That Dreadful Day
Lord Voldemort was sitting in his study when there was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in," he answered. He turned in his chair to see who had knocked. It was Jeffery Jones, his loyal Death Eater.
"I have come with some news, my lord," said Jones. "The Eye has shown…"
Lord Voldemort cut him off. "You know I don't believe in that stuff," he snapped. "Divination is the most imprecise magic there is!"
"Yes, master, but this time…"
"I do not want to hear it!"
Jones walked slowly and dejectedly to the door. "Wait," said Voldemort. "Let's just hear it for the fun of it." Jones walked across the room to him.
"Well, they say someone is going to murder you, my lord."
Voldemort chuckled. "Who is it this time?"
"Young Harry Potter."
Voldemort laughed harder. "Potter? He is just a baby!"
"Now he is, but they say he will grow up to be a powerful wizard, and he will be your downfall!"
"Do you possibly believe that a young wizard can kill me? Not even a powerful wizard can!"
"Just to be sure, master…"
"You're right. One can never be too careful. Send someone to the Potter's to terminate the boy."
"Yes, my lord." Jones hurried out of the room and closed the door.
Someone else was also leaving the room, but neither Voldemort of Jeffery Jones had seen him. His name was Max Mulligan. He was wearing an invisibility cloak. He was also a spy for Voldemort's rival, Dumbledore. He hurried off to share his findings.
Soon, Max Mulligan was in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After telling Dumbledore what he had seen, Dumbledore instructed him to warn the Potters. The Potters spent the night with their good friend, Sirius Black. When Voldemort's men arrived at the Potters', they were gone.
Jones came back into Voldemort's study again the next day, telling of their unsuccessful try. "We'll find them," Voldemort said. "No one can hide from Lord Voldemort."
Again, Mulligan was in the room, and again, he went to Dumbledore. Dumbledore then went to see the Potters again. He knocked on the front door of their house in Godric's Hollow. Cautiously, James Potter looked out the window.
"It's alright," he assured his wife, Lily, "it's just Dumbledore." James opened the door.
"Your lives are in great danger," Dumbledore warned. "Lord Voldemort is after your son, Harry. You must go into hiding."
"Can't we just stay at Sirius's again tonight?" asked Lily.
"No," said Dumbledore, "Voldemort will find you there. What I suggest is the Fidelus Charm."
"What's that?" asked James.
"You will store the secret of your location in one human being. No one will be able to find you unless the person, who is called the Secret-Keeper, tells your location."
"Oh," said Lily, "You should be our Secret-Keeper."
"No, Voldemort will find me too easily. You must pick someone else."
"How about Sirius?" asked James. They called Sirius over, and Dumbledore preformed the complicated Charm.
But Dumbledore was not the only one with spies, and Voldemort's spy had seen this. He now knew who the Secret-Keeper was. James could sense this, and he quickly told his other good friend, Peter Pettigrew, to be the Secret-Keeper. No one would suspect him of being the Secret-Keeper, because he wasn't bright or brave.
It just so happened that Peter Pettigrew was just another one of Lord Voldemort's spies. He headed over to Voldemort to tell him the secret.
* * * * *
It was eight o'clock in the evening, and James was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper. He could hear upstairs putting baby Harry to bed in his room. Outside, the rain was beating lightly against the roof of the small house in Godric's Hollow.
Lily came back downstairs and sat on the couch next to him. "It's starting to thunder," she said. "I hope Harry doesn't wake up. James nodded and looked out the window. A streak of lightning lit up the street. He could have sworn he saw a dark figure standing in the street, but by the time the next bolt struck, it was gone.
James went back to reading the paper and Lily picked up a magazine from the side table. There was a knock on the door. "Wonder who that is," said James.
"Maybe it's Sirius," replied Lily. James put the paper down on the coffee table and went to answer the door. Upstairs, Harry began to cry. Lily went to see what was wrong. Ah, if only the Potters had known…wizard babies only cry when there's evil around.
James opened the door, but Sirius was not the one standing there. It was Lord Voldemort.
"Ah, James, good to see you," said Voldemort, falsely pleasant.
"What do you want?" James spat.
"I want Harry. Bring him to me."
"You can never have him!" shouted James. He pulled out his wand.
"Are you refusing me, the most powerful dark wizard alive?"
"You'll never get Harry!"
"I'll do anything I want! Now step aside, or I'll have to kill you, too!"
"Fine, kill me, but you'll never kill Harry."
Voldemort sighed. "As you wish."
James was about to do a disarming spell, but Voldemort was faster. "Avada Kedavra," he whispered. James heard and knew there was nothing he could do. A green flash came out of Voldemort's wand. James hit the floor, dead.
Lily heard James's shouts from upstairs. "Harry, be quiet; he'll find you!" Lily whispered, but Harry did not stop crying. Lily did not know how long James could hold him off. After a few minutes, she heard a cold, mirthless laugh. "James!" she breathed. She knew Voldemort was coming, but she didn't have anywhere to hide.
The door of Harry's room burst open. "Hello, hello, Lily. Are you going to give Harry to me, or do you refuse like your husband?"
"What did you do to James?" she screamed.
"He is dead." Voldemort smiled.
Lily gasped. "No, no, no!"
"Now give me the boy!"
"No! Never!"
"There's no point in resisting."
"Why do you want him? What are you going to do?"
"The stars have shown he is destined to kill me. I can't let that happen, now can I? I have to kill him first."
"He's just a baby! He can't kill!"
"If I get him out of the way now, he can't get me later. Now hand him over!"
Lily stood her ground, stalling until she could think of a plan. "How did you find us? I know Sirius would never tell!"
"Ah, but what you do not know is James told Sirius to change to Peter Petigrew at the last minute. Thought Sirius would be too obvious. Another thing you did not know is that Peter was my spy."
"No!" said Lily.
"Yes! And if you're done stalling, could we please get on with it? Give me the boy!"
"No! Not Harry! Please not Harry!"
Voldemort turned on her with his wand. Using the same curse as before, Lily was dead.
"There's no one to protect you, now, Harry," said Voldemort. He walked over to the cradle where Harry was still howling, even louder now. "You know, it's a shame I have to kill you. You'd make a pretty good dark wizard, with the right training. Well, I can't have you growing up and killing me, so goodbye, Harry."
Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. "Avada Kedavra," he whispered. A bright green flash jumped out of the wand and hit Harry's forehead, leaving a small lightning shaped scar. Then, for some unknown reason, the spell bounced back to its creator. Voldemort shrieked and vanished with such a powerful force, the house around him was destroyed. It crumbed and fell down, like an ancient ruin.
Harry cried and cried for his parents, but it was the middle of the night and no one heard. He soon cried himself to sleep.
* * * * *
The next morning, Sirius rode his flying motorcycle over to the Potters' to see them. He was astonished when he saw the ruins of the house. When he realized what must have happened, he ran to the house and went inside. James was dead. Sirius walked upstairs. The room where Harry slept was right at the top of the steps. It was the only part of the house still standing besides the staircase. Sirius walking inside. Lily was laying on the floor. She was dead, too. Sirius dreaded looking in the cradle, but when he did, he saw that Harry was still there and alive. He was sleeping soundly. He looked alright, except for the small scar on his forehead.
Sirius didn't know what to think. The Potters, dead? What had happened? How had little Harry survived? Where was Lord Voldemort? Sirius knew what he had to do first: get Harry out of there before the whole house fell down. He picked up his godson and wrapped him in a blanket. Sirius carried Harry outside and instantly, the house crumbled. The next door neighbor, who was also a wizard, came out of her house. Now that the house was destroyed, the secret was out.
"What happened?" she asked.
"James and Lily are dead," Sirius said quietly.
The neighbor gasped. "Was it You-Know-Who?"
"Yes, but I don't know what happened exactly."
"Where is he now"
"Gone. Vanished into thin air. He got Lily and James, but somehow he couldn't kill Harry."
"He's gone? As in he's…dead?" The neighbor let out a cry of joy and rushed inside to contact everyone she knew.
The news quickly traveled, and within an hour, everyone in the wizarding world knew about Harry Potter. Celebrations went on all over Britain, owls flying, fireworks, and people going out in non-Muggle clothing.
Dumbledore soon knew about the night's events. He contacted the neighbor. "Sirius, Dumbledore would like to speak with you," she called. Sirius had been sitting outside the house all along in a state of shock. He went inside to talk to Dumbledore.
"Sirius, I know you're his godfather, but it will be safer to give him to Lily's sister, Petunia, for a little while, just to make sure he's really gone. I'll have Hagrid come there to get him."
"That sounds like a good plan. When all the excitement dies down, I'll go get him."
"When we know it's safe, yes. But for now, we have to do what's best for Harry. But there's something I don't understand, Sirius…"
"What?"
"How did Lord Voldemort find them?"
"I switched Peter to be the secret keeper at the last minute. He must have been Voldemort's spy! That double crossing scum!"
"There's no point in doing anything rash, Sirius. What's done is done, and it can't be changed. Hagrid will be there as soon as possible."
"Goodbye."
Dumbledore left his office and went onto the grounds. "Hagrid!" he called.
"Yes, sir?"
"Hagrid, I have some sad news for you. The Potters…they're dead."
"Dead? What happened?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I need you to do me a favor. Go to the Potters' house. You will find Sirius there. He has Harry with him. Take Harry to his aunt and uncle's house. I'll meet you there."
"Of course! I'll go right away!" Hagrid hurried off to get ready and bumped into Professor McGonagall.
"What's the rush, Hagrid?" she asked.
"I have to go get baby Harry Potter from Sirius Black and take him to his aunt and uncle."
"Where's Professor Dumbledore?"
"He had some important business, but he said he'd meet me there." Hagrid rushed off, and McGonagall Apparated to Privet Drive.
It took four hours for Hagrid to get to Godric's Hollow, and it was starting to get dark.
"I can't believe Lily and James are gone!" Hagrid cried. He took Harry from Sirius's arms. They stood there for a while, and Sirius told Hagrid what he thought had happened.
"Well, better be goin'," said Hagrid.
"Take this," said Sirius, pointing at his motorcycle, "it's much faster." Hagrid nodded and climbed onto the motorcycle. It made noises as it took off into the sky. Hagrid made sure Harry was warm and safe then took off for number four, Privet Drive.
* * * * *
Sirius only had one thing on his mind after that. Get Peter. It was Peter's fault his best friend was dead. Peter's fault Harry was being sent to live with Muggles. Dumbledore had told him there was nothing he could do, but there was something. He could get revenge.
It took about a week to track Peter down. He started where he had seen Peter last, and asked around until he was given the information he wanted. Peter was hiding. Lord Voldemort had gone to the Potters' on his information, and he had now vanished. The Dark Lord's supporters weren't too happy with Peter right now.
Sirius looked around the hiding place he told Peter to hide in when he was the Secret Keeper. Peter was there. Sirius pulled out his wand, but kept it behind his back.
"What did you do?" yelled Sirius.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" said Peter innocently.
"You killed Lily and James!" said Sirius.
"I did not! Why would I?" Peter shouted.
Muggles in the street were looking now, but Sirius didn't care. He was going to kill Pettigrew. Sirius cornered Peter. "You are a liar and a spy. I don't know why I didn't see it before. You killed James, and now I'm going to kill you," but before he could, Peter whipped out his wand.
"You betrayed Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black!" he shouted. The Muggles stopped to look on. Peter whispered a spell and the street blew apart. Sirius quickly whispered a shielding spell, so the curse wouldn't kill him. The spell did kill thirteen Muggles standing around.
Sirius stood there, looking at where Peter had been standing. He was gone. A piece of his finger was lying on top of some bloody robes. Peter had killed himself with his own spell! Sirius began to laugh. He had gotten his revenge.
After a few minutes, the Ministry of Magic came to get Sirius, who was still standing in the street, laughing. The laughter did not last long, however, when they told him where they were taking him, Azkaban. He had "killed" the Potters, Peter Pettigrew, and thirteen Muggles. Sirius argued, but it did no good. No one believed him.
And the rest, they say, is history…