Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that belongs primarily to J.K. Rowling, I also do not own the games Overlord, Overlord: Raising Hell or Overlord II. These were published by Triumph Studios and published by Codemasters.
AN: This is truthfully just a teaser, a way to introduce my crossover idea to people at large. I expect decent feedback (no flames), and assistance writing the first chapter. As mentioned on my personal page, most of my story is planned out, however, the raising of and training of Harry by the Wizard before he is possessed is a large mental block, mainly because of my lack of understanding of spellcraft beyond that of the Overlord totems within this Universe. Help in that regard is much appreciated, the Prologue will later be removed to, hopefully, be replaced by the completed article. Thanking you in advance.
Tanequin
The Overlord who lived
By Tanequin
Prologue – An Ending and a Beginning
It was Halloween, and all throughout Godric's Hollow, children in colourful and occasionally creative costumes ran screaming from house to house, their parents or teenaged watchers dragged along. The three figures passed by without glance or interest, at most a fleeting interest in where they got such quality workmanship. They approach a vacant lot, the shortest figure leading the way. Although the blank skull mask reveals nothing, its posture and gait reveal a deep fear and desire to leave, the hesitancy pronounced and obvious. The three figures stop at the lot, and the shortest figure beckons. The other two lean over, and the shortest whispers in their ears, the stand up and give a start, the posture indicating that they are observing something in the lot very intently. The tallest steps forward, but not before a laugh is voiced, blending into the wind, and seemingly making the night colder and darker. As the figure crosses the threshold of the empty lot, its form shimmers and fades from sight and memory, at this the other two figures start moving forward also, the second tall one at a leisurely and quite feminine gait, the other scurries frantically, bringing to mind a rat. As the final figure shimmers, and disappears, the warmth of the night flares and vanishes utterly, as if dark tidings are about to occur.
The house is warm and welcoming, the two adults toasting to a pleasant Halloween, for in these troubled times, one could only gain quiet respite temporarily. The baby, only one year old yet, had just been put in his cradle for sleep; just in case, the ritual to protect him had been set up, as it had every night, since the family had gone under the fidelus. The proximity wards suddenly came to life, blaring a warning to everyone in the house. Only two others were supposed to know where they were, and they weren't scheduled to arrive that night. In a flash of light, the door was blasted off its hinges, 'Quick, Lily, go to Harry' whispered the man, 'I'll hold them off.'
The woman, Lily, ran out of the room, and up the stairs, rushing towards the crying baby. As she left, three cloaked and shadowed figures entered the room, two tall, slim figures, with a shorter, more portly figure on the left. A high-pitched, chilling laugh filled the living room, as a gust of wind blew through the door and extinguished the fireplace. 'James Potter, how lovely to see you again," the voice, almost as high pitched as the laugh, came from the tall, almost unnaturally slim figure in the middle, 'and where is your lovely family?' At this statement, the shorter figure shifted uncomfortably, as if nervous, 'but where are my manners?' the middle figure continued, as he noticed the movement, 'I have yet to announce myself, or my companions. It would be most terribly rude to persist in this. Voldemort, at your service, though I believe you already know that,' indicating to the right, the figure, Voldemort, continued, 'my colleague here, is Mrs Bellatrix Lestrange, I believe you are friends with her cousin?' at this remark, the right hand figure, sifting in such a way to reveal a definite feminine form, hissed as if repulsed.
The laugh sounded again, echoing through the house, haunting in its shrillness. Almost as if responding, the crying of the baby increased in both frequency and strength. 'You do, of course, know my other colleague, Mr Peter Pettigrew; although I believe you prefer to call him Wormtail, do you not?' Voldemort paused, seemingly in amusement at the term, 'I could never have visited, if not for him.' At this, Bellatrix bursts into laughter, her cowl falling of her head, to reveal a young and aristocratic face, with flowing black hair, and wide violet eyes. "Sick little Potty, married a tainted one. Filthy Mudblood, she doesn't know the role fate ordained for her. Where is she, protecting her filthy spawn? The brat is probably a squib, judging from the bloodline."
The countenance of James had been shifting from fear, shock, confusion and betrayal throughout Voldemort's speech, but at Bellatrix's derisive statements and remarks, his face had suddenly shifted to blinding fury. Raising his wand, he steeled his courage and with a firm voice, "get out of my house, you and your type are not welcome here."
Voldemort, upon hearing the aggressive demand, stopped laughing and looked coldly at James. "I came here tonight, because a week ago, I heard the most remarkable thing, your son has the capacity to defeat me. I don't generally believe in prophecy, of course, but hearing one that describes my, shall we say, 'vanquisher', I just had to ensure the mutability of prediction. If you and your dear wife hand over the child, I will be merciful, and let you both live, to breed more brats. Try to stop me, and you will all die." James paled remarkably, "don't hurt them, please. Take my life in exchange. He's just a baby, barely a year old. He can't be a threat to you, and won't present one for some time. Please leave them alone." Voldemort, upon hearing this, straightens up and draws his wand. "Very well, if you will not stand aside, I have no choice but to kill you, Avada Kadava." A flash of green light surges from Voldemort's position, and connects with James. A thud echoes as James' dead body hits the ground, no sign of injury upon it. Unseen by the three downstairs, in the baby Harry's nursery, both Harry, and his mother Lily glow with a white aura, as the sacrifice of James completes the ritual set earlier that night. Realising the implications of the glow, Lily collapses on the ground in tears.
In the relative quiet of the nursery, broken only by Lily's sobs, the heavy steps of the three intruders could be heard, climbing the steps towards the surviving Potters. As they entered the nursery, Lily stopped sobbing, gathered her wand and charged the three. Pettigrew raised his wand, and with a whispered "stupefy", a bright red light speeds towards Lily. As it connects, Lily's body hits the ground, and only the slight rise and fall of her chest gives a sign of life. Looking at Pettigrew, Voldemort raises his hood, revealing the visage of a thirty year old man, his dark hair still rich, with only his cold, dead eyes to detract from his appearance. He raises an eyebrow, upon seeing signs of life in Lily Potter, "why let her live, Wormtail. I have already stated that she would die, for James Potter's crime of standing in my way. Nevertheless, maybe she might make a nice reward for the outer circle." He turns to the cradle and looks upon the baby, "so you are the one the old bat talked about, the one to defeat me. I'm sorry, child. You shall never enjoy life, as I will kill you here and now, in order to prevent any threat to my eventual rule." As he finished talking, he gives a thin, cruel smile, looks at Harry, and aims his wand. "Avada Kadava", a green light again exits his wand, speeding towards the cradle. As the light is about to hit the infant, the same glow that covered Harry and his mother earlier returns, forming a barrier over his body, the green light interacts with the white barrier, seeming to gain strength from it. As Voldemort's face distorts with shock and fear, the green light suddenly returns, cracking like a rubber band. As it hits his body, Voldemort give a high pitch scream of pain and terror. His body begins to break down, turning to ash as his companions watch in horror. As the body completely disintegrates, a slight shadow can be seen speeding away, however the two remaining intruders don't see this, staring horror struck, at where their master's body was just vaporised. As they turn to escape, Bellatrix stops, grabs the infant, and continues, following in Pettigrew's wake.
As Bellatrix reaches Pettigrew, there is a series of pops from outside. She curses, cast her senses out and realised, the fallout from the destruction of her lord's body had ruptured all the wards on the house. She grabbed Pettigrew, spun in place, and apparated out of the house. The sound of yelling fills the yard, and the door is suddenly filled by the presence of multiple people. Eight people enter the residence, the last to enter looming above the others even as he crouches to enter. The leader of the party, an elderly man, his beard dragging across the ground, spies James' corpse upon the ground, and a flicker of immeasurable sorrow crosses his face. He walks across to the body, kneels and closes James's eyes. "I'm so sorry, my boy. We never realised the traitor was so close to home." Having seen the body, he rises and turns to the rest. "We must hurry. Perhaps Lily and Harry live still." As the party races up the stairs, one of the two younger men turns to the leader, "Albus, I'm so sorry. If I had been secret keeper, maybe Prongs wouldn't have died." Albus turns to the man, "Sirius, don't blame yourself, your plan was sound. We didn't know the traitor was so close to home." As Sirius continues up the stairs, his head is bowed, his black hair covering his eyes, as he silently weeps at his best friend's passing. The eight enter the nursery, and the second young man gives a shout, and runs towards the insensate body. He kneels down, checks her pulse and slowly breathes a sigh of relief. "She's alright Albus, just stunned." He draws his wand, and directs it at the body, "enervate" a buttery yellow beam hits her body, and she suddenly sits upright. As this has been happening, Albus, his bespectacled eyes desperate, runs towards the cradle. Upon finding it empty, he grabs Lily, "where is Harry, Lily?" as the question penetrates Lily's torpid mind, she turns to the cradle, and tears fill her eyes. "Professor, where are James and my Harry?" She grabs Albus, "Where is my family?" Sirius and the other younger man hug Lily, as she continues to cry, "Sirius, Remus, where is my family?" Remus faces Lily, take a deep breath, hugs her again, "Lily, James' body is downstairs, he died defending you two." Lily starts to sob, before turning back to Remus, "what about Harry, you didn't mention Harry, Where is my Baby?" The eight others, upon hearing Lily, slowly grow pale. "We were hoping you knew that, Lily. What do you remember, who came tonight?"
Lily, taking a deep breath, looks around the room. Upon seeing the other two women, she catapults herself across the floor, and wraps her arms around one. "Oh Minerva, it was terrible, Peter betrayed us, he brought Voldemort and Bellatrix to the Hollow. I tried to fight them, but Peter stunned me. Did you catch them?" Upon hearing this, Albus's already sorrowful face turns grave. "Lily, do you have any idea what happened after you were stunned?" Lily turns the grandfatherly old man, "why Professor? What has happened?" Albus turns the rest of the room, his face grave, "I need to find out what happened here tonight. Before the Unspeakables and Aurors turn up. Alastor, you stay, I'll need you to keep an eye out. Hagrid, go with Remus and Sirius, take Lily and look after her. She's had a trying night. Get her to Poppy, have her checked over. Minerva, go with Amelia, see if you can delay the Aurors. Algie, I'll need your help. I'll be trying to scry the past, to see what happened here tonight."
The person towering over the rest of the party turns to Remus and Sirius, "come on, we'd better get Lily down stairs. The professor'll figure wha' 'appened ta 'Arry." The four left the room, Lily casting an eye around, as if to remember better times. The two other women leave the room together, already discussing plans to delay the Aurors. The remaining men walk to various points in the room, the man closest to the door, his left leg an intricately carved wooden stump, a chunk out his nose, and his left eye electric blue, swivelling every direction. He closes the door, and his left eye suddenly freezes, focusing in the direction of the door. "You'd better make it quick, Albus. The Aurors are already here; whatever you and Algie are up to you'd better start." Albus turns to the final man, "Algie, I need your help, I'll hold the details, and you handle the timeline. We need to know what happened. Alastor, hold them till the spell is complete, they can observe the results."
The two older men quickly work in conjunction, and the entire event is replayed in the form of ghostly echoes, telling a tale of tragedy. Aurors arrive in the room to witness the ghostly destruction of Voldemort, and the theft of Harry by Bellatrix. Acting quickly, the Aurors rush back out, in the attempt to find any trace of where Bellatrix and Peter fled. In short order, they returned with the bad news, the only remaining sign of Bellatrix and Peter's passing was the faintest of Apparition traces. With a saddened and grave look on his face, Albus Dumbledore told the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix to return to the Headquarters and signal the rest of the Order. Staying for a short time to help the Ministry deal with the press, Albus returns post haste to the Headquarters of the Order. A room full of sombre and mournful faces meet his gaze, mournful for the passing of James Potter, and sombre towards the unknown fate of poor Harry, they all turn to Albus as if asking, what will we do? How will we find Harry?
A frantic shout echoes through the building, as the sudden loud pop of Apparition heralds the arrival of a desperate entrant. A hush descends on the group, as wands all unerringly aim at what is clearly a Death Eater. "Wait, Stop. I'm a member of the Order." The figure pulls off its death mask, the type indicating a member of the Inner Circle. A sallow face, complete with hook nose, and greasy black hair is revealed. "I'm Dumbledore's spy among the Inner Circle, I bring news." Alastor clumps up to the man, shoving a wand in his face, "Tell a more believable lie next time, scum. Albus wouldn't rely on a Death Eater such as you."
Walking over to Alastor, Dumbledore gently presses the man's arm down. "Alastor, Severus joined the Death Eaters on my Orders, he was convinced by Lily, ask her yourself." At this statement, Severus's head shoots up, "Lily's alive? Bellatrix assured us she was dead. She has Lily's son, Albus, you've got to rescue him." Dumbledore's face lights up "Harry's alive? Wonderful news, Severus, where is he?" Alastor blanches at that, "Albus, you must be joking. Snape is a Death Eater, he served Voldemort. The Mark alone assures his loyalty to the Dark Lord. He is trying to lead you into a trap." Dumbledore reaches out, with Snape's left arm in grip. There on the underside of the elbow is what resembles an ugly scar, on top of which is a raw looking tattoo, a skull, with a toxic green snake, it's body emerging from one eye socket, only to enter another, with its head emerging from the mouth of the skull. Snape grabs one end of the scar, and lifts it up, to reveal a mark almost an exact match for the one he removed, only this one has the shadow of a bird, wings outstretched etched onto the middle of the forehead of the skull. Alastor opens his mouth to speak, but Albus beats him to it, "when Severus was convinced to spy on Voldemort, with the authority of the Ministry, we set up circumstance for Severus's initiation. Unspeakable designed simulacrum, utterly indistinguishable from the targets designated by Voldemort. We had Severus meet Algie and myself after the branding, and studied the Mark, as it was so fresh, we were able to analyse the runes Voldemort used to create it. We left the Protean Schema intact, but altered the Slave Schema and the Osmotic Schema so that they would feel active, but in reality possess no influence on Severus, thus the change in appearance. We created a new Mark, which would look like the original, and would be tied to the new one. We had to keep the Pain Schema intact, but in the end, only the Protean Schema and the Pain Schema remained the same." Albus smiled sadly at the group listening intently, "Severus remains loyal to the Order, with his only real betrayal on my orders." Albus looks to be in tears know, "I had Severus tell Voldemort the first part of a prophecy I heard, a prophecy that seemed to foretell the defeat of a Dark Lord, a Dark Lord mind, and the signs of how to identify the defeater. The prophecy is vague, mentioning a power the Dark Lord knows not, as well as indicating two potential recipients. This is why I asked Severus to relay a piece of the prophecy to Voldemort, because the vanquisher is the one Voldemort chooses. I didn't want either boy discovered, so I sent them into hiding. Harry is one of them, with Neville Longbottom being the second potential. When I had news of the attack on Godric's Hollow, I alerted Frank and Alice to the possibility of attack on them. They will not emerge from hiding until all of Voldemort's most ardent supporters are imprisoned in Azkaban, or cast through the Veil. However, this is unimportant at this moment, what is the full news about Harry, Severus?"
Severus Snape takes a deep breath, letting it out explosively when he notices Lily has entered the room during Dumbledore's speech. "Take Lily out of the room, please. She shouldn't have to hear this." He implores, however Lily Potter walks up to him and glares. "Where is my son, Severus? I don't care about anything right now, but where he is, and what they are planning." Snape looks for support, but finding none, reluctantly answers, "Harry is at Malfoy Manor, Lily, and Bellatrix plans to use his body as the vessel of the Dark Lord's return. She saw his wraith leave, and knows he is somewhat alive. If she succeeds, Harry will be gone, and Voldemort will have a new, young and powerful body."
Lily, upon hearing Bellatrix's plan goes white with shock, before becoming mottled with fury. "I will rip her apart before she does that to my Harry." Lily snatches up her wand and spins on the spot. There is a deafening pop as she apparates out of the headquarters. At once, other members do the same, thinking of preventing her death. Their arrival at Malfoy Manor is swift and efficient; however, when they set their eyes on the manor, they are stunned into silence. The manor, the pride and joy of the rich and arrogant Malfoy family, is at that moment battered and aflame. As if the finger of God has come down upon it, almost half the manor house is crushed and destroyed; the other half is fully aflame, and lights keep flashing where windows and holes make the interior visible. Gathering their wits, the members of the Order rush into the manor to back up their errant member, and perhaps save a few Death Eaters for a trial.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix and her sister Narcissa, a woman as aristocratic in bearing as Bellatrix, are attempting to complete the ritual before the wrathful mother of the child in Bellatrix's arms reaches their location. There is a crash as the door, three inches of magic imbued oak further reinforced with runes of strength and durability, and bound with magically forged steel, is hurled, smoking into the opposite wall. Bellatrix and Narcissa both flinch, stuttering on the last syllable, and their magic flares unconsciously. They jump towards each other, facing the now open doorway. Lily Potter, looking every bit the avenging angel, bursts into the room. Bellatrix holds the baby Harry up as if to say "attack us, and you attack your son." Unseen by any of the three, a black crack emerges from the air itself, where the ritual was started. "Give me my son, Bellatrix. If you do it now, you and your sister will walk out of here. If you refuse, I will see to it you are carried out in a bucket." Narcissa flinches at the cold and emotionless pronouncement, yet Bellatrix seems overjoyed. "That was a beautiful threat Lily, I actually believe you. However, I'm afraid your son is going to be our next Dark Lord. He's very powerful, even now, and if I've succeeded, he will have all the knowledge of Voldemort." Unbeknownst to the three, the crack has started to grow, and now begins to throw black lightning everywhere. This attracts the attention of the women, and almost as one, they turn to the steadily growing crack. No longer small enough to be a crack, the rift continues to throw out the black lightning. Seeing this and realising the other two women are distracted, Lily tries to grab her son. As she gets a firm grip, Bellatrix and Narcissa both grab one of her arms, in an attempt to get baby Harry back. There is a loud crack as one of the bolts of lightning hits Harry directly, with the charge spreading from him to the three. The three warring ladies feel a pulling sensation, as if they are all connected in some other, more esoteric sense, and the shock of the energy flowing through them knocks them all out. The lightning, as if called to a lightning rod, continuously strikes Harry, visibly having an effect on him, as the Rune Schema, crafted in the blood of the two sisters, is absorbed into his skin. His eyes flash momentarily black, before the black rift turns white, as does the lightning that continues to strike him. The bruises on his body fade away, even as an ugly raw injury above his right eye forms a vicious scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. The rift suddenly turns a grey colour as does the lightning. The lightning seems to wrap itself around the baby and withdraws, taking Harry with it. Dumbledore appears in the doorway, and upon seeing Harry being pulled into the rift, grabs him. There is a bizarre pulse, and Dumbledore is thrown across the room. He watches in horror as Harry disappears into the rift, not to be seen in this dimension for eleven long years. He goes to check on Lily, and is shocked to see the Dark Mark on Bellatrix change into another symbol, another one appearing on Narcissa and on Lily. The Mark, a green Phoenix with black flames, perched on the fore claw of a black dragon spitting green flames, flashes three times before sinking into the skin of the three women, completely unseen.
In another dimension, there is a flash of black light, a flash of white light, and a flash of grey light. A black rift appears in the tower of a powerful wizard, drawing the attention of his two beloved baby daughters, their screams drawing his attention, he runs into the nursery to observe the black rift turn a blinding white, before becoming grey and depositing a baby boy, a lightning bolt scar above his right eye, into the crib between the two screaming girls. As their skin makes contact with his, the girls go silent, rolling to grab him tightly. As the wizard strides towards the crib, the boy turns toward the sound and opens his eyes, revealing remarkable green eyes, glowing slightly with magical power.
The wizard picks up all three babies, looks at the boy and tells himself, this boy is going to do great things, I think, but will they be terrible, or will they be beautiful. As he tries to think of a name to call the child, a voice seems to whisper Harry. He looks the child in his fascinating green eyes, and whispers aloud, "so, your name is Harry is it? Well then, I shall train you to be a hero, Harry, and my apprentice." He starts to chuckle to himself, "but not yet, though, not yet."
In another tower, in the same dimension, as a sky blue orb rises out of a pool of water, a figure awakens from its throne, six and a half feet tall, a man is revealed, only the shape of his terrifyingly wrought armour telling that he is male, his helm wreathing his face in shadows, with red fire as eyes. He approaches the orb, as a second figure hobbles over, at slightly less than three feet in height; this being is dwarfed by the other. "Gnarl," a reverberating, yet aristocratic voice resounds from the armoured giant, "have you ever seen the Tower Heart act like this?" The question hangs in the air, as similar sized figures to the so named Gnarl approach the orb known as the Heart. "Milord, forgive me for being blunt, but the Tower Heart has only ever acted as it has acted in the past. It chooses an Overlord, and empowers the tower. This is new to me."
The Overlord takes off his right gauntlet, a plain armoured glove, and rests his bare hand on the Heart. A flash of deathly green eyes, and a lightning bolt appear in his mind, and his head snaps back at what seems to be a demand. "The Tower Heart seems to have detected someone, or something of great power and ability. I saw green eyes that reminded me of death, and a bolt of lightning."
Gnarl looks at his master; an unholy grin anoints his face. "If I've said it once, sire; I've said it a thousand times. Evil Finds a Way."