A/N I thought that you'd all like to read what I've been working on when I'm not posting more chapters to The Muggle Way, and my horseland fic that I'm still stuck on, so here it is for your reading enjoyment. Advanced warning, this story is rated M. For a reason, if you are not of proper age to enjoy such reading material than lease don't read this fic.


The Power of Love

By: Esrelda Snape

Summary:

Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter the boy-who-lived. This is not that story. This is the story a family torn apart by tragedy, and reunited by the power of love with the help of an unsuspected dark wizard with a pure heart. What will happen when he discovers that the daughter of the only witch that he ever truly loved is being sexually, physically, and mentally abused by the family that Dumbledore swore was her only protection. Can he overlook the past and open his heart to her twin brother as well? You'll have to read to find out for yourselves. This story is rated M for abuse, language, adult themes, and adult content in later chapters.

Chapter one- the twins who lived

James and Lilly Potter were the proudest parents of twins that anyone in the little town of Godric's Hollow had ever met. They were born on July 31 1980 in the early hours of the morning. Their son Harry James Potter was born first screaming for all his little lungs was worth. "My son has a healthy set of lungs on him," said James as he rushed up the stairs with his friends Remus, Sirius, and Peter close behind him.

Before they reached the master bedroom however, a frazzled looking medi-witch rushed out of the room with baby Harry in her arms and quickly handed him over to his father. She then rushed back inside slamming the door in the men's faces as Lilly's screams of pain and fright sounded within the room again signaling that Harry's sibling wasn't far behind.

The four men listened intently as another scream shattered the silence of the room and then got worried as it had gotten too quiet. Lilly's screams had ceased, and minutes later the medi-witches exited the room shaking their heads with puzzled expressions on their faces. James handed Harry to Sirius and reached out to stop the head medi-witch from leaving.

"My wife, my other child, what happened," he asked with fear written all over his face?

"Your wife is fine, Mr. Potter," she said as she pulled away from him.

"What of my other child," he asked impatiently?

"Your daughter is fine as well; it's just that in all of my years of delivering babies, I've never seen a newborn that refused to cry. The child was so quiet that we thought that she was dead for the first five minutes of her life. She was just in our hands cooing and wriggling around," explained the stunned medi-witch as she turned and left the Potter home.

James opened the bedroom door to find Lilly holding their daughter with a gentle smile on her face. As the door opened she looked up to see her husband and their friends walking in with baby Harry in their arms. "Motherhood fits you Lilly," said Sirius as he handed baby Harry over to his mother so that the infants could meet each other.

"Sirius is right about that Lilly. What are the two of you going to call the twins," asked Remus with a happy smile on his face as he knelt down and ran a gentle hand over the baby girl's little cheek lovingly?

"Our son's name will be Harry James Potter. We did have a name picked out for our daughter as well but all things considered, I believe that we should change that name. Don't you agree darling," asked James as he took his daughter into his arms?

"I agree darling, she's so quiet, and serene. I'd like to keep the middle name that we agreed upon, but the first name I think that we should change from Helena, to Serenity," said Lilly as she gazed down into little Harry's sleepy little eyes.

"Very well, than we will call her Serenity Rose Potter," said James as he cuddled his little girl in his arms.

"Sirius, are you willing to be their god-father," asked Lilly looking up into his blue eyes?

"Do you truly wish for me to be their godfather," he asked in shock?

"We won't accept no for an answer," said James and Lilly in unison with beaming smiles on their faces.

Time passed and the Potters reveled in the peaceful life with their children. Little did they know that their happy little world was soon to come crashing down with disastrous consequences. Dumbledore had arrived at their home late one evening after Lilly had just put the twins down for sleep. He brought with him, disturbing and horrifying news.

Soon after months of being in hiding in a little cottage in their home town, they found themselves betrayed by one that they had trusted. James and lily were sitting in their living room feeding the twins their evening bottles when the door was burst from its hinges, and the Dark Lord stepped in with a malicious smile upon his face.

"Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Potter, did you truly believe that I wouldn't find you? I offer you this single choice if you desire to see your children grow up to be something more than a memory." James quickly handed little Harry over to his mother whom was already holding Serenity, and stood between his family and the Dark Wizard.

"We'll never join you," growled James with narrowed blue eyes. "Lilly run," he screamed as he shot a well-aimed hex at their attacker. Lilly ran into the kitchen for the back door only to discover that it was blocked by four death eaters, and tore through the house running up to the children's nursery to place them down into their crib together so that she could hopefully defend them.

The babies both picked up on the fear of their mother and started to cry fearfully. "Shhhh, darlings, Harry, Serenity, Mama's here, it will be alright," she seemed to sing in a soft soothing voice. "No matter what happens never forget, my darlings that you are loved. Your Mama and Daddy both love you so much," she said in a soothing voice as she attempted to block the door.

Suddenly there was a flash of green light as The Dark Lord demolished the door and strode into the room with an evil grin on his face. "Your husband is dead, Madam Potter. I see no reason for you or your darling children to die as well. So, I have decided to give you one final chance, my dear. Join my ranks, come over to our side, and you have my word that your children will never want for anything. Take my mark and become my wife and together we shall raise the children to become the most powerful in the world," he said with narrowed eyes as he presented his hand to the witch.

"I'd rather die than belong to you, I'll never allow you to harm my children," she snarled as she turned away from him and shielded the twins from the killing curse, dropping dead. Voldemort then picked up her wand and pointed it and his own at the twins who were looking up at him with wide innocent eyes. He looked down at the children with cold uncaring eyes.

"I was an orphan once, as the two of you are now," he said in a silky soft tone to the two one year olds. "It's not something that I would wish upon any child, so you can understand why I must do what I must do. It's regrettable that your parents refused to join me. Because of that unforgivable offence, I have no choice but to allow the two of you to join them," he said as he pointed the two wands at the children with an evil smile upon his face. "Avada Kadavera," he cried out as green light flooded the room then suddenly rebounded making him simply vanish.

"NOOOOO, what the hell is this? How could it be that I could be defeated by two helpless infants sitting in their crib," screamed Voldemort as his disembodied spirit swirled around the room angrily making the windows shatter and the pictures fall from the shaking walls of the house? "I don't know how, but I'll be back one day and I'll see both of you dead," he screamed as an unseen force pulled him out of the shattered window into the atmosphere!

Outside as the Aurors chased down the remaining death eaters that fled in all directions on feeling the loss of their leader, Severus cautiously entered the Potter home and looked around with fear pounding in his heart. As he entered the first thing that he noticed was the lifeless body of his school day rival, James Potter sprawled on the floor with his glasses hanging from his face. He searched the entire house hoping against hope that Lilly and her children still lived.

He walked cautiously through the house looking through each room until he came to the shattered remains of the nursery door. His face paled in horror and sadness as he saw the lifeless body of the only person who ever considered him to be a friend lying on the floor beside the crib that held her twin children. He slid down the side of the wall and pulled her into his arms sobbing as his heart shattered into a million pieces.

He sat there for what seemed like a long time clutching her lifeless body to his chest. He was in a world made up entirely of his grief, until he noticed little Harry starting to cry. He tenderly laid the children's mother on the floor at his feet, and went over to the crib to check over the children. Harry was crying and to his astonishment, so was his sister though; no sound came from her vocal chords.

He picked up the twins and cuddled them close to him as he ran from the house. He took the twins to the only place that he knew that they'd be safe, and placed them in Poppy Pomfrey's care, while he rushed into the headmaster's office to have it out with the old man. Dumbledore looked up in shock as Severus burst through his office doors making them slam hard against the stone walls.

"Severus, my boy, what's gotten into you he asked with a stern expression on his worried face?

"Damn it, you promised that you'd keep her safe! They're dead, both of them," screamed Severus angrily as he paced the office floor like a caged animal. On hearing his words Dumbledore's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and regret.

"What of the children, Severus? You didn't mention the children," he said as he leaned heavily against his pensive and removed a silvery strand of memory.

"They're surprisingly alive. Little Harry has a scar on his forehead and Serenity has the same shaped scar on her neck just over the vocal chords. Madam Pomfrey is checking them over as we speak. Now what happened to this protection that they were supposed to have," snarled Severus with his emotion on his sleeve?

"They put their trust in the wrong person as their secret keeper. Sirius Black has just been arrested for leading Voldemort to their door, and killing Peter Pettigrew," said Dumbledore shaking his head sadly.

"Why do you even care? You hated James Potter," said Dumbledore in a cold tone that made Severus flinch. Severus didn't say anything. He bowed his head in thought on how to answer the older man's accusations then removed his wand from his sleeve and gave it a graceful flick making a silvery doe shaped patronus gallop and bound around the room before it disappeared through the window.

Dumbledore's face softened as realization hit him hard like a bludger to the head. "Lilly, after all these years," said Dumbledore in a shocked tone.

"Always," said Severus simply not wishing to go into further detail. "Headmaster, what will happen to her children," he asked wishing to see them placed into a loving home?

"They'll be placed in the care of her sister Petunia Dersley," started Dumbledore before Severus grasped his robes desperately attempting to make the older wizard change his mind on the placement.

"No, anyone but her muggle bitch of a sister. Please Headmaster, you can't place the children with her. She hates everything about magic. I'm quite certain that she'd be cruel to the children. They don't deserve that. Couldn't you place them with a wizarding family," begged Severus?

"Severus, please understand that it's for their own protection. When Lilly gave her life to protect the twins, she unknowingly invoked a very powerful, ancient magic. Her sister being the last living blood relative is the only one who can protect them. Now unless you have other matters to discuss with me at this time the subject is no longer open for debate," said Dumbledore

"But, Headmaster, the Dark Lord is gone. They don't need protecting anymore," protested Severus as he crossed his arms in front of his chest to keep himself in check.

"You know as well as I do, that this isn't the last that we've heard of the Dark Lord. When he does return, they will need to be protected at all costs. "

"So, your decision is final," snapped Severus angrily?

"Yes," said Dumbledore as he placed a tender hand onto the younger wizard's shoulder.

Severus shook the older wizard's hand from his shoulder and turned to leave. "Severus, I forbid you to interfere in this matter. In case you are found out, you will not go anywhere near those children, unless you wish to see your dark comrades search them out and finish the job that their master started," ordered Dumbledore as Severus ripped open the door.

"Fine," spat Severus as he slammed the door and stomped down to the hospital wing.

He peaked into the hospital wing and watched as Madam Pomfrey bustled around the room preparing two bottles of warm milk for the two siblings. Harry's attention was on the medi-witch, but Serenity had her wide green eyes on the dark man standing in the door. She smiled at him and looked as if she would have laughed, though it was hard to tell, since she sadly made no sounds. "I don't care what he says, little one, I will always watch out for you," he vowed as the flames in the hospital wing hearth went green and the Headmaster stepped through to check up on the potter twins for himself. He backed away from the door, then spun on his heal and silently walked down to his living quarters.

The evening of the next day, as everyone in the small clean neighborhood slept peacefully, a strangely dressed man suddenly appeared in the center of the street. He took a small strange device out of his pocket and clicked it several times making the light vanish from the several lit street lights that illuminated the street in front of number four Privet Drive.

He stopped as a grey tabby cat leapt down from a garden fence landing in front of him. "I should have known that you'd be here Professor McGonagall," he said with a knowing smile on his face and a twinkle in his blue eyes. The cat morphed into a stern faced witch wearing dark emerald green robes and a pointed hat with a single feather on it.

"Good evening Professor Dumbledore, are the rumor's true," she asked calmly?

"Yes, Minerva, the good and the bad," he answered shortly.

"What of the children," she asked curiously?

"Haggrid is bringing them."

"But, Professor, do you really think it wise to trust Haggrid with something as important as this?"

"Relax Minerva, I'd trust Haggrid with my life," answered Dumbledore as the sound of a motorcycle's engine came rumbling down from the sky.

They turned and watched as the bright headlight of the flying bike came closer and softly landed in front of them. A giant of a man, who was three times the size of normal men dismounted from the bike and leaned over into his sidecar to retrieve a large sized basket with two tiny sleeping bundles nestled within it. "You had no trouble, I trust Haggrid," asked Albus as the Giant turned with the basket in his large arms?

"No sir, the little tykes both fell asleep just as we were flying over Bristle. Although, I've got to say since poor little Serenity can't make any sounds, it was hard not to keep on checking up on the little darlin. Best try not to wake them," said Haggrid as he handed over the basket to the Headmaster.

"Albus do you really think this wise? I've watched these people all day. They're the worst sort of muggle's imaginable. They really are," started Minerva before being cut off.

"They are the only family that they have," said Albus as he walked carefully down the walk way to number four Privet Drive.

"These two will be famous, Albus. There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know their names," said Minerva in a mystified tone.

"Exactly, their far better off growing up away from all of that until they are ready," he said as he gently laid the basket down just outside of the door. Haggrid sniffed with sadness and dabbed at a large tear that was running down his hairy cheek. "There, there Haggrid, it's not good-bye after all," soothed Dumbledore as he placed an envelope addressed to, "Mr. and Mrs. Dersley," just on top of the two sleeping bundles. "Good luck, Harry and Serenity Potter," he said as he and the others turned away leaving them out on the front porch.

A/N so here it is, please be honest when you review as I will not post the next chapter that is already written until I am certain that you want it to go on. :) If the story does continue the next chapter will be called The Vanishing Girl. :)