Mia sat next to Theo on one of the couches and everyone who knew them both snorted, they've been attached at the hip pretty much since they met on the train in their first year.

The screen lit up and Mia immediately offered Theo her hand, which he took with no hesitation as he looked at her, "something tells me I'm not going to like this huh?"

Mia nodded locking eyes with him, "Yeah definitely not, which is why I gave you my hand to hold." he interlocked his fingers with hers and rubbed circles on her wrist. Mia smiled softly at him before she looked at some of the others. "I will warn you before this starts a lot of you are not going to like what you're about to see in the beginning of this, so just a warning there."

Aster and Regulus knew everything because Mia had told them, what happened to her while she was with Petunia and Vernon, and her friends did too, but knowing what happened and seeing it happening are two different things.

James was eyeing Theo, as he stuck very close to Mia's side, practically clutching her hand... he didn't like that, the boy's family were known supporters of The Dark Lord. He also didn't know the depth of Theo's relationship with Mia, which was why he kept his mouth shut and just observed.

Lily looked at her daughter, "what do you mean?"

Mia sighed, "You'll see...." She knew that her mum and dad in particular wouldn't like what they were about to witness. "I'd rather not spoil it and just let you see it as it happens."

Lily looked at her warily she had a feeling that this was not going to be pleasant for Mia.

The screen started playing again.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal that you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

Lily furrowed her brow slightly, as she recognized the last name of her older sister's husband, and wondered what Petunia and her horrid husband had to do with this... because she would never have let her daughter near either of them. 

Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a rather large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion, there was no finer boy anywhere.

Aster snorted at the description of her half-sister. "well that's a very accurate description of Petunia." 

Mia smirked, "it is, isn't it Aunt Aster?" 

The Dursleys had everything they wanted but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.

James scoffed in offense, "Hey.... what's that supposed to mean?" 

Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister but they hadn't met for several years, in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended that she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.

Lily looked at Mia, "What does Petunia have to do with this? because there is no way in hell I'd ever and I mean ever allow her to be near you." 

"I don't want to spoil anything, so mum you will see by the end of this part." Theo held her hand just a bit tighter, which of course was noticed by James, who narrowed his eyes still not liking the closeness between the Nott boy and his prongslette. 

The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small daughter, but they had never even seen her. This girl was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.

Mia rolled her eyes but said nothing as to not give anything away prematurely. 

When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl fluttering past the window.

"An Owl?" Lily questioned. "In that neighborhood?" She had been to her sister's neighborhood and it was boringly normal so to see an owl there at that time of day was strange.

At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.

Narcissa looked at Mia, whom she's come to see as a daughter figure since she couldn't have any more children after Draco, "oh good heavens, they're encouraging him to have a tantrum?"

Mia nodded at her, "Yes, they are, and when he gets older it's how he always got his way because they allowed him to get away with it from a young age."

"That's just terrible, no mother should encourage their child to throw tantrums to get their way." the other good mothers in the room agreed with her.

It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.

But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt — these people were obviously collecting for something . . . yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.

"What is going on that everyone seems to have forgotten their decorum and the statue of secrecy?" Marlene questioned a look of surprise on her face.

"You will see soon auntie Marls." Mia said, and the woman beams at being called auntie Marls and nods at the answer given by her goddaughter.

Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.

"What's a telephone?" Arthur Weasley questioned curiously.

Mia smiled at the Weasley patriarch, "a telephone is a form of muggle communication, it's very similar to what you know as a floo call only it's through a device which is called a telephone instead of the fireplace."

He nodded, "okay that makes sense thank you Mia."

"you're welcome Mr. Weasley." They focused back on the screen after that.

He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the bakers. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"

"Why are they talking about us like that?" James looks at his daughter.

"you'll see soon Dad, I don't want to spoil anything." she answered.

"— yes, their daughter, Mia—" Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a daughter called Mia. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his niece was called Mia. He'd never even seen the girl. It might have been Mallory Or Maeve. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if he'd had a sister like that... but all the same, those people in cloaks...

Mia rolled her eyes, at her uncle, she was glad that he was no longer around. But she said nothing not wanting to spoil anything for those that didn't know yet.

Blaise suddenly started laughing making people look at him with confusion on their faces, as he looked at his best friend and twin sister, "oh Merlin I just remembered, that if we're watching Mia's life then we get to see it again."

People looked confused at that, Bianca gave her twin a look, "see what again Blaise, a lot of things have happened you'll have to be more specific."

He rolled his eyes, giving her a look, "you know, our first year on the train? Mia found us a compartment, but it wasn't empty and it had little baby Theo in it."

Bianca nodded also grinning as she remembered what her twin was talking about, "oh that, yeah that's going to be fun to see the reactions to that moment."

Mia just shrugged, squeezing Theo's hand, "and I completely meant that." Theo buried his face into her hair, he hated thinking about his father. Mia brought their intertwined hands up and kissed the back of his hand, and the boy relaxed slightly, but kept his face buried into her hair. Mia really did mean that threat that they were talking about, the minute that little Mia locked eyes with little Theo on the train she immediately felt an overwhelming protective urge towards him that she didn't understand at that time.

But she still was that protective of him even now, everyone knows if you mess with Theo, you face the wrath of a pissed off Mia, and vice versa Theo was just as protective of Mia.

He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.

"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground.

Aster snorted, looking at Mia "he actually knows that word?"

Mia smirked at her aunt, "yeah I'm surprised about that too."

On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"

Lily tilted her head to the side slightly, "isn't that Professor Flitwick?"

That made James look at the small man on screen, "I believe you are right Lily Flower, that looks a lot like him."

"Wait You-Know-Who is gone? but what about the prophecy?" Marlene questioned.

Mia clenched her jaw, she'd found out something interesting about the prophecy that made her an orphan. Theo noticing her anger starting to rise, wrapped his arms around her, whispering calming words in her ear. Which of course was noticed by James and Sirius this time, they glared at the boy, that was their daughter and Goddaughter and they didn't want her to be associated in any way with someone from the Dark Side.

While Marlene silently awed at the sight she thought it was cute. She lightly smacked the back of Sirius' head seeing the glare at the boy.

He pouted looking at her. "ow Marls! What was that for?"

She gave him a look"You know what that was for Siri... stop it they're adorable."

He went to argue, but the look Marlene gave him shut him up rather quickly.

And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.

"Doesn't approve of imagination?" Sirius looks at his goddaughter.

"nope the man didn't believe in anything that would be considered 'abnormal' which includes imagination." was all Mia said.

As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw — and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.

"That's a little suspicious." Lily pointed out.

Marlene nodded in agreement, "Although the cat does look rather familiar doesn't it?"

Sirius tilted his head to the side, seeing that his girlfriend was right, "that almost looks like Minnie."

Minerva sighed, it had been so long since she'd been called that but she let it slide this time since it was from one of her favorite students and she felt a little guilty that she had believed when they said that he had betrayed the Potters she knew better now but still she couldn't help but feel guilty about believing it when she should have known better in her opinion.

"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.

Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Shan't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally.

Mia rolled her eyes, as she started playing with Theo's hair, making him sigh contently as he leaned into her touch, he loved when she did that.

When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern."

The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"

"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."

Minerva shook her head, at the recklessness being shown to her, that could have exposed them to the muggles. She still couldn't believe they would be so careless.

Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters . . .

Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"

As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. "No," she said sharply. "Why?"

Lily scoffed and Aster rolled her eyes. They both felt mutual feelings about their older half-sister, although Lily wasn't aware that Petunia was only their half-sister yet.

"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls . . . shooting stars . . . and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today . . ."

"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.

"Well, I just thought . . . maybe . . . it was something to do with . . . you know . . . her crowd."

Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead, he said, as casually as he could, "Their daughter— she'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't she?"

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.

"What's her name again? Mallory, isn't it?"

"Mia. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."

Lily scoffed and nearly sneered, "and Dudley is a better name than Mia? At least my daughter's name is normal."

Theo clenched his jaw, they didn't even know Mia yet and were talking bad about her, he could only imagine what would happen once she was placed with them and he knew that he wasn't going to like it. He buried his face into Mia's neck breathing in her scent.

James and Sirius of course noticed this and once again glared at the sight.  Making Marlene sigh quietly as she noticed the glares at the boy again.

Reggie noticed and snorted to himself, he was looking forward to the two of them seeing exactly who and what Theo was to Mia. It brought him a twisted form of satisfaction knowing that they wouldn't like what they found out because this was when they would have all the compulsions and blocks on them.

"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."

Mia was too busy playing with her boyfriend's hair to pay much attention to this part of it, she knew that he was getting upset at just the way they were talking about her and she was trying to keep him calm, because it was only going to get worse in the next part after this.

He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.

"you know what Sirius you're right that does look like Minnie." James said looking at the cat on screen.

Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did . . . if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.

The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind. . . . He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect them. . . .

How very wrong he was.

Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

"That's very suspicious and I still don't understand why Petunia is involved in this.... because I still stand by what I said that I would never ever let her anywhere near my child... even if something happened to me I would never ever leave my child with Petunia."

Mia just clenched her jaw, "you will see in just a few minutes mum."

A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.

Lily narrowed her eyes at the man, she didn't trust him, one bit... she shared a look with James, Sirius, Marlene and Remus, they gave a discreet nod, none of them trusted the old man. Everything he did now just seemed suspicious to them.

Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."

He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead, he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.

That alarmed quite a few people because Minerva McGonagall was always meticulously put together so something awful must have happened to have ruffled the woman so much.

"It was Minnie!" Sirius said, "but what is she doing there and what is Dumbledore doing there as well?"

Mia just gave her godfather a look, "you will see in just a moment Uncle Siri."

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."

"See I knew that was suspicious.... but why is professor McGonagall there? why are they both there?" Lily questioned sort of echoing Sirius' questions.

"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.

"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.

"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls . . . shooting stars. . . . Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."

"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."

"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared, at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"

Marlene looked at her goddaughter, "so it's true then he's actually gone?"

Mia just gave her a look, "you'll see, auntie Marls."

The woman nods but smiles again at the 'auntie Marls' comment.

"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbert lemon?"

"A what?"

"A sherbert lemon. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."

"I hope he chokes on one." Mia muttered to Theo who snorted.

"you and me both darling." he whispered back.

Remus snorted hearing them with his enchanted werewolf hearing, and Mia may be his honory niece but he agreed with Marlene that the two were adorable.

"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbert lemons. "As I  was saying, even if You-Know-Who has gone —"

Dumbledore cut her off, "My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."

"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."

Mia just bit her tongue not to reveal anything too soon, she'd learned quite a few things about Voldy and Dumbles, but she couldn't reveal it too soon.

"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."

"Only because you're too — well — noble to use them."

"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

That earned a few disgusted looks from around the room, and Mia pressed her lips together to keep from blurting something out that would shock everyone that didn't already know that particular secret of the headmasters.

Theo smirked seeing the look on Mia's face and knew exactly what she wanted to say.

Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"

Mia looked at her mother, "this part is where your questions will be answered about what happened and what Petunia has to do with any of this.

Lily nodded but had an uneasy feeling about it.

It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another sherbert lemon and did not answer.

"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — dead." Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.

The group from 1980 all froze, James and Lily both looked horrified. "we're dead? we don't even get to see you grow up?" they both had tears streaming down their faces, so did their friends, from 1980.

Mia shook her head, both of her parents pulled her into a hug and sat her between them which made Theo pout and let out a quiet whine.

Mia hugged her parents, and shook her head amused at her boyfriend.

"Lily and James . . . I can't believe it . . . I didn't want to believe it . . . Oh, Albus..."

Mia just continued to hug her parents.

Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know . . . I know . . ." he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' daughter, Mia. But — he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little baby. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Mia Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."

Dumbledore nodded glumly. "It's — it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all, he's done . . . all the people he's killed . . . he couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding . . . of all the things to stop him . . . but how in the name of heaven did Mia survive?"

"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."

Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"

"I've come to bring young Mia to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family she has left now." That he knew of and even if he had known about her other Aunt Aster, Dumbledore still would have left her with the Dursleys. He needed his pawn to be weak and malleable and what better way to do that than leave her with her magic-hating relatives?

Lily's face darkened as she heard that, she stood up and faced the headmaster, "No! I stated clearly in my will, that if anything ever happened to me and James, that our daughter was to never under any circumstance be placed anywhere near Petunia Dursley... and you were there when the wills were signed you knew that!" 

Her face was red with anger and it was suddenly clear exactly where Mia got her temper from, the woman threw a stinging hex at the old man, which earned her looks of approval from several people around the room, before she sat back down hugging her daughter close to her.

"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Mia Potter come and live here!"

"It's the best place for her," said Dumbledore firmly. "Her aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to her when she's older. I've written them a letter."

"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her! She'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Mia Potter Day in the future — there will be books written about her — every child in our world will know her name!"

Mia looked at Lucius, knowing that Draco had told her that his father had been the reason that it hadn't happened. "thank you for not letting that happen... Draco may have mentioned it once, that you 'accidentally' misplaced the paperwork for that to be passed in the Wizgamont."

The Malfoy Patriarch nodded at the young mutant witch.

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any girl's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something she won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off She'll be, growing up away from all that until she's ready to take it?"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the girl getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Mia underneath it.

"Hagrid's bringing her."

"You think it — wise — to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.

"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.

Sirius furrowed his brow because that looked an awful lot like his motorcycle.

If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild — long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got her, sir."

"Okay seriously something bad must have happened to me because I would never let anyone borrow my motorcycle, it pretty much the second love of my life."

Mia snorted at that not surprised at all. Sirius got a few amused looks from others around the room too.

"No problems, were there?"

"No, sir — the house was almost destroyed, but I got her out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. She fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over her forehead, they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.

"Is that where — ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "She'll have that scar forever."

Mia rolled her eyes it was barely visible now, since they had the Horcrux removed from the scar. She knew that Dumbledore also knew that it was there and just never shared that with anyone.

"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."

Dumbledore took Mia in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. "Could I — could I say goodbye to her, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Mia and gave her what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Mia off ter live with Muggles —"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Mia's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute, the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. Of course, that was only for show since this was the start of his plans to raise his perfect little pawn.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar, it rose into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner, he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. "Good luck, Mia Potter," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Mia Potter rolled over inside her blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside her and she slept on, not knowing she was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by her cousin Dudley. . . . She couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Mia Potter — the girl who lived!"

Mia scoffed, "Merlin I hate that bloody title... literally it's so stupid." Theo squeezed her hand, as she looked at her parents "uhhh the next part is the one that you're really not going to like... that's all I'll say about it, and just let you see what happens."

Aster looked at her niece, "is that where you activate it?"

Mia nodded, "yep that's where the incident happened that led me to the best decision that I ever made."

That caught the attention of several people who looked at her curiously. But Mia said nothing as to not spoil anything. That decision was when she agreed to let Reggie blood adopt her.