Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

Prologue – Separated

"For God's sake, Albus!"

Albus Dumbledore looked up from his desk to the professor in front of him. She looked confused, to say the least.

"Please tell me you didn't kidnap the girl!" Professor Minerva McGonagall motioned to the bundled form lying in a basket on the floor.

Dumbledore pressed the tips of his fingers together and surveyed the woman from over the top of his half-moon glasses. "I did not kidnap her," he replied evenly. "Lily and James agreed that she should be taken away, to keep her safe."

"I would think she'd be safe enough with her own parents," Professor McGonagall shot back crisply. "They are under heavy protection, after all."

"They may be under heavy protection, but we cannot make them disappear completely," Dumbledore pressed. "Voldemort knows that the Potters are in hiding."

Professor McGonagall shuddered at the use of the name.

"He may not know where, but he knows about them," Dumbledore continued, ignoring her reaction. "He knows about their son Harry, but he doesn't know about their daughter—he doesn't know about Lucy."

"Do you think they aren't safe enough?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Do you think something is going to happen?"

"I don't have any idea what is going to happen," Dumbledore answered heavily. "As long as Voldemort is alive, the Potters are in danger. The least we can do is make sure one of them has the chance to survive. The possibility of Voldemort discovering Lucy is almost zero now."

"How did Lily and James respond when you told them you were taking their daughter away?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, looking down at the small baby in the basket. "It was Lily's idea," he murmured. "She knows that her family is in considerable danger. She trusts us and the rest of the Order. Yet she knows how to gamble properly: she wants to give her daughter the chance at a normal life. If everything goes well—if Voldemort is destroyed before he finds the Potters—then Lucy will be returned to her family."

"But for now, we should plan for the worst?" Professor McGonagall finished for him in an anxious tone.

"If you'd like to put it that way," Dumbledore answered. "Only a few people know about Lucy. If we can just get her out of here, Lucy should be able to live a long, happy life. She will hopefully be free of any danger that involves Voldemort."

There was a knock on the door, and Professor McGonagall jumped up quickly, looking at Lucy. But Dumbledore calmly called, "Enter."

A young man quickly crossed the threshold, shutting the door behind him quietly.

"Ah, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Remus Lupin?" Professor McGonagall asked curiously.

The man nodded, smiling at his old Transfiguration teacher. Professor McGonagall smiled back and then shot Dumbledore a questioning look.

"Is this her?" Remus asked, peering closer to the basket.

Dumbledore nodded silently, getting up from his chair to pick up the basket. "You know what to do, Remus," he said, handing the child over.

Remus couldn't help but take a peek in the blankets; the baby girl was fast asleep. "You have my word," Remus promised. "I will get the girl to her new family safely."

Dumbledore nodded his approval, and he motioned for the door. "Not a moment to lose," he murmured.

Remus walked briskly out of the office, holding the basket tightly between his hands. The door shut quietly behind him, and there was silence for a moment.

"Where are you sending her?" Professor McGonagall asked in a hushed voice.

"The United States," Dumbledore replied. "There is a magical couple in Massachusetts who can't have children of their own."

"Do they know who she is?" Professor McGonagall questioned.

There was a pause.

"No," Dumbledore said, "and it would be best for everyone involved if they didn't know." He sighed heavily before resuming his place behind his desk.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Professor McGonagall asked in an accusatory tone.

"The fewer people who know about her, the better," Dumbledore answered shortly. "As I said, the possibility of Voldemort discovering Lucy is nearly zero now, and this is the best way to make sure that he remains unaware of her existence."

Professor McGonagall eyed the headmaster for a moment longer before straightening up. "If that's what you think is best," she conceded. "Good night, Albus."

"Good night, Minerva," Dumbledore replied.

As soon as Professor McGonagall left the office, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and whispered, "Good luck, Lucy Potter."

~LJ:TH~

A/N: Well, here we go again! Welcome back to my new-old story, where a lot of changes have happened. This includes my main character's name, which is now Lucy instead of Liza. I was working on later stories in the series, and the name Liza wasn't working in my head anymore; hence the change.

Just a bit of a warning for all of you: this story is an AU based on the plot of the Harry Potter series. I'm writing this story assuming that you all know how Harry Potter goes. Also, there is dialogue throughout my stories that's lifted directly from the books. If that's something that bothers you, don't read this series. I'm not making any money or anything by writing this story; I'm doing it for fun, and I figured I'd share it with people for fun.

I have the list of titles and ratings for each stories in this series on my profile. The ratings do change as the series goes on. Just wanted to give a heads up about that.

Last, but not least, I'll be able to have an actual upload schedule for this series! I used to never promise to upload chapters on a regular basis, because I was uploading while I was still writing. Now that the entire series is finished, I can attempt to make that promise. So the upload schedule for this series will be Mondays and Thursdays. (I'm even going to set a reminder on my phone ha.) I'm not going to promise a time of day, but I will try my hardest to stick to that schedule.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoy this story, and if you don't, thanks for giving it a try anyway.