Prologue
Redemption
October 31st 1981
It had been done. No point in wishing it undone.
He knew where to find them now. Within hours they would be dead.
Perhaps there was still time to do something. At the very least he could warn them, tell them what was planned.
No. He couldn't. Doing so would be worse than signing his own death warrant. The Dark Lord would know immediately what had happened, and would force it from his mind with ease.
But if he could…
No.
Everything seemed so much simpler in this form. With the ground soft beneath his paws and the cool grass brushing his belly, it felt like it would be so easy to tell them, to warn them.
But he couldn't.
A feeling that his rat-self couldn't name rose up in his throat, but the human part of his brain recognised it, and he swallowed it down again like a bitter pill.
Remorse.
Guilt.
Fear.
No.
There was no place for emotion on the path he had chosen. He had chosen to do this, to betray his friends, and there was no going back.
What if…?
The rat pushed the half-formed thought away, knowing its complication. His human-self chased after the idea and pulled it back.
If there was a way…
Could he do it?
Would he do it?
Should he do it?
If the Dark Lord ever found out…
He may not be able to save the child, but its parents - his friends…he could save them. To the uncomplicated mind of the rat, it made sense: a sort of pre-emptive redemption for what had yet to happen. It would be all the kindness he could afford.
He would do it.
It was dark, but a warm glow emanated from within the house.
He had found out what was necessary, and he was ready.
He could do it.
He would save his friends from the fate he himself had already bound them to.
Making sure he was entirely concealed behind the bush, he transformed from rat to human, and pulled out his wand.
"Vox Letum Potter," he whispered, thinking all the while of James and Lily, his friends.
A burst of light shot from the end of his wand and spread, settling itself over the house before fading from sight.
Satisfied that he had done what he could for his friends, he became a rat once more, and scurried away, not looking back.
From somewhere within the house, a baby cried.
A/N: Very short, but the following chapters will be longer. Thanks for reading, and please review!