St Mungos

"Headmaster." Charlus hid a scowl as he nodded towards the man.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Charlus. How are you, my boy?" Dumbledore smiled amiably as he looked on at Charlus. He could quite clearly see the man had a less than positive reaction to his arrival, but it seemed he wasn't affected.

"Splendid." Charlus groused. "I beg your pardon, Headmaster. But I thought only family were authorised in this area of St. Mungo's?"

Dumbledore nodded and smiled at him kindly. "You are correct in your understanding. How fortunate it is that James here, extended that same authorisation to me before my arrival."

James shrunk away from his father's accusatory glare. And with a cough, he turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Have they told you anything, sir?"

"I know enough. Still, I believe an anecdote from you and Lily would help to paint a clearer picture. If you would?"

"Of course!" James replied accommodatingly.

With a smile, Dumbledore allowed himself entrance into the room Hadrian and Arthur were resting in. He was half-surprised to see Lily resting on a chair, partially asleep in a slightly compromising position.

"Ahem!" He feigned a cough, eyes twinkling as Lily jerked awake.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Good morning sir. I mean, goodnight. Or Evening?" She stood up suddenly, scrambling as she adjusted her hair and wiped the little bit of drool that slipped from the side of her mouth whilst she was sleeping.

Dumbledore simply chuckled as he replied. "Good evening, Lily."

She sat back down immediately, her face, neck and ears feeling impossibly hot from embarrassment.

Thankfully, James and his parents had followed Dumbledore in not too long after.

She noticed that her husband looked rather subdued, as per usual whenever he talked to Charlus and Dorea. They were not all that supportive of James and Lily's actions, even less so after Hadrian and Arthur had been born. She wouldn't have been surprised to find out that James' father gave him an earful about what had happened.

"Lily." Dorea smiled warmly at her, with Charlus nodding in greeting too.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter", she replied.

"Nonsense!" Dorea beamed. "You're also Mrs Potter, if I remember correctly. I thought I told you to discard propriety where Charlus and I are concerned."

Lily grinned, "Yes, you did, Mrs. Potter."

Dorea pinned her with a mock-glare.

"Oh, leave the girl alone." Charlus grumbled.

Dumbledore then thought it prudent to intervene. He brought out his hand, and waved it nonchalantly. An imperceptible flair of magic brushed around the room, and suddenly all noise beyond the room they were in, was silenced.

The slight chatter of the Healers and their patients, the screeching trolleys carrying prescribed potions, and the wailing of agitated children – all of it was silenced with a wave of his hand. Even the room they were in was quiet as they keenly waited for the object of their attention to speak – desperate to hear what he had to say.

It was as if the world had halted for him.

"As you already know, the Dark Lord Voldemort was defeated by the twins, earlier this night." He walked slowly towards the crib and smiled gently at Hadrian and Arthur, "However, I have reason to believe that he is not as dead as we presume him to be."

Everyone in the room looked at each other in confusion. A seeping horror settled into the room, washing away the subtle feelings of triumph they had over the Dark Lords defeat.

"Headmaster?", Lily spoke up – interrupting before he could continue. "How- how can that be? We watched him die. I watched as his body disintegrated over my children's crib."

Her voice got stuck in her throat slightly as she spoke, her green eyes blazing with anguish. "How could he possibly be still alive!"

James rushed over to comfort her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she shouted. She shook him off and ignored him, choosing to direct herself towards Albus.

"It's that blasted prophecy, isn't it? That's why you took so long to get here."

Albus' eyebrows knotted together in such a manner that it was clear he was carefully weighing his words before speaking. "I visited the Hall of Prophecies, and the Prophecy remains." He said pityingly. "Lord Voldemort, is not yet dead – and from the descriptions you gave of his supposed demise – I garner that he is not quite alive either."

The Potters looked at each other sullenly. Dorea turned her face towards Charlus' chest, shaking her head as she whispered inaudibly.

"Albus...", Charlus grit out tiredly, "If you could cease talking in riddles for once and clearly explain your reasoning and why you think it concerns Hadrian and Arthur, then we would all appreciate it immensely."

"Dad…", James called, trying to placate his father – but he knew there was no point. His voice was drowned under his father's tirade.

"Or is this another situation that you think you could blindly lead my son into again? No more, I say. The Potter family is not yours to play with, we are not your soldiers, nor are we your students-"

"Charlus, enough." Dorea pulled back from him and rested her hands on his chest. "Let the man speak."

Dumbledore nodded in her direction and continued, prompting another scowl from Charlus. "I do not have an answer for the question you seek. The method that Voldemort used to cheat death evades me just as well as it does you. Nevertheless, the Prophecy remains, and so we must remain cautious. We mustn't let ourselves become complacent during the short time we have left until his return."

"That's thrice that we've heard you talk about the Prophecy, now." Charlus intervened. "And yet Dorea and I still do not know its contents." He looked pointedly at James and Lily, his expression was fixed, but they knew what he was asking.

No, pleading would be more apt.

James looked at Dumbledore for confirmation, and all at once – Charlus' posture sagged.

"James…I am your father, not Dumbledore. Why is it that you can trust him, but not me?"

"It's important information Dad." James shrugged weakly, his chest tightening as he begged for his father to understand. "You could get hurt."

Charlus hung his head as he frowned and shook his head. When he looked back up – his eyes watered slightly and his lips were tightly pressed. "No, James. This cannot keep happening! We're your parents – this isn't right. We're not telling you to let us join your blooming Order. We just want to know what our son, and his family are facing! Is that too much to ask of you?"

Dumbledore reached towards James' shoulder, wordlessly giving his permission.

It stung for Charlus to see but he tried to ignore it nonetheless. At least he would finally begin to understand the cause of what prompted his son's martyrdom tendencies.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seven month dies…", James intoned hollowly.

"Born as the seven month dies…" Dorea started. "And you think it is one of the twins?"

"There are not many that have thrice defied the Dark Lord. Frankly, the only people who the Prophecy could be referring to is your family, or the Longbottoms. As such, we took precautions to ensure that they would both be safely hidden." Said Dumbledore.

"Evidently not safe enough." Lily murmured. "And now, with what happened today – who else could the Prophecy be about, if not Hadrian or Arthur."

"Anyone." Charlus insisted harshly. "There are too many variables to take into account."

"Yes, but ignoring the Prophecy would simply be foolish." Dumbledore said rather firmly. "In fact, with the additional information in my possession, I believe I know exactly who the Prophecy is centred around."

"Why don't you tell us then, Headmaster?" Charlus sneered at the older man.

In controlled fashion, Dumbledore walked towards the crib and lifted Arthur. He brushed tawdry brown hair to display the scar on his forehead as he said. "Arthur is the Chosen One that the Prophecy speaks of."

Lily immediately seized her child from Dumbledore, holding him as close as she could. "Albus, explain."

"I'm afraid I haven't been very forthcoming, and for that I apologise." Dumbledore said as he pinched his nose bridge and sighed deeply. "The original and full contents of the Prophecy-"

"There was more?!", James stood up as he yelled. "You...you lied to us?"

"Of course not! What you heard was what everyone else knew," the Headmaster protested. "You must understand, James. I would have never omitted the contents of the Prophecy if it were not necessary."

"And why did you see it fit to lie to them, Albus?", Dorea chided. "Contrary to your beliefs, Headmaster – that is what you did. Lying by omission is not any more noble or honest than plainly lying."

"I could not risk the possibility of the full Prophecy being whispered into Voldemort's ears! Need I remind you, that until quite recently, we had a spy in our midst?"