Disclaimer: I may write just as slow as J.K., and this may come as a shock, but well, I'm not her… gasps

A/N: First off, thanks much to my beta, Tor, for reading this over.:) Here's the next chapter, which, believe it or not, has been written since January… umm, yeah… about that… well, Happy Valentine's Day! (And the day of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, for you more history minded folks)

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Chapter Eight: Puzzle Pieces

Haley Potter, declared by the press to be the girl-who-lived, and proclaimed savior of the Wizarding World, sat on the porch of Albus Dumbledore's cottage, bored. With a sigh, she twisted around to face her mom, who was cooking indoors.

"Mom, I'm really bored!" she whined. "And I've never been shopping- ever! These drab robes those house-elves bring are intolerable. Honestly, those…things… have no fashion sense whatsoever. Why can't we go out into the Wizarding World?"

"Because, Haley," Lily Potter explained patiently, stopping her cooking and leaning out the window. "We need to keep you safe from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers."

"But if we went out there, I know I'd be accepted into Hogwarts early, with my power, and then I'd be safe!"

"No." Lily Potter said firmly. Haley frowned. Her mother had never denied her anything before.

"Why not?"

"Because the world thinks that you are hidden, to be properly trained for the time when You-Know-Who comes back. Not to mention that everyone believes that the other three of us are dead." As soon as she said that, Lily winced, and looked anxiously at her daughter.

Now, Haley may have been selfish, spoiled, and not the most proficient in magic or advanced motor skills, but her mother had been teaching her the basics- which meant that she could, up to a certain level, read, write, and add.

What do you mean, the other three of us are thought to be dead?" Haley asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.

Lily paled. She hadn't meant to reveal anything, but now that she had, she knew she wouldn't be able to dismiss it- even in the unlikely event her daughter didn't bring it up again, her conscience would.

Oh my son, my son. The woman despaired, before pushing all thoughts of her firstborn to the back of her mind as she called to her husband so he could help explain things to her daughter.

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Hermione shifted uneasily, feeling like, for the first time, a stranger in her own home. The mousey-haired boy- Neville- was talking avidly to her mother about gardening while Harry, the black-haired boy, engaged her father in a talk about Wizarding dentistry and Mediwizardry. Apparently, one of his aunts was the nurse at Hogwarts, the Wizarding School at which both she and the boys would one day attend. Playing with her pasta, she observed how easily the two boys interacted with each other and her parents, and wistfully wished that she, herself, possessed that easy going nature the two possessed.

Unbeknownst to her, both of the boys were quietly observing her out of the corner of their eyes. Neville was strongly reminded of his interactions with most people, and thought that maybe, just maybe, this Muggle thing wasn't so bad. After all, he hadn't contracted any diseases yet.

Harry, on the other hand, watched her, weighing her faults and strengths, before concluding that she could, possibly, be a beneficial friend to him. For as his Father had once told him, Choose your friends wisely. Because if you don't- or won't- befriend a person, they are your enemy.

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"So you see, Hon," Lily said. The redhead leaned back against her husband, face said. Tracks where tears had fallen streaked her face. You're not an only child. You have a twin." James' face tightened in grief almost imperceptibly. The loss of his first-born, his only son, had hit him harder than he would like to admit. But he knew it was necessary to protect Haley. And protecting Haley was important. One day, she would be the only hope for their world.

"You'll see him at Hogwarts." Lily continued. "But we had to let him grow up elsewhere. After all, it would hardly be fair to bring him here, and focus on you the whole time. It wouldn't be fair." She repeated softly, more to convince herself than her daughter, barely holding in a dry sob. "It was for the best."

"A twin? A twin of my own?" Haley was excited. A sibling to follow her around and worship her, to always be there as her sidekick? It sounded almost too good to be true.

"Yes, your older brother." James said, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "The Potter Heir." There was a little pride in his voice, with the prevailing sadness.

Haley frowned as her parents wistfully discussed what her brother might be doing at the moment- could he ride a broom? What does he like to do? To eat?

"I'm the girl-who-lived- I'm the more powerful twin. I should be the Potter heir, not this stupid, unwanted twin of mine!" She muttered viciously.

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Harry, unaware of both the existence of his twin and her hateful thoughts, was enjoying a muggle game the Dr. Grangers called 'football' with Neville. The two boys, over the past few weeks, had become incredibly close. They had attempted to speak to Hermione, who was, at the moment, sitting under a tree and reading a book, watching their game wistfully. As Harry kicked the ball to Neville, and ran down the field, he glanced over at the girl thoughtfully one last time before cheering for Neville's goal. There was plenty of time left to befriend the anti-social- shy,he ammended-bookworm.

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Severus Snape strode through the hallways, a frown on his face. A week into the term, and his house had already lost over one hundred points. "Black!" he barked, making his way into the mutt's office without bothering to knock.

"What do you want, Snape?" A drawling voice replied. Black and Lupin were seated comfortably in front of a roaring fire. The sole decoration in the simple room was a picture of a giggling baby- Harry. Pictures of James, Lily, and Haley were conspicuously absent.

Snape's eyes lingered for a moment on the picture of his adopted son, before facing the two former Marauders. "What I want to know, Black," he said, adopting a condescending tone, "is why my House lost one hundred points in your class!"

Black shrugged, his face darkening. "Oh. That."

"Yes, that," Severus hissed. Figures that mutt wouldn't be able to forget house rivalries, even now, he thought, conveniently forgetting that he currently held the record for the most points taken away from one house in a sole year- outdoing even 1750's Salias Snupturn, an infamous and slightly insane Care of Magical Creatures teacher who was eventually mauled by a dragon he had smuggled in for his class, and had attempted to set on his students. Perhaps the only Gryffindors safe from Severus' wrath were Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, because of his son's obvious attachment to the two as pseudo-siblings.

"They said something I found very offensive." Black said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, a grim look on his face.

"And that was?" Snape snapped, impatient. I don't want to deal with this now. I want to go back to my rooms and read Harry's letter. Black let out an explosive sight, slumped back in a seat, and mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Black?" Not all of us are efficient in idiot speak." The Head of Slytherin turned around, his robes swirling menacingly around him. "Never mind, mutt. With your nonexistent reason, I'll take my leave of you and restore the points to my house." He made to leave.

As he reached the door, a raspy-voiced Remus Lupin spoke behind him. "We were talking about Voldemort."

Severus froze in the doorway as Lupin continued. "We had just finished covering his fall- Haley, James, Lily," He paused, and when he spoke again his voice faltered on the next words. "And… Harry. One of your Slytherins" the werewolf took a deep breath. "One of your Slytherins asked why they had to learn about Harry, that he was just a stupid baby that got killed, and that we were too stupid to see his unimportance. We… we were pretty mad, then. But then he said that… he said that it didn't matter about Harry. No one had cared when he died. He said that he understood why we would think Haley was important, but Harry was just a 'piece of flesh that happened to be born with the girl-who-lived.' Sirius and I took off a hundred points and gave him a detention on the spot.

Severus turned to stare at the former Gryffindor, and raised an eyebrow. The werewolf took that as a sign for an explanation and launched into one promptly. "You know what really happened, that night. You know that Harry was the only one to die." Severus mentally winced guiltily as Lupin continued. "James and Lily… well, they took Haley, and left us here to face the consequences. Sirius and I…"

"We blamed ourselves." Said man moved to join them, speaking now. "We didn't know that our supposed friends were alive until Dumbledore decided to tell us- last year, after we had already agreed to teach at least a year at Hogwarts. Do you know how hard it is to carry the weight of that on your shoulders? Harry… Remus and I were always closer to him, since Peter was Haley's godfather, and he didn't want to share. Harry was my godson. And Harry loved Remus and I He is the only one in our family not here. It hurts."

There was a silence, the three men just standing there, staring at each other. At length, though, Severus broke that silence. "I see. I'm… sorry for you loss, Lupin, Black. My House will simply have to work harder, if they should like the win the House Cup, now."

He turned and walked out the door, leaving two grief-stricken and incredulous faces behind him. The Potions Master allowed a slight smile to cross his face as he walked down the hall, to celebrate. Black and Lupin might not know it yet, but they had just proclaimed themselves his allies.

His son would soon have more family members to add to his life.

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A/N: Oo Another cliffhanger! I've started writing chapter nine, but who knows when it will come out? shrugs If you all review, I'll give you a gold Olympic metal… with a hole in it! Review!