Vlad stared down at the clone in the pod with a sneer. After his first attempt at cloning Daniel had been such a disaster, he had considered abandoning the project entirely. However, after some thought, he decided to try one last time.
He shouldn't have bothered. What was it about Daniel's DNA that caused the clones to come out female? At least with Danielle, she resembled Daniel in both human and ghost form, but this new clone was very different.
He hadn’t accelerated this clone’s aging, so it was still a baby. The baby clone had hair on its head, but instead of plain black, it was black with pure white streaks running through it. The clone’s eyes were a bright neon green instead of the blue that Daniel’s human form had. Somehow, Daniel’s ghost form’s eyes had become this clone’s normal eye color. This was unacceptable.
And to top it off, as he had noted earlier, the clone was female instead of male. Now, he had a new clone of the half-ghost teenager and no idea what to do with it. This clone was even more of a mistake than Danielle!
He sighed before phasing his hands through the container holding the tiny creature and picking it up. It couldn’t be helped; the clone would have to be disposed of. He wasn’t going to dirty his own hands, though. If Daniel happened to find out about this clone, he would go after whoever destroyed it.
With that thought in mind, he turned to Skulker, who was floating nearby, awaiting orders. He shoved the clone into Skulker’s arms, ignoring the hunter’s startled expression.
“Take this thing far away and dump it. It should destabilize soon enough.” He turned away, never noticing the horrified look on Skulker’s face as the ghost glanced between Vlad and the baby in his arms.
Skulker couldn’t believe what Vlad was telling him to do. Yes, Skulker was a hunter of rare species and had tried to hunt the ghost child down for his pelt, but even he would not harm a mere babe, no matter how or what the babe was.
He stared at the baby in his arms and felt his core ache at the thought that this little bundle of light would soon destabilize. He decided to leave the baby where a kind family would find her. At least she could spend her remaining days feeling happiness and joy instead of sadness and pain.
With that thought in mind, he set off in search of a family. It had to be a family far from anywhere Vlad Masters was likely to go, so to be safe, he took a natural portal to England. Eventually, he came across a young couple struggling to have a baby of their own. While he felt slightly bad about giving this couple hope only for them to mourn the baby later, he was more interested in ensuring the young halfa had a comfortable life for however long she lasted.
He carefully set the babe on the couple’s doorstep. He didn’t know their names, nor did he need to. He turned invisible as he knocked and waited. He watched as the man answered the door holding a strange stick.
A stick the man almost dropped when he realized what was on his doorstep. The man quickly picked up the poor babe and began rocking her, reading the note Skulker had written.
I cannot tell you who I am, but please take care of this babe as your own. She has a sickness that the doctors have said will kill her soon. I cannot bear to see her die, so I have selflessly decided to give her away to a couple I hope will treat her kindly in her last days.
The doctors say she does not have long and could die any day now. I am sorry for making you mourn a child who does not have a chance at life.
Despite this, I beg of you to care for her the best you can. She does not yet have a name, so you may name her yourselves if you wish.
Sincerely,
A poor man who cannot care for this babe.
Skulker knew the note made it sound as though he was the ghostling’s father, but considering she wouldn’t last much longer, he didn’t mind. He vowed to check up on her often to ensure she was being cared for. Once he was sure the family would take her in, he flew away.
Lily stared down at the newborn baby in her arms. “Oh, James, she looks perfect,” she said, holding back sobs. How could fate be so cruel as to send them this perfect angel while planning to take her away, possibly within days if the note was to be believed?
James paced the room, rubbing his face as his eyes kept glancing at the baby his wife held. He had to think of something. Maybe what she had was a Muggle sickness, and a healer could fix it. But what if it was something magic couldn’t cure? He bit his lip as he noticed something.
“She has your eyes,” he said softly, without meaning to. Lily looked up at James, her eyes tearing up. “There has to be something we can do. She’s just a baby, James. She deserves to live!”
Just then, Sirius burst in. He stopped and stared at the scene. “Prongs, please tell me you and Lily-flower didn’t kidnap a baby because you’re having a hard time having one?”
He was shocked when Lily started crying, holding the baby tighter. James walked over and silently handed his brother-in-all-but-blood the note, watching as Sirius read it.
Sirius read the letter several times before looking at James seriously. “Have you thought of blood adoption? The new blood might cancel out the sick blood or something.”
James frowned. “Would that work, though? We don’t know what she has, Sirius. It might make it worse.”
Sirius nodded toward Lily and the baby. “It can’t hurt to try. Go see the goblins. They can get it done, and maybe one of their healers can take a look at her and figure out what’s wrong.”
James nodded thoughtfully before walking over to Lily and explaining Sirius’s suggestion. He thought she might want to think about it for a bit, but he was surprised when she wanted to go to the bank right away.
James smiled slightly, feeling hope well up inside him as he and Lily rushed to the bank.
The couple waited in line until they reached a teller and asked to see the Potter account manager. The teller looked annoyed but called a young Goblin to escort them to the account manager, Scarlast.
"Ah, Lord and Lady Potter, may I ask what it is you require that could not be addressed in a letter?" Scarlast said, his voice gruff and gravelly, yet formal and polite.
James spoke up. "Lily and I found this baby on our doorstep with this note. We were hoping a healer from your fine nation would be willing to examine her." He handed the note to Scarlast, hoping for assistance.
Scarlast read the letter with a frown, his eyes darting between the letter and the baby in Lady Potter's arms. The baby looked up at Lady Potter, smiling a gummy smile. He found it hard to believe that such a happy-looking baby was sick enough to die at any moment.
He pressed a button on his desk, and within ten minutes, Grinrak, one of the best healers in the Goblin Nation, entered the room. Scarlast explained the situation, and the healer nodded in understanding.
Grinrak had Lily lay the unnamed baby girl on Scarlast's desk before beginning his diagnostic spells.
Scarlast watched as the healer's expression shifted from concentration to alarm. Grinrak used several rare spells before turning a light shade of green. He spun toward the Potters.
"You wish to blood-adopt the child, yes? That would be for the best. The baby's very DNA is fighting itself, destroying itself as we speak. I do not know why this is happening, but I believe that an influx of new DNA will halt whatever is causing this."
Everyone in the room paled at Grinrak's words, including Scarlast himself. The urgency was clear. It didn’t take long for the blood adoption potion to be brought into the room and for the ritual to transform the baby into James and Lily Potter's biological child.
After the blood adoption took effect, Grinrak rechecked the child and visibly relaxed. "Whatever was causing her DNA to attack itself is no longer an issue. However, I would like you to bring her back in a week so I can confirm this solution remains effective."
Lily nodded, picking up the baby girl with teary eyes and a wide smile. "Of course! We want this little angel to be healthy!"
Just then, the baby giggled and fell through Lily’s arms, gently floating to the ground. The entire room froze, staring at the child. Lily’s jaw dropped. "Was that accidental magic?"
Scarlast and Grinrak exchanged a look. They knew it wasn’t magic, but neither could explain what it was.
James laughed and scooped the girl up from the floor. "That's my girl!"
Scarlast coughed, silently amused by the joy radiating from the Potters. "I need a name for the little one to complete her records."
James and Lily exchanged smiles before Lily spoke. "Her name is Rebecca Angel Potter. She's our special angel."
James hugged his wife and new daughter tightly. "If we ever find the person who brought her to us, we’ll have to thank them."
He gazed at his little girl, his voice soft. "They gave us the greatest gift in the world."
After completing the necessary paperwork to legalize Rebecca’s adoption, the Potters headed home. They decided to make today her birthday, as they didn’t know her actual birthdate. Thus, July 31st became the birthday of Rebecca Angel Potter.
For years, no one would know where she came from. No one would know that the failed clone Vlad had sent Skulker to abandon in an alley or ditch was now stable, alive, and thriving.
No one would know that Rebecca had started life as a failed clone, slated for an early death, only to be saved by a couple with big hearts. In the future, when Rebecca met Skulker and learned that he had left her with the Potters, she would thank him for saving her life.
But that was years away. For now, the Potter family proudly showed off their new daughter, blissfully unaware that the Dark Lord was taking an interest in their family. Nor did they realize that the headmaster, upon hearing of the new Potter child, was already plotting.
For now, the tiny family was happy.