A/N: This is my first published story on ; it's one I've been working on here and there for a while now, and now that the story is finished being written, I'm posting it. I have plans to complete a whole series of seven stories chronicling each of the seven years that the books span.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters; those all belong solely to JK Rowling. Due to the nature of this story, sections of the text have been copied verbatim from the original text; the idea being that a ripple effect causes events within the universe to diverge from the original storyline. Being that this is the first story, everything is more or less canon, but as the stories progress, they will shift further and further away from the books. As for what I do own, I own the Drake family and all related characters.

DRAKE: The Philosopher's Stone

PROLOGUE: This Changes Everything

One can always wonder what were to happen if they were to take a moment in time - any moment - and change one little thing. It would, of course, be of interest to learn what the resulting ripple effect might have on the events that follow – it may make only a small difference, or it could have the biggest impact of all. We would never know if one actually HAD gone back to change that one moment in time, or whether mysterious forces had simply worked their will, twisting fate and altering the course of the world as the powers that be have seen fit.

As such it will remain a mystery the single moment that Tom Riddle stepped down the path he chose to take, descending into the depths of darkness before re-emerging as the darkest of them all – Lord Voldemort. Also will it remain unknown whether the prophecy surrounding his legacy and demise would have come to pass if he had not walked down that path into the realm of evil. All that is known, is that it DID come to pass, and the consequences of that one night in Godric's Hollow have echoed through the years, bringing with them the ingredients for one of the most epic battles of good against evil that the world has ever known.

This is where we return to our original point, which leads us to a question; WHAT IF? What if one little thing had changed? Would Voldemort still have come to be, and how different would he be from the monster we have come to know and despise? Would James and Lily Potter have met their premature demise? Would the Wizarding world be such a dark and foreboding place? We will never know...

And so begins a new journey, we will take control of a single thread and manipulate it – change it, then sit back to watch the outcome unfold. We shall start with a visit from an old family friend; a visit that originally never happened and was never meant to happen; but for argument's sake, we shall bring this one minor event to pass and watch the rest of the story unravel.

The story begins now...

It was a few weeks before the Dark Lord would eventually discover the hiding place of James and Lily Potter, along with their infant son Harry. The Dark Lord needed the boy gone in order for his plan of total domination of the magical world to succeed, but he desired a back-up plan in case things did not unfold to his liking.

As luck would have it, such a back-up plan did come to light, and the circumstances surrounding this back-up plan could not have been more opportune to him, for one of his loyal followers had come to him bearing the most terrific of news – a way for the Dark Lord to bring himself great power, such that would surely earn him the victory he so desperately deserved.

This was why Augustus Rookwood was on his way to visit Anneliese Malfoy at her home; the Rookwoods and the Malfoys had long been family friends, and it was crucial to the Dark Lord's back-up plan that he come into contact with her. The only trouble had been that he'd needed to travel halfway across the world, to the city of New York, in the United States of America. This was slightly troubling to him, as the magical world of the states was completely integrated into Muggle society, because it was otherwise a lot harder to cover up. Rookwood's trouble was that he was not familiar with Muggle society, which made it difficult for him to properly blend in with his surroundings.

It had also required a little effort to pinpoint Anneliese; the reason she had been so hard to find was because she had been excommunicated from the Malfoy family line for reasons kept private by her parents and her older brother, Lucius. Rookwood was not quite thrilled at having to associate with one known as a blood traitor, however he was forced to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary with his dropping by, and that he was simply glad to have a chance to catch up with an old friend.

Once he'd located Anneliese in New York, it had not been difficult to discover through some light research that she had married into a long-standing American pureblood family. She had been wedded to one Antoine Drake 4 years ago, and in this past year the couple had given birth to a set of twin boys. This much Rookwood had learned easily; the boys' names were documented as Azriel Lucius and Alexander Lucifer, but Rookwood had deemed this knowledge unnecessary and did not concern himself with further knowledge of the babies.

Drake Manor was easy enough to find; in a slightly less populated area of the city was a decently large house with a black iron fence. Magical protections had been hidden and scattered within the property boundaries, invisible from the outside thanks to a very potent glamour. As Rookwood ascended the front path toward the front door, he took note of all this, intending to report back to his lord should any part of it prove relevant.

He was unfamiliar with the muggle concept of a doorbell, and not recognising the purpose of the little button next to the door, he simply found it easier to knock. It was not long before a woman came to open the door – fairly young, with long platinum blonde hair and silver-tinged eyes, a pretty face and well-kept figure; this was Anneliese Drake, having given up her maiden name in favour of her husband's.

Anneliese was certainly surprised to see Rookwood on her doorstep, and stood in silent shock at the sight of her old friend until a baby cried out from another room within the house. She blinked, still stunned at the unexpected visitor, but after a moment she remembered herself and turned to face inside the house.

'Antoine, could you get that? It's probably Azriel; I hadn't had a chance to feed him yet,' she called out into the house. Clearly, someone must have responded to her request, because the crying soon stopped. Anneliese turned back to the man on her doorstep; 'I'm sorry, Augustus. Do come in.'

Anneliese stepped aside with an apologetic smile, holding the door open for him to come inside. He was sure to mask his grimace as he passed by her, and the door was closed behind him.

'Please, follow me to the living room. Make yourself comfortable.' Anneliese tried not to appear too nervous or excited to see her old friend as she played the humble hostess, leading him through the house to a large room with expensive furniture and grandiose ornamentation. 'Can I get you anything? A drink perhaps?'

'A Firewhisky would be good, thanks,' Rookwood replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Anneliese didn't notice this as she turned her attention to a blond man entering the room carrying a baby in his arms – this, Rookwood deduced, was Antoine, and the baby must have been Azriel, the one Anneliese spoke of before.

'Azriel okay? He didn't wake Alex did he?' Anneliese got up from her seat on the couch to check on her infant son personally. Rookwood heard this much of Anneliese's brief conversation with her husband before turning his attention to the room around him. He wondered how he would break the news he was to tell Anneliese – this was the most crucial part of the plan; in order for it to succeed, the Dark Lord had use for her children, and the reason had to do with their family heritage. What this was, Rookwood didn't know and he hadn't the nerve to ask, but he did know it was of the utmost importance nonetheless.

Rookwood was distracted from his musings when Anneliese returned with his drink. Anneliese sat back down moments later, and Rookwood forced himself into some idle chatter, catching up with his once old friend. Granted, Rookwood no longer considered her a friend to him, but in order for this to work, she had to believe he was. This was why he had to work up to what he needed to tell her, rather than just dropping the intended bombshell on her.

Before long, their conversation died down. Anneliese looked awkward before asking Rookwood; 'Why are you here? Tell me the truth; it mustn't look good for you back home to be associating with me after everything that's happened.'

This was the part Rookwood had been waiting for. Hoping he didn't sound eager, he took a breath and sighed, trying to play a part in order to sell his story.

'I've got something very important to tell you, too important to let the past get in the way of things. It concerns your sons.'

Anneliese went quiet as she listened to her friend spin his tale, and she felt genuine concern from Rookwood even when he was spinning his master's well-crafted lie.

'Why are we doing this again?' Alex Drake asked, annoyed at the situation he and his twin now found themselves in at age eleven.

'Because Mom said, that's why,' Azriel responded with a roll of his eyes, equally as annoyed as his twin.

'But what's wrong with the New York Academy? It's a perfectly good wizard school.'

'It was Mom's idea to send us to her old school. If Dad had a problem with it, he'd have objected.' Azriel and Alex had floo'd from the Ministry Of Magic branch in New York to the branch in London, and then floo'd from there all the way to King's Cross Station. The twins had been taken from their home in New York City purely in order to catch a train in London, which had the twins quite irate. Dragging their luggage behind them across Platform 9 ¾, they made their way through the crowd in order to get to an empty compartment on the train so their things could be put away.

'Alright, but what sort of a name is Hogwarts?' Alex handed his suitcases to one of the conductors, who were all busy loading bags and cages onto the train. Special care was taken with the boys' pets; Azriel was the owner of a black cat named Hades. Alex had opted instead for an eagle owl, by the name of Persephone. The owl hooted moodily at the handler as she was put inside the train; her feathers had gotten slightly ruffled and she was hooting in indignation.

'Okay, so you got me there,' Azriel replied dryly as he handed over his own luggage. Together, the twins boarded the train and moved as far to the back as they could, looking for an empty compartment. Having arrived at the station early the train hadn't started getting full yet, so it was relatively easy to find one.

The twins settled down in their compartment, getting comfortable on the seats. They had no idea what would be in store for them in the year coming; for it was an adventure they would never have dreamed would happen to them so soon.

Now, it's clear what you may be thinking. It is common knowledge that Lucius' wife Narcissa had sisters but nowhere in what you may know has shown that there is any evidence to suggest that Lucius had any siblings or whether any of them bore children. We know that names had been burnt off the tapestry in the Black family home; but no clear indication was given as to where in the family tree these holes are - so for argument's sake, we will say that Anneliese Malfoy was one of these names.

You need not be reminded that we're playing a game of 'What If?' however; we all know what has happened before, but it has not yet been made apparent how this new information will alter the story. It has yet to be seen how the Drake brothers will affect the course of the next seven years. There is one thing you can be certain of however:

This changes everything.

Reviews are gladly appreciated; as this story is finished I will not accept suggestions for the direction of the narrative. I have a lot of plans of my own for this expanded universe of mine. ;)