Pastiche du Potter:
Part VIII: Thrice Defied

James and Lily Potter and Frank and Alice Longbottom had a very significant thing in common: they had all defied Voldemort three times. This was a major point of the Prophecy, and the principal reason that Harry and Neville were both thought to be potential threats to the Dark Lord. Evidently, this made the Potters and the Longbottoms quite unique. Dumbledore says that only Harry has surpassed this feat and lived to talk about it. Is the defiance important to the conclusion of the story? How might the Potters and the Longbottoms have defied Voldemort?

Did they work together? Were they friends? Did they defy Voldemort together? Did each couple defy him separately? Or did all four of them, in their own ways, defy him individually? Did Voldemort want them to join his ranks? Did he want a spy among the Aurors? Among the Order? A popular pure blood that was trusted in the larger wizard community? A powerful potions maker?

We don't know James or Lily's professions. In GoF, Frank is described as an Auror and Alice as "his wife." However, in OotP, Neville's grandmother tells the Trio that they were both Aurors. Was James an Auror? Did James have a profession, or was he wealthy enough to be of independent means? What about Lily? Did their defiance of Voldemort come through their work? Did they prevent a murder or otherwise thwart the Dark Lord's plans? Were they threatened and refused to bow down? Does Neville know something of this without realizing its importance, and will he reveal that to Harry in a crucial moment?

While there is no way that I can see to arrive at a solution as to exactly how these four defied Voldemort, I do wonder whether the fact that they did and/or how they did will be significant to the end of the story.

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