Chapter 2
The smell of fire, blood and the older witch assumed death filled the dining room as a red haired girl’s body slammed into the table after apparating mid air. Andromeda Tonks nee Black would have screamed if she did not feel great concern about this young teenager, she summoned her bag of potions and medical first aid. The younger Tonks female of the family was not so lucky as she screamed and then fainted.
“Honestly, and you want to be an Auror after Graduation” Andromeda mumbled as she looked at her metamorphmagus daughter on the carpeted floor.
The St Mungo’s medical witch started by spreading wound cleaning potion and Essence of Dittany over the girl’s body, she felt bad that she could not ask for consent but the girl was dying in front of her. Once done with that, Andromeda began to gently force feed another cocktail of healing potions: blood replenisher, watered down skelegrow and many more to ensure the girl remains asleep but also be dreamless as she began to diagnose with her wand. Only stopping as she comes to the girl’s head and seeing a very iconic lightning bolt scar on her forehead behind her bangs. Faded but there
“Oh Merlin…We wondered where she had been all this time.” Andromeda said as her tears fell down her cheeks.
Nymphadora Tonks groaned and simply rolled over in her fainted state before her mother used the spell, Aguamenti, on her to wake her up as it was freezing cold
“Merlin’s sweaty left ball!”
Meanwhile several miles away, in a crumbling apart stone brick cottage within the muggle and wizarding hybrid of village called Godric’s Hollow, a redhead but not quite ginger like her daughter female had bolted up straight from the carpeted floor of the children’s nursery and shivered as she saw a massive hole in the wall before repairing it slowly with her wand which was by her side. Why it was destroyed was not that important as she forced her body to her feet, leaning over to see inside her baby’s crib.
Nothing was there. Or more accurately, no one was sleeping in there.
She let out a sob that alerted the only other resident in the cottage, a messy black haired man with hazel brown eyes and glasses with cracked lenses rushed up the stairs after he too awoke in between the front door’s frame and the stairs.
He saw what his wife was crying about and James Potter held her tightly, rubbing circles on her back to calm her down. He used his wand to send a patronus to Sirius, asking if he took his godchild.
He never got a reply back. Not by choice however.
The unconscious girl all the way in a stranger’s house was dreaming and wanted to see the puppy called Padfo, who she sadly barely remembers except for him being a big fluffy black dog. The ring flashes red once more but does not go green.
“What’s got into you lot?” One of the few human guards at the magical prison was watching the Dementors shiver slightly in what he could only assume was fear. Whatever causes a dementor to feel fear is probably not good.
The guard soon contacted the British Ministry of Magic about the unusual behaviour of these soul suckers with an owl, completely missing the silvery blue patronus in the shape of a stag walking across the water towards the prison with its head held up high.
Before the guard went back to his Daily Prophet newspaper which publish date was early Feburary 2001.
It had taken James a few hours to calm down his wife, once she was they both sent another silvery blue patronus with messages to Amelia Bones, Minerva McGonagall and Remus J Lupin as they did not know who else to trust at this time.
The Potter couple had gathered a handful of sentimental items but they soon noticed everything had layers of dust, dirt or general grim. The crack of apparition was heard outside of the cottage’s fence, unsure of who it was James took the lead with his wand drawn at full alert like his Auror training taught him
“James” The soft voice of Amelia Bones was heard as she too had her arm stretched out with her wand pointing towards them
“Hey Amy, you look good…older” The Potter male frowned before being hit by a stinging jinx from his wife
“You look alive” Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement snapped back “Prove its you, or else I am calling back up from the department”
“Uhhh when we graduated out of school, Sirius tried asking you out with flowers that he did not know that you had allergies of?” James missed the flinch at his brother in all but blood’s name
“Seems like your Potter luck strikes again…Evans” This time Amelia turned her wand to Lily who was beside her husband
“You once had to call me to let me know that my dear husband was found drunk naked on an office couch with Sirius” Evans said with a playful sticking out her tongue at James who was blushing at the memory, he had thought she forgot long ago
Amelia slowly lowered her wand and wiped her tears on her sleeve “Merlin’s beard…It is really both of you. How? Do you guys know about Black? What about Harriet? Is she with you two?” The law enforcement leader kept asking questions before taking a deep breath
“Amy, Harriet should be with Sirius? He is her godfather and if not then she should be with you or Alice” James said with his eyes wide
“James…Lily…Sirius is in Azkaban prison because he betrayed you guys to you know who as he was your secret keeper and then killed Peter and 12 muggles the day after. Remus has not been seen since that night 10 years ago. Your deaths ended the war when Voldermort came to attack you guys.” Amelia said calmly although tears were still going down her flustered cheeks
“No! That’s not true! Sirius was never our secret keeper! It was always Peter!” Lily shouted, causing the director’s face to go rapidly pale in realisation only for it to get worse at the sound of another apparition crack to reveal Professor McGonagall in her olive green robes and hat leaving a nearby alleyway in the village.
Tears began to fall down the greying haired witch’s cheeks but she was shaken when a pair of wands is aimed at her with James himself on the verge of sobbing “Minnie, tell me something only the real you would know“
“You boys turned into illegal animagi during your 4th and 5th years, you thought no one knew but forget animagi have enhanced senses as well as it being my personal book on the subject that you copied from” McGonagall said with a smirk
“It’s her” James said as he hugged a crying Lily in her arms
“Minerva, they are the real Potters. Please for the love of Merlin, tell me you know where Harriet is” Director Bones turns to the transfiguration teacher who’s lips turned into a frown as she shook her head but then winces as she remembers where Harriet Potter was rather rudely dumped by the Headmaster of Hogwarts on to Petunia and Vernon Dursley.
“I…I might know where she is or at least where she was after you guys died.” McGonagall started to say before explaining to all of the group who was listening, how the only relatives that Harriet had left was Lily’s sister and husband so she scouted out the location for the entire day until Dumbledore arrived and she pleaded her case to not let Harriet stay there as they were awful muggles.
As she was explaining, Amelia was taking notes of this as it seemed close to child endangerment and line control as she recalled Dumbledore using his proxy on the Potter family seats
McGonagall continued as she said that Albus put many wards around the house to prevent any left over Death Eaters from finding the girl who lived but she herself did not trust him so she herself monitored their daughter but once again got ignored by the headmaster about the abuse there
“She would be 10 now…still not in time to get her Hogwarts letter at 11 so if she is still there it would be Privet Drive in Little Whinging.”
Lily could clearly make out the address behind the muffled hearing of her crying, her face going a shade similar to her hair but before she could burst out in anger at her former teacher. She clutches her chest in unison with James, both falling to their knees although her husband supports her
“JAMES!” “LILY!” The others called out before the Potter couple’s vision popped with black spots as they soon both succumbed to sharp pains. It felt like an elastic band around their hearts.
“I dont think I'm good for apparition, unless someone can side along me to my Sister’s house. James you work with Amelia to free Sirius and check our wills, they should have proved he took the Godfather oath for Harriet. Get him that trial” Lily took command of the situation and proved to be just as fierce as she was all those years ago
There was a crack and both Minerva McGonagall and Lily Potter had disappeared from the cottage’s grounds with Amelia and James soon following although their destination was Gringotts Wixen Bank in Diagon Alley
Lily and Professor McGonagall had landed on the street of Privet Drive only to be met with the sound of panic, the smell of burning and the crackling of fire. Someone had burnt Number 4 down to the ground, leaving only the cupboard under the stairs untouched.
“It won't die down! It must be a chemical fire. It is likely to keep going for hours if it spreads” One of the muggle fire fighters shouted as they continued to try and put it out to no success
A few cracks of apparition later with maroon cloaked wizards. Aurors, if Lily remembered correctly, confirmed the truth of the fire. FiendFyre.
McGonagall overheard the muggle policeman say that the old woman who called in the fire, a miss Arabella Figg was found dead before they arrived and that all her cats were missing. Unfortunately the teacher knew very well who the cat loving Squib was as Figg’s brother was a part of Dumbledore’s old vigilante group called the Order of Phoenix in the Wizarding War but was killed.
“This is horrible Professor” Lily mumbled, she watched as her estranged sister’s house continued to burn in front of her. The Aurors were trying their best to deal with it while avoiding the local emergency services but FiendFyre is well known for being uncontrollable except by powerful wixen,
Lily went up to one of the policemen who was issuing people who were watching away and was asking about the inhabitants and found out there was only one person’s body recovered as well as letting her know that the only male Dursley had died a few months prior and the Son only a handful of weeks
Lily returned and hugged McGonagall as she cried, sure she and her sister had not been talking since 6th year of Hogwarts but she was still family. Through her tears and sobs she managed to whisper “Harriet was not home…she might be safe…she has to be safe…oh god my baby”
“It is okay dear” McGonagall said rubbing her back and trying to calm down her former student “James and Director Bones will go to Gringotts to reinstate himself as lord to then free the Wills and Testaments to free Sirius. Then we send another patronus for Remus to return from wherever he is hiding then we can put the full force of our group to locating Harriet”
It took a few more minutes but Lily eventually stopped crying. Her heart was beating but it still felt there was an elastic band squeezing it.