Jane Potter

Book 1

The Hounds of Magic

A/N: Okay, if your made it this far you are probably here because of the Female Harry thing. Well, that you will get. That and a whole lot of fluff. This is quite the ambitious piece, I took a lot of stuff that came from the Arthurian Legend and since Merlin is mentioned often enough throughout the Harry Potter world, I wanted him to have a real hard impact here. I won't write Merlin's story though, no. This is the story of Jane Lily Potter, a girl that lost her eyesight when Voldemort attempted to kill her. This is the story of her fighting destiny alongside ancient beings against powerful foes and overwhelming odds. All the while she is bringing so much fluff with her that you could probably stuff teddies off it.

This is Fem!HarryXGinny fic. Girl love, if you will. There will be other parings but the main focus of this story is making you coo at your screen while reading it. Or pant. Depending on the passage you read. ^^

I bring you magic thats is almost godlike when wielded correctly and more explosions and magical thunderstorms than the books or movies ever did. While this is pretty much AU, canon is still happening. Voldemort does stuff to regain his body and so on. All that comes into focus with the Goblet of Fire, which will be Jane's third year.

I have tweaked a whole lot of little things and will mention them if necessary.

Any questions you may direct to me through PM's or in the reviews.

Now read this and wait fluffiness!

:3

Prologue

"It's time."

A man, old of age with short gray hair, stood underneath a giant tree with leaves of golden color. A few feet behind him was a multitude of wolves, sitting to attention an awaiting the man's next words. He turned to face them, smiling tiredly.

"It has been an honor, my friends," he spoke, his voice heavy with nostalgia as he remembered all of their adventures and heroic deeds, "I beg of you, do as we did until now. And do pray that someone like me won't be needed again."

A wolf with jet black fur stepped out of the at least five dozen of wolves that were assembled in the forest. "We know yours will have to return one day," he spoke.

"And we will fight by their side when the time comes," a wolf with reddish fur said, the voice distinctively female.

"And we will triumph again," finished a grey wolf that stood next to the female red wolf.

The man laughed, piercing green eyes looking at all of his companions one final time. "You will. I know you will." He looked up into thew golden crown of the giant tree. "I have done my due. Maybe one day, you will as well. Until then."

A beat of the heart, a rush of wind and but a moment later, the man vanished without a trace. Up in the tree, a single bright golden leaf fell from the branches and was carried away by the wind.

"Until then," the grey wolf said, "Until then, Merlin."

The cries and grunts of pain were driving him mad. For half an hour - which felt like half an eternity to him - he had been forced to listen to his best friends wails of labor while pacing outside of the room and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. Before he could wear out the grey tiles of the hallway, a hand was put on his shoulder and spun him around.

"Sirius," his friend said, "You are driving the nurses mad. Sit down already."

Sirius Orion Black snorted and shrugged the hand off. "How could I?" he asked incredulously. "Lily is-"

He was interrupted by the third figure in the hallway. "Mistress is absolutely fine," a deep voice grumbled. "The best of medics are seeing to that."

Sirius shot a glare at what appeared to be a huge wolf, sitting casually besides the door of the labor room. Golden eyes and fluffy grey fur, he was the familiar of James and Lily Potter, the grey hound Conry. An ancient being, far older than one might think. And currently his ever calm behavior was driving Sirius up the walls of the hospital.

"We should be in there!" Sirius growled, his worry mounting. "And Peter isn't even here yet!"

Remus Lupin, a weathered looking young man with brown hair and with grayish eyes, placed his hand once again on his friends shoulder and pulled him back to sit in one of the chairs. "James is in there with her," he said, "He wouldn't let anything happen to her. And Peter couldn't handle the stress anyways."

Sirius calmed down a bit and remained in the chair. "Fine. But if this isn't over in ten minutes, I'm going in!"

Conry merely snorted as he listened to what was happening inside the labor room.

"Oh Merlin it hurts! Make it stop, dammit!"

"Sir! Sir, please remain calm!"

"She's crushing my hand, for fucks sake! Make it stop!"

"GAAAH! Shut up James! You aren't the one giving birth!"

"My haaaaand!"

"Push! Mrs. Potter!"

"What the bloody hell do you think am I doing!"

"Crushing my hand!"

"Shut up-! Gah!"

The wizened wolf shook his head. Lily was taking this far better than James. If she wouldn't be crushing her husband's hand in this truly terrifying grip of hers, the man would be nervous out of his skin, walking up walls if he could. Good thing Remus arrived on time to keep Sirius out, otherwise there would be two men wailing now. His ears twitched suddenly and he rose. Remus and Sirius instantly fell silent when the wolf stood, their bickering all but forgotten.

"What?" Sirius asked, standing from his seat.

Conry's golden eyes shone as he suddenly howled loudly, announcing the birth of the next Potter to the world. Remus twitched violently in his own skin and battled down the urge to join the howl, his inner wolf already stirring due to the coming full moon. Sirius had no such reservations. He transformed into a big, shaggy, black dog and howled in joy as well.

"Is it such a good idea for you to be so loud when you shouldn't even exist?" Remus muttered under his breath at the wolf.

The door burst open and nearly slammed into Sirius as he transformed back and a teary eyed, jumpy James Charlus Potter broke out of the room, his black hair never messier and his glasses askew on his nose. He didn't make any coherent sound as he drew Sirius in a bone crushing hug as the doctors left the room behind him.

"Urgh! Merlin! Ouch! James!" Sirius squawked as he was crushed against his best friend. "What is it!? A boy?! A girl?!""

Remus was the next to be assaulted. "A girl!" James cheered with the biggest of smiles, "My baby girl!"

Conry was meanwhile slipping into the room, the doctors and medi witches never even noticing him as he approached the bed where the exhausted but happy Lily Potter was cradling her newborn daughter. When she spotted the wolf, and the others following him, she turned a tired smile to the nurse in the room. "Could we have some time alone?" she asked.

The nurse merely smiled and quickly left the room. The redhead smiled at the wolf and proudly held the bundle so that he could peer at the child. "Look at her," she whispered, "She's beautiful."

Conry brought his muzzle closer to the girl, a tiny hand brushing the underside of his jaw. His solid golden eyes gleamed brightly and the room briefly vibrated with ancient magic. "That she is," the wolf spoke softly, "And forever will I watch over her. Does my newest mistress have a name yet?" he asked.

James drew the unsuspecting wolf into a fierce hug, but the wolf simply endured it. He was very much used to it. All Potter man had that habit. If he would have had the need to brief, Charlus would have killed him 22 years ago. "Jane," he said almost reverently. "Jane Lily Potter."

Sirius was at Lily's other side, staring at the little girl as if he couldn't believe it. He swallowed thickly. "She... she's wonderful. Look at her Remus. Look at how tiny she is."

Remus smiled widely, his usually tired features awash with joy. "That she is. And look, she has her father's eyes."

The grey wolf stood proudly. "The eyes of the house Potter, the eyes of the heir of Merlin. She will grow to be a powerful witch, just like her father has grown a powerful wizard, like his father before him and his grandfather before him. I can feel it. She has the power to bear the title. The Lady Emrys has been born."

James nodded and kissed his wife, who was currently drifting off into sweet and much needed sleep. He carefully took the baby girl from her and kissed the baby's forehead tenderly. "She will make us proud. Who knows? Maybe she will be the one to complete the library." He raised her a bit higher in front of his face, curious emerald green eyes stared back into his own green eyes. "You, my beautiful girl, will be amazing."

Sirius stood besides James and brought a hand up to lightly graze the child's forehead. "And the ancient house of Black will see to it. It will forever be at her back and call. That I swear on my life and honor as the last of my line."

"So mote it be," Conry spoke, voice booming throughout the room as once again ancient magic flooded though him.

"Aye," James whispered as he kissed his daughter once more, "So mote it me."

Lily laughed as she watched her two month old daughter sit atop her familiar. She was riding the big, mean wolf like a horse, giggling madly. James and Sirius were currently struggling to construct a crib since little Jane had simply dismantled the last one in her sleep. James was holding the construct together with his outstretched hand while his wand weaved though intricate patters that would hopefully make the crib magic proof. Sirius was putting all of his work into charming the lights in the room so that Jane's random bursts of magic wouldn't always turn them on and disturb her sleep.

If she ever slept, that is. She was like Remus on full moon nights. Every night!

"Now," James said, letting the crib down gently onto the deep purple carpet, "This ought to hold for a while."

Sirius was still frowning at the light bulb, muttering incarnations under his breath. Shaking his head, James walked out into the giant living room that lead out of the manor where he, too, laughed as he watched Conry strut around like a tame horse for his daughter.

"It is a shame," he said to Lily," that the rest of the wolves no longer exists."

Lily smiled sadly. "I would have been glad to meet them. But ever since the purge... well, Conry here is the only one that remains."

"An eternity as the last of his kind," James sighed and sat down on the couch besides his wife.

"Do not fret over it," Conry called from outside, his superior hearing once again proven. "I have done my grieving fifty years ago. I haven't lost my purpose yet, Master."

James smiled at his familiar. "No, you don't. All I ask of you is to stay at my daughter's side. Now and forever."

Little Jane shrieked in laughter as Conry hopped a little. "Gladly."

Albus Dumbledore was worriedly walking up and down the entrance hall of Potter manor. Conry, sitting at his "guard post" on a pedestal near the stairwell, was watching the man with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. Because Albus Dumbledore was completely unaware of his position. Sitting there as still as only stone could, the wolf was awaiting his master's return. As the headmaster of Hogwarts kept pacing in increasingly smaller circles while wringing his beard worriedly, Conry decided to say something before the man would start turning on the spot.

"Albus," Conry spoke, his deep voice echoing though the great space of the entrance hall, sufficiently startling the elder wizard, "What do you seek here?"

The headmaster whirled around to stare at him in amazement. "You...," he began, "I think, my dear friend, I remember you."

The wolf bowed his head ever so slightly. "You would better, young one. I have walked the halls of Hogwarts before you were born and returned with Master James in his last year. Now, what do you seek in my master's home?"

The strange feeling of being called "young" with his well over one hundred years threw Albus off track momentarily. But the trouble that was haunting his mind returned but a second later.

"Ancient wolf, I need to speak to your master, to James, at once!" he implored, "His daughter's safety is in great danger!"

Conry's golden eyes darkened as he stared intensely at the old human below him. "If it concerns the little mistress, it is my utmost priority to ensure her safety. I will go and retrieve the master at once."

Dumbledore didn't even have time to blink before the wolf was gone without a trace.

"So what now?"

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were all sitting in the drawing room of Potter manner, intently watching Dumbledore pace back and froth. Conry was sitting to his master's left while Lily was in the adjacent room feeding little Jane.

"It is not that easy," Dumbledore said, one hand constantly going though his beard. "The prophecy is not absolute. If Jane isn't the child it spoke off-"

"We aren't taking any chances," James interrupted. A growl from Conry accompanied his words. "If Voldemort is trying to kill our daughter, we will not give him the chance."

Dumbledore nodded. "Then you can not stay here. Death eaters once already gained entry to the castle to murder Charlus and Euphemia and if Tom finds out about this, he will also come to the manor."

Conry growled in distaste. "You speak truth, Albus. This dark lord, he uses magic of old. He has forged pacts with ancient evils I have not felt since Master Merlin banished them. These barriers, the mansion's protection, they cannot stand against these dark powers."

Sirius sighed. "What about Grimmauld Place? Can you hide there?"

Conry shook his head. "No, friend. Sadly, your brother had the dark one's taint on him. Even if the fidelius is covering the house, he could eventually find it."

"Grimmauld Place would not have been the ideal place to begin with," Remus commented dryly.

"Yeah," Peter agreed in a small voice, "It is rather scary."

"Then I suggest you go into hiding," Albus suggested. "Hide where he would not search and place a new fidelius there. As long as the secret is kept Tom could not possibly find you."

Life in Godric's Hollow was not as luxurious as it had been in the manor, but little Jane seemed to love the cozy cottage all the more. Then again, it didn't seem to matter as long as her big "Cory" was there to warm her. Jane adore the wolf nearly as much as the wolf adore the baby girl. As Halloween drew closer and James was watching the wolf stare at the moon, communing with the golden wolves, he sat down on the veranda besides him.

"Anything new from the big one?" he asked.

Conry nodded slowly, taking his eyes of the moon. "Lyon is... anxious. Dark powers brew and something doesn't feel quite right about his magic to me... He has called for me, master. It is a call I cannot deny him." Golden eyes looked sorrowful at his master. "I am loath to leave at such a dangerous times, but if the golden wolves call, all others must answer, even if I am the only one to heed the call."

James absently scratched his companion's ear. "Think they found the ring? Or maybe even the staff. Imagine that! We'd be so close to the legacy!"

"It would be wondrous indeed," Conry agreed.

With a pat on the head, which annoyed the great wolf to no end, James stood with a grin. "Then tell me what they found when you return, yeah? Old moldy shorts is searching on the other side of England right now. He won't suddenly turn up here. Besides, even he needs time to break though a fidelius cast by an ancient magical wolf."

The wolf sighed. "If only I had your peerless optimism, master."

A sound like glass shattering all around the house had James eat his words. He began the incantation as soon as he felt it and the moment the door was blown of it's hinges, the cloaked figure that was about to stride inside was meet by thousands of magical and deadly blades that were shot at him. All of them were conjured and fired against him by James Potter. Metal broke against a tainted shield, the dark magic rolling off it like black fog as the man that could only be Lord Voldemort strode forwards against the constant rain of deadly metal.

But James wasn't done yet. A sharp twist of his wand caused all the blades and shattered metal lying around to melt explosively, hot lances of iron and steel shooting out to pierce the dark lord from all around him. They hit naught but smoke as the man transfigured his own body into the dark smoke that seemed to flood the house.

"Weak," the man hissed and brandished his own wand. A whip like a red lightning shot forth and was meet by a shield of purest white, a translucent wall of willpower held by James with his left hand while from his wand erupted a wave of pure kinetic energy. It smashed against the dark lord and pushed Voldemort and the wall behind him out into the front yard with a massive explosion.

Voldemort was staggering slightly, red eyes glaring death at James but the man wasn't about to stop his assault just yet. He threw both hand and wand into the air in a wide gesture, the very earth beneath the dark lord's feet began to move and just a second later spikes of jagged stone exploded from the ground several meters into the air, covering all of space the garden had once occupied.

James breathed a sigh of relief but it was short lived. A ghastly shudder ran down his spine just before a hand formed out of the smoke behind him and grabbed his left biceps. The touch burned like fire and before he could dispel the appendage, James was thrown back into the house, crushing hard into the stairs. As James staggered to his feet, left arm completely numb and useless, Voldemort entered the ruined house once more.

"Where is the child?" he hissed, batting away a blade James had shot at him. "Tell me you insufferable worm!"

James had no intention to let this monster have his daughter. He would rather die then accept this fate. Green eyes shining with power, James jabbed his wand at Voldemort and for a second it seemed that nothing had happened but suddenly a lightning struck through the ceiling right at the dark lord. James' eyes shone even brighter as lightning continued to pour onto the spot, burning away the smoke and digging into the foundation of the house. With an enraged outcry the power of the electricity seemed to increase by a hundredfold, the resulting explosion tore out the wall to James' left as he was thrown back onto the stairs.

"James!" came Liliy's worried voice from above, spurring the man to stay conscious despite the pain.

"Lily! Stay up there!" he wheezed and pulled himself up once more. "Protect Jane!"

Tom was nowhere to be seen, only a smoldering crater, as if a meteor had fallen, remained before the father. With great effort, James began to pull himself up the stairs until he suddenly shuddered, feeling sick, dark magic behind him.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

James set his jaw and turned onto his back, staring hatefully into two red eyes. "Fuck you. You fucking-"

The flash of green made Lily whimper. There was no mistaking it. James was dead. Eyes filling with tears, she continued her incantation on the door to the nursery. Layer upon layer of the strongest wards she could muster were piling around her and little Jane.

"You will not have her!" she bit out between the old words of magic, "I will not allow it!"

The whole room shook as the assault began, Lily grit her teeth in desperation and poured all of her power into the wards.

"It is futile, girl!" she heard the dark lord through the door. "You only unnecessarily prolong your demise. I will kill the girl and you cannot change anything!"

Lily screamed in frustration. He was right. These wards would not hold him off. But there was no way in hell that Lily Potter nee Evans was about to give up her daughter. She stepped back from the door and to the crib her little girl was laying in, crying as if she had sensed her father's death. She bent down to the baby girl and kissed her forehead, rubbing the tears away.

"It is alright, darling," she whispered, barely able to keep herself from crying, "you will be alright. Mommy will protect you."

There was a singular loud crack resounding in the air before the door was opened. The hooded figure of Lord Voldemort stepped inside, slowly as to relish the moment. His glowing red eyes set on the redheaded woman before him.

"Step aside, girl," he commanded as he raised his wand. "Step aside and I might let you live."

"Never!" Lily spat and whipped her wand upwards, causing a ball of blazing fire to explode forward but the dark lord merely batted it away with his free hand as if it had been a cloud of smoke.

She could practically see the cruel smirk as he spoke with an eerie calm. "Then you will die." His wand moved slowly, deliberately as he spoke the spell.

"Avada kadavra!"

Conry was pacing impatiently in front of the great tree in the hidden forest under the ruins of Camelot. The golden leaves that swayed gently in the ever blowing wind usually served to calm his mind but today there effect was lost to him. Even though he could not feel anything from the outside world, Conry was tormented by a feeling of unease that wouldn't leave him until he could confirm his master's and mistress' safety.

His pacing was interrupted as great wolf, one with fur of purest gold and eyes the purest white walked forward on a giant branch that stood out from the crown of the great tree. The wolf himself was nothing short of enormous, his height rivaling a two story house at least and his magical powers lay far beyond what a human could even imagine.

"Grey one," he rumbled, his voice like thunder in the otherwise silent clearing.

Conry bowed his head. "Lyon, my lord," he spoke, "Why have you summoned me?"

The grey wolf could feel the piercing gaze from the first wolf. Lyon, as it was, had been born from magic itself with the sole task of keeping the balance. Centuries after his creation, he encountered Merlin, and with Merlin came Emrys. Lyon was convinced to give birth to the hounds of magic, the wolves that were tasked with serving magic's primal intent. The preservation of live.

For that purpose the grey wolves, red wolves, black wolves and white wolves had been created. Each with their own individual task and yet the same. The black and grey wolves were at Merlin's side while the red wolves became the familiars of Morgana la Fey. All that had been a terribly long time ago but Conry still remembered the days at Camelot fondly.

"The balance has been moved tonight," Lyon rumbled. "The dark one did something to shift it. I do not know what it is, but he has become even more dangerous."

Conry frowned. What could such a monster have done to become even more dangerous? "Do we know what he did?"

Lyon slowly shook his head and Conry was loath to admit that he caught the spark of darkness in the great one's eyes once more. How could this be? The rest of the golden wolves, a good dozen of them, appeared on the rest of the tree branches. All but one of them were roughly the same size as Conry. The one that did rise to nearly the same height as Lyon, was the great one's mate, Feyria.

Looking at them as she nuzzled his neck pained him. It only reminded him that his own mate was long gone and would never return. Struck down by none other than Lyon himself for a crime committed by a descendant of Morgana.

Conry shook of the thought. He needed to return as quickly as possible. "Was that all, my lord?" he asked.

"It was not," Lyon responded. "We have lost contact to the last Black."

That was a surprise. What the hell was Sirius doing? All that he was supposed to do was survey entrance to Avalon. As hard as that may sound, as a decedent of Merlin, it was like a literal walk in the park. Said park being the fog isles were the entrance was but that made it not exactly difficult. Morgana, as the Lady of Avalon, had ensured that Merlin's blood could move freely between the here and Avalon.

"Did he go though the gate?" Conry found himself asking, the disbelief audible in his voice.

"We do not think so," Lyon said, eyes flicking to his mate for a second. "Something must have happened. We cannot risk loosing the line. Emrys will have to emerge once more if we intend to combat all these evils of old."

Conry bowed his head. Something about the way the golden wolf had spoken unsettled him greatly. Sirius had been believed dead before, when he ventured to deep into another relam by accident, and Lyon hadn't batted an eye. Why was he suddenly so important? Not that the man himself wasn't a good soul and a brother to James but the Potters were-

He swallowed hard, the feeling of foreboding almost oppressive. "Is that all?" he asked with a strained voice.

"It is," Lyon rumbled. Conry was gone in under a second but did not miss the ominous stare he had received from Lyon.

Something was wrong.

He didn't need to see the cataclysm that had happened in the front yard to guess what had happened. The stench of dark magic and death flooded the stale air that clung to the ruined house. The the left front corner of the house was gone, as was a good part of the roof and as Conry bounded inside and through the still smoldering hole in the ground he pulled up short at the foot of the stairs.

The wail that tore from his throat was the epitome of sorrow and sadness. There, on the topmost stairs, lay his master, his friend. The dead body of the man he had watched grow and thrive, had watched grieve and love lay dead before him, his green eyes once so full of live were now dead and empty, glazed over and forever frozen in the defiant scowl he had meet his death with.

There were no words for the dread Conry felt but he pushed on, up the stairs and through the hallway. At the end of it was an half open door, stuck to it was a flowery sign that read "Jane" in James' messy scrawl and a beautiful heart drawn by Lily. The few steps it took for him to reach the wooden door seemed like an eternity to him and when he pushed it open he immediately looked away, unable to bear the picture. A pitiful whimper escaped him as his legs gave out.

He knew Lily was the one James would one day marry the same moment the man himself had known. She was unyielding in almost everything, a feisty one, Charlus had called her when Conry told him the tales of how she rejected James' proposals for a date every single time. And the harder James tried, fueled by the ancient elven blood that flooded his veins, the harder Lily would let him down. It had been amusing to no end to watch James shrug her rejection of and say, "She's gonna say yes next time, definitely."

And after he stopped his pranks, got a grip on his less than stellar behavior, she said yes. Conry had accompanied James to Hogwarts in his last year after Charlus and Euphemia died and got to watch how James walked up to Lily, took her hands and looked her straight in the eyes, saying, "I love you." Lily never tried to resist the kiss.

And now... both of them were dead. Lily was sitting up against the empty crib right underneath the hole in the roof, a single tear coming from her deep brown eyes knowing that she could not protect her daughter. The stench of death was strongest in this room and besides Lily was a dark scorch mark on the ground. It reeked of burnt flesh and dark magic. The specific magic of Voldemort. Conry growled weakly at the spot. Little Jane was gone. He could tell she was alive, his bond to her had not vanished, but her position eluded him. Something was protecting her from being found. Had Emrys-?

Conry shook his head. A child barely over a year old could not possibly accommodate the power that was Emrys, no matter how strong the child's magic was. Emrys was bound to a physical maturity. He padded over to Lily's side and sadly nuzzled her face. It was already cold. He made a chocking sound before he howled once more, a long and sorrowful sound that was heard in all of Godric's Hollow. The air rippled and shimmered around him before he suddenly changed, leaving behind a tall man with stark white hair and golden eyes. Wolves could not cry, they had no tear ducts. But a human could and for the first time in over a millennia, Conry felt the need to cry over his losses.

He wept at the feet of his dead mistress for hours.

Tonight he had truly lost everything. He had failed to protect his family again.

Petunia felt it before she could see it. A shudder ran up her spine, an all too familiar feeling she remembered from when she had attended her sister's wedding. It was the feeling of a magical protection being set up. Just as she turned to look out the window, a faint red glimmer appeared in the night sky before vanishing as if it had never happened. Petunia wasn't naive enough to not be aware of the implication. Lily had told her off the war, told her that she had to go into hiding.

While Petunia may not have been a witch, she was still the sister to one. And as much as she had hated it at first, when she had first seen the little girl, little Jane, Petunia could not find any fault in her. Magic or not, the child was so beautiful, it robbed her of her breath. Never could she say so to Vernon, not even mention it. It would have dire consequences. And so, when Petunia saw the barrier go up, she knew something dreadful had happened. The barrier itself may not have announced it, but she could feel it in her gut when the magic caused her to shiver.

And true to her foreboding feeling, someone knocked at the door.

A/N: So, here we are. I will try this story once more. This time, you may decide on the pairing. Either Jane/Luna, Jane/Ginny or whatever plausible you can suggest before I wrote too far ahead. Poll in my profile!