37"Stand aside foolish girl!" The dark menacing voice demanded. The redhead, in response, shook her head as she stood in front of the crib between him and his target.
"No! Kill me instead! Just leave my Harry alone!" She cried. A smirk appeared on his face and his wand swished through the air sending one of his favorite Unforgivables at the woman.
"Crucio!" He cast; amusement in his voice. He watched as the Potter woman fell to the ground and screamed in agony. He paid no attention to the infant who was standing in his crib, small hands gripping the bars, watching the events unfold with wide eyes.
Finally deciding that the woman had had enough, he lifted the curse. To his amazement, the woman was already pulling herself back to her feet. She shakily stood up and pressed her back against the crib, arms stretched out wide as if it was enough to stop him.
"Leave here, Voldemort.' She coughed out. 'Leave or die!" She screamed the last part. Red eyes narrowed in indignation and his wand snapped forward. It was as the curse left his mouth, that his eyes widened in a bit of surprise; triumph, easily seen in Lily Potter's jade-green orbs.
"Avada Kedavra!" He had no time to ponder the look in Lily Potter's eyes before it vanished, only to be replaced with the vacant look that those who had been touched by the 'Killing Curse' wore. He watched dispassionately as the woman fell to the ground before sighing.
"You would've made an excellent Death Eater, Potter. You and your husband." With a shake of his head at the waste of such a powerful witch, he strode forward to stand before the crib. It was now that he noticed just how quiet the boy had been. It was a bit unnerving. This wasn't the first child he had murdered, either before or after killing the parents; this was the first time, however, that a child had not made a single sound. Even during the screaming of his own mother, the last Potter remained silent.
"M-m-master! Perhaps this isn't a..." Peter Pettigrew, once-friend of the Potters and Secret-Keeper, recoiled back out of the room when red eyes turned towards him.
"Sniveling coward. Nothing will stop me from this." With that he raised his wand and pointed it at the infant. Peter, eyes darting back and forth in fear, suddenly went still as his animal senses told him that danger was approaching. It was all he needed as he quickly ran towards, and down, the stairs.
"Good help, is so hard to find, Harry Potter.' Voldemort sneered. 'Take comfort, in the fact that you will never know that irritation. Avada Kedavra!"
Voldemort smirked as the green curse struck the toddler. The smirk died a swift death when the curse apparently bounced off the boy's body and slammed back into the dark wizard, hitting him directly in the chest.
"W-what?" He managed. His wand fell from his hand and clattered to the floor as his other hand reached up to his chest in growing horror.
"What is this?" Was the last he managed to say before his body was ripped apart.
Peter let out a shriek as he jumped through the front door, an explosion of magic behind him. He turned over and began scurrying backwards as a dome of golden light emerged from the Potter home and quickly covered the entire house. Even as frightened as he was, he could not take his eyes off the spectacle.
Voldemort, or what was left of him, hovered in place. He had been reduced to nothing more than a shade and knew he had to leave as quickly as possible. It was only by the genius and power of his Horcruxes that he still "lived" and all he needed to do now was to go to one of the soul anchors but no matter what he tried, he was rooted in place. His attempts in fleeing were halted by humorless laughter. If he still had eyes, they would've turned towards the source of the noise; if he had eyes they would've widened in shock.
Lily Potter stood next to the crib, a ghostly hand smoothing over the now-sleeping Harry's hair. She was hunched over the wall of the crib as she tended to her son, her facial features warm and loving. This changed when her attention snapped towards the shade. Her face contorted into fury and pain, all color left her and she resembled more of a ghoul than a mere ghost.
"I warned you, Voldemort. I warned you to leave and to let my family be. You. Didn't. Listen!" The last part had come out as a screech and Voldemort felt as if he had been struck by a physical blow. He could only watch as the Potter woman straightened up to face him.
"This is my doing, what you're going through now. A Light witch I may have been, but to protect my son; nothing is beyond a mother's love. I'd tell you what I did, but for someone like you, I think I'll let you die without that knowledge. Die, Voldemort; die trying to figure out how a simple Mudblood bested the supposed Dark Lord! The dome covering this house will slowly drain you of all your magic, it will use the magic to reinforce the protection spells. My only regret is that Harry will be stuck here until the dome runs out of magic to use. By that time, however, you will be dead and gone." With that the ghost vanished.
Voldemort screamed in fury and, upon feeling his magic being drained, began pulling at the Dark Marks of his Death Eaters. He was hopeful, that since Pettigrew was so close, the extra bit of magic would help him break free.
Peter frantically tried to ease the grip that was now around his neck. If he had been frightened before, he was terrified now. Sirius Orion Black had him pinned to the ground and was choking the life out of him.
"You fucking traitor! How could you?! How could you betray James and Lily!? I'll kill you, you sorr..." That was the last he could get out before he slumped over and off of Peter. The rat animagus sat up quickly and looked around. He should've been relieved to see Dumbledore and a dozen or so Aurors standing there but that only made him even more frightened. His mind, however, quickly gave him a way out of this mess.
"It was Sirius! He was the Secret Keeper and he told You-Know-Who!" Dumbledore sighed as he strode forward, a few Aurors moving past him towards Sirius.
"So it would seem, Peter.' Dumbledore looked up at the house and sighed. 'James. Lily. Young Harry...what a mess."
Peter had slowly gotten to his feet and was inching his way to the side. He needed to get out of here, he'd come up with an excuse later but now he needed away from here before Sirius was awakened. Just as he was about to Disapparate, a horrible-sounding roar echoed out from the house catching everyone's attention.
Peter had only briefly looked up before he fell to the ground screaming in pain. The nearby Aurors quickly moved towards him as Dumbledore watched from the side.
Peter pitched and rolled on the ground, his right hand reaching towards his left arm and was tearing at the sleeve of his robes. An Auror at his side figured something was wrong with the arm and quickly pushed up the sleeve. He fell back with a gasp, shakily pointing at the arm where the Dark Mark stood out clearly against Peter's pale skin.
Dumbledore had moved forward and stunned Peter who, despite being unconscious, still convulsed on the ground.
"A Death Eater? Him too?" The Auror who had made the discovery muttered. Dumbledore turned towards Sirius sharply and quickly made his way to the stunned Black. With a swish of his wand, the right sleeve of Sirius' robe vanished revealing an unmarked arm. He and the Aurors shared a look. 'What is going on?
"Hey! This one isn't moving any...he's dead!" An Auror who stayed near Pettigrew, just in case, shouted out.
Voldemort screamed out his frustration as the magic from Pettigrew did little to help him. By the time he had drained the sniveling rat of his magic, it had only replaced what had already been taken by the dome. In desperation, Voldemort pulled from every Dark Mark he had ever given.
Death Eaters, all over the country, fell to the ground screaming out in pain. Those nearby, whom had attempted to help, soon found the Dark Marks. It would remain a headline for nearly a year afterwards, 'The Great Purge and the Savior Who Brought It'. There wouldn't be a single Death Eater who would escape and any who had been sympathetic to their cause would quickly fix their way of thinking once the whole story came out.
A boy, a year-old child, had been the cause of the Dark Lord's demise and along with him went every underling he had. In another time, Harry James Potter might have been given fame for being responsible for the death of a Dark Lord. The fame he would gain from the 'Purge' would easily dwarf that.
Voldemort felt his magic draining even faster and was thrashing about the room, specifically against the windows. The glass shattered easily enough, but he could go no further. He tried attacking the boy but was repelled across the room. Then, just as he felt his magic completely leave him, he received a boost that put him at over half of his magical core. At first he was ecstatic, but then he felt the drain happening again. When it nearly ended he received yet another boost, it was then that the self-styled Dark Lord understood where the boost were coming from.
"The Horcruxes..." They were being drained, even as far away as they were, and it was then that Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, knew that he was defeated. His screams of fury only intensified, the room shook with his anger, and throughout it all; young Harry slept on.
Dumbledore had been sending small probes of magic at the dome for nearly twenty minutes now. Off to the side a distraught Sirius Black had to be held back by three Aurors as he tried to rush towards the house. After the revelation about Peter, Sirius had been re-ennervated. The man had quickly tried to find Peter once again and had slumped to the ground when he saw the traitor's corpse.
Dumbledore allowed the Aurors to deal with Sirius, the dome before him continued to hold all of his attention. It was something he had never read about, much less encountered. He, like the others nearby, had felt the magical outbursts from within the house. Unlike the others however, he felt how the dark magic inside seemed to slowly wither away before vanishing, only to burst back into life.
It was as he contemplated the happenings that Bartimus Crouch Apparated onto the scene. Seeing the Supreme Mugwump, and Chief-Warlock, that was Dumbledore, he quickly made his way over.
"Albus.' He greeted, which the ancient wizard returned in kind. 'I don't know if you've heard the news but Death Eaters are being found dead by the dozen. Each and every single one of them show signs of Magical Depletion." There was an edge to Barty's voice that Albus took note of but he pushed it away as he looked at the dome with new eyes.
"I see." He trailed off as he sent another probe at the dome and then turned back to the head of the DMLE with a sigh.
"Barty. I believe I have a theory as to what has happened this night.' He gestured towards the dome. 'The Dark Lord came here tonight to kill the Potters. I am not sure how, yet, but something went wrong for him. Ever since I've arrived, there have been large magical outbursts inside. Peter Pettigrew, over there, collapsed after we had arrived and soon after he was dead. Magical Depletion." Barty frowned and looked over at the dead wizard, his eyes easily making out the Dark Mark on the right forearm.
"So you're saying whatever happened to You-Know-Who is affecting the Death Eaters?" The official questioned, tired eyes studying the dome surrounding the house. Albus thought about asking the man what was truly bothering him but decided to leave it for now.
"Yes. Furthermore, I believe that this magical dome was what caused it all. I can no longer feel Voldemort's magic in the house; I know for a fact that he has not left. Whatever this is, it drained the Dark Lord's magic and it is my best guess that he, in turn, drained his followers out of desperation."
Barty's eyes widened and he looked from the corpse of Pettigrew to the house and then a look of wonder crossed his features. Before he could say a word, Dumbledore spoke again.
"There is a problem however. Young Harry Potter, only child of James and Lily Potter is still in the house. I can feel his magic, however faint it may be. I believe this magic to be protecting him." Barty look gobsmacked.
"But, that boy isn't even two years old yet, last I heard. Are you telling me that one child is the reason for the fall of You-Know-Who and all his Death Eaters?"
Albus remained silent, choosing to keep his eyes on the magical dome. He had had sneaking suspicions about Tom for some time now. A dark branch of magic that the self-styled Lord Voldemort might've researched in order to remain all-powerful. If he was right, then one day Tom Riddle would return for revenge. What made him undecided about that theory, now, was the impressive piece of magic he was currently trying to understand. He knew that Tom hadn't left the inside of the house yet, and the dark wizard's magic was still withering out before flaring back into existence over and over. Albus had counted five so far.
Something else he had to consider was the Death Eaters. They were all dead now, which meant that if Tom should ever return, he would be without followers. He would have to lay low for quite some time before being able to move against the Wizarding World again. Albus briefly thought of what that would be like. A Dark Lord without anyone to do his bidding.
"Albus! Are you going to answer me or just stand there and claim senility!" Crouch growled.
The elderly wizard blinked his thoughts away and came to a conclusion.
"Harry James Potter has saved us all, Barty. This dome, it is his doing. The Potters were in hiding because of the strength that I saw in young Harry the day he was born.' Albus chose not to say anything about the Longbottoms. If anything, he could claim that they were just following their friend's lead. He would have to have a talk with them before the night was over. 'The Dark Lord Voldemort has been drained of his magic and before his demise, he took all of his Death Eaters with him. That is all I know at this time Barty." 'That means Severus as well. Poor boy, he never got the chance to fully redeem himself.' He privately thought the last part, as a memory of a scared young man on his knees begging to save the Potters...no, to save Lily.
The man went through several emotions ranging from confused to indignant to awed before finally stopping on relieved.
"That...is...I don't even know how to describe what I'm feeling right now." The man finally got out. It wasn't lost on Albus that the DMLE-head's sentiments were shared by the gathered Aurors.
"Perhaps, it would be wise to have someone spread the good news?" Trying not to sound as if it was an actual suggestion. Crouch may be good at his job on a good day, but the man was easily lost to his emotions that he developed tunnel-vision. If the rumors were to be believed, the current forerunner to soon replace Minister Millicent Bagnold was a man by the name of Cornelius Fudge. He was being backed by several of the Pureblood families that were considered Dark or of the Purist Movement. With the situation in regards to the Death Eaters, it would seem like Fudge would be out of the running soon. If not, well, Albus was starting to think that perhaps he had too many titles these days and just maybe he would change his stance on becoming minister.
As he was musing, Crouch had turned to the Aurors and had begun barking out orders. Sirius, who had once more tried to rush the dome, was victim of the Stupefy yet again. Crouch had issued the order for Sirius to be taken to St. Mungo's. Albus was both grateful and felt guilty at this. He had come to Godric's Hollow believing that Sirius Black had betrayed his friends to Tom.
It was beyond shocking to him that he had been so wrong. To think, that Sirius would convince James and Lily to make Peter the Secret-Keeper instead of him. In hindsight, it was actually the better choice. Sirius would die before ever betraying James and Lily. He would've most definitely been targeted by Tom's Death Eaters and he would no doubt have been tortured for the whereabouts of the Potters. Even if that had happened, Sirius couldn't betray information that magic would not allow him to speak of. Peter Pettigrew...his character wasn't a very strong one and no one would think that he would be entrusted with such important information. That he went willingly to the Dark Lord was almost unfathomable to Albus. If he hadn't seen the Dark Mark with his own eyes he would've been hard-pressed to believe it.
Now. James and Lily were dead. Their betrayer was also dead. The man responsible for betraying the prophecy to Tom in the first was dead. Tom, himself, was soon to be dead. 'The count stopped at six some time ago and there hasn't been another outburst of magic' he thought idly. Sirius was Harry's Godfather, and would definitely be granted guardianship of Harry. There was nothing stopping that, not that Albus wanted to anyhow. He just wanted the child out of Godric's Hollow and in safe hands. There was nowhere else safer than in Sirius', but it seemed that they would all have to play the waiting game. In the meantime...
"Kingsley, my boy. A moment of your time please?" He called towards a young junior Auror. The dark-skinned man blinked in surprise before quickly striding over to the elder wizard.
"How can I help you Headmaster?" The dark-skinned man asked. He had been out of Hogwarts for a while now but some habits died harder than others.
Albus offered a strained smile as he clasped a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"My boy, seeing as Crouch is currently busy, I would like for you to set up a schedule for guard duty around this home. I am not sure of the exact time-frame but I do not believe this dome will be coming down any time soon. We can only pray that it doesn't last longer than a few months."
Kingsley's eyes widened in shock as he turned towards the house.
"But, the Potter child is still inside isn't he?" The man grit his teeth as he turned an apologetic look towards the Headmaster only to have his fears waved off.
"Do not fret, it is human nature to be curious and in a situation like this, even I would've been hard-pressed not to eavesdrop." Albus chuckled.
"Still, Crouch would have my head if he knew; even if I wasn't the only one." Kingsley ran a nervous hand over his face, wiping off the collected sweat.
"Yes, Barty can be quick to temper but I trust that he will overlook your actions in lieu of the bigger picture at the moment. Now, about that schedule...?"
Kingsley quickly nodded and promised to get right on it, he had then turned and moved hurriedly towards a group of his fellow Aurors.
Albus watched the man go before turning back to the house. If only he knew what was going on inside.
Voldemort couldn't feel anything anymore, nor could he see. He had just received one last boost of magic a few moments ago, and it startled him that it had come from the crib, specifically, from the boy. He hadn't been aware that he had unintentionally created a Horcrux using the child, though he wasn't sure how that worked exactly either. In all of his research he hadn't come across anything that would lead him to believe he could use a living creature, much less a human, as a Horcrux. Though he hadn't finished the research either.
He was aware that he was currently on the floor somewhere near the door. Everything was pitch black and if possible, it was only getting darker. With one last heaving attempt at escape, at the chance of doing anything, the Dark Lord Voldemort -born Tom Marvolo Riddle- faded into nothingness, never to return.
Lily Potter (née Evans) slipped into view as if she had shed an invisibility cloak. Her features were once again normal, she had felt a bit better about being dead when she was able to pull off that "ghoul" look on Voldemort. Let it be said that Lily was just as good at pranks as the Marauders, though she wouldn't be able to share this one with anybody.
She peered into the crib that held her son. The ritual she had used had done everything it was supposed to. The saying "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" could never have been truer, however; She had not counted on Voldemort draining his Death Eaters of their magic to try to stay alive. If it had just been Voldemort, the magical dome that was protecting the home and her Harry would've only lasted two months, three at the most. The magic would easily keep Harry healthy and alive, though he would have to be taken care of right away once the dome fell. Voldemort draining his Death Eaters though...and those other burst of magic that he gained; even as smart as she was, she didn't know how long it was going to be before the dome ran out of magic to sustain itself.
Another side-effect of the ritual now was that she would remain in the house until the dome left. She comforted herself with the fact that she would be able to keep Harry company, hopefully be able to interact with him as he got older (That is, if the dome stayed up that long, which she uneasily felt was going to be the case.) and maybe she'd be able tell her son all about his parents. Only time would tell, for now, she contented herself with simply watching her baby boy.
Small eyelids slowly opened to reveal green orbs that instantly locked onto the ghostly apparition standing near the crib. Mother and son locked eyes and remained that way for some time before the infant fell back asleep. Lily wondered at that for a moment before the thought simply left her mind and she went back to watching over her son as before, the brief moment completely forgotten.
No one, not Lily, not Dumbledore, not Sirius and certainly not Harry could possibly know that the Wizarding World would not be able to greet it's savior for the next six years. No one could possibly know what it would mean for the Wizarding World when a seven year old Harry James Potter would finally be able to leave Godric's Hollow. Nothing could prepare the world for the events that follow.
Okay! Not too happy with the ending, it seems to cheesy, but wasn't exactly sure what else to put. Anyway!
Quite a few things to put out.
First! This fic is a bit of a side-project to give me some more time off from Test of Fortitude. The idea was slightly inspired by the up-coming film Mama as well as some conversations in the forums. Even though I have half of the next chapter of ToF finished, there are some things I'm not happy about with the fic as a whole and I think I need to slow down before I write myself into a corner.
Secondly! This fic right here, this is going to be a MAJOR deviation from canon, such examples are:
Voldemort is dead and staying that way. Nothing can or is going to bring him back. All the Death Eaters are dead, anyone with a Dark Mark. There will still be those who sympathized with Voldemort's cause and had the same beliefs, but if they didn't have the Dark Mark, then they lived. Such a person is Narcissa Malfoy.
Without the influence of Death Eaters who claimed to have been under the Imperius and are really just biding their time, a lot of things are going to be different. Ex: Draco isn't going to be the carbon copy of his father. Many other DE children are going to be also different. The Ministry will be different.
Thirdly! Without Voldemort and/or DE's, Harry's time at Hogwarts will be drastically different. There will be no Sorceror's Stone, no Chamber of Secrets (though if it's discovered simply by chance is another matter) no Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry wont be forced into the Tri-Wiz Tourny, etc. Harry will learn about the Prophecy but it wont really matter because Voldemort is gone.
What this means is that new threats will be created, or at least new events that will occur in Harry's life. Can't just have a boring story about Harry attending Hogwarts, now can we?
Now, this is for those who follow certain pairings. Hermione/Ron, Fleur/Bill, and Remus/Tonks...these pairings will not be featured in this fic. That doesn't mean that any of those girls will be paired with Harry (or the guys, for that matter. None of that slash stuff here.) I have an idea for the pairing, but it still up for debate. It wont matter for the first 10 chapters anyhow, I'm going to wait at least that long. Harry is going to reappear as a seven year old. He will have to be brought back into the world one step at a time. He'll have to meet and get to know Sirius and anyone else that's around.
I would also like any and all input from you readers on this fic. What would you like to see happen, what could be something that Harry has to deal with, ideas for who he should be paired with (even though I might just stick with whom I have in mind), differences that should definitely be seen in this new HP world, stuff like that.
So, what do you think?