prologue
Neville Longbottom is dead. Lord Voldemort stands over the tiny body, chest heaving in triumph. The prophecy has been stopped, at least for now. There was still the small issue of the child that escaped. Damned Regulus Black. The traitor had somehow overheard Severus recounting what he had heard of the prophecy, and had run to his blood traitor of a brother. Voldemort’s blood boiled again at the betrayal, and he comforted himself with the memory of Regulus’ body hanging from the ceiling in the Ministry’s rotunda. He took one more self-satisfied look at his gruesome work, and turned back to Bellatrix.
“Bella, darling.”
“What?” Bellatrix Lestrange barked irritably.
“I believe that’s enough.”
Bellatrix laughed the manic, hysterical laughter of the truly insane. “Enough? It will NEVER be enough! Do you know what they did to me in school? Do you know the things they said about you? Do you know how many Death Eaters these two have killed? What punishment could ever be enough for them?”
Voldemort considered his most loyal soldier and long time lover. “Alright. But just five minutes more. And don’t kill them, I think. Wouldn’t it be more fitting to leave them alive? Mourning, but without the mental capacity to know why?”
Bellatrix’s face broke into a beatific, terrifying smile. “I think that sounds wonderful,” she sighed. “CRUCIO!!!!!!”
Molly Weasley was in Diagon Alley buying school supplies for Charlie. He had just gotten his acceptance letter to Hogwarts, and she was in a bit of a tizzy. She had been waiting for this almost as excitedly as Charlie had, but now she was absolutely terrified. After what had happened to the Longbottoms, she and Arthur had been considering following the Potters to America. Sirius had offered to help get them out, but it was Charlie’s first year at Hogwarts and they couldn’t bear the thought of leaving. She rubbed her hand over the swell of her belly and then dug her fist into her back in the spot that always hurt, as she looked in a shop window that had beautiful clothes for little girls on display. Molly was still slightly in shock over the news that she was finally going to have a daughter. She allowed herself to imagine what the baby would look like and who she might be. She was thinking about possible names for the baby, when she noticed a dark reflection behind her. She turned with a start, grabbing her wand as she did. Bellatrix’s laugh was high pitched and piercing.
“Oooh! Did I scare you, blood traitor?”
“Bugger off, Bella. I’m not in the mood today,” Molly retorted.
“Oh, but we are.” It was in this moment that Molly realized that their entire world had changed and would never go back to what it was before. She had seen over Bella’s shoulder that the entire street was swarming with black cloaked, masked figures, focused on the two witches with wands drawn. Molly knew that even if she managed to shoot off a hex, it would be the last thing she ever did. She knew she needed to distract Bellatrix just enough to apparate away but she just couldn’t help herself.
“What do you want, Bella?”
“STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!” The mad woman lunged forward and screamed this in Molly’s face, and pointed her wand at Molly’s temple. “We are not friends anymore.”
“Bellatrix, listen to me. You don’t have to do any of this. You can come with me. I can take you to see Dromeda. She loves you and misses you. We talk about you all the time. Please. Come with me,” Molly pleaded, knowing in her heart that the Bella who had been like a little sister to her when they were growing up had been gone for a long time. Molly and Andromeda had been best friends their entire lives, and Bellatrix had looked up to Molly until Andromeda had begun dating Ted Tonks. Molly had sided with Andromeda and Ted, while the Black family had disowned her and ostracized Molly, and the rest of the Prewitts for good measure. At Molly’s words, Bellatrix’s face drained of color, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Just as quickly, her expression turned to rage. She pushed Molly away, and just as Molly apparated, she heard Bellatrix shout.
As soon as Molly appeared at the Burrow, she knew something was very wrong. She had no idea what spell Bella had hurled at her, but the growing pain in her abdomen was all consuming. When she felt liquid soak her knickers and run down her legs she screamed, and then the world went blissfully black.
While Molly was in Saint Mungo’s, healing from the physical effects of Bellatrix’s vile hex and trying to come to terms with not only Bellatrix’s betrayal, but the loss of her only daughter, Arthur was packing up the Burrow. His first owl had been to Sirius and Remus, and the two had gotten in touch with their contacts in Massachusetts. They had a house next door to the Potters, in a small town much like Hogsmead, at the foot of the mountain whereon stood Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Charlie would be starting there next week, and the Potters had been kind enough to purchase all of the supplies he would need for the year. Arthur came to pick her up, quietly whispering the plan to her as they walked through the halls. The Ministry was compromised and was expected to officially fall any day now. They had to be very careful. The moment they were outside, they apparated to the burrow and then just as quickly apparated to Grimauld Place. The children had already been sent to safety with Remus. Sirius held out a portkey wordlessly, with a look of sadness and compassion on his face. Arthur and Molly looked at each other, then reached out and grabbed their new life in their hands.
Hugo and Jean Granger sat in the kitchen of their small flat. Hugo was reading the newspaper and Jean was feeding breakfast to their one year old daughter, Hermione. They looked at one another in confusion when they heard a knock on their front door. Hugo went to answer it and, much to Jean’s chagrin, soon brought two young men into her kitchen. Both were wearing expensive looking suits and appeared to be in their early 20s. The taller of the two had dark brown hair that was loose and came past his shoulders, reminding Jean of a hippie. His suit looked perfectly tailored to him, and coupled with the haughty look that seemed to naturally populate his face, he appeared to come from an aristocratic family. The other young man had dirty blond hair that was short and shaggy. He also had large, brown eyes that gave off the impression of a lost puppy. His suit did not fit him, and if Jean had to guess, it had come from his friend’s closet.
“Good morning, ma’am. We’re very sorry to interrupt you during breakfast,” said the hippie.
“That’s quite alright. But, if you wouldn’t mind, please explain who you are and why you’re here.” Jean Granger was not one to mince words, and she had no patience for nonsense.
“Right. Well, my name is Sirius Black, and this is my… friend, Remus Lupin.” Jean wanted to roll her eyes. What kind of names were those? Not real ones, that’s for sure. “We truly are sorry to disturb you, but we need to speak to you about a matter of utmost importance.”
At this, Jean really did roll her eyes. “What’s it to be, then? Is it our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Or are you selling something?”
Sirius looked legitimately confused. “Our Lord and Saviour who, now?” But Remus elbowed him in the gut and shot him a dirty look.
“No, ma’am. I assure you it’s nothing of the kind. It’s about your daughter, Hermione.”
Jean’s instincts were instantly on alert.“Who are you really and how exactly do you know our daughter’s name?”
“Your daughter is a witch. We are wizards…”
The Grangers had heard enough. They stood and began herding the men toward the front door. As soon as the strangers were out of her sight, Hermione started to scream. Then, all four adults felt as though they were being dragged forcefully back to the kitchen. The more they resisted, the harder the pull became. As soon as they were all back in the kitchen, both the screaming and the pulling ceased.
Sirius quirked an eyebrow. “Does this happen often?” Jean’s eyebrow shot up in response, and Hugo glared at him. “All right. Now that the denials are out of the way, we can get to the heart of the matter. Your daughter is a witch. Witches being born to people with no magic, or Muggles as we like to call them, are rare, but they do happen. Normally this is of no consequence, but there is a man, a dark wizard, who believes muggles are filthy animals and muggleborns are abominations that carry filthy muggle blood that will infect pure-bloods and pure-blood society as we know it. He has gathered quite a following, and they have been gaining power and influence for the last 20 years. Now he has taken over the Ministry of Magic, and has begun enacting his sick policies with the help of the sycophants he calls Death Eaters. He has been tracking down muggleborns and their families and slaughtering them. We are part of a group called the Order of the Phoenix which is trying to take him out and save as many people as we can. Our leader is a man named Dumbledore, and he sent us to get you to safety.”
All three Grangers stared in mute shock as they absorbed the information. Then Hugo shook his head.” I don’t understand. Either you think we’re stupid and don’t know our history, or your entire community is stupid and learned nothing from World War Two. Which is it?”
Sirius looked genuinely confused. “What is World War Two?” But before Hugo could explode, as he was revving up to do, Remus held up a hand to stall him.
“The truth is that, like my friend here, most pure-blood wizards do not know about World War Two. Those of us with muggle families tried to warn them of what was happening, but it was too little too late. The wizarding world in Europe has become increasingly isolationist in the last century, to the extent that during the two world wars they simply enacted severe travel and communication restrictions, used their media to cover things up, and distracted the people with sporting events and other petty entertainments.”
Hugo ran a hand over his face. “You have GOT to be kidding me. So your idiocy and incompetence could cost me and my family our LIVES? How is this happening?”
“I think a better question is how are you HERE?” said Jean quietly, watching the young men’s reactions carefully.
“I don’t think I understand your meaning,” said Sirius, not meeting her gaze. “We are here to get you to safety, as we said.”
“Yes, but why us? She’s one year old. She’s no one important. Why is your Order spending resources on her? There is something else going on here.”
Remus looked at Sirius and smirked. “I told you they’d sniff us out. You are absolutely right. There is something special about your daughter. Both of your family lines have been watched by the Ministry of Magic for hundreds of years. When the Ministry fell, we were able to save all of the family history information from falling into the Death Eaters’ hands.”
“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Jean reminded him.
“Yes, well,” said Remus, continuing his explanation. “It has recently been discovered that Muggleborns are actually descended from ancient magical lines which produced what we call a squib, which is a non-magical person born to magical parents. We are still trying to figure out how muggleborns acquire their power. It seems there is more than one way for this to occur, but the one we know for sure is for two people who each have magical ancestry to… procreate. The latent magic from both lines combines and reignites the magical flame, as it were. That is how we knew Hermione would be a witch. You both carry the magical genes needed, and you both come from very distinguished and important magical families, so Dumbledore had an inkling that she would be unusually powerful as a result. Which, based on what we just experienced, was spot on.”
Just then, an owl came flying through the open window and landed on the table in front of Sirius. It held out its leg, and he untied a piece of parchment from it. He pulled something out of his pocket and fed it to the bird, who then turned and flew back the way it came. Sirius read the note and looked up, smiling.
“Our dear friend James, his wife Lily, and their son Harry, who happens to be only a few months younger than Hermione here, have acquired a house for you and are ready for your arrival. Shall we be going then?”
Hugo was taken aback. “Going? Going where? What makes you think we’re going anywhere with you?”
“Because we are going to take you somewhere you’ll be safe and where this little cutie can grow up without being in constant fear for her life. How do you feel about America?”
An hour later, Remus had helped Jean figure out what exactly they would and would not need to take, and had used his magic to pack it all as she watched in wide eyed wonder. Sirius had spent the hour with Hugo, signing paperwork that would allow Sirius to sell their flat and their car and send them the money. They also worked out what to tell the dental office where they both worked so as not to raise suspicion. Jean suspected there would be a good deal of magic involved in the process of making them disappear, but right at the moment, she didn’t want to think about it. Sirius pulled a small bag out of his vest pocket and looked at the Grangers.
“Are you ready to start your new life?” Just as he said this, there was a loud crack and two cloaked and masked figures appeared in the flat, holding their wands out.
“Give us the baby Sirius. We’re not here for you. We’re here for the Mudblood. If you give her to us, the Dark Lord will be lenient.” Said a female voice that came from the smaller figure.
“Good lord, Cissa! Is that you under there? You look bloody awful in that getup. Do you actually think that the ‘dark lord’ is just going to let me go? Did you see what he did to Reg? Your dark lord is an evil git and I will fight him until my last day,” said Sirius.
“Shut up you Mudblood loving swine. Thank God your mother is not here to see how far her sons have fallen. She must be rolling in her grave.” This was a male voice that came from the taller of the two figures.
“Ah, Lucius. I knew that must be you. The dragon can’t let his treasure too far from his sight, can he? Afraid she might, I don’t know, have her own experiences, become her own person, or,” and here he gasped dramatically,putting a hand to his chest, “develop her own opinions? How horrible that would be. You’re not getting the baby. Go back and tell your dark lord that you failed. I’m sure he’ll be lenient. He seems the forgiving type.”
“I said, shut UP!” Lucius shouted as he cast a wordless spell at Sirius. At the same moment, Narcissa cast a spell to remove the baby from her mother’s arms, and Sirius and Remus both cast spells of their own. What happened next, no one could have predicted. All of the spells veered off course and seemed to sink into Hermione’s body. She glowed with them for a moment, and then they burst forth from her in a blast of light and magic that picked up Narcissa and Lucius and slammed them into the wall, knocking them out. The four other adults all stared at the innocent looking baby for a moment, dumbfounded. Then Sirius shook himself and opened the bag he had gotten out earlier. In it was a hunk of scrap metal.
“Are you ready?”
Hugo looked at it critically. “What is that supposed to be?”
Remus answered, “It’s called a portkey. The moment you touch it, you will be instantly transported across the globe to Massachusetts, where you will start your new life. But we must all touch it at the same time, as it only works once. Are you ready?”
Hugo put his arm around his wife and daughter, and they reached out together and stepped into the unknown.