[disclaimer: I only own the characters I created, everything else is not mine.]

PROLOGUE.

The maternity ward in St. Mungoe's was softly lit by magical lights. It was well after midnight and everyone was asleep... well, almost everyone. Lily Potter crept quietly along the rows of cribs, in which infants slept. Finally the witch found what she was looking for, a boy only a few hours old with black hair and green eyes, so much like her own sadly deseased child. Of course stealing children was a big crime, but Lily had a good reason, at least she thought so.

You see, her husband, James, was not what everyone thought him to be. He was very possessive, jealous and very quick to anger. She shuddered to think what would happen if he ever found out that his heir died only three hours after birth. Taking a calming breath she switched the sleeping child with the small corpse of her own child. She glanced at the name plate on the bed. It read 'Damien Lucius Malfoy-Black'. Lily shivered and ran quietly to her own bed, from where James Potter picked her up in the early morning.


Lillian Potter nee Evans was never so glad to see her husband. Sure at the beginning of their relationship, back at Hogwarts, he was oh so harming, kind and all in all gentleman-like, that she couldn't stop herself from falling in love. Yet as soon as they were married and their honey moon was over, James Harold Potter showed his true colors. He was sarcastic, cold and uncaring. For all that counted he was worse than Lucius Malfoy, who was always holding himself better than the rest of the world. The woman recalled all the moments when the Malfoy patriarch would sneer at James and herself, how he would say that no pureblood wizard, even one that was not right in the head would never lower himself to the level of marrying a mudblood witch. Of course she used to pay it little to no attention, but now that she was Lily Potter, she saw that most likely Lucius was right.

However she couldn't understand what was so special about her that out of all the females in Hogwarts James chose herself. Once she asked Sirius and Remus, even Peter, but all of them seemed just as surprised and shocked as she was at the beginning.


A year later, on July, 31, her son's 1st birthday she finally got the answer she was looking for.

It was late in the evening that Dumbledore came to visit them and wish her Harry a happy birthday, or so she thought. She went to put her child to sleep, and was about to join the headmaster and her husband in the kitchen, when she heard them speaking. Needless to say she became curious, so she pressed her ear against the closed door and listened closely.

- James, I've brought some very disturbing news. Earlier today I was interviewing the new Divination teacher and... she made a prophecy, a real one.

- That's very interesting, Albus, but what does it have to do with me?

- Personally with you, nothing. Let me tell it to you and then you will see for yourself. It went like this: The One with the Power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will havу the power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other, for noeither can live while the other survives...

- Merlin, Albus... Does this mean my Harry? He is destined to defeat You-Know-Who? This is perfect, it will bring glory to the Potter family, maybe people will even forget that his mother is a mudblood...

Lily was frozen at the spot. She was in shock. She knew that her husband never loved her, but to call that disgusting name. Yet most of all she was worried about her son. Of course the more rational part told her that it was impossible since Lucius Malfoy was definitely a supporter of You-Know-Who, so the prophecy wasn't about her boy. Still, no one knew that Harry was not actually Harry. All Lily could do was hope that somehow he would get out the mess she got him into.

[author's note: I'll start the next chapter with Harry's eleventh birthday, since there are no differences in his life with the Dursleys, at least not for the worst.]