Chapter 1
Hogs Head was always known to attract many of the weird, and what we call shady characters into its depths. It was a place where nothing was questioned and secrets abounded in multiples. This particular night, Albus Dumbledore was trusting that as the bar's windows were dirty and film covered and its clientele suspicious, nobody would understand the significance of what Sybil Trelawney was about to read. What he didn't count on was Severus Snape being present alone in a dark corner table sipping mysterious liquor and whose ears perked as Sybil in a prophetic trance began to recite the parchment as though it were a spell – indeed however it turned out to be a prophecy. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month die... The atmosphere shifted almost visibly as though evil began to stir in the very air. Albus Dumbledore briefly glanced around as he listened as Sybil continued in her trance like state. Neither of them noticed the hooded figure escaping the bar; eager to tell his master what he had just learned; not even bothering to wait to see if there was more... She continued, "and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."Later Voldemort would discover he only heard half the prophecy and would attempt to read its full contents. But his main concern was a little child blissfully unaware of the coming tide of change.
A small pale man scurried away into a dark corridor carrying a glass decanter of blood red wine; some of it dribbling off the top. "Master has guests and I must honor his wishes," he muttered under his foul breath. A fleeting desire passed through his mind as he wondered if his master would possibly give him more power but inwardly, he knew he was too much of a coward to do more than the Dark Lord's bidding. He was protected from death by his low job and he would rather kiss ass than be shriveled to nothing under a piercing red gaze. Retreating now from the kitchen he heard his master's voice hiss in distinctly, "Wormtail come here. There is an urgent matter we must discuss." Alone with the Dark Lord, he meekly entered and said "Yes master?" He shuddered horribly when the creature in the chair whispered, "I have an assignment for you."
Given no choice, Wormtail pondered his mission as they apparated onto a quiet street in Godric's Hollow in the English country side. Street lights ominously glowed and then suddenly were blank and all was dark as the pair of black figures descended down the road while the air had suddenly turned unpleasantly chilly. Nobody seemed to notice and this Halloween night was filled with candles and happy children oblivious of the two sub human creatures that had just apparated. Wormtail shivered involuntarily and it wasn't from the cold, it was fear. His assignment: to get Voldemort into the Potter household and kill all three occupants – but most importantly the boy who seemed destined to defeat his master: Harry Potter.
It would seem that Wormtail was the best candidate for this type of "job." As a member of the Marauders, he was the shiest member and the most obedient of the crew besides Lupin who off course was a prefect. Why nobody questioned his place in the marauders was a mystery but it would turn out to be very handy for Voldemort. Besides he was very much a "follower" and a coward so no one could have guessed what a huge role this insignificant little leech would play in the murders of the Potters and the return of the man once known as Tom Riddle. The prophecy read by Sybil Trelawney and overheard by Snape was the pinnacle of their mission as Wormtail registered somewhere in his thick skull, that the Dark Lord's greatest fear was to be human, and face defeat and ultimately death and he knew instinctively that he would go to dangerous lengths to keep himself alive and yet immortal. Wormtail was interrupted from his musings as Voldemort demanded him to reveal the Potter house which he found with no difficulty under the glow of their wands. Visible to wizards but not to muggles this had seemed to work seamlessly for the Potters to live and still remain safe…that is until now. They stopped in front of Godric's Hollow the residence of Lily and James Potter.
"Excellent," Wormtail's master commented in pleasure. Little did he know the internal struggle waging in Wormtail's head. How am I going to convince James and Lily to open their door and invite me in for "a little chat" at this time of night? I was their best man, a fellow marauder, and now I am about to betray him in cold blood. But master will kill me if I don't! What about Lily and their son Harry, don't you have any sympathy for murdering innocent people – 3 dead because of a man who is really a true coward and wants to protect himself. The Dark Lord is your master, and do you really want to die for some little inconvenience? His mind made up, he had finally managed to justify the murders of three innocent people as policy; his proof of allegiance to the Dark Lord was complete. As they began to walk forward to the front door, he tripped over a small object and went sprawling much to the chagrin of his master. What he hadn't seen was a little yellow Tonka truck that Harry had left outside that morning.
Lily Potter, her hands submerged in lilac dish soap, humming a distant melody, while washing the dinner dishes, stopped suddenly. She had heard a sound from outside and it sent a chill up her spine as the kitchen lights looked as though they were dimming. "James…did you just hear that?" she asked her husband as he sat reading the Daily Prophet. James looked up and nodded in swift agreement. He too had heard the peculiar sound. Putting down his reading material, he looked outside but couldn't see a thing because it was pitch black and muggles couldn't see their house so surely they were alright. Then he became very quiet as he realized that no light was coming from the street lights and he started to go back to his chair uneasy now. As he was doing this there ceased to hear any sound. James looked at his wife whose large green eyes filled with mistrust. They both froze at the clock which read 12:47AM. Who would visit now...only Wormtail it seemed. Silence ensued as Lily was begging James with her eyes to come back another night. She had never trusted Wormtail- there was something about him that made her uncomfortable. James, for once, didn't listen. He said quietly out loud, "What harm could he do?
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