Prologue

MARCH 13, 1978

"P-Pregnant?"

Lily Evans looked up fearfully at her friends, holding the pregnancy test in her trembling hands. The pink likes indicating that she was in fact pregnant, were vibrant against the white stick.

"Oh Merlin!" Mary shrieked, running to Lily excitedly.

"This isn't good!" Lily cried, sitting down and holding her head in her hands, the pregnancy stick dangling from her fingers. "We haven't even graduated Hogwarts yet!"

"But it's only March," Alice said gently, patting her back softly. "When we graduate in June, no one will be able to tell! Just wear baggy robes, it's a trend now."

"I can't have a baby, I've only just turned eighteen and James is still seventeen!" Lily said. "We're not ready to be parents..." She looked up at her friends, wide eyes. "What - What if he doesn't want to stick around?"

The girls went silent.

"Oh, Lily," Alice whispered, "why wouldn't he want to stick around? He tried to get a date with you for six years! He's a committed guy."

"Yes, but that's different - that was just dating," Lily said. "This... this is an entire baby we'll have to take care of!"

"I'm sure he'll be supportive," Mary noted. "This is half his fault."

Lily remained silent, looking down at the pregnancy test again. In eight months, she was going to be a mother.

"Fine," she said in a hoarse voice. "Fine, let's go tell him."

The girls all crowded excitedly around Lily, urging her down to the Common Room.

"James," Lily said.

"Hey baby," he said, grinning and fixing his glasses.

"I need to talk to you," Lily said seriously, beckoning him to follow her.

"Alright," James said, getting up off the couch and following her to a secluded corner, within the field of view of all their anxious friends. The girls were wondering how James would take it. The boys were wondering what this was about.

"What's wrong, Lily?" James asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered, looking up at him, her green eyes wide.

"James looked at her, almost unsure if he'd heard right.

"Pregnant?" He repeated slowly.

"Yes," she said. "It's... it's yours."

"Well, gee, I sure hope it's mine," James said. "Woe Lily... we're going to be parents! Do you want to keep it a secret until we graduate or-"

"Wait, what?" Lily stammered. "You're okay with it? You're not going to leave me?"

"I could never do that," James said. "We're in this mess together. I love you so much, Lily. And this baby..." He gently pressed a hand on her stomach. "It's still too little to be given a name but that's OUR baby. I know we're young and all but this... this is going to be a family."

Lily looked at James again, her eyes watering with tears. She leapt into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black looked at each other, then at Peter Pettigrew, then at the girls, who were squealing.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sirius asked.

"Yes!" Mary said.

"I'm going to be a dad!" James said happily, lifting Lily around and pressing another kiss to her lips.

"That Lily Evans!" Mary said to Remus. "I cannot believe that after six years of rejecting James Potter, she let him knock her up!"

OCTOBER 31, 1981

The little girl jumped up and giggled, trying to catch the little smoke rings her father was making come out from his wand.

Her baby brother sat in his lap, making cooing noises. Their mother watched from the kitchen door, smiling at her beautiful family.

Then the smoke stopped, and the little girl stared in confusion at her father, who placed her brother in the chair and went down the hall, peering out the window.

The mother looked uncertainly at her children.

"Take the children and run, Lily!" He yelled. "It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

Not understanding what was going on, the little girl remained silent as her mother sprinted forward and picked both children up, hugging them tightly to her chest, as she ran upstairs.

Lily put the little boy into the crib and set the girl down on the floor, moving furniture to block the now locked door. She ran back and kneeled down, gripping the girl's shoulders.

"Elizabeth, listen to mommy," Lily said frantically, fear gripping her voice. "You need to hide-"

There was a loud boom and the door flew open, a man stepping through the furniture.

"Not my children, please," Lily begged, stepping in front of Elizabeth and the little boy in the crib.

"Stand aside, girl," the man's deep voice said.

"Not Elizabeth and Harry, please..." Lily said, staring at the man fearfully.

"Move aside!" The man snarled, pointing his wand at her.

"Take me instead!" Lily cried, "kill me, not them..."

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a flashing green light, a terrible scream, and then Lily dropped to the floor.

Elizabeth ran to her mother and touched her face. Harry was crying, holding onto the bars of the crib.

"Mommy, no more games," Elizabeth said, touching her mother's lifeless cheeks.

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was another scream - worse than the first. Harry cried louder. Elizabeth turned and saw that the man had disappeared, and Harry was bleeding. The entire top floor of the house had been blown up, and the wall was burning slightly. Elizabeth whimpered, and ran to her brother, hugging him through the bars as he cried. She didn't understand what had happened, or why her mother was playing such a strange game - in fact, she didn't like this game.

She did what her mother had told her to do when someone was bleeding. She got her shirt and pressed it on her little brother's face, and he wailed even louder.

"Mommy, wake up!" Elizabeth cried, tears now brimming in her eyes. Why was her mother sleeping at a time like this?

Elizabeth shook her mother by the shoulders, and touched her face softly.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Elizabeth wailed, as Harry cried even louder.

The little girl pushed past the broken furniture and went downstairs. Her father had to be downstairs, maybe he knew how to stop her mother from playing this silly game.

But when Elizabeth went downstairs, she found her father in a similar position as her mother, except his eyes were open.

"Daddy!" Elizabeth screamed. "No more games! NO MORE GAMES!"

Her father did not stir. Elizabeth bawled louder and wiped her nose, running back upstairs to Harry, who was crying so much, he was starting to grow tired.

Elizabeth climbed into his crib and hugged him, which made him quiet down a bit.

She did not understand that her parents had been murdered. She did not understand that they would never wake up, that they could not hear her and her brother's cries. She didn't know who the strange man was or why he'd hurt her brother. She wondered why this awful game was still being played, and why her parents had not taught it to her. She thought that perhaps if she knew how to play, it might not be so dull.

Harry gave a little wheeze and a shudder and settled in his sister's arms, falling asleep.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, someone arrived to check up on the children.

"NO, JAMES!" A man's voice said.

"Help!" Elizabeth screamed, her tears dried and plastered on her skin.

The man ran upstairs to meet her. She did not recognize him, all she knew is that he was much larger than her father had been.

"Elizabeth!" Hagrid said. "Harry! Lily...tha's no' righ'... no... Lily."

Hagrid picked up both children and ran out of the house, right before several Muggles arrived to contemplate the burning house.

Immediately afterward, he was ambushed by Sirius Black.

"What happened?" Sirius asked. "Where are James and Lily?"

"They're dead," Hagrid said gravely. "Harry here was hit by a curse, I reckon', and Elizabeth here is fine, but the 'hole top o' the house is blown up, yeh'd think a dragon burned it down..."

"Mommy and daddy started playing this game with silly man!" Elizabeth said. "This game is not fun."

Sirius had to force himself not to burst into tears. There was no way he could tell the little girl what had happened, not right now, not without breaking down.

"Hagrid, I can take them," Sirius said. "I'm Harry's godfather... I'll take them to Remus' place, he's Elizabeth's godfather..."

"An' where will you go?" Hagrid asked.

"Nevermind that. Please Hagrid, let me take them..."

"I can'," Hagrid said. "Dumbledore's orders."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. "But Remus and I should be able to try and raise them, we're their family, I can ask Remus to bring his stuff over to my place..."

"I reckon Dumbledore wants them ter be with their aunt and uncle," Hagrid said.

"Then let me take Elizabeth to Remus," Sirius said. "She's already seen so much, she can't grow up with Muggles who hate magic, she's always going to wonder why she can remember this happening and why she's told it's a false memory."

"I wish I coul' say yes," Hagrid said. "But Dumbledore's orders-"

"Damn it!" Sirius snarled. "Fine... fine... but take my motorbike."

Once Sirius had left, Hagrid hopped onto the motorbike and flew a sleeping Harry and a confused Elizabeth over to Little Whinging.

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said, relieved. "At last. "Where did you get the motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid said. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got them both here..."

He took Elizabeth out of the side car, who was trembling and holding Harry in her arms.

"Oh you poor dear," Minerva said. She pulled Elizabeth into her arms and hugged her.

"Where are my mommy and daddy?" Elizabeth asked, ready to start crying again.

Dumbledore knelt down, and touched her shoulder gently. "Elizabeth... you are too young to know that. You are going to be living with your aunt and uncle for awhile, alright?"

"Tell me!" Elizabeth said. "Tell me where they are!"

"Elizabeth-"

The little girl stomped on the floor, infuriated. "Tell ME!"

Then suddenly, there was no longer a little girl standing before them. There was a little lion cub.

"Oh my goodness!" Minerva cried, picking the lion cub up. "Did she just-?"

"She's inherited her grandfather's powers," Dumbledore said, "Fleamont Potter was a shapeshifter..."

"A shapeshifter?" Minerva asked. "I had no idea..."

"Finite Incantatem," Dumbledore said.

Then, in Minerva's arms, the lion cub became a little girl again.

"What happened?" She asked, beginning to cry.

"We cannot leave her here," Minerva said. "Albus... if she has these powers, she could have more. She won't be able to blend in with Muggle children and she will not be treated well in this Muggle household - they will throw her onto the street when they discover that she can do this."

Dumbledore pursed his lips. "So be it. We shall leave a note explaining the situation, and telling the Muggles that Elizabeth will grow up with her godfather until Harry joins her at Hogwarts. We do not want Harry knowing about magic until he's ready... I shall take her myself. Let's see..."

He waved his wand. Out of thin air, a piece of parchment with writing appeared. Elizabeth whimpered and hugged Minerva's leg as Dumbledore wrapped Harry in blankets.

Hagrid led out a wail like a wounded dog.

"You'll wake the Muggles!" Minerva hissed, making Elizabeth clutch tighter to her leg.

"S-S-Sorry," Hagrid said. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead an' poor Harry off ter live with Muggles an' poor Elizabeth not knowin' what happened to 'er parents an' havin' to grow up withou' her little brother..."

"They will both be alright," Dumbledore said. "They will meet when Harry is old enough to go to Hogwarts, and then she will be able to come live with the Dursleys."

Hagrid wiped his nose on his sleeve as Dumbledore walked forward and placed Harry and the note on the doorstep.

"Where is Harry going?" Elizabeth asked.

"To stay with your aunt and uncle," Minerva said gently. "You're going with your godfather until Harry is old enough to understand that you both are children of wizards."

"Dumbledore gently took Elizabeth's hand.

"Come with me," he said. She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. Then they Disapparated.

"I be wonderin' why he didn' kill her," Hagrid sniffled.

"I wonder that as well," Minerva said. "What about the little boy was so important that he tried to kill him? And why did he spare that little girl?"