Chapter One

The Empty Cradle and the Blazing Fire

Author: Bridgette Carter A.K.A. Mandysummers3

Beta: HarryPotterGirll

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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter, but I wish I did… It would be awesome! Grins

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Credit for this Chapter: to my Beta, HarryPotterGirll, because she's SUCH a great Beta and she's SO cool! She's one of the best people I have EVER met!

And Kurinoone because she has written a series of Fanfics that have changed my life! Her fanfic, The Darkness Within, was the FIRST one I had EVER read! Smiles happily let's give them some applause, shall we? Claps

Also, I would like to thank two more people, My Dad and my Bestfriend Brooke, because they have supported me for a long time, and they have NEVER given up on me! They deserve A LOT of applauding and some whistling and screaming! COME ON! Applauds, whistles, screams

Also, Thanks to everyone who has reviewed to my Fanfics, and all my friends! You ALL rock! Claps

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Inspiration and Dedication to: "The Darkness Within" and "A Part of Me" by Kurinoone

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Laugher echoed, someone cried. The laugher was cruel and cold, but the crying was soft and sad.

A tall man held a baby up in the air; the baby had emerald green eyes, where the man had crimson red ones. He looked up into the child's crying face. Tears were running down the infants' cheeks.

This only made the man laugh harder. He said in triumph. "Finally… I have the "chosen one". No one can stand in my way… No one…" He set the baby on the floor and took a couple steps back. He raised his wand at him and smirked.

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Lily walked upstairs. Harry had been awfully quiet for a while, Pettigrew had said he'd check on him, but he hadn't come back yet. It had been almost 2 hours. What could be taking him so long?

She opened the door to Harry's nursery and paused. His cradle was empty. She gave a shriek and ran out of the room.

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James jumped as he heard a scream. He got to his feet and ran to the stairs, only to be knocked down by Lily. He frowned up at her as she looked down on him, tears falling down her cheeks and off her chin, hitting his face. He got to his feet and looked at Lily.

"Lily? What's wrong?" He asked. Just then, Sirius walked out. He scowled at his friends.

"What's the matter? What happened?" He said. James shrugged while Lily kept crying. "Lily… Honey? What's wrong?" He repeated. He pulled her into a hug as he said this. Lily buried her head into his chest and muffled a few words. James frowned. "I didn't quite catch that…" Lily looked up at James. Hazel eyes locked with Emerald Green. "Ha-Harry's gone…" She whimpered.

James's eyes widened. "Wh-what?" Lily wiped away a few tears. "HE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!" She screamed. Sirius took a step back, tripping over a vase, and James just stood still, his arms around Lily. His mouth hung open in surprise. "Oh…"

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Harry Potter! Missing?

Young Harry Potter has been reported missing. Has he been kidnapped? No one knows how this could happen, seeing as their wasn't any sign of a struggle, The Aurors feel as if whoever took young Potter must be somebody he trusted. But who?

The Potters refuse to give us their side of the story, but we were able to interview Billy Solemn Gloren, who is head of the Aurors Department.

He told us: "There is a possibility that the Potter kid is still alive… But there is no proof, however, we are doing everything we can to locate his whereabouts." That was all he had said before he had told us he could not let anymore information out, it could compromise their plan.

Now, will the ministry find Potter, or will he be lost to us forever?

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A confused Lucius Malfoy set the paper down on the table infront of him. Harry Potter was missing? He knew exactly who had taken him, but why hadn't he told Lucius? Hadn't he always been loyal? Always listened? Always did what he was told?

Lucius frowned and then angrily took out his wand, levitated the paper, and lit it on fire with a swish of his wand. He glared at the table infront of him, as if it was the cause for all his anger.

Just then, the door opened and a kid with platinum blonde hair ran in. He looked no older then five. He was naked, but had a mini towel around his body. His hair was messy and still had soap in it. Along with his body, he was still wet and had soup bubbles all over his arms, legs, and torso. He looked like he had just jumped out of the bath, grabbed a towel, and ran.

Lucius's frowned furrowed. He grabbed his son, just as it was about to ran past and hugged him to his chest.

Draco struggled, but Lucius kept a firm hold, which was hard. Then, the door opened again, and a haggard looking Narcissa walked in. She had a green rubber duck in one hand and a cloth in the other. She walked up to Lucius and took Draco from him, which Lucius was more then glad to do, as it was becoming impossible to keep hold of his son.

Narcissa sighed and gave Lucius a tired smile. "Thanks…" She muttered. He nodded his head. She then turned and left the room with a screaming Draco.

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3 Years Later

"Hello! I'm Draco Malfoy!" Greeted a boy with platinum blonde hair. The boy he had been talking to had been facing the other way, he hadn't even notice Draco running up to him. His eyes flashed to Draco for a moment before looking back up at the roof.

Draco didn't seem to take the hint, because he kept on. "You have a nice home… My father has told me a lot about the Dark Lord! But I didn't think I'd actually be able to meet him!" Blurted out Draco. The boy rolled his eyes; Draco was acting like an over exited child. His father was interesting…Yes. But not something to get all thrilled about.

Draco frowned. "Wait? What was your name again?" He asked. The boy gave a sigh. He turned around to face him.

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5 Years Later

The rustling of paper could be heard and the sound of a chair being pulled back. A man with messy, black hair and hazel eyes stood up. James Potter turned and walked over to a wall. It was covered with papers. He grabbed a piece of paper and ripped it off the wall; he walked back to his chair and sat down.

He lay the paper down, smoothed it a little, and began looking it over.

Just then, the door opened and a woman walked in. She had long, fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. Lily walked over to her husband. He didn't so much as move a muscle as she moved towards him. Lily put a hand on his shoulder, and James jumped. He knocked over a bottle of ink as he jumped to his feet.

Not looking over at Lily, he took out his wand and cleaned up the mess. He then sat back down, not so much as looking at his wife. Lily sighed and broke the silence.

"James…" She said sadly. James looked up. "It's been 13 years, Maybe you should give it up…" James stared at her in shock. "W-what?" Lily began to look worried. "It's not that you shouldn't try… but there's no guaranteed that he's even a-" James jumped to his feet. "HE'S NOT DEAD! I WILL FIND HIM! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!" Lily's face turned red in anger.

"THINK OF JAMIE! THINK OF SUMMERS! He wonders what's HAPPENED TO YOU! Why you're never around!"

"What about Raven? He's so young! I can't do EVERYTHING FOR HIM!"

"How about Miley? She's never gotten to know you! CAUSE YOU NEVER SPEND TIME WITH HER?"

"REMEMBER JAMIE?! She's 14! FOURTEEN! She's got enough pressure on her! I can't do everything James! I'm not wonder women! THEY NEED YOU JAMES! They need a FATHER! THEY NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO!"

Lily began to pant for breathes, but she was satisfied, she knew she had gotten to James as he looked at her in shock, his jaw was hanging open. But a look of understanding was in his eyes.

Lily smiled as James shut his mouth and took off his glasses, rubbing the brim of his nose. When he settled his glasses back onto his nose, he gave Lily a small smile, and nodded. "You're right, Lily… This is pointless… And my kids need me… I just I've been too hooked up to even notice… I'm sorry." He said, his eyes were brimming with tears. Lily shot him a sympathetic smile and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you James Potter."

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A boy with raven black hair sat in a room that had dark blue wallpaper, a row of bookshelves, two moss colored green tables, and a two seated black couch and a lime green, plush chair, which the boy was currently sitting in.

He was flipping through a book; 100 Ways to Disguise Yourself, Used for Auror Training by Teena Loverson.

The boy wore a black sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers. The hood of his sweater was over his head, so now one could see his face.

Page by page he flipped. It was getting late. His father had gone out for the day, along with his Uncle and Aunt. They weren't his real relatives, but he thought of them that way.

It was the same everytime. Whenever his father left, he was here alone. He usually read a book, ate, slept, studied, or trained. It was boring, yes, but sometimes he enjoyed the quiet.

His father was suppose to come back after supper, and it was that time, so the boy waited patiently, turning the pages of his book, barely paying attention to what he was reading. Every few minutes he looked up at the Grandfather clock that leaned against a wall infront of him.

Sighing, he got to his feet, stuck his book back, and walked out of the room. Every hallway was the same.
The walls were stained brown or black, and the doors were dyed beige. He walked for about fifteen minutes until he stood infront of copper colored doors. He opened them, and walked through.

The room he was in now was painted grey. There was a rectangular table which went from one end of the room to the other and chairs were seated around it. Both were pained black. There was a chair at the head of the table which was different. While the other chairs were wooden, the head chair was plush, and was colored blood red.

The boy smirked as he looked around the room; his father had an odd taste in decoration. Then, a noise sounded from behind him. He jumped a couple feet and turned around. He gave a breath of fresh air as he looked into Crimson eyes.

"Hello, Father."

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3 Years Later

James gave a look of disgust as the smell of blood reached his nostrils. He put a hand up to block the scent and kept going, five people followed him. They were part of his squad. He was an Auror for the Ministry of Magic.

James walked forward, he followed the scent. Every now and then he'd trip, usually making everyone stop. Three men followed him; they were part of his Auror squad. He worked for the Ministry of Magic; James was the Head of the Department.

The four aurors walked down a dark and empty alley. The wind breezed by, making James hug his robes closer to his body to keep him warm.

The four companions jumped at they heard a scream. They paused for a moment, looking around. Then the man to James' right pointed to the sky, smoke was flooding into the sky. The team ran towards it.

Soon, they ran out of the alley and stopped. A house was in flames. The fire was beginning to spread onto the next house. James turned and began commanding team. "Sirius, Kingsley, put out the fire! Tonks! Follow me!" The three aurors nodded and did what they were told. Tonks and James went into the fire house, which had started everything.

James covered his mouth with his hand, coughing violently. The fumes of smoke were making him dizzy and his eyes began to water. He heard Tonks cough behind him. He continued through the hours, ducking and jumped as the house was beginning to crumble.

He heard the coughing of another people, it came from his right, he ran that way and ran to a door, and he kicked it open and ran in.

A man was lying on the floor, bleeding from cuts all over his body. He could tell that the wounds were not from the fire.

James ran over to the man. He grabbed his arm and began to drag him to his feet. Tonks ran over and helped.

James and Tonks rushed through the house, the smoke was beginning to thicken and it was becoming harder to breathe and see.

Tonks suddenly stopped, she let go of the man and fell to her knees. James hadn't noticed anything different, so he continued on.

Then, he stopped and frowned. Something was… different. She looked to his side and saw that Tonks wasn't there. His brows furrowed. Where was she?

He turned around and called for Tonks. No reply… The man he was holding began to cough more violently. James was getting worried now. But he couldn't let this man die like this. He turned and started forwards, leaving Tonks behind.

Tonks couldn't see, her vision was clouded and she could barely breathe, her lungs felt as if they were melting.

She tried to stand up, it took her a couple minutes, but she managed. Just then, she heard James calling for her. She began walking forwards, slowly. Nymphadora tried to call back.

"J-Cough-Jam… es… Cough" There was no reply. She could barely hear herself, so how would James. She heard footsteps, but they were going in the opposite direction.

Confused and tired, she tired too followed. She tripped clumsily over her own feet, and fell flat on her face. Her vision began to fade, but as she gave one last look infront of her, she could see a figure. She couldn't tell what, or who, it was, but frankly she didn't care.

Whatever, or whoever it was, seemed to be tall and well built, with long hair. She blinked as they took a step closer.

"Sir-Gasp-ius...?" Then everything went black.

Sirius ran towards the only house that was still on fire, whatever had set it ablaze had made shure it couldn't go out. Sirius and Kingsley had tried many spells, but nothing worked.

Men, Women, and Children of all ages sat on the ground. Most were covered with burn marks and scratches, while some looked uninjured, except for a few scrapes here and there. There were, of course, a couple of badly wounded, but they were taken care of.

Aurors were scattered everywhere, talking to people, fixing injuries, or trying to stop the fire from spreading ever further.

Sirius ran as fast as he could to the house when he saw James run out, supporting an elderly man. Sirius frowned and looked from the stranger to James. Where was Tonks?

When Sirius voiced his question, James paled and avoided Sirius' eyes. Sirius' eyes widened. No…

Before James could stop him, Sirius went dashing towards the house. He ran through the open door way and began to run through the house, looking for Tonks. He kept calling her name, but he doubted she could hear him.

Sirius ducked pieces of wood that fell from the roof and jumped over gaps on the floor. He needed to find her, she couldn't die. She couldn't.

Sirius then heard coughing. He paused and waited for a second. He heard it again and again. He followed the noise; he turned to his left and ran.

Again and again he heard it. Everytime it grew quieter. He could understand why she was growing weak, the smoke was too thick and it was making it hard to do anything. To see, to breath, to think, and to talk.

Sirius began to cough, he covered his mouth with his hand, but it didn't help much, the smoke was becoming too heavy.

Sirius then heard the coughing subside and he paused for a moment. He could barely hear anything anymore. All that caught his ear at the moment was the sound of the fire burning and his heart beating in his chest. What is he was too late? What if she was dead? He shook his head. No, he mustn't think like that. If he did, then it really would come true.

He took a few hurried steps before he broke out into a sprint. I - Dodge - must find - Jump Tonks! - Duck

Sirius began to slow down as he spotted something on the ground. Whatever it was, it was human, for Sirius could see its chest moving up and down.

The Auror crept closer, watching the figure closely. Sirius could feel his heart thumping in his ears, Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump.

He jumped as the figure moved; they lifted their head and looked at him with tired eyes. The strangers' bubble-gum pink hair was stained with blood.

Sirius widened his eyes as Tonks whispered his name, before letting her head fall back to the ground.

Sirius ran up to the motionless Tonks, and turned her over. Half of her face had severe scorch marks and all over the other side, there were deep cuts that were bleeding. Her hands and legs were covered with marks from the fire and cuts and scraps.

Sirius put a hand under Tonks' legs and behind her back. He picked her up and turned around, running in the direction he had come from.

James watched Sirius run into the house, but he didn't dare run after him. James trudged forwards; the man he was supporting was becoming harder to hold.

"James!" Someone yelled his name. He turned around. Lily ran over to him. "What happened?" She asked, looking around quickly, her eyes flicked from house to house. Then she looked back at him, frowning.

He shrugged; it was becoming almost impossible to support the man. He stumbled and Lily grabbed the man's other arm. James smiled at his wife and she gave a small smile back, but it was only brief as the man began to fidget. James took a tighter hold of his arm and he and his wife laid him down. Lily got down on her knees beside him and began to examine his wounds.

She was trained in the art of healing, so she hoped her years of training would pay off. She looked over his wounds, every now and then; she'd frown and mutter to herself.

James waited patiently, letting his wife work. Then, she gave a sigh and shook her head. "What is it?"

Lily looked up at him. "It seems a number of curses have been used on him, I cannot identify which ones, but I know for shure Crucio and Sectumsempra were used." James shook his head in disbelief. Who could do this? What kind of person could do all of this?

Just then the man started to stir; he opened his eyes and looked around. He looked from Lily to James, then back again. He was confused. And for a good reason.

"What's your name?" Asked James. The man opened his mouth, what came out was barely above a whisper.

"P-peter Jape Slack-slacker…" James nodded. Before James could say anything else, Peter had grabbed Lily's robe. He was shocked so she didn't struggle. Peter looked into her eyes. "You-You've gotta stop… them…" He said, quietly. Lily scowled.

"Stop who? Who did this to you?" Lily cried. "The… Dar..." Then, he stopped. He let go of Lily's robe and shut his eyes. Peter Jape Slacker was dead

Sirius tumbled to the ground, Tonks under him. The house had just collapsed, if they hadn't gotten out when they had, they'd be dead for sure.

Sirius got to his feet, and picked up Tonks again. He walked her over to the healing station and sat her down on one of the beds that had been laid there. Sirius lowered his eyes to the ground, not wanting to see the state anyone was in.

He was so distracted; He nearly smashed into James and Lily. Who were still sitting on the ground.

"Oops, Sorry James…" Then he stopped. The man they had saved was lying on the ground, pale as ever, bleeding all over the grass. Sirius knew that he was dead.

Sirius began to feel sick. It was never easy, no matter how many times you've seen or dealt with it… No matter how much Sirius dealt with death, he could never coop with it. He nearly bent over to empty the contents of his stomach at the smell of blood, but stopped. He wouldn't, not here.

He looked at his two friends with sad eyes. Lily was staring at the man in shock, her eyes wide. James was holding Lily in his arms. He has tears in his hazel eyes.

A kid with curly red hair and hazel eyes ran up to a crying women, who was being held by a man with raven black hair. Both adults were red eyed. They were unharmed, except for a few scratches. The women had blood stains staining her clothes.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The kid ran up to his mother and held his arms up, wanting his mother to pick him up. But the women was acting like she couldn't see him. She walked right by, leaving the red head kid and the man behind.

James sighed and looked down at his son. He lifted Raven in the air and hugged him tightly. "Daddy?" Asked Raven. James looked at his son, tears streaming down his face. "Who es 'arry Potter?"

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A/N: There ya go! Hehe:D It's done:D lol. and so you know, Harry was FIVE when he was taken! Yups:D So, Ya... Please review! The next chapter will be better! Me promise!