The gate opened with a slight creek as the robed figure glided past it. Tonight was the night, the night he finally became immortal. One of the Potters' sons was to be his bane, but that would no longer be a problem in just a few, short minutes. Lord Voldemort drew out his wand and began to voice an incantation that would blast the door off its hinges but yet he hesitated. An evil smile spread across his handsome face. The Potters had always been a thorn in his side, let them first taste the pain of losing their children before they met their own demise. With a simple unlocking charm, the Dark Lord swept into the house and stealthily made his way to the room his faithful servant Wormtail had informed him of. He sought out the children's room so that he may end it all.
There they were, two cribs sitting next to each other, the inhabitants sleeping so peacefully. One, Harry Potter, looked the picture of his father, James. His messy, jet, black hair surrounded his angelic face. The other, William Potter, had orange locks that crowned his face giving him a regal air. The Dark Lord smirked and thought to himself, one these infants are to defeat me? Wormtail had informed him that William, the first born was the heir to the Potter fortune and had already shown signs of magic, while young Harry appeared to be nothing more but a normal child. Dumbledore had speculated that William was to be his equal, but he would kill them both to ensure his immortality and to completely crush the hearts of the Potters.
Voldemort raised his wand and looked almost sympathetic at the young boy, "I'm sorry I will never see your power, child, you would really have been an asset to the wizarding world… Avada Kedavra!" As the spell left his lips, Voldemort watched the flow of green light with sadness, he did not take the same pleasure in this kill as he did in the others. However his eyes widened in a split second as the spell enveloped the child before launching back at him. He could not dodge, he could not counter, the Dark Lord stood there helpless as his spell impacted him and he could feel his soul being wrenched from his body. The last thing he saw was a lightning bolt scar on William Potter's forehead.
James and Lily bolted out of bed as they were shaken awake by a catastrophic explosion. Worry was etched on their faces as they rushed to the door, only to be replaced by a mask of despair as they saw half of their house blown apart. However, relief soon flooded their faces as they heard a baby crying. Once they reached the children's room they saw their son William crying in his crib, but Harry's was hidden under debris. Lily ran to get William and sooth him while James launched himself at the pile of debris trying to unearth his son. Distant pops sounded from downstairs and a panicked cry rent the air. "James! Lily! Are you here?" James sighed in relief as he heard Sirius's voice.
"Up here!" he yelled, "hurry!" In just seconds Sirius was by James's side helping to clear the debris, while a very distraught Lily moved out to the hallway to escape the mayhem where she ran into a rather disheveled Dumbledore.
"Did he come?" Dumbledore frantically asked, looking slightly crazed. Lily nodded, not being able to find her voice do to worry for her child, Harry. Dumbledore's face broke into a wide grin as he heard the news. However, he began to look thoughtful as he contemplated how exactly it might've happened. "Lily, may I see William please?" Lily looked at Dumbledore tearfully before handing over her eldest son. Dumbledore's brow furrowed as he looked at the child's scar. It was not a normal scar and he could sense the death within it. Then it clicked, he realized where he felt that same aura before and the sheer magnitude of the events unfolding before him left him speechless. "Lily, my dear, I have reason to believe that William here, has survived the killing curse." Lily was shocked out of her reverie and gasped at this enlightenment.
"Say what, Albus?" A voice asked from the doorway. As both Lily and Dumbledore turned to face the newcomer they saw James cradling Harry. Lily, ecstatic to see her other son and rushed to take him from James's arms and coo over him. Dumbledore was washed over with an intense wave of power at that moment that sent chills down his spine, the power seemed tainted. He would have to keep an eye on this child.
"It's good to see Harry is alright, James" replied Dumbledore with a small smile, he would cross this bridge with Harry at another time, "I said that I believe that your son William survived the killing curse."
"But that's impossible!" exclaimed Sirius as James rushed forward to take his child from Dumbledore. "Isn't it?"
Dumbledore considered this for a short while before replying, "It should be, especially from a curse that was cast by Voldemort, I can only guess that something had somehow crippled his power at that period. What that thing might be I do not know, but I believe that young William here has given us a much needed reprieve in this bloody conflict."
"A reprieve Albus?" asked Lily, "He isn't dead?"
Dumbledore sadly shook his head as he responded, "I'm afraid that I believe he was merely banished from his body. One of Voldemort's prowess and level of evil would undoubtedly prepare for a deathly occurrence. I'm afraid he'll be back and with a vengeance against William." Lily and James both paled dramatically as the speculations of Dumbledore began to sink in.
"Never mind that for now," Sirius finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that fell over the group, "come on James, we have some business to take care of." At James's confused expression, a hint of impatience and anger reached Sirius's face before he elaborated, "We have an oh so dear friend to visit, the rat." This last bit was spoken with such malice and loathing that it shocked Lily. James, however, looked furious as it finally hit him. His friend, a friend he had trusted above others, had stabbed him in the back. Pettigrew was going to pay dearly for this.
Dumbledore quickly stepped in, "Sirius, James stop this immediately, and cool down. The last thing your family needs James is for you to be thrown into Azkaban alongside your friend. Sirius, James and Lily need your support. Peter will get his due in time."