked forward, amidst James's cries.
"No Lily! Don't! You don't know how dangerous that thing is!" She rolled her eyes, petting him after he pushed his head under her hand. Just as she had thought, his fur was very smooth, almost silky. From the corner of her eye, she could see Anthony shoot a triumphant look at James, one that made him glare even more.
"Just because he doesn't like you AJ, doesn't mean he's dangerous. It just means he's very smart."
***
That one meeting had begun a friendship that would last well after James and Lily were married. Anthony, or Tony as she affectionately called him, became her confidant, friend, and older brother all in one, the one thing she needed desperately once Severus severed, no pun intended, his friendship with her. He was intelligent in everything James was not, and had a wit and sharp tongue to match any Slytherin on a good day. Tony also knew how to treat a woman properly and Lily was always of the opinion that had she met him first, she wouldn't be married to his twin as she was. Not that it mattered much.
After Voldemort's rise, she had seen very little of her best friend, and the only news she got was that he was still very much alive and well, if a bit more battered and bruised than she remembered. He sent her letters every now and again, just so she wouldn't worry too much. He had also been the first person to know of her pregnancy and the fact that she was having twins. Of course, he was named godfather to her youngest, since James demanded that Sirius be the godfather of the eldest. The choice didn't bother either of them, having come to expect this. Tony had no qualms about informing Lily of what his childhood had been like, and she was surprised at how similar it was to her own. This only strengthened the bond the pair had, much to a very jealous James's annoyance.
Although no one could really blame him. Any man would be furious at the thought of their wife with another man in any capacity. It didn't help that James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had been unreachable when Lily actually went into labor thus she had called on Anthony to be there. The divide between the brothers only grew with each passing day, more on James' part than the younger one.
***
A high-pitched cry broke the silence of the ordinarily comfortable safe house. In the master bedroom, decked out in reds and golds, a large hand reached out, and grabbed the mahogany wand sitting on the bedside table. A quick silencio later and the home was quiet again. The other occupant of the king sized bed grabbed the willow wand, turning it to the opposite side, and grumbling out, "'Ames, go'n get da `aby." A thoroughly messed up black head lifted itself out of the comforts of its pillow irritably.
"Bug it all Lil. You go get `im. We `greed that Johnny was mine, `member?" The woman growled once from her own pillow before swishing her wand and poking it resolutely at her husband.
"Yer lucky I love you like I do," groused out Lily, pulling herself carefully from her oh so warm and cozy bed so as not to wake the sleeping baby girl in between she and her husband. The temperature drop caused goosebumps to pop out all along her body, modesty preserved only through the light tank top and shorts she wore. Stretching lightly, she pulled on her green robe, tied it about her waist, and left the room. She walked across the hall and entered the room that housed her twin sons.
The wallpaper was, of course, baby blue and green with a mini Quidditch game being played all over it. However, the wallpaper was charmed to be still when the boys were asleep. Johnny was firstborn and in his bassinet closest to the door. Even now, he was slightly pudgy with his messed up black hair and muddy brown eyes. He was the one who was really crying and Lily smirked in sick satisfaction, a small trait she had picked up from the surprisingly malicious Tony. She knew Harry wasn't a crybaby. Moving towards him, she could see him wide-awake, staring up at her with a mirror image of her own emerald green eyes. He cooed at her and lifted his arms as much as he could. Lily smiled softly at him and picked up the twin designated as `hers'.
Since James came from a very old-school pureblood family, they did things just a bit differently from everyone else, especially when there were twins involved. Ordinarily, when twins were born, no one was supposed to know who was born first to prevent preferential treatment. Unfortunately, the Potter patriarch had demanded to know for that one purpose. James was a first-born and as such, was treated much better than Anthony. When James got new clothes, Anthony got his old clothes after they had been refreshed and re-stitched. James got all the attention while any achievement Anthony did was mostly overlooked simply because James had done it first, even if Anthony had done it better and in less time. Lily frowned at the thought. His parents had not let him go to Hogwarts because since he was second-born, he was much weaker magically than his older brother, and therefore more inclined to disgrace the Potter name. It was mostly untrue; he was just weak in the fields James was strong at. His forte was more into potions and wards. He had actually gotten a Mastery in both potions and ancient runes when his parents weren't watching. He had even been the one to place the Fidelius charm on the house. It was Lily's main thought to make Anthony the secret-keeper since almost everyone overlooked him but since James didn't trust his own twin, he gave that honor to Peter at Sirius's urging.
Lily herself had been a second born so she knew almost exactly what Harry would go through as he grew up. Her parents' attitude towards her only changed because she was accepted into Hogwarts. Petunia was very bitter afterwards since she was no longer the center of their parents' attention. Personally, Lily was happier being the overlooked one. It meant she could do just about anything she wanted without interference.
A few moments later James barged into the room, angry as a hippogriff, derailing her thoughts. On any other day, or any other time, Lily would have been pleased to see her husband strutting (he never did lose that one part of his personality) around the house in naught but a pair of boxers but today it was too bloody early, and she was too bloody annoyed to care.
"What the bloody hell did you do to me?!" he shouted, causing Jonathan to cry louder, and increase the grimace on James' face. Lily shrugged carelessly, one that she had often used when he had tried to court her when they were at school. In all reality, it had been Tony to convince her to give him a chance. Though Merlin knew why.
"Thought you ought to figure out the difference between your sons' cries. It's not my fault that I amplified the crying to get you out of bed," she replied with an innocent air.
He didn't need to know that it was his brother that gave her the spell to begin with did he?
James merely growled at her and plucked `his' son from the bassinet. Johnny continued on for a while longer, his father doing everything in his power to stop the noise. Eventually he snapped, "Damnit Lily! Put down that brat and come help me with Jonathan!" Lily glared at him when Harry began to cry.
"Now look what you've done! Shh…it's okay baby. Daddy didn't mean it; he was talking about me okay? Shh…" She bounced the baby in her arms lightly, murmuring nonsense in soothing tones. Much faster than his brother, Harry stopped, sniffling only once, watching his mum with his big green eyes.
"Well if you're done with him, come get Jonathan before he screams his throat out," said James in a very clipped tone. Lily glared at him again over her shoulder as she placed Harry back in his bassinet. She grabbed his stuffed cerbear, the mixed-breed familiar of his Uncle/Godfather Tony, and placed it in his arms. James was, of course, ignorant to the significance. He cooed in delight and squeezed the toy as tightly as he could. With a soft smile, Lily turned back around and rolled her eyes at two of the other males in her life.
"Just change him James, and give him a bottle while you're at it. I'm going to Floo Tony and make sure he can watch them for us tonight." James scowled at the mention of his twin. They had never really gotten along when they were younger, Anthony being the far better scholar and mage. It didn't help that James could see what his parents didn't in their younger son. And the fact that Lily was still so close to him, despite his best efforts.
"That boy couldn't protect his own arse, much less my son. No Lily, get McGonagall or someone else. Better yet, get Peter to do it." Lily stopped in the doorway.
She had never liked Peter very much, he reminded her too much of someone's minion who while loyal on the outside, was secretly planning the coup against his master on the inside. Tony had shared his similar ideas about the rat animagus with her and they both thought it wise to keep an eye on him.
"A compromise then. I'll Floo both Tony and Peter. End of story." And she walked away before he could reply. James stood in muted shock, still cradling his son. With a scoff, he did as she said, changing the soiled nappie, and giving him a bottle. Johnny was still sucking on it as James went to look at Harry. The quieter twin was sucking on his thumb with one hand and holding onto `Loki' with his other.
"Waste of breath," he sneered, glaring at his son. Harry noticed the rather evil presence and instead of crying, like most babies would have done, he looked directly back in his father's eyes. Their stare off would have continued if Lily had not returned. She felt the tension in the room and was afraid for her son. While James would never physically harm his children, second-born or not, that wouldn't stop him from making the boy's life harder.
"Tony will be here before we leave but Peter will be a bit late. He's got some work to do before he can come over," she announced, pulling James' attention away. He nodded.
"No surprise. Wonder what he's doing."
"Don't know. And he said that he'd only be able to stay a little while since he wants to go to the party too."
"Fine. We're coming home earlier then."
***
"Lily! So good to see you again!" said Anthony as he flooed in. He was still taller than she and had fleshed out a bit more from the war. He and his group of friends, whom she had only met once and found them to be quite pleasant company, had disappeared under the radar often, although he claimed to be under the orders of the Minister. No one knew what they were really doing, other than fighting the Death Eaters like everyone else. His hair was still long, although his face was a bit harder, and more worn out. On the right side of his neck was a discolored splash of skin, his most visible inference into what he had done when not with her. All he would say was that he had gotten a bit lax in the middle of a fight and paid the price.
Lily smiled widely as her brother-in-law/best friend dusted himself off before greeting her properly with a bear hug.
"It's good to see you too Tony. How goes the research?" she added, pulling away to look him in the face but not releasing him from her grasp. He shrugged.
"Same old, same old. Progress is good, and I finished it," he added in a whisper to her ear. Her eyes lit up at the thought and she hugged him again, this time more tightly than before.
"Tony you're a genius!"
"If he was he wouldn't be holding you like that in front of your husband," rumbled James. Not feeling any type of guilt, neither pulled away as if they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to. They both just dropped their arms, Lily throwing hers around his waist and his around her shoulders.
"Oh calm down James! You know Tony is my best friend. Besides, I was just congratulating him. His new research project is progressing marvelously."
"Yes, come on AJ, lighten up." James bristled predictably at the old nickname.
"Don't call me that!" he growled.
"Regardless, where is that godson of mine?" asked Tony of Lily, totally ignoring James, as he knew that nothing else would annoy his brother more.
"I'll go get him, you wait here." She left the room, shooting an unseen warning glare at her husband.
"Get the fuck out of my house bastard," said James as soon as Lily was out of earshot. Tony only laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Can't, babysitting."
"Not by my choice."
"Not my problem. She asked, I said yes."
"Mmm!" cried a voice in a much higher pitch than either man could attain. Amber eyes shot downwards, a pleased grin on his face.
"Harry! There you are!" Moving faster than one would think of a baby his age, little Harry crawled quickly over to his uncle's outstretched arms, giggling when he was thrown into the air. James sneered at how happy the both of them became while around each other. Jonathan was a lively baby to be sure, but he never seemed as happy with his father like Harry was with Anthony. Seeing them together, one could swear that they were father and son but James shrugged the thought off. After all, Anthony was his brother (even if he didn't like it) and Harry his son. It was just the Potter genes at work. (wink wink, hint hint)
"Oh Tony, you're such a child!" said Lily as she stopped in the doorway. Anthony simply smiled wider, Harry carefully perched on his shoulders, tiny hands clinging lightly to his hair.
"Can you blame me? He's just too cute!"
"Anyway, James and I are leaving, we should be back around ten or so. Floo the Keep when Peter arrives so we won't worry. Have you eaten yet?"
"Nah, but I'm sure I'll be hungry by the time Peter gets here. When is he coming anyway?"
"Dunno, he just said he'd be late. You might as well just come to the party for a quick bite while you're at it. I'll see you when I get back," she added to Harry, tweaking his nose after she planted a kiss on his forehead. "Well, Johnny's upstairs sleeping so you'll have at least two or three hours before he wakes up. Athena is coming with us. Thanks for doing this Tony, I really appreciate it." Using his free hand, he pulled Lily in for a hug, kissing her own forehead. James predictably bristled again. She and Tony kept in their laughs; shaking up his twin had always been a favorite pastime of his, and Lily was always up for deflating her husband's puffed up ego.
"No problem. You're my best friend slash sister-in-law slash partner slash partner in crime slash-"
"Alright already! Come on Lily," barked James, grabbing her hand as he passed her by, almost shoving her into the fireplace. The party was being held at Potter's Keep and the only way in or out was by Floo for everyone. Waving with a cheeky grin, Anthony watched as they disappeared, a frown on his face once they were gone. Balancing Harry on his hip, he sat down with a tired sigh, running a hand over his hair while his fingers waved over the room, a mostly transparent blue dome appearing around him. Harry's happy smile fell, grunting in his baby way.
"I don't want to do it but it is for the best. You'll be going to my school when you're older, Harry, but to get there you have to go through some hell. And knowing my brother as I do, he'll be more than happy to provide ample motivation. I don't know how I'll be able to restrain myself from killing him. Lily will have to be spelled unfortunately. She will most likely try to make James change but you need to go to the Gekko. If only you didn't have to have a bad childhood first..." Harry blinked in confusion, titling his head to the side. Anthony let out a bark like laugh, throwing off his previous melancholy like one would dust. Placing his nephew on the floor, he changed into his animagus form of his familiar, and preceded to entertain the boy for the next hour.
As the clock announced the time as eight, the Floo roared to life, and Peter flew out, his momentum only stopped by the business end of Anthony's wand.
"Funny seeing you here Peter. You alright?" he asked, another wave banishing the soot from the man's robe. Peter's eyes glanced all about the room, as if looking for something.
"Yes, just a bit shaken up. Had a bit of a fright with some Death Eaters but I'm okay," he replied, sighing in relief when his feet were safely on the floor.
"Well, get something warm in your stomach. The boys are upstairs sleeping, although Johnny might wake up soon. Harry should be good to go for two hours. Athena is of course with Lily. I've already changed both their nappies so all you've got to do is keep watch," said Anthony in a deceptively mild voice. He had very good powers of observation and noticed how Peter's hand kept twitching while the other was firmly gripping his thigh.
"Where are you going?"
"Lily told me to Floo the Keep when you arrived since she didn't know at what time you'd be coming. You know how much she worries. And I was invited to taste some of the feast since I haven't eaten yet. When I get back you can go. I shouldn't be long, like twenty minutes, a half-hour tops. Think you can wait that long?" Elbowing the shorter man in the ribs playfully, Anthony approached the Floo, throwing out over his shoulder, "And keep a sharp eye. Voldemort has a tendency to create chaos on special days. Today is Halloween you know."
Returning fifteen minutes later, Anthony gracefully stepped out of the fireplace, wincing at the residual dark magic. Moving fast, he approached the door, catching Peter just as the rat was about to leave.
"Where are you going? You know you can't Apparate to the Keep," he announced loudly, causing the man to jump in surprise. He tittered nervously, wringing his hands in one of his more obvious tells.
"A-Anthony! I thought you said t-twenty minutes? That was f-f-fast."
"Cut the crap you rat. I know where you allegiance truly lies. But I'm afraid you're stuck here until the Potters return. So just relax." Faster than he could react, Peter was petrified, stunned, and bound by a simple wave of Anthony's hand. Transfiguring his body into a bone, he slipped it into his pocket, going first to check on the boys. After seeing the still bleeding scar on Harry's face, he moved it to his shoulder while placing a similar one on Jonathan's forehead. Grabbing the black wand on the floor, he returned downstairs and Flooed Lily to tell her of what had transpired. The Potters, with Sirius, Remus, Albus, and Minerva all came tumbling out of the fire, James springing to his feet, intent on attacking his brother, only to be restrained by his best friends.
"You bastard! You let the Dark Lord in!" he spat, fighting futilely against the grips of the two men who were way stronger than he combined.
"Tony! What happened?" asked Lily, gripping the front of his jacket, somehow keeping herself from running to check on her children.
"Lily calm down. They're both fine and very much alive."
"But how could this have happened?" asked Minerva, cradling a sleeping Athena. The girl had been born nearly three months premature due to stress Lily had been under. She was still too small for a baby of eight months and thus had near constant attention from her mother.
"Only one person could have invited Voldemort into this house," said Dumbledore gravelly.
"Yea, him!" roared James.
"Actually, Tony has been with us since around eight. I should know, I was talking to him the entire time," said Minerva pointedly.
"But Peter would never-"
"Oh yes he would. Let's ask him shall we?" Canceling the charms, Anthony placed the bone on the floor amid the gasps from the others when he changed back. "But first, there's something I want to check. I noticed he seemed overly nervous when he arrived and kept a hand firmly on his thigh the entire time." Waving his wand, he vanished the pants, smiling grimly at the Dark Mark on Peter's leg. The three Marauders were shocked into complete silence, eyes threatening to pop out of their heads. Pulling out a small vial, he placed three drops on Peter's tongue, enerverating him.
"What's your name?"
"Peter Piper Pettigrew." Anthony couldn't help the snort much like Dumbledore. Lily finally gave into her maternal instincts and ran to her children.
"Try saying that five times fast. What time did you arrive here at Godric's Hollow?"
"A little before eight p.m."
"What were you doing before?" asked Dumbledore.
"Reporting to my master that the Potters would be gone for a few hours and that his window of opportunity has finally opened."
"Who is your master?" asked Sirius, almost afraid to find out the answer.
"The Dark Lord Voldemort."
"Did...did you let him into the Hollow?"
"Yes."
"What happened after he went upstairs?"
"He told me to wait for him. I heard him cast the killing curse but then he screamed and all was silent. I was just getting ready to leave when Anthony returned and captured me."
"Did you betray your fellow Marauders?"
"Yes." The three men sank to the floor, disbelief etched into their faces. Lily returned, carrying both her boys in her arms. She took a seat on the loveseat, rocking back and forth.
"Why?" asked James in a broken whisper. "Why did you betray us?"
"The Dark Lord asked me to." Stunning Peter again, Anthony took a seat next to Lily, carefully prying Harry out of her arms, and placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Professor, it might be a good idea to check out the boys. Voldemort's robe was up there and there is some heavy residual magic," said Anthony, shifting Harry so he was facing the wizard. Nodding in agreement, he drew his wand, waving it over the baby's body, muttering all the while under his breath. He repeated the action on Jonathan, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.
"Well? What is it?" came the simultaneous cries.
"Well, they are both perfectly alright, besides the curse scar on his shoulder and his forehead. But it begs the question of who actually stopped Voldemort. They are both exactly the same." James by then had recomposed himself and moving to pick up Jonathan, a proud grin on his face.
"Who else but little Johnny here! I always knew he was the special one!" he crowed, dancing around the room with the now awakened baby. With everyone's attention distracted, Anthony waved his hand one final time in Lily's direction, hating himself for the slightly glazed look in her eyes. Turning to Harry, he muttered his apologizes, knowing that until he was old enough, life was going to be Hell.
***
And there you go. I quite like my take on the events of Halloween and I especially like Anthony. Keep in mind that he is VERY important as he is the catalyst that kick started everything that happened to baby Harry. I hope I sufficiently explained the whys and hows of twins in OLD-SCHOOL pureblood families and to any arguments about the Patil or the Weasleys, I'll just say now that ample time has passed and enough purebloods were wiped out for the old ways to die. James will really be the only one who sticks to them like he does. I don't know when the next chapter will be up (and it will continue the story). But answer me this : would you all rather a completely separate story about Harry's years at the Gekko of would you rather sporadic interludes that focus on the more important parts?
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