Dear Readers,

If you care to read these at all, I'd just like to say thanks for giving this story a chance! I must warn you, however, that I am not a very good writer. At all. Every now and then I get a plot bunny that I just have to write down as it won't leave me a lone and writing relaxes me.

As I said, that doesn't make me a good writer. I am, in fact, quite poor at it. Trying to get a good flow, good characterization, not going too over dramatic, etc. etc.

So that's just a warning! I'd appreciate any constructive criticism though!

Thanks! Enjoy :P

Warning: Disclaimer, I do not own anything in this story. My story shall differ from the book and movies of Harry Potter, but I do not own any of the lore, characters, setting, etc. Furthermore, I shall use some direct and some indirect quotes from the books and movies. To anyone who knows either well enough this will probably be evident as to where.

This story will also contain child abuse, mostly in the form of negligence.

Story rating may change from T to M as it progresses. We'll see.

Had the neighbours looked outside of their homes that night, instead of focusing on putting their sugar-hyped muggle children to bed, they would have perhaps seen the figure of the stout little man hurrying around the graveyard of Godric's Hollow. Had the neighbours looked out their windows, and not have ignored the cracks they heard and brushed off to be children playing with novelty fire crackers, they would have seen the scurrying figure staring intently at another figure that appeared, followed by others. Hooded in a dark shroud, the taller figure strode forwards, something sinister and perhaps satisfied, about his steps, as he approached the two-story cottage that belonged to the young family that had newly moved into the village.

It came as a great shock to the neighbours, then, when screams and yells erupted from the reclusive home, quick to be followed by an explosion that rocked the house and caused it to collapse in upon its self.

"No!" The man from the graveyard screamed as he dashed across the street, passed the church, ignoring all the festive decorations the locals had set up for the evening, in order to reach the home of his friends. They'd been too late! He thought he'd be able to save them! This wasn't supposed to happen!

The man began to dig through the rubble in the house, trying to reach the bodies of his friends, ignoring the heat and the smoke as he clawed through wood, stone and glass. Sobbing, he finally saw his best friend, his constant companion throughout the years.

James had always looked out for him, especially when he began having trouble with his family in the later years of their schooling and was struggling handling day-to-day life. He kept it secret though, as he didn't want to advertise it to the whole school.

James had always made him laugh in the best and worst of times, along with their other two friends. He led the group, making sure they always suck together through thick and thin. He looked out for and after everyone, even when you didn't know it.

But now he was dead.

His face was stunned, eyes wide with horror as they stared lifelessly into the sky from where he was trapped under a beam.

A few metres away from him, a woman was tangled in more rubble as she lay face down over a piece of what had been a door. Her blazing hair draped around her, shielding her from view, but the man could easily see the rubble piercing her still body, and he knew that she was dead too.

Eventually, the man began to get over his shock as the sound of screaming muggles filled his ears, along with the crackling fire. The wails of infants began to reach his ears as well, but it was far harder to hear – muffled somehow.

It was only this sound that was able to fill the man with at least some hope.

Desperately, he began to dig through the wreckage of the home as he searched for his friends' child. They couldn't respond to him, he knew that, but it didn't stop him calling out the babe's name – as if, the child would know to keep on crying so that he could find them.

Time seemed to blur to him as he continued to dig, aware only that he was getting closer – most likely. Eventually, he pulled part of the roof, to find the child cocooned by the wreckage of their crib. He sighed deeply in relief, before a sense of urgency filled him once more.

The man wrapped the child in the blanket they had been lying upon before running away from the home.

They were in the middle of a war and he and his friends were part of a resistance group that was one of the leading forces against the dark faction, bent on the annihilation of muggles, in order to restore purity to the world. However, they had been deceived, the lines between factions were blurring and it was pulling people from different sides over. Unfortunately, one of his and James' closest friends had not been able to resist the pull and had betrayed them. He gave their location to the leader of the dark forces.

The man cradled that baby as he ran through the forest, tears pouring down his face from all he and his friends had suffered through. They had been so close and carefree, until about halfway through their schooling. Then the Blood War had begun. There had been rumors before, hints at what was to come. But then it hit full force and families were brutally ripped apart, neighbours began to kill each other and everyone went into hiding. School practically became a training facility.

Warding suddenly became a very popular and demanded area of expertise.

Unfortunately it was a skill not everyone had an aptitude for. However he did.

"PETIGREW!" A voice rang out loud and clear through the forest. The gruff sound caused the first man to yelp as he clutched the baby, who began to scream and cry again. The man's name was Peter Pettigrew and he had to save his best friend's child.

Sirius Black had been such a good friend to him and James and so it came as a devastating blow to Peter that he had turned on them, choosing instead to follow his family down the path of darkness.

"PETTIGREW!" Sirius yelled again, and suddenly it was followed by a howl. Peter new he couldn't outrun his former friend, and instead vanished with a crack. However, he new that the highly trained auror would be able to trace the apparition, so he had to move quickly.

The street he had arrived in was dark. There weren't any children running about, and there were few decorations dotting the identical houses lining either side of the street.

"Point me, Petunia Dursely." Peter whispered.

The wand that was in his palm swiveled before pointing ahead and to the right. The house Peter was lead to was labeled number 4, instead of displaying the house's name. Muggles were strange.

Banging on the door, his eyes scanned around, searching for anyone following them by looking for signs of movement. He bounced the baby in his arms as he waited, before banging on the door again. He nearly considered just breaking the door down it was thrown open by perhaps the largest man Peter had ever seen in his life. The amount of fat on the man made Peter want to gag. Revolting.

"Can I help you?" The whale demanded, trying to remain polite even as he conveyed his extreme displeasure. Behind him his wife's head poked out from down the hall. There she was.

Peter barged in, using his enhanced strength to worm his way past the man and towards Petunia Dursley. Behind him, the muggle stuttered as he processed the rudeness of the shorter man infront of him.

"Petunia Dursley."

"Yes?" She squeaked, her gaunt cheeks paled as she saw the wand clutched in the stranger's hand.

"I'm sorry, but your sister's dead. She and James… I couldn't-" Peter choked then and had to look away as tears spilled over his eyes once more. "I could only take Halo and run."

Lilly had talked about how this woman and she never got on after Lilly had been accepted to Hogwarts. She was spiteful. Jealous. Bitter. But she was the only family – most importantly the only blood – that Halo had left. It also seemed as though the woman had some compassion within herself as her hands flailed for a moment as she heard the news about her younger sister. They may not have gotten on, but they were still family.

"This is her daughter, your niece, and she is in terrible danger. You must take her."

"Danger? That's preposterous!" The man spluttered behind Peter. Under all the fat, it must have been hard to get the words out after all. "She can't stay here!"

"She's your niece!"

"You take her!"

"I have to draw those that seek her harm away!"

"No!" Petunia spoke up. Her arms crossed, though shaking, she looked upon the small man cradling the sniffling babe. "If there are people looking for her, then she is putting my family in danger. Lilly was putting us all in danger just by knowing her! It's better if the girl goes to an orphanage. No one will know who she is, nor where she is!"

"NO!" Peter roared. "SHE NEEDS HER FAMILY!" He advanced upon the shocked woman who flinched and backed up against the wall. She was forced to catch the little girl thrust towards her, who was now screaming again due to the loud voices around her. "The protection will only work if she is with her family, you filthy muggle! Accio kitchen knife!"

From the kitchen, a draw slammed open as one of the sharp knives came streaking towards the people in the hall. Vernon Durseley had had enough of this man a while ago, but refrained from hurting him incase he hurt the girl. He wanted nothing to do with the child, but he didn't want her hurt!

The large man ran forwards and tackled the man, as he was distracted, while Petunia took the girl and ran into the living room. Upstairs she could hear Dudley crying, but couldn't safely find a way past the men in the hallway to go comfort him. Plus, she wanted to draw as little attention to her own baby as possible.

She screamed as Vernon went flying and slammed into the front door, with a burst of red light. Peter stumbled into the living room, blood pouring from his nose and a cut on his head, knife raised in one hand. He cornered the petrified woman behind the sofa and grabbed her arm, cutting it close to the elbow and only shallowly. He then cut the palm of Halo's hand and pressed the two wounds together before he began to chant in Latin.

A strange feeling enveloped Petunia as the chant continued, and she found herself unable to move from her position. The strange feeling shifted and moved until a feeling of increased weight began to fall upon her in layers. The weight intensified to the point where Petunia was sure she should have collapsed and been crushed, pain screaming from her joints under the strain. She couldn't gasp and couldn't scream, as she was sure she heard some bones creak and begin to crack.

"And I nominate myself to be the secret keeper of Number 4 Privet Drive under the residence of Petunia Marie Dursely and Halo Azalea Potter. With blood I bind, so mote it be."

Now Petunia collapsed on the floor and she gasped in as pain radiated through her body. Peter leant over her body, the relief in his eyes palpable after his spell.

"Halo will not leave. You will not throw her out like trash. You will watch over her, or I will be back, and nothing can stop me from torturing you all into oblivion. You will feel pain like pain has never been felt." He turned to the little girl, screaming her head off after she had hit the floor when she fell from Petunia's arms. "Goodbye, Halo. Be safe."

With those parting words, he fled out the door.

He ran down the street, no longer caring about what happened to him now that Halo was safe. No one would be able to find her. He vanished once more with a crack, appearing moments later out of a darkened alley in the heart of London.

He began to shuffle down the street when a force collided with his back.

Fists rained down upon him and blood poured from his re-broken nose.

"Where is she?" Sirius Black screamed as he smashed Peter's head into the pavement. "Where is she?"

Peter gurgled blood as he laughed. "You'll never find her, Sirius! Never!"

It was then that people hauled Sirius away from Peter, the muggles on the street having finally mustered their courage to try and separate the brutal beating. Peter was elated, though. Here he had the traitor right with him and Halo was safe. There was only one way though, to ensure that remained safe.

The bloodied man pulled out a talisman from under his shirt, a talisman of protection. It was etched in old runes, including a tricky, last-resort set of runes on the back. To activate them though, they demanded a blood sacrifice.

Using Petunia's kitchen knife, Peter cut off his own finger before the crowd could stop him, pouring the spilling blood on the talisman. Over the screaming, he could hear the muggles yelling at him, trying to help him, but wary of this man that may be harmful to those around him, as well as himself. He could also hear Sirius screaming at him, about their friends, about family, about how he betrayed them and he was a traitor.

"Traitor?" Peter asked, suddenly incredibly sober. "Traitor! You are the traitor, Black! YOU! How could you? You sold them out! You sold out Lilly and James! They are dead! Their daughter orphaned! How could you? HOW COULD YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

Sirius was too shocked to respond, disbelief radiating from him.

"I WON'T LET YOU HARM ANYONE ELSE, SIRIUS! I CAN'T!" Peter broke the talisman in half and began to chant. Light engulfed him and the people around him had to shield themselves as the light proved to bright.

"PETER NO!"

But it was too late and everyone on the street was thrown back as the talisman exploded. Sirius was thrown into a wall, his left side burning from the power, though it was nothing compared to the people around Peter that had been incinerated.

The man at the centre had prepared for this though and was protected from the talisman as he surveyed Black expressionlessly. How could someone fall so far? He was forced to change into the form of a rat though, even though Sirius had survived the blast, as muggle law enforcement descended on the scene. They arrested Sirius and began to clean up the blast sight.

Peter sighed, mentally more than physical as a rat. Sirius would be locked away for life, for his betrayal and for what they though he did here. Peter was Halo's secret keeper. He couldn't stay with her though, it would be too risky. He'd hide out with another wizarding family until he was sure there were no more Death Eaters and dark fanatics trying to hurt Halo. As far as we was concerned, she'd always have a safe haven at her Aunt's, where no one could reach her.

He scurried away, none of his feelings of despair being able to overcome his happiness and contentedness at the knowledge that Halo was safe. She'd be okay.

So this is just a really short chapter to start off with. I'd like to know what people think.

I have a special love for fem Harry stories and have two very different fem Harry stories that I have been writing and am now publishing. They both play on different elements and change characters around in very different ways.

For example, one story is blatant Dumbledore bashing and the other is not.

If anyone is confused during the story, I'll try to answer any questions, as long as it doesn't give anything away.

In all honesty, still not super happy with this opening chapter, but I'll find a way to get the story line across in the way that I want to represent all the characters, hopefully!

I'd really like to hear what anyone thinks and if they can offer any constructive criticism and/or tips? Even just on spelling and grammar mistakes. Another question I have for anyone who cares, is in regards to the quotes I have used from the books and movies, are you meant to make special note of that during the chapters? Just because I find it annoying when I read it in other stories, but do you have to?

Also, if anyone has any plotline advice, ideas or requests, let me know and I'll take them under advisement! Thanks again!