A/N 1: Italics indicate a telepathic conversation or non-verbal spell. “Italics” indicate a spell or Parseltongue.

A/N 2: Thanks to Len87: my great beta reader!

“Why are you so protective of young Sophie?” Dumbledore asked.

Daniel sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I guess it’s just because we have a lot in common. We both suffered from the hands of the Dursleys, we both get thrown into situations that we have no control over, all that sort of stuff. More than that though, she knows that Vernon is her parent but she ignores that. She feels that I am her father and always have been. I feel the same way. She isn’t mine, but she seems like my own flesh and blood. I suppose it could be that, when I first adopted her, I thought that I would never have a child of my own as I believed Rachel to be dead. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but we’re almost more than family. Sometimes, it’s even like we’re the same person. When she was younger, I’d start a sentence and she’d finish it. Even if I was teaching her something and she didn’t understand it, she would know the end of the sentence. She still does that sometimes. She was my first child, and in some ways, she always will be.”

Dumbledore gazed at Daniel over the top of his half-moon glasses and slowly nodded. “If you love her that much, why don’t you send her someplace else? Away from the war she’s getting caught up in.”

Daniel took a deep breath. “Now that I know Old Magic, I have enough power for a single Obliviation spell that could cover the planet. I could erase the world’s memory of Sophie and all of Sophie’s own memory. I could give her to a wizarding family in America or New Zealand, somewhere far away from the war. Then I would integrate Sophie into their memories, so they would believe she belongs to them. Finally, I would rebuild Sophie’s memories from her birth upwards. She would never remember us and nobody would remember her, apart from me.” Daniel stared at the ceiling. “I sometimes wonder if I should do that. Is it right to tamper with her life that way? No. But should I if it saves her life? I’m not sure. I think I should ask her but she might hate me if I even suggest it. I don’t think I could live with that.”

“Ask her,” Dumbledore said gently. “She deserves the choice.” Daniel nodded absently. Dumbledore wrote a quick note to Professor McGonagall and handed it to Fawkes. He disappeared in a burst of flame and they waited. He came back after a minute, Sophie holding onto his tail feathers.

“Hello, Headmaster. Was there something you wanted?” she asked politely.

“It’s your father who wants to talk to you,” Dumbledore replied. Sophie turned to Daniel who was still staring at the ceiling.

“Sit down, Sophie,” Daniel said. Sophie obeyed and sat opposite Daniel. After a few moments he looked at her, his eyes shining. He took her hands in his and squeezed them. “Sophie,” he said gently and slowly. “I don’t really know how to make this sound better. I care for you. I don’t want you to die in this war. Unfortunately, if you’re connected to me, you’re a major target. There is only one way to avoid this. I’m giving you a choice. You can avoid the war completely. I have the power to completely erase you from our memories and us from yours. We can send you somewhere where you’ll be safe. You can have the childhood you deserved. Get the life you deserve. It’s your choice and your choice alone. You can live with me, and possibly die in the near future. Or you can forget about me and live the rest of your life happy.”

A single crystal tear trailed down Sophie’s cheek and fell to the midnight blue carpet. “Dad, I love you but…”

“Sophie… forget about I want. Forget about what everyone else wants. What do you want?”

Another tear followed the first. “I don’t want to die,” Sophie said quietly.

Daniel nodded, his own eyes burning with tears. “Dumbledore, lower the wards so we can Apparate out.” Dumbledore obeyed. “Obliviate!” Daniel shouted. A white glow surrounded him before exploding in a ripple of light.

XXXXX

All throughout the world, people stopped and watched a white sphere spread in all directions. As soon as it hit them, all traces of Sophie were ripped from their mind and discarded before the memory of the spell was destroyed as well. Muggles and wizards alike, nobody remembered. Apart from one man sitting in a chair in the Headmaster’s office in Hogwarts.

XXXXX

Dumbledore’s eyes glazed over and Daniel Apparated out with Sophie. They found themselves somewhere in a forest clearing, just after the ripple had passed through the area. Daniel set off deeper into the trees.

“Where are we, Dad?” Sophie asked. Her eyes searched the night sky.

“America,” Daniel replied. “I know a trustworthy family here.”

“How? You’ve never been out of the country.”

“Before I adopted you, I came here so that I could see if any of the American wizards could come and help fight if the war went badly for us. I found about fifty who said they’d help. This family didn’t want to get involved in the war, but they’re good people.”

Daniel and Sophie walked through the forest for another ten minutes. They came across an invisible wall that stopped them in their tracks. There was a large mansion in the distance. “There’s nothing here,” Sophie said.

“Fidelius Charm,” Daniel explained.

Daniel examined the wards for a moment before slamming his fist into them. The wards around them became a faint blue and lightning crackled as a hole appeared. The mansion became visible to Sophie. Daniel and Sophie walked through and the hole closed up behind them. The wards turned back to their normal invisible state.

It took them five minutes before they arrived at the mansion. Daniel knocked on the door and after a few moments a woman answered the door. “Daniel?” she asked. Her blue eyes were piercing into him.

“Hello, Amanda,” Daniel said. “Is Chris here?”

“Yes, he’s upstairs with Nick. Why?”

“Could we come in please?”

“Sure. I’ll go get the boys.” Amanda walked up the stairs.

“What is this place?” Sophie asked.

“Tapping Manor. That was Amanda Tapping. He husband’s Chris and they have a son a year younger than you called Nick.”

At that moment, Amanda returned with her husband and son. “Hi, Daniel,” Chris said. He had brown hair and grey eyes. Nick had his mothers’ blonde hair and his fathers’ eyes.

“Hi,” Daniel said. “Last time we met, you said that under no circumstances were you getting into a war.”

Chris nodded. “And our decision hasn’t changed.”

“Good. Everyone, this is Sophie. My… daughter.” Everyone said hello to Sophie. “What I want you to do is to adopt her. She’s in too much danger in England. I’m asking permission to alter your memories so that you’ll think she always was your daughter.”

Silence met this. Chris eventually spoke. “You want to change our memories? What about all the people who’ve met her?”

“I’ve dealt with that,” Daniel said.

Amanda slowly nodded. “I suppose we could do that.” Chris and Nick agreed.

“Thank you. Obliviate!” Daniel sorted through all their memories and added Sophie unto them all. He created some completely new memories as well. When he was finished and their eyes returned to normal, Daniel said, “Can I talk to your daughter for a moment?”

“Sure,” Chris said.

Daniel conjured a privacy bubble around them. “Sophie, I’m so sorry about all this. But it’s for your safety.”

Sophie hugged him. “Goodbye, Dad,” she said, tears falling freely down her face.

Daniel was doing much better. “Goodbye, Sophie. I’ll never forget you,” he promised. “Obliviate!” Daniel whispered.

Sophie’s memories were wiped from her mind. Vernon, Petunia, Daniel, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Dumbledore, Rachel, Cassie, Chloe, James, Lily, Draco, April, Privet Drive, Grimmauld Place, Potter Manor, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, the Chamber of Secrets. Every single person and experience in her life was destroyed. Daniel slowly rebuilt the memories from a reasonable point. Her third birthday, going on holiday for the first time, her first Metamorphose, going to school for the first time, her first crush, her first kiss, her first duel, her boyfriend breaking up with her, going to private schooling. Everything was fabricated. After thirty minutes, Daniel finished and then quickly built a memory of a conversation they had in the privacy bubble.

“Okay, Sophie, I’ve got to go now. Go and get some dinner,” Daniel said. He lowered the bubble and they walked into the kitchen. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said to the adults.

“No problem, Daniel,” Chris replied.

“Come back any time,” Amanda said.

“Thank you, but it’ll be years before we see each other again.” And with that Daniel left the mansion and Disillusioned himself.

He walked up to the window and watched the family ea and talk happily. After a few minutes, Chris raised his glass. “A toast. To family.”

Daniel couldn’t take any more. He ran to the wards and slammed through them. He arrived at the clearing and screamed at the unfairness of it all. The war was going to destroy so many lives like it had already taken Sophie away from him. The air crackled and Daniel smelled ozone. He tried to force his magic down but couldn’t do it in time. Trees around him were incinerated instantly. Daniel looked around him when he crushed his magic back inside. Almost a hundred metres of forest had been burnt into cinders.

Daniel Apparated back to Hogsmeade and began the journey back to the school. As Daniel walked through the halls, he remembered all the good times he’d had with Sophie, all the pranks, all the jokes. After what seemed like years, he arrived at his rooms. Daniel ignored Rachel, who was asking if he was alright, and he fell asleep without a word.

A/N 3: Tell me what you think. It’s my first ever attempt at something like this. I don’t know how many chapters there will be. There should be at least another two, if I ever manage to get them right. I’m struggling at the moment. I may just keep it as a one chapter fic as it’s still good on its own.

A/N 4: Another Stargate reference. Amanda Tapping plays Samantha Carter in the series.