✧HARRY JAMES POTTER✧

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JULY 31st

Rabastan had apologized all of last night and the next morning after he was appointed to hunting the Potters. She hadn't actually heard much about James' parents and their death, but it was the same illness that was plaguing around, the one that took her father and was on the verge of killing Clarissa.

There were attempts to find where they were hiding, but Rory didn't want to know where they lived in the off chance her mind was weakened and the Dark Lord wanted a peek.

But the second her husband had left, she warned him that she might leave the house for a bit.
Or just simply go outside on the gazebo.

His trust showcased once again, though he reiterated that he wanted her safe and he wanted her to be free.

That comment she had made claiming that the manor was a prison, caused his heart to clench when he remembered it. Her being tied down to the children and in constant aid of fulfilling their need for attention was insulting her potion degree.

He'd have to ask Snape what a good potion related gift would be, and perhaps he could ask now as the new Potions Master of Hogwarts should be prepared for students like Aurora.

Or just Ravenclaws in general.

Aurora had waited only a few hours before she contacted Sirius by Patronus. He knew instantly that something was wrong as she claimed to be heading to his flat.

She wore something far from her regular attire, her hair turning a light brown color as she watched her facial details altering. She would need to practice more, but this was good enough for today.

Today.

The prophecy was whispering in the back of her mind as she continued further to her destination. She picked up an entire infirmary worth of supplies, because of today—Today she would be delivering a child.

When she finally arriving to the flat, Remus sighed in relief as he went to the door. "Goodness sake, you said an hour. Pads is—" Unfamiliar eyes flashed to him as she smirked.

"I was just getting some supplies, where's the bloke then?" Sirius looked entirely worse for wear, it hadn't been all that long since the Potters passed, and it was indeed prominent on his face.

"Rory." A smile graced his lips as he rose from his seat, abandoning a cup of tea on the table which had her laugh. "I hope you're both well, but we have somewhere to be."

"Where's that?"

They questioned her the entire way, and by that it was a ten-minute discussion in their flat. A walk as the safe house didn't allow for apprenting, and then the last moment attempt as they stood in front of the door.

"Merlin sakes, look boys. I gave birth less than two weeks again and I desperately want to read to my children. But the greater good demands something from my friend and the last thing I want is for her to only have James while she's delivering." It was the first time she had explicitly told them what they were doing here.

But they were unable to say it to not worry Lily.

Sirius instead threw a list of questions, he had been relatively attached to the idea of his nieces and nephews after seeing them in the endless amount of pictures.

His request for them became an all-time high these past few weeks, and it was easy to do so with Rabastan out of the house. But lately it was difficult, her husband was a hawk.

"I have a feeling that Ronan is a Slytherin, though I guess one of my children was going to be green." Remus remained silent, which Sirius couldn't blame him for. As in recent conversation with his mate did he realize that the feelings that Moony had—has is still relatively high in terms of romantic.

It was a difficult conversation as Sirius was fawning over Romulus, and it seemingly threw Remus into a theory filled daydream of why Rory named her firstborn son Romulus.

"RORY! Gods you look brilliant. I like what you did with your hair and—"

"Rory's here?" Aurora had titled her head down the hall to see the witch propped in a comfortable chair, caressing and massaging the likes of her stomach.

"I come bearing gifts? The husband was out and I thought that this would be one of the last times before we both are too child crazed." Sirius chuckled beside his sister and ruffled her perfectly straightened hair.

In a flash it turned into a silver grace, pairing with her seer eyes as she glared directly to Padfoot.

"Maybe they could help James set up the crib? He's set on doing it the muggle way so—"

"I'LL FIGURE IT OUT EVENTUALLY!" It rightly picked up both Moony and Padfoot to aid the soon to be father, as by the end of the day they were surely going to need it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner, I've—"

"Sirius told me. I'm sorry about your brother and father Rory, after everything you don't deserve all that." The two gals shared their pregnancy experience, though Rory was three for four to know what feeling was tied to what action the babe was doing inside.

But Rory flourished her friend in gifts, most being from the magical world and needed a bit of a description. Not that she would leave that to James as she was in doubt he would know what the breast pump would look like.

Some of the gifts Lily didn't quite understand, like the wraps. But she wasn't about to judge a gift from a mother of four.

"Rory you look exhausted."

"I am, as sweet and delicate Cara looks. She has a nasty scream." It was great company, but it was forbidden.

Every passing hour did Rory seemingly grow antsier, Lily thought it as her missing her children. But the ticking time that came towards midnight was a blessing and a curse.

August 1st.

August 1st.

Rory begged for that outcome, but Lily already claimed to have the beginning senses of contractions. And bless it be that Aurora had come when she had, because as the night wained in...The Potter son surely was on his way.

James was almost too much of a mess to keep in the same room, especially seeing his Lilyflower in so much pain as she was.

And cursing like an old wizard. It would've been entertaining had Rory not experienced the same just a few days ago.

Lily Potter was going into labor, and as much as Rory wanted to beg her to stop pushing. It would hurt the babe, and the inevitable was upon them, Dumbledore gave them little to no knowledge about what their child could do, or do to the Dark Lord.

However, the second that Harry James Potter had been delivered. The air shifted. And what might've been a sigh of relief had been a quick gaze to the time.

11:57

Aurora had been the first to crack. Three minutes, three bloody minutes and he could've been saved. Mistress Lestrange had left the room in a sense of panic as she began packing the supplies in an organizing sense.

She wouldn't need all this anyhow.

"Rory?" Remus whispered, missing the excitement from the room next door. She wiped her tears away effortlessly and continued to dry the glass in her hand with the cloth.

The only issue is that Remus was very in tune with his nose and smelled tears.

"Is everything alright?" Is everything alright?
How morbid to think, alright was just...Neutral, and at this point she wished it was.

"He's twenty minutes old and he's in more danger than any of us."

"Rory that isn't something that we can control. Did you even hold him for—" He knew that look, Sirius was starting to withhold his emotions easier around his flatmate, but Aurora seemingly threw a plastered face up and shook her head.

She wasn't going to allow herself to get attached.

"What happened to hope? What happened to the witch who told me that it only matters what's in here and here." She recalled that conversation far too easily, but her biggest concern at the moment was following through with this post plan.

"Remmy I—I don't know if it was a dream or an actual vision. But Rabastan caught me, he knew I was working for the Order...And—I can't..." Visible fear relished on her face as she tried to look in every direction but his.

"That isn't going to happen, he's blinded by—"

"And I'm blinded by guilt. Guilt on both sides of the war, because I couldn't bring myself to leave. And now both Regulus and my father are gone." The werewolf sighed once again, he wanted desperately to hug her and soothe her worries.

But that wasn't his place, his place would always be as her friend.

"I need to get going soon, if you could—"

"Aurora you are going to regret it. And when's the next time you're going to see Harry? If he is in as much danger as you claim."

"As I claim? Do you see the date, the time?" This antsy version of Rory was not what he was expecting in any sense or...Ever.

He sighed once again and nodded. "Stay safe then? You, Romulus, Halsey, Ronan, and Cara." Listing her children caused him to choke up, she had indeed caught his distress on naming her children.

Personally that was probably the first time she heard him call them by name.

"Remus I—"
"No. We need you to stay safe, if you believe that your position here is dangerous then go...Your children need to come first." Just as he finished his sentence, James came running into the room with the happy tears still relatively fresh down his cheek.

"Rory come!" He cheered, and there was little room for disagreement as her hand was pulled and yanked to return to the main room.

Lily was recovering beautifully as all the potions had been administered in a timely manner. But it was Sirius holding Harry that caused Rory to suck in a strangled breath.

Her brother looked like a natural, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would be a brilliant father and Uncle if he was given the chance.

Although seeing the tears in his eyes caused her to tremble in worry, and as she extended to meet his wrist and check the babe to see if there was anything wrong...There wasn't.

It was simply Sirius' first encounter with a child as young as Harry.

"He's so...So tiny." Lily grumbled her own disagreements in the corner as Padfoot continued to fawn over the likes of young Mr.Potter.

But it was Rory who was mesmerized by his eyes. "He has Lily's eyes..." She whispered, and it caught Harry's attention instantly.

And it threw her into a further whirlwind as she saw flashes, the likes of Hogwarts through the eyes of this little trouble maker. It wasn't clear, but thoughts of confusion and disappear laced within the blurred visions.

He lives. Harry Potter Lives.

But at what cost?

"Rory, did you see something? What was it?" She blinked away the remains of the vision as she smiled faintly down to the babe and tapped his nose.

Recoiling like all her own had.

"I think I saw him...At Hogwarts..." It was the version of hope they needed, for her eyes connected off towards Remus. He nodded with a proud glint in his eyes, though Hogwarts seemed so far away for this little bugger.

James too had taken off his glasses to wipe his eyes further. And from one mother to another, it was changing when finding out you're with child to giving birth as you feel the mother Dragon claim.

But for James this was it, this was the moment.

"Look at you two, papa and mummy." She whispered, gripping James as tightly as she could before hugging Lily.

"Do you have to go so soon?" James mumbled, and pouted like a child as he endured a swat from his wife.

"I can't stay much longer, saying I'm at Amelia's or Evelyn's could be back checked." The grim aura had fallen as it had felt relatively connective, to have everyone in the room.

To have Harry finally here, born as the seventh month dies.

"Hold him before you go, properly." Sirius was already in the process of transferring him as he knew Rory wouldn't be able to see him for an unknown amount of time.

"Before you go Rory, we have something to ask you." Her eyes teared from Harry's to look up to the proud parents, the happiness in the room could be choked on.

"We want you and Sirius to be the Godparents." Sirius had breathed a sigh of relief that he had passed Harry to his sister as she tightened her grip to the sweet little bundle.

Sirius had instantly tackled James, he took it as an honor while Aurora found the title as a strike to her heart. Everything—everything was telling her to decline. But seeing the young lad snuggle into her hold like Cara had...How could she say no?

"E-even if—"

"You see him when you can Rory, besides...Who else would we chose as Godmother?" That was entirely true, between the two of them she was perhaps the only witch that were friends.

Alice sure but they weren't close enough to give each other the title.

Aurora returned Harry to his mum and sat beside Lily for a moment. "Are you sure you want me to be—"
"Yes. Even if we can't put you down legally...We want you to be his godmother, just minus the wings." Remus chuckled off behind as both he, Lily and Aurora had read muggle fiction to know what she was referring to...But the lighting note was still damning.

When she left the Potter home, the air felt flat. There was no neutral grounding as she would need to truly be able to figure a way to mask her mind.

Her plan wasn't foolproof, but if she paralyzed herself for a few minutes she could make up for the missed time. Considering it was close to two in the morning already.

The elves didn't question her as there were far too many things to do around the manner to gossip about their mistress, especially when she asked if they could clean the chiming after claiming to hear a noise.

A difficult task and time consuming for the little elves, but perfect to throw them off track.

Instead she laid flat on her back in bed, under covers, and in her nightwear. Giving her the sense of waking up from a vision of what she had seen with the Potters, it'd destroy any doubt.

Any what so ever.

As the minutes passed she threw panic into the mixture before creating a slinger thread of a fake memory. All of which held images of Lily in pain, James, Remus or Sirius. Simply flash imagines and the baby being born.

They would find out anyway, nothing else would be given. Not that Harry would make it to Hogwarts. For the sure reason she came to the Potter's with the sure intention of fulfilling this task.

Barely dressing properly did she grab a heavy cloak that wrapped proper layers around her body as she hurried to apparent to the Malfoy manor.

Although she wasn't meant to use magic, using the floo would be worse. Especially since she didn't want to shock Narcissa if she happened to be in her study.

Instead she continued to plow down through the gate and to the front door with a demanding knock. Poor Dobby begged to get a word out of Mistress Lestrange but failed, only to alert his own mistress on her cousin's appearance.

Instead she continued to grip the small bottle tightly in her hand before hurrying along towards the main room. He should be here, where else would the Dark Lord be?

Traveling would be unwise, and if anything...The Dark Lord was taking extra precautions.

"Seem to be in a hurry love..." A voice started, causing the entirety of horny men to try and gain her attention and block her path.

"Where is the Dark Lord?"

"Oh darling please, you offend me...Don't I get a name for the Ms?" She rolled her eyes and stepped aside to continue to the main room once again, which caused an honest panic to these lower division Death Eaters as they trailed after her.

The wide double doors were open, the normal robed meeting was currently being dealt with...But what she had was far better than anything that he could be preaching about now.

However before she could manage another step, her entire body had been blasted off towards the wall. Her back making an unsettling crack as she slid down and planted on her bum.

She didn't want to alert Rabastan, but these freshly graduated nothings were getting in her way and she honestly didn't want to deal with the like of them.

"What is your name little one?" She spit, and the wizard had scoffed.

"Igor Karkaroff, and I am not little." Smirking did she dust the likes of her dress and straighten the fabric before walking directly to him.

The others in clear hesitation to what this witch was on.

"My name is Aurora Lestrange and I demand an audience with the Dark Lord." Fear rallied in their expressions, those who had muttered comments hadn't managed to look her in the eyes now that she spoke her name.

But Karkaroff still didn't believe her.

"Mrs.Lestrange is away on pregnancy leave in—" She had physically had enough, it shouldn't be this bloody difficult to have low levels question her appearance.

So perhaps a bit of Bella will spark a little imagination.

"I am on pregnancy leave, but what I have for the Dark Lord...Though none of your concern, gives me the adequate right to see him. Now I'll ask, Karkaroff...Is there a problem?" The small dagger that had been swiped from her belt was now shoved against the likes of his neck, where the skin was being stretched further.

Rabastan had felt his mark burn, and he could only rally what was wrong with his wife to use the bracelet...She had only used it twice before, and that was in dire situations.

When Sirius had managed to get into the manor and when Maximus had threatened her and the babe.

He hurried out of the rallying room without much notice, but what had almost escaped his notice was his wife threatening the likes of one of the newbies.

"And what...Do we have here?" He cooed, causing the wizards surrounding him to hitch their backs and bow further to the second Lestrange son.

Aurora had looked back to smirk at her husband, but not allowing her hold to loosen from the bloke's stand against the wall.

"I wanted an audience with the Dark Lord and I was followed by them, then questioned about my name." Rabastan had taken another step forward, and only then had he seen the scratches and partial bruise starting to blossom on his wife's face.

"Did he do this—DID YOU ATTACK MY WIFE?!" Rabastan had turned into his Death Eater persona in close to an instant as he took over his wife's position and threw him to the floor with one hand.

Something that would've taken a good amount of strength on Aurora's end.

She expected it entirely as the curse had been thrown left and right.

"Anyone who questions my wife questions me! Is that understood?!" Aurora's part was coming together well, far too well as they bowed their heads and parted a way for them to enter the room once again.

The commotion had caused a bit of a pause, attention rallying on either of their figures. But Rory and Rabastan continued down the line, even with her back hurting as it did, her adrenaline should mask it for a while more. Or she hoped at the very least.

Her eyes had been labeled normal, the grey hues focusing onto the figure before her as she bowed her head politely. The small cuts and scraps that had been bothersome to Rabastan had caught his attention as well.

But not until she had enacted her seer eyes and fiddled with the bottle in her hand.

"Rabastan, escort your wife to my study...I will be there in a moment...Lucius! Bring in Karkaroff." The order rallied and Rabastan had summoned Dobby mere seconds after exiting in a separate hallway.

He demanded a first aid kit as he knew the Dark Lord was going to lay waste to whomever that wizard was.

"I should've come home...I should've—"

"You couldn't have known, I surely didn't." He knew she was due for a vision, his master warned him that closer to the end of the July it was to be expected.

However what he didn't like to hear was how she felt after the dream. She was paralyzed, almost like it was allowing the prophecy to be born.

"How was your day then?"

"I went to the potion store, it wasn't all that exciting." He chuckled, the small cloth soaked in sap had slowly been dabbed to the surrounding areas of her cheek.

"Should I expect a massive dent in our vault?"

"My smocks are doing very well thank you." She cut back, and he hummed in delight. It was true...She was making her own income, so all that she spent she was returning and then some.

"Does anything else hurt?" She motioned to her back, but this wasn't the time to undress when the Dark Lord would be on his way.

"I promise that I'll give it proper attention in a warm bath?"

"And a rub?" She blinked up towards him, and he leaned down far too easily in an agreement.

"And a rub...And I'll read until you fall to sleep." A tired smile extended, though he wasn't able to hear her response as he was more than prepared in leaving the room.

"What is it that you have seen?" 

"It isn't what we were hoping for my Lord, but it's something. And I believe that I had the vision when he was born." His silence wasn't at all telling to his thoughts, instead he had plucked the bottle and began to analyze the given few scenes.

And a dark chuckle rallied after.

"Unable to move, perhaps you were right...He is the one. The Potter child." 

"I said the same to my husband, my Lord. Perhaps Dumbledore knew something more when placing them as head boy and girl." It was something he hadn't been able to piece together, and the added bonus of her being in their year was telling that they hadn't been together until they shared the responsibility of Hogwarts.

"And the incident when arriving?"

"I suppose my lack of appearance has taken its toll. Using magic is far too unpredictable and damaging at the moment." He hummed once again, twirling the now secured bottle as he was theorizing and predicting.

"I want you to meditate on these visions Cassiopeia. Report back all that you have seen, send your husband or by Owl...My seer is indeed still recovering." That wasn't entirely true, it was a political maneuver.

Aurora hadn't been present in a single raid yet holds a spot at the table.

But the nature of her being a mother is resulting into his image of wanting pureblood to rule while also tearing a mother away from her children for extended periods of times would contradict one another.

Aurora had been dismissed soon after, and Rabastan wasted no time at all fulfilling each of his wife's' whims. And rolling into August did he cut a grin.

The twins would be turning two already.

They were speaking close to fluently now, complete sentences although inaccurate in the best of times. Their childish banter and pouts mixed with the bittersweet change of their hair shades...It brought for a brilliant playdate with all the surrounding children.

While the Dark Lord was falling apart, the Lestrange family was thriving...Even without the teachings of a mad man.

Rabastan had fulfilled his promise, although it took convincing to put sap on where her back hit the wall. Had he watched it happen—Karkaroff would be dead.

It had barely taken a chapter to get her to fall asleep in his hold, her hair still damp against his chest. But for the first time in months, he could hold her entirely in his arms.

No tum separated them or made her uncomfortable while she slept.

He himself didn't get a wink, he was considering his options for a few issues. One was the Black family legacy, and with the three remaining Black heirs being females and two having difficulties...It would indeed mean that Rory was the last.

Rabastan would need to ask Orion the painting tomorrow or soon when he gets the chance.

On another note, he wanted to get his wife another gift. The potion was a simple idea, perhaps he could gift her flowers to add to the garden?

It was what his mind had been filled with before exhaustion of his explicit torture to Karkaroff was given.

After a hefty breakfast, Aurora had continued her work in sketching the designs for Evelyn. She felt extremely guilty that the shy girl was being courted and expected to marry so quickly.

And although McNair wasn't a bad man, he was a bit old fashion. He was right that night, she and Rabastan had years to establish everything, they grew along right beside each other.

But Evelyn is young, younger than her husband like most of her friends were if she truly thought about it.

Yet Remus' words sunk in greatly, that hope would allow them to grow.

As she was out in the gazebo, she settled the children into a small little set up so they were well entertained. Romulus and Ronan got along swimmingly. It was Halsey that favored playing alone, Rory only hoped that when Cara would start sitting up that the relationship would grow properly as the two sons had.

However she found her activity by brushing through either Loki or Nymeria's fur. A treat that Loki couldn't get enough of as he started to whine for it.

"Mumumum!" Rommy called out, his hair remaining his inherited brown...The curls coming in perfectly. "Yes Rommy?"

"Sing song!" Her smile curled up as she laid down the drawing book and made her way closer, Cara was in the cot closest to where she was sitting, but when she walked the given way close, Nymeria took a protective stance to the babe. Her head plopping down to the brim and eyeing down to see the kicking lil gal.

"Which song?" It caught Halsey's attention now that her mother came to join them and she ran over with her brush in hand. Her hair was exactly how Aurora's was when she was younger. It caught Rory to return a strain behind her hair and make a mental note to grab a clip later.

"Birdie song!" It became a chant from the twins, and Roe clapped his hand in an attempt to speak as well. So Rory started off with a whistle in calling Munnin to add to the song.

To Rabastan, it seemed that it was the perfect time to join his wife and children as she was smiling so brightly down to the three. And before long her beautiful voice had graced him.

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night

 Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise...

Blackbird singing in the dead of night..."

It was Sirius who showed her this song as he was close to obsessed with a muggle band. But it was Roe's humming and the twins whispering the songs that really tickled, bringing her close to tears as she snuggled Roe.

The youngest son had hugged his mummy back, but it was far to precious that he bent down and kissed her tummy. "Roe, Cara's not in mummy anymore. She's with Nymeria." It was pure shock as he was still getting used to the idea of having a sibling younger than him.

But he reacted fairly better than Halsey had.

"Seems like you finished your gift for Evelyn?" She turned her head to see her husband just entering the gazebo, lately the smile on her face was prominent. Even the tears on her cheeks were happy in the sense of what the munchkins were doing.

"Close, perhaps I can send the ideas and they can fill in the blanks...Did you finish the assignment in time?"

"Few hours to spare, father's been pushing for more...Rolph says he's close to retiring." It was true, with Clarissa ill as she is and with really no need for work. The Senior Lestrange was going to pass his position down to his son, all in securing that the pureblood reign will uphold in the legal sense of the ministry.

Aurora favored that idea, and so she tilted her head up. A silent signal that she wanted a kiss, and sure enough he joined her on the floor and fulfilled that demand.

"I did have a bit of a surprise if—" She perked her lips, how his wife was the single female in the world who detested getting gifts?

"Why can I not spoil you?"
"Because I don't need anything, I am perfectly content." Content. He narrowed his brow, it felt like an offense that she wasn't entirely happy with the life he was giving her

Seeing his forming frown she found placement in the crook of his neck and smiled. "I wish there wasn't a war, wish that my brother and father were alive...But nothing can be perfect." He leaned in further and kissed her crown, only before the three munchkins wiggled and pouted their way in between their parents.

"Except this...This is perfect." It was indeed, especially as there was nothing they needed to do today. It was in a few where they'd attend the McNair wedding, but until then this was their place.

Everyone in the manor with the children.

"Should I ask what you purchased?"

"I couldn't get my Ravenclaw normal flowers..." He started in an explanation before calling an elf to aid her in the beginning set up. It caused her to shower him in peppered kisses, her excitement was a grand expression and it built up the kids to throw giggles off and around.

An elf remained with the children in the gazebo as Rabastan took the moment to show what exactly he had purchased. She had started to heal the garden the first summer of their marriage, but she was in the midst of starting her classes and then the blindness...Then children.

Now with them growing just a bit older, she could start doing her projects. It was a strong reminder of the long list of projects she wanted to accomplish when she feeling better.

"I also had Snape fill your stores, as well as the offer to aid if you want an assistant." That was surely going to fall through once Severus started working at Hogwarts. Which she worried in how that managed to get through, what was Dumbledore's plan?

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Date Posted: 11-06-19

Time: 8:55

Words: 5360

I'm livid, I was told I don't have enough credits to be labeled as a Junior so the registration office told me I'm a sophomore, come to find out that I am a Junior and I'm meant to sign up for classes tomorrow morning. 

But I was told I would be signing up next week. LIVID.

Also, life update: I purchased a car! I'm gonna beep beep in my Jeep:)