The Phoenix and the Serpent

Prologue

All the surviving members of the Order but three were scattered around the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, but no one spoke except in hushed, tense whispers. All eyes were fixed on an oversized clock that hung on the wall - a clock like the Weasley family clock but with only three hands. The names on the hands were Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape, and all three hands were pointing straight up to MORTAL PERIL.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were huddled together in a corner of the room, all three gripping their wands tightly and watching the clock with obvious anxiety.

The faint noise of an ordinary clock striking the hour drifted downstairs from somewhere above.

Ginny's cold feeling of dread grew stronger; it had been half an hour already, and she was past caring about plans and spells and Voldemort; she only wanted Harry to return safely. "Shouldn't we try to rescue them?" she said, trying with little success to keep her voice from cracking.

"Not for at least another twenty minutes." Ron's freckles stood out against his pale face, but his voice was grimly determined. "We've been planning this for months; we have to give Dumbledore and Snape a chance to get Harry into position to perform the spell."

This was the best chance they would ever have to defeat Voldemort for good, Ginny knew that, but that knowledge did nothing to protect her from nightmarish images of Harry being tortured or killed as they all stood around waiting.

"I never imagined that it would be like this," Hermione quietly. "I always thought we'd face Voldemort together. Just waiting here like this feels like we've deserted him."

"Same for me," Ron said, his voice strained. "But this was the only way to keep Voldemort from discovering the plan, and at least Dumbledore and Snape are with him. And you've done more than you're share already. This was all your idea to begin with."

Hermione shook her head. "It was Professor Dumbledore who created the spell... and you who planned most of the trap... and Ginny who convinced Harry to do it."

"But it was still your idea."

"Exactly. If Harry dies, it'll be my fault!"

"No it wouldn't, and Harry is not going to die," Ron said sharply.

Hermione didn't look convinced, but she lapsed into silence.

The minutes passed with agonizing slowness. Then, quite suddenly, the three hands on the clock swung downwards to SAFE. For a moment Ginny stared at the clock in disbelief, then relief flooded through her with such strength that she felt dizzy. All around her, pandemonium broke out.

"Silence!" Moody's voice rang out across the room, magically amplified. Everyone swung around to look at him.

"The moment that Harry or Dumbledore returns and confirms that Voldemort has indeed been defeated, you are each to Apparate directly to Auror headquarters, alert your group, and begin work immediately to apprehend your assigned Death Eater. We cannot afford to allow any of Voldemort's supporters to escape; remember the Longbottoms!"

The group swung around to face the doorway that led upstairs and fell silent once more, but now the silence was full of hope and anticipation. Within moments Harry himself came clattering down the stairs, looking exhausted, but his eyes shone, and Ginny had never been so overwhelmingly happy to see him.

Moody took a step forward. "Voldemort's gone?" he demanded brusquely.

Harry lifted a hand to brush his hair away from his forehead; his scar had vanished. "Yes," he said, smiling for the first time in weeks. "Voldemort is gone."

With a scattering of pops, everyone in the room but Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione vanished.

Ginny hung back, still barely able to believe that Harry was actually alive and well, as Hermione burst into tears and dashed forward to hug Harry. Ron was next; he stepped forward to shake his hand vigorously, a grin lighting up his face. "Good to see you again, mate," he said. "For a while there we weren't too sure that we ever would."

"Well, apparently I'm immune to death," Harry said, his expression wry and only half-joking. "Looks like you're stuck with me." He looked past Ron and Hermione to meet Ginny's eyes, and he smiled, eyes lighting up again. "Today?" he said.

"Yes," Ginny said, her smile growing.

"Today?" Hermione repeated, looking puzzled.

"You'll find it in a couple of hours at the latest," Ginny promised, and turned back to Harry, but her initial euphoria was beginning to wear off, and reality suddenly came crashing down.

"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" she asked anxiously. "And...the baby?"

The smile faded from Harry's face. "They'll be here any minute now. Dumbledore doesn't want any of the others to know... the details... of how we managed to defeat Voldemort, so I came ahead to... clear the area. Dumbledore would have, but he had to stay back with the baby; he's the only one who can bring another person here, because he's the Secret Keeper."

Ginny turned to watch the doorway, stomach clenching with apprehension all over again. Hermione's idea had seemed impossible, incredible, and Ginny had agreed with Harry about the baby, but now that it was actually happening, doubts were overwhelming her.

Snape swept into the room, looking as surly as ever. "Dumbledore is just behind me," he said, swinging his dirt-streaked cloak off from around his shoulders and tossing it over a nearby wooden chair.

"Indeed I am." Dumbledore himself walked into the room, eyes twinkling; in his arms was a bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep.

Hermione and Ron gathered around Dumbledore with expressions of awe and disbelief, but Ginny hung back, her anxiety only growing stronger. She heard the conversation around her as if from far away.

"It really worked!" Hermione breathed.

"Your best idea yet," Dumbledore said, smiling at her. "Voldemort may have been protected against death, but the power of time is inexorable."

Snape loomed over them suddenly, his face an expressionless mask. "Can he be killed now, Albus?"

Professor Dumbledore looked up from the bundle he carried to briefly meet Snape's eyes. "Yes," he said.

"You can't kill a baby!" Hermione broke in, looking horrified.

"This baby," Snape said, turning to her and almost snarling, "is the Dark Lord! The usual rules do not apply. Don't be foolish, girl!"

This was enough to shake Ginny out of her daze; she drew herself up to face Snape. "If he's raised by a normal family, he won't be Voldemort!" Ginny said. "Hermione's right - we can't kill him."

"Are you volunteering to adopt him?" Snape said, a sneer evident in his voice. "Who would possibly be willing to raise the Dark Lord as a son?"

Ginny opened her mouth to retort, but Hermione beat her to it.

"The family wouldn't have to know," Hermione argued. "He's an ordinary baby now!"

"No," Harry said, joining the conversation at last, his voice tired but steady. "He isn't. If nothing else, he's a Parselmouth, and we already know that he'll be ambitious. The family has to know, has to be able to keep him clear of anything related to the Dark Arts...."

Professor Dumbledore looked older than ever. "Professor Snape and Harry are both right," he said. "The baby is no longer Voldemort, but he can only be allowed to live if we find a family who can love him despite knowing whom he once was, a family that can steer him firmly away from anything Dark and who can keep him from discovering his identity...."

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Harry said. He glanced over at Ginny, his eyes questioning. She gave him a resigned nod, and Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "Who else do we know who speaks Parseltongue? And Tom Riddle and I even look alike. The baby would never have to know that he'd been adopted."

Hermione and Ron both looked shocked; even Dumbledore himself seemed mildly taken aback.

"And do you plan to raise this baby on your own?" Snape said mockingly. "Wonderful job you'd make of it, I'm sure. But of course, no son of the great Harry Potter could possibly turn to the Dark Arts."

"Severus!" Dumbledore said sharply, but he turned to Harry with questioning look. "Professor Snape does have a point," he said. "You have just turned nineteen yourself, and you are not married. How do you expect to care for a baby on your own?"

Harry looked over at Ginny, eyes pleading for help, and Ginny stepped forward. "He won't be alone," she said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. "Harry and I are engaged."

It was the first time that Ginny had ever seen the Headmaster look truly surprised. Hermione looked staggered, Ron's mouth was hanging open in shock, and Snape looked incredulous.

"Since... since when?" Hermione stammered. "That is - congratulations - I mean...."

"It's been unofficial for a while now," Harry explained. "We planned to make it official as soon as Voldemort was gone."

Ron's mouth was still hanging open, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Ginny couldn't help but grin. "So, Ron. What do you think of being Voldemort's Godfather?"

Snape stared at Ginny in disbelief. "You have clearly lost your mind," he said. "Potter has always been one for martyrdom and heroics, but how can you possibly be willing to do this? Have you forgotten how a sixteen year old Tom Riddle caused you untold trauma? When this boy grows up, his face will be one from your nightmares!"

Ginny's dislike for Snape flared up stronger than ever before. "No, I haven't forgotten," she said, her voice sounding icy even to her own ears. "Harry asked me, before he left, if I would be willing to do this. We discussed it -- endlessly -- and I've made my decision. Nothing you say will change it."

Snape whirled around to face Dumbledore. "Albus! Surely you won't allow this?"

Dumbledore looked from Ginny to Harry and then back again, his face grave. "Are both of you truly certain that you are willing to do this?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, and Ginny nodded. The idea of becoming a mother so suddenly was frightening, and adopting a baby - particularly this one - would be incredibly difficult, at least at first, but if she stood back and let the baby be killed, the decision would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Mr. Weasley? Miss Granger?" Dumbledore turned to Ron and Hermione, both of whom still looked stunned. "Can either of you think of anything that I might have overlooked?"

"Yes!" Ron blurted out. "Mum will kill us!"

Ginny smiled, almost involuntarily - the comment was so Ron - and the twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes.

"A good point indeed, Mr. Weasley. We must invent a suitably sympathetic background for our newest Potter."

"We can tell the truth," Harry pointed out. "His father was killed by Voldemort, his mother died in childbirth, he has no relatives to take him in...."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Of course, we will only be telling this story to those closest to you, with strict instructions not to pass it on; we don't want Tom discovering later on that he was adopted."

"Won't everyone realize that something's odd, though?" Ginny said. "I can't just show up with a baby one day and expect everyone to believe it's mine!"

"Ginny's right." Hermione turned to Dumbledore. "Shouldn't we put the baby in a Stasis spell for a year or so? If Ginny and Harry get married within a couple of months, and Ginny uses some sort of Illusion to make it seem as though she's pregnant, no one except the Weasleys will have any way of knowing that the baby was adopted."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Stasis spells are tricky things. If prolonged, they are often harmful... but a year shouldn't be long enough to cause problems. Yes, your idea has a great deal of merit. Ginny, Harry, do you object?"

"Of course not!" Ginny said, relieved at the idea. "An extra year will make things much easier. I didn't even think of using a Stasis spell."

"Severus?" Dumbledore turned to Snape, who had been standing off to the side with a scowl on his face. "What do you think of Hermione's suggestion?"

"Using a Stasis spell is a good idea," Snape admitted grudgingly. "Though I don't quite see how any idea can be a good one when it is a means of keeping the Dark Lord alive and well!"

"Voldemort has been destroyed," Dumbledore said sharply. "This baby has not experienced any of the events that led to Tom Riddle becoming Voldemort. The baby cannot be transformed back into Voldemort, nor can he access any of Voldemort's memories. I ask that you never refer to him as the Dark Lord or as Voldemort again."

Snape looked as though he wanted to protest, but Dumbledore kept him pinned with his gaze, and at last Snape nodded grudgingly.

"Very well, then." Dumbledore walked over to the long wooden table that stood in the middle of the kitchen and gently lowered the baby, still wrapped in blankets, onto the hard wooden surface. He stepped back, drew himself up, and raised his wand. "Noncommutabilis Annalis!"

A blinding jet of silver light shot out of Dumbledore's wand, and the baby was encased in an ethereal glow. Ginny and the others crowded around; the baby was completely still, without even the faint rise and fall of his blankets to show that he still lived.

For a full minute they all stood and looked at the little bundle.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that." He turned to Snape. "You will be needed at Auror headquarters, Severus," he said gently. "The Death Eaters that have been apprehended should be there by now, and Madam Bones will have many questions for you."

Snape nodded stiffly and disappeared.

"As for the rest of you...." Dumbledore smiled. "There is no reason at all to stay here. I must go hide Tom, but the rest of you should be joining in the celebrations. And I'm sure the rest of the Weasleys would all like to know that you two" - Dumbledore nodded to Harry and Ginny - "are engaged."

Ron shook his head and looked from Ginny to Harry, smiling. "I can't believe the two of you kept it a secret from me! My best mate and my little sister! It's a bit late, but I was too surprised before - congratulations!" He pulled Ginny into an awkward hug, and Ginny hugged him back tightly, her anxiety fading away. After all, a year was a long way off, and Voldemort was gone, and they were all safe, and she was engaged to Harry. Her previous exhilaration was beginning to return, and the future seemed brighter than it had in a long while.

"We didn't tell anyone," Ginny said, smiling at her brother, and then she stepped back as Ron turned to shake Harry's hand, beaming at him. Hermione dashed forward to envelop Ginny in a hug as well, and then they all stood looking at each other, Ginny and Harry standing side by side at last, all four of them beaming.

"The Burrow?" Dumbledore reminded them, and with a scattering of pops, the four of them Disapparated.

***

Dumbledore picked up the baby, Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts, and walked up the long drive to the now-deserted castle. The house-elves, with their instinctive knowledge of the castle layout, were only too eager to help, and within half an hour, the baby was safely hidden in a room that could only be found by a Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Good luck, Tom," Dumbledore murmured, looking down at the baby one last time. He turned on his heel, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.