Disclaimer: I own nothing. JK Rowling owns every idea or character with some exceptions including my own characters, some of the plot and some ideas. Usually all will be mentioned in an Author's note at the end of every chapter.
Author's Note: Alright. This is the rewrite. I'm still flexible on the pairings since I think that some girls don't need to be there while others do but for now, the current girls in the harem are the ones who are in it. It's still a long time until I have to actually develop the relationships between Harry and the girls. There will be crushes and hugs and all those minor things in Harry's first year but it's not until the second year that his relationships start to blossom.
This chapter is about the prophecy. I think that we need a clear view on that for the story to happen since the whole mistaken child-who-lived thing would have less of an impact. I wanted to highlight how important Harry was to the war since he ended it and how bad it was that his twin was mistaken to be their saviour. Then Harry gets cast aside (not on purpose) and gets a crappy childhood.
Also, I included a small part in the chapter about Sybill Trelawney's origins. I don't like how she was portrayed in the books as a hipster, drunk hermit and I want to give her a decent backstory. It's probably useless but it could be useful in the future.
Enjoy.
Prologue – The Prophecy
Sybill Trelawney was a very strange individual. Being a witch certainly guarantees you to have a set amount of strangeness about you but even then, this young woman's existent was about as common as a Pureblood who loves Muggles with all their being. It never has and never will happen. You see, Ms Trelawney was a very gifted person, born with the ability to see glimpses of the past, present and future. Anyone could predict what their next meal could be or how old they would be in a year's time but this lady can see things only we could dream about and then interpret them. She is what a witch or wizard would call a Seer.
Said to have been a direct descendant from one of the Three Fates themselves, Sybill Trelawney was the only Seer to have appeared since the Purge in the 17th century. With her very unique skill set, she was immediately employed by none other than the great wizard Albus Dumbledore to aid his forces in the battle against the Dark led by his old student Voldemort.
The power struggle in magical Britain and soon to be the world was quickly turning to the Dark Lord's favour. His army numbered in the thousands and his power and strength grew day by day. By the end of the third year of the war, his might had reached immense heights most legends could never hope to match. The dark mage's tyranny spread over the land like wildfire. Attack upon attacks and massacres after massacres, the morale of the resistance was fading. Hope was lost with no way to regain it, until one day.
It was another dark and dank night, Dumbledore and Sybill were temporarily located at the Hog's Head Pub, eating their supper before they would head to the headquarters for a meeting. The usual liveliness of the establishment was gone and instead, a gloomy atmosphere encompassed the patrons. The same could be said for most, if not all, of magical Britain's inhabitants.
The past three years have been gruelling and the citizens from all over the continent have faced massive amounts of grief for their friends and family members who have died. Whether they perished in the battlefield or in the merciless slaughters by Voldemort's disciples, the loss suffered by the people were taking a toll on everyone's minds.
The two Light members sat in one of the small, leather booths of the pub and ordered a small round of beer. Resources were very low with most being sent to fuel the rations for those fighting in the front lines. As a result, prices of common stock items doubled and sometimes even tripled leading to most businesses to have fewer customers. The Hog's Head was no exception.
Albus looked around through his spectacles and saw yet another room of people battered and broken by the Dark Lord's cruelty. A few sobs were cried and more than enough tears were shed. The place was bathed in sadness. The old wizard sighed in exhaustion and rubbed his temples. Over the past few months, his age had clearly been showing due to the stress and frustration that came with leading the remaining fighters for the safety of the entire nation. His wrinkles were more visible and he lost the usual twinkle in his eye. He looked over to Sybill, his student to see how she was dealing with the most recent news concerning her family. Sybill was handling grief and loss in her own way.
As a child, she was a bit of a loner but not because she was born that way. The Seer grew up in a small, provincial town in France with only her mother to keep her company. Her father had left the two girls when she was born and went off with another woman. Sybill and her mother hadn't heard from him after that. The divorce had left the widow in a state of depression which severely crippled her mind. With only a sewing kit and balls of yarn as a source of income, the family of two were very poor and lived in a barn-like shelter in the woods. Sybill was only a child and was of course mostly oblivious to her and her mother's situation.
She was a happy and youthful child in the early part of her childhood and surrounded herself with her friends, kids from around the village, until her powers manifested. It wasn't obvious to the outside world and showed no changes in her physical appearance but her personality changed. She turned into a daydreamer and often chose not to partake in the games that the other children played. Her attitude soon cast her 'friends' away from her.
Sybill didn't mean to do it but her attention was mostly focused on dealing with the changes her powers brought to her sight. Along with the capabilities to see through the fabrics of time, she was also able to see other worldly creatures, beings not from our dimension. They appeared to her in the form of flitting fairies and magical spheres of light, according to Dumbledore. He was Sybill's one of two confidantes. The headmaster basically adopted her and treated her as the daughter he never had. The loneliness outside of her home was almost maddening for the young girl and caused her to live a very sheltered life.
After about a year of having her powers, Sybill was left with no friends since they dubbed her as the weird kid from the run-down shack. However, through it all, her mother remained strong and supported her until Sybill's Hogwarts letter came and allowed her to escape. Her mother scraped enough money for them to move to Scotland and work for the Malkin's as a knitter.
In the Seer's life, there was only one constant, her mother, her pillar. After moving closer to Hogwarts, the older Trelawney had overworked herself to the bone. From Sybill's first year until her graduation three years ago, her mother was suffering from over-exhaustion and in the past three years, it became worse. Tomorrow was going to be her funeral.
With the news of her only loving relative's death, the Seer withdrew from the world and only came out of her house to work. Sybill developed a dangerous addiction to alcohol and her mind finally broke under the stress and everyday laborious job of controlling her expanding power.
The two wizard and witch finally received their drinks, Dumbledore sipped his in small amounts while his companion downed hers in one go. Albus shook his head and silently sympathised for the hurting woman. He took another sip of his whiskey and exhaled. He swirled his drink around for a few minutes and just stared at the small whirlpool of beverage in the bottle. Their meeting was not for another hour.
"Sybill, how are you going on the- Sybill?"
Albus looked up to the previously drinking female and now saw her stiffen. The witch's eyes formed a glazed look and her posture straightened. The wizard had read what happens when Seers were about to receive a vision and it looks like it was happening to his companion. She went in a trance-like state and her voice rang across the room.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... 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..."
Shocked by the impulsive presence of the dream, Sybill gasped for air after the experience. The room's occupants were looking at her direction with curious, confused or astonished looks. Did they hear that right? Everyone knew that the young girl was an oracle of some type, the first in centuries. If what she said was true, then that means they would be freed from the clutches of the You-Know-Who. Chatter reverberated in the pub and everyone started talking about the so-called Prophecy.
Dumbledore gripped the hem of his robes with one hand while the other was squeezing his bottle. His eyes were slightly widened. Is it true? The vison spoke of a child, born as the seventh month dies; the end of July. Supposedly, that child would be the one to vanquish, no, defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. This child, if the prophecy was right, would be the saviour of the wizarding world, the hero of the war, their new hope. He needed to find this child's parents and bring them of the good news after he tells his Order. Dumbledore's mind wandered on who would have fitted the criteria for the child's parents. Born to those who thrice defied him. So far, only three encounters with Voldemort had happened. In those three battles, only he, young Sirius Black, his old friend Nicolas Flamel, Auror Alastor Moody and-
Two names from the list came to him, James and Lily Potter and last time he checked, Lily was about to give birth two days from now. It would be the perfect time for the child of prophecy to be born. Born as the seventh month dies. It would be in the 31st of July, close to midnight.
July 31st 1980, 11:50 pm – St. Mungo's Hospital
It had been another uneventful day in the St. Mungo's Hospital. Less people were occupying the building due to most of the medics having been sent to work in the outposts. The staff in the hospital only consisted of twelve doctors, fifty nurses and thirty or so other workers. Today was especially slow but tonight, the employees were witnessing the birth of twins.
The screams of a woman screeched throughout the whole building. Her cries were joined by the rushed yet calm voices of various nurses and doctors in the operation room. The head witch-doctor barked out a series of orders to the surrounding assistants and all went to work on their assigned tasks. The woman in the hospital bed was given a calming draught by one of the nurses which gave the desired effect of lessening her pain and in turn, her screams. Her wife held her hand faithfully by her side and gave her soothing words of assurance.
"Hey, Lily, I know that you are going through a lot of pain right now but focus on the sound of my voice and push. Don't worry, I'll be right here."
"*pant*...You don't know how painful it is, James! Shut up and let me concentrate…*huff*"
The pregnant woman gritted her teeth and shut her eyes in pain. Her jaw clenched shut and her nails dug into her husband's palms and the bedsheets. The hospital staff scurried around with various potions and equipment which they gave to Lily. Preparing for the baby's delivery, a doctor gave her an energy potion and waited.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
With a push, a body came out of her womb and into the doctor's hands. She held the baby by their feet and cut off the umbilical cord. The boy's shrill cries echoed in the room. He was handed over to one of the nurses who rinsed him of the bodily fluids that coated his form then she wrapped him in a blanket and placed him on a crib.
The doctor saw that the first child was healthy and moved back to his patient. Repeating the process that he did before, the doctor received the second child, a girl and cut off her cord. He handed her to another nurse who did the same thing that happened to the boy.
"Congratulations, Mrs and Mr Potter. You are the proud parent of two very healthy twins. A boy and a girl."
The Potters laughed in delight. James kissed his wife's knuckle while rubbing comforting circles on the back of it. Lily chuckled, definitely tired from the whole ordeal. The doctor handed the baby boy to Lily while James was given the baby girl. The two newly born were crying and using their lungs for the first time.
James rocked his daughter back and forth and smiled at her. The baby was still crying but at a much lesser volume while her hands were looking for something to hold, her fingers curled in a fist and were waving around in the cold air. Lily was exhausted and sleepy but she wanted to see her children as soon as she could. She saw that her son was not crying unlike his sister and was instead cooing at her. She smiled at her son and kissed his forehead. Lily fell in love with him the instance that he was handed to her. James and Lily switched with holding their children. The two parents were busy adoring their babies until James broke the small moment of celebration with a question that was routine to any family that just had a baby.
"So, honey. What are you going to name them?" He looked at his wife who was still smiling at their daughter.
"Hmmm, for the girl I was thinking of naming her Lillian, after my grandmother and I." Lily chuckled.
"Lillian, that's a nice name. What about our baby boy?" James asked.
"Oh, I've thought about it a lot and I want to name him… Hadrian."
"Hadrian?" James asked in curiosity.
"It's after your great, grandparents. Hilda and Adrian. Hadrian. It'll be the long version for Harry, which will be his nickname."
"That's great Lills. They're going to be amazing, you know that, right?" Words couldn't describe the joy that they were experiencing right now. It was a special time.
"Of course, any child that we have, James, would grow up to be great."
"I couldn't agree more."
The two Potters were grinning from ear to ear. After being in an endless war for the last three years, it was nice to know that there was still happiness in the world. They were blessed with two wonderful children who were hopefully going to grow up to become best friends and a powerful witch and wizard. The two recent parents' moment of happiness was interrupted by the sudden appearance of one Albus Dumbledore under the doorway.
The Light's leader looked haggard and was panting slightly. He had been searching for the couple for the past two days and finally found them. The Potters went into hiding nine months ago when James and Lily knew that they were expecting children. They were allowed leave for a few months to at least give birth to the babies and find a suitable caretaker for the younglings. They weren't going to be able to raise the children until the war was over since the witch and wizard were two of the most valuable assets to the war effort.
Without James and Lily, the Dark would have surely taken control of three quarters of England and ran a monopoly on most businesses which supplied the resistance. The war would have been lost already if the supply lines were interrupted but due to the constant vigilance of James and Lily, the supplies for the past three years went from point A to Point B without a hitch.
The paired fighting prowess of the Potters were integral to the protection of the country. Their presence was needed for the Light to even have a sliver of chance at winning.
"I'll be waiting for you two outside." Dumbledore said in a foreboding tone and went to sit on one of the chairs in the hallway.
James gave a worried look to his wife and they gave Harry and Lillian over to one of the nurses to be put in their cribs in the baby room. He kissed her on the forehead and said a quick goodbye before going to where their old headmaster was. Lily was getting ready to be cleaned up and washed from all the blood and sweat.
James approached the other bespectacled man sat on a seat next to him. The man looked anxious but also hopeful of something, it made James curious as to what was happening that needed his and Lily's immediate attention.
"What's wrong, Albus?" James asked.
"Where's your wife, James? She needs to hear this too."
"I'm afraid that she needs to rest after just going through labour. Even with the potions she was given, she won't be awaking for another hour." James said.
"We'll wait for her then."
After informing one of the nurses that they need to see his wife as soon as possible, James went back to talking about the war with the older wizard. Albus informed his student of what had happened during their leave, how Voldemort had killed the whole population of over six cities in one assault. He talked about how the resistance fighters were now numbering in the five-hundreds compared to the previous two thousand. It was the grim truth but at least the none of the members of the Order were dead…yet. James worried for his two friends, Remus and Sirius who were both sent to the front lines.
After waiting for forty-five minutes, the two wizards were allowed to visit Lily. She was cleaned up and looked livelier than before, clearly having recovered already from the strenuous activity. James took a seat next to his wife's bed while Dumbledore took another seat and sat in front of the couple.
"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Lily asked.
"A couple of days ago, Miss Trelawney had a vision, a prophecy about the defeater of Voldemort. Before you ask who, we don't know who the person is yet. The prophecy spoke of a child, born on the 31st of July, close to midnight. They would have the power that the Dark Lord does not know of and he would mark the child as his equal. Also, the child's parents would have to have fought You-Know-Who three times. My first assumption was you two and so far, your circumstances have fitted the requirements. The Order and I have every reason to believe that one of your children is the child of prophecy."
James and Lily looked shocked at the prospect of a child defeating someone as terrifying as Voldemort and more importantly, that they could be the parents of the child. They excused themselves for a while and both discussed what they had heard and what it meant for them. The thought of being in charge of raising the world's saviour was scary and pressuring. What if they weren't good parents and their son or daughter strays from the right path. Despite the large responsibility of the chosen child's upbringing, the Potters gladly took up the mantle and both agreed that they would raise the kid as best as they could.
While the he was conversing the prophecy with Lily, James had a thought.
"Albus, I know that you think that we might be the chosen one's parents, didn't Alice also give birth around this time? Surely, her and Frank's child could be another candidate as the child of prophecy."
Albus nodded in understanding. The Longbottoms did have a child recently.
"Yes, Frank and Alice had a child as of late. The delivery was made on the 30th of July several hours before you gave birth to the twins, Lily. I suspected that young Neville, their son, could be the prophesied child but your children were born closer to the end of July. This just means that Harry or Lillian are more likely to be the one who defeats Voldemort."
The couple took in the information before asking a very important question.
"Since Lily and I could be the chosen child's parents, does this mean we are allowed to raise our children during the war."
Dumbledore sighed at the question. He was very concerned for James, Lily and their babies if he were to allow the children to be raised by them but the child needs to be nurtured correctly, they would have to be kept with their parents and experience the love of a family. Naturally, this would mean that the Potter family would be in even more trouble and their actions in the war would have to be limited since both parents couldn't be sent out both at once. He would lose the efficiency of their teamwork but it would be worth it if restraining them and keeping them safe would keep the saviour from harm's way.
"Yes, I have talked with the elder members and they have agreed with my decision to let the child stay with you during their childhood. If the war goes on longer than that, we'll just have to figure out something then. This also applies to the Longbottoms."
James and Lily nodded at the agreement and with sincere intentions, told their leader that they would do their best.
"Alright then, we'll promise to raise our children in the best possible way, Albus, child of prophecy or not."
Albus smiled a small smile and apparated out of the room with a swish of his robes leaving James and Lily to think about their future.
In the baby room lied the saviour of the wizarding world with his sister. Little Hadrian Potter snuggled into his cot a little more while subconsciously calling forth his magic to cover his sister's fragile body a little better too. Harry's chest glowed green under his blanket and a small, barely noticeable symbol of a snake slithered above his heart and buried itself under his skin and into his body. The two Potters slept peacefully unaware that they would be torn apart in the near future.
Meanwhile – Unknown place
Somewhere else, in a dark, pitch-black room was the resting form of the very evil which plagued the magical world. If one entered the room in its current state, they would smell the sickly stench of rotting flesh and the fresh, flowing blood of thousands of his victims. The unlucky murdered prey of the one who sits on the throne of unicorn carcasses. If one enters the dreadful room right now, they would see two blood red eyes sharply opening amongst the otherwise black canvass. It was the orbs of none other than the Dark Lord Voldemort himself. He was awakened from his slumber when he felt a disturbance in the Darkness.
'What is this? The scales are shifting.'
His eyes narrowed at the realisation. Another heir, someone powerful with near limitless potential. Voldemort hissed at the thought of a challenger for his position. Who dares question his claim? Whoever thinks that they could stop him from gaining control of life, death and the world itself would be damned and they would die a very painful death.
The leader of the Dark stood up from his position and the torches lit up with the mere pulse of his magic. He inhaled the power radiating off of the surrounding dead and called for his leading officers. Several cloaked and masked men and women apparated into the throne-room. All immediately lowered themselves and bowed down with their heads touching the marble floor.
"Rise, my Generals!"
The robed individuals rose up with the ascent of their leader's arms. All looked up to him.
"I have had a vision. There is a child, holding enormous power, even more than that old fool Dumbledore. We MUST find this brat and destroy it. We'll send it back to the hell it comes from."
The Dark Lord's disciples murmured in hushed tones. 'A child who holds such great strength that their master would be worried about?' The chatter was silenced when their lord addressed them again.
"My Death-Eaters, tell your brothers and sisters that tonight…we HUNT!"
Author's Note: This is the prologue, it's longer than the first but not by much. The chapters in the future should mostly be 10-12 thousand words long. This was only a third of that.
As you can see Voldemort is very much aware of the prophecy but not the full of it. He just suspects of Harry's power/ existence.
The war is depicted as something much worse in this version I think.
I hope this rewrite lives up to your expectations. Tell me what I need to work on.
The poll says Harry should go into Ravenclaw and I'm surprised that more people want him in Hufflepuff than in Gryffindor. Probably because it's unique. Slytherin came in second by one point.
Send suggestions for the new title.
To anonymous reader, Frida. I appreciate your input and don't worry, you did not insult me or anything. I thank you for visiting my story.
Sorry for the delay.
Check out the new poll on my profile page.
See you guys next time. Read, Review and/or PM.
