This story is dedicated to one of my friends, Bec.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters whose names can be found in any of the Harry Potter books.
The late afternoon sun hung in the air, just over the horizon, poised to drop into night. The neighbourhood where our story starts was a quaint little village in the outskirts of country England. The houses had large gardens, growing wild with flowers and weeds. It is a specific house or more the people in this house that our story is based on. Down the lane and a few metres along a stone path was a little cottage. It had a white picket fence, admittedly the gate had not worked for years. The house was white washed and a vine grew up on the left side. All in all it was a very typical house but the occupants were anything but typical. They were wizards per see. The couple that lived in this house had two boys; Harry and Matt. Currently Harry was wrecking havoc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Harry, Harry stop that!" Lily cried out to her youngest son, as he tugged at the table cloth.
"Harry!" Lily only just managed to levitate the breakfast dishes into the air before Harry pulled off the tablecloth, sending it tumbling down over his head.
"Oh Harry," Lily sighed as Harry rocketed around the room, knocking over objects as he went, the tablecloth covering his small body. Harry had learned to walk at nine months, which wasn't that odd for a baby, it had been known, to happen but it was still quite advanced. Matt, Harry's twin had walked a few weeks after, egged on by Harry running around the room in his usually energetic style.
Just as Lily picked up the vase Harry had disturbed the front door banged opened and her husband James Potter entered the room.
James was a not a tall man about five foot eight. He had short jet black hair, a thin face and hazel eyes. As soon as Harry heard the door a smile sprang to his face and he ceased his rampage about the living room streaked over to his father, his little legs taking him across the room in a blur of white to land in a heap at his father's feet.
"It's a ghost," James chortled, scooping up Harry in his arms and swinging him around, Harry laughing all the while.
James kicked the door shut with his foot and walked over to his wife, standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded.
"Hey honey," James pecked Lily on the cheek. "Where's Matt?"
Matt was the oldest Potter son. He and Harry were born only minutes apart. Matt was born at 11:59 p.m. and Harry at 12:00 midnight, on July 31st.
"Upstairs asleep," Lily answered, addressing James. "Where Harry should be." The last thing she said was directed more towards Harry then James.
It wasn't too unusually for Harry to be up when his twin was asleep, he was a very active baby and even at night he refused to sleep. Lily often remarked that she was so thankful that Matt wasn't the same or she would never survive.
Harry's only reply was a raspberry and giggling, he seemed to know exactly what his parents were saying. At this, James snorted and raced up the stairs zipping Harry above his head, all while he and Harry laughed.
In a few minutes James returned back downstairs having put Harry to sleep with a light drowsiness spell he used to use on Sirius when he started to get annoying at school and even now. Lily could never figure out how he did it so quickly when it could take her hours to get Harry to even consider sleeping. Walking into the kitchen, James found Lily sitting at the table sipping butter beer, looking tired.
"What's wrong hun? James asked, taking the seat next to her.
"I don't know how long this is going to last James." Lily said sadly, cradling her head in her hands and sounding at the point of tears.
"Shh hun," James said, wrapping his arm around Lily. "We're protected from him. Peter is the secret keeper. He can't find us now."
This did very little to comfort Lily and only caused the tears that were welling behind her eyes to stream down her cheeks. "What if he finds a way to overcome it? I can't lose the twin James, I can't lose you."
"Shh," James said, pulling Lily into a tighter hug as she sobbed. "It'll be alright. I don't know how long it will last Lily, it worries me too but if Dumbledore can't overcome it, I doubt Voldemort can. Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard and he assured us it will hold. Don't you trust him?"
Lily sniffed, "I know I'm being silly, of course I trust Dumbledore, it's just so hard to think of losing you." Lily sobbed again at the end of the sentence.
"I know," James whispered, "I know."
BANG!
An enormous noise interrupted from the front door, jerking the couple out of their embrace.
Lily screamed and James shot her a wide eyed look before bolting out of his chair and into the living room, Lily close behind.
James mouth went dry as he looked upon the wreckage that had once been the living room. The furniture in the room had been thrown to the side and most of the chairs had splinted and in the place where the front door used to stand, stood a figure. His eyes were blood red and his nostrils were slits. His face looked almost scaly and his skin was as white as chalk. The thing's wand was levelled at James chest.
"Voldemort," James whispered.
"So nice that we should meet again, James Potter." Voldemort hissed.
A cry sounded from upstairs and all eyes shifted to the stairs.
"Lily run!" James screamed. "Take the twins and run! I'll hold him off!"
"Still as cocky as ever," Voldemort hissed, his eyes flying back to meet James' as Lily ran for the stairs. "That can be fixed. Crucio!"
James dived behind the remains of an armchair and just missed the curse. Drawing his wand James jumped out from behind the chair just as Voldemort blew it apart.
"James!" Lily screamed from the stairs. Turning around and looking like she would come to help her husband.
"Lily run!" James screamed, dodging another curse as Voldemort advanced.
"Hiding boy, I expected more, afraid of Lord Voldemort."
"Never," James yelled, jumping out from behind the chair. "Stupefy!"
Voldemort simply waved his wand and the spell hit his shield and evaporated. The pair circled each other, both cautious of any attack that may come.
Lily still hadn't moved from the stairs and she seemed divided between helping her husband and going to her children. James' eyes left Voldemort's for a second to meet Lily's.
"Lily! Safe the twins!" James screamed again. Voldemort took this opportunity to shoot the cruciatus curse and James barely had time to flatten himself to the floor before it shot over his head. Only his reflexes saved him. It seemed James' last plead had effected Lily and she darted up the stairs, leaving her husband to face Voldemort alone.
"Well as much fun as you could prove to be, I do not have the time nor patience to dispose of you." Voldemort said, dodging a stunning James shot at him and returning fire with a cutting hex.
"As I'm sure you would just keep weaving in behind all these obstacles I do not have the time or the patience to eliminate them all. I will then have to do the next best thing to killing you, I will torture you. I have wanted to try this spell for a while; it is of my own invention. You see what it does is cover an area around myself and anyone caught in the blast will be rendered unconscious and made to relive their most terrible memories, with no relief. If the spell is not taken off, the strain of being imprisoned in ones mind will eventually kill the person. Quite ingenious don't you think?" Voldemort remarked dodging another of James' spells.
James face grew fearful but only for a second before a mask of bravery came back and he flung a boil hex at Voldemort "I think it's rather uncreative actually." James taunted, "you'd think with calling yourself the most powerful wizard that you would be able to think of something better."
Voldemort snarled in anger. "If that's how you feel," Voldemort said but before casting the spell he paused. "You know James, it's very useful to have a traitor, they tell you all sorts of useful thing. I never would have found you if it wasn't for Peter." James eye's grew wide but Voldemort pointed his wand towards the sky and screamed. "Mentis excrucio!"
Black light left the point of his wand and spread out across the room, leaving no room to escape. It hit James as he stood tall, facing it with the dignity of a warrior. His body fell to the ground with a thump and he became silent.
Voldemort smirked, watching James' unconscious form writhe for a minute before turning on his heel and heading up the stairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs Voldemort smirked as he heard a child crying. Coming to the twin's room Voldemort flung open the door to reveal Lily bending over one of the cots in the room, putting both boys in the same cot. Both the boys were crying hysterically. As Lily heard the door fly open she spun around to face Voldemort.
Turning his wand on Lily ,Voldemort cried out. "Step aside girl it isn't you I want."
"Not my boys, take me instead!" Lily pleaded, putting her body between Voldemort and the twins.
"As you wish," Voldemort hissed, almost sounding pleased his cold red eyes boring into Lily.
"Take me but spare my boys." Lily pleaded again.
"I could put your mind through torture your husband is going through but to kill you seems so much better. If your husband were to survive it will give me great pleasure in knowing I have killed all his family. With that being the case." Voldemort smirked. "Avada Kadavara!" As he performed the killing curse and Lily stood ready to face death, a blinding light erupted in the room and Lily fainted.
Young Harry, his hand outstretched stood up-right in his cot, his eyes were fixed on Lord Voldemort.
In his mind this man had tired to hurt his mummy and that could not be allowed. He had to stop this man, a fierce anger bubbled up inside him and he felt words come to his lips. It was natural for him to say these words, even though he had never spoken anything beyond mama and dada these words felt right in his mouth.
"Be gone evil from this room may my light banish your darkness." As Harry's tiny babyish voice spoke the enchantment a light erupted in the room, engulfing Voldemort and the entire room in the bright white light.
As the light filled the room a prophecy made thousands of years was fulfilled. It foretold a child born with a knowledge that ran deep within his blood. A child whose purpose was to banish the darkness and his powers would come forth when his family was threatened. He was born with the power of the blazing sun. This child was to be born on the darkest of nights.
As Harry's light ebbed Matt looked up from his position in the cot and grabbed Harry's hand for comfort. Matt screamed in pain as power flowed from Harry's body into his burning him. The raw power thundered through his body, leaving a slight burn on his hand where it had touched Harry's. His body couldn't contain the power and his forehead split open as the power rushed forward through his cut out into the air where it settled. Matt fell from the cot into his mother's arms, his lightning shaped scar still glowing with the power of Harry's magic.
Harry flopped, spent, onto the cot, his magic settling down to a dull ebb. His own scar from the fight stayed hidden under his PJs. Branded across his stomach was an eccentric scar in the shape of the sun.