1,398Yo! Yep, here I am once again. ...Why do I keep doing this? Well anyway, it's three in the morning, I'm tired and can't think of anything to say, so just make note of all the warnings and whatnot. I'm not repeating them.
Warning: Dark!Harry, Twin!Harry, WrongBWL!Harry, Slytherin!Harry, Fem!Harry (yeah, I'm going all out here), Ravenclaw!Hermione, Hufflepuff!Neville. Pairings! I don't have all of them figured out just yet, so take these with a grain of salt. TMRxHP/VxHP, RLxSB, CDxRP(OC-the twin), TNxHG, one-sided DMxHP, and that's all I know so far. There will also be mentions of abuse, which I don't condone at all. Nothing too explicit for that though. Oh, it's AU for the most part, I guess, though it becomes more obvious later on.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...
Prologue
If there was one thing James Potter hated-like, really hated, it was hospitals. If he could have things his way, he would never even step foot into one. Ever. There was something about how clean and sterile and...clinical everything was that just set him on edge. He'd had the tendency to avoid the hospital wing at Hogwarts for the same reason too.
Of course, having chosen to become a member of the Quidditch team at school, and an auror of all things as an adult, while feeling this way about hospitals probably hadn't been his smartest decisions in life.
Whenever he was injured enough to require medical attention, his friends literally had to knock him unconscious so they could get him to the hospital. Unfortunately for James, being in the hospital was something that couldn't possibly be avoided today.
His amazing, beautiful, perfect wife was in labour. He was about to become a father, and that made him nervous. So nervous in fact, that he had been kicked out of Lily's room for it because he had been irritating her. Remus had gone inside instead, being much more level-headed (and much less likely to want to make Lily murder him).
"Stop pacing, Prongs. You're driving me insane now."
James did an about turn and faced his closest friend. "I can't help it, Padfoot! What if something goes wrong!?" The concern in his voice was equally as evident on his flushed face.
"Then go check."
"She'll yell at me again!"
Sirius smirked from where he was seated on a nearby bench, elbows braced on his knees, soft, dark hair falling around his face. "As if that's her fault."
James opened his mouth to retort, but was prevented from saying anything when Remus all but barrelled out of the room, looking more than a little thrilled.
"Remus!"
"Moony!"
James and Sirius jumped to their feet faster than what seemed possible, speaking over one another loudly.
"What is-"
"Is Lily oka-"
"Is it a bo-"
"A gir-"
"Quiet! Both of you!" Remus chastised immediately, even as the other two tried to speak again. "Lily is exhausted but fine, and the children are perfectly healthy."
James and Sirius froze, then managed to exchange a shocked look before suddenly grabbing Remus by the collar and shouting-
"What!?"
Remus winced, momentarily cursing his sensitive ears, before extracting himself from the grips of his friends. "Yes, children," he repeated, excitement building once again. "Lily had twins. Girls."
All three were quick to head inside then, finding Lily reclining on the bed, looking pale, but content. She held both girls, one in each arm, and James approached the bed rather cautiously, his eyes on his children, on his daughters.
"Lily..."
The young woman looked up at them and smiled tiredly, beckoning her husband closer as well as she could without moving too much. "Hullo, James."
James sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned forward to kiss his wife gently. He looked down at the girls. "They're beautiful."
Lily snorted. "They look like hairy, wrinkly potatoes."
Sirius smothered a laugh even as James shrugged. "Potatoes can be beautiful."
That had Lily smiling again, softer this time, and she looked down at her little girls herself. "I wasn't planning on twins, but I'm so happy."
"Yeah, me too."
Normally, Sirius would have mock gagged at such an emotion filled moment, but not today. He stood next to Remus, beaming happily, as if he was the father of the kids. Hell, he may as well have been. He was going to spoil them like crazy!
"What will you be naming them?" Remus asked curiously. "I don't think you've ever said anything to us about it."
James and Lily traded a long look, communicating silently, as many couples tended to often do.
Some months ago they had picked a couple of names for both boys and girls, deciding not to just settle on one in case the name didn't fit the face. It seemed they were going to end up using both girl names they had picked. Now they just had to figure out who would get which name.
Carefully, very carefully, James picked up one of the infants. She had a tuft of hair as dark as his own and her eyes, barely open, were the same shade as her mother's eyes. She was tiny, very tiny, but was a little bit bigger than her sister.
"She was born first," said Lily.
James nodded and then, after a moment, looked back up at his wife. "Rose," he said, choosing the first of the two names. "Rose Lily Potter."
Lily smiled and nodded, agreeing with the choice, and then gazed down at the child in her own arms, identical to her sister except for being just slightly smaller. "Violet Alice Potter," she said, declaring the second of the two names.
Sirius blinked when he heard this, and frowned. "Alice?" he repeated, looking confused, which only made Remus, who was standing beside him, sigh in exasperation.
But Lily, obviously in a very good mood, merely laughed. "My dearest friend Alice? From Hogwarts? She married Frank! Don't you remember? You were at their wedding too! I told you she said she agreed to be the godmother."
"Oh." Remembering now, Sirius rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, wondering how he could have forgotten that. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Wasn't she about to have her kid too?"
"She was, and did-yesterday. They had a boy, and they named him Neville. I'm his godmother."
"That's great!" exclaimed Sirius, appearing genuinely pleased.
"Speaking of godparents," said James suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to him. He and Lily traded a nod, more of their silent communication, before he looked over at Sirius. "Padfoot, will you do us the honour of becoming Rose's godfather?"
And while Sirius stood there, utterly dumbfounded, Lily looked at Remus. "And will you do us the honour of becoming Violet's godfather, Moony?"
Remus froze, completely caught off guard by the sudden request that he genuinely hadn't seen coming. He had thought they would ask Sirius to be the godfather of both of the girls, like Alice was their godmother. He hadn't thought to be asked at all. Most would have never asked a lycanthrope to do something like this.
But before Remus could say anything, Sirius let out a loud, ecstatic whoop, practically bouncing where he stood, and both men accepted their new positions without preamble, taking their respective goddaughter into their arms. Sirius grinned down at Rose, and Remus smiled at Violet.
There really weren't any obvious differences in the twins other than the very slight one in their sizes, but the closer Remus looked, the more he began to notice that there was one other small difference.
While Violet's eyes, like Rose's were just like Lily's, both in shape and colour, something about Violet's seemed...brighter. The green of her eyes seemed more vivid, almost. But maybe that was just a trick of the light.
Fifteen Months Later
James and Lily adored their children, and it seemed that everyone else did too. Frankly, who wouldn't? Rose and Violet were the sweetest, most adorable things ever! Even Lily's stuffy older sister Petunia had been completely taken with them. No one could resist their charm!
Of course, things between Lily and Petunia hadn't always been easy, but the death of their parents had reunited them, bringing them closer in a way they hadn't really ever been before. Lily liked having her big sister back, and Petunia liked having her little sister back, the rift that had grown between them finally mending, though it did, admittedly, take a little while.
And now both Lily and Petunia were aunts, because Petunia had a child too, just a few months before Lily had hers-a son named Dudley. Watching the three of them play together had been the cutest thing in the world.
Sirius and Remus, the twins' godfathers, were around as often as they could be, wanting to spend as much time with their little goddaughters as possible. They absolutely doted on the two. They had no plans to have children of their own, so that gave them all the more time to spend with the twins.
Despite being twins though, Rose and Violet were actually quite different (except in appearance, naturally). Lily had heard stories about twins being inseparable, and she had even seen that for herself in the Weasley twins Fred and George, who were only three years old. They never went anywhere without the other, always climbing into each other's beds to sleep cuddled up together. They behaved the same way, and spoke the same way, and never failed to drive their mother insane.
But Lily noticed that her own twins weren't like that at all.
Rose was the more excitable one of the two. She seemed to love being the centre of attention, constantly drawing it to her if she noticed it wasn't already on her. She was always rushing around the house, filling any and every room she was in with laughter. Wherever Rose went, laughter followed.
But she was also very fussy at times, especially with anything she didn't like, and it seemed that she cried almost as much as she laughed. But Rose loved James and Sirius the most, always very happy with their many loud, fun pranks.
Violet was the complete opposite. She was a quiet baby, almost oddly so, and didn't like being around too many people at once, or having too many people looking at her. She tended to escape rooms whenever this happened. She was curious though, always exploring so she could look at things or touch them. ...Or stick them in her mouth.
It was rare for Violet to cry, but at the same time, hearing her bright laughter was almost like being given a treat. She was the calm twin too, rarely fussy and mostly agreeable, and even surprisingly patient if she noticed her mother busy with her twin. Violet liked being around Lily and Remus more, seemingly at peace with their calmer attitudes and softer voices.
Of course, Lily didn't really have any problem with this. It was almost refreshing, in a way, the difference in the twins. It also made it impossible to mix them up, so that was a nice bonus too.
It was Halloween and James and Lily were both utterly exhausted. The twins had been an irritating handful today which, admittedly, was normal when it came to Rose, but less so with Violet.
Darkness had fallen and the children were finally asleep, so the couple sat slumped on the couch in their sitting room, getting their first moments of relaxation since morning.
"Violet was acting strange today, wasn't she?" said James, although it sounded like he was making a statement more than he was asking a question.
Lily agreed with him anyway and nodded. "Yeah, she was. She generally isn't so fussy. But she seemed so agitated and upset today. She was crying so much-I don't think she's cried that much since she was a couple of months old."
Lily frowned, even as she thought this. She'd been getting a strange, almost ominous feeling nearly all day. She didn't understand that feeling, and didn't understand why she'd been feeling it, but... Had Violet been picking up on that? On her unease It certainly wouldn't have been for the first time, though she tended to pick up on Rose's emotions more than she did Lily's. Lily supposed that was just because they were twins-Molly had told her Fred and George had the same sort of connection, whatever it was.
"Have you heard from Sirius?" said Lily eventually.
"Yeah, he'll be checking in on Wormtail tomorrow to see how he's doing. Tomorrow's the first anyway, and Peter's been pretty quite recently. Guess Pads is worried."
"And Remus? I haven't seen or heard from him in a couple of days no-oh, has the full moon just passed?"
"Hmm, yesterday. He said he needs another day or two to recover, but that he can drop by if we need him. If not, he'll come over by the end of the week."
Lily sighed softly. She loved Moony dearly, and she wished he didn't have to deal with all of this. He was such a good man, and he adored Violet more than anything. Why he was trapped with such a cursed life was beyond her. She couldn't ever forget how shocked she had been when she had first found out the truth, and thinking about how he'd been a child when it had all happened-it just broke her heart…
Peace in the Potter cottage came to an unfortunate and abrupt end when the front door flew open suddenly. A dark cloaked and hooded figure walked in calmly, wand in hand.
James leapt to his feet a second quicker than his wife, his auror instincts kicking in. "Lily, get to the kids!" he shouted. "It's him! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Of course, he had no idea whether he even stood a chance when it came to the Dark Lord, but he turned to him anyway, determined to protect his wife and daughters-protect his family. He didn't even register the green flash until it was too late.
Meanwhile, Lily had rushed upstairs to the nursery and had attempted to barricade the door shut. She grabbed Rose and set her down in Violet's crib, wanting to keep them together because she knew her blockage wasn't going to do much of anything. A spell would have been of more use-a ward spell of some kind or-or something, but she didn't know any off the top of her head that would be enough to help. At least, not against someone like this.
And then, as she had thought, the door simply burst open and the figure entered, all but gliding into the room, laughing softly. Despite knowing this meant James was no doubt dead downstairs, Lily tried her best not to let it deter her and moved to stand in front of the crib, her arms spread out in front of her children.
"Not them, not them, please not them!" Was it even worth pleading with the Dark Lord Voldemort? Lily didn't know. All she knew was that she would do anything she had to to protect her little girls.
"Stand aside you silly girl, stand aside now."
Somewhere in the back of her mind Lily was shocked by the words. Did Voldemort really not plan to kill her? Was he really so desperate to kill her children that he would even let her live if it meant he could get to them?
It didn't matter. Lily refused to move aside. She could never, never do something like that. Ever. These girls only existed because of her and James, and that meant they had to do everything they could to keep them safe.
"Not Rose, not Violet! Please, no, take me! Kill me instead!" And she would die gladly if it meant protecting her children. It would be selfish to leave them as orphans, but at least they would have their godfathers. "Please, have mercy..."
Did Lord Voldemort even know what mercy was? Perhaps he did if he was asking her to move aside. Perhaps he didn't if he was trying to kill two babies.
Lily screamed as the Dark Lord laughed, casting the deadly curse. And as her life came to an end, her daughters' faces were the very last thing Lily saw...
It was nearly finished.
Voldemort turned his attention to the crib and the two children that had been placed within it. One of them was crying loudly, the sound grating on his nerves as he was forced to recall the orphanage he had been trapped in for so long. It did nothing to appease him, offering only very brief clarity to his mind before it blanked over once again.
He looked at the second child. This one was quiet, sitting there looking up at him, curiosity shining in her bright, green eyes. Eyes that, in his muddled mind, looked to very nearly match the colour of the spell he had just used to end her father's life, her mother's life. The spell he would use to end her sister's life. The spell he would use to end her life.
But at the same time, he thought it was somewhat unfortunate. The quiet child had an intelligence and curiosity in her eyes that her frightened sister did not seem to have.
Cautiously, and not quite sure why he was doing it, he reached down into the crib and set a large hand onto her head, ignoring the bawling child nearby She remained silent even at his touch. The only thing she did was look up at him, her innocent curiosity only growing. His mind cleared again, just for a moment, and he wondered which twin this was. Wormtail had told him one was Rose and the other, Violet.
A flash of silver caught his eye and he saw that they were both wearing bracelets that seemed to bear their names. The crying child was Rose, and the quiet one was Violet.
Yes, it really was unfortunate. If it wasn't for the prophecy, perhaps he would keep Violet alive and have her raised properly. His mind blanked over again, his original goal forcing its way to the forefront of his mind.
They had to go. Both of them.
Voldemort retracted his hand and raised his wand instead, aiming it at Rose. She was still crying loudly, so he would deal with her first. But as he did this, Violet began to move, trying to pull herself up. Voldemort ignored her-there was little she could do to stop him after all, and instead he spoke the cursed words that would end it all.
"Avada Kedavra."
But even as he said the final syllable, Violet just barely managed to get in front of her sister and instead of hitting Rose, the spell hit her instead, causing her to cry out in confusion and surprise.
Voldemort barely had the time for his eyes to widen before the spell, somehow, backfired. And then all he felt was pain.
Darkness approached quickly, in his eyes, his mind, all around him, and he did the only thing he could and fled, unaware of anything around him save for the bright eyes glowing in the aftermath of the spell of death...
Albus Dumbledore hadn't even settled into bed for the night when one of his many alarms suddenly went off. He didn't even have to check which one it was, knowing it immediately, and he was on his feet faster than anyone would have thought possible for someone of his age.
Something was wrong in Godric's Hollow.
Needing to leave right away, he twisted the castle wards and apparated out of his office and to the quaint village, rushing to the cottage. He hurried inside, freezing at the sight of James Potter's body. His hazel eyes were open, but he lay still. Was it too late?
Then he heard the crying.
He all but ran up the stairs and into the nursery. He found Lily there, on the floor and laying as still as her husband, and he felt a pang of regret in his chest. They had been so young. So good. So...light.
But his attention quickly diverted to the crib nearby. The twins both sat inside, both alive, both crying. He took long strides to reach them, stepping around Lily so he could get close enough to examine them, and he saw it immediately.
One of them had a cut-a jagged cut that was shaped like a bolt of lightning, sitting on her forehead. It was still bleeding slightly. A quick glance at her wrist told him that this was Rose. A frown marred his face, but he turned to Violet and found that she was unmarked.
What could this mean? The prophecy?
He performed a few hasty spells, finding dark magic still lingering in the room, and was quickly able to guess what had happened. Lord Voldemort had attacked, hitting one child with the Killing Curse. But it seemed that the curse had rebounded on its caster.
Albus wasn't a fool though. He knew Tom wasn't dead. He couldn't be, no, not just yet. He would be back, and Albus knew that for a fact. But then, Rose's mark…
No, he had other things to do right now. First, he had to get the children out of here. He scooped them both up, Violet falling silent even as Rose continued to cry. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about that right now. A wandless spell later, a message was being sent to Hagrid, and as he walked out of the quickly ruining house, he began planning.
By the time he made it outside, a small crowd had gathered around the cottage. Albus avoided the crowd and moved off to the side so he could wait for Hagrid in privacy. It wouldn't do to get too many eyes on the children right now. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait for long.
Albus didn't allow Hagrid to speak-he didn't have the time for that, so he hurriedly spoke himself. He told Hagrid he'd deal with this, handed off the children, gave him an address, and asked for him to meet him there as soon as he could, because he had to stop by the Ministry first and inform them of what had happened.
Ever loyal, Hagrid obeyed without question, once again, as always, doing as Albus asked. Without waiting any longer, Albus vanished on the spot, determined mental wheels spinning rapidly...
Minerva McGonagall was in shock. The rumours she had been hearing, the ones still spreading even as she thought this, were rumours she refused to believe. Not until Albus confirmed them, because there was no way, absolutely no way they could be true.
She had been outside Number Four Privet Drive all day, waiting in her animagus form, but trying not to alert anyone that she was here. She knew she was at the home of the Dursleys-Lily Potter's Muggle sister's home, but why she was here she didn't know. She had found out that Albus had asked Hagrid to meet him here, and so here she was waiting.
It was midnight when Albus finally arrived, and it only took a minute of stalling before he admitted that all the rumours Minerva had been hearing were true. All of them.
James and Lily were dead, killed by You-Know-Who, and their little girls had survived. And it seemed that Rose... Rose was the one who had been able to vanquish the Dark Lord.
Already people were calling the child the Girl-Who-Lived. Where the title had come from, Minerva didn't know, but Albus didn't deny it.
Minerva was speechless. She couldn't even begin to imagine what James and Lily had been thinking. Their final moments must have been filled with the fear and despair of not being able to protect their family. How horrible.
It was Hagrid's arrival that eventually drew Minerva out of her thoughts, and she was surprised to see him astride a motorbike, which he quickly and eagerly claimed belonged to Sirius Black. But what confused Minerva more was when she saw Hagrid pass one of the children over to Albus.
"Albus?"
He barely even glanced at her. "Rose will be living with her aunt and uncle now," he said.
Minerva frowned slightly. "But...they are Muggles."
"Yes," Albus agreed. "Lily and Petunia came to good terms more than a year ago now, so there is no need to fear on that part. Petunia has agreed to care for Rose. She and her husband will ensure that she learns of who she is. If she were to remain in our world, she would be worshipped, revered even. No child needs to grow with behaviour like that."
In silence, Minerva watched Albus approach Number Four's front door, ring the bell, and speak with the couple who answered the call. When he handed the little bundle over, the thin woman took the sleeping child into her arms, tears staining her cheeks.
And it was only when Albus returned to them that Minerva noticed something. The Dursleys had only taken one child.
"They're only taking Rose? What of Violet?" she said.
Here, Albus sighed heavily, taking the remaining child from Hagrid. "Vernon and Petunia already have a child of their own," he said. "It would be very difficult for them to raise all three children without them suffering themselves. While they are regretful, they can only take one of them, and as the Potter heir, Rose needs the added protection. She will be safe here."
Minerva's frown only deepened, her lips thinning. She hadn't failed to notice that he hadn't actually answered her question. "But what about-?"
Albus smiled. "There is no need to fear, Minerva. I have it all planned out. You should join in on the festivities. A number of them look quite amusing."
And after a farewell to both her and Hagrid, he turned and vanished on the spot, leaving Minerva shocked and confused. What was that man thinking!?
Albus appeared in a darkened alleyway. Stepping out, he found himself in an empty street and he nodded to himself, pleased. This would do just fine He strolled down this street, pausing in front of a weathered, two story building. Above the faded, peeling door sat a sign, declaring the place to be Starlight Orphanage.
Conjuring a basket, he placed the sleeping child inside, setting the item on the small landing at the top of the stairs. He then used a couple of spells to acquire a bit of parchment and a quill, quickly writing the girl's full name down, and adding this to the package.
Casting one or two other spells around the area, he took a step back, satisfied, and gazed down at the sleeping child.
Perhaps it was cruel of him to separate the girls like this-to send Rose to family who would care for her, and Violet to an orphanage where there was no guarantee of care at all. But one was the Girl-Who-Lived, and had a greater need for this than her sister, for he knew Tom would return, and he knew that when he did, he was going to target the Girl-Who-Lived, rather than her sister.
Rose Lily Potter and Violet Alice Potter. Twins with fates that would no doubt be so very different. And if one of them had to suffer for it, well, it was all going to benefit the greater good in the end.
Damn that was a long prologue. I'm curious about the response I'll get, since I've never written anything like this, which is why I've put it up. I don't have any more written, so I don't know when the next update will be. I do however, have ideas for up to the beginning of fourth year so far, so hopefully it won't take too long. I do plan on doing all the years, but I'll go through the first few as fast as I can. Because of that, the actual romance won't begin until later on, so please be patient. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!