Unchained

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, I'm just playing around with the world.

AN: This is for CombatWars' challenge. I needed to write something while trying to find the flash drive that has my other stories on it.

Prologue: Godric's Hollow; Oct. 31, 1981

The small hamlet of Godric's Hollow was a blended community where the worst crimes committed were shoplifting and petty vandalism (toilet papering houses, graffiti, etc.). By blended, of course, was meant that the village was an equal mix of muggles (mundane) and magical folk (witches, wizards and the like). Tonight, however, the town was going to be indelibly imprinted in the minds of magical beings around the world for as the scene of both tragedy and hope; as well as the birthplace of two of the greatest mysteries of the magical world.

Costumed children wandered from house to house in search of candy as the four black cloaked figures strode purposefully along the cozy residential street. Had they not been wrapped in spells that prevented them from being noticed, people might have mistaken them for Nazgul – the Ring Wraiths of Tolkien's epic fantasy. In a way, they'd be correct because the muggleborn wizard turned author used his novels to warn people about a looming threat. Whether the warning had to do with Grindlewald, Lord Voldemort or somebody else entirely has been a subject of debate among the intellectually inclined magical circles for years.

The leader of the group, Lord Voldemort, was the most feared dark wizard in the last century (in his own mind anyway). He motioned for one of his minions to lead the way to their final destination. The group stopped in front of a house that none of the other residents remembered even existed. It had been placed under a powerful spell called a Fidelius Charm which removed the memory of it from everyone but the person entrusted with the secret. Unfortunately, the person that had been entrusted as the Secret Keeper had been a spy that happily entrusted it to his master.

Several wards protected the property in addition to the Fidelius but Voldemort's other minions quickly tore through them in an attempt to curry their Dark Lord's favor. The aforementioned Dark Lord raised his wand then blew the front door off its hinges. Despite the fear inspiring visage of Voldemort or the sheer power he'd put behind his spell, his intended victims were unimpressed. In fact, they went so far as to fight back.

The magical couple that lived here had defied the Dark Lord before so it was little wonder that they would do so again. James Potter had temporarily put aside his title of Lord and head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter in order to become a Hit Wizard – a soldier on the front line of the current war that raged in Magical Britain. His wife, the muggleborn Lily Potter nee Evans, worked as spellcrafter and was one of the top researchers of ancient magic for the Unspeakables. She created many of the spells that were starting to decimate Voldemort's forces but it was her research that made her a real threat.

The traitor and another minion were stunned by James the second after the door blew but the Dark Lord cared little about that as that house held an even greater threat to him then the mudblood bitch. Voldemort batted away the hit wizard's next attack and let loose a rapid string of curses that were unavoidable. As James Potter fell, the Dark Lord and his remaining conscious follower – Severus Snape – marched up to the second floor. Only one door was closed but it was heavily warded. It had taken ten minutes to shred the wards but victory would soon be theirs.

Snape watched as his master order the woman he'd lusted after since they were both nine to step aside. He cared less if she did so willingly or he defiled her corpse, either way her body was going to be his before the night was over. So lost in his internal musings, he missed Lily's response or the string of spells that struck her. What brought him back to reality was a magical backlash that blasted out the roof and threw him into the opposite wall. He picked himself up then rushed into the shell of a room but wasn't able to catalog the full extent of the damage other than that his master was nowhere to be seen because a screams could be heard coming from the neighbors' houses. He quickly apparated away in order to come up with a believable alibi for he knew Aurors or worse were going to be arriving within the next few seconds.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts…

Albus Dumbledore, the Leader of the Light, had been sitting at his desk in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts going over latest casualty reports for the current crisis when the alarms monitoring both the Potter's and the Longbottom's went off. Both young families had gone into hiding at his request after he revealed the Prophecy to them. That the alarms were sounding meant that not only were his suspicions of a traitor in his midst were true, but both families were under attack. He rushed to his floo and called Alastor Moody to send a team to aid the Longbottom's then another to meet him at Godric's Hollow.

Dumbledore arrived at the site that had once been a happy home and found a disaster scene. Muggle firefighters had just finished putting out a fire and where combing the wreckage for bodies while police constables interviewed potential witnesses. The sound of babies crying from a nearby ambulance gave him hope that there were at least some survivors of the tragedy. He disillusioned himself then made his way inside after the last of the fireman wandered out disheartened. Magic saturated the ruin with the residue of dark curses and Old Magic so it was impossible to distinguish what spells were actually used or the magical signatures of the casters. The only thing he was able to find was a bit of ash, a burnt piece of black cloak and a wand that belonged to the Dark Lord; which he pocketed while he made his way back outside.

Moody had arrived with a team of Aurors and Augusta Longbottom by the time he exited. They had transfigured their robes to muggle attire and were engaged in discussions with the constables. Albus transfigured his gaudy purple robes into a purple velvet smoking jacket with matching silk pajamas and his dragonhide boots into comfy slippers before he cancelled his disillusionment on the far side of the ambulance. If he'd have gotten rid of the flowing beard and added a pipe then he could've passed for a gay Hugh Hefner.

He raised his wand then cast a whispered memory charm and a Confundus Charm on the paramedic. The EMT wandered off and the ancient wizard wasted no time examining the wailing toddlers inside. It came as a total surprise when he realized that not only had the Potter twins survived but the Longbottom boy had as well. Unfortunately, the same magical saturation that covered the house also covered the children; so, again, it was impossible to tell what happened. It wasn't until he looked at the wounds on young Harry and Neville that the facts clicked into place.

Where Harry had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, Neville had a serpentine like scar on the palm of his right hand. Obviously, Voldemort had cast a killing curse at the Longbottom boy which the child managed to reflect with his palm. The backlash destroyed the Dark Lord's physical body and caused the resultant destruction of the house. Some debris must have struck Potter and some of the dark magic left over from the curse absorbed into it. Young Neville was the child of the Prophecy which meant Voldemort would eventually return. Plans started to form themselves in the aged leaders mind.

First, Neville must be hidden away from the magical world, especially possible reprisals from the remaining Death Eaters. His upbringing must make him humble so I can eventually mold him into the perfect weapon to destroy the Dark Lord and become a worthy successor for myself. Next, I'll have to do something about the Potter twins – Albus mused but was interrupted by the Dowager Lady Longbottom snatching her grandson from the back of the ambulance.

"Whatever plot your fevered brain is hatching had better stop now, Albus," Augusta demanded just before she apparated away with the child.

"That's one battleaxe you'll not want to piss off, old friend; she didn't earn the name the Lioness of Britain during the war with Grindlewald for nothing. Augusta lost her husband and all but one of her brothers back then and now her son and daughter-in-law tonight. The damned Death Eaters kept those two under the Crusiatus Curse for god knows how long before we showed up. The mediwitch with the team believes that even after their bodies heal, the mental damage will be irreparable… but at least we got the bastards," Moody commented a few seconds later.

Dumbledore blew out a breath as he processed what his friend told him. On the one hand, it made his initial plan for the boy easier because his grandmother – in her fear of anything happening to him – is more apt to isolate the child and any sense of self-confidence ground down by her domineering personality. On the other hand, she would block any attempt he made to see Neville until the youth went to Hogwarts. There was nothing he was able to do about that now so he needed to focus on the problem of the twins.

"Who were the Death Eaters," the Headmaster asked while the better part of his mind flashed through possible plans.

"It was the Lestrange's – Bellatirx, Rudolphus, Rebastian – and Crouch's boy. Apparently, they sent a face message saying Augusta was taken to St. Mungo's, that's why their son ended up here," Alastor replied gruffly.

Inspiration struck but the plan that formed was distasteful, morally repugnant in every way but it was for the Greater Good. The Chosen One was going to need trusted lieutenants help him when the time came and the Potter twins were going to be them. But he needed to act fast and get to the Ministry in order to seal James' and Lily's will before the traitor could exploit it. Then he'd just exert some of his influence to get himself declared the children's Magical Guardian and ship them off to the Aunt to be raised. He had little doubt that the magic hating muggle and her husband would abuse them in some way.

If Albus recalled the only time he'd met Petunia and Vernon Dursley correctly, the couple were the muggle equivalent of Pureblood Supremists. While the idea of the abuse was abhorrent, at least he took comfort that their "God Fearing" nature would prevent it from becoming sexual in nature. The harsh upbringing the children received would temper in a way that the two would see the magical world as their only true home and would do what was needed to keep it safe.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of political fallout from tonight's attacks but that is something we can worry about later. Alastor, I need you take the twins to Poppy to get checked out while I go to the Ministry. That traitor, Black, might try something to exercise his rights as their godfather and I can't let that happened. They'd be dead before dawn," Dumbledore stated then vanished with a soft pop.

Unfortunately, even the best laid plans often go awry. Before Moody had a chance to bolt with the toddlers, he was confronted by the muggle authorities who demanded to know what happened to the Longbottom boy. It was an hour and a half later that he was finally able to convince him that the boy had been taken by his grandmother and that she'd be more than happy to give a statement in the morning. The distraction was all that the two witches that had been watching from the background needed to grab the twins then vanish.

At the Ministry of Magic, Albus Dumbledore faced an unexpected complication at the emergency Wizengamut meeting that had been called. When he tried to seal the Potter's will, he found that it was no longer valid. According to paperwork that was received from Gringott's, James and Lily Potter were very much alive and recovering from the attack at a secure facility out of the country. In the interim, custody of Harry James and Gemini Rose Potter was given to their godmother. Said witch was not named and the goblins refused to say who it was or give the Potter's location when asked.

The Leader of the Light found his hastily constructed plan binned before it had a chance to be implemented. On the bright side, the traitorous Sirius Black had been captured and thrown straight into Azkaban. Fate had again forced him into a watch and wait position.