Disclaimer- Not mine. If it was, I wouldn't be writing FANfiction, would I?
A collaboration between kiwipotterlover (from a different site) and I.
Enjoy the story!
"Mummy, look, there's Mikey! Can I go trick-or-treat with him, please?"
"Well, let's ask his mum first, all right? I could use the time to talk with her anyway."
A small boy and his mother were holding hands and walking down the street on Halloween of 1981. Wind gusted about them, blowing the young woman's hair in her face. Streetlamps flickered, providing a warm glow to the chill of the evening. The boy, dressed as a cowboy, was chatting animatedly with his friend when all of a sudden, a breeze picked up his hat, sending it down the street. "No!" the child wailed, chasing after it.
"Adam! Come back here!" she called to his retreating back. Waving a quick goodbye to the other mother, the woman set off after her impulsive son.
Adam ran down the street, eyes set on his hat, which had settled next to the oak on the corner. He reached it and knelt down to retrieve it. As he straightened up, put it on, and adjusted the string securely, he spotted a tall man in dark robes coming around from the next street. Adam brightened, waving to him. "Hey, mister! What're you dressed as?" The man seemed to glide up to him. His hood fell off, exposing a snake-like face and scarlet slits for eyes.
Adam stumbled back, instinctively terrified. He turned tail and was met with the welcome sight of his mother. He immediately hid behind her legs, ignoring her reprimand. She too cast a startled glance at the strange man before turning back and taking Adam's hand once more, walking perhaps a bit faster than necessary.
Voldemort pulled out his wand, fingering it with a sneer. It would be so simple to kill the filthy Muggle and all the ones around him. But no, that would alert his targets to his presence. He sheathed his wand, sauntering down the street a bit further before he reached number 4. Easily pushing the gate open, he smirked as he envisioned how he would soon be the victor.
"James, honey, stop encouraging him! At this rate, there'll be a fifth Marauder before long," Lily laughed as she teased her husband.
"And won't it be great? Harry's already got some of the small-scale pranks under his belt. He'll probably be able to take down Sirius before he even starts Hogwarts!" James replied with a grin.
Lily pushed her long auburn hair out of her face. "You and your crazy plans. Well, I'd better get the little prankster-in-training to sleep; it's already eight-thirty." She picked up the year-old child and started off in the direction of the staircase.
Just as she reached the first step, the door burst off its hinges, and the Potters were met with the same terrifying sight the two Muggles had just moments before. James whirled to his wife, unaware of his wand flying off of the coffee table. "Lily, it's him! Peter's betrayed us; take Harry and go!"
"But James-"
"Just go! I'll hold him off... I love you."
Lily was in tears. "I love you too." With that, she raced up the stairs.
James turned around and faced Voldemort, who had been watching the exchanges as he took in the surroundings.
"Very noble of you, Potter," he sneered. "But it might be just a tad hard to, what was it… Ah, yes. 'Hold me off' without a wand, no?"
James narrowed his eyes. "What in the bloody hell are you talking about?" He had his wand right there… Didn't he?
Oh no. James's heart sunk as his eyes took in the wand now curled up in Voldemort's left hand, Summoned while his back was turned. With a smirk, Voldemort clenched the hand holding it into a fist, and the wand snapped nearly in two, held together by only a splinter of wood.
"Bollocks," he hissed. Without hesitation, he grabbed a vase and hurled it at the wizard across from him. Voldemort blocked it and sent an Avada Kedavra towards James, which he dodged before sprinting into the kitchen and pressing his back up against the wall, calculating his next move. He had no wand, limited missiles, and he couldn't run forever. He heard Voldemort leisurely strolling up to the door, obviously in his element.
He had no idea of what to do, and was fully preparing himself for simply wrestling the dark wizard to the floor in an attempt to delay him when inspiration struck. James grabbed the knife block. Taking a knife at random, he advanced slowly on Voldemort, dancing around curses thrown at him. He was only a few meters away now.
James whipped the knife at the evil wizard. He managed to block it just in time. Now, not only was he perfectly fine, he was pissed off. Being desperate and knowing he was most likely about to die; James drew back a fist and punched Voldemort in the face. The tall, snake-like man reached up and touched the red mark incredulously, as though he couldn't believe someone had dared lay a hand on him. Spells came flying with a renewed fury.
Still fighting, the two slowly pushed back into the hall, James pressed against the same stairs Lily had disappeared up just a few minutes earlier. Voldemort, meanwhile, was getting more creative than just a simple Avada Kedavra.
Voldemort pointed his wand at James' heart. "Confringo!" James hastily ducked. The Blasting Curse whizzed past his head. James could feel it just barely graze his messy hair. His eyes widened as the curse exploded onto the wall. He was thrown forward, hitting his head on the railing, and collapsed. A slow trickle of blood oozed from a cut on his face, dripping down onto his shirt.
James weakly lifted his head.
"You will never win this war," he said as he tried in vain to keep his head up.
Voldemort looked down at him, all superior airs becoming evident as he relished his victory. "I think you'll find the only thing stopping me from taking over completely is your one-year old son. And that can be easily dealt with."
Anger flooded James's body. "Go to hell, you bloody bastard," he muttered bitterly with the last of his strength. With one last shudder, his body went limp. A malevolent sneer appeared on Voldemort's face as he stepped over James Potter's lifeless body on his way slowly up the stairs.
He stopped outside the nursery door; his sneer became more twisted as he heard the red-haired woman inside hastily shoving things against the door. He casually blasted the obstacles aside and opened the door.
Lily set Harry down gently in the crib and turned back, arms spread wide in a protective stance, chest heaving, eyes wide with fright and bright with determination.
"Stand back, woman. I only want the boy."
"No! You can't! Take me instead! Not Harry! Please not Harry!" Lily pleaded desperately.
Voldemort shot her a cruel smirk. "Last chance. Now, stand aside."
"No! I won't!"
Voldemort heaved a dramatic sigh, fingering his wand. "Very well. Avada-" He stopped mid-curse, apparently thinking over an idea. "You know, you're a very pretty woman. I'm sure my Death Eaters could find a use for you. Sensim aerhaud." He waved his wand once in a circular motion.
Lily clasped her hands to her throat, which had started to glow a deep purple. She found it was becoming harder and harder to breath. She struggled to stay up, calling for James and pleading for Harry's life.
Voldemort merely watched her, his deformed features alight with amusement as he waited for the spell to come into full effect.
"No use in calling for your pathetic husband. He's dead now; the fool was killed by a mere Blasting Curse. I do wonder, what will everyone think happened to you, when they cannot find your body?"
Voldemort continued to taunt her until she gasped one final 'Please, no…' and slumped to the floor, unconscious. Voldemort Petrified her so she would not wake up until he wanted her to. His focus was now entirely on the crib and the small child inside.
Harry's eyes were wide as he looked up into the snake-like face of Voldemort. The small boy glanced at his mother's body then back to him. "You hurt mummy?"
Voldemort hissed. "Quiet, you."
Harry stumbled backwards away from Voldemort but in doing so he fell down, hit his head on the railing of his crib, and started to cry.
The man glared at him, face contorted with both hatred and disdain. He had always hated the sounds of crying children. "Goodbye, Harry Potter."
"Avada Kedavra!"
Instantly, chaos filled the room. Harry let out a wail as the curse hit his forehead, his green eyes glowed eerily as tears ran down his cheeks. Looking up at Voldemort he spoke through the tears "You're a bad man."
Voldemort narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "What the…"
As if on cue, green light filled the room again, but this time it was different. It wasn't the single stream of deathly light but a multitude of different greens expanding slowly from Harry. The room began to shake violently as if there was an earthquake happening. Voldemort's eyes widened in fear as he realized what was happening but it was too late. The nursery exploded with a tremendous bang. Furniture was reduced to splinters, walls crumbled to dust. Debris rained down but it veered away from the humans as though hitting an invisible shield.
Voldemort had vanished in the explosion. The nursery had been reduced to rubble. Muggles danced around the site screaming for someone to call the police. The fire brigade. The ambulances… And on that night, that chaotic, frenzied night in the normally quiet town of Godric's Hollow. If you listened, listened carefully, you could hear the heart-wrenching sounds of a baby screaming for his mother to wake up.
Here's the first chapter! This will be a novel-length series (hopefully), so stay tuned for updates!
-Ariana
