The Serpent's Lair
And The Forbidden Tower
Written By: Sidney "Venom" Malfoy

Chapter 1: The Dark Lord's Downfall

Lucius Malfoy had just barely opened the door to his manor when a little girl, who couldn't have been more than two years old, was thrust into his arms, almost unceremoniously. Lucius stared blankly at the crying baby in his arms before turning his gaze to the man who had brought her. "My lord," he began nervously as he made eye contact with a tall, white faced man in an ebony cloak. "My lord," he started again after clearing his throat, "you are not looking well."

The man in the ebony cloak let a low hiss dwell in his throat and made Lucius stand rigid and proper. "Perhaps if there were a fire in the grate, I'd feel much better," he replied and without waiting for Lucius to comply, he produced, from the folds of his cloak, a long yew wand, and pointed it at the grate. Wordlessly, he cast a spell from the wand's tip, and soon a roaring fire was set in the fireplace.

"My lord," Lucius began, "we were not expecting you for at least another hour. If I had known, I would have prepared." Lucius adjusted the baby in his arms and pulled his wand out from his emerald green cloak, summoning the most comfortable chair in the manor. "My lord, would you care for a glass of firewhiskey? I can have our house elves bring some up from the kitchens."

The ebony cloaked man shook his head. "No." He stated plainly and settled himself into the chair.

Lucius glanced away nervously and adjusted the baby. "Perhaps some butterbeer then?"

Again, the ebony cloaked man shook his head and drummed his fingers along the arm of the chair in annoyance. "No, Lucius. I am preparing to apparate into Godric's Hollow later this evening," he explained with a sigh. "The last thing I need is alcohol disturbing my thinking." He twirled his wand almost as if he were bored. "That little boy will never live to see his second birthday."

A flash of cruel lighting flickered into Lucius's eyes. "You discovered the location of the Potters then?" He asked and smiled wickedly when the pale man nodded.

"Yes," he said and leaned forward to stare intently into the fire. "One of Potter's closest friends has told me of their location in Godric's Hollow." He sighed almost agitatedly and glared at the crying baby in his follower's arms. "Lucius, do shut her up."

Lucius looked down at the little girl in his arms and winced as her soft cries gradually became louder. "Perhaps, my lord, she would be more comfortable in the nursery with my son?" He nodded when the man sitting gave a slight but definite dismissive wave. "Dobby, get in here!" Lucius yelled, his voice vibrating off the walls.

Within seconds, a tiny house elf appeared in the door frame, and whimpered slightly. He took one look at the man sitting and nearly yelped out of fright. "S-sir, please. Dobby wishes to remain in the hallways. Master has the company of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir. Dobby wishes to not interrupt Master's visit, sir." He nervously yelped when Lucius stomped over to him and nearly threw the baby into the tiny house-elf's arms.

"Just see to it that she quiets down and is put in the nursery with her cousin Draco," he snapped in a harsh undertone. Dobby nodded, ready to oblige and get as far away from the visitor as possible and gently held the baby girl. "And Dobby," Lucius warned as the house-elf turned to bring her to the nursery, "we'll talk about this later." He smiled in victory when the house-elf whimpered and ran up the marble staircase.

"That one is going to be a problem," the man sitting said in an undertone.

Lucius nodded as he watched the hallway. "My lord, when do you plan on striking the Potter home?" he asked, eager to talk less about his incompetent house-elf and more on the destruction of the Potter family. He watched patiently as the man drew a goblet with his wand and filled it with a clear liquid, taking his time watching it fill to the brim. When the conjured goblet was full, he brought it to his ghost-white lips and sipped the liquid. "My lord?"

The man glared at Lucius as he drank more of the liquid. "Soon. I will attack at midnight. Let us just hope by then all those pesky annoyances will be done with their candy-hunting." He chuckled cruelly at Lucius's inability to understand the Muggle Halloween. "It's horrible, really, how Muggles dress up in costumes that mock our everyday wear. How they parade around town in ballerina and clown costumes, ringing doorbells and clacking knockers in order to get one measly little treat. How they ridicule witches and wizards, and laugh on this day. Don't they understand the true meaning of Halloween?"

Lucius's jaw twitched. "My lord, they are Muggles. They don't understand anything outside of their personal worlds."

The man clenched his hand and broke the goblet into thousands of tiny glass pieces. "DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT, MALFOY!" He barked, rattling the chandelier above him. "Muggles are incompetent and stupid. And mud-bloods and blood traitors are just as bad." He looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room and grinned wickedly. "Midnight should be just enough time to get those little brats back into their homes." He smiled at the chime of the clock hit ten in the evening. "Yes, midnight. Two more hours, and all my problems will," he narrowed his eyes, "disappear."

Midnight was nearing in Godric's Hollow where alongside the road, street lamps cast eerie shadows across the dimly lit houses. The street was silent except for the crisp autumn breeze blowing against the pumpkins, an owl hooting in the distance, insects creating their night music, and a small grey rat scampering out of the sewer system. A soft pop sounded from behind a group of trees, causing the rat to shudder involuntary. Soon after the pop, a man wearing an ebony cloak appeared and stood in the middle of the street. From far away in the distance, a church bell tolled signaling the time was half past eleven. The man scoffed and looked at the porches and walkways of the houses with the dimly lit Jack-o-Lanterns and crazy Muggle themed Halloween decorations. He sneered and held out his palm toward the nearest house. The rat scampered next to the man and trembled as he flashed a wicked grin. Suddenly, one by one, evidence of a mortal Halloween exploded. Little did the slumbering residents of Godric's Hollow realize their hard work was being destroyed by the darkest wizard of the century: Lord Voldemort. Voldemort sneered again and turned around to face a trembling overweight man with balding gray hair. "Pettigrew," he hissed, his cold voice like a serpent about to strike, "where is it?"

Pettigrew nodded his head toward an empty field at the end of the street. "My lord," he winced as the hollow shell of a man pulled out his yew wand from the folds of his cloak and twirled it in his hands. "My lord, please," he squeaked, visibly shaking, "what do you plan to do with the Potters?"

Voldemort laughed, a cold, high laugh that didn't suit his soft green eyes. "Pettigrew, you should know by now what I plan to do with your childhood friend. I plan to murder him, his lovely wife and their baby son. The Potter line ends tonight with little Harry Potter." Pettigrew turned away and wiped his eyes on his dusty black cloak. "Pettigrew, your loyalty will be most rewarded. I will not forget this, my faithful follower." Pettigrew squeaked softly as Voldemort faced the empty lot again. "Let's go and get the job done." He hissed and moved swiftly down the street. When he finally stood in front of the lot, he took out a piece of parchment from his cloak and read it aloud, "The Potter home lies at number twelve, Godric's Hollow." He smiled wickedly when a red house with mustard yellow window shutters began to appear between numbers eleven and thirteen. "Excellent," he said and chuckled to himself, "and so like a Gryffindor."

Lily smiled as she watched her husband collapse on the couch and put a hand over his eyes. "James, is something wrong?" she asked, handing him a mug of hot chocolate. She frowned when he mumbled his reply into his hands. "James," she rolled her eyes and sat next to him, pulling his hands away from his face. "There. Now talk," she said.

James smiled at the redhead and sighed. "Lily, do you ever wish we could just lead normal lives? Ones where we work at a normal wizarding job, raise a family, and don't have to worry about Voldemort?" He glanced up at the ceiling, knowing that his only son was sleeping soundly in the room above him. "Living a life of solitude in a Muggle neighborhood is just not appropriate for Harry. He needs to be with people his own age and interacting with other babies."

Lily nodded and collapsed onto the couch, throwing her arms around her husband's neck. "I know, James, but there's not a lot we can do. Voldemort is still out there, and he won't stop until he is in control." She smiled and looked into her husband's dark eyes. "Besides, as soon as Sirius gets here, we can talk about what we're going to do to help protect Harry." Suddenly, a wave of cold air brushed against James and Lily's skin and they shuddered. "Did you feel that," Lily asked and looked toward her kitchen. Her eyes widened when she saw the kitchen door was wide open, releasing an autumn chill into their otherwise warm and comfortable home. "James?" she whispered fearfully as the fire in their grate disappeared with a second rush of cold air and all the lights in their home flickered on and off, and then finally blew.

Without a moment's hesitation, James and Lily stood up and whipped out their wands. They jumped together when a cold and heartless laugh echoed through their home. "Now, now, is that anyway to treat a guest in your lovely home?" A voice cackled sending goosebumps to rise up on the Potters' arms. Lily screamed as a cloak brushed up against her legs and Voldemort appeared, eyes ablaze. Quickly, he clamped a hand over her mouth and silenced her. "Lily Evans," he whispered in mock hurt, "if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were afraid of me."

Emerald green eyes blazed in anger and fear toward the Dark Lord. She waited with baited breath as Voldemort lowered his hand from the woman's mouth. "What do you want, Voldemort?" She demanded, her hand clenched tightly around her wand. His hand slowly moved past her chin and down around her throat, carressing it almost tenderly.

Voldemort smirked and gingerly began to weave his arm past her neck so that he was holding her in a choke hold. "Why, I thought that was obvious?" He allowed his other arm to wrap around her waist, holding her close and in front of his body as if a shield. "I want your son dead."

Lily shut her eyes tightly as they began to burn with tears. "I won't let you kill Harry," she whispered and hoped that James would attack the dark wizard, "I'd die before I let you harm my son." She felt Voldemort press her up against his chest and chuckle.

"That can be arranged," he whispered and grunted when he felt a fist collide with his skull. Quickly, he dropped Lily to the ground and swung his arm, his ebony cloak billowing around him in a non-existent breeze. "Potter," he hissed angrily as a trickle of blood trailed down from his temple.

"Lily! Get Harry and go," James said, grabbing his wife's attention. She climbed off the floor and dashed toward the staircase, pointing her wand in front of her. James blinked in the darkness and glared. "Lumos," he whispered and the tip of his wand burst into a blaze of light. Voldemort's carved features appeared, shadowed by a bit of the darkness.

He sneered angrily and grabbed James by the throat, pointing his wand directly at the apple. "Don't defy me, Potter," he hissed. "I'm much more powerful than you give me credit for. Soon, the darkness will win, and not even Dumbledore will be able to save you from it." He smirked and opened his mouth to deliver the final blow. "Avada Kedavra."

Lily tumbled up the stairs as she heard Voldemort threatening her husband's life and ducked into Harry's room, shutting the door with a slam. Her breathing was heavy as she snatched her son into her arms and cradled him tightly. "Don't worry, Harry. I won't let Voldemort hurt you." She whispered and looked around the room for James' broom. She mentally smacked herself when she remembered that all of his old Quidditch supplies were in the downstairs closet. She jumped when she heard a body fall to the ground in the room below her and held her breath. Slow footsteps signaled that someone was walking up the stairs toward the nursery and Lily swallowed nervously when the doorknob turned. "No," Lily said, tears falling from her eyes when she saw that Voldemort was the one standing in the doorway.

Voldemort sneered maliciously. "Give me the boy and I'll let you live," he hissed, holding out his hand. "You don't want to end up like your husband, now do you?"

Lily shook her head, ignoring the soft whimpers from the baby boy in her arms. "I don't care if you kill me, but you won't kill my son." She grit her teeth, and brought Harry closer to her body so that his head was tucked under her neck. "I don't care what happens to me."

Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Now, Lily dear. Think about it. What good would it do you to die in this case? Even if I kill you, there's no way that your son will be able to survive without you here. At least this way, one of you may have the opportunity at life." He smirked when Lily opened her eyes in realization. "Give me the child."

She narrowed her features and glared at the Dark Lord. "Never," she breathed, bringing Harry closer to her chest.

"Give me the boy!"

"NO!"

"Stand aside, you stupid girl!"

"NEVER!"

"I SAID STAND ASIDE!" Voldemort roared, and Harry began to cry.

"NEVER!"

A vein in Voldemort's forehead twitched and he produced his wand. "Then you leave me no choice. Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light illuminated the room and Lily screamed briefly. After a second, all went quiet, save for Harry's cries, and soon Lily's body fell forward, still cradling the baby in her arms. Voldemort smirked and kneeled in front of the lifeless mother. "Such a pity," he whispered, and lifted the baby in his arms. "Now then," he wondered aloud, "what to do with you?" He set the crying baby down in his crib and smiled. "A little child such as yourself sure has been a pain in my neck." Harry's cries began to subside and he wiped them away with tiny fists. "It will give me great pleasure to kill you right here and now." He pointed his wand at the little boy, who by now had stopped crying all together. "Avada Kedavra."

Rubeus Hagrid stepped into the streets of Godric's Hollow just as a brilliant flash of neon green light erupted from the empty lot at the end of the street. "No," he whispered in a gruff voice. He quickly rushed to the scene and watched in horror as the once-invisible house began to appear and crumble before his very eyes. He hugged his large fur coat to his giant body as a wave of cold air rushed by him. "Lily, James, an' 'Arry?" He pulled a hankerchief from a pocket in his coat, releasing a few dormice in the process and cried into it. His tears quickly dried when he heard the sound of a baby cry from within the rubble. Quickly he rushed over and pushed a few pieces of the house off of Harry, scooping him up in his arms as he did so. "'Arry?" he whispered and bent down to kiss the little boy on his forehead.

Harry's cries subsided as he felt the scratchy bristles of the giant's beard. His emerald eyes opened and he cooed softly, grabbing the giant's finger. Hagrid looked down at the little boy in his arms and smiled, tears in his eyes. "Hagrid!" A voice called from beyond a bend. Hagrid looked up at the corner and smiled when he saw Sirius Black ride down the street on his motorbike.

Sirius quickly got off his motorbike and stared at the rubble in pure shock. "H-H-Hagrid," he stuttered, almost unable to get the words to form in his mouth. "Wh-what happened?" A yew wand confirmed Sirius's suspicions and he collapsed to the ground. "Lily and James? Gone?" He ducked his head so that Hagrid would not see the tears that were rolling down his cheeks and masked his sobs for hiccoughs. "And Harry?" Hagrid held out the baby for Sirius to see. Sirius looked down at his godson and smiled softly. "Let me take him, Hagrid. I'm his godfather. I can take care of him."

Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Sorry, Sirius. As much as I would like ta, Dumbledore has specific orders for me ta bring 'Arry to 'Ogwarts." He put a giant hand on Sirius's shoulder softly. "Sorry, Sirius. Wish I could."

Sirius nodded and his eyes perked up as he saw a fat grey rat scatter toward the yew wand and pick it up in his mouth. "That's okay, Hagrid," he whispered. "Tell you what. Why don't you take my motorbike to Hogwarts. It's better than waiting for the Knight Bus."

Hagrid nodded and formed a make-shift baby sling around his shoulder out of a set of curtains from the Potter's destroyed home, setting Harry inside of it. "Thank ya, Sirius," he said and swung his leg over the side of the motorbike and brought it to life. "I'll tell Dumbledore that ya say hullo." Sirius nodded and turned toward the rubble, walking into the shadows of the trees behind it.

Hagrid arrived at Hogwarts within an hour and dropped the bike off just outside of his hut, taking great care not to awaken Harry, who had fallen asleep soon after they had taken off. Hagrid looked up at the castle and saw Dumbledore rushing away from the main entrance toward the castle gates. "Professor!" Hagrid called, but to no avail. Dumbledore stepped outside of the gates and quickly disapparated. Hagrid turned around and sighed, sitting down on his stoop, cradling the baby in his arms gently. He jumped when a rustle sounded from the grasses behind him. He looked up and saw Severus Snape coming toward him, cloak billowing. "Professor Snape," Hagrid said, his eyes widening.

"Evening, Hagrid," Snape said with a glare. "Dumbledore had to rush off to take care of a few things with the ministry. He has requested that I take care of Harry for the evening, and then return custody to you tomorrow night. He asked that I tell you to bring Harry to Surrey tomorrow night, preferably around midnight. He is going to live with his aunt and uncle."

Hagrid nodded and handed Professor Snape the baby. "I understan', sir," he said and watched as the other man turned on his heel and walked back toward the castle, cloak billowing in the non-existent wind.

Severus thought to himself as he wandered the lengthy path that led to his dungeon office. He thanked Merlin that there were no students out past their curfews simply because he did not feel like being caught with a baby in his arms. Soon he found himself at his door and he pushed it open, revealing his dark and dreary office. Harry began to stir in his arms and Severus slowed his pace, hoping not to wake the baby. He walked through his office and opened a door at the far corner of the room, revealing a small, but well furnished bedroom. He let a small smile slip onto his mouth as he set Harry in a crib with two other babies. "You'll be safe here, Harry," he whispered and traced a newly received scar on Harry's forehead with his fingers. "You'll be safe with my daughter and her friend until Hagrid needs to come and get you tomorrow." One of the three babies opened her emerald green eyes and blinked at the professor in confusion. "Protect him, won't you Sidney?" The baby smiled and closed her eyes.

Sirius transformed back into a human as he reached the boundaries of a city that wasn't too far from Godric's Hollow. He followed the fat grey rat down an alleyway and trapped him between two buildings. "PETER!" He yelled, dropping down to his knees and grabbed the rat by it's tail. "Don't try to escape, Pettigrew. I've got you trapped."