WARNING! Before you start reading the story, you should know that it contains the following traits: A completely different timeline, naturally; Enjoy and don't forget to review! ;) Disclaimer: I don't own anything I haven't created.
Strong and smart Harry who is the protagonist of the story;
Strong and independent Draco;
Light Hermione bashing in the beginning of the story due to main heroes' personalities which totally don't match her default 11 years old self;
The main pairing is Harry x Daphne;
Draco x Hermione is a side pairing that will not get the primary focus, although they are main heroes as well;
There will be multiple PoV's throughout the story.
Chapter 1. Another Destiny
Severus Snape was panting as he turned on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or someone. Despite the man's skill and power exceptional for his age, his fear was nearly palpable in anticipation of the threat he had come to meet here.
Then, before he could utter a spell, a blinding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air. It looked similar to a natural lightning, yet still Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand.
"Don't kill me!"
"That was not my intention."
The sound of Albus Dumbledore apparating had been drowned by the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before the trembling young man with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated from below in the light cast by his wand.
"Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?"
"No—no message—I'm here on my own account!"
Snape was wringing his hands. He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair flying around him.
"I—I come with a warning—no, a request—please—"
Dumbledore flicked his wand. Though leaves and branches still flew through the heavy night air around them, silence fell on the spot where he and Snape faced each other.
"What request could a Death Eater make of me?"
"The—the prophecy... the prediction… Trelawney…"
"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"
"Everything—everything I heard!" replied Snape. "That is why—it is for that reason—he thinks it means Lily Evans!"
"The prophecy did not refer to a woman," said Dumbledore. "It spoke of a boy born at the end of July—"
"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down—kill them—"
"If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"
"I have—I have asked him—"
"You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and there was so much contempt in his voice that Snape seemed to shrink a little, "You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?"
Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore.
"Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her—them—safe. Please."
"And what will you give in return, Severus?"
"In—in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and for a mere second it seemed like he was about to protest, yet still after a long moment he said, "Anything."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the cringed man, and the old wizard lowered his wand, not moving his gaze away for a second.
"That choice is not for me to make."
Snape's face paled as he mumbled, looking overly nervous and confused,
"What—what's the meaning of this...?"
"I was aware of your little plot with the prophecy, Severus. You can hardly make a good spy, make no mistake. The Potters are already hidden and safe... however," he added before Snape's features could relax in relief, "Seeing as you have come here tonight, I can tell that you seek something else. Something much deeper and far more important than just saving Lily Potter's life."
There was a pause. Despite the baffled expression, tears filled the black eyes that widened in disbelief for a moment, but then the young wizard frowned, restraining himself from jumping to any conclusions.
"Just—just what are you talking about...?"
The old man's face remained impassive, though just on the brink of becoming aggressive.
"You seek redemption. I can see it clearly, Severus. But that is not something I could grant you."
Snape let out a heavy sigh, lowering his head in defeat and looking completely drained.
"Nobody... can grant me redemption at this point. The—the only thing I'm asking for is—"
"That would be correct, Severus. Nobody else but yourself."
The Death Eater's head snapped as he met the piercing gaze of the shining blue eyes covered by the glasses, and he felt even more confused and lost now.
"I—I still don't understand—"
"You shall go away now, Severus. And when the time is right, you will know that it is your choice that is to decide everything in the end."
My choice...
"Until then, get out of my sight."
Gripping his wand tightly, Severus Snape strode softly across the small unfamiliar alley covered by the night, ignoring the heavy rain and recalling this conversation from a few weeks ago.
Albus Dumbledore... he was probably the wisest man to ever live in their world, without a doubt. Because there was no other way... no possible way for the old man to predict this very moment so clearly, unless he was a prophet like that crazy woman Trelawney, of course, which wasn't the case so far as Severus was aware.
The old wizard had calculated his very being, of that the young man was now absolutely sure by now. And he didn't mind that at all — after all, he was merely exchanging one powerful master to another.
The only difference there was that one of them was the master of death, and the other was the master of life.
As he had realized this, loving Lily as much as he did, Severus had already known what choice he would make when the time Dumbledore had spoken about would come.
And the time was now. Tonight everything would be over.
Last night he, Severus, had become a witness of something he had been silently looking forward to. Peter Pettigrew, that pathetic little rat Potters considered their friend... he had betrayed them.
Perhaps it was merely a coincidence, the fact that Severus had managed to find out about that. But thanks to that, he knew now what he had to do ever so clearly. It was the only option for him, he new realized. The redemption Dumbledore had implied back when they had met.
This was his chance to get everything back and to destroy the evil Lily hated so much once and for all. And he wouldn't miss the opportunity no matter the cost.
Finally noticing the roof of the house he was heading to, Snape threw a short glance at his watch and hastened a little.
The Dark Lord would be there any moment now, and being late for this rendezvous was not an option, obviously. Fortunately enough, Severus had a nearly perfect plan involving his most hated rival as well as their beloved woman.
Despite his old and deep hatred and jealousy towards James Potter, Severus was by no means a fool. He realized that Potter was an extraordinary powerful wizard, perhaps even the most powerful one in their generation, and so was Lily.
Together they would be able to put an end to his old master. They would destroy him with everything they had, and what Severus could provide there was something that was traditionally considered one of Slytherin's typical moves.
An ambush.
Stopping right next to the turn that led to the end of the alley, Snape raised his wand and squinted at the door of the house he was seeing for the first time in his life, feeling the familiar hatred and jealousy gripping his heart as tightly as usual.
Had the circumstances been different, it could've been his home... and Lily could've been his wife, raising their child in happiness and warmth the young wizard lacked so much nowadays.
If only Potter...
He gritted his teeth in irritation, shaking his head and trying to get rid of these thoughts that had been decaying his mind for years.
No, James Potter had nothing to do with his life taking the wrong turn. Only he, Severus, was to be blamed for that... it had always been his choices that had led to this.
Fortunately enough, tonight he would fix it all... or just die trying, which was also a good option in his opinion. There was hardly anything to lose at this point, after all. At least his suffering would be over in one way or another, which gave him the strange, relieving feeling of misplaced tranquility.
Noticing the shadow popping up out of nowhere in front of the house he was watching, Severus gripped his wand tighter, walking soundlessly towards the tall figure wrapped in a dark robe who strode to the door, taking its own wand out of the folds of the mantle.
As the shadow raised its hand up in the air to open the door, Severus was about to rush forward and back stab it with his own signature spell when he heard the quiet, hissing voice that sounded nearly like a friendly whisper right behind his back,
"So... is this the extent of your brilliance, Severus?"
The eyes of the Death Eater widened in fear as he noticed that the shadow was gone from the entrance to the house now, but his reflexes didn't fail him — he jumped away and turned around right in time to dodge a bright purple flash of Lord Voldemort's unknown spell.
It was now or never then, Severus decided.
Sectumsempra! The invisible blades pierced the chest of the Dark Lord with surprising ease, making him scream in pain and anger as the burning red eyes squinted hatefully.
But then he laughed, and the cursed wounds disappeared as if the spell was nothing but a little annoyance.
"Severus. I should have known that you were but a pathetic treacherous bug. Did you seriously think that a lackluster such as yourself could ever hope to defeat me down? Please."
Snape paled, trying desperately to calm down — his hand was shaking dangerously in utter fear.
He was right. The Dark Lord was absolutely right — there was no way for him to defeat this... being. Was it over now? Were they all about to die?
The choice is up to you, Dumbledore's voice echoed in the corner of his mind.
"Right... I—I admit that this was foolish of me. But before you kill me... can I ask you one question, my lord?"
Voldemort glared at him searchingly for a few seconds before sneering,
"Fine, I'm in a good mood tonight. You shall have your last wish, filth."
Severus swallowed before muttering quietly, as if the question was actually addressed to himself,
"If you were fighting three wizards like me right now, what our chances would be?"
The Dark Lord looked confused for a second before he began to laugh again.
"There would be no chances, Severus, even if there were a thousand failures like you facing me. You have attended a muggle school, haven't you? Multiply zero by three, and it's still a zero. Now... prepare to die. Avada—"
Before he finished the sentence, Snape jumped away and turned around again, aiming his wand at the door of Potters' house.
Reducto!
The abnormally strong explosion interrupted Voldemort's spell, making him wince and cover his face for a moment, which was more than enough for Snape — the young wizard rushed towards the house, leaning against the door that remained intact thanks to the Fidelius Charm and raising his hand, seemingly preparing to strike or defend himself, but in reality just showing whoever would come from the other side of the door that he was engaged in combat with the Dark Lord rather than assisting him.
"Come on, Lily... please...," he whispered, and given the circumstances of the situation they were in, it sounded more like a prayer on his part.
And then the door opened quickly, making him lose the balance and nearly fall down, but the strong arm gripped his collar from behind, pulling him inside of the house and throwing him at the wooden floor, closing the door the next second just in time for it to block the flash of the killing curse.
"Lily, his wand!" Before Severus could say a word, his only weapon left his trembling fingers — raising his head, he saw his beloved woman holding it tightly, as if preparing to break the wand in pieces. And her eyes...
They radiated hatred. Something that looked so misplaced in these emerald irises...
"Now then, you piece of shit. Name at least one reason why I shouldn't kill you right away!" Snape felt the rough poke of another wand on his throat, gasping and raising his eyes up to meet another hateful gaze — although this one was very well known.
"I... the explosion! I d-did that on purpose t-to warn you a-about his approach!" He stuttered, too confused and perplexed to be able to find the right words with his enemy ready to take him to the afterlife.
He needed to find a way to convince them... The Dark Lord was arrogant, and he clearly didn't consider them a threat, so he didn't rush to enter the house which gave Severus about a minute to do something to make it work. And although that won them some time, it was barely enough.
"Oh?" The light brown eyes narrowed suspiciously with a hint of mock behind the glasses. "Or maybe you are just an idiot who tried to break into our house bluntly? Why would we trust you at all, Snivellus?"
Suppressing the urge to clench his fists in anger, Snape swallowed heavily before opening his mouth, picking the words very carefully,
"I—I swear. I can't give you the unbreakable vow now since I don't have my wand, but... Look, Potter," he tried to sound as convincing and sincere as possible — something he nearly never did, "It is our only chance to kill him. The three of us, we could make it. And he will come here any moment now. If we don't join forces, you are dead anyway. All of you!" He flinched, noticing that Lily was pointing her wand at him as well now, standing next to the small cradle with her left hand on its railing.
"I thought you were smarter than this, Severus. This is a very silly bluff. We are under Fidelius. He won't be able to enter the house."
"You've been betrayed!"
She rolled her green eyes and snorted in irritation. Clearly neither of them believed him... as a matter of fact, they were absolutely sure that they were safe!
"Honey, please, just stun him now. I don't want him spurting this nonsense here any longer. Let's just take him to Dumbledore and—"
"No. Wait," Snape looked into the eyes of James again, and, surprisingly enough, there was no anger anymore — only deep concern and a note of suspicion. "If you are telling the truth... then you surely know the name of the Secret Keeper?"
Snape grinned triumphantly. Never in his life he would have assumed that he would be praising Potter's intelligence, even though he did it silently.
"Peter Pettigrew!"
The brown eyes widened in terror as James lowered his hand.
"Lily... give him his wand back, grab Harry and get upstairs! Now!"
"I won't leave you—!"
"I said now!"
The redhead threw the wand at Severus who caught it midair, raising up from the floor on his shaking legs. But before either of them could say or do anything else, the door opened slowly at last, letting Lord Voldemort in.
"So... Dumbledore's vaunted lapdogs are all in place, although they seem to be aware of my plan. How... disappointing, Severus," he turned his head to glance at the Death Eater who stepped back reflexively, leaning against the wall with his wand pointed at his master. "You have spoiled such a beautiful plan. Crucio!"
The incredible pain made the young man fall onto his knees, crying and yelling desperately in agony.
"Lily, I told you to get out of here! I'll take care of him!"
"I won't leave you—"
"Oh?" The red eyes narrowed in amusement, and the Dark Lord stopped torturing his former servant the next second. "Take care of me, you say? The nerve... I'm about to applaud, James Potter. This has just earned you a special gift. Instead of a quick death I planned for you originally, now I'll make sure that your anguished cries serve as a testament to my power. I will make the mudblood and this traitor watch every moment of your misery."
"Dumbledore is already on his way. Lucky us, Snape has triggered the wards with that blast. All we have to do now is to stall you for a few minutes, Voldemort. How long does it take to get to the gates of Hogwarts? Hardly more than ten minutes, don't you think so? And I bet the old man knows more than a few secret passages to make it faster."
The mocking grin disappeared from the paper white face that resembled a snake and the warlock stepped forward.
"That is truly unfortunate, James. I'm feeling upset... it looks like I will have to finish all of you quickly, after all. Fine, I don't mind being merciful today. Avada—"
"Stupefy!" He blocked Lily's spell with ease, not noticing that Severus was slowly raising up behind his back.
"Or perhaps I should start with the mudblood? I don't know, all the options are so tempting... perhaps you would give me an advise, James? Whom should I kill first?" His eyes widened slightly as a familiar green flash came out of the young wizard's wand, but he dodged it effortlessly as well. "Interesting... maybe I was wrong to underestimate you, young Potter. Such a shame... you should've joined me long ago instead of hobnobbing with this filthy brethren. And now your talent and power will be wasted... that is truly disappointing," He shook his head, looking sincerely upset.
"I can see that you really like talking a lot. As far as I know, you value the purity of blood, don't you?" Voldemort didn't respond, just keeping gazing at James, allowing him to continue. "Then I will tell you something you should be able to understand. As the heir to my line, I don't find it appropriate seeing an ugly half blood criminal bastard in my family house, especially when this half blood is threatening to kill my wife and my son. Maybe I wouldn't mind it that much if you killed Snivellus, though," he glanced somewhere behind the Dark Lord's back before returning the laughing gaze of the brown eyes to meet the hateful glare of the red ones. "But I guess it can't be helped. You won't be leaving this house now that you have entered it. In one way or another, you will die here today. And even if we are to sacrifice ourselves for that to happen, I'm more than ready to do it. Unlike you, I do not fear death."
Voldemort was clearly losing his patience now, appearing pretty angered by the words of James, especially knowing that the man was saying the truth about his origins — that was the most irritating and perhaps even hurtful part.
"You are a fool, Potter. You have just wasted your only chance to—ugh!" He gasped, falling onto his knee and gripping his bleeding leg — too distracted by his own emotions raised by the words of James, he didn't notice Severus casting another Sectumsempra spell at him. And although the wound began healing rapidly again by some miraculous means none of the young wizards present in the room could figure out, it was exactly the opening they needed.
"Avada Kedavra!" Shouted James, but his spell was blocked the instant he cast it by the boulder Voldemort conjured right in front of him.
Expelliarmus! Lily's spell hit the stone as well — the boulder was levitated to the side to counter the red ray.
Fiendfyre! The incredibly hot magical flames engulfed Voldemort's free hand, making the warlock scream in pain and frustration as he cut his own limb down the next moment, but it was too late – his clothes were already burning as well, making him disapparate away and reappear right behind Lily's back, already wrapped in a different robe that was rapidly soaking the blood streaming down from the remains of his arm.
And just as he raised his wand again, with a loud pop, Albus Dumbledore appeared next to James, instantly casting the charm that prevented the further usage of apparition on the area around them, and then making the dark magical fire disappear away from the floor.
"It is over, Tom. You have lost."
The Dark Lord groaned in anger as Lily turned around, nearly dropping her wand accidentally as she saw his face this close to her.
"Not quite, Dumbledore... I shall still do what I have come for. Avada Kedavra!" He pointed his wand at Harry who was crying in his cradle, awakened by the noise of the fight.
"NO!" Lily screamed in horror, jumping to block the green flash; at the same time, multiple things happened at the same time.
A white lightning sent by Dumbledore reached Voldemort's shoulder, making him fall down and thus dodge the killing curse sent by James.
And when the Dark Lord's spell was about to reach Lily's chest, Severus flicked his wand in the last second, making the invisible magical force throw the woman out of the spell's trajectory, followed by hers cry of desperation as they all watched death coming inevitably upon the innocent child who was completely helpless against it.
The killing curse hit the infant boy's head, but instead of killing him, it backfired, taking the life of the most powerful Dark Wizard alive the next moment.
The silence that fell upon the room then was only broken by the thud made by the bleeding corpse of Voldemort that fell down to the floor.
Lily Potter was the first person to get out of the state of shock. She screamed, jumping up and rushing to Harry's cradle, only to gasp and fall down onto her knees, not believing her own eyes.
The child was there, alive and well. He was giggling now, looking at his mother happily, and the only thing that gave away the fact that he had been hit by Voldemort's curse was the lightning shaped scar on his forehead.
She hugged her son with her trembling hands, pressing him to her chest and closing her eyes, unable to hold back the sobbing.
"What... the hell?" James mumbled, striding towards his wife and bowing down to hug her and their child, though looking at the gray haired old wizard perplexedly. "Is he—"
"The prophecy has been fulfilled, so it seems," Dumbledore lowered his wand, coming close to Potters and looking at the boy who appeared to be happy and perfectly fine all in all. "Young Harry is certainly the Chosen One. And Tom Riddle is gone... for now, at least."
Snape, who had been watching the scene in front of him this whole time with his eyes open wide, smiled perplexedly, as if unsure if he had the right to be glad for what had just happened.
They... they did it, didn't they?
But something still felt seriously wrong. And as Lily opened her eyes, he realized what exactly that was.
She looked at him with killing intent.
"Get—get this bastard out of my house. Now. Or else I will fucking murder him!" She cried, pushing James away and pointing her wand at her former friend.
"Lily, woah! Honey, what are you doing? Stop!"
"Stop, you say? This piece of treacherous shit tried to kill my son! He wanted Voldemort to kill Harry!"
Severus gasped. Although he had realized it a few seconds ago that she was thinking something among these lines, hearing her saying such words, especially directed at him... it was far more painful than the Dark Lord's... no, Voldemort's Cruciatus curse.
"I—I just tried to save you! You were about to die, and—"
"It's not your fucking right to decide who is to live and who is to die, you idiot! His spell hit Harry! And it should've been me instead of him!
"Honey, please, just chill. It's alright, everyone is alive—"
"No, it's not alright, James! Are you crazy? Are you, of all people, going to defend him now?" She glared at her husband, making him look away uncomfortably while Dumbledore was just watching them patiently without making a sound.
"I understand how it looks from your perspective, Lily. I truly do. But you really need to calm down now. Harry is alive, we are all alive. Whatever he did is irrelevant at the moment. We will deal with it later, there are more important things to handle right now." He put his palm onto her forearm gently, making the woman lower her wand and hug their son again, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
James looked at Dumbledore who was still there, looking at him with compassion and a bit of curiosity.
"Can you take the corpse away? I need to have a word with Snape."
"Of course."
James nodded, stroking Lily's hair one last time before walking towards the exit, nodding at Severus who still looked completely shocked and lost.
"Let's go outside. We need to talk."
The Death Eater nodded slowly, following his rival outside and closing the door behind their backs.
James didn't go too far away — he sat down onto the porch, gripping his head and making his messy black hair look even more wild.
Severus hesitated for a moment sitting down and avoiding James' gaze purposely. He had no idea what to say or do in a situation like this.
"Look, Snape... unlike Lily, I'm not blinded by my parental instincts. I understand what you tried to do. And I appreciate it."
The former Slytherin student snorted, although there was no familiar venom in his voice as he retorted,
"As if I'm supposed to care what you think, Potter."
There was a moment of silence before James sighed, lowering his head.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Snape turned his head, looking at his foe incredulously.
"Shoot it."
"Why did you decide to betray him, in the end?"
Severus looked up in the sky, this time actually enjoying the cold drops of rain covering his face.
"What makes you think that I didn't plan this since the very moment I joined him?"
"The fact that I know you does. You always hated me, didn't you? And what changed?"
"I did. And you hated me too, Potter, so it's only fair."
"Nah, not really."
Snape met the brown eyes, looking at James with uncovered irony.
"Sure, tell me about it."
"It's true. I never hated you, I guess... It all started because of Lily. I've been in love with her since our first year, you know—"
"And I had loved her long before that. But it's irrelevant. She loves you and hates me now, and I'm not going to interfere. Although everything turns to be in your favor as usual, actually... I think I'm going to pick my own path from here on. Maybe all my problems happened because of this... because I always chased the life that was never mine to begin with, and would never be mine anyway. As for the past... let it stay in the past, Potter. That time is gone with the Dark Lord—I mean, Voldemort."
James grinned.
"Well said, I guess. So... what are we going to do with all the mess now?"
Snape looked at him thoughtfully.
"Albeit a lot of things have changed, we'll never be able to become friends. But... I suppose I can forgive you. For everything you and your idiotic friends did."
The auror nodded, this time looking dead serious.
"Thanks. I guess it doesn't mean shit to you, but I'm sorry."
This time, Severus smirked, replying after a few seconds of silence.
"You are right. It doesn't mean shit to me."
The door behind their backs opened again, making the two men turn around and see Dumbledore walking out of the house and stopping next to them.
"James, I suggest you to go to your wife now. She needs comfort above everything else right now. As for you, Severus... please, follow me to my office. We have a lot to discuss. And James," he looked at his former student again as the young wizards were getting up from the porch. "Tom's body is gone now, as well as all the signs of what happened here tonight. I understand that you need some time to rest now, but I expect you to meet you tomorrow in the morning. We need to decide what to do with... everything," he finished the sentence indefinably, apparently not wanting to reveal too much in Snape's presence.
"Can we call Sirius and Remus to come...?"
"Feel free to do so."
James nodded slowly, meeting the calm gaze of Snape one last time before returning to his house.
Dumbledore didn't lie — within just a few minutes, the old man had fixed everything in the room, making it look absolutely intact. Harry's cradle was empty — apparently his son was upstairs in their bedroom with Lily.
He walked up the wooden staircase, entering their room and coming close to his wife who was lying on their bed, hugging Harry tightly and not moving at all save for the quiet breathing.
James sat onto the edge of the bed, putting his palm onto Lily's hip and feeling lost for a second as he looked closely at the scar on Harry's head.
"Dumbledore said that he will return," the redhead uttered quietly in a few seconds, making James flinch and look at her with confusion.
"Who?"
"Voldemort. He said that he isn't really dead, just incapacitated. And he still has a way to revive himself."
James sighed, smiling reassuringly.
"Then we will train ourselves to become more skillful and powerful when he returns so that we're able to kick his ass. Simple."
"Harry is the only one who can really destroy him according to the prophecy."
The wizard stared at his wife as his brow cocked skeptically.
"The prophecy? And you believe it...?"
She simply shrugged, still looking too shocked to express any emotions.
"It would be stupid not to believe it after what happened here. One doesn't simply survive the killing curse, James."
The gaze of the brown eyes moved to the child who giggled again, as if understanding what his mother had just said.
"Well, I guess you have a point... then we'll have to raise Harry to become much stronger than any of us. Still simple."
It felt incredibly relieving to see Lily's emotionless mask finally break into a tiny, weak smile.
"There is nothing that can break your optimism, is there?"
"Nope. Nothing." He grinned happily, lying onto the bed so that he could embrace both Lily and Harry with his hand, meeting the exhausted and still slightly anxious gaze of his wife.
"James..."
"What?"
"I love you."
He smiled.
"I love you too. Both of you."
They closed their eyes, enjoying the silence, warmth and comfort of the room. They would call their friends later, James decided.
They had all the time in the world, after all.
This is the first time when I write something in this setting, hopefully you guys will like it. The first few chapters will be a prologue covering the events starting from the Halloween night and up to Harry's 5th year. I'd like to know what you think of this kind of idea for HP story! Cheers :)