DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Harry Potter series, and I am not profiting from my writing in any way.
A/N: I got this inspiration for this one-shot from a song with the same title. The song is by Dream Theater, which isn't exactly a mainstream band, so many of you might have never heard of them. The song is originally about September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was attacked. I'm not sure where I got the idea from, other than the lyrics, but I felt the need to write it, so I did! It's obviously AU. Please review, and enjoy!
Sacrificed Sons
The list was long, really long, and at the top of that list was the name Harry Potter. It was common practice to hide away your children back then, especially if there was a Prophecy that claimed a sociopath was after them. James and Lily didn't have any other choice; if they wanted to keep their son alive, then it needed to be done. James didn't even cry, and Lily felt numb as she looked down at her son for the very last time. Holding out the bundled up infant, Lily looked up into the man's eyes, her own pleading and wistful.
"I hate this...but we have to do it. Promise me he'll be safe...promise me, Severus."
Severus Snape looked down at the child, sleeping peacefully in his warm cocoon, none the wiser that he was being handed off forever more to save his life. "I can't promise you nothing will happen to him, Lily. I'm not omniscient; I could never predict what will happen to the boy. I will promise to try and protect him to the best of my abilities, however."
James shifted very uncomfortable beside his wife, trying hard not to look at his son in that man's arms. He couldn't help it, however, and his eyes were glued to the little blue lump nestled in Snape's arms. He looked up into the other man's face and surprisingly didn't see the usual hatred; he saw pity instead. He couldn't decide which was worse. "Thank you, Severus...I cannot possibly thank you enough for taking Harry. I just...why, why would you willingly take my son, after everything I did to you?"
Severus contemplated the broken man before him, noticing only now how pale and skinny he had become; a far cry from what he used to look like at Hogwarts. He felt that familiar pang of regret he got when he looked at Lily, knowing that soon, this man would be dead. Severus shifted his glance to the child once more, feeling an impending sense of doom. "I may not be your biggest fan, Potter, but I would never condemn a child to death, not even yours. This list that Dumbledore has set up for the parents of the Light...it was my idea all along; he simply put it into affect. Harry is not, and will not be the only one; he won't be alone."
"How many more children are there, Severus? I know you can't tell me where he's going, but can you at least tell me what it will be like?" Lily asked, her words coming out cracked and pleading as she shivered in the cold winter air.
"There are many others, Lily. Harry will be placed in a boy's home, sort of like an orphanage, but on a much smaller scale. Harry is the first to be dropped off, but there's set to be another drop off after you two leave."
"Who is it this time, someone we know?" James asked, reaching out to brush Harry's messy hair off his pale, smooth forehead.
Severus shifted uncomfortably, knowing he should hurry the Potter's along before the next drop off, or else their fate might come much sooner than they expect. "Someone you've heard of, no doubt, and someone I know personally. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa, is the next drop off on the list. Lucius is indisposed at the moment, so Narcissa is taking the advantage to hide away her son before Lucius can corrupt or harm him."
"And if we somehow survive, and want to come for Harry in the future, how where will be able to find him?" Lily asked, making Severus cringe at her false hope.
"Just ask the Ministry about the Sacrificed Sons; they'll direct you to where you need to go, provided you pass their tests. I'm sorry to do this to you, but you really must leave now. If Narcissa shows up while you're here, things could get ugly," Severus said, glancing nervously around the dark, cold neighbourhood.
Lily finally broke down then, her sobs shaking her shivering body silently as she stared pitifully at her son. "I can't do this, James, I can't..." she whimpered, her tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Come, Lily, we need to go..." James said quietly, pulling idly on her cold, pale hand in an attempt to get her to leave. "Harry is too important not to hide him away, love. He'll be alright, and he'll save the world one day."
"This isn't fair! Who would wish this on our people, and proclaim that His will be done? All praise our Sacrificed Sons..." Lily cried passionately. She leaned over and kissed Harry firmly on the top of his head before allowing herself to be drug away by her husband.
Severus watched as the Potters walked away, finding a safe place to Apparate from. He watched as James took his sobbing wife into his arms, rubbing her back gently as silent tears slid down his own cheeks. He felt pity and remorse like he'd never felt before, holding that warm bundle of innocent infant in his arms as he watched the poor child's parents disappear, knowing he would never see them alive again. "All praise their Sacrificed Sons..." he whispered to the night as he turned and walked back into the house, lying to dozing infant in a small crib beside the sofa. He turned just in time to see Narcissa Malfoy Apparate into the square, a small bundle held tightly to her breast as she walked briskly towards him. He prepared himself to do it all over again, to take away a child from its parent, in the hopes that it would save the next generation from the hell his had endured.
All praise their Sacrificed Sons...
A/N: So, was it bad, good, did it even make any sense? lol. Please review and let me know! Sorry about the onslought of random one-shots recently, they just keep cropping up!
