Why hello there! I'm so glad that you have found your way to chapter 2 of my story. Well, here it is!

Halloween 1981

After Mrs. Evans' passing, Petunia and Lily both tried to be better sisters in honor of their mother. Even though Lily had gone into hiding with her family, she was still able to discreetly send letters to her sister, as well as other order members. With special permission from Albus Dumbledore, the Dursleys had been able to visit from time to time.

This Halloween would be the first one that Lily has spent with her muggle family since she was 10. Petunia overcame her jealousy of magic, while Vernon used it as an excuse to try to show how any task can be done the 'normal' way. Lily had decorated Godric Hallow to the nines, from a muggle's perspective that is. Pumpkin juice spelled into the jack-o-lantern sat on the table, while smoke forms of bats, ghouls and other frightful figures came from a caldron in the corner. There was a variety of magical and muggle candies strewn about the living room. 'It almost looks like a picture from Witches Weekly,' Lily thought, 'but there is one thing missing…'

"Lil, do you think I could put this anywhere?" James asked, holding up a transfigured spider that seemed to reflect any light in the room. "I'm sure they would get a kick out it when they see it was really just an old disco ball!"

Lily looked at the spider, and back at her husband. "I'm sure Vernon and Petunia would love your spider, dear," she started, "but I'm afraid little Dudley, or Harry for that matter, would not appreciate it. Remember how they reacted when you put on that troll mask at Petunia's birthday dinner?"

James grinned with the memory of startling not only the boys, but Vernon as well. "It was one of my finer moments wasn't it?" said the proud wizard.

"Finer moments?" Lily shook her head, "it took Petunia and I almost an hour to calm Harry and Dudley back down. Then whenever you grimaced, they started right back up again!"

James frowned, "I forgot about that part… Oh well, maybe when the boys are older." He put the spider back in the closet as Lily levitated paper crepe decorations around the room. He stood behind his wife, wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "It looks fantastic, Lily."

"Oh, are you quite sure?" Lily looked nervously around the room. "You don't think it's too much? I don't want to make them feel out of place."

"Rubbish. It feels like this room is ready for some good Halloween fun," James replied encouragingly. "Although you are forgetting one little thing…"

"Oh no! I knew I was forgetting something," Lily started around the room trying to figure out what was missing from the room. "The play pen is set up, so it couldn't have been that. The fire place cover is on so the boys can't get into there. The food is laid out and these are all the decorations that we had planned on putting up."

While Lily's back was turned, James transfigured his skin green and magically adhered two bolts to either side of his neck. Lily turned to face her husband and jumped at what she saw. James laughed good naturedly at her.

"Your costume?" James reminded her. The previous week they planned Frankenstein themed costumes. Lily was to be Dr. Frankenstein, James the monster and Harry was a villager from the mob. "You should get it on before they arrive. You know Albus set up the portkey for seven eighteen on the dot. And it's currently seven thirteen."

"Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" Lily said as she walked out of the room. "Does Harry need his costume too?"

"No dear," James replied as he followed Lily out and up the stairs. "I got him dressed before I came down."

While Lily stepped into their bedroom to quickly transfigure her costume, James went to the nursery to get his son. Harry sat in his crib with his arms raised as he attempted to grab the quidditch mobile that moved slowly. It was charmed for the figures to actually play the sport instead of merely circling the crib like a muggle mobile. At the slow speed, the game looked like a sport of relaxation instead of the fast pace game James was familiar with. The ex-Gryffindor seeker stopped in the doorway to watch Harry's futile attempts to grab the figures. After a few minutes, James realized Harry was not reaching for any one player in particular, but the tiny golden snitch. 'He is going to be a fine seeker when he goes to Hogwarts.' James thought.

"He'll be fine at whatever he wants when he goes to Hogwarts." Lily, in full costume, said as she walked past James to pick up Harry. James' face reddened when he realized he spoke out loud instead of thinking. "Come on James, let's get downstairs. Did Albus say exactly where the portkey would-"

"Hello Potters!" Petunia's voice came from downstairs. "Lily, James, where are you?"

"You don't think James is hiding anywhere with that blasted troll mask, do you?" Vernon's voice was heard as well. James and Lily entered the living room to see the Dursleys dressed in 1920's regalia. Petunia was gowned in a flapper dress that complimented her blonde hair, while Vernon and Dudley wore matching pin stripe suits.

"Petunia! Vernon!" Lilly greeted, "It been simply too long since we've seen you two, and of course Dudley. He has grown so much!"

"He has indeed," James agreed, after giving Vernon a firm handshake. "Vernon, it's good to see you and your lovely wife."

Once the greetings were taken care of, Harry and Dudley were placed into the charmed playpen for some cousinly fun. Dudley grabbed a stuffed Norwegian Ridgeback dragon to play with. Harry yanked on the tail of the dragon, or as he called Bah-Bah. Unbeknownst to Dudley, Bah-Bah was his cousin's favorite toy. When neither of the two relinquished the desired dragon, Harry cried and Dudley showed off his powerful lungs with a piercing scream.

"Dudley, Harry. What is the matter with you two?" Lily and Petunia asked their sons in chorus. Lily took the toy away from both the boys. "Since you two can't share, Bah-Bah is going to go bye-bye."

Once the boys have been consoled and new toys to play with were decided upon, the adults sat down around the room and caught up on each other's lives. Vernon received a promotion at Grunnings, from line manager to production manager. Petunia was going to enter her herb garden into a contest. Lily was in the middle of potions research, and James was teaching Harry to fly.

"Fly, you say?" Vernon huffed. "Can the boy even walk?"

"Crawl, walk, fly," James replied. "Harry can do all that and cause absolute chaos."

"But what would happen if he fell?" Petunia asked and looked nervously at her own son, as if the ability to fly was catching.

"James assured me that Harry wouldn't; seeing how, and I quote, 'Potters don't fall off brooms.'" Lily said with a deep voice. "Although there was that one time in sixth year, James-"

"That never happened." James interjected with the knowledge of the story that Lily was about to share with the Dursleys. "That was a dirty trick by the Slytherin's beater and you know it."

Lily shared a look with her sister, "Are you sure James? I think the beater was doing his job. You were the one that was trying to show off in front of the stands. It was pretty obvious that bludger was aimed at you. Didn't Sirius even warn you it was coming?"

Vernon looked lost at the conversation and turned to his wife for a translation. "Game played on broomsticks. Rival team hit a magical ball at James in attempts to injure. The move was legal." Petunia quietly explained. Vernon nodded with some understanding at the conversation.

"Was the beater fouled?" Vernon questioned. Lily explained, much better than Petunia's quick translation, the game to her brother-in-law. The conversation turned to the differences between muggle and wizarding sports. As James and Vernon began to dominate the conversation with rules and famous plays, Lily took note of her sister's appearence.

"Are you feeling alright, Tuney?" Lily asked, with concern apparent on her face. "You are looking a little green around the gills."

"I've just been feeling off, you know?" Petunia explained. She then excused herself from the conversation. Once in the loo, she splashed some water on her face. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she silently counted weeks on her fingers. Eyes widened as she realized why she was feeling unwell. She patted her face dry and heard a knock at the bathroom door.

"Petunia," Lily called with another soft knock on the door. "Are you alright in there?"

Petunia opened the door, her arms wrapped around her stomach. The pose was familiar to Lily. "When did you find out?" Lily questioned.

"I'm not quite sure," Petunia admitted. "But it makes sense with how I've been feeling this past week."

"If you want, there is a simple charm that is one hundred percent accurate." Lily hoped Petunia would agree. Petunia looked nervous about being the target of one of Lily's charms. Lily saw her sister's hesitation. "There are no side effects if that's what you are worried about. And I've performed this charm before, so nothing could go wrong. All it does is read if there is a baby inside. A plus will glow on your stomach if you are pregnant and a minus if you are not."

"Well, it does sound simple enough," Petunia reluctantly agreed. "Okay, go right ahead Lily."

Lily flourished her wand and said the incantation. After five seconds of waiting on baited breath, a faint plus glowed on Petunia's abdomen. Lily and Petunia both looked hard at the plus and grinned wildly. Petunia shrieked with joy as Lily hugged her sister.

Back in the sitting room, James heard the shriek and raced to the women. Both men misinterpreted the sister's happy moment as trouble. James skidded in front of the bathroom door, wand out and ready to defend his family. Vernon huffed and pushed up his sleeves, planning on using his fists if need be. They were confused as they just saw their wives standing embraced. No death eaters in sight.

"We thought we heard a scream," James said, slight embarrassed by his reaction.

"You did," Lily giggled in a sing song voice, "Petunia I think you have something to tell your husband…" Lily released Petunia from her sisterly embrace and smiled as Petunia took Vernon's hand.

"Vernon, remember how we told each other our hopes before the wedding? The hope to have a perfect family…." Petunia trailed off hoping he would understand where she was going. Obviously, Vernon did not, as he scratched his head.

"Yes, I remember. And what a perfect family we have! But what does that have to do with your scream?" Vernon pondered. Lily let out a little sigh that sounded somewhat like 'men.' Petunia rolled her eyes at her sister, and continued where she left off.

"A perfect family… of four." Petunia grinned at her dumbstruck husband.

"You mean," Vernon was too shocked to finish his sentence. His eyes met his wife's, and then he looked down at her stomach and back to her eyes. James slapped Vernon's back in congratulations.

"She means that there is a baby cooking inside there!" James said. "You're going to be a daddy twice over."

"We're going to have a baby," Vernon hugged his wife and repeated himself with more volume. "Petunia, we're going to have a baby!"

The Halloween gathering was quickly turned into an impromptu baby shower. While Lily and Petunia reminisced over their previous pregnancy in the sitting room, James attempted to mix a celebratory drink for Vernon in the kitchen. After he discovered that there was no liquor, he suggested popping over to the local pub for a mug of firewhiskey. Vernon, in his celebratory mood, agreed to James proposition.

The walk to the pub was a quiet one. All the trick-or-treaters were inside the surrounding cottages, and more than likely took an inventory of this year's haul. The men discussed their hopes for their boys; to do well in school and marry for love were two things that the muggle and wizard shared in hopes. They shortly arrived at the pub to find it nearly empty. As Godric's Hallow was a muggle and wizard village, the pub served to both tastes. The wizard bartender knew all the wizards of the town, so he was able to charm the wizard's glass to look like a muggle drink. At the late time, only fellow wizards were in the cozy pub.

"Oi, James!" the old bartender called, "Haven't seen your face in a long while. Who's this you got wit' you?"

"Hello Sal. Long time no see. This is Vernon, my brother-in-law," James said as he introduced the two.

"So what'll it be tonight? Mulled mead? Goblin wine?" Sal asked as he dried two mugs.

"Some of your finest firewhiskey! Vernon here is going to be a daddy!" James ordered as the two sat down at the bar. Sal glanced around the room to double check for muggles, before he brought out his wand and summoned the desired beverage. After the traditional cheers, James drank with no hesitation, however Vernon was more cautious. After the first sip, Vernon gained more courage and drank with familiarity.

"How does it feel to be a daddy again?" James inquired. Vernon placed his mug down.

"Right now? Not much different than before we found out." Vernon took another sip. "Don't get me wrong, I always wanted to have two perfect children. I am not looking forward to Petunia's cravings again."

"I know that feeling," James agreed. "Lily had the strangest craving for lemonade once."

"One liter of water, 5 fresh squeezed lemons, and half a cup of sugar?" Vernon replied, remembering Petunia's recipe for the perfect pregnancy lemonade.

"Yes! That's it!" James laughed, "It took me a week to get the right ratio of lemons to sugar for Lily. I swear that was the longest week out of the whole 9 months."

Their conversation continued of that tangent of crazy things their then pregnant wives did. After a couple more mugs of firewhiskey, they saw a green light flash in the sky through the window. James thought the light to be eerily familiar.

"Strange lightning bolt, eh old cap?" Vernon slurred slightly, as he was not used to the potency of firewhiskey. "It almost matched your skin!"

"I… I don't think that was a lightning bolt." James stood up and placed a few galleons on the bar with a nod to the barkeeper. "We should get back. I have a bad feeling."

'What kind of bad feeling?" Vernon questioned as he followed James outside the pub. "Is this one of your wizard thingys. Can you see the future?" Vernon wiggled his fingers in what his tipsy mind thought was a magical manner. James shook his head, partly as an answer to Vernon's question and partly to clear his mind.

"I can't, but the sky should not glow green like that," James increased his pace. "It looked like it came from this way."

James and Vernon turned the corner to see the quiet row of cottages. There were a few jack o' lanterns that gave off an eerie atmosphere to the street. James broke into a run, "This is my street!" he called back his brother in law, who has only seen the outside of the house an hour before. Vernon chased after James.

"What do you mean! Did Lily make that glow?" Vernon's mind started to clear with the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. They arrived at the front gate to see the front door open.

"Petunia…" Vernon whispered and rushed past James to get into the cottage. The foyer was still decorated with all of Lily's little touches. The sitting room was fine as well. Vernon took a breath and turned to look inside the kitchen.

Sprawled out on the kitchen floor was the love of his life. Vernon knelt down beside her, he saw that her chest was not moving. He brushed her carefully curled hair aside and rocked back with shock. Her eyes were still open and should the last emotion that she felt.

Fear.

Vernon won't remember how long he sat next to the corpse of his wife and unborn child. He cried tears of grief and loss. Grief for his Petunia, and loss of the child he would never meet. He stayed that way until he felt a hand on his shoulder. The widower wiped his eyes and stood up to protest to whoever interrupted his grieving. He was shocked at the beard of the fellow, as well as the outlandish purple cloak the stranger wore. Vernon thought this could be the wizard that killed his darling and put up his fists in challenge.

"You can put those down, Mr. Dursley," the stranger said.

"How do you know my name?" Vernon questioned as he ignored the request. "Did you do this to my Petunia?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, current headmaster of Hogwarts and head of the Order of the Phoenix." Vernon visibly relaxed at the familiar name. "I suggest that since you have now seen the first victim of the night, you go check on your son."

"Not Dudley." Vernon took one last glance back at his wife, before he headed up the stairs to find his son. He calmed down as he heard cries of young children and prepared for the worst. "Please be alive, Dudders. We can fix you as long as you are alive."

He walked into nursery to see Harry held close to his father as James silently grieved for Lily. Dudley stood, on his wobbly legs, against his Uncle for support. At Vernon's entrance to the room, Dudley turned to the familiar footsteps and tottered over to his father. Vernon scooped Dudley into his arms. "My boy," became the elder Dursley's mantra. Besides a small cut on his hand, the young boy was unharmed.

There were no words exchanged between the two widowers. They each had a wife to grieve and inner demons to overcome. James in particular had a heavy heart. If not for his suggestion to visit the pub, he too would be dead.

"I should have died with her." James cried. "I should have been here to protect her and Harry!"

At this moment, Albus entered the nursery. He consoled his former student and explained the implications of the attack.

Lord Voldemort was no more.

Thank you to those that have reviewed and/or added this story to your alerts or favorites list. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The sad parts are nearly over, and then we get to see some family fun! See you next time!