The Coming of Oblivion

Chapter One: The Accident

The Potter family is ancient. Contrary to popular belief that the Black household is the oldest in the Britain, it is the Potters who hold that honour. Being the oldest house however also means that the Potters have a lot of forbidden and dangerous knowledge. This is especially true when it comes to dangerous objects and spells. Thankfully, the most dangerous of these are located in locked section of the Potter Manor library. In a part so deep within it, that the door itself was covered in dust It regarded tales of old and forgotten gods. Ones that were typically darker in nature, those that with the finding of morals and other concepts were better off discarded, but that may someday be useful enough to be kept safe. But it would not remain that way. And it would all start with an attack the darkest mortal force on the planet, on a dark October night in 1981.

James Potter cursed as he felt the wards come down around the cottage. Pettigrew was a dirty little rat. He didn't believe that he would betray them. That didn't matter right now though. What mattered now was protecting the twins. He saw Lily with her wand in her hand run out of the kitchen. "Lily, get to the children. Protect them." Lily shook her head.

"We can defeat him if we stand together." Lily said. James nodded to her, drawing his own wand and pointing at the door which was promptly blown off its hinges to reveal the Dark Lord himself. James opened fire first, the red light of a Bombarda flew towards the Dark Lod. Voldemort lazily raises a shield to deflect it, and the wall next to him explodes in chunks of stone and wood. As Lily and James started to rain down spells upon Voldemort, he moved quickly. He understood the main problem of many duellists in the magical world. Too many of them stood still, as the Potters were now doing. Voldemort had tried his best in his youth to include movement into his duelling, and that gave him the edge. His movement caused the potters to move out from the stairway, opening them up to attack. Though the killing curse was good, any obstacle could stop it reaching its target. It was merely the payoff of having something powerful.

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort shouted, the sickly green curse speeding its way towards the male Potter. The man dived away, only for the curse to continue ahead and smash the wall behind him, covering him in debris. Potter got up quickly though, the dust covering him along with small amounts of blood. He and Lily doubled their efforts to take Voldemort down. The spell-fire lit up the house, unseen to the outside world. Voldemort was constantly spinning and moving, dodging most of the attacks that came towards him, and blocking the ones that he couldn't move quickly enough for. Soon though, he knew that he had to end this toying with them. "Bombarda Maxima." He shouted, causing the wall through to the kitchen to explode. The Potter's were thrown forwards, and Voldemort lifted the debris on top of the them. "You were fools to oppose me Potters. Now your children will die and you will live with your failure." He laughed cruelly, and walked slowly up the stairs. The Potters watched helplessly as he rounded the corner to the twin's room, unable to do anything to save them now.

Voldemort entered the room which Pettigrew had informed him that the children were usually located. Personally, Voldemort couldn't understand why you would use someone so untrustworthy as the keeper of the secret. Sure, they knew him, but he would have thought Sirius Black or maybe even the were-wolf would be better choices than someone who even he thought as mostly worthless. He would probably kill him after this. Anyone who betrays someone was always likely to do it again. He looked at the twins that were in the room. He could also feel the power in the room. Usually he could tell whom the power was coming from. It helped to distinguish his death eaters from each other when they were all wearing their masks and listening to his orders. But here, they seemed to have almost equal levels. Unless one of the them was unconsciously disguising that of the other. Not that it would make any difference. Once he killed one off, he would know the truth of the matter. The he would kill the other to be safe. There were no safe places to be when there was a prophecy involved. Prophecies had a strange way of twisting circumstances to make fate fit. And he had no intention of falling into any sort of trap when it came to that. Taking a choice at random, he moved over to the girl. He sneered at her as she continued to sleep. "Avada Kedavra!" He raised his wand as the sickly-green glow flew at the girl, then a blue shield threw itself up around her, reflecting it on to the boy. Voldemort looked at her in shock, before a man's ethereal voice filled the room.

"Oh no you don't." It said, it was strangely jovial. "This family is protected by us. You cannot hurt these children. Now for a punishment." It went quiet, and Voldemort was moving around, trying to see if someone was playing a trick on him.

"Come out and face Lord Voldemort. Your destroyer!" He shouted, to be met by a laugh.

"You can't hurt me mortal. How to punish you I wonder? Madness, diarrhoea, mountains of cheese!" It went quiet again for a moment. "Haskill is blabbering on about the others being impatient. So I'll finish now. Have fun." Voldemort had no time to react as the green curse rushed back at him from the boy. It hit him, causing him to be expelled from his body.

"Noooooo!" He screamed as his spirit retreated from the scene. All that was different in the room, was a scar on the boy's forehead where the curse had been deflected to, and a pile of glowing ashes on the floor where the Dark Lord had stood not moments before.

The elder Potter's were still struggling to lift the rubble of themselves when they heard the scream emanating from upstairs. They looked at each other in horror. What had happened to cause that loud noise that clearly came from the Dark Lord? Was it something even more dangerous. They kept struggling when they heard more noises coming from the doorway. Relief came over their faces when Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black came into the house, wands drawn. Sirius immediately went to the side of his friends, but Dumbledore kept moving, heading up the stairs towards the children's room. "Careful Albus, we heard a man's scream but since then…" James said, trailing off with a shrug. Dumbledore took no visible notice of them, but inside he had become even more curious. Had Voldemort been destroyed? Had the prophecy been fulfilled? He walked into the room that the children were located. The room was spotless. The windows were perfect, rain pattering on them on the outside. Dumbledore took another step forward and stepped into some ashes spread about upon the floor. He bent down and picked up the yew wand that had been left behind. He now believed that Riddle was defeated. He would not have left his wand if he had a choice. But it also raised questions. But they would be for another time. He heard soft breathing in the room, and he moved over to the two cots that were side by side. He found both children, sleeping soundly. And neither had been harmed. He picked both of them up in his arms, and brought them downstairs to the relief of the Potters.

The headlines in the Daily Prophet the next day were full of recounts of the defeat of the Dark Lord. Together, Dumbledore, Black, Lupin and the Potters had decided that, in the absence of an explanation for the defeat of the Dark Lord, Lily and James should take the credit and establish themselves as figureheads within the community. Though the hidden Death Eaters would clearly disagree, none of them would do so in public. This was proven itself when Lucius Malfoy releases a statement later that day congratulating the Potters on defeating such a powerful foe not only of them, but of the entire wizarding world. That night, a last-ditch raid by those most loyal to Voldemort on the Longbottom family was stopped by the Order of the Phoenix and ministry officials, but not before Alice and Frank had lost their minds to torture at the hands of the Lestrange family and Bartimus Crouch Jr. The Potters meanwhile moved into the old ancestral manor that had been left behind in favour of the small cottage that Lily had favoured. However, after the attack, Lily had confessed to James that she probably wouldn't be safe there any longer. And so, they went back to the place where James had grown up happily, both determined to change the world for the better now that the Dark Lord had been defeated. However, four years later, the world had not changed much. The dark wizards in the ministry continued to fight change within the community, succeeding more times than they should have done. A new minister in Cornelius Fudge had been elected, however he was powerless in a time where Lucius Malfoy held a large amount of authority, despite the efforts of Dumbledore and James Potter. Lily had also managed to find work, being employed at Hogwarts most days of the year. She left good family friend Molly Weasley in charge of the kids whilst she was away, insisting that she be allowed to stay at the Manor with her own children whilst she was at Hogwarts teaching, as James would not be able to look after the kids all the time, and moving about from day to day would be even more taxing for everyone. And that is what happened. The Weasley family, outside of the holidays and minus the children at school, mostly lived at Potter Manor, though Molly still refused to take any payment for the work and hassle. And it was during one of these times that the accident that would later come to define the magical world occurred.

Jessica Potter was bored. Whilst her twin and the Weasley boys were playing outside, she was stuck inside, with Ginny and Auntie Molly. "A girl's place is in the house, not getting dirty and playing with broomsticks." Molly told her whenever she asked to go outside. And so, she had taken to the library as quiet spot. She and her twin were almost identical in facial features. Both had black messy hair and green eyes after all. They also both consisted of above average magical power and intelligence. At least, that's what her mummy had told her. She walked her way through the library. She had read a lot of it now, and knew an array of basic spells. However, she had no way of practicing magic without a wand, which she wasn't allowed to have until she was eleven. As she made her way through the family library, she saw a corridor that she had not seen before. She was sure she would have remembered a corridor that was this dusty. Her inborn curiosity and sense of adventure peaking at this strange sight, she delved deeper down this corridor, and came across a large, black door. It was open, a breeze flowing into the room. Most other children would have run and gotten someone at this point. But Jessica wasn't most children. Her dad had told her that Potters were brave like Gryffindor. She went ahead, pushing the door open wider. On a pedestal in the centre of a dark room lit only by an eerie red light sat a large, old book. She reached for it, and found it very easy to hold. She sat on the floor, bringing the book to her lap before she started to read it. It was made up of symbols that she couldn't understand. She flipped to a random page to see if there was some sort of English part to the book, only to land directly on the middle page. A glow came from the book, and something started to pull her in. She tried to pull away, only to find that it pulled her in faster. She did the only thing she could do. Jessica screamed.

Molly was with Ginny in the kitchen downstairs when Jessica's scream reverberated through the manor. Dropping her cookbook to the counter, Molly ran immediately out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Ginny doing her best to keep with her. She entered the library, pushing the doors open with a bang. "Jessica, where are you?" She shouted, receiving no reply but another scream. She ran in the general direction of the scream, to see a glimpse of Jessica before she was sucked into the book. She drew her wand. "Accio." She said, focused on at least getting the book. But, as the book came flying through the air, the door to the room slammed itself shut, shutting the book inside. Moving to the door, she tried to pull it open, and then every single unlocking charm she knew. But it was no use, the door was locked tight. She did the only thing she could do. She hurried over to the floo, and contacted the only person who was always available. She threw the powder in the fire. "Albus Dumbledore!"

As soon as Albus had received Molly's call, and she had explained the situation to him, he had come through the library fireplace, sending Fawkes to retrieve Lily and James. They soon arrived in a flurry of questions, only to have them answered with concerned looks. As they were filled in on the events, both of them followed Molly to the door she had mentioned in a state of shock. Dumbledore tried to use his extensive knowledge of magic to open the door, to no avail. James finally lost his temper. Nothing would be allowed to hurt his family, especially within his own home. "I command this door to open as Lord of House Potter!" He screamed, magic imbued in his words. The door rumbled, then swung ajar, being pushed fully open as all four of them entered the room. The book that Molly had mentioned was laying on the floor, and Jessica was nowhere to be seen. Lily broke down, tears streaming her face as she wept for her missing daughter, and Albus picked up the book. He looked grimly at the cover.

"I have never seen anything like this in my travels." He announced to them. "With your permission, I would like to take this tome for study. Maybe I can find a way to save your daughter." James immediately agreed.

"Do it. Do whatever you need to Albus." He said. And Albus nodded, the acknowledgement allowing him to take the book out of the room. He needed Jessica back. He would not allow an innocent child to be harmed by black magic.

"I will do what I can. Lily my dear, take as much time as you need." He did not know if they had heard him. But he hoped they had. For he would not rest until this girl was returned to her family.

Whilst the panic within the Potter Manor was occurring, Jessica could not see a thing. She would not admit it, but she was scared. Wherever she was, she was in pitch darkness. Until suddenly, there was a burst of light, and a woman, dressed only in a robe entered wherever she currently was. The eerie purple light that had been a burst before was now an ominous glow in the background. "Welcome one of prophecy. I am Nocturnal, ruler of night and darkness. And now, I am your mother." She said, in a soft tone that comforted Jessica, for the way she said made her feel a lot more comfortable. The know named Nocturnal stretched out her hand. And unknowing of why she trusted this woman, Jessica took it.

Next Time – Living with the Daedra